USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee county, Michigan. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 108
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HISTORY OF GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
FREDERICK OLDS.
FREDERICK OLDS.
Frevierick Ohis was born in the town of Randolph. Wind- soz Co., Vt .. Sert. 3. 1808. Whi'e he was still a babe his father moved to Genesee Co .. N. Y .. and bought uluety seres of new laul on the Towanda Creek dass in the town of Alexander. He was drafted in the war of 1912, and was in several engagements, in one of which he received a wound in the ley. After the war he returned to his farm, which he partly improved. Afterwards he was engaged in the hotel business, bus subsequently sold his hotel and werkel a: the cooper's trade. In 1536 he came to Michi- san aud sectied in the town of Union. Branch Co., where he resided until his death, in 1846. Frederic's lived with his father wutil after his marriage, when he started out in life for himself. He worked at the correr's trade in Mid- dleburg, in Stafford, and in Warsaw We next End him in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., where he bought a piece of new laul, which he partly cleared. This land he sold. and in 1536 he came to Michigan to Sad a home where lind was cheap. In May of that year he arrived in Macomb County. where he worked at his tra le. He next took a job on what Was called the Shelby and Detroit Railroad. This proved a failure, and M :. O'is het a'l his earnings. In February. 1538, he moved to Branch County, woing with au ox-ceux. and being ten days on the road. He bought thisty seres of will land in Union township built upon is a shanty. and cleared about ten aeres In 1$41 he & ld, and with an cx- team moved his family into what was then the town of
MES. FREDERICK OLDS.
Richfield. Lapec: Co. where he bought eighty-are sens. part of the southeast quarter of section 15. The bad was new, Des a stick having been cut. There were then but two houses between his place and Faut, and not a house in sisho for several years after he came. This fum M :. Olds has improved and boi : upon ; and here, an dez his own vine a 3 Eg-tree, he quietly passes the declining years of his life. respected and esteemed by his neighbors and friends as an upright citizen and a true Christian. In politics Mr. Oids is a Republican of the stalwart Kind. it never having been a question to which party he belonged or on which side of a political question he stood. Has been justice of the peace many years, overseer and commissioner of highways over twenty years, drain commissione: three years, and Rich- feli's war supervisor. holling the latter office for seven years. He was active in sending soldiers to the field. and deserves much of the credit for saving the town from the dost. He has been a member of the Mech wiis: Etixx pal Church for forty-two years. On the 4th day of November. IS2s. he married Miss Sally Hill, daughter of John Hill She was born in Bound, Ontario Ca. N. Y. Jan 13. 150S. There have been born to them the foll wing chil- dren . Mortimer M., born Aug. 26. 1529,-he married Miss Francis Potter, who was born Dee. 25. 1533: Ammis C .. born Sept. 30. 1$33, married Nathan Rooc, who was born Jan. 16, 1523 : Althea V., born March 9. 1542, fied Feb :. 1865, marti.d Samuel Clemens , Wilbur E., born April 20, 1:30. died May 21, 1:57.
FOREST.
Towsstup ? north. of range & east, was formerly a part of the town of Richfield, and belonged to Lapeer County. It was set off from that county, erected into a separate town. under the name of Forest, and attached to Genesee County by the Legislature of 1842-43, the latter act har- ing received the approval of the governor March 9, 1843. and going into effect on the 31st day of the same month. The reasons for this change of county relations were prin- cipally business convenience and case of communication, the main business of the people centring at Flint, and the river forming their principal means of communication and for the transportation of their produce and manufactures. All the towns of range & now belonging to Genesce County participated in this change.
The new town embraced a territory nearly six miles square and contained an area of 23,027.40 acres, 1016 acres of which were rated as swamp-lands.
The territory thus named forms the northeast corner town of the county, is centrally distant from Flint (the county- seat) thirteen and one half miles, and is bounded on the north by Millington, Tuscola Co., east by the town of Marathon, Lapeer Co., south by Richfield, and west by Thetford. Its lands were originally heavily timbered, and generally with pine of fine quality and large size, intermin- gled with oak, maple, beech, ash, chu, butternut, and many other varieties of timber in limited quantity. Owing to the fact of the existence of this pine timber. the land was largely taken up by speculators, or by those who held them till lumber was worth a price which would warrant them in entting the timber.
The following list comprises the names of all persons enter- ing land of the government, together with the section ou which they located, the number of aeres entered, and the dates of entry. Those whose names are printed in italics actually settled in Forest, though not always at the time when the lands were entered. Where the residence of these parties is known it is also given. The list is as follows :
William Maxwell, of Livingston Co., N. Y., Oct. 20, 1837, 304 acres on section 1, and 137 acres on seetion 2.
Benjamin F. Partridge, Sept. 30, 1852, 156 acres on see- tion 1; October 14th, 160 acres on section 1, 137 acres on section 2, 400 acres on section 12, 160 acres on section 13 ; October 15th, 80 acres on section 14; December Ist. 40 acres ou section 12, 120 acres on section 14; Jan. 22, 1853, SV acres on section 13; total, 1333 acres.
John Hayes, of Cleveland, Ohio, June 23, 1851, 320 acres on section 9, 160 acres on section 15 ; June 26th, 320 acres on section 10, 160 acres on section 15 ; July 3d, 10 aeres on section 28, 80 acres on section 33; July 12th, 10 acres on section 25 ; September 20th, 320 acres on section ".
160 acres on section 3, 160 acres on section 10; October 13th. 320 acres on section 14; total, 2030 acres.
Francis W. Otis, Cleveland, Ohio. Aug. 22, 1851, 160 acres on section 10 ; September 1st, 433 acres on section 3, 594 acres (the entire section) on section 4; total, 1187 acres.
Lyman Croul, of this county, Jan. 9, 1854, 40 acres on section 22 ; February 10th, 80 acres on section 5. 40 acres on section 23; total, 160 acres.
Horace Hopkins, of this county. June 13, 1854, 40 acres on section 5; Feb. 6. 1855, 30 acres on section 6; total, 70 acres.
William Van N'yek, of this county. Feb. 3. 1814, 40 aeres on section 18; Nov. 16, 1854, 80 acres on section 5; total, 120 acres.
Jay Buell, of this county, Oct. 21, 1850, 80 acres on section 7 ; Nov. 10, 1851. 40 acres on section 18; June 30, 1852, 40 acres on seetion 7; total, 160 acres.
John W. Dimond, of this county. Sept. 15, 1851. 40 aeres on section 18; Dee. 28, 1853, and May & and 23, 1854. 141 neres on section 7; total, 181 acres.
Ephraim S. Johnson, of New York City, Aug. 26, 1836, 240 acres on section S, 320 acres on section 9, 160 neres on section 21 ; total, 720 acres.
Horace Loomis, of this county, Aug. 26, 1836, 320 acres on section 8. 320 acres on section 17 ; total, 610 acres.
Theron B. Smith, of Rutland Co., Vt., Nov. 14, 1836, 80 acres on section 29, 160 acres on section 32 ; November 23d, 160 acres on section 15, 160 acres on section 31 ; total, 560 acres.
Henry and Van Rensselaer Hawkins, of Genesee Co., N. Y., April 17, 1837, 160 acres on section 17 ; April 22d, 80 acres on section 21, 160 acres on section 22; total, 400 acres.
L. G. Gordon and John Cook, of Wayne Co., Mich., Ang. 25, 1836, 98 acres on section 19, 518 acres on ser- tion 30, 263 neres on section 31; total, 879 acres.
Stephen Begel, of Oakland Co., Mich., July 25, 1837, 80 acres on section 21, 80 acres on section 28; total, 160 aeres.
Orin Skut,* of this county, Feb. 20, 1837, 240 aeres on section 22, 80 acres on section 26, 80 acres on section 35; total, 400 acres.
John Miller, of Wayne Co., Mich., March 10, 1837, 160 acres on section 27 ; July 7, 1851, 40 acres on section 13; total, 200 acres.
William Moreland, Washtenaw Co., Mich., Feb. 17, 1837, 160 acres on section 25. 120 neres on section 27; total, 280 acres.
Probably usually spelled a hire
12 .;
424
FOREST TOWNSIJIP.
Cornelius W. Fairbanks, Wayne Co., N. Y., Feb. 20, 1837, 80 acres on section 26, 80 acres on section 35 ; total, 160 acres.
Tandorus Smith, of Oakland Co., Mich., Nov. 14, 1836, SO acres on section 27, 80 acres on section 33, 80 acres on section 34; total, 240 acres.
Artemas Thayer, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., April 15, 1837, 80 acres on section 28, 160 acres on section 32; total, 240 acres.
Isaac L. Smith, Oakland Co., Mich., April 19, 1837, 160 acres on section 28, 160 acres on section 33; total, 320 acres.
Robert McCarty, of Trumbull Co., O., Dec. 1, 1836, 80 acres on section 32, 160 acres on section 36; total, 240 acres.
Jonathan Shearer, of Wayne Co., Mich., March 10, 1837, 160 acres on section 35, 80 acres on section 36; total, 240 acres.
The foregoing persons entered land on more than one section. The following comprises the rest of the entries classified by sections :
Section 5: Nov. 19, 1853, John Schlosser, of this county, 40 acres ; Feb. 3, 1854, Ira Davenport of Steuben Co., N. Y., 80 acres ; Nov. 30, 1854, Isaac Turner, of this county, 139 acres, and December 11th, the same person, 40 acres ; June 13, 1854, Mary Hopkins, of this county, 95 acres.
Section 6: June 11, 1852, David Wilcox, 160 acres ; June 13, 1854, Edmund Hopkins, Geauga Co., O., 40 acres ; Dec. 12, 1854, Manson P. Perry, of this county, 56 acres. On this section there were 370 acres of swamp- land.
Section 7: March 18, 1837, Ebenezer Rush, of Wash- tenaw Co., Mich., 80 acres; Feb. 9, 1852, George Shan- non, of this county, 40 acres ; July 14, 1853, J. W. Water- man, of Detroit, 208 acres. There were 80 acres of swamp- land on this section.
Section 8 : March 18, 1837, William Wilbur, of Medina Co., O., 40 acres. In this section were 40 acres of swamp- land.
Section 11 : Nov. 13, 1837, Horace Perry, of this county, 80 acres ; Jan. 9, 1839, Harvey Perkins, of Oakland Co., Mich., 80 acres ; Sept. 29, 1851, Martin Myers, 160 acres; Oct. 13, 1851, Joseph Dupras, 160 acres; Thornton F. Brodhead, 160 acres.
Section 12: Sept. 20, 1853, Edgar Sheldon, of Yates Co., N. Y., 120 acres. This section had 80 acres of swamp- land.
Section 13: Sept. 15, 1838, Daniel M. Baker, of Oak- land Co., Mich., 80 acres ; July 7, 1851, Samuel Brevout,* 160 acres; Feb. 6, 1854, Lorenzo D. Morse, of Oakland Co., Mich., 40 acres ; Nov. 28, 1854, Edmund Perry, of this county, 80 acres.
Section 14: Dec. 23, 1839, Matthew Me Cormick, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 40 acres ; July 7, 1839, Elijah Look, 80 acres.
Section 15: March 27, 1837, Sally Nash, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 160 acres.
* Probably intended for Breroort.
Section 17: Dec. 8, 1853, Henry Pettingill, of this county, 160 acres.
Section 18: Dec. 9, 1844, Nelson Valentine, of Lapeer Co, Mich., 40 acres ; Aug. 21, 1845, William Henry Di- mond, of this county, 40 acres ; May 22, 1850, Wellington Ferguson, of this county, 40 acres; Nov. 21, 1851, Lydia Cone, 40 acres ; March 1, 1852, Elizabeth M. Beagle, of this county, 40 acres; April 8, 1852, John Darling, of this county, 93 acres ; Oct. 5, 1852, Ransom G. Root, of this county, 40 acres, and Dec. 2, 1854, the same party 40 acres. On this section there were 126 acres of swamp-land.
Section 19: Nov. 9, 1836, Edward Davidson, of Living- ston Co., Mich., 80 acres ; Henry Hliester, of the same county, 160 acres ; July 19, 1837, the latter entered 40 acres ; Oct. 5, 1841, and Jan. 11, 1843, Newell Orr, of Oakland Co., Mich., 95 acres ; Nov. 3, 1851, James Haw- ley, of Orleans Co., N. Y., 40 acres ; March 2, 1852, Wil- liam N. Stanard, 40 acres ; June 28, 1852, John Jobson, 40 acres ; Aug. 8 and Sept. 19, 1853, George Moore, 80 acres.
Section 20: Aug. 26, 1836, George C. Loomis, of Addi- son Co., Vt., 320 acres; April 15, 1837, Levi Townsend, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 80 acres ; John Taylor, of Por- tage Co., Ohio, 80 acres ; Aug. 21, 1849, John Taylor, Jr., of this county, 40 acres ; Feb. 21, 1853, Horace Buell, 40 acres ; March 10, 1854, Isaiah Merriman and Richard A. Gossler, of this county, 40 acres. This section had 40 acres of swamp-land in its limits.
Section 21 : July 25, 1837, Amos Begel, of Oakland Co., Mich., 40 acres ; August 30th, Jas. C. Wells, of Allegany Co., N. Y., 80 acres ; October 16th, Michael Koan, of this county, 80 acres; April 6, 1852, Jas. Robertson, 40 acres. On this section there were 80 acres of swamp-land.
Section 22: April 22, 1837, Benjamin Dutton, Jr., of Genesee Co., N. Y., 80 acres ; September 26th, Peter Sel- lers, of this county, 80 acres, and Jan. 26, 1838, the same party, 40 acres.
Section 23: Feb. 20, 1837, Daniel Cummings and William Davidson, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 80 acres ; March 10th, Asa J. Groendycke, t of Monroe Co., N. Y., 40 acres ; June 24th, James Davis, of Oakland Co., Mich., 40 acres ; Jan. 7, 1853, Johu Britten (2d), 80 acres ; Feb- ruary 2d, Abraham Bicksler,¿ 40 acres ; July 10, 1854, Samuel Lapham, of this county, 40 acres ; December 27th, Thomas Becksmith, of this county, 120 acres; Jan. 2, 1855, Albert Hawley, of this county, 40 acres. This sec- tion contained 120 acres of swamp-land.
Section 24: Feb. 28, 1837, John Crawford, of Wash- tenaw Co., Mich., 80 acres ; Robert Henderson, same county, 80 acres ; March 28th, George W. Williams and James Frazer, same county, 160 acres ; September 22d, James Crawford, same county, 200 acres ; Dee. 25, 1852, Daniel D. Dewey, 80 acres. On this section there were 48 acres of swamp-land.
Section 25: Oct. 17, 1836, Julius B. Hart, of Lapeer Co., Mich., 160 acres ; Feb. 17, 1837, Shadrach Dunbar, Washtenaw Co., Mich., 160 acres ; April 17th, Joseph Pendrigh, of Oakland Co., Mich., 80 acres ; June 3, 1839, John Nixon, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 80 acres.
+ Grovendycke. Į Bixler.
425
FOREST TOWNSHIP.
Section 26: Feb. 17, 1837, John Minzy, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 240 acres ; February 20th, Charles Skut,* of Wayne Co., N. Y., 80 acres ; March 27th, Grove Spencer, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 80 aeres; Jan. 31, 1853, Stephen Woodruff, 40 acres, and February 11th, the same party, 40 acres.
Section 27: Feb. 20, 1837, Jonathan Skut,* of Wayne Co., N. Y., 80 acres; March 20th, Jabin W. Elliott, same county, 80 acres; April 28th, Alden Coburn, of Upper Canada, 40 acres; August 4th, Horace B. Harrison, of New York State, 80 acres.
Section 28: Nov. 14, 1836, Carlton M. Smith, of Oak- land Co., Mich., 80 acres ; Nov. 17, 1851, Ann Elijaht Bid- dle, 80 acres ; June 17, 1840, Jenny Mc Cormick, Lapeer Co., Mich., 40 acres. There were 40 acres of swamp-land on this section.
Section 29: Nov. 10, 1836, Isaac Parshall, of Living- ston Co., Mich., 80 acres ; Samuel W. Burt, same county, 80 acres ; April 17, 1837, Peter F. Le Roy, of this county, 400 aeres.
Section 30 : Aug. 24, 1836, William G. Stone, of Oak- land Co., Mich., 160 acres.
Seetion 31 : Nov. 9, 1836, George Luther, of Living- ston Co., Mich., 80 acres ; November 24th, Burnett Scott, of Oakland Co., Mich., 110 acres ; November 26th, William Morgan, of Livingston Co., N. Y., 80 acres.
Seetion 32: Sept. 28, 1836, William J. Bingham, of Addison Co., Vt., 160 acres; November 15th, Harrison G. Conger, of Lapeer Co., Mich., 80 acres.
Section 33: Nov. 14, 1836, William R. Smith, of Oak- land Co., Mich., 80 acres; November 24th, Loren Coy, of this county, 160 acres; April 15, 1837, Calvin Townson, of' Washtenaw Co., Mich., 80 acres.
Section 34: Nov. 24, 1836, Thomas S. Clark, of Iluron Co., O., 80 acres ; Josiah A. Gales, of Franklin Co., Mass., 80 acres ; Jan. 23, 1837, Gilman MeAllaster, of Washte- naw Co., Mich., 160 acres; Jacob Hathaway, of Seneca Co., N. Y., 160 acres ; March 20th, Zerial Waterman, of Detroit, 80 acres.
Section 35: Jan. 23, 1837, John S. Kidder, of Ilills- boro' Co., N. II., 160 acres ; February 11th, Levi Reynolds, of this county, 40 acres; February 20th, Lewis Seeley, of this county, 40 acres; William Lamb, of Wayne Co., N. Y., 80 acres.
Section 36: March 1, 1836, JJames Seymour, of Mon- roe Co., N. Y., 240 acres ; Jan. IS, 1837, Jared Beards- ley, Jr., of Cayuga Co., N. Y., 160 acres.
From this it will be seen that James Seymour entered the first land in this town, March 1, 1836, on section 36. Ilenry Hiester was the first actual settler who entered land, his being recorded Nov. 9, 1836, while the next, the Smiths', was not taken up until the 14th of that month. The latest entry seems to have been that made by llorace Ilopkins, on section 6, dated Feb. 6, 1855.
Probably about three-quarters of this land was covered with pine timber. It stood in its natural state for several years, but is now pretty well used up.
The soil is varied in its composition, being composed of
sandy, gravelly, and clayey loam, distributed very irregu- larly. It is all underlaid by a heavy clay subsoil of great depth, and is fertile, and, were it not for the pine-stumps, which are still numerous, is easily worked. It is well suited for the cultivation of general crops, and is excellent for wheat.
According to the report contained in the State census of 1874, the amount of erops produced in 1873 was as follows : of wheat, 10,206 bushels ; of corn, 23,160 bushels ; of all other grains, 16,916 bushels; of potatoes, 5074 bushels ; of hay, 690 tons; of wool, 2235 pounds ; of pork, 4995 pounds ; of butter, 32,620 pounds; of dried fruits, 153 pounds ; of cider, 8 barrels; and of maple-sugar, 800 pounds. Taking into consideration the area of improved lands as compared with the other towns of the county, Forest takes high rank in the quantity of its productions.
The census further informs us that the town has 22,942 acres of taxable lands, of which 4442 acres are improved and 90 acres are used by the railroad as right of way and for depot grounds. One hundred and seventy-eight acres were at that time devoted to orchards, and furnished a pro- duct, in 1872, of 2287 bushels, and in 1873 of 1958 bushels of apples.
The stock then kept was classified as follows : horses, 230; mules, G ; work-oxen, 106; milch cows, 321; other cattle, 351; swine, 403; sheep, 790.
The surface of the land is usually lightly rolling in its nature, though in some parts it becomes a little more un- eveu, and rises in low hills. In the south part of the town lies what is known as Compton Hill, which is the point rising highest above the surrounding surface. Probably the most elevated part of the town is the northern portion. Commencing with the lakes, near Otisville, a strip of terri- tory made up of alternating knolls and marshes runs in each direction, reaching uearly across the town from north to south.
There are quite a number of small lakes scattered about the town. At Otisville a cluster of them, seven in number, lies south aud cast of the village. It is supposed that origi- nally these were all united in one body of water, but that the changes in the streams, the decreased rainfall caused by the clearing up of the forests, and the accumulation of de- cayed vegetation, have lowered the surface of the water, and built bars and marshes that now separate them one from another. Two others of these lakes are found one and a half miles west of Otisville, one on section 20, and one on section 29. Another, known as Crawford's Lake, is located in the south part of section 24. Near the northeast corner a small portion of Otter Lake extends into this town. These lakes are all of the same general character, having an average depth of some thirty or forty feet, and a sandy or muddy bottom. The shores in some places are bold, and in others more or less marshy. These lakes were formerly abundantly supplied with fish of various kinds, and, though somewhat depleted by unseasonable and unsportsmanlike fishing, still furnish a fine field for sport to the lover of the piscatorial art.
The principal stream of the town is the outlet of Otter Jake, which flows across the town diagonally, in a south- west course, entering Thetford near the west quarter line of
$ Schutt.
+ Eliza.
51
420
IHISTORY OF GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
section 31, and is a tributary of Flint River. Its shores were originally covered along its whole course with a heavy growth of butternut-trees, which fact gave it the name of Butternut Creek, a name which it still bears. It receives the waters of a few tributary streams, the largest one being the outlet of the Otisville lakes.
The present population of the town is undoubtedly some- what greater than it was in 1874, when the census showed that it was 1365. Of this number, 732 were males, and 633 were females. In classes arranged according to age, the statistics were as follows : under five years of age, 113 quales and 95 females ; from five to ten years, 100 males and 115 females ; from ten to twenty-one years, 165 males, and from ten to eighteen years, 101 females; from twenty-one to forty-five years, 262 males, and from eighteen to forty years, 229 females ; from forty-five to seventy-five years, 90 males, and from forty to seventy-five years, 80 females ; from seventy-five to ninety years, 2 males and 4 females. Of these, 787 were single, 548 married, and 30 widowed or divorced.
SETTLEMENT.
Until the year 1837 no white person resided in the town of Forest. The foot of the Indian brave, or the white trapper and hunter and an occasional trader, had alone trod the mazes of its dense forests. The winds of heaven had swept the towering pines and struck from their yield- ing branches that soft, sweet, weird music, like the sound of distant waters washing on pebbly shores ; the tempests had run their powerful and destructive course, swaying the monarchs of the woods, twisting off weak limbs, and ocea- sionally overthrowing the body of some less deeply rooted tree, leaving its prostrate trunk prone upon the carth, to tell of its fallen glory, and testify of the tempest's power. The animals of the forest had roamed its fastnesses in pur- suit of their prey, or lain securely in their hidden lairs al- most entirely unmolested by the hand of civilized mau. But all this was to be changed. The mighty forest must fall before the sturdy strokes of the pioneer's axe, and be re- placed by verdant meadows, fertile fields, and fruitful orchards; the wild and virgin soil must be broken up and made to yield of its strength to produce the food of man ; the wild beasts must feel the power and learn the strength of that decree which made man ruler over all living things. And now the first step in this revolution was to be made, the first experiment of the hardships of pioneer life to be undergone, in order that these good results might be brought about.
The first settler in this town was Henry Heister, who came here from Livingston Co., Mich., early in the spring of' 1837, bringing with him his family, consisting of his wife and three children. Ile was, as his name indicates, de- scended from a Dutch family, and is believed to have come to this State from some of the counties in Southern Pennsyl- vania. In person he was tall and of large frame, but, from some inherent weakness of his constitution, was rather sickly, and incapacitated for the proper performance of the almost herculean tasks necessarily falling to the lot of the pioneer. Selecting as his future home the southwest quarter of section 19, he erected a small log house, some 18 by 24 feet, on the bank of Butternut Creek, near the southeast corner of his
land. IIere he remained for a few years, and then, having an opportunity to exchange his farm for one much better improved in the town of Genesee, he sold out his interests here and moved there, remaining a resident of the town till the time of his death, which occurred many years ago. While living in this town he had a son born, whose birth was among the earliest in the township. Indeed, it was sometimes claimed that his was the first birth among the settlers. Apropos of this, it is related that on one occasion Mrs. Heister, in conversing with a physician somewhat noted for his rather rough manner of speech, referred to the fact that " George was the first white child born in Forest." Now, George's complexion was a little dark, and this fact caused the doctor, who was quite a joker, to retort, " and not so very d-d white either." For about two months the IIcisters were the only white residents of the town. Then the Smith family came.
While we would not dare to venture upon the work of giving even the most cursory history of the Smith family in its numerous branches and multitude of persons, and while that is not necessary for the purposes involved in this work, still it will not be entirely out of place to mention a few facts relating to the genealogy of this, the second fam- ily settling in this town. The head of this family was Nathaniel Smith, who was the fifth child and youngest son of William Smith, who was the third son of Nathaniel Smith, Sr., a native of Suffield, Conn., born in 1751, who settled in Vermont, near Pawlet, when about twenty-five years of age. This branch of the Smith family is descended from the Rev. Ilenry Smith, one of the Puritan settlers of Connecticut, who is supposed to have landed in this country in 1639, and was the first settled minister of the church at Wethersfield, Conn. William Smith married Mary John- son at New Marlboro', Mass., settled first at Rupert, and afterwards-about 1784-at Orwell, Vt. Ilis son Nathan- icl was married to his cousin, Sarah Royse, and continued to live at Orwell for a time. From there they removed to St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. Some years later, having become somewhat involved by business disasters, he determined to move his family to Michigau, hoping in that new and unde- veloped country to retrieve his fortunes, build up a home, and secure a competency for his family. His first settle- ment in this State was made in the town of Troy, Oakland Co., where he lived for several years. In the summer of 1837 he came to this town, and with his sons-Vandorus, William R., and Carlton M .- entered lands on the adjoin- ing four corners of sections 27, 28, 33, and 34, which locality received and still retains the name of Smith Ilill, though it is but slightly elevated above the surrounding surface.
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