120. AGRICULTURE FARMERS' ASSOCIATIONS POPULATION

Early Agriculture in Livingston

Cattle-Improved Breeds

Sheep-Breeding

Pure-Blooded Sheep

First Livingston County Agricultural Society

Present Agricultural Society of the County

Livingston County Horse Association

Livingston County Mutual Fire Insurance Company

Livingston County Council Patrons of Husbandry

Population of the County at Different Periods

EARLY AGRICULTURE IN LIVINGSTON

     THE earliest agriculture of Livingston was in no respect different from that of other counties of the State, where, as in this, the pioneer immigrants were largely from the "Genesee Country" of Western New York, that fertile region which had been 121. reputed to surpass all others in richness of soil and adaptability to the purposes of agriculture, particularly to the production of wheat. Emigrants from that section invariably gauged the new countries to which they went by comparison with that which they had left; and to them the one principal proof of the excellence of a soil was its capability to produce wheat,--as much wheat in quantity and as good wheat in quality as could be raised on the same area of land in that garden-spot of the world, the Genesee Valley of New York. And in their application of this test to the county of Livingston the result was so satisfactory that some of them avowed the belief that the new country was equal to the old in this most essential particular.

     The first care of the farmers who came to till the virgin soil was, of course, to provide subsistence for their families, and so the first crops which they planted or sowed in the openings, or in the small clearings in the timber, were exclusively such as were required for this purpose, and chief among these was wheat. Potatoes and other esculents were provided for, but the article of prime necessity was wheat, and to it a great proportion of the tilled area was devoted. The abundant crops which they obtained at once relieved their necessities and placed them beyond the reach of possible want, and then, from the surplus of the first and succeeding crops, they began to realize a revenue in money, though the very redundancy of the yield of wheat in this and adjoining sections of the country brought the price so low at times that the remuneration for the labor of raising, harvesting, hand-threshing and transporting the grain to a distant market * seemed discouragingly small. The experience of later years, however, has shown that the immigrant farmers of the early days were not far from right in their estimate of the importance of wheat culture upon such a soil as that of Livingston County, where its constantly increasing, and almost uniformly successful, cultivation has been the foundation of so large a proportion of the agricultural wealth and prosperity.

     Below are given statistics of the wheat production of Livingston County at several periods, from 1837 to 1873 as shown by the census reports of the years next following the dates given, viz.:

     The following are the statistics of the Indian corn product of Livingston County in the years
mentioned:

     The total amount of all other grains than wheat and corn raised in the county in 1873 was four hundred and thirty-eight thousand five hundred and twenty-one bushels.

CATTLE

     There are few counties in which, at the time of their early settlement, the number of cattle was as great in proportion to the number of inhabitants as it was in Livingston. This was due to the fact that the great quantity of wild-marsh grasses found here furnished food on which animals could be kept from the first without waiting for the production of grain or fodder from tilled land. This fact was discovered by those who prospected the county to make their selections and enter their lands, and so when they returned, bringing their families, nearly all of them brought also a number of horned cattle,--some having no more than a yoke of oxen, others having more, and some as many as ten or twelve head, including oxen, cows, and young stock; so that in the year 1840, only four years after immigrants began to arrive here in any considerable numbers, the number of neat cattle in the county (as shown by the census returns of that year) was seven thousand nine hundred and thirty-one. Three years later, the old Livingston County Agricultural Society offered separate premiums for different classes of cattle, and about 1846 the stock of the county had so much increased that droves of cattle were collected in Livingston, and taken hence to Buffalo for the Eastern market. One of the first of these droves--if not the very first--was purchased by Almon Whipple and William Dorrance, of Howell, in 1845 or 1846, and disposed of in the East.

IMPROVED BREEDS

     The first cattle of imported breed introduced into the county were a few Devons, purchased about 1848, from Mr. Crippen, a rather famous breeder, of Coldwater, Michigan, by David B. Power, of Hamburg. After breeding these for about ten years, Mr. Power procured a fine Durham bull, and bred the Durham-Devon cross for 122. about five years, until, he had a herd of considerable size. At that time he sold his herd to his son-in-law, William Ball, of Hamburg.

     About the same time that Mr. Power purchased his first Devons, or a little later, Mr. John Sellers, of Deerfield, also purchased a few of the same breed, and became the owner of a small herd.

     Mr. C. L. Crouse, of Hartland, brought in three or four pure Durhams from New York State about 1855; and Mr. Wakeman, of the same town, also bred a small herd of Durhams--all bulls. Mr. Crouse increased his purchase to quite a numerous herd, but this has since been dispersed. From the herds above mentioned came most of the blooded stock in the county down to the year 1860.

     The records of the Agricultural Society, from 1854 to 1860, show a large number of names of persons who received premiums on, or entered, improved stock in the exhibitions of the society during the years mentioned. The names given below are taken from those records, and printed here as showing who were among the principal of the breeders of such stock at that time. It is proper, however, to say that very few of the animals were pure bloods, even when mentioned as such:

     1854--Premiums on short-horns, to Charles P. Bush, George Taylor, Loren Boutell, J. B. Hammond, P. L. Smith. On crosses of full blood, to William Sexton, Job Cranston, G. B. Armstrong, Thomas B. Brooks, D. Case, William Stedman. On Devons, to Ralph Fowler and D. B. Power.

     1856--Premiums on full-blood cattle, to Daniel Jackson, Luther Boyden, William Placeway, J. Nichols, J. S. Bliss, Austin Wakeman, James R. Sage, L. E. Beach & Co., Job Cranston, John Griffon, D. B. Power, L. C. Crittenden. On grades, to Ely Barnard, W. C. Shaft, Sanford Marble, C. L. Crouse, R. F. Glass, Mrs. A. P. Jewett, L. E. Beach, Jr., Austin Wakeman.

     1857--Entries of Devons and Durhams, by James R. Sage, J. Brown & Co., Daniel Harpley, William Steadman, L. C. Crittenden, Austin Wakeman, D. B. Power, E. Buckel, K. S. Bingham, William Placeway, C. W. Burwell, R. H. Bennett, Job Cranston.

     1858--Entries of short-horns, by D. B. Power, R. Wrigglesworth, K. W. Bingham, Austin Wakeman, George W. Peck, C. L. Crouse, R. Bigham. Entries of Devons, by D. B. Power, William Ball, J. O. Fonda, J. J. Bennett, Jr., William Placeway. Entries of full-blood foreign cattle, by J. B. Arms, H. Masson, and C. A. Jeffries.

     1859--Entries of short-horns, by C. L. Crouse, K. W. Bingham, A. Wakeman, E. Buckel, R. Wrigglesworth, Entries of Devons, by W. G. Smith, D. B. Power, William Ball, J. O. Fonda, J. J. Bennett, Jr., R. H. Bennett, R. Bigham.

     1860.--Entries of short-horns, by W. Sexton, R. Wrigglesworth, E. Buckel, F. S. Wyckoff, A. Wakeman, D. Sherwood, J. B. Skilbeck, Alva Preston, George Coleman. Entries of Devons, by B. G. and W. M. Smith, and William Ball.

     Soon after the purchase of Mr. D. B. Power's herd by William Ball, as above mentioned, the latter gentleman disposed of all these animals with the intention of breeding pure short-horns and none other, an object which he has since fully carried out. He has bred and sold large numbers of these cattle, and has now a herd of about forty head on his farm in Hamburg. The other breeders of pure Durhams in Livingston County are as follows:

     Alexander McPherson, of Howell, has a fine herd; Ephraim J. Hardy and son, of Oceola, a herd of about ten head; Charles Fishbeck, of Genoa, a herd of about twenty; Horace Halbert, of Conway, a herd-number not known; Heman Bump, of Howell, the same; B. F. Batchelor, of Oceola, a small herd; Aaron Holt, of the same township, a herd-number not known; L. K. Beach, of Marion, a fine herd, from which he has recently made public sales; Charles Love, of Putnam, Carroll Woods, of Green Oak, Thomas Granger, of the same township, W. and F. Hyne, of Brighton, and Richard Wrigglesworth, of Conway, all have small herds of the same breed. George Coleman, of Marion, has a few Galloways, and Ebenezer Kellogg, of Oceola, has a small herd of Ayrshires. The owners of fine crosses and grades in the county are too numerous to mention separately.

SHEEP-BREEDING

     Sheep-raising and wool-growing were among the earliest of the agricultural industries in Livingston, being entered into to some extent by the farmers of the county soon after settlement, and generally, as soon as their circumstances had been improved and the comfort of their families assured, by the production of a few crops of wheat and other necessaries. In 1840 there were nineteen hundred and three sheep in the county, as shown by the census report of that year, and the wool product was three thousand nine hundred and forty-five pounds. In 1850 the wool produced in the county was, as reported, eighty-six thousand six hundred and eighty-six pounds, and the whole number of sheep had increased to thirty-two thousand two hundred and eighty-two. In 1860 the number of sheep reported was fifty-six thousand six hundred and eighty-one, and the wool-clip in the county had increased to one hundred and 123. sixty-seven thousand and twenty-eight pounds. In 1864 the number of sheep reported was one hundred and two thousand two hundred and sixteen over six months old, and the pounds of wool shorn three hundred and fifty-eight thousand five hundred and eighty-six. The last census (that of 1874) shows that ninety thousand four hundred and eighty sheep were shorn in the county in the previous year, and that the wool produced was four hundred and thirty-five thousand one hundred and seventy-one pounds.

     Sheep-breeding and wool-growing at the present time, although not prosecuted with as much of enthusiasm as during the period of inflated prices produced by the war of the Rebellion, is still a leading agricultural industry in Livingston County; and it must remain a profitable one, if the product and prices of future years should prove equal to those of 1879.

PURE-BLOODED SHEEP

     Among the first Merino sheep brought into Livingston County were those introduced, about 1848, by David B. Power and Ira Jennings. The latter gentleman brought in several Spanish Merinos from Vermont, and bred them successfully until his death, after which it was continued by his son till about 1860, when his flock was sold to William Ball, of Hamburg.

     The sheep introduced by Mr. Power were French Merinos, purchased in Washtenaw County from a flock which had been brought there by Mr. Patterson from New York State. Mr. Power bred these with Spanish Merinos, and continued breeding them until about 1860, when Mr. Ball also purchased his flock, as he had about the same time purchased that of Mr. Jennings; and he has kept the flock up, and replenished it by purchases, until the present time. His purchases have been made principally from the Moore, the Rich, the Tottingham, and the Burwell flocks in Addison County, Vermont. He has now a flock of between two hundred and three hundred sheep, all of pure blood, and so registered.

     All the history of the introduction of pure-blooded Merinos into Livingston County, and of the breeding of them for a number of years afterwards, is included in the above mention of the purchases of the Spanish and French sheep by Mr. Jennings and Mr. Power, respectively, and of their subsequent purchase, and the continuation of the business by Mr. Ball, of Hamburg. In later years the following-named breeders have become the owners of thoroughbred flocks entitled to registration, viz.:

     About six years ago, Ephraim J. Hardy & Son, of Oceola, purchased twenty-five improved Spanish Merinos from Mr. Ball, and supplemented this purchase by another of about fifty animals from the noted flocks in Addison County, Vermont. They now have a fine flock of about two hundred.

     Ebenezer Kellogg, of Oceola commenced at about the same time with Mr. Hardy. His purchases have all been made from Mr. Ball, and his flock now numbers about one hundred sheep.

     Mr. E. Merithew, of the same township, has also a flock of fine Spanish Merinos.

     Henry T. Ross, of Brighton, commenced breeding some six or eight years since. His purchases were front the Martin flock, of Rush, Monroe County, New York, and from Mr. Ball. He has now a flock of more than fifty thoroughbreds, besides a number of fine high-grade sheep.

     Henry Doane has a thoroughbred flock of about fifty sheep, bred from some ten or twelve originally purchased from Mr. Ball.

     Horace Halbert, of Conway, Lyman K. Beach, of Marion, and William Smith, of Oceola, have recently commenced in pure bloods, and each of these gentlemen has now a flock of fine sheep.

     There are, perhaps, some other small flocks of thoroughbreds in the county, but it is believed that those above mentioned comprise all or very nearly all which are strictly of pure blood.

     Not much has been done in the county in the way of breeding coarse-wool sheep, but there are several farmers who breed them, and among these may be mentioned Mr. Wesley Garlock, of Genoa, who has some fine Leicesters and Hampshire Downs.

THE FIRST LIVINGSTON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

     There are now but few persons in Livingston County who are aware that, some years prior to the formation of the present county agricultural society, there existed here an older organization under the same name, and which included in its membership some of the most prominent farmers of the county. The fact, however, is unquestionable that such a society had an existence of several years, and it seems probable that its commencement was in the year 1841 or 1842.

     In the Livingston Courier, of May 10, 1843, there appeared a notice, having reference to the business of this old society, as follows:

     "The Executive Committee of the Livingston County Agricultural Society for 1843 held their first meeting, on call of the president, at the schoolhouse, in the village of Howell, on the second day  124. of May. Present: Rial Lake, Esq., president of the society, and Messrs. Glover, Gay, O. J. Smith, J. W. Smith, and Pierce, of the committee. The premium list for 1843 was made out, revised, and ordered to be published, as follows:   

            "By order of the Committee.
                                     GEORGE W. JEWETT,
                       "Recording Secretary."

     
     In the same newspaper, under the date of March 20, 1844, appeared a notice of a meeting of the Livingston County Agricultural Society, to be held in the Presbyterian church in Howell, on the ninth of the following month; with the announcement that "Addresses appropriate to the occasion may be expected.
              "By order of the Executive Committee,
                 "GEORGE W. JEWETT, Secretary."

     No subsequent allusion to this society or to any of its transactions has been found. It seems a little remarkable that these matters, and even the fact of the existence of the society, should have so completely faded from the memories of the many persons still living in the county who were at that time of mature age, and actively engaged in agricultural pursuits.

THE PRESENT LIVINGSTON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

      On Thursday, the twenty-fourth of February, 1853, a meeting of farmers and others, citizens of Livingston County, was held at the court-house in Howell, pursuant to a previously published call, for the purpose of forming a county agricultural society. The meeting being organized by the choice of Freeman Webb, Jr., as Chairman, and James M. Murray, Secretary, a resolution offered by W. A. Buckland, declaring "That it is expedient at the present time to organize a County Agricultural Society," was adopted without a dissenting voice; and, on motion made by E. F. Burt, and approved by the meeting, the chair appointed a committee of seven to report a constitution for such a society, This committee composed of E. F. Burt, W. A. Buckland, Loren Boutell, J. R. Goodrich, R. C. Rumsey, A. W. Olds, and V. R. T. Angel--reported a constitution, which was adopted, and of which the first two articles were as follows:

     "ARTICLE I--This society shall be called The Livingston County Agricultural Society, auxiliary to the Michigan State Agricultural Society, and the same is organized and established for the encouragement and advancement of agriculture, manufactures, and the mechanic arts.

     "ARTICLE 2.-Any Person may become a member of this society by signing the constitution and paying one dollar into the treasury, and may continue a member by paying annually thereafter the sum of fifty cents. ¶ Life memberships may be obtained on payment of the sum of ten dollars; and all certificates of membership shall include the family of the person to whom they are given. The officers elected upon the organization of the society shall be considered members for one year."

     After the adoption of the constitution, the first officers of the society were elected as follows:

125. The following is a list of the members of the society in the first year of its existence: (re-alphabetized by webmaster)

     The board of directors (composed of the president, secretary, and executive committee of the society) held their first meeting March 12, 1853, at Howell, on which occasion, after adopting a code of by-laws, the board "Resolved, That the first annual fair of the society be held in the month of October next, in that township in the county which will raise and pledge to the board of directors, on or before the last Saturday in April next, the largest amount of means towards defraying the incidental expenses of the said fair," and the secretary was instructed to open a correspondence with citizens of the several townships upon that subject. At a meeting, held pursuant to adjournment on the seventh of May, the board "Resolved, That the time for receiving offers and proposals with reference to the place of holding the first annual fair be extended to and until the fifteenth of June next," and, after some further business, adjourned to that day; when, upon reassembling, it was by the board "Resolved, That whereas the township of Brighton has offered the largest sum (one hundred and forty dollars) for the location of the first annual fair at that village, that the said first annual fair of the society be held at said village of Brighton on the sixth and seventh days of October next."

     The fair was accordingly opened at Brighton, at ten A.M., on Thursday, October 6, 1853, under direction of William R. Cobb, chief marshal, and continued during that and the following day. The exercises of the second day embraced a grand plowing match at nine A.M., election of officers of the society for the ensuing year at eleven A.M., and at two P.M. an address by the Hon. George W. Peck, immediately after which came the reading of the reports of the several viewing committees, and the announcement of their awards. A list of persons to whom premiums were awarded at this first fair of the society, being regarded as of some interest to the farmers of the county, is here given as follows:

     Field Crops.--E. N. Fairchild, Jacob Fishbeck, wheat; H. H. Smith, "Marion wheat, a new variety;" A. Monroe, corn; O. Morse, potatoes.

     Cattle.--William Sexton, H. L. Smith, J. B. Hammond, Jacob Fishbeck, Daniel Case, W. W. Smith, Ely Barnard, Rev. Mr. Osborn; J. W. Botsford, F. Fishbeck, Charles P. Bush, J. Monohan, C. Sawyer, W. B. Kellogg, D. B. Power, working oxen; C. A. Jeffries, two premiums on Durham cattle.

     Horses.--W. C. Shaft, H. G. Love, stallion; T. Holloway, H. H. Norton, brood mare; D. D. Carr, W. I. Thompson, D. S. Lee, F. Monroe, Floyd Williams, Hiram Wing, Thomas Dailey, T. Holloway, colt; K. S. Bingham, P. L. Smith, span of matched horses; I. P. Bingham, E. Deidmer, single horses; Captain P. E. Tulin, full-blood mare; Captain P. E. Tuhn, matched pair trotting horses.

     Discretionary Premiums on Horses.--Kanouse & Fuller, stallion "Young Duroc;" J. R. Goodrich, stallion "Black Hawk;" F. Monroe, C. Smith, span matched colts; J. Cole, G. C. Fuller, C. Corson, E. Latson, W. E. Thompson, colts; A. Tooley, span matched horses.

     Sheep.--P. Y. Browning, best French buck; S. W. Twichell, second best French buck; J. Cranston, Merino ewes; K. S. Bingham, Merino ewes (Spanish); L. C. Crittenden, buck lambs (Spanish); William Brown, buck lambs (Leicester and Southdown); I. & J. F. Jennings, ewe lambs (Spanish); H. Goodrich, ewe lambs (Spanish); Bingham & Olds, French Merino bucks.

     Swine.--Royal C. Rumsey (two premiums), C. L. & R. C. Crouse (two premiums), L. B. Fonda, A. Angel.

     Poultry.--J. H. Galloway, Shanghais; N. J. Hickey, Cochin Chinas; N. J. Hickey, Chittagongs; Fred. J. Lee, Dorkings.

     Farm Implements.--D. Kelly, Nelson House, William Placeway, Hannibal Lee, K. S. Bingham, D. Thompson, L. B. Fonda, W. C. Woodward, Ira Brayton, N. Toncray, Israel Arms.

     Butter and Cheese.--T. Bridgeman, D. Gallatian, D. Case,* butter; J. F. Jennings cheese.

     Sugar and Honey.--J. Ridenger, best ten pounds of honey; N. Chrisler, second best ten pounds of honey; M. W. Randall, maple-sugar.

     Domestic Manufactures.-- First variety: T. Bridgeman, 127. Miss Jane M. Gallatian, B. Carpenter, Miss C. Twichell, Miss E. Carpenter, Mrs. E. Annis, Mrs. J. R. Mason, Miss A. C. Isbell, Mrs. Fuller, Mrs. Osborn,* Mrs. J. M. Murray.* Second variety: John Miller, William Waits, James Swiney, W. R. Griffith, Ira Brayton.* Third variety: L. Walker, L. Judson, A. Hubbard.

     Fruits and Vegetables.--R. Lyon, J. Brown, H. Wing, apples; R. Lyon, S. M. Conely, peaches; N. S. Benjamin, quinces; W. S. Conely, pears; Gustave Baetcke, grapes; D. Boutell, G. W. Cropsey, L. W. Kinney, T. B. Brooks, R. S. Hall, Loren Boutell, T. Bridgeman, R. S. Hayner, C. S. Crouse, O. Morse, ¥ Thos. Gilks,* Dr. Benck,* vegetables.

     Plowing Match.--William White, first premium for best quarter-acre plowed; A. P. Dickinson, second premium.

     The financial result of this fair was quite satisfactory to the society, the receipts and expenditures being as follows:
 

     In March, 1854, the society resolved that its second fair should be held at Howell, provided the citizens of the place should pledge to the society the sum of two hundred dollars towards defraying the incidental expenses. In case such pledge was not given on or before April 15th the fair was "to be held in that village in the county whose citizens shall pledge the highest amount." On the second of May the subscription of the people of Howell was laid before the board of directors, "which was deemed a compliance with the terms of, the offer made them, and it was voted that the second annual fair of the society be held at Howell." N. J. Hickey was appointed marshal, and authorized to select grounds for the fair, "by and with the advice of Nelson G. Isbell and Elijah F. Burt, who are hereby appointed a committee of the board for that purpose."

     The ground selected was the public square in Howell, and the fair was held there on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, October 3, 4, and 5, 1854. The address was delivered by the Hon. F. W. Curtenius, on the last day of the fair.

     At the fair of 1853 no premium had been awarded for the best cultivated farm, but in this second exhibition that premium was awarded to Alva Preston, who also secured the same prize at the fairs of 1855 and 1856.

     At the settlement with the treasurer at the end of the year, that officer made return of a balance of four hundred and ninety-four dollars and forty-three cents in his hands, and the marshal returned a net amount of one hundred and one dollars and seventy-five cents. This was turned over to George W. Lee, treasurer for the ensuing year, and thus the society commenced the year 1855 with a fund of five hundred and ninety-six dollars and eighteen cents, besides six dollars in uncurrent money and twenty-three dollars in notes and orders.

     In 1856 the fair was given to the village of Howell, in consideration of a subscription by the citizens to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars. The exhibition was held on the eighth, ninth, and tenth of October. A. W. Smith, marshal. It was also held at Howell in 1857, one hundred and twenty-five dollars being raised there by subscription. In the awards of this year the two-hundred-acre farm of Joseph Rider, Jr., was especially mentioned by the committee "as an example for the farmers of Livingston County to work after."

     The fair of 1858 was held at Brighton on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, October 6th, 7th, and 8th. Spaulding M. Case, Marshal.

     In 1859, citizens of Brighton sent in to the executive committee of the society two proposals to secure the location of the exhibition of that year at their village. The first was an offer of one hundred dollars in money, and the second a written proposal, signed by Ira W. Case, C. W. Barber, F. D. Acker, and N. Kennedy, offering to inclose a suitable ground and erect all necessary buildings as directed by the officers of the society. The last-named proposition was accepted, and the fair was held at Brighton on Tuesday, the twenty-seventh of September, and the two following days. On October 14th, in the same year, Elijah F. Burt, Almon Whipple, and Nathan J. Hickey were appointed a committee "to look out suitable ground for permanently locating the annual fairs of the society at or near the village of Howell."

     In March, 1860, the following action was taken by the directors of the society: