History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 56

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 56
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 56

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

FIRST SETTLEMENT

MRS. NATHANIEL BRANT.

NATHANIEL M. BRANT.

RESIDENCE OF NATHANIEL M. BRANT , BAINBRIDGE, BERRIEN CO., MICHIGAN.

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TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE.

Stephen R. Shepard, J. B. Ransom, Crawford Hazard, James Wilder, and one Lamson were among the earliest employed upon the "Jobs," their service beginning about January, 1836. Ransom and Lamson remained, however, but a short time before returning to New York. Crawford Hazard was from Jefferson Co., N. Y., and in the spring of 1836 made the journey from Michigan, with his family and the families of Alonzo Gustin and Artemas Stickney,-the three being under engagement with Smith & Merrick to work upon their Western lands. Gustin went back to New York after a short stay ; Hazard worked on the "Jobs" about a year, and in 1839 settled in Pipestone, upon a farm purchased of Morgan Enos. He left there in 1844 for Hagar; located in Bainbridge in 1860; in 1861 returned to Pipestone; and in 1865 again took up his residence in Bain- bridge, where he died in 1868. One of his daughters married Nathaniel Brant, and now lives in Bainbridge.

Mr. Hazard lived during his service on the "Jobs," in the Ruleaux tavern, which, upon his coming, was vacant. One day a man drove suddenly up before Hazard's door with a loaded lumber-wagon, in which was his family and household goods. Calling out loudly, he asked, " Is this the Ruleaux place ?" Hazard, coming to the door at the summons, replied that it was. "Then," said the man on the wagon, "I'm master here." Hazard, in a spirit of badinage, replied, " Well, sir, take off your coat, and we'll try titles." The man on the wagon laughed, introduced him- self as Isaac Higbee, shook hands with Hazard, and in- formed him that he had bought the Ruleaux place for a home. Accordingly he took possession, and Hazard moved to the house of Henry Nash, who boarded several of the men employed on the " Jobs." Higbee lived on the place but three years and then moved West.

The general impression seems to be that the first death in the township was that of John P. Davis, the first land- lord of the Territorial road tavern, who died in the fall of 1836. The impression is a mistaken one. There were two deaths in the township before that of Davis. The first was that of a surveyor engaged with the corps making the gov- ernmental survey. A coffin not being easily obtainable, the surveyor's body was encased in bark, and thus was buried near the site afterwards chosen by Ruleaux for his tavern. That was the first death. The second was that of Mc- Donald Carr, a Canadian, engaged on Smith & Merrick's " Jobs." Carr was taken ill shortly after he commenced work, and was taken care of at Henry Nash's boarding- house. He was afterwards moved to Crawford Hazard's house, where he died five days afterwards. He was buried by the side of the surveyor, and there, too, a child was buried not long afterwards. The remains of these three still lie in the spot where they were buried, although all traces of their graves have long since been obliterated.

Mrs. Nathaniel Brant, a daughter of Crawford Hazard, recalls how the limited accommodations of settlers' houses during the days of '36 were put to severe tests when new- comers began to grow plentiful, and says that generous hospitality being the rule, it was nothing strange for four or five families, just come into the settlement, to find enter- tainment at one cabin, and to sleep promiscuously on the floor at night as the best that could be offered under the

circumstances. Mosquitoes were distressingly plentiful, and at times during the summer did much towards making life a burden.

Hiram Ormsby came from the Watervliet Shingle Dig- gings in 1838, with Stephen R. Gilson, and settled on the Territorial road near the tavern, but moved away after a brief stay. His home is now in South Haven. William Boughton lived on the Territorial road, near Millburg, from 1837 to 1839, and in the latter year moved to Pipestone.

THE PENN YAN SETTLEMENT.

The southwestern portion of Bainbridge is popularly known as Penn Yan, a name given to it by Isaac Youngs after the Brants located there. The first settlement in this part was made by the Brant family, of Wayne Co., N. Y. Simeon Brant with his wife and four children-Nathaniel, John, Daniel, and Augustus-came to Michigan in 1836, and made a settlement upon section 31 in Bainbridge town- ship, where the elder Brant had, previous to his coming hither, bought 80 acres of land of Darius Clark. At this time the southern tier of sections in Bainbridge was an un- broken wilderness, into which Brant was the first to venture as a settler. With the aid of his boys, he chopped out a road to his place, put up a cabin, and made a clearing. Nathaniel, the eldest son, worked about upon neighboring farms until 1840, when he moved upon a farm in Pipe- stone, on section 17, which he had bought in 1838 of Morgan Enos, for whom, in Pipestone, he was a farm-hand from 1837 to 1840. In 1844, Nathaniel bought of Smith & Merrick a farm in Bainbridge, and upon that place he has since lived. John settled in Pipestone, where he died. Daniel became a settler in the southern portion of Bain- bridge, and yet lives there. Augustus, the youngest brother, who lived with Daniel, was waylaid and killed while making a journey to visit some friends in Cass County.

Francis Johnson followed Simeon Brant into Penn Yan in 1837, although he had bought a farm the year before on section 31. He was unmarried then and roamed about until 1837, when he put up a shanty on his place and soon after married. In a little while he tired of a pioneer's life and moved into Benton township, where he opened a cooper's shop, returning, however, not long afterwards to his Bainbridge farm, where he lived until 1879, when he moved to Kansas.

Joseph Griffin settled about the time of Johnson's coming. He died many years ago, and of his family none are known to be in the township.

Ethamar Adams and his two sons, Charles and Ethamar, Jr., came in perhaps in 1837. The two sons were some years afterwards killed in the Mountain Meadow massacre in Utah. The elder Adams moved to Niles in 1854, and died there. Previous to Adams' occupancy of his Bain- bridge farm, Henry Nash, who had been at work for Smith & Merrick, lived on it a few months, and then changed his residence to St. Joseph.

David Sutherland, who had settled in Kalamazoo in 1837, conveyed his family to Bainbridge in 1839, having there bought of Israel Kellogg 120 acres on sections 33 and 34. His experience as a pioneer was, however, brief, for he died in August, 1840. His four sons-William,

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Bushrod, John, and George-lived with him until his death. William now occupies the old homestead. Bush- rod bought a farm in Bainbridge in 1854, and now lives there. John lived with his brother William until 1856, when he bought a farm in Pipestone, where he has since resided. George, who went to Kalamazoo to live when he was but eight years old, now resides in Kalamazoo County. Charles Barnes, who married one of David Sutherland's daughters, was a settler first in Kalamazoo and then in Illinois. In 1842 he bought a place in Bainbridge on section 34. He entered the military service during the war of the Rebellion as chaplain of the 12th Michigan Infantry ; was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and died in the hospital at Pittsburg Landing.

In April, 1844, Joseph and Albert Vincent, with their families, and Henry Vincent, their younger brother,-the party including eight persons,-landed in Bainbridge, with a pair of horses, a lumber-wagon, and their household ef- fects. They had come from the town of Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y., for the purpose of locating in Michigan, but undecided as to any particular point until they reached the State. Joseph worked Daniel Pettis' farm a year, and then bought of Israel Kellogg a farm on section 34, where he now lives. He did but little work on the place until 1848, when he settled upon it permanently. At that time there was no traveled road in the vicinity of his farm, and until 1849 narrow paths through the woods were the best thoroughfares available. Albert Vincent worked the old Sharrai place two years, and then, buying a farm near Millburg, lived upon it a number of years. He then moved to Millburg and kept a store. His residence is now Benton Harbor. Henry boated on the St. Joseph, and died at Millburg.

Horace Vincent, another brother, became a settler in Bainbridge in 1846, when he occupied a farm north of Millburg, and after living there seven years moved to Benton, where he still resides. Still another brother, John, came to Bainbridge at an early day, and becoming subse- quently a resident of Watervliet, died in Coloma in 1877.

Stephen Stanley was among those who worked with Stephen R. Shepard, on Smith & Merrick's "Jobs," in 1838. After completing his services there, he followed the business of boating on the St. Joseph River, and in 1844 settled in Benton township. He now lives in Hagar.

In 1843, George Wise, with his wife and three children, his father and mother, and his brother-in-law, John Lewis (whose family likewise accompanied him), started in com- pany from Livingston Co., N. Y., via the Erie Canal, for the West, without any definite purpose as to where in the West they would locate. During the canal journey to Buf- falo, George Wise's eldest child-a daughter-was killed by contact with a bridge, under which the boat passed be- fore the child could heed the danger-warning. Reaching Buffalo, the party embarked on board a lake vessel for Chicago, where arriving, they did not fancy the country, and having been neighbors of David Byers (then settled in Bainbridge), they resolved to visit him. Mr. Wise's father and John Lewis stopped with David Byers, while George Wise and his family were sheltered at the house of John Byers' mother.

Without delay George Wise bought of E. P. Deacon 80 acres of land on section 24, in Bainbridge, and while pre- paring the place for his family, lodged them in a house in the adjoining township of Keeler that summer. Upon the place he then bought, Mr. Wise has lived until the present time. .

John Lewis settled in Keeler within a few days after his arrival in Bainbridge. The elder Wise located upon a place one mile west of his son, on the Territorial road, where George Peters had already erected a cabin. He lived afterwards in Keeler, where he died in 1853. When the Wises came into Bainbridge, the settlers on the Terri- torial road were the Byers, on the east, and on the west, James Bragg, the widow Woodruff, David Woodruff, the Tabors, Martin Tice, Pinney, the landlord, and the widow of John Williams. Williams was an early settler in what is now Coloma.

The year 1844 was fruitful of settlements in Bainbridge. Eighteen families came hither from the town of Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y., including the Bishops, the Spinks, the Harris families, the Boyers, Vincents, Spencers, and others. Asa Bishop and his three married sons, A. Sprague Bishop, Appleton Bishop, and Norris S. Bishop, came in company with their families. They all purchased land of Smith & Merrick, on the north-and-south road passing through sections 6 and 7, and settled on farms adjoining each other. Sprague Bishop remained until 1850, when he sold to James Adams and moved to Hagar, where he now lives. Asa Bishop lived on a place adjoining Sprague's on the south, and afterwards lived with his son, Kellogg Bishop, who, upon marrying a daughter of Jason Knapp, occupied a residence opposite his father's house. The elder Bishop died at Kellogg's house, in 1872. The latter still resides in Bainbridge. Appleton lived in Bainbridge a few years, and removed to St. Joseph to engage in mercan- tile pursuits, and there died. Norris resided in Bainbridge until his death, in 1864. When the Bishops came in, those "living on the north-and-south road spoken of were the Boyers, Jabez Knapp, Jason Alden, and Elisha Coon. Alden moved to Wisconsin three years later, and returning once more to Michigan, settled permanently in Benton. Coon soon passed farther West, and now lives in California.

Orsemus and John Spink visited the West in the fall of 1843, on a prospecting tour, during which John bought of Smith & Merrick 80 acres on section 29, in Bainbridge. The brothers returned to New York, and there Orsemus exchanged his New York farm, with Smith & Merrick, for 80 acres on section 32, adjoining John's place. In the spring of 1844 both came to Bainbridge with their fam- ilies, and spent a few days at Artemas Stickney's house, when, having erected a board shanty on John's farm, they moved into it. Orsemus Spink relates that when they came, roads in their neighborhood were not to be seen. Their neighbors were the Brants, one mile south ; no settlers were between them and the western line of the township, while on the north, nearest them were Stowe and Van Der Bogart, and on the east, Stickney, Joseph and Mitchell Matran, Daniel Pettis, and Gilbert Van Vranken. Orse- mus Spink is still a resident of Bainbridge. John moved

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TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE.

to St. Joseph in 1854, and later to Benton, where he died. Samuel, a third brother, who started with Orsemus and John from New York in 1844, stopped at Toledo, where he remained four years, and in 1848 settled in Bainbridge, upon section 29. A few years later he changed his resi- dence to St. Joseph township, where he now lives.

Justin, Norman, and Austin Boyer, three brothers, ex- changed lands in Jefferson Co., N. Y., for some of Smith & Merrick's land in Bainbridge, and, with their families, settled there in 1844,-Justin on section 6, where he still lives, and Austin adjoining him on the south. The latter now lives in California.

Among the comers of 1844 was S. H. Meech, of Oswego Co., N. Y., who bought about 300 acres in Bainbridge of H. T. Meech & Barnes, Western land speculators living in New York. He came out with his wife, and lived at Pin- ney's tavern until his own log house was completed. Then he joined the pioneer army, locating on section 26, where he lived until his death, in 1873, and where his widow still survives him.

J. D Brewster, a Vermonter, came to Bainbridge with his family in 1844, and lived a year on a place owned by Justus Sutherland, where Brewster put up a cabin,-his family remaining meanwhile at the house of Daniel Pettis. During the year he bought 80 acres of George Peters, of Benton, and building thereon a substantial log house moved upon the place in 1845, since which time he has resided there.

A. F. Stiles, of Jefferson Co., N. Y., left there in the spring of 1845 with his wife and three children for Michi- gan, having bought of Eli Watson 160 acres on section 30 in Bainbridge. Leaving his family in Lenawee Co., Mich., Mr. Stiles went over to Bainbridge to look at his new pur- chase, and was pleased with it,-especially upon being in- formed that he had got a piece of fine land at a bargain. Mr. Stiles brought his family on and occupied temporarily a log cabin that had been erected upon a place near there by Walter Van De Bogart, who was an early settler in Bainbridge, but who in a few years after coming to Michi- gan returned to New York, whence he had migrated. Van De Bogart's brother-in-law, Cyrus Stowe, settled also in Bainbridge at an early date. He sold out in 1855 to Dr. Parker and moved to St. Joseph village, where for a while he kept a boarding-house, and removing afterwards to Illi- nois, died there. In the spring of 1846, Mr. Stiles moved to his own farm, and there he now resides. Although the road on which he now lives was laid out before he came in, it was not until the summer of 1846 that it was opened for .travel. Mr. Stiles' nearest neighbors were Orsemus Spink, three-quarters of a mile east, the Brants, on the south, and John Spink, on the north.

Israel F. Lyman, who was an early settler in Bainbridge, lived upon section 18, near Millburg, until 1847, when he sold his place to Harley B. Harrington and moved away. At that time there was no settlement between Harrington's and Tice's on the Territorial road. Mr. Harrington died in 1866. His daughter, Mrs. Morrison, now lives on the farm.

Sydney Spencer moved from Jefferson Co., N. Y., to Hillsdale, Mich., in 1844, and in 1846 came to Bainbridge,

where he had bought 120 acres of land (previously occu- pied by Walter Van De Bogart) of William Angell, a Michigan land-owner, living in New York. Upon that place Mr. Spencer has since continued to live. When he located there, the only settlers on the road between him and Spink's Corners were Cyrus Stowe and John Spink. Previous to Sydney Spencer's coming, his brother Jason settled near Spink's Corners in 1844. He sold out after a brief residence and weut East, but settled subsequently in Benton township.

In 1844, Daniel Harris with his two sons, Henry and Elkanah, came from Jefferson Co., N. Y., and settled upon section 6. They moved away in 1850. Henry now lives in Coloma. His father and brother are dead.

STAGE-COACHING DAYS.

The early days of the Territorial road and the popularity of Pinney's tavern have already been briefly alluded to. In the old stage-coach times a roadside tavern, where good cheer and a brief rest awaited the weary traveler, meant something of which contemplation was always a pleasure, and the realization of which generally verified anticipations. Davis, who built the log tavern upon the opening of the road, in 1835, did not, perhaps, offer a perfect house of en- tertainment; nor did his immediate successors, for the reason, doubtless, that limited traffic did not warrant it, although it is likely that the old log tavern was a welcome and re- freshing resting-place to many a tired and hungry wayfarer. It was, however, reserved for Pinney, in 1841, to set the tavern forward upon a career of prosperity to which it had hitherto scarcely aspired. He replaced the log cabin with a capacious and somewhat pretentious structure, expanded his conveniences for business even as business itself continued to expand, and for some years thereafter drove a remarkably brisk trade. Travel was lively. The merry stage-coaches, -sometimes as many as a dozen each day,-drawn by dash- ing teams of four and sometimes six horses, carried full loads of passengers daily between Detroit and St. Joseph ; freight-wagons plied regularly and frequently along the route ; and times were, altogether, quite encouraging for mine host Pinney and his famous tavern-stand.

With the completion, however, of the Michigan Central Railroad to Kalamazoo, the days of stage-coaching on the Territorial road and the days of Pinney's tavern as a shining light were over forever. The six-horse coach was pushed aside by the iron horse, the tide of traffic betook itself to another and speedier channel, Pinney's tavern fell into the obscurity of neglect, and Pinney himself was known no more as a landlord.

TEMPERANCE-MILLS-ROADS.

Although now what may be justly termed a temperance township, Bainbridge withheld its frown in the earlier days of its settlement from the practice of alcoholic consump- tion which prevailed while the taverns were institutions in the land. Indeed, the spirit that ruled then permitted the dispensation of spirits at not only the taverns, but it was considered quite proper for every family to keep a bountiful supply of liquor on hand for use in a sudden emergency, or to play an important part in the business of providing hos-

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

pitable treatment for visitors,-and open-handed hospitality was as common then as it was freely called into exercise. Now, however, all that is changed,-that is, the matter of liquor consumption or sale. Popular opinion long since declared against the traffic in liquor, and Bainbridge has, accordingly, enjoyed for many a day a comparative freedom from enterprises of that character.

Mills .- Bainbridge has at no time felt the impetus of milling enterprise within its borders,-one reason being a lack of water-power, and another the want of railway- transportation facilities. The only mill the town ever had was a saw-mill, which was built by Freeman Ruggles, in 1856, on Mill Creek, in the northeastern corner of the township.

As already mentioned, the Territorial road passing through the centre of the township from east to west was laid out in 1835. In 1837 the business of laying out township roads was carried forward by E. C. King, S. R. Shepard, and J. N. Davis, as highway commissioners, Israel Kellogg being the surveyor. In that year the roads laid out were one running north and south on the west lines of sections 22, 27, and 34; one running east and west through the centre of sections 27, 28, and 29; one north and south along the west lines of sections 20, 29, and 32; one along the east lines of sections 3, 10, 15, 22, and 27 ; one east and west through the centre of sections 33 and 34; one north and south through sections 5, 8, and 17; and one east and west through sec- tions 8, 9, and 10. In 1838 the roads laid out were one from the east portion of section 8 to Millburg; one north and south along the east lines of sections 29 and 32, thence west and south to the south line of section 32.

THE GERMAN SETTLEMENT.

Bainbridge is largely occupied by Germans, especially in the northern portion, where they are greatly in the majority. That locality is generally known as the German Settlement, whose members are known also as a thrifty, industrious people, comfortably off in nearly every instance, and in many even wealthy. They maintain four church organi- zations, are liberally supplied with excellent school privi- leges, are most worthy citizens, and although taking free and active part in daily associations with the world outside their own community, confine their social lives in a great degree to the " settlement," and fraternize, in short, with each other as members of one family. For this there is es- pecial reason in the fact that all the members of the settle- ment are natives of Germany, or children of Germans, and, more than that, many of them were neighbors and friends in the Fatherland.

The German Settlement was founded in 1841, by Mi- chael Humphrey, Peter Humphrey, his brother, Jacob Kreiger, Peter Schmitberger, Daniel Kreiger, Christian Heffner, Jacob Kneibes, and Peter, his son. These eight Germans, who left their native land in 1840 for America, although not all in company, went to Ohio, and late in that year met in the city of Cincinnati. All were actuated by a common desire to become farmers in the great West, and so it came about that all being similarly attracted to the advertisement of Smith & Merrick, the great Michigan land-owners, they resolved to purchase farms in Michigan.

So, under instructions of Israel Kellogg, agent for Smith & Merrick, they set out from Cincinnati for Bainbridge town- ship, traveling by teams, and in the summer of 1841 halted in Watervliet. The journey from Cincinnati was a tedious one, but the hearts of the sturdy Germans were cheered with the prospect of comfort in their pioneer life, and they looked forward with bright hopes and eager anticipations to the prosperity which they believed awaited them in the new land of their adoption. Sour milk and bread, it is said, formed the chief articles of diet during their trip from Cin- cinnati to Watervliet,-the bread being in their own stores, and the milk being obtained as best it could be from dwell- ers along the wayfarers' route. Probably they thrived on the bread and milk, and hearty and happy they landed in Watervliet, ready to bargain with Israel Kellogg for their future homes. Of the eight, Michael and Peter Humphrey settled in what is now Watervliet; the rest located just south of them, in the northern portion of what is now Bainbridge. The first of the eight to die was Michael Humphrey, who lived in the settlement until 1854, and saw then that the little band with which he came in thirteen years before had expanded in strength and grown to be a prosperous and wealthy community. Since then Peter Schmitberger, Daniel Kreiger, and Jacob Kneibes have died. Of the other four, Peter Humphrey moved to Weesaw township in 1846 ; Jacob Kreiger, Christian Heffner, and Peter Kreibes are still residents of Bainbridge.

Upon the farms purchased by the eight friends Smith & Merrick had effected some clearings, but the greater portion of the tract was a wild, unbroken country, and at it the Germans commenced with a will to subdue the forest and to make the soil productive. They continued for five years, or until 1846, to comprise all the inhabitants in the German Settlement, and by that time, having done much towards improving the country and their prospects, they thought of inducing others of their friends in Germany to come out and join them. With that purpose in view, they wrote to those whom they desired as accessions to their little band, and as a result there were added in 1846 the families of Adam Hofer, Andrew Kaunzman, William Dukesher, Charles Knopf, Christopher Reichebach, and Michael Humphrey, who journeyed together from Ger- many, and made the trip from Buffalo to St. Joseph in the steamer " Phoenix." Speedily following them, in the fall of 1846 and spring of 1847, came David Scherer, Jacob Herman, Adam Pole, Daniel and Lawrence Koob, David Friday, Michael Christ, Nicholas Kibler, Adam Shrumm, and others, of whom Kaunzman, Friday, and the Koobs settled in Watervliet, while the others located in Bainbridge .. Later came the Webers, the Haids, Arnts, Buhlingers, Denners, and many who have become conspicuously identi- fied with the progress of the settlement. As the German settlers came in they settled near each other, and so gradu- ally created a community, which has widened, expanded, and strengthened into its present proportions.

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History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 56

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