CHAPTER XII. THE RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATION OF THE GRAND RIVER VALLEY. The young pioneers were growing old. The older ones were growing gray. And along the pathway of the original settlers, here and there, and often, some one of their numbers had stepped from their ranks and crossed the dark river, to be seen no more on this side. And so the pioneers began to realize that a quarter of a century had passed since they set their stakes and made their homes in this valley. The custom of preserving the remembrance of first things and of notable dates, by association and the institution of suitable festivities and anniversaries, is not only very ancient, but very useful and pleasurable and profitable. Naturally the minds of the early settlers of Grand Rapids turned toward social co-operation for such a purpose, and the following, as the result of a conference in relation to the matter, appeared in the daily papers of the date indicated: OLD SETTLERS' SOCIETY Desiring to perpetuate the early history of Kent county, and to continue good social feelings among the remaining pioneers, we respectfully invite such of the present residents of the county as had settled in the Territory of Michigan previous to January 26, 1837 (being the date of admission as a State), to meet with us at Messrs. Ball & McKee's office, Monday evening, the 22d inst., at 7 o'clock p.m., to form an Old Settlers' Society for the county. Geo. Coggeshall Geo. Martin John Almy J. W. Pierce W. G. Henry Jas. Lyman J. F. Godfroy R. C. Luce Robert Hilton A. B. Turner D. W. Evans John Ball Ant. Campau M. Ringuette John Ringuette D. S. Leavitt S. F. Perkins Rix Robinson Charles Shepard C. H. Taylor Nelson Robinson S. L. Withey Grand Rapids, Feb. 18, 1858 The meeting was held as called. John Ball was chosen Chairman and Dan W. Evans Secretary, and a committee was appointed to draft constitution and by-laws. This committee reported articles of association, providing that the organization should be called The Old Settlers' Society of Kent County; the officers to be elected annually on the twenty-sixth of January. These for the first were: President, Jonathan F. Chubb; Vice-President, Ezekiel W. Davis; Secretary, John W. Pierce; Treasurer, John Ball. So far the pioneers were associated under what seemed favorable auspices. And then for nearly ten years the members seemed to forget that their society needed concerted action in order to maintain an existence; and during that time only occasional and casual meetings of the Old Settlers'  were held. At the county fair in 1867 was shown a picture group, made by Ira G. Tompkins, photographer, entitled "Pioneers of Grand Rapids," containing the photographs of sixty-three of the old residents, who came here prior to 1843. At the next formal meeting of Old Settlers, Feb. 29, 1868, a committee was appointed to take charge of and preserve the picture, which had been presented to the society, and Mr. Tompkins was made an honorary member. Nearly all of those portraits, in a single frame, are now among the archives of the Old Residents Association. REORGANIZATION AND CHANGE OF NAME. The original Old Settlers' Society included only those who came into the Territory prior to the admission of Michigan as a State. The fact began to be apparent that a new organization was desirable to make it permanent and attractive in point of numbers. A meeting for that purpose was held at Sweet's Hotel, December 27, 1871, at which a committee was appointed to draft a new constitution and by-laws. At this meeting upward of eighty were in attendance. Ezekiel W. Davis was elected President, and Luman R. Atwater, Secretary, for the time being. At the next meeting, January 17, 1872, the reorganization was completed, by the adoption of a new constitution which enlarged the territory of the society, so as to include Ionia, Kent and Ottawa counties. It also changed the qualification for membership, to admit persons thirty-five years of age who had been for twenty-five years or more residents of the valley; the membership fees to be $1 a year, and all special assessments. The annual meetings were to be held on the twenty-sixth day of January, or the next day when the twenty-sixth should fall on Sunday. An annual summer festival in the month of June was provided for, and since that time it has also been customary for the society to hold annual winter reunions at some convenient place within the city. At this meeting Rix Robinson was chosen President; John W. Pierce, Secretary; and Luman R. Atwater, Treasurer. January 26, 1876, the name of the society was changed to Old Residents Association of the Grand River Valley, and the age of eligibility for membership was changed to forty-five years; time of residence twenty-five years as before. Largely increased in membership during the past dozen years, the annual meetings and festival gatherings of this society have been numerously attended, and greatly enjoyed. The winter reunion has been held at some one of the public hotels or halls of the city, usually at the Morton or at Sweet's. Short speeches, reminiscences general greetings and renewals of old acquaintanceship, banquets and dancing have been the marked features of the exercises on these occasions. The summer festivals have usually taken the form of basket picnic parties, and most of them have been held in or by the grove at Reeds Lake. There have been some exceptions. In 1875 they met at the Carpenter Spring below the city, and on a more recent occasion at Tusch's Garden on West Bridge street. These picnic gatherings have been very pleasurable incidents, not only to the old settlers, but to hundreds of others up and down the valley, the invitations being generally extended to the families and friends of the members. There was an especially large and enjoyable meeting at Reeds Lake June 23, 1883, the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the first Yankee family in Grand Rapids, also the seventieth birthday anniversary of "Aunt Hattie" Burton, who was one of that family. The principal officers of the society since 1872 have been: Presidents--John Ball, elected in 1875; Robert Hilton, 1876, and for nine years following; Charles H. Taylor, 1886; Charles Shepard, 1887, and since. Secretaries--Franklin Everett, 1875, and since that year Reuben H. Smith. Treasurers--William N. Cook, 1875, and five years following; Thomas D. Gilbert, 1881, and up to the present time. From 1877 to 1888 Leonard Covell was Marshal. January 26, 1889, John T. Holmes and Zenas G. Winsor were chosen Vice Presidents and William N. Cook, Marshal. The membership fees have been found sufficient to meet expenses, and keep a small balance in the treasury. No special assessment has been necessary. The expenses for suppers and entertainment at the winter reunions have been met by the sale of tickets. In the summer the picnic attendants have brought overloaded baskets, furnishing enough and spare. A commendable feature of the exercises and duties of this society, which has been carefully and scrupulously attended to, is that of paying the last sad tribute of respect to departed members. The custom is, upon the death of a member, for a considerable number of the survivors to meet and together as a delegation attend the funeral. With a membership of several hundred early residents, all well advanced in years, it is but natural that these occasions should be frequent; while their observance serves as a morally healthful admonition. In the field peculiarly its own, the Old Residents Association of the Grand River Valley is among the most praiseworthy of our social institutions. Very few of the pioneer settlers of this valley are now living, but this society is by its terms self-perpetuating; and it has within it the means and the methods to be always a pleasurable and useful organization for those of maturer years. Prof. Franklin Everett has contributed, on many occasions, at the social gatherings of the Old Residents, to the entertainment in a literary way, generally in the form of a rythmical or poetic address. From one of these the following is taken: The old Primer gives us the picture of Time, As a reaper to harvest the land. His hour-glass poising with gesture sublime, Flying swift with his scythe in his hand. But the harvester, Time, is scattering seed, And watering with dew and showers. As he binds the ripe sheaves he is giving heed To the upspringing plants and flowers. He is not a tyrant destroyer, who prides Himself on his poisonous breath; Nor the stern, dread Angel of Doom, who rides With the scythe and the besom of Death. Look around on this crowd. We miss, it is true. Here and there a patriarch gray; A Mother in Israel has gone from view, We miss them with sadness to-day. Their sands were run out, they passed from sight; Yet their impress is left behind. When out from our presence they took their flight, Their memory was stamped on mind. But look again! See the juvenile troop! See the man and his new-found bride-- Of the present and future the substance and hope, The strength, the reliance and pride. Generations are passing and coming along. And why should we lengthen their stay? The young will be old, as the old have been young; Let the old to the young give way. Wise laws rule the world--'tis the best that we know, Though faith, on the wings of desire. Mounts upward exultant, and basks in the glow Of regions serener and higher. Yet uncertain is faith, uncertain is hope, Uncertain is all the ideal; But certain to us is time's limited scope; This life, while we have it, is real. It is ours to enjoy---'tis blessed to live; And bright this fair world appears, With the solid enjoyments that time can give, And the loves that are crowning our years. You carping old sinner! because you are old, Long past the gay years of your prime. You feel yourself licensed to grumble and scold. And rail at the ravage of time. You've had your full years, and belong to the past, You are living on suff'rance to-day! Why fret if in fullness of days at last You must pass, like your fathers, away? 'Twas gracious in Time to let you alone--- That the reaper your life has spared; The whole he could give of life you have known; Its loves and its honors you've shared. Then why should you growl that now you are old, And the oil in your lamp is low; If by whitening locks and infirmity told That you soon will be summoned to go? Then gracefully bear, as a rational sage, What may be by Providence sent, Believing there's beauty and honor in age, If crowning a life well spent. As the ripened fruit, just ready to fall, Pure, manly old age appears. A beacon or star, a guide unto all, Are the veteran's virtuous years. Come, young and old, 'tis a festival day; Let boding to distance be flung, Cast aside all regrets, to sould give way; We all are, or else have been, young. To-day we are bound to live in the past, To go over the way we have trod; We have life at present---how long it will last We leave to the future and God. One by one we step out, to be seen no more here; Are missed in the gathering throng; But our place will be full----as we disappear Out children are coming along. 'Tis graceful to live as a saint or a sage, Revered as one noble and high; 'Tis graceful again, in the ripeness of age, As the world's benefactor to die. Immortal, unconquered by death are they Who have left a dear memory behind; The body may pass, but the spirit will stay In the souls of the living enshrined. MEMBERSHIP ROLL. The following are the names of members of the Old Settlers' Society and its successor, the Old Residents' Association, from the date of organization to the end of the year 1888: Abel, Carlos A. Abel, Julius C. Adams, Crayton N. Adams, Elisha M. Allen, George W. Allen, Hiram H. Allen, Joseph W. Allen, Wright C. Almy, John Anderson, Ebenezer Anderson, William M. Angell, Crawford Antrim, Albert C. Armstrong, Charles N. Arnott, David Atwater, Luman R. Auble, J. Audrain, Robert A. Baars, J. Frederic Bacon, Adolphus N. Bailey, Gilbert G. Bailey, Sluman S. Baldwin, Simeon L. Ball, Byron D. Ball, Ebenezer M. Ball, John Ball, Sidney S. Ballard, James Barclay, Charles Barnard, William R. Barns, Ebenezer W. Barnes, Jacob Barr, Robert M. Bates, Edward S. Baxter, Albert Baxter, Mrs. Joseph J. Belnap, John Bement, Leonard Benedict, Edward D. Bennett, Joseph H. Berkey, William A. Berles, Franz Blain, Joseph R. Blain, N.B. Blair, James Blake, Alexander Blake, Joseph Blakely, William I. Blodgett, C. Blood, Mary Blood, Merrick G. Blumrich, Mrs. Laura Boardman, F. D. Bole, John Borden, A. D. Borden, Baker Boxheimer, Frank Boyd, James Boyer, Mrs. Joshua Boynton, Jeremiah W. Brady, John Bremer, Henry Brewer, Aaron Brewer, Lucien B. Briggs, Edward L. Brinsmaid, Charles G. Brown, James H. Brown, James W. Buchanan, John C. Buck, Seeley S. Budington, Washington I. Buell, L. Burchard, Carlos Burnett, David Burton, Barney Burton, Mrs. Harriet Bush, Daniel Bush, Octavius C. Butler, John Cady, Ebenezer H. Cady, Winthrop R. Calkins, Charles W. Calkins, John Campau, Adelphe T. Campau, Antoine Campau, Denis L. Campau, Edward Campau, Mrs. Emily Cargill, Hawley N. Carrier, Edmund Champlin, John W. Childs, Henry B. Chipman, John Chipman, Oscar H. Chubb, Jonathan F. Church, Thomas B. Clancy, John Clark, A. H. Clark, Benjamin Clark, John C. Clarke, L. D. Clay, David P. Clinton, Joseph S. Cofee, John Coffinberry, Andrew B. Coffinberry, Wright L. Coggeshall, George Coldren, Jacob Cole, Wilna Collins, Robert M. Colton, John B. Comstock, Charles C. Cook, William N. Cordes, John Costen, E. Covell, Leonard Covell, Phillip F. Creque, John P. Crissma, John Crsoby, Danford M. Cummings, Norman Daniels, George W. Dart, Elijah Davidson, Lewis C. Davis, Ebenezer Davis, Ezekiel W. Davis, Horace W. Davis, Isaac D. Davis, James N. Davis, R. E. Davis, Washington Davis, W. H. H. Dean, Charles B. Dean, Harry Deane, Gaius S. Deary, Thomas DeCamp, William H. Denison, W. C. Denton, Joseph DeYoung, Adrian Dickenson, George W. Dishman, Samuel O. Dodge, George W. Dolbee, James. D'Ooge, Leonard Dunham, Abner Dunnett, William Durfee, Allen Eastman, George Eaton, Benjamin C. Eaton, Charles W. Eaton, Harry Edie, J. Orton Edison, Enos Edison, George W. Edison, James R. Edison, John Elliot, John T. English, Edson Evans, Dan W. Evans, Ira W. Everett, Franklin Farr, John S. Ferguson, Mrs. A. Ferry, William M. Finn, Patrick Fisk, John W. Fisk, Nathaniel Fitch, George C. Fitch, James O. Fletcher, Elson O. Folger, Ebenezer Folger, John B. Foote, Obed H. Foster, Charles Fox, Cornelius Fox, John M. Fox, Perrin V. Fralick, Henry Friend, Mrs. Sarah Fuller, Samuel L. Ganoe, Jesse Gezon, John Jr. Gibbons, Thomas Gibson, Orson B. Gilbert, Thomas D. Godfrey, Silas F. Godfroy, John F. Godfroy, Richard Godfroy, William H. Godwin, Augustine Goodrich, Hiram C. Goodrich, Phillip M. Goodsell, Rier N. Granger, Julius Green, Martin Greenly, Thomas W. Gregory, Emily G. Greiner, Charles Griggs, George W. Grinnell, Henry Guild, Horace H. Gunn, William S. Hake, William Haldane, William Hall, Harriet M. Hall, Lowell Hall, Silas Hamilton, Isaiah B. Hanchett, Benjamin S> Hanna, John M. Harlan, Joseph Harrington, John Harris, Myron Hart, John Hatch, Damon Haynes, Isaac Hefferan, Thomas Henderson, Adelaide M. Henry, William G. Herkner, Joseph C. Hill, E. G. Hills, Aaron Hills, Hollis R. Hills, Perry Hilton, Robert Hine, Milton B. Hinsdale, Henry W. Hinsdill, Chester B. Hinsdill, Henry M. Hinsdill, Hiram Hinsdill, William Hodenpyl, P. J. G. Hodges, Amos Hogadone, Henry C. Hogadone, John B. Holden, E. G. D. Holden, Josiah R. Hollister, Harvey J. Holt, Henry Hooker, George W. Hopkins, M. L. Horton, David Horton, Orsemus W. Houseman, Joseph Houseman, Julius Howard, Levi N. Howland, Samuel Howlett, N.R. Hunt, Edward H. Hunt, Simeon Huntly, Emmons R. Huyck, W. F. Hyde, Milton Hyde, Nathaniel C. Hyde, William A. Innes, William P. Ives, Harry H. Jarvis, A. L. Jenison, Hiram Jenison, Luman Jennings, Howard Jewett, Henry Johnson, Adrian Johnson, George K. Johnson, Levi Johnson, Luther H. Johnson, Welcome W. Jones, Cyrus Jones, Ira Jones, Wilson Judd, Elliot E. Judd, Samuel Kelley, Foster Kelley, Lee Kellogg, Orson C. Kellogg, Truman Kendall, John Kennedy, James M. Kent, Mrs. Cyrus Kirkland, John Klijs, John Kingsbury, Solomon O. Knapp, Erastus U. Knight, George L. Koch, William Konkle, Hollis Kruger, Charles Kusterer, Christoph Kusterer, Phillip Kutts, Frank F. Lamphere, Lester Laraway, David Laraway, William Ledyard, William B. Legard, James Leitelt, Adolph Leitelt, Edward Leonard, Heman Leonard, Julius Leppig, William LeRoy, William H. Lewitt, Benjamin Lindsey, John Livingston, James M. Loomis, Andrew Long, John R. Lucas, Thomas J. Luce, Abijah Luce, Benjamin Luce, Ransom C. Luther, George Luther, John Lyman, James Lyon, Charles D. Lyon, Edward Lyon, Farnham Lyon, James D. Lyon, Sanford W. Lyon, Truman H. Lyon, Truman H., Jr. Lyon, Mrs. Truman H. McConnell, Daniel McCray, Gilbert M. McGurrin, Patrick McKee, James H. McKenzie, Mrs. Jane Manning, James L. Marsh, Edward S. Martin, George Mattison, Franklin Mead, Lafayette Meech, Asa W. Messmore, Isaac E. Miller, Charles Miller, David Miller, James Miller, John T. Miller, Mrs. Samuel Mills, Elnathan Miner, Jerome Moore, George L. Moore, Lovell Morey, Chester S. Morman, William Morrison, Jefferson Mosterdik, Leonard Morton, John Muir, John Naysmith, Henry R. Naysmith, Jay D. Neal, Carlton Nelson, Ezra T. Nelson, George K. Page, Abel T. Page, John S. Page, Loren M. Palmerlee, Heman Parker, Joel C. Parks, Robert S. Parrish, Isaac H. Parson, Mrs. William Patten, Lyman E. Patterson, Chauncey Patterson, James Patterson, Miner Paul, James A. Paul, John Pearsall, Orlando K. Pearsall, Sherman M. Pease, Chapin Peirce, John W. Perice, Peter R. L. Pelton, Chauncey Penney, Joseph Pennoyer, Henry Perkins, Samuel F. Pew, George H. Phillips, E. C. Phillips, John W. Phillips, Levi L. Phillips, William G. Pierce, B. T. Pierce, Edwin S. Pierce, George R. Pike, Abram W. Pitts, James L. Platt, Alonzo Platte, Anthony Platte, Fred Porter, David C. Porter, T. J. W. Porter, Thomas W. Post, Jared L. Post, Hoyt Powell, John A. Powers, William H. Powers, William T. Pratt, Mrs. Asa Preston, C. D. Prince, Erie Quimby, Ichabod L. Quinn, John Quinn, Michael Quinn, Patrick Randall, Abram Randall, Claudius Randall, Horatio Ransom, James W. Rathbone, A. D. Rathbun, Gouverneur B. Rathbun, Lansing K. Reed, Ezra Reed, Horace W. Reed, Mrs. S. Lewis Reed, Osmond Reynolds, William H. Rice, Charles A> Rice, Eber Ridout, Ezra T. Richards, Alfred S. Richmond, Eliza J. Richmond, Mrs. Wm. A. Ridout, Ezra T. Ringuette, John Ringuette, Maxime Robens, Smith Roberts, Amos Roberts, Mrs. Amos Roberts, Edward H. Roberts, Peter Roberts, William D. Robinson, Charles A. Robinson, George A. Robinson, James D. Robinson, John R. Robinson, Joseph F. Robinson, Nelson Robinson, Rix Rogers, E. M. Rogers, Justus C. Rood, Charles C. Rose, Mrs. Harvey K. Rosencrans, F. M. Rosenberg, John Roys, Myron Rumsey, James A. Ryerson, Martin Sach, Charles Salmon, Archibald Sargeant, James Sargeant, Thomas Saunders, Henry G. Saunders, William G. Sawyer, James Schemerhorn, Daniel Schermerhorn, George Schermerhorn, Isaac N. Schneider, Hugo Schroeder, George Scott, John C. Scranton, Leonidas S. Scranton, S. B. Scribner, Mrs. James Scribner, William R. Sessions, Rodney C. Seymour, Mrs. Henry Shackleton, G. J. Shepard, Charles Shoemaker, Nicholas Shoemaker, Robert I. Shriver, Fred Sibley, Mrs. Aaron Simonds, James C. Sinclair, Robert P. Sinclair, Thompson Skeels, Dorr Skinner, Adolphus L. Sliter, Benjamin F. Smith, A. Hosford Smith, Courtney Smith, Henry C. Smith, J. Mortimer Smith, L. M. S. Smith, Newton J. Smith, Pliny Smith, Reuben H. Smith, Robert H. Smith, Samuel C. Smith, Thomas Smith, Mrs. T. S. Snyder, Mrs. F. S. Snyder, Leonard Solomon, William H. Sones, George W. Soule, George H. Spring, Henry Spring, Jared S. Stanly, Justin M. Stebbins, Charles D. Stebbins, Andrew J. Steketee, George G. Steketee, John Steketee, Paul Stevens, Ambrose A. Stevens, E. O. Stewart, John R. Stone, Chester G. Stone, Henry G. Stone, Normandus A. Sunderland, Mrs. Myron Swain, Robert Sweet, Martin L. Tabor, Andrew Tanner, Timothy I. Tanner, William H. Taylor, Charles H. Taylor, Charles W. Teeple, George Thayer, George W. Thornton, William Talford, William D. Tompkins, Ira G. Tower, D. F. Tower, Osmond Tracy, Philander Trowbridge, Jerome Truax, John Tryon, William A. Tubbs, Martin H. Turner, Aaron B. Turner, Alfred B. Turner, Demetrius Turner, Eunice Turner, Selden E. Turner, Samuel M. Tusch, F. W. Utley, Dwight R. Van Amburgh, M. Van Driele, Francis Verberg, Mary A. Vlekke, Marinus F. Voorheis, William C. Walker, J. H. Warrell, Charles W. Waters, James Watkins, Erwin C. Watson, Amasa B. Watson, Daniel M Watson, John Weatherly, Warren W. Weaver, Prentiss Wells, Jared Welles, William J. Werner, Gustave Westlake, Samuel Whalen, Keeran Wheeler, Josiah L. Wheeler, William K. White, George H. (1st) White, George H. (2d) Whtie, Samuel White, T. M. White, Timothy W. White, Thomas W. Whitney, Abram J. WIlder, Horace Wileman, M. H. Williams, Ransalaer Williamson, J. W. Wilson, Edward R. Wilson, Hermanus A. Winsor, Eugene E. Winsor, Jacob W. Winsor, Mrs. J. W. Winsor, Zenas G. Winter, John B. Withey, John H. Withey, Orison A. Withey, Solomon L. Wood, Arthur Woodard, Charles Woodman, B. F. Wooster, Samuel R. Worden, F. W. Wright, Solomon Wurzburg, Frank Yale, George W. Young, Elias G. Young, Samuel Zunder, Louis THE JUNIOR OLD SETTLERS. Somewhat after the plan which had been adopted by the old pioneers, a number of gentlemen of the younger generation organized, January 8, 1880, a society which they called the Junior Old Settlers Association, to be comprised of members living in Ionia, Kent and Ottawa counties, and who should have been residents within the valley twenty-five years. The object stated was the cultivation of pleasant social relations and the accumulation and perpetuation of matters of personal and local history. The membership fee was one dollar. The first officers were: Charles A. Hilton, President; E. B. Dikeman and N. B. Scribner, Vice-Presidents; Stephen H. Ballard, Secretary; Julian M. Wheeler ,Treasurer. Arthur M. Warrell was chosen Secretary, and Charles H. Leonard, Treasurer, at their second meeting, February 8, 1881. February 14, 1882, A. B. Sinclair was elected Secretary, and Arthur K. Allen, Treasurer. At the same meeting they elected Washington Davis and Solon W. Baxter, Vice-Presidents. Charles A. Hilton served continuously as President. The Junior Old Settlers had several very enjoyable reunions, balls and parties. The association had a total membership roll of upward of one hundred and fifty names. Their first picnic was held June 18, 1880, at Eastmanville. June 14, 1881, they had an excursion and basket picnic, going by the steamer Barrett to Grand Haven and returning by rail. This association has, by neglectful inattention, been allowed to lapse into "innocuous desuetude."