USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. I > Part 31
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Harry B. Munro was born in Long Island, N. Y., July 9, 1794, and served six months as a soldier in the War of 1812. In 1836 he pre-empted eighty acres on Section 5 in Walker township. Later, when he brought his family to Michigan, they came from East Guil- lingsburg, forty miles north of Toronto, Canada, driving through with a three-horse team. They reached Walker township a Saturday morning, stayed over Sunday with Eleazer C. Taber, cut a half mile
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of road, built a small log house and moved into it, Tuesday evening. The eldest son did not come until four years later, and David, a boy of fourteen years, was the only assistant of his father. When the fall came the whole family was ill with the "chills," as fever and ague was then popularly termed, except the father.
John Harrington came to Walker township in 1838, and pre- empted eighty acres on Section 2. The first year in which that land came into market he purchased forty acres on the same section, bid in by Solomon Wright at $1.25 per acre.
Stephen O'Brien was a native of County Lowth, Ireland. He came to the United States in 1835, accompanied by his brother, Ber- nard; spent one year in New York, then came to Michigan and lived one year at St. Joseph; and in 1837 he pre-empted eighty acres in each of the three sections-28, 29, and 32-in Walker township. For some years the brothers worked together as partners. Meantime, their father and mother came from Ireland to Michigan and the fa- ther improved one of the tracts mentioned until his death, at the age of ninety-one years. Stephen O'Brien accumulated a farm of 240 acres, which was heavily timbered with oak, beech, maple, and black walnut, yet he succeeded in having it all cleared and devoted it to general farming. But he lost everything in 1873, including his farm. He died April 13, 1894.
Eleazer C. Taber immigrated to Kent County in October, 1837. After spending six months in Grand Rapids he settled on Section 5 of Walker township, where he resided the remainder of his days, dy- ing in 1854 at the age of fifty-six years.
Solomon Wright was among the first settlers in Alpine town- ship, where he located in 1837. He came west in 1836, but stopped several months in Toledo, Ohio, where he purchased a team and em- ployed it profitably during the winter, making his way westward in the spring. He left his family in Jackson County, near Jacksonburg, and proceeded with his household goods and fifty bushels of pota- toes on a scow down Grand River, stopping at North's landing, later called Plumb's Mills. He pre-empted 480 acres for himself and sons-Solomon and Benjamin-on the line between Walker and Al- pine, on Sections 32 and 33, in Alpine township. The Baptist and Congregational Churches are situated on this tract. Mr. Wright sold 160 acres and moved across the line into Walker township, where he purchased 120 acres in Section 4; and there he continued to reside until his death in June, 1845.
There are many others who could hardly be classed as first set- tlers, but who were known as early residents, among them being Thomas McMan, David Waters, William C. Davidson, Jonathan Blair, Martin Wheeler, Bernard Courtney, and Quigley, in the south part; Samuel Westlake, the Schermerhorns, Phillips, Escotts, Burds, Samuel Corporon, Thomas Cotney, Asa Pratt, Thales Hean, Daniel Stocking, and the Armstrongs, near the central part; the Matthews, A. C. Bailey, Samuel Root, Miner Johnson, John S. Miller, Peter Huwer, Andrew Loomis, Tenny, the Chappells, Fullers, Covell, and Dean, in the north; and Palmerlee, Tryon, Berry Wait, Devendorf, and Lamoreaux, in the west.
Jonathan Blair came west to Michigan in 1842, and two years later came to Walker township, where he rented a farm of 120 acres,
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on Section 4, owned by Robert Hilton and Nathaniel Fisk. Two years later he purchased 138 acres on Section 6, and there he died in 1852.
Samuel Westlake was born in New York in 1821, and was em- ployed in the woolen factory of his father there until he had reached his majority. On Sept. 20, 1842, he came to Walker township with his parents and settled on 133 acres on Section 6, which they had pur- chased three years previously. In 1849 Samuel purchased eighty acres of timber land on Section 19. Mr. Westlake was a local elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, having been licensed when he was nineteen years old.
John S. Miller was born in Augusta, Oneida County, New York, Jan. 22, 1812. With his parents he moved to Smithfield, Madison County, that State, and at the age of seventeen years began work at the shoemaker's trade, which he followed twenty years. He came to Walker township about 1856, and there served as highway commis- sioner several years.
The record of the first election in the township of Walker has been lost or was not properly kept, hence it is impossible to give the names of all those who were first chosen as officials of the township. However, it is known that the first township meeting was held at the Mission School House, in the spring of 1838. The first officers of the township so far as is known were as follows: Supervisor, Lovell Moore; clerk, Isaac Turner ; treasurer, Harry Eaton; justices, Robert Hilton, Isaac Turner, Ira Jones, and Isaiah Burton.
Harry Eaton was bred a farmer in Vermont, came here in 1836 and engaged in mercantile trade and lumbering. He was sheriff of Kent County in 1841 and was the first treasurer of Walker township. He was also one of the charter members of Grand River Lodge, No. 34, F. and A. M., and at his death, in 1859, his funeral was at- tended by the Grand Lodge of Masons, then in session here. He was highly esteemed by the early residents, as a genial and entertaining host at a neat little grocery and restaurant which stood where now is the north end of the Pantlind Hotel Block.
Ira Jones was an early settler who located eventually on the west side of the river, near the Indian village, and there resided some forty years.
Walker is as thickly settled as any township which contains no village. The southeasterly part is mostly divided into small lots, con- taining from five to forty acres, which are usually devoted to market gardening and fruit growing. The westerly and northwesterly part is devoted principally to farming purposes. In that locality are to be seen some quite large, as well as fine, farms. Peaches, apples and other kinds of fruit are raised in abundance on the sandy belt, and on most parts of the clay land. The low lands along the river pro- duce good crops of grass and grain. The greatest elevation in the township is the high rolling swell of land extending from Section 32 in the southwest through the central part, broken by Brandy creek, continuing northward on the west of Indian creek, and afterward crossing the line into Alpine. On the highest part of this ridge, near the center of Section 9, is a lake covering about four acres, situated in the middle of a swamp of about twenty acres. This lake is about 100 feet above the level of Grand river and has no visible outlet. Poles have been sunk sixty feet without striking any solid bottom.
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Originally there was a swamp of about 100 acres on Bridge street, three and one-half miles west of the river, lying mostly on Section 29, and there was also one about the same size in the southern part of Section 6. There was one of rather small dimensions on Section 8, and also one on Section 34. There were other small swamps in differ- ent parts of the township, but a good system of drainage has redeemed to the plow, and they are all now either good agricultural or meadow land.
In the year 1845, Joseph Bullen erected a saw mill on the eastern part of Section 4. It was run by an overshot waterwheel, the water being conveyed from the pond on Indian creek, near the residence of Solomon Wright, in Alpine, a distance of nearly ninety rods. The mill possessed the facilities for sawing one million feet of lumber per year. It also contained a run of mill-stones for grinding "feed," etc.
The plaster mills and quarries on Section 34, two and one-half miles below Bridge street, in the side of the bluff near the river, are on the east part of the section. Gypsum was first discovered there by R. E. Butterworth, of Grand Rapids, who then owned the land. He opened the first quarry in the year 1852, and it was operated under the super- intendence of Bernard Courtney. This is the mine to which was given the name of "Plaster Cave" or "Hovey's Cave," operated by the Eagle Mills Plaster Company.
Richard E. Butterworth was born in Jamaica, West India Islands, of British parentage, and was an engineer, educated at Manchester, England. He came to Grand Rapids in 1843 and purchased land just southwest of the city, where he developed a gypsum quarry and en- gaged in plaster manufacture about nine years later. Selling his mill and property there, he moved into the city in 1856 and lived here till his death, at nearly 82 years of age, in 1888. Here he engaged in the foundry and machine business, buying therefor the iron works at the foot of the east side canal, and this business he carried on during the remainder of his life. He built three brick blocks near those works. At one time he established a petroleum refinery, but this business was soon discontinued. In his later years he traveled much in Europe and in the Pacific region of this country, and, being a constant reader, acquired a great fund of information. One of his latest acts was a gift of about $12,000 to the foundation of St. Mary's Hospital.
The following is a complete list of the Supervisors of Walker township from its organization, in 1838, down to the present time: 1838,' Lovell Moore; 1840, Ebenezer Davis; 1842, James Davis; 1844, Isaac Turner ; 1845, James Davis ; 1847, John Potter ; 1848, Silas Hall; 1849, John Potter ; 1851, William A. Tryon ; 1853, Curtis Porter ; 1854, Milo White; 1859, William C. Davidson; 1860, Milo White; 1861, Charles H. Leonard ; 1863, Jeffery C. Champlin ; 1864, Henry C. Hoga- done; 1866, Horace McNitt; 1867, Jeffery Champlin; 1868, Ezra A. Hebard; 1875, Abiel A. Wilson; 1876, Perley W. Johnson; 1877, Abiel A. Wilson ; 1878, Ezra A. Hebard; 1880, Abiel A. Wilson; 1882, Perley W. Johnson ; 1883, Abiel A. Wilson ; 1887, John Kinney ; 1894, A. W. Graham; 1895, John Kinney; 1896, A. R. Edison; 1897, John M. Edison ; 1900, Louis J. Blair; 1901, Anson R. Harrington; 1903, John H. Edison; 1904, Anson R. Harrington; 1906, William S. Lamoreaux; 1913, A. R. Harrington; 1917, William S. Lamoreaux, present incumbent.
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Ebenezer Davis came from Niagara county, New York, in 1836, and soon thereafter settled just south of Leonard street, by the west bank of the river, where he took a fractional eighty of Government land, in 1840. He removed to Wyoming township in 1852.
Henry C. Hogadone was born in Canada, in 1823. He was a son of John Hogadone, one of the pioneers of Walker township, and with his father, mother, five brothers and three sisters, came to the town- ship in 1839. He served as justice of the peace four years, township treasurer two years, drain commissioner five years and supervisor two years.
Ezra Armstrong Hebard was born in Leyden, Franklin county, Massachusetts, March 2, 1830, and commenced the study of medicine, in 1848, at Lapeer, Mich., his home at that time. He attended the first course of medical lectures in Michigan University during the winter of 1849-50, and graduated at Berkshire Medical College, Mas- sachusetts, Nov. 26, 1851. Shortly after graduation he settled at Dry- den, Lapeer county, Michigan, remaining until 1858, when he removed to Winona, Minn., where he practiced until after the Civil war. In 1866 he came to the vicinity of Grand Rapids, settling on a farm in Walker township, where he continued to reside, with the exception of two years residence in the city. He served nine years as supervisor of Walker township, and was a member of the Grand Rapids Board of Pension Examiners during the first administration of President Cleveland.
CHAPTER XV. COURTLAND TOWNSHIP
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES-ORGANIZATION-SOIL-FIRST LAND EN- TRIES-EARLY SETTLERS-PHILIP BECKER-LIST OF SUPERVISORS -WILLIAM H. MYERS.
This township comprises township 9, range 10 west, which is in the northern part of the county, and is bounded on its north by Nelson, on its east by Oakfield, on its south by Cannon, and on its west by the township of Algoma. Like a great deal of the land in Kent county, this is level or undulating, and is of a fertile quality. The township is well supplied with small streams and there are also a number of lakes. Myer's Lake, the largest, is situated on Sections 27 and 28. It is triangular in shape, being about one and one-half miles in length by one-half mile in breadth in the widest place. It has fine gravelly banks and is one of the most beautiful lakes in the county. Stoner's Lake, a small but fine body of water, is situated on the southeasterly portion of Section 22. Big'and Little Brower Lakes are situated on the southern part of Section 34. Both of them are small.
The present township of Courtland, together with some five other townships, were united under the name of Courtland, about the year 1839. Subsequently Algoma was detached from this organization, and still later by a legislative mistake, Oakfield and Courtland were reorganized under the euphonious name of Wabasis. The following legislature corrected this mistake, however .. The first officers of the
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township were: Supervisor, Philo Beers; clerk, Thomas Addison. The records do not give the names of the persons filling the less im- portant offices.
The soil of Courtland is mostly good. The southern part is what is called timbered openings; the northern part was originally tim- bered with pine, mixed with hard wood, and the soil is less productive than the southern part. There are many better townships, but yet there is some land within its boundaries that cannot be outdone in the production of the staple crops. There are many fine farms in Court- land.
This is one of the earliest settled townships in the northern part of the county. The first entry of land we can find on the records was made by Alexander Deane, Sabin Johnson, Beman Brockway, William H. Cooper, Lucy Beers, and Burton Brockway, who entered Sections 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, and 27, respectively, the date of such entries being Aug. 10, 1839.
Barton Johnson, the first actual settler in the township, located in May, 1838. He was born in Schoharie county, New York, March 23, 1812. In October, 1834, he removed to Washtenaw County, Michigan, and entered 120 acres of land, where he lived until May, 1838, when he came to Courtland and squatted on the farm which he afterward entered. He was the first white settler in Courtland, and many were the hardships and inconveniences that he and his family suffered in the wild days of Kent county. Mr. Johnson was a voter at the organi- zation of Courtland, and afterward held the offices of supervisor and township treasurer.
Alexander Deane settled in the township in 1839. He was one of the first six to locate lands and selected the northeast quarter of Section 21. The manner in which this tract came to be located by him is given as follows: Mr. Deane and fifteen others came into the country to select homes and lands, with the understanding that the right of first choice should be decided among them by lot. So they drew, and "lo and behold," the first chance fell upon Mr. Deane, and he therefore exercised the right of first choice by selecting the piece men- tioned. The others located land contiguous to each other, and moving to the township a short time afterward, organized it and resided there alone for a number of years-or until about the year 1844 or 1845, when they were joined by Horace Colby, Philip Becker, the two Thompsons, and others. The first township meeting was held at the residence of Barton Johnson, in the spring of 1839.
Philip Becker was born in Schoharie County, New York, about 1824. He came to Michigan when nine years of age with his parents, who were among the pioneers of Washtenaw county. When but twenty years old he came to Kent county and traded a span of colts for 160 acres of land in Section 36, Courtland township. Although but twenty years old, he was married, and the first habitation of him- self and young wife was a "shanty," whose only window was a hole in the wall with a white cloth thrown over it. The bedsteads were constructed of poles driven in the wall, with boards upon them. Indians ofttimes passed by, on their way to northern wilds, after visit- ing the village of Grand Rapids, where they filled up on fire water, and so loud were their whoops as to often frighten the settlers. Many I-16
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times they lay upon the kitchen floor of the Becker home. The near- est market in those days was Grand Rapids, to which Mr. Becker often walked, carrying home his purchase in a bandana handkerchief. The first school-house was of logs and the building was used as the first church, as well. Mr. Becker worked in a saw-mill for Smith Lapham in the village of Laphamville, near Rockford. He was eco- nomical and thrifty and in 1863 purchased an additional unimproved tract of 256 acres in Section 27. In 1875 his health failed and he visited the Pacific slope. The following year he erected a home in Rockford and there passed his remaining days, dying Jan. 19, 1881.
Below are given the names of some of the pioneers of this town- ship, together with the date and location of their settlement, brief sketches, etc. No special attention is paid to the exact order in which they came-simply a record of the facts connected with their settle- ment. Among them were the following named persons: Thomas Addison, John Austin, Sabin Johnson, Benjamin Botsford, David Haynes, Lauren Austin, Iram Barnes, Anson Ensign, Philo Beers, James Kingin, the Rounds and Hunting families, Zenas B. White, and others.
Thomas Addison was born in North Duffield, England, in 1807. He came to America in a sailing vessel, about 1825, landing in New York City. He was married in the Empire State and later, while it was still a territory, came to Michigan, reaching Plainfield on a flat- boat, having come some distance down Grand River. From Plainfield he came to Courtland township, having but one dollar remaining. He was an ardent Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, and was the first clerk of Courtland, being present at the organization of the township. He was subsequently elected a justice of the peace, a position he filled with credit and honor. He died at his home in Courtland, June 12, 1875.
Sabin Johnson was a native of New York. He came to Michigan by the Erie Canal, Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan to Grand Haven. He first took up eighty acres of Government land in Section 22, upon which he erected a little board hut, which was his first habitation. He died at the age of 49 years, in Courtland, where he had been a blacksmith and wagonmaker, as well as a farmer.
James Kingin came from New York to Michigan, in 1844, and settled in Courtland township, being thus numbered among the early settlers. He died Feb. 16, 1875.
A list of Supervisors of Courtland township from its organization down to the present time is as follows: 1839, Philo Beers ; 1842, Isaac Tower; 1843, Philo Beers; 1845, John Austin; 1847, Nelson Miles; 1848, Philo Beers ; 1850, Fred W. Worden ; 1851, Horatio N. Stinson ; 1852, Philo Beers ; 1853, Harry H. Kingin; 1854, Asa P. Ferry ; 1856, Philo Beers ; 1857, Isaac T. Worden ; 1858, W. H. Myers; 1859, Jacob I. Stoner; 1860, Wheaton L. Hewitt; 1861, Calvin Thompson; 1862, William H. Myers ; 1867, Barton Johnson; 1868, William H. Myers; 1878, Isaac M. Hunting; 1879, Charles M. Mann; 1880, Elias C. Brooks; 1881, Charles M. Mann; 1882, Fred Stegman; 1884, W. H. Myers; 1885, Simeon P. Peterson; 1887, William F. Woodworth; 1889, Charles H. Carlyle; 1891, W. T. Woodworth; 1893, Simon P. Peterson ; 1894, S. D. Peterson ; 1895, William Baldwin ; 1897, Charles
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Carlyle; 1898, James H. Parmeter; 1900, Morris N. Streeter ; 1902, Fremont Thompson; 1903, Benjamin F. Shotwell; 1904, Frank J. Mason; 1905, James H. Parmeter; 1907, Perry J. Bennett; 1908, Charles H. Carlyle; 1912, William H. Myers; 1915, Frank W. Peter- son ; 1917, Calvin Thompson, present incumbent.
William H. Myers was born in Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland, June 4, 1818, and when less than a year and a half old was brought to America by his parents, who landed at St. Johns, New Brunswick, and three months later moved to Philadelphia, but soon afterward settled in Cold Spring, on the Hudson River, New York. In 1830 the family removed to Michigan, Freedom, Washtenaw county, being selected as their home. When in his fifteenth year, Mr. Myers re- ceived his parents' consent to go out into the world and satisfy his craving for adventure. Accordingly, he secured a boy's berth on a Lake Michigan vessel, on which he spent three seasons. In 1837 he visited the upper Mississippi River country on a steamer conveying supplies to Forts Crawford and Snelling. He next went south to New Orleans and shipped on a voyage to Cuba. In 1840 he was steersman on the General Scott on Lake Erie. Back again to New Orleans, he went on the Alabama, conveying recruits to General Taylor, then fighting the Seminoles in Florida. Later he visited Maracaibo, Vene- zuela, Rio Janeiro, and Montevideo, South America, and the Falkland Islands. He made many subsequent voyages until 1845, spending about thirteen years on the water and having many interesting and exciting experiences. In 1847, tiring of that life, he came to Court- land township, where he entered 160 acres of unimproved land at the Government price of $1.25 per acre. His first habitation was of logs; his agricultural implements were of the most primitive make; his household furniture was equally rude; his first meal in his new home was eaten from a board, each end of which rested on an empty barrel. From this beginning he developed a first-class farm from the wilder- ness and he became a man of note in the community. He sat on the Board of Supervisors for seventeen years, never quailing at most trying junctures to stand and act for what he deemed the best inter- ests of all.
Calvin Thompson was born in the State of New York, but in early manhood came to Michigan. He was a pioneer settler of Courtland and developed a fine farm. He passed away in March, 1876.
Isaac Hunting was born in Dutchess county, New York, April 25, 1837; was thoroughly educated and for some years in his earlier manhood was a school teacher. In 1865 he came from New York direct to Courtland township, which was yet in the early days of its progress, and he here engaged in farming. He was one of those brave men who offered their services and their lives to their country in its hour of need, and enlisted, March 6, 1865, in Company F, Seventh Michigan cavalry, and was elected corporal. In October, 1865, how- ever, he was transferred to Company B, First Michigan veteran cav- alry, and was assigned to duty in the far west, where contests with the Indians were frequent and dangerous, and where the rigors of the climate and the severity of the service shattered his once vigorous health and strength and eventually caused his death. He was honor- ably discharged, March 10, 1866, when he returned to Courtland and
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resumed the peaceful pursuits of civil life. He served as supervisor and also as township treasurer. His death took place, April 28, 1879.
Charles M. Mann was a native of New York City, although he was reared to manhood in Ontario County, New York. He was born, April 24, 1839, and lived in Ontario county until the spring of 1868, when he came to Kent county and purchased eighty acres of land in Courtland township. He was successful as a breeder of Merino sheep, having begun this special industry in 1885. He twice served the township as supervisor, leaving the office with a reputation as a safe man to attend to the public business.
Frederick C. Stegman was born in Germany, Nov. 5, 1829. He came to this country in 1849, and located in Oakland county, Michi- gan, where he was engaged working on a farm three years; and then he returned to Germany. In 1853 he again came to this country, settled in Kent county and purchased 160 acres of land in Section 16 of Courtland township and forty acres in Nelson township. He filled several positions of trust in Courtland township, among others that of treasurer for two or three years and supervisor two years. He died, highly respected by the community, March 9, 1889.
Simon P. Peterson was born in Jackson county, Michigan, June 7, 1838. He was about seven years of age when brought to Kent county, where he grew to manhood on his father's farm. He acquired a lib- eral education and for six winters taught school in Oakfield and Courtland townships; and many men and women still live in the neighborhood who were his pupils in their childhood. During the summer seasons he worked by the month at farm labor. He ably filled the offices of supervisor, highway commissioner and school in- spector, in every instance to the entire satisfaction of the public.
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