USA > Michigan > Lapeer County > History of Lapeer County, Michigan : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 7
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"In 1834 there was but one saw running on the Saginaw River. That was before the days of muley saws, but the machinery that propelled that saw was fearfully and wonderfully made. Charles A. Lull was the sash and I was the pitman. When I was a lumberman, the season's cutting for one saw was estimated at one million feet. We fell short of that amount that year; but we did cut enough to lay the floors in Mr. Lull's log house that he built on his farm, which is now in the town of Spaulding, and which was the first house built in Saginaw County away from the banks of the river."
LAPEER COUNTY LUMBERING.
The north two-thirds of Lapeer County was originally covered with pine timber of a very superior quality, and yet the manufact- ure of pine lumber never contributed very largely to the progress of material interests in the county. Water transportation was and is necessary to the successful manufacture of pine lumber, and Lapeer County had neither rail nor water facilities for transportation. The consequence was that a great proportion of the pine was floated to Flint and Saginaw and contributed its wealth to building up those cities.
The first saw-mill in Lapeer County was located on Farmers Creek, near the railroad bridge, at Lapeer. Its construction was begun late in the fall of 1831, by the Pontiac Mill Company. Upon his arrival at Lapeer soon after, Colonel J. R. White purchased an interest in the mill and in a short time the entire property passed into the hands of J. R. and Phineas White.
The second mill was built by Mr. Alvin McMaster, one of the first comers to the county. Not long afterward Estes Higley built the third mill. Martin Stiles came from Canada and built a mill north of Lapeer village. In 1834 a mill was built in Imlay Township by Wilcox and Hovey, which afterward passed into the hands of the Imlay Mill Company.
Mills sprang up at various points and cut the pine in their re- spective neighborhoods and then disappeared. This business how- ever did become an organized industry. The principal lumbering points in the county were Fish Lake, Five Lakes, Columbiaville and Otter Lake. The Gerritt-Smith tract purchased by Messrs. Page & Benson, who operated at Otter Lake, afforded a very superior quality of pine, said by some to have been the finest ever manufact- ured in Michigan. Probably the most extensive lumberman now in the county is William Peter, who now lives in Toledo, and has extensive interests at Columbiaville.
In December, 1872, a list of lumber manufacturers in Lapeer County, together with their postoffice address was made, and is as follows:
Stephens, Courier & Co., Fish Lake, Stephens postoffice, one saw-mill and one shingle-mill, four miles east and four and three quarters miles north of Lapeer.
H. H. Woodruff, Five Lakes postoffice, two mills with shingle- mill and planer attached, four miles east and six miles north of La- peer.
Parker & Redfield, Lapeer, one saw-mill with shingle mill at- tached, one and one-half mile east and five and one-half miles north of Lapeer.
McCreery, Ivory & Co., Lapeer, one saw-mill and shingle-mill attached, one-half mile west of Parker & Redfield's mill.
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6
HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
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Michael & Dennis, Lapeer, one mile south of city, saw and shingle-mill.
C. A. Smith, lumber and shingle-mill, Lapeer, one mile west and four miles north of the city.
Dodge & Vandyke, saw and shingle-mill, three miles north and east of city. They also buy heavily of other manufacturers and ship to Eastern points. Address, Lapeer.
Lawrence, Richmond & Co., two saw-mills. Address, Marathon. B. B. Redfield & Sons, wholesale and retail lumber and shin- gle dealers, Lapeer, yard one-fourth mile east of P. H. & L. M. depot.
Haynes Bros, wholesale dealers in lumber and shingles, Lapeer. James Mckenzie, commission dealer and shipper, Lapeer.
William McAuley, inspector and commission dealer, Lapeer. George Patrick, lumber inspector, Lapeer.
J. D. Mills, manufacturer and commission dealer, Lapeer.
George Higley, saw-mill, one mile south and one mile east of Lapeer.
J. W. Filler, saw-mill and shingle machine and planer, five miles southeast of Lapeer.
George Lumbard, saw and shingle-mill, three miles east and one mile south of Lapeer.
Parson & McGunegal, shingle-mill, three miles west and two miles north of Millville.
S. R. Lathrop, saw and shingle-mill, Millville.
George W. Rood, shingle-mill, three miles east and one mile north of Lapeer.
F. J. Peter, shingle-mill, one mile east and nine miles north of Lapeer.
Peter & Smith, shingle-mill, one mile west and four miles north of Lapeer.
A. A. Sage, shingle and lumber mill, three miles east and one- half mile north of Lapeer.
Alexander Johnson, shingle and lumber manufacturer, mill one mile east and nine miles north of Lapeer.
Hitchcock & Walker, two miles south of Lapeer, shingle-mill.
Bennett & Avery, shingles and lumber, four miles east and two miles north of Lapeer.
J. R. White, lumber and shingles, mills four miles east and three miles north of Lapeer.
George Cliff, shingle-mill, ten miles north of Lapeer.
Shubal Smith, shingle and lumber-mills, four miles east and ten miles north of Lapeer.
Tuttle & Gregory, planing, sash, doors and blind shop, one- fourth mile west of P. H. &. L. M. depot, Lapeer.
Charles M. Hemingway & Co., planing, sash, doors and blind- mill, in Lapeer.
William Watson, shingle-mill at Hemingway & Co's [factory, Lapeer.
J. J. Merritt, agent for Howe, Van Etten & Co's stave-mill, Lapeer.
H. W. Shaw, stave dressing machine, near P. H. & L. M. de- pot, Lapeer.
S. N. Vincent, postmaster, saw-mill, seven miles east and one and one-half miles south of Lapeer.
COUNTY SOCIETIES.
THE LAPEER COUNTY PIONEER SOCIETY.
The first meeting of this society was held February 11, 1874. An organization was then effected and a constitution drafted and adopted. At this meeting Hon. A. N. Hart, the first actual settler of Lapeer City, Mr. J. M. Palmer, who was his companion and
employe at his removal, Hon. J. R. White, the second actual set- tler at this point, and many other old pioneers from the older towns of the county, were present. Mr. James Turrill, brother of Dr. Turrill, the third settler here, himself an old pioneer of the county, was elected president, and Tobias Price, of Metamora, vice-president, both of whom have since died. Mr. Hart died the following sum- mer at his home in Lansing, and his remains were brought to La- peer and interred by those of his wife. Unfortunately the minutes of the first two meetings were lost, but there were many present at that meeting who have since died, among others, Horace Hinman, an early settler here, and afterward a great traveler, spending many years of his life in the wild mountain regions of the West, and E. J. White, who was one of Park's surveying party, who ran the sec- tion lines through Lapeer County. The object of this society was twofold, first to bring the early settlers of this county together, and renew acquaintances and friendships severed by time and care, also to collect the history of the settlement of the county and the various stages of its progress.
ORR
AN EARLY COTTAGE.
At this meeting it was voted to hold the next meeting in Octo- ber of the year following. The board of managers met the 1st of October, 1874, and in view of circumstances existing at the time, thought it would be impossible to gather a meeting at the time fixed the winter previous, and finally decided to hold the next meet- ing February 11, 1875. This was a most enjoyable meeting, but many of the faces we greeted at the first meeting were missing. Mr. Hart had died and Mr. James Turrill, the president, on account of age and infirmity was unable to be present. At this meeting the deaths of A. N. Hart and Mrs. Lucy A. Lathrop, widow of H. N. La- throp, an early settler in Lapeer and Mayfield, and a prominent business man for many years, were reported, and the society paid due honor to their memory. H. D. Rood was elected president, Joseph Bristol, since deceased, vice-president, Mrs. R. G. Hart, secretary, and it was decided to hold two meetings in each year in February and June respectively, the June meeting to be a picnic, and christened the pioneer reunion. A corresponding secretary was also appointed in each town, whose duty it should be to gather statistics.
The Imlay City reunion was a great success but no minutes were kept. Noah H. Hart was the orator of the day and numerous short speeches were made by old pioneers and others.
At the meeting February 11, 1876, H. D. Rood and Mrs. R. G. Hart were respectively re-elected president and secretary, John Look, then a resident of Metamora, vice-president. Several re-
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
sponses were made by the town corresponding secretaries. Sketches of the early history of Metamora and Dryden were presented and read. The death of Mrs. Thurza Henderson, wife of Jacob Hen- derson, a resident of the township of Metamora for thirty-four years, was reported.
The reunion for this year was held at Metamora, June 21, 1876, and a strenuous effort was made to free the society from a debt which had rested like an incubus upon it from its first or- ganization.
When the managers met the following January to make ar- rangements for the next meeting, they found the society had appointed it on Sunday, February 11 happening to fall this year on that day. So the third annual meeting was held at the court-house February 16, 1877. At this meeting the society paid off many lit- tle debts and its members fondly thought themselves square with the world. A history of Hadley, Metamora, and Elba from the first settlement up to their organization into separate townships, was presented by the secretary, and a history of the township of Hadley, by Mr. M. C. Tunison, since deceased, and a short but comprehensive sketch of the early settlement of Rich by Mr. Charles Hall.
At this meeting of the society the death of Mrs. Rebecca Covil, wife of Samuel Covil, a pioneer of Metamora Township, of the year 1836, was reported; also of Samuel Covil, her hus- band, aged eighty-eight years. It was decided to hold the June reunion at the old farm of James Deneen, now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Charles Walker, who was the first white child born in Lapeer County, as this was the fiftieth anniversary of the settle- ment of the Deneens here. William North was elected president; J. M. Palmer, vice-president; Nettie Comstock, secretary. The next annual meeting appointed at Metamora the third Thursday of February, 1878.
February 21, 1878, was a terribly stormy day, as have gener- ally been the days of the winter meetings. The old officers were re-elected with exception of vice-president, M. B. Smith being elected to that office in place of J. M. Palmer. The reunion was appointed at Columbiaville, Thursday, June 20, 1878.
At this meeting, on account of the absence of the secretary from the two previous meetings, the secretary's report was presented, a history of Almont. Dr. W. B. Hamilton also gave a history of the township of Marathon, and of the village of Columbiaville.
The annual meeting for 1879 was held at the Bates House, Attica, February 13, 1879. At this meeting it was voted to defer the election of officers until the June reunion, which was appointed at Metamora, June 19, 1879. The deaths of M. C. Tunison, the historian of Hadley, at the annual meeting of 1877; of Franklin Bruce, for forty years a resident of Elba, and supposed to be the oldest man in the county; of Benjamin Terry, John M. Caulkins, the venerated father of Dr. J. S. Caulkins, and of Seth Hall, one of the oldest pioneers of Dryden, were reported. These were all resi- dents of Dryden. Mr. Caulkins was a very early settler of Almont, the others pioneers of Dryden, and the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Var- num, a pioneer of Metamora, was also reported at this meeting.
At the reunion at Metamora, of June 19, 1879, a motion to rescind the twelfth article of the constitution, and to amend the eighth article so as to hold but one meeting in the year, this to be the third Thursday of June, and another to so amend articles eight and twelve, as to hold the election of officers in June, werc presented and laid upon the table till next meeting, under the rules.
The deaths of John S. Foote, of Dryden, a pioneer of 1837, and the main instrument in erecting the Methodist Episcopal Church
in that town named for him; of Orson H. Look, son of John Look, the pioneer of Hadley Township; of Shepherd Wheeler, a pioneer of Hadley, in 1836, and father of Judge H. H. Wheeler, of Ludington; of Joel M. Palmer, who came to Lapeer with Hon. A N. Hart, in November, 1831, and had resided there ever since; of Col. Needham Hemingway, brother of Rev. James Hemingway, who came to Oakland County in 1824, and to Lapeer County, and built mills in Marathon at an early day; of Mrs. Margaret Miteaux, a pioneer of Almont, of the year 1834; of Mrs. Oliver Lewis and Mrs. Edmund King, pioneers of Dryden, of the year 1836, and of Aaron Balch, a pioneer of Dryden, of the year 1840, were reported; also those of Mrs. Emeline Parker, a sister of Mrs. J. R. White, and a resident of Lapeer since 1833, and of Mr. and Mrs. Tobias Price, pioneers of Metamora, of 1836. Mr. Price was the first super- visor in that town.
The annual meeting for 1880 was held Thursday, February 12, 1880, at the court-house in the city of Lapeer. At this meeting all old claims against the society were paid, and this was the last of the society's debts. Some additional by-laws were adopted, and the officers received new instructions. The first amendment proposed to the constitution at the June meeting lost; the second indefinitely postponed, it being thought impossible to manage the society with- out a business meeting once a year. Joshua Manwaring was elected president; Daniel West, vice-president; Nettie Comstock, secretary.
The reunion for this year was held June 17, 1880, at Imlay City. This meeting was a great success as regards members and enthusiasm, but no business was done, nor any history added to the records here, and this year, strange to say, no deaths were reported among the old pioneers.
The next meeting was held at Lapeer, February 10, 1881. On account of the excitement attending the examination of Mrs. Nettie M. Barnard, accused of the murder of Mrs. Charlotte Curtis, then going on at the court-house, but a quorum was present. It was decided here that the winter meetings should be strictly business meetings. Daniel West was elected president; Joshua Manwaring, vice-president, and Nettie Comstock, secretary. The deaths of Mrs. Sarah Barrows, wife of Eber Barrows, the pioneer of Metamora village; and of Mrs. Sophronia Pitcher, wife of Geo. Pitcher, and sister of Mrs. Barrows, also of Metamora, were reported.
The reunion was held at Hunter's Creek, June 23, 1881. An- other effort was made here to amend the constitution, and the reso- lution laid on the table according to the rules. The archives of the society, which were in a state of great confusion, were placed at the disposal of a committee who instructed the secretary to engross them in a book provided for the purpose. The death of Hon. Frank Kendrick, son of Geo. Kendrick, who was one of the early pioneers of Dryden, was reported; also of Joseph Bristol, vice-pres- ident of the society in 1875, a resident of Almont; and of his sister, Mrs. Diana Smith, of Imlay, who were a son and daughter of Beza- leel Bristol, a pioneer in Almont, of 1830. The annual business meeting for 1882 was held at Manwaring Hall, Lapeer, February 9, 1882. Sheldon Bristol was elected president; Dennis Griggs, vice-president; Nettie Comstock, secretary. The resolution to amend the constitution was taken from the table, and after long debate returned to the table, and a committee appointed to thor- oughly revise the constitution and by-laws. The deaths of Rev. James Hemingway, of Hadley, father of William Hemingway, of Lapeer, and John and James M. Hemingway, of Hadley, at the age of ninety-three; of Mrs. Margaret Halpin, a resident of Lapeer Township for nearly forty years; of Mrs. Clarissa Hartwell, iden- tified with the Hadley Baptist Church and Society for more than forty years, were reported, and the Hon. J. B. Wilson invited to
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
read a paper, at the June reunion, to be held at Hadley, June 15, 1882.
The reunion of June, 1882, was held at the Hadley Fair Ground, and was a most pleasant meeting. J. J. Watkins, his- torian of the society, delivered a historical address, and Hon. J. B. Wilson gave his recollections of a fifty years' residence in Michigan. Many old pioneers were present, among others Rev. Mr. Potter, the veteran Baptist minister, Russell Cobb, and Robert Davenport and Gardner Dexter. The deaths of Mark Halpin, a pioneer of Lapeer Township; of Mrs. Betsy Farrar, widow of William Farrar, a pioneer of Hadley, of 1837, at the age of eighty-eight years; of Dan- iel Hartwell, at the age of eighty-nine, for more than forty years the deacon of the Hadley Baptist Church; of Mrs. Eunice Bruce, a pioneer of Elba, of 1840, and of John A. Merritt, a pioneer of Meta- mora, of 1838, were reported :
The annual business meeting for 1883 was held at Manwaring Hall, Lapeer, February 8, 1883. The society at this meeting ap- pointed Messrs. J. Manwaring, J. B. Wilson, and J. J. Watkins as delegates to the next meeting of the State Pioneer Society, and the following resolution was presented and unanimously carried.
Resolved, That our senator and representatives in the legislat- ure are requested to introduce a bill, authorizing the boards of supervisors to vote such sum or sums of money as may be neces- sary to furnish a complete history of the township; this appropria- tion to be made to the County Pioneer Societies, to enable them to make a complete history of the respective counties. A new consti- tution and by-laws were presented by the committee, and after some debate, was left in their hands for correction and revision, and by vote of the society the old officers were re-elected rica roce.
The reunion was held June 21, 1883, at Dryden village. A large crowd gathered in the orchard of Ethan Squier, the pioneer of Dryden village.
The death roll was long and sad: Mrs. Elizabeth Lamb, widow of John M. Lamb, once a very prominent man in the county; Elisha Farnum, one of the oldest pioneers of Almont; Mrs. Asa Richards and Mrs. Hollenbeck, of Marathon; Mrs. Polly Hart, the last survivor of the heads of the three families who settled Hadley village in 1835; Mrs. Fitch, for many years a resident of Almont and Hadley, and John M. Hemingway, son of the Rev. James Hemingway, a pioneer of Hadley of 1837, and at his death super- visor of that township, were reported as having died during the year.
Hon. J. B. Wilson gave a sketch of the early history of Arca- dia, and Virgil Parmlee and Mrs. Carpenter some reminiscences of their labors as teachers forty years and more ago, and the society adjourned to meet in Lapeer, February, 1884.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The Lapeer County Agricultural Society was formally organized in August, 1883, and the following officers were elected :- Presi- dent, Geo. N. Turrill; vice-president, Hoel Palmerlee; treasurer, John Dodds; secretary, John Abbott; directors, Geo. P. Chapman, Myron Snyder, William Halpin, John A. Buerger, Henry Lee, and the president, secretary, treasurer and vice-president. The society determined to issue stock and complete the track at once. Twenty acres of ground were purchased about one-half mile south of the business portion of the city of Lapeer, and improvements imme- diately commenced. The track is a half mile in length, and great pains are being taken with its construction. The society is a joint stock association.
This is the third county agricultural society that has been organized in this county. At an early day fairs were held on ground south of the court-house, that is covered now with build- ings. In 1878 a society was organized, of which Daniel West was president; John Abbott, secretary; and Joshua Manwaring, treas-
urer. Grounds were rented and fairs held three times, after which the society disorganized. The plan upon which the present society is organized seems to warrant continued success.
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The Lapeer County Horticultural Society was organized February 10, 1882, with fifty members. Officers: President, F. McElroy; vice-president, Henry Lee; Secretary, H. W. Davis; treasurer, John Abbott.
LAPEER COUNTY GRANGE.
The grangers of Lapeer County met at Attica Grange Hall November 5, 1880, pursuant to notice, and organized a Pomona grange, assisted by C. L. Whitney, lecturer of State Grange, with the following names as officers: Master, W. A. Montgomery; over- seer, John F. Muir; lecturer, William North; steward, H. Brad- shaw; assistant steward, R. H. William; Chaplain, N. Burley; treasurer, E. Bartlett; secretary, G. W. Rudd; gate keeper, S. D. Nye; Ceres, Mrs. S. G. Muir; Flora, Mrs. N. H. Bradshaw; Pomona, Mrs. M. Lockwood; lady assistant steward, Mrs. F. Howard.
The officers for 1883 are as follows: Master, Elijah Bartlett; overseer, Harrison Bradshaw; secretary, Jacob W. Shell; trersurer, Philander H. Foot; chaplain, Henry Seaman; lecturer, Benjamin Spencer; steward, William A. Montgomery; lady assistant steward Phoebe M. Howard; Ceres, Ellen L. Bartlett; Flora, Sarah J. Muir; Pomona, Mrs. Harrison Bradshaw; gate keeper, J. F. Muir. Meetings are held once every three months. The membership is about seventy-five. Eight granges are included in the county grange, viz: Dryden, Attica, Goodland, Sharps Corners, Elm Creek, Burlington, Deerfield and Lapeer.
The Lapeer County Bible Society was organized in 1842, and is still actively maintained ...
There are also the Medical and Bar Associations.
VETERANS' ASSOCIATION.
The Lapeer County Veterans' Association, composed of the soldiers and sailors of the county who were in military service, was permanently organized in June, 1880, and officered as follows: President, Maynard Butts; vice-presidents, Henry K. White, William Henderson; secretary, George W. Stone; treasurer, Henry A. Birdsall.
At the annual meeting in August, 1883, the following officers were elected: President, George Davenport, Hadley; vice-presidents, Daniel West, Attica, Nicholas Brown, Columbiaville; treas- surer, L. W. Hinman, Lapeer; secretary, H. C. Spencer, Hadley; colonel, Col. L. Y. Struble, Attica; lieutenant colonel, E. R. Red- field, Lapeer; major, A. B. Weston, North Branch; adjutant, M. B. Bolton, Lapeer; quartermaster, J. A. Buerger Lapeer; chap- lain, Rev. Parmenter, North Branch.
The treasurer's report shows the receipts and expenditures for the past year, as follows:
Total receipts. . $64 14
Total expenditures 59 16
Balance in treasury . $ 4 98
Three members of the association have died within the last year.
FIRST SPIRITUALIST SOCIETY.
The First Spiritualist Society of Lapeer was organized at a meeting held in the township of Oregon, February 16, 1873. The officers were as follows: President, Oliver E. West; vice-president, Maria Clark; secretary, Maria Sims; treasurer, Mary. A. Carpenter; corresponding secretary, Lydia C. Houghson. The regular quarterly meetings at Lapeer and vicinity. In 1883 John O. Bruce is president, and Lucy E. Owen, secretary.
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HISTORY OF LAPEER COUNTY.
STATISTICAL.
The census of 1840 was taken by Noah H. Hart; there was a total population in the county of 3,364, as follows:
MALES. FEMALES. TOTAL.
Bristol, now Almont.
.444
444
888
Dryden
435
372
807
Lapeer
.401
354
755
Hadley
.199
172
371
Metamora
181
170
351
Elba
57
43
100
Marathon
52
40
92
The total population in 1850, 7,029; in 1860, 14,754; in 1870, 21,344; in 1874, 25,140.
According to the census of 1880, the population was as fol- lows:
Almont (including village, 837) 2,050
32 10
Military purposes
919 18
Relief of Sufferers by fire of 1881
1,105 80
Paving Cooper Street in Jackson 52 96
General purposes. 9,805 79
Aggregate of tax to be apportioned. $23,667 58
TOWN OF ALMONT.
BY DR. WILLIAM B. HAMILTON.
The town of Almont occupies the southeastern corner of Lapeer County. It is bounded on the north by Imlay, on the east by St. Clair County, on the south by Macomb County, and west by the town of Dryden.
It was in this township that the first settlers in Lapeer County located, hence it is a section of territory full of historic interest.
In 1840 the town had a population of 888.
Census of 1874: Population, 2,056; acres of taxable land, 21,836; of improved land, 14,902; No. of sheep, 6,586; of swine, 779; neat cattle, other than oxen and cows, one year old and over, 1,199; of milch cows, 670. Products of preceding year: 34,107 pounds of wool, 9,950 pounds of cheese, and 69,950 of butter; 41,287 bushels of wheat, 46,515 of corn, 53,952 of other grain, 21,035 of apples, 461 of pears, 604 of cherries, 1,200 pounds of grapes, 19 bushels of strawberries, 12,150 bushels of potatoes and 2,949 tons of hay; 305 barrels of cider were made. In 1874 9,738 pounds of maple sugar were made.
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