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« . . w Mi w . - V • *• • - v I *» V«l V VIMJ Ullll^ I ^ I yjgive them a fair trial. Otherwise, we may end up with a very sick man, indeed.—Wall Street Journal.THE HISTORY OF MARSHALLByHarold C. BrooksTHE FIRST YEAR OF SETTLEMENT—183!Chapter * •It is Anril. 1831 New green is leafing the trees and the trass i is alreadv thi« k on the prairies. Blue birds and robins are returning to the groves although the warmin'” sun ha* not completely conquered winter. Even now. the glamour thrown 1 over the land lor Sidney Ketchum. nearly a year ago. i sumo- « what dispelled by the lowering clouds that give a les smiling ; welcome to his brother. George. He is slowly approaching the lauded “oak ipenings at Rice Creek and the Kalamazoo River, bringing in his train the first settlers of future Marshall They are traveling in ox carts and on foot, and on the foremost cart ' is the guardian saint of the party, a woman with her baby Rath- 1. er than let her husband come alone she wanted tosnap-hishardships, and there is no word of complaint from her fallow 1travelers. We ratliei believe they must have blessed her fir the *touch of home she brought. }The little group has come a long way by stage and lt;anal »through New York State to Buffalo, by lake packet to Dei milwhere two teams of oxen and wagons were bought, and then along . the Territorial Road for nine days. In Ypsilanti they found about 1 forty houses; in Ann Arbor, fifty; and in Jacksonburgh a few log c cabins. Since there were still very few taverns, thev were often t nhlig^d to can't) overnight by the side of the trail George- K'dch-. »*m gives ns the story of the latter part of his iournev in a letter I 'dated April 27. 1831: [I- i started iroin Ann Arbor Friday (the 15th). twelve o’clock I ’* w oun’ wit*' two waK°ns anc* lw0 y°ke of oxen, two cows and l calf, seven men. one woman and child. The personnel was: George Ketchum from Palmer. Saratoga County. N. Y . his cousin. White Ketchum from Rochester, who doubtless was on the 1.. trip for adventure since he is never again mentioned in pioneer i i stories; Larcum Ball with his wife and child; Horace P Wisner. £• Solomon M. Allen, and John Kennedy. There was a guide.:probably from Ann Arbor. His letter continuer . JThe distance to Calhoun is sixty-five miles through 'u marshes and creeks The road otherwise is good. (Was this lt;Irony?) We crossed one large marsh where we had to carry all our things on our backs, for the distance of eighty rods, in waterf jg1®* The oxen we drove over single, and one brokef mrough the bog and we worked two hours to get him out. withchains under him and round his horns, and as much as eight men could do to get him over, the marsh was so soft. But we succeeded after great fatigue and trouble. We got to Blashfields about nine o clock In the evening; that is the last house, and seventeenthis sldo of our place, and the nearest house tomrus. Wemaly Tuesday morning, arrived late in the evening (April Ida Are end cooked our bread and pork after dark.first home fire still glows faintly In the picture of Mar-spark was flashed with a flint and the steel of a long-knlfe, for it was soma years before matches were in*reen wood burn and, I wood for the following day's fire was always dried the r,wWith the_pmiwut noises of the wilderness piercing* gathertn* over the .moon for rain, the shadows‘«n the frightening shapes of wild ani Ming was an eerie experience* Howive held her baby! How homesick comfortable heai
Newspaper Details
Marshall Evening Chronicle
Marshall, Michigan, US
Mon, Oct 23, 1950
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Marshall D.
MI, USA 19 Nov 2017
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