History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan, Part 41

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D.W. Ensign & co.
Number of Pages: 716

USA > Michigan > Clinton County > History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan > Part 41
USA > Michigan > Shiawassee County > History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan > Part 41

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He is an earnest member of the First Congregational Church of Owosso, and was one of its early founders. Mr. Gould's spacious residence is filled with the genial mem- bers of a happy family circle. His wife, to whom he was united in 1841, was Miss Louisa Peck, of New York State. They are the well-beloved parents of five grown sons and daughters, whose delight it is to comfort their de- clining years.

EZEKIEL SALISBURY.

Ezekiel Salisbury is a native of that old historic spot which so many eminent men of the present and past gen- eration elaim as their natal place, Johnstown, N. Y., where he was born in the year 1812. Until he was fifteen years of age his time was principally occupied in school. Then he went to Utica, N. Y., and apprenticed himself to learn the trade of a blacksmith, which had been the vocation of his father, John Salisbury. Upon reaching the age of twenty-one he began the business for himself in his native

EZEKIEL SALISBURY.

county. At the age of twenty-four he removed to Oakland Co., Mich., and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of government land, and at the same time opened a black- smith-shop. Eight years after, he sold out his interest, came to Bennington, Shiawassee Co., bought four hun- dred and eighty acres of wild land and began clearing it up. At the same time he again opened a blacksmith- shop.

Mrs. Salisbury was, previous to her marriage with Mr. Salisbury, a Miss Martha Stedman, also a native of Johns- town, N. Y. They are the parents of eight children, of whom four are living. To each they have given a farm, and all are industrious, successful citizens. Mr. Salisbury was justice of the peace in Bennington two terms, also road commissioner.

In 1870, after giving up all aetive duties and leaving his lands with his children, he removed to the city of Owosso, and settled down to a quiet life there and a rest from the labor which he had so steadily pursued for over forty years. But full quiet has not been allowed him, for since coming to Owosso he has acted as supervisor of that eity five years.

For twenty-five years Mr. Salisbury has been an active Christian and zealous worker in the church.

162

HISTORY OF SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

HON. JOSIAH TURNER, JUDGE OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT.

This distinguished gentleman was born on the 1st day of September, A.D. 1811, in the old patriotic township of New Haven, Addison Co., in the State of Vermont, and reecived his academical education at the famous schools of Middle- bury and St. Albans, immediately after which he entered his name and commeneed his legal studies in the office of his unele, Hon. Bates Turner, formerly one of the judges of the Supreme Court of that State. He was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1833, and opened his office in the village of West Berkshire. Iu January, 1835, he married a daughter of Dr. Ellsworth, of Berkshire, Vt., and in 1840 followed the great tidal wave of emigration to this State, and settled at Howell, the county-seat of Livingston County, where he at once resumed the practice of his profession.

Two years after taking up his new residence he was clected elerk of the county, and held the office for six years, and also held in rapid succession the honorable positions of justice of the peace, township elerk, and master in chancery.

Upou the establishment of the county-court system, in 1846, he was elected judge of Livingston County, and held the position with great eredit to himself until the change was made in the judiciary of the State by the adoption, in 1850, of the new constitutiou.

At the general State cleetion, in 1856, he was elected judge of probate for the same county. His personal popu- larity was such, added to his professional character, that notwithstanding the Democratie party held a very large ma- jority in the county he was triumphantly elected, although running on the opposition (Republican) ticket.

In May, 1857, he was appointed, by the well-deserved favor of his old friend, Governor Kinsley S. Bingham, to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court beneh, and in the same ycar was elected circuit judge for the Seventh Judicial Cir- cuit for the term of six years, at the expiration of which he was again nominated and elected, and re-elected in 1869,

and with increasing satisfaction to the profession and to the public he was again, and for the fourth period, in 1875, re- elected without any opposition, thus making, if he lives to the end of his present term, a continuous occupancy of a judicial position for twenty-four years and nine months.

Judge Turner has held the eireuit court in forty counties of this State, and in every circuit but one.

In 1860, with the view of getting nearer the centre of his eireuit, Judge Turner changed his residence to Owosso, in the county of Shiawassee. Here he served the muni- eipality of that eity as mayor in 1864, and was again ehosen in the following year.

At the Constitutional Convention held at Lansing, in 1867, he was elceted for the county of Shiawassec, and be- came at once an active and valuable member, serving on the committee of the judiciary, and chairman of the committee on sehedule.

Throughout the whole period of his public and judicial life, from its very commencement up to the present period, Judge Turner has been distinguished by patience and in- dnstry and a determination to do what is right whenever and wherever that could be known, and it is this principle which has won for those who administer the law the respect and confidenec of the people.

To the members of the bar, whether old or new praeti- tioners, he has ever exhibited a kindliness of disposition, an unwavering courtesy of demeanor, and a display of charac- teristics which so happily become a judge, whether sitting in equity, at nisi prius, or in the performance of professional duties in chambers. The family of Judge Turner consisted of five children, three of whom are now living, viz. : Hon. Jerome W. Turner, of Owosso, State senater from 1868 to 1870, and afterwards mayor of that prosperous and enter- prising city ; Lueia, the wife of Hon. HI. M. Newcomb, of Ludington ; and Miss Nellie Turner.

CITY OF OWOSSO.

163

WILLIAM MARVIN KILPATRICK.

William Marvin Kilpatrick is a native of Middlesex, Yates Co., N. Y., where he was born Dec. 25, 1840. He was the youngest of the five sons of Jesse and Catharine (Seaman) Kilpatrick, the father being of Scotch-Irish descent and the mother a native of Maryland.

His early experiences in life were such as are incidental to a farmer's son, and although fond of all out-door sports, his natural inclinations were of a studious character. He read with delight all the books to which he had access, and at the early age of fifteen resolved to study law and follow through life that profession.

His boyhood home was one of strict discipline, and to this and his early religious training he doubtless owes much of his success in life. Having obtained his primary edu- cation at Middlesex, he took an academic course at Rush- ville, N. Y., after which he entered Genesee Seminary, where he remained three terms ; then for a short time taught school in Illinois, and entering the law department at Ann Arbor University, gradnated in the class of '66. He then went to Grand Rapids, seeking admission to a law-office there in order to gain a further knowledge of the profession. Being unsuccessful in this endeavor, he came to Owosso and entered the office of G. R. Lyon, where he remained until 1867, when he began the active practice of law and soon had a large practice. In 1869 he was ap- pointed city attorney ; in 1873 was elected supervisor at large for the city of Owosso, which position he retained until the spring of 1875, when he was elected mayor, serving one term and declining a nomination for the second, which was immediately tendered him. In 1876 he was again elected supervisor at large, and in the fall of the same year to the office of prosecuting attorney for Shia-

wassee County ; re-elected in 1878, and which position he still holds.

Politically, Mr. Kilpatrick is a zealous Republican, and in 1865 did efficient work on the stump. He was also in the same year a member of the State convention. In 1874 he was elected chairman of the Republican county committee, which position he still retains. He was elected to the State convention in 1880, and by that convention was made a member of the State central committee.

Mr. Kilpatrick married, Dec. 31, 1869, Mary, daughter of B. O. Williams, Esq., of Owosso. Her death occurred the following year, and on June 10, 1873, he married Emma, daughter of A. L. Williams, and a cousin of his former wife. By this marriage he has had three children : William D., born April 3, 1874; Mary, boru in Jannary, 1876; and Florence May, born March 12, 1879.

Few men in Shiawassee County enjoy the respect and confidence of the people to as great an extent as Mr. Kil- patrick. United to a genial and kind disposition, his fine abilities, high character, and conscientious work mark the true jurist.

D. M. ESTEY.

Mr. D. M. Estey, the gentlemanly president of the Estey Manufacturing Company, was born in Hillsdale, N. II., in 1842. When he was four years of age his parents removed to Massachusetts, and thence to Vermont. At an early age (when about fourteen) he engaged in lumbering and farming, and at the age of twenty had accumulated one hundred and sixty dollars in cash, with which he purchased a large tract of land in Windham Co., Vt., incurring in ad-

164

HISTORY OF SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

dition an indebtedness of nearly six thousand dollars. This he paid, acquiring a large sum of money besides from this venture, which he considers one of his most successful business achievements.

Soon after this he went into the army, where he remained six months. Returning to Vermont, he soon after com- menced the manufacture of furniture, continuing in that business until he was twenty-five years of age, when he came to West Haven, Shiawassee Co., and laid the founda- tion of the enterprise which has since attained the propor- tions of the large establishment seen in the accompanying cuts. Mr. Estey found the original manufactory at West Haven inadequate to supply the increasing demands of his business, and, being industrious and determined to succeed, he erected the finishing-factory at Owosso, a large two-story building or warehouse, to which extensive additions arc being made the present summer.

Feb. 1, 1879, he formed a stock company, known as the Estey Manufacturing Company, which consists of himself, Charles E. Rigley, and the Hon. Jacob Estey, so noted for the excellent organs manufactured by him.

Mr. Rigley is a native of Vermont, thirty-two years of age, and first became connected with Mr. Estey in Detroit, in 1870, as an expert ornamental finisher. In 1872 he be- came bookkeeper, then a partner with Mr. Estey, and is at present vice-president and secretary of the stock company. He has patented a method of imitating French walnut, which cannot be distinguished from the natural wood. They have also a newly-invented machine in the dry-house for drying lumber.

From forty to fifty men are employed continually at West Haven, and two million feet of lumber kept con- stantly in stock for manufacturing purposes. Their ma- chincry is all lately improved and the best in the market. They also own the best water-power on Shiawassee River, and large tracts of land near the factory, which they culti- vate as soon as the timber is removed.

Their furniture is manufactured at West Haven and sent to Owosso for finishing, while their sales extend all over the Union. Owosso is justly proud of this establishment, and of the men who have so energetically and successfully pushed the work to its present magnitude and prosperity.

JAMES M. GUILE.

James M. Guile was born in Rochester, N. Y., in 1818. The death of his father occurring when he was an infant, his mother removed with him, her only child, to Worcester, Mass., where they continued to reside until James was about twenty-one years old. During this time he attended school in the winter season, and worked on a farm the remainder of the year. After attaining that age he started for New York on foot, stopping at different towns en route, working at watch-repairing to replenish his exchequer, and arriving in that city with but a few dollars in his pocket.

After spending some ten years in a jewelry establishment

there he came to Detroit and remained about eleven years, engaging in the same business for himself. In 1857 he came to Owosso and opened a jewelry store, which business he continued until his death, April 8, 1880.

Mr. Guile first married Miss Ann Eliza Weeks, in Oeto- ber, 1848. William F., the only living child of this union, was born in Detroit, Feb. 21, 1851. Mrs. Guile died in 1853. May 3, 1855, he married Miss Lizzie F. Holman, of Romeo, Macomb Co., Mich. To them were born three children,-Kate Isadore, born May 7, 1857 ; Grace Minerva, born Jan. 8, 1859 ; and James Arthur, born July 31, 1860.

165

CITY OF CORUNNA.

Mr. Guile was in polities a staunch Republican. In religion, for thirty-five years a member of the Congre- gational Church, and for several years a deacon in that church ; an earnest Christian, thoroughly honest and con- scientious, of a retiring disposition, he enjoyed the respect and esteem of all who knew him, and was one of the most widely-known and valuable citizens of Shiawassee County, of which he was a resident twenty-four years.

EZRA L. MASON.

Until he was twenty-three years old Ezra L. Mason lived on a farm with his parents in the vicinity of Rochester, N. Y., where he was born Oct. 17, 1813. Ile received a common-school education, such as nearly all farmers' boys of that section received in those days.

In 1835 he married Miss Harriet Wheeler, a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y., and in 1836 came to Owosso, Mich., which was then on the verge of civilization, and located wild

EZRA L. MASON.

land for the purpose of establishing a home. He returned to Rochester the same year, where he remained until 1839; then came back to Owosso and began the clearing of his land and the fulfillment of his plan for a permanent abiding- place, becoming one of Owosso's pioneers and most esteemed and substantial citizens. lle has followed farming and sur- veying all his life; was county surveyor for several years, which position he filled with ability and to the satisfaction of all. He has also held the office of supervisor of Owosso township for eight years, besides those of highway commis- sioner and school director, all of which offices he has filled with fidelity, economy, and an eye solely to the greatest good of the greatest number. He has through life been a Christian not only by precept but also by example.

Mr. Mason has been twice married, having by his first wife seven children, of whom six are still living. Mrs. Harriet Mason died April 4, 1848, and in 1849 he married Miss Sarah W. Whaley, a most estimable lady, who, with her husband, we hope may for many years survive as a pioneer of Owosso.

CHAPTER XXVIIL

CITY OF CORUNNA .*

Location-Original Land-Entries-Settlement, Settlers, and Progress -Incorporation of the Village and List of Village Officers-Incor- poration of the City of Corunna-List of City Officers-Manufac- turing Industries-Banking-Fire Department-Schools-Church History-Corunna Cometery-Secret Orders.

THE city of Corunna, the county-seat of Shiawassee, em- braces within its boundaries (as established by the legis- lative act which erected it a city) an area of four square miles of territory lying nearly in the form of a square, of which the southwest corner is a little more than a mile north and east of the geographical centre of the county. It is wholly within the original limits of the township of Caledonia, being described by law as covering all of sections 21 and 28 in that township, with the east half of sections 20 and 29, and the west half of sections 22 and 27. The Shia- wassee River passes through it a little north of its centre, flowing from cast to west, and furnishing excellent water- power, which has been from the first settlement of the place until the present time a useful auxiliary in promoting the growth and prosperity of the village and city. The Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway passes through the southern part of Corunna, connecting the city with the commercial metropolis of the State on the east, and with Lake Michigan on the west, affording excellent facilities for the shipment of the produce of adjacent portions of the county.

ORIGINAL LAND-ENTRIES.

The names of the original purchasers from the United States of the lands embraced within the present limits of the city, and the dates of their respective purchases, are given below :

ON SECTION TWENTY.

That portion of the southeast quarter south of the Shia- wassee River, by Augustus Randolph, of Wayue Co., Mich., Sept. 26, 1835.

The north part of the southeast fractional quarter north of the above river, by Trumbull Cary, of Genesee Co., N. Y., Oct. 21, 1835. The northeast quarter, by Silas and Daniel Ball, Monroe Co., N. Y., March 25, 1835.

SECTION TWENTY-ONE.

South fraction, and east part of southwest fractional quarter, Trumbull Cary, Nov. 2, 1835. Northwest part of the southwest fractional quarter and north part of the south- east fractional quarter, Elias Comstock and Seth Beach, Oakland County, Nov. 19, 1835. The south portion of the southeast fractional quarter, William C. Baldwin, Dec. 14, 1835. The west quarter of the northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter, S. P. Germain, Albany, N. Y., April 1, 1836. The east half of the northeast quarter, Nathaniel Prouty, Wayne County, April 1, 1836 The west half of the northwest quarter, Thomas T. Owen Wayne County, April 2, 1836.

* By E. O. Wagner.

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HISTORY OF SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

SECTION TWENTY-TWO.

That part of the southeast quarter lying south of the river, Ira A. Blossom and E. D. Efner, Erie Co., N. Y., Dec. 9, 1835. The east part of the northeast fractional quarter, Alexander D. Fraser, James Davidson, and Alex- ander MeArthur, Wayne Co., Mich., Feb. 10, 1836. The west part of the northeast fractional quarter, James A. Van Dyck and II. McClure, Wayne Co., Feb. 13, 1836.

SECTION TWENTY-SEVEN.

The northwest quarter, Ira A. Blossom and E. D. Efner, Erie Co., N. Y., Dec. 9, 1835. The southwest quarter, Elon Farnsworth, Erie Co., N. Y., March 29, 1836.

SECTION TWENTY-EIGIIT.

The north fraction, Jonathan Kearsley, Detroit, Sept. 16, 1832. The west half of the southwest quarter, Ninion Clark, Shiawassee County, Sept. 26, 1835. The west part of the northeast fractional quarter and the east part of the northwest fractional quarter, Andrew Mack, Wayne Co., Mich., Jan. 27, 1836. The east half of the southwest quarter and the west half of the southeast quarter, same party. The east half of the southeast quarter, Henry Raymond, Feb. 10, 1836. The east half of the northeast quarter, Horace H. Comstock, Kalamazoo, Feb. 13, 1836. The north part of the northwest fractional quarter, James Bowman, Wayne Co., Mich., March 14, 1836.

SECTION TWENTY-NINE.

The northeast quarter of the southeast quarter, Ninion Clark, Sept. 26, 1835. The east half of the northeast quarter, Joseph Pitcairn, New York City, Feb. 20, 1836. The west half of the northeast quarter, Lot Clark and Stephen Warren, New York, February, 1836. The west half of the southeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter, Elon Farnsworth, March 26, 1836.

SETTLEMENT, SETTLERS, AND PROGRESS OF CORUNNA.

The first settlements in Corunna were promoted, and its original plat as a village was laid out, by an association of proprietors of the land on which it was located. This associ- ation, known as "The Shiawassee County-Seat Company, was composed of Andrew Mack, J. C. Schwarz, Alexander McArthur, John McDonnell, S. B. Mizner, and Horace II. Comstock. The articles of association, in which it was set forth that the object of the company was to secure the permanent establishment of the county-seat at Corunna, and to promote the growth and settlement of a village at that place, were signed by these proprietors on the 6th of August, 1836. None of them were residents of the town- ship or county at that time, and it was not until about two years later that one of their number-Alexander Mc- Arthur, Esq .- removed here as the agent of the company, to take charge of its affairs and advance its interests.

Upon the formation of the County-Seat Company, Capt. John Davids was appointed its agent. He removed to the place late in the year 1836, and erected for his principals a log house-the first building in Corunna-which stood on the bank of the river, on what is now designated as block 7 of MeArthur, Castle, and Hurlburt's Addition. The

present owner of the property is Andrew Huggins, exten- sively known through the county as a skillful engineer and surveyor. The ruins of the old cellar may still be seen adjoining the home of Mr. Huggins.

It is difficult to obtain authentic information regarding the progress of the new settlement during the years 1837 and 1838, the only survivor of that early period finding it impossible to recall the events of more than forty years ago.

The first plat of the village of Corunna, embracing one hundred and fifty-seven and seven one-hundredths acres, and described as the west part of the northeast fractional quarter and the east part of the northwest fractional quarter of section 28, was platted June 2, 1837, by A. D. Fraser, John Norton, and Chauncey Hurlburt, as trustees for the Shiawassee County-Seat Company. The plat was recorded Feb. 5, 1840. The several additions which have since been made to the village plat from time to time will be mentioned in succeeding pages.

Capt. Davids, the company's first agent, was originally from the village of Niagara, in Canada, and had removed to Detroit, where he resided when employed by the County- Seat Company to superintend their improvements. He re- mained but a year in charge of the company's interests, and then retired to the farm of John F. Swain, in Caledonia township, embracing seventy acres on section 25, where he followed agricultural pursuits until his death in 1869, at the advanced age of eighty years. In Canada he had been the keeper of a public-house, and an accidental cir- cumstance brought him in contact with Morgan, of anti- Masonic fame. Together they projected the idea of an ex- posé of the secrets of Masonry, and it is said that the work was written in the house of Capt. Davids. The latter gen- tleman repaired with the manuscript to New York, and ordered the publication of an edition embracing twenty thousand copies, involving all his means. IIe later removed to Fort Erie, N. Y., and it is stated that he narrowly escaped the fate which overtook his coadjutor Morgan, though the basis of this statement is not known. He after- wards removed to Detroit with a view to recuperating his lost fortune.

Capt. Davids was succeeded in his management of the company's interests by Joel L. Anerim, a civil engineer. His official career was likewise brief. After a residence of less than a year he departed ostensibly on a business tour, leaving his implements with Mr. MeArthur, and never returned. Whether he was the victim of foul play, or had determined to abandon a residence not congenial to him, is unknown.

Alexander McArthur, one of the members of the com- pany, now determined to remove to the county-seat and personally supervise the interests of the company. In the year 1838 he left Detroit, his former residence, and became permanently identified with the locality as a resident, hav- ing moved into the house built and vacated by Capt. Davids. In that year he erected on the south side of the river a saw-mill, which at that early date cut most of the timber used in the immediate vicinity, and aided materially in the building of the village. Other houses were built, and set- tlers slowly found their way to the spot, having been attracted by its promising future as depicted in glowing

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CITY OF CORUNNA.

colors by the various members of the company. In 1838, Stephen Hawkins came from Pontiae, where he had for three years been a resident (having removed in 1835 from Chenango Co., N. Y.). He entered upon seetion 26, in Caledonia, ninety-seven aeres of land. By trade a earpenter and joiner, he with his partner built many of the earliest frame houses in Owosso, where he for a brief time resided. Mr. Hawkins was for several years a settler in Corunna, but ultimately removed to the farm which he entered and where he still resides.

Abram Garrabrant came at about the same period, and engaged in various occupations which afforded him a liveli- hood. He was an eccentric individual and the object of many jokes among his fellows, though his kindly nature precluded their being of a very practical form. Mr. Garra- brant was not, however, without means, having had a farm of considerable size within the present city limits.

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History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan, Part 41

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, D.W. Ensign & co. Number of Pages: 716

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D.W. Ensign & co.
Number of Pages: 716