History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 69

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Number of school-houses (brick, 4; frame, 5)

Value of property $3050

Number of male teachers female teachers. II

Total paid male teachers $635.50

" female teachers

$667

Total receipts for year. $2042.70

Amount on hand Sept. 2, 1878. 264.81 ...

Total expenditures, less amount on hand. .......... $1777.89 O

320

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

CEMETERIES.

The cemetery at Unadilla village is located on the county line, partly in Washtenaw County. The land was given for use as a public burial- ground by Luke Montague and Royal C. Barnum. The first burial in it was that of the English carpenter, Murray, who, as stated, died in 1837, while engaged in building the first school-house at that place.

A piece of land included in the village plat at Williamsville was purchased by Leonard Backus about 1850, and laid out by him into a ceme- tery. He sold a number of lots, but finally gave the property to the Methodist Episcopal society. The first burial in it was that of the body of James Schoonover. Burial-grounds on the Williams and Bullock farms had previously been used, but were private property. The first death in this part of the township was that of S. Dutcher, and the sec- ond that of the wife of Hilliard Dunn, the two occurring not far apart, at a very early date after the first settlement.

The cemetery at Plainfield was taken from the Dyer property about 1838-39. The first death in that vicinity was that of a man named Welsh, from the State of New York. His grave was begun on the south side of the road, but before it was com- pleted Mr. Dyer offered to give half an acre of ground from his farm for a cemetery. The grave was accordingly dug on the site given, and Welsh was the first person there interred. The cemetery is now filled with graves, and marble headstones are reared over the remains of many of the early and prominent settlers of the county.

STATISTICAL.

From the Michigan State census of 1874 are made the following extracts to show the condition of the township forty-one years after its first settle- ment :

Population (535 males, 531 females) 1,066

Number of acres of taxable land in township. 21,627

land owned by individuals and com-

panies. 21,639

improved land 12,626

66 land exempt from taxation. 12

Value of same, with improvements.

$14,200

Number of acres in school-house sites.

66 burying-grounds

of wheat raised in 1874. 2,875

1873. 2,738

66 of corn

1,148

bushels of wheat raised in 1873. 32,560

corn 57,195

all other grain raised in 1873 25,399

tons of hay cut in 1873. 3,084

66 pounds wool sheared in 1873 ...

46,173

.. butter made in 1873.

33,825

barrels cider made in 1873.

acres in orchards

Number of bushels apples raised in 1872.

21,567

" 1873.

23,760

" "

1873

116

Value of fruit and garden vegetables, 1872 $4,669

1873 ..

$5,055 462 2

Number of horses one year old and over in 1874 mules, 1874

work oxen, 1874

milch cows in township, 1874

427

neat cattle one year old and over, other than oxen and cows, 1874. 555

sheep over six months old, 1874.

9,180 9,330

Number of flouring-mills

Persons employed in same.

Capital invested.

Number of barrels flour made.

$6,000 800 $4,800

Persons employed ..

Capital invested

$4,000

Feet of lumber sawed

Value of products.

350,000 $3,500 I 6

Capital invested.

$2,500

Value of products.

$3,500 I

Persons employed.

Capital invested

Value of products.

$8,000 $15,000

Among the many in this township who have furnished information to the historian, and to all of whom are returned his sincerest thanks for their kindness, are the following: John C. Stedman, Mrs. Joseph L. Hartsuff, W. S. Livermore, John Dunning, William Gilbert, James Craig, John Wat- son, Halsted Gregory, Sylvester G. Noble, David S. Denton, William A. Williams, A. L. Dutton and his mother, Christopher Taylor, Robert Brear- ley, Mrs. Gordon Backus, C. B. Westfall, Levi Clawson, Morris Topping, John Shields, and Hon. Edwin B. Winans, of Hamburg. Pastors and mem- bers of the various churches have contributed to the work, and a generous fund of information, deemed reliable, is herewith presented to the reader.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

PHILANDER GREGORY

was born in Danbury, Conn., March 31, 1807. His father, Joseph Gregory, served with distinction as a first lieutenant in Captain Dunlap's battery in the war of 1812. The battery was raised in Schenec- tady. Lieutenant Gregory was with his command in several engagements, and at Plattsburg was in command of the battery, which did effective ser- vice in the engagement. After the close of the war Lieutenant Gregory removed to Albany, N. Y., and for several years followed his business,-that of tanner and currier,-and was very successful. He engaged afterwards in the same business in Schenectady for four years, but, meeting with re-

church and parsonage sites

4 4

66 potatoes raised in 1873. 4,737

pork marketed in 1873.

56,127

fruit dried for market in 1873 30,014 364

495

= sheared in 1873 ......

Value of products.

Number of saw-mills

Number of planing- and turning-mills. Persons employed ..

Stave-, heading-, and barrel-factory

other fruit raised in 1872 146

321

UNADILLA TOWNSHIP.

verses and being well along in years, he sold out and joined his son Philander, in Rochester, N. Y., with whom he resided until his son's removal to Michigan. He remained in Rochester until his death in 1841.

Philander received a common-school education and learned his father's trade. His start in life was made in Rochester, in the glove and mitten busi- ness, at which he has worked more or less until the past year. In 1836 his brother purchased for him, of the government, the west half of the south- east quarter of section 21, in Unadilla. On the 16th day of July of the same year he was married to Miss Martha Halsted, a daughter of Jacob and Re- becca (Marsh) Halsted, of Johnstown, N. Y., and in August of the following year he, with his wife and infant child, came to the wilderness home. It was then entirely new, as was the most of the town- ship. There were then but few neighbors save the Indians, and no roads. Deer and other game were plenty, the deer often going through their door- yard. A frame house was soon built, and the day that saw his family settled in it was the happiest of his life, as vouched for by Mr. Gregory himself. For several years after their advent in the woods Mr. Gregory kept the wolf from the door by making gloves and mittens, which found a ready sale among the new settlers. In this work he was assisted by his wife, who made the mittens while he tanned the leather. The little frame house has been replaced with a handsome stone structure, while to the eighty acres first bought he has added until he now owns a splendid farm of two hundred and forty acres under good improvement. The forest which surrounded him then has given place to fine farms and luxurious homes. Mr. Gregory, sur- rounded by all the comforts of life, and held in high esteem by his neighbors and friends,-having passed the time of life allotted to man,-is quietly and peacefully passing the evening of his life.

MORRIS TOPPING.

Among the early settlers of Unadilla township there are none who have done more to advance the best interests of the town than Morris Top- ping. He was born in Turin, Lewis Co., N. Y., Jan. 20, 1827. His father, Albert G. Topping, married Miss Maria Walters. He was an extensive farmer, and resided in New York until 1837, when he moved to Parma, Ohio. In 1839 he moved into Unadilla, and settled near what is now Plain- field village, where he died, in 1844. Morris re- mained with his father until he was nineteen, working on the farm and attending school. After the death of his father he taught school three

winters, and then assumed the management of the farm. In 1853 he opened a store in Plainfield, which may be called the first one there. In 1860 he added to his business the manufacture of staves and barrels, which he still carries on quite exten- sively, and which gives employment to a large force of men. The wants of the community in- duced him, in 1867, to erect a saw-mill, which was followed, in 1873, by the erection of a grist-mill. Two years after, both mills were destroyed by fire, and with them a large quantity of wheat. There was no insurance, and by this misfortune Mr. Top- ping lost heavily ; but, nothing daunted, he soon replaced the mills with new and more commodious buildings. The grist-mill contains three run of stones, and is doing both a custom and merchant business. He has also erected a hotel, blacksmith- and wagon-shop, and is now building a large store. To both of the fine churches in the village Mr. Topping has been a liberal subscriber. There is also in the village a planing-mill, cider-mill, three stores, two blacksmith-shops, and other places of business. It is an enterprising village, much of whose prosperity is due to the energy of Mr. Topping, who owns two-thirds of the village,- at least of its valuation. In politics Mr. Topping is and ever has been a Democrat. He has been postmaster of the village twenty-five years, also justice of the peace and town clerk. Dec. 25, 1847, he was married to Miss Ellen Richmond, who was born March 28, 1826, and is a daughter of Geo. W. and Laura (Madison) Topping. Their union has been blessed with three children, as follows : Sylvester G., born Oct. 28, 1848; George W., born Sept. 2, 1850, died Nov. 22, 1851 ; and Jennie M. D., born June 23, 1869.

DAVID D. BIRD

was born in the town of Mansfield, Warren Co., N. J., March 4, 1813. His father, Furman Bird, who was born in New Jersey, had a family of ten children, of whom David D. was the sixth. About the year 1833, the elder Bird with his family emi- grated to Michigan, and located on eighty acres of land near Ann Arbor, then but a small village. On this farm he resided until his death, which oc- curred in 1840. David D. was twenty years old when his father came to Michigan. He worked on his father's farm summers and attended the dis- trict schools winters, after he was large enough to do so, as did most farmer-boys of that day. In October, 1835, he came to Unadilla township and bought of the government one hundred and forty acres, a part of section 30. A log house was soon built, and he at once commenced to clear and im-

322

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

prove his land. At that time Unadilla was an almost unbroken forest. In the vicinity of Mr. Bird's farm there were no roads or bridges, and in going to or coming from it, streams had to be forded, persons often getting mired, and enduring hardships that would appal the average young men of to-day. In 1839, Mr. Bird married, and brought his young wife to the new home. Up to this time he had either hired a family to keep.house for him or had kept bachelor's hall. He commenced life without a dollar, and at the time his land was bought he had only enough to pay for a portion of it; yet the young couple never despaired of ulti- mate success, and toiled on. Yet they experienced in those times some of the happiest days of their lives. White neighbors were few and widely scat- tered, while the Indians still roamed over the coun- try. Mr. Bird has lived to see the wild land he then bought, change into a finely-cultivated farm, now embracing over three hundred acres, mostly the work of his own hands; and the township which was then so new and wild, he has seen grow into a thickly-settled and prosperous town. In politics Mr. Bird was in an early day a Democrat, but sub- sequently became an Abolitionist, and later a Re-

publican. He has been a member of the church over forty years, and is now connected with the Baptist denomination. He has done much to ad- vance the cause of religion in his township, and now lives in the hope of a better world beyond this. On the 6th day of March, 1839, he was joined in marriage to Miss Agnes Pyper, daughter of William and Agnes (Dodge) Pyper. She was born in Scotland, Sept. 12, 1816. Her parents were natives of Scotland. In 1833 they emigrated to America, and for three years lived in Connecticut. In 1836 they came to Michigan and settled on eighty acres of land in Unadilla, where they re- sided until their death. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bird six children, as follows: William F., born Aug. 24, 1840; Agnes D., born April 14, 1843, deceased; Mary E., born March 26, 1845 ; Almira R., born Jan. 25, 1848; Chambers D., born Aug. 24, 1850; and Justin V., born July 1, 1853.

Mr. Bird has retired from active business, and leaves the management of his farm to his son. In possession of more than a competency, surrounded by his family and friends, respected and esteemed by all, he is passing his days, and looks back upon a life well spent with scarce a regret.

GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP.

THE township of Green Oak is entitled to dis- . tinguished mention among the townships of the county of Livingston not only from the period of 1ts settlement, which, with one exception, ante- dates that of any other township in the county, but from the influential position it has maintained in its political and social relations. This is mainly owing to the character of its inhabitants, whose broad and fertile acres are evidence of their in- dustry, as their attractive houses are indicative of taste and intelligence. Green Oak was one of the first three townships organized, having been erected by act of the Territorial Legislature, March 17, 1835, and included at that time townships Nos I and 2, north of range 6, east of the principal meridian, and embracing the territory now known as Green Oak and Brighton, the first meeting of the townships for the election of officers being held at the house of Isaac Smith.

The first settler in the township was Stephen Lee, who came from Western New York to Mich-

igan, September, 1830, and entered 80 acres on section 20. With him came his wife and children, two sons of whom, Charles S. and Solomon, occupy the paternal acres, while another son, Hannibal Lee, resides near by on the same section. Mr. Lee and his sons, on their arrival, immediately turned their attention to the erection of a log house, which was the first in the township, and then devoted themselves to breaking up and im- proving the land, upon which a crop of wheat was sown that afforded them the means of subsistence the following year.

In the month of June of the following year Moses Gleason entered 80 acres on section 19 with a view to settling, but soon after, the Black Hawk war cast its terrors over the neighborhood, and Mr. Gleason regarded the presence of Indians as not altogether conducive to safety or happiness. He never resided upon his land, but found a home in Washtenaw County, which was more thickly populated and less frequented by red men. Mr.

323

GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP.

Gleason was the first clergyman who held service in the township. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the first month of his arrival, June, 1831, conducted a religious service at the house of Stephen Lee, the family of Benjamin Curtis, together with Mr. Lee's house- hold, being his only hearers.

Daniel Appleton entered at the same date with Mr. Gleason 160 acres on the same section, but, apparently influenced by a like dread of Indians, he took up his residence in Northfield. This land came subsequently into the possession of Isaac Appleton by the payment of $50 to a young man who was a ward of his father's, and resided in his family. Asahel Hubbard finally became the pur- chaser of half of this tract, while the remaining 80 acres was purchased by Hannibal Lee, and now forms a portion of his estate.

Benjamin Curtis came but a few days later than Mr. Lee, and entered, Oct. 6, 1830, 67 acres on sec- tion 20, just across the road from Mr. Lee's. He was a mechanic, and soon after his arrival built a log house and improved the land, which he resided upon until his death.

Isaac Appleton entered, Oct. 26, 1830, just twenty days after Stephen Lee's arrival, 127 acres on section 17. He was exceedingly fond of sport, and the following spring built upon the banks of the Huron River a cabin for the purpose of shoot- ing ducks as they congregated on the shores of the river. It was so arranged that, by concealing himself within the inclosure, he was able to secure them in large numbers as they were decoyed within range. With the game which he shot and the bread which Mrs. Lee baked for him, he was able to spread an epicurean repast before the friends who visited his bachelor quarters.

One of the restless, energetic spirits of the early days of Green Oak, who also early broke the soil of Brighton, was Sherman D. Dix, who entered, May 14, 1832, 82 acres of land on section 17, and boarded with the family of Mr. Lee. Hannibal Lee aided him in breaking up 40 acres, but dis- covering in Brighton a wider scope for his powers, at the expiration of a year he removed thither, having sold his land, with its improvements, to Thomas Sargent. Dix was a Bostonian, and when a boy was sent to a school in the suburbs of the city. But his restive spirit would not brook the restraints of a school-room, and his active brain, always fertile in resources, readily devised some scheme whereby he might extricate himself from its confined surroundings. He took a chicken from the master's coop, cut off its head, and al- lowed the blood to run into a vial he had prepared. He then repaired to his room and, feigning illness,

sent for his father. On the arrival of his parent he immediately had a paroxysm of coughing, ac- companied by very dangerous symptoms and ap- parent hemorrhage. He was immediately released from study and taken home. Fresh air and active exercise was recommended, and a farm was pur- chased in Michigan. The school-boy was trans- formed into a pioneer. The paternal Dix was a large boot- and shoe-manufacturer, and among the chattels which young Dix brought with him was a box of those necessary articles, which he disposed of to the neighbors. It was his especial delight to visit the bachelor quarters of Mr. Ap- pleton on foraging expeditions. This gentleman before departing for the fields would prepare his frugal noonday meal, which consisted of a bowl of bread and milk, the crusts meanwhile becoming thoroughly soaked. Dix would help himself to what was to be found, and then quietly enjoy his friend's discomfiture.

Nathaniel Potter, a Quaker, entered 40 acres adjoining that of Sherman D. Dix, in May, 1832. Dix broke up 10 acres for him, and received in re- turn a yoke of oxen. He did not build a house or take up his residence upon the farm, and finally sold the land.

J. B. Hammond entered, in May, 1831, 160 acres on section 35, and 80 acres on section 34. A year and a half later he removed from Livingston Co., N. Y., with his brother, to his Western home, and immediately erected a shanty, in which they found a comfortable abode. Their nearest neighbors at this time were Charles Place, on the southerly side in Northfield, and Stephen Lee and his sons, who were located five miles northwest. A school-house was early built in this vicinity, which stood just across the township line in Northfield.

As nearly as can be ascertained the first school- house was built in the centre of section 10, in the year 1834. The building, like all others of that early period, was constructed of logs, and the ground upon which it stood was afterwards pur- chased by John Yerinton. Another early school was that taught by Miss Mary Olds in a log school-house on section 3, near the Brighton township line. One hundred and twenty acres was purchased by George Gready, who came from Bristol, England, in 1832, and first settled in Oak- land County. Later he removed across the road into Brighton, his nearest neighbor at the time being Thomas Dunlap, of the former county. Mr. Gready still resides upon this farm, which he has improved and greatly increased in value.

Robert Warden left Greenock, Scotland, in Au- gust of the year 1832, for the United States, and after sojourning for a brief time in Onondaga Hosted by

324

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

County, purchased, in May, 1833, in connection with the late Governor Kinsley S. Bingham, the west half of section 12, embracing 320 acres, and entered by Jay Olmsted. Soon after they entered additional land from the govern- ment. Upon their arrival they were domiciled with Joseph Loree, until a log house in process of erection was completed, when they established themselves in it, Mr. Warden living with Mr. and Mrs. Bingham until 1849. They came to their land by way of Whitmore Lake, Mr. Bingham driving the oxen, while Mr. Warden looked after the horses. A coat belonging to one of them contain- ing $500 was carelessly thrown on the wagon and lost on the way. After much search it was dis- covered by a settler, who, being intoxicated, was not aware of its contents. Few men who were in public life a quarter of a century since have left more honored memories than Governor Bingham. He was a practical farmer, and remarkably success- ful in agricultural pursuits ; skilled in public affairs, and happy in his power of harmonizing his con- victions with the strong current of popular feeling. Beginning with the minor office of postmaster of his township, he rose steadily, being elected first judge of probate of the county, then representa- tive in the State Legislature, to which position he was four times chosen, and thrice elected speaker of the House; in 1846 elected to Congress, re- elected the following term, and in 1854 and 1856 elected Governor.

In 1859 he was elected United States Senator, and served but two years, being attacked with apoplexy, which occasioned his death, October, 1861, in Green Oak. He was a man of strong convictions, and in his various public offices dis- played a soundness of judgment well calculated to promote the best interests of the State. In the contest on the slavery question, which followed his re-election to Congress in 1848, he offered strenuous opposition to the extension of slavery into the Territories, and in this he stood alone among the representatives from his own State. His record during this term confirmed him in the popular regard, and made him the people's choice for Gov- ernor. His death was a source of universal and profound sorrow.

A. W. Olds arrived in the Territory in 1832, and came to the township in 1833. He at first pur- chased 80 acres of land that had been previously entered by David Meach, and later added to it until his farm embraced an area of 440 acres. On this land he built a saw-mill the year of his arrival, which was the second one erected in the county. Mr. Olds, upon being requested to recall some reminiscences regarding his early settlement, could

think of nothing of consequence, except that he on one occasion chased three bears on horseback. This, however, he regarded as a trivial circum- stance, in which the writer agreed, since no blood was shed on either side.

Few of the pioneers of Michigan attained so venerable an age as did William Lemon, who died in January of the present year, aged ninety-eight years. He left Livingston Co., N. Y., in 1831, and arriving in the State entered 293 acres on section 31 in May of that year, and was the third settler in the township. He reached Green Oak via Detroit and Ann Arbor, which latter place was at that date little more than a hamlet, having but one store and a bakery, which Mr. Lemon, finding empty, rented for two weeks for his family, while he went in search of land with Harris Seymour, whom he met bound upon the same errand. Having made his location, he moved his family temporarily into a shanty on the east side of Whit- more Lake, in Washtenaw County, while a shanty was being built for their permanent abode. In the winter, when more leisure was afforded him, he prepared timber for the erection of a spacious log house. At the raising of this house, on four successive days people came from Ann Arbor and the adjacent country, who rendered valuable assist- ance. Soon after the Black Hawk war was in- augurated, and the settlers becoming alarmed at the presence of Indians, who, in the event of a successful campaign, might prove dangerous, the whites repaired to Ann Arbor for safety, the farmers meanwhile burying their farming imple- ments to prevent their destruction. Mr. Lemon's oldest son was drafted for this war, which draft happily terminated with no fatal result. When the family started they provided themselves with a year's provisions, and had also a yoke of oxen and two cows. The latter proved a source of much tribulation to them, having disappeared soon after their arrival. A diligent search was insti- tuted, but the wandering bovines were not discov- ered until the following October, when they were · found staying very contentedly in Ann Arbor. Mr. Lemon shot forty deer in one winter, which were hung from the beams in the house until dis- posed of otherwise.

George Galloway came in 1833, and located on what is now known as the Fields farm, but later moved to Hamburg, on the border of Pleasant Lake. At this period, for three successive years the wheat crop failed, and rye bread was the uni- versal diet, which, however wholesome, was not altogether palatable for constant use, and the year that again brought abundant wheat-harvests was remembered with blessings by the settlers.

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History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 69

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

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