USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories > Part 48
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MRS. HENRY W. HORTON. (FIRST WIFE )
HENRY W. HORTON.
MRS. HENRY W. HORTON. (SECOND WIFE):
RESIDENCE OF HENRY W. HORTON, GROVELAND, OAKLAND CO., MICH.
181
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
source calculated to impart information, and are virtually made a history by the people as well as of them and for them. Many interesting anecdotes of the early days have been brought to light, and here preserved in a lasting shape; and although it is impossible to write a full history of every one, or to give complete reminiscences of all persons who settled in the township, yet the minds of the people who came early to the vicinity have been cleared of the cobwebs which were woven around their memories and recollection has been revived, with the result found in this sketch of the now prosperous township of Groveland.
To one and all who have aided us in our researches are returned many thanks for their trouble.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
CARRH D. BARRON *
was born February 15, 1809, in Owosco, Cayuga county, New York. His father, Bethuel Barron, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and died at Clarkson, Monroe county, New York, about 1813, when C. D. Barron was small. On the 9th of May, 1840, Carrh D. Barron was married to Eliza Eggleston, then living in Owosco. She was born March 25, 1810, in Marcellus, Onondaga county, New York, and died November 5, 1869. The issue of this marriage was a family of five children, born as follows :
ALMON, born August 6, 1841; married November 15, 1865, to Sarah, daughter of Daniel F. Johnson, also of Groveland.
MARY E., born April 24, 1843; married to Oscar Mitchell, of Atlas, Genesee county, Michigan, January 1, 1865.
SARAH E., born May 2, 1845; married to William Brosius, also of Atlas, Genesee county, October 5, 1862.
UDOLPHIA H., born September 16, 1848; died April 5, 1851.
BARTON D., born October 31, 1851; married to Ella Phipps, of Groveland, in November, 1869.
Mr. Barron was married March 2, 1870, to Mrs. Sarah M. (Thurston) Beach, of Brandon township. His present wife is one of a family of ten children, all living but one. Her father was twice married, and had five children each by his two wives. She was born July 6, 1812, in Rochester, New York, where her father, Aaron Thurston, was an early settler. Her grandfather, Moses Munson, was one of the early settlers of Michigan, having settled in Oakland township, Oakland County, in 1825, when Mrs. Barron was in her thirteenth year. He built a saw-mill in that township. He was accompanied by his own family, and that of his son, Samuel C. Munson. Mrs. Barron, whose maiden name was Sarah M. Thurston, was married to Erastus Beach, in the State of New York, in 1830, she having gone back to that State. She had four children by her first husband, two sons and two daughters,-all dead but the oldest child, ANN ELIZA, now the wife of Aaron Smith, of Brandon township. She was born June 28, 1831. NEWTON R. BEACHI (Mrs. B.'s second child) was born September 18, 1843; GEORGE E., November 16, 1844; ELLEN, December 13, 1845. Mr. Barron is a Republican in politics, and a very successful farmer. (See view and portraits.)
HORATIO WRIGHT
was born in Granville, Washington county, New York, on the 20th of February, 1818, and when six years of age removed with his parents to Oneida county, and in 1839 he located in Genesee county. In 1843 he came with the rest of the family to Michigan, most of them coming by team through Canada, and his father by boat to Detroft. On the 15th day of August, 1843, they arrived in Spring- field township, and settled on land in section 3, where the old log house is yet standing. In the spring of 1847 Horatio Wright removed to his present location on section 34, in Groveland township.
On the 9th of November, 1842, he was married to Sarah M. Campbell, in Genesee county, New York, and his wife accompanied him to Michigan. Mrs. Wright is a native of Ogden, Monroe county, New York, where she was born December 14, 1823. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wright, their births occurring as follows: Austin Millard Wright, November 11, 1847, in Springfield township, and now living in the city of Chicago, Illinois ; Irving Campbell Wright, December 14, 1849 ; Mary Jane, January 21, 1853; Horatio Lee, September 12, 1854 ; Julietta, September 16, 1856 ; William Milton, June 2, 1860 ; Rosa, July 26, 1865. Wm. M. Wright died November 11, 1862. Mary J. Wright was married to Charles L. Tinsman, of Holly township, Novem- ber 9, 1870, and Julietta to Henry Evans, of Groveland, November 30, 1876.
In 1866, Mr. Wright was elected on the Democratic ticket to the lower house of the Michigan legislature, from the then second district of Oakland County, comprising the townships of Groveland, Holly, Independence, Rose, Springfield, Waterford, and White Lake. He has also held numerous offices of public trust in Groveland township ; was supervisor for eight years, being elected the first time in 1853. He served as justice of the peace for twenty-four consecutive years, from 1852 to 1876, and is also a prominent member of Davisburgh grange, No. 245, Patrons of Husbandry. He has long been connected with the Masonic fra- ternity, and is at present Master of Austin lodge.
The farm on which he is living was entered by Oliver Powelson, the patent for the same being issued in 1837.
Mr. Wright has now reached the age of fifty-nine years, and beyond the whitening of his hair there are but few indications that he is growing old. Mrs. Wright, now nearly fifty-four years of age, bears still the looks of a lady of forty years, and both she and her husband bid fair to live " many a year" to enjoy earth's blessings. Their lives thus far have been useful, and their places in the community where they have so long resided could not easily be filled.
HENRY W. HORTON
was born in Tioga (now Tompkins) county, New York, May 31, 1797. When he was five or six years of age his parents removed to Ontario county, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
On the 31st of January, 1819, Mr. Horton was married to Adah Jennings, and the same year removed with his wife to Niagara county. The issue of this marriage was a family of eleven children,-seven sons and four daughters,-of whom eight are now living. A son and daughter died in New York, both small, and another son, Emerson C. Horton, died at Richmond, Missouri, after the Re- bellion. He was thirty-five years of age, and had served during the war, with the exception of three months subsequent to his discharge, after being released from a rebel prison. In Sherman's grand campaign of 1864 he was under General Kilpatrick, in the cavalry arm of the service.
In March, 1830, Mr. Horton made a trip to Michigan on horseback, and located the first land in the township of Groveland,-three hundred and sixty acres. On a part of it he afterwards settled with his family (section 7). While on his way out upon his first trip he found snow near the River Thames, in Canada, which stream he crossed at Delaware town. The snow was two feet deep or more, and after passing the Thames it was forty miles through a dense forest to another house. His horse was a spirited and hardy animal, however, and he started on undaunted. After riding some distance he found a man busy at work digging rails from under the snow. He stopped his horse and spoke to him, but received no answer, undoubtedly because the man was greatly frightened at the unusual sound of a strange voice. Mr. Horton, bent on learning whether he was alive or dead, spoke again, saying, " Young man, how came you here ?" The frightened individual dropped his tools as if shot, and turning quickly, said, " Wait a minute and I'll tell ye. I am here and can't get away, and by G- I believe this is the centre of creation !" Mr. Horton was satisfied and rode on. He says every pio- neer who left his home and came into the wilderness so far that he " couldn't get away" was, sooner or later, led into the conviction that the spot he had selected was the " centre of creation," and became greatly attached to it. This was his own experience, as his sojourn of forty-seven years upon the spot where he first settled will testify.
In the fall of 1830, Mr. Horton, who had returned to New York for his family, brought them back with him to the place destined to be their future home, on the " beautiful peninsula." His family then consisted of his wife, two sons, and two daughters. They came all the way by land from Niagara county, the trip occu- pying seventeen days, and the route being through Canada. A log house, or shanty, sixteen by twenty feet, was built, and the family moved into it on the 3d day of February, 1831. There was then a depth of six or eight inches of snow upon the ground, and the weather was bitter cold. The house was without door, window, or chimney, and a floor was only partially laid. A blanket was hung up at the entrance to serve in lieu of a door, and a huge fire was built against the logs to keep the family from freezing. The roof consisted of boards roughly laid on, and through the crevices between them the snow or rain passed almost " without let or hindrance." When they moved in, the last house they passed was at Waterford village, fourteen miles away. Game and Indians were plenty, the latter being almost the only neighbors for several years. They were never troublesome, although a thousand of them would sometimes pass along the trail in a single day.
The first potatoes the family had were procured by Mr. Horton in the north- east corner of Troy township, thirty miles away. He sowed the first grain in
# See township history of Groveland for additional items.
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Groveland township, and made the first actual improvements, although William Roberts and Masten W. Richards are accredited as being the first settlers. Mr. Horton procured his first plow at Birmingham, Mr. Richards probably bringing one in about the same time. His first drag he made with his own hands. In the fall of 1831 he went to Pontiac, in company with Lot Tobey, and purchased some apple-trees. The two men brought the trees to their respective farms, and set them out the same day with each other, these being the first orchards in Groveland. The trees are nearly all standing.
In the old log house Mr. Horton lived for about ten years, and then built him a frame dwelling. His wife died January 20, 1856, aged fifty-six years, and on the 20th of September of the same year he was married to Mrs. Mary E. Losee, widow of Isaac J. Losee. One son was born to them, but died in infancy.
Mrs. Horton's father, Cornelius Davis, came from Ulster county, New York and located on the site of Davisburgh, in Springfield township, in 1836. Both he and his wife are now deceased.
At the first town-meeting held in Groveland township, which then included what is now Holly, Mr. Horton was elected township clerk, and was re-elected for four successive years afterwards, holding the office during the years from 1835 to 1839 inclusive. In 1842 and 1843, and 1846, he was chosen supervisor, and in 1843 was also elected justice of the peace, which office he has held a number of times since. In that capacity he performed the first marriage in the township. During the famous " Toledo War," in 1835, when Governor Mason called upon the militia to advance to the frontier, Mr. Horton, who commanded a military company raised in the territory now included in the townships of Groveland and Holly. Oakland County, and Grand Blanc, Genesee county, accompanied them to Pontiac, where he resigned. As the affair ended amicably by the decision of the United States government, no blood was spilled from the veins of Oakland County patriots, and all returned safely to their homes.
Mr. Horton is the only one of the first settlers who is now living, and has reached the ripe age of eighty years. In politics he is Republican to the core, and has always been opposed to the principles of slavery. He has lived a strictly temperate life, taking an early stand against the use of and traffic in intoxicating liquors. In religion he is a Methodist, and joined the Groveland church when it was organized, in 1839 or 1840. He has been one of its main supporters, and has stood by it in time of need from its organization until the present. In him is seen a pleasing example of happy old age, and, though his life has been a checkered one and Iris sinews have been long strained with manly toil, yet the weight of his years rests lightly upon him, and his decline promises to be as peaceful as his life has been interesting and his success remarkable.
The place where Mr. Horton settled was called " Pleasant Valley" by the French or Indian traders. The location is extremely pleasant, and what nature did not do toward beautifying it the art of man has supplied.
Mr. Horton's son, JOSEPH LEE HORTON, born November 27, 1832, was un- doubtedly the first white child born in the territory now including the townships of Groveland, Holly, Rose, Springfield, and Brandon, in Oakland County, and Fenton, in Genesee county. In the same territory there were no houses when Mr. Horton came, except those of William Roberts and Masten Richards in Groveland (before mentioned).
Another son, Emerson C. Horton, whose death (which occurred April 4, 1873) has been previously mentioned, spent two years, subsequent to the War of the Rebellion, in South America, and soon afterwards married Miss Lamira Bryant. At his death he left one child,-a son,-John Emerson Horton.
A third son, Dexter Horton, served three years under Sherman in the western army. He served for a time in the commissary department, and eventually rose to the rank of major.
The first school in Groveland township was taught in Henry W. Horton's house, for the benefit of his own children, by Miss Sallie Parshall, about the winter of 1832. The parents generally were poor, and could not afford to give their children the education which can be acquired at the present day at a compara- tively small cost.
DANIEL F. JOHNSON.
Joseph Johnson, the father of the person whose name appears at the head of this article, was born in Horseneck, Connecticut, in 1776, and at an early day located in Greene county, New York. About 1805 he removed with his wife and four children-two sons and two daughters-to Delaware county. The sons were Orrin, the eldest, who died when but twelve years of age, and Daniel F., who was born January 29, 1801, in the old town of Canton (now Cairo), Greene county, New York. The daughters were Mahala, now the wife of Charles Hus- ted, of Watertown, Tuscola county, Michigan, and Mindwell, now the widow of
Alexander Merwin, of Groveland township, Oakland County, Michigan. In the latter part of 1823, Joseph Johnson removed with his family to Genesee county, New York, and in the fall of 1836 came to Michigan, and settled in the town of Atlas, Genesee county, where he died in 1849, at the age of seventy-three years. His wife, who was born in 1770, died at the age of eighty-eight. Mr. Johnson was drafted during the war of 1812, but being temporarily crippled was not called upon to serve. One of his brothers, however, enlisted from Delaware county, New York. Mr. Johnson was raised a farmer, but had acquired a knowledge of several trades, and worked considerable in a machine-shop, at blacksmithing, etc.
On the 30th of January, 1828, Daniel F. Johnson was married to Amanda Husted, of Genesee county, New York. She is a native of the town of Scipio, Cayuga county, to which her father, Benjamin Husted, emigrated early from the State of Connecticut. The issue of this marriage was nine children, as follows : Amanda, born December 25, 1828, died April 18, 1831; Harriet, born Decem- ber 9, 1830, died September 26, 1831 ; Clarinda Moranda R., born December 3, 1832-these three in the State of New York; Daniel, February 22, 1835 ; Julia Ann, May 2, 1837 ; Nancy Evaline, March 25, 1839; Phidelia, March 17, 1841 ; Margery Ann, April 15, 1843 ; Sarah Elizabeth, August 3, 1845- the six last named all born in Michigan. The children are all living except the eldest two, who died in New York. Clarinda M. R. Johnson was married January 1, 1852, to Ransom E. Burgess, of Groveland township ; Daniel married Sarah Harpst, of Royalton, Niagara county, New York, July 13, 1856; Nancy E. was married to Eli Jennings, of Atlas township, Genesee county, Michigan, February 8, 1857 ; Julia Ann was married to John T. Peck, July 12, 1858; Phidelia was married June 3, 1863, to John Campbell, also of Genesce county, Michigan, and a very prominent and most excellent man ; Sarah E. is now the wife of Almon Barron, of Groveland, to whom she was married November 15, 1865 ; and Mar- gery A. was married in February, 1872, to Silas Downey, son of Alexander Downey, Esq., of Groveland.
Mr. Johnson's wife was born September 17, 1806, and was consequently in her twenty-second year when she was married. She has reached the age of seventy- one years, of which period forty-nine years have been passed in the enjoyment of married life. Perhaps the worthy couple have also known the weight of sorrow, but if so it has left no impress of its visit upon their countenances at least, how- ever much their hearts may have been affected.
In 1834, Mr. Johnson made a trip to Delaware county, Ohio, but the induce- ments were not sufficient to make him take up his residence there, and he stayed but a week, returning at the end of that time to the township of Spring, Craw- ford county, Pennsylvania, where his father had been residing for two or three years. D. F. J. made no permanent stay in that county. In the summer of 1834 he came to Michigan, and purchased from the government the northeast quar- ter of section 6 in the township of Groveland. He afterwards purchased addi- tional land on sections 5 and 7, and owned a little more than half a section in all. After making his original purchase, he went back to Pennsylvania after his wife and child, Clarinda, then but two years of age. He made a trip to New York, and settled some matters pertaining to his old farm, and after shipping his goods by boat in care of a lad named Jacob Irwin, who was living with him, he hitched a good team of horses to a lumber wagon, and, in company with his wife and child, set out overland for Michigan. The route lay through northern Ohio, and the trip occupied about twelve days, which was quite rapid traveling, con- sidering the state the roads were in, especially through the " Black Swamp" of the Maumee region, where the mud was, to use a hackneyed expression, " simply fearful."
On arriving in Groveland township they stopped for some time with Mrs. Johnson's brother, William P. Husted, who was living on the place now oc- cupied by Ira H. Marsh. There they stayed until Mr. Johnson was enabled to build him a house of his own. This house was a log structure, eighteen by twenty-two feet in dimensions, and the family moved into it on the 9th day of December, 1834. It was, like many others when they were first occupied by the pioneers, without door or windows, and but a portion of a floor had been laid. It was covered with a good shingle roof, however (and in that respect was ahead of many more pretentious edifices), and the storms could not beat in from above. Mr. Johnson procured his roof-boards and shingles at the saw-mill of Captain Archibald Phillips, at Waterford village. When the new house was occupied the snow lay upon the ground to the depth of about two inches, and the weather was very severe. At night the gray wolves which then abounded " made night hideous" with their cries, and sniffed uncomfortably close to the house on many occasions. With stout hearts and strong and willing hands, they went to work improving the spot destined to be their future home, and, truly, the end has crowned the work. Children were born to them, changes many and im- portant took place in the general aspect of the country, and Mr. Johnson and his wife no doubt changed in common with the others. " All things worked
DANIEL F. JOHNSON.
MRS. DANIEL F.JOHNSON.
L ..
RESIDENCE of HON. DANIEL F. JOHNSON, GROVELAND, OAKLAND CO., MICH.
.SARAH. M.BARRON.
MRS.ELIZA BARRON.
C. D. BARRON.
-
RESIDENCE OF CARRH D. BARRON, GROVELAND, OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
.
(THE OLD HOMESTEAD.)
RESIDENCE of MRS. J. C. TAYLOR, WHITE LAKE TP, OAKLAND CO. MICH.
----
RESIDENCE OF HORATIO WRIGHT, ESQ., GROVELAND TP, OAKLAND CO., MICH.
.
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
183
together for good," and to-day, among the citizens of Groveland, whose pioneers are all given their just shares of respect, none have greater than Daniel F. John- son and the wife who with him has witnessed the evolutions through which the present era of prosperity and general contentment has been created as a fitting memorial to the energetic labors of the pioneers.
Mr. Johnson has held numerous offices in the township, which he filled sat- isfactorily to all. In the fall of 1839 he was elected on the old Whig ticket to the legislature of the State, and was one of the representatives in that body from the county of Oakland during the session of 1840. In politics he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, which he has been a consistent and devoted member of since it became a party.
In the fall of 1835 he sent for his parents, and, as we have seen, they came to Michigan and located in Genesee county the next year.
Mr. Johnson lived in his log house about ten years, and the house was then built which he now occupies. His son Daniel lives near him on a portion of the
old farm. The barn now standing northwest of the old home, on the north side of the road, was erected in 1836, the lumber being procured at Flint, Genesee county.
Mr. Johnson takes much pride in raising the best quality of grain of all kinds, and of his success in this line he may justly be proud. He says that although times were exceedingly close when he first settled here, and it was hard work for a long period to make ends meet, he has never known the absolute want of the necessaries of life, and is, what a majority of people perhaps cannot say, content with his lot and able at all times to enjoy life fully. It is fitting to close this sketch with the sincere hope that " his days may be long in the land" where he has so many years resided, and after his labors in the harvesting of earthly pro- ductions shall have ceased that he may be " gathered unto his fathers" in peace- ful content by the greatest of all reapers, and his memory be cherished as that of a loving husband, kind father, and excellent neighbor, whose loss shall be deeply lamented.
WHITE LAKE TOWNSHIP.
THE territory embraced in township 3 north, range 8 east, of the government survey, was set off from Pontiac township in 1836, and organized for civil pur- poses as a township by itself, under the name of White Lake, said name being derived from the beautiful sheet of water which lies partly within its limits.
This lake was a favorite resort with the former occupants of this region, who, despite their proverbial habits of painting and making themselves as hideous as possible, and their well-known love of strife, had still many attributes which belong rightfully to a more civilized race. The copper-hued denizens of the forest had a deep admiration for the beauties of nature, and their appreciation of them is shown in the choice they made of the shores of White lake for a camping- ground.
The waters of White lake are clear and beautiful; the shores are high and bold on nearly all sides, in a few places, however, sloping gently back. A gravelly beach extends nearly the entire distance around it, and in several localities the drooping branches of the trees almost lave their foliage in its pure waters. The shore is indented by numerous bays, and an occasional point extends outward in a long and narrow reach, lending variety to its beauties. The most picturesque feature of the lake is found in its island scenery. On the east shore a point shaped like the letter "J" extends in such a form as to nearly inclose a small semi-circular basin, and farther south " Pine point," crowded with its scattering pines and smaller trees, projects for some distance to the north and west. The area covered by the portion of the lake which lies in White Lake township is about two hundred and fifty acres. The view from the road, at the centre of section 7, looking southwest from the spot known as " Voorheis' landing," is delightful. The lake is frequented during the summer by excursion- and picnic-parties, who come to its shores to spend a day in pleasurable pastime,-fishing, rowing, sailing, etc.
The entire water area of White Lake township is about thirteen hundred acres, and is comprised, beside that included in White lake, in the various lakes known as Cranberry, Oxbow, Long, Cedar Island, Shanty, Round, Cooley, and numer- ous others. Oxbow lake derives its name from its peculiar shape.
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