USA > Michigan > Lapeer County > History of Lapeer County, Michigan : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56
20
HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
long as he preaches; (probably won't, whoever preaches). Also, in this village, which attends the earth on its annual and diurnal rev- olutions with notable regularity, are certain persons who voluntarily contribute to keep watch and ward over the affairs of young people; who administer on such by authority of "they say" and "I guess," utterly oblivious in their querulous years that they were youthful once and lived in glass houses that a pebble might have shattered Many a fair reputation have they insidiously "shouldn't-wondered" to Hades which, else, had shone like the sun. Over many a young heart that was striving to win a place among the honored and wor- thy have they cast a cloud of heaviness that has smothered its hopeful merits in despair. They are ever on the alert to detract, never to encourage. But it was ever thus. But in this village are many good people who live in charity and neighborly feeling one toward another; who remember that all men are not oracles of ad- vice; who do not suffer the barnacles of detraction to soil their gar- ments; whose hearts go out in benign feeling toward their fellow mortals; who were taught the valuable lesson in early youth to avoid things that concerned them not; whose minds to them such king- doms are that they have enough to occupy them without meddling with other people's business. Such people are the golden pillars which uphold the place. Such is the village and such will it be "till the funeral note of the world shall be knelled" by eternity's solemn bell.
CHAPTER IV.
PIONEER PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL HISTORY - EARLY RELIGIOUS
MATTERS-BENCH AND BAR-EARLY DOCTORS- EARLY SCHOOLS.
"The groves were God's first temples; ere man first learned To hew the shaft and lay the architrave And spread the roof above them; ere he framed The lofty vault to gather and roll back The sound of anthems."
A high order of civilization was introduced into this new coun- try by the early settlers. They came from a land of churches and schools and brought with them a high appreciation of the worth of a Christian intelligence. The first echo of the woodman's ax had scarcely died away before the itinerant preacher arrived and the notes of prayer and praise ascended from a place of worship. The denominations first represented here were the Methodist, Congrega- tional, Presbyterian, Baptist and Christian. The first religious service in the county was held by the Rev. Abel Warren, of the M. E. Church, who preached a funeral discourse for an infant son of Mr. Bezahel Bristol, of the township of Almont. Rev. Mr. War- ren was the pioneer preacher of this and several other counties. He was a man of large heart, and his labors were crowned with great success. His memory is still green in the hearts of the old pioneers and their children. He also performed the first marriage ceremony, that of Mr. Cullen Baldwin and Miss Nancy Elderkin, at the house of Mr. Oliver Bristol, of Almont, Jan. 15, 1832. No church was organized here however until 1834, when a class was formed by Rev. L. D. Whitney, who, however, did not remain here long. This was known as the Newbury appointment, and was the nucleus of the present M. E. Church of Almont. About the year 1832 an M. E. minister by the name of Swazie, came from Flint to Lapeer. He was a man of rough speech and assumed the high pre- rogative of judge of the living and dead, which aroused the spirit of the pioneer young men to such a degree that he hastily left and did not return. His successor was a cripple named Washington Jack- son, who came from Farmington. In 1835 Lapeer circuit was formed, with Rev. O. F. North as pastor. The same year the Had- ley church was organized by Mr. North and was composed of four
members. The first sermon in Hadley was preached by Rev. James Hemingway. The first M. E. love feast and communion was held by Rev. E. H. Pilcher, the presiding elder, some time in 1835. The M. E. Church having organized a circuit with its headquarters at the county seat, the preachers in charge organized classes in almost every settlement in the county, meeting with these classes once a month perhaps. The history of much of this heroic labor and self- sacrifice will never be written, the very names of many of the pio- neer preachers having been forgotten, as the policy of this church is a continual change of pastors. When Lapeer was first made an appointment, in 1834, it was attached to Detroit district, with Rev. James Gilruth for presiding elder, who was succeeded in 1836 by Wm. Herr; he in 1838 by Geo. Smith; he in 1842 by Elijah H. Pilcher. In 1843 Lapeer was attached to Shiawassee district, with Larman Chatfield for presiding elder. In 1845 Larman Chatfield was still presiding elder, but the district bore the name of Grand River. In 1846 the appointment was again placed on Detroit dis- trict, with Elijah Crane for presiding elder, who was succeeded in 1848 by James Shaw.
In 1850, it was embraced in Flint district with George Bradley for presiding elder, wlio was succeeded in 1852 by George Smith, who in turn was succeeded in 1856 by Samuel Clements, Jr., who was succeeded in 1858 by James S. Smart. In 1862 Hadley was placed on the Romeo district, with John Russell for presiding elder. At the present time Lapeer belongs to the Flint district.
Contemporary with the labors of Washington Jackson, O. F. North and L. D. Whitney, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, were the labors of Rev. Mr. Ruggles, of the Congregational Church, who was a man of unbounded zeal and energy. He resided at Pontiac, and preached wherever he could gatber an audience, making his missionary tours mostly on foot. He planted several churches in the wilderness, some of which are extinct, but most of them remain a monument of his arduous labors. Presbyterian and Congre- gational churches were organized at a very early date in Lapeer, as many of the first settlers there were adherents to the "Westmins- ter" creeds. The First Congregational Church of Lapeer was organized in July 1833, by Mr. Ruggles. This society was after- wards known as the Congregational and Presbyterian Church, and still later the Congregational part was dropped altogether. Subse- quent to the organization of the Lapeer society one was organized in Hadley.
The Congregational Church has long since been merged with other religious bodies. The Presbyterian Church still remains one of the oldest and wealthiest religious bodies in the county. Rev. Mr. Sly was, we believe, the pioneer Presbyterian home missionary. In 1838 a Congregational society was formed in Almont, the result of the labors of Rev. Hiram Smith, who ministered to the church for three years, then was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Parker, to whom the county is largely indebted for his noble educational efforts. His successor, Mr. James R. Taylor, was also a prominent edu- cator in early times. Indeed we can scarcely appreciate the good done by these men who went into the wilderness preaching and teaching, sharing the scanty fare of the pioneer, and forming the mind and tastes of the youth then growing into manhood and womanhood in tliese wild forests. If they did not plant as many churches or gain as many converts to their peculiar creed as did their Methodist brethren, we can but think that their influence on society was even greater, for they were men of liberal culture, of which the circuit rider of those days possessed far too little. But the present generation cannot be too thankful for the services of both home missionaries and circuit riders in those early days. Both classes did their work, and did it well. True we smile at many of the questions which produced theological disputes, in which there
6)
21
HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
was too much of the spirit of the world, the flesh and the devil, but these were the errors of the times. Among these early home mis- sionaries who were also teachers, were Rev. E. W. True, who for a long time taught the Lapeer academy, and Rev. Charles Kellogg, of Almont, who was tried for heresy while pastor of that church. He was acquitted and soon after resigned his charge and we believe left the sacred desk, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches were also formed at Farmer's Creek in 1838 and 1840. The Pres- byterian Church was founded by Rev. Abijah Blanchard, who was its pastor for two years, but his New England Puritan ideas were far too rigid to suit the free life of the wilderness, or the untamed spirit of Young America. Indeed some of the prosecutions brought before the church were of such a trivial character as to lead us to wonder what manner of spirit could possess the pastor and church. Of course a church a prey to intestine broils is but short lived, and after the removal of Mr. Blanchard we hear nothing more of it. The Congregational Church, formed upon its ruins, flourished for a number of years, but being decimated by death and removals was disbanded.
The United Presbyterians have for years had a flourishing society among the Scotch in the town of Almont, and the Congre- gationalists a few years since built neat churches at Imlay City, Metamora, and several other points. There is also a large church at Oakwood, just over the line in Oakland County, which numbers some of Lapeer's best citizens among her members.
In the year 1837 the Baptist Church in Almont was organized by the Rev. C. Churchill, with sixteen members. He was its pastor for seven years, leaving in 1844. In 1846-'47 they built a church, which we believe they still occupy. The usefulness of this church was at one time greatly crippled by dissensions with their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Patton, who, after his expulsion from the ministry for heresy, founded a Christian Advent Church of which we believe he is still pastor. The Baptist Church of Hadley was also founded in 1837, with seven members. Its first pastor was Rev. W. D. Potter, who remained with them for several years. In 1854 they built and dedicated a church, and soon after the Rev. Mr. Potter resigned his pastorate. Since then this worthy man has been engaged in vari- ous religious and benevolent enterprises, and identified with almost everything calculated to raise the standard of moral or religious culture. For years he was a missionary of the American Sunday- school Union engaged in organizing Sunday-schools in destitute neigborhoods, and his early labors in the causes of education and temperance will not soon be forgotten. Nor will the sufferers of the forest fires of 1871 soon forget his disinterested and zealous labors for their relief. Some time previous to 1840, a church was organized in the eastern part of Metamora, with Rev. Ezra Tripp pastor for a time. A few years after they erected a church at Thornville, but the organization long ago became extinct and the building passed into other hands, and is now called the Free Church. A church was also formed at Lapeer at an early day and prospered for a time, but difficulties between the members and the pastor, which led to the exclusion of the latter from the ministry, ruined the church. Subsequently a new church was formed, which has since prospered greatly.
The Baptists have also church edifices at Imlay City and North Branch, and a flourishing church organization at Gardner's school- house, which is taking measures to erect or procure a house of worship. There are also other societies in the county connected with this denomination.
Although a great deal of pioneer labor was done by ministers of the Christian denomination, very little fruit is apparent at present. Rev. Mr. Cannon founded several societies, all of which are now extinct. But the labors of such men as the Revs. Cannon,
McIntyre and Oviatt cannot be lost, although they did not succeed in establishing their particular tenets here. The Protestant Methodists in some cases followed the Christians, but owing to some peculiarities in their old discipline, their labors were mostly confined to the uneducated class at first. They have two churches at Lapeer, one in the city-the building formerly owned by the Baptists-and one a few miles east of the city, and two or three church edifices at other points. They are increasing quite rapidly of late years.
The Free-will Baptists did some good work at an early day, but the violent opposition of some of their pastors to all secret societies of whatever name or character, and the political sermons preached by others weakened their influence and destroyed the good effect of their labors, so that at present their numbers are very small. Indeed the preaching of political sermons seems never to have any other effect than to destroy the influence of the pastor and break up and scatter churches.
The tour of the Seventh Day Adventists, with their cotton tent, the organization of the church at Lapeer, the building and burning of the first church and the subsequent erection of their present brick edifice, the organization of the large and influential Catholic and Universalist Churches, and the advent of the Lutheran, First Day Advent and Free Methodist Churches are of comparatively recent date.
THE COURTS AND BAR.
One of the first institutions established in a community of pioneers has invariably been some sort of a court of justice, where law could be expounded, justice administered, and other kinds of business, too numerous to mention, transacted. The justice of the peace who presided over the principal court of the early days was necessarily a being of varied attainments in theory, if not in reality. It was his business to unite in holy bonds of matrimony such as desired to be pronounced, and to separate by solemn decree of divorce such as could show just and sufficient cause. He must also apply the principles of law and justice to the whole range of offenses from murder to neighborhood quarrels.
The present system of judiciary of Michigan is most excellent, but it has been developed through a tortuous way. From the date of the settlement of Detroit by the French, in 1701, the people of the region now included in the State of Michigan have lived to the present time under various forms of governments-edicts of kings, orders of military commanders, decrees of imperial parliaments and provincial governors, ordinances of national congresses, enact- ments of territorial governors and councils, provisions of State constitutions, and the laws of the State legislature. From the coutume de Paris to the last State constitution and enactments of the last State legislature, the changes of 182 years have left their impress along devious ways.
Among the first acts of the State legislature was one dealing with the circuit court. It decreed that "the Fourth Circuit shall be composed of the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Shiawassee, Genesee, Saginaw, Ionia and Kent, and the counties attached thereto for judicial purpose." Changes have been made in the territory of circuits as the necessities and convenience of popula- tion demanded.
The first term of the circuit court held in Lapeer County con- vened on the 17th of October, 1837, Hon. George Morrell presid- ing and Hon. Norman Davison as associate. N. H. Hart was clerk and Samuel Murlin sheriff. The judges presiding since are as follows: Hons. Charles N. Whipple, Daniel Goodwin, Warner Wing, Sanford M. Green, Josiah Turner, James S. Dewey, Levi B. Taft, Augustus C. Baldwin, S. B. Gaskill and William W. Stickney. The machinery of justice was much more complicated at that
22
HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
time than at present. Every prisoner arrested for any criminal offense was brought before the grand jury and a true bill of indict- ment found against him before the case could proceed to trial, and every circuit judge had at least one associate.
The first grand jury summoned in the county was as follows: Caleb Carpenter, Jonathan O. Freeman, John Shafer, Richard Arms, J. B. Morse, Jedediah E. Hough, Oliver P. Davison, Josiah R. Rood, Timothy Wheeler, William Hart, Isaac Goodale, Ira Peck, Samuel Lason, Oliver B. Hart, Isaac Evans, Josiah Baug- hart, Ezra R. Parshall, Stephen Smith. Caleb Carpenter was ap- pointed foreman of the grand jury, and the court appointed George F. Ball and James H. Andrus deputy sheriffs to attend the grand jury.
The petit jury were as follows: Cyrus Humphrey, foreman, John S. Smith, Walter K. Hough, Schuyler Irish, Andrew Mattoon, Aaron Rood, Luke Perkins, John Brigham, John Thompson, Zachariah Olmstead, Abram Tunison. The court appointed Richard Butler, of Mt. Clemens, Macomb County, prosecuting attorney, pro tem. It would be difficult at this day to find a jury in the county of Lapeer made up of men of sounder judgment and com- mon sense than these men possessed. Nearly all of them have passed away, only Messrs. John Brigham and Andrew Mattoon are known to be living at present in the county, and both aged men. At this term of court three indictments were found, two for selling spirituous liquor to Indians, and one for assault and battery. A soldier of the Revolution, Samuel Washburn, aged eighty-eight years, made application for a pension for his services as a soldier in the war of the Revolution, appeared in court and made oath to his declaration. All the business of the court was disposed of on the second day of the term, and the court then adjourned. Times have changed and now court convenes three or four times a year, and a hundred or more cases come before it every term.
EARLY LAW AND LAWYERS.
Silas D. McKeen, Noah H. Hart and Col. Jonathan R. White, were the pioneer members of the Lapeer County bar.
McKeen came here from New Hampshire and began practice about the year 1841. He and his brother Isaac were men of note in those early times, and the former was a man of talent. He filled various county offices and was proposed as candidate for governor but failed to receive the nomination. He built a mill on the Flint River northwest of Lapeer, afterwards burned. He might have risen to wealth and high station had he not fallen into intemperate habits which blasted his prospects and robbed him of his property and finally of life. His brother Isaac died years before during the prevalence of the terrible spotted fever epidemic, and no near friend or relative was there to follow the remains of the wreck of one of Michigan's most gifted sons to their last resting place.
Noah H. Hart was admitted about the same time. He is a son of Oliver B. Hart, one of the first settlers of Lapeer, and was born in Litchfield County, State of Connecticut, Oct. 30, 1813. He came to Lapeer in May, 1832, and since 1841 has been engaged in the practice of law, being now by more than ten years the oldest mem- ber of the Lapeer County bar. He has held the office of justice of the peace for thirty years, and has held various other local offices, in- cluding those of county clerk and prosecuting attorney. In October, 1861, he went into the service, having raised a company of which he was first lieutenant. In 1863 he was promoted to captain. He remained in the service until February, 1865, when he was mus- tered out. He is now the oldest member of the Lapeer County bar.
Colonel J. R. White, whose name is frequently mentioned in the history of Lapeer, being one of its pioneers, began practice about
1841, and continued it until his death in July, 1881. Colonel White was in all respects a pioneer, and had much to do with the prosperity of Lapeer city and county. He was interested in the building of the first mill in the county, and through his life was ex- tensively engaged in business pursuits aside from his profession. The Lapeer Clarion speaking of the death of Colonel White said:
" Colonel Jonathan R. White, a resident of this place since Feb- ruary, 1832, died at the asylum for the insane, at Pontiac, on Tuesday, aged 75 years. Colonel White's was the second family to settle in the then wilderness of Lapeer, and for many years he was a large land owner and influential citizen. He was an attorney by profes- sion, and has held many offices of public trust, among them a seat in the lower house of the State legislature. His wife died a few years ago, childless, and since that time his health, which had been poor many years, rapidly declined, and a few months ago his friends took him to the asylum where he died. He was one of four broth- ers, all of whom have lived here since the early days-Phineas, Henry K., Enoch J. and J. R. The two former survive. His funeral was attended at the residence of Mrs. E. J. White, yesterday afternoon. He was buried with Masonic honors."
Moses W. Wisner came here from Pontiac and was practicing in 1842. He continued here a few years and then returned to Pon- tiac. He was once governor of Michigan, and was an officer in the army. He is now dead.
H. W. Williams was editor of the Sentinel in 1840 and after- ward practiced law for a short time. He finally went to St. Louis, Mo., where he still resides.
William T. Mitchell, now of Port Huron, came here early in the forties and was engaged in practice, but went to Romeo before . 1846. He has been judge of the circuit court and a prominent man in the State.
J. M. Wattles settled in Lapeer in 1846. He was born in 1819 in Bradford County, Pa. Went to the university at Galesburg, Ill., where he commenced the study of law, about 1842. Was admitted to the bar at Towanda, Pa., in 1844. Came to Lapeer in 1846. Practiced law until about 1876. Commenced business as a banker in 1874. Has been prosecuting attorney, circuit court commissioner, justice of the peace, alderman, etc. Was married to Fanny M. Hart, of Lapeer, in 1846. who died in January, 1882. Three chil- dren survive her. One of his sons is associated with him in the banking business.
N. H. Redman, who was raised in the county, practiced law for several years at Almont, and he was the only addition to the bar for a number of years.
Andrew C. Maxwell practiced in the county for some time prior to 1857, when he removed to Bay City and became prominent as a lawyer. Maxwell's jokes would fill a volume.
William Hemingway settled in the village of Lapeer and be- came a member of the bar in 1857, although he had practiced law more or less for several years prior to that time. He was born in Chili, Monroe County, N. Y., in 1815. Attended the common schools of the town and also went to the Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, N. Y. Came to Michigan in 1835. Remained in Oakland Township, Oakland County, for two years. Went to Hadley, La- peer County, and commenced farming. Had studied the surveyor's profession in New York State and followed it in Lapeer County for some ten or twelve years. Commenced practicing law in 1850. Came to Lapeer Township in 1857. Has been circuit court com- missioner for twenty years. In 1863-64 was a member of the State legislature. Has served as a supervisor for Hadley, also for one of the city districts. Has been a town clerk, highway commissioner, school inspector, and a justice of the peace, in both city and town- ship for twelve years. Married in 1837 to Mary A. Vail of Riga,
23
HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
Monroe County, N. Y. They have five children, four daughters and one son.
In 1856 the late Charles M. Walker was admitted to the bar and engaged in practice at Lapeer. After the war broke out he went into the service, and after returning from the army settled in Adrian, where he died in 1878. He became a prominent member of the bar and was highly esteemed as a citizen of Adrian.
William W. Stickney, now circuit judge, began the practice of law in Lapeer in 1856. He was born in Shoreham, Addison County, Vermont, in 1832. He attended the common schools and Newton Academy in his native place, also academies at Bakersville and Brandon, Vt. Commenced the study of law in 1854 at a law school in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., graduating in August, 1855. He then went to Judge Hayden's private law school in Poland, Ohio. Came to Lapeer in 1856, and went into the law office of John M. Wattles. Was admitted to the Michigan bar in June, 1856, at a term of court held in Flint, Hon. Sanford M.Green, presiding judge. Has been in practice in Lapeer County until the spring of 1881, when he was elected judge of the sixth Michigan judicial circuit. Among other offices held by him may be mentioned those of prosecuting attorney, city alderman and a member of the school board, of which he was also president. Married in 1856 to Georgiana Atwood, a native of Shoreham, Vt. They have three children, one daughter and two sons.
Silas B. Gaskill, who was succeeded on the bench by Judge Stickney, became a member of the Lapeer County bar in 1859, and is yet one of its leading members. He was born in 1828 in the town of Gainesville, Genesee County, N. Y. His parents left there in 1837, and went to Niagara County. Attended the Wesleyan College at Lima, N. Y. Studied law with Judge Hiram Gardner at Lockport, N. Y. Came to Hadley Township, Lapeer County, in 1853. Was admitted to the bar at Midland City, Midland County, at the first term of court held in that county. It was presided over by Judge Turner of Owosso. Settled permanently after his admis- sion in Lapeer, and has practiced his profession there ever since. In 1880 was appointed circuit judge by Governor Croswell to fill a vacancy in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which comprises Lapeer and Oakland Counties. Was elected to the same office in the fall of 1880. Held it until the expiration of the term January 1, 1882. Has been an alderman and member of the school board in Lapeer. Is married.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.