USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 74
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The early history of the territory included in this township has already been given. In 1866 the total equalized valuation of real and personal estate was $152,300. In 1882 it was $288,705, but several geographical changes had occurred during the interven- ing years, and the present town of Portsmouth is but slightly related to the parent organization.
ISSET NY
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HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
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In 1871, certain territory was detached from Saginaw County and attached to the township of Portsmouth, by an act of Legis- lature approved April 15, 1871, which was as follows:
"That Sections Nineteen to Thirty-six inclusive, the same being the south half of Township Thirteen north, of Range Six east, be, and the same are hereby detached from the county of Saginaw, and attached to-the township of Portsmouth in the county of Bay."
The two sections that followed provided for settlement by the Supervisors of the two counties named.
MERRITT ERECTED OUT OF PORTSMOUTH.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors held July 8, 1871, the following resolution, erecting the township of Merritt, was adopted :
WHEREAS, It appears to the Board of Supervisors of Bay County, Mich., that application has been made for the division of the township of Portsmouth, by twelve freeholders of each township to be affected thereby, and that notice thereof has been signed, posted and published in the manner and form required by law, and this Board having been furnished with a map of all the townships to be affected thereby, showing the proposed alterations, and hav- ing duly considered the matter of said application, therefore, be it Resolred, ordered and enacted by said Board, that all of Town- ship Thirteen north, of Range Six east, also Sections One, Two, Three, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen, in Township Thirteen north, of Range Five east, be and the same is hereby erected into a new township, to be known and called by the name of Merritt, and the first township meeting of said township of Merritt shall be held at the house of Joseph Gerard, at the first junction-so called- on the Bay City and Tuscola plank road, on the first Monday of April, 1872, and at the said meeting Benj. F. Partridge, Henry Hess, and Martin Powell, three electors of said township, shall preside at said 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 provides.
The application for the erection of Merritt Township was made to the board at the meeting of June 8, 1871, and was signed by thirty-one residents of the territory affected. The proposed division was opposed and the following remonstrance was made to the board immediately following the application for its erection :
"The undersigned, citizens and freeholders of the township of Portsmouth in said county, respectfully but earnestly remonstrate against such a division of the township of Portsmouth and the formation of a new township with such boundaries as are proposed by a petition and various charts and documents now before your honorable body. Among many reasons for our opposition we beg ยท leave to ask your consideration of the following:
"1. We concede the propriety of the erection of a new town- ship, to embrace all the territory in Township Thirteen north, of Range Six east, and maintain that it should embrace no more.
"2. The proposed division is obnoxious to those citizens generally who live in that part of the new township found in Town- ship Thirteen north, of Range Five east, viz., Sections One, Two, Three, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen.
"3. The sections last above named make an awkward and unnatural addition to the proposed new township, while a simple inspection of the map will show that they ought to remain in the old township.
"4. Schemes for public improvement, affecting essentially our public highways and those of the sections in Range Five, are on foot, and cannot but suffer harm if this territory is placed under the jurisdiction of another body.
"5. The Union School District of Portsmouth will lose a large portion of its territory by the change, and as the school, with its buildings and grounds, has been erected by incurring a great expense, it cannot but be wrong and oppressive to take away so
large a part of the territory relied upon to help sustain such expense.
"6. Some of our citizens will be removed from said school district and thus be debarred the privileges of a school which they have contributed to build up and sustain.
"To the above and such other reasons as may be presented, we beg your careful consideration, and trust that you will be enabled to settle this matter so as to do us justice while you do no injustice to our neighbors."
"Dated June 13, A. D. 1871."
Two weeks later eleven of the signers of the remonstrance petitioned the board to the effect that their signatures to the remonstrance had been procured through misrepresentation, and they therefore revoked "any such signing," and stated further that they were in favor of the erection of the territory described in the application into a township. At the meeting in July the appli- cation was granted, as already stated. The board also authorized the tax levy of Portsmouth for all taxes, including that for building a town hall.
In 1873 Portsmouth village was annexed to Bay City and a new town of Portsmouth was created. -
THE NEW PORTSMOUTH.
An act was passed by the Legislature and approved April 1, 1873, as follows:
"That all that portion of the township of Merritt, in the county of Bay, which lies in Township Thirteen north, of Range Five east, and Sections Four, Five, Six and Seven in Township Thirteen north, of Range Six east, and Sections Thirty-one, Thirty-two and Thirty- three in Township Fourteen north, of Range Six east, in the town- ship of Hampton, and also Sections Thirty-five and Thirty-six in Township Fourteen north, of Range Five east, in the township of Hampton, be detached from said townships, and attached to the township of Portsmouth. The next annual township meeting of said township of Portsmouth, shall be held at the schoolhouse in said township, known as the District Number Three Schoolhouse, and Nelson Merritt, Samuel Henry, and Benjamin F. Partridge shall be the inspectors of said election."
Such were the organic changes of the territory above described. The present boundaries are as follows:
Portsmouth is bounded: north, by Hampton and Bay City; east, by Hampton and Merritt; south, by Merritt and county line; and west, by Saginaw River and Bay City.
Merritt is bounded: north, by Portsmouth and Hampton; east and south, by county lines; and west, by county line and Ports- mouth.
ADJUSTING RELATIONS.
The tax levy of Portsmouth for all taxes, including that for building a town hall, was authorized by the board at the same time the town of Merritt was erected. In 1873, as already stated, the town of Portsmouth was again divided, taking the village of Ports- mouth into the city of Bay City, leaving a small territory of less than two sections unorganized between the town of Merritt and the city, and in order to dispose of that a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives taking nine sections of Merritt and this small territory left of Portsmouth for a new town, and the bill was passed by the House. But the people remonstrated because the territory making the new town of Portsmouth was too small, and the bill was amended by the Senate so as to include five and three- quarters sections from Hampton and four more from Merritt, and the bill passed the Senate and was concurred in by the House and became a law on Thursday before town election in April, 1873, and the new town of Portsmouth was duly organized in April, 1873,
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HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
with B. F. Partridge supervisor, Henry Hess town clerk, Nelson Merritt treasurer, vice Samuel Henry resigned, since which time for each year to 1883, B. F. Partridge has been elected supervisor.
In 1869 the original town of Portsmouth issued bonds for $5,370, but the divisions of the territory naturally divided the responsibility of paying the debt and interest. At the organization of Merritt a large amount of money remained in the treasury of Portsmouth, and the town hall tax was levied on the territory and the tax collected and the town hall built.
At the organization of the new town of Portsmouth there was a large amount of money in the treasury and the town hall had been completed. As soon as the new town was organized the old officers of the town of Portsmouth, who all resided in the city of Bay City, now illegally got together and issued orders to finish pay- ing for the town hall and the land, and the deed was made to Bay City of the lot and building, without consulting the officers of the new town.
On a suit commenced by the new town of Portsmouth against the treasurer and his bonds for the money in his hands, the money he still held and the orders for balance on town hall, lot and building was paid over, but the city authorities of Bay City have entirely refused to settle the differences in reference to the bonds, though several efforts have been made to that end by the officers of Portsmouth, and no part of the debt has been paid, except the share or proportion assigned to new Portsmouth, which has been paid so far as is due.
The new town has never been without money in its treasury to pay all its obligations on demand since its organization, and the town, consisting of about twenty sections, was almost an entire wilderness when first organized with its present territory, but now scarcely any woods are left in the town, many farms entirely with- out wood for fuel, with large fine brick and frame houses and barns, in place of shanties and log houses and barns, with good-and some extensive-orchards everywhere, and fine roads and drains that have cost many thousands of dollars all over the town.
Portsmouth has three schoolhouses, but all its other interests are identified with Bay City.
Edward Cartwright is clerk of the township and Frederick Wagoner treasurer.
Some of the finest farms in the county are in Portsmouth. The magnificent enterprises of Miller & Daglish and Thomas H. McGraw, fully described elsewhere, are located in this township. Among the leading farmers are Gen. B. F. Partridge, Nelson Mer- ritt, Job Trombley, Samuel Henry, S. S. Fitzhugh, Henry Brandt, C. L. Mix, Frederick Meier, Robert Potter, Henry Hess. E. B. Denison and William MeEwan, of Bay City, also have fine farms.
TAXES FOR 1882.
Contingent fund. $ 600 00 Roads and bridges 1,000 00 928 56
Statute labor tax. .
Fractional School District No. 5 of Ports- mouth, their proportion of .. 250 00
Fractional School District No. 5 of Ports- mouth their proportion of . 200 00
School District No. 2. 250 00
do do 2 of Hampton, their
proportion of ...
400 00
Amount to be spread on township for high - way and sanitary purposes on Russell ditch. 51 20
Amount to be spread on township for high- way and sanitary purposes on Vander- bilt ditch .. 27 00
Amount to be spread on township for high- way and sanitary purposes on George Young extension ditch ..
432 00
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HON. BENJAMIN F. PARTRIDGE was born in the town of Shelby, Macomb Co., Mich., April 19, 1822. He is the son of Asa and Sarah C. Partridge. They came from Scotch-Irish ancestors, who emigrated to this country several generations back. His parents were from Vermont, but were married in Detroit, Mich., soon after the war of 1812. They lived there for a time, and then removed to a farm in Shelby, where they remained several years, and finally removed to the village of Palmer, now St. Clair City, in St. Clair County, Mich. There his father died in 1827, leaving an invalid wife and four children, of whom Mr. Partridge, then five years old, was the second. From this time we find him living any place which suited him best, until when about fourteen years of age, having had no educational advantages, he commenced attend- ing the common schools, doing chores and working about for sev- eral years. As soon as he became competent to teach, he took charge of a school, at the same time studying law, mathematics and engineering under private teachers, and learned type-setting and printing before he reached the age of twenty-two years. About this time he began the mercantile business and studied ship- building and carpentry for two years. He then engaged in civil engineering and surveying for a year, when he left the mercan- tile business and gave his attention to surveying, dealing in real estate and lumbering. In 1845 he married Miss Olive M. Wright, from New Hampshire. He lived at Lexington, Mich., until the Spring of 1854, when he removed his family to Lower Saginaw, now Bay City, Mich., where he had engaged largely in lumbering. During the next two years he built two large steam saw mills, and made various other improvements at Bay City, becoming interested in vessel property. The financial crisis of 1857 was disastrous to his interests and swept away nearly all his accumulations of the previous fourteen years.
After many vain efforts to arrange his business matters satis- factorily, he again commenced surveying and engineering and con- tinued it in connection with selling new lands until the civil war came on. In September, 1861, he commenced recruiting men for the First Michigan Lancers, in which he enlisted as a private under Col. Rankin.
In February, 1862, he was mustered in as second lieutenant of Company H. When the lancers were disbanded, he obtained orders to enlist men from the lancers with Capt. J. M. Mott. They raised a company, and were assigned to the Sixteenth Regi meni of Michigan Infantry. The company being thus transferred he was mustered in as First lieutenant of Company I, in the Six- teenth Michigan. He was subsequently commissioned and mus- tered from time to time, as captain, major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel of the Sixteenth Michigan Veteran Volunteer Infantry. While major, he had command of the Eighty-third Peninsular Volunteers, and was wounded in the neck by a ball at the battle of Peeble's Farm. He was then brevetted colonel of United States Volunteers. January 18, 1865 he took command of the Sixteenth Michigan, and was brevetted brigadier general of United States Volunteers. In March he was in command of a brigade and was wounded by a ball in the left side of his head at Quaker Road, but resumed his command the next day and continued until Lee's sur- render. On that occasion he received twenty-eight of the seventy- one flags surrendered. While on the march from Appomattox Court House to Richmond, Gen. Partridge's horse fell, and two of his ribs were broken. Notwithstanding this, he remained in camp until his final recovery. After the grand review at Washington, District of Columbia, he was sent in command of a detachment of seven regiments to Louisville, Ky. There he was appointed presi-
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dent of general court martial, and continued to hold the court until he was mustered out of service with his regiment at Jeffersonville, Ind., in July, 1865. He participated in all but two of the fifty-four en- gagements on the record of the regiment, thirty-six of them being considered heavy battles, and was at the entire siege of Peters- burg, except Hatchers' Run, October 27, 1864, being in the hospital at that time. Before the war he served eighteen months as sheriff of Bay County, and was also county surveyor. After the war he was four years assessor of internal revenue in the Sixth District, Michigan, and resigned in 1871. He was also president of Bay County Agricultural Society two years; during the same time in 1871, he resumed farming on his place, near Bay City, and in 1872 was elected supervisor of the town. He has been elected every year since, and was also president of the Board of Super- visors of his county three years in succession, which office he still holds. In the Fall of 1876, at the general election, he was chosen commissioner of the state land office of Michigan, to serve two years.
During the existence of the order of Sons of Temperance, he was an ardent supporter of its principles and a member of the society. He was also a member of the Temple of Honor, another higher temperance order. In early life he joined the masonic fraternity and has also been a prominent Odd-fellow. While quite young he became a member of the Congregational Church, of Algonac, Mich. In the soldiers who fought for the Union in the late war he takes a lively interest, being one of the "boys in blue" and vice-president of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Asso- ciation, of Michigan. He takes great interest in agriculture and horticulture, and is a prominent member of these societies. He is also master of a grange of the patrons of husbandry, and member of the State Grange of Michigan. He belongs to the order of Stars and Stripes, of the State of Michigan soldiers, and is a Republican in politics. General Partridge is a man of strictly temperate habits, never using stimulants er tobacco in any form. He is of a calm and even disposition, rarely disturbed by undue excitement. One of these cards were presented to each member of the regiment when discharged :
HEAD-QUARTERS SIXTEENTH MICHIGAN INF. VET. VOLS. July 17, 1865.
SIR :--- Accept my congratulations and thanks for having so nobly and successfully performed your duty during your perilous term of service, and for having been connected with an organiza- tion which has with honor to itself participated in the following named battles:
1. Siege of Yorktown, April, 1862. 2. Hanover Court House, May 27, 1862. 3. Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862. 4. Gaines Hill, June 27, 1862. 5. White Oak Swamp, June 30, 1862. 6. Malvern Hill, June 30, 1862. 7. Turkey Bend, July 1, 1862. 8. Bull Run, No. 2, August 30, 1862. 9. Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862. 10. Shepardstown, Va., September 19, 1862. 11. Freder- icksburg, December 13, 1862. 12. Chancellorsville, April 30, 1863. 13. Middleburg, June 21, 1863. 14. Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. 15. Williamsport, Md., July 12. 1863. 16. Wapping Heights, July 21, 1863. 17. Bristow Station, October 14, 1863. 18. Rappahannock Station, November 7, 1863. 19. Mine Run, November 27, 1863. 20. Wilderness, May 5, 1864. 21. Laurel Hill, May 8, 1864. 22. Spottsylvania, May 18, 1864. 23. North Anna, May 23, 1864. 24. Tolopatomoy Creek, May 30, 1864. 25. Magnolia Swamp, June 1, 1864. 26. Bethesda Church, June 2, 1864. 27. Battle of Petersburg, June 18, 1864. 28. Petersburg and Norfolk Railroad, July 30, 1864. 29. Weldon Railroad, August 18, 19, 21, 1864. 30. Perbles' Farm, September 30, 1864. 31. Hatchers' Run, October 27, 1864. 32. Dabneys' Mill, Feb- ruary. 6. 1865. 33. Hatchers' Run, No. 2, March 25, 1865. 34. White Oak ' Road, March 29, 1865. 35. Quaker Road, March 31, 1865. 36. Five Forks, April 1, 1865. 37. Appo-
mattox Court House, April 9, 1865. 38. Lee's Surrender of the army of Northern Virginia, April 13, 1865. The Siege of Peters- burg from June 16, 1864 to March 29, 1865.
With many good wishes for your future, I am
Respectfully yours,
B F. PARTRIDGE.
Colonel Comm'g Sixteenth Michigan Vet. Vols. Infantry.
HENRY HESS was born in Lancaster County, Pa., in 1829. When about sixteen years old he moved to New York, where he re- mained three years, engaged in farming. In 1851 he came to Bay City, where for fourteen years he worked in the mills. He bought 240 acres of wild land in the township of Portsmouth; he has now one of the finest farms in the county. Mr. Hess was married in 1854 to Minerva Schafer; they have two sons.
W. B. GREEN was born in Ohio, in 1838. The family soon after moved to Illinois, and from there to Indiana and Missouri. In the latter place his father died, leaving a widow with five small children. They moved to Wisconsin, and from there to Lapeer County, Mich., in 1853. In 1862 Mr. Green came to Bay City, where for several years he was engaged in getting out wood. He was appointed marshal of Bay City in 1871, and was deputy sheriff from 1872 to 1875. In 1872 he moved on his farm in the township of Portsmouth, where he now resides. He is a justice of the peace and school director; married Elizabeth Courter, of Lapeer County; they have five sons living, one daughter dead.
JOB TROMBLEY was born in the province of Quebec, Canada. in 1826. When about fifteen years of age he moved with his father to Montreal, and while there learned the trade of ship carpenter. In 1848 the family moved to Detroit, Mich., where they remained about two years. In 1850 they settled in Bay City, where Job, in 1852, married Ann Trombley, a daughter of the first settler of Bay County. In 1860 he purchased eighty acres of land in Portsmouth township, where he now resides with his family of seven boys and one girl.
ROBERT POTTER was born in Ireland in 1827, and came to the United States about 1849. In 1851 he married Mary Jane Ma- haffy. He spent two years in Pennsylvania, farming. From there he went to Lowell, Mass, where he remained about five years. He then moved to Michigan, stopping in Macomb and Lapeer Counties, and from there to Bay County, where he purchased land. He has been school assessor for fourteen years. They have a family of six children, four of whom are mrrried.
JOHN GARRISON is a native of Canada, but has been in Bay County about seventeen years. He married Catharine Heinzmann, of Bay City. He is engaged in lumbering and farming having a fine farm of seventy acres in the township of Portsmouth. They have four children.
C. F. REICHLE, butcher, was born in Wurtumburg. At the age of seventeen and a half years he came to America, and in 1864 enlisted in the Federal army. In 1865 he came to Bay City and opened a butcher shop in 1869, which business he has followed since; married Catharine Keisel, of Ohio; they have five children three of whom are boys. He now lives in Portsmouth township, where he has a farm of twenty-two acres.
ADAM BEYER was born in Germany in 1842. When about thirteen years of age he emigrated to the United States. He spent a short time in Illinois, and from there went to Bay City. In 1864 he married Mary Dashlien, also of Germany. In 1868 he pur- chased land in Portsmouth Township. He now has two fine farms of forty acres each, one in Portsmouth and one in Merritt.
JAMES W. HOGLE was born in Orleans County, Vermont, De- cember 7, 1812, and was married to Mary L. Dixon in 1840. In 1856 he moved to Illinois, and from there to Michigan in 1865.
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From that time he resided in and near Bay City until his death. He united with the order of Odd Fellows in 1856 and with Bay Lodge No. 104, in 1872. During his life, by honest industry, he acquired a handsome property. He died March 15, 1872, leaving a wife and three children, one son who is in business on Center St., Bay City., and two daughters, married and living in Indiana. His widow, since his death, has taken entire charge of the four toll gates on the Bay City, Watrousville and Vassar plank road, which was owned by her husband at the time of his death.
WILLIAM SYRING was born in Germany in 1826, and cime to Bay City in 1854, where for five years he was employed in the dif- ferent saw mills. In 1856 he married Catharine Hart, a native of Ireland. In 1869 he bought a farm in the township of Portsmouth. They have three children living and one daughter dead.
FREDERICK MEIER was born in Germany in 1829. In 1861 he came to Bay City, and the same year purchased eighty acres in the township of Portsmouth; fifty of this he has now under cultiva- tion. Mr. Meier was married in 1861 to Maggie Kirchner, also a native of Germany; they have four children, three of whom are girls. He has been treasurer of the township for four years.
CASPAR KNECHT was born in Germany in 1821. In 1846 he came to Detroit, where he married Margaret Kourc, also of Ger- many. After spending two years in Windsor, Canada, they moved to Ohio, but returned to Detroit. About 1857 he settled in Bay County; he has a farm of ninety acres in the township of Ports- mouth; he has three sons and one daughter.
LOUIS KNECHT, son of Caspar Knecht, was born in Windsor, Canada, in 1849. In 1857 he settled with his father in Bay County; married Eleanor Conoly, of Chatham, Canada; they have four children. He has sixty acres of land in the township of Ports- month, nearly all under cultivation.
WILLIAM WAGNER is the second son of Carl Wagner, and was born in Germany, in 1843. He married Annie Stenc, of Monroe, Mich., in 1869. They have had four children, three of whom are now living. Mr. Wagner is treasurer of the township, and has also been school director, highway commissioner and justice of the peace.
CHARLES DIEHL was born in Germany, in 1822. In 1852 he came to America, stopping a short time in New York and about three years in Ohio. In 1855 he came to Bay City, where, for about three years, he was engaged in the saw mills and on the river. In 1858 he bought land in the township of Portsmouth, which he has cleared, making a fine farm of eighty acres. Mr. Diehl has been married twice and has a family of ten children.
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