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 7
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1847. Almon Mack, Solomon W. Denton, Zebina M. Mowry, Isaac I. Voorheis, Francis . Baker, Ezra P. Baldwin.
1848. Nathan C. Parkhurst, David A. Wright, Friend Belding, Seeley Harger, Robert W. Davis, Major F. Lockwood. 1849. Wm. Axford, Peter Dox, Wm. T. Snow, Jacob Price, Delabar Burroughs, Marshall M. Welles.
1850. James Patterson, Sardis Hubbell, Paschal D. Warner, Melancthon W. Hicks, Hiram Voorheis, Lewis M. Covert.
In 1852 the county was subdivided into districts, numbered from 1 to 5, and each district elected one representative biennially :
First district, Henry Miller. Second district, Nathan C. Parkhurst. Third district, Wm. R. Marsh.
First district, Byron G. Stout. Second district, Samuel Chamberlin. Third district, Asa Reynolds.
First district, Byron G. Stout. Second district, Levi Bacon, Jr. Third district, James B. Simonson.
First district, Uriah Beebe. Second district, Charles K. Carpenter. Third district, Philip S. Frisbee.
First district, Lysander Woodward. Second district, Sloane Cooley. Third district, John Hadley, Jr.
1852.
Fourth district, Eli H. Bristow. Fifth district, Orrin Poppleton.
1854.
Fourth district, Morgan L. Smith. Fifth district, Nathan Power.
1856.
Fourth district, William Yerkes. Fifth district, Wm. H. Haze.
1858. Fourth district, Benjamin Brown. Fifth district, Henry S. Buel.
1860.
Fourth district, Henry K. Foote. Fifth district, George Blakeslee.
.
22
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
First district, John N. Donaldson. Second district, Francis W. Fifield. Third district, Ahasuerus W. Buell.
First district, Benjamin F. McDonald. Second district, Henry M. Look. Third district, Squire W. Rowe.
First district, Jeremiah C. Wilson. Second district, Horatio Wright.
Third district, Paschal D. Warner. Fourth district, Erastus Spaulding.
1868.
Third district, George Vowles. Fourth district, Darwin O. White.
1870.
Third district, John L. Andrews. Fourth district, Darwin O. White.
1872.+
Third district, Elisha Zimmerman.
1874.
Third district, John D. Norton.
1876.
Third district, John D. Norton.
Second district, M. D. Elliott.
1
COUNTY OFFICERS SINCE ORGANIZATION, 1820.
COUNTY CLERK.
1820-1827. Sidney Dole.t
1827-1835. Elias Comstock.
1835-1837. H. N. Howard.
1 1863-1864. Philip M. Parker.
1837-1838. Charles Draper.
1
1867-1870. John Fitzpatrick.
1843-1848. Joseph R. Bowman.
1871-1872. Alexander G. Comstock.
1849-1852.
John T. Raynor.
1873-1874.
John Fitzpatrick.
1853-1854. Alfred Treadway.
: 1875-1876.
Theodore W. Lockwood.
1855-1858. Edward W. Peck.
1
1877-1878.
Daniel L. Davis.
REGISTER OF DEEDS.
1820-1827. Sidney Dole.
1853-1856. Robert W. Davis.
1828-1832. Thomas J. Drake.
1857-1858.
Joel P. Toms.
1832-1834.
Walter Sprague.
1859-1860. Charles A. Howard.
1835-1837. Francis Darrow.
1861-1868.
Daniel A. Button.
1837-1839. Morgan L. Drake.
1869-1870.
Robert W. Davis.
1839-1842. Ransom R. Belding.
1871-1872. Thaddeus A. Smith.
1843-1846.
Thomas J. Hunt.
i
1875-1876.
Thaddeus A. Smith.
1851-1852. T. A. Flower.
1877. James H. Harger.
The first deed recorded in the office of the register of deeds was from Joseph Almy and wife Abigail to John Rossiter, November 7, 1821. "The south part of the northeast quarter section 24, Bloomfield, eighty dollars."
COUNTY TREASURER .¿
1825-1829. William Thompson.
1857-1860. Harry C. Andrews.
1829-1835. Samuel Satterlee.
1861-1862. Erasmus E. Sherwood.
1836-1837. James A. Weeks.
1863-1864. Robert Yerkes.
1838-1839. John P. Le Roy. 1865-1866. Charles C. Waldo.
1840-1842. Horace C. Thurber.
1867-1870. Lysander Woodward.
1843-1844. Bernard C. Whittemore.
1871-1872. Hiram Voorheis.
1845-1848. William S. Henderson.
1873-1876. Albert B. Simpson.
1849-1850. Jacob Hendrickson.
1877.
Alanson Partridge.
COUNTY SURVEYOR.
Previous to the organization of the county the government surveyors had run it into townships. The prominent ones who worked in the county were Colonel Wampler and Horatio Ball, who probably subdivided quite a number of townships. Colonel Wampler had surveyed as early as 1816. Mr. Ball surveyed the road from Detroit to Pontiac, and was the man who marked the " Royal Oak" with the letter " H."
Major John Anderson surveyed and platted the original town of Pontiac, but there is no evidence that he performed any other work in the county. Dr. Wil- liam Thompson, who was also the first physician and judge of the first court held
# Districts reduced to four.
t Districts reduced to three.
Sidney Dole was the first county clerk, register of probate, and clerk of the board of county commissioners, and one of the first justices of the peace. He was also a member of the legis- lative council of the Territory in 1826-27. Mr. Dole was a cautious and conscientious officer,
and enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people. He died at Pontiac, July 20, 1828.
¿ This office was made elective in October, 1825.
in the county, occasionally did surveying for individuals until a regular county surveyor was appointed. John Mullett was the first district surveyor, and ap- pointed Captain Hervey Parke his deputy, in 1822. Captain Parke had done some surveying in 1821, and during the years between 1821 and 1829 he did a very large amount. The surveying was under the charge of district surveyors until 1833, when a county surveyor was elected by the people. Calvin C. Parks held the office for about two years, 1833-34, and Captain Hervey Parke was elected about 1835; John Southard succeeded him in 1837-38, and Captain Parke was again elected, and served in 1839-40, and John Southard again in 1841-42. Since 1842 the surveyors regularly elected have been as follows :
1843. Hiram Barritt.
1861. Hervey Parke.
1863. Sloane Cooley.
1847. Algernon Merryweather.| 1865. Elias C. Martin.
1849. Sloane Cooley. 1867. Reuben Russell.
1851. John Southard. 1869. Horatio Merryweather.
1853. Carlos Harmon.
1871. Sloane Cooley.
1855. Henry Nicholson.
1873. Horatio Merryweather.
1857. Hervey Parke.
1875. Julian Bishop.
1859. Reuben Russell.
1877. Julian Bishop .! |
SHERIFF.
The sheriff was at first appointed by the governor of the Territory, from 1820 to 1836, in the fall of which latter year, at the general election, the office was filled by the vote of the people. Under the Territorial laws the sheriff appointed an under-sheriff, who was his principal deputy, and, in case of the death or removal of the sheriff, succeeded to the office.
The following is a list of those who have filled the position since the organiza- tion of the county :
1820-1827. William Morris.
1832-1836. Orison Allen.
1837-1840. Caleb Bucknam.
Some time during the winter of 1839-40 acting Governor William Woodbridge removed Mr. Bucknam and ordered a special election in April, at which he was again elected by the people, and held the office during the balance of the term.
1841-1844. Warren Hunt.T
1865-1868. Samuel E. Beach. T
1845-1848. Edward Martin.T
1869-1870. William Satterlee.
1849-1852. Moses G. Spear. T 1871-1872. Edwin S. Harger.
1853-1856. Arthur Davis.
1873-1874. Ahijah J. Wixom.
1857-1860. Clark Beardsley.
1875-1876. Edwin S. Harger.
1861-1864. Austin N. Kimmis. T
1877. Lovett W. Stanton.
The principal under-sheriffs and deputies in the early days were Ziba Swan, Schuyler Hodges, Orison Allen, Almon Mack, and Warren and Thomas J. Hunt.
CORONER.
The office of coroner was filled by appointment until October, 1825, when it became elective. The names in connection with this office which appear in the records are as follows :
1829. S. V. R. Trowbridge, Joseph Mor- rison.
1832. S. V. R. Trowbridge.
1835. Pierce Patrick.
1836. Leonard Weed, Orange Foote.
1838. William Terry, Nathan Herrick.
1840. Nathaniel A. Baldwin, Benjamin Marcer.
1842. Daniel V. Bissell, John Vincent.
1844. Jonathan T. Allen, to fill vacancy.
1846. Jonathan T. Allen, re-elected, Jacob Loop.
1848. Bela Coggeshall, Wm. R. Marsh.
1850. Elias S. Woodman, Bela Coggeshall.
1852.
Archibald Waterbury, Everett Wen- dell.
1854. Ziba Swan, Harrison Smith.
1856. Charles V. Babcock, Benjamin V. Redfield.
1858. Francis B. Owen, Hosea B. Richard-
son.
1860. Hosea B. Richardson, Zuriel Curtis.
1862. Stephen Reeves, Corydon E. Fay. 1864. Orrin E. Bell, Abram Miller.
1866. Archibald HI. Green, Orange Culver.
1868. Curtis Babcock, John Campbell.
1870. David A. Wright, Carlo Glazier. 1872. Ira Goodrich, John Highfield.
1874. George P. Hungerford, George E.
Proper.
1876. George P. Hungerford, David A. Wright.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
This office was established by act of the legislature in 1866-67, and continued until 1875, when it was abolished, and a law enacted creating the office of town- ship school superintendent, giving Oakland County twenty-five, and each supreme within his jurisdiction. In April, 1867, Charles Hurd was elected, and served until September of the same year, when he resigned, and Philip M. Parker was appointed in his place, and filled the balance of his term of two years. In April, 1869, William Littell was elected, but did not qualify, and Mr. Parker was re- appointed in his place. In September, 1870, he resigned, and - Wilbur was appointed to fill his term. In April, 1871, Johnson A. Corbin was elected, and re-elected in April, 1873. The law was repealed in 1875, as before stated.
| Re-elected.
T Two terms.
1
Second district, Alanson J. Webster.
First district, Aaron Perry.
Second district, Alonzo S. Knapp.
First district, Allen Campbell. Second district, Peter Dow.
First district, Edwin G. Clark.
.
1862.
Fourth district, Seebring Voorheis. Fifth district, William H. Haze.
1864.
Fourth district, Abram Allen. Fifth district, Paschal D. Warner.
1866 .*
First district, Elliott R. Wilcox. Second district, Bela Coggeshall.
First district. Almon B. Frost.
-
1861-1862.
Zepheniah B. Knight. 1828. Schuyler Hodges.
1829-1831. Hervey Parke.
1865-1866. James D. Bateman.
1839-1843. Pierce Patrick.
1873-1874. Albert Richardson.
1847-1850.
E. H. Budington.
1851-1856. Samuel E. Beach.
1859-1860. Charles V. Babcock.
1845. Algernon Merryweather.
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
23
COUNTY DRAINAGE COMMISSIONERS.
A law establishing this office went into operation in 1869, commissioners to be elected biennially. The same year Almerin Whitehead and George Gray were elected, and in 1871, Clark Beardsley and Francis C. Tanner,-which closes the list, the office having been abolished, and officers are now elected in each township who discharge the same duties.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
Under the Territorial law three commissioners were appointed by the governor to transact the necessary county business, which law continued in force until 1825, when the office became elective, and continued until 1827, when it was abolished and the board of township supervisors established in its place. In 1839 the board of supervisors for the county was abolished, the supervisors continued as township officers, and a board of three county commissioners again established, which con- tinued until 1842, when it was once more displaced and succeeded by a board of supervisors, which has been continued to the present time.
The first board of county commissioners, appointed in 1820, consisted of the following gentlemen : Ziba Swan, Enoch Hotchkiss, and Jonathan Perrin. In 1825 they were first elected by the people, and the board consisted of Stephen Reeves, Wm. Burbank, and Arthur Power.
In 1839, when they again came into power, the board consisted of Isaac I. Voorheis, George Brownell, and Wm. M. Axford.
It would appear that Mr. Brownell resigned or died, as on the 6th of January, 1840, John W. Hunter was sworn in in his place. The last meeting of this board was held on the 9th of March, 1842 .*
CHAPTER VII.
ORGANIZATION OF OAKLAND COUNTY.
PROCLAMATIONS OF GOVERNOR CASS-AREA-SUBDIVISIONS-TAXATION- COUNTY OFFICERS UNDER TERRITORIAL LAWS-ORGANIZATION OF TOWN- SHIPS-SURVEYS-MILITARY LANDS-EXPLORATIONS-EARLY ROADS.
THE first official act relating to the county of Oakland, of which there is any record, is an executive proclamation by Hon. Lewis Cass, governor of the Terri- tory of Michigan, bearing date January 12, 1819, as follows :
" A PROCLAMATION.
" Whereas, a petition has been presented to me, signed by a number of the citi- zens of the said Territory, requesting that the boundaries of a new county, and the seat of justice thereof, may be established by an act of the executive, which shall not take effect until the arrival of a period when its population shall require such measure ;
" Now, therefore, believing that a compliance with the request will have a tend- ency to increase the population of such parts of the Territory as may be included within these boundaries, and prevent those difficulties which sometimes arise from the establishment of counties when settlements are formed, and conflicting opinions and interests are to be reconciled, I do, by virtue of these presents, and in con- formity with the provisions of the ordinance of Congress of July 13, 1787, lay out that part of the said Territory included within the said boundaries, viz., be- ginning at the southeast corner of township 1 north, range 11 east, north of the base line; thence north to the southeast corner of township 6, in said range; thence west to the Indian boundary line; thence south to the base line; thence east to the beginning, into a new county to be called the county of Oakland. And I hereby appoint John L. Leib, Charles Larned, Philip La Cuer, John Whipple, and Thomas Rowland, Esqs., commissioners for the purpose of examining the said county, and reporting to me the most eligible site for the seat of justice of said county. To take effect from and after the 31st of December, 1822, unless sooner determined by the governor. LEWIS CASS."
The following proclamation relating to the county was made by the governor on the 28th of March, 1820 :
" Whereas, the inhabitants residing within that part of the Territory included in the county of Oakland, as the same was laid off by an act of the governor of the Territory, bearing date the 12th day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, have requested that the said county should be organized ;
"Now, therefore, I do, by virtue of the provisions of the ordinance of Congress passed July 13, 1787, determine the limitations in the said act of the governor of this Territory, and I do hereby declare the tract of country included within the said boundaries to be the county of Oakland, and the inhabitants thereof hence- forth entitled to all rights and privileges to which by law the inhabitants of the other counties of this Territory are entitled.
" And I do, in conformity to the report of the commissioners appointed by the act aforesaid, establish the seat of justice of the said county at the town of Pontiac.f
"LEW. CASS."
ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
The first subdivision of Oakland County was made by the following proclama- tion of William Woodbridge, secretary and acting governor, June 28, 1820 :
" Whereas, it is deemed expedient, and for the more convenient execution of the laws within the county of Oakland, that the said county should be subdivided into two separate townships, and the county commissioners thereof having prayed that the said townships be created ;
" Now, therefore, I, the said William Woodbridge, in virtue of the powers in me by law vested, and in pursuance of the provisions of the ordinance of Congress of the thirteenth of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, do by these presents lay out and divide the said county of Oakland into two separate townships, in the manner following, that is to say : Of all that part of said county, lying north of a surveyed line, which, commencing at the eastern boundary of said county, and running west to the western boundary thereof, separates the surveyed townships Nos. 2 and 3, in ranges 11, 10, 9, and 8,¿ I do by these presents constitute and establish one separate township, to be known and designated by the name of Oakland.
" And of all that part of said county which lies south of the east and west line, herein above described, I do by these presents constitute and establish one separate township, to be known and designated by the name of Bloomfield. § " WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE."
OAKLAND COUNTY IN 1820.
O
AKLANT
D.
Town 4.
PONTIAC.
Town 3.
.
Town 2.
BLOOM FIELD .- -
Town 1.
Range 7.
Range 8.
Range 9.
Range 10.
Range 11. Eart .. _
ADDITIONAL COUNTIES LAID OUT.
On the 10th day of September, 1822, six additional counties were laid out, to wit : Lapeer, Sanilac, Saginaw, Shiawassee, Washtenaw, and Lenawee, of which the first four were attached for judicial and civil purposes to the county of Oak- land.
This extensive jurisdiction covered all the territory now occupied by the coun- ties of Oakland, Lapeer, Sanilac, Trescola, Huron, Genesee, Saginaw, Shiawassee, and eight congressional townships in Livingston, four in Ingham, four in Midland,
* A list of the judges and court officers will be found in the chapter devoted to the legal pro- fession.
t " Territorial Laws," vol. i. pp. 328, 329.
# This description leaves out range 7, but the intention was no doubt to include the whole county.
¿ Appendix to "Territorial Laws," vol. ii. page 801.
1
Town 5. North.
24
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
and about five and three-fourths in Bay; altogether equivalent, by careful com- putation, to nearly one hundred and ninety-five congressional townships, or about seven thousand square miles; nearly equal to the area of the State of Massa- chusetts.
TAXATION.
The following act was adopted and published on the 9th day of March, 1822 : " Be it enacted by the Governor and Judges of the Territory of Michigan, That the county commissioners of the county of Oakland be, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to raise and levy annually, in said county, such an amount of taxes on the ratable property in said county as shall be necessary to meet the expenditures of said county ; provided, that no tax in said county shall in any one year exceed the rate of one per cent. on every dollar of the adjusted valuation of the property. And this act shall continue in force for the term of four years from the date of its passage, and no longer.
" The same being adopted from the laws of one of the original States, to wit, the State of Ohio, as far as necessary and suitable to the circumstances of the Territory of Michigan.
"LEWIS CASS."
SECOND SUBDIVISION OF THE COUNTY.
An act dividing Oakland County into townships, approved April 12, 1827:
" Be it enacted by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, That all that part of the county of Oakland known and distinguished on the survey of the United States by township No. 3, north of the base line in range 11, east of the principal meridian, and townships numbered 4 and 5 in the same range, and townships numbered 4 and 5 in the 10th range, be a township by the name of Oakland, and that the first township meeting be held at the house of William Russell, in said township; and all that part of the said county of Oakland known as townships numbered 1 and 2 in the 11th range, be a township by the name of Troy, and that the first township meeting be held at the house of Riley Crooks, in said township; that townships numbered 1 and 2 in the 10th range, and town- ship numbered 2 in the 9th range, in said county of Oakland, be a township by the name of Bloomfield, and that the first township meeting be held at the house of John Hamilton, in said township; that all that part of the said county of Oak- land known as township numbered 1 in the 9th range, townships numbered 1 and 2 in the 8th range, and townships numbered 1 and 2 in the 7th range, be a town- ship by the name of Farmington, and that the first township meeting be held at the house of Robert Wixom, in said township ; that all that part of the county of Oakland, which is not herein described, all that part of the county of Lapeer which is at present annexed to the county of Oakland, as aforesaid, and the coun- ties of Shiawassee and Saginaw, shall be a township by the name of Pontiac, and that the first township meeting shall be held at the court-house, in said township."*
OAKLAND COUNTY IN 1827.
0
P
Town 5.
O
N
L
Town 4.
A
C.
PONTIAC.
N D.
Town 3.
BLOOMF
OMFIELD.
TROY.
Town 1.
Base Line.
Range 7.
Range 8.
Range 9.
Range 10.
Range 11. East.
* "Territorial Laws," vol. ii. page 477.
The date of the organization of the various townships of the county is given in the State census report for 1874, as follows :
Addison 1837
Oakland.
.1827
Avon ... 1835
Orion ....
1835
Bloomfield
.. 1827
Brandon.
1837
Pontiac .. 1827
Commerce .1834
Pontiac City .1861
Farmington
.1827
Rose. 1837
Groveland
1835
Royal Oak. 1832
Highland ..
.1835
Southfieldt . .1830
Holly 1838
Springfieldţ 1836
Troy ...
1827
Lyon
... 1834
Waterford.
1834
Milford
.1834
West Bloomfield. .. 1833
Novi ..
1832
White Lake. .1836
SURVEYS.§
For the purpose of facilitating the surveys of the lower peninsula of Michigan, , a principal meridian and a base line were established in 1815. The principal ] meridian runs north and south through the central portions of the State, crossing:i the Ohio State line about fifty miles west of the north cape of Maumee bay and terminating on the north, opposite the eastern end of Bois Blanc island, in Lake Huron.
The base line runs along the north side of the counties of Wayne, Washtenaw, Jackson, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Van Buren.
The ranges are numbered east and west from the principal meridian, and the townships north and south from the base-line.
Theoretically, the State is cut into townships six miles square, and each con- taining thirty-six square sections, or square miles. The sections are subdivided into four quarters of one hundred and sixty acres each, and these again into four quarters of forty acres. The subdivision of townships was done by contract, and much of it very imperfectly ; and there is scarcely a section, or the subdivision of one, in which the lines and corners do not vary, and sometimes vary materially, from the mathematical precision, which is supposed, by those not familiar with the business, to exist in the system of surveys first introduced in the western reserve of Ohio about 1800.
The present county of Oakland is composed of townships No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, north of the base-line, and in ranges 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, east of the principal meridian.
SOLDIERS' LANDS.
" On the 6th of May, 1812, Congress passed an act requiring that two million acres of land should be surveyed in the then Territory of Louisiana ; a like quan- tity in the Territory of Illinois, north of the Illinois river; and the same quantity in the Territory of Michigan ; in all six million acres, to be set apart for the soldiers of the war with Great Britain.
" The lands were surveyed and appropriated under this law in Louisiana and Illinois, but the surveyors reported that there were no lands in Michigan fit for cultivation."||
The following is the surveyor-general's report relating to the Michigan lands : -
" DESCRIPTION OF THE MILITARY LANDS IN MICHIGAN.
" The country on the Indian boundary line, from the mouth of the Great Auglaize river, and running thence for about fifty miles, is (with some few excep- tions) low, wet land, with a very thick growth of underbrush, intermixed with very bad marshes, but generally very heavily timbered with beech, cotton-wood, oak, etc. ; thence continuing north, and extending from the Indian boundary east- ward, the number and extent of the swamps increases, with the addition of num- bers of lakes, from twenty chains to two and.three miles across.
"Many of the lakes have extensive marshes adjoining their margins, sometimes thickly covered with a species of pine called "tamarack," and other places covered with a coarse, high grass, and uniformly covered from six inches to three feet (and more at times) with water. The margins of these lakes are not the only places where swamps are found, for they are interspersed throughout the whole country, and filled with water, as above stated, and varying in extent.
" The intermediate space between these swamps and lakes-which is probably near one-half of the country-is, with very few exceptions, a poor, barren, sandy land, on which scarcely any vegetation grows, except very small, scrubby oaks. In many places that part which may be called dry land is composed of little, short sand-hills, forming a kind of deep basins, the bottoms of many of which
t Organized as Ossewa, July 12, 1830. Name changed to Southfield, July 29, 1830.
# Re-organized as Painesville, in 1837. Changed to Springfield again in 1838.
¿ The system of surveys adopted in the northwest is said to have been recommended by General Wm. H. Harrison when a delegate in Congress, in 1799.
| Tuttle's "History of Michigan," page 412.
:
Town 2.
ARMINGTON.
Independence
.1836
Oxford .. .. 1837
25
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
are composed of marsh similar to the above described. The streams are gener- ally narrow, and very deep, compared with their width, the shores and bottoms of which are (with very few exceptions) swampy beyond description ; and it is with the utmost difficulty that a place can be found over which horses can be conveyed in safety.
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