History of Bay County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 70

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : H. R. Page
Number of Pages: 380

USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 70

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Resolved, That the above described territory north and west of the Saginaw River be and the same is hereby duly organized into a township to be known and designated by the name of Bangor, and that the first township meeting for the election of township officers be held on Thursday, the seventh day of April next, at the school house situated on Section Twenty, Town Fourteen, north of Range Five east, and that S. W. Sayles, John Raymond and Frederick Kiesler are hereby appointed to preside at such election and perform all the duties required by statute in such case made and provided.

Scott W. Sayles was the first supervisor from Bangor.

The history of Bangor township is given in the organization of townships which have divided its territory, and in connection with West Bay City which has swallowed up its villages of Banks, Salz- burgh and Wenona. It has parted with its territory until only six full sections and two fractional sections are left. Its interests are all united with those of West Bay City, which furnishes churches and schools for the people of the township.

In 1864 Bangor's portion of the county tax was $6,457.40; in 1882 it was $744.02.

In 1866 the number of acres of land assessed was 35,862, and its equalized valuation was $259,885. In 1882 its total valuation of real and personal estate was $110,161.

The population of the township in 1880 was 271.

A portion of the township near the Saginaw River and Bay is marsh, but the remainder of the township is good farming land, and under good cultivation.

The Midland stone road passes through Section Nineteen, and the Mackinaw division of the Michigan Central Railroad, and the Kawkawlin road passes through Sections Seven and Eight.

The present supervisor of Bangor is George A. Meed.

The history of the territory organized into Bangor Township, commenced at the village of Bangor, afterward Banks. The name Bangor was given to the place by Thomas Whitney who came from Bangor, Maine, and built a mill on the east side of the river. The mills on the river front preceded all other industries.

TAXES FOR 1882.

Contingent fund $ 150 00

Highway, one-fourth of one per cent, 1881 215 07

Statute labor, one-fourth of one per cent, 1882 275 40

Fractional School District, No. 1 179 00

do do

do 2 1,011 00

Amount to be spread on township for highway and san-

itary purposes on Drouillard extension ditch 61 00

BIOGRAPHICAL.

GEORGE A. MEED was born in Morristown, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Jan. 3, 1844. When twenty-one years of age he went to Athens, Calhoun Co., Mich., and in 1865 came to Bay City. Re- turning to Morristown, he remained there two years and in March, 1867, married Sarah A. Wilson, of that place. Two years thereafter

he came to Bangor, now First Ward, West Bay City, where he has since resided. In November, 1873, his wife died, and about a year later he married Mary A. Agnew, a teacher in Bangor, an occu- pation she had followed for fifteen years. Mr. Meed has been vil- lage school director of Bangor and town clerk of the township of Bangor two years, and for the past two years supervisor. He has a daughter eleven years old, child of his first, and a son seven years old, child of his present wife.

JOHN GIES was born in Wurtumburg, Germany, in 1827 and at the age of twenty-one came to America, stopping at Ann Arbor where he worked on a farm three years, when he came to Bay County and purchased a farm on Section Nineteen, Bangor Town- ship, where he now resides. He married Christina B. Goodrich, of Ann Arbor. They have had twelve children, of whom ten are now living. Mr. Gies has passed the hardships and privations of pioneer life, being one of the first settlers of the township, and by hard labor, strict economy of himself and family, is now comfortably situated on the west line of West Bay City, and instead of the sur- roundings of the primeval forests, can look abroad over one city of ten thousand inhabitants to the third city of Michigan.

MATTHEW MILLER was born in Prussia in 1833, and at the age of nineteen came to America with his mother and three brothers, reaching Michigan in 1852. Stopping for a time in New York, De- troit, St. Clair and Forestville, he arrived in Bay County in 1854, and thereafter worked in the Drake mill two years and the Keystone mill five years. In 1858 he purchased a farm on Section Nineteen, Bangor Township, where he now resides. He commenced improv- ing his land while not in service in the mill, and in 1860 married Polly Lovidskie, of Bay City, formerly of Prussia. In the Fall of 1860 they commenced housekeeping on said farm and began active improvement of the land. They have four sons and three daughters. Mr. Miller, by hard labor, has secured the surroundings of a com- fortable and valuable home.

FRANK COLE was born in Bay City, in 1854, and has resided there the greater part of his life. He is the son of Capt. Darius Cole, and no doubt inherited a desire for a sea-faring life. He com- menced sailing at eleven years of age, which has been his general business since. He commanded the wrecking barge, Monitor, from 1876 to 1879, and in 1880 was master of the "Metropolis." For the past two years he has been on his farm on Section Seventeen, Bangor Township, and has erected a fine dwelling and other build- ings thereon. He married Carrie Simonto, of Detroit, April 4, 1880. They have one son.

JOHN GEORGE KIESEL was born in Wurtumburg, Germany, in 1807. He married Miss Mary Kiesel, of the same place, in 1837. He came to America in 1851, and stopped in Baltimore about one year; thence to Seneca County, Ohio, where he remained four years and then came to Bay County. He leased ten acres of land of Mr. C. C. Chillson, of Bangor, for five years, and in 1855 bought on Section Eighteen, and commenced improvement thereon, with no road save a footpath to the river. Subsequently he bought other lands on said section, where they still live. They have had nine children, six of whom died in Germany. Three are still living, two of whom were born in Germany, and one in Ohio. Gottlieb Kiesel, the present owner of the farm, was born in Wurtumburg, Germany, in 1848.

Mr. Kiesel and family have endured the hardships of early pioneer life, but have lived to see what was an unbroken wilderness converted into well improved farms, with occupants surrounded by the products of patient industry.

CHARLES NICKEL was born in Germany, in 1820. He came to America in 1850, landed in New York, where he remained four years, and thence to Lower Saginaw (now Bay City), in 1854. He made

248

HISTORY OF

BAY COUNTY.

his first purchase of land on Saginaw Street, and lived in Bay City twenty-six years, laboring as a carpenter.

In 1880 he took up his residence in the town of Bangor, on Section Seven, where he bought lands in 1873 and still resides there, engaged in farming. In 1855 he married Miss Mary Ann Hubner, of German birth, then of Bay City. He has had eleven children, only five of whom are living, two sons and three daughters. The oldest daughter married Sebastian Pfrunner, of West Bay City, who died in 1882. Mrs. Pfrunner continues the business of her husband.

Mr. Nickel, having been here twenty-eight years, has expe- rienced the privations of the early settlers and witnessed the rapid growth of our cities, surrounded by productive farms.

BEAVER TOWNSHIP.

The township of Beaver was organized by an act of the Legis- lature in 1867, and comprised all that part of Bay County known and described as townships Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen and Twenty, north of Range Three east. The first town- ship meeting was ordered held at the house of Levi Willard, on the first Monday in April, and Levi Willard, Josiah L. Wellington and Oscar H. Kellogg, appointed inspectors of election.

The township is bounded north by Fraser, east by Kawkawlin, south by Williams and west by county line.

The population in 1874 was 170 and in 1880, 350.

The first supervisor was Levi Willard, and for 1883-'84, John Farquharson.

The total valuation of real and personal estate in 1882 was $82,930.

In October, 1873, the township was described as follows:

The town of Beaver is located fifteen miles from Bay City-ten miles west and five miles north; the land is as good as can be found in the state; we raise the very best of crops; our hay crop was rather light this year on account of the dry weather; there is a large amount here, however, for which we can get a higher price, at our own doors, than we can get in Bay City, as there is a large amount of lumbering done near by and the lumbermen are glad to buy of us, thereby saving themselves the trouble and expense of a journey to Wenona or Bay City.

Our town has been organized about six years, and in that time we have opened up about twenty-five miles of roads, four rods wide, the most of which are passable at any time of the year; we have three organized school districts, one of which has been recently or- ganized, and has not held school yet, but will do so as soon as the schoolhouse which is being erected shall be completed, the others have been in running order for several years; the number of schol- ars in attendance at both schools is about fifty; in one of our school- houses we have preaching and Sunday-school every Sunday.

: Seven years ago there were but two families in the town; since that time about forty more have located here, and still they come, yet there is room for more; there are some excellent farms here considering the short time there has been to improve them in; some have about sixty acres cleared while others have from twenty to forty; I think this is doing pretty well. Frame barns and dwell- ings are taking the place of those that were first built of logs; we have some as fine barns as can be found in Bay County; there are two handsome dwellings being erected this Summer-one by Mr. John Bacon and the other by Mr. John Shreve-which will add materially to the appearance of the town; Mr. M. W. Jones built a house last Summer that cost about $2,000.

We are bound to make improvements, as we have a fine coun-

try here, and there is no one better aware of the fact than ourselves; there is plenty of vacant land to be had cheap-the prices ranging from $2.50 to $5 per acre-with good roads running past it, and in some cases there are improvements at that price; there is also some Government land here which may be taken under the Homestead Act; we are anxious to have settlers come here to locate, and will gladly inform them where to find land, and how to get it.

We are but five miles from the graded bed of the Bay City & Midland Railroad; when the iron is laid it will only take us about an hour to reach Bay City; we have a postoffice, stores, saw mills, etc., near by; therefore, taking all things into consideration, we have advantages here for settlers that are not offered anywhere else in the county.

TAX LEVY FOR 1882.

Contingent fund. $200 50

Highway and bridge, } of 1 per cent, 1881 .. 304 72 Statute labor, do do 1882 .. 339 56

In point of schools and general improvements, Beaver is fully up to other townships, according to population.

Branches of the Kawkawlin River thread all parts of the town- ship

LEVI WILLARD was born in Portage County, Ohio, in 1825. His father was a native of Maryland; born of Danish parents on their route to settle in the United States. Mr. Willard lived to age of sixteen in Summit County, Ohio. He then worked by the month on a farm for three years. He then learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for twelve years. At the age of twenty-nine he married Miss Sarah Ingraham, of Medina County, Ohio. In 1856 he came to Michigan and bought land on Section Thirty-three, Town Fifteen north, Three east, being now in the township of Beaver. The following year he settled thereon, and commenced improve- ment. He remained the only settler in the township for nine years. About 1865 settlers began to come in, and in 1867 the township was organized. Mr. Willard was elected the first supervisor in 1868, and has held the office for six years since that term. Also the office of justice of the peace nearly all the time since the organ- ization of the township. He has been identified with all the improve- ments of the community. During the time of his services as super- visor he was on important committees, and did his work well. As a pioneer, few have had more hardships to endure or more obstacles to overcome, but with a determination to succeed he has remained. He now has fifty acres improved; a good brick residence, extensive barns and a fine orchard of various fruits. He has had four sons and four daughters. The eldest son takes to farming. Two are carpenters. Three daughters are teachers. All have a good, prac- tical education.

JOHN FARQUHARSON, supervisor, is a native of Perthshire, Scot- land. He emigrated to America in 1852. He first settled in Lamb- ton County, Ontario, where he remained about nineteen years. In 1871 he came to Bay County, and in 1872 he bought a farm in the township of Beaver, and still continues to cultivate the same. He was clerk of the township in 1873-'74; supervisor for the years 1875, 1876, 1878, 1879 and 1882, and moderator, and also director of schools. He was married to Catharine Forbes, in 1852. They have had eight children, six girls and two boys. Of the boys, but one is living.

KAWKAWLIN TOWNSHIP.

At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Bay County, held January 7, 1868, an application for the erection and organization of a new township to be named Kawkawlin, was granted as follows: "In the matter of the application of O. A. Ballou, Samuel Woods,

HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.

249

John Sutherland, Charles Radcliff, Patrick Reynolds, Jeremiah Mack, Alexander Baird, A. G. Sinclair, Char'es Powell, E. E. Gill, Paul Leme and Owen A. Maloney, for the erection and organization of a new township, it appearing to the Board of Supervisors that application has been made, and that notice thereof has been signed, posted up and published as in the manner required by law, and having duly considered the matter of said application, the board order and enact that the territory described in said application, bounded as follows, to-wit: All that territory of the township of Bangor, Bay County, Mich., which lies north of a line commencing at the north- east corner of fractional Section number Ten (10), in Town Fourteen (14), north of Range Five (5) east, and running on the section line west to the northwest corner of Section number Seven (7), in Town Fourteen (14), north of Range Four (4) east, in said State of Michigan, be, and the same is hereby erected into a township, to be called and known by the name of the township of Kawkawlin.

"The first annual meeting thereof shall be held at the office of O. A. Ballou, in the village of Kawkawlin, in said Bay County, on the first Monday of April, A. D. 1868, at ten o'clock in the forenoon of said day; and at said meeting O. A. Ballou, John Sutherland, and Dennis Stanton, three electors of said township, shall be the persons whose duties it shall be to preside at such meeting, appoint a clerk, open and keep the polls, and exercise the same powers as the inspectors of election at any township meeting, as the law pro- vides."

The present township is bounded north by Fraser and Saginaw Bay, east by Saginaw Bay and River, south by Bangor and Monitor, and west by Beaver and Williams.

The principal stream of the township is the Kawkawlin River, so named by the Indians on account of the large quantities of pike found in its waters. The Indian name O-gan-con-ning meaning "place of the pike."

EARLY DAYS.

That portion of Kawkawlin, near the mouth of the river, is a region of some historic interest. It was one of the places visited by Indians to hunt and fish. It was here that Neh-way-go, a noted Saginaw brave, had his home during the later years of his life. In the treaty made at Detroit, in 1837, 6,000 acres of land on the north side of the Kawkawlin River were ceded to the United States by the Saginaw tribe of Indians.

In 1842, "Uncle" Harvey Williams, a well-known pioneer of the Saginaw Valley, removed to the mouth of the Kawkawlin River. and engaged in fishing and trading with Indians. His dealings with the Indians were very extensive. He was generous and kind in all his intercourse with them, and was greatly beloved by them in return. He lived there until 1864.

In the Winter of 1844-45, James Fraser and Cromwell Barney erected a water mill, at what is now called the village of Kawkaw- lin. Mr. Israel Catlin superintended its building, and run it about two years. At that time, and for many years afterward, this whole region was a pine forest.

In 1847, the Indian Mission Church was built here, being the first church in what is now Bay County. The church was located at the Indian settlement, about midway between the village and the mouth of the river. The settlement is still there, though dimin- ished in numbers. They number about forty families, and have a very good church. Rev. Mr. Cloud is the pastor.

In 1849, Frederick A. Kaiser settled in Kawkawlin, and is now the oldest resident of the village. We give herewith a short sketch of Mr. Kaiser's life:

FREDERICK A. KAISER, one of the oldest settlers of Kawkawlin, was born in the kingdom of Saxony, Germany, in 1815; came to America in 1849, and settled in Kawkawlin, Bay County, Michi-

gan, and worked for James Fraser in his saw mill, at eleven dollars per month. In his native country he was a linen manufacturer, and it was hard at first to handle lumber, but he was determined to make his way in the world, and he continued in this way for about four years, when he was promoted and his wages increased, till he was able to do business on his own account. Mr. Kaiser has been a thorough business man, and Kawkawlin owes much to his energy, enterprise and liberality. In 1862 he commenced boring for salt, and he expended about twenty thousand dollars before he realized any returns. In 1867 he went into the lumber business, which he still follows. In 1870 Kaiser & Co. located mills on the Pinconning River and one on the Kawkawlin River, about twelve miles apart, and connected the two by a railroad. He built the towns of Pinconning and Glencoe, besides being engaged in clear- ing up a large farm. Kawkawlin, where he now resides, was in its wild state when he first went to it, and he not only saw it grow but helped it to be a thriving manufacturing town. In 1836 he mar- ried Miss Salome Miller, of his native place in Germany. Mrs. Kaiser did not come to America till 1851. She died in 1859, and in 1860 Mr. Kaiser married Mrs. Eleanor Miller, of Kawkawlin.

In 1855, MR. JOHN SUTHERLAND settled in the village, or more properly, near where the village was afterward. He bought land on the south side of the river. Mr. Sutherland was born in Dornoch, the county seat of Sutherlandshire, Scotland, in October, 1820. Came to the United States in 1852; first settled in Shullsburg, La- fayette County, Wisconsin, and became a citizen by naturalization. In 1855 he went to the state of Michigan, and settled in Kawkaw- lin, Bay County, on Section One. Mr. Sutherland was not a man of large means, and worked clearing his farm in the Summer time and worked for Mr, James Fraser as cook in his camps in the Winter. In April, 1845, he married Miss Mary A. Taylor, of Dundas, Canada. Miss Taylor was born in Glastonbury, Somersetshire, England, 1824; came to America with her parents in 1832. Mrs. Sutherland is the mother of thirteen children; seven are living. Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland have not escaped the hardships of pioneer life, but have by industry and frugality accumulated a fine property. He was of a speculative turn of mind, and engaged in buying and selling land to quite a large extent. Besides a farm of two hundred acres in Kawkawlin, where he resides, he owns property in Bay City, which brings him in good returns. Mr. Sutherland has been identi- fied with all the enterprises of his town, and has seen Bay City and the surrounding country rise from the wilderness to its present flourishing condition. His arrangements about his farm buildings are as good as any to be found in the county. He keeps nothing but the best breeds of stock, which are in fine condition.

When Mr. Sutherland and wife settled here, there were the old water mill and a small steam mill, five houses and two shanties. Messrs. Kaiser and Pomeroy are the only two living in the town- ship who were here at that time. The pine timber had been cut on the ground now covered by the village, but on the south side of the river was undisturbed forest.

In 1859, MR. EDWARD McGUINNESS arrived, and is still a resident of the township. Mr. McGuinness was born in the town of Lancas- ter, Maryland, February 17, 1836. When quite young his father went to Pennsylvania. He went to Kawkawlin, Bay County, Mich- igan, and commenced work for the Ballou Lumber Company, May 13, 1859. At the time he went to the town there were but three settlers in it, outside of the little village, and only one had made any improvements. There was a small saw mill, run by water, and a steam mill, and the company had a small store. He says that the mosquitoes were so numerous that one had to keep his head covered, even at table. Mr. McGuinness has been identified with all the im- provements made in building dams, mills, factories, etc., that at one

250 HISTORY OF

BAY COUNTY.

time flourished in the town. The township was entirely wild, inhabited only by the red man. October 13, 1865, he bought 320 acres of land in Section Two, of Kawkawlin, then Bangor, for six dollars per acre, and has made a fine farm, on which he resides. In 1866 he married Miss Anna Brisbow. Miss Brisbow was born in Detroit in 1850, and is the mother of five children. Mr. Mc- Guinness has raised himself by his industry and economy, from a day laborer to a man of wealth.

Michael McGuinness also settled in the village in 1859, and worked for the Ballou Company for several years. In 1871 he built a hotel and named it the McGuinness House, which he still keeps. For the past ten or twelve years he has been an extensive jobber in square timber, logs, etc. He was born in Virginia, in the year 1833.

Cromwell Barney, prominently mentioned in this work, was one of the original owners of the water mill, and lived here several years. Mr. A. G. Sinclair and Thomas Munn, now of Bay City, were also here at an early day.

About 1857, Mr. Fraser sold the Kawkawlin property to O. A. Ballon.

About 1861, the first school was taught in a little frame shanty, by Miss Carrie Chelsea, now Mrs. Faxon, of West Bay City. The schoolhouse was a primitive affair, but its facilities for "smoking out" the school, were as perfect as the most ambitious urchin could desire. The present schoolhouse was built in 1878.

There are six schoolhouses in the township, all of which are good buildings, and the schools of the township are of a high order.

The first store was kept by the Ballou Company, A few arti- cles had been kept for sale before Mr. Fraser sold the property, but no regular store was kept.

The postoffice was established in the Spring of 1868. It was kept in the store of O. A. Ballou & Co., and Mr. D. Stanton was postmaster. The present postmaster is George Staudacher.

The old water mill was torn down about 1862, and a steam mill built on its site. There was another steam mill built, and near it a planing mill. The last vestige of the saw mill was removed in 1880 to Bay City. The planing mill was removed to the railroad, and built over into a saw mill by Mr. John Schwartz, who also has a grist mill, which is run in connection with the saw mill.

The first church service, aside from that held at the Indian mission, was held about 1863. The Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal denominations had services about the same time. The Methodist Episcopal Society built a church in 1873.

The Free Methodists have services in the township.

ODD FELLOWS

SOCIAL LODGE No. 148, I. O. O. F., was instituted December 13, 1870. The officers for the first term were as follows :- Cartle Boker, N. G .; Samuel Wood. V. G .; T. F. Brown, R. S .; Ira S. Stiles, treasurer; Charles Powell, P. S. The members the first evening were two by card and seven by initiation. At the end of the fourth year the lodge numbered sixty-one members. The lodge is still in a prosperous condition.

TEMPERANCE.

The first temperance society was the Pine Grove Lodge of Good Templars, organized in January, 1868, with twenty-six charter members. Thomas Munn was Worthy Chief Templar. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse, and afterward in the Odd Fellows' Hall. Some time in 1872, being unable to obtain the use of the hall for a longer time, meetings were discontinued, although . the lodge was in a flourishing condition. In May, 1883, Riverview Lodge, I. O. G. T., was organized with thirty charter members, and is a strong institution. The W. C. T. is N. Lawson; W. V.

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History of Bay County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 70

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago : H. R. Page Number of Pages: 380

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : H. R. Page
Number of Pages: 380