The Story of John Fredrick
Litt (1833-1909)
Son of Peter Litt and
Barbara Burbeey
John Fredrick Litt, was born in September of 1833, in
Ontario, Canada. His father and mother, Peter and Barbara, were originally
from Germany. John grew up with his
siblings on land that his father purchased in 1835 from the British Crown,
located in Wilmont Township, Waterloo, Canada. His father was a farmer.
When John grew up, he began to travel by small boat
across Lake Huron from Sarnia, Canada, to the new United States territory of
Michigan, to work with the lumber companies felling trees. In 1858, he married
Elizabeth Gruber, the daughter of a German family that lived near the Litts in
Canada. Elizabeth bore him 11 children, while they were still living in the
Ontario Province.
John's sister, Catherine, was the first Litt to immigrate
to America, followed by his parents, Peter and Barbara Litt in the 1860's. They
settled in the village of Argyle in Sanilac County, Michigan. John continued to
travel back and forth to the States from Canada. Many Canadians forestalled a
permanent move to the U.S. until after the Civil War, so as to avoid being
drafted for military service.
According to the Michigan Land Records, John purchased
120 acres of land in his name, in December, 1861. He applied for U.S.
citizenship around the same time in the town of Lexington, which was then the
Sanilac County seat. Sanilac County experienced two great forest fires in the
late 1800's, depleting the timber industry of its natural resource. Land use
was redirected to farming.
Finally, in 1885, John left Canada to permanently reside
in Michigan, bringing his wife, Elizabeth, and their family, which had now grown
to 11 children. Two more children would be born later in the states.
Though 120 acres may not seem like a lot of land by
today's farming standards, consider how plowing was done in the 1800s, using
horses and crude plows. Without the aid of motorized farm equipment, 120 acres
would have created plenty of work for a single family, even one with many sons.
Also, the land in this part of Michigan was fertile enough for the owner to
manage a living. Not all 120 acres were made productive immediately and any
valuable lumber on the land was probably sold. The land records also indicate
that John and his son, John Jr., bought and swapped several pieces of land over
the years. It appeared that they worked as partners in their farming endeavors,
until John Jr. died suddenly at age 33, in 1896.
After John relocated to Michigan with his family, he
built a two-story log cabin, in which his two last two children and two of his
grandchildren were later born. The main floor of the cabin consisted of a
sleeping room and the kitchen/living area. The upper level was really a loft,
that could be accessed by a pull down ladder. There was no indoor toilet,
running water, or electricity, and none was ever added in subsequent years. A
barn and chicken coup were also constructed on the property.
In the Michigan 1900 Census, John and Elizabeth are shown
living on the farm with only his two youngest children still at home with them,
Sarah and Solomon. John still owned the farm at that time. The land and farm
buildings would remain in the Litt Family, until they were sold sometime after
Elizabeth died.
After John Litt died in 1909, the farm continued to be
worked primarily by his youngest son, Solomon. Solomon continued to live on the
old homestead with his widowed mother, Elizabeth, for several years, even after
he married his wife, Irene in 1907. Solomon's two oldest children, Pearl and
Beatrice, were the last offspring born in the log house.
When Elizabeth died in 1916, Solomon wanted to stay on
the farm, but his siblings were no longer interested in working the land. The
farming proved too much for Solomon and his wife alone, and he had no sons to
help him. So the homestead property was sold and, per the conditions of his
mother's will, the proceeds from the sale and its assets were split between
himself, his surviving siblings, and two grandchildren, at a value of $98.25
per heir.
The log cabin was lived in by other families over the
years after the Litt's sold their property. Solomon and Irene used to go visit
the new owners from time to time, but their names are forgotten. The house then
stood vacant for a few years, until it was finally torn down. Unfortunately, no
known photographs exist.
Today the old Litt property is still being farmed. There
are no trees left any longer on the property. Two newer ranch style homes sit
on the corner lots.