USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > A History of Van Buren County, Michigan: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its. > Part 56
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As early as 1840 a class of the Methodist Episcopal church was formed at the residence of Samuel Pletcher, on section nineteen, near the town line. The members of the class were Ira Foster, Carolina Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Manley, Thomas Conklin, Martha Conklin, Mrs. Ferdino Olds and Mr. and Mrs ..
Griffin. The first preacher on the circuit through that region was Rev. Henry Worthington. During the earlier years meetings were held at the schoolhouses in the Haynes and Hill neighborhoods. The first meeting at Keeler Center, as the place was then called, were held in the schoolhouse, and Revs. John Hoyt, Thomas T. George and Henry M. Joy were among the ministers that served the church at such meetings. In 1860, during the pastorate of Rev. Colwell, a commodious house of worship was erected, which was dedicated in 1861. This house is yet in good condition and well adapted to religious purposes. The church now numbers
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fifty-six members. The Free Methodists also have a small house of worship and a limited membership. There was formerly a Congregational church in the township, with a commodious house . of worship, but the society has gone out of existence and their house has been torn down.
The business places of the village consist of three general stores carrying good assortments of goods, one feed-mill and a black- smith-shop.
Other market towns that are more or less accessible to the in- habitants are Hartford, three miles north of the north town line; Lawrence, six miles northeast of the northeast corner of the town- ship; Decatur, seven miles west of the west town line; Dowa- giac, in the county of Cass, eight miles south of the southeast cor- ner of the town and Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, county of Berrien, some thirteen or fourteen miles west of the west town line.
GENERAL VIEW
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Only three-quarters of century ago, the township of Keeler was a wilderness, unknown to civilization, and its soil unpressed by the foot of the white man. Since first the continent made its ap- pearance above the waters that enveloped the earth; during all the bygone ages that had theretofore come and gone, these lands, like the rest of the great western world, had been in the course of preparation for the dwelling place of an enlightened race of man- kind. It is but as yesterday that the change from savagery to civilization began. What scenes had transpired on these fair plains in those ages of long ago, no man knoweth. But what a change a few short years have wrought! No fairer region may be found than that which is now embraced within the limits of this township. Its highly cultivated farms, its bountiful orchards, its wide spreading vineyards, its elegant farm dwellings, with all the comforts and conveniences of life in these modern days, make it indeed "beautiful for a situation."
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CHAPTER XXX
TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE
STREAMS AND LAKES-EARLY PIONEERS AND SETTLEMENTS-THE BRANCH FAMILY-JUDGE JAY R. MONROE-FIRST MARRIAGE, BIRTH AND DEATH-ROADS AND MAILS-FLAT-BOAT TRAFFIC- PAPER TOWN OF VAN BUREN-CIVIL, EDUCATIONAL AND POLIT- ICAL-LOOKING BACKWARD-VILLAGE OF LAWRENCE-CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES-BUSINESS AND GENERAL FEATURES.
The township of Lawrence was one of the original seven town- ships into which Van Buren county was divided at its organiza- tion. The act of the legislature by which the township was organ- ized was approved by Governor Stevens T. Mason, the first gov- ernor of the state of Michigan, on the 11th day of March, 1837. Its territory at that date, embraced not only the present township of Lawrence, but the townships of Hartford and Arlington.
By the government survey, Lawrence is designated as township number three south, of range fifteen west. It is bounded on the north by the township of Arlington, east by Paw Paw, south by Hamilton and west by Hartford. It contains within its boundaries thirty-six full sections of land and a fractional section in the northeast corner taken from section thirty-six of the township of Arlington. This division of a section was made so that the Paw Paw river, which runs diagonally across such section in a south- westerly course, might form a part of the boundary line between the two townships.
The surface of the township is generally level, or slightly un- dulating, and the soil is rich and productive. It was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, consisting of whitewood, basswood, oak, ash, elm, beech, walnut, maple and other varieties, but these have practically all disappeared and in their stead are now to be seen some of the finest farms and farm residences to be found anywhere in the county or state.
STREAMS AND LAKES
The township is well watered. The Paw Paw river crosses its northern portions from east to west, and Brush creek, one of the
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river's principal tributaries, passes through it, near the center of the township, from south to north, emptying into the main stream at the village of Lawrence. The latter furnishes the water power for a grist mill that is one of the prominent industries of the vil- lage of Lawrence. There was formerly a water power on the Paw Paw river that furnished power for a grist mill and a saw mill, but it is unimproved at the present time. It is really a more valuable power than the one that is now in operation and will, some day without doubt, be again put into operation; for in these modern days people are but just beginning to realize the great value of the numerous water powers of the country.
In addition to these streams, there are several beautiful lakes in the township. The finest of these is Prospect lake, often spoken of as Christie's and sometimes as Crystal lake, on account of its clear waters. Reynolds' lake is called on some of the maps of the township Lake George; Taylor's lake is sometimes called Shafer's, and there are several smaller lakes, among which are Baker's, Hall's, Pitcher's and Monroe's. All of these lakes originally abounded in different varieties of fish and, although not as abund- ant as in pioneer days, there are enough of them left to afford fine sport for the angler.
Some of these lakes, especially Prospect, have become popular places of summer resort. On the north shore of this last mentioned lake have been built numerous cottages, which are seldom unoccu- pied during the summer season. This pleasant spot is designated by the dolce far niente name of "Sleepy Hollow."
EARLY PIONEERS AND SETTLEMENTS
The first settlement ever made within the boundaries of the township is said to have been made on the west shore of Prospect lake, in 1835, by one Stephen Fountain, an unmarried man. But Mr. Fountain's stay, if he ever located there, was very brief, for he soon disappeared and all further trace of him was lost; he was consigned to oblivion.
The first permanent settlements in the township were made in the summer of 1835, not long after Fountain's temporary so- journ on the banks of Prospect lake. It was in June, 1835, that John Allen founded the village of Mason, so named in honor of Governor Mason, but which was afterward platted and called Lawrence.
Among the earlier pioneers of the township were John R. Haynes, Thomas S. Camp, George Reynolds and John Reynolds. Mr. Haynes became quite prominent in the affairs of the new township, holding numerous local official positions. He was for
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a time one of the associate judges of the circuit court of the county and was postmaster at the village of Lawrence for quite a number of years. He was a resident of the village until his death, which occurred in 1856. Mr. Camp, who was a Connecticut man, also lived in the township on a farm just north of the village limits until his decease. He was drowned in Monroe's lake on July 12, 1861, while engaged in fishing with one Orestes A. Brown, a lawyer, who was a resident of Lawrence for a short time.
Haynes located on section ten, just south of the present village limits, Camp on section four and the Reynolds family on section thirteen. It was from the last named that Reynolds' lake takes it name. The family consisted of the father, George Reynolds, and four sons, John, George, William and Burr. The elder Rey- nolds built a log tavern on the Territorial road which ran along the north shore of the lake, which for many years was known as the "Old Reynolds Tavern." His sons lived with him for some time, but all except John moved out of the township. John had been engaged in boating on the Ohio river, although he was a baker by trade. From the fact of his experience as a boatman, he was for a time engaged in flat-boating on the Paw Paw river, an occupation that did not prove very renumerative to those who un- dertook it. While engaged in this occupation he acquired the title of "Captain." He eventually left Lawrence and settled on a farm in the township of Paw Paw, where he remained until his decease in 1892.
In the fall of 1835, James Gray and his family located on sec- tion eleven. He came from Lenawee county, Michigan, driving two yoke of oxen hitched to a lumber wagon and bringing with him his wife and six children. It took him ten days to make the trip, a journey that might now be made in much less than ten hours. The cabin of the Grays was a log structure, in size ten by fifteen feet. and roofed over with boughs cut from the surrounding trees, which answered very well in fair weather, but was little protection from storms. Its floor was the virgin soil, good for agricultural pur- poses, but not especially desirable for the floor of a dwelling, es- pecially when thoroughly drenched with the November rains. The only opening in the walls of the cabin was a doorway cut in the logs and over which was hung a blanket that served as a door, a handy, but not very substantial arrangement. Gray farmed in- dustriously, worked at carpentry considerably, and tried flat boat- ing on the Paw Paw river, but his ventures were not crowned with great success. He eventually disposed of his farm and removed to the village of Breedsville in the northern part of the county, but afterward returned to the village of Lawrence where he died in 1873.
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THE BRANCH FAMILY
Eaton Branch came to Lawrence from Ann Arbor the same year (1835), and was employed by John Allen in the work of making roads and clearing off the site of the village of Mason- now Lawrence-and doing such other work as came to his hands. During this time he occupied a house that had been previously built by one Ephraim Palmer and left unoccupied when he went farther west. The next year after coming to Lawrence, Mr. Branch entered one hundred and sixty acres of land on section number four, adjoining the plat of the present village of Lawrence on the northwest, where he passed the remainder of his life. His death occurred on the 7th day of January, 1891. Three of his sons, Elam, Francis and Luther, were soldiers in the Civil war.
Mr. Branch was an influential man in local affairs and served several terms as commissioner of highways and while occupying that office laid out a number of the original roads of the township. He was also prominent in religious matters, being for many years a deacon in the Congregational church, of which body he was an honored member. Many of the present and former residents of the township, of which the writer is one, have a kindly remem- brance of "Deacon" Branch, as he was familiarly called by his friends and acquaintances. Others of the Branch family among the Lawrence pioneers were Israel Branch, a cooper by trade and a brother of Eaton, who came to Lawrence in 1836 and, for some time, worked at his trade, eventually settling on section four, where he died in 1873. Luther Branch, another brother, came to Law- rence in 1837 and worked at coopering for a while. He located on section fourteen, but removed to section five where he died in 1845. Vine Branch, father of the three brothers, Eaton, Israel and Lu- ther, became a resident of the township in 1836, making his home with his son, Eaton. He died in 1852.
Orrin Sutton came to Lawrence in 1836 and located in the vil- lage of "Mason." He helped John Allen build the first saw-mill in the township, which was erected near the mouth of Brush creek in the then village of Mason. He settled on section seven and afterward removed to the village of Hartford, where he died in 1868. Mr. Sutton was the first township clerk of Lawrence and also served in several other official positions. His son, Luther Sut- ton, established the Hartford Day Spring at Hartford, the first newspaper to make its appearance in that enterprising village.
Horace Stimson, another of the early settlers of Lawrence, lo- cated on section one in 1836. He was the first postmaster, but did not long remain a resident of the township.
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JUDGE JAY R. MONROE
Judge Jay R. Monroe was for forty years closely identified not only with the interests of the township of Lawrence, but with the entire county as well. In 1826, when a young man of but twenty years, he was engaged with Messrs. Cass and Campau, in locating western lands. He was originally from the state of New York, to which he returned in 1828. In 1830 he undertook an exploration of Michigan, making his home at Prairie Ronde. In 1833 he en- tered the land upon which the present flourishing city of South Haven is situated and in 1835, with Charles U. Cross, laid out what was subsequently called the "Monroe road" between Prairie Ronde and South Haven. This road passed through the northeast corner of the township of Lawrence and crossed the Paw Paw river on section one. The first house in the city of South Haven was erected by Mr. Monroe. He settled in the township of Law- rence in 1836 on section two, through which the Monroe road passed. This farm was his home during nearly all the remainder of his life. He died at South Haven, October 30, 1876. He was one of the first associate judges of the circuit court of the county and occupied the judicial bench with Judge Epaphroditus Ran- som at the first session of the court that was ever held in Van Buren county. He was one of the county board of superintendents of the poor for twenty-five years and was the first president of the Van Buren County Pioneer Association, which was instituted in 1872, and occupied that honorable position until his decease. His son, Hon. Charles J. Monroe, is now president of the associa- tion.
Judge Monroe became a large landholder and was a man of prominence and influence in the community. The following anec- dote is related of him while he was filling the position of superin- tendent of the poor. One day while at work cutting a ditch on his farm he was accosted by a man who appeared to be a wander- ing pauper-he would be called a tramp, or a "Weary Willie" in these days-with the following inquiry: "Where is the poor- master's house ?"
The Judge pointed it out without telling his querist that he was the man for whom he was looking.
"Do you work for him?" asked the weary traveler.
"Yes," replied the judge.
"What does he give you for your work ?" was the next question.
"Oh," answered the Judge, "he gives me just what he has him-
self-pork and beans, potatoes, johnnycake and his old clothes."
"Well," replied the seeker for an easy berth, "if that's all a fellow can expect, I'll be gol-darned if I stop with the old hog!"
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and he at once took up his weary, wandering way in search of a "softer snap."
In 1838 Uriel T. Barnes left his home in Calhoun county, Michi- gan, where he had been a resident for a number of years, and, with his family, came to Van Buren county. Arriving at Paw Paw, they stopped at the Dodge tavern and on being asked where they were going Mrs. Barnes replied "To Brush Creek." "Brush Creek !" exclaimed the interrogator, "why, you'll starve there." Mrs. Barnes replied that she had had four years' pioneer experi- ence and that she thought they would not starve right away. It should be remembered that at that time the popular name for what is now the pleasant village of Lawrence was "Brush Creek," and that name clung to it with a considerable degree of tenacity for years afterward. Mr. Barnes moved into an abandoned log cabin on what was afterward known as the "Baker and Richards" farm, a short distance east of the village site. Shortly after- ward he purchased an eighty-acre tract of land of Eaton Branch, located on section five, built a frame house thereon and occupied it with his family as soon as practicable. Branch had cut a road from the village site to his place and Barnes continued it to his new location. Mr. Barnes occupied this place until his death which occurred in 1853, after which it was owned and occupied by his son, Anson U. Barnes, who is now a resident of the village of Lawrence and who has been a man of prominence in the affairs of the township, having served as supervisor of the township for several terms and having filled other responsible positions. Har- low G. Barnes, a brother of Uriel T., for many years owned and occupied a farm just across the road from his brother's place. He was a soldier in the Civil war, a member of Birge's Western Sharpshooters. After his discharge from the army he resumed his residence on his farm, being one of the foremost farmers of the township. He died at the village of Lawrence, May 25, 1907.
Mrs. Allen (Adelia) Rice, a daughter of Uriel T. Barnes who is mentioned elsewhere in this work, says that when her people came to Lawrence there were but four families in the village- those of J. R. Haynes, Dexter Gibbs, John Allen and Israel Branch. A saw-mill had been built and also a schoolhouse. Mrs. Rice attended the school which was taught by Truman Foster of Keeler.
Mrs. McKnight, a widow lady, sister of John and Joseph Haynes, came to Lawrence in 1838, and for some time kept house for her brother Joseph. One son and two daughters, Jane and Mary Nancy, came with her. Jane became the wife of Dr. Albert S. Has- kin. Both she and her husband are yet living in the village of Lawrence, and both have passed their four-score mark. Dr. Has-
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kin was, for many years one of the leading physicians, not only of the township, but of the county as well. He has been a man of wide influence in the community, a Republican in politics and prominent in the counsels of the party. The other daughter mar- ried Henry Mainer, a farmer living near the village. Mrs. Mainer died on August 15, 1904.
Ephraim Taylor, a native of the state of New York, came to Lawrence in 1836 and settled on a farm on section thirty, where he died in 1877.
Alexander H. Phelps was also an early resident of the village. In company with his brother, Theodore E., he built what was known as the Chadwick mill situated on Brush creek, some dis- tance south of the village. He subsequently engaged in milling and other business in the village, in company with Horatio N. Phelps. He was known as a fur trader and dealt very largely with the Indians. He lived in Lawrence for a period of forty years, his death occuring in 1877. The Phelps family were all influen- tial and highly respected citizens.
Humphrey P. Barnum was one of the ablest and best of Van Buren county's surveyors. He first settled in the county in 1835 and three years later became a resident of Lawrence, locating on section eleven where he lived until his death which occurred in 1851. Mr. Barnum did a large amount of surveying not only in Lawrence, but elsewhere throughout the county.
Richard B. Danks came from Washtenaw county in 1836 and for a time worked for John Allen, but subsequently purchased a farm on section nineteen, west of Taylor's lake. He afterward removed to Hartford, where he resided during the remainder of his life. He was a very eccentric man, a firm believer in Spiritual- ism; delighted in controversy and debate; illiterate, but fond of speaking in public. He used to attend the lyceums of those days -debating schools, they were called-and was never "backward about coming forward" and taking a conspicuous part. On one occasion when the writer, then a youth of nineteen, was teaching -possibly it would be more correct to say attempting to teach- a school in an adjoining district-some question was being de- bated at an evening school, Mr. Danks being present, as usual. He took the floor and in his usual grandiloquent way began his speech. "When we look away back into the distant future," were his opening words. That is all we remember, but they were char- acteristic of the man. With all his crudeness and eccentricities, he was a shrewd man, a good neighbor and respected in the com- munity where he lived.
Nelson S. Marshall was another of the early pioneers of Law- rence. He came from Oakland county, Michigan, in 1838. In
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company with his brother, Harvey Marshall, he purchased a farm on section seventeen, which they managed jointly for some years. Nelson eventually removed to Hartford, where he died in 1863. One of his sons, Hannibal M. Marshall, was for many years a lead- ing merchant in the village of Lawrence. He now resides in the city of Ludington, Michigan, where he is engaged in business. Another son, Jerome B. Marshall, was a soldier in the Civil war; a member of Company C, Third Michigan Cavalry. He after- ward occupied the Marshall homestead and died at Lawrence, February 1, 1905. Harvey Marshall retained possession of the farm as long as he lived. When Nelson Marshall came to the township, there were within the boundaries of the village the Gibbs tavern, and the houses of Orrin Sutton, Joseph R. Haynes and Watson Poole. At the time when Mr. Marshall took up his resi- dence on his farm Peter Dopp was living on section seventeen, some four miles distant. When there was need of the services of a physician in the family, Mrs. Dopp would walk through the woods to the Marshall place to get Harvey to ride to Paw Paw after a doctor. Harvey was about the only one who owned a ·horse and often was called upon to render this service for his neighbors. All who lived within a day's journey in those prim- itive days were neighbors. Amos Dopp, a son of Peter's, was an- other member of Company C, of the Third Michigan Cavalry. He died on February 2, 1908.
Other pioneers living in the southwest corner of the township in 1840 were David and James Dopp, brothers of Peter, Cyrus Bateman, Hosea Howard and Roderick Irish. These all came to the township in 1836.
Samuel Gunton, the first man elected to the office of sheriff of the county, settled on the Territorial road about a mile south of Prospect lake. He returned to the state of New York in 1839.
Other early settlers of the township were John Andrews, who located on section fourteen just east of Baker's lake, and who af- terward removed to Hartford where he spent the remainder of his days. Thomas Price and his widowed mother came from New York in 1836, in company with David Dopp, Mrs. Price's son-in- law. In the same year John Mellen, with his wife and ten chil- dren, located on section seventeen, where both he and his wife died in 1843. Joseph Haynes, a carpenter, also came to Law- rence in 1836 and settled on section fifteen where he died in 1843.
Watson Poole, likewise a carpenter, came to the village of Mason in 1838, and besides working at his trade cultivated a few acres on what is now St. Joseph street. The old Poole place, with which all the citizens of Lawrence have been familiar since those early
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days, has recently been remodeled and is now one of the finest places in the village of Lawrence.
Volney A. Moore, a nephew of Harvey Marshall, came into the township in 1838 and settled on section thirty, living there until his death. Leonard Watson, who settled in the township of Co- lumbia in 1835, removed to Lawrence in 1838, where he married one of Judge John R. Haynes' daughters. He died in Cass county. Warren Van Fleet located on section thirteen in 1838, where he lived out the remainder of his days. One of his sons, William Norris Van Fleet, became totally blind as a result of service in the Civil war. For many years he was a familiar sight to the people of Lawton, Paw Paw and Lawrence as he went about the streets with nothing to guide him except his cane, never losing his way and seemingly never at a lost to know just where he wanted to go. He died, not very long ago, in the city of Kalamazoo, where he spent the later years of his life. Barney and Daniel Evans also came to Lawrence in 1838, and located near Prospect lake.
FIRST MARRIAGE, BIRTH AND DEATH
The first couple to embark on the matrimonial sea were William R. Williams and Elizabeth Gibbs, but as there was neither a min- ister nor a justice in the township, they went to Schoolcraft in Kalamazoo county to have the ceremony performed. The first wedding that actually occurred in the township was that of Eph- raim Taylor and Emeline Gibbs. They were married at the Gibbs (log) tavern. It is said that they were married by Judge Jay R. Monroe, which may or may not be correct. There is no public rec- ord of their marriage, nor of any marriage ceremony having been performed in those early days by Judge Monroe. Indeed, it no- where appears on the records of the county that the Judge ever oc- cupied a position that would authorize him to solemnize marriages, but that does not signify, as the records of those early days are by no means complete.
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