This township, one of the oldest in Oakland County, lies next west of Troy, and south of Pontiac, having Southfield and West Bloomfield respectively for its southern and western boundaries.

Its surface is rolling, sufficiently so to be correctly termed hilly in some parts, particularly in the western and northwestern portions. To the mind of one with whom the idea of fertility is inseparable from that of dark mellow soil in prairie or river bottom, these portions of the township would not at first view be regarded as being by nature well adapted to the requirements of the husbandman, for, particularly in the parts where the surface is most uneven, the lightness of the soil seems not infrequently to degenerate into unmistakable gravel. That the first comers took this view of the case is evidenced by the fact that the lands lying in the hilly section remained unpurchased until a comparatively late day; and there are those now living in Bloomfield who recollect hearing these spoken of as being very unlikely to be ever brought under cultivation, or, indeed, to be ever entered at all. How mistaken was this idea will be very apparent to one who now passes over these lands in the early summer and sees knolls and slopes covered with abundant harvests ; for it is a fact that though once so lightly esteemed, they are now excelled in their grain producing capabilities by very few lands even in the State of Michigan.

Bloomfield is watered by a number of beautiful lakes, and by the Rouge river, of which the eastern branch takes its rise beyond the boundaries of the township, in Troy and Avon, and the western one has its sources in the lakes of the northwest and west : and these, uniting their waters a short distance west of the village of Birmingham, form the stream which thence flows in a southwesterly course through section 35, and crosses the town line into Southfield. The lakes of Bloomfield are Wing, Island, Cranberry, Square, Long, Grove, Turtle, Orange, and Gilbert; in the last, named five of which the west branch of the Rouge takes its rise. All of these lakes lie west of the centre line of the township, and all are within its northwestern quarter except Wing and Gilbert.

The original forest of Bloomfield was not as dense, nor was the timber as heavy, as in some of the other townships, as Southfield and Farmington, but had much the character of "openings," especially in the more uneven parts towards the west and north.

Here, as everywhere in the vicinity of fish producing lakes, was a favorite resort of Indians ; it was their home and hunting-ground before the white man came, and for years after their expulsion, when they made their semiannual journeying’s to Detroit to receive their government annuities, they made their camps on the shores of the lakes, or in the Wooded bottoms along the margin of the Rouge. There are traditions, too, that this was once the theatre of great Indian battles between the tribes. In particular was it related by an old centenarian French voyageur, named Michaud, whom Mr. Edwin Baldwin and other old residents of the township remember well, that on one occasion, long before the coming of the government surveyors, as he passed through these woods on a fur trading expedition, he came to a fresh battlefield, on which still laid unburied fifteen hundred dead Indians, by actual count, and that this bloody spot was none other than that level ground which has since been known as " Swan's plains," a short distance north of Birmingham village. But probably that portion of Michaud's narrative which relate to the number of the slain seen by him should be received with some grains of allowance.

The first land entry in the township was of the northwest quarter of section 36, on the 28th of January, 1819, by Colonel Benjamin H. Pierce, an army officer, and a brother of Franklin Pierce, afterwards president of the United States. Colonel Pierce visited his land more than once, but never settled upon it.

The honor of having made the first settlement in Bloomfield is given to John W. Hunter, although several others, including John Hamilton and Elijah Willets, came in the same year, and very nearly at the same time.

Daniel and John Hunter, sons of Elisha Hunter, then of Auburn, New York, came to Michigan in March, 1818, traveling by sleigh, and taking the route through Canada. Elisha Hunter came with his family in the July following, via Buffalo, where they embarked on the small schooner " Neptune," with about thirty other passenger, mostly land hunters, and made the passage in twenty-one days to Detroit, where John W. and Daniel were awaiting their arrival. They remained in the city until the spring of 1819, when they came to Bloomfield, where John W. Hunter had already entered the northeast quarter of section 36.

A log house, the first in the township of Bloomfield, was erected, but by a mistake of Mr. Hunter it was located on the Willets tract instead of on his own land, as he had supposed. The spot where that first house was built is a point in the village of Birmingham between Mr. Hugh Irving's store and the residence of Mr. Cromwell, and a little farther back from the main street. The spot was chosen because it was an opening, from which the ground sloped somewhat abruptly towards the northwest, conditions favorable for a good prospect and good air. William Hall, a son-in-law of Elisha Hunter, occupied this house, and John W. Hunter built another, a log house, of course, a short distance southeast of the first, and very near the spot where the store of Mr. A. Davis now stands.

In this house he soon after, if not immediately, opened a tavern, the first in the township, though that which was soon after opened by John Hamilton is frequently spoken of as having been the first. He (Hamilton) came at very nearly the same time as the Hunters, and settled upon the land which he had already entered, the southeast quarter of section 25. His tavern, which was also his residence, a small building, which is said by some to have contained only one room, stood directly in the rear of the house now owned by Mr. Poppleton, and occupied by Mr. Brayman.

Opposite this, near the house which Hunter had erected, and nearly on the spot now occupied by the house of Mr. Cromwell, Elijah Willets, who came, as has been said, at about the same time, built his tavern dwelling, his entry being on the southwest quarter of section 25. Thus there were three public houses standing but a few rods apart, and erected about the same time, by the three men who may properly be considered the three first settlers in the township. Neither William Hall nor Elisha Hunter made any entry of land in Bloomfield, but remained for a time, and then purchased and settled in Southfield, where the latter died October 10, 1851, at the age of eighty-five years. His wife, the mother o£ Daniel, John W., and Rufus Hunter, died in Bloomfield, March 30, 1870, aged ninety-eight.

Mr. Rufus Hunter, of Birmingham, now seventy-three years of age, but at that time a lad of fifteen, recollects that soon after their arrival his brother, John W. Hunter, with John Hamilton and himself, walked to Graham's at Paint creek, and brought back to their settlement each a bushel of red potatoes on his shoulder, for seed, and these they planted in that same spring of 1819 ; this being the first seed planted by white men in Bloomfield. They also planted a small quantity of corn, and, having an eye to the future, even from the time of their first arrival, they put apple seeds in the earth, the first step towards the raising of fruit trees. Both Hunter and Hamilton had brought swine, as it is probable that Willets had also; and soon after J. W. Hunter procured a cow and a yoke of oxen ; the first oxen owned in the township. Before these came the settlers had succeeded in borrowing Graham's oxen, and had driven them all the way from Paint creek, to break small patches of ground for their first meagre crops.

And this was the way the first settlement of Bloomfield was made, on the spot where now is the village of Birmingham. It must not, however, be supposed that there was any immediate accession of population at that point. It became well known to immigrants and land seekers, on account of the Hamilton and Willets taverns (Hunter's was not long kept as a public-house), but for years after the arrival of the first settlers they remained the only inhabitants of the immediate vicinity.

The place was then generally designated as "Hamilton's," sometimes at " Hunter's" or "Willets'," not having at that time even received the name of "Piety Hill," by which it became universally known in later times, though it is difficult to explain why that name was ever first applied

All of those original settlers lived to see the spot of their selection invested with village dignity. Elijah Willets died in Birmingham, of paralysis, many years later. John W. Hunter is living with a granddaughter in the township of Commerce. Major Hamilton remained for nearly a quarter of a century on the place of his first settlement, and died only recently in Genesee county. Daniel Hunter resides in Detroit, with a daughter (Mrs. Farren) ; and his brother Rufus, the youngest of the family, now seventy-three years of age, is still living in Birmingham, near the spot to which, as a boy, he came with his father fifty-eight years ago.

The other settlers who came to Bloomfield in the year 1819 were Amasa Bagley and family, Wm. Morris, Ezra Baldwin and family, Dr. Ziba Swan and family, and Sidney Dole.

Judge Bagley came from Norfolk county, Massachusetts, and settled in this township, on the northwest quarter of section 14, the locality now known as Bloomfield Centre. For years after his settlement, however, it was known simply as " Bagley's," this having reference both to the locality and to the tavern, which he opened in his large log house.

William Morris came to Bloomfield with Bagley, though he had then been in Michigan for some time prior to his settlement here. He purchased on the quarter lying south of Bagley's, that is, the southwest quarter of section 14, and on this, in the fall of 1819, he sowed the first wheat sown in the township of Bloomfield. He also built the first grist mill in the town (in 1828), and was the first to fill the office of sheriff of Oakland County. His wife was a daughter of Amasa Bagley, and another daughter became the wife of Moses Peck.

Ezra Baldwin came from the city of Vergennes, Vermont, to Detroit in the fall of 1817, and removed to Bloomfield in the fall of 1819, settling on the southeast quarter of section 13, now owned by Mr. Snow. With Mr. Baldwin came his sons Jairus H., Ezra P., Edward, and William, and his daughter, Mary L., who afterwards married John Nugent. The son Jairus was already married, but settled and lived with his father. The third son, Edwin, did not come with the family, but remained in Detroit during the winter. He came up in the following spring, and also lived with his father; though he afterwards purchased an adjoining tract of land, the east half of the southwest quarter of section 13. He is now living quietly in the village of Birmingham at a very advanced age. In the year 1826, when Edwin and Edward were employed with government surveying parties, the former with Sibley's and the latter with that of John Mullett, Edward and a man named Taylor had a desperate hand-to-hand fight with Indians, which circumstance, occurring as it did in the immediate vicinity of the present city of Battle Creek, gave to the creek and the settlement the name which they bear.

Dr. Ziba Swan, originally from Connecticut, but then from Albany, New York, came in the early summer, and settled on the north half of section 25, adjoining the present corporation boundary of Birmingham. His family consisted of his wife, three sons, and a daughter. The sons were Ziba Swan, Jr., afterwards Judge Swan, Elias, and Norris Swan, all adults at that time; and the daughter was the wife of Sidney Dole, who came with the Swan family, and also settled on section 25. He was the first clerk of the county of Oakland, and the first register of probate, and he represented the county in the second legislative council of the Territory. He also filled the office of clerk of the board of county commissioners, and was one of the earliest justices of the peace in the county. He tried the first case which was brought before any justice in Oakland, viz., that of Thomas Knapp vs. Ezra Baldwin ; summons issued June 15, 1820, and judgment rendered on the 21st of the following August. He died July 20, 1828, aged forty-one years. Two of his sons are wealthy and respected business men in Chicago.

Dr. Swan lived more than a quarter of a century on the place where he settled. He was a member of the first board of commissioners appointed by the governor of the Territory, and at various times filled other positions, which were indicative of the respect and esteem in which he was held. He died February 28, 1847, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. His wife, Elizabeth, died June 22, 1853, aged eighty-five years. None of their children survive except Norris Swan, who is residing in California, at about eighty years of age, and unmarried.

In 1820 came Colonel David Stannard, Asa B. Hadsell, Major Joseph Todd and his sons Joseph and Samuel Todd, Elijah S. Fish, Daniel Ball, Asa Castle and his son Lemuel Castle. The Todd’s settled on the northeast quarter of section 4, now the farm of A. A. Walton, and Mr. Hadsell on the southeast quarter of the same section, where he is still living, in the eighty-second year of his age, but possessed of as much mental vigor as he could have had when he came there, fifty-seven years ago, and far richer in pocket than he was then.

Colonel Stannard also settled on section 4, a little north of Mr. Hadsell. His entry was dated July 3, 1820, and was the first one made under the "ten-shilling act." The first business of the probate court of Oakland was transacted while in session at his house, in 1822, the probate judge being Dr. William Thompson.

Deacon Elijah S. Fish settled on the northeast quarter of section 23, on the farm now owned by Mr. Benedict. The maple grove which was set out by the deacon may still be seen there, green and thrifty. He was a stanch Presbyterian, and it was at his barn and house that the first meetings of that denomination were held, and the first organization effected.

Lemuel Castle was as stanch a Baptist. He settled on the northeast quarter of section 14, land which he had located the previous fall. Daniel Ball settled on the town line, in the southwest quarter of section 36. Asa Castle, the father of Lemuel, settled in the southeast quarter of section 24. He was a member of the first grand jury impaneled in the county, July 17, 1820, Other of the first settlers of Bloomfield who served on that panel were Ezra Baldwin, Deacon E. S. Fish, Elijah Willets, Elisha Hunter, John Hamilton, and Dr. Ziba Swan.

Captain Laban Jenks, a native of Massachusetts, but then from Tioga county, New York, came to Bloomfield in the fall of 1821, and purchased in the northeast quarter of section 34. On his first arrival, on November 10, he sheltered his family for a time in the house of Daniel Ball, while he was making his own log dwelling ready for their occupancy, which, however, he accomplished in ten days from the time of their arrival. His house was the first which was built in the township, west of the Rouge. His family in the new home were nine in number: himself, wife, three sons, Morris, Laban Jr., and William, and four daughters, Laura, Diadama, Sophia, and Prudence. The other members of his family, whom he left behind in New York, were the sons Smith, Orrin, and Seth, and daughters Lucy, wife of Joseph Park, Patience, widow of Nathan Park, and Polly, wife of Leman Case, who all, except Seth, came to Bloomfield soon after. Captain Jenks was a man of excellent qualities, and enjoyed the respect of his fellow townsmen. He held the ofiice of justice of the peace, by governor's appointment, at the time of his death, which occurred about 1829. Of his sons, all are living except Orrin and Seth ; the latter of whom died in Bloomfield, July 25, 1877, while visiting his brother William. Of the daughters, four have passed away.

Oliver Torrey came in at the same time with Laban Jenks. He was from Ontario county, New York, and had taken passage on the old steamer " Walk-in-the-Water" for Detroit, when she stranded near Buffalo. Thereupon he determined to proceed towards Michigan on foot through Canada. In this journey he fell in with the Jenks family, who had also taken that route, and with. them he traveled until they arrived in Bloomfield, and indeed remained a boarder in their house until he married the daughter Laura, and settled on his own farm on the west line of section 26, now owned by William Jenks and Augustus Torrey. He died in May, 1838, respected and lamented by all who knew him.

Joseph Fairbanks and Dr. Henry Bradley came also in the year 1821. Fairbanks was a widower, and settled on the northwest quarter of section 24, which he had entered in 1819, this being the same tract now owned by Noah Anthony. It was afterwards called Fairbanks' Corners. Dr. Bradley located himself near the same point, but afterwards removed to Royal Oak.

Hervey Parke, from Camden, Oneida county. New York, came to Bloomfield about the first of June, 1822. He made the passage on the steamer "Superior ;" he was brought out from Detroit by John Hamilton, and arrived greatly disgusted with the mud and the general discomfort of the passage. He stopped with John W. Hunter, who, wishing to visit New York State, left his house and children in charge of Mr. and Mrs. Parke, and, on his return from the trip, offered Parke the use of a building which he had built for a blacksmith shop, but which he thought might be turned into a comfortable dwelling. The offer was accepted, and Parke soon made the building habitable. Their furniture was of the rudest, but answered their purpose. He says, " I had eight dollars and fifty cents in cash, and was in my thirty-third year. At the time of my arrival at. Hunter's the settlement contained four log houses, occupied by E. Willets, J. W. Hunter, Elisha Hunter, and John Hamilton." He remained at Hunter's for a time, and afterwards removed to the southeast quarter of section 23, though he probably did not purchase there. He taught school near Swan's in the succeeding winter, but in the spring obtained a contract for government surveying. He was the third surveyor appointed from Michigan Territory, Ball and Mullet being respectively the first and second. It was not long before he removed to Pontiac.

George Taylor, a carpenter, and without doubt the first of his trade in the township, came in the spring of 1822, but made no purchase of land. He stopped at the Hunter settlement, and worked on the frame house which John W. Hunter erected in that year. This was the first frame house built in Bloomfield, and is the same which is now occupied by Ira Toms, The first frame barn in the township had been built in the preceding year, by Ezra Baldwin. The second frame barn was built by John Hamilton, and is now standing and owned by Orrin Poppleton, Esq.

In the same year came Smith Jenks, Orrin Jenks, Apollos Dewey, Ezra Rood, Joseph Park, and Leman Case. Rood settled on the northeast quarter of section 9 ; Smith Jenks and Leman Case, on the northeast quarter of section 34 ; Orrin Jenks, on the northwest quarter of the same section ; Dewey, on the northwest quarter of section 14 ; and Park, on the northwest quarter of section 35.

Dr. Ezra S, Parke came in the fall of 1822, and made purchase upon the. southwest quarter of section 24, now land of Eri Benedict. He was a steadfast Methodist, and the first meetings of that denomination in Bloomfield were held at his house. He was the first postmaster of Bloomfield, being appointed in 1824. or 1825, and retained the office for about twelve years, until its removal to Birmingham became necessary to the convenience of the public. Dr. Parke stood.

high in public estimation, and was many times elected to office. He filled the office of township clerk for many years continuously, and as late as 1844.

Seriba Blakeslee came in 1823. He was from Oneida county, New York, and settled on the east half of the southeast quarter of section 31, a tract which he sold about 1832 or 1833 to Edward Matthews. A son of his, George Blakeslee, is now a resident of Birmingham.

Jacob Baker came in the same year, and settled directly north of Blakeslee, in the northeast quarter of the same section. There he opened a public-house, with the sign of the " keg and cup," which became quite extensively known as a stopping place for immigrants and land-hunters, and at which township-meetings were very frequently held during the time when the three towns of Bloomfield, West Bloomfield, and Southfield voted as one. Philo Beers, nicknamed "Spatty," kept the tavern after Baker's removal to Indiana.

Deacon Orestes Taylor came in 1823, and purchased in the northwest quarter of section 11, and Captain Isaac L. Smith settled in the same year, in the northeast corner of section 24, now the farm of M. Spear. It is said that his was the first barn in Oakland County which was "raised" without the use of alcoholic liquor. Captain Smithes end was a sad one, for he died in the insane asylum at Kalamazoo, in October, 1876.

Also in 1823 came Wilkes Durkee, Thomas Johnson, Jacob Sly, Joseph Almy, and Ellery Almy. The two last named settled in the northeast quarter of section 24. Jacob Sly came in November, and purchased the northwest quarter of section 32, where he built a log house, and afterwards opened it as a tavern. Durkee arrived in June, and settled in the southwest quarter of section 34, where George W. Durkee now occupies. He also opened his house as a tavern, though not until about five years afterwards. He died of apoplexy in 1844, at the age of seventy-eight years. At the time of Mr. Durkee's coming, his son, Stephen, who afterwards settled and died in Bloomfield, was a youth of eighteen years of age, and remained behind in New York ; and William P. Durkee, now living in the township, was but a mere lad.

Joseph Gilbert purchased and settled in the northwest quarter of section 28, on the southwesterly side of Gilbert lake, in 1824. He kept good working cattle, and professed extraordinary skill in the manufacture of ox-sleds. He lies in the burial ground in the farm which he once owned.

Deacon Elijah Bull arrived in 1824, purchased the southeast quarter of section 29, and settled on the southeastern shore of Wing lake,—his tract cornering on that of Joseph Gilbert. Deacon Bull was a firm Presbyterian, and the main supporter of that form of worship in the western portion of the township. Few stood higher in the estimation of those who knew him than did Elijah Bull. His farm was one of the best in the township, and has recently been sold for fifteen thousand dollars.

Half a mile west of Deacon Bull settled Daniel Grinnell, on the southwest side of Wing lake, in the southeast quarter of section 30, now the farm of Mr. Keeney. Mr. Grinnell was from Middleburg, New York. His son, Henry Grinnell, who has passed many years of his life on the Pacific coast, lives about a mile and a quarter west and south of the farm on which his father settled.

David Johnson arrived in that year, and purchased in the northeast quarter of action 33, and Lewis Hedges settled in October in the northwest corner of the township, on section 6.

Pierce Patrick, a citizen afterwards most extensively known throughout the county, arrived at Hamilton's in October of that year. In his account of his first impressions of the country, he says, " When morning broke, I looked out, and I would have given all I was worth to have been back at Lyons" (the town in New York from whence he had come). He remained during the winter, and in the spring entered the west half of the southwest quarter of section 22 (now farm of Mrs. Shane), but did not settle on it until the spring of 1828, having returned to New York and married in the meantime. He was elected county clerk in 1838, and removed to Pontiac, where he remained until his death, which occurred May 8, 1875. His birthplace was Scipio, Cayuga county, New York. His brother, Franklin Patrick, who was a later settler, is still a resident of Bloomfield.

John Utter came with his family as early as 1824, and possibly in the preceding year. They settled on the Saginaw road, in the south part of section 14, a little east of William Morris, and a short distance northwest of Deacon Fish. Mrs. Utter and her daughter came to their death in a most terrible manner, the story of which is found recounted in an old Detroit newspaper, printed in April, 1825. It is from the pen of a correspondent, who wrote to that journal as follows: "Bloomfield, Oakland County, Michigan, April 6, 1825. On the evening of last Monday a man by the name of Imri Fish, in a state of derangement of mind, killed with an axe the wife and daughter of John Utter, who resides about five miles from Pontiac. Mrs. Utter's age was forty-four years, and the daughter was thirteen years old." The insane murderer was a brother of Deacon Fish. He was incarcerated in the jail at Pontiac immediately after the tragedy, and remained there in confinement until his death, which occurred about 1830.

Daniel Ferguson settled in the same year, on the northwest quarter of section 26. He had the reputation of a skillful hunter, and claimed that in his day he had killed fully a thousand deer ; also that, at a single shot and with a single ball, he had made eight holes in a deer's hide. We are unable to give his explanation of the manner in which so unusual a feat was performed. He removed from Bloomfield to Genesee county afterwards.

James Stoughton came in the year 1825, and made settlement, which, however, did not prove to be a permanent one, on John W. Hunter's land, at Piety Hill. It was not long until he removed thence to West Bloomfield, and he was also, at different times, a resident of Southfield and Farmington. He died in Van Buren county in 1874, at the age of seventy-nine years.

Others who came in the year 1825 were Freeman Waugh, from New York State, who settled in the southwest quarter of section 2, on a farm which is now owned 'by Rufus Hunter; Lewis Grooves, who purchased on the Troy line, southeast quarter of section 1 ; John Chamberlain, who settled in the southeast quarter of section 4, now the Kimble farm ; John Dimond, on the southeast quarter of section 15, a part or all of which he purchased from William Morris; and Josiah Barkley, who came from the State of New York in October of that year, and purchased on the southwest quarter of section 32, upon the town line, just east of the village of Franklin, where he is yet living in extreme old age. He has two daughters, Mrs. B. A. Thorne and Mrs. Frank Drake, now living in Birmingham.

Lewis Smith settled on an eighty-acre tract in the extreme southwestern corner of the township in 1826, and Hiram H. Hunter about the same time, on the west side of Wing lake, in the northwest quarter of section 30, and Barney Jones purchased in section 28, on the southern side of Gilbert lake, next adjoining Joseph Gilbert on the east. John Nugent, a millwright, who married Mary, daughter of Ezra Baldwin, settled on section 23. John W. Turner, a maker of spinning wheels, splint bottomed chairs, and other useful articles, came in the same year, but his location cannot be precisely given. Mr. Culver settled near Fairbanks' Corners, and soon afterwards commenced the manufacture of fanning mills. Samuel Satterlee purchased in the northeast quarter of section 13, and just north of him, in the southeast quarter of section 12, Marmaduke Lawson and Richard Hotham purchased a small tract in the spring of 1827. They were Englishmen, from Yorkshire. Lawson had three children and Hotham five, but they all lived together in a small log house on land now owned by Thomas Beach. They had selected an eighty-acre tract adjoining, but before they could raise the requisite funds to enter it it had been purchased by Hartford Cargil, from New York.

Thomas Barkley came in 1827, and settled on the northeast quarter of section 30, west of Wing Lake. Thomas Comfort came about the same time, and purchased in the southeast quarter of section 27, now the lands of Mrs. Hood. He removed to Wisconsin, where he died recently.

With the foregoing are included the names of nearly all the very earliest settlers in Bloomfield, and a large proportion of those of the immigrants of the first six years. It is of course impracticable to produce anything like a complete record of those who came and went, settled and removed, after the settlements and changes had become more numerous and frequent. We add, however, to those, already mentioned the names of a few, 'who should be included in the list of early pioneers, but whose date and location we are in many cases unable to give: Andrew Miller, James McHenry, settled on northwest side of Gilbert lake; James Bailey came about 1826 ; Robert J. Beattie, southeast quarter of section 27 ; Luther Hunt, Jas. Greer, northeast quarter of section 20 ; Wm. Cummings, southwest quarter of section 19 ; Saml. Bassett, Joshua Pattee, southwest quarter of section 27 ; Luther Phillips, And. Porter, northeast quarter of section 8 ; Hugh Gordon, who first lived with S. V. R. Trowbridge, in Troy, then settled on the north side of Wing lake; Saml. and Geo. Pearsall, northwest quarter of section 16; Eph. Moak, on the Dimond place ; Geo. Williams, northeast quarter of section 8 ; Calvin Webster, northeast quarter of section 12, now Blair farm ; Dennis Kelley, southeast quarter of section 14 ; Mr. Blackington, northeast quarter of section 23 ; Nathaniel Case, southwest quarter of section 27 ; William Warren, at the Hunter settlement; Job Smith, John Williams, Avery Swan, Ralph Chittenden, southeast quarter of 24 ; Captain Chesley Blake, southeast quarter of section 10, now owned by Crofoot (Captain Blake died of cholera in 1852) ; Jacob Vaughn, northeast quarter of section 15, a little west of Bloomfield Centre ; and Thos. McGraw, whose lands were in section 9, adjoining those of Ezra Rood. It is related of Mr. MoGraw that he was a member of the legislature at the time that the question of the removal of the State capital was being discussed, and that, being also a member of the House committee which had the matter under consideration, he made a minority report recommending Bloomfield Centre as an eligible place for the seat of government; and that, upon his being, perhaps a little contemptuously, requested to describe the location of the place which he had recommended, replied unhesitatingly that it was "three-fourths of a mile north of Morris' mill."

After 1826, the number of immigrants, and of those seeking locations for settlement in the then new land of the west, increased steadily, and with great rapidity. One of the oldest settlers in Bloomfield describes how they came, some with their families and household goods (the latter generally meagre in quantity and small in value), pushing on towards the lands which they had already selected and purchased, others with no impediments but the knapsack and perhaps the axe, energetically prospecting the country in search of choice tracts upon which to enter and establish their homes ; each stopping wherever a cabin or a clearing could be seen, asking eager questions as to the character of the country farther on, and the prospect of finding eligible lands still unoccupied. To all of these was given a kind reception and full replies to all their inquiries, for each settler saw in the new comer's case one akin to his own ; but after a time their numbers became so great that, although all possible information was still cheerfully furnished, the settlers no longer stopped their work upon the advent of each new comer, for had they done so their chopping and clearing must have ceased entirely, so thickly and so incessantly did they come.

There were travelers towards the east too, as well as in the opposite direction; those who having already found such locations as they desired were hastening back to the land office to secure the prize, thence to return to their eastern homes, make the necessary arrangements, and in a few months to reappear in Michigan with their wives, children, and movables. Probably there were some of the returning ones too, whose extravagant expectations had not all been realized, or who, on this their first absence from the old eastern hearthstone, had become as homesick as Mr. Pierce Patrick represented himself to have been when he first saw Oakland County on the morning succeeding his muddy trip over the Ball line road from Detroit to Piety Hill. These would return to their homes in New York or New England with the firm determination never to leave them ; soon, however, to regret that they had beat so hasty a retreat, then by degrees to feel a return of the ambition which first enticed them to Michigan ; a feeling which perhaps would increase in violence, until, at the end of a year or two, they found themselves again on the westward journey, to learn with bitter regret upon their arrival that their chances of securing a satisfactory location had grown materially less during the time which they had lost in homesickness and in the process of recovery from it, and in many cases to purchase lands at an advanced price from uneasy, roving settlers, who had already begun to imagine themselves crowded, and who were only too ready to sell at a gain and " go west."

When John W. Hunter, John Hamilton, and Elijah Willets first came to Bloomfield to make their selection of lands for entry, they were obliged to travel hither by way of Mount Clemens and the Clinton river, as this route was at that time the only practicable one from Detroit, though it was about that time that the "Ball line" road was cut through so as to be in a "manner passable, but not officially laid out and established until December 15, 1819. Rufus Hunter, then a lad of between fourteen and fifteen years of age, was one of the party, consisting of seven men and two boys, who first cut the line through, being absent from Detroit just one week in the work.

After the Ball line was cut through, however, it was hardly worthy the name of road at all. It pursued no direct route, but crooked and meandered in whatever direction the nature of the ground seemed most favorable. Its route in Bloomfield lay to the eastward of the present turnpike road, entering the township on the northeast part of section 25.

Such as it was, it soon became much traveled, as all the westward bound emigrants for this section of country came over it, and those already established traveled that way in their necessary journeys to and from Detroit; and it thus continued to be the great thoroughfare until the laying out of the Saginaw road several years later, when the Ball line ceased to be used except for local travel, and the new line became the through route, though, except in the matter of straightness, it was hardly an improvement on the Ball line. From the accounts of those who recollect passing over it in its early years, it would seem to have been one of the worst roads that was ever traveled.

On the 20th of April, 1833, a road was ordered to be laid out, "running from a point on the Saginaw road, at or within one mile of the dwelling house of John Hamilton, in the township of Bloomfield (as the commissioners hereafter appointed may designate), on the most eligible route through the village of Auburn, or until it intersects a territorial road leading from Rochester to the county seat of Lapeer county;" and Samuel Martin, Philip Bigler, and Daniel Bronson were appointed commissioners, with authority to lay out and establish the same.

And on the 16th of the same month, it was enacted by the legislative council that there shall be a Territorial road laid out and established, commencing near the dwelling of John W. Hunter, on the Saginaw road, in the township of Bloomfield ; thence westward, and as nearly on the line of sections as may be practicable, to the Territorial road leading from Pontiac to Monroe, and from thence, in the most direct and practicable route, to the county seat of the county of Shiawassee ;" and John W. Hunter, Ziba Swan, Jr., and John Ellenwood were appointed commissioners to lay out and establish it.

One of the earliest roads was one which was ordered to be laid out, to run "from Elijah Willets' sign post in Bloomfield by the most direct and eligible route to the Rouge river, near the house of Moses Rodgers" which was in the southwestern part of the township of Southfield. William Morris and S. V..R. Trowbridge were the commissioners appointed to lay out and establish this road.

From about 1833 dates the commencement of the laying out of the local township roads, on section lines; these were gradually cut through and made practicable, and have been improved from year to year up to their present excellent condition.

By a proclamation of the Territorial governor, dated June 28, 1820, towns 1 and 2 north, in ranges 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 east (this embracing the two southern tiers of towns in the county of Oakland), were designated as Bloomfield, and con- tinued to be so known until April 12, 1827, when, by act of legislative council, approved on that day, towns 1 and 2 north, of range 10 (Southfield and Bloomfield), and 2 north, of range 9 (West Bloomfield), were detached, and the three together erected into the township of Bloomfield

The first township meeting was held at the house of John Hamilton, May 25, 1827. The board of inspectors consisted of Samuel Satterlee, Laban Jenks, and Elijah S. Fish. The moderator of the meeting was Elijah S. Fish, and the clerk for the day, Ogden Clarke.

The following were elected to township offices for the year succeeding : Lemuel Castle, supervisor; Ezra S. Parke, clerk; John Todd, Joseph Park, and Abraham Crawford, assessors ; John Ellenwood, John W. Hunter, and William Lee, commissioners of highways ; Wilkes Durkee and Apollo Dewey, Jr., poor masters; Oliver Torrey, collector ; and Erastus Burt and Oliver Torrey, constables. Before adjournment, it was " resolved that the sum of fifty dollars be raised for the support of the poor," and the sum of five dollars was fixed as the bounty to be paid for each wolf killed within the limits of the township. Fifteen road overseers, nine fence viewers, and three pound-masters were also elected, and the next meeting Avas appointed to be held at the house of Wilkes Durkee.

Following is a list of the persons who have filled the office of supervisor of the township of Bloomfield from its organization until the present time.

Lemuel Castle, elected in the years 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1831 to 1835 inclusive; John W. Hunter, in 1830 and 1836; John Davis, in 1837, 1838, and 1840; Isaac L. Smith, in 1839; Sullivan R. Kelsey, in 1841; Rial Irish, in 1842; Ransom R. Belding, in 1843; James Q. Hunter, in 1844, 1845, 1850, and 1856; Peter Dox, in 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1852, and 1853; Harvey Lee, in 1851 ; James Fitzpatrick, in 1854 ; Rowland E. Trowbridge, in 1855 ; George Blakeslee, in 1857 and 1858 ; Luther Stanley, from 1859 to 1862 inclusive, and in 1876 and 1877 ; Robert F. Opdyke, in 1863 and 1864; William Satterlee, from 1865 to 1868 inclusive; Charles E. Cantine, in 1869; and Alanson Partridge, from 1870 to 1875 inclusive.

The incumbents of the office of township clerk during the same time have been: Ezra S. Parke, from 1827 to 1834, both inclusive, and also in 1836 ; and from that time, continuously until and including 1844 ; William G. Stone, in 1835; Ziba Swan, Jr., in 1845 ; Henry S. Fish, in 1846, 1847, and 1851 ; John T. Raynor, in 1848 ; Denison R. Tucker, in 1849, 1850, 1853, 1854, and 1859; George H. Satterlee, in 1852 ; Spencer B. Raynale, in 1855 and 1856 ; Edmond R. Post, in 1857 and 1858 ; John Fitzpatrick, in 1860, 1861, and 1862 ; Adin A. Burhans, in 1863; George W. Mitchell, in 1864; Orson W. Peck, in 1865; Benjamin H. Warren, in 1866; James G. Hunter, from 1867 to 1872 inclusive; Joseph S. Stockwell, in 1873 ; Frank Hagerman, in 1874 ; and Almeron Whitehead, Jr., in 1875, 1876, and 1877.

Among the persons who held the office of justice of the peace, by appointment from the governor, prior to 1836, were Samuel Satterlee, Laban Jenks, Ziba Swan, Jr., Elijah S. Fish, and John Ellenwood (of West Bloomfield, but then included with Bloomfield). The first election of justices in Bloomfield was at a special election called for that purpose, and held at the public house of Isaac W. Taylor, at Bloomfield Centre, August 22, 1836, and the persons elected to the office at that time were Roswell T. Merrill, Ziba Swan, Jr., Samuel Satterlee, and John T. Raynor.

The gentlemen elected to the office from that time until the present have been as follows: Ziba Swan, jr., elected in 1837, in 1851, and 1855; William Or. Stone, elected to fill vacancy, in 1837; John T. Raynor, in 1839; John B. Comstock, in 1839, to fill vacancy; Franklin Patrick, in 1840; Rial Irish, in 1841 ; James Gow, in 1842; Solomon Whitney, in 1842, to fill vacancy; George W. Morris, in 1843 and 1848; Ransom R. Belding, in 1844; Peter Stiles, in 1845; Ezra P. Baldwin, in 1845 and 1846, both elections being to fill vacancy, and to the full term in 1849; Harvey Lee, in 1846, 1850, and 1854; Wellington Willetts, in 1847; William Patrick, to vacancy, in 1850; John Daines, in 1852; Alva Stockwell, in 1853; Hugh McCurday, to vacancy, in 1854; Rozelle P. Bateman, to vacancy, in 1845; Elbert Crofoot, in 1856; Mason I. James, in 1857, and in 1867; Albert N. Sloat, to vacancy, in 1857, and to full term in 1860; Stephen Durkee, in 1858; John Bodine, in 1859 and 1863; James Van Every, to vacancy, in 1859, and to full term in 1862 and 1866; David C. Toms, in 1861; Benjamin H. Warren, in 1864; James Grinley, in 1865; Wells Kinney, in 1865, to fill vacancy; Freeman M. Sibley, in 1868; Alanson Partridge, to fill vacancy, in 1868, and to the full term in 1871 and 1875; Levi B. Taft, in 1869; Benjamin Daniels, to vacancy, in 1869, and again to a vacancy in 1873; George Carswell, elected in 1870 ; Albert H. Washburn, to vacancy, in 1871, and to full term in 1874; Josiah Alger, in 1872; Emery Ferguson, in 1873; Lucius A. Randall, in 1876 ; Edward Fosdick, to fill a vacancy, in 1876 ; and John T, Midgely, also elected to fill vacancy, in the same year.

The township organization of 1827 continued until 1830, in which year town 1, of range 10, was attached from Bloomfield, and named Ossowa, which was very soon changed to Southfield; and in 1833, town 2 north, of range 9, was detached, and named West Bloomfield

Mercantile enterprises were commenced at several points in the township some years earlier than any were established at Piety Hill, and before its inhabitants had taken a step towards transforming it into a village, or of giving it the name of Birmingham.

The first store in Bloomfield was opened about the year 1826 by Mr. Doolittle, in a small frame building at Fairbanks' Corners, as the locality was then called, which was the point in the northwest quarter of section 24 where the Ball line road was intersected by the road leading east into the township of Troy. We are unable to say definitely how long this establishment continued in operation. It was at one time kept by Kidd.

Doolittle also started a potash works at the same place, and about the same time, and there was a hatter's shop put in operation there by a Mr. Wells, of Detroit, who employed George K. Dunks to work in the shop and carry on the business. The old shop is still in existence.

At the same place a fanning mill manufactory was built, and put in operation about 1829, by Zeba Rice, who employed several men in this business; producing a large number of the machines, traveling through the country far and near to effect sales of them to farmers, and altogether doing a large and flourishing business. There was also a public house kept at Fairbanks' Corners by David Standard.

About three fourths of a mile southeast from these corners, near the house of Asa Castla, where the Ball line road crosses the Rouge, upon land now embraced in the J. Caswell farm, the first distillery of the township commenced operations in 1826 or 1827, under the proprietorship of Ralph Chittenden, who lived near Fairbanks'. The business was undoubtedly prosperous, as distilleries usually were in the early days, A pottery manufactory was also established there by Mr. Barmore; and about the year 1827 Mr. Culver started a cabinet shop and fanning mill works.

One of the earlier stores in Bloomfield was opened by William Morris, at his grist mill. Soon after that was started, an extensive pot and pearl ash establishment was put in operation there by William and Benjamin B. Morris, was also a distillery; both of which were prosperous. The distillery remained in blast until near the year 1850; the store was finally closed about 1838.

This is the only village, large or small, within the township of Bloomfield, Its age is half a century as near as may be, reckoning from the commencement of its first business establishment, not including as such the two or three wayside log taverns which had been opened there by the first comers. During these fifty years there was a period in which it was considered a place of importance and one destined to experience a large and rapid increase ; and though this expectation has not been fully realized, yet it can today be claimed for Birmingham that it is a village of solid wealth and conservatism, as well as a healthy and most agreeable place of residence.

The first industrial enterprise commenced at Piety Hill, as the place was then still called, was the tannery built by Elijah Willets in 1827, and which stood on the west side of the Pontiac road, near the north end of the present village. This was some years afterwards succeeded by another one, standing to the rear of this, farther away from the road ; this also being owned by Mr, Willets. In the same year in which the first tannery was built, John Hamilton erected the first frame tavern in the township, which is now the north wing of the National hotel in Birmingham.

In or about the year 1828, John W. Hunter built and put in operation a foundry, worked by horse-power, and which stood a little back from the main street, nearly in the rear of the store of F. Blakeslee. Some five years later this was purchased by Roswell T. Merrill and George Allen, who carried on the business for some time in partnership ; then Allen retired, and Isaac Smith took his place in the partnership ; this continued for nine months, when Smith retired, and Merrell remained alone in the business, but not long after obtained new partners, one of whom was Mr. Wells, the cashier of a bank in Detroit; and in this partnership they built a new foundry and machine-shop on Saginaw street, where the store of Stockwell & Co. now stands, and extending for a considerable distance farther south on the same street, and also occupying the entire space on Mill street, from Saginaw to Pierce street, the molding room being on Saginaw street, and the blacksmith shop on Pierce street.

Here they entered extensively into the manufacture of mill work, agricultural castings, stoves, and similar articles ; and besides these they erected a shop for the manufacture of thrashing machines, this last named being located on the west side of Pierce street, where the post-office building now is. This was a large frame building, forty by eighty feet in dimensions, which years afterwards became known as the " Old Academy," from the fact that after it had ceased to be used for manufacturing purposes, not far from the year 1860, a private school was taught in it by Rev. S. N. Hill, at that time the pastor of the Presbyterian church. This old building was itself destroyed by fire in the fall of 1871.

The extensive business of the foundry and machine shop went on in apparent prosperity under the management of Merrill and his partners for a number of years ; but the partners finally withdrew, leaving the concern exclusively in the hands of Merrill ; afterwards it was carried on by him in company with his son, George W. Merrill, and then by the son alone ; and, finally, the entire establishment, with the exception of the thrasher shop, which was afterwards the academy, was consumed by fire on the 28th of May, 1854.

The business of merchandising was first commenced in the village by Dennis and Sullivan R. Kelsey, in partnership, in the year 1833, their place of business being a store then just erected by R. T. Merrill, on the main street, directly in front of the Hunter foundry, the same store which is now owned and occupied by F. Blakeslee. Dennis continued with Kelsey for some time, then withdrew from the partnership, and removed to Boston. Kelsey remained there alone in the business until 1841.

The second merchant in the village was Clock, who opened in the building on Saginaw street which is now owned by Mr. Hoffman, and occupied as a shoe shop by Mr. Crum, and as the residence of Mr. Mitchell. Clock did not remain very long, and from here he removed to Ohio.

The third merchant was Orrin Poppleton, who opened his stock of goods in August, 1840, in the store where Clock had been, and which had remained vacant since Clock's departure. Here he remained until June, 1841, when he moved to the store which had hither to been occupied by Kelsey, the latter at the same time removing to the store vacated by Poppleton, in which he remained while engaged in building a new store upon the opposite side of the street, into which he removed in the autumn of 1842.

In the fall of 1843, Mr. Kelsey sold his new store to Poppleton, having, occupied it less than a year, and removed to Shiawassee county, where he has since resided. Mr. Poppleton at once removed to his new purchase, which has continued to be his place of business until the present time. The success which has attended him there is well known to all who are acquainted in the village of Birmingham.

About 1840, J. B. Simonson came from Royal Oak, where he had been engaged in merchandising, and, in partnership with R. T. Merrill, opened a general store in Birmingham, in the building (then owned by Merrill) where Lamb's harness shop now is. They went on in company for a short time, then dissolved, and Simonson removed to Springfield, Oakland County. Merrill continued in the business alone, and in the fall of 1843 removed into his store at the corner of Saginaw and Mill streets, upon its being vacated by Poppleton. It was kept by him for a few years, and since then has been constantly occupied as a store until the present time.

In the fall of 1842, T. A. Flower opened with a stock of goods in the new brick store built bj Merrill in 1841. This was the first brick store, and, indeed, the first brick building of any kind erected in Birmingham, and is the same now owned by E. L. Jennings, on the west side of Saginaw street. Flower remained in this but a short time, then removed into the store where Simonson & Merrill had been, the same building now owned by Mrs. Rogers, on Saginaw Street. Flower afterwards engaged in the milling business with William Brown, but this was in addition to his merchandising, which he continued until his removal from Birmingham, about 1852. He is now a hardware dealer in Pontiac.

Thus we have traced the first commencement and earliest changes of the mercantile business of the village. It would, of course, be impracticable to follow it through all its mutations down to the present time.

The original plat of the village was surveyed and dated August 25, 1836, and recorded the same day. Location, on the northwest quarter of section 36; proprietor, Rosewell T. Merrill. Willets' plat was laid out on the southwest quarter of section 25, December 20, 1837. Proprietor, Elijah Willets. Hunter's, south part of eastern addition was laid out on the northeast quarter of section 36, January 31, 1840; and his second plat, on the same quarter, June 21, 1842. Proprietor, John W. Hunter. John Hamilton's plat was laid out on the southeast quarter of section 25, October 7, 1846. William Torrey's plat was laid out December 30, 1856, on section 36. Heman A. Castle's addition was laid out on the northwest quarter of section 36, April 20, 1867. William Brown's first addition was laid out March 23, 1872, and his second addition April 2, 1872; both on northeast quarter of section 36. George Blakeslee's addition, laid out on northeast quarter of section 36, March 22, 1875. Bird and Stanley's addition, located on the west half of northwest quarter of section 36, July 4, 1876.

The laying out of the village in 1836 and 1837 was in anticipation of the completion of the Detroit and Pontiac railroad, and great expectations were based on the prospective opening of travel over its line to this point. These expectations seemed in a fair way of realization when the trains commenced running to and from Birmingham, in 1840 ; for, during the succeeding short period in which the railway terminus was here, the prosperity and growth of the village was promoted to a degree which can readily be said to have been realized since that time

About this time it became evident that the public interest and opinion required the removal of the post office from the point where Dr. Parke had established it to the new village, and accordingly, in 1836 or 1837, it was so removed, and the appointment of postmaster was given to Sullivan R. Kelsey, who located the office in his store at the corner of Saginaw and Mill streets. In 1846 he was succeeded by T. A. Flower, who kept it where E. Lamb's harness shop now is until 1849, when H. W. Botsford was made postmaster, and removed the office to his store on the main street, the same now occupied by Peabody. In 1857 the appointment was given to Orrin Poppleton, who, for eight years, kept the office in his present store on Saginaw street. His successor as postmaster was George L. Lee, who, in 1865, moved the office to his store in the corner of the National hotel building. Lee was succeeded by J. A. Bigelow, the present incumbent, under whom the office remained for a time in the same store where his predecessor had located it (but which had been purchased from Lee by F. Hagerman), whence, after a short time, it was removed to the store of Stockwell & Co., on Saginaw street, from which place it was removed, in 1873, to the new brick building of Mr. Bigelow on Mill street.

About the year 1845, Jerome Walton commenced the manufacture of fanning mills and milk safes, his establishment being located on Mill street just west of the present site of the post office building. This business during its continuance was large, and probably profitable. It was prosecuted by Nathan Walton, a brother of Jerome, after the removal of the latter to Ypsilanti. Nathan remained in Birmingham until his death.

A fanning mill manufactory had been established here by John W. Hunter at an earlier period, but the date of its commencement and duration of its existence have not been ascertained. A plow and cultivator manufactory was also started about the year 1847 by D. B. Fox. The first wagon shop was put in operation in Birmingham by Alonzo Snow, who had first moved to the village to be employed in the fanning mill establishment of J. W. Hunter. The next wagon shop was started by Stevens not far from the year 1845.

After the destruction of the Merrill foundry by fire, in 1854, a new foundry was built and put in blast by the Jenks brothers, William, Cornelius, and Nathan. The works were located on Troy street, where Robbins' wagon shop now is. They were kept in operation for two or three years, and then the business was removed to Port Huron.

Of all the iron working and kindred manufacturing establishments which have at different times been started in Birmingham only. One now remains in existence, the Smith foundry on Troy street, and even that is not new in operation. It is owned by Mortimer Smith, whose father, Aaron Smith, moved hither from Auburn, in 1834, to take employment in Merrill's blacksmith, and machine shop. Withdrawing from Merrill's employ in 1841, he, with his sons Gustavus and Mortimer, under the style of A. Smith & Sons, commenced the foundry and machine business in the brick building which is still standing and used as a blacksmith shop, on Saginaw, south of Troy street, and in a large: wooden building which stood in the rear of the other, and partially on the ground now occupied by the brick foundry.

Their business was the fitting-up of mills,, manufacture of agricultural and mill castings, smut mills, patent separators, thrashing-machines, hand cider mills, cultivators, and plows. The elder Smith was the inventor of a subsoil plow, which, in its day, became quite famous, and this was one part of their manufacture; and another of his inventions was that of a drag saw, which they found very salable. They also at one time engaged in the manufacture of shelf hardware.

The present brick foundry, which is a substantial and well-appointed establishment, was built in 1853. It is now idle, as already mentioned, but in the times of its activity and prosperity it gave constant employment throughout the year to about twelve men.

About 1834, Koswell T. Merrill, in addition to the. other enterprises which he had in hand or in contemplation, opened a public house In a building which he had erected for a dwelling, on the main street, being, the same now occupied by Hugh Irving. After keeping At for a time, the duration of which, we are unable to give, he was followed as its landlord by James Hall. Among the proprietors who succeeded Mr. Hall were John Davis, Jeremiah Chase, Charles Beardsley, Peter Dox, Frank Curtis, and David Curtis. No public house has now been kept there for many years. This old hotel is the last one of Mr, Merrill's many business projects in Birmingham village which we shall have occasion to mention. He is now living, at very advanced age, in Indianola, Iowa.

Not long after 1850 a hotel was opened in the building where Lamb's harness shop now is, on Saginaw street. The first and only landlord of that house was Benjamin P. Ackerman.

We have already seen that the National hotel, the only public house now remaining on the main street of the village, was commenced in 1827 by the building of the north wing by John Hamilton, as a successor to his log tavern, which stood farther to the north and east. It was not many years before John Davis succeeded him as landlord of the house, and about 1842 Mr. Hamilton left Birmingham to engage in the milling business at Flint, where he died only a few years ago. After Mr. Davis, as proprietor of the hotel, came Luman Fuller, who kept it for a considerable time, and removed to Milford, where he erected the first mill in the vil- lage. Among his successors were Peter Dox, Frank and David Curtis, Taylor, and King & Valentine. It was during the last named proprietorship that the southern portion of the house was erected. At present the hotel is. carried on by Gr. E. Daines.

The hotel near the railroad station was first opened in the dwelling house of George Blumburg by William Ives. It is now owned and carried on by A. C. Ellis. Soon after the establishment came in his possession the old house was destroyed by fire, and the present hotel was built by him in its place.

The board of county supervisors, at a meeting of that body held in Pontiac in January, 1864, resolved that a certain tract of country situated in the township of Bloomfield "be, and the same is hereby constituted a village corporate, under the name of the village of Birmingham," the boundaries of the said village corporate being described as follows: " Commencing at the quarter-stake in the east section line of section 25, town 2, north of range 10 east; running south along the section line to the quarter-line of section 36 ; thence west along said quarter line to the west side of said section 36 ; thence north along said section line to the quarter-line of said section 25 ; thence east along said quarter line to the place of beginning," thus including the north half of section 36, and the south half of section 25 in the corporate limits.

It was ordered that the first village election be held at the house of James Grinley, in said village, on the first Tuesday of March, 1864, for the purpose of electing village officers, and John Bodine, James M. Hunt, and John Fitzpatrick were appointed inspectors for the said election.

The election was held on Tuesday, March 1, 1864, and resulted in the election of the following board of trustees, viz.: J. C K. Crooks, George L. Lee, Robert J. Mitchell, S. N. Hill, Hugh Irving, John Bodine, and C. W. Jenks. J. C. K. Crooks was elected president of the board, and S. N. Hill village clerk.

At a meeting of the trustees, held May 9, 1864, Alanson Partridge was appointed marshal of the village, and John Bodine treasurer. A loan of three hundred dollars was obtained in April, and another of like amount in May, for making the village improvements usual in similar cases, and these were duly made during the succeeding summer.

In 1864 and 1865 the question of the establishment of a village fire department was brought up, but has never been affirmatively acted on, and at the present time the only fire apparatus in Birmingham consists of a few ladders and two or three "Babcock fire-extinguishers."

The village officers for 1877 are: Trustees, Frank Hagerman (president), Hugh Irving, Thomas Hanks, William W. Martin, John Bodine, Israel Bickford, Lewis Converse; Treasurer, Hugh Irving; Marshal, John F. Durkee; Clerk, George E. Daines ; Street Commissioner, Thomas Hanks.

Birmingham at present contains three churches, the Union school house, the post office, the ladies' library hall, two hotels, the railway buildings, one foundry, one repairing shop of agricultural implements, one wagon shop, one furniture shop, one harness shop, three blacksmith shops, one boot and shoe store, one notion and hardware store, four general stores, one grocery, one drug store, and one agricultural implement and hardware store.

This lodge was organized by dispensation of Jeremiah Moors, Grand Master, April 25, 1850; chartered January 9, 1851. Following are the names of its first officers : William Brown, W. M. ; Friend Belding, S. W. ; Scriba Blakeslee, J. W. ; Ebenezer Raynale, Treasurer ; George W. Merrill, Secretary ; Josephus Young. S. D. ; Leman Case, J. D. ; Joseph Park, Tyler. Number of members at organization, fifteen. Their first place of meeting was in the brick building now owned by E. G. Jennings, on Saginaw street. Next they met in the hall occupied by the Patrons of Husbandry, on Saginaw Street, from which they removed to their own hall, which was dedicated December 23, 1873. Its location is in the second story of the post office building, on Mill street

The present officers of the lodge are : Alanson Partridge, W. M. ; Eugene Brooks, S. W. ; Lucius S. Randall, J. W. ; Jesse Frink, Treasurer ; Frederick R. Lamb, Secretary ; John S. Kingdon, S. D. ; John C. Lamb, J. D. ; Samuel Jarvis, Tyler. Present number of members, one hundred and eighty-five.

It was chartered January 21, 1874. The first officers of the chapter were: Alanson Partridge, H. P.; Joseph S. Stockwell, K. ; James M. Hunt, S. ; Eugene Brooks, C. H.: Elsen W. Reynolds, P. S. ; William Brown, R. A. C. ; Miles Dewey, M. 3d V. ] Hugh Irving, M. 2d Y. ; George A. Walters, M. 1st V.; Jesse Frink, Treasurer; John Bodine, Secretary; Samuel Jarvis, Sentinel. Number of members at organization, fifteen. Present number of members, forty- three

The present officers of the chapter are : Eugene Brooks, H. P. ; Alanson Partridge, K. ; James M. Hunt, S. ; George A. Waters, C. H. ; Joseph Stockwell, P. S. ; William Brown, R. A. C. ; William H. Smith, M. 3d V. ; Hiram H. Chatfield, M. 2d V. ; Walter North, M. 1st V. ; Frank Hagerman, Treasurer; John Bodine, Secretary ; Samuel Jarvis, Sentinel. Place of meeting, Masonic hall. Mill street.

This lodge is a thing of the past; it having been instituted August 26, 1847, continued some nine years; disintegrated, and lost its organization about 1856.

A secret temperance order, formerly had an organization in Birmingham, but afterwards fell to pieces, and, upon their disorganization, voted to give their movable property, including the furniture of their meeting place, to the ladies' library society of Birmingham, whose hall is the old Methodist church building, at the northwest wrner of Bates and Merrill streets. This society was incorporated less than five years ago, under the general law

It was instituted April 1, 1874, with twenty-three charter members. Their first officers were: George Blakeslee, Master; William Satterlee, Overseer; G. M Trowbridge, Steward ; Charles Hadsell, Assistant Steward ; Samuel Alexander, Lecturer ; Alanson Daniels, Chaplain ; J. H. Snow, Secretary ; P. A. Park, Treasurer; L. Case, Gate-keeper ; Mrs. William Dennison, Ceres; Mrs. William Satterlee, Pomona ; Mrs. J. H. Snow, Flora ; Mrs. G. M. Trowbridge, Lady Assistant Steward. Their regular place of meeting is on Saginaw street, in the old Masonic hall, now owned by James M. Hunt.

The officers of the grange for the year 1877 are : William Satterlee, Master ; A. D. Simonson, Overseer; John Benjamin, Chaplain; G. M. Trowbridge, Lecturer ; P. A. Park, Steward ; Horace Blodgett, Assistant Steward ; A. J. Crosby, Treasurer; Caleb G. Jackson, Secretary; Harvey Perkins, Gate- keeper; Mrs. John Benjamin, Ceres; Mrs. A. J. Crosby, Pomona; Maggie Brown, Flora ; Bertha Von Daniels, Lady Assistant Steward, The present membership is ninety-seven

One of the most prominent objects which strikes the eye on entering Birmingham is a monument of veined marble, some fifteen or twenty feet in height, which has been erected by the citizens of Troy, Bloomfield, Royal Oak, and Southfield, to the memory of their soldiers who died to save the nation in the war of the rebellion. The shaft stands in the centre of the village, on the open space at the intersection of Saginaw, Troy, and Mill streets; and upon each of its four faces is inscribed a township roll of honor. These inscriptions are as follows : Upon the north face: Troy; D. Remington, K ; James Mcllvain, K ; Hugh Mcllvain, D ; Samuel Truesdale, D ; E. R. Smith, D ; Charles Sand, K ; Hugh O'Harra, D ; William Jennings, D ; John Leonard, D ; James Shanahan, D ; Thomas Taft, D ; Edward Nichols, D; Fred. Genrick, D; J. E. James, D ; Richard Wheeler, D ; G. H. James, D ; William Tharratt, D ; John Tharratt, K ; Peter Crombie, D) ; George Blovolt, D ; George Kinney, D ; Lyman A. Piatt, D ; Henry Burnett, K.

On the eastern face: Royal Oak; Frank Bickford, D ; S. Young, D ; Jay S. Simonson, D ; Joseph Jasper, K ; J. W. Blackman, K ; James Murray, D ; Benjamin Young, D ; Charles Young, D ; Peter Sevelle, D ; C. Fay, K ; Chester Ferrend, K ; James Carroll, K.

On the southern face: Southfield; John Newman, D ; J. C. Dexton, K ; George Van Every, D ; Harris Rolf, K ; James Darling, D ; John Morris, K ; Edward Wood, K ; J. M. Brown, D; John Shanklin, D ; G. H. Kinney, D ; John Sherman, D.

On the west face: Bloomfield; " James Grinley, D ; Oscar F, Drake, K ; Orville A. Drake, D ; J. Kelley, D ; Malcom Carter, K; Peter Lowes, D; Alpheus Madden, D; Andrew Simpson, D ; B. F. Leach, D ; John Hollinshead, D ; William Potter, D ; William Hollinshead, K ; James Davie, D ; Omer Fall, K ; Henry Lewless, D ; John Leach, D ; G. L. Bassett, D ; A. J. Stone, D ; George Briggs, K ; John French, D; Truxton Talbot, D; James Briggs, K; Frank Bown, D ; Isaac C. Morgan, K; Byron McGraw, D ; James Greer, D ; T. J. Barnum, D ; Robert Lowes, D ; William Irving, K."

On the plinth facing the west, is cut this inscription; " Erected by the citizens of the above towns, 1869.

The monument is enclosed by a handsome iron fence. The cost of all was six- teen hundred dollars.

Although this little cluster of dwellings is in no sense a village, it perhaps merits a brief separate notice. We have seen that its first inhabitant was Judge Amasa Bagley, who came in 1819, and that from him and his log tavern the locality became pretty generally known as "Bagley's."

His public house was superseded, about 1832 or '33, by a frame tavern, built by William Morris, his son-in-law, in the southwestern angle of the roads, where it is still standing. During its existence it has often been the place of holding public meetings and merry makings, and has been in charge of many different landlords. The first of these was probably Moses Peck, another of Judge Bagley's sons-in-law, who was certainly there as early as the commencement of the year 1834. He was followed by George W. Morris, who was there in 1835 and 1836, and perhaps in 1837. Isaac W. Taylor was its landlord in 1838, but how much longer is not known. Peck was back again in 1842 ; and J. Peck had it in 1846. Henry Bishop, in 1847 ; and Friend Webster, in 1849. James W. Weston was its proprietor in 1854, 1860, and 1862. Others of its late landlords were John Hagerman and F. Weston. It is now a private dwelling.

Bloomfield Centre has been the place where the township meetings have been held since the separation of West Bloomfield, and the public house was usually the place designated ; but since its closing they have been held in the school house, as, for some reason, the wealthy township of Bloomfield has never decided to erect a town hall.

Brick-making was commenced many years ago by George W. Morris, on the east side of the turnpike, and opposite the Bagley homestead. Later, both brick and pottery works were commenced on the Bagley premises, and these were purchased in 1842 by John Daines, who commenced also the manufacture of drain tile, with a machine of which he was the inventor. In this business and at this place he continued for twenty-three years. After him it was carried on by Harvey Weston, who was succeeded in the business by Alanson Piersall, who finally closed it about 1873. Bloomfield Centre is now without business, other than that of agriculture.

Perhaps it should be added that a Methodist camp meeting, said to have been the first in the State of Michigan, was held at this place, in 1828 ; and we have already seen that it was proposed by Thomas McGraw to remove the State capital hither.

This mill, located about two miles north and west of the centre of Birmingham village, on the west branch of the Rouge, was the first mill of any description in the township of Bloomfield; having been built in 1825, by Corbett & Monroe, of Detroit, on their lands, purchased of Ellis H. Gray, in the southeast quarter of section 23. They sold to John W. Hunter. William Morris purchased it afterwards; and among its later proprietors have been George Blakeslee and John Hagerman. It is at present owned and carried on by William Smith

This was the first grist mill put in operation in the township, having been built by William Morris, in the year 1828. Before this the inhabitants of Bloomfield were obliged to go to Auburn or Pontiac for the grinding of their grain, which was not a great hardship to those in the northern and northeastern parts of the township, but was very inconvenient to those located in the opposite portions; therefore the starting of Morris' mill was regarded with much satisfaction by the people; the more so, as a store was started there by Mr. Morris at about the same time. At present the mill is owned and carried on by Mr. John Toms.

About the year 1833, Josephus Young and his brother, John J. Young, afterwards a noted Methodist preacher in West Bloomfield, purchased a tract of land in the southeast corner of section 26, which had been entered by Willard, and through which passes the west branch of the river Rouge. On their tract, and upon this stream, at a point half a mile due west from the centre of the village of Birmingham, they erected a saw mill, in the ancient fashion, which they kept in use in the cutting of the hard wood timber of the vicinity, probably with some profit to themselves, until the year 1835, when they sold their whole establishment, land, mill, and mill seat, to Boswell T. Merrill, of Birmingham.

Mr. Merrill made a re-arrangement of the dam and head race, and at once built a flouring mill a short distance below the Young saw mill. He carried on this mill for several years, until his affairs had become involved by his other business operations, when it fell into the hands of his eastern creditors, who afterwards sold it to T. A. Flower and William Brown, who in turn sold the property to David Wilcox, from Battle Creek, and he again to Kobert P. Opdyke and Henry Gardiner.

In the year 1853, during tho proprietorship of Opdyke & Gardiner, the mill was destroyed by fire ; after which the site was purchased by R. E. Trowbridge, who rebuilt in 1860, and kept the mill in operation for some years, and then exchanged it with R. F. Opdyke for the farm of the latter, near Bloomfield Centre. The mill has since remained in the Opdyke family, and is now operated by G. K. Opdyke, a son of the earlier proprietor of that name.

About half a mile below the Opdyke mill, and on the same stream, in the southeast quarter of section 35, there was an old saw mill which was built much earlier than the young mill. It stood on land which was entered by Peter Desnoyer, and it may have been built at his expense, but was never operated by him, as he was a merchant of Detroit, and never a resident of Bloomfield or Southfield, in both of which townships he entered lands merely as a matter of investment or speculation. It is probably thirty-five years or more since this old mill was last in motion, and nothing of it now remains excepting portions of its ancient dam and race.

In 1832 or 1833 there came to Bloomfield a young man named Edward Matthews, the son of an Irish refugee of 1798. He had received a good education, was trained to the law, and admitted to the bar in New. York city. He was of pleasing address, very enterprising, and had quite a large amount of funds at his command, and of these he intended to invest a good portion in the purchase of lands, erection of mills, and kindred enterprises. His attention was called to the lands of Scriba Blakeslee and Edward Ellerby, in section 31 of Bloomfield, and noting their favorable location, as it appeared to him, being immediately adjoining Franklin, which was then already aspiring to village importance, and embracing also a stream of some size, the outlet of Black Walnut lake in West Bloomfield, which was capable of furnishing the motive-power for a flouring or other mills, he purchased the Blakeslee tract and a part of the lands of Ellerby, and upon these he proceeded to lay out a considerable number of village lots, expecting, perhaps, to bring a good part of the business of the village of Franklin to the Bloomfield side of the line upon his own land. He also commenced preparations for the erection of a flouring mill on the stream, and employed Mr. Joseph Gilbert, of Gilbert lake, to get out and haul the timber for that purpose. This was accomplished during the succeeding winter, and those who recollect seeing it, say that a finer or better lot of timber for that use was never collected. But meanwhile his expenditure had been too great for his means, although they were considerable, and as his enterprise brought no income, the expected sale of lots never being realized, the result, which many of the more cautious ones had prophesied from the first, was failure; and it came before many of the arrangements for the erection of the mill had been perfected, beyond the collection of the material furnished by Mr. Gilbert. This occurred about 1834, and Matthews at once retired from Bloomfield, leaving his affairs in the condition above described. It is said that he afterwards fell into bad habits, and died on penury,

In the year 1837, Colonel Peter Van Every, of Detroit, effected a negotiation with William S. Sears, of New York, who then held control of all the Matthews property in Bloomfield, either as assignee or otherwise, by the terms of which Van Every received all of the Blakeslee land and a part of the Ellerby tract purchased by Matthews, with all the appurtenances thereto, in exchange for certain lands owned by him in the vicinity of Detroit. As soon as in possession he proceeded, with the material which Matthews had placed upon the ground, to erect the flouring mill on the stream as originally projected by him. The mill wright employed was William A. Pratt, and the mill was completed and ready for work within the year. It was a good establishment, and did a large business from the commencement. For a considerable time in 1838 and 1839 it was the only mill within the limits of Oakland County at which farmers could dispose of their wheat for cash, and we may readily suppose that this circumstance added not a little to its fame, and from that time until the present it has been held in high repute. It is now operated by Peter Van Every, a son of the first owner. In the same year, 1837, Colonel Van Every also built a distillery on the east side of the road, opposite the mill, and in 1838 he started a potashery in the rear of the mill ; this was kept in operation and doing a good business for eighteen years. The distillery was also actively employed, and was probably profitable, as nearly all of its species were in those days. A new distillery was afterwards built on the same site, by the present owner of the mill, and it may yet be seen there, though no longer devoted to its original use.

So called because now owned and operated by Frank Steele, is located in the southwest quarter of section 31, a short distance above the Van Every mill, upon the same stream. It was built in the winter and spring of 1832 by Jacob Baker and Horace Garlicks. It was afterwards purchased by John B. Comstock, who added to it a fulling mill, which was run for a number of years, until establishments of that kind ceased to be needed.

The mill was built and commenced operation in the year 1874. The location is upon the farm of Thomas Green, part of the original purchase of Samuel Satterlee, Esq. The works are operated by steam power, and the process of manufacture consists in roasting and grinding the crude mineral to produce a durable paint. This mineral is dug from the earth at the works, its existence at that place having been discovered more than half a century ago, at the time when a mill stone was being quarried there for the old Auburn mill. The proprietors of the works are Messrs. Satterlee & Daines.

The first school house in Bloomfield was a small log building, which was erected on the farm of Dr. Ziba Swan, It stood near where now is the tollgate on the turnpike, less than a mile north of the centre of Birmingham village, on land now of J. V. Stevens. In this rude temple of learning Hervey Parke taught the first school which was ever taught in the township. It was not a public school, but was supported by subscriptions per capita of pupils. His term commenced about December 1, 1822, and continued until February, 1823, when he left, with Mr. Mullett, for Ohio, to procure a contract for government surveying. Beyond the few meagre facts we have no account of that first winter term of teaching. A year or two later the second school house was built near the dwelling of Jacob Sly, and on his land ; but neither the name of the first teacher nor the precise date or duration of the first term of school taught in it can be given.

Other similar schools followed in different parts of the township, but there was no district system inaugurated or districts defined until 1834, when this was done in conformity to the provisions of the act approved April 13, 1833, which made it obligatory upon townships to elect three commissioners of common schools, whose duties should be to lay off the township into school districts, and to establish them in numerical order.

The first district school in Bloomfield was taught by Rev. Lemuel M. Partridge, in the winter of 1834-35, in the old log house of John Hamilton, at Birmingham. Hamilton had then just completed his frame dwelling house (now standing on Saginaw street, and owned by Orrin Poppeton, Esq.), and the old one, which stood immediately in its rear, had been devoted to school purposes. The school at Swan's (not, however, then a district school) had been taught the previous summer (1834) by Jane Ingraham, and during this same winter it was in charge of Mr. Ormsbee. Prior to that it had been taught by a Mr. Schermerhorn. Among other early teachers in the log school house, which stood on David Johnson's farm, northeast corner section 33, were Pierce Patrick, B. D. Worthing, and Samuel T. Bryant.

There are at present twelve schools in the township, the yearly aggregate of the terms averaging about seven months, and the compensation of the teachers being about forty dollars per month. None of them are graded schools, except that in the village of Birmingham, which was made such about 1865 ; embracing high school, grammar, intermediate, and primary departments, employing a principal and four assistant teachers. The present salary of the principal is eight hundred dollars per annum, and that of the assistant’s seven dollars per week each. Formerly the salaries were higher, that of the principal having been twelve hundred dollars per year; but in conformity to the universal necessity and custom of retrenchment they have been reduced to the amounts above named.

The present school edifice, which is really an ornament and a credit to the village of Birmingham, was commenced in the year 1868, and completed and occupied in September, 1869. It location is on Chester street, and extending from North to Castle streets. Its cost, including site, was fourteen thousand dollars.

Tlie first account of Methodist worship in Bloomfield is that of a meeting held and sermon preached in Willets' log tavern, in 1821, by an itinerant, traveling up the Rouge, but whose name is not now known.

The next is of Sunday afternoon meetings, held at the house of Dr. Ezra S. Parke, at which the doctor himself conducted the services, and his wife furnished most excellent singing. These occasions are said to have been not long after Dr. Parke's arrival, which was in 1822.

And if their worship meetings were the earliest, so also their church organization antedates all others in the township, having been effected about 1827, by Rev. William Pattee, a preacher of the Ohio conference. Their first meetings, after the organization, were held in Willets' frame barn, and at other barns in summer, and at his tavern and at private dwellings in winter, and often in the log school house near Dr. Swan's residence.

In 1833, their presiding elder was James Gilruth. In 1834-36, they were served by Elijah H. Pilcher and Connearn by William Sprague, Resin Sapp, and J. F. Davidson

The following are among those by whom the church has been served at various times, but no dates can be given, nor are we able to designate those among the number who were authorized preachers: William Comfort, F. Bangs, H. Law, Rufus Crane, John A. Baughman, George Bradley, Josiah Brakeman, Larmon Chatfield, J. M. Arnold, Henry Brown, Flavel Brittan, Ira W. Donelson, Hiram Hood, J. M. Fuller, F. A. Blades, Elijah Crane, George Smith, S. E. Warren, John Russell, Isaac Abbott, Rev. Robert Bird, Salmon Steel, and Edward Steel. The present pastor is Rev. Henry O. Parker, who came in 1874.

Their first house of worship was built in 1839, and dedicated in 1840. It is yet standing, at the northwest corner of Bates and Merrill streets, and is used as the hall of the ladies' library association.

The present church edifice was built during the pastorate of Rev. Robert Bird, to whose untiring efforts and energy its erection was in a great measure due. It was dedicated November 2, 1873, cost twenty thousand dollars. Connected with the church is a Sabbath school, having an average attendance of one hundred and fifty, and under the superintendence of Mr. Silas Wattles.

The history of this church extends back over a period of forty-six years, it having been organized in the log school house on Jacob Sly's farm, on the 4th day of June, 1831, by Rev. George Hornell, assisted and most ably supported by Deacon Elijah Bull, who was clerk of that first meeting. The original members of the church were : Elijah Bull, Robert Wallace, Nancy Wallace, Mary Barkley, and Ellen Kyle ; and on the 25th of June, Elijah Bull and Robert Wallace were elected ruling elders, and were ordained to that office.

For several years after the organization their preaching was supplied by Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles, of Pontiac, who was also instrumental in securing for them the services of Rev. O. Parker, who, in the first part of the year of 1839, held a protracted meeting which resulted in adding thirty names to the roll of the church's membership. The place where this memorable meeting was held was the school house which stood in the southwest quarter of section 30, on Deacon Bull's land, just south of Wing lake, and which was their place of worship during the first seventeen years of their existence as a church.

The successor of Father Ruggles, as he was familiarly and affectionately called, was Rev. A. S. Wells, who commenced his labors with the church about the year 1840. He was succeeded by Rev. George Eastman. In July, 1842, Lucius Miller and Thomas Barkley were invested with the eldership.

In 1846, Rev. N. West commenced his labors with the church, and about this time the congregation was organized as a body corporate, six trustees being elected, namely : Elijah Bull, Lucius Miller, Hugh Gordon, Robert C, Kyle, Josiah Barkley, and John B. Comstock ; and Elijah Bull was constituted the agent of the church and congregation, with complete powers to transact any and all business pertaining to the erection of a new house of worship, which had long been discussed, and was now decided on. It was commenced in the early summer of 1848, and was completed in five months, the ceremony of dedication being performed on the 16th of November of that year. This was accomplished during the first year of the ministry of Rev. George Newcomb, who succeeded Rev. Mr. West. After Mr. Newcomb came Rev. H. Lucas, who commenced his labors in 1849. On the 12th of March, 1850, Melvin Drake and Robert C. Kyle were elected and ordained as ruling elders.

Following the pastorate of Mr. Lucas, came that of Rev. Dr. Neil, whose experience with this church was a short and stormy one. His successor was Rev. George G. Sill, who labored most acceptably with this people for several years, and was followed by Rev, J. S. Smith. After Mr. Smith came Rev. A. E. Hastings, in the spring of 1872. He labored here for six months, and was succeeded by Rev. John Kelland, whose ministry with this church continued for four years, and closed in November, 1876.

The elders, besides those above mentioned, have been Samuel Andrews and John A, Covert, elected July 7, 1860 ; and William Bristol, William H. Midgely, and I. N. Covert, elected December 5, 1869.

The house of worship of the Wing Lake church is located about half a mile north of the village of Franklin, on the west side of the road to Wing lake, and is a plain frame building, but neat and comfortable. It was built on land which formed a part of the original tract of Scriba Blakeslee.

It has already been mentioned that the building committee in charge of all matters pertaining to its erection was Deacon Elijah Bull, solitary and alone. Of h im it may be truly said that not only was the church edifice in a very great degree the result of his energy and unstinted liberality, but that he was the founder and father of the church itself. He was its clerk from the time of organization until his death ; his first entry upon the record being made June 4, 1831, and his last, June 11 , 1870, a period of almost forty years. Eminently was he the church's one main sustaining pillar; without his active religious zeal it would never have been brought into being, and without his unfailing support in after years it must have ceased to exist

The first step towards the establishment of regular Presbyterian worship in Bloomfield, of which we have any account, was the holding of a three days meeting at the barn of Deacon Elijah S. Fish, early in the year 1834. On the 2d of July, in that year, a meeting foir the purpose of organization was held at Deacon Fish's residence, which was at that time a wooden house (to which a brick front was afterwards added) at the maple grove which the deacon had planted, on the east side of the Saginaw road, and now the property of J. E. Benedict.

At this meeting, the ministers present were Rev. Mr. McEwen and Rev. George Eastman. After religious exercises the organization of the church was effected, the following being its original members: William Blackington, Anna Blackington, Deacon Elijah S. Fish, and Fanny his wife, the foregoing being from the Presbyterian church of Pontiac; Dennis H. Quick and Abraham S. Hoagland, from the Presbyterian church of Troy ; Thomas Comfort and Newell Comfort, from the Presbyterian church in Southport, Tioga county. New York, and Nathan Davis, from the Presbyterian Church in Utica, New York. Of these nine members, only the venerable Dennis H. Quick is still a resident of the vicinity, and probably the only survivor. Elijah S. Fish and Abraham S. Hoagland were appointed elders and deacons, and Nathan Davis church clerk.

At a session meeting held on the 3d of August, 1834, and presided over by Rev. Eri Prince, the following persons were received into the church by letter: Daniel and Mary Odell, Mary Matthews and Rachel Matthews, Maria V. Quick, Pamelia Quick, Gertrude Ann Quick, and Andrew V. D, Quick. This was the first addition to the church, and doubled its membership.

Deacon Fish was the first delegate from this church to presbytery, sitting in September, 1834, at Pontiac. This was also the first communion season, and it is especially noted "that a number of the Methodist brethren and sisters united in the ordinance.

The church has enjoyed ten pastorates, including the present. They have been those of Rev. Noah Cook, December 26, 1834, to June, 1836 ; Rev. A. S. Wells, from May 1, 1837, to October, 1840; Rev. Geo. T. Hornell, from November, 1841, to August, 1842 ; Rev. E. H. Fairchild, from November, 1842, to November, 1849 ; Rev. Samuel N. Steele, from August, 1849, to February, 1851 ; Rev. James McLauren, from September, 1851, to July, 1854; Rev. S. N. Hill, from May 1, 1855, to May 1, 1867 ; Rev. A. E. Hastings, from November, 1867, to November, 1873; Rev. Wm. J. Stoutenburgh, from February, 1874, to November 1, 1876, and Rev. Thomas Middlemis, the present pastor, who entered upon his labor at Birmingham on the 18th of February, 1877.

The following elders have served the church at some time since its organization: Elders Elijah S. Fish and Abraham S. Hoagland, elected in July, 1834; Thomas Comfort, elected in August, 1834, served until 1842, eight years ; Seymour Adams, December, 1837, to 1849, twelve years ; Dennis H. Quick, September, 1839, to the present time, thirty-eight years ; J. H. Wendell, January to November, 1842, ten months; S. V. R. Trowbridge, May 1, 1843, until the time of his death, which occurred suddenly on March 1, 1849, having served the church nearly sixteen years; Mason I. James, March, 1850, to July, 1859, more than nine years ; H. Daniels, 1850 to 1852 ; William Lowes, 1850 to 1852; Alvin Simonson, April, 1858, to the present time, nineteen years; G. M. Trowbridge, July 1, 1859, to the present, eighteen years; Stephen Cooper, July 1, 1859, to December 4, 1875, sixteen years, and John S. Hunter, Albert Adams, and Stevens since December, 1875.

The minutes of a few of the first meetings were kept by Nathan Davis, and afterwards by Thomas Comfort, until November, 1842. He was succeeded by Seymour Adams, from November, 1842, to August, 1849; by Rev. Mr. Steele, from 1849 to 1851 ; Rev. Mr. McLauren, then by S. Y. R. Trowbridge, then for a short time by Rev. S. N. Hill and G. M. Trowbridge, extending to April, 1860. From this time, Mr. Hill kept the records for seven years, and was succeeded by Stephen Cooper for eight years and more. The present clerk is John L. Hunter.

The society (body corporate) organization was effected December 17, 1835, at Davis' hotel, in Birmingham, which was designated as their regular place of worship. At its organization, the title of the society was, '* The Presbyterian Society of Bloomfield," and Isaac S. Smith, Dennis H. Quick, Daniel Odell, Elijah S. Fish, Abraham S. Hoagland, and Thomas Comfort were elected trustees. The proceedings were acknowledged before Jonathan Chase, Esq., J. P. The society's records are entirely lacking for twelve years succeeding the organization. The name of the society was, on the 20th of February, 1850, changed to that of " The Presbyterian Society of Birmingham.

After Davis' hotel the next place of worship was the old wooden school house which stood on the lot now owned by Andrew Wallace, on the northwest corner of Mill and Chester streets. The old building is now used as a barn. The last record of a meeting in this old school house was that of May 1, 1843, an occasion on which a large accession was made to the numbers of the church, sixteen by profession, and eight by letter.

Their next place of meeting was the Methodist church, which was for a time rented for afternoon services at one hundred dollars per year.

The first church edifice of the Presbyterians was built and dedicated in the summer of 1844, the second year of the pastorate of Rev. E. H. Fairchild. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Bates, of Pontiac; the prayer by Rev. Mr. Ingersoll. This old meeting house stood on the site now occupied by their present church building on Troy Street, and was occupied there until the spring of 1860, when, on the first of March, it was sold at auction, for removal, to Henry J. Blumberg, for the sum of one hundred and fifty-six dollars. It was, by the purchaser, removed to the lot adjoining Hugh Irving's store, to the northward, on Saginaw Street, and there used for the holding of political meetings. From that spot it was afterwards removed to the corner of Saginaw and Troy streets, where it is still in use as a market house

The present church building was erected in the summer of 1860, during the pastorate of Rev. S. N. Hill. It was dedicated, free of debt, on the fifth of December in that year, the sermon being preached by Rev. Dr. William Hogarth, of Detroit, with dedicatory prayer by the pastor. There were also present the Revs. Thomas Wright and T. Foster, and, from the Methodists, the Rev. Mr. Hedges.

The entire cost of the church (including the furnishing, which was provided by the ladies) was two thousand five hundred dollars. The building committee under whose direction the work was done were Rev. S. N. Hill, A. D. Simonson, and G. M. Trowbridge. The edifice still retains its original size and proportions, though the question of its enlargement has been earnestly agitated and discussed of late.

A Sabbath school was organized in connection with the church as early as 1837. Following are the names of those who have acted as superintendents: J. H. Wendell, Rev. E. H. Fairchild, S. V. R. Trowbridge, Charles Brownell, Hugh Irving, Mr. Johnson, and G. M. Trowbridge, who has held the position for the last fifteen years. The number of pupils in attendance in 1866 and 1867 was sixty, which has been nearly doubled at the present time.

The history of the Baptist cause in Bloomfield extends over a period of nearly forty-five years. About the beginning of the year 1833, a church of the denomination was organized in the little settlement which is now Birmingham village, and, by act of ecclesiastical council, May 25, 1833, was recognized as "The Regular Baptist Church of Bloomfield."

It seems to have been lacking, however, in the necessary elements of permanency. It had no place of worship; the members were poor, and perhaps sometimes inharmonious in their ideas; removals and other causes weakened them so much that it became difficult for them to maintain themselves as a church, and about the year 1840 the organization was dissolved. The Rev. J. M. Martin was their last, and perhaps their only pastor.

For thirty years after this there was no Baptist organization in Birmingham, and as one by one the remaining members of the old church were scattered by death or removal, the very memory of its existence had almost faded away

But about the commencement of the present decade the Baptists in Birmingham and vicinity having received some accessions by removals thither from other places, and believing themselves sufficiently strong to re-establish and support their denominational worship, they met and resolved that, " Whereas, in the providence of God, several brethren and sisters of different Baptist churches having located in and near the town of Birmingham, and whereas there being no regular Baptist church within six or seven miles of said town, we feel it our duty and; esteem it a great privilege to be associated together in the faith and fellowship of the gospel ; therefore, we mutually agree to band ourselves together in an organization which shall adopt the articles of faith and covenant commonly received among regular Baptist churches, and which shall be known as 'The Regular Baptist Church of Birmingham.' "

The church organization was effected on the 28th of June, 1870, and the per sons subscribing to the articles of faith and the covenant were Joseph Donaldson, Joseph Phillips, Joshua Fay, Benjamin Leach, Samuel Holman, Albert Putnam, Esther Holman, Polly Fay, E. A. Valentine, and Eliza Anscomb. On the 9th of September, 1870, Joseph Phillips and Ezra Mathewson were elected deacons, and Albert Putnam was elected clerk.

The ecclesiastical council of recognition met in the Presbyterian church of Birmingham on the 13th of September, 1870, when the church was recognized, and the list of membership read, as follows: By baptism, two; by experience, four; by letter, eleven ; total membership, seventeen. The church when recognized had no house of worship, and no pastor ; they held their prayer, covenant, and business meetings from house to house, and Rev. William Remington, pastor of the Baptist church at Pontiac, led the church, preached, and administered the ordinances.

The subject of the erection of a house of worship was at once agitated, and, at a meeting held at the house of Albert Putnam, on the 3d of October in the same year, a building committee was elected, consisting of Ezra Matthewson and Albert Putnam.

On the 9th of November following, the church elected as a board of trustees, Joseph Donaldson, Samuel Holman, Albert Putnam, and George Blakeslee. At about the same time they rented as a place of worship a building known as "the old academy," situated at the southwest corner of Mill and Pierce streets, the present site of the post-office building. In this they held their meetings for about one year, when the building was destroyed by fire

In the winter of 1870-71 the church purchased two lots on Saginaw street, and made preparations for the erection of a house of worship during the succeeding summer; but this building enterprise was not accomplished the failure being due to disagreement among the members upon the question of location. It was also during the same winter that a protracted meeting of six weeks' continuance was held by Rev. W. R. Northrup, and resulted in a considerable number of conversions, but most of the converts united with the Presbyterian and Methodist churches.

After this the Rev. Mr. Northrup continued to supply the church for some four or five months, and after his departure the Birmingham church united with the Baptist church of Royal Oak in the support of a pastor who should give his services to each alternately. Under this arrangement the Rev. Silas Finn commenced to labor for these churches about November, 1871, and continued for about a year. His meetings were held at first in the old academy building, until its detraction by fire, then in the Methodist meeting house, until some difficulty arose which rendered it advisable that they should discontinue its use as a place of worship; after which, on several occasions, Mr. Finn held services in the open air. After the conclusion of Mr. Finn's ministry with them, they had neither pastor nor preadbing for about a year and a half, though during this time they regularly kept up the covenant and prayer meetings at private dwellings.

At a church and society meeting held January 14, 1873, it was again resolved to build a meeting house in the following summer, and to this end E. Matthewson and B. Daniels were constituted a building committee. Under their superintendeney the resolution to build was carried into effect, and the present house of worship was erected and completed during the summer of 1873. Its location is at the head of Bates street, in Willets' addition to Birmingham. The total cost of the edifice was seventeen hundred dollars, and it was dedicated, free of debt, on Sunday, September 28, 1873, the Rev. John Matthews, of Detroit, preaching the dedication sermon.

In Mid, 1874, the church called the Rev. D. Gostellow to the pastorate. He labored with them, in connection with the Baptist church of Troy, for one year, and nine months, and. then reigned. In the spring of 1876, the church secured the services of Rev. J. E. Bitting, as supply for one year. He commenced his labors on Sunday, May 21, 1876, supplying also the church at Troy.

At a meeting of the church held April 4, 1877, it was voted to invite Mr. Bitting to continue another; year with them, provided the necessary amount of salary could be raised. In this, however, they were not successful, and, much to their regret; Mr. Bitting closed his labors with them on May 20, 1877, to assume the pastorate of the church at Novi.

A Sabbath-school was. commenced at the time of the organization of the church in 1870. It was under the superintendecey of Dr. James A. Post, who has continued in charge of it until the present time. The average of pupils is about Twenty-five

There are several burial grounds in Bloomfield, but none of them are incorporated cemeteries, and none are exclusively under township control.

as it is called, is a ground of two acres, adjoining the corporation of Birmingham on its northern boundary, and near its northwest corner. It was part of the original tract entered and settled on by Dr. Ziba Swan ; and it was he who, before 1825, donate! a spot to be used as a burial place; this being half an acre in extent, and embraced within the present cemetery enclosure. The first interments within this old ground were those of Mrs. John Utter and her daughter, the 'manner of whose death has already been narrated. The bereaved husband and father died soon after, and was buried by the side of his wife and child.

In due time the donor of the ground, and very many of the oldest as well as of the younger inhabitants of Bloomfield were laid away there; and, as the small space grew populous with graves, and it became apparent that more area of land was require! for present as well as prospective use, some fifteen of the citizens of the vicinity joined together (though not as a legally-constituted association or company) and, by subscription, purchased an additional acre and a half, which they enclosed with the old half-acre and formed the present cemetery ground. It has been decorated and beautified to some extent, and is well kept. The interments within it have become very numerous.

Which lies a little west of Bloomfield Centre, is the enlargement of an old graveyard upon the land of Jacob Vaughn (now owned by Potter Knight), in which the first burials were those of members of Mr. Vaughn's family.

After a time other interments were made there, and about 1860 the ground was enlarged in the same manner as was the Swan burial ground at Birmingham, by citizens of the vicinity purchasing additional land from Richard Vaughn, the successor of Jacob.

There are now a large number of graves in the enclosure, including some of ancient date.

This ground is situated on the southwestern side of Gilbert lake, on the farm of E. B. Adams, which was formerly owned by Joseph Gilbert, the first interment in it having been that of his wife, Mrs. Nancy Gilbert, many years ago. From being a cluster of family graves it came to be used as a place of interment by the inhabitants of the vicinity, until in this, as in the other old grave yards of Bloomfield, the number of silent occupants has become very large.

a small enclosure located about a mile and a half north and west of the one last mentioned, and in the farm formerly owned by James Greer, who died February 7, 1857, at the age of seventy-two years, and now lies buried here; and beside him his wife Jane, who died in 1868, at the age of eighty-three years. Here, also, lie Thomas Gillespie and his wife Nancy, who died April 11, 1872, at the great age of ninety-two years and three months.

This ground is of comparatively recent date, and contains only eleven graves in all. Its location is in a wild and secluded spot among the forest trees on the south line of the Greer farm.

There is a small grave yard on the farm of Andrew Porter, on the Square lake road, a mile and a half west from the Saginaw turnpike ; and in two or three other places in the township there are similar enclosures containing a few graves ; one of these being upon the Kimble farm, east of the Pontiac road, and about three-fourths of a mile south of the town line, the same on which John Chamberlain settled in 1825.

For facts furnished and courteous assistance rendered in the preparation of the history of Bloomfield township the thanks of the publishers are due to the following gentlemen : Br. Ebenezer Baynale, Messrs. Edwin Baldwin, Rufus Hunter, J. F. Durkee, Ammos Davis, Benjamin A. Thorne, J. A. Bigelow, Corson, G. M. Trowbridge, J. S. Stockwell, George Blakeslee, the Hon. Alanson Partridge, Mason I. James, Esq., Orrin Poppleton, Esq., Josiah Alger, Esq., and John Bodine, Esq., of Birmingham ; Asa B. Hadsell and William P. Durkee, of the township; Deacon Melvin Drake of Southfield, and John Ellenwood, of West Bloomfield.