USA > Michigan > Lapeer County > History of Lapeer County, Michigan : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 26
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1872-Supervisor, John Freer; clerk, Albert Bartlett; treas- urer, Franklin Goodrich.
1873-Supervisor, John Freer; clerk, Albert Bartlett; treas- urer, Franklin Goodrich.
1874-Supervisor, John Freer; clerk, Albert Bartlett; treas- urer, Franklin Goodrich; number of votes, 222.
1875-Supervisor, Levi L. Sutton; clerk, Joseph Manwaring; treasurer, Joseph Darwood.
1876 -- Supervisor, Levi L. Sutton; clerk, Albert Bartlett; treasurer, Joseph Darwood; number of votes, 258.
1877-Supervisor, John Freer; clerk, Heber McClusky; treas- urer, Joseph Darwood; number of votes, 267.
1878-Supervisor, Levi L. Sutton; clerk, Albert Bartlett; treasurer, Joseph Darwood.
1879-Supervisor, Levi L. Sutton; clerk, L. B. McNeil; treas- urer, Franklin Goodrich; number of votes, 262.
1880-Supervisor, Levi L. Sutton; clerk, Lorin B. McNeil; treasurer, Franklin Goodrich; number of votes, 262.
1881-Supervisor, Joseph Manwaring; clerk, William H. H. Cheasbro; treasurer, Joseph Darwood; number of votes, 306.
1882-Supervisor, Joseph Manwaring; clerk, William H. H. Cheasbro; treasurer, Joseph Darwood; number of votes, 267.
1883-Supervisor, Joseph Manwaring; clerk, Perry H. Robin- son ; treasurer, William J. Reynolds; number of votes, 273.
LAND ENTRIES PRIOR TO 1846.
TOWNSHIP 6 NORTH, RANGE 11 EAST.
SECTION
1. Silas Southwell, December 13. 1834. Benjamin Gould, May 27, 1835. Luke Perkins, December 18, 1835. Albert J. Southwell, May 5, 1836. Nathan Dickinson, William H. Imlay, and George Beach, May 10, 1836.
Martin Quatermass, July 5, 1836.
SECTION 2. Andrew Mattoon, May 6, 1834. Daniel Smith, July 29, 1834. Arick Sutherland, June 24, 1835.
Onesimus T. Curtis, July 14, 1835. Abner H. Fisher, October 22, 1835. John C. Hincks, November 13, 1835. Marcus Vilings, December 18, 1835. Jenius Huntley, December 24, 1835. Andrew Mahaffy, January 6, 1836. Andrew Mahaffy, February 4, 1836.
SECTION 3. Calvin Bateman, June 5, 1835. Abner H. Fisher, October 22, 1835. Amasa Messenger, November 27, 1835. Jedediah Messenger, November 27, 1835. Ira C. Day, March 3, 1836. John Stocksledger, May 26, 1836. Jesse Seeley, May 30, 1836. William Quatermass, July 5, 1836.
SECTION 4. Ira C. Day, May 3, 1836. Josiah Goodrich, Jr., April 27, 1836. Josiah Goodrich, Jr., May 3, 1836. Eliza Whittaker, June 15, 1836. Eliza Whittaker, June 16, 1836.
Ebenezer Draper, June 16, 1836.
Walter Thompson, May 26, 1837. Samuel J. Lewis, June 2, 1837. Samuel J. Lewis, September 29, 1838.
SECTION 5. Joseph Gilman and Orrin Cartwright, March 24, 1836.
Lyman Wilcox, July 5, 1836.
Gideon S. Wells, September 24, 1836.
Jonathan T. Walton, November 29, 1836.
Simeon Hodges, May 29, 1837. Jacob Eoff, September 23, 1838.
Marvin Reed, May 29, 1840.
SECTION 6. Jason Gibbs, July 2, 1836. John Blow, May 29, 1837. William Moe, July 15, 1837. James Blow, July 21, 1838. Russell Bishop, September 21, 1838.
William Moe and Hiram Squier, March 9, 1839. John Courter, December 3, 1840. Elizabeth Courter, May 27, 1841. Luke F. Roscoe, December 19, 1843. Cassander H. Philo, June 17, 1844.
SECTION 7. Peter Walker, May 23, 1836. Jason Gibbs, July 2, 1836. John Brooks, July 13, 1836. James Blow, July 23, 1838. Maria Dann, March 27, 1839.
Benjamin Thorne, August 7, 1839. William Griffin, August 31, 1839. Benjamin Skidmore, October 29, 1839.
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
SECTION 8. Joseph Gilman and Orrin Cartwright, March 24, 1836. Beriah Matteson, September 16, 1836. Paul Spafford, November 12, 1836. Peter Dusing, November 16, 1836. Jacob Eoff, September 3, 1838. Peter Dusing, May 17, 1839. Jacob Eoff, May 21, 1839. Benjamin Skidmore, October 29, 1839.
SECTION 9. Timothy Utley, April 8, 1836. Eliza Whitacre, April 8, 1836. Dewit Denton, May 20, 1836. Peter Dusing, November 16, 1836. George Sweet, December 22, 1836. Charles Wright, December 22, 1836. William Twite, August 19, 1839. SECTION 10. Robert O. Curtis, July 22, 1835 .. Amasa Messenger, November 27, 1835. Oliver Lewis, April 22, 1836. John W. Day, May 11, 1836. Ezra Hood, May 30, 1836. William Hayes, June 6, 1836. Ezra B. Hazen, June 23, 1836.
SECTION 11. Joseph S. Gibbings, June 24, 1835. Charles W. Chamberlin, July 8, 1835. Ethan Squiers, December 24, 1835. John M. Chamberlin, December 29, 1835. Oliver Lewis, April 22, 1836. Luman Squiers, May 19, 1836. Hiram Squier, May 19, 1836. John W. Squier, June 17, 1836.
SECTION 12. Alfred Bacheller, October 7, 1834. Isaac Smith, May 29, 1835. Holden Tripp, November 27, 1835. Isaac Smith, December 5, 1835. Asa Huntley, February 22, 1836. Asa Huntley, February 25, 1836. David Smith, March 1, 1836. John Taylor, Jr., March 14, 1836. Nathan Dickenson, William H. Imlay and George Beach, March 29, 1836. SECTION 13. John M. Lamb, January 23, 1836. John M. Lamb, March 24, 1836. Nathan Dickenson, William H. Imlay and George Beach, March 29, 1836. Peter Van Every, April 29, 1836. David Lee, November 12, 1836. Henry Hawkins and Van Rensselaer Hawkins, April 13, 1837. SECTION 14. John Frasier, December 24, 1835. Peter Desnoyers, March 7, 1836. Aaron Moe, March 9, 1836. Peter Desnoyers, March 10, 1836. Peter Van Every, April 29, 1836. Sanford Kendrick, May 19, 1836. Nathaniel C. Naramor, June 16, 1836. William Ruby, July 1, 1836. Francis Ruby, February 16, 1836. SECTION 15. Hiram Squier, May 19, 1836. Sanford Kendrick, May 19, 1836. George Squier, May 19, 1836. Homer S. Beardsley, September 16, 1836. James R. Jackman, October 11, 1836. Hiran Harris, January 16, 1837.
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SECTION 16. Henry Hawkins and Van Rensselaer Hawkins, Feb- ruary 10, 1837. SECTION 17. Perlina Wright, November 9, 1836. Isaac Parshall, April 15, 1837. James Freer, September 6, 1841. George J. Sweet, June 17, 1841. Thomas Riches, July 16, 1842.
SECTION 18. Alfred Bacheller, September 30, 1836. Lodama Bacheller, December 17, 1836. David Taylor, November 10, 1836. Henry and Van Rensselaer Hawkins, April 17, 1837. James Freer, January 1, 1841.
SECTION 19. Ames M. Freeman, September 14, 1836. Daniel Freeman, September 14, 1836.
SECTION 20. Hollister Lathrop, September 14, 1836.
SECTION 21. Miles Cady, February 22, 1837. Miles Cady, April 15, 1837. Henry Hawkins and Van Rensselaer Hawkins, April 17, 1837.
SECTION 22. Cornelius R. Strong, June 13, 1836. Sarah F. Leech, October 28, 1836. Benjamin Haines, January 25, 1837. David Paddock, April 15, 1837. Cyrus Chirchill, April 15, 1837. Albert G. Southwell, June 10, 1839. Archibald Johnson, November 29, 1844.
SECTION 23. Elijah Bachelor, February 25, 1836. James H. Porter, March 7, 1836. John D. McRoberts, May 30, 1836. Noah Cooley, May 30, 1836. George A. Neal, May 30, 1836. James Hines, May 30, 1836. Robert Leech, June 11, 1836.
SECTION 24. Elijah Bachelor, February 25, 1836. Charles Bachelor, March 7, 1836. Robert Leech, June 11, 1836. Stephen Van Fleet, September 16, 1836. Samuel Hovey, January 19, 1839. Samuel Culver, August 12, 1839. George Jones, September 6, 1839. James W. Benjamin, September 7, 1839. Harley K. Fox, July 1, 1839. Elizabeth H. Bancroft, September 22, 1842. John D. McRoberts, July 22, 1839.
SECTION 25. Noble Culver, July 27, 1835. Hiram Terry, November 11, 1835. Nathaniel Terry, May 10, 1836. George B. Meeker, April 1, 1846. Zaramba Middleditch, June 22, 1846. George H. Neal, July 13, 1846. Schuyler Irish, December 2, 1837. James Miller, December 3, 1837. James Miller, June 22, 1841. James W. Benjamin, September 7, 1841. William Hector, December 25, 1839. Daniel B. Miller, August 12, 1844. SECTION 26. George A. Neal, July 6, 1836. James Hinds, July 6, 1836. George Boyer, September 26, 1836. William C. Baldwin, December 2, 1836. Philo Atwell, June 5, 1837. Walter H. Spencer, October 17, 1838. David Atwell, December 19, 1839.
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
SECTION 27. George A. Neal, July 6, 1836. David Churchill, March 16, 1839. Zachariah Sage, April 1, 1839. Zachariah Sage, April 13, 1839. Nathan Galpin, February 15, 1842. James Mair, August 30, 1844. Zachariah Sage, June 11, 1840.
SECTION 28. William Betts, January 21, 1836. James Allen, January 27, 1837. James S. Deming, October 13, 1837. Sanford Porter, May 10, 1839. Marvin Wilber, September 18, 1839. Marvin Wilber, November 11, 1839. Stephen Grinnell, December 7, 1839.
SECTION 29. Brainard Osborn, June 17, 1836. William Betts, June 21, 1836. William H. Farrand, June 21, 1836. Hollister Lathrop, September 14, 1836. James Allen, May 27, 1837. Marvin Wilber, December 7, 1839. Caleb Wilber, Jr., April 23, 1841. Caleb Wilber, November 5, 1841. Corydon Wilber, November 25, 1844. SECTION 30. Stillman Bates, June 3, 1836. Horace A. Jenison, June 11, 1836. Samuel Ewell, June 17, 1836. Silas Tichenor, July 11, 1836,
SECTION 31. Henry Churchill, April 20, 1836. Daniel W. Camp, April 20, 1836. Thomas Greenfield, April 20, 1836. Giles M. Boardman, April 20, 1836. William Plumb, 2d, April 20, 1836. William Humphrey, June 1, 1836.
SECTION 32. William Hodkinson, June 9, 1836. Samuel Ewell, July 8, 1836. Stephen Grinnell, October 12, 1836. SECTION 33. Washington Allen, October 12, 1836. George Smith, January 16, 1837. James Allen, May 27, 1837. David Hill, July 7, 1838. John Sowles, May 17, 1844.
SECTION 34. Ebenezer M. Phelps, December 20, 1836. Abel Williams, January 1, 1839. Marvin Cady, February 25, 1839. Sanford Porter, May 10, 1839. Marvin Cady, August 21, 1839. George W. Dwelle, November 19, 1840. George W. Dwelle, October 21, 1841. James Mair, August 30, 1844.
SECTION 35. Abram Robeson, September 26, 1836. Isaac Parshall, April 15, 1837. Marquis Nye, December 15, 1838. George Boyer, May 1, 1840. Edward Meeker, May 12, 1840. Ezra S. Perry, December 25, 1841. Archibald Johnson, November 29, 1844.
SECTION 36. James Scott, June 4, 1836. John S. Townsend, June 7, 1836. Noble Culver, July 27, 1835. Miles J. Beach, February 17, 1836. Elias Beach, February 17, 1836. Edward Eells, May 17, 1836. Milton Beach, May 25, 1842.
EARLY HISTORY.
In tracing the early history of Dryden there is some doubt as to the accuracy of a few dates, but the statements are generally as correct as can be made after the lapse of nearly fifty years. Most of the early actors upon the scene are gone, and those who remain are aged people whose memories have weakened with the increase of years. A historical sketch of Dryden was written in 1876 by the late Lucius Kendrick, some portions of which are given in this chapter.
The history of Dryden dates back to the year 1834, when Andrew Mattoon settled on section 2. He had come up the year before and built a shanty in Almont Township. The settlers of 1834 were Andrew Mattoon, Levi Washburne, Amasa Messenger, Jedediah Messenger and Hugh Mckay. They came from Macomb County, and made their way from the northern settlements of that county by a road of their own construction, some fourteen miles through the woods. This road was known for years as the "old Messenger road." These men all settled in the north part of the town upon the heavy timber land, and what they esteemed to be the most desirable portion. The oak timbered land was held in rather low estimate by these early settlers, as land that would not pay to cultivate.
Silas Southwell entered land in the fall of 1834, but never became a settler in the town.
In the year 1836 the greater portion of what is now Dryden, was bought principally by actual settlers. In this year large addi- tions were made to the population. Jolin M. Lamb, Sanford Kend- rick, Holden Tripp, Arick Sutherland, Ethan Squier, Luman Squier, James E. King, Isaac Smith, Daniel Smith, Timothy Utley, James P. Whittaker, Jason Gibbs, Jolin Freer, Oliver A. Lewis, Deacon Elijah Look, Deacon Tainter, Peter and Aaron Moe, Jonathan T. Walton, John Thompson, James Goodenough, Henry and Andrew Mahaffy, Marcus Billings, John C. Hincks, Luke Perkins, Seth Hall, James Hodges, Martin Quatermass and Cyrus Perkins were among the principal settlers of that year; all men of moderate means but with more than the average energy of the men of those times; as evidence of which it is only necessary to refer to that and the five years that followed to substantiate the claim.
Those already named were followed by the following additions which were made to the population: Mr. John Gould, Henry Van Kleeck, Rufus and Erastus Wethey, James Hines, Elijah Bartlett, Joseph Winslow, James Miller, Andrew Wood, James H. Holcomb, Ira P. Holcomb, Abel Williams, Chauncey Morgan, Bowdowine Ter- willager, J. F. Jackman, Moses F. Jackman, Sanford Maynard, N. T. Taylor, Miles Cody, Augustus Hilliker, Philo Atwell, Thomas Stafford, Jacob Miller, Homer N. Parker, John Meaker, Philo Meaker, Nathan S. Beardsley, Noble Calver, Nathaniel Terry, Jas. Howard, Benjamin Kniffin, Jolin S. Fellows, H. B. Fall and Ben- jamin Thorne.
WHIGVILLE.
In the winter and spring of 1837 and '38, quite a colony from some of the southern counties located in the southwest part of the town, chief among whom were Joel Dudley, James Allen, Washing- ton Allen, Stephen Grinnel, John and James Phelps, James Dem- ing, Robert Townsend, Uriah Townsend and Jacob Moore. With one or two exceptions they were all Whigs, and hence the name of Whig- ville was given to the locality. Mr. Dudley and Jas. Allen were among the many who left this town at the first excitement as to gold in California, in 1849. Mr. Allen lived to get back, but Dudley died before reaching the much desired El Dorado. Mr. Allen died soon after his return. Mr. Uriah Townsend is the only one of all that
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
colony who is now living, as also is his wife. Mr. Townsend is a man of remarkable activity for a man of his age, being as sprightly and active as a boy of twenty. He has for a number of years given up worldly pursuits and lives in the village of Dryden.
.A MEMORABLE PERIOD.
The years 1836 and '37 constitute a memorable epoch in the history of Dryden, on account of their unfruitfulness. On the 16th of May, 1836, there was a fearful snow-storm, and on the following night a heavy and killing frost. The forest, which was all in full leaf, in three days presented the appearance of October. All tender plants and vegetation were killed or greatly damaged, and all nature for a time seemed to put on the garb of mourning. After a while the trees put out new foliage, and nature seemed to make an effort to recover from the shock, but the season was cold and unproduc- tive, and the new settlers suffered correspondingly. The winter of 1836-'37 was severe, both as to the intensity of the weather and the amount and long continuance of the snow. On the 1st day of May of the following spring there were quite large amounts of snow on the ground, and the ice in the great lakes did not break up so as to admit of the running of boats from Detroit to Buffalo until the 10th or 15th day of May. During all that long and dreary winter it would have been a matter of surprise to those left behind in the old homes at the East to have seen how patiently these new settlers bore up amid all the gloomy and forbidding surroundings. During the day there might have been heard the ax of the unaccustomed chopper in all directions. His object was two-fold: first, to cut down the forest and prepare for a crop the coming year, and, second, to pro- vide hungry and starving cattle with "browse." At night and dur- ing all its lonely hours, could be heard the dismal and wild howl of the wolf, and occasionally the shrill scream of the panther. This was rather wild and unwelcome music to those who were heart-sick and homesick in the far-off wilds from a pleasant home in the East. Oftimes might have been heard issuing from those lonely cabins in the dense, dark forest in the early hours of the evening and again in the small hours of the night, the favorite words of Selkirk while on the desolate island of Juan Fernandes, solitary and alone, when he sang:
Society, friendship and love, Divinely bestowed upon man ; Oh! had I the wings of a dove, How soon would I taste you again.
Then again might have been heard in a more plaintive wail from some one of the lonely group, these words from the disconso- late poet :
"How fleet is the glance of the mind; Compared with the speed of its flight,
The tempest itself lays behind, And the swift winged arrows of light. My friends-do they now and then send A thought or a wish after me? Oh! tell me I yet have a friend, Yet a friend I am never to see."
Then, taking a little more hopeful view of the situation, they would close out with the consoling refrain :
"But there is mercy in every place, And mercy, encouraging thought, Gives every condition a grace, And reconciles man to his lot."
Never before nor since have the people had such sad experi- ences as those of 1836-'37. Snow came early and remained with constantly accumulating volume, and by the middle of December it had obtained the depth of two feet. In the month of January there came on, for a few hours, a violent and heavy rain-storm ac- companied with sleet. Suddenly it turned cold, forming a crust
upon a body of snow some two feet in depth, of sufficient strength to bear up a person. Taking advantage of this condition of things, the people almost all turned hunters. The woods were full of game but comparatively few of the settlers had been able to avail them- selves of the most coveted part of it, and now that the game could be caught by dogs with little or no trouble, each householder set himself to work to supply himself with venison. All the dogs in the country, great and small, were brought into service in the chase of deer, which were easily overtaken and caught. Just as soon as they started upon the bound their sharp feet penetrated the crust and a run of a few hundred yards would tire them out, and their capture was easily made. In this way hundreds of them were slaughtered and the people became surfeited upon venison. Wolves fared sumptuously and the poor deer grew smaller in numbers with each succeeding day while the crust lasted, which was for some weeks. Probably there never was such a wholesale slaughter of the innocents in corresponding times before or since, neither has there since been so plenty of that desirable kind of game.
The long and anxiously looked-for spring finally came, and with it the labors and hardships incident to a new country and a people of limited means.
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS.
It was during the spring and summer of 1837 that the greatest scarcity of provisions of all kinds prevailed, and there probably never was a time during the settlement of the town that the people were so poorly provided with the means of purchasing the needed supplies as during that year. Flour was held firmly at from $15 to $16 per barrel, and pork from $25 to $30; of the latter there was but little used. We know of one barrel being brought from Detroit and divided between four or five families, and this was all they had of that kind of meat for the season. At one time when it was known that every family was out of pork, a wag of a fellow made the significant remark, "It would be an excellent time to be vaccinated for the small-pox."
During the summer flour was so exceeding scarce and dear, and the people so destitute of means to buy with, that the most forehanded of the settlers had to take jobs to chop and clear land for $10 per acre, and sow the same with wheat, furnishing the seed themselves, taking in payment for the labor and seed flour at the rate of $15 per barrel. This was very humiliating and taxing to these men who had before supposed themselves to be quite in- dependent. But certain speculators, seeing and knowing their necessity, made it the occasion of their opportunity, and apparently succeeded for a time, but the success was merely transitory. These speculators had fancied large advances in the price of their lands so improved, and the land they held adjacent to these improve- ments. Time demonstrated the folly of their hopes and estimates. The great crash in money matters during 1837 and 1838, with the effects following for several years thereafter, created a stagna- tion in all commercial transactions, and more especially in the sale of wild lands, that made it anything but agreeable or profitable to hold them. Taxes were constantly accumulating, and from year to year adding to the cost of the land, and no sales. Very many speculators abandoned their lands altogether and suffered them to be sold for taxes, while others would sell for half or three-fourths of the purchase money, and glad of so fortunate a chance. Those were men who bought on borrowed capital, in the hopes of being in a short time vastly rich, but the reverse was the result-they be- came vastly poor.
The company who sold the flour and secured the clearing of their land at such ruinous rates to the settlers never profited by their oppression; on the contrary, their lands became a drag to them, and they cursed the day that made them the owners of
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
Michigan wild lands. The most of them have long since gone to their reward.
EARLY MATRIMONY.
The first wedding in town was in November, 1836-Mr. Israel Curtis to a widow Fox, at the house of Mr. Isaac Smith, by Caleb Carpenter, Esq.
During the years from 1835 to 1840, the currency of the peo- ple, with but few exceptions, was one and the same, lumber and shingles; more especially the latter. Lumber was held at about from $4 to $8 per M, and shingles about $1 per M. The nearest points of trade where goods were kept in any quantity was Romeo and Lapeer, about fifteen miles to each. Ox teams, with few exceptions, were all the motive power in style, and these answered to clear the land, harrow in the grain, go to mill, to meeting, to market, and to draw the sled with the intended bride upon it to get married. The wedding tour was varied according to the means and taste of the parties, and the marriage fee was regulated by the cir- cumstances of the case. We have in remembrance an instance where a young couple found it necessary to have the marriage ceremony said over to them, to act a little retroactively. The minister's services were secured at a certain time on the following morning, about half-past six. At the time appointed the expectant couple, with two attendants, could have been seen wending their way over and through a new fallow of burnt logs to the house of the parson. The ceremony was short and to the point; they were pronounced "man and wife," and they breathed easier. The happy bridegroom took the minister one side, and told him he was short of funds, but if he had any work to do he would be ready at any time to do it. The "first babe" of this happy couple was born in time to have played among the black stumps of the fallow crossed by the bridal party on their way to the minister's on that early Sunday morning. The father and bridegroom in due time worked for the minister three days, clearing off his new fallow, and the fee was canceled.
Another incident of pioneer marriage and backwoods wedding is in the memory of some at least of the early settlers-a real "rustic wedding." The twain to be united were somewhat advanced in age, and practiced in economy. The officiating clergyman was one of those shrewd, sharp wits, always ready for any and all oc- casions-a perfect gentleman as well as a joker. The ceremony was duly performed, and a substantial dinner of boiled beef, pork, potatoes, onions, cabbage and turnips had been partaken of by the hungry party, and the minister was about to depart, when the bridegroom beckoned him one side, and in a low and subdued whisper asked him what was the fee? Taken somewhat aback the minister stood a moment in suspense as to what he should say. "Well," said he, "I have three prices: Upper ten, $5; medium people, $3; and niggers, 12 shillings." The economic bridegroom fumbled in his pockets a moment, and the minister left well paid for his day's experiences, and advanced knowledge of human nature. He entered in his diary for that day, "a good substantial dinner, and 150 cents cash, from wedding fee."
EARLY EVENTS.
The first frame building of any kind in town was a barn, built in 1837, by [Charles Wright, on the farm now owned by Joseph Smith, two miles east of Thornville.
The first flouring-mill built in town, was by the Messrs. May- nard Bros., on a small spring brook one and a half miles south of Dryden village. This mill was built in 1840, passed through a variety of changes and improvements, doing quite an extensive busi- ness, until the year 1870, when it was burned down, and has never been rebuilt. It was owned at the time by Mr. Julius Lee.
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The first school-house built in town was of logs, and the first school was taught by Henry Haines. The second school-house was also of logs, and built in what is now Dryden village, and the first school taught in it was by John D. McRoberts.
Daniel Smith was the first hotel-keeper in town. The building was of logs, located one mile north of Dryden. Mr. Smith saw much of affliction in the last years of his life, suffering some two years with a cancer on the face and neck, from the effects of which he died at the residence of his son in Imlay.
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