Allegan County, Michigan - Chapter 60: Organization, 1880

Chapter 60: Organization

First Act affecting the Two Counties - Attached to Lenawee County and to St. Joseph Township - Organization of St. Joseph and Cass Counties - Part of Allegan attached to the Former, and Part to the Latter - Erection of Allegan County - Its Organization as Allegan Township - Attached to Kalamazoo County - Record of First Town- Meeting - Record of First Election - Organization of the County - Record of Meeting to nominate County Officers - The OfBcers commissioned - Copy of the Probate Judge's Commission - Notice of the First General Election - The Election at two Places - Contest over the County Registership - Our Solution - The County divided into Four Townships - Their Description - Formation of Manlius - Of Martin - Trowbridge - Watson - Wayland - Plainfield changed to Gun Plain - Formation of Ganges - Dorr - Monterey - Leighton - Fillmore - Pine Plains - Cheshire^ - Heath - Hopkins - Casco - Salem - Overisel - Laketown - Lee - Clyde - Newark changed to Saugatuck - Barry County - Forming Counties without People - Act forming Barry - Origin of Name - Organization of Barry Township - First Town-Meeting - Officers elected - Second Set of Township Officers - Division of County into four Townships - Organization of County - Copy of Law - First County Officers - Formation of Yankee Springs - Of Irving - Changes relating to Irving - Formation of Spaulding, and change to Prairieville - Formation of Castleton, Woodland, and Carlton - Of Assyria - Orangeville - Maple Grove - Rutland - Change and Restoration of Yankee Springs - Formation of Baltimore and Hope - The City of Hastings.

The first enactment which, nominally at least, brought the territory of Allegan and Barry Counties under civil jurisdiction was that passed by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan in November, 1826, which declared that all the country to which the Indian title had been extinguished by the treaty of Chicago should be attached to and compose a part of the county of Lenawee. On the 12th day of April, 1827, another act formed the territory thus annexed to Lenawee County into the township of St. Joseph. That township must have contained at least ten thousand square miles.

Erection And Oeganization Oe Allegan

After the organization of the whole region acquired by the treaty of Chicago as the township of St. Joseph, as just narrated, the first change in the municipal relations of the territory of Allegan County was made by the law passed by the territorial council, and approved on the 4th of November, 1829, which organized the counties of St. Joseph and Cass, and provided that Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Branch, Barry, and Eaton Counties,* and all the country north of township 4, north of the base-line, west of the principal meridian, south of the county of Mackinaw (as then formed) and east of the line between ranges 12 and 13, should be attached to and compose a part of the county of St. Joseph. By the same act the counties of Berrien and Van Buren, and all that tract north of Van Buren County and west of the line between ranges 12 and 13, should be attached to and compose a part of the county of Cass.

The latter tract embraced the four western ranges of townships in the present Allegan County. On a close examination of the statute it will be seen that the first-named tract did not include the two eastern ranges of Allegan

County, yet it was doubtless intended to do so, and those eight survey-townships seem to have been always considered, from that time till the organization of Allegan County, as a part first of St. Joseph and then of Kalamazoo County. Possibly a law was passed which was not published (there were some such cases) temporarily annexing those townships to St. Joseph County.

On the following day (Nov. 5, 1829) Kalamazoo and Barry Counties, and all the country lying north of the same which was attached to the county of St. Joseph, were formed by law into the township of Brady.

On the 2d day of March, 1831, a law was approved forming the counties of Clinton, Ionia, Kent, AUegan, Ottawa, Gratiot, Montcalm, Oceana, Saginaw, Midland, Gladwyn, Avenac, and Isabella. The fourth section reads as follows :

"That the country included within the following limits - to wit, south of the base-line and south of the line between townships 4 and 5 north, west of the line between ranges 10 and 11 west of the meridian, and east of the shore of Lake Michigan - be and the same is hereby set off into a separate county by the name of Allegan."

The four western ranges still remained attached to the township of Penn, in Cass County, and the two eastern ranges, as before stated, were treated as a part of St. Joseph County until the organization of Kalamazoo County (July 30, 1830), and subsequently as a part of Kalamazoo County.

On the 29th day of March, 1833, a law was approved which enacted " that all that district of country which has been set off into a separate county by the name of Allegan shall be a township by the name of Allegan ;" also " that said township of Allegan shall be attached to the county of Kalamazoo for all legal purposes whatsoever."

As the township thus formed comprised the whole county, we give here a copy of the record of the first town-meeting, taken from the original township-book, which was afterwards used by the township of Otsego :

" The inhabitants of the Township of Allegan met on Saturday the 6th April, 1833, at the house of Samuel Foster, according to previous notice, and proceeded to organize, when Hull Sherwood was chosen moderator, and Cyrenius Thompson township clerk ; Charles Miles, supervisor; Ebenr. Sherwood, Calvin White, and D. A. Plumber were chosen assessors; Martin W. Rowe was chosen collector; Giles Scott and H. C. White, overseers of the poor; T. Aldrich, Norman Davis, and R. Sherwood were chosen commissioners of highways or roads ; M. W. Rowe, constable ; Orlando Weed, Eben. Sherwood, U. Baker were chosen overseers of roads, and Abijah Chichester also overseer of roads; S. Foster, C. Miles, S. Thompson were chosen school inspectors. The meeting then adjourned, to be convened again at 10 O'C. A.M., on first Monday of April next.

" At a meeting of the electors of the town of Allegan, in the County of Allegan, M. T., the 8th of July, 1833, at the house of Samuel Foster, it was found, after duly canvassing the votes, that Lucius Lyons had for delegate to Congress twenty-two votes.

Inspectors of Election, \ ^- Shearer, ^j Almirin L. Cotton, [ Cyrenius Thompson. " At a meeting held by the electors of the town of Allegan, in the County of Allegan, M. T., on the 8th of July, 1833, at the, house of Samuel Foster, it was found, after duly canvassing the votes, that

Calvin Briton had for delegate to legislative Council twenty votes and that H. S. Sherwood had two votes for the same appointment. Samuel Fostee, .ToHif L. Shearer, Almirin L. Cotton, , Cyrenius Thompson, Town Clerk."

Township-meetings were likewise held in Allegan while it embraced the whole county in 1834-35, but as nearly all the participators resided in Otsego, and as the town-book has been retained there, the names of the officers elected are given in the history of that township.

On the 6th of October, 1834, the Governor of the Territory appointed Oshea Wilder, Cyrus Lovell, and Isaac E. Crary as commissioners to locate the county-seat of Allegan County, as was the practice at that day. Their report on making the location, and the Governor's proclamation confirming the same, cannot be found in the office of the Secretary of State, but it is well known that the county-seat was duly located at Allegan village.

In 1835 a considerable number of people located themselves at Allegan village, and in the summer the people of the county thought themselves strong enough to have a separate county organization. The matter was presented to the Legislative Council, and an act was duly passed organizing the county. It is not published with the other territorial laws, and we are not able to give the exact date of its passage, but we learn from the Secretary of State that one of the sections provided for the act's taking effect on the 1st day of September, 1835. A meeting was then called, to be held at Otsego on the 12th of August, to recommend suitable persons to the Governor and council to be appointed to the various offices of the county. We are greatly indebted to Mr. Martin T. Ryan, of Allegan, for the original record of that meeting, which we quote verbatim. It is somewhat defective in clearness, yet its meaning can easily be understood. It is indorsed, " Proceedings of Co. Meeting to organize Co. of Allegan, Augt., 1835." The paper itself reads as follows:

"The Inhabitants of Allegan met on Wednesday, the 12th inst., according to notice. When on motion Elisha Ely, Esq., was cald to the chair, and J. L. Shearer was chosen Secretary.

The committee performed the duty assigned to it, and on the 25th of August the Governor issued commissions to the above-named persons for the offices to which they were respectively recommended. It will be observed that the meeting did not recommend any one for county register or treasurer. None of the survivors of that period recollect with certainty who were appointed to those offices, but from all the evidence, of which more will be said farther on, we are satisfied that Alexander L. Ely was appointed register as well as clerk, and that Milo Winslow was appointed treasurer. By the favor of Oka Town, Esq., we are permitted to give a copy of the commission issued to him, which reads as follows :

** Know ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity and ability of Oka Town, I have nominated, and by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council of the said Territory, have appointed him Judge of Probate in and for the County of Allegan, and I do hereby authorize and empower him to execute and fulfill the duties of that office according to law ; to have and to hold the said office, with all the rights, privileges, and emoluments thereunto belonging, during the pleasure of the Governor of the Said Territory for the time being.

" In Testimony Whereof I have Caused these Letters to be Made [l.s.] Patent, and the Great Seal of the said Territory to be hereunto affixed.

" Given under my hand at Detroit, this twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the sixtieth.

This was the period at which Michigan was passing from the condition of a territory to that of a State, and the first election after the organization of the new county was held to choose State officers, members of the Legislature, and a Congressman, under the constitution just formed, and also to take a vote on the question of approving that constitution, as will appear from the following notice, for which we are also indebted to Mr. Ryan :

" Is hereby given that a meeting of the electors of the Township of Allegan and County of Allegan will be held at the usual place of holding Township Meetings in said township, on Monday, the 5th day of October next, at ten of the clock, a.m., and on Tuesday, the 6th day of October next, at the Hous of A. L. Ely, Esq., in the Village of Allegan, at eleven o'clock, a.m., for the purpose of Electing One Governor, one Lt.-Governor, one Representative to Congress, one Member of the Hous of Bepresentaves of Michigan For the County of Allegan, and three Senators for the third Senatorial District, composing the Counties of Hilsdale, Branch, St. Josephs, Cass, Berrien, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Allegan, and Also to take into Consideration the Ratification or Rejection of the Constitution for the State of- Michigan, agreeable to the 9th Article Entitled Schedule of said Constitution. Dated at Allegan, Sept. 25, 1835.

" The usual place of holding township-meetings in said township" (which, it will be remembered, still embraced the whole county) was at the house of Samuel Foster, in the villan-e of Otsego, and there the election was held on the 5th of November. At the close of that day, Oka Town, a justice of the peace and one of the election board, took the ballot-box to his residence. The next morning he mounted his horse, took the ballot-box under his arm, and rode through the woods to Allegan, where the second day's election was held. There was no contest in regard to any ofl5ce, except that of representative to the Legislature from this county, and for this position the struggle was entirely sectional. Dr. Lintsford B. Coats was the candidate of the settlers of Otsego and Gun Plain, and that vicinity, while the proprietors and workmen who were making a beginning at Allegan supported Elisha Ely. At the close of the election it was found that Dr. Coats had thirty votes and Mr. Ely thirty-one, and the latter was accordingly declared elected. No county officers were chosen at this election.

In April, 1836, a county treasurer and a county register were elected by the people. Milo Winslow, the appointee of the Governor, was chosen treasurer, and to the best of our knowledge Joseph Fisk was elected register. Owing to the long time which has elapsed, and the mass of important business which has occupied his attention. Col. Fisk himself does not recollect the exact date at which he entered on the office, nor is there any one else now living in Allegan County who is at all certain as to the- facts. The books show that a number of the earliest entries were made by Mr. Ely or his deputy, Mr. Parkhurst, though the minute of the reception of each one was not dated and signed, as has since been the case. After that, for several months, closing about the last of June of that year, deeds and mortgages are marked as received for record, sometimes by Joseph Fisk, and sometimes by A. L. Ely, and, what is more strange, the handwriting of the records made in the same book at this period are alternately in the handwriting of the respective deputies of Messrs. Fisk and Ely.

Now, that an election for treasurer and register was held in April, 1836, and also that there was some legal defect in the election or the method of conducting it, appear by the fact that in June of that year a law was passed by the State Legislature, legalizing the election of treasurer and register of Allegan County, in spite of any illegality in the election or the manner of canvassing the votes. Immediately after that, Mr. Ely ceased entirely to act as register, all the records bearing Col. Fisk's name until the close of the year. Then Mr. Ely again took the office, by virtue of his election in November, 1836.

From all this, we infer that Mr. Ely was first appointed register by the Governor ; that Col. Fisk was elected to the same office in April, but that, on account of some legal defect in the election, Mr. Ely still claimed to be the register ; that both acted from that time until the passage of the law before mentioned, when Col. Fisk took entire control. Apparently, the first deeds were not copied when received, or were copied into a temporary book, and when the contest was decided, each of the contestants, or his deputy, copied the deeds he had received into the present book of records. There are some deeds and mortgages which are marked as received by Col. Fisk before the 1st of April, but these may have been some which Mr. Ely, in the confusion of that period, had failed to record, and which, when they came into Col. Fisk's possession, he dated back to the time of their reception by Ely, as we learn from other evidence was sometimes done.

On the 23d day of March, 1836, an act of the State Legislature was approved, dividing the township and county of Allegan into four townships, as follows : Plainfield contained survey-townships 1, 2, 3, and 4 north, in range 11 west; now the civil townships of Gun Plain, Martin, Wayland, and Leighton. Otsego comprised the same numbered townships in range 12 ; now Otsego, Watson, Hopkins, and Dorr. Allegan included the same numbered townships in ranges 13 and 14, being the present civil townships of Trowbridge, Allegan, Monterey, Salem, Cheshire, Pine Plains, Heath, and Overisel. Newark contained the survey-townships bearing the same numbers in ranges 15 and 16, and a small fraction of township 1 in range 17, its territory being now divided between the townships of Lee, Clyde, Manlius, Fillmore, Casco, Ganges, Saugatuck, and Laketown.

Town-meetings were duly held in the four townships in April following, and the board of supervisors met for the first time on the 4th day of the ensuing October. Its proceedings on that occasion are given in Chapter XIV.

Since that time there have been twenty new townships organized in Allegan County, and several other changes made. Until 1852 such organizations and changes were directed by the State Legislature. Prom that time until 1860 the board of supervisors had full authority over those subjects. Control over them was then resumed by the Legislature, but no townships have been formed in Allegan County since that time. The following is the record :

Wayland was organized on the 9th day of March, 1843, being taken from Martin, and being composed of townships 3 and 4 in range 11 (Wayland and Leighton).

Ganges was organized on the 16th day of March, 1847, being formed from Newark, and comprising townships 1 and 2 in range 16, and a small fraction of township 1 in range 17 (now Ganges and Casco).

« Township 4, range U (Fillmore), was taken from Newark and annexed to Manlius by the Legislature, but was subsequently given a separate organization, as mentioned a little farther on.

Fillmore, organized on the 15th day of March, 1849, formed from Manlius, and comprised township 4, range 15, "I" its present territory.

Pine Plains was formed from Allegan and Newark on the 28th day of March, 1850, comprising townships 1 and 2 in range 15 (now Lee and Clyde), and all of township 2 in range 14, west of the Kalamazoo. The part of the lastnamed township east of the river was subsequently annexed to Pine Plains, the limits of which now correspond to those of the survey-township just mentioned.

Heath was erected on the 18th day of March, 1851, and consisted of all of survey-townships 2 and 3, range 14, east of the Kalamazoo. Its boundaries have since been made to correspond with those of survey-township 3, range 14.

Casco, formed from Ganges Dec. 27, 1844, embraced then as now township 1, range 16, and fractional township 1 (about three sections) in range 17.

Salem was erected on the 10th day of October, 1855, being formed from Monterey and comprising township 4, range 13, - its present territory.

Laketown came into existence on the 13th day of October, 1858, being taken from Newark, and comprising fractional township No. 4, in range 16 (about twenty-two sections), which still constitutes its territory.

Clyde, the last township formed in the county, was taken from Pine Plains on the 12th day of October, 1859, and was composed of township 2, range 15, which is its present territory.

The name of Newark was changed to Saugatuck in 1861. Its territory had been reduced to fractional township No. 3, in range 16 (about twenty-seven sections), of which it is still composed.

Erection And Oeganization Of Bakky

COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS. In most countries municipal divisions are formed after it is found that there are people who need them, but west of the Alleghanies it has long been common to form counties first and put the people into them afterwards. In accordance with this custom, the Legislative Council of Michigan passed an act, which was approved on the 29th day of October, 1829, establishing the counties of Washtenaw, Ingham, Eaton, Barry, Jackson, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Hillsdale, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, and Berrien. Section 4, with which alone we are especially concerned, reads as follows :

" That so much of the country as lies north of the base-line and south of the line between townships 4 and 5 north of the base-line, west of the line between ranges 6 and *J west of the meridian, and east of the line between ranges 1 1 and 12 west of the meridian, be and the same is hereby set off into a separate county, and the name thereof shall be Barry."

Of the thirteen counties established by this act, eight (Jackson, Calhoun, Van Buren, Ingham, Eaton, Branch, Berrien, and Barry) were named respectively after the President, the Vice-President, and the six cabinet ministers of that date. Barry received its appellation from the Hon. William T. Barry, then Postmaster-General under President Jackson. J

By an act approved on the 4th day of November following, the newly-formed counties of Branch, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Barry, and all that tract lying north of the north line of the townships numbered 4 in the several ranges, west of the principal meridian, east of the west line of range 12, and south of the south line of the county of Mackinaw, was temporarily attached to St. Joseph County for legislative and judicial purposes.

On the following day (Nov. 5, 1829) a law was approved enacting that Kalamazoo and Barry Counties, and the tract, belonging to no county, described in the preceding paragraph, should form a township by the name of Brady ; the first town-meeting being directed to be held at the house of Abram I. Shaver, in the south part of Kalamazoo County.

Barry County was not formed into a separate township until the 24th day of March, 1836, when an act of the State Legislature was approved, which contained the following sections ;

" Sec. 50. The County of Barry shall be, and the same is hereby, set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Barry, and the first township-meeting shall be held at the dwelling-house of Nicholas Campbell.

" Sec. 51. The inhabitants of the aforesaid township shall have the same rights and privileges, and be subject to the same duties and restrictions, as the inhabitants of other townships of this State."

The dwelling-house of Nicholas Campbell, mentioned in the first section just quoted, was situated in the present township of Prairieville, and there the first town-meeting in Barry County was held, in the fore-part of April, 1836. Charles W. Spaulding was chosen moderator, and Orville Barnes clerk. A full list of officers was elected, whose

J William Taylor Barry was born in Lunenburg, Va., Feb. 5, 1784. He removed to Kentucky when a young man, and was a member of Congress from that State in 1810-1 1. He served in the war of 1812, and was a United States senator in 1814-16. After holding various other offices he was made Postmaster-General by President Jackson, in March, 1829. He retired from that position in 1835, and was immediately appointed minister to Spain. He died at Liverpool on the 30th day of August, 1835, while on his way to Madrid to assume the duties of his new station.

Histohy Of Allegan And Bakry Counties, Michigan

names we give here, as they resided in various parts of the county, and were not specially connected with any of the present townships : Supervisor, C. G. Hill ; Town Clerk, Orville Barnes ; Assessors, Benjamin Hoff, Henry Leonard, and C. W. Spaulding ; Commissioners of Highways, Amasa S. Parker, Nicholas Campbell, and Calvin G. Hill ; Justices of the Peace, Orville Barnes, C. W. Spaulding, Benjamin Hoff, and C. G. Hill ; Collector, William Campbell ; School Commissioners, C. W. Spaulding, Benjamin Hoff, and Luther Hill ; Directors of the Poor, Linus Ellison and Moses Lawrence; Constables, Lewis Moreau and William Campbell.

In 1837 the election was held at the house of Charles W. Spaulding, also in the present township of Prairieville, and the following were the officers elected :

Supervisor, Isaac Otis ; Town Clerk, Ambrose Mills ; Assessors, Duty Benson, Thomas Bunker, and C. W. Spaulding ; Commissioners of Highways, Ephraim Block, Eli Waite, and William Lewis ; Justices of the Peace, George Brown, Henry Leonard, and Isaac Otis ; Collector, Ambrose Mills ; School Commissioner, Benjamin Dibble ; Directors of the Poor, no record ; Constables, Timothy G. Johnson, Isaac Messor, and Ambrose Mills.

By an act passed on the 6th ^day of March, 1838, the county dS Barry was divided into four townships, each comprising one-fourth of its territory. Survey-townships 1 and 2 north, in ranges 9 and 10 west (now Orangeville, Prairieville, Hope, and Barry), were formed into the civil township of Barry ; numbers 3 and 4 in the same ranges (now Thornapple, Yankee Springs, Irving, and Rutland) were organized as Thornapple ; 1 and 2, in ranges 7 and 8 (Baltimore, Johnstown, Maple Grove, and Assyria), received the name of Johnstown ; while townships 3 and 4 in the same ranges (Carlton, Hastings, Woodland, and Castleton) became, under the same act, the civil township of Hastings. These townships duly held town-meetings under the law (accounts of which will be found in the townships still bearing the four names above given), and thus entered on their organic existence.

It was not until the 15th day of March, 1839, one year and nine days after the formation of the four townships before mentioned, that Barry County was duly organized by an act of the Legislature.

As this law is the foundation of and warrant for all legal and municipal proceedings in the county since that time, we give a copy of it entire :

" Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Mepreaentativea of the State of Michigan^ That the county of Barry be, and the Bume is, hereby organized, and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which, by law, the inhabitants of the other counties of this State are entitled.

" Sec. 2. All suits, prosecutions, and other matters now pending before any court or before any justice of the peace of the county to which the said county of Barry is now attached for judicial purposes [Kalamazoo] shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution, and all the taxes heretofore levied shall be collected in the same manner as though this act had not been passed.

" Sec. 3. That the sheriff of the county of Barry, under the direction of the commissioners of said county, shall provide a convenient place for holding courts in said county, at or near the county-seat, until pn jlic buildings shall be erected.

" Sec. i. There shall be elected in the-said county of Barry, on the first Monday of April next, all the several officers to which by law the said county is entitled, and whose term of ofiice shall severally expire at the time the same would have expired had they been elected on the first Monday and next succeeding day of November in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-eight; and said election shall in all respects be conducted in the manner prescribed by law for holding elections for county and State ofBcers.

" Sec. 6. The board of canvassers in said county, under this act, shall consist of two of the presiding inspectors of said election from each township, and said board shall meet on Thursday next after said election, at the county-seat in said county, at one o'clock in the afternoon of said day, and organize by the appointment of one of their number chairman, and another secretary, of said board, and shall thereupon proceed to discharge all the duties of a board of county canvassers, as in ordinary eases of elections for ooUnty officers.

The election was duly held on the first Monday of April, and the following officers were duly elected : Probate Judge, Stephen V. R. York ; Associate Judges, Nathan Barlow and Isaac Otis ; Sheriff, Willard Hayes ; County Clerk, Thomas B. Bunker ; Register, Abner C. Parmelee ; Treasurer, Chas. W. Spaulding; County Commissioners, Nelson Barnum, John Bowne, and Calvin G. Hill; County Surveyor, Calvin G. Hill ; Coroners, Calvin Brown and Henry Leonard.

Before the time for holding the election - namely, on the 22d day of March - the number of townships in the county had been increased to five by the organization of Yankee Springs, with boundaries embracing survey-township 3, in range 9, and the same numbered township in range 10, being the south half of the old civil township of Thornapple. Its first town-meeting was held on the first Monday of April (the same day as the first election of county officers), when the county of Barry entered on its organic existence, with five subordinate organizations within its limits.

About two weeks later (on the 17th of April) still another township was erected and organized, by the name of Irving, which comprised survey-townships 3 and 4, in range 9, being the west half of both Thornapple and Yankee Springs, which were thus reduced to their present limits. The act organizing Irving was not to take effect until the 31st day of March, 1840. On the 30th of March, 1840, the law was repealed. The people apparently did not hear of the repeal before the first Monday of April, for on that day they elected a full set of township officers, some of whom, at least, proceeded to exercise their functions as such. On the 18th of March, 1841, the original act establishing Irving was revived by law, and the official acts of the township officers just mentioned were made valid.

Since then, besides those already mentioned, the following ten townships and the city of Hastings have been organized, and the following changes of name have been made :

On the 20th day of March, 1841, the township of Spaulding was organized by the Legislature, being taken from Barry, and comprising survey townships 1 and 2 north, in range 10 west. Its name was changed to Prairieville by an act of the Legislature approved March 9, 1843.

The township of Castleton was formed from Hastings by an act approved Feb. 16, 1842, being composed of surveytownship 3, in range 7, which is its present territory.

Early Supervisors And Commissioners

Woodland was also formed from Hastings on the same day as Castleton, having the same limits as now, - those of survey-township No. 4, in range 7.

Carlton was likewise taken from Hastings (which was thus reduced to its present limits, except that the city of Hastings has been since formed from it) on the 16th of February, 184:2, embracing survey-township No. 4, in range 8, which is its present territory.

Assyria was formed from Johnstown by an act approved Feb. 29, 1844, then comprising survey-townships Nos. 1 and 2, in range 7, now Assyria and Maple Grove.

On the 4th day of May, 1846, the township of Orangeville was formed from Prairieville (which was thus reduced to its present limits), comprising then as now survey-township No. 2, in range 10.

Maple Grove was formed from Assyria by an act approved March 25, 1846, comprising survey-township 2, in range 7 (its present territory), and reducing Assyria to its present size.

Rutland was formed from Irving by an act approved March 16, 1847, comprising survey-township No. ,3, in range 9, both townships having after the passage of the act the same territory as now.

The name of the township of Yankee Springs was changed to Gates in 1848, but was very properly changed back to its original appellation by an act approved March 15, 1849.

The township of Baltimore was formed from Johnstown by an act approved March 14, 1849, the latter township being thus reduced to its present boundaries, and those of the former being then as now those of township 2, in range 8.

The last township organized in the county was Hope, which was taken from Barry at the session of the Legislature in 1850. It comprised the same territory that it now does, viz., survey-township No. 2, in range 9, while Barry, which had once comprised the whole county, was by the act of separation reduced to its present limits, those of township 1 in the same range.

The city of Hastings was formed from the township of Hastings by an act of the Legislature approved March 11, 1871. Although it is surrounded by the township, yet it is in a legal sense entirely separate from it, and constitutes the seventeenth of the distinct organizations comprised in the county of Barry.