History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, Part 53

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 553

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 53

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Terrence Fagan was buried on his eighty-fifth birthday. He and his wife sleep side by side in the " Hadley cemetery," which is located on sections 18 and 19, Groveland township. This cemetery contains the remains of many of the early settlers in both Holly and Groveland. When Mr. Fagan came to Michigan he was accompanied by his wife and their three sons, Peter, John, and Thomas. The sons are all living in Holly township; Peter is the only one ever married. He has a considerable family, and is now somewhat advanced in years, which rest lightly upon him. He is the oldest resident of the township now living within its limits.

The first death was that of a daughter of Stephen Davis. She died of con- sumption, in 1836. Her mother died some time during the fall of 1837, from the

194

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

effects of a severe cold. On the day she was buried the only persons at the house when the hour for her burial arrived were her husband, their two sons-George and John-and William Young. It appeared necessary for the sons to help Mr. Young in the work of interment, and great was their trouble. It seemed not enough that their beloved mother should be stricken from their midst,-they themselves must help bury her as an additional weight of sorrow. At an oppor- tune moment, however. two young gentlemen from Pontiac, George W. Wisner and Morgan L. Drake. drove up and stopped. They at once appreciated the situ- ation and offered their aid. But some kind of a funeral ceremony must be had, and the question was how to arrange it. The two young men were out on an electioneering tour .* and Wisner, who is said to have always been equal to an emergency. offered to conduct the services. He remarked that he was " not a minister. nor yet a professor, to his shame, and therefore would not pray, but he could read." Accordingly. he read a chapter from the Bible, and then expounded upon it at some length, after which he and his companion kindly and reverently assisted Mr. Young in lowering the coffin into the grave and covering it from mortal gaze. and then passed on their way. Mr. Wisner was afterwards elected to a position in the State senate. Mr. Young. who is still living in Holly village, yet affirms that to this day he has never heard a better sermon than the one preached by the minister pro tempore to that congregation of five persons, includ- ing the mourners ; and doubtless Mr. Wisner spoke with much feeling, for such an occasion, in such a locality, was one to awaken deep sympathy, and touch a tender chord in the most hardened heart.

The following is a nearly perfect list of the settlers who came to the township from 1832 to 1837, inclusive :

Calvin Herrick, Nathan Herrick, William Gage, Peter Fagan, John Fagan, Hannibal Vickery. These were all in town some time during 1832, although they did not all settle that year. In 1833 the following persons came: Terrence Fagan, Thomas Fagan, Alonzo R. Rood. In 1834, Burnett Scott, Asa Beach; the latter kept a tavern on the old turnpike, on section 12. In 1835, Darius Austin, John Runyon, Matthew Morehouse, Jonathan T. Allen, Edwin Edwards, Alexander Galloway, George Mitchell, John Forsyth, and possibly Masten W. Richards re- moved from Groveland township the same year; he had settled in the latter in 1830. In 1836. William Young, Moses Smith, William Haas, Robert Kennedy, Stephen Dains, John Dains, Ira C. Alger, Edward Bray, H. H. Bartlett, Isaac Springer. Nicholas Yorton, Isaac Taylor, Meshek G. Norris, Sr., Edward Hull, John Stringer. John Stone, Sylvanus Bartlett, Filer Frost. In 1837, David Ackerson. William B. Decker, William Bevins, Willet C. Day. Of some of these men more extended sketches are given. A majority of them have passed away from earth, and are

"Only remembered by what they have done."

Alonzo R. Rood is a native of Orleans county, Vermont. When quite young, his father. Ezra Rood, removed with the family to Batavia, Genesee county, New York. In 1822, Ezra Rood brought his family, then consisting of his wife and eight chil- dren, to Oakland County, Michigan, and settled in Bloomfield township. Four children were born to Mr. Rood and his wife in this county. In the fall of 1833, Alonzo R. Rood came to Holly township (then Groveland), and located land on section 26, where he now lives, purchasing from government. He and his brother- in-law, Vincent Runyon, came together at that time, and cut hay south of where Peter Fagan now lives .; The first timber cut in the neighborhood was that used to build Mr. Rood's log house, which stood just east of the spot now occupied by his barn. His house, which was little else than a "shanty," contained a floor made of hewed planks, and was covered with what was known as a " cob-roof," made of poles and " shakes." Mr. Rood's frame house, built about 1836-38, is claimed to have been the first frame dwelling erected in the township. It is still standing.

For a considerable time after the country was settled grain was thrashed on the ground with flails, and cleaned with the old-fashioned " fans." Next, thrashing- floors were laid, and the grain was cleaned up by " winnowing." Finally, greater improvements were introduced, and with their use and lapse of years the old cus- toms are almost forgotten. For music the settlers had nothing better than the nightly howling of the wolves, which animals infested the country in great num- bers. They could always be heard nights, but were seldom heard or seen in the daytime. The long-drawn howl of the wolf is well known to all who have heard it as a most mournful sound, and the noise made by a very small number of these animals will cause the listener to imagine there are hundreds of them in full chorus close by. When

"The evening sky shone bright and clear And the evening stars came on,"

the pioneer, returning to his rude couch, was lulled to sleep, after becoming used to the sound, by the cries of the wolves, and soon those strange

" Lamentings heard i' the air"

were thought but little of. Occasionally, however, a scare would be created by some person being chased to his home by a hungry pack of the gaunt creatures, or their ravages among the pig-pens in the "wee sma' hours ayent the twal'." Nothing is related to show that they ever did personal injury to any of the settlers, and in comparison with their breed in other localities they were harmless.

Bears were somewhat numerous, but not many of them met a tragic fate in this part of the county. Deer were everywhere plenty, and the supply of meat for any family need never get low so long as the hand of the settler was steady, his aim true, and ammunition on hand quantum sufficit. Feathered game was also abun- dant, wild turkeys, etc., being found in most localities. All these have disap- peared from the country, and the sportsman must needs lay aside his rifle and take up his shot-gun, and be content with practice upon the migratory birds which frequent this "land of lakes" during the spring and autumn. The largest game for the rifle in this part of the State is the squirrel, though even these bright little animals are becoming scarce.

It has been mentioned that William Gage was the first actual settler in the township. This is true, although be did not enter land until it had been taken up in another locality.

THE FIRST ENTRY OF LAND IN HOLLY

was made by Nathan Herrick, on the 16th day of September, 1830. He entered a part of section 1, on the old Saginaw trail, afterwards the Detroit and Saginaw turnpike. William Gage and Isaac Parish made entries on section 6, in 1831. Gage settled on his purchase near where the old Indian trail to Shiawassee and Muccopenakoneag crossed Swartz creek. In 1833 land was entered by Alonzo R. Rood, Terrence Fagan, Vincent Runyon, David Husted, and Edwin Edwards.

Edwin Edwards came to Oakland County, in the year 1822, from Ithaca, Tomp- kins county, New York. He stopped for some time in Detroit and then came to Pontiac, at which place he arrived in September, 1822. The same fall he settled at Waterford village, in Waterford township, and while living there married Nancy Williams, a daughter of Alpheus Williams. She died April 22, 1826, and hers was the second burial in the old cemetery at Waterford village. Her brother, Oliver Williams, Jr., was the first person buried in it. Mr. Edwards was afterwards married to Hannah Lewis, and in November, 1835, came to Holly township and settled on the farm in section 8 upon which he now resides. His second wife died in 1855, and in 1856 he was married to Mrs. C. Robinson, who came with her first husband, Michael Keating, to the township of Groveland, in the year 1836. She is from Chittenden county, Vermont.

Mr. Edwards was the first settler on the land where he is living.' It was en- tered from government by his father, Edward Edwards, who had previously settled at Sturgis, St. Joseph county, Michigan, where he finally died. He had been one of the first settlers in. Broome county, New York. His grandfather (Edwin Edwards' great-grandfather) was the famous Jonathan Edwards, of Con- necticut.

Edwin Edwards is now in his seventy-eighth year (born in October, 1799), and has spent his life principally in Oakland County since his emigration to it, fifty-five years ago. He has been a great deer-hunter in his day, and says it was never any trouble for him to keep the family supplied with meat. He is the only one living of a family of ten sons.

Mrs. Edwards, then Mrs. Keating, speaks of some of her trials when she and her husband settled in Groveland township. There was a beaver-dam across a small stream near their house, and the spot was frequented by some very large sand- hill cranes. She was unacquainted with such birds, and was greatly alarmed lest they should carry off her child. A neighbor at last told her the birds were harm- less, and her fears were allayed.

Jonathan T. Allen came originally from the town of Howell, Monmouth county, New Jersey, in 1825, and after stopping a few weeks in Detroit settled in Macomb county, Michigan, where he lived ten years. He was accompanied from New Jersey by his wife and eight children, and three of his children were afterwards born on Michigan soil. In 1835 he removed from Macomb to Oakland County, and settled on section 35, in Holly township, where he lived until within a few years of his death, which occurred in 1865 or 1866, when he was a few days over eighty-five years of age. Of his children there are ten living-seven of them in Oakland county, and six of the seven in Holly township. The place now occu- pied by Ira Allen was taken up by his father at the same time with the other land. Jonathan T. Allen built his house-a log structure-on section 35, in September, 1835.

William Young came from Orleans county, New York, to Michigan in May, 1836, and purchased land in Holly township on sections 22, 23, and 27. He

Possibly on their way to court in another county.

This is given on the authority of Mr. Fagan, who says Rood did not make an actual settle- ment until the spring of 1835.

----

( H TOMPKINS, DEL )

RESIDENCE & ROBERT PEARSON,

HOLLY, OAKLAND CO, MICH

195

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

built a log house-the first one in the immediate neighborhood-on section 22, and it is still standing. Mr. Young is a native of New Hampshire, and before going to New York resided for a considerable period in Vermont. He purchased his land in Holly from government, with the exception of one tract of forty acres, which he bought from second hands, after moving his family to the State. As soon as he had completed his log dwelling in 1836 he returned to New York, and in March, 1837, came back with his family, which then consisted of his wife and five children. Settlers were arriving in considerable numbers at that time, and Mr. Young kept " open house" from sheer necessity. In 1851 he went to Spring- field Post-Office, in Springfield township, and stayed at that place about a year and a half. He has since moved on and off his farm several times, and for years kept tavern while living on the old place. In the fall of 1868 he came to Holly vil- lage and purchased the old " Northern," or " Union" hotel, on the corner of Sag- inaw and Maple streets. He rebuilt it, erecting a large building thirty-six by sixty feet, which he called the " Mansion House." This he sold to his son-in-law, Meshek Norris, and it was burned September 23, 1876.

Mr. Young is now living on Saginaw street, in Holly village. He is the father of eleven children, of whom five are now living, three sons and two daughters.

In the fall of 1835, Moses Smith came, with his wife, four sons, and one daugh- ter, from the town of Olive, Ulster county, New York, and lived during the fol- lowing winter on the "Saginaw turnpike," near the Hadley cemetery, in Grove- land township. Mrs. Smith wove carpets for the settlers, and in May, 1836, the family removed to the farm on which they now reside,-section 36, Holly township, where Mr. Smith built a substantial log house, which he says was then the best one in the neighborhood, although when they moved in it was without floor or doors. It had a good shingle roof, however, and in that respect possessed great advantage over the common cabins, many of which were covered with mere roofs of bark, which, in case of a storm, were little better than no roofs at all. Mr. Smith purchased government land, which was principally in the "oak openings," and had but little heavy timber. At that time there were but few settlers in the neighborhood, and the country was generally considered very poor. Notwith- standing, people began to arrive in considerable numbers during that season, and many of them stayed with Mr. Smith until they could construct shanties of their own. 1836 and 1837 were the years when the " Michigan fever" reached its height, and neighbors were soon plenty. To-day it scarcely seems that such great changes have been wrought in the comparatively short space of forty years ; yet,

"Where once frowned a forest a garden is smiling,"

and the scenes of long ago are known no more in the land to the inhabitants thereof.

Mr. Smith followed the route generally taken by those whose faces were look- ing westward, viz .: from Buffalo to Detroit by boat, and thence with teams the remainder of the distance. After leaving Detroit he came over the Detroit and Saginaw turnpike, with no definite idea of the locality he should settle in. When he left New York he had not made up his mind whether he would locate in Michigan, Illinois, or elsewhere.

Of Mr. and Mrs. Smith's children five are now living,-three sons and two daughters. Some of the sons were in the army during the rebellion, and served in the Third Michigan Cavalry. One son-Dennis-died of disease and exposure at San Antonio, Texas.

Joel Warren came from the town of Murray, Orleans county, New York, about 1837, and purchased eighty acres of land on section 22 from William Young. Soon after he went to Ypsilanti, Washtenaw county, to visit his son-in-law, Lyman W. Spalding, now living in Holly, after which he returned to New York, and in the fall of 1838 came again to Michigan, this time accompanied by his family, consisting of his wife, four sons, and three daughters. Two daughters and one son had previously married and emigrated to Michigan. The son-Erastus- settled at Ypsilanti previous to the excitement caused by the famous Black Hawk war of 1832-33. He was a painter by trade, and enlisted during that war. He was thrown from his horse and badly injured, and is now drawing a pension from government ; resides in St. Joseph county, Michigan. Charles Warren lives on section 22, Holly township, next east of his father's old farm. Joel Warren and wife have been dead,-the former about ten, and the latter about five years. Both had reached an advanced age.

Samuel Green was born in the State of New Jersey, where his father, Morris Green, who came from England, settled at an early day. Samuel Green removed from New Jersey to Canada, thence to Tompkins county, New York, and finally to Michigan. He came to Oakland County in 1836, and lived two years near Pontiac. In 1838 he changed his place of abode to Holly township, and settled on section 7, where A. Ostrander now lives. There he lived until 1844, when he died at the age of fifty-six years. He brought his wife and eleven children with

him to Michigan, while the oldest son, who had never left New Jersey, remained in that State. Two children were born to him in Michigan, and of the entire number all but one are living. Mrs. Green died some twenty years after the death of her husband. Reuben Green is the only one of Samuel Green's children now living in Holly township. The farm on which he resides was settled by Nicholas Yorton in 1836. In the winter of 1876-77, Mr. Green erected a mill on his place for the purpose of grinding feed for stock ; and besides what he man- ufactures for his own use, he has considerable custom from others.

Nicholas Yorton, who settled the present Reuben Green place, is now living on section 7, in the northwest part of the township.

At the first election held in Groveland township (which then included Holly), in April, 1835, the candidates for the office of supervisor were Nathan Herrick and Philip H. McOmber. Thirteen votes were cast, and Herrick was elected by a majority of one. The deciding vote was cast by Peter Fagan, who, before voting, inquired how it then stood, and on learning that they had six apiece, dropped in one for Herrick, and elected him. When McOmber learned that he was defeated, he went to Fagan and asked him if he knew who it was that had cast the last vote, and Fagan told him that Joseph Jennings was the offending party. Jennings was pledged to support McOmber (and of course had done so), and the idea that he had not been true to his promise somewhat nettled McOm- ber, who walked up and knocked Jennings down. As the latter was an excessive stammerer, he did not have a chance to explain before McOmber's fist laid him low. It seems that the politicians of that day were as apt to wax wroth at defeat as those of the present, and were not backward in showing their disappointment. It is not related whether amicable relations were afterwards resumed, nor that Jennings ever learned who had made him the bruised victim of a practical joke. At the

FIRST TOWN-MEETING

held in the township of Holly proper, in April, 1838, at the house of John Runyon, on land now owned by William Green, the following were the officers elected, according to the memory of the old settlers, the records for a number of years after the organization of the township having been lost :

Supervisor, Jonathan T. Allen ; Township Clerk, Ira C. Alger ; Treasurer, Willet C. Day ; Highway Commissioners, Peter Fagan, Daniel Donaldson, Edwin Edwards; Justices of the Peace, Ira C. Alger, William Gage, John Stone; School Inspector, Filer Frost; Constables, Daniel Donaldson, William Bevins, Calvin Herrick, and one other, whose name is now forgotten ; Assessors, Peter Fagan, Edwin Edwards, and the supervisor, ex-officio.

At that time there were forty-three voters in the township, most of whom set- tled in 1836.

From 1839 to 1842 it is impossible to give the supervisors of the township, from the fact that the county business during that period was transacted by a board of county commissioners, and the names of the supervisors do not appear on the county records. Since 1842 they have been as follows :

1842-43, Filer Frost ; 1844-47, Francis Baker; 1848, Ira C. Alger ; 1849- 50, James Patterson ; 1851, Peter Fagan ; 1852-56, James Patterson ; 1857- 60, Harrison Smith ; 1861, Ahasuerus W. Buell ; 1862, Harrison Smith ; 1863- 77, Thomas L. Patterson, the latter serving continuously for the unusual period of fourteen years.

Justices of the Peace .- 1839, Jonathan T. Allen, Ira C. Alger, Simeon Marsh ; 1840, Franklin Hurlbut; 1841, Andrew Moses; 1842, Filer Frost, William Gage; 1843, John Stone; 1844, Jonathan D. Parker, Franklin Hurlbut ; 1845, Nicholas Yorton ; 1846, Filer Frost, Thomas Joslin; 1847, John Stone, Jr. ; 1848, Peter Eliot ; 1849, Thomas Joslin ; 1850, Filer Frost ; 1851, John Sage; 1852, Ira C. Alger, Darius R. Stone; 1853, Francis Baker, Daniel Donaldson ; 1854, Francis Baker; 1855, Darius R. Stone, Edwin Hall; 1856, Jackson McHenry ; 1857, Ira C. Alger; 1858, John Hawley, James Patterson ; 1859, Elisha H. Marsh, David S. Martin ; 1860, Daniel Green ; 1861, Daniel Donald- son ; 1862, Francis Baker, Norman Fredenburg; 1863, Elisha H. Marsh ; 1864, --; 1865, Daniel Donaldson ; 1866, Francis Baker; 1867, James M. An- drews, James B. Simonson ; 1868, Elisha H. Marsh ; 1869, Alexander G. Com- stock ; 1870, Charles C. Waldo; 1871, Francis Baker, Bela Cogshall; 1872, -; 1873, Thomas H. Fagan, Francis Baker; 1874, Milton M. Burnham ; 1875, Rosecrans Devine; 1876, Charles C. Waldo; 1877, Chauncey Stewart.

It is probable that Jonathan T. Allen was supervisor of the township from 1839 to 1842.

The present township officers are : Supervisor, Thomas L. Patterson ; Town Clerk, Charles Burger; Treasurer, Edward Hadley; Highway Commissioner, Case J. Allen ; Drain Commissioner, George C. Everts; Township Superintendent of Schools, James G. Mitchell ; School Inspector, Moses A. Plumer; Justices of the Peace, M. M. Burnham, R. K. Devine, C. C. Waldo, Chauncey Stewart; Constables, D. R. Burnham, W. G. Evans, Willard Fullam, Julius L. Jones.

196

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE

is erroneously supposed by many to have been established at Stony Run, on sec- tion 1: but this office was established half a mile across the line, in the town of Grand Blanc, Genesee county, where Masten W. Richards had moved from Grove- land township .* (He possibly lived at one time in Holly.) This office was established in 1836, and was afterwards removed to Holly township (Stony Run), Oakland County.

In the history of Holly village a sketch of the post-office at that place will be found. The mail-route through the old post-office of Stony Run was from De- troit to Saginaw, over the turnpike between those points, and via Flint, Genesee county. There are at present four post-offices on this turnpike, northwest of Pontiac, to wit : Springfield, Austin, Groveland, and Stony Run; the latter now being the northern terminus of the mail-route. The mails were originally carried on horseback.

MISCELLANEOUS.

William Young erected a building and opened a blacksmith-shop in 1839, the first one in the township. It stood on section 22, and Mr. Young hired a man named Hiram Hadstead to do his blacksmithing. The latter personage made a contract with his ex-wife to perform the work in the second story, and it was not long before this twain were again made " one flesh." The ceremony was performed by Filer Frost, J. P., and the second marriage of this couple was also the second marriage which took place in the township. Nothing being said to the contrary, it may be supposed they " lived happily ever afterwards."

The first hotel in the township was built at Stony Run, in 1834, by Smith Jenks and Thomas Irish, and in its day was well patronized.

In the fall of 1844, Thomas Joslin came to Michigan from Steuben county, New York, and in the spring of 1845 moved to the place where he now lives, on section 17. He purchased the land from government, and, in order to get to his place, cut a road through for two miles. He brought his wife and five sons with him. They are all living, and his children are well settled in life. One son is engaged in the practice of law at Grand Rapids, two are ministers of the Metho- dist Episcopal faith (at present on the Detroit conference), one lives on a farm adjoining his father's place, and the other owns a fine farm in the southwest part of the township, where he has lived for three years, having been for many years previously editor of the Saginaw Enterprise, published at East Saginaw. He is the oldest son, and only relinquished the newspaper business on account of failing health. Thomas Joslin himself, who at first built him a rough log house, at pres- ent occupies a neat frame building on his old place, and is living contentedly on the spot where he has passed more than thirty-two years.

THE FIRST ROAD

in the township was that portion of the Detroit and Saginaw turnpike which crosses the northeast corner, on sections 1 and 12. This was completed in 1834, as previously stated. From all accounts given by settlers, the lower or southern portion of this road was long a terrible mud-hole. The distance from Detroit to Royal Oak, thirteen miles, was almost impassable, and many teams were unable to advance at a more rapid rate than five miles a day. When Peter Fagan came, in 1833, this was the best time he could make over that portion of the route, and he had a good ox-team and a span of horses drawing his wagon. For many years after Detroit was settled it was supposed that there was no "hard land" within a great many miles of it, and when some adventurers, more bold than others, pushed out through the almost interminable swamp, and found the beautiful country in the neighborhood of Royal Oak, their story was scarcely credited. It finally be- came a settled fact that there was fine farming country to the northwest of De- troit, and then a great excitement was raised in the small city, and its inhabitants flocked forth to invest in the newly-discovered " land of promise."

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History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, Part 53

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1877 Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co. Number of Pages: 553

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 553