EARLY SETTLEMENT

David ROGERS
As late as 1834 the forests of Ingham County were peopled only by wandering bands of the Pottawattomie and Ottowa Indians. In the spring of that year their domain was first invaded by the white man. John DAVIS, the preceding February, had purchased the east half of the southeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 36, in the township of Stockbridge, which was soon after settled by his son-in-law, David ROGERS, the earliest pioneer in the township as well as the county.* Mr. ROGERS had located the previous year in Lima, Washtenaw Co., and while there was assisted by John DAVIS  and James MITCHELL in the erection of a frame house, from which point it was drawn on sleds to his land in Stockbridge, where it was finished and made habitable the following April.

Mr. ROGERS devoted himself at once to chopping and the work of underbrushing, and soon after had a considerable tract cleared and sown with wheat. His house was the resort of emigrants and land-lookers for successive months, and was frequently filled beyond its capacity. His death occurred March 22, 1875, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mrs. ROGERS survives, and is a resident of the village of Stockbridge.

In June of the same year Thomas G. SILL located on section 36, where he entered land. A son, born to him at the close of the year, was the first white child born in the township. The population was not further increased until 1835, when Herman LOWE and his family came from Sullivan Co., N.Y., and entered 640 acres of land on sections 2 and 3, which had been previously selected by his son, Richard B. LOWE. Mr. LOWE and his three sons, Richard R., Jesse, and Peter, all located on section 3, upon which they erected a comfortable log house for the senior member of the family. The others, in turn, built comfortable abodes. Jesse, however, began the erection of a more spacious dwelling, and while engaged in its completion, in 1837, was drowned in Lowe Lake. Mr. LOWE, with the assistance of his son Peter, cleared the first year thirty acres which was sown with wheat. The crop was carried to Dexter and Pinckney for sale or milling purposes.

Unadilla, in Livingston County, at this period boasted the only saw-mill in the immediate neighborhood. Indians were then numerous and inclined to sociability with the whites. They were civil and peaceable, except when fired by liquor, when they became boisterous and often troublesome.

Mr. Herman LOWE
died at his home in Stockbridge, Oct. 26, 1860. Richard R. still resides on section 3, and Peter is prominently identified with the business interests of Mason.

Conrad M. DUBOIS
entered June 13, 1835, ninety acres on section 2,* and remained with Mr. LOWE while preparing a suitable habitation upon the land, to which he afterwards removed.

Abram TOWNER
came from Steuben Co., N.Y., to the township in 1836, and located upon eighty acres on section 28, which he purchased of Ira WOOD. On his arrival in the State he remained one year at Pinckney, and then removed to his purchase with teams. He was employed by Mr. WOOD to assist in clearing, and thus paid for his land. He purchased of Mr. O.F. RICE material with which to erect a dwelling, making shingles in exchange for the lumber. Cornelius GILLESPIE, a near neighbor, offered the family shelter while building. Mr. and Mrs. TOWNER are still residents of Stockbridge village.

Olney F. RICE
was a former resident of Essex Co., N.Y., and in April, 1836, entered land on section 27. He improved this farm and did much to make it productive, but having been a man in advanced years on his arrival, did not long survive.

Ira B. WOOD
removed from Ann Arbor and on the 7th of May, 1836, entered land on section 27, upon which he located. He engaged actively in farming pursuits, and also took commendable interest in civil affairs. He was chosen the first justice of the peace for Stockbridge, and presided with dignity in his primitive court. His present residence is Chelsea.

John SOULES,
also a native of Steuben Co., N.Y., entered in may, 1835, eighty acres on section 12, and subsequently added forty, upon which he settled in the following year. Oren GREGORY was his nearest neighbor. Mr. SOULES, after building a log house, cleared ten acres, which was sown with wheat.Dexter, at a distance of twenty miles, was the headquarters for milling purposes, and Unadilla was resorted to for lumber. Mr. SOULES survives and with his family resides upon the homestead.

Oren GREGORY,
on his advent from the Empire State, first settled in Jackson County. In 1836 he became a pioneer to Stockbridge and located land on sections 11 and 12. After clearing sufficient space he erected a shanty, having first availed himself of the hospitality of a near neighbor. Mr. GREGORY was prominent in public life, and was chosen as the earliest supervisor of Stockbridge. He later became an elder of the Protestant Methodist Church and engaged in preaching. His death occurred in Kalamazoo County in 1847. Mrs. GREGORY resides in Dansville, and a son, Oscar GREGORY, occupies a portion of the homestead, owning in all 240 acres.

Earl B. WEBSTER,
one of the most prominent of the early pioneers, removed from Genesee County in 1836, and located upon section 26. He improved the land and made it his residence for a series of years, but finally left the township. At his house occurred the first marriage in Stockbridge, that of Miss Flora THOMPSON to Mr. George W. GIBBS. David ROGERS, an early justice of the peace, performing the ceremony.

Justus MATTHEWSON,
a pioneer from Genesee Co., N.Y., entered May 9, 1836, eighty acres on section 22, upon which he settled. This was wholly unimproved. Although about fourteen families had chosen homes in the township, the distance was so remote and travel so difficult as to make frequent intercourse almost impossible.

Mr. MATTHEWSON pursued the whole journey from his former home with horses and wagon, following a portion of the way the Indian trail. James SEEK had already located on section 21 and erected a shanty. With him a comfortable shelter was obtained while making improvements on his own land. Deer and wolves were at this time the principal denizens of the forest, the former affording an ample supply of fresh meat to the settlers. Mr. MATTHEWSON died many years since. The farm is occupied by Fernando BOWDISH, while Charles MATTHEWSON, a son, resides upon eighty acres on section 16.

Anson K. STANDISH
came at the same time, and entered land on section 15, May 9, 1836. He has since died, and the widow and four sons remain residents of the township.

George REASON,
also an emigrant from the Empire State, removed from medina in 1836, and entered in November of that year 120 acres on section 17. With him came his family, including four sons. James SEEK had erected a small shanty and covered it with bark, to which they repaired while a hut of more spacious proportions, and built of elm-bark, was constructed, which afforded them a home for a season. He at first hired five acres broken, for which he paid five gold sovereigns. The remainder of the land, with the assistance of his sons, was soon subdued and rendered productive.

Mr. REASON, who was an Englishman by birth and a native of cambridgeshire, remained a resident of the township until his death, in 1872. His son, John REASON, has a highly-cultivated farm near the village of Stockbridge, while Frederick, another son, resides on section 22. Religious services were at this early date held in the cabins of the settlers, Elder SAYRES having been the leader of these meetings and the first preacher in the township.

Lawrence PETRIE,
another pioneer of 1836, was originally a resident of Madison Co., N.Y., from whence he emigrated to Stockbridge, and settled upon 120 acres on section 27 which he entered. He traveled the whole distance from his former home with horses, following the indian trail from Dexter to his land. Cornelius GILLESPIE's log shanty received him while preparing a home for his family. His death occurred in 1843, when his widow returned to her native State and survived until her ninety-eighth year.

Jacob STEFFY
came to Washtenaw County in 1835, and later settled upon 150 acres on section 23, in Stockbridge, a portion of which he entered in 1837. He erected a log house on a small clearing, and improved the remainder as occasion offered, having much of the time sought employment elsewhere to obtain daily supplies for his family. Ira WOOD, O.F. RICE, and Lawrence PETRIE were his near neighbors. No roads had yet been opened in the neighborhood. Deer and wolves were abundant, and numbers of Indians were accustomed to encamp on the borders of Branch Lake near him. Mr. STEFFY died in 1858, and his grandson, William C. NICHOLS, now has possession of the place together with additional lands occupied formerly by Mason BRANCH, who arrived in 1840, and became prominently identified with the interests of the township.

Royal STEVENS,
a Vermonter by birth, became first a resident of New York, and in April, 1836, located in Stockbridge upon land entered by him on section 11. He found a welcome to the primitive abode of Oren GREGORY while building a log house, which was completed at the expiration of the third day. He began at once the work of clearing, at which good progress was made. At the time of his death, at the homestead in 1867, 300 acres of cultivated land were embraced in his possessions. His son, W.M. STEVENS, now resides upon the land.

S.C. PROCTOR,
another Vermonter, entered, April 30, 1835, 100 acres on section 1, upon which he became a resident the following year. Mr. PROCTOR located a quarter section, but disposed of the remaining portion to parties in search of land. He devoted his time to hard labor in the immediate neighborhood on his arrival, finding a home at the house of Royal STEVENS. Soon after a house was built on the land and occupied by his father. A pilgrimage to Dexter with ox-teams was necessary for milling purposes. Later a mill was built at Pinckney. Mr. PROCTOR recalls many hardships. He split thousands of rails at fifty cents per hundred, and found it exceedingly difficult, as did many other settlers, to obtain the necessaries of life. He drove to Detroit to purchase a load of flour, the settlers uniting to pay the cost at the rate of twenty dollars per barrel. With the advent of settlers and bountiful crops their condition improved. Mr. PROCTOR is still a resident on his original purchase.

S.H. STOCKING,
formerly of New York State, settled in 1836 on section 3, where he had eighty acres, upon which he still resides on a highly-improved farm.

H.N. FORBES,
formerly of Massachusetts, entered land in Stockbridge in 1836, and the following year chose a home of 160 acres on section 26. On this he built a log house, to which he removed and began labor upon the land, E.B. WEBSTER and Daniel T. COMFORT having been his nearest neighbors. At this early date there was no resident physicians in Stockbridge, and Drs. MORGAN and FIELD, of Unadilla, ministered to the ills of the little community. (In 1839, Dr. TUNNICLIFF became a practitioner, and remained two years, having resided in the family of Silas BEEBE. He later removed to Jackson, his present residence.) Mr. FORBES remained twelve years a tiller of the soil, and then removed to the village, where he is now engaged in mercantile pursuits.

William SMITH,
formerly of Washtenaw County, removed to the township and settled on land entered by him in June, 1836. His brother, Cephas, followed him in 1840, and purchased forty acres on the same section, remaining with William while improving it. John R. BOWDISH was his nearest neighbor in the township, though many settlers had located in Bunker Hill. Cephas SMITH is now a resident of the village, where he is engaged in the manufacture of furniture.

Edy BAKER,
formerly of Steuben County, N.., settled on section 22, in 1845, and later purchased forty acres on section 27. In 1858 he was elected sheriff, and soon after removed to Stockbridge village, where he now resides.

William CRAIG
emigrated from Scotland to Connecticut in 1832, to Unadilla, Mich., in 1836, and to Stockbridge in 1848, where he settled upon 120 acres, on section 20. A house of logs, built by John BIRD, was still standing, and many of the trees had been girdled, but no furrows had been turned by the plowshare, and much pioneer labor remained yet to be done. Mr. CRAIG began his task with vigor, and soon transformed the wilderness into productive acres. He died in 1875, and the land is now occupied by his widow and son. Space does not permit a detailed recital of the experiences of all the pioneers who helped to make it the flourishing township it is. Among others who came early and did much to advance its interests were Joseph HUNT and Daniel JACKSON, who located on section 1; William DOUGLAS and Reuben SMITH, who purchased on section 6; Benjamin BULLOCK, William PRESSLEY, and S.S. BUCK, who had lands on section 3; James BENDING and A.D. FELTON, who located on section 5; James STEFFY, on section 26; John and Lewis RICE, on the same section;Orvin WHEATON, William CODDINGTON, and H.S. STEVENS, on section 9; Asa THOMPSON, on section 21; Chauncey TEACHOUT, on sections 10 and 14; James C. PIERCE, on the same sections; Uriah COULSON, Oliver LaDUE, George JUDSON, Thomas MACOMBER, Russell HEWITT, Thomas GILLMAN, David DEWEY, D.H. BEERS, James HOUGHTALING, Timothy POXEN, Allen WHITTIER, William A. HAVENS, Daniel JACOBS, Peter FORCE, and Chauncey PRIOR.

VILLAGE OF STOCKBRIDGE

Elijah SMITH
The name of Elijah SMITH is identified with the earliest efforts to build up a village in the township of Stockbridge. He emigrated from the Empire State as early as 1836, and in May of that year entered a tract of land on section 26, which was platted at a subsequent date, and christened the Village of PEKIN. The land embraced in the plat, which was never recorded, was subsequently sold by him to Silas BEEBE, who, in connection with Ira WOOD (who in May, 1836, also entered land on section 27), replatted the ground.

This plat, which in the official record in the register's office at Mason is described as the "west half of the northwest quarter of section 26, together with twenty rods of the east side of the northeast quarter of section 27," is acknowledged by Silas BEEBE Jr., and Marcia, his wife, and Ira WOOD and Jane, his wife, before Mason BRANCH, justice of the peace.

Elijah SMITH built a log house, and remained about two years, after which Mr. BEEBE succeeded to the occupancy. The latter gentleman brought with him in a trunk from Detroit a stock of goods, which he displayed in the limited apartment used as a sleeping-room, while the family enjoyed their peaceful slumbers in the loft above, fitted for the purpose. Elijah SMITH had, on disposing of this residence to BEEBE, built another log shanty, which was the second building in the embryo village.

John NEWKIRK followed soon after, and constructed a shed, in which he placed a bellows and anvil, and plied his trade as a blacksmith. A pioneer named FORD began the erection of a saw-mill on Portage Creek, within the village limits, which he conducted for a brief time. It was afterwards removed to a point twenty rods lower down the stream, and managed by one JOHNSON. Stephen GEDNEY later became proprietor, and after a succession of transfers it became the property of Silas BEEBE. The structure has yielded to time's ravages, and is in a ruinous condition.

Eleazer BEEBE erected a tavern on the site of the present village hotel, which was kept by Orton WILLIAMS. It was afterwards consumed by fire, and the building now standing was erected in its place. Dr. MORGAN at this period became a resident of the village, and L.E. RICE & Co. opened a store, which eventually became the property of H.N. FORBES, and was subsequently burned. In 1838 a small log building was erected near the present cemetery, in which the earliest school in the village was opened. In this log school-house the earliest religious services were conducted by Elder SAYRES. A more spacious brick structure took its place, in which the various religious bodies convened until the erection of a church edifice, in 1855. Charles C. MILLARD early became a partner of Silas BEEBE in his mercantile enterprise, and afterwards opened a store, which was managed by Mason BRANCH.

The hamlet slowly increased in importance and population by the advent of residents from the township and the opening of stores in response to the demands of the adjacent country. It now has two general stores, kept by Messrs. H.N. FORBES & Son and Edy BAKER; one drug-store, owned by Dr. H.E. BROWN, who is also the village postmaster; two blacksmith-shops, in which Messrs. BEVIER & GRAHAM and Lewis RANDOLPH preside at the forge; two harness-shops, kept by Lucius BOWDISH and James SPAULDING; a milliner-shop, from which emanate the fashions of Stockbridge.

The physicians of the village are Dr. L.C. WILLIAMS and Dr. H.E. BROWN.

CHURCHES

Methodist Episcopal Church, North Stockbridge,
It is impossible to obtain authentic data regarding this church, as no records have been kept by the various clerks, and the class-books that are accessible do not contain a list of the successive pastors who have from time to time filled the pulpit. It is certain that religious meetings were held as early as 1837, and probable that a class was formed at that time. The log houses of the settlers and the barn of Mr. S.C. PROCTOR afforded convenient places for those early religious gatherings. In 1857, under the ministrations of Rev. Benjamin HEDGER, the church edifice, located on section 2, was erected at a cost of $1350. The pastor at present ministering the flock is Rev. George STOW, who has in Stockbridge forty members in his immediate charge. A Sabbath-school, under the superintendence of Oscar GREGORY, is regularly sustained.*
(* Rev. George STOW was returned by the Conference of 1880.)

A Methodist Episcopal society exists in the village of Stockbridge, though the date of its organization is not obtainable. It embraces nearly 100 members, under the pastorate of Rev. George STOW, with Losell FORBES and ____ PROCTOR as class-leaders.

A Protestant Methodist society holds services alternately, with the other religious bodies, in the Presbyterian church of Stockbridge. Rev. ____ CLARK, of Dansville, is pastor.

First Presbyterian Church,
The earliest society in connection with the Presbyterian denomination in Stockbridge was organized in 1853, under the ministry of Rev. Sylvester CARY, with William CRAIG and William S. BIRD as its first officers. Its members embraced the following individuals: Wm. S. BIRD, A.C. DUTTON, Wm. CRAIG, Mason BRANCH, Ira WOOD, Fritz COOPER, M.D.L. BRANCH, Abram TURNER. A.C. DUTTON was chosen as the clerk of the society. In 1854, the organization having gained considerable strength, a church edifice was erected, which was dedicated with impressive ceremonies on the 14th day of February, 1855. The records indicate that the society was not regularly organized as the First Presbyterian Church of Stockbridge until 1867, under the pastorage of Rev. H. KITTRIDGE, who was followed in his ministerial labors by Rev. Seward OSENGAUGH, after which the present pastor, Rev. T.B. WILLIAMS, was ordained. Its first elders were William CRAIG, William S. BIRD, and A.A. HOWARD, who served under the regular church organization. The present elders are L.P. REYNOLDS, Hugh McCLOY, Asa THOMPSON. A flourishing Sabbath-school - union in its character - is maintained under the efficient superintendence of A.L. FORBES. The church membership now embraces thirty names, though the regular attendance upon its services are greatly in excess of that number.

ORIGINAL LAND ENTRIES
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1844 RESIDENT TAXPAYERS

TOWNSHIP OFFICERS

The township of Stockbridge was organized as an independent township March 26, 1836, and, as decreed by an act of State Legislature, the first meeting of qualified electors was held at the house of D.T. COMFORT, April 3, 1837. At this meeting, Orin GREGORY was appointed moderator, and Peter LOWE, clerk. The ballots for township having been cast, the following officers were declared duly elected: Supervisor, Orrin GREGORY; Township Clerk, Peter LOWE; Justices of the Peace, Ira WOOD, David ROGERS, Royal STEVENS, Heman LOW; Collector, Eben B. WEBSTER; Assessors, Heman LOW, Ira WOOD, A.D. FELTON; Highway Commissioners, David ROGERS, A.D. FELTON, Orin GREGORY; Commissioners of Common Schools, Alden SMITH, Elijah SMITH, Herman STOCKING; School Inspectors, Olney F. RICE, Ira WOOD, Peter LOWE; Constables, E.B. WEBSTER, Minor TOWNSEND; Overseers of Poor, Olney F. RICE, E. WHEATON.

The following list embraces the names of supervisors, township clerks, treasurers, and justices of the peace for the succeeding years to the present date:

ORDERS and SOCIETIES

STOCKBRIDGE LODGE, No. 130,
FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS
The character of this lodge bears date Jan. 9, 1862, its charter officers having been

Its present officers are:

The lodge is in prosperous condition. The spacious hall in which its convocations are held is owned by the organization, and it has a substantial balance in its treasury.

UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

This society may be described as the outgrowth of a popular need. Several townships in the southern portion of the county, together with others in the counties immediately adjacent, finding the sites chosen for the holding of the annual agricultural fair remote from their various residences, formed an association for the purpose of purchasing land and erecting buildings at a more convenient point. The society early embraced Bunker Hill, Iosco, White Oak, Lyndon, Unadilla, and Waterloo. Ingham and Henrietta were subsequently added to the list. The grounds, located in Stockbridge, were very soon after their purchase improved, commodious edifices constructed, and the first annual meeting held in 1877, which very soon demonstrated the success of the project.