HISTORY OF TUSCOLA COUNTY

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THE VILLAGE OF GAGETOWN

     In 1869 Joseph gage built a mill and store on his land in section 1, of the town of Elmwood.  In 1871 he platted a village near the center of the section, on the west side of the north and south quarter line, to which William Cleaver subsequently platted an addition.  Mr. Gage also, the same year, built a hotel and two years after a grist-mill, which burned in 1876.  Trade came in and a gradual increase of population and business.  Two years ago a grist-mill was built by Randall Bros.  But the village lived a rather retired life until 1882, when the prospect of a railroad and finally its coming, gave renewed life to the place.
     The following description of Gagetown was given in January, 1882:  "Sixteen miles northeast of Caro is a village of 200 inhabitants, with one church, one school-house, one grist-mill, with three run of stone, and one saw-mill, one sash, door and blind factory, one shoe shop, two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, one shingle-mill, one livery stable, one planing-mill,  one drug store, one hotel, four general stores, one hardware store, with tin shop in connection, postoffice, mail three times per week, one doctor, William Morris, one minister of the gospel, Rev. T. B. Krebs, pastor of the Roman Catholic Church.  There is a new church under construction, which will be completed in the spring.  It will be known as Grace Church and will be erected by the Episcopalian Society.  Gagetown is located in the town of Elmwood, or according to United States survey, township 14 north, range 10 east.  Five highways center at this point:  the Cass River & Bay City road running east and west, the Wild Fowl State road running north to the bay, and the

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Caro, Gagetown & Bad Axe road running northeast.  The village is located on a fine elevation, 200 feet above the level of Saginaw Bay.  The summit of the Pontiac, Oxford & Caseville Railroad is at this point.  The railroad is now under construction, and will be ironed from Caseville to Gagetown within sixty days. There is a good opening for all branches of business; a good iron foundry is much needed; and there is plenty of water for steam purposes, as there are two never failing springs, free from lime.
     "This part of the county is being rapidly filled up with a good class of citizens from the Canadas and the United States.  The land is generally rolling, with a good soil and a growth of beech, maple, etc.  Wheat, corn, oats, peas, potatoes and grass do well.  Wheat, ten to forty bushels per acre; oats, thirty to fifty bushels; potatoes, 100 to 200 bushels; hay, one to three tons.  Apples, plums, pears, peaches, cherries and small fruits of all kinds do well.  Wild land can be bought from $5 to $10 per acres.  The richness and durability of the soil cannot be surpassed in the State."
     Since the above was written, considerable additions have been made.  Another drug store, meat market, hotel, brewery, planing mill, general store, harness shop, hardware store and another physician.  Of stores, shops, dwelling-houses, etc., about twenty have been added to the buildings of the town.  And a considerable number are now in course of construction.  The population is about 300.  There is a tri-weekly mail to Elmwood, connecting with the mail between Caro and Cass City.  It is expected that regular trains will soon be running on the railroad, when mail and travel facilities will be materially improved.

METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH

     May 5, 1878, a class of the Methodist Protestant Church was organized at Gagetown, by Rev. Mr. Lockyer, with fourteen members.  Services are held every two weeks at the school-house.  Rev. Father McGee succeeded Mr. Lockyer in charge of the church.  The present pastor is Rev. Mr. England, of Cass City.  Hopes are entertained of building a church, and funds are being collected for that purpose.  There is also a class in the south part of the town, under the same pastoral care.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH

     About four years ago Rev. Mr. Wilson held the first services of the Episcopal Church in the town of Elmwood, and organized a church.  Services were held on the last Sunday in each month.  Mr. Wilson was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Todd, who continued the monthly services about a year.  Rev. Mr. Beaulieu was then in charge of the church for a few months.  Rev. Mr. Anderson is now rector.  Through the efforts of Rev. Mr. Wilson, a subscription was started for the purpose of erecting a house of worship.  The building was commenced under his successor, but not completed.  the present pastor is endeavoring to secure its completion, with good prospect of success.
     There are in Gagetown and vicinity, about twelve families of the Episcopal faith.  Services are held in the school-house.

CATHOLIC CHURCH.

     In Jully, 1879, Rev., Father Krebs organized a Catholic church at Gagetown, with twenty-five families.  Services were held once a month until lately, and now twice a month.  The present membership comprises about sixty families.  In 1881, a church building was erected, being used, for the first time, October 9.  A sanctuary has lately been added.  The seating capacity of the church is about 300.
     Father Krebs has also missions in Sebewaing and Sheridan, besides several other smaller missions.

SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS

      There is no regular organization of this denomination in Elmwood, but it is the intention to organize.  There was formerly an organization here, but it was discontinued.  Services are held every Saturday at the house of Wm. Lockwood  There is occasional preaching by Rev. Wm. Ostrander and others.  There are five families and twelve members of this faith in the town.

TOWN OFFICERS.

BIOGRAPHICAL

     JOSEPH GAGE, the oldest settler of the village of Gagetown, was born in the township of Toronto, Ontario, Jan. 17, 1833.  He, in company with a brother, came to the township of Elmwood the last day of April, 1860, and took up 120 acres of land on section 26, built a shanty and commenced to chop twenty acres, which they continued until completed.  Their bed was composed of hemlock boughs, and their nearest neighbors were five miles to the south and two and one-half miles tot he east, while all about them was an unbroken wilderness.  In 1869, he built a steam saw-mill in what is now the village of Gagetown, and in 1871 he platted the town which was named after him. He was married in 1867 to Miss Sarah Bush, of Caro, who was born in Oakland County in 1847, and died in 1872, leaving two children.  He was again married in 1876, to Miss Nelson, of Elmwood, formerly of Brockville, Ontario, and by whom he has two children.  In 1870, he opened a general store, which he continued until 1882.  At the present time he is the owner of 1,500 acres of land, and runs a saw, shingle and planing mill.  Mr. Gage has held all the offices in the gift of the township.

     HENRY C. LAFLAMBOY was born at Niagara Falls, N.Y., Aug. 27, 1854, and in December, 1864, moved, with his parents, to Oakland County, Mich., where they engaged in farming.  He worked on the farm summers and attended school during the winter months.  When twenty-one years of age he went to learn the carpenter's trade, which he has since followed the greater part of the time.  Feb. 21, 1882, he came to Gagetown and opened a furniture store and undertaking establishment-- the first in the place.  he was married in 1877, to Miss Elizabeth J. Autin, of Oakland County, Michigan.

     JAMES BINGHAM was born in Wentworth County, Ontario, Aug. 18, 1821, and resided with his parents until twenty-six years of age.  April 15, 1847, he married Miss Charlotte Gage, of Haldimand, formerly of the vicinity of Hamilton, where she was born Dec.2, 1824.  His father gave him fifty acres of land in Glanford, upon which he settled, but sold out in 1856, and moved to Norfolk County, where he purchased land near the mouth of Clear Creek.  In the spring of 1866, he came to Elmwood and purchased land on section 13, which was entirely new.  He moved his family into a house near by and worked out for wages that summer, and the next winter worked in the lumber camps for Joseph Gage.  in the spring of 1867, he moved into a small board house he had erected on his place, and commenced clearing the land, but had, previous to this,

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in 1866, cleared eleven acres.  In 1871, he bought 100 acres more land on section 24, and owns in all, 280 acres.  He and his borys have cleared 120 acres and he has given two of them farms of eighty acres each.  He has had six children, of whom four are living:  Byron, born Nov. 29, 1848; married Miss Sarah Cline, of Almer, in December 1871.  Augusta, born August 25, 1850; married Amasa Coon, of Houghton, Canada, Nov. 30, 1871.  Jordon, born Dec. 15, 1852; married Miss Chloe hutchinson, of Ellington, Dec. 25, 1872.  Collin, born April 29, 1856; died Aug. 29, 1861; Henry, born May 12, 1858, died Aug. 22, 1861.

     REV CLEMENT T. B. KREBS, the incumbent of Saint Agatha's Roman Catholic Church in Gagetown, was born at Dorsbe, province of Westphaliz, Germany, July 25, 1851.  He studied at the College in his native town till 1873, beginning his course in 1866.  In 1873 he came to America and entered Saint Mary's Seminary at Cincinnati, Ohio, and was ordained a priest in Sandwich, Ontario, June 7, 1879.  From here he was sent to Gagetown by the Right Reverend C. H. Borgess, bishop of Detroit, and was at that time the only Catholic priest in Tuscola County.  Upon his arrival in Gagetown he purchased land of Joseph Gage and gave him a contract to erect thereon a church and dwelling, which were completed in 1881.  His congregation in 1879 was small, but has largely increased, and he intends to build a school-house and open a school during the next three years.

     JOHN CALLEY was born near Smith's Falls, Canada, Jan. 13, 1832, and when seven years of age moved, with his parents, to the township of Southwold, Elgin County, where he remained until 1858.  He then came to Flint, Michigan, going from there to Saginaw City, and in 1866 came to Tuscola County and took up land in Elmwood, on section 2.  Mr. Calley was one of the early settlers and found but few roads in going to his land after crossing swamps as best he could.  He arrived with his goods and family in November, in the midst of a rain-storm and everything presented a discouraging aspect.  After a few months Mr. Calley's health failed and he could do but little work for several years, but not withstanding adverse circumstances surrounding him, has succeeded in making himself and family a good home.  He was married in July, 1853, to Miss Mary Benson, of Aldborough, Elgin County, Ontario, who was born June 10, 1833.  they have had eleven children, of whom six are living.

      DAVID E. ROSS was born in the township of Burlington, Bradford County, Pa., Aug. 17, 1832, and moved with his parents to the township of Springfield, where he resided until 1869.  He then came to Michigan and settled in Caro, and in 1882, moved to a farm he had purchased in 1881, on section 14, in Elmwood, where he has made a good home for himself and family.  He was married, Oct. 29, 1856, to Miss Lydia Maria Bailey, who was born in the town of Hadly, Middlesex County, Conn., July 13, 1838.  They have five children, Clara Elizabeht, born Sept. 10, 1857, married, May 23, 1873, to James Sanborn; Etta A., born Sept. 20, 1860, married Oct. 15, 1879, to William Gibbs; Lodency G., born Sept 22, 1863; Letta, born Sept. 14, 1865, and Bell, born April 15, 1871.

     THOMPSON MCAFEE was born in Solon, Ohio, in 1853, residing there till eighteen years of age, when he came to the township of Ellington.  In 1876 he purchased eighty acres of land on section 12 in Elmwood, upon which he has since resided and to which he has since added eighty acres, besides owning two 40-acre tracts on sections 11 and 12.  He was married in 1875, to Miss Ida C. White, of Ellington, whose parents were among the first settlers there.

     H. D. SEELEY was born in Allegany County, N.Y., Oct 6, 1827, and when about six years of age moved with his parents to the town of White Lake, Oakland County, Mich.  He resided there twenty-five years, one year in Wayne County, a short time in Oakland and Lapeer Counties, when he came to Elmwood in 1860, and bought a farm on section 27.  Mr. Seely had to endure some of the privations of pioneer life, but can look back to the time of his coming to the wilds of Tuscola with more pleasure than regret.  Nov. 12, 1851, he was married to Miss Mary Ferguson, of Pontiac, formerly of Wayne County, N.Y., and has had nine children, three of whom are living.

     JOSEPH PERRY was born in Walton, Somersetshire, England, July 14, 1844, and was on a farm until twelve years of age.  He then left home, and went to Wales where he worked in the iron mines and coal mines five years, and in 1866 shipped n board the ship "British Empire" at Liverpool for Bombay.  They loaded with coal which was discharged at destinations, and then sailed for Callao, South America, and from thence to the Chincho Islands for guano, where they were four months loading, and lost twenty men. They returned to Callao, and from there sailed for Queenstown, but were wrecked on the Irish coast, and the Captain was lost.  he then shipped on a coaster bound for the north of England, and from there went to Cardiff, Wales, where he shipped on the ship "Tartar" for Martinique, in the West Indies, loaded with coal; from Martinique sailed for Antigua, loaded with sugar, molasses, cotton seed, and cotton, and sailed for Liverpool, where he was discharged April 1, 1868.  He then returned to Walton, where he remained five eyars.  He then went to Bristol, and worked two years on the Evansmouth dock, form there to Bath, where he worked in the iron foundry, and thence to Wales, where he engaged as a brakeman on the Toffally Railroad.  he then enlisted in the British Army, and in 1874 came to America, and located in Clarkson, Oakland County, and after working for different parties came to Elmwood, and took up a homestead on section 19, where he has cleared a fine farm.  He has been twice married first to Miss Sophia Bobbitt, of Somersetshire, England, in June, 1863, who died in April, 1870, leaving one daughter, who now resides in England.  Second to Miss Amanda Mallory, of Ellington, formerly of Hutchinson, Canada, and has three children.

     DANIEL PRICE was born in Surrey County, England, Oct. 16, 1836, and remained at home and attended school until he was sixteen years of age when he came to America, bringing quite a fortune in English gold.  He traveled around, boy-fashion, until his money was exhausted, and found himself in Toronto, Ont., where he hired out as a coachman to the Hon. Henry Sherwood, M.P., with whom he remained six months, after which he worked at the carpenter's trade, and finally went to Bruce, and took up a piece of land which was jumped while he was in Toronto on business.  He then went to Southampton, and finally shipped on a schooner for the north shore of the lake, where the captain was going to trade with the Indians, and remained with him three months, when he formed a partnership with him, which was dissolved the following spring, and he purchased the schooner, and commenced carrying freight to an l from ports on Lake Huron, and was wrecked in the fall of 1855.  He then engaged in teaching, and in 1857 purchased a farm in Bruce County, which he sold the following year, and then came to Michigan, and located in the city of Saginaw, where he remained until 1863.  He then went to Chicago, and enlisted in the U.S. naval service for three years, and shipped on board the Monitor Kickapoo, at Cairo, Miss.  After the close of the war he came to Tuscola County, and bought a farm on section 34, in Elmwood, where he has since resided.  Has held the office of township clerk seven years, and justice of the peace seven years.  Mr. Price is one of a family of twenty-one children all full brothers and sisters.  he was married in 1860 to Miss Hippolitte Valad, of Bruce County, Ont., who has had twelve children, ten of whom are living.

     FREDERICK EYRE was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1833,

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and served an apprenticeship at the wagon maker's trade, which he followed four or five years afterward.  he came to New York in 1856, and worked in that city about one year, then went to Hamilton, Ont., and was there about two years.  he afterward worked in Port Dover, N.Y., and Walsingham ten years, when he went to Midland City, Mich., and engaged in business, where he lost everything by fire.  His next business venture was  in West Bay City, where he again lost by fire to the extent of $3,000, and then removed to Unionville, Tuscola County, where he carried on a shop two years, going form there in the fall of 1874 to Gage town, and two years later to Cass City.  In 1876 he purchased a farm on section 2 in Elmwood, and in the spring of 1878 moved upon it, and has since resided there.  He has the confidence of his towns-people,  and has held many of the township offices.  he was married n 1861 to Miss Mary Mitchell, who was born in Lincolnshire, England in 1841.  They have had nine children, of whom seven are living.

     TANCREDA C. MAYNARD was born July 30, 1860, in the city of Montreal, Canada, and when six years of age commenced attending St. Peter's School, where he continued five years. and from which he entered the Massan College, of Terrebonne, where he remained till January 8, 1874, when the building was destroyed by fire. He then returned home, where he remained until the 18th of April, 1876, when he went to Bay City where he had a sister, Mrs. Dr. J P. Gariepy, and through the influence of the doctor he secured a position in a drug store, and afterwards went to Caro, where he was with Job F. Street.  Nov. 25 1880, he came to Gagetown, and opened a drug store for himself, and is having a growing trade.  He also repairs clocks, watches and jewelry-the only place in Gagetown where the above articles are cleaned and repaired.

     ROSWELL WEBSTER, of Elmwood, was born n Macomb County, Mich, in 1843.  In 1848 his parents moved to St. Clair county.  His father died in 1860, and his mother in 1863, leaving him without a home.  For seven years he worked in the lumber woods in the winter, and on a farm by the month in the summer.  In 1870 he moved to Tuscola and bought eighty acres of wild land, which he commenced clearing for a farm.  There he remained two years, and then moved to Elmwood, whre he bought his present farm of eighty acres on section 35.  He  was married August 25, 1872, to Lucy Ann Wilson, a native of Canada.  They have four children.

     ISIAH WAIDLEY was born in McKean, Erie County, Penn., in 1849.  In 1868 he went to Ohio, where he remained during the summer, and came to Elmwood in August of that year.  He settled on section 35, where he has eighty acres of land.  He has just built a fine house, and has an excellent farm.  Mr.. Waidley is treasurer of the town of Elmwood.  He was married October 10, 1868, to Phebe A. Ware.  They have lost two children by death.