History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 93

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POST-OFFICES.

The first post-office in Deerfield was established in 1837-38. It was intended to call the office by the name of the town, but the department having already established an office in Lenawee County under that name, issued a commission to Alfred Holmes as postmaster of " Deer Creek" post-office. It was then kept in his blacksmith-shop, a little south of the west quarter-post of section 17. In 1843 the office was transferred to John How, and moved to his house on section 6, where it re- mained for about seventeen years. In 1848, Mr. How died, and was succeeded by his son William, who retained it till his death, in 1864. His widow kept it a few months, and then it was transferred to Darius Lewis, who, for private reasons, kept it Hosted by

* By the United States survey the area of the town is reported at 23,871.25 acres, the sections on the north overrunning, and those on the west falling short of the true area of a section. Neither the lakes nor the streams were " meandered," which ac- counts for the apparent discrepancy.

corn. 28,152

other grains 32,102

66 potatoes ... 8,976

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

for a while on his front stoop. His successor was Alexander Bain, who kept it at his ashery, and was succeeded by the present postmaster, William W. Henderson, in 1870, since which time it has been kept in the store.

Daniel Boutell first carried the mail over this route, which led from Howell to Shiawassee, em- bracing the offices of Deer Creek and Byron. Oak Grove, Cohoctah (at first called Tuscola), Argentine, and Madison were added when they were established, and the northern terminus of the route transferred to Linden, so that the pres- ent route embraces five offices, and is more than thirty miles long. The round trip is made from Linden to Howell and return on Thursday and Friday of each week.

The Madison post-office was early established at Deerfield Centre, but the exact date is not known. It was probably during the early part of Harrison's administration, as the first postmaster, Darius Lewis, was an ardent and zealous Whig, and would hardly have been selected for the post by a Dem- ocratic administration. Why the name Madison was given it is not known, though it was without doubt in honor of the ex-President. Mr. Lewis kept the office several years at his residence on section 15, and then it was turned over to John Anderson, and removed a half-mile west of the Centre. It was then brought back to the Centre and kept a couple of years by Calvin W. Leonard, and afterwards by Lewis until his removal to Deer Creek, in 1863, when Luther V. Field was appointed to succeed him. Since Field, the office has been kept successively by Mishal Hull, Edwin Town- send, Leroy Dean, and the present postmaster, George Gibson. At first it was on a special route to Argentine, but was afterwards changed to the Howell and Linden route, to which it now belongs.

INDUSTRIES.

The first mechanical industry in the town was the manufacture of lumber, and was inaugurated by John How, who rigged and operated a "pit- saw" for that purpose in 1834. This primitive style of sawing did not long remain in vogue, for in the winter of 1835-36 he commenced work on a saw-mill. The first step was the building of a dam across the Shiawassee River, and the spot fixed upon was that where the stream crossed the south line of section 6. The line of the dam lay diag- onally across the section line, and it was about 100 feet long. It was built of logs held in place by small trees, whose butts rested upon the logs of the dam, and whose untrimmed tops extended up- stream, and were anchored by dirt and stone dumped upon them. It was necessary at times to

do this work of filling in by cutting holes through the ice that formed and dumping the ballast through them. In the spring, when the sun began to warm up the earth and streams, the water began to work through the half-frozen, lumpy mass, and soon undermined the dam, which, as the freshet increased in volume, was nearly all swept away. It was re- built as soon as the high water subsided, and in the following summer the mill was built and com- menced operations. This mill was about 20 by 42 feet in size, furnished with an old-fashioned "flutter-wheel" and a "sash" saw, and was run simply for custom sawing, though Mr. How after- wards bought some land on section 18, on which was some fine timber, and did a little lumbering. But even this lumber was used for building pur- poses by the settlers of this and adjoining towns. After Mr. How's death the mill property passed through several ownerships, and finally came into the possession of Isaac L. & D. N. Roberts, who, about 1852-53, built the first grist-mill in the town. Since that time the property has had several owners, and has been divided. The grist mill has been owned by Philander Sackner, David B. Bradley, Isaac L. Roberts, William Sturgis, Isaac L. Rob- erts, Darius Lewis, George Green, and is now owned by Holcomb & Green. It is a building 36 by 44 feet in size, two stories high, with a base- ment, and fitted up with two run of stones and the usual accompanying machinery. It has three iron turbine water-wheels, furnishing an aggregate of about 40 horse-power. It has a capacity for grinding 150 bushels of wheat and 300 bushels of feed per day, and is doing a good custom business. The saw-mill has been owned, since the property was divided, by Philander Sackner, Joseph Rider, George G. Gibson, and Simeon Kittle, who is the present proprietor. Before the division it was rebuilt as it now stands. Its annual product was put down in 1874 at 100,000 feet. It now does but a limited custom business in times of high water.

In 1838 a distillery was built by Joseph Walsh and George Green, on section 25. They began operating it in the fall of 1839, and for nearly thirty years it was kept running for about nine months in the year. Its daily consumption of grain was about eighteen bushels. After Mr. Walsh's death the business was continued by Mr. Green until 1867, when it was given up on account of the high tax imposed, and because, from its lo- cation away from the arteries of commerce, it was difficult to get supplies to it, and to ship its pro- duct.

An ashery was operated at Deer Creek several years ago by Alexander Bain, and was subse-

433

DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP.

quently moved to his land on section 17, where it was run for a while and then abandoned.

The first blacksmith in the town, so far as known, was Alfred Holmes, who had a shop on section 17 as early as 1837. William Snow had a shop near the Centre as early as 1840.

The first store was kept by William Edwards, who bought a few acres of ground on section 35, of William Payne, and opened a store on the corner opposite the old Cole's tavern in Oceola, about the year 1844.

VILLAGES.

In an agricultural community villages are usually of slow growth, and rarely attain to any consider- able size, unless, by means of manufactories and railroads, a foundation is laid, and an impetus given to the trades and branches of business that build up a place. And yet, to the citizens of the vicinity, the growth of these little hamlets possess a degree of interest that renders a history of them, however brief, desirable.

DEER CREEK,

which received its name from the post-office, lies in the northwest part of the town, mostly on the southeast quarter of section 6, but extending a little on to the northeast quarter of section 7. It is very pleasantly located on high, lightly-rolling ground, on the east bank of the south branch of the Shiawassee River, and contains a population of about 75 souls. The name most commonly applied to it by people of the vicinity is "How- burg," derived from the name of John How, the original owner of the land on which it is built.

The first step towards the building up of the village was the erection of the mills already de- scribed and of houses to accommodate the owner and employees. While Isaac L. Roberts was operating the mills he opened the first store in the place in a building he had erected on the site of Mr. Henderson's present store. On that site stores have since been kept by John Davis and the present merchant, Mr. W. W. Henderson. Another store was opened soon after the close of the war by James Rooney, on the corner just north of Henderson's building. The building was after- wards used for a cabinet-shop, a saloon, and other purposes, and Oct. 1, 1878, was again opened as a store by Adelbert D. Chase, acting in the capacity. of agent for Leslie Lewis, of Fenton. Just before the war, Jotham Brefford opened a blacksmith- shop at this point, but soon after was succeeded by Horace Soper. The first wagon-shop was started by a Mr. Bentley, some ten or twelve years ago, in a small building on the north side of the road near the grist-mill. In 1877, Isaac Hop- per built a new shop on nearly the same site, and

is doing a moderate business. At the present time the village consists of one grist-mill, one saw-mill, one wagon-shop, two blacksmith-shops, two stores, and fifteen dwellings.

DEERFIELD CENTRE,

as its name implies, is located at the centre of the town, and is but a little huddle of dwellings, with a store and blacksmith-shop. It commenced in 1842, when Calvin W. Leonard made the first pur- chase of land on the school section, and built the first house in the village. It was located on the site of Mr. Leonard's present handsome residence. At that time the nearest houses were Bela Fen- ner's, a half-mile south, and Elhanan F. Cooley's and Elias B. Holcomb's, about the same distance east. A couple of years later Mr. Fenner sold two small lots on the north line of section 22 to Addison Sutherland and Mishal Hull. Each of them built a house on his lot, and Sutherland, who was a blacksmith, also put up a small shop on his lot, and went to work at his trade, Hull working in the shop with him. The next build- ing erected was the stone building on the south- west corner of section 15, which was intended for a school-house, but not used as such,* the district voting to not accept the building, and subsequently purchased another site of Mr. Leonard, and on that erected their present frame school-house, one of the best in the town, at a cost of about $800. Next, the town-house was built in the summer of 1864, and soon after John R. Bunting, a returned soldier, who had lost one foot in the service of his country, erected the present store building, and opened a grocery. He soon after sold to Mishal Hull. Since then it has passed through several hands, and is now owned by a Mr. Giddings, of Gaines, Genesee Co., Mich. In 1874 the Methodist church was built. The present statistics of the village show that it contains one church, one school-house, one town-house, one store and post- office, one blacksmith-shop, about a dozen dwell- ings, and a population of about 50.

HIGHWAYS.

The first road in the town was the one opened by the How family, leading north from their settle- ment to the Shiawassee road, or trail as it then was. Of course this was not surveyed, but was cleared of rubbish and marked by " blazed trees" as a private undertaking. The first recorded surveys of roads

* Some time about 1869 the stone building and one acre of ground was purchased by Mr. Leonard, who finished it off for a blacksmith-shop and sold it to George Knickerbocker, who worked in it for some time. After several changes of owners it was finally bought by Mishal Hull and fitted up for a store-room in connec- tion with the store,-a use to which it has ever since been devoted.

434

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

were made by A. Adams, between the 15th and 20th days of May, 1837, and were opened in the follow- ing order : first, a road in continuation of the one running east from Oak Grove, which crossed sec- tions 31 and 32 in a southeast direction, and passed into Oceola; second, a road running on section line from the northeast corner of section 31 to the west line of Tyrone; third, one across the town a mile north of the second road; fourth, one con- necting these two, running from the northeast corner of section 32 to the northeast corner of section 29; fifth, one running west, three-quarters of a mile from the east quarter-post of section 18; sixth, one run- ning from the northeast corner of section 31 to the southeast corner of section 6. These roads were, of course, supplemented by others as fast as the needs of the pioneers made them necessary. In 1847 the non-resident highway tax was appropriated "to build a bridge across Ore Creek at Bennett's dam," which is now one of the most important bridges in the town, it being on the direct road to Linden and Fenton. The present fine bridge at that point was erected in the centennial year. The How bridge across the Shiawassee was built in 1851.

SCHOOLS.

The division of the town into school districts was a work which extended through a considerable length of time, and since their first formation many changes in their boundary lines and numbers have been made from time to time, so that it would be a laborious task, as it would be a practically useless one, to try to trace them all from their organization to the present. We will therefore give but a brief resume of the most salient points in the history of each.

District No. I was formed May 5, 1838, and then embraced sections 3, 10, and 15, and the west half of sections 2, II, and 14. It now contains section 10, the greater part of sections 2, 3, and II, and small parts of sections 14 and 15. Samuel Leonard was the prime mover in getting this dis- trict organized. A log school-house was built, in the summer of 1838, by John Anable and " Bee- Hunter" Johnson. Edwin P. Spencer taught the first school there,-which was also the first in the town,-in the winter of 1838-39. Some twenty- six years ago the school-house was replaced by the present brick building, which will seat 35 pupils, and is valued at $750. Ann Stephens and Alma Debar were early teachers in this district.

District No. 2 was formed Oct. 1, 1839, and con- sisted of sections 24, 25, 26, 35, and 36, and the east half of section 23. It now embraces sections 24 and 25, three-quarters of sections 26 and 36, seven-eighths of section 23, and the east half of

section 35. The first school-house was built on section 24, in 1839 ; it was burned down and re- placed by another, which gave place to the present frame building some twelve or fourteen years ago. This house will accommodate 90 scholars, and is valued at $700.

District No. 3, as first formed, Oct. 3, 1838, em- braced sections 33 and 34 in this town, and sections 3 and 4 in Oceola. It is now entirely in this town, and is known as No. II. It contains section 34, seven-eighths of sections 27 and 33, three-quarters of section 28, the west half of section 35, three- eighths of section 32, and one-fourth of sections 26 and 29. The first school-house in this district was a log building, which stood about eighty rods from the town line, on section 34. In 1850-51 the dis- trict got into turmoil over the question of selecting a site for a new school-house, the question was carried to the courts, and even before the Legisla- ture, and finally two buildings were erected, one on the northwest corner of section 34, and another near the town line. It resulted in a disruption of the district, and the establishing of the northern lot as the regular site. The building erected there was a small one, and cost about $100, exclusive of the voluntary labor performed on it by the citizens. The present frame house, built in 1866, will seat 50 pupils, and cost about $1000.

District No. 4 was formed Oct. 24, 1838, and consisted of sections 1, 12, and 13, and the east half of sections 2, II, and 14. It now contains the whole of sections 12 and 13, and parts of all the others, but is considerably smaller than at first. The school-house is a frame building, capable of accommodating 50 pupils, and is valued at $500. It stands near the north quarter-post of section 13.

District No. 5 was formed Jan. 5, 1849, and was made a fractional district by the addition of some territory in Tuscola (now Cohoctah) on the 18th of December, 1841. By subsequent changes it has been made the largest district in the town, now embracing sections 18, 19, 20, 30, and 31, and por- tions of sections 17, 21, 28, 29, and 32. The school- house is a frame building, capable of seating 125 pupils, valued at $600, and stands on the northeast corner of section 30.

District No. 6 was formed Oct. 1, 1839, and con- tained the whole of sections 22 and 27, and parts of sections 14, 15, 16, 21, and 23. The first meet- ing recorded was held May 6, 1844. This is the central district of the town, and now embraces the whole of section 16, the greater portion of sections 15, 21, and 22, and parts of sections 9, 17, and 14. The school-buildings in this district have been mentioned heretofore. The present one will accommodate 70 scholars, and is valued at $500.

435

DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP.

District No. 7, now obsolete, was organized March 2, 1839, from sections 20, 21, 28, and 29.

District No. 8 was formed Feb. 16, 1841. It now contains sections 5, 6, 7, and 8, and parts of sections 4 and 9. The school-house is a rather dilapidated frame building, seated for 65 scholars, and reported to be worth $700. It is situated in section 5.

District No. 9, now obsolete, was formed of sec- tion 32 in Deerfield and adjoining territory in Oceola, Jan. 14, 1843. Another district was formed May 2, 1846, with this number (containing parts of sections 7, 8, 18, and 17), which has also become a thing of the past.

District No. 12 is fractional with Argentine, and comprises in this town parts of sections 3, 4, and 5. The school-house, valued at $250, is a frame building, fitted for 40 scholars, and located in sec- tion 4.

The first full report of the districts to the school inspectors was made in 1843, and whatever com- parisons are made in the following statistics are made between the years 1843 and 1879.

No record of the total expenditures for support of schools in 1843 is to be had, but in 1879 the amounts in the several districts were reported as follows : No. 1, $194.84; No. 2, $378.26; No. 4, $186; No. 5, $308.44 ; No. 6, $278.05 ; No. 8, $239; No. 11, $177.50; No. 12, $218.58 ; total, $1980.67.

The following list is composed of the early teachers of the town, and embraces all to whom certificates were granted by the school inspectors previous to the year 1850, so far as any record has been preserved. The first seven were commis- sioned in 1844. The names are Horace H. Notting- ham, Matilda B. Nottingham, Matilda Humphrey, Mary Nelson, Rhoda F. Packard, Theresa Pike, Sarah Gibbs, Graham N. Barker, Jasper Bentley, Harvey R. Stevens, Cynthia and Caroline L. Royce, James Vanbenschoten, John Curran, Mary and William Clark, Emeline Sprague, Abby F. Jones, Joel A. Chapman, Lucinda M. Hart, John Bennett, Emeline Youngs, James Andrews, Sophia Topping, Maria Chrispell, Theda Y. Hazard, Martha A. Leet, Herman I. Cranston, John How, Martha J. Van- keuren, Esther M. and Nancy J. Batcheller, Mary G. Sutherland, Esther Marvin, John F. Topping, Hudson B. Blackman, and - Corey.

RELIGIOUS HISTORY.

In the late fall of 1836, the first religious meeting in the town of Deerfield was held, at the house of Reuben Pease, on section 14, in the Top- ping neighborhood. Rev. Washington Jackson, the pioneer Methodist preacher of this vicinity, · had given out the appointment, in connection with

several others in this region, some time before. It was a Sunday appointment, and a severe wintry storm which set in and continued through the pre- ceding night, and was unabated on Sabbath morn- ing, promised to prevent the meeting. But the people were hardy pioneers, used to and fearless of storms, and load after load of people came from different directions through the snow-drifts, the ox-teams and drivers hoary with snow and frost. In spite of the inclement weather a large congre- gation got together; the meeting was one of un- usual interest, and long held a place in the remem- brance of those who attended it.

No regular class was formed in this town until October, 1846, when the

FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF DEER- FIELD

was organized at the Centre. It had but a few members, among them being Mrs. John Anderson, John D. Converse and wife, Reuben Young and wife, and William A. and Elizabeth Hull. Mr. Hull was the first class-leader. What its first cir- cuit relation was is not known. Upon the organ- ization of the Oak Grove circuit, in 1855, it was connected with that circuit, and so remained until 1874, when it was transferred to the new Parshall- ville circuit. It has had quite a varied experience, meeting with, perhaps, more than the usual amount of alternating periods of prosperity and adversity, but still maintains its position upon the battlements and floats the pure white banner of the Saviour to guide repentant sinners to the pathway leading to life eternal. Its present membership is about 25. No class-leader has been appointed since the posi- tion was vacated some time ago, and the preacher in charge of the circuit consequently acts in that capacity. The pastors of the church since 1855 have been as follows: 1855, William Birdsall; 1856, Lyman H. Dean; 1857, L. P. Murch ; 1858-59, James H. Caster; 1860, F. Brittan ; 1861-62, Samuel P. Lee; 1863-64, James R. Cor- don and J. G. Horton, two months; 1865-66, D. O. Balls; 1866-68, Joseph W. Holt and J. G. Hor- ton in the latter year; 1869-70, Alexander Gee; 1871-74, James Balls; 1875, Orlando Sanborn ; 1876, William Birdsall; 1877-78, Edwin Daw; 1879, Orlando Sanborn. Under the preaching of Rev. E. E. Caster, O. H. P. Green, and Edwin Daw there were revivals, that under Caster being the most notable and extensive.

The meetings were held principally at the school-house at the Centre, until the building of the church in 1874. This edifice was built as a sort of union church, but has been controlled by the Methodists, and is such practically. It is

Hosted by

436

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

legally known as the " First Church in Deerfield." The ground on which the church was erected, consisting of one-half acre on section 21, was pur- chased of Calvin W. Leonard for $50, and the church was built by Robert Chambers, of Howell, and Charles Chambers, of Cohoctah, and cost altogether, including furnishing, about $2400. The ceremony of dedication took place Oct. 27, 1874, Rev. Mr. McEldowney, of Flint, preaching the discourse, and Revs. W. E. Bigelow, P. E., John Hamilton, and James Balls participating on the occasion.

The formal incorporation occurred Feb. 16, 1875, when, at a meeting of the Quarterly Confer- ence of Oak Grove Circuit, Flint District, Detroit Annual Conference, held at Deerfield Centre, Daniel O. Taft, Danford Parker, Josephus Lair, John Hetcheler, Mishal Hull, Wiltsey Glaspie, and William Leonard were elected as the first board of trustees. The first four were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The present board is composed of George Bunting, Nelson Lamb, Abram Major, Hiram Farnham, Calvin Spalding, John F. Topping, and James Tamlin.

BAPTIST.

A Baptist society was formed some time between 1845 and 1850, at the school-house in District No. I, it being a branch of the church at Parshallville. Its membership was small, and contained, among others, Horace H. Nottingham and wife, Mrs. Samuel Leonard, Mrs. Perry, Mrs. Jemima Downer, Abiram Blackburn, wife, and mother, and Jethro Shout and wife. Preaching was kept up once a month, at the school-house, for a few years, and then the society was broken up, its individual members transferring their membership to other churches of the connection. At the present time, Baptist services are held every two weeks at the church in Deerfield Centre, by Rev. I. W. Lamb, pastor of the Parshallville Church.

ROMAN CATHOLIC.

There were a number of Irish emigrants among the early settlers of Deerfield, all of whom were communicants of the Church of Rome, and as soon as they could see their way clear to do so, they set at work to erect a church. Preparatory to this undertaking a church was organized in June, 1846, by Rev. Patrick Kelly, a missionary sent out to organize churches among the Catholics of this State, which then numbered 13 families, most of them being young married people. James McKeone was the leader of the enterprise, and among the others who assisted in the work were Dennis and Timothy McCarthy, Bryan Corr, John

McKeone, Edward Sweeney, Michael Bennett, Pat- rick and James Conklin, James Scullin, James Murphy, James McGuire, and John Ryan.

Joseph Walsh, who was not a member of the church, gave two acres of ground on section 25 for a church site, and on it the church was erected that season. The frame was put up and inclosed and an altar built so that services could be held in it, and then the work stopped, and was not re- sumed until in 1862, when it was finished. A few years ago it was thoroughly repaired. Its first cost was about $400, but at the present time it is valued at $2000. In 1857 two acres of ground on the southeast corner of section 26 was purchased, and on that a parsonage was built, at a cost of about $1000.

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History of Livingston County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 93

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

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