History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 130

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761

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"VALENTINE MOTT, M.D.

"NEW YORK, April 2, 1834."

Dr. Upjohn commenced the practice of medicine at Brighton, Monroe Co., N. Y. His parents had removed to Pittsford, in the same county, where the father died in 1847, and the mother in 1852. In June, 1835, he and his brother William started out to seek their fortunes in the far West, crossing Lake Erie by steamer. From Detroit, on horseback, they took up their line of march westward through the wooded Territory, and reaching Kalamazoo

480

HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

County, pitched their tent on the northwest quarter of section 31, in that part of the township of Richland since called Ross. Having erected a log house on their new land here, among the early settlers of this region, the two brothers commenced the practice of medicine. The doctor had not been long in Michigan when he learned that the law required physicians to have a license, making it necessary to go to Detroit to present his credentials. He obtained the follow- ing paper :

"TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN.

" To all to whom these presents may or shall come, or may in any wise concern.

"The resident secretary and censors of the Medical Society of the Territory of Michigan send greeting :

" Whereas, Uriah Upjohn hath exhibited unto us satisfactory testi- mony that he is entitled to a license to practice physic and surgery :

"Now, know ye, That by virtue of the power and authority vested in us by the law, we do grant unto the said Uriah Upjohn the privilege of practicing physic and surgery in this Territory or State, together with all the rights and immunities which usually appertain to physi- cians and surgeons.

" R. S. RICE, " ROBERT MCMILLAN, { "D. O. HOYT,

Censors.

"In testimony whereof we have caused the seal of the society to be hereunto affixed. Done at the city of Detroit, the 26th day of May, A.D. 1836.

" M. CHAPIN, President.

"Attest, R. S. RICE, Secretary."

On Sept. 15, 1837, Dr. Upjohn was married to Maria Mills, youngest daughter of Deacon Simeon Mills, one of the pioneers of Gull Prairie.

Dr. Upjohn's practice has been very extensive. His ride (and it was ride !) on horseback for more than twenty years, until roads were made and buggies could be had, extended among the sparse settlements and solitary log cabins scat- tered over the territory of five counties. To visit his pa- tients, he rode by the pioneer's new-made track, or by the Indian trail or " blazed trees," or through the trackless woods,

" By routes obscure and lonely."

Kindly, patiently, he went forth on his errand of mercy in all seasons of the year, and through all kinds of weather, rendering his services as cheerfully to the poor who could not pay, as to those who could.

At one time, while attending the sick in a north settle- ment, as he was about to leave he was informed that around the lake there was a log cabin, whose inmates were all on the sick-list. After a roundabout ride, he came to a lone cabin, knocked at the door again and again, and at last heard a faint "Come in !" Entering, he found the entire family of seven or eight persons prostrated with fever. The first word uttered was " water !" Filling a large pitcher with water from the lake near by, he gave to each one a draught of the cool beverage. Finding on examination that some of them were very sick, he dealt out medicine as each case required, built a fire, chopped wood, brought it in and made them as comfortable as he could, gave them words of cheer, and bade them good-night, promising to come again. He then rode three or four miles out of his way to find a neighbor who would remain with the sick family until morning. At times, when far away from home, his quinine (that " sine qua non" of the pioneer physician in dealing with the mala-

dies of the new country) would give out ; then followed a long ride to Kalamazoo for a fresh supply of this drug. To give an idea of the amount of quinine the doctor used at this time, we relate the following fact in his practice. He has more than once used up an entire bottle in one day's ride of not more than thirty miles. During his early ex- perience many of the virtues of quinine, not then adopted by the medical profession, and that are well established at the present time, were recognized by him. Prof. Palmer, of the medical department of the university, gives him the credit of first using it as a remedy in the cure of pneumonia.

We give a few incidents illustrative of the trials and adventures of the physicians in the early settlement of this country. The doctor once made a trip of sixty miles, and at one place where he visited he only had a crust of "Johnny-cake" to satisfy his hunger, and but a wisp of straw, that was taken from the bed his patient lay on, to feed his horse.

The summer of 1838 will long be remembered as the sickly season. A number of years since Dr. Upjohn related this incident in his early practice : " I had been gone from home for two or three days, visiting the sick at almost every house, and staying where night overtook me. Tired and exhausted, I was making my way home, walking and lead- ing my horse. I was within one mile of home when I heard the sound of some one riding rapidly behind me, and my first impulse was to dodge into the bushes and let him pass. ' Halloo, there !' said some one, and on coming up he hurriedly asked, 'Is this Dr. Upjohn ?' 'Yes.' 'Well, you are wanted.' ' Where ?' 'Six miles beyond Yankee Springs.' 'Who is sick ?' 'A woman by the name of .' The distance being twenty-six miles I hesitated. I asked if she was very sick. 'Yes, very,' said the man, ' and very poor ; you may never get your pay.' I wrote a note to my wife," said the doctor, " for some medicine, to be sent by the man, and I made my way back, arriving there at three o'clock the next morning. I found my patient in a poor log house, and very sick indeed, and in the log barn nothing but straw for my horse."

The wants of a growing family often pressed so keenly upon him that the doctor sometimes felt the need of prompt collection of his fees. Yet the writer has heard him say that driven by necessity, he has often entered with reluc- tance the settler's home to collect his bill, but the presence of destitution and the lack of the very necessaries of life were so evident that he has left the house without present- ing his bill. A large share of his early practice was of the unremunerative character, and, on a close estimate by him- self, it would be safe to say that in his extensive practice of forty-five years he has given one-half of his services to the destitute and poor.

Dr. Upjohn is a student of nature, and with his natural love of investigation and close analysis he has discovered many of the hidden virtues of plants and medicines which have escaped the less observant. He has ever been an enthusiast in botany and geology. Before he had been four years in Michigan he had analyzed all of its indigenous flora that he could discover in his rides over the country.

Dr. O. F. Burroughs, of Galesburg, has given the writer amusing incidents of Dr. Upjohn's stopping his horse, as

MRS. H. M . PECK.

H. M. PECK.

RES. OF H. M. PECK, RICHLAND, KALAMAZOO CO., MICH.

TOWNSHIP OF RICHLAND.

481

they were riding together, and getting out of the buggy to get some plant that grew by the roadside, and then giving an interesting lecture upon it as they rode along. It was the same with geology-the fossils did not escape his notice. Fording the Kalamazoo River at one time on horseback, when on a visit to a patient, he saw a large rock in the stream, and exclaimed, " I have found it after two years' search ; I have found it at last ! Here is the bed-rock, the carboniferous limestone," but hurried on to attend to his pro- fessional duties. Returning, he dismounted, and although the river was full of ice, he stood knee-deep in the water and examined the rock.

An incident of his boyhood days will illustrate a ster- ling trait in his character. When a boy of thirteen, he and a school-mate started on horseback to visit Netley Abbey, on Southampton Bay, by moonlight. Arriving at the bay, they left their horses and took a row-boat for the abbey. Here they had a delightful time, viewing its splen- dor by the silvery light of the moon. Some time before this they had made a pledge to each other that they would never drink or play cards, and they bethought themselves that this stood them in good stead at this time, as there was much drinking and card-playing in the inns they passed by. Rowing back, they mounted their horses for home. Uriah's mate said, " Let us try the speed of our animals." A little experience of this kind cost them dearly, for his mate's horse, after the race, dropped dead. Frightened, they rolled the animal out of the way, and both rode home on one horse. This school-mate thus spoken of is now Sir Robert Lush, one of England's twelve judges.

Dr. Upjohn's ancestors on both sides have mostly been Quakers, and he, in his gentle manners and unostentatious life, has evinced the Quaker, although he has never worn the garb. In 1834, while living at Brighton, N. Y., he joined the anti-slavery society. He afterwards joined the Republican party at its formation.

While he and his brother William were in the midst of their professional life, they sent a petition, with many names attached to it, to the Legislature, which resulted in that very important act known as the Homestead Law. In 1845, Dr. Upjohn was nominated for Congress on the Free- Soil ticket. His brother William finally located at Hastings, where he is still in the practice of his profession. A num- ber of years regent of the University of Michigan, during the war he was surgeon to the 7th Michigan Cavalry. His brother Erastus went as a pioneer to Nebraska, struck off the first newspaper in that territory ; was surgeon in the army during the late war, and is still practicing medicine in that State. His sister Helen married Fenner Furgerson, a former resident of Albion, Mich. Mr. Furgerson was appointed by President Pierce the first chief justice of Ne- braska, and was sent a delegate from that Territory to Congress ; was afterwards nominated for Governor of Ne- braska, but died while making the canvass of the State.

Dr. Upjohn had twelve children,-seven daughters and five sons ; eleven grew to manhood and womanhood; five of this number have graduated in the medical department of the Michigan University; Mary and Amelia, in phar- macy, the first lady graduates from the university. Helen, Henry U., and William E. received their diplomas from the

medical department of the same institution. The spirit of Galen that inspired the father has thus manifested itself largely in a love of the profession among his children.

His daughter Helen, now Mrs. Kirkland, and his son Harry U. are established in the practice of medicine and surgery in Kalamazoo, and William E. has started a suc- cessful practice in Hastings. The doctor lived on Gull Prairie, excepting two years which he spent with his family in Iowa, until 1868, when he moved to Galesburg, where he remained until 1871 ; then changed his residence to Kalamazoo, where he resided until 1876. In the spring of that year he retired to a farm purchased of Charles Brown (his brother-in-law), near Richland village, his old home, where he now lives with his devoted wife and their two youngest sons, who manage the farm.

The doctor is now past seventy-one years of age, and still quite robust ; forty-five years of his life have been faith- fully and conscientiously spent in his profession, and pro- viding for and educating eleven children. He was an af- fectionate and considerate husband and father, unselfish to a fault, studying the comfort of those around him rather than his own, always imparting some useful instruction to his children when gathered around him at home, or while riding with him as he went about the country. Being a great reader and a man of original thought, he was pre- pared for any emergency. For the last ten or fifteen years his practice has been largely that of a consulting physician. While not in active practice for the past five years, he yet cherishes great interest in the advancement of medicine and the well-being of his fellow-men, cheerfully giving counsel where it is needed, pointing out dangers to life and health, with a kind feeling to all humanity.

Mrs. Upjohn has been the faithful wife during these forty-two years of married life, sustaining him by words of cheer and comfort when he was about to despair ; and in all that he has accomplished in securing a good home and competence for life, she deserves her full credit with him.

HORACE M. PECK

was born in Watertown, Litchfield Co., Conn., Aug. 7, 1814. His father, Benjamin M. Peck, was also a native of Connecticut, a farmer, a deacon of the Congregational Church for more than fifty years, and represented the sixth generation of the numerous descendants of Joseph Peck, who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Colony in 1638.

Three sons were born to Deacon Peck, all of whom sur- vive, and reside at present as follows: Elmer N., in Rich- land, Mich .; Horace M., in the village of Kalamazoo, Mich .; and Samuel M , in Watertown, Conn.

Horace M. Peck,-whose portrait, together with that of his wife, accompanies the history of Richland,-during boyhood, received the educational advantages usually ob- tained in the public schools of his native town, and assisted his father in farm duties until after his majority.

About the year 1835 he made an extended tour through several of the Southern States for the benefit of his health. In 1836 he purchased from the general government lands situated in the present township of Ross, Kalamazoo Co.,

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Mich. During the spring of 1838 he came to the State, with the purpose of making it his permanent place of resi- dence.

On July 4th, of the same year, he was united in marriage with Miss Emilia B. Barnes, whose father, Tillotson Barnes, was one of the first settlers of Ross township, in 1832. Soon after his marriage Mr. Peck settled near Yorkville, Ross township, upon lands previously mentioned as pur- chased in 1836. He continued his residence at Yorkville until September, 1844, when, having purchased the Col. Barnes premises, the first place opened to improvement on Gull Prairie, he removed to Richland. He then engaged quite extensively in buying and selling real estate, sheep, and other live-stock. While a resident of Richland, he was one of its solid and most prominent citizens. He served as justice of the peace for a long term of years, and in many instances was mediator for the settlement of dif- ferences among neighbors which otherwise would have resulted in the establishment of life-long enmities.

During the year 1867 he visited the World's Exposition at Paris and many portions of Europe. In the fall of 1868 he removed to his present residence in the village of Kalamazoo, and, with his sons, engaged in the business of banking.

An association, of which he was a member, established the Kalamazoo Savings Bank, in February, 1869. This was soon after merged in the present Kalamazoo City Bank, a bank of exchange and brokerage. At about the same time, he, with his sons, became connected with the Allegan City Bank, and this business relation, with respect to both institutions, still exists, Mr. H. M. Peck being president of the Allegan City Bank, and vice-president of the Kalamazoo City Bank.

The nearly forty-two years of wedded life vouchsafed Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Peck rest lightly upon them. Sur- rounded with the luxuries of life, the filial love of their children, whom to know is to respect, they bid fair to cele- brate, with faculties unimpaired, their golden-wedding morn.

To them six children have been born, viz .: Susan, who resides at home; Horace B., cashier of the Allegan City Bank ; Frances S., wife of the Hon. Jesse C. Burrows, present member of Congress from this district ; Herbert N., a banker of Otsego, Mich .; Charles A., teller of the Kala- mazoo City Bank; and Benjamin M., the youngest member of the family, who died at the age of eighteen years, in 1876, from disease contracted while visiting the Centennial Exposition.

In his political convictions Mr. Peck has been a Whig, and is now a Republican. His voice and influence have been exerted in behalf of education and the true observance of God's law, and he stands to-day prominent as one of the most successful living pioneers of Michigan.

Although he suffered heavy reverses during the years immediately succeeding the panic of 1873, his obligations have been promptly met, and he remains steadfast to the principles of integrity inculcated by a sterling New England ancestry.

DEACON SAMUEL BROWN.

This gentleman was born in Brimfield, Hampden Co., Mass., in 1778, and was a farmer by occupation. He married the daughter of Capt. Hoar, an Englishman. In the fall of 1831 he removed, with his family of ten chil- dren, to Richland, the journey being performed with the aid of teams. He purchased four eighty-acre lots lying west of Gull Corners, and the entire family passed the winter of 1831-32 in a log house fourteen feet square. In 1832 a new house was built, and all the family moved into it except one son, Dauphin, who, with his wife, re- mained in the original log house. They had been married the day before leaving Massachusetts, the maiden name of the bride being Abbie B. Nutting. Deacon Brown was one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in Rich- land, and was a deacon for many years. His wife also be- longed to that denomination. Although he never sought office, the deacon was chosen supervisor, etc., of his town- ship. He was a straightforward, honest business man, and was respected by all who knew him. He is now de- ceased. His children are Samuel, who married Miss Juliet Bessie, daughter of a prominent farmer in Richland, May 22, 1845, and is the father of two children,-viz., Dwight, born Oct. 16, 1849, married, and living in Minnesota ; Charlie F., born Feb. 13, 1852, and now living at home.

Dauphin Brown, the eldest son of the deacon now living here, occupies what was formerly the A. S. Parker farm, west of Gull Corners. His first child, George F., was born Jan. 27, 1833, in the log house first occupied by the family. Samuel H. was born in the house erected on the Parker farm, March 29, 1841. Dauphin Brown returned to Brim- field, Mass., in 1841, on account of his son's health, and carried on a farm there, and six more children were born in that place.

C. P. HALE.

The birthplace of this gentleman was Bernardston, Franklin Co., Mass., and the date of his birth Jan. 30, 1828. He was one of seven children. His mother died when he was quite young, and he labored on a farm until he was seventeen years of age, subsequently finding em- ployment four or five years in woolen-factories in Massa- chusetts and Vermont. At the age of twenty-three he engaged in the shops of the Meriden (Conn.) Cutlery Com- pany. In the fall of 1850 he went to California, but after a year's absence returned to Connecticut, and again entered the cutlery establishment. December 22, 1854, he married Miss Frances Pardew, who has borne him four children. The oldest son, C. F. Hale, is married and living near his parents. The others, Henry A., Lewis H., and Nettie A., are all at home. In the fall of 1851, Mr. Hale removed to Michigan and settled in the township of Cooper, Kala- mazoo Co., with his wife and one child. He purchased in that town 210 acres of wild land, and after living upon it nine years and making extensive improvements, sold and moved into Richland, where he purchased 124 acres, and built his present dwelling. He has since increased his farm to 412 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Hale and their daughter are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Hale's parents are both buried at the Corners.

JOHN F. GILKEY.

The father of John F. Gilkey was a farmer in the town of Chester, Windsor Co., Vt., from which place the son came to Michigan about 1831-32, and purchased land in the township of Richland, Kala- mazoo Co. His father, mother, and two brothers- William Young Gilkey, and Charles Gilkey-came not long afterwards. The elder Gilkey died in Richland within a few years after his arrival, and his wife's death occurred later.

In February, 1840, John F. Gilkey was married to Miss Mary M. Lovell, daughter of Willard Lovell, of Climax township (who died in 1839), and sister of Enos T. Lovell, the present County Treasurer. Mrs. Gilkey died in 1857, and her widowed husband at a subsequent date entered mat- rimony with Mrs. Fonda, a widow, who some time later died and left him a second time to mourn. By his first wife Mr. Gilkey was the father of four

sons, Edgar W., Patrick H., George L., and Julian F., all present residents of Richland. Edgar and Patrick are married; George occupies his father's old farm.

Mr. Gilkey was a very tall man, and his wife was above the average size of women, and their sons are each over six feet in height. This physical feature is also a characteristic of the Lovell family. Mr. Gilkey was through life a farmer, and paid but little attention to politics, although in the latter field he had his choice, being a Whig until the for- mation of the Republican party, with which he cast his vote the remainder of his life. The farm upon which he settled was on section 10. Mr. Gilkey was a man of decided character, and much esteemed by his fellow-citizens. His death occurred in Richland in 1877. Aside from the home-farm he was the owner of property in various other localities.

REV. M. KNAPPEN.

A.S.PARKER.

EDWIN MASON.

DEACON SIMEON MILLS.

483

TOWNSHIP OF RICHLAND.

DEACON SIMEON MILLS

was born in Litchfield, Conn., Feb. 4, 1795. When a youth he came to Western New York with his father's family. He there received that discipline of toil and lim- ited means incident to most settlers in a new country, which prepared him for the pioneer life that was before him. He married early, and came with his family to Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1826. He became a member of the Presbyterian Church there when first organized, assisted in the first Sabbath-school, and was its first superintendent. From the first he gave all his energies to the Christian work required in a new place. Having become a Christian ten years be- fore, he was now prepared to take the lead in laying found- ations for the present generation. He came to " Gull Prairie" in 1831, and located a farm on the southeast part of the prairie. He soon united with the Presbyterian Church, and on May 5, 1833, was ordained as deacon and ruling elder in that church. He became the first formally chosen superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and ever after was most deeply interested in working for its prosperity. He was away from this place for about seven years, in Iowa, and in Galesburg and Kalamazoo, Mich. Aside from that absence, his life was spent in this place. He was earnest, active, and benevolent. He gave his time and means freely for the cause of Christ and to aid the needy. He was un- tiring in the temperance work, a thorough Bible scholar, constant in sustaining the social worship of the church, and foremost in whatever would contribute to interest the people in evangelical Christianity. He aided in building churches and in filling them with worshipers. His life was uniform as a walk with Christ, and by his constant Christian diligence and pure life he always gave a noble testimony for Christianity. His children rise up and call him blessed, and every citizen respects and honors his memory. After a short illness, with mind still clear and vigorous, he died in peace, May 20, 1879, at the age of eighty-four. His influence remains in the church to which he gave himself for near forty years, and the testimony of his life is even now a barrier in this community against all ungodliness and a shallow and erroneous interpretation of the gospel. His daughter says of him, "The legacy left his descendants is the reputation of an honest Christian man, of far more value than gold."

REV. MASON KNAPPEN

was born in Washington, Conn., in 1782. When about eighteen years old he moved to Vermont with his father's family. His advantages for education were such as the common schools of that day afforded. Being led to prepare for the gospel ministry, he studied theology with Rev. Mr. Catlin, and began to preach to the Congregationalist Church in Charlotte, Vt., in 1806. At this date he was married to Miss Fanny Wooster. In 1813 he removed to Orwell, Vt., and became pastor there, where his wife soon died. He was successful in his ministry, and remained there about twelve years. Here he married Miss Lois Budd, who lived only one year. Before leaving Orwell he married Miss Clarissa Remle. She was a noble Christian woman, and

lived till near the close of his life. From Orwell he was called to Sudbury, and preached there for ten years.

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 130

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott Number of Pages: 761

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761