History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 62

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hardships and trials. Being city-bred and without practical experience as a farmer, he was beset with difficulties almost insurmountable. It is needless to say that, as a farmer, Mr. Mercer was unsuccess- ful, and a few years after, he accepted a situation as book-keeper in the drug and dry-goods house of W. S. Maynard, of Ann Arbor, where he remained for fifteen years.

Oct. 26, 1831, Mr. Mercer was married to Miss Mary, daughter of William and Mary Williamson, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Mr. Williamson was a mer- chant, and came to Brooklyn in 1825, where he resided until his death, which occurred in May, 1827.

Mr. Mercer was a man of more than ordinary ability and acquirements. He creditably filled many positions of trust. In 1846 he was elected supervisor, and for many years he served the town as magistrate and clerk. Mr. and Mrs. Mercer reared a family of five children, three of whom are living in the vicinity of the old home.

HON. WILLIAM BALL.

This gentleman, one of the prominent agricul- turists of Livingston County, was born in Niles, Cayuga Co., N. Y., April 7, 1830. When six years of age his father emigrated with his family to Washtenaw County, settling in the township of Webster.

William received but very little adventitious aid in making a future for himself; he obtained, how- ever, a collegiate education, and inherited from his parents a robust constitution and industrious habits, and with these as his exclusive capital he com- menced life for himself. After finishing his edu- cation he was for several years engaged in teaching, but the profession not proving congenial, and having a decided taste for farming, he resolved to make that his business for life. In 1858 he purchased, in the town of Hamburg, one hundred and forty-seven acres of land, which is a portion of his present farm of five hundred acres. As a farmer and stock- grower Mr. Ball has been very successful, and holds a deservedly prominent position among the leading farmers of the State. He is president of the Michigan Sheep-Breeders' and Wool-Growers' Association, and of the Livingston County Agri- cultural Society, and for two years has officiated as a director in the State and Central Michigan Agri- cultural Societies. He is extensively known as a successful breeder of short-horns and Spanish Me- rinos, has done much to improve the sheep and cattle interests of Livingston, and his stock is con- sidered among the best in this section of the State.

Notwithstanding his extensive agricultural oper-

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RESIDENCE OF CHESTER HAZARD, GENOA . LIVINGSTON CO., MICH.

RESIDENCE OF O. W. SEXTON, HAMBURG, MICHIGANed by google

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GENOA TOWNSHIP.

ations, Mr. Ball has always manifested an interest in public affairs, and the people have shown their appreciation of his services by electing him to various positions of influence and responsibility, which he has filled with scrupulous fidelity. In his political belief he was originally a Whig, and upon the organization of the Republican party he espoused its cause, and has since labored in that organization. In 1863 he represented Hamburg upon the Board of Supervisors, where he was ac- knowledged an able and efficient member. In 1864 he was elected to the representative branch of the Legislature. In 1866 he was re-elected, serving as chairman on the committee of towns and counties. In 1874 he was elected county superintendent of schools, which position he filled acceptably until that office was abolished by act of the Legislature.

In 1858, Mr. Ball was married to Miss Catherine, daughter of David B. and Sarah (Culver) Powers, who settled in Hamburg in 1831, and whose names are prominently associated with its early history.

Mr. Ball is a self-made man, and one of whom the Latin phrase, " Faber su@ fortuna," is eminently true. Commencing life with only his natural re- sources for capital, he has in a few years attained an enviable position among the representative men of Livingston County.

DENNIS COREY

was born in the town of Edinburg, Saratoga Co., N. Y., Jan. 18, 1824. His parents, John D. and Parney (Armstrong) Corey, had a family of thirteen children,-six sons and seven daughters. When Dennis was seven years of age his father came with his family to Michigan, settling in Wayne County.

Dennis remained with his father until he was nine- teen years of age, when he purchased his time, and commenced life for himself as a farm laborer. He followed that occupation, however, but a short time, subsequently acquiring the trade of an en- gineer, which he followed until 1852, when he pur- chased the farm upon which he now resides. The land for the most part was unimproved, and the fine farm of to-day, with its finely cultivated fields and commodious buildings, is the result of his own energy and industry. In 1854 he was married to Miss Luzette, daughter of Heman Lake, one of the town's first settlers. In 1858, Mrs. Corey died, and in 1860 he was married to Catharine Corey, of Otisco, Onondaga Co., N. Y., where she was born, December, 1824. By his first wife Mr. Corey had one child, Parney E, now Mrs. George Banghart. Mr. Corey has been successful, and his farm (a view of which we present on another page) evi- dences his thrift and enterprise.

ELIAS DAVIS

was born in the town of Tyrone, Steuben Co., N. Y., in 1813. In 1834 he came to Michigan, and purchased eighty acres of land in the town of Hamburg, upon which he resided until his decease, June 30, 1845. He was married to Mary Ellen Myer, of Seneca Co., N. Y., where she was born, in the town of Lodi, Oct. 4, 1818.

Mr. Davis was a successful farmer, and acquired, by his own industry and good management, a valu- able farm of two hundred acres, which he left to his widow and children. He had three children, viz., Caroline, now Mrs. Henry Poulsen, Deborah C., and Myer A.

GENOA TOWNSHIP.

THE northwest corner of Genoa township is at the geographical centre of Livingston County. The township is bounded north by Oceola, east by Brighton, south by Hamburg, and west by Marion. It is crossed diagonally, near the centre, from south- east to northwest, by the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad, upon which is a flag-station at the corner of sections 14, 15, 22, and 23. The old "Grand River road," now a toll turnpike, ex- tends across the northern portion of the town, and through some of its best-improved parts. On sec- tion 6 the Ann Arbor road leaves the first-named

highway, and after a course of several miles enters Hamburg from section 33.

The water area of Genoa is extensive, although no streams of note flow within the township. Nu- merous lakes, which are peculiar to and character- istic of Michigan, exist, of greater or less area. Of these the finest is Long Lake, on sections 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11. Its shores are for the most part wooded, and abound in pleasant camping and fishing re- sorts. Much of the lake is shallow, and filled with the grassy growth common to the waters of the county. This pleasant sheet of water was one of Hosted by

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

the prominent landmarks known to the early set- tlers, and more than one pioneer camped with his family on its shore and admired its beauty. The origin of its name is apparent when a glance is taken at the map, or at the lake itself. Its length is about one and three-fourths miles, and its aver- age width in the neighborhood of one-fourth of a mile.

Crooked Lake, lying south of the centre of the township, on sections 21, 22, 27, and 28, is a large body of water, of such peculiar form as to render its name appropriate. In its southern arm are several small islands, as shown on the map. Its outlet flows south, and furnishes power at least at one point before it joins the Huron, viz., at Petteys- ville, in Hamburg township. Peet, Lime, and other lakes in the township, some of which are not pos- sessed of names, are of lesser area. Round Lake lies partially in Oceola and partly in the northwest part of Genoa. Ore Creek, after leaving the town- ship of Brighton, crosses the southeast corner of Genoa, in which it receives one or two small tribu- taries. Tamarack swamps are common in portions of the township, and open marshes are met with in numerous places.

The general surface of the township of Genoa is undulating, with occasional fertile plains, and, in the southern portion, high gravel ridges. Its soil is generally productive, and many of its farms are improved to an extent which gives evidence of their value, as well as the thrift and enterprise of their owners. The township has not as large an area available for agricultural purposes as some others in the county, yet it ranks among the first in importance, and is strictly a farming township.

LAND-ENTRIES.

The following is a list of those who entered land in what is now Genoa township, together with the sections upon which they located and the years in which the entries were made :

SECTION 1 .- 1835, Alvin F. Benjamin, William S. Conely; 1836, Peter Duross, Erastus Kellogg, Alvin Norton, Andrew Lamb, John W. Williams, Valentine Strack, Horace R. Hudson ; 1837, William Placeway.

SECTION 2 .- 1835, Chester Hazard; 1836, James M. Murray, Erastus Kellogg, Abram Hankins, Joseph Placeway, John White; 1837, Amasa Dean; 1838, John Clark.

SECTION 3 .- 1835, John L. Martin; 1836, Benjamin Earl, Benja- min J. Boutwell, Erastus Watrous, Richard Brown, John White; 1837, William Jacobs; 1853, Charles P. Bush, J. J. Bush.

SECTION 4 .- 1835, Samuel West, John Ellis, John L. Martin ; 1836, Benjamin Earl, John Earl, John Ellis, John F. Law- son ; 1837, Cornelius W. Burwell.

SECTION 5 .- 1833, John Drew; 1835, John Ellis, Asahel Dibble; 1836, Asahel Dibble, John Ellis; 1837, Cornelius W. Bur- well, Orson Elliott.

SECTION 6 .- 1835, Asa Cobb, William Shaft, Asahel Dibble, Flavius J. B. Crane; 1836, Horace M. Comstock, Mark Hea- ley, B. B. Kercheval.

SECTION 7 .- 1834, Ely Barnard; 1835, Edward Latson, William Shaft; 1836, Asahel Dibble, William Burr Curtis, Peter Shaft; 1837, David Parker, Asahel Dibble.

SECTION 8 .- 1834, Ely Barnard; 1835, John Ellis, Asa Cobb, Jr., Jacob Vandewalker.

SECTION 9 .- 1834, Zachariah Sutton ; 1835, Samuel West, Neil F. Butterfield, Lucius H. Peat; 1836, William P. Patrick; 1837, John F. Lawson.

SECTION 10 .- 1833, John Whyte; 1834, Jehiel Barron ; 1835, John White; 1836, Horace HI. Comstock ; 1837, Steward H. Hazard; 1853-54, Charles P. Bush.

SECTION 11 .- 1835, Jacob Euler, Lavina Robbins, Thomas Pinck- ney, Chester Hazard ; 1836, Steward. Hazard, Oren Rhoades, Lucius H. Peet, Pamelia, Lavina, and Jane E. Ward, John White.

SECTION 12 .- 1835, Alvin F. Benjamin, Peter Euler, George Henry Zulauf, Aaron H. Kelley, John Euler; 1836, Peter Duross, John J. Brown, Elisha Hodgman; 1837-47, Lawrence Euler.

SECTION 13. - 1834, Alexander Fraser, Thomas Pinckney, Charles A. Green; 1835, Mansing Hathaway, Alvin F. Benjamin, Roswell Barns; 1836, Horace H. Comstock, Benjamin J. Boutwell, Nehemiah Boutwell.

SECTION 14 .- 1835, Lucius H. Peet, Neil F. Butterfield, Isaiah P. Robbins, Abigail A. R. Pinckney; 1836, Mark Healey and B. B. Kercheval; 1837, Philip Coon.

SECTION 15 .- 1835, Isaiah P. Robbins, Peter McDerby ; 1836, William Miller, Mark Healey and B. B. Kercheval, Jacob Fishbeck, Charles Benedict, Patrick Bogan, Samuel Sewall. SECTION 16 (school lands) .- 1846, Freeman Fishbeck ; 1851, Jacob Fishbeck, Charles Benedict; 1853, Hans Russell, William Crostick, John E. Dorn, William Van Blarcom, James O'Hara, John Duffy, John Bogan, Freeman Fishbeck ; 1854, Catharine McGark, Charles Benedict.

SECTION 17 .- 1834, Ely Barnard ; 1835, Asa Cobb, Pardon Bar- nard, Elias Davis, Joseph Rider ; 1836, Isaac Morse, David Pierce, Henry Williams.

SECTION 18 .- 1834, Ely Barnard ; 1835, Pardon Barnard, Jr., Josiah Ward; 1836, George Babcock, Timothy R. Bennett, William T. Curtis, Lawrence Noble, Asahel Dibble; 1854, Richard Britten.

SECTION 19 .- 1835, Timothy R. Bennett, Reuben Moore ; 1836, Richard Britten, John Tompkins, Enoch Webster, Samuel W. Baldwin, Joseph Bower, Lawrence Noble, Samuel Sewall ; 1837, Consider Crapo.

SECTION 20 .- 1835, James H. Cole; 1836, Elias Davis, Amariah Hammond, Hubbard McCloud, Henry S. Lisk, Margaret Cantine, Caleb Curtis; 1838, Wm. T. Curtis ; 1854, James Welch.

SECTION 21 .- 1835, Freeman Fishbeck, David Pierce, Jemima Fishbeck ; 1836, William B. Yauger, Charles Benedict, Abram Cantine, Freeman Fishbeck, Philip Fishbeck ; 1854, William Suhr, Alexander Carpenter.

SECTION 22 .- 1835, Peter McDerby ; 1836, Chauncey Symonds, Lawrence Euler, John Magee, Gardner Carpenter ; 1837, Daniel Jones, Peter Coon; 1840, Rodman Stoddard ; 1850, Lewis Dorr; 1854, William Suhr, Joseph M. Gilbert.

SECTION 23 .- 1836, Henry Smith, Martin Hartman, Charles Con- rad, Hazard Newton; 1837, Henry Smith, George Ranscher, Catharine Hartman, Henry Foster, William Hacker; 1838, Moses O. Jones; 1839, Henry Bush; 1852, Jacob Conrad. " SECTION 24 .- 1835, Chester Hazard ; 1836, Benjamin J. Boutwell, - Mark Healey, B. B. Kercheval, Charles S. Emerson.

SECTION 25 .- 1833, Almon Maltby ; 1835, Joseph Brown, Jr. ; 1836, Mark Healey, B. B. Kercheval, Hiram Olds; 1837, Truman B. Worden; 1839, Grace Thomson ; 1847, John Cushing. Hosted by Google

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GENOA TOWNSHIP.

SECTION 26 .- 1836, Nathaniel Carr, Henry Earl, Justin Willey ; 1838, Francis W. Brown; 1839, Daniel S. O'Neal ; 1840, Nathaniel Carr; 1854, John Bauer, Gustav Baetcke.

SECTION 27 .- 1835, Herman C. Hause; 1836, Nathan Hawley, John D. Robinson, Luther H. Hovey, Henry Hand; 1837, Charles Weller; 1838, Moses O. Jones, Betsey McMulling ; 1856, Philip Conrad.

SECTION 28 .- 1835, Nicholas Kristler, William Harmon, Herman C. Hause ; 1836, Justus J. Bennett, Amariah Hammond, Dan- iel B. Harmon, Norman L Gaston, Abner Ormsby, Margaret Cantine ; 1854, Alexander Carpenter ; 1857, Edward N. H. Bode.

SECTION 29 .- 1835, Nicholas Kristler, David Hight, Daniel Jes- sup; 1836, Reuben Haight, Ira White, Caleb Curtis, Byram Timmons, Patrick Smith, Asahel Dibble.

SECTION 30 .- 1835, Reuben Moore; 1836, Richard Britten, John Jennings, Enoch Webster, Patrick Smith, Samuel Sewall, William L. Tompkins ; 1837, Jonathan P. King, Nicholas Fishbeck ; 1846, Jacob D. Gall ; 1854, Matthew Brady.

SECTION 31 .- 1837, John B. Britten, Samuel Dean, Michael Fuhay ; 1838, James Collins, Joseph Gruver; 1847, Seymour Phillips ; 1850, Matthew Brady ; 1853, Philip Brady.

SECTION 32 .- 1836, Parley Phillips, Henry Phillips, David Hight, David Wells, Francis A. Fisk ; 1837, William Bloodworth, John B. Britten, Denison Tisdale; 1838, Joseph Gruver; 1853, Timothy Phillips.

SECTION 33 .- 1835, Garner Carpenter, Eastman Griffeth ; 1836, Daniel B. Harmon, Miletus H. Snow, Fanny L. Snow, East- man Griffeth, Reuben H. Bennett, Christopher Hoagland, Caleb Curtis, Jonathan Stone, Rodney D. Hill; 1837, Deni- son Tisdale, Jr.

SECTION 34 .- 1836, Nelson Hawley, David Whitney, Rodney D. Hill, B. B. Kercheval, Luther H. Hovey; 1837, George J. Moon.

SECTION 35 .- 1836, Samuel E. Chapman, Levi Hanley ; 1836-37, Joseph Charles.

SECTION 36 .- 1835, Elijah Fitch, William H. Townsend, Philip Stewart, Amy Hawkshurst ; 1837-54, George J. Moon.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

Although the first entries of land in Genoa were made by Almon Maltby* and John White in May and July, respectively, in the year 1833, yet it was not until the second year afterwards that a settle- ment was made. The veil of uncertainty is thrown around the first improvements and their projectors, but the following are the facts as near as can at present be ascertained :

In the summer of 1835 the township received the advance guard of its pioneer army in the per- sons of Thomas Pinckney and Pardon and Ely Barnard,-the latter two named being brothers,- all since deceased. Pinckney came from Dutchess Co., N. Y , and the Barnards from Madison County, in the same State. It has been the general opinion heretofore that Pinckney's log house was the first structure built in the township for the use of a white family, and such is probably the case, al- though it can have the precedence by only a few days to that built by the Barnards. Both were built in the summer of 1835. Thomas Pinckney was a brother of John D. Pinckney, one of the

early settlers of Howell, in which village the latter's widow yet resides.

In the fall of 1834, Ely Barnard visited Genoa, and entered considerable quantities of land for him- self and his brother. Ely Barnard was at the time a single man, and, with his brother, "kept bach- elors' hall" in 1835 in the log house they had erected. Pardon Barnard had come in the spring of that year to the State. He was a native of the town of Lenox, Madison Co., N. Y., where he was born Jan. 11, 1812. In 1832 he was married to Eliza A. Curtis, of Morrisville, N. Y., and in 1834 was licensed as a Methodist preacher. In Novem- ber, 1835, he moved his family into the log house in Genoa, his wife's brother, Burr Curtis, coming with them. The father of the latter, William T. Curtis, moved into town in June, 1836, with his wife and daughter,-the latter afterwards becoming the wife of Ely Barnard, who was much of a sports- man and a true lover of the chase. He was also a man of remarkable business capabilities, and one of the foremost citizens of the town and county in which he had made his home. Burr Curtis is now a resident of Howell, where also dwell Pardon Bar- nard's widow and one son, William. A second son, Henry, lives at Brighton, to which place he moved, from Howell, in August, 1879. Mrs. Barnard, Sr., relates that from the time when she came to Genoa it was six weeks-and long enough they seemed to her-before she saw another white woman.

The farms of the Messrs. Barnard were upon the Ann Arbor road, and are now owned by Henry Spencer and William Bell. Thomas Pinckney's place was in the eastern part of town, on the Grand River road, and is the present property of Andrew Pless.

Joseph A. and Asahel Dibble were among the pioneers of the last-mentioned part of the town- ship, arriving in June, 1837. The latter is deceased and the former resides north of Howell.

John W. Lawson settled west of Long Lake in the summer of 1836, and built his house in the fall of the same year, it being well under way in November, when C. W. Burwell arrived. Mr. Lawson's son, John, occupies the old place at present. In this locality are some of the best- improved farms in the township. A plain of con- siderable area offers special attractions and advan- tages to the agriculturist, and the settlers were not slow in appreciating them.

Two of the most attractive places along the Grand River road in Genoa are those owned by William and Albert Tooley. The latter came from Wayne Co., N. Y., in June, 1841, and settled on the farm east of the one on which his brother lo- cated in September, 1844. William Tooley was

* Maltby settled in Brighton.

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

accompanied by his wife. The land on which these gentlemen settled was originally located by their half-brother, Samuel West, but he made no improvements whatever upon it. The two brothers are still residing upon the homesteads they origi- nally settled, and which they have so extensively improved.

The following sketch of the early history of Ge- noa was prepared by Mrs. C. W. Burwell in 1877, and read before the June meeting-in that year- of the Pioneer Association :

" The first location was made in what is now Genoa, on section 25, near Brighton village, May 13, 1833, by Almon Maltby, and sold by him to B. Cushing, in 1841. Mr. Maltby is still living in the town of Green Oak ; has held the office of supervisor of that town, and other offices ; is to-day one of our best citizens.

" The second location was made on section 10, July 22, 1833 (land now owned by Henry Weimeister, on Long Lake), by John White, an Englishman and a bachelor. He built a small log house and then went to Detroit to live, where he died in 1847. After his death, A. Harvey, of Detroit, an administrator of White's estate, sold the land to C. P. Bush.

" The third location, 240 acres on section 5, by John Drew, Aug. 13, 1833. These were the only lands located in 1833, and the first in the township as above stated.

" The fourth location was made Aug. 9, 1834, by Alexander Fraser, of New York City (father of Mrs. John D. Pinckney, of Howell), on section 13, now owned by N. S. Benjamin.

" The fifth location was made by Thomas Pinckney, on section 13, Sept. 30, 1834. Mr. Pinckney soon settled on his land, and there the first white child in Genoa was born. This land is now owned by A. Pless.

" The sixth location, October 24, on section 9, by Zachariah Sut- ton, and sold to John F. Lawson, July 9, 1836, who settled on it that year. It is now owned by his son, J. W. Lawson.

"Charles A. Green located on section 13, Aug. 22, 1834, forty acres, now owned by Louis Meyers. Ely Barnard, of Madison Co., N. Y., located on sections 7, 8, 17, and 18, in all 240 acres.

" Chester Hazard located the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 3, and other lands, Nov. 3, 1835. Mr. Hazard still lives on and tills, or oversees the tilling of his farm, and is now a very old but hale man.

"C. W. Burwell located lands in 1837 on sections 4 and 5.

" Thomas Pinckney built the first house in the town, and Pardon Barnard the second, I believe. Mr. F. Curtis was the first super- visor of the town of Genoa under that name in 1837.

" Ely Barnard was the first register of deeds for the county and clerk of the first Board of Supervisors in 1836. He was after- wards a member of the State Legislature, and one of the members to amend the constitution in 1850. The first year after the town was organized the valuation was $60,000; no town tax ; $18 State, and $110 county tax.

" John Ellis located in 1835, where C. W. Burwell now lives; Samuel West, where the Tooleys live, afterwards the Bush farm, where C. P. Bush settled in 1837, first in a log house on the site of what is now the Widow Sweet's house and farm. Afterwards he built the first frame house* in Genoa, in 1838 or '39,-a part of it is yet standing on the farm now owned by Kinsley Tooley, in full view of our beautiful Long Lake. C. P. Bush settled first in the town of Handy, and then here, in the fall of 1837. He was a ' mighty hunter.' The first winter of his residence here he shot thirty-three deer, besides other game, and his neighbors well re- member the savory bits he sent so often.

"Mr. David Hight is still living, aged ninety-six or over. The writer and family came to Michigan and settled in Genoa in the autumn of 1836. The face of the country was even then very pleasant. These openings were not at all like timbered woods, but like trees set in a park, as they were by the All Father. One could walk anywhere he pleased, as there was no underbrush. We stayed in Ypsilanti a short time. In the mean time Mr. Burwell came out to Livingston and engaged a man to put up for us a log house. It was to be finished in three weeks. Within half a mile of our place were two families (transient settlers) living in shanties, one on the site of our neighbor's (Mr. Crostick's) old house, the other exactly opposite. The last-mentioned family agreed to va- cate and rent to Mr. Bush for twenty-five cents. He paid in ad-

vance, and when we came we took possession. It was about 17 by 14. There were eight in our family, including three little chil- dren. There we stayed six weeks. Our goods, except some of our beds and bedding, were still in Detroit, and our journey to De- troit in those days was about like going to California now. Mr. Fraser, our nearest neighbor west, and the only one between here and Howell, kindly lent us a small iron kettle and spider, a tea- kettle, and a tea-pot without any cover. Of our ' opposite neigh- bor' we borrowed one plate, one knife and fork, and one chair, all of which we courteously left for the mistress of the mansion. The rest used cleaned chips for plates, and pocket-knife and fingers for forks. The meat was fried in the spider and served in the same. Thanks to our Michigan appetites, nothing before nor since was ever eaten with a better relish than was that fried meat, well- watered gravy, excellent potatoes, bread, cheese, etc. Can't re- member that we had a spoon ; think that we all dipped our morsels in the same dish,-said spider. We brought a cow with us, and to change our diet occasionally made a dish of thickened milk, the milk well diluted with water, to make it go further, until about the color of clear-starch,-delicious nevertheless.

" There are few evils so bad but some good comes out of them, and when at last our house was so we could move into it, no room I ever was in (thanks to our shanty experience) seemed to me so grand and spacious as did that log house, with its clean hewn logs, rough board floor, a partition for bedrooms, a fireplace, the back of which took in almost the whole end of the house; a stick chimney, through which we could look up and see the stars ; round stones for a hearth,-no others could be got at that time of the year, -and such fires ! as high as our heads, made of oak limbs and logs, crackling and sparkling, making the room glow like a fairy palace. The pine boxes were soon converted into closets and shelves for dishes and books, by the ingenious hands of the hired man that came with us from York State ; with old white muslin for curtains, it all looked indeed homelike and cosy. Thanks again to the shanty, it magnified by comparison every after-comfort and con- venience. We can never fully appreciate the value of what we have never had. There is nothing like a new country experience to make us appreciate home comforts, as they are brought about one by one by our own exertions. And the greatest blessing of all, we were in perfect health; especially were the children so much better than they ever were in New York. That alone would have reconciled us to any amount of discomfort, but we were rest- ing very comfortably after we got settled. The winter was very mild, with only snow enough to be pleasant, as were many of the succeeding winters. The deer were very numerous,-would come sometimes almost to the door, and if we went only a little distance from the house we were almost sure to see two or more of the graceful creatures. Once, and only once, we were surrounded by wolves. We did not seek for nor admire them as we did the deer. Game of all kinds was very plenty, also fish in great abundance in our numerous lakes,-a great help and luxury to new-comers. Our nearest neighbor, until after the Tooleys came, was the family of John T. Lawson, about three-quarters of a mile east of us, where his son, John W. Lawson, now lives. They came in the spring of the same year we did. I think Mr. Pardon Barnard came a year before ; he lived about three miles from us,-near neighbors in those days,-and we visited them and others often, and they us,

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History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 62

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

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