USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 133
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 133
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Stephen, brother of Elijah Kinney, came from Milan, Ohio, in the fall of 1838, with a family of eight children, accompanied also by John Webber and family and John Bennett. Stephen Kinney bought 240 acres of new land in section 26, where he died in 1847. His son, Orrin G., who came with him, located on section 25 in 1842, and still lives there. Webber settled on section 25, and died in Lawton. Bennett, who bought a place on section 26, went afterwards to Iowa, where he died. E. Z. K. Munger, who came as a farm-hand with Elijah Kinney in 1835, worked a year for Mr. Kinney, and then located 80 acres on section 25. He migrated subsequently to Minnesota.
Among the inhabitants of the Kinney settlement in 1838 were James Young, Elizabeth Gibson, George Colvin (on the Abner Mack place), Uri Kinney, Elijah, Luther, and Stephen Kinney, E. Z. K. Munger, T. R. Smith, Lyman Wood, and Clark Pratt. Colvin died in Porter. Wood moved to St. Joseph County, and there died. Pratt went to the far West.
Moses Monroe was considered the most useful man in the settlement. He was the only mechanic among them all, and he could turn his hand to carpentering as well as to shoemaking, while he was quite clever at any work re- quiring mechanical skill. Truly, Moses was looked upon as a boon to the pioneers, and he was never a moment suffered to be idle ; there were constant calls upon him from every side. He lived in the settlement until his death, in 1872.
Luke Munger, who settled in 1840 upon section 24, died in 1863 on section 26, where his son Abner lives. James Maxam, now living on section 34, settled in 1844 upon section 27. Manasseh Kern located in 1846 upon section 13, where he now lives. In 1846 his neighbors on the north were the Wilsons, Longcoys, Harpers, Locks, and Finches. S. V. P. Bradt came in 1848, and located in 1848 upon section 24, his present home. In the same year Jacob Markle settled on section 3, where he has since re- sided. Mr. Markle came West in 1837, and in that year became a resident of Antwerp township, whence in 1848 he moved to Porter. William H. McLane came from St. Joseph County in 1852, and located upon section 15, where he now lives; adjoining him, on the south, being his son John C., who bought his farm in 1860.
Settlements in the central part of the township were made as early as 1835, in which year Benjamin Reynolds, of Ohio, came with a large family and located 160 acres in section 15. His sons, Buell and Benjamin, Jr., attended to the land, which was divided into two farms, the elder Reynolds living with Buell until 1852, when he took up his residence with his son-in-law, William Perley, and there died in 1853. His only child, now living in Porter, is Mrs. Miles Van Sickle.
Daniel Alexander, also from Ohio, became a resident of Michigan in 1832, and for four years lived in Cass County on leased land. In 1836 he bought 200 acres of govern- ment land in Porter township, on sections 20, 29, and 30, and while preparing a place of habitation upon his new possessions, he lived with his wife (a daughter of George Tittle, of Decatur) in Dolphin Morris' old log cabin on Little Prairie. Alexander built on section 29 a log cabin 16 by 24, and when he moved into it, in 1836, he was the only white settler in the western portion of the township, except John Tittle, his brother-in-law, who kept bachelor's hall on a place adjoining Alexander. Indeed, he thought for a time there were no other settlers in the township until he accidentally discovered James Young while out on a trip of discovery. Mr. Alexander died in 1862, on his Porter farm, where his widow still survives him. Mrs. Alexander tells many interesting stories of her lonesome experiences among the Indians while her husband and brother were away from the cabin. She was at first much alarmed at the sight of the savages, but soon grew to understand that they were peaceable and inclined to be friendly. Indeed, they
SANFORD COREY.
RESIDENCE OF A. M. MUNGER, PORTER, MICHIGAN.
RES OFTHE LATE LUKE MUNGER.
FATHER'S OLD HOME BUILT .1841.
LUKE MUNGER
RES. OF R. V. MUNGER, PORTER, MICH.
-
529
TOWNSHIP OF PORTER.
were at times exceedingly sociable, and more than once did she receive presents as tokens of Indian friendship. Her husband used to say that he desired no better neighbors than those same Indians. John Tittle, to whom reference has been made, moved to Iowa in 1855.
In the summer of 1836, Roderick Bell settled near Gravel Lake, where he lived until 1862, when he removed farther West. Near Gravel Lake also, in 1837, settled Nathan Cook, George S. Freese, and John B. Compton. Cook died in Porter in 1867, leaving a widow, who now resides with her daughter on section 16. Freese caught the gold fever in 1849 and went to California, where he was drowned shortly afterwards. About 1840 other set- tlers were Thomas Alexander and the Nelsons, the latter of whom sold out to Silas Gould and moved away.
Miles Van Sickle, who settled in Michigan in 1826 and in Porter in 1840, still lives in the latter township, on sec- tion 17. In January, 1840, his father, John Van Sickle, came to Porter with Elias Harmon and Jacob Stillwell, and all three settled with their families in Porter. Van Sickle died in Porter in 1861. Elias Harmon, who settled on section 17, still lives in the township. Stillwell located on section 21, and died in Porter. His son John resides on section 9. In the spring of 1840, L. H. Weldon located on section 28. He died in the township in 1872. Two of his sons, Augustus and George, now reside in Porter.
John Nesbitt was one of the pioneers in the settlement of Keeler township, where he says he and his brother James turned the first furrow and kept for a time bachelors' hall in 1834. He came to Porter in 1837, and bought land on section 4. He hired one Wilcox to work the place, and pushed on to the far West. Coming back after an absence of two years, he married and settled upon the farm himself. In 1846 he changed his location to section 9, where he now lives. As an evidence of the newness of the country even at that date, it may be interesting to ob- serve that when Mr. Nesbitt moved to his new farm, in 1846, he was obliged to make his own road, while his wife drove the ox-team. A quilt hung up before the cabin opening was the best door they could command for some time, while as to a kitchen, an open space under two. white- wood trees was for two months the spot where Mrs. Nesbitt did all the family cooking.
Isaac Hall came to Michigan in 1834, and to Porter in 1842. His brother Amos, also a Michigan pioneer of 1834, settled in Porter in 1846, when in the neighborhood between Grass and Cedar Lakes. The other settlers were Silas Gould, L. H. Weldon, David Gilson, and the Widow Merritt. Shortly after 1840, Thomas Fletcher, a Vir- ginian, came to Porter and bought two hundred acres of new land on section 23, of Joel Clarke, living in Prairie Ronde. Fletcher made a settlement at once, and lived on the place until his death, in 1875.
Samuel D. Harper, who settled in Porter in 1843, died in 1873, on section 5, where his son William now lives. Jeremiah Barker, a New Yorker, traded in 1845 some New York land for 320 acres on section 9, in Porter, and in that year settled there with his family, and there he died in 1849. John, a son, died on section 9 in 1876. Joseph, another son, still lives on a portion of the original farm.
William Hathaway, of New York, was a settler in Ant- werp township in 1838, on section 27, and there in the same year died of fever and ague, which was then fatally prevalent in Antwerp. In 1848 his three sons, A. H., William N., and Charles E., settled in Porter. The only one of the three now in the township is A. H., who lives on section 16. His two brothers are now residents of Iowa.
The pioneers of Porter found a heavily-timbered but an inviting country. There were great tracts of heavy timber and oak openings, through which it was easy enough to drive a team without clearing a road. The vicinity of any one of the large lakes was peculiarly attractive to the eye of the new-comer, while the rich sandy soil promised the far- mer an abundant yield and cheered his eager anticipations. Wolves, deer, and all kinds of game abounded in great pro- fusion. But the wolves, although numerous, were trouble- some only as depredators upon small live-stock, which re- quired careful watching. Although Porter has now no post-office, it was better favored in the earlier days. About 1840, George S. Frees was appointed postmaster, and kept the office in his house near Gravel Lake. What little mail he received was left with him by a mail-rider, who traversed a route extending from Schoolcraft to Dowagiac. In 1845 the custody of the office was transferred to Isaac Hall, and shortly after the completion of the Michigan Central Rail- road to Lawton, the Porter office was abolished.
In the matter of mills, Porter has never had anything to boast of, chiefly for the reason that the township has no water-power. There was no saw-mill even until 1866, when Samuel Strong built one on section 35. The only mill in the town now is the saw-mill of Leonard Waldron, on section 23. The early settlers were, however, not so badly off for mill conveniences as pioneers in some towns, for Flowerfield and Whitmanville, with a grist- and saw- mill, were not very far distant.
The only store ever opened in Porter was one kept at the Centre by a Mr. Lewis, which had, however, but a brief existence.
The only tavern was a house known as the Sisson place, but even that was not much more a tavern than every house in the town, since every resident kept open house in the pioneer days whenever a traveler sought entertainment.
The first marriage was that of William Nixon, of Ber- trand, to Electa, daughter of Tinker R. Smith, one of Porter's pioneers. The ceremony was performed in Mr. Tinker's house by Rev. Samuel L. Julian, and took place some time during 1837.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION, NAME, AND CIVIL LIST.
The township of Porter was originally a portion of De- catur, from which it was set off in 1845.
Mrs. Harriet Van Antwerp says that one day, after it was decided to set the township off from Decatur, there was a consultation at the house of her father, Nathan Cook, as to what name ought to be selected. Miss Cook happened just then to be reading in the room "Cooper's Naval Heroes," and struck by the story of Com. Porter's career, suggested that as Decatur had appropriated a naval hero's
67
530
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
name, the new township should follow the example and take the name of Porter. The suggestion was voted an excellent one, and adopted at once.
The first township-meeting was held April 7, 1845, when the greatest number of votes cast for any candidate was 45. A full list of the officials chosen on that occasion is given, as follows : Supervisor, Harvey Barker; Clerk, Isaac Hall ; Treasurer, Isaac Hall; School Inspectors, W. S. Corey, Harvey Barker; Highway Commissioners, William L. Bar- ker, John Nesbitt, and William I. Finch ; Constables, Miles Van Sickle, John Bennett, and Richard Wilson ; Overseers of the Poor, Ira Harman and Benjamin Rey- nolds; Poundmaster, John Tittle; Justices of the Peace, Harvey Barker, Samuel D. Harper, H. H. Adams, John · Nesbitt; Overseers of Highways, Peter Van Etten, Orrin G. Kinney, William McMinn, William L. Barker, Jacob Stillwell. The Township Board consisted of Horace H. Adams, Stephen Kinney, David A. Alexander, and Samuel D. Harper ; Clerks of the Board were Nathan Cook and Warren S. Corey.
The jurors chosen to serve for the year 1845 were Samuel D. Harper, William McMinn, Uri Kinney, Luther Kinney, John Webber, Orrin G. Kinney, Buell Reynolds, David Gilson, Jacob Stillwell, Elias Harmon, Thomas Alex- ander, Charles Mitchelson.
The supervisors, clerks, treasurers, school inspectors, and justices of the peace from 1846 to 1880, were as follows :
1846 .- Supervisor, Uri Kinney ; Clerk, H. H. Adams ; Treasurer, Nathan Cook ; School Inspector, W. O. Matthews; Justice of the Peace, Orrin Sisson.
1847 .- Supervisor, John Mckinney ; Clerk, H. H. Adams ; Treasurer, Nathan Cook ; School Inspector, W. S. Corey.
1848 .- Supervisor, Uri Kinney ; Clerk, Isaac Hall; Treasurer, Na- than Cook ; School Inspector, W. O. Matthews ; Justice of the Peace, Manasseh Kern.
1849 .- Supervisor, Orrin Sisson ; Clerk, Isaac Hall ; Treasurer, John Nesbitt ; School Inspector, W. S. Corey.
1850 .- Supervisor, Manasseh Kern ; Clerk, E. A. Park ; Treasurer, W. Gibson ; School Inspector, A. H. Hathaway ; Justice of the Peace, Roderick Bell.
1851 .- Supervisor, J. Mckinney ; Clerk, E. A. Park ; Treasurer, J. Nesbitt ; School Inspector, W. H. Paddock ; Justice of the Peace, J. Mckinney.
1852 .- Supervisor, Luther Kinney ; Clerk, J. Mckinney ; Treasurer, J. . Nesbitt; School Inspector, A. H. Hathaway ; Justice of the Peace, Manasseh Kern.
1853 .- Supervisor, J. Mckinney ; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treasurer, J. Nesbitt; School Inspector, Asahel Bryant; Justice of the Peace, Elias Harmon.
1854 .- Supervisor, J. Mckinney ; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treasurer, J. Nesbitt; School Inspector, W. S. Corey ; Justice of the Peace, Isaac Hall.
1855 .- Supervisor, W. S. Corey ; Clerk, S. I. Burnett ; Treasurer, Harvey Barker ; School Inspector, W. H. Paddock ; Justice of the Peace, C. Hollister.
1856 .- Supervisor, W. S. Corey ; Clerk, Thomas Barker; Treasurer, John Nesbitt ; School Inspector, J. B. Sackett ; Justice of the Peace, Manasseh Kern.
1857 .- Supervisor, Asahel Bryant ; Clerk, Thomas Barker ; Treasurer, John Nesbitt ; School Inspector, Asahel Bryant; Justice of the Peace, Elias Harmon.
1858 .- Supervisor, Sanford Corey ; Clerk, L. S. Dailey ; Treasurer, John Nesbitt; School Inspector, C. Hollister ; Justice of the Peace, Isaac Hall.
1859 .- Supervisor, Sanford Corey ; Clerk, Amos Hall ; Treasurer, O. Sisson ; School Inspector, Joseph Mckay; Justice of the Peace, Dean Longcoy.
1860 .- Supervisor, J. Barker; Clerk, Isaac Hall; Treasurer, Asahel Bryant; School Inspector, C. Hollister ; Justice of the Peace, M. Kern.
1861 .- Supervisor, J. Barker; Clerk, Isaac Hall; Treasurer, Asahel Bryant ; School Inspector, Asahel Bryant ; Justice of the Peace, C. Hollister.
1862 .- Supervisor, C. Hollister ; Clerk, Isaac Hall; Treasurer, Aaron Norton; School Inspector, A. H. Hathaway ; Justice of the Peace, S. D. Harper.
1863 .- Supervisor, C. Hollister ; Clerk, Isaac Hall ; Treasurer, Aaron Norton; School Inspector, A. Bryant; Justice of the Peace, A. H. Hathaway.
1864 .- Supervisor, W. Anderson ; Clerk, Isaac Hall; Treasurer, Aaron Norton; School Inspector, W. Anderson; Justice of the Peace, M. Kern.
1865 .- Supervisor, F. B. Adams; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treasurer, J. Atwell ; School Inspector, A. Bryant; Justice of the Peace, S. Corey.
1866 .- Supervisor, O. Williams ; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treasurer, A. H. Norton ; School Inspector, J. H. Hall ; Justice of the Peace, L. B. Dewey.
1867 .- Supervisor, J. Barker ; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treasurer, A. H. Norton ; School Inspector, R. M. J. Hall; Justice of the Peace, J. A. Edmonds.
1868 .- No record.
1869 .- Supervisor, O. Williams; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treasurer, J. C. McLane; School Inspector, J. H. Hall; Justice of the Peace, M. Kern.
1870 .- No record.
1871 .- Supervisor, S. Corey; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treasurer, R. M. J. Hall; School Inspector, A. Bryant; Justice of the Peace, M. Kern.
1872 .- Supervisor, C. A. Van Riper ; Clerk, A. H. Hathaway ; Treas- urer, R. M. J. Hall; School Inspector, J. H. Hall; Justice of the Peace, T. Alexander.
1873 .- Supervisor, O. Williams; Clerk, J. W. Burlington ; Treasurer, J. C. McLane; School Inspector, E. S. Upham ; Justice of the Peace, J. A. Edmonds.
1874 .- Supervisor, O. Williams; Clerk, J. W. Burlington ; Treasurer, R. V. Munger ; School Inspector, J. H. Hall ; Justice of the Peace, A. J. Weldon.
1875 .- Supervisor, O. Williams; Clerk, J. W. Burlington ; Treasurer, R. V. Munger ; School Inspector, James Nash; Justice of the Peace, E. Harmon.
1876 .- Supervisor, O. Williams; Clerk, J. W. Burlington ; Treasurer, A. J. Hall; School Inspector, James Nash; Justice of the Peace, H. Corey.
1877 .- Supervisor, J. C. McLane; Clerk, J. W. Burlington ; Treasurer, Frank Cooley ; School Inspector, James Nash ; Justice of the Peace, R. A. Ward.
1878 .- Supervisor, E. Warner ; Clerk, J. W. Burlington ; Treasurer, Frank Cooley ; School Inspector, James Nash ; Justice of the Peace, H. J. Kellogg.
1879 .- Supervisor, J. C. McLane; Clerk, J. W. Burlington ; Treasurer, J. H. Hall; School Inspector, James Nash ; Justice of the Peace, C. A. Van Riper.
The Township Board for 1879 was composed of J. C. McLane, Jason Atwell, and J. W. Burlington. A neat town hall at the Centre, built in 1869, serves for all meet- ings connected with public affairs.
CHURCHES.
In 1837, Rev. Samuel L. Julian, a Free-Will Baptist preacher, settled in Porter, and immediately organized in the Kinney settlement a church of that denomination, which for a time flourished briskly. Julian removed to the far West in 1838, after selling his farm to Jacob Wright. After Mr. Julian's time Elder Dodge, a Baptist minister, preached in the settlement. In the west, Rev. Wilder Mack, a Protestant Methodist preacher, held occa- sional services at the house of George S. Frees. Harvey
SAML. BARTLETT.
MRS. SAML, BARTLETT.
RESIDENCE OF SAMUEL BARTLETT, PORTER, MICHIGAN.
1
531
TOWNSHIP OF PORTER.
Barker, from Wayne County, was a settler in 1841, and was also a local Methodist Episcopal preacher. For some time after his settlement he preached every Sunday at the dwelling-house of some settler.
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Porter .- A Methodist Episcopal class was organized in Porter as far back as 1844 at Gravel Lake, and meetings were held in Roderick Bell's cooper-shop, as well as in town school- houses. The first class-leader of whom there is any recol- lection was Mr. Mitchelson, after whom, in 1847, Myron Hall was chosen. The class was on the Paw Paw circuit, and its first pastor was Rev. Mr. Reynolds. The Methodist Episcopal classes now in Porter-three in number-are attached to the Lawton charge, of which Rev. T. T. George is pastor. Their aggregate membership is 75, and they are called respectively South Porter, Porter Centre, and Num- ber Nine, their places of worship being township school- houses.
A Free- Will Baptist Church was organized in 1858 by Rev. Edward Root, of Ohio, who then came to Porter as a settler. He was the church's pastor continuously until 1870, when he moved farther west. For the past year the church has had no pastor. Elder Daniel Osborn holds services, however, once a month. The church attendance includes about 20 members. Isaac Parish and Abner Munger are the deacons, and James Bradt the clerk.
The First Methodist Protestant Church was organized March 14, 1865, by Elder Samuel Reeves, as the West Porter class, in the school-house on section 17. The or- ganizing members were B. White and wife, Augustus Weldon and wife, Merritt Tappen and wife, Elias Harmon and wife, John Stuyvesant and wife, Miles Van Sickle, Malintha Harmon, and Leonard Harmon. The Valley class was organized Jan. 3, 1866, with 33 members, and the North Porter class Feb. 8, 1866, with a membership of 13. The West Porter class was attached to the Van Buren circuit, in which it was the first. The pastors who succeeded Elder Reeves were Revs. Nichols, Bayne, Newell, Reed, Phillips, Byers, Murray, and Clarke. Elder Reeves, the first pastor, is in charge now for the second time. The present membership of the three classes is 80.
In 1867 the society erected, on section 20, the fine church building which is now in use. The church trustees now serving are Augustus Weldon, Henry Corey, Warren Wood, Elias Harmon, and James Ellis.
The Christian Advent Church, worshiping in the Bell school-house, was organized in 1871 by Rev. James Ferris, of Buchanan, at the Porter Centre school-house, with 25 members. Mr. Ferris continued to preach until 1878, since when no regular services have been held. The mem- bership is now about 30. John Carver is the deacon and Peter Rock the clerk.
SCHOOLS.
The first school-teacher in Porter of whom there appears to be any recollection was Warren S. Corey (brother to Nelson Corey), who taught in the Kinney settlement. Sarah, daughter of Nathan Cook, taught the first school in the Bell neighborhood, and the second one at Porter Centre,-the first teacher at the latter place being Josiah Judson. Loring Barker taught a school in 1841 in Miles
Van Sickles' log cabin. The township has now ten school districts, of which six were organized in 1845: The ap- pended table will show the condition of the public schools as per official report for the year 1879 :
Number of districts (whole, 7; fractional, 3). 10
" scholars of school age. 397
Average attendance. 348
Value of school property $4650
Number of teachers. 22
Total expenses for the year. $1587
The school directors for 1879 were George D. Boyce, Charles Hooper, J. W. Burlington, L. M. Walden, C. W. Lohr, A. J. Hall, D. Cornish, D. C. Van Antwerp, J. H. Hall, S. Beach.
PORTER GRANGE, No. 23, P. OF H.
This grange was organized April 26, 1873, with 19 members. The first Master was George D. Boyce, whose successors in that office have been James W. Burlington, Elijah Warner, and John McLane.
The present membership is 50, and the officers as follows : John McLane, M .; Russell V. Munger, O .; George H. Weldon, L .; Elias Harmon, Chaplain ; Mrs. Elijah War- ner, Sec. ; Mrs. Manasseh Kern, Treas .; Leonard Bates, Steward; Henry Yetter, Assistant Steward; Mrs. George Weldon, Pomona; Miss Mary Kern, Flora; Mrs. Samuel Bartlett, Ceres ; Mrs. J. P. Barker, Stewardess. Regular sessions are held at the town hall, Porter Centre.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
SAMUEL BARTLETT.
The grandfather of this gentleman, Asaph Bartlett, was a native of Massachusetts, as was also his father, William L. Bartlett. The latter, at the age of nineteen, married Abigail Warren, and that couple were the parents of five children,-three sons and two daughters. Of these Samuel Bartlett was the oldest, having been born in Genesee Co., N. Y., Feb. 16, 1816, to which county his parents had moved from Massachusetts, and where they occupied a farm. At the age of sixteen years Samuel Bartlett was deprived of his mother, and from that time until he was twenty-one he attended school winters and worked for monthly wages during the summers. His school days were over after he became of age, but his days of laboring for hire were not, and for seven years he found employment at different occu- pations, a portion of the time being spent in a store.
The latter was detrimental to his health, and he was forced to begin again on a farm. March 24, 1844, he was married to Miss Charlotte Parsons, daughter of David and Lucy Parsons. She was born in Le Roy, Genesee Co., N. Y., July 9, 1825, and was one of a family of six children, of whom but two were sons. Her grandfather's name was Aaron Parsons; her grandmother was of Welsh descent. Her parents were natives of Vermont-the rugged " Green Mountain State." Samuel Bartlett and wife became the parents of one child, a daughter, Helen A., born Feb. 8, 1849. She became the wife of Russel Munger.
After Mr. Bartlett was married he worked a farm for two
532
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
years on shares, after which he, in company with his brother, purchased one hundred acres of land, and farmed it together until 1853, when they sold it. In 1856, his health being poor and a change appearing necessary, Mr. Bartlett came · to Michigan, and . purchased forty acres on section 25, Porter township, Van Buren County, including the site of his present residence. He has since added forty acres to his farm, and the whole is excellent in quality. It was covered with heavy timber when he came into possession, and in the respect of clearing he had all the experience of the earlier pioneers. Mr. Bartlett's mind in earlier years was imbued with the teachings of the Baptist Church, but his religious views are at present of a liberal nature. He allows all the privilege of believing as they choose, and re- spects their opinions. His political status is that of a Democrat, but he has never taken an active part in town- ship politics.
SANFORD COREY.
Sanford Corey, the sixth in a family of nine children,- three sons and six daughters,-was born in the State of New York, May 7, 1821. In 1823 his father removed, with the family, to Ohio, and in 1835 the son came with an uncle, Samuel Corey, to Michigan, and lived with him five years. He then found employment at clearing land by contract, and soon purchased a tract for himself in Kala- mazoo County, which he subsequently sold, and made another purchase of sixty acres on section 26, in Porter township, Van Buren Co. To this he has added from time to time, and now owns a fine farm of two hundred acres. Jan. 31, 1844, Mr. Corey was married to Oliva J., daughter of Jabez and Eleanor Matthews, who was born April 25, 1826. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Corey were the fol- lowing : Oliva S., born Aug. 15, 1845, died Oct. 17, 1876; Charles M., born Sept. 17, 1847, died April 21, 1866; Ella M., born April 18, 1852. Mr. Corey was one of the first to settle and clear a farm in this portion of the town- ship, and it is related that the stories he told of his expe- rience in those early days were interesting and amusing. His wife died Nov. 9, 1875, and he survived her only until Aug. 1, 1876. His daughter Ella, who causes this sketch to be inserted in this work, was married, Sept. 28, 1873, to Benjamin S. Harris, a native of Kalamazoo, at which place his people settled at an early date. He had one brother and one sister. Mr. Corey was a member of, and an active worker in, the Free-Will Baptist Church. In his political views he was a Democrat, and held various positions of trust in the township, including the offices of supervisor and jus- tice of the peace. He was very much respected by his fel- low-citizens, and his loss was sincerely regretted. His early educational advantages were quite limited.
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