USA > Michigan > Mason County > History of Mason County, Michigan > Part 20
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There is a large mill boarding-house kept by John McGrath, an early settler of the county.
D. C. Pelton has a large shinglemill here, which cuts 22,000,- 000 shingle per season, and employs twenty-five men.
There is a United States Life Saving Station at Hamlin, that was established in 1875, and is in charge of Capt. Sanford W. Morgan.
The light house at Big Point Au Sable was built by the Gov- ernment in 1867, at a cost of 35,000. The tower is 100 feet high, twenty feet in diameter at the base and ten feet at the top. The lamp was made in Paris at a cost of $1,000, and gives a light that may be seen twenty-five or thirty miles. A brick dwelling is attached to the tower for the use of the keeper. The keeper is Burr Caswell, the first white settler in Mason County.
There are but few farms in the township. Hamlin Lake is a large body of water situated in the eastern half of the township.
The population of the township in 1880 was 306, and the total vote 49.
The present supervisor is James Howe, and the clerk is W. E. Cook.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
PETER BROWN, of the firm of D. C. Pelton & Co., shingle manufacturers, Hamlin, is a native of Canada, and came to Michi- gan in 1868. He first located at Reed City, where he worked at his trade, as millwright. From Reed City he went to Lincoln, and thence to Ludington. At the latter place he built a shingle mill and a sawmill. In November, 1880, he went in company with D. C. Pelton, and purchased the shingle mill at Hamlin, which is now operated under the firm name of D. C. Pelton & Co.
A. R. POWELL, of the lumber firm of Pardee, Cook & Co.,
whose mill is located at Hamlin, is a native of Pennsylvania. In 1873 he came to Chicago and engaged in the lumber business. The firm of which he is a member have a mill at Hamlin and own about 200,000,000 feet of standing pine in Mason and Lake Counties. Mr. Powell resides in Chicago, but mikes occasional visits to Mason County, looking after the lumber and logging interests of the firm.
WILLIAM E. Cook is a son of John R. Cook, of the lumber firm of Pardee, Cook & Co., whose mill is at Hamlin. Ile is a native of Pennsylvania and went to. Grand Rapids, Mich., with his parents in 1870. From there they removed to Chicago. In 1877 he went to Hamlin to take charge of the store of the firm. In the Spring of 1882 he took charge of the books, which position he still holds.
WILLIAM M. REID is a native of Pennsylvania and came to Hamlin in 1875 and entered the employ of Pardee, Cook & Co., where he has remained ever since. Mr. Reid is an experienced lumberman and faithful to the interest of his employers.
A. J. Cass is a native of Maine and came to Hamlin in 1873, and went at work for Pardee, Cook & Co. He is still in their em- ploy, which fact speaks well for his faithfulness as an employe. Mr. Cass has a wife and two children. .
JOHN MCGRATH is one of the early settlers of Mason County, and has been active in the development of the county. For some years Mr. MeGrath lived on a farm, and still owns quite a large amount of land. At present he has charge of the mill boarding house of Pardee, Cook & Co., at Hamlin.
AMBER TOWNSHIP.
Amber Township was erected by the board of supervisors at an annual meeting in October, 1867. The application was signed by William H. Coon, Daniel Prindle, Luther D. Holley, Amos M. Wilson, Joseph Turner, John Winters, William W. Leach, Andrew Niel, Hiram Chipman, Joseph Hubbard, John Burnett, Robert Baker, Charles W. Jones, J. I. Penfield, George W. Williams, Charles W. Barkley, Richard Beattie, John R. Genson, A. Pulsifer and William Congor. The board ordered that a new township be erected and bounded as follows: The north half of Township 18 north of Range 15 west, and the north half of Township 18 north of Range 16 west, and also all that part of Township 18 north of Range 17 west, lying north of the Pere Marquette River, except- ing Sections 5, 6, 7, 8 of said town, which sections now be- long to the township of Lincoln. The first annual township meet- ing was held at the schoolhouse in Burnett settlement on the first Monday in April, 1868, and N. B. Wallace, Daniel Prindle, and Jesse Nida were appointed to preside at the meeting and act as in- spectors of election.
O. Rice was the first supervisor of Amber Township.
THE VILLAGE OF AMBER
was the "first born " in Mason County of the Flint and Pere Mar- quette Railroad. In December, 1871, the late Judge Haight visited the village and wrote about it to the Ludington Record as follows:
" Do you ever get weary of sand and saw-dust, roaring break- ers and chilling lake winds, stunted hemlocks and poor gardens? If so, go east seven miles along the F. &. P. M. R. R. line in Amber Township. There you will find the " Star in the East," that three months ago a few men of energy saw, then a clearing along which a few blazed trees hinted a railroad line. Now, behold! - The railroad grubbed and cleared, a village surveyed and platted, con- taining a store and hotel, stocked and running. This is Amber village, alias Slaghtburg-the railroad's first born in Mason County
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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.
- a healthy, well-developed child of western civilization, surrounded with fertile farms and forests of hard timber from whence to nurse and grow.
" You see no fickle sand heaps here, moving with every breeze, the heaven of fleas, and the grave of vegetation; but a soil of rich loam and clay, waiting the seed only to yield a bountiful harvest; to make the tillers glad and the heart of the husbandman rejoice. No stunted hemlocks, mixed with straggling pine and cedar browse brings to the vision a limited view, but over whole sections of un- dulating woodland, heavily timbered with sugar maples, beech, elm and ash as far as the eye can range; surely this is a goodly land, and in this land lies the village of Amber.
"This village is located on the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 14, Town 18 north, Range 18 west, and was embraced by the farms of John G. Holms and August Miller, who are citizens, and among the first settlers of Amber Township.
" Silas Slaght, Esq., of Victory, has erected a store here, has it stocked with dry goods, groceries and provisions, and is doing a good trade. Dr. Knox, formerly from Victory, has built a hotel here, and offers substantial inducements for the hungry public. There you will always find those essential requisites of a square meal, viz .: quantity and quality.
" The village is laid out in blocks of eight lots each. Size of lots, five rods by eight-price of lots range from $25 to $75 dollars. Terms to suit purchasers. At this place doubtless will be the first railroad station east of Ludington, and will be the best wooding station in Mason County. This, with the farming country around, will make it a thriving inland village. Thus is Amber built since Chicago burned. May her population never grow less."
In 1875, a schoolhouse was built at the village, costing up- wards of $1,200. Among the early settlers in this township, who cleared good farms, were J. T. Reed, Jesse L. Towns, Mr. Van Hedrick, C. B. Clay, Joseph Hubbard and others, whose names have already been given. For several years the Cobb Bros. did an extensive business at the station, in lumber and shingles. Their mill was a short distance west of the station.
The township is bounded on the north by Lincoln and Victory; on the east by Custer and Pere Marquette River; on the south by Pere Marquette River, and on the west by Lincoln and Pere Mar- quette Townships.
At the present time, Knox Corners, about three-quarters of a mile from the station, has a number of dwellings, and a store and postoffice kept by Joseph Dart. Between the Corners and the station Stiles Bros. have a sawmill and store. The firm of J. M. Fitch & Son are engaged in shipping lumber, ties and bark. These gentlemen are residents of Detroit, and the business here is managed by Chester M. Fitch, the junior member of the firm.
This township boasts of a somewhat historic citizen, in the person of Jesse J. Penfield, who served with the Fourth Michigan Cavalry during the war, and was one of the twenty picked men, who, under Col. Pritchard, made the capture of Jefferson Davis.
The present supervisor is W. F. Fairbanks, and the clerk is Robert Sheedy.
SHERMAN TOWNSHIP
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The township of Sherman was erected by the board of super- visors at their annual meeting in October, 1867. The application for a new township was signed by W. V. Legraf, John Haley, C. F. Chapman, R. B. Legraff, Fred. Wiedmer, E. A. Shelley, George W. Genson, Edward D. Stetson, Peter I. Knapp, E. B. Boyne, John D. Webber, James Droun, John Gulmbo, Hiram Nash,
P. McElroy, Judson James, Charles Genson, S. C. Genson, Joseph Mills, Edward Newell, N. G. Knox, N. L. Bird, M. D. Hadsill, A. A. Hadsill and T. Coflan. The territory comprised in the new township was Town 19 north, of Range 16 west, and Town 19 north, of Range 15 west. The first annual township meeting was held at the house of Fred. Wiedmer, on the first Monday of April, 1868. W. V. Legraff, Charles Genson and E. A. Shelley were appointed to preside at that meeting and act as inspectors of election.
The township is bounded on the north by Free Soil, on the east by Lake County, on the south by Custer and Branch, and on the west by Victory.
The population of the township in 1880 was 409, and the total vote 138.
There are four schoolhouses in the township.
The Manistee branch of the F. & P. M. Railway extends across the township in a northwesterly direction.
The present supervisor is J. R. Barnes, and the clerk is William Reed.
RIVERTON TOWNSHIP.
At an annual meeting of the board of supervisors in the Fall of 1867, application was made for the erection of Riverton Township, but the application was rejected by the board. At the meeting the following year the application was renewed, signed by B. R. Had, I. Saltzgaber, Pierce Butler, N. B. Sutherland, A. N. Brown, Robert Anderson, Jane Brayer, James Boyham, W. Wiley, George Coosard, Charles Hull, John McGrath, Charles Packer, Jacob L. Libey, Isadore Spooner, Mason P. Winters, B. F. Wheeler, Patrick Murphy, Thomas Gamble, W. S. Hannaw, Miles Parker, Nelson Breasseau, Peter Breasseau, Wmn. Hoyt, Wm. Septien, R. B. Messer. Myron D. Hull, Melvin D. Hazzard, J. Chapin, Romeo Smart, W. Chadwick, E. C. Sprague, W. H. Landon, I. W. Wilson, L. D. Moses, H. Taylor, David Baird, Andrew Edwards, W. W. Byan, J. B. Filkins, John Genter, E. G. Lacy, L. A. Cook, Wm. Hoyt, Abner Hoyt, F. I. Cowgile, Abner Bradley, Otis Bixby, Albert Bixby and B. Forbes. Acting upon this application, the board voted to erect a township to be called Riverton, and bounded as follows: All that part of Mason County bounded on the north by the township of Amber, on the east by Lake County, on the south by Oceana County, and on the west by section line between Sections 31 and 32, of Town 17 north, of Range 17 west, and by said section line extended north until it intersects the south line of said township of Amber.
The first township meeting was held at Riverton School House on the first Monday of April, 1869, and Mason P. Winters, John W. Wilson and John Saltzgaber were appointed . to preside at the meeting, and act as inspectors of election.
William Barnhart was the first supervisor of the new township. There appears to have been a scarcity of material for first-class ·wives in this township, for as late as May, 1875, one of the citizens of that place found it necessary to advertise through the columns of the Appeal for a suitable companion. His touching letter was headed, "A Wife Wanted," and reads as follows:
"Thinking perhaps that I might better my condition, I take the liberty of addressing you these few lines for publication. To be plain, sir, I am in want of a wife. I am a tradesman, of domestic habits, and retired life, between thirty and forty years of age. Have been some time in a respectable trade at East Saginaw, by which I have acquired of this world's goods from $1,000 to $2,000, but from my situation in life hive not hvi the opportunity of settling myself with a companion of similar habits. I trust that I
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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.
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will be found of an accommodating disposition, and determined to make every one with whom I have to do comfortable to the utmost of my power. I am desirous of meeting with a female of similar habits and circumstances in life; well versed in domestic concerns, good tempered, obliging to her friends, yet not extravagant or given to much company; neat in her appearance, of light com- plexion, but above all having the grace of God in her heart, and believing Jesus Christ to be all in all to miserable sinners. The limits of this notice will not admit of further description, but should this meet the eye of any one influenced by the same spirit that dictated the above, I have no doubt of spending the present state in comfort and the eternal in everlasting happiness. A line, addressed to A. B. C., Riverton, appointing an interview any day in July next, will be attended to with secrecy."
The matrimonial archives disclose nothing to show whether A. B. C. is having everlasting happiness with a female having a light complexion, and the grace of God, or whether he is still trudging in bacheloric loneliness down eternity's grade, with no companion of "similar tastes" but his unappeased longings.
Pierce Butler and Rufus Pardy are about the only ones of the earliest settlers still living in the township. Mr. George Tripp took up 160 acres of land and built a house upon it, and lived there as early as 1858, but has since removed to Ludington.
John W. Morton is the present supervisor, and T. J. Cowgitt, town clerk.
Riverton is bounded on the north by Pere Marquette River, on the east by Custer and Eden, on the south by Oceana County, and on the west by Summit and Pere Marquette Townships.
There are five schoolhouses in the township. This is one of the leading fruit townships of the county.
When first erected, the township extended east to the line of Lake County.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
RICHARD SHARE was born in Saratoga County, N. Y., January 26, 1820. Moved to Clay County, Mo., in 1866, and remained till 1878, when he settled at Ludington. He now lives on Section 36, Riverton Township. Married September 26, 1843, Cornelia Bishop, who died September 25, 1868. Second marriage April 24, 1870, to Charlotte Bowman, who died August 26, 1876. Eight children.
WILLIAM HARLEY was born in Sandusky County, Olio, May 22, 1848. Enlisted in 1861 in the Twenty-first Ohio Infantry-three months service. Re-enlisted in the Fifty-fifth Ohio; served in the Army of the Potomac; attained the rank of sergeant; served till the close of the war. Immediately after the close of the war he settled in Steu- ben County, Ind., remaining till 1869, when he made Ionia County, Mich., his home. Subsequently he sold there and purchased 160 acres of land on Section 1, Riverton Township, Mason Co., Mich., where he now resides. Married September 21, 1862, Ann Lee, who was born in Sandusky County, Ohio, January 8, 1845. Three children-Stephen, Della and Percy.
JOHN VAN SICKLE, was born in Seneca County, N. Y., August 9, 1831, and moved to Wayne County, Mich., in 1839. Enlisted Feb- ruary, 1864, in the First Michigan Cavalry; was discharged for disabil- ity in 1865; gets a pension: Blacksmith by trade, but now is farming on Section 36, Riverton, where he located in 1869. Married February 22, 1853, Emily F. Smith, born in the state of New York, June 3, 1833.
FRANKLIN HERMAN was born in Union County, Pa., January 21, 1836. Moved to Kalamazoo County, Mich., in 1866-being a carpenter and joiner by trade-from thence to Elkhardt, Ind., in 1868. Soon
after made Riverton, Mason Co., his home, settling on Section 9, where he now lives. Married May 17, 1860, Miss R. Slear, who was born in Union County, Pa., December 3, 1839. Three children -Ida S., I. J., and Mary E.
MYRON D. HULL was born in Branch County, Mich., April 12, 1840. His father settled in St. Joseph County in 1842. He enlisted May 16, 1861, in Company C, Fourth Michigan Infantry. Three years service as forage and wagon-master in the Army of the Poto- mac. Wounded at Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill and Antietam. Set- tled in Mason County in 1864, on Section 36, Riverton, where he now resides, and is the postmaster for East Riverton Postoffice. Married March 12, 1865, Dorlisha C. Phillips, who was born in Kendall County, Ill., February 12, 1840, and settled at Ludington in 1849. Miss Phillips was among the early teachers of Mason County. One son- Edwin W. born January 29, 1866.
CHARLES W. HULL was born in St. Joseph County, Mich., March 10, 1842. Settled in Riverton, Section 36, in the Spring of 1863. Enlisted in 1864 in the Twenty-third Michigan Infantry; served till the close of the war. Has been township treasurer, and held several smaller offices. Married April 6, 1871, Mary Smith. Two children-Nettie E. and Clark E.
JOHN GRIFFIN was born in Oswego County, N. Y., April 11, 1837. His father moved the following year to Kentucky, and to Lenawee County, Mich., in 1853. Mr. Griffin's early occupation was teaching school. He settled in Eaton County, Mich., in 1864. In 1879 he made Mason County his home, settling on Section 36, Riverton, where he now lives and farms 160 acres of good grain and fruit land. Married Frances E. Curtis in 1864, and has four children- Wilmer L., John C., Grace, Cora.
GRANT TOWNSHIP.
At the annual meeting of the board of supervisors held in Octo- ber, 1867, a petition for a new township was acted upon. The petition was signed by Gurney & Cuyler, William Freeman, A. W. Fuller, M. N. Chaffey, Goit Brown, Alonzo Lampkin, E. B. Davis, George H. Torrey, Charles Mears, William Mosler, William Baxter, Samuel Swank, George W. Annis, William Gibson and Henry Green. It was ordered that the territory comprised in Town 20 north, Range 17 west, and Town 20 north, Range 18 west, be erected into a township to be called the township of Grant. The first township meeting was held at Charles Mears' River House, on the first Monday of April, 1868. William Freeman, George W. Annis and M. N. Chaffey were appointed to preside at the meeting.
The township at present is bounded on the north by Lake Michi- gan and Manistee County; on the east by Free Soil; on the south by Victory and Hamlin, and on the west by Lake Michigan.
There are four schoolhouses in the township.
Free Soil Mills in this township was a mill site at an early day. As early as 1845 or '46 a man named Porter built a mill here and operated it for a time. The mill was afterward burned, as stated elsewhere in the general history of the county.
William Freeman was one of the earliest settlers in this part of the county, and has held the office of supervisor nearly every year since the county was organized.
The present supervisor is L. Collins, and the township clerk is William Gale.
The population of the township in 1880 was 217, and the total vote thirty-three.
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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.
VICTORY TOWNSHIP.
In the Fall of 1867 application was made to the board of super- visors for the erection of a new township, to be known by the patri- otic name of Victory. The board ordered the erection of a new town- ship, bounded as follows: The territory in Town 19, north of Range 17 west. The first annual meeting was held at the schoolhouse in Bird settlement on the first Monday in April, 1868, and Ambrose P. Coflan, J. M. Sweetland and Austin A. Hadsell were appointed to preside at the meeting, and act as inspectors of election. The application for the erection of the township was signed by Henry Wilkenson, Richard Rayne, J. M. Sweetland, Daniel W. Billings, Martin Harris, M. D. Burnes, S. E. Holcomb, A. M. Fisher, H. Harrington, S. A. Crouch, N. L. Bird, H. Stone, Timothy Knox, M. D. Hadsell, J. B. Hathaway, A. T. Colfax, Richard Coflan and R. R. Brown.
Among the early settlers were also John Blodgett, Elias Parker, Terrence Costello, Jacob Clark, Simon Warner and Frank Horner. The first settlers came in and took up homesteads, which they have labored hard to improve, and at the present time there are a large number of farms under a good state of cultivation.
The soil is mostly clay and productive of good crops of grain, grass and vegetables. There is considerable fruit grown, but not as much as in some other townships. G. H. Blodgett put out the first large orchard in 1879. He has 800 plum trees, which are just beginning to bear.
"Victory Corners," in the south part of the township, was started in 1866, and was at one time quite a pretentious place. At one time it even aspired to become the county seat. The first schoolhouse in the township was built at the Corners in 1866. There were a hotel and saloon, wagon and blacksmithshop, a gen- eral store, and several dwellings. About 1871 the place began to wane, and when the railroad reached Ludington in 1874, it ceased to be a business point.
There are six good schoolhouses in the township, and the Free Methodists have a class organized, and hold service in the school- house at the Corners.
Within the last three years a Danish settlement has been started, and these settlers are rapidly clearing good farms.
Sugar Grove is four and one-half miles east of the Corners, and was formerly known as Clark's Corners. James Barnes is post- master, and also runs a country store.
Chapel Corners is another place that once had a postoffice, but the office has been discontinued. A chapel was started here about 1874, but it has never been completed. The postoffice was kept by a local preacher, named Chambers.
The population of the township in 1880 was 515, and the total vote 174.
The present supervisor is C. C. Fisher, and the town clerk R. B. Tyler.
Victory is bounded on the north by Grant, on the east by Sher- man, on the south by Lincoln and Amber, and on the west by Hamlin.
BRANCH TOWNSHIP.
Branch Township was erected by an act of Legislature of the session of 1871, and comprises the territory of Townships 17 and 18 north of Range 15 west, in the county of Mason. Henry Flynn, Charles T. Carr and William Wellers were appointed inspectors of the first election held in the township.
The township is bounded on the north by Sherman, on the east
by Lake County, on the south by Oceana County, and on the west by Eden and Custer Townships.
The present supervisor is B. F. Barnett, and the clerk is W. C. Arnold. The population of the township in 1830 was 400, and the total vote 121.
The township abounds in small streams and lakes, and is still covered for the most part with timber.
There is but one schoolhouse in the township outside of Tall- man.
The main line of the F. & P. M. Railroad extends across the township, and the Manistee branch extends north from Manistee Junction to Talhnan.
TALLMAN.
This active little lumber village is situated on the Manistee branch of the Fiint & Pere Marquette Railroad, and in the north- west portion of the township of Branch. The village is a part of the hunber interest of Butters, Peters & Co., and was started by Mr. Butters in 1879. The firm have recently purchased a large tract of fine land near or at the middle of which is a beautiful little lake. Upon the edge of this lake Mr. Butters built a sawmill, which started up in the Spring of 1880. The main mill is 200 feet long, by 50 feet in width, with an engine and boiler room 50x50 feet in size. There is also a shingle mill 50x50 feet in size. The power is sup- plied by a powerful engine, with six boilers, each of which is twenty- two feet in length, and forty-four inches in diameter. Both the saw and shingle mills are supplied with the very best machinery and all latest improvements. The capacity of the sawmill is about 15,000 .- 000 feet of lumber, and of the shingle mill about 80,000,000 shingles a year. The business of the firm gives employment to about 150 men. The firm also have a large store, which is in charge of Mar- shall F. Butters, son of Horace Butters, who also assists in the gen- eral management of the business. The mill boarding-house is a large, two-story building, situated in the center of ample grounds, at a convenient distance from the mill. There is a Congregational Church edifice, a very tasty school building, and a postoffice build- ing. The lumber manufactured by the mill is transported to Lud- ington by car and then shipped by vessel to Chicago. During last season the firm built an elegant steam barge, costing $40,000, and capable of carrying 400,000, feet of lumber. The firm own at the present time about 200,000,000 feet of standing pine.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
FRANK H. SMITH is a native of Pontiac, Mich., but most of his life, thus far, has been spent at Muskegon and Grand Rapids. About the time that Butters, Peters & Co. started at Tallman, Mr. Smith began in their employ as bookkeeper, and still continues in that position. Mr. Smith is a first class accountant, and stands high in the esteem of his employers.
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