USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 36
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ard Nimocks; Trustees, Lewis H. Turner, Orlando C. Gale, Henry Clark, James H. Wade, Archibald Sinclair.
1861 .- President, Sanford R. Smith ; Recorder, Richard Nimocks; Trustees, John A. Selfridge, Anson R. Wisner, Horace R. Gardner, Harmon F. Gaylord, John A. Sibbald. Henry Clark was chosen Trustee at a special meeting held March 25, 1861.
1862 .- President, Henry Clark ; Recorder, Steven Gre- gory ; Trustees, Harvey Ransom, Augustus Gale, Isaac B. Adams, John S. Lewis, John V. Coplin.
1863 .- President, George C. Munro; Recorder, S. Gre- gory ; Trustees, Alexander Beach, John A. Sibbald, Hora- tio Gale, H. F. Gaylord, H. R. Gardner.
1864 .- President, Alexander Beach; Recorder, S. Gre- gory ; Trustees, John W. Ten Eyck, Lewis H. Turner, Eugene C. Bartholomew, Isaac B. Adams, Lorenzo D. Green.
1865 .- President, Lewis H. Turner; Recorder, S. Gre- gory ; Trustees, Henry Clark, James H. Wade, Daniel A. Wisner, Samuel J. Lewis, J. Russell Darling.
1866 .- President, George M. Gardner; Recorder, S. Gregory ; Trustees, John S. Lewis, Jacob J. Deal, Thomas R. Fowler, Henry Baxter, Anson R. Wisner.
1867 .- President, John S. Lewis; Recorder, William W. Upham ; Trustees, A. Martin, H. A. Delavan, J. A. Sibbald, A. Beach, G. Chaddock.
1868 .- President, George Krapp; Recorder, William M. Ransom ; Trustees, Frank B. McClellan, Calvin L. Spauld- ing, Jacob J. Deal, George W. Bullock, Willis Tuller.
1869 .- President, John S. Lewis; Recorder, Calvin L. Spaulding ; Trustees, Witter J. Baxter, George C. Munro, Simeon B. White, Alfred S. Swift, Robert T. Miller.
1870 .- President, John S. Lewis; Recorder, C. L. Spaulding ; Trustees, Witter J. Baxter, George C. Munro, S. B. White, L. L. Spaulding, Henry Packer.
1871 .- President, Lorenzo D. Green ; Recorder, Robert A. Sinclair; Trustees, William W. Wade, Leonard L. Spaulding, Calvin L. Spaulding, W. J. Baxter, G. C. Munro.
1872 .- President, L. D. Green ; Recorder, George M. Gardner ; Trustees, Camp Kelsey, Jacob J. Deal, George W. Bullock, William W. Wade, L. L. Spaulding.
1873 .- President, Lucius C. Buell ; Recorder, Wm. W. Upham ; Trustees, Jacob J. Deal, Henry S. Nye, Isaac B. Taylor, Camp Kelsey, G. W. Bullock.
1874 .- President, Harley J. Olds ; Recorder, W. W. Upham ; Trustees, L. S. Wales, H. W. Tuller, B. Martin, H. S. Nye, J. J. Deal.
1875 .- President, Harley J. Olds; Recorder, W. W. Upham ; Trustees, B. Martin, L. H. Turner, F. W. How- ard, L. S. Wales, H. W. Tuller.
1876 .- President, Oscar Palmer; Recorder, James I. Dennis ; Trustees, Ephraim Barkman, L. D. Lyman, W. W. Wade, F. W. Howard, B. Martin.
1877 .- President, William W. Wade; Recorder, Henry C. Akerly ; Trustees, Oscar F. Richmond, James W. But- ton, Edward W. Risdorph, L. D. Lyman, E. Barkman. Mr. Lyman resigned, and at a special meeting in September, Frank M. Hopkins was elected to fill the vacancy.
1878 .- President, Robert T. Miller ; Recorder, Albert
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
A. Packer; Trustees, Delos W. Stone, Daniel Fisher, Jr., Warford M. Robinson, O. F. Richmond, E. W. Risdorph ; Assessors, Andrew J. Somers, William M. Wolcott; Mar- shal, Burt S. Roberts ; Treasurer, Ephraim Barkman ; Poundmaster, George Drake; Street Commissioner, Wil- iam L. Osgood; Special Policeman, George A. Fuller, at Lake Shore and Michigan Southern depot; Bethuel Mar- tin, at Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw depot.
VILLAGE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
On the 24th of October, 1856, a petition was received by the Common Council from the citizens of Jonesville, asking that the village be divided into five wards, and a fire com- pany be formed. At a special meeting, on the 28th of the same month, it was
" Resolved, That we are in favor of petitioning the Legis- lature to so alter the charter of said village as to allow the voters, at their election in March, to vote to raise a special tax of not to exceed $3000, for the purpose of purchasing a fire-engine and other apparatus for the extinguishing of fire, in accordance with the petition presented for the sig- natures of the Common Council.
" Resolved, That the recorder be and is hereby instructed to draw an ordinance dividing the village into four fire districts, and for the appointing of five wardens, and for other purposes." *
At a meeting held March 4, 1857, the recorder was in- structed to draw an ordinance in relation to organizing a fire company, and it was resolved to appropriate from the general fund of the assessment of 1857 the sum of $500 for purchasing a fire-engine. E. O. Grosvenor, George C. Munro, and R. S. Varnum were authorized to purchase an engine, with necessary apparatus belonging thereto, to cost, delivered in the village, not over $1500. The following persons were the same day appointed members of a fire company, viz. : Luther L. Tucker, Thomas B. Tunacliff, A. J. Vanderburgh, Haynes B. Tucker, Henry Baxter, O. A. Bartholomew, John P. Freeland, R. S. Waterman, Christopher Pearce, Jesse C. Smith, Isaac B. Adams, E. J. Olds, Robert Watson, A. R. Wisner, Cary Diller, Au- gustus Dale, M. Edgar, W. W. Murphy, John Kennedy, H. F. Gaylord, O. C. Gale, C. Gregory, R. S. Varnum, George Drake, S. Humphrey, W. H. McConnell, A. B. Coleman, J. V. Coplin, E. O. Grosvenor, C. L. Monsell, Daniel Sylvester, D. H. Tucker, E. L. Calkins, George E. Dudley, James Burnett, Solomon Lumbard, and S. Gaige, -37.
The company, as duly organized, was called " Protection Company, No. 1." The engine was first kept in George C. Munro's barn, an annual rental of $10 being charged. A committee was appointed, July 1, 1857, to choose a location for an engine-house and firemen's hall.
" Protection Hose Company, No. 1," was organized Aug. 5, 1857, with 20 members, and attached to the engine com- pany. The committee on engine-house was on the same date ordered to receive proposals for the construction of a brick engine-house, 24 by 36 feet, and one story high. The engine and hose-cart, which were purchased this year (1857),
cost, including freight, $1339.82 ; and the old Presbyterian session-house and lot were finally purchased by the council, and the building repaired for use as an engine-house. It is at present in use as a marble-shop, and the old lettering, " Protection, No. 1," may still be seen upon it. Numerous wells were dug for the use of the public and the fire de- partment, and a cupola was built on the engine-house, and a large triangle hung in it in lieu of a bell. The old hose company was disbanded Feb. 1, 1860, and a new one organ- ized the same month with 24 members, but as the organiza- tions were not kept up in due form, both the engine and hose companies were declared disbanded on the 3d of March, 1862. The old engine-house and lot were sold to S. Gregory, and bonds to the amount of $3000 were issued, bearing interest at seven per cent., for the purpose of build- ing a town hall and engine-house combined, and the struc- ture was erected the same year. On the morning of Dec. 23, 1864, the fire-fiend, hungry for spoil, with his greedy tongue lapped the building out of existence, ere yet the citizens had become used to the " new order of things." Immediate steps were taken for rebuilding, however, bonds were issued and the work was begun, and the result of the mechanics' labors was the present substantial and commo- dious edifice on the old site, at the northwest corner of Chicago and Maumee Streets, built at a cost of $13,475. The Masonic lodge-rooms are in the third story, that order having furnished a portion of the funds necessary to the erection of both the old and new buildings.
At various other times the village has suffered seriously from fires, many of its landmarks having been swept away by the relentless flames ; among them the old "Fayette House," built by Benaiah Jones, Jr .; the " Munro & Man- ning" block, on the northeast corner of Chicago and West Streets ; the " Waverley House," formerly the new " Fay- ette;" and others of lesser importance. On one or two occasions the Hillsdale Fire Department has been present at Jonesville in time of need.
A new fire company was organized in April, 1869, with 50 members, and a new engine-house built in the fall of the same year, at a cost of $240. A new hose-cart and the necessary hose had been purchased in 1868, costing $300. In 1874 the sum of $270 was expended for new hose and couplings. The old hand-engine is still in use, although the idea of purchasing a steamer has been canvassed to some extent, and should the needs of the village demand it would undoubtedly be forthcoming. The present depart- ment is very efficient, and its officers are Thomas Howlett, Chief Engineer; and O. F. Richmond, Assistant. The original name, " Protection," has been adhered to. The engine company is officered as follows : Foreman, E. W. Risdorph ; Assistant Foreman, Charles H. Levens; Secre- tary, Frank M. Hopkins ; Treasurer, George Harding.
Hose Company .- Foreman, Fred. C. Barkman ; Assis- tant Foreman, Fred. Dingfelder; Secretary, Cassius L. Glasgow ; Treasurer, A. Eugene Wisner.
MILITARY.
The stormy times of the American Revolution made many heroes, who immortalized themselves by their deeds of valor on many sanguinary fields. The second great strug-
* Corporation records.
18
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
gle with Britain aroused once more the patriotic fires, and the hardy sons of the East stood up to do battle in all their bravery and strength. From both generations have de- scended men who did their part in building up the Western wilderness into a thriving and populous region, and made the State of Michigan a noble integer in the array which stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the great inland seas on the North to the Gulf of Mexico on the South. The township of Fayette and the village of Jones- ville have within their limits those who are able to trace their genealogy back to the veterans of Chippewa and Sacket's Harbor, of Brandywine, Trenton, Bennington, and Ticonderoga, and some even to the stormy season which witnessed the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers from beyond the ocean ; and the love of country and of liberty has ever been kept green in the hearts of the descending genera- tions.
The famous, but fortunately bloodless, " Toledo War," found aspirants for fame on every hand ; the struggle with Mexico was ended after the shedding of much precious blood ; and when, in April, 1861, the dastard hands of an ungrateful children fired upon the flag of the country which had nourished them, the feeling of intense excitement which pervaded the hearts of the people of the northland was not allowed to cool in this pioneer town. Earnestly and with fixedness of purpose the work of recruiting for the national volunteer army was carried forward, and the brave sons of Fayette, with thousands upon thousands from other por- tions of the State,
" Went pouring forward with impetuous speed And swiftly forming in the ranks of war."
And their record is a glorious one. The maimed and dis- figured forms of many who returned, and the graves beneath the swaying cypress, the live-oak and the magnolia, by the " rippling Tennessee," the Chattahoochie, and the swampy Savannah, by the mountains of Tennessee, Alabama, Geor- gia, the Carolinas, and the Virginias, and upon the plains of Texas and Arkansas, tell but too truly of the severity of the conflict and of the firesides which mourn for the de- parted brave. Long will their memory be cherished,
"And the silvery stars on our banner so bright Shine true to the heroes who died for the right."
On the 5th of June, 1861, it was by the Common Coun- cil of the village of Jonesville "Resolved, That we appro- priate one hundred dollars for fitting and equipping soldiers for the defense of this State and the national flag. Re- solved, That we appropriate the sum of $30 for the purchase of a sword and belt for Capt. Moses A. Funk, of the ' Gros- venor Guards,' and that we appoint Col. E. O. Grosvenor and Hon. W. W. Murphy a committee to purchase said sword and belt and to present the same to Capt. Funk in behalf of the citizens of the village of Jonesville."
ORDERS AND SOCIETIES.
Fayette Lodge, No. 16, I. O. O. F., was organized Oct. 3, 1846, and had its lodge-room in the block owned by Munro & Manning, on Chicago Street. The charter mem- bers were George C. Munro, Henry Baxter, Peter P. Acker, Joseph Green, Joe Sill, and Charles Gregory. When the
building was burned, in 1849, the records of the lodge were destroyed, and for several years thereafter it was not main- tained. It was finally reorganized, however, under the same name, and has continued to exist until the present. Its principal officers for 1878 are : Noble Grand, Thomas How- lett; Vice Grand, H. A. Baker ; Treas., Daniel A. Wisner ; Sec., W. J. Baxter ; Permanent Sec., Ephraim Barkman.
Jonesville Encampment, No. 8, I. O. O. F., was organized about 1847-48, and its charter members numbered nine; among them were George C. Munro, Henry Baxter, E. O. Grosvenor, Schenck Baker, Horace Button, and Charles Gregory. After the fire above mentioned the encampment never was revived, its records having been destroyed and its prosperity checked.
La Fayette Lodge, No. 16, F. and A. M .- This is the oldest Masonic lodge in Hillsdale County, and was char- tered in the spring of 1846, having been conducted under dispensation since some time in 1844. Among its charter members were Jesse Button, Jesse Stoddard, David Bagley, - Baldwin, - Whitney, - Swick, and others. Its oldest living member is George C. Munro, who has been connected with it about thirty-one years. Its first lodge- room was over a blacksmith-shop, and it at present occupies the upper floor of the Town Hall block. Its organization has been continued since its beginning with general pros- perity, and, with a present membership of about 120, it is in a flourishing condition. The principal officers for 1878 are : Worshipful Master, C. L. Spaulding; Senior Warden, S. D. McNeal; Junior Warden, Oscar A. Tracy ; Senior Deacon, George Fuller; Junior Deacon, J. H. Stone ; Tyler, John Jordan.
Jonesville Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M., was organized in 1851, with Jesse Button, James W. Button, George C. Munro, and others as members. The present membership (November, 1878) is about 100, and the principal officers are O. F. Richmond, High Priest ; R. G. Spaulding, King ; Lewis Wales, Scribe.
Council No. 5 is also sustained, with R. G. Spaulding as Thrice Illustrious Grand Master.
Fayette Grange, No. 251, P. of HI., was organized Jan. 12, 1876, with the following officers, viz. : Master, C. R. Coryell; Overseer, V. F. Shepard; Lecturer, H. E. Reed ; Steward, H. P. Wheeler ; Assistant Steward, E. B. Gregory ; Chaplain, Mrs. W. Richards ; Treas., W. Richards ; Sec., H. M. Ward ; Gatekeeper, J. C. Ward; Ceres, Mrs. L. Miller ; Pomona, Mrs. H. M. Ward; Flora, Miss Carrie Miller; Lady Assistant Steward, Mrs. J. C. Smith. The organization has been maintained with good success, and the grange is now in flourishing condition, occupying rooms in the same building with the Odd-Fellows, on Chicago Street, Jonesville.
The Ladies' Library Association of Jonesville was or- ganized in November, 1874, and the first drawing of books held Jan. 9, 1875. A club consisting of 26 ladies had been formed two years previously, each furnishing a single volume, which collection formed the nucleus of the present library. Subsequently a donation of 75 volumes was re- ceived from A. F. Barnes, of the village, in aid of their enterprise, and through other small donations and the funds received from various social and literary entertainments,
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the number of volumes had been increased to 1030 at the end of October, 1878. The membership of the association is about 70, each paying an annual fee of $2. The library- rooms, which are located in the Gardner Block, are open on Saturday afternoon of each week. The directors of the association are 15 in number, and the officers as follows, viz. : President, Mrs. G. W. Warren ; Vice-President, Miss Anna Curtis ; Treasurer, Miss J. S. Sinclair; Recording Secretary, Miss Carrie Champlin ; Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. H. M. Stites. The librarian is appointed quarterly from among the board of directors.
THE SCHOOLS OF JONESVILLE.
An interesting article was prepared by Hon. Witter J. Baxter, treating upon the history of the union school of the village, and read as a centennial document in 1876. It has been recently substantially bound, and is now before us. We give it, nearly as written, for the benefit of the seekers after the secrets of history :
" This school was established as a district school in the fall of 1832,* though the district was not fully organized until 1833 or 1834, at which time it included the entire township of Vance (as it was then called), and said town- ship comprised the entire county of Hillsdale, which was then attached to and formed a part of Lenawee County. The loss of early records, and the loose manner in which those which have been preserved were kept, renders it impossible to give with accuracy the names of officers of the district or teachers of the school for a number of years after it was organized. It would seem that Benaiah Jones, one of the first settlers in the county, who laid out and gave name to the village, and his brother-in-law, James Olds, were the first officers, hired the first teachers, furnished the school- room, and boarded the teachers. The school was opened in the fall of 1832 by Dr. William Mottram, in a bedroom in a block tavern kept by Benaiah Jones, and which stood on the northwest corner of what are now known as Chicago and Water; Streets, on lot 24, Jones' Plat of Jonesville. Dr. Mottram kept the school but a few weeks, and was succeeded by Dr. Chase, who taught during the remainder of the winter and the next spring. The entire village at that time consisted of one log tavern,t four log dwellings, one small frame dwelling, and two log barns.
" In the fall of 1833 a log house, known as the ' Bell House,' which stood on what is now Maumee Street, and a little north of the present Methodist church, was fitted up for a school-house, by boring holes into logs and laying boards upon wooden pins driven into them for desks, and school was taught for five months by Benjamin L. Baxter, then a lad of eighteen. Among those who attended his school were some who have since become leading men in Hillsdale County. A band of Pottawattamie Indians then had their headquarters near this village, and among his scholars was a son of Baw Beese, their chief, from whom a lake near Hillsdale takes its name.
# In the summer of 1830, before the district was organized, Miss Harriet Wight taught a school in a room in Benaiah Jones' house, this being the first school in the township and probably in the county. She was followed by Mr. Jones' niece, Orra Nicholson.
t West. # The old " Fayette House," part log and part frame.
" During the summer of 1834 a small log school-house, 12 by 14 feet, with shed roof, was erected, on what is now Chicago Street, near the present Presbyterian church, and from that time school was kept for five months by a male teacher each year, and by a female teacher during the sum- mer months. This building was used about one year, when a small frame school-house was built a little south and east of the log school-house, and in 1842 was removed to the lot now used and occupied by Benjamin R. Credit, just north of the present school lot, and used as a school- house until 1844, when steps were taken for the erection of a more commodious house. This school-house still forms part of the dwelling of B. R. Credit.
"The new school-house was not completed until the summer of 1847, and in the mean time the Presbyterian session-house, now Steve Gregory's marble-shop, - and standing where it now does,-the Baptist church, and the Methodist church were alternately rented and used as school-rooms.
"The district appears to have been first organized as a union school district in 1843, when the township of Scipio, comprising a part of the territory of the district, appears to have been organized.§ Among the earliest preserved records of the district we find a vote, April 19, 1838, to raise by tax on the property of the district $62, to be used, so far as necessary, for the instruction of indigent pupils ; and from that time forward, so long as the school was in part supported by rate bills, we find each year liberal amounts voted to be raised by tax for instruction of indigent pupils ; and we find abundant evidence from the records, aside from the traditions of the school, that no child has ever been debarred from any of its benefits by reason of poverty. From the directors' report, made Oct. 7, 1840, we find there were then in the district, of school age : between 5 and 17, 86 ; attending school under 5 or over 17, 9; total in district, 95 ; attending district school, 84. There was at the same time a private school kept in the village, where the rest were no doubt taught.
" In the fall of 1847 the first two-story union brick school-house, erected under the general school laws of the State, was completed on the west half of the present school- house lot, at a cost of about $3000, being 30 by 60 feet, two stories high, with cupola and bell; and the school was opened in the new building by A. S Welch, a graduate of Michigan University, and under his able management became, and has since continued, one of the best union or graded schools in the State. At the annual meeting, Sept. 24, 1849, the district was reorganized under the law passed the previous winter, authorizing districts containing more than 100 scholars to enlarge the board by the election, in addition to the three officers previously allowed, of four trustees, making the school board consist of seven members. The two-story school-house was found insufficient for the wants of the district, and in 1859 additional ground .was purchased 'east of the school-house, making grounds 16 rods on Chicago Street by 12 rods on East Street, and steps were taken for the erection of a new school building. At
¿ Scipio township was formed by act of the Legislature, March 23, 1836.
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the same time the district reorganized under the law passed the previous winter, by the election of a school-board of six trustees, who, from their own number, elected a moderator, director, and assessor, which form of organization is still maintained. At the same meeting, under authority of the law last mentioned, all rate bills were abolished, and the school made free to all residents of the district, and all moneys necessary for the support of the school were, and have since continued to be, raised by tax on the property in the district. The school-house was repaired from time to time, and enlarged by making outside stairways and using the halls as school-rooms, and the churches in the place, by lease, were used for the school until the fall of 1869, when the present elegant, commodious, and substantial school- house was completed, at a cost for building, heating, and seating of about $40,000, exclusive of the land. This building is of brick, three stories high, with stone basement, and entrance-towers on the east and west. It is divided into nine school-rooms, and will accommodate, comfortably, from 500 to 550 pupils, is heated with three Lawson fur- naces, and furnished with the best and most approved seats, desks, and school-furniture.
" The school is divided into four departments,-primary, secondary, grammar, and high school, which are subdivided into grades, and promotions are made from grade to grade and from department to department, on careful examination and certificate of teachers. Instruction is given in all departments, so that a graduate of our union school may at once enter our State University or any college in the land. The board of trustees, of six members, elected for three years (two being elected each year to supply the places of two whose terms expire), have general control and manage- ment of the school, prescribe the course of study, make rules for the general government of teachers and of pupils, elect teachers by vote of the board, and have the supervi- sion and charge of all matters pertaining to the school. Among their duties is that of submitting to the electors of the district, at each annual meeting, estimates of expenses of the school for the ensuing year, and amounts necessary to be raised by tax, and an instance has hardly been known in the history of the district where the estimated amounts have not been cheerfully voted.
" The school year is divided into three terms, one of 16 and two of 12 weeks each, making a total of 40 weeks. . " .
The annual expense of running the school is usually between $9000 and $10,000. The following is a list of teachers who have been employed since the opening of the school in 1832, with personal remarks concerning each so far as their history is known. This list includes principals only :
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