USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 46
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Ozen Keith, Robinson H. Whitehorn, Samuel T. Cooley, and Linus Monroe are still residents of the town they have been so largely instrumental in reclaiming from the wilder- ness, and causing to " blossom as the rose." Of the rest of the pioneers we are unable to speak, further than to state that the great majority of them have passed from the town, either by removal or death, leaving but a mere handful of their number to represent them in the present generation.
Among the settlers of the next few years were Lester Monroe, Nelson P. Nye, Dr. Laban J. Aylesworth, Squire Johnson, James Phillips, and John Hale. Lester Monroe, who is now living in Ottawa County, in this State, came from Carlton, Orleans Co., N. Y., in the spring of 1837, and settled on the north half of the northwest quarter of section 32. Some years later he removed to Ovid, Branch Co. Nelson P. Nye came first, in the fall of 1838, and worked for his brother Austin for a year. He bought of him a tract of 60 acres, and having been married to Mary A. Hale, commenced living on his land about 1841. He is still a resident of the town, and has increased the
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
size of his farm to about 200 acres. He has several times been elected to different town offices, and has served twelve years as clerk of the town.
Dr. Laban J. Aylesworth was a physician who opened an office at the village of Keene, but remained there only a short time, when he removed to Marshall.
Squire Johnson came here with his brother, Stephen B., in 1836, and went East with him when he returned there in 1838. He came here again in 1844, with his wife, formerly Rachel Beal, and has since resided on the farm he now occupies, and which he has cleared of its original growth of timber.
James Phillips settled in this town in 1839, on the east half of the northwest quarter of section 28, and cleared and improved that farm. He removed from it to the Lester Monroe farm, which he now occupies, in 1869. He was from Ellery, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., came to Michigan in 1830 with his wife and one child, and located about one and one-half miles west of Adrian. From there he went to Ingham County, in 1836. He has contributed a great deal to the success of Methodism in this town, and has always been one of the main-stays of that society here.
John Hale, who has also been prominently connected with the Methodist Church from his first coming here, in 1840, is still a citizen of the town. He came from Pal- myra, Wayne Co., N. Y.
There are a great many anecdotes and incidents told in connection with the history of the pioneers that, if gathered together, would form an almost inexhaustible fund from which to draw supplies for the pen of the novelist or biog- rapher, but which the limited space allotted to this sketch prohibits us from using to any great extent. We will, however, find space for a very few.
As is well known to every one at all conversant with the history of the settlement of a new country, especially when that country is, as was the case here, heavily timbered, the enemy most annoying to and most dreaded by the settlers is the " ague." The settlers here were by no means exempt from it, and though their cabins were generally roofed with "shakes," it is doubtful if there were not more shakes within than without their habitations. One of the worst sufferers from this disease was a Dutchman, named Johnson, who occupied a house on William B. Ames' farm. He had been suffering with it for a long time, and was nearly shaken to death. All the remedies known to the settlers had been tried without avail, and he was in dire extremity. While lying in this melancholy situation one night, he was disturbed by a noise at the window, and was not a whit less frightened than astonished when a 300-pound bear thrust his paw through the glass of the window, and gave a sepulchral growl, that, to use his own language, "scared the ague out of him," and worked a speedy and effectual cure.
During the fall or winter of 1835-36, Jesse Smith and his son William went out in company to hunt wild turkeys. A young man, named Thomas Lewin, was also out hunting alone. He was peering through the brush, and seeing beside a log something which he supposed to be a turkey, he took aim and fired, putting a ball through the arm of Mr. Smith, just below the shoulder. The cries of his victim
made him aware of his mistake, and he at once went to the rescue, and assisted Mr. Smith to his home. He then went after Dr. Hall, who lived near Devil's Lake, to dress the wound. After the best that could be done to make the patient comfortable had been attended to he returned home, and his father, who had become cognizant of the affair, demanded a surrender of the gun. To this young Lewin objected, and a struggle for the possession of the rifle began, during which it was discharged, inflicting a flesh wound in the old man's arm. Thomas succeeded in keeping posses- sion of the weapon, and made good his escape.
One day Mrs. Linus Monroe saw that a hen with a brood of young chickens was making a great fluttering in the tall grass near the cabin, and going to see what was the matter saw the head and neck of a large snake swaying about in the grass, apparently trying to catch the chickens. Arming herself with a stick, she went to the rescue, and after a prolonged battle succeeded in putting a quietus to his snake- ship. Upon hauling his body from the grass which had concealed it, she was astonished, and a little bit frightened, to find that the snake was over six feet long. When Baw Beese came to the house and saw it, he said, " Him bite, no cure." It was of a very poisonous species.
Mr. E. B. Trumbull once shot a deer as it was leaving the shelter of the bushes, in what is termed a " cat hole," and followed it for a short distance to the spot where it fell. After dressing it he bent down a " straddle,"-a small sap- ling,-and fastening the carcass to it, allowed it to spring upwards, and thus elevate the venison above the reach of wolves until he could come and take it home. Three years later he followed a deer to the same hole, and shot it in a similar manner. After dressing it he looked about for a " straddle," and found that the one he had three years before used for the same purpose was almost within reach of his hand. It had never recovered its upright growth, and he was thus enabled to spring it down and use it a second time for the same service.
At another time he was hunting in company with his brother-in-law, Austin Nye, and having shot a small deer, they dressed it, slung it upon a pole, and carrying it be- tween them started for home. As they were going along through the woods, they both saw a wild turkey, and, dropping their burden, raised their rifles and fired simul- taneously. The turkey fell, and picking it up they found but one bullet-hole in its side. Of course, each claimed to have fired that ball; but Nye claimed the bird, because his rifle carried a larger ball than Trumbull's did, and the hole was larger than the ball of either. Having established his claim, they proceeded homeward with their game. But when they had plucked the feathers from the bird, they found that though there was but one hole on the side where the bullet entered, there were two holes on the other side, separated by about one-sixteenth of an inch, proving con- clusively that both balls had hit the turkey and in the same spot.
One evening, as Elijah B. Seeley and his family were picking over a lot of huckleberries that had been gathered during the day, they heard a terrible commotion in the direction of the pig-pen, accompanied by the frantic squeal- ing of its porcine inhabitants. Seizing a lighted faggot to
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serve as a torch, Mr. Seeley at once started for the field of conflict, and found a large bear trying to carry off one of the pigs. Seeing him coming with the light, Bruin sus- pended operations and started for the woods, followed to the edge of the clearing by Mr. Seeley. A party of men were in the woods hunting coons. They had with them a small dog, and hearing the shouts of Mr. Seeley they has- tened to him, and learning the cause of the trouble followed after the bear, led by the dog. The bear was soon found up a small tree, and being fired at by one of the party at once began to descend the tree. As soon as he came within reach, he was attacked in the rear by the dog, and to escape his teeth again climbed up the tree. He was again fired at, and the same performance repeated several times, until at last he fell dead. Upon examination it was found that every one of the nine bullets fired at him had taken effect, but so great was his tenacity of life that he did not give up until death loosened his clasp upon the tree.
The village of Keene, which was so called after the town of that name in New Hampshire, where one of the Ames brothers had once lived for a time, was platted upon the supposition that the Michigan Southern Railroad, which was then completed to Adrian, would follow the section line one mile south of the northern boundaries of towns seven south, and thus pass through it. So firmly was this conviction fixed in the minds of the early settlers that the village grew rapidly, and soon boasted a second store, kept by Parks & Co., a tavern, and a dozen or fifteen dwellings. The post-office, which had previously been established at Lenawee, with Dudley Worden as postmaster, was trans- ferred to this side of the county line, rechristened as Keene, and Silas Eaton was appointed as Mr. Worden's successor. This change was made about 1837-38. When the route of the railroad had been definitely fixed upon, and it was decided that it was to pass two miles farther south and through the village of Lanesville (now Hudson), the pros- perity of the little village began to wane, and the tavern and several of the dwellings were taken down and removed to Lanesville within a short time. Before 1843 the village of Keene was known only by tradition ; it had vanished like the mist of morning before the rays of the rising sun. In 1840 the post-office was transferred to the care of Henry Ames, and four years later it was removed to the locality known as " Locust Corners," and the name was changed to Pittsford.
About the year 1840 a post-office was established, in the central part of the town, at the house of the postmaster, Elijah B. Seeley. It was called " Pittsford." In the winter of 1843-44 it was discontinued, and another was established in the west part of the town, with James H. Thorn as postmaster. This office was called " Sparta," and retained that name several years, until the office in the north part of the town was abandoned, when it was changed to Pittsford. Mr. Thorn retained his position for a period of more than seventeen years. His successors have been Elam Dewey, Wm. Jones, L. G. Stedman, H. H. Turner, L. G. Stedman, C. H. Sayles, and M. F. Cutler, the present incumbent. The first mail-route was from Hudson to Sparta via Pittsford, and mails were delivered once a week. A daily mail service was established January 8, 1855.
The first school in this town was kept in what is known as the Loomis district. A frame school-house had been built there on the site of the present school-house, and in 1839 the first school was opened there by Miss Harriet Bigelow, who resided with Mr. Ira Rose, a little southwest of Hudson. The second teacher was one of John Perrin's daughters.
In the summer of 1839 the Indians were removed from Squawfield to their new homes west of the Mississippi. They had encamped at this point on the Little St. Joseph's River for years, and the village was the home of the chief, Baw Beese. Mr. E. E. Maxson had become the owner of the land, and naturally wanted to get possession. The gov- ernment was slow to act in the matter, as the Indians were peaceable and injured no one. About this time Warren Champlin, a youth, probably in his teens, who was a great favorite with the Indians, went down to Mallory's Lake to bathe, taking with him his younger brother, then but a child. Leaving him on the shore with a white companion and two young Indians, he entered a canoe and pushed out into deeper water. While bathing he was startled by a loud scream, and, looking towards the shore, saw a young Indian brandishing a knife and, in mimicry, passing it around the scalp-lock of the little boy. Hastening to the shore, Warren found the little fellow nearly dead with fright; but Baw Beese, who had come out on hearing the cry, ex- plained that it was all done in sport, to show how an Indian goes at work to scalp an enemy. It is said, however, that Maxson took advantage of this circumstance to represent to the government that the Indians were troublesome, and it resulted in an order being issued for their removal. The detachment of troops arrived in the neighborhood in the evening, and, securing guides, stealthily surrounded the camp at a late hour of the night, when it was supposed all the stragglers would be in. When the Indians were awak- ened by the officers they were much alarmed, and the squaws and pappooses endeavored to gain the shelter of the woods, but were turned back by the line of glittering bayonets that opposed them. The night air resounded with their cries of grief and terror, and, indeed, their feelings must have been both sad and fearful. They knew they were to be torn from the familiar haunts where they had so pleasantly passed their lives ; they were to be removed to some place they knew not of, to meet a fate they knew not what. To their igno- rant, untutored minds, what fate could have seemed more dreadful ? Many hearts among the witnesses of this har- rowing scene felt pangs of sympathetic pain, and many eyes yielded a brief tribute of sorrowing tears. But the soldiers were there to perform an inexorable duty, and were com- pelled to act. The squaws and pappooses were loaded into wagons, and the Indians marching with the soldiers, the sad cavalcade moved on into the fastnesses of the forest, bearing the aboriginal proprietors of the soil away on that course to the westward that has formed their only hope of safety from the encroaching feet and destructive hands of the whites. All were taken except Baw Beese and his squaw, who had been recently confined and was not yet able to endure the journey. After her recovery of strength they bade adieu to their friends among the whites, and turned their faces towards the setting sun, and thus departed from
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the land of their birth the last representatives of a once numerous and powerful tribe.
Even at this time, after six years had passed since the first settler set foot within its boundaries, the town was still a wild country, its largest part still remaining a gigan- tic forest, and wild game was still abundant. From that time on its development has been uniform and steady. The forests have gradually melted away before the axe of the woodman, and well-tilled and fruitful fields have taken their places. Many of those whose brawn and muscle were em- ployed in this beneficent labor now moulder in the dust, and others, having performed their portion of life's labor, have ceased from active participation in the business of life and are awaiting the summons to depart from earth. By their labors they have succeeded in making the town of Pittsford one of the finest agricultural townships of South- ern Michigan, and its rich fields and fine buildings are enduring monuments to keep their virtues fresh in the memories of the present generation.
The village of Pittsford is of a more recent origin, not yet having completed the first quarter-century of its exist- ence.
Upon the completion of the railroad in 1843, Mr. Wray T. Palmer succeeded in securing the establishing of a station on his land, about one half-mile east of the present station.
In the year 1853 the first buildings in the village were erected. Hiram Pratt, a carpenter and joiner, built him- self a house, and Elihu Hubbard, a blacksmith, built a house, and also put up a small shop on the present hotel site.
In 1855, Philip Sickman, of Medina Co., Ohio, who had purchased a tract of 200 acres of land on section 18, laid out a village plat of some 9 acres on the western part of his land. Lewis Hunker, a son-in-law of Sickman, assisted by Elihu Hubbard, first laid out the plat with a tape line, and on the 11th of June, 1855, it was recorded in the register's office. The streets were 4 rods wide, and the lots 4 by 8 rods in size. Main Street. was laid out on the town line between Jefferson and Pittsford, that line being the centre of it.
Previous to this, however, in the summer of 1854, Sick- man had built a store on the east side of Main Street, near the railroad, and rented it to Joseph Bell, who opened it with a large stock of dry-goods and groceries in the fall of that year.
In the month of August, 1856, James M. Tiffany made an addition to the village. This additional plat contained about 10 acres, and was situated north of the railroad and west of Main Street, in the town of Jefferson. It was re- corded August 9, 1856.
In 1857 the hotel was built, on the site of Hubbard's blacksmith-shop, by William Sloan. It is still used as a hotel, and is the only one in the village.
Soon after a second store was built by L. C. Kilburn, and was opened as a grocery by Horace H. Turner. The build- ing was on the southwest corner north of the hotel.
Dwellings and mechanics' shops were erected from time to time, and the village grew, though but moderately.
In 1865 both stores were burned. On the site of the Sickman store another was erected about a year later by
Martin & Turner, and is still in use, being now occupied by Cutter & Spear, general merchants and produce dealers. Wm. Jones was the occupant of the store when it burned, and he immediately put up a building on the northeast cor- ner of the four corners, and occupied it. It is now used by J. B. Wilson, dealer in boots, shoes, leather goods, and groceries.
On the 21st of October another addition was made to the village by George H. Taylor. This plat was east of Main Street and south of the railroad, and contained some five acres.
July 4, 1865, was celebrated by the dedication of the new railroad depot. The citizens of the village, who found it very inconvenient to have their depot half a mile distant from the business centre, had made an effort to have the station removed to a more convenient location. By con- tributing the sum of $1000 towards the cost of removal and the erection of new buildings they finally succeeded in their endeavor. The total cost of the new buildings was about $4000, and the depot is the finest one on the line of the road in Hillsdale County.
The Wesleyan Methodists built a small frame church in 1860.
In 1870 the Christian Church society erected a brick house of worship, and George Taylor built and commenced operating a steam saw-mill.
In 1871 the brick school-house was built at a cost of about $2300.
In 1874 the Wesleyans sold their frame church to the Patrons of Husbandry, and erected their present brick edifice.
The village has become well known as a good shipping- point, and the farmers of the adjoining country generally find it a better place to sell their surplus produce than any other market in the vicinity. It at present consists of 4 stores, 3 blacksmith-shops, 2 wagon-shops, 2 shoe-shops, 1 harness-shop, 1 meat-market, 1 steam saw-mill, 1 hotel, 2 churches, a school-house, 1 millinery and dress-making establishment, the railroad buildings, and about 40 dwell- ings. Its population is not far from 175.
The town of Pittsford is known as township 7 south, range 1 west, comprises a territory six miles square, and is bounded north by Wheatland, east by Hudson, Lenawee Co., south by Wright, and west by Jefferson. Its surface is generally lightly rolling, though in the western part, south of Pittsford, the elevations rise to the dignity of hills. The northern part is also more rolling than the lands to the south and east. Originally these lands were covered with a heavy growth of the various kinds of native timber, and contained but little swampy land. The soil is of quite uniform quality, and is composed of a varied mix- ture of gravel, sand, clay, and loam ; the rolling lands of the north and west containing more of the two first kinds, and the leveler lands of the south and east more of the two last named. It is all rich and well adapted to general farming, producing large crops of all the staple products.
The principal stream is the Little St. Joseph's River, which enters it from Jefferson, in the north part of section 30, and pursuing a crooked course in a southwesterly direc- tion, crosses the line into Wright, near the west line of sec-
VIEW OF FARM LOOKING SOUTH EAST.
RESIDENCE OF JOHN PERRIN, PITTSFORD, MICHIGAN .
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
tion 34. Hillsdale Creek is a stream that flows across the town in the north part, and is a tributary of Bean Creek. This last-named stream has a brief course in this town, in section 25. There are four natural ponds or lakes lying in sections 26, 27, and 28. They are named Mallory's, Moon's, Britton's, and Seeley's Lakes, and were so called after Reu- ben Mallory, Benoni Moon, Abraham Britton, and Theron Seeley, who were early settlers upon their shores. The largest of these is Mallory's Lake, which covers an area of 75 acres, and empties its waters into Bean Creek. The others are small, and empty their waters into Bean Creek, their outlet first running south into Wright, and forming . the inlet of Lime Lake.
Pittsford was formed from Wheatland by an act of the Legislature passed March 23, 1836, in accordance with the petition of the citizens before referred to. Before that petition was presented for the consideration of that body, the name Dover had already been conferred on a township in Lenawee County, and, upon the suggestion of a man who had known Mr. Alpheus Pratt while he was a resident of Pittsford, Monroe Co., N. Y., it was named Pittsford. It then comprised all the territory in range 1 west, south to the Ohio line.
March 6, 1838, the town of Wright was set off, leaving Pittsford as it now is.
TOWN ORGANIZATION.
In accordance with the provisions of the act erecting the town, the first town-meeting was held at the house of Al- pheus Pratt, on the second day of May, 1836. The reason for its not being held in April does not appear. The fol- lowing is a transcript of the record of this first town- meeting :
" State of Michigan, county of Hillsdale, town of Pitts- ford, May the second, 1836.
" At a meeting convened at Alpheus Pratt's house, for the purpose of electing officers for the town, Robinson H. Whitehorn was called to the chair, and Urias Treadwell was chosen Clerk, and John L. Taylor Justice of the Peace.
" Legally-authorized officers being absent, the meeting organized according to law. Resolved, That the committee be composed of five in number. David Strunk, Cyrus King, John Williams, Charles Ames, Alpheus Pratt, Com- mitteemen ; Elijah B. Seeley was chosen Supervisor ; Urias Treadwell, Township Clerk ; John L. Taylor, Robinson H. Whitehorn, Elijah B. Seeley, Sidney S. Ford, Justices ; Cyrus King, Austin Nye, Jesse Smith, Assessors ; Ozen Keath, John Williams, Ira Rose, Highway Commissioners ; David Strunk, Jesse Kimball, Reuben Maleroy, Constables ; Alpheus Pratt, Daniel Loomis, Poormasters ; Cyrus King, Daniel Loomis, Gaylord Tabour, School Commissioners ; Urias Treadwell, Sidney S. Ford, Robert Worden, School Inspectors ; Charles Ames, Robert Worden, Ozen Keath, Abraham Britan, Pathmasters."
It was " Voted that there should be $3 town bounty of Wolves in the year 1836."
May 2 it was " Voted, that Hogs and Cattle should be free cominers."
" The meeting for the year 1837 is now adjourned to Aus- tin Nye's house, to be held on the first Monday in April."
A special meeting was held on the 12th of September to fill some vacancies that had occurred, and the following officers were then chosen : Daniel Loomis and Samuel Day, School Commissioners ; and Robert Worden and E. B. See- ley, Justices of the Peace.
At the close of the meeting of 1837, the following was adopted : " The meeting for the year 1838 is now adjourned to the quarter stake on the section line between sections 14 and 23, or at the school-house to be built thereat ; to be held on the first Monday in April next."
As a memento of the past, and to show what hindrances were then thrown in the way of those who were desirous of entering the matrimonial state, we give the following marriage license, which was properly recorded in the town books :
" Whereas, Robert O'Mealy applying for a license, according to law, to be united to Sarah Peters in the bonds of matrimony, this is to cer- tify that I see no reasons why the said Robert O'Mealy and Sarah Peters should not be united in the holy bonds of matrimony, and accordingly grant the same.
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