"By a petition of the inhabitants of the township of Springfield the legislature of the State of Michigan did set off March 2, 1836, all that portion of the county of Oakland designated in the United States' survey as township 4 north, of range 8 east, and the same is hereby set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Springfield, and the first township meeting shall be held at the house of David Stanard in said township.' "

The above paragraph appears on the records of the township, and from the date given the town has been known as Springfield. The following appears in the Laws of Michigan for 1837 :

"All that portion of the county of Oakland designated in the United States' survey as township 4 north, of range 8 east, be and the same is hereby set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Painsville, and the first township meeting therein shall be held at the house of David Stanard in said township."

The people refused to organize under this name, and consequently the old name of Springfield was retained. It is a fitter appellation for the township, which abounds in nearly all parts with fine springs, some of them having been of wide renown among the Indians and traders before the settlement was begun. Notable among them were the famous "Little springs," on the Detroit and Saginaw trail, section 13, In fact, the township derived its name from the numerous lakes and springs which it contains. It was bestowed by Jeremiah Clark, Esq., of Independence township, John J. Merrell, Arza C. Crosby, and others, who met for the purpose of choosing a title for it.

The surface of the township is much the same as that of the others in this part of the county, made up of a variety of features ; hills rise to a considerable height in numerous places, the highest being those which surround the village of Davisburg, while many depressions are met with where marshes and tamarack swamps appear, and in other localities the country stretches away in a broad plateau, with a fertile soil and abundance of timber.

The numerous lakes of Springfield cover an area of about six hundred acres. They number in the neighborhood of twenty-five, and some of them are in picturesque locations, and present attractive and pleasing views. The largest of the lakes is known as "Big lake," and lies on section 28. It covers about two hundred and fifty acres, and is the source of the river Huron.

Among the other lakes of the township are Long, Davis, and Duncan, the latter lying partly in White Lake township. The head waters of four rivers are in Springfield, namely, the Huron, Shiawassee, Thread, and Clinton, and the dividing ridge between them is quite narrow in extent, None of the streams of Springfield are of considerable size.

The Detroit and Milwaukee railway crosses the township in a diagonal direction from southeast to northwest, having within its limits a length of about eight miles. The only station is at Davisburg.

The Detroit and Saginaw turnpike, formerly the old trail between those points, crosses the northeastern portion of the township, and was the first road opened after the settlement. For many years it was the main thoroughfare between the two cities it connected, and continued to be the scene of a great amount of travel until the completion of the railway. A stage line was run over its length, and all along the route there sprung up busy little villages, which are now generally mere hamlets, or simple epitomes of the "glory departed."

Springfield township now contains the prosperous village of Davisburg and the settlements at Anderson and Springfield, the former on sections 22 and 27, and the latter on section 13. The population of the township, according to the census in 1874, was twelve hundred and forty-seven, and these figures are undoubtedly too small to cover the number of inhabitants at present. We gather from the census of 1874 the following statistics:

The total number of farms in the township that year was 179, with an aggregate area of 19,643 acres, the average number of acres per farm was 109.73; the total amount of wheat growing in May, 1874, was 3359 acres, against 3207 for 1873 ; in the latter year were harvested also 1062 acres of corn ; the total yield of wheat for 1874 was 36,001 bushels; of corn, 31,160 bushels; of all other grains, 41,067 bushels; potatoes raised, 10,753 bushels; hay cut, 1315 tons; wool sheared, 19,852 pounds; pork marketed, 53,120 pounds; butter made, 46,510 pounds ; fruit dried for market, 2222 pounds; cider made, 356 barrels; total number of horses, one year old and over, owned in the township, 484 ; work oxen, 29 ; milch cows, 546 ; neat cattle, one year old and over, other than oxen and cows, 497 ; swine over six months old, 535 ; sheep over six months old, 4077 ; number of sheep sheared in 1873, 3575 ; total number of acres in apple, peach, pear, plum, and cherry orchards, 441 ; bushels of apples raised in 1872, 13,706 ; in 1873, 10,861 ; total value of all fruit and garden vegetables raised in 1872, $4466 ; in 1873, $6242 ; total number of acres of improved land, 12,918 ; total acres of taxable land, 19,478.

Considerable portions of the township are as yet comparatively unimproved. Generally, however, the improvements are of a high order, and finely kept farms, neat and tasty dwellings, and comfortable out buildings attest the advancement that has been made in the forty-seven years which have elapsed since first the settler swung his axe "amid the sea like solitude. “Notably in the northern and eastern portions of the township do the improvements attract attention. They are in the oldest settled localities, where they would naturally be sought after by the stranger. However, in the other portions the inhabitants are not backward in the work of beautifying, and the landscape is dotted here and there with the cozy white dwellings of the wealthier class of farmers, and an air of prosperity reigns over all.

From an article by the late Hon. Thomas J. Drake we give the following paragraph: " In town 4 north, of range 8 east, now called Springfield, on the 19th of July, 1830, Daniel Le Roy made the first entry. He purchased on section 13, including 'le petite fontaine or Little springs.' This place had a wide renown ; it was the resting place of the trader and trapper, of the red man as well as the white man when on his journey to and from Saginaw and other places in the northern wilderness. Immediately after the purchase the place was occupied by Asahel Fuller. In 1833, Giles Bishop, O. Powell, John M. Calkins, and Jonah Gross purchased."

The first actual settler in the township of Springfield was, therefore, Asahel Fuller, "who located on the Le Roy purchase in 1830. He afterwards built the first hotel at Springfield post office. Mr. Fuller's daughter, Ann, was the first white child born in the township.

Jonah Gross became the second settler of the township. He emigrated with his family from Hampshire county, Massachusetts, in September, 1832,f the family then consisting of his wife, three sons, and one daughter, the latter now the widow of Hon. David A. Wright. One son is living, and he and Mrs. Wright are the only ones of the family left.

Mr. Gross had been to the county the preceding spring, and made a purchase of land on section 10, where he finally settled. He bought from government, and the property has always been held by some of the family. The only persons within seven miles of Mr. Gross' home when he first arrived were in the family of Asahel Fuller, on section 13.

Jonah Gross died in January, 1858, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife had preceded him to her long home sixteen years before, having departed this life May 19, 1842, when forty-six years of age. Mr. Gross was much esteemed during his life by his fellow citizens, and was elected by them to numerous positions of trust. He was chosen town clerk at the first election held in the township, and the way in which he kept the records shows that he was methodical and systematic in his business matters, and he was undoubtedly so in his private affairs.

The person who is accredited as having been the third settler in Springfield was Giles Bishop, who located on section 24, and built a log house immediately in the rear of the spot now occupied by the residence of Theodore Ellis. This house he opened as a tavern, it being the first in the township. " Bishop's tavern," as it was called, was well known to travelers along the ' turnpike, and many was the merry gathering therein. It was built immediately after he came, probably in 1833. Mr. Bishop's son, Griswold Bishop, accompanied his father to the township. He was married, and a daughter of his, named Beulah, was the second white child born in Springfield.

These first settlers were the avant-coureurs of an army of pioneers which was close in their footsteps, messengers come to give warning to the various brute inhabitants of the forest and glade, upland and valley, that a mighty race was approaching which should lay claim to their primeval home, and out of the wilderness erect homes for the many venturesome ones who had thus dared the dangers of a wild life. Their onward march was irresistible ; the rod of power was in their hands, and naught but death could deter them from their object. Obstacles vanished from before them, and vast difficulties were overcome as if by magic. They had come to lay the foundation of a State, and the indomitable will of their forefathers, the persevering energy of those who had been before them a "race of pioneers," had lost none of their attributes in the descent to a later generation. Boldly the settlers of the land began their work, and the crash of falling trees was soon heard, the plowshare began its duty of turning the furrows which were to receive the seed for future crops, log cabins sprang up among the trees, the busy mill wheel ere long began its ceaseless turning, and life in a new country was fairly under way. Sickness and hunger were met and borne patiently, although the trial was often severe, and after a long and weary struggle the invading host conquered, and have built up a magnificent inheritance for their children. The first settlers of the township have been noticed in the order they came, but those whose names shall now be given will not be classified as to their successive dates of settlement.

Daniel J. Turner is from the town of Riga, Monroe county, New York, having settled in Springfield in the fall of 1844, with his wife and seven children, four sons and three daughters. He purchased land on section 11, the same now owned by his son, E. D. Turner. During the winter of 1844-45, Mr. Turner and family stayed near the Anderson settlement, and removed to their land the following spring. Mr. Turner purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land from second hands. No improvements had been made upon it, and the first were made by himself. One son was born after the family settled, and the eight children are all living. Mr. Turner and his wife are also yet alive, he having reached the age of about seventy-four, and she about seventy-two. The son, E. D. Turner, was about eighteen years of age when his father moved west, and the next summer (1845) he worked out at the rate of seven dollars per month. He is now residing in the village of Davisburg, and rents his farm. He is the owner of four hundred and twenty-five acres of land, which he facetiously remarks "is all paid for."

John Walls is an immigrant from Perthshire, Scotland, from whence he came in 1836, and located on section 35. in Springfield, in March of that year. He was accompanied by his wife and two children, one son and one daughter. A son, William Walls, was born the 29th of the following June, and the three children are now living, William, in Davisburg ; their daughter, Caroline, in West Bloomfield, now the wife of William Walls, also from Scotland, but not related except by marriage ; and the other son, Collin Walls, in the town of Clarke, Durham county, Ontario, Canada, Mr. Walls, Sr., is also residing in the same county, having removed there in 1873, after a residence of thirty-seven years on his farm in Springfield.

Mr. Walls originally purchased one hundred and seventy acres, all but ten acres of it from the government. He built a substantial log house, about eighteen by thirty feet in dimensions, and one of the best then in the township.

Robert and John Pepper were born in Ireland, and emigrated to the United States of America, the former in 1831 and the latter in 1832. They settled in the town of Le Roy, Genesee county, New York, and remained there until the month of June, 1838, when they brought theit families to Oakland County, Michigan, and settled in the midst of an unbroken forest on section 19, Springfield township. They made the trip to Detroit by water, and thence to Springfield with ox-teams they had brought with them.

They purchased between them three hundred and sixty, acres of government land (this in 1836), and John afterwards purchased an additional quantity in the town of Rose. Robert Pepper was accompanied by his wife and two sons, and John by his wife and one son, William H. Pepper, who afterwards died in the United States service during the Rebellion. He was a member of Company B of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry (originally First Michigan Mounted Rifles). Another son of John Pepper, born after the family settled, served during the war in the Third Michigan Cavalry. John Pepper and his wife became the parents often children, five sons and five daughters, of whom six are now living. Mr. Pepper died in December, 1873, aged sixty years, and his widow is residing in Davisburg, Robert Pepper and wife are the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, all living.

Previous to their settlement in Michigan, Robert had been to the State with a quantity of Genesee county (New York) cloth, which he had sold " in quantities to suit purchasers." At the time they located on their farms a log house was immediately erected on Robert Pepper's place, and the farm carried on jointly by the brothers. Finally John built a log house on his own property, and removed to it with his family, after which the farm was divided as purchased.

Robert Pepper is still living where he settled thirty-nine years ago, and the work of clearing the forest around him and preparing the fertile fields as they now appear has been largely performed by his own hands.

Eli H. Day, from the town of New Hartford, near Utica, Oneida county, New York, loaned two eighties on section 4 and settled in June, 1838, with his wife and one child, a daughter. He was also accompanied by his sister's son, Eli Brondige now residing on a part of the old homestead, and George Bigelow and family. Mr. Day had been employed in the old "Utica mills," a cotton manufacturing establishment, previous to his removal to Michigan. One son, Andrew H. Day, born in July, 1840, is now living on the old farm. His daughter, Mary Jane, is the wife of Jefferson K. Tindall, living in the same neighborhood.

Previous to the arrival of Mr. Day, Nolton and Spencer Bigelow had located in the fall of 1837, and built first a log cabin, seven by nine feet in dimensions, and in the following spring erected two log houses, one for their parents and one for their brother, George Bigelow, to whom the land belonged. The Bigelows were from the same neighborhood with Mr. Day, in New York.

On the arrival of the latter, he occupied the first log cabin built by the Bigelow boys until he could erect a house for himself and family. He built a frame dwelling, eighteen by twenty-four feet, and moved into it before it was entirely finished. This was the same summer, 1838.

On one occasion Mr. Day was out with a man named Dilley, after his oxen. He had purchased a bell of more than ordinary size and hung it on the neck of one of his oxen. The animals had strayed off a considerable distance, and the sound of the bell seemed to come from every direction at once. The woods and hills re-echoed to its tones, and Mr. Day and his companion "followed fast and followed faster," until they missed their way and knew not in which direction to turn in order to reach their home.

Mr. Day, in speaking of the incident, remarked that he had no idea there were any such wild places in the country as he saw on that occasion. Everything seemed strange, and the two men were in trouble indeed. Finally they arrived in sight of a frame house partly finished, and on seeing it Mr. Day told his companion they must be a long distance from home, for no one was erecting a frame house anywhere in his neighborhood. At last they espied a large brush heap near the house, which Mr. Day asserted located very much like one he himself had piled up, yet they failed to recognize the spot until they were close upon it and found unmistakable evidence that they were at home, instead of being more than three miles away, as they supposed. Their surprise was great, as everything bad looked so strange to them a few minutes before. Settlers frequently were lost in this way, and localities with which they were familiar appeared as strangely to them as if they had never seen them before. It has been said that becoming lost in this manner will force a man into insanity quicker than almost anything else; but luckily, in all instances of the kind known in this region the settler was fortunate enough to recognize some landmark before his brain was endangered.

Mr, Day is now raiding in Davisburg, and is engaged in the mercantile business, occupying a store in the east end of the business block built by Myron Hickey, on the east side of the river. He has been a prominent man in the township since his settlement; held the office of justice of the peace for two terms, having been elected in 1846 and 1850.

Philip Friday, Sr,, came to Springfield in July, 1838. from Albany, New York, and purchase eighty acres of laud from his half-brother, Daniel Jones, who had entered it as a portion of his farm two or three years before. Mr. Friday was accompanied by his wife, four sons, and one daughter; three sons are now living, Daniel, Isaac, and Philip, all in Springfield. Mr. Friday's sister, Mary, had accompanied Mr. Jones at the time he settled. She was never married, and died March 20, 1876, aged seventy-eight years. Mrs. Friday has been dead a number of years ; but her husband is yet living, at the age of eighty-one.

There were three brothers in the Jones family who settled in the county, Daniel and Timothy in Springfield, and Jesse in Groveland, where he now resides. Their father lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and five years. He had served in the ranks of the Revolutionary army, although but fifteen years of age when first called upon to bear arms.

When Mr. Friday arrived with his family the Joneses were all living together (the three brothers), and Mr. Friday built a small log house on the land belonging to Daniel Jones, in which he lived four years, afterwards erecting a frame house on his own place and moving into it. The latter building is yet standing, and occupied by Mr. Friday and his son Daniel and family.

The ancestors of the house of Friday were from Germany and Holland, and settled in the United States at an early period. The name was probably originally spelled Freiehtag, as it appears in that orthography at present among those of the name who are later arrivals in this country.

Sometime in the year 1838 the population of Springfield was increased by the arrival from Columbia county, New York, of Samuel C. Thomas and his brother William, with their families; Samuel having his wife and two daughters with him and William only his wife. Both men were natives of the State of Rhode Island, and possibly removed from it for fear of getting lost "in some vast wilderness." Soon after their arrival in Springfield the wife of William Thomas died, and he returned to New York. Samuel lived for three years on land owned by different persons, among them Judge Melvin Dorr, and finally purchased for himself on section 11. William Thomas is now residing in the city of Hudson, Columbia county, New York.

Samuel C. Thomas is at present living in the village of Davisburg. He is the father of five children, of whom only one a daughter, Mary, is now living. She is the wife of Daniel Ward, of Oxford township. Mr. Thomas removed from his farm to Davisburg in 1876. He was a resident of the township for twenty-five years before he visited his old home in New York. In 1839 he built what he says was the first wagon ever constructed between Pontiac and Flint. He had learned the trade of a wheelwright while living in the State of New York. After he had finished his house in Springfield he built a small shop against one end of it, and in that made his wagon.

Levi Churchill visited Michigan in 1834, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land south of the present site of Davisburg; but at that time the country was so wild that he chose not to settle until later. After waiting seven years, he removed with his wife and son from Chautauqua county. New York, and settled on his place in May, 1841, where he has since resided. His son, Cullen B. Churchill, was an only child, and has been dead a number of years; his widow and her son are now living with Mr. Churchill, Sr.

Philip S. Frisbee located in Lapeer county, Michigan, in the fall of 1833, and soon afterwards purchased land in Springfield. He moved to the township some time between 1834 and 1841. He was born near Seneca lake, in the State of New York, but was living in Chautauqua county at the time he emigrated to Michigan. He and Mr. Churchill were from the same neighborhood. The latter was born in Hubbardton, Vermont, and when but a year old his father removed to the town of Alexander, Genesee county, New York, being among the early settlers of that county.

Harlow Watson is one of the pioneers of Oakland County, having settled in White Lake township in October, 1837, arriving at Detroit the 3d day of that month. He is now living at Davisburg. He was born in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga county. New York, and came to Michigan from that county. He was accompanied on the boat to Detroit by his mother, sister, brother, and brother-in law, and his own wife and daughter. His sister was a widow, with one son. Mr. Watson's brother, Alvin D. Watson, and his brother-in-law, Horace Root, were both young men, unmarried.

Harlow Watson lived in White Lake township only until the spring of 1838, when he removed to Springfield and settled on section 31. The other boys became homesick and soon went back to New York. Alvin Watson afterwards returned to Oakland County, and is now residing in the village of Waterford. Root also came back, and went afterwards to the State of Illinois, but finally returned to New York, and now resides in the town of Elbridge, Onondaga county. Mr. Watson has raised three children since he settled in Michigan, and these; with the daughter he brought with him, are all living, and all girls. Mr. Watson purchased his land from second hands, but made the first improvements upon it. The old place is now owned by John Voorheis.

Among the adventures related of pioneers in Oakland County, one which happened to Mr. Watson was not the least exciting of them all. He had been away from home on one occasion helping Harrison Voorheis, butcher, and stayed quite late in the evening. He finally started home, but had gone barely twenty rods from the house when three huge wolves spied him, and thinking, no doubt^ he would make a savory meal for their hungry maws, at once concluded to attack him ; but he, having no relish for such proceedings, concluded that " discretion was the better part of valor," and beat a hasty retreat towards home, two miles away. In his own language, he " gathered a club and made lively time through the woods!" Probably Tam O'Shanter, in the wildest part of his wild ride, did not feel half the sensation of fear which beset Mr. Watson on this occasion, and the daring leap of Brady, or the breakneck pace of " Old Put," undoubtedly would be obliged to stand back before the terrific stride of Watson as he at last bolted into his own door yard and thundered through the door into the house, safe at last. He possessed a huge bull dog, which he had brought from New York with him, and the brute sallied forth in his might, and the wolves soon made themselves exceedingly scarce in that locality. They did not propose, however, to allow their desire for gore to go unstinted, and as their human prey had escaped them, they revenged themselves upon a number of sheep belonging to Mr. Watson's neighbors. The next morning Thomas Lapham, then living in White Lake township, went out and killed them. Wolf scalps were at that time worth eighteen dollars apiece, and Lapham made a very good forenoon's work of it. He afterwards moved into Springfield township, where he died.

Horatio Foster, Sr., settled in the county in 1837, having come from near Utica, Oneida county, New York. He was accompanied by his wife and two sons, and located in Independence township, near what is now Clarkston Station. He died at the age of sixty-four, and his wife at her death was sixty-eight. Of the children there were originally five, four sons and one daughter, and all are now living except the oldest son, Horatio. The daughter, Mary Ann Foster, is now the widow of Joseph Harris. She did not locate in Oakland County until some years after the rest of the family had settled.

Horatio Foster, Jr., emigrated to Detroit in 1835, and worked at the harness business for some time, finally removing to Clarkston. Another son, Samuel, settled in 1836, but did not purchase land until 1842, when he bought on section 25, in Springfield township, and lived upon it until 1864, when he removed to his present location on section 4. He was but sixteen years of age when he came to Michigan. His brother, Frederick Foster, is living also in Springfield township, on section 25.

Michigan has her share of the hardy sons of the " Granite State" within her borders, and among them is Milton Sargent, a veteran from the rocky dells of the State which in years gone by kept her inhabitants busy attending to certain troubles with Vermont. The lay of the "Green Mountain boy" of old bore in its burden the important query, "Swarms Hampshire in arms on our border again ?"

And they were ever ready to meet the invader with the decree, "thus far shalt thou come and no farther," and back it up by decisive action if necessary. Happily, those days of feud are over, and glorious "New England," with its ribs of rock, stands as a prominent and steadfast part of the " Union of States."

From New Hampshire, then, came Mr. Sargent, town of Wentworth, Grafton county, and in 1833 located in what is now Avon township, Oakland County, Michigan. He arrived in Detroit on the 1st day of July, and at Rochester the next day. He says he was a "regular old bach." He possessed seventy-eight dollars in cash, and with it purchased forty acres on section 18, in Avon township, it being the last piece of government land on the section. He afterwards purchased additional land in that township, and finally removed to Springfield, arriving there April 3, 1838. He located on the northwest quarter of section 15, now owned by Brainard J. Phillips, having traded his land in Avon for it to a man named Taylor. The latter had built a log cabin on the place and split some rails, but made no further improvements. Mr. Sargent was seventy-nine years old February 11, 1877, and is now living on the old place, with Mr. Phillips.

His oldest brother, John Sargent, enlisted from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the war of 1812, and served a portion of his time in Fort Gratiot. His time was out in 1817, and he soon after came with Alexander, William, and Benjamin Graham, and settled in Avon township, where he lived two miles west of Rochester. Milton Sargent had not seen his brother for twenty-one years, and the meeting in 1833 was undoubtedly a joyful one.

The first settler on the farm now owned by Moses Garter was Melvin Dorr, who became the first supervisor of Springfield township, and otherwise a very popular man. The same farm was afterwards occupied by Asahel Fuller. Mr. Dorr's remains rest beneath the shade of the orchard on the place.

Mr. Garter came in July, 1854, from Orleans county. New York, where his father settled in 1812, and where Mr. G. lived for forty years. He purchased his present property from Benjamin Cochran, to whom Mr. Fuller had sold. Mr. Garter brought his wife and one son with him from New York. His father was a musician, and was called out with the militia in 1812, but saw no hard service. Moses Garter also trained under the militia law in the State of New York, where he commanded a company. He is a native of Herkimer county, New York, as was also his father.

Edward Parkinson, from Niagara county, New York, settled in 1838, with his wife and eight children, on section 35, in Springfield, where he now resides. He located government land. He is a native of England, and emigrated to the United States in 1830. After his arrival in Springfield he built a small log shanty, which stood nearly on the spot occupied by his present frame house. Seven of his children are now living. The only neighbors Mr. Parkinson had were two families living on the west and one on the east, all of them some distance away. He says it was such hard work to secure provisions, that if a family "could get a woodchuck or a Johnny-cake" they thought themselves extremely fortunate.

Horace Green settled in Springfield in 1832, having come from South Livonia? Livingston county, New York, where his parents moved from Seneca county in 1815. They were originally from Middleburg, Schoharie county, and settled in Scipio, Cayuga county,. in 1811. His father, Levi Green, was a native of Rhode Island, and a soldier in the Revolutionary army, afterwards drawing a pension for his services. Horace Green was killed by the fall of a tree, in February, 1833, His brother, Zephaniah R. Green, settled in West Bloomfield township. A son of the latter, Addis E. Green, mentions having been present at the raising of Griswold Bishop's barn in Springfield, in 1833 (?), where he saw a huge Indian shoulder two of the largest rafters ,made of tamarack logs, at once, and thinks the savage could have out jumped any man there if he had been sober.

I. K. Grow, a native of Homer, New York, settled in Springfield in 1835, with his parents; J. H. Landon, from Salisbury, Connecticut, settled in 1836; William Jones, native of Middlebury, New York, settled in 1836.

Of the original settlers of Springfield, many have removed to other localities, and a considerable number of them have been summoned away from earth. The work they began has been unremittingly continued by those who have come after them, and the township today rests under the influences of prosperity, where but a comparatively short time ago all was a wilderness.

In 1834 a frame barn was built by Arza C. Crosby, on section 13, having a granary in one end. The first school in the township was taught in this building by Sarah Pratt, and was attended by the children of Mr. Crosby, John J. Merrell, Robert Perry, and others. The next year (1835) a frame school house was built. The first term in it was taught by Miss Sophia Paddock, who was a sister of Mrs. Merrell and Mrs. Crosby. She afterwards married Ira Dayton, of Grand Blanc, Genesee county. The old barn on Mr. Crosby's place is still standing. The school house stood a short distance east of Mr. Crosby's dwelling, near where Edward Perry now lives. The frame of it was removed to section 12 and a new cover put on, and the building is now in use in district No. 1. The frame school house at Springfield post office, now district No. 6, was built some time afterwards.

A frame school house was built at the Anderson settlement (district No. 5) as early as 1838, and stood on the ground now occupied by the new frame school house. Among the first teachers were Lucy and Lois McQuigg, the latter now the wife of Henry Elliott, of Pontiac, and the former the widow of George Peek, of Springfield township. Miss Clarissa Anderson, now the wife of P. A. Tuttle, of Highland township, was perhaps the first teacher in this school. She taught before the McQuigg girls, and was very early, if not the first.

A log school house, the first in the neighborhood, was built on the corner of Robert Pepper's farm, section 19, about 1843- 44. This was the first school building in the western part of the township, and the first teacher was a young lady named Corinthia Elliott. The first term was a summer school, and the children who attended were all small. A young lady named Hadley also taught here early. The building was occasionally used for religious purposes.

About 1839-40 a school house was built of logs on section 9, in district No. 2. A summer school was first taught. Eli H. Day, now of Davisburg, was one of the first teachers, and many of the older class of citizens now in the village and neighborhood attended under him. The present house is a frame building, standing on the southeast corner of section 5.

Were issued by Jonah Gross, township clerk, and were as follows : December 20, 1837, to Ira Dayton, of Grand Blanc, Genesee county, and Miss Sophia Paddock, of Springfield ; January 15, 1838, to Thomas Lapham, of White Lake, and Miss Henrietta Pelton, of Springfield; August 11, 1838. to Pearson G. Cochran and Ann Oliver, both of Springfield ; September 25, 1838, to Nathaniel Dorr, Jr., and Miss Sary Hoyt, both of Springfield. Thus it will be seen that the "little winged god" was busy at an early period, even in the midst of sterner realities.

We copy the following from the township records: According to the statute of Michigan, the people convened at the house of David Stanard and organized by electing the following officers for the township of Springfield.

" April 3, 1837, David Stanard, Esq., was chosen moderator, and John J. Merrell chosen clerk, and both qualified, then proceeded to business." The following were the various officers elected, namely: supervisor, Melvin Dorr ; Township Clerk, Jonah Gross ; Assessors, Cornelius Davis, John W. Pratt, Griswold Bishop; Constable and Collector, Lyman Hubbard ; Constable, Edward E. Perry ; Overseers of the Poor, Orange Powell, Caleb P. Merrell ; Commissioners of Highways, Arza C. Crosby, Asabel Johnson, Isaac Anderson ; Justices of the Peace, Daniel Jones, David Stanard, Jonah Gross, Cornelius Davis ; Path-masters, David Stanard, Charles Husted ; Pound-masters, Nathan Jones, Asahel Johnson.

'• On motion, it was voted that this town shall pay for every wolf that is caught in this town and the scalp delivered to any justice of the peace ; and on oath that it is in his opinion over one year old shall receive three dollars."

"On vote, it was agreed that the next town meeting be held at the house of David Stanard, Esq., in Springfield."

At a special election held November 18, 1837, the following persons were chosen school inspectors : Daniel B, Wakefield, Daniel Jones, John J. Merrell.

At the regular election in 1838, Daniel B. Wakefield was elected supervisor, Jonah Gross town clerk, and Russell Bishop justice of the peace.

At a special meeting held August 11, 1838, D. B. Wakefield and Simeon L. McQuigg were elected justices of the peace, to fill vacancies.

At a special meeting held November 3, 1838, the following officers were elected to fill vacancies: Supervisor, Milton Peters; Justice of the Peace, David Stanard; School Inspector, Milton Peters; Highway Commissioner, Gifford Nash; Collector, Griswold W. Bishop ; Constables, Samuel C. Thomas, George R. Putnam.

The following is a'list of supervisors from 1839 to 1877, inclusive: 1839-42, Milton Peters (supervisor and assessor in 1812) ; 1843, Augustus S. Johnson ; 1844-48, Alexander Ter Bush ; 1849, Nolton Bigelow; 1850, James B. Simonaon ; 1S51, Alexander Ter Bush; 1852, James B. Simonson ; 1853, Alexander Ter Bush; 1854-55, James B. Simonson; 1856-65, Alexander Ter Bush; 1866-68, Jefferson K. Tindall ; 1869, Alexander Ter Bush ; 1870-73, Jefferson K. Tindall ; 1874-77, Alonzo H. Losse.

Township Clerks.—1839, Jonah Gross; 1840-42, John J. Merrell; 1843, Peter Best; 1844-46, Nelson Abel; 1847, Alvin D. Simonson; 1848-49, Theodore R. M. Gross; 1850, Caleb Gardner; 1851, T. R. M. Gross; 1852-63, Edward Bartlett; 1864-65, H. C. Burnam ; 1866, James E. Pepper; 1867-68, Alexander Ter Bush; 1869, William J. Pepper; 1870-73, Alonzo H. Losee; 1874, Harvey G. Monroe; 1875, Daniel L. Davis; 1876-77, Henry G. Rohm.

Justlets of the Pence,—1839, Daniel T. Wilson, Noah Beach ; 1840, James Stalls; 1841, George Bigelow; 1842, Hiram Trim; 1843, Philip S. Frisbie; 1844. James Stout; 1845, James B. Simonson ; 1846, Eli H. Day ; 1847, Philip S. Frisbie; 1848, Hiram Trim ; 1849, James B. Simonson, James Stout; 1850, Eli H. Day; 1851, Philip S. Frisbie; 1852, Horatio Foster, Sr.; 1853, James B. Simonson, Nolton Bigelow; 1854, Israel Swayze, John J. Merrell; 1855, Alexander Ter Bush, John W. Anderson ; 1856, John J. Merrell, George W. Stinson; 1857, S. L. McQuigg, Eli Brondige; 1858, James P. Wheeler; 1859, Farley Craw; 1860, John G. Reed; 1861, William H. Elliott; 1862, James P. Wheeler; 1863, Farley Craw; 1864, John G. Reed; 1865, Anthony J. Swayze; 1866, George M. Lyon, A. J. Swayze; 1867, John C. Clark; 1868, John G. Reed, Henry C. Burnam; 1869, A. J. Swayze, E. Bartlett, Phineas Reed; 1870, Phineas Reed, George Stafford; 1871, no return on township records ; 1872, Amasa C. Kenyon, Monroe Wheeler, Calvin L. Paddock ; 1873, Charles Cavel ; 1874, Norman Ellis, Michael G. Hickey, Jackson Voorheis ; 1875, Jackson Voorheis, George C. Potter; 1876, Roswell Burt, John Vincent; 1877, J. G. Hutchins.

The neighborhood of this village witnessed the first settlement made in the township, and here for a long period was the most important hamlet. A few village lots were laid out by Milton Peters, May 21, 1840.

While the stage line was running business was brisk along the old Detroit and Saginaw turnpike, on which the village is located. Asahel Fuller, the first settler in the township, built a hotel here at an early day, and carried it on for some time,but finally sold out. It was a two story frame building, and was subsequently burned down while under the management of David Stanard.

At one time there were two taverns, three stores, and numerous shops in full operation here, and Springfield was a busy burg. The stage horn frequently scared up deer along the route, the frightened animals fleeing in dismay before the sound as though it were the note of the huntsman's horn and they expected a pack of hounds in full cry to appear immediately following.

The first store was opened by two young men, named Milton Peters and Peter Best, who conducted a general establishment, carrying such goods in stock as were needed by the settlers, dry goods, groceries, clothing, etc.

A second store was established by A. S. Johnson, now of Detroit. In 1844, James B. Simonson located here and opened a general store. He emigrated from Roxbury, Delaware county, New York, in 1835, with his wife and one child, a son, and settled in Royal Oak township, where he resided until 1841, when he removed to Birmingham. In 1844 he came to Springfield. During his stay here he held the ofiice of postmaster some twelve years. He finally sold his store to John J. Merrell and started one at the Anderson settlement, where he stayed but a short time. He removed from the Anderson settlement to Holly, where he now resides. He is president of the First National bank at the latter place.

The post office at Springfield was established about 1835-36, and David Stanard was probably first postmaster. Mr. Simonson held the office for twelve years, as above stated, and A. S. Johnson was in for some time. The present postmaster is Dr. Edward Bartlett, who has been in office six years.

Dr. Bartlett settled with his father, James Bartlett, near the site of the village of Clarkston, in 1838. They were from Cayuga county. New York, and the family consisted of James Bartlett, his wife, and six sons. Of the latter, but two are now living, the doctor and H. J. Bartlett. James Bartlett died in December, 1874, aged seventy-four years. His wife died in 1843. The doctor removed to Springfield in 1850, and has since been a resident of the place. He practiced one summer at Clarkston previous to coming to Springfield. He is a physician of the allopathic school, and a graduate of the Cleveland university.

A physician named Briggs located here in 1849, but only lived about a year. In 1833, John J. Merrell and Arza C. Crosby removed from New York and settled in Springfield together, early in the month of September, purchasing land on section 13. Merrell was from Onondaga county, and Crosby from Cayuga. Mr. Merrell had a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, beside his wife, and two daughters were born afterwards. Of the ten children, eight are now living. Mr. Merrell died April 6, 1866, aged sixty-nine years.

Mr. Crosby was accompanied by his wife, four sons, and two daughters; the children are all living but one. Mr. C. died February 3, 1857, at the age of sixty-two. The old place where he settled, on section 13, is yet occupied by his widow. Mrs. Crosby and Mrs. Merrell are sisters, and natives of Onondaga county, New York.

These estimable ladies are yet full of the vigor of youth, and despite the trials they were subject to in the settlement of a new country, they look back with pleasure on the "days that are gone," and by their very interesting and pleasing conversation are able to while away many hours in recounting tales and adventures of "ye olden time." It is a pleasure to listen to them, and as in talking of past scenes and events they become animated and warmed to their subject, the listener feels himself almost enabled to recollect the time when the country was but little better than a wilderness, even though he be yet in his youth.

People "in those days" were wont to make journeys to Pontiac, and often to Detroit, to buy pork, which it seems was considered a necessary article for family use, and would return with it on a pack-horse, balancing a barrel of pork by a barrel of flour. Very often the pork was so lean and thin that it did not possess "grease" enough to fry itself in, and it became necessary to put venison in with it in order to accomplish this object. It must be borne in mind that the deer were very fat, and it was unnecessary to do more than place the venison in a frying pan over a fire and attend to it with care in order to have it done to a turn.

Mrs. Crosby says that in her life of forty-four years in Michigan she has never moved her household goods, except "out of the old house into the new." The two families, for four years after their arrival, lived in a large double log house, and then Mr. Merrell erected a dwelling, into which he moved with his family. Mrs. Merrell and Mrs. Crosby now say they "never took as much comfort in their lives as in the old log house."

At the time they settled, or soon after, there were about nine families in the township, and if they failed to see each other less than once a fortnight they deemed themselves almost forsaken.

Mr. Merrell and Mr. Crosby each kept a hired man, and with their large family their house was pretty well filled up. These men were brothers, and were named Greorge and Levi Perry; the former working for Merrell and the latter for Crosby. Levi Perry was a great hunter and killed large numbers of deer, which were very plenty, and, as we have said, exceedingly fat. The meat was delicious, and was the staple article of food almost, while the fat was tried out and made into candles.

It has been said, and truthfully, that "necessity is the mother of invention, “and nowhere can be found a better illustration of the fact than in the lives of the early settlers. With a market many miles away, and affording but meagre accommodations at best, everything was turned to account that was of any use whatever, and in many instances only a rigid system of economy, closely adhered to, and a faculty for making the most of everything, saved families from extreme want. The field was one in which they could exercise their ingenuity to the utmost, and the lessons learned in those early days were by no means unheeded in after years, for by their constant requisition the pioneers became at last possessed of competence and wealth, and the tasty farms and well-kept institutions of today speak volumes for the perseverance and self-denial of the fathers of the land.

In certain seasons people with an ordinary stock of provisions were beyond want and deemed themselves rich beyond measure, for wild crab apples, plums, cranberries, huckleberries, etc., were in many localities in abundance, and those living in such neighborhoods never wanted for preserves or sauce. This was notably the case in the eastern part of the township. Mrs. Merrell and Mrs. Crosby, with some of their children, one day picked seven bushels of huckleberries, all black, rich and ripe, and considered that they had done a fair day's work.

The Indians in the vicinity were always very peaceable and friendly, and made the Merrell and Crosby families their particular friends. The whites learned to speak much of their language, and remember even now many words of the Indian tongue.

A short distance southwest of Springfield post office is a small lake, known from the quality of its water as "Soft Water lake." Here the families in the neighborhood were wont to congregate and do their washing on its shores. This was truly a "Godsend" to them, for it was before the days of cisterns, and hard water is not an excellent substitute for soft for laundry purposes.

Mr. Merrell and Mr. Crosby, with their families, stopped when they first came to the township at Bishop's log tavern, previously mentioned. This institution was always full, and had it been twice or three times as large the rooms would have been easily kept filled. It was peculiarly an establishment for the time, a real "backwoods tavern," and its proprietor was undoubtedly a true philosopher and a genius in his way. The spot where this old tavern stood knows it no longer, and nearly on its site is a neat residence, bearing the stamp of greater improvement and the appearance common to buildings of a later day. Could the soil whereon the old log building stood talk, it would undoubtedly be able to relate many interesting tales of pioneer life.

The stage line was long ago discontinued; the primitive taverns are among the things that were; the deer no longer bound in affright from the rich tones of the driver's horn, nor does the "traveler on a dusty lea" wend his way along the broad turnpike, now a simple "road;" the glory of the early times has departed, and where once all was stir and bustle, and the busy sound from a thriving village " re-echoed o'er valley and glen," a Sabbath quiet reigns, and to the tourist over the iron track the once famous village of Springfield is almost unknown. So passes away earthly glory. In the ceaseless round of time the past is eventually buried in oblivion, and future generations have little interest in what was passing years before they were born on the ground they tread. The stranger comes and possesses himself of the home built up by years of toil and patient endurance, and reeks not of the changes that have been wrought since the locality began to have a history. He lives for the present ; yet the children and grandchildren of the bold pioneers will ever contemplate with great respect and admiration the hardy spirit which prompted their ancestry to do battle with the wilderness and build up homes and institutions for those who should come after.

As early as 1833-34 the land on which the hamlet bearing the above name is located was settled by John Husted and family, and the place was long known as the " Husted settlement." He was the first to locate here, and Charles and Harry Husted came to the same neighborhood.

In 1836 the number of settlers was increased by the arrival of Isaac Anderson and family, from Attica, Genesee (now Wyoming) county. New York. The family consisted of Mr. Anderson, his wife, and five children, two sons and three daughters. In the spring of the same year Mr. Anderson had been to the place and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on sections 22 and 27 ; part of it he procured from government and part from second hands. A portion of the land was taken in the name of his son, John W. Anderson, who is now living upon it. The family was brought in during the month of October. At the same time Mr. Anderson located his land a married daughter, Betsey, came with her husband, and stayed at the place from that time. On the trip from New York, Mr. Anderson brought two teams with him. The voyage from Buffalo to Detroit was made on the steamer "Commodore Perry."

Mr. Anderson's children are all living, but he died on the 17th of January, 1860, aged nearly seventy-four years. His wife died October 9, 1862. The neighborhood finally became known by custom as the "Anderson Settlement," and that name it still retains. When the Detroit and Milwaukee railway was first completed a station was established here, but was finally discontinued, and there is none at present. Perry Trim and Sylvester E. Anderson each at one time carried on the blacksmithing business, and an institution of that kind is now in a flourishing condition, kept by John Alexander.

The same season the railroad was completed, or soon after, Mr. Simonson established a store here, containing a general stock. He afterwards removed to Holly, and the store was operated by J. B. Billings and Frederick Anderson.

Ogden Gaston erected a building in which he manufactured matches and did a small business, principally with local customers. He peddled his matches around the country, and made a living in that manner. He is now a resident of Detroit.

In the cemetery, on the hill in the eastern part of the settlement, the first burial was that of Nancy, a young daughter of John Husted, her death occurring in March, 1835. Seven little girls were buried in this lot before an adult person was interred, nearly all of them dying with the whooping-cough. The cemetery contains about one and a half acres of land, the original lot being taken from the farm of Isaac Anderson, afterwards the property of his son Sylvester.

The first apple-trees were brought here by Isaac and John W. Anderson, and the first hens by Isaac Anderson. Charles Husted and John W. Anderson were the owners of the first sheep. The first frame house in the vicinity was built by Isaac Anderson, about 1840, and is still standing. In the spring of 1837 two frame barns were raised the same day, one by Isaac Anderson and the other by Charles Husted. They were the first in the neighborhood.

The Husteds are nearly all removed, and their property is in other hands. J. W. Anderson owns a fine farm on the beautiful plain upon which the village is situated.

This society was organized February 14, 1858, with thirteen members from the congregation of the First Presbyterian church of White Lake. Sixteen others were added a few days after, making twenty-nine in all. These were as follows: Isaac Anderson, Catharine Anderson, Lyman Hubbard, Betsy Hubbard, John W. Anderson, Ann Anderson, Sylvester E. Anderson, Almira Anderson, Martha Boutwell, Urania Boutwell, Sarah P. Hubbard, Louisa M. Hubbard, James J. Hubbard, these from the White Lake congregation. The others were Orra Simpson, Margaret 0. Starker, Lydia F. Simonson, Fanny Powell, Alice Arnold, Jonathan B. Billings, Mary J. Billings, Ira L. Simpson, Elizabeth Gillespie, Clarissa A. Boutwell, Mary J. Boutwell, Josephine P. Anderson, Sarah A. Anderson, Isabel Hagerty, Henry M. Billings, Anastatia Stark.

Isaac Anderson was elected deacon, and Sylvester E. Anderson clerk. The first pastor was Rev. W. P. Wastell, who organized the church. In April, 1859, the membership was increased to fifty-one. The first elders, elected March 31, 1860, were J. W. Anderson and C. W. Valleau, and at the same time William Jones was elected deacon.

The second pastor was Bev. M Tucker, whose name first appears on the records January 31, 1863. He stayed until February, 1868, and was succeeded by Rev. L. Chandler, who ministered to the congregation until November, 1869, when Rev. J. S. Lord was settled as fourth pastor, and stayed three years. Mr. Chandler has had charge since, with the exception of six months during the winter of 1876-77, during which time the church was supplied by Rev. Mr. Bryant, it being too severe a task for Mr. Chandler to come from White Lake during the snow and cold weather. The latter gentleman is the present pastor of White Lake and Springfield.

The membership of Springfield church in May, 1877, was about thirty-five. The church edifice was commenced in the summer of 1859, and finished in the spring of 1860. It is a frame building, thirty-two by forty-four feet in dimensions, surmounted by a spire, and will seat in the neighborhood of one hundred and fifty persons.

A Sabbath school was organized some time before the church was built, and has been kept up ever since, the first superintendent was probably John W. Anderson. An Estey organ is used in the school and church, and the Sabbath school also has a library of about seventy-five volumes.

The church stands in a pleasant location on section 22, in the eastern part of the settlement, and the society is in a comparatively prosperous condition, although the membership is not as large as formerly.

The first settler on the ground now occupied by this thriving village was Cornelius Davis, who took up seven hundred and twenty acres of government land, including the whole of section 17, and eighty acres on section 20, and located on the eastern part of the site of Davisburg in 1836. He was from Ulster county, New York, and was accompanied by his wife and seven children, five sons and two daughters. They arrived in the fall of the year, and Mr. Davis and his son-in-law, Isaac J. Losee, built a log house, eighteen by twenty-eight feet, on land owned by the latter, in which both families lived that winter. A frame building had been commenced on Mr. Davis' place, but was not finished till the succeeding spring (1837). This was one of the first frame houses built in the township, and the very first in this vicinity. All the children of Mr. Davis are living except one son and one daughter, and all reside in Springfield township except one son, Jerome C, who lives in Rose, and one daughter, now the wife of H. W. Horton, of Groveland. John C. and J. H. Davis are residents of Davisburg. Cornelius Davis died August 14, 1857, aged sixty-six years, and his wife May 14, 1844, aged fifty-one.

Mr. Davis' son-in-law, Isaac J. Losee, was formerly from Dutchess county. New York, but moved to Michigan from Ulster county. He died February 11, 1853, aged forty-nine years, and it is his widow who is now Mrs. Henry W, Horton, of Groveland township. Mrs. Cornelius Davis and an old lady by the name of Morley were the first persons buried in the cemetery at Davisburg, Mrs. Murley's death occurring first.

In 1857 village lots were laid out by John C, Cornelius, and James H. Davis, J, C. Davis being the principal proprietor. Michael G. Hickey platted an addition in 1865; G. M. Lyon, in April, 1866; Major M. Hickey, in May, 1866; and James H. Davis, in 1867. But a comparatively small portion of all the lots laid out are built upon, yet the population of the village is now claimed at about five hundred. It contains four general stores, one hardware store, one drugstore, three shoe-shops, two millinery establishments, four blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, one cooper shop, one harness shop, one foundry and machine shop, one steam saw, plaster, and feed mill, one grist mill, one hotel, two churches, one school building, one agricultural implement store, and one livery stable ; also four physicians and a dentist.

The village was laid out very soon after the Detroit and Milwaukee railway was built. There had been a scattering settlement previous to this, and the completion of the railway gave it a permanent start; since which time it has been steadily progressing, and at the time these items were taken (May, 1877) a considerable amount of business was done, and every house in the village was occupied.

About 1851-52, Ebenezer McDowell sold the first goods brought to the village for that purpose. He occupied a frame building, which has since been used fourteen years as a hotel and for numerous other purposes. Part of it is yet standing on the west side of the Shiawassee river, and is occupied as a dwelling and shoe shop. McDowell purchased his merchandise at Detroit, and kept a small general stock. When he failed to receive custom enough to keep him most of the time in the store, he took a peddler's pack into the country, and disposed of the goods after the fashion of peddlers in general. He also preached occasionally, being a Congregational minister, and a genius, as the term applies.

The first store of any consequence was kept by John C. Davis, who carried on an extensive business for the time. His store was in one part of his grist mill, and he finally sold the stock to M. and A. Hickey, both now deceased. The Messrs. Hickey built the first regular store building, which is now standing, and occupied as a hardware store by O. C. Thompson.

The grist-mill was built by John C. Davis, in the autumn of 1854. It is thirty-six by seventy feet in dimensions, and four stories high. A large custom and considerable merchant business is done. The mill originally contained two run of stone, and now has three. The dam was built several years before the grist mill, by Cornelius Davis, who had also erected a saw-mill. J. C. Davis afterwards purchased the property, built the grist mill, and repaired the dam. In 1870 he sold out to Reuben and George B. McCreary, but recently bought it back again, and is doing a heavy business. The fall here is sixteen feet, and the entire power is utilized, the river being but a small stream at any season.

The first frame house built alter the town plat was laid was erected by A. B. Webster. It was a small structure, and is still standing. Webster lived in the house, and opened in it the first shoe shop at the place.

Previous to the laying out of the town a blacksmith shop was started by Martin Frisbie, and was the first in the village. It stood a short distance up from the east side of the river. Frisbie has been dead a long time.

Farley Craw became possessed of the idea that it was necessary for people to have barrels, and, like a good Samaritan, built a cooper shop on a lot he had purchased from Mr. Davis, and began his work. The chip of the adze and the sound of the "driver," as he settled the hoops in their places, was soon heard, and the clean, new barrels began to pile up in his little shop, which is yet shown to the seeker after curiosities and historical lore.

The first harness shop was opened by John De Witt, about 1860-62, and the first wagon shop was built by Phineas Reed soon after the laying out of the town. A Dutchman, named John , at one time kept a cabinet shop, but the business proved non lucrative, and he shifted his abode to Saginaw. J C. Davis also sold furniture while his store was in operation. The undertaking business has been for several years, and is now, represented by E B. Murgittroyd.

Soon after the Rebellion of 1861-65, A. J. Hickey built the frame block on the east side of the river. In the lower story are several storerooms, and the upper floor contains a public hall, known as " Hickey's hall."

About 1863-65 a steam saw, plaster, and feed mill was established by Charles Weatherson, who is still operating it. The building used is one which was moved from Oakwood. The plaster is obtained at Grand Rapids.

A foundry was established in 1865 by William Hickey for the manufacture of agricultural implements. Mr. Hickey is still the proprietor, and carries on the business alone, the average value of the yearly productions of the foundry being about ten or twelve hundred dollars. The room in which the casting is done is small, and contains but one moulding floor. Mr. Hickey manufactures plows, cultivators, land rollers, scrapers, etc., and finishes them ready for use.

Myron Hickey was the first one of the family who located in Davisburg, and for a year and a half or two years after his arrival he was employed as clerk in Mr. Davis' store at the mill. He and his brother Andrew finally purchased the entire stock of Davis, and removed it to the building they had erected for store purposes. Their father, Michael G. Hickey, originally from the town of Phelps, Ontario county, New York, and afterwards of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, removed with his family to Oakland County, Michigan, in 1839-40, and settled in Waterford township. In 1845 he removed to White Lake township, and lived there until 1862-63, when he came to Davisburg, where his sons, Myron, Andrew, and Wilson, had previously located. These sons all served in the Federal army during the Rebellion, Andrew in the Third Michigan Cavalry, Myron in the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, and Wilson with General Kilpatrick, in the quarter-master's department (Army of the Potomac). Michael G. Hickey died August 17, 1876, aged sixty-four years ; his wife is yet living, at the age of sixty-five.

In the cemetery at Davisburg the following are among the persons whose remains are there at rest: Myron G. Hickey, died August 24, 1868, aged thirty-five years; Lieutenant Andrew Hickey, died at Jackson, Tennessee, February 16, 1863, aged twenty-eight ; Philip S. Frisbie, died December 21, 1866, aged nearly fifty-nine; William H. Cook, of Company G, Eighth Michigan Cavalry, died September 28, 1865, aged twenty-two; James T. McWithey, of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, died at Detroit, December 1, 1862, aged twenty years; Captain David Morley, died August 31, 1857, aged sixty-eight; his wife, Candace Morley, was the first person buried in the cemetery.

The first school in the village was established about 1856-57, and the first term probably taught by Emma Mosey. A frame school house was built, and is still in use, although an addition, equal in size to the old edifice, has since been built to it.

About 1855-56 the first hotel in the village was opened by W. H. Springer, in the building previously occupied by Ebenezer McDowell. Springer conducted it a year or two, and was followed by A. V. Porter, who stayed about the same length of time. It then passed into the hands of D. B. Horton, who operated it about ten years. It contained a bar, as nearly all the hotels in the country did at that time, or, in fact, as they do at present. It was originally called the "Railroad Hotel," and afterwards the "Railroad House," and was an institution necessary to the times as well as peculiar to them.

In the summer of 1869, Mr. Horton built the present "Davisburg House," and is still the proprietor. This hotel is four stories in height, with a fine hall on the upper floor, and contains fourteen sleeping rooms, besides a bar room, sitting room, kitchen, parlor, dining room, etc.

Mr. Horton's wife, Sarah C. (Springer) Horton, is a daughter of John Springer, who emigrated from Wayne county, New York, in 1836, and settled with his wife and seven children one mile south of Pontiac, near the Bloomfield township line. Two sons were afterwards born in the family, and of the nine children but three are now living, Mrs. Horton, at Davisburg, one son in Genesee county, Michigan, and another in Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Springer both died at Davisburg.

Davisburg post office was established about 1854, and John C. Davis was the first postmaster. This was before the railroad was built, and the mail was at first brought from Austin post office by Mr. Davis' brother, Thaddeus C. Davis. After the railway was completed a daily mail was received. Mr. Davis held the office until Lincoln was elected president, when it was given to Fariey Craw, who was the "village cooper." Since Craw the postmasters have been Myron Hickey, Alexander Ter Bush, and H. C. Burnam, the present occupant. The latter gentleman came to Pontiac in company with Stephen Chaffee, when but seven years of age, from Middleton, Rutland county, Vermont. This was in the spring of 1834. Mr. Bumam has lived in Davisburg since 1850, and since 1861 he kept a general store. He was appointed postmaster September 6, 1870. The first physician in the place was William E. Fenwick, a disciple of the allopathic school.

Davisburg Grange No. 245 Patrons of Husbandry was organized February 7, 1874, with thirty-six members. The first officers were : Master, Horatio Wright; Overseer, Jefferson K. Tindall Lecturer, David Garner; Steward, William Jones; Assistant Steward, Wilson Hickey; Chaplain, Michael G. Hickey: Treasurer, John C. Davis ; Secretary, David A. Wright ; Gate-keeper, Eli Brondige ; Ceres, Mrs. David Garner ; Pomona, Mrs. J. K. Tindall : Flora, Miss Victoria Griswold; Lady Assistant Steward, Mrs. J. C. Davis.

The society is in a flourishing condition, and had in the summer of 1877 about thirty members, with the following officers : Master, Jefferson K. Tindall ; Overseer, William Jones ; lecturer, David Garner; Chaplain E. J. Bigelow; Steward, Porter Wright; Assistant Steward, Henry Rohm; Secretary, Horatio Wright; Treasurer, Eli H. Day ; Gate-keeper, H. Lee Wright; Ceres, Mrs. David Garner; Pomona, Mrs. Horatio Wright; Kora, Mrs. J. K. Tindall; Lady Assistant Steward, Mrs. J. C. Davis.

A class of this denomination was formed May 11, 1846, with a small membership. The name of the early pastors do not appear on the church records, so we are unable to give them; those from 1858 have been as follows : 1858, Thomas Wakelin ; 1859-60, Isaac Crawford ; 1861, John W. Crippen ; 1862, I. C. Cochran; 1865, E. B. Prindle; 1866-67, J. O. Bancroft; 1868-69, Whitcomb; 1869-71, Samuel Bird; 1872-74, J. W. Scott; 1874-75, J. S. Joslin ; 1876-77, R. C. Lanning.

The membership in May, 1877, was about one hundred and thirty. The present fine frame church was built in 1866, the contract being four thousand dollars, and H. C. Bumam the contractor for building. The building committee consisted of John C. Davis, Eli Brondige, Myron Hickey, and Michael G. Hickey. The trustee at the time were Robert Pepper, John C. Davis, Eli Brondige, H. C. Bumam, and William H. Elliott, and Rev. J. 0. Bancroft the preacher in charge. The church is thirty-six by sixty feet in dimensions, and is surmounted by a neat spire. It was dedicated July 7, 1867. The entire cost of the church, including estimated value of lots (which were from property owned by J. C. Davis), insurance, finishing, grading the ground, etc., was four thousand eight hundred and thirty-two dollars and fifty-two cents. A tasty parsonage was built in 1870 at a cost of eleven hundred and ninety-two dollars and thirty-six cents. The barn and parsonage lot cost two hundred and twenty-four dollars and fifty cents, and the bell which hangs in the spire, including freight, one hundred and sixty-four dollars and thirty-five cents.

The present pastor, Rev. R. C. Lanning, emigrated to Michigan in 1840, from Steuben county, New York, and located in the western part of the State. About 1845 he came the first time to Oakland County, and his home most of the time since has been in the town of Southfield. Was a young man on his first arrival in Michigan. He has resided in Davisburg, and had charge of the church since September, 1876

The first preaching by any denomination held at Davisburg was a sermon preached in Cornelius Davis house, by Rev. George Hornell, a Presbyterian minister, from the First Presbyterian church of White Lake. This was in the neighborhood of 1840. The first quarterly meeting of the Protestant Methodist society was held about 1850-51, in John C. Davis' barn, and was the first meeting of this description held in the village by any society.

This congregation was organized by Rev. Lorenzo Warren, in the year 1843, with some seven members. They have maintained their denominational identity with varying success for a period of thirty-four years. In 1873, during the pastoral charge of Rev. Frederick Traver, they erects the present fine brick church, at a cost of about five thousand dollars. The building was dedicated January 1, 1874. It is thirty-six by fifty-six feet in dimensions, surmounted by a spire, and will seat about three hundred persons. The membership in the month of May, 1877, was between fifty and sixty, and the pastor was Rev. William Bradley, who succeeded Rev. Charles B. Clark. A parsonage is owned by the society, and is located near the church. The financial standing is kept up, and the church is now prosperous. Among the early preachers were Revs. Earle and Laban Smith, who were the first ministers of the gospel in this part of the county. The meetings of the society were held for many years in the school house in district No. 1, Rose township, and also in the one at Davisburg.