USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph county, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories > Part 46
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RELIGIOUS.
The first religious service, according to the rites of the Methodist Epis- copal church, was at a class-meeting, held in 1834. The first class- leader was Calvin Calhoon. Among the early members were Jeremiah Lawrence, Benjamin Ball and wife, Giles Thompson, Hiram Bidwell, Alvin Calhoon, and their wives. The meetings were held in the dwelling-house of Benjamin Ball until 1835, when the school-house was erected on the site of the present school-house in district No. 2, in which the meetings were subse- quently carried on, until the erection of the brick school-house, in which they conducted their religious services until the erection of the present church-edifice in 1868. The first minister who preached in the school-house was the Rev. Erastus Kellogg, who was also the original pastor in the dwell- ing-house meetings. The regularly installed pastors who have officiated since the building of the church, were : Reverends H. H. Parker, J. N. Dayton, - Dunton, L. George (to fill vacancy caused by the sickness of Rev. Dunton), L. M. Edmunds, H. Hall, and the present incumbent, Rev. G. D. Lee. The church-edifice was dedicated by Rev. H. M. Joy, of Kala- mazoo. The present officers are Absalom Roberts, Alvin Calhoon, George Pashby, 2nd, John Pashby, Jacob Moony, Robinson Pashby and Markus F. Bailey, trustees ; William Pashby and William B. Stathers, stewards. The present membership is sixty-three; members in the Sunday-school, fifty ; superintendent, Markus F. Bailey.
THE REFORMED CHURCH
of Florence was organized in 1868 by Rev. William Weigand. The first elders were Samuel Moyer and B. N. Shafer, for two years ; deacons, B. F. Rengler and George Coonfer, for the same period. The church organization laid passive, having no pastor for almost two years. Then, in 1874, the Rev. E. R. Willard, of Tiffin, Ohio, was installed pastor. The present elders are Samuel Moyer and George Rengler; deacons, B. F. Rengler and Allen Moyer. The present church-edifice, a fine brick structure, was erected in
1876, and dedicated on the 5th of November, of the same year. It cost about three thousand five hundred dollars, which is all paid. "The building committee was composed of Samuel Haas, B. F. Rengler and James S. Richards. The present membership is forty ; Sunday-school members, sixty, under the superintendence of the pastor.
THE CIVIL ORGANIZATION.
Florence-which is known on the maps of the surveys of public lands of the United States as township seven, south of range eleven west- originally formed an integral part of the township of White Pigeon, and remained a portion thereof, until 1827, when it was erected into a separate and independent township.
The first meeting held in Florence township, convened at the house of Giles Thompson, in pursuance of the act regulating township meetings, whereat John Howard was appointed moderator ; Matthew Rowen, clerk ; Edward E. Adams, Jeremiah Lawrence and Allen Calhoon, judges of the election then to be held; who were qualified according to law, and whereat Giles Thompson was elected supervisor of Florence township ; John Howard, Giles Thompson, Matthew Rowen and Jeremiah Lawrence, justices of the peace; John Yauney, clerk ; Matthew Rowen, Orin F. Howard and George T. Gray, assessors; Solomon Wallace, collector; Alvin Calhoon, M. G. Craw and Solomon Wallace, commissioners of highways; Edward E. Adams and Albert H. Strong, directors of the poor ; Norman Roys, Matthew Rowen and Giles Thompson, inspectors of schools. All these were elected by ballot. The following were elected viva voce : John Yauney and Smith Hunt, fence viewers, and the same persons were also chosen pound masters.
On motion of Mr. Adams it was voted that twelve overseers of highways be appointed,-whereat Samuel S. Hart, John Peek, John Jackson, Orin E. Craw, John Yauney, David Cole, Giles Thompson, Joseph Garton, George I. Gray, William Garnet, Gardner Pitts and Jeremiah Lawrence were accordingly appointed ; and it was further voted that a fence shall be five feet high and well filled; and further, no seed-horse, two years old, shall be suffered to run at large under penalty of ten dollars; and further, that two dollars be paid for every wolf-scalp taken within the limits of the township; and further, that fifty dollars be raised for the support of the township paupers; and further, that our supervisor vote against money to erect public buildings ; and be it further enacted that the next township meeting be held in the school-house in district No. 11, in the township of Florence.
We do hereby certify that the above is a correct record of the township meeting, and that the above officers were duly elected according to law.
JOHN HOWARD, Moderator. EDWARD E. ADAMS, JEREMIAH LAWRENCE, Judges. ALVIN CALHOON,
THE PRINCIPAL TOWNSHIP OFFICERS,
from 1837 to 1876, have been : Supervisors-Giles Thompson, 1837; Nelson Church and William Laird, four years; George G. De Puy, three years ; Thomas Stears, Jr., four years ; John W. Harrison and Norman Roys, from 1857 to 1877, or twenty consecutive years, and six years previously.
Clerks-Matthew Rowen, 1837; A. H. Strong, two years ; Nathan Os- born, two years; Giles Thompson, two years; John Hull, seven years ; George G. De Puy and L. O. Howard, three years ; Thomas Stears, Jr., and O. P. Arnold, two years ; Henry Stears and Joseph Hall, two years ; Morris I. Arnold, six years ; Thomas Stears, two years ; Charles B. Kellogg, two years ; Benjamin Rengler (present incumbent) six years.
Justices of the Peace-John Howard and Giles Thompson, 1837-44; Mat- thew Rowen, Jeremiah Lawrence, John Coats, Nelson Church, Norman Roys, C. G. Waite and George G. Depuy, eight years; Orrin F. Howard, twelve years ; Calvin Johnson, H. G. Dockstarter, Marshall G. Craw and David Cole, three years; Lyman Bean, eight years; Jehiel B. Dim- mick, twenty-one years; John Putnam, six years ; Hiram A. Pitts, twenty years ; Thomas Stears, fourteen years, and present incumbent; Reuben Troxell, ten years; George W. Titus and Jacob Shaver, twelve years; Daniel Sparks and William H. Roys, eighteen years, and present incumbent; John H. Gray, Jasper King, John Greensides, R. L. Waters, Ephraim Adams and George E. Roys, six years, and present incumbent ; John Stebbins, present incumbent.
THE FIRST ROAD.
The subjoined is the earliest record now in existence of a road having been surveyed in Florence township :
"Survey of a road beginning at the east line of the township, on the section-line between sections twelve and thirteen, eighteen degrees west
MRS. ROBERT MCKINLAY
ROBERT MCKINLAY.
THE FARM RESIDENCE OF ROBERT MCKINLAY, FLORENCE TP, ST JOE CO MICH.
MRS. NORMAN H. ROY S.
NORMAN H. POYS.
RESIDENCE OF NORMAN ROYS, FLORENCE TP., ST JOSEPH CO., MICH
133
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
from white-oak tree twenty-seven links; also north seventeen degrees, and west from white-oak tree twenty-seven and a-half links west to road run- ning from White Pigeon to Prairie Round.
Sections.
Sections.
West. 80°
Chains.
12
13
80
11
14
80°
-
80 Crossing point of marsh.
10
15
80°
80
9
16
80°
80 Crossing Centre- ville road.
8
17
80°
80
7
18
80°
60
" Whole length five and three-quarters miles-four hundred and sixty chains.
(Signed,)
"JOSEPH J. PRENTICE, Surveyor. JOHN JACKSON,
GARDNER PITTS,
"May 25, 1838.
Highway Commissioners."
THE CROPS.
The census of 1874 gives the following exhibit of the crop of 1873 : There were four thousand two hundred and forty-five acres of wheat har- vested, which produced thirty-seven thousand four hundred and two bushels, and two thousand three hundred and five acres, which yielded ninety thou- sand seven hundred and fifty bushels. There were also produced two thou- sand two hundred and fifty-six bushels of other grain, seven thousand six hundred and thirty-six bushels potatoes, one thousand one hundred and forty- four tons hay, seven thousand and twenty pounds wool, one hundred and ninety-eight thousand three hundred and eighty pounds pork, forty-three thou- sand one hundred pounds butter and cheese, and six hundred and fifty barrels cider, while three hundred and fifty-seven acres in orchards, produced eleven thousand eight hundred and eighty-one bushels of apples and cherries, valued at two thousand three hundred and fifty dollars. There were owned in 1874, in the township, four hundred and seventy-nine horses, eight mules, eight oxen, four hundred and fifty-three cows, three hundred and forty-one other cattle, one thousand two hundred and forty-five hogs, and one thou- sand two hundred and eighty-nine sheep. The clip of 1873 was taken from one thousand five hundred and sixty sheep.
THE TAX-GATHERER
has had the following rate-bills against the property owned in the township since its organization : In 1837 the assessment for taxation was fixed at one hundred and one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven dollars, and the tax-levy amounted to four hundred and twenty-two dollars for State and county purposes alone. In 1852 the assessment was returned at seventy- four thousand three hundred and forty-six dollars, and the taxes levied amounted to one thousand five hundred and eighty-three dollars and eleven cents for all purposes. In' 1860 the assessment was fixed at three hundred and forty-six thousand five hundred and sixty-six dollars, and the taxes aggregated two thousand six"hundred and eleven dollars and sixty-three cents. In 1870 the assessment reached almost three-quarters of a million, being placed at seven hundred and thirty-seven thousand three hundred and fifty-two dollars, and the taxes amounted to four thousand three hundred and sixteen dollars and sixty-eight cents. In 1876 the assessment, as equalized by the county board of equalization, was placed at three hundred and sev- enty-seven thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine dollars on real estate, and fifty-eight thousand five hundred and twenty dollars on personal prop- erty,-making a total assessment of four hundred and thirty-six thousand three hundred and forty-nine dollars. On this amount, taxes were levied for State and county purposes, amounting to two thousand two hundred and twenty- nine dollars and eighteen cents, one-half thereof to each object ; and two thou- sand one hundred and thirty dollars and sixty cents for township purposes, in- cluding schools,-making the total tax-list four thousand three hundred and fifty-nine dollars and seventy-eight cents.
POPULATION.
In 1838, there were four hundred and forty inhabitants in Florence, and in 1850 there were seven hundred and thirty-one. In 1860 they had in- creased to nine hundred and" eighty-one, and in 1870 they numbered nine hundred and seventy, of whom four hundred and ninety-one were males, and four hundred and seventy-nine females. In 1874, the State census returned nine hundred and fifteen persons in the township; four hundred and seventy-five males and four hundred and forty females. Of two hun- dred and forty-seven males over twenty-one years, one hundred and fifty-six of them were of the military age, eighty-six were over forty-five, four were
between seventy-five and ninety years, and one old veteran had passed the ninth decade of his century, and was coming down slowly home. Of two hundred and fifty-five females over eighteen years, one hundred and sev- enty were under forty years, eighty-one were between that age and seventy- five years, and four were past the three-quarter post of the century. Two hundred and twenty-seven boys had not attained their majority, and one hun- dred and eighty-five of the girls were "ower young to marry yet" without the consent of pater familias. The married men numbered one hundred and eighty-six, and the women one hundred and eighty; the single ones were still nearer matched in numbers, there being fifty-five, and fifty- seven, respectively of each. Six widowed husbands were just one-third the number of the widowed wives.
THE POLITICAL BAROMETER
has fluctuated somewhat since 1856, as will be seen by an examination of the tally-lists of the presidential elections, which we here give. In 1840 the Whigs polled for " Harrison and hard-cider" forty-nine votes, and the Democrats gave Van Buren, seventy. In 1844 the Whig vote was thirty- eight, the Democratic eighty-three, and the Liberty-men cast eleven votes. In 1848 the Whigs cast fifty-two votes, the Democrats eighty-nine, and the Free-Soilers twelve. In 1852 the Whigs polled fifty-three votes, the Demo- crats eighty, and the Abolitionists three. In 1856 the Republicans cast one hundred and six ballots, to ninety-three by the Democrats ; but in 1860 the two parties tied, on one hundred and sixteen votes. In 1864 the balance was broken, the Democrats polling one hundred and ten votes, to ninety by the Republicans. In 1868 the pendulum had swung to the opposite side of the arc, where it has remained ever since,-the Republican vote that year being one hundred and thirty-one, and the Democratic, one hundred and eleven. In 1872 Grant received one hundred and thirteen votes, Greeley eighty-one, and O'Conor, two. In 1876 Governor Hayes received one hun- dred and one votes, Governor Tilden ninety-two, and Mr. Cooper thirty- three. This last vote indicates a population in the township of over one thousand.
THE MILITARY RECORD.
In the rebellion, Florence filled her quotas, whenever called upon by the government, with dispatch and promptitude; and we append the list of such of her soldiers as we have been able to locate in the township. In the gen- eral county history will be found a list of such of the soldiers of the county as we were unable to locate by townships, but whose records we were desirous should not be omitted from the history of the county; and to it we refer the reader, as well as to the other township histories of the county, where any missing names of Florence may be found.
SEVENTH INFANTRY.
Private Lemuel Sweezy, Company K; discharged at expiration of service.
TENTH INFANTRY.
Private Isaac Thompson, Company B; mustered-out.
ELEVENTH INFANTRY.
Private Luther W. Straight, Company A ; died October 27, 1862.
Private Dwight V. Denio, Company C; re-enlisted and mustered-out. Private Henry E. Meed, Company C; discharged at expiration of service.
Private James Armstrong, Company G; discharged at expiration of service.
Private Byron A. Williamson, Company E; mustered-out. NINETEENTH INFANTRY.
Corporal William Lefler, Company D; killed at Altoona, Ga.,, May 25, 1864.
Private Eli W. Atland, Company D; mustered-out.
Private James Blair, Company D; mustered-out.
Private Marcus Daniels, Company D; mustered-out.
Private Warren Daniels, Company D; mustered-out.
Private Harvey M. Lindsley, Company D; mustered-out.
Private James Thompson, Company D; promoted and mustered-out.
Private George W. Waters, Company D; discharged.
Private John Miller, Company K ; discharged. NINTH CAVALRY.
Private William Rusling, Company L; mustered-out.
TENTH CAVALRY.
Private Frank Pitts, Company F; mustered-out. FIRST LIGHT ARTILLERY.
orporal Edward L. Armstrong, Battery D; died at Louisville, April 7, 1863.
134
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Private Nelson F. Baird, Battery E; mustered-out. Private Charles Anthony, Battery F; died at Louisville, March 27, 1862. Private Philip Lang, Battery H; mustered-out.
FIRST MICHIGAN SHARP-SHOOTERS.
Private George Hollenbeck, Company H; mustered-out.
SIXTY-SIXTH ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
Private Gilbert E. Mead, Company D; mustered-out.
We tender our acknowledgments for assistance and information received in the compilation of the history of Florence, to Captain Alvin Calhoon. Norman Roys, Esq., William Roys, George Pashby and John Hull, Esq.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
LONGACRE-CO
MR. ALVIN CALHOON.
LONGACRE-CO.
MRS. ALVIN CALHOON.
ALVIN CALHOON,
of Florence township, St. Joseph county, Michigan, was born at Pittsford, Monroe county, New York, September 17, 1802. When four years of age his father removed his family to Frenchtown (now Monroe), Michigan, where they remained until 1812. At the surrender of Hull to the British, consternation and dismay took possession of the frontier settlements, and Mr. Calhoon was compelled to flee with his family at midnight, bare- headed, and without shoes, in order to escape the Indians. They went to Ohio, where they remained for about five years, and then returned to Monroe, Michigan, again. Here they stayed until 1823, when the subject of our sketch, being about twenty years old, returned to his native place and took up his residence on the Ridge road, forty miles from the city of Rochester. On the 6th of September, 1829, he left there for White Pigeon prairie, where he arrived in October following. He settled on section thirty-two of the present township of Florence.
April 22, 1827, he married Eliza L. Hunt, a native of Monroe county, New York, by whom he had nine children, of whom rive reached maturity. His elder son, Oscar A., married Alvina Gray, and his elder daughter, Cynthia, married Edmund O. Cromwell. Mrs. Calhoon died December 25, 1841, in the thirty-third year of her age.
On the 30th of March, 1842, Mr. Calhoon married Lois J. Bean, by whom he had eight children,-six of whom, two daughters and four sons, are now
residing in Polk county, Nebraska. The other two (twins) reside at home with their parents.
He has a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres, of which, all but twenty acres of timber and the same extent of meadow land, is under ex- cellent cultivation.
For forty-six years Mr. Calhoon has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has frequently held offices in the church govern- ment. He has been a bitter anti-mason ever since the mysterious disap- pearance of Morgan, in 1826. He positively refuses to support any candi- date for whatever office he may be seeking, who is a mason, neither will he tolerate them even in religious matters. He is true to his principles in this respect ; whether right or not, it is not our province to discuss.
In politics he is Republican, having first been a Whig, voting for John Quincy Adams in 1824. He voted for the Democratic candidate in 1848, and from then, on to 1860, supported the Democratic ticket. In 1860 he voted for Lincoln, and for Grant in 1868 and 1872.
Mr. Calhoon is a man of very positive character, and when once he as- sumes a stand on any question, he never wavers, but sticks to the principles he advocates through thick and thin. Socially, he is genial and pleasant, a good husband and a fond father, honest and upright in his dealings with his fellow-men,-possessing, in fine, the many attributes of a good citizen.
JOSEPH JEWETT.
JOSEPH JEWETT, of Florence.
JOSEPH JEWETT was born in the town of Dudley, Worcester county, Massachusetts, January 29, 1803, where he lived with his parents till 1828, when he re- moved to Delhi, Delaware county, New York, when he engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. In 1830 he purchased a farm, and in the fall of the same year married Miss Mary Farrington, daughter of March Far- rington, Esq., of Delhi. In 1835 Mr. Jewett came to the West on a prospecting tour, and after a thorough examination of the country resolved to locate in St. Joseph County, near Mendon, which he did in 1836. He re- moved to the town of Florence, in the same county, in 1847, where he died July 26, 1876, at the ripe age of seventy-three years. He was of a strong physical frame, and, until within a few years of his death, in robust health. He gave close attention to the cultivation and improve- ment of his lands, and prospered accordingly, accumula- ting a handsome property, while he lavished upon his family every comfort and luxury that reasonable hearts could desire. For forty years he was a resident of St. Joseph County, twenty-nine of them being happily and prosperously spent in the fine and comfortable homestead where he died.
In politics, Mr. Jewett was what was known as a Jack- son Democrat, and then an old-line Whig, of the Clay school, up to the organization of the Republican party, since which time he was always true to its principles, but never taking any very active part in its meetings and conventions. He was the first supervisor of the town of Mendon, and though from time to time solicited to accept places of trust in his neighborhood by those who knew his excellent judgment and his strict honor and integrity, he preferred the quiet of home to the noisy atmosphere of the political arena, and was satisfied to know that good, honest, and trustworthy men were selected to fill the offices and administer the laws of the land.
He and his estimable wife (who still survives him) lived to see grow up around them four daughters, to whom were given the liberal advantages of education at home, and the most popular seminaries in the Western States and Canada.
He died regretted by a host of warm friends, and his memory and good deeds will long remain green in the hearts of the people of St. Joseph County.
MRS. JOSEPH JEWETT.
RESIDENCE OF MRS. JOSEPH JEWETT, FLORENCE TP, ST JOE CO, MICH.
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
135
LONGADRIE-OD
LONGAGRE-DO
MR. MORGAN L. KETCHAM.
MRS. MORGAN L. KETCHAM.
MORGAN L. KETCHAM,
son of Joseph and Alida Ketcham, was born in Pottstown, Rensselaer county, New York, November 2, 1804. He remained with his parents on the farm, until his majority, and then commenced as an apprentice at the carpenter's trade, which he continued to follow for several years. In compauy with his father's family, in 1830, he settled in Perrinton, Monroe county, New York, and there became the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land, which he sold for one thousand eight hundred dollars. He also lived in Wayne county, New York, for some time.
In the fall of 1834 he and his brother Daniel came to Michigan, and spent the winter near Ypsilanti ; his brother returned in the spring, and he came to Constantine. During the summer of 1835 he purchased, in com- pany with one Samuel Francisco, a saw-mill located at Shipsewannie Indiana, which they sold the following year. In the fall of 1835 he re- turned to Monroe county, New York. In 1837 he again came to Michi- gan ; remained some little time, returned the second time to Monroe county, New York,-and was married to Miss Laura Jenks, of Farmington, Ontario county, New York, May 1, 1839.
Mrs. Ketcham was born July 26, 1812, in Farmington. To bless this union, six children have been born, some of whom, with their mother, have passed to the other shore. The names of the children were as follows :
GEORGE J., born March 16, 1840, and died September 10, 1876. ISAAC, born January 24, 1842; died August 6, 1842.
EDWARD M. was born March 7, 1844, and is now living in Marcellus, Michigan.
EMELINE J., born August 22, 1846, and is married to Samuel Wolf, of this county.
HANNAH J., born October 16, 1848, and married to D. M. Castle, of Constantine.
MARY L. was born May 16, 1851, and is at home with her father.
Mr. Ketcham lived in Rochester, New York, for nearly two years after his marriage, and carried on the hardware business; removed to Hannibal, Oswego county, New York, and remained some three years. During the month of May, 1846, he emigrated to Michigan with his family, and settled in Florence, St. Joseph county, on the farm where he now resides. At one time he was the owner of some three hundred acres of land, but has sold out so that he now owns but one hundred and forty acres. In politics he was at first a Democrat, then a Whig, and now a Republican.
Mrs. Ketcham was a faithful wife and an affectionate mother; religiously, she was a Friend, but was a constant attendant at the Methodist Episcopal church. She died May 18, 1875, and was buried in the Florence cemetery. Mr. Ketcham is living on the old homestead, with his daughter Mary.
17
136
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
NORMAN ROYS,
one of the few remaining pioneers of Florence township, was born in Shef- field, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, on the 22d of February, 1807. When in his twenty-fifth year, he left his home with the intention of trying his fortune in the west. Starting from Sheffield in May, 1832, it was not until the following June that he arrived at his destination in White Pigeon, now Florence, township. The journey occupied about a month, and was made first by private conveyance to Hudson, thence up the river to Albany, and from there by stage, to the depot of the Albany and Schenectady rail- road (one of the first in the country). From the latter place, he traveled on the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence by lake to Detroit, and from there to the end of his journey, in the first of Asahel Savery's stage-coaches. It must be a peculiar retrospection to him, to consider that the same journey which occupied him a month can now be accomplished in twenty-four hours! On his arrival in the new settlement he was domiciled with Deacon Howard, and went to work on the land he had entered, succeeding in break- ing up fifteen acres during the first month of his settlement, and the follow- ing fall sowed it with wheat. He first entered but one hundred and twenty acres, not possessing the necessary funds to take the quarter-section. Noth- ing daunted, however, he went up to Grand Rapids, and there hired out to assist in the erection of a dam and saw-mill, which was then in course of construction on Buck creek. Here he earned and saved enough to com- plete the purchase of the wished-for one hundred and sixty acres.
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