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 61
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119
The same year, also, Eliphalet Sprague came in from Seneca county, New York, and settled in the north half of section 26, the farm now owned and occupied by his son, James M. Sprague. Several of his descendants are now residents of the county and State, but none, except the above-named son, of the township. These four, with their families, constituted the entire population of the settlement of Lyon up to the close of the year 1830. In 1831 quite an influx of immigration poured in, among whom were the following :
Thomas Jones, who settled on the northwest corner of section 23. He is still living, and is the oldest living resident of the township.
George Fawcett took up and settled on the northwest quarter of section 24, and lived there until his death in 1876. Of his family but two daughters remain. Louisa married William Blackwood, and the other a son of H. B. Johns.
Russell Alvord, one of the original proprietors of the present site of the village of New Hudson, came in from Monroe county, New York, and settled on the northeast fractional quarter of section 3. He was accompanied by his brother Eugene.
Samuel Barton, of bogus coin fame, came in and settled at what, through the depredations of himself and others, has since been known as
BOGUS CORNERS.
The Corners are now owned by Walter Bowers, George W. Button, and Jona- than Taylor. Among others interested in the manufacture of the spurious article were Henry Eddy (who subsequently died of poison) and Peter Loomis, who was a blacksmith by trade, and the principal workman of the gang. He was subse- quently sent to the penitentiary for counterfeiting.
A story is told of how one of these worthies passed off a batch of their coin on an unsuspecting farmer. It was accomplished in this wise. He went to the farmer, and said that he had to go east on business, and had a box full of silver, which, owing to its weight, was inconvenient for him to carry ; would not he let him have bills for it, and keep it as security, but not to change it under ten days ? If he did not then hear from him, why, he was at liberty to do as he saw fit with it. Why, the farmer had no objection to accommodate his neighbor, not he; so he exchanged bills for the coin, and the neighbor departed. The farmer waited two or three weeks, and, not hearing from the party who left the " silver" with him, and requiring money for immediate use, he passed considerable of it to the unsuspecting pioneers, and no one appears to have doubted its genuineness until the final exposé of the gang.
Another similar organization existed on the base-line (which particular spot of it constituted a very base locality for the time being), of which one Van Sickle was the chief. This was also broken up, and several of those implicated either left or were imprisoned.
James St. Clair came in from Ovid, Seneca county, New York, this year (1831), and settled on section 15, on the farm now occupied by his son Daniel.
Nehemiah P. Smith came in during the year, and located his land, which was on section 18, but returned to Ann Arbor, from whence he came, not perfecting his settlement in Lyon until about three years subsequently.
Eleazur E. Calkins, Esq., came in 1832, and settled on section 21, on the farm now owned by the Blackwood estate. He resided there until his death, Decem- ber 26, 1866. He left three sons and one daughter, namely: Sylvester, Elisha A., and Kingsley, who reside in South Lyon, and Lucy A., the widow of John Kesley, who now lives in the village of Milford.
Levi Wilson, the first township clerk, came in 1832, from Monroe county, New York, and settled on section 28. He subsequently removed to the vicinity of Coldwater, Michigan.
Thomas Dunlap, the genius of the pioneer settlement, a sort of Jack-of-all- trades, who could do any mechanical work, from cobbling a shoe to making a thrashing-machine, came from Seneca county, New York, this year, but it is sur- mised that the original stock came from Vermont, the home of the ingenious Yankee. He settled on section 19, the farm now owned by his son David.
Zachariah Eddy, a genuine pioneer, tall and stout-built, full of rough humor, and always on hand at "logging-bees" and "raisings," where he would lay away whisky as long as the jug held out. He will be remembered by many in his
capacity of " whipping the cat,"-that is, going around from house to house with his kit of tools, and in the fall of the year make up the family supply of boots and shoes. He settled on section 27, on the farm now owned by J. Clark.
Thomas Sellman, the first supervisor of the township, came in from Canan- daigua, New York, and settled on section 5, on the farm now occupied by his son George.
Joseph Blackwood, a pioneer well and favorably known, came from Seneca county in 1832, and settled on section 34, taking up also the northwest quarter of section 35. Several of his family survive.
Rev. Ira M. Olds, of sacred memory, came from Seneca county, New York, and settled on the base-line of the township, on section 32. His connection with and deep interest in the Presbyterian church of Lyon make his name as a household word with many.
Israel Whipple, a much-respected and extensively-known pioneer, also arrived this year. He came from Ontario county, New York, and took up land located on sections 27 and 28, and settled near the present site of the residence of his son Eben Whipple.
Joseph Hayes arrived in 1832, from Monroe county, New York, and settled on the farm now owned by James Barnhart, and occupied by his son, on section 4. Wm. Hayes is still living.
Daniel Richards, one of the original proprietors of the village of New Hudson, came in from Ypsilanti, where he had settled in 1827. He located a part of section 4, and built a plain log house, and then succumbed temporarily to the " feve'neg."
The years 1833 and 1834 were very prolific in the arrival of settlers; hence we are debarred from particularizing more than a few who came in the former year. We shall, however, mention the names of such of those who came in between 1833 and 1840 as we have been able to procure correctly.
Mark N. Spellar came from Ontario (Wayne) county, New York, September 11, 1833. He traveled to Buffalo in a covered wagon, with his wife and three children. There they embarked on the steamer " New York," and came to Detroit. From thence by wagon, on the Chicago road, by way of Ann Arbor. They settled on the northwest fractional quarter of section 4, which Mr. Spellar purchased of the government at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. He now resides about one-half of a mile southeast of where he originally settled.
Benjamin Ellis, a noted hunter of the pioneer settlement, came from Ontario county, New York, and settled on section 21, on the farm now occupied by his widow. He was the father of William M. Ellis, the present supervisor of the township.
William Goldey took up the farm on section 3, where he now resides, in 1833. He came from Pennsylvania.
In the fall of this year, Jonathan Shores came in from Ann Arbor, and settled on section 8. He now resides on section 9.
In May of the same year, Alexander Duncan came in with his father, James Duncan, from Seneca county, New York, and settled on the east half of the north- west quarter of section 28. He now resides in the village of South Lyon.
Jacob Hannan, a prominent pioneer, came in from Ontario county, New York, and settled on section 22, on the farm now occupied by his sons Daniel and Alex- ander. Among his children, who are now residents of the township, are William, Louisa (the wife of William M. Ellis), Elizabeth (wife of Alexander Duncan), Daniel, Alexander, and Violet (wife of David Brown).
William M. Calkins, from Perrinton, Monroe county, New York, settled on section 28, and now resides in the village of South Lyon.
Among the honored names of those coming in between the years above desig- nated (1833 and 1840) appear the following :
John and Lewis Clark, James S. and John Rodger (early school-teachers and pioneer members of the Presbyterian church), Benjamin Hungerford, Dr. Cyrus Wells, Michael and Daniel Marlatt, James B. Bradley, Joel Redway, William Carpenter, David Gage, Eli M. Bancroft, Ralph Quick, William Lyman, Hiram Covey, Henry Huntington, Horace B. Johns, Silas and Melvin Rose, Heman Smith, William Hagadorne, Philip Marlatt, Joseph Elder, Jacob Sexton, Charles Coggeshall, Rewbell Sherman (seven years township clerk), and many others.
After the arrival of the early settlers their first care was to build their humble habitations, which generally consisted of a plain log house, though in a few in- stances a hewn log building was erected.
The first log house built was that of Bela Chase, in 1830. It was constructed of plain logs, and stood on the base-line of the township, on section 35.
The first frame house was erected by Rev. Ira M. Olds, on section 32, two years later than the above.
Every man was his own mechanic in those days, and with the assistance of one another at what they termed their "raisings," they did their own work, and had in view durability rather than elegance.
1
216
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
The first frame barn was built by Garrett Houghtaling in 1833, on section 28. After undergoing several repairs and some additions, it still stands on the farm of Nathan W. Smith.
The first brick building erected within the limits of the township was that in- tended for the Kensington bank, in 1838. The first brick dwelling by N. F. Butterfield. at Kensington, about 1840.
The first farm opened was by Eliphalet Sprague. in 1830. It is located on section 26. and is now occupied by his son, J. M. Sprague. By him was also sowu the first wheat in the township. With the exception of a superabundance of smut. it was a good crop.
The first orchard was planted by Bela Chase, in the southern part of the town- ship.
The first carpenter was Jonas Hood, who had learned the trade east, and put up several of the frame buildings erected in 1834-35.
The first blacksmith was Garrett Houghtaling, who settled on section 28, and erected thereon a small log structure, which served all the necessary requirements of a shop. in 1832.
The first physician was Thomas Curtis, M.D., a practitioner of the regular school of medicine (and oftentimes a very costly one), who settled on section 4, on the present site of the village of New Hudson, in 1832. Dr. Thomas Sellman was about contemporary, but as a practitioner was not near as well known. Dr. Cyrus Wells followed, in 1836. He paid more attention to agriculture than to the practice of medicine, as was his intention when he emigrated to the west.
THE FIRST MARRIAGE,
as nearly as it is possible (in the absence of the records) to ascertain, was that in which Aaron Vader and Samantha Haynes were the contracting parties, and E. E. Calkins the justice who, by virtue of his office, "tied the knot," in 1833. About the same time Richard Boughton and Esther Burton followed suit.
The first birth was that of George, son of Oscar Sprague, and grandson of Eliphalet Sprague, who was born in February, 1831. He is now a worthy rep- resentative of the agricultural class, and resides in Eaton county, Michigan.
The first death is said to have been that of Phoebe, daughter of Daniel W. Calkins, who died in 1833.
THE FIRST BURYING-GROUND.
The burying-ground in South Lyon was first used in the early part of 1835. The first interment in it was that of Phoebe Calkins, whose remains were removed from their former resting-place and re-interred in the new ground immediately after it was authorized to be used for such purposes. Among the prominent set- tlers whose ashes repose in it are Garrett Houghtaling, Ives Smith, Ovid Letts, Alexander Dunlap, Asahel Buck, William Buck, John Letts, Daniel Brown, Daniel Dunlap, and others.
THE NEW HUDSON BURYING-GROUND.
The first regularly laid-out burying-ground was on an acre of ground donated for that purpose by Daniel Richards, and surveyed by one Ingersoll, in April, 1835. It is located on the southeast corner of the east half of the south part of the northeast fractional quarter of section 4. The first interment was that of Annie, daughter of Mark F. and Hannah Spellar, who was buried therein April 7, 1835. The first trustees were Mark N. Spellar, Russel Alvord, and Josiah Wilkins. Among the prominent settlers whose remains repose there might be mentioned Heman Smith, Ezra Platt, Lansing Smith, Nathan Andrews, Jonas Bowers and Polly his wife, Jacob Sexton, Harvy Hart, Lewis Mead, Truman Rathbun, Alfred Town, Linus Foot, and many others.
THE FIRST ROADS.
The first road laid out in Lyon township of which any record exists was the one " commencing at the southeast corner of section 19 and southwest corner of section 20, and running thence north on the section-line to the corner of section 7 and northwest corner of section 8.
" JOSEPH BLACKWOOD, " RUSSEL ALVORD, " Commissioners of Highways.
" April 27, 1833."
The roads were not very good up to 1835. In this year the township had be- come largely settled, and there were perhaps nearly as many families as at present, if we except the three villages now within its limits. Improvements of all kinds were meagre, the roads still winding around the swamps and low places, and as rough as can well be imagined. An old gentleman, Israel Blood by name, came out here from the State of New York to visit his children, and on his way back, via Northville, jostling over logs and ruts in a lumber-wagon, he asked if it . was as bad all the way to the village. The driver replied, " We shall soon reach
the base-line, and then I think we shall find it better." " If," said Mr. Blood, " you have any line baser than this I don't care to see it."
We quote the following from an old document before us :
" The commissioners of highways of the townships of Lyon and Novi having met together to take into consideration the division of the township-line road be- tween the above-mentioned townships, do, by virtue of our office, declare, that commencing at the east end of said township-line road, and thence west across, one section and forty rods on the next section west on said township-line road, shall belong to township 2 north, range 7 east, and the remaining part of said township-line road, until it intersects the Ann Arbor road running southwest, shall belong to the township of Lyon.
" JOEL REDWAY, " DARIUS HODGES, " Commissioners of Lyon Township. " HARVEY STEEL, " R. W. HOLLEY, " Commissioners of Novi Township.
" March 28, 1835."
During the session of Congress in 1834-35 an appropriation was made by it for constructing a turnpike from Detroit to Grand River. It was opened and worked through Lyon township, and the Huron river was bridged at Kensington, -that being the first bridge constructed in the township.
The first church was that of the Episcopal Methodists, erected at South Lyon in 1841.
The first school was taught in the old district No. 3, about 1834-35.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP.
The first annual meeting for the township of Lyon was held at the house of Eleazur E. Calkins, April 7, 1834. The same was called to order by William Dutcher, Esq. Thomas Sellman was chosen moderator, and William J. Smith clerk, pro tem. The board then proceeded to receive the votes of the several townships for officers, of which those elected were :
Supervisor, Thomas Sellman ; Clerk, Levi Wilson; Assessors, Robert R. Thompson, Joseph Younglove, Russel Alvord; Commissioners of Highways, Joel Redway, Robert R. Thompson, Darius Hodges ; Directors of the Poor, George McIntosh, Titus Zerkes; Commissioners of Schools, Eleazur E. Calkins, William J. Smith, James Duncan ; Constable, William Thompson ; Inspectors of Common Schools, Parley W. C. Gates, Joseph Blackwood, Eliphalet Sprague, William J. Smith, William Dutcher.
Overseers of Highways .- Asa Parker, district No. 1; P. W. C. Gates, district No. 2; Thomas Sellman, district No. 3; Joseph Younglove, district No. 4; Wil- liam Thompson, district No. 5; Jacob Hannan, district No. 6; Charles Adams, district No. 7; John Mead, district No. 8; Bela Chase, district No. 9; Benjamin E. Calkins, district No. 10; Robert R. Thompson, district No. 11.
" Voted, That overseers of highways be also fence-viewers in their respective districts."
The principal offices in the township government, from 1834 to 1877, have been held by the following-named persons :
Supervisors .- Thomas Sellman, Titus Zerkes, Levi Wilson, Jacob Hannan (two years), Moses Bartow, Charles Coggeshall (two years), Eleazur E. Calkins (two years), Parley W. C. Gates, Cyrus Wells, P. W. C. Gates (two years), Charles Coggeshall, Ralph Quick, Nehemiah P. Smith, Ralph Quick, William Hannan (three years), Joseph Blackwood (two years), Walter Bowers (two years), James B. Bradley (two years), George Vowles (two years), Lewis Hungerford, Ralph Quick (two years), James B. Bradley (two years), Ralph Quick (three years), William Hannan, James M. Sprague, David Gage, James B. Bradley, David Gage, George Vowles, William M. Ellis (present incumbent).
Clerks .- Levi Wilson, Jacob Hannan (two years), Ira Davis, Eleazur E. Cal- kins, Jacob Hannan, Nehemiah P. Smith (two years), Jacob Sexton (two years), Cyrus Wells, Rewbell Sherman (four years), James B. Bradley, De Witt C. Olds, Rewbell Sherman, De W. C. Olds, Rewbell Sherman, D. W. C. Olds, John N. Clark, Rewbell Sherman, David Dunlap (four years), Ralph Quick (three years), Roswell Barnes (five years), Edward D. Howell (two years), Charles Ellis, David Dunlap, Sylvester Calkins (two years), Alexander Duncan, Dwight Dunlap (two years), present incumbent.
Justices of the Peace .- Parley W. C. Gates, E. E. Calkins, E. S. Hooker, and William Dutcher (elected in 1836). Alfred A. Dwight, Robert R. Thompson, James S. Rodger, E. E. Calkins, P. W. C. Gates, David Gage, Albert Smith (vacancy), Jonathan Shores, Moody R. Fletcher (vacancy), E. E. Calkins, P. W. C. Gates, David Gage, Jonathan Shores, E. E. Calkins, Henry H. Huntington, Nehemiah P. Smith, Philip Marlatt, James B. Bradley, Henry H. Huntington, William Palmer, Mark N. Spellar (vacancy), David Gage, John B. Bradley, George
EBEN WHIPPLE
MRS.D. WHIPPLE
RESIDENCE OF EBEN WHIPPLE, LYON TP. OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
GILBERT DEL.
George W Button,
Rulett
RESIDENCE OF GEO. W . BUTTON, LYON TP, OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
217
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
W. Button, Nehemiah P. Smith, Michael C. Hughston, Morgan B. Hungerford, George W. Button, Nehemiah P. Smith, Michael C. Hughston, Nehemiah P. Smith, Walter Fitzgerald, Philip Marlatt (vacancy), George W. Button, William Duncan, Samuel Donaldson, David Gage, Philip Marlatt (vacancy), William Dun- can, David Gage (vacancy), George Vowles, James D. Covert, David Gage, Syl- vester Calkins, Edward D. Howell, Lucian D. Lovewell (vacancy), Henry Smith, E. I. Arms (vacancy), Horace B. Johns, George W. Button, Griffith Carpenter, Edward D. Howell, David Gage (vacancy), Edwin M. Sellman.
KENSINGTON.
Kensington, or " Kent," as it was familiarly called, was settled at an early day (about 1832), and developed into a place of no inconsiderable importance. It was ahead of New Hudson, and vied successfully with Milford for half a decade or more, when it began to decline, and gradually disappeared as a village. Its site is now mostly occupied with fields, and the waving corn or golden grain now grows where once was the scene of business activity. Here was established, in 1838, the famous, or more properly speaking, the infamous Kensington bank, which, during the exciting speculative tendency of that time, lured many to financial shipwreck, who, had their inclinations been honest, might have secured to them- selves a competence and the esteem of their fellow-citizens. Of this institution more hereafter.
Among the early settlers of Kensington were Joel Redway, Alfred A. Dwight, Dr. Thomas Curtis, N. F. Butterfield, Caleb Carr, Joseph Elder, and others.
The first step towards the establishment of a village here was the erection of a saw-mill by Joel Redway, who purchased the water-power of one Pettibone, who was a government surveyor, and had selected several eligible spots in the vicinity. The mill was completed in 1834. The water-power was furnished by the Huron river, upon both sides of which Kensington is located. The first house was erected by Joel Redway. It was a plain log structure, and was built the same year as the mill.
Dr. Thomas Curtis erected the first tavern, on the present site of the dwelling of Edward Hurley.
The first store was kept by Alfred A. Dwight, and was the building which now constitutes the main part of George Fisher's hotel. He brought in a large stock of general goods. Following him in the mercantile business have been Chauncey L. and Robert Crouse, in 1838; N. F. Butterfield, from 1840 to 1852; George W. Button, 1846; John Dally and his widow to about 1860, since when there has been no store.
In reverting to the mercantile history of Kensington, it may here be remarked that the eastern wholesale merchants were bamboozled so much there, that it became a by-word among several of them whenever a loss occurred that " the goods had gone to Kent."
Mr. Redway subsequently sold his interest in the village site to Alfred A. Dwight and Enoch Jones (the latter of Detroit), by the former of whom it was platted in 1836.
THE KENSINGTON BANK.
The era of extravagant speculation in Michigan was inaugurated in 1835, and lasted until about 1840. During this period an inflated and frequently worth- less currency was issued by "wild-cat banks," and was in general circulation. Of this class was the Kensington bank. The original organizers of this institution were Alfred A. Dwight and his sister, B. P. and Frederick Hutchinson, Enoch Jones, Sherman D. Dix, and a man by the name of Fisk (probably a near rela- tive of the immortal James). These parties established themselves into a banking company, and according to the State law then in existence,-which was to the effect that twelve freeholders issuing a fund for one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars would be empowered to start a bank with a capital of fifty thou- sand dollars,-went around and induced several of the moneyed men of the place to sign with them, and also to take stock in the concern. Those who signed (other than the originators above mentioned) were Neil F. Butterfield, Joel Redway, Chauncey L. Crouse, Joseph Wood, and Kingsley S. Bingham, afterwards governor of the State.
The next step in this brilliant enterprise was to send a delegation to Detroit to borrow a certificate of deposit from the Farmers' and Mechanics' bank of that place, representing that the Kensington banking corporation of Kensington, Oakland County, Michigan, had deposited in that concern fifty thousand dollars. When the bank inspector came around the management produced this certificate, and were by him authorized to commence business. And they did it. They sent east and got a supply of bank-note paper, and went to work signing the notes with a charming alacrity. What nice crisp notes they were, too! The circulation didn't meet their expectation, so Messrs. Sherman D. Dix and Alfred A. Dwight took several thousand of them, without the knowledge or consent of the directors, and
went on a tour of speculation. They landed in Milwaukee, and went to buying everything, from a farm or village lot to a pinchbeck time-piece or a suckling calf.
During their absence the legislature passed an act making it incumbent on banking corporations to give real-estate security. Presently the bank commis- sioner came to Kensington, and lo ! of all the stockholders there were but two who owned real estate; those of the others who did had taken the precaution to transfer it. These two, Messrs. Crouse and Butterfield, began to feel queer. The commissioner insisted on their recalling their issue and winding up the concern. They put their heads together (of which two are said to be better than one, even if they be those of an innocent quadruped), and concluded to insert the following advertisement in the Detroit and Pontiac papers :
" Absconded with fifty thousand dollars of the notes of the Kensington bank, two persons of the following description (here follows a pen portrait). Two hun- dred dollars reward will be given for their return, or for such information as will lead to their arrest," etc. Soon after, the worthies were arrested by the sheriff of Milwaukee and returned. The money was afterwards mostly recovered. In less than a year from its establishment in 1839 Kingsley S. Brigham was appointed receiver, and the Bank of Kensington soon followed the numerous other similar ventures of those days. In the interval, however, a red brick building was erected by Dwight, and was intended to be used as the bank. It has since done service as a house of worship for the Wesleyan Methodists, and who knows but that the subsequent sanctity of the place has obliterated its original iniquity ?
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.