USA > Michigan > Branch County > History of Branch county, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 61
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DAVID TIFT.
MRS. DAVID TIFT.
MRS.S. BRAINARD.
E.S E BRAINARD.
WM. KRAISER.
MRS. WM. KRAISER.
( PHOTOS BY KINDMARK COLDWATER )
245
IHISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICIHGAN.
where he purchased the farm upon which Darwin 1. now resides. IFere the old people died, full of years and highly respected by a large circle of friends. lle was a gentle- man of sterling ability, and possessed of many of the virtues and but few of the faults of humankind. His worthy wife was a devoted helpmeet, a kind mother, and a valuable friend. She was born in Conuceticut. Mr. Gray was married, in 1869, to Mrs. Julia A. Fales, daughter of Benjamin Archer, Esq., one of the oldest settlers of Branch County. They have been blessed with two children, Perry D. and Cynthia J. Mrs. Gray was first married at the age of sixteen to Mr. Fales, of Algansec. He was one of the honored dead who went to do battle in our country's defense.
Mr. Gray is an admirable type of the original settler, and possessed of that indomitable energy and hardihood that was necessary to remove the original forest and to lay the foundation for the present wealth and prosperity of the county. It is to such as he that the present generation are indebted, and it is with pleasure that we give him a position in this work among the representative men and pioncers of Branch County.
S. E. BRAINARD.
More than a century ago the father of Mr. Brainard was born in the good State of' Connecticut, the date of his birth having been 1744. He followed farming pursuits, and at the age of twenty-one removed to Madison Co., N. Y., where his son was born. At the expiration of a few years he removed to Genesee County, and engaged in labor incident to the life of a pioneer, such as logging and clearing the land. On becoming of age he left home, and labored for four years ; and Feb. 28, 1832, was married to Miss Sabina Woodman, of Orleans Co., N. Y. After his marriage he purchased a farm in Genesee County, and re- mained upon it four years. Not being satisfied with their condition, they determined to come to Michigan, and in accordance with this purpose began the journey with all their household goods. On reaching Detroit they loaded an ox-wagon with their possessions, and started for Branch County, where Mr. Brainard purchased eighty acres of land in Algansec, arriving in 1836, and still residing on the same tract. At the first township-meeting he was elected commissioner, and the next five years filled the office of township clerk. Later he was elected township treasurer, having filled each successive office with eredit.
Mr. and Mrs. Brainard had two children born in New York State and five in Branch County. The first two were Mahlon W. (who married Miss Duffce, and resides in Coldwater) and Frances L. (who is married to John Wood, and resides in Madison township) ; Caroline died shortly after her marriage; Roxby 1. married George Rice, and lives in Algansee township ; Ann Augusta married George Caldwell, and resides in Coldwater; Corlon married Sarah Dewey, and lives in Algansee; while the younger son, Schoonville, resides with his parents on the homestead, having married Delia Birch. Mr. Brainard is a staunch Republican in politics.
WILLIAM KRAISER.
Casper Kraiser, the father of the gentleman whose name appears above, was born in Lebanon Co., Pa., and followed the pursuits of a farmer. He was the father of cleven chil- dren,-five sons and six daughters.
William Kraiser remained on his father's farm until he became of age, when he went to Northumberland County, in the same State, and engaged with a farmer at ten dol- lars per month. Hle stayed with him five years. In 1838 he was married to Miss Mary Ann Sell, daughter of Jacob Sell, who was one of the pioneers of Berks* Co., Pa. Ile came the same year to Ross Co., Ohio, and worked for two years at the same wages as above, his wife proving her de- votion by washing and sewing, in order to carn her share of their scanty livelihood. In time Mr. Kraiser possessed a team of his own, and for three years farmed on shares. In 1843 he took a lease to clear a farm in Sandusky Co., Ohio, and stayed upon that place eight and one-half years. In 1851 he drove through to Michigan, with his family of seven children, and settled where he now lives. Four chil- dren have been born in this State to Mr. and Mrs. Kraiser, the names of all being as follows: Amos Franklin, now married and residing in Wilson Co., Kan .; Christian, married and living in Genesee Co., Mich. ; Benjamin Wil- liam, married and living in Quincy, Mich. ; Sarah Jane, deceased ; Solomon Henry, living in California township, Branch Co .; Mary Jane, married, husband now deceased ; David Porter, deceased; Granville Washington, married and living near his father; Randolph Rodgers, married and living in Quincy ; Lavinia and Matilda, both deccased.
In 1866 Mr. Kraiser was so unfortunate as to have his house destroyed by fire, together with all the household goods. He is the owner of a fine farm, containing two hundred and sixty-five acres, and although serious misfor- tunes have at times befallen him, he has been generally prosperous since his removal to Michigan, and is surrounded at present by many comforts.
DAVID TIFT
was a native of Allegany Co., N. Y., and a farmer. His children were six in number, viz., Fanny E., Roswald D., Albert .J., Jerome B., A., and Horace N. In the fall of IS31, Mr. Tift left New York and settled in Calhoun Co., Mich., where he entered land and resided four years. He finally sold out and removed to Kinderhook township, Branch Co., where he entered eighty acres of land. About three months later he disposed of his place to Mr. Waterhouse, and removed to Algansee township. In the latter he " took up" one hundred and sixty acres of land, and npon it passed the remainder of his days. Politically he was a Republican, and in re- ligion a Baptist. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Mainier, was born in Seneca Co., N. Y., Dec. 20, 1809, and married to Mr. Tift in Niagara Co., same State. She was the daughter of a farmer and one of nine children. During the trying days when her husband was rearing for his family a home in the wilderness she was ever at his side, a faithful wife and a devoted helper, through all the
Bucks.
246
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
struggles incident to the life of a pioneer. She died in November, 1858, and he who had so long held her dear bowed beneath the stroke and closed his days of mortality Feb. 21, 1859, surviving her loss but three months.
Roswald Tift, who had lived with his father until of age, moved at that eventful period upon the place where he now resides. At the age of twenty-seven he was married to Permelia A. Mason, a widow, by whom he had one child- Elizabeth E. Part of his present farm is land which be- longed to her. Mrs. Tift died April 3, 1866, and May 15, 1870, he was married to Luey R. Shumway, daughter of Alfred and Nancy Shumway, a pioneer couple in this township. By this marriage he has had three children : Levi S., Eli D., and Riley D. Until the autumn of 1878 Mr. Tift was a Republican, but at that date he was elected township clerk on the Greenback ticket. Although a professor of religiou, he is a member of no particular sect. Mrs. Tift is a member of the Advent Church.
Jerome B. Tift was born upon the old homestead in Al- gansee, and upon it he still resides. On the 18th of No- vember, 1860, he was married to Frances A. Grice, daugh- ter of Peter Grice, one of the early settlers of Kinderhook township. He is the father of three children : Clara M., Dora A., and Horace J. Both he and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Tift is a Republican iu polities.
ALFRED SHUMWAY.
History records the persecutions to which the Freuch lInguenots were subjected nearly two hundred years ago, and the flight of many of them to climes where the religions atmosphere was more congenial to their belief. In the year 1695 a vessel arrived at Boston, Mass., and landed Peter Shumway, Peter Fanenil, the Sigourneys, and others. Shumway was one of the devoted band of Huguenots, and in company with others of his own people founded a colony at Oxford, where are yet standing the remains of a fort they built for defense against the Indians. Peter Shumway, it seems, assumed this name after arriving in this country, as none such can be found among the French. IIe married an English lady, a Miss Smith, and they became the parents of seven sons, viz., Oliver, Jeremiah, David, John, Jacob, Samuel, and Amos. Undoubtedly all persons in the United States bearing the name of Shumway are descended from the worthy Peter.
Levi Shumway, son of Oliver and grandson of Peter Shumway (Ist), was born at Oxford, Mass., April 8, 1727. Ilis son, Isaac W. Shumway, was born at Belcher, Mass., Oct. 12, 1761. When seventeen years of age, or in 1778, he volunteered in the American army and served until 1782. He was present at the execution of Maj. Andre and at the surrender of Cornwallis. Dec. 18, 1785, he was married to Patience Pratt.
Their son, Levi Shumway, was born at Belcher, Hamp- shire Co., Mass., June 11, 1788, and in 1804 removed to Macedon, Wayne Co., N. Y., where, on the 16th of Sep- tember, 1817, he was married to Abigail Smith. In 1829 he removed to Lenawee Co., Mich., and died Aug 3, 1834.
Alfred Shumway, a son of the above, was born in
Macedon, Wayne Co., N. Y., July 12, 1818, and came with his parents to Lenawee Co., Mich., in September, 1829. At that time it is stated that but two log houses were standing where now is the flourishing and beautiful eity of Adrian. Mr. Shumway was married, Jan. 22, 1845, to Nancy M. Davis, of Palmyra, Lenawee Co., Mich., and removed to Branch County, Feb. 19, 1849. Mrs. Shum- way, who was a daughter of Charles and Polly Davis, was born at Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. Y., July 24, 1823, and was one of a family of seven children. Her parents re- moved to Palmyra, Lenawee Co., Mich., in July, 1836, and there, as above stated, she was married to Mr. Shumway. Their children were three in number,-Mary E., born in Madison, Lenawee Co., Feb. 19, 1846 ; Levi A., born at the same place, Oct. 25, 1847 ; and Lucy R., born in Pal- myra, Lenawee Co., Sept. 10, 1850.
Levi A. Shumway was married to Annie M. Gallup, Sept. 17, 1873. Their children are Alfred T., born in Algansee, Branch Co., Dec. 9, 1876, and Dennis Burr, born in the same township, July 5, 1878; died Feb. 13, 1879.
Lucy R. Shumway was married to Roswell D. Tift, May 15, 1870.
Alfred Shumway was in his religion an Adventist; in politics, a staunch Republican and an untiring worker. He was the oldest of a large family of children, and when but sixteen years of age was left to care for them by the death of his father. Ilis first crop of corn in his Michigan home was entirely destroyed by wild game. This descendant of a zealous Frenchman lived a comparatively uneventful life, yet his death was a most tragic one, being caused by a buzz-saw, and occurring April 26, 1874. He was a worthy, upright man, and an esteemed citizen, and his death was sincerely mourned.
ANDREW CRATER.
Mathuyas Crater, the father of the above, was born in Geneva, N. J, and became the father of sixteen children, -nine sons and seven daughters. In the spring of 1825 he removed with his family to Wayne Co., N. Y.
Andrew Crater, who was born in Hunterdon Co., N. J., June 28, 1813, went West with his father to New York, and remained with him until twenty-one years of age, when he started for the then " far West" to make for himself a home. In the spring of 1837 he came to Algansee town- . ship, Branch Co., Mich., bought eighty acres of land, and then returned East and was married on the 28th of Decem- ber, 1837, to Hannah Waterbury. In the fall of 1838 he brought his wife to Michigan and settled upon the eighty- acre lot he had purchased in Algansee. By this marriage Mr. Crater became the father of four children, viz., Reuben, Martha R., Henrietta E., and Delos. Mrs. Crater died in 1848, and in 1851 he was married to Elizabeth Craig, by whom he also had four children, and on the 28th of June, 1861, he was again left a mourner by the death of his wife. March 12, 1863, he married Catharine Depue, and by her had two children. A third time the fell destroyer of human happiness entered his household, and the third time he mourned the loss of a faithful partner, for on the 21st
MRS. A SHUMWAY.
A. SHUMWAY.
PHOTOS BY KINDMARK COLDWATER.
[PHOTOS BY K.NOMARK )
A. CRATER
MRS. A CRATER
MRS.S. B. HANCHETT.
S.B HANCHETT
PHOTOS Br TRIPP. COLDWATER
247
IHISTORY OF BRANCHI COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
of August, 1869, his wife was called to the "land of the hereafter." His present wife was Mrs. Caroline E. Bul- lock, to whom he was married Feb. 1, 1873. Her maiden name was Wright, and she was born in the town of Clay, N. Y. At the age of fifteen she removed with her parents to Brighton. Ill., where she was married to Mr. Bullock. After his death she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, thence to Saginaw, Mich., and finally to Quincy, Branch Co., where she was " wooed and won" by Mr. Crater.
Mr. and Mrs. Crater are members of the Baptist Church, of which they are ardent supporters. Mr. Crater has, in the course of nearly half a century of patient industry and close economy, become the owner of' a farm of four hundred and seventy-eight acres, of which and its improvements he is justly proud. He has seen the wilderness " blossom as the rose," and in his age is enabled to peacefully enjoy the fruits of his labors.
S. B. HANCHETT.
The father of Mr. Hanchett was reared in Connecticut, and at the surrender of Burgoyne his mother was three years of age. The subject of our sketch was born in Sar- atoga Co., N. Y., and was the youngest of three children.
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F. D. RANSOM.
FRANCIS D. RANSOM.
Francis D. Ransom was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., Jan. 5, 1816, and was the son of James Ransom, whose birthplace was New London, Conn., and who was a ship- carpenter by trade. Ilis grandfather was a machinist by occupation, and in the Revolutionary war ranked as ser- geant under Col. St. Leger. Mr. Ransom, who followed farming in early life, at the age of twenty-one traveled through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, exploring the country, and finally returned and married Miss Chloe, daughter of Benjamin Stinter. They have seven children. Mr. Ran- som bought of his brother, John Ransom, forty aeres of
His father and mother died early, with an interval of but two days between them, the first being seventy-nine, and the latter sixty years of age.
Mr. Hanchett remained upon the farm for two years after the death of his parents, and during that time his sister and brother were both married, Seth eventually re- moving to Gibraltar, about twenty miles from Detroit. Having some desire to take up his residence farther West, he started, at the age of twenty-one, on a prospecting tour in Ohio. Not being well pleased, he repaired to Canada and engaged to work with his half-brother, Mr. Wood, and later was employed in a saw-mill. He suffered severely with the typhoid fever and the smallpox in succession. With eighty dollars in silver he emigrated to Michigan, his brother Seth having meanwhile sold the homestead and come to Algansee township. Mr. Hanchett arrived in Coldwater in May, 1838, and went dircetly to Algansee. After some pioneer experiences incident to the settlement of a new country, at the age of twenty-eight, he married Ruth C. Thompson, daughter of an old resident of Califor- nia township. They have had seven children, three of whom are dead. Mr. llanchett was formerly a Whig, and afterwards esponsed the principles of the Republican party. IIe has held many offices of trust in his township, and is highly esteemed as a citizen and a man.
MRS. F. D. RANSOM.
land in 1837, and continued to add to his landed posses- sions until he had accumulated two hundred and fifty, which he now owns in Algansee township. lle connected himself with the Baptist church at Elbridge, N. Y., when he was nineteen years of age, and has been an ardent worker in its cause since that period. He was one of the builders of the Baptist church in Algansee, and has continued to fill the office of deacon since that time. Mrs. Ransom has also been a member of the church since the age of fifteen ycars.
They reside in Algansee township, and are enjoying the regard of the many friends that a life of integrity, and re- plete with kindly deeds, has won them.
248
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
F. T. GALLUP,
one of Algansee's worthiest citizens, was born in Canada, March 11, 1823. His father, Ezekiel Gallup, was born in Hartland, Vt., August, 1787, and at the age of twenty-one removed, with his father, Joseph, to Canada,
In the autumn of 1834 he migrated to Monroe Co., Mich., and settled on Stony Creek, whence, after a brief stay, he moved over to Medina, Lenawee Co., in the fall of 1837, and died in the latter place, January, 1860.
IFis son, F. T. Gallup, accompanied him to Michigan in 1834, and in 1849, marrying Miss M. L. Sanderson, took possession of a new farm in Medina, and entered upon au active agricultural eareer.
Mrs. Gallup was the daughter of Jesse and Lucretia Sanderson, who were born in Hartland, Vt., in 1787. Her father served through the war of 1812, and not long after- wards removed to Oneida Co., N. Y., where he died in 1843. Mrs. Sanderson went, in 1866, to Algansee, and there died, June 19, 1878, in the ninety-first year of her age.
Mrs. Gallup was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., in 1825, and in 1847 took up her residence in Michigan.
After remaining upon their farm in Medina until 1853, Mr. and Mrs. Gallup located in Algansec, where, upon the broad acres of their rich agricultural domain, they have ever sinee continued to reside.
ASAHEL BROWN.
MRS. ASAHEL BROWN.
ASAHIEL BROWN.
Asahel Brown, one of the earliest settlers of Algansec, Mich., was born in Stafford, Monmouth Co., N. J., April 9, 1803. He was the eldest son of Abner and Hannah Brown, and with his parents removed to the State of New York.
His father was born in Stafford, March 14, 1781 ; and that too was the birthplace of his mother,-her maiden name being Birdsal, and the date of her birth, Sept. 22, 1782.
Young Asahel spent the early years of his life in the then new country of Western New York, and save an oeca- sional term at a distriet sehool, enjoyed no educational privileges.
He labored on his father's farm the most of his time until he reached his thirtieth year,-in 1833,-having meanwhile married Deborah, daughter of Jesse Comstock, who assisted in the construction of the first canal-loeks at Loekport.
In that year he determined to " go West" in search of a farm,-for his ambition had long been to own one,-and
so he set out with his wife and four children for Michigan, transporting them as well as his household goods in a lum- ber-wagon.
They settled first at Pahnyra, Lenawee Co., where Mr. Brown bought an eighty-acre farm, but becoming dissatis- fied with the location, removed, in 1836, to Algansee, pur- chased a farm there, and became a permanent settler. The first town-meeting was held in his log cabin, which stood near the old "State road." Ile grew prosperous as time passed, and became a man of mark as well as substance. For twenty-one years he served as supervisor, and for many years he held the office of justice of the peace.
He was a strong anti-slavery Whig, and in 1849 was defeated, by a small majority, as a candidate of that party for the Legislature.
In 1850 he was a member of the State Constitutional convention, was State Senator in 1856 and 1858, and served also, in 1867, as a member of the State Constitu- tional convention.
Ile was for some time president of the Branch County
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IHISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
219
Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and in all his business and social relations commanded wide and carnest recognition as a man of sterling integrity, staunch business principles, and unflagging industry.
To his original farming possessions he added from time to time, and at the period of his death he owned five hundred
acres of land, of which three hundred were improved. In religious belief he sympathized with Unitarianism, and deeply revered the faith of his Quaker ancestors. After a long life of active usefulness, Mr. Brown died, June 8, 1874, leaving to survive him his widow, who still resides upon the old homstead at Algansee.
GILEAD .*
TOWNSHIP 8 south, range 7 west, as designated by the United States survey, is a fractional township, six miles long from east to west, and three and one-half' miles wide" from north to south, lying on the southern border of Branch County, adjoining the State of Indiana, and con- tains an area of about 13,500 acres. It is bounded on the north by Bethel, east by Kinderhook, south by James- town and Mill Grove, townships of Steuben Co., Ind., and west by Noble. For purposes of deseriptien, the town may be divided into three portions. A line drawn across it from north to south, beginning two miles from the northwest corner, and terminating two and one-half miles from the southwest corner, and another starting near the middle of this line and running to the eastern boundary ; separate these parts from one another. The part west of this first-described line is lightly-rolling in its nature, being of the class of lands known as burr-oak plains or openings, and has a mixed soil, composed of a sandy or gravelly loam, which is easily tilled and very fertile. The north- east part of the town is mainly heavily-timbered lands, with a level surface, and quite wet and swampy in many places. The soil is a dark, sandy loam, intermingled with some pretty heavy clay. The southeast portion of the town is composed of white oak or timbered openings, a little timbered land, and about one-quarter of the whole is open marsh. Its surface is varied, being quite hilly in the west and more level in the east, and the soil is also quite diversified. The soil of the town is somewhat mixed with loose stones of many kinds, some of which are plainly the work of some animal like the coral insect, while others are quite as evidently petrifactions. Among others are often found large bowlders, from one to two feet in diame- ter, formed of smaller stones, varying in size from a pea to a butternut, which seem to have in some manner become so firmly cemented together, as to form a solid and concrete mass.
Among the natural curiosities and peenliar natural fea- tures of the town are some relics of the past, whose origin is hidden in the dark recesses of the prehistorie ages. That they indicate, and indeed substantially prove, that
some race of intelligent people onee lived, loved, and died upon these fertile and beautiful plains must be apparent to every one who will give the subject careful consideration. The Indians have no traditions which relate to these relies, and have always shown perfect ignorance regarding their origin and significance. On the shores of Gilead Lake, and at other places in the town, are found remains of what have been generally regarded as ancient fortifications. They are invariably circular in form, and elevated, at present, from one to two feet above the general surface of the ground. The principal of these are the two which are found on the shores of Gilead Lake, one on the west and the other on the east side, very nearly opposite each other. A description of the one on the east side, which was visited by the writer, will answer as a general description of them all. The one on the west shore is the largest one. Near the north end of the lake an arm runs out to the eastward, and on the south shore of this bay lies the work we are about to deseribe. The shore at this point is a steep bluff, about fifteen feet above the average level of the waters of the lake, and a platean extends from the edge of this bluff some thirty rods in every direction, and then gradu- ally descends to a lower level. Ou this plateau, with its two extremities touching the edge of the bluff, is a semi- circular are, eighteen or twenty rods in diameter, and drawn on so true a circle that it proves almost conelnsively that it was laid out before the trees which now occupy the site grew there. Along this line is an elevation about six or perhaps eight feet in width and eighteen inches high in the middle. The great age of this work is attested by the trees growing upon the top of the elevation, whose appearance shows that they sprang into existence after it was made, and whose size evidences an undisturbed growth of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred years. That they are remains of for- tifications is by no means clear to the mind of the present writer, and can never be conclusively shown until the habits and mode of life of their former inhabitants shall be made known. That they may simply mark the site of some dwelling-place of a gregarian race seems quite prob- able when we consider the fact that they are generally largely built up of the shells of fresh-water clams which abounded in these lakes. But whatever their origin or
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