USA > Michigan > Montcalm County > History of Montcalm County, Michigan its people, industries and institutions...with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families Volume I > Part 14
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The lumber to complete it was brought from Kidd's mill, which had been in operation but a short time. This was the first dwelling built by a settler in the township. The two families lived in the cabin and the men generally worked together. They cleared and broke up a small piece of ground for a garden, and later planted a small lot to corn. The garden yielded abundantly, but an early frost killed the corn, which was not yet mature, having been planted late in the season. The same summer ( 1844) Silas Ward, who had entered the west half of the northwest quarter of sec- tion 21, came in and boarded with them while he prepared a considerable tract, which he sowed to wheat in the fall, but, not being fenced, was entirely destroyed the next spring by the deer, which sometimes in herds roamed over the plains. The land at this time sowed to wheat was later owned by N. Johnson, and his buildings stood where the first wheat grew in Fairplain township.
In the spring of 1845, George Gibson built a cabin on his land and moved his family into it. This cabin was the second built in the township. Mr. Gibson died in 1851. His wife subsequently moved to Lyons where she died. Hiram and Richard were the last members of the family living who came to this township with their parents. William Hamilton remained but three years, when he removed to Orleans, Ionia county. His brother, John Hamilton, who had been to the township several times since the event- ful night of the first settlement, came in the month of March, 1845, with a wife and four children. intending to remain permanently. He occupied the same house with his brother. The Hamiltons subsequently sold their claim to this land to T. M. Burley, who came in 1846. The barn built was the
1
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
first frame barn in the township. John Hamilton and his wife later lived on the south part of section 7, and were the oldest residents of the township, at the time of their death.
The next settler was Jerry Halford, who, with his family, came in 1845. and settled on land later owned by J. P'. Shoemaker, and described as the north half of the northwest quarter of section 15. Ilalford built a small cabin and improved the land around it.
JOSEPH DECKER, PIONEER.
The same year Joseph Decker and his sons, Oliver and Freeman, who were married, and Edward and Jesse, single men, reached the township. They settled on the northeast quarter of section 21. Oliver and Freeman, with their families, occupied a house which stood near the house of P. Barnes, while the other family dwelt in a house near the site occupied by the house of Charles Barnes. In the month of June, 1846, a daughter, the wife of Samuel Johnson, who came with them, died, and was buried near the line between the father and sons and about forty rods from the road. It is believed her remains were afterward removed. This was the first death in Fairplain. Of this family, Oliver resided in Orleans, lonia county, for a number of years. William Porter, who settled near the town line, and on section 7, whose brothers settled in Eureka, came in among the first in the western part of the township. A part of this land subsequently came into the possession of A. J. Russell, whose father, at a very early day, was con- nected with the building of the first mill in Greenville. He sold his interest in this, and then came to Fairplain and bought large tracts of land, but the family remained only a few years.
From 1845 to 1850 there was a continual inflow of people until the greater part of the fertile plains became permanently settled. Tyler M. Burley and his brother, Myron, came in in the spring of 1856, and purchased their interest in the quarter upon which they settled. Myron Burley mar- ried Alice Wilcox. This was one of the first weddings in Montcalm county. Mr. Burley went to California during the gold excitement of 1849 and died there. His widow subsequently married and lived in Grand Rapids. In the same spring Roswell Dudley came and settled, with his wife and family, on the south half of the southwest quarter of section 15. Of his three children none now remain in the township.
The following summer Mrs. Betsy Wilson, a widow with a large family of children, four of whom were boys, named respectively David, John,
I55
MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Thomas and William, came and entered the west half of the northwest quarter of section 8, while her son John and son-in-law, Myron Lavery, entered the south half of the southeast quarter of the same section which was later owned by James Griffith, who came in and settled in 1859. Mrs. Wilson remained until the spring of 1880, when she went to Red Cloud, Nebraska, with her sons. Caleb Kniffen also came into the township in 1859 from Macomb county, Michigan, and settled on land later owned by John Rasmussen. Kniffen reared a large family of children.
It is thought that Joel Saunders and William Weed also came that year. Saunders bought a half section, while Wecd settled on section 7. After the death of his wife he moved with the remainder of his family to Ionia county. Conspicuous among the names of those who came the following year are Ebenezer Salyer and George Lunn. The latter was from England. His voyage to this country in an old sailing craft which was condemned on its return to England as unseaworthy was fraught with dangers now unknown on the sea. The trip, owing to the contrary winds, lasted thirteen weeks. Lunn arrived in Detroit eighty-five years ago, in 1830. It was then a promis- ing village of a few hundred inhabitants. The streets were almost impass- able and the little log shanties of the French and Indians presented a sorry spectacle. He remained in Wayne county for a time, and subsequently in Macomb and Oakland counties, where he purchased a farm, and in course of time exchanged it with William Tann, who owned the south half of the southeast quarter of section 20. With his wife and family, Mr. Lunn reached Fairplain township on the 8th of June. 1847. Soon after, being an author- ized local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church, he organized and conducted the services of the first religious society in the township, and was ever closely identified with its interests.
Ebenezer Salyer settled the east half of the southeast quarter of section 21. It is believed that Thomas Seeley, who entered a tract of land, began during the summer of 1847 to erect the first saw-mill in the township. It occupied the site where the mill in the southeast part of section 5, on Dickin- son creek, later stood. But it was very different from it in its mechanical structure, machinery, etc. The saw was not circular but perpendicular, and sawed as if there was danger of an oversupply of lumber. It had a capacity, if kept at its best, of three to four thousand feet per day. But it answered for a time every purpose, and furnished lumber for the cabins of the early settlers, which have long since become pleasant and prosperous homes. The mill subsequently passed into other hands and was destroyed by fire.
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
LAND SPECULATORS.
As has been intimated, the settlement of Fairplain from 1846 was rapid. But many settlers came into the township, and after making slight improvements, removed, some from discouragements, but usually the finer portions of the township were entered by speculators, who sold them at an advance to settlers, taking almost their last dollar as first payment and allow- ing them three years in which to pay the balance. It was usually impossible to meet this payment, and, as a consequence, many lost not only what they had paid but also the improvements which they had been obliged to make in order to live, and then left the township poorer than when they entered it. while the speculators always profited by these losses, as the lands reverted to them and they placed an additional per cent to the selling price. But the abundant crops which the fertile soil produced when fairly tested, the ease of clearing and tilling. were qualities soon appreciated, and men of means were soon attracted to make their home permanently within its limits.
In 1846, John D. Fargo and his brother. James Fargo, who became a resident of Eureka. came to the township from New York, of which state they were natives. They purchased two hundred and forty acres of land from William Kitts, who had entered it but who was not a resident of the township. Eighty acres of this land was situated on section 30. The bal- ance. on the southwest quarter of section 13, was later occupied by L. H. Pratt, one of the earliest settlers in Montcalm county.
John D. Fargo and his brother. Gibson S. Fargo, who arrived shortly after, built the first permanent school building in the township, which was known until it was destroyed as the "Red School house." Gibson S. Fargo died on December 28, 1850, and was interred in the little cemetery on the west line of section 20. The ground comprised in this cemetery was given to the township in 1850 by Josiah Russell, an old settler in that vicinity. He was county judge and a native of New York, but his people were among the pioneers of Oakland county. The land upon which he settled and which he subsequently bought, was owned by George Loucks, from whom he pur- chased it. During the Civil War he enlisted and served three years in the First Regiment, Michigan Engineers and Mechanics.
William Rasmussen, from New York, came to Fairplain on the 6th of June, 1849. He came to the log cabin of Mrs. Wilson with a wife and eight children, three of whom were boys, named William, Henry and John. He bought the west half of the northwest quarter of section 17, and also
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the east half of the northeast quarter of the same section. Mr. Rasmussen bought of John Knapp, who had intended to settle in Fairplain, but when he returned to New York his wife refused to move to "far-off Michigan." Knapp therefore, sold to Rasmussen.
In 1851, B. B. Crawford, a native of Livingston county, New York, arrived. Mr. Crawford became a settler of Macomb county, Michigan, in 1834. When he settled in Fairplain he purchased two hundred acres of land from Dewitt C. Chapin. George Loucks, Rufus K. Moore, Fite Rosman. Richard C. Miller, Luther Jenks, Josiah Russell, Joel Hall, Mark Diffen. Josiah Bradish and Orra B. Stiles, were among the pioneers reaching the township during the years 1849 to 1853.
Rufus K. Moore and George Gibson built a saw-mill below Amsden, on Dickinson creek, at what was known as Podunk, about the year 1850. Richard C. Miller purchased the west half of the northwest quarter of sec- tion 18. He was treasurer of Fairplain from 1855 to 1865. He later resided in Greenville until his death. In 1855, Elijah Pierson settled upon the east half of the northeast quarter of section 27. O. Bradley was also a resident of Fairplain. He settled in Ionia county in 1850 and was at one time engaged in the lumber business, and purchased the McGinley mill property.
James Griffith, one of Fairplain's good citizens, purchased the south half of the southeast quarter of section 6, which he highly improved.
RESIDENTS IN 1850.
The following is a list of resident taxpayers of the township in 1850, according to the assessment roll :
Sec- tions. Acres.
Sec- tions. Acres.
Alanson Adams 5. 8
81 Roswell Dudley IO 8c
Hiram Amsburg
15
80
Edward Decker 15, 21 .8c
Josiah Bradish 15
40
Oliver Decker 15, 21 8c
David C. Church
-9
I20
Freemont Decker .21
4C
Nelson Cole .9
40 John Fargo 19, 30, 31 286
W. M. Clark 35
160 Daniel Fargo Personal
Dewitt Chapin 8, 18
204
John Hamilton -7
8c
Tyler M. Burkey 15, 17
I20 Joel Hall 8, 3 42
Myron Burley 15, 17
120
William Hall
5 4℃
Marquis T. Brower 8
3 Spencer Hewitt 35 9c
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Sec- tions.
Acres.
Sec- tions.
Acres.
David Jenks
35
155
Myron Savery -5, 6
TOC
Luther Jenks
21, 22
II4
Joel Saunders
13, 18
24℃
Caleb Kniffen
15, 20
200
Westley Swager 6
4C
Austin Kinney
-7
8c
Chancey E. Shepard
W. V. Kendrick
4, 5,8
312
3, 4, 10, 15
80G
George Lunn 20, 28
160
Philo Townsend
80
Gibson & Moore
23
8c
Nelson Towsley
8
77
Rufus K. Moore
Edward Sherwood -7
4C
George Gibson
Abijah Peck 9
4℃
William Porter -7
I2C
Orin Phelps
5
40
William Rossman
17
16c
David Wilson
-7
8c
Datus Russell
4
8c
William Weed
-7
4℃
Ebenezer Salyer 21, 28
120
Davis Wilmouth
17
16c
These lands were all situated in town 9 north, range 7 west. except one hundred sixty acres belonging to Joel Saunders. being the northeast quarter of section 13, town 9 north, range 8 west, now the town of Eureka.
FENWICK.
Fenwick, which is located in the northwestern part of section 25. in Fairplain township, and on the Pere Marquette railroad, was platted on May 22, 1874, for Simon M. Griswold, Sarah and David Griswold, proprietors, by S. C. Aderman, surveyor. Fenwick began its existence with the above mentioned railroad and has proved a good trading point for this section. The first reverse that Fenwick really suffered was in 1903 when fire broke out which laid waste one-half of the town. Fenwick now has a population of a hundred persons. There are two churches, a lodge and a graded school located here. There are four stores, two of which are conducted by Robert Chapman and J. C. Thompson, who is also the postmaster. Walter Root conducts the hardware store. Fenwick, owing to its location, has become the largest village in the township.
SHANTY PLAINS.
This settlement, located in the southeastern part of Fairplain did not commence until several years after the settlement on the west side of the river. It received its name from the many frail dwellings which during
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
one summer, were erected here. It is now impossible to determine who was the first settler, as a number came in and remained but a short time and then removed. But it is probable that William M. Clark, who settled on section 35, was the first. He sold a piece of the land upon which he settled to a Mr. Conkwright, who remained a few years. Welis Clark, who also came in early, sold a piece of land to Peace Robohen, who died some years after. Ora B. Stiles settled here at an early date. About the year 1850 a little cabin of tamarack poles was built on section 35, and several terms of school were conducted in it, but when or by whom is shrouded in the mist of for- getfulness. This cabin was used until 1854 when it was replaced by a frame building. Hawley White, whose parents settled in Jackson county in 1835, entered the cast half of the northeast quarter of section 36 in 1853. The next year he brought his wife and two children. Mrs. White died in 1863.
AMSDEN.
The village of Amsden was not regularly laid out until 1867, although for many years previous to that time considerable business of various branches had been successfully carried on here. A saw-mill was first erected about the year 1850. In 1859, J. P. Shoemaker and M. P. Follett built the grist-mill at this place. It was the first flouring-mill (outside of Green- ville ) built in the county, and for a number of years gave Amsden a decided advantage over other prospective towns springing up in the vicinity. The settlers for many miles from the north came here to mill and to trade. This was the prosperous period in its history, and the principal part of the vil- lage was built at this time. When, however, the railroad was constructed from lonia to Sheridan, and another to Greenville and to Gowen, the pros- pects of Amsden, like those of Langston, were considered much less promis- ing. The saw-mill of R. H. Roice & Company had a capacity of thirty thousand feet per day, while the shingle-mill in connection with it had a capacity of fifty thousand.
J. P. Shoemaker, the founder of the village, was born in Herkimer county, New York. For over twenty years he had been a resident and identified with the business interests of the township, later being elected state senator of this district.
Amsden was platted for J. P. Shoemaker and twelve others, by E. H. Jones, surveyor. It is located in the central part of section 15. Amsden experienced an unchecked growth until the coming of the railroad which passed a mile to the east. With the coming of the Pere Marquette on the
160
MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
east side of the township, Fenwick sprang up and began to draw on Ams- den's resources.
There was a mill located at Amsden with a store in connection, but as Fenwick grew, Amsden gradually went down until at present it only exists as a cluster of houses. There are no business interests in the village.
Situated two miles to the north and west of Amsden is Millers Station. This is located on the Grand Trunk railroad and now consists of a depot. and one store, the latter being owned by Mr. Hansen. Miller has never been platted.
CHAPTER XIII.
FERRIS TOWNSHIP.
Ferris township lies in the northeastern part of Montcalm county and is bounded on the north by Richland, on the east by Gratiot county, on the south by Crystal and on the west by Day township. It is described on the government survey as township 11 north, range 5 west. When first organ- ized into a separate township, Ferris contained townships 11 and 12 north, ranges 5 and 6 west, of the latter range only the east half was incorporated in this township. These were later detached and formed the separate town- ships of Day, Richland and Home, leaving Ferris with its present limits.
A petition was presented to the board of supervisors bearing the sig- natures of the following undersigned freeholders of Montcalm township: Philander A. Peck, Sylvester Fuller, Jackson Cato, Frank S. Peck, J. D. Sterns, Silas Brown, Barney Bigler, F. L. Smith, Daniel Gallop, Seth Smith, A. H. Monroe, John Churchill, Samuel F. Burtch, Nilson Lee, Franklin Stiles. John T. Miller, Lucian Lewis, Eli Smith, N. B. Scott, Arch Conner, William G. Carpenter, M. Douglass, George Sherman, Christopher Hare and IT. Hubbell. These petitioners prayed that township 11 and 12 north, range 5 west, and the cast half of town 11, 12 north, range 6 west, be set off from the township of Montcalm to be organized into a separate town- ship and to be known by the name of Ferris. It was further provided in this petition that the first annual township meeting be held at the house of N. B. Scott, and that N. B. Scott, M. Douglass and L. Lewis be appointed a board of inspectors at said meeting.
This petition was duly considered by the board of supervisors and passed on January 5, 1857, thereby creating the new township of Ferris as prayed by the petitioners. The date set for the first meeting of the township for election of officers was held on April 6, 1857, at such place and with such inspectors as desired by the petitioners.
The township of Ferris is divided into two nearly equal parts by a ridge or watershed, which in places is well defined, extending through the center of the township north and south, thus producing on either side distinct basins.
(II)
,
. .. . .... ..... ... .. ........... ... .
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ORIGINAL LAND ENTRIES.
Section 1 -- Aloney Rust, Peter Schlappe, Michael K. Strayer, Baron Blanchard. Section 2-Aloney Rust, David W. Rust, Ambrose L. Soule, Chester Baxter. Section 3 -- Ambrose L. Soule, Albert Washburn, Michael Riddle, Jr., John S. Ford, Stephen D. Frances, Josiah L. Zuver, Jacob Schoonover. Section 4-David Eschliman, George Reomjard, Samuel Corder, Rodolph Howry, William Miller, James Harrod, Levi Harrod, Gil- bert I .. Cordu. Section 5-William Miller, John Criso, P. R. Howe. G. B. Isham, Levi Harrod, John Criss, Daniel Abrey, Emma A. Ripley, Edmund Hall, C. W. Butler, E. W. Sparrow, William M. Murray. Section 6-H. R. Woodworth, Elias Hardy, Peter H. Watson, Phineas Smith. Section 7 -Lawson Ferris, James R. Stall, Lucene Buck, Edward Tishue, E. L. Hill. Edmund Hall. Section 8-Benjamin F. Luther. Mary M. Ferris, James G. Garrison, Levi Harrod, William H. Osborn, A. A. Brockway. Section 9- Amasa Wilder, John Reinhard, David Eschliman, William Moor, Joseph M. Face. Section 10 -- James Sanders, Amasa Wilder, John Moyor, Samuel J. Bailey, John Russell, Samuel Donley, Isaac Bennett, Albert Ferris. Sec- tion 11-Aloney Rust, Archibald Conner, Micajah Douglass, Arch Connor, Chester Baxter, George Shaw, Jacob Kuster. Section 12-Aloney Rust, David W. Rust, Peter Schlappi, Micajah Douglass. George Sherman, Ebenezer Sherman. Section 13-Louis Luther, Benjamin F. Luther, Mica- jah Douglass, Eleazer Johnson, Robert Southwell, Elijah Ferris, Thomas Crofford, Samuel Burtch, Micajah Douglass, Abel A. Brockway, Welling- ton R. Rust. Section 14-Elijah Ferris. Micajah Douglass. Eleazer John- son, Chester Bill, Peter Schlappi, George Shaw, John D. Snyder, Emanuel Hissary, John B. Strait, Franklin D. Norris. Section 15 --- Hezekiah ITub- bell, Martin Chaffee, Garrett Coolbaugh, Isaac Tishue, Samuel J. Bailey, John A. Dorr, Albert Ferris, James S. Davis. Section 16-Andrew J. Tishue, Christopher Hare, William Crockford, Erastus Throop, William H. II. Morehead, Solomon B. Knapp. Christopher Hare, Althea Smith. Sec- tion 17-Richard Dye, John Mauser, John Arntz. James G. Garrison, Nathaniel Smith, Charles K. Marsh, Dewitt C. Lewis, William Allen. Sec- tion 18-Charles B. Wilson. Franklin Stiles, Samuel Pine, Eli Smith, John Arntz, Charles B. Bangham, Benjamin F. Stiles, William H. H. Moorehead. Section 19-Charles B. Wilson, Erastus Yeomans, Lucian Lewis, John L. Miller. Section 20-Richard Dye, Erastus Yeomans, Elias Salisbury, Amos Classon, Peter H. Watson, Nathaniel Smith, Lafayette Peters. Sec-
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
tion 21 -- Patrick Curry, John Berie, Elizabeth Warner, Andrew Burer, Peter IT. Watson, Christopher A. Packard. Section 22-Nathan B. Scott, James Scott, Robert Wool, Jr., Elizabeth Warner, John D. Snyder, John M. Kelvey. Section 23-Aloney Rust, David W. Rust, Elijah Ferris, Chester Baxter, Samuel IT. Comstock. Daniel Strayer, Samuel Comstock, George Sherman. Section 24-Aloney Rust, David Rust, Horace Lansing, Samuel Burtch. Section 25-G. S. Bill, Aloney Rust, Ezra Fuller, Jacob Klees, George Stratton, Abel A. Brockway. Nickolos Klees, James Hicks. Section 26-Aloney Rust, Ambrose Soule, John Raynur, John M. Reinhart. John G. Taubert, John M. Kelvey. Section 27-Thomas Byrne, John Ray- nur, Hezekiah Hubbell. Adam Gass, Thomas Burne, Thomas Crawford, Robert Southwell, John McKelvey, Grafton Reid. Section 28-Francis F. Hawkins, William Toynton, Elias M. Heath, Abram Van Horn, John Rus- sell, Bradley A. Brown, George W. Sover, Benjamin Magoon, Joseph Tishue. Section 29-John Smith, John M. Watson, John Ruperd, Nelson T. Dun- shee, John M. Hancock. Section 30-Charles B. Wilson, Levi Carpenter, Israel E. Richardson, William Madison, William Kelly. Section 31-John Harrod. Israel E. Richardson, George Hancock, Cyrus D. Dunshee, Stephen W. Tompkins, Thomas Raymond. Charles Litch, Myron Austin, William E. Leitch. Section 32-David Woner. Ephraim Trim, James Tissue, Egbert L. Heath, Adam A. Flint, Myron Austin. Jacob Lemasters, Isaac R. Packard. William Madison. Section 33-Ambrose L. Soule, Limon Rice, Asahel Buck, Francis F. Hawkins, John Watts, Isaac Wandell, Adam A. Flint, Myron Austin, Simon Rice, Myron Austin, William Davis. Section 34- Ambrose L. Soule, Simon Rice. Dolphns Byrne, Thomas Byrne, Julius R. Comstock. Simon Rice, Nelson H. Johnson, Daniel McArthur, Simon Rice, George G. Sherman. Section 35-David W. Rust, Harvey Westfall, Jesse Bodley. Ambrose Soule, Merritt Flint, Luke Flint. Section 36-Aloney Rust. Ambrose L. Soule, Martin Ginther, Christopher Ginther. Henry Water- bury, Robert Hucker, Daniel A. Corkins, Samuel Burtch, Seth Robinson.
FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
Elijah Ferris was the first settler in town II north, range 5 west. He had formerly resided upon a farm in Geauga county, Ohio, and was very much inconvenienced for the want of water. For this reason, when he sent his representative to select land in Montcalm county in May 15, 1853, his express directions were that a running stream must be one of the favorable considerations. This may account for the peculiar selection of his land
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
upon which he lived and died. In the fall of 1854, well equipped for the frontier, with a good teant of horses, which soon after his arrival he exchanged for a yoke of oxen, with farming implements and household goods, he brought his wife, four sons and one daughter, to the township of Ferris. He entered, with several other tracts, the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 23, on which he built a log house. This was the first residence of a. settler erected in the township. At this time the road known later as the Old Pine road was located. but was completed only a short distance above the lumber camp, which had already been located near the present site of Carson City. From this place to the land which he had entered, a distance of eight miles, Mr. Ferris, with the help of his sons, cleared a road. The distance was about eight miles in a bee-line, but his road winding as it did through the forests and around every conceivable obstacle, traversed at least a third of the distance farther. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Ferris returned to Ohio.
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