HISTORICAL IMAGES

MISCELLANEOUS

The Warner family was part of a national settlement pattern of mostly Yankee stock from New England and upstate New York to Michigan in the 1820s to 1850s.  Settlement to Michigan lagged behind other neighboring states such as Indiana and Ohio by a decade or two partly due to the more ready access afforded settlers to these states.  Preliminary reports highlighting swamps and suggesting that not one acre in 100 or even 1,000 was suitable for agriculture soured early interest in the territory.  But an important 1819 treaty with Native Americans that opened a large area in lower Michigan to settlement and passage of the federal Land Act of 1820 that lowered the price of government-owned land to $1.25 per acre and reduced the minimum parcel purchase to eighty acres enticed people from New England and upstate New York to migrate west to Michigan.  Territorial governor Lewis Cass traveled in 1820 on a 3,000 mile journey through Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota to prove that the region had potential and was suitable for settlement, and new, more comprehensive surveys conducted in the 1820s suggested that Michigan had vast resources including open prairies with rich soil, mineral deposits, and a seemingly endless supply of virgin timber.  The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 encouraged a wave of settlement in the southern counties of the lower peninsula as well as the establishment of trading posts in the interior such as at Flint, Saginaw, Grand Blanc, Pontiac, and Byron.  Settlement in Livingston County, however, would not occur until the early 1830s.

The first pioneer in Livingston County was Col. Solomon Peterson, who settled in Putnam Township in May 1828.  He is also credited with building the first frame house and barn in the county.  Flavona Wright also purchased land in Putnam Township in 1828 but she never settled it, making Solomon the lone settler in the county for nearly 2 1/2 years (Charboneau 2011).  In September 1830, pioneers arrived in other southern Livingston County townships such as Green Oak, located just south of Brighton Township.  Brighton Township saw the arrival of New York brothers Almon and Maynard Maltby in August 1832; they settled where the city of Brighton is now located.  Elijah Marsh, credited as the first to settle in the township outside of the future village location, arrived from Massachusetts also in the fall of 1832.  These early settlers were exceptions, as the largest influx of new settlers arrived during the years of 1836 and 1837 in which the population grew by a factor of five.  As the population boomed, the area was organized into political units.  Livingston County was incorporated in March 1836 from Shiawassee and Washtenaw Counties.  Brighton Township split off from Green Oak in December 1837.

Timothy Warner arrived with his family in Brighton Township from Livonia, Livingston County, NY, in July 1837 at the peak of the Michigan land rush.  Family stories indicate that the Warners took the land route across northern Ohio to Detroit.  Hiram H. Warner, Timothy's brother, had patented three forty-acre parcels the previous year at Detroit in November 1836 located in sections 10, 11, and 14.  A log cabin was built on their newly acquired forty acres located in the southwest quarter of section 11.  The area, known as Pleasant Valley, was undeveloped and only three other settlers were in the vicinity.  Hiram and Timothy's father, Dode, are listed as residing in Brighton Township, MI in the 1840 Federal Census.  Dode was born in Rhode Island who moved to Vermont as a young boy and left after several years in Brighton.  Hiram returned to Livonia, NY leaving Timothy to make a way for himself in the wilds of Michigan.

A tiny village, at the time called Ore Creek after a stream with a high iron content running through it, had already been established.  Gristmills and sawmills had been operating since 1833 and by the time the Warners arrived, other businesses such as a blacksmith shop, a general store, and several taverns also welcomed the influx of newcomers.  Several months after Timothy Warner’s arrival, a new township was organized from part of Green Oak.  The new township was named “Brighton” after a town in Monroe County, New York, from which Maynard Maltby’s wife had come, and the village of Ore Creek also received the Brighton name.

Despite the development of commerce, desperate times befell many area settlers during the early pioneer period.  The Panic of 1837 and the five-year depression that followed did not make it easy to start a farm so Timothy began his agricultural career by farming land on shares.  William Clark, another early Brighton Township settler, recalled in an address given to the Pioneer Society of Michigan in 1876 that “Families, to my knowledge, in 1837-38, through necessity, lived for days on boiled acorns, with fish when they could be caught, cooked, and ate without salt or fat of any kind” (Pioneer Collection 1877 1:253).  A number of accounts discuss trade between early Michigan pioneers and local Native Americans, especially Potawatomi.  According to his biography, Timothy was also involved in this trade, exchanging beads for venison to make ends meet.

At 22 years old, Timothy Warner purchased his first plot of land, eighty acres in the northeast quarter of Section 27, for $384 from Samuel and Polly Sheffield in October 1841.  This property had changed hands several times between land speculators, at one point selling for over $1000.  The land was still undeveloped, and he cleared it to make it useful for agriculture.  At that time, Timothy lived with fellow pioneer, Melzer Bird.  Melzer was a carpenter who built over 100 buildings in the area.  Several years later, in May 1847, Timothy married Lucretia Jones of South Lyon and started his own family.  Lucretia was also from New York State and her father, Thomas Jones, who arrived in Michigan in 1830, helped name and organize Lyon Township in Oakland County.  Timothy and Lucretia lived with Bird's for a short while, afterwards settling on the property that Timothy had previously bought.  They had six children, four of whom were born in the log cabin.  By 1850, half of the eighty-acre parcel was improved and the farm contained two horses, eight head of cattle including four dairy cows, nineteen sheep, and four pigs.

Several barns were erected, likely in the 1840s to 1850s.  A “blacksmith” shop with attached corncrib on its north side was erected to work on wagons, repair tools, and shoe horses.  No evidence of hot metal working has been found, though the boulder foundation is still intact.  Other outbuildings were also added including a chicken coop and outhouse. 

In 1855 the Greek Revival frame house was built, possibly after a fire destroyed the log cabin.  The land around the home was used for a variety of purposes including an orchard planted east of the house, crops such as corn, wheat, and potatoes, as well as grazing for sheep and cattle. 

Like a number of other pioneers, Timothy speculated on land and became quite successful.  The 1859 Geil, Harley & Siverd map shows he then held 240 acres spread across four different sections.  By 1875 the F. W. Beers map shows Timothy Warner as the second largest landholder in the township (11^th largest in Livingston County) with 484 acres and lists him as a “Genl Farmer, Grain, Sheep, Cattle, Horse and Fruit raiser, Dist No 8” (Beers 1875:82).  His biography states that at one point he held nearly six hundred acres, and family stories suggest that he had up to ten teams of men working property in a number of sections in the township.

His investment interests weren’t limited to property, though.  In 1867, with Thomas Woulds, he purchased the Woodruff gristmill for $5000 and spent a considerable sum to make it operational again.  The extent of his involvement in the mill is uncertain – it is not clear whether he helped in its operation or was simply an investor.  The partnership lasted for four years after which Woulds retained ownership of the mill and Warner received the land around it.

As a prosperous farmer and investor, Timothy Warner turned his attention to civic roles.  He was elected township treasurer in 1863 and 1865.  His biography also lists him as serving as road commissioner for three years and indicates he was elected justice of the peace.  He served in a number of capacities in the Lyon school district from 1868 to 1884 including director for five consecutive terms.  Warner was also an early leader in the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1874.

In 1900, the farm was passed to Timothy’s son George and then in 1920, George’s son Herbert purchased the farm from his father and a number of new structures were built.  In the early 1920s a “deluxe” three-seater outhouse with removable box was purchased and brought from town.  Around 1928, a 24’ x 30’ gambrel barn was erected by George and his son Herbert to store tools and tractors.  During the 1930s one of Herbert’s sons, Robert, built a series of pens for raising and selling rabbits.  In the 1940s, a well house was built to store milk from the dairy cattle. 

Timothy Warner’s descendants followed in his footsteps to help shape the community.  His son George was active in the Wesleyan church as a class leader and on the board of stewards, served on the school board, and sold honey and fruit.  His daughter, Lovisa, married Sidney Smith, who ran a successful farm on the former Gov. Bingham property in Green Oak (listed in the National Register of Historic Places) for forty years and served as township supervisor for six years.  George’s son Herbert would also serve on the school board as supervisor, helped build the Milford Proving Grounds (General Motors automotive testing facility) in the 1920s, and was well known in the area for his expertise in breaking horses.  Herbert Warner’s wife Laura, an area school teacher for three years, started the East Brighton Farm Bureau in 1950 and was a charter member of the Pleasant Valley Social Club.  Herbert’s son Laverne ran an apple orchard and another son, Donald, was also on the Lyon school board.  Three of Herbert and Laura Warner’s sons fought in WWII with distinction while two of their daughters were also teachers in schools around Brighton.  Many of their direct descendants still live and work in the Brighton area.

The farm continued to be largely self-sufficient even into the 1960s.  Pigs raised on the farm were rendered in a large kettle, chickens provided eggs, and dairy cows provided milk, cream, and butter.  Sheep, cattle, turkeys, hogs, and chickens provided a variety of meat.  The adjacent orchard produced apples and pears.  Homemade bread was baked throughout the week, one hundred donuts were made each Saturday, and Sunday dinners typically consisted of two chickens taken from the farm.  Rose Warner recalled canning over 900 quarts of food that were stored in the cellar for use throughout the year.  Though tractors had been used for some time, Belgian and Percheron work horses were still used to pull wagons and complete other tasks on the farm into the early 1960s.

At the age of 77, Herbert decided to retire and auctioned much of the equipment and livestock in April 1962, though farming continued.  Herbert’s son Leroy inherited eighteen acres on which the homestead sits in 1980, while other parts of the original eighty-acre parcel were sold including one that was developed into a subdivision, Chapel Hill Estates.  Other portions of this original parcel are still owned by several Warner family descendants. Two of Leroy’s sons were given two-acre parcels on which they built their homes in the late 1990s. 

The Warners could very well be considered a quintessential pioneer family that realized success from the New England ideals they brought with them including hard work, patience, and perseverance.  Most notable was Timothy, who helped shape the community from the day it was organized through the leadership roles he held in educational, religious, government, civic, and judicial capacities over several decades.  Timothy was one among many successful pioneers but what sets him apart was the prosperous agricultural life he created combined with an entrepreneurial spirit and sense of civic duty that laid the foundation for a community lasting over 185 years.