By Staff
This week my column was going to be about the Native Americans who settled in this area. But in looking for the information my direction changed. This often happens when researching history, one thing leads to another.
How was Ontwa township named and how was it connected to the Native Americans of the area, became my focus.
I used two sources, both entitled the History of Cass County. Looking at the two different sources one stated that Ontwa Township was named for an Indian maiden who lived in the household of Col. Abraham Edwards of Detroit for several years, the other source stated that the township was named after an Indian girl of that name who for a number of years was in the employ of Thomas H. Edwards.
That created a dilemma so I formulated some questions. Could Abraham and Alexander be the same person? Could they be brothers or father and son? Why would a woman in Detroit be used for the name of Ontwa Township? Who was right, Howard Rogers who wrote the History of Cass County in 1875 or Waterman, Watkins and Co, who wrote History of Cass County in 1882? What to do?
So I went to my ultimate source of local history, Otis Montgomery's Edwardsburg the First One Hundred and Fifty Years. According to his book, the Edwards family, not sure which members, arrived in 1828. Thomas Edwards seeing the number of settlers choosing land on the nearby prairie, he opened a general store in a pole shanty near the Old Sauk Trail probably at the intersection of Lake and Hamilton Street.
Otis said in his book, Alexander Hamilton Edward in 1831 purchased a parcel of land from Ezra Beardsley and platted 44 lots which he recorded as the Village of Edwardsburgh, with an "h." At the first meeting of the County Commissioners who met at the home A. H. Edwards on Jan. 2, 1830 a permit was issued to Mr. Thomas Edwards to operate a tavern. Thomas Edwards married Lovica Beardsley in 1828 so Ezra was his father-in-law.
There is no mention that I could find in Montgomery's book about the naming of Ontwa. But I did find out that Col. Abraham Edwards was a doctor in the army medical Corps of the Michigan Militia during the Black Hawk War and he was the registrar of the Land Office in Detroit which was later moved to White Pigeon in 1834.
Alexander and Thomas were brothers but I am not sure about Abraham, I surmise that they were all brothers and that the indian maiden worked in their household. Maybe the young girl moved with the brothers to Edwardsburg. Maybe the entire family moved to the area.
But one thing for sure that I do know is that the township of Ontwa was named for a young Indian maiden by someone in the Edwards family!
A reminder that Carl Higley will be interviewed on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Museum. The public is invited.