USA > Michigan > Cass County > History of Cass county, Michigan > Part 60
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Edward Worth, Case County, Mich., May 14, 1836. 40
SECTION 13.
George Stevens, Cass County, N. Y., July 31, 1832 .. 10
William Eddy, Washtenaw County, Mich., June 30, 1834 280
George Redfield, Ontario County, N. Y., Aug. 6, 1834 160
George Redfield, Cass County, Mich., Nov. 6, 1835 40 James Benedict, Cass County, Mich., April 10, 1835 40
Asa Griffith, Otsego County, N. Y., June 20, 1835. 40
SECTION 14.
W. and D. Eddy, Washtenaw County, Mich., June 30, 1834 .. 320 Elijah Beardsley, Cass County, Mich., July 30, 1834. 320
271
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
SECTION 15.
ACRES.
Barnabas Eddy, June 30, 1834 80
Elijah Beardsley, July 30, 1831 514
SECTION 16.
School Lands.
SECTION 17.
G. and S. Meacham, Lenawee County, Mich., June 18, 1829 80 George Boone, Lenawee County, Mich., July 3, 1829. 80 Joseph Poole, Wayne, July 5, 1830. 80
Dempster Beatty, Cass County, Mich., Oct. 28, 1830. 80
Dempster Beatty, Cass County, Mich., Feb. 13, 1834 40
Fred. Garver, Cass County, Mich., Feb. 10, 1834 40 Barrack Mead, Cass County Mich., Oct. 29, 1835 80
Abiel Silver, Cass County, Mich., July 15, 1836 160
SECTION 18.
Jacob Smith, Lenawee County, Mich., Juue 18, 1829. 80
G. and S. Meacham, Lenawee County, Mich., Aug. 26, 1829 ..
80
Fred. Garver, Lenawee County, Mich., Sept 15, 1829.
160
Gabriel O'Dell, Randolph County, Ind., Oct. 26, 1829. 80
Adam Miller, Franklin County, Ohio, June 7, 1830 87 George Crawford, Cass County, Mich., June 24, 1830. 80
Philip Shintaffer, Greene County, Ind., Sept. 1, 1830. 86
SECTION 19.
Fred. Garver, June 18, 1829. 154
Fred. Garver, Sept. 15, 1829 67
Joseph Coe, Oct. 26, 1829. 84
SECTION 20.
Nathan C. Tibbits, Cass County, Mich., Sept. 10, 1830. 80
Jacob Smith, Cass County, Mich , Sept. 10, 1830. 66
Jacob Graumlich, Cass County, Mich., Aug. 1, 1830. 69
Fred. Garver, Cass County, Mich., Feb. 6, 1834 80
SECTION 21.
Jacob Graumlich, Cass County, Mich., Aug. 1, 1831 71
George Redfield, Ontario County, N. Y., July 6, 1833
70
Peleg Redfield. Ontario County, N. Y., July 21, 1834 40 A. H. Redfield, Cass County, Mich., Oct. 18, 1833. 40 Charles Hanny, Cass County, Mich., Feb. 10, 1834 80
SECTION 22.
A. H. Redfield, March 27, 1833 40
George Redfield, March 27, 1833 71
Peleg Redfield, July 21, 1834 40
Henry Judson, Columbia County, N. Y., April 8, 1833. 71
Elijah Beardsley, July 30, 1834. 80
SECTION 23.
Peleg Redfield, July 21, 1834. 71
Elijah Beardsley, July 30, 1834. 80
George Redfield, Aug. 6, 1834 151
SECTION 24.
Stirling Adams, Feb. 12, 1834 40
George Redfield, Aug. 6, 1834
154
George Redfield, Aug. 6, 1834 40
James Benedict, April 10, 1835. 40 John S. Worth, June 20, 1835 42
The following interesting document shows that " red tape " is not a modern invention and that ye landlord of ye olden time must not only be possessed of a " good moral character," but of "sufficient ability to keep tavern " before he could procure a license to do so :
" MICHIGAN, Cass County :- At a township board held for the township of Ontwa, convened at the house of T. A. H. Edwards in said township, on the second day of January, present: Othni Beardsley, Supervisor, and T. A. H. Edwards, Clerk, and John Bogart, Sterling Adams, Sylvester Meacham, Justices of the Peace, all of whom are officers of said township, resid- ing therein, and now forming a Township Board, up- on the application of T. A. H. Edwards, of the said township, for a permit to keep a tavern, in which he now resides, in said township, having duly considered the said, it is therefore resolved that T. A. H. Edwards is of good moral character and sufficient ability to keep a tavern, that he has accommodations to entertain travelers, and that a tavern is absolutely necessary at that place for the actual accommodation of travelers. We, the undersigned, having satisfactory evidence of the same, in testimony whereof we have hereunto sub- scribed our names on the day and year and at the township named as aforesaid. Onthni Beardsley, Supervisor ; Sterling Adams, Justice of the Peace ; John Bogart, Justice of the Peace ; Ezra Beardsley, Justice of the Peace." (Probable date, 1830.)
THE "TERRITORIAL ROAD."
One important factor in the early and rapid growth of Edwardsburg was the Territorial road, so-called, which passed through it on its way from Detroit to Chicago. This road was commenced at its eastern extremity in 1823, but it was many years before completed to Lake Michigan.
One peculiarity regarding it was its crookedness, and it used to be said that it was surveyed by a flag and horn, and that the surveyor got far too many horns. Certain it is that for some consideration the road was deflected from its course in many instances in order to pass by the door of a settler, and it is claimed that the brown jug exerted a most potent in- fluence in the case.
From 1832 to 1840, this road was literally lined with emigrants who were making their way to the Elysian fields of the West, in all manner of convey- ances ; but the canvas-covered Pennsylvania lumber wagon was the favorite vehicle with emigrants, both on account of its strength and capaciousness.
Neither must we omit the stage coach, which, forty- five years ago, was an important institution, for it was the fastest and best public conveyance by land. A line of stage coaches plied between Detroit and Chicago, and day after day did they traverse the territorial road, loaded to the top with passengers and freight westward bound. It linked the woodland villages with each other, and kept them all in com- munication with the outside world. Its coming,
272
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY. MICHIGAN.
which was heralded by the stage horn, was always an interesting event, and the settlement and village hailed its advent as a welcome messenger, bringing relatives and friends and news from foreign lands.
This was the condition of this place, when the first Board of Supervisors met, and when was held the first court, of which Joseph L. Jacks was Clerk, and to which George Meacham summoned the jury, taking all those qualified, except five, in the territory north and west of St. Joseph County, which was then embraced in this circuit, as nothing less than the payment of a 50- cent tax would qualify them.
EDWARDSBURG,
Situated as it is in the midst of a magnificent agri- cultural country, with the Territorial road running past its door, acting as a substitute for river naviga- tion, was, at this period (1848) in the height of its glory-for it contained a population of about three hundred, three churches, good school and business houses, and all the necessary adjuncts of a thriving village-when railroads on either side cut it off from the outside world. Then the stage coach stopped run- ning, and other places, on the line of the railroads, were used as shipping-points, therefore its business dwin- dled down, merchants packed up their stocks and left, until, in 1851 it contained but one small business house, kept by C. Kennedy.
But Edwardsburg, phoenix-like, is redeeming her- self ; for when, in 1871, the present Grand Trunk railroad was completed, it commenced to rebuild, and now has a population of 500. It contains three general stores, and, prominent among them, is one kept by C. W. Smith, son of the pioneer merchant, Jesse Smith, who has been in business five years. Dyer Dunning, son of Allen, the pioneer, is proprietor of one of the three hardware stores. It also contains two drug, one grocery, three confectionery, one furniture, three boot and shoe stores, two blacksmith and one harness shop, one undertaker. two wagon makers, two paint- ers, three carpenters and builders, one grist-mill, two hotels, one lumber dealer, seven physicians, three churches, one weekly paper, the Edwardsburg Argus, a record of which appears in the general history, and one grain elevator, run by H. H. Birdwell, as agent, which has a capacity of 16,000 bushels, and from which was shipped for the fiscal year ending July 1. 1881, some 89,600 bushels of wheat, 46,100 bushels of corn, 13,400 bushels of oats. They also purchased 1,500 bushels of clover seed, and 500 bushels of rye, which shows this to be quite a point for grain ship- ments.
It can be said to the credit of this place that 110 drinking saloon can be found within its limits, which
presents a wonderful revolution in public sentiment, for in early days dram drinking was so common that it was found impossible to raise the Baptist Church without liquor, which the men demanded, and all labor ceased until some one procured a jug of whisky, which was thrown from bent to bent, until all were satisfied, when the building was raised without diffi- culty. In these days it was thought necessary to use immense timbers even in the construction of a house, and many men were required to raise the bents ; and when George Redfield, who was a temperance man, announced that his house should be raised without liquor, people predicted a failure ; but he did succeed, and it was the first building in the township raised without stimulants. The Edwardsburg Reform Club, which was organized March 18, 1877, claim the credit of closing the saloons, two in number. It has a membership of 150, and holds weekly meetings, and is officered at present as follows : President, H. H. Bidwell ; First Vice President, Rev. J. E. King ; Second Vice President, J. C. Carmichael ; Secretary, Mrs. Elsie Crandell ; Assistant Secretary, Miss Kittie Vaughn ; Financial Secretary, Mark Olmsted ; Treas- urer, Rev. J. B. Fowler ; Sergeant at Arms, A. J. Curtiss. Edwardsburg also contains the following secret organizations :
MASONIC LODGE.
St. Peter's Lodge, No. 106, Free and Accepted Masons, was instituted January 14, 1858, with Israel G. Bugbee, as W. M .; George Bignall, S. W .; Amasa S. Cook, J. W., as charter officers, and the balance of the first officers were : Cyrus Bacon, Treas- urer ; Thomas Head, Secretary ; Uri Case, S. D .; Andrew Longstreet, J. D .; Isaac Dumbleton, Tiler. The lodge is in a flourishing condition and has a membership of sixty-eight. Its regular communica- tions are on last Tuesday on or before the full of the moon.
The present officers are: J. Boyd Thomas, W. M .; Eli Benjamin, S. W .; Marion Holland, J. W .; Asa Jones, Treasurer; Edwin Case, Secretary ; Orson S. Lothridge, S. D .; N. L. Quimby, J. D .; A. J. Curtiss, Tiler.
ODD FELLOWS.
Cass Encampment, No. 74, was instituted in Cass- opolis February 11, 1874, and removed to Edwards- burg in 1880. The charter officers were: R. H. Wiley, C. P .; H. H. Bidwell, H. P .; J. W. Argo, S. W .; C. C. Allison, Scribe; Henry Tietsort, Treasurer ; Charles Morgan, Secretary ; H. Dasher, Guide. It now has seventeen members and regular meetings are on the second and fourth Tuesday of | cach month. The present officers are : H. Dasher,
Cyril Bacon
MATHEW H. EMERSON.
273
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
C. P .; Henry Tietsort, H. P .; J. B. Sweetland, S. W .; W. W. Sweetland, Scribe ; H. H. Bidwell, Treasurer ; A. C. Cook, Guide ; C. Colby, J. S.
Ontwa Lodge, No. 49, I. O. O. F., had a charter granted them July 18, 1850. The first officers were : Henry Lockwood, N. G .; A. Reading, V. G .; I. G. Bugbee, Secretary-who has been Grand Master of the State-J. B. Cooper, Treasurer. This lodge is in a very flourishing condition ; owns the property where they meet, valued at $2,500; has a fine regalia and fifty-eight members. The present officers are : W. W. Sweetland, N. G .; B. O. Purt, V. G .; E. D Bement, R. Sec. ; II. Dasher, F. Secretary ; II. H. Bidwell, Treasurer. Regular meetings every Saturday night.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Rev. Luther Humphrey was sent as a missionary to Cass County from New England, by the American Home Missionary Society, and arrived at Edwards- burg October 2, 1830. The following day he preached to a small congregation in the house of Jacob Smith, and continued to hold services in various places, when March 4, 1831, Sylvester Meacham, Mrs. Har- riet Meacham, and Sarah Humphrey, wife of Luther Humphrey, decided to organize a church and adopted a resolution to admit no one to membership who would not abstain from the use of ardent spirits as an article of drink. March 6, 1831, the above-named persons were solemnly constituted a Church of Christ, and two infants were baptized and the Lord's Supper administered.
September 4, 1832, they adopted the Congrega- tional mode of church government, agreeable to a plan of union proposed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, as neither the Presbyterians nor Congregationalists were strong enough to maintain a church. Sylvester Meacham was chosen the first Deacon and Silas Meacham the first Clerk. The records do not show when the first church was erected, but the second one was constructed in 1855, and dedicated April 7, 1856.
April 18, 1877, the church members, by a majority vote, decided to join the Kalamazoo Presbytery, and elected Elders on the rotary plan, and the church now belongs to the Presbyterian denomination.
The church, which now has a pastor, Rev. J. B. Fowler, has a membership of seventy-six, and the Deacons are S. B. Hadden, George M. Hadden, C. S. Olmsted, W. H. Starr and R. S. Griffin.
Elder Rev. Humphrey, before referred to, returned East where he deceased. He was a rank Abolitionist and would use nothing the result of slave labor ; neither would he use wine at the sacrament, using the juice of grapes as a substitute.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
Elder Jacob Price was one of the pioneer ministers of the Gospel, coming here in 1833 to promulgate the principles of the Baptist Church, of which he was a member. He preached in Edwardsburg and Cassopo- lis each alternate Sabbath until 1836, when he locat- ed on the land now owned by Edward Shanahan, in Jefferson, and preached regularly in Edwardsburg until 1842, when he removed to Cassopolis. It was under his ministrations that the Baptist Church was organ- ized, May 14, 1834 and Myron Strong, Luther Chapin and Barak Mead were elected Trustees. The church was at one time in a very flourishiag condition, but now hardly numbers twenty-five members. They have a frame house of worship.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized February 13, 1837, the first Trustees being Hiram Rogers, Clifford Shanahan, Leonard Hains, H. A. Chapman and Asa Smith.
It now has a membership of ninety-two, a comforta- ble brick church and substantial parsonage. D. Strat- ton is Superintendent of the Sunday school, which unmbers 105 scholars, who draw reading matter from a library of 150 volumes. The following list of pas- tors has been furnished us : Revs. Knox, Williams, Jones, Van Order, Meek, Tooker, Collins, Worthing- ton, Kellogg, Stanley, Shaw, Erkenbrack, Eldred, Granger, Hall, Pitezelt, Robinson, Ringold, Boynton, Johnson, George, Miller, Smith, Burns, Hicks, Bell, Robison and Hoyt.
SCHOOLS.
Clearly recognizing the importance of education, the pioneer fathers, as early as 1829 or 1830, organ- ized a school, which was taught by Ann Wood, in one part of the double log house of Wilson Blackmar, below the present residence of Orrin Silver. The next school of which we learn was taught by Angeline Byrd, in a house on Main street, in Edwardsburg, which was no departure from the prevailing style of architecture in those primitive times, for it was built of logs, and the scholars were subjected to all the dis- comforts incident to so rude and unfinished a struct- ures.
It appears that several buildings were utilized for the purpose of holding school, and in which religious services were also held, for several years, and not un- til the summer of 1836 was the first schoolhouse erect- ed in the village and on a lot donated for this purpose by Abiel Silver. After a time, this house was found inadequate to accommodate the numerous scholars, and by a great effort the workers in the cause of edu- cation succeeded in causing to be erected a building
274
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
now known as the " old brick," which was built in 1845 or 1846, which is now occupied by Joel Case. This building, 24x30 feet, did good service in the in- terests of education, and within its four walls 115 scholars were taught, in 1856 and 1857, by Moses H. Lee, who extended, for a time, the school hours to from ten to twelve hours, and even then was unable to hear the large classes more than twice a week, the smaller ones receiving instructions four times a day
In 1861, the present schoolhouse was erected at an expense of $3,000, with a seating capacity of 200. With additional improvements, the property is now valued at $4,000. This is known as District No. 3, and is a graded school, employing three teachers, one male and two females, who were paid the last fiscal year $1,090.
There are 185 scholars between the ages of five and twenty years in this district. The first school district created was nine miles square in extent, one-half of which was within the limits of the present town of Jefferson. Ontwa now has five school districts, with a school population of 407. District No. 1 has a frame building, valued at $100-the value placed on it by the School Board-with a seating capacity of thirty ; No. 2, brick building, value $600, seating capacity forty ; No. 4, frame building, value $450, seating capacity forty ; No. 5, brick building, value $500, seating capacity sixty ; No. 6, frame building, value $200, seating capacity twenty-four. The aggregate amount paid teachers the last fiscal year was $1,736, only $550 of which was paid for male teachers.
Among some of the early teachers, could be men- tioned Charlotte Hastings, Sebina Straw, Emma Cleveland, Mr. Rogers, Samuel Adams and ex-Judge H. H. Coolidge, now of Niles, Berrien County, who taught in the winters of 1839, 1840-41. He subse- quently rented rooms in the building now occupied H. B. Mead, as a hardware store, and for six years conducted one of the most successful select schools ever taught in the county. It became very celebrated, and attracted scholars from all parts of the county, many of whom are now living, and refer with pride to this school, which closed in 1846.
There is quite a difference of opinion regarding some of the early school teachers, and we therefore present a list specially prepared by J. C. Olmsted, which differs somewhat from those above given :
Winter of 1829-30, Thomas H. Edwards, in his house on Main street ; winter 1830-11, Henry Wal- ton, in the house of Ezra Beardsley, on the bank of Pleasant Lake; summer 1831, Ann Wood, in Wilson Blackmar's house; summer 1832, Charlotte Hastings, in a log house near John Bogart's, on the prairie.
This same building was used for school purposes,
with teachers as follows; winter 1832-33, Mary Meacham ; summer 1833, A. G. Jones ; winter 1833- 34, Erastus Geary.
In the winter of 1834-35, Myron F. Barber taught school in a log house in Edwardsburg, followed by Angeline Byrd, in 1835-36, and Sylvanus Trask, who taught in the winter of 1836-37, in a house south of Main street. On the completion of the schoolhouse, the following teachers taught in succession : Seba Straw, Samuel Adams, Cynthia Silver, Samuel T. Rogers. Other teachers are mentioned as follows: Mills Hum phry, A. J. Smith, O. M. Dunning, Rhemus Cook, Louisa Dean, Ruth Mead, Ebenezer Farewell, A. J. Dean, C. D. Thomas, Mr. Petitt, Ruth Mead, Mary Ann Smith, Alice Hewett, Ednah S. Lee et al.
This township was named after an Indian maiden, who was in the household of Abraham Edwards, of Detroit for several years, and was organized by an act of the Territo- rial government, approved November 5, 1829, the enact- ing clause reading: "That all that part of the county of Cass known as the south half of Township No. 7, and fractional Township No. 8 south, in Ranges No. 13. 14, 15 and 16 west, be a township by the name of Ontwa, and the first township meeting shall be held at the house of Ezra Beardsley, in said township." The other townships were erected from this until re- duced to its present size, as will appear in the general history.
The boundaries were surveyed by William Brook- field, and also the subdivisions, the latter being com- pleted July 11, 1828, and it was on the bank of Pleasant Lake that an observation was taken, which established a base for the survey of southwestern Michigan.
Almost the entire surface of this township is a rich sandy loam, and highly productive, and as it lies very level, is easily tilled, producing large crops of the cereals of this State.
Twelve lakes dot its surface, six of which are digni- fied with names as follows: Pleasant, Spring, Co- bert's, Garver's, Eagle and Christianna, the latter only partially lying in this township.
Pleasant Lake is one of the many delightful and attractive sheets of water to be found all over the State, and affords to the people of Edwardsburg and vicinity, an opportunity for recreation and sport which is largely embraced.
There are in Ontwa ninety-two farms, having a total of 9,915 acres, 8,060 of which is improved, and could Ezra Beardsley, who went West in 1833, again revisit the scenes of his early labors and note the fine farm buildings and cultivated field«, it would appear as if some Alladin hand had wrought the wonderful transformation, but the presence of a population of
275
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
1,145 active, energetic, intelligent people would show him that it was not a myth, but a startling revelation of what has been accomplished in fifty-six short years.
The following comprises a list of the principal town- ship officers up to 1881 :
SUPERVISORS.
1831, Ezra Beardsley ; 1832-34, Dempster Beat- ty ; 1835, George Meacham ; 1836-38, Joel Brown; 1839-40-41, C. W. Denton, James L. Glenn ; 1842, William Bacon ; 1843, Myron Strong; 1844, James W. Griffin ; 1845, George Redfield; 1846, Myron Strong ; 1847-48, Cyrus Bacon; 1849, Joseph L. Jacks ; 1850, James W. Griffiin ; 1851, N. Aldrich ; 1852, Cyrus Bacon ; 1853-54, Charles Haney , 1855, A. Longstreet ; 1856, Charles Haney ; 1857, Aaron Lisk ; 1858-60, Charles Haney ; 1861, Moses H. Lee ; 1862-64, Charles Haney ; 1865, George F. Sil- ver ; 1866-67, Charles Haney; 1868-72, J. B. Thomas ; 1873-75, Moses H. Lee; 1876-77, Noah S. Beardsley ; 1878-80, William K. Hopkins ; 1881, Davis S. Minier.
TREASURERS.
1831, George Meacham ; 1832-33, Eber Root; 1834, Ariel Robertson ; 1835, Joseph L. Jacks ; 1836, Silas Baldwin ; 1837, W. H. Vandeventer ; 1838-40, Joseph L. Jacks ; 1841, H. A. Chapin ; 1842, Edwin Clark ; 1843, E. Taylor; 1844-45, Abiel Silver ; 1846, N. Aldrich ; 1847, J. S. Brady ; 1848, S. Van Antwerp; 1849, D. S. Kenson ; 1850, William R. Sheldon ; 1851, Kellogg Allen ; 1852, John L. Brown ; 1853-54, J. Silver ; 1855, Kellogg Allen ; 1856, David Bement; 1857, F. Wilkinson ; 1858, A. B. Patmer ; 1859, S. Van Antwerp; 1860-61, M. B. Robbins ; 1862-63, Josephi L. Jacks ; 1864-65, A. S Cook ; 1866-67, N. S. Brady ; 1868, O. H. San- ford ; 1869-72, George Rogers ; 1873, J. W. Argo; 1874, J. A. Howard; 1875, H. H. Bedwell ; 1876- 77, George F. Silver ; 1878-79, George Bement ; 1880-81, Henry Van Tilberg.
1831-38, T. A. H. Edwards ; 1834, Luther Chapin; 1835-36, B. F. Silver ; 1837-39, H. H. Coolidge ; 1840, H. Eastman ; 1841, George Sherwood ; 1842, Myron Strong ; 1843, T. T. Glenn ; 1844-45, Harvey Olds ; 1846-47, B. D. Sherwood; 1848, E. M. Cur- tis ; 1849-50, B. D. Sherwood ; 1851, H. Van Antwerp; 1852, E. Shaw; 1853, S. F. Ward; 1854, Isaac Brown; 1855, O. M. Dunning; 1856 -57, J. Silver; 1858-59, Moses H. Lee; 1860, L. H. Glover ; 1861, C. Kennedy ; 1862-64, S. H. Lee ; 1865-66, George F. Silver ; 1867-70, J. C. Schock; 1871-72, William K. Hopkins ; 1873, Stephen Bacon ; 1874, J. A. Luckenbach ; 1875, G. F. Bugbee ; 1876, William H. Shaw; 1877, Marquis
1
D. Mealoy ; 1878, Percy Head ; 1879, Charles A. Bugbee ; 1880-81, Daniel Stratton.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
HON. GEORGE REDFIELD.
The venerable pioneer and patriarch who is the subject of this sketch was born at Suffield, Conn., October 6, 1796. He is a descendant of one of the old and notable families of New England, the founder of which in America was William Redfield (or Redfen) who emigrated from England and settled in Vermont about 1639. The name was spelled in various ways until the third generation when it became fixed in the present form. Theophilus Redfield, grandson of William, was the great-grandfather of the man whose name stands at the head of this article. His son George had eight sons, of whom Peleg, the youngest, was the father of our subject. The mother of George Redfield was Polly Judd, a descendant of the Judd who is famous as the man who first moved the ques- tion of a State Constitution for Connecticut. In the year 1800, Peleg Redfield removed with his family to Clifton Springs, N. Y., and there began the life of pioneer, enduring hardships even greater than those borne by the pioneers of the next generation in the farther West. It was there in the thick woods that George Redfield was reared and obtained the very limited education afforded by the primitive schools of the time, which were sustained by two or three neigh- boring families and conducted by teachers whose qual- ifications did not enable them to give instruction except in the rudiments of reading, writing and arithinetic. Until he was twenty-four years old, he had no other than those opportunities for obtaining an education. In the year 1820, however, he was enabled to spend a brief season in the Middleburg (N. Y.) Academy, and that was the conclusion of his school days. When he was twenty-five years of age he had a good farm under cultivation but in 1822 left it under the charge of a tenant and went to Georgia, where he spent nearly or perhaps quite four years, as a teacher in the families of the large planters in Baldwin County. He had among his pupils many who were afterward men of note in the State. He gained a very intimate knowledge of Southern life and the character of the people, and predicted even then, when slavery was in its palmiest stage of exist- ence, its ultimate overthrow. In July, 1826, he returned to New York and resumed farming. In 1831, he made a trip through Southern Michigan, the fame of which had but a short time before reached
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