USA > Michigan > Ionia County > History and directory of Ionia County, Michigan: containing a history of each township: the name, occupation, location, and post-office address of every man in the county, 1872 > Part 2
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In the spring of 1835 Mr. Dexter procured a small grist-mill (the stones being about thirty inches in diameter), which he placed in the basement of his saw-mill, and which did excellent service for several years, until other and better mills could be got in operation.
Up to 1836 the townships of Otisco, Keene, and Ronald had not been placed in market, and west of what is now the town of Easton not a settler had entered the wil- derness north of Grand River. All the lands in market in the western part of Michigan were included in the Kalamazoo (or White Pigeon) land district. But in July, 1836, this land district was divided. The northern portion, with considerable land added to it, was erected into a district, and the office located at Ionia. This was a great acquisition to Ionia. It gave it a notoriety and a consequence which has never been lost. But this year (1836) and the two following were years in which persons of intelligence and observation might learn much from experience in relation to financial matters. It will be remembered by old people that Gen. Jackson's war with the United States Bank had been waged in all its fury for several years before this date, and that in 1833 or '34 he had caused orders to be issued to the collectors of revenue to make no more deposits with that bank or its branches ; but certain banks of approved credit were designated in the several States as suitable places for the deposit and safe-keeping of the Government funds, and these banks, as a compensation for their service in such care and custody, were placed on a par with the United States Bank, their bills being taken in payment of Government dues. These banks, finding themselves in so high favor with the public, returned the favor by freely loaning their paper. Money thus became plenty, and a wild spirit of speculation seemed to pervade the whole country. Men became suddenly rich ; they knew not how. Money was as plenty as leaves in autumn, and the masses knew not where it came from. In Ionia, money, which from the time of the arrival of the first settlers up to the first of July 1836, had been among the scarcest of scarce things, all of a sudden became abundant. The arrival of the land office brought with it a cloud of eager land-speculators. Their pockets were full of money. They must have food and lodging, and were willing to pay for it, often at almost fabulous prices. They were unacquainted with forests and forest life, many being from New York and
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HISTORY AND DIRECTORY OF IONIA COUNTY.
other cities. They wanted the services of men who understood following surveyors' lines, and paid well for being shown the choice localities. And thus, what with feed- ing, lodging, and serving this cloud of cormorants, the settlers-men, women, and children-had all they could do, and got well paid; and it was all money. But as there were no stores where it could be spent, and no "store clothes " for which to spend it, it often happened that men, and even boys, with scarce rags enough hanging about them to preserve decency, were abundantly supplied with bank bills, and would some- times pull them out from under loosened patches, where they had been deposited for want of pockets !
But the eagle-eyed "General," from his elevated position in the White House, saw the mistake he had made in supposing that a dozen or two irresponsible " pet" banks would be any more honest or trustworthy than the one irresponsible " monster," and then came the specie circular, forbidding the public lands to be sold for anything but specie. Oh, what a chill this gave to speculation ! A January frost in July could scarcely have struck business more dead ! Along with the country generally, the Ionia settlement felt the chill severely; and not until business revived through the country did this little hamlet cease to feel its blighting influence. And yet, having had but little means with which to indulge in speculation, its absolute losses were compara- tively small. With them it was more a want of vigorous prosperity than any absolute loss of property.
The capital of the first settlers of Ionia consisted principally in willing hearts and sturdy hands ; and the steady application of this capital brought sure and steady results. But for many years the want of an accessible market was a great hindrance in exchanging the surplus products of the soil for other things they more needed, with- out submitting to extremely low prices. The first grain exported from this place was in the fall of 1841. Daniel Ball from Grand Rapids bought a few hundred bushels and took it down the river in pole-boats. At the head of the rapids it had to be landed and drawn by teams over a very hard road, to the foot of the rapids, a distance of about one and a half miles, and there again shipped in boats propelled by hand to Grand Haven ; thence sent by lake to Detroit. All goods purchased by our merchants had to travel the same route to get here; and it often cost our merchants more to get their goods from Grand Haven to Ionia than from New York to the Haven. Besides this, the interminable delays. It was not uncommon, as late as 1854, that three months' paper given for goods in New York would fall due before the goods arrived here. Now all these expenses and delays in carrying away produce and bringing back goods had to be paid by the consumer of the goods. This resulted in low prices for produce, or rather for wheat (for that was the only product that would pay transportation), and high prices for goods. Until the opening of the D. & M. Railway, about 1856, wheat seldom brought over 62 cents per bushel; and then only in the early part of autumn. The length of time required to send it round to Detroit caused the fall purchases for trans- portation to close early ; and then the price usually fell to 50, and sometimes to 40 cents per bushel. Even at these prices it often happened that no money could be got in payment. These disadvantages were not only disheartening to the settlers here, but prevented many others from locating here who would have done so under more favor- able circumstances. It is very doubtful, however, whether their discouragements were not, in the end, beneficial. None but resolute, persevering, industrious people would have sufficient faith in the future to settle down under such disadvantages; and this may have contributed largely to the development of that industry and thrift so notedly characteristic of the citizens of Ionia and vicinity.
The early settlers of Ionia were not only industrious and persevering, but a morally sound and thoroughly intelligent people. The result of these characteristics was, that
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HISTORY AND DIRECTORY OF IONIA COUNTY.
before two years had elasped a regularly organized school was established, and two evangelical churches (Baptist and Methodist) were organized. These early efforts have borne abundant fruit. Now (1872) we have one of the most flourishing union schools in the State, with a constant attendance of between five and six hundred scholars, with a thoroughly organized corps of teachers, equal in ability to any in the State. As evidence of the high estimation in which our school is held, it may be mentioned that the opening of the present fall term brought in about sixty new scholars from other places.
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The progress in the religious element of our place may be estimated when it is stated that in a population of about six thousand people no less than nine organized churches exist; all maintaining religious services regularly upon the Sabbath, with well-filled congregations ; all but one having convenient, and several of them elegant and commodious, places of worship ; and all being supplied with clergymen after their several denominations. In the order of time of their organization they stand as follows : Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Disciple, Con- gregational, Roman Catholic, German Lutheran, and German Methodist.
Ionia being the County Seat, the Courts of the County are held here, the first Circuit Court being held in the spring of 1837, Hon. E. Ransom presiding. Grand and petit juries had been summoned and were in attendance. But the early settlers of Ionia were better posted in chopping down trees, building fences and log houses than in the routine and etiquette of Courts. The result was that the grand jury got badly bewildered in the mazes of the law ; and the prosecuting attorney had not skill enough to get them out. In this dilemma it occurred to some of the smartest of them that the proper course would be to send for the Judge. The attending constable was accordingly directed to go and bring the Judge ; but being young, ignorant, and awk- ward, and withal bashful, he hardly knew how to discharge his commission properly. The court was being held in an old-fashioned school-house, having the door in the center of one end and the desk in the center of the opposite end. The constable went to the door, and opening it a little ways began signaling to the Judge, hoping to get his attention and thus call him out. But although His Honor saw the signals he failed to comprehend their import. The constable finding this system of tactics to fail, finally mustered up courage, and striding up to the desk blurted out, "Judge, the grand jury want you up town ;" and turning round strided out again. A momentary expression of astonishment flitted across the countenance of His Honor, but quickly comprehend- ing the situation of things, he took an early opportunity to excuse himself, went to the grand-jury room, got them out of their troubles, and returning, finished the session without further trouble. This, it is believed, is the only instance in legal practice of a Circuit Judge being summond from the bench before a grand jury !
In relation to manufactures Ionia has not made eminent progress. Deprived almost wholly of water-power, its substitute, steam, was not resorted to until a comparatively recent date.
There are two small spring brooks arising a little north of the village, and each in its progress to the river pass through the village,-one in the eastern and the other in western part, and about one third of a mile distant from each other. Very soon after settling here Mr. Dexter conceived the idea of uniting these two streams and thus creating a sufficent power to drive a flouring-mill. This idea he carried out in practice, getting his mill into operation in 1837. For about twenty years it did good service ; but eventually became too small to answer the need, and was supplanted by a new and larger one driven by steam.
No lumber was manufactured within the village till about the year 1852 ; when Page & Bean erected a steam saw-mill on the bank of the river. This has once been burnt
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HISTORY AND DIRECTORY OF IONIA COUNTY.
and rebuilt ; once torn down and rebuilt on a better site ; several times re-supplied with new and improved machinery, and has recently been thoroughly overhauled and re-fur- nished with new engine and machinery. In this way its owners, of whom there have been several changes, have kept pace with the increased demand for lumber. It is now owned by E. Colby & Co., and is doing a very fine business.
About two years ago Bates, Millard & Gould built a very fine shingle-factory (near the steam saw-mill), running one upright saw and four shingle-machines. The success of that enterprise thus far has been very satisfactory.
An effort was made about fifteen years ago, by A. Inman, to introduce the stave and barrel business. But the business of manufacturing these articles by machinery was then in its infancy, the machinery imperfect and deficient, and his success consequently but partial. Other parties, however, bought out his factory, and with new and improved machinery, sufficient capital, and abundance of energy, Messrs. Taylor & Hudson have made that branch of business an assured success.
The manufacture of furniture has been carried on here since 1836. In that year Samuel B. Warden put up a small shop on the site now occupied by Clark's woolen- factory, and started a turning-lathe by water. But he was not very successful. In 1837 R. & N. Dye commenced the manufacture of furniture, and for more then twenty years supplied this market almost wholly by their industry, their work being mostly made by hand. About the year 1850 they introduced steam into their shop, by which they ran some machinery which greatly aided their business. In 1846 M. Hearsey commenced the manufacture of furniture on a limited scale, first using horse-power, afterwards steam, and thus helped to supply the growing demand for this class of work. At various periods others have started in that line of business, but with no very marked success. For some seven or eight years past S. Merritt & Co. and A. A. Knight have been the principal dealers in this line of busi- ness ; and have carried on a pretty extensive trade. Merritt & Co. manufacture to some extent, and Knight also manufactures some of his goods; but the advantages derived from extensive factories with machines adapted to almost every branch of the work make it impossible for hand work to compete with them either in quality or price. Hence much of the furniture sold here is imported.
In 1841 John Tompkins and Allen Cameron erected a small furnace on the west creek near where Lunn's brewery now stands. It was of the style once known as a "pocket furnace." Charcoal was the fuel used, and some castings were made. Plow- points, land sides, and some other light castings aided much to supply the needs of the few inhabitants. This branch of business has steadily grown with the country ; and although several have been unsuccessful, or partially so, we now have two well appointed foundry and machine shops that are doing a very fair business. Although they are largely engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements, they also give considerable attention to the manufacture of various kinds of machinery, among which are several beautiful steam engines which in effective power are not surpassed by any in the State.
Three sash, door, and blind factories have within a few years gone into operation and find constant employment.
The want of natural motive power has doubtless prevented various manufactures from being more extensively engaged in; but the use of steam has been gradually introduced, till now we have one saw-mill, one shingle-factory, one flour-mill, one feed- mill, one pottery, two foundry and machine shops, three sash and door factories, one barrel-factory, and one printing-office, operated by this motive power ; and all directly appertaining to this locality. Besides these are the D., L. & L. M. machine shops, almost in the heart of the village, filled with most beautiful and perfect machinery and operated by the same kind of power.
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HISTORY AND DIRECTORY OF IONIA COUNTY.
HON. OSMOND TOWER.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Hampshire Co., Massachusetts, but came to Ionia in 1835, being one of the early settlers. His family then consisted of his wife and one child, and these constituted the bulk of his worldly possessions. During the first few years of his residence here he worked at his trade, that of carpenter and joiner ; then he commenced and carried on quite an extensive manufactory of fanning-mills and milk-safes, which he continued for several years with much success.
He has been much in public life, has been several times chosen Supervisor, served a term as County Treasurer, was chosen to the State Senate in 1858, and was re-elected in 1860; and upon the organization of the Western Judicial District of Michigan, he was appointed by the President the first Marshal ; serving in that office until the issuing of the famous " Randall Circular" in 1866, a copy of which he received while confined to his bed by sickness. He read the document, and calling for pen, ink, and paper, immediately wrote and sent to the press for publication, one of the most caustic and defiant replies thereto that appeared during that exciting campaign.
Having acquired a competence, he has retired to a considerable extent from active business, and in his elegant residence, recently erected on an elevated and sightly locality in the central part of the village, he and his estimable lady, are quietly enjoying the fruits of their early struggles, and dispensing a generous hospitality to the numerous friends and acquaintances acquired by their long residence in the town and their general social dispositions.
He has always been one of the most public-spirited of the citizens, doing all that lay in his power to advance the interest of the town, and has been untiring in his efforts to secure to Ionia the advantages resulting from railroad connections.
A friend of education and an earnest advocate of temperance, he has done much in the interest of both. A man of powerful will, of strong prejudices, of positive and decided character, usually acting from impulse, he has made many attached friends, and also made many and bitter enemies. And yet those who entertain the most bitter feelings toward him generally acknowledge that usually his impulses are good, his judgment correct, and his integrity undoubted.
HON. FRED. HALL.
Mr. Hall came into the country while it was yet very new, a stalwart Vermonter, accustomed to use the axe and not afraid of honest toil, but possessing very little money, and has hewed his way to wealth by industry and good common sense. His first public position was that of Register of Deeds, and he was afterward appointed Register of the U. S. Land Office in Ionia village. He has been a member of the State Legislature, and was at one time the Democratic candidate for Congress. He is to-day, probably, the wealthiest man in the county, and also one of its most generous and public-spirited citizens. His residence on Main Street is one of the most elegant in Western Michigan, and is built entirely of the variegated sand-stone obtained from the Ionia quarries. He is now largely interested in pine lands.
HON. A. F. BELL.
Hon. A. F. Bell was one of the pioneer attorneys of this county, and has been inti- mately connected with its public affairs ever since its organization ; wielding an influ- ence second to none, always for the aggrandizement of the town, which probably no other man has done so much to build up. He has been Receiver of the U. S. Land Office, member of the State Legislature, and for many years an influential member of the "third house" of both the State and National Legislatures. He has not been as
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HISTORY AND DIRECTORY OF IONIA COUNTY.
successful as some in accumulating wealth, but has always enjoyed a large income. He is at present the resident attorney of the Detroit, Lansing & Lake Michigan Railroad Company.
JUDGE LOVELL.
Among the men who have occupied prominent positions, and been known abroad as representative men, is the Hon. Louis S. Lovell, now Circuit Judge of this District, which position he has occupied for fifteen years. He is now verging toward the decline of life, has accumulated a competence, and is widely known and respected.
HON. CYRUS LOVELL.
"Uncle Cy," as he is familiarly known, is a native of Vermont, and came to Kala- mazoo at an early date in its history, and after remaining a short time, removed here. He is a man of fine education, massive brain, and powerful intellect, by profession a lawyer, but seldom appearing in court; having little taste for the details of the profes- sion. He has been a member of the State Legislature, Speaker of the House, and member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850. He is a man of that sanguine temperament which brooks no control, inclining him to controversy, and producing many marked peculiarities of character.
JOHN C. BLANCHARD.
Mr. Blanchard is a native of New York, and came to Lyons in this county at a very early date. He is an energetic business man, possessed of a keen, active mind, and an unusually successful criminal lawyer. By his own unaided energies he has amassed an immense fortune.
HON. JOHN C. DEXTER.
Mr. Dexter came to Ionia in 1833 with his father, the Hon. Samuel Dexter, and was then only about fifteen years of age. On attaining his majority, he became associated with his father in the management of his somewhat extensive business, and as advancing years began to unfit the father for the active duties of life, the entire man- agement gradually fell to the son. For nearly thirty years John C. Dexter was exten- sively engaged in manufacturing and shipping flour and dealing in wheat, a business which led him into dealing with almost every farmer within a radius of twenty miles, and with almost every man in the county. The character of his business was such as frequently leads to much controversy, to vexatious litigation, and much suspicion of fraud. Through all his business career, he was seldom involved in a lawsuit, or charged with unfairness in his business transactions. On the contrary, it is safe to say that no business man in the county had the confidence of the entire community to so great an extent as he. Of uncompromising integrity, of a high sense of honor, of an unblemished moral character, generous to a fault, dispensing his charities with a liberal hand, of refined tastes, genial and social in his nature, he won the respect and admira- tion of all. He was in no sense an office-seeker, yet was several time's elected Super- visor, was County Treasurer, and State Senator. But these positions were not sought ; they were bestowed, the voluntary offering of his fellow citizens, who confided in his honesty, capability, and faithfulness. He was also Receiver of public moneys in the U. S. Land Office at Ionia, appointed by President Lincoln, and after serving four years was re-appointed by Andrew Johnson, but for political reasons failed of a con- firmation. He parted with his interest in the mill at Ionia about three years since, and transferred his business interests to Evart in Oceola County, where he expects soon to remove his family, and make that place his future home. The good wishes of a host of friends in Ionia County follow him to his new abode.
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BERLIN.
THE township of Berlin was organized in the year 1838, under the name of Cass, and was composed of the following territory : All of town five north, range seven west ; all of six north, range seven west, and so much of town seven north and seven west as lay south of Grand River, with the west half of five north and six west ; the west half of six north, six west, and so much of the west half of seven north, six west, as lay south of Grand River; making it nine miles in width and fourteen in length.
It at first contained about one hundred and twenty square miles, being bounded north by Ionia, east by Lyons and Portland, south by the counties of Eaton and Barry, and west by the township of Boston ; but its present size is about forty-five square miles, and its boundaries are Easton north, Ionia and Lyons east, Sebewa south, and Boston west.
After rising the bluff from the river, the land of this town is rather level, the greater part being heavily timbered, with oak openings on the west and north east. The first settler in the original town was Oliver Arnold, who came from Herkimer County, N. Y., in June, 1834, with Samuel Dexter and others. The next was John E. Morrison, who came from Oakland County, in this State, in October of the same year. The next -in the autumn of 1836-were Wm. Babcock, Philo Bates, Moses Marsh, Benjamin D. Brand, Wm. Reed, Alonzo Sessions, and Job. S. Sessions.
Wm. Reed came to Berlin in company with Gen. Brown from Tecumseh, in Sep- tember, and raised his first house of logs on a Sunday, assisted by four men. The first saw-mill (run by water-power) was built in 1838 on section three by E. K. Bigford. The millwright was Daniel B. Brownell, now living in Saranac. This first mill was destroyed by fire, after which the site was purchased by Wm. Reed of W. B. Lincoln, for six sheep, and the mill has been built up four times. Mr. Reed, went over to the saw-mill near Bellamy's mill for lumber to cover his first house. The lumber was sawed by Mason Hearsey of Ionia, the two men having to run the carriage back by hand, and was carried across the river in a canoe, a few boards at a time. On the fourth of Octo- ber, 1836, with snow on the ground four to six inches deep, Alonzo Sessions, with one yoke of oxen, and Wm. Reed, with two, started east for goods and provisions, cutting the road south of the river toward Lyons, and for tavern accommodations camping under trees in the open air. Mr. Reed was some ten or twelve days going to White Lake and back to Berlin with his load of flour.
During the year 1837 the arrivals were Julius C. Babcock, Nathaniel and William Pierce, Peter and Barnard Hackett, Nelson Beckwith, and William Elvert. In the spring of 1838 Levi Taylor and Reuben W. Stevens were the additions. The fourth of July 1838 was celebrated by a dinner at the house of Wm. Babcock, to which all the inhabitants of the town were invited, the following being the "bill of fare:" Baked pork and beans ; good bread and butter ; tea and coffee. The table, perhaps forty feet in length, was spread in the shade of oak trees. The orator of the day was Julius C. Babcock, who was followed by some remarks from Alonzo Sessions. "My Country,
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