History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 91

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

USA > Michigan > Kalamazoo County > History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan > Part 91

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).

George W. Lawrence enlisted Aug. 22, 1861, in Co. F, 3d Michigan Cavalry; re-enlisted in January, 1868. Went out as a private; was promoted to sergeant; June 19, 1862, to second lieutenant; promoted to first lieutenant Sept. 5, 1864; and to captain Nov. 7, 1864, coming home in command of Co. G. Was in the battles of Iuka, first and second sieges of Corinth, and in many skirmishes ; discharged Feb. 12, 1866. Blackman E. was in an Indiana regiment, but saw no active service.

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TOWNSHIP OF CLIMAX.

northwest corner of section 36. The district had only 11 scholars when it was organized, and never has been a strong one. In 1866 they built a new school-house, cost- ing them $450, and since then they have kept up their schools as steadily as any district in town. The number of scholars at present in the district is 68. We are unable to give the list of teachers, as they are not down on the, records.

District No. 7 was organized June 6, 1857, and consisted of the southwest quarter of section 29, the southeast quar- ter of section 30, section 31, section 32, except the north half of the northeast quarter, the southwest quarter and the south half of the northwest quarter of section 33. The first meeting was held at the residence of T. F. Husted, June 20, 1857, and H. P. Phillips was elected Director ; L. R. Cooley, Moderator; and William Ford, Assessor. The school-house was built on its present site, on the north- east corner of section 31, in 1858, costing $230. The first school was taught in 1857 by Sarah Wheeler. There were 28 scholars in the district when it was organized, and in 1879 the number has increased to 30. The following is the list of teachers employed in the district :

1857, Sarah V. Wheeler; 1858, Lorinda Adams, Malvina Holden ; 1859, Elizabeth Taylor, Esther E. Husted ; 1860, Fanny Wolcott ; 1861, Fanny Wilson, Cordelia Cheney ; 1862, Caroline Lammon, Eudora Gleason ; 1864, Emma Higgins; 1865, Mary A. Cook, Hattie Buck, C. A. Milliman; 1866, Maggie Leighton; 1868, Alice Byington, Nelson Leighton ; 1869, Mary Dorrance, J. P. Stein ; 1870, L. T. Wells, Joanna Mack ; 1871, Hattie Woodcock, George W. Merry ; 1872, Nellie Ryan, George W. Merry; 1873, Hattie Sandal, Ella C. Proctor; 1874, George W. Merry, Nettie Lane; 1875, John Overholt, Jennie Andrus; 1876, N. E. Retalick, Nettie Lane; 1877, Dolly Stewart, F. C. Rapp; 1878, Maggie Warren, Alice Milliman; 1879, Estelle Cook, Hubert Elwell.

District No. 8 was organized May 6, 1872, and consisted of sections 14, 23, north half of 24, south half of 13, east half of 22, east half of 15, and 11 acres off the northwest quarter of section 22. A school-house, costing $550, was immediately built, and good schools have been maintained. The district now numbers 68 scholars. Among those who have taught in the district are Emogene Bowen, Kittie Van Middlesworth, Frances M. Ingalls, Laura Bradley, Hattie Tuttle, Maryette Sowles, Linnie S. Alvord, Carrie S. Pierce.

Fractional District No. 1 (Climax and Pavilion), com- monly known for many years as the Willson district, was organized by the board of school inspectors March 25, 1847, and embraced the following territory in Climax, viz., the south west corner of the northwest quarter of section 19, owned by D. Woodin and S. B. Scott ; the southwest quarter of section 19 ; the northwest quarter and the east half of the northeast quarter, and the south half of section 30. For some reason, the work of the inspectors at that time failed to operate. So they met the next year and tried it again, this time taking from the town of Climax sections 30, 31, west half of section 19, and southwest quarter of sec- tion 18.

The first meeting was held in the school-house near the town-line, in Pavilion, Dec. 18, 1848. John Holden was elected Moderator; Amos Willson, Director; and David Woodin, Assessor. The first school was taught by Edwin Stewart, commencing Dec. 25, 1848, two and a half months,

for $15 per month. The old log house in Pavilion was used until 1850, when a new school-house was built in the southwest corner of section 19, Climax. It was a frame house, not very large or expensive, but continues in use up to the present time in pretty good condition.

The Willson school-house was for many years the head- quarters for religious meetings and other public gatherings for the west part of the town. The completion of the rail- road, less than a mile north of it, has caused the growth of the thriving little village of Scotts, to which point it is probable the school will be removed at no very distant day. The number of scholars in the district at the time of its or- ganization was 38; in 1879, 58. The roll of teachers, as near as we can learn them, is as follows :

1849, Edwin Stewart, Rhoda Craw ; 1850, Jacob Ramsdell, Urzelia Hall; 1851, Jonathan Tainter, Adeline Hunt; 1852, Graham S. Eddy, Delia D. Stone; 1853, Charlotte A. Rowe, Harriett Taylor; 1854, Eunice Cole, Elizabeth C. Dimock ; 1855, Frances P. Cran- dall, Clarissa A. Holden ; 1856-57, M. D. Imus, Harriet Wright- man ; 1858-59, J. S. Wheaton, Nancy M. Cook; 1860, J. S. Wheaton, Joanna E. Mack ; 1861, R. S. Aldrich, Joanna E. Mack; 1862, Ettie Swaddle, Lucy M. Byington; 1868, Ellen R. Gleason, Nellie A. Torrey ; 1869, Lida J. Milliman ; 1870, Warren Wells; 1871, Mary E. Estes, Alice Milliman ; 1872, Jane Steele, Ruth Smith; 1873, George W. Brewer, Hattie Sandal; 1874, Alice Dean ; 1875, D. T. Mallory, Mary E. Gould; 1876, Abby Hanson, Jeannette Fraser; 1877, George Eberstein, Nelson R. Norris, Fanny Westbrook ; 1878, Hiram Hampton, Mrs. H. D. Anderson, Sarah Beckwith; 1879, Alice Milliman, Luther H. Long.

The number of scholars in 1879 was 58. Present officers : Whitford Milliman, Director ; Samuel S. Skinner, Modera- tor; David K. Snyder, Assessor.

Fractional School District No. 2 ( Climax, Leroy, and Battle Creek) was organized Oct. 30, 1848, and the first meeting held at the house of Isaac Davis, Dec. 30, 1848. Sections 1 and 12, in Climax and portions of Leroy and Battle Creek, were included in the district. The first officers elected were Andee Noble, Moderator ; James Fos- ter, Director; and C. W. Cole, Assessor. Foster soon after moved out of the district, and Feb. 20, 1849, H. G. Monroe was elected to fill the vacancy.

Schools had been kept in the district some time before its organization. As near as we can learn, the first was taught in Lysander Cole's barn, on what is now Warren Smith's place, opposite the school-house. The first teacher was Amy Bailey.

Schools were also kept in a log house on Isaac Davis' farm by Mr. Davis' daughters and by Mary Ann Mason. At the special meeting in February, 1849, it was voted to locate a site for a school-house on the county line. In the words of the record, "Said district to have three rods square in the northeast corner of Isaac Davis' land and to embrace the northwest corner of Mr. T. Hoge, contains three rods squair." In October, 1849, they voted to raise $150 for building purposes.

In April, 1850, Henry Monroe, Isaac Davis, and Ezra D. Rouse were elected a building committee. The school- house was built that summer, and was used for the winter's school. The house was small and inconvenient, but still serves the purpose for which it was erected.

The list of teachers, as near as we have been able to pro- cure them, is as follows :

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

E. Abram Spencer, 1850-51; Susan Olney, 1851; Ezra G. Carpenter," 1851-52; Amy Bailey, 1852; J. Alonzo Eldred, 1852-53; Albert Gove, 1853-54; Hilinda Newton, 1854; Susan Lovell, 1854-55; Matilda Baxter, 1855; Jane M. Eldred, 1845-56; Laura E. Baker, 1856; George Burdick, 1856-57; Nancy Beadle, 1857 ; A. Kinney, 1857-58; Susan Lovell, 1858; Daw. Figg, 1858-59; E. E. Husted, 1859; Miss Blodgett, C. S. Montague, 1860-61; Miss Bailey, 1861; Martha Marsh, F. Hodgman, 1861-62; Mary McAlister, 1862 ; F. Hodgman, 1862-63; Phebe Hiscock, 1863 ; Hannah Flint, 1863-64; Effie E. Husted, 1864-65; Julia B. Sterling, 1865 ; Mary Hickman, 1866; Jennie Wolcott, Frank Mc- Alister, Susan Lovell, Dell Slawson, Caroline Chapin, Josephine Cotton, Eliza Guiteau, Emma Bradley, Chloe Bonney, Mary Bailey, Louise Elwell, Emma Crawford, Adelle O. Evers, Charles H. Brady, James R. Monroe, Ida C. Seeley, Fidelia Eldred, Es- ther W. Bodine, Loella P. Brooks, Ella Gove, N. E. Retalick.

It is not attempted to give the names of the teachers in the order of time after 1866. The number of scholars in 1879 was 27. Efforts are in progress to secure the erection of a new school-house as soon as practicable.

VILLAGE OF CLIMAX.

This is not an incorporated village, and no plat of it is. on record. Its history is only a history of the people and industries of the place. "The Corners," at the quarter post, between sections 2 and 3, was the centre about which the earliest settlements of the township were located.

Judge Eldred made his home near by in 1832, and in 1834 brought the first post-office. The judge was the first postmaster, and held the office till about 1850. The mails at first were brought from Comstock, and Stephen Eldred was the carrier.

: In 1840 a post-route was established from Marshall to Niles, passing through Climax and furnishing the people with a regular weekly mail. About this time Daniel B. Eldred opened his store east of " the Corners."

In 1844 he sold the building to W. E. Sawyer and Moses Hodgman, who moved it to the corners, on the site now oc- cupied by Wilson's Hotel, and put in a stock of dry goods and groceries, and carried on a shoe-shop in it. Sawyer put up a dwelling on the same lot that year. In connection with their store, Sawyer & Hodgman put up an ashery on a lot about thirty or forty rods west of the corners, and bought ashes and made potash, which they shipped to New York. Freights cost so much that it did not prove a very profitable venture. In 1848, Sawyer put a steam saw-mill on the same lot, which was the first mill in town. In 1849, J. J. Rice started the first tailor-shop, in a little building on the corner now occupied by Ide's building. He remained but two or three years. In 1849, Dr. L. W. Lovell located at his present residence, near the corners, and was the leading physician in town until 1862.

Dr. I. J. Babcock had built a house near the corners, and located a short time previously, but he did not stay long. About the same time John Aldrich built a black- smith-shop on the lot now owned by John R. Milliman. The school-house was fitted up in 1836, and the Baptist church in 1847. In 1851, Reuben Coe bought the corner- lot, where Rice had his tailor-shop, made additions to the building, and opened the first tavern in town.

About this time several additions were made to the in- habitants about the corners. Among those who settled (and built there) about the years 1848 to 1852 were J. E.

Riddle, carpenter ; Philetus Lamb, blacksmith ; Festus Hall and Moses Hodgman, shoemakers ; R. L. Farnsworth, minister ; Charles Butler, cabinet-maker ; Lorenzo P. Coe, farmer ; and perhaps others. W. E. Sawyer sold out and moved to Verona in 1850, but returned in 1854, and pur- chased the tavern-lot of Coe, and put a small stock of goods into the building. This was burned down about two years later, whereupon Sawyer built the large store and dwelling in its place now owned by J. B. Ide. In 1851, Fred. Ma- son started the first harness-shop in the old store building. For the next twenty years the growth of the village was slow and steady. An occasional fire took away an old build- ing, and a new one took its place.

In 1862 the Freemasons built on the corner now occupied by Hodgman's block. About the same time I. Pierce drew away the " old store," and built in its place the building now known as Wilson's Hotel. In September, 1871, the Pe- ninsular Railway was completed to the place, and since then its growth has been more rapid. The principal buildings erected since then are the Methodist church, the A. B. El- dred block, and C. E. Hodgman's block, Isaac Pierce's dwelling, and a considerable number of smaller dwellings. The village now has four stores doing a general trade,-Cole & Cole and P. C. Cudworth, selling dry goods and groceries, and J. M. Wardell and N. Reasoner, selling drugs and gro- ceries. There is one hotel (kept by J. O. Wilson), two harness-shops, two shoe-shops, two blacksmith-shops, one wagon-shop, one flour- and feed-store, two physicians, five carpenters and builders, and the usual assortment of men of other callings. Among those who have pursued the vari- ous industries in the village since its settlement we give the following, as near as possible in the order of time :

Grocers and dry-goods dealers : Daniel B. Eldred, Saw- yer & Hodgman, J. Wiseman, W. E. Sawyer, M. S. Bowen, D. H. Daniels, J. B. Ide, A. B. Eldred, Eldred & Sinclair, C. E. Hodgman, Parker & Gilkey, P. C. Cudworth, and Cole & Cole.

Drugs and grocers : Riford & Jebb, Kidd & Jebb, Jebb & Cole, Reasoner & Wardell, N. Reasoner, and J. M. Wardell.

Physicians : Thayer & Stevens, I. J. Babcock, L. W. Lovell, O. F. Seeley, Seeley & Coller, J. D. Bowman, and William Jackson.

Shoemakers : Moses Hodgman, S. C. Hodgman, Festus Hall, John Hopkins, C. E. Hodgman, George Van de Bo- gart, and J. D. Schramlin.

Blacksmiths: John Aldrich, Henry Mason, Philetus Lamb, William Van Meter, James Milliman, John Schram- lin, Philetus Gould, and Jo. Harrison.

Wagon-makers: Henry Van Meter, G. W. Sinclair, and J. D. Bucklin.

Painters : J. Miller and W. Schramlin.

Harness-makers : Fred. Mason, Silas Beacham, and Ira G. Wilson.

The "old store" built by Daniel B. Eldred has had a varied and checkered history. First located opposite El- dred's house ; next moved to the corners, and used at various times for stores, dwelling, shoe-shop, harness-shop, post- office, saloon, and tailor-shop; then moved away on to I. Pierce's farm and used for a barn and store-house; and

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TOWNSHIP OF CLIMAX.

lastly, moved down to the railroad and used for a depot, where it now stands, doing duty for the Grand Trunk Rail- road, but still bearing its old signs of " Store" and " Farm- ers' Exchange."

The postal service of the village has already been alluded to. The office was kept by Judge Eldred until about the year 1848, when M. Hodgman took the office. He and his son, S. C. Hodgman, held the office until 1858, when Charles Brown was appointed postmaster, and held it for about three years. He was followed by M. S. Bowen, who was in a year or two succeeded by M. Hodgman. In 1866, Wellington Eldred was appointed postmaster, and held the office six months, when C. E. Hodgman was appointed to the place. Up to this time there had been but one mail per week, brought at first from Marshall, and afterwards from Battle Creek. The service was now changed to a tri- weekly, brought from Galesburg, which continued till the Peninsular Railway was completed to South Bend, when the mail service was transferred to that road. The present postmaster, M. N. Lefever, took the office in 1874.

Since the opening of the railroad a large and increasing business has been done at this station. Wheat, live-stock, lumber, and apples are the principal articles shipped from here. About 150,000 bushels of wheat are annually pur- chased and shipped. In May, 1879, G. W. Hawver, agent for C. A. Ward & Co., bought and shipped 51,000 bushels, 21,000 of which he bought in small lots in one day. With the improvements now being made in railroad facilities, it is expected that the business of the place will be largely increased. The American Express Company have an office here, with John M. Wardell as agent. The follow- ing lines, by F. Hodgman, are descriptive of the village and of incidents in its history :

"OUR VILLAGE.

" There's a snug little village that's built on a plain, Where the iron horse daily rolls by with his train; Where the churches are pointing their spires to the sky, To show us the road to the mansions on high ; Where the stores, and the shops, and the dwellings are seen With lawns intermingled and gardens between ; Where the walks are protected from summer's hot ray By the thick shade of maples that stand by the way. There are groves where the oaks their great branches outfling, Where the robins build nests and the orioles sing. There's a school-house which oft in its bosom incloses Wild frolicking children, with faces like roses, Who study and sport through the long summer day, And doubly rejoice when the master's away. And there is a resting-place out on the hill, Where the dead, in their graves, are now lying so still, With marble and granite to tell where they sleep, And ever their virtues in memory keep. Some died long ago, and no stone marks the spot Where their ashes lie buried ; their names are forgot. Though many the years that have passed since the day When the bones of these sleepers were hidden away, The time's but an instant, a quick-fleeting breath, Compared with the time since the angel of death Laid the mound-builders low ; whose work we may still See encircling the ground at the top of the hill. Men call it the fort, but can any one tell Why that circular ditch was there laid out so well ? Did the mound-builders once stand in battle array And fight round the fort, as we call it to-day ? Or was it a spot where by moonlight the fairy Would dance on the knoll overlooking the prairie ?

It was one time our play-ground ; the old school-house stood On the hill by the grave-yard, and there was the wood Where we wandered and clambered the hazels among, And played we were Indians, and hunted and sung. How often that ditch we then followed around ! We knew every sapling and tree on the ground. The trees are now gone and the ditch will soon fill, But ever in memory we'll cherish them still. We boys hunted chipmunks, but sometimes the game That the old woods then sheltered was not quite so tame. One morning in autumn, before school begun, Some boys, who came early to have a good run At "pull-away," "gool," or base-ball, perhaps, Were talking and laughing and swinging their caps, When out of the wood, right in front of them, stood A big bear and cub in the midst of the road. O then there was racing and chasing I ween ; The boys ran away fast as ever was seen, The village to rouse, and the men to alarm, To go and protect their young children from harm. The bears were chased back to the midst of the wood, At every fence-corner a rifleman stood; While muskets and shot-guns and pitchforks were then Put into the hands of the rest of the men. And cow-bells were rung and tin-horns we sounded All through the woods where the bears were surrounded. From the rifle's sharp crack, and the musketry's rattle, You'd have thought there was raging a terrible battle. It wasn't quite nine when the racket begun, And the clock had struck eleven before it was done. The bears were brought forth with their glory departed, And down to the Corners were speedily carted. Each man in the neighborhood called for a share, And took home and ate of the meat of the bear. 'Tis many long years since the two bears were slain, Yet still at the Corners their spirits remain ;

And 'round the school district they sometimes will prowl,

And stir up a genuine school-district growl. How many changes the times have attended In our little town since the bear-hunt was ended !

They moved the wood school-house one bright summer day, And then came the fire-fiend and swept it away. A brick one succeeded, but naught can we find Of it now but the brick-bats and stone left behind. The old site no longer responds to the patter Of light-footed school-children's frolicking clatter ; But right in its midst you may see the small mound, That tells where humanity sleeps in the ground. We pass through the streets, but no longer we hear The steps of Judge Eldred, the first pioneer. The girls have grown women, the boys become men, Yet sometimes it seems that I see them again In the fresh bloom of childhood, so happy and free, As they played years ago, in their innocent glee. But, no! 'Tis their children. How plain we can trace The parent's reflection in each happy face ! New buildings have risen, new streets opened wide, And taller and broader the trees by their side ; And new friends have come, and the old gone away,- And the child is a man, and the man has turned gray,- But whatever changes the years bring along, The village still merits the praise of my song. The boys are as strong and the girls are as fair, There's as much to make happy, as little for care,- The men are as honest, the women as true,- The meadows around are as pleasant to view,- The skies are as bright, and the woods are as green,- They're all as near perfect as ever was seen."

VILLAGE OF SCOTTS.

Only a part of the village of Scotts lies in the township of Climax. It was laid out by Samuel Scott, owner of the Woodin farm, on section 19, in 187 -. Not long afterwards,

340

HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

H. M. Goldsmith put up a large store in that part of the vil- lage, and put in a stock of general merchandise. In the upper story is a hall used for public meetings of all sorts.

CHURCHES.

It is not certain who preached the first sermon in Climax, but it was probably either a man named Loomis, a traveling Baptist minister, or Elder T. W. Merrill. The latter min- ister preached frequently at Judge Eldred's house in 1833 and 1834. The first Methodist preaching was in the win- ter of 1834 and 1835, in Judge Eldred's outhouse, used then for a school-room. Rev. J. T. Robe was the minister, and he was called there at that time by the fact that several Methodists had just moved into the settlement. These were John Waterhouse, John Mulkins, and Wesley Sher- man, and perhaps Potter and William Eldred, just over the line in Charleston. Robe preached at intervals till the summer of 1835, when a class was organized at the house of John Waterhouse. It consisted of eight members, viz., Daniel and Lydia Eldred, John Waterhouse and wife, Al- fred and Sally Eldred, Mila Sherman, and Rebecca, wife of William Eldred. Soon after the formation of this class the services of a regular minister, Rev. S. S. Williams, were secured, who preached around at the settlers' houses once in four weeks for the ensuing year. In the summer of 1835 Elder Adams, a Baptist minister, began preaching at ir- regular intervals, and in 1836 Rev. John Harris, another Baptist, came into the country and began preaching. In 1836 the Methodists put two ministers, Beers and Kellogg, upon the circuit in which Climax was then included, and they preached alternately once in two weeks at the settlers' houses. At this time the colony was pretty well supplied with spiritual aid and comfort, two Baptist and two Meth- odist ministers being in the field, besides occasional travel- ing missionaries who came along and preached. So far there was no regular organization of any church, and all parties worked harmoniously together. Whenever a min- ister came along the houses were thrown open for services, word was sent about, and a congregation gathered regard- less of sect or denomination. Judge Eldred was the lead- ing Baptist, and strong in his belief, but his house, being more suitable than any other, was freely opened to all. If the word of God was dispensed it mattered little to what sect the preacher belonged. The religious feeling of the community culminated in a great revival in the winter of 1836-37. The first school-house had just been fitted up and opened, and was used for the religious meetings. These meetings were conducted by Beers and Kellogg, assisted by Elder Harris, and occasionally by others. The revival was a powerful one, and exerted a strong and enduring influ- ence on the future growth and character of the town. Nearly every person in the community was brought under religious conviction, and a permanent reform in the char- acters of very many of them was effected. All of Judge Eldred's family not previously converted were gathered into the fold at that time.

Numerous anecdotes are told of the powerful effect of this revival. One is related of William Eldred, who was converted then. He had previously been very intemperate, and had been to Comstock and got a jug of whisky just

before the meetings began. This he kept in the barn. Soon after the meetings began he got troubled in spirit, and made up his mind to stay away. When his friends besought him to go, he feigned sickness ; had a lame back, and could not go. But they were in earnest, and not to be put off in that way. So they hitched up a sleigh, and almost perforce carried him to meeting. During the ser- mon his conscience smote him heavily, and when the op- portunity arrived, he arose and confessed his misdoings. " I told them," said he, " that I had a lame back, but that was a lie. My sickness was not in my back, but in my heart. It was the devil's doings to keep me away from meeting, but now I tell the devil if he stays with me he must go to meeting with me too." After meeting, Elder Beers went home with him, and took occasion to visit the barn with him, and asked him to pray. But that was too much. He could not do it. So the elder knelt down and prayed for him, but he said that during the prayer he could not think of anything but that jug of whisky. After the preacher had gone he went to the barn, and, said he, " the devil told me to take a good drink of that whisky before I destroyed it, but I said no. I turned up the jug, and as the whisky ran out it went gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, and at every gurgle my heart felt lighter, and when the last drop was gone I shouted Glory to God !"

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 91

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