Denmark Township, Tuscola Co., MI This history was extracted from "History of Tuscola and Bay Counties, Mich. with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of their Prominent Men and Pioneers", published in Chicago by H. R. Page & Co. (1883), p. 104-111 This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. *********************************************************************** ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** THE TOWN OF DENMARK. The town of Denmark was organized by the Board of Supervisors at a meeting held. October 11, 1853, and was erected out of territory described as follows: Townships 12, 13 and fractional 14, north. of range 7 east, the same being under the jurisdiction of the town of Rogers. The name of the town was selected by Mr. Selden and his son, C. R. Selden, now treasurer of the county. Its application had no particular significance, but was made with the idea of having a name dissimilar to those of other localities. At the first town meeting held April 3, 1854, at the house of Joseph Selden, Hamilton Hobart and Joseph Selden were inspectors, John E. Freeman and Charles R. Selden, clerks. ENTRIES OF LAND PRIOR TO 1860. TOWNSHIP 12 NORTH, RANGE 7 EAST. SECTION 1. Samuel C. Munson September 10, 1851 James M. Edmunds September 10, 1851 James M. Edmunds January 3, 1852 Townsend North August 10, 1852 Joseph Selden January 8, 1851 John Gardner August 23, 1854 Darwin A. Pettibone August 29, 1854 SECTION 2. Darwin A. Pettibone August 29, 1854 Darwin A. Pettibone March 13, 1855 Darwin A. Pettibone November 26, 1855 Christopher A. Wilber November 21, 1856 Wm. S. Driggs April 18, 1853 A. S. Berry August 9, 1853 Thos. Foote, Jr. January 7, 1854 Seneca C. Breese February 12, 1851 Jas. M. Edmunds January 26, 1859 SECTION 3. Darwin A. Pettibone July 11, 1856 Chauncey Furman December 20, 1854 Josiah West January 17, 1855 Jacob Bain May 22, 1855 Alexander Casebeer August 20, 1856 Calkins Gardner August 28, 1855 John A. Sherwood January 18, 1856 Amacy M. Barton January 18, 1856 SECTION 4. Cuyler Terwilliger February 10, 1857 Henry Van Patten February 16, 1855 Jacob Bain May 22, 1855 Darwin A. Pettibone July 9, 1855 Henry Van Patten September 7, 1858 SECTION 5. Henry Van Patten November 12, 1856 John Nickerson January 22, 1857 Theodore Hunter February 17, 1858 Aaron Watrous August 5, 1858 SECTION 6. Alfred M. Hoyt August 28, 1850 Theodore Hunter April 3, 1857 SECTION 7. Alfred M. Hoyt May 24, 1850 SECTION 8. Alfred M. Hoyt May 24, 1850 Oliver Waters June 1, 1855 Ira Whiting December 11, 1855 SECTION 9. Aaron Watrous April 1, 1854 Alexander Hamilton March 31, 1858 Samuel N. Samson July 29, 1858 Zadock Gillett July 29, 1858 SECTION 10. Wm. Burton May 24, 1854 Alfred M. Hoyt May 24, 1850 Darwin A. Pettibone November 26, 1855 David M. Black August 8, 1856 Jacob Cummings November 12, 1852 David Cummings November 12, 1852 Aaron Watrous, Jr. April 1, 1854 Mils L. Gates February 7, 1855 Aaron Watrous, Jr. December 19, 1855 SEcTION 11. Charles S. Kimberly February 3, 1854 Charles S. Kimberly July 16, 1851 SECTION 12. Charles S. Kimberly July 16, 1851 SECTION 13. Charles R. Selden July 11, 1853 Benj. F. Ormsby August 16, 1853 Spalding Blackman August 16, 1853 Spalding Blackman September 6, 1853 Spalding Blackman September 22, 1853 John Baker October 27, 1853 Geo. Wilkinson November 5, 1853 Jas. Gaunt November 5, 1853 Charles Madison November 16, 1853 John H. Richardson January 24, 1853 John Baker September 24, 1855 SECTION 14. Samuel Pettibone July 21, 1855 William Burton May 4, 1854 Albert C. Van Raalte February 18, 1850 Samuel Mapes October 29, 1850 Eleazar French March 8, 1855 Barsley Mallory June 12, 1855 Mindret Demrest December 3, 1855 SECTION 15. Barsley Mallory June 12, 1855 Henry D. Post February 18, 1850 William Burton May 24, 1854 SECTION 16. Richard C. Burtis January 29, 1857 Milton Ford February 26, 1857 SECTION 17. Alfred M. Hoyt May 24, 1850 SECTION 18. Alfred M. Hoyt May 24, 1850 SECTION 19. Nahum N. Wilson December 20, 1855 Robert Davis November 13, 185 Henry D. Post January 29, 1850 William Young January 8, 1849 SECTION 20. Henry D. Post January 29, 1850 Hosea Pratt January 3, 1855 Sylvester P. Davis June 27, 1859 SECTION 21. Henry D. Post January 29, 1850 SECTION 22. Henry D. Post January 29, 1850 SECTION 23. Henry D. Post January 29, 1850 SECTION 24. Henry D. Post January 29, 1850 Henry D. Post March 14, 1850 Philip Davis September 6, 1853 Edward W. White October 28, 1853 Johann Zimmerman August 18, 1854 Charles Jost August 18, 1854 Charles R. Selden March 17, 1858 T. R. and J. Colman May 16, 1859 Joseph Colman July 15, 1859 SECTION 25. Alfred Moore Nov. 29, 1849 Joseph Selden March 14, 1850 Zelotes Martin August 20, 1858 L. C. Felt September 20, 1858 Joseph Colman September 9, 1858 SECTION 26. Alfred M. Hoyt January 23, 1850 Daniel Robinson October 11, 1854 Robert Houlden February 19, 1855 Robert Crawford June 26, 1855 SECTION 27. Alfred M. Hoyt January 23, 1850 SECTION 28. Alfred M. Hoyt January 23, 1850 SECTION 29. Alfred M. Hoyt January 23, 1850 Charles H. Abbott December 16, 1851 SECTION 30. Darwin A. Pettibone July 11, 1855 Henry S. Edget May 20, 1816 Seivers and Crimer March 15, 1849 Gottfreit Hopper September 18, 1850 William T. Young January 8, 1850 SECTION 31. Joachim Harms October 2, 1855 Augustus Kruger November 10, 1855 Mary Crawford July 29, 1855 Seivers and Crimer March 15, 1849 SECTION 32. Darwin A. Pettibone May 23, 1855 Oliver P. Toby June 22, 1853 Seivers and Crimer March 15, 1849 Albert Backus June 22, 1850 SECTION 33. Nahum N. Wilson June 22, 1853 Henry D. Post January 29, 1850 Seivers and Crimer March 15, 1849 SECTION 34. Henry D. Post January 24, 1850 SECTION 35. Uzziel Burnett September 5, 1853 James M. Foster September 5, 1853 Samuel Garner September 30; 1853 Joseph Wells September 30, 1853 Robert Whitacker October 8, 1853 Herman Camp October 20, 1853 Samuel Garner October 21, 1853 Joseph Wells October 21, 1853 Robert Whitacker November 28, 1853 Henry S. Canfield April 14, 1854 Samuel Garner January 15, 1855 SECTION 36. John E. Freeman October 10, 1851 Albert Moody and Wilson Sloan November 5, 1851 Leonard W. Vankleeck February 9, 1850 E. and J. H. Helms June 19, 1850 EARLY HISTORY. The first settlers of Denmark located in the southwest and southeast corners of the town. In the spring of 1850 Gottleib Amman, Michael Schourtz and possibly one or two others, who had emigrated to America, arrived in the southwest corner of the township and began making an opening in the wilderness for a German settlement that soon followed. The first minister in the present town of Denmark was Rev. Denidorfer, who arrived in 1851, and used to hold meetings in Mr. Amman's house. In 1852 he organized a church with six members, which was the first in that township, and one of the earliest in the county. In March, 1850, Mr. Joseph Selden entered 160 acres of land in section 25, and accompanied by his son, Charles R. Sellien, now treasurer of Tuscola County, came from Wayne County, Mich., that spring and laid the ax at the root of the tree. They built a log cabin, cleared what they could, and that fall put in a crop of wheat. About this same time John Freeman, who afterward became a resident of the town, did some chopping for Townsend North. Mr. Freeman was then an unmarried man and was in Mr. North's employ. In the spring of 1851, Mr. Selden removed his family from Wayne County to the wilderness of Tuscola. The journey was made with two wagons, one drawn by horses and the other by oxen, and from Vassar to their cabin the only road was such as had been marked out by lumbermen. The family consisted of Mr. Selden and wife, and four children: Charles R., present county treasurer, J. G., now of Vassar, Mrs. James Saunders, and Mrs. John Johnson, also now living at Vassar. Mr. Selden, senior, was practically the father of Denmark, having been the leading spirit in its organization and in the early management of its affairs, as was also Mr. Charles R. Selden. After becoming established in their rude home they built a frame barn, the first one built in Tuscola County, outside of Tuscola Township. The raising of this barn was the `"event of the season." North & Edmunds shut down their mill at Vassar, and people gathered from all the region round about to assist in the miracle of frontier enterprise. Mr. Selden assisted in the development of that part of the county until 1860, when his life labors ceased, his death occurring in December of that year. His age was sixty-one years. He was earnestly opposed to the institution of slavery and had strong faith that good would result from the election of Mr. Lincoln to the presidency. About the last interest he manifested in worldly affairs was in the result of the election, which was the fruition of his political hopes. A strip of land along the south part of the township was settled by Englishmen, and in consequence came to be known as the English Line. Among those settlers were Joseph Wells, Robert Whittacker, and Samuel Garner, all of whom are still residents of the township. They located their lands in 1853. Benjamin F. Ormsby, an old Revolutionary soldier, located on section 13. In November 1853, John Baker and family, now of Vassar, arrived and took up their abode on section 13. Other settlers followed the trail which had now become distinct, and in the spring of 1854 the first town meeting was held and Denmark appeared upon the map of Tuscola County. The Carrs, Gaunt, Chamberlain, Mallory, and Hicks were also among the early corners. The life of these first settlers was not unlike that of pioneers generally. They had erected their family altars in the wilderness for the purpose or securing homes and comforts for after years. They expected hardships and were prepared to brave them. Their nearest markets were Flint and Saginaw, both of which were thirty miles away. To these places they went for supplies. The journeys were made with horses or oxen, and generally required three days for the round trip. The average larder was supplied with flour, pork and potatoes, and many a wealthy dyspeptic of the present day would give his fortune to be able to eat one meal with the comfort and relish experienced by those who sat down to the homely fare of these pioneer homes. A few years after the settlement began in Denmark this whole region was visited by a severe frost early in the summer, that cut off everything unable to cope with the freezing power. This occasioned serious loss and some suffering. There were instances where some of the settlers were obliged to subsist for several days upon roots and berries. As a general rule, however, people in this section did not want for food. People were generous and hospitable. The first watermelons belonged to the whole neighborhood, no matter upon whose land they grew. Borrowing and lending was both a custom and a necessity. After the farmers began to raise a little grain they took it to Vassar to be ground, and when water was too high or mud too deep to go with teams, they would take a half bushel of wheat or corn in bags upon their shoulders and "go to mill." FIRST TAVERN. David Bacon, on section 14, probaby kept the first tavern designed and kept as such, having all the appointments of bar, etc. The town meetings were held there for some time on account of its being a public place. But before that the latch string of every house was out, and it was so understood by people in want of a meal or shelter for the night. One of the early stopping places was the house of Mr. John Baker, on section 13. He arrived with his family in November, 1853. The first month they lived in a board tent, and then moved into a small board house that had been hastily built. It seemed to be a convenient point for land lookers and surveyors to stop, and Mrs. Baker's hospitality was taxed to such an extent that it became necessary to take pay from those who ate and slept beneath her roof, as a means of replenishing the larder. Their house was not larger than an average room in a modern house, but it was not unusual for fifteen or twenty people to eat at a single meal and be provided with lodgings for the night. The floor was a convenient and safe bed, and a tier of bunks around the room furnished accommodations that were never grumbled at. "Mrs. Baker's" became a well known stopping place, and although she was obliged to perform all the varied duties of landlady, chambermaid, cook, waiter, nurse, mother and wife, her guests were always provided with a bountiful meal and comfortable lodgings. Sometimes the duties already mentioned were interspersed with garden work. One night after digging and carrying to the pit twenty-one bushels of potatoes, with the aid of her little son, three men came for supper and lodgings, one of whom was Mr. Pettibone, a well known surveyor of that day. The meal was provided, and the only beds in the house given to the guests, while the family slept upon the floor. Mr. Pettibone objected to such an arrangement, but was overruled. He declared that he would not stop there again if he was compelled to occupy a bed while a woman, who had dug potatoes all day, slept upon the floor; and he carried out his promise. One day two men drove up to the house and called for whisky, but soon found they were at the wrong place for any commodity of that kind. The Bakers were strong temperance people, and Mrs. Baker told her husband that something was wrong, or else whisky would not have been called for at their house. At last she happened to think of the deer's horns that Mr. Baker had put up in front of the house, and which were a well known tavern sign. Seeing them the travelers supposed that a full assortment of the usual tavern commodities were kept "constantly on hand." The deer's horns were taken down, and were never more seen adorning the front of the Baker premises. EARLY PREACHING AND SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. Three or four years after the settlement of the eastern portion of the township began, Elder Mitchell made visits to Watrousville, and upon one occasion Mr. and Mrs. Baker walked there, a distance of three and one-half miles, to invite him to their house to arrange for a religious meeting. He accepted their invitation, and returned with them, Mrs. Baker riding his horse and he accompanied Mr. Baker on foot. At this visit he made an appointment to return and preach in two weeks, the meeting to be held at Mr. Baker's house. The appointment was kept, and that meeting was the first public worship in that part of Denmark. About that time Mrs. Baker carried on a Sunday-school at her house. The children from the whole neighborhood assembling for that purpose. Placing the chairs in a circle, Mrs. Baker gathered the school about her, and performed the duties of superintendent, chorister and teacher. The first regularly organized Sunday-school was established by the American Sabbath-school Union, at the house of Mr. Henry Carr, in the spring of 1856. The house was what was known as a block house, with two large rooms. The use of one was given for the Sunday-school. Mr. Carr was not a professor of religion, but Mrs. Carr was a devoted Christian woman. Mr. Matthew Wilkinson, an Englishman, who had been in this country but a few years, was elected superintendent of the school. He was not at that time a professor of religion, but he took hold of the matter with a great deal of interest and earnestness, and the school was prosperous under his management. The children used to gather from all parts of that section, some traveling a distance of five or six miles, thus setting an example which might be studied with profit. OUT OF BREAD. In the fall of 1850, Mr. Joseph Selden and his son, C. R. Selden, were putting in some wheat in the little patch they had cleared. The family had not yet arrived, and they were keeping bachelor's hall in their shanty. Their bill of fare was not complicated, and bread was an essential part of it. This they were in the habit of getting at Vassar, where they had it baked at North & Edmund's boarding-house. But one time the machinery of the bakery was stopped by the continued obstinacy of the yeast, and no bread could be provided. The Denmark farmers lived on potatoes and salt for a number of days until the Vassar yeast could be induced to elevate itself. The fragrance of newly baked bread was wafted to the fasting couple over the town line, or by some other means they learned that again there was manna in the wilderness, and the next morning Charles took a meal bag and journeyed down to Vassar before breakfast. Filling his sack with loaves of bread, he shouldered it and started for breakfast, three miles away. The aroma of the fresh bread would steal out of the sack and insinuate itself into his nostrils with provoking persistency, but he remembered that his father was waiting at home with an appetite as keen as his, and he pushed through without a stop. That morning's breakfast, with its three courses of potatoes, salt and bread, was a banquet such as man partakes of but few times in his life. POSTOFFICES. The first postoffice in the west part of the town was at the German settlement, and was called Richville. The office is still continued, and Henry Liepkert is postmaster. The first in the east part of the town was at Carr's Corners, and Henry F. Carr, now dead, was postmaster. The office is still continued, but the name has been changed to Denmark, and the present postmaster is Reuben Alexander. The other postoffice is at Gates or Reese, as the village is now called, and is spoken of in connection with the village. SCHOOL MATTERS. From the annual school report of the town of Denmark for the year ending September 4, 1882, the following facts are obtained: School directors for the ensuing year: Frederick Wirth, Eugene Willson, George Robinson, Thomas Gulliver and D. G. Wakeman. There are four whole and three fractional school districts, with two brick and three frame school-houses. The whole number of children of school age is 528; attending school during the year, 387. STATISTICAL. Census of 1854: Population 148; males, 79; females, 69; number of acres of taxable land, 3,240; number of acres improved, 178; bushels of corn preceding year, 100; bushels of wheat preceding year, 75; bushels of potatoes preceding year, 180; pounds of butter made preceding year, 1,195; number of horses, 1; number of oxen, 28. Census of 1860: Population, 309; families, 66: dwellings, 66; number of farms occupied, 76; number of acres improved, 1,461; number of horses, 35; number of cows, 121; bushels of wheat, 2,124; bushels of rye, 862; bushels of corn, 2,891; bushels of oats, 2,551; bushels of potatoes, 1881; pounds of butter, 9,445; pounds of cheese, 100; tons of hay, 209. Census of 1864: Population, 368; number of acres of taxable land, 1,473; bushels of corn preceding year, 2,420; bushels of wheat preceding year, 2,420; bushels of potatoes, 2,313; tons of hay, 468; pounds of wool, 546; pounds of butter, 7,690; pounds of cheese, 400. Census of 1870: Population, 816; dwellings, 166; families, 167; farms 113; voters, 172; number of acres of improved land, 3,408; number of horses, 166; pounds of wool sheared, 3,529; pounds of butter made, 31,143; pounds of cheese made, 580; bushels of wheat raised, 7,416; bushels rye, 96; bushels of corn, 4,942; bushels of oats, 9,409; bushels of potatoes, 9,546; tons of hay, 1,208. Population in 1880, 1643. Total equalized valuation of real and personal property in 1882, $575,390. Number of farms in 1881, 167; acres improved, 7,073. Bushels of wheat in 1880, 33,542; of corn, 65,455; tons of hay, 1,459. TOWN OFFICERS. YEAR. SUPERVISOR. CLERK. TREASURER. COMMISSIONER HIGHWAYS. 1883 John J. Rogner. James N. Taylor. Reuben Alexander. Fred. Wirth. 1882 John J. Rogner. James N. Taylor. Reuben Alexander. Fred. Wirth. 1881 John J. Rogner. James N. Taylor. Lester M. Sherwood. Fred. Wirth. 1880 Charles R. Selden. James N. Taylor. Carl C. J. Schultz. Fred. Wirth. 1879 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. Fred. Wirth. 1878 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. John J. Rogner. Fred. Wirth. 1877 Charles R. Selden. George Buehner. John J. Rogner. Fred. Wirth. 1876 Charles R. Selden. George Buchner. John J. Rogner. Fred. Wirth. 1875 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. Fred. Wirth. 1874 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. John Persing. 1873 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. Fred. Wirth. 1872 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. Reuben Alexander. 1871 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. John Persing. 1870 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. Fred. Wirth. 1869 Charles R. Selden. Samuel Persing. Carl C. J. Schultz. Reuben Alexander. 1868 Charles R. Selden. T. H. Smith. Carl C. J. Schultz. Dean Smith. 1867 Charles R. Selden. T. H. Smith. George R. Degroff. Fred. Wirth 1866 Charles R. Selden. T. H. Smith. Daniel Robinson. Reuben Alexander. 1865 Charles R. Selden. E. G. Doud. Daniel Robinson. John A. Wilson. 1864 Charles R. Selden. E. G. Doud. Daniel Robinson. Fred. Wirth, Matthew Wilkinson. 1863 Charles R. Selden. E. G. Doud. Daniel Robinson. 1862 James Sanders. E. G. Doud. Daniel Robinson. Zelotes Martin. 1861 James Sanders. E. G. Doud. Daniel Robinson. John G. Edelman. 1860 James Sanders. Charles R. Selden. E. G. Doud. Matthew Wilkinson. 1859 James Sanders. Charles R. Selden. E. G. Doud. Fred. Wirth, Samuel Garner. 1858 James Sanders. Charles R. Selden. E. G. Doud. Andrew Wilkinson, Fred. Wirth. 1857 James Sanders. E. B. Hayes. Henry Atwood. John A. Hayes. 1856 Joseph Selden. E. B. Hayes. Charles R. Selden. Henry Carr. 1855 Joseph Selden. E. B. Hayes. Frederick Schultz. Fred. Wirth, John A. Hayes. 1854 Joseph Selden. Charles R. Selden. J. B. Thompson. John E. Freeman, Michael Groover. VILLAGE OF REESE. This village is situated on the west boundary of the town of Denmark, at the junction of the Detroit and Bay City Branch of the Michigan Central Railroad, and the Saginaw, Tuscola & Huron Railroad. The history of the village extends back to the year 1865, when R. K. Rogers purchased land of Jesse Hoyt for actual settlement. In June, of that year, Mrs. Louisa Woodruff and Daniel Woodruff, her son, built the first house and occupied it as a home. The following November Mr. Rogers built the second house in the place. In the fall of 1865 a survey was made for a State road from East Saginaw to the county line, and work upon the same was commenced in the winter of 1868-9. In 1867 Mr. Rogers opened his dwelling for a hotel and called it the County Line House. In 1870 the State road was planked to the county line by a company organized for that purpose, and known as the Saginaw and Watrousville Plank Road Company. In 1871 the road was completed to Watrousville, and a mail and stage route established by A. W. Gates, a stage proprietor of East Saginaw. The stage and express office were kept in Mr. Rogers' hotel. The postoffice was also first kept in the same building, and was named Gates, in honor of the stage proprietor, who was instrumental in getting it established. In the fall of 1871 Daniel Woodruff opened a grocery and provision store across the street from the hotel, and about the same time Archie Scott and George Melatt opened a blacksmith shop. The elements of a village were now collected, and in September, 1872, Asenath M. Rogers platted eleven acres and designated it by the name of Gates. The survey was made by E. W. Gerrish, of Caro. In 1873 the Detroit and Bay City Railroad was built, and Hudson B. Blackman platted a tract of land adjoining Gates, and named it Reese, in honor of G. W. Reese, Superintendent of the railroad. Mr. Blackman also donated the right of way and depot grounds. In May, 1875, A. M. Rogers' first addition to the village of Gates was surveyed and platted. The name of the railroad station being Reese, the village and vicinity finally came to be known by that name. The first school meeting was held at Reed E. Stark's, in April, 1866. R. E. Rogers was director, W. B. Stark, moderator, and William H. Mathews, assessor. The first school was taught by Caroline Ellis, of Tuscola, in a lumber shanty, in the spring of 1866. The principal in 1883, is E. D. Dimond; Bell E. Lane, assistant. There are 200 children of school age in the district. The present postmaster is James N. Taylor, who has held the office since 1878. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. At the third quarterly conference of Denmark and Gates Circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held in Denmark, May 16, 1873, the following persons were elected trustees of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Reese, viz.: George White, Josiah Mosher, James Ward, Robert K. Rogers, George W. Chapin, John C. Weller and Daniel J. Wakeman. This was the beginning of this church as a legally incorporated body. Its first pastor was Rev. Frederick Strong, succeeded by Revs. J. H. Cornalia, James Withey, J. H. Cornalia again, P. J. Wright and H. Palmer, the present pastor. In 1874 a church building was erected at a cost of about $1,500. It is 32x50 feet in size, with a seating capacity of 300. The membership is forty-two. The Sunday-school has a membership of over 100, and an average attendance of about sixty-five. Services of the church have been held every Sunday since its organization. FREE-WILL BAPTIST CHURCH. October 6, 1869, Elder L. L. Andrews organized a church of this denomination, at a school-house about a mile from Reese. It was called Oak Grove Free-will Baptist Church, and consisted of eight members. An extensive revival in the winter and spring of 1869 added largely to the membership of the church. In April, 1874, a reorganization of the church was made under the pastorate of Rev. L. McElroy, and a house of worship erected in the village. Rev. John Tree has for the past four years been pastor. The membership is now thirty-five. The trustees are William B. Stark, B. F. Chamberlain and Frank Ayers. The Sunday- school has an average attendance of fifty. SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. A church of this denomination was organized in April, 1881, by Elder A. Weeks, with fifteen members. Meetings are held every Saturday, that day being the recognized Sabbath of this denomination. Prayer meetings also are held during the week. CATHOLIC CHURCH. Services are held once a month by Rev. Father Krembs in an unfinished edifice, about one and a half miles southwest of the village. A subscription has been raised, lots secured and preparations are being made for the erection of a house of worship in the village. LATTER DAY SAINTS. The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ, of the Latter Day Saints, has an organization in the village of Reese, established in 1877 by Elder Robert Davis, with twelve members. It now numbers twenty-three members and is under charge of Elder Edward Delong. Meetings are held at private houses. The president of the district is Wm. H. Kelley. KNIGHTS OF HONOR. Reese Lodge No. 1316, was instituted in December, 1878, with the following as charter members, viz: D. C. Braman, T. A. Brown, O. Hubbard, Wm. Parks, L. M. Sherwood, Wm. B. Stark, J. A. Teters, D. J. Wakeman, P. J. Wright, L. A. Parks, Daniel Cartright, Dr. R. Morris, Alex. Casebeer, Orvil Gillett, A. G. Miller, Geo. B. Rowe, V. D. Starr, J. N. Taylor, H. Van Petten, Samuel Ward, John Newberry, Abraham Jessup, A. H. Guiesbert and Thomas Guliver. The first assessment, No. 52, amounting to $29.20, was paid January 7, 1879. The present officers are as follows: Dictator, Wm. Parks; vice-dictator, Geo. B. Rowe; assistant dictator. John Newberry; reporter, J. N. Taylor; treasurer, L. M. Sherwood; financial reporter, Alex. Casebeer; chaplain, H. Palmer; guide, O. Hubbard; past dictator, D. J. Wakeman. GOOD TEMPLARS. A Good Templars' lodge with twenty-seven members was organized at Reese, in July, 1883. The officers elected were as follows: W. C., ___ Towns; W. V., Jennie Hopkins; W. S., Manuel Markhart; W. T., Gertie Towns; W. M., Frank Thomas; W. I. G., Carrie Towns; W. O. G., W. C. Wilcox; R. H. S., Mrs. Jane Towns; L. H. S., Stephen Leonard; W. C., H. Palmer; W. A. S., Jennie Markhart; W. F. secretary, Chas. Leonard; deputy marshal, Mrs. Mina Griggs. BIOGRAPHICAL. Wm. B. STARK was born in Rushville, Yates County, N. Y., in 1831. In 1837 his parents moved to Canada, where he remained until about twenty years of age, learning and working at the trade of wool carding and cloth dressing. He then shipped as cabin boy and cook on a sailing vessel and sailed Lakes Erie and Ontario during the summer of 1852. In October, 1853, he married Jane E. Tryan, of Onondaga County, New York. During 1854 and 1855 he was mostly engaged in boating on the Erie Canal and its tributaries. In 1856 he moved to Sheffield, Berkshire County, Mass., and followed farming until 1862. In July of that year he enlisted in Company K, Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers. The regiment was assigned to the Eighth Army Corps and served under Sigel, Hunter, Sheridan and others in the Shenandoah Valley. Was with Hunter in his famous starvation raid through the Alleghenies, and fought at Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek and most of the engagements of the valley. Mr. Stark was slightly wounded at Piedmont, Virginia, June 5, 1864, but continued with his regiment, which was transferred in December, 1864, to the Twenty-fourth Army Corps, before Richmond. They were in five days' almost continuous fighting at Hatcher's Run, Petersburg and Richmond, and witnessed the surrender of Lee's army. He was mustered out at Richmond, Virginia, and discharged July 6, 1865, at Boston, Massachusetts. In October, 1865, Mr. Stark moved to Denmark, Tuscola County, and settled in the dense forest. But two families were anywhere near them and they were living in tents. Wolves, bears, wild-cats and deer were plenty, and occasionally the cry of a panther startled them. Six brothers of the Starks and a sister came into the neighborhood within a year or so. In 1870, in company with two other families, they went to Kansas, traveling in covered wagons, taking nine weeks for the journey. He remained in Kansas until July, 1875, when he returned to Denmark and took up his residence in the village of Reese, where he now resides. GEORGE ROBINSON was born in Dryden, Lapeer County, Mich., in 1846, and nothing of particular interest occurred in his life until 1864, when he enlisted in the Eighth Michigan Cavalry, in Company E., and served till the close of the war. He was taken prisoner in the Stoneman raid and was incarcerated in Andersonville prison, where he experienced the inhumanity of the enemies of his country, being reduced by exposure and starvation to nearly a skeleton; on reaching Detroit he weighed but eighty-one pounds. In 1878 he went to Imlay City and in 1880 came to the township of Denmark, where he took charge of the Detroit Iron Company's business at their coal kilos in Reese. He was married in 1867 to Miss Carrie Ingles, of Memphis, Michigan, and has three children. Mrs. Robinson was born in 1849. M. G. GARDNER was born in Yates County, New York, in 1844. His education was obtained in the common schools and the Eddytown Seminary, where he graduated, after which he taught school winters and worked on a farm summers. In 1874 he engaged in mercantile business, which he continued till 1878, when he came to St. Charles, Saginaw County, where he was in the stove business till the next year, when he carne to Reese and formed a partnership with F. Hood, under the firm name of Hood & Gardner, for the manufacture of staves and heading and doing a general mercantile business. Mr. Gardner was married in 1878 to Miss Emma Hood, who was born in Dresden, New York, in 1858, and has two children. LESTER M. SHERWOOD was born in Ontario County, New York, in 1843. He was raised on a farm, working summers and attending school winters till the fall of 1859, when he entered the Ypsilanti Union Academy, where he remained two years. In 1862 he went to Jackson and was ticket agent in the office of the Michigan Central Railroad, and agent for the American Express Company till 1871, when he came to Denmark and engaged in lumbering on a lot he purchased on section 3. He cut the timber and lumber for the railroad station at Reese and in 1879 opened a general store there, which he sold in 1882 and is now (1883) engaged in buying and shipping grain. Was married January 10, 1877, to Miss Ella Wakeman, of Reese, and has one child. ALEXANDER CASEBEER, one of the early settlers of Denmark, was born in Johnstown, Allegany County, N. Y., in 1830. While a child he moved to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, with his parents, where they died, leaving him at nine years of age to do for himself. He worked for the farmers until 1850, when he came to Tuscola County and worked in a saw-mill three years. During that time he bought eighty acres of land in the township of Denmark, and in 1853 commenced to clear it, keeping bachelor's hall for a time. In 1854 he married Miss Elizabeth Woodward, of England, by whom he has had four children. Mr. Casebeer enlisted in his country's service during the rebellion and served a year and a half, when he was discharged on account of disability. After his return he engaged in farming until 1880, and mercantile business till 1882, when he sold his store to Mr. Wakeman, of Reese, since which time he has been engaged in raising bees, being considered good authority on bee culture. When Mr. Casebeer first came to the township there were just men enough to fill the offices; the collector's fees for that year amounted to fourteen cents per day. He endured all of the hardships incident to pioneer life-working hard and faring poor-and at first had to carry his provisions on his back from Vassar. At one time he and a neighbor found some musty meal in a deserted shanty, and enjoyed it as a great luxury. There were no roads for several years, except such as they made by driving through the woods, always carrying an ax to clear the way. HENRY VAN PETTEN was born in Sterling, Cayuga County, N. Y., October 25, 1830. His early life was spent according to the customs of the time, working on the farm summers and attending to the district school during the winter. In the fall of 1850 he came to Vassar, Tuscola County, and engaged in lumbering, which he continued one year, when he returned to New York for eighteen months, coming at the end of that time to Denmark, where he still resides. He was married in 1853 to Miss Rebecca Terwileger, of Wolcott, Wayne County, N. Y., and has nine children. When he first went to Vassar it contained but about one dozen board buildings and the country around the little village was a dense forest, there being but five or six families above Vassar in the county. In December, 1863, Mr. Van Petten enlisted in the Twenty-third Michigan Infantry, Company D, and served one year and ten months. He was in the battles of Franklin and Nashville and other places where danger was imminent. The land he purchased in Denmark was in its primitive state, and his first work was to clear a space large enough to build a shanty upon. The snow at the time being two feet deep, shows the determination of himself and wife to overcome every obstacle and reach success, if possible. He now owns a farm containing 150 acres of improved land—a striking contrast compared with the time when he had to carry supplies upon his back from Vassar, a distance of ten miles, often in water over his boot tops. JAMES N. TAYLOR was born in Richmond, Va., February 8, 1848, and lived at home till 1860, when he went to Washington, and was in the employ of the government during the four years of the war. He then returned to Richmond, and in 1872 came to Michigan, residing in Saginaw County till 1873, when he came to Reese. He was married July 12, 1878, to Miss Eva M. Overton, of East Saginaw, and has two children. In 1870 Mr. Taylor had the misfortune to lose the greater part of his property by fire, but has succeeded in recovering his loss to a great extent. He is a notary public, has held the office of township clerk three years, and has been agent for the American Express Company, and postmaster at Reese, since 1878. REV. L. L. ANDREWS, an early settler of the township, was born in Vermont, October 22, 1822, and moved with his father to Tioga County, N. Y., where they resided until he was twelve years old. Removing then to Canada he remained there until about twenty years of age, when he returned to the State of New York, and lived in St. Lawrence County, where he was married in 1844 to Miss White. In that year he returned to Canada and located near the Rideau River, where he resided ten years. He then removed to Dover, Norfolk County, Ontario, residing there six years, when he went to Round Plains, township of Windham. In 1864 he sold out and came to Michigan, stopping awhile in Bridgeport, Saginaw County, and in 1866 purchased his present farm on section 7, which at that time was wild land, and he was obliged to camp until he could erect a house. Now he has a good home, the result of his industry and economy. About 1853 he was licensed to preach in the Freewill Baptist Church, and about a year thereafter was ordained a regular preacher at the Norfolk quarterly meeting. After his arrival in the wilds of Tuscola he continued to exercise his gifts as a preacher, and during the winter of 1869 a great religious revival was commenced and carried on in the township of Denmark chiefly through his instrumentality. Its effects were widespread, and there are many now living who date their religious experience to that time. A church of eight members was formed in 1867 and Mr. Andrews was chosen pastor, and at the close of the revival forty or fifty people were added to the society, including his three sons. JOSEPH STARK was born in Rushville, Yates County, N. Y., June 4, 1828. In 1837 he went with his parents to Waterloo County, Ontario, where his father engaged in carding and cloth dressing, and he worked in the shop. In 1839 they removed to Norfolk County, where they continued the same business until he was eighteen years of age, when he engaged in farming. In 1862 he came to Saginaw, Mich., and engaged in the manufacture of soap and potash. In 1866 he came to Denmark and purchased a piece of timber land on section 8, and commenced lumbering. He returned to Saginaw and was there till 1871, when he went to Vassar, and had the running of the stage between that place and Saginaw for nearly two years. In 1873 he came to Reese and opened a hotel. He was married October 5, 1858, to Miss Betsey McIntosh, of Port Dover, Canada, and has three children— Almira Christie, born November 27, 1859 ; William Henry, born July 15, 1861, and Celia A., born February 4, 1864. When Mr. Stark first came to Reese there were but three families in the place—his brother William, Mr. Rogers, and Mr. Woodruff. The forest stood in all its wildness around the place, and there were no roads except the State road, which had been chopped through, but had grown up to bushes. The first clearing in the neighborhood was made by Mr. Stark, who had the only horse team within three miles of Reese; and the first school meeting was held tinder a tree and a school board organized, the first school being opened in a shanty on his place. EARNEST SCHULTZ was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, in 1816, and emigrated to America with his parents in 1850. After landing in New York they came to Detroit, where they remained two and one-half years, when they came to Tuscola County and settled on section 30 in Denmark. His early life was spent in attending school and at work. In 1870 he married Miss Rachel Voss, of Den-mark, formerly of Germany, by whom he has two children, one living. CHARLES Voss was born in Detroit in 1851. Came with his parents to Tuscola County, where his father purchased a farm which was one-half of section 19. This has since been divided, Mr. Voss receiving eighty acres of it for his share. In 1872 he was married to Miss Matilde Kool, of Bloomfield, and has three children. CHARLES MOORE was born in the township of Yarmouth, Elgin County, 1837, and was brought up on a farm. At sixteen years of age he went to learn the carriage trimmers trade, which he followed as a business in Pontiac and Ann Arbor till after the war. In 1882 he came to Denmark and settled on section 15, where be purchased a farm. He was married in the fall of 1861 to Miss Melissa E. Baron, of Oakland County, the daughter of David Baron, one of the first settlers of Tuscola County, and who took up the farm where Mr. Moore now resides. Mr. Moore has a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters. FRANK WILCOX was born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1844, where he resided until twelve years of age, when he came to East Saginaw and attended the old academy on Hoyt Street. In July, 1866, he was licensed as an engineer in the Eighth District of Michigan, and followed that business till 1874, when he came to Reese and bought a saw-mill which he is still running. He was married in 1866 to Miss L. A. Hill, of East Saginaw. She was born in Orleans County, N. Y., in 1845, and when about ten years old, came to Michigan with her parents. She has one child, a daughter. WALTER WOODARD was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., July 25, 1845, worked on a farm until twenty-one years of age, and came to Michigan in 1870. In February, 1881, he came to Tuscola County, and was in the employ of the Detroit Iron Company till the spring of 1882, when he took charge of the company's kilns at Reese. The kilns were built in 1879 and have a capacity of 25,000 bushels per month. He was married in 1870 to Miss Edith Nutting, of Jefferson County, N. Y., and has three children. JACKSON C. CORNWELL was born in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1850, attended the law department of the Michigan University, from which he graduated in 1876 and was afterward with Messrs. Mills, Barker & Co., of 176 and 178 Woodward Avenue, Detroit. In 1878 he went to Wisconsin and from there came to Tuscola County and engaged in the furniture business. He afterward purchased a stock of groceries of J. J. Gies, and now carries on the combined business of an undertaker, furniture dealer and grocer. SILAS HAIGHT, an early settler of the township, was born in Genesee County, N. Y., in 1839. His early life was spent on his father's farm, where he worked summers, and was sometimes threshing in the fall. About 1860 he came West and stopped two years in the city of Marshall, after which he came to Denmark and commenced work on a farm his father had previously purchased on sections 27 and 28. In 1867 he married Miss Elizabeth Loss, of Vassar, who died in 1875, and the following year he married Mrs. Electa Thompson, of Otisville, Genesee County, formerly of Brighton, Canada, and by whom be has three children. When Mr. Haight first came to Denmark he had to contend with the hardships of pioneer life. As the forest covered the land, he had to clear away the timber to make room for his shanty. His sister kept house for him, and they were determined, if possible, to overcome all difficulties. The roads were cut out, but not worked, and they were almost impassable, except in the dryest time in summer and when frozen in winter. As he had to go to Flint, a distance of forty miles, for his supplies, the hardships of the trip can be imagined. The first year he had an ox team, but afterward used horses. He was on his place about five years before he could raise his bread, during which time he had to depend upon the money he could earn working in saw-mills or rafting logs on the Cass River, and in other kinds of work. SAMUEL GARNER, one of the pioneers of Tuscola County, was born in Lincolnshire, England, March 31, 1824. He emigrated to America in 1849, and engaged in farming in New York, that being his previous occupation in England. He afterward came to Michigan, and carried on farming in Milford, Oakland County, seven years. Iu 1857 he came to Denmark and purchased land on section 35, and has since been a resident of the township. He was married in 1850 to Miss Ann Gaunt, of Lincolnshire, England, who was born in 1822, and by whom he has had ten children, seven of whom are living. William was born July 15, 1852, married October 18, 1882, to Miss Lucy E. Whidden; Elizabeth A. was born February 11, 1854, married to Thomas Wilson, October 28, 1874; Mary Eliza was born September 19, 1856; Samuel, born February 11, 1861; Ida M., born January 10, 1863; Merrel, born February 28, 1865; Agnes E., born September 12, 1867. JOSEPH WELLS, a native of England, but an early settler of Tuscola County, was born in Lincolnshire in 1816. Came to America in 1836 and landed in New York, from whence he came to Michigan and located in Milford, Oakland County, where he worked by the month on a farm for seven years. He married Miss Deborah Haines, of Milford, formerly of Stanstead, Stanstead County, Ontario, October 30, 1843, and has nine children. After his marriage he worked at blacksmithiug for several years, and in 1854 came to the township of Denmark and purchased a farm on section 35. The first year he chopped five acres and the next year • built a shanty, and moved into it May 4, 1856. He brought with him a year's provisions and a team, but in common with other early settlers suffered many privations and hardships. DIEDERICK GERSTEIN was born in Rheda on the River Ems, Province of Westphalia, Prussia, April 18, 1828, and emigrated to America in 1850, reaching the United States July 4. He first settled in the town of Bloomfield, but afterward purchased a farm on section 29 in Denmark. In 1854 he married Miss Caroline Huss, of Zilwaukee, Saginaw County, who was born in Westphalia in 1835. They have a family of nine children. Mr. Gerstein is the son of a lawyer of Westphalia, in easy circumstances, and knew nothing of hard work until he came to America. He attended the gymnasium of Dartmound nine years, and when the war broke out between Denmark and Prussia, better known as the Schleswig-Holstein war, he went as a private soldier and at its close returned to the city of Dartmound and studied mathematics. December 5, 1848, the two leaders of the republican party were arrested, whereat a mob assembled to liberate them, and as he was in sympathy with it was taken prisoner and kept in confinement at Hamm until his trial came off July 23 and 24, 1849, when he was acquitted. He then went to the city of Bonn and studied natural philosophy, but could not content himself there, as he felt he was under the espionage of the police, and decided to leave his native country and go to America. This he did as above mentioned and worked and roughed it in the woods of Tuscola County as best he could, and has by his own labor cleared 180 acres of land. In 1864 he enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Michigan Infantry and served about one year. WILLIAM PARKS, one of the early settlers of Tuscola County, was born in Brownstown, Wayne County, N. Y., August 23, 1835, and resided in that county until eighteen years of age, during which time he learned the watchmaker's trade. He enlisted September 19, 1861, in Company A, Second Michigan Cavalry, and served two years, being discharged for disability. During his service he participated in the battles of Corinth, New Madrid, and other engagements. Mr. Parks has spent the greater part of his life in Tuscola County, and in 1875 engaged in keeping a general store. In 1882 he formed a partnership with Mr. Little and opened a drug store and jewelry store in Reese. He was married in 1863 to Miss Ellen Wilcox, who was born in Washtenaw County in 1844. They have eight children. JAMES B. THOMPSON, one of the early settlers of Tuscola County, was born in Genesee County, N. Y., April 26, 1820. At the age of six years his father died and he had to do for himself as best he could. He first visited Michigan in 1836, and about 1841 came to Lapeer County and remained there about nine years. In the fall of 1853 he came to Tuscola County and purchased land in the township of Gilford, which he afterward sold, and about 1855 returned to Lapeer County. On the 7th of May, 1859, he again went to Gilford and purchased a farm on section 36. From this time until 1867 he moved several times, but finally settled on section 4. In .1882 he sold his farm and moved into the village of Reese, where he opened a dry goods store in partnership with his son, Frank Thompson. Mr. Thompson married Miss Eunice Winslow, of Dryden, Lapeer County, who was born in the State of New York in 1829. They have two children. Frank, who was born April 10, 1853, has been with his father most of his life, and married Miss Delgracia Gillet, of Denmark. They have one child.