USA > Michigan > Branch County > History of Branch county, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 69
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No record exists of the constables elected in 1837, 1838, 1862, and 1866,
The bounty on wolves was increased to $5 per head in 1839, to $10 in 1840, and to $25 in 1841. This rapid increase was owing to the fact that the settlers were then introducing sheep-husbandry as a branch of their business, and, as the flocks increased in size and number, the wolves were enabled to do much greater damage, so that it became necessary to exterminate them.
May 13, 1841, the assessors met and made out the following jury-list to serve at the sessions of the Circuit Court, viz. : " Isaac Sprague, Timothy Larrabee, Smith Dow, Esq., Leonard Taylor, Esq., grand jurors; Martin Olds, Esq., Elijah Thomas, Esq., Timothy R. Wallace, Esq., William Webb, Esq., petit jurors."
In 1842 the town granted licenses to keep taverns, and of course to sell liquors, to Samuel Keyes, A. G. Moore, and Samuel II. Cary; and again, in 1844, to William Reynolds and Samuel II. Cary. A vote was taken at the town-meeting, April 7, 1845, on the questions of licensing the sale of' liquor and of building a jail. The vote stood. for license, 65 ; against license, 6; for a jail, 27; against a jail, 59; thus showing conclusively that the people either held very crude notions regarding the relations of dram- drinking and crime, or desired that there should be no re- straint of personal liberty on account of offences against good order and the laws.
In its political status the town was for many years strongly Democratic. Indeed it was exceedingly difficult for a candidate of any other political organization to be elected to office previous to the organization of the Know- Nothing or American party in 1854-55. The first re- corded vote at a general election was in November, 1839, when the Democratic candidate for governor received 47 votes, and the Whig candidate received but G. In the year above mentioned the opposition to the Democratic party resolved to form an organization to overthrow it, and a Know-Nothing club was formed in the south part of the town, which held its meetings at the house of Jacob Rey- nolds, and also at the " Cary" tavern, then kept by John Acker. The membership was quite large and widely dis- tributed throughout the town. It formed a nucleus about which the entire opposition to the dominant party crystal- lized, and, at the town-meeting of 1855, swept the town, and elected David Fonda as supervisor. It also carried the town at one general election. In 1856 a sort of reac-
tion set in, and the Democrats were once more victorious. But now the Republican party sprang into existence, and received large accessions from the Know-Nothings. It at once assumed political control of the town, and maintained it until the National party was organized. Since the spring of 1878 that party has had a majority of from 50 to 80 votes.
The first religious meetings in Batavia were held about the summer of 1836. Eller Parker, who lived near the town line in Coldwater, held preaching services in the school-house in what is now district No. 8, and almost simultaneously, Rev. George Shay and Rev. Israel Millard held services in different private houses in the south part of the town. As a result, two Methodist Episcopal classes were formed, with Jesse Brooks and Benjamin Olmstead as class-leaders in their respective localities. Meetings were kept up in the school-houses for several years,-in the east part till about 1869, and in the south part till 1856-60,- the ministers being supplied from neighboring circuits, principally the Girard circuit. Another Methodist Epis- copal class was formed at Batavia Centre, in the fall or winter of 1876, by Rev. A. Eldred. It consisted of 10 members, and Philo Porter was appointed class-leader. At present the class numbers 11 members, and the preach- ing is supplied from the Bronson Church, Rev. J. Clubine being the present pastor. Revs. D. S. Ide, - George, Gage, and - Bonney preached here previous to the regular organization. In the north part of the town there is a large number of members of this denomination who belong to the North Batavia class, whose church is located in the town of Union. This class numbers about 50 members, and in 1873 erected their very fine brick edifice at a cost of about $7000.
The only other denomination that has entered upou this field is the Wesleyan Methodists, who formed a class about 1858-59 in the south part of the town. It was organized by Rev. S. B. Smith, and Daniel Olmstead was the first class-leader. They kept up regular meetings once in two weeks, at the brick school-house near the station. until 1877, when, by the removal and death of many of its members, the class became so reduced in numbers as to be no longer able to sustain preaching, and was disbanded. The society was incorporated about 1867, and intended to erect a church, but having some trouble about securing a suitable site, no church was built. The pastors of this church were generally hired in connection with other churches of the denomination in this vicinity. Among them were Revs. S. B. Smith, Albert Olmstead, - Wheelock, - Ross, J. K. Wellman, - Pryor, - Pixley, Joseph Hague, Joseph Selleck.
The Sabbath-school work begun very early, and schools were organized at every school house as fast they were built. Among the earliest was the one connected with the Methodist Episcopal class in district No. 8, of which Jesse Brooks was the first superintendent. Many of the schools were organized through the efforts of Deacon Upson, of Coldwater, who was very active in that work. For several years the several schools of the town were in the habit of holding an annual picnic together, and out of this grew a town Sunday-school association, which was organized about
MAJOR TUTTLE.
MRS. M TUTTLE.
Photos, by Kindmark, Coldwater.
PHILO PORTER.
HENRY MILLER.
MRS. HENRY MILLER.
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IHISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ten years ago, and of which Philo Porter was president for several years. Its annual meetings are still held regularly, but the monthly meetings have been abandoned since 1875-76.
The order of Patrons of Husbandry had one society in this town. It was called
BATAVIA GRANGE, NO. 95, P. OF I[.
It was instituted at the house of James Taylor, in Oeto- ber, 1873, with 47 charter members. The first officers were Philo Porter, Master ; M. IL. Brown, Overseer; Loren R. Austin, Lecturer; L. M. Bowers, Steward; E. R. Clum, Assistant Steward; - Card, Chaplain ; James Murphy, Treas .; C. H. Austin, Sec .; Mrs. Eunice Austin, Ceres ; Mrs. J. Shenneman, Pomona ; Miss Ona Murphy, Flora ; Mrs. Emma Clum, Stewardess.
The grange held its meetings at the hall of Mr. Bor- dine's house, and was very prosperous for about three years, after which time the interest began to decline, and con- tinued to do so till the charter was surrendered during the present winter (1878-79). At one time the membership was 113.
During the war of the Rebellion this town, like its sister towns throughout the land, gave liberally of its citizens and treasure to sustain the Union cause. A list of its soldiers will be found in another part of this work. The ladies of the town, too, took a very active part by furnishing supplies of clothing, and similar articles for the use of the soldiers, which contributed largely to their comfort. The first war-meeting in Branch County was held at the Union school-house in this town soon after the fall of Fort Sumter, in April, 1861. It was peculiar, and deserves particular notice from the fact that it was called and con- dueted under the auspices of the Democratic party of the town. L. R. Austin took the initial move, and rode through the town notifying the inhabitants of the proposed meeting. At the time set, a large and enthusiastic gather- ing was assembled at the place of meeting, and were ad- dressed by General J. G. Parkhurst, HIon. George A. Coc, Dr. I. P. Alger, and others. The excitement was intense, and the patriotic spirit manifested argued well for the patriotism and devotion to the Union cause of the citizens of Batavia. Quite a number of enlistments were made, among them being Joseph Harris, Asa Covey, and the two Knappins.
Many of the brave boys who went into the army did not escape scotfree, but either left their bodies lying on the sanguinary field of battle, or returned to their homes maimed and disfigured by wounds, broken down by the ravages of disease, or wasted to skeletons by the horrors and starva- tion endured in the " prison-pen," those damning blots upon the escutcheon of the South, whose memories will never " down at its bidding," but will rise continually in its path, like Banquo's ghost, reminding of the cruelty and inhumanity of the past. We have not the means at hand to enable us to give a list of the heroes furnished by this town, but mention a few of them. Hiram C. Sweet was killed at Gettysburg, and William L. Parker at Resaca, Ga. Two Knappins and two sons of M. L. Tyler died in the service. Leroy E. Graves, Charles Webb, William R.
--
Card, - Fonda, and - Dunham were wounded in action. Ezra Bair, the only drafted man who entered the service, was present at the capture of Jefferson Davis. Upon his return home the town voted to pay him a bounty of $100 for his military services, to place him upon an equality with all other soldiers credited to the town, and who received a similar bounty.
With this we bring to a close our brief sketch of Batavia, satisfied if we have been able to put into a preservable shape something that may prove of benefit to any of its residents or their descendants.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
HENRY MILLER.
George Miller, father of Henry Miller, was born in Penn- sylvania about the year 1769, and died in Portage Co., Ohio, March, 1839. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Barber. By this union was born a family of eleven chil- dren, five sons and six daughters,-Jacob, Polly, Sally, Susan, Henry, Samuel, Catharine, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Gid- eon, and George,-all deceased except Henry and Samuel. Mrs. Elizabeth Miller died in Portage Co., Ohio, Oct. 9, 1856, aged seventy-six years.
Henry Miller was born in 1813 in Lancaster Co., Pa. He came with his parents at an early age to Trumbull Co., Ohio. He resided there until he reached the age of fifteen, when his parents again removed to Portage Co., Ohio, and resided there until the death of his father. He then pur- chased the old homestead, which he afterward sold and re- moved with his family to Branch Co., Mich., about the year 1860. Ile married Rachel, daughter of Frederick and Rachel Caris, the 22d of September, 1839. A family of eight children blessed the union,-George, Mary, Lauretta, Henry S., Joel F., Laura, Dorcas V., and Hliram W.,-all living except Joel and Laura. Joel was killed in Texas by a man in whom he reposed confidence as a friend. IIe was buried at Paris, Texas.
Mr. Miller has always followed the occupation of a farmer, and has by his industry succeeded in obtaining a compe- teney sufficient to place him in easy circumstances, and is surrounded by the surviving members of his family. He has always been a staunch Republican in politics. On an- other page are the portraits of himself and wife.
PHILO PORTER.
Philo Porter was born in the town of Attiea, Genesee Co., N. Y., April 26, 1813, and lived with his father in that town until about his thirteenth year. His father then moved to the town of Alexander, and March 17, 1836, Philo was married to Martha, daughter of Simeon and Achsah Hosmer, of the town of Byron. May 9 they started with an ox-team for Batavia, Branch Co., Mich., where in November previous young Porter had purchased of the government one hundred and twenty acres of land. Mr. Porter thus relates their experience :
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HISTORY OF BRANCHI COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
" We reached our destination May 17. Now commeneed the realities of settling a new country five hundred miles from any person with whom we were acquainted. We commeneed to paddle our own canoe, with nothing partie- ular to mar our prospects until June 17, 1837, when my wife died and was buried in the town of Batavia.
" I was married again, March 26, 1838, to Marietta, daughter of Timothy and Harriet Miller. She died Jan. 6, 1839. I was married a third time to Mrs. Elizabeth Wheeler. We have raised a family of five children,-three daughters and two sons,-all of whom are married.
" April, 1838, I was elected a justice of the peace in said town. In 1844, 1845, 1846, and 1847 I was elected supervisor. In November, 1850, I was elected sheriff of Branch County, and re-elected in 1852. My first vote was east for Andrew Jackson at his second election. I was identified with the Democratie party up to 1876, and am
now supporting the measures of the party that believe a greenbaek dollar is as good as a gold or silver dollar, and a little more convenient.
" At the breaking out of the Rebellion I was a war Demoerat, and assisted to the extent of my ability in main- taining the Union.
" Last, but not least, when about fifty years old I made a profession of religion as a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church of Batavia. My sympathies have been greatly with the Sunday-school cause, where I have labored as su- perintendent for the last sixteen years; and now, at the age of sixty-six years, I say to my co-laborers in the Sunday- school, to brothers and sisters in the church, and to the friends whose kindness and tokens of respect I highly ap- preciate, if my efforts have been acceptable to you and pleasing to my Heavenly Father, the height of my ambition has been attained."
BETHEL.
THE township of Bethiel was a wilderness till the year 1830, when the first white man began the work of reclaim- ing the land from its wild state and bringing it under cul- tivation. The only publie improvement in the town was the Chicago turnpike, which had been laid out and opened by the government to facilitate travel from the East to the great, and at that time wholly undeveloped, West, which has risen in one generation to high rank among the differ- ent sections of our glorious Union. This road, then but a mere trail through the woods, entered Bethel at the north- east corner of section 5, and ran a crooked course to near the middle of the west line of seetion 7, where it passed into the town of Bronson. Along this highway the tide of emigration swept on its westward course, marking its line of progress by an occasional cabin, where some emigrant, pleased with the looks of the country, or weary of the toil and privations of the slow and tedious journey, had left the company of his fellow-travelers and commenced a home in the forest or on the openings. The burr-oak openings, of which there was a considerable area in this town, were, to the eyes of these weary travelers, a welcome sight ; a pleasant and delightful Arcadia; or, to use a phrase which they very commonly used to describe them, " the most beautiful country the sun ever shone upon." Mingled with dense forests, in which wild game of all descriptions was found in great abundance, with small lakes of cool, pure, and limpid water, in which myriads of fishes of various kinds disported themselves in playful gambols, or darted swiftly in pursuit of the smaller fry that served for their food, with the beds of many crystal-clear, rippling, babbling brooks crossing its
surface in divers directions, and with a great variety of wild fruits and nuts to furnish palatable food for man and beast, it surely was a country possessing many attractive qualities, and offered many advantages as indueements for the emi- grants to make for themselves and their descendants homes amid such beautiful surroundings. And these advantages, and these pleasant scenes, did not display their worth and beauty in vain, for, at an early date, the most desirable lands began to be occupied, and, as soon as the lands were placed in the market by the government, were rapidly taken up by the incoming pioneers. The first bit of turf turned over by a white tiller of the soil was located a little north of the centre of the town, on a very lightly timbered burr-oak opening, so nearly devoid of trees that it was called a prairie, and was first brought under cultivation in the summer of 1830.
The man who thus became the first inhabitant of this town was Eleazer Snow. He was a former resident of some part of New England, and had a wife and family there. For some reason best known to himself, perhaps through a restless desire for change, which seems to have been a characteristic of his life, or possibly because he had drunk to satiety of the eup of matrimonial bliss and family joy, he had determined to shake off the ties that bound him, and eame to the Western wilds, leaving his wife and children in their Eastern home to mourn or rejoice over his departure, as the eireumstances of the case might warrant them in doing. He came to Bronson's Prairie and made his home with Jeremiah Tillotson, who was then keeping a tavern there. He was a man who took particular delight in hunting and trapping, and, looking about for a place to grow some corn and potatoes, he found this small piece of
# Prepared by C. W. Brown.
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
open land above referred to, and set about getting it broken up and planted. This piece of land was near the north- west corner of section 16, and he subsequently Imilt a log hut, about 12 feet square, on it, and lived there by him- self for a time. From him the locality received the name of " Snow Prairie," and has ever since retained it. In the fall of 1831, Snow soll his claims and improvements to Moses Olinstead, a native of New England, who had been a resident of Oakland County, in this State, for a few years previous to his removal here. For a while this family seems to have been the only one living in the town, but after a little, others began to settle, and in a few years there were a number of families residing in different parts of the township. The names of these settlers, given as nearly as may be in the order of their settlement, with the date of their arrival (where it has been ascertained ) following the name in each case, are as follows, viz. :
Eleazer Snow, spring of 1830; Moses Olmstead, fall of 1831; the Youngs family and Isaac Freeman in 1834, -the latter in the fall; Albert Dudley, Milton Beesmer, John J. Richardson, Moses Paine, and David M. Clark in 1835, -- the two former in the spring; Daniel Smead, Mor- gan L. Smead, Lyman Smead, Lauriston Smead, Ebenezer Green, Amos Green, Silas S. Green, in the spring; James Bennie in June, and Mrs. Margaret MeMillan, her sons Stephen and James, and her daughter Margaret, Philander Olds, Heman Lake, Thomas Judson, Lyman Seymour, Timothy Colby, Otis Davis, Caleb N. Bates, Peleg Bates, Iliram G. Wiser, Origin Bingham, and Adam Bower in the fall of 1836; Lemuel Bingham and Matthew II. Bingham in the winter or spring, Ebenezer MeMillan in January, William Reed, David Cummings, and James Thurston in the spring of 1837; Uriah Mallory, Levi Thompson, and Charles M. Gallap in 1838, -- the latter in the fall ; Walter Roe in the fall of 1839; Willard Cranson in 1840 ; William Bradway, George Gallap, and James Gallap in 1842; Roswell Larabee in 1844 ; JJohn Wiser in 1847; and William T. Ammerman in 1853.
Of course this list does not include the names of all the settlers in each year, hut for the first few years of the settlement it has been our aim to make the list as full and complete as possible.
Of the first settler, Eleazer Snow, we can say that he was a very restless individual, and was constantly changing his location. Upon selling his property in Bethel to Mr. Olmstead he purchased SO acres of land in St. Joseph County, and lived there until the breaking out of the Black Mark war, in 1832, when he became frightened and went as far cast as the State of New York, having previously dis- posed of his land for two yokes of stags and an old Pennsyl- vania wagon. Upon the return of peace and good order he returned, and repurchased the land he had parted with at such a low price. Subsequently, he owned for a time the land upon which the village of Burr Oak now stands, but under the impulse of his desire for change, disposed of it, and entered upon a wider range of travel. Ile first went to Iowa, from there to the hills of Arkansas, and some years later returned from that State to his old home in Branch County, poor, decrepid, and infirm from the effects of age and the hardships he had been called upon to
endure. A short time after, he once more left this part of the country and went to Minnesota, since which time nothing has been heard from him. He was, at the time of his settlement here, apparently between forty and fifty years of age. Tall and spare in build, with sloping shoul- ders, tightly-compressed lips, and deep-set, black eyes, which furtively glanced at one from underneath his shaggy brows and always evaded the gaze of those he chaneed to meet, his appearance was, on the whole, singular, disagreeable, and almost repulsive. His life was mainly devoted to hunting and trapping, the solitude and seclusion of the forest seeming best to accord with his taciturn, morose, and hermit-like disposition. While in this locality the principal scene of his operations was along the course of the Prairie River, sometimes called " Hog Creek."
Moses Olmstead, who purchased Snow's improvements, came originally from some of the Eastern States, quite probably from New Jersey, and settled in Oakland County, in Michigan, at an early day. From that county he came here, late in the fall of 1831, with his wife, his sons,- Moses, Jr., Philip, Gideon, and Lyman,-and his daughters, -Abby, Eliza, and Hannah. They moved into the log hut built by Snow, and built another hut of rails, covered with hay, in which the men found a lodging-place while the women occupied the log hut. In this manner the first winter was passed, and then a larger and more convenient house was built for the accommodation of the family. Moses Olmstead was a thorough-going man, resolute and energetic, and carried these qualities into his farming opera- tions. By reason of this he rapidly brought his farm into splendid condition, and his stock was always noted for the sleek and well-fed look that characterized it. Ile erected the first frame building in the township. It was a large and commodious barn, built in 1834-35. He was prom- inently connected with the work of organizing the town, but died soon after the first town-meeting, in the spring or summer of 1837. Ilis wife died about a year later. Of his children, Gideon died about two or three years after the family settled here. His was in all probability the first death of a white person in this town. Lyman Olmstead Was married to Sarah Ann Cummings, and this wedding was, so far as now known, the first one occurring in the township. The necessary license was procured of the town clerk, David M. Clark, on the 25th of April, 1837, and the ceremony was performed at the residence of the bride's father, David Cummings, on the present Vanalstine place, by David M. Clark, Esq. ( who bore the dual official char- acter of town clerk and justice of the peace), on the 30th day of the same month. The bridegroom was nineteen years old and the bride was fifteen. The party, made up of the families of the bride and groom and a few invited guests, numbered thirty persons, of whom only two are now living. These two are the bride-now Mrs. Gideon Lease, of Bethel-and Solomon Smith, of Gilead. Lyman Ohustead died in this town in October, 1864. Moses Olmstead, Jr., removed to Missouri many years ago, and died there in 1872. Philip Olmstead at about the same time removed to Utah, and is still living there. Moses Olmstead's three daughters all died in Bethel.
The Youngs family consisted of a mother and five sons,
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
-James, John, Benjamin, David, and Seth. The mother and the three sons first named came from some part of Indiana and squatted on Snow Prairie in 1834. They built a small cabin there, and the men spent their time in the woods and along the banks of the streams and lakes, hunting, trapping, and fishing. The other sons came to this town about five or six years later. None of them remained here any great length of time. They were good citizens, but not at all active in the work of bringing the wild lands of Michigan into their present fine state of cul- tivation. The mother, it is thought, died while they lived here. James was a married man, and after remaining here a few years returned to Indiana. The rest also removed to different parts, David returning to Indiana. Benjamin died in the town of Bronson a few years since, and Seth is still living in that town.
Isaac Freeman started from the town of Clay, Onondaga Co., N. Y., in the fall of 1834, on his way to this State, where he had, in June of that year, entered a quarter-see- tion of timbered land in the Bean Creek Valley, in Lenawee County. The party consisted of Mr. Freeman and wife, and their family of eight children ; his mother-in-law, Mrs. Marsh, and her sons and daughter,-Ebenezer, Daniel, Wallace, John, and Polly ; and Wallace Marsh's wife and two or three children. The route traveled was over the Erie Canal, and up Lake Erie to Detroit. There Mr. Free- man hired a team of horses and a wagon to convey his family and goods to Ypsilanti, expecting to go south from that place to his land in Lenawee County. He there met a man living at Jackson Prairie, Ind., who, learning of his intention, told him it would be folly to go into the timbered lands with his family, to suffer the necessary hardships and privations that must come before the land could be cleared and made to produce anything, when, by going a few miles farther west, till he reached the burr-oak region, he might have his choice of the fairest lands the eye of man ever looked upon, where the soil was all ready for the plow, and where sufficient crops could be raised the first season to furnish subsistence for the family. Being influenced by these statements, he left the family at Ypsilanti, came on to Bronson, and from there went south along the road leading from Bronson to Jackson Prairie. His most sanguine ex- pectations were fully realized by the looks of the opening, and he immediately returned to Ypsilanti for his family.
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