City Hall and various stores, Bellevue, MI (1906) Contributed by Paul Petosky
First Settlements
(History Of Ingham and Eaton County by Samuel W. Durant)
It is asserted that a Mr. Blsshfield (or Bluhford) was
the first to locate land in the county, choosing a spot on
the northeast quarter of section 28, in Bellevue township,
where now stands the village of Bellevue. As nothing, appears on the government tract-book to show that such
a man ever made an entry of land in the county, it is
inferred that he was simply a " squatter". At any rate,
be remained but a short time. According to the tract-book, the first entry of land in what is now Eaton County
was made in 1829, by A. Sumner on section 30, in town 3
north, range 6 west (now Vermootville). The second
entry was made on section 2, in Oneida, by H. Mason, in
1831.
Regarding the first two entries, there is nothing to show
that the owners ever settled upon the land they had purchased- That of Mr. Mason (in Oneida) was sold fur taxes
four years later, which was the first tax-sale of land in the
county.
The first actual settlement in the county was made by
Reuben Fitzgerald in July, 1833, in what is now the
township of Bellevue. His daughter, Sarah Fitzgerald,
whose birth occurred Nov 12, 1S34,was the first white
child born in Eaton County. On the 26th of December,
1865, she was married to John Spaulding by Rev. G. W.
Hoag,—these dates being from the record in the old family
Bible. The first birth in the east half of the county was
probably that of Phebe K. Searles, daughter of Samuel
Scarles, a pioneer of Charlotte. She was born Aug. 7,1836
and became the wife of Jacob W. Rogers. Her death occurred May 28, 1875. Her fathers farm was in Eaton
township.
The first death of a white person in the county, as stated
by John T. Hoyt in a historical sketch of Bellevue in 1869,
was that of a man named Baker, who was engaged making
an excavation for a lime-kiln for Messrs. Hoyt & Mason at
Bellevue. The walls caved in and killed him; this occurred iu the summer of 1835.
The first post office in the county was established at
Bellevue, and John T. Hoyt received the appointment of
post-master, his commission—from Amos Kendall, post-
master-general—bearing date May 2, 1835, and reaching
him on the 4th of the following August.
Bellevue township, as first organized, included the whole
of the present county of Eaton. The first election held
in this county- was when Bellevue held its first town-meeting, in the spring of 1835. There, were then only four
men in the entire county who had resided here long enough
to be entitled to vote. I give the poll-list of the county,
—viz., Capt. Reuben Fitzgerald, Sylvanus Hunsiker, Calvin
Phelps, and John T. Hoyt. The first three named were
the election board, and they chose Mr. Hoyt clerk of this
election, to perform the difficult task of keeping poll-list as
the voters from 576 square miles of territory came in to
vote. The election was held in a log shanty, which they
called the meeting-house. This savors a little of New
England, where churches are generally called meeting-
houses. This shanty—the first church built in the county
—was also a school house. It was built on a corner of the
lot owned in 1869 by Mr. Ford. But to return to our
town-meeting. When the officers of election had taken
their seats, it was necessary to declare the polls opened.
Calvin Phelps took off his hat, stepped in front of the
cabin, and in a loud voice proclaimed, "the polls of this
election are now opened," and warned all men, under the
penalty of the law, to keep the peace. These four voters
were then triumphantly elected to all the best offices in the
gift of the people, unanimously taking two or three of the
highest offices apiece They gave the minor ones to out-siders, who had not yet become voters and were not eligible.
There were too many offices to go around. In strict accordance with law, they sat all day until the legal hour for
closing the polls, and then, without breathless anxiety,
counted up and ascertained the result. Not one of those
men is now living. The foregoing account of the first
election is from Mr. Foote's address.
As appears elsewhere, the county-seat was at first located
at Bellevue, which place was consequently of much importance, with its Circuit Courts, grand and petit juries, etc.
But its star waned when the county offices were removed
to the prairie where now stands the city of Charlotte.
On the 7th of March, 1838, the first convention to
nominate county officers for Katon County was held in the
log house of Jonathan Searls, at Charlotte. The number
of delegates in attendance was seventeen, or one for "every
fifty souls" in the county. The township of Oneida, which
had been organized by the Legislature but the day before,
was not represented. The delegates from the other towns
were as follows:
Bellevue —Calvin Phelps, James W. Hickok, S. H. Gage,
A. Meach, T. Haskell, I. DuBois, R. Fitzgerald, and A.
Carpenter.
Eato .—John Montgomery, Amos Spicer, Samuel Hamlin, James McQueen, William Wall, Simeon Harding (the
latter appearing for his proxy, William W. Crane).
Vermontville — Willard Davis, Wait Squire, and Harvey
Williams
Mr. Du Bois was made chairman, and Capt, Hickok
secretary of the convention, which proceeded to ballot for
associate judges. Amos Spicer, of Spicerville, and S. S.
Church, of Vermontville, were declared the nominees. The
following persons were nominated for the remaining offices:
James McQueen, Sheriff; Reuben Fitzgerald,of Bellevue,
and William Wall and Jonathan Searls, of Eaton, County
Commissioners; Walter S. Fairfield, of Vermontville, Register of Deeds; S. Hunsiker, of Bellevue, Probate Judge;
Caleb Woodbury, of Bellevue, County Clerk; Levi Wheaton, of Chester, County Treasurer; James W. Hickok, of
Bellevue, Surveyor.
These nominations were made without distinction as to
party. The ticket had no opposition, and was elected in
April following, the officers serving until the 1st of January, 1839, when they were superseded by others, chosen
at the regular fall election. This was held on the 5th and
6th of November, 1838,and two hundred and seventy-eight
votes were polled, resulting in the choice of the following
officers:f Robert Wheatnn, Sheriff; Martin S. Brackets.,
County Clerk; Levi Wheaton,Treasurer; John Montgomery, Simeon S. Church, Ephraimn Follett, County Commissioners; John T. Ellis, Register of Dceda; Addison
Hayden, County Surveyor; Erastus Inpersoll, Silas C.
Smith, Coroners. The board of inspectors at this election
was composed of Stephen Reynolds and Reuben Fitzgerald.
Stephen Reynolds was chairman and Martin S. Brnckett
secretary. At a subsequent drawing for the length of their
terms as commissioners, Messrs. Church, Montgomery, and
Follett drew for one, two, and three years respectively.
When the county convention of March 7,1838, was held,
the delegates from Eaton township waded through the deep
snow on foot to Mr. Scarls house, and after the business of
the day was over walked back to William Wall's, six miles
east, where they found prepared and ready for them a good
supper, with Mrs. Wall to attend them at the table. Never
was meal more thoroughly relished by tired attd hungry
pedestrians than then. After eating and resting they proceeded on their way. They had gone without dinner thai
day, as Mrs. Sear Is, who was always the very soul of hospitality. was out of pi ovist ons, and although it pained her
deeply to be unable to act food before her guests, yet it could not be helped.
After the spring election, succeeding this convention, the
board of county canvassers met it Mr. Searls house to
canvass the votes and decide who were elected. It was a
question in their minds whether his house was properly at
the county seat, and to "make assurance doubly sure" they
adjourned to the prairie and met in the small log building,
afterwards used as a school-house, which stood where is uow
the Robinson grove, near the east end of Lawrence Avenue,
and there went through with the formality of determining
who had been elected. The day was cold and stormy and
the cabin was "unchinked," but they braved all difficulties
that (heir proceeding* might he strictly legal. They then
returned to the house of Mr. Searls and transacted other
and less important business.
At the first elect urn for member of Congress, held in
Eaton County, Nov. 5 and 6, 1838, Hezekiah 0. Wells
received 278 votes and Isaac E. Crary 124. At the same
time the vote for State senators stood, Rix Robinson, for
one year, 115; James YV. Gordon, one year, 160; Sanda
McComly, two years, 117 ; Cyrus Lovcll, two years, 160.
