USA > Michigan > Ingham County > Lansing > Past and present of the city of Lansing and Ingham county, Michigan > Part 14
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During the preceding winter, he said. two young men from their own state had stayed
with him while on a hunting trip in Mich- igan. At his house they made their plans to have a town of their own ; they platted the ground, staked the lots, named the streets and made ready to sell the town, so beauti- fully done on paper, to the people whom they expected to interest at home.
Mr. Gilkey promised to show the pur- chasers of those lots the place they were in search of and he did so, taking them through the woods to the point where R. E. Olds' residence now stands, he pointed across the Cedar to where on the opposite side of the river the low land was lying under water, and he said :
"There, gentlemen, is Biddle City."
The travelers had not even the satisfac- tion of feeling that the uncleared land was theirs, for they were told that the site of the city was a part of the princely tract owned by William H. Townsend of New York.
Mr. Gilkey endeavored to prove to them that they need not be cast down even if the town of their hopes had vanished.
"He told them that they saw the greatest country God ever made," said Mr. Buck in telling the story. He said "land could be bought at ten shillings an acre ; and the tim- ber was of the finest quality in the world;" in the end two of them were comforted ; Joseph E. North and Daniel Buck elected to invest their money since they had come west for that purpose. Each of the gentlemen bought large tracts of land south of the city; that purchased by Mr. North being known as the "North settlement" at the present time.
The hopes of others of the party were too badly blighted to allow them to remain on the scene of their disappointment. A Mr. Atwood went to what is now Dansville, while Messrs. Townley, Ludlow and others went to Jackson county and the towns of Parma and Tompkins Center bear record in
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their names that their founders did not for- get the homes from which they came.
At that time neither Jackson nor Ingham counties were divided into townships, and when the divisions were finally made the set- tlers in the former named their township "Tompkins" after their home county as the men who elected to remain near Biddle City called theirs "Lansing," which eventually gave the name to the city itself.
Biddle City, as platted by the hunters, ex- tended from the junction of the two rivers beyond where the Hugh Lyons factory is now situated. The old Christiancy estate, now owned by Judge R. H. Person, was a part of it and the deeds that passed with that place and others in that vicinity consti- tute almost the only record of that long van- ished paper city.
After making the purchase of their lands, Messrs. Buck and North returned to New York; in 1839 the latter sold his eastern home and came west with his family, eight sons and two daughters. Mr. Buck did not return himself but sent his son Levi, two nephews, Able Miller and Peter Clark, and another young man, Monroe Packard. The three settled upon the lands Mr. Buck had purchased, but Clark was a cabinet maker and could not resist the charms of the mag- nificent timber; he went to Ionia to settle- and practice his trade and his grandchildren still live in that locality.
romance connected with the time, and the history of the location of the capitol and the gradual settling up of the country round is familiar to all and needs not to be rehearsed.
THE LAST OF THE FIRST.
There are three persons still living in Lansing who were among the very first to settle here, after the location of the capitol ; they are Frederick M. Cowles, Mrs. Marion Turner and Mrs. John N. Bush, all of whom came in the spring of 1847. There are others, including the writer, who came soon after, but cannot be classed with these three.
F. M. Cowles came to stay and become a resident, April 10, 1847; he had been here, temporarily, two or three times before. He says for three weeks he slept in a barn and took his meals at Mr. Smith Tooker's resi- dence, a slab shanty, in which the dining table was two slabs running side by side, through the center of the principal room. He, being a carpenter and joiner, engaged in building. He claims, and no doubt justly, that he is the only one now living in Lansing who settled here so early as he did. He will be eighty-one years of age, February 3, 1995.
Mrs. Marion Turner is the widow of Hon. James Turner, who died in 1889, and mother of the late Hon. James M. Turner. She came to Lansing in the spring of 1847, but cannot remember the date and neither she or Mrs. Bush know which of them came first ; it was probably about the same time. Mr. and Mrs. Turner moved from Mason to Lansing and were all day on the road, on account of the mud. They went into the little frame house still standing on Turner street, just north of the brewery. Mr. Turner had hurriedly built the house and they moved into it before it was finished.
The immense tracts of land north and south of what is now the city of Lansing were owned by James and Horatio Seymour and William H. Townsend, and the names of Townsend and Seymour streets recall that fact to memory. But with the visit of the Mrs. Eliza Bush, the wife of John N. purchasers of lots in Biddle City ends the Bush, came to Lansing in April, 1847, be- ing then Miss Powell. She taught the first school taught in Lansing. Some of her early experiences are related under the head of "Schools."
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CONCLUSION.
The undersigned, at the request of the publishers, The Michigan Historical Pub- lishing Association, very reluctantly and with many misgivings, entered upon the work of making the foregoing compilation, knowing that it would be an arduous task but not fully realizing the vast amount of work, time and patience that would be re- quired in research of records and files of papers and the difficulty to be encountered many times in finding the records and files desired, and, also in getting facts and dates from old settlers, in which he was often sur- prised at the divergency of memories. As stated in the introductory, he made use of information collected from all sources, in- cluding former publications, after first en- deavoring to verify the same; sometimes correcting errors and sometimes revising by condensing and abridging, and by elimi- nating what he considered unnecessary and uninteresting details in an endeavor to make a readable and interesting history of the county from before its organization to the present time, and of the City of Lansing from before the location of the capitol ; and, at the same time, to make it valuable as a record of events; in establishing the dates he has spent much time and taken much pains, and he feels confident that they are correct and can be relied upon. No doubt many events have transpired quite as important as the ones chronicled, but hav- ing to depend upon information received, as above stated, from various sources, it would be impossible to gather all of the matters that would be interesting, if they could be included in a compilation of this kind. Be- sides, many matters may be interesting to a few that would not be so to many, and the reader will realize the difficulty of se- lecting such as should be included.
A review of this short history of Ingham county and the City of Lansing, will doubt- less impress the reader, that from a small beginning this county has rapidly advanced, and is now entitled to be classed among the leading and best counties of the State of Michigan. Today, the farmers are, as a rule, entirely and out of debt ; most of them have money in the banks; nearly all have a team of horses and a carriage and a spare horse or team; most of the farmers have good comfortable houses, many of them fine, almost palatial residences, with commodious barns and stables.
The farms are cultivated by the use of the best improved machinery, with which, and the knowledge he has of soils, fertilizers, drainage, rotation of crops, etc., etc., a farmer can raise more from a given num- ber of acres than could be raised from three times as many acres a few years ago. Farm- ing has become an honorable and honored profession. By the telephone, which reaches every neighborhood, and, often many indi- viduals in the neighborhood, he can, in a few minutes, learn the condition of the market and can order small packages of goods to be brought to him by the rural car- rier, who brings his mail to his door every day. It will not be long before most of the farmers will have trolley cars running by their doors, or within a short distance, con- necting them with cities and villages, en- abling them to run to town for repairs to their farm machinery or whatever must be had in a hurry, and return in a very short time; and his educational advantages are such that he can give his children a good education without sending them out of the county. Compare all this with half a cen- tury ago and realize what was the past and what is the present of Ingham county and the changes that have been made.
Fifty-eight years ago the site where Lan-
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sing now is was a dense forest. It shows for itself, and everybody knows what Lan- sing is now; with its four lines of rail- roads; three express companies; two tele- phone companies; three suburban trolley lines, and others coming ; its miles of pave- ments, sewers, and stone walks; its gas and electric lighting ; its waterworks ; its fire de- partment ; its schools and Carnegie library; its palatial residences, fine public buildings and churches ; its nine bridges, some of them
unsurpassed anywhere; its electric street railway ; its daily newspapers, and its more than one hundred manufactories. The fore- going pages are intended to show its past, its progress and its present, of which I have endeavored to make a fair, impartial and valuable record, and hope it will meet the approval of its readers.
ALBERT E. COWLES.
Lansing, January 31, 1905.
1
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
DR. WILLIAM W. ROOT.
History treats of men in the aggregate. Biography is the story of a single life, and not necessarily history. Much depends upon the character and life of the individual. Giv- ing the events of the life of a man of public affairs, biography merges into history, and such is the brief outline of the more prom- inent events of the active and public-spirited subject of this sketch, Dr. W. W. Root. From the many positions of trust, honor and responsibility held by the genial doctor dur- ing the past thirty-nine years residence in the City of Mason, he may justly and ap- propriately be called "the man of many titles."
William Walter Root was born at Cato, Cayuga county, N. Y., June 28, 1837. His parents, Harvey and. Polly A. (Barnes) Root, were natives of the Empire State. His father was born in Cayuga county, N. Y., August 13, 1810, and followed the occupa- tion of a blacksmith through life, and died July 4, 1891. A man of sterling worth and estimable character, a patriotic public-spir- ited citizen. The mother was born in Irae, Cayuga county, N. Y .. May 17, 1816, was united in marriage to Mr. Root, September 29, 1834. Mrs. Root was the mother of eight children. She died September 15. 1891. Both were laid at rest in the village cemetery in Cato, where they spent their en- tire lives. Mrs. Root was the daughter of
Deacon John Barnes, one of the first set- tlers in the southeast part of Aurelius town- ship, having emigrated here in the year 1836, from Cayuga county, N. Y. Three brothers of Mrs. Root were for upwards of half a century among the most prominent citizens of the county : Hon. O. M. Barnes of Lansing, John A. Barnes and Zaccheus Barnes of Mason, now all deceased.
William W. Root received his early edu- cation at the village school of his native town, and later had a year of private train- ing under the instruction of Dr. Cooley, now a resident of Hannibal, Oswego county, N. Y. After two years at Falley Seminary, and while yet in his "teens," W. W. Root engaged in teaching, which occupation he followed for three years with very gratify- ing results, and it was during this period that he took up the study of medicine, which he found to his liking. In the year 1860 he entered the medical department of the Michigan university from which he grad- uated in 1862 with honors. He immediately located in the town of Victory, N. Y., "hung out his shingle" and entered upon the prac- tice of his chosen profession.
Three short months of practice and he answered the call of his country, entering the service August 19, 1862, as assistant sur- geon of the 75th N. Y. Volunteers. The regiment saw much severe service, giving the doctor an extensive practice in surgery, an experience which served him a good pur-
W. W. Root M.r.
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pose in his private practice during the past forty years. A few months of experience at the front with his command, and he was pro- moted to surgeon with rank of major. The doctor has to his credit three years and two months active service and the proud distinc- tion of not having been off duty a single day-a most remarkable record. His regi- ment was first assigned to duty in the depart- ment of the gulf under General Benj. F. Butler, and later under General Banks, and was finally transferred to the Army of Vir- ginia, where it did duty under "Fighting Phil Sheridan" in the Shenandoah valley.
Major Root was detailed as executive offi- cer of the 19th Corps Field Hospital De- partment at Winchester. Va., in September, 1864; the responsible and trying duties of which office he discharged in a manner to meet the commendation of his superior of- ficers. The doctor was personally under fire from the enemy on several occasions. Few surgeons were more loyally faithful to duty or more conscientious in its discharge. Many a brave man of his command owes his life to the skill and thoughtful care of Major Root. He was mustered out and honorably discharged in October, 1865, by reason of close of war.
Returning to civil life, Dr. Root again turned his attention to the practice of his profession, and the better to qualify himself for its responsible duties, he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, from which he received an ad endum degree. In the spring of 1866, he located in Mason, where he has since resided. He has enjoyed a large practice both in city and country. Dr. Root is a busy man always, was so born, and when not engaged in his professional duties, he is evolving some scheme for the betterment of society and the elevation of his fellowmen. Mason has had few more generous-hearted or public-spirited citizens
than Dr. Root. His fitness for public place has often been recognized, and he has been called to fill many positions of trust and honor. He was for five years Supervisor of Vevay at the time Mason village was in- cluded with the township. For two years of this time the doctor was Chairman of the Board.
Major Root cast his first vote "while on the tented field" near Winchester in the Shenandoah valley for Abraham Lincoln, the first martyred President of the United States. For more than a quarter of a cen- tury, the doctor affiliated with the Republi- can party and was true to its principles dur- ing all the years of adjusting the important questions, growing out of the changes ef- fected by the great Civil war. As a Re- publican, he was a recognized leader and strong in the local councils of his party. It was only when he saw it surely drifting un- der the dominating power of the liquor traf- fic, that it was made clear to him that it was his duty to sever his connection therewith, and, sacrificing all personal ambitions for place unite with a party of convictions where the full weight of his influence could be counted on the side of temperance and mor- ality. In the year 1883 he received the unanimous nomination for Congress for the 6th district. In his manly letter of accept- ance, among other forceful reasons in de- fense of his position as a party Prohibition- ist, he said: "The success of the cause of prohibition will effect a revolution in our country that will compare in magnitude of results, with the fall of the Roman Empire, the discovery of a new continent, or the abolition of American slavery. The re- moval of the rum curse from our fair land would lift more burdens from crushed and bleeding hearts-dry more tears, and open up the way to a higher and nobler develop- ment in the physical, intellectual, and moral
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world than any one event recorded in human history since the birth of the Man of Galilee. The great wars of Alexander, Napoleon and the Cæsars, yes; and the wars of American Independence were fought upon issues that sink into insignificance, when compared with the gigantic wrongs inaugurated by the legalized liquor power of our country."
William W. Root was united in marriage January 2, 1867, to Miss Margaret, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Snell of Herki- mer county, N. Y. Mrs. Root's parents were natives of the Empire State. Her father was born August 27, 1814, at Man- heim, N. Y., and died at Herkimer, aged 82 years. Mrs. Snell was born January 17, 1814; her maiden name was Katherine Tim- merman, she married Mr. Snell at Manheim, N. Y., June 2, 1836. She passed away at the age of 80 years. Their remains rest side by side in the cemetery at Herkimer. Mr. Snell was a successful business man, and a man of affairs and highly respected citizen of his native county for many years. His family consisted of two daughters, the other being Parmelia, who is now a resi- dent of Herkimer, N. Y.
To the doctor and Mrs. Root have been born three children: Walter Snell, born August 7, 1868, a resident of Mason, mar- ried February 15, 1893, to Laura E., only daughter of A. J. Rayner of Leslie. Mrs. Walter Root was born November 22, 1871. Mr. Rayner is a son of John Rayner, one of the early settlers of Vevay township. He is remembered as a shrewd business man, hav- ing a large land estate. A man somewhat eccentric in manner, but bearing a character above reproach. To Walter Root and wife three children have been born, respectively, as follows: Reno Rayner, July 7, 1894; Ruth, June 14, 1896, died July 8, same year; William Jehial, born September 18. 1897.
Clarence Bert, the second and youngest son of Dr. and Mrs. Root, was born at Mason, July 5, 1870. After receiving a good, practical business education, young Root in August, 1891, engaged in the mer- cantile business in Herkimer, N. Y., which he followed until the fall of 1901, when he disposed of the same in order to give his entire attention to the real estate and insur- ance business in which he had been previ- ously interested. October 18, 1895, he was united in marriage to Miss Ada, the daugh- ter of William Helmer, Esq., for many years a well known and prominent citizen of Herkimer, where Mrs. Root was born February 15, 1871. Mrs. Root has the dis- tinguished honor of being a member of Gen- eral Nichols Herkimer Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, serving the chapter as secretary.
The third child, a daughter, Katiee A., born December 26, 1872, and died August 7, 1873.
The doctor traces his ancestors back eight generations, to one John Root, who was born in North Hamptonshire, England, 1608. John Root emigrated to the United States in the year 1638 and settled in Farm- ington, Conn., His male ancestors have lived an average age of 65 years, while the female ancestors have made an average of 75 years. Both the parents of Dr. and Mrs. Root lived together for more than 57 years. The doc- tor's ancestors on his mother's side trace back to one John Barnes, who came from England, -1633, and settled in the Plymouth colony. The family tradition has it that an early ancestor on the side of the doctor's mother was at one time mayor of London --- named Abbott.
Since taking up their residence in Mason, Dr. and Mrs. Root have been among the most active members of the M. E. church
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in all departments of the society's work. He of the national encampment for several years past.
has been superintendent of the Mason Sun- day school for about a quarter of a century, and has been officially identified with the society as steward or trustee almost continu- ously for the past thirty-nine years. At the last annual conference, Dr. Root represented the society in the capacity of lay delegate. He has always been liberal in his dealings with the church. Dr. and Mrs. Root re- cently made the generous gift of $600 to Albion college, and the doctor personally contributed to the superannuated ministers' fund of the Michigan conference-the sum of $100.
Whether as Mayor of his adopted city, a position he is now filling for the third time, President of the Ingham County Agricul- tural Society (which position he held for four years), Representative in the State Legislature, or a member of the Board of Education, which position he served for nine years, or Secretary of the Board of the County Superintendents of the Poor. It mat- tered not whether the position was great or seemingly of little importance, the doctor al- ways measured up to the most sanguine ex- pectations of his friends. He is methodical and believes in having a system and living up to all prescribed rules. He is a man of most generous impulses. Few worthy peti- tions are circulted in the city in which Dr. Root's name may not be found near the head of the list.
Major Root is past commander of Steele Bros. Post No. 441, Department of Michi- gan G. A. R., and has been one of the warm supporters of the organization since its birth, joining as a charter member. He is now serving his fifth term as medical direc- tor for the Department of Michigan Grand Army of the Republic. This office has given him a conspicuous position at the head of the Michigan column in the grand reviews
Mason city has no more patriotic or pub- lic-spirited citizen than Major Root, and none who have touched in a helpful man- ner more phases of society. Whether his party was in the majority or minority, it may be said to his credit, that he never suf- fered a defeat at the polls. A nomination has always been equivalent to an election with him. At the dedication of the new Ingham county court house, May 9, 1905, Mayor Root gave the welcome address to the citizens of the county as follows :
"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen- As Mayor of the City of Mason it gives me the greatest of pleasure to welcome you to our city on this important occasion. When I look into the faces of this large audience I see people from all parts of our county to attend the dedication of our beautiful and magnificent structure as a temple of justice. We can congratulate ourselves as having one of the best court houses in the State and for the wisdom and economy exercised in its construction.
"We are all happy today, especially those of us who live in this immediate vicinity, for we have lived to realize the accomplishment of our heart's desire to see a good court house, a thing of beauty erected in the city.
"In this we will not be selfish, we ac- knowledge this did not come about by our efforts alone but by aid from the extreme portions of the county.
"I take this occasion in behalf of the citi- zens of Mason, to acknowledge our appre- ciation and extend to you our heartfelt thanks for your aid in its accomplishment. We fully realize that this could not have been done without your help. We trust you will never have reason to regret your action. Another cause for mutual congraulation is the general good feeling prevailing through-
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out the entire county. The vexatious ques- tion of the county seat is disposed of at least for a long term of years.
I am no speech maker and will not occupy the time that should be used by others who can better interest and edify you. You are here as our guests, the use of the entire city is at your command. We are keeping open house today. Our people are anxious to make it pleasant for you all.
"Once more in behalf of the citizens of Mason I extend to you the hospitality of the city and give you a most hearty welcome. I bespeak for you all the pleasant and good time and that you may carry home with you pleasant memories of this occasion.
"We are feeling happy, proud and hon- ored by your presence with us."
Dr. and Mrs. Root are rounding out the years of their lives of service in the full en- joyment of the love and good will of the community in which they have lived and served.
LAWRENCE PRICE.
The subject of this review has reached a position in the City of Lansing and Ingham county, not only on account of his natural abilities and business successes, but also by his splendid war record, which has shown him to be a loyal and worthy son of his adopted country. A native of the Emerald Isle, he was born in County Tipperary at Tempolemore, on May 27, 1843. His father, Martin Price, was a farmer, and there fol- lowed that occupation on the place where his son was born until 1849, when hearing glowing accounts of the opportunities that America afforded to an ambitious and ener- getic man, he decided to emigrate with his family to the new world. They accordingly took passage from the town of Waterford upon the sailing vessel called "The Curi-
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