History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 7

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The result of several examinations was the selec- tion of the farm offered by Mr. Hiram Wing, in the southwest quarter of section fifteen in the town- ship of Marion ; the buildings on which are located almost exactly on the territorial centre of that township. And at a special meeting of the Super- visors, held January 6, 1871, the Board resolved "that they hereby authorize the County Superin- tendents of the Poor to purchase the farm of Hiram Wing, of Marion, of two hundred and fifteen acres, for said county, also tools and wheat on the ground, for the sum of ten thousand dol- lars, to be paid as follows [here designating the amount, time, and manner of the several pay- ments]; . . . and that we appropriate two thou- sand five hundred dollars of the money now raised towards the payment for the said farm, and that we appropriate one thousand dollars, raised for buildings and repairs, to purchase teams and stock, and repairs on said farm."

The farm-now the poor-farm of the county of Livingston-was conveyed by Mr. Wing to the

THE PRESS.

county, January 5, 1871 ; and on the ninth of the same month the following report and resolution was adopted by the Supervisors :

" Whereas, The Board of Supervisors of the county of Livingston have bought a farm for the purpose of keeping the county Poor and Insane; now, there- fore, the said Board of Supervisors of said county do hereby instruct and require the Superintendents of the Poor of said county to hire a good practical farmer to take charge of said farm, under their di- rections, by the year, at an expense not exceeding five hundred dollars per year . . . And the man so hired by the superintendent to take possession of said poor-farm on the first of April, A.D. 1871, or as soon after as may be . . . And at the time the con- tract expires for the keeping of the poor and insane the Superintendents remove or cause then to be re- moved the poor and insane to said farm, with the teams of said county ; and further instruct the Superintendents to build or cause to be built, at the expense of the county, a suitable building, of brick or stone, for keep- ing of the insane ; said building to be sixteen by twenty- four feet, fire-proof, with cells secured by bolts and bars."

Afterwards a committee was appointed to visit the farm and confer with the Superintendents on various matters, including the erection of the building for the insane. This committee reported to the Board June 13, 1871, recommending " that said building be built two stories high, twenty-two by thirty feet, and that it will be necessary to use the sum of fifteen hundred dollars for the comple- tion of the same, and for the further maintenance of the poor." This report was adopted, and the Board resolved that the Superintendents be author- ized to receive sealed proposals for three weeks for the erection of the building as recommended, and that the chairman of the Board and the County Clerk be authorized to issue orders for a sum not to exceed fifteen hundred dollars for the purposes recommended by the committee.

In the annual report of the Superintendents of the Poor for the year ending October 1, 1871, it was shown that the farm produced, in this first season of the county's occupancy, three hundred and sixty-eight bushels of wheat, three hundred and twenty bushels of oats, eighty bushels of bar- ley, and fifty tons of hay ; the potato crop being a failure. The Superintendents also reported that " The building which your honorable body author- ized us to erect has been contracted for the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, and is progressing, to be completed by the first of the present month."

The building was completed a little later, the farm-buildings repaired, and a fine barn has since been erected; and an experience of eight years has

shown the new system of supporting the poor of the county to be much preferable to the previous one.

The report of the Superintendents of the Poor for the year ending September 30, 1879, shows as follows: The number of families relieved during the year outside the county house was eighty-one, comprising two hundred and fifty-two persons. The whole number of persons supported at the county house during the year was thirty-four, in- cluding two mutes, and four idiotic. The number supported at the Insane Asylum during the year was twenty. The whole number receiving assist- ance in any form was three hundred and six. The receipts from the sale of the surplus product of the farm in the year was seven hundred and two dol- lars and fifty-six cents.

CHAPTER IV.

THE PRESS-THE PROFESSIONS-LIVINGSTON CIVIL LIST-COUNTY SOCIETIES.

The Press of Livingston County-The Livingston Courier- Livingston Republican-Living-ton Democrat-Howell Inde- pendent-Fowlerville Forum-Brighton Citizen-Fowlerville Review-The Medical Profession -Early Physicians of Living- ston County-Medical Societies-Livingston County Medical Association-The Legal Profession-Early Lawyers of the County-Livingston Civil List-Livingston County Pioneer As- sociation-Livingston County Bible Society.

THE PRESS OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

THE LIVINGSTON COURIER.

The Livingston Courier,-a five-column folio,- the first paper published in the county of Living- ston, was first issued on the tenth of January, 1843, from its office of publication in the village of Brighton, and bore the names of Nicholas Sullivan, Publisher, and Frederick C. Whipple, Editor. In that first number of the Courier was contained a notice of the death, at the age of thirty-one years, of the Hon. Stevens T. Mason, the first Governor of the State of Michigan, which event occurred in the city of New York, on the fourth of the same month. It also contained a mention of the death of the Hon. Joshua Lee, M.D., December 31, 1842, in Yates County, New York, at the age of fifty- seven; a notice of the marriage in Farmington, Oakland County, of James B. Lee, of Brighton, to Miss Samantha Chadwick, of Farmington; of a successful " Donation Party," then recently held at the house of "that venerable divine, the Rev. Jona- than Post"; the business cards of Whipple & Peck, and Daniel C. Marsh, of Brighton, Attorneys and Hosted by

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Counselors at Law ; of Ira P. Bingham and Wilbur Fisher, Physicians and Surgeons, of Brighton; of J. B. & D. R. Lee, and D. Cable, Merchants of Brighton; and of the public-houses of Morris Bennett, Robert Bigham, and B. P. Vealey (" late R. D. Power's"), all of Brighton.

In his address to his patrons and the public the proprietor said, "We are well aware of the im- possibility of giving to the public a paper which shall exactly suit the taste of every individual ; our aim will be to present such a variety of miscel- laneous selections, political and editorial matter as may be read with interest and profit by all. Our aim especially will be to make it valuable as a family newspaper, inculcating wholesome and correct principles in morals as well as in politics ; a medium which may be relied on for correct in- formation upon all subjects which enter its col- umns. In politics we embrace heartily, and shall adhere strictly, to the Democratic creed and doc- trine as taught and expounded by its most emi- nent disciples. We do this, not from motives of interest, but from a settled conviction that these principles, as first taught by Jefferson, are the cor- rect principles of government, and best calculated to confer the greatest good upon the greatest num- ber. While we intend to keep the public informed of all matters of public interest which relate to the county, as they occur, matters of mere local in- terest, especially those matters relating to the county-seat, which have heretofore agitated and divided the county, will not be made the subject of discussion in our columns; we shall be the advo- cate of no local interest, nor pander to sectional prejudice in any form. ... We wish the paper to have a general circulation through the county, and this may be easily accomplished by the kindness of our Democratic friends in different parts of the county."

The Courier was continued at Brighton for nine months, and was then removed to Howell, at which village it was first issued October 11, 1843, by the same proprietor, but with Lewis H. Hewett as its editor. The last number bearing Mr. Hewett's name as editor was issued December 11, 1844. In September, 1846, the paper was sold by Mr. Sulli- van to E. R. Powell, who conducted it until Decem- ber, 1848, when he sold to William B. Smith. It was published by Mr. Smith until April, 1856, when it was purchased by George P. Root, under whom it continued for one year, and at the end of that time ceased to exist.

THE LIVINGSTON REPUBLICAN.

"On the twenty-seventh day of April, 1855, under the supervision of H. & L. M. Smith, the

Republican made its first appearance in Howell."* This is the statement made by Lewis M. Smith in his "Valedictory," printed in the columns of the Republican in its issue of July 6, 1859, at which time the name of George L. Sage first appeared as editor and publisher. During the period of four years and two months, which had intervened be- tween its establishment and the time referred to, the Messrs. Smith had conducted the paper as publishers and proprietors. They then sold to George W. Lee and George L. Sage,-Mr. Sage assuming the editorship, as mentioned above. In 1862 it was sold to James Bowers, who continued its editor and publisher until his death, which oc- curred near the close of the political campaign of 1866. The office was then sold to Andrew D. Waddell and Julius D. Smith, who took possession on the twenty-fifth of December in that year. Mr. Waddell continued as editor and manager of the paper until March, 1868, when he sold his interest to J. D. Smith. He remained as sole or part pro- prietor of the Republican for about nine and a half years, during which time he had successively asso- ciated with him in its publication F. H. Marsh, George W. Axtell, Solomon T. Lyon, and E. B. Vanderhoef,-the last- named gentleman being half- owner in the paper in the fall of 1877, at which time it was sold to L. C. Miller, its present pub- lisher. In politics the Republican has always been what its name indicates. Its office of publication is in Weimeister Block, south side of Grand River Street, Howell.

THIE LIVINGSTON DEMOCRAT.

This paper, now published by Joseph T. Titus & Son, was established on the ruins of the old Living- ston Courier, which ceased to exist in April, 1857.

The Democrat is printed at Howell, and is one of the largest newspapers published in the State. It is the only Democratic paper issued in the county, and consequently enjoys an extensive pat- ronage. It was established in August, 1857, by Joseph T. Titus, who came to Howell from the city of Jackson (where he had published the Jack- son Patriot), at the solicitation of several of the leading Democrats of Livingston County, for the express purpose of establishing a Democratic paper in the county. The office of the Democrat is in a brick building on the west side of East Street, just south of Grand River Street.

THE HIOWELL INDEPENDENT.

This paper-a five-column quarto weekly-was commenced at Howell village by A. G. Blood &

* This statement is reproduced verbatim, as authority for giving a time different from that which stands at the head of the Repub- lican's columns as the date of its birth. together

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

Co., in 1871, its first number being issued by that firm on the 8th of April in that year. The office of publication was located in Weimeister Block.

The Independent never paid the expense of pub- lication, and at the end of about nine months Messrs. Blood & Co. sold the concern to Julius D. Smith and Charles E. Cooper. Mr. Smith took part of the material and added it to the office of the Livingston Republican, which he was then pub- lishing, and Mr. Cooper, with the remainder, at- tempted to continue the publication of the Inde- pendent, but a trial of less than two months sufficed to show that the enterprise could not be made remunerative, and it was therefore abandoned.

TIIE FOWLERVILLE FORUM

was a small sheet, printed in the office of the Inde- pendent, and circulated to a limited extent in Fow- lerville for about three months.

THE BRIGHTON CITIZEN.

This journal had its origin in the publication of the Brighton Bulletin, of which the first number was issued in September, 1871, by A. G. Blood & Co., from the publication office of their paper, the Howell Independent.

In the year of its commencement the Bulletin was purchased from Blood & Co. by George W. Axtell, who, having also purchased the necessary material and equipment of an office (the Bulletin not having these, as it had been published in the Independent office), removed it to its proper loca- tion at Brighton, and changed its name to that of the Citizen, under which title it first appeared on the second of January, 1872.

The enterprise was far from promising at first, but after a time its affairs became more prosperous, and its proprietor found it expedient to enlarge the paper from a seven-column folio to a five- column quarto. Mr. Axtell continued to publish the Citizen until November, 1877, when he sold the establishment to W. H. Bowman, of Howell, and J. D. Ellenwood, of Brighton, who have re- mained proprietors and publishers of the paper until the present time, under the firm-name and style of Bowman & Ellenwood. They have im- proved the paper, and greatly increased its circu- lation. Connected with the Citizen establishment is a job printing-office, which does excellent work, and is well patronized.

THE FOWLERVILLE REVIEW.

On the nineteenth of June, 1874, the first num- ber of the Fowlerville Review was issued by Willard H. Hess and George L. Adams, at the village of Fowlerville. It was a four column quarto, and

was continued in that size and form until January, 1875, when it was changed to a seven-column folio. In October, 1877, it was again changed, and became a five-column quarto, as at present. At the time of the last change in the size of the paper its proprietorship was also changed, Mr. Adams' interest in the establishment being pur- chased by Mr. Hess, who continued alone until the first of January, 1879, when Mr. Adams be- came, by purchase, the sole owner and publisher, and has so continued until the present time. The Review is published weekly, on Fridays, and is independent in politics.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. EARLY PHYSICIANS.

For several years after the first settlers entered Livingston County there was no physician located in all its territory. The inhabitants of the southern and southeastern part of the county depended on the medical men of Washtenaw County, while those in the eastern and interior parts of Livingston re- lied on the services of Dr. F. Curtis, a physician who had settled in Rochester, Oakland County, in 1832, and soon afterwards removed to Kensington, in the same county, but on the border of Liv- ingston. People living as far west as Livingston Centre traveled on foot to Kensington in cases of sickness to secure the services of Dr. Curtis. He is still living, at Holly, Oakland County, and says that at one time in those years he was physician to nearly every family in Livingston County, when there were not well persons enough to take care of the sick. This was about the year 1835. In the following year Dr. Samuel W. Pattison lo- cated in Fentonville, Genesee County, and he soon began to be called by the few inhabitants of the northern and northeastern portions of Livingston.

Dr. Pattison, who now lives in Ypsilanti, read a few years ago an address to the Washtenaw Pio- neer Society, in which he referred to that early time, and to his extended professional rides from Fenton- ville, as follows : "It soon became known that a physician had settled at Dibbleville [afterwards Fentonville], and I had professional calls quite a distance,-to Highland, White Lake, Grand Blanc, Deerfield, and Hartland. I was guided to many of these places through timbered openings by marked trees, and often following Indian trails. ... During the months of August and September the inter- mittent and remittent fevers-diseases peculiar to low or flat countries-prevailed to an alarming extent. The well were the exception ; whole fam- ilies were down, many became discouraged, and some fled, but it was remarkable that most of these returned to Michigan."

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Dr. Cyrus Wells, of Oakland County,-the father of Dr. William L. Wells, of Howell,-was also very frequently called to attend patients in Livingston County in the early years of its existence. He was the physician who was called in the spring of 1837 to attend the last sickness of Mr. Samuel Waddell, in the western part of the town of How- ell, and his ride extended even farther west to the township of Handy. His practice in Livingston was fully as large as that of Dr. Curtis, and much more extended than that of Dr. Pattison.

The first physician of Livingston County was Dr. Wilber Fisher, who came from Ann Arbor in 1836, and settled at Brighton. He was not the possessor of a finished medical education, but having good natural ability and still more tact, he secured an extensive practice, and was on the whole a successful physician.

Dr. Ira P. Bingham visited Brighton in 1835, but did not locate permanently as a physician until 1841. He has remained there until the present time, but latterly he has not given his whole atten- tion to the practice of his profession. He is now the senior physician of the county.

Dr. Gardner Wheeler was the first physician of Howell, settling and commencing practice there in 1838. He was a native of the State of Massachu- setts in 1795, and removed thence in his boyhood to Norwich, Chenango County, New York, which at that time was regarded by New Englanders as " the far West." At Norwich he studied medicine, commencing with Dr. Mitchell, and completing his studies with Dr. Wilcox; after which he married, and remained there until 1837, when he came to Michigan, stopped one year in Scio, Washtenaw County, and came to Howell in the following year as mentioned. He lived and practiced here with great success for more than twenty years, and died, widely known and universally respected, on the eleventh of January, 1859, at the age of sixty- four years. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and Worshipful Master of the Howell Lodge, which, at a communication held January 15th, adopted this resolution :

"Whereas, Our worthy brother, Dr. Gardner Whee- ler, our late Master of this lodge, has been summoned by the mallet of Death to that Eternal presence whence emanates all true Masonic light, and thereby hath been lost to his family a husband and a father, and to us an esteemed and honored brother; therefore, be it

" Resolved, That while we recognize in the death of our worthy brother ' the handiwork of Him who doeth all things well,' we can but grieve over the loss of one who, through life, has been the steadfast friend and determined supporter of our ancient and time-honored order, whose every day, in life, in death, has illustrated

its virtues and its usefulness, in showing forth to the world 'the noblest work of God,' an honest man ; for while we claim not perfection for our brother, and would ask for him, in death, what is seldom granted in life,-exemption from detraction and abuse, draw- ing over his foibles and his follies the broad mantle of Masonic charity, we add our united belief that his every act in life was dictated only by those motives which belong to the heart of a ' Man and a Mason.'"

One of the many eulogistic notices of Dr. Wheeler, which were published immediately after his death, said of him, " He has occupied a prom- inent position in our community, both by his pro- fessional acquirements and superior social quali- ties, which endeared him to a large circle of friends. He was ever ready to attend the call of the afflicted, and was faithful in his endeavors to alleviate suf- fering wherever it came in his way, whether in the mansion of the affluent or in the cottage of the poor. He was often elevated to posts of honor and trust by his fellow-citizens, and was beloved by all who knew him for his many virtues, which were so prominent as to excuse his faults." A daughter of Dr. Wheeler (Mrs. Buckland) is now living in Howell, and a son-Dr. John A. Whee- ler-is practicing in Whitehall, Muskegon County, Michigan.

Dr. Charles A. Jeffries commenced practice in Howell the next year after Dr. Wheeler, and re- mained until 1843, when he removed to Washte- naw County. He is still (or was recently) living, but entirely blind.

Dr. Nichols Hard was the next physician who came to Howell, commencing practice in the vil- lage in 1841. He remained only about two years. He was married in April, 1843, to Miss Eunice M. Farnsworth, of Green Oak, and immediately after- wards left the county.

Dr. William Huntington came to Livingston County in November, 1843, and took the practice and office then recently vacated by Dr. Jeffries, in Howell. From that time until the present he has remained there in successful practice. His son, Dr. W. C. Huntington, is now associated with him in business.

Dr. E. F. Olds came to Howell in the fall of 1843, and announced himself as a physician (which he probably was), but never gained any practice worth noticing. He was a writing-master as well as physician, and while in Howell he taught a class in penmanship with considerable success. At a recent date he was living in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania.

Dr. William Dowlman, from Lincolnshire, Eng- land, a graduate of the Western Reserve Medical College, at Cleveland, Ohio, commenced practice

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

in Howell in 1846, but did not establish there per- manently. He removed after a time, and during the last twenty years has practiced in the western part of the State. Recently he has established himself in practice in the township of Marion.

Dr. Thomas R. Spence located in Howell in 1846, and acquired a good practice. He remained about six years, and then moved to Detroit. He is now in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. Z. Hawley Marsh commenced practice in Howell village in 1847, and has remained here until the present time. He is a graduate of the Castleton (Vermont) Medical College, a good phy- sician, and at present treasurer of the Livingston County Medical Association.

Dr. Andrew Blanck, now a member of the County Medical Association, came from Bath, Steuben County, New York, in 1848, and settled in Howell, where he has since remained in suc- cessful practice.

Dr. William L. Wells, son of Dr. Cyrus Wells, of Oakland County, whose ride extended over a large part of Livingston in an early day, came to Howell in 1849, and laid the foundation of the successful and extended practice in which he is still engaged. He is a member of the Livingston County Medical Association, a physician of high repute, and one of the senior practitioners of the county. Dr. W. H. Martin, who afterwards prac- ticed in Pinckney, was a student in Dr. Wells' office.

Dr. Henry J. Rumsey-who had previously been engaged for a short time in mercantile business in Howell-began practice in that village in 1853. He died in Howell, May 16, 1858. An obituary notice of his death said, " As a citizen he was emi- nently enterprising and public-spirited, a friend of good order and reform. The large circle who had enjoyed his professional services as a physician very soon learned to esteem him still more as a friend. Indeed, he was a universal favorite in a very large community."

Dr. Robert C. Hutton commenced the practice of medicine in Howell in 1857, and has resided there since that time. He is secretary of the county medical association, and a member of the firm of Spencer & Hutton, druggists, of Howell.

Dr. Thomas B. Lamb was one of the pioneer physicians in the northeastern part of the county, being established in practice at Parshallville as early as 1840. He was one of the seven members of the profession who issued the call for the forma- tion of the Livingston County Medical Society in 1843.

Dr. Josiah T. Clark located in Hartland about the same time that Dr. Lamb came to practice in

Parshallville. He was a successful physician in the town for many years, and died at Hartland Centre.

Dr. Freeman Near commenced as a physician in Hartland, in 1840 or 1841. He was town treasurer of Hartland in the latter year, and a signer of the call for the formation of a medical society in 1843.

Dr. William H. Hayford located early in Hart- land and is still in practice there. He is now President of the Livingston County Medical Association.

The first physician in the southern tier of towns -and one of the first in the county-was Dr. Wil- liam Stevens, who came to Pinckney village in 1837, and practiced there for six years, removing in 1843. He is now practicing in some of the more Western States.

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History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 7

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

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