Editing Sebewa Township, Michigan

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Sebewa Township, Michigan
| settlement_type    = [[Township (United States)|Township]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = 
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map        = Michigan#USA
| pushpin_label      = Sebewa Township
| pushpin_label_position = bottom <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| image_map          = 
| mapsize            = 
| map_caption        = 
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Michigan]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Ionia County, Michigan|Ionia]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 92.8
| area_land_km2      = 92.8
| area_water_km2     = 0.0
| area_total_sq_mi   = 35.8
| area_land_sq_mi    = 35.8
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.0

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[United States Census, 2020|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 1124
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto

<!-- General information -->| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 253
| elevation_ft       = 830
| coordinates        = {{coord|42|49|10|N|85|0|39|W|region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = 
| postal_code        = 
| area_code          = 
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 26-72120<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 1627054<ref>{{gnis|1627054}}</ref>
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
}}
'''Sebewa Township''' is a [[civil township]] of [[Ionia County, Michigan|Ionia County]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Michigan]].  As of the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], the township population was 1,171 and decreased to 1,124 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Sebewa_township,_Ionia_County,_Michigan?g=060XX00US2606772120 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

==Communities==
* '''Sebewa''' (or Sebewa Corners) is an unincorporated community at {{Coord|42|47|58|N|84|57|21|W|region:US-MI_type:city_scale:30000_source:GNIS|name=Sebewa}}<ref>{{gnis|637511|Sebewa Corners}}</ref> straddling the boundary between Sebewa Township on the west and [[Danby Township, Michigan|Danby Township]] on the east. On April 11, 1867, Pierce G. Cook, as an agent for Elizabeth Cornell of New Jersey, [[plat]]ted the portion of community in Danby with the name Cornell. Other plats were made on the Sebewa side and over time, the name reverted to Sebewa for the entire settlement.<ref>Branch, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=ARH7564.0001.001;didno=ARH7564.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000105 p. 101]</ref>&nbsp;<ref>Branch, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=ARH7564.0001.001;didno=ARH7564.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000216 p. 208]</ref>

==History==

=== Early settlers===
The first permanent white settlers in the township were John F. Terrill, Charles W. Ingalls, and John Brown from [[Vermont]], who arrived in 1838. An earlier settler by the name of Jones had arrived in 1836 with his wife, but did not remain in the area. Terrill located on [[section (United States land surveying)|section]] 25 and Ingall and Brown in section 36. In 1843, Terrill, along with Anson W. Halbert, built a sawmill on the Sebewa Creek, just west of "The Corners" located where the corners of four sections met along the eastern township line. Halbert had arrived in 1841 and married one of Terrill's daughters and carried out some trade at the Corners.<ref>Branch, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=ARH7564.0001.001;didno=ARH7564.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000211 pp. 203-4]</ref>&nbsp;<ref>{{cite book |last=Everett |first=Franklin |title=Memorials of the Grand River Valley |orig-year=1878 |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/bad0767.0001.001 |access-date=2009-02-06 |year=2005 |publisher=University of Michigan Library |location=Ann Arbor, Mich. |pages=142–45 |chapter=Sebewa |chapter-url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=BAD0767.0001.001;didno=BAD0767.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000160 }}</ref>

Jacob Showerman had been to the area in 1836 looking for land and found only Jones in section 1. Showerman entered a claim for {{convert|160|acre|km2}} of land in section 22 and returned in 1839 with Eleazer Brown and their families. They lodged in the small one-room cabin of Terrill's along with Terrill's and that of William Hogle and his son-in-law John Brown. The twenty people in the four families passed four weeks together until a path to Showerman's property could be cut. Eleazer Brown settled on land he bought in section 26.<ref>Branch, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=ARH7564.0001.001;didno=ARH7564.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000212 p. 204]</ref>

Rufus Goddard, who had moved west from [[Livingston County, New York]], came to the area in 1837 and located land in Sebewa while his family remained in [[Lenawee County, Michigan|Lenawee County]]. Goddard, along with Benjamin D. Weld, who was to give some assistance to Goddard, were to come together to Sebewa. However, Weld was not ready to move and both families remained in Lenawee. Weld moved to Sebewa in 1843 and settled in the southwestern part of Sebewa. Goddard followed in 1844 and worked a year and a half to repay Weld before settling on {{convert|80|acre|m2}} in section 32.<ref>Branch [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=ARH7564.0001.001;didno=ARH7564.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000212 pp. 204-205]</ref>

===Township organization===
Sebewa Township was a part of [[Berlin Township, Ionia County, Michigan|Berlin Township]] until March 19, 1845, when it was created as a separate township. The first names proposed were "Charlestown", in honor of Charles W. Ingalls; and "Liberia", but Rufus Goddard suggested Sebewa, after Sebewa Creek, meaning ''little river''.  The first township meeting was held at the home of Jacob Showerman, but no record of the meeting attendees or acts remains.<ref>Branch, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=ARH7564.0001.001;didno=ARH7564.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000214 p. 206]</ref>&nbsp;<ref>{{cite book |last=Dillenback |first=Jackson D. |title=History and directory of Ionia County, Michigan |orig-year=1872 |url=	http://name.umdl.umich.edu/bad0937.0001.001 |access-date=2009-02-06 |year=2005 |publisher=University of Michigan Library |location=Ann Arbor, Mich. |page=86 |chapter=Sebewa |chapter-url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=BAD0937.0001.001;didno=BAD0937.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000088 }}</ref>

===Post offices===
A post office named "Sebewa" was established on January 24, 1851, with Benjamin Weld as the first postmaster. On April 14, 1854, the post office was moved from Weld's properties in the southwest part of the township to the Showerman settlement when Lucius Showerman was named postmaster. In 1857, the office moved to "The Corners". The name was changed to "Cornell" on July 8, 1861, but was changed back to Sebewa on February 16, 1881. The office was closed on November 15, 1913.<ref name="Romig">{{cite book | last = Romig | first = Walter  | year = 1986 | title = Michigan Place Names | orig-year= 1973 | publisher = Wayne State University Press | location = Detroit, Michigan | isbn = 0-8143-1838-X}}</ref>&nbsp;<ref>{{cite book |last=Crawford |first=D.C. |title=Atlas of Ionia County, Michigan |orig-year=1891 |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/2933872.0001.001 |access-date=2009-02-07 |year=2005 |publisher=University of Michigan Library |location=Ann Arbor, Mich. |page=101 |chapter=Plat of Sebewa, Danby and Sebewa Twps. |chapter-url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=2933872.0001.001;didno=2933872.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000085 }}</ref>&nbsp;<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogle |first=Geo. A. |title=Standard atlas of Ionia County, Michigan |orig-year=1906 |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/2933873.0001.001 |access-date=2009-02-07 |year=2005 |publisher=University of Michigan Library |location=Ann Arbor, Mich. |pages=62 |chapter=Plat of Sebewa |chapter-url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=2933873.0001.001;didno=2933873.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000064 }}</ref>&nbsp;<ref>{{cite book |last=Beers |first=Frederick W. |title=Atlas of Ionia Co., Mich. |orig-year=1875 |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/3927886.0001.001 |access-date=2009-02-06 |year=2005 |publisher=University of Michigan Library |location=Ann Arbor, Mich. |page=101 |chapter=Cornwall Sebewa PO |chapter-url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=3927886.0001.001;didno=3927886.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000092 }}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|35.8|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|35.8|sqmi|km2}} is land and 0.03% is water.

==Demographics==
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,202 people, 406 households, and 332 families residing in the township.  The population density was {{convert|33.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 415 housing units at an average density of 11.6 per square mile (4.5/km{{sup|2}}).  The racial makeup of the township was 98.34% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.25% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.08% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.25% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.08% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.92% of the population.

There were 406 households, out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the township the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.0 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $47,065, and the median income for a family was $52,125. Males had a median income of $36,719 versus $24,091 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the township was $17,774.  About 5.1% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

==Notes and references==
* {{cite book |last=Branch |first=Elam E. |title=History of Ionia County, Michigan : her people, industries and institutions, with biographical sketches of representative citizens, and genealogical records of many of the old families |orig-year=1916 |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/arh7564.0001.001 |access-date=2009-02-06 |year=2005 |publisher=University of Michigan Library |location=Ann Arbor, Mich. }}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ioniacounty.org/communities/sebewa_township.htm Sebewa Township Officials]

{{Ionia County, Michigan}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Townships in Ionia County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Grand Rapids metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Townships in Michigan]]