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Hillsdale County Michigan |
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Transcribed by "Jancell" from Crisfield Johnson, Everts & Abbott,
The territory within the limits of this township forms a portion of what is generally known as the Bean Creek Valley. While it does not lie wholly within the immediate vicinity of Bean Creek (otherwise and formerly called Tiffin's River) still most of its waters are tributary to that stream. The creek enters this town and makes a wide detour in section 25, re-entering Lenawee County near the north line of section 36. From its location, and from the fact that the rapidly-growing village of Hudson lies just across its eastern border, the history of this town has been intimately connected with the history of the valley, and has received a careful and thorough treatment from the pen of James J. Hogeboom, of Hudson, in his meritorious work on the history of the Bean Creek Valley; a work from which we have largely drawn in the preparation of this brief sketch. To its author we acknowledge our obligation for the assistance the book has afforded us. In the year 1833 the whole of Hillsdale County was an interminable wilderness. There were a few scattering settlers along the line of the Chicago road in the north part, but this town was still clothed with the dense growth of virgin forest, and not a single monarch of the woods had been laid low by the axe of the settler. Wolves and bears alone disputed with the aborigines for the possession of the forest, and the red deer, alarmed by some unusual sound, bounded fleetly through the thick growth of underbrush until lost amid the forest solitudes, or, overcome by fatal curiosity, approached the gleaming torch of the Indian hunter and fell a victim to his deadly rifle. It was about this time that Charles Ames and his brothers and brothers-in-law were contemplating emigrating to Michigan. Charles, William B., and Ezra Ames were from Geneva, Ontario Co., N. Y., Henry Ames and Alpheus Pratt from Rochester, N. Y. They had arranged to come to the house of a friend in the vicinity of Detroit, and to explore the country from there until they found a location and land that suited them. Previous to this, in 1831, Hiram Kidder had settled in the valley of the river Raisin, and had visited the Bean Creek Valley in the spring of 1833, entering land on sections 6 and 7 of the present town of Hudson. This land he entered in the names of Daniel Hudson, Nathan B. Kidder, and William Young, all of whom were residents of Ontario Co., N. Y. They were induced to make this purchase, for purposes of speculation, by the fact that, in April, 1833, the Legislative Council of the Territory had, by a special act, authorized the building of a railroad from Port Lawrence (Toledo) to some point on the Kalamazoo River, passing through or near Adrian, and that they expected this road to follow the section line west from Adrian, which would bring it to pass through the lands they had taken up. Nathan B. Kidder, upon learning the intention of the Ames brothers to settle in Michigan, went to them and described in glowing terms the wealth and beauty of the lands in the Bean Creek Valley, as he had learned them from his brother Hiram, and advised Mr. Charles Ames and Thomas Pennock, who had been selected to look up the lands for the party, to proceed to the house of his brother Hiram, who would, he said, show them the loveliest country the sun ever shone upon. Acting upon his advice, they came to Lenawee County in May, 1833, and under the leadership of Hiram Kidder explored the Bean Creek country. Mr. Kidder was a practical surveyor, and thoroughly well acquainted with the country. He had selected his land deliberately, after careful examination, and secured what he deemed the most ' eligible part of the country. Intending to locate there, he was naturally desirous of having neighbors, and did his best to convince these land-lookers that their best interests would be subserved by settling in his vicinity. So successful was he in convincing them of the desirability and probable future rapid rise in value of these lands that, on the 20th of May, 1833, they together entered the southwest quarter of section 7, in the present town of Hudson. This land was entered, not because it was their first choice, but because the lands of Hillsdale County had not yet been opened for settlement. As soon as they were placed in the market, Ames and Pennock, on the 7th day of June, entered lands within the present town of Pittsford ; Ames entering the southeast quarter of section 1 and the northeast quarter of section 12, and Pennock entering the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 12. Having made these purchases, they returned to the East to prepare their families for removal. Sometime in the month of October following they had all concluded their arrangements, and were met together at Rochester, ready to begin the pilgrimage to their new home in the Western wilderness. Embarking on a canal-boat, the party reached Buffalo in due time, and took passage for Detroit, on a sailing vessel about to start up the lake. Two days were consumed at Buffalo in vexatious delays before the vessel started on its voyage, and while on its passage was met by a fierce storm which forced the vessel to lie at anchor for two days more, so that the journey to Detroit was not only long but tedious. However, our party of emigrants survived it all, and upon their arrival at Detroit immediately, with undiminished courage, pressed forward into the wilderness. At about sunset on the 1st day of November, they arrived at the still unfinished log house of Hiram Kidder, which he had erected in the latter part of August. The party then consisted of Charles Ames and his wife, Mrs. Ames' sister, Louisa Ball, Elizabeth Ames, since Mrs. James Sprague, Henry, William B., and Ezra Ames, and Alpheus Pratt. Mr. Pratt's wife and child had been overcome by the hardships and fatigue of the long journey, and had been left at the house of Mr. Lyman Pease, about one mile west of Adrian, where they remained about a week resting and regaining strength before they came on and rejoined their friends. The night before most of the party had lodged at the house of Stephen Perkins, about four miles west of Adrian, and had spent the entire day from early morning till the hour of sunset in the wilderness, traversing the 12 miles of distance that had separated them from their destination in the Bean Creek Valley. There was a light covering of damp snow lying upon the ground, which served to conceal the wagon-road that had previously been underbrushed, and the party was obliged to be guided on its way by the "blazed" trees that marked its course. Mrs. Charles Ames had a babe but seven weeks old, and being in rather poor health was compelled to ride, but the rest of the party, including Miss Elizabeth Ames and Miss Ball, walked nearly the entire distance. They were frequently compelled to sit down upon some convenient log by the roadside, remove their stockings and wring the water from them, and then, after replacing them, proceed upon their journey until a repetition of the operation became necessary. Thus they proceeded until the shades of night found them at Mr. Kidder's house, where they were heartily welcomed and treated to the best fare the house afforded,-a supper, and a bed upon the floor. Mr. Kidder had arrived with his family only three days before, and here our pioneers of Pittsford spent their first night in the vicinity of their future homes in a log house having neither floor, windows, or doors, and with 17 persons in the only room, which was but 25 feet square. The long hours of the night slowly wore away, and at last morning dawned upon the infant settlement. Before breakfast could be prepared it was found to be necessary to unload a barrel of pork from the wagon, and in the process it slipped from their hands and went rolling away down the hill for a distance of several rods. Charles Ames, worn out by the toils and hardships of the journey, worried because of the illness of his wife and child, and discouraged by the evident hardships involved in subduing the frowning forest that shut them so closely in from all the world, sat down upon the refractory pork-barrel at the foot of the hill and gave way to his despondent feelings by wishing himself and family back in their Eastern home. The wish was vain and futile. Separated from him by more than four hundred miles of distance, and still more completely isolated by the miles upon miles of practically impassable forest-roads and the frozen surface of Lake Erie, and with none of the more modern facilities of travel that practically annihilate the distance, how could he change the circumstances of the situation? Sitting on and standing around that pork-barrel, a council was held, and though its deliberations might not weigh heavily in the fates and affairs of nations, they were of supreme importance as regarded the future prospects and progress of the little colony. At last an agreement was reached by which they pledged themselves to remain together five years, and then, if their prospects were no better, they should be at liberty to separate and try their fortunes elsewhere. It is not a matter of wonder that they all felt discouraged and disheartened. They were in the midst of a wilderness, twelve miles from the nearest habitation; winter was setting in, and already had made his presence manifest by the presence of snow and ice and raw, cold winds; they were dependent for their subsistence upon the store of provisions they had brought with them, eked out with what food their rifles might furnish from the animals that roamed the forest, and were also without any means of securing help from their friends. It certainly was a trying situation, and well calculated to draw out the fortitude and courage of the members of the colony, and to their praise be it said, their firmness of purpose and resolution of spirit made them masters of the situation. The first step was to finish the Kidder house, which was to furnish them all with a temporary home until they could get houses of their own completed. As Henry was a carpenter and joiner, to him was entrusted the work of making the doors and windows, while the rest of the party, under the supervision of Mr. Kidder, prepared the chinks and sticks for the chimney. In a few days the house was made quite comfortable; but, as the party was a large one, it was necessary to do a considerable share of the cooking out-of-doors, a fact which, on account of the cold weather, caused the ladies of the party many cold fingers, and proved to be a disagreeable business. As soon as the Kidder house was completed the Ames family began to look about them for a site for their own dwelling, and finally selected a spot on the bank of Hillsdale Creek, when the clearing of the ground and cutting of logs was immediately commenced. Before the work had made much progress the stock of provisions began to run low, and it became necessary to send to Adrian for a fresh supply. For the performance of this duty Alpheus Pratt and Ezra Ames were selected, and made the round trip of thirty-six miles in five days, having spent one night in the "twelve-mile woods," sleeping under their wagon, while the wolves enlivened the watches of the night with a howling chorus that, as one of the party said, made their hair stand on end. However, they escaped all the perils of the forest, and finally reached home in safety with their load, which consisted of about eight hundred pounds of provisions. By the time of their return the logs for the house were prepared, and the work of drawing in and laying them up commenced immediately, but, as it was a new kind of work, progressed but slowly. In about five weeks, however, the house was so far completed as to allow of its being occupied, and the Ames family and their friends moved in. This was the first dwelling-house erected in the town of Pittsford, and stood on the south line of the east half of the southeast quarter of section 1, the site now being occupied by a small frame house owned by E. and L. Childs. Upon the completion of this house Alpheus Pratt and Henry Ames looked about to find suitable locations for houses of their own. Pratt selected land on the northeast quarter of section 13, since known as the Bush farm, and Henry Ames selected land in the town of Hudson, which has since been the home of the venerable Clark Ames. They entered their lands at the Monroe land-office, Dec. 5, 1833, and before the 1st of January, Pratt's house, the second one erected in the town, was ready for occupancy. This house has since been replaced by a frame dwelling, and is now owned and occupied by Mr. E. D. Pierson. While the Ames party were on their way in, they were accosted, near Clinton, by a hunter and trapper, who inquired where they were going. They replied "to the Bean Creek country," and gave him a glowing description of the country and the abundance of all kinds of game. Struck by their description, Jesse Smith, for that was the hunter's name, said he was looking for land, and that if there was any good country out there he was going to see it, tossed his traps into one of the wagons, shouldered his rifle, and marched on with them. He skirmished around the party, frequently making them calls, until they reached the house of Stephen Perkins, on the last day of October. From there he went on a hunting excursion, and a few days after the arrival of the party at Kidder's rejoined them there. Believing that he had found the land for which he was looking, he at once started for Monroe, taking, as was usual with him, a free course through the woods, and the first night encamped alone in the woods near Devil's Lake. The next morning, after visiting an Indian camp near by, he called at the house of a Mr. Thompson, who had settled near the lake, and breakfasted with him. That night he lodged at the house of a Mr. Taylor, on the east side of Round Lake. In the morning he sent his baggage on to Adrian by a teamster, who was traveling thither, and proceeded on foot towards the same place. In the vicinity of the Raisin he met a party of land-lookers, who were on their way to the lakes. He described to them the many advantages of the Bean Creek country, and induced them to visit it, they engaging him to act as their guide. As soon as this party had been guided to their destination, Smith, in company with Oliver Purchase, who had selected land in the town of Hudson, started for Monroe, and arrived at the land-office on the 6th of November. Both made their entries of land on that day, but Smith's, for some unexplained reason, was not placed on the records until the 15th of the month,- about the time that he reached his home in Albion, N. Y., whither he had gone to prepare his family for removal in the spring, and to settle up his business matters there. Thus the winter of 1833-34 found the little colony. Several other persons had entered land during the months of September, October, November, and December, but none had made any settlement in this town except the Ameses and Alpheus Pratt. The names of these purchasers, and the date of their purchases, were as follows:
During the winter Charles and William Ames, who were shoemakers, were absent from the settlement working at their trade in Detroit. Ezra remained at Charles'. Though winter had now fairly settled down upon the valley, practically isolating the settlers from the busy world, they were not idle. Plenty of work was ready to their hands, and they varied the regular business of chopping with occasional deer-hunts, or with trips into the adjacent country with land-lookers. These latter were present in profusion, and the settlers had plenty of company and generally a new lot for each succeeding night. They were welcomed warmly, sheltered and fed, and given lodgings on what was a very common thing in those days, a "shakedown," or bed on the floor. Then, too, they received frequent visits from the Indians, who had two villages nearby, one in the southern part of the present town of Somerset, and the other in the southern part of this town. The latter was called Squawfield, and Baw Beese was the chief. An Indian trail left the principal trail (leading from Detroit to Chicago) near Silver Lake, and skirting Devil's Lake on the northwest, passed near the Kidder Settlement, and terminated at Squawfield. These Indians were of the Potiatcattamie nation, and very friendly and inoffensive unless the white men, through lax principles or greed of gain, supplied them with that fruitful cause of discord in many other than savage breasts,-whisky,-when they sometimes became ugly and quarrelsome. They would willingly trade with the whites, but recognized nothing but silver as a medium of exchange or a measure of values. This they designated as "shuniah." On the 23d of January, Alpheus Pratt was chopping in the woods but a short distance from his house, and Mrs. Pratt sent her little six-year-old son, Charley, to call him to his supper. Soon after Mr. Pratt came to the house alone, and being asked where Charley was, said he had not seen him. Fears that the boy was lost were entertained, and Mr. Pratt returned to the woods and searched till dark for him, but without success. Returning to the house for his lantern, he told of his failure to find the boy, and Mrs. Pratt at once started alone and on foot through the woods to the house of Charles Ames, and informed them of the affair. Henry and Ezra Ames, Hiram Kidder, and a man named Tabor at once repaired to Pratt's house and joined in the search. The father had already discovered the boy's track, which they followed as rapidly as possible, but, as there was quite a crust on the snow, with considerable difficulty. After several hours' search they all became cold, tired, and discouraged, and concluding that the boy could not be found, the assistants gave up the search, and built a rousing fire to warm their benumbed limbs and to scare away wolves, if any were prowling about. But the father's heart recognized neither chill nor fatigue, and the father's love kept him at the search, regardless of the doings of his companions. His loud and frequent calls of "Charley! Charley !" were soon answered by the lad's weak voice, and clasped in his father's arms, the boy, with body benumbed and both feet frozen, was carried to the fire. He told of having seen dogs in the woods, and undoubtedly had seen wolves in his wanderings, and had been protected from them by what, if not by the merciful hand of a divine Providence? Taking a northeasterly course, being guided by the stars, they finally struck the Indian trail about three miles west of Charles Ames' house, and following it, reached home about sunrise, and restored the boy to the arms of his distracted and almost despairing mother. They were never able to tell just where the boy was found, but supposed it to have been a little south of the village of Pittsford. In the month of February, Thomas Pennock came the second time to the Kidder settlement. He was at Jackson, and reaching a settlement on the Chicago road, since called Gambleville, hired a man to pilot him through the woods to his destination. They were caught in a snow-storm, and the guide becoming confused, they wandered about all day, and were obliged to spend the night in the woods, and that, too, without a fire, as they were without any means of kindling one. Their situation was both unpleasant and perilous, and the guide gave up, and would have lain down and frozen to death, had not Pennock cut a switch, and by its frequent and vigorous use kept him upon his feet, and by so doing saved his life. The next morning dawned clear and pleasant, and they soon discovered the trail, and returned to Gambleville, where they arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon, tired, faint, and hungry. The next morning, having procured an Indian guide, who said he knew where the white chemleeman, or white black-haired man (Kidder), lived, Pennock recommenced his journey, and following the Indian trail from Devil's Lake towards Squawfield, soon came to the road leading to Kidder's. Giving his guide a silver dollar, he pursued his way alone, and reached the settlement about the middle of the afternoon, sick and weary from the effects of travel and exposure. He afterwards became satisfied that the night he was lost in the woods was spent somewhere in the vicinity of the present village of Rollin. In the month of March, 1834, Sylvanus Estes came to this town, and on the 15th day of the month entered land on section 10 in the name of his wife, Ruth Estes. During the same month his brother Rufus came, and assisted him in the work of clearing a piece of ground for spring crops. Rufus Estes was a mighty hunter, and receives the honor of having been considered the crack shot of the Bean Creek Valley. In the latter part of April, Jesse Smith, accompanied by his wife and five children, started from their home in Albion for their possessions in this town. At Buffalo they shipped on board the steamboat " William Penn," one of the clumsy affairs of that period, and as it was also early in the season, after a somewhat prolonged voyage were landed in due time at Monroe, where two teams were hired to transport them and their goods to Adrian. Arrived there, it was found necessary to dispose of a new wagon and some boots and shoes that he was bringing into the country, and from their sale he realized 27 bushels of wheat and $10 in money. With the money Mr. Smith hired two other teams to take his family and goods to Kidder's, and, with his wife and three children, resumed their journey. The two older boys had gone on in advance, in company with William Purchase. The first day they traveled four miles. The next day, about noon, one of the teams gave out, and the goods were unloaded, piled beside the road, and the team sent back. With the remaining team they toiled on through the afternoon, and at dark were compelled to camp near Posey Lake. Two of the children were put to bed in the wagon, and the youngest Mrs. Smith held in her arms all night. In the morning they resumed their journey, and soon met their sons, Lorenzo and William, who had been to the settlement and were returning to meet them with Mr. Van Gauder and a yoke of oxen. Doubling teams, they were able to progress more rapidly, and reached Kidder's about noon, where they found dinner and a hearty welcome awaiting them. The house built by Messrs. Purchase and Van Gauder, who were both bachelors, was by them tendered to the Smiths as a temporary residence, and was occupied by them until the 20th of August, when they moved into a house of their own. Mr. Purchase had chopped quite a piece of ground around his house, and this he offered to Smith for a corn-field. It was accepted, and Smith, assisted by his sons, logged and burned it, and planted it to corn and potatoes. The crops realized-50 bushels of corn and 40 bushels of potatoes,-were important factors in their next winter's subsistence. Supplemented by fish from the streams and lakes, game from the forest, and honey from the convenient receptacles where it had been placed by the "busy bees," they sufficed for the sustenance of the family and the entertainment of travelers and adventurers, who were both quite numerous, and none of whom were ever turned hungry from his door. Mr. Smith was accounted a great hunter, and one of the best shots in the valley. He was very successful in the pursuit of game, and spent considerable of his time roaming the woods with his faithful rifle. He is still living, a resident of thin town, but has been blind for several years. In the latter part of May, Robert and Dudley Worden and Samuel Day, with their respective families, arrived at the creek, Robert Worden and Day settling in Pittsford, and Dudley Worden in Hudson. The two Wordens left their homes in Fairport, Monroe Co., N. Y., in a covered wagon about the 1st of April, 1834. They each had a wife and one child with them, making a party of six. On the way they fell in with the family of Samuel Day, traveling in the same way, and intending to settle in Ohio. They traveled along in company, and after a little Day decided to abandon his original plan and come on to Michigan with the others. Their last day's journey was from Adrian to the creek, a distance of eighteen miles, twelve of which, from Bart. White's west, were in a dense wilderness. Night overtook the party while still five miles from their place of destination,-Kidder's,-and it was soon found to be impossible to proceed farther with the wagons, and to camp in the woods was not practicable, as they had no means of starting a fire. The horses were unhitched, and the party started forward on foot, Mrs. Worden, who wore a white skirt, walking in the rear of the rest to guide the driver of the horses. Marching in this way they finally reached Kidder's late in the evening. The next day they found their land, and commenced their log houses. Mr. Robert Worden thus describes the house he built: "I built me a house without a single board, except what was made with an axe. I split logs for a floor. The chamber floor was bark peeled from elm-logs. Our roof was bark, as were also the gables or ends. Our door was plank, made with an axe, two inches thick, pinned to wooden hinges, and fastened to the logs so it would swing inside. With an auger a hole was made in the logs, so it could be pinned on the inside to protect us from the bears and wolves, of which there were a plenty. We had a window-hole cut out for a six-lighted window, but had no window to put in it. The principal light came down the chimney-hole. One night the wolves commenced to howl. There was so many of them and so near I became frightened. We were sleeping on the floor, not having even a Michigan bedstead. We got up, went up the ladder with our bed, pulled the ladder after us, made our bed on the bark, and should have considered ourselves secure from the wolves, only that we were fearful that the bark would give way and let us fall. And all this fear within two miles of two villages. One village had double the number of houses the other had, and that had two." Writing of this first year's experience in a new country, Mr. Worden 'again writes, "We were a community of many wants from the outside world. The article of currant-roots or sprouts was in great demand. The undersigned went out to the settlement to obtain some sprouts, and all I could get were ten pieces of sprouts about eight inches long each, and felt myself fortunate and thankful. I got them of Richard Kent, a little north of the city of Adrian, and from the sprouts I obtained at that time I have bushes on my farm now, and have supplied very many new beginners from them with roots. "The first settlers had an enemy in what is called the deer-mouse. They were numerous, would crawl through an incredibly small hole, and were very destructive. Before we were aware of it they had got into our trunks, and seriously injured our clothing. We had no place of security for anything they wanted. My wife had brought with her some starch done up in a paper. One day, wanting to use some, she found the paper that had contained the starch, but no starch. It had been carried off by the mice, and it could not be replenished short of a trip of twenty miles; but some time after we had occasion to use an empty bottle stowed away, and in the bottle we found our starch, put there by the mice; it was not possible for them to get into the bottle. We were in great want of a house-cat to destroy the mice, and they were very scarce in this section of the territory. I took a bag and started for Adrian, on foot, to procure a cat if possible. I could find none in Adrian, but heard of some kittens three miles south of Adrian, at Colonel Bradish's. I went to Colonel Bradish's, but was a little too late; they had let the last one go the day before. I then started for home, came about two miles this side of Adrian, and stopped overnight with a family of English people. I told the lady of the house of my unsuccessful efforts to find a cat. She sympathized with me, and said they had been similarly situated. When morning came, and I was about to start for home, the lady said, 'I have been thinking of your troubles through the night; I have but one cat, a great nice one, and I have concluded to lend it to you until I shall want it.' I took the cat in the bag and started for home,-on foot, of course,-and before I got home with it I thought it a very heavy cat. We kept the cat but a few weeks; it was killed by the wild-cats, which were quite plenty at the time." Of Mr. and Mrs. Day, a writer in the Hudson Post of March 26, 1874, wrote: " Mr. Samuel Day died in 1856. He was a man who made his mark in this new country; will be remembered as a stock-man, and who could show the finest stock in the valley of the Bean. Coming here when Hudson was a vast forest, with five boys at his command, much of the improvement in this vicinity was made through his influence. But he has laid by his armor, and passed over the river with others who were his associates here, to be employed in higher and nobler spheres than earth can offer. Mrs. Day is one of those noble women who first settled this Bean Creek Valley, when in its native state. May, 1834, found her coming down Bean Creek hill at ten o'clock at night, she having walked from Adrian the same day. She crossed the Bean upon a log, and came up to Mr. Kidder's log house, where the family stopped for the night, and until they could find some house to stop at or until they could build for themselves. This they did in the month of May, having to cut a wagon-road from Bush's Corners up to where their house now stands. The house was built without a single board; the roof was covered with bark, and the floor made of split logs. There was not a tree cut west of Bush's Corners; the wolf and deer were all that inhabited that region. Mrs. Day was a woman of strong constitution, always working with a will, having a large family of her own to provide for, in a new country, with all the settlers in like circumstances. But she worked on with her neighbors, every one feeling dependent upon each other for things to keep body and soul together. Mr. and Mrs. Day having lived in a dairy country East, and having been brought up in that branch of farming, as soon as the country would warrant, commenced making butter and cheese in the valley of the Bean. They brought apple seeds with them from the East, and when they planted them Mrs. Day said, "I shall never live to eat fruit of this orchard." She did, however, and enjoyed its fruit for many years. In the month of October, Silas Eaton, with his wife and four children, came from the State of New York, and settled on the land he had entered in June, which was the west half of the northwest quarter of section 8. He was a native of Duanesburg, Montgomery Co., N. Y., where he was born on the 22d of February, 1798. At the age of twelve years he removed to the Genesee country with his father's family, and they settled in the town of Perrington, in Monroe Co. He married Miss Eliza Simmons, of the neighboring town of Victor, Ontario Co., on the 18th of November, 1819, and lived at various places in the State of New York until his emigration to this town. During the year 1834, in addition to those already named, William Champlin, Lewis Gillet, Ozen Keith, Jesse Maxson, Robinson H. Whitehorn, Urias Treadwell, and Lawrence Rheubotton settled in this town. Henry Ames, early in the spring, returned East after his wife, who had been left behind on account of feeble health, and they reached this town on their return on the 30th day of September. On Christmas-day of this year (1834) occurred the first wedding in the town, and it was also the first in this part of the valley. The high contracting parties were Mr. James Sprague and Miss Elizabeth Ames. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Mr. Willey, a Methodist clergyman of Adrian, at the house of Alpheus Pratt. The wedding party was composed of fourteen persons beside the bride and bridegroom. Their names were Alpheus Pratt, wife and son; Charles Ames, wife and two sons; Henry Ames, wife and son; Jesse Kimball, wife and daughter; and Miss Martha Redfield. There were numerous purchases of land made in this town during the year 1834, and some of the purchasers settled on their lands that season, others at a later day, and some never settled here at all, having entered the land for speculative purposes. The names of these purchasers were Lewis Gilbert, Curran White, James and Hannah De Graph, Lorenzo Church, David Fish, Peter Potter, William Purchase, Benjamin and Dolly Bassett, William Cular, Lewis and Matthew Dillon, Walter Culver, Giles Sage, Aaron Aldrich, Asahel Dolbear, Marcus Hawley, Jesse Treadwell, Ira L. Mills, Joseph Barnhart, John Davenport, Dudley Worden, Merritt Sherman, James McLain, Levi Thompson, Buckley Newton, Nathan Birdsall, Nathaniel J. Redfield, Israel and Daniel Loomis, Richard Britton, Eldad B. Trumbull, Jesse Kimball, William Burnham, Richard Butler, Nicholas Fratts, Samuel Cole, Horace P. Hitcheock, Warren Burnham, Ezra A. Washburn, James B. Marry, Cyrus Robinson, N. Wood, John Munger, and Truman Bishop. In the spring of 1835, Theodore, son of Charles Ames, died. He had obtained access to the medicine-chest and drank from a bottle of wintergreen oil. Rufus Estes was immediately dispatched to Adrian for a doctor, but before the doctor arrived the boy was dead, having died within twenty-six hours after drinking the oil. About this time Alpheus Pratt set out an orchard of 32 trees. These he purchased from Jesse Maxson, who had brought them with him from the State of New York, and shouldering the entire lot carried them from Mr. Maxson's to his own home, a distance of 21 miles. In the spring of 1835, Samuel T. Cooley settled in the western part of the town and built a log house, 14 by 18 feet, where he was often called upon during that and the following season to entertain the families who were passing through this town on their way to the towns lying to the westward. He was accompanied by his wife and one son. Eldad B. Trumbull had purchased 80 acres of land, the east half of the southeast quarter of section 22, in 1834, and had then gone to work for the Lanes at Lanesville. In the following spring he felled about two acres of timber in windrows, and planted potatoes wherever he could reach the soil. The seed potatoes he had to carry from Hudson on his back. He planted three bushels of them, and realized quite a crop, which furnished him with a supply of food for the winter. In the fall he returned to Ellicott, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., after his wife. They arrived here in October, and stopped a short time with Ozen Keith, while Mr. Trumbull was building a log shanty to shelter them through the winter. Elijah B. Seeley settled on section 22 in the fall of this year. He came with his wife from the town of Warren, in Herkimer Co., N. Y. In selecting his land he found a strip of low ground ran across it, along the course of which stood some very heavy timber. Liking the looks of the rest of the piece, he concluded to take it, notwithstanding this drawback, for, said he, " it will not make any difference, as I shall never clear the land as far back as that.'' In the fall of this year Isaac A. Colvin opened the first store in the town in a small building that stood nearly opposite the site of the present cheese-factory, on the Charles Ames farm. As was usual in those days, the stock of merchandise consisted largely of whisky and tobacco, and business transactions were generally conducted by the method of "barter." Indians and settlers all congregated at "Colvin's grocery" as a place of general resort, and there exchanged their stocks of furs, game, and produce for the luxuries of tea, coffee, whisky, and tobacco. William B. Ames and Thomas Pennock had, in 1834, engaged in the shoe business in Adrian, but now William, having closed his connection with the business there, returned to Pittsford, and was installed as chief salesman at Colvin's. While in this position he had a narrow escape from death at the hands of the Indian chief Meteau. This Indian and his son John (called Indian John by the settlers) did the purchasing for the tribe, the last named acting as an interpreter. Meteau carried the purse of the tribe, and they, coming to the grocery, would dispose of their articles of merchandise and lay in a stock of corn, potatoes, turnips, or such other articles as they needed, never forgetting the indispensable "fire-water," and then return to their camp. At the grocery a bottle was kept standing on the shelf, from which drinks were supplied to those who called for them. Meteau learned the ways of the white man very readily, and coming alone one day to make the purchases, took two drinks in the orthodox fashion, and soon after desired a third. William tried to make him understand that so much liquor would make him drunk, but Metean, anxious to get it, promised to leave, saying, "Give whisky, marchee quick." Getting the drink, he still refused to go, and William stepped up to him and told him to depart. Meteau at once drew a pistol, and saying "I shoot you," presented it and pulled the trigger. William saw the movement and struck the weapon upwards with his hand, so that the bullet passed harmlessly over his head and buried itself in the ceiling; then, fearing that he would draw his knife, he closed with him and, after a severe struggle, succeeded in throwing him to the floor, where he held him until the liquor he had drank made him helplessly drunk. Then he disarmed him and dragged him out of doors. When Meteau had become sufficiently sober, his bag was filled and he was started for home; but he went only a little ways before he halted and built a fire, on Pennocks' place, and stayed there all night. In the morning he returned and asked for his pistol, but was told he could not have it because he had tried to shoot Ames with it. About a week after he returned with a plump, nicely-dressed wild turkey, weighing about twentyfour pounds, which he laid upon the counter. William stepped up and, laying a quarter of a dollar beside it, said, "Swap?" Meteau smiled and said, "Very good," and the feud was thus amicably settled. William was duly installed as Indian trader for Squawfield, which arrangement continued until the Indians were removed West. The price of whisky at Colvin's grocery was thirty-eight cents a gallon, and, as a proof that in quality it was "of the first water," a story is told, for the truth of which we do not feel called upon to vouch: Two of the settlers, who were preparing to go to mill in midwinter, thought it advisable to provide themselves with a pint of the stimulating fluid to use in case of emergency, should the frost prove too severe to be resisted, unaided, by their natural powers. This supply was hid in one of the bags. When about two thirds of the journey had been accomplished, and they were wearied by their continual exertions to keep warm, they decided to stimulate their vital forces by a horn of "Colvin's best," and drawing the bottle from its hiding-place- found it frozen solid. In the fall of 1835, the citizens of this township met at the house of Alpheus Pratt to consider the propriety of petitioning the Legislature at its next session, soon to be held, to organize the territory south of town 6 south into a separate town. It was determined to draw up and present such a petition, and to ask that the name of the new town should be Dover. The petition was signed by Charles Ames, Jonathan French, John L. Taylor, Wm. B. Ames, Ozen Keith, Daniel Loomis, Elijah B. Seeley, Jesse Kimball, James Sprague, Samuel Day, Robert Worden, Robinson H. Whitehorn, Lewis Gillett, and Jesse Smith. In the fall of this year, Austin Nye settled on the southwest quarter of section 14, which he had purchased of Ozen Keith. The first came here in the fall of 1834, and hired out to Mr. Keith for a year. At the expiration of his time he returned to his former home in the town of Winfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y., and after settling up his affairs there returned here and built a log house on his land. He was soon after married to Sarah Acker, and they commenced housekeeping in that house. During this year Ezra and William B. Ames took a trip eastward, attracted thitherward by the haunting memories of the charms and graces of two Eastern maidens who had won the citadels of their hearts while they were yet residents of the East. Ezra went to Frenchtown, N. H., and was married, and, returning here immediately, settled on the northwest quarter of section 22. William's inamorata resided at Swansea, N. H., and he went to that place and was married. On his return he settled on the east half of the northwest quarter of section 12. On the 4th day of September, Mrs. Henry Ames died at the house of Charles Ames, where she had been removed during her illness for convenience of nursing. During the year 1835 the following persons bought land in this town, viz.: Samuel Van Fleet, Joseph Webster, John L. Edmonds, George W. Merrick, George Williams, Henry Rose, Stephen Clapp, Peter W. Dean, Joel Alexander, Bowen Whitney, William Edmonds, William Donaldson, Olive Howard, Asa Worden, Warren Day, Charles Howard, Lewis Nickerson, David Strunk, John Williams, Samuel Starkweather, Harvey A. Anderson, Henry Lindenbower, John Osborn, Lewis Woodruff, James Grant, John Perrin, John Berger, Reuben Davis, Samuel Lawrence, Stephen B. Johnson, Elijah K. Blythe, Ira Rose, John B. Brocklebank, Elijah B. Seeley, James W. Marry, Joseph Maxson, Reuben Mallory, William H. Davis, Sidney S. Ford, Charles Boyle, Julia Seeley, Michael Stuck, Jr., Theron B. Seeley, Archibald Dunn, Stephen W. Perrin, Israel Smith, Theron Skeel, James Wheeler, Charles Helm, Nathan G. Elliott, Charles Converse, Henry W. Seymour, Charles Spear, Henry Barton, and Archibald Mercer. Thus the third winter came upon the pioneers and found the lands of this town pretty well disposed of, and settlements started in nearly every part of it. Jan. 2, 1836, Mr. John Griswold and family arrived in the valley, and stopped at the house of William Frazee, on the southeast corner of section 19, in the town of Hudson. They had come direct from their former home in Ontario Co., N. Y., traveling by team and wagon, coming first to Adrian, thence to Canandaigua, thence west along the town line (as near as the roads then ran on lines) to the county line, and thence northerly to Mr. Frazee's residence. They found but three houses on their route after leaving Canandaigua: these were Mr. J. R. Foster's, near Tiffin's Mills; Elder Warner's, near the northwest corner of section 4, in Medina; and Mr. Whitbeck's, on the town line, half a mile east of the county line. They arrived at Frazee's on Saturday, and stayed there over the Sabbath, and on Monday removed to the house of Ira Rose, where they remained until a log house could be built. Mr. Griswold had purchased of John B. Brocklebank the northeast quarter of the southcast quarter of section 24, and having built his log house moved on to the place with his family a few weeks later. On this place he lived more than thirty-five years. His wife died April 8, 1872, and he survived her but a little more than two years, and died April 17, 1874, at the ripe age of eighty-seven years. January 8, 1836, the village of Keene was platted by Charles Ames on his land, adjoining the village of Lenawee, which had been platted on the land of Kidder & Co., in the early part of June, 1834. In the month of July, Linus Monroe, with his wife and two children, came from Penfield, Monroe Co., N.Y., and settled on 80 acres of land, lying in section 28, which he had purchased of Elijah B. Seeley. Stephen B. Johnson, about the same time, settled on 240 acres he had entered in 1835, it being portions of sections 21 and 28; and here he built his log house, and, with his wife and brother, Squire, commenced his pioneer life. And now, having briefly sketched the pioneer history of the town from the time of its first settlement to the year in which it assumed a separate organization, it remains for us briefly to note the subsequent history of these pioneers, and of the enterprises they introduced, and to mention some few among the later settlers of the town. Of the Ames family, Henry, about a year after the death of his first wife, married his brother Charles' wife's sister, Miss Louisa Ball, and lived happily with her for about eight years, when death again entered his household, and took from him the loved companion who had so cheerfully shared his joys and sorrows. He subsequently married Ruby Tabor, of Adrian, and is still living on his farm on section 1, an honored citizen and enterprising farmer. Charles cleared his farm of about 200 acres, and, by his thrift and careful industry, made it one of the model farms of the town. He built a fine brick residence a few years before his death, and also, in 1868, erected a large building for a cheese-factory, which was operated but a year or two, and has since that time been partially used as a dwelling. His wife died Dec. 24, 1869, and he followed her across the dark river Sept. 4, 1873. Ezra lost his wife a few the land of their birth the last representatives of a once numerous and powerful tribe. Even at this time, after six years had passed since the first settler set foot within its boundaries, the town was still a wild country, its largest part still remaining a gigantic forest, and wild game was still abundant. From that time on its development has been uniform and steady. The forests have gradually melted away before the axe of the woodman, and well-tilled and fruitful fields have taken their places. Many of those whose brawn and muscle were employed in this beneficent labor now moulder in the dust, and others, having performed their portion of life's labor, have ceased from active participation in the business of life and are awaiting the summons to depart from earth. By their labors they have succeeded in making the town of Pittsford one of the finest agricultural townships of Southern Michigan, and its rich fields and fine buildings are enduring monuments to keep their virtues fresh in the memories of the present generation. The village of Pittsford is of a more recent origin, not yet having completed the first quarter-century of its existence. Upon the completion of the railroad in 1843, Mr. Wray T. Palmer succeeded in securing the establishing of a station on his land, about one half-mile east of the present station. In the year 1853 the first buildings in the village were erected. Hiram Pratt, a carpenter and joiner, built himself a house, and Elihu Hubbard, a blacksmith, built a house, and also put up a small shop on the present hotel site. In 1855, Philip Sickman, of Medina Co., Ohio, who had purchased a tract of 200 acres of land on section 18, laid out a village plat of some 9 acres on the western part of his land. Lewis Hunker, a son-in-law of Sickman, assisted by Elihu Hubbard, first laid out the plat with a tape line, and on the llth of June, 1855, it was recorded in the register's office. The streets were 4 rods wide, and the lots 4 by 8 rods in size. Main Street was laid out on the town line between Jefferson and Pittsford, that line being the centre of it. Previous to this, however, in the summer of 1854, Sickman had built a store on the east side of Main Street, near the railroad, and rented it to Joseph Bell, who opened it with a large stock of dry-goods and groceries in the fall of that year. In the month of August, 1856, James M. Tiffany made an addition to the village. This additional plat contained about 10 acres, and was situated north of the railroad and west of Main Street, in the town of Jefferson. It was recorded August 9, 1856. In 1857 the hotel was built, on the site of Hubbard's blacksmith-shop, by William Sloan. It is still used as a hotel, and is the only one in the village. Soon after a second store was built by L. C. Kilburn, and was opened as a grocery by Horace H. Tarner. The building was on the southwest corner north of the hotel. Dwellings and mechanies' shops were erected from time to time, and the village grew, though but moderately. In 1865 both stores were burned. On the site of the Sickman store another was erected about a year later by Martin & Turner, and is still in use, being now occupied by Cutter & Spear, general merchants and produce dealers. Wm. Jones was the occupant of the store when it burned, and he immediately put up a building on the northeast corner of the four corners, and occupied it. It is now used by J. B. Wilson, dealer in boots, shoes, leather goods, and groceries. On the 21st of October another addition was made to the village by George H. Taylor. This plat was east of Main Street and south of the railroad, and contained some five acres. July 4, 1865, was celebrated by the dedication of the new railroad depot. The citizens of the village, who found it very inconvenient to have their depot half a mile distant from the business centre, had made an effort to have the station removed to a more convenient location. By contributing the sum of $1000 towards the cost of removal and the erection of new buildings they finally succeeded in their endeavor. The total cost of the new buildings was about $4000, and the depot is the finest one on the line of the road in Hillsdale County. The Wesleyan Methodists built a small frame church in 1860. In 1870 the Christian Church society erected a brick house of worship, and George Taylor built and commenced operating a steam saw-mill. In 1871 the brick school-house was built at a cost of about $2300. In 1874 the Wesleyans sold their frame church to the Patrons of Husbandry, and erected their present brick edifice. The village has become well known as a good shipping point, and the farmers of the adjoining country generally find it a better place to sell their surplus produce than any other market in the vicinity. It at present consists of 4 stores, 3 blacksmith-shops, 2 wagon-shops, 2 shoe-shops, 1 harness-shop, 1 meat-market, 1 steam saw-mill, 1 hotel, 2 churches, a school-house, 1 millinery and dress-making establishment, the railroad buildings, and about 40 dwellings. Its population is not far from 175. The town of Pittsford is known as township 7 south, range 1 west, comprises a territory six miles square, and is bounded north by Wheatland, east by Hudson, Lenawee Co., south by Wright, and west by Jefferson. Its surface is generally lightly rolling, though in the western part, south of Pittsford, the elevations rise to the dignity of hills. The northern part is also more rolling than the lands to the south and east. Originally these lands were covered with a heavy growth of the various kinds of native timber, and contained but little swampy land. The soil is of quite uniform quality, and is composed of a varied mixture of gravel, sand, clay, and loam; the rolling lands of the north and west containing more of the two first kinds, and the leveler lands of the south and east more of the two last named. It is all rich and well adapted to general farming, producing large crops of all the staple products. The principal stream is the Little St. Joseph's River, which enters it from Jefferson, in the north part of section 30, and pursuing a crooked course in a southwesterly direction, crosses the line into Wright, near the west line of section 34. Hillsdale Creek is a stream that flows across the town in the north part, and is a tributary of Bean Creek. This last-named stream has a brief course in this town, in section 25. There are four natural ponds or lakes lying in sections 26, 27, and 28. They are named Mallory's, Moon's, Britton's, and Seeley's Lakes, and were so called after Reuben Mallory, Benoni Moon, Abraham Britton, and Theron Seeley, who were early settlers upon their shores. The largest of these is Mallory's Lake, which covers an area of 75 acres, and empties its waters into Bean Creek. The others are small, and empty their waters into Bean Creek, their outlet first running south into Wright, and forming the inlet of Lime Lake. Pittsford was formed from Wheatland by an act of the Legislature passed March 23, 1836, in accordance with the petition of the citizens before referred to. Before that petition was presented for the consideration of that body, the name Dover had already been conferred on a township in Lenawee County, and, upon the suggestion of a man who had known Mr. Alpheus Pratt while he was a resident of Pittsford, Monroe Co., N. Y., it was named Pittsford. It then comprised all the territory in range 1 west, south to the Ohio line.
March 6, 1838, the town of Wright was set off, leaving Pittsford as it now is.
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