Map of Cohoctah Township 1880

     437. When the rigor of the winter of 1832-33 had been subdued by the ever higher mounting sun of spring, and the soft-falling rains and balmy southern breezes began to wake to renewed life the long dormant energies of Nature, an adventurous pioneer,--one of those genuine videttes of an advancing host, whose energetic, restless, impatient nature forced him to the front in anything he was led to undertake, -- made his appearance in that part of the country now known as the township of Cohoctah. That man was an Indian trader, named Gilbert W. Prentiss, and he was the first settler in this township. In the entering of his land he was preceded three days by Lyman Boughton, who made his entry of the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter and northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 34, on the 6th day of April, while Prentiss made his on the 9th, and a second entry on the 15th. His first entry was 40 acres,--the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 22, and his second was of 80 acres, it being the east half of the same quarter section.

     At that time the whole extent of the territory now comprising the town of Cohoctah was an unbroken wilderness, a wild of low-lying marshes, dark, gloomy tamarack swamps, sunny plains, and beautiful openings, with a bordering of heavier timber, reaching almost entirely around its outskirts. The foot of the wandering Indian hunter, the white hunter, trapper, and trader, the government surveyor, and, perhaps, a 438. few land-lookers, had alone trod the mazes of its forest, and forded its water-courses. The wild game wandered at pleasure beneath the inviting shade of its spreading oaks, or fearlessly quenched their thirst from the sparkling waters of its meandering streams, not yet having learned to fear the presence of man, as the death-dealing rifles of the pioneers soon taught them to do when the settlement began.

     Township 4 north, of range 4 east., as this town was designated by the United States survey, comprises a territory nearly six miles wide from east to west, and a little over six and three-eighths miles long from north to south, containing an area of 24,538 acres. It is the west central town on the north line of the county, and centrally distant eight and three-quarters miles from the county-seat. The town of Burns, Shiawassee Co., adjoins it on the north, the town of Deerfield on the east, the town of Howell on the south, and the town of Conway on the west. Its surface is generally quite level, lightly rolling in some parts, and was originally badly cut up by numerous swamps and marshes, many of which have, by the clearing up of the country and the improvements made in the drainage system of the town, been reclaimed and made tillable and productive. Probably from one-seventh to one-twelfth of the township was originally covered with these marshes and swamps. At present the largest marshes are in the south part of section 33, along the course of the outlet of Cook's Lake, and along Teller's Creek in section 21.

     The soil is varied, following very closely the lines that marked the boundaries of the different kinds of lands. In the central part, where were the plains, it is of a very light, sandy nature; towards the north line, where were mixed timbered lands and timbered openings, the soil is of a heavier nature, a sort of clayey loam; in the eastern part it is made up of mingled sand ridges, and marshes or swamps; in the southeast corner, where the timber on the openings was very heavy, the soil is also heavier and tempered with some clay; along the south line this continues with intervening swamps, till in the southwest part comes a more elevated surface, which was originally timbered opening, and where the soil is light, and yet strong and fertile; and along the west line of the town, where were mixed marshes and openings, the soil is correspondingly varied. The soil is well adapted to the cultivation of general crops, and the real agricultural worth of the township has not been fully developed.

     The lakes of Cohoctah number but seven, and are none of them of any considerable size. The largest of them, on section 32, from the peculiar formation of its bottom, is named Sand-Bottom Lake. It is connected with Cook's Lake, which lies south from it, and which is of nearly the same size. It, however, unlike the former, has a muddy bottom, and a good deal of marsh about its shores. The outlet of both joins the Shiawassee River, on section 34. Another lake of nearly the same size lies on section 19 and is called Devil's Lake. It is surrounded by wide marshes and has a muddy bottom. Its outlet is Sprague's Creek. Lime Lake is a small body of water lying on section 14. It derives its name from the fact that its shores and bottom is composed of a kind of marl that, by burning, can be converted into an indifferent sort of lime. It has a bolder shore than any of the other lakes. Its outlet connects it with Mud Lake, lying a few rods south on the same section. This lake has a muddy bottom, a marshy shore, and its waters have a peculiar turbid look, which gives the lake its name. Its outlet enters the Shiawassee, near the southwest comer of the section. Thatcher's Lake is a small body of water on section 4. It covers an area of about four acres, and was named after Michael Thatcher, who settled near it at an early day. Its outlet runs southward into another smaller lake, lying across the south line of the section, which is called Crawford's Lake. It then continues south till it joins Sprague's Creek. There is also one artificial pond at Chemungville, on section 36, covering several acres, and affording a fine water-power.

     The principal stream is the south branch of the Shiawassee River; which enters the town from Howell, about fifty rods east of the southwest corner of section 34, and runs northerly through wide-spreading marshes on sections 34, 27, and the south half of 28, where its banks rise abruptly to a considerable height above the stream, and so continues along its course until it reaches the quarter line of section 21, and again finds a marshy bed, which continues throughout its onward course through the town into Deerfield. Its current in this town is quite sluggish, and its entire course quite tortuous and some nine miles in extent. Its principal tributary is the second stream in importance in the town. It is commonly called "Bogue" Creek, a corruption of the Indian name "Bo-bish-enung." As to the significance of the name we are not able to speak. It enters this town near the southeast corner, and runs a northerly course of about three miles till it joins the river, in the north part of section 4. At Chemungville it affords a fine water-power. Sprague's Creek, the third stream in importance, is made up of two branches, the principal one being the outlet of Devil's Lake; 439. the united streams flow in a variable southeast and east course through sections 9, 10 and 15, and empty into the Shiawassee in section 22. Teller's Creek, on section 2 1, the outlets of Cook's and Mud Lakes, and a tributary of the " Bogue," on section 25, constitute the remainder of the streams of Cohoctah.

     The history of the aboriginal owners and inhabitants of the town is hid beneath the shrouding mystery of the past. At the time of settlement no Indians were permanently residing in the township, though many were frequently seen on their way to Detroit, or on hunting excursions. Time was, however, when they had homes, and probably a village here, for traces of their former occupancy were found in abundance by the white settlers. Aside from the usual relics in the form of arrow and spear heads, stone hatchets and knives, there were other and more striking tokens of their presence in the shape of Indian orchards, gardens, cemeteries, and dancing-grounds. On section 22, in the southeast corner of the northwest quarter, was a piece of ground containing about a quarter of an acre, which had been leveled and trod down until the surface was hard and smooth as a floor. It was circular in form, about eight rods in diameter, and surrounded by a ring of earth which was elevated a little above the general surface, and appeared to have been formed from the earth removed in the process of leveling. It was a subject of great curiosity to the earl settlers, and they only learned its use when they made inquiries regarding it of the Indians whom they met. Here the stalwart savages celebrated their "war-dances" before departing on some bloody errand of conquest or revenge; or when returning successful with bloody trophies of their prowess they celebrated the occasion with the riotous "scalp-dance"; or being unsuccessful, mourned with blackened faces and shrouded forms, and slowly trod the melancholy measures of the "death-dance." The Indian burying-ground was situated on the north bank of the Shiawassee River, near the west line of section 27. It covered one half-acre of ground, and contained some fifty or sixty graves, all marked with two tamarack poles, placed one at the head and the other at the foot, their tops drawn together and crossed, being fastened together with strips of bark. The orchards and places bearing marks of cultivation were in different places, but all in that section of the town.

     There was but one trail of any prominence through this town. This was a branch of the Detroit and Grand River trail, that left the main trail somewhere in the neighborhood of Howell, and reached this town a quarter of a mile west of the southeast corner of section 34. From that point it followed very nearly the course of the present road due north to the centre of section 10 where it turned towards the northwest, and at the east quarter-post of section 5 turned a little to the northward and ran on till it reached Shiawassee town. On section 5 the trail forked, the other branch leading westward across sections 5 and 6, running to Dewitt, and thence to the Grand River. Neither of these were main trails, but they were frequently used and their courses well defined.

     When the territory we have endeavored to describe was thrown upon the market, the lands were bought up by two classes of purchasers. The first, though not the most numerous, were those who bought with the purpose in view of settling on their purchases and assisting in the development of the country; the second class were those men of means who thought that money invested in these lands would eventually pay a larger interest, and would certainly be safer, than if used in the speculations then so rife, and which were driving the financial American world into the current which, in 1837, swept it into the vortex of the panic of that year. The first class steadily pursued their purpose, while the others were wary purchasers until the thickening crowd of on-coming settlers seemed to assure the success of the undertaking, and then with a grand rush they swooped down upon the country and seized upon all the available and valuable land they could find. This is shown by the fact that three-fourths of the land in this town was taken up within the space of one twelve-month, beginning with May, 1836, and that more than three-eighths was taken up in the two months of May and June, 1836.

     The first entry was made, as before stated, by Lyman Boughton, April 6, 1833, and the next two by Gilbert W. Prentiss, on the 9th and 15th of the same month. These were the only purchasers in that year. The. purchasers of the following year, 1834, were Benjamin Crawford, John and James Sanford, and Antony Clark. In 1835 the following persons entered land: John and Mary Sanford, Ezra Sanford, William W. Shutes, William Riker, Ephraim Crawford, Ezra Frisbee, and Dyer Rathbun. There were one hundred and twenty-one entries in 1836. The year 1837 brought twenty-two purchasers. The other entries were made as follows: one in 1838, four in 1839, one in 1841, one in 1850, two in 1853, one in 1854, five in 1855, one each in 1856, 1857, 1860, 1867, 1869, and 1870, and two without the date being given, making a grand total of one hundred and sixty-eight entries, averaging over 146 acres each. The size of these entries tells a tale of speculative greed, and explains the reason why only fifty-six of these purchasers ever became residents of the town.

     440 The following list comprises all the entries of land in the town of Cohoctah. First we give a list of the purchasers on more than one section, with their places of residence, description and area of their purchases, and the dates of entry. In both this and the following list the names of actual settlers are marked with an asterisk (*).

     The remaining entries are, for sake of convenience, classed by sections, as follows:

SETTLEMENT

     The first settler in Cohoctah was Gilbert W. Prentiss. Some time in the season following the entry of his land he erected a small shanty near the northwest corner of his first purchase, about eighty rods north and a little east of the middle of section 22, and there began the-business of an Indian trader, doing a little trapping and 442 hunting to occupy his spare time, for, of course, customers were scarce, and the demands of the business did not take up all the time of even one person. But little is known of this man, his character, or career. We know he flourished here for a brief period, possibly a year or more, and then vanished Regarding the reason of his departure, which was very suddenly taken, and was not, in a true sense, entirely voluntary, we are informed that, in his trading operations, the Indians invariably demanded what was due them should be paid in "shu-ni-ah," or silver money, the only kind they were acquainted with and would receive. There seemed to be no lack of "Shu-ni-ah" in the Prentiss treasury, and all demands were promptly met with a ready supply of the shining metal coins. But, alas for the honesty of the trader and the confidence of the Indians, it soon transpired that these coins would not pass current at other stores and trading-posts, in short, the Indians discovered that they were counterfeits. Then the savage blood began to boil, and the savage spirit to demand revenge. A plan was concocted for a descent upon the trader's cabin and a despoliation of its contents, and probably the person of the dishonest trader might not have passed unscathed through the ordeal, had not he got wind of the proposed visitation and hastily fled from the threatened danger. The Indians came, but their game had gone, and they were disappointed in their expected scheme of revenge and reprisal. The cabin was, however, committed to the flames, and so perished the last token of the residence of the first settler in the town. The land was afterwards owned by Nathaniel Prouty, who also owned adjoining lands on the west, making his whole possessions on that section 240 acres. He lived in Detroit, and once came here with his family and goods, intending to settle on his land. But one night's experience of the new county was enough for them, and, with the rising of the morning sun, they returned to their home in Detroit. Recently the place passed into the hands of William B. Eager, who died there Sept. 19, 1879, and it is now in the possession of his family.

     The second settler, and the first permanent resident, was John Sanford, who came from Wayne, Steuben Co., N.Y., in 1832, and remained two years in Salem Washtenaw Co., before coming to Cohoctah, in the summer of 1834. He commenced what was known as the Sanford settlement, on section 27, and which was for some time the centre of population of the town. Before leaving Salem he engaged a man named Ira Walker to come with him to assist in clearing and breaking up his farm, so that the party that started from Salem consisted of John Sanford and wife, their son James, their daughter Mrs. Antony Clark and her husband, and Ira Walker and his wife and two children. While on their journey Mrs. Sanford fell from the load of goods, and was so severely injured that when they arrived at William Bennett's, in Hamburg, she remained there with their daughter, who was Mr. Bennett's wife. The rest of the company continued their journey and arrived safely at their destination. They immediately set to work on a house, and soon had one ready for their accommodation. It was a fair-sized log house, and stood on the west side of the Indian trail, close to the south line of section 27. It was the first real dwelling erected in the town, and for a time furnished a home for this first colony of settlers, eight in number. Soon after their arrival Mr. Clark built a house on his land, on section 28, and with his wife went there to live. In the fall or winter following Mrs. Sanford recovered sufficiently to enable her to join the family in their new home. In 1835, Mr. Walker built a house about three-eighths of a mile west of the centre of section 27, just west of the small creek that runs southward across the quarter line of the section, and, after living there about a year, left for some other part of the country. John Sanford lived the life of a pioneer farmer until he saw the development of this part of Michigan well begun, and then, having reached a good old age, was gathered to his fathers, in November, 1845. He was an energetic and successful farmer, and brought his land to a good state of cultivation in the ten years of his life here. He accumulated a fine property, and added to his original purchase till he owned 1000 acres of land, besides what he distributed among his children. His wife survived him many years, and remained a widow to the time of her death. She lived to the age of ninety-two years, and died in April, 1877, at the house of her daughter, Mrs. William Bennett, in Hamburg. James Sanford remained here several years, and then went to California, where he was living when last heard from. Antony Clark died in this town in 1851, and his wife removed to Hamburg, where she is now living with her sister, Mrs. William Bennett.

     The Sanford family was originally from the State of Pennsylvania. The progenitor of that branch of the family which settled here was Ephraim Sanford, father of John and Ezra, who was a patriot during the Revolutionary war, while his two brothers were Tories, of the most bitter type. After the close of the war he removed to the State of Vermont, and afterwards to Steuben Co., N.Y. He  was. a Baptist preacher, having a wide 443. reputation for his eloquence and piety. The New York State Gazetteer says of him, that "he was a silver-tongued preacher, who used to pass the sacrament in pewter tankards;" and adds the misanthropic remark, that "nowadays the order is often reversed, and that many churches have silver tankards and pewter preachers." His wife was a cousin of the famous Maj. Moses Van Campen, whose name and fame are so intimately connected with the history of Southwestern New York, where he was several times a captive of the Indians and forced to run the gauntlet.

     Ezra Sanford did not leave the State of New York until three years after his brother John, but came directly to this town, after spending a few weeks visiting with friends in Salem, Washtenaw Co., arriving here July 9, 1835. With him came his wife, five sons, and two daughters, one of them accompanied by her husband, Ziba Stone. For several nights after their arrival they slept in their wagons, and then moved into a house they had erected on the east side of the trail. about twenty rods north of the centre of section 27. There they all lived together through that summer and part of the winter of 1835-36, when they separated, Stone and his wife going to a new dwelling they had erected on their place, on the southeast corner of the southwest quarter of section 22. Ezra Sanford was a respected and honored citizen, and a deacon in the Baptist Church. He was also a preacher of no mean ability, and on some occasions preached at the church in the town of Burns, and often at his own house. He died in this town, Jan. 2, 1844, and his wife survived him about eleven years. Before his death, Mr. Sanford gave each of his sons a quarter-section of land in this State. John H., another son of Ezra, came to this town in 1836 and remained one year. After spending one winter in New York he settled in Deerfield in the spring of 1838, and lived there about ten years, and after several removals is now living in Wright, Ottawa Co., engaged in farming, surveying, and preaching, being a minister of the Universalist Church.

      The rest of Ezra's children we mention, as follows: Ezra, Jr., has been a prominent and honored citizen of this town down to the present time, and is now living on section 1 engaged in the practice of medicine. David remained here several years, but finally moved away, and is now living in Flushing, Genesee Co., Mich., practicing law, and also having an interest in a mercantile business. Ephraim H. studied law at Ionia, and from there went to Ann Arbor, where for four years he published a journal known as The Gem of Science. He. went from there to Ohio, and at last settled in Wabaunsee Co., Kan., where he is now living,   practicing law, and acting as land and claim agent. He has risen to considerable eminence in his new home, and besides several other offices, has once held the honorable position of Judge of the Circuit Court. James remained on the homestead until after the death of his parents, and then removed to California, where he is now living. Samuel, who was a young man of much promise, went to Kansas, when the strife between Freedom and Slavery was at its height in that State, and was brutally murdered by one of the border ruffians, being shot down in cold blood, without any provocation or opportunity for defense. His death occurred in the summer of 1859. Esther was the wife of Ziba Stone, and is still a resident of the town. Mr. Stone died in 1852, and she afterwards married Daniel Barlow, who died some fifteen years ago. Possessed of good health, and in the full possession of all her faculties, she promises to remain yet many years among the scenes where so many years of her life have been spent. Emily married William Stroud, in this town, and still continues to reside here, where her husband died in1853 or l854. Elizabeth, then married to Luther Houghton came to this town in 1836, and after living with her father's folks two or three years, they moved to their land on section 1. Mr. Houghton died about twenty-eight years ago, and his widow after a time was married again, her second husband being John Lane, who died in this town in 1878. She is still living in town, but is an invalid suffering from a broken back, caused by her slipping and falling across a door-step, about two years ago.

     The Crawford family, of whom Samuel Crawford was the head, came to Michigan in September, 1836, and settled on what is known as the Preston farm, on section 23, in this town. They came from the town of Wayne, Steuben Co., N.Y., via Buffalo and Detroit, and from the latter place followed the Shiawassee trail, by way of Pontiac and White Lake, till they crossed the Shiawassee River at Nagg's bridge, and followed an Indian trail into this town. All of his children made settlements in this town, and after his wife's death he lived with them until his own death, some ten years ago. All but one of them have moved to other parts. That one is Edmund D., who married Mrs. Alsmeda Kelly, a daughter of Dudley Woodworth, and is now living on a fine farm on section 9, where he has resided for the past twenty-four years.

     Another settler in 1836 was David Guile, who settled on the south central part of section 9. He came from Novi, Oakland Co., with a family of a wife, two married sons--David and Joseph--with 444 wives, and a grandson, William G. Phares. Mr. Guile's family were all great hunters, and spent much time in the forest in pursuit of game. His wife died about thirteen years later, and be then returned to Novi, selling his property here to Elias Sprague, and died there several years after. His grandson, William G. Phares remained a resident of Cohoctah a long time, and was a very stirring, active man, respected by his neighbors, and was frequently elected to the office of constable. Perhaps his most peculiar characteristic was a readiness to trade, it being said of him that be never refused an opportunity to exchange. His wife once proved to him by actual count that they had moved as many times as they had been married years, which was upwards of thirty. He is now living in the town of Genoa, in this county.

     William Northrup, formerly of Sullivan, Madison Co., N.Y., came from there in the fall of 1836, and settled in Cohoctah on section 36, near the Deerfield line. In 1837 his wife died. He continued to reside there till 1865, when he moved to Aurora, Ill., where he died about six years ago. Some of his family are now living here.

     Justus Boyd came to this town in 1837, and had not the hand of death cut short his career, would have been one of its most important citizens. He was a native of the town of Newburgh, Orange Co., N.Y., and when a young man came West to Conesus, Livingston Co., N.Y. He married Miss Almira Nutt, of Cayuga County, and in 1822 moved on to a new farm in the town of Mount Morris, where he lived fifteen years, when he came to this State and settled in Cohoctah. In the spring of 1836 he came to Michigan in company with Joseph C. Craft, Daniel P. Lake, and William Slater, in search of land. Each of them made a purchase, but only Mr. Boyd came here to live. He returned to New York, and, in the early summer of 1837, began his journey hither with his wife and nine children,--six sons and three daughters,--the eldest, Lewis B., a boy of eighteen. In company with them came his brother-in-law, Lee Nutt, with his wife and three children, and a Mr. McFail, with his wife and four children. They reached Mr. Boyd's land, on section 31, on June 12th, having been one month on the road. Before returning East for his family, Mr. Boyd had engaged a Mr. Porter, of Howell, to build him a house on section 31, and this was ready for their occupancy when they arrived. Mr. Nutt lived with Mr. Boyd for a time, and engaged to clear a piece of ground and sow it to wheat, taking the crop in part payment for his labor. He then built a shanty on the south side of the road, in Howell, and moved, into it with his family.

     At the election in the spring of 1838, Mr. Boyd was elected to the offices of overseer of the poor and assessor, and just a year from the time of his arrival here started for his former home to settle up his business affairs there. At Detroit he took passage for Buffalo on the ill-fated steamer "Washington," which, when about twenty-two miles from its destination, caught fire and was destroyed. Mr. Boyd exerted himself to the utmost in efforts to extinguish the fire and to save the passengers, and when nothing more could be done leaped overboard and swam ashore. The sudden chill caused by leaping into the cold water while heated and perspiring from his efforts, coupled with the exhaustion incident to such violent and prolonged exertions, proved too great a strain upon his vital powers, and he died a few minutes after reaching the shore at Silver Creek. He was a farmer, but was also a capable and competent business man of fair educational attainments.

     His widow resides in Howell, with her daughter, Miss Angeline Boyd. She is now eighty years old. Of Mr. Boyd's children two have died, William and Hannah; Lewis B. married Charity, a daughter of Jared L. Cook, and is now living on section 31, in this town; John N. married Lucinda Holloway, and lives on the same section; Hiram married Matilda Creshaw, of Handy, and lives on the same section; Henry P. married Elizabeth Briggs, and lives on the homestead; Norman married Rhoda Scofield, and lives on section 32; Elizabeth married Lyman H. Dean, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is now a resident of Salem, Washtenaw Co.

     Alva Preston was for many years one of the substantial citizens of Cohoctah. He was a native of Windham Co., Conn., and soon after his marriage came to Michigan, settling in Ann Arbor in 1829. In December, 1836, he purchased two lots of land of the government, on sections 2 and 11 and also 40 acres on section 23, of William Riker. In the following spring he came with his wife and two children, and occupied a house he had built on the north bank of the river, near the quarter line. During that summer, he, in company with Edward F. Gay, of Howell, built the first saw-mill in the town, having it ready to commence operations that fall. The mill was a moderate sized one, having a "sash-saw" and "flutter-wheel," and did a considerable amount, of custom sawing for a number of years. It stood near Mr. Preston's house, while the dam was a long ways up the stream, near the south line of section 14. After operating the mill about six years he sold it, to William S. Ellis, who kept it running some fourteen or fifteen years, or until his death, when (cont. Part B.)