USA > Michigan > Lapeer County > History of Lapeer County, Michigan : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 56
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CHARLES H. SPALDING was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 25, 1844, and resided there until 1852, when with his parents he moved to Holly, Oakland County, and remained there until seventeen years of age, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Seventy-eighth New York, on November 22, 1861, and served three years and three months, participating in the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge and Ringgold, Georgia, where he was wounded, after which to the close of his service he was on detail work and not in active service. He returned to Holly, but subsequently removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he remained three years, then again returning to Holly. In 1875 he removed to Wayne, Michigan, where after a residence of two and one half years, he came to Lapeer County, and located on section 28, in the township of Arcadia, where he has since resided. He was married November 17, 1875, to Miss Eliza Jane Fagan, of the township of Holly, Oakland County, Michigan.
HENRY C. DEGROAT is a native of Oxford County, Ontario, and was born in 1845. In 1860, he came to Arcadia with his parents, and located on section 26, but two years later removed to his present location, his father purchasing the quarter section. In 1867 he commenced the purchase of the land and little by little has acquired the entire quarter section, and 40 acres besides lying opposite. He has made all the improvements now to be seen on his farm, and has 152 acres now under cultivation. His surroundings indicate prosperity and home comfort. He married Miss C. E. Van Dyke, of Lapeer, Michigan.
REV. LEWIS MITCHELL was born in Ireland in 1820, and emi- grated to Canada in 1835, where he remained two years, when he came to Detroit, Michigan. For sixteen years he sailed on the lakes, also making several ocean voyages. He then located permanently in Detroit, and engaged in house-painting until 1853, when he entered the service of the Methodist Episcopal Church as a minister and member of the Detroit conference, and has been engaged in the work more or less up to the present time. In 1869 he located on section 26, township of Arcadia, and has a farm of 80 acres. He was married in 1856 to Miss Pamelia Johnson of Oakland County, Michigan, whose father was one of the first settlers there. They have five children, Liney C., James S., Jennie H., Fanny P., and Belle E.
JAMES A. PALMER was born in the township of Arcadia, Lapeer County, Michigan, August 28, 1858, and remained on his father's farm until the spring of 1880, when he purchased 80 acres of land on section 33, which he still owns. He is unmarried and makes his home with his father in Attica.
MUNSON PENDLETON, deceased, was a native of Vermont and was born June 19, 1800. He came to Lapeer County in 1850 and settled on section 19, in the township of Arcadia, clearing up a farm
of 80 acres which he managed until his death, which occurred April 29, 1873. He was married March 23, 1828, to Miss Eleanor Justin, who was likewise a native of Vermont, and was born October 19, 1802, and who died April 25, 1876. They had four children, Will- iam J., born September 22, 1829, enlisted 1861 in the Tenth Mich- igan Infantry, and died of disease near Corinth, Mississippi, July 11, 1862; Elisha C., born August 9, 1831; Joseph S., born April 30, 1836, died January 24, 1865, and Betsey S., born March 19, 1839, died January 18, 1873.
E. C. PENDLETON was born in Whiting, Addison County, Vt., and came with his parents to Arcadia, Lapcer County, Michigan, in 1850 and settled with them on section 19. He remained on his father's farm until 1858, when he removed to Almont where he engaged in farming for two years, thence to Mayfield, remaining there two years, when he returned to the homestead in Arcadia where he has since resided. He has been engaged in farming and since 1862 has been running a saw-mill. He owns a good farm of 80 acres, has held the office of school inspector one year, and is at present justice of the peace. He was married December 25, 1857, to Miss Roxey D. Schenck, who was born in Almont, July 18, 1839. They have had eight children: Lewis H., who was born November 17, 1858, and accidentally killed September 18, 1880, by being crushed by a load of logs; Bessie M., born September 4, 1861; Adella E., born September 8, 1865; Nina E., born February 20, 1866; Electa M., born April 12, 1868; Amos D., born November 5, 1871; Eldin E., born June 24, 1872, died December 8, 1872, and Tressie M., born June 5, 1876.
TOWN OF RICH.
The town of Rich is one of the two most northern towns of Lapeer County, being bounded on the north and west by Tuscola County, on the east by the town of Burlington and on the south by Deerfield. It is described by the United States government survey as township 10 north, of range 10 east.
The surface of the country is generally rolling, and the soil generally a clay and gravelly loam. There is also considerable flat and low land which only requires drainage, of which it is easily sus- ceptible, to become arable and valuable. The natural growth of the town is beech, maple, elm and ash, with hemlock and pine in- terspersed.
The first settlement in the town was probably late in the year 1854 or early in 1855, by Thurston Wells and Jacob Blue, on sec- tion 4, on the land now owned and occupied by John B. McIntyre. Others of the early settlers were John B. McIntyre, in December, 1855; Albert L. Smith, Thomas Pearsall, James Miles, Seth D. and Eli Thayer, Peter Nacey, Lewis Seyforth, John E. Deming, Asa and Leighton Richards, Archibald Dodge, Levi Stevens, Sim- eon Crawford.
In these earliest days of the settlement there was no road nearer than the road or trail rather, cut in by Lorenzo Merrill, the first settler of Deerfield, Coming in from the direction of Marathon, the pioneer settlers worked their way laboriously along the west line of Deerfield and Rich, and thence struck into the north part of the latter town.
The nearest market was in Marathon at the present village of Columbiaville. The nearest grist-mill was at Millville, until the Richards Brothers started in the south part of the town. Asa and Leighton Richards built their mill in 1856.
The first birth in town was a daughter of Jacob Blue. She died in infancy, in 1855. No long line of carriages and hearse with nodding plumes formed their first funeral train in the wilderness. Mr. Mc-
HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
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Intyre carried the little coffin on his shoulder from the house to the spot where is now the cemetery.
During the winter of 1856 the first religious services were con- ducted at the house of J. B. McIntyre, by Elder Burgess, an En- glishman and of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The house was yet unfinished, having no. doors or windows in. There were but few persons present; the following are recollected: Thurston Wells, Jacob Blue and wife, Albert L. Smith and wife, - Maclise, J. B. McIntyre. Soon after, viz., April 3, 1856, religious services were held at the log house of Simeon Crawford, on section 7. A Sunday- school was organized in June following in the McIntyre neighbor- hood, of which G. W. Spencer was superintendent.
The first school district formed wholly in the town was what is known as the McIntyre District, and the first teacher, Charlotte Crawford, now Mrs. McIntyre.
The rite of baptism was first administered by Rev. C. B. Mills, by immersion in the creek near the house of Horace Fox, in 1858.
CHURCHES.
A class of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized about 1859, as the result of a protracted meeting held by Elder Bur- gess. It numbers now about forty members. Services are held every alternate Sunday in the Baptist Church. A class also meets at the Dodge school-house in the south part of the town. A union Sunday-school meets in the Conkling District under the direction of the Methodist Protestant denomination, and occasional services are held.
The Baptist Church of Rich was organized in 1868. In 1880 a church edifice was erected with a seating capacity of about 200, a neat, plain structure with a tall and shapely spire. It was dedicated October 14, 1880, sermon by Rev. C. B. Mills, of Hillsdale College. The pastor is the Rev. Mr. Rogers. Services are held every alter- nate Sunday. A union Sunday-school meets every Sunday. Services are also held every other Sunday in the Smith school-house.
LAND ENTRIES PRIOR TO 1860.
TOWNSHIP 10 NORTH, RANGE 10 EAST.
SECTION 1. Lewis Seyforth, October 27, 1857. James Richard Barnes, December 8, 1859.
SECTION 2. Franklin Charlton, September 16, 1857. Samuel H. Miller, September 3, 1859.
SECTION 3. Justice L. Jones, September 1, 1858. Robert Dexter, November 17, 1858. Michael Lynch, October 12, 1854. Thurston Wells, December 12, 1854. Franklin K. Beck, September 21, 1855. Franklin K. Beck, September 22, 1855. Robert Dexter, October 26, 1857.
SECTION 4. Mark Morrison, October 12, 1854. Jacob Blue, March 20, 1855. Jolın McIntyre, May 14, 1855. Simeon Crawford, June 7, 1855. Franklin K. Beck, September 22, 1855.
SECTION 5. Theodore E. Belding, June 6, 1853. Eli Thayer, January 18, 1855. George Pearsall, February 7, 1855. Seth D. Thayer, February 28, 1855. William Edwards, March 16, 1855. William Edwards, April 18, 1855.
SECTION 6. Hart N. Lucas, December 14, 1853. David M. Pierson, September 1, 1854. Anson Beardslee, December 23, 1854.
SECTION 7. Mark M. Jerome, January 16, 1854. John R. Begel, November 30, 1854. Henry I. Oliver, November 30, 1854. Simeon Crawford, March 20, 1855.
SECTION 8. Frederick Bartlett, October 16, 1854. George Pearsall, February 7, 1855. William L. Miles, July 2, 1855. Franklin K. Beck, September 21, 1855. Johannes Ducker, December 22, 1859.
SECTION 9. Charles Pearsall, February 22, 1855. James Miles, June 28, 1853. William S. Miles, July 3, 1855. John McIntyre, May 26, 1856. Johannes Ducker, October 27, 1857. George W. Miles, November 8, 1859.
SECTION 10. Peter Layman, October 26, 1857. Justice L. Jones, September 1, 1858.
SECTION 12. Levi Stevens, February 27, 1855. Peter Plumb, February 27, 1855.
SECTION 13. Thomas Tocmby, April 6, 1855. William W. Hartshorn, August 13, 1855. Edward H. Thompson, May 9, 1856.
SECTION 14. Edward H. Thompson, May 9, 1856. William H. Hartshorn, September 10, 1855.
SECTION 15. Clark Hyatt, July 13, 1855. Edward H. Thompson, May 9, 1856.
SECTION 17. Thomas Pearsall, February 22, 1855. William L. Miles, July 2, 1855. Elizabeth Forman, October 1, 1855. William W. Hartshorn, October 17, 1855. Edward H. Thompson, May 9, 1856.
SECTION 18. Simeon Crawford, March 20, 1855. Simeon Crawford, May 8, 1855. Gardner W. Simpson, November 12, 1855. Simeon Crawford, April 14, 1856.
SECTION 19. Edmond Fitzgerald, October 26, 1854. Alexander McFarlane, November 8, 1855. Gardner W. Simpson, November 12, 1855.
SECTION 20. Virgil L. Wilcox, July 30, 1855. Edmund H. McQuigg, August 4, 1855. Franklin K. Beck, September 2, 1855. Elizabeth Forman, October 1, 1855.
SECTION 21. Ira Davenport, May 6, 1854. Edward H. McQuigg, August 4, 1855. Eli Sheppard, September 20, 1855. William McGregor, November 12, 1855.
SECTION 22. Erotes P. Hastings, February 20, 1837. Ira Davenport, May 6, 1854. William H. Hartshorn, July 23, 1855. John W. Moore, August 3, 1855. H. H. and William W. Crapo, April 15, 1856.
SECTION 23.
Gustavus P. Hosmer, September 25, 1852. William Lucas, June 13, 1855. David Luther, July 5, 1855. H. H, and William W. Crapo, April 15, 1856. Edward H. Thompson, May 9, 1856.
SECTION 24. Gustavus P. Hosmer, September 25, 1852. Myron H. L. Tyrrell, November 27, 1852. William W. Hartshorn, August 13, 1855. H. H. and William W. Crapo, April 15, 1856. Edward H. Thompson, May 9, 1856. SECTION 25. Gustavus P. Hosmer, September 25, 1852. Walter McCully, November 25, 1854.
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
SECTION 26.
William McGill, January 15, 1855. Amos Houghtaling, September 8, 1855. Gustavus P. Hosmer, September 25, 1852. Edgar Sheldon, February 25, 1854. Edgar Sheldon, June 24, 1854. Walter McCully, November 25, 1854. James White, January 15, 1855. Archibald Dodds, June 5, 1855. William Lucas, June 13, 1855. Gustavus P. Hosmer, October 18, 1855.
SECTION 27. Henry K. Sanger, January 16, 1837. Erotes P. Hastings, February 20, 1837. Edgar Sheldon, October 20, 1852. William S. Driggs, April 18, 1853. William S. Driggs, June 26, 1853. Walter McCully, November 25, 1854. SECTION 28. Charles L. Shepard, April 18, 1853. Edgar Sheldon, December 8, 1853. William W. Hartshorn, July 7, 1855. Charles L. Shepard, September 20, 1855. H. H. and William W. Crapo, April 15, 1856.
SECTION 29. Charles C. Hascall, February 10, 1855. E. H. McQuigg, E. C. Turner and Clark Hyatt, Au- gust 25, 1855. Charles L. Shepard, September 20, 1855. Franklin K. Beck, September 22. 1855. Ferris F. Hyatt, October 15, 1855.
William Pengra, May 17, 1856.
SECTION 30. Edmund H. McQuigg, August 4, 1855. Alexander McFarlin, November 8, 1855.
SECTION 31.
Oscar F. Cargill, April 29, 1853. Edward H. McQuigg, Edward C. Turner and Clark Hyatt, August 25, 1855. Ferris F. Hyatt, October 15, 1855.
Jeremiah Chapman, October 20, 1855.
SECTION 32.
Henry Palmer, November 8, 1855. Clark Oliver, December 3, 1855. H. H. and W. W. Crapo, April 15, 1856. H. H. and W. W. Crapo, May 7, 1856. Oscar F. Cargill, April 29, 1853. William Swadling, November 9, 1854. Elijah W. Rising and Oscar Clemens, December 6, 1854.
SECTION 33.
Edmund H. McQuigg, Edward C. Turner and Clark Hyatt, August 25, 1855. James Petteys, September 26, 1855. David Burger, September 22, 1855. Ferris F. Hyatt, October 15, 1855. Charles L. Shepard, April 18, 1853. Ralph C. Smith, June 8, 1853. Ralph C. Smith, August 2, 1853. Charles N. Beecher, June 9, 1855. Moses Miller, June 9, 1855. Moses Miller, October 8, 1855. George M. Dewey, January 22, 1856. Henry K. Sanger, January 16, 1837. Joseph B. Hart, September 5, 1851. William S. Driggs, March 22, 1853. William S. Driggs, December 1, 1852. Samuel Lewis, April 21, 1853. William S. Driggs, June 25, 1853. George M. Dewey, December 6, 1854. George M. Dewey, December 20, 1854.
SECTION 34.
George M. Dewey, January 22, 1856. SECTION 35. Henry K. Sanger, January 16, 1837. SECTION 36. Charles Seymour, January 16, 1837. Henry K. Sanger, January 16, 1837. Asa Richards, February 7, 1854. Joel Richards, May 6, 1854. Walter McCully, November 25, 1854. Asa Richards, July 11, 1855.
CIVIL HISTORY.
At a meeting of the board of supervisors of Lapeer County, December 1st., 1858, the following action was taken: "Resolved, that the first annual township meeting for the election of town- ship officers for the further organization of the township of Rich be held at the house of James Miles, situated in said township, on the first Monday of April next and that the following persons, to wit, Simeon Crawford, Horace Fox, and James Miles, three electors of said township be, and they are hereby designated and appointed to preside at said township meeting, and to perform all the duties required by the statute in such cases made and provided." This rec- ord is signed by Charles Rich, clerk of the board of supervisors.
The township meeting was held at the time designated, viz: on the 4th day of April, 1859, at the house of George Miles, son and successor of James Miles. The following officers were elected viva voce: Overseer of highways, in Road District No. 1, John E. Deming; in District No. 2, John McIntyre; and in District No. 3, Leighton Richards. It was also voted to raise three dollars town bounty on all wolves killed in the town this year, to raise one hundred dollars to defray incidental expenses; to allow the town treasurer four per cent on all monies collected; to raise five hun- dred dollars for highway purposes and to expend one hundred dollars of the same on the highways the present season; to buy one acre of ground in the southwest corner of Eli Thayer's southwest field, or improvement, on section 5 and to pay him twenty dollars for it, he to fence the same with a good substantial rail fence.
The total number of votes cast was sixteen, the vote in detail being as follows: For supervisor, Simeon Crawford received thir- teen votes; for clerk, Leighton Richards received fourteen votes; for treasurer, Seth Thayer received fourteen votes; for commissioner of highways, John McIntyre received fourteen votes, Asa Richards fourteen, Horace Fox fourteen. For justices of the peace, Martin Fox received thirteen votes, Simeon Crawford fourteen; Thurston Wells fourteen, and Eli Thayer fourteen. For school inspectors, Lyman Smith received fourteen votes and Seth Thayer fourteen. For constables, Thomas Pearsall received fourteen votes, Asa Rich- ards twelve, Lyman Smith one and R. Dexter one. For overseer of the poor, Thurston Wells received thirteen votes and Asa Rich- ards ten. Those receiving a majority of votes in each case were declared elected. The terms of the justices were fixed as follows: Eli Thayer for one year, Simeon Crawford for two years, Thurston Wells for three years, and Martin Fox for four years. The high- way commissioners were declared elected as follows: John McIntyre for one year, Horace Fox for two years and Asa Richards for three years. The record of the meeting is signed by Simeon Crawford, Jacob Blue, Horace Fox and John E. Deming as inspectors of elec- tion. It was voted to hold the next town meeting at the school- house in section 4.
At a special town meeting, the occasion for which does not appear on the records, held May 2, 1859, Simeon Crawford was elected supervisor; Geo. Miles, Martin Fox, Simeon Crawford and Eli Thayer justices of the peace, and Horace Fox commissioner of highways.
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
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A settlement was had between the towns of Rich and Deerfield at a joint meeting of the two boards of all accounts except school district monies; and there was found due the town of Rich the total sum of $618.68.
February 13, 1864, a special town meeting was held for the purpose of providing for the payment of war bounties, and it was voted to raise $200 for each person required to fill the quota of the town, and this action was endorsed and ratified at the next annual town meeting.
August 1, 1867, a special town meeting voted $750 for high- way purposes, and since that time, liberal appropriations have from time to time been made for this purpose.
The population of Rich in 1880 was 882.
Aggregate valuation of real and personal property as equalized by the board of supervisors in 1882 was 270,000.
Census of 1874: Population, 598; acres of taxable land, 22,- 025; of improved land, 1,960; of State land, 415; number of sheep, 172; of swine over 6 months old, 172; of neat cattle, other than oxen and cows, one year old and over, 216; of horses, 109; of work oxen, 114; of milch cows, 194; products of preceding year, 963 pounds of wool; 4,463 pounds of pork marketed; 17,347 pounds of butter made; 5,810 bushels of wheat raised; 4,060 of corn; 7,877 of other grain; 192 of apples; 2,964 of potatoes; and 672 tons of hay. In 1874, 3,480 pounds of maple sugar were made.
The annual report of the school inspectors of the town of Rich for the year 1882 shows the number of school children to have been 286, number of school buildings, three. The school inspectors for the ensuing year were John B. McIntyre, N. B. Case, G. W. Cowles, Franklin Conklin, Frank Strobridge.
TOWN OFFICERS.
1859-Supervisor, Simeon Crawford; clerk, Leighton Rich- ards; treasurer, Seth Thayer; number of votes, 16.
1860-Supervisor, Simeon Crawford; clerk, Leighton Rich- ards; treasurer, Seth Thayer.
1861-Supervisor, John E. Deming; clerk, Lyman Smith ; treasurer, Horace Fox; number of votes, 20.
1862-Supervisor, Horace Fox; clerk, Albert L. Smith; treas- urer, Martin Fox; number of votes, 20.
1863-Supervisor, Horace Fox; clerk, Albert L. Smith; treas- urer, Martin Fox, number of votes, 27.
1864-Supervisor, Horace Fox; clerk, Charles Sheffield; treas- urer, Martin Fox; number of votes, 25.
1865-Supervisor, Horace Fox; clerk, Giles Roberts; treas- urer, Martin Fox; number of votes, 18.
1866-Supervisor, Lewis Wilcox; clerk, Giles Roberts; treas- urer, Martin Fox; number of votes, 31.
1867-Supervisor, J. B. McIntyre; clerk, James Morrison; treasurer, Martin Fox; number of votes, 48.
1868-Supervisor, John B. McIntyre; clerk, James Morrison; treasurer, Martin Fox; number of votes, 44.
1869-Supervisor, John B. McIntyre; clerk, James Morrison; treasurer, Martin Fox; number of votes, 43.
. 1870-Supervisor, John B. McIntyre; clerk, James Morrison ; treasurer, Martin Fox.
1871-Supervisor, John B. McIntyre; clerk, James Morrison; · treasurer, Martin Fox.
1872-Supervisor, John B. McIntyre; clerk, James Morrison; treasurer, Martin Fox.
1873-Supervisor, Horace Fox; clerk, James Morrison; treas- urer, Martin Fox.
1874-Supervisor, James Morrison; clerk, N. K. Lawrence; treasurer, Martin Fox.
1875-Supervisor, John B. McIntyre; clerk, James Morrison; treasurer, Martin Fox.
1876-Supervisor, Horace Fox; clerk, John B. McIntyre; treasurer, Martin Fox.
1877-Supervisor, John B. McIntyre; clerk, John R. Thomas; treasurer Martin Fox.
1878-Supervisor, Lewis Wilcox; clerk, Horace Fox, Jr .; treasurer, John Stevens.
1879-Supervisor, Martin Fox; clerk, Horace Fox, Jr .; treas- urer, John Stevens,
1880-Supervisor, Lewis Wilcox; clerk, Horace Fox, Jr .; treasurer, N. K. Lawrence.
1881-Supervisor, John Stevens; clerk, Horace Fox, Jr .; treasurer, Warren C. Blair. 1882-Supervisor, John Stevens; clerk, Horace Fox, Jr .; treasurer, Warren C. Blair.
1883 -- Supervisor, Lewis Wilcox; clerk, Horace Fox, Jr .; treasurer, George W. Miles.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
WILLSON BUCK was born in Lincoln County, Ont., in 1812, where he was brought up as a farmer. In 1860 he came to Michi- gan and settled in Deerfield, Lapeer County. In 1868 he removed from that township to Rich, where he has a farm of eighty acres in section 32. Has served as a justice of the peace. He was married in 1833 to Miss Ardelia Merrill, of New York State. They have two sons and four daughters.
ARCHIBALD DODDS was born in Berwickshire, Scotland, in 1826. In 1848 he emigrated to the United States and went to Mill Point, Wis., where he worked in the mines, and also as a farmer. He afterward lived in the States of Ohio and New York. In 1855 he bought land in Rich Township, Lapeer County, and in 1860 settled upon it. His original purchase was 160 acres, to which he after- ward added 93 more. His farm is on sections 26 and 35. At the time of his settlement in that part of Rich there was only one other family near him, that of the Rev. Mr. Richards. During 1865 he was a member of Company K, Twelfth Michigan Infantry, and saw service in the southwest. Has been a justice of the peace. In 1879 he was elected highway commissioner, and re-elected in 1883. In 1859 he was married to Mrs. Maria Baker. They have four sons and one daughter.
WILLIAM A. JOHNSON was born in Leicestershire, England, in 1822. He learned the trade of a carpenter and cabinet maker, which he followed until he emigrated to the United States, which was in 1854. He settled at what is now known as Croswell, in Sanilac County. Worked at his trade there until 1859, when he removed to Romeo, Macomb County, and also engaged in farming. In 1868 he came to Lapeer County and lived at North Branch until he got up a house on section 1, Rich. He has 240 acres in Rich and 40 more in Tuscola County adjoining. He was the first settler in his part of the township. Was a justice of the peace while in North Branch, also in Rich. He was married in 1843 to Miss Mary A. Coltman, a native of England. They have had five children, of whom two daughters and one son are living. The son, Austin Johnson, was born in Rutland, England, and came to the United States with his father. He lives on land near his father's house. Was married to Miss Elizzabeth Pike in 1876.
LOUIS SEYFARTH was born in Saxe-Cobourg, Germany, in 1830. Raised on a farm. In 1854 emigrated to the United States and for about a year lived in New Jersey, and from that State went to
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Flint, Mich. In 1856 he bought eighty acres of land in section 1, Rich, which he afterward sold, and bought 200 acres in sections 2 and 11. When he settled on his land in 1861 there were no roads in this part of the country, and he had to cut his way through the woods. He was highway commissioner for eleven years, and has been assessor for School District No. 3 ever since it was organized, which was about 1865. He was married in 1859 to Catherine Con- rad, a native of France. They have four sons and one daughter.
NELSON K. LAWRENCE was born in Oakland County, Mich., in 1838. From there his parents removed to Oxford County, Upper Canada, when he was an infant, and he remained there until he was sixteen years of age. In 1854 he came to Marathon, Lapeer County, Mich. Was in his brother Denis' saw-mill for a number of years. In 1861 he enlisted in the First Michigan Cavalry, with which regiment he served in the army of the Potomac for eighteen months, when he was discharged on account of physical disability. He returned to Marathon, and in 1866 was married to Mary J. Hollenbeck, daughter of Jacob Hollenbeck, one of the pioneers of Marathon. He remained in that township until 1870, when he went on a farm of sixty-nine acres he had bought in section 6, township of Rich. In Marathon he was town clerk and treasurer, and has also held the same offices in Rich. In 1882 he went to Mayville as manager of his father's grain elevator.
MARTIN Fox was born in Genesee County, N. Y., in 1822. In 1837 his parents moved to Oxford County, Upper Canada, where he lived until 1856. He then came to Rich, Lapeer County, and located on section 6, where he had bought 124 acres of land, 40 of which he has since given to his son, Horace, leaving eighty-four acres in his own farm. There were only three or four settlers in this neighborhood when he settled here. He served fourteen years as township treasurer and one as supervisor. He was married in 1846 to Miss Elizabeth Schermerhorn, a native of Brant County, Ont. They have a family of six children living, one son and five daughters.
WILLIAM KELCH, SR., was born in Oneida County, N. Y., in 1813. He came to Michigan in 1856. After a short stay in Pontiac re- moved to Rich, where he has forty acres in section 10. Has been a school treasurer. In 1834 he was married to Margaret Vander- pool, a native of Pennsylvania. They had four sons and three daughters. Three of the. sons were in the army. One died of diseases contracted in the service, a second lost an arm, and a third escaped unhurt. Richard was in the Twenty-ninth Michigan In- fantry, William was in the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, and Abram was in the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry.
WILLIAM KELCH, JR., was born in Bradford County, Penn., in 1845. Came to Michigan with his father in 1856. In 1863 he en- listed in the Ninth Michigan Cavalry. He was wounded near At- lanta, Ga., in October, 1864, and lost an arm, the left one, and re- ceives a pension of $30 per month. Has been a constable. In 1871 was married to Miss Emma J. Blue, a native of Marathon. They have had seven children, of whom five survive. Mr. Kelch farms forty acres in section 4, Rich.
PETER RUMPH was born in 1830 in Orange County, N. Y. He came to Michigan in 1852, settling first in Oakland County. In 1863 came to Rich and located on section 17, where he farms eighty acres. In 1864 he enlisted in Company A, Twenty second Michi- gan Infantry, which regiment was in the army of the Cumberland. During his term of service was on detached service most of the time, In 1865 returned to his farm in Rich, which he has brought to an excellent state of cultivation. He has filled the position of school director seventeen years and highway commissioner two. Was married in 1856 to Miss Mary J. ,White, a native of Oakland County. They have six children, sons, all living.
JAMES H. JOHNSON was born in Norfolk County, Ont., in 1834. His parents removed from there to Norwich, Oxford County, where he learned the trade of a carpenter. In June, 1866, he came to Rich Township, where he worked as a carpenter and lumberman for a number of years. In 1875-'76 he bought 120 acres of land in section 8, and in 1882 bought forty more in section 17. Was highway commissioner for three years. He in 1857 married Maria Clinton, of Dumfries, Brant County, Ont., by whom he had two daughters. She died in 1864, and in 1866 he was again married to Harriet Darling, of Starrington, Canada. They have had four sons and two daughters.
ALBERT E. KELLEY was born in Avon, Oakland County, Mich., in 1837. With the exception of two years lived on a farm in that county until 1860. In that year he moved to Marathon, Lapeer County, where he had forty acres of land. In 1862 he enlisted in the Tenth Michigan Infantry. A few months after he was in the field he was sent to hospital, from where he was detailed to drive team. While engaged in that duty he was wounded near Hamburg Landing, disabling him so that he was discharged. On his return to the State he lived for a short time in Rich and then went to Ox- ford, Oakland County. In 1866 he settled on eighty acres of land he had bought in 1865 in section 8, Rich. It was all wild land, and he commenced the arduous task of clearing up a farm. He also runs a threshing machine portions of the year. He has served as constable for four years, and since 1880 has been sexton of the cemetery. Has been married twice, the first wife being Mary Ste- phens, of Oakland County, by whom he had three children, and to whom he was married in 1858. In 1863 he was again married to Mrs. Emeline E. Monroe, a native of Macomb County. She has had five children by Mr. Kelley, and one by her first husband.
LEWIS WILCOX was born in Lyme, Jefferson County, N. Y., in 1828. Learned the trade of a ship carpenter there, and at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., where he worked for some three years. In 1849 he went to Chicago and was there for five years. From there went to Cleveland. In each of these cities worked at his trade. Came to Lapeer County in 1855 and was two years in Marathon and eight in Deerfield, engaged in farming. In 1865 he moved on eighty acres of land he owned in section 4, Rich. For seven years was super- visor for Deerfield, and in Rich has been elected three times, the last being in the spring of 1883. Has also been highway commis- sioner, pathmaster, director, moderator and inspector of School District No. 1. Was married to Miss Mary Bannister, a native of St. Lawrence County, N. Y. They have two children, a son and daughter.
THURSTON WELLS was born in, Attica, Genesee County, N. Y., in 1819. Lived there until 1854, when he came to Michigan. He remained in Pontiac for a short time and in the fall of that year bought forty acres of land in section 3, Rich, to which he afterward added eighty more. His farm now consists of eighty acres, having sold forty. Since he has been in Rich he has been a lumberman as well as a farmer. He was the first actual settler in the township, and the trip from Piersonville, in Marathon Township, to his land took a week to accomplish, a journey that can now be made in less than two hours. In coming to his land he had to follow section lines and cut his way through a dense wilderness, being the first pathmaster in this section, an office he has since held. He was married in 1856 to Mary Miles, a native of Grand Blanc, Genesee County, Mich. They have had four children, of whom three sur- vive. The eldest, a daughter named Jane, was born in 1858, and is now a Mrs. George Cole, of East Saginaw. The two others are a son, Olin, borr in 1862, and a daughter, Clara, born in 1866; live at home with their parents.
HARVEY S. CHAPLIN is a native of Hartland, Niagara County,
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
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N. Y., where he was born in 1831. Was brought up as a farmer. When he came to Michigan he at first lived with his father, who was one of the first settlers in Marathon, Lapeer County. In 1879 he located on section 31, Rich, where he farms forty acres. Has
been connected with the management of the township schools. Was married in 1855 to Miss Mary E. Miles, by whom he had two children. She died in 1867, and in 1868 he was married to Miss Phoebe A. Clink. They have a family of five children.
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