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 59
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172
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
was held in July of that year, and before the roof was on the house. The meetings were held herein until the church was built.
The first Methodist Episcopal class was organized in the fall of the year 1835, by J. F. Davidson, with the following members : Aaron B. Watkins, leader, and his wife Polly, William Orcutt, Mrs. Eliza Hayward and Mrs. Mary Watkins ; William Orcutt's wife Esther joined the class soon after its formation. The society built their present meeting-house, and only one, in the village of Leonidas, in the years 1854-6. It is thirty-two by fifty-four feet area, has a seating capacity of one hundred and fifty, and cost two thousand five hundred dollars. The house was dedicated June 5, 1858, by Rev. Mr. Joslyn,-late of Albion college, and now deceased,-assisted by the presiding elder, Dougherty.
A Sunday-school was organized in 1836, with a A. D. Watkins as super- intendent. There are at present sixty members in the school, Mr. L. T. Clark being the superintendent. In South Leonidas a class was organized in 1837-8, with William Orcutt as leader,-Levi Keyes and wife, and Wil- liam Parsons and wife, being among the members. It became a flourishing organization in after years, but is now extinct,-by reason of deaths and removals.
The ministers who have had charge of Leonidas Methodist Episcopal church since Mr. Wiley, are as follows: J. F. Davidson, who first came in 1835, and again afterwards ; John Ercanbrack, 1837; R. C. Meek, Briar, Worthington, Tyler, Osborne H. Penfield, Hickey, Fassett, Isaac Bennett, Gage, Jacokes, Mosier, G. W. Hoag, Gee, Edmunds and Kellogg, 1840, and the present incumbent, Rev. J. M. Smith.
In the winter of 1856-7, under Mr. Penfield's preaching, a revival was inaugurated, resulting in twenty accessions to the church.
A PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY
was organized in the fall of 1837, at Cowen's mills,-among the early mem- bers being the following: Robert Cowen and wife, James Cowen's wife, Captain and Mrs. Levi Watkins, and his mother, Esther Watkins, Mrs. Hav- iland and Mrs. Martin Kellogg.
Rev. Benjamin Ogden, of Three Rivers, organized the society, and preached for the same statedly several years. He was succeeded by John H. Byrd for two years, who was followed by Rev. Holmes. William H. Cross and wife joined the society in 1847, on taking up their residence in the township. Captain Watkins was an elder of the church from its organization till his death in 1851, upon which occurrence the society soon after dissolved, there being but one meeting held afterward. Mr. Cross was an elder of the church also, and Robert Cowen was the deacon.
A Sunday-school was organized in connection with the church, and con- ducted by Mrs. Robert Cowen and her husband. In 1841 a school-room was added to Mr. Cowen's house, and that used for the meetings afterwards, they having been held previously in dwellings and barns.
A CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY
was also organized in the village in 1858-59, by Rev. Mr. Glidden, who was resident among the people, and who had preached alternate Sundays, pre- viously, for a year or so. Among the first members of this society were Chandler Kingsley and wife, W. H. Cross and wife, and Mrs. Levi Watkins. The preaching was supplied outside of the church. Mr. Glidden was suc- ceeded by Rev. Mr. Husted, who remained till 1868, when the organization suspended. The society occupied the Methodist Episcopal house.
A FREE-WILL BAPTIST CHURCH
was organized in South Leonidas, in 1838-39, and flourished about ten years, Rev. Mr. Fuller being the first and prominent minister thereof. Among the early church members were: Matthew and Joseph Gilbert and wives, and Daniel Adams, senior and junior, and wives. The society worshipped in the school-house in its neighborhood.
A BAPTIST CHURCH
was organized in the village in 1840, by Rev. Elmore G. Terry, and flour- ished until 1850, when Mr. Terry removed and it collapsed, though appar- ently in a prosperous condition when he left it. Among the early members were: E. G. Terry and wife, Levi Denton and wife, Mr. Carpenter and wife, the Jewetts and Van Brunts, who came from Dry prairie ten miles away. The members being so scattered caused the decline in the society.
A CHRISTIAN SOCIETY
was organized in 1847, by Rev. J. White, a very fluent speaker and excel- lent singer. There were a large number of members, among whom were : Mr. Wormley and wife, Mr. Galloway and wife, Ezra Roberts and wife, and
Mr. Covey and wife. Mr. White remained with the society three years, and then occasional preaching was had only until the Rev. Mr. Sackett came and preached a few times, when Mr. Wormley, the pillar of the society, sold out his farm and removed, and the society soon after died out.
THE FIRST PHYSICIAN
in the township was Dr. John Lee. The second one was Dr. Martin, then Doctors W. H. and Asaph Church, then Dr. Moore, who went to California, then Dr. G. W. Spalsbury who came in 1858, and is still the resident phy- sician of the place.
THE POST-OFFICE
was first established in Leonidas in 1834, and Isaac G. Bailey, the postmas- ter, brought the mail from Nottawa post-office till the summer of 1835, when he influenced the establishment of a mail-route between Jacksonburg and Centreville, and the office, which had been kept at Bailey's house, was re- moved to the territorial road,-Washtenaw trail,-in 1836. A few years af- terwards the route was changed to Marshall.
In 1842 the mail was carried between the latter point and Centreville on sleighs, from November 20 until the first week in April following, continu- ously, by Edward A. Trumbull, the first elected sheriff in the county, and who is still living at Detroit with a sister. The post-office was kept by a deputy, Aaron B. Watkins, during Mr. Bailey's incumbency. On the latter's death in 1839, O. M. Watkins succeeded to the office and held it for several years, Martin C. Watkins succeeding thereto. Mahlon W. Hobart, Augus- tus Codman, James McCoy, N. Tompkins, successively held the office ; E. W. Wilcox, the present incumbent, being appointed in 1875.
The first mail was established once in two weeks, then once a week, then once a day, either way, and now daily is received from Colon. The business of 1876 was as follows : Stamps sold, two hundred and forty dollars; fifty- one letters received and dispatched daily on an average, and four hundred newspapers, comprising eighty-six different issues, were distributed weekly. The first post-office was named Fort Pleasant.
In the early history of the office, before the stages brought the mail, N. Frank Peirce and Eber O. Peirce were mail-carriers, the former between Fort Pleasant (Cowen's mills) and Bronson's, or near there, on the Chicago pike, at Adams', and the latter between Sherwood and Nottawa, when but nine years old. Two trips, the water was so high, his horse swam the St. Joseph at Tyler's ford, and the boy stood on the horse's back and carried the bag over his shoulder. Lot Whitcomb brought the first mail into Sherwood, in 1834.
THE WASHTENAW TRAIL
ran from the east side of the township to the Indian village, and then through to Gourdneck prairie. It was afterwards laid out as a territorial road, and is at present one of the finest boulevards in the county. It was the first road laid out in the township. The first road laid out by the town- ship authority of Leonidas was ordered June 28, 1836, commencing at a post ten chains north of quarter post of sections twenty-one and twenty-two, township five south, range nine west, thence west and northwest to the township. It was surveyed by James Cowen, and laid out by Levi Watkins and Ambrose Nichols, commissioners.
THE FIRST STAGE ROUTE
was established in 1838 from White Pigeon to Jacksonburg, E. A. Trumbull running the line from the former point to Leonidas and Arnold Hayward from Leonidas to Tekonsha, breakfasting and changing horses at Peirce's, now Foster's, place. Captain Watkins ran the line one summer, and when the mail route was changed to Marshall and Centreville in 1839, Trumbull drove at first, and was succeeded by Daniel Hogan, and he by Mr. Cox. The vehicles were open wagons drawn by two or four horses, according as the roads and travel were heavy or otherwise. The first bridge over the St. Joseph was built in the summer of 1835 by Captain Watkins, and was known as the Mathews bridge. This was the second one in the county thrown across that stream. It cost two hundred dollars, the contractor subscribing twenty dollars himself. It stood some ten or twelve years. The present one was built in 1856.
CIVIL ORGANIZATION.
In the first organization of townships in the county in 1829, township five south, range nine west, now known as Leonidas, was included in and formed a part of the township of Flowerfield. This constitution remained intact until 1833, when townships five and six, range nine, were set off and consti- tuted into a new township, called Colon. The new organization remained unchanged until 1836, when township five was set off into a separate inde- pendency, and named Leonidas by mistake, which is thus explained : When
ADDISON HARVEY.
-MRS.ADDISON HARVEY.
AH
RESIDENCE OF ADDISON HARVEY, LEONIDAS TP., ST JOSEPH Co., MICH.
173
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ยท the town was first settled, Captain Watkins desired to call it Fort Pleasant, from an ancient fortification in its limits, and the beautiful prospect the landscape afforded, and the post-office was so named at its first establishment in 1834. When the meeting for the separate organization of the township was held the people could not agree upon the name the post-office was known by, but adopted the name "Leoni" instead, and sent their petition to the legislature accordingly. Jackson county also sent up a petition for a new township to be named "Leonidas," and when the engrossing clerk copied the bill for the constitution of the two townships, he made a mistake and put the name Leonidas to the St. Joseph county town, and Leoni to the Jackson town, and the error was not discovered until the law was printed, and the names remain unchanged to this day.
THE FIRST TOWN MEETING
was held at Martin C. Watkins' house April 4, 1836, James Cowen being the moderator; Aaron B. Watkins clerk, and Isaac G. Bailey and William Orcutt, inspectors. Mr. Bailey and Captain Watkins were both candidates for the office of supervisor, and each worked the best he knew how for his opponent's election, Mr. Watkins succeeding in electing his man and defeat- ing himself, and Bailey vice versa, being, in his own estimation, successfully defeated in the man of his choice, and unsuccessfully elected by his oppo- nent. Mr. Bailey had twelve votes and Mr. Watkins ten. The other offi- cers elected at this meeting were as follows: Martin C. Watkins, town clerk ; Joseph Gilbert, George Mathews, I. G. Bailey, and Aaron B. Watkins, jus- tices of the peace; James Cowen, Levi Watkins, George Mathews, assessors; Charles Starkes, Ambrose Nichols, Levi Watkins, commissioners of high- ways; James Cowen, George Mathews, and M. C. Watkins, school commis- sioners; Arnold Hayward, Moses W. Whiting, overseers of the poor; Orrin M. Watkins, constable and collector. At this meeting it was voted to pay two dollars bounty for wolf scalps and fifty cents for foxes, and to raise twenty dollars for contingent expenses ; that the supervisor should purchase the requisite books and ballot-boxes for the town, and charge the same; that overseers of highways be fence-viewers, and that the school commissioners should lease the school section for a term of five years. Seven road districts were laid off March 30, 1837.
The second town meeting was held in the school-house, and the claims of 1836-37 against the town audited at the sum of eighty dollars and fifty cents. In 1838 the electors voted five dollars bounty on wolves, one dollar on foxes, fifty cents on wild-cats,-not of the banking genus,-and fifty dollars for panthers.
It seems that a settler going through a neck of woods in the township, just in the edge of the evening, was startled by his pony stopping short and snorting loudly, and refusing to go forward, but showing great readiness to turn about and go back. The rider, looking ahead, saw, at a short distance, an animal crouching in the trail, as if ready for a leap. It was now his turn to feel "backward about going forward," and he commenced shouting and thrashing the ground and bushes on either side of the trail, with a long gad he had in his hands. This he continued for some little time, when the animal, probably disgusted at the unsociability of the pony and his rider, gave a sudden leap into the air off to one side of the path, and disappeared. The rider and pony made the fastest time on their journey the next ten min- utes, and burst into the first cabin,-that is, the rider did,-and in breathless accents told of his encounter with a terrible panther of enormous propor- tions. Hence the bounty that was laid on panthers' scalps the following spring. This bounty was never paid, the great cat moving to a region where his head-covering was less highly prized. Wolf-bounties increased however, to ten dollars a scalp, in 1839.
The report of the town auditors for 1838-39, showed fifty-two dollars paid for that kind of fur, and the people voted one hundred and sixteen dollars eighty-seven and a half cents for pauper relief, in 1839. In 1840 the board of auditors believed it was worth two dollars per week to board a lame Indian, and therefore allowed Captain Watkins at that rate, for such care of one of the Nottawas. In 1841 the town bought thirty dollars' worth of records, and a desk to put them in. In December, 1863, a bounty for volun- teers was voted of one hundred dollars each, and on February 20, 1864, one thousand five hundred dollars were raised for the same purpose, and on January 24, 1865, two hundred dollars were offered for the encouragement of enlistments.
The position of supervisor has been held in the township as follows : Isaac G. Bailey, 1836-1838-39; Jairus Peirce, 1837 and 1842-44 and 1846; Elias B. Kinne, 1840; Thomas King, 1841; Charles Woodworth, 1845; W. H. Cross, 1847-1851 and 1859-61; William M. Watkins, 1852- 54 and 1872; Albert M. Collins, 1855 ; James B. Dunkin, 1856; John E.
Moores, 1857-58; Justus L. Vought, 1862-63 and 1865; M. W. Hobart, 1864; David R. Beckley, 1866; Andrew Climie, 1867-68 and 1875-76; Josias Simpson, 1869 and 1871-73-74; William M. Haines, 1870.
The office of town clerk has been filled as follows: Martin C. Watkins, 1836-40 ; J. L. Vought, 1841-42 ; W. M. Watkins, 1843 and 1845-51 ; O. M. Watkins, 1844; W. H. Church, 1852; E. M. Roberts, 1853; A. T. Watkins, 1854; Samuel Cross, 1855 and 1863-64; Elisha M. Johnson, 1856-57 and 1861 ; S. L. Kinne, 1858; James McCoy, 1859-60; George A. Arnold, 1862 and 1865-66; N. Tompkins, 1867 and 1875-76; L. T. Clark, 1868; George E. Burch, 1869-71 ; Edgar Spalsbury, 1872-74.
The leading justices of the peace have been as follows, who have served more than a single term of four years : E. K. Wilcox, about twenty-three years; O. M. Watkins, sixteen years ; Levi Keys, Nathan Scholfield, W. H. Church, Almon A. Fisher, James S. Lee, I. V. S. Banta, E. W. Foot, N. Tompkins, W. M. Watkins, present incumbent; H. N. Addison, James McCoy, present incumbent ; John Foreman, present incumbent; Stephen I. Schutt, Edgar Spalsbury, present incumbent.
MARKS AND BRANDS.
D. W. Adams had, as it is recorded on the old record, for his mark, "a hole threw the wright ear and a crop of the left," and Michael C. Keith had " a hole threw both ears." Square crops and half pennies were divided be- tween Hayward, Levi and A. W. Watkins and Jairus Peirce, with which they marked their cattle.
POPULATION.
In 1836 the vote in November indicated a population of about one hun- dred and thirty-five in Leonidas; in 1837 the same gauge showed three hundred and five, and the census of 1838 revealed three hundred and seventy-four inhabitants, who, in 1840 had increased the number of fifty-five souls. In 1850 the census of that year showed eight hundred and fifty-seven inhabitants. In 1860 there were one thousand two hundred and fifty-nine in- habitants returned, and in 1870 the people numbered one thousand four hun- dred and sixty. In 1874 the State census returned one thousand four hundred and twenty-three only, of whom seven hundred and eighty-one were males and six hundred and forty-two females. Three hundred and seventy-nine of the males were over twenty-one, two hundred and twenty-four of them being subject to draft. Of the females, two hundred and thirty-three were be- tween eighteen and forty years of age and one hundred and fifty-six above that age. There were four hundred and two boys under twenty-one, and their sisters, under eighteen years, numbered two hundred and fifty-three.
THE POLITICAL CURRENT
sets strongly Republican in the township, as will be seen by the following exhibit, taken from the canvass of the several presidential elections held in the township : In 1840 the Whigs polled sixty-one votes, and the Democrats thirty ; in 1844 the former cast ninety, and the latter fifty-two votes ; in 1848 the same parties cast eighty-seven and forty-four respectively, and the Free Soilers cast twenty-four ; in 1852 the Whigs tallied eighty-six, the Democrats sixty-one, and the Abolitionists two votes ; in 1856 the Repub- licans cast one hundred and forty-nine, and the Democrats sixty-two votes ; the same parties cast in 1860, one hundred and ninety-eight and one hundred and one votes, respectively ; and in 1864, two hundred and ten and ninety- one; in 1868 two hundred and fifty-seven and one hundred and twenty- seven ; and in 1872 two hundred and fourteen and fifty-six; in 1876 the balloting stood Hayes two hundred and thirty-one, Tilden one hundred and . fourteen, Cooper twenty-two. This last vote would indicate a population of about one thousand eight hundred in the township.
In 1840, the campaign of Tippecanoe and hard cider, every legal voter in the township went to the polls and cast his vote; one old gentleman, named Gilbert, who was unable to walk or ride in a carriage even, was taken to the polls in his arm-chair by two stout and determined Whigs, that he might vote for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too," thereby pleasing the old veteran of ninety-three winters hugely.
THE PRICE OF SOVEREIGNTY
to Leonidas will be seen in the taxes she paid to support the dignity she craved and received as a separate and independent township.
In 1836 the assessment of property in the township for taxation was placed at thirty-four thousand six hundred and twenty-seven dollars, and her State taxes were eighty-six dollars and fifty-six cents, her total levy being two hundred and thirty-five dollars and fifty-six cents. In 1838 the assessment was sixty-three thousand six hundred and fifty-seven dollars ; the State and county taxes being two hundred and forty-six dollars, and her own township
174
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN. .
levy about one hundred dollars. In 1852 the assessment was sixty-one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four dollars, and the total taxes one thousand and twenty-six dollars and fifty-five cents. In 1860 the assess- ment was fixed at two hundred and seventy-one thousand two hundred and eighty-two dollars, and the levy of taxes one thousand eight hundred and six dollars and ninety-eight cents. In 1870 the assessment was returned at five hundred and sixty-nine thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine dollars, and the levy of the taxes thereon, eight thousand and eight dollars and forty- seven cents. In 1876 the assessment, as equalized by the supervisors, was two hundred and seventy-two thousand six hundred and sixty-seven dollars real-estate, and sixty-one thousand and twenty-eight dollars personal prop- erty ; total three hundred and thirty-three thousand six hundred and ninety- five dollars,-about one-fourth value. On this amount the levy of taxes was State, eight hundred and fifty-two dollars and thirty-three cents; county, eight hundred and fifty-two dollars and thirty-two cents; township, includ- ing schools, two thousand five hundred and forty-one dollars and twenty-four cents ; total four thousand two hundred and forty-five dollars and ninety cents.
THE VILLAGE OF LEONIDAS.
The original plat of the village of Leonidas was laid off by E. G. Terry, December 30, 1846, on the northwest quarter of section twelve, township five, range nine west, at the intersection of the territorial road,-the Washtenaw trail,-which enters the village from the northeast, and passes diagonally through it to the southwest, and the road from Colon to Climax prairie, which passes through the village from south to north, and the road to Men- don village via the old Cowen mills-now Switzer's.
The houses in the village began to be neighborly, and play " hide-and- seek " in the old oak openings, in 1835; a school-house being built in 1836, and a church in 1854-6.
The post-office was established on the territorial road, in 1836, and thus the village began.
A merchant came-Lester Buckley-in 1843, and opened his wares for sale, and others followed, until to-day
THE BUSINESS OF THE PRESENT
is as follows :
Dry Goods, etc-Ferris, Wilcox and Schutt.
Drugs-Spalsbury Brothers, successors to E. Spalsbury, 1866, in dry goods and general merchandise, and 1870-5, drugs.
Groceries- - Purdy. Boots and Shoes, Dealer and Manufacturer-Charles Wentworth.
Harness- - West.
Millinery-Mrs. Emma J. Watkins.
Tailor-Felix C. Baldery.
Blacksmith-C. L. Leach.
Wagons-William C. Davis.
Shoemaker- - Pratt.
Steam Threshing-Watkins & Cleveland, Andrew Maxfield. Hotel, " Leonidas House "-Lafayette Libhart. Stage Line and Mail Carrier to Colon and Return-Seth West.
SOCIETIES -- I. O. O. F.
Blackman Lodge, No. 117, was instituted by charter April 2, 1868, with the following officers and members : P. B. Purchase, N. G. ; Loftus Hyatt, V. G .; Clifton H. Clemens, R. S .; N. T. Watkins, P. S .; John Van Alstine, C. Wentworth, Leverett Beard, B. Orcutt and J. H. Beard. The lodge meets in its own hall, over West's harness-shop and Purdy's grocery. The officers of 1876 were Orson Orcutt, N. G .; S. N. Clement, V. G .; J. J. Bennett, R. S .; N. Tompkins, P. S. (and for three years previously). The lodge has thirty-six members.
A division of Sons of Temperance was organized in 1847, among the members being W. H. Cross, Seth West, Homer Ransom, O. M. Watkins, Cyrenus Whiting, P. Garrett, - Clement, Gilbert Wing, and Mr. Burch. It suspended in 1849.
In 1856 a Good Templar lodge was instituted, and flourished for a time, and went down ; was reorganized in 1867-8, and lived for a few years longer, then suspended, and was again resuscitated in 1874, with Mrs. L. T. Clement, W. C. T .; Mrs. Hannah West, W. V. T. It worked well until 1876, when something hindered, and it ceased to be.
Mrs. Clement, P. B. Purchase, H. G. Arnold and N. Tompkins, were prom- inent members of the second organization.
PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.
Leonidas Grange, No. 266, was organized February, 1873, John C. Kinne being the first master, and with sixty-five members. The present officers are W. M. Watkins, master ; David Purdy, overseer ; W. R. Addison, secretary. There are seventy members on the books.
On June 23, 1831, Peter Beisel and George Mathews laid off and sur- veyed a plat of a village, which they named, in honor of the former, " Beisel." It was located on the northeast quarter of section thirty-two, township five, range nine west, and was surveyed by C. Barnes ; but no village ever arose on the plat, and it relapsed into farming lands, if, indeed, it ever emerged therefrom.
ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS
abounded in the township of Leonidas, both in the openings and in the heavy timber, when the first settlers came thereto, the outlines of many of which are still distinctly discernible. One in the heavy timber has breastworks about three feet high, with gate-ways, sally-ports, and interior and exterior defenses. A large cherry-tree has grown upon the intrenchments, and fallen and rotted thereon, since they were erected by a people, of whom the Indians, when first seen by white men, in the twelfth century, had no tra- dition.
On the north side of an old fort were found two wagon-boxes full of shells, about forty rods south of Nottawa creek. Many of the mounds have been opened, and bones of animals and man found; in one three skeletons were found, of which the skulls, teeth, and large bones of the leg were well pre- served, the smaller bones being gone.
W. M. Watkins, Esq., has several very fine relics taken from these mounds. Among them one celt, finely wrought, and a pipe, showing rude attempts at carving. A very exquisitely wrought stone, for some unknown purpose, with a perforation through its centre, proportioned accurately, was found, which shows consummate skill in the use of the rude implements the mound- builders possessed. Large quantities of pottery have been, from time to time, plowed up, but which fell to pieces on exposure to the air.
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