Book Description

Excerpt from History of Branch County, Michigan, Vol. 3: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers The plan of this history of Branch County comprises in the first place a connected, consecutive statement of all the facts of general interest relating to the territory now comprising that county, from the earliest accounts down to the present time, embracing a short description of its natural characteristics, and a pretty full record of the principal events occurring within its limits, or in which its residents have been actors. This portion of the work adheres very closely to the chronological order, and includes the history of the Pottawattamie Indians, - the old-time occupants and lords of the Saint Joseph Valley, - an account of the treaties by which that valley was transferred to the whites, an outline sketch of the first settlement of the county, a record of some of the more prominent features of its development, and the ever interesting story of the achievements of the gallant sons of Branch County in the war for the Union. This consecutive account is supplemented by several chapters, the subjects of which cannot well be incorporated in that account; such as sketches of the various county societies, a list of the principal officers, a history of the State school, etc., etc. The whole, thus far, covers near a hundred of the first pages of the volume, and constitutes the general history of the county. The later and larger portion of the work embraces separate histories of the city of Coldwater, and of each of the sixteen townships of the county, going with considerable detail into the facts of their early settlement, showing the hardships and vicissitudes of pioneer life as narrated by the pioneers themselves, and giving lists of the township officers, together with separate sketches of all the churches, lodges, and other local organizations. Intermingled with these are to be found numerous portraits of prominent citizens of the county, accompanied by their biographies, together with occasional views of their residences. Whatever may be said by the critically disposed regarding the literary execution of the work, the writer can confidently recommend the productions of the artists and engravers as being of a decidedly high order of merit. They have reproduced the faces of the past generations, and both the homes and features of to-day, so accurately that even after the lapse of a century there need be no difficulty in knowing precisely what was the condition of Branch County in 1879. And, although there may be those who are disposed to smile at the idea of a mere county history, in which the features of plain farmers and mechanics appear side by side with some of the most distinguished citizens of the State, yet it is safe to predict that in fifty years few books will be more sought after than these local records of to-day, with their delineations of pioneer life and their thoroughly democratic illustrations of all classes of the community. And this simply for the facts depicted by pencil and pen, and despite of any barrenness of style or awkwardness of arrangement of which the author may be guilty. Such a record will be scarcely less valuable than would now be a similar account of actual life in the Revolutionary era, with portraits, not merely of a few generals and statesmen, but of the people of that day, who long since went down to their graves unhonored, unrecorded, and unsung. The early history of this county (that is, its history previous to its settlement) is mostly confined to the story of the Pottawattamies. Three chapters have been prepared on this subject with considerable care, and have been inserted in the histories of both Branch and Hillsdale Counties, its that tribe was for over a century the masters and occupants of the whole valley of the St. Joseph. Since the settlement by the whites, the story of Branch County runs in an ent.