USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > A history of Van Buren County, Michigan a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume I > Part 56
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547
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY
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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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY
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 ยท 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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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY
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.
The first white child born in the township was Sarah, daughter of John and Jane Reynolds. She died in her youth.
The first death that occurred among those early pioneers was that of Mrs. Dexter Gibbs, who died in April, 1838. Her daugh- ter, Mrs. Ephraim Taylor, did not long survive her mother, her death occurring only three months after the latter's decease. Mr. Gibbs followed them in October of the same year, and father, mother and daughter were all buried on the banks of Brush creek, just beyond the eastern limits of the village.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY
THE FOOD PROBLEM
"Going to mill" in those early days was no small undertaking, as it meant a journey to Kalamazoo, Flowerfield or Whitmanville, and sometimes to Three Rivers, places from twenty-five to forty-five miles distant. Such a trip through the woods and over the rough roads, perchance with an ox-team, was any- thing but a pleasure jaunt; but there was no alternative. The tree stump corn mill-which was a hollowed out stump in which the corn was pounded and ground until it would serve for the manu- facture of johnnycake or mush-was a valuable adjunct to the preparation of the daily rations of a hungry family. This condi- tion of things was, however, of short duration. In 1838 John R. Haynes put in a small run of stones in his saw-mill in the village, which superseded the holes in the stumps.
The first real grist mill was built by Marvin Hannah in 1850. This was destroyed by fire in 1862, since which time the river wa- terpower has remained unused.
In common with all the early settlers of Michigan, the pioneers of Lawrence were greatly annoyed by wolves and other wild ani- mals, but they occasioned no serious trouble. The wolves, al- though appearing to be savage and fierce, were cowardly curs unless traveling in packs. The greatest damage suffered by the settlers was the carrying off of sheep, calves and pigs by the marauding beasts. However, there was some compensation for this. The forests abounded with various kinds of game, the wa- ters swarmed with fish, so that to obtain a full supply of fish, flesh or fowl, one did not need a steel or split bamboo rod and a reel. nor did he require anything but a muzzle-loading rifle or shot gun to keep the larder well supplied with that for which men in these later days sometimes travel hundreds of miles to obtain. and sometimes fail even then.
ROADS AND MAILS
The first road laid out in the township was what was then called the "Waterford" (not Watervliet) road, a thoroughfare leading west from the village of Lawrence through the township of Hart- ford to the village of Watervliet in Berrien county. James Gray and Eaton Branch were the highway commissioners and Humph- rey P. Barnum the surveyor. The construction of highways in those primitive days was no light task and when it is considered that the township embraced not only the present territory of Lawrence, but also the townships of Hartford and Arlington, it may well be supposed that the office of commissioner of highways was no sinecure.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY
A road from the village of Mason toward Keeler was surveyed in 1836 by Jesse L. Church and opened the next year. About the same time another road, called No. 4, was laid out from the south- east corner of section thirty-two to the northwest corner of section sixteen.
The river (Paw Paw) road, leading north from the village, one from the south side of section four and one from the southwest corner of section nineteen to the southwest corner of section twenty, were laid out in 1837.
Other highways laid out in 1838 were called the Breedsville, Hand's, Phelps', Olds', Hammond's, Taylor's, Barnes' and Branch's roads.
In 1839 there were the town-line road between the townships of Lawrence and Alpena (now Hamilton) ; Heath's, Briggs', Mellen's and Clark's roads and some others.
Until 1839 Eaton Branch and James Gray were the commis- sioners of highways, and until 1841, Mr. Branch was actively en- gaged in the work of laying out and opening the highways of the township. Humphrey P. Barnum laid out a great many of these roads, although Jesse L. Church and E. H. Keeler performed a con- siderable share of the business.
The Territorial road, which reached across the entire state from Detroit to St. Joseph, passed through the southeastern part of the township. This was an important route of travel prior to the com- pletion of the Michigan Central Railway, great numbers of stage coaches and freight wagons passing over it in those early days.
In 1836 John Allen, the proprietor of the village of Mason, had the government contract for transporting the mails from Kalama- z00 to St. Joseph, and, being desirous of favoring his own location as far as possible, he changed his route so as to pass through his own town to Keeler, instead of following the Territorial road. The Lawrence postoffice was not established, however, until 1837, when Horace Stimson was appointed as the first postmaster. John R. Haynes succeeded him and held the office continuously until his death in 1856. His successor was John B. Potter, who held the office until 1865. He was succeeded by B. F. Chadwick, who held the office but a couple of years, when Mr. Potter was again ap- pointed and continued to hold the office until 1873, when he was succeeded by George A. Cross. The successors of Mr. Cross have been Newell Crissey, Sylvester M. Hess, Newell Crissey (for a second time), Allie Wiggins, John F. Barrows and Byron H. Col- burn (present incumbent ).
There was formerly a postoffice at Prospect Lake, but since the advent of free country mail delivery this has been discontinued
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY
and the only postoffice in the township is at the village of Law- rence.
FLAT-BOAT TRAFFIC
The Paw Paw river, prior to the completion of the Michigan Central Railroad, was utilized to a considerable extent as a route of transportation between Lawrence and St. Joseph, even as far up the stream as Paw Paw; but its navigation above the mouth of Brush creek was attended with considerable difficulty and uncer- tainty. John R. Haynes built a warehouse for the reception of freight and the village became a place of shipment for the sur- rounding country. Flour and other goods were hauled from Kala- mazoo and shipped down the river to St. Joseph and thence across the lake to Chicago.
This flat-boat traffic continued with more or less regularity until 1848. For a considerable number of years after that lumber manu- factured at Lawrence was rafted down the river to St. Joseph, as the writer knows by experience in the business in his youthful days. The decreasing supply of timber put an end to this traffic. For many years no further attempts at converting the river into a navigable stream have been made and its waters have been per- mitted to flow untroubled on their way to Lake Michigan and thence, partly by way of Chicago's drainage canal, to the Missis- sippi river and the gulf of Mexico, and partly by way of the straits of Mackinac, the great lakes, Niagara Falls and the St. Lawrence river to the broad Atlantic.
The first public house of entertainment in Lawrence was Dex- ter Gibb's old log tavern.
OLD TAVERN AT LAWRENCE
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY
The second one was built in 1849 by Horatio N. Phelps, sub- sequently widely known as the Mather House. This hotel occu- pied one corner of the principal street crossing in the village and stood for many years. It was eventually destroyed by a disas- trous fire. The site is now occupied by the Farmers' and Mer- chants' Bank.
There were two log taverns on the line of the Territorial road within the limits of the township of Lawrence, and, as long as the stages continued to run along that route, they were features in the history of the township. The first one, near Reynolds' lake, was kept in operation for about ten years. South of that hostelry and on the banks of Prospect lake, Horatio N. Phelps opened a stage house in 1837, and as it was a place where the stages changed horses, it was, at that time, of considerable importance. But the usefulness of both these houses as places of public entertainment ceased when the Territorial road ceased to be a stage route.
PAPER TOWN OF VAN BUREN
During the flush times of 1837-8, caused by the reckless and practically unlimited issue of "wild cat" currency, John D. Free- man conceived the idea of having a town on the banks of Pros- pect lake and, having entered an eighty acre tract on section twenty-six where one Moody Emerson had previously squatted and put up a shanty against a side hill. which Freeman occupied as a stable, he proceeded to lay out a town which he named the "Village of Van Buren." Mr. Freeman even had an idea that the county seat might be located there. Those who are acquainted with the locality, and most Van Buren county people are, will ad- mit that it was an ideal spot for a town, lacking nothing but buildings and people to make it a success. It was an ambitious village containing two hundred and thirty-eight lots. Its princi- pal thoroughfares were named Water, Broad, Park and Forest streets. A lot for the court house was staked out and shown on the plat, which adjoined the lake and showed a fine steamer cruis- ing thereon. Numbers of lots were actually sold to speculators, some of them for one hundred and fifty dollars apiece. Mr. Phelps, landlord of Phelps' tavern, become the purchaser of quite a number of them; Robert Christie and Charles Chadwick of others.
The assessment roll of the township for 1839 shows that the en- tire plat of the proposed town was assessed at the sum of $1,190, the valuation of the assessing officers being five dollars per lot and the tax imposed for all purposes being four cents per lot. But, as the poet Burns says "The best laid plans o' mice and man gang aft agley," and Van Buren never attained to any greater
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dignity than a town on paper. The plat of the proposed town was. never placed on the public record.
Robert Christie and his family, on his way to Hartford, from Washtenaw county, stopped at the lake in a building that had been abandoned, proposing to remain until he could prepare a residence on his Hartford lands, of which he had purchased a considerable tract. Christie finally exchanged his Hartford prop- erty with Phelps for the tavern and Phelps' interest in the vil- lage of Van Buren. Christie took possession and converted the village lots into farm property and such it has ever since remained.
John H. Stoddard came to Lawrence the next year after Mr. Christie, who was his father-in-law, but soon afterward removed to Paw Paw, where he became a person of some prominence, being at one time sheriff of the county.
Other of the early settlers whose names should be mentioned in this connection were Oliver Witter, Rodolphus Howe, Cyrus Rathbun and Hosea Howard. The latter gentleman came from the Green Mountain state and settled on section thirty-two in 1839.
CIVIL, EDUCATIONAL AND POLITICAL
The first township meeting was held at the residence of Horace Stimson, on the 3d day of April, 1837, the following officers being elected : John R. Haynes, supervisor; Orrin Sutton, township clerk; Hiram Hilliard, collector; Joseph Haynes, John Reynolds, Horace Stimson, assessors ; John D. Freeman, James Gray and Eaton Branch, commissioners of highways; Dexter Gibbs, Richard B. Danks and Alvinzy Harris, justices of the peace ; Hiram Hilliard and William R. Williams, constables; George S. Reynolds and Dexter Gibbs, directors of the poor.
The following named gentlemen have served the township in the capacity of supervisor : John R. Haynes, John Reynolds, Ben- jamin F. Chadwick, John Andrews, Humphrey P. Barnum, Thom- as B. Irwin, Enoch Southwell, Nelson Rowe, John B. Upton, John B. Potter, Chandler Richards, William W. Bass, Charles Rock- well, Isaac Monroe, Thomas C. Tyner, Anson U. Barnes, Francis Branch and Amos C. Benedict (present incumbent). Of the above named gentlemen, Supervisor Tyner served four years; Super- visors Barnum, Potter and Branch, each five years; Supervisor Rowe, six years; Supervisor Rockwell, eleven years, and Super- visor Benedict, although a Democrat from a Republican township, is now serving his twelfth successive year.
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