i j I iI i! 0 f I I i 4 c IT. - -A - ads / / i l 1. I P/A I II {1 r ^il I It I > crw I I S: \::: v APE E R COUNTY MICHIGAN, I I I i i I 1 4, ~ll I I wI li i N' I II ii 4. - I r I I At A::: WITH ILLusTrrs~ D BIOGWP IG4L SKETCHES OF SOME OF ITS Prorminent Men alld Pioneers. CHICAGO: la..A. ^ AGE; & CO. 1884. I 11*11, LX — /I;:w. I I j - 7 - — ~ i,_~~~~ —~ ~;~ J~~`==11;i=;~=;~;il --— ~~-~ ~~~-~ /-~~~~~~~-~ 1 ---~ —~~~~-~/~;~kz "- - " W-W-11 —1,I:~:':\ ", "I, " X, ",\,,:~ ~ ~ ~ i ~~ ~j; 11 ~ ~si — V-ll*lS: X i, -- - - I I Q - - I 1 I i I G^Okp. Ip History of,apper County......... 9 Indian Treaties:..................... 10 Organizing Countes.................... 11 County Surve.......................... 11 County Offi(eIrs........................ 12 Court-H ouse......................... 13 Townships ()rganlzeed................... 13 First Settlement of thle County.......... 14 Period of tht, Land Fever............... 14 D escril)tive............................ 15 Pioneer Pictures...................... 15 Pioneer, Professim)al, and E(lucational Historvy................................. 20 Courts and Bar.................... 2.1 Earjy Law and Lawyers................. 22 First Educational Efforts................ 24 Early Lumberin g...................... 25 County Societies....................... 27 Statistical.................. 30 Almonlt Township..................... 30 L and E ntries......................... 30 Early History........... 33 C ivil H istory.......................... 35 Town Officers........................ 36 Village of Almont...................... 36 Church History........................ 39 Almonnt Societies.................... 40 Lapeer Township......................' 50 L an d E ntries.......................... 50 E arly H istory.......................... 52 Town Officers.......................... 53 City of Lapeer........................ 57 Biographical Reminiscence.............. 59 Early Incidents....................... 60 Pioneer W omen........................ 61 Lapeer Postcffice....................... 62 Lapeer Newspapers..................... 63 Incorporation........................... 64 Village Officers......................... 64 City Officers........................... 65 Retrospective........................ 65 Lapeer Churches...................... 67 Lapeer Schools........................69 Secret Orders.......................... 71 Lapeer Industries...................... 72 Hadley Township....................... 83 Land Entries........................ 83 Early H istory.......................... 84 O rganization........................... 86 School M atters......................... 86 The D eserted City...................... 87 Village of Hadley..................... 87 Hadley Churches....................... 88 Societies.............................. 89 Town Officers.......................... 89 Drvdeu Township...................... 93 Town Officers.......................... 93 Land E ntries.......................... 94 Early H istory......................... 96 W higville............................ 96 A Memorable Period................... 97 Early Events.......................... 98 Personal Reminiscences................ 98 An Indian Scare...................... 100 Early Religious History................ 101 Thornville............................ 103 An Afflicted Family.....................103 Dryden Village........................103 I I I I I i The Old Log Ho-ss..................... 105 Earfly Movemer s......................106 Ladlies' Library A.ssociti............. 10 6 Societies.............................. 108 Metamora Townshii................... 115 L and E ntries.......................... 115 E arly H istory..........................117 Religious History..................... 121 Village of Metamora.......................121 The Metamora Bee...................... 122 Library Society.......................*122 Town Officers........................122 S tatistical.............................. 123 Early History of Farmers' Creek........129 Elba Township....................... 131 Land Entries........................ 132 Early History......................... 133 Town Officers...................... 133 School Report.........................134 Marathon Township.................... 135 OrgoAniza;tion.......................... 135 Land Entries................... 136 Early Historv.......................... 137 Village of Columbiaville..............139 Societi s................................139 Incorporation....................... 140 Genjeral Progress.......................140 Village of Otter Lake.................... 141 Early History..........................141 Churches......................141 Pier,,onville......................... 144 Town Officers......................... 144 Attica Townsh ip.......................147 Laud Entries..........................147 Early Histor.y.................... 148 Town Officers......................... 149 Village of Attica....................... 151 C hurcl es.............................. 151 Soeceties.............................151 Ma rfield Township....................154 Laid Entries.................... 154 Eorly History........................155 Town; Ofice.......................... 156 Fish Laka or Stephens............ 156 Five L akes............................157 Oregon Township.................... 159 L and E ntries........................ 160 Early HIistory......................... 161 Organization....................... 161 Town Officers....'....................162 Iralay Township........................ 164 Laiud Entries.......................... 164 Early H istory.......................... 165 O rgan izttion........................... 166 General Progress....................... 167 Town Officers..........................168 Tm lav C ity............................. 169 Ineorporation..........................170 Village Officers........................170 Imalay City Churches.................... 17(0 Secret O rders.......................... 171 N ewspapers.......................... 171 Goodland Townsh.ip.................... 174 L and E ntries.........................175 Early H istory.......................... 176 Civil H istory........................... 176 Town Officers......................... 176 Burnside Township.....................179 i i i Ii II I I I Ii Land Entries..........................179 Early H istory.......................... 181 Civil History........................... 181 Schools.............................. 182 Town Officers.......................... 182 North Branch TGownship).............. 184 Land Entries......................... 184 Early History.........................185 Schools................................. 186 Town Officers........................ 186 Village of North B3)ljch................ 187 Churches...............................187 Societies............................... 188 Incorporation.......................... 189 Deerfield Township..................... 191 Land Entries....................... 192 Civil History............................ 193 Town Officers.......................... 194 Fire of 1881............................ 194 Burlinaton Towns. ip....................196 Village of Clifford..................... 198 Land Entries..........................198 Civil H istory........................... 199 Town Officers.............................200 Arcadia Township...................... 202 Land Entries......................... 203 Early H istory.......................... 204 Town Officers..........................205 Rich) Township..................... 206 Land Entries.........................207 Civil H istory........................... 209 Town Officers...........................209 BIOGRAPHIES. Abbott, A. V........................... 82 Abbott, Jolhn........................... 63 Abbott, W. L.......................... 177 Abbott W illiamn L...................... 177 Alien, George W......................... 48 Allen, Ssinford C......................111 Altyea, W arren C....................... 152 Andrews, William....................... 178 Angle, John M........................110 Aris, Henry............................ 190 Arm(, ur, Robert...................... 140 Arms, Samuel..........................159 Armstrong, Wr. R....................... 45 Arnold, Perry..........................113 Ash, Jchn S...........................41 Atwell, David C.................... 153 Austin, C. V...........................159 Aurand, William H....................145 Babcock, H. C......................... 125 Babcock. Robert S.................... 173 B acon, D. C............................106 Baker. Thomas C..................... 195 B r:lch, F. V.............................. 41 Baldwin, J. H.......................... 191 Ballard, Charles....................... 189 Barnes, Thomas........................ 178 Barrows, E. P.......................... 128 B artlett, Elijah....................... 113 Bartlett, H enry.........................112 Bartlett, H orace..................... 115 Bates, Zadock......................... 55 Bates, W illiam W....................... 55 B ayley, W. L........................... 128 Beach, Isaac T......................... 44 I \ -I: I dlvi6-^ X I-:w W I ~ ~ ~4 l' J -- 4 ---- _ --- ot --- CONTENTS Continued. Bearss, Joseph H....................... 196 Beckman, W illiam.................... 134 Beckwith, Orlow....................... 143 Beden, W alter M..................... 92 Beebe, Parley L....................... 154 Bentley, Jasper........................ 79 Bentley, W illiam...................... 202 Birdsall, Henry A...................... 73 Black, Oscar F........................168 Blake, Dr. W illiam..................... 152 Blow, James............................. 112 Blow, John........................... 110 Blow, William H..................... 112 Bohnsack, Joseph...................... 164 Booth, Horace M................ 46 Borland, John.......................... 174 Bostick, Gilbert........................ 48 Bradshaw, Amos........................ 201 Braidwood, John........................ 109 Braidwood, Mark....................... 43 Bredin, Richard........................ 109 Brigham, Aaron........................ 85 Brigham, Aaron G......................86 Brigham, Henry S...................... 85 Brigham, Johl, Sr.....................85 Brigham, John, Jr..................... 86 Brigham, Samuel L........... 86 Bristol, Joseph................ 49 Bristol, Sheldon....................... 48 Brooks, William....................... 56 Broomfield, George................. 179 Brophy, James D.................. 109 Brown, Charles W..................... 78 Brown, Clarence E................... 124 Browne, A. C......................... 128 Brownell, E. A....................... 90 Bruce, John G....................... 183 Bnuerger, John A....................... 81 Buchanan, H. M........................ 177 Buck, William I...................... 163 Buck, W illson........................ 209 Bullock, Frederick G.................... 135 Bullock, Lewis......................... 135 Burgess, Alfred................. 140 Butler, Jerome B......................] 83 Butterfield, Ira H...................... 76 Butterfield, W........................ 55 Byer, John R.........................154 Cady, Nelson..........................12 7 Cahill, Dennis.........................158 Caley, M atthias......................... 54 Caley, Thom as......................... 55 Callis, W illiam.........................159 Campbell, John W........................92 Cardwell, Jirall.........................168 Carpenter, G. W.......................158 Carpenter, &- Lloyd..................... 143 Carpenter, Sam uel...................... 163 Carpenter, Stephen..................... 158 Carr, Gardiner......................... 50 Carter, O liver........................... 196 Cary, Gec.rg e H........................ 81 Case, C............ 202 C astle, H. S............................ 189 Castle, Jo (hn...........................189 Castle, L evi K.......................... 189 Castle, Ozro J......................... 189 Chambers, Stepl en.....................190 Chaplin, Harvev S.................. 210 Chapman, C. R..................... 127 Chapman. George P.................... 56 Chase, Alfred........................... 191 Chase, George A........................ 191 Cheasbro, William H. H.................113 Churchill, Charles...................... 178 ChurchJill, David................... 178 Clhurchill, W. B.......................172 Clark, Alpthonso........................ 112 Clark, B. W............................ 128 Clark, John............................ 146 Clark, Walden.......................... 114 Clark, William........................128 Clark. W illiam.......................... 47 Cliff, Charles H........................144 Closson, Myron D...................... 48 Closson, Nelson E...................... 48 Clute, Ephraim.................. 140 Clute, Richard A....................... 145 Clute, W illey A.........................145 Coffron, W. W....................... 190 Cole, J. W............................114 Collins, E li............................ 55 Compton, Jerome.......................135 Comstock, Dr. J. S...................... 24 Comstock, L. H. M...................... 202 Conant, Alonzo....................... 159 Conklin, Robert B..................... 76 Conner, E. L...........................129 Cooley, D...........................112 Corey, Alexander W.................... 81 Coryell, A. B...........................128 Cotter, E. B............................ 43 Courter, John......................... 114 Courter, William H.....................114 Coutts, Peter......................... 44 Cowan, A. S.......................... 126 Cramton, George W.................... 90 Crosbv, W illiam........................ 47 Cummi ngs, G. H.......................191 Cummings, William C.................. 143 Currier, F. P........................... 48 Currier, H. A......................42 Cushing, Thomas R..................... 163 Daley, William F.....................80 D aly, A. S............................. 153 Darwood, Joseph....................... 112 Davenport, George.....................90 Davenport, Oliver...................... 90 Davis, Murdoch L................. 143 D ay, D. P.............................158 Day, WVilliam C........................ 11ll Davton, Chlarlts.....................201 Dean, C. T........................... 56 De GTroat, Henry C.....................206 Delaney, John.......................... 111 Demorest G. F........................ 76 Deneen, John N........................172 Dennis, J. W....................... 54 Denoyer, Aitoine................. 154 Dickerson, Chilion F................... 177 Dingman, Charles..................... 195 Dirtine. Thlomas................. 129 Dirstine, Sanmuel.......................129 Dittman, Augustus..................... 112 Dodds, Archibald......................209 Dodds, H enry.......................... 56 Dodds, John H........................ 56 D)odge, W. T........................... 173 Donaldson, George..................... 76 Douglass, Dr. E. G..................... 76 Dudley, M iles F....................... 196 D utdley, Robert......................... 126 E arl, E. K.............................. 77 Earl, Jeremiahl.................... 77 Edwards, W illiam B....................201 Eggleston, John P...................... 173 E lliott, Orlindo....................... 164 Ellsworth, R. C........................110 Ellsworth, Samuel...................... 109 Emmons. B. R........................ 46 Empev, G. P...........................113 Eoff, Ezra.............................. 112 Eoff, Jacob........................ 113 ErIes, Slmuel.......................... 124 Evans, Daniel............................ 157 Evans. Isnac............................ 157 Evans, John B......................... 157 Farnum, R. K.......................... 42 Farrmui, Williaml P................... 45 Farnswortllh, Christopher................ 157 Fay, Thomas...........................179 Ferguson, Alexander WI................. 44 Ferguson, C.. So.................... 41 Ferguson, Charles...................... 41 Ferguson, Charles.................... 41 Ferglson, Jam es F................................ 49 Ferguson, Peter....................... 43 Ferg nson, Snalmuel E.................... 50 Ferguson. Yates........................ 115 Fisher, George W.................... 109 Flansburgll, Calvin D...................178 Flansburgh, L. W...................... 178 Folsom, Abner C........................196 Folsom, Harvey J...................... 178 Foote, John H..........................110 Foote, P. H............................110 Fosdick, Silas.......................... 91 Fowler, F. E..........................56 Fowler, Francis........................ 56 Fox, Martin.......................... 210 Freer, James.............................109 Freer, John.................... 111 French, James......................... 128 Fricke, Charles A.......................122 Fricke, Frederick D................... 195 Frider, M orris......................... 146 Fuller, Myron...................... 163 Galbraith, Rev. F. J...................189 Gallinger, Cyrenius................. 196 Gark, Robert L,........................173 G askill, Silas B......................... 23 Gark, Sylvester................ 126 Gass, Nicholas..........................204 G ates, A. B............................135 Gates, John G........................ 55 Gates, Stephen V...................... 83 Gilbert, Edwin W......................141 Gillings, Joslihua........................112 Glasure, George........................ 184 Gleason, Frank......................... 90 Goetehi us, Hen y B..................... 45 Goodale, E. Allen......................159 Goodale, Warren W.................... 159 Gordon, John..........................109 Gould, C.B.........................183 Gould, Edwin R.......................42 G ould, F. E............................. 45 Govan, R. B............................111 Grandy, Norton T..................... 92 Graves, Amos..........................63 G ray, A. J............................. 54 Gray, Arthur J........................ 81 G ray, J. S............................ 163 Gray, Stephen D.......................162 G ree j, Ira........................... 81 Green, N. N........................ 92 Greene r& Rulison..................... 79 Gregory, Albert L...................... 80 Gregory, George B..................... 77 Groff, Edward.......................... 128 Groover, S.D.......................... 126 Gunn, Joshua..........................183 Gutches, JameslM.......................45 Gutches, Oliver C.....................45 Haddrill, Lorenzo J.................... 73 Hadlev, Forest......................... 77 Haines, Frank M.......................206 H all, Seth.............................108 Hall, W. F............................172 Hallock, Alfred..................76 Ha:llock, John.......................... 44 Hamilton, Williaml B................... 72 Hammond, John R..................... 135 Haimmon(l, William....................134 Harp. John A......................... 125 Har}p, W illiam................201 Harris, Benjamin J.....................145 H arris, Charles......................... 56 Harris, Edward T...................145 Harris, Gardner J...................... 56 H art, Alonzo............................ 92 H ait, Alvin N.......................... 59 Hart, Noah H...................... 22 Hart, Rodnev G........................73 Havskin Brotihers........................ 174 Haskin, M. J..........................174 Haskin, Nelson......................... 174 H atch, 'Horace E........................ 77 I Hazen. Dennison E..................... 49 i H eenan, Johll.......................... 109 Hemingway, IRaac L................... 145 Hemingway, Rev James............ 87 Hemingway, James H.................. 91 Helmingway, William.................... 22 Hcndernsonl, Frederick L................ 52 J I M -4 N b~ - V 0.-"- - --------- C O N T E N T S-Continued I Henderson, Jacob S.................... 127 Henderson, William................... 125 Hewitt, William W....................41 Higley, George W..................... 54 Higley, York T........................ 80 H illiker, Albert.........................113 Hilliker, H. F......................... 42 H lies, Jam es........................... 109 Hinks, James.......................... 113 Hinman, Hon. Lord W.................. 79 Hodge, David........................ 129 H odges, Jam es......................... 152 Hodgson, J. A.......................... 91 H odson, J. R.......................... 152 Hollenbeck, Edmund................... 163 Ho!lenbeck, George W.................. 163 Hollenbeck, Jacob.....................145 Hollinger, Daniel................... 191 Hollinshead, William................. 144 H opkins, John.......................... 43 Hosmer, Allen.................... 1.... HoEsack. D uncan....................... 183 H ough, B. C........................... 159 Hough, Charles D......................153 Hough, E. B........................... 47 H otugh, E. S............................178 Hough, George O.................... 179 Hough, John B....................... 76 Hough, Theodore B................... 179 Howard, Edward........................158 Howard, Martin J.......................80 Howe, S. W........................... 184 Howland, Hiram........................ 46 Howland, William......................134 Howland, Willis....................... 46 Hughson, E. B......................... 196 Hungerford, James A.................. 81 H unt, Jonathan.........................178 Isham, E..............................126 Ivory, Elwell.......................... 91 Ivory, John............................ 90 Ivory, Rufus........................... 90 Jackson, W lliam A................... 79 Jenkins, James...................... 128 Jenness, I. N...........................150 Jennings, Ward H...................... 77 Johnson, Andrew....................... 127 Johnson, Frank M..................... 43 Johnson, James H..................... 210 Johnson, Jeremiah.....................196 Johnson, W illiam A....................209 Johnston, Alexander.................. 141 Johnston, B. F.................... 41 Jones, George W......................... 173 Keeler, James P........................ 190 Kelch, W illiam, Sr................. 210 Kelcb, W illiam. Jr..................... 210 Kelley, Albert E........................ 210 Kelley, Mark N.......................125 Kendrick, Hon. Frank...................110 Kendrick, George H....................112 Kendrick, J. S...................... 115 Kendrick Lucius....................... 102 Kennedy, Jonathan D...................201 Kennett, Charles....................... 44 Kennett, Charles, Jr.................. 44 Kenly, Hon. Myron C.................. 78 Kfster, Andrew........................195 Kidder, Samuel........................ 46 Kingsbury, Andrew L.................. 55 Kittridge, Ebenezer................... 111 Kluss. Julius................. 92 Lamb, Elizabeth D..................... 105 Lamb, Horace........................ 172 Lamb, Jacob C......................... 172 Lamb, John J..........................172 Lamb, John Merri t.....................103 Lamb, J. M erritt........................ 112 Lamont, David........................ 127 Langdon, R. V.........................191 Laughlin, William F............ 110 Lawrence, Denis G.....................146 Lawrence, Ebert W 4.................... 47 Lawrence, F. P....................... 126 Lawrence, Nelson K.................... 210 L each, Sela............................146 Learmont, J. W..................... 49 Lee, Henry............................ 158 L ee, H iram............................ 90 Lee, James H......................... 124 L ee, Jesse.............................. 1 i7 Lee. Orrin........................ 128 Le Valley, Leander..................... 145 Lewis, Oliver A........................114 Lincoln, Frederick..................... 77 Lippincott, R. B...................... 190 Lofft, William......................... 77 Louks, W illiam H...................... 55 Lucas, W illiam........................ 190 Lunday, Eli........................ 126 Lyman, A. W..........................202 Lyons, H. H.......................... 174 LN ons, W alter S.................... 168 M cAlpiue, Jonas........................ 143 McCormick, John..................... 190 McDonald, W illiam..................... 79 McElroy, Francis....................... 77 McEntee, W. H..................... 173 McGarry, Frank................. 145 McGillis, Daniel....................... 174 M cGregor, James....................... 128 M cIntire, James....................... 195 M cKillop, Daniel.......................202 M cKillop, A. B......................... 200 McKillop, Angus..................... 201 McKillop, Archibald............. 200 McLennan, Alexander................ 80 McMonagle, Cornelius................... 46 M cER oy, James......................... 49 McRov, Thomas J................... 49 M ahaffy, M arshal.......................113 M air, Andrew.......................... 128 Manwarin g, George R.................. 173 Manwaring Hon. Joshua............... 74 Manwaring, Joseph................. 112 Manzer, Seymour A..................... 79 Marsden, John......................... 124 Marshall, Mrs. Olivia A................. 153 Marshall, Sardis B....................78 Martin, Hiram B................169 Martin, Maitland E.....................48 Mathews, Samuel....................... 42 Mathews, W illiam....................... 109 Maynard, Sanford.................... 106 Maynard, Washington................ 115 Maynard, W illiam...................... 159 Merrill, Lorenzo........................ 196 Merritr. & Balch...................... 41 M erritt, John A........................ 128 Merritt, W. E.........................50 Middaugh, Christopher.................. 202 Middleditch, Pulaski.................... 183 M iles, N elson......................... 77 M iller, A. B........................... 183 M;ller, George W....................... 110 M iller, Hiram C........................41 M iller, J...............................11 M iller, J. N......................... 110 M iller, J. W........................... 110 Miller, William M.....................152 Misener, Almon........................ 157 M itchell, James........................ 202 Mitchell, Rev. Lewis.................... 206 Moore, Hon. Jos. B.................... 76 M oore, Morris R........................ 135 Moore, Silas......................... 135 M ore, Jam es............................ 114 More, James L......................... 127 More, J. F................... 191 M orey, H. R......................... 48 M organ, Chancy........................ 109 Morgan, Francis S............. 145......... M organ, W illiam........................ 42 Morrison, W illiam...................... 42 M ors, Richard...................... 125 Morse, Charles F................... 128 Morse, George C............. 125 M orton, Charles........................ 43 Morton, Morris...............43 Morton, W illiam D.................... 44 ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~41. M-,ses, Oliver.................. 128 M air, Jam es............................ 47 M uir, John F........................... 174 Muir, William.......................... 45 MAurnihan, D. H. F............. 202 Nelson, Robert....................... 164 Newton, Francis........................111 Newton, Isaac.......................... 111 Oliver, Barney.......................... 196 Oliver, Leonard........................ 196 Orr, Daniel......................... 191 Ovens, W illiam......................... 50 Owen, Harmon..................... 158 Palmer, James A.......................206 Palmer, James E........................127 Palmner, Joel M......................... 82 Palmer, John H........................ 79 Palmer, Robert............. 154 Palmer, Thomas........................127 Palmerlee, Asa......................... 55 Palmerlee, Hoel........................ 55 Park, W illiam..................... 124 Parker, Thomas........................ 163 Parmlee, Virgil S....................... 46 Paton, Andrew.........................178 Payne, Richard.................... 152 Pearson, Ande............... 202 Peaslee, Mrs. Julia Ann.............. 129 P eck, Ira.............................. 56 Peck, Miles G......................... 56 Pendleton, E. C........................206 Pendleton, Munson.................. 206 Perkins, Charles W................... 158 Perkins H. F.......................... 125 Perkins, James O...................... 127 Phelps, J. T............................ 114 Pierce, Philemon....................... 153 Pierson, Rufus.......................... 144 Pike, H. D............................ 77 Pike. O. B............................. 55 Pitcher, A. A...................... 126 Pitcher, George W......................129 Porter, Albert.......................... 126 Porter, Alvin..........................126 Porter, F. S............................190 Porter, John H......................... 114 Porter, Julius A...................... 114 Porter, M ason......................... 126 Potter, H enry N........................ 134 Powelson,Ebenezer W.................. 135 P rice, F............................... 127 Price, M rs. L........................... 127 Price, 'I obias........................... 124 Pringle, John H....................... 182 Purdy, Reuben.......................... 20 5 Quatermass, William.................... 172 Raymond, Archibald.................... 195 Read, John........................ 129 Read, L. H........................... 129 Read R,. H.......................... 54 Read, Samuel.......................... 54 Redfield. Esli R........................ 80 Reed, Nathaniel....................... 126 Reid. Hulbert................... 50 Reid, James............... 43 Retherford. L. M....................... 46 Reynolds, Ira.......................... 54 Reynolds, William....................114 Reynolds, William J.................... 114 Rich, Hon. John T...................... 135 Rich, Virtulon...................... 23 Riches, Thomas........................ 111 Riley, Harvey.................... 92 Riley, Silas F......................... 92 Roberts, A. M........................ 42 Rood, Alpheus......................... 56 Rood, Charles F.................. 174 Rood, Horace D...................... 158 Rood, Pierce N........................ 153 Rook, George.......................... 146 Ross, Amrasa...................... 168 Ross, David P......................... 45 Ross, John F........................ 163 Rossman, Hiram....................... 124 Ruby, Francis......................... 56 j L4 L 9). -I- XI — I1# g,< I i A, ------- -:- I, - - so C O N T E N T S- Continued. - -_ Rumuph, Peter..........................210 R npert, J. J............................ 113 R ussell, A. C.......................... 56 Russell, George W.....................152 R nssell, L. J........................... 56 Ryan, John P..........................205 Sage, Edwin........................... 124 Sage, Orvil............................124 ngla e, W illiam..........................124 Sanborn, Orville T...................... 45 Sanborn, Rufus T.................. 92 Schanck, Henry.........................110 Schenck, Garrett....................... 48 Scnlley, Edward DI).....................81 Selleck, GeorgeMV......................205 Seaman, Rev. Henry................... 201 Seyfarth, Louis................209 Sheldon, Clarence L.................... 158 Shepherd, Alexander................... 178 Sherman, Sylvester 0................... 143 Shipp, John........................... 47 Shipp, Joseph........................ 47 Shippey, Charles W................... 189 Shoemaker, MI........................ 49 Sicklesteel, George.....................190 Silsbury, James L...................... 163 Simon, Joseph Sr..................... 43 Simmons, David Marvin................ 145 Sinclair, Alexander...................183 Skym, W illiam......................... 190 Slater, Joseph W......................... 159 Sleeper, David......................... 46 Sleeper, Stoughton....................46 Sm ith, C. J............................127 Smith, Cornelius L.....................196 Smith, D. P......................... 43 Smith, Edwin........................110 Smith, Mrs. Fannie Jane................201 Smith, George L..................... 82 Smith, H iram..........................43 Smith, I. C............................ 125 Smith, James P....................... 152 Smith, John O......................... 81 Smith, Joseph......................... 113 Smith, M yron B....................... 78 Smith, Nathaniel.......................109 Smith, Nathaniel, Jr....................168 Smith, Philip........................ 43 Smith, Stephen H...................... 76 Smith, William C..............................202 Smith, William M...................... 168 Snook, Andrew......................92 Snyder, M yron......................... 134 Spalding, Charles H....................206 Spears, W illiam........................ 163 Spencer, Jonathan.....................201 Springett, Charles H.................... 49 Springett, TLomas..................... 49 Squier, Ethan.........................109 Squier, Rufus.......................... 153 Stephens, A. L.........................158 Stephens, Alexander.................... 128 Stevenson, John.............. 178 Stevenson, Thomas..................... 127 Stewart, John....................... 134 Sticknev, William W................... 23 Stiver, Peter...........................201 Stocker, D.............................124 Stonie, David F.........................123 Stone, Mrs. Hannah I.................. 153 Stroup, C. F.......................... 157 Struble, Lewis Y....................... 152 Stuart, Benjamin D................... 177 Sutter, John........................... 195 Swain, Robert......................... 110 Sweet, Joseph C........................ 195 Taggart, Roswell....................... 49 Taggart, W illis........................ 168 Tainter, Benjamin D.................... 129 Tainter, Loren......................... 129 Tanner, Edwin J....................... 143 Taylor, D. M..........................202 Taylor, Robert L.......................82 Taylor, Thomas C...................... 41 Taylor, W. W.......................... 42 Tennant, Rensselaer R.................. 80 Terry, Benjamin....................... 108 Terrv, H. H..........................110 Thatcher, Charles L................... 80 Thickstine, James C.................... 77 Thomas, Alba.......................... 126 Thomas, Calvin P...................... 82 Thompson, Arthur H................... 79 Thompson, Frank..................... 77 Thompson, Jollhn N..................... 153 Thompson, O. C.......................125 Thompson, Robert.....................190 Thomson, Daniel....................... 44 Topham, William H.................. 164 Townsend, Clark....................... 125 Townsend, Uriel........................ 47 Tozer, George.............. 195 Tozer, John............................ 195 Travis, Austin.......................... 129 Travis, H iram.......................... 129 Treadway, Joseph....................... 135 Tripp, H E.......................... 173 Tripp, Holden.........................114 Tripp, George C........................ 56 Tripp, John L......................... 56 Tucker, Matthew B................... 178 Tunison, Mahlon C.................... 92 Turrill, George N...................... 78 Turrill, Hon. James................... 78 Tuttle, Benezett A.................... 80 Tuttle, Columbus...................... 80 U lrick, Peter...........................114 U lrick, Peter........................... 114 Utley, Timothy....................113 Van Antwerp, Abraham................. 49 Vandecar, J..........................189 Van Vranken, James A................. 143 Van Wagoner, Milton A................ 76 Varnum, Prescott...................... 127 Varnum, W illiam N.................... 79 Vincent, Shad. N..................... 73 Voorhies, Isaac I...................... 81 Wadsworth, William R................. 80 W ales, C. E........................... 50 W alker, Charles....................... 47 W alker, David...................... 54 W alker, Robert B....................... 55 W alker, Roger T....................... 82 W alker, Thomas........................ 54 W alton, J. T..........................172 Walton, Sidney Walker.................172 Warner, Matthew...................... 47 Warren, Andrew........................195 W atkins, John J........................ 82 W atkins, Newel T......................153 W atson, Adam.......................... 42 W attles, D. C...........................190 W ebster, H. D......................... 73 Webster, Mrs. Martha................. 112 W ebster, Milton H...................... 46 W ebster, W. S.......................... 43 W eed, Dr. A. E........................191 W ells, Igil............................. 45 W ells, Thurston........................210 W elton, Charles E......................174 W est, D aniel........................... 152 W est, Francis M........................152 W eston, H. C.......................... 189 W heeler, Joseph T...................... 145 Wheelock, Marquis Lafayette............ 49 W hitaker, Elisha.......................113 W hitaker, James....................... 113 W hite, Chester G...................... 82 White, Enoch J.......................... 82 W hite, Henry K........................ 78 White, Robert A.............. 79 White, Thomas V...................... 190 W hitehead, W. H...................... 49 W hiting, L. R..........................190 W ilber, Clarence G....................153 W ilcox, Lewis.......................... 210 W ilder, B. F...........................123 W ilder, R. E...........................123 W ilder, W.............................123 W illey, Abijah.........................146 Willey, Seth...........................146 W illiams, Anthony................... 153 W illiams, Henry H...................... 44 W illiams, John A......................127 W illiams, Leonard...................... 44 Williams, William B..................... 73 Wi'son, Henry B.......................195 W ilson, J. B..........................204 Wilson, John................141 Wilson, Rev. John B....................142 W inegar, Adam.................... 124 W inship, John......................... 134 Winslow, Joseph............... 114 Winslow, Wesley.......................114 W inslow, W illiam...................... 153 Woodruff, Edward T.................... 74 Woodruff, Rev. Jonathan Alden.......... 74 Yerex, D. V........................... 174 Yorker, Charles J....................... 81 Yorker, Charles L.:.................... 81 Young, W illiam......................... 153 Zavits, Nelson.......................... 111 — l jA - l - _ -As iC-: i - m w — II I I 1 CONTENT S- Continued. I I I "I i%- '1yrR 1*0rIIO. Abbott, John.......................... 63 An Early Cottage...................... 27 Bacon, D. C............................ 107 Bacon, Emma L..................... * * * 107 Bacon, D. C., Twin Elms Hotel.......... 107 Blow, James, Old Homestead............ 140 Blow, WVilliam H., Sheep Barns.........161 -Bonheur, Rosa.......................... 197 Brigham, Aaron..................... 85 Brigham, John......................... 89 Brigham, MIrs. John...................... 89 Bristol, Sheldon........................ 48 Bristol, Mrs. Shleldon.................... 48 Bristol, Sheldon, Residence............. 48 Brown, Charles W...................... 24 Brownell, Ellery A..................... 92 Back, William I., Residence............ 164 Bullock, Lewi s....................* 131 Carpenter, G. WT.,Residence.............. 98 Chapman, G. P....................... 57 Chapman, Mrs. G. P............****** 57 Chapman, G. P., Residence............ 179 Clark, John, Residence................. 17! Davenport, George, Residence............ 98 Emmons, B. R., Residence............... 98 Farnum, R. K., Residence............... 1 6I Gillings, Joshua, Residence.............. 188 Haddrill, L. J........................... 16 Hall, Charlotte......................... 113 Hall, Seth...................... 113 H art, A. N................................. 13 H art, R. G............................. 73 Higley, George W....................... 52 H illiker, L. L.......................... 107 Hossack, Duncan, Residence............ 179 Hough, John B......................... 36 Lamb, John M........................ 105, Lamb, M rs. J. M....................... 105 L ee, H enry............................ 158 Lee, Jesse.............................. 1191 Lee, Mirs. Jesse..................* * 119 Louks, W. H., Residence................ 30 M anwaring, J..................* * * * * 77 Manwaring, Mrs.J.................* 77 Miller, J. N., Residence................. 140 Pierson, Rufus........................ 144 Porter, Alvin.................. 126 Prince & Charley................ 179 Sanborn, O. T., Farm and Town Residence 30 Stone, Dr. D. F., Residence.................140 Struble, Lewis Y., Residence............ 140 Terry, George B., Residence............. 188 Treadway, Joseph.......-........... 135 Treadway, Mrs. Joseph.................. 1535 Turrill, James.......................*.** 80 Vincent, Shad. N....................... 68 WT illiams, Anthony.................... 153 Woodrnuff, J. A................ *.170 r I -,VW; I I (0 ) 1. ISC - l --- I 1 79 — 6 - ' 11 AAM _ -- 7-PI by A:.t *v I' *A ( (EC AT P _t MICHIGAN. R.X E., R.XI E. T. 10N FT lll t I I 1 FI I r ('I Hff Iml rF -—. --- —-—. —i R.XII E. L I Va 19 'if.._%;;fa _ OX-Y I Ir X i - -- - - - - - X= =, 20 ""r~-~ 23 I.. __ N. -.. I."I... A it n TT~laW T~~ I IP 1 I, 20 II-.. 22 I I AI. 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AL R.XII ~E. - - - a i, \ -ff-W-P PA4G-E&~CP CNICAGOLU.Y 4-it-i -;c__aw i r HISTORYr OF LAPEER COUNTY. CHAPTER I. IMPORTANT GENERAL EVENTS.-INDIAN TREATIES.-IMMIGRATION COMMENCED. -ORGANIZATION, SURVEYS AND LOCATION OF LAPEER COUNTY SEAT. By anordinance of the Congress of the United States, passed July 13, 1787, the whole of the territory of the United States, lying northwest of the Ohio River, though still occupied by the British, was organized as the "Northwest Territory," of which General Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor. The ordinance of 1787 provides that there shall be appointed, from time to time by Congress, a governor, a secretary and three judges, who should be residents and freeholders within the territory. It further provides that the territory should be divided into not less than three nor more than five States, and that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes.' In pursuance of the treaty of November 19th, 1794, Captain Porter, in the beginning of June, 1796, with a detachment of American troops, took possession of Detroit, entered the fort which the British had previously evacuated, and flung to the breeze the first American flag that ever floated over the Peninsula State. By an act of Congress, approved May 7, 1800, the territory northwest of the Ohio River, was divided into two separate territories, and "all that part of the territory of the United States, northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada," was constituted a separate territory, to be called the "Indiana Territory," the seat of government of which was established at St. Vincennes, Chillicothe being the seat of government of the Northwest Territory. Of this Territory (Indiana), General William HIenry Harrison was appointed governor. \ By an act of Congress, approved January 11, 1805, it was provided, "that from and after the 30th day of June of that year, all that part of Indiana Territory, which lies north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend, or extreme, of Lake Michigan, until it shall intersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said southerly bend, through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, shall constitute a separate territory, and be called Michigan. " The act further provides that the territory shall have the same form of government as provided by the ordinance of 1787, that the governor, secretary and judges shall be appointed by the President of the United States, and that Detroit shall be the seat of government. On July 1, 1805, General William Hull, the newly appointed governor, assumed the duties of his office at Detroit. On the 11th of June previous, Detroit had been destroyed by fire. Like most of the frontier settlements, it had been compressed within a very small compass,-the streets scarcely exceeding the breadth of common alleys. General Hull at once turned his attention to the subject, and laid out the town in its present shape, the arrangement of which is attributed to Judge Woodward, one of the pioneers of the Territorial court. On the 18th of June, 1812, war was declared by Congress against Great Britain. Previous to, and in anticipation of the declaration of war, General Hull, governor of Michigan Territory, was appointed commander-in-chief of all the forces of the Northwest. On the 9th of July General Hull received orders from the secretary of war, to proceed with his army and take possession of Malden, (which was the key to that portion of the British provinces), if consistent with the safety of his posts. The garrison was weak, and seemed an easy conquest. Having arranged for the expedition, General Hull crossed the Detroit River on the 19th day of July, and encamped at Sandwich, where the army remained in a state of inactivity for nearly a month, when, intimidated by the hostile manifestations of the Indians, and the report that a large British force would soon arrive at Malden, without having made an attack he re-crossed the river to Detroit on the 9th day of August, where he remained until the 15th, the day of his inglorious surrender. A provisional government was established by the British, at Detroit, and a small force placed in the fort. On the 10th of September, 1813, the victory of Commodore Perry, in the battle of Lake Erie, resulted in restoring Michigan to the Union, and on the 29th of the same month, Detroit was occupied by a detachment of the army of General Harrison. On October 9th, 1813, Colonel Lewis Cass, who had rendered essential service to the territory, was appointed governor of Michigan. Congress, in 1823, by an act providing for the establishment of a legislative council, invested the territory with a more energetic and compact government. The council was to consist of nine members, to be appointed by the President of the United States, with the consent of the Senate, from eighteen candidates elected by the people of the Territory. They, with the governor, were invested with the same powers which had been granted by the ordinance of 1787 to the government of the Northwest Territory. By that act the legislative power of the governor and judges was taken away, the term of judicial office was limited to four years, and eligibility to office required the same qualifications as the right of suffrage. The first legislative council of Michigan convened on the 7th of June, 1824, at Detroit. In 1831 General Cass having been appointed secretary of war, he was succeeded by George B. Porter in the government of the Territory. During his administration, Wisconsin, which had before been annexed to Michigan, was erected into a separate Territory. On the 6th of July, 1834, Governor Porter died, and was succeeded by Stevens T. Mason. In the spring of 1835, a controversy arose in regard to the L k9 -: __,, i_ bp 6 in J i E! ^ ----- \ " I I 10 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. I boundary line between Michigan and Ohio, and the right to a valuble strip of land, to which both laid claim; the former under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, and the latter under a provision in their State constitution. Each party sent a military force to the frontier, the one to sustain, and the other to extend jurisdiction over the territory in dispute. A high state of excited public feeling existed, but the most serious inconvenience suffered by either party was the apprehension and temporary imprisonment of a few persons. By an act of Congress, passed June 15, 1836, the Constitution and State government of Michigan were accepted, and upon condition of accepting the boundary claimed by Ohio, she was admitted into the Union. These terms were exceedingly unsatisfactory to the people of Michigan, who were impatiently.awaiting recognition as a State government, having elected their State officers in the month of October of the previous year. A convention held at Ann Arbor, on the 14th and 15th of. December, 1836, resolved to accept the conditio n imposed in the proposition of Congress, at the same time protesting against the right of Congress, under the constitution, to require this preliminary assent as a condition of admission into the Union. By act of Congress, approved January 26, 1837, Michigan was declared "to be one of the United States, and anlmitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever." By an act of the legislature, approved March 16, 1847, the seat of government was removed from Detroit to Lansing. TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS. Before passing from these general events it will be well to notice the three important treaties with the Indians, by means of which settlement was made possible. The first treaty of importance, which was made for the extinguislllllhent of the Indian title to the soil of what now comprises the state of Michigan, was the one entered into by William Hull, then governor of Michigan as a territory, and ex-officio superintendent of Indian affairs, with the natives at Detroit, in 1807, when a tract of land in the south-eastern part of the State was ceded by them to our government. Detroit and a belt of land adjacent to it, lying along the river and lake, six miles in width, were not affected by this grant, we having before that succeeded to the possessory rights of Great Britain to the District of Detroit, so called, which she had held for a series of years co-extensive with the claims of her predecessor, France, and which, by the treaty of Greenville, made by General Wayne on behalf of our government in 1795, had been reassured to and made perfect in us. With that exception, the title to the southeasterly part of our State was obtained from the natives by the treaty of 1807. The northerly line of this grant included only small portions of what are now the counties of Lapeer and Genesee, and was a little north of their southern boundaries, thus leaving Saginaw River and its principal affluents, the Flint, the Cass, etc., entirely unaffected by the provision of that treaty. This portion of the State remained in Indian possession, with the rights of the natives intact and unaffected until the treaty of Saginaw of 1819. In that treaty the Saginaw region was particularly interested, for the cessions of lands then made by the natives, with the reservations therein provided for, include the rich and flourishing valleys of the Saginaw and its tributaries. General Cass was commissioned to act as the agent of the general government in securing to it this important addition to our territory. He appeared upon the Saginaw, upon the site of what is now Saginaw City, September 10, 1819, accompanied by a staff of interpreters and assistant. The conference lasted ten or twelve days and witnessed many stormy scenes, but the terms of treaty were, at length, calmly discussed and agreed to. The harmonious adjustment of their differences was reached chiefly through the instrumentality of Stephen V. R. Riley, an Indian trader who married a squaw, and Jacob Smith another trader. In the treaty agreed to, the Indians ceded to the United States all but 40,000 acres of their territory, reserved for the benefit of the tribe in common. In 1837 another treaty was made with the Indians, in which they ceded to the United States the 40,000 acres belonging to the tribe in common. According to the terms of this treaty the government was to cause the land to be surveyed and put into market at $5.00 per acre and held at that price for a certain length of time, and then what remained unsold should be reduced to a minimum of $2.50 per acre and the Indians to receive the avails of the sales after deducting the cost of survey and sale and a large amount advanced to them with which to pay their debts. The chiefs who visited Washington to perfect this sale were, O-ge-mLa-ke-ga-to, Ton-dog-a-ne, Sha-e-be-no-se, Wos-so, Mose-gaskink, Ma-sha-way and Nau-qua-chic-a-me. The white men were Henry O. Connor, Capt. Joseph F. Marsac and Charles Rodd, a half-breed, as interpreters, and Gardner D. and Benjamin O. Williams. The result of this visit was that Mr. Schoolcraft was ordered to call a meeting at Flint, for the purpose of concluding the treaty, which was done. The treaty of 1819 was a very important one, as this portion of the State was then in Indian possession, and the object of the government was the cession by the natives of the vast tract in which was included the rich and flourishing valleys of the Saginaw and its tributaries. The chief speaker for the Indians was O-ge-ma-ke-gato, and he opposed the proposition of Gen. -Cass with indignation. Said he: "You do not know our wishes. Our people wonder what has brought you so far from your homes. Your young men have invited us to come and light the council fire; we are here to smoke the pipe of peace, but not to sell our lands. Our American father wants them. Our English father treats us better. He has never asked for them. You flock to our shores; our waters grow warm; our lands melt like a cake of ice; our possessions grow smaller and smaller. The warm wave of the white man rolls in upon us and melts us away. Our women reproach us; our children want homes. Shall we sell from under them the spot where they spread their blankets? We have not called you here; we smoke with you the pipe of peace." The treaty was finally made and the Indians returned to their lodges. The Chippewa nation was then comprised of ten or twelve bands, each governed by a hereditary chieftain. These chiefs formed a council which governed the nation and elected the ruling chief annually. O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to was not a chief by blood, but his remarkable intellectual qualities as well as his undaunted courage, made him a power among his people, and at the early age of twenty-five he was a leading spirit. Gen. Cass was surprised at the remarkable brain-power-of the man, and remarked that he was "the smartest and most eloquent Indian he had ever met." His administration of the affairs of his people was-so satisfactory that for over thirty consecutive years he was annually re-elected to the position of hlead chief. He never ruled a single band until in the later years of his life, when he became chief of the Tittabawassee band, to which he belonged. His power of oratory made him a great favorite with his people, and the fame of O-ge-ma-ke-ga-to spread far and wide. Subse-:: I 0: v 4 --- -- — l i 14 I (RaI I I/ I I I 4 I a HfISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 11 quently, at the ratifvving of the reservation treaty at Detroit, many learned and able lawyers were present, not one of whom, after hearing his great speech interpreted, dare to accept hzis-challenge to discuss the questions affectingo the Indians' welfare with him.. After the treaty of- Saginaw had been ratified and the Indians had becomue reconrciled to the encroachmrent of the white Mail, O-gema-ke-ga-to was quite friendly, and, like an hzonorable man, endeavored to fulfill his obligations to the new com~ers unlder the treaty. IMIMIGRATION COMMENCED. Prior to thle administration of Governor Cass there wras a general opinion that the wh~ole peninsula was one vast swamp and wholly un~fit for cultivation. The commissioners sent out to 'Locate bounty lands for soldiers, after visiting Detroit and going a few miles west, pronounced the country-iothing but morass, and cousequently the bounty lands were located elsewhere. This report retarded immigration but the ultimate result was advantageous, inasmuch as when the tide of immigration did reach its shores it brought thither the better class of population. Gov. Cass procured a survey of the territory and a, wagon road was laid out from Detroit to Chicago. By this means the country was brought into notice and its real merits made known. In 1818 some of the public- lands which had been surveyed, were brought into market and a, steatdy flow of immigration began. The population of the territory increased from 8,876 in 1820, to 31,630 in 1830. ORGANIZING COUNTIES. Monloroe county was organized July 14, '1807; Malt-comnb county, Jatnuary 15, 1818; Oakiland county, nMarch 28, 1820; St. Clair County, May 18, 1821. About this time, as previously mentioned, immigration began to increase rapidly, and on September 10, 1~822, Governor Cass, under the provisions of an act of Congress approve, July 13, 1787, laid out tenl new counties, of wht'ic11 L;2peer was one; although there was not, at; that time nor for several years afterward, a single white inllabitant within its boundaries. The proclamation issued by Governor Cass was as follows: "And I have also thoughzt it expedient to lay out the followingI~ county; that is to say: '"All'thee country includled in thze following boundaries, begrinning at the northwest corner of the county of St. Clair, and runnzing thence wTest to th~e line between the sixth andl seventh railges,, east of the principal meridian; thence south 'to the line between the townships numbered five and six, north of the base line; thence east to tkhe line between tile twelfth and thirteenth ranges, east of the principal meridian; thence north to the place of beginning; sball form a countv to be called the county of Lapeer. "Given' under ruy Phand, at Detroit, this 10th day of Septem — ber,, in the year of our Lord 1822, and of the Independence of the United States the forty-seventh. LEW. CASS. " it is said that thie name "Lapeer" was derived from a French word lapier, signifying flint-an idea suggested by the flinty sub — stances found along the banks' of the Flint River, and for a long time was called Lapier, subsequently the i was dropped and e substituted; since whnich2 time it has been known as Lapeer. LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT. In 1830 Governor Cass appointed S. T. R. Trowbridge, G. O. W~hitmuore and Hervey Parkes, the latter a surveyor, and all of Oak land County, commissioners to locate the county site of Lapeer Co unty. The commissioners left Pontiac September 14, 1830, taking with them one Josiah Terry as guide. They encamped the first night o11 the W~hitmore plains about twelve miles so~uth~ of their destination. On the following day, September 15th, they established the county site on the northeast fractional quarter of section 5, township 7 north, range 10 east, and thus described in the proclamation of Governor Cass. A point bearing south forty-six degrees thirty minutes west and distant twenty-seven chains from tile northeast corner of section 5 in town 7 north, of range 10 east, and a short distance northwest from the junction of Farmzers' Creeki withn Flint River on lands owned by the United States, being as near as may be the location of the buildings now occupied by the county of Lapeer. After completing their work, the commissioners returned to the camp of the day previous, where they spent the night, but on awakening the next morning Terry was nowhere to be foundl, and wyas next beard of in Detroit. Terry being in the emlploy of Judlge Leroy, of Pontiac, and the records of the U~nitedt States land office showing Danieel Leroy, of Pontia~c, as having bought the land above dlescribedl as the county site of the embryo county of Lapeer, was a very satisfactory explanation of his mysterious disappearance. COUNTY SURVEY. Lapcer" County as first laid out contained twenty-seven townships of laznd, tile bounddaries of which have already been described in the proclamation of Governor Cass. The contract for surveying the countryv betwyeen range 8 cast and Lakie H~uron, extending north to Saginaw Bay. and south to towllship 6, embracingg about eighty townships of land in what are now thle counties of Saginatw, Tuscola, Huron, Sanilac, St. Clair, Lapeer and Genesee, hald been let to Joseph Wampler, a surveyor from Ohio. In tile fall of 1822 Wampler had surveyed about twenty-four townships, atnd being completely daunzted by the hardships of the work, finally atbandloned it, leaving the north line of township 10 unsurveyed, and returned at once to his home in Ohio. It is said hne was starved out by the failuare of the packmnen, their sole means of procuring supplies being to make their way throuigh swamps whlere they wouzld be! nearly stung to death by mosa uitoes. Thlis work: was not resumed' till January, 1834, when Hervey ~Parkies, the surveyor wh~o bad assisted in laying out the county site of Lapeer Couutygv, undertookr to complete the job, which b e finally succeededi in doing after elicounterin.6- terrible hasrdships. Lapeer, which had become qiuite a little hamlet, was t~he headquatrters of the surveying party. The show wats then eighteen inches deep, andt the streams not yet frozen over. After a few weeks' hard work,, the first dav of wh~ich they failed to reach their camp and were obliged to remuain all nightt in the woods without supper, tents or blankets, they abandoned it for a time. During this survey it was no uncommon thing for each man to shoulder and carry during the day a pacsk containing a blankeet and several days' provisions. Under such toils it is not surprishr~g that the myen soon became exhausted. After six weekrs' rest tile w~ork was resumed, andc this timne Parktes made three deposits of p~rovisions; one at Lapeer, another at Ml'ill Creek, and a third at Burfch's M~iill, on Blatck River, -six miles north of Port Huron.. Here he expected to be able to use p~ack horses, but was soon obliged to send them back to Romeo and rely entirely on packmen. They were at best able to make but thlree Miles a day, often not more than two, as ruuch of the way the men would sink to their knees at every step inl the soft and spongy soil. During the survey a packman was lost while returning from ttlie, deposit -at Mill Creek, and wandered in thle woods until he fortunately met a packman returning from the Burch Mill deposit, who piloted him into camp, from which he had been absent two weeks, having suffered hardships in his aimlless wanderings in the wctilderness. I They were at last obliged to return home in April and wait until autunin to finish their work, wFhen they found the country in i I'll -1 -Al -46 1 i 4 - I - & — 4m -- 77 -- C I~ -I. O -____. 4- Vr^ms __ aI II 12 12 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. I - a better state, the water being partially drained from the surface. The work was finally completed in February, 1835, and the party returned home, more than twelve years having elapsed since Wampler began the lines. Messrs. M. B. Smith and E. J. White, of Lapeer, were engaged in this survey, and so far as known Mr. Smith is the only survivor of the party. Mr. Smith, speaking of their experiences, says: "We were frequently obliged to lay down poles and pile on them hemlock boughs to keep out of the water while we slept. I remember we built one camp fire on the earth, covering roots of an overthrown hemlock, after driving center poles to scaffold up to the fire. The difficulty of transporting provisions caused us to be on short allowance, and I well remember at one time when our hunger had not been satisfied for days, and while establishing a corner on the bank of Lake Huron a couple of the boys killed a coon when starting for camp, and not being able to reach it before night, we roasted one-quarter of the coon for our supper and lay down blanketless for our night's repose. The remainder of the little animal, with the last pint of flour at camp, was quickly disposed of on our arrival." CHAPTER II. LAPEER COUNTY ORGANIZED-COUNTY OFFICERS-EARLY ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS —TOWNS ORGANIZED-FIRST SETTLEMENT- PERIOD OF THE LAND FEVER. Lapeer County was organized by an act of the legislative council of the territory of Michigan, approved January 20, 1835, and reads as follows: SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislative Council of the l'erritory of Michigfan, That the county of Lapeer shall be organized from and after the taking effect of this act, and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which, by law, the inhabitants of other counties of this territory are entitled. SEC. 2. That all suits, prosecutions, and other matters now pending before any of the courts of record of Oakland County, or before any justice of the peace of said county, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution; and all taxes heretofore levied and now due shall be collected in the same manner as though the county of Lapeer had not been organized. SEC. 3. That the circuit court for the county of Lapeer shall be holden on the Tuesday next after the third Monday in February, and on the first Tuesday after the seeond Monday in July. SEC. 4. That the sheriff for the county of Lapeer shall provide a convenient place for holding courts in said county, at or near the county seat, until public buildings shall be erected. SEC. 5. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first Monday of February next. Approved January 20, 1835. There were then three organized townships in the county: Grand Blanc, consisting of the four southwestern townships of the county, now a part of the county of Genesee, organized March 9, 18338. Bristol was organized March 7, 1834, comprising townships 6 and 7 north, of range 12 east, now known as the townships of Almont and Imlay. Lapeer Township was organized December 30, 1834, and comprised all of the county of Lapeer, not included in the townships of Bristol and Grand Blanc. By the terms of the act under which the county was organized, the inhabitants were entitled to all the rights and privileges of the dwellers in other counties of the territory. The first election of county officers was held on the 7th and 8th of November, 1836. There are no records of this election among the county records, but in the records of the township of Hadley, which was organized March 22, 1836, therev is a record of it, and William Hemingway and N. H. Hart give the following list of officers elected at that time: Sheriff, Samuel Merlin; clerk, Noah H. Hart; treasurer, Joseph B. Hart; register, Caleb Carpenter; judge of probate, Henry lM. Look. COUNTY OFFICERS. County officers elected since that time have been as follows: 1838: Sheriff, Minor Y. Turrill; treasurer, William Hart; clerk, Elijah B. Witherba; register, William S. Higley, Jr. 1840: Sheriff, John Shafer; treasurer, Horace Hinman; clerk, Noah H. Hart; register, William T. Mitchell; probate judge, Mason Butts. 1841: Alanson Porter was elected register to fill vacancy caused by removal from the county of William Mitchell. 1842: Sheriff, David Ingalls; treasurer, Horace Hinman; clerk, Augustus G. Pratt; register, M. B. Smith. 1844: Sheriff, James Bullock; treasurer, Horace Hinman; clerk, John W. Day; register, George F. Ball; probate judge, James M. Needham. 1846: Sheriff, Harvey C. Mills; treasurer, Horace Hinman; clerk, William Buck; register, George F. Ball; probate judge, Alvin N. Hart. 1848: Sheriff, Garry Goodrich; treasurer, Horace Hinman; clerk, William Beech; register, George F. Ball; judge of probate, Jacob Van Antwerp. 1850: Sheriff, Walter P. Beach; treasurer) William H. Clark, clerk, William Beech; register, Reuben McArthur. 1852: Sheriff, George W. Rood; treasurer, William H. Clark; clerk and register, William Beech; probate judge, N. B. Eldridge; prosecuting attorney, John M. Wattles. 1854: Sheriff, George W. Rood; treasurer, William H. Clark; clerk and register, William Beech; prosecuting attorney, A. C. Maxwell. 1856: Sheriff, James More; treasurer, M. B. Smith; clerk and register, Charles Rich; probate judge, Charles Kellogg; prosecuting attorney, Charles M. Walker. 1858: Sheriff, James More; treasurer, M. B. Smith; clerk and register, Charles Rich; prosecuting attorney, Charles M. Walker. 1860: Sheriff, Samuel Carpenter; treasurer, D. E. Hazen; clerk, Hubbell Loomis; register, William Arnold; judge of probate, Wesley Vincent; prosecuting attorney, Silas B. Gaskill. 1862: Sheriff, E. R. Emmons; treasurer, M. B. Smith; clerk, Hubbell Loomis; register, William Arnold; prosecuting attorney, Silas B. Gaskill. 1864: Sheriff, John B. Sutton; treasurer, William W. Barber; clerk, Jasper Bentley; register, U. D. Bristol; 'probate judge, Charles Rich; prosecuting attorney, Silas B. Gaskill. 1866: Sheriff, L. B. Eldridge; treasurer, William W. Barber; clerk, Jasper Bentley; register, U. D. Bristol; prosecuting attorney, Silas B. Gaskill. 1868: Sheriff, John B. Sutton; treasurer, William Arnold; clerk, Jasper Bentley; register, U. D. Bristol, probate judge, John B. Hough; prosecuting attorney, Stephen V. Thomas. 1870: Sheriff, Alonzo S. Hatch; treasurer, Orville O. Morse; clerk, Jasper Bentley; register, John Abbott; prosecuting attorney, William W. Stickney. 1872: Sheriff, U. D. Bristol; treasurer, Orville O. Morse; clerk, Jasper Bentley; register, Robert L. Taylor; prosecuting attorney, Joseph B. Moore. 1874: Sheriff,'Alonzo S. Hatch; treasurer, Orville O. Morse; clerk, Jasper Bentley; register, Robert L. Taylor; prosecuting attorney, Joseph B. Moore. j e I al - -I r' --. IN- - 'lb II I Or:;i -'I.::~w b i:: 8*::: "~~-:~-:il~ i-cE3ranewahs#rsrwJ::-li : I r; F$JI '~;-;8:4 k:.:~ hs::~.,; li6 D: -.:::::, i::;-:. :: Fli:: d: =:~r: d gl(j:ii"i, I, ir"t K ( t': i::~ ~.~&RIPB ' i: ~,:~; —::;? i —.; I BP "~~s's ;:I.k - P siur iF$i~;a:i ia i::::'' i: i13 ~: (;z:N:9: ~ ri"bi''`r i i. :; 8~a;~ ly J~i:i:: ~: ~ ~~:~:,-i.: - p19a3A -— I = — _-I~IPPPIILCRV"TILI--.: L~, C1 :I:;,, Mij i-,..:1 -pi:: ~"b 4 _ __.. -- /, - I1 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 13 I 1876: Sheriff, William Townsend; treasurer, Henry Lee; clerk, Henry A. Birdsall; register, Charles W. Ballard; probate judge, John B. Hough; prosecuting attorney, Harrison Geer. 1878: Sheriff, William Townsend; treasurer, Henry Lee; clerk, Henry A. Birdsall; register, Charles W. Ballard; prosecuting attorney, Harrison Geer. 1880: Sheriff, William Colerick; treasurer, William B. Hamilton; clerk, Henry A. Birdsall; register, Edward T. Woodruff; probate judge, Charles W. Brown; prosecuting attorney, Robert L. Taylor. 1882: Sheriff, William Colerick; treasurer, William B. Hamilton; clerk, Henry A. Birdsall; register, Edward T. Woodruff; prosecuting attorney, William B. Williams. The earliest records in the clerk's office are dated 1838. The election of that year was held November 13 and 14, for the inhabitants were so scattered and there being no roads, it was deemed necessary to keep the polls open for two days. A law had been passed in the meantime vesting the powers hitherto held by the board of supervisors in a board of three county commissioners, one of which was to be elected at each annual election. At the first election of course three were to be elected for one, two and three years respectively. That law was long since repealed and the power returned to the board of supervisors. In the winter of 1835-'36 the first board of supervisors for Lapeer County met at the county seat. There were but two members, Caleb Carpenter, of Bristol, and J. R. White, of Lapeer. The first meeting of supervisors of which there is any record in the clerk's office was held on the first Monday in July, 1842, and ten towns were represented. At this session of the board the total equalized valuation of the real and personal property of the county was determined to be $500,824.88. The aggregate State and county tax was $4,085.41. COURT-HOUSE. The years between 1835 and 1840 brought a wonderful increase of population to this county, mostly an excellent class of people, as regards intelligence and good morals,4,and natives of New England and eastern New York, as firm and as unbending as their own granite hills. Being of this description it is not surprising that various feuds and parties arose, and animosities were kindled, which it was the work of many years to subdue. The most serious of these was what has been styled " the court-house war." The first court-house built in the county was destroyed by fire before it was entirely finished. It was located at the lower ends of the town, a little north and east of the present building. The citizens at the upper part of the town were very anxious to secure the court-house site, and many hard things were said on both sides. When the first court-house was burned it was thought by some to have been the work of an incendiary. A court-house however was a prime necessity, and both factions made a most determined effort to secure the coveted building. Hon. A. N. Hart built the house now used by the county, at an expense of $10,000, which was really a beautiful building for the times. The White brothers built a plainer one about 1840 on the site of the present high school building. After a bitter struggle, Mr. Hart's building was accepted by the board of supervisors, at a cost to the county of about $3,000, greatly to the chagrin of Messrs. White, but really they had done a better work for ttiunty than Mr. Hart. Their house had a beautiful locat iso became known as the Lapeer Academy building. In K i it became the property of the district and for the next ~tw*,X the high school building of the city. The district retairils+:d d when the old building became unfit for use it was repll^ fic3^ jpresent elegant and commodious structure. Thus good: fromr the acrimonious contest. TOWNSHIPS ORGANIZED. GRAND BLANC. —The first township organized was Grand Blanc, March 9, 1833; composed of townships 6, 7 and 8 north, in range 7 east, and townships 6 and 7 north, in range 8 east. The first township meeting was held at the house of Rufus Stevens. MIA.-The second township organized in the county was Mia, March 7, 1834; composed of townships 6 and 7 in range 12 east. The first township meeting held at the house of Daniel Black. Dec. 12, 1834, the name Mia changed to Bristol. April 7, 1846, the name Bristol changed to Almuont. LAPEER.-Dec. 30, 1834, the township of Lapeer was organized, including all of the county of Lapeer, not included in the townships of Grand Blanc and Bristol. First township meeting held at house of E. H. Higley. Previous to this the inhabitants of this extensive tract of country were obliged to go to Pontiac to pay taxes and attend to all judicial business. ATLAS.-March 22, 1836, the township of Atlas was organized, embracing township 6 and the south half of township 7 north, in range 8 east. The first township meeting held at Davison's mills. HADLEY.-March 22, 1836, the township of Hadley was organized, embracing township 6 north, range 9 east, and township 6 north, range 10 east. The first township meeting held at the house of Timothy Wheeler. Territory attached to the county of Lapeer and made a part of the township of Lapeer. March 28, 1836, that part of the United States survey, lying north of the county of Lapeer, designated as the townships in ranges 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 east, now the county of Tuscola, was attached to the county of Lapeer for judicial purposes, and was attached to and made a part of the township of Lapeer. RICHFIELD.-March 11, 1837, all that portion of the United States survey, designated as the north half of township 7 and township 8 north, in range 8 east, was organized as the township of Richfield. The first township meeting held at the house of Draper and Witherbee. LOMOND. —March 11, 1837, township 6 north, range 11 east, and township 7 north, range 11 east, were organized as the township of Lomond. First township meeting held at the house of Daniel Smith. Dunham.-April 2, 1838, the name Lomond changed to Dunham. Dryden.-April 3, 1839, the name Dunham changed to Dryden. METAMORA.-April 2, 1838, township 6 north, range 10 east, detached from the township of Hadley and organized as the township of Metamora. First township meeting held at the house of Tobias Price. ELBA.-April 2, 1838, township 7 north, range 9 east, was detached from the township of Lapeer and organized as the township of Elba. First township meeting held at the house of Wm. S. Bird. MARATHON.-March 22, 1839, all that part of the township of Lapeer designated as townships 8 and 9 north, range 9 east and township 9 north, range 10 east, was organized as the township of Marathon. The first township meeting was held at the house of Abijah Willey. DAVISON.-March 19, 1840, township 7 north, range 8 east, was detached from the townships of Atlas and Richfield and organized as the township of Davison. The first township meeting was held at the house of G. Townsend. ATTICA.-Feb. 16, 1842, township 7 north range 11 east, was detached from the township of Dryden and organized as the township of Attica. First township meeting held at the school-house near John B. Henderson's. kV I. *1I.1^1.'11I --- e c} e I4S'OR OFLAER OUT - - Q!!L. 14~ I i lI I 14 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. t both locatiilg lands in township 6 nortTl, of= range 12 east, now -know as Alulolzt. None of these persons however became actual I FOREST.-March 9, 1843, township 9 north and south half of township 10 north, range 8 east, and south half of township 10 north, range 7 east, was organized as the township of Forest. First township meeting of Forest held at the house of Stephen Beagle. MAYFIELD.-March 9, 1843, township 8 north, range 10 east, was organized as the township of Mayfield. First township meeting held at the school-house near Martin Stiles'. March 15, 1849, the township of Mayfield was attached to and made a part of the township of Lapeer. March 13, 1869, township 8 north, range 10 east, except that portion included in the limits of the city of Lapeer, was again organized as the township of Mayfield. First township meeting held at the school-house near Christopher Farnsworth's. OR(EGON. —March 2.5,1846, township 8 north, range 9 east, was detached from the township of Marathon, and organized as the township of Oregon. First township meeting held at the house of William Skinner. IMLAY.-March 25, 1850, township 7 north, range 12 east and township 8 north, of range 12 east, were detached from the townships of Almonot and Lapeer and organized as the township of Imlay. First township meeting held at the house of Joseph Deneen. GOODLAND. — Feb. 12, 1855, township 8 north, range 12 east, was detached froim Imlay and organized as the township of Goodland. First township meeting held at the house of Calvin C. Symons. ALIsoN. —Feb. 13, 1855, township 9 north, and south half of township 10 north, range 12 east, were organized as the township of Alison. First township meeting held at the house of William Brown. Burnside.-March 17, 11863, th e name Alison changed to Burn side. NORTH BRANCH. —Dec. 18, 1855, township 9 north, range 11 east, was organizecd as the township of North Branch, by the board of supervisors. First township meeting held at the house of Richard Beech, the pioneer of the'township. Inspectors of election, James Deaming, Richard Beech and David C. Wattles. DEERFIELD. —De. 18, 1855, townships 9 and 10 north, range 10 east, were organized as the township of Deerfield. First township imeeting held at the house of Lorenzo Merrill. Inspectors of election, Lorenzo Merrill, Leonard Oliver and Martin Hoffman. BURLINGTON.-Dec. 18, 1855, township 10 north, range 11 east, was organized as the township of Burlington. First township meeting held at the house of Edward Spencer. Inspectors of election, Edward Spencer, Henry Bedell and William Kettle. ARCADIA.-Oct. o15, 1856, township 8 north, range 11 east, was organized as the township of Arcadia. First township meeting held at the house of William Shotwell. Inspectors of election, John B. Wilson, Joseph Wager and Samuel Fitch. RICH.-Dec. 1, 1859, township 10 north, range 10 east, was detached from the township of Deerfield and organized as the township of Rich. The first township meeting was held at the house of James Miles. Inspectors of election, Simeon Crawford, Horace Fox and James Miles. This completes the organization of the townships. Of these Grand Blanc, Atlas, Davison, Richfield and Forest now form a part of the county of Genesee, and township 10 north, range 9 east, once a part of the county of Lapeer, is now the township of Watertown, Tuscola County. FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. The first entry of land in the county was by Calvin C. Parks, and John K. Smith, of Oakland County, Michigan Territory, Dec. 12, 1825, the east half of northeast quarter of section 32, township 7 north, of range 12 east, now known as Imlay. The next entries were made by Lydia E. L. Chamberlain and Diana Kittridge, both of Macomb County, Feb. 15, 1828, and May 27, 1828, respectively, both locating lands in township 6 north, of range 12 east, now know as Almont. None of these persons however became actual settlers. The honor of being the first settler of the county belongs to James Deneen, from Trumbull County, Ohio, who located 80 acres, the west half of the northeast quarter section 9, township 6 north, of range 12 east, and removed there with his family in the autumn of 1828. For two years he was there alone, but in 1830 he was joined by Jonathan Sleeper, the brothers Oliver and Bezaleel Bristol, and Elijah Sanborn, who settled in the same township. Alo onut is therefore the oldest settled town in the county. PERIOD OF THE LAND FEVER. The years from 1833 to 1838 may probably be set down as the time when, more than in any number of corresponding years during the present century, occurred the greatest immigration from the Eastern to the Western States and Territories. It is safe to say that Michigan more than doubled her population during that brief period. The wvinding trails have disappeared, save here and there they may be traced through the groves of timber, and the broad highways have taken their place. The pioneer's log house has been replaced by others more commodious, ornamental and convenient. Villages have sprung up, and many of them grown into cities; railroads have traversed the country and spanned a continent. War has visited its destruction upon our fair land, and a race of people have been converted from slaves to freemen. IMany of those who brought civilization to this county now sleep with the fathers, but their children are honoring their parentage in their ways and works. By 1836 the spirit of land speculation, that had been rising for some time in the country, had reached its highest pitch. After I General Jackson, in 1833, caused the deposit of the surplus revenue of the United States to be witheld from the old United States Bank and deposited with the State banks, large amounts accumulated in the vaults of the latter, which President Jackson encouraged the banks to loan to individuals by saying that it was by means of the trade of the merchants in paying the import duties on their merchandise into the treasury that the money had accumulated, and it was no more than right that they should have the use of the money to facilitate the operations of their business. But by this hint to the banks they were not particular as to the business which the parties were engaged in who desired loans, and almost any one who was thought shrewd enough to make a good speculation by investing money, could obtain a loan. After the money was borrowed the point was to- make a profitable investment of it, and nothing looked more attractive than the virgin soil of the West, where Uncle Sam possessed millions of broad acres which he could dispose of in parcels of forty acres, or in other subdivisions of sections, at the rate of $1.25 per acre. Michigan was then considered the El Dorado of the West. A heavy emigration from New York and the New England States had for three or four years previously, directed its course to the beautiful peninsula, so that at about the year 1836, parties having money to invest thought it beyond a doubt that if they should forestall those immigrants and purchase the land from the United States, they would receive a large advance from those who wished to make actual settlement. In view of: above mentioned facts it was not likely that those specul casting their eyes over the map of Michigan for a pl their investments, would overlook that part of the ~1 deep indentation of the Saginaw penetrates the h- t - sula and the branches of the broad river eda: out ';every direction like the branches of an enormous tree, e of which V — p I I I i I I I v S. i> I I II." 1 l IC r --- - 7- '"' I -40 K-0 M_ — 4 1 I e1. i - - - - - - ^ - 0 l HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 16 is the medium through which tile sap flows, as the outlet of the river is for the trade and commerce of a large portion of northern Michigan. Lapeer County, lying upon the margin of the Saginaw Valley, was proportionately affected with the balance of the Territory. In the fall of 1836 the land office was removed from Detroit te Flint. The office of the register while at Detroit was situated on Jefferson Avenue, just above the Biddle House, and so great was the rush for land in business hours, that parties wVishing to locate lands formed themselves into line and awaited their turn to present their minutes; but a favored few found access by way of the back door or through a window, and would get their locations secured ahead of the crowd. Looking land and furnishing minutes was a lucrative business and furnished employment to many of the early settlers. The description of the land selected was usually kept a secret until it was located at the office. Some parties coming from the East were not so cautious and would generally find when they went to the office to locate their lands that it hlad already been selected. After the land office was removed to Flint that place was thronged with speculators. Purchases of government lands were made with gold and silver. " Bill Gifford " kept a small hotel at Flint, and during the autumn of that year there were nights, when, it is said, more than $40,000 in specie was lying in different parts of the house, which had been brought by guests, who were waiting their turn to do business at the land office. The great financial panic of 1837 most effectually put a check upon the general movement westward, and the wildcat and safetyfund period of 1838 was the culmination of a series of events that brought distress and ruin upon thousands of business men, and consequent hardships, want and distress, upon all the inhabitants of the land, which has had no parallel during the present century, with the exception of the time of the rebellion. With all these calamities and hardships incident thereto, did the early settlers have to contend, and most heroically did they overcome, as an evidence of which the present prosperous condition of the county bears abundant and conclusive testimony. DESCRIPTIVE. Lapeer County is bounded on the north by Tuscola and Sanilac, on the east by Sanila.e and St. Clair, on the south by Macomb and Oakland, and on the west by Genesee and Tuscola. It has an area of 666 square miles, and had, in 1880, a population of 30,188. Lapeer, a city of 3,000 inhabitants, is the county seat. The surface of the county is quite rolling, with very little swvamp land. It is well watered by rivers and spring brooks. There is little available water power except for light work. The principal stream is the Flint River. There are a large number of small lakes and various creeks scattered over the country. The soil varies in the different townships from a sandy loam to a clay loam. The subsoil is invariably clay. The prevailing varieties of timber are beech, maple, ash, hickory, elm and walnut. The principal crops are winter wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, clover and timothy. Apples, pears, plums and grapes succeed well; peaches only in favorable localities, and in favorable seasons. The small fruits and berries grow in abundance, and good markets are found at the railroad stations for all the surplus fruit. The cost of clearing averages from $3 to $15 per acre, according as the timber has been burned off, with a good wood market at the mills and machine shops in Lapeer, and along the line of the railroad. There are no government or State lands of any value in the market. There is considerable unimproved land, with the pine and oak cut off, which can be had at from $5 to $15 per acre. The soil is of good quality, well adapted to agriculture. The "stump lands" also have a good soil, and are rapidly being taken up. Improved farms range in price from $20 to $80 per acre. There are three State roads running north and south; one from Imlay City to the forks of Cass River, one from Attica to Cass River, and one from Lapeer to Lexington, via North Branch. The county roads are generally in a good condition. Snow falls in November, but no sleighing is looked for before Christmas. The average depth is about a foot. When the fall of snow is light, the ground freezes to an average depth of two feet. Spring plowing begins from the 20th of March to the 1st of April. The schools and school buildings of Lapeer County are all good. Agriculture is the principal industry, though lumbering, charcoal burning, and the getting out of ties, posts and telegraph poles, is carried on to a considerable extent. Labor is in fair demand, particularly on farms during the sum-. mer season. Farm labor brings from $16 to $20 per month with board. Frorm $20 to $26 per month is paid in the lumber camps. The Chicago & Grand Trunk, the Detroit & Bay City, its branch to Five Lakes, the Almont branch of the Port Huron & Northwestern, and the Pontiac, Oxford & Port Austin Railroads enter the county at different points. The Otter Lake extension of the Flint & Pere Marquette, and the Port Huron & Northwestern, also touch the borders of the county, hence the farmer can find good markets in any direction, for anything he may have for sale. The numerous railroad facilities found within the borders of this county offer special advantages to many kinds of manufacturing enterprises, and there is every prospect that Lapeer will have its full quota of factories at no distant date. CHAPTER III. PIONEER PICTURES-GOVERNOR BAGLEY ON PIONEER LIFE-PIONEER WOMANHOOD —THE VILLAGE, ETC. The pioneers were not adventurers, but seekers after homes, and comforts for their families. Their endurance of present hardships was strengthened by hopes of future rewards. Back in their home amid pleasant surroundings and social privileges in some Eastern State or in one of the older counties of Michigan, husband and wife have debated earnestly and long the question of seeking a home in some new country where land was cheap. Late at night while the children slumbered and the babe worried in its mother's arms, the anxious parents weighed the hardships and privations, and the chances for home and comforts in the future. Often they traced upon the map the line of journey to some fancied spot. It was far into the forest, and as they pictured to themselves the pinched cabin in a little clearing, they could almost feel the loneliness which enveloped it. But while their gaze was fixed upon the painted section the mists of the future cleared away, the clearing expanded, vines crept up the cabin walls, and flowers sprang up about the door; a garden shaped itself beside the house and grain tops waved above the stumps; the forest river expanded and the fields grew cleaner, and then a cottage came between them and the pile of logs; into view came other farms and homes, the school-house and the church, and just beyond, the vil lage with its active life. Thus they saw the picture that fancy drew, and each knew that the question was settled with the other. In his dreams he hurls the glittering ax deep into the monarchs of the woods, and his slumbers are disturbed by the crash of falling trees. In her dreams she moves about the pictured cabin adding touches here and there, and sighs an accompaniment as she thinks of the sacrifice involved. The shadows are beginning to deepen in the thick woods, and 4 - #,Y 11 r -J1 ) N ad I r 16 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. the family of immigrants come to a halt in front of a cabin that is hedged about with stumps in the cramped clearing. The jaded oxen sink wearily upon their sides; the husband leans upon his ax and looks inquiringly at his wife whose tired gaze is fixed upon the cabin. Both are too much exhausted to talk or to analyze their feelings and see if the feeling that oppresses them is weariness or sadness. The wagon contains a motley aggregation. There is a stove, beds, a barrel of pork and another of flour, some boxes, and a few small articles that will be needed in the household. Upon an extemporized seat sits the wife and mother holding a babe in her arms, and the boy has clambered down to make an examination of the place. The journey has been a wearisome one. He has cut out the the road with his ax, and ever and anon has had to lift and pry his load out of the "cat holes" which were frequent along the way. He has been here before to chop the little clearing and prepare a shelter for his wife and little ones when they should come. Now they make such few preparations as are necessary for the night and then rest themselves until the morrow, when a new era of life will begin. Sometimes the journey has not been made as easily even as this one. Reminiscence is crowded with mishaps and trying situations through which pioneer families had to pass. Perhaps, as has been the case, the mud was deep, the heat intense. and flies vicious beyond description. At last when completely exhausted the oxen sink upon the ground unable to proceed, and the immigrants atre stalled in the woods five miles from their destination. Leaving I the team and load in the path and turning loose the cow that was: tied behind the wagon, the husbancd takes the babe il his arms and continues the journey on foot followed by his Nvife. Somehow they reach the end of their journey, and a night's rest is the only tonic or | liniment needed or used as a restorative. The shanty has not always been built in advance, and temporary shelter is provided until one can be built. The wagon is capable of being made serviceable in many ways, bowers are made, or the shanty of a settler already oln the ground, is made literally to swarm with the numerous families that seek shelter beneath its hospitable roof, for the door of a settler's cabin was never closed against a new comer while there was room upon the floor for another bank. House building was a simple job and soon accomplished. A few boards or logs hastily put together, some sort of covering for a roof, a blanket for a door, a sheet for window, and temporary quarters were provided. Once settled in their pioneer home, no matter how rude, the battle of life in the wilderness began, and as a rule was successfully waged. Privations and hardships were the rule rather than the exception. Provisions were scant even amidst the greatest plenty, for markets were far away and money scarce. Il one cabin potatoes and salt have been the diet for weeks at a time; in another, sifted bran has beelnthe only food the larder could produce, still other families have subsisted on berries and milk, or possibly only berries composed the bill of fare. But there was sunlight beaming through the rifts of clouds, and life had more of brightness than of glooml. Every fa nily knew their neighbor and the neighborhood was not circumscribed by boundaries. Thev knew all about the settlers in the next township, whence and wlhy they came, the amnount of money in each purse, and the quantity of provisions in each store, and no matter how low the flour in the barrel or the potatoes in the heap, enough always remained to divide until all were gone. These were months of the hardest toil, but this was not a con sideration with them, and they performed it with a relish. Every tree that fell crashing to the ground echoing and re-echoing among the pillars of God's temple, saluted their ears with music; every log heap, which, in the shades of night, sent a gleam of light through the dark forest, sent also a bright ray of hope to their hearts, and every clearing large enough to admit God's sunlight through to bathe the original soil gave to them an earnest of the harvest that, in time to come, should gladden their hearts and richly reward them for their labors. And so the clearing widened and bloomed; vines crept up and covered the cabin; flowers blossomed here and there, and slowly but surely the picture of their dreams was being brought out in more lasting colors, by these sturdy artists of the wilds. As farms multiplied the neighborhood grew smaller, aud communities formed. Along the forest paths came the itinerant preacher and religious worship was established. Some morning the chorus of children's voices about an abandoned shanty announced the opening of the first school. Interests and duties multiplied, the wilderness is pushed into the distance, and pioneer life has become a reminiscence of the past. GOVERNOR BAGLEY ON PIONEER LIFE. The late GovernorBagley, who was himself a pioneer, once drew the following excellent picture of pioneer life: "We find in the dictionary the word pioneer means to go before-prepare the way for. The noun pioneer meant originally a foot soldier or a foot passenger-one who goes before to remove -obstructions or prepare the way for others. How fully we who have been pioneers appreciate and understand these technical definitions of the word, and yet how incomplete and imperfect they are. Foot passengers, indeed, we were. It was easier to walk than to ride; but whether it was or not, we walked. The few household goods we ownedthe spinning wheel and the oven-filled the wagon, and mother and the children chinked into the spare places, and we and the dog walked. Preparers of the way, indeed, were we. The roads we built, the log bridges we threw across the streams we did not destroy, but left for those who were to come after us. The pioneer was unselfish. He cared not whether friend or foe was behind him; if he could make his way any more easy he was glad of it.He felt he was in partnership with the world-la fellow feeling made him wondrous kind.' He was the advance guard of an army-countless il numbers, irresistible in its power,-an army that knew no such word as fail, and listened to no order for retreat. The pioneer was the child of progress. He looked up, and not down; forward, and not back. Behind was the past; before him the future. He felt that the wise men came from the East, and took courage. The needle of his compass always pointed westward, and he followed it. Our pioneer dreamed dreams and saw visions. He dreamed of the old home on the hillsides of New England, or the quiet valleys of New York; of gray-haired father and mother, watching from the low doorway the departing children, or, perchance, sleeping in the village church-yard; perhaps of smaller green mounds covering his John or Kate; or of the country church, where theologic dust, knocked from the pulpit cushion in the good old orthodox way, had so often closed his eyes and ears on drowsy Sundaty afternoons; or of the spelling-bee or singing school, where he first met the country lass, 'Who, tying her bonnet under her chin, FEd tied the young man's heart within,' and kept it tied forever after. Il'is dreamis were of the yesterdays -his visions were of tomorrow. He foresaw hard work and- hard times, back-ache and heart-ache, blue days and weary nights; but he saw, too, in the i ii i,. i:j: E e f~f:I q - I (1) F 1'C. ii:0::f>0;0!i 'i X0:: 0 ~t::Eet.~.........;:::?:::....:...:::::: i:A: 0i: ~ CA~C n~i.: i i:! Tl -- D |I I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY 17 dim future, the town, the village, the city, the county, the State, an empire of itself; he saw schools and churches, factories and fertile fields, institutions of science and learning; he saw capital and labor, brain and body, mind and muscle, all employed in the advancement of civilization and the permanent improvement of mankind. And of all this he was to be a part and parcel. What visions were these! Do you wonder that the pioneer was brave, cheerful and faithful? "Though his visions were grand, the realization is grander still. He builded better than he knew, but with abundant faith in the future, adopted as the motto of the State, 'Si qul(eris peninssulamr, amneanamn. circutmspice-(If thou seekest a beautiful peninsula, behold it here),'-and, thanks to his right arm and courageous heart, we do behold it, covered with quiet villages, thriving cities, fruitful fields, and blooming orchards, dotted all over with schools and colleges, churches and public institutions, that tell the story of a civilization, grand in its conception and mighty in its.progress. This is the handiwork of the pioneer, the ripened crop of the whitecovered wagon. "We look back to the old times as hard times, and so they were; full hearts and empty purses, hard work and plenty of it, shivering ague and wasting fever, were the common lot of our early settlers, yet they hlad their share of good times too, and were free from many a plague that annoys their children. i"Hard money and soft money were not debatable questions. You may remember the story of the man who, when he heard that the bank of Constantine had failed, said his heart came into his mouth when he heard of it, and he rushed home and to the bureau drawer, when he found he hadn't any Constantine money, or any other sort. He was a pioneer. "Butter and eggs were pin-money; wheat paid the store-keeper; sled length, knotty wood, that wouldn't make fence rails, paid the minister, while an occasional pig, or a grist of corn or wheat paid the doctor. Trade was the order of the day,-the necessity of the time. And so we traded, and dickered, and swapped, exchanging products and helping one another; and while in the outside world bankers talked of stocks and values, politicians quarreled over tariffs and free trade, and statesmen wrote of the laws of trade, of corporations, monopolies, finances, etc., somehow or other, in our trading and dickering, we managed to grow a little better off from year to year. "Quarrelsome school meetings were unknown in those days. We never fought over thie question of whether we should build a three-story school-house with a basement, or a four-story one without; or whether we should put a cupola or a mortgage upon it. We built our log school-house, set the teacher at work, and boarded him round the neighborhood. The religious life of the pioneer was free of sectarianism. The itinerant minister doing his Master's work was always welcome to home and hearth-stone. The schoolhouse was open to him, regardless of his creed. He baptized, and buried, and married, and asked no questions, and got but few fees. "The different schools of medicine let the pioneer kindly alone. The boneset and wormwood, pennyroyal and catnip that hung on the chimney-breast, or on the rafters in the roof, were commonly enough; but if not, when we called in the hard-worked, poorly-clad, yet patient and jolly doctor, we did not question his "pathy" or his diploma. It may have been parchment or paper, from a college on earth, or in no-man's land, but we were sure his pills would be big enough, and that we could safely trust his jalap and cream of tarter, his calomel and quinine. "Questions of domestic economy and home discipline, that do worry the best of us nowadays, gave the pioneer but little trouble. No dispute could be gotten up over the pattern of the parlor carpet, for they hadn't any, or, if they had, it was of rags. "The fashion plates did not reach the woods in those days, and Jane's bonnet and Charlie's coat were worn, regardless of style, till they were worn out, and then they were made over for the younger clhildren. Who called first, and who called last, and who owed calls, were not debatable questions with our mothers; they visited when they had time and wanted to, and when they didn't they stayed at home. "Insurance agents did not worry the pioneer,-his log house was fire proof. Patent-right peddlers haunted him not, for necessity made him his own inventor. Lightning-rod agents, smooth-tongued and oily, let him alone, as lightning had no terrors for him. The jaunty, affable sewing machine man had not been born to trouble the soul of our mothers. "Mellifluous melodeons were not set upD in the parlor on trial. The robins and frogs, the orioles and the owls made music enough for him. "The height and color, the architecture and structure of the first house gave us no uneasiness. It was built of logs any way. If we were inclined to be extravagant, we painted the door and window-casings red, making the paint of buttermilk and brick dust. The pathway to the gate was lined with pinks and fouro'clocks, sweet-williams, andlarkspur,-Latin names for American flowers had not been invented then. Hollyhocks and sunflowers lifted their stately heads at either end of the house; morning-glories climbed gracefully over the two front windows, and the hop vine, with its drooping bells, crept quietly over the door.,"The patent pump or rattling wind-mill were as yet unknown; the well-sweep lifted its awkward hand as if beckoning one to quench his thirst from 'the old oaken bucket that hung in the well. 4"On questions of public policy the pioneer had decided opinions. His New England or New York education had fixed these firm and unchangeable, and the partisans of Jackson and Clay, Van Buren ana Harrison, argued their respective merits and demerits as warmly as we do to-day. But office-seekers were scarce and office-holders scarcer, though they existed then, as now, a sort of necessary evil. "One of the most prominent characteristics of the old time was the universal hospitality and helpfulness that abounded everywhere. The latch-string ran through the door. The belated traveler was sure of rest at the first house. Everybody was ready to help in case of accident to wagon or cattle. 'Lend a hand' was the motto of the pioneer. Teams were hitched together for breaking up; in harvest time, the neighbors cradled and raked and bound for each other; when one went to the mill he went for the neighborhood; logging-bees and husking-bees, quilting-bees and raisings were play-spells. We boast, and very justly, too, of all that machinery has done for us, and especially in the field of agriculture; but has it ever occurred to you how much it has done to make machines of us? We have no need to call upon our neighbor for help in the harvest field, -the reaper takes his place. The old-fashioned quilting, with its gossip and talk, its evening frolic and games, has departed. The sewing machine does the work of willing hands in the long ago. We are not as dependent or as generous in these days as in the old ones. We ask less, and of course give less. "We are richer, and the world is richer for its inventions, though I cannot help think that the swelling of our pocket-books is accompanied by a shrinking of our hearts. Whether this be so or not, the hospitality, the generosity, the helping hand and kindly heart that made 'the whole world kin' when we were young, are worth remembering and imitating as we grow old. 1I __ L_ ____ Ill, Y —, -I O, — i f If i f f 1 i j I f i, 4 1 I I i 18 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. - "The pioneer was a worker. 'From toil he wins his spirits light, From busy day the peaceful night; Rich, from the very want of wealth, In Heaven's best treasures, peace and health.' I don't know that he loved work any better than we do; but he had to do it, and everybody around him, wife and children, worked too. 'God and the angels were the only lookers on' in the old time. "The boys held the plough and the girls held the baby. The wife rocked the cradle and rall the spinning-wheel at the same time, and to the same tune. To get the trees out and the crops in was the ambition of the family, and they all helped. *"The one grand impelling power that directed the pioneer was the idea of home. He left the home of his boyhood, not to float idly on the world's surface, not to tarry here a while and there a while, but with a fixed, firm purpose of founding a home of his own. He knew that States and communities, cities and villages, would follow his footsteps, but the goal he strove for was home. For him, 'East or West, home's best.' The love of home we bear to-day is, our inheritance from the fathers, 'more to be desired than gold yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honey comb.' Let us cherish it, increase it with watchful care, and as new swarms go out from the parent hive, let them settle in a hive of their own, remembering that "There is a spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest, Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside His sword and scepter, pageantry and pride, While in his looks benignly blend Tile sire, the son, husband, brother, friend; Here woman reigns, the mother, daughter, wife, Strew with fresh flowers the narrow way of life. In the clear heaven of her delightful eye, An angel guard of love and graces lie; Around her knees domestic duties meet, And fireside pleasures gambol at her feet. Where shall that land, that spot of earth, be found? Art thou a man,-a patriot,-look around; O! thou shalt find, whcre'er thy footsteps roam, That land thy country, and that spot thy home.' "The spirit of unrest, of conquest, and of progress that has animated the Anglo-Saxon for so many centuries is the spirit of pioneership. The men and women of the Mayflower, when they cast anchor in Plymouth Bay, saw in the land that gladdened their eyes a home free from persecution, a land where they could worship God with freedom and according to the dictates of their own conscience, and that was all. They knew not that the hand that guided them in pursuit of religious freedom had chosen them as the founders of a nation. They felt not the power of the spirit of civilization impelling them. They did not realize that in the wake of their little craft there followed the steamship, the locomotive, and the telegraph. In the cabin of that vessel the arts and sciences, invention and discovery, commerce and trade, were unseen passengers. At its masthead floated the simple banner of the cross, and though the red, white and blue of the December sky hung over them, they did not see in it the flag of a nation of fortv millions of people. All this they knew not, for in the small compass of their ken they only saw the immediate present. They forgot that the blood of the centuries that flowed in their veins was that of the pioneer. "Our own pioneers, and we too, have not recognized this in our rovings and migrations. They and we set out on our pilgrimage to find a home for ourselves, and have established empires and builded states. The divine purposes of the Great Ruler have been entrusted to the pioneer. He has been the instrument in subduing the waste places, in civilizing and humanizing the world. I I The pathway he carved out has become the highway upon which the world is traveling, bearing in its train the civilization of the nineteenth century, laden with the love of liberty and freedom, freighted with the noblest, highest hopes of humanity. The great procession is still in motion; it cannot pause or stop; still there are worlds to conquer, still there is work for the pioneer. The Pilgrim Fathers founded the -nation, their sons saved it, and it is ours to preserve and perpetuate. Let us then, in this birthyear, highly resolve to be true to the blood of the pilgrim and pioneer that courses through our veins. They laid the foundation strong and sure. It is for us to complete the structure. Let us see to it, then, that our work be well done, so that with us education and morality, religion and liberty, free thought and free speech shall abide forever. 'For the structure that we raise, Time is with material filled; Our to-days and yesterdays Are the blocks with which we build. 'Truly shape and fashion these, Leave no yawning gaps between; Think not because no man sees, Such things will remain unseen." PIONEER WOMANHOOD. Local history, as a general rule, does not award to pioneer women the recognition they deserve. One might almost infer that the early settlers were a race of old bachelors, and that the light of woman's presence never illuminated their rude cabins. Had this been true, civilization would have halted at the border, for without the wife and mother there is no home, and without home the structure of our civil liberty is without foundation. But pioneer women have done more than to illuminate cabins or influence society; in many a clearing she worked by her husband's side, chopping and clearing, and in other ways she was a helpmeet in the fullest sense. A wife and mother refers to pioneer women as follows. "In the days of the Revolution, many a man had occasion to remark: 'God bless America's women;' and to-day many a pioneer farmer has reason to cherish his wife in her noble support of him in the most trying period of his life-breaking up a new farm with the traditional wolf howling at the door for admission. And to go into one of these homes to-day you will hardly realize from the personal appearance of the comely matron that her life has had as much of the shadow as of the sunshine cast upon it; converse with her upon the subject and in nine cases out of ten, she will tell vou that the years have slipped by so rapidly and so smoothly that she can hardly realize that these big sons and daughters are hers, or that she has seen the broad acres that surround the residence brought to a state of tillage. I know a woman, of sweet and motherly dispositiou, who now rides in her carriage and could dress in silks and satins if she chose to; who lives in a fine large house, and whose husband and three stalwart 'boys' till 170 acres of splendid land, who told me, as she smoothed the silvered hair that crowns her shapely head, that for years of her pioneer life she never wore a shoe, and had but two calico dresses; for foot covering in the winter she was dependent upon old rags and deer skins, and went barefoot in the summer. For two years their log cabin had for furniture a common bedstead, a pine table, one rocking chair and three stools, a cook stove and some shelves in the corner for dishes. Her household duties were simple enough-no dainty pastry or toothsome cake ever graced that deal table-and when not sewing she went into the logging field or burned brush. Her husband was strong and energetic, and used to work away from home whenever opportunity offered, and come home and swing his ax by moonlight until 2 o'clock in the morning. On such occasions she used to 'top' and trim the trees for him, and make his work lighter and more i I -,\ l JI I L 93 I ---- [ 1 -"II II L. HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 19 I I e i cheerful by her presence. Do you wonder that her husband's deep voice softens into love cadences when he speaks of or to 'mother,' or that manly sons and womanly daughters worship the woman that gave them birth? There is in that home an atmosphere of love and veneration that the memory of toil and tribulation cannot banish, and who will deny that wifely tenderness and motherly love has produced it? "I know another woman whose husband was so deep in the mire of poverty, that he had to go into the lumber woods to work, leaving her to care for the oxen, the cow and the pig, which composed their stock. She had a babe at the breast, and through that long, dreary winter, was forced to chop her own wood, do all the chores, and walk eleven miles, at frequent intervals, with her babe in her arms, to obtain what few groceries she required. The howling of wolves at eventide mingled with her lullaby song, and often she was kept awake all night by the noises made by the frightened cattle and hog. On one occasion she found that a huge bear had gained access to the pen, and seizing an ax she determined that the killing of the hog should be a dear conquest for him. On her approach the bear stuck his head over the pen, and was brained by a single blow. Finding that the terrible animal was dead, the brave woman returned to the house to rest; in the morning she skinned and dressed the monster, and had bear meat all the rest of the winter. "I know another woman whose husband was prostrated by a severe sickness two years after he commenced to clear his farm, and for nine weeks she made weekly trips to a village, ten miles distant, for groceries and medicines, chopped the woed, took care of the stock, and nursed her husband almost day and night. And, all this, her husband says, without a single murmur. Was she not a heroine? "I know another woman, now forty years of age and surrounded with every comfort, who tells some soul-stirring stories of personal experience. She came to the county many years ago, a bride of a month, and they were dreadfully poor. During the first six months they had nothing to eat but potatoes and corn bread, (wheat bread was a rarity then), and were very glad to get enough of such food to satisfy hunger. She has plowed, hoed and dug potatoes, raked hay, cut corn -in fact, done all manner of farm work except cradle grain and mow hay. Notwithstanding her hardworking life, she is to-day a fresh looking, healthy matron, and the mother of tenll children, all living. "I know another woman, rising sixty years of age, the narrative of whose pioneer experience would make a very readable volume. Her husband took up a farm and parted with every cent he had in the world in paying the regular fees. For several years she assisted her husband in the logging and harvest fields, sowed grain, hoed and dug potatoes, etc., in the meantime caring for a large family. It was pinching times with them for years, so close, in fact, that it seemed impossible for them to maintain life. It was nine miles from their home to a grist-mill, and this woman for several weeks traveled that distance daily to obtain from 15 to 30 cents worth of meal, to keep the family from starving. Her husband was a blacksmith, and almost daily did some odd job for a neighbor, and the few pennies earned in that way for months constituted the family's support. Her husband, her son-in-law and herself logged nine acres of heavily timbered land in eleven days, their labor often extending far into the night. On one occasion, when her husband was absent cooking on the drive, she laid twenty rods of rail fence in a day, in order to protect the growing corn. This woman for four years did not have a shoe on her feet, wearing shoe packs, made by her husband out of unfinished leather obtained at the tannery, and to her a calico dress seemed rich raiment. She was cheerful and I i I I i I i hopeful under the most discouraging circumstances, and now that they are comfortably situated, the old gentleman often says that if it had not been for 'mother's' pluck and words of cheer, he would have given way under the strain. "Spartan womanhood pales in the light of that of the newly developed farming regions of the northwest, and the rising generation should be given to understand that in the early lives of 'grandpa' and 'grandma' was more of want and trouble, than of plenty and comfort. "All of the women of whom I have spoken are healthy and strong yet, despite their years, and though their girth may not be fashionable, or their raiment made by Worth, they are the best of wives and mothers, and companionable to a marked degree. "Side by side, with the experience of a pioneer farmer, should be placed that of his hard-working, self-denying, never-complaining wife. The brightest jewel in a woman's crown is her all absorbing affection for husband and children; and none shine brighter than those that have borne the test of rugged experience." THE VILLAGE. It lieth ill the East, or in the West; it lieth in the South, or in the North; it is set upon a hill and is seen afar, or in a vale where silvery rivers glide by to the sea; it standeth on a plain amid monarchal groves, or it looketh out on waves that wrap the globe-the village whereof we write. It has two streets, or it has ten. It has 5,000 inhabitants, or it has 500. It has gilded vanes on snowy or rock-built spires, or it hath none of these. It has showy mansions or old-fashioned houses with great chimneys, or both. It is fast and alert, or it lags in the wake of time fifty years bellind. The traveler comes to it on the rushing train, or in the stately vessel or lethargic stage. The morning papers reach it before the matutinal meal or in the middle of next week. Wherever on earth's wide floor you please, lieth this ubiquitous village. Its founders were solid and worthy men-tradition hath it ever thus. It existed in the "good old times," when frosty meeting-houses were without fires in December; when shirt-fronts were ruffled an ell deep; when silver shoe-buckles were in vogue; when whitewashed panels of the tavern door were indorsed "Rum, Brandy, Gin;" or the sun light and cloud-shade fall upon it where, a few years ago. was no human habitation. Arts fade, kingdoms fail, years cole and go, but the habit of the village endures through all. In this village whereof we write, are many men of many minds, and women in like case. It has, one in a dozen, a person who makes other people's business a special study, going up and down and to and fro attending to the same. He is as silent as a clam on his own affairs, but he knows his neighbors' like a book. He does not read-too busy with some one's credentials. His gastronomic idol is No. 3 mackerel, which fosters poking inquisitiveness. He is great on '"they say", a like nuisance. He thinks he is shrewd, but quiet people esteem him a bore, a social ferret, a miserable pump, a portable clack mill. Medicine cannot cure him, missions don't move him; lhe noses on, with just prudence enough to avoid a suit for slander through a specific defect in the law. The keen old prophet of the Koran taught that in his paradise there was no place for such. It has persons eminently honest who are always taxed too high and haunt the board of assessors, but are scrupulous about taking oath. It hath traders who, when you wish to buy, are all suavity and sweetness, but if you have anything to sell, are quite the reverse; who, when they buy their goods, beat down and shop around fearfully. In this selfsame village are many persons who don't like the minister; he isn't a big gun; he preaches politics, or he doesn't; prays for the government, or he doesn't; called here twice and there once; too energetic, or not enough so; quotes Shakspeare, keeps a good horse, wears turn-down collars-don't like him at all —won't go to church as i I I -.9-. r -- r r 1 - -?7-0 ,1 i ------ - 1 I I -1 _. 20 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. lo 1 I long as he preaches; (probably won't, whoever preaches). Also, in this village, which attends the earth on its annual and diurnal revolutions with notable regularity, are certain persons who voluntarily contribute to keep watch and ward over the affairs of young people; who administer on such by authority of -they say" and "I guess," utterly oblivious in their querulous years that they were youthful once and lived in glass houses that a pebble might have shattered, Many a fair reputation have they insidiously "shouldn't-wondered" to Hades which, else, had shone like the sun. Over many a young heart that was striving to win a place among the honored and worthy have they cast a cloud of heaviness that has smothered its hopeful merits in despair. They are ever on the alert to detract, never to encourage. But it was ever thus. But in this village are many good people who live in charity and neighborly feeling one toward another; who remember that all men are not oracles of advice; who do not suffer the barnacles of detraction to soil their garments; whose hearts go out in benign feeling toward their fellow mortals: who were taught the valuable lesson in early youth to avoid things that concerned them not; whose minds to them such kingdoms are that they have enough to occupy them without meddling with other people's business. Such people are the golden pillars which uphold the place. Such is the village and such will it be "till the funeral note of the world shall be knelled" by eternity's solemn bell. CHAPTER IV. PIONEER PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL HISTORY- EARLY RELIGIOUS MATTERS-BENCH AND BAR —EARLY DOCTORSEARLY SCHOOLS. "The groves were God's first temples; ere man first learned To hew the shaft and lay the architrave And spread the roof above them; ere he framed The lofty vault to gather and roll back The sound of anthems." A high order of civilization was introduced into this new country by the early settlers. They came from a land of churches and schools and brought with them a high appreciation of the worth of a Christian intelligence. The first echo of the woodman's ax had scarcely died away before the itinerant preacher arrived and the notes of prayer and praise ascended from a place of worship. The denominations first represented here were the Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian, Baptist and Christian. The first religious service in the county was held by the Rev. Abel Warren, of the M. E. Church, who preached a funeral discourse for an infant son of Mr. Bezahel Bristol, of the township of Almont. Rev. Mr. Warren was the pioneer preacher of this and several other counties. He was a man of large heart, and his labors were crowned with great success. His memory is still green in the hearts of the old pioneers and their children. He also performed the first marriage ceremony, that of Mr. Culien Baldwin and Miss Nancy Elderkin, at the house of Mr. Oliver Bristol, of Almont, Jan. 15, 1832. No church was organized here however until 1834, whenl a class was formed by Rev. L. D. Whitney, who, however, did not remain here long. This was known as the Newbury appointment, and was the nucleus of the present M. E. Church of Almont. About the year 1832 an M. E. minister by the name of Swazie, came from Flint to Lapeer. He was a man of rough speech and assumed the high prerogative of judge of the living and dead, which aroused the spirit of the pioneer young men to such a degree that he hastily left and did not return. His successor was a cripple named Washington Jackson, who came from Farmington. In 1835 Lapeer circuit was formed, with Rev. O. F. Northl as pastor. The same year the Hadley church was organized by Mr. North and was composed of four mermbers. The first sermon in Hadley was preached by Rev. James Hemingway. The first M. E. love feast and communion was held by Rev. E. H. Pilcher, the presiding elder, some time in 1835. The M. E. Church havingr orgranized a circuit with its headquarters at the county seat, the preachers in charge organized classes in almost every settlement in the county, meeting with these classes once a month perhaps. The history of much of this heroic labor and selfsacrifice will never be written, the very names of many of the pioneer preachers having been forgotten, as the policy of this church is a continual change of pastors. When Lapeer was first made an appointment, in 1834, it was attached to Detroit district, with Rev. James Gilruth for presiding elder, who was succeeded in 1836 by Wm. Herr; he in 1838 by Geo. Smith; he in 1812 by Elijah H. Pilcher. In 1813 Lapeer was attached to Shiawassee district, with Larman Chattield for presiding elder. In 1845 Larman Chatfield was still presiding elder, but the district bore the name of Grand River. In 1816 the appointmelnt was again placed on Detroit district, with Elijah Crane for presiding elder, who was succeeded in 1848 by James Shaw. In 1850, it was embraced in Flint district with George Bradley for presiding elder, who was succeeded in 1852 by George Smith, who in turn was succeeded in 1856 by Samuel Clements, Jr., who was succeeded in 1858 by James S. Smart. In 1862 Hadley was placed on the Romeo district, with John Russell for presiding elder. At the present time Lapeer belongs to the Flint district. Contemporary with the labors of Washington Jackson, 0. F. North and L. D. Whitney, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, were the labors of Rev. Mr. Ruggles, of the Congregational Church, who was a man of unbounded zeal and energy. He resided at Pontiac, and preached wherever he could gather an audience, making his missionary tours mostly on foot. He planted several churches in the wilderness, some of which are extinct, but most of them remain a monument of his arduous labors. Presbyterian and Congregational churches were organized at a very early date in Lapeer, as many of the first settlers there were adherents to the "Westminster" creeds. The First Congregational Church of Lapeer was organized in July 1833, by Mr. Ruggles. This society was afterwards known as the Congregational and Presbyterian Church, and still later the Congregational part was dropped altogether. Subsequent to the organization of the Lapeer society one was organized in Hadley. The Congregational Church has long since been merged with other religious. bodies. The Presbyterian Church still remains one of the oldest and wealthiest religious bodies in the county. Rev. Mr. Sly was, we believe, the pioneer Presbyterian home missionary. In 1838 a Congregational society was formed in Almont, the result of the labors of Rev. Hiram Smith, who ministered to the church for three years, then was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Parker, to whom the county is largely indebted for his noble educational efforts. His successor, Mr. James R. Taylor, was also a prominent educator in early times. Indeed we can scarcely appreciate the good done by these men who went into the wilderness preaching and teaching, sharing the scanty fare of the pioneer, and forming the mind and tastes of the youth then growing into manilhood and womanhood in these wild forests. If they did not plant as many churches or gain as many converts to their peculiar creed as did their Methodist brethren, we can but think that their influence on society was even greater, for they were menL of liberal culture, of which the circuit rider of those days possessed far too little. But the present generation cannot be too thankful for the services of both home missionaries and circuit riders in those early days. Both classes did their work, and did it well. True we smile at many of the questions which produced theological disputes, in which there J -~ 4-1 _ 9 i IJ? - L -L L. "% ) r -j - 1 I~ I i I-! 7 n,. I 9I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 39 s I _y Ehy E. Hazen, 1869-'70; I. T. Beach, 1871-'72-'73; P. H. McEntee, 1874; I. T. Beach, 1875-'76; M. T. Moore, 1877-'78-'79-'80; Charles R. Ferguson, 1881; I. T. Beach, 1882-'83. The officers in 1883 are as follows: President, I. T. Beach; clerk, Frank P. Andrus; treasurer, William H. Taylor; assessor, F. P. Currier; street commissioner, Stephen Taylor; constable, S. Hartsell; trustees, John Sullivan, James O. Thurston, Benjamin F. Johnston. In the spring of 1883 the electors of the village decided by vote to raise the sum of $2,800 for the purpose of purchasing a fire engine and equipments. CHURCH HISTORY. THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL SOCIETY. In 1834 the Almont Methodist Episcopal Society was organized, consisting of five members, and was included in Mt. Clemens circuit for that year and the next. The preacher was L. D. Whit ney. In 1836 Romeo circuit was organized, and this class was included in it, and remained so until 1844, when it was separated under the name of Newburg circuit. In 1868 the society built a commodious brick edifice, which was dedicated by Dr. Jocelyn in 1869. Rev. L. D. Whitney, so prominent in the early religious history of Almont, was soon obliged from a disease of the throat to renounce his sacred calling. He then studied medicine, and settled as physician at Hadley about 1849 or 1850. Here he had a lucrative practice, and had the respect of all who knew him, at one time representing the county in the State legislature. His son, Lieutenant George D. Whitney, was a brave officer in the army during the late war, and gave his life to his country in one of those terrible battles during the winter of 1864-'65. The loss of his only son was' a terrible blow to the father, and one from which he never fully recovered. In 1875 he was compelled to relinquish his profession from age and infirmity. He then sold his property at Hadley, and bought a small farm near Grand Blanc, where he removed with his family. In September, 1876, he died, and his remains were brought to Hadley and buried by his son. Among the pastors of the church have been the Revs. Haggadone, John Armstrong, Hankinson, S. Warren, F. E. York, Gage, Daniels, Samuel Bird, David McFawn, and George W. Jennings, the present pastor. The membership of the church is now about sixty. It has a flourishing Sunday-school with an average attendance of about fifty-five THE CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY. On December 6, 1838, nine individuals formed the body now known as the Almont Congregational Society and, six weeks after, fourteen more were added to their number. The first pastor was Rev. Hiram Smith, and meetings were held in a school-house one mile west. Mr. Smith's ministry continued three years, and an important revival occurred in the second year. In the fall of 1847 the first Congregational Church edifice was built on Main Street north. This was the second year of the pastorate of Rev. Charles Kellogg. The society numbered about ninety, but was now increased by affiliation with the church at Belle Arbor to 110. This church had been formed in 1836 in the "Shaw Settlement" on Belle River, at the north line of the township, under the leadership of Rev. Luther Shaw, who preached there for several years. The new house of worship was dedicated January 27, 1848. It was of wood, 40x50 feet, and cost $1,800. In 1854 Rev. Charles Kellogg was tried for heresy and acquitted. His resignation followed the year after, and the place was supplied by E. L. Bowing, who remained one year. In April, 1857, Rev. Henry Bates became pastor, and remained nearly four years; a remarkable revival added thirty members to the church during his first year. Next year the church edifice was much enlarged, and furnished with a vestry. Soon after Mr. Kellogg's resignation, he became teacher in an academic school, an edifice having been built by subscription for that purpose. This house subsequently became the property of the village district, and was used as the district school till 18R66. From March, 1861, to December, 1863, employed Rev. E. W. Borden as pastor, and in 1864 called Rev. H. R. Williams. In the spring of 1870 about forty members were added to this church, and as many more to the other churches, the fruits of a general revival enjoyed during the previous winter. On November 30, 1871, their church edifice was burned. In the winter of 1872-'73 subscriptions were made, and the corner stone of a new edifice was laid June 18, 1873. An address was delivered on the occasion by Rev. John S. C. Abbott. The completed building passed into the hands of the trustees in November, 1874. It is a very elegant structure of brick in the Gothic style, costing upwards of $23,000. The dedicatory discourse was preached by Rev. Dr. Eddy, of Detroit, January 19, 1875. In May, 1880, Rev. F. W. Dickinson became pastor, succeeded February 11, 1882, by the present pastor, Rev. Edward D. Kelsey. The present membership of the church is about ninety-five. The Sunday-school has a membership of 126. THE BAPTIST SOCIETY. In 1837 the Baptist Society was organized with sixteen members under Rev. C. Churchill, who remained their pastor till 1844, when he was succeeded by Elder William Tuttle. In the spring of 1847 the society finished their house of worship on East St. Clair street, which bhd been raised the previous fall, and dedicated it in July. A marked revival occurred the following winter under the preaching of Elder Taft, which added largely to their numbers. In 1850 Stephen Goodman, in 1851 C. Churchill, in 1852 E. Steele, were successively chosen pastors of the Baptist Church. In 1858 they had an important revival under W. G. Wisner, who remained pastor till 1860. Then followed A. D. Williams, 1861; B. F. Bowin, 1866; B. H. Shepherd, 1869; and J. H. Paton, 1870, (tried and convicted of heresy and dismissed in 1872); A. H. Gower called 1876. Following Elder Gower came Needham, and in January, 1879, Rev. E. Steele, who has continued in the pastorate of the church to the present time. The membership of the church is about forty-six. The Sunday-school has an average attendance of from forty-five to fifty. ADVENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH. In 1872 Rev. J. H. Paton, who had separated from the Baptist Church, formed an independent society of fifteen members, under the style of the Advent Christian Church, with the brief creed, "The word of God the only rule of faith and practice, and Christian character the only test of fellowship." This society erected a small frame chapel in the fall of the same year. Mr. Paton still continues the pastor of this church. UNITED PRESBYTERIANS. This society was organized December 22, 1846, in the town of Bruce, a portion of its original members being residents of Almont. Of these John Hopkins is the only one now living. Previous to the organization of the society services were held in a buildirg erected by Neil Gray on his farm in the town of Bruce, missionaries having l - -i A.., 4a l I) AL `r TT: D:- -- I a ___j I, 6 II I I; 11 I 40 HIISTORYR OF L &PEEE ER COUNTY,'T i I b~een sent from time to time to this field of labor. In 185i2 a church building wats erected in the south~east part of thze town of Almont. The first pastor, Rev. Andrew Irons, was settled in 1854, and remained till 1858. He was succeedect by Rev. John Mc~clellan, whlo remained till 1.871. Rev. John B. Wilson succeeded him.. He was followed by Rev. WV. W. Curry, now pastor of the church. THE PRESS. In 1852 the Almuont Palladhonclc was established, W7. W. Maynard, editor. He conducted the paper for about two years, when it passed into the hands of Henry Ulrich. and Peter Ferguson, and died a natural death in 1855. In January, 1875, the Almout Heraht~n was started b A.. H. Patterson, who continued its publication until January 15, 1881, when lie was succeeded by J. M. Johnson &- Son. June 1,6, 1881, the office passed into the hands of Patterson & Johnson. March 2, 1882, Frank M.i~ Johnson became sole proprietor, and remains such at the present time. HOTELS. The Astor House, formerlv called the Exchange, was tile first hotel in the village of Almnont. It was built in 1836 by Hubbardi Hall, and soon after was purchzased and kept buy Henry Wing. It has had a nuunber of proprietors, among whom were Messrs. Miles, Beach and Race. In 1880 it was purchased by John S. Ash, the present proprietor, and the name chanzgedt to the Astor House. The Harrington HE~ouse was built in 1852 by Garry Goodricll. It was first called the National Hotel, afterwardl tile Goodrich House, and still later the name was changed to the Harrington1 House. Mfr. H. F. Hilliker, the present proprietor, purchased the property in May, 1883. The hotel has been enlarged and improved since it was built. PROFE SSIONTAL.. In 1854 Dr. A. B. Stone began practice in the village. He was followed by Dr. Traver (homoeopathic) in 1865, Dr. M~r. T. obtained a charter for themr in 1850. This society still lives, a useful and successful institution. The officers in 1883 are as follows: President, J. S. Johnzson; vice-pre sident, B. F. Johnston; secretary, F. P. Andrus; treasurer, E. W. Corey; auditor, T. C. Taylor; librarian, George Gr~ant. s~Ehe first officers after the charter was obtained were as follows: President, Virgil S. Parmlee; I i I I I I i I II I i I I vice-president, N. H. Redmond; secretary, G. E. Cai-ulkin; treasurer, H. C. Wells; librazrian, G. W. Culver; auditor, Jame's Taggart. MASONIC. Almuont Lodae No. 51, F. & A. Mi., received their dispensation in 1852 and their charter the following year. The date of the charter is January 14, 1853. The principal officers were W. M3., Hirama D. Fitch; S. W., Williaml Colerick; J. W., S. S. Spaff'ord. The o~fficers in. 1883 are as follows: B3. F. Johnston, WN. M~.; Gilbert Bostick, 'S. W. -Joshua Smith, J. W.; John Green, treasurer; Albert Springett, secretary; G. A. Bostick, S. D.; 0. T. Sanborn, J. D.; Rev. E. Steele, chaplain; Henry Marshall and George Brown, stewards; John M/urdock, tyl~er. Almont Chapter No. 76, R. A. M., was chartered January 10, 1871, Charles H. Brow~n b~eingr Grantld High Priest. Officers, H. P.) ~John Robinson; K(., John Armstrono,;- scribe, P. H. M~cEntee. Officers in 1883 are as follows: B. F. Johnston, H. P.; R. A. Bolton, Ki.; John Green, S.; James Ovens, C. H.; Gilbert Bostick, P. S.; 0. T. Sanborn, R. A. C.; I. T. Beach, secretary; C. P. Leete, treasurer; G. A. Bostick, M.. 3 V.; J. N. Mills, M...2 V.; N. Haskrins, M'. 1 V.; Rev. E. Steele, chaplain; A. L. Spencer, sentinel. ODD FELLOW~S. Almont Lodge No. 181, I. 0. 0. F., was instituted March 6, 1872. William H. McEntee was N. G.; E. W. Corey, secretary; Cook Wells, V. G. In 1883 there are thirty-six memzbers. Officers, N. G., George Tyler; V. G., Adamn Harrington; secretary, Cook IWells; treasurer, J. Sirnon. Regular mleetings are h~eld on Wednes1day evening of each Week. ROYAL ARCANUM. A lodge of this order wats instituted at Almont in July, 1878, with twenty members. First officers: Regent, J. S. Johnson; vice-regrent, Uriel Townsend; past regent, H. A. Currier; orator, S. K. Farnuni; secretary, A. M. Roberts; collector, D. M. Washer; treasurer, C. Fergutson; chaplain, William Colericki; guide, D. B. M/accabees was organzized by the district commander. The following officers were elected: Ex. Sir K~t. Gen. Com., L. M. Retherford; Sir Kt. Com., Joseph Simon; Sir Kt. Lieut. Com., Stephen, White; Sir Kit. Prelate, Georgre Retherfoid; Sir Kt. Record Keeper, William Green; Sir Kt. Finance Keeper, AQ. R. Stone; Sir Kt. Sergeant, John Sullivan1; Sir Kt. Master at Arms, Arthur B. Witt-, I I iI I p rb AH i ^ -- ~ %- N" HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 41 I Sir Kt. 1st Master of Guard, Thomas Weatherill; Sir Kt. 2nd Master of Guard, Thomas E. Mitchell; Sir Kt. Sentinel, P. S. Miller. There were eleven charter members. The membership in 1883 is thirteen. Principal officers: SirK. C., Hervey Llppincott; Sir Lt. C., George W. Retherford; record keeper, George Tyler; finance keeper, J. Simon. Regular meetings are held on the first Monday evening of every month. The village of Almont in 1883 contains a population of about 1,000, and is an exceedingly attractive inland village. The country about it is delightful and very productive. The new town hall and public school building when completed will be ornaments to the place. The completion of the railroad gave it long needed connection with outside points. BANKING. The firm of C. FERGUSON & SON, bankers, consists of Charles Ferguson and his son Charles R. Ferguson. They succeeded December 2, 1872, the firm of Currier &.Townsend who established the bank in March, 1870. The confidence reposed in the bank by its patrons and the community generally, is evidence that its business has been conducted with shrewdness, honesty and faithfulness to trust. A successful business has been the necessary result. The senior member of the firm, CHARLES FERGUSON, was born in Scotland, February 22, 1822. Came to New York in 1842; was engaged there in farming. In the fall of 1848 he came to Almont and was employed in farming until 1862, when he went into general merchandising in which he continued until 1872 since which time he has been engaged in banking. He was married in 1846 at Rust, N. Y., to Charlotte McHardy, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, and has three sons and one daughter. CHARLES R. FERGUSON, the junior member of the firm of C. Ferguson & Son, was born in Rust, N. Y., 1847. Came to Almont with his parents in 1848. Was educated at the seminary at Ypsilanti, Mich. He was engaged with his father in general merchandising from 1867 to 1872 and since then in the banking business. He was married in 1871 to Jennie M. Fatin of Hackensack, N. Y., and has two children. INDUSTRIES. There are a number of prosperous manufacturing industries in the village, all doing a thriving business and contributing to the general thrift of the place. These industries are diversified, there being an agricultural works, grist-mill, sash, door and blind factory, stave-mill, and wool carding, etc. There are also carriage shops, and the usual other shops to be found in such villages. The firm of Merritt & Balch, manufacturers of heading, staves and shingles, consists of W. E. Merritt and F. V. Balch. Their manufactory is located in the southeast part of the village of Almont, and was erected in 1883. The firm is enterprising and their business promises to be eminently successfnl. They now employ fifteen men, are adding to their machinery and increasing the capacity of their mill. The abundance of material within easy haul of their mill, and the ready demand for a good product such as they will turn out, insure their success. F. V. BALCH, of the firm of Merritt & Balch, manufacturers of staves, heading and shingles, was born in Dryden, Lapeer County, Mich., February 22, 1859, and has resided in that town until two.years ago. The last two years prior to coming to Almont he spent in the apple business. Came to Almont in 1883 and took charge of the construction of the factory and management of the business of the above mentioned firm. BIOGRAPHICAL. HIRAM C. MILLER was born in Bruce, Ml[acomb County, Mich., October 2, 1846. He was brought up on the farm opposite his present residence. In 1871 he moved upon the farm where he now lives in the southwest quarter of section 33-146 acres. He married in December, 1869, Martha King, daughter of Harrison King, one of the earliest settlers of Almont. They have three children. WILLIAM W. HEWITT was born in Canada April 9, 1833. Was brought up on a farm. In 1850 he moved to St. Clair, Mich., and was there engaged principally in farming, following also other employments. From there he came to Almont village in 1858 and was for fourteen years engaged in selling fanning-mills, also carrying on a meat market a portion of the time. Eleven years ago he bought the farm on which he now lives, southeast quarter of northeast quarter of section 20 and ten' acres adjoining. He was married in 1855 to Mary Thompson, a native of Canada, and has five children. JOHN S. ASH, proprietor of the Astor House, Almont, Mich., was born in Saratoga County, N. Y., June 1, 1837. At the age of twelve he removed with his parents to Cooperstown, N. Y., where 'he commenced working for himself on a farm. Thence after a year's residence he went to Pennsylvania and remained two years and returned to New York, residing in Orleans County, and in Charlestown. He bought a farm in Cayuga County, on which he lived five years. In 1870 he came to Michigan and bought a farm at Fenton. In 1877 he went to Toledo and ran the bar of the Burnett House, still retaining his farm at Fenton. In 1880 he sold his farm, moved to Almont and bought the Almont Exchange, which he re-christened the Astor House, he being connected by marriages with the Astors of New York, and having also been at one time employed in the Astor House of that city. Here he is doing a successful and profitable business. He was married September 19, 1855, to Miss Hannah Maria Dynehart. His second wife was Miss Mary Alice Myers, of Dutchess County, N. Y., to whom he was married in 1877. He has six children living. THOMAS C. TAYLOR, attorney at law, was born in Almont in 1843. Was educated in the schools of Almont and graduated at Ann Arbor University. Afterward had charge of schools at Leslie and Hastings. Studied law and was admitted to the bar at Hastings in 1871, and practiced there untilDecember, 1872, since which time he has been in the practice of the law at Almont. In April, 1872, he married Miss Hannah Fowler, who was his first assistant teacher at Leslie, and has six children. He has a farm of 160 acres just outside the village limits which he purchased in the spring of 1883, and is now residing upon and cultivating. This is the farm located by his father, James Taylor, in 1834. B. F. JOHNSTON, furniture dealer, was born in Geneseo, Livingston County, N. Y., March 23, 1829. At the age of nineteen he came to Almont, and learned the painter's trade with his brother. He worked at his trade summers and taught school winters here and in New York and Pennyslvania for eight years. In 1858 and 1859 he was in the cabinet business which he sold out in the spring of 1860 and worked at painting'for two years. In 1861 he helped to raise the First Michigan cavalry. August 26, 1862, he enlisted in the Fifth Michigan cavalry, which was with the Army of the Potomac the most of the war. Served under Kilpatrick and Custer. Was with Kilpatrick in the famous raid on Richmond in March, 1864. Was captured June 11, 1864, at Trevilian Station, Va., and a prisoner at Richmond, Charlotte and Andersonville nine months. Was paroled after Lee's surrender, and on his way North was blown up on the steamer Sultana, on the Mississippi River, when of 2,200 men on board, between 600 and 700 only were saved. Returned home awaiting orders, and was mustered out July 6, 1865. He then engaged in the furniture business, in which he has continued to the present time being the oldest business firm in Almont. He was married March 25, 1851, to Betsey A. Worster of Chautauqua 3 9 r j I, -, -& j 1". - z -I 42 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. played for innumerable balls, partie idsca thrnsnNw 42 I County, N. Y., and has three children. Mr. Johnston is prominent in the Masonic fraternity, being master of the lodge and high priest of the Chapter of Almont, and an officer of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. R. K. FARNUM was born in Darien, Genesee County, N. Y., August 8, 1827. At the age of eight he came to Almont with his parents. Here he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner. Worked on the Illinois Central Railroad for two years. In 1859 went to Marquette, Mich., and remained about ten years. Farmed in Almont about two years, and in 1870 bought his present businesssash, door and blind factory, saw-mill and flouring-mill. He is also a contractor and builder. Also built and owns the grain elevator at the Almont station of the P. H. & N. W. R. R. About twentytwo years ago married Miss Nancy Covell. His second wife whom he married in 1871 was Miss Asenath Goetchius. Has two children. A. M. ROBERTS was born in Wales, Erie County, N. Y., September 6, 1836, and remained in the State of New York until he was eight years of age, when (in '44) he came with his parents to Almont. Here he attended school and learned the wagonmaker's trade. At the age of fifteen he went into his father's store as clerk. He was afterward for about one and a half years in John Phelps & Co's store. In 1860 he worked at his trade about six months, then assisted his uncle in a general merchandise store and in the postoffice, Goodland, until the last of December, 1861, when he enlisted as private in the Tenth Michigan Infantry. March 3, 1863, he was promoted quartermaster sergeant of the regiment. December 31, 1864, he was promoted first lieutenant and quartermaster. During a large part of his service was on detached duty at regimental headquarters as acting hospital steward, clerk, etc. Was discharged in August,1865. After various other employments he came into the employ of Currier, Moses & Co., on the 20th of April, 1868, and has remained with that firm and its successors, H. A. Currier & Bro., ever since, as bookkeeper and general superintenddent. Mr. Roberts' first wife was Miss Mary Phelps to whom he was married in April, 1858. She died August 22, 1860, and on October 6, 1861, he married Miss Harriet A. Clark. Has three children, one boy and two girls. Mr. Roberts has filled the office of trustee of the corporation of the village one term, and has been secretary of different societies for several years. ADAM WATSON was born in Scotland, April 26, 1822, and was brought up on a farm. He came to this country at twenty years of age to Almont, and worked on various farms for several years. At the age of twenty-five years he bought a farm of eighty acres, one mile east of the village, which he still retains. -He also owns 320 acres in the town of Dryden. His business has always been farming and in it he has achieved success. Mr. Watson was married in 1848, to Miss Helen Hotchkiss and has three children living. He makes his home in Almont. Has until lately owned and lived upon a beautiful place in the outskirts of the village, which he has now sold with the intention of moving into the village H. F. HILLIKER, proprietor of the Harrington House, Almont, was born in Boston, Erie County, N. Y., in March, 1822. At the age of nineteen he went to Rochester, N. Y., and remained a year, being employed as a musician. In 1846 he moved to Dryden, Lapeer County, where he bought a farm in section 36, and remained two years. Then resided in Almont about two years. About 1853 he moved to St. Clair County. Kept hotel at Rich mond and Memphis. Returned to Almont in April, 1883, and bought the Harrington House, in which he is doing a business satisfactory to his patrons and profitable to himself. He was married in February, 1852,. to Miss Elmira Brinki, of St. C;laJr County, Michigan. Has two boys and two girls. Mr. H. has from the age of eighteen yeArs followed the profession of musician, and has i I i i I played for innumerable balls, parties and social gatherings in New York and Michigan. His children have inherited his musical taste and the familly form a fine musical band. W. W. TAYLOR, of the firm of Taylor & Hopkin, dealers in general merchandise, was born in Almont, June 21, 1841. Was brought up on a farm and educated in the schools of Almont. In August, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the First Michigan Cavalry: served three years, his regiment being in the Army of the Potomac; and was engaged in most of the battles of that army. Was promoted sergeant and mustered out in August, 1864, at Berryville, Va. Returning to Almont he was employed as clerk, until January 1, 1874, when the firm of Farquharson, & Taylor was formed, which continued until July 10, 1878, when Mr. Farquharson retired, and John F. Hopkin became a member of the firm. Mr. Taylor-was married in May, 1870, to Miss Mary Andrus of Almont and has two children. SAMUEL MATHEWS was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, May 24, 1831. At the age of thirteen he came with his parents to Alm oont where they settled on section 26. The journey was made by way of Sandusky and Detroit and through the Maumee Swamp. The wagon containing their household goods was drawn by three yoke of oxen, and they drove thirty head of cattle. He remained upon the farm until he was twenty-two years of age, and then went to work for himself. He subsequently bought a farm in section 6, where he now resides. In 1861, he married Miss Abigail English, of Vermont. WILLIAM MORRISON, of the firm of Morrisonf & Richards, blacksmiths and wagon makers, was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, in 1845. When he was six years old his parents moved to Canada. He served two years' apprenticeship at his present trade, and in 1865 came to Al-mont where he worked at his trade. In 1876 he established his present business, in which his success has been satisfactory. In 1879 James Richards became partner forming the present firm. WILLIAM MORGAN, of the firm of Gould, Morgan & Co., liverymen, was born in Chemung County, N. Y., in May, 1834. Worked at farming and on the canal until he was eighteen years old. In 1852 lie came to Almont and worked in a mill until 1856, when he went into the livery business in which he has continued to the present time with the exception of about two years. He also buys and sells horses. He was married in March, 1859, to Miss M. J. Beach, of Almont, and has one child. EDWIN R. GOULD, liveryman, was born in St. Clair County, Michigan, June 4, 1845. Attended school and worked on a farm until 1868, then came to Almont. For about three years he was engaged in teamingr between Almont and Detroit. He went into the livery business in 1875. He is also operating a farm southeast of the village, but resides in Allhont. He was married August 6, 1873, to Miss Ella Way, who died in October, 1874. He has one child. Mr. Gould's parents came to St. Clair County, from New York. A portion of their way to their new home was through the woods and openings, where there was lno road, and they were obliged to clear a rough road in advance of the wagons. Mr. Gould, Sr. was drowned thirty-seven years ago. His widow resides with her son in Almoont. H. A. CURRIER, of the firm of H. A. Currier & Bro., was born at Topsham, Vt., April 23, 1840. Came to Ahlnont with his parents in the year 1847, and was educated in the schools of Almont. At the age of sixteen he learned the machinist's trade in his father's shops. In 1869 he bought the business of Currier, Moses & Co., an interest in which he sold in 1870 to his brother Fred P. Currier, Jr., forming the present firm. He was married in October, 1868, to Miss Mary E. Charter, of Northport, Miih. I I I II iI i i I i i II;_ PI i I -P 719 1 —~C I I K- rim - J! J -1a t M G — HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 43 JOSEPH SIMON, SR., of the firm of J. Simon & Son, was born in Pennsylvania, April 28, 1826. He there learned the trade of carriage manufacturing. In 1848 he went to New Jersey, and engaged in the carriage business. Came to Almont in 1855 and engaged in the same business. In 1878 his son became associated with him, and since then they have, under the above firm name, made a specialty of building and repairing carriages, giving some attention also to wagon work. Their skillful and faithful work has secured for them a large patronage and successful business. PHILIP SMITH was born in Galen, Wayne' County, N. Y., in 1815. At the age of four years he went with his parents to Palmyra, N. Y., where he was a schoolmate of Joseph Smith, celebrated as the founder and apostle of Mormonism. In May, 1833, his parents moved to Almont, bringing with them a large addition to the population of the town, viz: ten boys and two girls, one of the girls being married. They settled in the south part of the town. At the age of nineteen he started out for himself, working by the month as a farm hand. In 1835 he located on the south half of the southeast quarter of section 31, government land. On this farm he still lives. In 1839 he married Miss Lura Ferguson, also a native of Wayne County, N. Y., and has three children. Mr. Smith is one of the few now living who were present at the first town meeting of the town of Almont (then Bristol) which was held in April, 1834. E. B. COTTER was born in Ceries, McKean County, Penn., in the year 1847. Came to Michigan at the age of ten years; learned the trade of house-painting with his father, but finding it injurious to his health, gave up the business. Bought a small farm in St. Clair County, but not being successful as a farmer, engaged in the hoop and stave business, which he followed for several years in different parts of the State. His health tailing, he went into the employ of the Agricultural Insurance Company, of Watertown, N. Y. In the year 1880 he canvassed Sanilac and St. Clair Counties, and March 15, 1883, engaged in the saloon business onl Main Street, Almont. PETER FERGUSON was born in Perthshire, Scotland, October 26, 1824. Worked on his father's farm in boyhood, and at the age of fifteen took charge of the farm, on account of the ill health of his father. In 1815 he came to this country, and to Rochester, N. Y., where he remained a few months; then came to Almont to visit and see the country. He bought the place known as the Williams farm, in section 23. After a short stay in Genesee County, N. Y., he returned in the fall of 1846 to Almont. In 1847 he bought 100 acres in section 15, and 200 in section 14. In the fall of 1848 he made Almont his home, and engaged in farming and buying and selling lands and village property. Has fifteen lihuses and seven stores in the village of Almont, and 500 acres of land in the town. He drove the first drove of cattle that was taken from the county. HIRAM SMITH was born in Monroe County, N. Y., November 25, 1823. At the age of eight he moved with his parents to the town of Bruce, Macomb County, Mich. Residing there one year, they came to L peer County. He worked on his father's farm until he was seventeen years old, then worked for himself two years at farming. At the age of nineteen he learned tailoring, in which business he has been almost continuously employed until the present time. Is now working in his son's tailoring establishment on Main Street, village of Almont. He was married in 1847 to Loretta Black, of Almont, and has four children. D. P. SMITH, son of Hiram Smith, was born in Allnont, August 8, 1852, arid educated in the schools of Almont. At the age of seventeen lie learned tailoring with his father, and has continued ill that business until the present time. His shop is on the corner of St. Clairand Main Streets, Almont. He was married August 1, 1877, to Miss Mary P. Myers, and has two children. MARK BRAIDWOOD was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1804. He was for many years employed as a Brussels carpst weaver in Kilmarnock until 1842, when he came to Almont and settled on his present farm, east half of southeast quarter of section 35, 100 acres. He has added to this the southwest quarter of northeast quarter of the same section, making 140 acres. He was married in 1810 to Mary Blaine, of Newton upon Ayr, Scotland. The names of their children are: George, farmer, living in Metamora; John, farmer, living in Dryden; Maark, farmer, living in Dryden; Thomas, died August 8, 1846, in infancy; Thomas, farmer, living in Otter Lake; Jane, wife of David Borland, of Almont; William, Alexander H., and Gabriel living with their parents. JOHN HOPKINS was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in May, 1797. He was bred a farmer, and has followed that occupation. In 1833 he came to Almont and entered eighty acres of land in section 35. He now owhs 320 acres, viz: west half of the southwest quarter of section 25; southeast quarter of section 26; northwest quarter of northeast quarter and northeast quarter of northwest quarter of section 35. He was married in 1833 to Janet Hamilton, who died in 1868. His second wife, to whom he was married in 1870, was Janet Robertson, by whom he has one child. Of the first wife's children, four are living, and three have died. JAMES REID was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, July 17, 1813. Was bred a farmer, and has always followed that employment. He came to this country in 1850, reaching Almont July 20th, and bought the farm on which he now resides. He was married in 1838 to Margaret Mikell, of Ayrshire, Scotland. Has one child, the wife of James Rattray, of Almont. Mrs. Reid died April 9, 1881. Mr. Reid's farm is the east half of east half of southeast quarter of section 24. He has also eighty acres in St. Clair County. CHARLES MORTON was born in Kincairdineshire, Scotland, March 1, 1818. His early employment was principally millwright work. He came to Genesee County, N. Y., in 1843, and was there engaged in milling. In May, 1857, he came to Almont, where he has been employed at flour milling and carpenter work. Is now working in R. K. Farnum's sash, door, and blind factory. In 1847 he married Isabel McHardy, of Scotland, who died in 1859. In 1863 he married isabel McKinnon, a native of Scotland. Has five children living. MORRIS MORTON was born April 13, 1852, at Avon, N. Y. Came with his parents to Almont in 1857. In the fall of 1870 he commenced work as a miller in R. K. Farnum's mill at Almont, where he is now employed. In May, 1876, he married Emma Porter, of Goodland, Lapeer County. They have three children. FRANK M. JOHNSON was born December 8, 1860, in Almont. Was educated in the schools of Almont, and at the high school of Flint, Mich. In 1880 he was employed six months in the office of the Flint 1)enocrat, and in 1881 became associated with his father in the publication of the Almont Herald, of which he became sole proprietor and editor, March 2, 1882. $ He was married in February, 1882, to Mertie Dickerson, of Almont. Has one child. W. S. WEBSTER, son of Elisha Webster, one of the pioneers of Lapeer County, was born in the town of Almont, April 15, 1850. Has always remained upon the old homestead, northwest quarter of section 4, which was entered by his father in 1831. In 1873 he married Lizzie James, a native of England. Has four children. In connection with his farm lie has operated until four years ago the grist-mill built by his father on a small stream which crosses the farm, and which is said to be the oldest grist-mill in the county. i i,V. -I 11 I k, I - it. I I -- - A: II — A I __ _ I 44 HIS ~TORY OF L APEE ER COUNTY I i I I LEONARD `WILLIAMS was a native of Connecticut, born inl 1821. He remained in that State engaged in farming until 1860, when he came to Almont and engaged in meren~ntile and banking business, establishing the first bank ia 'Almont. He was compelled by the failure of his eyesight to retire partia~lly from active business, retaining, however, his connection with the bank. At the time of his death in August, 1874, be was residiing with his son on the farm. He was killed by the settling of a stone which was being sunk in the field., He was alone at the time, and when found had been some hours dead. His; son bad been severely injured by a similar accident about a mouth before. Mr. W~illiamns left a wife and four children. Onze chtild, Alice B., has since died. Thze others are Henry H., of Almont, Mrs. J. C. H~untington, of Flint, and Mlrs. W. W. Stockley, of Houghton County. Mrs. Williamns resides in the village of Almont. HENRY H.WTYILLIAMS was born in New L~ondon County, Conn., addition to th~is he owns eighty acres in the town of Berlin, St. Clair County.""'" His wife died in 1866, and in 1867 he marrie&Mrlrs. Margaret Gemmel], whose maiden name was McArthur. In? 1879 they were burned out, saving nothing —the famnily barely escaping wvith their lives. Mr. Thomson has four childrenm; two have died. Elizabeth, wife of George Bowen, lives at Imnlay; Margaret, wife of William B. Wallace, died December 8, 1880; Jatnet,..wife of Thomazs B. Wallac&, live3 at Denver, Col.; Ellen, died February 21, 1881; James WV. and Wil~liam D. are at home. CHIARLES KENNETT was born in Enaland April 5, 1800. During his youth and early manhood hp, wis empldyed at farming, and also learned and workied the trade of carpenter and joiner. In 1827 he c-.me to this country ani:worked~ at, his trad~e in Albany and Troy, N. Y., for two years. In 1829) he moved to Detroit and remained several years employed at his trade. He then kept tavern at Wyazndotte for seven years. In 1810 he came to Almont and bouoht a farm near the county linp~, northeast quarterof southwest quarter and west one-half of southwest quarter of se —tion 31. About the year 1861 he moved into the villam7 of Almo~nt where he now resides. He was married in 1821 to Sarah Paine. They reside with their soil ani~ only chrild. Mr. Kennett is still a man of remarkable vigor shiowino, but little token of his azdvancedl a~ae. eiahty-three; his mother died February 19, 1871, aged eighty-nine. Mrsa. Hallock's father died in Buffalo, N. Y., August 8', 1838, aged forty. Her mother is now livingr in Jackson, nlich., at the a~ye of eighty-thzree..ALEXANDERW.: FERGUSON,,SOUo f Charles Fergusonz, of Almont, was born in Aluaont, Septemnber 17, 18-55. WasL educated in Almont.411, I I IF I 9 -7v 4 4 L~~ 0E J md I - M7 - j % - P-~ # —. -I - _ - -- b I 1 J ^ i HI.STORY OF LAPEER COUNTY 45 I and at Mayhew's Business College at Detroit. Was six years employed in C. Ferguson & Son's bank at Almont, and for the last two years has been engaged in farming, his farm being the southeast quarter of section 22. In January, 1881, he married Marian A. Milliken, of Bruce, Macomb County, and has one child. ORVILLE T. SANBORN was born in Almont, September 24, 1844. Was brought up on a faim. In 1867 he bought a farm of 138 acres in section 32, being all of northeast quarter except a tract of twentytwo acres in the southwest corner. In 1865 he married Lizzie Murdock. For the last two years he has resided in the village of Almont, his farm being under lease. IGIL WELLS was bornin Seneca County, N. Y., April 13, 1822. At the age of nine years he came with his parents to Bloomfield, Mich. In 1888 they moved to Almont, where his father entered 160 acres of land in section 17. He remained on the homestead until he was about twenty-two, when he commenced working for himself. His father then gave him a farm of forty acres in section 17. In 1850 he bought his present farm northeast quarter of northeast quarter of section 17, which was originally entered by Elisha Farnum. He has also eighteen acres in the west half of northwest quarter of the the same section. He married in 1846 Melissa A. Farnum, daughter of Elisha Farnum. They have five children, viz.: Mrs. Orville B. Eaton, of Almont; Mrs. Mark Braidwood, of Dryden; Nita Wells, of Almont; Mrs. Horton Thurston, of Moore, Sanilac County; Charles J. Wells, at home. One child has died. WILLIAM P. FARNUM was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., October 18, 1811. Was brought up on a farm. Came to Almont in 1834, reaching the town September 30th. There were then but two log houses in the village. His father entered the northeast quarter of northeast quarter of section 17, on which Igil Wells now lives. His present farm, which was originally entered by Elisha Farnum, comprises sixty acres, viz.: North twenty acres of northwest quarter of northeast quarter and east half of east half of northwest quarter of section 17. Mr. Farnum was married February 25, 1841, to Mary E. Wells, daughter of Leonard Wells, who settled in Almont in 1838. They have five children, viz.: Mrs. Reuben Hubbel, of Almont; Reuben W., of Sanilac County; Frank, Katie and Libbie, at home. One child has died. Mr. Farnum's father came to Almont in 1834; he died March 14, 1883, at the age of ninety-three. His mother is still living, making her home with him; her age is ninety-one. F. E. GOULD was born in Batavia, N. Y., March 3, 1831. He came to Michigan with his parents, who settled in Dryden in 1839. At about eighteen years of age he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner in Dryden. Worked at his trade and taught school for about twelve years. Came to Almont in 1862 and engaged in the saloon business for a time. Then in the spring of 1864 engaged in the livery business, in which he has continued since that time. He has also for the last eight years been employed as postal clerk on the Detroit & Bay City Division of the Michigan Central Railroad. He was married in 1854 to Jane L. Parmlee, a native of Vermont. They have three children. WILLIAM MUIR was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, August 30, 1810. His occupation was farming. He came to this country in 1848 and to Almont, where he bought the east half of northeast quarter of section 7, now occupied by his son William. He was married in 1843 to Janet Gilmore, a native of Ayrshire, Scotland. They have five children: John, William and Neil, of Almont; James living in Imlay, and Mrs. Hugh Cargill, of Burnside. JAMES M. GUTCHES, or, as the name was formerly spelled, Goetchius, was born in Ulster County, N. Y., May 10, 1817. During his infancy his parents moved to Chenango County, N. Y., where he remained until he was twenty-one years old. At the age of eleven years he commenced working for himself on a farm, and from that time supported himself. He left the farm when sixteen years of age and served an apprenticeship at the trade of blacksmith in Chenango County. There he remained until May, 1837, when he came to Michigan. He lived in Romeo two and one half years, then (December 22, 1840,) came to Almont, worked at blacksmithing about twenty years, then moved to the farm where he now lives in the south suburbs of the village. He was married December 30, 1841, to Miss Mary Bristol, daughter of Oliver Bristol, ona of the pioneers and the first supervisor of the town. They have three children living. Are living with their son, Oliver C. OLIVER C. GUTCHES was born in Almont June 20, 1846. Has worked at farming most of the time since he became of an age to work. For the last two years has operated the farm on which he lives and of which he is'part owner, his parents residing with him.:He was married in 1878 to Miss Frances Wiley, a native of Maryland, and has one child. W. R. ARMSTRONG was born in Rochester, N. Y., July 4, 1842. At the age of five years, his parents having died, he came West with Mr. Kendrick, of Dryden. Lived on a farm until the age of eighteen years. In the fall of 1861 he enlisted as private in the Tenth Michigan Infantry, serving in the Army of the Cumberland. Was mustered out in 1863. He then farmed for several years, and was special agent of the United States Treasury Department five years. Since then has been engaged in breeding and buying and selling horses, and in the pool business, controlling now the most of the latter business in the United States. He has owned among others the following well known horses: "'Ned Tester," with a record of 2:50 as a three-year-old; "Fred Hooper," record 2:23, who won thirty out of thirty-four races trotted in 1873 and '74, winning $32,000 purse money; "Mollie Morris, record 2:22; "Dan Donaldson," record 2:25; "Hardwood," record 2:24.; "Sorrel Dan," pacer, record 2:141, and "Judge Abbott," re3ord 2:50. Mr. Armstrong took to California the two well known thoroughbreds, "Joe Daniels" and "Hubbard," running horses, who won the four mile repeat running races. He has been in every State and Territory of the United States except Oregon. He has contributed largely to the improvement of horse stock in the section of country about Almont, for which he deserves and receives the thanks of the farming community. In October, 1874, lie married Emily Strobridge, daughter of Dr. Strobridge. They have two children. Residence on West St. Clair Street, Almont. HENRY B. GOETCHIUS, son of William R. Goetchius, one of the earlier settlers of Almont, was born in Almont in 1848. Has been employed at farming, and has learned and worked at various trades as carpentering, wool-carding, the ashery business, etc. He learned the miller's trade in 1868 and has worked at it about five years. Was married in 1871 to Elba C. Wells, a native of Erie, Pa., and has two children. At the time of the forest' fires of 1881 Mr. Goetchius, with his wife and children, was in Sanilac County on a farm which he owns there. They had a narrow escape, barely saving their lives by wading into Cass River. Mr. Goetchius has not yet entirely recovered from the injuries received at that time. Mrs. Goetchius' father, Nelson Wells, was at that time residing in Sanilac County. He escaped with his family into the river, where they remained four hours, almo st suffocated by the heat and smoke, from the effects of which Mr. Wells never fully recovered. He died January 23, 1882, aged sixty-five. He was for several years proprietor of the Exchange Hotel of Almont. Mrs. Wells is still living. DAVID P. Ross was born in Randolph, Vt., November 12, 1886. l " I - - - IRI I k. __-4 II -A!j 46 HISTORY OF LAPE-ER COUNTY I I I During his infancy his parents moved to Imlay and settled on a farm near the line between Imlay and Almnont. He remained onil the home farm until 1868, except during the time of his military service. In the fall of 1864 he enlisted as private in the Third Michigan Infantry, which was in the Army of the Cumberland. He was mustered out in the fall of 1865. In 1868 he bought the farm on which he now lives, sixty acres of north half of northeast quarter of section 4. He has also fourteen acres in the town of Imlay. Was married in 1868 to Agnes Laird, a native of Canada, and has six sons and one daughter, all of whom are at home. B. R. EMMONS was born in Burlington County, N. Y., April 29, 1822. At the age of eight years lie was bound out to a farmer until he was of age. During these years of hard labor and scant privileges of education he formed the firm determination to conquer success, a determination which he has carried out. In 1854 he came to Almont and bought a farm one mile west of the village, where lie remained eight years. He then rented a farm in Dryden where lbe made a specialty of raising fine horses and stock, which he has since followed to a greater or less extent. Has had two of the largest horse sales ever held in the State. Though owning farms at various times, Mr. Emmons has generally cultivated rented farms, having at times as many as five farms under rental. He has found this method generlly more profitable than ownership. In 1878 he bought the farm on which he now resides, and on which he moved in the spring of 1882, west half of southwest quarter and south half of southwest quarter of northwest quarter of section 7. He was married in January, 1840, to Rebecca Branson, a native of New York. Soon after his arrival in Dryden he was elected highway commissioner and held the office nine years. DAVID SLEEPER, son of Josiah Sleeper, one of the pioneers of Almont, was born in Murray, Orleans County, N. Y., May 8, 1819. During his infancy his parents removed to Hamilton, Ontario County, Canada, and afterward returned to Orleans County, N. Y. In the fall of 1829 they moved to Michigan and settled in Macomb County. In 1832 they came to Almont and bought of the government the land now belonging to Elizabeth Matteson, in section 9. Here he remained until twenty-one years of age-then worked out for several years. About 1845 he bought his present farm in section 15, where he has 128 acres. He has also 120 acres in other sections of the town. Was married in 1841 to Phoebe Mathews, a native of Trumbull County, Ohio, a daughter of John Mathews, who came to Almont in 1836. STOUGHTON SLEEPER, soil of David Sleeper, was born in Almont, March 24, 1845. He was bred a farmer and has followed that employment until April, 1881. He has at intervals learned the trade of engineer, and is now employed in James Sanborn's elevator at the Almont station of the P. H. & N. W. R. R. He owns a comfortable house just within the limits of the village of Almont. He was married April 2, 1879, to Utilla Smith, of Almont. They have one daughter. SAMUEL KIDDER was born at Enfield, Tompkins County, N. Y., May 15, 1816. Was brought up on a farm. In 1837 he came to Almont (then Bristol) and went to work by the month at farming. In the spring of 1838 he bought a farm in section 14, on which he cleared about thirty acres, and remained there four years. In 1842 he bought the south half of northeast quarter of section 22, on which he now resides. His first wife was Eliza Hallock, to whom he was married in 1844. She died in 1847. In 1849 he married Eliza Mead, a native of Lansing, Tompkins County, N. Y. Has three children living; one has died. HIRAM HOWLAND was born in Middlebury, Mass., October 12, 1812. During his infancy his parents moved to Brown County, N. Y., where he lived until he was twenty-three years old when he came I I I to Almont and bcught the west half of southeast quarter of section 3, on which he remained twelve years. He then bought his present farm, east half of southeast quarter section 9. Since lie first came to Almont his occupation has been farming, and, during the winters, lumbering. In 1834 lie married Mary Bishop. His second wife, to whom he was married in 1849, was Mary M. Vosburgh. He has five children living. Mr. Howland has been town supervisor, road commissioner, deputy sheriff of the county for nine years, and has held various other offices. WILLIS HOWLAND, son of Hiram Howland, was born in Almont March 25, 1854. Was married March 30, 1877, to Lydia A. Havens, a native of Oakland County, and has two children. He is living with his parents and carrying on the homestead farm. He has also thirty acres in southeast quarter of southwest quarter of the same section, 9. VIRGIL S. PARMLEE was born in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vt., April 3, 1823. Came to Michigan with his parents in 1838. Lived in Armada four years, then moved to Alront and settled on west half of southwest quarter section 9, where Mr. Parmlee now lives. In 1854 he married Mya Webster, daughter of Elisha Webster, one of the earliest settlers of Almront. From her the town took the name of Mia which it bore for some time. They have two children; two have died. Mr. Parmlee has lost both legs below the knee by accident, one of them in 1866, the other in 1869. He is not, however, as might be expected, incapacitated fox farm labor, artificial legs supplying to a considerable extent the loss of the natural ones. In 1870 Mr. Parmlee engaged in mercantile business at Imlay, in which he continued four years. Since then has been engaged in farming. L. M. RETHERFORD was born in New York, July 6, 1841. In 1842 his parents moved to Genesee County, N. Y., and in the spring of 1843 to Almont, where his father bought a farm in section 14. At the age of eighteen he commenced working on his own account, learning the butcher's trade, which he has since followed, except during a term of military service. He enlisted in October,1863, as private in the First Michigan Cavalry, which served with the Army of the Potomac. Mr. Retherford was in forty-three engagements, and was wounded at Trevilian Station, was promoted to commissary sergeant of his company, was mustered out and discharged March 10, 1865, at Salt Lake City. He was married in September, 1867, to Janet Hamilton, of Almtont. Has two children. MILTON H. WEBSTER was born in Farmertown, Saratoga County, N. Y., August 3, 1805. His parents removed to Northumberland when lie was five or six years old. Moved from there to Seneca County, and thence to Monroe County. In 1827 he came to Michigan and settled in Macomb County. Has lived at different places in Michigan. His first wife, to whom he was married January 5, 1830, was Elizabeth Sessions. She died in 1859. July 12, 1859, he married Clarissa Coleman. who died in 1869. He has four children living. In 1880 he removed from Macomb County to Almont, and makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. McMonagle. Mr. Webster's parents resided until their death in Genesee County, N. Y. CORNELIUS MCMONAGLE was born in Donegil, Ireland. He came to this country about 1839. Lived in Pennsylvania about five years and then moved to Macomb County, where, in 1849, he mar ried Maria Webster, daughter of Milton H. Webster. In March, 1851, he moved to Almont and bought a farm in section 7, west half of northeast quarter. He died March 4, 1880, leaving a wife and five children. His widow resides on the homestead. HORACE M. BOOTH was born in Pembroke, Genesee County, N. Y., July 16, 1820. Was brought up on a farm. Lived on the old - I -1 i.AO [i r6 9 9: HISTORY OF LAPEER- COUNTY 47 homestead cultivating a portion of it, and worked at his trade of carpenter and joiner until 1865. January 1, 1845, he married Theda A. Curtis of Genesee County, N. Y. Came to Almont in 1865 and bought the west half of northeast quarter of section 20 on which he has since resided. Has six children of whom two, a son and a daughter, are at home. The son, Frank C., wa3 born in Genesee County, N. Y., December 27, 1855. Came to Almont with his parents in 1865. Learned the trade of carpenter and joiner with his father on the home farm, and for the last six years has worked at it continuously, making his home with his parents. JAMES MUIR was born in Scotland in 1806, and was bred a farmer. He came to this country about 1844, to Pontiac, Mich., where he worked on a farm one season, thence came to Almont and bought west half of northwest quarter section 8, where he died February 19, 1876. He was married in 1852 to Lodalma Squier of Utica, Michigan. She remains upon the homestead with.her son, Neil G., who carries on the farm. He also owns and cultivates the east half of northwest quarter section 8. He was born in Almont November 11, 1852. The other son, Gillis J., was born in Almont August 28, 1854. On division of the estate he received the west half of southwest quarter of section 5, on which he resides. He was married June 4th, 1879, to Frederica Roth, of Almont, and has one child. MATTHEW WARNER was borin in Lima, Livingston County, N. Y., April 29, 1821. Came to Michigan in 1836, and at the age of seventeen began working for himself at farming, and saw-mill work, in Oakland Co. In 1840 he went to Canada and remained sixteen years, engaged in lumber and mill business. He came to Almont in 1856, teamed for eleven years between Almont and Detroit; then kept hotel in Marlette three years, and in the town of Imlay five years. In 1861 he bought the farm on which he now lives, northeast quarter of northwest quarter section 9, on which he finally settled in May, 1881. He was married in 1844 to Sarah Ann Wilson, a native of Canada, and has three sons and five daughters. E. B. HOUGH was born in Orangeville, Genesee County, N. Y., in 1819. In 1833 he came with his parents to Romeo, Mich., and in 1834 to Almont. The journey from New York to Romeo was made by team, and occupied a month and one day. (In Almont his father located the east half of southeast quarter of section 29.) He lived with his parents until he was twenty-five years old, being employed in farm work and inll clearing land on contract. He then resided four or five years in Dryden. Returning to Altmont he bought the northeast quarter of section 32, on which he lived about twenty-three years. Sold this and bought a quarter section further east. He has bought and sold lands extensively, and now owns 245 acres in different parts of the town. He has for the past nine years resided in the village of Almont. In 1845 he married Emaline L. Johnson, who died in 1866, leaving four children, of whom one lives in Attica, and three in Goodland. In 1867 he married Mrs. Lucretia E. Myers who has two children, William E. Myers and Mrs. D. P. Smith, both of Almont. WILLIAM CLARK was born in Broome County, N. Y., October 22, 1795. Camne to Michigan in 1836. Lived at Troy, Oakland County, two years; then came to Almont, and bought a farm inll section 10, east half of northeast quarter. He settled onl his present farm north half of northeast quarter section 16, in 1849. He was first married March 7, 1827, to Alatllea Stoddard who died in 1840, leaving two children. His second wife, to whom he was married January 17, 1844, was Sarah Holmes, of West Bloomfield. Sle has two children, one has died. The children are Annis M., Rornanzo T. (who carries on the farm), Flora E., and James T., who lives at Lapeer. CHARLES WALKER was born in New Brunswick in 1829. During his boyhood his parents resided in Canada. Came to Almont in 1849, and in 1850 married Anna Deneen. He died in 1870, leaving eight children. Mrs. Walker resides with three of her children, upon a portion of the land entered in 1828, by her father, James Deneen, the first settler in the town. There are still standing some of the trees of the first orchard, the seeds of which were brought from Ohio, and planted about the time the land was cleared. Mrs. Walker was born March 15, 1829, and was the first white child born in the county. A sketch of her father will be found in another part of this work. WILLIAM CROSBY Was born in New Hampshire, July 3, 1816. At the aae of 21 he went.to Massachusetts, and was there employed as engineer. In 1840 he came to Almont and bought a farm of forty acres, to which he has added sixty acres. His farm is the west half of west half of northwest quarter section 3, and part of east half of northeast quarter section 4. In 1843, he married Catherine Elliott, a native of New Hampshire, and has two daughters, Mrs. E. J. Harrington, of Almont, and Mrs. John H. Bowman, of Imlay. URIEL TOWNSEND was born in the State of New York, in December, 1829. When he was about five years old his parents moved to Miclhigan, where he was brought up on a farm. At the age of twenty he bought a farm in Metamora (on which Clark Townsend now lives). He resided there about ten years, and then returned to the old homestead. In 1869 he came to Almont, and, with F. P. Currier, formed the banking firm of Townsend & Currier, of which C. Ferguson & Son are the successors. The firm built for the use of the bank the block now occupied by S. Smith and Taylor & Hopkin. They also engaged in the lumber business, and with remarkable success. In 1869 Mr. Townsend bought his present home (in the village of Almont), which he has rebuilt. He owns and operates a farm -of 400 acres, west half of section 19, and 80 acres adjoining in the town of Dryden. In 1853 he married Mary J. Ferguson, a native of New York. JOHN SHIPP was born at Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambridgeshire, England, in June, 1827. At the age of fourteen, he commenced working on his own account. In 1854 he came to Almont and bought a farm of eighty acres, the east half of northwest quarter section 30, of which he has seventy-five acres cleared. In 1881 he built his present residence. Was married July 8, 1855, to Louisa Plumb, of Brinkley, Cambridgeshire, England. JOSEPH SHIPP was born in Longmeadow, Cambridgeshire, England, April 11, 1831. Was brought up on a farm. He came to Almoont in 1853, and has been employed at farming. Having accumulated a competency, and being in ill health, he retired several years ago from active labor, and has ever since made his home with his brother, John Shipp, on his farm in section 30. EBERT W. LAWERNCE was born in Greene County, N. Y., January 9, 1799. His early life was spent on a farm. January 17, 1826, he married Eliza Van Wanoner, a native of New York. In 1836 they came to Almont. All of Mr. Lawrence's worldly wealth on his arrival, consisted of $2.50 in money, a wife and six children. He bought forty acres of land in the woods, southeast quarter of northwest quarter section 31, for $3.50 per acre, giving his note. Here he built a slhanty and made a home, and here they lived to the present time. Are now residing with their son-in-law, Myron D. Closson, in the enjoyment of a vigorous and happy old age. They have six children living, two in the town of Almont, one in Maryland, one in Australia, one in Philadelphia, and one in Gratiot County, Alichigaln. Three have died. Since Mr. Lawrence became of age, lie ihas voted at every election, and at the town j Iq 1- - -\ w l G __ - 48 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 1 _ _I meeting in every town in which he resided, except during his residence in Canada. His first vote was cast in favor of General Jackson. MYRON D. CLOSSON was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., April 17, 1828. When about 14 years of age he came to Michigan and lived with his uncle in Macomb County. Came to Almont about 1852 and rented a farm near the south line of the town. In 1866 settled on a farm in section 31 and remained six years. He afterward lived four years in Kent County and moved thence upon his present farm, southeast quarter of northwest quarter section 31. He was married March 11, 1856, to Matilda Lawrence. They have three children, one son and two daughters. NELSON E. CLOSSON, son of Myron D. Closson, was born in Almont, September 10, 1860. In 1872 his parents moved to Grand Rapids, and remained upon a farm until 1876, when they returned to their former home in Almont. He is now operating a farm of eighty acres belonging to his grandfather, Ebert W. Lawrence, in sections 30 and 31. SHELDON BRISTOL, son of Bezaleel Bristol, one of the earliest settlers of Almont, was born in Riga, Monroe County, N.-Y., April 26, 1816. He came with his parents to this town in 1831, arriving May 22. when there were but three settlers in the town. His father,,located" the east half of southeast quarter section 33. When he was twenty-one years old he went to work by the month on his own account. He assumed and paid up the debts on the homestead, which had become embarrassed, and in 1842 assumed possession of it. In 1881 he bought the west half of northwest quarter of section 34, 115 acres, on which he now resides, having one of the most beautiful of the many beautiful houses of the town of Almont. He was married November 20, 1842, to Emily Ingalls, of the town of Almont. H. R. MOREY was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., September 9, 1824. His father kept hotel and dealt in stock. When he was fourteen years old his father died, and he then learned and worked at the carpenter's trade at Watertown, N. Y., where the family had moved after his father's death. When he was twenty-three years old he left home, residing in Waterloo, Niagara and other places in New York. He crossed Niagara bridge on the first train that went over. In 1855 he went to Wisconsin and was employed on the Fox and Wisconsin River improvement, and on the Manitowoc & Mississippi R. R. He came to Almont in 1858, and lived in the village of Almont until 1886, when he moved to his present residence one mile north of the village. Was married in 1857 to Caroline Richtmyer, a native of New York, and has one child. Mr. Morey has constructed and aided in constructing many of the principal buildings in Almont, among others the Stevens, Currier and Townsend blocks, and the residence of James Johnson on St. Clair Street. GARRETT SCHENCK was born in Floyd, Oneida County, N. Y., August 11, 1808. He remained there until he was twenty-seven years old, his early occupation being farming. In 1835 he came to Almont, and located the east one-half of northwest quarter section 22, which was then forest. Here he lived until the time of his death, in July, 1868, and here his widow resides. In March, 1835, he married Betsy Matteson, a native of New York. They had six children, of whom four are living: Roxy, wife of Elisha Pendleton, of Arcadia; Elden A., who lives adjoining his mother's place; Amos P., who lives with his mother; and A. D., whose farm is in section 14. F. P. CURRIER was born in Newbury, Vt., April 11, 1812. He remained there until he was twenty-one years old, most of the time upon the farm. From Newbury he went to Haverhill, Mass., and remained four years, learning several trades while there, among others the trade of machinist. Returning to Newbury, Vt., he remained several years. There he married, November 7, 1837, Mary P. Clark. In 1847 he moved to Almont, having visited the town two years previously. For several years he was employed as a millwright. In 1851 he formed with J. P. Muzzy the firm of Muzzy & Currier, consolidating the foundry and machine business of Almont in one establishment, and in 1853 erected the shops now occupied by H. A. Currier & Bro. In 1869 Mr. Currier went out of the foundry and machine business, and soon after in company with Uriel Townsend established a bank which in 1872 was transferred to C. Ferguson & Son. They built for the use of the bank the block now occupied by Taylor & Hopkin and S. Smith. In connection with the bank they also engaged in the lumber business and with signal success, an investment of $830,000 yielding, in twenty-two months, $60,000. Mr. Currier has now retired from active business, and occupies himself in attending to his landed and other interests, having four farms and other landed property in Lapeer, St. Clair and Sanilac Counties, as well as a large amount of village property. He has always taken an active interest in all public matters. To his active efforts and liberal aid is largely due the completion of the railroad (a branch of the P. H. & N. W. R. R.), which has contributed so materially to the growth and prosperity of the town. GILBERT BOSTICK was born in the town of Bristol (Almont), September 30, 1837. He was brought up on the farm on which he now lives, east one-half of southeast quarter of section 4, which was originally entered by John Walden. He was married in 1860 to Ellen Mahaffy, of Bruce, Macomb County, and has four children. His father, Dr. Elijah Bostick, died May 15, 1880. MAITLAND E. MARTIN, of the firm of Colerick & Martin, dealers in general merchandise, was born in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, in 1828. His boyhood and youth were spent upon a farm and attending school. At the age of twenty-three years he came to Almont, and in 1852 was proprietor of the Exchange Hotel. Subsequently he engaged in the livery business. He then operated a farm in section 18 (west one-half of the southwest quarter) until 1857. For nine years he was employed as clerk in various stores in Almont, then in farming for two years. In 1879 he engaged in his present business. He was married in June, 1852, to Miss Harriet K. French, of Whitby, Canada. Mr. Martin has been supervisor of the town of Almont for the last seven years, and has held other town offices. GEORGE W. ALLEN was born in Erie County, N. Y., September 15, 1813. When he was nine years old his parents moved to Michigan, and settled on a farm near Pontiac. There were at that time but three houses in Pontiac. In 1824 they moved to Macomb County, and in 1840 to Lapeer County. He' took a farm in section 34, town of Dryden. Moved thence to Oakland County, and remained one year. Then came to Almont and bought east one-half of southwest quarter section 31, where he now resides. This tract was entered at the government land office about 1834, by Mr. Beach, a brother of Mrs. Allen. Mr. Allen was married March 26, 1843, to Julia Ann Beach. They have three children. Though not one of the earliest settlers of Almont, Mr. Allen has, from his near vicinity to the town, been closely identified with its early history. In 1827 he drove the team for a party consisting of his father, William Allen, James Thorington and Levi Washburne, who cut a road northward through the center of the town to reach the pinery beyond. He also, the following year, came through from Washington, Macomb County, with James Deneen, when he made the first settlement in the town. Mr. Allen's two sons and his daughter are living with him, the sons cultivating the farm. Almon A. was born in Almont, July 7, 1847; James 0. was born I I I - IF 7w - - -- ri -rF - I* -i1l rD f Z I no O 0: d (k ~1 w w IL -l a' Z 0 _ FCY)3 t m 00 IuV Ld m I I I I I i I I i z 0 Q I tV) tL To 0 uA 121 I I I a -\ I~r. -. I iI-~- - - " -- -- - - - - - - - - - HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 49 in Almont February 8, 1853; the daughter, Caroline, was born in Oakland County, July 26, 1844. JOSEPH BRISTOL was born at Riga, Monroe County, N. Y., in 1818. In 1831 his parents came to Almont and located the east one-half of southeast quarter section 33, on which George Bristol now lives. In 1849 he bought west one-half northeast quarter and northeast quarter of northwest quarter section 34. June 13, 1847, he married Mary Ann Ingalls, daughter of David Ingalls, one of the pioneers of Almont. Mr. Bristol died December 18, 1877. His widow resides on the land entered by her father in 1830 (east one-half of northeast quarter section 33). There are six children living. MARQUIS LAFAYETTE WHEELOCK was born in the town of Thornville, Lapeer County, November 4, 1852. During his infancy his parents moved to Almont and kept the Exchange Hotel several years. Then moved to Wisconsin, and after four or five years' absence returned to Lapeer County and bought a farm near Imlay City. His father died at Nashville, Tenn., of disease contracted in the military service. At the age of fifteen he began working on his own account, and has since that time been employed in lumbering, saw-mill work and farming. In 1880 he bought a farm of fortyfive acres in the town of Lapeer. June 25, 1879, he married Emma Booth, of Almont. THOMAS SPRINGETT was born in England in 1828. He came to this country and to Almont in 1841, and for seven years worked at harness making, which had been his occupation in England. In 1858 he engaged in farming (in section 30). He subsequently sold his farm to his son, and in 1882 took up his residence in the village of Almont. He was married in 1851 to Mary Ann Winton, and has two sons, both farmers. CHARLES H. SPRINGETT was born in the village of Almont, March 7, 1856. During his infancy his parents moved on their farm in section 30, on which he has lived ever since, and which he bought in the summer of 1882. He was married December 10, 1878, to Elma Laughlin, a native of Almont, and they have one child. JAMES McRoY, or as the name was formerly spelled, McElroy, was born in County Antrim, North Ireland, June 1, 1812. Came to this country to Hartford, Conn., in 1832, and there worked at his trade of carpet weaver for seven years, and was then engaged in farming. In 1857 he came to Almont and settled on east half of northwest quarter of section 21, which he had bought of the government in 1833. He afterward bought the southeast quarter of southwest quarter of section 16, on which his house now stands. He was married in 1833 to Marry Lochead, of Kilmarnock, Scotland, and has six children. Six have died, one being killed in the army, and one dying of disease contracted in the service. THOMAS J. McRoY, son of James McRoy, was born in Hartford, Conn., April 7, 1846. Was brought up on a farm. Came to Almont in 1857 with his parents; remained with them until 1878, when he bought a farm of eighty acres, northwest quarter of northwest quarter of section 20 and southeast quarter of southeast quarter of section 16. He was married in 1878 to Mary Taylor, a native of Armada, Macomb County, Michigan, and they have one child. DENNISON E. HAZEN was born in Killingly, Conn., March 18, 1814. During his infancy his parents moved to Genesee County, N. Y., and remained four years. From there they went to Warren County, Pennsylvania. In 1834 he came with his parents to Macomb County, where they settled on a farm two miles west of Romeo. In 1843 he came to Almon't and worked for a time at shoe making and a portion of the time at farming until 1852, when with his brother-in-law, Thomas Cherryman, he engaged in general merchandising under the firm name of Hazen & Cherryman. After the dissolution of the firm Mr. Hazen continued in business alone for a time, and in 1860 sold to his son-in-law, James N. Harris. He assisted Mr. Harris until he sold out. Mr. Hazen has been actively engaged in town and county business. Has been justice of the peace in 1858, town clerk, treasurer, supervisor for four years, and county treasurer one term. In the spring of 1835 he married Rhoda A. Jennison, a native of New Hampshire. Has one child, Mrs. John N. Harris, with whom he now resides. J. W. LEARMONT was born on Long Island, N. Y., December 9, 1835. In 1837 his parents came to Almont and settled on section 27, which was then forest. He has remained ever since on the old homestead, northwest quarter of southwest quarter of section 27, to which he has lately added by purchase the southwest quarter of southwest quarter. He also has lands in sections 2 and 21. Was married in 1873 to Mary J. Fullerton, a native of Canada, and has two children. ROSWELL TAGGART was born in Dunham, Lower Canada, in 1802. When he was twelve years old his parents removed to western New York. In April, 1850, he came to Almont and bought the farm on which he now lives, the west half of southwest quarter of section 32. In 1831 he married Julia Stevens, a native of New York. They have three children living; three have died. Mrs. Taggart is still living at the age of eighty. ABRAHAM VAN ANTWERP was born in Schaghticoke, N. Y., March 3, 1816. During his boyhood his parents moved to Saratoga County, where he remained until he was sixteen years old. He then served three years' apprenticeship at the trade of carpenter and joiner, at which he worked in Saratoga County until 1854, when he came to Almont and worked at his trade four years. Then bought the farm on which he now lives, east half of northwest quarter of section 20, and five acres adjoining in section 17. In connection with farming he has been employed a portion of the time as carpenter and joiner and millwright. He was first married in 1840 to Ann M. Vandecar, who died at Lapeer in 1853. His second wife was Miranda Humphrey, to whom he was married in 1855. He has six children, of whom two, a son and a daughter, remain at home. The son, Edgar, who was born in Almont April 27, 1860, assists in carrying on the farm. W. H. WHITEHEAD was born in Wayne County, N. Y., February 8, 1830. During his childhood his parents moved to Ohio. In 1840 they moved to Addison, Oakland County, Mich., where he attended school and worked on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He then came to Almont and worked at farming, by the month, for about three years. Then tended bar about three years, after which he established a saloon in Almont. His present saloon on the northwest corner of Main and St. Clair Streets was established in 1879. He was married in 1858 to Polly Myers, who died July 6, 1874, leaving one child. October 29, 1876, he married Hattie Crager. M. SHOEMAKER was born in Addison, Oakland County, Mich., in 1845. Commenced work at farming on his own account at the age of twenty-two. In 1870 he bought a farm of 100 acres, six and one-half miles west of Romeo. In 1873 he bought the farm on which he now resides, west half of northwest quarter of section 28. He was married in May, 1870, to Betsy L. Beebe, and has three children. JAMES F. FERGUSON was born at East Rush, Monroe County, N. Y., May 7, 1848. The same year his parents moved to Almont. He now resides on the farm which his father bought at that time in section 15. He was first married in 1870 to Alice Carpenter, t I "- I 50 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. [)* who died. In April, 1882, he married Margaret Cochrane. Has two children. C. E. WALES was born near Montreal, Canada, September 30, 1825. At the age of five years he went with his parents to Erie Counlty, N. Y., whence they moved in 1834 to Macomb County, Mich., and in 1835 to Alrnont, or Bristol, and bought of the United States the northwest quarter of southwest quarter of section 29 and southeast quarter of section 30. His father, Willard Wales, was one of the earliest road commissioners of the town of Almont. Mr. Wales was married in August, 1'846, to Electa Matteson, of Genesee County, N. Y., and has two children. He still resides on the old homestead, where nearly his whole life has been spent. SAMUEL E. FERGUSON was born in the State of New York in 1831. When he was eight years of age his parents moved to Oakland County, Mich., and bought a farm. This lie retained and resided on until 1878, when he transferred it to his son, and located in Almont; purchased southwest quarter of section 28 and east half of southeast quarter of section 29, which he now cultivates, making his residence, however, in the village of Almont. He was married in 1853 to Mary C. Lawrence, of Lapeer County, and has three children. HULBERT REiD/as born in Vermont in 1807. From there went to western New York. His earlier as well as later life was spent on a farm. In 1836 hie came to Almont and bought a farm of 160 acres in section 27, to which he has since added forty acres. About 170 acres are cleared. He has one of the best farms in the town, and well stocked. Mr. Reid was married in 1834 to Lydia Wheaton, and has ten children. W. E. MERRITT was born in the township of Attica, Lapeer County, Mich., in 1856, and in 1862 moved to the township of Dryden, where he remained until 1868. He then went to Oakland County, where he resided until'1872, when he returned, and in 1875 located in Dryden, remaining there until 1882, when he again made his home in Almont, where he still remains. Has been engaged in lumbering during the past five years. Was married in 1888 to Miss Adell Balch, of Dryden. GARDINER CARR, deceased, was born in Middlebury, Vermont, in 1799, and in 1836 came to Michigan and settled in the township of Almont, Lapeer County, taking up land from the government and speculators, on sections 1 and 11, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1879. He was married in 1824 to Miss Sarah Dodge, of Vermont, by whom he had a son and daughter. The son, Capt. T. C. Carr, deceased, was born in 1827, and enlisted in the Sixteenth Michigan Infantry, in which he served as captain. He was the first man killed in the regiment, at the battle of Gaines Hill. He was married in 1853, to Miss Mary Snow, who died in 1856, leaving one son, Wm. T. Carr; was again married in 1857 to Miss E. R. Romer, of the State of New York. The daughter, Miss A. A. Carr, was married in 1853, to Wm. W. Wilder, of Metamora, and settled on section 1. He enlisted, in 1861, in the Sixteenth Michigan Infantry, and was wounded in the first battle at Gaines Hill, from which he soon after died, in the hands of the Confederates, leaving a wife and four children. WM. OVENS was born in Biggar, Scotland; was clerk in a grocery store in Glasgow for a few years; came to Almont in the fall of 1862, and was engaged with Henry Stevens five years; commenced business for himself in 1867, and associated with him his brother, James, in 1872, and continued together until 1883, since which he has continued the business alone. He has the largest store in St. Clair, Macomb and Lapeer Counties, occupying 10,000 feet of flooring and carrying under one roof the largest stock of general merchandise north of Detroit. TOWN OF LAPEER. The town of Lapeer occupies a central position in the county on account of its railway connections and the fact of the county seat being within its limits. The township is bounded on the north by Mayfield, east by Attica, south by Metamora and west by Elba. December 30, 1834, the town of Lapeer was organized, including all the county of Lapeer as now organized except the townships of Almont and Imlay. The first township meeting was held at the house of E. H. Higley, April 6, 1835. Previous to this time the inhabitants of this extensive tract of country were obliged to go to Pontiac to pay taxes and attend to all judicial business. At the first town meeting the following persons were elected to the several offices named, viz.: Supervisor, Jonathan R. White; clerk, Alvin N. Hart; assessors, William S. Higley, Samuel Murlin, John I. Carr; constable and collector, Morris Perry; directors of the poor, Joseph B. Moore, Samuel Murlin; commissioners of highways, Alvin McMasters, Daniel Turrill, Paul G. Davison; constables, Aaron Brigham, Joel M. Palmer; school inspectors, Minor Y. Turrill, Oliver B. Hart, Oliver P. Davison. A wolf bounty of one dollar for each scalp was voted in pursuance of a prevailing custom at that time. February 2, 1836, the town board met at the house of Alvin N. Hart to grant permits to persons applying for license to keep tavern for the ensuing year. Oliver B. Hart made application and the record states that "Ithe board having satisfied themselves of the said Hart's ability and character, do hereby permit the said Oliver B. Hart to keep tavern at his now dwelling-house in Lapeer village for the current year." The annual town meeting in April, 1836, for the election of town officers, commenced at the late dwelling-house of E. H. Higley. The price of wolf scalps was doubled at this meeting and other town business transacted. September 12, 1836, a meeting was held to elect a delegate to attend the State convention at Ann Arbor, for the purpose of assenting or dissenting to the proposition of Congress. Mason Butts received thirty-three votes and Benjamrin Sleeper thirty-one votes. At the general election held at the house of Oliver B. Hart in November, 1836, 100 votes were polled. The division of road districts was made in 1885. Eight districts were laid out. Twelve highways were laid out between the first of May, 1885, and April 1, 1886. At the annual town meeting in April, 1836, a resolution was adopted that every section line be declared a highway of four rods wide. In September, 1840, two and one-quarter acres of ground were purchased of Minor Y. Turrill at a cost of $112, for a burying ground, which was located on the east half of the southeast quarter of section 8. March 15, 1849, the township of Mayfield was made a part of Lapeer and remained so until March, 1869. ENTRIES OF LAND. The following list shows the entries of land prior to the year 1846: TOWNSHIP 7 NORTH, RANGE 10 EAST. SECTION 1. Nathan Dickinson, William H. Imlay and George Beach, April 2, 1836. Mason Butts, September 14, 1836. i & J I , --- __ ] We: I: i HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 51 SECTION 1. Alvin N. Hart and Lemuel Weston, November 14 1836. Thomas Probyn, November 15, 1836. George F. Ball, March 10, 1836. Harry Waldorph, November 8, 1838. Barnard Cook, December 5, 1838. Richard J. Vosburgh, February 20, 1844. SECTION 2. James Dixon, January 9, 1835. Oliver B. Hart, February 12, 1836. John Shafer, March 24, 1836. Nathan Dickinson, William H. Imlay and George Beach, April 2, 1836. A. Rood and J. S. Munson, January 1., 1836. SECTION 3. Clark C. Carpenter, July 19, 1834. Harvey Gray, September 8, 1834. Harvey Gray, May 19, 1835. Frank Lombard, October 31, 1834. Frank Lombard, November 5, 1834. Harvey Thomas, July 24, 1835. Aaron Rood, October 8, 1835. Aaron Rood, October 29, 1835. Aaron Rood and J. S. Munson, June 13, 1836. SECTION 4. Oliver B. Hart, July 11, 1831. George F. Ball, January 4, 1832. Joel Palmer and Alvin N. Hart, February 23, 1832. Walker Booth, March 24, 1832. Joseph England and Jesse Fox, July 2, 1832. Alvin N. Hart, January 30, 1833. SECTION 5. Daniel LeRoy, September 16, 1830. Benjamin Taggart, October 30, 1830. Oliver B. Hart, July 12, 1831. Joshua Terry, November 12, 1831. SECTION 6. J. R. White, January 16, 1882. Minor Y. Turrill, October 27, 1832. Theron Simes, July 14, 1834. John Shafer, December 18, 1835. E. J. White, January 21, 1836. Simeon B. Brown, February 8, 1836. Phineas White, March 8, 1886. SECTION ' 7. Nathan White, September 26, 1833. William C. Young, July 4, 1834. Enoch J. White, September 4, 1834. George Otto, December 21, 1835. Joshua B. Chapel, February 8, 1836. Isaac Wheeler, March 8, 1836. James W. Tillman, April 12, 1836. James W. Tillman, April 20, 1836.. SECTION 8. Walker Booth, March 24, 1832. Henry K. Avery, August 25, 1832. Phineaa. White, September 27, 1832. Jonathan R. White, January 25, 1833. Jonathan R. White, May 31, 1833. Enoch J. White, March 3, 1834. Morris Perry, March 25, 1834. Isaac L. Smith, April 10, 1884. Minor Y. Turrill, September 4, 1834. Asael Hubbard, November 18, 1834. George Otto, December 21, 1835. SECTION 9. John McMaster, March 5, 1832. Daniel Terrill, June 9, 1832. iWilliam T. Higley, July 24, 1832. Aaron Rood, October 8, 1835. SECTION 10. Phineas White, May 31, 1833. Aaron Rood, May 19, 1834. Samuel Hemenway, May 24, 1834. Estes H. Higley, November 18, 1834. Estes H. Higley, May 2, 1835. Asael J. Gray, June 3, 1835. John Peters, June 19, 1835. Aaron Rood, October 8, 1835. SECTION 11. Phineas White, May 31, 1833. Ira Peck, October 30, 1835. George Gage, December 4, 1835. Daniel Wood, December 4, 1835. George Gage, May 16, 1836. Hiram Ward, May 21, 1836. Orvis W. Rood, November 25, 1836. SECTION 12. Dwight Salmon, May 26, 1836. Asa Cole, June 27, 1838. Thomas Ryan, November 16, 1840. Lewis V. R. Whitaker, December 16, 1844. SECTION 13. Francis Fowler, May 26, 1836. Alonzo Orcutt, May 26, 1836. Nathaniel C. Bullock, June 2, 1836. Mosly Stoddard, June 24, 1836. SECTION 14. Ransom Cole, January 4, 1836. Reuben Cole, January 4, 1836. James Turrill, May 6, 1836. Hiram Ward, May 21, 1836. Francis Fowler, May 26, 1836. Alonzo Orcutt, May 26, 1836. John Esmond, May 27, 1836. SECTION 15. Isaac Goodale, November 10, 1835. Israel W. Bullock, January 4, 1836. Joseph Gilbert, February 9, 1836. Henry S. Platt, May 2, 1836. Gardner Dorrance, May 2, 1836. Levi D. Coules, May 2, 1836. SECTION 16. Woodward & Hart, October 4, 1843. SECTION 17. James Dixon, August 7, 1835. Minor Y. Turrill, March 9, 1836. John Thomas, March 9, 1836. Harry S. Platt, May 2, 1836. Gardner Dorrance, May 2, 1836. James Turrill, May 6, 1836. Ira Dickinson, July 5, 1836. Margaret Dixon, July 10, 1844. SECTION 18. Rensselaer Curtis, October 28, 1833. Rensselaer Curtis, June 2, 1834. Nicholas Poss, June 19, 1834. Nicholas Poss, July 27, 1835. Nicholas Poss, October 30, 1835. Ira Howland, March 26, 1836. Ira C. Alger, April 19, 1836. Addine M. Poss, July 6, 1836. Isaac Wheeler, July 7, 1836. Enoch J. White, April 20, 1838. SECTION 19. Trumbull Carey, October 29, 1835. George Clarl, or., January 6, 1836. Rebecca Clark, January 6, 1836. Delos Davis and Thaddeus O. Martin, February 27, 1836. Henry W. Martin, May 5, 1836. William Osborn, January 17, 1836. Jabez M. Corey, January 24, 1836. I I i i I-, 0 l E. I I 1 i I -i 1 14I I I e) I.A- I I I W 52 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. SECTION 19. James Dixon, Miay 8, 1837. SECTION 20. Alvi1n N. Hart, February 23, 1832. Alvin N. Hart, May 23, 1832. N. Dickinson. William H. Imlay and George Beach., March 17, 1836. Thomylas Golby, July 5, 1836. H~arve~y D. Felt, July 5, 1836. Ezra Tripp, July 21, 1837. Stephen Tripp, July 21, 1837. Ezra Tripp, October 23, 1837. Stephen Tripp, October 23, 1837. Tlzomas W~alkrer, April 12, 1839. SECTION 2 1. James Turrill, May 6, 1836. Noah H. Hart, July 6, 1836. &~CTION 28. Barnard Cook, November 2, 183,5. John K~irk,, March 3, 1836. Elizabeth Kirk, MEay 3, 1836. James Turrill, May 6i, 1836. Francis G. Macey and Amon W. Langdon, M\ay 17, 1836. SECTION 28. D. Langdon, H. G. Hubbard and T. H. Hubbard, July 7, 1836. Rebecca Clark, November 10, 1836. Hosea W~oodward, May 14, 1841. Lewis V. R. Wh~itney, July 5, 1841. SECTION 29. George Clark, August 4, 1832. George Clark, March 13, 1833. John Kirk, December 23, 1833. Joseph Jackson, December 23, 1833. George Stringer, April 18, 1836. Charles and Gasca Rich, July 11, 1836. John Walker, April 12, 1839. SECTION 30. Asahel Hubbard, August 19, 1833. Sarah? H. Howland, April 25, 1836. 32. Mr. Clark has been dead manzy years but his descendants are prominent citizens of the town. About this time Alvin McMaster built a sawmrill on section 8. Estes H. Higley came from Vermont and settled on section 10 iD. 1834. A sont, George W. Higley, now lives upon the old homestead. Mlr. Estes Hligley built a saw-mill on a branch of the Flint I - ill 104, 1L I _ _ e6 %T l 0A I^^ r: f A: — 0 - s\..:6 - I I I 1 - HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 3 - t - vl i Pike, 1S500; G. Stringer, 1,200; M. Michael, 1,100; J. Dodds, I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 53 River, and also a carding and wool carding factory. William Higley also built a mill near by. A school-house was built in that vicinity. All are still standing but dilapidation has fastened itself upon them. They now serve no other purpose than to remind one of days that are gone. A. J. Gray located here in 1835. He came from Wayne County, N. Y. Francis Fowler settled on section 14 in 1836. He died in 1871. Ira Peck also settled here in 1836. He was killed in a saw-mill in 1865. George Stringer located here in the spring of 1836. The Turrills and Roods were also prominent among the early farmers of the town. Soon after Mr. Clark's family located here it was reported at the village that a family had settled at the oak openings, five miles distant. The social tendencies of people in those days were greater than at a later day, and the first thing which occurred to the little handful of villagers was that the solitary family of settlers five miles away, would be likely to find their advent into this new region a lonely one. A visit was planned by the women of the village, vegetables were gathered and Captain Noah H. Hart was appointed teamster. With a pair of oxen and a heavy wagon he transported the company through the woods to the home of the new comers. The Clark habitation consisted of four posts driven into the ground, and a slight covering afforded protection from the elements. Cooking operations were carried on outside. The visit was an enjoyable one and both hosts and guests were made to feel better by the neighborly act. The Hunter's Creek settlement sprang up at an early day, and a postoffice by that name was established in the south part of the township. Harris Tripp, John Walker, 0. P. Davison and John Clark have been postmasters. The latter is the present incumbent of the office. The building of the Detroit & Bay City Railroad in 1872, elevated the settlement to the rank of a railway station and a shipping point. An elevator was built, and in 1873 Mr. John Clark erected a saw and shingle-mill. He also carries on the mercantile business in which he succeeded Oliver P. Davison. The Hunter's Creek Burying Ground Association was organized July 4, 1862. Officers: President, Thomas Clark; clerk, Oliver P. Davison; treasurer, John Clark. Changes have been made in the association, but the ground purchased is still the burial place of that neighborhood. The First Baptist Society of Hunter's Creek was organized in November, 1878. The trustees were as follows: Milton Titsworth, Malachi Tripp, Andrew W. White, James Clark, Susan C. Clark. A church building was erected and is supplied from pastors of neighboring societies. There is a Methodist Episcopal Church building, which was erected at an early day but it has not been used for some time. STATISTICAL. The population of the town of Lapeer in 1840 was 755. Census of 1874: Population, 1,156; acres of taxable land, 20,354; of improved land, 10,871; number of sheep, 3,385; horses, 419; cows, 519. Products of the preceding year: 16,633 pounds of wool sheared, 55,544 pounds of pork marketed, 61,486 pounds of butter made, 26,106 bushels of wheat raised, 25,414 of corn, 34,474 of other gris2,26fapls 2o ers 9 fceres 257o oa grains, 9,020 of apples, 92 of pears, 193 of cherries, 12,577 of potatoes, 1,948 tons of hay cut, 1,278 pounds of fruit dried for market, 329 barrels of cider made; 200 pounds of maple sugar were made in 1874. In 1877 the township produced 53,564 bushels of wheat. The farmers who raised more than 1,000 bushels were as follows: John Clark & Son, 4,800; S. Read, 1,300; Mrs. S. Clark, 1,400; 0. B. i Pike, 1,500; G. Stringer, 1,200; M. Michael, 1,100; J. Dodds, 1,300; James Clark, 1,200; M. H. Schuneman, 4,000; G. P. Chapman, 1,600; H. C. Rood, 2,500. The largest average yield was forty acres which averaged 37~ bushels. In 1880 the population was 1,166. The aggregate valuation of real and personal property as equalized by the board of supervisors in 1882 was $697,000. The annual report of the school inspectors of the town of Lapeer, for the year 1882, shows the number of school children to have been 306; number of school buildings, six. The school inspectors were William McQuin, H. F. Brown, H. A. Greeley, Andrew McGregor, L. J. Russell, James Reed. TOWN OFFICERS. 1835-Supervisor, Jonathan R. White; clerk, Alvin N. Hart; collector, Morris Perry. 1836-Supervisor, Mason Butts; clerk, Levi Vosburgh; collector, Morris Perr y. 1837-Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, A. Hubbard; collector, Ira Howland. 1838-Supervisor, Horace N. Lathrop; clerk, John Ryon; collector, Ira Howland. 1839-Supervisor, Frank Lumbard; clerk, Orrin M. Evans; treasurer, Derrick Stebbins. 1840-Supervisor, Chester Hatch; clerk, Derrick Siebbins; treasurer, Martin Stiles. 1841-Supervisor, Levi Sawtell; clerk, Horace Hinman; treasurer, Aaron Rood. 1842-Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, Isaac McKeen; treasurer, Joseph B. Hart. 1843-Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, Isaac McKeen; treasurer, Samuel Tomlinson. 1844-Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, D. Miller; treasurer, Samuel Tomlinson. 1845 —Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, W. Loud; treasurer, Horace D. Rood. 1846-Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, W. Loud; treasurer, Horace D. Rood. 1847-Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, M. W. Smith; treasurer, Robert Patterson. 1848-Supervisor, Alvin N. Hart; clerk, George F. Ball; treasurer, Robert Patterson. 1849-Supervisor, Noah H. Hart; clerk, William Beech; treasurer, Robert Patterson. 1850 —Supervisor, Noah H. Hart; clerk, William Beech; treasurer, Robert Patterson. 1851-Supervisor, Noah H. Hart; clerk, William Beech; treasurer, Asahel Gray. 1852-Supervisor, Noah H. Hart; clerk, William Beech; treasurer, Asahel Gray. 1853-Supervisor, John B. Evans; clerk, William Beech; treasurer, Asahel Gray. 1854 —Supervisor, John B. Evans; clerk, William Beech; treasurer, Sylvester Shaffer. 1855-Supervisor, Horace N. Lathrop; clerk, William H. Clark; treasurer, Sylvester Shaffer. 1856-Supervisor, John B. Evans; clerk, William H. Clark; treasurer, Sylvester Shaffer. 1857-Supervisor, Henry Dodd; clerk, HubbellLoomis; treasurer, P. J. Bope. 1858 —Supervisor, E. J. White: clerk, Hubbell Loomis; treasurer, P. J. Bope. - - -I I ~ I I I It ad I _ X 4 4 -?) __j I. i 54 HISTORY OF L APEE ER COUNTY. I I i i 1859 —Supervisor, E. J. Wh~ite; clerk, J. Henry Turrill; treasurer, Silas Wrighlt. 18600-Supervisor, E. JT. White; clerli, George S. Fletcher: treasurer, Silas Wright. I 1861 —Supervisor, Charles Rich; clerk, George S. Fletcher; treasurer, John DI. Evarns. 1862 —Supervisor, Charles Rich; clerk, Stephen S. Hicks; treasurer, Johtn B. Evans. 18M8-Suparvisor, Charles Rich; clerk, R. C. Viinceint; treasurer, L. E. Waterbury. 1864 —Supervisor, Charles Rich; clerki, Steph~en S. Hicks; treasurer, L. E.WaWtterbury. 1865 —Supervisor, Stephen S. H~icks; clerk, Williamll Arnold; treasurer, Charles M. Davis. 1866 —Supervisor, Stephen S. Hicks;i clerk, Charles Rich;; treasurer, Ch~arles M~. Davis. 1867 ---Supervisor, Johin B. Sutton; clerk, Henry A. Birdsalltreasurer, Charles MI. Davis. 1868 —Supervisor, Horace 1). Rood; clerk, Henry A. Birdsall; treasurer, Charles M. D~avis. 1869 —Supervisor, Thomas Clark; clerk, W. F. Daley; treasurer, J. W. Teller..18'70 —Supervisor, Thomas Clark; clerk, W. F. Datley; treasurer, J. Wl. Teller. 1871-S8upervisor, Thomuas Clark; clerk, Daniel Conklin; treasurer, J. W. Teller. 1872-Supervisoror Thomas Clark; clerk, Datniel Conkiintreasurer, J. WV. Teller. 1873 —Supervisor, W. B. Sutton; clerk, E. A. Higrley; treasurer, A. A. Rood. 1874l-Supervisor, W. B. Sutton- clerk, W. WV. Gardner; treasurer, Peter V. B. SchunemaRn. 18'75 —Supervisor, W. B. Suttcn; clerk, E. A. Higley; treasurer, Peter V. B. Sebuilernan. 1876-S8upervisor, George P. Chapman: cler~k, E. A. Higley; treasurer, Johzn T. Clark. 1877 —Supervisor, W.. B. Sutton; clerk, E. A. Higley; treasurer, John T. Clark.. 1878-Supervisor., William Hatlpin; clerkr, E. A. Hig~ley; treasurer, Peter V. B. Schunemann. 1879 —Supervisor, William Halpin; clerk, Peter V. B. SI~huneman?; treasurer, Robert B. Walker. 1880)- Supervisor, H. Palmzerlee; clerk, Charles F. Rilaynard; treasurer, Robert B. Walker. 1881 —Supervisor, H. Palnaerlee; clerk, Charles F. Maynard; treasurer, Walter Butterfield-. then took up at farm on section 11 in the towfnship of Lapeer and conzducted it till 1811, w~hen h~e purchased the farm he now resides upon on sjection 27. H~e has always been a farmer; but for the past fifteen years has made a specialty of hop raising, hzaving fifteen acres under cultivationz. When he -first settled on his farm be lived for a time in a, small house without windows, doors or floors, and his wife did the cookino, for the family beside a large log which was near the house. At that time bears, wolves and deer were quite plentiful. He wias married in 1839 to Miss Julia Tripp, who died in 1848. The~y hadn three ch~ildren. H~is second marriage occurred September 26, 1849, to Miss Rena Woodard, by whom he had five child~ren., GEORGEW. H IIGLEY was borii~in Vermont in 1&80 and camee with his parents to Lapeer in 183 1. His f ather took up a large tract of land from the government on section 10 in th,- townshsip of Lapeer, which b~e occupied until his death. Mr. H~ig~ley now owns a part of the original farm, and also eighty acres a mile to the south. He ha-, been engaged in farming and lunlbering, and was also a clerk in D~etroit one year. In Decem~ber, 1880, be orgalnized the ftirm of Strong & Higley for the purpose of engaging ill the sale of groceries, provisions and boots and shoes. Their store is located onl the corner of Nepessing and Mason Streets, Lapeer. Mr. Higley has held the office of highwazy commissioner for the township of Lapeer. A. J. GRAY was born in W~ayne C'ounty, N. Y., in 1818, and came to Lapeer County in the sprillg of 1835 and settled on section 3 fn the -towvnship of Lapeer, where he has since contiklued to reside. He took up a large tract of land and has always' been a farmer, doing hlis share of the hard work incident to a new country. Hze has held the offices of justice,~ of the peace, treasurer and highwayy comm~issioner several terms. Was treasurer when the entire north part of the courity was included in ~the townshrip ofLapeer., He was married in 1842 to Mdiss Jane Vosburg, who died in July, 1878. They had two cbildren-aa son and daughter. THOMIAS WVALKER, deceased, was a native of England, where he was born August 23, 1807. H~e came to Detroit, Mdich., in June 1832, and remained there till 1836, when he returned to England and spent about one year in the land of his birth. On his return to Detroit he engaged in business till 1840, when he came to Lapeer County and settled in the township of Lapeer on section 29, clearing up a large farm, whic11 be managed up to the time of his death, in 1868. He was married in 1838 to Miss Maryr Green, who wvas also a native of Engla-nd. They had a family of seven children. Ii iI I r I DAVID WALKER was born in the township of Lapeer on the old homestead in 1851, and remained on the farm until tile death of his falther in 1868, when he and his brother Robert bouxght oult the heirs, and have since been in partnership. They also bought a farm on the same section, whichi is o2~cupied by Robert. H3e was married in 1879 to Miss Belle Frenctl. They Ilave two children. R. H. READ was bornl in New Jersey, June 14, 1814, and came to Washington, Macomb County, Mich., in 1837. After travel-ing ab~out two years in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana, he located in Union, Oakland County, M~ich., and engagred in farming till 1858, when he came to Latpeer County, and purchased a farm on section 23, in the townsh~ip of Lapeer, upon which he still resides. He was marsried April 3, 1843, to Miss Anna Perry; they have a, son and datughter. SAMUEL READ was born Octob~er 19, 1843, in Orion, -Oakland Count, Mich., and came to Lapeer, with his parents in 1858, and has since remained on the farm, which lie is now managing. He wyas married Januatry 17, 1872, to Miss Ella Morris, and bas four children. IJ. W. DENNIS is a native of Canada, and was born in 1838, and is by occupation a carpenter and engineer. He came to Lapeer in 1865, and now owns ten acres of' valuable land near the city, on section 7, upon which he has good buildings.. Ultimately lie expects to devote the entire place to the raising of small fruits. W~las married in 1862, to Miss Louisa Michael, wYho is also a native of Canada. Th~ey have four children.' MATTHIIAS CALEY (decea~sed) wvas bor-i on the Isle of Man in i iL I I QD rl i i i HISTORY OF LA Great Britain, in 1789, and emigrated to Utica, Oneida County, N. Y., in 1828. He moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1836, and to Lapeer in February, 1837, and settled on section 32; his farm lying on both sides of the town line road, he built his house on section 5, in Metamora, and remained there till his death in December, 1858. There were very few settlers in the township when Mr. Caley came in. He was married about the year 1809, to Mary Stephens, and had four children. THOMAS CALEY was born on the Isle of Man in 1814, and came to Utica, N. Y., in 1828, Detroit in 1836, and to Lapeer in 1837, where he remained on the old homestead, till the death of his father in 1858. Since that time has owned the old farm, and now owns 700 acres of land lying in a body, and owns in all 1,500 acres. Married in 1841, to Jane Carron, who died in 1862. Second marriage in 1863, to Sarah Looney; they have three children. ZADOCK BATES was born in Manchester, Bennington County,Vermont, in 1796, and went to Plattsburgh, N. Y., with his parents, in 1806, thence to Geauga County, Ohio, in 1820, and in 1821 went to Green Bay, Wisconsin (then Michigan), and was engaged as a clerk in a store, till 1822. He then went to St. Mary's Falls, Lake Superior, and was in the same business for another year, and in 1823 engaged in business in Oakland County, remaining there till 1828, then moved to Pennsylvania, and was engaged in farming till 1840, when he moved to Lapeer, and settled on section 31, where he has since lived. Has cleared up a large farm with the help of his sons. Mr. Bates served several months in the army during the war of 1812. Married December 6, 1824, to Eliza Webster; they have eight children. Mr. Bate;3 has been justice of peace four years in the township of Lapeer. WILLIAM W. BATES was born in Pennsylvania in 1834, and came to Lapeer with his parents in 1840, and remained on the old homestead till he was twenty-one years of age, and has since managed the farm. Married in 1860, to Maria L. Hamler; they have three children. ASA PALMERLEE (deceased) was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1803, and in 1819 moved to Otsego County, N. Y., thence in 1830, to Franklinville, Cattaraugus County, N. Y., where he remained until 1850, in which year he came to Lapeer County and settled in the township of Lapeer, on section 31, where he remained till his death, which occurred in 1839. When Mr. Palmerlee first located in Lapeer, there were no roads laid out in his neighborhood, and he commenced in the wilderness, but with the help of his sons he cleared up a fine farm. He was married in 1825, to Lucy Seward; they raised a family of ten children. HOEL PALMERLEE was born in Franklinville, Cattaraugus County N. Y., in 1836, and came with his parents to Lapeer in 1850, and has lived on the homestead continuously, with the exception of four years spent in Minnesota; his mother resides with him. He has been supervisor of the township of Lapeer four years, and is the present (1883) incumbent. He was married in 1862 to Miss Almina Johnson, who died April 15, 1869, leaving two sons; and was again married, August 20, 1874, to Miss Frances E. Brown. ROBERT B. WALKER was born in the township of Lapeer, Lapeer County, Mich., in December, 1849, and remained at home on the farm until he became of age. In 1872 he and his brother purchased the interest of the heirs in the homestead, and in 1879 they bought the farm which Robert now lives upon, which is located on section 29. He has held the office of highway commi;sioner one year, treasurer, two years, and school director nine years. Was married in December, 1874, to Miss Agnes French; they have two daughters. JOHN G. GATES was born in Seneca, Ontario County, N. Y., PEER COUNTY. 55 in 1822. Owing to the death of his mother, he went to live with his grandfather at a very early age, and remained with him until twenty-one years old. He then went to Leroy, Genesee County, N. Y., and engaged in farming, and in 1856 came to Oakland County, Mich., where he remained until 1860, when he came to the township of Lapeer and settled on section 30, where he owns a good farm. He was married in 1849 to Miss Lois A. Wilcox, and they have seven children. ANDREW L. KINGSBURY, SR., was born in Roxbury, Delaware County, N. Y., in 1810, and in 1816 with his parents moved to Monroe County, N. Y. In 1833 he came to Shelby, Macomb County, Mich., and thence in 1844 to Lapeer County, where he located onl section 30, in the township of Lapeer, where he has since resided. He has cleared up a fine farm upon which he has erected good buildings. Mr. Kingsbury held theoffice of supervisor one year, and highway commissioner nine years, while the townships of Lapeer and Mayfield were one, and since the division, has represented the township of Lapeer in various offices, among which may be mentioned the office of justice of the peace, and was under sheriff of the county two years. He took the United States census of the township in 1880, and for eighteen years was engaged in the insurance business, in the counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair. When he came to Michigan in 1833, he found himself in Detroit with a wife and child to support, and with but a shilling in his pocket; but, by energy and perseverance, he now ranks as one of the substantial farmers of his township. He was married in 1830 to Miss Lucy Gillett, who was born in Greene County, N. Y., near the Catskill Mountains. They have raised a family of ten children. W. BUTTERFIELD was born in Genesee County, N. Y., in 1832, and in 1852 came to Utica, Macomb County, Mich., thence to Lapeer in 1871, and purchased the farm he now resides upon, which is located on section 9. His farm is well improved, and his buildings are substantial and in keeping. Mr. Butterfield has filled the office of township treasurer two years. Was married in 1858 to Miss Martha Hotham, they have two children. ELI COLLINS was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1806, and emigrated to the United States in June, 1850, coming directly to Lapeer County, Mich., and located on section 29, of the township of Lapeer, where he has since resided. Mr. Collins has been a hard working man, having cleared up the greater part of his farm which is now classed with the best. He was married in 1831 to Miss Fanny Nailer, who died in 1849; was again married in 1850 to Miss Elizabeth Winterburn, and they have had four daughters, three of whom are school teachers. O. B. PIKE was born in Monroe County, N. Y., in 1824, and came to Livingston County, Mich., in 1842. He followed threshing for a season, and in 1844 went to Saginaw, and was in the employ of James Fraser, who built the Fiaser House in Bay City. Returning to Monroe County in 1847 he purchased a farm, and was engaged in farming until 1852, when he went to Ohio and bought a steam saw-mill, which he operated till 1856, when he again came to Lapeer and engaged in farming. In 1865 he purchased the farm he now owns on section 17. He was married in 1846 in Saginaw to Miss Mary Ann Eastman. They have two sons and five daughters. Mr. Pike has held the office of highway commissioner for the township of Lapeer three years. WILLIAM H. LOUKS was born in Canada, in 1829, moved to Illinois in 1853 and was engaged in farming and lumbering till 1873, when he came to Otsego County, Michigan, and engaged in lumbering, and is still in that business. In 1881 came to Lapeer and bought the farm he now lives on which is on section 9. He also owns farms on sections 10, 15 and 16; lie has a fine farm and i - I V -I =t S 1C I -A I v I& a I - i 5G HtISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY elegant buildings. Married in 1851, to Agnes Gray; they have five children, Adam, Jane, Ellen, William and Mary. GEORGE C. TRIPP, deceased, was born March 2, 1805, in New York, came to Lapeer, Lapeer County, Micl., in 1846, and settled on section 35, cleared up his farm, and soon after came to Lapeer, built a saw-mill on his own farnm on the south branch of Flint River; be lived on the farm till his death in 1854. Married in 1824 to Harriet Beeman who died in 1843; they had eight children. JOHNL. TRIPP was born in New York, March 14, 1833, came to Lapeer with his parents in 1846, and has always lived on the old farm of 160 acres on section 35; has been engaged in farming since his father's death, and ran the saw-mill till 1877. Married April 10, 1857, to Sarah A. Dailey, who died March 29, 1883; they had two children, Libbie, now Mirs. Herand, and Frederick A. HENRY DoDDs, deceased, was born in Lyons, Wayne County, N. Y., in 1810, and came to Lapeer County in 1851. He settled on section 11 in the township of Lapeer, where he purchased a farm upon which his soil, John H. Dodds, now resides. He engaged exclusively in farming until his death, which occurred in 1874. He was married in 1834 to Miss Diantha Gray, who was born in Brandon, Vt., in 1813. They had six children, of whom Williali lost his life in the army. JOHN H. DODDS was born in Lyons, Wayne County, N. Y., in 1850, and came to Lapeer with his parents in 1851, remaining at home until the death of his father, and has since managed the farm. He was mnarried in 1879 to Miss Sarah M. Miller. The~y have one child. ALPHEus ROOD, deceased, was born in Lapeer, Lapeer County, May 10, 1889. His father, Aaron Rood, came to Lapeer from Vermont in an early day, locating land near Lapeer City to give each of his sons a good farm. Alpheus was born oil the farm where his widow and family now reside, and after becoming of age engaged in farming until his death, Julie 30, 187^5. He was the second white child born in the township of Lapeer. Wias married in December, 1863, to Miss Martha E. Goss, by whoul he had six children: Frank G., Ward O., John R., Blanche, who died in 1871, Dwight A., and Mary E. Mrs. Rood was born in Greene County, N. Y., August 18, 1838, and was the daughter of Nicholas Goss. He came to the township of Arcadia in 1837, and located 36;0 acres of land-and in 1848 came with his family to reside permanently. Mrs. Rood now resides on the farm where her husband died, on section 10..WILLIAM BROOKS WAS born in Canada in 1838, and in 1861 came to Burnside and purchased a farm, where be resided until 1870, when he camse to Lapeer and bought a farm on section 11, where he now resides. He was married in 1866 to l!iss Caroline Gage, daughter of George Gage, one of the first settlers of Lapeer, They have a family of four children. She was born oin the farm where she now resides. C. T. DEAN WAS born in Hamilton, Northumberlalld County, Ontario, in 1849, and came to Pontiac, Mfich., in 1861; thence to the village of Lapeer in May, 1862. He. resided there until 1865 when be located in the township on section 4, where he has since been engaged in farming, with the exception of one year he was in the Lapeer express office, and one year traveling for a Cincinnati safe company. He was married in February, 1875, to Miss Delia Owen, who was born in New York, and has four children. FRANCIS FOWLER, deceased, was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., October 12, 1805, and came to Lapeer in 1836. He settled on section 14, where he cleared up a farm, and also worked at the stone mason trade. He was married May 12, 1839, to Miss Laura Woodard, who was born in New York. Mr. Fowler's death occurred September 6, 1871, and Mrs. Fowler's March 9, 1874. They left six children. F. E. FOWLER was born in the township of Lapeer, May 15, 1842. He worked at the carpenter's trade until the death of his father in 1871, since which time he and his brother have worked the homestead. He was married in 1874, and has two children. A. C. RUSSELL was born in HuLntington, Vt., April 14, 1810. Moved to St. Lawrence County with his parents il 1816, where he remained until 1871. He then came to Lapeer and purchased a farm on section 14, where he now resides. February 2.5, 1831, he was married to Miss Eliza Higley who died November 15, 1873. They raised a family of eight ehildren, losing two sons il the late war. L. J. RUSSELL was born in St. Law2rence County, N. Y., in 1847, remaining there until 1868, when he came to Lapeer, and has sinee been engaged in farming and lumbering. Since 1872 he has resided on his farm on section 14. He was married in 1876 to Miss Mary Norley, and has three children. FRANCIS RUBY was born in Hume, Allegany Coulty, N. Y., in 1828, and came to Shelby, Macomnb County, Mich., with his parents, in 1835. He remained there until 1868, when he came to Lapeer City, where he was the proprietor and owner of a liquor store till 1877. He then purchased a farm and saw-mill on section 22, which he has since owned and conducted. In 1846 he married Miss Elizabeth Casler, and has three children. IRA PECK, deceased, was born in Connectictlt Decemtber 5, 1805, and when a child moved to Cortland County with his parents. He came to Oakiland County, Mich., in 1835, and the following year to Lapeer, where he settled on section 11, remaining there several years, when he removed to section 24, where be resided until his death March 14, 1865. Was killed by being caught in the belt of a saw-mill. He was married September 10, 1832, to Miss Sarah Anil Simmons, who was born in Steventown, Rensselaer County, N. Y.', April 17, 1818. They had six children, George S., who died May 11, 1856, Miles G., Jerome T., who died May 31, 1849, Sarah A., William J., and John S. MILES G. PECKwBas born in Cortland County, N. Y., February 8, 1835, and came to Lapeer in 1836. He has since been a resident of the township, and has a farm n l section 24. He wvas married in 1862 to Miss Mary Harris, and has four children. CHARLES HARRIS, deceased, was born in Liverpool, England, i 1792, and came to Hudson, N. Y., ill 1822. IHe came to Lapeer in 1841, and settled on section 26, where he remained until his death in 1856. Twenty-one years of his life he was captain of a vessel on the ocean. In 1832 he married Miss Sophia Gardner, by whom he had six children. GARDNER J. HARRIS, son of Charles Harris, was born sin HudSO11, N. Y., in February, 1839, and came to Lapeer with his parents in 1841. He managed the farm after his father's death until his own, which occurred February 4, 1882. He was married in 1861 to Miss Hulda A. Broolks, a native of Canada, by whom he had two children. David Brooks, her father, came to Lapeer' from Canada in 1843, and settled on section 24, residing there until 1860, when be went to Missouri, where he remained until his death in 1872. GEORGE P. CHAPMAN was born in C~anada in 1834, and camne to Lapeer, September, 1861, remaining a year, when he engaged in lumbering near Saginaw. In 1869 he purchased a farm on section 14, where he now resides. Since coming to the State has been engaged in lumbering and farming, and now owns a fine farm upon which there are excellent buildings. He was married in 1866 to Miss Julia E. Higley, and has seven children. P- K + I - 0 S G. P. CHAPMAN. 7,, A;19Z M RS. G. R CHAPMAN. i':I iil i1 il 3 Hi. I i| Ei. | I i; i i, ii i i; I' I' i - i. ii i, i I ii ii I1 ik is,0 1, l.,,,,.,,...,;, i',,, i! i,;, 4 i -m_I I i i 3 a I....! -4 I I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 57 -~~ ff -- I CITY OF LAPEER. The history of Lapeer City properly begins with the location of the county seat in 1830, as already narrated in the opening chapter. Two years previous a settlement had been made in the present town of Almont, and a few families had made little clearings and were contending for a scanty subsistence by making shingles. A chapter of early history is contributed by Miss Nettie A. Cornstock, secretary of the County Pioneer Society, which is given as follows: Early in the summer of 1831, Messrs. A. N. and O. B. Hart and J. B. Morse came to Michigan with a view of purchasing land, and making homes in what was then the far West. Mr. O. B. Hart had his mind made upon Oakland County, Mr. Morse upon what was then known as the Grand River country, just opened to settlement by the survey of a wagon road from Detroit to Chicago. Mr. A. N. Hart was ready to go to the place that seemed to hold out the greatest inducements to the settler. Meeting in Utica, N. Y., Messrs. A. N. Hart and Morse agreed to a companionship in the search for lands, and came to Pontiac, and while here, by the representations of Judge Leroy, they visited the wilderness site of the future county of Lapeer. They were charmed with the location, but wishing to see more of the country before purchasing, they returned and started for the distant Grand River country. The journey was most tiresome and they saw nothing in their travels that pleased them as well as the place they first visited. So they agreed to return to Lapeer, and this time they were accompanied by a Mr. Pratt, and Mr. O. B. Hart. Mr. Hart was as much pleased with the location as his brother and Mr. Morse had been, and they at once decided to cast their lot here; Mr. Pratt would look farther. On this visit the party encamped under a large elm, and also had the misfortune to melt the bottom from their coffee-pot. The Harts and Morse, who had decided to return and bring their families with them, very naturally wished to mark the spot. A roguish son of Mr. Morse, who had accompanied them on this expedition, and in whom Mr. A. N. Hart, who was much younger than his companions, and not at all averse to a good joke, found a most congenial companion, proposed that they should bury the useless tin at the foot of the tree with appropriate ceremonies, and this was accordingly done by himself and Mr. A. N. Hart. They raised as high a mound about it as they well could that they might know the spot when they returned. This tree is still standing on the Hart property, carefully guarded as an ancient landmark. Messrs. O. B. Hart and Morse, who had large families, and several small children, decided to postpone their removal until spring, as it was so late it would be impossible to provide the necessaries of life for them that season. Mr. A. N. Hart, whose family consisted of himself, a wife and one child, concluded to remove at once. In November, 1831, the family, accompanied by Mr. J. M. Palmer, reached Lapeer. Messrs. Hart and Palmer cut the road through from the Whittemore Plains, in Oakland County, using for that purpose an old-fashioned, two-bitted ax, which was carefully preserved by Mr. Palmer as long as he lived. This was the era of wild speculation in Western lands. Imaginary cities and towns were platted on paper, often in most impossible locations, as the middle df lakes and morasses, and literally in the howling wilderness, and these plats were often sold at immense figures. But the speculators were obliged to enter into some bona fide transactions, in order to keep the ball moving; so every inducement was held out to emigrants to settle and so open the country. Judge Leroy had purchased a portion of the present city of Lapeer, hence his efforts to induce immingration. At this time Lapeer, though one of the counties laid out and named in 1822, had no 4 i population whatever save a few isolated families in the township of Almont. As might have been expected this bubble soon burst. Soon after the return of Mr. A. N. Hart to Utica, N. Y., for his family, the Pontiac Mill Co. began to build a saw-mill on Farmers Creek, a little above where Muir's flouring-mill stood, and put up a boarding shanty for the hands. This rude boarding-house was managed by a Mrs. Potter, who was probably the first white woman to visit Lapeer. About the first of November, 1831, Mr. J. R. White came to Lapeer and bought an interest in the mill then building. This done, he returned to New York for his wife and reached Lapeer with her in December, 1831, about a month after the arrival of the Harts and Palmer. Some time during the winter, Dr. NM. Y. Turrill came with his Kvife and aged father and mother. In March, 1832, Mr. O. B. Hart arrived-Mr. Morse in May following, and about the same time Mr. Alvin McMaster and wife. *These first families were not long here'alone. In a short time J. R. White was followed by his mother, brothers and sisters; Dr. Turrill by his sisters, and their families; and the Roods, who came soon after, by a goodly number of their kindred and friends. These were all of Puritan, New England stock, and had inherited the grim resolution of their forefathers, but brought up in widely separated communities, and of opposite views in politics. Very soon disagreements arose. Interests clashed, political animosities were aroused, and these were carried to such a pitch that the prosperity of the new commonwealth was seriously compromised. Some of these quarrels were concerning what would be, in this age of the world, most trifling matters. Others were of more real consequence, as men have always shown more or less a disposition to overreach each other. Perhaps the first disagreements among the early settlers here grew out of cutting and drawing the hay from a large marsh on the town line four miles south of the embryo city. This belonged to the government and supplied an article of prime necessity to the settlers, a coarse article of hay for their teams and cows. Every man who had need cut as much hay as he could, and stacked it on the marsh to await a hard frost, which would enable him to draw it home. When it came, the first man on the ground, not more honest perhaps than he should be, took as much hay as he could, without regard to the rights of his neighbors, who would very naturally resent such proceedings. Mr. L. D. Morse relates a circumstance of this kind affecting his father and himself: In December, 1833, Alonzo, the oldest son of J. B. Morse, a promising young man about nineteen years of age, suddenly died, the first death in the settlement. The father was at Detroit working at his trade (a carpenter and joiner) when his son sickened and died, and he was obliged to return to his work immediately after the funeral to win bread for his famlily. Like their neighbors- they had cut hay on the marsh the preceding summer, but by reason of the sickness and death of the son and brother, had been unable to secure their share of the hay as soon as they should, when a neighbor, taking advantage of Mr. Morse's absence, on finding that Lorenzo, who was now the oldest son and head of the family, the father being away, was about to draw off their share of the hay, forbade him to touch it at his peril, claiming it as his own. Young Morse felt the situation keenly. Everything now depended upon his exertions, and being determined not to see their two cows starve before his eyes, he went to J. M. Palmner for aid and advice. Mr. Palmer advised him to go at once and draw off the hay, and prolmised him all the assistance in his power. Morse and Palmer inmmediately started for the fodder, each with an ox team, closely followed by the neighbor, who threatened them with all the terrors of the law if they touched as much as a spear of the hay. Nothing daunted by these menaces, on arriving at the marsh I i - r -_t *T Po1 ( I I 0 i -- + r X_____~_ --- — -----— 8 — -j -' —j1 ----— _- - 58 I C_ 58 HISTORY OF L XPEER COUNTY. l they began the work of loading the hay upon their wagons at once. Palmer, who was a stalwart specimen of manhood, holding their antagonist completely at bay, and thus they secured the fodder. So many combats grew out of such transactions, that the marsh received the name of Squabble Meadow, which it bears to this day. Somne few years later, about 1839, or 1840, two men named McLellan and Smith, one very hot day ill July, entered into a contest to see which could cut the most hay, with terrible and fatal results, Smith dying the next day, and McLellan two days after from heat and over-exertion. Soon after the first settlement of Lapeer, a Congregational Church was formed to which the Rev. Messrs. Wells and Ruggles, pioneer preachers of Oakland County, preached occasionally, Mr. Ruggles generally walking to his appointments, of which he had as many as any Methodist Episcopal circuit rider of that day. Mr. Wells is said to have held the first service in the new town. This was followed by the organization of Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, and in time the Presbyterian Church absorbed the Congregational. The Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, with all the changes of time, have steadily grown with the growth of the town. Deacon Aaron Rood, whose praise is still in the church, was one of the leading members of the Presbyterian Church, his son, Orvis Rood, and others, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. We believe the first Methodist quarterly meeting held in Lapeer County was called some time in 1835 by Rev. E. H. Pilcher, presiding elder. There was a wonderful increase of population in those days, and county and village were consequently elated. Business houses were formed, lumbering began on a large scale for those days.' Mr. J. R. White soon bought the whole of the saw-mill, owned by himself and the Pontiac Mill Co., and Mr. Alvin McMaster built another soon after, on the southeast quarter of section 8, Lapeer Township. The era of speculation was not yet over, and great railroad lines were being surveyed all over the State, and one of these prospective lines, the " Northern," was to pass through Lapeer. This was surveyed in 1837, but six years after Messrs. Hart and Palmer cut that fourteen miles of road through an unbroken wilderness, and only five years after a road had been authorized by the territorial government from Lapeer to Rochester (1832). Wildcat money was plenty with a bank of circulation in every hamlet, and every one felt rich. It was not long before the collapse of the wildcat banks but lumbering still went on, and at one time lumber and shingles supplied to some extent the place of money, and became almost as much a legal tender in the payment of- debts as specie. So lumber and shingles became known in the adjoining counties as "Lapeer currency." Lapeer at that time consisted of two hamlets separated by a tamarack swamp, where the wolves were wont to convene of winter nights, and make the woods ring with their dismal howlings. Below this swamp was built the first court-house, which was burnt before its entire completion, and the jail, A. N. Hart's store, the present Watkins building, and on the site of Hart's block, 0. B. Hart had put a hotel of a hundred feet front. Next was a small store building, and directly on the corner O. M. Evans, a prominent business man of those times, had put up a store, a really beautiful wooden building, and finished it ready for plastering. The Evans family occupied rooms over the store. In the spring of 1840 Evans had gone to New York for goods, his wife accompanying him, leaving Miss Caroline Wheeler in charge of their rooms, and a little girl they had adopted. While matters were in this state, one Sunday morning Miss Wheeler was'suddenly awakened from her slumbers by the cry of fire. She sprang from her bed to find the building in flames, and arousing the sleeping child she managed with much difficulty to get her down the stairs and out of the building. This disaster was the financial ruin of Evans, who soon after left Lapeer, returned to the East and afterward emigrated to California. The cause of the fire was supposed to be a spark from the stove pipe catching in a heap of shavings carelessly left in an unoccupied loom in too close proximity to the stove pipe; not by any means the first or last building consumed by similar carelessness. This fire, though by no means the first that had visited the new town, was a terrible blow to its prosperity, and from this and the collapse of the wildcat banks and land speculation Lapeer did not recover for many years. The first mill built by the Pontiac Mill Co., was burned in 1833, but another was soon after put up a little below the former site, and some little time after this, the double log house built by O. B. Hart had been burnt, and almost everything in it had been consumed. O. B. Hart had kept a hotel almost from his first settlement in Lapeer, but after this conflagration he settled down to farming in which he was very successful until his death in 1841. Another prominent man of the early times was Frank Fowler, who afterwards removed from the village to a farm about five miles southeast where he amassed a large property, and died in 1871. Above this tamarack swamp, and test and south of it, was a store built on the corner near the former site of the Opera House Block, by Butts and Shafer, the houses of J. R. and Phineas White, Dr. Turrill and others, the mill and the school-house. Indeed, while the lower part of the town has always clung to the courthouse and jail, and dispensed law and justice to the commonwealih, the upper town has always held the school-house. In the early times here as in all new settlements the schoolhouse served also as church and town hall. Some time after the great fire, and about the time of the Mormon establishment at Nauvoo, a Mormon preacher named VanDusen, disguised as a Methodist minister, introduced himself into a series of meetings the Methodists were holding in the school-house. This wolf in sheep's clothing did not dare to throw off his mask until he had wrought the minds of his hearers up to such a pitch of excitement that they were prepared to accept him as an oracle acting under the direct inspiration of the Almighty, and as such, any excesses he might commit would not only be tolerated but approved by his deluded followers; and to such a pitch did he carry these excesses, that it is said it was not unusual for him to alarm everybody with the cry of fire late at night, and on being questioned as to the locality, to answer, "In hell for lost sinners." Of course the more sober portion of the community were intensely disgusted, and the irrepressible mischief-making spirit of Young America fully aroused. One evening, some time after the congregation had assembled the candles all went out one after another, each with a slight explosion, and a suspicious odor of brimstone. The meeting was broken up for that night, an investigation had, and the mystery explained. During the previous day the house had been entered and a part of each candle cut off and the candlestick filled with wet and dry powder wrapped in paper to imitate the candles, and a piece of candle carefully placed over it so that as soon as the candle had burned down to the candlestick an explosion followed. Encouraged by this success, the boys contrived to bore a hole in the floor and send paper wads filled with powder among the congregation by means of an infernal machine, rigged under and outside the house, and operated from without. On another occasion one of the young mischief makers dressed up as an old woman and came to the meeting, seating himself by the side of Miss Jane Vosburgh. Miss V., not recognizing her companion, began an investigation in which she was joined by several other young ladies sitting near. At last, becoming weary of playing at propriety, he assumed a very masculine position, and in so doing, displayed a good sized pair of stoga __ r e -ir~ 6 I i~ I I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. boots. Tlis wvas followed by an attempt on the part of one of the young ladies to raise the old lady's veil, when le fled, jumping over seats and benches, no doubt, il his hasty retreat to th e door, presenting a similar appearance to Jeff. Davis in his last ditch. Although the reliable portion of the community frowned upon the pranks of young America, they were not disposed to favor the extravagance of Van Dusen and his followers, and when he threw off the mask and began to publish the dogmas of Joe Smith, many who at first had confided 'in him withdrew in disgust. Still he retained many followers, a few of whom followed him to Nauvoo. Van Dusen did not remain with the Mormons long, however; he withdrew and published an exposition of the iniquities of M ormonism which obtained a large circulation. Tile M ormon Church he organized at Lapeer soon fell to pieces, its members becoming utterly disgusted with the whole system of imposture. This was, we believe, the last appearance of Mormonis m il Lapeer. In these early times, the Indians were often extremely abusive to ti e wives of the settlers. They seldom came to the houses except to trade when the men were at home, but they would come in their absence, and terrify the women and children if they could. They seemed really afraid of a courageous and resolute woman, and reserved their taunts and abuse only for the timid and irresolute. X In 1832 a Methodist preacher named Frazie paid a few visits to Lapeer, but his delineations of hell fire were so extremely vivid, and his denulnciations of that terrible punisht ent were so unusual and personal that it gave great offense to the young men, and they treated him so rudely that he left them. He afterwurd went to Kentuckv. BIOGRAPHICAL REMINISCENCES. Alvin N. Hart was'born in Cornwall, Conn., February 11, 1804. He resided with his parents on the farni until he was fifteen years of age. He received his education in the academy of Sharon, Connecticut, and at the college in Amherst, Mass., finishing it in the latter institution. He was married il Utica, N. Y., July 8, 1828, to Miss Charlotte F. Ball, daughter of the late Dr. Benjamin Ball, of Wendell, Franklin County, Mass. Residing at Utica for three years, he then removed to the Territory of Michigan. Mir. Hart cut lis way fourteen miles through the forest to his point of destination, locating and beginning his pioneer life where the city of Lapeer low stands. He camped under a large elm tree, which is still standing, a respected landmark. His son, R. G. Hart, has placed upon it a lightning-rod to protect it from further destruction by lightning. He built the first building (a log cabin) in that vicinity, and moved into it November 11, 1831, with his family, consisting of his wife and child, the present B. E. Hart, of Lansing, and Joel M. Palmer, now dead. In the spring of 1832 Mr. Hart was appointed sheriff of Lapeer County, and at the election in the fall of 1835, in:which the constitution of the new State was submitted and adopted, lie,was elected a representative to the State legislature. In 1842 he was elected supervisor of Lapeer Township, and held the office for the succeeding seven years. In 1843 Mr. Hart was elected State senator from the sixth senatorial district, which then comprised the counties of Lapeer, Oakland, Genesee, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Saginaw and the Upper Peninsula. In 1846 he was elected the first judge of the Lapeer County court for a term of four years, and i 1847 he was again elected to the State senate to fill the. vacancy occatsioned byy the death of Senator Witherbee, and re-elected in 1848 for the regular term. He buried his wife in August, 1850, having previously turied three daughters while young, and afterward one son, I anforth A. Hart, who died April 21, 18,53, at the age of twentyone. His surviving children are B. E. Hart, of Lansing; R. G. Hart, of Lapeer; Mrs. Bell Hamlilton and Artll ur N. Hart, of Lansing. In 1856 he was again elected a justice of th e peace. In 1860 he removed to the city of Lannsina, and in 1863 was elected member of the common council, a position which h e held at the time of his death. Il 1870 0 h e was elected a representative from Ingham County to the State legislature, and materially aided in Securing the appropriation which was made for the erection of the new State capitol now almost completed. He was a n an of great energy, earnest in all his purposes, a clear and careful politician, ever holding the public interest as a sacred duty. He always took a lively interest in all matters pertaining to the development and growth of his city and county. His advice and opinions were m uch sought in the councils of both, and he contributed freely and generously to every enterprise tending to their prosperity and welfare. He was one of the projectors of that portion of the Amboy, Lansing & Traverse Bay Railroad, running from Lansing to Owosso, and was a director in the Detroit & Bay City Railroad. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian denomination, being one of the founders of the flourishing church of that sect in Lapeer, and also of the one in North Lansing. His death occurred Augnust 22, 1874. From the many tributes to his memory that appeared in the publllc journals at that timne, we copy the following from the Detroit T7'Iee Pre.Ss, which says, editorially: i (The telegraph brought news Saturday of the death of Judge Alvin N. Hart, of Lansing, a man well known in almost every section of the State. His disease was typhoid pneumonia, and lie died within one week from the first active symptoms of the disease, though lie had not been i: good health for some time previous. -( The deceased was seventy years of age, and had resided in Lansing for nearly a score of years, cooling there from Lapeer, where lie had long been a resident. He was a pioneer in Lansing, and as such' he dic much. to hasten the growth of the city. No private character could be more blameless than his, and his public record gave satisfaction even to those who were his political opponerks. He served two terms in the State senate many years agro, and two terms in the house, his last being in 1871. It was through his efforts more than any other person that Lansing was furnished with railroad communication, and his liberalitv in making local improvements has greatly benefited the capital city. He had been a member of the common council almost uninterruptedly since the organization of that body, and death could not halve taken one who will be more missed in Lansing. He was a life-long Democrat, holding rigidly to his views without pressing them upon others, and he was well known to Michigan politicians. He leaves.two sons and a dauLlteL at Lansing, and another soll at Lapeer, and all estate worth half a tillion dollars." From a Lapeer correspondent to the TF'ee Precls: -s The funeral of tile late Judge A. N. Hart took place at Lapeer on Tuesday, and the high estimation in which the deceased stood in the community was manifested by the concourse that collected to see the last of this good man who had done so much for the city of Lapeer, where he was the first settler. His remains were brought from Lansing. The mayor and common council of Lansing and the Odd Fellows accompanied the remains to Lapeer, and a special car draped in mourning conveyed them through. T23ey were met at Lapeer by thle mayor and common council of the city, and numerous other friendcs of the deceased. The stores we're all closed and draped in mourning. The court-house which the judge built, and the strong pillars by which it is supported, were entwined in mourners' garb. State Street was crowded to excess as the long procession moved to the Presbyterian Churcl, where the service was performed by Rev. Mir. Foster. The singing was n I I i I -1 i I - I I I I Vr, -l r Ale, 1 Hart: Ii 60 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. most exceedirgly touching, Mrs. Vincent being the organist, Miss Hicks, S. N. Vincent, Benjamin Loder and Mr. Phillips the vocal part. The lofty tree that overlooks the city, under which the judge pitched his tent, received its full share of crape. It was here where the bears and wolves howled around him in the wilderness, and he had no road to escape until the woodman's ax could make it. The judge has now gone to his last home, where he will be rewarded for the good he has done on earth." At a meeting of the State Pioneer Society, Judge Albert Miller, of Bay City, paid the following tribute to the memory of Judge Hart: "Although we see before us so many pioneers in the vigor of health and usefulness, we must remember that time is fast thinning our ranks; the frequent notices we see in the newspapers of our State of the death of some early settler of a particular locality is a verification of this statement, and the shaft of death has fallen very near to us by removing from our midst our worthy treasurer, the Hon. Alvin N. Hart. "And here perhaps I may be indulged in relating a reminiscence of early days, referring to the time of my first acquaintance with our late treasurer. Mr. Hart settled at the county seat of Lapeer in the fall of 1831; I had previously settled in that portion of the same county which was afterward detached to help form Genesee County. Although we were neighbors (living only about thirty miles apart), I never met Mr. Hart till the spring of 1834. In the meantime I had removed to Saginaw, and the settlement of the country had progressed so that the county of Lapeer had been organized into a separate township. That portion of territory which afterward formed Genesee County had been organized into a township named Grand Blanc, and the township of Saginaw had been organized, all in Oakland County. The subject of forming a State g overnm ent had been mooted, and in April, 1834, delegates were elected to form a State constitution. At that election the town of Saginaw cast about twenty votes, and I was appointed by the board of inspectors to return the votes to the county seat and to be one of the county canvassers. I started on a pony to perform the journey of seventy miles, over or through a road that had as much depth as width. From Flint I was accompanied by Judge Snow, who had the same appointment from the town of Grand Blanc. "The board of canvassers, which met at Pontiac, consisted of seven members, who represented all the organized territory in northern Michigan (except the counties of Ma-kinac and Chippewa), and Alvin N. Hart was chosen chairman. I then formed an acquaintance with Mr. Hart which ripened into a friendship, and which lasted till time, with him, was no more. It is not necessary here to recount the many prominent positions of honor and trust which have been accorded to Mr. Hart by the citizens of Michigan, or his many acts which have served to develop the resources and promote the interests of the State, for the name of Alvin N. Hart is as familiar as household words to the pioneers of Michigan, especially those of the northern portion of the State. "In taking a view of the past at the time when this whole region of country was a vast wildernrss, inhabited only by wild beasts of the forest and the aborigines of the country, with here and there a hardy pioneer struggling to overcome the privations incident to a life in the wilderness, and then rapidly glancing to the present, seeing the same region rife with life and industry and all the appliances that conduce to the prosperity and happiness of mankind, it seems as if the whole scene had been transformed by magic; but upon taking a more detailed review of the past, I am constrained to believe that very much of the prosperity and happiness of the present is due to the foresight, energy, industry, and good example of a class of pioneers of which the late Alvin N. Hart was a type." EARLY INCIDENTS. Noah H. Hart, speaking of early days in Lapeer, says: "The happiest days of our lives were our pioneer days in Lapeer. We were all patricians and all plebeians. The latch-string of every cabin was always out. If one had pork and beans, all had pork and beans. All strangers were greeted with a welcome and cordiality unknown at the present day. To the church or social gathering s we all went in the same vehicle, and it mattered not whether drawn by oxen or horses. The fond anticipations of future improvements, prosperity and grandeur overbalanced and made easy all hardships and privations. That they were necessarily incident to a pioneer life, cannot be told, and can only be understood by actual experience. I will try to give you one or two samples. "The first battle between a pioneer and a pack of wolves was in this wise:-The name of the pioneer was the Hon. A. N. Hart, the names of the wolves I have forgotten. The Judge left Lapeer for Pontiac for supplies. Among other things he put on to his load a quarter of fresh beef. Having arrived within two and a half miles of home, although it was very dark and the road being only underbrushed out, and consequently very winding, lie was flattering himself that h e would be with his family, enjoying a delcious beefsteak, when, to his utter horror, h e had the strongest evidences in the world that a pack of wolves were after him or his beef. He urged his team with whip and yells a short distance, when he brought up against a tree. The enemy immediately surrounded him and demanded a surrender. Their 'eyes, like so many fireballs, were anything but agreeable. The Judge comprehended the situation at once. He had sagacity enough to know that the wolves would prefer the beef to himself, but the beef h e determined h e never would sunrender, for in those dlays beef was more precious than gold. The Judge resolved to throw overboard flour, feed, in short, the whole load except the beef, and make one terrible effort to extricate himself from the tree. Having discharged the load except the beef, with a crack of the whip, a yell and a haw, h e broke loose and came through triumphantly. The wolves were so astonished and taken by surprise by the performance that they retired from the field in disgust. The Judge said to me, very confidentially, a few days after, 'If you ever undertake to bring fresh beef from Pontiac, make your arrangements so as to come through by daylight.' "The necessary expenses in obtailning everything, even the necessaries of life, were tenfold greater than dreamed of by the pioneer when he left his Eastern home. For instance, I left Lapeer early one Monday morning with two pair of oxen and fifteen bushels of grain in my wagon to go to mill. I had my choice between Pontiac, Auburn and Rochester, where grinding could be done. I arrived at Pontiac about sundown the second day out, and was informed that my turn would come in about a week. I then proceeded to Auburn and was informed that they might possibly reach my case in about four days. I then made for Rochester, and, on arriving there, zreceived the gratifying intelligence that my grist should be ground within twenty-four hours, provided there was no break-down. I arrived home Saturday night and was rejoiced to learn that the family had not starved during my absence. "Joel M. Palmer, at a very early day, put on a freight line between here and Detroit. His charges were very reasonable —only one dollar per 100 pounds, and a small commission for time and trouble in filling your order. My father sent by him for a barrel of one-hog pork. I say one-hog pork, for you must recollect that we could not afford, in those days, so great a luxury as mess pork. The pork was duly delivered and the bill accompanying the same read as follows: Y_ _ __ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ b_ _ "An -- '-":07 -— V ~r r - L - -- 6 I I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 61 _ " 0O. B. HART, Dr. to one barrel one-hog pork, $32.00."' On opening the barrel we discovered two heads, two tails, etc. My father very dryly remarked that he could plainly see why it cost so much; it was two-hog pork.. "Politics became an element of interest and excitement at an early day. And as another evidence of the great hardships of a pioneer life, permit me to inform you that the county of Lapeer was originally attached to Pontiac for judicial and representative purposes. For instance, soon after the county seat was established, it became necessary that a route should be selected and the trees blazed for a road from Pontiac here, and our worthy and venerable citizen, Isaac I. Voorheis, was one of the commissioners who performed that task. "The first election I have any recollection of, was a township election held at Pontiac. Col. J. R. White, having been appointed justice of thle peace by the territorial government, very naturally wanted a constable in order to make the office a paying institution. He went to Pontiac and secured the nomination of Asahel Hubbard, then a resident here, as one of the constables. I had friends there who, unbeknown to me, put my name upon their ticket and the result was I was elected. The Colonel did not exactly like this, so he hastened to Lapeer and immediately called on my mother to ascertain how old I was. She frankly told. him I was not yet twenty-one years of age. On being notified of my election I called on the Colonel to qualify. He politely informed me that he could not do it; that I was ineligible to the office. Not willing to see the will of the people defeated, I mounted my pony and went to Pontiac to qualify. Judge LeRoy signed my bond. Gideon O. Williams. Esq., administered the oath of office and instructed me to go and file my papers with James A. Weeks, township clerk. I presented my papers to Mr. Weeks and asked him to approve and file them. He said he did not know whether he would or not; that he had received a letter from Col. White, of Lapeer; that I was a minor and not eligible to the office, and asked me how old I was. I told him to ask my constituents, and again asked him if he could file my papers. He replied:,I suppose I will have to.' I discharged the duties of the office during the ensuing year, over a district of country including Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee and Shiawassee Counties and the Saginaw Valley. The pioneers to this place brought with them their religious principles. They were not unmindful of their obligations to God, in whom they put their trust and relied for life, health and prosperity. [he first religious services within my recollection took place in the open air near where the Abram House now stands. The church edifice was a pine tree. The congregation was seated on the fallen trees and a sermon was read by grandfather Turrill. The singing was conducted by Minor Y. Turrill and wife and Hon. A. N. Hart. The first sermon preached in Lapeer by a minister of the gospel, was by the Rev. Wells, of Troy, Oakland County, The singing the same as above mentioned with the addition of Asahel W. Abbott. A long metre hymn was given out, and they sang that good old favorite tune called Wells. The second hymn was long metre too, and the minister remarked, 'I do not think we can do any better than to try Wells again.' " RIVAL VILLAGES. It is not frequent that a county is so fortunate as to have two court-houses built for it by private individuals, but such was the case in Lapeer, the circumstances of which have already been told. This contest did not concern the county at large so much as the interests of two rival village sites. The White interests centered in the southwest quarter of section 5, and here they platted a village and called it Whitesville. The Hart interest was in the northeast quarter of the same section. The contest between the two interests was most determined and more or less bitter. That it should be determined was legitimate, and it was only natural that such a spirit of determination should become flavored with bitterness. It nowhere appears that the material interests of the public suffered by reason of this rivalry; on the contrary, a court-house was provided by one party and a school building by the other, and so far the public derived material benefits. The final location of a courthouse, however, decided the fates of the two aspirants to village honors, and Whitesville as an independent village ceased to be. The village of Lapeer was platted in March, 1836, acknowledgment being made by Simeon B. Brown, Alvin N. Hart, John Shafer, Mason Butts and Jonathan R. White, platting of their subdivision of west half and northeast quarter of section 5, town 7 north, of range 10 east, except so much as had been subdivided as appeared by the plats of the villages of Lapeer and Whitesville so called on record at the office of the register of Oakland County. On the 14th of March, 1836, an acknowledgement was made by Phineas White and Louisa D. White of the platting of their subdivision of the same tract, with the same exception as in the aforementioned plat. Since that time eight different additions have been made. PIONEER WOMEN. Miss Nettie A. Cometock writes of pioneer women as follows: "If the pioneer fathers exhibited the stern resolution and dogged perseverance of their sons in clearing up these fertile lands and laying the foundations broad and deep that underlie our free institutions, no less praise is due to those faithful wives who so nobly supported them in the trials of their lot. These women were ladies in every sense of the word, some of them had been tenderly reared, and were totally unused to any hardships, all were well educated and had left comfortable homes and all the advantages of good society, yet they accompanied their husbands here, exchanging luxury and comfort for the want of all things; they toiled and cared for their household as best they could; how well they accomplished their task let the present generation declare. When their husbands were weary and desponding, forgetting their own hardships, they encouraged them to persevere in hope of better days. Had they yielded to discouragements as many have done, think you that the labors of their husbands would have been crowned with success? We know they would not, and this fact is so well understood at present, that whatever a man's faults may be, if he is unsuccessful in business and has a wife, the blame is invariably laid at her door; but, on the other hand, if a man is successful in business the wife seldom receives any credit for her labors. So we seldom hear anything of these' pioneer ladies, and many of them are forgotten save in their own family circle. To show that the pioneer mothers were women of more than common stamp, we have taken pains to obtain slight sketches of some of these ladies, of whom, though their husbands have often been mentioned here, few of us have even heard the names. "Mrs. Charlotte Hart, wife of A. N. Hart, was the daughter of Dr. B. F. Ball, of Litcbfield, Conn. On her marriage she removed with her husband to Utica, N. Y., and three years later she accompanied her husband with her babe to the wilds of Michigan. The last fourteen miles of the journey to their new home was through a pathless wilderness, and Messrs. Hart and Palmler were obliged to cut their own road. It was a toilsome route, and the men, weary with their long journey, were well nigh discouraged; but weary as she was, and though tenderly reared and totally unused to labor or hardships, she was equal to the occasion, and as the spirits of her companions sunk she urged them to persevere, and seated in the wagon holding her babe she would drive until obliged to stop for a passage to be cut for the team, and by skillful repartee she cheered them in their difficult task, nor did she suc - - - JF~SI %i I -.0 G) A X l --- - -- a I e J li< 62 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. - cumb when on nearing their new home the wagon stuck fast in the muddy bank of the river and it was found-necessary to abandon the wagon as night had come and go on foot to the log cabin in the wilderness, nothing but a shelter, having no doors or windows, scarcely a protection from storms or the beasts of the forest. This was the spirit of the true pioneer woman, and this cheerful Christian courage a characteristic trait of Mrs. Hart. -"Mrs. Louisa Dexter White, wife of J. R. White, was a woman remarkable for courage and resolution. Her father was a ship builder of Boston, a nephew of Hon. Samuel Dexter, secretary of war -under the administration of John Adamls. By the death of her mother the family was broken up, and Louisa and a younger sister, Emeline, were adopted by a relative and removed to New York City, where they were brought up. Here Louisa married Mr. White, and her sister married a Mr. Cr omar, a wealthy planter residing near Charleston, S. C., and removed there with him. He died soon after and about the time of the slave insurrection of 1831. Mrs. Cromar was unable to leave until this was over, and when she finally reached her friends in New York her mind was so, terribly shattered by the scenes she had passed through that it was found necessary to send her to an insane asylumn for treatment. During her stay there Mrs. White emigrated with her husband to Lapeer, where she and Mrs. Charlotte Hart were for some time alone as regarded the society of their own sex. This was about the time of the Black Hawk war, and the Indians were quite insolent, especially to the women, who were generally afraid of them. This was not so with Mrs. White, who was so resolute in her refusals to their demands that they regarded her with a respect not unmixed with fear. This was before the days of the temperance reform, and the settlers thought it not wrong to sell the Indians the whisky they craved. Mrs. White had more than one combat with drunken Indians in which she invariably ca-me off victorious. One day a drunken Indian came in and declared his intention of taking up his quarters among them, and had alarmed all the other ladies of the family by his demonstrations, when Mrs. White drew a hot frying pan from the fire and laid it about him with such vigor that he was glad to retreat; after this the Indians did not annoy Mrs. White or her family. Some time after Mrs. White's removal to Michigan she returned to New York and brought back with her her sister, Mrs. Cromar, who had in the meantime recovered her reason. In 1836 Mrs. Cromar married Morris Perry, a blacksmith, who worked at his trade while in Lapeer and then took up land in Elba, where he resided until his death in 1844. After this she returned to her friends in Lapeer, and in 1849 married a Mr. Parker; two years later she and her husband went to California. In those days this was a long and hazardous journey, and one which few women dare attempt. Here they resided for some years when they returned to Lapeer. After a time Mr. Parker visited California again, leaving his wife this time with Lapeer friends. He never returned home, dying a short time after his arrival there. His wife remained with her friends in Lapeer until her death about a year since Her life was a most eventful one, and one of great changes, from New York City to a Southern plantation, then a log cabin in the wilderness, a long journey to California) a return to her friends, then a long period of suffering, and the 'weary heart at last grew still.' Mrs. White was remarkable for her courage in opposing all she deemed wrong and her hearty support for the right; she was a fast friend and a true Christian, and few were more heartily respected in life or more sincerely mourned in death than she. "Of Mrs. Alantha Turrill we could learn little; she was a true daughter of New England, but had been delicately reared and possessed none of the cheerful courage of Mrs. Hart or the stern resolution of Mrs. White; but she must have loved her early home, for although she and her husband had long since left Lapeer and formed in a new home associations more congenial to her taste, yet when death drew near their last request was to be laid near their father and mother at their early home. "Mrs. Amanda Hart, wife of 0. B. Hart, was one of those good motherly women revered by every one: she reared h large family, as was the style in those days, and was a faithful helpmeet to her husband; she always had a cheerful welcome for every one, but her world was in her husband and her home. During the sickly season of 1844 herself and her husband fell victims to the terrible malarious fever then prevalent. They sickened about the same time and fears were entertained for the result, and she only expressed the wish that if her husband must die to go with him. On his decease the family, half frantic with grief and anxiety, endeavored to conceal his death from her, but she seemed to understand what had occurred by intuition, and she sank away and died, and, was buried in the same grave with her husband. "Mrs. Betsey Look Morse was a native of Sangerfield, N. Y., a woman of intelligence and refinement, a most affectionate mother and an earnest Christian, and, though very quiet in her demeanor, was fully as resolute and courageous as the more demonstrative Mrs. Louisa White. The Indians feared her as they did Mrs.White, and for the same reason. One day a drunken Indian entered her house in the absence of her husband, and, as usual, was very abusive; Mrs. Morse quietly put the poker into the old-fashioned fireplace,' and when well heated, drew it from the embers and drove the savage out of doors. After this she was known among them as a 'bad squaw,' and consequently respected. "Mrs. White, mother of J. R., Phineas, E. J. and H. K. White, was one of those good Christian women whom 'none name but to praise.' A widow, she came in her old age to seek a home for her children and a grave for herself in the wilderness. "These are but a few of the many noble women who left all behind to follow their husbands to a new home in the wilderness. We have specially mentioned these because they were the first here, but they were only types of the women of the early times who were the founders of our society, the mothers who made those homes and trained their children to habits of industry and thrift. Did not these women leave a far deeper impression upon the present generation than their more worldly husbands? Then all honor to the pioneer women of Lapeer County; but few of them remain with us, soon all will have passed over the river 1" 'To a land unclouded, Where they need no candle or sunbeam, For our God is its changeless light; To a land celestialWhere all former things have departedThe sorrow, the pain and the tears. Where no shadow shall bewilder, Where life's vain parade is o'er; Where the ship of sin is broken, And the dreamer dreams no more; Where the love that here we lavish On the withering leaves of time, Shall have fadeless flowers to fix on, In an ever bright spring clime. There they all shall meet and rest 'Mid the holy and the blest.' " LAPEER POSTOFFICE. About theyear 1833, a postoffice was established at Lapeer and Dr. Minor Turrill was postmaster. He was succeeded by O. B. Hart. Other early postmasters were Silas D. McKeen, Col. J. R. White, Noah H. Hart, Henry Wheelock, N. B. Eldredge, R. G. Hart, U. D. Bristol. The early postoffice was a portable affair, ol,R,-R.",I T, v -1 -% Q )n ;; ,~ "~': i i~ -i? HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY 63 and frequently inhabited the hat or coat pockets of the postmaster. The postal system was as primitive as the surroundings of its patrons; mail-carriers traveled on foot and postmasters would have found it difficult to tell at the end of the year whether their office had been a source of income or expense. In 1861, Shad. N. Vincent received the appointment of postmaster and held the office until 1883, when he was succeeded by John Abbott, the present incumbent. Mr. Abbott, upon taking the office, proceeded to equip it with all the modern conveniences that are now in use, and the people of Lapeer have thus been provided with greatly improved facilities for receiving their mail. JOHN ABBOTT was born in 1833, in Beauharnois County, C. E. Came to Lapeer in 1856, and engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1868 he was elected register of deeds, and re-elected in 1870; held the office until January 1, 1873. During the time he was register he made a complete abstract of the county records, and since then has been engaged in the abstract and real estate business, also continuing farming. Was appointed postmaster of Lapeer February 27, 1883. Married in 1862 to Alice Connell, of Utica, Mich. They have seven children living —five daughters and two sons. A MIRROR OF THE PAST. A copy of the Plainr Dealer and Lapeer County Denmocrat has survived the ravages of time and is an excellent mirror of the days of 1842. It is dated September 1, 1842, is a five-column folio, yellow with age and ancient in its general appearance. It was published by J. R. Bennett, at $2.00 a year; office, corner Pine and Park streets, and edited by A. Merryweather. There is a good display of advertisers, as follows: 0. M. Evans, A. Merryweather, merchants; Robert Green, justice of the peace, two miles south of Lapeer village; Enoch J. White, justice of the peace, Eagle Tavern; J. S. Comstock, physician and surgeon, Farmer's Creek; Horace Hinman, county treasurer, office in the court-house; John Shafer, sheriff; J. Simmons, Chester E. Hatch, master builders; P. White, keeper of the Eagle Tavern; E. Taylor, R. Gates, tanners and curriers, boot and shoe makers; Henry Haskin, chair maker, section 15, Metamora; Moses Misner, attorney and counsellor at law, office in the court-house; Samuel Tomlinson, coach, wagon and sleighmaker, office on Saginaw Street; "Our House," by E. M. Taylor; Bartow & Thompson, attorneys and counsellors at law and solicitors in chancery, Flint River, Saginaw Street; Caleb Carpenter, physician and surgeon, residence half a mile south of the village of Newbury, Bristol, Lapeer County; John W. White, blacksmith, Saginaw Street; S. 1D. McKeen, land agent, attorney and counsellor at law, master in chancery, register of deeds and justice of the peace, corner Nepessing and Cedar Streets; Noah N. Hart, attorney at law, justice of the peace and county clerk, office 67 Nepessing Street; F. and C. H. Buel, Detroit, hats and caps, furs, &c.; G. Bennett, tailoring; the American Hotel, Detroit, J. W. Van Ander, proprietor; Orion House, Richard Brownson, proprietor; Hodges House, Pontiac, S. Hodges, proprietor; A Merryweather advertised a stock of shirts, bosoms, collars and money purses, the product of the,"Female Benevolent Society," who would take in to make to order, articles of clothing as cheap as possible, and required all friends of benevolence to call and furnish work. This advertisement signed E. Hemingway, secretary. 0. M. Evans will pay taxes in any part of the State; Henry Laure offers one cent reward for Christopher Houghton, aged 15, who ran away from him. The southern mail was advertised to leave Royal Oak every Monday and Thursday at 12 o'clock m., arriving in Lapeer next day by 12 m. Leave Lapeer every Thursday and Friday at 1 p. m., arrive at Royal Oak next day by 11 a. m. Eastern mail, via Bristol and Romeo to Mt. Clemens, arrive Wednesday at 6 p. m., leave Thursday at 6 a. m. Western mail direct to Flint leave Fri day at 6 p. m., arrive Saturday, at 6, p. m. J. R. White, postmaster. We find that Mr. John Sawtell was married to Mrs. Jemima Johnson, at Nauvoo, August 24, and that on the 6th ult., E. J. White, Esq., married'Calvin Stiles to Miss MimaFarnsworth. Isaac Goodale died August 23, after a short but severe illness, aged 62 years, formerly of Northampton, Mass. In the news columns we find that Mr. Tyler was president and k"that Mr. John Q. Adams in the house of representatives, with the violent temper that characterizes the man," had "declared war" on the President because he "would not meanly submit to the Clay dictation, and sign an important bill, which is not mentioned by title," the paper further states that the "ultra Whigs seriously contemplated expelling Mr. Adams from the House for having presented a petition to dissolve the Union. It was a monstrous outrage, and would, beyond doubt, have led to his expulsion, but for considerzation of his advanced period of life and the high station he formerly held." Speaking of the August election, the result is summarized: In North Carolina the Whigs have re-elected Gov. Morehead by a diminished majority; both branches of the legislature are Democratic -last year Whig-and a U. S. senator is to be chosen in place of Wm. Graham, Whig. In Indiana both branches of the legislature are Democratic by increased majorities. In Kentucky both branches of the legislature are Whig as usual, but the newly elected members are relief men, and Mr. Clay is opposed to that measure. A United States senator is to be chosen in the place of Mr. Crittenden, Whig. In Indiana probably Democratic majority on joint ballot. Senator to be elected in place of Mr. Smith, Whig. In Illinois, Ford, Democratic governor; both branches legislature Democratic. Senator to be elected in place of Young, Democratic. In Missouri we have elected the five members of Congress; a senator is to be elected in place of Linn, Democratic. In Rhode Island it is stated that nearly 1,000 suffrage men been been obliged to leave to save themselves from arrest for no offense save that they voted for the constitution. The expenditures of the government for the first half of 1842 were $16,813,613, which is within $6,000,000 of the whole of last year's expenditures, and the people find that they have gained nothing by giving power to the Federal Whigs. But where are the men of thenation or the men of Lapeer, who controlled events forty years ago? A very few of the former are living, and of the latter "old pioneers" we see now and then one on whom the flood of years has left the furrows of time, and the activities of life have relegated to decrepitude and obscurity. But most of them have gone forward to the other side and their memories linger only with a few survivors of their generation. Oh, glorious time! it buries us all in oblivion in a brief space, and our weaknesses are forgotten with our good deeds. Forty years from now and the pomp and vanities, the work and toil, the loves and hates of this day will be forgotten like a story that is told. I LAPEER NEWSPAPERS. A local newspaper is one of the first enterprises to be established in a new community, and in 1839 the leading men of Lapeer arrived at the conclusion that a local journal was necessary to the interests of the county seat. Messrs. A. N. Hart and others joined and purchased printing material, and the Plain Dealer was started as a Democratic paper with E. H. Thompson, now of Flint, as editor. Soon afterward the Whigs thought their political interests required a champion, and the Sentinel was started with W. H. Williams as editor. I kz — s- -; - I f 9 I & 64 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. Tile editors of these rival organs carried on a brisk warfare, often emphasizing their utterances with ludicrous caricatures. Journalism in those days was not less precarious as a financial undertaking than at a more recent date. Mr. Thompson was succeeded by J. B. Bennett, who conducted the paper for some time, and Mr. Williams was succeeded in the -%Seti, el by R. W. Jenny. Some more lively authority than tradition is necessary to trace out the checkered career of Lapeer journalism during its first thirty years. There was the 7'Iocsil with "Bill" Ryan as its editor; the DeJ)mocrat, founded by Murvin Tinny, who died at East Saginaw. H. E. Purdy was at one time editor of the I'lain Dealer. Now and then a solitary number of the early papers, tattered and yellow, tumbles from the dust of some pigeon hole, and speaks of other days, but there are no consecutive files in existence. THE LAPEER CLARION. In 1856 a number of the leading Republicans of Lapeer united in the purchase of material for the purpose of establishing a Republican newspaper upon a sound business basis. The first number of the Lapeer I,'plulblicanlr, with the late Colonel J. R. White as editor, was issued in January, 1856. Colonel White continued the editorial management of the paper about a year, when the office was sold to George S. Fletcher, of Detroit. Mr. Fletcher conducted the paper about four years, and during that time the name was changed to the Clariion, under which name it is still published. At the breaking out of the war Mr. Fletcher sold the office to Samuel J. Tomlinson, and went into the army. Mr. Tomlinson is a son of Samuel C. Tomlinson, one of the pioneers of Lapeer, and learned the printers' trade of Mr. Fletcher. He was a young man but possessed of great energy and good business ability. He enlarged and improved the paper, and has succeeded in doing what few newspaper publishers can boast of, that of making a handsome fortune from the printing business. About 1874 he erected a brick building expressly arranged to suit the convenience of a printing business. The (Clarion is now a six column quarto, and one of the most prosperous weekly newspapers in the State. THE LAPEER DEMOCRAT. In 1872 this paper was started by J. B. Graham, now of Pitkin, Col., as a Democratic newspaper. He afterward sold it to L. J. Haddrill, G. C. Wattles and M. N. Stickney, who formed a stock company and published the paper with Calvin Thomas, now a professor in the Michigan University, as editor. They afterward sold the office to L. D. Sayle, now of Detroit, and after conducting it for a time he sold to George H. Pond, now of the Caro A4dertiser. The office changed hands several times, and was finally bought by Kudner & Phelps. Mr. Phelps soon after retired, and H. C. Kudner became sole proprietor. Mr. Kudner has brought the D1)eocrat up to a paying basis, and is making it a model newspaper and a financial success. INCORPORATION. Lapeer was incorporated as a village by order of the board of supervisors, in 1857. Notice of application was signed and published as follows: We, the undersigned, legal voters of the township of Lapeer, do hereby give notice that we will apply to the board of supervisors for the county of Lapeer, on the 12th day of October next, for an order to incorporate as a village, the whole of section 5, in township 7, north of range 10 east, in the county of Lapeer, and State of Michigan, under an act to provide for the incorporation of villages, approved February 17, 1857. William H. Cockett, Wesley Vincent, John W. Smith, W. H. Jennings, H. H. Riley, N. B. Eldredge, George C. Bidwell, Alexander McLennan, A. V. West, M. B. Smith, Orin Brown, Melvin Brewer, Robert King, Charles M. Walker, W. I. Wilson, F. S. Taylor, Harry Griswold, A. S. Hatch, George H. Swift, J. R. White, S. Tomlinson, R. G. Jennings, John M. Wattles, C. M. Davis, Isaac Broughton, R. Clark, Charles Rich, H. D. Tomer, C. S. Hicks, George H. Henderson, George B. Gregory, Lyman Jarvis, J. M. Taylor, Jr., H. Loomis. Lapeer, September 15, 1857. The officers first elected were for the year 18158. The village officers were as follows for the several years: VILLAGE OFFICERS. 1858-President, N. Buel Eldredge; clerk, Wesley Vincent; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessors, John Sands and Hubbel Loomis; trustees, George C. Bidwell, Charles Rich, Ward H. Jennings, John M. Wattles, Mirol B. Smith and Noah H. Hart. 1859 President, James Turrill; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessors, Hubbel Loomis and Alonzo S. Hatch; trustees, Miron B. Smith, Charles Rich, John W. Bancroft, N. B. Eldredge, Lester E. Waterbury, George C. Bidwell. 1860 President, Jonathan R. White; clerk, George C. Bidwell; treasurer, Charles M. Davis: assessor, Henry Wheelock; trustees, James Turrill, Harry Griswold, John W. Bancroft, Noah H. Hart, Curtis T. Dodge, John M. Wattles. 1861-President, Noah H. Hart; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor, Charles Rich; trustees, Jonathan R. White, Ward H. Jennings, Alonzo S. Hatch, William Hemingway, Stephen S. Hicks, John W. Bancroft. 1862 President, Ward H. Jennings; clerk, George C. Bidwell; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor, George C. Bidwell; trustees, Elias R. Emmons, William Hemingway, Rodney G. Hart, Stephen S. Hicks, Silas B. Gaskell, John W. Bancroft. 1863-President, Ward H. Jennings; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor, Alonzo S. Hatch; trustees, Elias R. Emmons, John W. Bancroft, James Turrill, Stephen S. Hicks, Silas B. Gaskell, William Hemingway. 1864 President, Charles Rich; clerk, Geo. C. Bidwell; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor, Geo. B. Gregory; trustees, Silas B. Gaskell, Ward H. Jennings, James Turrill, Peter Van Dyke, John M. Wattles, Henry L. Horton. 1865 —President, John M. Wattles; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor, Alonzo S. Hatch; trustees, Shadrach N. Vincent Jonathan H. Hicks, James Turrill, Hubbel Loomis, Peter Van Dyke, Ward H. Jennings. 1866 —President, Myron C. Kenney; clerk, Ulysses D. Bristol; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor. Stephen M. Hicks; trustees, Robert King, William Hemingway, Columbus Tuttle, Alonzo S. Hatch, Peter Van Dyke, Charles M. Hemingway. 1867 -President, Myron C. Kenney; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor, Miron B. Smith; trustees, Charles M. Hemingway, Robert King, Shadrach N. Vincent, William J. Loder, Harmon D. Pike, Stephen V. Thomas. 1868 —President, Myron C. Kenney; clerk, Thomas H. Collins; treasurer, Charles M. Davis; assessor, William Hemingway; trustees, Charles M. Hemingway, Stephen V. Thomas, Alonzo S. Hatch, Oliver Nichols, Robert King, Stephen S. Hicks. 1869- President, Oliver Nichols; treasurer, Jonathan H. Hicks assessor, Rodney G. Hart; trustees, Ward H. Jennings, William W. Barber, Stephen V. Thomas, Alexander McLennan, Derastus Holmes, Robert King. Lapeer was incorporated as a city in 1869, and the officers have been as follows: -1 I I i I i - + V -I -Vs r L 4 I - - r q fll, ' Im - r ~;: JV: L: m -. I~: HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 65 I I CITY OFFICERS. 1869-Mayor, James Turrill; clerk, Samuel J. Tomlinson; aldermen, Rodney G. Hart, Charles M. Hemingway, H. L. White, Silas Wright, Columbus Tuttle, Lester E. Waterbury, Myron C. Kenney, Geo. B. Adams. 1870-Mayor, Jasper Bentley; clerk, Samuel J. Tomlinson; aldermen, John W. DuBois, Maynard Butts, Joel D. Kenney, William J. Loder. 1871-Mayor, Rodney G. Hart, clerk, Samuel J. Tomlinson; treasurer, Oliver Nichols; aldermen, George W. Rood, Lester E. Waterbury, Maynard Butts, Allan A. Sage, Joel D. Kenney, M. B. Smith, William J. Loder, Benjamin B. Redfield. 1872 —tMayor, Myron C. Kenney; clerk, Samuel J. Tomlinson; treasurer, Curtis T. Dodge; aldermen, John M. Wattles, George B. Gregory, M. B. Smith, Rodney G. Hart. 1873-Mayor, Myron C. Kenney; clerk, Samuel J. Tomlinson; treasurer, Curtis T. Dodge; aldermen, Lorenzo J. Haddrill, Maynard Butts, Joel D. Kenney, Alex. Mair, Harmon D. Pike. 1874-Mayor, Joseph B. Moore; clerk, Samuel J. Tomlinson; treasurer, Curtis T. Dodge; aldermen, Oliver H. Wattles, George B. Gregory, Henry K. White, John P. Roberts. 1875-Mayor, Charles M. Hemingway; clerk, J. Rollin Johnson; treasurer, Curtis T. Dodge; aldermen, Lorenzo J. Haddrill, Maynard Butts, Joel D. Kenney, Ward H. Jennings. 1876 —Mayor, William A. Jackson, Jr.; clerk, J. Rollin Johnson; treasurer, Curtis T. Dodge; aldermen, Oliver H. Wattles, George B. Gregory, Henry K. White, William W. Varnum. 1877-Mayor, Chester G. White; clerk, Stuart Gorton; treasurer, Francis R. Cutting; aldermen, William H. Stickney, J. Rollin Johnson, George R. Turrill, William F. Daley. 1878-Mayor, Chester G. White; clerk, Stuart Gorton; treasurer, Francis R. Cutting; aldermen, 0. H. Wattles, L. H. Tucker, S. T. Vincent, William A. Varnum. 1879-Mayor, Alexander McLennan; clerk, George W. Stone; treasurer, Harmon D. Pike; aldermen, J. K. Walters, Francis McElroy, James H. Vincent, Silas Wright. 1880-Mayor, William J. Loder; clerk, Norman H. Farr; treasurer, George B. Adams; aldermen, Lorenzo J. Haddrill, Lewis H. Tucker, B. A. Tuttle, William N. Varnnm. 1881-Mayor, John Heavner; clerk, William E. Johnson; treasurer, Fred. D. Johnson; aldermen, 0. H. Wattles, Columbus Tuttle, Sampson R. Wilcox, Theodore B. Odle. 1882-Mayor, William J. Loder; clerk, William E. Johnson; treasurer, Fred. D. Johnson; aldermen, Lorenzo J. Haddrill, George B. Gregory, Jonathan Houghton, William N. Varnum. - 1883 —Mayor, L. W. Hinman; clerk, J. H. Palmer; treasurer, George B. Adams; aldermen, Rodney G. Hart, Andrew M. Thompson to fill vacancy, Charles Lombard, B. A. Tuttle, James A. Hungerford. RETROSPECTIVE. A local writer, speaking of the early years of Lapeer, says: "In early years Lapeer made but slow progress in the way of improvement. It is true each year added its quota of population, but it must be remembered that the location was one remote from markets, and shut out from the advantages of transportation, save by the slow and laborious method of ox teams anal lumber wagons. There was really nothing to stimulate or encourage immigration. The principal population of the surrounding country was that of Indians, and for several years trade with these dark sons of the forest constituted no small item in the business transactions of our merchants. There were many annoyances and inconveniences to submit to, many obstacles to overcome. The mails, for instance, put in an appearance quite infrequently, and were carried on horseback from point to point; and the arrival of the postman in those times was hailed as a gala day by the inhabitants. "Yet, notwithstanding all the drawbacks, the toils and trials of the past, the town moved slowly but surely onward. Churches were organized, the Congregational being first, and those 'avant couriers' of 'the faith' were followed by others. Merchants were attracted, mechanics and all the various classes comprising the integrals of towns. "Lapeer was incorporated as a city March 30, 1869. The construction in after years of the Port Huron Railroad was a source of great good to the town. It opened up new and hitherto unapproachable markets, and placed us upon the great plane of equality with other and older cities. The more recent completion of the Bay City Division of the Michigan Central Railroad has also had the effect of a more rapid development of the county, giving us competing freights, and developing the lumber traffic of this section, which has become an important feature in the business of Lapeer. Better than all, however, was the fact that Lapeer County contained within itself sustaining force. Its soil was of the richest possible character, its forest abounded in excellent timber, and it is peopled with a hardy and industrious people. Every tree that was felled was a step towards prosperity; every acre in cultivation was a guerdon of success; and so these noble men and women toiled on, creating for the generation of to-day an inheritance time shall not dim." CHANGES OF TWELVE YEARS. Changes which are observed as they take place, do not appear as remarkable as those occurring during an absence. Any one who has gone out from among familiar scenes and returned after a lapse of years, has been impressed with the truth of this, and will be interested in the following graphic description of the change of scenes which occurred in Lapeer, during an absence of twelve years. The writer says: i "The 17th day of June, 1874, found us once more in the venerable town of Lapeer, among the 'scenes of ourchildhood,' after an absence of twelve years, and how much the place has changed since then! At that time a quiet, old appearing country village, of perhaps 400 inhabitants, with three old-fashioned taverns, a few stores and shops, with no communication with 'the outside world,' save by the old-fashioned stage coach and lumber wagon, over bad roads, with Flint about twenty miles, and Pontiac over thirty miles distant, as the nearest market. "But lo, what a change a few years have wrought! Large brick structures are seen, rows of business places, and dwellings extended on every hand, with two railroads coming in at different points, —in fact the whole place and surroundings have undergone a wonderful change l "We looked in vain for those ancient landmarks-Hoffiman's old store, the old jail on the commons, Forbes' tavern near the bridge, the old tanneries near the creek, the old blacksmith shop on the corner and Brown's shop opposite, where used to congregate such kindred spirits as John Brock, Edward Brown, John Warren, Big Joe Carpenter, and other muscular worthies of twenty years ago. But they are scattered, and these ancient buildings are known no more. One ancient landmark yet remains that looks familiar-the old elm tree just under the hill by the creek, under which A. N. Hart and family encamped in 1831, the date of the first settlement in those parts. The old tree is surmounted by a lightning rod for preservation, having been struck by lightning several times. '"The people have also changed, and comparatively few were those we knew, Uncle Forbes, Riley, Hoffman, Colonel Brant, of No. I I 66 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. - I Ardent memory; old Nobles the trapper, Uncle Simes, Jerry Hinman and others, have since 'gone home,' and many others of those days are dead, or scattered far and wide. Bill Ryan, the red-hot editor of the Lapeer Tocsin, fell fighting for the 'Lost Cause' on the bloody field of Gettysburg while leading on the 'Louisiana Tigers,' "Politics raged high in those days, inasmuch as Democratic women refused to' lend tea or sugar or associate with their Whig neighbors, and lice versa. ",We visited the old home just in sight of town, and it was lonely! The old house had gone to decay. The roof had fallen in; the ground hog burrowed beneath the fallen chimney; here the phoebe builds her nest and rears her young; grass grew in the yard, and waved its rank heads before the ruined windows and inl the open door; sounds of merry voices are heard no more, but desolate stillness reigns all around. "The garden fence is seen no more; the apple trees are dying with age. The spring at the foot of the hill is nearly obliterated. Two frogs jumped in at our approach. They are its rulers, now. We strolled along the creek near by. Two ducks flew up near the bend where we used to hunt them years ago, and with screams disappeared far up the stream. The thrush built her nest in the bushes near the banks, and sang her gladdening notes of old; the violets grow in the same shady nook, and the same old fence hidden with bushes skirted the brow of the hill, where wended the cow path, and wild plums grew, and we picked strawberries near the wild cherry tree in the meadow, the same spot where we had picked them twenty years before. As we passed the cat-tail swale in the meadow near the big rock, blackbirds flew upward with loud screams in defense of their young-those same looking blackbirds with red spots on their wings, we used to rob of old. "With musing thoughts on interesting spots along the way, we arrived at the old school-house, and were ushered in by the teacher, whose existence dates since we studied here. We took our same old seat, and a thousand memories of those earlier days crossed our fancied brain as we looked around upon strange faces, every one. After dwelling on familiar marks around the house we sought the woods near by, and threw ourselves under the shade of the old elm tree, where hung the swing of other days, and thought of those companions who once gathered there, and as each cherished remembrance arose, involuntary words came forth —'Ah, those were happy days!-yes, would I were a boy again!' And with feelings of lonely sadness we arose and left the spot." LAPEER IN 1872. The following article descriptive of Lapeer was written in November, 1872: "Forty-one years ago the 11th of the present month the founder of this little city, A. N. Hart, pushed his way through the woods, cutting his road as he went, until he pitched his camp beneatli a large elm, still standing and preserved with jealous care by his sons, who, to ward off even the lightning's stroke, have attached to it a lightning rod, that it may long stand as a monument to its early friend and preserver. Discovering that the Flint River and Farmers Creek here made a junction, and that there was a sufficient fall of water to be valuable for manufacturing purposes, he rightly conjectured that the power here so long wasted should not be left to pursue its quiet course unobstructed, and he at once resolved to seize this opportunity to build himself a town. For many long years has he seen his hopes of a speedy communication with the outside world by steam deferred. Lapeer, however, conI tinued to grow on, interrupted by a devastating fire, and again being rebuilt, until at last, in June, 1871, they were in communication with)the East by the Port Huron & Lake Michigan Railroad. From that time to the present the town has increased in number about 500 inhabitants. Early in the present year the people along the line of the projected Detroit & Bay City Railroad received sufficient encouragement to warrant them in letting the contract for building this road, and in the remarkably short space of seven months' time the road was opened up for traffic to Lapeer, a distance of sixty miles, and with very few exceptions is as smooth as the oldest and best road in the State. But there was no stopping to take breath. The work has continued to be pushed on by the contractors, Messrs. Briscoe, Hill & Co., of the main line, and by S. Brownell & Co., of the north branch, until twelve miles of the track toward Bay City is already completed, and the worst cut of the line-the Otter Lake cut-will be completed in twenty-five days, and the track probably will be down to Bay City by January 1st. Messrs. Brownell & Co. have more than half completed the grading from Lapeer to Fish Lake and along the lake, to which the north branch of this road is to run and stop, for the present winter at least. The mills and lumber near the terminus of this branch warrants them in constructing this line, and as a result two mills are already constructed at Fish Lake and three more, with stores, planing-mills, shops, &c., are soon to be built. Hotels are also contemplated, and the town of Stephens is to be laid out, here in the woods. "But to return to Lapeer. On inquiry it was ascertained that Lapeer contained about three thousand inhabitants. Its main street, extending east and west, is called Nepessing. It is of extreme length proportionally to the size of the place; that is, the buildings are not constructed closely in one close line, but separated often by wide spaces. This rather objectionable feature of an otherwise pleasant little city is due to the rivalry of land speculators. This street contains about twenty-one brick stores, and in all about forty business places. The various trades are represented by five clothing stores, twelve dry goods stores, five boot and shoe stores, four harness shops, one cigar and tobacco store, three heavy hardware stores, six groceries, three drug stores and one book and stationery store. The hotel business of the town is very active, and there are two good houses. The first of these, the Abram House, by James Abrams, is well known. He is now preparing to tear away the older part of the house and erect in,its place a large brick building, which will be a credit to the place and its proprietor. The Marshall House is also a good house. There is any amount of taverns where good accommodations for man or beast may be had, and other places of refreshment are very numerous. "Nearly every denomination of churches may be found here, and the Baptists are adding another edifice to the list which will be an ornament to the town. "Among the manufacturing establishments of the place may be enumerated two sash and blind factories, having all the latest improvements, besides two flouring- mills, two foundries, one woolen factory, and several saw-mills just out of town. This being the county seat, lawyers' offices as well as all the various professions are well represented. "Two weekly papers are issued-the Demlocrat, being a new paper, and ably conducted, and popular for the attention given to local matters. J. B. Graham is the publisher, and for the short time he has been established has acquired for his journal a wide circulation. The Clarion office is a model of convenience and completeness, even to steam engine and cylinder press, and the wonder is that Mr. Tomlinson has worked up the circulation sufficient to sustain so extensive an establishment; but his success is manifest, and is no more than the reward of his energy and talent, I I -je -_. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -.d V" - ' Ai i - - HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 67 I the paper being in every respect of superior character and influence. "The Lapeer Driving Paik is deserving of special mention, but beyond the fact of its fine half-mile track, delightful location, fine grove of trees and general improvements, space forbids further mention. "Real estate is on the point of advancing since the railroads have been completed, and farms that were sold for $50 and $60 an acre a year ago could hardly be bought for $75. Business lots on the main streets are worth $100 per foot, and dwelling lots find ready sale at $200 to $300 each, according to location. Business generally seems to be in a prosperous condition, and the future of Lapeer, with its various railroads centering here, and its fine farming country surrounding, certainly looks bright. "If any one doubts the strength of pine lands to raise wheat, they can have their incredulity shaken by asking any farmer how much wheat he raised to the acre this season in this immediate vicinity. From twenty to twenty-five bushels was no uncommon yield. it "Little towns and new settlements are springing up in every direction, and the nearest competing towns are Bay City on the north, Flint on the west, and Port Huron on the east, each from twenty-five to thirty-five miles away, and Detroit sixty miles to the south-too great a distance to steal all their best retail trade." LAPEER CHURCHES. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY. In a volume whose leaves have grown yellow during the fifty years of its existence, are gathered the early records of the Congregational and Presbyterian Society, which was organized under the former name but subsequently changed to the latter. Upon the first page of the volume is written the following: "( A record of the formation and proceedings of the First Congregational Church at Lapeer County site,which was organized July 21, 1833. <" On this day a number of professing Christians assembled at the house of J. B. Morse of said Lapeer, to take into consideration the expediency of forming a church. Present, the Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles and Luther Shaw, missionaries, commissioned by the American Home Missionary Society. " Joseph B. Morse, Betsey Morse, Alvin McMaster, Martha White, Alvin N. Hart, Charlotte F. Hart, Benjamin W. Ball, Lucia A. Morse and Marcia C. Morse, presented letters from other churches, and after having given publicly the reason for the hope which they entertained, entered into covenant to walk together as a church in all the ordinances of the gospel." Confession of faith and covenant were adopted, and also the Congregational mode of church government. It was voted that A. N. Hart be acting clerk of the church. The ordinance of baptism was performed upon Benjamin E. and Alvin D., sons of A. N. and Charlotte F. Hart. August 12, another meeting was held at which standing rules were adopted. May 28, 1834, a conference meeting was held at which Samuel and Thankful Murlin were admitted by letters from the Presbyterian Church at Pontiac. The baptismal ceremony was performed upon Oscar, son of J. B. and Betsey Morse. The following June, Henry M. Look and wife were admitted by letter from the church in East Avon, N. Y., and at a subsequent meeting, in the same month, John Look was admitted and the Lord's Supper administered by Rev. Isaac Ruggles. January 12, 1835, the annual meeting was held at the house of I - A. N. Hart, and the following officers elected: Moderator, Samuel Murlin; clerk, A. N. Hart; treasurer, A. N. Hart. At this meeting a resolution was adopted requesting admission to the Presbytery of Detroit, and J. B. Morse and A. N. Hart were elected delegates to attend the meeting of the Presbytery at Detroit. At that meeting the request of this church was granted. Up to the latter part of 1837 the church held meetings at Lapeer and Farmers Creek, but at that time a society was formed in Hadley and the members living in that vicinity withdrew from the Lapeer Church. The first building erected by the society as a house of worship stood near the site of the present church, and was known as the Session House. About 1850 the society adopted the Presbyterian mode of church government, and soon after erected a church, which was dedicated in 1852. In 1873, having been greatly improved and enlarged by an expenditure of about $6,000, the church was re-dedicated. The pastors of the church have been Revs. Sly, Woods, Bates, Platt, Smith, Woodruff, Tuttle, Gerrish, Bartelle, Taylor, Foster, Stoutenburgh and Frost. THE M. E. CHURCH. Lapeer was first made an appointment as a preaching place in 1834, and was included in the Farmington circuit, then under the pastoral care of Revs. E.H. Pilcher and F. A. Seaborn. The circuit being too large to be manageable, it was divided-Washington Jackson was employed to take charge of Lapeer and the territory lying around it. He preached a few times during the year at Farmers Creek. In 1835 Lapeer was returned as an appointment, and -for the first time appears in the conference minutes. No preacher was sent by the 'conference to labor at Lapeer, and the presiding elder employed Rev. Oscar F. North as its pastor. Lapeer was then a part of Oakland County. Michigan had a territorial government, and Methodistically the territory was connected with Ohio, for all the preachers belonged to the Ohio conference. In July, 1835, Rev. E. H. Pilcher held a two days' meeting in Lapeer, which was the first love feast and sacrament season ever held in Lapeer County. In 1836 the general conference organized an annual conference in Michigan and severed us from Ohio. In the fall of that year the first session of the Michigan annual conference was held, when Philip Wareham was appointed to Lapeer. As both Messrs. North and Jackson were supplies sent by the presiding elder, Mr. Wareham was the first man appointed here by a bishop. In 1837 Flavel Brittain was pastor, and in 1838 Oran Mitchell succeeded him. In 1839 Ebenezer Steele was pastor. In 1840 Duncan McGregor was appointed pastor and remained two years. In 1842 Rev. Joseph Jennings was appointed pastor. In 1843 George F. Hemingway was pastor. In 1844 Stephen C.Woodard was preacher in charge, with Nelson Barnum for assistant. In 1845 William Mothersill was pastor. In 1846 John Gray was pastor. In 1847 and 1848 Israel Cogshall. Since then the pastors have been as follows: Revs. Brown, Cawthorne, Whitemore, Allen, Borden, Stonax, Evener, Taylor, Storker, Fox, Bartlette, Armstrong, A. J. Bigelow, W. E. Bigelow, Potter, J. Venning. At a very early day services were held in the court-house on the hill and afterward in the session house. In 1843 and 1844 a house of worship was built, which is still standing and used as a furniture store. That was used until 1862, when the present church was built at a cost of about $4,000. The building has since been considerably improved. Prior to the build I 11 I <9 T, I I — d am*" I - - - - -- -- - I - W CIF ii i i i i i j i I 68 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. b ing of the new church, this society embraced Hunters Creek, but at that time a division took place, and Hunters Creek became a separate charge. Ttie society numbers at the present time 216 members, and the Sunday-school about 150 nmembers. THE BAPTIST SOCIETY. From the records it is learned that a meeting of the Baptist brethren of Lapeer was held at the house of Caleb S. Hicks, Saturday, May 30, 1858. There were present Hervey Roberts, Columbus Tuttle, Edwin M. Roberts, Caleb S. Hicks, Cyrus Petingal, H. Loomis and sisters, Eunice Tuttle, Sarah A. Davis, P. Watson. It was unanimously resolved that in their opinion the time had fully come when it was their duty as Christians of the Baptist faith and order to maintain public worship il the village. H. Loomis was chosen church clerk, and it was voted to invite Rev. W. H. Fuller of Oxford, Genesee County, to become their pastor for the ensuing year. Mr. Fuller consented to preach each alternate Sabbath for the sum of $100. At a meeting held the following month, the following persons were admitted into the church: Harry Griswold, D. A. C. Hungerford, Eliza Griswold, Evans. Columbus Tuttle was chosen deacon. MlIeetings were held for a time il the old Masonic Hall and also in the court-house. In 1859 steps were taken toward building a house of worship and subsequently a frame church was erected. In 1864 a formal organization was perfected with the following persons as trustees: Harry Griswold, Hubbel Loomis, Jonathan H. Hicks, Caleb S. Hicks, Lester E. Waterbury and Columbus Tuttle. The pastors since Rev. W. H. Fuller have been 'Revs. Bump, Johnson, Waldron, Little, Titus, Brooks, Curtis, Lawley and the present pastor, Rev. J. C. Rooney. During the pastorate of Rev. E. L. Little, the church enjoyed a marked degree of prosperity, and in 1872 tha society decided to meet a demand for a new and more commodious church edifice. Arnple and desirable lots were obtained on the corner of Law and Cedar Streets, having a frontage of 110 feet on the first and of 180 on the latter, which afforded ample room for the new building and for a grove and grass plat on the east, and sufficient space on the lot at the rear for sheds. The corner stone was laid with appropriate exercises, Mav 29, 1873. The following articles were deposited in a box and placed in the corner stone: The Early history of Lapeer; history of the Baptist Church of Lapeer; history of the present enterprise; a copy of the subscriptions toward the building; a business directory of Lapeer; county and city officers as already read; a United States coin, a copy of the last number of the Standard, Chicago; a copy of the last number of she xlxctiner anfd Chroonicle, New York; a copy of the Wi/atchmwa1,and a Reflector, Boston; a copy of the Herald and Torchl:ig(Jht, Kalamazoo; a copy of the Lapeer Democrat, of May 26; a copy of the TWeelkl Clarioit, of May 29; a copy of the Detroit Tribuene, of May 29; a copy of the New Testament; cards of our citizens in business; programme of the Michigan State Union Sunday-School convention, to be held this week in Kalamazoo; minutes of the Michigan Baptist State convention of 1872; minutes of the Michigan Baptist Sunday-school convention of 1872; minutes of the Flint River Baotist Association, 1872. After these arti cles had been deposited by the pastor in the box, it was hermetically soldered by Mr. Jenkins, foreman for Mlessrs. Loder & Sutton. It was then deposited in the corner stone, which was laid in its place by the pastor, assisted by the stone mason, Michael McNamara, and the brick mason, Patrick Marr. The box was cemented in the stone. The building was so far completed that tie basement story was dedicated February 3, 1874. There are, in 1883, 152 members of the church. Columbus Tuttle is superintendent of the Sundcay-school, and Henry Vincent, Gilurch clerk. The church edifice is built of brick, and is the finest in the county, costing, at the time of its construction, about $17,000. THE CATHOLIC, SOCIETY. The Church of the Immaculate Conception was organized in 1866, with about forty faniilies. A church building had been erected about eight years prior to the organization of the society, and visits were made by priests front Flint. The society at the present time numbers about seventy families. Rev. John Busche has been pastor since 1866. UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY. The first Universalist parish of Lapeer was organized March 13, 1873, with the following officers: Moderator, V. Rich; clerk, Stewart Gorton; treasurer, A. H. Toedt. A few meetings had been held prior to that tilme. The society was organized by Rev.Mr. Knickerbocker, of Walyne. The first pastor was Rev. J. H. Palmer, now an attorney at Lapeer, who began his labors in April following -the organization, and continued as pastor until April, 1877. In 1875 a house of worship was built, costing about $05,000. Mr. Palmer was succeeded by Rev. L. J. Dinsmore, who was succeeded by Rev. J. N. Pardee who remained a short time as a supply. He was succeeded by Rev. W. A. Pratt. After Mr. Pratt were several supplies, and in March, 1883, Rev. J. M. Getchell became pastor. There are at present about fifty families belonging to the parish. METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH. The Methodist Protestant Church, of Lapeer circuit, was organized Aug. 7, 1877, as shown by records in the office of the county clerk. The existence of this society as a religious body, dates back to about the year 1848. Meetings used to be held in the old court-house on the hill and afterward in a room once a store. About the time the Baptist society built t~heir new church, the frame church was purchased by this society. The present pastor is Rev. Kellogg. GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The first attempt at organizing an Episcopal society was in June of 1873, when a mission was organized under the name of St. John's Nlission. The various auxiliary organizations were perfected, and the erection of a house of worship was attempted. Rev. Charles Thorp was in charge. This organization lasted about a year and then ceased to exist. Septemter 19, 1878, Rev. Dr. Stocking, of Detroit, delivered a lecture in the Universalist Church, after which a meeting was held at the instance of the reverend gentleman for the purpose of church organization, and tlus bring the residents of the Protestant Episcopal faith as a body before the diocesan authorities in order to obtain the aid of the missionary board to secure the services of a resident clergyman. After a brief preliminary statement of the purposes to be effected and the course it is necessary to pursue, the reverend gentleman submitted a paper (a draft of an- application it is necessary to mak-e to the standing committee of the diocese to se cure this aid), which reads as follows: "To the Stalndin7,( C'olainittee of the Diocesef of3Alichiaqan: GENTLEMEN: -At a meeting of sundry communicants of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and of other persons attached to the doctrine, discipline and worship, held in Lapeer, Lapeer Connty, Mich., on Thursday, September 19, 1878, it was resolved to organize for the purpose of bringing the church people and this proposed work into some immediate and responsible relation with the consti I:::g kg:: r: Ji - g - e-t9 - ,! 11~ ~~" S, " 1~1 7 If,~~X^-^zI. i i i 1 i i r i;* i I i i i ~, s i i I t o r a t: i r i j i d i i i r t ~ il a I 'i O 9 s ~j i HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 69 tuted diocesan authorities, and by such means to secure the appointment of a resident missionary. About thirty families and parts of families are pledged to assist in supporting the services of the church, and from a subscription list which will be forthcoming, it will appear that at least $400 has been pledged in a good and responsible subscription toward such service. Messrs. Fortune, Emmet and Gillispie were appointed a committee to provide a suitable place for holding diocesan service, and such furniture as may be necessary to the reverent performance of the same." September 30th the committees convened and took into consideration the subject of a fit place for holding~service together with that of finance, all members being present excepting Messrs. Williams and McLennan. After some deliberation it was decided unanimously that the several rooms in Mr. Phineas White's block, over H. Cummings' store, with little expense could be made suited to the purpose. May 1, 1882, the mission was organized into a parish. September, 1881, tlhe corner stone of the new church building was laid with appropriate ceremonies. In April, 1882, the church was formally opened. The building is of brick, and with the lot costs about $3,000. The rectors have been as follows: -In 1879, Rev. John S. Seibold; 1880, Rev. Albert E. George; 1881-'82, Rev. Frederick N. Luson; 1883, Rev. Isaac Barr. The parish numbers about 125 members, and has two out stations, one at North Branch and one at Otter Lake. GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN. The German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Lapeer was legally organized August 20, 1873. The trustees were C. Simon, H. Steinhart, A. Whittstock. A church was built and used a short distance out of the city. There are also Second and Seventh Day Adventist societies, both of which have houses of worship. THE LAPEER SCHOOLS. The following history of the Lapeer schools is taken from an article prepared by Oliver G. Owen: "The oldest pioneers came to Lapeer about 1831, and the first schools among them were private enterprises. Of the places where these schools were taught, and of the teachers employed, little is now known; but in a very early day a school was kept in a building which stood near the site of the Marshall House. A building which stood on the property now owned by Benjamin Ball and another situated on the ground now occupied by White's Opera House Block, -were also used as school-houses. In the latter in the fall of 1833, Captain N. H. Hart taught a school which was attended by about thirty pupils. "With the admission of Michigan into the Union in 1837, the schools of the village came to have a more definite relation to the general law, which continued to be about the same as in territorial times. The distinctive feature of this law was the rate bill, by which the cost of tuition was equitably assessed upon the parents of the children in attendance. In this way for nineteen years, down to 1856, the schools were maintained. By the enterprise of Phineas White, the first building specially devoted to school purposes was erected. This was put up during the summer of 1837, upon the now vacant high school lot, but was soon afterward removed to the southeast corner of the adjoining block on the east; and in this house for the next seven years, schools were kept by teachers whose names are now almost forgotten, except notably that of E. J. White. "But the first school-house built at the public expense was the north part of the Second Ward school building. In the summer of 1843 the contract for the building was let to Miron B. Smith, and the structure was completed in time for a winter school, which was taught by Thomas Hanchett. After him,winter schools in this building, which was the only public school-house in Lapeer down to 1861, were successively taught by John McKean, Myron C. Kenney, Carlton Peck, Hubbel Loomis, and Myron C. Kenney a second time. Two of these teachers still reside here, Dr. Kenney and Mr. Peck, and each has taken an active part in the school matters of this county, the former serving upon the board of school inspectors from 1848 till the establishment of the county superintendency in 1866, the latter also serving on the same board from 1856 onward. To this board, which the county superintendency superseded, was intrusted the responsibility of determining the qualifications of teachers, and the province of its authority was a large part of this county. "In the fall of 1845 the interest in the schools received a marked impetts. The State superintendent of public instruction, Mr. Mayhew, made a visit to the village, which was long remembered, and many are even now heard to speak of it as forming an era in the school history of the village. But the influence to help on the schools, notwithstanding the significance of Mr. Mayhew's- visit, came not so much from within the State svstem as from without it. Rev. E. W. True, an excellent scholar, and a man of ripe experience, came to Lapeer about the same time to engage in teaching a select school; and in the three years of his residence in the town, he made an impression -which has not yet been effaced. The beginnings of our upper or high school instruction are to be found the work which he did, and not, as usually has been the case in the State, in the growing functions of the district school, whose peculiar environment at that time made large room for private schools and academies. In 1849 he closed his work here, during the last year of which he was assisted by his accomplished wife, and, having removed to Macomb County, he died there a few years since. For twelve years after his leaving Lapeer, instruction in higher branches was somewhat distinct from the common school, and was for the most part confined to the private schools which succeeded Mr. True's academy. These schools, with that of Mr. True were nearly all taught in the old court-house, a building which afterward became the property of the trustees of the Lapeer Seminary, then of the board of education, and lastly of E. J. White. It at first stood upon the site of the present high school building, but after an occupancy of thirty years as a school-house, it was removed to the block on the northeast, where it burned down in 1876. A grateful memory clings to this building, which is remembered with affection by many in Lapeer, whose school days were passed within its walls. The successors of Mr. True and other teachers of select schools may now be given: During the summer of 1849 and 1850, Miss Mary A. Clark taught a school for young ladies. In the fall of 1848, Mr. Davis Rich opened a school in the old session house, but it was soon discontinued. Rev. Wmin. Platt, assisted by Thomas Morton, opened an academy through the fall and winter of 1850-51. Mr. Morton continued the academy the following summer. Professor J. M. Ellis carried on the academy the winter of 1851-2, closing in the spring. From here he went to Oberlin College, where he has been ever since, professor of the Greek language, in the faculty of that institution. Misses Sampson next taught for one year an excellent select school. In 1856 the last rate bill was made out by Stephen S. Hicks, %1 D L -' - A ~~ --- ~ 14 - aI v I 70 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. who was school director at that time. Thenceforward until tile fall of 1861, the school was one of the free common schools of the State. THE LAPEER SEMINARY. An incorporation was formed in 1859, with James Turrill, E. J. White, Chas. Rich and others as trustees, for the purpose of opening and carrying on a school for secondary instruction. The school which was thus established, was known as the Lapeer Seminary, and Professor Lewis McLouth, now of the State Normal School, was its first and only principal. The seminary itself was the outgrowth of the private schools which had begun with Mr. True; and it was reserved for Professor McLouth, in the two years that he taught, to so promote the school interests as to hasten the union of secondary instruction with the public common school, in what was known as the Lapeer Union School. THE LAPEER UNION SCHOOL. When Professor McLouth left the seminary, a condition of things had come to exist which made it possible to take a great step forward in the educational interests of the place. E. L. Little was appointed to succeed Professor McLouth, but he had scarcely entered upon his work before an independent school district, under the general school law, was formed and the property of the seminary was transferred to the newly organized district. This change took place in the fall of 1861, and the Lapeer Union School, under the management of trustees elected at the annual school meeting, comprises, for the next twelve years, the school history of the town. The following is a list of the principals who successively had charge of the school: 1861-63-E. L. Little, A. B., University of Michigan; now Baptist minister at Alpena. 1864-65-Isaac Delano, A. B., Yale; now a lawyer in East Saginaw. 1864-65-Mr. Chapman, graduate of Normal School. 1865-68-James H. Vincent; living in Lapeer. 1868-72-Omar D. Thompson, now principal of Romeo Union School. 1872-73-F. M. Hamilton, A. B., University of Michigan, teaching in Urbana, Ohio. During thiis peried the old school-honse (Second Ward) was repaired and the south room added. This was in 1866. The brick school-house in the Fourth Ward was built in 1869. The total number of graduates (in three classes) of the Union School is fourteen. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE CITY OF LAPEER. Lapeer was incorporated as a city in 1869, but it was not until 1873, when the second amended charter was obtained, that provision was made for schools which should be independent of the general school law of the State. The nature of this provision will be found in the next chapter, in the extracts which are given from the city charter. The superintendents and principals of the high school since 1873, have been as follows: SUPERINTENDENTS. 1873-77-L. C. Miller, graduate of Normal School. 1877- -Oliver Gummere Owen, A. M., Haverford College, Pennsylvania. PRINCIPALS OF HIGH SCHOOL. 1873-75 —William B. Williams, A. B., University of Michigan. 1877-79-Miss M. Estella Norton, undergraduate of University, since A. M. of University of Michigan. 1879-80-Miss Kate McNamara, undergraduate. 1880-81-James Edward Hunt, A. B., University of Michigan. 1881 ---Guy Maynard Bigelow, A. B., University of Mich igan. During these years a carefully graded system of schools has been built up, and while the grading is, in the main,,that which is found in the larger towns and the cities of the State, the care of the board of education and of the superintendents has been uniformly employed to make the schools meet the wants of our own people. In this period, two of the four school-houses, which are the property of the board, were erected; the First Ward school building, in 1873, and the high school building in 1875. Prior to 1876 the old seminary building (at first built about 1840 for a court-house) had been, from 1861, the main public school building in the place. The following list of trustees of the Union School (District No. 2, Lapeer Township,) is not so complete as could be wished, but the membership of the board of education created by the charter of 1873, is given in full. The list is instructive as showing the service of influential men of the place upon a board which is charged with a very important trust that demands for its honorable performance, qualifications of no mean order: Dr. M. C. Kenney, 1861-74; George C. Bidwell, 1861-66; E. J. White, 1861 -63; Hubbell Loomis, 1861-65; Charles Rich, 1861-63; Wm. Arnold, 1863-67; Dr. A. Nash, 1868-74; W. H. Jennings, 1868-71; Abram H. Piper, 1872-73; J. R. White, 1866-69; John Hevener, 1867-74; W. W. Stickney, 1866-74; W. W. Barber, 1865-69; Jasper Bentley, 1869-74; J. H. Hicks, 1866-69; John B. Sutton, 1871-74; J. W. Dubois. BOARD OF EDUCATION, 1874-81. 1874-75-M. C. Kenney, president; John Heener, secretary; J. B. Moore, ex-officio; Abram H. Piper, Dr. Alfred Nash, W. W. Stickney, J. W. Dubois. 1875-76-W. W. Stickney, president; John Hevener, secretary; C. M. Hemingway, ex officio; W. J. Loder, Alexander McLennan, Dr. Alfred Nash, Dr. M. C. Kenney. 1876-77-W. W. Stickney, president; E. T. Slayton, secretary; W. A. Jackson, ex-officio; Alexander McLennan, W. J. Loder, John Hevener, E. L. Little. 1877-78-Alexander McLennan, president; E. T. Slayton, secretary; C. G. White, ex-officio; W. J. Loder, E. L. Little, Dr. Alfred Nash, Dr. M. C. Kenney. 1878-79-Dr. M. C. Kenney, president; Dr. Alfred Nash, secretary; C. G. White, ex-ofticio; Dr. Hugh McColl, Dr. E. G. Douglass, Dr. W. A. Jackson, Alexander McLennan. 1879-80 - Dr. W. A. Jackson, president; Dr. Alfred Nash, secretary; Alexander McLennan, ex-officio; W. J. Loder, Dr. E. G. Douglass, Dr. M. C. Kenney, W. F. Daley. 1880-81-Alexander McLennan, president; W. F. Daley, secretary; W. J. Loder, ex-officio; Dr. W. A. Jackson, Dr. E. G. Douglass, C. G. White, Joshua Manwaring. 1881-82-Dr. M. C. Kenney, president; W. F. Daley, secretary; John Hevener, ex-officio; E. L. Thompson, Geo. N. Turrill, C. G. White, Alexander McLennan. 1882-83-Alexander McLennan, C. G. White, George N. Turrill. In 1845 the school population of the district was 110; since 1856, as follows: 1856, 224; 1857, 258; 1858, 268; 1859, 278; 1860, 308; 1861, 289; 1862, 332; 1863, 376; 1864, 379; 1865, 408; 1866, 492; 1867, 524; 1868, 501; 1869, 558; 1870, 582; 1871, 677; 1872, 784; 1873, 827; 1874, 785; 1875, 730; 1876, 740; 1877, 760; 1878, 758; 1879, 780; 1880, 804; 1881, 785. LIST OF TEACHERS. The following list of teachers who have taught in Lapeer is incomplete, though it is as full as it could be made from the local i ~ __ ___ 4-C f ~It\ HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 71 tradition. Asterisks are placed before the names of those who taught in select shools: 1832-40-N. H. Hart, E. J. White, Elmira Hemingway (Mrs. Emory) Phila Hart (Mrs. Wattles), Susan Cressey (Mrs. Judge Brown. 1840-44-*Rev. Mr. Bates and sister, John J. Cavett, Mary Redman, John McKean, Mary Paterson (Mrs. Noble). 1844-48-M. C. Kenney, Sarah Thorne (Mrs. Cady), Hubbell Loomis, Miss Beamer, Carlton Peck, *Rev. E. W. True, *Davis Rich. 1848-52-*Mary A. Clark, *Rev. Wm. Platt, *Thomas Morton, Elmira Hemingway (Mrs. Emory), *Prof. J. M. Ellis, *Misses Sampson, Susan Hitchcock, Samuel Gibbs, Sarah Hart (Mrs. Maxwell), Malvina Trumbull (Mrs. Piper), George Parcher, Mary Tomlinson (Mrs. Waterbury). 1852-56-Charlotte Hodgson (Mrs. Walker), Carlton Peck, Satrah J. Smith (Mrs. Hough), *Miary Hazen (Mrs. Hunter), Elizabeth Higley. 1856-60 —Rollin Vincent, Anna Percy, Mr. Mathewson, Elizabeth Tomlinson (MIrs. Graham), Sarah Peck (Mrs. Richards). 1859-61 — Prof. Lewis McLouth, seminary; *J. H. Vincent, *Judson Loomis *Jacob L. Green (now president Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company), *Mrs. J. H. Vincent, Sarah J. Smith. 1861-63-E. L. Little, principal; J. H. Vincent, Park Johnson, Lizzie E. Proctor (Mrs. Strong), Miss Davis, Hannah Borden, Shubal F. White (now Judge White, A]legan); Seth Beden, Myra Tripp (Mrs. Williams). 1863-64-Isaac Delano, principal; Mrs. Bardwell, Oliver F. Davison (Mrs Butterfield), Miss Peck, Elizabeth Higley, Lucy Gerrish, assistant; Lizzie E. Proctor (Mrs. Strong), Myra Tripp (Mrs. Williams), E. B. Eldredge. 1864-65-E. A. Chapman, principal; Mrs. E. A. Chapman, Rhoda C. Walters (Mrs. Lombard), P. A. Schedd. 1865-68-J. H. Vincent, Mrs. J. H. Vincent, Lucy A. Robinson, Mary H. Henry, Emma Hicks, Hannah Butterfield, Estella Garrison, Mrs. Sarah Wilson, Mrs. Mary A. Vincent, Nellie Hemingway (Mrs. Lamb), Deborah K. Converse (Mrs. Corey), Anna Taylor. 1868-72-0. D. Thompson, principal; Mrs. Frances A. Buck, assistant; Miss Kimball, assistant; Miss Ella Hayes, assistant; Miss Hall (Mrs. Richards), assistant; Miss Mary Wells, assistant; Miss Newton (Mrs. -), Miss Amanda Dean (Mrs. Carey), Mrs. Sweet, Mary.Warren (Mrs. Johnston), Sarah J. Evans (Mrs. Vosburg), Alice Brazie (Mrs. Graham), Sophia Thomas, Mrs. Amelia Clark, Ob.; Mary Clark, Miss Carrie Hicks (Mrs. Piper), Ob., Lizzie Chalmers (Mrs. Smith), Miss Mattie Caswell (Mrs. — ), Ob. 1872-73-R. M. Hamilton, principal; Miss Vanfleet, assistant; Minnie Osmon, Miss Addie Kendall (Mrs. Case), Miss Julia Watkins, Miss Kate McNamara, Lizzie Chalmers (Mrs. Smith). 1873-77-L. C. Miller, superintendent; W. B. Williams, principal; Miss Estella Norton, principal; John Johnson, Ida Hammond (Mrs. Dickerson), Jennie Sutton (Mrs. Thomas), Ob.; Margaret Smith, Miss Emma Hulshart (Mrs. May), Mary McNamara, Miss Chamberlain, Anna Hough, Miss Sarah Hough, Hattie Hough (Mrs. -), Lizzie Foster (Mrs. Smith), Sarah Foster (Mrs. Crombie), Helen Watkins, Amelia Mandeville, Mary Rood (Mrs. Johnson) M. A. Houghton, Sarah Kelley, Mary West, Blanche Thomas (Mrs. White), Ob., Carrie Hicks (Mrs. Piper), Ob., John Johnson, Allie Mills, Ob., Mary Conorrow, Albin F. Ayers, Miss Townsend, Anna Taylor-from 1865. 1877-82 —Oliver G. Owen, superintendent; M. Estella Norton, principal; Anna Taylor, E. A. Galbraith, Abby Burrington (Mrs. Johns), Sarah E. Roberts, Phoebe J. Watson, Sarah Kelley, Albina F. Ayers, M. A. Giddings, H. D. Buckingham, Mary McCune (Mrs. Mathews), Ada West, Anna 0. Loughlin, Nellie Smith, Delia Rood, Hattie Daley, Nettie Ross, Allie Watkins, Nettie L. Taylor (Mrs. Hopkins), Mary M. Gunu, Mrs. E. B. Eldredge, Kate McNamara, principal; James E. Hunt, principal; G. M. Bigelow, principal; Frank McNamara, Anna Hough, Ella Hallock, assistant; Mary A. Houghton, assistant. TEACHERS IN 1883. Superintendent, W. D. Clizbe; principal, William Streeter; assistant principal, Miss Mary Houghton; eighth grade, Miss Anna Taylor; seventh grade, Elmer D. Gardner; sixth grade, Miss Mary Johnson; fifth grade, Miss Sarah Kelley. First Ward, first and second grades, Miss Nellie Smith; First Ward, third and fourth grades, Miss Ada C. West; Second Ward, first and second grades, Miss Hattie Daley; Second Ward, third and fourth grades, Miss Mary McNamara; Third Ward, first and second grades, Miss E. B. Eldridge; Third Ward, third and fourth grades, Miss Albina Ayres; Fourth Ward, first and second grades, Miss Delia Rood; Fourth Ward, third and fourth grades, Miss Nettie Ross. SECRET ORDERS. MASONIC. Lapeer Lodge No. 54, F. & A. M., was organized February 13, 1852, with the following officers: W. M., William H. Clark; S. W., John Barber; J. W., Miron B. Smith. In 1874 the lodge fitted up rooms in White's Block. The new hall was dedicated in April, 1874, which event was mentioned in a local paper of the following week as follows: "The formal opening of the new hall of Lapeer Lodge No. 56, F. & A. M., took place on Friday evening, with an attendance of about three hundred persons. The dedicatory exercises were conducted by State Deputy Grand Master G. H. Durand, of Flint, assisted by N. B. Eldredge, D. G. M.; John Armstrong, G. C.; William Townsend, S. G. D.; R. C. Hutton, S. G. W.; W. F. Daley, J. G. W.; J. W. Dubois, J. D.; F. H. Rankin, G. A.; W. W. Stickney, G. S. B.; S. Curtis, G. M. "After the above exercises, the members repaired to the Opera Hall, where a number of ladies and invited guests were assembled to listen to a Masonic address by D. G. M. Durand, of Flint. "After the address supper was served at the Marshall House, to which nearly the entire audience repaired. "The new hall is in White's Block, is 32x53 feet, besides four large ante-rooms and banquet hall. It is handsomely carpeted, elegantly furnished, and is an honor not only to the fraternity, but a credit to our city." Officers in 1883: W. M., C. S. Hicks; S. W., James Hungerford; J. W., William Wadsworth; treasurer, A. McLennan; secretary, George H. Henderson; S. D., Frank Jackson; J. D., S. H. Smith; tyler, S. S. Hicks. The Chapter was organized in 1873. There are at present eighty members. The officers are as follows: H. P., W. F. Daley; K., G. B. Adams; S., James A. Hungerford; C. H., Charles Saunders; P. S., F. J. Jackson; R. A. C., William Barmon; G. M. 3 V., S. H. Smith; G. M. 2 V., Adam Hoesington; G. M. 1 V., William Colerick; treasurer, A. McLennan; secretary, H. W. Hin man; sentinel, S. S. Hicks. There were fourteen charter members. First officers: H. P., N. B. Eldredge; K., John Armstrong; S., W. F. Daley; C. H., W. W. Stickney; P. S., Robert Bigger; R. A. C., L. H. Gardner; G. M. 3 V., A. B. Joyce; G. M. 2 V., G. B. Adams; G. M. 1 V., William McDonald; treasurer, R. G. Hart; secretary, A. McLennan; sentinel, Joseph W. Hammel. J I Ji I I I I I...A. 72 HISTORY OF L& PEER COUNtTY. The council was 'instituted November 9, 1875, and the charter was obtained in Februlary following. The first officers were as follows: T. I. M., H. K. White; D. I. M., Wy. F. Daley; P. C., John Hevener. The charter members in addition to those already named -were as follows: R. S. Hutton, William McDonald, J. R. White, D. C. Miller, L. MI. Cary, W7illiam Townsend, N. B. Eldredge, John Robinson, A. McLennan, George P. Adams, C. L. Thatcher. Officers il 1883: T. I. M., H. K. White; D. I. M., F. J. Jackson; P. C., William Colerick; treasurer, A. McLennan; recorder, H. E. Hatch; C. C., S. H. Slllith. Present membership, forty-two. ODD FELLOWS. Lapeer Lodge No. 94, I. O. O. F., was instituted January 3, 1866, with fourteen members. The principal officers were as follows: N. G., William Henlingway; V. G., John J. Watkins; secretary, A. S. Hatch; treasurer, C. WI. Hemingway. The lodge has enjoyed uniform prosperity, and at the present time has about sixty-four members. Regular meetings are held on Wednesday evenings. Officers in 1883 are as follows: N. G., Daniel W. Johnson; V. G., MI. Conklin; secretary, John E. Roberts; treasurer, E. M. Roberts, P. S., William Hemingway. lN1GHTS OF HONOR. Security Lodge No. 201 of this order was organized December 6, 1874, with twenty-five charter members. Its present ruembership is twenty-eight. Regular meetings are on the first an-d third Friday of each month. Present officers are: C. J. White, D.; R. B. Conklin, P. D.; L. H. Tucker, representative; George B. Adams, treasurer; Charles Lombard, financial representative. ROYAL ARCANUM. Michigan Council No. 24 of this order was chartered May 3, 1880, with forty members. Its present membership is fifty-seven. Its officers are: Regent, E. C. Green; vice-regent, VW. N. Copthorne; orator, Myron Snyder; secretary, J. R. Johnson; collector, S. R. Wilcox; chaplain, C. G. White; treasurer, Alex. McLennan; guide, William H. Bennett; sentinel, Fred. Lincoln; warden, George B. Adams. Past regents are W. W. Stickney, John * Abbott, R. T. Walker, A. Nash, H. A. Birdsall, J. R. Johnson, W. F. Daley and John Hevener. LAPEER BANKS. The First National Bank was started in February, 1871, and at once assumed a leading position in the monetary affairs not only of Lapeer County, but of the State. E. J. White was president and H. K. White, cashier. A change of officers occurred in 1873. The bank is operated on a nominal capital of $75,000, and officered as follows: President, H. K. White; vice-president, B. F. Moore; cashier, C. G. White. The officers and directors, with one exception, are old residents of the place; men who have been long and actively identifiedl with the business interests of Lapeer, and regarded as among the most staunch and reliable business men in this section of the State. Mr. E. J. White, one of the oldest citizens, was the prime mover in the enterprise. The Lapeer City Bank was started by J. M. Wattles and son under the firlm name of J. M. Wattles & Co. in 1874, and the business is still continued under the same name. Mr. J. M. Wattles is one of the pioneer lawyers of the county. The batik is established on a safe financial basis and does a good business. LAPEER CITY BREWERY. This brewery, which is on Calhoun Street, near Nepessing Avenue, was built in 1866 by John A. Buerger. It is run by steam and has a capacity of about 2,000 barrels per annum. The lager beer-made at this brewery finds its market in Michigan, although some of it is shipped to other States. HUNTER S CREEK GRIST-MILL. This mill was built in 1859 ol Hunter's Creek in the city of Lapeer. The creek furnishes the power which runs it. It has been enlarged and improved since it was originally built. It has a capacity of twenty barrels per day and is rut as a custom mill. It is owned by Esli R. Redfield. TUTTLE S PLANING AND FEED MILL. This establishirient is located on Monroe Street in the southwest part of Lapeer City. The original mill was built by Tuttle & Gregory in 1853. Burnt out in 1856 and rebuilt. Moved to its present location in 1871. In 1878 Mr. Tuttle bought Mr. Gregory's interest. In 1880 he added a feed mill for the accommzodation of his customers. The planing-mill makes sash, doors, blinds, etc., and also runs a retail lumber yard in connection. LAPEER STEAM ENGINE WORKS. This establishment was built in 1873 by William McDonald. At it are manufactured steam engines, brass and iron castings, machinery, etc. Employs from ten to twelve men on an average. It is situated on Mill Street, near the track of the Michigan Central Railway. Does a large State business. THE CENTENNIAL MILLS. This flouring-mill was built in 1876 by Wf. H. Jennings. He sold the property in 1878 to Mrs. C. T. Dodge, the present proprietoress. The capacity of the mill is about one hundred barrels of flour in t-enty-four hours. In addition to those already mentioned are a sash and door factory, wagon shops, etc. BUILDINGS. The business buildings il Lapeer are substantial brick structures, and impart to the city an air of thrift and stability. The Abram House was built in 1874. The White Block, built in 1879, is a large three-story brick, and contains the Opera House. It is an exceptionally fine building. The city building for the use of the city officers and firee department was erected in 1882. RAILROADS. The construction of the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad in 1870, the Detroit and Bay City il 1872, and the branch to Five Lakes, affords Lapeer excellent railway connections. BIOGRAPHICAL. WILLIAM B. HAMILTON, Mi. D., was born in Paisley, Scotland, September 23, 1832. He came to America with his parents in 1841, when the family settled in Berlin, St. Clair County, Mich., their farm touching the town line of Almont. Here he was brought up, receiving initiation into the mysteries of pioneer life on a farm under the tuition of his sturdy Scotch father. His early education in letters was received at the "old red school-house" in the "Scotch settlement" of Almont. At the age of twenty-one he commenced teaching district school during the winters, continuing to work on the home farm in the summer time, (excepting about six months spent at Dickinson Institute, Romeo,) till in the fall of 1859 he went to Ann Arbor and entered tlie Union School to prepare for the University, which he entered the following fall, studying the classical course with the class of 1864 through the sophomore year. Then under convictions of patriotic duty he enlisted at Romeo August 9, 1862, in Captain Keeler's Company B. Twenty-second Regiment, Michigan Infantry, receiving the rank of sergeant. After seeing some hard service he was taken prisoner, together with a large portion of his regiment, at the battle of Chickamauga September 20, 1863, being at that time second lieutenant of Com I V -I J i lip 9 -.b % a ~a f 9 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 73 pany F. Then followed a rough experience in various Southern prisons till March 1, 1864, when he was paroled, returning to his regiment in May with the rank of first lieutenant, and was mustered out June 28, 1865. Before leaving the State for the war he had married Sara R. Stone, of Ray, Macomb County, then teaching in Rochester, Oakland County. At the close of the war he moved with his family to Ann Arbor and completed both classical and medical courses of study. In June, 1868, he moved to Burnside in this county and commenced practice as a physician, but remained there only eighteen months, and then moved to Columbiaville. After six years' practice in that place he went to Almont in the fall of 1875, but moved back to Columbiaville in the spring of 1877, where hle remained till January, 1881, having been elected county treasurer in the campaign of 1880. On entering upon the duties of his office he came with his family to Lapeer City, where he now resides, and is serving his second term of office. LORENZO J. HADDRILL is one of the representative business men of Lapeer County, and is probably the most extensive dealer in groceries and farm products within its limits. Mr. Haddrill was born at Orion, Oakland County, Mich., in the year 1849. When about sixteen years of age he came to Lapeer and attended school two years. Having by this time arrived at an age when he began to think about selecting some business pursuit, and having a natural taste for trade he entered the employ of his brother as clerk in his grocery store. Applying himself closely to the duties of his occupation, he continued in that position until 1870, when he became a partner, and the firm was known as Haddrill Bros. for about three years. In 1873 he bought the interest of his brother, W. H. Haddrill, and has continued the business alone to the present time, having been now continuously in this business for sixteen years, and the results show with what degree of success he has managed his operations. He carries on a general grocery store, carrying a large stock of general groceries, provisions, flour, feed, farm products, wines, liquors, tobacco, cigars, etc., and in this line is said to be the largest dealer in the county, a position which has been reached by closely applying himself to his business and so dealing with the public as to secure their confidence. In addition to the business of his store he is extensively engaged in buying and selling farm produce, and especially wool. In 1882 he handled more wool than any other dealer in the county, with one exception. He has been emphatically a successful business man. In 1876 he married Sarah Canniff, of Lapeer. They have two children, both daughters. Mr. Haddrill gives some attention to public affairs, and has held the office of alderman about nine years. RODNEY G. HART was the first child born in what is now Lapeer City, having been born in 1834. Was educated partly in Romeo and Lodi Plains, Mich. Went to the Michigan University, but was compelled to leave on account of ill-health. Has been in business of various kinds until the present. Was a banker from 1866 till 1878. After retiring from that business spent a year in Europe. Was in Paris in 1878 and visited the Exposition in company with ex-President Grant. Is now engaged in farming, having 220 acres adjoining the city of Lapeer. Has been and is an extensive dealer in fine blooded horses, swine and cattle, for which he has taken prizes at State fairs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio; also at the Canadian Provincial Exhibition at London, Ont. Was the first mayor of Lapeer and has been an alderman for a number of years, and is at the present time alderman of the First Ward of Lapeer City. Held the office of postmaster six years. SHAD N. VINCENT was born in the village of Cold Brook, Herkimer County, N. Y., in 1831, but the removal of his father, Dr. J. H. Vincent, to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in the followilng year, identifies the early boyhood and manhood of the subject of this sketch with the State of Ohio. He received an academic education at the Asbury Seminary and the Champion Library School, and a thorough commercial training at the celebrated college of Bryant, Lusk & Stratton, at Cleveland, Ohio, graduating therefrom in 1854, and afterward assisting as instructor in the preparatory department. He early developed a passion for the study of vocal music, and at the age of sixteen was the conductor of the Musical Society at Chagrin Falls. The teaching of this delightful branch of learning has been, with him, ever since, a labor of love, and he was, for many years, the leader of the Lapeer Philharmonic Society. His time was ever given for this purpose generously, and his services gratuitously, and many recall with feelings of gratitude the assistance thus freely rendered them in their early efforts in the tuneful art. Mr. Vincent settled in Lapeer in 1855, succeeding his brother, Dr. W. Vincent, in the drug business, which he still continues. He is the oldest druggist and merchant in the county, and has sold goods from one building for twelty-eight years. He has also been largely engaged in the manufacture of lumber and shingles, and to a limited extent in farming. He was the first Republican postmaster of Lapeer, receiving his commission from President Lincoln in 1861. He was continued in this office until April, 1883, being at the time of his retirement the oldest presidential postmaster in the State. He was appointed the agent of the American Express Company upon their establishment of an office in Lapeer, and still holds that position. He is an active member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and engages heartily in whatever is conducive to its welfare. He has been twice married, and is the father of seven children, one of which, the issue of the first marriage, and three of the second, are living. Public spirited and generous, taking a lively interest in whatever concerns the welfare of his city or State, an active worker in politics, his aggressive temperament is so toned by a genial and persistent good nature that there are few men who have a larger list of personal friends, or upon whom the battles of nearly fifty years have left fewer scars, or in whose breasts rankle less of unpleasant memories. H. D. WEBSTER, photographer, is a native of Lapeer County, and was born in the township of Hadley May 13, 1852, on the old homestead which his father took up from the government. He studied his profession with F. G. Maitland, of Buffalo, N. Y. Worked for a time in Flint, then came to Lapeer City, and was in the employ of C. A. Kelly for a period of fifteen months prior to 1879, when he bought him out, and has since been doing business for himself. His location is in the Bank Block, and it can be said of him that he has adopted all of the late improvements used in the art of photography, including the instantaneous process, and that his work is not excelled even by artists in the larger cities. He was married May 16, 1877, to Miss Anna M. Fuller, of Otisville, Genesee County, formerly of Carlton Place, near Ottawa, Canada. WILLIAM B. WILLIAMS, a native of Lawrence County, Pa., was born in 1849. Came to Michigan in 1869 and was a student at the University of Michigan. Graduated from the literary department in 1873. From 1873 to 1875 was principal of the Lapeer High School. In 1875 returned to the university and graduated from the law department in 1877. Was appointed circuit court commissioner in 1877, elected in 1878, and held the office until January 1, 1881. In the fall of 1882 was elected prosecuting attorney. Was marriel to Miss Lucy White, a native of Lapeer, in 1879. They have two children, sons. HENnRY A. BIRDSALL was born in 1845 at Rochester, Oakland County, Micll. Was educated at the academies in Rochester and -L N! i I I -1% S ~ - - 74 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 74 I 1 Lapeer. Attended one term at the law school of the Michigan University. Came to Lapeer in 1856. In 1863 he enlisted in the Eleventh Regiment, Michigan Cavalry, and saw service with it until the war closed. Held the rank of orderly sergeant whe mustered out. Admitted to the bar in 1871 and has practiced law since then. Has held the following offices: In 1867 was township clerk of Mayfield and Lapeer Townships; collector of taxes in Lapeer two years; circuit court commissioner four years, 1872-'76; was elected county clerk in 1875, previous to which he had been deputy clerk for four years. Has held the office continuously since, his last reelection being in the fall of 1882. Was married in 1871 to Miss Kate E. Bentley, a native of Lapeer County. They have three children. REV. JONATHAN ALDEN WOODRUFF, who began home missionary work in the pine woods of Lapeer County in 1859, was born in Coventry, Conn., April 18, 1808. His father removed to Wayne, Ashtabula County, Ohio, when "Alden" was about ten years of age, where he helped to clear and work his father's farm, meanwhile studying winters until he was nineteen. He then entered Hamilton College, N. Y., and at twenty-two graduated with the honor of delivering the philosophical oration' At Auburn Seminary he studied theology and was licensed to preach by the Black River Association of northern New York. In 1831 he married Susanna, daughter of Rev. Jeremiah Osborn, by whom he had eight children, of whom Mrs. Marvin P. Grant Keyes, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the sole survivor. In 1845 he married Aurelia, daughter of Deacon Erastus Talcott, of Coventry, Conn., by whom he had five children, of whom Mrs. Sarah Bryce, Edward T. Woodruff and Emma A. Woodruff are living and reside in Lapeer. This most estimable lady died in the fiftieth year of her age, but is still remembered with great affection by all who ever knew her. Her remains lie in Burnside with a neat marble slab to mark the place, bearing the inscription, "Her children shall rise up and call her blessed; her husband also and he praiseth her." In 1872 he married Emma Griffith, who still survives him as Mrs. J. R. Holmes, of Manchester. The first eight years of his ministry were spent in Ohio, and were divided between Warren, Madison, Kelloggsville and Wooster. In 1839 he removed to Rock Island, Ill., where he formed the First Presbyterian Church of that place. The Rock Island University was formed about that time of which he was elected chancellor. In 1845 he returned to Ohio and ministered to a church in Newton Falls two years. He was afterward pastor of a church in Conneautville, Pa., following which he was principal of the Olean Academy, supplying the pulpit in Portville, N. Y., at the same time. He next ministered to a church in Conneaut, Ashtabula County, Ohio, from which place, after spending one summer with a church he had formed in Marquette, he removed his family in 1858 to Lapeer. Here hle ministered one year to the First Presbyterian Church before entering upon his missionary work in Burnside, during which time an extensive revival took place which doubled the membership of the church. Speaking of his missionary field he says: "We are one of the pioneer families, the first having come but three years in advance. The impediments to our progress were such that we were three days reaching our forest home after having come within two miles. Only they who have had to cut their track through dense forests with much 'down timber,' crossing swamps and small streams with a loaded wagon know what it is to pass over such roads. Our usual mode of going to meeting was this-Mrs. W. and two children on our Indian pony, myself leading him with hatchet in hand, sometimes through the untouched forest, except that I cut away the limbs and fallen trees that obstructed our way. Soon we could count a little church of fifteen members, and the following spring the way was opened to the enlargement of my field of labor. In a settlement six miles south I was called to officiate at the funeral of an Irish Presbyterian who had been crushed by a pine log. This introduced me to a company of poor but faithful disciples to whom I ministered for eight years. At first they proposed to unite with the church here and five came seven miles on foot, were examined and propounded for admission at the next communion. One member of session was absent, who, on his return, objected to their reception, which was a terrible blow to our prosperity. Other opportunities for enlargement of my field of labor presented themselves, and were embraced, in the new settlements, though the task of reaching them was ofttimes herculean; but with my French pony I was equal to any emergency in traveling." Much more of his pioneer experiences could be given but the foregoing will suffice, being an ample illustration of an interesting epoch in the history of the church and of the participator. Rev. J. A. Woodruff closed a long and useful career on Sept. 26, 1876, at the age of sixty-eight years. His remains are buried in the cemetery at Imlay City where he died. Many touching instances of his patience and fortitude in his sufferings and his unflinching adherence to what he believed to be right, as well as his unqualified trust and confidence in the Master whom he tried to faithfully serve, might be given but for want of space. A favorite text he often repeated was, "He knoweth our frame he remembereth that we are dust." Fitting words to close this sketch are"Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Yea, saith the spirit, and their works do follow them." EDWARD T. WOODRUFF was born in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., in 1853. His parents came to Michigan and settled in Lapeer in 1858. He received a common school education in Lapeer and Flint. Has been a farmer, run a saw and grist-mill, taught school, etc. In 1880 was elected register of deeds for Lapeer County, and reelected in 1882. Married to Lena M. Van Wormer, of Lapeer City. They have two children, a son and daughter. HON. JOSHUA MANWARING Was born in the township of Springfield, Burlington County, N. J., October 2, 1824, and was of Englishl-French descent, his grandfather, John Manwaring, emigrating from Lincolnshire, England, about the year 1760, where he left two sisters. He settled on the sea coast of New Jersey, near the present village of Barnegat, Ocean County, and on the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, enlisted in a regiment of militia, and marched down to New York to oppose the landing of the Hessians. After the capture of New York, lie returned to his home and soon thereafter joined with others in forming a company to watch the Tories, who were numerous at that time, and continued in that service to the close of the war. In 1778 he married a French lady by the name of Esopus, raising a family of four sons and three daughters. Adam, the second son, and father of the subject of this sketch, was born January 8, 1783, and removed from Ocean to Burlington County, when a young man, where he married Miss Susan Platt; the fruit of this union being a family of fourteen children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the tenth, and was born October 2, 1824. With his parents he came to Michigan, arriving September 8, 1836, his father having purchased the John Sargent farm, in the township of Avon, Oakland County. There Joshua worked on the farm summers, attending the district school winters, and by dint of hard study acquired a good business education. At the age of twenty-one years he left the parental roof to seek his for tune, in the far West, poor in purse, but with the never-to-be forgotten blessing of his dear mother, who admonished hill to be honest and industrious, and that success would follow him. He went to the then unorganized county of Montcalm, and assisted in clearing the land where the flourishing village of Greenville now stands, and helped to build the first frame house in the place for Abel -[. I lI — r L I -.4. I - b r,'- w -. I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUN, TY. 75 French. He also engaged with the firm of Myers & Burrell in building a saw-mill, which he assisted in running, and was engaged during the summer of 1846, in rafting and running lumber on the Flatt and Grand Rivers. In April, 1846, he attended the first township meeting in Montcalm County, where he cast his first vote. The entire county at that time was organized into one township and attached to Ionia County for judicial and county purposes. The township meeting was held at the Lincoln Mills, and about twentythree votes polled, Mr. Manwaring voting the Whig ticket. In the fall of 1846, le engaged with Nelson Robinson to run the Belden Mill on Flatt River, where he continued during the following winter to the satisfaction of his employer, and in the spring of 1817, in company with Charles Heacox, engaged in rafting lumber from the mills, then known as the Dickson Mills-now Kidville Mills — which they successfully performed, but meeting with many hardships before reaching the mouth of Grand tiver. The consequences were that Mr. Manwaring was attacked with that pest of the pioneer -fever and ague-which caused him to resolve to return to his former home in Oakland County. Not being successful in getting the money for his work, he purchased a team of horses and a wagon of Thomas Myers, paying the purchase price in negotiable notes, part of which were against Myers himself. He then started on his journey, going via Lansing, where the capital of the State had been located the previous winter by the legislature in session at the old capitol building in the city of Detroit. Arriving at the new seat of government, he found parties clearing off the timber preparatory to erecting the capitol building, which has since been destroyed by fire. The place was over-run with adventurers and speculators from all parts of the State, and he found it impossible to get accommodations for the night, and was obliged to sleep in his wagon wrapped in his blankets. The following morning he left the little village of smoking huts and log heaps little thinking that thirty-six years after he would return to a beautiful capital as the honored senator from the Sixteenth District. He remt lined but a short time at home after his arrival, and in August, 1817, engaged to work on the academy or high school then building at Rochester, Oakland County. Again leaving the county he went to the township of Dryden, Lapeer County, and engaged with his brother-in-law, the Hon. John M. Lamb. in the mercantile business, which he continued for two I years when he engaged in business for himself, erecting buildings for the purpose. He was married December 5,1852, to Miss Emily E. Ross, daughter of Jacob Ross of Mason, Cass County, Mich., who has contributed, both in intelligence and industry, an equal share with himself in acquiring a competence which both of them have justly earned and now enjoy. In 1853 he decided to engage in lumbering and with that purpose in view purchased a tract of pine land in the township of Attica, Lapeer County, upon which he erected a mill in partnership with Munroe Fuller, which they continued one year when he purchased Mr. Fuller's interest and continued the business himself in the Red Mill, familiarly known as the Manwaring Mill. He continued the manufacture and sale of lumber, lath and shingles for many years, supplying the immediate vicinity as well as the adjacent counties of Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair, keeping on hand a full assortment of all kinds of lumber, until it was a common saying —" Go to Manwaring's Mill and you can get anything you want." In 1858 he rented his mill to A. Hovey of Oxford, and April 7, 1859, in company with five others started on a trip to the Rocky Mountains in search of health, wealth and adventure. The company comprised William Qutermas, William Emmrons, Dr. E. A. Hebord, Charles Brainard and Aaron Moe, all old pioneers of Dryden, Lapeer County. Going by the way of Omaha, up the Platte River by team, and across the plains, they finally, after a tedious journey, encamped on the ground where the city of Denver now stands, and were among the first to arrive there. From there they went to the mountains where Central City is now located, and returned by the way of Denver, south through the 'C Garden of the Gods," and west into the Park, where the Indians were hostile, lying in ambush to cut off stragglers, many losing their lives during 1859. After many months of tedious travel and perilous adventure in the Rocky Mountains, spiced with narrow escapes from the Indians, they started on their way home going down the Platte River a part of the way on a flat boat built for the purpose. About two hundred miles east of the mountains the water failed and they were obliged to abandon their boats in that portion of Colorado known as the Desert, and proceeded on foot, a distance of six hundred miles, to the nearest settlement on the eastern borders of Nebraska. The journey occupied six weeks, during which time they endured many hardships, interspersed with reckless buffalo hunts and narrow escapes sufficient to satisfy the cravings of the best specimens of <" Young America" desirous of going West. Arriving at Oinaha they proceeded down the Missouri River to St. Joseph, and thence by rail to Detroit and home, where they were welcomed by their families and friends. Mr. Manwaring then decided to devote his time strictly to business in future, and accordingly started a branch store at Imllay, where he furnished the lumbermen and others with supplies. He was also engage4 at the time in mercantile business in Dryden, and soon after in Imlay City, being engaged in lumbering in Sanilac County, as one of the firm of Lamb, Manwaring & Co. At the same time he was manufacturing and selling large quantities of lumber, lath and shingles at his mill in Attica. January 12, 1871, he removed with his family to Lapeer City, where he purchased land and now resides. His farm is one of the best improved in the county, and he has erected the Manwaring Block and a number of dwelling-houses. In 1874 his mills in Attica were burned, and he has since improved the land he formerly lumbered from, converting it into well tilled farms that "blossom as the rose," where heretofore were stump3 ald forests. These farms lie one mile south of the village of Attica, on the Grand Trunk Railway. He is now engaged in lumbering on the Au Sable in the county of Alcona, Lake Huron Shore. Mir. Minwaring's political history dates from his connection with the Whig party until the collapse of that party, when he joined the Republican party on its formation, and during the war was active in helping to send men to the front, contributing both time and money freely for that purpose, not forgetting the wives and children left behind. He furnished them with supplies on relief orders furnished by the authorities, without recompense for his time and trouble, and otherwise aiding the cause of his country, not being situated so as to go to the front himself. After his removal to Lapeer City he was induced to accept the office of supervisor for the First District, which he filled creditably, and was also a member of the school board. In the fall of 1871 he attended the Liberal Republican convention held at Grand Rapids, which nominated the Hon. Austin Blair for governor. The Liberal Republican party proving a failure, he, in 1876, was induced to accept the nomination of State senator from the Democrats, but was defeated. Was again nominatedin 1878, and again failed, as he also did in 1880, in a contest with the Hon. John T. Rich for representative. With characteristic determination and perseverance he ag(ain accepted the nomination from the combined Democratic and Green back parties for the sixteenth senatorial district, and was elected by the handsome majority of 800 over his competitor, the Hon. Wm. W. Andrews, of Macomb County. In the senate Mr. Manwaring has taken an interest in all measures brought before that body, and is chairman of the committee on Michigan Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and is a member of the committees on lumber interests, )4 - e J A - ) I kS 1 1- - i. i- ~ 76 HISTORY OF LA&PEER COUNTY. agricultural college, horticulture and public buildings. Senator Manwaring belongs to that class of eminently useful men who have helped to develop the wonderful resources that nature has so lavishly bestowed upon the peninsular State. Coming to it poor as regards this world's goods, but bringing stout hearts and willing hands, success has perched on their banners and they are surrounded with honors, friends and wealth. The great commonwealth can well be proud of such men, as through them have her great industries been developed, and upon such does her future greatness depend. Mr. and Mrs. Manwaring have five children; one son, George R., residing at Imlay City, and four daughters, Lilla, wife of Joseph Armstrong, merchant, Lapeer City; Corena, wife of H. E. Hatcll, hardware merchant, Lapeer City; Lavango, wife of Daniel W. Johnson, railroad agent, Lapeer City, and Dell. now living at home. With their children all settled near them and enjoying the comforts of a fine home, Mr. and Mrs. Manwaring canll look back over their thirtyone years of wedded life and feel that they have been well spent. As a prominent and leading citizen; as an active and representative legislator, Senator Manwaring is well known throughout the State. HON. JOSEPH B. MOORE was born in Commerce, Oakland County Mich., Nov.3, 1845, and received his education at Hillsdale College and in the law depart-ment of the University of Michigan. He came to Lapeer City in 1869 and was admitted to the practice of law in October of the same year, which profession he has since followed. He was elected circuit court commissioner for Lapeer County, and in the spring of 1874 was elected mayor of Lapeer City, and also prosecuting attorney for the county, which position he retained two years. In 1878 was elected State senator from the Twentieth District, comprising the counties of Lapeer and Macomb. ALFRED HALLOCK was born in Burlington, Vt., in 1821, and when nine years of age came with his parents to Michigan. They at first settled in Wayne County, where, after a residence of four years, they removed to Genesee County, remaining there until 1872, when he came to Lapeer and learned the carpenter's trade, which he has followed the greater part of his life. He has. for the past ten years, been engaged in the manufacture of pumps, which have found a ready sale in and about Lapeer City. In Grand Blanc, Genesee County, Mr. Hallock held the office of supervisor for eight years, and also one year in Lapeer, and has been a justice of the peace eleven years. He was married in 1850 to Miss Alice E. Smith, of Dutchess County, N. Y. They have two daughters. STEPHEN H. SMITH was born in Niagara County, N. Y., in 1830, and in early life came with'his parents to Michigan. The death of his father occurring soon thereafter, he went to live with his uncle. In 1849 he purchased a farm in Lapeer County, upon which he resided eight years, when he disposed of it and engaged in lumbering. In 1872 he commenced the manufacture of shingles, which he has" continued to the present time, having an extensive mill near Lapeer City, in which he employs, on an average, thirteen men during the year. He was married in 1857 to Miss Louisa P. Parsons, a native of Livingston County, Michigan. They have two daughters. JOHN B. HOUGH was born in Bozrah, New London County, Ct., in 1809, and lived with his parents on a farm until he reached twenty-one years of age. He continued farming in that vicinity for four years thereafter, when he came to Michigan and settled in the township of Almont, Lapeer County. He took up from the government 160 acres of land, upon which he resided until 1869, when he was elected probate judge, which position he held until 1881. He has also held other important offices, including supervisor four years, justice of the peace twenty-two years and deputy internal revenue collector and assessor. He was married in 1853 to Miss Sarah S. Palmer, a native of Connecticut. Mr. Hough settled in Almont the year the township was organized. G. F. DEMOREST WaS born in Troy, Mich., in 1847, and moved with his parents to Elmira, N. Y., when two years of age, and resided there eleven years, when he came to Michigan and located in Oakland County, where he remained till 1863. He then enlisted in the First Michigan Cavalry and served until June, 1865, when he returned to Oakland County, and commenced to learn the trade of marble-cutting, at which he worked in different localities in the State till 1870, when he came to Lapeer and worked for Mr. Wilson about six months, when he formed a partnership under the firm name of Mills & Demorest, Mr. Wilson retiring. This firm continued till 1873, when Mr. Tucker took the place of Mr. Mills and the firm was then known as Tucker & Demorest until 1883, when Mr. Demnorest assumed exclusive control of the business, which is cutting and furnishing marble and stone to order. His business place is on Nepessing Street. He was married in 1874, to Miss Susie E. Harrison, of Lapeer, and has one child, a son. GEORGE DONALDSON was born in Woodstock. Ont., in 1849, and came to Michigan in 1865, locating in Lapeer. He is the proprietor of an extensive meat market on the north side of Nepessing Street near First Nation.al Bank, and is largely engaged in droving, shipping and dealing in live stock. He also owns ninety-six acres of land two miles east of the city. He was married in 1880 to Miss Nancy McClary, of London, Ont. ROBERT B. CONKLIN was born in Stark, Herkimer County, N. Y., in 1823, and came West at an early day. He first settled in McHenry County, Ill., taking up land from the government, and subsequently purchased and resided upon an improved farm. In 1854 he came to Lapeer County and bought a farm in the township of Aimont, where he lived several years, when he removed to the township of Mayfield. In 1863 he bought a farm three miles from Lapeer City, where he resided till 1872, when he became a resident of Lapeer, where he has since lived. He was married in 1842 to Miss Rachel Chapel, of Otsego County, N. Y. At present Mr. Conklin owns 160 acres of pine and farming lands in Oscoda County. DR. E. G. DOUGLASS was born in Oakland County, Mich., in 1839, where he grew up to manhood, and where he continued to reside till 1863, when he commenced the study of his profession with his brother, Dr. I. Douglass, in Romeo, Mich. He continued his studies with him two and one-half years, when he came to Lapeer and commenced the practice of dentistry, which he has continued up to the present time. Dr. Douglass became a member of the State Dental Association in 1867, and to day, 1883, has the most extensive and oldest established dental practice in the county. He was married in 1861 to Miss J. H. Snyder, who was born in Lower Canada. They have two children, Edith G., born November 4, 1869, and Elton G., born August 9, 1876. MILTON A. VAN WAGONER was born in Oakland County, Mich., in 1844, and after attending the common schools in the locality, he entered the school at Clarkson, where he graduated. He then went to Ann Arbor, where he attended school a year and a half, when he returned to Oakland County and taught school several terms in that and Genesee Counties. He then turned his attention to the sale of musical instruments in Goodrich, Genesee County, for a short time, when he came to Lapeer, in 1874, and since that time has continued the sale of all kinds of musical instruments in this and adjoining counties. IRA H. BUTTERFIELD was born in Gainesville, N. Y., in 1812, and came to Michigan in 1838. He settled in Utica, where he en gaged in farming, milling and manufacturing. In 1866 he came to Lapeer and purchased land on Saginaw Street, upon which he still resides. About the same time he bought a grist-mill near his farm, which he owned and operated up to 1877. Mr. Butterfield represented Macomb County in the State senate one term, Lapeer I_ _ 1I3; =. x I. * i-"-7::.:,1- -.: - -:: ~-,V j - *;,:: -: 0 - X0. e.'SS'..S'.:::0X~< MRS. J. MANWARING I/ ( 0,0,. v (/ Ir __j D -Ne A - I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 77 County forming a part of the district, and has held the ofiice of supervisor two terms. He was married in 1839 to Miss Rachel McNeil, of New Hampshire, who died in 1816. Was again married to Mist, Alice W. McNeil, of the same State, but was living in Lowell, Mass. He has five children, three sons and two daughters. FREDERICK LINCOLN was born in Bangor, N. Y., in 1815, and came to Michigan in 1860. He first located in Port Huron, where he remained till 1873, following sailing as an occupation, when he came to Lapeer, and has been engaged in the grocery trade and milling; at present has charge of R. G. Hart's elevator and gristmill. He was married in 1874 to Miss Kate _M. Hart, daughter of R. G. Hart, and has two children, a son and a daughlter. NELSON MILES was born in Grand Rapids, Mich. When three years old he moved with his people to Schoharie County, N. Y., and three years thereafter to Watertown, N. Y. He attended the public schools anid institute, and in 1865 came to Michigan, his father buying and settling upon the farm he (Nelson Miles) now owns in Lapeer City. He was married in 1877 to Miss Florence Lawton, of the State of New York, and has one daughter. FOREST HADLEY was born in Essex County, N. Y., in 1815, and in 1850 went with his parents to Wisconsin, where they remained till 1874, when they came to Michigan and settled in the township of Lapeer, Lapeer County. In 1876 lie engaged in farming for himself in the same township, but afterward went to the township of Deerfield. In the spring of 1882 he came to Lapeer and located on Mill Street, where lie has since resided. He was married in 1881 to Miss Lizzie E. Moore, a daughter of one of the older residents of the township of Lapeer. HORACE E. HATCH was born in what is now Lapeer City, in 1852. He attended the schools in the place, and afterward graduated at Goldsmith's Commercial College, Detroit, Mich., following which he accepted a clerkship in White & Brown's hardware store, where he remained eight years, the firm changing three times during that period. He finally took the management of the business for E. C. White, whom he bought out in 1881, since which time he has carried on an extensive hardware business; is located in the Opera House Block, Nepessing, Street. He was married in 1880 to Miss Corena Manwaring, daughter of Senator Manwaring, of Lapeer, and has one child. FRANK THOMPSON was born in Lapeer County in 1861. His first business venture was in Hadley, where he engaged in hotel keeping one year. Inll 1882 he and his father (A. M. Thompson) bought out the well equipped livery stable in Lapeer, on Park Street. His father retiring in December, 1882, he then assumed full control and management of the largest business in that line in Lapeer County. He was married in 1881 to Mattie Geer, of Lapeer, and has one child. H. D. PIKE was born in Washington County, N. Y., in 1839, and came to Michigan in 1856. He stopped three years in Detroit and two years inll Oakland County, when he came to Lapeer and soon thereafter engaged in mercantile pursuits, first with the firm of Emmons'& Pike, and afterward with Pike Bros. He was next engaged in a grist-mill two years, and is at present a partner in the firm of Milliken & Co., dealers in dry goods and general merchandise. He owns 330 acres of land on sections 28 and 29, in the township of Mayfield; has held the office of supervisor three years and alderman several years. He was married inll 1864 to Miss Alice Lathrop, of Mayfield, Lapeer County, daughter of Horace M. Lathrop, one of the pioneers of that township. Mr. Pike has one son. JEREMIAH EARL (deceased) was born in the State of New York about the year 1804, and came to Michigan in 1850. In his younger days he learned the blacksmithing trade, which he followed to the end of his life. He was married to Miss Harriet Evans, of New York, whom with two sons and one daughter still survive him. His death occurred in 1854. E. K. EARL, son Of Jeremiah Earl, was born at Little Falls, N. Y., in 1845, and in 1850 came with his parents to Michigan. In early life he learned the mason's trade, which he followed till 1875, when he engaged as a clerk and traveling salesman for a Lapeer firm, with whom he continued three years. In 1877 he purchased the farm where he now resides, and soon thereafter moved upon it. He was married in 1865 to Miss Helen Shafer, who died in 1873, and was married to his present wife, Sarall Prindle, of Rochester, Mich., in 1876. They have two children. GEORGE B. GREGORY was born in Clhenango, N. Y., in 1831, and in 1851 came to Lapeer via stage froml Buffalo to Detroit and entered the employ of J. B. Hart as clerk in his general store. In 1854 the firm of Davis & Gregory was formed for the purpose of engaging in the manufacture of doors, sash and blinds and a general lumber and planing-mill business, and existed for tweinty-four years without change, with the exception of one year. when Robert King took an interest. In the meantime Mr. Gregory clerked for Mr. Jeniiings in his store from 1860 to 1865, when Tuttle and Gregory established a mercantile branch to their business, Mr. Gregory taking charge of the same. In 1878 the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Gregory taking the store and Mr. Tuttle the lumber and mill business. In 1882 Mr. Gregory sold out and retired from business. He was married in 1854 to Miss Mary E. Tuttle, of Lapeer. JAMES C. THICKSTINE was born in Crawford County, Pa., in 1837, and while a young man learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for several years, and was also engaged inll the oil business four years. About the year 1868 he came to Michigan and located in Genesee County, where he remained two years, when he came to Lapeer and organized the Farmers' Association and Fire Insurance Company, and soon thereafter engaged in the wholesale lumber and shingle trade, with location at present near the Grand Trunk Station. He was married inll 1881 to Miss Samantha E. Smallidge, of Lenllawee County, Mich. WILLIAM LOFFT was born in England in 1837, and emigrated to Canada in 1857. When a young manl he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he has since followed. He lived in Goderich, Huron County, Ont., six years, and in 1863 came to Lapeer, where after working at his trade two years he established himself in the business of general blacksmithing, his present location being oil Fox Street. He was married to Miss Margaret Sloan, of Kingston, Ont., in 1862, and has two children. FRANCIS MCELROY was born in 1841 at Gait, Ont. His parents came to Detroit in 1847, where they lived about seven years. Afterward lived in St. Clair County, ill this State, and also at Bayfield, Wis. In 1861 he enlisted in the Fifth Michigan Infantry and served through the war. His regiment was in the Army of the Potomac, and he wears the "Kearney Cross" for gallantry in action. Came to Lapeer in 1865 at the close of the rebellion, and is now in business as a baker and confectioner. Is also engaged in farming. Married Miss Annie Carrigan, of Port Huron, in 1865. They have four children. He was the first city collector of Lapeer, has also been an alderman, and is now (1883) supervisor for the first city district, being his third term in that office. WARD H. JENNINGS was born at Leeds, about fifty miles from Portland, Me., in 1824. Had a common school and academic education. Came to Michigan in June, 1845. Engaged in the manufacture of wagons, plows, boots, shoes, etc., at Rochester, Oakland County. Returned to Maine in 1848 and remained there three and a half years, during which time he got married to Myra 4 I i rz - .-.., __I.V d v I I - 78 - HISTORY O)F LAPEER COUNTY. I I P. Parcher. Again came West and went into mercantile business with his brother at Rochester, Mich. In 1853 they also engaged in trade in Lapeer, Mr. W. H. Jennings making it his place of residence ever since. The firm continued until 1874. A new concern called Jennings & Son succeeded to the Lapeer part of the business. In 1876 lie built a grist-mill, and after operating it two years sold it. Had previously rented a mill which was burned down in 18-. Has been president of the village corporation, member of the council, etc. Has two children, a son and daughter. The daughter is married and lives in Massachusetts, and the son is his business partner. In addition to the foregoing he is an extensive owner of and dealer in real estate. Hon. JAMES TURRILL (deceased) was born in Shoreham, Vt., September 24, 1797. Leaving his father's farm at the age of twenty-one he engaged in a general mercantile business in his native town and in Bridgeport in the same county. He pursued his mercantile labors in the two places mentioned with very gratifying and remunerative results until 1836, when he came to Michigan and invested extensively in lands at and near Lapeer. Returning to Vermont he continued his business until 1842, when he moved his family, consisting of wife and eight children, three sons and five daughters, and located in the village of Lapeer. Here he again turned his attention to mercantile affairs, dealing largely in real estate at the same time. Success attended his efforts, and after a lapse of thirteen years he retired from active business and gave his attention to the cultivation of his farms and the management of his pine land. interests. He was for some time a member of the banking firm of R. G. Halt & Co. and was one of the directors of the Port Huron & Lake Michigan Railroad, now called the Grand Trunk, having aided largely with his means and advice at a time when others were quite discouraged in getting it completed from Port Huron to Flint. After that was done he retired from the directorship at his own request; but remained active and efficient in the work. Although Mr. Turrill was never ambitious for public life, still his fellow citizens saw fit on several occasions to place him in positions of honor and trust. He was several times elected one of the trustees and afterward president of the village of Lapeer, and upon its incorporation as a city was chosen its first mayor. He was also elected to the house of representatives of the State legislature in the fall of 1848, and served in that body during the sessioLs of 1848 and 1849. During the war he took an active part in putting down the rebellion, and his eldest son, Captain J. Henry Turrill, a brave and noble hearted officer of the Seventh Michigan Infantry, lost his life at the battle of Antietam. Mr. Turrill was a man of strict integrity, liberal in the support of religious and charitable institutions, and gave with a free hand to the poor and needy. He died July 31, 1876. GEORGE N. TURRILL was born in 1833 in Bridgeport, Addison County, Vt., and came to Lapeer with his parents in 1842, and has since been a resident of the county. In early manhood he was employed in his father's store, but since that time has been a farmer. He now owns farms on sections 5, 7 and 8 in the township of Lapeer, but resides on the old homestead in the city of Lapeer. He was married in 1862 to Miss Paulina Vosburg, who was born in Columbia County, N. Y. They have three children living. HENRY K. WHITE was born in 1820 at South Hadley, Mass. Came to Lapeer Township in 1833. His mother brought her family, consisting of five sons and three daughters, the father being dead, and they went on a farm. In his early days he sailed for a number of years, during which he was on the Pacific coast, and visited California, Washington Territory, etc. In 1871 he became the first cashier of the newly organized First National Bank of Lapeer, and of which he is now (1883) president. Previously was in the banking business with his brother, the late E. J. White. In 1861 he raised Company F, First Michigan Cavalry, and was captain of it. He was compelled to resign on account of physical disability. He was married in 1866 to Miss Jane Wrigglesworth. They have four children. MYRON B. SMITH was born in the town of Kent, Litchfield County, Conn., November 30, 1811. When but a few months old he was taken to Oneida County, N. Y., settling there in 1812, and where he remained until he was twenty-oine years of age. The year of the Black Hawk war he went West. As an assistant to an uncle of his, who was a government surveyor, he followed the old Sauk trail from Chicago to the Mississippi River. Was gone about six months. They then came to Michigan and surveyed Sanilac, Huron and Tuscola Counties before a single settler had penetrated that section of this State. Went then to Pontiac and remained eighteen months. In 1836 helped to mnake the first survey of southern Iowa, remaining about six months. He then returned and worked at the trade of a carpenter for two years. In 1839 settled in the village of Lapeer. When he passed through here first, in 1834, there were only about six houses in the place and a saw-mill. He has followed the trade of. a carpenter the greater part of his life. Has held the following offices since in Lapeer County: Register of deeds several years, county treasurer six years, deputy county clerk, justice of the peace, etc. He was married in 1844 to Mrs. Walker, whose maiden name was Mary A. Dexter. They have one child, a son, who is employed at the depot of the Detroit & Bay City Railway. Lapeer was surveyed and located as the county seat by S. V. R. Trowbridge, G. O. Whittemore and Harvey D. Parke, the latter of whom was his uncle, and who died at Pontiac in 1879. SARDIS B. MARSHALL was born in Alden, Genesee County, N. Y., in 1827. Came to Michigan with his parents in 1836. They settled in Almnont, Lapeer County, and went to farming. In 1869 he came to Lapeer village and went into the hotel business. Had kept one in Altmont, previously, besides carrying on a farm. At Lapeer he bought the "Northern Exchange" and rebuilt it, calling it the "Marshall House." Kept it two years and sold it. Rented it in 1877 and again ran it until May, 1881. In September, 1882, bought the "Abram House," and is now landlord of that well-known hostelry. Was an alderman while living in Almont. Married in October, 1853, to Celestia Smith, who died in 1860, and by whom he had two children, one of whom, an only daughter, is living. Married again in September, 1861, to Jane A. Ferguson, by whomhe has had three children, of whom only one, a daughter, survives. HON. MYRON C. KENNY, M. D., was born in Perry, Genesee County, N. Y., in 1823. Came to Michigan in 1842. Commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Dennis Cooley at Washington, Macomb County, in 1844. Attended lectures in Cleveland, O. Passed an examination before a board of censors at Almont, Michigan, and was authorized to practice. Commenced practice at Lapeer in 1846. In public life Dr. K. has held the following positions: Member of the State legislature in 1865-66; member of the constitutional convention in 1867; mayor of the city of Lapeer two years; alderman, school inspector and, for over twenty years, a member of the board of education. Was married in 1850 to Ann Eliza Turrill. They have two children living. CHARLES W. BROWN was born in Nassau, Rensselaer County, N. Y., in 1819. His parents were farmers and he was brought up on a farm. When sixteen years of age he went into a store in the village of Nassau, remaining there until he was twenty-one years of age. He then went to Monroe County, N. Y., where he remained till 1842, when he removed to Lapeer County, Michigan, where he I I { I r w-" 9i I I M- ------- - - HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 79 l I has since resided. Lived at Farmers Creek from 1845 to 1881. Has been a farmer most of the time, but was also in the mercantile business and manufactured potash. Was a justice of the peace and school inspector in Metamora. Elected judge of probate in 1880, and re-elected in 1882. Since holding this office has lived in Lapeer City. Married in 1845 to Susan E. Cressey, a native of New Hampshire. They have three children, one daughter and two sons. One son is a farmer in Metamora Township, the other is a graduate of West Point and is now lieutenant in the United States army. HON. LORD W. HINMAN was born in 1833, at Royalton, Niagara County, N. Y. His parents came to Lapeer County in 1835. He was brought up on a farm and was educated in the Lapeer common schools. In 1862 he enlisted in the Tenth Michigan Cavalry and served to close of the war. Was a first lieutenant when mustered out. Was a justice of the peace when he lived in Elba Township. Was elected mayor of Lapeer City in April, 1883. Follows farming. Was married to Cornelia A. Henderson, a native of New York State, who died in 1881. He has two children. ROBERT A. WHITE was born in 1811, in Romeo, Maconlb County, Michigan, and was reared on a farm. In 1861 he went into the army, and was on the staff of Surgeon-Gen. J. K. Barnes, ranking as a first lieutenant. Held the position two years, when he was made assistant surgeon of the Thirty-rinth Regiment of U. S. colored troops, with which he remained until the end of the rebellion. During the time he was in Washington, received medical instruction at Georgetown College. Came to Lapeer County in 1866, living at Almont and Attica until 1873, when he removed to Lapeer City. Is now a jobbing contractor and builder, also a dealer in all kinds of building materials. Has been married twice; first, in 1861, to Elizabeth Plant, who died in 1865, and by whom he had one child; and again, in 1866, to Caroline Mentor, of Dryden, Lapeer County. They also have had one child. JASPER BENTLEY was born in Chenango County, N. Y., in 1826, and came to Michigan in 1844, locating at Fenton, Genesee County. Came to Lapeer County in 1848, settling at Hadley. Was a builder and contractor for a number of years, also taught school. Held the office of county clerk from Jan. 1, 1865, until 1876, inclusivetwelve years. Was mayor of Lapeer in 1872-73. Was clerk of Hadlev, and has been a school inspector for twenty years. In 1875 he was admitted to the bar and has since practiced law, being a member of the legal firm of MIoore & Bentley. Was married to Julia Barnard, of' Utica, N. Y., in 1846. They have two daughters living. JOHN H. PALMER was born in 1838, at Akron, Ohio. Attended the academy at Spencer, 0., and the college at Hillsdale, Michigan; followed the vocation of a teacher in 1860-61. Enlisted in 1862 in the One Hundredth Regiment Ohio Infantry, and served until March, 1865. Ranked as a captain when mustered out. At the close of the war went to Nashville, Barry County, 'Michigan. Lived there for a number of years, during which time he was county superintendent of schools. Came to Lapeer in 1874 as pastor of the Universalist society. Afterward studied law with Moore & Bentley. Admitted to the bar in 1878. Was for a time a member of the legal firm of Moore, Bentley & Palmer. Is now (1883) circuit court commissioner and clerk of Lapeer City. Married EmilyPutnam, of Bridgewater, 0., in 1861. They have one child living-a daughter. WILLIAM A. JACKSON was born in 1816, near Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England. Studied medicine in that country and was an assistant surgeon in the British navy. Emigrated to Canada in 1837. Practiced his profession at Montreal, and also held the office of government messenger under Lord Sydenham. Returned to England in the winter of 1840-41. Remained a year and then came to the United States. Practiced medicine at Syracuse, Cicero, Cleveland, Oswego County, N. Y. Came to Lapeer in 1856, and has remained until the present time in active practice. Was a United States examining surgeon for fifteen years. Held the office of mayor of Lapeer in 1876. In 1874 went to Europe and visited the hospitals in London, Paris, &c. Was married in 1846 to Miss Amelia Stockdale, of Cicero, N. Y. Has three sons living, one of whom is practicing medicine with him. SEYMOUR A. MANZER was born in 1847, in Huron, Wayne County, Mich. Commenced the study of medicine at Watrousville, Tuscola County, Michigan, in 1866. Commenced practice at Attica, Lapeer County, in 1871. Graduated from the medical department of the Michigan University in 1873. Practiced at Wacousta, Mich., until 1882, when he removed to Lapeer. Married Flora Elliott, of Wayne County, in 1870. They have two children, a son and daughter. WILLIAM MCDONALD was born in Kincardineshire, in the northeast of Scotland, in 1824. Learned the machinist trade at Glasgow. Came to the United States in 1848, and located in Detroit, where he worked in the machine shops of that city until he went to Romeo, Macomb County, where he was for a time in the employ of Holman & Farrar; afterward became a member of the firm. In 1866 came to Lapeer and bought an interest in the machine shop of Mr. Newton, the firm being known as Newton &(McDonald. The shops were burned down in 1872, shortly previous to which Mr. McDonald had purchased his partner's interest. In 1873 built his present place of business. Was married in 1847to Miss Margaret Shearer, of Glasgow, Scotland. They have had five sons and two daughters. The sons are all at work in their father's establishment. The daughters live in Texas. WILLIAM N. VARNUM was born in 1826, at Berlin, Waterloo County, Ontario. His parents came to Michigan and settled on a farm in Metamora, Lapeer County, in 1842. The son learned the trade of a blacksmith and followed it for twenty-five years in that township. In 1870 he removed to Lapeer and started a foundry, blacksmith and wagon-shop, to which he has added a furniture manufactory and undertaking establishment. In Metamora he was a supervisor for two years, and in Lapeer has been an alderman for eight years. Married Julia H. Russell in 1847. She was a native of New York State but a resident of Lapeer County at the time of her marriage. They have had a family of eight children, four of whom are now living. ARTHUR H. THOMPSON, M. D., was born in St. Thomas, Ont., in 1838, of American parentage. He commenced the study of medicine in his native place in 1855. From there he went to London, Ont., and was four years in the office of Dr. A. T. Bull. Afterward attended homeopathic colleges in Philadelphia and New York. Also took one course of lectures at the Michigan University. He passed the homeopathic medical board of Canada in 1862, and is member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of that province. Previously, however, he had graduated at the New York homeopathic college. Practiced in St. Thomas and Stratford, Ont., for some years. Traveled for a time and settled in Lapeer in 1867, and has since been a successful practitioner in the city and county. Was married in 1873 to Miss Anna Dodge, a native of Vermont. They have twvo children. GREENE & RULISON, dealers in clothing, gents' furnishing goods, etc., commenced business in Lapeer in 1880. The firm is composed of Edward C. Greene, and Charles W. Rulison. They also have a branch store at St. Louis, Mich.-EDWARD C. GREENE was born in 1849, at Townsend, Middlesex County, Mass. When very young his parents removed to Red Creek, Wayne County, N. Y. He was educated in the academy at that place. He came West to West Bloomfield, Oakland County, Mich., in 1867. He taught school L I I t 6-:,-. Ii I i I r I I 80i. HISTORY -OF LAPEER COUNTY. one tern and then went into the employ of an auction and comlmission firm at Pontiac. Il 1869 he went to Flint, and was in the employ of Williar L. Smith & Co., Smith & Bridgeman, and N. Davidson, until 1877. In that year he came to Lapeer as manager for a branch store belonging to Mr. Dcvidson. Il 1880 he bought out that gentleman and tie firm of Greene & Rulison was organized. He was married in 1875 to Carrie E. Fairbank of Flint. She died in 1882. Two children survive her. CHARLES W. RULISON, the other memlber of the firm, was born in Jefferson County., N. -Y., in 1819. His parents ctme to Flint, Mlch., in 1849. He was educated in the schools of that city, and had one term at the Michigan University. In 1880 came to Lapeer and entered into business as a1 partner of E.C. Greene. Married in 1876 to 34iss Ella Lee, of Svra-,use, N. Y. They have one chil(l, a daughter. YORE T. HIGLEY is a native of Verrmont, and vas born at Shoreham, Addison County, il 1826. His parents came to Lapeer County in 1833, bought land on what is no7'w Lapeer Township, and cleared up a farm. The son, York T., has been a farmer:ll his days and is now living on the land purchased from the United States government by his father. Has held office as a drain commuissioner and justice of the peace. Married Cornelia D. Strong, a native of Massachusetts, but a resident of Lapeer County, at the time of her marriage, which took place in 1861. They have a family of six children living. WILLiS m R. WADSWORTH wAS bor1 March 12, 1827, in Butler, Wayne County, N.Y. Brought up on a farm in the town of Wolcott. in the same county, and followed that pursuit until 1865. In 1864 came West to Lapeer County, looating in Oreoon Township, where he farmed it for about a year, and then went to work as a carpenter and a joiner. Continued at that until 1873 when he conimenced selling fruit and orna~menltal trees. He now represents the Geneva, New York, nurseries and deals in American and imported fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, roses, grape-vines and small fruits. Residence oln Bentley Street. Was married December 22, 1853, and has four sons, all of whoni live in Lapeer. RENSSELAER R. TENNANT was born in 1826, at Leroy, Genesee County, N. Y. His youth was passed on a farm and his education received in the district schools. In 1840 he went to Herkinier County. N. Y., and lived oil his uncle's farm for eight years. In 1848 he went to Orleans County, and kept a hotel for twelve years. From 1848 to 1877 was in the hotel business in Brockport, Oak Orchard, and Saratoga, N. Ye In 1877 he came to Lapeer. For a time he kept the Park Hotel, near the Grand Trunk Railway Depot. In 1882 leased the Donaldson House and changed the name to Tennant House. He was married in 1850 to Miss Eliza Young, of Herkimer County, N. Y. Tley have one -child, a daughter. MARTIN J.HOWARD was born il the town of Jefferson, Schoharie County, N. Y., in 1826. In 1859 went West to Wisconsin, where he was a farmer. In 1870 came to Lapeer City, where he is now in the undertaking business. Was married ira 1856 to Miss Catherine McArthur of New York. ALBERT L. GREGORY was born in 1837 at Hunt's Hollow, near Nunda, Livingstoln County, N. Y. Learned the trade of jeweler and watchmaker at Rusllford, N. Y. Was il business at Cuba in the satne State in 1861. Camue to Mlicligal in 1867. Was at Flint for a time, and in 1868 removed to Lapeer, where lie opened a watch, clock and jewelry establishment. Married to Mliss Ellen C. Osborne of Rushford, N. Y. They have one child living. ALEXANDER MCLEN.A N ATwAS born in IKintail, HRosshire, Scotland, in 1832. Was educated at the schools in that place, also oil the Island of North Uist. W7ent to the -Ulliversity of Edinburgh il 1850. I Was there two and a half years. Ctame to the United States in 1852. Lived for at time at St. Clair, Mich. After that taught school. in Canada a few months, and then went to Detroit, where he was in the employ of T. & J. Hinchman, dealers in drugs, groceries, etc. Was in a grocery business in Pontiac for a time. In 1856 came to Lapeer and engaged in general mercantile business. Was mayor of Lapeer in 1879-'80. Has also been president of the school board and member of the same a number of terins. Married to Rebecca Haddrill, a native of England, but at the time of her marria(re a resident of Orion, Oakland County, in 1856. They have five children living BENEZETT A. TUTTLE was born in '1851, in the township of Almont, Lapeer County, Mich. Was educated in the common schools of the county, and graduated at Goldsmith's Commercial College in Detroit. Il 1871 went into the employ of Tuttle & Gregory. In 1878 his father, who was the senior member of the firm, bought out Mr. Gregory's interest, and since that time the son has been manaaer of the retail lumber business. Has held the office of city collector for Lapeer, and in 1880-'81 Was an alderman. In 1883 was aaain elected. Marriedin 1875 to Miss Ellen Bennett, from near Glen's Falls, N. Y., by whom lie has one child, a daughter.;COLUMBUS TUTTLE Was born in 1829, in Cortland County, N. Y. His parents settled in 1836, in the township of Ray, Macomb County, Mich. Tle son learned the trade of a carpenter, which his father followed. In 1853 he came to Lapeer Coulty. Remained for a tine in Almost, and then came to Lapeer. Since he has lived in this city he has been in the planing-mill and mercantile business. Was at one time in partnership with Gecr-re B. Gregory. Served for a number of months in 1864-'65 on a United ~States Tunboat, on the Mississippi River. Has been an alderman several terms. In 1819 was married to MissEnuice Hough of Connecticut. They have had six children, four of whom are living. WILLIAM F. DALEY is a native of Onondaga County, N. Y., having been born in the town of Fabius in 1832. His parents came to Lapeer Township in 1838. His education was acquired in the district schools and at the Rochester academy in Oakland County. In 1854 he commenced teaching and for six years taught township schools. He then farmed in Lapeer Township until 1873, when he became a resident of Lapeer City, and since that time has been in the fire and life insurance business. Has been an alderman, member of the city school board, and also held some township offices. Married Miss Harriet A. Tripp of Northeast, Chla itauqua County, N. Y. They have one child, a daughter. ESLI R. REDFIELD was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., in 1832. Came to Oakland County in 1844 with his parents. Learned the painters' trade. Enlisted in 1861 in the Tenth Regiment Michigan Infantry, and remained in the service lntil the close of the war. Went il as a sergeant and came out as a captain. Returned to Oakland County after the end of the war. Remained there until 1879, during which time he was supervisor for Oakland Township six years. While in that county he was a farmer, but on removing to Lapeer in 1879, went into the flot-muill business. In April, 1883, he was elected'supervisor for the Second District of Lapeer City. He was married in 1866 to Miss Sarah M. Beebe of Monroe County, N. Y. They have three children. CHARLES L. THATCHER wAS born in Kendall, Orleans County, N. Y., in 1836. His parents came West in 1851,and located on a farm in Bloomfield, Oakland County, Mich. He lived there until 1853, when he went to Pontiac and remained until 1872, part of the time in business for himself. That year he came to Lapeer and opened a book, news and stationery establishment. He has now, 1883, two stores on Nepessin,, Avenue, one of which would be a II I I i - - I33 I I -F, D PI C I II I. k L -, JAM ES TURRI LL. O r i r 0 __ __ HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 81 _.1 credit to a much larger place than Lapeer. Was married in 1864 to Miss Sophia G. Cook of Oneida County, N. Y. They have one child, a son. GEORGE H. CARY was born in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1854. From there his parents removed to Hastings, Minn. In 1870 lie was in the employ of the Grand Trunk Railway Co., as cashier in the general office at Port Huron, Micll., where he remained until 1874. He then took a position as station master at Imlay City, Lapeer County. In 1880 he came to Lapeer City as general ticket and freight agent for the same company. Was married in 1877 to Miss Lillie B. Mark of Imlay City. They have a son and daughter. He owns a residence on the corner of Church and Franklin Avenues. JOHN 0. SMITH was born in the city of Norwich, England, in 1825. His parents came to Canada in 1831, where they lived for two years at Montreal. They afterward lived in Toronto and Chatham, also at Buffalo, N. Y. The father was a cabinet-maker, and the son learned the same trade. Lived for a number of vears at Mineral Point, Watertown and other places in Wisconsin. Some of the time in trade for himself and at other times working at his trade. He came to Lapeer in 1858, and until 1870 worked at painting and cabinet making. Went into the furniture trade then, and carries one of the largest and finest stocks in the city. In 1862 he enlisted in the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics and served until the-end of the war. Married to Mary C. Lovejoy, of New York State, in 1846. They have five children. JOHN A. BUERGER was born in 1827 in Bavaria, Germany, and came to the United States in 1850. Lived for a number of years in East Saginaw and Frankenmuth, Saginaw County, Mich., during which he was engaged in the brewing business. In 1864 he enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Regiment Michigan Infantry. Served until the rebellion was crushed. Ranked as a first lieutenant when mustered out. Came to Lapeer in 1866 and built the "City Brewery," and the "Farmer's Home" hotel. Among beer drinkers the beer made at his brewery is considered a very good article. He has had six children, by Anna M. Szhelhms, a native of Saxony, Germany, to whom he was married in 1853. ARTHUR J. GRAY was born in Oregon Township, Lapeer County, in 1855. His father was one of the first settlers in that township. He has been engaged for a number of years in mercantile business. Is a member of the firm of J. H. Gray & Son, dealers in groceries, provisions, boots, shoes, flour, feed, &c. Was married March 28, 1875, to Eliza Storey, of Stratford, Ont. CHARLES J. YORKER, a farmer, was born in Lennox, Madison County, N. Y., in 1827, and was brought up on a farm. Came to Michigan in 1840. Worked for the late E. J. White, of Lapeer, two years and then went to the Upper Peninsula, living at Eagle River, Copper Harbor, &c. Came back to Lapeer in 1863. While at Eagle River, held the offices of justice of the peace, town clerk, constable, &c. In 1849 was married to Mary G. Cion, a native of Germany, from near Coblentz. They have a family of ten children. CHARLES L. YORKER, the son of the foregoing, was born at Eagle River in 1854. In 1864 came to Lapeer and was on his father's farm until 1878. Educated at the Lapeer high school. Is now a dealer in organs, &c. ISAAC I. VOORHIES was born in Virginia in 1799; left his native State with his parents in 1804, settling in Seneca County, N. Y., where he remained until 1818; then went to Riga, N. Y., near Rochester, remaining about six years; then came to Michigan; took up from government 240 acres of land near Pontiac; improved the same; sold it, moved into the city of Pontiac; lived about five years, then came to Lapeer in 1867, where he has since lived; was married in 1826 to Ann Merlin, of N. Y., who died in 1864; was married second time, 1867, to Jane E. Hovey, of Pontiac, Mich. When Mr. Voorhies came to this State, there were only about thirty houses in the city of Pontiac. Mr. Voorhies is one of a family of sixteen children, eleven of whom lived to adult age; he is now the only surviving one of the family. ALEXANDER W. COREY was born in Tioga County, Pa., in the year 1830, where he lived until the year 1849, when he came with his parents to Michigan, stopped a short time in Troy, Oakland County, then came to Lapeer, stayed a short time in the village of Lapeer, there being but two or three houses in this place at that time. His father then took up land three miles south of said place which he lived on until his death, which occurred in the year 1868. This farm is still in possession of the family. Mr. A. W. Corey lived on the farm until 1880, when he moved to Lapeer City and took charge of the gunsmith business located on Saginaw Street, a business he has been interested in about eight years. Was married in 1867 to Deborah R. Converse, of this city; has one daughter. JAMES A. HUNGERFORD, manufacturer of all kinds of wagons, carriages, sleighs, cutters, &c.; also keeps for sale wagons and carriages of other manufacturers and does a general blacksmith business; shop is located on Saginaw Street. Was born in Saratoga County, N. Y., in 1835, where he lived until eighteen years of age, when he came to Lapeer and established himself in his present business with his father and continued about five years, when his father retired and he took whole charge of the business, and has continued ever since. Went into the war as member of regimental band for Ninth Cavalry; remained four months; after about one year enlisted in the Second Brigade band and served until the close of the war. Was married in 1861 to Adeline Gummerson, of Lapeer City; she was born in Canada. EDWARD D. SCULLEY, of the firm of Sculley & Merson, blacksmiths, was born in what is now the township of Mayfield, Lapeer County, Mich., in the year 1813, and lived on a farm in the same place with his parents until 1861, then ctme to Lapeer, learned the trade of blacksmith, commencing with a man by the name of Wood; worked afterward with a Mr. Bristol; was last in the employ of J. A. Hungerford. In 1872 commenced business for himself with a Mr. Quinn for two and one-half years; then carried on business alone for eight years. In September, 1881, organized the present company. Owns the homestead bought by his father from government under the administration of Van Buren, now consisting of 100 acres on se3tion 27, Mayfield. His father's name was Patrick Sculley; was born in Ireland; was one of the first settlers of Lapeer County. E. D. Sculley was married in 1867, to Helen R. Bushnell, of Lapeer; has two children, a son and a daughter. IRA GREEN, proprietor of Lapeer woolen mills, was born in Massachusetts in 1832; came when quite young to the State of New York, where he remained twenty years; came to Michigan in 1853; settled in Dexter; remained two years; was two years in Ann Arbor; was three years in Jonesville, two years in Ypsilanti. Has been engaged from boyhood in the woolen business. At Ypsilanti, had charge of the Huron River mills for the firm of Wells & Bradley. In 1867 came to Lapeer, bought an interest in the woolen mills at this place, was associated with Mr. Leavenworth; the firm name was Leavenworth & Green; the mill burned in 1868, then Mr. Green built a new mill and had M. J. Mills as a partner, which con tinned three years, then Mr. G. Rood bought J. Mills' interest, then after one year Mr. Green went out, and shortly after the mill burned, then Mr. Green, in 1874, built the mill he now occupies, and lis been doing a general custom business. Enlisted in 1861 in thile Eighth Michigan Infantry; served two years and a half; was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness b)y a rifle ball, through the left lung; has never fully recovered from the wound. Was married in 1852 to Caroline Randall, who died in 1856; was married l L - -----—; — k i — A. A I H I S T R Y O L A P E R C U N T Y 1~~" - I 82 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. I the second time, to Susan S. Fish; has eight children, six sons and two daughters. JOEL M. PALMER wasborn in Vermont in the year 1804. Went with his parents to Pennsylvania when twelve years of age. Two years after went to Williamsport, Pa.; stayed six years; then went to Ohio, where he was engaged as cattle drover for several years, then came to Michigan in 1832. Met A. N. Hart in Detroit, came with him to Lapeer, worked for A. N. Hart six years, then settled on a farm on which he lived until his death and his widow still lives on the same farm. Was married in 1838 to Diantha Merlin, daughter of Samuel Merlin, of this county; his wife died in 1849; was married again same year to Mrs. Cady, whose maiden name was Susan Merritt, of Hillsdale, Columbia County, N. Y. Mr. Palmer chopped the first acre of land chopped in Lapeer County; the same was the site of the house of A. N. Hart. CALVIN P. THOMAS was born in the town of Pompey, Onondaga County, N. Y., in 1834; went with his parents to Wyoming County, N. Y., in 1844; came to Michigan with his parents in 1847; settled in Metamora, Lapeer County. He attended school at Romeo; studied law with John M. Goot, of Ann Arbor, for one year; was then admitted to practice. Commenced the practice of law, at Lapeer, in 1864. Was married in 1857 to Adeline E. Sherman, of Lapeer County. Has four children, three sons and one daughter. JOHN J. WATKINS was born in New York City in 1822, where, after receiving his education, he taught school from the age of fourteen till twenty-two years of age, when in 1844 he came to Michigan. After stopping a short timne in Oakland County and a year and a half in Macomb County, he came to what is now the village of Hadley, Lapeer County, and established a store-the first in the place-and an ashery and pearling works. He remained there about five years, when he sold out and bought a farm in the township of Elba, which he still owns. After living on the farm five years he removed to Lapeer City and engaged in keeping books for the Harts. In 1854 he commenced business again for himself, doing a general mercantile and lumber trade, which he continued another five years, when he went to the township of Elba and built a grist and saw-mill, and purchased a tract of land, the greater part of which he still owns. He carried on business there up to 1863, when he retired. He was married in 1843 to Miss Anna E. Scott, of New York City, and has seven children, three sons and four daughters. Two of tile sons are living in Dakota, and the other on the farm mentioned in Hadley. Mr. Watkins was one of the first organizers of the Republican party in Lapeer County, and about the year 1855 helped to start tile first Republican paper. FREDERICK L. HENDERSON was born in the township of Lapeer, Lapeer County, Mich., in 1842, and is by occupation a carpenter and joiner. He worked at his trade in Lapeer several years, and in 1864 enlisted in the First Michigan Cavalry, serving several months after the close of the war. He was with his regiment in the South and East, and after the war was stationed at Salt Lake City. In 1874 he opened a grocery store and restaurant in Lapeer City, to which he added a bakery in 1883. He married Miss Maggie Cassidy, a native of Canada, in 1873, and has three children. A. W. ABBOTT (deceased) was born in Leveret, Conn., in 1808, where he lived until twentyone years of age. He learned the tan ner and currier's trade, which he worked at one year in Connecticut and four years in Ohio. In June, 1833, he came to Lapeer and took up 120 acres of government land, to which he afterward added forty acres, upon which his family still resides. After coming to Lapeer, he for a time worked at his trade, but gave more of his time to shoemaking, being the first to engaa e in that trade in this section. He was married in 1836 to Miss Martha L. White, of South Hadley, Mass., at Lapeer, theirs being among the first weddings I I celebrated in the vicinity. His death occurred in 1873'; his widow, two sons and two daughters survive him. CHESTER G. WHITE was born in Lapeer in 1845. After attending the schools of the place, and taking a commercial course in Detroit, he followed farming for a time, and in 1869 took a position in the banking house of White & Bro,, with whom he continued two years, when it was merged in the First National Bank, and he became its cashier, which position he has since retained. He was married in 1867 to Miss Lydia Pike, of Fort Edward, N. Y., and has two children, a son and daughter. Mr. White was mayor of Lapeer City in 1877 and 1878. ENocH J. WHITE (deceased) was born in South Hadley, Mass., in 1814, and came to Lapeer County in 1833, and was for several years the government surveyor, and for a time a civil engineer in the employ of the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad. In 1840 he engaged with his brother, Phineas White, in the hotel business in Lapeer, which they continued until 1870. In 1856 hle engaged in banking with Mr. Loomis, under the firm name of White & Loomis, which was changed on thile death of Mr. Loomis to E. J. White & Bro., and subsequently was merged'in the First National Batnk of Lapeer. Mr. White was twice married, first to Miss Elizabeth W. Gaylord, of Old Hadley, Mass., and second to Miss Haiannah Rood, who with seven children still survives him. His death occurred in May, 1878. ROGER T. WALKER was born in the city of Detroit in 1841, and came with his parents'to Lapeer in 1844. They located on a farm four and one-half miles south of Lapeer City, where he remained until twenty-two years of age, when he purchased a farm in the vicinity, upon which he resided up to 1873, when he sold out and moved into Lapeer City. He then engaged in the lumbering, furniture, and foundry business, and at present is sole proprietor of * an extensive saw-mill and bending works located on Saginaw Street, and owns an interest in the foundry and furniture factory carried on under the firm name of Varnumr & Walker. Mr. Walker was married in 1863 to Miss Harriet L. Banghart, of Almont, Lapeer County, whose parents were among the first settlers there. They have three children, two sons and a daughter. GEORGE L. SMITH was born in Camden, Oneida County, N. Y., in 1818, and in 1836 went to Lorain County, Ohio, and in 1840 came to Lapeer County, Mich. Soon thereafter he purchased forty acres of new land in the township of Mayfield, and for a few years rented a farm. He then exchanged the forty acres for eighty acres in the township of Oregon, upon which he resided up to 1865, when he sold out and bought a farm in Lapeer City, where he lhas since resided. He enlisted in the fall of 1862 in the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, but on account of sickness was discharged and sent home about six months thereafter. In 1843 he was married to Miss Mary T. Simms, who died in 1844, leaving one child. He was a second time married, in 1845, to Miss Harriet M. Hughson, who died about 1864, leaving three children, and was a third time married, to his present wife, Mrs. Levi Smith, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Wrigglesworth, of English birth, and by whom he has three children. ROBERT L. TAYLOR was born in Almont, Lapeer Counlty, Mich., where hlie attended the common schools. In 1862 he entered the University of Michigan and continued his studies in the literary department three years. He then engaged in mercantile business about two and one-half years, when he returned to Ann Arbor and studied law one year, and in the fall of 1869 was admitted to the bar at Pontiac, before Judge Dewey. He practiced law in Almont till 1873, was elected register of deeds in the fall of 1872, and the following year moved to Lapeer City. He was re-elected in 1874, serving two terms, and has since given his attention to the practice A i I i iI I_ — 4t Pr It 6: F1 A:v L I t - 7 1. ---- -I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 83 of his profession. In 1880 was elected prosecuting attorney, and served one term, declining a second nomination. He was married in 1866 to Miss Margaret J. Birrell, of Detroit, formerly of Lenawee County, Mich. Mr. Taylor also held the office of supervisor in Lapeer City, one year, and was a justice of the peace four years. STEPHEN V. GATES was born in Ontario County, N. Y., August 3, 1835, and came to Lapeer with his parents in 1837. His father, Ralph Gates, was born in Seneca County, N. Y., October 19, 1791, and June 27, 1823, married Letty Van Gelder, who was born in Somerset, N. Y., April 14, 1798. Soon after his arrival in Lapeer his father engaged in shoemaking, and established a tannery, conducting both lines of business for several years. The subject of this sketch continued with him and became proficient as a tanner and currier, and shoemaker, following the latter trade up to the present time. During the late war he went into the army as a member of the Ninth Cavalry band, and remained four months, when he came home, and a year later enlisted in the Second Brigade band, remaining until the close of the war. He was married in 1876 to Miss Nancy R. Hays, of Lapeer City, who was born in Sterling, Ont., October 23, 1852, and has one son, who was born June 30, 1880. His residence and shop are on Saginaw Street. TOWN OF HADLEY. Were the history of Hadley to be written six months later it could cover the full period of a half century. But the delay has already been too great. Many of the incidents of pioneer life which increase in interest as years accumulate have slipped from the everloosening grasp of memory and cannot be recalled. The history of Hadley begins in the territorial days of Michigan, and the township was only designated as township 6 north, of range 9 east. The following list of original land entries will show the original distribution of land in the township prior to 1841. ENTRIES OF LAND. TOWNSHIP 6 NORTH, RANGE 9 EAST. SECTION 1. John Look, May, 17, 1834. John Look, November 12, 1834. Timothy Wheeler, July 21, 1835. Almon Griggs, August 27, 1835. James Turrill, May 6, 1836. Timothy Wheeler, September 26, 1835. Almon Griggs, October 12, 1835. John Look, October 13, 1835. Trumbull Carey, October 29, 1835. Robert R. Howell. February 29, 1836. Thomas L. L. Brent, April 12, 1836. SECTION 2. John L. Morse, September 24, 1834. Eri L. Potter, September 24, 1834. Eri L. Potter, October 29, 1835. Eri L. Potter, March 30, 1836. Trumbull Carey, October 29, 1835. Thomas L. L. Brent, April 12, 1836. James Turrill, April 16, 1836. Dan Stile, May 18, 1836. Mary Hannibal, April 25, 1837. SECTION 3. Trumbull Carey, October 29, 1835. Edward Bingham, May 20, 1836. Steven Grant, April 1, 1836. Thomas L. L. Brent, April 12, 1836. I SECTION 3. James Turrill, April 16, 1836. Ralph Wright, May 25, 1836. SECTION 4. Abraham Tunison, May 20, 1885. Justus P. Wheeler, October 21, 1835. Abraham Tunison, October 29, 1835. Trumbull Carey, November 2, 1835. Daniel H. Chandler, May 2, 1836. SECTION 5. William Cramton, May 18, 1836. David Cramton, May 18, 1836. Clark Brown, May 30, 1836. Robert H. Stone, May 31, 1836. Amos Smith, June 3, 1836. Charles F. Wilson, October 23, 1838. SECTION 6. Amos Brownson, May 31, 1836. John Demond, June 2, 1836. Maria Van Nest, June 2, 1836. Alvin Haumer, June 16, 1836. John Brigham, June 29, 1836. George Townsend, June 29, 1836. Abial Townsend, October 2, 1837. SECTION 7. Thomas Wiard, Jr., May 5, 1836. John Mills, Jr., May 18, 1836. Ira Donelson, January 4, 1836. Mils Shattock, January 4, 1836. Mayhew Sanborn, January 4, 1836. Roswell L. Nurse, September 12, 1836. SECTION 8. Jonathan Cramton, May 18, 1836. Russell Cobb, May 18, 1836. Daniel W. Potter, June 1, 1836. Rowland Shadbolt, June 4, 1836. John Mills, Jr., May 18, 1836. John McKay, November 15, 1837. SECTION 9. Charles L. Campbell, May 21, 1835. William Hart, May 28, 1835. William Hart, July 6, 1835. William Hart, October 29, 1835. Jonathan Cramton, July 18, 1836. Russell Cobb, July 18, 1836. John McKay,, November 15, 1837. SECTION 10. Giles F. Gridley, May 26, 1835. Abraham Tunison, May 28, 1835. Minor Morse, August 14, 1835. B. C. Tunison, March 7, 1836. Corintha Kim'berly, April 1, 1836. James Turrill, April 16, 1836. Minor Morse, May 6, 1836. James Turrill, May 6, 1836. SECTION 11. William Farrar, October 12, 1835. James Turrill, April 16, 1836. Calvin C. Palmer, and Charles Coventry, April 29, i836. Edward Bingham, May 20, 1836. Alpha Morse, May 21, 1836. Samuel J. Tower, October 28, 1836. Auguste C. Stange, August 10, 1837. SECTION 12. Robert R. Howell, March 23, 1836. Reuben Underwood, April 12, 1836. Alpheus Cady, May 19, 1836. Nehemiah Tower, June 6, 1836. Nelson Cady, June 10, 1836. Samuel S. Hubbell, June 16, 1836. Prentiss Williams, June 16, 1836. H. N. Fowler and J. Swather, June 17, 1836. t ~9 __ _. A ~L —t3 _ - - I I I I 84 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. SECTION 12. Stephlen A. Goodwin, June 17, 1836. SECTION 13. Samuel S. Hubbell, June 16, 1886. John Al. Cooper, June 16, 1836. Prentiss Williams, Julie 16, 1836. H. N. Fowler and J. Swathel, June 17, 1836. Nelson G. Parmelee, June 22, 1836. John Stewart, June 28, 1836. SECTION 14. Robert HI. Stone, May 31, 1836. Garret A. Gray, June 9, 1836. Erastus H. Evans, June 9, 1836. Walter Davenport, June 15, 1836. John M. Cooper, June 16, 1836. Prentiss Williams, June 16, 1836. SECTION 15. Giles F. Gridley, May 26, 1835. -lpha Morse, May 21, 1836. Robert H. Stone, May 31, 1836. Humphrey Church, June 2, 1836. Benjanlin Morse, June 6, 1836. Harvey Riley, June 9, 1836. SECTION 17. Henry W. Hammblin, May 23, 1836. Henrv W. Haunblin, Mav 26, 1836. Stephen Cox, May 28,1836. Daniel W. Potter, June 1, 1836. SECTION 18. Michael Bower, May 30, 1836. Aaron Brigharn, June 4, 1836. John Brigham, Julie 9, 1836. Roswell Nurse, September 12, 1836. John Scott, Junle 1, 1838. SECTION 19. John Brigham, Jure 4, 1836. Charles A. Fassett, June 16, 1836. E. Stone, A. B. Merrill aend M. P.-Thomas, Jnly 5 1836. Trumbull Carey, November 12, 1836. SECTION 20. William Sbadb~olt, Julne 4, 1836. John Stewart, Julne 28, 1836. Edward G. Faile, November 12, 1836. SECTION 2 1. Alpha Mors-e, May 21, 1836. Henry J. Wilcox, May 31,1836. Smithfieldd Beden, June 1, 1836. George Ellis, June 1.5, 1836. I John1 Stewart, Junie 28, 1836. Charity TaylYor, July 7, 1836. Alp1a Morse, July 11, 1836. Alp1a MIorse, October 19, 1836. SECTION 22. Henry J. Wilcox, May 9, 1836. Alpha Morse, MAY 21, 18.36. George Ellis,.Junec 15, 1836. Walter Davenport, June 15, 1836. Jacob Miller, June 11, 1836. Daniel Haled, Junce 18, 1836. SECTION 23. Milo M. Kemp, May 23, 1836. Aaron 13. Patterson, June 3, 1836. Walter Danvenport, June 15, 1836. Adin Nelson, October- 1D, 1836. Birds-eye Braoks, November 27, 1837. SECTION'24. Horace 1). Jenesonl, Julie 4, 1836. Humphrev Church, June 2, 1836. Lewis Baker, Juie 20, 1836. Joln Stewart, June 20, 1836. SECTION 25. Asler B. Bates, Janulary 5, 1836. Joseph Sikes, May 4, 1836. Joseph Sikes, May 9, 1836. Elects MI. Wilcox, May 9, 1836. SECTION 25. Jerome B. Smith, May 23, 1836. ]Darius Bickford, May 26, 1836. SECTION 26. Jerome B. Smith, May 23, 1836. Darius Bickford, Mav 26, 1836. Darius Bickford, June 28, 1836. Adams Gibson, October 15, 1836. Israel Bickford, December 19, 1836. SECTION 27. Henry J. Wilcox, April 28, 1836. John Stewart, June 28, 1836. John McKay, June 28, 1836. SECTION 28. Jolhn Stewart, June 28, 1836. John McKay, June 28, 1836. SECTION 30. Norman Cutler, June 23, 1836. James Long, October 15, 1836. Saral Hadley, October 15, 1836. Jolln G. Randall, October 15, 1836. Peter Allen, October 1, 1838. SECTION 31. Hiram A. Stone, October 15, 1836. Cornelius Allen, October 24, 1836. Hiram Fillmore, November 15, 1837. Hiralmu Fillmore, February 2, 1838. Calvin Rose, Marclh 29, 1838. Robert Parritt, July 14, 1838. SECTION 32. Samuel Axford, June 20, 1836. Johb Axford, Septeynber 12, 1836. SECTION 33. Samuel Axford, June 20, 1836. Reuben S. Cook, October 25, 1836. Elmon Earl, August 29, 1838. SECTION 34. Reuben J. Cook, October 25, 1836. WVilliam Lyman, November 22, 1837. Richard P. Hubbard, June 12, 1838. SECTION 35. Warren Cheney, June 7, 1838. Hormer Pelton, -June 8, 18438. Charles Lane, Jllne 14, 1838. John McKay, June 27, 1838. Israel Bichford. December 19, 1838. James M. Davison, January 27, 1837. Homer Pelton, Mav 27, 1837. SECTION 36. Eh'jah Strong, Julle 117 1836. Asher B. Bates, January 5, 1836. A. Gib:bs, April 7, 1836. Peter Price, April 22, 1836. Isra-el Bickford, May 26, 1836'. Amlos J. Hines, October 13, 1836. Charles L. Campbell, Octob~er 13, 1836. Israel Bickford, December 19, 1836.EARLY HISTORY. The first purellase of land in Hadley was made by John Look, May 17, 1834, and the second by his brother-in-law, H. M. Look. both from western Newn York. Mr. Johln Look says of his arrival here: "I first came to Lapeer in 1834, and found Mr. Hart, Mr. M~cMaster and others. Onl the 9th day of May, came to locate, but 'was deferred by the forbidding appearance, of the pine around the townl; but finally concluded to settle a little further south, which I did the same year. I was nine weeks without seeing a white woman, except my wife. I found a Mr. Morse there, and finally occupied a house jointly with him for some time. I. enjoyed the wild life very much, and think the people were more social then than now." The Mr. Morse spoken of was J. B. Morse, who had located I _ L ktJ r: Aa w —7 i _ _ --- - -- -- - ------ it ~}rn /~I L: A:0::: M-~:! L iC1 -- I: 7B c N:k L RES. OF GEO. DAVEN PO RT. HADLEY.T.P. LAPEER Co. I. I i I i I 4l i J-6 _ _ _ __ _A HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 99 __ having expended their all for land had not even a cow or anything in the line of furniture, except what they made themselves. They were forced to work away. from home in the lumber camps, or any where else they could get employment, and many times their children cried for bread. When we add to this the suffering from some disease incident to a change of climate, the wonder is that anv survived, or that all did not forsake their clearings and try to find more inviting homes. Mrs. Blow relates an affecting incident whichl will show the severe suffering these pioneers endured: "One fall we had all been sick with chills and fever, John, the children, and myself. He being unable to work, we had nothing to eat but the potatoes and turnips in our garden. This was not the food we needed, but we did as well as we could, knowing that we were as well off as most of our neighbors. I had suffered so much that I got very weak and babyish, and one day I was thinking about our pork barrel that stood in the shed with some brine in it, and wondered if there was not one little scrap of meat in it; it seemed just as if there must be some there. I called. John and to please me, he went and emptied the brine out of the barrel; there was a thick laying of salt in the bottom; he put his hand into it to satisfy me, and found a piece of pork. He scraped away the salt and found a whole laying of pork on the bottom of the barrel. We both cried over that meat; it was just what we needed then, and in a little while we were able to work again." Mrs. Uttey says: "But worse than everything else, many of the men loved whisky better than their families, and the scant earnings of the father went to buy whisky for himself, instead of bread for his family." One resource was left to these poor people. In the township at the north of them, now known as Attica, there was plenty of pine timber, and they would go into these forests and take logs suitable for shingle bolts, and make shingles, not esteeming it any wrong to appropriate what they so much needed, or to cut timber on the lands of the government or of speculators. Some of the wives of these early settlers did far more for the well being of their families and society than their husbands. Another pioneer of later date, a settler in the township within the first decade of its history, locating just on the north line, was Simon Hodges, whose eccentricities though he has for years been dead, are still laughed over by the early settlers. He belonged to what Mr. Blow called the "poor class," being the happy possessor of an ox team besides his land, a wife and seven children. One story that illustrates his character is told with great gusto by his old neighbors, and Dr. Caulkins, who was one of the actors in the little scene. Mr. Homges' oldest son, a youth of seventeen or eighteen years of age, the better to assist his family, some time after his father's settlement on his new farm, went to work in the woods on Belle River, and while there was attacked with the malarial fever so prevalent in a new country. He made a desperate effort to reach his home, and succeeded in doing so; but after walking most of the way, as might be imagined, was in a pitiful condition from fever and exhaustion, and grew worse so rapidly that during the following night a messenger was hastily dispatched to Thorneville for the doctor. There was no road for much of the way except a trail that could only be followed by footmen or on horseback, and the doctor, who had but just come into the place, was perfectly ignorant of the route; but he mounted his horse, and guided by the messenger, who carried a lantern, he made his way through the darkness and rain, for it was a stormy night, as best he could, and at last reached his destination. On his arrival he found the family in great anxiety and no small alarm, with reason, the doctor thought, on a hasty examination of his patient. 'He at once took measures for J - Z. the relief of the sufferer, and sat down to watch the effect of the remedies. As he sat there watching the poor fellow who lay as pale and almost as lifeless as a corpse, noting with astonishment the huge frame before him, and considering his youth, the hard labor he had been pursuing, his overgrown bulk, and the exertions he had made to reach his home while it was possible for him to do so, he was not without grave apprehensions as to the result. The father, a keen observer, evidently divined what was passing in the doctor's mind, and at last addressed him thus: "Guess you think he's a pretty big boy." "Yes," was the reply, "a pattern cut out for a large man. How old is lie?" "Seventeen, most eighteen," replied the father; "he's a big boy and a good boy, too. Why he's worked out and bought us all the flour we've had since we've been here, and if he should die I don't know what we should do. I declare I'd rather lose my oxen!" Happily the parent's feelings were spared so severe a test, for youth and a good constitution, aided by the doctor's skill, triumphed over the disease, and the son still lives, a prominent and Wealthy citizen of Attica. The following is from the sketch of Lucius Kendrick: "Among the early settlers was the quiet, sedate, and somewhat eccentric old bachelor, Levi Washburn, known among all his acquaintances as 'Deacon Washburn,' a name given him from his very staid and quiet demeanor and his straightforward and honest mode of dealing. He was a great hunter of wild game, and also a very reliable and successful 'land looker,' and for some two or three years, from 1835 to 1838, he was employed the most of the spring, summer and fall months in showing those in quest of wild land where they could find the object of their search. On one occasion le was employed by one Deacon Dickenson, a famous land speculator, to assist him in looking up choice selections of land. Deacon Washburn led his brother deacon far into the dark, deep forest, some ten or twelve miles to the north of any settler; night overtook the two deacons in this far off place in the wilderness, and obliged them to provide for a night's rest in the woods. As luck would have it they found themselves in the midst of a hemlock grove, from the branches of which they made a couch and tabernacle for the night. As a precaution against an attack from the wolves, Deacon W. hung his old coat high up on the branch of a tree, and the twain lay down to rest; one to sleep and the other to watch. Deacon Washburn was soon asleep, while the other deacon was unable to get a bit of sleep or close his eyes. Nine, ten and eleven o'clock, and no sleep for the watchful land speculator. In the meantime the sky became overcast with murky clouds, and the muttering of distant thunder and the frequent flashes of the lightning gave quite strong assurances of an approaching storm. Added to the gloom caused by the constantly approaching storm, and to make the situation the more terrible to the affrighted deacon, the wolves commenced their midnight howl, which in a short time approached a perfect pandemonium. And still the other deacon slept as sweet as a child, totally unconscious of what was passing, or the terror of his much affrighted companion. The rain came down in torrents, and the wind blew, and the tall forest trees swayed to and fro in the blast. The affrighted deacon could stand it no longer, and he called to Deacon Washburn to awake and advise what should be done. "Do you not think," said the much affrighted speculator, "that we shall be torn in pieces and eaten up by the wolves before morning?" "No," said the quiet Washburn, "I have no such fears. I think we are perfectly safe." This did not satisfy Mr. Dickenson; he thought they should G. I -'Ip L -x r i i I J, 'i 't 100 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. I I i I I have a season of prayer, and called on Deacon Washburn to lead. This was a request that for the moment lie knew not how to answer, as lie was not in the habit of engaging in vocal prayer, so he replied: "You mistake me, Deacon D. I am not a deacon of the church, but of the world. All my prayers are made ill secret to Him who seeth in secret and rewards openly." Whether they had any vocal prayer or not, tradition saith not. The storm after having spent its force passed over, and the stars shone out, and the wolves, although they kept up their mournful requiem, kept a respectful distance, and in due time daylight dawned in the east and the sun came up, and it was probably the most welcome of any in the whole course of the life of one of the twain at least. They have long since passed from earth to their reward. James B. Whittaker, one of the settlers of 1836, was another of those eccentric persons who had an iidividilality peculiar to himself. He was a native of Rhode Island and thoroughly imbued with all the characteristics of the ocean coast. He was a practical digger, and a man of wonderful strength in his hands and arms. At the usual gatherings, such as town meetings and elections, he would amuse the boys in this wise: He would place himself about four rods from the boys who were provided with (a quantity of potatoes; these the boys were allowed to throw at him, two of them throwing at the same time. The feat was this: He, with the forefinger of each hand pointed toward the boys, would receive the potatoes on the end of his fingers, splitting the vegetables into fragments. This he would do almost invariably. On one of these occasions when Mr. Whittaker had been imbibing a little too freely the boys used frozen potatoes, and with such force as to nearly break his fingers. This so exasperated him that it was with some difficulty that they escaped his wrath, and it was about the last of his diverting the boys in that way. " Of the early pioneers of the town but few remain, a majority of them having passed that bourne from which none return. Andrew Mattoon and wife, who settled here as early as 1834, are still living, in the township of Attica; they having sold their original home some years since and located where they now reside. Mr. M. is probably the oldest man in this part of the county, being now over ninety years of age, He is quite infirm in health and nearly blind. His home, in the early history of the town, was always the resort of tile weary and way-worn traveler, and his table was free to such as chose to share his hospitality. In the years intervening from those early days, he has seen much affliction. From a large family over one-half have passed over the river before them, and await the coming of the parents on the other shore." AN INDIAN SCARE. During the month of March of the year 1837, reports were in circulation among the settlers that a band of some three hundred Indigns were encamped in the wilderness north of the Flint, to the northeast of Lapeer, and that their movements were such as to cause serious apprehensions as to what might be the object of the savages. The knowing ones (and there are always such in all communities), were certain from what could be learned froim the Indians that their object was anything else than peaceful. Wild stories were set afloat of the threats and declared intentions of the barbarians. Aunt Judah, a very knowing and credulous old lady, was quite voluble in all the visitillng circles, detailing the incidents of early Indian barbarities ill the olden times, most vividly remembered and touchingly described —of the nmurder -and scalping of whole families and commnunities, the burning of dwellings and everything connected withl savage warfare and human suffering by captivity and living deatli. Stories of like character found their way I - - to the remote cabin of the timid pioneer, and for a time the terrors of a savage destruction of life and property were believed to be imminent and more than probable. Here in the midst of a dense forest, liable at any time to an unseen and imaginary foe of magnified numbers and savage intent, the promptings to which on the part of the supposed savages could only be vaguely surmised by the frightened pioneer, days and weeks passed of painfulsuspense. No one could be found who had seen the redskins in person, and the most reliable news was generally third or fourth-handed from the one who had seen the Indians. One night about the middle of April of this year, after a somewhat sultry night for the time of year, there were strolng indications of a rain storm, and as it had been quite dry for a week or two, my mother was busy just before dark in arranging the various means to secure what rainwater she could from that which would fall upon the somewhat large roof of the humble log house in the woods; in the early evening the clouds which had promised a plentiful shower lifted themselves into the heavens and disappeared; scarcely a breath of air was moving, and naught was to be heard except the occasional hoot of the owl, and thie shrill whistle of the ever-present whip-poor-will, and the busy chattering of the katy-did and katy-didn't. At this time we had a boarder, whom for short we will call Mack. He was a man of considerable ability, fond of reading and music, and as a vocalist helped to while away many a lonesome hour, with a variety of songs, sacred and secular. The family retired to rest at the usual hour. There were two beds in the main room of the house, which, in fact, was all the room below. This room assumed the quadruple purpose of parlor, sitting-room, kitchen, cook-room and bedroom. In one of those beds in the corner of the room slept my father and mother, and in the other corner slept.Mack and myself. About eleven o'clock, and after the family were in the close embrace of Morpheus, they were all suddenly awakened by a loud noise —:1 crash, and by one blow from some unknown -person, or cause, the lower sash of one of the front windows was thrown nearly across the room, and the glass nearly all broken out. Mack immediately sprang out of bed and ran to the door; he said, however, before reaching the door, "This is the work of- savages." On opening the door he saw, or thought he s:tw, the form of the retreating savage pass around and behind a large brush-heap near the house-he heard his stealthy and cautious step as he passed over the dry brush; there was no mistake about it. " This," said the much excited Mack, "is the warning to something terrible. We shall, in all probability, all be massacred and scalped before morning, and we may as well prepare for the worst." It would be idle to say we were not all of us terribly frightened. Mack had surely seen an Indian and heard his retreating footsteps. My mother, who was a woman of more than common nerve and energy, was on this occassion completely overcome, and wept quite passionately. When slhe had become sufficiently composed to express herself, she said she thought it cruel that after having endured so much as she had in bringing up a large family, she should be brought here into the wilderness to be butchered by savages, and the victim of Indian ferocity. Father took things a little more cool, but was more or less excited, and expressed regrets of having come to Michiganmore especially as tlhe removal from the East had been in direct opposition to the wishes of my motlher and the most of the family. Dalnger was imminent, and something must be done, and that speedily. As good luck would liave it, we had two guns-an army nmusket and a rifle-plenty of powder and lead, but no balls at hand. A light was at once made, and the windows closely curtained, so as to shield the family from being an easy and sure mark for the enemy. It would not do tD waste time to run balls, as everything depended upon prompt action. Slugs in sufficient num I I I Ii i - iI I I i -P ff A 0::f A: tiC: f:;d At 0 are t00:: 6 An;: (: ta; 0: i:: X g i:2:D - of:: I -: f; l w DdX An:::C:0:S ant 0: ES IS t;00 S i:;.)F_ i,k I I iT \ - _ - I i I I I HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. 101 - bers for a short battle were soon prepared and the guns loaded; the muster of the effective men showed our force to be four father, Mack, a younger brother, and the writer. My mother went into the chamber to be company for the younger childkren, with the understanding that in case we were overpowered and murdered, she and the children were to pass out of the chamber window on to the roof of the linter part, jump to the 'ground, and if possible escape to a place of safety. The next thing to be done was to dispose of the forces. The balance of the room aside from the space occupied by the beds, was about sixteen feet square. In each corner of this space was stationed one of our number; two with axes and the other two with guns. Thus disposed of, we waited in quiet impatience, mixed with mortal fear, for the attack fromn without. - The agreement was that we were to sell our lives as dearly as possible, scarcely expecting it possible to escape the wrath and vengeance of our unseen foe, supposing, of course, they were in sufficient force to accomplish any object they might have. One, two and three hours passed, and no attack; what could it all mean? We had received a warning in a shape not to be misunderstood, and Mack had seen an Indian on the retreat. Was it not enough to warrant the putting our forces on the war footing and watching for the foe? This had been done, but still the foe kept in ambush and we were all alive. As the night wore its slow hours away, the air became chilly and we felt the need of a fire, which up to this time we had not presumed to build, forfear it might give the enemy an advantage over us. With much hesitancy, we resolved to have a fire, and one was built. Cautiously and with much fear, we left our several positions and drew utip to the very cheerful fire. Each and all had their surmises and fears to express, but in low and subdued tones, not much above the whisper., We still expected an attack, and that in all probability not one of our number would see the light of another day. In that state of mind it was very natural to traverse our past lives and present moral status, and see if we were prepared to exchange worlds, and if it would be well with us should it be our fate to do so that night. Gradually, and by degrees, the restraint which had acted like a spell upon us during the hours of inactivity and alarm grew less, and we began to converse with a little more freedom. The conversation naturally turned upon religious subjects and personal experience. We were certain that if we lived we would certainly do very much better, and try hard to be good if so be we were spared this great danger. Time passed a little more rapidly and unobserved while this conversation was being had, than in the former part of the night, and on noticing the clock we found it was three o'clock-and all was well all alive and no attack. We listened for a time in hopes to catch some intimation of the position of our supposed unseen foe; all was still save the occasional croaking of the frogs in the pond near by. In the mean time the moon had risen, and was what is called three hours high, and was shining brightly on the front of our cabin. We had waited all this time and no development had 'been made, and we were quite impatient to be relieved from our uncomfortable and tormenting dilemma. Cautiously, and with much trepidation, we ventured to open the door and take a survey, as far as possible, of the situation. We looked among the heaps of brush and as far as possible into the dark forest beyond; all was still, and an oppressive silence, like the house of deatlh, was impressed on everything. As we stood there vaguely speculating upon the results of the night and its watchings, our attention was drawn to a wide board, some sixteen feet long, with one end lying directly under the window that had been so suddenly thrownll into the room, while the other end rested upon thle wash-tub, sitting under the eaves of the stoop. A rake that we used fo' rakling leaves and brush layv with one end under the eaves of the stoop and the other near the window also, and by the edge of the board. In a moment the whole thing was explained. In all probability our pet hog (we had but one) had come along and rubbing against the rake which supported one end of the board which my mother had placed under the roof to conduct the rain-water into the tub, had turned it out of position sufficiently to cause it to fall, and the rake was of the right length to bring the corner of the board against the sash, with the result as stated. The innocent cause of all our fright and alarm was doubtless frightened by the fall of the board, and was running away when Mack opened the door and saw the savage and heard his footsteps. A hearty laugh over our folly and fright, and we all retired for the few hours left of the night never to be forgottelln. On the Monday following we thought it would be well to have the guns discharged, as we supposed them too heavily loaded for any ordinary game, and the musket in particular, was so subject to recoil when fired off with a heavy load, that none of us had the courage to discharge it. To avoid all mishaps in this direction, the breech of the gun was placed against a stump and so fastened as to hold it in position, a string some sixteen feet long was tied to the trigger and pulled off, carrying the slugs about twenty feet, with a report about as loud as an ordinary popgun. This showed us what kind of soldiers we were, and how well we were provided for an Indian attack. In the course of a couple of weeks we were quite surprised to see a company of thle redskins come into our enclosure, each of whom was provided with a gun and the usual traps of an Indian. For a moment we were really frightened, as there were some ten of thlem, but they only made a halt and passed on. From what we afterward learned, this was about the whole of the three hundred supposed to be encamped, as before stated, and this was the last of our Indian experiences. EARLY RELIGIOUS HISTORY. Rev. Abel Warren, of precious memory, was the first minister to find his way to this town, and probably preached the first sermon in town. For several years did this noble veteran of the cross visit the people of the town from his home some twenty miles away in the town of Washington. It is safe to say that no minister since that time has had the love and esteem of this people more than did this faithful and devoted man. In the year 1855 he was preacher in charge on this circuit, which was nearly the last of his ministerial labors. He has long since passed to his reward, and his memory is precious with those who knew him. Elder Cannon was also a pioneer preacher in this part of the county. Meetings used to be held at the humble homes of the settlers. At one time there was preaching in Asa Huntley's new barn, just after its completion. Then the old log school-house with its wide fire-place and rude benchlies, and then the early church building. The first house of worship in the town was built by the Baptists at Thorneville about the year 1843. It was a primitive affair, and in 1817 a neat church building was erected under the leadership of Rev. Daniel Ammerlnan. Rev. Ammerman either concluded he had' missed his calling or the church had made a mistake calling him; at any rate hle left them and engaged in other pursuits, drifted fromn one tiling and calling to another, until the last that was heard from him 'he was not heard from," and probably does not wish to be. The society declined, and for many years the building has been occupied by any denomination that desired to hold religious service. During the winter of 1847-'48 the Rev. Mr. Simrmons, a Baptist evangelist, came to Dryden to hold a protracted meeting at the school-house one mile north of Dryden village. At tl'hat time there I I i I.S1. f - 4jT.. ^-.tI -- - -- - - I F. 102 HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY. e)