USA > Michigan > Branch County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Branch County, Michigan > Part 7
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It has been elsewhere related that Branch county, although created in 1829. did not obtain a separate county government until 1833, and that in the meantime it was attached to St. Joseph county for judicial purposes. The great area of adjoining country which for legal purposes became a part of St. Joseph county was divided into townships, and the township of which Branch county was first a part was known by the name of Green. Not only did the " Town of Green " comprise Branch county, but several other counties as well, and a vast territory not yet laid out in county form.
In the first instance, then, Branch county was only part of a township. As population increased, but before it was sufficient to warrant county organ- ization, Branch county's area was laid off into two townships. This act was approved June 29, 1832, but was not to take effect until March 1, 1833. In the meantime the legislature provided for the organization of county government in Branch county, which was also to take effect on March I, 1833.
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Accordingly, on the date of the county's organization two townships came into existence. All of the county east of a north and south line passing through the center was called Coldwater township, from which eight town- ships have since been made. All the western half of the county was made into a township named Prairie River.
Less than two months later, on April 23. 1833. the following section of act of the legislature was approved :
" That the township of Prairie River in the county of Branch shall be called Green. and by the name of Green shall hereafter be known and dis- tinguished, any law to the contrary notwithstanding."
Notwithstanding the passage of this act which revived the name of Green in such emphatic terms, the township continued to be known as Prairie River both in the supervisors' records beginning with the first meeting in October. 1833, and also, as will be seen, in the later laws affecting the parti- tion of that township.
March 7. 1834, was the first act in the process of division of these two larger townships. By a law approved on that date the north tier of surveyed townships. technically known as "townships 5 south, in ranges 5, 6, 7 and 8 west." was created a township by name of Girard. This reduced the area of the other two townships, and made one long narrow township and two relatively square ones.
Two years passed before the next change. By act approved March 23, 1836, three new civil townships were carved from the older ones. Coldwater township was cut in two by the north and south line between ranges five and six. and the east half was called Quincy, comprising the present townships of Quincy. Algansee and California.
At the same time Prairie River was reduced by almost half. The following is the law: " All that portion of the county of Branch designated by the United States survey as townships six and seven south, of range seven west, be and the same is hereby set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Batavia, and the first township meeting therein shall be held at the dwelling house of William Reynolds in said township."
Original Batavia was thus twice as large as now, and it so remained for nearly a year.
Also in March. 1836, Girard was cut in half, and the two surveyed townships on the west were set off by the name of Sherwood. In 1837. the year of Michigan's admission to the Union. Branch county had six town- ships-on the north were Girard and Sherwood, and from east to west they were Quincy. Coldwater. Batavia and Prairie River. all of rectangular shape except Prairie River, from the bottom of which projected eastward the frac- tional township that soon became Gilead.
The act of the legislature approved March II. 1837, gave five more civil townships to Branch county. Sherwood was divided, and the east half was called Union. The previous section of the same act organized the town- ship of Ovid. bounding it so as to include the present Kinderhook. Ovid being set off from Coldwater, the latter was accordingly left with its present
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
boundaries and must be considered the first township in Branch county to be reduced to the regular area of the government township.
At this date the southern half of Batavia township was set off under the name of the " Township of Elizabeth." After two years the "Town of Elizabeth " became the " Town of Bethel " by act of the legislature of 1838-39, and as Bethel it has since been known to history.
The next section of this act of March II, 1837, brings into existence the township of Gilead. Up to that date the members of Bishop Chase's colony and the other settlers of fractional township eight in range seven had been citizens of Prairie River township. Gilead was the first of the four fractional townships to obtain separate town government, its rapid settlement entitling it to this privilege as soon as any of the full townships.
With the approval of the act of March 11, 1837, the township of Prairie River ceased to be a name. Originally comprising the west half of the county, it had been reduced in size, first by the formation of Girard, then Batavia, then Gilead, and now all that remained, in the range south of Sher- wood, was given the name of Bronson. The section providing for this change is worth quoting for several historical points contained. It reads : " All that portion of the county of Branch known as the township of Prairie River, and the village in said township by the name of York, shall, on and after the first Monday of April, next, be known and designated by the name of Bronson."
The next act dealing with Branch county townships was approved March 6, 1838. On that date Matteson township was formed from Bronson, while in the northeast corner of the county the double area of Girard was halved and the eastern part was named Butler.
After all these divisions Quincy remained the largest township in the county. But on April 2, 1838. the Quincy as we know it to-day came into existence, and the block of territory south of it to the state line was named Algansee.
The county now had thirteen townships. It was nearly four years later, on February 16, 1842, when Kinderhook was set off from Ovid. Noble was named and permitted to form its own government apart from Bronson on March 19, 1845. Last of all the sixteen townships to come into being, California was separated from Algansee on March 25, 1846. It was not until these respective dates, of course, that Ovid, Bronson and Algansee assumed the area which each now has.
For the past sixty years there has been no further change of civil boundaries if we except the formation, in 1861, of the City of Coldwater within the area of Coldwater township. Three names that once designated areas in this county have disappeared, namely, Green, Prairie River and Elizabeth, and references to these names and the territory they represented would be the only source of confusion to the present generation in reading the records of the past.
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER VIII. SETTLEMENT AND BEGINNINGS.
BRONSON.
The movement of settlers along the Chicago road began in the last two years of the twenties. A large proportion, perhaps, of those who went through this county were prospectors for homesteads; that is, they had no definite locality in mind, but were merely on their way to a home in that vague country called " the west," which at the time lay anywhere between the Alleghany and the Rocky Mountains. Some had in mind the prairies of Illinois, but even they sometimes stopped before reaching that destina- tion by reason of having found the land of their heart's desire along the route. An illustration of this is presented in the case of a Batavia pioneer. John Bassett. Starting from his home in New York state in 1835. he had shipped his goods by canal and the lakes to Chicago, and he and family came overland by wagon, his purpose being to settle in Illinois. But while spending the night at the old " New York House" on the Chicago road, the Bassetts discovered an old friend in the person of the wife of the landlord, William Reynolds, and instead of resuming the journey the next morning, were induced to locate a home in Branch county. Not only that, but two other families traveling with the Bassetts also chose to settle here. It was no easy matter to bring east the goods that had been shipped to Chicago, but Mr. Bassett adhered to his determination, and, obtaining a homestead in section 34, became one of the substantial citizens of Batavia.
The first spot along the road to attract the passing emigrants was the burr-oak plain in the northeast quarter of what is now Bronson township. In 1828 Jabe Bronson, a Connecticut shipwright who had turned pioneer, in the course of his wandering through southern Michigan found the attrac- tions of this place too strong to resist, and remained here long enough to become identified with history as the first settler and the first official of Branch county. There are no records to indicate the exact motives that caused Mr. Bronson to locate where he did, and with such a character the beauty of the country and its location along the Chicago road may have fulfilled all the conditions that would satisfy his restless nature. The fact that he made a tavern of his log house and accommodated there some of the first emigrants who passed through the county is itself sufficient reason for his location. He had spent the summer of 1827 in raising a crop in St. Joseph county, and thus had time to pick out what he believed the most eligible site for a home and place of business.
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
By September, 1830, six families had settled on Bronson's Prairie. This is on the authority of the late Wales Adams, who passed through that locality at that date, and who named the heads of the families as follows : Seth Dunham, who was then supervisor of Green township; Jabe Bronson, who besides acting as landlord was the justice of the peace; John J. Rich- ardson, constable and collector; Samuel Smith, who had come in 1829 and was by trade a cooper, although owning a farm and engaging in its duties as nearly all the pioneers did; Jeremiah Tillotson, who had located there in the spring of 1829 and become a competitor of Jabe Bronson as inn-keeper, and whose position in the community is evidenced by his election as the first supervisor of Prairie River township; and Samuel Haslet.
This community was the nucleus of Bronson village. Already in 1829 a postoffice had been established in the house of Jabe Bronson. In 1833 came David and Alonzo Waterman, and in part of the building which they erected on the east side of the present village they placed a small stock of such things as a pioneer community would buy, and thus inaugurated the commercial side of the settlement. It seems that these men might well be given the honor of founding the village of Bronson, for they made the original plat of the village, to which they gave the name "York." This name was changed to Bronson by the same legislative act which gave the name of the first settler to the township.
At this point it is not our purpose to give in detail the history of Bronson village, but rather to indicate the extension of settlement with the Chicago road as the central axis and directing force. Jabe Bronson moved away about 1836. and his log tavern was occupied soon after by E. L. Rose, who had come from Niagara county, New York, and who in 1838 built the well known " Rose House," which stood on the north side of Chicago street. In 1837, on the south side of Chicago street, and a short distance west of Rug- gles street. Mr. James Ruggles built a frame house in which he lived and kept public house for sixteen years.
In the meanwhile many other historic settlements had been made along the great road in Bronson town. To describe one of the most important of them no quotation could be so apt as one drawn from the oft-quoted histori- cal sketch prepared by Wales Adams for the Branch County Directory of 1870.
" They (Wales Adams and Willard Pierce) traveled-after stopping at Bronson's prairie in September, 1870, as above referred to-through the counties of St. Joseph and Kalamazoo and saw many beautiful and unoccu- pied locations ; but unaccustomed to agricultural pursuits and country life, they knew not in what business to engage. After much reflection they con- cluded to retrace their steps. Accordingly, about the first of October, they left Prairie Ronde in the morning, followed the trail through Nottawa and reached the Chicago trail about an hour after sunset, five miles west of Bron- son prairie and near where the Chicago road now crosses Prairie River." Here he states that the road to Bronson was circuitous and difficult to fol- low-an interesting side light on the condition of the Chicago road at that
Y
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
time. While debating whether to continue the journey to Bronson or to remain without shelter in the wilderness, the tired travelers discovered the camp of an emigrant party consisting of Resin Holmes and Thomas Holmes with their families, who had come from Marion county, Ohio, and were on their way further west. Adams and his friend having been accommo- dated over night in their roadside quarters, "the next morning," to resume Mr. Adams' narrative, " the parties examined the surrounding country, and before night it was stipulated that Pierce and Adams should build a sawmill where the Chicago trail at that time crossed Prairie river, and that the Holmeses should settle in the immediate vicinity. Accordingly, in the course of a few days. Pierce went on foot to Monroe, where the land office was then located, entered the land, and returned by the way of Detroit ; purchased the mill irons and shipped them around the lakes to the mouth of the St. Joseph river, and from thence up the river to Mottville. The following July ( 1831) the mill was in operation. Mr. Pierce became dissatisfied with the country and with the business of making lumber, sold his interest in the sawmill to William A. Kent, and returned east."
Interesting as is the story of origin of this settlement. there is little to connect this place with the subsequent history of the township. The site chosen for the mill (in the northwest corner of section 29), was in the dense woods and low and swampy ground that did not attract settlers looking for farms. The sawmill was an institution of great value to the settlers for miles around, but the dam was considered a nuisance and after it was swept away by high water no attempt was made to rebuild. "Adams Mills " was the place at which Bishop Chase stopped over night and where he received the information which led him to settle in Gilead. The Bishop mentions the landlord Judson, who had come from New York state in the fall of 1831 and had established a tavern at this point mainly for the accommodation of those employed at the mill. The Bishop also held services here, to which all the settlers came.
At the Judson House was established the Prairie River postoffice in 1832, with Judson as the first postmaster, followed by William A. Kent. The office was discontinued on the completion of the Lake Shore Railroad through this locality.
Yet another instance may be related of how one thing leads to another in the settlement of a new country. In the winter of 1831-32 there arrived at the Adams mill from the state of New York a man named Alfred L. Driggs. Without independent means and seeking employment, he obtained a place with Mr. Adams as sawyer in the mill. He was ambitious to build and operate a mill on his own account, and assisted by Mr. Adams as security he bought the necessary material at Detroit, he had it shipped to Mottville, as Adams and Pierce had previously done, and from there was brought by ox team and wagon to Branch county. The location selected for this enter- prise was on Swan creek in the northeast corner of section 17. a short dis- tance north of the present line of the Lake Shore Railroad. The mill was built, and its operation gave another industry to Bronson township. In
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
June, 1836, the property was sold to Jonathan and Samuel Holmes. These men were from the state of New Hampshire. Samuel never became a resi- dent of this county. Jonathan was one of the best known of Bronson pioneer citizens. In September, 1837, he brought his family to his new loca- tion in this county, the mill in the meantime having been run by his brother- in-law, David Taggart. After much delay he finally completed and had ready for operation in 1839 the first grist mill in the township. For thirty years the Holmes mill ground corn and wheat for settlers in all the surround- ing country. As an institution in the development of the country its im- portance is clear. Early settlers everywhere have had to contend with that paramount need of getting bread-stuff, and when it was necessary to go long distances, over almost impassable roads, with a load of corn or wheat, be obliged to wait at the mill several days and nights for their "turn," the entire trip often consuming a week or more of time, it is easy to comprehend how essential such a mill as that just described was to rapid settlement.
By the census of 1837 Bronson township contained 635 inhabitants, ranking second among the townships of the county. But it must be remem- bered that at this date Bronson township included the territory from which have since been formed Matteson and Noble townships. With this modifi- cation the population is clearly not so concentrated as would otherwise be supposed. Bronson's prairie, of course, was the central and largest group, but as just indicated there were other centralizing points, and more important still, there was a gradual extension of population over all the available terri- tory. This extension can only be stated in general terms. Only the "high lights " of settlement can be portrayed in a work that must stop far short of being encyclopedic and at the same time tedious.
BETHEL.
Since we have taken the Chicago road as the central theme in our nar- rative of the settlement and growth of Branch county, and having begun with Bronson prairie as the chronological starting point of this narrative, it will prove not uninteresting to pursue the subject in like manner, consid- ering the townships through the center of the county successively from west to east.
Going east from Bronson the Chicago road next enters the town of Bethel, passing through the northwest corner. Since so much emphasis has been placed on routes of travel as factors in the development of this county, it is preliminary to the following paragraphs to state that Bethel township had two other roads that influenced early settlement. One was the old Indian road already mentioned, running from Adams mill along Prairie river across the southwest corner of Bethel township. The other was the state road, authorized by the legislature in March, 1836, and running centrally across the county from north to south toward Fort Wayne, Indiana. This road, however, was not immediately constructed, and did not become a large factor in the very early settlement of the south part of the county.
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
It runs along the eastern border of the town of Bethel, and when built be- came a route much traveled by immigrants.
As to the original topography of this township. it has been stated that the timber lands and the burr-oak openings were about of equal extent, so that its attractiveness to early settlers would compare favorably with that of other townships. When the process of settlement was practically com- plete, the population of Bethel was equal to that of any of the townships except those containing villages or cities. None the less, Bethel township re- ceived the smallest proportion of the early settlers of all the townships trav- ersed by the Chicago road. This is shown by the figures of the census of 1837. which gave Bethel (or Elizabeth as it was still called) township only 177. inhabitants. An outline of Bethel beginnings may be briefly given.
The article by Wales Adams already quoted tells of Bethel's first settler. " A Mr. Snow ( Eleazer Snow) boarded with Mr. Tillotson (at Bronson in 1830), and was cultivating a patch of corn and potatoes without a fence. about three miles east of Bronson, at a place now called 'Snow Prairie.'" This was the first improvement commenced in Bethel, and likewise gave to the locality the name it has ever since borne. This first settler is thus honored more by accident of time and circumstance rather than as a builder. He was of the restless. wandering sort. and in the fall of 1831 sold out his claims and improvements to Moses Olmstead, a man of sturdier mold. It was at the latter's home that the first town meeting was held. Of his sons, Lyman Olm- sead was for thirty years one of the substantial citizens of Bethel.
In the following years other accessions to the Snow Prairie settlement were made, and it is one of the oldest distinct localities in the county.
The best farming land of the township lay in the southwest corner, and it was there, along the Indian road above mentioned. that the strongest settle- ment was made. First of all are the names of the Freeman and Marsh fami- lies. They increase the list of strong pioneers that Onondaga county, New York, gave to Branch county. Having entered land in the timbered region of Lenawee county. Mr. Isaac Freeman, in the fall of 1834, started west by the Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Detroit, and then overland to Ypsilanti. There he met a man from Jackson Prairie, Indiana, who convinced him of the far superior advantages of the burr-oak region over the timber lands of Lenawee county. Determined to see this country before settling perma- nently on his first claim, Mr. Freeman came on west to Bronson township. and then southeast along the road leading to Jackson prairie. The region of Bethel and Gilead townships through which he passed fulfilled all his ex- pectations, and he at once returned to Ypsilanti to bring on his family and his goods. The Marsh family, consisting of the mother and four sons. Ebenezer, Daniel, Wallace and John, had accompanied Mr. Freeman on his prospecting trip, and when all were once more united. they moved into a house on section 5 in Gilead township, half a mile south of the Bethel line. Soon after Mr. Freeman bought land in section 30. of Bethel, and later in section 32. This was the beginning of the community in southwest Bethel. Others came soon after, among whom should be mentioned the Scotchman,
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
James Bennie, whose first experiences in Branch county were connected with the Bishop Chase establishment, and who in 1836 located on the south- east quarter of section 31 in Bethel. About the same time the families of Mc- Millan, McWilliams and Olds located in this vicinity. Mrs. Margaret Mc- Millan and sons, Stephen and James, bought land in sections 29 and 30, near Prairie river, building their house on what was known as the Bronson road, a short distance north of the section line. Philander Olds bought a small plat of land in section 29, and had a cooper shop there several years. Ebenezer Green and sons, Amos and Silas S., were other accessions to this settlement. their land being on section 30.
A sudden illness was the cause that deprived the state of Illinois of a party of settlers and gave them to north Bethel. Daniel Smead, at the head of his family of eleven persons, had halted for the night at the Taylor Tavern, and while there was prostrated by a disease which precluded the possibility of further progress. It was in the month of November, 1835, that the party stopped there, and being compelled to spend the rest of the winter there, the sons spent the time in prospecting about the surrounding country and were so pleased that they determined to locate permanently instead of continuing the journey to Illinois. The father, on recovering from his illness, was brought to the same way of thinking, and early the next year they entered a large tract of land in sections 3, 4 and 9, of Bethel township. Two of the sons, Morgan L. and Lyman Smead, lived there nearly half a century.
By the state road from Coldwater there came into the eastern sections of the township the families of Heman Lake, Origen Bingham, Lemuel Bingham, Adam Bower, Thomas Judson, Lyman Seymour, Timothy Colby, Job Devol and Otis Davis, all being from Erie county, New York, and coming to this county in 1836. Most of them settled in section 25, about the Bethel postoffice neighborhood, and all had their homes adjacent to the state road.
It has been stated that at the census of 1837 there were 177 persons in Bethel township. It is likely that the township officers elected at the first town meeting, held in the spring of the same year, would fairly represent the citizenship at that time, and for that reason their names are given, as follows : Elijah Thomas, David M. Clark, Silas S. Green, Isaac Freeman, David Cummings, Ebenezer Green, Daniel Smead, Moses Olmstead, Jr., Lauriston Smead, Stephen McMillan, Morgan Smead, Phillip Olmstead, Mor- gan Johnston, O. Dickinson, Samuel Handy, James Thurston.
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