Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2013, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN by Florence McKinnon Gwinn Huron County Pioneer & Historical Society, 1922 [page 53] CHAPTER III EARLY TOWNSHIP HISTORY SEBEWAING TOWNSHIP The township of Sebewaing is situated in the south- west corner of Huron County on Saginaw Bay and con- tains the village of Sebewaing and the hamlet of Kil- managh. This township was organized Feb. 12, 1853. Prior to this it was attached for judicial purposes to Tuscola county under the name of Auchville. FREDERICK SCHILLING was the first supervisor. Mr. SCHILLING, his father, mother and one sister were taken and sold as slaves when they first came to America. Their bondage continued 18 months and they had difficulty in getting their freedom. They finally escaped from Pennsylvania, going to New York. They made their way by stealth, [page 54] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY begging food and passing three days of the time without food of any kind. The first white man to reach what is now the town of Sebewaing was J. J. Auch, who came to preach to the Indians. He found one log house belonging to a half breed named CHAS. RODD. Mr. AUCH with the aid of this INDIAN allies constructed the second house of logs in 1845. He labored among these children of the forest seven years. In 1849 his brother followed him and that same year JOHN GETTEL, FREDERICK ZEIGLER, JOHN ZEIGLER and JOHN GRUENBECK entered the county. In 1851 GOTT FRIED BECK, FREDERICK SCHILLING, C. AUCH and families came from Ann Arbor and were landed with much dif- ficulty on Lone Tree Island at the mouth of the Du Fill river. This island has since been washed away. Through the efforts of Mr. AUCH the INDIANS were induced to carry them to the main land in a leaky canoe. They were three weeks on the island which tells part of the story of the privations and hardships they endured before finally reaching the site of their future homes. These pioneers built at first but one log house which sheltered the entire population of 45 men, women and children. They procured their supplies from Saginaw my means of small boats and during this period the mail was brought from Hampton (now Bay City) occassional- ly. Other pioneers who came there were CHRISTIAN BACH, JACOB STREITER, PETER SCHAIRER, Mr. VOLZ, Mr. RUEHLE, JOHN MULLERWEISS, JACOB ROLLER, MARTIN and JOHN GREMMEL, MARTIN and FRED KROUSE and Mr. BAUER. In the family of Mr. VOLZ there were 13 children. His youngest son JOHN was born here in 1853. The village was named Sebewaing (in the Chippe- wa language, a river nearby). The river gradually tak- ing the same name, although on the early maps it is called Du Fill (in French, Thread river). It was very winding and crooked in its course but navigable for small boats for about one mile. [page 55] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY At the session of legislature during the winters of '62-'63 RICHARD WINSOR obtained a grant from the state of five sections of state swamp lands to be appropriated toward laying a channel running as near straight as prac- ticable through the marsh and bar at or near the mouth of the river so that its waters might empty directly into the bay instead of overflowing the valuable lands lying in its immediate vicinity. In addition to the above grant the business men of the village, together with the farm- ers at the annual township meeting raised by sub- scription nearly $4,000 for the same purpose. FIRST SCHOOL IN SEBEWAING The first school was taught by Rev. J. J. AUCH in 1854. It was attached to the Lutheran church, of which Mr. AUCH was pastor. He had about a dozen pupils in all. The first marriage was that of JOHN GRUENBECK and MARGARET SCHMIDT. The first child born was MARY, daughter of FREDERICK SCHMIDT. Many hardships were endured by the founders of what is today some of the finest homes in the county. There were the mosquitos who never seemed to rest during the summer season, the swampy land, the lack of food other than potatoes, and last but by no means least the ague in all its varied forms. With it one could be in Iceland in the morning and in the torrid zone by midday. No person escaped the clutches of this disease very long. All these things today are but mem- ories of the past and the children and grand-children of these hardy pioneers are enjoying the fruits of their labors. In 1866 the principal men of the village were JACOB KUNDINGER, JOHN C. LIKEN, JOHN MULLERWEISS, ALBERT IRION, EUSTUS SERT and HENRY LINTNER. There were two stores, two hotels, grist mill, saw mill, cooper shop, large stave mill, blacksmith, wagon, shoe and tailor shops, school house and church. The various firms were shipping large quantities of oak staves, oak timber, [page 56] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY black ash hoops, cord wood and all kinds of produce to outside markets at this date. The timber of this township was mixed beech, oak, black and white ash prevailing. There was also some maple. The land is mostly level with a strip of sand on the shores of the bay. The richest soil being in the cen- ter of the township. The land drained easily into the Saginaw Bay and the Sebewaing river with its three tributaries. We cannot conclude the history of Sebewaing without speaking of JOHN C. LIKEN, whose life history is so closey interwoven with that of the town. Mr. LIKEN was a cooper by trade. Coming to Sebewaing in 1865 he at once began that branch of business in connection with his other interests. He shipped large quantities of white oak staves to Germany. He built two saw mills and four stave mills, employing over 200 men. In 1874 he erected a fine brick block where you could buy any- thing from drugs to dry goods. He also had branch stores at Bay Port, Kilmanagh and at Unionville in Tus- cola county. He owned over 1,000 acres of land in Huron county and 500 in Tuscola county. He had a pros- perous business in Sebewaing up to the date of his death in 1920. At Kilmanagh, which is situated just on the cor- ners of four townships, the best known name for many years was that of FRANCIS THOMPSON, who was the first postmaster of the little hamlet. It is a small place to- day owing to the fact that it is several miles from any railroad. ===========================================================================