USA > Michigan > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Michigan > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121
Robert Graham, born in 1810; died Nov. 26, 1875.
Owen Griffith, born in 1801; died Dec. 21, 1875, in Jackson. where he was an old resident.
Stephen H. Sears, born in 1810; died Nov. 26, 1875. Leaving the State of his nativity (Connecticut) in 1831, he settled at Spring Arbor in 1832, and removed to Jackson in 1868.
155
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Marcus Spencer settled at Jackson in 1836. He died in 1876. aged 68 years.
David Williams died June 14, 1876, having reached the age of 76 years. Born in 1800, he came to this county in 1837 with his family, and settled at Waterloo.
John A. Słoat, born at Walden, Orange Co., N. Y., April 2, 1803; moved to Washtenaw county in 1831, where he resided un- til 1840, when he settled at Liberty, and subsequently at Napoleon. He died Feb. 25, 1876.
Isaae Kibbee died at Summitville in 1876, aged 82 years. He came West in 1826, and settled in Jackson county abont 1839.
Abram Sanford settled in this county in January, 1837. Born in 1796, he died in 1876, at the age of 80 years.
Mrs. Charlotte Gibson, one of the earliest pioneers of Jackson county, died in 1876, at the age of 84 years.
Mrs. Miriam R. Stephenson, who settled in the county 46 years ago, died in March, 1876, aged 52 years.
Mrs. Anna Dewey, born in 1786, at Granby, Conn. ; moved with her husband and family to Napoleon, Jackson Co., in 1835, and after 40 years' permanent residence, died March 2.
Mrs. Mariette Gibson, mother of Dr. W. A. Gibson, died May 24, aged 53 years, having been a resident of Jackson since 1836.
Mrs. Charity Field, whose date of settlement in this county dates back to 1833, died July 4, 1877.
Edgar E. Knickerbocker died March 25, 1877, aged 35 years.
David Dyer Sandstone died Oct. 14, 1878, having reached the age of 77 years.
Julia Nicolls Sandstone died Dec. 25, 1878, aged 76.
George Martin Sandstone died Ang. 24, 1878, aged 88.
Joseph Swift, at Grass Lake, died Feb. 12, 1878, aged 83 years. Almerin B. Tinker, at 65 years of age, died April 18, 1879.
Nathan Crawford died Feb. 25. 1878. He was born in Decem- ber, 1799.
Mrs. Mary B. Anthony, daughter of Dr. Ira C. Baker, died March 19, 1878.
W. W. Langdon, born in 1809; died Sept. 16, 1878. Mr. Lang- don resided in the city 44 years, and in Napoleon for one year.
George Ferguson died May 14, 1878, aged 69 years.
Mrs. Naney Knight died in 1878, at the age of 74 years. She was the wife of one of the pastors of the early Churches, and ar- rived with him in the county during the year 1835.
Sidney T. Smith died April 25, 1878, aged 78 years. In 1840 he came, with his family, from Sherburne, N. Y .. to Michigan and settled at Grass Lake.
Sydney B. Charles died Aug. 30, 1878, at Columbia, aged 91 years.
Daniel MeLaughlin died Nov. 23, 1878, aged 85.
Ann Tyler died Aug. 4, 1878. Being born in 1790, she reached her 88th year.
156
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Mary MeIntyre, having attained her 82d year, died April 30, 1878.
Esther Parish died Dec. 23, 1878, aged 73 years.
John J. Markley died at Grass Lake Sept. 14, 1878, in the 75th year of his age.
Rebecca Hasbrook, an old resident of Columbia, died April 30, 1878, aged 70 years.
William Selkworth died Oct. 29, 1878, at Columbia, aged 85 years.
Mrs. Esther Giles, of Tompkins, died Jan. 26, 1878, at the age of 84 years.
Mrs. Harriet Fellows, of Blackman, died June 6, 1879, aged 86 years.
Mrs. Sophronia Boughton died July 18, 1878, at Jackson, in her 76th year.
John S. Updike, who was a member of the Pioneer Society, died May 23, 1878, at Leoni, aged 76 years.
Albert Ilowe died at Jackson in 1878, at the age of 79 years.
Mrs. Mary A. Howe died November, 1878, in her 69th year.
Joseph Brink died at Leoni Dec. 8, 1878, aged 80 years.
John Preston, of Leoni, died Aug. 25, 1878, aged 79 years.
Clarissa Landon, of Springport, died Aug. 9, 1878, aged 78 years.
George R. F. Hewes died at Springport Inne 10, 1878, at the age of 88.
Anna Horton died June 28, 1878, 82 years of age.
Ann Fairbanks died at Springport Aug. 27, 1878, aged 79 years.
Daniel Meeks died at Napoleon Jan. 16, 1878. He was born in N. Y. Statein 1801; came to Michigan in 1835, and settling at Na- poleon, made it his home during the 43 years which elapsed from his settlement to his decease.
Reuben (). Hollister, of Columbia, died Ang. 29, 1878, in his 67th year. Born at Batavia, N. Y., in 1811, he came to Jackson county in 1835. For 43 years he was a resident of the county.
Mrs. Joseph Hawley died March 24, 1878. In 1843 she came to Waterloo, and made it her home until her decease.
Levi Fifield died at Jackson June 8, 1878, in his 71st year.
Jacob Kaywood settled at Leoni in 1835, and after a period of 43 years' good citizenship, died in his 86th year, Dec. 16, 1878.
Samnel Il. Burt died July 5, 1878, aged 71 years. Leaving Massachusetts in 1833. he traveled west, and choosing Jackson as his future home took an active part in raising it to its present eminence among the cities of the State.
Simon Holland came to Jackson in 1837, at the age of 35 years, and died in 1878, in his 76th year. He was born in Monroe county, N. Y., in 1802; lived in JJackson county for 41 years, of which 22 were passed in JJackson city.
Dr. Dwight B. Nims died April 14, 1879. He was born at Berkshire, Mass .. in 1807. Coming to Jackson in 1865, he at once entered into the practice of his profession, and soon won many
157
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY,
friends among his confreres and the people. Resolutions of con- dolence were passed at a meeting of the medical faculty of the city the evening of his death, and copies transmitted to the family of deceased. These resolutions were signed by Drs. G. Chittock, J. T. Main and E. Price.
H. S. Price died Feb. 25, 1879, at Jackson, aged 74 years.
Wm. C. Hirsha died Feb. 24, 1879, at Ann Arbor, aged 79 years.
Judge David Adams died at Tompkins Feb. 27, 1879, aged 80 years.
Mrs. Betsy Diekinson died April 1, 1879, having reached the age of 84 years.
Mrs. Mary G. De Land, widow of Judge W. R. De Land, the third white woman who came into Jackson county, and the oldest resident, with the exception of John T. Durand, died Nov. 30, 1878, at Jackson, in the 77th year of her age. Mrs. De Land came to Jackson county in May, 1830, with her husband and two children, C. V. De Land and Mrs. B. W. Rockwell. James S. De Land, her son, was the first male white child born in the county.
Peter La Rue died at the advanced age of 71 years, on June 22, 1878. In 1843 he settled at Blackman. The deceased, like the majority of the colonists, claimed New York as the State of his nativity.
Ilon. Dorman Felt received a wound from a pistol ball, and within a few days expired. He was born in New Hampshire, but passed the greater portion of his youth in Oswego county, N. Y., moving to Grass Lake in 1847. During his long life, extending over 66 years, he was honored by the people.
Wm. Maybury came to the county in 1839, and died in 1879, at the age of 55 years. Ile was the first drayman in the city, and so clear were his little dealings that his patrons, as well as the cos- termongers, termed him "Poor Honest Billy." His economy and industry combined, left him worth $100,000 some years prior to his deecase.
Isaac De Lamater died Feb. 8, 1878, at the advanced age of 87 years. He was born at Oblong, N. Y., in 1791. During the first few years of the present century he resided in Onondaga county, N. Y., immediately after its organization, and remained . there until 1833, when he came to Manchester, Washtenaw Co. Moving in 1835 to Columbia, he made that township his home. At his death a family of 50, including seven sons, twenty-two grand children, and twenty-one great-grand children were left to mourn his loss.
Bela Turner, who died March 30, 1879, at the age of 91 years, moved from Hartford, Conn., to Jackson in 1846. He was the senior member of the First Congregational Church.
Judge Samuel Higby, whose death caused such profound sor- row throughont Jackson, was born at New Hartford, Oneida Co., N. Y., in 1813. He studied law at Utica, and was there admitted
158
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
to the Bar. In 1838 Judge Higby came to Jackson, and, en- tering into a law partnership with Judge David Johnson, began a brilliant career. Subsequently he and Phineas Farrand became partners; again he became interested in Judge Johnson's office. and for the three years preceding his death was a member of the law firm of Higby & Gibson. In 1843 he was elected the first Recorder of the newly incorporated village of Jackson. In 1844 he was elected Probate Judge: in 1850 he was chosen Prosecuting Attorney, and in 1856 was elected President of the village of Jack- son, being the last person holding that office, as the town of Jack- son was soon incorporated a city. In 1869 Judge Higby was elected Judge of this circuit, and resigned in 1873.
Mrs. Mary Cockburn died June 22, 1879, at the age of 84 years and 6 months. She was born at Buffalo, N. Y., in March, 1795; settled at Jackson in 1838, with her family, and adopted the little village of those early days as her home.
Mrs. Shaver, whose death occurred June 25, 1879, came to the county from Columbia, N. Y., in 1835, and resided in Jackson 44 years. HTer Imsband, Andrew Shaver, died in 1847, 12 years after his settlement.
Mrs. Maria Van Horn, of Blackman, died Aug. 5, 1879, at the age of 70 years. She was the relict of Christopher Van Horn. whose early settlement has been hitherto noticed.
Mrs. Hannah Cradit died at the age of 83 years, having been a resident of Leoni for 40 years.
Mrs. Cornelius Soper died June 30, 1879. She reached an ad- vanced age, and was an old settler of Grass Lake township.
Mrs. Mary MeCan died at St. Louis, Gratiot Co., aged 75 years. She was formerly a resident of the city of Jackson.
Abram Skidmore, an old settler of Waterloo township, died Jan. 26, 1879, at the age of 70 years.
Mrs. Amelia E. Gale died June 12, 1879, in her 78th year.
Harmon Taylor, aged 74 years and 6 months, died June 20, 1879.
Dr. JJohn MeLean died March 10, 1879, after a residence of 40 years in daekson. He was born at Caledonia, N. Y., in 1814, was a member of the faculty of Rush Medical College, Chicago, and for many years a leading physician of Jackson.
Stephen Siegfried, of Waterloo, died in 1879, at the age of 63 years, having been a resident of the township since 1854.
Mrs. Sarah M. Perry, born at Lockport, N. Y., in 1817, and an old settler of this county, died July 15, 1879. Mrs. Perry arrived here in 1837, and was one of the original members of the First Congregational Church.
Mrs. Warren N. Buek died Sept. 12, 1877.
Hon. Warren N. Buck, whose death was recorded July 6, 1879, was born at Bolton, Warren Co., N. Y., May 8, 1814, and re- moving to Jackson in 1838. entered on a course which brought him honors and wealth. The deceased was Mayor of the city in 1867-'8, so that in the funeral train ex-Mayors Hayden, Bennett,
159
IHISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Hibbard, Root, Loomis and Wood were pall-bearers, and ex- Mayors Jackson and Higby among the mourners.
Abraham Bunker, an old settler of Henrietta township, died in 1879. Mr. Bunker was the pioneer of Bunker Hill, Ingham Co., and erected the first building at that village. In those early years the Indians were numerous in the district, and Louis Baptiste, or Bateese, a French half-breed, kept the Indian trading-post on the shore of Bateese lake.
Samuel Anderson died Oct. 28, 1879, in Napoleon, aged 83 years, 5 months and 24 days. He was a resident of the county for many years.
G. D. Smith, of Blackman, died in October, 1879, at the age of 81 years.
Mrs. Mary Sullivan died Dec. 26, 1879, in her 64th year. She. with her husband, Jeremiah Sullivan, were old residents of the city.
Mrs. Martha Harris, of Tompkins, died Aug. 21, 1879, having attained the age of 86 years. She, with her husband, William Harris, came from Kent, England, in 1849, and settled in Jackson county.
D. A. Clelland, born in Hanover township in 1836, died in 1879. His father, J. D. Clelland, one of the first settlers in the township, is over 80 years old.
Maria S. Lee died Sept. 20, 1879, 56 years of age.
Mrs. Jane Humphrey died July 22, 1879. She settled at Wheatland, Hillsdale Co., 40 years ago, with her husband, John HIumphrey, who died in 1871.
Elihu Cooley was born at Elyria, Ohio, in June, 1826, and died July 22, 1879, in his 54th year. He was one of those enterpris ing men who built up the trade of this city.
Edwin Fifield, of Michigan Center, died August, 1879, at the age of 56. He was an old settler, eccentric, an old bachelor, and yet possessed many friends.
Mrs. Eunice Morley (Hawley) Miller died Aug. 20, 1879. The lady was born at East Windsor, Conn., Jan. 1. 1789, and eonse- quently died in the 91st year of her age.
Mrs. Ariel Cornwell, of Liberty township, died in August, 1879, in her 67th year. She was born at Preston, Conn., and married Ariel Cornwell in 1834 ; they migrated west, and settled at Liberty in 1836.
Judge Hiram Thompson died at Osakis, Minn., July 17, 1879, in his SOth year. The Judge settled in Jackson in 1831, and was the first Town Clerk. He was afterward County Judge and Registrar of Deeds. Wm. R. Thompson . and John Thompson, both old settlers, were his brothers.
Oliver Bunce settled in Liberty township in 1846, and died Sept. 25, 1879, at the age of 81.
Mrs. Louisa Gates, an old resident of Leoni, died Sept. 4, 1879, in her 74th year.
160
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Solomon Yager, an old resident of Springport, died Sept. 4, 1879, at the age of 66 years.
Joab Bigelow, born in Windham county, Vt., October, 1792 ; settled with his parents at Onondaga, N. Y., in 1800. Eighteen years later he married Miss Lois Putnam, and in 1835 moved west to Jackson county. After a period of 44 years' residence in the county, Mr. Bigelow died Oct. 21, 1879, at the age of 86 years.
John Stephenson, a pioneer of Jackson county, died Oct. 25, 1879.
James Hatt, a farmer, and comparatively an old settler, living three miles northeast of Franciscoville, died suddenly in Sep- tember, 1879, having attained the age of 67 years.
John Ricker, an old settler aged 88 years, died suddenly Dec. 12, 1879.
Mrs. Rose McGill, an old lady whose years were so many that a count was impracticable, died at Jackson Sept. 6, 1879.
John King, who settled in Rives at a very early date, died sud- denly Oct. 8, 1879, having attained the age of 58 years.
Patrick Hayden, born in Ireland in 1814, and one of the oldest settlers of Jackson, died in 1879, aged 65 years. The funeral cor- tege, consisting of 80 vehicles, which extended a mile over the route to the cemetery, was a living testimony to the excellence of the deceased.
Samuel Prescott, born in New Hampshire, Ang. 30, 1800; settled at Henrietta in 1836, and died Dec. 13, 1879. The biog- raphy of the Prescott family, and particularly that of the deceased, is remarkably interesting. The trials of his early settlement and his conquest of the forest afford matter for that portion of this work devoted to township history.
Mrs. Abigail Prescott died Dec. 19, 1879, having attained the age of 79 years.
James McCann died Jan. 30, 1880, aged 63 years. Born in Ireland in 1817, he came to Michigan in 1840, and settled at Bunker Hill in 1847. In 1874 Mr. MeCann removed to Rives township, and continued to reside there until his death.
Mrs. Torrey died Feb. 8, 1880, at the advanced age of 80 years. The demise of Mrs. Brockwell, at Norvell, Feb. 8, 1880, aged 88 years, was recorded with that of Mrs. Torrey.
Mrs. Lucy Cutter died Feb. 12, 1880, in Concord township, hav- ing attained the ripe old age of 80 years.
Mrs. Ann Fleming, who resided in Henrietta township for a period of over 30 years, died Feb. 12, 1880, in her 57th year.
Day Jones, born at Port Ann, Washington Co., N. Y., July 15, 1812, arrived in this county in April, 1834, and continued to reside at Brooklyn, with the exception of a period of two years passed in the iron districts of Lake Superior.
J. II. Treadwell was born April 3, 1828, and came to Jackson with his father, llon. Seymour B. Treadwell, in 1839. His death at Lake City, Col., in 1880, caused wide-spread sorrow.
161
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Edward P. Grandy, of Rives, died Feb. 16, 1880, at the early age of 34 years.
Wm. P. Fifield died Feb. 12, 1880, after a residence within the county extending over 50 years.
Mrs. Charlotte Upton, of Parma, died Feb. 10, 1880, aged 92 years. The lady was one of the pioneers of Jackson county. She was young when Washington died, but remembered many of the stirring scenes immediately following the war of Inde- pendence.
George Kanouse died Jan. 22, 1880, after many years' residence in Jackson.
Chauncey Hawley died March 31, 1880, in the 83d year of his age. He made a settlement at Napoleon in 1832, and to the time of his decease enjoyed the confidence of the people.
Lawrence Barber, a pioneer of the war of 1812, and an old settler in Jackson county, died April 9, 1880, aged 87 years.
Mrs. Lurania Blackmore, of Rives, died April 4, 1880, aged 33 years.
A. V. Main, of Summit, died April 2, 1880, aged 77 years. He settled in Jackson county in 1837.
Miss Sarah Ann Chapman died April 5, 1880. The lady was born Nov. 3. 1830, being the first white chikl born in Jackson county. She was the daughter of Elizur B. Chapman and grand- daughter of Lemuel Blackman, whose names are identified with the history of the county.
Ichabod Cole, deceased in 1880, came to Jackson in 1837, and had been a resident of the city over 29 years. He was the first City Marshal.
Albert T. Putnam died May 26, 1880, aged 59 years. lle married Miss Chapman, who has been noticed in previous pages.
Columbus C. Darling, whose death occurred May 20, 1880. settled at Jackson in 1831, subsequently at Eaton Rapids, and in 1847 he moved to Lansing and took a most prominent part in the development of the city. It is also said that he did more to forward the growth of Jackson during its first years than any other of its pioneers.
Ami Filley settled at Jackson in 1830, and was a resident of the county until 1870, when he emigrated to Nebraska. May 13, 1880, he was training a colt, when the animal grew restive, and inflicted such terrible injuries on the owner that he died the same day.
Mrs. Betsy M. Davis, a lady aged 80 years, died May 19, 1880, at Jackson. She and her husband, Dr. Jonathan D. Davis, located in Wayne county, Mich., in 1826; removed to Jackson in 1842, and was a resident for 38 years.
John W. Welch died May 11, 1880, in his 71st year. He settled in Jackson county in April, 1837, and shared in the honors at the disposal of the people.
Richard B. Pixley, born at Great Barrington, Mass., Oct. 19, 1801; died at Henrietta April 1, 1880, having attained the age of
162
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
79 years. His settlement in this county was in 1838, when, with his wife, Julia S. (Sanderson) Pixley, he located at Waterloo.
Mrs. Sarah B. Glasgow died April 21, 1880. She was a resident of Jackson 25 years, and married J. H. Glasgow, the senior of the State-prison keepers, at an early age.
Hon. Tidus Livermore died May 28, 1880, in the 69th year of his age. Born in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1811, he came to Jackson in 1839; studied law in the office of Johnson & Iligby, and after admission to the Bar became one of the most prominent and loyal citizens of the State. The Bar of Jackson county attended his funeral.
Elder Cleveland died at Hanover Feb. 27, 1880, aged 72 years. He was one of the old settlers of this county.
Oscar G. Pixley, whose father's demise is noticed in one of the foregoing paragraphs, was born at Havana, Schuyler Co., N. Y., in 1829. He came hither with his parents to this State in 1836; resided two years at Lima, Washtenaw Co., and in 1838 settled in Grass Lake, where he lived until 1848, when he moved to Henrietta.
Amnos Bradford, one of the first settlers, died at Spring Arbor April 14, 1880, aged 70 years. He located his homestead in 1835, and for the long period of 45 years was accorded the respect and esteem which his age, early settlement, and upright character merited.
Thomas Howe, an old settler of Waterloo township, died in April, 1880.
Dr. Samson Stoddard, born near Vienna, Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 7, 1806, settled in Jackson county in September, 1830, when he found the only settlers to comprise the Blackman family, Judge DeLand, John T. Durand, W. J. Bennett, and Wm. R. Thompson. From 1833 to 1836 he was Clerk and Treasurer of Jackson county, by appointment of Gov. Porter. In 1837 he moved to his home- stead in Concord township, where he continued to reside until 1873, when he moved to Albion, Calhoun Co. He died Aug. 24, 1876, in his 71st year.
Harry Wilcox, born in Massachusetts July 8, 1799; died at Jackson, Mich., Sept. 24, 1879, aged 81 years. With his parents, he may lay claim to the pioneership of Onondaga county, N. Y .; but his settlement in Jackson was so comparatively recent that it does not come within its pioneer era.
James P. Ilawley, born at Hartford, Washington Co., N. Y., Sept. 25, 1828, and traveling West with his father, Hon. Chauncey Hawley, in 1832, settled in the wilderness of Napoleon during the fall of that year. He was a most popular citizen of the county, and his decease, July 3, 1876, at the age of 48 years, caused general sorrow.
William H. Pease died Nov. 13, 1862. Ile was one of the pioneers of 1830, having made his location and settlement at Grass Lake that year. He was for many years agent of the Michigan
163
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Central Railroad Company at that station, and was much esteemed by all his compeers, together with those who knew him best.
George H. Holden, born at Batavia, N. Y., May 26, 1817; set- tled at Ypsilanti in 1832, and eight years later removed to Jackson, where he continued to reside until July 6, 1874, the date of his decease.
Joseph C. Ives, aged 65 years, died at his residence, on East Main street, Jackson, on Tuesday, June 29, 1880. He was a native of Connecticut, and has resided in this county since 1844.
Thomas Shields, born in Ireland in 1802; settled at Jackson in 1837; took part in raising the log cabin in 1840, and died a few days later from the effects of a cold contracted on that occasion.
Nancy Patrick, who has resided in Henrietta since 1835, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. A. N. Ripley, of that township, aged 68 years. Her malady was inflammation of the lungs. She was one of the earliest settlers of that seetion of the county.
Mrs. Hannah Barber, of Leoni, died in February, 1878. She came to this county with her father, Wm. Burkhart, in early day, and reached the age of 58 years.
John Barber was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1806, where he was engaged in the linen-carrying trade. He emigrated in 1828; but owing to the wreck of the ocean vessel, he did not reach the shores of America until 1829. For five months and twenty-four days he, with his unfortunate fellow passengers who survived the wreck, was tossed abont on the Atlantic, and ultimately reached Quebec. After a brief stay in that Canadian city, heturned his steps to New York State, labored on the Erie canal, and in 1840 he, with his wife and two children, emigrated to Michigan, ultimately settling in the township of East Portage, now known as Waterloo. Mr. Barber died in the midst of friends Nov. 3, 1880, while Mrs. Bar- ber, who shared in the labors of the pioneers, died in 1874.
Cyrus L. Parmeter, an old resident of Spring Arbor, died of congestive chills Dee. 27, 1880, aged 83 years, leaving a wife and five children, three sons and two daughters, of which Mrs. Philo Curtiss, of Jackson, is one. The deceased has been a resident of Spring Arbor 42 years.
Lyman Draper, a pioneer of Rives township, died Jan. 5, 1880, aged 70 years.
Mr. J. L. Odell, an old and respected citizen of Leoni village, died at his home in that place Jan. 14, 1881, at the advanced age of 89 years.
The record of deaths for the year 1879 shows a total of 325, against 370 in 1878. These of 1880 show numbers approximating. The three eldest persons dying in 1879 were Bela Turner, of Jack- son, aged 91; Anna Dewey, of Napoleon, 90, and Polly Maliec, of Rives, 91. The number of births in 1879 was 724, against 844 the previous year. In 1880 the marriages numbered 396, against 382 for 1879.
164
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Jackson is a grand county, in many respects second to none in the State, and in almost everything that goes to make a live, pros- perous community, not far behind the best. Beneath its fertile soil is coal enough to supply the State for generations; its harvests are bountiful; it enjoys a medium climate, and many other things that make the inhabitants a contented, prosperous and happy people; but they owe much to those who opened up these avenues that have led to their present conditions and happy surroundings. Unremitting toil and labor have driven off the sickly mniasmata that brooded over swampy prairies. Energy and perseverance have peopled every section of the wild lands, and changed them from wastes and deserts to gardens of beauty and profit. Where but a few years ago the barking of wolves made the night hideous with their wild shrieks and howls, now is heard only the lowing and bleating of domestic animals. Only a half century ago the wild whoop of the Indian rent the air, where now are heard the engine and rumbling trains of cars bearing away to markets the produets of the soil and the labor of its people. Then the savage built his rude huts on the spot where now rise the dwellings and school- houses and church spires of civilized life. How great the trans- formation ! This change has been brought about by the incessant toil and aggregated labor of thousands of tired hands and anxious hearts, and the noble aspirations of such men and women as make any country great. What will another half century accomplish ?
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.