The History of Cass County,
Michigan
published in 1882 by Waterman, Watkins
& Co. of Chicago
HON. GEORGE MEACHAM. The history of Cass County would be incomplete without a sketch of the life of Hon. George Meacham, who has been intimately identified with it ever since and even before it had its present political existence. Simeon, father of George, was born August 28, 1776, [corr. 1766] and died August 26, 1886. George Meacham was born in Paris, Oneida Co., N. Y., June 18, 1799, from which place he removed with his parents to Jefferson County, of that State. At the age of nearly four years, he met with that irreparable loss, the death of his mother, by which event he was obliged to face the stern realities of life and to perform labor far in advance of his years. In his tenth year, he went to live with a man by the name of Merrill, with whom he remained four years. His advantages for education were meager indeed, and when seventeen, at which time his school days ended, he had received but twelve month's schooling. But despite the obstacles which beset his path, he has risen superior to adverse circumstances and has conquered success in every department of life. At the age of nineteen, his father gave him "his time," and he commenced life for himself, working as a farmhand and in lumber camps. In 1826, he disposed of his property and started for Michigan, arriving in Detroit on the 26th of September of that year; the winter was spent in Ann Arbor, where he found employment in a grist-mill. Early in the spring of 1827, in company with his brother Sylvester, George Crawford and Chester Sage, he started West with an outfit which consisted of three yoke of cattle, attached to a heavy lumber wagon, camp equipage, a stock of provisions and ammunition, and a plow. On the 11th of April they reached Beardsley's Prairie, where they erected a log cabin, which soon became known as "Bachelor's Hall," and to which hunters, trappers, land-lookers, any one and every one, were always welcome. It was the original intention of the company to select a location where they could raise grain sufficient for their own consumption and traffic with the Indians. As soon as the location had been decided upon, George Crawford started for Ohio for goods, but learning that "Bachelor's Hall" had been broken up, returned without them, and, as there was every reason to believe that the country would soon be occupied with actual settlers, the original project was abandoned, and the Meachams turned their attention to agricultural pursuits, George commencing on land now owned by George Howard, in Ontwa Township, which he purchased when offered for sale by the Government. Mr. Meacham remained here until 1836, when he removed to Porter, having purchased the John Baldwin farm, and to which he has added from time to time until he now possesses 420 acres of fine fertile land, and has always been accounted among the foremost, most successful and progressive farmers in the township.
He had constructed for his use the first threshing machine used in this section of the country, which was known as an open cylinder, it being destitute of a straw-carrier. He devoted much attention to the propagation of superior stock, and the value of his example and influence in this direction, on the township, it would be difficult to estimate. In 1830, he was appointed the first Sheriff in the county, by Gov. Cass, which office he filled for six consecutive years. The judicial circuit at this time embraced all the territory north and west of St. Joseph County, and in summoning a jury of twenty four he took all but five of the legally qualified jurors in this scope of territory, the payment of a tax of 60 cents being one of the qualifications, which excluded a large number.
Mr. Meacham, although not a politician, has always given proper consideration to matters of public interest, and although not an aspirant for office has occupied the highest positions in the gift of the citizens of the county. In 1839, he was elected to the Representative branch of the Legislature and in 1859 and 1860, occupied a seat in the State Senate. The duties of both positions were discharged with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. Industry and perseverance are perhaps the most prominent points in Mr. Meacham's composition, the possession of which despite the unfavorable surroundings of his former days, have given him an enviable position among the leading agriculturists of the county.
He has not only been successful in the accumulation of a valuable property but in the building-up of an unspotted reputation; October 6, 1829, he was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Rinehart, who has shared his joys and sorrows and the trials and adversities of a long and eventful life. They have been blessed with eight children - Elizabeth E., wife of J. Richardson, of Porter; Cyrus; Hiram, one of the prominent farmers of the township, and for many years its representative on the Board of Supervisors; Mary, now Mrs. T. A. Hitchcox; Harriet E. and Julia A., wives of T. T. Sheldon and E. Rinehart, respectively; Marilla A. and Oliver G.
Mr. Meacham is in his eighty-third year, and for
forty-seven years has been a resident of the county. And while the lengthened
shadows proclaim an advancing old age, he lives in quiet and serenity,
surrounded by the comforts of life, the products of his untiring industry and
enjoying the respect and esteem of the people with whom he has been associated
for one-half a century.