USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 59
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Vanaken had purchased of him eighty acres of unimproved land. Was married Nov. 24, 1851, to Miss Sarah L. Stoddard, daughter of Henry Stoddard, one of the pioneers of Litchfield. Having no children of their own, they adopted Marion G. Moshier, whose mother was a sister of Mr. Vanaken, and who died when Marion was one week old. Is now in the twenty-first year of his age. Has had good advantages. Graduated at the High School at New Haven, Conn.
SOMERSET.
THE township of Somerset occupies a position in the northeast corner of Hillsdale County, and is designated upon the government surveys as township 5 south, of range 3 west of the principal meridian. It was originally a part of Wheatland, from which it was set off, and erected into a separate township for civil purposes, by an act of the Legislature passed March 20, 1837.
The surface of this town is greatly diversified. There are no extensive areas of level land, while " hills and dales" abound in nearly every part. A large portion of the town- ship is watered by Goose Creek, one of the main tributaries of the river Raisin. It flows through in a general easterly direction, and along its valley passes the Detroit, Hillsdale and Southwestern Railway. It drains Goose Lake, northeast of Jerome village, Moon Lake, south of Somerset Centre, and several small ponds. At the Centre its power has been utilized to drive the machinery of a grist- and saw-mill, and the supply of water never entirely fails, owing to the aid of the lakes which feed it. A branch of Grand River heads in the northern part of the town, where a never- failing reservoir exists in the shape of several small lakes, among them Crystal (named from the clearness and purity of its waters), Grand River, Mud, and Perch. Goose Lake was so named from the fact that in the early days of the settlement it was a resort for countless numbers of wild- geese. Crystal Lake has a small island which enhances its beauty greatly.
The famous " Chicago road" passes through this town- ship from east to west, north of the central portion, and is the highway over which, forty years since, rolled such a tide of human life as only finds an equal in the history of this country in the historic region of Central New York,-
"In the vale where the Mohawk gently glides
On its clear winding way to the sea."
The villages of the township are Jerome, Somerset Centre, and Somerset Post-Office, or Gambleville, as it was long ago known. The soil is generally of an excellent quality, and possessed of the peculiarities which character- ize that of Southern Michigan generally, being a mixture of sand, clay, and rich loam, well adapted to the growth of
grain and fruit. The township is one of the best in the county in respect to the supply of water it contains.
In 1838, according to a gazetteer of the State, published that year by John T. Blois, Esq., now of Jonesville, this township contained 2 saw-mills, a merchant. 326 head of neat cattle, 40 horses, 93 sheep, 603 hogs, and a population of 441. By the census of 1874, we find its showing so different and its condition improved to such an extent that the following figures will prove interesting :
Population (539 males, 470 females). 1,009
Number of acres of taxable land 22,496
land owned by individuals and companies. 22,579
¥
improved land
12,769
land exempt from taxation ..
83
Value of same, including improvements
$9,690
Number of acres in school-house sites 66
church and parsonage sites ...
2
burying-grounds
4
.
farms in township
acres in farms.
21,312
Average number of acres in farms.
108.73
Number of acres of wheat sowed in 1874.
harvested in 1873
2,700
66
bushels of wheat raised in 1873.
39,470*
16
all other grain raised in 1873.
14,284
potatoes raised in 1873
5,886
66 tons of hay cut in 1873.
2,278
pounds of wool sheared in 1873.
25,942
66 pork marketed in 1873.
124,659
butter made in 1873.
68,508
fruit dried for market in 1873. 25,880
647
acres in orchards in 1874.
527
bushels of apples raised in 1872. =
1873
21,780
cherries
1872
20
16
66
6
1873.
23
strawberries raised in 1872.
3
3
currants and gooseberries raised in 1872 2
2
66
currants and gooseberries raised in 1873
2
Value of all such productions for 1872. $6,221
1873
$6,215
Number of horses in township, one year old and over, in 1874.
473
Number of mules.
12
work oxen.
31
"
milch cows.
523
" corn
1,394
corn
60
42,867
5
railroad right of way and depot grounds 72 196
3,053
barrels of cider made in 1873.
26,443
1873.
* Second in county.
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT MCGREGOR, SOMERSET, HILLSDALE CO, MICH.
231
HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Number of neat cattle, one year old and over, other than oxen and cows.
619
swine over six months old ... 776
4,263
" sheared in 1873.
5,343
"
flouring-mills ..
1
Amount of capital invested.
$5,500
Number of runs of stone ..
2
barrels of flour made ...
500
Value of products
$3,500
Number of saw-mills.
1
persons employed in same.
2
Amount of capital invested.
$2,500
Number of feet of lumber sawed.
100,000
Value of products.
$1,200
LAND ENTRIES.
The total amount of land entered in this township at the close of the year 1833 was but 1,040 acres, which was divided among the following persons, viz. : James D. Van Hoevenbergh, Horace White, Heman Pratt, Elias Branch, Elias Alley, David Herrington, Ebenezer Gay, and Charles Blackmar. Up to the 27th of April, 1838, the following persons had entered land in this township :
Section 1 .- Heman Pratt, Amos Hixson, Jonathan Haynes, William Hoard, Samuel O. Clark, P. Chamber- lain, Samuel Clark.
Section 2 .- Horace White, Landon Colman, Jeremiah Belden, Alvah Foster, A. S. Ames, T. M. Torrance.
Section 3 .- R. Allen, A. S. Ames, R. McClelland, Uriah Every, Thomas Turner, Edward Turner, John Diamond.
Section 4 .- P. U. Jones, H. Choat, J. Patch, Ira Nick- erson, S. Birchard, D. Hinkley, S. Goodrich.
Section 5 .- Abram Young, Samuel Gardner, Seth Far- well, D. Hinkley, Lorin Wood, Abram Young.
Section 6 .- C. C. Barton, J. W. Fisk, James Brezee, P. Anson, P. Shaver, J. G. S. and Mary Putnam, Francis Farwell.
Section 7 .- Warner Bunday, J. S. Hubbert, T. B. Van Brunt, James Carpenter, S. Gilmore.
Section 8 .- C. C. Benton, James Gowans, Samuel Gard- ner, Moses Chapman, Elias Branch, Elizabeth Huff, Samuel Gilmore.
Section 9 .- Elias Branch, Wolcott G. Branch, John Youngs, Paul Raymond, Ranson Hulin, Ira Goodrich, Chester Stuart.
Section 10 .- John Gilbert, Elias Alley, Lewis Carris, John Young, Luther Ricker, O. Herrington, Thomas Jolls, S. Starkweather, Ira Goodrich, James Stanton.
Section 11 .- David Herrington, Samuel Mills, F. C. Pratt, O. White, O. Herrington, H. White, H. Isaacs.
Section 12 .- J. D. Van Hoevenbergh, C. Blackmar, J. Haynes, M. Leach, W. Gamble, D. Turrell, Stephen Tur- rell, Nancy G. Gay.
Section 13 .- Ebenezer Gay, D. Herrington, E. H. Kelley, H. Griswold, J. Loucks, D. Strong, S. C. Clark, Eli Bugbee, George Omans.
Section 14 .- Ebenezer Gay, A. Finney, T. Finney, Wil- liam Boulton, O. Herrington, S. Gay, H. Isaacs.
Section 15 .- William C. Turrell, Eli McGee, J. R. Wil- liams, Thomas Goodrich, J. D. Farr, - Moon.
Section 17 .- Elias Alley, Jesse Russell, W. Johnson, J. Butcher, I. Dickson, D. A. Ogden, Samuel Young, J. Gowans.
Section 18 .- W. Bunday, D. A. Ogden, C. C. Knapp.
Section 19 .- N. C. Wolcott, E. Randolph, William Tal- bott, W. Moore.
Section 20 .- N. C. Wolcott, James McCleary, Thomas Gamble, William Talbott, Rob McGregor, A. McPherson, J. D. Payne, A. Parmele.
Section 21 .- A. McPherson, E. Gool, W. G. Throop, B. Chapin, B. R. Hickox, R. Bilbey, S. Bilbey, Abram Van- alstine, Samuel Young.
Section 22 .- John McDougal, Samuel Mercer, Myron McGee, J. R. Willis, D. Vanalstine.
Section 23 .- Thomas Gamble, Samuel Mercer, J. H. King, Ebenezer Gay, Ira Goodrich, R. Fisher, David Burns.
Section 24 .- Ebenezer Gay, W. Welch, Rufus Gilford, Daniel Strong, A. Chamberlain, Oliver Benton.
Section 25 .- A. S. Dunn, J. Darlington, D. Cattell, J. Minor, O. C. McLouth.
Section 26 .- S. Vail, B. D. Brand, D. Cattell, S. Mur- phy, R. Bilbey, John Brown.
Section 27 .- D. Gamble, Samuel Mercer, S. Darlington. Section 28 .- R. D. Hudson, D. C. Yaw, A. Coats, R. McClelland, Chester Stuart, J. Lamb.
Section 29 .- W. McBride, James Palmer, V. W. Paine, W. Tolford, J. Bamer, W. H. Boyd, William W. Murphy, Charles Osgood.
Section 30 .- G. Harkness, D. Harkness, Z. Van Duzar, A. Parmele, B. Dow, W. Weaver, William Talbott.
Section 31 .- Gideon Harkness, Zachariah Van Duzar, E. B. Brown, A. Hill, Sally Hill, S. H. Baker.
Section 32 .- J. H. Jackson, S. H. Baker, Isaac Derby, E. Smith, E. Boardman, Seba Murphy.
Section 33 .- John Jackson, I. H. Jackson, E. Slayton, A. Woods, L. Bilbey, E. Smith, Aaron Van Vleet, John Mershon, Jr.
Section 34 .- D. Herrington, W. Gallass, Stephen Vail, Welcome Graham, Robert Bilbey, Abraham West, A. Olds.
Section 35 .- David Herrington, N. Aldrich, Mahlon Brown, W. T. Webster, Stephen Vail, C. McLouth.
Section 36 .- David Steer, R. T. Brown, Cromwell McLouth.
Considerable land remained unsold in the township at the date before mentioned ( April, 1838), but was all en- tered in a comparatively short time thereafter. There was a considerable area of marsh land, which doubtless deterred many from settling, but this has in the lapse of years been largely drained, and furnishes not only excellent pasture, but in places good ground for raising various kinds of vege- tables. There was originally, and is still, a large area of timber, the value of which is acknowledged to be very great. The varieties are principally the different kinds of oak, natural to this region.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
In the dim long ago, o'er these beauteous vales and hills -- Whose contemplated fairness the mind with rapture thrills -- The dusky Indian warrior strode lightly in his pride And deemed of all things earthly none could compare beside. The lakelets, kissed by sunbeams and fauned by breezes light, Tossed up their tiny billows and told of pure delight.
The rivers and the streamlets, in threads of silv'ry sheen, Flowed on, with rippling music, 'twixt banks of shining green.
sheep
persons employed in same. 2
232
HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
The forests, in their grandeur, all proud and nobly stood, Ere the woodman's blows rang echoing in the deep and darksome wood. The sunny, smiling prairies-oases bright and fair- Were spread with fragrant flowers, whose perfume filled the air, And whose entrancing beauties,-whose every radiant hue,- Formed here a glorious picture-a paradise to view. Time sped on ceaseless wing, and with the flight of years Came to this flowery region a band of pioneers.
Their simple homes were builded; their sinewy hands and strong Wrought on with patient courage, while hearts were cheered with song. The lovely, blooming carpet that decked the grassy plain Was soon o'erturned by plowshare, and gardens smiled amain. The beech, and elm, and maple, and e'en the sturdy oak All bowed beneath the power of the axe's cleaving stroke. The red man moved afar, the forests disappeared, And the prosp'ring pale-faced people their pleasant homesteads reared.
The settlement of this township was begun under the same difficulties which were encountered in all other local- ities, yet the same spirit of perseverance was possessed by the pioneers of Somerset which characterized the avant couriers of civilization in this and all other lands. A deter- mination to win in the battle with the many hardships and privations, and to safely enter at least the haven of pros- perity and plenty. The soldier, fighting in the service of his country, is one example of a patriot; and the pio- neer, contending with difficulties nowhere else experienced, in the endeavor to further improve and develop the country and erect homes for future generations, is another. The one is the architect who builds the structure of national im- portance, and the other is its preserver,-the laurel wreath which graces the brow of the soldier as a tribute of grati- tude from a rescued nation is not too great a token to crown the toil-worn pioneer. All honor to the brave men who faced a frowning wilderness, and struck the blows which are reverberating in the grateful memory of a State and a prosperous Republic. "The work goes bravely on," and away on the billowy prairies, beyond the father of waters, are being enacted the same scenes which in years agone rendered Southern Michigan famous.
Somerset was named for the township of the same name in Niagara Co., N. Y., from which many of the early settlers in this town had emigrated, among them being David Her- rington and Heman Pratt, the latter one of the early " side judges" for Hillsdale County.
The first white man to make his home in the then wil- derness of Somerset was James D. Van Hoevenbergh, who afterward resided a few years at Jonesville. About 1832- 33, he came to the township and entered two eighty-acre lots from Government, and purchased a third, which had been entered by Charles Blackmar, who lived in Cambridge, Lenawee Co. On the west half of the southwest quarter of section 12 he built a log house, the first habitation for a white family erected in the township. He afterward sold out to Thomas Gamble and removed to Jonesville. From the latter gentleman, who located in the spring of 1834, the place took the name of
GAMBLEVILLE,
and as such is still familiarly known, although the name of the post-office is Somerset.
David Herrington and his son, Orson Herrington, had settled on the next farm west, previous to the arrival of
Mr. Gamble, and, as previously mentioned, were from Somerset, Niagara Co., N. Y.
The first tavern in the township was kept by Mr. Van Hoevenbergh, in his log house. Thomas Gamble succeeded him in the same business and followed it for many years. He died at the village, in 1870. The present hotel was built about 1850, by William R. Gates.
In the winter of 1835-36, a man from Clinton, Lena- wee Co , established a store at Gambleville, and employed Vincent Rohrbach (or Roarbeck) to conduct it for him.
The first post-office in the township was established here previous to 1835, when Somerset was yet a part of Wheat- land. The office was named Wheatland, and Thomas Gam- ble was appointed the first postmaster. After the township was divided (1837), a new post-office was established in what is now Wheatland, and named Wheatland Centre, and the name of the old Wheatland office was changed to Gam- bleville. About 1840 it was removed to Somerset Centre, and the name again changed,-this time to Somerset. It has since been moved back to Gambleville, retaining the same name (Somerset), and a separate office established at the Centre. The present postmaster at Somerset (Gamble- ville) is George A. Smith, who has lived here since about 1854-55. His father, Azariel Smith, now deceased, settled south of the village, on section 25, in 1839 or 1840. His son, Le Grand Smith, occupies the old place.
The village at present contains two stores, a Congrega- tional Church, a post-office, and a small population. It is on the east line of the township, on section 12, and located upon the Chicago road, over which the stages rattled in the days when railroads were among the novelties, and the ox- teams of the settlers were much more numerous than spans of " fiery steeds,"-the latter being among the " luxuries" which were introduced at later days.
The second settlement started in the township of Somer- set was that at
SOMERSET CENTRE.
Elias Alley, Esq., from Cayuga County, N. Y., came to Michigan in the fall of 1833, arriving at Detroit on the 20th of September. The trip from there to the Centre occupied two days of time, and in this locality he was the first actual settler. Cornelius Millspaw had previously been on the ground and put up the body of a log house, but did not finish it, and had not yet located. He came here from Woodstock, Lenawee Co.
The first dwelling-house finished on the site of the village was the one erected by 'Squire Alley, in 1833. Like all the buildings of the pioneers, it was constructed of logs. Mr. Alley lived in it two years, and then removed to his present location, on section 17, upon which he also made the first improvements. While living at the Centre, he cut two acres of wheat, in 1834, the first ever harvested in the township. Ebenezer Gay, who lived a mile south of Gambleville (father of Timothy Gay, now of Hudson), raised four acres of wheat the same season, and after Mr. Alley had cut his own, he went to Gay's and assisted in harvesting the latter's field.
Mr. Alley moved into his house at the Centre on the last day of December, 1833. He is by trade a tanner, currier, and shoemaker, and followed the business for forty
RESIDENCE OF D. M. LYONS, SOMERSET, HILLSDALE CO., MICH.
233
HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
years. For a considerable period he was the only shoe- maker in the township, and is now its oldest settler.
James D. Van Hoevenbergh raised the first potatoes in Somerset, on his place, where Gambleville now stands. Most of the first settlers raised small " patches" of corn as soon as the land could be prepared.
Elias Branch, who arrived in the township a few days after Mr. Alley, built and occupied a log tavern west of Somerset Centre, moving into it a short time before Mr. Alley had finished his own house. Branch kept tavern and stage-house for many years. Its locality has many interesting memories clustering around it, for it was long the most important public-house in town.
The Indians at that time inhabiting the region became well acquainted with it and the store of stimulants it con- tained, insomuch as they acquired the industrious habit of picking cranberries, which they brought here and traded for "fire-water." Nothing but the hope of indulging their appetite ever incited them to work. No serious trouble was ever experienced with them, even though the amount of fiery liquor they swallowed was enormous. The savage appetite is one which must be indulged to extremes ere its possessor becomes satisfied, and a " noble red man" could, undoubtedly, hold a much greater quantity of dis- tilled poison than his pale-faced brother, with a weaker stomach and stronger brain. The thirst of the Indians was remarkable and their laziness proverbial, yet they would work when liquor was the prospective reward. Beside cranberries, they would also occasionally bring honey from some " bee-tree" in the forest to exchange for the desired liquor.
Cornelius Millspaw, who had partially completed a log tavern at the Centre when Elias Alley came, subsequently finished it and opened it to travelers. In 1839 it was not used as a tavern, although still owned by Millspaw, who also owned a saw-mill at the place. There were at the time a few dwellings aside from the hotel.
In the month of November, 1839, Lewis Fuller, from Monroe Co., N. Y., removed to Somerset with his wife and four children, and occupied the Millspaw tavern, which was one and a half stories high. Mr. Fuller kept it for about ten months, in 1840, and also operated the saw-mill. The property was sold in that year to William Knicker- bocker.
Lemuel D. Brown, a native of Hadley, Mass., and after- wards a resident of Somerset, Niagara Co., N. Y., emigrated from the latter place to Michigan, arriving early in May, 1839. He had previously purchased a farm half a mile east of Somerset Centre, upon which he is yet residing. His son, Oscar D. Brown, has held the office of township clerk since 1870 ; he is also postmaster and proprietor of a store at the Centre, and has charge of the railway and ex- press agencies at the place. Mr. Brown, Sr., purchased his farm of a brother of Heman Pratt, Esq., but made the first improvements upon it himself.
The first post-office in the township has been mentioned, with its various shiftings. The present office at Somerset Centre was established in 1872, at which time Oscar D. Brown was appointed postmaster; he has continued to hold the office to the present time.
The first store at Somerset Centre was established about 1842-43, by Josiah Knauer, who had a small stand near the present site of the depot. This was in existence but a short time, and no other was established until about 1860, when John S. B. Weatherwax started a small store in the room now occupied by the post-office and the store of Oscar D. Brown. Aside from the latter there are now in the place 2 dry-goods stores, 1 hardware store, 2 blacksmith- shops, 2 wagon- and repair-shops, 1 shoe-shop, 1 milliner- shop, a saw- and grist-mill combined, built by Harrison Fitz, and now owned by J. C. Tucker. The same man erected a small building (now used as a barn) near the old saw-mill, and took the water to run it from the same flume which was used to drive the machinery of the saw-mill. In this building he placed one run of stones for grinding, while on the upper floor was placed machinery for manufacturing sash, doors, and blinds. The village also contains 1 small machine-shop, located near the railway depot ; 1 hotel-the " Valley City House"-built by Lewis Fuller, Jr., in 1870, and at present the property of Charles Sutfin, and 1 phy- sician,-Dr. R. C. Traver, a graduate of the State Univer- sity.
Probably the first resident physician in this township was Dr. Charles Farnsworth, who was long a prominent citizen. He came about 1837-38, and died in 1851, while holding the office of township clerk.
Charles Sutfin, proprietor of the " Valley City House," at Somerset Centre, came with his father, John Sutfin, from Milo, Yates Co., N. Y., in May, 1833. The family first settled in Lenawee Co., Mich., between the villages of Clinton and Tecumseh, and were among the first settlers in that locality. Another son, Peter Sutfin, who came in 1831, is yet living in Liberty, Jackson Co. In company with Thomas Gamble, the elder Sutfin made a trip several years previously, as far west as White Pigeon, St. Joseph Co. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and died about 1852. His father, James Sutfin, was among the early settlers of Yates Co., N. Y., and his (John Sutfin's) wife was a native of New Jersey, having emigrated with her parents to the State of New York when about fourteen years of age. She died in 1877, at the advanced age of ninety-three years and five months.
The members of the Sutfin family have always been noted for their physical strength. In the early days their services were always welcomed at " raisings" of the log cabins of the times. Charles Sutfin moved into Liberty township, Jackson Co., about 1844-45. He has been proprietor of the hotel he now occupies since 1876.
The village plat of Somerset Centre was laid out Feb. 17, 1872, on the south half of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter, and the east half of the southwest quarter of section 10, by Jesse Tucker, Joseph C. Tucker, and Lewis Fuller, Jr.
VILLAGE OF JEROME.
During the excitement consequent upon the surveying and building of the Detroit, Hillsdale and Southwestern Railway, the idea of having a new village upon its route made itself manifest, and accordingly, upon the northeast quarter of section 19, near the west line of the township,
30
234
HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the village of Jerome was platted, April 18, 1871, by Jerome Smith (from whom it derived its name) and Mary E. Begel. The site of the village was in the woods when the railroad was built, and the place has grown to its pres- ent dimensions entirely since that time.
Jerome post-office was established at about the same time the village was laid out, with the proprietor, Jerome Smith, as first postmaster. He was succeeded by Charles Alley, and he by the present incumbent, William P. Miner, in whose store the office is located. Its business has increased in a respectable ratio since the first mail was handled, until it is now well patronized.
When a station was located here, Daniel W. Thompson began dealing quite extensively in grain, and the firm of Smith & Alley opened a small grocery. The first general stock of merchandise, however, was brought here by Wil- liam P. Miner, in the fall of 1871. He built the store he now occupies, and subsequently erected the row of build- ings on the east side of the street, including the boarding- house.
The remaining lots in the village of Jerome are now the property of A. P. Cook, who bought out the original pro- prietors. There are at present in the place 4 general stores, 1 grocery, a meat market, 2 millinery establish- ments, a harness-shop, a shoe-shop, a post-office, a Congre- gational church, a school-house, a hotel, a blacksmith-shop, a cooper-shop, the railway station, and 1 physician,-Dr. George E. Brown.
Kilwinning Lodge, No. 299, I. O. O. F., was organized July 25, 1877, with 5 members. It occupies a room over the post-office and has a present membership of about 25. The Noble Grand is S. N. Ostrom, and the Vice- Grand, F. M. Wolcott.
Samuel Mercer, originally from County Donegal, Ireland, and later a resident of Groveland, Livingston Co., N. Y., moved to Michigan with his family, in the fall of 1835, leaving the old home about the middle of October, and settled on the farm in Somerset, now the property of John Calhoun, northeast from the present residence of Hon. William Mercer. The elder Mercer was accompanied by his wife and seven children,-two sons and five daughters, of whom one son and one daughter have since died. Mr. Mercer's death occurred in the month of January, 1852, and his wife is also deceased.
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