Below is a transcription given by Viola Knapp at the meeting of the Lucy Wolcott Barnum Chapter of the D.A.R. Adrian on September 15, 1921. She evidently did not use her given first name of Susan. Susan Viola Knapp, born May 3, 1838 and died in 1923. Many of Church's Corners/Wheatland Township's residents did their trading in Hudson and Lenawee County as we already know. The Church, Wood and others had family settle in both areas straddling the county lines, hence how Viola's recollections spill into both. To see Mary’s remembrances of her pioneer life CLICK HERE.

Viola and Mary Wood Church were first cousins Their fathers, Seth Wood (Mary's father) and Zebina Wood (Viola's father) were brothers. To further cement the family tie, Viola's mother was Huldah Church, sister of Lorenzo Church the father of Mary's husband Francis Granger Church. Whew!!

This letter is transcribed as it was written. It is from the late Dick Kessler and given to Marcia Church Woodworth, Dick's grandmother, the daughter of Mary Wood Church.

Transcribed by Darin Sheffer

 Glimpses of Pioneer Life

When I was asked by our Regent to give some “Glimpses of Pioneer Life in Michigan”, I thought to myself, “I am old enough to be a Pioneer, perhaps I can tell something that the young people will wonder ‘if that is true”. But the true Pioneers were my Father and Mother who were married and lived in New York State, five years before coming west to Lorraine, Ohio in the year of 1838. I was born soon after, coming to Lorraine Co. where my parents lived for about two years. Through the dishonesty of his business partner Father lost everything and then decided to move “further west” to Michigan. Taking his little family and household goods, moving by ox team and one team of horses.

My father located land near what is now known as Hudson, but the first name given to this settlement was Lanesville, after Mr. Lane, the father of our Mrs. Rose. Mr. and Mrs. Lane were the first settlers in the place and lived there all their lives.

One Mile from our land lived Mr. and Mrs. Goff who had preceded us by a few months. Mr. Goff had cleared a bit of land and built a log house. These hospitable people made us comfortable: we put in our household goods with theirs and remained with them till we could build our own house, -not a timber of which had been cut. Two sturdy farm hands came with us to help in building a place where we could be settled, and make the beginnings of a home. Our house was made of logs. The men felled the trees and stripped the bark from them for roofing. Logs of Basswood could be split very easily without splinters, and was used for floors – with a little additional work put on it made a very smooth floor. This was the day before the machine made nails, and our house was all put together with wooden pins made by my fathers hand. Before we could get glass, we used some of the boards made for the floors, the light coming through the cracks. 

As there was no time to build a chimney and fireplace, there was no fire in the house. The men had to hurry to clear the land in order to put in crops and while they were doing this father worked on the house. The open spaces between the logs was filled with a mortar made of blue clay found in the bed of the stream called Bean Creek, which flowed through our land. This clay had to be mixed with a certain kind of soil found near by. 

A table was made and space left for two beds on the ground floor. A ladder was the means of getting to the loft where the men who came with us slept. When I tell you we occupied the house in three weeks from the time the first tree was felled, you will think that the “Drive” was equal to any of the modern times.

We had no doors and used trunks of small trees with still smaller branches on to protect us from the bears, deer, and wildcats, who were in possession of the country, though not so numerous as in some parts of Michigan. 

Mother cooked all our food over a fire made in a big stump outside our cabin, from April to November; I can remember mother wrapping me in a blanket and putting me on a stump in front of the fire to keep warm while she worked. The two men who came with us, and who were distantly related to us, were of very great help to us as well as to others who came after, getting up a four o’clock in the morning and working till ten at night. No Labor Union existed in Michigan at that time. 

It was said, there was not a farm in Hillsdale County bordering on Lenawee that the Halleck boys did not help to develop. 

I remember sitting on my Mother’s lap watching the fires built by these men in clearing the land in this vicinity at night. We had no laws on Forestry at this time, and big black walnut trees measuring three and four feet through were ruthlessly felled and burned. 

In November our fireplace and chimney were finished, and mother moved inside the house to do her cooking and other work.

In the meantime, father had written his two older brothers of the good land to be had here, and advised them to come; which they did, and settled near us with their families. 

In December a dear little sister came into the home who was named Sarah Valentia. A doctor was brought from the villiage of Lanesville to attend mother and the neighbors and my cousin cared for her—quite different from the hospital and graduate nurses for a month. But never the less the baby grew to be a fine child full of life and vim and ready to tackle any-thing. 

Two of mothers brothers came to Michigan about this time and located near by, and their place is called Church’s Corners to this day. 

In those days of migration several members of a family would come together to the new land. Among those who came in this manner was the family of John Humphrey, father of Charles and William of Adrian and Henry Humphrey of Lansing. Mrs. Humphrey had several sisters who married and came to this vicinity about this time. They were a great help socially, as they were very refined and well educated. The Church and Wood and Humphrey families helped to form a community of worth while people, morally and otherwise.

Mother said she never was happier than at that time. People were so kind and brotherly love pervaded the whole community. If any one came from the East and brought fruit, especially apples, they were sent around that many might have a taste at least.

These sturdy men and women who left all, and went to a new country were worth while people. It meant a great deal, to brave the hardships and go empty-handed -many of them- into a new and unsettled country, when they had grown up amid the comforts of a settled and ordered land.

In the case of my father and mother, both were very religious, and nothing was so pressing as to prevent the assembling of the family for worship each morning, seeking Divine strength to carry them through the day. 

You may wonder what we lived on. Besides the food we raised, the woods and clearings were full of berries in summer. We had venison in winter, made maple sugar, gathered wild honey and many things that tasted good at that time. Flax and wool were their most cherished crops. Flax made into cloth, and wool from the sheep made into yarn for stockings and woven into cloth which made our blankets and winter clothing. We also made our own soda, very crude indeed, but it answered our purpose very well. I do not remember the process very well, but I knew father set up a “leach”in a barrel, straw at the bottom, a little lime, then filled with wood ashes in a strong lye, which was than boiled down to a thick mass. When cooled this formed crystals and these crystals in some way were used for soda.

There was no strife among us, all had about the same things and interests. We really had to be friendly with our neighbors, for if our fires went out, we were obliged to go a mile or more for live coals to reklindled it, unless someone was about who could strike a fire by the use of flint and steel, as at that time matches were not in vogue. 

It was not an uncommon thing for these neighbors to go several miles distant from home to make an evening visit with their friends.

There were not many periodicals published, and what there were they read from, and the contents were discussed at length. In this way quite a fund of news was disseminated. 

I cannot give dates of interesting events, but they came. 

There was need of a school house, and a piece of ground was selected covered with tamarack trees, all were of convenient size for working up into this building. It took but a short time to complete the building which was used for a church as well as a school. 

The preaching was by circuit riders who came about once a month, and the most lasting impression made upon me by these men was by one of the name of Flaallen; what one would expect from one of that name was realized by the activities of the youngsters of the congregation. But Sunday School was held every Sunday afternoon and prayer meetings every week. 

After the death of Grandmother Church, in New York State, Grandfather came to Michigan and spent his time with us and a daughter in northern Michigan. His coming was a happy event in our home, as he was fond of children and could tell of many interesting things as he was a soldier of the Revolutionary War. It was most exciting to hear him depict war scenes. I wanted to know why he carried a gun. He told me all the soldiers carried guns. I was not satisfied, I said, “Why Grandpa; you would not kill any one would you?” He never did answer satisfactorily. Grandfather Church enlisted in the Revolutionary Army when sixteen years old and served until the close of the war. He later applied for a pension, but when it was disclosed he owned two pewter plates, six pewter knives and forks, besides other house hold goods, also a cow, two shoats, and a musket, he proved too wealthy to have a pension. 

My first attendance at school was when I was about seven years of age. My father took me on horseback, for there was no other way. Fords were not known or thought of in those days. It would not have been safe for me to go alone, for the trail was one made by the Indians, and wild animals, bears, wolves, wildcats and deer were quite common. At night my father came for me. One of the dreadful things we experienced, were the snakes which were plentiful in that locality. It was no trick for the snakes to climb quite high, and they were never timid about entering a home, in-fact a family living at great distance from us found one occupying their bed, when they were ready to retire for that night. Snakes large and small, some venomous, some harmless, were the bane of our lives, more dreaded than wild beasts which came at night to devour what they might find intended for other uses. I must tell you one snake story. 

When I was between nine and ten years old, and sister Sarah was about seven, we were told we could go over in the clearing after black berries, which grew around the stumps. They were very fine and large that year. Mother could not go with us, as she had to care for the baby, sister Emma, who had come to gladden our lives. 

We were told just how to go, and to be very careful. We started off happy, and eager to fill our pails for mother said we will have blackberry pie for Sunday. We found the place and soon filled our pails. There was a large tree that had fallen close by the fence between the cornfield and the berry patch. I said, “I am going to walk on this tree up to the other end, and get over the fence there and we will go home that way”. I got on to the tree and had gone to the place I was to jump off. I looked down and saw a queer thing coiled on the ground; I couldn’t think for a minute what it was, it was so big, but it was a snake—asleep. I whispered “sh-sh-sh – go back, get over the fence and come up this way; there is a big snake here, lets get some big stones and kill it”. He was close to the fence, I went back along the tree and got over the fence, which had a flap top rail. We got five or six big stones and put them on the top rail, then climbed the fence and I threw the biggest stone right square on the snake. It didn’t kill him, but it pinned him there and his body squirmed, his great mouth opened, and his forked tongue darted so fast. We threw all the stones we had and killed him. We than went home with our berries and told mother what we had done. But when we told the men at supper time about killing such a big snake they laughed, and said “you killed a little innocent garter snake likely.” We stuck to our story and told them to go and look, which they did the next day. They took sticks and uncoiled the snake and laid it alongside a row of corn. It measured across three hills of corn, fully six feet. It was always said afterward that the little Wood girls killed the king of snakes. 

There are so many things that come to me that are interesting to think of. During these times families came through the country quite often, moving in covered wagons with their household goods. One family came and asked if they might camp in our yard for the night. We children were curious about these people, and hung around to see what they had to eat. We saw their dog had only potato skins, and a few crumbs of bread to eat, so we asked mother if we might give the dog something from our cupboard. She fixed up a nice supper for us to give him. The next morning we fed the dog again, and the movers went on. The following morning we found the dog “Tige” curled up on our doorstep. He remained with us as long as he lived, a faithful friend and defender. I remember one night father heard an unusual noise at the barn; he opened the kitchen door, and Tige was there. He pounced on father and tried to tell him there was trouble at the barn. He made such a fuss that father finally said “take ‘em Tige”, and he very soon heard the dog having a tussle with some one in the corn field by the pieces of clothing the dog had torn. 

In a short time it became necessary to build a new school house. The place selected was too far for us to walk. So father rented the farm we lived on, and bought one two and a half miles distant in a more thickly settled district. This was a delight to us all, first because this farm joined the Humphrey farm; second, it was a better house, and there were no snakes in that part of the country. During the moving into the new house, there were some heavy pieces of furniture rolled across the floor upstairs, which made a big noise. Soon after, a thunder storm came up and Emma, a little thing, sitting on the floor said to mother, “I guess God is moving, I hear him moving the bureau”. 

I might go on indefinitely of instances both happy and sad, but I fear to weary you. I, being the oldest of the three sisters was father’s Boy. I would go to the pasture, catch a horse, hitch him to the light wagon, go to the mill or market, and do all sorts of things to help father.

Our most precious memories are of our parents. While at times our circumstances were straightened for lack of funds, our home life was as happy as those born in luxury. Our mother, gentle in disposition, was mighty in those traits of character which stood for right and justice. Her life was one of loving service to her home and friends. 

Written by Mrs. Viola Knapp, and read by her September 15th, 1921 at a meeting of the Lucy Wolcott Barnum Chapter D.A.R. Adrian, Michigan.