History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 68

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co.
Number of Pages: 1434

USA > Michigan > Kent County > History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 68

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).

Wm. S. Johnson was born in Norfolk, England, May 8, 1830; he is a son of Richard and Sarah (Surfling) Johnson. He was reared on Old England's soil till 18, when he and his brother, Matthew, ventured across the wide Atlantic. He lived in Orleans Co., N. Y., till 1852, when he came to Solon tp., Kent Co., and entered 80 acres on sec. 23. He was one of the organizers of Solon, and served as its Treasurer six years. He cleared up a farm there, and in 1873 removed to his present farm. Mr. Johnson was married Oct. 6, 1855, to Mary Gordon, daughter of Geo. W. and Betsy Gordon, who came to Grand Rapids in 1834. Mrs. J. was born in the town of Grand Rapids, May 25, 1836. This union resulted with nine children, five of whom are living, viz .: Herbert O., Sarah E., Cassius F., Edith V. and William A. Edith A., Richard, George A. and Robert are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. J. are members of the Free-Will Baptist Church. Mr. J. is a Repub- lican, and has served his tp. as Treasurer two years, and his district as Moderator six years. He owns a farm of 160 acres on sec. 30, with good improvements.

Deacon Abraham Kromer. (The biography herewith presented was prepared under the supervision of Deacon Kromer. two weeks previous to his death.) Abraham Kromer, son of William and Betsey Kromer, was born in Cobleskill, Schoharie Co., N. Y., May 22, 1804, and died in Cannonsburg, Kent Co., Mich., Sept. 18, 1880, aged 76 years, 3 months and 27 days. On Nov. 18, 1828, at the age of 24 years, he was united in marriage with

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

Miss Caty Lawyer, with whom he lived in happy wedlock for nearly 40 years, and by whom he was the father of five children, three sons and two daughters; only one of whom, Mrs. Delia Hardy, still lives to mourn the loss of a kind and loving father. Mrs. Caty Kromer died Sept. 15, 1868. June 5, 1869, he was married to Mrs. Gertrude C., widow of Harlow P. Judson. She attended him in his last sickness, and now, a widow for the third time, mourns his loss. In 1829 he went to Holland patent, Oneida Co., N. Y., where the next year he removed his wife and engaged in mercantile business for about five years. In the winter of 1835-'36 he went to Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., thence to Geauga Co., Ohio, where he was a merchant one year, then to Newark, Licking Co., Ohio, where he kept a hotel-the Mansion House- until the spring of 1840. In that year he moved to Smithville, Jefferson Co., N. Y., where he erected suitable buildings, fitted up a tannery, and was engaged in that and mercantile business 18 or 19 years. During this period, in 1854, he was appointed Harbor Master at Sackett's Harbor, under the administration of President Pierce, and held the office one year. He also filled the office of Postmaster for a considerable time at Smithville during his residence there. In the year 1858 he purchased the Patrick farm, near this village, and has been an honored and useful citizen ever since. He was engaged here in mercantile business some · time, and was Postmaster for several years. While residing in Geauga Co., Ohio, he became a Christian. On his return to New York, he made a public profession of religion and united with the Congregational Church, in Smithville, where he was an acceptable member, and where, for some time, he held the office of Deacon until his removal to this place. Here he united by letter with the Bostwick Lake Church, and continued a member there until the organization of this Church, in the spring of 1875. He was Deacon in a branch Church here before the present organization. He was chosen Deacon here, and filled the office with the utmost accept- ance until disabled by his last sickness.

Archibald Mc Millan, a respected pioneer of Cannon, was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, Dec. 1, 1810, and is a son of John and Margaret McMillan, who emigrated to America in 1817, and settled in Boharnway Co., Quebec. There Mr. McMillan was reared to maturity. In June, 1849, he came to Cannon, and purchased a farm of 111} acres, situated on sec. 32, and 5 of Ada. Mr. McMillan experienced many scenes of hardships, so common in the pioneers' days of Michigan. He was married Dec. 1, 1835, in Boharnway Co., Quebec, to Jeannette McNaugh- ton, by whom he had eight children, six of whom are living, viz .: Archibald, Margaret (wife of Albert Headley), Neal, Catha- rine (deceased), Mary A. (wife of Alfred Turner) and Jeanette, (wife of Warren Russell). Mrs. McMillan is a daughter of Dougald and Catharine McNaughton. She was born in Argyleshire, Scot- land, Feb. 1, 1814. Mr. and Mrs. McM. are members of the Congregational Church. Mr. McM. is a Republican in politics.

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CANNNON TOWNSHIP.

Joseph Moore was born in County Down, Ireland, March 16, 1818, and is a son of James, sr., and Elizabeth Moore. They emigrated to America in 1828 and settled in Albany Co., N. Y. In 1831 they removed to near Troy, and in 1838 to Paterson, N. J. At an early age Mr. Moore served an apprenticeship of five years at the trade of machinist in Paterson. Previous to this he followed manufacturing sail cloth seven years. The spring of 1852 he came to Cannon, and July 8 he bought 80 acres of land on sec. 22. Subsequently he entered 40 acres on sec. 17. He has cleared and well improved 74 acres; was married April 30, 1846, to Permelia Barkley, daughter of John and Martha Barkley, natives of Orange Co., N. Y. Mrs. Moore was born in Broome Co., N. Y., Oct. 15, 1818. Mr. and Mrs. Moore are members of the Congregational Church; Mr. Moore is Sabbath-school Super- intendent, and politically is a Republican.

Levi Omans, an old pioneer of Cannon, was born in Murray, Genesee Co., N. Y., June 30, 1824. His parents, Thomas G. and Polly (Stephens) Omans, were natives of Massachusetts and New York. His father served in the last war with Great Britain. In 1830 his parents removed to Macomb Co., Mich., where he was reared to manhood. April 30, 1851, he with his wife started for Cannon, where they arrived on May 10. Mr. O. bought 160 acres of land on sec. 33, which was Mexican soldier's rights. He has cleared and well improved a good portion of his farm. He was married July 4, 1847, to Nancy M., daughter of Conrad and Martha Schermerhorn, born in Alden, Erie Co., N. Y., Jan. 4, 1834. This union was blest with 12 children; eight of these are living, viz .: Orissa B. (wife of Frank Morehouse), Polly B., John M., Thomas G., Martha J., Francis H., Cordelia R. and Orlo C. Religiously, Mr. Omans and family are believers in Spiritualism. Politically, Mr. O. is an advocate of Greenbackism. He is a worthy and generous pioneer.

B. B. Ray was born Dec. 9, 1847, in Livingston Co., N. Y .; is a son of John and Hannah (Bishop) Ray, natives of Vermont and New York; the former is dead; the latter is living in New York. Mr. Ray was bred to the occupation of a farmer and received a common-school education. He came to Cannon in 1873, settled on 120 acres of land on sec. 2. He was married March 26, 1873, to Libbie Borner, a native of England. They have two children --- Lyman and Mabel. Mr. Ray has held the offices of Highway Commissioner and Drain Commissioner. P. O., Rockford.

Zebulon Rood, one of the oldest pioneers of Cannon, was born in Vermont, July 29, 1810. His parents, Ezra and Betsey Rood, were natives of Massachusetts and Canada. In 1823 they removed to Bloomfield, Oakland Co., Mich., where Zebulon lived till of age. He worked at the carpenter's trade three years, and kept grocery in Birmingham two years. In 1838 he came to Cannon, and pre-empted land on sec. 31, and subsequently purchased

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

240 acres on sec. 20 and 29. He cut the first road in Cannon and brought the first team and first wagon load of goods across Bear creek. He built the first house in Cannon, which was a log structure. He did the first clearing and planted the first crops. In fact, Mr. Rood broke the forest and lead the tide of immigration in among a race of savages, to make the now prosperous tp. of Courtland. He organized the first school district and helped build the first school-house. He located all the roads in that portion of the tp., and aided in all its first improvements. In early days Mr. Rood served in the various local offices of the town. He was married Dec. 11, 1836, to Maryette Burgess, daughter of Jonathan and Ezuba (Millington) Burgess. Mrs. Rood was born in Rutland, Jefferson Co., N. Y., March 3, 1819. Of their six children four are living, viz .: Sydney L., Sophronia C. (wife of James Fields), Noble D. and Ezra A. Mr. Rood and family are Spiritualists in belief. He is a Greenbacker in politics, formerly a Republican.

Van Rensaler Smith, farmer, sec. 32; P. O., Cannonsburg; was born in St. Stephens, N. B., Sept. 17, 1830. His parents, John and Lydia (Hill) Smith, were natives also of New Brunswick. The spring of 1850 he came to Cannon tp. with his parents, who pur- chased land on secs. 32 and 33 and 5 of Ada. Mr. Smith, then but a young man, engaged in the pursuits of clearing and farming. He aided in the first improvements of Cannon; also helped build the first house in the town of Nelson. He was married Nov. 6, 1856, to Lovina Condon, daughter of Bryan S. and Susanna (Cox) Condon, born in Ontario, March 6, 1829. Of their six children five are living, viz .: Susanna L., born Dec. 17, 1857; Hannah A., June 15, 1859; John C., Nov. 6, 1860; Emory A., May 19, 1864, and Elvin O., Feb. 14, 1871. Bryan L, born Aug. 4, 1869, died Aug. 23, 1869. Mr. Smith and wife are members of the Congregational Church and he is National in politics. He owns 150 acres of land on secs. 32, 33 and on 5 of Ada.

Thomas Sowerby was born in Cumberland Co., England, June 5, 1831; is son of John and Ann (Ivinson) Sowerby. His parents landed at New York city in 1864 and came to Kent county soon after. They delayed a little at Cannonsburg and settled on a farm on sec. 2; in 1872 moved to Rockford; his mother died Sept. 1, 1880; his father is a farmer and innkeeper at Rockford. Mr. Sowerby started from Liverpool, England,in September,1864, and the same month landed at Quebec, coming immediately to his father's in this tp. Soon after he bought his present farm. He was mar- ried May 17, 1857, to Jane Smith, born in Cumberland Co., England, Feb. 6, 1835. They have had six children; five are living-Robert S., John, William, Thomas and Elizabeth. £ Mr. Sowerby was a civil engineer in England; owns 160 acres of land on sec. 4 and is a member of the Grange. P. O., Rockford.

James Thomas was born in Northumberland Co., Pa., Jan. 1, 1814; is son of William and Susan (Little) Thomas, natives of

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CANNON TOWNSHIP.

Pennsylvania, of French and Welsh descent. His Grandfather Thomas came to America with Lafayette; Mathias Little, grandsire on the mother's side, was also a Revolutionary patriot. Mr. Thomas' mother died when he was four years old and he was bound to Jo- seph R. Priestly. Their affairs were managed by the outside jury -the neighbors-and Mr. Thomas lived to regret the severing of his relations with his real friend, Mr. Priestly. He learned the blacksmith's trade and after six months went home and went to work on the canal; was taken sick, and after recovery went to boating, working hard and saving nothing, going to school in the winter and doing chores to pay his way.

In 1834 he came to Michi- gan, and in 1841 settled on sec. 20, southwest 80 acres, and in 1865 sold out to his son and bought on sec. 27. In 1867 he bought a

blacksmith shop. He was fifth settler in the tp., and his expe- riences with Indians and pioneer life rank with the " oft told tale." He was married in February, 1832, to Elizabeth Miller. They had five sons and four daughters; two children are deceased. Four sons enlisted in Co. H, 21st Reg. M. V. I .; son John was Sergeant. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are members of the M. E. Church. Mrs. Thomas was born July 23, 1810, and died May 31, 1880.

Stephen L. Tuttle was born Aug. 19, 1818, in Vermont; is a son of Solomon and Mary (Day) Tuttle. About the year 1821 they moved to Genesee Co., N. Y., and in 1826 to Canada. In 1834 they settled in Macomb Co., Mich., where the elder Tuttle died, and his widow went to Wisconsin and there died. Mr. Tut- tle was bred to the occupation of marble cutter, at which he worked until the age of 28, when he engaged in farming. He was mar- ried in 1846 to Hannah Tuttle, a native of New York, who died a few months after marriage, and in 1847 he was again married, to Ann Brabb, a native of Yorkshire, England. They have three children-Martha E., Geo. L. and Mary J. In 1851 they moved to Cannon and settled on 160 acres on sec. 6. Sept. 4, 1875, Mrs. Tuttle died, and Mr. Tuttle was married again March 5, 1877, to Elizabeth T. Angel, daughter of John Rogers, born in New York. They have one child-Frank B. Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle are mem- bers of the Methodist Church. P. O., Rockford.

Wm. C. Young was born Sept. 1, 1821, at Little Britain, Orange Co., N. Y .; is a son of Johnston and Margaret (Berkley) Young. His father was a native of Ireland; his mother was born in New York, of Scotch parentage. At the age of 21 Mr. Young received about $1,700, and prospected nearly two years in the South and West of the U. S., searching for a spot to locate that exactly pleased him. Much seeking and much territory of varied attrac- tions only confused his preconceived ideas, and at last, in June, 1844, he invested his money in a large tract of Government land in Cannon, and pitched his tent. He is probably the wealthiest farmer in Kent county. His taxes in 1880 were upward of $250. His whole course through life has been one long series of successes, and withal he is an unassuming, unostentatious country gentle-

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

man, old-fashioned enough to be a Christian in the real sense of the character; liberal to all religious and charitable projects; relied on and trusted; his "word a bond, and his honesty without re proach." He is Director and Trustee of the First National Bank of Greenville; has been well known financially in Kent county for years; has been a money-loaner, and trusted many a man in neces- sity, and found comparatively little ingratitude among his debtors. In the whole course of his business life he has foreclosed but two mortgages, and never sued a man. He hired a man named Peter Deglapper as his substitute in the war of the Rebellion. Mr. D. enlisted in a Michigan regiment for three years; was with Sher- man on the "march to the sea," and left his bounty money, $700, in Mr. Young's hands until his return. Mr. Y. is a Repub- lican and has served his tp. in various official positions; has been Trustee of the Church 27 years, also Treasurer. He located land in six places, including 480 acres; now owns 370 acres of magnificent land, with marvelous improvements. His house is located in the "most beautiful spot in the world," and his sur- roundings are faultless. He was married in 1850 to Maria J. Ar- nott, born in New York, of Scotch descent. They have two sons- David and Willis, both living at home. David is married to Nel- lie Church.

CASCADE TOWNSHIP.

The following sketch of Cascade was prepared in 1870, by Mrs. S. B. Cooper, formerly Miss Sebrina Baxter, of the township, for Mr. Dillenback's directory. It is well written, considered accu- rate, and worthy of a place here.

Cascade presents a variety of soil, from light sand and gravel to heavy clay, and is greatly diversified by hills, valleys, streams, lakes, springs and marshes. Grand river flows northwest through sections 12, 1 and 2, into Ada; and the Thornapple-one of the most important tributaries of Grand river -- takes its course north through the center of the township. Entering Cascade from the south on section 24, it flows through 27, 22, 16, 9, 10, 3 and 4 to Grand river, at Ada village. On the east of the Thornapple, a creek rises in section 11, and enters that stream at section 10. Another, one branch of which rises in section 30, Lowell, and the other in section 1, of Caledonia, forms a junction at section 26, in Cascade, and carries its united currents to the Thornapple at 27, furnishing, in its route, water-power to a saw-mill on section 26. On the west side of the river, a creek, rising on section 29, forms a junction with it on section 34. Another, having its head on section 19, enters the river at 16. Another, whose source is a large boil- ing spring on section 6, in its course of two and a half miles attains considerable size, and empties its waters into the Thorn- apple at section 9. Remains of an old beaver dam were to be found on this creek quite recently. On the southeast corner of section 14 is found a lake with a greater depth of water than Lake Erie. The aborigines of the country have a singular superstition with regard to this lake, never floating their canoes on its bosom, or eating the fish of its waters, asserting that it is inhabited by an "Evil Spirit," or, as they term it, a " Great Snake." Another lake is also found on the line of sections 4 and 5. Also one in the northwest corner of section 8, matched by one some forty rods di- rectly south.

This township contains but little pine, which is sparsely scat- tered along the borders of its streams. The sandy soil is chiefly oak openings; while the gravel and clay bear some fine sugar orchards and are also productive of beech, elm, ash, hickory, and a meager supply of white wood.

Lime is manufactured on section 35. Brick have also been man- ufactured on section 3, and a bed of red ochre lying on section 9 was used in painting some of the first buildings and the old red school-house on that section. This mineral is not considered pure

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

enough to be profitably worked. The soil also shows traces of bi- tuminous coal, copper and iron, the latter ore manifesting itself in magnetic or mineral springs. One of these, of great power, was discovered in 1870, on the farm of James Sutphen, section 26. The water bubbles up from the soil with icy coldness, and flows over a pebbly bed, staining, with brilliant coloring, its stony path. Iron brought in contact with it becomes heavily charged with magnetism. The water has not yet been analyzed. The Magnetic Mineral Springs are the property of Chas. F. Holt.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

This township was at first a part of the township of Ada. Lewis Cook, a native of New Jersey, is said to have been the first settler within the limits of Cascade. He removed from that State to Seneca Co., N. Y .; from thence to Washtenaw county, in this State; from which he came, a pioneer settler to Cascade, in 1836. At or near this time also came Mr. Hiram Laraway to this place from New York, his wife being a sister of Mrs. Cook. But, dis- couraged by the hardships of the wilderness, he soon returned to his native place. In the following year, Edward Linen, a native of Ireland, whose shores he left for America in 1836, settled in Cas- cade, where he yet resides, a useful, industrious citizen. During the year 1838, and the subsequent year, he was followed by James May, David Petted, John Farrell, James and William Annis, Mi- chael Matthews, Patrick, Christopher and Michael Eardley, all natives of the same country, most of whom yet survive, orderly citizens of their adopted home. In 1838, Frederick A. Marsh, of New York, united in marriage with Olive Guild, a daughter of Joel Guild, one of the pioneer settlers of Grand Rapids, and be- gan domestic life in the unbroken wilderness, one mile north, and west of where Cascade village now stands. Mr. Marsh lived to see the forest yield its place to cultivated fields and comfortable dwellings, and to have a school-house erected on his own land. He was killed by a fall from his wagon in 1856. Mrs. Marsh, afterward Mrs. Walden, survived her husband eleven years, and often spoke of those days, when her nearest neighbors were miles away, and for three months at a time she did not see the face of a white man, except her husband, while a human being passing over the newly cut road was a relief to her intense loneliness. She died at the old homestead in 1867.

Some time during 1839 or 1840, Mr. Laraway returned to his Cascade possessions, and was frozen to death between that place and Ada, in the winter of 1841. Widow Laraway bravely met the heavy burdens of pioneer life, and trained up three sons and a daughter to lives of usefulness; while the name of Aunt Mary Laraway became a household word in the community and a syno- nym of virtue and piety. She lived to see her children settled in

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CASCADE TOWNSHIP.

life, and died suddenly in the summer of 1869. Her oldest son is well known as the proprietor of a stone-cutting establishment in Grand Rapids. Peter and George Teeple came to Cascade during these years, joining the settlers on the west side of the Thornapple, while the eastern side was yet unmarked by civilization, but in- habited on and near sections 23 and 26 by a colony of about 350 natives, known, through the adoption of the name of their mis- sionary, as the Slater Indians. In the year 1841, Peter Whitney, of Ohio, moved his family into that part of Cascade known as Whitneyville, and E. D. Gove, of Massachusetts, selected a site for his future home near the center of the township on sections 22, 15 and 14, to which he brought his family in the summer of 1842. Horace Sears, from New York, and Zerah and Ezra Whitney (father and brother to Peter) accompanied them in their journey and settled in Whitneyville. Mr. Gove yet resides on the land he first settled, on section 15. But the old homestead on section 21 -being the second house built on the east side of the river, in this township - having sheltered children and grandchildren, was burned in the autumn of 1869. Mr. Sears yet lives in Whitney- ville; and Zerah Whitney, elected Justice of the Peace at the first township meeting, -- now an aged man, -resides with his son Ezra on a farm south of Grand Rapids. Another son of Zerah Whit- ney, Oscar, died at Whitneyville in 1849; and the remaining sons, Peter, Johnson and Martin, now reside in other parts of the county.

In the spring of 1845, Asa W. Denison and family, of Massa- chusetts (accompanied by a brother, Gidcon H. Denison, looking for a homestead, to which he brought his family the following year), came to join the settlers on the west side of the Thornapple. Coming in on the State road, from Battle Creek to Grand Rapids, the teams, women and children of the company were obliged to wait at Ezra Whitney's public-house, for the road to be " chopped out " between that point and the river, theirs being the first teams that passed over the road. At Cascade they forded the Thornapple with their household goods, and found timbers on the ground for the erection of the old Ferry House (now Cascade Hotel), which was, at that time, owned by D. S. T. Weller. During that year the house was so far completed as to admit of occupancy, and the first ferry-boat commenced its trips just above where the bridge now spans that stream. D. S. T. Weller then owned the plat of land now occupied by Cascade village, although first purchased by Joel Guild; and it was at that time staked out into lots of one acre each, as the fine fall on the river gave hopes for the speedy erection of mills at that place, some of the most sanguine settlers prophesying that Cascade would outstrip Grand Rapids in the strife for precedence. Mr. W. sold out his property here to W. S. Gunn, in 1846, who held it until after the organization of the township. Mr. Weller ultimately settled in Grand Rapids city, where he remained until he transferred his home to Detroit, in 1869.

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

During the year 1845, a disease, which our old settlers denomi- nate the black tongue, broke out among the Indians near Whitney- ville, reducing their number in a few weeks to about 200 persons. The band now became slowly wasted by disease and removal, until less than 50 remained at the time of their removal to the Indian Reservation in 1856. In the year 1846. another family was added to the few settlers, of the east side of the river -- Jared Strong, the first settler in the forest between E. D. Gove's and Ada. The following year a school was opened in a little log house on the river bank, section 27, for the few pupils of that vicinity. Who the young woman was to whom belongs the rank of pioneer teacher we have been unable to ascertain, or whether this was the first school taught in the township. It was certainly the first on the east side of the river; and the lumber sawn for the Whitneyville school-house, erected in 1848, was among the first work done by the old saw-mill, on Sucker creek, then owned by Peter Whitney. About this time, also, the Kalamazoo stage made its trips through Whitneyville, via Ada, for Grand Rapids.

FIRST LAND-BUYERS.

The persons who made the first entries of lands in this division of the county are named in the following order:

John H. Ostrom, section 1, Oct. 26, 1835; Thomas H. Hubbard, section 3, Oct. 28, 1834; Moses Richards, section 6, Nov. 7, 1836; Erie Prince, section 9, Nov. 9, 1832; Alexander H. Mckinstry, section 9, Nov. 30, 1835; Robert Cutler, section 13, March 16, 1836; John Van Fleet, section 15, Jan. 4, 1833; George Kendall, section 19, Oct. 1, 1836; John R. Wacherer, section 22, Aug. 8, 1835; Stephen Warren, section 28, Oct. 19, 1835; William Annis, section 33, Dec. 6, 1836, and Robert Booth, section 34, March 26, 1836.

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History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 68

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co. Number of Pages: 1434

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co.
Number of Pages: 1434