History of Jackson County, Michigan, Part 103

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago [Ill.] : Inter-state Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1166

USA > Michigan > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Michigan > Part 103

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Rev. Wm. H. Smith was born in the town of Islip, Suffolk Co., N. Y., on Long Island, 60 miles east of New York city. He was the son of Israel and Julia Smith, nee Terrill. He came to Michigan with his father May 10, 1835, and located on the farm he now owns, consisting of 168 acres. He was reared on a farm, and educated in the schools of this county. He was married in 1843 to Lydia Tooker, who was born in the city of New York, in 1825. By this marriage they had 1 child, and in 1844 he lost his wife, and was again married in 1849, to Maria Meeks; who was born in Western New York in 1827, and they had a family of 8 children, 4 of whom are still living, viz .: Gilbert H., Charles C., Frank C. and Cora E. The + deceased are Jesse P., Elizabeth, Maria and Lydia. In January, 1866, he lost his mother, in her 76th year. His father died in his 94th year. In 1853 he took up the ministry as local preacher for the M. E. Church, and for 30

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NAPOLEON TOWNSHIP.

years he has continued to labor in the cause of Christ. He is now the owner of the farm his father first bought when he came to the county, and on it resides. He now owns 167 acres of land, which he has under good cultivation, and well improved; is a member of the A. F. & A. M. at Napoleon, and is identified with the Repub- lican party.

Eli A. Stephenson, farmer, sec. 4, was born in the town of Middlesex, Yates Co., N. Y., Feb. 25, 1832, and was the son of John and Sarah Stephenson. His father was a native of England, and came to America in 1827, and was married Aug. 23, 1829; his mother was born in Kingston, Rhode Island, June 30, 1810 ; they continued to farm in New York State until 1835. He came to Jackson county, Mich., where he entered Government land and began farming, which he continued up to his death, Oct. 25, 1879. His mother still resides on the old homestead with her son. The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of this county; and remained on the farm with his father until he was 21 years of age. He then learned the carpenter and joiner's trade with Harmon Russell, with whom he worked for 15 years. He then bought a farm of 20 acres, and has continued to add to it until he now has 310 acres, which he has well improved with good buildings, and worth $60 per acre. He was married in 1859 to Henrietta Covert, who was born in 1837, the daughter of Ralph and Margaret Covert, nee Monday. They have 5 children, viz. : Thomas Barron, Margaret, Elmer E., Ralph C. and Leroy V. They are members of the M. E. Church at Napoleon, and politically he is a Democrat.

John Stephenson (deceased) was born in England, near Lan- caster, Aug. 23, 1800, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Stephenson. In 1827 they emigrated to America and located in New York Aug. 23, 1829. He was married to Sally Perriman, who was born in Kingston, R. I., June 30, 1810. After their marriage they con- tinued to farm in New York until 1835, when they came to this county, where they located on a farm which he entered of the Government in Napoleon tp., on sec. 27, consisting of 120 acres. He continued to farm until his death, Oct. 25, 1979, in his 80th year. Their family consisted of 7 children, of whom + are now living, viz .: Eli A., Sally, now Mrs. C. H. Russell; John, and James C. The 3 deceased are-Thomas, Louisa and Martha C. Mrs. Stephenson remains on the homestead with her son, James C., in her 71st year. He was born Nov. 8, 1839, and married Sarah R. Reynolds, who was born in Franklin tp., Lenawee county Mich., Aug. 20, 1843; their family consists of 2 children- Cecelia A., born March 11, 1869, and Maud, born Feb. 21, 1881. He now owns 120 acres of land, which was the homestead of his father, and worth $60 per acre. Mr. S. is a Republican.

Christopher Waterstreet, farmer, sec. 30, was born in Prussia, Nov. 27, 1825, son of Christopher M. and Anna M. (Sweeden) Waterstreet, natives of Prussia, where his father died. His mother, who emigrated to America in 1853, and located in New

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

York on a farm, died in October, 1864. The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of Prussia, and worked on a farm; came to America in 1853, and in 1856 he was married to Elizabeth Knapp, who was born in Glenville, Schenectady Co., N. Y., Sept. 3, 1815. After their mar- riage they continued to farm in New York. In 1866 they came to this county, and engaged again in farming, buying 100 acres, on which they now reside. They are members of the R. F. G. Church. Politically Mr. W. is a Democrat. Mrs. W. has now in her possession a few old relics which have been in the family over 150 years :- patter plate, old-fashioned warming-pan (which is a curiosity to see), a pair of candlesticks and snuffers that her mother had when she first kept house in 1805, an old dictionary. which bears the date of 1800, and a Bible that has the date of 1813.

D. J. Winchell, livery-keeper, was born in this tp. Dec. 18, 1839, a son of Aaron and Lonisa Winchell, nee Griffin. His father's occupation was that of a farmer. He was a native of Vermont and came to this county in 1833, where he followed farming until his death in 1863. His mother still lives on the old homestead, and is nearly 70 years old. He was raised on a farm and received his principal education in the common schools, with the exception of one year, in which he attended the Leoni college. In 1862 he was married to Almira H. Lewis, who was born in New York in 1844. They have had 3 children-Reed G., Cora. C. and Fay. He owns 160 acres of land in Napoleon tp., worth $50 per acre, besides the property in the town of Napoleon, in which he lives. He now is engaged in the livery, feed and sale business, in which he aims to supply the demand of all in that line. Mrs. W. is a member of the Baptist Church at Napoleon.

NORVELL TOWNSHIP.

Harvey Austin was among the first settlers of this township. He has lived on the same spot ever since he first came into the county, and yet, by the changes that have been made in the five township boundaries, he has lived in five townships. When he first became a resident of the county, the whole territory was known as Jacksonburgh. The county was then divided into three towns- - Grass Lake, Jacksonburgh and Spring Arbor, and Mr. Austin be- eame a resident of Grass Lake. Again, in 1836-'7, a new division was made, the four towns, as they are now, being set off into one ealled Napoleon. Still later, a new division was made, and Napo- leon had distinet limits assigned to it in 1859, and the township of Brooklyn was formed, comprising the territory in the southeastern part of the county. Thus it eontinned np to 1873, when a new deed was made, and a part of the territory of Brooklyn given to Columbia township, a part to Napoleon, and the rest, comprising 32 sections 4 by 8, was constituted into the township of Norvell.

The Jackson branch of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad runs through the township. The D., H. & I. R. R. interseets the south part of the town. Watkin's Station on this railroad is located half-way between Manchester and Brooklyn. Its present population is about 800. The pleasant little village of Norvell has a hotel, churches, school-house, flouring-mill, railroad, and affords a good market for the surrounding country.

The first settler in this part of Jackson county was William Hunt, who located and settled in this township in March, 1832. In the following June his son-in-law, Mr. Bickford, eame with his wife; a daughter was added to the family shortly after, and was the first child born in the township. The name given to this child is worthy of mention, it being Dona Maria Cassender Rider Biekford.

The first supervisor of Napoleon township proper was A. J. Palmer. Norvell village is neat and prosperous. It possesses a hotel, churches, schools, stores, a railroad depot, the extensive mills operated by William Reynolds, with all the other surround- ings of civilization.

PERSONAL SKETCHES.

Short biographies of prominent citizens most appropriately make up the rest of the history of this township.

Thomas Ashley, farmer, sees. 10 and 11; P. O., Norvell; was born in Otsego county, New York, Jan 13, 1808. He was taken by his parents to Ontario county when he was three years of age

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

and there grew up surrounded by the influences of pioneer life. In 1833 he was married to Elizabeth Darling, and the same year they removed to Yates county, where they lived several years, then returned to Ontario county. In 1855 he removed to Michi- gan, settling near Ypsilanti, where he lived several years on rented farms. In the spring of 1861, he came to this place and bought a large farm on secs. 10 and 11, where he has since lived. His family consists of 4 children-Enoch Lewis, William, Charles and Rachel Tuttle. Mrs. Ashley died in December, 1876, and is buried in the cemetery at Norvell.

Aaron K. Austin was born in Onondaga county, N. Y., Ang. ₺> 1807; his parents were Aaron and Polly Austin of the same county. His father died in this county while on a visit to his son in 1>43, and is buried in the Norvell cemetery. His mother died in her native county some years ago. Of his father's family of 10 child- ren, Aaron R. is the last; he grew to manhood under the paternal roof, receiving his education in his native village of Skaneateles, and a few weeks after he had attained his majority, he wended his way to Michigan, reaching Ann Arbor in September, 1828. He remained here till Jan. 22, 1829, when he returned to his home in New York. In the spring of 1832 he again came to Michigan, settling in the town of Jacksonburgh, Jackson county in July, the same year. In March, 1833, he bought the farm he now owns on sec. 4. It was in a wild state and Mr Austin at once began to improve it. He has since added 160 acres to his first purchase and has now one of the finest farms in the town. He was married March 12, 1834, to Miss Pauline C. Swain, daughter of Calvin H. Swain, formerly of Brooklyn; she was born in Washington county, N. Y; their 2 children are Mary L. and Elizabeth. Mrs. Austin died Oct. 13, 1837, and the next year Mr. Austin was married to Fannie M. Nelson, born in Hartford, Washington Co., N. Y., and came to Jackson county in October, 1836; their children are-Annie E., Aaron M., Nannie D., Addison J., and Frank. Mr. Anstin has always been engaged in farmning, and although he has resided on the same farm since coming to this county, he has been a resident of five different towns : Jackson- burgh, Grass Lake, Napoleon, Brooklyn and Norvell.

Daniel B. Ayers is a son of Jacob D. and Mary A. Ayers. The former was born in Essex county, N. J., Feb. 7, 1798, and the lat- ter in the city of Newark, August, 1795. The family had been living in New Jersey for a number of generations, and they trace their history back to three brothers that came to America from Eng- land many years before the Revolution. One of them settled on Long Island, one in Massachusetts, and the third in New Jersey, of whom the subject of this sketch is one of the descendants. At the present time the Ayers family are quite numerous in the United States. His parents were married in Essex county, N. J., and continued to reside there until they came to Michigan, in 1836. In the winter of that year Mr. A. made a visit to Michigan and

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NORVELL TOWNSHIP.

located several hundred acres of land where his farm now is, in the south part of this tp., and in the following summer came with his family, making a permanent home. They spent the first summer in a little shanty on the road a mile or two north of their present farm, and in the fall moved into a log hut where the house now stands. They had a family of 4 children-Mary J., who married James Allen, of Ann Arbor, and died some years ago; Frances, who married her elder sister's husband, Mr. Allen; Abbie D., now in Arkansas engaged in teaching; and Daniel B., who still lives on the old farm and is unmarried. Mr. Ayers died on his farm May 5, 1871; his widow is still living on the place. They were truly among the pioneers of this county, coming here when it was a wild and desolate country, inhabited only by the wild men and animals of the forest. They had but little money left when they came, but by diligence and frugality amassed considerable wealth. Daniel B. now has the old farm, which consists of 400 or 500 acres of good farming land.

Elijah Aylesworth was born in Otsego county, N. Y., Dec. 31, 1824. His father, Henry Aylesworth, was a native of Massachusetts and came to Otsego county when a young man. Elijah was taken by his parents, while an infant, to Columbia county, where his time was spent until he reached the age of eight years, when the family removed to Ontario county, Jan. 4, 1847. He married Sarah Yeager, who lived bnt a short time, dying in 1848. About this time they went to Orleans county, and in 1850 removed to Lake county, Ill. In 1851 he was married to Fanny Davis, of Lake county, and they have 1 child. In 1865 he removed to the farm on which he now lives in Norvell tp .; he has a good, well-im- proved farm and a pleasant home. They are both worthy members of the Free-Will Baptist Church.

W. F. Babcock was born in Seneca county, N. Y., November, 1832, son of Solomon and Emeline Babcock, the former a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., and the latter of Addison county, same State, where they were raised and resided until Mr. B. was 17 years of age. They were married in Seneca county, in January, 1829; came to Michigan in September, 1836; located in Bridgewater, tp., Washtenaw county, where they lived till the spring of 1866. There were 5 children, of whom 2 are living-Lucy and William R. Mr. Babcock died October, 1864, near Clinton, and Mrs. Babcock is now residing with her son William, who was raised in Wash- tenaw county, where he was married to Calperna, daughter of Russel and Phebe Randall, in August, 1855, who was born in that county in 1835. They have had 3 children, all of whom died in infancy. In July, 1856, Mr. Babcock went to Shiawassee county, where he resided three years, then came to his present residence in Norvell.

Charles A. Brown was born in Monroe county, N. Y., in May, 1834. His parents, Asa B. and Oretta L. (Griffin) Brown, were natives of New York. They had but 2 children-George W.,

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

now of Ann Arbor, and Charles A. When the latter was about four years of age the family came to Genesee county, and in Sep- tember, 1846, came to Michigan, settling on the farm where he now lives, in this tp. Charles' grandfather, Jonathan Brown, had entered the land, but died on the farm with the cholera in 1834. His father moved his family on the farm in 1846, and died here May 22, 1873, in his 73d year; his mother is still living, a hale and hearty old lady, in her 76th year; she has been a member of the Baptist Church many years. Mr. Brown was married in March, 1862, to Mary E. Annas, daughter of Mason Annas, of Genesee county; she was born in Madison county, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1840. Her family came to Michigan, settling in Flint, in 1840. Mr. and Mrs. B. have 7 children: Arthur, Floyd, Edna, Meade, Ethel May, Eldon and Ralph. Mr. B. has been Supervisor of his town for several years. His occupation is farming; has been engaged on the farm on which he now lives since a boy of 12 years. Both he and his wife are worthy members of the Baptist Church in this place. P. O .. Norvell.

Wilson Chaffee, son of Benjamin and Rebecca Chaffee, was born in the town of Marcellus, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Feb. 12, 1802. He lived here until 1828, when he removed to Oswego county, and in May, 1837, came with his family to this county, settling in the town of Norvell. He was married in his native town to Eliza Converse, of the same county, who was born March 18. 1806; they had 4 children, of whom 3 are living-Mary J., Elsa M. and Ellen. Elsa married Thomas Rhead and lives in Norvell; Ellen married Mr. Harris, and lives in Tompkins tp., Jackson county; Mary J. married John J. Blanchard, who was born in Oneida county, N. Y., Jan. 27, 1811, where he grew to maturity and mar- ried, in Geneseo, Sarah A. Young; they had 4 children, viz .: Susan C., now Mrs. M. Hunt; Jennie, now Mrs. T. B. Holladay; John H., who was killed in the Union army, June 25, 1864, being shot while putting up the breast works at Petersburg, Va .; and Sarah, now Mrs. R. Bellen. His wife dying, Mr. B. married Miss May J. Chaffee, March 24, 1846; they had 1 child, Eda, who married Don Palmer, and now lives in Norvell. Mr. Blanchard died April 27, 1869, and Mrs. B. lives in Norvell with her parents. The family are members of the Universalist Church.

Joseph Cobb, son of Septimus and Caroline (Brooks) Cobb, was born in Ontario county, N. Y., in March, 1831. The family came to Michigan in 1832, settling in Lenawee county, near Clinton. Mr. Cobb lived here until the spring of 1850, when he removed to Wisconsin, and in the spring of 1852, he came to this county, settling near the village of Norvell. He was married here in Sep- tember, 1854, to Miss Martha H. Quigley, daughter of Isaac and Hannah Quigley, formerly of Brooklyn, who were among the first settlers in Jackson county. Mr. and Mrs. Cobb have 3 chil- dren-Effie, who married Frank Austin, and died Jan. 12, 1881; Willie S., now attending the law school at Ann Arbor; and Joseph

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NORVELL TOWNSHIP.

H. Mr. Cobb has a good farm of several hundred acres; is en- gaged in farming quite extensively.

Edmund Dorr was born on the banks of the Connecticut in Southern New Hampshire, June 20, 1815. At the age of nine years he was taken by his parents to Orleans county, Vt., where he lived till he attained the age of 21, when he came to Michi- gan in November, 1835, stopping in the town of Manchester in Washtenaw county. His father and the rest of the family had preceded him a year, they coming in 1834. In March, 1843, he married Miranda Dorr, widow of his brother Ebenezer, whose parents, Levi B. and Sally (Wall) Pratt, came to Michigan when she was quite a small girl, and settled on the Lodi Plains of Washtenaw county. Miranda was born in Niagara county, N. Y., April 1, 1813. She says she can remember living in Michigan when there were no neighbors nearer than 10 miles. By her first marriage she had 2 children-Jane and Laura; the children of her last marriage are Clara and Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Dorr came to their present farm in 1844; have a good farm of 180 acres; P. O., Norvell.

Edward Fay was born in Onondaga county, N. Y., Jan. 28, 1815. His father, James Fay, was a native of Massachusetts. His family moved to Livingston county of the same State while he was quite young, where he lived until the spring of 1836, when he and his brother Spafford took three yoke of oxen and started for Michigan. The road was long, and at that time of the year, almost impassable; swamps and rivers had to be waded and forded, often when they were swollen by the heavy rains of the spring. They arrived in this county about the 1st of April, 1836, after being four weeks on their journey. They worked during the summer, and in the fall sowed 20 acres of wheat on the farm on which Mr. Fay now lives, and then returned to New York. The following spring he returned, accompanied by his sister Mary, now Mrs. Octavius Skie, of Greenville, who kept honse for him some time.

He was married Oct. 27, 1847, to Adelpha Balch, of this town, daughter of John Balch, formerly of this county, but now of Onondaga county, N. Y .; she was born in that county in 1819, and came to Michigan in 1846. Their family consists of 2 chil- dren-George and Charley; both are well educated, George having attended college at Ann Arbor, and also the Cornell. Uni- versity in New York. and was admitted to the Bar in 1874 at Jackson; Charley E. received his diploma from the Detroit Medi- cal College in 1877, and is now practicing medicine. Mr. Fay has always been engaged in farming. When he first came to the county he took up 160 acres of wild land, which he has since improved and added to until he now has a fine farm of several hundred acres. In their religious views they hold to the Universal- ist faith, but in this, as in other things, he entertains a broad and liberal opinion.

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

James Fay was born in Livingston county, N. Y., May 21, 1828. His father, James Fay, died while he was young, and in 1837 he accompanied his mother to Michigan, settling in Jackson county, where he has since lived. New Year's Day, 1857, he married Miss Caroline Webster, daughter of Benjamin F. and Lucy Webster, of this town, who was born in Chantauqua county, N. Y., in May, 1832, and at the age of five years accompanied her parents to Jackson county, where she has continued to live in the same neighborhood where her parents settled when she was a small girl. Their family consists of 2 children-Mira and Frank. Mr. Fay has a fine farm and a pleasant home.

Erastus Furgarson was born in Cambridge, Lenawee Co. Mich., May 11, 1840. His parents, Willard and Lydia Furgarson, were natives of Vermont; they came to New York when young, and after stopping in that State for some years, came to Michigan, settling in Lenawee county in 1834. Mr. F. lived here until 12 years of age, when the family removed to Grand River, in Ottawa connty ; remained there some years, then returned to the old place where he lived till the fall of 1862; enlisted in the 3d Mich. Cav., where he served until the close of the war, and then returned to his home in Lenawee county. In March, 1864, while home on a fur- lough, he married Frances Schuart, born in Clinton in 1844, and died in January, 1874, leaving 3 children -- Freddie, Charley and Phebe. In January, 1876, Mr. Furgarson married Estella Hopper, widow of Milo H. Hopper, who had 1 child by her former marriage -- Henry L .; she was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in April, 1844; her parents, Harry and Augusta Ladd, were formerly of Brooklyn, Mich., and when she was an infant they returned to that place, where her mother died soon after. Mr. Furgarson caine to his farm in Norvell, in the spring of 1867; has a good farm of 140 acres; is a mason and farmer. P. O., Brooklyn.

James Graham was born in Sehoharie county, N. Y., Oct. 1, 1803. When three years old he was taken by his parents to Che- nango county, where he lived till he had reached the age of 21 years, following the vocation common to most farmers' boys. The year after he had obtained his majority he sailed on Lake Ontario, after which he went to the village of Waterville, N. Y., where the next six years of his life were passed, working on a farmn. In the fall of 1831 he came to Michigan; stopped a few days in Ann Arbor, thence to Sandusky, O., via Detroit, and to the town of Greenville in Huron county, where he was engaged in chopping till May, 1832, when he came to this county, staying the first night with William Hunt; the next day reached the village of Napoleon; stayed over Sunday with D. Goodrich, whose house was the only one in the village at that time. Monday morning he started on foot for Marshall, but taking the wrong trail he reached Co-Cush Prairie, 25 miles sonth of Marshall, on Tuesday morning about nine o'clock. During this trip he walked 40 miles, dined upon two crackers, and at night rested his body beneath the clear sky npon the bare ground.

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NORVELL TOWNSHIP.

He reached Marshall Wednesday afternoon, where he stopped a few weeks with George and Sidney Cathem; followed the Indian trail back to Jackson, and where the town of Norvell stands he picked out the 80-acre lot on which he now lives; then taking the trail for Detroit he entered his land and returned to his old home at Water- ville. Here, in Angust, 1832, he was married to Miss Vanlara Tyler, of the same village, where they lived a few years, and in June, 1835, Mr. G., accompanied by his wife and sister Mary (now Mrs. E. Tracy), again returned to Michigan, settling on the land which he had taken in 1832. During the summer he planted some crops and erected a log house which served him for many years. He has improved his farm until he has as fine a farm as any in the county. In 1838 Mrs. Graham died, leaving 1 son-William H. In April, 1840, Mr. Graham married Panlina Allen, who was born in Columbia county, N. Y., April 3, 1811; at the age of 13 she went to Otsego county, and after a few years to Oswego county. In 1835 she came to Medina county, Ohio, where she lived till 1840, then came to Michigan. Of their 7 children 5 are living-Clarona, Camelia, Josephine, Emma and Adell. Crowell J. and Mahalen D. died while young. Both Mr. and Mrs. Graham have long been worthy members of the Church, the former of the M. E. Church, and the latter of the Baptist.

T. B. Halladuy was born in Ontario county, N. Y., October, 1834. His parents were James and Parmelia (Biglow) Halladay, natives of the same county. In the fall of 1858 he came to this county, and until the spring of 1860 remained in the town of Norvell, most of his time being spent in teaching school. He then returned to his home in the State of New York, and in the spring of 1861 returned and bought the farm on which he now resides. In October, 1861, he married Miss Jennie Blanchard, who was born in this county, July 7. 1841; they have but 1 child, Cora. Mr. Halladay has held numerous town offices during his residence here, and is known and respected by all. Although a poor young man when he first come to this county, by industry and frugality he has made for himself and family a good home; he has a fine farm of several hundred acres, with good buildings. P. O., Norvell.

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History of Jackson County, Michigan, Part 103

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago [Ill.] : Inter-state Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1166

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago [Ill.] : Inter-state Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1166