History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 117

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821

USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 117
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 117

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Henry P. Phelps, of Hartford, was born in Lawrence, April 7, 1842. At the age of twenty he left home, and enlisted in a regiment of sharpshooters,-the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry,-and was with Sherman in his various campaigns. He was taken prisoner near Dallas, Miss., and about three months afterwards was released on parole, but was not exchanged until about eight months from the time he was captured. At Peach Tree Creek, Ga., on the 22d of July, 1864, he was wounded,-the day being that on which the gallant McPherson was killed. Mr. Phelps re- mained in the service two years and eleven months, and in the winter of 1865-66, after his discharge, attended the Eastman Business College, at Chicago. In the spring of 1866 he entered the store of H. M. Marshall, at Lawrence, and remained with him a year and a half, after which he engaged in the mercantile business at Hartford, in partner- ship with his brother, William A. Phelps. The firm was continued about two years, during which time a branch store was established at Keeler. H. P. Phelps finally pur- chased his brother's interest in the business, and continued at Hartford, while the latter assumed entire charge of the store at Keeler. In September, 1879, Henry Phelps sold his establishment to Charles F. Young, who erected the fine three-story brick store he now occupies.

Sept. 29, 1869, Mr. Phelps was married to Jennie Smiley, daughter of Mitchell S. Smiley, who was originally from Maryland, and who settled in Arlington township, Van Buren Co., in 1851. Mrs. Phelps was born in South Avon, Livingston Co., N. Y., Sept. 25, 1849. Politically, Mr. Phelps is a Republican, and has been assessor of his town- ship. He has also been interested to some extent in im- provements in the village of Hartford, and is now engaged in the real estate and loan business at that place,

CHAPTER LXI.

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP .*

General Description-Pioneers of Hamilton-A Winter Fright- Wolf Stories-Township Organization and Civil List-Religious Societies-Burial-Grounds-Schools-Hamilton Grange.

TOWNSHIP 4 south, range 15 west, originally a portion of Covington township, later known as Alpena, and now called Hamilton, lies upon the southern border of Van Buren County, and is bounded on the north by Lawrence,

on the south by Cass County, on the east by Decatur, and on the west by Keeler. The surface is generally level, and the soil, varied in its character, is richly productive in all classes of agricultural commodities. The northern portion was originally heavily timbered with walnut, whitewood, beech, maple, basswood, ash, and elm, while near the centre and in the south, oak openings prevailed. In the southeast there is considerable lowland, which is, however, being rap- idly reclaimed to a valuable purpose.

In the north the town is watered by a branch of the Paw Paw, which affords excellent mill-sites. In the south- east a branch of the Dowagiac Creek rises in the Lake of the Woods, a fine sheet of water lying partly in Hamilton and partly in Decatur There are also numerous other pic- turesque lakes, among the largest of which are School-Lot Lake, Pine Lake, Knickerbocker Lake, Johnson Lake, and Osborn Lake.

The Michigan Central Railroad line crosses the south- eastern corner of the town, but has no station there, Deca- tur village being the nearest railway depot, as well as the general market-town.

Hamilton has no village within its limits, neither has it a store or church building. As to manufactures it has never boasted more than one grist-mill and two saw-mills, and the people of the town depend exclusively upon the in- terests of agriculture. Hamilton's population in 1874 was 1074, and in 1879 its assessed valuation was $414,210.

PIONEERS OF HAMILTON.

The first structure erected in Hamilton was a hunter's cabin, put up in 1833 upon section 17, by Benjamin Rey- nolds and Joel Clark, of Kalamazoo, who used to come over into what is now Hamilton on periodical hunting excur- sions. In 1834, Reynolds brought his wife over with him and occupied the hut, with the intention of remaining for a time at least, as a settler, although he had entered no land. One day, while Reynolds was away, his wife set out in search of their cow, and searching fruitlessly for a while, found, upon wishing to return home, that she was lost in the woods. She cried out for help, but none appeared un- til the next morning, when there came to her assistance John and James Nesbitt, settlers in Keeler, and then, to her surprise, Mrs. Reynolds found that she had wandered into Keeler township, several miles from home. The Nes- bitts conveyed her to her house, and straightway, arriving there, she told her husband that she was disgusted with a life in a country where she could not take a walk with- out getting lost, adding, moreover, that she would not stop another hour. Despite her husband's protests against the move, she insisted upon going, and go she did. Reynolds settled shortly after in Porter, and there lived until his death.

The first land entry in Hamilton was made by Robert Nesbitt, who located a tract on section 4, April 15, 1835, and at once settled there with a view to the erection of a saw-mill upon Brush Creek, which flowed through his land. Mr. Nesbitt, who with his brothers John and James had been living in Kalamazoo, came with them farther West, and decided to stop in Hamilton, while they chose their homes in Keeler. Robert Nesbitt had for years been con-

* By David Schwartz.

466

HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

cerned in the building of mills in Michigan, and, as already observed, he lost no time after locating in Hamilton in erecting a saw-mill. In October, 1835, he hauled 19 loads of lumber and supplies from Prairie Ronde, and pushed the mill-construction so rapidly that he began to saw lum- ber June 3, 1836. The same year he built a log house 20 by 30 feet, and by that time had the company in the town- ship of a number of settlers, to whom extended reference will be made. Mr. Nesbitt's saw-mill was for years the only one for miles around, and when the Michigan Central Railroad line reached the vicinity of Decatur, it was run night and day in supplying the demand for lumber for the railway construction. So constant has been the work at his mill for upwards of forty years, that from 1836 to the present time (1880) he has worn out five mills.

In 1856 he built a grist-mill on the same site, and that mill he has operated continuously ever since. He was thus the first to enter land in Hamilton, he built the first saw- mill, as well as the first and only grist-mill, and to-day, living upon the place of his first settlement, he is the oldest settler in the township.

During his early days in Hamilton, Mr. Nesbitt added to his other extensive business interests the business of land-agent for A. P. Grant, of New York, and others, and sold for them thousands of acres of land in Hamilton and adjoining townships. He was himself the owner at one time of 2600 acres of land, and now, after fifty years of pioneer life in Michigan, he enjoys well-earned ease and comfort in the most elegant home in Van Buren County.

In May, 1835, Zebina Stearns came into the township and moved into the hunter's hut on section 17, earlier occu- pied by Reynolds and Clarke. Mr. Stearns afterwards entered land on that section, and continued to reside in the township until his death, in 1846. He was joined in the spring of 1836 by his son Sidney, who had before that been engaged in stage-driving between Detroit and Monroe. Sidney Stearns still lives in Hamilton, and ranks among the oldest settlers.

James, brother to Robert Nesbitt, came in 1835 from Keeler, and located four 80-acre lots on sections 13 and 14. He lived upon his Hamilton farm until 1849, when he was found one day, dead, in the bottom of his well. There were suspicions that his death was the result of foul play, but a searching investigation failed to establish any positive evidence to that effect, and to this day the tragic event has remained enveloped in mystery.

The year 1835 brought also Lewis Johnson, who came from New York to Jackson in 1834, and to Hamilton in the following year, with his father and Zebina Stearns. The younger Johnson entered land on section 18, and there made a settlement. His father remained with him three years, and then returned to New York. Lewis, the son, con- tinued, however, a resident of Hamilton until his death, on the old place, in 1872. His son Andrew now occupies the place his father located.

Aaron Barney, a New Yorker, was another settler in 1835, and located upon land on section 30. His wife died in 1839, and he in 1858. His son Austin resides in Hamilton upon section 31.

A Mr. Lyon, who came in during 1835, remained but a

short time, and upon leaving sold his property to Philotus Haydon. Mr. Haydon was a man of considerable note in Hamilton, and was well known and prominent in the county. He was withal a man of frank expression, bluff and hearty in his manner, and much given to eccentric speech and action. It is said that while hunting one Sunday he killed a deer near a school-house where a Methodist meeting was in progress. Haydon cut the animal's throat, and upon at- tempting to carry his prize away found his strength unequal to the task, whereupon, as if struck with a sudden thought, he rushed into the meeting, and undeterred by the fact that the preacher was in the midst of his sermon, held up his bloody hands and cried out, with a loud voice, " I've killed a big buck, but he's too heavy for me. Come along some of you and give me a lift in getting him home." It needs no very vivid imagination to conceive that preacher and congregation must have been somewhat taken by sur- prise. Whether Haydon got his required help or not is not related, but the story is vouched for as true, and a truthful illustration of his independence and eccentricity. On another occasion, a minister coming to him for assistance on behalf of the church, he exclaimed, " Well, I don't believe a word you say in the pulpit, but here's ten dollars. I'll help you along anyway." Mr. Haydon took an active part in politics, and during the civil war of 1861-65 was among the foremost in the county in the work of aiding the Union cause, towards which he gave liberally of his means and time. He died in Hamilton in 1866, upon his farm in section 18, which was his home for thirty years. His sons, Mortimer and Arthur, are well-known citizens of the township.

James M. Lumbard and his father, Ebenezer, settled upon section 15 in 1836. James removed later to Decatur vil- lage, where he now lives. In the same year Henry C. Mc- Clure and his son Henry came from New York to make a settlement. The elder McClure returned soon after to New York, and the son afterwards removed to Decatur village, and died there.

James and Reason Comley, now living in Hamilton, oc- cupy the three 80-acre lots which their father, John Com- ley, located in 1836, and upon which he lived until his death.

George W. Geer and his brother Elisha came from Con- necticut to Michigan in June, 1836. George located 240 acres of land on section 32, and now lives on part of it with his son George N. In the days of 1836 roads were by no means found ready made for the pioneers when they came in. Indian trails were the best highways at hand, and over such roads the Geers found their way to their new settle- ment, while the dense forest gave no sign of occupancy ex- cept by the red man and wild beasts. Elisha Geer set up a cooper's shop on section 28, where he resided until his death.

Among the other immigrants in 1836 were S. T. Howell, Hale Wakefield, Caleb Bartlett, and Joseph McClintock. Howell, who hailed from Ohio, lives now in Kansas. Bartlett lived on section 19, and went to California in 1850. Joseph McClintock still lives on the land which he located in 1836, although he himself did not settle upon it until 1838 (a family by name of Luke working it for him two years).

MIGAMS

Q.Q. B. Blokly

This gentleman was born in Gorham, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1831; consequently, at the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th of March, 1875, he was just entering his forty-fifth year. At the age of twenty-two years he located at Ypsilanti, Mich., where he resided until 1860, when he re- moved with his wife to Hamilton township, Van Buren Co. He held the office of justice of the peace in Ypsilanti for several terms, being re-elected on account of his known capacity and unbending integ- rity. For the same reason he was chosen-and re- elected several terms-supervisor of the township of Hamilton, and received the handsome compliment of being elected chairman of the board of super- visors. In the fall of 1874 he was chosen to rep- resent his district in the State Legislature, running far ahead of his ticket, his competitor being a fellow- townsman, and a very capable and deservedly popu- lar man. If, to do his whole duty to himself, his family, his neighbors, and the world-ever mindful of the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you"-constitutes the true man, Mr. Yeckley, when weighed in the balance, was not

found wanting. No death which had occurred in the county for many years had caused more deep regret in the public mind, or given rise to a greater sense of public loss. His funeral was the most im- posing ever witnessed in the county. It was under the direction of the grange of which he was an honored and useful member, the order of Odd-Fel- lows also participating. Several members of the Legislative body were in attendance. Mr. Yeckley was a thrifty and enterprising farmer, and at his death left an amiable and affectionate wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Reed, daughter of Samuel Reed. Six children were born to them, and five are living,-all at home. Mrs. Yeckley was born Jan. 11, 1829, in Connecticut, and came to Michigan when nine years old. She remains on the farm which her husband improved and owned when he died. The death of Mr. Yeckley, cut down in the midst of usefulness, is one of the mysterious dis- pensations of Providence. He died regretted by a host of friends, and his memory and that of his good deeds will long remain green in the hearts of the people of Van Buren County.

LITTLE

A Barney

AARON BARNEY

was born in the State of Massachusetts Oct. 11, 1785. In 1806 he removed to Jefferson Co., N. Y., and in 1821 to Michigan, landing at Detroit, where he remained one year. He then located at a point twenty miles west of that city, and three years later (1825) settled in Washtenaw County. In 1835 he came to Van Buren County, entering four hundred acres of land in Hamilton township, and eighty in Keeler. The land located in Hamilton was on sections 14 and 30, and in Keeler on section 25. Previous to emigrating to Michigan Mr. Barney was engaged in farming and milling, and after coming to Van Buren County was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which oc- curred August 27, 1858.

June 10, 1804, he was married to Miss Cynthia Barney, and they became the parents of twelve children, of whom but three are living. Mrs. Barney died April 15, 1839; and on the 24th of May, 1840, Mr. Barney was married to Mrs. Lucy Millard, who died about 1872. During his life Mr. Barney held several offices of trust in his township.

In politics he was a Democrat, and in religious matters entertained liberal views. During his pioneer days in Michigan he experienced the various hardships and privations incident to back woods

A M. Barney

life, and at the end could contemplate a noble handi- work all his own.

AUSTIN M. BARNEY.

This gentleman was born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., Feb. 25, 1821, and was brought to Michigan at a very early age by his parents. As soon as his age and strength were sufficient he worked on the farm with his father, assisting in clearing the land and preparing it for cultivation. In 1840 he left the farm and found employment in a machine shop, and, after completing his trade, engaged as an en- gineer on the Mississippi River, which occupation he followed for ten years. The age and failing strength of his father rendered it necessary for the son to return to the farm, which he did ; and he managed his father's business until the death of the latter, in 1858, when he assumed the entire control of the place, and continued to conduct the business thereof until 1871. In that year he purchased forty acres near the old homestead, and in 1879 added forty acres more. He has since become the owner of a farm of eighty acres in the township of Keeler. Nov. 4, 1861, he was married to Miss Caroline C. Barney, daughter of J. A. and A. Barney.

In political matters Mr. Barney has always voted and acted with the Democratic party.

467

TOWNSHIP OF HAMILTON.

In 1837 the settlers included Henry Coleman, Samuel Bradt, Jackson Pratt, and his brother Caulkert, George S. Bishop, Marcus Merriman, Calvin Field, and James Brooks. Bradt and Pratt have long since disappeared. Field and Merriman, who came in company from New York and located upon section 33, are both now out of the township. Field is in Kansas and Merriman in Paw Paw. Bishop went into the brick-making business, and put up a kiln on John Comley's place. The venture turned out a complete failure, for when the bricks were burned they crumbled to pieces, and Bishop, disgusted with the business, left and was heard of no more.

James Brooks bought land on section 33 of one Shepard, and with his little family, consisting of his wife and two children, set himself resolutely to the business of making a home in the forest wilds. That mission he bravely accom- plished, and after a busy career of nearly forty years in Hamilton, he died in 1876, upon the place he first settled. He was one of the first members of the Methodist Episcopal society organized in the Field school-house, and remained one of its staunchest members until his death. Mr. Brooks was once lost in the woods so effectually that he wandered for four days and four nights, unable to find his way either to his home or to any other human habitation. Upon the termi- nation of the first forty-eight hours of his absence the dis- tress of his family aroused the settlers, and they organized with horns, guns, etc., a systematic search for the lost one. At the close of another forty-eight hours they found him, and a glad welcome they received. His children in Hamil- ton are Mrs. O. P. Maxon (whose husband came to the township in 1850), John and James Brooks, Mrs. Cyrus Youells, Mrs. Robert Sloan, and Mrs. George Sloan.

Marcus Merriman located land on section 33 in 1836, and in 1837 made a settlement. As neighbors he found Calvin Field, John Comley, Elisha Geer, George W. Geer, and Aaron Barney. Mr. Merriman, now living in Paw Paw vil- lage, recollects that the country was rather inviting in its character, consisting of oak openings, through which the eye could penetrate a long distance. Brush-fires in the woods used to occasion much alarm, and at times threatened settlers' dwellings when not carefully watched. Indeed, Mr. Merri- man came very near losing his house by a fire of that kind, for returning home one evening he was just in season to see his fence ablaze, and threatening to sweep away his home,-a disaster which his timely arrival happily averted. Although not a famous hunter, he was nevertheless the hero of a bear- chase, in which he chased the bear, treed him, and event- ually killed him, and transported his carcass homeward with feelings of lively satisfaction.

Of the pioneers who have been named above as having come into Hamilton during the years 1835-37, those who are known to be living now-January, 1880-are J. M. Lumbard, in Decatur ; Sidney Stearns, G. W. Geer, Joseph McClintock, and Robert Nesbitt, in Hamilton ; Marcus Merriman, in Paw Paw; and Calvin Field in Kansas. Among other early settlers were Barker, Thompson, Rid- dle, and several whose names cannot now be recalled ; but their identification with the pioneer interest of Hamilton was a transitory one, and history can record their presence only as a passing incident. Leonard Tisdale, now residing

on section 33, had a prominent place in the foremost ranks of those who penetrated Hamilton as pioneers, as did Solo- mon Hagar, who lives now on section 28 with his son, S. B. Hagar, who has been supervisor of Hamilton since 1875.

George A. Bentley, Alexander Sloan, Ralph Mason, Eben Smith, and Palmer Earl were among the settlers of 1838 and 1839. Sloan was an Ohio man, and located with his family of a wife and eight children upon section 16, where he had a quarter-section of wild land, taken in ex- change for his Ohio farm. He died upon that place in 1865. Of his sons, Alexander, Robert, and George now live in Hamilton.

Truman Foster, school-teacher and farmer, located in Hamilton in 1840, and remained a resident until his death. Before 1840 Mr. Foster taught school in Lawrence, and was the second school-teacher in that town.

Thomas Harris came from New York in 1842, with a family of fourteen children, and worked a place then owned by Henry McClure, and now by C. Duncombe, on section 17. He died in the township in 1863. His sons living in Hamilton are W. T., S. M., B. F., and S. R.

George Bennett, an early settler in Hamilton, now lives in Decatur village. His son John, residing in Hamilton, served during the civil war of 1861-65, as second lieuten- ant in the 4th Michigan Cavalry, and was a member of the detachment that effected the capture of Jefferson Davis.

In 1843, Stephen Osborn and wife, with a family of ten children, came from New York and settled in Hamilton, upon a place north of Osborn Lake. Mr. Osborn died in Hamilton in 1853. His widow still lives in the township, as do also his children,-Benjamin, James, Erastus, Horace, Charles, Harriet, and Mrs. Henry Geer.

The first child born in Hamilton was Mason Wakefield, whose natal day was July 5, 1836. The second was Mary, daughter of Robert Nesbitt. She was born in September, 1837, and died in her twentieth year.

The first marriage in the town was that of Robert Nesbitt and Maria, daughter of John Comley, all of Ham- ilton. The ceremony was performed at Mr. Comley's house Dec. 1, 1836, by John D. Freeman, a justice of the peace of Lawrence township, and although this was the pioneer wedding, it was a singularly quiet affair. True, the neighbors (what few there were) were at hand to wish the bride and groom unmeasured joy, but the wedding guests were few in number and composed of persons who, while earnest in their friendship, were not given to hilarity, for, in the pioneer days, joyous demonstrations were not so easily wrought out of the extremely matter-of-fact hard- ships and privations which intruded upon every hand.

The first death in Hamilton was that of a Mr. Knicker- bocker, who, in the fall of 1835, located, with his family and his brother, upon the bank of the lake now bearing his name. Here he built a log shanty which, without floor, door, roof, chinking, or chimney, served as the habitation of the Knickerbocker family, until Knickerbocker, worn out by exhaustion and exposure, died in it of lung fever, only a few days after occupying the dwelling. Robert Nesbitt

468

HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

and Zebina Stearns hearing of the case, went over and found, indeed, a cheerless picture. The dead man lay in one corner of the roofless hut, and a fire smouldered in another corner, while the weeping widow and children filled the measure of wretchedness. Stearns set out at once for Paw Paw for a coffin, and in due time returned in a sleigh with Peter Gremps and Elder Warner, the former having provided the coffin. Elder Warner preached the funeral sermon at the house, and, in accordance with Knicker- bocker's dying wish, he was buried upon the island in the lake, and there his bones still lie. In the procession which followed him to the grave were the widow, Peter Gremps, Elder Warner, Robert Nesbitt, Zebina Stearns, William Knickerbocker, James and John Nesbitt, and one Wheeler, Robert Nesbitt's hired man. After her husband's death, Mrs. Knickerbocker returned to her friends in the East.

Sidney Stearns recites the story of the entrance of Lewis Johnson and his wife into Hamilton, as an illustration of how some pioneers began their arduous tasks in the West- ern wilds, literally with almost nothing save their hands as capital. He says that one day there came along the Ter- ritorial road to his father's door two foot-travelers, Lewis Johnson and his wife ; he, with an axe over his shoulder and leading a cow, was followed by Mrs. Johnson, plodding wearily along under the weight of a bundle, which, with a bundle carried by Johnson, represented, together with the cow and axe, the sum of household effects possessed by the worthy pair. It was a slight outfit, it is true, but Johnson had secured his land and did not mind a short allowance of household supplies, since he knew his axe would do him good service, and the cow would do her share towards sus- taining the family in one direction at least. The Johnsons stopped with Zebina Stearns until they completed their own cabin, and then, like their neighbors, struggled and fought for even the common necessities of life until persistence won success.

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History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 117

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co. Number of Pages: 821

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821