USA > Michigan > Washtenaw County > History of Washtenaw County, Michigan : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships...and biographies of representative citizens : history of Michigan > Part 68
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In 1833 an attempt was made to erect a house of worship. Pledges were obtained to the amount of about $500, much of it being in material or work. In the spring of 1834 the frame was erected, but this exhausted the finances of the building committee. Moses Kingsley was now sent East to solicit funds for its comple- tion. He secured $160, which enabled the committee to enclose the house, and with further help obtained at home, it was painted and temporarily seated. The year following the house was plastered and better seats furnished. This church edifice is probably the oldest in the county.
The government of this Church remained Presbyterian until 1860, when it was changed to Congregational.
The Church has enjoyed the ministerial services of Revs. Charles G. Clark, C. Galpin, D. B. Davidson, Norman Tucker, Thomas Wright, John B. Fisk, Mr. Gelsten, Joseph Estabrook, Lucius D. Chapin, David Taylor, William Campbell, George Jackson, H. E. Brown, Prof. Tyler, B. F. Parsons, Prof. D'Ooge and William C. Allen. The following named served as Elders under Presbyterian form of government: Jacob Drenns, David Dwight, Munnis Kenny, Moses Kingsley, Moses M. Boynton, Austin Anderson, Theodore Foster, P. H. Reeve, Norman Dwight, Sturms Kimberly. On its change to Congregational, Philip H. Reeve and Norman C. Good- ale were elected Deacons, and W. R. Waldron, Clerk. Norman C. Goodale died July 8, 1869, and Edwin Blodgett was elected March 31, 1871. Russell C. Reeve was also elected at the same time. In 1873 Norman Dwight was elected Deacon.
681
WEBSTER TOWNSHIP.
The Methodist Episcopal brethren organized a class in 1830 and maintained its organization until 1843, meeting at first in private dwellings and subsequently in school-houses, when a schism occur- red, resulting in the dismemberment of the organization. The members united in neighboring Churches. In 1862 a young stu- dent in the University, Rev. Mr. Vandozer, proceeded to gather together the scattered and almost latent Methodist element. A series of meetings were held, a new organization effected, and a church edifice erected about a mile and a quarter north of the Congregational church.
TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.
The following are the names of the officers annually elected since the organization of the town.
SUPERVISORS.
John Williams. 1833
Sturms Kimberly
1834-5
John Williams.
1836-8
Munnis Kenny. 1839-40
William W. Todd 1841
James Ball, jr. 1842-3
Stephen Cogswell. 1844
Samuel H. Ball. 1845
James Ball, jr. 1846
Sturms Kimberly 1847-8
Jeremiah D. Williams 1849
Sturms Kimberly 1850-1
J. D. Williams.
1852
-
CLERKS.
Moses Kingsley 1833
Pierpont L. Smith.
1834
L. D. Stowell.
1835
John Alley
1836-8
Lyman Bennett. 1839
John Miller. 1858
George C. Arms 1859-62
Stephen Cogswell. 1841
L. D. Ball. . 1863
George C. Arms 1864-5
Gregory E. Dibble 1866-7
John Alley 1844
J. D. Williams 1845-6
Munnis Kenny. 1847-9
W. R. Waldron
1850-2
W. R. Waldron. 1853-4
Marvin Cadwell. 1855
Sturms Kimberly. 1856-7
Gabriel Conklin. 1858
Robert McColl. 1859-63
Robert McColl. 1864-6
Thomas G. Haight. 1867-8
George C. Arms. 1869-71
Richard Walsh. 1872
Pomeroy Van Riper. 1873-4
L. D. Ball ..
1875-9
Alonzo Olsaver 1880
-
John Miller 1853
John C. Wheeler 1854
H. L. Prosser. . 1855
Munnis Kenny. 1856-7
Jeremiah D. Williams 1840
J. A. Walsh. 1842
J. D. Williams. 1843
Jeremiah D. Williams 1868
Pomeroy Van Riper 1869-71
George W. Merrill 1872
William H. Weston. 1873-80
682
HISTORY OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
TREASURERS.
Frederick B. Parsons .1833
Alexander D. Crane. 1834-5
Stephen Stowell. 1836-7
Tillotson Wheeler 1838
Jeremiah D. Williams 1839
John Williams.
1840
Jesse A. Cushing. 1841
Henry Scadin .1842
Elisha Cranson. .1843
Hiram Mason.
1844
Henry M. Queal 1845
John Alley. .1846
Hiram Mason 1847
Winthrop Merrill. 1848
William Babcock. 1849
Jacob Blanden. 1850
Philander Wing.
1851
James B. Arms, jr. 1872-4
Gilbert Granger.
1875-6
Andrew J. Sawyer.
1877-8
Stearns T. Wheeler
1879-80
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Salmon H. Matthews 1835
John Alley. 1839
-
Barnabas K. Dibble. 1839
William Latson. 1840
Charles Starks. 1841
William W. Todd.
.1848
William Walker. 1848
William Babcock. 1844
Amos Ball. 1845
Robert M. Snyder. 1845
Lysander Morse. 1845
Charles Starks. 1845
James B. Arms. 1846
David G. Chamberlain. 1847
Lawrence Olsaver, to fill vacancy.1847
Lysander Morse ..
1848
Samuel H. Bell, to fill vacancy .. . 1848
Jeremiah D. Williams, to fill va- cancy. 1848
Amos Ball. 1849
Thomas Harran. 1850
Robert Crawford, to fill vacancy. 1851 Charles Starks. 1851
Samuel H. Ball.
1852
Edward Litchfield, to fill vacancy.1852 Amos Ball 1853
J. D. Williams. 1854
John Cordly, to fill vacancy 1854
V.M. Bostwick, “ " 1854
Barnabas K. Dibble.
1855
Robert McColl 1857
Nelson H. Alport. .
1858
George L. McAlister 1859
Amos Ball. . 1860
Barnabas K. Dibble. 1861
William H. Weston. 1862
William Eman.
1862-3
Amos Ball.
1864
-
J. W. Hicks. 1864
Thomas G. Haight. 1865
Stephen C. Alley, to fill vacancy . 1865
Isaac Terry Mundy. 1866
William H. Weston
1866
Jeremiah D. Williams 1867
Robert McColl. 1868
Thomas G Haight. 1869
James McCall.
1870
Wooster Blodgett
.1871
Jeremiah D. Williams, to fill va- cancy. 1871
Luther Palmer 1872
Jerome B. Palmer, to fill vacancy 1872
William R. Waldron. 1873 Foster Litchfield, to fill vacancy . 1873 Russell C. Reeve. 1874
Foster Litchfield 1875
C. M. Stack. 1876
G. W. Phelps 1877
Wm. R. Waldron .1878
James B. Arms, jr.
1878
Gilbert Granger.
1879
Jeremiah D. Williams.
1856
-
Elisha Cranson
1880
James B. Thurber. 1856
William Burnham. 1857
John S. Wygant 1858
John Alley, jr.
1859
Foster Litchfield. 1860
Benedict B. Williams. 1861
C. M. Starks. 1862
John C. Wheeler .1863
T. G. Haight.
1864
Atchison W. Gleason. 1865
Worcester Blodgett 1866
Henry H. Wilson. 1867
Isaac C. Stanton. 1868
Isaac S. Savery 1869
William H. Weston 1870
John A. Cushing 1871
David Morgan. 1852
John S. Scadin 1853
John Miller ..
1854
Robert McColl 1855
1
L. Boyden
-
685
WEBSTER TOWNSHIP.
ORIGINAL ENTRIES.
The following are the entries made from Government :
SECTION 1.
James Horton, e hf of nw frac qr. Thomas T. Pettis, sw qr of nw frac. qr Garret Rosenkrans, ne qr of se qr. Lawrence Olsaver, nw qr of sw qr. Stephen Hyde, e hf of ne frac qr and nw qr of se qr.
Stephen Woolaver, w hf of ne frac qr. Samuel Underford, ne qr of sw qr. Samuel Gardner, nw qr of nw frac qr. Elizabeth Hall, sw qr of sw qr. Daniel Tuttle, se qr of sw qr.
SECTION 2.
Peter Showerman, nw qr of nw frac qr. Cornelius Olsaver, w hf of ne qr and se qr of nw qr.
David Morgan, e part of ne frac qr. Winthrop Merrill, e hf of sw qr. Jacob Vandermaker, sw qr of nw frac qr. Lawrence Olsaver, ne qr of nw qr. Martin Olsaver, ne qr of se qr. William Yawger, nw qr of sw qr. Marvin Babcock, sw qr of sw qr. William Haight, w hf se qr. George W. Case, se qr of se qr.
SECTION 3.
Edward Kellogg, e hf of se qr. Christopher L. Calver, ne frac qr. Jacob Blanden, w hf of sw qr. John Schofield, se qr of se qr.
SECTION 4.
Rachel Cogswell, w hf of sw qr. Charles Arms, e hf of se qr.
James B. Arms, w hf of se qr and e hf of sw qr.
Patrick Gallaghan, w hf of nw frac qr. Clarissa Arms, sw qr of ne frac qr. James B. Arms, ne qr of nw frac qr. James B. Arms, se qr of ne frac qr. James Gallaghan, ne frac qr of ne frac qr. James Gallaghan, nw frac qr of ne frac qr.
SECTION 5.
John Dwight, entire section 5. SECTION 6.
Rufus Nichols, sw frac. John Dwight, ne frac. Palmer Force & Rufus Nichols, nw frac. Hugh Keilly, sw frac qr.
SECTION 7.
Palmer Force, w hf of sw qr. Harmon B. Benedict, w hf of se qr.
Thomas B. White, e hf of sw qr. Cyrenus Noble, sw qr of nw qr. Jesse Howard, se qr of ne qr. Rufus Nichols, nw qr of nw qr. Thomas Daley, sw qr of ne qr and se qr of nw frac qr.
Sylvester Wright, e hf of se qr. Nathaniel Prouty, ne qr of ne qr. Charles Kingsley, nw qr of ne qr and ne qr of nw qr.
SECTION 8.
Orange Greenman, e hf of ne qr.
Ansel Belding, se qr.
John Youman, nw qr of ne qr.
Charles Tozer, sw qr of ne qr.
Jonas Young, e hf of sw qr.
Michael Divine, e hf of nw qr.
Jesse Howard, w hf of nw qr.
Charles Kingsley, w hf of sw qr.
SECTION 9.
Rachel Cogswell, nw qr.
Augustus Cotton, ne qr of se qr.
Jesse Howard, ne qr of sw qr.
James B. Arms, nw qr of ne qr. Charles Arms, ne qr of ne qr.
Cornelius Sammons, nw qr of sw qr.
Jethro B. Lanphere, sw qr of ne qr and nw qr of se qr.
Abel C. Bunker, sw qr of sw qr and sw qr of se qr. James Ball, se qr of sw qr. Benjamin Hobert, se qr of se qr.
Austin Sanderson, se qr of ne qr.
SECTION 10.
Edward Phelps, w hf of se qr and w hf of ne qr.
Silas Kenny, sw qr and e hf of nw qr.
Jacob Blanden, nw qr of nw qr.
Edward Kellogg, e hf of ne qr.
Charles Kellogg, se qr of se qr and sw qr of nw qr.
Patrick Fitzgibbon, ne qr of se qr.
SECTION 11.
Benjamin B. Hoar, e hf of sw qr.
John C. Carpenter, w hf of sw qr.
Hosea Green, s hf of nw qr.
Hiram Thomas, w hf of ne qr and ne qr of nw qr.
Marvin Babcock, nw qrof nw qr and nw qr of se qr.
Nathan Thomas, se qr of se qr.
Charles Starks, sw qr. of se qr.
David Thomas, ne qr of ne qr and ne qr of se qr. Cornelius Olsaver, se qr of ne qr.
686
HISTORY OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
SECTION 12.
" Joseph Johnson, ne qr and se qr and w hf of sw qr.
Alexander Williams, ne qr of of sw qr.
"George C. Snyder, se qr of sw qr. Jesse Johnson, ne qr of nw qr. Robert M. Snyder, nw qr of nw qr. Daniel D. Smith, se qr of nw qr.
SECTION 13.
Nicholas Schoonover, ne qr. George Shepard, w hf of sw qr.
Nathan Thomas, w hf of nw qr.
James O'Brien, e hf of se qr.
Thomas O'Brien, w hf of se qr. Frederick B. Parsons, e hf of sw qr. John Youmans, se qr of nw qr. Patrick Coyle, ne qr of nw qr.
SECTION 14.
Cyrus W. Pierce, e hf of nw qr. Nathan Thomas, e hf of nw qr.
Nicholas Schoonover, w hf of nw qr.
George Shepard, e hf of se qr.
John A. Bothwell, nw,qr of sw qr and nw qr of ne qr.
Tillotson Wheeler, sw qr of sw qr.
Charles Starks, e hf of sw qr.
Charles Place, sw qr of ne qr.
George Cole, w qr of se qr.
SECTION 15.
Tillotson Wheeler, e hf of se qr. Munnis Kenny, w hf of se qr.
Jesse A. Cushing, w hf of sw qr.
Arunah Collar, e hf of sw qr.
Thomas Parks, e hf of nw qr.
Silas Keeny, w hf of nw qr.
Benjamin Reed, w'hf of ne qr and se qr of ne qr.
Patrick Fitzgibbon, ne qr of ne qr.
SECTION 17.
Thomas B. White, w hf of sw qr. John Norris, jr., e hf of sw qr and w hf of nw qr.
Mark Crawford, e hf of ne qr.
Philip H. Reeve, se qr.
Francis H. Tuthill, w hf of ne qr.
Nelson HI. Wing, e hf of nw qr.
SECTION 18.
George H. Shearman, w hf of sw qr. Cornelius Osterhout, e hf of se qr.
Thomas B. White, ne qr. Daniel Layton, w hf of nw qr.
Theophilus Crawford, jr., e hf of sw qr and w hf of se qr. Francis Hooban, e hf of nw frac qr. SECTION 19.
George H. Shearman, w hf of nw qr. Robert E. Huxford, w hf of sw qr. Theophilus Crawford, e hf of nw qr.
Theophilus Crawford, jr., ne qr. Charles Benedict, e hf of sw qr. Eli A. Roburds, sw qr of se qr. Lester Williams, jr., e hf of se qr. Paul Hawks, nw qr of se qr.
SECTION 20.
Peter Williams, e hf of se qr.
Francis H. Tuthill, w hf of se qr.
John Stanton, sw qr.
Richard Peterson, e hf of ne qr.
Philip H. Reeve,w hf of ne qr & nw qr.
SECTION 21.
Peter Williams, w hf of sw qr.
William R. Richmond, e hf of se qr. Cyrus Loomis, e hf of sw qr & sw qr of se qr. George H. Sherman, w hf of nw qr.
Barnard, Daniel and Thomas, jr., Mur- ray, ne qr.
Cyrus Loomis, nw qr of se qr.
Rufus Thompson, se qr of nw qr.
Charles Kingsley, ne qr of nw qr.
SECTION 22.
Jeremiah Fuller, e hf of se qr.
Munnis Kenny, ne qr.
William R. Richmond, w hf of sw qr.
Ezra Houghton, w hf of se qr.
Henry M. Queal, e hf of sw qr & ne qr of nw qr. Daniel, Barnard and Thomas, jr., Mur- ray, w hf of nw qr & sw qr of nw qr.
SECTION 23.
Enoch Stark, e hf of se qr.
Jeremiah Fuller, w hf of sw qr.
Arunah Collar, e hf of ne qr.
Daniel B. Hammond, nw qr of se qr.
Elijah Atwater, sw qr of se qr & ne qr of sw qr. Elijah Atwater, nw qr & w hf of ne qr. Philip H. Reeve, se qr of sw qr.
SECTION 24.
Elisha C'ranson, w hf of sw qr.
William Latson, nw qr.
Cecil D. Parsons, e hf of se qr.
John Donovan, w hf of ne qr.
Owney and Henry Conlan e hf of ne qr.
George Shepherd, w hf of se qr.
William Lason, se qr of sw qr. John O'Brien, ne qr of sw qr.
SECTION 25.
Thomas Alexander, w hf of sw qr.
Jonathan Kearsley, e hf of sw qr.
Israel Arms, w hf of se qr.
Frederick B. Parsons, e hf of se qr.
Charles Starks, e hf of nw qr. Hugh McC'all, ne qr.
Elisha Cranson. nw qr of nw qr. Gains and Charles Fuller, sw qr of nw qr.
WEBSTER TOWNSHIP.
687
SECTION 26.
Asahel Higby, e hf of se qr. Elisha Cranson, e hf of ne qr.
Henry C. Scadin, w hf of nw qr & ne qr of nw qr. Hannah Kingsley, w hf of sw qr. George Fitzgerald, e hf of sw qr.
Moses Gleason, sw qr of se qr & nw qr of se qr. Lewis D. Stowell, se qr of nw qr.
Elias Cranson, nw qr of ne qr. George Fitzgerald, sw qr of ne qr.
SECTION 27.
John Williams, entire section.
SECTION 28.
Henry Berdan, sw qr.
Charles Williams, nw qr.
Gardner Bird, se qr. John Johnson, ne qr.
SECTION 29.
Nathaniel Johnson, se qr.
William Hudson, e hf of ne qr.
Philip H. Reeve, nw qr & w hf of ne qr. Daniel Hoy, s hf. of sw qr.
Joseph Collyer, n hf of sw qr.
Samuel W. Dexter, e part sw frac qr.
SECTION 30.
Samuel W. Dexter, sw frac & nw frac qr.
William H. and F. J. Provost, se qr.
Joseph Allen, ne qr.
SECTION 31.
Samuel W. Dexter, entire section. SECTION 32.
Samuel W. Dexter, sw frac of sw frac qr & n part sw frac qr.
-
Philip Brigham, nw qr. Samuel W. Foster, e hf of se qr. Charles Rozabeck, sw qr of se qr. William Presley, w hf of ne qr. Rufus Gorton, nw qr of se qr. Joanna Costello, sw qr of se qr. Robert Montgomery, se qr of ne qr.
SECTION 33.
Silas Kingsley, jr., w hf of sw qr. Doddridge Smith, e hf of sw qr.
Orbel Foster, w hf of se qr.
Silas W. Gorton, e hf of se qr. William Latson, ne qr.
John Montgomery, nw qr. SECTION 34.
Ira Seymour, w hf of sw qr and w hf of nw qr.
Salmon H. Matthews, e hf of ne qr.
Ezra Fish, jr., e hf of se qr.
Osborne Aldrich, e hf of sw qr.
William H. Baker, w hf of se qr.
William M. Cotton, w hf of ne qr. John Williams, e hf of nw qr.
SECTION 35.
Thomas Alexander, e hf of ne qr & e hf of se qr.
Lyman and Luther Grandy, w hf of se qr & e hf of sw qr. Salmon H. Matthews, w hf of nw qr & w hf of sw qr. Samuel W. Dexter, w hf of ne qr & e hf, nw qr.
.
SECTION 36.
John Boyden, sw qr & nw qr.
John P. Andrews, w hf of se qr.
Peter Sears, e hf of se qr.
Munnis Kenny, w hf ne qr.
James K. Barber, e hf of ne qr.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Edward L. Alexander, farmer and stock-raiser, sec. 35, Webster tp .; P. O., Dexter; is a son of Thomas and Maria (Warren) Alexan- der, the former a native of Wales, and the latter of Ireland. The former died in 1870 at the age of 85, and the latter in 1868, being 69 years old. They immigrated to Washtenaw county in 1826. The subject of this sketch was born in this county, March 1, 1845. He was raised a farmer's boy, and has followed that occupation all his life, at present being in partnership with his brother. He was mar- ried in Upper Canada, in 1866, to Sarah M. - -- , a native of Canada, where she was born Sept. 24, 1848. They have 2 children- Horace E., born Sept. 12, 1872, and William E. F., born Nov. 17, 1877. Mr. A. is an enterprising and successful farmer, and a man well respected in the community in which he resides. Politically
he is a Republican.
.
688
HISTORY OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
John Alexander, farmer, sec. 25, Webster tp .; P. O., Dexter; was born in Washtenaw county in 1831, and is a son of Thomas and Hannah M. (Warren) Alexander, the former of Welsh and the lat- ter of Irish descent. They came to this county in 1826, being among the first to settle in Webster tp. He was married in Dun- dee, Canada, in 1867, to Emily Kitchen, born in West Can- ada, Jan. 25, 1843, and daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Schran) Kitchen. This union was blessed with 3 children-William W., born Dec. 24, 1867; George E., born Dec. 3, 1869; and Mar- shall M., born Nov. 21, 1872. At the age of 17 Mr. Alexander commenced to buy and sell stock, which business, in connection with farming, he has followed the greater part of his life. For three years he was a contractor on the building of a large railroad through Ohio. He also was engaged in the lumber trade, in St. Clair Co., Mich., for a short time. He has held several local offices, and at present is a member of the Masonic fraternity. In religion, Mr. Alexander is a Liberal, and in politics a Republican.
M. H. Alexander, farmer, sec. 26, Webster tp .; P. O., Dexter; was born in Webster tp. Sept. 5, 1829, and is at present the oldest living native of that township. He is a son of Thomas and Maria Alexander, the former a native of Wales, and the latter of Irish nativity. They emigrated to the county in 1826, and were among the fearless band of pioneers who first entered Webster tp. Mr. A. was married in 1855, to Sarah E. Appleton, a native of Liv- ingston Co., Mich., and probably the first white child born in that county. The fruit of this union is one child-Arthur L., born in 1856, and at present a very successful teacher. He bids fair to rank high in the profession of which he is an honored member. He is connected with the Masonic fraternity. Mr. A.'s father can tell many an interesting story of pioneer life, and the trials and tribulations of the early settlers in Webster tp. Mr. Alexander and his wife are connected with the Liberals or Free Thinkers, and are much respected in the neighborhood. He is a Republican. He owns a good farm of 40 acres.
Robert M. Alexander, farmer, sec. 25, Webster tp .; P. O., Delhi Mills; is the son of Thomas and Maria (Warren) Alexander, and a brother of the foregoing. Mr. Alexander and Luther Boy- den came to this county about the same time. Together they went out one day to examine the soil and Mr. Boyden was rather suspicious of it, thinking it was not of the best quality of farm land, but Mr. A. took a spade, and digging up a quantity of it, examined it carefully and pronounced it good. They then drew cuts to see who should have first choice of the land lying on the east and west side of the road. Mr. B. was favored by fortune and drew first choice. They then made a solemn vow never to infringe on the rights of the other; i. e., Mr. B. was never to touch any land on the east side of the road and Mr. A. on the west side, and the vow has been faithfully adhered to through life. Mr. A. was twice
.
689
WEBSTER TOWNSHIP.
married-in 1854, in Jackson county, to Clara Baker, a native of New York, where she was born in 1833. They had 3 children- Estella (wife of Mr. Rosier, of this county), Clay W. and Clara. The mother passed from earth in 1869. The second marriage was in 1870, to Fanny Howell, a native of Canada, and born in 1846. They were blessed with one child-Lillie. Mr. A. is a Republi- can.
James Bowdoin Arms was born in South Deerfield, Mass., in 1801, and his wife, Clarissa, in Palmer, Mass., in 1802. He bought 200 acres of land on secs. 4 and 9, this tp., and emigrated here with his family in May, 1834; rented a 7x9 log house of Russell Cooley, which he occupied until late the next fall; contracted with a man to build a small frame house for him this season, but after getting the timber almost ready to raise, he got to drinking and ran away. Directly after arriving here Mr. Arms bought two yoke of oxen and two cows, of the late Henry Warner; was then out of money and had to grub for awhile; obtained credit, and bought his year's stock of wheat at five shillings per bushel; lived comfortably for awhile; lumber being scarce, he used blankets for doors. Having only loose boards for a chamber floor, an almost fatal accident happened one night. Mrs. Arms was up stairs on her way to bed with her child, when a board tipped, and down went the child to the floor below, and Mrs. A. would have fallen through with it. had not her husband, who was far more spry then than now, grasped her. No bones were broken.
It being rumored one day that a bear was roaming in the neigh- borhood, and several panthers in pursuit of him, Mr. Arms seized his gun, started in hot pursuit through a marshy country, and soon came in sight of Bruin, who soon disappeared in the woods near by. Although it was near night, Mr. A. followed into the woods until he obtained sight of him again, but becoming discouraged in the chase, he gave it up, and undertook to fire off his gun to en- courage the party he had left some distance behind; but after snap- ping the trigger two or three times in vain, he started home. On his way he examined his gun and found that in his haste in loading he had got the ball below the powder!
Deer were plentiful. One day Mr. A. saw a dozen in one drove, but unfortunately he had no gun with him. Wild turkeys were also abundant-sometimes in flocks so large that they could not be counted, except by the acre. Mr. Arms once saw as many as 40 acres covered by one flock !
1 Some of the early neighbors of the subject of this sketch were M. Kenny, Luther Boyden, Wm. Lotran, Elisha Cranson, John Williams, Jacob Blanden, Silas Cogswell, Benjamin Reed, Hiram Reed, Jesse Cushing, Peter Sears, Charles Stark and Russell Cooley. The last mentioned, a Massachusetts man who located here in 1831, was one of the best of neighbors, contributing much to the com- fort of Mr. Arms' family while they were becoming acclimated by fever and ague, etc. He died abont 30 years ago. His eldest
690
HISTORY OF WASHTENAW COUNTY.
daughter is the widow of the late Deacon T. H. Reeve, and is a very estimable woman. Mr. Cooley's youngest daughter, now Mrs. Averill Burnett, resides on the old homestead.
When Mr. Arms first arrived in this neighborhood, he found a Presbyterian Church already organized, with Rev. Mr. Clark as pastor, who, with the aid of a farm of his own, managed to get along, as the Church was small and poor. The method of attend- ing church then was by means of lumber wagons, drawn by oxen. Several families would often pile into one wagon, and two yoke ot oxen would be necessary for locomotive power. They always re- membered to take their dinner along with them, as they would have two sermons a day, and eat their dinner and have a social chat be- tween the two hours of service. This was the substitute for news- papers. One Sunday, during the Mexican war, at the close of morning service, a good old gentleman asked, as he descended the church steps, " Do you think this Mexican war will have any effect upon the price of wheat?"
Mr. Arms' portrait is given in this volume.
Edwin Ball, farmer, sec. 22, Webster tp .; P. O., Dexter; is the son of Amos and Polly (Pease) Ball, the former of Vermont na- tivity, while the latter was born in New York, though both are of Scotch descent. They came to this county in 1832, and settled in Webster tp. on sec. 22, where Mr. Ball died Dec. 19, 1867, but the mother still lives there with her son Edwin, having seen many changes in this beautiful country. The subject of this sketch was born on the old homestead, in 1844. He was married in Livingston Co., Mich., to Olive Bertustle, a native of this county, where she was born in 1847. She died in 1876. He was married again to Fanny Jones, a native of Livingston county, having been born there in 1858. They have 1 child-May P., born Feb., 1880. Mr. B. owns 22 acres of excellent farm land.
L. D. Ball, farmer, sec. 4, Webster tp .; P. O., Dexter; was born in N. Y., in 1835. He is the son of Samuel H. and Olive (Seeley) Ball, the former a native of Vt., and the latter of N. Y. Mr. B., Sr., came to this county in 1835, where he remained until his death, which occurred in 1877; the widow is still living, at the age of 73. The subject of our sketch was married in 1858 to Mary A. Haight, daughter of William and Sarah (Galloway) Haight, two of the old and honored pioneers of the county, having emi- grated here in 1835, and a native of this county, having been born here in 1837. They have no children. Mr. Ball has been honored five times with the office of Supervisor of Webster tp. He has made a specialty of raising blooded cattle, and has a very fine herd of them. In politics votes with the Republican party.
Samuel H. Ball (deceased) was one of the early pioneers of Washtenaw county. He was the son of Deacon James Ball, and was born in the State of Vermont, April 9, 1804. In 1806 he moved with his parents to Sempronius, Cayuga Co., N. Y. In 1828 he was married to Olive Seeley, from which alliance 8 children
691
WEBSTER TOWNSHIP.
have been born, 3 boys and 2 girls, 5 of whom are living. He moved with his family to Michigan in 1835, and settled on 80 acres of land in sec. 5, Webster tp., and by perseverance, econ- omy and industry has succeeded in extending the limits of the 80-acre farm until it contains 300 acres of cultivated land within its borders. He was respected and honored by his fellow-townsmen and was called upon to fill the office of Supervisor and Justice of Peace, which he did to the satisfaction of all. He passed away from earth on Aug. 17, 1877, after having felt the frosts of 93 years fall upon his manly head.
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