USA > Michigan > Branch County > History of Branch county, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 78
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It was common in these early times in clearing the land to burn the brush that accumulated, and this was attended with some danger. Samuel Treat related to the writer his own experience in this particular while clearing a portion of the land he had purchased, when the smoke became so dense that he was prostrated and found relief almost im- possible, narrowly escaping suffocation.
Parley Stock well came to Ovid, in 1842, and located on the northeast corner of section 16, which was for a time known as Parley's Corners. This portion of the township was still uncleared, no settler having entered land within its boundaries. He purchased a tract and immediately began clearing the land, established an ashery for the manufacture of potash. The year following a post-office was established with Mr. Stockwell as postmaster. While performing the duties of this responsible office he would carry the mail in his pocket, and deliver letters as they were called for. This was in the day of high postage rates, and invariably the remark would be made on receipt of a letter, " Can't pay to-day,-bring it next time;" thus establishing a sort of postal credit between the official and the public, which eventually beeame so irksome to the postmaster that he resigned, when James Hawks beeame his successor. The office was finally abandoned.
Soon after, Mr. Stockwell built a school-house, a tempo-
PHOTOS BY KINDMAR# COLD WATER
DANIEL WILSON.M.D
MRS. DANIEL WILSON
DANIEL WILSON, M.D.
Among the old practitioners of Branch County who, by their ability as physicians and their worth as citizens, have made not only prominent records, but have stamped their names indelibly upon the pioneer history of the county, is Dr. Daniel Wilson. He was born Dec. 6, 1810, in Berkshire Co., Mass., and was the son of Reuben and Sabrah (Tollet) Wil- son, who had a family of eleven children.
The elder Wilson was a carpenter and joiner by occupation, and in medium circumstances. Daniel lived with his father until he was eighteen, and by his own unaided efforts acquired an education suffi- cient to enable him to teach a common school in the town of Barrington, Yates Co., N. Y., whither his parents had removed when he was two years of age, and this pursuit he followed at intervals for many years. While very young he decided to become a physician, and as soon as his circumstances would admit he went into the office of Dr. Spence, of Dundee, N. Y. He afterwards studied with Drs. Whitney and Huston, of Yates County, receiving his diploma from the medical society of that county. He practiced medicine in New York until 1836, when he came to Branch County, whence his father
had emigrated with his family in 1835. The elder Wilson settled in Ovid, where he purchased three hundred acres of land. Daniel bought eighty acres of his father, in the autumn returned to New York, and in 1839, with his family, which consisted of his wife and his son, James R., settled in Union City, where he established himself in the practice of his profession. He returned to Ovid in the fall, and there he has since resided. Here he carried on his farm, in connection with his professional duties, until incapacitated by bodily infirmities. The doctor has been prominently identified with all the material interests of Ovid. He was supervisor for many years, was sheriff of the county, surveyor, and under an act of the Legislature appropriating five thousand acres of land for the improvement of the highways, he was appointed commissioner to locate and sell the land and expend the proceeds.
Feb. 9, 1834, he married Miss Mary Sprowls, of Yates Co., N. Y., who was born in New Jersey, Dec. 25, 1810. They have been blessed with two chil- dren, James R. and Marian, now Mrs. A. A. Abbott. She was born in Union City in 1840. James R. was born in Starkey, Yates Co., N. Y., in 1836.
313
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
rary structure, ten feet by twelve in dimensions, and fur- nished it with stove and other appointments ready for occupation. Miss Allen, from Coldwater, now deceased, was the first instructor, having about twenty pupils. The year following, Mr. Stockwell taught the school himself, and as he facetiously expresses it, "he erected the first university in Ovid, and was its first president." Divine service and a Sabbath-school were occasionally held in this little ten-by-twelve school-house, a clergyman named Davis, from Coldwater, being the preacher, whose sermons were most practical and excellent. James Hawks was the next pioneer who located in the neighborhood, and Robert Haynes came soon after and opened a blacksmith-shop. Henry E. Barber and William Armstrong came later, the first having bought 20 acres of Mr. Hawks, which he paid for in labor, and the latter having located on section 15. Roswell F. Davis located cast of Armstrong, on the same section. Hle was killed by the falling of a tree while felling timber for his eattle to feed upon. Not coming in from the woods for many hours after he had left his home, the family became alarmed and went in search of him. The accident had already proved fatal.
Gardner Scofield came about this time and erected a saw-mill upon land on section 8, which Stuart Davis had given him. He afterwards sold the mill to Martin Kinsley. George Chamberlain came with his wife in 1845, and Mr. Stockwell allowed them land enough on which to erect for themselves a comfortable dwelling-place, and which took just a week to construct. He then gave them each a cup and saucer, a knife and fork, and other necessary articles for housekeeping, and with this seanty outfit they began life in their Western home. Mr. Stockwell declares that they presented the most perfect picture of domestic bliss that has ever come under his observation, and that he nar- rowly escaped following their example and discarding his bachelor habits.
There are two churches in Ovid, the First Free Regular Baptist and the Church of the United Brethren, the latter a strong organization, which, together with a similar society in Bethel, absorbs a large proportion of the church-going population of the township. We are unable to give a more complete history of this Church.
The First Free Regular Baptist church edifice was erected in 1871, and the first organization was effected in 1863, with Henry Lockwood, Eli Cheney, Henry B. George, and George W. Reed as its first trustees. For 1864, Stephen Ferguson and Henry Lockwood were elected to the same office ; for 1865, J. C. Smith and Henry Lockwood ; for 1866, 11. B. George and Nathaniel Batchelder; for 1867, H. R. Wilson and Henry Lockwood ; for 1868, Eli Cheney ; for 1871, Henry Lockwood and Ilenry B. George ; for 1872, William Walker; for 1873, Henry B. George; for 1874, Henry Lockwood; for 1875, William Walker; for 1876, Henry B. George; for 1877, Henry Lockwood; for 1878, Henry B. George. The organization is a flourishing one and the services well attended. We are unable to give the names of the pastors since the establishment of the society, with the exception of the present incumbent, who is Rev. Simon D. Burlingame, who resides in Coldwater.
'The surface of Ovid is somewhat undulating, being di-
versitied by several small lakes,-a portion of Coldwater Lake extending into its southern boundary, while Lake of the Woods lies on the west side, and Long Lake and Mud Lake on the east. The Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Railroad is represented on county maps as run- ning through the northeast portion of the township, with Fuller's Station as the important depot, but neither of these have other than an imaginary existence.
The soil of Ovid is a gravelly loam, and well adapted to the raising of grain, though also regarded as valuble for grazing purposes. For farming pursuits it may be regarded as one of the most desirable townships in Branch County.
The records of the township of Ovid are so incomplete as to afford very little information to the reader. We are able only to give a list of the supervisors, together with such other township officers as we are able to find from outside sources, and a complete list after 1869 ; the clerks of the township, after that period, having deemed them of suf- ficient importance to preserve and maintain in proper order. Undoubtedly there must at some time in the past have been records as full and complete as this, and why they should have been consigned to oblivion, without the slightest regard to their importance, is beyond the comprehension of the investigating historian. From the oldest supervisor, as well as from the present clerk, we are informed that no records of the township's past history are in existence.
The following is the incomplete list :
1837 .- John Waterhouse, Supervisor ; William Boekes, George Matthews, Hiram High, School Inspectors.
1838 .- Joseph Rudd, Jr., Supervisor ; William Bockes, Clerk ; John Il. Stevens, Martin Olds, School Inspectors ; John Waterhouse, Jr .. Stuart Davis, Constables.
From 1838 until, 1842 the county commissioners per- formed the duties of the supervisors.
1839 .- Oliver D. Colvin, J. G. Brooks, R. F. Davis, Inspectors of Election.
1840 .- George Tripp. Levi Wilson, J. G. Brooks.
1842 .- J. G. Brooks, Supervisor ; Henry Lockwood, Joseph Bryant, School Inspectors.
1843 .- J. G. Brooks, Supervisor; E. B. Wright, h. Wilson, School Inspectors.
1844 .- E. D. Corwin, Supervisor ; Daniel Wilson, Levi Wilson, John Wilson, Inspectors of Election.
1845 .- E. D. Corwin, Supervisor.
1846 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor.
1847 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor.
1848 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor.
1849 .- E. D. Corwin, Supervisor.
1850 .- E. E. Corwin, Supervisor.
1851 .- Levi Wilson, Supervisor.
1852 .- E. D. Corwin, Supervisor.
1853 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor.
1854 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor ; C. D. Brown, Justice of the Peace; Levi Wilson, Township Clerk.
1855 .- F. D. Corwin, Supervisor; G. W. Stevens, Town- ship Clerk ; W. F. Bristol, Justice of the Peace.
1856 .- Levi Wilson, Supervisor ; A. R. Bingham, Town- ship Clerk ; Charles G. Abbott, Washington Russell, Heman Russell, Constables.
314
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
1857 .- Levi Wilson, Supervisor ; A. D. Kellogg, Justice of the Peace ; HI. A. Russell, Jesse Maxon, H. T. Corwin, W. W. Russell, Constables.
1858 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor.
1859 .- E. D. Corwin, Supervisor; A. R. Bingham, Township Clerk ; Sylvanus Wilson, James D. Conkling, Silas N. Card, Justices of the Peace; David Armstrong, Township Clerk ; Thomas Heisrodt, Charles G. Abbott, Constables.
1860 .- Jeremiah Cox, Supervisor ; Charles Bucking- ham, William F. Bristol, Justiees of the Peace; E. J. Lockwood, Heman Russell, Alvin Norton, Thomas Heis- rodt, Constables.
1861 .- E. D. Corwin, Supervisor ; Levi Wilson, Charles D. Brown, Charles R. Whitehead, Justices of the Peace ; William Pound, Alvin Norton, Charles Wilson, Ahaz Brown, Constables.
1862 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor; O. L. Davis, Town- ship Clerk ; Martin Kinsley, Charles R. Whitehead, Jus- tiees of the Peace; A. L. Wright, Nelson Pound, Con- stables.
1863 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor ; O. L. Davis, Town- ship Clerk ; Alvin Norton, Gideon Houseman, Samnel Sweet, Constables.
1864 .- Levi Wilson, Supervisor ; O. L. Davis, Township Clerk ; Charles R. Whitehead, Justice of the Peace.
1865 .- Levi Wilson, Supervisor.
1866 .- Levi Wilson, Supervisor ; Jerome Corwin, H. A. Russell, Charles Wilson, T. Heisrodt, Constables.
1867 .- Daniel Wilson, Supervisor; Martin Kinsley, Dan- iel Wilson, Justices of the Peace.
1868 .- Sylvanus Wixon, Supervisor ; C. B. Whitehead, Justice of the Peace; Francis M. Howey, Constable.
1869 .- Levi Wilson, Supervisor; George Abbott, Town- ship Clerk ; Amos R. Bingham, Treasurer ; Levi Wilson, Justice of the Peace ; William F. Bristol, A. R. Bingham, School Inspectors ; William F. Bingham, Jesse Maxon, Ilighway Commissioners ; Samuel G. Treat, Ileman A. Russell, Edwin S. Frederick, Albert M. Thompson, Con- stables.
1870 .- Henry B. George, Supervisor ; Stephen Fergu- son, Township Clerk ; Thomas Heisrodt, Treasurer ; Ben- jamin Ferguson, Justice of the Peace; James R. Wilson, School Inspector ; James H. Smith, Jerome Corwin, High- way Commissioners ; Rufus R. Harris, Luther A. Russell, Albert Thompson, Joseph Wilson, Constables.
1871 .- David Wilson, Supervisor ; Martin Kinsley, Township Clerk ; J. R. Wilson, Treasurer; Daniel Wil- son, Justice of the Peace ; Sylvanus Wixon, Highway Commissioner ; David Wilson, School Inspector ; Rufus R. Harris, L. A. Russell, Thomas Heisrodt, John A. Rubler, Constables.
1872 .- Charles R. Whitehead, Supervisor ; Martin Kinsley, Township Clerk ; James R. Wilson, School In- spector ; Martin Kinsley, Justice of the Peace ; Daniel Wilson, William N. Conover, Highway Commissioners ; Luther A. Russell, Rufus R. Harris, Constables.
1873 .- Charles R. Whitehead, Supervisor ; Martin Kinsley, Township Clerk ; Adelbert M. Fuller, Treasurer ; Charles R. Whitchead, Justice of the Peace ; Daniel Wil-
son, School Inspector; William N. Conover, Highway Commissioner ; Rufus R. Harris, Heman A. Russell, In- ther A. Russell, Constables.
1874 .- Charles R. Whitehead, Supervisor ; Wallace E. Wright, Township Clerk ; Adelbert M. Fuller, Treasurer ; Levi Wilson, Justice of the Peace : Charles S. Wright, E. W. Treat, School Inspectors ; William P. Morey, Lewis C. Waldron, George W. Lobdell, Highway Commissioners ; Ileman A. Russell, Carlisle Smith, Constables.
1875 .- Charles R. Whitehead, Supervisor ; Wallace E. Wright, Township Clerk; Stuart Davis, Justice of the Peace; James R. Wilson, School Inspector; Charles S. Wright, Treasurer ; Leroy Lockwood, Superintendent of Schools ; William P. Morey, Highway Commissioner ; Sylvanus Wixon, Drain Commissioner ; Heman A. Russell, Washington Russell, Niles Baldridge, Delos Wright, Con- stables.
1876 .- Charles R. Whitehead, Supervisor; Wallace E. Wright, Township Clerk ; Charles S. Wright, Treasurer ; George W. Lobdell, Justice of the Peace ; Egbert W. Treat, School Inspector ; Leroy E. Lockwood, Superintend- ent of Schools; William P. Morey, Highway Commis- sioner ; Heman A. Russell, Charles Parrish, Washington Russell, Carlisle Smith, Constables.
1877 .- Charles R. Whitehead, Supervisor; Henry B. George, Township Clerk ; George H. Allen, Treasurer ; Carlisle Smith, Justice of the Peace; William F. Bing- ham, Superintendent of Schools; Adelbert M. Fuller, School Inspector ; Lewis C. Waldron, Highway Commis- sioner ; Llewellyn Daniels, Rufus R. Harris, George W. Tindall, Geo. H. Reed, Constables.
1878 .- James R. Wilson, Supervisor ; Rufus R. Harris, Township Clerk ; George H. Allen, Treasurer ; Charles R. Whitehead, Justice of the Peace ; Alfred Cheeny, School Inspector; William F. Bingham, Superintendent of Schools ; Lewis C. Waldron, Highway Commissioner; Adelbert M. Fuller, Drain Commissioner; George W. Tindall, Llew- ellyn Daniels, Charles Parrish, Joseph Wilson, Constables.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
HENRY LOCKWOOD.
This gentleman, one of the old settlers and valuable citi- zens of Ovid, was born in the town of New Paltz, Ulster Co., N. Y., Nov. 1, 1812. He was the son of Uriah Lock- wood and Charity Terwilliger, who had a family of ten children,-five boys and five girls,-Henry being the eldest. The elder Lockwood was a farmer, and gave his children such advantages as his limited means would permit. Henry aequired a fair common-school education, and up to the time he came to Michigan, in 1835, his life did not differ materially from most farm boys. Work on the farm in summer was succeeded by the usual term at the district school in winter. When Henry was twenty-three years of age his father emigrated to Michigan and settled in Ovid, where he purchased six hundred and forty aeres of land. Heury also purchased eighty acres. They suffered many
315
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Photo. by E. Kindmark, Coldwater.
HENRY LOCKWOOD.
privations and hardships, and, did space permit, we could narrate many an incident that, to the present generation, would sound more like fiction than fact. The elder Lock- wood was a gentleman of the old school, of unquestioned integrity, and possessed of more than an ordinary measure of energy and industry. He died in Ovid at an advanced age. Henry was married, at the age of twenty-seven, to
Miss Laura A. Davis, by whom he had ten children. She died Nov. 18, 1852, and in 1853 he was married to Miss Luey Otis, who died in 1854, and for his third wife he married Mrs. Lydia E. Fisher. Mr. Lockwood has been prominently identified with the history of Ovid, and is justly considered to be among the representative men of the county.
MATTESON.
BY an act of the Legislature approved March 6, 1838, the town of Matteson was organized from a portion of Bronson, including township 6 south, in range 8 west of the principal meridian, as designated on the government survey.
Matteson is exclusively an agricultural township, there being no village in its limits, nor any manufacturing estab- lishments other than saw-quills. The soil is generally quite sandy, and the improvements are for the most part excel- lent. Part of the town is rolling, or gently undulating, while in the southwestern portion is an extensive plain. Many excellent farm residences are seen, which are evidences that the pursuits of agriculture and stock-raising are not without profit.
The St. Joseph River and the Air-Line Division of the Michigan Central Railway crosses the northwest corner of the township. Matteson Lake, a large and beautiful sheet of water lying principally on section 23, is a favorite resort at the proper season for varieties of wild fowl, aud in the
summer is visited by many pleasure and pienic parties, who spend the time in boating on its waters, enjoying the sur- rounding scenery and fishing. Both the inlet and the outlet of the lake are lined with quite extensive marshes, while the shores otherwise are usually high, sloping gently to the water, and affording a most pleasing view. The lake is partly surrounded by fine groves, and in the one on the eastern shore very neat pienie-grounds have been fitted up by Dr. J. M. Cushman, who has on hand boats for the use of those wishing to venture on the " rolling deep." Dancing-floors are also arranged, and many parties visit the place during the summer months. The outlet of Matteson Lake is known as Little Swan Creek, and is a stream of consider- able size and depth. Swan Creek proper erosses the south- east portion of the township, and a few smaller streams also lend their aid and fertilizing powers.
Evidences that the vicinity of Matteson Lake was a favorite dwelling-place of an ancient race are quite numer- ous, in the shape of various mounds, etc. Several skeletons
316
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
have been exhumed from mounds at the head of the lake, on the farm of Dan Cushman, and from their size indicated that the persons whose frame-work they comprised were very tall in stature, and of fine physical proportions. From a mound on the farm of Noah Shaw, at the foot of the lake, were taken several implements of very ancient manu- facture, among them a stone pipe, smoothly polished, and a copper instrument (hardened ) presenting the appearance of having been used in dressing skins. These are now in the possession of Milo Clark, at Bronson.
On the farm now owned and occupied by C. C. Bennett was found a circular earthwork, about 100 feet in diameter and three or four feet high, when the place was settled in 1838. Oak-trees three and one-half feet in diameter were growing upon it, their entire growth having been since the work was built. It was finally leveled by the plow, and no traces of it now remain.
That this region was inhabited by a mighty, and in many respects very intelligent, race, antedating any written his- tory, is evident from these mounds, earthworks, and dis- covered implements of war, the chase, and domestic life ; and it is well known that the savages, or Indians, who occu- pied the country when it became known to the whites, pos- sessed no knowledge of their predecessors other than that imparted by myths and legends, which had been handed down to them through many generations. The history of that remarkable people is locked in oblivion, and only an imperfect idea can be formed of it by the aid of such traces as they have left behind them,-traces which were common from the great lakes to the border of the great alluvial de- posit in the Southern Mississippi Valley, but which are fast disappearing before the ruthless pleasure of curiosity- seekers, or the carelessness of those on whose land they are found. In the Southwest their monuments are more last- ing, the heavy-walled cities, once-gorgeous temples, and substantial buildings there being less susceptible of ruin- except by the action of the elements-than the more lowly mounds and fortifications of the northern temperate zone. Could some powerful magician conjure up from his eternal sleep a proud chieftain of this extinct race, and bid him relate the story of his people, then would the researches of the historian and archaeologist be rewarded ; but only con- jecture, building on the foundation of the little that is known, can at this period be brought into play, and con- jecture is most uncertain and unsatisfactory.
STATISTICAL.
The following table, compiled from the State census for 1874, will afford an idea of the present status of the town- ship, its resources and valuable properties :
Populatiou (644 males, 578 females) 1,222
Number of acres of taxable land
22,563
land owned by individuats and companies.
22,583,50
יר improved land. land exempt from taxation ..
11,317 20.50 $1,050 4.50 3
Value of same, including improvements ..
Number of acres in school-house sites.
hurying-ground
railroad right of way
12
farms in township.
221i
acres in farms.
19,915
Average number of acres in farms
.. Number of acres of wheat on gronud in 1874 ..... raised in 1873 ..
Number of acres of corn raised in 1873. 1,826
bushels of wheat raised in 1873. 34,785 53,103
.. corn
all other grain raised in 1873. 19,077
bushels of potatoes raised in 1873.
7,785
tons of hay ent in 1873.
1,396
pounds of wool sheared in 1873.
14,256
pork marketed in 1873.
286,710
butter made in 1873
37,894
fruit dried for market in 1873 20,387
barrels of cider made in 1873. 559
4 .
pounds of maple-sugar made in 1874. 8,715
aeres in orchards in 1874.
590 12,680 12,665
hundred weight of grapes raised in
3
hundred weight of grapes raised in 1872
3
Value of all fruit and garden vegetables, 1872 ... $4,563 $4,629
1873 ...
Number of horses in township, one year old and over, 1874 645
=
mules ..
S
=
work oxen.
10
66 milch cows.
635
neat cattle, one year old and over, other than oxen and cows.
712
.4
swine over six months old.
1,296
sheep
3,333
" sheared in 1873
1,159
saw-mills in township
3
6 persons employed in same
10
Amount of capital invested.
8,000
Feet of lumber sawed.
480,000
Value of products
$2,250
These figures will have changed materially by the time the census of 1880 is completed.
ORIGIN OF NAME.
The name of the township is very often spelled Mattison, but in order to prove conclusively that this is incorrect it is only necessary to state that the man for whom it was named spelled his name Matteson. Amos Matteson, Esq., was a native of the State of Rhode Island, and moved quite early into the town of Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y. In the spring of 1836 he came with his family to Michigan, and settled on the west shore of the lake which now hears his name. He had held the office of justice of the peace while living in New York, whence his title " Esquire." At the time of his removal to this township he was about fifty-five years of age, and when the subject of a new township was discussed his name was given to it because he was the oldest and most experienced man then living in it. Mr. Matteson was a person of much influence in the township while he lived, and those who knew him well revered his memory after death. He died a short time previous to the breaking out of the great civil war, and his remains rest in the cemetery near his old home. The orchard on the Matteson farm is yet to be seen, located near the west shore of the lake. Hle chose a most pictur- esque situation for his home, and his days were passed in peace on the shore of one of the loveliest of lakes in this region, abounding in such gems of nature.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
Although the township was named in honor of Mr. Matteson, he was not its first settler, notwithstanding he came before a road had been ent through the town, and before it had become of much importance in the estimation of the pioneers of the region.
3,175
2,730
=
bushels of apples raised in 1872. 1873.
1873.
MARY A. TURNER .
PHOTOS BY JAMES TRIPP COLDWAT
ASHLEY TURNER.
0.0.
RESIDENCE OF ASHLEY TURNER, MATTESON, BRANCH CO., MICH.
317
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
The first entry of land in what is now Matteson town- ship included the south half of the southwest quarter of section 18, and was made in November, 1834, by Robert Watson, who still resides upon the place. He had come here at that time on a land-inspecting trip, and after locating the above-described lot returned East, to his home in Venango Co., Pa., in the midst of the since-famons oil region. In September, 1835, he brought his family, con- sisting of his wife, two sons, and two daughters, to their Michigan home. A log house, one and a half' stories high, was soon built and ocenpied ; it stood west of his present frame dwelling, where the orchard is located, and was 18 by 20 feet in dimensions. On their arrival, Mr. Watson went to Colon, St. Joseph Co., purchased some lumber, returned with it, and built a small temporary shanty, in which they lived until the log house was ready. The latter was occupied a number of years.
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