These are the names of everyone who lived in Springville Township in 1870 according to the U.S. Census of that year. While we cannot simply reproduce the Census record here for copyright reasons, we can list the families and individuals who were listed on the census for that year. Anyone who is researching family members and needs more information from the Census record, please contact us on the Contact page.

William Dean, farmer, 24, married to Demarius Dean, 23, and one child, Evalinda, 2. William and Demarius were from NY State.

John Wheeler, carpenter, 30, married to Georgiana Wheeler, 25, and one child, Effa, 2. John and Georgiana were from NY State.

George Wheeler, carpenter, 28, brother of John, from NY State.

Sarah Slagel, domestic servant, 36, from Ohio.

John Perry, farmer, 63, married to Lydia Perry, 55, from NY State. In the same household was Phylena Nuhill, 34, no occupation, from Ohio, and Ezra Jacobs, 9, born in Michigan.

William Thomas, laborer, 28, married to Martha Thomas, 24, with two children, William, 6, and Abigail, 6 months old. William was from Michigan and Martha was from NY State.

Otis Morrell, farmer, 66, married to Julia A. Morrell, 43, with 4 children, Arthur J., 18, Myron, 15, Albert 6, and Allice, 4. Otis was from Maine; Julia from NY State.

Howard Mesick, farmer, 32, married to Elenor (misspelled, should be Eleanor) Mesick, 20, with one child, Walter J., 3. Howard was from NY State; Eleanor from Ohio. Eleanor was a Baker from the family below.

Aaron C. Baker, farmer, 48, married to Clarrissa Baker, 46, with 4 children, Lucy, 14, Laffy C. (should be Leafy), 9, Howard A., 6, and Alvin E., 11 months old. Howard A. was the first baby born in Wexford County. Aaron and Clarrissa was from Ohio.

Charles Fancher, laborer, 36, married to Eliza, 35, with 4 children, Ida, 15, Mary E., 12, Cloe, 10, and Flora, 3. Charles and Eliza were from NY State.

Lyman Baker, laborer, 21, married to Jane Baker, 18. Lyman was the son of Aaron above. He was from Ohio; Jane from Virginia.

Charles Cornwell, farmer, 53, married to Lydia J. Cornwell, 43, with two sons, William, laborer, 17, and Charles S., 15. Charles and Lydia were from NY State.

Daniel Jewett, farmer, 44, married to Abigal (probably Abigail), 30, with 5 children, Emily J, 12, Melvina, 10, James, 9, George, 6, and Milo, 5 months old. Daniel and Abigail were from NY State.

James Conklin, laborer, 29, in same household with Emma Cleveland, 15. Both were from NY State.

Ransom Newton, laborer, 29, married to Mary Newton, 29. Ransom from NY State and Mary from Michigan.

Noble R. Blakely, laborer, 26, married to Polly Blakely, 20, with one son, Thomas, 2. Noble and Polly were from Indiana.

Henry C Dunning, hotel keeper, 36, was from NY State.

William Pollack, laborer, 48, married to Susan Pollack, 48, with Thomas Dogerty, laborer, 28, and John Dogerty, laborer, 24, in the same household. William was from Scotland, Susan from Ireland. Thomas and John were from Maryland.

Levi A. Robinson, laborer, 25, married to Agnes Robinson, 25, with 3 children, John, 8, Agnes, 5, and Ellen, 3. Levi and Agnes were from Canada.

Alexander Pollack, laborer, 28, and Agnes Pollack, 68 in same household. Alexander from Canada and Agnes from Scotland.

John Denike, laborer, 26, married to Mary E. Denike, 24, with 2 children, Orney, 4, and Ida, 2. Also in the household, Andrew Denike, laborer, 23. They were all from Canada.

Thomas Henderson, laborer, 53, married to Sophia, 33, with 3 children, Edeth, 15, Manerva, 10, and Albert 8. Thomas from Ohio and Sophia from NY State. The children were born in Indiana.

Samuel Shaffer, laborer, 38, married to Almira Shaffer, 25. Samuel from Pennsylvania, Almira from Illinois.

Walter Mesick, blacksmith, 32, married to Mary Mesick, 16. Mary was from the Aaron Baker family above. . Also in household, Jesse Mesick, laborer, 23, brother of Walter and Howard above.

Abraham Finch, farmer, 41, married to Martha Finch, 36, with 4 children, Ida M., 10, Lincoln, 8, Pearle, 6, and Arthur W., 4. Abraham was from Kentucky, Martha from Ohio.

Harmony Carpenter, laborer, 50, married to Sally A. Carpenter, 41, with 4 children, Mary, 14, Estella H., 12, Israel, 6, and Ira, 4. The whole family was from NY State. In the same household was Harvey Bert, laborer, 23, also from NY State.

Joseph Adams, laborer, 50, from Canada.

Stephen Snyder, farmer, 30, married to Katharine Snyder, 24, with 2 sons, Phillip S., 3, and John A., 2. Stephen was from NY State, Katharine was from England.

Henry Fast, farmer, 58, married to Jane Fast, 62. Henry from Ohio and Jane from Pennsylvania.

Philander Perry, laborer, 33, married to Mahaly Perry, 20, with one son, John H., 5 months old.

Observations: In 1870, it was almost 19 years before Howard Mesick decided to plot a town named after him on his 160 acres. He had married Eleanor, the oldest Baker girl. Brother Walter had just married the second oldest Baker girl, Mary and had one child. Mesick brother Jesse would end up marrying the third Baker girl, Lucy in a few short years.

There were 22 children from this census that attended school at this time.

Sarah Slagel could not read nor write. We are assuming the term domestic servant meant former slave who stayed with the family.

There were 34 potential voters in Springville Township according to the census. Of course this was only the men 21 years or older.

Note: From Genealogytrails.com/mich/wexford/county.html – William E. Dean, farmer, Springville, Wexford Co., Mich., was born in Chautauqua County, N. Y., in 1846, came to the Traverse region in 1866, three years before Wexford County was organized, it being at that time attached to Manistee County for judicial purposes. He settled on Section 2, Township 23, Range 12 west, when there were only seven settlers in Manistee County south of the river. Was one of the board of supervisors in 1868 when the county of Wexford was organized, and has held the office ever since, except four years. He has been justice of the peace since 1872 and has held some one of the school offices since he moved into this part of the county. He located a homestead of 160 acres. Has improved eighty acres. Put up buildings, planted an orchard, etc. Married, 1867, to Demarius C. Baldwin, who came to what is now Wexford Township in 1965. They have five children.