USA > Michigan > Branch County > History of Branch county, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 66
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86
E. C. S. Green, the second of nine children, was born in Tyre, Seneca Co., N. Y., Sept. 16, 1825, and resided with his father until after they came to Michigan. He received a fair education, enough at least to fit for an active and successful business life. July 16, 1850, he married Miss Naney N. Keyes, who was born Feb. 15, 1831. Their union was blessed with three children, as follows: Isabel G., born Feb. 16, 1851; Ann Eliza, born Sept. 18, 1853; Bascum R., born Dec. 21, 1854. Mrs. Green died Feb. 28, 1861. Mr. Green remained a widower until April 15, 1863, when he married Miss Lydia HI. Thurston, daughter of George and Sally S. (Jones) Thurston. She was born Jan. 22, 1837. To them have been born two children : Harry J., April 1, 1867 ; and Homer J., Nov. 18, 1874. At the age of twenty-three Mr. Green commenced life for himself, teaching school in the winters and working a rented farm during the summers. The farm he then rented is now his own. His first real estate purchase was the eighty acres now owned by his brother, A. R. His father paid
265
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
toward this farm two hundred dollars, and hired it cleared. Ile had given his father two years' work after he became of age. ITe kept the farm five years, and then sold it for two thousand two hundred and eighty dollars, which was a fair start for a young man at that time. Ile then went to Clinton Co., Iowa, and bought over two hundred acres of land, part of which was improved. This farm he kept nine months, and then sold it at a profit of over seven hun- dred dollars. Mr. Green then returned to Bethel, Branch Co., and bought a heavy-timbered farm, entirely new and unimproved, living in a le ; house which he built on the same. In one winter he placed upon the line of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad three hundred and eighty cords of wood, and then sold land and wood to L. D. Crippen, making by the transaction more than five hun- dred dollars. He then bought one hundred and eleven
acres of the farm he now owns, to which he has added until he owns one hundred and seventy-four acres, one of the best farms in his town. On this he has built a line house, and a barn seventy-two by fifty-four feet, finely finished inside and out. The great secret of Mr. Green's success has been in his always " striking when the iron was hot." Few men have taken as much pride in beauti- fying their homes as Mr. Green, who has exhibited fine taste in ornamenting his grounds, which now present a beauti- ful appearance. We take great pleasure in presenting our readers with a fine view of this home on another page. In politics Mr. Green is, and has always been, an ardent Republican, believing it to be the party of progress and pure government. He has held at different times township offices, was four years deputy sheriff, and has many times been a delegate to its conventions.
BATAVIA .*
THE township which now bears the name of Batavia is situated in the third tier of towns from the eastern bound- ary of Branch County, and is the second town north from the northern boundary. It is designated in the United States survey as township 6 south, range 7 west, and com- prises a territory six miles square, bounded on the north by Union, on the east by Coldwater, on the south by Bethel, and on the west by Matteson. The surface of the town is generally flat, or gently undulating, in no place approaching to anything rough enough to deserve the name of hills. In its original state the town was quite equally divided between the kinds of land known as " timbered" and " openings." Through the centre of the town, running from near the northeast corner to a point a little cast of the southwest corner, was a strip of low, marshy, or swampy ground, trav- ersed by a sluggish stream and containing several small ponds or lakes. Running nearly parallel with this, and a couple of miles farther cast, was another similar tract. Be- tween these, and extending a little ways beyond them to the east and west, was a traet of oak openings, covered with a scattering growth of fine white-oak trees. On sections 13 and 14 was a "burr-oak opening," containing about 100 acres, and on sections 32 and 33 was another of about the same size. Beyond the growth of oak timber the character of the timber changed to a heavy and dense growth of all the kinds of hard woods indigenous to this part of the country, maple and beech being the predominent varieties. A good deal of black walnut of a very superior quality was also found, and a moderate sprinkling of basswood and whitewood. Adjoining the open marshes considerable
quantities of tamarack grew. The timbered land occupied the northwest part and the southeast corner of the town.
The soil is of the varied character usual to Michigan lands, the openings being of a sandy or gravelly nature, while the timbered lands have a black-loam soil, in places mixed with a little clay, and in some parts quite stony. In point of fertility, the lands of Batavia will compare very favorably with those of any other town in the county. The waters of the town divide on a line running from the southwest corner of section 2 to the southeast corner of the town. Rising in section 10, and passing through the town till it enters Swan Creek in section 31, is a stream called Mill Creek. It was formerly known as " Mud Creek," and forms the outlet of Cook's Lake, and also of a couple of small ponds lying in section 15. For several years it fur- nished power to operate a saw-mill on section 28. and this fact gave it its present name. Rising in section 28, and passing through section 33 into Bethel, where it empties into Swan Creek, is a small stream (the outlet of three small lakes in section 33) which received the name of Flag Creek from the fact that along its course a dense growth of flags was found by the early settlers. Another stream rises in section 26, forms the outlet of Lime Lake, and empties into Cary's Lake in section 34. It is known as Four-Mile Creek, and probably derived its name from the fact that the place where it crosses the Chicago road is about four miles west of the Coldwater River. There are ten ponds or lakes in the town, the largest being Cary Lake, which lies in the south part of section 34, and extends across the town line into Bethel. Its outlet is Swan Creek. The next largest is Cook's Lake, near the centre of the town, in sec- tions 22 and 27. Its outlet is Mill Creek. In sections 1,
* Prepared by C. W. Brown.
3.4
266
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
2, 11, and 12, is a body of water known as Miller's Lake, whose outlet runs north and east, and finally unites with the Coldwater River. The only other lake which has been given a name lies in the northwest corner of section 26. It was called Lime Lake, because along its shore is found a deposit of marl, which, upon being burned, yields a very good quality of lime. The most of these bodies of water are characterized by a marshy shore (in somes places, how- ever, presenting a bold, sandy shore), and have a muddy or sandy bottom. By the improved system of drainage intro- duced a few years since, the level of the waters of these lakes has been lowered about two feet, and the rank vege- tation about their shores is making more or less encroach- ment upon their size, so that there is a prospect of their eventually being filled up entirely, or, at least, largely re- duced in size. This system of drainage has also resulted in greatly improving the lowlands of the town, rendering them fit for cultivation. In the first years of the settle- ment of this country these lakes obtained the reputation of being almost or quite unfathomable; but since the intro- duction of more modern and more effective sounding-appa- ratus than the clothes-lines or bed-cords then used for such purposes, this reputation has in most cases been proved false. The average depth is probably from thirty to forty feet, though the small pond near the turnpike in section 33 is very deep. The waters of these lakes formerly teemed with fish of various kinds, and there are still many of them remaining to tempt the angler to attempt their capture.
While the primeval forest yet held sway over this tract of country, it was one of surpassing beauty. The timber was dense and full of underbrush, but when the openings were reached everything was changed. The trees were large and grew widely apart, and the sward between them -kept clear of underbrush by the annual burning by the Indian hunters-was smooth and green. Wild flowers of bright colors and beautiful forms grew in great profusion and loaded the air with their fragrance. In the spring- time the grass sprung up fresh and green, and oftentimes, before the frosts of autumn came to stop its growth, reached a height of seven feet. Before the grass grew high enough to obstruct the view, the eye could glance down the aisles and passages of the forest and note the varied colors of the flowers, the verdant herbage, the mystic and mys- terious flickering lights and shadows, the flitting birds, the wide-eyed deer, the leaping rabbits, the chattering, frisking squirrels, and the ear could listen to the thousand voices of the woods, while the nostrils drank in the perfume-laden air, and the soul reveled . in the soft, mysterious delight afforded by so much of beauty, sweet concord, and har- mony.
Such was the situation at the time when these lands were thrown open for settlement, and the rapidly swelling tide of emigration was sweeping so steadily onward from the East. The government had opened a turnpike road from Detroit to Chicago which entered this town near the quarter-line of section 24, and, crossing it in a southwest direction, passed into the town of Bethel, at the south- east corner of section 32. This was the only improve- ment made in the township. Along this road the settlers came, some stopping along the route when they found a
location to suit them, but most of them passing on to the prairies of Illinois and Iowa to settle there. To accommo- date this constantly-moving throng many public-houses were needed, and the first settlers in this town chose locations here which they deemed to be valuable as sites for inns. From the fact that most of the earliest settlers have either died or removed to other localities, it cannot be definitely ascertained to whom is due the honor of having been the first settler in the town, so we are obliged to leave this as an uncertainty, and pass on to the time when settlers of whom we know came and began their pioneer lives here. The new-comers generally chose land on the openings, re- garding them as superior in quality of the soil as well as being so much easier to subdne and bring under cultiva- tion, but once in a while some bolder man struck out into the timber and located a farm far away from neighbors and from the line of travel.
The settlers found on section 22, on the farm at present owned by L. R. Austin (and also in other places), a curi- ous formation of the surface of the soil, and one which has never been fully explained. The soil was there thrown up in a manner similar to the arrangement of beds in a vegeta- ble garden, the raised parts being about fifteen feet square, and elevated about a foot above the general surface. Be- tween these beds ran paths about two feet wide, and from each corner a wider path opened to the centre. Scattered about were several white-oak trees, the largest being from one and a half to two feet in diameter, which would indicate a growth of something near one hundred years. It is generally supposed by the inhabitants that it was an Indian garden, but this is by no means certain, and what it really was,-forti- fication, garden, or foundation for dwellings,-what its use, its age, and by whom it was made, are interesting ques- tions, the answers to which are still shrouded in mystery.
Timothy R. Wallace is supposed to have settled on the Chicago road, in section 25, as early as the year 1832. Ile came from some place in the State of New York, and was the owner of the first hotel in the town, which was built on his land, but whether by him or by some other person is not definitely known. It was for some years called by the names of its successive landlords, and in later times became known as the " Batavia House." The hotel, or rather tavern, was a log building, some eighteen or twenty feet square, with a " lean to" some twelve feet wide at the back ; the front part being a story and a half' high. Mr. Wallace did not keep the inn himself, but rented it to others, and finally sold it. He devoted his life to clearing and cultivating his land, and remained a respected citizen of the town till his death, which occurred July 14, 1847. None of his descendants remain here. His wife died March 18, 1849, and his children, four sons and one daughter, removed to Oregon a year or two afterwards.
A year after Wallace's settlement, a man by the name of Jeremiah Tillottson entered a piece of land on " the island," which is now known as the York farm, and on it he built a log tavern that became a famous stopping-place on the route from Detroit to Chicago, and was called the " New York House." The stages running from Tecumseh to Niles both stopped over night at this tavern. Tillottson kept it a year or two, and then sold it to the Reynolds', he removing to
267
HISTORY OF BRANCHE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Willow Prairie, Ind. His two brothers, Marius and Samuel, who had accompanied him here, also removed from town about the same time.
In the fall of 1833 a family by the name of Shay came from Orangeville, Genesee Co., N. Y., and settled on some land near the Reynolds tavern. The party was made up of Perkins Shay, his sons George W., William, Stephen G., Amos, David, Perkins, and John, and their families. George and Stephen were married, and William married Melissa Cook, at Oxbow Prairie, Ind., soon after coming here. The old man died in September, 1834, and it is believed his was the first death in the town. He was buried near the York House corners, and it is supposed the road running north from the Chicago road passes over the spot where his bones lie. All the sons except George remained here a few years, and then removed at different times to other localities. George went to Bronson in the spring of 1834, lived two years on the Ruggles farm, removed to Bethel, from there to Branch, and in the spring of 1837 settled on the south- east quarter of the northeast quarter of section 28, where he remained. His widow is now living with her daughter, Mrs. William R. Card, in the south part of the town. This whole family were great lovers of the chase, and prided themselves upon their quick and accurate aim; never, it is said, shooting a deer except upon the run.
Abel Olds settled on the west half of the southwest quar- ter of section 24 in the spring of 1834. He had come to Michigan about four years previous, and lived at Jonesville till he came here. In 1848 he removed to the town of Ovid, and died there about a year later. His brother, Martin Olds, was the next settler, and, as he was one of the most prominent of the early pioneers, we have selected his experience as a type of the experiences of the pioneers, and relate it somewhat in detail. He was a native of the old " Bay State," being born in the township of Bolton, in Berkshire Co., Mass., and lived emphatically a pioneer life, taking an active and somewhat prominent part in the settling up of the country in four different States. His boyhood was spent in the town of Pompey, Onon- daga Co., N. Y., and he then came with his father's family to Huron Co., Ohio, and after the death of his parents located in Seneca County in that State. From that place he emigrated to Michigan, and later crossed the great plains of the West, and became a citizen of the (now) State of Oregon. While living in Ohio he was married, and at the time of their removal here, the family consisted of father, mother, and five sons, the eldest a lad of eleven years. Having decided to leave Ohio for Michigan, prepa- rations were made accordingly. A " Pennsylvania" wagon was procured and loaded with the household goods, a canvas covering being stretched above them to protect them from sun and storm; two yokes of oxen to draw the load, and two cows to assist in furnishing provisions for the pioneers, were got in readiness, and about the middle of May the little cavalcade moved slowly out of the town of Thompson on its way to the West. The journey was uneventful. The season was quite dry, and the roads as a consequence were unusually good. Even the much-dreaded Maumee Swamp was passed with very little trouble. About three weeks were consumed in the journey, and they arrived at
their destination on the 7th of June. They found no bridges across any of the streams until they reached the Coldwater River, and there (at Masonville) they found a bridge had been completed the day before their arrival. They reached the top of an elevation a short distance west of the river just as the summer's sun was sinking below the western horizon. In front of them, at the foot of the hill, was a tamarack swamp, and the thick vapors of evening were already rising in a cloud from the marsh. On this the sun cast its ruddy beams, giving it the form and color of sulphurous flame and smoke, which rolled and seethed among the trees as the light breezes tossed it hither and thither in gentle play. Mrs. Olds, who was very tired from the long journey, and not exceedingly well pleased with the country, looked upon this lurid picture, and finally said, " I have often heard of ' Tophet,' but I never expect- ed to see it before." They descended the hill, and an hour later, in the twilight of the long summer evening, drew up at the door of Allen's tavern (at Wallace's stand ), and halted for the night. And here, too, they remained until about the last of June or the first of July; Mr. Olds, in the mean time, being engaged in selecting and en- tering his land, and in building a house for the family residence. The land he selected was 160 acres on the openings on sections 13 and 14. He entered the west half of the southwest quarter of section 13 and the east half of the southeast quarter of section 14. When he went to the land-office at Bronson (now Kalamazoo), he had three locations in view, the one most pleasing to his taste being the Lock wood place in the northwest part of the town of Ovid, but he found that two of the pieces he had selected had already been entered, and he had to take " Hob- son's choice," " this or nonc." The house be built was a slab shanty, which was to give them shelter while the work of preparing ground and planting and sowing was going on. A little piece of ground was prepared, and some corn, po- tatoes, and a little garden-sauce planted. Then the work of preparing for fall-sowing began. The land being on the burr-oak openings, the work of fitting it for crops was comparatively slight, and before seeding-time came, fifteen acres were ready for sowing. But there was no seed to be had nearer than at Pigeon Prairie (now White Pigeon), and Mr. Olds prepared to go there for some. His family was also nearly out of flour, and he must get some at the mills at that place. So, hitching up his ox-team, he started off, expecting to be absent three days. But when he arrived at his destination he found that the wheat had not yet been threshed, and he was obliged to assist in the per- formance of that operation. It was done in the Scriptural fashion. A piece of ground was leveled and the surface pounded smooth with heavy mauls. Then the wheat was strewed upon this floor, and the oxen driven round and round upon it until their continued tread had separated the wheat from the stalk. It was then winnowed in the wind by tossing in a basket, and finally put into bags for trans- portation. On account of this extra and unexpected labor the three days had lengthened into six before Mr. Olds appeared at his cabin with fifteen bushels of seed-wheat and a welcome supply of flour. The wheat was sown at the rate of one bushel to the aere, and the crop, when it came
268
IIISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
to be harvested the next summer, yieldled an average of thirty bushels to the acre. After the wheat was committed to the care of mother earth, the next business was to put up a log house for the use of the family. The slab shanty answered very well for a pioneer summer residence, but the storms of autumn and winter would inevitably find every crack and crevice, and render it an uncomfortable habita- tion. So a log house of comfortable dimensions was put up a few rods east of the southwest corner of section 13, and the family moved in. No other settlers are known to have come in until the next spring. Then Leonard Taylor and John II. Stephens came in the month of March, and rented the tavern of Timothy R. Wallace. Ethan Allen had been keeping it for a while, but he now moved away.
Leonard Taylor, accompanied by his wife and three children, left his home, twenty miles east of Buffalo, N. Y., in March, 1834, and came to Michigan. Ile lived at Clin- ton a year, and then came to this town in company with John H. Stephens, as above related. Mr. Taylor kept the tavern about ten years ( having purchased it in 1837 or 38), and then moved on to a farm near Lime Lake and devoted himself to agriculture. Ile continued in this business throughout his life, living in different parts of the town, and finally settling on section 29, where he died in 1877. ITis widow, two sons, and a daughter are still living in this town.
John II. Stephens remained in the tavern a while and then removed to a farm on the State road, in section 14, the one now occupied by Jacob Daharsh. Upon his elec- tion to the office of sheriff he removed to Branch, from there to Coldwater, and a few years later to some place in the West.
In August following Taylor and Stephens' coming, the Reynolds family came and bought the York farm and tavern stand of Jeremiah Tillottson. The party was made up of Alpheus Reynolds and his wife, his son John and his wife, and his other children Alpheus, Jr., William, Lewis, Mary, Phoebe, and Betsey. They came from Batavia, Genesee Co., N. Y. On this farm Tillottson had built another log house beside the tavern, so the party divided, William and his wife occupying the tavern, and the rest of the family moving into the other building. Jacob, another son of Alpheus, came on with his family a few years later. Of this family, but one, John, is now living in this town. Alpheus, Sr., and Jacob died here, and the others removed to different parts of the country.
In the spring of 1835, Martin Olds returned to his former home in Ohio, to buy a drove of cattle to bring into this country. He collected a small drove and hired John Ens- ley to assist him in driving them to this town. Upon his arrival here Ensley was so well pleased with the looks of the country that he entered the southeast fractional quarter of section 15, in June, and then returned to Ohio to make preparations for removal. In September he came with an ox-team, bringing his wife and two children, the youngest a babe which Mrs. Ensley carried in her arms most of the way. She traveled all the way on foot, and made the jour- ney from Jonesville to this place in one day, the 9th day of September. Arrived here, they built a log house and commenced clearing the land.
Some time during this same fall Allen Stoddard settled about a mile north of Mr. Olds' clearing, and John Bas- sett moved on to his land, the northeast fractional quarter of section 34. John Bassett formerly resided in the town of Andes, Delaware Co., N. Y., and traveled the entire distance to this place in a covered wagon drawn by one span of horses. Ile was accompanied by his wife, six sons, and one daughter. Ile had started West with the intention of seeking a home on the fertile prairie lands of Illinois, and had shipped most of his goods by way of the canal and lakes to Chicago. It was afterwards an expensive and vex- atious task to get them back to this place. The party, in due time, arrived at Barney Wing's tavern, about three miles east of Coldwater, and stopped there for the night. They were then traveling in company with six other wagon loads of emigrants, and two besides their own stopped at Wing's, while the rest pressed on to the New York House, and stopped there. William Reynolds, whose wife had formerly known the Bassetts at the East, while conversing with the new arrivals learned that Mr. Bassett was stopping at Wing's, and was looking at the land along the route with a view of possibly settling here. So he sent word back by some eastward bound travelers for Mr. Bassett to come on to his place and look around from that base of operations. In accordance with this invitation, the family came on the next day, and in a few days the farm was selected and entered, and the work of preparing a home begun.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.