History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 56

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 617

USA > Michigan > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 56

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).

The number of scholars reported in 1860 were 235, and the amount received from the primary- school fund $108.00.

In 1870 districts I to 5, inclusive, reported 211 scholars, and the amount of primary-school money received and apportioned $ 104.16.

The following statistics are taken from the an- nual report of the township board of education, for the year ending Sept. 1, 1879:

Number of districts, one being fractional .. 5 Children of school age residing in the township ............. 219

AMANDA DOUGLASS,

a woman well known through Livingston County for her enterprise and good com- mon sense, was born in Rensselaer Co., N. Y., Nov. 4, 1804. Her maiden name was Vredenburgh. Her ancestors were Hollanders, and emigrated to America be- fore the Revolution.

When she was two years of age her father moved to Washington Co., N. Y., and settled on a farm near White Hall, where she lived until she was married, Jan. 22, 1823, to Samuel B. Douglass. His father was also a farmer, and lived near White Hall. Samuel remained with his father until he was twenty-five years of age, when he went to Wayne Co., N. Y., with his wife and one child, and engaged in the mercantile business for fifteen years. He there made a trade for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Handy, Living- ston Co., Mich. Upon this land he had a log house built, and moved there in Au- gust, 1840, where he remained one year, when he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, upon which there was a frame house and some sixty acres partially cleared, at what is now known as Parker's Corners, in the town of Iosco. He at once built a barn, and commenced improving the land. Not being a practical farmer, and his time largely occupied with other matters, he had made little progress on the farm when he died, Sept. 11, 1847, in his fiftieth year, leaving a wife and five children.

Mr. Douglass was a man of large busi-

AMANDA DOUGLASS

ness capacity, and by his own exertion had acquired a good business education. Was a practical surveyor, had a good knowledge of the law, and became quite famous for his success in the pioneer courts. Polit- ically, he was a Democrat. In all town matters he took an active part, filling some of the offices, among them that of super- visor.

Upon his death, Mrs. Douglass assumed the responsibility of the family, and nobly has she performed the duties devolving upon her. The large tract of native forest has been transformed into broad and fertile fields, the many wants of the family have been supplied, and their position in the com- munity maintained. She is charitable and hospitable to all local public enterprises. She gives liberally to the Protestant Meth- odist Church at Parker's Corners; she gave the land, and contributed liberally to its erection and support. She has been the mother of six children; one died while the family lived in New York. Everett, the old- est son, is a prominent business man at Big Rapids, Mich .; Helen married Thomas Segar, a farmer, who lives adjoining the old home; Sarah married Myron Parker; she died, leaving three children, who live with their grandmother; Robert died at the age of eighteen years; Samuel was killed by a falling tree. And now, after a long and industrious life, this venerable pioneer, upon whose head have fallen the frosts of seventy-five winters, looks back with the satisfaction of having acted well her part, as she enjoys a large circle of friends and a well-earned competency.

RESIDENCE OF AMANDA DOUGLASS, IOSCO, LIVINGSTON CO.,MICH. Google

Hosted by

Google

265

IOSCO TOWNSHIP.

Children attending school during the year ..

213

Frame school-houses

Value of school property.

$1400

Qualified male teachers employed during the year. 5

Qualified female teachers employed during the year. 7

Months taught by male teachers. 1714

Months taught by female teachers. 2334

Paid male teachers

$458.70

Paid female teachers.

273.50

YEARLY RECEIPTS.

Money on hand Sept. 2, 1878. $169.23

Two-mill tax

255.88

Primary-school fund ..

106.56

District taxes for all purposes.

541.86

Total resources for the year.

$1073.53

EXPENDITURES.

Teachers' wages ..

$732.20

Repairs of buildings

4.97

For other purposes.

123.90

On hand September 1, 1879.

212.46

$1073.53

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.

FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL SOCIETY OF IOSCO.

The first religious meetings were held at the residence of James Wright, in the spring or early summer of 1837, by Elder Sayre. He continued his ministrations for a year or more, holding meet- ings here, and in adjoining settlements, about once in four weeks. The first class contained a mem- bership of some nine or ten, among whom were James Wright and wife, Richard Acker and wife, William Wright, Seth G. Wilson and wife, Abram Van Buren and wife, and Ard Osborn. During the same summer Elder Sayre organized a class in the Munsell neighborhood.

The Wright class kept up its organization, slowly but surely increasing its membership, wor- shiping in school-houses and the dwellings of its members, until May, 1854, when measures were taken for building a church edifice.

Rev. William E. Bigelow, presiding elder of the Ann Arbor district, thereupon appointed Joseph S. Post, William Wright, Joseph Wright, Elisha C. Wright, James Wright, Horace Osborn, and Enoch Smith trustees of the First Methodist Epis- copal Church of Iosco, and the society was regu- larly incorporated.

Soon after, a small church was erected upon the east side of section 20. In 1874 it was deemed advisable to remove the church to Iosco, or Park- er's Corners. This was finally accomplished, and it was then rebuilt at a cost of $1600. It has sittings for 300 people.

THE PROTESTANT METHODIST CHURCH OF IOSCO .*

This society was organized by Revs. R. Bam- ford and M. Munn in 1845. The members of the

first class were William Simons and Angeline, his wife; William C. Post and Ursula, his wife; Mar- garet Wilhelm, and Delia Hempstead. This class then belonged to the Ingham Circuit, and remained a part of the same until 1857, when it was set off from Ingham and embraced in the Livingston Circuit.

The pastors of this society and the dates of their coming are shown as follows :

John A. Parks, 1846; R. R. Ransom, 1847; John A. Parks, 1848; B. Bayne, 1849; J. R. Savage, M. L. Perrington, 1851 ; M. L. Perring- ton, J. Card, 1852; J. K. Stevenson, 1853; Wm. D. Tompkinson, 1854; Jesse Kilpatrick, 1856; H. H. Johnson, 1857; J. A. Nichols, 1858; H. H. Johnson, 1860; Thomas Plackett, 1861 ; J. H. Morton, 1862; M. D. Angell, 1863; S. Clark, 1865 ; H. W. Hicks, 1866; J. S. Mckinley, 1868; A. C. Fuller, 1870; J. F. Kellogg, 1872; Wm. D. Tompkinson, 1873; J. F. Kellogg, 1875; Samuel Riley, the present pastor, 1877. A neat church edifice with sittings for 300 persons was built in 1873, at a cost of $2800. The society has a present membership of 40, and a flourishing Sab- bath-school numbering 70 scholars and teachers, of which Enoch S. Osborn is superintendent.

A class of Protestant Methodists was formed in the south part of the township in 1850. They hold meetings in the Wilson School-house.

FIRST SABBATH-SCHOOL.

Elder Piper, a Presbyterian or Baptist divine, held meetings at the house of John Wood, on sec- tion 17, in 1838 or 1839. Mr. Wood with his daughters are entitled to the honor of organizing and conducting in the summer of 1838, in their dwelling, the first Sabbath-school, and it was a very successful one.

CEMETERIES.

The Munsell Burying-ground Association was organized and incorporated according to the laws of the State of Michigan, March 17, 1854. The officers first elected were Peter J. Kuhn, President ; Martin R. Foster, Clerk; Seth G. Wilson, Col- lector ; and John Fewlass, Treasurer and Sexton. The original plat is described as follows :

" Commencing at a stake on the quarter-post line running east and west through section fifteen in township two north, of range three east, said stake being situate in the centre of the public highway running east and west on the said quarter-section post- line, and about fifty rods from the eastern post of said section fifteen ; thence running north sixteen rods; thence east nine rods; thence south sixteen rods to the centre of the said public highway ; thence west to the place of beginning."

Other places of burial are situated upon sections 3 and 29.

Hosted by Google

* From information furnished by D. F. Osborn, son of Ard Osborn.

266

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

LUANA STOW,

one of the early pioneers of Livingston County, was born Nov. 30, 1807. Her parents, Calvin and Elizabeth Wilson, emigrated from the State of Massachusetts to Vermont in 1785, about six years before the admission of that State as the fourteenth member of the Union. But little is known of her early ancestors, except that they emigrated from Ireland at a very early period in the history of this country, and that they were Protestant in their religious views.

LITTLE

LUANA STOW.

Mrs. Stow was the sixth and youngest child of the family, and was married in November, 1829, to Asel Stow. She resided in the vicinity of her birthplace until September, 1836, when, with her husband and family of two children, she removed to Livingston Co., Mich. At this time the country was new, and its forests unblemished by the march of industry and civilization. Mrs. Stow, reared in a home of plenty, felt keenly the loss of the many privileges deemed indispensable in older commu- nities. In the summer of 1838, and again 1856, she visited her former home and friends in New England.

Of a family of six children four only survive,- three sons and one daughter. Her husband, Asel Stow, died in August, 1854, aged fifty-two years. He was a robust, energetic, and determined man, and seemed especially fitted for pioneer life. A man of more than ordinary business talent, he be- came influential in public affairs, and filled many of the responsible township offices.

Mrs. Stow still resides at her old home with her second son, Anson A. Stow. An exemplary

Christian and devoted mother, she, in her declin- ing years, is surrounded with plenty and many loving friends.

HON. ISAAC STOW,

eldest son of Asel and Luana Stow, was born on the toth day of December, 1830, in Weybridge, Addison Co., Vt. In the autumn of 1836 he emi- grated with his parents into the western part of Livingston Co., Mich., then an unbroken wilder- ness, inhabited only by the red man and wild beasts of the forests. The family, accompanied by Seth G. Wilson and wife, after a tedious journey by canal and lake, arrived at Detroit about the middle of September. Here they were soon joined by Nathan Jones and family, an uncle who had driven his father's team overland from the State of Vermont, and made their way, over roads that to other than the indomitable pioneer would have appeared sim- ply impassable, to their future homes on the very borders of civilization. To relate the thrilling incidents and severe trials of Mr. Stow's early pioneer life would prolong this sketch beyond its allotted bounds; we will, therefore, only add that he continued to reside with his parents during his minority in the township where they first settled, since known as Iosco, assisting in making from the unsubdued wilds of nature what in time became a home of plenty, and where his aged mother still resides.

At an early age Mr. Stow exhibited those stu- dious traits of character which have since made him a man of position and influence in the commu- nity where he resides, and a valuable aid in the development of a new country.

Before leaving New England he had attained to more than ordinary proficiency in his studies for one of his age (not yet six years); but for several years after his arrival in Michigan he enjoyed very limited educational advantages, schools being few and usually of an inferior type. However, during his boyhood he was a constant student, giving his spare moments to study,-often carrying text-books with him while laboring in his father's fields. At the age of sixteen, mostly by his own unaided efforts, he had mastered those branches usually taught in the high schools and academies of the country, and became a successful teacher. At the age of eighteen he became a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. His correct deportment and studious habits won him many friends, and prepared him well for life's earnest work.

After reaching his majority he began business on a new farm in the township of White Oak, Ing- ham Co., of which, at the expiration of one year,

IOSCO TOWNSHIP.

267

he disposed, and at the earnest solicitation of his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Seth G. Wilson,- who were childless,-resided with them about two years. Here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining that received from his uncle, making a fine estate of two hundred and eighty acres. In November, 1853, he was married to Miss Ruhamah Palmer, of Washtenaw Co., Mich., who still lives, a devoted wife and mother, and a useful member of society.

On the death of his father, which occurred in August, 1854, he yielded to the tearful entreaties of his mother and returned to the old homestead, taking charge of the estate, of which he was soon after made administrator. Here he remained until his younger brothers arrived at manhood, when he purchased a tract of land not far distant, of which, by industry and perseverance, he and his energetic companion have made a desirable home.

The family, consisting of four sons and two daughters, three of whom have attained their ma- jority, still remain beneath the parental roof. They are well advanced in scholastic attainments, of good deportment, and fitted to take prominent positions in any community. Eugene A. now fills the office of superintendent of schools with credit and honor to himself and his constituents.

Mr. Stow, early in life, took a leading position in the public affairs of his township, and during the Rebellion spent much time and money in filling the several quotas of troops called for by government, and his liberality, when acting officially in the care of the families of enlisted soldiers, was unsuccess- fully used to defeat him at the next election. He has given largely of time and money to the support of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Iosco, and to the building of its neat and tasty church edifice. Although affiliating with the political party usually in the minority, he now holds and has filled the office of supervisor a large share of the time for the last fifteen years, and has been prominent in the affairs of the county. In 1874 he was elected to the Legislature, and was a mem- ber of that body when that memorable and closely- contested election of United States Senator oc- curred which ended in the defeat of Hon. Zacha- riah Chandler and the election of Judge Chris- tiancy.

Mr. Stow has good business qualifications, and with a mind more logical than brilliant, seldom arrives at false conclusions, or fails to succeed in whatever he attempts. He has many friends, and enjoys the proud satisfaction of having largely as- sisted in laying the foundations of the material and religious prosperity of the community about him.

As a citizen, he contributes his full share in the defense of right and virtue, and towards the sup- pression of vice and immorality in every form. In sketching briefly the life thus far of such a man, we must conclude that, however unpretending, it has been eminently useful, and that without men of stout hearts and inflexible purpose the wilder- ness-the rude frontier-would never be trans- formed into prosperous communities, where the heterogeneous elements of pioneer life are changed and blended into beautiful harmony, indicative of a much higher order of civilization.

SETH G. WILSON

was born at Weybridge, Vt., Nov. 30, 1798. He lived with his father until he became of age, but worked out by the month a portion of the time. Sept. 19, 1823, he was married to Philena Sturde- vant. Mr. Wilson, with his father, purchased a

SETH G. WILSON.

farm, where he worked until the spring of 1836. He then sold out and came to Iosco, in company with Asel Stow, who had married Mr. Wilson's sister. Mr. Wilson located one hundred and sixty acres of land, where he now lives. In the fall of 1836 he built a log house, and commenced the improvement of what is now a fine and fertile farm. He was pres- ent at the first town-meeting, and was elected jus- tice of the peace, an office he held for eight years.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Vermont; they brought letters and united with the same church at Munsell's, and assisted in organizing the Wilson class. Mr. Wilson has been a class-leader for more than thirty years.

Hosted by Google

268

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Having no children, and feeling the need of some assistance in their old age, they made an arrange- ment with Silas C. Merrill, in 1863, by which he received their property, and, in consideration there- for, was to care for them during their natural lives. Mrs. Wilson died Nov. 10, 1866. Mr. Wilson, upon whose head have fallen the frosts of fourscore winters, is still in the enjoyment of good health, and looks back upon the past with the satisfaction of having acted well his part.

His successor on the old farm, Mr. Merrill, was

WILLIAM H. KUHN.

WILLIAM H. KUHN

was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., Jan. 30, 1822. He came to Iosco in the spring of 1837 with his father, Peter J. Kuhn, who was a man of limited means, and had a family of eight children,-four sons and four daughters. They were among the earliest settlers in the town, and their success may be attributed to their industry and good management; as the boys grew up to manhood they sought homes for them- selves.

April 12, 1846, William H. Kuhn was married to Miss Martha Wilson, daughter of Warren Wil- son, who came from Vermont and settled in White Oak, Ingham Co., about 1838. In the summer of 1846, Mr. Kuhn purchased eighty acres of land, of which there were a few acres cleared, but no buildings. Making a small payment, and working out as best he could to get money for the other payments and the necessaries of life, it was two years before he was enabled to build a log house, and then it was of the rudest kind. But by per- sistent energy the improvements were made and other lands added, until a fine farm is the result. The log house was deemed too small and inconve-

born in Butler, N. Y., Oct. 18, 1833. He came to Iosco with his father, Benjamin Merrill, who died Nov. 18, 1841, leaving a wife and two sons. Simeon enlisted in the 5th Infantry, and died at Anderson- ville prison. Silas C. has been twice married. His first wife was Harriet Conrad, who only lived a few months after their marriage. His present wife, Mrs. Adelaide Stewart, formerly Miss Miller, was a daughter of Wm. Miller, who settled in Iosco in the spring of 1836, and who died in September, 1874.

MRS. WILLIAM H. KUHN.

nient ; a new and substantial residence was planned and all preparations made to build, when Mr. Kuhn was taken sick, and died May 28, 1871, leaving a wife and eight children,-four sons and four daugh- ters. The entire responsibility of the family and of the farm fell upon the mother, who has cour- ageously discharged her trust. The house has been completed according to the original plan, the farm has been carried on, and the affairs of the family so conducted as to reflect great credit upon the mother and the children, who co-operate with her. Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn were members of the Protestant Methodist Church, in which he was a class-leader for several years.

JAMES WOODEN

ranks among the enterprising men of Iosco who have contributed towards the development and improvement of Livingston County. His father, William Wooden, was a farmer in Waterloo, N. Y., who subsequently came to Iosco, cleared up a farm on section 5, where he died in December, 1876, in his seventy-seventh year. pogle

269

PUTNAM TOWNSHIP.

James Wooden was born in Waterloo, N. Y., April 8, 1823. He came to Iosco with only one hundred dollars, and purchased a piece of wild land. He had cleared a few acres and built a log house when he married Lydia C. Hart, in January, 1854. His location on section 5 was covered with heavy timber, which required years of labor to remove, and render the land available for tillage. With energy and industry, this farm was developed into one of the finest in the county,-embracing three hundred and sixty acres, with large improve- ments, spacious buildings, and pleasant surround- ings,-a view of which may be seen among the Iosco illustrations.

WILLIAM J. JEWELL

was born in Warren Co., N. J., Nov. 19, 1818. His parents died when he was young, leaving him without means or protection. He was reared among strangers. When twenty-two years of age he came to Hillsdale Co., Mich., where he worked

by the month for two years, from the wages of which labor he saved three hundred dollars. He then came to Iosco and purchased eighty acres of land, where he now lives. This was in 1842. February 17th of that year he was married to Delilah Smith, daughter of Robert Smith, who came from Cortland Co., N. Y .; and settled in Ing- ham County, where he died at the age of seventy- six years.

Soon after Mr. Jewell was married he built a rude log house. Being almost destitute of means, the early improvements were made only by the greatest exertion ; the progress although slow, has been sure. The original eighty acres has ex- panded to one hundred and sixty, with large and commodious buildings, and with such surround- ings as indicate an abundance of this world's goods.

Mr. Jewell has been the father of two children, -a daughter, who died when fourteen years of age, and a son, Fobes C., who was born June 10, 1864.

PUTNAM TOWNSHIP.

PUTNAM, one of the earlier formed townships of Livingston County, lies on its southern border, and is bounded west, north, and east by the town- ships of Unadilla, Marion, and Hamburg, and south by Washtenaw County. It includes town- ship No. I north, in range No. 4 east of the prin- cipal meridian, as shown on the United States survey. Southeast from the centre is located the village of Pinckney, in a picturesque valley on the north bank of Portage Creek. The survey of the proposed Michigan Air-Line Railway crosses the township from east to west, passing to the north of Pinckney.

The surface of the township is, in its greater portion, hilly and broken, although in the west and northwest is an extensive and beautiful plain, upon which are found excellent and highly-improved farms. Honey Creek passes nearly through the centre of the town, from northwest to southeast, and discharges into Portage Lake on section 36. Portage River, fed by numerous small lakes, tra- verses the southern portion of the township, and, after crossing into Washtenaw County, empties into Portage Lake, which is a large, fine sheet of water, covering several hundred acres, and lying

partly in each county. Among the other lakes of the township are Mud, Bentley, Duck, Little and Big Barber, and Gosling. Parts of Half-Moon and Patterson Lakes also lie in the southwest corner of the town. Good power is furnished by Portage River and Honey Creek, and mills have been erected in several places.

LAND-ENTRIES.

The following is a list of those who entered land in what is now Putnam township, arranged by sec- tions, with years in which the entries were made :

SECTION 1 .- 1835, Maj. Chubb; 1836, Barry Butler, Henry A. Nagle, Thomas Crawford, John Norton, Elijah Bennett; 1837, Ira Chubb ; 1838, Lewis Butler; 1847, John H. Watson. SECTION 2 .- 1835, Maj. Chubb; 1836, Thomas L. Jewett, James M. Soverhill, Thomas Crawford ; 1838, Nathan Pond.

SECTION 3 .- 1835, George Corselus, Benjamin Eaman; 1836, James Kingsley, Aaron Younglove, Joseph Pixley, James W. Stansbury ; 1838, Horace Alderman ; 1855, Philander Monroe. SECTION 4 .- 1835, Thomas Martin, Thomas Weller; 1836, Wil- liam Kirtland, John S. Farrand, Aaron Younglove, Thomas Crawford, Henry A. Nagle, William W. Stansbury.

SECTION 5 .- 1835, Hiram Weller; 1836, John G. Peterson, Lem- uel Bryant ; 1840, John D. Hughes, Moses Fuller.

SECTION 6 .- 1836, Freeman R. Burden, Erastus Blanchard, Caleb Lynden ; 1837, Freeman R. Burden ; 1838, Patrick Kelly; 1852, William Boyle; 1853, Frederick Williams.le

270

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

SECTION 7 .- 1835, Cassius Swift, James Grieve; 1836, Sylvanus P. Germain, John Cameron.

SECTION 8 .- 1835, Freeman Webb, Benjamin Annis, Samuel Burgess ; 1836, William Kirtland, Richard M. Bayley, An- tha Weller, Reuben Robie.

SECTION 9 .- 1835, Hiram Weller; 1836, William Kirtland, R. M. Bayley, Patrick Monks, Reuben Robie, Cassius Swift ; 1836, Patrick Monks, William Moore; 1838, Furman G. Rose, Freeman Webb.

SECTION 10 .- 1836, Henry G. Bush, Maj. Bentley ; 1837, Ezekiel Page; 1849, Thomas Gawley, James Speer; 1854, David White ; 1867, William A. Hall.

SECTION 11 .- 1836, Maj. Bentley, Samuel Nash, Samuel S. Fitch ; 1837, William O'Hara; 1838, Joel S. Mead, Samuel S. Fitch, Jesse D. Hause ; 1848, William S. Wait ; 1853, Wm. S. Wait. SECTION 12 .- 1836, Ralph Swarthout, Silas Hodgins; 1837, B. B. Kercheval, R. Swarthout ; 1839, Samuel S. Fitch.

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.

History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 56

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 617

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 617