The Deer Creek and Fenton road was continued from the quarter-post on the west line of section 9 to the northeast corner of section 4 by two surveys, one--the part south of the four corners, on section 4--September, 25th, and one--north of the four corners--December 29th. Also in September a road across the north part of sections 6 and 5 from the town line to the Shiawassee road, being a part of the Argentine and Fentonville road; a road from Isaac Cornell's--northeast corner of section 32--to the Deer Creek and Fenton road, at the west quarter-post of section 9; and another from the southwest corner of section 9 two miles west to the Deerfield line, opening a thoroughfare for the Mortons, Wolvertons, and Jacksons, and a branch from the southeast corner of section 7 one-half mile north to the Deer Creek road. On December 12th a road was surveyed from James McGuire's south along the Deerfield line, starting sixty rods south of the quarter-post of section 19 and running to the section corner.

     In 1839 the roads opened were as follows: March 27th, record was made of the road between Tyrone and Hartland, surveyed by Henry P. Adams, under the direction of the highway commissioners of the two towns,--Austin Wakeman, Henry P. Adams, George Cornell, and William D. Snapp; March 16th, a re-survey of the Shiawassee road, which was. then called for the first time the White Lake road, describing it as commencing thirty-six rods west of the north quarter-post of section 5, running a southeast course of six and three-quarter miles, and passing into Rose a little south of the quarter-post on the east line of section 13; the Wells road, from the southeast corner of section 35 to the northeast corner of section 2, surveyed by Dillis Dexter April 24th and 25th; the Fenton and Tyrone town-line road, May 16th; the Parshall and Jackson road, from the southeast corner of section 31 to the Wolverton school-house, southeast corner of section 7, July 13th; the Curtis, Stevens, and Chrispell road, from the saw-mill, near the centre of section 32, to the north quarter-post, and from there to the northwest corner of the section; the Kearney and Cranston road, from the south quarter-post of section 17 to the centre of the town; and the Babcock and Conklin road, from the Cornell road across the south ends of sections 20 and 19 to the town line. These were the highways opened for the public use previous to the year 1840. From time to time, as the needs of the settlers demanded, new roads were opened and old ones altered to suit their convenience.

     In 1845 the State road, authorized by the Legislature, was opened from Brighton to Fenton,. The part running through this town was surveyed 405. by Morril Ripley under -the direction of the commissioners appointed by the State,--Alonzo Slayton and Elisha Holmes. As first surveyed it commenced at the southeast corner of section 33 and ran north on section lines to the northeast corner of section 28; from there it ran across to the northeast corner of section 14; and then north on section lines to the county line, its whole course being a little over seven miles. May 6, 1848, under direction of Hiram Mapes, Alonzo Slayton, and Robert Leroy, the course was changed. The diagonal part of the old road was discontinued, and from the northeast corner of section 28 it was continued over its present course along the east line of sections 21 and 16, across sections 15, 10, 11, and 2, to the county line of the last-named section.

SCHOOLS

     The first school in the town was kept by Alvin Cornell, in the summer of 1838, in the first schoolhouse built in the town, which stood on Joseph M. Becker's land on section 28. Ruth Chrispell and Mary Mapes also taught early schools there.

     The following extract from the record shows the first division of the town into school districts:

"TYRONE, April the 10th 1838                            

     "At a Meeting of the Inspectors of common Schools for the Township of Tyrone, who Organized according to law by choosing Isaac Cornell chairman, and proceeded to divide Said Township into districts as follows, viz : Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 12, be, and the same is made a Separate School district, to be called No. one.

     Also Sections 7, 8, 18, and 17, 15, 16 be, and the same is made a Separate district, Styled No. two.

     Also Sections 19, 30, 31, and w. 1/2 of 20 w. 1/2 of 29, and the w. ½ of 32, be, and the same is Made a Separate district, Styled No. three.

     Also e. ½ of section 20, e. ½ of 29, e. ½ of 32, and sections 33, 28, and 21, W. ½ of 22, W. ½ of 27, and the w. ½ of 34, be, and the same is Made a separate district, Styled No. four.

     And Sections 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, and 36, the e. ½ of 22, e. ½ 27, and the e. ½ of 34, be, and the same is made a separate district, Styled No. 5.

     Many changes in boundaries and many renumberings of the districts have been made, so that it would be a difficult, as it is a practically useless, task to attempt to trace them connectedly.

     The first reports of the districts were made in October, 1839, and only three districts made any reports. These were as follows: District No. I, David Colwell director, reported 16 scholars between the ages of five and seventeen years, and that they had raised the following sums of money: $300 for a school-house; $70 for support of the school, and $10 for library purposes. District No. 1 (fractional), Gardner L. Downer director, reported 15 scholars and $50 raised for a school-house. District No. 4, Henry A. Cornell director, reported 18 scholars, 16 of whom had attended school; $325 raised for a school-house, $30 for teachers' wages, $12 for books and a library case; that school had been kept three months; and that the books used were "Webster's Elementary Spelling Book, Adams' Arithmetick, Woodbridge's Geography, and the English Reader."

     At the present time the school system of the town embraces eleven districts, five of which are fractional, and nine of the number (having school-houses located in this town) report in Tyrone. The schools are all common district schools, making no pretensions beyond the imparting of knowledge in the common branches of an English education. They are conducted with a laudable degree of efficiency, but on the part of the people with none too great a spirit of liberality towards the profession of teachers. The school-houses are a credit to the town, three of them being built of brick, and the rest frame buildings.

     District No. 1 is fractional, part of it lying in the town of Fenton. In this town it embraces section 3, and portions of sections 4, 7, and 10. The brick school-house is valued at $1000.

     District No. 2 lies in the west part of the town, and embraces sections 7, 8, 17, 18, and parts of sections 9, 16, and 20. Its school-house is a neat wooden structure, known far and wide as the "Wolverton School-house," is located on the southeast corner of section 7, is capable of seating 60 scholars, and is valued at $900.

     The first school-house in this district was built in November, 1839, the residents working out their tax, and the material being purchased with the money received from non-resident tax-payers. It remained in use until the present one was built on the same site, some twelve or fourteen years ago. Harvey R. Stevens taught the first school in the district in the winter of 1839-40, and Jane Bush and Dr. Fairbanks also taught early schools there.

     District No. 3 is fractional, part of the district being in Fenton. The school-house is located on the northwest quarter of section 5 in Tyrone. This is a frame building, well built, and cost about  $1100. The amount expended for schools in this district was $232.36 for the year ending Sept. 30, 1879.

     District No. 4 is located in the southwest corner of the town. Its school-house is an exceedingly pretty brick building, just completed in the fall of 1879, at a cost of about $1000. It stands about forty or fifty rods south of the northeast corner of section 30. 406.

     District No. 5 is a long, narrow district east of No. 4. The school-house is a wooden building, with accommodations for 40 scholars, is valued at $425, and stands a few rods north of the southeast corner of section 29. District No. 6 is fractional, embracing a little land in Hartland. The schoolhouse first stood on Joseph M. Becker's land on section 28, and was built as early as the summer of 1839. Miss Olive Blood taught the first school in it, and Morgan White and Alvin Cornell also taught early schools there. The log house was soon after replaced by a frame one, which became well known as the "Love School-house." The present house is a frame building, standing on the northeast corner of section 33. It is valued at $700.

     District No. 7 is the central district of the town. the school-house for many years has been known as the "Cranston School-house," and stands about sixty rods north of the Southeast corner of section 15. It is a frame building, valued at $500 and fitted to receive 100 pupils.

     District No. 8 is in the northeast part of the town. It was formed, in nearly its present shape, May 3, 1848, and contains sections 2 and 11, the west half of sections 1 and 12, the greater part of sections 13 and 14, and a part of section 10. The school-house is a brick one, a little south of the west quarter-post of section 12, capable of seating 100 scholars, and valued at $1000.

     District No. 9, the largest in the town, is in the southeast corner. It was first formed as a separate district Nov. 6, 1849, and wag changed to very nearly its present form Sept. 16, 1850. The first school-house was erected soon after on the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of section 25 and Miss Eleanor Hodges taught the first school in it. In 1865 it was replaced by the present fine frame building, which will seat 68 scholars, and is valued at $800.

     In the foregoing we have made casual mention of some of the earliest teachers, and, to give equal honor to others just as deserving of mention, we add a list of teachers licensed by the inspectors, including, as far as we are able to learn, the names of all licensed previous to the year 1850. These pioneer laborers in the school-room were:(re-alphabetized by webmaster)

INDUSTRIES

     There is little to say of Tyrone under this head more than to designate it as an agricultural community devoted to farming in all its branches, and making a specialty of no particular one. On account of its lack of water-power, mills have never been built to any extent. The first and only mill in the town is a small saw-mill near the centre of section 32. It is a water-mill, the power being furnished by Cornell Creek, on the north shore of which it is built. It was erected by Isaac Cornell in 1841. After operating it about fifteen years, he sold to Peter Cartier, who sold to the present owner, Jacob S. Griswold, in the spring of 1879. The mill has done a considerable amount of custom sawing for the accommodation of the people of this vicinity, and aside from ordinary repairs, is still standing as originally built.

     Other than this and black-smithing, but two other business enterprises have been started. William Dawson has done considerable in the line of raising garden-seeds for market, selling largely to D. M. Ferry & Co., of Detroit, and putting up a good many in his own packages; and a little cigar-making has been done by Mr. Gardner on section 27. No villages have ever grown up in this town, and its trade has contributed to the prosperity of villages in adjoining towns,--as Parshallville, Hartland Centre, Holly, Fenton, and Linden. A small part of Parshallville, containing a half-dozen dwellings and one or two mechanic shops, lies on section 31 in this town, but most of the village, including the churches, mills, furnace, stores, etc., is on section 6 of Hartland.

     An attempt was made many years ago to start a village in the northeast corner of section 31. Sometime early in the forties, a man named Norman Hodges left his farm in Oceola and purchased some land in that part of this town. He built a saw-mill, a store, a clothiery (cloth-dressing and carding-mill), and seven dwelling- houses, and things looked quite lively for a while; but finally his dam was found to interfere with the Parshallville power, a mile above on Ore Creek, and he got into trouble with the proprietor of that mill, which at last drove him from the vicinity. He left about five years after coming here, and no one knows what became of him. With his departure the growth of the village. stopped, and now it presents no unusual appearance to the passer-by, although the locality still retains the name of "Hodgeburg," in honor of its former owner. 407.

     The first and only post-office in Tyrone bears the town name, and was established at the Grove House, with Jairah Hillman as postmaster, as early as 1852-53. It was kept by him for a time and then transferred to James Carmer, who kept it at his house, on section 21, till it was turned over to Alonzo Slayton and removed to the northwest corner of section 27. From Slayton it went to the present incumbent, Amilo Gardner, in 1855-56, and has been kept by him at his house on section 28 since that time, with the exception of a few months in 1861, when it was kept by Rev. John A. Sober.

     Twice in its history has the town been agitated by attempts to bond it in aid of railroads, but each time the project has met with crushing defeat. The first attempt was made in the winter of 1864, in the interest of the Detroit and Howell Railroad, and the proposal was voted down unanimously at the town-meeting on the 4th of April. The second attempt was made in behalf of the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Saginaw Railroad in 1866. A special town-meeting was-called and held at the Cranston school-house, Sept. 13, 1866, and the question of raising the money was submitted to a vote, with the result that the proposal was defeated by a vote of 134 to 7.

     During the dark days of the war of the Rebellion Tyrone remained true to the principles of liberty and equality, and sent her sons forth in defense of their country. Some of them returned to tell the stirring tale of the camp-fire, the march, and the field of battle; but some came not back, but left their blood to enrich the Southern sod on which they fell and beneath which their bones now lie, awaiting the summons of the last great day.

     Several special town-meetings were held at different times between December, 1863, and February, 1865, the result of which was the raising of a sufficient amount by tax and bonding to pay to each man--volunteer, drafted man, or substitute mustered into the service, and accredited to this town, the sum of $100 bounty. In accordance with such action, bonds were issued as follows: Feb. 1, 1864, 17 bonds of $100 each, bearing interest at 7 per cent., and becoming due Feb. 1, 1865; Sept. 1, 1864, 12 bonds of a similar character, due Feb. 1, 1866; and Jan. 16, 1865, 14 bonds, due Feb. 1, 1867; making a total of $4300.

     Several physicians have resided in Tyrone at different times, most of them at Parshallville. Among them were Dr. Daniel V. Van Syckle, now living in Tennessee; Dr. Drummond, now of Lapeer; Dr. Matthews, and Dr. Steele. Another--Dr. Ryker, now of Fenton--lived several years- in the north part of the town.

SOCIETIES

     At the time when the Red Ribbon movement swept over the State the wave reached this town, and aroused to activity those who had been rather negligent regarding the matter of pressing forward the car of reform. Through the efforts of Professor C. L. Van Dorn, of Fenton, principal of the Baptist Seminary at that place, the Tyrone Centre Reform Club was organized about the 15th of June, 1877, with a membership of 75. The first officers were as follows: President, Amos Wolverton; Vice Presidents, Eugene Bly and Mrs. Lodema Archbold; Secretary, George Hoffman; Treasurer, Frank Corey. These officers have been re-elected and are still serving. The club meets every other Tuesday evening, and has been quite prosperous, having reached a membership of 150.

     The Wolverton Club was formed at about the same time, at the Wolverton school-house, with a goodly number of members and the following officers:

President, Fred. C. Wood; Vice-Presidents, John H. Cox, Orlando Topping; Secretary, Mrs. Linda Doolittle; Treasurer, Hiram Farnham. It had but a short existence, as, owing to its failure to receive the support to which it was entitled at the hands of the temperance community, it lived only a couple of months, and was then broken up.

     A third club, the Grove House Reform Club, organized in District No. 1 in May, 1878, occupied the field left vacant by the disruption of the Wolverton Club. It had a membership of about 75, which has been increased to a present active membership of about 100. Its meetings are held fortnightly on Tuesday evenings, alternating with those of the Tyrone Centre Club. The first officers were Lafayette Thompson, President; Frank Sissons, Michael Kelleher, Daniel Stimson, Vice-Presidents; Lina Stimson, Secretary; Joseph Mount, Treasurer. The officers are elected quarterly, and the present ones are as follows: President, Fred. C. Wood; Vice-Presidents, Frank Sissons, Daniel Berry, H. P. Van Wagoner; Secretary, Ida Sissons; Treasurer, Lina Stimson.

KINSMAN'S CORNET BAND

     This band, which has earned a splendid reputation, and proved itself one of the best in this part of the State, was first organized in June, 1871. Mr. Kinsman's family were gifted with considerable musical talent, and though most of his children were daughters, they learned to play as well as the members of the sex who are generally allowed to monopolize the playing of band music. The band as first organized consisted of nine members, seven of whom were members of one family. Their names were Saul Kinsman, leader, William, Floyd 408. Mary, Emma, Helen, and Jennie Kinsman, A. R. and J. R. Gardner. They played together for several years, and became quite famous, both on account of the unusual presence of ladies and because of their really fine playing. On account of changes in the family relations of some of the members, the band was dissolved, and in March, 1878, was reorganized with twelve members, as it still remains. These twelve persons are as follows: Mortimer D. Gardner, president; Saul Kinsman, leader, and E-flat clarionet; A. R. Gardner, secretary, treasurer, and first B-flat cornet; J. R. Gardner, tuba; Amilo Gardner, second B-flat cornet; William Kinsman, baritone; Floyd Kinsman, first E-flat cornet; John Slayton, first B-flat tenor; Cleman Kelly, first E-flat alto; Fred. Wright, second A-flat alto; Perry Shook, bass-drum; Calvin Gostello, side-drum. Since its reorganization it has sustained its former reputation, and wherever it has appeared in public has won applause and praise from the people and the press.

CEMETERIES

     There are three cemeteries in Tyrone, all of them owned and cared for by the town. The order in which they were bought is not known to the writer, but it seems probable that the first one would have been that known as the Tyrone Centre burying-ground, located on the north part of the west half of the southwest quarter of section 27, opposite the Methodist church. It contains one acre of ground, which was purchased of Peter Dates for the sum of $8. It is pleasantly situated, and contains many graves, some of them marked with elegant marble headstones.

     The Colwell burying-ground is located on the south side of the Shiawassee road on the south-west quarter of section 4. It contains one acre of ground which was purchased of David Colwell and Isaac Ayres, one-half from each, in 1841. The first burial here was that of Olive J. Colwell, aged eleven years, a daughter of David Colwell. She was buried in 1841.

     The other burying-ground is known as the Wolverton burying-ground. It is located on the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of section 8. It was formerly a part of the Jackson farm, and was given by Mr. Jackson to Rev. Isaac Seaman, a Protestant Methodist local preacher, who came here to find a home. He afterwards sold it to Elijah Clough, who sold it to the town, about thirty-five years ago, for a burial-ground. Previously a piece of ground near the Wolverton school-house had been bought, and several interments made in it, but it was found to be unfit for the purpose, and so the site was changed, and the remains of those buried there were removed to the new ground. Among those thus taken up were a Mrs. Thomas, John

RELIGIOUS HISTORY

     The first religious meetings in this town were held under the auspices of that pushing, active, and zealous denomination called Methodist Episcopals. Hardly had the first strokes of the settler's axe awoke the ringing echoes of the startled forest, and scarcely had the column of dark smoke first risen from the stick chimney of the settler's rude log cabin, ere the form of the circuit rider appeared on the scene, anxious to lay the foundation for a future tower of the temple of the Master's kingdom. As early as the summer of 1836 one of these devoted men appeared in Tyrone. This was Rev. Washington Jackson, a missionary, traveling at will through this part of the State. He came to the house of George Cornell, and preached there the first sermon delivered in the town. Not long after, regular meetings being desired, a young man in Hartland, who afterwards became well known as a preacher in this region,--Rev. J. G. Horton,--was invited to come and preach. He was then simply a local preacher or exhorter, and felt so much diffidence at this, his first attempt at preaching, that the appointment was not given out until the Saturday before the day set, in order that the news might not reach his neighbors and thus insure him an audience of strangers before whom to test his talent as a preacher. Rev. John Cosart also preached here at an early day. The first meetings were all held at George Cornell's until the school-house was built, when they were held there. At that school-house the first class was formed in 1836 by Rev. Washington Jackson, and was known as the

CORNELL CLASS

      It had but five members,--George and Elizabeth Cornell, Jacob Chrispell and wife, and Eli Conklin. Mr. Cornell was chosen or appointed class-leader, and the first Methodist Church in Tyrone was commenced. The class grew in numbers as the years rolled along, and continued to hold its meetings at the school-house until the appointment was taken up some twelve or fifteen years ago, and the class was transferred to Parshallville. At this point the history of this class in connection with the town of Tyrone ends, but it may not be considered out of place to briefly continue it down to 409. the present time, as it is an outgrowth of the town, though not now exactly within its limits. Since its removal to Parshallville the class has grown largely in numbers, and has built a fine brick church and purchased a parsonage. George Cornell, the present class-leader, has held that honorable position upwards of thirty-five years.

     At first the class was connected with the Farmington circuit, but was soon changed, and has been successively an appointment on each of the following circuits: Milford, Highland, White Lake, Rose, Fenton, Hartland, Byron, and Linden. In 1875 it was made the headquarters of a new circuit, called Parshallville circuit, and is still continued as an appointment on that circuit.

     The following list of pastors, taken mostly from memory, as was necessary in the absence of any written record, is very likely to be somewhat imperfect. The names are given as nearly as may be in the order of their service, and are as follows: Revs. Washington Jackson, John Cosart, --- Baker, --- Bennett, J. G. Horton, Benjamin H. Hedger, Orrin Whitmore, Lyman Dean, Alfred Allen, James R. Cordon, Alexander Gee, B. H. Wightman, James H. Curnalia, James H. Caster, Joseph W. Holt, William H. Benton, O. H. P. Green, Thomas Seeley, Robert C. Lanning, Thomas J. Joslin, Charles L. Church, Henry W. Hicks, Andrew J. Richards, James Balls, Orlando Sanborn, William Birdsall, Edwin Daw, Orlando Sanborn. The latter was appointed by the Conference of 1879.

THE WOLVERTON CLASS

     This was the second class in the town, and was organized about forty years ago (1839), with Jonathan L. Wolverton as class-leader and steward. It then had about a dozen members, which increased quite rapidly till it once reached upwards of 30. At the present time the number of members is about 20. Among the earliest members were Jonathan L. and Hannah Wolverton, Robert McGarry, and Dexter Farnham.

     Since its formation the class has maintained regular fortnightly services at the school-house. The pastors who have preached here came from the different circuits to which the class has been attached at different times, including in the list Fenton, Highland, Hartland, Groveland, and Parshallville, and for one year was supplied from Oak Grove. Though not able to give a full list of the pastors, we mention those who we know served at some time, though perhaps not in the regular order of their service. They are as follows: Revs. Alfred Allen, Richard Kerr, Joseph W. Holt, E. Westlake, R. Campbell, James H. Caster, William Buxton, Charles Simpson,. E. Clough, --- Brown, --- Worcester, William A. Blades, Giles Belknap, and, since 1874, the preachers on Parshallville circuit, as before given.

     Hiram Farnham is the present class-leader and steward.

     A Sabbath-school has been connected with the church for many years. It was, organized first as many as thirty-five years ago as an undenominational school, under the superintendency of John Knox. Soon after it was reorganized as a Methodist school, and Dexter Farnham was elected as its first superintendent. It had a large field to occupy, and at one time numbered 40 or 50 scholars. During the past summer (1879) the average attendance has been about 20. The present superintendent is Wesley Barnum, and Hiram Farnham is the assistant.

FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF TYRONE

     This church sprung from the third class organized in this town about thirty-five years ago, at the Cranston school-house, and was called the Cranston or Tyrone Centre Class. The first class-leader was David E. Cranston. Among the first members were Caleb, Gilbert, and David Cranston, and J. N. Barnes, and probably other members of their families. In all, the class then numbered about a dozen members. Its meetings were held regularly at the Tyrone Centre school-house for many years, and the class grew to be the strongest in the town. It had other points at which occasional services were, held, generally at school-houses in the respective localities. At one of these a class was formed, and an appointment kept up for several years; it was called the Germany or East Tyrone Class, and held its meetings in the school-house in District. No. 9. John C. Salsbury was the first class-leader. It was organized in 1869, and the appointment was taken up and the class merged in the Tyrone Centre Class in 1878.

     The circuit relations of the different classes have been very much mixed, and it is almost impossible to tell with any approach to accuracy who have been the pastors of any particular class. The following list embraces the names of those ministers whom we suppose to have held the pastoral relation to what is now the First Methodist Episcopal Church. It is as follows: Revs. Alfred Allen, Joseph W. Holt, Eli Westlake, William A. Blades, Giles N. Belknap, Alfred Allen, --- Browne, --- Wells (or Wales), B. H. Wightman, J. Harvey Caster, Thomas Wilkinson, Benjamin H. Hedger, Curtis Mosher, --- Cross, Thomas Seeley, J. Kilpatrick, William H. Benton, Charles L. Church, James R. Cordon,. Joseph W. Holt, O. H. P. Green, 410. James H. Curnalia, J. Kilpatrick, Charles Simpson, Andrew J. Richards, William Buxton, Richard Kerr, Eli Westlake, W. W. Washburn, - Hitchcock, James Balls, Orlando Sanborn, William Birdsall, Edwin Daw, and Orlando Sanborn, the present pastor.

     The class has been connected with Fenton, Highland, Hartland, Traphagen, and Parshallville circuits.

     In 1874 it was decided to build a church, and at a quarterly meeting of the circuit, held at Deerfield Centre on the 29th of October, the following trustees--proposed by Rev. James Balls, preacher in charge--were elected: John C. Salsbury, William Shook, J. B. Cramer, Peter Becker, and W. D. Gardner. There was considerable difference of opinion regarding the location of the site of the new church, a large share of the members preferring a site near the centre of the town, while others wanted it farther south. It was finally decided to build upon section 28, opposite the burying-ground, where Amilo Gardnek offered an acre of ground for a church-site. In the spring of 1876 work was begun on the church,--Albert Kenyon being the carpenter in charge of the job,--and it was rapidly pushed to completion, being ready for occupancy in August. It is 32 by 50 feet, tastily designed and well constructed, and cost, including furnishing, about $2500. It was dedicated in August, 1876, by the pastor, Rev. O. Sanborn, assisted by Rev. E. E. Caster, of Saginaw.

     The present membership is about 50 and the officers are: John C. Salsbury, Class-leader; Peter Becker and William Shook, Stewards; John C. Salsbury, William Shook, J. B. Cramer, Peter Becker, W. D. Gardner, Daniel Betts, and Heman Gillett, Trustees.

     The Sabbath-school was first organized about 1840, at the Cranston school-house, as a union school. It was soon changed to a Methodist school, and when the church was built was reorganized there with William Shook as the superintendent. He is also the present one. The other officers are: Henry A. Cornell, Secretary; P. J, Becker, Treasurer. The school has a good library of 75 or 80 volumes, and a membership of about 75 scholars.

     Two other Methodist Sunday-schools have been started in Tyrone. The one at the Love schoolhouse, about twenty-one years ago, with John C. Salsbury as superintendent, lasted only a couple of years. The other was organized several years ago at the No. 9 school-house, with the same gentleman acting as superintendent. It is still in existence, and George G. Perry is the superintendent.

     At the time when the East Tyrone class was broken up, in the fall of 1878, Rev. S. A. Northrop, the Baptist minister of Fenton, began preaching at the school-house in District No. 9, once in two weeks. These services have been kept up since that time with gratifying success. A four weeks' series of nightly meetings was held in February and March, 1879, and resulted in the conversion of 20 or more persons. It is now intended to organize a church there in the spring of 1880.

THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS

     This sect of Christians once had a church in this town which disappeared many years ago, although some of its members still remain residents of this town.

     The first step which led to the organization of this church was the coming of Rev. Charles C. Foote, in the spring of 1850. He was a recent graduate of Oberlin College, and a very ardent and zealous worker. He instituted a series of meetings at the Love school-house, at the close of which he organized a union church with a membership of 13 persons. This church lingered along a few years, but became somewhat reduced in numbers and interest. Just at this time, about 1856-57, Rev. Mr. Seymour and his wife, from Ohio, came and held a series of meetings and preached the Advent doctrines to the people. These meetings were successful in reviving the spiritual ardor of the attendants upon them; but no steps were taken to organize a church. About a year and a half later, Rev. James White and wife came and held a two days' meeting in William Dawson's barn, which still further advanced the cause and aroused new interest in the peculiar doctrines of the Adventists. The field being thus thoroughly prepared, Rev. John N. Loughborough came and organized a church with about 15 members. Among them were Jacob Chrispell, John P. Kellogg, William and Maria Lockwood, Elkanah and Arvilla Stone, William and Henrietta Dawson, and several others. Officers were chosen soon after, and William Lockwood was elected as the first elder, and Mr. Jones as the first deacon, of the church.

     The meetings were kept up at the Cornell school-house with considerable regularity for seven or eight years, during which time the society was known as "The Seventh-Day Adventist Church of Tyrone," and then it was moved to Holly, where it now is.

     The discipline of the sect does not recognize the establishing of pastoral relations between the ministers and churches of the sect, so that no list of preachers is to be had. Among those who 411. have preached here are Revs. Bates, James White, J. N. Loughborough, and Merritt Cornell, a son of Isaac Cornell, who has been a minister of the denomination for twenty-five years.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF TYRONE

     When the membership of the Methodist Church was so much interested in discussing the question of a site for the new church, the differences of opinion became so decided that, when it was decided to locate at the southern point, the class divided and made application to have an appointment continued at the Cranston school-house, in addition to the one at the church. But the officers of the Conference refused to grant this request, thinking that it would lead to the reunion of the divided class by compelling the seceding part to go without preaching or to attend the meetings at the church. But they were not to be coerced in the matter, having made up their minds that they were entitled to preaching in their own locality, and they at once invited the Congregational minister at Hartland, Rev. William H. Osborn, to come, and preach to them. He came, and on the 17th of December, 1876, organized "The First Congregational Church of Tyrone" with 15 members, whose names were as follows: Sylvester P. and Victoria Harvey, Albert and Mary A. Fletcher, Robert and Catharine Petty, Joseph and Mary Barnes, William S. and Martha A. Buxton, Eliza Chase, Frances Cranston, Emma Love, Frances Holmes, and Mrs. Lodema Archbold.

      At this first meeting, Sylvester P. Harvey and Robert Petty were chosen to act as deacons, and Albert Fletcher was elected scribe. Articles of Faith and Covenant were read and adopted.

     The annual meeting of the church was fixed for the first Saturday in December in each year, at 1 o'clock P.M.

     The first preparatory lecture was given on the 27th of January, 1877, by Rev. W. H. Osborn, the first pastor of the church. At that time Almon L. Chase was elected treasurer.

     Rev. W. H. Osborn continued to preach till the summer of 1878, when he resigned his pastoral charge, and a committee of five was appointed to confer with a similar committee from the church at Hartland Centre to make arrangements for the hiring of a pastor. Messrs. Robert Petty, Joseph Barnes, Sylvester P. Harvey, Albert Fletcher, and Adam F. Andrews constituted the committee. As a result of their deliberations, Rev. D. A. Strong was called to the pastorate, and is still serving.

     Up to the winter of, 1878-79, the meetings had been held at the school-house, but the society, deeming themselves able to undertake the work of building a house of worship, decided to do so, and called a meeting to incorporate, preparatory to that step. This meeting was held at the school-house on the 15th of February, 1879, Rev. D. A. Strong presiding, and Frederick C. Wood acting as clerk. The following trustees were elected to hold office at the pleasure of the church, until removed by death, resignation, removal, or misdemeanor, viz., Philo B. Street, Amos Wolverton, Silas Fletcher, Armstrong Reid, and Frederick C. Wood. This board chose officers as follows: Amos Wolverton, Chairman; Frederick C. Wood, Clerk; Armstrong Reid, Treasurer. The meeting then empowered the trustees to secure a site for the church, to be "the most eligible one on the State road, from the centre one-half mile north," and instructed them to have inserted in the deed the following clause: "That the Congregational society shall have full control of the premises by their board of trustees, but shall not debar any evangelical or orthodox church from holding occasional services thereon."

     The trustees selected a site on the northeast corner of the southeast quarter of section 16, and purchased one-half acre of Edward Williams for the sum of $50. Work was begun on the church early in the spring of 1879, and it was completed about the first of October following. The building is of elegant design, beautifully proportioned, and built in a substantial and workmanlike manner. The main part is 32 feet in width and 47 feet long, with a vestibule 10 by 14 feet in front. The roof is of Gothic style, and the whole structure is surmounted by a handsome steeple and spire, reaching upward 84 feet from the ground. The total cost, including furnishing, was about $1825. It was dedicated on Sunday, Oct. 19, 1879.

     At the present time the membership of the church is 76, and a spirit of harmony and peace pervades the society. The present officers are as follows: Sylvester P. Harvey and Robert Petty, Deacons; Adam F. Andrews, Scribe; Almon L. Chase, Treasurer; Amos Wolverton, Frederick C. Wood, Armstrong Reid, Philo B. Street, and Silas Fletcher, Trustees.

     There is a flourishing Sabbath-school carried on in connection with the church.

     To all the kind friends who assisted the writer in his work of gathering historical matter in Tyrone he returns his sincerest thanks, and wishes for them that they may ever meet with as kind a welcome and as generous a hospitality as that with which they met him when his business called him to their doors.412.

Image of Rev. Isaac Morton

Image of Mrs. Isaac Morton

REV. ISAAC MORTON

     Among the venerable pioneers, who by their energy and industry laid the foundation for the present wealth and enterprise of the town of Tyrone, none are more worthy of a conspicuous place in its history than Isaac Morton. He was born in the town of Williston, Chittenden Co., Vt., April 3, 1807. His parents, Isaac and Nancy Morton, were of New England origin, and reared a family of nine children. They were farmers, useful and honorable members of society, and worthy members of the Baptist Church. As was customary in those days, Isaac acknowledged obligation to his father in his labor until he attained his twenty-first year, when he started in life for himself as a farmer. But the rugged hills and impoverished soil of Vermont gave him very unsatisfactory returns for his hard labor, and he resolved to come to Michigan, Accordingly, in September of 1831, he started with his family, which consisted of his wife and one child,--Minerva (now Mrs. Hoysington, of Fenton), --for what was then considered to be the far West. The journey was made by boat from Burlington to Whitehall, and from thence to Buffalo via the Erie and Northern Canal, and from Buffalo to Detroit by lake, He first settled in the town of Saline, Washtenaw Co., where some of his friends had preceded him. Being in extremely limited circumstances, he was obliged to rent a farm. At the expiration. of his lease (two years) he purchased a new farm in the town of York, which he improved, and upon which he resided until his emigration to Tyrone, in January, 1837. The journey was made with an ox-team, and occupied five days. As the country was for the most part a wilderness, they were obliged to ford the streams. The following spring the town was organized, and Mr. Morton was elected its first assessor. He has been a resident of the town since 1837, and has been largely identified with its development. Dec- 3, 1828, Mr. Morton was married to Miss Harriet Abbey. She was born in East Windsor, Conn., March 23, 1811. She was an estimable woman, a worthy helpmeet, a devoted wife, and an affectionate mother. She died Sept. 27, 1879, leaving her husband and five children to mourn her loss. In his religious affiliations Mr. Morton is a Methodist Protestant. In 1849 he was ordained a minister of that faith, and has preached for many years. He never had the advantages of education, but is possessed of good, sound common sense, and is a man of much natural ability. He has a decided taste for poetry, and has composed many poems. We append a few stanzas, written on the death of his wife:

"Sleep, darling in thy narrow bed,

Thus Christ has sanctified and blest;

Thy mouldering place rich flowers will spread,--

Forget-me-nots upon thy breast.

"Thy smiles in sickness and in health,

Would vanquish sorrow fast away,

The hand that plied the many cares,

Now mingles with its mother-clay. 413.

"Can I forget that dreadful night?

Clasp'd to my bosom there she fell;

She saw my tears, bid me not weep,--

'I bid you one and all farewell.'

"For fifty years we lived in love,

I love her, claim her still as mine;

With her I took my pledge of love,

She left with me her love behind.

"This love's a ring that ne'er will break,

It did our hearts together twine;

Though sorrow's path I alone must take.

I will the hill of Zion climb."

     JOHN T. CARMER

     was born in the town of Ellery, Chautauqua Co., N.Y., Sept. 3, 1831. His parents, Daniel Carmer and Bethiah Turner, reared a family of eleven children,--six sons and five daughters. When John was four years of age the family removed to Crawford County, where they resided until June, 1849, when the elder Carmer removed to Tyrone, purchased the farm now owned by his son, John T., and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1879. He was born in New Jersey, Sept. 3, 1789, and married Bethiah Turner in 1820. She was born in New York, Feb. 17, 1802, and is still living. The elder Carmer was a very exemplary man, strictly honorable in all dealings, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.

     John received a good common-school education, and his life has been devoted to his chosen calling, that of a farmer. He has earned an enviable reputation for integrity and ability, and is prominently identified with the political history of the town of

Image of
John T. Carmer

     Tyrone. In 1870 he was elected supervisor, and re-elected in the years 1872, 1874, 1875, 1878, and again in 1879. On the Board he is recognized as an able exponent of the interests of his town. He has filled the office with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents.