Menu
- Home
- Search▼
- List▼
- Add▼
- My Relate▼
- Admin▼
ViewsWatchersBrowse |
Family tree▼ (edit)
(edit)
Facts and Events
CENSUS: 1860 Federal Census, Tuscola Co., MI. Page 8, Elkland, post office = Watsonville. Ann Weydemeyer, age 44, female, domestic, real estate = $300, personal estate = $100, born NJ. Philetus R. Weydemeyer, age 21, male, farmer, real estate = $300, born NJ. Warren Weydemeyer, age 14, male, born MI. 1870 Federal Census, Tuscola Co., MI. Elkland, page 11. Philetus R. Weydemeyer, age 31, M, W, general merchant, real estate = $1300., personal estate = $1000., born NJ. Mary E. Weydemeyer [wife], age 25, born MI, keeps house. Homer Weydemeyer, age 2, born MI. Warren Weydemeyer, [no age], dealer in dry goods, real estate = $1300., personal estate = $1000., born MI. 1880 Federal Census, Tuscola Co., MI, Cass City. Philetus Weydemeyer, age 41, hardware merchant, born NJ, father born NJ. Mary Weydemeyer, wife, [no age], keeps house, born MI. Homer C. Weydemeyer, age 11, at school, b. MI. Harry P. Weydemeyer, age 2, born MI. Jenette Bond, W, F, age 15, boarder, listed as housekeeper. 1900 Federal Census, Arenac Co., MI, Turner twp; 2 June 1900. Warren Weydemier, head of household, white, male, born May 1846, age 54, married 27 years, born MI, father born Penn., mother born NJ, Hotel Keeper, employed year round, owns house free of mortgage. Hattie Weydemier, wife, white, female, born March 1857, age 43, married 27 years, 2 children, 1 living; born MI, both parents born NJ. Philetus R. Weydemier, brother, white, male, born Dec. 1838, age 61, married 35 years, born NJ, Merchant, employed year round, owns home free of mortgage, father born Penn., mother born NJ. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0024676 United States Soldiers of the Civil War Residing in Michigan, June 1, 1894 Tuscola County The following data is extracted from 1894 Michigan State Census. Philetus Weydemeyer of Village of Cass City WEYDEMEYER, PHILETUS (1910 U.S. Census) MONTANA , LINCOLN, SCHOOL DIST 14Age: 71, Male, Race: WHITE, Born: MISeries: T624 Roll: 833 Page: 19 26 27 Weydemeyer, Philetus, head, m, w, 71, M 1, 45, -, -, b. New Jersey. Mary E., wife, f, w, 64, M 1, 45, 4, 1, b. Michigan. JOHNSTON, ROSCO C (1920 U.S. Census) OREGON , LINCOLN, N TOLEDO PCTAge: 47, Male, Race: WHITE, Born: MISeries: T625 Roll: 1495 Page: 135 73 73 Johnston, Rosco C., head, O, M, m, w, 47, m, -, -, -, -, yes, yes, B. Mich., f. b. Maine, m. b. Canada, English, yes, farmer, general, O.A., 61. Mable H., wife, -, -, f, w, 42, m, -, -, -, -, yes, yes, she & parents b. Mich., yes, none. Vernon, son, -, -, m, w, 18, s, -, -, -, yes, yes, yes, b. *Mich., parents b. Mich., yes, none. Weydemeyer, Warren, father-in-law & partner, m, w, 72, Wd, -, -, -, -, yes, yes, b. Mich., parents b. NJ, yes, none. Philetus, R., X, -, -, m, w, 81, Wd, -, -, -, -, yes, yes, he & parents b. NJ, yes, none, Johnson, Matilda R., mother, -, -, f, w, 75, Wd, Un, Un, -, -, yes, yes, b. Canada, LC, f. b. England, English, m. b. England, English, yes, none. Resides Pioneer Road.
HISTORY: LETTER FROM PRESIDENT OF CASS CITY, MI HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Sept. 1984. "In 1867 Jesse Fox sold his store to Laing & Weydemeyer; this is the first mention of the two in Cass City. They handled dry goods and groceries. The building stood on the SE corner of the main intersection of the town and was torn down to make room for a gas station in about 1926. The gas station was torn down about 1978 and the area is now part of Chemical Bank as a parking lot.
Both JC [Laing] and PR [Weydemeyer] were charter members in the Odd Fellows Lodge in 1873. Also both were active in early village government. JC was on a committee to build the town hall in 1881; village treasurer 1874-81; Tuscola County Judge of Probate 1896-1906. PR was at one time township supervisor and a village trustee.
I can't come up with the names King Work or Wilson Kane anywhere.
John C. Laing was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City in 1906; his wife (Sarah Weydemeyer) in 1913. None of the Weydemeyers are buried here. I would guess they followed the lumber business north. I don't know of any descendants of either family in the area today.
SOURCE: Notes of Howard Johnston. !HISTORY: Philetus was appointed Postmaster at Cass City, MI Jan. 6, 1889 and served in that posistion until Dec. 10, 1889. HISTORY: RECALLS TRIP TO THE U. P. LUMBER WOODS BACK IN 1886
When G. A. Striffler, who has just reached his 81st milestone in life's journey, read recently about the old ferry S. S. Algomah being retired from active service and being now used as a part of a breakwater at Mackinaw City, he recalled to mind that he crossed the Straits of Mackinaw on the Algomah on May 1, 1888. It was on the "up" trip Mr. Striffler made when he started working in the lumber woods in the Upper Peninsula. The Algomah was then seven years old. Henry Ford, as a mechanic's apprentice, helped install the engines in the boat back in 1881 when she was built in Detroit.
Mr. Striffler was employed by the firm of Weydemeyer & Work. Members of the firm were Warren and P. R. Weydemeyer, Wilson Kane, and King Work, names familiar to pioneer residents of this community. These early residents of Cass City had purchased timber land on the Escanaba River and Mrs. Warren Weydemeyer and her 12-year-old daughter, Mabel, were the camp cooks.
"When we stopped at Negaunee on the trip to the woods, King Work and I went to see an iron mine," Mr. Striffler remarked. "The mine shaft was about five feet in diameter and as King Work glanced down the hole, he remarked, 'I wouldn't work down there for $5 a day.' A big Swede, standing by, replied, 'I'd like to get a job there at $1.50 a day.' That, of course, was 59 years ago."
From a newspaper clipping from an unidentified newspaper found in Mabel Johnston's Bible. LAND:
L6 P442; mortgage; 15 Feb 1869, Nehemia D. Viers & Jemima M. Viers his wife, party of 1st part; Weydemeyer & Laing of same place, party of 2nd part; $250; SW 1/4, NW 1/4 S34 Twp of Elkland, Tuscola Co., 40 acres, except 10 acres commencing at NW corner thence S 64 rods thence E 25 rods thence N 64 rods thence W 25 rods to starting point. /s N. D. Viers, Jemima M. Viers. (written in later) "fully satisfied 14 Mar 1870." John C. Laing for Weydemeyer & Laing. < Book 20, page 470. Thadeus E. Morse to Philetus R. Weydemeyer. Recorded April 23, 1869. Indenture made 14 Dec. 1868. Thadeus E. Morse of Tuscola Co., MI, party of 1st part. Philetus R. Weydemeyer of same place, party of 2nd part. For $15., Lot 7 Block 13, Cass City. Witness: John C. Laing. SOURCE: Tuscola Co., MI Deeds Vol. 19 & 20 SLC FILM 980668 5/16/85. Book 20, page 471. Philetus R. Weydemeyer to Warren Weydemeyer. Recorded April 23, 1869. Indenture made 20 March 1869. Philetus R. Weydemeyer & wife Mary of Tuscola Co. to Warren Weydemeyer of same place, for $30., all the undivided 1/2 of lot 1 and the undivided 1/2 of the N 1/2 of lots 7 & 8 in Block 3 in Cass City. Witness: John C. Laing. SOURCE: Tuscola Co., MI Deeds, Vol. 19 & 20, SLC FILM 980668 5/16/85.
Philetus R. Weydemeyer & Mary E., his wife, & John C. & Sarah E. Laing, his wife, of Cass City, MI, 1st party. George W. Howell, atty W. Ale & Sylvester Ale of Tuscola Co., MI, 2nd party. For $1235. Commencing at a point 3 rods East of the SW corner of S27 of Elkland Twp., N 12 65/100 rods, E 12 65/100 rods, S 12 65/100 rods, W 12 65/100 rods to beginning point. 1 acre. signed: Philetus R. & Mary E. Weydemeyer & John C. & Sarah E. Laing.
to John C. Laing. This document gave John C. Laing full authority to act as his (Philetus') attorney in certain mortgages listed herein. /s Philetus R. Weydemeyer.
P. R. Weydemeyer & wife Mary E. were residents of Cass City, MI, 23 Oct 1869 1876. FIRM OF WEYDEMEYER & LAING: 1st entry, 15 Feb. 1869. Was still operational 25 Jan 1877. Probably dissolved Nov. 1877. P. R. Weydemeyer signs a power of attorney 26 Nov 1877 authorizing John C. Laing (his partner & brother-in-law) to act for him on certain mortgages. It was no doubt shortly after this that Philetus & Warren Weydemeyer & families headed south and were in Honey Grove, TX (about 2 years) before returning home once again to Michigan. HISTORY: "A good share of the homesteaders who came to the Fortine area at this time settled in the Mud Creek - Grave Creek section. From Michigan came a whole tribe of relatives and acquaintances from the vicinity of Detroit, some of whom remained to become long-time residents of the valley. On upper Mud Creek there were Mr. & Mrs. Warren Weydemeyer and their daughter & son-in-law, the Roscoe Johnsons (who later went on to the Oregon coast); Mrs. Warren Weydemeyer's mother, Mrs. Predmore; Warren's brother, P. R. Weydemeyer and his wife, her brother, Emory Nash, and their son, Harry, and Harry's wife, the former Margaret Campbell. Margaret Weydemeyer's parents and brothers and sisters livere also for a year or two, and in later years became residents of Kalispell, where Grant and Harry Campbell still live. P. R. Weydemeyer filed one of the earliest water-rights on Grave Creek......Many of the settlers here had never before lived in the country, even in the East; some of them were fresh out of colleges. The P. R. Weydemeyer family had lived in Washington D. C. during the '80's. The first cabins were hasty and crude; and the timber hemmed them in to the door, with the high mountains crowding close behind. Mrs. P. R. Weydemeyer found the endless silence of the windless seasons almost unbearable. She even missed the Michigan dandelions -- the taste of them as greens, and the cheerful sight of the blossoms in the fields; she sent back home for dandelion seed to sow in Montana. When the men were away working or hunting or driving to Kalispell for supplies, women alone in cabins trembled at the thought of those grizzly tracks that had been seen behind the barn, and imagined that every screech-owl was a mountain lion. By Margaret & Harry Weydemeyer, page 164-5, "The Story of the Tobacco Plains Country", edited by Olga Weydemeyer (Mrs. Pete Johnson), published 1950 by the "Pioneers of the Tobacco Plains Country." (A picture of the P. R. Weydemeyer homestead appears on page 166 of this book). Records of Olga Johnson & Winton Weydemeyer. 1977. MILITARY: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=nps_civilwarsoldiers&h=3785120&indiv=try&o_iid=024455&o_lid=024455&offerid=76%3a0%3a0 U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 about Philetus R. Weydemeyer Name: Philetus R. Weydemeyer Side: Union Regiment State/Origin: Michigan Regiment Name: 1 Michigan Cavalry Regiment Name Expanded: 1st Regiment, Michigan Cavalry COMPANY: A Rank In: Private Rank In Expanded: Private Rank Out: Corporal Rank Out Expanded: Corporal Alternate Name: Philetus/Wedermire Film Number: M545 roll 46 Source Information: National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original data: National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online <http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/>, acquired 2007. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=hdssoldiers&h=6870757&indiv=try&o_iid=024455&o_lid=024455&offerid=76%3a0%3a0 American Civil War Soldiers about Philetus Weydemeyer Name: Philetus Weydemeyer Enlistment Date: 14 Aug 1861 Enlistment Place: Detroit, Michigan Side Served: Union State Served: Michigan Service Record: Promoted to Full Sergeant. Promoted to Full Corporal. Enlisted as a Private on 14 August 1861 at the age of 22. Enlisted in Company A, 1st Cavalry Regiment Michigan on 3 Sep 1861. Discharged from Company A, 1st Cavalry Regiment Michigan on 17 Jun 1865 at Detroit, MI. Sources: 10,60 Source Citation: Side served: Union; State served: Michigan; Enlistment date: 14 Aug 1861.. Source Information: Historical Data Systems, comp.. American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Original data: Data compiled by Historical Data Systems of Kingston, MA form the following list of works. Copyright 1997-2000 Historical Data Systems, Inc. PO Box 35 Duxbury. MILITARY PENSION: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=civilwarpension&h=1576441&indiv=try&o_iid=024455&o_lid=024455&offerid=76%3a0%3a0 Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 about Philetus R. Weydemeyer Name: Philetus R. Weydemeyer State Filed: Michigan Weydemeyer, Philetus R. 1 Mich. Cav. 1865, July 25 | Application No. 80,189 | Certificate No. 76,050 | state from which filed: Mich. Source Information: National Archives and Records Administration. Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Original data: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T288, 544 rolls. WAR: ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES; CERTIFICATE OF DISABILITY FOR DISCHARGE. Philetus R. Weydemeyer, Sergt., Company F of the Michigan 1st Volunteer Cavalry was enlisted by Lieut. Emerson at Stroudsburg, VA on the 22nd of Dec. 1863 to serve 3 years; he was born in Warren in the state of New Jersey, is 25 years of age; 5 feet 9 inches high; light complexion; gray eyes; dark hair, and by occupation when enlisted a Farmer. Station: Detroit, MI June 3rd 1865. I certify I have carefully examined the said Philetus R. Weydemeyer of Captain Hatton's Company and find him incapable of performing the duties of a soldier because a gunshot wound of the left forearm upper third producing archylosis of the elbow joint. He received this wound while in line of duty at the battle of Winchester, VA, Sept. 19th 1864. He is at present totally disabled and unfit for the V.N. Corps. /s/ W. A. Chandler, surgeon. Discharged this 14 day of July 1865 at Harper Hospital. The soldier desires to be addressed at: Elmwood P. O., Tuscola County, MI. SOURCE: Copy of discharge in possession of Howard Johnston, 545 Jefferson, Kimberly, ID 83341. PENSION: 15 July 1865: Philetus R. Weydemeyer, a resident of Elmwood, Tuscola, MI, who was a Sergeant of Company F commanded by Capt. Hatton in the 1st Regiment of Michigan Volunteer Cavalry commanded by Colonel Peter Stagg; he re-enlisted at Stevensburg, VA, 22 Dec. 1863 for 3 years. He was then honorably discharged at Detroit, MI on the 14th of July 1865. "On or about the 19 day of Sept. 1864, at the battle of Winchester, VA he received a gunshot wound from the rebels through the left elbow joint which renders it perfectly stiff and wholly useless, totally disabling him from any kind of manual labor." Witnesses: Joshua J. Phipps and Jacob Oldaker. - 9 Dec. 1873: Philetus R. Weydemeyer is age 35 and a resident of Cass City, MI... he is a pensioner duly enrolled at the Detroit, MI pension agency at the rate of $8. per month...believes himself entitled to a pension increase. - 17 Feb. 1879: Philetus R. Weydemeyer, age 40, a resident of Honey Grove, TX...asks for an increase from his current pension rate of $12. per month. Witnesses: Charles Zinnicker, Isaac Morse, both of Honey Grove, TX. - 18 Mar. 1887: Philetus R. Weydemeyer, aged 48 years...resident of Tuscola Co., MI...again applies for an increase in pension. Witnesses: John A. McDougall, David Ford. - 17 March 1879: Philetus R. Weydemeyer, of Honey Grove, TX, asks that his pension rate be increased. - 8 Aug. 1887: Philetus R. Weydemeyer, age 49, a resident of Cass City, MI...currently enrolled as a pensioner ... at the rate of $14. per month ... At time of discharge was allowed $8. per month, increased Oct. 1873 to $12. per monthand again in 1879 to $14. per month...he asks a re-rating for a higher pension. Witnesses: James D. Brooker. J. V. N. Hartness. - 22 May 1889: Philetus R. Weydemeyer, age 51 years, of Cass City, MI, declares he is a pensioner at the rate of $14. per month and asks for a pension increase. Witnesses: R. H. Warner and J. S. Deming, both of Cass City. - 8 June 1912: Philetus R. Weydemeyer, age 73 years, of Fortine, Lincoln, MT...states he enrolled at Detroit, MI on 14 August 1861 as a Private in Company A, 1st Regiment, Michigan Cavalry in the Civil War and was honorably discharged at Harper Hospital, Detroit, MI on 14 July 1865. His personal description at the time of his enlistment was: height, 5 feet 9 inches; complexion, light; color of eyes, gray; color of hair, black; his occupation was Farmer and that he was born in Warren County, NJ on 12/7/38. His places of residence since leaving the service have been as follows: Cass City, MI 1867; Texas 1877; Cass City, MI 1879; Washington D. C., 1890; Cass City, MI, 1892; Fortine, 1901. SOURCE: Copies of pension papers received from National Archives in possession of Howard Johnston, 545 Jefferson, Kimberly, ID 83341. HISTORY: Why did the Weydemeyers leave Michigan and travel all across the northern states to half-wild Montana? Perhaps it was largely because Philetus R. Weydemeyer, first to make the journey, was something of a wanderer. Migrating from New Jersey to Michigan before 1860 (perhaps by way of Pennsylvania), Philetus was commonly known in the communities where he lived as "PR". On August 14. 1861, he enlisted in Custer's First Michigan Cavalry for duty in the Civil War. Serving first as a corporal, later as a Sergeant messenger, he re-enlisted in December of 1863. On June 12, 1865, he was wounded at the battle of Trevelion Station, and was discharged in July. His partially disabled arm due to the war wound entitled him to a small monthly pension for the rest of his life. (A little book in which PR kept a diary during the war years was donated by Winton Weydemeyer to the Montana Historical Society.)
About 1880, PR Weydemeyer and his family lived for a while at Sherman, Texas, before moving back to Michigan. If I remember rightly, Grandma's strongest recollection of Texas was of the inescapable chiggers. Some years after the Texas venture, the Weydemeyers went to Washington, D. C. where Philetus served in the Post Office Department under President Benjamin Harrison. Back in Michigan by 1894, he "settled down" for a spell.
But the Great Northern Railway, looking for traffic, and settlers to provide future traffic, was flooding the midwest with attractive literature about opportunities in the wonderful Flathead Valley of western Montana. So again, much to the distress of his wife Mary, who was tired of moving, in 1900 Philetus pulled up stakes and headed west. Reaching the Flathead Valley, he found that all the choice land had been taken. So he headed still further west and north, on the Kalispell-Fort Steele Trail, by stage, and filed on a Stone and Timber claim along Mud Creek, some ten miles east of Tobacco Plains which lies between the Kootenai River to the west and the foothill range of the Rockies to the east. This was later to become Lincoln County - a county bounded on the north by the United States-British Columbia line.
This Weydemeyer claim was about 40 miles from the nearest railroad station at Columbia Falls, from where the line then passed west through the upper Flathead Valley to reach the Kootenai River and head for Sandpoint, Idaho.
(The land description as near as I can read it from my notes was the northeast 1/4 of the west 1/2 of the southwest 1/4 of section 3, township 35 north, range 26 west). A little later his wife joined him on his homestead. Grandpa Weydemeyer during all these years as a widower divided his time between Fortine or Libby, with his son Harry and family; and Pontiac, Michigan, with Homer's family; or he stayed with his niece Mabel Johnson and his brother, Warren Weydemeyer, first at Moscow, Idaho, and later at Toledo, Oregon. At some time, I believe while at Fortine, he suffered frost bite in the toes of one foot; gangrene set in, and eventually his lower leg had to be amputated. I am afraid he was unhappy in his comparative helplessness during old age. During one of the years at Libby, I remember his sitting alone, rocking on the front porch, and discovering that he could still sing.... It was at Libby that he died after a brief stay in the hospital. SOURCE: Information sent to Howard Johnston in 1984 from Olga Johnson, 7001 Rogue River Hiway, Space 48, Grants Pass, OR 97527. LAND: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/l/Dan--Collins/GENE19-0005.html?Welcome=1000268651 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN PRAIRIE By Ms. Flora Brode McKee, Honey Grove, TX In 1877, there were only two or three families living on a broad prairie of several square miles along the eastern edge of Fannin County, about eight miles northeast of Honey Grove.
That year two brothers Warren and Philetus Weydemeyer came from Michigan looking for new country. They learned of this prairie as Public School lands available for $2.50 per acre and immediately bought, prepared to build and sent for their families.
Glowing reports reached Michigan and soon other families sold and headed for the Lone Star State. They came bv train, the Texas & Pacific Railway having been built through Honey Grove about 1873. Among the first to come in the Spring of 1878 were the David Kane and Charles Zinnecker families. They were followed by Jerry and John Miller, Robert Brode, the Saylors, Birdsalls, Hixons, Meyers, Morrises, Foxes, Sherwoods, and others — 25 to 30 families. All bought land, some a section, some a half or quarter section. They erected substantial and some handsome homes.
They engaged in farming, some, especially the Weydemeyers and Zinneckers, in cattle and horses. At first the wild land was unfenced, but soon the pastures had to be fenced and grazing was not so profitable.
The community was called "Michigan Prairie" and had a Church and School District for many years. The church burned in the 1920's, but the school operated until consolidation with Honey Grove in about 1935 or 1940.
Gradually the farming land changed to grazing. People moved and houses were deserted, so that the area lost its identity as a neighborhood. It is identifiable now by names of land surveys on the Fannin County Map, such as: Thos. Sherwood, John Miller, John Kane, Massengale and Weidedenger (this last one being in error for the original Weydemeyer which can be found on an older map cica 1890).
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txfannin/top2.html Fannin County TXGenWeb This map was provided by Billy Suitor who has the original. The scans were pieced together. This was published first in 1927, by the Texas State Agricultural System This copy is from the 1939 reprint of the 1927 edition. I have added the arrows as not all the names were easy to read in the scans. The red Circles were already on the original copy. Notes below the map. (Image of the area at this site - HVJ note). Michigan School (Many people settled here from Michigan) names settling there first: Weydemeyer, Kane, Zinnecker, Miller, Brode, Saylor, Birsall, Hixons, Meyers, Morris, Fox, Sherwood. School used until c1935 WHEN MICHIGAN MOVED TO TEXAS (Honey Grove SIGNAL, 1927) For half a century there has been a community seven miles northeast of Honey Grove known as the "Michigan Settlement". While very few if any of those who came to us from Michigan reside there now the name still clings to the community and will do so perhaps until the end of time.
It was in 1877, 50 years ago, that this section of country received its name. Prior to that time, that portion of the country that had been sparsely settled, only two or three families living on the broad prairie of several square miles. In 1877 Warren Wydemeyer and his brother Philetus, tiring of their residence in Michigan and being of a somewhat restless nature, accepted the advice of Horace Greeley and turned their faces westward. One fine day they shows up in Honey Grove and began looking over the country, contiguous thereto. They wandered out northeast to the prairie which now bears the name of Michigan, and were charmed with the country. Upon
investigation they learned that this particular section of the moral vineyard was state school land and could be purchased for the modest sum of $2.50 per acre. They immediately purchased land and made ready to build, in the meantime sending for their families. They sent such glowing reports of Texas back to Michigan that a furor was created in the community in which they had lived and the Texas fever spread from family to family. They sold their possessions there and headed for the Lone Star State. Among the first to follow the Weydemeyers were David Kane and wife and their seven children. Mr. Kane soon after his arrival made a large purchase of land. The next spring Charles Zinnecker came. He bought land and began the erection of a home. Six months later, upon the completion of his residence he was joined by his family. By this time an organized line of immigration was formed from Michigan to Texas. Among those who came were Jerry and John Miller, R. Brode, the Emorys, Saylors, Birdsalls, Hixons, Meyers, Morris, Sherwoods, Foxes and others. The names of all who came cannot be given, but there were 25 to 30 families and from 100 to 150 people in the settlement. All who came bought land, some a section, some a half-section and some a quarter-section. All built homes, most of the houses being handsome and substantial structures. All of the settlers engaged in farming, but some gave special attention to cattle and horses. This was especially true of the Weydemeyers and Zinneckers. None of the wild land was fenced at that time, and cattle had a wide range. Soon, however, the pastures were fenced and cattle raising was not so profitable. The Weydemeyers and Mr. Zinnecker took their cattle to the Wichita country. In order to get the benefit of pasture, they had to take up government land. This they soon relinquished, the land not being worth the taxes. These lands are now in the center of a big oil field, worth thousands of dollars per acre.
Of the heads of families who came from Michigan fifty years ago and established the Michigan settlement, it is believed that W.C. Zinnecker is the only one now living.
DIRECTORY: Surname: Weydemeyer Given Name: PR
Land Description: 2 and 3, 35, 26,?, $90
City: Marston
Surname: Board of School Trustees
Address: Harrisburg
City: HA Colson, George Johnson, PR Weydemeyer
Surname: Weydemeyer
Given Name: PR
Address: Harrisburg
Source: Flathead County, MT, 1905 - 1906 Kalispell City Directory and Flathead County Directory. References
|
|||||||||||||||||||
