USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee county, Michigan. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 8
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[signe 1} " JONY GARLAND.
" P. S .- All other property on the premises belongs to the estate of Jacob Smith. It is my wish that an inventory be taken of them by Mr. Lyons and Mr. E. Cumpau, and lett with Mr. Campan.
[Signed] "JOHN GARLAND."
The " Mr. E. Campan" above referred to was the half- breed otherwise known as Nowykeshik, the owner of reser- vation No. 7. Ile was frequently employed about the trading-house of Mr. Smith during the years in which the latter lived at the Grand Traverse, and at the time of the death of Mr. Smith he (Campau) was living in a cabin on his own reservation on the south side of the river, but whether with or without his family is not known. There is little doubt that he built and occupied the cabin on the reservation for the purpose of having the fact of his actual possession assist him to obtain a patent of the tract from government ; and he did so obtain it soon after Mr. Smith's death, viz., June 12, 1825. Not long after having secured the land hy patent, he removed from it. Under these cir- cumstances, therefore, it does not seem proper to class him as a settler. The George Lyons to whom reference is made " was for five years a resident of Flint River, in Michigan Territory," as we learn from his testimony, given in connce- tion with one of the Smith reservation trials. Neither the exact place of' his location on the river, nor the precise time when he lived here, can be given ; but it appears more than probable, from the above, that he was living somewhere in the vicinity of the Grand Traverse at the time when the house, farm, and effects of Jacob Smith were turned over to him by Major Garland.
It was in the winter or early spring of 1825 that Mr. Smith died (at the age of forty-five years) at his isolated farm on the Flint, and his was the first death of a white person which occurred in the present county. The second is believed to have been that of Mrs. Esther Green, who died in the year 1830 in the same house in which Mr. Smith had died five years before. She was the daughter of John Tupper, of Grand Blanc, and the wife of Archi- bald Green, who (it may be inferred from this circumstance) was then in occupation of the Smith house and property on Flint River. Upon the death of his wife he became dis- couraged, and removed from the place. Whether any other tenants had temporarily occupied the Smith premises before Mr. Green is not known.
The next settlers (after Jacob Smith) within the boun- daries of the county were Jacob Stevens and his sons, Rufus and Sherman, who came from Western New York in the year 1822, and settled in the following year at Grand Blanc, where they remained without neighbors ( other than Indians and half-breeds) for three years. That they found some- thing of contentment in their lonely wilderness home may be inferred from the tone of a letter written by Mr. Stevens to friends in New York in July, 1825, from which is ex- tracted the following : " We comforted ourselves in that we had a healthy country, as high and pleasant as we had ever anticipated, and the garden of the Territory, and knowing that the time could not be long ere we should have neigh- bors we sought contentment with our condition, and found it. Our Indian neighbors, of whom we have plenty, we find docile, hospitable, and friendly. On this subject I am at a loss how to write you, believing you will find it hard to credit facts. They are very far from being the hideous thonsters youthful fancy had pictured them. No person could be more timorons about them than Eunice ever was, but a short acquaintance with their ways and customs abated
5
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HISTORY OF GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
that fear. I state it in presence of the family, without fear of contradiction. Notwithstanding we living so near them are under the necessity of having considerable intercourse with them, and at some seasons of the year perhaps fifty of them are camped in sight and likely enough half drunk, Ennice declares that they are less to be dreaded than the same number of whites in the same condition. Not a minute's sleep, except in some of their frolies when they were too noisy, has been lost by any of the family on account of them. It is a fact that within eighteen months from the time Sherman saw the first Indians he was almost mas- ter of their language, and they are much attached to him. They furnish us with all kinds of peltries, sugar, beeswax, honey, venison, fish, etc., in exchange for flour, meal, and salt, and we have found the exchange very beneficial to us, though on a small seale." In another part of the same letter Mr. Stevens mentions that seven miles northwest of his place there were living some French people, who were the last inhabitants in that direction this side of Saginaw, doubtless having reference to Edouard Campau and perhaps two or three other French half-breeds temporarily located on the Flint.
The establishment of the post of Saginaw had had the effect to encourage immigration towards it from the south- cast. But when, after fourteen months' occupation, it was abandoned by the United States on account of the alarming sickness and mortality among its garrison the effect was correspondingly depressing, and resulted in a sudden and entire cheek of immigration in this direction; and it was not until the year 1826 that Mr. Stevens welcomed his first neighbors, Edmond Perry, Sr., and Rowland B. Perry (uncle and nephew), from Livingston Co., N. Y. After them, in 1827, 1828, and 1829, came Edward H. Spencer, from Vermont, Wm. Roberts, George E. Perry (Connecticut), Joseph McFarlan, Ezekiel R. Ewing, Jeremiah Riggs and family, and a number of others (mostly from Western New York, but a few from New England), so that by the year 1830 quite a settlement had formed in the southeast part of the county. In that year Asa Farrar had made his appearance in what is now Atlas, and some of the Tupper family had come into the county. Benajah Tupper, - Preston, and Archibald Green had already pushed north as far as the Flint River, but made only temporary settlement there, Mr. Green being driven away in diseouragement at the death of his wife, as we have seen. But in the year nawied (1830) came John Todd, from the neighborhood of Pontiac, Oakland Co., and began a settlement, which proved to be a permanent one, and which has distinguished him as the pioneer settler in what is now the city of Flint. By 1833 a number of new-comers had clustered around him, and in that year Benjamin Pearson and Addison Stewart advanced, and built their eabins near the north line of the present township of Flint. In that year, too, came Lewis Buckingham, the first sheriff of the county of Genesee. He arrived at Flint River on the 1st day of May, and afterwards, with several associates who came with him from Western New York, formed a settlement on the line between the present townships of Mount Morris and Genesee. They were all men who were opposed to the use of intoxicating drinks, and for this reason their neighborhood was (by a
few) derisively termed " the Cold- Water Settlement" and " Hungry Hill," though the latter, in particular, appears to have been a misnomer, for, notwithstanding all which has been said about the hardships endured by the first settlers (and it cannot be denied that there were many hardships inseparable from their condition), there appears little evi- dence tending to show that hunger was among the priva- tions of the pioneers upon the fertile soil of Genesee.
REGARD OF THE SETTLERS FOR EDUCATION AND RE- LIGIOUS WORSHIP.
As nine-tenths of the earliest settlers of this county came from New York State and New England, they brought with them (as it was natural they should) the advanced ideas of the favored communities from which they came upon the subjects of education and religious observance. After they had secured for their families shelter, and the means of pres- ent subsistence, they allowed very little time to elapse before they also provided for the education of their children ; though as the means at their command were limited, so, of course, the methods were far more rude, and the results obtained were more meagre than those of the present day ; but, though the schools were often taught in the cramped cabin of the settler, and never in any edifice more preten- tious than the single-roomed log school-house, reared in a day by the combined labor of a few earnest heads of far- ilies, yet in these rude institutions of learning there have been laid the foundations of many an honorable and useful career.
The ease was the same, among these pioneers from New England and New York, with regard to religious observance. They recognized it as being among the necessities of life, equally with food, raiment, and shelter ; and so, as soon as they had secured these in the most primitive form (and frequently, indeed, before they had secured them at all), they made haste to set up the altar of the Most High in this wilderness, and embraced every opportunity to enjoy the privilege of divine worship. There is now living in the city of Flint a lady who recollects that when she first eame to the place with her husband, forty-six years ago, their first inquiries were concerning religious services ; and when informed that such were to be held in a barn at the Grand Blane settlement on the next succeeding Sabbath (it was then past the middle of the week), they prepared to attend. The distance to the place of meeting was fully seven miles over bad roads, and with streams to be forded, so the journey could not be expected to be either easy, rapid, or pleasant, and, of course, could not be performed in one day ; so they, with others, set out in an ox-wagon on Sat- urday, reached their place of destination the same night, attended services on Sunday, and arrived back at Flint River on Monday afternoon, thus consuming three days in the expedition ; but this loss of time was not in the least regretted, though not a tree had then been felled, or any other preliminary steps taken towards the preparation of their future home.
Among the earliest of the pioneer preachers in Genesee County were the Rev. W. H. Brockway, a Methodist and ar Indian missionary, Elders Frazee ( Methodist), Benedict, and Gambell (Baptists), the Rev. Isaac W. Rnggles (Con-
35
CHANGES OF CIVIL JURISDICTION.
gregationalist), of Pontiae, Rev. Oscar North (Methodist), and others. The first religious meetings were held at the Stevens and Perry settlement (Grand Blanc), and from there they extended northward to Flint River and other points. The Rev. Mr. North is mentioned as the first who held services in the Flint River settlement, and though this priority has been disputed by some, there is no reason to doubt that he was among the first who preached there. The " Cold Water Settlement"" was a point where traveling preachers almost invariably held services when passing through this region. The people who formed this settle- ment were all Presbyterians or Congregationalists (these two being nearly identical at that time), but here, as elsewhere in the county at that early day, the opportunity of religious worship was always gladly embraced, regardless of denom- inational differences ; and whether a preacher was of the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, or other Christian fortu of belief, his services were always welcomed by the pioneers, who fully appreciated the value of the church privileges they had left behind when they emigrated from their old homes in the East.
In the above brief mention, it has not been the intention to give more than a mere glance at a few of the very earliest settlers, and their first rude but earnest attempts at relig- ious and educational advancement. These subjects will be resumed, and a more full account of the settlements and settlers, schools and churches will be given in the separate histories of the several townships of the county.
CHAPTER VII.
CHANGES OF CIVIL JURISDICTION-ERECTION AND ORGANIZATION OF GENESEE COUNTY -COURTS AND COUNTY BUILDINGS.
Act Erecting the County-Subdivision into Townships-Organization of County-First Election of County Officers-First Board of Su- pervisors-Early Courts in Genesce-County Site, Court-Houses, and Jails-Cuunty Poor-House and Farm.
THE county of Wayne was erected by exeeutive aet, Nov. 1, 1815. This was the first county formed in the Territory of Michigan, and embraced all the lands within it,-to which the aboriginal title had been extinguished,- ineluding, of course, the part of the present county of Genesee lying southeast of the Indian line terminating at White Rock, as established by the treaty of 1807.
By exeentive proclamation, dated Jan. 15, 1818, all of Wayne County lying north of the base-line was erected into the new county of Macomb, embracing all of the pres- ent counties of Macomb, Oakland, Livingston, St. Clair, and Lapeer, parts of Sanilae, Tuscola, and Shiawassee, the east half of Ingham, and that portion of Genesee which had been included in Wayne; the boundaries of the newly- 'erected county being described in the proclamation as " be- ginning at the southwest corner of township number one, north of the base-line (so called) and in the first range ; thence along the Indian boundary-line, north, to the angle formed by the intersection of the line running to White Rock, upon Lake Huron; thence with the last-mentioned line to the boundary-line between the United States and
the British province of Upper Canada; thenee, with said line, southwardly, to a point in Lake St. Clair dne cast from the place of beginning; thence, due west, to the eastern extremity of said base-line, and, with the same, to the place of beginning."
Oakland was taken from Macomb, and erected a county, by proclamation of Governor Cass, dated Jan. 12, 1819. That county then included, in addition to its present arca, all of Livingston County, the east half of Ingham, the southernmost tier of townships in Shiawassee, and the towns of Argentine and Fenton, in Genesee. It was not until March 28, 1820, however, that the organization of Oakland as a county was effected under executive procla- mation.
The other counties which formerly included parts of the present territory of Genesce are Lapeer, Saginaw, and Shi- awassee, which were all " laid out" as counties by Governor Cass' proclamation of Sept. 10, 1822. Lapcer was de- scribed as " beginning at the northwest corner of the county of St. Clair, and running thenee, west, to the line between the sixth and seventh ranges east of the principal meridian; thence, south, to the line between the townships numbered 5 and G, north of the base-line; thenee, cast, to the line between the twelfth and thirteenth ranges east of the prin- cipal meridian ; thence, north, to the place of beginning." These boundaries covered all the territory now lying in Genesee County east of its eentre, and extended north to include the southeru half of the present townships of Ar- bela, Millington, and Watertown, in Tuseola County.
Saginaw County as then laid out included that part of Genesee which uow forms the townships of Vienna and Montrose; and Shiawassee County, which then formed the entire southern boundary of Saginaw, embraced not only all its present territory but also the north half of Livingston, the northeast quarter of Ingham, and the town- ships of Fenton, Argentine, Gaines, Mundy, Flint, Clayton, Flushing, aud Mount Morris, in the present county of Genesce.
In the proclamation ereeting these counties it was de- clared that they " shall be organized whenever, hereafter, the competent authority for the time being shall so deter- mine;" but that until such time they, together with the newly-formed county of Sanilac, and all the other territory to which the Indian title was extinguished by the Sagi- naw treaty of 1819, should be attached to and form a part of the county of Oakland. Iu accordance with that pro- vision, the county of Lapeer was organized by aet of the Legislative Council, approved Jan. 20, 1835 ; Saginaw was organized January 28th of the same year, and Shiawassee on the 18th of March, 1837.
ACT ERECTING THE COUNTY.
By the terms of " An act to set off the county of Gen- esec," passed by the Legislative Council, and approved March 28, 1835, it was provided " that townships 5, 6, 7, and 8 north, ranges 5 and 6 east, being the castern tiers of townships in the county of Shiawassee ;* also townships
# The county of Shiawassee had then been reduced in size by the erection (March 21, 1833) of the county of Livingston, which took from Shiawassee Iwo tiers of townships on its southern border.
36
HISTORY OF GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
6, 7, 8, and 9 north, range 7 east, being the western tier of townships in the county of Lapeer ; also townships 9, ranges 5 and 6 east, being the southeast corner of the county of Saginaw, shall form a new county by the name of Genesee, which shall remain for the present, for judicial purposes, attached to the county of Oakland."
SUBDIVISION INTO TOWNSIIIPS.
The county of Genesee as thus laid ont embraced all of its present area except the eastern range of townships, which then belonged to Lapeer. The oldest of the town- ships of Genesee is Grand Blane, whichi was erected by act of the Legislative Council of the Territory, approved March 9, 1833, which provided " that all that district of country comprised in townships 5, 6, 7, and 8 north, in range 6 east, and townships 6, 7, and 8 north, in range 7 east, and townships 6 and 7 north, in range 8 east shall form a town- ship by the name of Grand Blane ;" this including the present townships of Fenton, Mundy, Flint, Mount Morris, Genesee, Burton, Atlas, Davison, and Grand Blanc,-the first four being then in Shiawassee County, and the last five in Lapeer. The next township erected was Flint, by act approved March 2, 1836. This at its erection embraced not only its present area and that of the city of Flint, but also the present townships of Burton, Clayton, Flushing, Mount Morris, Genesee, Thetford, Vienna, and Montrose. Ar- gentine was erected by act of July 26, 1836, and then included besides its present territory that of the township of Fenton. Mundy (then including also the present town- ship of Gaines) was erected by act of Legislature, approved March 11, 1837 ; and by the same aet Vienna was erected from the north part of Flint, to include the territory now comprised in Montrose, Vienna, and Thetford. Se that at that time the county of Genesee contained the townships of Grand Blanc, Flint, Argentine, Mundy, and Vienna, which covered all its territory. The eastern tier of townships- Atlas, Davison, Richfield, and Forest-were detached' from Lapeer County and annexed to Genesee by act approved March 9, 1843, and taking effect on the 3Ist of the same month. The later subdivisions of the county will be found mentioned in the histories of the several townships.
ORGANIZATION OF TIIE COUNTY.
Genesee was organized as a county under an act of the Legislature, approved March 8, 1836, which provided " that the county of Genesee shall be organized, and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which, by law, the inhabitants of the other counties of this State are entitled." A section of the same act de- clared " that the county of Shiawassee be, and the same is, hereby attached to the county of Genesee for judicial pur- poses until otherwise directed by the Legislature." And it remained so attached until the organization of that county by aet approved March 18, 1837.
FIRST ELECTION OF COUNTY OFFICERS.
The first election fer county officers was held Aug. 22, 1836. The board of canvassers (composed of Lyman Stow, Alonzo Ferris, and Clark Dibble) met Thursday, August 25th, at the hall of Stage & Wright, and declared the elec-
tion of the following persons to the county offices : Jere- miah R. Smith and Asa Bishop, Associate Judges; Sam- nel Rice, Judge of Probate; Lewis Buckingham, Sheriff ; Robert F. Stage. Clerk ; Charles D. W. Gibson, Treasurer ; Oliver Wesson, Register of Deeds; Chauncey Chapin and Rufus W. Stevens, Coroners ; Ogden Clarke, County Sur- veyor.
FIRST BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
The first meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held in the tailor-shop of Daniel II. Seeley, in Flint, on the 4th of October, 1836. The members of the board present were Samuel Rice, as supervisor of Grand Blane; Lyman Stow, of Flint; and Samuel W. Pattison, of Argentine. Samuel Rice was called to the chair, Robert F. Stage was appointed clerk, and, the board being then ready for business, it was ascertained that no books or stationery had been pre- pared for their use ; whereupon it was " resolved that Sam- uel Rice be a committee to procure such books, papers, etc., as may be necessary," and the board adjourned to the 17th of the same month.
At the adjourned meeting Supervisor Pattison was uot present, and the board adjourned to the following day, October 18th, when, all being present, Mr. Pattison was appointed clerk, and the board proceeded to business. Mr. Rice, the committee charged with the procuring of articles necessary for the use of the board, reported his purchase of one blank-book and other articles; which was accepted, and his bill for the same allowed at eleven dollars. It was by the board " resolved to raise a tax of two thousand dollars, agreeably to the following assessment* and apportionuient," viz. :
Towns. Assessment.
County.
Town.
Collector.
Flint. .$203,973
$1267.43
$231.52
John Todd.
Grand Blanc ... 117,896 732.57
146.20
Caleb S. Thompson.
The assessment and apportionment of Argentine was included with that of Grand Blanc. The board " prepared a report for the Auditor-General, and appointed Mr. Stow to forward the same." And a number of bills were allowed, among which was one of one dollar to Daniel II. Seeley, for use of room and fuel for the session, and three dollars to Samuel Rice, for a trunk in which to keep and preserve the county records.
EARLY COURTS IN GENESEE.
The act of Legislature under which Genesee County was organized provided, in its second section, "That all suits, prosecutions, and other matters now pending before any of the courts of record of Oakland County, or before any justice of the peace of said county, or that shall be pend- ing at the time of the taking effect of this act, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution, and all taxes heretofore levied and new due shall be collected in the same manner as though the county of Genesee had not been organized ;" and by the third section of the same it was provided, " That the Circuit Court of the county of Genesee shall be held, until public buildings shall be erected, at such place as the sheriff of said county shall
# The first report of County Treasurer C. D. W. Gibson, dated Jan. 30, 1837, showed that the entire amount of taxes for 1836 ($2377.72) had been promptly collected, and paid over by Messrs. Thompson and Todd.
37
COURTS AND COUNTY BUILDINGS.
provide, at the seat of justice in said county, on the Tues- day next after the fourth Monday in June, and the Tuesday next after the fourth Monday in January in each year."
The Probate Court was the first, organized in the county. The first business done in this court was in the matter of the will of Schuyler V. Brown, deceased, dated Pontiac, July 15, 1836. The witnesses were Jacob Thomas, P. G. Cochrane, and Thomas J. Drake, and the executors, Gould Davison, of Genesee County, and Daniel Hartwell, of Cat -. taraugus Co., N. Y. The court convened at Flint, Oct. 29, 1836, received and filed the petition of Gould Davison, executor, praying that the will be proved and allowed, and thereupon ordered that a hearing be had in the ease on the 26th of November following. Agreeably to that adjonrn- ment the court opened, but on account of the absence of the witnesses adjourned to December 5th. At that time the witnesses, Drake and Thomas, appeared and testified, and, " there being no objections, the said will was allowed." This was the first will proved in Genesee County.
The first term of the Circuit Court of Genesee County was held at Flint in February, 1837, by the Hon. George Morell, one of the justices of the Supreme Court, the eases on the calendar being as follows :
No. 1 .- Chauncey Bogue vs. Timothy J. Walling. Action for attachment. Thomas J. Drake, attorney for plaintiff.
No. 2 .- Andrew Cox vs. Goshen Olmsted. An appeal from Justice Lyman Stow's decision in Justice's Court. Thomas J. Drake, attorney for plaintiff. Bartow and Thomson, attorneys for defendant.
No. 3 .- Jason L. Austin vs. Daniel R. Williams. Ac- tion, an appeal. Attorney for plaintiff, P. H. McOmber. Attorney for defendant, Thomas J. Drake.
No. 4 .- Charles McLean es. Theodore P. Dean. Action, an appeal. Attorney for plaintiff, T. J. Drake. Attorney for defendant, George Wisner.
The second case on this calendar-an appeal from the decision of Lyman Stow, Esq, J. P .- appears, as origi- nally brought before that justice, to have been the first ease tried and decided in the county of Genesee. The transcript of Justice Stow's docket, as sent up to the Cir- cuit Court in this case, was as follows :
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