USA > Michigan > Branch County > History of Branch county, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 63
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When he arrived in Michigan his worldly pos- sessions consisted of fifty dollars in money and a half-interest in a yoke of oxen. In the spring of 1834 he entered the southeast quarter of north west quarter section 18, in Gilead, and bought, second- handed, the northeast quarter of northwest quarter same section. The land was unimproved, but the energy and perseverance of Mr. Marsh soon over- came all obstacles, and the wilderness was made to " blossom as a rose."
Soon after his arrival he was married to Miss Mary Leverich, whose father was one of the first
settlers in the township. She was born in Ohio, February, 1817. Their union has been blessed with four children as follows: Martha J., born Jan. 16, 1837; Cilicia A., born September, 1840; Lester M., born Oct. 6, 1845; and Alma S., born Aug. 4, 1855. All are now living.
Mr. Marsh is spoken of by his neighbors and friends as an upright, industrious citizen, a kind friend, and an esteemed neighbor. To the small tract he first bought he has added, until at this time he owns a well-improved farm of two hun- dred and sixty acres, acquired by hard work and good management.
In early life he was in politics a Whig; he is now and since the organization of the Republican party has been an ardent Republican. He has been several times supervisor of his township, and has always taken a deep interest in educational matters, his own experience making him desirous that his own and his neighbors' children should have the advantages of which he himself was deprived.
Mr. and Mrs. Marsh are members of the Meth- odist Church, to which they have belonged over forty years, during all which time their daily walk in life . has been that of devoted, earnest Christians.
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HISTORY OF BRANCHI COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
to Oregon. While crossing the Humboldt River on their way to the Pacific coast one son, Abishai, was drowned.
In the spring of 1832, Benjamin Booth left his former home in Manlius, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and came as far West as Niles' Corners, in Oakland County, where his stepson, William Purdy, was living, and leaving his family there, he and Purdy started West to look for land. When they arrived at Bronson they heard of Bishop Chase, and decided to make him a visit. They did so, and when they had looked upon the openings Booth said he desired to go no farther, for this country was " good enough for him." They then procured a map, and finding what lands were not yet taken up, made their selections, and going to the land- office entered them in July. Mr. Booth then returned and brought his family from Oakland County, arriving in Gilead in Angust. They first moved into the Downer house, and about two months later into the house they had built on the south shore of Gilead Lake. A couple of years later Mr. Booth built the second frame house in the town, and the principal room was for a few years used as a place for holding elections and religious meetings. The Methodists, of which denomination Mr. Booth was a mem- ber, held circuit-preaching there very frequently. Mrs. Booth died in 1850, and Mr. Booth in February, 1853. Their children were five in number,-two sons and three daughters. One daughter died in Gilead, and two are living in Iowa. Of the sons, Jesse removed to Oregon in 1854, and is now living there, and Samuel is an honored citizen of Gilead, having a fine farm and residence on sec- tion S.
James Kelly, whose wife was a sister of the first settler, John Croy, settled near the southeast corner of section 7 in the spring of 1833. He came from Marion Co., Ohio. In 1836 he sold his farm to Elisha B. Williams, reserving a crop of 11 acres of wheat, which he harvested before leaving the town, and then went to Williams Co., Ohio, where he died some thirty years ago.
John MeKinley was a descendant of seven generations of John McKinley's, each of whom was an eldest son, and all of whom were blacksmiths. He came from Scotland in 1826, and lived at Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., N. Y., until he came here in 1833. He was accompanied by his own family and his wife's mother, brother, and sister, Margaret, James, and Christina Bennie. James Bennie went to work for Bishop Chase, and three years later settled on the farm in Bethel which is now occupied by his son-in-law, Judson Sweeting. Mr. Mckinley lived on the farm he took up on section 8, till his death, which occurred Feb. 5, 1876. ITis wife died in 1878. Their children, John McKinley, Jr., and Mrs. Margaret Love, are living on the estate, the latter occupying the old home- stead. Two children, born after the family came here, died some ten or fifteen years ago.
Francis Bull, with his wife and three children, came here in 1833 or 1834, from Manlius, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and settled near Gilead Lake, on the town-line between Noble and Gilead. Two daughters were born to them after they settled here, and the youngest, Emma, was drowned in the lake when two or three years okl. Her mother was down beside the lake doing her washing, and went to the house
after some soap, leaving the children on the beach. While she was gone Emma ran out on the plank on which they stood to dip the water, fell into the lake, and drifted out of reach. Help was seenred as soon as possible, and she was taken from the water, but life was extinet. and every effort to resuscitate her proved of no avail. She was the only person ever drowned in Gilead Lake. Francis Bull, his two sons, George and William, and his daughter, Mrs. Mary Merritt, died in this town at different times from 1852 to 1860. ITis other daughter, Ellen, married Dwight C. Marsh, a physician, who served in the army as a surgeon during the Rebellion. After the close of the war he was appointed collector of customs at El Paso, on the Rio Grand River, in Texas. Ile died in Coldwater about five years ago, while on a visit there, and his widow and children still live at El Paso. Mrs. Bull went there to live with her daughter and died soon afterward.
At about the same time that Mr. Bull settled here, fami- lies named Crain and Sterne came in; but they stayed only a short time before they again " moved on." A man by the name of Charles Richards settled on the town-line in the southwest corner of the town in 1832. ITis house was built in the town of Noble, but, lest it should escape men- tion, we notice it here, for it is still standing, and is used as a dwelling. It is the oldest residence in the vicinity, haviog been in constant use in that capacity for upwards of forty-six years.
The Marsh family, consisting of Mrs. Marsh, her four sons, Wallace, Daniel, Ebenezer, and John, her daughter, Polly, and her son Wallace's wife and two or three children, came from Clay, Onondaga Co., N. Y., in the fall of 1834. They lived in the unoccupied Clark house through the win- ter until December, having Isaac Freeman and his family with them. Daniel Marsh and his mother took up and purchased 200 acres in the north part of section 18. A year later he married Mary Leverich. They are now living in Oregon, where they went in the fall of 1873. Wallace settled on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 18, and died here but a few years later. Ebenezer and John also secured farms and became respected citizens of the town. The former died here in February, 1856, and the latter removed to Oregon. Lester M. Marsh and Mrs. Alma S. Imce are the only representatives of the family remaining in Gilead. They are children of Daniel Marsh.
Lyman W. Lyon also settled here in 1834. He was a one-legged shoemaker, and built himself a shop on the town- line road, a little south of Gilead Lake, where he worked at his trade. He was the first shoemaker in the town, and died here many years ago.
William Sweeting also settled in the northwest corner of the town that same season. Ilis son Judson is now living in the adjoining town of Bethel. The Sweetings came from Manlius, Onondaga Co., N. Y.
In the year 1835, JJeremiah Bogardus, his nephews, Eli and Joseph Bogardus, and Ezekiel Fuller, with his wife, his sons, Elsley W., Jared, Merrill, Franklin, Andrew, and Chauncey, and his daughter Lucia, became residents of Gilead. The Fullers settled in the cast part of the town. adjoining Kinderhook. Ezekiel afterwards moved to Indi- ana, and died in that State. All the rest, save Jared and
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Andrew, removed from the town, but they still remain here.
William Purdy was one of the pioneers of the State, landing in Detroit on the 4th day of July, 1824. He eame from Ovid, Seneca Co., N. Y., and, with his wife and one child, settled in Oakland County, near the present vil- lage of Auburn. A year later he moved to the town of Troy, in that county, and lived at a place now called " Niles' Corners" till he came to Gilead in January, 1835, and oe- eupied the land he had taken up in 1832. He rented the vacant house built by Francis Bull, and lived there one year, during which time he had a log house built on his land, and twenty aeres broken up and sown to wheat. He then moved on to his place. He was the first blacksmith in the town, and by working for the settlers and taking a portion of his pay in " breaking," he managed very soon to get his farm under cultivation. His land was the east half of the southwest quarter of section 9, and his house, barn, and shop were built so that when an accurate survey was made, they were found to be partially in the highway.
Mr. Purdy is still living on the same place, with his son Wheeler and daughter Mary A. His wife died some twelve years ago. Two sons died in Oakland County, and four- George, James, Blue, and Robert-died here. The last of these died of consumption, and at the time of his death, in 1869, was serving his seventh term as town clerk. An- other son, Thaddeus, studied law and was admitted to the bar, but getting the California fever, emigrated to that State, and was soon after elevated to the office of prosecut- ing attorney. A man had committed a murder and was placed under arrest, and a crowd of miners had gathered for the purpose of taking him from the officers and lynching him. The officers, among them being Purdy, were prepar- ing to defend the life of the prisoner, when, in handing about the firearms, a revolver was accidentally discharged, and the bullet struck Purdy in the back of the head, making a fatal wound. Cornelia, one of the daughters, married Benjamin Sanders, and is now living in Oregon. The last of this family of children, Edward, is now living in Ala- bama. He was town clerk of Gilead for several years, and held the office of constable for eighteen successive years.
Job Williams became a resident of this town in 1836, arriving here with his wife and his children, Elisha B., Warren C., S. Zelotus, Lawrence B., Edward M., Char- lotte D., and Susan J., on the 25th of May. He had previously bought 300 aeres of land on the north shore of Gilead Lake, and here he built a log house, into which he moved with all of his family except Elisha B., who, with his wife and three children, moved into the house on the Kelly place, which he had purchased. The house Job built stood about twelve rods from the lake-shore. Ile bought his land of a lawyer living in Manlius, N. Y., who had allowed Bishop Chase to have what he could raise upon it, to assist in carrying out his college scheme. The bishop had allowed James Bennie and John MeKinley to sow a part of it to wheat. Williams, however, not having bar- gained to do so, would not allow the bishop to harvest the crop, and this made the bishop very angry. When the bishop sold out, Williams wanted to buy a cow of him, but he would not sell to him under any consideration. So
Williams got William Purdy to buy the cow for him, which he did, and when the bishop found out how he had been circumvented his righteous indignation knew no bounds. In the spring of 1837 Mr. Williams purchased a cast-iron plow at Clinton and brought it to Gilead. It was the first improved plow brought into the town, and did a great amount of work that season, running from early dawn till dark, and on moonlight nights running all night long. Job lived in this town until March 24, 1857, when he died of heart-disease in the old house, then used as a shop, where he had gone to fix something pertaining to the farmu. llis wife died October 1, 1852. The oldest and the youngest sons, Elisha B. and Edward M. Williams, are still residing in Gilead, engaged in farming and in man- ufacturing a plaster and grass-seed sower, invented by the latter, and patented June 13, 1876. The first-named of these brothers claims to have raised the largest field of wheat ever sown in Branch County. It was on what is known as " Kane's Prairie," on section 32, in the town of Bethel. The first year he broke up and put into wheat 100 acres, and the next year he broke up 150 aeres, plowed the other 100, and sowed the whole 250 acres to wheat. Charlotte D. and Susan J. are both living in Kansas, Simon 4. in Coldwater, and Lawrence B., when last heard from, in California. The other son, Warren C., died Feb. 14, 1843, and was buried in the ground near the Union church. His was the first interment there. This burial-ground, contain- ing about one acre, was given for the purpose by Job and Edward M. Williams.
Benjamin S. Wilkins, Irom Marion Co., Ohio, was the first settler (except the Fullers) east of Prairie River in Gilead. He came first in the summer of 1831, and located some land on the southeast quarter of section 13. He then returned to Ohio and was married there, coming to Gilead again in the month of September, 1836, and he and his wife hired out to work for Abishai Sanders for a year. Before commencing work for Sauders he built a log house on his land, his wife meanwhile remaining at the house of a relative in Indiana. At the expiration of their year at Sanders' they moved into their house. The house was not a great distance from Hog Lake, and, when short of provisions, Mr. Wilkins often went to the lake and re- turned in a few minutes with fish enough for an abundant meal. Mr. Wilkins, assisted by his son John, cleared and brought under cultivation his farm of 160 acres, and added to it by subsequent purchases. He died on the homestead, Aug. 17, 1872. Ilis wife, Melinda, still survives him, and lives on the homestead with her son John H. Two other children, Mrs. Keturah E. Walter and Mrs. Susan Bixley, are also residents of the town. Four sons and two daughters have died in this town since the family settled here.
Samuel Arnold, in the fall of 1836, left his wife and three children in New York and came to Kinderhook, where he lived through the winter with his wife's uncle, John Waterhouse, at what is known as " Waterhouse Corners." That winter he taught the first school kept in the town of Kinderhook. During the winter he looked for land, and selected the west half' of the southeast quarter of section 11, in this town, went to the land-office and entered it. He then returned to his home in New York, and in the fall of 1837 came
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
with his family and lived for a few weeks in a house on the shores of Hog Lake, which had been built in 1836 by a man named Brady, who soon after left the town. He then built a shanty on his land, moved into it, and lived there four years, when he moved into a log house he had built a little cast of the shanty, near the State road. Mr. Arnold was the first settler at East Gilead, and the locality received its name-still in common use-of " Arnokl's Corners" after him. His farm was on the timbered opening, and he changed it, so that at the time of his death he owned the south half of the southeast quarter of section It and the 40 acres ad- joining it on the west. His widow and son, John W., are at present living on the homestead. For a more detailed sketch of Samuel Arnold the reader is referred to the chapter of biographics.
Obed Dickinson was a native of Massachusetts, and came from Amherst, Hampshire Co., to Michigan in the spring of 1836. Leaving his family with a son, who was living in Macomb County, he came on West in search of a location till he reached Taylor & Stephens' tavern, on the Chicago road, in Batavia. There he was told that they had some Jesirable land to dispose of, and they brought him to Gilead and sold him four SO-acre lots, two in Bethel and two in Gilead. Mr. Dickinson then purchased an aere of land at Marsh's Corners, and built there the largest log house in this part of the county. His family, consisting of his wife, Experience, and his children, Obed, Jr., Abigail C., Joel B., Richard C., and Julia A., then came on and moved into the house. The eldest son, Obed, was educated at Andover Theological Seminary, near Boston, Mass., was ordained as a Congregational minister, and in 1853 went to Oregon as a home missionary. He is now living at Salem. Joel, with his brother Ocram, who never resided here, settled in lowa a few years later, and is now living at Muscatine, in that State. Richard devoted his life to mercantile pur- suits, and is now engaged in the produce trade at Toledo, Ohio. Abigail, now Mrs. Samuel Booth, and Julia, now Mrs. Cyrus G. Luce, are still residing in Gilead. Obed Dickinson died in the fall of 1838, of disease caused by the climate, and his wife survived him about seven years.
Peter Keeslar, who, with his wife, is still living in the south part of Gilead, on the farm he originally settled, came here with his wife and four sons in 1837. Two children, Joseph and Mrs. Sarah Immels, are also living in this town.
Don C. Mather also settled in the south part of the town in 1837. Ile was a mill-wright by trade. and was a reliable man and an estimable citizen. He died here about ten years ago, leaving a son, Frederick, who lives on the home- stead, and a daughter, Mrs. Loretta Wheeler, who lives at Orland, Ind.
Burr D. Gray was also a settler of 1837. His trade was that of carpenter and joiner, and he assisted in the erection of many houses and other buildings in Gilead. He died in Coldwater several years ago. His children all removed from town. Mrs. David N. Green, of Coldwater, was one of them.
Emerson Marsh, after whom " The Corners" on the north line of the town was named, was the first merchant in Gilead. He came from the town of Camden, in Oneida Co., N. Y., in the spring of 1838, and brought with him a peddler's wagon, well stocked with such goods as he thought
would be in demand among the settlers. With this rig he traveled about the country for two or three years, and then traded his horses and wagon for forty acres of land in the north part of the town. This land he subsequently traded for forty aeres in the northeast corner of section 6, and on that, in 1841 or 1812. be built a large store, and filled it with a fine stock of goods. He continued in business there till 1856, buying large quantities of grain and produce, and running a large "ashery" in connection with the store, and then removed to Coldwater, where he is now living. While living here his wife (formerly Maria Dickinson ) died, and he was afterwards married to Mrs. Haynes, of Coldwater. He was a valuable citizen, being a man of energy and ex- cellent judgment in business matters, and a firm and con- sistent member of the Presbyterian Church, of which he was a deacon. The store building has been removed about one mile and a half south of its former location, and is used by Mr. E. B. Williams as a dwelling.
Ilorace B. Williams, who was a nephew of Job Williams, settled here about the year 1838. He was for many years, a prominent citizen of the town, and held several town offices, among them supervisor, treasurer, and justice of the peace. He is now living in Bronson. He is said to have introduced the first threshing-machine, ever used in Gilead, about the time of his settlement.
Jared Fox, Isaac Adams, and Chester Adams settled in the east part of the town in the fall of 1838, and James Ferguson and George D. Lods in 1839. The latter was the first blacksmith in this part of the town. He now resides in the west part of the town.
Rev. Jehiel HI. Hard settled here about 1840. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Church, and the second supervisor of the town. He held the office three years. He was also what is known as " side-judge" of the court, He subsequently removed to the north part of the State, and was killed by a kick from a horse.
Joshua Callum was one of the " characters" of the cast- ern part of Gilead. Settling here about 1840, he devoted his time and attention to hunting and trapping, and was very successful, having command of the mysterious arts of woodcraft in a degree seldom possessed by any, even among those children of the forest, the Indians.
The Green family left Akron (Ohio) on the 19th of April, 1841, arrived in Gilead on the 9th of June, and moved into the half-finished house of D. C. Mather. " Uncle Dave," as the head of the family was familiarly ealled, had bought 200 acres of land on the State line at $3.80 per acre, of David Waterman. But five acres of this had been improved. Assisted by Cornelius Irving, Mr. Green built a small frame house, into which the family moved about the middle of July. The eldest sou, David N., had come West with his father, when the land was pur- chased, and, while his father was gone East after the family, he plowed and planted the improved land. Mr. Green was a man of great powers of endurance and possessed uncom- mon energy. For twenty-six years he resided in this town, and then removed to Coldwater, where he is now living. David N. Green has risen to considerable prominence in the field of political and public life. He removed to Coldwater about twenty years ago, and is still living there. He has
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HISTRRY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
held the offices of sheriff, United States assessor, deputy provost-marshal, and judge of probate, which latter office he now holds, having entered upon his "third term" in that position. Another sou, Elijah C. S. Green, is a suc- cessful farmer, and has a fine farm and pleasant location on section 9. llis brother, Alexander R., lives in the south part of the town.
Constant Voinett, Warren Tyler, Peter Gino, and Jesse Barrett settled in the east part of the town in 1842, Leander Merrill in 1843, Wm. J. Phelps in 1844, John G. and James Bartlett in 1845, and John, Peter, Cornelius, and Benoni Sinclair about that time. These all took up and improved, new farms. The Phelps here mentioned was blessed with a religious experience rather more varied and extensive than falls usually to the lot of mankind. He was converted and baptized three times before he left. Gilead. The first time he was baptized as a Methodist, then immersed as a Free-Will Baptist, and lastly baptized as a member of that immaculate seet, the Latter-day Saints or Mormons. As a member of this denomination he ex- hibited great zeal, and anxiously sought the conversion of his friends to that peculiar belief. Among others he ear- nestly pleaded with Samuel Arnold and his wife to join the Mormons. Mrs. Arnold, somewhat curious to learn in regard to such matters, said to him, " Mr. Phelps, you have been baptized as a Methodist, Baptist, and Mormon. Now, where is the difference in the efficacy of the rite ?" " Mrs. Arnold," he replied, " the difference is this : when I was baptized as a Mormon I received the Holy Ghost in the water." Considering the habits of life and the un- savory practices of the Mormons, it seems very improbable that many of the members of the seet ever met with the same experience.
Lemuel L. Graham came from Sturgis to Gilead in 1845, and bought a large tract of land that had formerly belonged to Bishop Chase. He had lived in Sturgis eleven years, and died the year after he settled here. His son, Lemuel L., now lives on the homestead, which is the south west quarter of section 17. Professor Daniel Graham, once president of Hillsdale College, and now a resident of Chicago, and A. J. Graham, of New York, the celebrated short-hand reporter, author of a number of works on pho- nography, and inventor of the phonographic system which bears his name, were sons of Lemuel L., Sr., and lived in Gilead a portion of their lives. The history of A. J. Graham is quite peculiar. It is thus briefly and graphic- ally sketched by Mr. T. Cowell in a series of articles pub- lished in the Coldwater Republican in the winter of 1879 : " With a great love for study and mental improvement he had no aptitude or liking for farm work, and acquired the reputation of being lazy. Ile was, however, trying to dis- cipline his mind and store it with useful knowledge, and when finally, by accident, he came across an old pamphlet treating upon the art of stenography, he at once set at work, without any tutor, to master the science. To a young friend he said, 'I have commenced the study of the art of phonography, and I shall never rest satisfied until I have scaled the loftiest heights of the profession.' The results have more than justified the assertion. No author in the old world or new has ever achieved more prominence
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