LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE PIONEER SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN (Continued from Page 208, Pioneer Collections, Vol. 5.) REPORTS OF COUNTIES ALLEGAN COUNTY MY JEWELS An original poem read by Mrs. Mary E. Waldron before the Allegan County Pioneer Society on Wednesday, June 16th, 1878 Bright jewels were unto my care entrusted, And this the charge that came; Watch, lest their brightness should become encrusted, The trust bestowed I joyfully accepted, Í sought instruction from the bounteous Giver, These precious jewels to my fond care given, Came with sweet joy my earthly home to bless. Eldest, a daughter, named the sweet name Mary-name thrice blessed; It seemed the blessing with a soft caress, Fell 'round and blessed her too. Another came with joy our hearts to fill: Peer of the peerless. Peace, my heart be still, Upon my soul that fell-a deathless sorrow, No ray of light or hope could there find room, One jewel more was added to our number, Roughter the setting; yet as pure the pearl; A boy; at once the happiness and wonder Of her our eldest gentle, loving girl. Years came and went yet ere to years of manhood, Came the deep grief that crushed our little household I sought to stem the grief that closed around me, For she my darling, wounded, stricken one, Reft by the shock of the last ray of reason, With maniac wailings filled my darkened home. 'Twas then my noble boy cast by his boyhood, The toils and cares of manhood, cheerfully sustained them, They call me poor; and say my lot is cheerless, As ever closely clinging to my side Is one, who but for dire misfortune were my peerless, Ah! thoughtless mortals, I forgive the wounding Yet well I know when she lays by the mortal, And when my savior shall make up his jewels- I humbly trust amid the bright collection, I am not poor-my jewels all are priceless; Earth's broad domain contains not wealth to buy, MEMORIAL REPORT BY D. C. HENDERSON DUNCAN A. McMARTIN, another of the pioneers of Allegan county has gone. Duncan A. McMartin, who came to our county in 1836, died in Allegan, April 10, 1883. He was a native of Amsterdam, Montgomery county, N. Y., of Scottish descent, and was in the 73d year of his age. He first made his home at Allegan, where he was chosen a school inspector in 1840. He subsequently removed to the town of Martin, where he was chosen supervisor in 1843, after which he made his home in the town of Gun Plain, where he was elected a justice of the peace in 1846, town clerk in 1851-2, supervisor in 1853-4 and '56, in which latter year he was chosen county treasurer of Allegan county, which office he held five times in succession, from 1856 to 1864, being succeeded by Ira Chichester, who held the office till 1876, when Mr. McMartin was elected to this responsible county office for another term of two years. Mr. McMartin made Allegan his home continuously from 1857 on, and during that time had several local honors conferred upon him, he being chosen village assessor in 1861 and 1867, and town treasurer in 1873. Mr. McMartin had a good practical business education and a cultivated mind. and was a school teacher in Gun Plain from 1846 to 1850. He took great interest in preserving the local history of our State, and on Sept 8, 1875, he presided over a meeting of the pioneers of Allegan county, held at the fair grounds in Allegan, at which a county association was formed, and upon his decease Mr. McMartin was the president of this association. He also represented the society at the State association on several occasions. He was a leading member of the Presbyterian church of Allegan, and was a man of the strictest integrity and probity. If there ever was a truly good man, free from all deceit and hypocrisy, Duncan A. McMartin was that man. There is not a blemish or stain upon his long official career, in high position or low. Such men are rare in this world. He leaves a wife and a large circle of friends and relatives to mourn his loss. Mr. McMartin's funeral took place from his late residence in Allegan, April 12, 1883. His remains were taken to Plainwell for interment. He was vicepresident of the State society for Allegan county. LEANDER S. PROUTY was born at DeKalb, N. Y., January 27, 1811, and died in Cheshire, February 23, 1883, aged 72 years. Arrived in Allegan June 6, 1834, with his wife, who was the first white woman resident in Allegan. He removed to his farm in Trowbridge in 1836, where he remained until a short time before his death. His experience as a pioneer was varied and full of interest. It may be truly said of him that the latch string was always out; a cordial welcome always greeted the weary and hungry pioneer. Long will his name be associated with the early days of pioneer life in Allegan county. Leander S. Prouty was one of the earliest pioneers of Allegan, having come here in 1834 in company with Elisha Ely and others. A detailed account of his early experience in this section would fill a volume in itself, and one that would be read with much interest. Mr. Prouty came from Rochester, N. Y., to this place, he and his party making the journey as far as Detroit by lake, thence overland to Kalamazoo, where rafts were built and the balance of the trip finished via Kalamazoo river to Allegan, landing at a point nearly opposite the Chaffee house. Mr. Prouty and wife were first employed by the Boston company to board the men in its employ, and afterwards, for fifteen months, Mr. Prouty superintended the work of improvement carried on by the company. Once when out of provisions Mr. Prouty went to Schoolcraft, a distance of forty miles, making the journey on foot and bringing the provi sions home on his back. After living in Allegan but a short time Mr. Prouty removed to what is now the township of Trowbridge, where he had entered 200 acres of land, upon which he lived up to within a short time of his death. Mr. Prouty leaves a family of several children, one of whom, Mrs. Jeanette Gibbs of Kalamazoo county, was the first white infant in Allegan village. MR. JONATHAN PEABODY, one of the pioneers of Allegan county, who resided on his farm on the outskirts of the village of Allegan, died on Tuesday, April 17th, 1883, aged 70 years. He was born in Ellisburgh, Jefferson county, N. Y., September 17, 1812. and came to Allegan September 10, 1836, where he has continued to reside ever since. He was twice married, and was for many years a leading and influential member of the Baptist church. He was a farmer of some thrift, and he was a good citizen, and scrupulously honest in all his dealings. He leaves a large circle of relatives and friends. WM. PULLEN, born in Phelps, Vt., June 26, 1805, died in Allegan, January 8, 1883, aged 77 years. Arrived in Allegan July 2, 1837; was a farmer of good repute, and a worthy citizen of the county for nearly 46 years. JONATHAN RUSSELL was born in Haddam, Conn., March 28, 1804, and died in Gun Plain, April 18, 1883, aged 79 years. He came to Gun Plain in 1832, and was a resident of that town 50 years, and saw the change of that township from a wilderness to a beautiful farming country. The residents of this section know well his good qualities as a neighbor and citizen. 22 ALPENA COUNTY HISTORY OF ALPENA COUNTY BY WILLIAM BOULTON IN 1876 EARLY HISTORY Alpena county was first laid out in 1840, at which time it was attached to Mackinaw, and remained so until the year 1853. Alpena was then unsettled and almost uninhabited-the only inhabitants being a few transient fishermen. It derived its name from an Indian word meaning a "good partridge country."* Among the fishermen present at that time, was W. F. Cullings, who arrived at Thunder Bay island about. the year 1835. Mr. Cullings has resided in the county more or less ever since, and is yet a citizen of Alpena, so that he is fully entitled to the credit of being the first settler. Mr. Cullings states that the first buildings erected on the site of the present city were built some three or four years after his arrival by some hunters from Mackinaw, and consisted of three log shanties. The next building was erected by Walter Scott, and consisted of a fish-house (where Johnson's warehouse now stands) and a sort of trading post, which was built somewhere near Mr. David Plough's present residence. Mr. Scott's business was to trade with the Indians, his principal commodity being whisky. In 1836 Jonathan Birch visited Alpena for the purpose of making arrangements for building a saw-mill. He examined the rapids, and finding that there were good facilities for building a dam, commenced getting out timber for the enterprise he had in view. The Indians, however, objected to the improvement, and drove Mr. Birch away. Mr. Birch and party went off to Sulphur Island, and while there, held consultation as to whether it would be the most profitable to put up the mill at Devil river, or go back to Alpena and commence over again, as an Indian chief had assured them of his protection. Alpena was certainly the best place for lumbering, but then a dam could be built at Devil river with considerably less money than it could at Alpena, and this was a very important consideration to the enterprising mill men. they determined to leave it to chance, so they stuck a stick in the ground and resolved to commence operations at the point towards which the stick fell. This stick fell towards Devil river, and the first mill in the county was built there. In 1840, Mr. J. W. Paxton landed on Thunder Bay island, and in 1842 Mr. O. S. Warner paid a visit to the Indians at the mouth of Thunder Bay river, for the purpose of trading with them. Mr. Paxton engaged extensively in gill-net fishing about the year 1856. Soon after he purchased Sugar island, and removed his fishing rig and buildings thereto in 1858. Mr. Paxton has remained a settler ever since, and was the first to make gill-net fishing a regular business. Fishing prior to that time had been carried on by means of six or eight nets in a gang, and small, sprit-sail boats. There was a lighthouse on Thunder Bay island at the time of Mr. Paxton's arrival, but it was not the present magnificent structure, built in 1857. In 1853 the county of Alpena was attached to the county of Cheboygan, and remained so until 1857, when Alpena was organized as a separate county. *See appendix |