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 63
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
every season be seen on the Marlatt place, and the family always neatly clad in the neat and durable home-spun clothing, made by the deft and ingenious fingers of the mother. She was a lady whom to know was to esteem, and whose memory is fondly cherished by her children, and kindly by her numerous friends.
JAY MARLATT,
the only son of the above worthy couple, was born as stated in the preceding family record. He was brought up on the farm, and there early taught those lessons of industry and self-reliance that have been among the prime character- istics of his subsequent success. He lives on the old homestead, and there dispenses that generous hospitality for which the name of Marlatt has for years been distinguished. He enjoys a prominent place in the respect of the commu- nity in which he resides. Everybody knows the genial, open-hearted Jay Marlatt, and to know is to esteem him. One can always hear Jay, when he is around ; for he loves to talk, and to crack a joke, or indulge in a humorous hit. There is a good complement of humor in Jay, of the free and easy kind,- none of your satirical or cynical sort, but jovial and generous.
Jay always votes the Republican ticket; and though he regularly reads the family Bible, he never joined any of the churches, but prefers to do his own religious as well as secular thinking. On the whole, we do not believe that any amount of religion could improve him.
Mrs. Marlatt, formerly Sarah A. Smith, daughter of Seth Smith, Esq., an old and respected settler and citizen of Novi township, was born July 11, 1836. She is a lady eminently qualified to preside over Jay's household; and she dispenses its hospitalities with a lavish hand. She is kind and genial in disposi- tion; and having known her husband long, evinced rare good judgment in select- ing him, and rescuing him from the horrors of bachelorhood. An illustration of the homestead, and portraits of Philip Marlatt and of Jay and his wife, can be seen elsewhere in this work.
GEORGE W. BUTTON, ESQ.
Among the prominent self-made men of this county the subject of this brief sketch holds a prominent position. Coming here as he did forty years ago, with- out money or influence (except that possessed by every honest man), he went to work with a will, his capital consisting of his health, his industry, and his am- bition. His subsequent success has been the fruits of personal labor and an un- swerving integrity.
George W., son of John and Cynthia (Clark) Button, was born in North Haven, Connecticut, October 27, 1817. At an early age he removed with his parents to Crawford county, Pennsylvania. In 1835 he made a brief visit to Michigan, but did not permanently settle here until two years later. He then located in Farmington township, and there went to work in the busy season, and attended school during the winter months. Subsequently he taught school for eight winters, the rest of the time working on the farm. In 1846 he embarked in the mercantile business at Kensington, in which he continued but one sum- mer. In the winter of 1846-47 he taught school at New Hudson.
On the 17th of March, 1847, he married Juliet, daughter of Hiram Covey, an old and respected citizen of Lyon township, of whom we shall write more exten- sively presently. After the honeymoon the young couple removed on to a farm of one hundred acres he had purchased in West Bloomfield township, and com- menced the arduous work of improving the same. In 1854 he sold the farm, re- turned to New Hudson, and went to keeping store, at which he continued for about seven years. He finally, in 1861, sold his stock of goods, rented the store, and bought the Captain Coggeshall farm, which is pleasantly located on the Grand river road, about half a mile east of New Hudson, where he proposes to quietly spend the remainder of his life, which, in all probability, will be a long and happy one. The farm consists of three hundred acres of fertile and productive land and good out-buildings. Mr. Button presently intends to erect a new dwell- ing-house, and will then be comfortably and pleasantly located.
Mr. and Mrs. Button have had a family of six children, of whom but three sur- vive, namely :
Sarah Alwilda, born February 27, 1848.
Orpha M., born June 4, 1851.
Francis M., born December 2, 1860; married George Woodman, of Wixom, and resides at that place with her husband.
Mr. Button has frequently been selected by the people of his township to fill various offices of trust, notably those of justice of the peace-which he held for about eighteen years-and that of school director for over twenty-five years. In politics he is Republican, having belonged to that party ever since its formation ; previously he was a Whig. In religion he is a Universalist, being one of the original members of the Universalist church of Lyon, at New Hudson, and for many years one of the officers of that body.
Mr. Button is a gentleman very extensively known and much respected. He is genial in disposition, and hospitable to a fault. His wife is a lady well suited, by her excellent household qualifications, to dispense the hospitalities of their home. An illustration of the premises, and portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Button, can be seen elsewhere.
EBEN WHIPPLE,
son of Israel and Patience Whipple, was born' at Farmington, Ontario county, New York, August 10, 1817. He removed to Michigan with his parents in December, 1831. His father and mother resided on the homestead during the remainder of their lives, after their settlement thereon, the latter dying in 1861, and the former May 5, 1872. They experienced the usual hardships encountered by the pioneers in all new countries, and bore them with a fortitude that always insures success.
On the 26th of March, 1863, Eben Whipple was married to Dighton Lock- wood, who was born in Ontario county, New York, February 16, 1841.
Mr. Whipple has a farm of two hundred and forty acres, of which one hun- dred and sixty are under excellent cultivation, and the balance in heavy timber. His buildings are among the finest and most substantial in the county, while his location cannot be surpassed. His residence is situated on an eminence, and commands a view of the surrounding country for miles. His barn is an object of notice to every passer-by, and while its external appearance is worthy of remark, the interior is simply immense. It eclipses anything of the kind in the county, beyond the shadow of a doubt. In fine, the Whipple homestead, in all its depart- ments, exhibits the rare practicability and good sense of its owner. Another valuable peculiarity of the place is the existence of iron ore in large quantities on the farm. It is quite probable that the owner will one day develop this mineral deposit.
In politics Mr. Whipple is Republican ; in religion he is liberal, never having affiliated with any sectarian body. He is a man of sound judgment, a capital practical farmer, and a good citizen in every sense of the term. A residence of over forty-five years in one place brings out the characteristics of a man, and after undergoing the criticisms of the people, if the result is favorable, then one can depend upon the general worth of the man. Such criteria are applicable to Eben Whipple.
We invite the attention of our readers to the illustration of the premises of Mr. Whipple, and to the portraits of himself and wife, to be found in another part of this work.
HON. GEORGE VOWLES.
George Vowles was born at Westbury, Somersetshire, England, November 10, 1818. His parents, Henry and Honora Vowles, left England for America in June, 1829, landing in New York in August of the same year. From that city they proceeded to Onondaga county, where they continued their residence until 1835. In that year Mr. Vowles moved west, and came by team through the Canadas, arriving at Detroit September 15, 1835. He pursued his journey. via Pontiac to Independence, Oakland County, this State, where he remained until 1840. He settled in Lyon township in June of that year, where he has since resided.
On the 17th of December, 1840, he married Sarah, daughter of Jonas Bowers, Esq., one of the pioneers of Lyon township, by whom he had three children, namely :
Henry C., born December 1, 1841.
Mary A., born February 27, 1844.
James, born July, 1847.
Sarah (Bowers) Vowles was born in Seneca, Ontario county, New York, April 7, 1823 ; died in Lyon township, August 4, 1847.
Mr. Vowles married a second time, to Julia A. Bowers, a sister of his first wife, November 21, 1847. She was born in Seneca, Ontario county, New York, November 22, 1830. This union has been blessed with five children, as follows :
William C., born May 22, 1849.
Frank J., born July 9, 1853.
Emma, born September 1, 1857.
Julia, born June 3, 1860.
Jennie M., born June 10, 1870.
Mr. Vowles is a Republican in politics, and has frequently been chosen by his party to represent it in various offices. He was elected supervisor of his township three terms, and justice of the peace one term. In 1868 he was a member of the State legislature, and was re-elected for the term of 1869. As such he was a faithful representative of the people, giving general satisfaction to every one re- gardless of political preferences, and always endeavored to promote the best inter- ests of his constituents by a sensible and honest use of his vote and influence. In
LEONARD PHILLIPS.
MRS. LEONARD PHILLIPS.
RESIDENCE OF LEONARD PHILLIPS, MILFORD TP, OAKLAND CO., MICH.
4
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
221
religion he is a member of the Universalist church of Lyon, at New Hudson, being one of the originators of that body.
On the 4th of April, 1850, he left New Hudson for California, in company with his brother Levi, Walter Bowers, his brother-in-law, and Lewis Clark. They arrived at Placerville on the 4th of August, four months after starting. They worked in the mines at that place, at Bidwell's bar, and other localities, remain- ing in the State until the 12th of August, 1852. While there his brother was killed by a stab from a desperado, surviving only twelve hours after the assault. His murderer was hung the next day, having been tried by a jury of twelve men, who brought him in guilty, and his honor Judge Lynch passed the death- sentence.
On his way home, Mr. Vowles was taken with the cholera, on board the boat, between New York and Philadelphia, and his life was saved through the careful nursing and close attention of a colored girl, who administered the proper reme- dies, and, at the peril of her own life, brought him through safely. During his trip he accumulated about four thousand dollars, which was on the whole the hardest-earned money he ever received.
Mr. Vowles is now quite well-to-do, having a fine farm, and good, comfortable buildings, an illustration of which, together with portraits of himself and wife, can be seen on another page in this work.
ELEAZUR E. CALKINS.
Eleazur Ellis Calkins, Esq., was born in Herkimer, New York, September 10, 1796. Subsequently he removed to Perrinton, Monroe county, New York, and was married to Anna Blood, of Victor, Ontario county, New York, January 11, 1819. In October, 1832, he emigrated to Michigan, and settled in the town of Lyon, Oakland County. In 1833 he was appointed justice of the peace by Gov- ernor Stevens T. Mason, and at the organization of the township was successively elected to the same office for four terms.
He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in the State of New York, and in his new home in Michigan, his house was the welcome home of the itinerant preacher, and in it the first Methodist Episcopal society of Lyon was
organized in 1833. He was appointed leader of the society at its organization, which office he held almost continuously, also that of trustee, to the time of his death, December 26, 1866.
REV. S. CALKINS.
Rev. Sylvester Calkins, eldest son of E. E. Calkins, Esq., was born in Perrin- ton, Monroe county, New York, October 16, 1819. Emigrated with his parents to Lyon, Oakland County, Michigan, in 1832. United with the Methodist Epis- copal church in South Lyon in 1844. He was the same year elected Sunday- school superintendent, which office he held until-in 1847-he was licensed to exhort, and was employed by the presiding elder to travel on the Farmington cir- cuit. In 1848 he was licensed to preach, and employed as supply on the Ingham circuit. In 1849 he was received into the Michigan conference, and appointed to Milford circuit. This year he was married to Harriet A. Arms, daughter of Israel Arms, Esq., of Brighton. In 1850 he was appointed to Richmond circuit, Macomb county. In 1851 and 1852 he was appointed to Lapeer, in 1853 to Clarkston, in 1854 and 1855 to Flushing, in 1856 to Plymouth, in 1857 to Howell. . In 1858 he was appointed presiding elder of Romeo district, which office he held until 1861. In 1861 and 1862 he was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church at Romeo, and in 1863 and 1864 was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church in the city of Pontiac.
His health failing, he sought comparative retirement by an appointment to the church at South Lyon, the home of his youthful days. This church he served as pastor in 1865, 1866, and 1867, at which time he was granted a superannuated relation, but continued to preach as his health would permit or circumstances seemed to require. In 1869 he was elected justice of the peace, and in 1872 and 1873 he was elected township clerk. In 1872 he was appointed postmaster at South Lyon, which office he now holds.
The occupation of his choice, and in which he finds great delight,-next to that of the ministry,-is horticulture and floriculture, and in these his wife is even more enthusiastic than he, as their fruit-garden and green-house amply testify.
MILFORD TOWNSHIP.
THE congressional township of Milford, designated in the United States survey as township 2 north, range 7 east, was detached from Novi, December 30, 1834, and organized as a separate township by the Territorial legislature at the time above specified.
In giving the topography of the township, it will be sufficient to say that the principal stream in it is the Huron river, which enters the township near the centre of section 13, being the outlet of a series of lakes in the adjoining township of Commerce, on the east. Soon after entering the township it receives as one of its tributaries Norton creek, from the south, in said section 13. Within the corporate limits of the village it receives another very important tributary,-Pettibone creek, -coming in from the north, which is the outlet of the Pettibone lakes, in this and the adjoining township of Highland. Both the Huron and Pettibone afford val- uable water-powers, which are only in part utilized, leaving many yet for the hand of enterprise to develop. The Huron runs, at its entrance into the township, in a northwesterly direction, thence at the village westerly and south and south- westerly, and enters a lake, known as the Kensington lake, on section 31. Below the village it receives three other small tributaries, one in section 9, one in section 16, and another in section 32. The surface of the township is decidedly rolling, and may almost be termed hilly in some parts. It has a very productive soil, made so materially by an intelligent and thorough culture, and the application of clover and plaster, changing the virgin soil from a deep golden hue to the darker one now presented. It used to be claimed, when the first settlers came, that they could not grow any of the grasses, particularly clover ; but that state of things has long passed by. All the cereals for which Michigan is so noted are here successfully grown. The farmers now point with just pride to the products of the soil, the fruits of the orchards, their choice herds of cattle and sheep, their fine horses, and their yield of pork. The supply of pure water, obtained at small cost, on most of the farms is almost unlimited. The soil is mostly gravelly, with here and there some clay ; plenty of stone for all purposes of building. The timber is prin- cipally of oak and hickory, much of which is of second growth. The oak-crowned
hills surrounding the village of Milford, and down the valley of the Huron, form a landscape of wondrous beauty, and one well worthy the pencil of the artist.
Having thus briefly described the land within the limits of the township, let us now consider its
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first entry made for land was by Amos Mead for Levi Pettibone, Esq., in the year 1827. This was the west half of the northwest quarter of section 10, and constitutes the site of that portion of the village of Milford lying north of the quarter-line and west of Main street, and originated the name of Pettibone creek and lakes.
One of the earliest pioneers in the township was Elizur Ruggles, who came in and purchased lands of the government in 1831, and located on the same with his brother Stanley in 1832. Henry, another brother, came in the following year. They took up all the land now comprised in the Ruggles farm and village plat known as " Armstrong's addition," lying east of Main street. Only two white settlers resided in the township at this time, one by the name of Ayres, who occu- pied the Captain Abel Peck farm, in the south part of the township, and the other, named Allport, lived in a log house between the Fuller house and the river, on that forty acres of the Fuller farm next to the farm known as the Hoagland place, now owned and occupied by Mr. Whiting, on section 9.
Henry Ruggles, mentioned in the above connection, was accidentally killed at the house-raising of Pearson, on the farm now owned by Charles Inamells, in 1837.
The Ruggles erected the first saw-mill in the township in 1832, of which more hereafter. Elizur Ruggles was a bachelor, and his brother Stanley was a widower, when they moved into the township, and they boarded with a family named Parks, who came into the country with them. The house in which they lived was the first house in the township. It was built of logs, on the brow of the hill, east of Dr. Brown's residence, on the site (or very near it) of his tenant house.
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Captain Abel Peck came in the year 1831, and located on section 35, on the farm now occupied by his daughter, the widow of Lyman Bennett.
John Hayes settled on section 36 the same year, on the place now owned by Frank Heath. He was accompanied by two brothers; but none of the family now reside in the township.
John Vincent came from Richmond, Ontario county, New York, in November, 1832. and took up the east half of the southeast quarter of section 15, upon which he lived until his death, in April, 1877. His son now occupies the old homestead.
Job (. Bigelow arrived in July, 1832, and bought of the government the north half of southwest quarter of section 33. He broke up and sowed to wheat forty acres. and put up the body of a log house, putting down a temporary floor. In October of the same year he moved his family into it, without doors or win- dows or even a roof. But he soon finished it, and as there was no school-house, or even school district, in the entire township at that time, and there being a few families in the vicinity desiring school-privileges, Mrs. Bigelow opened a school in their own house, where she taught the children of the surrounding country for two years. It is believed that this was one of the first schools ever taught in the town, probably the very first one. One rather amusing incident connected with this first pioneer enterprise may be mentioned : Mr. Bigelow, during the fall, had hired a young man by the name of Richard Wilson. One afternoon, with two nephews of Mr. Bigelow's, who were there on a visit, it was determined to have a hunting expedition by way of recreation. Returning quite late in the evening, after par- taking supper they retired for the night, with the exception of Wilson, who sat down upon the floor with his feet down into the hole intended for the hearth. With his head resting upon his hands and his elbows upon his knees, he was soon fast asleep. In the night, as the fire got low. being somewhat cold, one of the boys got up and threw upon the fire a basket of chips, on which one of them, on coming in from their hunt, had thoughtlessly thrown his powder-horn. Again retiring to rest, he was soon in the land of tired hunters, from which he and all the inmates of the house were suddenly summoned by a loud explosion. It seems that as soon as the fire reached the powder the above result followed, scattering the chips and fire all over the house, throwing poor Dick nearly to the back part of the room. Fortunately, no one was injured. but all were badly frightened.
Deacon Harvey Steele came in 1832, and settled on section 35, on the farm now owned by Henry Nicholson.
Isaiah J. Hudson settled on sections 20 and 21 in 1832.
About the middle of November, 1832, Mr. Potts and his father arrived from England. having left the docks at London October 11 of that year, being five weeks on the voyage. William Potts entered the employ of Amos Mead. He still resides in the township, being its oldest pioneer.
John L. Clark came into Milford township in 1833, and settled on the south- east quarter of section 28, on the farm afterwards occupied by A. Gillett.
Robert Crawford, together with his family, came here in 1833. This country was then a wild and howling wilderness. He purchased the farm now occupied by William D. Crawford, his son, on the 14th day of November of that year, of Griffith Johns and Calvin Lincoln,-two hundred and forty acres for five hundred and fifty dollars. The former owners just named had made some improvements and built two log houses, but being sick with the fever and ague and some home- sick, they were glad to avail themselves of a purchaser and go back to the State of New York. In the spring of 1834, Alanson Crawford, the eldest son of the purchaser, came here and made additional improvements, it then being called Novi. In May, 1835, Mr. Crawford and his family started on their journey of removal here from Ontario county, New York, with two double teams and one single one, bringing with them six young horses. They came through Canada, arriving about the last of June. They undertook to come out from Detroit by way of the Grand River road. It was not worked much, and a part of the time they were obliged to turn aside in the woods where the mud and water were hub deep. But they finally reached the "Sand hill," leaving one of their wagons stuck fast in the mud; returning the next morning, they hauled it out with an- other team. William D. Crawford was with the family when they came in. He narrates his first journey to Milford village in this way : having to pasture their horses in the woods, not having much land fenced, the horses strayed. Going in quest of them in a northwest direction, he came to the Huron river; having fol- lowed a sort of trail he came where the village now stands. He found here a log house and blacksmith-shop (Foreman's). He there inquired for Mr. Vincent's, when, taking a back track by way of Mr. V.'s house, he made home at last. Mr. Robert Crawford died in February, 1839. His remains, first interred in the old cemetery, now rest beside those of his wife, whose death occurred about six years ago, waiting the morn of the resurrection.
James Mendham came from England in 1833, and settled on section 12 in Mil- ford and on section 7 in Commerce townships, on the farm now occupied by his son, John J. Mendham.
. ..
George Tuck came in 1837, and subsequently settled on the farm now owned by John Simons.
David Pickett arrived in .1835, and settled on the farm formerly owned by Orin Goodell, on section 24.
The settlement of the township between 1836 and 1840 was rapid, a large influx of immigration pouring in, so that it is impossible to mention the names of all.
As illustrating the privations and hardships encountered by the pioneers in their travels to their adopted homes in the west, we quote the subjoined account, fur- nished by the person whose experiences are therein narrated to Mr. Henderson Crawford, and published by him in his able articles in the " Early History of Mil- ford and Vicinity." This is a fair sample of a journey to the west in early times, and its insertion here dispenses with the requirement of a similar rencontre in the history of others, and which would necessitate a tiresome repetition :
/ " We have lately received from the hands of our venerable friend, Frederick W. Goodenow, now nearly seventy-nine years of age, the following statement of his early experience : he came to Michigan in 1826, from the township of Mexico, in Oswego county, State of New York, being about twenty-five miles from the city of Syracuse. Located on lands four miles northwest from Ann Arbor in the month of April, in that year, then returned east and removed with his family, consisting of wife, mother, and two children, in June following, shipping on a canal- boat, on the 'raging canal,' for Buffalo. Traveling by this mode of conveyance was very tedious and irksome. At Buffalo they embarked on a steamer called the 'Enterprise;' but she proved a poor enterprise for them, as her accommodations were wretched in the extreme. Little better awaited them in Detroit, where they were obliged to take their lodgings on the floor at Uncle Ben Woodruff's Steam- boat hotel, then the best in the city. He then hired John Hamilton, father of the Hamiltons at Flint, for forty dollars, to take him and his family through to Ann Arbor, their journey occupying four days. It rained most of the entire time on the road, being one of the very worst times he could possibly have chosen,- in June; even the winter season would have been preferable. The water being very poor,-surface water,-consequently they were soon all sick with the different fevers incident to a new country, and could not get in any crops. Leaving word at Ann Arbor that they wanted help, it would come, and seeing the situation of the family, would take leave suddenly Finally their neighbors came and cut marsh-grass enough to winter their stock and stacked it, without any compensa- tion, as they would receive nothing for their services. So if any one wants to find neighbors good, kind, and true, let them seek them in a new country, if any- where on earth. Procuring all the boards he could at Ann Arbor, only three hundred feet of poor oak, they formed their only shelter for twelve days, eleven of which it rained the most of the time. They lost a great many bedclothes by the wet weather. They then moved into their new log house, procuring basswood- bark for floors. The next morning after their first night there they were greeted by the arrival of a visitor,-a tall black bear was seen coming to their new place of abode. Mr. Goodenow fearing his visitor might be a little deaf, gave him a loud good-morning, whereat Bruin suddenly turned tail and, leaving, was soon out of sight. There were no white neighbors within two miles, but the Indians were very plenty, almost too much so when drunk. They used to buy fresh meats and buckskins of the Indians, paying them in flour. In the following autumn Mrs. Goodenow went to Cleveland, Ohio, where she remained with her sister until the following spring, when she returned to her husband and family, with improved health and spirits, whereat they all rejoiced, as with returning health homesick- ness fled. Wild animals were very plenty ; the howling of the wolves was heard every night.
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