became low spirited, which was also a marked change, for he was a man of unusual spirits. His daughter, Mrs. Wood, arranged a dinner party for him, and quite a number of his old friends were present and a very happy time was had, the good effects of which was apparent on the old veteran. But in a little while he became ill; pneumonia set in. He was sick with this about 40 days and on Saturday last he seemed to be free of it. But he was left in so weak a condition he could not survive and death came as above stated.. Godfrey Knight was born in Roscommon county, Ireland, May 26, 1786. He was raised a farmer, was superintendent of a large farm of 1,800 acres for his cousin, Wm. Knight, for eleven years, during which time, in June, 1822, he married Ann Kenny. In 1832 he came to this country and soon after settled in Schoolcraft. He purchased a school section in that town and afterwards a portion of the James Field farm, giving him 200 acres of as good farming land as there was in this county. He has resided on that farm ever since. Mr. Knight was a man of marked character and genial nature. In the early days of Schoolcraft he was among the first in all sports, was an athlete, and above all, a wit and story teller and the center always of an assembled crowd. His vivacity and ready repartee always made him popular, and, indeed, the last mentioned characteristic remained with him to the day of his illness. He has always enjoyed good health; his was a happy disposition, and it is thought that one reason for his remarkably prolonged life was this peculiarity. He was a temperate man, though not a total abstainer. His presence was that of a hale, vigorous, well made gentleman of the old school, with color, form and feature, step and action of a man of 70, rather than a man who claimed to be nearly one hundred and one years old. He was a noticeable figure at all the pioneer gatherings, which he enjoyed greatly; and others enjoyed to have him with them. By his labors and good business abilities he had amassed a comfortable fortune. His life has been an uneventful one save as above. He has never sought office or held official position. He has been a life long democrat. He leaves four sons and one daughter, William, John, Jerry and Godfrey, and Mrs. Mary Wood.

WILLIAM E, BELLOWS.

William E. Bellows, of Climax, died at his residence Monday, Feb. 14, 1887, after a long illness. Mr. Bellows was born at Saxton's River village, Vt., in 1806. He was a great grandson of Col. Benjamin Bellows, an army officer in early colonial times, to whom was granted large tracts of land in the vicinity of Bellows Falls, from whom the falls and the town take their At an early age Mr. Bellows removed with his parents to Charlestown, N. H., where he remained until 1837. At about the age of 18 he was

name.

apprenticed to learn the cabinet-maker's trade and worked for some time at that business, but the labor proving too great for his constitution he abandoned it. Mr. A. T. Prouty, of Kalamazoo, was a fellow workman with Mr. Bellows in the cabinet shop. Subsequently he learned the butcher's trade, which he followed for about 10 years previous to his moving west. In 1837 he moved with his family to Michigan, where two of his sisters, Mrs. M. Hodgman and Mrs. W. E. Sawyer, had preceded him. He settled on a farm in sections 4 and 5 in the township where he has remained ever since. The farm is not what would be considered a good one for Climax, yet by good management and economy he amassed a good fortune from it, much of which in late years has been distributed among his children. He was married twice and leaves a widow and a son and five daughters, children of his first wife. They are: Prof. C. F. R. Bellows, of the State Normal School, Mrs. Annie E. Whitney, Mrs. Marion H. Adams, Mrs. Jennie M. Decker, and Susie H. Adams, all of Battle Creek, Mich., and Mrs. Agnes L. Ashby, of Lincoln, Neb.

THE LATE MRS. JOY AND EARLY REMINISCENCES OF MAJ. EDWARDS AND FAMILY.

Mrs. Julia S. Joy, who died Nov. 16, 1886, was a very early comer to western Michigan. In 1828 her father, who was a prominent resident of Detroit (an intimate friend of Gen. Lewis Cass, president of the territorial legislative council for the yearly sessions of 1828 and 1830 and a leader in social and political matters in that city), left Detroit with his wife and 10 children to secure a home in western Michigan. They set out with three covered wagons. After leaving Ypsilanti they struck the Chicago (Indian) trail and their first camp was at Dearborn, the second at Sheldon's, and from that point they left the settlements, except a few scattering squatters, and they were few and far between. Scarcely the face of a white man was seen, while often at night they would be disturbed by the noise of drunken Indians near their camp. After 18 days of travel they reached Beardsley's prairie, Cass county, now Edwardsburg, named after Maj. Edwards. There on the margin of a beautiful lake in view of the prairie, finding a log cabin vacant which had been vacated by some adventurer, this family took up their abode, and their first night's rest in that cabin, the major afterwards said, was one of the most agreeable of his life, after that long and tedious journey through that trackless wilderness. The next morning Father Edwards had one of the wagons brought up and took the children out to show them the prairie. It was then one vast flower garden and the children could not suppress their wonder and enthusiasm at such a profuse and lavish wealth of flowers. The land office was established at White Pigeon in June, 1831, and Maj. Edwards

was appointed register and Thomas C. Sheldon receiver, and the Edwards family removed to that place. In May, 1834, the land office was removed to Kalamazoo and Maj. Edwards and family and Mr. Sheldon and his family removed to this place. Mrs. Joy was not the youngest sister, as previously stated; her sister, now Mrs. Scott, of Detroit, being entitled to that place.

The Edwards family were very prominent in social and political circles of Kalamazoo for a long time, but after many years death and removal left but Mrs. Joy and Mrs. Walter here as the sole survivors of the family. Mrs. Walter died several years ago. Mrs. AtLee came here from Washington after the death of her husband. Mrs. Joy leaves a husband and two children, Mrs. George Davis and Mrs. Edward Dayton. When the Edwardses came here there were but a few scattered families and the place gave but little promise at that time of its present position among the cities of Michigan. The Elwards mansion, which formerly occupied the corner of Main and Edwards streets, is still standing on Edwards street just north of that corner.

MRS. THOS. S. ATLEE.

This lady died March, 1887, at the residence of M. N. Joy, Academy street, Kalamazoo, aged 70 years. Mrs. AtLee was a daughter of the late Major Abram Elwards, at one time one of the most prominent officials in Michigan, and one of the leading citizens of the territory as well as of this place. Mrs. At Lee and her sisters have resided here most of the time since 1834, and from the first have been highly esteemed and occupied a high position in society and the regard of a large circle of acquaintances. The death of Mrs. At Lee's husband was a crushing blow to her, their devotion to each other being of the strongest character. She is the last but one of the daughters of Maj. Elwards, Mrs. Jas. Scott, of Detroit, alone surviving. Oliver Edwards, of Chicago, and Alexander Edwards, of Cheboygan, are the only brothers living.

THE VENERABLE ORRA BUSH.

Orra Bush died at his home on north Church street, Kalamazoo, March 9, 1887. His age was 92 years and 11 months.

Deceased was born in Massachusetts, April 17, 1791. At an early age he removed to Skaneateles, N. Y., and afterwards to Oswego. Early in the thirties he removed to Calhoun county where he purchased a farm and worked it until about 1841, when he purchased the place in Charleston which he made famous as the postoffice and stage exchange from 1842 till the Central road was finished to Kalamazoo. Mr. Bush purchased the premises of the state in 1841, but previously it had been occupied as a tavern by H. P. Fletcher and Peter Fulton. Soon after Mr. Bush and his son Henry W. became

the owners of the premises they built a frame barn 35 by 45 feet, and in 1851 erected the first brick house in Charleston. This stage exchange, so promiment in all matters connected with the history of Charleston, was a landmark and a noted hostelry throughout the land, for few were the travelers by the stage coach who did not remember with pleasure and sound far and wide the praises of the table and the genial character of the host. It was a very large house and stood by the old territorial road on section 16, near the junction of the road east to the river and Augusta. It was the headquarters of the township, the postoffice, the place of holding township meetings and a general center. In connection with the house was a large farm and Orra Bush and Henry, his son, were as good farmers as they were hotel keepers.

Orra Bush was elected supervisor in 1856 and 1857. For years before, and after that time, he was a regular delegate to the whig and the republican conventions and was a staunch defender of his party.

It is now about twenty years since Mr. Bush removed to Kalamazoo. He has been well and able to be about and attend to business until the past winter. Gradually he has failed of late, and his death was the result of old age. He leaves a wife and one son, Supt. H. W. Bush, of this city. The deceased was a man of much independence of spirit and large capabilities, was a trusted friend and neighbor, outspoken in his opinions and a citizen whose efforts were always for the right. His life has been a long and eventful and useful one, and his record a good one. His birthplace was Cheshire, Mass., and he first settled in Michigan in Eckford, Calhoun county. A few years ago there were but few if any men better known throughout the county than Orra Bush.

MRS. W. H. COLEMAN.

The death of Mrs. Coleman, of Oshtemo, widow of the late William Harrison Coleman, took place on Sunday, March 13, 1887, at the house of her son-in-law, Mr. Henry Buckhout, where she had been visiting for a short time. Mrs. Coleman was born in the state of Vermont in the year 1808. She, with her husband, were among the first settlers in the village of Kalamazoo, having come there in 1833; from Kalamazoo they moved to Oshtemo in the year 1836, where she has ever since resided. She was converted in early life and ever took a lively interest in the cause of religion and Sabbath schools. She died of old age, the powers of nature gradually failing until "the weary wheels of life stood still."

MRS. MARY DANIELS.

Mrs. Mary Daniels, wife of D. H. Daniels, one of the earliest pioneers of Gull Prairie, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. S. Cornings, near Gales

burg, Oct. 2, 1886. She came with her husband to Gull Prairie in 1832, where she spent a large part of her life in Michigan. Mr. Daniels was among the first merchants in Battle Creek, where he lived for a number of years.

A PIONEER OF 1835.

Peter Johnson, who built his log cabin in Ross, this county, in 1835, and turned his wild lands into an excellent farm, died at his late home in this place, Saturday, June 18, 1887, aged 81. He was an industrious and thrifty farmer and a good citizen.

JAMES LINDSAY.

James Lindsay, an old resident of Climax, died on Thursday, Feb. 17, 1887, at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Clarence Day, in South Climax.

Mr. Lindsay has for years been a widower, and has lived alone much of the time at his residence in this village. He leaves two sons: James, living in Kansas, and Alexander, living in Colorado, and one daughter, Mrs. Day.

EDWIN M. CLAPP.

Edwin M. Clapp, one of the best known and prominent pioneers of this part of the county, died at his late home in Kalamazoo, on Sunday, the 9th of January, 1887, of heart disease. He came from Cambria, Niagara county, N. Y., to Michigan in 1831 and secured his land, and removed here in 1832. He settled first on the Isaac Clark farm just south of the village, which he improved. He afterwards improved the farm now owned by Thaddeus Clapp, where he lived until 1873, when he removed to Kalamazoo. He was an exemplary member of the Congregational church. He was supervisor of this township several years, which position he filled in a very satisfactory manner. As a citizen he was respected by all who knew him.

Mr. Clapp was one of the most prominent pioneers in the east part of Kalamazoo county, and one of the most successful farmers in the county. His name will ever be connected with the history of this part of Michigan and he will be referred to as a notable example of what a man with an honest purpose, a brave heart, and thrift and perseverance, can accomplish. He accumulated a large property for himself, and aided much in making Kalamazoo county one of the richest and most prosperous counties in the state.

THOMPSON T. LAKE.

Mr. Lake was born in Providence, R. I., 1809; came to Michigan in 1835, settling at Yorkville, Kalamazoo county. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and lived in the house that he built at Yorkville fifty years. His death