Civil History for Juniata, Juniata, Tuscola, Michigan Copyright © 1998 by Bonnie Petee. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. ___________________________________________________________________ CIVIL HISTORY Taken from, "The History of Tuscola County, Biographical Sketches and Illustrations, H. R. Page Co., Chicago, 1883. The township of Rogers was organized by act of legislature, approved March 2, 1851, and comprised the following territory, to wit: Townships 12, 13, and 14 north, of ranges 7 and 8 east, and township 15 north, of range 8 east. In 1857, the name of the town was changed, by act of legislature, from Rogers to Juniata. The first town meeting was held April 7, 1851, at the house of Levi Rogers, at which the following officers ere elected, viz. Supervisor, Ephraim Smith; clerk, Joseph Selden, treasurer, Truman H. Lake; commissioner of highways, Silas H. Moore; school inspector, Daniel Gorton; justices of the peace, Jonas G. Belknap and Levi Rogers; constables, Andrew J. Rogers and William S. Jameson; poor-master, P. McGlone; overseers of highways, Ezra Belknap, District No. 1, and G. W. P. Rogers, District No. 2. The whole number of votes cast was thirteen. At a meeting of the town board, September 30, it was voted to raise $60 for town expenses. In 1852, the town meeting voted to raise $250 for highway purposes. December 14, 1852, Daniel Gorton was appointed treasurer, to fill vacancy occasioned by Truman H. Lake, being elected sheriff of the county. In 1853, $250 was voted for highway purposes. In December of the same year, Silas H. Moore was appointed agent for the town to sell spirituous liquors. The treasurer's statement, dated December 10, 1853, shows: State and county tax $321.65 Town tax $100.00 Highway tax $250.00 Non-resident delinquent tax $277.71 School districts $482.25 Mill tax $ 65.00 In 1856 the whole number of votes cast at town meeting was 109. In July, 1856, the boards of Rogers, Fairgrove and Akron, met at Watrousville, for the purpose of effecting a mutual settlement. The following rule of division was adopted, viz.: that moneys, credits and debits, be divided in the proportion of 59/100 to Rogers, 275/1000 to Fairgrove, and 135/1000 to Akron, on which basis a settlement was made. September 4, 1857, Theophilus Baldwin was appointed clerk by the town board, in place of O. P. Chubb, resigned. Under date of October 17, 1857, appears a report of Patrick McGlone and Frederick Schilling, commissioners under act of the legislature, appointed to lay out a road from Sebewaing to Cass River, and D. E. Cranston, surveyor, that they have laid out and established a road, on a line described, from the northeast corner of section 4, through the town to the right bank of Cass River; and of B. A. Wood and Henry Wideman, commissioners, that they have laid out and established a road from the southeast corner of section 36, on a line described, to an intersection with the Sebewaing and Cass River road. In 1858, $300 was raised for highway purposes. In 1859, 109 votes were case at town meeting. The annual settlement with the treasurer in 1860, showed the following debits: Supervisor's warrant $1,169.69 Cash of county treasurer $ 50.00 Primary school money $ 84.16 County orders $ 164.44 The number of votes case in 1860 was 130. November 16, 1860, the supervisor reported taxes to be collected as follows: Town Purposes $ 378.29 School $ 708.76 Highway $ 114.80 State and county tax $ 711.60 Total $1,913.45 April 8, 1861, A. B. Weaver was by the town board appointed supervisor, in place of Andrew Davidson, resigned. January 6, 1864, a special town meeting was held at the house of H. G. Vaughn, for the purpose of raising money to relieve the town from the draft. It was voted unanimously, to authorize the town board to issue bonds to the amount of $3,000, for the payment of bounties to volunteers for military service, and in the following March the board executed bonds of $200 each, to the amount of $2,600. The amount of the assessment roll fot the year, as per warrant, was $2,480.35. The total number of votes cast at the annual election in 1864 was 152. At a special town meeting August 15, 1864, it was voted to raise by tax $100, for each man credited to the town on the last two calls from this date, for military service. At the presidential election in 1864, 160 votes were cast. The annual meeting for 1865, authorized to pay out of the contingent fund a sufficient sum to pay the amount due volunteers, who went into military service the previous fall and were credited to the town, under the call for 500,000 men, money which had been raised by subscription, to be paid into the treasury; and $2,600 was ordered raised, to pay bonds coming due the following spring. Taxes for 1865, as per supervisor's warrant, were $5,764.68. In 1866, $2,000 was ordered raised, to pay soldiers' bonds. Total number of votes cast at the election, 161. In 1867, a bounty of $12 was voted for every wolf killed. At the annual meeting in 1868, 79 votes were cast for the annual sessions of the legislature, and 20 for the biennial sessions. 90 votes were cast for prohibition, and 17 against. At a special town meeting held June 25, 1868, it was voted to raise four percent on the assessed valuation of the town, as a bonus to the East Saginaw & Watrousville Plank Road Company, on conditions specified. August 29, 1868, the town board appointed Benjamin A. Wood, supervisor to fill vacancy caused by the death of J. W. Rogers. In October, Mr. Wood having resigned, Henry P. Atwood was appointed supervisor. The amount of tax roll for 1869 ws $4,491.13. The number of votes cast in 1870 was 170. At the November election of 1872, 210 votes were cast for governor. The amount of the tax roll for 1874 was $3,684.30; for 1875 it was $4,466.04. In April, 1878, the town board appointed John M. Cole supervisor, in place of E. B. Hayes, resigned. The total tax for 1878 was $7,113.73. In October, 1882, a vacancy having occurred in the office of treasurer, by the death of John Walton, Perry Y. Johnson was appointed by the board. In December, 1882, E. B. Hayes having resigned the office of supervisor, T. M. Rutherford was appointed to fill the vacancy. STATISTICAL Census of 1860: Population, 643; number of families, 134; number of dwellings, 134; number of farms, 135; number of acres of improved land, 3,045; number of horses, 82; number of cows,102; bushels of wheat, 7,695; bushels of rye, 152; bushels of corn, 7,250; bushels of oats, 4, 579; bushels of potatoes, 3, 579; pounds of wool, 512; pounds of butter made, 14,773; pounds of cheese made, 500; tons of hay cut, 333; flouring-mills, 1; saw-mills, 1. Census of 1864: Population, 766; number of acres of taxable land, 12,780; number of acres improved, 4,034; bushels of corn preceding year, 9,010; bushels of wheat preceding year, 11, 692; bushels of potatoes preceding year, 4,943; tons of hay preceding year, 844; pounds of wool sheared, 2,073; pounds of butter made, 19,175; pounds of cheese made, 870; flouring-mills, 1; saw-mills, 1. Census of 1870: Population, 1,042; families, 204; dwellings, 202; farms, 133; voters, 231; bushels of wheat raised, 21,392; bushels of corn, 13,471; bushels of oats, 11,356; bushels of potatoes, 16,995; tons of hay, 1,467; number of acres improved land, 6,012; pounds of wool sheared, 9,121; pounds of butter made, 36,569; pounds of cheese made, 730. Census of 1874; Population 1,041; number of horses, 319; number cows, 427; bushels of wheat raised, 17,377; bushels of corn, 21,490; bushels of apples, 4,496; bushels of potatoes, 17,670; tons of hay, 1,493. SCHOOL MATTERS In Juniata there are eight school districts, one of which is fractional. The directors are Q. Tappan, E. B. Hayes, W. J. Lawe, Ambrose Lewis, David Johnson, J. F. Riley, Nelson Miller. Whole number of children of school age in the town, 400; number that attended school during the year, 320. dz