USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. I > Part 27
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Oak Hill cemetery is situated between Union and Eastern ave- nues, north and south of Hall street. The first meeting of Hebrews in this city was held Sept. 20, 1857, to take action in regard to the death of one Jacob Levy, and as a result they purchased that parcel of land which is now the southwest quarter of Oak Hill cemetery. This was the first ground dedicated to such use in that portion of the city, and Oak Hill and Valley City cemeteries were established there two years later. These two cemeteries were originally entirely sep- arate, but about 1903 the dividing line was converted into a beautiful boulevard, with center park and winding drives and walks, artis- tically connecting the two cemeteries, now known as Oak Hill.
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Fair Plains cemetery, situated in the township of Grand Rapids, east of Plainfield avenue, and about a half mile outside the city lim- its, is one of the beautiful burial places of the city.
Greenwood cemetery is situated north of and adjoining Mt. Cal- vary. The original purchase was made under the direction of the Board of Cemetery Commissioners, composed of W. P. Mills, W. D. Foster, and Charles P. Babcock, on Feb. 16, 1859. The original area purchased was twenty acres, bought of Daniel Bush and Sophronia Bush, his wife. Other cemeteries are: Garfield Park, situated on Kalamazoo avenue at the corner of the Pere Marquette Railroad; Soldiers' Home, at North Park, and Washington Park, near the city limits on North street and Garfield avenue. Most of the above named cemeteries are fitted with convenient offices, where all arrangements may be made, and there are rest rooms fitted with every convenience. Attendants are ready to minister to the wants of the members of fu- neral parties, and careful records are kept by the secretaries to do away with any confusion. These are found invaluable in hundreds of cases. Neat graveled walks and in some instances walks of cement are found everywhere, and nearby fountains provide water with which the graves may be watered. Caretakers keep the cemeteries looking like beautiful parks, and the lawns and hedges are carefully clipped. No sign of neglect or carelessness is allowed, and thus the modern cemetery is no longer a tangle of overgrown weeds and grass as it was in years gone by.
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CHAPTER IX. GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP
ORIGINAL TERRITORY-ORGANIZATION-THE GUILD FAMILY-OTHER PIONEERS-PHYSICAL FEATURES-EARLY HISTORY OF THE TOWN- SHIP-LIST OF SUPERVISORS-VILLAGE OF EAST GRAND RAPIDS.
This township was established by act of the State Legislature, approved March 7, 1834. Its original territory was co-extensive with that portion of Kent County lying south and east of Grand River, as will be seen by the act creating it, but it has since been reduced in size by the formation of other townships and the growth of the city of Grand Rapids, which has persistently encroached upon the original territory of the township. The act creating it gave it the name of Kent, which was changed to Grand Rapids in April, 1842. It was the first township organization effected in Kent County.
The township of Kent (name afterward changed to Grand Rap- ids) was organized April 4, 1834, the election being held at the house of Joel Guild. This house stood on the present site of the National City Bank, and at that time was the only frame building in the county, except that occupied as a Catholic Church. The officers elected were : Supervisor, Rix Robinson; clerk, Eliphalet Turner; assessors, Joel Guild and Barney Burton ; collector, Ira Jones.
The fact that they were the first of the pioneers of the permanent settlement of Grand Rapids by the white people entitles the Guild family to mention in the history of Grand Rapids township, although the site of their residence has long since been included in the domain of the city. `But the coming of the Guild family marks the date of the beginning of permanent settlement here. Of Joel Guild's family there were nine-himself and wife, Harriet, Consider, Emily O., Mary L., Olive, Elvira E. and Lucy E., the names of the children being given in the order of their birth. Consider, the only son, lived in or near town until about 1858, when he removed to Georgetown, Ottawa County, where he died in 1883. Emily O. became the wife of Leon- ard G. Baxter, Mary L. married Robert Barr, Olive married Fred- erick A. Marsh, and, after his death, Guy S. Walden; Elvira E. be- came the wife of Albert Baxter, and Lucy E. became the wife of D. S. T. Weller. One of these sons-in-law, Albert Baxter, published a history of Grand Rapids, in 1890, and from those pages is taken the following interesting account of the Guild family :
"Edward Guild came down from Ionia in the spring of 1834, and soon after came another brother, Daniel Guild, and the three, with their relatives by kinship and marriage, constituted a circle of three or four score persons; no inconsiderable share of the little set- tlement in its beginning. Joel Guild was then a man in the full vigor of middle life, not large, but compact and muscular in build, and of extraordinary exuberance of spirits. He met with an accident-frac- ture or dislocation of the hip-eighteen months after he came, which caused a limp in his gait ; but nothing could damp his jovial good na-
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ture, nor his disposition to keep all who were about him in good hu- mor. For more than a quarter of a century it was the custom of that family to meet several times a year at the home of some one of their number, and have, as they were wont to say, 'a jolly good visit,' al- ways freely inviting their neighbors, filling the houses to their full capacity ; and there are many still living who remember those reun- ions as among the most pleasurable of their pioneer experience. Joel Guild had little faculty to accumulate property, or he might have grown rich. He was a stirring, bustling, busy man, but always seemed more to enjoy the spending of money for the entertainment of his family and friends, than its hoarding, or any purely selfish use. He was inquisitive, and better than a pocket almanac for consultation as to the names and whereabouts of the people of this valley, for many years. He seldom met a newcomer without learning quickly all about him. An instance: One cold day a stranger hitched his horse at the gate, and came to the door while the family were at dinner. Mr. Guild pressingly invited him in. No, he could not stop ; he wished only to learn where a certain man lived, and the way thither. He was informed, the object of his inquiry being a new settler some ten miles south. This in less than two minutes ; but in two minutes more, by a fusilade of adroit questioning, Mr. Guild had learned the man's name, where he came from, where he was going and what he intended to do. The gentleman showed no sign of annoyance, answered pleas- antly and briefly, mounted his horse and rode off. As Mr. Guild closed the door, much to the relief of the inmates who had been shiv- ering in the keen wind while he stood there, a guest who had the mis- fortune to stammer, accosted him with: 'Uncle J-j-j-oel, w-w-why d-d-didn't you ask him out of his b-b-breeches?' Joel Guild was chos- en assessor at the first town election here, and was the first super- visor of the town of Paris, where he lived many years, and finally moved back into the city, which was his home when he died, May 26, 1856, aged 68 years."
Eliphalet Turner was the first clerk of the township of Kent (Grand Rapids). He located a little southeast of the present city boundary ; but soon moved in, and in 1845-6 built him a home on Front street, near the head of the rapids-the first stone dwelling of note on the west side. He was a mechanic, assisted in erecting a number of the very early buildings on Monroe and Waterloo streets, and was associated with James Scribner in the erection of the first bridge across Grand River here. He was a sturdy yeoman of the old stamp, faithful to all trusts and duties. He died in 1870, aged 78 years.
Barney Burton came to Kent County from Ypsilanti in 1833. He was prominent in the township of Paris, where he improved an ex- cellent farm, yet always seemed identified with Grand Rapids, into which he moved and spent the closing years of his life, a respected, thoroughly upright and conscientious citizen. He was born in Green- field, Saratoga County, New York, March 16, 1807. He served the public acceptably in official positions.
Ira Jones, who was chosen as the first collector, settled soon thereafter on the west side of the river, near the Indian village, and there resided some forty years.
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GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP
Grand Rapids, as a whole, may be characterized as decidedly di- versified and hilly, but it perhaps contains more than the average amount of farm land to the acre. The soil is of good quality, except- ing that in the northeastern part of the township, and great care has been taken by the farmers to cultivate their lands in a proper man- ner. As a direct result, the township has more well tilled, highly im- proved farms than almost any other township within the county, con- sidering its size. There are many very commodious and beautifully designed farm houses throughout the township, a number of which are surrounded by large, thrifty trees, the dark green foliage of which adds materially to the beauty of the surroundings.
Grand River flows along the northern and western boundary of the township, and there are but few other small streams, but the ter- ritory is well watered with excellent springs. The township is espe- cially adapted to grazing purposes, an industry which receives the careful attention of the provident farmers, with favorable results. Fruit culture is also carried on very profitably, apples being the staple in that line, though peaches and all kinds of small fruits succeed admirably.
The early history of this township has much to do with that of the county, and will be found under that head. The first settler with- in the present limits of the township was Ezekiel W. Davis, who lo- cated on Section 34, in 1834. He also erected the first house. Dur- ing the same summer Lewis Reed, Ezra Reed, Porter Reed, David S. Leavitt, and Robert M. Barr settled in the township. James Mc- Crath, George Young, and Simeon S. Stewart settled in the year 1836. Robert Thompson, John W. Fisk, and Mathew Taylor settled in the year 1837. Mr. Fisk erected the first hotel, afterward known as the Lake House, near Reed's Lake.
Ezekiel W. Davis lived at first for a little time in a log cabin in the village of Grand Rapids. He planted some corn near the corner of Ottawa and Fountain streets, but later moved to a farm at Reed's Lake, where as before stated he was the first settler. He lived there about thirty years and then moved into the city, where he died in 1873.
Ezra Reed was a most excellent pioneer. He settled by Reed's Lake in 1834, and afterward lived many years in the city ; but he died at Muskegon in June, 1888, at the venerable age of 88 years. He was the first sheriff of Kent County, elected in 1836.
Porter Reed came from Ilion, Herkimer County, New York, where he was born, July 11, 1812. He came with his brothers-Ezra and Lewis-in 1834, and his was the first family to locate a home on the shore of Reed's Lake, which is named for him. The brothers also located on government land, each entering a quarter section. Porter Reed cleaned up a fine farm, which was subsequently divided among his four children. He died in 1857.
James McCrath was a native of Scotland, born in February, 1808, and he came to the United States in early manhood. He was a stone cutter and stone mason, and after coming to America worked in Massachusetts and Detroit, Mich., until 1836, when he came to Grand Rapids with a party of other masons to lay the foundation for the Sweet grist mill, the first erected in the city and which stood on I-14
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the present site of Berkey & Gay's furniture factory. He worked here that summer and then returned to Detroit, married, and moved to Lapeer County, where he resided until 1842, then returned to Grand Rapids and resided in the city until 1850, when he settled on a farm in Grand Rapids township, three miles east of Division street, on East Bridge street, and comprising 100 acres. He did not engage in practical farming himself, but hired the work done and continued to follow his trade for twenty years, helping build St. Mark's Episcopal Church, the old Dutch Reformed Church at the corner of Bridge and Ottawa streets, and other stone buildings. He served for a number of years as highway commissioner. His death occurred at his home- stead in Grand Rapids township, Oct. 10, 1897.
George Young was a thoroughly just and companionable citi- zen, influential in the organization and support of the First Reformed Church, giving liberally of his means, in 1842, to the erection of their first house of worship at the corner of Bridge and Ottawa streets, originally a stone building, which was destroyed by fire in April, 1872, and the site has since been used for business purposes. Mr. Young settled here in 1836. He lived a little outside the village, but his interests and feelings were so closely interwoven with those of its citizens as to make him practically one of them. His ancestors were from the Netherlands and settled at an early day on the Hudson River, near Albany. He was largely instrumental in procuring the settlement of the Holland colony in Ottawa County in 1847. He was 71 years of age at the time of his death, in 1870.
Simeon S. Stewart was one of the comers of the spring of 1836. With a span of horses and wagon he drove through from Detroit, bringing his family and household goods and $1,800 in cash. He set- tled on the north side of Bridge street (now Michigan Ave., N. W.) and lived in a slab house a little below Ottawa street. Slab shanties were among the makeshifts for dwellings in many instances before other sawed lumber became plenty. Mr. Stewart was a mason by trade, did some of the earliest stone work, and made lime for it. After about ten years he moved to a farm a few miles out on the Cas- cade road, where he spent the remainder of his life.
John W. Fisk was born in Southington, Hartford County, Con- necticut. He came to Plymouth, Wayne County, Michigan, in 1835, and there conducted a hotel two years, after which he engaged in the same business at Ada, Kent County, one year. He then came to Grand Rapids and bought of Lucius Lyon 200 acres of land near Reed's Lake and upon which he erected a hotel, which he managed for more than twenty-five years.
At the time of the organization of the township, and for several years thereafter, the taxes were collected by the collector, paid over to the supervisor and disbursed by him. In 1839 a treasurer was elected. The first entry on his book reads as follows: "May 14. 1839, received of E. W. Davis, supervisor, eight dollars, on the Grand River Bank. Three dollars on the Ypsilanti Bank, one dollar and twenty-five cents on the Bank of Pontiac, and sixty-two cents in spe- cie." Amount of taxes collected the year previous, $174. This in- cluded all the taxes collected in what is now Grand Rapids town and city, Ada and Paris.
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Herewith is given a list of the supervisors of Grand Rapids town- ship from its organization down to the present time: 1834, Rix Rob- inson ; 1836, Ezekiel W. Davis ; 1839, William G. Henry ; 1840, Francis J. Higginson; 1841, George Young; 1842, John Almy; 1844, Josiah L. Wheeler ; 1845, Truman H. Lyon; 1846, Daniel Ball; 1847, Harvey K. Rose; 1848, James M. Nelson ; 1849, Aaron Dikeman; 1850, Lewis Reed; 1851, Foster Tucker; 1853, Abram Shear; 1854, Foster Tuck- er ; 1855, Lewis Reed; 1856, Foster Tucker; 1857, George W. Dickin- son ; 1858, Augustus Treat ; 1859, Kendall Woodward; 1860, Obed H. Foote; 1861, Foster Tucker ; 1874, Henry F. McCormick; 1883, Hen- ry H. Havens; 1892, Henry O. Braman; 1893, Henry H. Havens ; 1894, Louis Goudzwaard; 1895, Walter C. McCrath; 1897, Louis Goudzwaard; 1899, Walter C. McCrath; 1902, John Paul; 1905, Thomas E. Reed; 1910, H. O. Braman; 1911, Louis Goudzwaard; 1913, John Paul; 1915, Louis Goudzwaard; 1916, William H. Stokes, present incumbent.
William G. Henry came to Grand Rapids in 1836, and in addition to serving as supervisor of the township he was the second village treasurer, a druggist, and an enterprising citizen. He moved to De- troit about 1865.
Francis J. Higginson was a physician, and he was the fifth gen- tleman of that profession to locate in Grand Rapids. He came in 1839. He was a New England man, a graduate of the medical de- partment of Harvard University and had practiced at Cambridge, Mass. He remained in Grand Rapids only about two years; removed in 1841 to Brattleboro, Vt., where he practiced many years and where he died.
Daniel Ball, for more than twenty years, beginning in the early village days, was a man of tireless activity in many business lines. In trade as a merchant, and in storage and forwarding; in steamboat building and navigation enterprises ; in manufacturing ; in real estate dealings and improvements, and in banking, he usually kept himself loaded with as much labor and responsibility as three or four ordi- nary men should carry. He had great tenacity of purpose, as well as energy and industry, and knew no such thing as discouragement so long as his health permitted him to keep upon his feet. He began business in Michigan at Owosso; came here about 1841, and removed to New York in 1863, leaving here many germs of his planting for the great progress which Grand Rapids has made.
Kendall Woodward, who came here in 1836, was a mechanic, an architect and builder, and was in trade for some years near the foot of Pearl and Monroe streets. He died while as yet comparatively young.
Thomas E. Reed was born on the old pioneer farm of his fa- ther, Porter Reed, near Reed's Lake, May 4, 1847. He was educated in the district schools and always followed farming as an occupation. He served gallantly in the Union army during the Civil War as a member of Company B, Twenty-first Michigan infantry, and was se- riously wounded in the battle of Bentonville, N. C. Mr. Reed served as justice of the peace for three years, town treasurer several years, village president three years, and from 1905 to 1910 was supervisor of Grand Rapids township. He died July 25, 1911.
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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN
The village of East Grand Rapids is situated on the bank of Reed's Lake, but a few miles from the city of Grand Rapids. This village began its growth with the opening of the street railway con- necting the city and Reed's Lake, some forty years ago. Its growth was rapid, but not good. Road houses, low grade amusements, such as chicken and dog fights, fake boxing matches and occasionally a real battle for blood and thunder were staged and the promoters flour- ished amazingly. The authorities did not interfere nor try to restrict the disreputable business. In 1890 Edward M. Barnard, who resided near Reed's Lake, was elected a member of the State House of Rep- resentatives and took his seat at Lansing in the month of January following. From time to time he discussed the intolerable conditions in the civic life of the lake region with Senator Doran, Representa- tives Hayward, Fitch and White, his colleagues, and finally it was decided to introduce a bill providing for the organization of a village government at the lake, to be known as East Grand Rapids. The entire lake frontage and large tracts of farming land were embraced in the boundaries of the village, and the bill in due time passed and received the approval of the Governor. The purposes of the enact- ment were realized, for under the operations of the village charter the community cleaned out the road houses, the disreputable amusement places and put a stop to chicken disputes, dog and man fights. The village grew rapidly in population and it is now regarded as the most desirable suburb of the city. At the present writing (1917) there is a movement under way to bring about the annexation of the village to the city of Grand Rapids, and this will doubtless be consummated at no distant day.
CHAPTER X. BYRON TOWNSHIP
LOCATION-WATER COURSES - PHYSICAL FEATURES - SETTLEMENT- JERRY AND WILLIAM BOYNTON-FIRST TOWNSHIP MEETING- LIST OF SUPERVISORS-PERSONAL MENTION.
The township of Byron is situated in the extreme southwestern part of Kent County, with Wyoming on the north, Gaines on the east, Allegan County on the south and Ottawa County on the west.
The township is well watered by Buck and Rush Creeks and the springs and numerous small streams that form these creeks. One branch of Buck Creek rises in the extreme southeastern corner of the township, flows a northwesterly direction for some distance, and then north by east until it leaves the town on its northern limits at the center line of Section 1. Another branch rises in Allegan County and flows northeasterly through what was formerly known as the "big swamp" until it forms a junction with the main stream. About the center of Section 26 is a small lake called "Mud Lake." Rush Creek rises near the center of the township and flows in a northwesterly direction, leaving Byron very near its northwestern limits. Other and smaller streams flow through the township, and these different water courses render it, as before stated, a well watered region.
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BYRON TOWNSHIP
The surface of the township of Byron is rolling, being covered with gently rolling swells and small knolls, with the exception of what was originally a swamp which commences on Section 13 and extends in a southwesterly direction into Allegan County. This swamp, now largely brought under cultivation by careful drainage, varied from eighty rods to one mile in width, and was mostly timbered with tama- rack and cedar. The extreme southwestern part of the township is somewhat broken, but not enough to injure its value for farming pur- poses. The soil varies from argillaceous to sandy, but is what is gen- erally known to farmers as either clayey or sandy loam. The sur- face of some of the creek bottoms is underlaid with marl or "bog lime," while the "big swamp" was formerly a bed of muck, in many places of several feet in thickness. On Section 21 was a small swamp timbered with tamarack through which the track of the Lake Shore
& Michigan Southern Railroad passes, which several times sank so as to engulf the road bed. This swamp is probably the site of a lake which became covered with a covering of vegetable matter of suffi- cient thickness to support trees of from 50 to 60 feet in height. The township was originally heavily timbered with maple, oak, walnut, ash, whitewood, etc., from which large amounts of timber have been taken. By large outlays in drainage, the lands have been made fertile and are constantly improving. The township was originally one of the finest hunting grounds in the county. Game of all kinds known in the country was here to be found in almost exhaustless supply. The heavy growth of timber afforded ample cover and protection, and many are the "bear stories" and daring feats of frontier life re- membered of the early pioneers of Byron. They were brought in daily contact with bears, wolves, and wild-cats, and these were for- midable enemies to the young domestic animals about the settlers' cabins, as well as dangerous neighbors in the lonely wilderness. Deer and grouse were also to be found in great numbers, and these, with an occasional "bear steak," furnished the principal meat supply, to which the epicurean of today would have no reason to object. Venomous reptiles, and especially the dreaded rattlesnake, were among the enemies of modern civilization, and they added their share of the discomforts and perils of pioneer life.
The settlement of the township began under the same discourag- ing circumstances which prevailed everywhere in districts remote from the natural thoroughfares. The meager supplies of actual ne- cessities had to be brought long distances, through trackless forests, infested with dangerous opponents of civilization. The pack-horse was the faithful friend who was the means of connecting the pioneers with the outside world, carrying to them the few articles of com- merce which this simple mode of living demanded. Ammunition, meal, and salt were the three articles most required, but the first was always an absolute necessity. The periodical trips to the "base of supplies" were always fraught with peril, both to the lonely travelers who made them and to the helpless and defenseless ones who were left behind. Several days were required to go to Grand Haven, or even Grand Rapids, and return with a cargo of supplies.
Let us go back for a space of eighty-two years, to the Summer of 1836. Byron was then an unbroken wilderness. The ruthless hand of the white man, armed with that terribly destructive weapon, the
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