USA > Michigan > Newaygo County > Portrait and biographical album of Newaygo County, Michigan : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county also containing a complete history of the county, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 52
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* How sweet is the brier with its soft. folding blossom ! And sweet is the birk in its shimmering sheen ; And sweeter and fairer, and dear to this bosom,
Is lovely Sophia, a flower so green."
In the last line he attemped a paraphrase, and all unconscious of the dreadful blunder and all it im- plied, he dispatched the letter. Susan, his other fair friend, had claims upon his remembrance, and it struck him as a happy thought that he would copy
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Sophia's letter and with a change of the name it would be appropriate. The girls were not intimate, and the term of school was so near its close that the chances of mutual confidences were small. He came to a clear understanding of the fallacy of his hopes when, a few days later, he received both his communications in one envelope, without a word of comment. He made every explanation that he could devise, but in vain. This occurrence took place during his freshman year at Union.
Soon after he was graduated, young Giddings went to the city of New York and began the study of law in the office of Truman Smith.
Young Giddings was associated with the leading politicians and statesmen of that period and acquired a rare knowledge of men and affairs. Possessed of a clear, discriminating and strong mind, he seized upon the shrewd political methods of the successful men of that day, and none knew better than he how to enlist the masses in his behalf and cause them to carry out his desires with enthusiasm. He read for his profession a short time with another firm in New York, and in 1857, his father having extensive inter- ests in this county, he came to Newaygo and com- menced the practice of law.
In 1858 Mr. Giddings was elected Prosecuting Attorney, and was re-elected in 1860. This was the year of the Presidential campaign ; and, although he was a warm friend of William H. Seward, and was disappointed in the action of the convention, yet he became early satisfied that Lincoln would give to the country a conservative administration. During the campaign he made several able speeches in behalf of Lincoln, and at the outbreak of the Rebellion desired to enter the army. He failed in his applica- tion for a commission as Major and made no further effort.
During the campaign of 1864 Giddings was especi- ally zealous in the re-election of Lincoln. He was subsequently elected to the office of Probate Judge of Newaygo County, and finally in 1870 was chosen Circuit Judge. His discharge of the duties of the position proved so satisfactory, that in the spring of 1875 he was placed in regular nomination. He was re-elected by a large majority, and continued to discharge the duties of his office with impartiality and ability until the fall of 1876, when he died sud- denly at Philadelphia, where he had gone to attend
the Centennial. He was 44 years of age. But a short time previous his father had left him quite a fortune, and he contemplated making a tour of Europe during the summer of 1877 ; but his brothers laid him to his long rest among the scenes of his early childhood, and there he sleeps in "God's first temples," so grandly described by Bryant, who was himself born near Great Barrington.
The last case ever tried before him was Anderson vs. The White River Log & Booming Company. Judge Giddings was a man of accurate and vigorous perceptions. His mind moved in a straight line direct to the point he sought. He early discovered and seized upon the main issue in a case, and usually endeavored to have tried with reference to the same. Perceiving the right of a cause, he tried to guard and protect it for the benefit of the party injured. He held the scales of justice impartially. His charges to juries were clear, lucid and manifested the strength of his understanding and judgment. He was patient in the trial of cases, and gave ample time to elicit the facts that had a possible bearing upon the issues involved. He spoke slowly but with great dignity, distinctness and clearness, and always gave urgent reasons for his rulings. He greatly enjoyed wit and humor as a pastime, and was always one of the most social and genial of men.
"And, as years after his death we write of our departed friend, our memory reverts to the early days of his professional career, and brings back to us in the freshness of youth, pleasant memories of him who, full of hope and aspirations, began the struggle of life when the present was full of pleasure and the future satisfying."
And thus we walk with him and keep unbroken 'The bond which nature gives, Thinking that our remembrance duly spoken May reach him where he lives.
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eorge H. Peters, farmer, section 36, Ever- ett Township, was born in Livonia, Wayne Co., Mich., March 14, 1841, and is a son of George and Mary Ann (Stevens) Peters. His father was born Jan. 14, 1798, in Cattar-
- augus Co., N. Y., and died Aug. 22, 1875. His mother had descended from the genuine Yankce stock of Massachusetts, She was born in 1819 in
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the "Old Bay State," and is still living, in Eaton Co. In paternal descent, Mr. Peters comes of the sturdy, honest race known as Scotch-Irish. When he was a year old his parents came to Eaton County, where he was reared to manhood. He was married when 21 years of age and resided at home with his parents four years after that event. On leaving the paternal roof he came to Newaygo County and iden- tified himself with the agricultural element of the township of Everett, by the purchase of 40 acres of land. He has labored upon this until he has cleared 30 acres. He subsequently bought 40 acres, of which he has cleared seven.
Mr. Peters enlisted, in 1864, in the service of the United States, and aided in consummating the final extinction of armed rebellion and enforcing the authority of the general Government. He enrolled in Co. G, Tenth Mich Cav., and was mustered out in 1865, at Jackson, Mich. He is a Republican.
Mr. Peters was married, Aug. 10, 1862, to Caroline Willbur, youngest daughter of Richard and Charlotte (Dodge) Willbur. She was born in Assyria, Barry County, Feb. 22, 1842. Two children : Rinaldo B., born Aug. 13, 1863, and Albert D., born August 21, 1873. Both parents belong to the United Brethren Church. Richard Willbur was born in the State of New York, in 1791, and died in November, 1841. Charlotte Willbur was born in Vermont, in 1800. They settled in Assyria, Barry Co., Mich., in. 1840. The mother, of Holland-Dutch descent, resided on the homestead place until her death, in 1877.
ilfred G. Mead, proprietor of saw-mill, sec- & tion 15, Sheridan Township, is a son of Ed- mund W. and Rachel (Knapp) Mead, who were natives of Massachusetts and settled in Putnam Co., N. Y., afterwards locating in Nor- walk, Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives.
The subject of this sketch was born in Delaware Co., N. Y., July 12, 1825 ; when but four years of age the family removed to Ohio, and he remained with his parents until he was of age. He learned the trade of molder, at which he worked at various. places, learning also the art of machinist. He re- mained in Ohio until his marriage, which occurred April 5, 1848. His wife was Hannah M. Stiles, a
native of Ohio, whose parents were from New Eng- land. He first resided three years in Wisconsin, then seven years in Iowa; next, on account of ill health, he returned to Ohio and lived in several places until the summer of 1866, when he resided in Muskegon two years, and then came to Newaygo County and bought 245 acres of timber land, in Sheridan Town- ship, where he now resides. On his location here he at once erected a saw-mill, which he still runs.
In politics Mr. Mead is a National, and in public affairs he has held the office of Justice of the Peace four years, and since the spring of 1879 he has been Supervisor. In social matters he is a Son of Tem- perance and active in the cause of the order. Mrs. M. is a member of the Congregational Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Mead are the parents of eight chil- dren, namely : Clarence A., Edmund S., Clairinelle Edith A., Linly M., Winthrop G. and Clifford S., liv- ing, and Willie, who died when about 18 months old ..
arshall B. Franklin, merchant, Fremont. The parents of this enterprising gentle- man were Bildad and Mary J. (Young) Franklin, the former a native of the State of New York, who died in Iowa, while visiting his son : Mrs. F., a native of Canada, still resides in the Dominion.
Mr. F., the subject of this sketch, was born in Canada, Nov. 22, 1850 ; he lived at home until about 20 years of age, when he was engaged as clerk in a store in that country for over five years ; in the sum- mer of 1875 he came to this county, settling in Fre- mont, where he has since been successfully engaged in general merchandising, his transactions amounting annually to over $30,000. His stock is valued at $12,000 to $14,000. He once had also a stock of goods at Hesperia for nearly 18 months, but finally removed it to Fremont. Mr. F. is not only a prom- inent merchant, but forward in advancing the inter- ests and building up the enterprises of his commu- nity. In the spring of 1880 he was elected Township Treasurer and served one year; was re-elected in the spring of 1883, and is now holding the office. Since the spring of 1881 he has been Village Coun- cilman; was also Deputy Clerk one year. He is Past Master in the I O O F., and is a Republican.
Mr. F. has two children, one of whom is deceased.
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HISTORICAL
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NEWAYGO COUNTY.
INTRODUCTORY.
A S an extraordinary example of material and moral develop- ment we refer to Newaygo County. The transformation which has occurred here dur- ing the past quarter of a cen- tury is simply marvelous. In older countries generations of time have been required to develop the re- sources of a country as they have been in this portion of Michigan. In a few brief years the splendid and stately forests, the home of the red man and the wild beasts, have been razed to earth, and comfortable homes, broad fields of waving grain, school-houses, churches, mills, vil- lages and cities, with all the culture and refinement of the older communities, have sprung up in their stead.
A record of this wonderful change is history, and that of the most important and interesting nature. It is also a solemn duty which this generation owes to all posterity, to make a faithful and imperishable record of such history. Even in the not far distant future the experiences of the sturdy and self-sacrific- ing pioneer will scarcely be credited, so strange and marvelous they will seem. Unless, therefore, re- corded faithfully and consistently at the present time,
those who bore so noble a part in the development of this beautiful country will have been forgotten.
Without money, or prestige, or influential friends, the old pioneers drifted along one by one, from State to State, until in Michigan-the garden of the Union -they have found inviting homes for each, and room for all. To secure and adorn these homes, more than ordinary ambition was required, greater than ordinary endurance demanded, and unflinching determination was, by the force of necessity, written over every brow. It was not pomp, or parade, or glittering show that the pioneers were after. They sought for homes which they could call their own,-homes for them- selves and homes for their children. How well they have succeeded after a struggle of many years against the adverse tides, let the records and tax-gatherers testify ; let the broad cultivated fields and fruit-bear- ing orchards, the flocks and the herds, the palatial residences, the places of business, the spacious halls, the clattering car wheels and ponderous engines all testify.
There was a time when pioneers waded through deep snows, across bridgeless rivers, and through l ottomless sloughs, a score of miles to mill or mar- ket, and when more time was required to reach and return from market than is now required to cross the the continent, or traverse the Atlantic. These were the times when our palaces were constructed of logs and covered with " shakes" riven from the forest
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trees These were the times when our children were stowed away for the night in the low, dark attics, amongst the horns of the elk and the deer, and where through the chinks in the " shakes " they could count the twinkling stars. These were the times when our chairs and our bedsteads were hewn from the forets.
Whether all succeeded in what they undertook is not a question to be asked now. The proof that as a body they did succeed is all around us. Many individuals were perhaps disappointed. Fortunes and misfortunes belong to the human race. Not every man can have a school-house on the corner of his farm ; not every man can have a bridge over a stream that flows by his dwelling; not every man can have a railroad depot on the borders of his plant- ation, or a city in its center; and while these things are desirable in some respects, their advantages are oftentimes outweighed by the almost perpetual pres- ence of the foreign beggar, the dreaded tramp, the fear of fire and conflagration, and the insecurity from the presence of the midnight burglar, and the bold, bad men and women who lurk in ambush and infest the villages. The good things of this earth are not all to be found in any one place; but if more is to be found in' any one place than another, that place is in our rural retreats,-our quiet homes outside of the clamor and turmoil of city life.
In viewing the blessings which surround us, then, we should reverence those who have made them pos- sible, and ever fondly cherish in memory the sturdy old PIONEER and his LOG CABIN.
Let us turn our eyes and thoughts back to the log- cabin days of a quarter of a century ago, and con- trast those homes with the comfortable dwellings of to-day. Before us stands the old log-cabin. Let us enter. Instinctively the head is uncovered in token of reverence to this relic of ancestral beginnings, early struggles and final triumphs. To the left is the deep wide fire-place, in whose commodious space a group of children may sit by the fire and up through the chimney may count the stars, while ghostly stories of witches and giants, and still more thrilling stories of Indians and wild beasts, are whisperingly told and shudderingly heard. On the great crane hang the old tea-kettle and the great iron pot. The huge shovel and tongs stand sentinel in either corner, while the great andirons patiently wait for the huge back-log. Over the fire-place hangs the trusty rifle.
To the right of the fire-place stands the spinning- wheel, while in the further end of the room is seen the old-fashioned loom. Strings of drying apples and poles of drying pumpkins are overhead. Oppo- site the door in which you enter stands a huge deal table, by its side the dresser whose "pewter plates " and " shining delf " catch and reflect the fire-place flames as shields of armies do the sunshine. From the corner of its shelves coyly peep out the relics of former china. In a curtained corner and hid from casual sight we find the mother's bed, and under it the trundle-bed, while near them a ladder indicates the loft where the older children sleep. To the left of the fire-place and in the corner opposite the spin- ning-wheel is the mother's work-stand. Upon it lies the Bible, evidently much used, its family record tell- ing of parents and friends a long way off, and telling, too, of children
"Scattered like roses in bloom, Some at the bridal, and some at the tomb."
Her spectacles, as if but just used, are inserted be- tween the leaves of her Bible, and tell of her purpose to return to its comforts when cares permit and duty is done. A stool, a bench, well notched and whittled and carved, and a few chairs complete the furniture of the room, and all stand on a coarse but well- scoured floor. Let us for a moment watch the city visitors to this humble cabin. The city bride, inno- cent but thoughtless, and ignorant of labor and care, asks her city bred husband, " Pray, what savages set this up?" Honestly confessing his ignorance, he replies, " I do not know." But see the pair on whom age sits "frosty but kindly." First, as they enter, they give a rapid glance about the cabin home, and then a mutual glance of eye to eye. Why do tears start and fill their eyes? Why do lips quiver? There are many who know why; but who that has not learned in the school of experience the full meaning of all these symbols of trials and privations, of lone- liness and danger, can comprehend the story that they tell to the pioneer? Within this chinked and mud-daubed cabin, we read the first pages of our history; and as we retire through its low door-way, and note the heavy battened door, its wooden hinges and its welcoming latch-string, is it strange that the scenes without should seem to be but a dream? But the cabin and the palace, standing side by side in vivid contrast, tell their own story of this people's progress. They are a history and a prophecy in one.
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NEWAYGO COUNTY.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
HE county of Newaygo is a ............. half larger than the average county, and is of the same size and shape as Kent Coun- ty. It is an oblong, being four townships, or 24 miles, wide, and six townships, or 36 miles, long. It thus contains 24 Con- gressional townships; out of this 21 civil townships have been organized. The only townships which have more than 36 square miles are Monroe, which contains 108 square miles, Beaver, 54 square miles, and Troy, 54 square miles. Each section having 640 acres, the county has con- sequently an area of 552,960 acres, more or less. Of this area there are but about 30,000 acres under cul- tivation, comprised in 1,200 farms. From this sig- nificant fact, one may form some idea of the future possibilities of Newaygo as an agricultural county. If it were as well developed as some sections in the Eastern States, it could maintain a population of 200,- ooo; and under a perfectly economical cultivation, over half a million inhabitants could derive their sub- sistence from the soil of Newaygo County.
The 24 Congressional townships are designated in the Government survey as townships 11, 12, 13, 14,
15 and 16 north, ranges 11, 12, 13 and 14 west of the third principal meridian. Newaygo lies in west central Michigan, and is bounded as follows: on the north by Lake County ; on the east by Mecosta and Montcalm Counties; on the south by Kent and Mus- kegon Counties, and on the west by Muskegon and Oceana Counties.
The Muskegon River flows from northeast to south- west through the county, and is joined in Croton Township by the Little Muskegon. White River rises northeast of the center of the county, and flows westward. In the northwestern corner is the south branch of the Pere Marquette River, while in the southern part, from Rice Lake in Grant Township, flows Rogue River south to Grand River. Numerous smaller streams throughout the county afford ample drainage and plenty of living water. A number of lakes, from one acre to several hundred acres in ex- tent, are situated in the east and north part of the county. These lakes and smaller water-courses are described more fully in connection with the respect- ive townships.
The surface of the county is slightly rolling, and the soil rich and productive for all kinds of crops. Portions of the county are sandy, especially among the pine woods, but not so much so as to make the soil unproductive. The timber is largely beech and maple, mixed with valuable pine.
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The county has already good railroad facilities, and other roads now proposed will doubtless be built in the course of a few years. It has now two lines of the Chicago & West Michigan railroad, one run- ning north and south, and the other northeast and southwest. A new line is wanted east and west, to run through Hesperia, Fremont, Newaygo and Cro- ton. in the southern half of the county.
The southern part of Newaygo is all that is yet settled to any great extent. The northern townships are still rich in pine, and its soil has never been worked for human advantage. The county contains three incorporated villages, and a number of other thriving settlements, which, with the two lines of railroad, afford good markets for all produce raised. Manufacturing will doubtless become an important industry, as the natural advantages for such enter- prises are unsurpassed, in many points, in the county.
GEOLOGY.
EOLOGY teaches that the continents of this world were once beneath the ocean. anke It is natural, therefore, to suppose that there are inequalities in the bottom of the ocean like those on the land. The recent deep-sea soundings confirm this opinion, and reveal mountains and hills, valleys and table-lands. The greatest depth reached in sounding is 29,000 feet, which exceeds the height of the loftiest moun- tain of the Himalayas. Some of the mountains of the sea are steeper and more abrupt than any on the land. In the British channel the depth changes within ten miles from 600 to 12,000 feet; and it is very common, within a few miles of the coast of continents and islands, for the depth to change sud- denly from a few hundred feet to many thousand. In other cases, as in a large part of the bed of the Atlantic, between Europe and the United States, there are plateaus extending hundreds of miles with very slight undulations. The mysterious race that once occupied this continent may have sailed in their galleons over the Peninsula, and sounded the depth of the waters which rose above it in precisely the same manner as the mariner of today casts out the sounding line. At the close of the Corniferous epoch a great upheaval of sea bottom formed a line
of land across the southern counties of Michigan, which extended to an older and wider formation in the southern part of Ohio.
The land now within the boundaries of Newaygo was still submerged, but by degrees the southern belt rose higher, spread out toward the northern continent, and was actually approaching the state of . dry land at the beginning of the coal-deposit era. At its close Newaygo and the counties bordering formed the high lands of the Lower Peninsula. It is stated that Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and On- tario were not in existence then, their places being represented by a swift-running river, with expansions. The great geological age, the Mesozoic, dates froni this time. It was marked by activity in the animal and vegetable kingdom, mild climates and the myri- ads of reptiles which swarmed in rivers and over land. Save in the fossils there is no record of the progress of this age to be found within the bounda- ries of Newaygo. The Tertiary period succeeded the Mesozoic. It was an age of beautiful climates and high development of mammals .. Animals greater than the mastodon roamed over the land through verdant forests, meeting their enemy, man, and ulti- mately disapearing under his continued attacks.
The scene was changed ; the snow and ice came on, burying all nature in its whiteness, and robbing the land of life. It was the beginning of the Glacial period. The duration of this age is lost in mystery. Were it possible to ignore the work of a God in the formation of the worfd, the continuance of the ice age might be set down at two thousand years; ac- knowledging a divine economy in the handiwork of the world, the period of its duration might have been an incredibly short time. Spring time came, and with it the sea of ice, which covered the land and water to a depth of over 5,000 feet, began to break up and dissolve, and the solids held within its grasp fell down and formed a bed of rocky fragments or boul- der drift. The countless currents which sprang into existence and formed for themselves ten thousand channels, were the principal agents in the conforma- tion of that peculiar stratum known as the " Modified Drift."
From Saginaw Bay to Lake Michigan via the valleys of the Shiawassee and Muskegon Rivers a great channel, deep and wide, extended. South of this line barriers existed that checked the flow of the
NEWAYGO COUNTY.
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water south and from hundreds of reservoirs. This accumulation of ice-water and the second season of ice resulted in the formation of another glacial field, differing from the great glacier in its depth and dur- ation, being not over four feet in thickness. Along the borders of those reservoirs the ice became an in- tergral part of the shore soil, of course including the limestone; and when the second geological spring- time arrived, millions of cubic feet of water were added to these lakes, resulting in bursting asunder their green covering of ice, which, in ascending, carried with it the limestone tables, and as the waters fell, deposited them in the positions which they hold to-day. As the Niagara rock was worn down, the rushing waters made for themselves deeper channels, and the inland lakes lowered just in proportion as the great lakes. The present river system was laid out by nature.
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