USA > Michigan > Shiawassee County > Past and present of Shiawassee County, Michigan, historically; with biographical sketches > Part 20
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
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following year another disorder was prevalent of which the settlers had a monopoly. This was fever and ague in the form so serious that many intending settlers were frightened out of the country by the deplorable condi- tions, some patients being too ill to work for months at a time.
Stories about wolves and bears and the exploits of some mighty hunters are plentiful among the reminiscences of pioneer life in Sciota. Henry Leach was considered a wolf hunter of skill, and within the space of about four years captured upward of thirty wolves, for whose scalps he realized a handsome bounty. Barnet Putnam achieved a wide no- toriety as a bear hunter, and claimed to have killed no less than nine during twenty- two years of his residence in Scotia, the last one being dispatched in 1871. He was also a wonderfully successful deer slayer. Dur- ing the fourteen years preceding 1862 he slaughtered fully five hundred, with an old reliable shot gun, having in one autumn killed fifty-eight.
Sciota was embraced in the township of Woodhull until February 16, 1842, when, by an act of legislature, it was given a sepa- rate organization. The first town meeting was held at the tavern of Cyrus Miller, in Laingsburg, April 4th, at which time twenty- three votes were cast.
The first school in the township was taught in 1837, by the wife of Cornelius Putnam, in her own house, and the pupils were her own children and the children of Henry Leach. The first town burial place was laid out in 1843. On April 3d of that year the town voted twenty-five dollars to purchase an acre of ground for a cemetery and to fence the same with a rail fence.
In the fall of 1836 the rush of "land-look- 1 ers" began along the Grand River road and for several years there was a great amount of travel on this thoroughfare. Laing's tav- ern was the chief stopping place, but it soon became insufficient to accommodate the in- creasing number of travelers. About 1840 J. M. Blood opened a "temperance tavern" four miles east of Laingsburg, and Blood's tavern too became known the length of the old Potomac and Grand River road.
VILLAGE OF LAINGSBURG
In 1836 Dr. Peter Laing came to what afterward became Sciota township, and set- tled on the site of the present enterprising village named after him, Laingsburg. Here he erected a log structure, intended for a tavern, and being located on the great In- dian trail between Pontiac and Grand Rap- ids, and travel being brisk, he enjoyed a profitable business, at the same time offering great convenience to travelers. With the opening of the Grand River road over the route of this trail, Laing's tavern became a famous landmark and popular resort. The building was not large enough to accom- modate the large number of travelers and scores of people slept on the ground around log-heap fires. Years later, when a line of stages was put on the road and a mail route established, the tavern became the postoffice and was also made a stage-house. About 1840 James M. Blood opened a temperance tavern four miles east on the Grand River road, but Dr. Laing paid six dollars and seventy-five cents for the privilege of retail- ing ardent spirits. The tavern continued under his management until his death, in 1865.
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SHIAWASSEE COUNTY
The village was platted in 1860, the set- tlement having moved at a slow pace, and it was then scarcely more than a cross-roads village. In 1871 Dr. E. B. Ward, then a representative in the state legislature, used his efforts to have an act passed incorporat- ing the village. There was considerable con- test in the election, held April 8, 1872, and H. S. Partridge was elected president ; James McLeod and Philo Bacon trustees for two years; C. H. Hartwell and J. A. Crippen trustees for one year; G. J. McClintock, clerk; A. F. Place, treasurer; Henry Win- slow, marshal; and George Culon, assessor. It was discovered, however, that the election was illegal, and the administration was, by common consent, abandoned. It was not until 1877 that the village was finally incor- porated.
With the completion of the Saginaw di- vision of the Michigan Central Railroad, the village took on a rapid growth. It was the trading center of a large community of in- dustrious and prosperous farmers. But since especial railroad facilities became the good fortune of neighboring towns and were by necessity denied to Laingsburg, its growth reached its limit and it is difficult to raise the population above the eight hundred mark.
Agriculture and stock raising are the re- sources of this section, unless we include the gains derived from hunting and trapping in the marshes, which are not inconsiderable. There are no industries on a large scale in the village, but two large grain elevators, a grist mill and a flouring mill make a good market for farmers' produce, while a cheese factory uses a large quantity of milk. There are, besides, a cider and jelly mill, an apple dryer, cabinet shop, wheelwright shop and
four blacksmith shops. Four rural mail routes center here, and the postoffice, there- fore, handles a large quantity of mail daily.
The public schools rank high. A prin- cipal and four teachers are employed and the schools are on the accredited list of Olivet and Albion Colleges and the Michigan Agricultural College.
The largest church is St. Isadore's Catho- lic church, erected a few years ago at a cost of twelve thousand dollars. The other de- nominations represented are the Congrega- tional, Methodist, and Baptist. All have com- fortable and commodious houses of worship, which are well sustained.
There are, among the fraternities, Masonic, Eastern Star, Knights of the Maccabees, Grand Army of the Republic Post, Ladies of the Maccabees, Odd Fellows, Rebekahs, De- gree of Honor, American Order of United Workmen, Modern Woodmen and other lodges, and a very active Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
The Laingsburg News is ably edited by H. VanOmmeran, a gentleman of culture and ability. While not experiencing a marked growth, Laingsburg, on the other hand, "holds her own" year by year. The business men are progressive and desirous of caring for the trade from this section of the county.
The present village officers are: Presi- dent, Joseph Watters; clerk, Seymour Pratt ; treasurer, W. H. Clark; assessor, H. W. Pearce; trustees, Harry Holder, W. H. Ben- son, Alva Wert.
SHIAWASSEE TOWNSHIP
The township of Shiawassee, whose boun- daries were once identical with those of Shiawassee county, by successive subdivisions
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was finally reduced to the territory embraced in survey township 6 north, of range 3 east. This one of the sixteen survey townships of which the county is composed takes preced- ence of all others in the priority of its set- tlement. Its forests yielded to the enterprise of the pioneer nearly a score of years before some of the other townships were affected by the presence of the settler, and much of the early business activity of this portion of the Territory of Michigan was at one time concentrated within its limits.
The surface of the township, in nearly every part, is sufficiently rolling to relieve it of monotony, and in the eastern portion, through which the Shiawassee river winds. its picturesque course, the scenery is in many localities exceedingly beautiful. The Looking Glass river flows through three sections in the southwestern corner, and the Maple river has its small beginning in a tract of marsh north of the center of the township and flows north and west into Bennington and then to a field of greater usefulness in Clinton county.
The "Maple swamp," in which the Maple river rises, will soon be only a memory, its tamarack forests having already disappeared and its waste land being rapidly converted into fertile fields, through an effective system of drainage. The once heavy forests of beech, oak, maple and elm have also disap- peared, only a thin stretch of woodland here and there along the river banks being left to remind the older residents of the magnificent growth which existed even within their rec- ollection.
The earlier settlements in Shia wassee township were, as well, the earliest made in the county, and as such have been fully re- counted in preceding pages. They therefore
need be reviewed but briefly here. Alfred L. and Benjamin O. Williams, two young men living in Oakland county, in 1829 made a tour of exploration through the county. After visiting the trading post of Whitmore Knaggs in Burns, they proceeded some dis- tance down the river into Shiawassee town- ship. Being attracted by a beautiful locality in the southeast quarter of section 25, they selected there an eighty-acre tract, which was the earliest purchase of land, with a view to permanent settlement. At this point, two years later, in August, 1831, the Williams brothers established their trading station which was subsequently known as the "Shia- wassee Exchange."
Henry S. Smith and a partner named Cooley were the only settlers of the year 1832. They attempted the establishment of a trading post on the river, probably on sec- tion 11, but the enterprise was not successful.
The first settler of 1833 was Hosea Baker, who with his son, Ambrose, in April of that year, built a log cabin in the extreme south- east corner of section 14, and entered six hundred acres in that vicinity. They did the first plowing in the county, the preceding settlers not yet having turned their attention to agricultural pursuits. In August Mr. Baker's wife and children arrived from Penn- sylvania, accompanied by the family of Aaron Swain, his son-in-law. The Swains located on section 23, where they built a log house, in which their daughter, Julia Swain, was born October 28, 1833, this being the first birth in the county.
In May, 1833, John I. Tinkelpaugh located on section 24, on land which he had previ- ously visited and selected but did not pur- chase. This was afterward bought by Hosea
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Baker, under an agreement to sell it to Tink- elpaugh when the latter was able to buy. After living here a few years Tinkelpaugh, with his family, removed to Clinton county.
There were no roads at this time and set- tlers were obliged to drive their ox teams to Pontiac or Detroit when they desired to procure flour or other manufactured com- modities. Venison and other game could sometimes be purchased from the Indians, when they were not themselves successful in shooting or trapping wild creatures that were fit for food.
Orin Vary was a settler of 1834, who lo- cated on section 22, and built a log house. Two weeks later Isaac M. Banks came from Niagara county, New York, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres on sections 26 and 27. He lived with Vary until he had a cabin erected on his own land. Mr. Banks was at that time about thirty-six years of age and was a veteran of the war of 1812, having enlisted as a sailor under Commodore Perry when only fifteen years of age. In 1853 Mr. Banks built a spacious frame hotel in the hamlet of Fremont, on the Grand River road, and became one of the popular landlords of the county, in which occupation he continued until 1870. He remained a highly respected citizen of the township until his death, in 1891, at the age of ninety-four years.
Ephriam Wright came to the township early in 1836 and entered nearly the whole of section 13, where he lived a number of years and built a substantial home. Losing much of his property through misfortune in a business venture, he made a fresh start on new land in Vernon township and again ac- quired a competency, which he enjoyed until
past ninety years of age, when he was killed by an accident while driving a spirited horse.
Another settler of the same year was Wil- liam Newberry, who came from Ohio. His occupation was that of a carpenter and he assisted in erecting some of the earliest frame buildings in Shiawasseetown and Owosso. In 1839 he purchased eighty acres of Ephriam Wright, on section 13. He first built a small frame house, but a few years later erected a large dwelling which stands to-day as one of the best examples of early farm houses and of pioneer carpentry. Mr. Newberry established a reputation as one of the most successful farmers in the county. He died at his home, October 1, 1888, and was survived by his venerable wife about ten years. Two daughters of this family, Mrs. Charles A. Whelan and Mrs. Harriet Pratt, are now residents of the town- ship. The only surviving son, John New- berry, is temporarily living in Colorado. William Johnson, a son-in-law of Ephriam Wright, purchased eighty acres on section 15, of E. C. Kimberly, the agent for Trumbull Cary, who disposed of a great amount of that New York land owner's holdings in different parts of the county.
Isaac Secord located on section 18, in 1836, and James Phillips settled in the same neigh- borhood shortly after that time. William Warren was another settler of that year. He came from Rochester, New York, and pur- chased a considerable amount of land in sec- tions 35 and 36, his home being for many years on the Grand River road, just south- east of the limits of Bancroft village. His son, Charles Warren, is now the owner of the homestead.
Liberty Lyman, in 1837, located upon land
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in the extreme southeast corner of the town- ship, a portion of his farm being in the southwest corner of Vernon, and another small part in the northeast corner of Antrim. After a few years of prosperity in the culti- vation of the soil Mr. Lyman built a fine brick residence in a beautiful oak grove near his pioneer home. This is now occupied by his son, Edson L. Lyman. Four generations of Lymans have made their home in this handsome old farm house, and no less than five generations of one family, Mrs. Lucina Sykes, the mother of Mr. Liberty Lyman, having spent the later years of her life there. This is a somewhat unusual record in a county as young as Shiawassee. Edson Lyman is actually a resident of Antrim, his house being in that township, while his barns, a few rods north, and nearly all of his large farm are in Shiawassee.
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John Herrick came from Niagara county, New York, in 1837, and first located on sec- tion 35, where he lived a few years, after- ward removing to Fremont. He lived there until his death, in 1877. Four of his sons are well known residents of the vicinity of Bancroft.
About 1835 a company made up of citizens of Huron county, Ohio, made a systematic attempt to boom the village of Shiawassee- town, with Charles Bacon as manager of the enterprise. Some good buildings were erected, one with a view to its being used as a county court house. A well organized plan to secure the state capital, upon its removal from Detroit, barely failed of accomplish- ment. In time, however, the Shiawassee Company discovered that the prospects for founding a city in the midst of the wilder- ness, existed chiefly in the imagination of
their agent, and found themselves the losers of some thousands of dollars.
Several members of the company who came from Ohio to assist in managing the ven- ture remained to dispose of the property and became permanent residents of the township. Among these were Elisha Brewster, who was the second sheriff of the county; Moses Kimball, who died at Shiawasseetown in 1837; and Lucius Beach, whose wife was a sister of Moses Kimball. Mr. and Mrs. Beach, during the brief period of prosperity enjoyed by the village, kept hotel in a large building, the capacity of which was fre- quently unequal to the demands made upon it, as many as forty travelers seeking its hospitality on a single night. Mr. Beach afterward bought a farm, on section 36, and built another large hotel on the Grand River road, which was known for many years as the Beach tavern. It was later used as a residence by N. G. Phillips, a son of Mrs. Beach. The property still belongs to the family of Mr. Phillips, who died in 1888.
Sidney Seymour came to the township in 1836 and purchased one hundred and sixty acres on section 23. After building a log house on his land and making some improve- ment he sold it and returned to his former home, near Rochester, New York. Return- ing again about 1838, he spent a year on the famous Exchange farm and later purchased a farm on section 25, where he spent the re- mainder of his life. Morris Jackson crossed the Shiawassee at Knaggs' Place, with his family, traveling in a wagon, some time in 1836. After making several temporary so- journs between that place and Fremont he finally made a settlement on the Grand River road a mile west of Fremont.
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.SHIAWASSEE COUNTY
Jordan Holcomb, Aaron Hutchings and Henry Hutchings, from Ontario county, New York, became settlers of Bennington in 1836, and two years later removed to this town- ship, where they procured homes in sec- tion 35.
Dr. Nicholas P. Harder, with his family, came from Columbia county, New York, in 1836, and was the earliest physician to settle in this township. Having formerly lived near Newburg-on-the-Hudson, he named in honor of that place the little hamlet, on section 23, in which he made his home until his death, in 1863. One year later Hiram Davis, a son-in-law of Dr. Harder, came from New York and settled first in Bennington and later near Newberg. Mr. Davis made a trip overland to California and another, with his family, to Alabama, where they lived a short time. Each time, however, he returned to Shiawassee. Sometime in the "70s he be- came a resident of Rush, spending the last years of his life on his farm near Henderson.
Both Newberg and Fremont were once thriving villages. When the Detroit and Mil- waukee Railroad was completed, in 1856, the business of Fremont was diverted to other channels. Newberg, being situated on the Shiawassee river and having both a saw mill and a grist mill, survived its neighbor by some years but ultimately shared its decad- ence, when the construction of the Grand Trunk Railroad two miles to the southwest left it without a hope of ever having direct railway connection with outside points.
Among the settlers of 1839 was James Phelps who was one of the many tavern keepers along the Grand River road. His place was a few miles west of Fremont, and is now occupied by his grandson, William
H. Phelps. John Lemon, a former resident of Oakland county, settled on section 15, in 1843, and occupied that location until his death in 1849. Several of his children now live on farms in that part of the township. Erastus Loomis, from Genesee county, New York, was another settler of that year. He purchased a portion of the farm of James Phelps and here he lived a number of years, but later removed to a home a mile out of Newberg, which he occupied until his death, in 1878, his wife surviving him only a month.
John S. Harder came from Cayuga, New York, in 1844, and settled on section 22. Mrs. Harder was the daughter of Erastus Loomis. They are among the few pioneers of the early '40s now living in the township, which has been their home to the present time, except about ten years, which were spent at Grayling, in northern Michigan. Among other settlers of the '40s were D. N. Sabin, who located on section 10; C. D. Chalker; who died in 1905, at his home near Newberg; Joseph Parmenter, earlier a resi- dent of Vernon; Michael Driscoll, who set- tled on section 2, on the large farm where his son, John Driscoll, now has his home; and Augustus P. Greenman, who located at Fre- mont.
The records of the first township election were not preserved. It is known, however, that it was held in April, 1836, at the house of Hosea Baker, and that Mr. Baker was chosen supervisor.
The earliest school in Shiawassee was opened in the parlor of the Beach tavern, at Shiawasseetown, in December, 1840. Judge Wilcox was the teacher for that winter, the second teacher being Andrew Parsons, after- ward lieutenant governor of Michigan.
CORUNNA JOURNAL
MAIN STREET, BANCROFT
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The first religious society in the township was the First Baptist church of Maple River, organized July 13, 1839. Prominent among its members was Deacon Ezekiel Cook. An excellent church building was erected in 1868. A Methodist Episcopal church was organ- ized at an early date at Newburg, and the society dedicated a substantial building in the autumn of 1864. This society was later ab- sorbed by the Bancroft church of that de- nomination and the building has been unused for a number of years.
VILLAGE OF BANCROFT
The land upon which the village of Ban- croft stands was originally owned by N. G. Phillips and W. M. Warren and the plat was recorded May 8, 1877. The Hemenway ad- dition to the village, a plat of about ten acres lying south of the railroad and west of the original plat, was surveyed in March, 1878.
The building of the Chicago & Lake Huron Railway, now known as the Grand Trunk, in 1877, induced N. S. VanTuyl to establish a lumbering business here, and he erected a frame dwelling, the first on the plat except perhaps two or three log huts. A railroad station was established at Bancroft and H. M. Billings acted as agent and later be- came postmaster. Others were attracted to the spot and erected homes and business places. Mr. Phillips, in 1878, constructing a spacious and well appointed hotel, which has ever since ranked well as a hostelry. A saw mill, two planing mills and later a flour- ing mill were erected and Bancroft became the center of considerable business life and activity. A good sized school house was built in 1879.
It was in the spring of 1883 that the first election of officers under the corporate laws was held. W. E. Watson and the late F. M. Douglas constituted the first board of regis- tration and L. C. Shelley, deceased, was the first president. He had associated with him in the first council the late S. J. Gurney, as clerk; I. L. Roberts, Dr. Fox, Thomas Cope- land (who have long since gone to their re- wards), G. H. Fellows, C. P. Devereaux, and T. S. Stanley, trustees. T. S. Stanley is now a citizen of Morrice. At that time there was a strife on between H. F. Hemen- way, who owned the property west of Shia- wassee street, and N. G. Phillips, deceased, who owned the eastern part.
Bancroft has suffered severely from num- erous fires and part of the last burned dis- trict has never arisen from its ashes. The village enjoyed a steady, healthy growth, and at the time of the construction of the Ann Arbor Railroad Bancroft lost the junction point by being too sure that the air line from Byron to Owosso would ultimately bring the road here, and the town would not grant such concessions as the railroad company needed. However, being situated on a good road and in the heart of a good, productive farming community, it has steadily advanced. There are twenty-three business places, two hotels, a furniture factory, screen factory, and planing mill, grist mill, saw mill, ele- vator and a foundry.
Coal beds are believed to lie under the surface of the marsh just west of town and a local company is now having a thorough test made. A large area of peat land has been purchased by the Bancroft Peat Fuel Company and a large plant has been erected. They also own much of the marl beds south
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of the village and expect to erect a cement plant soon.
Three churches are maintained,-Metho- dist Episcopal, Congregational and Adventist. Bancroft is called the lodge town and main- tains organizations of the Masonic order, Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Star, Mod- ern Maccabees, Lady Modern Maccabees, Maccabees of the World, Woodmen, Neigh- bors and numerous insurance societies, be- sides Roberts Post Grand Army of the Republic.
A contract with a Saginaw electric com- pany has just been signed to furnish the vil- lage with street and private lighting. Part of the Phillips farm has been platted and a number of modern dwellings will be erected there in the near future.
Bancroft is situated but a few miles from the old Shiawassee Exchange, and also from the site of the Knaggs' Bridge settlement. It is a progressive little village and its citi- zens are most kind, hospitable and enterpris- ing. The census of 1900 gives the village six hundred and fifty population and since that time there has been considerable in- crease. The present officers of the village are: President, Edwin' T. Sherman; clerk, W. L. Wright; treasurer, Joseph Garnett ; assessor, J. Harvey Hutchings; trustees, Otto Burrire, John A. Watson, Henry P. Shane, George Haun.
The Bancroft Commercial, edited by W. L. Wright, very ably reflects the commercial and social life in its weekly issues.
VENICE TOWNSHIP
Venice, which is designated in the United States survey as township 7 north, of range 4 east, lies on the eastern boundary line of
the county. Its surface is in general un- dulating, though comparatively level tracts are found in some localities. In earlier years there was a considerable amount of swampy land, but an excellent system of drainage has converted those tracts into fine, fertile fields.
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