USA > Michigan > Eaton County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 71
USA > Michigan > Ingham County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 71
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JOHN SALTMARSH.
home. To his last marriage were born four children, one dying in infancy, one in Detroit, and one on his way home from the war. The eldest son also served three years in the late war, and is now living in Virginia. In March, 1857, he was again bereft of his companion, and in December, 1859, married Mrs. Esther M. Tyler,-her maiden name having been Briggs and her native State Mas- sachusetts. Her first husband, by whom she had two chil- dren, both of whom grew to manhood, died in 1857. One of her sons died in the army, the other in Clinton Co., Mich.
Mr. Saltmarsh was favored by the advantages of good schools in his youth,-his time, until he was fourteen years of age, being devoted to study in the schools of London. In politics he is a Democrat, has held different offices of trust, and takes great interest in the advancement of schools ; is a strong Calvinist in religious belief, though not a mem- ber of any church organization, and takes an active part in Sunday-schools. ITis present wife is indeed a pioneer, hav- ing been a resident of this State forty-four years, coming in company with her sister when a young miss, first to Ann Arbor, thence to what is now known as Williamstown.
ONONDAGA.
NATURAL FEATURES.
GEOGRAPHIY, TOPOGRAPHY, ETC.
THE township of Onondaga lies in the southwest corner of the county of Ingham, and is bounded north by Aure- lius, east by Leslie, south by Jackson County, and west by Eaton County. It includes congressional township 1 north, in range 2 west of the principal meridian of Michi- gan. The south boundary was surveyed by Joseph Wamp- ler in 1824, the north, cast, and west boundaries by John Mullett in 1824-25, and the subdivisions by Hervey Park in 1825.
Grand River enters this township on the south, near the south quarter-post of section 33, and after a general north- west course passes out near the quarter corner on the west side of section 7. It furnishes limited power, which has been utilized at Winfield, or " Kinneyville." Willow Creek is a tributary of Grand River, which flows westward across the northern part of town, and several smaller streams are found. On section 22 is a small lake. The Grand River Valley Railway extends across the southwest portion of the township, having a station at Onondaga. The surface of this town is considerably broken, although level tracts ap- pear in places. The soil is fertile and the improvements good.
The following is a list of the entrics of land in town 1 north, range 2 west, now Onondaga :
LAND ENTRIES.
Section 1 .- Ranson Hazelton, John Allen, Sept. 21, 1836; James Lane, Nov. 1, 1836; Amos Wortman, May 25, 1837.
Section 2 .- Simeon Harmon, Lyman Crothers, Sept. 30, 1836; Gabriel L. Lewis, Jan. 16, 1837; William Lewis, July 19, 1841; Eli T. Davis, no date.
Section 3 .- William Cross, Oct. 1, 1836; Gilbert H. Valentine, Nov. 1, 1836 ; William Royston, Dec. 12, 1836; De Witt C. Stewart, Nov. 18, 1844; George Battley, Henry Trefry, no dates.
Section 4 .-- Juliette Hammond, Stepben Losey, Henry Losey, July 17, 1839; Stephen Losey, Jr., Nov. 12, 1839; Michael Losey, July 2, 1840; Lawrence Ryan, Jr., May 31, 1843 ; Jobo Sherd, Lawrence Ryan, Jr., May 4, 1844; Myron Davis, May 27, 1844; Eliza Follett, Nov. 22, 1845 ; W. and S. Town, Aug. 10, 1848.
Section 5 .- Nathaniel S. Glazier, July 28, 1835; Johnson Mont- gomery, Nov. 3, 1836 ; William R. Byxhee, Dec. 12, 1836 ; Jobo- son Montgomery, April 5, 1837 ; Roswell R. Maxson, May 22, 1837; Gabriel Iletfeld, Sept. 18, 1837.
Section 6 .- (Entire) Nathaniel S. Glazier, July 28, 1835.
Section 7 .- N. S. Glazier, July 28, 1835; Rue Perrine, Jan. 8, 1836 ; John Cranson, June 6, 1836.
Section 8 .- (Entire) N. S. Glazier, July 28, 1835.
Section 9 .- Calvin Burr, May 7, 1836; Amos Burden, June 6, 1836; William Sherd, Jr., Edmund J. Opp, July 5, 1836.
Section 10 .- Calvin Burr, May 7, 1836 ; Amos Burden, June 6, 1836; Byron Hall, Eli Sargent, June 23, 1837.
Section 11 .- Bradley Freeman, John Allen, Sept. 21, 1836; Adney Hunt, Jan. 29, 1838; Levi T. Davis, 1847.
Section 12 .- Prince Bowman, Dec. 12, 1836; William Royston, June
14, 1837; Hazen Rolf, June 26, 1837; John S. Hendee, June 12, 1840; James M. Peck, Jan. 30, 1844; John Elmore, Oct. 26, 1849.
Section 13 .- Prince Bowman, Barney Johnston, Dec. 12, 1836; Ben- jamin R. Clark, Jan. 20 aud June 5, 1837.
Section 14 .- Denton Garrison, Bradley Freeman, July 25, 1836; Ben- jamin R. Clark, June 5, 1837.
Section 15 .- Andrew Longyear, Jacob Longyear, July 7, 1836; Nel- son Dawson, July 11, 1836; Eli Sargent, June 23, 1837.
Section 16 .- S. Ilunt, E. Harwood, George C. Boyce, William Trevoy, no dates.
Section 17 .- (Entire) N. S. Glazier, July 28, 1835.
Section 18 .- N. S. Glazier, July 28, 1835 ; William Berrien, June 6, 1836; Andrew Hloupt, July 23, 1836; Samuel Vance, Jan. 21, 1837; Edward Townley, Jan. 24, 1837.
Section 19 .- N. S. Glazier, July 28, 1835; Peter Cranson, Oct. 23, 1835; Daniel Coleman, March 14, 1835; Orris Cranson, June 6 and Sept. 21, 1835 ; Elisha Cranson, Dec. 12, 1835.
Section 20 .- Peter Cranson, June 26, 1834; N. S. Glazier, July 28, 1835; J. N. and D. F. Dwight, March 18, 1836; Orris Cranson, May 26, 1836.
Section 21 .- John Taylor, March 28, 1836; Orris Cranson, Peter Craoso, June 6, 1836; Andrew Longyear, July 7, 1836 ; Russell Bronson, Dec. 18, 1839; Hiram Frye, May 25, 1839; Samuel Frye, June 28, 1842.
Section 22 .- Marcus Lane, May 28, 1836; Abner D. Hunt, July 25, 1836.
Section 23 .- Deaton Garrison, July 25, 1836; Josephus Tuttle, July 12, 1836; Benjamin M. Norton, June 9, 1837 ; Christopher Long- year, July 15, 1837.
Section 24 .- William Page, Jan. 11, 1837; Charlotte Woodworth, June 2, 1837; Elam G. Annis, June 9, 1837; Orange Barlow, July 3, 1837; William C. Longyear, July 15, 1837; Marcus John- ston, July 6, 1839; Eli Hopkins, Dec. 19, 1840.
Section 25 .- John Darling, May 18, 1836; Albert Smith, July 18, 1836; Jeduthan Waldo, March 3, 1836; Orange Phelps, June 3, 1837 ; Horace Garlick, June 9, 1837.
Section 26 .- William Page, May 18, 1836; William Rumsey, July 18, 1836 ; Leicester Buckley, July 25, 1836 ; Ichabod Herwood, Sept. 27, 1836; Benjamin K. Morton, June 9, 1837.
Section 27 .- Jasper S. Wolcott, Dec. 30, 1835; William Curtiss, May 18, 1836; John Taylor, May 28, 1836 ; Barney Johnston, C. Lyon, Dec. 13, 1836 ; Jeremiah Marvin, Jan. 20, 1837.
Section 28 .- Jasper S. Wolcott and S. Woodworth, Dec. 18, 1835; Amos Wortman, Dec. 30, 1835; Jasper S. Wolcott, Jan. 21, 1836 ; Jeremiah Marvin, Feb. 2, 1836 ; Peter Cranson, June 6, 1836. Section 29 .- (Entire) Oliver Booth, May 26, 1834.
Section 30 .- John F. Fuller, Oct. 8, 1835 .; Nehemiah Lovewell, Jan.
21, 1836 ; Frederick Abbey, Jan. 22, 1836; John J. Mason, May 13, 1836; Peter Cranson, July 8, 1836.
Section 31 .- (Entire) Stephen Warren, Oct. 28, 1835.
Section 32 .- Stephen Warren, Oct. 28, 1835; William Berrien, June 6, 1836 ; Oliver C. Hill, Juue 7, 1836 ; William Sherd, Jr., July 5, 1836.
Section 33 .- N. S. Glazier, July 28, 1835 ; Charles Butler, Nov. 9, 1835.
Section 34 .- Charles Butler, Nov. 9, 1835; Lewis Powell, May 14,
1836 ; Horace Pierce, May 24, 1836; II. G. Rice, July 18, 1836. Section 35 .- Mary P. Blackman, Feb. 11, 1836; L. Powell, W. Lewis, and W. Seymour, May 14, 1836; Fra Nash, July 13, 1836 ; Wil- liam D. Thompson, Dec. 21, 1838.
Section 36 .- Polly Underwood, Feb. 11, 1836; Jeduthan Waldo, March 3, 1836 ; Powell, Lewis, and Seymour, May 14, 1836; Ed- ward L. Fuller, June 6, 1836; Philip Eamons, July 25, 1836 ; James Sansom, Jan. 20, 1837.
* By Pliny A. Durant.
291
292
HISTORY OF INGHIAM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first entry of land in what is now Onondaga town- ship was made by Oliver Booth, from Gaines, Orleans Co., N. Y., May 26, 1834, and included the whole of section 29. Mr. Booth settled upon it with his family in the fol- lowing month of June, and was therefore the first settler in the township. He died about a year later, and his was also the first death in town. The first marriage was that of his daughter, Harriet, to Jeduthan Fry, in February, 1838, and their daughter, Hannah Fry, was the first white female child born in town, hier birth occurring Dec. 25, 1839.
Jeduthan Fry was originally from Massachusetts, but was for a time a resident of Bueks Co., Pa. When nine- teen years of age he came to Ingham County and located in the township of Onondaga,-this being the 28th day of October, 1834. The township has since been his home, although he was for some time in California. He lived for a short time, after his arrival in the township, on the Booth place, northwest of what is now Onondaga village, and afterwards made his home west of the village until 1876, when he moved to his present location on section 21. He came to the township originally with Mr. Booth, who had returned to New York to settle up his business affairs.
Mr. Fry's brother, Dr. Hiram Frye,* came to Onondaga in 1838, reaching the house of the former on the 1st day of June. In May, 1839, he settled npon the place he now occupies, on section 21, where he has since resided. A few years after coming to the township he began the practice of medicine, which he continued until about 1877.
Peter Cranson, from Cayuga Co., N. Y., was the second person who purchased land in the township, his entry on section 20 being dated June 26, 1834. Ile had been visiting at Jackson the previous year. He was young and unmarried, and was accompanied from New York by six others, who settled in various parts of Michigan, none of them, however, locating in Onondaga. Mr. Cranson settled on his land the same year (1834). He had come to the township in May and secured help to look land, and pur- chased, as stated, in June. He first arrived in town only seven days later than Mr. Booth. He is now living in the township, half a mile east of his first location.
IIenry Allen, who lived south of the Cranson place, settled also in 1834, and was a brother-in-law to Jeduthan Fry. Ilis youngest son, William, who was born in June, 1834, very soon after the family settled, was the first white child born in the township.
Benjamin Rossman, from Cayuga Co., N. Y., came to Michigan in 1834 and located at Jackson. In April, 1836, he removed to Onondaga and settled on the farm now owned by his widow and heirs. Four children accompanied their parents to the township, in which three of the sons-Carl, Wallace, and Nelson-are now living. Mr. Rossman died in 1865.
George French settled in the same neighborhood in 1837, and his sons, George, John, James, William, and Alfred, are now living in the township.
Lowing Sherman, formerly from the State of New York, and for a time a resident of Lenawee Co., Mich., moved
into Onondaga in 1838, and his son, John Sherman, is now living at the village of Onondaga.
In the neighborhood of 1850 a saw-mill-the first in the vicinity-was built by Potter & Lock wood on a small stream east of the village of Onondaga. It afterwards be- came the property of Nathan Champe, now deceased. The mill was finally abandoned, and only the ruins are left. A . steam saw-mill was afterwards built in the village by George French, and others have also been erected, but none are now in use, and the labor of bringing logs to the locality is too great to make the work a source of profit.
Lawrence Ryan, from Dansville, Livingston Co., N. Y., settled in Onondaga township in the fall of 1839 with his wife and eleven children, of whom the youngest, Milton, was but two years old. The family located on section 4. Mr. Ryan died at Mason in 1877, and his son, Milton Ryan, Esq., is now living at that place, to which be re- moved in December, 1874. Two sons, Horatio and Wil- liam, are yet living in the township of Onondaga,-the latter at Kinneyville.
The following were resident taxpayers in the township of Onondaga in 1844 :
Orris Cranson, B. Knight, Hiram Cranson, John Tyler, John Cock- burn, Charles Festor, Hiram Frye, Samuel Frye, David Lane, M. A. Baldwin, Almer D. Hunt, Elon G. Annis, George Longyear, O. Sharp, Ephraim P. Haynes, William B. Hill, Stephen Losey, Joseph Galo, J. W. Toles, Henry Kiper, Michael Losey, John Sherd, H. W. Imus, William Lewis, Henry Slaght, John H. Peak, Monroe Peak, J. II. Bostwick, John F. Hendee, Noah E. Hood, Hazen Rolfe, Samoel D. Breed, Franklin Elmore, Elisha Smith, A. Freeman, William J. Clark, Barney Johnston, Marquis Johnston, Eli Hopkins, Jobn Thorp, Jose- phos Tuttle, Peter Earll, Abram Henry, Horace Garlick, John R. Garlick, Orange Phelps, John Darling, Orange Barlow, Warren Buck- land, C. Lyons, Charles M. Maynard, Merritt Johnston, Peter Crao- son, David Potter, and Lucinda Lockwood, administratrix ; J. Marvin, William II. Fray, J. C. Preston, Lowing Sherman, John Sherman, Ilenry Allen, Simcon Dunn, Garrett Van Riper, George French, Jed- uthan Frye, James Blain, Thomas P. Baldwin, Charles Petty, Benja- min Rossman, Palmer Rossman, Joseph Abbey, Frederick Abbey, Hiram Abbey, M. K. and J. Sibley, Levi P. Earll, Thomas Harwood, Chauncey Green, Abby Haynes, Ephraim P. Haynes, Grove Baldwin, T. K. Baldwin, George V. N. IJetfield, Richard Ferris, Lawrence Ryan, William Losey, Oliver Losey, James Sliter, Rue Perrine, Augustus Iloaghton, Alpheus lloupt, Lawrence Ryan, Jr., Drummond Storts, Joseph Pearson, llenry Loscy.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION .- LIST OF OFFICERS, ETC.
By an act of the Legislature approved March 6, 1836, town 1 north, in range 2 west, then a part of Aurelius, was set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Onondaga, and the first township-meeting was directed to be held at the house of Barney Johnston. The follow- ing account of said meeting is from the township records :
" At a meeting of electors of the township of Onondaga, in the county of Jackson (Ingham), and Stato of Michigan, held at the house of Barney Johnston, on the first Monday of April, 1838, the following persons were elected officers of said township,-viz. :
" Amos E. Steele, Supervisor, by a majority of seventeen votos ; Josephus Tuttle, Township Clerk, by a majority of sixteon votes; for Assessors, Peter Cranson received thirtoen votes ; Gabriel V. N. IIet- field and Josephus Tuttle received each fourteen votes; for Road Com- missioners, Gabriel V. N. Iletfield received fourteen votes, Jeduthan Frye received seven votes, John Darling nine, and Josephus Tuttle four; for School Inspectors, Amos E. Steele received ten votes ; Joso- phus Tuttle and Gabriel V. N. Hetfield received ten votes each ; Silas
. This is the orthography of the name as used by the doctor.
203
ONONDAGA.
Booth received for Collector fourteen votes; and for Constables, Silas Booth received thirteen votes, and Gilbert Rossman, Adna Hunt, and Frederick Abbey received cach thirteen votes, and Chauncey Day received eight votes; and for Justices of the Peace, Josephus Tuttle received fourteen votes, Amos E. Steele received fourteen votes, and Gabriel V. N. Hetfield received the like number of fourtcon votes, and for Directors of the Poor ;# Merritt Johnston was elected Path Master in road district number five; Amos E. Steele was elected Path Master in road district number six; Henry Allen was elected Path Master; and in road district number seven Gabriel V. N. Ilet- field was elected Path Master.#
"And on motion, it was voted that the Path Masters serve as Fence Viewers; and on motion, it was voted that any resident of this town taking and killing a wolf in said township be entitled to eight dollars as a bounty therefor.
"Orris Cranson was elected Township Treasurer.
" It was also voted that the next annual township-meeting of this township be held at the house of Peter Cranson, io said town.
" A true copy.
" DAVID LANE, -
" MERRITT JOHNSTON, Inspectors. " PETER CRANSON,
" AMOS E. STEELE, " JOSEPHUS TUTTLE.
Clerks."
At a special meeting held April 14, 1838, Peter Cranson was elected road commissioner. Sept. 25, 1838, one wolf bounty was allowed to Orange Phelps and two to Adna Hunt. The following is a list of the principal officers of the township, beginning with 1839:
SUPERVISORS.
1839, Josephus Tuttle; 1840, Martin R. Sibley; 1841-48, Joseph Gale ; 1849-50, Moseley A. Baldwin; 1851, Joseph Gale; 1852, Warren B. Buckland; 1853-55, Joseph Gale ; 1856-59, Joseph S. Pierson ; 1860, John French ; 1861-62, Garrett Van Riper ; 1863-64, Joseph S. Pierson ; 1865-67, John Sherman ; 1868, Garrett Van Riper ; 1869, John Brown; 1870, Nelson Everett; 1871, Moseley A. Baldwin ; 1872, Nelson Everett; 1873, A. S. Noble; 1874, Milton Ryan ; 1875-77, Henry Crain ; 1878-79, Mark Cooklin.
TOWNSHIP CLERKS.
1839, John Phelps ; 1840, Warren B. Buckland; 1841-42, Josiah C. Preston ; 1843, Horace Garlick ; 1844, W. B. Buckland ; 1845-52, Perez Howland; 1853, Clinton D. Griffith ;+ 1854-55, Joseph S. Pierson ; 1856, George Phelps ; 1857, Hilon Osborn ; 1858, James E. Howland; 1859, William O. Callahan; 1860, G. IIutchings ; 1861, William Wilkinson; 1862, William Earll ; 1863, James E. Howland ; 1864, George H. Waggoner ;} 1865, Benjamin E. Saw - tell; 1866, William H. Plummer; 1867, William L. Cochran ; 1868, William Hutchings; 1869-70, William Ryan; 1871, Gar - rett Van Riper ; 1872, Frank Hoes ; 1873, P. P. Crain ; 1874, Al- bert Sanford; 1875, Frank Hoes; 1876, James P. Townsend ; 1877, Frank Hoes; 1878, Fred. D. Woodworth; 1879, Albert Sanford.
TREASURERS.
1839, Peter Cranson ; 1840, Moseley A. Baldwin ; 1841, Henry Fray ;} 1842-43, Lyman Elderkin ; 1844, M. A. Baldwin ; 1845-46, David W. Perrine ; 1847-54, Leonard Gilman; 1855, Henry Gibbs ; 1856, W. S. Wilkeson; 1857, Elisha Smith ; 1858, Peter I. Elting ; 1859, James Baker; 1860, Theodore Wisner; 1861, William Hutch- ings; 1862-63, John W. Jordan ; 1864, Garrett Van Riper ; 1865, Gabriel Trefry ; 1866-67, Garrett Van Riper; 1868-70, Abner S. Noble; 1871-72, Philip P. Crain ; 1873-75, George H. Waggoner ; 1876, James Stringham ; 1877-78, Luther L. Stone; 1879, George H. Waggoner.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
1839, Amos E. Stecle ; 1840, Josephus Tuttle; 1841, Warren B. Buck- land ; 1842, G. V. N. Hetfield, Hazen Rolfe; 1843, Cyrus Ilamp- ton, G. V. N. Hetfield, Ifazen Rolfe; 1844, Josephus Tuttle, Peter Earl; 1845, Warren B. Buckland; 1846, Franklin Elmer ; 1847, Gabriel V. N. Iletfield; 1848, Perez Howland; 1849, Nathan J. Stark ; 1850, Warren B. Buckland; 1851, Richard Ferris, Joseph Sibley ; 1852, John Matteson ; 1853, Nathan J. Stark ; 1854, Mer- rick H. Nichols; 1855, Ruel Perrine; 1856, M. Campbell; 1857, Isaac Tyler; 1858, Ephraim Potter, Hilon Osborn ; 1859, Ruel Perrine, Isaac Tyler, W. H. Town ; 1860, Perez Howland, Horace Haynes, | Warren B. Buckland; 186], Horace M. Buck, Benjamin Rossman, Marshall Campbell ; 1862, W. B. Buekland, D. C. Grif- fith, E. C. Ilaynes ; 1863, William Ryan; 1864, John Sherman ; 1865, De Witt C. Griffith ; 1866, Gideon Hutchings, W. B. Buek- land ; 1867, Aid Garfield, James Baker; 1868, John Brown, Rufus Swart, H. S. Willis; 1869, Rufus Swart, E. A. Parker; 1870, James Potter ; 187], Henry S. Willis ; 1872, Brutus Hill; 1873,T Edwin Miller, Thaddeus Slaght, Frank Morris; 1874, B. F. Morris ; 1875, H. S. Willis, Wm. Longyear, Wm. Ryan, Horace Buck ; 1876, Levi F. Slaght; 1877, Thomas M. Cranson; 1878, Wm. D. Longyear ; 1879, Richard S. Colby.
1880, Supervisor, Pomeroy Van Riper; Township Clerk, Albert San- ford ; Treasurer, George H. Waggoner ; Justice of the Peace, Levi F. Slaght; Superintendent of Schools, T. Murray Cranson ; School Inspector, David W. Lane; Commissioner of Highways, Wallace Rossman ; Drain Commissioner, John W. Jones ; Constables, Ward Leshier, L. B. Hatt, Edward Morrison, Seth Jones.
SCHOOLS.
Ang. 12, 1837, the township of Onondaga, then a part of Aurelius, was divided into two school districts, that por- tion east of Grand River being organized as No. 3, and that portion west of the river as No. 4, of Aurelius. A log school-house was built on the brook, near Jeduthan Frye's former residence, on section 29, probably in 1837, and a short summer term was taught by a lady whose name is now forgotten.
The report of the township school inspectors, for the year ending Sept. 1, 1879, contains the following items :
Number of districts in township (whole, 6, frac- tional, 2). 8
Number of children in township of school age .... 382
Number of children in attendance for year ... 297
Number of school-houses, all frame ... 8
Number of seatings in same. 475
Value of school property $3600
Number of teachers employed (males, 4, females, 12) 16
Wages paid same (males, $593; females, $856.50) Total expenditures for year.
$1449.50
2160.72
RELIGIOUS.
A Baptist Church was organized early in the north part of town, and for many years held its meetings at Aurelius Centre, in connection with a church of the same denomina- tion at that place, the same pastors preaching for both. Meetings have also been continued for several years at Kin- neyville by the Baptists, and in 1879 a frame church was built at that place. Rev. W. W. Smith, formerly of Au- relius, is the pastor, and holds services also in the Congre- gational church at Onondaga. A good Sunday-school is maintained, and the church has a respectable membership.
A Methodist Episcopal Church was built at Kinney-
# The record seems to be imperfect here.
+ Resigned, and Merrick Nichols appointed.
Į Removed from township, and B. E. Sawtell appointed.
¿ Wm. H. Fray elected at special meeting, May 1, 1841.
|| Mr. Haynes resigned in 1862, and Franklin Cole was elected to fill vacancy.
T At a special election in 1873, F. Hain and Rufus Swart wero elected.
294
HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ville about 1869. This church has also a good member- ship, and is presided over by Rev. S. Nelson, who preaches also to a small class at Onondaga, at which place the Meth- odists have, as yet, erected no church building. The church at Kinneyville has a flourishing Sunday-school.
Congregational Church, Onondaga .- A Methodist class was formed at this village quite early and sustained for a time, but was finally dissolved, and no regular Christian organization existed in the place afterwards until, on the 13th of May, 1866, a Sunday-school was organized through the exertions of Miss S. Cochrane and others. This had at one time an attendance of over seventy. Rev. J. R. Stevenson, of Eaton Rapids, preached occasionally a Onondaga, and on the 15th of October, 1866, the " First Congregational Church of Onondaga" was formed, with fourteen members. Mr. Stevenson was its pastor from Nov. 1, 1866, to Nov. 1, 1867, and Rev. - Shaw, from Feb. 1 to May 1, 1868. This organization became extinct, but on the 14th of October, 1877, another was perfected by Rev. W. B. Williams, of Charlotte, who had aided also in forming the previous one. The present frame church was dedicated on the 16th of the same month. Rev. J. R. Stevenson became the pastor in February, 1878, and re- mained two years. The present supply is Rev. W. W. Smith, of Winfield. The membership in September, 1880, was fourteen, and the Sunday-school has an average attend- ance of fifty-five to sixty, with Albert Sanford as superin- tendent.
VILLAGE OF ONONDAGA.
The original plat of the village of Onondaga was laid out by John Sherman and others, on a part of the northeast fractional quarter of section 29, July 13, 1870. Several buildings had been previously erected, but the place dates its permanent growth from that time. Grove Baldwin laid out an addition on the northeast part of the southeast. quarter of section 29, July 10, 1874, and other additions have been made which are not recorded.
A post-office was established at the place about 1844, with Perez Howland as postmaster, and the position was held by him a number of years. His successor was prob- ably Horace Colby, and those since have been John Sher- man and the present incumbent, T. N. Stringham.
The first store of any consequence in the place was es- tablished in 1867 by John Sherman, who then opened a general stock of goods.
The first part of the present " Onondaga Hotel" was built about 1847-48, by Perez Howland, for a grocery, and the post-office was also kept in it. Cyrus Baldwin subse- quently purchased and converted it into a hotel. In March, 1856, Henry S. Willis came to the place from the State of New York, and in -January, 1857, he purchased the hotel, built a large addition to it, and kept it four years. He is now in the grain and produce business at the village, and the present proprietor of the hotel is E. Flannigan.
The Sherman House was built by John Sherman, about 1856, and has since been owned, though not always kept, by bim.
ORDERS.
Onondaga Lodge, No. 197, F. and A. M., was first or- ganized as Winfield Lodge (same number), and was located
at Winfield or "Kinneyville." It was organized April 28, 1866, and worked under dispensation until Jan. 10, IS67, when a charter was granted, with Gideon H. Huteh- ings, W. M. ; Garret Van Riper, S. W .; and John W. Jones, J. W. The members had previously been con- nected with the lodge at Eaton Rapids, except one or two who came from New York The lodge held its first meet- ing at Onondaga, Jan. 19, 1867. The name was changed, Jan. 27, 1877, by consent of the Grand Lodge. The membership, Sept. 15, 1880, was thirty-seven, and the offi- cers were lliram Godfrey, Worshipful Master ; Rinaldo Fuller, Senior Warden ; Daniel P. Wilcox, Junior War- den ; Treas., H. B. Elliott ; Sec., IIenry S. Willis ; Senior Deacon, William Conklin ; Junior Deacon, A. D. Loomis ; Tiler, Charles Dwight.
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