USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 65
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That part of the Chicago road westward from Jonesville was let to contractors to clear and grade in 1832, the por- tion east having been contracted the previous year. In the spring of 1832, Ira and William Wight, the former eight and the latter six years of age, " grubbed" a quarter of a mile of the road, their father having taken the contract for the sum of $85. While the turnpike was being constructed in the fall of the same year, Ira Wight drove a team to assist in the work. Boys in those days were accustomed to performing a great amount of work for their years. Each was required to do his portion in the task of improving the country destined to be their future home, and all worked energetically and without complaint. The fare was coarse and progress slow, but this did not deter them from their purpose, and the result of their labors is seen in the smiling fields and happy homes of the present.
Hanson Cook, from Livingston Co., N. Y. (a native of Madison County), settled in Litchfield in 1844, in Fayette in 1847, and in Allen in 1851, in which latter township he has since resided.
H. J. Koon, now of the township, came here with his father and family in 1844, from what was then Steuben, now Schuyler Co., N. Y., and was one of eight children who ac- companied their parents to Michigan. They located on the farm, one and a half miles southeast of Allen village, now occupied by H. J. Koon. No improvements whatever had been made upon the place. The elder Koon was a black- smith by trade, and in connection with his farm worked a shop. H. J. Koon is the present clerk of the Baptist society at Allen.
Benjamin W. Brockway, a native of Ontario Co., N. Y., came to Michigan in 1836, and stayed until 1838 in Wash- tenaw County, from whence he came to Allen in the year last named, and located in the south part of the township, upon the farm now owned by Lucius Ranney. There he made the first improvements, clearing 30 acres, and subse- quently traded that place to Mr. Ranney for the one he now occupies (section 27), upon which Ranney had cleared about three acres. Mr. Bockway also made the first im-
provements on the farm now owned by Charles Homan, on section 24, and has lived on his present place since 1845.
When Mr. Brockway first came to the township the only persons living in the southern part in what is known as "South Allen," were Isaac Holbrook, William Nichols, James Hamlin (near Hamlin Lake), Zedekiah and Peter Kirkham. Mr. Holbrook, who lived on section 28, west of the present site of the school-house at the corners (District No. 4), and whose widow still occupies the old homestead, had cut a track through to his farm from the old " Indian road ;" this track Mr. Brockway followed when he came, and continued it from Mr. Holbrook's place to his own, that which Mr. Ranney now occupies.
Mr. Brockway's brother, Daniel P. Brockway, came to the township in the spring of 1837, in company with Sam- uel T. Sheriff, and the two together made improvements upon a 40-acre lot belonging to Mr. Sheriff a mile south- west of Allen village. The latter gentleman is yet living west of the village, on the Chicago road, and his brother, Isaac W. Sheriff, who came in 1838, resides in the southern part of town. The Sheriffs were from Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y.
The two who came together stayed but a short time on the place mentioned, and it was afterwards sold to Daniel Dens- ler, who, in company with David Nellis, erected a distillery upon it in 1839. This was the first and only institution of the kind ever built in the township, and was operated three or four years. The business never proved remunerative, even though the use of liquor among the early settlers was more general than is now the custom, and considered less harmful.
B. W. Brockway, during the first years of his residence here, occasionally hauled wheat to Toledo, where it brought the wonderful price of six shillings per bushel. The round trip occupied six days' time, and very little could be made at wheat-raising at that period. At Adrian it sold as low as fifty cents and three shillings per bushel. In one way did the settlers gain on their trips to market with grain. It was generally the case that a load of goods could be se- cured for the return journey, and the money paid for trans- porting them about covered expenses, leaving the amount received for the wheat as so much cash in hand.
In the house now owned by Mr. Brockway four genera- tions of the same family have lived for a number of years. These, originally, were Mr. Brockway's mother and Mrs. Brockway's father, Mr. Brockway and wife, and their chil- dren and grandchildren. Mrs. Brockway, Sr., is yet living, while Mr. Pettibone is dead.
Roswell Pettibone, the father of Mrs. Benjamin W. Brockway, was from the town of Pembroke, Genesee Co., N. Y. (originally from Massachusetts, and later a resident of Manchester, Vt.). He came to Michigan in 1827, and settled in the township of Farmington, Oakland Co. In 1839 he removed to Hillsdale County and located in Allen township, upon the place now owned by Mrs. Hill, between Allen village and the station. He was among the pioneers of both New York and Michigan, although quite young when he removed to the former State from Massachusetts.
Jonathan Whitney, from Ontario Co., N. Y., removed to Allen, and settled northwest of the village, on the farm
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM Mc CONNELL, ALLEN, HILLSDALE Co, MICH.
RESIDENCE OF JONATHAN WHITNEY, ALLEN, HILLSDALE CO., MICH.
257
HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
he now occupies, in 1839. He had been a week in the county in 1837, and was at an election in Reading that year, when there were only six voters, of whom four were upon the town board. His father, Ammi Whitney, had come here from New York about 1835, and entered a large amount of government land, intending it for his children. Jonathan Whitney was the only one of them who came, however. He was accompanied by his wife. They had come from Buffalo to Toledo, with their limited stock of household goods, by boat, being two days and two nights out on Lake Erie. From Toledo the goods were trans- ported by rail to Tecumseh, and thence to Allen in a wagon. Their first night in the township was spent at the house built by Isaac Holbrook, in the south part of town, and occupied at the time by Isaac W. and Samuel T. Sheriff. Mr. Whitney immediately began improving his place, his only resources being what little he had saved from his two years' wages at work by the month. He at first lived in the house already mentioned as having been built by D. P. Brockway and S. T. Sheriff, afterwards converted into a distillery. He erected a log house upon his own place, manufactured the shingles which covered it, and moved into it as soon as it was habitable. He had brought win- dows with him, but as no lumber could be procured with which to make doors, blankets were hung up in their place. A puncheon floor was laid, the house well banked up, and in that way made quite comfortable. There was then no road to his place, and the present highway leading north and south past his residence was not opened until about eight years later.
Henry M. Keefer, by trade a tailor, was born in Wheat- land, Monroe Co., N. Y., and in 1836 came to Michigan, locating first at Colon, St. Joseph Co. On the 2d of April, 1841, he removed to Allen.
David Thomas, from Rowe, Franklin Co., Mass., settled in Allen township in May, 1841, and Lucius Ranney, from Ashfield, Mass., in October of the same year.
Edwin Ford, a native of Cornwall, Addison Co., Vt., emigrated to Michigan in the spring of 1835, and located at Rome, Lenawee Co., removing to Allen, Hillsdale Co., March 27, 1845. His wife came with her father to the site of Adrian in 1827.
Barney Reynolds, of Albany Co., N. Y., settled in 1847, and Hugh Cook, from Schuylkill Co., Pa., in 1840. The latter is now a resident of Hillsdale.
Samuel Watkins, a farmer and brickmaker, came to the United States from Staplehurst, Kent, England, and settled in Allen on the 27th of May, 1837. He is still residing in the southwest part of town, where he has a large brick- yard. His brother, Thomas Watkins, settled previously. John McConnell settled in the township in 1830.
MINUTES FROM TOWNSHIP RECORDS.
The records of the township of Allen previous to 1845 were destroyed by fire, and it is impossible to give names of officers up to that time. Those since have been as follows, viz. :
SUPERVISORS.
1845-47. Luke Hazen.
1848. Samuel T. Sheriff.
1849, David Cutter. 33
1850-51. Erastus Lake.
1852. Samuel T. Sheriff.
1853. Erastus Lake.
1854. Samuel T. Sheriff.
1866. Abram Martin.
1855-56. David Cutter. 1867. Samuel Gillet.
1857-58. Zimri D. Thomas. 1868. Jonathan Whitney.
1859-60. Alexander Hewitt.
1869. Isaac W. Sheriff.
1861-62. Erastus P. Norton.
1870-72. Samuel Gillet.
1863. Samuel Gillet.
1873. Erastus P. Norton.
1864. Erastus P. Norton.
1874-77. Albert Prentiss.
1865. Samuel Gillet.
1845. L. A. Webster.#
1860. Andrew Winchester.
1846. Joshua M. Lindsley.
1861. Charles Winchester.
1847. Henry S. Sherman. 1862. Asa Clemens.
1848. Lester R. Watkins, M.D.
1863. Bishop A. Johnson.
1849. Luke Hazen.
1864. Laban A. Howard.
1850-51. Dudley Chaney.
1865-66. Bishop A. Johnson.
1852. Bishop A. Johnson.
1853. Samuel T. Sheriff.
1854-56. Lester R. Watkins.
1870-72. Robert Mann.
1857. Levi Clark.
1873. Charles L. Hasbrouck.
1858. John F. Ellis.
1874-77. Bishop A. Johnson.
TREASURERS.
1845-46. Don C. Hewitt.
1847-48. Hiram J. Hanchett.
1864-65. Charles H. Winchester.
1849. Robert Clark.
1866. Benj. W. Brockway.
1867-68. Bradley Mosher.
1852-53. Wm. H. Layton.
1869-70. Allen C. Howe.
1854. Robert Clark.
1871. James N. Conklin.
1855-56. Lucius Ranney.
1872-73. Allen C. Howe.
1857-58. Samuel Gillet.
1874. John F. Ellis.
1861. Lucius Ranney.
1862. Alexander Hewitt. G. W. Elmore.
1846. Volney Edgerton.
1847. Abijah Mosher. 1863. Stephen W. Ellis.
Alexander D. Hewitt.
1864. Edwin Ford.
1848. Luke Hazen.
1865. Jonathan Whitney.
1849. Alexander Hewitt. Samuel T. Sheriff.
1866. Alexander Hewitt. George W. Elmore.
1850. Edwin Ford.
1851. Isaac W. Sheriff.
Bishop A. Johnson.
1868. Edwin Ford.
1852. Jonathan Whitney.
1869. George W. Elmore.
1853. Alexander Hewitt.
1870. Bishop A. Johnson.
Dudley Chaney.
1871. S. W. Ellis.
1854. Horace B. Avery.
Charles R. Coryell.
1855. Erastus Lake.
1856. Jonathan Whitney. Benjamin W. Brockway.
1874. Alexander Hewitt. Edwin J. Ford.
1857. Hiram A. St. John.
1858. Horace B. Avery.
1859. William H. Layton.
1860. Jonathan Whitney. Robert Clark.
1876. Isaac W. Sheriff.
1877. Jonathan Whitney. Silas N. Glasgow.
COMMISSIONERS OF HIGHWAYS.
1845. Lucius Ranney. 1849. George W. Elmore.
Benjamin W. Brockway. John W. Pierce. Wm. Welsh.
1846. Thomas A. Vinson.
1851. Stephen Hickox.
Alanson Koon.
1852. Jonathan Whitney.
Morris W. Balcom.
1853. Philander D. Harris.
1847. Thomas O'Hanlon. David Cutter.
1854. James H. Hunt.
Horatio Elmore.
1855. Nicholas Torburn. Robert Clark.
1848. Isaac W. Sheriff.
1856. James M. Hanchett.
* Died in February, 1846, and Don C. Hewitt was appointed to fill vacancy.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
1845. Uriah B. Couch.
1867. S. W. Ellis. Charles R. Coryell.
1872. Edwin Ford.
1873. Albert Prentiss.
1875. Jonathan Whitney. Franklin Ross.
. 1861. Robert Clark.
Alexander Hewitt.
1862-63. Andrew Winchester.
1875-77. Allen C. Howe.
1859. L. R. Watkins.
TOWN CLERKS.
1867. 1 ester R. Watkins. 1868-69. George N. Howe.
1850-51. Benj. W. Brockway.
1859-60. Joseph A. Mathews.
1850. Daniel Nichols.
....
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
1857. Benjamin B. Wells.
1869. Albert Prentiss.
1858. Erastus Lake.
1870. John F. Bond.
1859. Ira Wight.
Charles Watkins.
1871. Charles Watkins.
1860. Laban Howard. 1861. Harrison Beers.
Walter C. Browning. 1872. Erastus P. Norton. Albert Prentiss.
1862. Ira T. Wight.
1863. Albert Prentiss. 1864. Abram Martin.
1873. Hiram Osgood.
1865. Lester R. Watkins.
1874. Horace L. Bishop.
1866. David Thomas.
Myron Perry.
1867. Samuel J. Watkins.
1875. Charles Watkins.
1868. Elnathan Turner.
1876. Robert Clark.
1869. E. P. Norton.
1877. Arvid S. Thomas.
The officers for 1878 are : Supervisor, Albert Prentiss ; Town Clerk, Bishop A. Johnson ; Treasurer, Allen C. Howe; Justices of the Peace, John H. Parish, Jonathan Whitney ; Commissioner of Highways, Chester E. Hill; Drain Com- missioner, John M. Watkins ; Township Superintendent of Schools, Erastus P. Norton ; School Inspector, Angus Beers; Constables, Darius Johnson, Amari Winchester, Nelson R. Cook, George Martin.
In the year 1845, licenses to keep taverns were granted by the town board to David Winchester, James Peterson, Almond Ames, William Wedge, and Nicholas Van Alstine. Most of these had been in the business for some time. Van Alstine seems to have been a man who could not stay long in a place, for we hear of him first at Moscow village, then at Jonesville, where he kept the old "St. Charles Hotel" for some time, and finally in Allen. Other early tavern-keepers were Henry Whitehead, David Cutter, An- drew Hall, Isaac Eslow, and Orrin Gray.
In the fall of 1845 a couple of mill-ponds, one owned by William N. Nichols and Don C. Hewitt, and the other by William Stone and Ira Latham, were declared public nuisances, and ordered to be cleared of everything which should obstruct the free course of the streams, as in their then condition they were "productive of disease." These mill-ponds were for some time the subject of discussion by the town board, but it does not appear on the records what disposition was finally made of the matter.
It seems that certain individuals living in the township in 1845 had the fault of imbibing too freely of intoxicat- ing liquors, and occasionally getting themselves in trouble. They were complained of in the fall of that year, and the board published them as habitual drunkards and notified proprietors of "licensed taverns or groceries" not to furnish them with liquor.
PHYSICIANS.
Lester R. Watkins, M.D., came from Ontario Co., N. Y., in the spring of 1846, and located at Allen village, where he has since resided. He had graduated in the winter of 1845-46 from the Geneva Medical College, and removed to Michigan to begin practice. Dr. Asa Clemens, from Litchfield Co., Conn., was then practicing in the township. He had attended lectures at Castleton, Vt.
Dr. Peter O. Eastman was also an early physician in this township, and others have been Drs. Alvin Gould, C. Remington, R. Grimes, and E. M. Shaw, the latter now a resident of the village.
One Dr. Perrin practiced here to some extent, and also preached occasionally. Others who were not regularly edu- cated to the profession also practiced at different times.
In the month of April, 1848, the smallpox broke out in the family of Robert Bell, and Dr. Watkins was appointed physician of the town board, to take measures to prevent the spread of the disease. The highway near Mr. Bell's house was temporarily changed to the fields on the south, and travel was not resumed over the old route until after the disease had abated, and it was determined not dangerous to pass so close to the house.
During the early years of the settlement, this town, as well as all others in the region, was subject to malarial dis- ease, and the " fever and ague" scorched the skin and shook the bones of the people until they were nearly ready to believe they were in the most unhealthy locality in the world. They bore the ordeal bravely, however, and since the country has been brought under continued cultivation, and the marshes have become mostly drained, the ague, although occasionally prevalent, is not universally so as in the " days when we were pioneers."
SCHOOLS-EARLY AND LATE.
About 1831 a small log school-house was built at the prairie, very nearly upon the site of the present brick Baptist church. This was the first one in the township, and was covered with " shakes," which were held on by poles. But few children were then living in the neighbor- hood. Among those attending were four from the family of Thomas Reed, together with their hired man, and those in the family of Ichabod H. Burdick. Hiram Hunt, who married the widow of Moses Allen, was the first teacher, and was very popular. One New Year's Day the boys barred him out of the school-house, and determined not to allow him to enter until he promised to " treat" them. Mr. Hunt was a man of great determination, and concluded that he would prove himself master of the situation. After vainly trying to force open the door, a new idea entered his mind,-the roof should be his next point of attack ! With action following quick upon thought, he set to work, and in a very short space of time had one side of the roof nearly torn off. Every time he sprang up to climb over the wall, however, the boys smartly rapped his knuckles, and he was finally forced to yield to their wishes. This school-house was not long used.
In what is now district No. 4 the first school was taught in the summer of 1843, by a Miss Lewis, who was an adopted daughter of Benjamin Lewis, and afterwards be- came the wife of Edward Carpenter, who lived in the north part of the township of Reading, where his father was an early settler. This school was taught in a log dwelling built by Daniel P. Brockway. A frame school-house was erected a year or two afterwards, and a second one on the same site is yet standing, though not used for school pur- poses. The present brick school-house was built in 1877.
In the locality known as " Arkansaw," near the residence of John Herring, a school was taught as early as 1838-39. Among the first teachers were Miss Ransom and Philena Galloway. The first school in that neighborhood was taught in a small log shanty, built either by William Mar- tin, Esq., or a man named Purdy. Miss Ransom taught in 1839, and Miss Galloway in 1840.
In what was originally known as the " Pratt District,"
259
HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
-now the Cutter district, in the southeast part of town- the first school was taught in the winter of 1838-39, by Miss Catharine Galligan, or Gallagher, a young lady from Canada, and the second in the summer of 1839, by Miss Sarah A. Pettibone, now Mrs. Benjamin W. Brockway. A board shanty served as a school-house, and three of its corner-posts were three oak-trees which stood in convenient position. A new building was erected in 1840, and Miss Pettibone also taught in that.
The school moneys apportioned to the districts in the township of Allen in 1846 amounted to $58.57, of which $54.87 was from the State fund, and the balance from the township. Of this sum district No. 2, with 67 scholars, received $39.20 ; joint district No. 3, of Allen and Reading, 59 cents ; district No. 4, with 20 scholars, $11.71; joint district No. 8, Allen and Quincy, with 7 scholars, $4.10; joint district No. 6, Allen and Litchfield, five scholars, $2.93. The directors of these districts, in the above order, were at that time I. W. Estus, A. K. Carpenter, Isaac Sheriff, Erastus Lake, F. Norcutt.
The present large and tasty union school building at Allen village is a two-story brick structure, erected in 1869, at a cost of $11,000. A small one-story frame building had previously been in use. The district was organized as a union school district in 1870. The present board consists of the following persons, viz. : Daniel Hall, Moderator ; Albert Prentiss, Director ; John Parish, Assessor; C. H. Winchester, A. Winchester, A. C. Howe. The school has three departments, and the teachers for the winter of 1878-79 are Dennis Dunn, Principal ; Belle Allen, In- termediate; Lizzie Yost, Primary. The attendance aver- ages over 100, and the school well sustains the reputation of the educational institutions of Michigan. It is seldom that a village no larger than Allen is so liberal as to erect so costly an edifice for school purposes.
ALLEN GRANGE, NO. 78, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY,
is one of the oldest in the county, having been organized in October, 1873. It occupies the old frame school-house in district No. 4, and has a present membership of about 75. The officers are : Master, H. D. Pessell ; Sec., H. O. Watkins; Overseer, Lucius Ranney ; Lecturer, Isaac W. Sheriff; Chaplain, E. O. Goodrich ; Steward, S. Watkins ; Assistant Steward, George Goodrich : Gatekeeper, Charles Shafer; Ceres, Mrs. Nettie Osgood ; Pomona, Miss E. Shepherd; Flora, Miss N. Wells ; Lady Assistant Steward, Miss F. Thomas.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ALLEN VILLAGE.
From the historical record in the church book the fol- lowing is copied :
" Allen Circuit was organized in 1856. Rev. E. Hunt (afterwards a merchant at Osseo, Mich.) supplied it as first pastor. It originally formed a part of the Jonesville and Litchfield circuits. At the time of its organization it com- prised five appointments, organized as follows, viz. : Allen's Prairie class and Shook's Prairie, in 1840, by Rev. J. H. Pitezell ; Brother - - Burdick was appointed class-leader of Allen Prairie, and Brother John Steel of the Shook's
Prairie class; North Butler class in 1842, by Rev. I. Ben- nett, Brother L. Decker, first leader ; Northeast Quincy class, organized in 1850, by Rev. N. Mount, Brother H. S. Reed, first leader ; South Allen class, organized in 1856, by Rev. William Doust, Brother R. Bird, first leader ; North Allen class, organized by Rev. I. Taylor, Brother J. H. Hunt, first leader,-this class disorganized in 1866, by Rev. M. I. Smith, and the remaining members trans- ferred to Allen Prairie and Northeast Quincy classes ; Quaker Mills class, organized in 1866, by Rev. M. I. Smith, Brother Charles Williams appointed leader. It was attached to the Litchfield circuit at the close of the conference year of 1866."
From information furnished by different members of this church, it is evident that not all of the foregoing extract is correct. The class at Allen Prairie was undoubtedly in existence in 1839, and was organized as early as 1833, with Tunis Cronk as leader in the former year. James M. Bur- dick, of Quincy, one of the original members, writes as follows regarding it :
" The names of the first ten members are: my father and mother, Ichabod H. Burdick and Clarinda Burdick, his wife; Ambrose L. Burdick and Margaret Burdick, his wife; Abijah Mosher and Sarah Ann Mosher, his wife; Richard Corbus; Nancy Clark, wife of Henry Clark ; James M. Burdick and Eunice Burdick, his wife.
" Revs. Davison and Pilcher were the missionaries sent from the Ohio conference to form our class and to preach for the mission. Rev. Gilruth was presiding elder."
James M. Burdick and his wife are the only ones of the original members who still retain their connection with the church, and six of the ten have passed to their long rest. Thomas H. Vinson was also an early member, and is yet residing in the township south of Allen village.
Allen circuit originally included the townships of Allen and a portion of Litchfield in Hillsdale County, and Butler and a portion of Quincy in Branch County. The circuit at present has three appointments-at Allen village, South Allen, and Northeast Quincy. The pastors since the organ- ization of the circuit have been the following persons : Revs. E. Hunt (supply), J. Hoyt (supply), R. Kirby, J. Taylor (supply), C. T. Van Antwerp, A. Coplin, Joseph Jones (supply), Wilson Gray, L. Rossman (local preacher and supply), I. Bennett, M. I. Smith, J. Clubine, W. M. Ball, J. H. Potts, M. D. Carrell, T. H. Jacokes, J. T. Iddings, E. Marble, and the present pastor, Rev. S. M. Merritt. Rev. Peter Sabin lived and preached here in 1839, having come in 1838. Rev. S. Steele preached here about 1845-46, and is now living at Bean Lake, Manistee Co.
One of the early members of the Allen Prairie class, and an old settler here, was Dr. Asa Clemens, a native of Con- necticut, who died Nov. 5, 1865. " He was much esteemed as a physician, and beloved as a neighbor and friend."
The original church occupied by this society was a frame building, which is yet standing in the rear of the post-office. The present elegant brick church was begun in 1872, a sub- scription of $4500 having been raised. It was finished at a total cost of $10,000, and dedicated Feb. 19, 1873, by Rev. B. I. Ives, D.D., of Auburn, N. Y., and at the time of dedication the deficiency was all made up. A further
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
sum of $500 was raised the same evening, and with it a bell was purchased of Jones & Co., of Troy, N. Y. The building was furnished by the ladies at an expense of nearly $1000. The parsonage was built in 1868, and stands a short distance west of the church, in the western part of the village.
The number of members in full connection, Sept. 4, 1878, in the whole circuit, was 151; probationers, 24; value of church property on circuit, $11,000; the only edifice for worship being at the village, where is also the largest society. Two Sunday-schools are sustained, one at Allen village and one at Northeast Quincy, having together 28 officers and teachers, and 120 members, with libraries containing 100 volumes ; 70 papers and periodicals are also taken.
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