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HISTORY 

OF 

Genesee  County 

MICHIGAN 

HER  PEOPLE.  INDUSTRIES  AND  INSTITUTIONS 


By 
EDWIN  O.  WOOD,  LL.  D. 

President  Michigan  Historical  Ci 


With  Biographical  Sketches  of  Representative  Citizens  and 
Genealogical  Records  of  Many  of  the  Old  Families 


VOLUME  1 


ILLUSTRATED 


1916 

FEDERAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

Indianapolis.  Indiana 


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DEDICATION 

This  work  is  dedicated  to  two  of  Flint's  foremost  citizens.  Rev.  T,  J. 
Murphy  and  William  Crapo  Durant,  whose  friendship,  covering  a  period 
of  a  third  of  a  century,  has  been  a  constant  inspiration  and  encouragement 
to  the  editor. 

The  activities  of  these  two  men  reach  into  many  angles  in  the  develop- 
ment and  progress  of  Fhnt  and  Genesee  county;  their  greatest  pleasure  has 
been  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  the  community  and  to  bring  happiness 
and  prosperily  to  all  of  their  associates. 


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EDITOR'S  PREFACE 


The  history  of  Genesee  county  is  moat  interesting  and  instructive,  and 
to  hope,  and  to  believe,  that  this  volume  may  help  to  preserve  for  our  gen- 
eration, and  for  generations  to  come,  its  priceless  lessons,  has  been  to  the 
editor  a  source  of  great  pleasure  and  satisfaction.  The  long  occupation  of 
our  forests  by  the  romantic,  war-loving  red  man  is  proHfic  of  traditionary 
lore;  the  comparatively  recent  development  of  our  county's  resources  by  the 
white  settlers  abounds  with  instruction  and  interest;  but  the  records  of  this 
history,  while  abundant,  are  not  easily  accessible  to  the  general  reader. 

From  time  to  time,  our  citizens  have  written  about  the  incidents  of 
pioneer  life  among  the  white  settlers  who  came  to  these  iands  in  an  early 
day.  Each  and  all  of  these,  men  and  women  prominent  in  every  walk  of 
life — clergymen,  teachers,  physicians,  attorneys,  busy  men  and  women  of 
literary  taste — have  thus  indirectly  contributed  to  the  present  work.  Books 
have  been  published  on  the  history  of  the  county,  some  of  them  works  of 
high  merit.  One  of  these,  of  special  excellence,  has  been  largely  used  in 
this  work.  It  was  among  the  first  to  aj^ear — the  "History  of  Genesee 
County,"  published  in  1879  by  the  Philadelphia  firm  of  Everts  & 
Abbott,  On  the  whole,  it  has  been  found  to  be,  as  it  claimed,  a  reliable 
and,  for  its  time,  exhaustive  history  of  the  county  in  all  its  phases— pioneer, 
agricultural,   manufacturing,  civil,  military,  educational  and  religious. 

To  make  this  old  material  more  generally  and  pleasurably  accessible,  it 
has  been  here  entirely  rearranged  and  systematized,  and  largely  rewritten. 
The  present  task  has  been  to  correct,  eliminate  and  supplement.  Portions 
of  it  have  been  excluded,  owing  to  differences  in  historical  perspective  between 
1879  and  1916.  Many  new  facts  relating  to  our  early  history  have  been 
added.  Its  chapters  X  to  XVII  contained  such  an  excellent  military  record 
of  the  county,  so  complete  and  well  written,  and  the  events  have  still  such 
great  interest  for  all,  that  these  chapters  have  been  gathered  into  one  and 
allowed  to  stand,  with  corrections  and  additions.  All  that  was  interesting 
and  essential  in  the  history  of  the  townships  has  been  retained  and  supple- 
mented, with  special  reference  to  the  pioneer  period. 


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EDITOR  S    PREFACE. 

Another  mass  of  material  largely  used  in  the  present  work  is  that  in 
"The  Book  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  of  Fhnt."  The  method  has  been  mainly 
that  of  quotation,  partly  to  preserve  the  individuality  of  the  writers,  as  well 
as  to  make  proper  acknowledgment  for  each  portion  -used. 

In  chapter  I,  much  use  has  been  made  of  the  excellent  work  entitled 
"Michigan  as  a  Province,  Territory  and  State."  Besides  the  various  other 
histories  of  Michigan,  such  as  those  by  Farmer,  Lanman,  Cooley,  Mrs.* 
Sheldon,  and  special  works  like  those  of  Rev.  T.  J.  Campbell,  S.  J.,  on 
"Pioneer  Laynjen  of  North  iVmerica"  and  "Pioneer  Priests  of  North 
America,"  use  has  been  freely  made  of  the  general  sketches  in  other  county 
histories. 

All  of  chapters  II  and  III,  and  portions  of  several  other  chapters,  have 
been  written  by  Mr.  William  V.  Smith,  of  Flint,  who,  as  secretary  of  the 
Genesee  County  Historical  Society  since  its  organization,  and  a  life-long 
student  of  the  Indians,  particularly  of  this  region,  is  an  authority  of  emi- 
nence on  the  subjects  to  which  he  has  made  contributions.  A  large  part 
of  the  material  used  in  connection  with  the  local  history  of  Genesee  county 
and  the  city  of  Flint  was  prepared  by  Mrs.  Kate  E.  Buckham,  to  whom,  as 
associate  editor,  especial  acknowledgment  is  due.  Invaluable  information 
has  been  contributed  by  many  of  our  citizens,  whom  to  name  individnallv 
would  be  impracticable,  but  to  each  and  all  of  these  the  editor  wishes  to 
express  sincere  thanks. 

As  Byron  says:  "Critics  all  are  ready  made,"  This  volume  cannot 
expect  to  escape  a  generous  fusilade  of  their  feathered  shafts.  Those  whose 
opinions  are  of  value  will  at  least  read  it  with  that  care  which  the  real  critic 
vouchsafes  to  every  book;  and  as  they  read,  they  will  remember  that  the 
editor  has  sought  to  make,  not  an  encj^clopedia,  but  a  record  of  our  history 
whose  perusal  will  be  a  pleasure,  as  well  as  a  profit. 

Edwin  O.  Wood. 


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PUBLISHERS'  FOREWORD 


All  life  and  achievement  is  evolution;  present  wisfloni  conies  from  past 
experience,  and  present  commercial  prosperity  has  come  only  from  past  exer- 
tion and  sacrifice.  The  deeds  and  motives  of  the  men  who  have  gone  before 
have  been  instrumental  in  shajMng  the  destinies  of  later  communities  and 
states.  The  development  of  a  new  country  was  at  once  a  task  and  a  privi- 
lege. It  required  great  courage,  sacrifice  and  privation.  Compare  the  pres- 
ent conditions  of  the  people  of  Genesee  county,  Michigan,  with  what  they 
were  but  a  little  less  than  a  century  ago.  From  a  trackless  wilderness  and 
virgin  land,  it  has  come  to  be  a  center  of  prosperity  and'civilization,  with 
milhons  of  wealth,  systems  of  railways,  educational  and  religious  institu- 
tions, varied  industries  and  iminense  agricultural  and  dairj'  interests.  Can 
any  thinking  person  be  insensible  to  the  fascination  of  the  study  which  dis- 
closes the  aspirations  and  efforts  of  the  early  pioneers  who  so  stronglj'  laid 
the  foundation  uixjn  which  has  been  reared  the  magnificent  prosperity  of 
later  days?  To  periietuate  the  story  of  these  people  and  to  trace  and  record 
the  social,  religious,  educational,  political  and  industrial  progress  of  the  com- 
munity from  its  first  inception,  is  the  function  of  the  local  historian.  A 
sincere  purpose  to  preserve  facts  and  persona!  memoirs  that  are  deserving 
of  [jerpetuation,  and  which  unite  the  present  to  the  past,  is  the  motive  for 
the  present  publication.  The  publishers  desire  to  extend  their  thanks  to 
those  who  have  so  faithfully  labored  to  this  end.  Thanks  are  also  due  to 
the  citizens  of  Genesee  county  for  the  uniform  kindness  with  which  they 
hare  regarded  this  undertaking,  and  for  their  many  services  rendered  in  the 
gaining  of  necessary  information. 

In  placing  the  "History  of  Genesee  County.  Michigan,"  before  the  citi- 
zens, the  publishers  can  conscientiously  claim  that  they  have  carried  out  the 
plan  as  outlined  in  the  prospectus.  Every  biographical  sketch  in  the  work  has 
been  submitted  to  the  party  interested,  for  correction,  and  therefore  any 
error  of  fact,  if  there  be  any,  is  solely  due  to  the  person  for  whom  the  sketch 
was  prepared.  Confident  that  our  effort  to  please  will  fully  meet  the  appro- 
liation  of  the  public,  we  are, 

Respectfully, 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


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CONTENTS 

VOLUME  I 


CHAPTER    I— HISTORY    OF    MICHIGAN.. 


Explorers  in  Great  Lakes  Region— Samuel  de  Champlain — 
His  Victories  Over  the  Indians  and  Their  Consequent  Unrelenting  Hos- 
tility lo  the  Whites— The  Missionary  Spirit— The  Franciscan  Order— The 
Jesuits  and  Their  Work  in  the  Northwest— Jean  Nicolet— Fr,  Rene  Me- 
nard— First  Map  of  Michigan— First  Accounts  of  Copper  in  Northern 
Michigan- Oldest  Settl-ement  in  Michigan— Formal  Possession  of  Mich- 
igan by  France — Jacques  Marquette — Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur  de  La  Salle 
and  His  Explorations — Michilimackinac  and  Detroit,  Rival  Centers  of  In- 
fluence— M.  de  La  Motte  Cadillac— Michigan  Under  the  British — Pontiac's 
Conspiracy — Siege  of  Detroit — End  of  the  War  and  Signing  of  Peace 
Treaty— Activity  in  the  Fur  Trade— Mackinac— The  Northwest  Territory 
—Governor  Arthur  St.  Clair— Indian  Treaty  of  Greenville— British  With- 
draw from  Northwest — Wayne  County  Formed — Indiana  Territory — Michi- 
gan Territory— War  of  1812— Hull's  Surrender— Indian  Massacres  and 
Depredations— End  of  the  War— Governor  Lewis  Cass  and  His  Success- 
ful Handling  of  the  Tremendous  Probletns  Which  Confronted  Him — Sur- 
vey of  Soldier  Bounty  Lands — Misleading  Reports  as  to  Their  Character 
— Treaty  of  Saginaw — New  Surveys  by  Cass  and  Establishment  of  a  Land 
Office — Steam  Transportation  on  Land  and  Water — Beginning  of  Great 
Immigration  from  the  Eastern  States — Demand  for  Roads — Steady  Ad- 
vance in  Local  and  Territorial  Self-government — General  Cass  a  Firm  Advo- 
cate of  Popular  Education— A  Period  of  Rapid  Growth— The  "Toledo 
War"— Admission  of  Michigan  into  the  Union  and  First  State  Officials- 
Detroit  in  1837— Centers  of  Population— Pioneer  Life— An  Era  of  Specula- 
tion— "Wild-eat"  Banks — Internal  Improvements — Removal  of  State  Capital 
from  Detroit  to  Lansing — Adoption  of  a  New  Constitutlon^A  New  Regime 
— Civil  War  Days^Michigan's  Splendid  Military  Record — Zaehariah  Chand- 
ler— Governor  Henry  H.  Crapo^Immigration  Agents — Swamp  Lands — Ag- 
ricultural Education — Governor  Crapo  and  the  Pardoning  Power — Public 
Aid  to  Railroad  Enterprises^Constitutional  Convention  of  1867^Governor 
Henry  P.  Baldwin— Governor  John  J.  Bagley— The  Greenback  Movement- 
Governors  Josiah  W.  Begole,  Russell  A.  Alger,  Cyrus  W.  Luce,  Edwin  B. 
Winans,  John  T.  Rich  and  Hazen  S.  Pingree— The  Spanish-American  War- 
Governors  Aaron  T.  Bliss.  Fred  M,  Warner,  Chase  S.  Osborne  and  Wood- 
bridge  N.  Ferris— Natural  Resources  of  the  State— Transportation— Edu- 
cational  Advancement. 

CHAPTER  II— THE  INDIANS  OF  GENESEE  COUNTY 1( 

Fragmentary  Character  of  Indian  History— Seldom  Written  Without  Bias 
—Indian  Attitude  Towards  White  Man's  Curiosity— Contradictory  Writers 
—Character  of  the  Red  Men— Indians  at  the  Time  of  the  Discovery— The 
Story  of  Ay-oun-a-wa-ta— The   Five   Nations— Cla.ssification   of   the   Various 


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CONTENTS. 

Tribes — Hothelaga— Unsanitary  Conditions  Among  the  Indians — Cham- 
plain— Steiihen  Brule — Conflict  Between  the  Canadian  French  and  Their  In- 
dian Allies  and  the  Five  Nations,  Aided  by  the  Dutch  and  English — Disper- 
sal of  the  Eastern  Tribes  and  Their  Coming  to  the  Michigan  Country — Story 
of  The-People-who-went-out-of-the-land^Early  Maps  Showing  Indian  Oc- 
cupancy—Former Possessors  of  Genesee  County— Only  One  Tribal  Identity, 
the  Sacs,  Preserved — The  Mound  Builders — Genesee  County  Under  Huron 
Iroquois  Occupancy— An  Indian  Home  and  Occupations — Agriculture — 
The  Ottawas— Variant  Accounts  of  the  Occupancy  at  Genesee  County  by 
the  Indians— The  Chippewas— The  Pontiac  War— The  Indians  and  the  War 
of  1812— Romantic  Traditions— The  Battle  of  Long  Lake— The  Captives  of 
the   Saginaw. 

CHAPTER  in— INDIAN  TREATIES  AND  RESERVATIONS -  1 

The  Treaty  of  1807 — Indian  Occupancy  of  Genesee  County — Treaty  of  Sagi- 
naw^Lewis  Cass.  Joseph  Campau  and  Jacob  Smith — Interesting  Features 
of  the  Council  with  the  Indians— Louis  Campau's  Account  of  the  Council 
—Pertinent  Provisions  of  the  Treaty— The  Tribal  Reservation— Ne-o-me 
— Treaties  of  1837  and  Subsequently — Reservations  to  Individuals  and 
Later  Contests  Over  Them. 

CHAPTER   IV— SETTLEMENT   OF   FLINT   BEFORE   1837 1: 

Flint,  an  Early  Prominent  Center  of  Settlement- Governor  Cass's  Tour  of 
Observation  and  Discovery — The  Grand  Traverse — Origin  of  the  Name, 
"Flint" — ^Indian  Occupation — An  Ignominious  Whipping — First  White  Set- 
tler at  Flint— Grand  Blanc,  a  Rival  Settlement— John  Todd— Early  Perma- 
nent Settlers— Organized  Government— First  Officers— Early  Real  Estate 
Prices— First  Village  Plats— First  Postoffice  Established— Land  Office- 
Road  Building— Mills— Influx  of  Settlers— First  Schools— Early  Religious 
Interest— Social   Amusements— The   Professions— Flint   in   1837. 

CHAPTF.R  V— PIONEER  DAYS  IN  THE  TOWNSHIPS 11 

Original  Area  of  Genesee  County— Organization  of  the  Townships— Flint 
Township  —  Land  Entries  —  Early  Neighborhood  Settlements  —  Earliest 
Schools— Township  Records— Stock  Marks— Libraries— School  Districts- 
Grand  Blanc  Township— Land  Entries  and  First  Settlers— A  Pioneer's 
Description  of  His  Experiences — Village  of  Grand  Blanc — Fenton  Town- 
ship— Settlers  and  Land  Entries — Beginning  of  the  Village  of  Fenton — 
Reminiscences  of  Dr.  S.  W.  Pattison  and  William  M.  Fenton— Platting 
and  Settlement  of  the  Village— Professional  Men— Linden  Village— Plat- 
ting of — Schools  and  Religions  Societies— Mt.  Pleasant  Village — First  Elec- 
tion of  Township  Officers— Atlas  Township— Settlement— Village  of  Good- 
rich—First Township  Meeting— Flushing  Township— First  Settlers— Pio- 
neer Conditions— The  "English  Settlement"— Flushing  Village— Mundy 
Township— Land  Entries,  First  Settlement  and  Other  Early  Events— Ar- 
gentine Township— Settlement— Village  of  Booton  (Argentine)— Mt.  Morris 
Township — Pioneers — Schools  and  Churches— ^"X^old  water  Settlement"— 
First  Township  Officers— Genesee  Township— Settlement— First  Religious 
Services— Timber  and  Saw-mills —  First  Township  Officials — Gaines  Town- 
ship— Settlement — First  Township  Meeting — Burton  Township — The  First 
Settlers— Religious  Interests  and  Schools— First  Township  Meeting— Clay- 
ton    Township— Original     Natural     Features— The     Pioneers— The     Miller, 


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CONTENTS. 

Lyons  and  Donahoo  Settlements — Organization  of  the  Township — Vienna 
Township— First  Settlers— Organization  and  First  Officers  of  the  Town- 
ship— Early  Schools  and  Churches — Thetford  Township — The  Pioneers — 
Early  Events — Organization  and  First  Officials— Davison  Townsliip — Settle- 
ment— Organization — An  Early  Game  Law — Richfield  Township — Original 
Area — First  Settlement— Pioneer  DifficuUies— First  Events — Village  Cen- 
ters— First  Township  Officials — Forest  Township — Its  Namc^Early  Set- 
tlers—First Township  Officials— Montrose  Township— Its  Name— First  Of- 
ficials—Early  Prominent   Citizens— Mills— The  Winter   of  Want. 

CHAPTER    VI— FIRST    COUNTY    COURT _ 25! 

Various  Judicial  Districts  in  Which  Genesee  Has  Been  Placed^First 
County  Officers — First  Board  of  Supervisors  Meeting — Tax  Assessments — 
First  Session  of  the  Circuit  Court— First  Case  Tried— Early  Actions  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  and  County  Commissioners. 

CHAPTER  VII— INDIAN  TRAILS  AND   PUBLIC  HIGHWAYS- 254 

A  Nation's  Civilization  Gauged  by  Her  Transportation  Facilities — ^Indian 
Trails,  the  First  Roads— Chief  Trails  in  Genesee  County — Beginning  of 
Good  Roads  Movement — Record  of  Roads  Laid  Out  by  the  Commissioners 
of  Highways— Adoption  of  the  County  Good-roads  System  in  1909 — Plank 
Road  Companies— A  Reminiscence  of  the  Old  Stage  Coach— The  Flint 
River  as  a  Highway. 

CHAPTER  Vlli— GEOLOGIC  CONDITIONS   OF   SETTLEMENT 283 

The  Bed  Rock  and  Glacial  Drift— Original  Drainage  Beds— Pre-glacial  Val- 
leys— Movements  of  the  Glaciers — Present  Peculiar  Drainage  System— The 
Shiawassee  River  and  Its  Tributaries — Cement  Industry — ^Salt  Industry — 
Clay  Mining— Brick  Clays— Artesian  Wells— Attempts  to  Develop  Coal 
Mines— Altitudes— Topography   and   Natural   Fea'tnres   of   the   Townships. 

CHAPTER   IX— PIONEER  AGRICULTURE _ 307 

Husbandry,  the  Earliest  Industry  of  the  White  Settlers— Character  of  the 
Soil — Timber — Early  Crops — Early  Interest  in  Live  Stock — Wool-growing 
and  Sheep-shearing — Cattle  Breeding.— The  Crapo  Farm — Genesee  County 
-Agricultural  Society — Fair  Grounds. 

CHAPTpR  X— FLINT  RIVER  VILLAGE,  I837-5S 314 

Progress  of  Flint  Typical  of  the  Cotmty's  Progress— A  Period  of  Advance- 
ment—Mills—Roads and  Railroads— First  Brick  Buildings— A  Hidden  Ro- 
mance—Early Industries— The  Old  Brick  Court  House— Early  Lawyers— 
Doctors- Village  Schools— The  First  Newspaper— Early  Religious  Interests 
—The  First  Library— Ladies  Library  Association  of  Flint— The  Old  Flint 
Band. 

CHAPTER  XI— MEXICAN  AND  CIVIL  WARS 334 

Genesee  County  Men  in  the  War  of  1812— The  Civil  War— Governor  Blair's 
Patriotic  Message— Other  Public  Utterances  in  1862— Triumphant  Return  of 
the  Soldiers  at  the  Close  of  the  Conflict— Michigan  Battle  Flags  Presented 
to  the  State — Historical  Sketches  and  Rosters  of  the  Various  Commands  in 
Which  Genesee  County  Men  Were  Enlisted— "The  Heroic." 


dbyGoot^lc 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII— RAILROADS   4 

Eacliest.  Attempts  at.  Railroad  BuiJAiiie;— Fiirst.  M*ckig»n  Compiany  ItKior- 
porated— Railroad  Building  Under  Difficulties— First  Railroad  into  Flint- 
Congressional  Land  Grants  as  Aids  to  Railroad  Building— Later  Lines 
Which  Have  Contributed  to  the  Development  of  Genesee  County. 

CHAPTER  XIII— EARLY  YEARS  OF  FLINT  CITY 4 

Incorporation— The  Tax  Roll  of  1855— First  City  Officers- Regarding  Some 
of  the  Early  Officers — Roster  of  City  Officials — Financial  Stringency  in  the 
Early  Years  of  the  City— Elements  Which  Gave  Impulse  to  the  City's 
Growth— A   Wholesome   Progress   Along  All   Lines. 

CHAPTER  XIV— LUMBERING  AND  ALLIED   INDUSTRIES 5 

Pioneer  Beginning  of  the  Lumber  Industry — A  Typical  Lumter  Camp  and 
Methods  of  Getting  Out  the  Timber — Wonderful  Development  of  Lumber 
Business  During  and  After  the  War— The  Crapo  Mills  and  Others  Which 
Followed — A  Summary  of  the  Lumber  Situation — Flint's  Manufacturing 
Development,  a  Normal  and  Legitimate  Growth^Manufacturing  Interests 
at  Fenton  and  Flushing, 

CHAPTER  XV— BANKS  AND  BANKING  5 

Michigan's  First  General  Banking  Law — "Wildcat"  Banks  and  Unstable 
Currency — Low  Real  Estate  Values — Later  Splendid  Results  of  Earlier  Ex- 
periences—Legitimate Banking  Houses  in  Flint  and  Brief  Personal  Mention 
of  Some  of  tiie  Men  Interested  in  Their  Success— Present  Banks  of  Flint 
^Wond«rful  .Growth  in  Bank  Clearings^  1'915  a  Phenomenal  Year — Banks 
at  Fenton.  Otisville,  Flushing,  Clio,  Davison,  Gaines,  Goodrich,  Swartz 
Creek,  Grand  Blanc,  Linden  and  Mt.  Morris. 

CHAPTER   XVI— THE    PRESS   5 

The  Press,  a  Potent  Agency  in  the  Development  of  a  New  Country — An 
Account  of  the  Various  Newspapers  Which  Have  Existed  and  are  Now 
Being   Published   in   Genesee   County. 

CHAPTER  XVIi— BENCH  AND    BAR ._ S 

Genesee  First  Attached  to  Oakland  County  for  Judicial  Purposes — 
First  Practitioners  Here— First  Court  Held  in  Genesee  County— The  First 
Resident  Attorney— Edward  H.  Thomson  and  Others  of  the  Early  Attor- 
neys—Lawyers Here  in  1850 — William  M.  Fenton  and  Contemporaries^ 
Judges  of  the  Court— Judge  Mark  W.  Stevens— The  Genesee  County  Bar 
■  Association — Present  Bar  of  the  County — Genesee  Civil  List — State  Offi- 
cers from  This  County — Circuit  Judges — State  Senators — State  Representa- 
tives— Judges  of  Probate— Prosecuting  Attorneys— Sheriffs — County  Clerks 
—Registers  of  Deeds— County  Treasurers. 

CHAPTER  XVni— EARLY  PHYSICIANS  AND  MEDICAL  SOCIETIES.  5( 
Comparison  Between  Early  and  Present  Conditions  of  Medical  Practice 
—Cyrus  Baldwin,  the  First  Doctor  in  Genesee  County— Others  Who  Fol- 
lowed— The  Genesee  County  Medical  Association — Flint  Academy  of  Med- 
icine—Physicians Here  During  the  Seventies  and  Eighties— Genesee 
County    Medical    Society — Present    Physicians    of    the    County, 


dbyGoo<^lc 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XIX— SCHOOLS    AND    EDUCATION 


Early  Interest  in  Educational  Matters— Records  Meager— The  Little  School 
in  Flint  River  in  1834— Gradual,  but  Steady,  Development  of  the  Flint 
School  System— School  Districts— Superintendents  of  the  City  Schools—, 
Parochial  Schools— Officers  and  Teachers  of  the  FKnt  Schools,  1916— Miss 
Hicok's  School— State  School  for  the  Deaf— Schools  at  Fenton— Other 
Schools  and  Educational  Institutions— Flint-Bliss  Business  College— Hur- 
ley   Hospital   Training   School    for   Nurses— County    Normal    School, 


CHAPTER    XX— BOOKS    AND    LIBRARIES 60! 

High  Intellectuality  of  Early  Settlers  of  Genesee  County— Books  in  De- 
mand—List of  Library  Books,  1843— Flint  Scientific  Institute— Ladies*  Li- 
brary Association— Free  Public  Library— The  Present  Library— Burton 
Ladies'  Library. 

CHAPTER  XXI— RES   LITERARIA —  614 

Genesee  County's  Contributions  to  the  World  of  Letters— "The  Aeolian 
Harp"— "Evening  Prayer"— ■'T3ps"—"A  California  Flovi-er  Calendar"— A 
Thanksgiving  Poem. 

CHAPTER    XXII— SOCIAL    LIFE __  626 

Some  Interesting  Reminiscences  of  Social  Customs  and  Events  of  the  Pio- 
neer Days  in  Genesee  County— Forms  of  Amusement— A  Pioneer  Menu— 
A  Change  in  Customs— Indian  Callers  on  New  Year's  Day— The  Old  Har- 
monia  Club— The  Fuguenoids  and  the  Flint  Choral  Society— Bands— Gen- 
esee County  Pioneer  Association  and  Its  Eearly  Reunions  and  Picnics- 
County  Historical  Society— A  Poetic  Tribute  to  the  Brave  Men  and  Women 
of   Pioneer   Days. 

CHAPTER   XXIII— CLUES   OF  TODAY 649 

The  Club,  a  Natural  Growth  in  Organized  Society — American  History 
Class — The  Art  Class — Mrs.  Fobe's  Reading  Class^The  Shakespeare  Club 
—The  Bangs  Shakespeare  Club^Columblan  Club — The  Twentieth  Century 
Club— The  Garland  Street  Literary  Club— The  Research  Club— St.  Cecelia 
Society— The  Choral  Union— The  Flint  Dramatic  Club— The  Rotary  Club- 
Flint    Golf   Club— Woman's   Council. 

CHAPTER  XXIV— FRATERNAL  AND    BENEVOLENT   SOCIETIES 661 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows— Daughters  of  Rebekah— Masonic  Or- 
der, with  Appendant  Orders— Order  of  the  Eastern  Star — Royal  Arcanum 
—Knights  of  the  Maccabees— Knights  of  the  Maccabees  of  the  World- 
Degree  of  Honor — Grand  Army  of  the  Republic^National  League  of  Vet- 
erans and  Sons— Woman's  Relief  Corps— Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution—Benevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks— Knights  of  the  Loyal 
Guard— Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security— Knights  of  Pythias— Tribe  of 
Ben-Hur— Independent  Order  of  Foresters— Modern  Brotherhood  of  Amer- 
ica—Home Mutual  Benefit  Association— Ladies'  Catholic  Benevolent  As- 
sociation— Knights  of  Columbus — Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles — Modern 
Woodmen  of  America — Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians— Brotherhood  of 
American  Yeomen — Royal  Neighbors  of  America— National  Union — Loyal 
Order  of  Moose— The  Vehicle  Club— Young  Men's  Christian  Association- 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association— The  King's  Daughters— The 
t:hild's     Welfare     Society— St.    .Michael's     Benevolent     Society- St.     Paul's 


dbyGoot^lc 


CONTENTS. 

Men's  Club— Trades  Unions— Flint  Factories  Mutual 
—Lodges  at  Fenton,  Linden,  Flushing,  Clio,  Otisville 
Creek  and  Davison. 

CHAPTER    XXV— PATRIOTIC    SOCIETIES ISA 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution — Order  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes- 
Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  Genesee  County— Grand  Army  of  the  Republic- 
Woman's  Relief  Corps — National  League  of  Veterans  and  Sons— Regi- 
mental  Reunions— Flint   Union   Blues — Spanish   War   Veterans. 

CHAPTER  XXVI— VILLAGES    OF   GENESEE    COUNTY 713 

Brief  Historical  Description  of  Fenton,  Flushing,  Clio,  Davison,  Grand 
Blanc,  Linden,  Montrose,  Gaines,  Mt.  Morris,  Swarti  Creek,  Goodrich, 
Otisville,  Atlas,  Geneseeville,  Thetford  Center,  Pine  Run,  Argentine,  Whig- 
ville.  Crapo  Farm,  Brent  Creek,  Rankin  Postoffice,  Otterbitrn,  Belsay  and 
Richfield   Center. 

CHAPTER  XXVII— RELIGIOUS    ORGANIZATIONS 729 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches — Free  Methodist  Church— Methodist  Prot- 
estant Church — Evangelical  Churches — Presbyterian  Churches — Baptist 
Churches— Catholic  Churches— Episcopal  Church— Christ's  Mission— Advent 
Church — Congregational  Church — Church  of  Christ,  Scientist— Salvation 
Army— Flint  Ministerial  Association — Churches  in  the  County  Outside  of 
Flint. 

CHAPTER    XXVIII— THE    GOLDEN    JUBILEE 748 

The  City's  Fiftieth  Anniversary— Account  of  the  Celebration,  by  Rev.  Theo- 
dore D.  Bacon— Illumination  of  the  City—Laying  of  the  Cornerstone  of  the 
Federal  Building— Dedication  of  Memorial  Tablets— Dedication  of  the 
Public   Library — Dedication  of   the   County   Court   House. 

CHAPTER    XXIX— GREATER   FLINT 771 

A  Wonderful  Transformation— Phenomenal  Increase  in  Population  and  In- 
dustries— Early  History  of  the  Place — First  Industries^Lumbering  Inter- 
ests—Advent of  William  Crapo  Durant  and  the  Vehicle  Business— Rise  of 
the  Automobile  Industry  in  Flint  and  the  Impetus  It  Gave  to  the  Growth 
of  the  City— Population— City  Officials.  1916— Flint  City  Plats,  Additions 
and  Subdivisions — Assessed  Valuation,  ■  Tax  Rate  and  Amount  Raised  by 
Taxes  for  the  Past  Five  Years— A  City  of  Homes— Civic  Building  Asso- 
ciation— Board  of  Commerce — Parks  and  Boulevards — Park  Board — Water- 
vforks — Sewers — Paving  and  Sidewalks — Fire  Department — Police  Depart- 
ment— General    Motors    Emergency   Hospital Michigan   State    Telephone 

Company — Steam  and  Electric  Railroad  Conditions — Flint  Industries,  1916— 
The  Postoffice— Hurley  Hospital— Oak  Grove  Hospital— Condensed  Data 
Concerning  Flint — Conclusion. 

APPENDIX    A— STATISTICS 815 

United  States  Census  of  1910,  Relating  to  Genesee  County— Population 
Statistics  —  Mortality  Statistics  —  Occupation  Statistics  —  Agriculture- 
Wealth,   Debt  and  Taxation— Ownership  of  Homes— Manufactures. 

APPENDIX    B— TOWNSHIP    OFFICERS.    1916 —  831 


dbyGoot^lc 


HISTORICAL  INDEX 

VOLUME  I 


Academy    of    Medicine    '. 

Advent  Church I 

African   Methodist  Church ; 

Agricuhural  Societies    ^ 

Agricultural  Statistics    f 

Agriculture,  Pioneer j 

Aitkcn,   David   D. 540,   566,   659,  t 

Alger,   Governor   Russell  A.   „ _ 

Altitudes   2 

Amuscmehts,    Early    t 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians t 

Ancient   Order  of  United  Workmen  t 

Argentine  — 229,  / 

Argentine  Township — - 

Lakes   2 

Land  Entries 2 

Mills    2 

Natural  Features  2 

Officials 8 

Organization   1 

Population    8 

Soil 2 

Streams    2 

Artesian   Wells 2 

Atherton   Settlement    2 

Atlas    290,  7 

Atlas  Township — 

Glacial  Remains 2 

Gravel    __  2 

Lakes  2 


Natural  Features  _ 
Officials,  First  ... 
Officials,  Present  . 
Organization 

Settlement 

Streams  


Automobile    Industry    774 

Axford,   Dr.   S.    M.   S73 

Ay-oun-a-wa-ta,    Story   of 104 

B 

Bagley,    Governor   John   J.    85 

Baldwin,   Governor  Henry   P. 84 

Bank    Clearings    540 

Banking   Law,   First   General   68 

Banks   and   Banking 519 

Baptist  Churches  ..327.  715.  718,  737,  745 

Bar  Association  563 

Bates,   William   R.   563 

Begole,   Governor   Josiah   W. 

86,  530,  566,  568 

Belsay    728 

Bench  and   Bar 551 

Benevolent  and  Protective   Order  of 

Elks — 675 

Benevolent    Societies    661 

Ben-Hur,   Tribe   of   677 

Bishop.    Russell    536 

Bliss.    Governor    Aaron    T.   94 

Books   and   Libraries   605 

Booton   Postoffice 229,  726 

Bounty    Lands    58 

Brent    Creek 727 

Brick  Clays 289 

Brotherhood   of  American   Yeomen.  680 

Burton    Ladies'    Library    612 

Burton   Township — 

Atherton  Settlement 235 

Gravel    287 

Indian  Trails   254 

Natural   Features   299 

Officials,  First    236 

Officials,  Present 831 

Organization    198 

Population    815 

Religious   Interests   236 


dbyGooi^lc 


HISTORICAL  INDEX. 


Burton  Township — Cot 


Timber 299 


Cadillac,  M.  de  la  Motte 

Campau,  Joseph 152, 

Campau,    Louis    152,  158, 

Care   for   the   Poor , 

Carriage-making    ! 

Cartier,   Jacques   

Carton,  John  J.  527,  565,  56?,  ' 

Cass,    Lewis    55,  63,  151,   1S4. 

Catholic  Churches  

194,  329,  715,  718.  721,  738,  ; 

Cattle    Raising   '. 

Cayugas 

Cement  Industry '. 

Census    Reports    i 

Champlain,  Samuel  de 33,  113. 

Chandler,  Zachariah   

Child's   Welfare    Society   ( 

Chippewas    

59,  118,  128,  133,  149,  151,  162,  165,  : 

Church  of  Christ,  Scientist  '. 

Churches - 

Cigar  Manufacturing  — '. 

Circuit   Judges    253,  i 

Civil    List    ; 

Civil  War ; 

Civil  War  Days  in  the   State 

Clay    Mining    '. 

Clayton   Township — 

Donahoo    Settlement    ■ 

Lyons    Settlement    i 

Miller    Settlement    -  ^ 

Natural    Features    237,  ', 

Officials,  First    '. 

Officials,  Present ) 

Organization '■ 

Population    i 

Religious  Interests   i 

Schools ; 

Settlement    ^ 

Taxpayers,   1844 : 

Timber,    Original    i 


Board  of  Commerce / 

Brick   Induatl-y 2 

Churches    717,  / 

Location    / 

Lodges  692,  / 

Officials ; 

Physicians  —  ^ 

Population    i 

Schools    .■ 

Clubs   of   Today   t 

Coal  Strata 2 

"Coldwater    Settlement"    

187,  194,  230,  7 

Colleges  in  the  State 1 

Congregational  Church   7 

Congressmen   from   Genesee   County  5 

Constitution,    State,   Adopted    

Constitutional    Convention.    1867 

Copper   in    Michigan,   First   Account 

of  

County  Clerks    5 

County  Court,    First   251,  5 

County  Normal  School 6 

County  Officers,   First   2 

County  Seat    Located    2 

Court  Calendar,   First   2 

Court,  First    County    251,  5 

Court  House  Dedication    7 

Court   House  History   252,  3 

Crapo  Farm    311,  7 

Crapo,    Henry    H.    — 76,    77.    t 

290,  311.  4S8,  507,  522,  565,  566.  7 

Crapo    Mills    502,  5 

Crapo.  W.  W. 5 

Crosswell,  Governor  Charles  M 

Customs  of  Indiarts 1 


Daughters   of   Rebekah   663 

Daughters   of  the  American   Revolu- 
tion      674,  694 

Altitude 291 

Artesian   Well 29! 

Banks 542 

Churches 718 


dbyGoot^lc 


HISTORICAL   INDEX. 


Lodges  693,  701,  718 

Officials   ^18 

Physicians    ^^1.  581 

Population   ?18,  815 

Fostoffice,  Early ^1^ 

Schools    598 

Davison  Township — 

Drainage    302 

Game  Law 243 

Gravel    287 

Lakes    302 

Natural  Features  302 

Officials,  First 243 

Officials,   Present 831 

Organization    198,  241 

Population    815 

Settlement 241 

Soil    

Streams   


Swamps 

Deaf,  State  School  for  the 

Deeds,   Registers  of 

Degree  of  Honor  


_  302 
.  302 


.  672 
_  109 


Detroit    42,  47,  50,  53,  66,   149 

Dibbleville    (Fcnton)    210 

Doctors   569 

Domestic   Animals   824,  826 

Donahoo    Settlement   238 

Dort,   J.  D.    

. 513,   658,    659,    685.    773,    786,  805 

Drainage    Beds    283 

"Drummer  Boy  of  the  Eighth" 371 

Duffield 290,  29! 

Durand,  George  H. 562,  564,  566 

Durant.   William    C.   513,  773 


Eagles,  Fraternal  Order  of 679 

Early  Days  in  Flint 626 

Early  Families   192 

Early   Permanent   Settlers   186 

Early    Physicians    197,  322,  569 

Early  Years  of  Flint  City 494 

Eastern   Star,   Order  of  the   .„_669,  690 

Education    582 

Educational  Advancement  in  Statc__     98 


Elks 675 

English   Settlement   226 

Episcopal  Churches 328,  715,  740,  745 

Evangelical  Churches 734 

"Evening   Prayer"    614 

Explorations  of  Michigan 36 


Factories'    Mutual   Benefit   Ass'n..-  690 

Fair    Grounds    313 

Farm   Property,   Value  of -  824 

Fayville   241 

Altitude   291 

Banks    541,  542 

Beginning  of 713 

Campaign  of  1840 219 

Cement    Industry    715 

Churches    715,  745 

Early  Days 213 

Growth 714 

Immigration    213 

Industries   514 

Interesting    Events    214 

Lawyers,    Early    196,  22ft 

Location    713 

Lodges    690,  703,  715 

Mai!  Routes —  218 

Manufacturing  Developments 514 

Mills    514,  517 

Newspapers  550 

Officials   --—  715 

Physicians    570,  581 

Platted    : 220 

Population    815 

Schools    596 

Setticraent    220 

Streets   217 

Tavern,  First 220 

Woman's   Civic  Society „-  715 

Fenton  Light  Guard  355 

Fenton  Township — 

Glacial   Remains   286 

Gravel _ 287 

Indian  Burial  Place 293 

Lakes   - 292 

Land  Entries 207 

Long  Lake 293 

Natural  Features  292 


dbyGooi^lc 


HISTORICAL  INDEX. 


Fenton  Township — Cotit. 

Officials,  First    222 

Officials,  Present  831 

Organization    198 

Physician,  First ^..  209 

Population   815 

Settlement    207 


Str* 


.  292 


Fenton,  William  M.  76,  211,  215,  220,  372, 

495,  522,  528,  529,  531,  556,  558,  565, 

566,  573 

Ferris,   Woodbridge  N. 94 

First  County  Court 251,  552 

First  Court  Calendar 252 

Five    Nations,   the   106 

Flint- 
Additions    781 

Altitude 291 

American    History    Class    649 

Area    784 

Art  Class  649 

Assessed    Valuation   782 

Automobile   Industry   774 

Bands   332,  638 

Banks   520 

Blacksmith,   First 187 

Board  of  Commerce 785 

Board  of  Education 590 

Board  of  Health  ._— 791 

Brick  Buildings,   First   316 

Brick  Clay 290 

Business   College   600 

Cemetery    329 

Choral  Society 638,  658 

Churches 729 

Cigar    Manufacturing   512 

City  Charter  494 

Civic  Building  Association  ^ 784 

Clerks,   City  - 


Clubs  of  Today  _. 
Columbian  Club  -. 
County  Scat,  Cho; 
Dramatic    Club   ^_ 

Earliest   Days 

Early  Industries  . 
Early  Social  Life  _ 


_  649 
.  653 


.  319 
_  626 


Education  193,  323,  502 

Election   First   City   497 

Federal  Building 754 

Fire  Department  790 


Flint— Cont. 

First  Settlers 183 

First  Store 191 

Fraternities   661,  694 

Fuguenoids,   the   638 

General   Motors   Hospital 791 

Golden    Jubilee    748 

Golf   Club   659 

Greater    Flint    771 

Harmonia  Club 636 

Homes,  a  City  of 784 

Hospitals    791,  795,  810 

Hotels,     Early    194 

Hurley    Hospital   

In  1837  

In  1838  


.  795 
_  197 


.  772 


In  1886 773 

Incorporation 494 

Indian  Occupancy   181 

Industries.  Early    319,  502 

Industries,   1916 777,  793 

Ladies  Library  Association — 331,  607 

Land  Office 189,  772 

Latitude    291 

Lawyers,  Early 196,  321,  553 

Libraries   330,   601,  611,  762 

Lodges    329,  661 

Longitude   291 

Lumber  Industry 501,  504,  772 

Mail    Routes,    Early   278 

Mayors    497 

Memorial   Tablets   758 

Mills 190,  315,  502,  507,  772 

Ministerial   Association   744 

Miscellaneous   Facts 812 

Newspapers    325,  544 

Oak    Grove   Hospital   810 

Officials.  First     497 

Officials.   1916 780 

Official  Roster 498 

Old   Flint   Band —  332 

Park    Board    788 

Parks   — 786 

Parochial   Schools   


Pavi 


.  789 


Physicians,    Early 197,  322,  571 

Physicians,    Present   580 

Plats    188,  781 

Police   Department    -  790 

Population    779,  815,  816 


dbyGoot^lc 


HISTOSICAL   INDEX. 


Flint— Cont. 

Population,   Wonderful   Growth   in  ', 

Postoffice    History    189,  ', 

Public   Schools —  ; 

Railroad,   First  I 

Railroads    ' 

Real  Estate  Prices,  1833 1 

Recorders,   City   "1 

Religious    Interest,   Early 193,  ; 

Research    Club    ( 

Roster  of  City  Officials -:-  A 

Rotary   Club    ( 

St.   Cecelia  Society ( 

Schools 193,  328.  f 

Secret    Orders    t 

Settlement   Before    183?    1 

Settlers   183,  i 

Sewers -  ? 

Shakespeare   Clubs  C 

Social  Amusements,  Early 1 

Subdivisions   ' 

Surveys   1 

Stage   Lines   1 

Tax  Rate  —  ? 

Tax   Roll,    1855   A 

Telephones   / 

Trades  Unions  t 

Transportation  ? 

Treasurers,  City A 

Trading  Post 7 

Twentieth  Century  Club 6 

Union  Blues 7 

Vehicle  Club f 

Vehicle  Industry 'i 

Village   Plats 1 

Village  Schools  3 

Waterworks  7 

"Wildcat"  Banks  5 

Woman's  Council  6 

Y.   M.   C.   A.   Building   6 

Flint  Academy  of  Medicine S 

Flint-Bliss  Business  College -,  6 

Flint   River 188,  Z19,  3 

Flint  Scientific  Institute   6 

Flint  Township — 

Education    2 

Gravel    2 

Land    Entries    1 

Libraries   2 


Flint  Township — Cont. 

Officials 831 

Organization    198 

Population    815 

Records,  Early 300 

Religious   Interest   200 

Roads,   Eariy 257 

School,  First  199 

Settlement 187,  199 

Soil    292 

Stock   Marks    200 

Streams  292 

Flint  Union  Grays 340 

Flushing- 
Banks    227,  542 

Beginning  of 226 

Chamber  of  Commerce 716 

Churches    717,  745 

Clay   Industry 289 

Clubs    717 

Improvement   Club lit 

Industries 289.  S18 

Location , 715,  717 

Lodges   69!,  702 

Mills   518 

Officials     717 

Physicians   572,  581 

Population    815 

Schools    598 

Settlers,  First  716 

"Wildcat"    Banks    237 

Flusliing  Township— 

"English  Settlement" 226 

Grave! 287 

Natural  Features 295 

Officials   - 831 

Organization    198,  227 

Population    815 

Religious   Interests 227 

Schools    227 

Settlement    224 

Soil     295 

Streams    295 

Foreign-born  Population 815 

Forest   Township — 

Lakes 304 

I-and   Entries   245    ■ 

Names    246 

Natural  Features   304 


dbyGoot^lc 


HISTORICAL  INDEX. 


Forest   Township— Con t. 

Officials.  Present 831 

Organization    198 

Population    815 

Religious   Interests   ^  246 

Settlement   246 

Soil  304 

Streams   305 

Timber 304 


Franciscan    Order 


35 


Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles 579 

Fraternal  Orders   661 

Free  and  Accepted  Masons 

. 329,  664,  690,  691,  715,  717 

Free   Methodist   Churches   734 

Fruits   — 828 

Fur   Trade   Activity    49 

G 

Altitude    292 

Banks   542 

Brick   Industry   290 

Churches* 721 

Early  Conditions 721 

Incorporation 721 

Lodges  701 

Officials   ... 721 

Physicians 572 

Plat    234 

Population 721.,  815 

Schools    599 

Settlement    234 

Gaines  Township — 

Crapo  Farm 311 

Gravel    287 

Mapie   Groves   298 

Natural  Features  298 

Officials.  First    — 234 

Officials.  Present 832 

Organization   198 

Population    815 

Schools    234 

Settlement    234 

Soil    . 


Gent 


County    Agricultural    So- 


ciety  . 


_  312 


Genesee  County  Bar  Association —  5 

Genesee  County  in  the  Civil  War 3 

Genesee    County    Medfcal    Associa- 


-  380 


Genesee  County  Sheep-breeders  a 

Wool-growers  Association 

Genesee  Light  Guard 

Genesee  Rangers   

Genesee  Township — 

Gravel    287 

Indian    Trails    255 

Mills 233 

Name  233,  297 

Natural   Features   297 

Officials,  First 233 

Officials,  Present   832 

Organization    198 

Population    815 

Keligious   Interests   232 

Soil   297 

Streams    298 

Timber   233,  297 

Geneseeville     725 

Geologic   Conditions 283 

Glacial   Drift   283 


AUiti 


,  292 


Banks    ; 520.  542 

Churches   723 

Founding    of    223.  723 

Hospital     724 

Physicians    572,  581 

Population    - -  724 

Postoffice    723 

Schools    599 

Settlement   _ 223,  723 

"Wildcat"  Banks  v 520 

Governors  from   Genesee   County 565 

Governors  of  Michigan 65,  71,    72 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 672,  699 

Grand   Bianc— 
Altitude  292 


.nks   - 


Beginning  of 

Brick  Industry  . 
First  Events  — 
Mills   

Physi 


„.-  542 
..__  719 


-  190 
_  581 


Population    720 

Postoffice    207 

Religious    Interests    193,  207 

Schools 207,  599 

Settlement    185,  187,  719 


yGoo-^lc 


HISTORICAL  INDEX, 


Grand   Blanc  Township — 

Indian   Trails 254 

Lakes  293 

Land    Entries    203 

Natural   Features   293 

Officials,  First  i97,  206 

Officials,    Present    832 

Organization     -198,  206 

Peat    Beds    293 

Population    815 

Settlement    18?,  203 

Soil  293 

Streams 293 

Tax  Assessments,  First 251 

Grand  Traverse 181,  781 

Greenback   Movement    86 

Greenville,  Treaty  of 52 

H 

Hard   Rock   Formations   284 

Hay  Production 308 

History    of    Michigan    33 

Hochelaga    112 

Home  Mutual  Benefit  Asociation —  678 

Homes,  Ownership  of 829 

Horton,  Dexter,  Address  by 208 

Howard,   Sumner 558,  565,  566,  567 

Hull,  Gen.  William  53,  149 

Hurley  Hospital  Training  School  --  600 

Hurons 47,  115,  117,  120,  124,  131 

"Hymn  to  the  Sea" —  618 

I 

Immigration    Agents    78 

Immigration  to  Michigan 60 

Independent    Order   of   Foresters 677 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 

329,   661,   690,  691,    717 

Indian  Customs 126 

Indian  House,  Description  of 125 

Indian       Occupancy       of       Genesee 

County 150 

Indian   Reservation 149,   161,   162,   167 

Indian    Traditions   141 

Indian   Trails   181,  254 

Indian  Treaties 149 

Indiana   Territory   . 


Iroquois    106,    111,   118,    120,    124 

J 

Jai!   History   252 

Jesuits,  The   — 36 

Judges,  Circuit  566 

Judges   of   Circuit   Court 253 

Judges  of  Probate 567 


Kearsley  Township 198 

King's  Daughters 687 

Knights   and   Ladies   of  Security 676 

Knights  of  Columbus 679 

Knights  of  Honor 691 

Knights  of  the  Loyal  Guard 676 

Knights  of  the   Maccabees 670 

Knights   of  Pythias 676 


Ladies'    Catholic 


;volent    Asso- 


678 

Ladies'    Library    Association 331,  607 

Lakes 292,  295,  296,  302,  314,  502 

Land  Office 1 189 

La  Salle,  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur  de-    40 

Lawyers  _— 196,  321,  551 

Libraries   601 

Attitude    292 

Bank 543 

Beginning   of 720 

Churches    720 

720 


Incorporation    720 

Industries    720 

Lodges 691,  70i,  720 

Mills   221 

Officials 720 

Physicians    581 

Platted 22! 

Population  720,  815 

Religious  Interests 221 

School,  First 22i 

Schools —  599 

Settlement —221,  720 


Indians  of  Genesee  County 

Internal   Improvements,   State   , 


-  101 


Live  Stock 

Live  Stock,  Early  Interest  i 

Logging,    Methods    

Long  Lake : 


dbyGooi^lc 


HISTORICAL  INDEX. 


Loyal    Guard,    Knights   of   the 6?6 

Loyal    Order   of   Moose 681 

Luce,   Governor   Cyrus    G 88 

Lumbering 97.  501,  S04,  510.  772 

Lyons   Settlement    239 

Mc 


M 


-  670 


M^aceabeean    Orders    

Mail    Routes.    Early. 278 

Manufactures,      Comparative      Sum- 
mary     830 

Map   of  Michigan,   First 38 

Maps,  Early  Michigan 131 

Marl    Deposits    287 

Marquette,    Jacques    39 

Masonic  Order_329,  664,  690,  691,  715.  717 

Medical    Practice   197,   322,  569 

Memorial   Tablets   ._ 758 

Menard.  Father  Rene  37 

Methodist   Episcopal   Churches.  200, 
221,  227,  228,  240,  245.   327,  715. 

717,  718,  720,  721,  TK,  745 

Methodist  Protestant   Church 734 

Mexican   War   334 

Michigan.    History    of 33 

Michigan,    First    Map    of 38 

Michigan    Territory   53 

Michigan  Troops   in   Mexican   War.  334 

Michigan  Under   the    British 44 

Michilimackinac  —42,  46,  49,  54,  119,   128 
Military  Record  of  Genesee   County  334 

Millard,    Orson    524,  576 

Miller  Settlement  237 

Mills 190,  229,  248.  315,  502,  507,  772 

Missionary    Spirit    : 35 

Modern   Brotherhood   of  America 678 

Modern    Woodmen    of   America 680 

Mohawks  105 

Montrose — 

Banks    542 

Churches 721 

Incorporation    721 

Lodges 692 

Officials    721 

Physicians    581 

Population    — 721,  815 


Ml 


.  721 


Indian    Reservation    306 

Mills 248 

Name    247 

Natural  Features 305 

Officials,    First    247 

Officials,    Present    832 

Organization    198,  247 

Settlement 247 

Soil    305 

Population 815 

Mortality    Statistics    818 

Mott,    Charles    S 659.  685 

Mound   Builders   _   122 

Mt.  Morris- 
Banks   543 

Beginning    of    722 

Churches    722,  746 

''Cold  water    Settlement" 

187,  194,  230,  722 


Physicians 

Population    

Schools 

Mt.   Morris  Township 

Name   


.  701 


297 

231 

Natural    Features    297 

Officials    832 

Organization 198,  232 

Population    815 

Religious   interests   230 

School.  First  230 

Settlement    230 

Soil    297 


Stre 


.  297 


Mt.  Pleasant  221 

Mundy  Township — 

Births,    First    227 

Artesian  Wells 291 


'el 


Land  Entrii 
Name    


.  287 
_  227 


Natural  Features  . 
Officials,  First  .„. 
Officials,  Present  . 
Organi 


dbyGoot^lc 


HISTORICAL  INDEX. 


Mutidy   Township — Gent. 

Population   -  815 

School    Districts    __  228 

Settlement    227 

Soil   —  296 

"My    Harp"    619 

N 
Nalional    League    of    Veterans    and 

Sons     673,  704 

National    Union    -  681 

Natural    Resources   of   State   96 

Xayigation    Companies    280 

Ne-o-me,    Chief    152,  165 

New    England    Influence    192 

Newspaper,   First  in  State 64 

Newspapers    325,  544 

Newton,  William  557 

Nicolet,  Jean 36 

Normal  School,   County 600 

Northwest   Territory   51 


O 


,  819 


Occupation  Statistics  

Odd  Fellows 329,  661,  690.  691,  717 

Officials,  State,  First 65 

Ojibways  45,  60,  128,  131,  133 

Old    Settlers'    Reunions 642 

Oldest    Settlement    in    Michigan 38 

Oneidas 104 

Order  of  the  Eastern  Star .669,  690 

Order  of  the  Stars  and   Stripes 698 

Osborne,    Governor    Chase    S 94 

Otisville — 

Beginning  of 246 

Brick    Industry    290 

Banks    541 

Churches    724 

Lodges    692 

Mills   724 

Platted    724 

Population    — 724,  815 

Schools    599 

Settlement    724 

Ottawas-45,  59,  60,  115,  128,  131,  149,  181 
Oiterburn 292,  728 


>cicties    694 

■.  S.  W.,  Address  by 209 


Pewaiiagawink  Township 198 

Physicians    569 

Pine  Run 726 

Pingrce,  Governor  Hazen  S 89 

Pioneer  Agriculture   307 

Pioneer   Days   198 

Pioneer   Social    Amusements    -  194 

Pioneer   Society   642 

Plank  Roads 275,  315 

Poets  of  Genesee  County 614 

Pontiac,  Chief 45.  49,   136 

Pontiac's    Conspiracy, 45,  136 

Poor,    Care    for    the 253 

Population    of    State,    Early 62 

Population   Statistics   815 

Pottawatoniies 45.  60,  131,  149 

Prc-glacial    Valleys    283 

Presbyterian    Churches    

228,  327,  715.  717,  720.  735.  745 

Press,   The   325,  544 

Probate.    Judges    of    567 

Professions,   The   196 

Prosecuting    Attorneys    567 


R 
Railroads   97,   482,  : 

Real    Estate    Prices.    1833 

Regimental    Reunions   '. 

Registers   of   Deeds   : 

Religious   Interest,   Early 

Religious   Societies   '. 

Reminiscences,    Early    I 

Representatives    ! 

Res    Literaria    I 

Reservations,  Tribal 

Rich,  Governor  John  T.  

Richfield  245,  728,  ; 

Richfield  Township- 
First   Things   ; 

Indian    Relics    '. 

Marriages,    First    ; 

Natural   Features '. 

Officials.  First ; 

Officials,   Present ) 

Organization 198,  '. 

Religious    Interest   \ 

Population    ) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


HISTORICAL   INDEX, 


Richfield  Township — Cont. 

Schools    

Settlement     - 

Streams   

Road  Building,  Early 

Road    Commissioners,    Work   of.. 

Roads,   Early   

Roads,  Early,  in  the  State 

Rosters    of   Enlistments   

Royal  Arcanum   

Royal    Xeighbors    of    America 


51 


St.    Michael's    Benevolent   Society.-  688 

St.  Paul's  Men's  Club 688 

Salt-bearing  Strata   289 

Salvation  Army 744 

Sauks 131,  181 

Sault   Ste    Marie   38 

School   for  the  Deaf 592 

School   System   of   the    State   99 

Schools    582 

Scientific    Institute,    Flint 604 

Secret    Orders    661 

Senators,  State 566 

Senecas    106,  119 

Settlement  of  Flint   Before   1837 180 

Settlers,  Permanent  186 

Shakespeare  Clubs : 651 


Sha\ 


110 


Sheep  Premiums   310 

Sheep-shearing   Festivals   309 

Sheriffs    567 

Shiawassee    River    286 

Sidney    (Flint)    188 

Smith,  Fhnt   P.   539 

Smith,  Jacob 152,  156,  171,  183,  771 

Social  Amusements   of  Pioneers 194 

Social  Life  in  Early  Flint 626 

Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  Genesee  Co.-  699 

Soldiers    from    Genesee    County 334 

South    Mundy   290 

Spanish- American  War  — 
Spanish   War  Veterans 


Speculation,    Era   of   68 

Stage-coach     Days    277 

Stage  Routes  190 

State  Capital,  Removal  of 71 

State    Constitution   Adopted 65 

State   Educational   Advancement 98 

State  History  33 

State   Officials,    First   65 

State    Representatives    566 

State   School   for   Deaf 592 

State  School  System  99 

State    Senators    566 

State's    Natural    Resources       96 

Statistics  815 

Stevens,  Jacob,  Letter  frorn 204 

Stewart,    Capt.    Damon    317,  437 

Stock   Marks   200 

Stockton,   Col.  T.   B.  W 

175,  396,  398,  415,  699 

Superintendents  of  the  Poor 253 

Supervisors,   First   Meeting  of 251 

Swamp  Lands 79 

Swart z   Creek- 
Altitude   292 

Banks   542 

Business    interests    723 

Lodges    693,  701 

Physicians 581 

Schools    599 

Settlement 723 


"Taps"   620 

Tax  Assessment,  First  251 

"The   Aeohan   Harp"   616 

"The    Heroic"— An    Oration 477 

Thetford  Center 725 

Thetford    Postoffice    24! 

Thetford  Township- 
Citizens    of    1840 241 

Indians    301 


240 

-  240,  300 
241 


.    90 

.  71? 


Land   Speculators   .- 

Natural  Features 

Officials,    First    

Ofticials,   Present 832 

Organization __198,  241 

Population    815 

Schools    241 

Settlements    240 

Trails    - 301 


dbyGoot^lc 


HISTORICAL   INDEX. 


Thomson,  Col.  Edward  H 192, 

417,  497,   553,  555,   566,  567,  627,  699 

Thomson   Light   Guard 417 

Todd,  John 186 

Todd's   Ferry   186,  187 

Todd's    Tavern    186,  193 

Toledo  War 65 

Topography 284 

Trades   Unions   689 

Trails,   Indian   254 

Transportation  _-, 97,  432,  792 

Treaties    of    1837    .._ 166 

Treaty  of  1807   

Treaty  of   Greenville    52 

Treaty    of    Saginaw 60 

Tribal  Reservations   162 

Tribe  of  Ben-Hur 677 

Turner,  Josiah    561 

Turnpikes   276 

U 
Union    Blues    705 

V 

Value   of  Farm   Property 824 

Vehicle  Club   681 

Vehicle    Industry    513,  773 

Vienna  Township — 

First   Events    239 

Gravel 287 

Indian  Trails  255 

Natural  Features   300 

Officials,  First 239 

Officials,  Present  832 


Vieima   Township — Cont. 

Organization    198,  239 

Population    815 

Religious   Interest   240 

Schools 240 

Settlement 239 

Soil    : 300 

Streams 300 

Villages    of    Genesee    County 713 

Vital  Statistics 818 

W 

Wagon-making 773 

Walker,  James   B. 534 

Walker,   Levi   557,  587 

War  of  1812 S3 

War  of  the  Rebellion 334 

Warner,   Governor   Fred   M 94 

Whigville 192,  727 

-Wild-cat"    Banks    227,  520 

Willson,   Dr.  James  C 573 

Winans,    Governor    Edwin    B 88 

Winter   of   Want 248 

Wisner,  Governor  Moses   556 

Wixom,   Dr.    Isaac   570 

Wolverine    Guard   417 

Woman's    Relief    Corps   674,  703 

Wool  Growing 309 

Writers  of  Genesee  County 614 

Wyandots   149 


Young   Women's 
Young   Men's    Ch 


yGooi^lc 


dbyGoo<^lc 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX 

VOLUME  II 


Aitken,    Hon.    David    D 37 

Aldrich,     Fred    A 62 

Alexander,  Eugene   H.  ?99 

Alger,    Floyd    P 703 

Allen,   Floyd   A.   79 

Andrews,  George 108 

Anthony,   Ray   N.   210 

Arms,    George    W.    56S 

Atherton.  Fred  D.   ^-  394 

Atwood,  William   A.  784 

Austin,   B.  J.   434 

Averill,    David    M.    553 

Averill,   James    W.   412 

B 

Bachmann,    George   J 630 

Bacon.   Samuel   M.   162 

Bailey,  Ernest  L.  313 

Bailey,  Walter  C. ^_  278 

Baker,   Charles,  Jr.   734 

Baker,  James  D.  775 

Baker,  John  F. 154 

Bariset,    Ferdinand    502 

Bariset,    Louis    502 

Barker,    Frank   A.   _  361 

Bassett,  Harry  H.  .._ ^-  229 

Bates,  Noah,  M.  D.  130 

Baxter,  James  H. 496 

Beach,   S.   F 191 

Beacraft,   William   E. 555 

Beebe,  Walter  W. 772 

Beecher,   Calvin   D.   204 

Beeman,  Edward   L.   458 

Bendle,   John    R.   440 

Benjamin,    Lewis   J.    220 

Berridge,   Joseph   W,   350 

Berry,   Duncan   542 

Billings,  Joseph   F. 419 

Billings,   Watson  W.  417 


Bishop,    Arthur    G.    67 

Bishop,    Clifford    A.    ._ 85 

Blackiuton,   Charles   A.   767 

Blackmore,    Fred    E.    593 

Blackncy,    William   W.    759 

Bliss,  Chester  H. 274 

Bloss,  Frank  D. 180 

Bodine,    Ambrose    830 

Bonbright,  Charles   H.  264 

Boomer,   Clement   H. „.  40+ 

Borley,   Rev.   Howard   D.   47 

Brabazon,   Albert   J. 674 

Brady,   Samuel   664 

Bradley,    Robert    200 

Branch,   Edmund  A. 91 

Bray,  Everett  L. 170 

Bridgman,  Charles  T 64 

Brooks,    William   382 

Brown.    Daniel    411 

Brown,  Grant  J. 45 

Brown,  W.   J.  - „ 802 

Browne,   Robert   B. 443 

Brownell,  Roy  E. 110 

Buckingham,    Lewis    69 

Bump,   Hiram   W.   539 

Bunnell,   Calvin 697 

Burleson,   Fred   G. 797 

Burr.   C.   B.,   M.   D.   72 

Burrough,    Edward   212 

Buzzard,    George    M.    694 

Buzzard,   Matthias 733 

C 

Callahan,   Pairick   H.   778 

Callow,   Francis   H.,   M.   D 444 

Cameron,   Clarence  A. 184 

Campbell,   Charles   J.. 711 

Campbell,  George  M. 641 

Carey,  John  H. 1 ^  631 

Carmichael,   Malcolm   W. 387 


dbyGoot^lc 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX, 


Carmichael,    Robert    381 

Carpenter,  William,  Jr. 698 

Carrier,   Adelbert   W.   23« 

Carrier,   Arthur   G.   367 

Carton,   Hon.   John  J 216 

Cartwright,   Hon.  John  F,   112 

Chambers,   Charles    592 

Chapin,  F.  A. 528 

Chase,   George    W.    834 

Chase,    John 175 

Chase,  Robert  J 435 

Childs,    Archie    B.    781 

Chisholm,   Mrs.   Jane   53? 

Chrysler,   Walter  P.   152 

Cimmer,   Arthur   W 702 

Clark,    Cranson    808 

Clark,  J.  R .__  247 

Clark,   John    508 

Clarke,    Charles    708 

Clifford,   Rev.   Howard  J, 136 

Cody,  Alvin  N. 86 

Coggins,    George    M.    690 

Cole,  Ira  W. 670 

Cole,  James  P, 347 

Coles,   John   J.   398 

Colwell,   John   B,   839 

Comerford,   Rev.   Michael  J. 121 

Cook,   Henry,   M.   D.   335 

Cook,  Wilford  P.   728 

Coon,    George    H.    Til 

Covert,   Alonzo  J.   448 

Cox,    Charles   E.   785 

Crapscr,   Hon.    Bert   F.   371 

Crego,   Aaron   B.   773 

Grossman,  Merritt  A. 198 

Curtis,   S,   E.   576 

D 

Dake,   Cash   H. 819 

Dake,   Nelson  G.   457 

Daly,   Martin 331 

Dauner,    .Anthony   J.    753 

Davie,  William  H.  461 

Davis,  J.   Frank 851 

Davis,  Walter  S.,  V.  S. 276 

Davison,    Matthew    80 

Davison,  Robert   C.  305 

DeLand,  Albert   M.  329 

Delbridge,   Grant   298 


Dibble,   Joel   _  680 

Dickinson,    Guy   V.   564 

Dieck,   Ernest   W.   377 

Doane,  Clinton  D.  720 

Dodge,   Perry   R.   525 

Dolan,  Frank _  321 

Dort,   Josiah   D S2 

Douglas,   Dexter   499 

Downer,    Menno    F.    600 

Duff,   William   ..___ 572 

Dullani,   Frank 770 

Dumanois,   Charles   W.   146 

Dunton,   Lucius   A.   712 

DuranI,   William   C.   .13 

Dye,    Marion    399 

Dynes,    John    L-    418 

E 

Eamcs,    Charles    H.    682 

Eaton.   William   F.   510 

Eckles,   Charles   M.   289 

Eckley,  Ear! 295 

Eddy,   George   H.    311 

Edson,  Ara  G 303 

Egglestoii,   Jasper   206 

Eggleston,    Lyman 206 

Elwood,  Ernest  T.  635 

Embury,   Philip   O.   292 

Enders,   Harry  H.    714 

Ennis,    James    826 

Ensign,   Ebern   E.   736 

Erwin,    William   J,    226 

F 

Fairbank,    Hon.   M'erton   W 451 

Fairchild,   Alfred   598 

Farmers    Exchange    Bank   of   Grand 

Blanc    583 

Fenton,  Joseph  B , 192 

Fleming,  Eugene 812 

Fletcher,    Albert    655 

Fowler,  William  S. 427 

Frappier,  Era  M.,  Sr. 701 

Frawley,   William   M. 853 

Freeman,   Arthur   M.   552 

Freeman,   Horace    B.   149 

French,  James  B. 422 


dbyGoot^lc 


BIOGRAPHICAL   INDEX. 


Frisbie,  Marshall  M 103 

Frost,  Joe 392 

Frutchey,    Herbert    364 

Fuller,   Lewis    B.    518 

G 

Galbraith,   Arthur   E.   421 

Gale,    Adrian    P.    587 

Gale,   Perry   W.   599 

Gale,    Will    A.    _.  638 

Gallaway,    Frank    A.    844 

Gaylord,    George    M.    (ill 

George,   Victor   E.   172 

Gibson.  Stanford  S. 732 

Gifford,    Lewis    643 

Gilbert,   Horace   W.    188 

Gilbert.   Ira   N. 687 

Gillett.    Leslie   D.    357 

Gillett.   Ralph   C.   447 

Gillett,   Ralph   N.   633 

Gillett,    William    H.    495 

Gillies,  Andrew   H,   544 

Gleruni.  Frank  F 743 

Goldstine.  William  H. 786 

Good.  Elias  F.  436 

Goodes,   William   756 

Goodrich,   Mrs.   Emily 400 

Goodrich,  William  P.  _ 603 

Goss,   Rev.  Joel   B. Sl6 

Graff,   Otto    P.   75 

Graham,   Hugh   W.,   M.    D.   805 

Grant,    William    817 

Green,   Frank   A,   763 

Green,  Patrick  J. 533 

Green,    Warrcii    O,    646 

Greenfield,  James   M.   4ftS 

H 
Haas,    Herbert    159 

Hackney,   George  W.   790 

Halliwill,   Milo   B.   665 

Hardy,   Fred    _ 821 

Harris,   Myron    676 

Hart,   Robert   O.   813 

Haskell,   Frank   H.   126 

Haskell,    Frank   P.  342 

Hathaway,   Orlando   K.   504 

Hawley,   Berton   J.    430 

Henderson,    Thomas    J.    764 


Herman,  William  G.  478 

Herrick,    Edwin    _ 827 

Hetchler,   Clarence  O. 750 

Hibbard,  Otis  G. 202 

Hill,   Frank   H.   269 

Hill,   George  W. 328 

Hill,   Harry   C.   302 

Hill,   Israel 480 

Hill.    Philip    P.    488 

Hiller,   James   P. 501 

Hills,    Harley   L.   777 

Hinkley,    D.    Eugene    742 

Hinkley.  Warren  J. 164 

Hiscock,  Alfred  V. 841 

Hitchcock,    Frank   C 280 

Hitchcock,    Frederick   H.   705 

Hobart,   Joseph    652 

Holden,    Claude    285 

Holser,    F>ank    316 

Horrigan.  John 568 

Horton,  William   H.  _,- 232 

Hosie,    William    A.   182 

Houghton,    Fred    M. 524 

Houghton,   Hon.  George  E. 362 

Houton.  John  H.,  M.  D.  236 

Hovey,  Fred  672 

Howe,  William  H.  312 

Howes,   Seth   W 369 

Huggins,   George   843 

Hughes,    Herman    92 

Hughes,  John  469 

Hughes,    Peter   405 

Hunt,   George   S.   471 

Hurd,  John   W.   560 

Hyncs.   William  P.   403 

Hyiics,    William    T.    _.   141 

J 

Jameson,   Charles   S.    717 

Jennings,   Byron   S. 531 

Jennings,  John  H.  304 

Jennings,    Leroy    M.    492 

Johnson,  Abner  M. 415 

Johnson,   Earl   F.   40 

Johnson,   Walter   I,.   828 

Johnston,    Daniel    J.    306 

Johnston,    John    M.    570 

Jones,    Frank    E.    156 

Jones,  James  A,   _ ],8 


dbyGoo«^lc 


BIOGRAPHICAL   INDEX. 


Jones,  James  J. 453 

Judson,   Fred 550 

Judson,    George    793 

K 

Kahl,    Bismark    463 

Kahl,    Henry    H.    299 

Keddy,  Wilbert   H. 320 

Kellar,    George    C.    558 

Kendrick,   Augustus   C.   788 

Kerr,   Henry  H.   835 

Knapp,   Fred   W.   262 

Knickerbocker,   Walter  D. 260 

Knight,  A.  B 829 

Knight,   Morris  A.   115 

Kountz,  John   E.   390 

Kurtz,   Daniel   656 

Kurtz.   J.   J.,   M.    D 189 

L 

Lahring,    William    H _..  234 

Laing,  Paul   L. _ ^   151 

Lake,  William  A. 199 

Lauderbaugh,    William    748 

Leach,  Clarence  E. 601 

Leach,  Frank  B.  645 

Leach,    William   J.    _._  668 

Leal,  Charles  H.  729 

Lefurgey,   Marshall  C 406 

Leiand,  Fred  D.  557 

Leonard,    Charles    E.   765 

Lillie,  Charles  E. 228 

Linabury,  Edwin   B.   101 

Lobban,    Alexander    S20 

Long,  John  H.  43 

Love,   George   E 845 

Lowell,   Fred   H.   1S6 

Luby,  Rev.  Thomas  F.  441 

Luce,   Charles   C.   277 

Luce,    Clarence    _  282 

Luce,   Ira   D. 818 

McAllister,   William  T.   391 

McBride,    Homer    J,    __ 83 

McCandlish,    John    578 

McCandlish,  John   E,   .590 

McCandlish,    Stephen    D.    6IS 


McCann,   Fred   W.   607 

McCaughna.    Daniel    571 

McCloud,  William  H.  117 

McCreery,  Fenton  R. 104 

McDonald,  A.  E. 663 

McKeighan,    William    H.    144 

McKeon,  Paul   B.  823 

McKinlcy,  George  E. 168 

McVanncI,    George    H.   758 


M 

MacNeai,   George  -,._ 846 

Macomber,    John    R.    464 

Macomber,   Elmore  J.   345 

Macpherson,    Herbert   A.    287 

Martin,    Horace   P.   746 

Martin,    Thomas    413 

Mason,  Henry  G. 723 

Mathews,  Charles  F.  744 

Maxwell,  Thomas   R. 776 

Mears,   Thomas    792 

Millard,  Orson,  M.   D, 42 

Miller,    Charles    H,    353 

Miller,   John   A.   251 

Miller,    Wilbert    L.   379 

Minto,   Charles   W.   286 

Misuer,   James    W.   201 

Mitchell,  George  A.  344 

Monroe,   William   N.   595 

Montgomery,  S.   C.   407 

Moon,   Charles    837 

Moore,  Edward  C  322 

Moran,  Coleman  P. 824 

Morris,   Charles   S.   315 

Morrish,   Oscar   W. _..  245 

Morrish,    Samuel    393 

Morrish,    Wilbert    E.   25(1 

Morrison,    Walter    235 

Moss,   Charles   T.   649 

Mott,    Charles    S 208 

Mountain,   William   W,   248 

Mundy,  Charles   E 780 

Mundy,   George   E.   283 

Mundy,  Thomas 332 

Murphy,   John   J. 738 

Murphy,    Nicholas,    Jr.    619 

Murphy,  Rev.   Timothy  J. 48 

Myers,  Hon,  George  C. 456 


dbyGoo<^lc 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX, 


N 

Newcombe.   Dclos   E.    243 

Niles,  Frank  A.  7Hi 

Nimphie,    Henry   G.   796 

Nimpiiie,   John    431 

O 

O'Hare,    Peter    F. 485 

Oiiff,    Thomas    5S9 

01k,  Joseph    P.   852 

Ottaway,    Fred    R.    308 

P 

Packard,   George,   Sr 529 

Page,    Thomas    333 

Paine,   Mrs.   Ruey  Ann   516 

Parker,   G.   Russell   ?39 

Parker,  Col.  James  S. 160 

Parker,  Ward  H.   — i 849 

Parsons,   Edward    D,    323 

Partridge,   Elvah   V.   310 

Partridge,    Fred    W.    -  822 

Partridge,    Thomas    D.    575 

Paterson,   William   A.   138 

Patterson,   Frank   158 

Petigelly,  Rev.  John  B.,  A.  M.,  D.  B.  326 

Penoyer,   Elmer   H.  662 

Perkins,    Frank   D.   636 

Perry,   Frank   M.   685 

Perry,    George   E.   730 

Peterson,    Ole    548 

Phillips,  Andrew  J.  725 

Phillips,   Clifford  J. 722 

Phillips,  Elmer  N. 358 

Phipps,  L.  E.  _- 803 

Pierce,  Franklin  H 128 

Pierce,  John  L.   832 

Pierson,    Harry   C.    368 

Pierson,  Herman   H,  215 

Post,  Earl  G.  706 

Pound,   Sylvester   J. 487 

Price,  James  E.  439 

Prosser,   Arthur 406 

Prosser,  Hon.  Hal   H.   546 

Prowant,  David  420 

Putnam,  George  F. 384 

Pnlnam.  William  J. 254 


Q 
Quick,   John   F. 187 

R 

Raab,   Arthur   E.   133 

Rankin,    Francis    H.   472 

Ransom,   Albert   E,   804 

Ransom,    John    P.   178 

Ransom,   Mark   B.   563 

Ransom,   Randolph    H.   173 

Raiibinger,   Phihp   A.   624 

Reed,  Rev.  Seth,  D.  D. 424 

Reese,  Andrew 704 

Reese,  Loron  A.  688 

Reynolds,  Arthur  J.,  M.  D. 148 

Richmond,   Lemuel   311 

Riker,  Aral  A.  176 

Riley,  John   W,   360 

Ripley,   Warren   G.   296 

Robb.  George  W.  574 

Roberts,  Clinton 256 

Rockafellow,   Emrie  W.  579 

Rogers,  Frank  G. 268 

Rogers,   James   291 

Rogers,  Warren  A.  ._— 257 

Rolland,   Charles   E,   71S 

Root,  Earl  B.  850 

Root,    William    494 

Roska,  Albert  F. 446 

Russell,  John   B. 491 

Russell,   John   H.   428 

Russell,    Mrs.    Mary   .__ ,,,  482 

S 

Sanford,   Mrs.  Jennie   E.   W 460 

Sargent,   William   H 514 

Sawyer.   Frank  J. 583 

Sayre,  Frank  P. 455 

Sayre,    Ira  T.  318 

Schmier,   Edward   A 745 

Schram,   J.    Fred 395 

Seelcy,  E.  A. 213 

Seelye,  Nathan  A. ^ 612 

Selleck,  Charles  B. 658 

Selleck,   Robert   W.    272 

Shanahan,  James 522 

Shaw,   William    H.    388 

Shumaii,  Gustav  F. 190 

Sicgel.   Charles   B.   237 


dbyGoot^lc 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX. 


Simmons,  George  L, 800 

Skinner,  Bert 22i 

Skinner,  J.  D. 225 

Skinner,   Jeptha   231 

Slattery,  Patrick — ^7A 

Sleeman,  John  J. —  22<1 

Slocum,  A.  C. 338 

Sluyter,   Dr.   Elden   R.   132 

Smith,   Darwin   P.   355 

Smith,  Matthew  B.,  M.  D 716 

Smith.    Philip    wa 

Smith,   Samuel   E.   22/ 

Smith,   William   V.   240 

Smithson,   Thomas   W.    135 

Soper,  O.   Eugene 567 

Sparks,   T.   Albert   700 

Spenser,  James  L 693 

Sprague,   Wesson    G.   621 

Stafford,    Charles   M,    37^ 

Stehle,   George   F.   679 

Steindam,   August   C. -  239 

Stemmetz,  Frank  J-,  Jr 703 

Stewart,    Capt.   Damon    88 

Stewart,    Herbert   A.    628 

Stewart,   Samuel    S.   60 

Stewart,    William    C.    lH 

Stiles,   Dennis   R. 222 

Stiles,  E.   B. 312 

Stiles,  W.  B.  416 

Stine.    Martin    C.    605 

Stoddard,   Claude   M.   ?91 

Stoddard,   Frederick  E,   854 

Strecter,   Chancy  N.   660 

Sutherland,  L.  C. 218 

Sutton,   Charles   E.   617 

Swart,   Edgar  J.   483 

Swayze,   Judge   Colonel    O,   77 

Sweers,   Milo   625 

Taylor,   Charles   E.   100 

Taylor,    George   E.   244 

Taylor,    George   E.   848 

Taylor,  J.   Herman   506 

Thomas,  Clarence 253 

Thompson,  James  A. 288 

Thomson,  Col.  Edward  H. 94 

Thomson,  Mrs.  Sarah  T.  95 

Thompson,   Edmund   M.   782 

Tice,  George  W.  336 

Tinker,   William   271 


Todd,   Fred   

Topham,   John    L.   

Topping,  Charles  M. 
Trumblc,  Abram  M. 
Turner,   John    


Upton,  Charles  O.  476 

Uticy,    Frank   H.    294 

V 
Van   Buskirk,  J.  M.  166 

Van  DeWalker,  Edward  C. 46S 

Van  Fleet,  Jared  761 

Van  Slykc,  Frank  M. 211 

Van   Slyke,   Martin   B.   205 

Van  VIeet,   John   C.   640 

Veit,   Jacob   348 

Vernon,    Patrick   E.   142 

Vickery,   Levant  A, 120 

Vincent,    William    -- 536 

Volz,   Jacob 541 

W 

Wadley,   Will   N,  820 

Walker,   Hon.   Levi   195 

Walker,  William  T 125 

Warner,   Charles   K. 396 

Watson.   Harry  W. 123 

Webber,    George   A.   754 

Whaley,    Robert   J,   96 

Wheeler,  Elmer  G.  795 

Wheelock,  Dr.  Amos  S. 596 

Whitehead,  James  B. 549 

Whitman,    Grant    W.   _ 737 

Whitniore,   Francis   301 

Wildman,   Frank   P.   373 

Williams,  Glenn 855 

Wirth,  John   F.   437 

Wisner,    Leslie   838 

Wolcott,    Robert    H.    622 

Wood,  Edwin  O.,  LL,  D. 56 

Wood,  John  H. 534 

Wood,  William   N.   352 

Woolfitt,    Burtis    E.   340 

Woolfitt,   William   E. 266 

Wright,   William  T.   666 

Y 

York,  Jerry  F.   609 

Youells,    Harry    P 432 


dbyGoot^lc 


HISTORICAL 


History  of  Michigan. 

Tlie  lirst  wliitt'  men  to  \enture  into  ihc  region  of  the  Great  Lakes  were 
the  French,  who,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  extended  their  discoveries 
from  the  regions  lying;  around  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  inland  along  the 
great  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  river.  As  early  as  1615,  Chaniplain,  in 
company  witli  the  Franciscan  friar,  Joseph  !e  Caron,  and  other  Frenchmen, 
discovered  the  Georgian  Imy  of  Lake  Huron.  Samuel  de  Champlain,  horn 
in  1570  at  Brouage  on  the  bay  of  Biscay,  a  poor  boy,  the  son  of  a  fisherman, 
had  received  his  early  education  from  the  parish  priest.  From  these  influ- 
ences he  had  come  to  young  manhood  with  a  hunger  for  knowledge,  a  love 
for  the  sea,  and  devotion  to  his  Catholic  friends  and  to  his  sovereign. 
Before  coming  to  Canada  he  had  served  in  the  French  army  and  navy  and 
conducted  a  successful  exploring  expedition  to  the  West  Indies.  When,  in 
1603,  merchants  of  Rouen,  France,  formed  a  great  colonizing  and  fur- 
trading  company  to  the  New  World,  the  command  of  the  expedition  was 
given  to  the  experienced  and  energetic  Champlain. 

In  1608  Champlain  founded  Quebec,  and  in  the  following  year  dis- 
covered the  beautiful  lake  which  bears  his  name.  Unfortunately  in  that 
year  he  won,  through  the  superiority  of  European  methods  of  warfare,  a 
great  victory  over  one  of  the  tribes  of  the  powerful  Iroquois,  which,  gain- 
ing for  all  the  French  explorers  and  settlers  to  come  after  him  the  imre- 
lenting  hostility  of  these  tribes  through  a  period  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  must  be  counted  as  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  failure  of 
France  in  America.  In  161 1  Champlain  established  a  trading  post  on  the 
site  of  Montreal,  and  in  1612  he  went  to  France.  On  his  return  to  the 
St.  Lawrence  he  displaved  his  zeal  for  the  faith,   bringing  with  him   four 

(3) 


dbyGoQl^ic 


34  GENEPEr,    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN. 

Recoilect  friars,  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  who  might  bear  the  knowledge 
of  the  Cross  to  the  benighted  savages  of  the  western  wilderness. 

In  1615  Champlain,  accompanied  by  an  interpreter,  Etienne  Bru5^, 
one  other  Frenchman  and  ten  Tnchans,  made  an  expedition  to  the  Huron 
region  of  Lake  ManatouHne.  In  two  canoes  the  group  ascended  the  Ottawa 
river,  crossed  the  portage  to  Lake  Nipissing,  and  thence  paddled  their  way 
down  the  French  river  to  the  waters  of  Georgian  bay,  along  whose  eastern 
shore  they  coasted  for  a  hundred  miles,  landing  finally  at  Thunder  bay. 
It  was  only  a  little  distance  from  there  that  they  foimd  I,e  Caron,  one  of 
Champlain's  four  Franciscan  friends,  who,  on  August  12,  1615,  surrounded 
by  hordes  of  wondering  savages  at  the  Indian  village  of  Carhagouha,  had 
the  honor  of  saying  the  first  mass  celebrated  in  this  portion  of  the  New 
World. 

Champiain  exercised  his  noble  influence  as  governor  of  New  France 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  until  his  death  at  Quebec  in  1635.  The  historian 
Dionne,  in  his  "Samue!  Champlain."  ]>ays  the  following  tribute  to  the  mem- 
ory of  "The  Father  of  New  France" : 

"In  his  conduct,  as  in  his  writings,  Champlain  was  always  a  truly 
Christian  man,  zealous  in  the  ?er\'ice  of  God  and  actuated  by  a  child-like 
piety.  He  was  wont  to  say,  as  we  read  in  his  'Memoirs,'  that  'the  salvation 
of  a  single  soul  is  worth  more  than  the  conquest  of  an  empire,  and  that 
kings  should  never  extend  their  dominion  over  idolatrous  countries  except 
to  subject  them  to  Jesus  Christ'." 

The  Kev.  T.  J.  Campbell,  S.  J.,  from  whose  "Pioneer  Laymen  of  North 
America"  the  above  translation  is  quoted,  says  in  the  same  volume,  in 
substance : 

"One  scarcely  knows  what  to  admire  most  in  the  multitude  of  splendid 
qualities  which  gave  him  such  a  distinctive  place  among  the  world's  heroes. 
There  was,  for  example,  his  amazing  courage:  nor  was  he  an  explorer  or  a 
discoverer  of  the  ordinary  kind.  He  went  among  the  people,  lived  with 
them,  shared  in  their  filthy  meals  with  as  much  grace  and  dignity  as  if  he 
were  at  the  table  of  Richelieu,  adjusting  their  difficulties,  .settling  their  dis- 
putes, remonstrating  with  them  for  their  barbarous  practices  and  always 
endeavoring  to  instill  into  their  hearts  some  idea  of  God,  of  religion  and 
morality.  The  purity  of  his  morals  was  marvelous.  His  country,  its  great- 
ness and  its  glory,  were  ever  in  his  mind.  His  amazing  serenity  of  soul  in 
the  midst  of  multiplied  disasters  was  almost  preternatural.  He  is  the  real- 
ization of  the  old  Roman  poet's  dream  of 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    COXJNTY,    MICHIGAN.  35 

'The  upright  man,  intent  upon  Iiis  resolve, 
Were  nil  the  world  to  crash  about  his  head, 
Would  stand  amid  its  ruin  undismayed.' 

He  was  more  than  that.     He  was  what  he  insisted  even  a  captain  on  the 
high  seas  should  ahvaj's  he  to  his  crew:  a  man  of  God." 

Lanman,  in  his  "History  of  Michigan,"  says :  "With  a  mind  warmed 
into  enthusiasm  hy  the  vast  domain  of  wilderness  which  was  stretched 
around  him,  and  the  glorious  visions  of  future  grandeur  which  its  resources 
opened,  a  man  of  extraordinary  hardihood  and  the  clearest  judgment,  a 
brave  officer  and  a  scientific  seaman,  his  keen  forecast  discerned,  in  the 
magnificent  prospect  of  the  country  which  he  occupied,  the  elements  of  a 
mighty  empire,  of  which  he  had  hoped  to  be  the  founder.  With  a  stout 
heart  and  ardent  zeal,  he  had  entered  upon  the  prospect  of  civilization;  he 
had  disseminated  valuable  knowledge  of  its  resources  hy  his  explorations, 
and  had  cut  the  way  through  hordes  for  the  subsequent  successful  progress 
of  the  French  toward  the  lakes." 

THE   MTSSIONARY    SPIRIT. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  in  the  history  of  the  advance  of  civiHzation 
towards  the  Great  Lakes,  the  spirit  of  the  missionary  went  before  the  spirit 
of  the  colonizer.  That  spirit  was  introduced  into  these  wilds  when,  in 
1615,  Champlain  arrived  at  Quebec  with  four  members  of  the  Franciscan 
order — Denis  Jamet,  Jean  Dolbeau,  Joseph  le  Caron  and  Pacifique  du  Plessis. 
These  men  were  the  first  pioneers  in  that  great  and  noble  undertaking,  so 
laboriously  and  persistently  carried  on,  of  bringing  to  the  savage  peoples  of 
New  France  the  light  of  the  Gospel. 

The  Franciscan  order  was  founded  in  the  thirteenth  century  by  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi.  The  four  members  who  came  with  Champlain  belonged 
to  the  RecoUets,  a  reformed  branch  of  the  Franciscans.  In  1618  Pope 
Paul  IV  gave  into  the  hands  of  the  Recollets  entire  charge  of  the  mission 
work  in  New  France.  Many  of  these  noble  sons  lived  and  died  in  Christian 
service  among  the  native  red  men.  Their  headquarters  were  at  Quebec, 
where  a  convent  was  built.  Of  the  first  four,  Joseph  !e  Caron  was  appointed 
to  labor  among  the  Hurons  along  the  upper  Ottawa  river.  At  Montreal  he 
studied  the  Indian  languages  and  by  the  time  Champlain  was  readv  to  make 
his  expedition  to  the  Hurons,  Le  Caron  was  ready  to  go  with  him.  This 
was   typical   of   these   early   exploring   and   trading  expeditions.     Explorer, 


dbyGoot^lc 


36  gi-:nk-See  county,  Michigan. 

trader,  soldier  and  priest  went  hand  in  hand.  Wherever  waved  the  golden 
liUes  of  France,  there  the  Cross  was  planted.  The  rude  bark  chapel  took 
its  place  with  the  stockade  and  the  trading  house.  Not  infrequently  the 
awe-inspiring  ceremonies  of  the  church  preceded  the  pomp  and  pageantry 
of  the  military,  so  characteristic  of  the  old  regime  in  the  forests  of  Canada. 
While  the  adventurous  soldiers  of  New  France  dreamed  of  the  "Great  South 
Sea,"  to  be  reached  by  an  inland  waterway  they  should  find,  and  in  imagina- 
tion saw  the  lilies  of  France  waving  dominion  for  the  "Great  Kmg"  over 
vast  regions  yet  to  be  discovered,  the  soldiers  of  the  Cross  had  a  vision  of 
that  glorious  time  when  the  Indian  nations  of  the  "forest  continent"  should 
be  gathered  to  the  bosom  of  the  Christian  church. 

It  was  needful,  however,  that  a  more  powerful  order  than  the  Rccollets 
shouki  aid  in  carrying  forward  this  pioneer  work  of  the  church  to  the  region 
of  the  Great  I-akes.  This  task  fell  to  the  Jesuits,  members  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus,  a  powerful  and  aggressive  order  founded  in  the  13th  century  by 
the  great  Ignatius  Loyola,  a  soldier,  who  gave  from  his  rich  and  varied 
experience  as  a  mihtary  leader  those  qualities  to  his  order  which  made  it  the 
most  successful  agency  that  ever  worked  among  the  almost  insurmountable 
obstacles  of  Christian  missions  to  savage  peoples.  A  few  Jesuits  came  to 
Canada  as  early  as  1611,  but  not  until  1625  did  the  work  of  this  order  there 
really  begin.  In  that  year  there  came  to  Canada,  among  others.  Fathers 
Charles  Laiement,  Jean  de  Brebeuf  and  Enemond  Masse,  who  were  the  first 
great  pioneers  of  the  Jesuit  order  in  America.  Brebeuf,  the  story  of  whose 
martyrdom  for  a  great  cause  thrills  us  even  at  this  far  reach  of  time, 
worked  among  the  Hurons  of  the  Georgian  bay  where  Le  Carori  had  labored 
before  him.  Within  a  few  years  of  their  arrival  in  Canada,  the  Jesuits 
were  officially  chosen  as  spiritual  managers,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
powerful  Cardinal  Richefieu,  of  that  colony  the  destinies  of  which  Champlain 
controlled  as  governor  unli!  his  death  in  1635. 

The  year  before  Champlain  died  he  sent  out  Jean  Nicolet,  a  friend  of 
the  Jesuits,  a  master  of  the  Algonquin  dialects,  and  a  man  of  great  tact  and 
influence  with  the  Indians,  to  discover  and  explore  the  great  waterway  sup- 
posed to  empty  into  the  "Great  South  Sea,"  which  should  open  a  way  to 
trading  operations  with  China  or  Cathay.  In  that  year  Jean  Nicolet,  in  a 
canoe  paddled  by  Indian  escorts,  passed  through  the  straits  of  Mackinac, 
probably  the  first  white  man  to  set  foot  upon  the  shores  of  what  is  now 
Michigan.  A  memorial  tablet,  afiixed  to  the  rocks  of  Mackinac  island,  was 
recently  unveiled,  marking  the  site  of  Nicolet  Watch  Tower,  and  inscribed, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  37 

"In  honor  of  John  Nicolet,  who  in  1634  passed  through  the  straits  of  Mack- 
inac in  a  birch  bark  canoe  and  was  the  first  white  man  to  enter  Michigan  and 
the  Okl  Northwest."  The  character  and  qualities  of  this  early  pioneer  of 
the  Great  Lakes  are  worthily  set  forth  in  words  used  on  that  occasion  by 
a  gifted  scholar  of  our  own  time,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Monsignor  Frank  A.  O'Brien, 
LL.  D.,  president  of  the  Michigan  Historical  Commission  in  1915,  who 
said  of  him:  "Nature  had  endowed  Nicolet  with  wondrous  gifts.  Grace 
had  super  naturalized  his  ambition  into  a  burning  fidelity  to  God  and  country. 
Others  were  blessed  with  great  Joyalty ;  others  enjoyed  a  greater  rank ;  but 
none  possessed  a  nobler  nature,  a  stronger  arm,  or  a  more  devoted  heart. 
He  had  the  soldier's  aspirations,  without  the  soldier's  love  of  greed.  He 
bad  the  love  of  victory,  without  the  love  of  honors  which  it  gave.  He 
yearned  for  something  great,  yet  he  felt  that  the  Old  World  would  give 
him  little  to  do.  France  had  not  been  able  to  call  his  greatness  into  action. 
He  sought  other  fields  to  increase  his  country's  glory  by  discovery.  He 
sought  to  spread  God's  kingdom.  Under  the  banner  of  the  Cross  he  went 
forward.  He  led  his  chosen  bands  through  wilds  unknown.  He  was  as 
swift  as  lightning  to  resolve  and  as  firm  as  a  rock  in  execution.  Where 
others  hesitated,  he  tjiiailed  not.  He  was  majestic,  animated,  resistless  and 
persistent.     He  did  better  than  he  knew." 

The  earliest  recorded  visit  to  the  shores  of  Michigan  after  Nicolet, 
was  made  in  1641  by  two  Jesuit  missionaries,  Charles  Raymbault  and  Isaac 
Jogues,  who  in  that  year  reached  and  named  the  Sault  de  Ste.  Marie,  and 
there  preached  the  Gospel  to  two  thousand  hospitable  Ojibways.  Father 
Raymbault  died  shortly  afterward,  a  victim  of  consumption  brought  on  by 
exposures.  Father  Jogues,  a  short  time  after  Raymbault's  death,  attempt- 
ing to  return  to  the  Sault,  was  captured  by  a  marauding  band  of  Mohawks, 
the  beginning  of  that  remarkable  series  of  captivities  and  persecutions  which 
ended  in  his  being  burned  at  the  stake. 

In  1660  Father  Rene  Menard,  another  Jesuit  missionary,  was  the  first 
white  man  to  coast  along  the  northern  shore  of  the  Upper  Peninsula,  explor- 
ing the  mysteries  of  Gitchi  Gomee,  the  "Shining  Big  Sea  Water,"  He  said, 
"i  trust  in  that  Providence  which  feeds  the  little  birds  of  the  air  and  clothes 
the  wild  flowers  of  the  desert,"  and  in  this  simple  faith  of  a  little  child  he 
tried  to  found  a  mission  among  the  Indians  on  Chaquamegon  bay.  In  the 
following  year,  while  on  a  mission  of  mercy,  he  became  lost  in  the  forest 
and  perished. 


dbyGoot^lc 


38  GENESRX    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

FIRST    MAP    OF    MICHIGAN. 

The  first  map  of  any  part  of  Michigan  was  one  made  of  the  Lake 
Superior  region,  and  the  northernmcst  parts  of  the  T^kes  Huron  and  Michr 
i^n,  a  few  years  later,  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers  Allouez  and  Marquette.  Father 
Qaude  Allouez  came  there  in  1666,  naming  the  great  northern  lake  "Lac 
Tracy  ou  Superieur,"  in  honor  of  the  viceroy  of  Canada — a  name  which 
it  bears  on  his  map.  This  map  was  remarkably  accurate  for  this  early  day. 
"When  it  is  considered,"  says  a  well  known  report  of  the  region,  "that  these 
men  were  not  engineers,  and  that  to  note  the  geographical  features  of  the 
country  formed  no  part  of  their  requirements,  this  map  may,  for  that  age. 
be  regarded  as  a  remarkable  production;  although,  occasionally,  points  are 
laid  down  half  a  degree  from  their  true  position.  The  whole  coast,  sixteen 
himdred  miles  in  extent,  as  weli  as  the  islands,  were  explored." 

The  first  accounts  of  copper  in  upper  Michigan  we  have,  are  from  the 
pen  of  Allouez.  He  writes :  "It  frequently  happens  that  pieces  of  copper 
are  found,  weighing  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds.  I  have  seen  several  such 
pieces  in  the  hands  of  the  savages;  and,  since  they  are  very  superstitious, 
they  regard  them  as  divinities,  or  as  presents  given  to  them  to  promote  their 
happiness,  by  the  gods  who  dwell  beneath  the  water.  For  this  reason,  they 
preserve  these  pieces  of  copper,  wrapped  up  with  their  most  precious  articles. 
In  some  families  they  have  been  kept  for  more  than  fifty  years;  in  others 
they  have  descended  from  time  out  of  mind,  being  cherished  as  domestic 
gods." 

Our  first  description  of  the  great  copper  mass  now  in  the  Smithsonian 
Institute  at  Washington,  is  also  from  Allouez.  "For  some  time,"  he  says, 
"there  was  seen  near  the  shore  a  large  rock  of  copper,  with  its  top  rising 
above  the  water,  which  gave  opportunities  to  those  passing  by  to  cut  pieces 
from  it ;  but  when  I  passed  that  vicinity  it  had  disappeared.  I  believe  that 
the  gales,  which  are  frequent,  like  those  of  the  sea,  had  covered  it  with  sand. 
One  savage  tried  to  persuade  me  that  it  was  a  divinity,  who  had  disap- 
peared, but  for  what  cause  he  was  unwilling  to  tell." 

The  oldest  settlement  in  Michigan  is  undoubtedly  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
Fathers  Jogues,  Raymlxiult,  Menard  and  Allouez  had  tarried  there;  its  actual 
permanent  occupation  by  white  men  began  as  early  as  1668,  with  the  arrival 
of  Fathers  Claude  Dablon  and  Jacques  Marquette,  who  founded  there  the 
first  permanent  mission  in  Michigan. 

Formal  possession  of  Michigan,  and  of  all  the  Great  Lakes  region,  in 


dbyGoot^lc 


Genesee:  coun'ty,  Michigan.  39 

the  name  of  Kraiice,  was  taken  in  1671  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  accompanied 
by  one  of  the  most  imposing  ceremonies  ever  witnessed  in  that  region.  Here 
was  gathered  a  motley  array,  representing  all  the  types  of  New  France : 
soldier,  priest,  trader  and  trapper,  the  picturesque  coureur  de  bois,  and  the 
native  red  man.  Church  and  state  stood  side  by  side.  It  was  Father 
Alloiiez,  mindful  of  his  temporal  as  well  as  his  spiritual  master,  who  pro- 
nounced upon  T.ouis  XIV  a  panegyric  the  like  of  which  was  seldom  heard 
by  the  sons  of  the  forest.  In  large  measure,  it  was  this  loyalty  of  the  church 
that  made  possible  the  extension  of  trade,  commerce  and  the  temporal 
domain  of  the  French  crown  over  the  magnificent  reaches  of  the  Great 
Lakes. 

JACQUFS    MARQI-ETTE. 

The  first  permanent  Michigan  settlement  on  waters  tributary  to  the 
lower  lakes  was  made  by  Father  Jacques  Marquette  in  1671  at  St.  Ignace. 
He  had  spent  the  winter  before  on  Mackinac  island,  with  a  band  of  Hurons, 
but  in  the  summer  they  moved  to  the  mainland.  Here  he  built  a  chapel, 
where  he  ministered  to  the  Indians  until  his  great  voyage  of  discovery  with 
Louis  Joliet  in  1673.  It  was  from  this  point  in  Michigan  that  this  great 
soul  set  forth  on  a  quest  which  was  to  give  to  the  world  its  first  real  knowl- 
edge of  the  "Father  of  Waters."  It  was  at  this  point,  a  few  years  later, 
that  his  bones  were  interred  by  the  red  natives  whom  he  loved  and  who  had 
learned  to  love  him.  It  was  in  Michigan  that  he  made  the  last  great  sacri- 
fice. The  story  of  Marquette's  death  is  thus  told  by  the  historian  Ban- 
croft: "In  sailing  from  Chicago  to  Mackinac  during  the  following  spring 
(1675),  he  entered  a  little  river  in  Michigan.  Erecting  an  altar,  he  said 
mass  after  the  rites  of  the  Catholic  church;  then  begging  the  men  who  con- 
ducted Jiis  ranoe  to  leave  him  alone  for  half  an  hour — 

'In  the  darkling  wood. 
Amid  the  cool  and  silence,  he  knelt  down, 
And  offered  to  the  Mightiest  solemn  thanks 
And  supplication.' 

"At  the  end  of  half  an  hour  they  went  to  seek  him,  and  he  was  no 
more.  The  good  missionary,  discoverer  of  a  world,  had  fallen  asleep  on 
the  margin  of  a  stream  that  bears  his  name." 

On  September  i.  1909,  the  memory  of  Father  Jacques  Marquette  was 
signally  honored,  by  loving  hands,  in  the  unveiling  of  the  Marquette  statue 
on  Mackinac  island.     On  that  occasion,  Mr.  Justice  William  R.  Day,  of  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


40  GENESO;    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  paid  this  fitting  eulogy:  "Upon  the 
statue  which  marks  Wisconsin's  tribute,  in  the  oM  Hall  of  the  House  at 
Washington,  are  these  words :  'Jacques  Marquette,  who  with  Louis  Joliet 
discovered  the  Mississippi  river  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wisconsin,  July  17, 
1673.'  Were  we  to  write  his  epitaph  today,  we  might  take  the  simple  words, 
which  at  his  own  request  mark  the  last  resting  place  of  a  great  American, 
and  write  upon  this  enduring  granite  the  summary  of  Marquette's  life  and 
character— 'He  was  faithful.'  " 

In  the  words  of  Rev.  T.  J.  Campbell:  "The  name  of  Marquette  will 
ever  be  venerated  in  America,  You  meet  it  everywhere.  There  is  a  city 
named  after  him,  and  a  county,  and  a  township,  and  a  river,  and  several 
viiJages,  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  His  Jesuit  breth- 
ren of  the  twentieth  century  have  built  a  Marquette  University  in  Milwau- 
kee, which  rejoices  in  the  possession  of  some  of  the  reUcs  that  were  given 
to  it  when  the  grave  was  opened  at  Pointe  St.  Ignace."  It  would  be  well 
for  the  youth  of  today  to  ponder  well  the  fact  that  with  all  his  great  achieve- 
ments. Marquette,  at  the  time  of  bis  death,  was  only  thirty-eight  years  old. 


After  Marquette,  the  greatest  name  among  the  explorers  of  the  Great 
Lakes  region  is  that  of  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur  tie  la  Salle.  He  was  a  native 
of  that  Normandy  which  in  early  days  bore  William  the  Conqueror.  Born 
at  Rouen  in  1643,  he  came  to  Canada  about  the  time  Marquette  first  visited 
Lake  Superior.  He  had  been  educated  by  the  Jesuits,  with  the  intention- 
of  becoming  a  priest  in  that  order.  But  his  tastes  led  him  into  business,  and 
the  discoveries  of  Marquette  and  Joliet  filled  his  mind  with  visions  of  wealth 
to  be  acquired  in  the  regions  of  the  West.  La  Salle,  like  the  rest,  was 
deluded  with  the  idea  of  reaching  China  and  the  South  Sea  by  way  of  the 
Great  Lakes.  The  point  on  the  St.  Lawrence  where  he  held  lands,  named 
by  him  La  Chine,  commemorates  this  infatuation.  La  Chine  was  to  be  his 
base  of  operations.  While  making  great  plans  for  the  immediate  future  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade,  he  studied  the  Indian  languages  and  made 
journeys  into  the  wilderness.  In  1669  he  sold  out  his  interests  at  La  Chine 
and  made  the  first  of  his  great  expeditions  westward. 

Just  ten  years  from  that  time  occurred  an  event  that  is  si^ecially  note- 
worthy in  the  career  of  La  Salle — the  voyage  of  the  "Griffin,"  a  boat  built 
under  orders  of  La  Salle  by  Henri  de  Tonti,  and  the  first  that  ever  sailed 
the  waters  of  the  Great  Lakes.     On  August  7,   1679,  this  little  vessel,  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  4I 

forty-five  tons  burden,  set  sail  from  the  mouth  of  Cayuga  creek,  just  above 
Niagara  Falls,  and  after  a  stormy  voyage  of  alxjut  a  month,  during  which  it 
encountered  heavy  storms  on  I-^ake  Huron,  anchored  in  a  sheltered  bay  at 
Pointe  St.  Ignace.  A  glimpse  of  the  scene  on  her  arrival  is  thus  given  by 
the  historian  Parkman :  "And  now  her  port  was  won,  and  she  found  her 
rest  behind  the  point  of  St.  Ignace  of  Michiliniackinac,  floating  in  that  tran- 
quil cove  where  crystal  waters  cover,  but  cannot  hide,  the  pebbly  depths 
beneath.  Before  her  rose  the  house  and  chaiiel  of  the  Jesuits,  enclosed  with 
pahsades ;  on  the  right  the  Huron  village,  with  its  bark  caWns  and  its  fence 
of  tall  pickets;  on  the  left  the  square,  compact  houses  of  the  French  traders; 
and,  not  far  off,  the  clustered  wigwams  of  an  Ottawa  village." 

Presently  La  Salle  proceeded  to  Green  bay,  Wisconsin,  where  an 
advance  party  of  his  m.en  had  collected  a  large  store  of  furs.  The  "floating 
fort,"  as  the  Mackinac  Indians  called  the  "Griffin,"  was  here  loaded  with 
furs,  and  on  September  i8  she  set  out,  homeward  bound,  with  her  cargo. 
Whether  she  again  encountered  storms,  hke  those  she  had  met  on  Saginaw 
bay  coming  north,  or  whether  she  met  her  fate  through  some  foul  play  of 
her  crew,  or  of  the  Indians,  no  one  knows.  She  was  never  heard  of  more. 
Thus  perished  the  pioneer  of  the  unnumbered  thousands  of  gallant  barks 
that,  ere  two  centuries  should  roll  away,  were  to  whiten  with  the  sails  of  a 
peaceful  commerce  all  these  mighty  inland  seas. 

Varied  and  interesting  were  the  adventures  of  La  Salle  after  he  left 
the  "Griffin."  The  one  that  concerns  ns  most  is  his  famous  "cross  country" 
trip  through  southern  Michigan,  the  first  time,  so  far  as  the  records  show, 
that  the  southern  peninsula  of  Michigan  was  ever  crossed  by  Europeans. 

La  Salle  had  gone  south  from  Green  bay,  exploring  the  Wisconsin 
shore  of  Lake  Michigan  around  past  the  site  of  Chicago  to  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Joseph  river,  in  what  is  now  Berrien  county.  There  he  and  his  men 
built  a  fort,  which  was  the  first  post  to  be  established  within  the  limits  of 
the  lower  iieninsula.  From  there  they  ascended  the  St.  Joseph  river,  to  the 
present  site  of  the  city  of  South  Bend,  Indiana.  They  visited  the  present 
La  Salle  county,  in  Illinois,  then  the  principal  center  of  the  Illinois  Indians. 
La  Salle  then  proposed  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  and  it  was  to  fit  out  his 
vessel,  which  he  built  near  the  site  of  the  present  Peoria,  that  he  made  the 
overland  trip  to  Canada  which  took  him  across  Michigan.  This  was  in  the 
spring  of  1680. 

We  have  the  account  from  La  Salle's  "Journal."  He  speaks  of  passing 
through  great  meadows  covered  with  rank  grass,  which  they  burned  in  order 
to  deceive  the  hostile  savages  who  followed  them,  as  to  their  route.     No 


dbyGoot^lc 


42  GKNESEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN. 

doubt  these  meadows  were  the  patches  of  lieautiful  prairie  land  so  attractive 
to  the  early  settlers  of  southwestern  Michigan.  Setting-  out  from  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Joseph  river,  and  taking  a  direct  line  for  the  Detroit  river. 
La  Salle  and  his  men  followed,  as  near  as  can  be  determined,  the  dividing 
ridge  between  the  St.  Joseph  and  Kalamazoo  rivers,  passing  through  the 
southern  parts  of  Kalamazoo  and  Calhoun  cotmties,  across  Prairie  Ronde 
and  Climax  prairies,  and  thence  through  Jackson  and  Washtenaw  counties, 
to  the  Huron  river.  Down  this  stream  they  floated  to  the  borders  of  Wayne 
county,  when,  finding  their  way  barred  by  fallen  trees,  they  left  their  canoes 
and  struck  across  the  country  directly  to  the  Detroit  river.  In  due  time 
La  Salle  reached  the  point  from  which  the  "Griffin"  had  first  set  sail.  For 
sixty-five  days  he  had  plodded  laboriously  through  a  wilderness  which  today 
can  be  crossed  in  a  few  hours;  but  at  that  time,  this  first  trip  across  southern 
Michigan  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  experiences  in  the  history  of  the 
peninsula. 

The  story  is  well  known  how  La  Salle,  amid  the  gloomy  forebodings  of 
his  men,  the  treachery  of  the  savages,  innumerable  personal  losses  and 
humiliations,  triumphed  over  almost  insurmountable  difficulties,  explored  the 
great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  at  length  reached  its  mouth  on  the  gulf 
nf  Mexico.  On  April  9.  1682,  amid  great  ]}omp  and  ceremony,  the  iiiies  of 
France  were  unfurled  to  the  southern  breezes  beside  the  cross  of  the  church, 
and  in  the  name  of  his  mighty  sovereign,  Louis  XIV,  La  Salle  took  possession 
of  the  vast  lands  watered  by  the  great  river;  to  them,  in  honor  of  his  royal 
master,  he  gave  the  name  Louisiana.  The  pathetic  story  of  the  faithful 
Tonti,  who  clung  to  La  Salle  in  atl  his  wanderings,  is  one  of  the  most 
stirring  romances  of  any  age  or  country;  and  the  tragic  story  of  La  Salle's 
ending,  l>asely  done  to  death  by  friends  whom  he  trusted,  forms  one  of  tlie 
saddest  tales  in  the  pioneer  annals  of  the  continent.  Only  forty-four  years 
old  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1687,  La  Salle  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  of 
his  day.  Michigan  may  well  be  proud  to  number  him  among  the  great 
souls  connected  with  her  early  discovery  and  settlement. 

RTVAI.   CENTERS  OF   INFLUENCE. 

The  two  greatest  centers  of  French  influence  in  Michigan  were  Michili- 
mackinac  and  Detroit.  Indeed,  a  strong  rivalry  existed  between  fhem  for 
control  of  the  fur  trade.  Michilimackinac,  being  the  older,  and  situated  at 
a  point  where  the  Indians  had  been  wont  for  ages  to  congregate  for  himt- 
ing  and  fishing  and  celebrating  their  religious  rites,  had  the  initial  advan- 


dbyGoot^lc 


ge;n£see  county,  Michigan.  43 

tage.  From  the  time  Marquette  founded  the  mission  at  St.  Tgnace,  in  1671, 
this  point  became  a  mart  of  trade.  A  fort  was  built  about  16S0,  to  protect 
and  foster  this  trade.  One  of  its  first  commandants  was  the  famous  coureur 
de  bois,  Daniel  Greysolon  Du  IJiut,  whose  meritorious  services  as  a  soldier 
and  explorer-the  name  of  the  city  of  Diiluth,  in  Minnesota,  commemorates. 
It  was  he  who  built  old  Fort  St.  Joseph  on  or  near  the  site  of  Fort  Gratiot, 
where  is  now  the  city  of  Port  Huron.  Another  famous  coinmandant  in 
the  earliest  annals  of  Michilimackinac  was  Nicolas  Perot,  who  succeeded 
Du  Lhut.  But  better  known  to  modern  readers  than  either  of  these,  is  the 
great  Cadillac,  the  founder  of  the  "City  of  the  Straits." 

M.  de  la  Motte  Cadillac  became  commandant  at  Mackinac  in  1694, 
In  his  time  he  declares  the  place  to  have  been  "one  of  the  largest  villages 
in  all  Canada,"  with  a  strong  fort,  and  a  garrison  of  two  hundred  soldiers. 
In  some  way,  Cadillac  had  become  convinced  of  the  need  of  an  equally 
strong  ■  fort  on  the  Detroit  river.  He  went  to  France,  and  succeeded  in 
winning  over  to  his  view  Count  Ponchartrain,  minister  for  the  colonies. 
Almost  immediately  after  his  return  to  Canada,  armed  with  the  royal  com- 
mission, he  fitted  out  an  exi>edition  to  Detroit,  where  he  arrived  on  July 
24,  1701.  A  fort  was  built  and  appropriately  named  in  honor  of  the  French 
minister,  "Fort  Ponchartrain,"  In  a  little  volume  entitled  "Cadillac's  Vil- 
lage," Mr.  C.  M.  Btirton,  of  Detroit,  historiographer  of  that  city,  has  written 
a  comprehensive,  accurate  and  very  interesting  account  of  this  event. 

Cadillac  was  not  mi.staken  in  choosing  this  site  for  a  trading  post.  It 
was  the  site  of  an  Indian  village,  Teuchsagrondie,  a  place  much  frequented 
by  the  neighboring  tribes.  Nor  were  Cadillac  and  his  followers  the  first 
white  men  there.  We  have  seen  La  Salle  there  in  the  spring  of  1680.  Still 
earlier,  Father  Hennepin,  historian  of  the  famous  voyage  of  the  "Griffin," 
and  one  of  its  passengers,  wrote,  as  he  passed  this  site:  "Those  who  will 
one  <iay  have  the  happiness  to  possess  this  fertile  and  pleasant  strait  will  be 
very  much  obliged  to  those  who  have  shown  them  the  way."  Missionaries 
and  cotirciirs  dc  bois  had  been  there  before.  Fathers  DoUiers  and  Gahnee, 
two  Sulpitian  priests,  had  passed  through  the  strait  in  the  spring  of  1670. 
They  record  that  they  found  on  the  future  site  of  Detroit  what  they  sup- 
posed was  an  Indian  god,  roughly  carved  in  stone,  which  they  piously  broke 
in  pieces  with  their  axes  and  threw  into  the  river.  It  is  even  probable  that 
there  was  a  French  fort  of  very  primitive  sort  at  Detroit  some  years  previous 
to  1701,  a  ix)st  of  the  conreurs  de  bois  not  recognized  by  the  government. 
From  statements   in  the  New   York  colonial  documents,   it   seems  to  have 


dbyGoot^lc 


44  GENESEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN. 

existed  there  as  early  as  1679.  The  place  was  probably  never  garrisoned 
by  a  regular  military  force  until  Cadillac  came. 

The  importance  of  the  post  from  a  military  point  of  view — while  this 
was  of  some  moment- — ^was  subordinate  to  its  commercial  consequence.  The 
principal  cause  of  establishing  the  post  was  to  control  the  fur  trade  of  the 
upper  Great  Lakes.  This  trade  was  placed  at  the  outset  under  the  control 
of  a  company  of  merchants  and  traders  formed  in  1701,  known  as  tlie 
"Company  of  the  Colony  of  Canada."  A  contract  was  drawn  up  which 
excluded  all  private  individuals  from  trading  in  the  country.  In  return, 
the  company  was  to  pay  six  thousand  Iivres  every  year  to  the  French  king. 

The  heart  of  Cadillac  was  in  his  new  venture  at  Detroit,  and  he  became 
alienated  from  his  old  post  at  Michilimackinac.  Trade  rivalries  led  to  some 
bitterness.  The  establishment  of  a  mission  at  Detroit  was  a  part  of  Cadillac's 
general  plan.  He  aimed  to  gather  all  the  Indians  of  the  Great  Lakes  region 
around  his  new  post  and  mission  at  Detroit.  But  Father  Marest,  one  of 
the  greatest  of  the  successors  of  Marquette  at  St.  Ignace,  was  determined 
that  Michihmackinac  should  not  lose  its  prestige  and  influence  with  the  red 
men.  Cadillac,  notwithstanding,  succeeded  in  persuading  a  great  number  of 
the  Michigan  Indians  to  come  to  Detroit.  For  many  years  the  fur  trade 
largely  centered  there.  So  desperate  did  the  situation  become  at  Mackinac 
that  the  mission  was  temporarily  abandoned. 

From  that  time  until  the  close  of  the  French  regime  in  1763,  the  history 
of  Michigan  was  comparatively  uneventful.  The  post  at  Mackinac  was 
restored,  but  it  was  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  straits,  near  the  site  of 
the  present  Mackinaw  City.  The  restored  mission  was  established  some 
miles  along  the  shore  to  the  west,  at  L'Arbre  Croche  among  the  Ottawas. 
Many  of  the  Indians  who  had  gone  with  Cadillac  returned  to  the  straits  of 
Mackinac  after  his  departure  from  Detroit,  in  171 1.  Yet  Detroit  continued 
to  be  the  important  center  of  the  fur  trade  for  the  lower  peninsula  of  Mich- 
igan. The  first  settlements  in  the  present  states  south  of  the  Great  Lakes 
were  made  from  Detroit.  It  was  destined  to  be  for  many  years  the  chief 
center  of  the  fur  trade  for  all  the  country  now  occupied  by  the  states  of 
Indiana  and  Illinois  and  portions  of  Ohio  and  Wisconsin. 

MICIIKIAN   UNDER   THE  BRITISH. 

In  1760,  Michigan  and  the  whole  country  which  is  now  known  as 
British  America  was  lost  to  the  F>ench  and  came  under  the  dominion  of 
Great  Britain.     War  broke  out  between  the  French  and  British  colonies  in 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  45 

North  America  in  1754,  but  the  change  did  not  seriously  disturb  the  posts 
in  the  Great  Lakes  region  until  the  year  1763.  Detroit  and  Mackinac  had 
received  Enf^lish  garrisons  in  1760,  without  resistance  either  from  the 
French  or  the  Indians.  It  was  fondly  beheved  by  the  EngHsh  government, 
as  well  as  bv  tlie  American  colonists  in  these  parts,  that  this  meant  an  era 
of  peace  and  prosperity  for  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes.  But  the  calm 
was  of  short  duration.  A  storm  was  brewing  in  the  breast  of  the  great 
chief,  Pontiac. 

The  treatment  accorded  the  Indians  by  the  British  was  very  dift'erent 
from  what  they  had  been  accustomed  to  receive  from  the  French.  The 
French  alwavs  paid  the  Indians  proper  respect  and  deference.  The  British, 
on  the  contrary,  began  almost  immediately  to  thrust  them  aside  and  to  treat 
them  as  dependents  and  vagabonds.  The  British  continually  encroached 
on  the  Indian  hunting  grounds.  Complaints  began  to  be  heard,  which  grew 
louder,  stimulated  no  doubt  by  the  active  sympathy  of  the  French  traders 
on  the  borders  of  Michigan. 

PONTIAC'S   CONSPIRACY. 

Tlie  year  of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  176,3,  was  fixed  upon  by  Pontiac  for 
a  supreme  attempt  to  hurl  back  the  tide  of  English  conquest  and  settlement. 
"Pontiac,"  says  Cooley,  "was  one  of  those  rare  characters  among  the  Indians 
whose  merits  are  so  transcendent  that,  without  the  aid  of  adventitious  cir- 
cumstances, they  take  by  common  consent  the  headship  in  peace  and  the 
leadership  in  war.  In  battle  he  had  shown  his  courage;  in  council,  his 
eloquence  and  his  wisdom;  he  was  wary  in  planning  and  indefatigable  in 
execution;  his  patriotism  was  ardent  and  his  ambition  boimdless  and  he 
was  at  this  time  in  all  the  region  between  the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio  and 
the  distant  Mississippi,  the  most  conspicuous  figure  among  the  savage  tribes, 
and  the  predestined  leader  in  any  undertaking  which  should  enlist  the  gen- 
eral interest.  Of  the  Ottawas  he  was  the  principal  chief,  and  he  made  his 
home  at  their  village  opposite  and  a  little  above  Detroit,  with  a  summer 
residence  In  I.-ake  St.  Clair.  But  he  was  also  chief  of  a  loose  confederacy 
of  the  Ottawas,  Ojibways  and  Pottawatomies,  and  his  influence  extended  far 
beyond  those  tribes,  and  placed  him  above  rivalry  in  all  the  lake  region  and 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio."  With  the  fires  of  discontent  smouldering  every- 
where, nothing  was  needed  but  the  breath  of  his  bold  and  daring  spirit  to 
blow  them  into  flames. 

Pontiac  carefully  laid  his  plans,     A  "Prophet"  arose,  who,  like  Peter 


dbyGoot^lc 


46  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

the  Hermit,  preached  a  crusade  against  the  enemies  of  his  people  and 
wrought  up  the  savages  to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement  and  enthusiasm. 
By  every  means,  Pontiac  worked  upon  the  credulity  of  the  Indians  a?  to 
the  weakness  of  the  English  and  the  power  of  the  great  French  king,  who, 
said  Pontiac,  liad  been  asleep,  but  was  now  awaking  for  a  terrible  vengeance 
upon  their  common  foes.  With  the  savages  banded  together  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  to  the  northern  wilds  of  the  Ottawas  (for  a  war  of 
extermination),  Pontiac  planned  to  strike  at  the  same  moment  every  English 
post  from  the  Niagara  to  the  straits  of  Mackinac. 

Upon  the  unsuspecting  garrison  at  Mackinac,  the  premeditated  b!ow 
fell  Hke  a  bolt  of  thunder  from  a  clear  sky.  The  capture  of  this  indis- 
pensable post  was  entrusted  by  Pontiac  to  the  Ojibway  chieftain,  Mih-neh- 
weh-na.  The  date  set  was  June  4,  the  birthday  of  King  George  of  Eng- 
land. The  stratagem  was  worthy  of  Ulysses — a  game  of  ball  called  by  tJie 
Indians  bagattiway,  by  means  of  which  the  Indians  were  enabled  to  assemble 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  fort  to  celebrate  the  King's  birthday. 
According  to  the  Ojibway  historian,  Warren,  this  game  is  played  with  a 
bat  about  four  feet  long,  and  a  wooden  ball.  The  bat  terminates  at  one 
end  in  a  circular  curve,  which  is  netted  with  leather  strings,  and  forms  a 
cavity  where  the  ball  is  caught,  carried  and,  if  necessary,  thrown  with  great 
force  to  treble  the  distance  that  it  can  be  thrown  by  hand.  Two  posts  are 
planted  at  the  distance  of  about  half  a  mile.  Each  party  had  its  particular 
post,  and  the  game  consisted  in  carrying,  or  throwing,  the  ball  in  the  bat  to 
the  post  of  the  adversary.  At  the  commencement  of  the  game  the  two 
parties  collected  midway  between  the  two  posts.  The  ball  was  thrown  up 
into  the  air  and  the  competition  for  its  possession  began  in  earnest.  It  was 
the  wildest  game  known  among  the  Indians,  played  in  full  feathers  and 
ornaments,  and  with  the  greatest  excitement  and  vehemence.  The  great 
object  was  to  get  the  ball.  During  the  heat  of  the  excitement  no  obstacle 
was  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  getting  at  it.  Should  it  fall  over  a  high 
inclosure,  the  wall  would  he  immediately  surmounted,  or  torn  down  if  need- 
ful, and  the  ball  recovered.  The  game  was  well  adapted  to  carry  out  the 
scheme  of  the  Indians,  During  its  progress  they  managed  to  send  the  hall 
over  the  stockade  and  into  the  fort.  The  soldiers  were  mostly  off  duty,  it 
being  a  holiday,  and  were  watching  the  game,  when  suddenly  the  fort  was 
tilled  with  savages,  the  war-whoop  resounded,  and  grasping  from  under 
the  blankets  of  the  Indian  women  the  shortened  guns,  tomahawks  and  knives 
which  they  had  concealed,  the  massacre  commenced.     Tn  an  incredibly  short 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  47 

lime  the  garrison  were  butchered,  nearly  to  a  man,  and  the  post  was  in 
possession  of  the  Indians. 

Had  not  an  Ojibway  maiden's  love  for  Major  Gladwin,  who  commanded 
the  fort  at  Detroit,  led  her  to  reveal  to  him  Pontiac's  secret  plan,  that  post 
would  probably  have  shared  the  fate  that  befell  Mackinac.  Pontiac's  plan 
was  to  get  all  his  warriors  in  readiness  and  have  them  distributed  around 
the  fort,  while  he,  with  sixty  of  his  chiefs  should  enter  the  fort  all  armed 
with  sawed-ofF  rifles  which  could  be  concealed  under  their  blankets.  They 
were  to  come  upon  pretense  of  holding  a  council  with  Major  Gladwin  and 
to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the  English.  Gladwin  was  ready.  When 
the  chiefs  were  at  length  seated  on  the  mats,  Pontiac  rose  and,  holding  in 
his  hand  the  belt  of  wampum  with  which  he  was  to  have  given  the  signal  of 
massacre,  commenced  a  speech  cunningly  devised  and  full  of  flattery.  He 
professed  the  most  profound  friendship  for  the  Enghsh  and  declared  he 
had  come  for  the  express  purpose  of  smoking  the  pipe  of  peace.  Once  he 
seemed  about  to  give  the  signal,  when  Gladwin  made  a  sign  with  his  hand 
and  instantly  there  was  the  clash  of  arms  without,  the  drums  rolled  a  charge, 
and  every  man's  hand  was  on  his  weapons.  Pontiac  was  astounded.  He 
caught  the  firm,  unflinching  look  on  Gladwin's  face,  and  at  length  sat  down 
in  great  perplexity. 

Major  Gladwin  made  a  brief  and  pointed  reply.  He  assured  the  chief 
that  he  should  be  treated  as  a  friend  so  long  as  he  deserved  it,  but  the  first 
atteni]>t  at  treachery  would  be  paid  for  in  blood.  The  council  broke  up. 
The  gates  were  opened  and  the  baffled  and  disconcerted  savage  and  his  fol- 
lowers were  suffered  to  depart.  Pontiac  plainly  saw  tliat  his  treachery  was 
anticipated,  but  bore  himself  with  most  consummate  tact.  Withdrawing  to 
his  village,  lie  took  counsel  with  his  chiefs. 

Once  more  Pontiac  tried  diplomacy.  On  the  morning  of  May  9,  the 
common  about  the  fort  was  thronged  with  a  great  concourse  of  Ojibways, 
Ottawas,  Pottawatomies  and  Hurons.  Soon  the  stately  form  of  Pontiac 
was  seen  approaching  the  gate.  The  gate  was  closed.  He  demanded 
entrance.  Gladwin  replied  that  he  could  enter,  but  his  followers  must  remain 
without.  In  a  rage,  Pontiac  withdrew  to  where  his  swarming  followers 
were  lying  flat  on  the  ground  just  beyond  gunshot  range.  Instantly  the 
whole  plain  became  dark  with  savages,  running,  whooping,  screeching,  and 
soon  the  scalp  halloo  told  the  bloody  fate  of  the  settlers  outside  the  fort 
whom  their  fury  could  reach.  Pontiac  took  no  part  personally  in  these  out- 
rages, but  rapidly  completed  plans  for  a  protracted  siege  of  the  fort. 

A  direct  attack  on   the   fort,   made   shortly   afterwards,   was   repulsed. 


dbyGoot^lc 


4^  GENliSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

niui  Gladwin  seems  to  have  felt  that  this  would  be  the  end.  He  was  in  need 
of  provisions  and  thought  that  he  could  at  least  safely  try  negotiations. 
Pontiac  instantly  saw  his  op|X)rttinity ;  he  assumed  such  an  honest  counten- 
ance and  played  the  game  with  such  tact  that,  while  planning  the  deepest 
treachery,  he  succeeded  in  getting  to  his  camp  the  person  of  Major  Camp- 
bell, who,  before  Major  Gladwin,  had  held  command  at  the  fort  since  the 
country  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Rritish.  His  life  was  to  be  made 
an  equivalent  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort;  from  that  lion's  den  Major 
Campbell  never  returned.  In  spite  of  Pontiac's  efforts  to  protect  him,  he 
was  a  few  days  later  treacherously  murdered. 

For  weeks  the  siege  continued.  Both  sides  were  in  sore  straits  for 
provisions  and  both  were  looking  for  reinforcements,  A  force  sent  from 
Niagara  to  relieve  the  fort  was  cut  to  pieces  on  the  way  by  the  Indians,  and 
the  supplies  captured.  News  was  received  of  the  massacre  at  Sandusky. 
A  schooner  sent  out  by  Major  Gladwin  for  supplies  made  a  successful  return, 
and  heartened  the  little  garrison  with  a  welcome  supply  of  men,  arms  and 
munitions,  and  with  news  of  the  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, by  which  the  Canadian  possessions,  including  Detroit,  were  ceded  to 
the  latter.  Pontiac  refused  to  Ijelieve  the  news  of  the  peace  and  persuaded 
his  followers  that  it  was  a  mere  invention  of  the  English  in  the  fort  to 
defeat  them.  He  renewed  the  siege  with  vigor.  But  passage  of  time  with- 
out achievement  began  to  tell  on  the  spirit  of  the  savages,  A  portion  of 
them  began  to  grow  weary.     The  siege  began  to  drag. 

In  the  meantime,  a  strong  reinforcement  under  command  of  Captain 
Dalzell,  was  on  the  way  from  Niagara  to  aid  the  fort,  and  with  him  a  detach- 
ment of  rangers  under  the  famous  Major  Robert  Rogers.  On  his  arrival. 
Captain  Dalzell  and  Major  Gladwin  held  a  conference,  in  which  the  Major 
was  reluctantly  persuaded  by  the  impetuous  Dalzell  to  try  to  surprise  the 
Indians  by  a  night  sally.  Pontiac  was  a  past-master,  however,  in  strategems. 
At  a  small  stream,  called  then  Parent's  creek,  but  since  that  fatal  night 
named  "Bloody  Rim,"  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  of  the  fort's  detach- 
ment were  ambushed  by  Pontiac  with  a  band  of  five  hundred  chosen  war- 
riors, and  ail  but  annihilated.  Among  the  slain  was  Captain  Dalzell.  The 
immediate  result  was  to  inspirit  the  Indians,  who  were  joined  by  large  rein- 
forcements. Elsewhere  on  the  frontier  a  greater  degree  of  success  had 
attended  the  plans  of  Pontiac.  Fort  St.  Joseph,  on  the  St.  Joseph  river, 
had  been  taken  in  May.     Mackinac  had  fallen  an  easy  prey  to  the  northern 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENFSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  49 

Ojilnva,ys  in  June.  The  forts  at  Green  bay,  on  the  Mauniee  river,  on  the 
Wabash  and  at  Presqnc  Isle,  had  been  captured.  The  Indians,  under  the 
genius  of  Pontiac,  had  concerted  their  actions  in  a  well-nigh  universal 
crusade  against  the  English,  which  bade  fair  to  be  successful.  They  yet 
lacked  complete  success  at  Forts  Pitt,  Niagara  and  Detroit. 

A  gleam  of  hope  shot  through  the  darkness  when  the  gallant  Col.  Henry 
Bouquet,  defeating  the  Indians  in  a  desperate  and  bloody  battle,  relieved 
Fort  Pitt.  The  Indians  about  Detroit  heard  of  great  preparations  to  send 
a  strong  force  against  them;  notwithstanding  their  successes,  they  now  began 
to  waver  and  to  despair  of  taking  the  fort.  The  Indians  were  glad  for  a 
truce,  and  under  its  cover  Major  Gladwin  laid  in  a  supply  of  provisions  for 
the  winter.  Only  the  Ottawas  continued  to  prosecute  the  siege,  with  petty 
skirmishing.  The  final  blow  to  the  hopes  of  Pontiac  was  the  receipt  of 
advice  from  M.  Neyon,  the  French  commander  at  Fort  Chartres,  in  the 
Illinois  country,  that  the  Indians  had  better  abandon  the  war  and  go  home. 
Pontiac  had  cherished  the  forlorn  hope  that  the  French  would  yet  recover 
the  country  from  the  English.  In  great  rage  he  now  withdrew  to  the 
Maumee,  determined  on  a  renewal  of  hostilities  in  the  spring.  But  in  the 
spring  a  great  council  was  held  by  Sir  William  Johnson  at  Niagara,  attended 
by  an  immense  concourse  of  Indians  from  all  the  western  country.  A 
treaty  was  concluded,  presents  were  lavishly  distributed,  especially  among 
the  leaders,  and  the  war  virtually  ended.  On  July  23,  1766,  Pontiac  met 
Sir  Wiiiiam  Johnson  at  Oswego  and  signed  a  definite  treaty  of  peace,  along 
with  deputies  from  most  of  the  western  nations  then  living  east  of  the 
Mississippi.  A  few  years  later,  in  1769,  the  great  Ottawa  chieftain  was 
treacherously  assassinated  by  a  member  of  one  of  the  tribes  of  the  IlHnois 
Indians, 

ACTIVITY   IN    THE    FUR    TRADE. 

After  the  failure  of  Pontiac's  schemes,  until  the  War  of  1812,  things 
were  comparatively  quiet  on  the  Michigan  frontier.  The  English  sought  to 
conciliate  both  the  Indians  and  the  French.  The  fur-trade  was  prosecuted 
with  new  vigor.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  formed  in  1700,  now 
extended  its  sway  towards  the  Great  Lakes.  Mackinac  island  became  a 
center  of  this  trade  on  the  upper  lakes,  the  fort  having  been  removed  thither 
from  the  south  side  of  the  straits  during  the  Revolution.  Mackinac  was 
one  of  the  main  posts  of  the  Northwest  Company,  where  the  peltries  were 

(4) 


dbyGoc^lc 


50  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

received  which  had  been  collected  from  the  forests  and  streams  of  the  north, 
and  were  packed  and  shipped  to  England  by  way  of  Montreal.  The  story 
of  the  fur  trade  on  the  Michigan  frontier  in  this  period  is  the  story  of 
bitter  rivairy  between  these  companies  for  supremacy,  which  continued  even 
after  the  Northwest  Company  transferred  a  large  part  of  its  Michigan  trade 
to  the  American  Fur  Company,  organized  by  John  Jacob  Astor.  The  Mich- 
igan fur  trade,  centering  at  Mackinac  and  Detroit,  was  destined  to  thrive 
rmder  Aster's  company  for  many  years  after  the  Great  Lakes  region  had 
passed  forever  from  the  control  of  Great  Britain.  The  historian,  Lanman, 
has  given  a  picturesque  view  of  scenes  at  Mackinac  as  they  were  just  before 
the  War  of  1812: 

"Even  as  late  as  1812,"  he  says,  "the  island  of  Mackinac,  the  most 
romantic  point  on  the  lakes,  which  rises  from  the  watery  realm  like  an 
altar  of  a  river  god,  was  the  central  mart  of  the  traffic,  as  old  Michilimack- 
inac  had  been  for  a  century  before.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  it  was 
made  a  rendezvous  for  the  numerous  classes  connected  with  the  traffic.  At 
those  seasons,  the  transparent  waters  around  this  beautiful  island  were 
studded  with  the  canoes  of  the  Indians  and  traders.  Here  might  be  found 
the  merry  Canadian  voyagcw,  with  his  muscular  figure  strengthened  by  the 
hardships  of  the  wilderness,  bartering  for  trinkets  at  the  various  booths 
scattered  along  its  banks.  The  Indian  warrior,  bedecked  with  the  most  fan- 
tastic ornaments,  embroidered  moccasins  and  silver  armlets;  the  North- 
westers, armed  with  dirks^the  iron  men  who  had  grappled  with  the  grizzly 
bear  and  endured  the  hard  fare  of  the  north;  and  the  Southwester  also  put 
in  his  claims  to  deference.  It  was  a  trade  abounding  in  the  severest  hard- 
ships and  the  most  hazardous  enterprises.  This  was  the  most  glorious  epoch 
of  mercantile  enterprise  in  the  forest  of  the  Northwest,  when  its  half-savage 
dominion  stretched  upon  the  lakes  for  a  hundred  years  over  regions  large 
enough  for  empires,  making  barbarism  contribute  to  civilization." 

During  the  Revolution.  Detroit  was  the  military  headquarters  of  the 
British  in  Michigan.  Sir  Henry  Hamilton  was  in  command  there  from 
1774  to  1779,  when  he  was  captured  at  Vincennes  by  George  Rogers  Clark. 
In  1780,  Mackinac  island  was  fortified,  and  strongly  garrisoned,  through 
fear  that  .Detroit  might  now  be  captured  by  the  American  patriots  and  the 
Indians  be  tempted  to  repeat  the  tragedy  that  befell  Old  Mackinac  in  1763. 
The  fort,  built  on  a  high  cliff  that  overlooked  the  village,  occupied  a  position 
which  protected  it  from  surprise  and  assault  by  the  Indians.  Reminiscent 
of  the  glory  of  this  historic  island  region,  Mrs.  Stewart  writes: 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  5 1 

"Like  Detroit,  Michilimackinac  has  been  the  theater  of  many  a  bloody- 
tragedy.  Its  posses-sion  has  been  disputed  by  powerful  nations,  and  its 
internal  peace  has  continually  been  made  the  sport  of  Indian  treachery  and 
of  the  white  man's  dnphcity.  Today,  chanting  Te  Deums  beneath  the  ample 
folds  of  the  fleur-de-lis,  tomorrow  yielding  to  the  power  of  the  British  lion, 
and,  a  few  years  later,  listening  to  the  exultant  screams  of  the  American 
eagle,  as  the  stars  and  stripes  float  over  the  battlements  on  the  'isle  of  the 
dancing  spirits.'  As  a  military  post  in  time  of  war,  the  possession  of 
Michilimackinac  is  invaluable;  but  as  a  commercial  mart,  now  that  the 
aboriginal  tribes  have  passed  away,  the  location  is  of  Httle  consequence. 

"In  these  later  days,  to  the  invalid  and  the  pleasure-seeker,  the  salubrity 
of  the  pure  atmosphere,  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  the  historical  reminiscences 
which  render  it  classic  groimd,  and  the  many  wild  traditions,  peopling  each 
rock  and  glen  with  spectra!  habitants,  combine  to  throw,  around  Michili- 
mackinac an  interest  and  attractiveness  unequalled  by  any  other  spot  on  the 
Western  Continent." 

THE    NORTHWKST    TERRITOSY. 

By  the  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  In 
1783,  Michigan  became  a  part  of  the  United  States;  but  for  various  reasons 
the  British  forces  did  not  evacuate  Mackinac  and  Detroit.  However,  on  the 
theory  that  the  transfer  of  territory  would  prove  permanent,  the  American 
congress  organized  a  government  for  a  vast  western  territory,  including 
Michigan,  imder  the  famous  Ordinance  of  1787.  This  area  was  called  the 
Northwest  Territory,  out  of  which  have  been  carved  the  states  of  Ohio, 
Indiana.  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin;  its  first  governor  was  General 
Arthur  St.  Clair,  a  veteran  officer  of  the  American  Revolution.  The  Ordin- 
ance of  1787  gave  to  Governor  St.  Clair  wide  powers.  Settlers  would 
want  assurance  that  they  would  be  adequately  protected  in  the  western 
country,  before  they  would  leave  their  homes  in  the  Eastern  states.  His 
government  was  strongly  centralized,  and  he  was  able  to  act  vigorously 
under  the  supervision  of  the  national  government.  Of  Governor  St.  Clair, 
an  able  lawyer  of  that  time  has  left  the  following  estimate: 

"During  the  continuance  of  the  first  grade  of  that  imperfect  govern- 
ment, he  enjoyed  the  respect  and  confidence  of  every  class  of  the  [jeople. 
He  was  plain  and  simple  in  his  dress  and  equipage,  oi>en  and  frank  in  his 
manners,  and  accessible  to  jjiersons  of  every  rank.     *     *     *     fhe  governor 


dbyGoot^lc 


52  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

was  unquestionably  a  man  of  superior  talents,  of  extensive  information, 
and  of  great  uprightness  of  purpose,  as  well  as  suavity  of  manners.  His 
general  course,  though  in  the  main  correct,  was  in  some  respects  injurious 
to  his  own  popularity;  but  it  was  the  result  of  an  honest  exercise  of  his 
judgment.  He  not  only  believed  that  the  power  he  claimed  belonged  legiti- 
mately to  the  executive,  but  was  convinced  that  the  manner  in  which  he 
exercised  it  was  imposed  upon  him  as  a  duty,  by  the  ordinance,  and  was 
calculated  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  the  territory." 

One  of  the  most  important  events  of  Michigan  history  while  St.  Clair 
was  governor,  was  the  Indian  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795.  In  1790-91 
the  confederated  triljes  south  of  Michigan  inflicted  defeats  upon  Generals 
Harmer  and  St.  Clair,  but,  in  1794,  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  at  the  "Fallen 
Timbers,"  or  Maumee  Rapids,  gave  the  combined  Indian  tribes  of  the 
Northwest  a  bloody  defeat.  This  brought  the  savages  to  terms,  and  in 
August,  1795,  General  Wayne  executed  a  treaty  with  them,  at  Greenville, 
Ohio,  in  which,  among  other  sections,  certain  lands  about  the  posts  at  De- 
troit and  Mackinac  were  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  meantime,  John  Jay  had  negotiated  a  treaty  with  England,  in 
which  it  was  stipulated  that  on  or  before  June  i,  1796,  the  British  garrisons 
should  be  withdrawn  from  all  the  northwestern  posts;  and  it  was  done. 
The  American  flag  floated  over  Detroit  for  the  first  time  July  li,  1796.  In 
September  the  county  of  Wayne  was  organized,  including  within  its  limits 
portions  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Wisconsin.  Detroit,  which  contained 
at  that  time  about  three  hundred  houses,  was  the  capital. 

In  1800  the  Northwest  Territory  was  divided,  by  a  north  and  south 
line,  a  part  of  which  is  now  the  boundary  between  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and 
which,  extending  north  to  the  boundary  of  the  United  States,  cut  Michigan 
in  two  halves.  The  western  half  was  included  In  the  new  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, and  when,  in  1803,  Ohio  became  a  state,  the  whole  of  the  lower  penin- 
sula of  Michigan  became  a  part  of  the  new  territory.  Of  William  Henry 
Harrison,  its  governor,  it  is  said:  "He  was  a  product  of  the  West,  and 
was  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  western  ideas  and  institutions.  He  had 
served  with  distinction  under  St.  Clair  and  Wayne,  and  was  well  trained  in 
the  methods  of  Indian  warfare.  As  secretary  of  the  Northwest  Territory 
toward  the  latter  part  of  St.  Clair's  administration,  and  as  delegate  to  Con- 
gress from  that  territory,  Harrison  had  gained  much  valuable  experience  in 
the  management  of  territorial  affairs.  Energetic  and  courageous  and  at  the 
same  time  prudent  in  his  undertakings,  he  resembled  St,  Clair  in  the  strict 
honestv  with  which  be  administered  the  duties  of  his  office." 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


MICHIGAN  TERRITORY. 


On  June  30,  1S05,  Michigan  became  a  separate  territory.  Gen.  Will- 
iam HuH,  a  veteran  officer  of  the  Revolution,  was  appointed  governor,  and 
it  was  during  his  term  that  the  War  of  1812  broke  out.  From  the  very 
beginning,  the  period  of  his  rule  was  filled  with  trouble.  In  the  very  year 
of  his  arrival  in  Detroit  a  great  fire  completely  destroyed  the  village  and 
post.  This  had  its  good  side,  for  subsequently  the  town  was  laid  out  on  a 
greatly  enlarged  and  improved  plan;  but  temporarily  the  people  suffered 
great  hardships.  7'he  governor  was  also  hampered  by  interminable  bick- 
erings among  the  territorial  officials.  From  1807  on,  it  was  evident  that 
the  Indians  meant  mischief.  They  complained  that  they  had  signed  treaties 
without  understanding  them.  In  1807  Governor  Hull  negotiated  a  treaty 
with  them,  by  which  they  ceded  lands  as  far  west  as  the  principal  meridian 
running  through  the  present  counties  of  Hillsdale,  Jackson,  Ingham  and 
Shiawassee,  to  a  point  near  Owosso,  and  thence  northeast  to  White  Rock, 
on  Lake  Huron.  But  fear  of  the  Indians  kept  the  lands  from  being  sur- 
veyed, and  settlers  were  not  disposed  to  go  inland  out  of  easy  hailing  dis- 
tance from  the  fort  at  Detroit.  The  Indians  were  doubtless  influenced 
somewhat  by  the  fur  traders  of  the  Northwest  Company,  whose  interests 
required  that  the  country  should  remain  a  wilderness,  and  the  British  dis- 
tributed guns  and  ammunition  and  other  presents  with  a  lavish  hand. 


It  came  about  that  gradually  a  union  of  the  Indians  was  effected,  some- 
what after  the  model  of  that  of  the  famous  Pontiac.  Its  moving  spirit  was 
Tecumseh,  a  Shawnee  chief,  whose  home  was  on  the  upper  Wabash.  In 
l8ri.  Gen.  Wiliiani  Henry  Harrison  checked  the  movement  temporarily  by 
a  disastrous  defeat  of  Tecumseh  at  Tippecanoe.  But  when,  on  June  18, 
1812,  war  was  declared  by  the  United  States  against  Great  Britain,  the 
western  Indians  rallied  to  the  cause  of  the  British. 

Governor  Hull  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  on  the 
Michigan  frontier.  His  troops  were  eager  that  he  should  at  once  make  a 
bold  offensive  and  capture  Maiden,  but  he  would  not,  and  in  July  General 
Proctor,  commander  of  the  British  advance,  reached  Maiden  and  imme- 
diately began  operations  to  cut  off  Hull's  communications  and  isolate  his 


dbyGoot^lc 


54  GENtSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

army.     In  August,  Genera!  Brock,   the  British  commander-in-chief,  a  most 
efficient  and  daring  officer,  arrived,  and  prei>ared  to  take  Detroit. 

In  the  meantime,  on  July  17,  Lieut.  Porter  Hanks,  commanding  at 
Mackinac,  having  received  no  word  of  the  declaration  of  war,  was  sur- 
prised and  was  compelled  to  surrender  at  discretion  the  fort  and  his  whole 
garrison.  This  was  a  disheartening  blow  to  Hull  and  doubtless  influenced 
his  subsequent  course.  Moreover,  General  Dearborn,  who  commanded  the 
American  forces  at  Niagara,  had  concluded  an  armistice,  enabling  the  Brit- 
ish forces  there  to  concentrate  against  Detroit.  Believing  that  Detroit  could 
not  be  held,  and  that  it  would  be  a  wanton  sacrifice  of  his  men  to  attempt 
to  hold  it,  Hull  surrendered,  August  16,  to  Brock.  Almost  at  the  same  time 
the  garrison  at  Fort  Dearborn,  where  is  now  Chicago,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Heald,  in  acting  on  orders  from  Hull  to  evacuate  that  fort,  was  waylaid  ' 
and  massacred  by  the  Indians.  Disaster  on  the  Michigan  frontier  seemed 
complete.  General  Hull  was  afterwards  court-mai^ialed  and  sentenced  to 
be  shot,  but,  in  view  of  his  advanced  age  and  his  distinguished  services 
during  the  Revolution,  the  President  pardoned  him.  Since  then  Hull  has 
had  vigorous  defenders.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  today,  viewed  in  the 
sober  light  of  all  the  facts,  there  are  a  few  historians  who  are  inclined  to 
regard  his  action  as  wise,  but  the  majority  do  not  share  this  view. 

Regarding  Hull's  government  of  Michigan  Territory,  Cooley  writes : 
"He  had  all  his  life  lived  in  the  smiles  of  public  favor  and  his  domestic  and 
social  relations  were  agreeable;  and  had  he  been  made  the  executive  of  a 
staid  and  orderly  commonwealth,  with  associates  in  government  of  similar 
characteristics,  his  administration  might  have  been  altogether  popular  and 
successful.  But  in  Michigan  he  found  uncongenial  people  all  about  him, 
and  it  soon  appeared  that  he  was  somewhat  lacking  in  the  persistent  self- 
assertion  necessary  to  make  the  rough  characters  of  a  backwoods  settlement 
recognize  and  accept  the  fact  that  within  the  proper  limits  of  his  authority 
he  proposed  to  be  and  would  be  ruler  and  master."  In  private  life  his 
record  was  honorable  and  withovit  a  stain. 

One  of  the  most  lamentable  events  on  Michigan  soil  during  this  war 
occurred  in  1813,  in  Frenchtown,  now  Monroe,  At  that  place,  on  January 
22,  General  Winchester  was  attacked  by  a  consolidated  force  of  British  and 
Indians  under  General  Proctor.  Overwhelmed  by  the  onset,  Winchester 
was  induced  to  surrender  by  promises  of  honorable  treatment;  but  in  spite 
of  Proctor's  promises,  the  Indians  committed,  on  the  following  day,  a  most 
inhuman  massacre  of  prisoners.     Barely  forty  men  survived  out  of  a  com- 


dbyGoot^lc 


CKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  55 

mand  of  about  eight  hundred.  A  large  part  of  the  force  were  Kentuckians. 
Following  their  fall,  there  ensued  scenes  of  plundering,  murdering  and  bar- 
barities too  horrible  to  mention.  The  confusion,  misery  and  fear  caused 
by  the  massacre  of  settlers  in  the  Raisin  valley  continued  long  after  the 
war. 

With  Commodore  Perrj''s  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  September  lo,  1813, 
and  the  complete  route  of  the  British  and  Indians  under  Proctor  and 
Tecumseh  by  Harrison,  on  October  5,  the  war,  so  far  as  Michigan  was 
concerned,  came  to  an  end.  On  October  13,  1813,  Lewis  Cass  was  apijointed 
governor  of  Michigan  territory,  under  whose  able  administration  Michigan 
began  a  new  career. 

LEWIS    CAS-S. 

Gen.  Lewis  Ca.ss  was  a  native  of  Exeter,  Xew  Hampshire.  His  father 
fought  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Lewis  was  educated  in  Exeter  Aca- 
demy and  was  eariy  schooled  in  the  principles  and  traditions  of  New  Eng- 
land. In  early  life  his  i>arents  moved  with  him  to  Marietta,  Ohio,  where 
he  grew  up  and  became  a  lawyer,  and  a  memljer  of  the  Ohio  Legislature. 
President  Jefferson  appointed  him  United  States  marshal  for  the  district  of 
Ohio,  in  1807,  a  position  he  held  until  he  sought  service  in  the  War  of  1812. 
In  1S13  he  was  made  a  brigadier-general  under  Harrison,  and  at  the  close 
of  the  war  the  qualities  he  had  displayed  marked  him  out  as  the  Ijest  choice 
for  governor  of  Michigan  territory. 

From  1813  to  1831,  when  he  became  a  member  of  President  Jackson's 
cabinet,  Cass  devoted  his  great  energies  to  promoting  the  settlement  of 
Michigan.  According  to  one  historian:  "The  number  of  white  inhabitants 
of  the  territory  when  Cass  became  governor  of  it,  was  scarcely  six  thou- 
sand. No  land  had  Ijeen  sold  by  the  United  States  and  the  interior  was  a 
vast  wilderness,  the  abode,  it  was  estimated,  of  forty  thousand  savages. 
Settlers  could  not  obtain  sure  titles  to  their  locations.  No  surveys  had  lieen 
made.  No  roads  had  been  opened  inland.  The  savages  were  relentless  in 
their  hostility  to  the  whites.  Under  these  circumstances,  Cass  assumed  the 
responsibilities  of  governor  and  ex-officio  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs. 
For  eighteen  years  his  management  of  Indian  affairs  was  governed  by  re- 
markable wisdom  and  prudence.  He  negotiated  twenty-two  distinct  treaties, 
securing  the  cession  to  the  United  States  by  the  various  tribes  of  the  im- 
mense regions  of  the  Northwest,  instituted  surveys,  constructed  roads,  estab- 
lished military  works,  buih  hght-hotises.  organized  counties  and  townships. 


dbyGoot^lc 


56  GRNESr.E    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

and,  in  short,  created  and  set  in  motion  all  the  machinery  of  civiSized  gov- 
ernment." 

Professor  McLaughlin  writes,  in  his  "Life  of  Lewis  Cass" :  "The  great 
factor  of  his  successful  administration  was  honesty.  But  fair,  honorable 
dealings  with  the  Indians  was  a  rare  virtue,  and  in  this  he  never  faltered. 
He  was  wont  to  say  in  after  years  that  he  never  broke  his  word  to  an 
Indian  and  never  exj>ected  to  find  that  the  red  man  had  broken  his.  Every 
exertion  was  made  to  have  the  funds  and  the  allowances  ready  on  the  day 
they  had  been  promised.  Promptness  and  boldness  in  action,  a  firm  self- 
reliance,  a  presumption  that  the  power  of  the  United  States  was  mighty  and 
would  be  obeyed,  appealed  to  the  Indian  sense  of  awe  and  reverence.  The 
respect,  and  even  affection,  which  the  Indian  had  for  the  Great  Father  at 
Detroit,  was  often  manifest,  and  once  felt,  was  not  forgotten.  Twelve 
years  after  his  appointment  as  governor,  while  on  a  trip  through  southern 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  with  gentle  reproof  he  took  from  the  necks  of 
Indian  chieftains  their  British  medals,  and  placed  in  their  stead  a  miniature 
of  their  great  and  mighty  'Father  at  Washington'."  In  concluding.  Profes- 
sor McLaughlin  says:  "The  name  of  Lewis  Cass  will  not  be  written  in  the 
future  with  those  of  the  few  men  whose  inHuence  is  everywhere  discernible, 
and  who  perpetuate  themselves  in  institutions  and  in  national  tendencies. 
He  was  not  a  Washington,  nor  a  Lincoln,  nor  a  John  Quincy  Adams.  But 
he  was  a  great  American  statesman,  building  up  and  Americanizing  an  im- 
portant section  of  his  country,  struggling  in  places  of  trust  for  the  recogni- 
tion of  American  dignity  and  for  the  development  of  generous  nationalism. 
With  the  great  slavery  contest  his  name  is  inseparably  connected.  He  stood 
with  Webster  and  Clay  for  union,  for  conciliation,  for  the  Constitution  as 
it  seemed  to  be  established.  He  was  one  of  those  men  whose  broad  love  of 
country  and  pride  in  her  greatness,  however  exaggerated,  however  absurd 
it  may  seem  in  these  days  of  cynical  self-restraint,  lifted  her  from  colonial- 
ism to  national  dignity  and  imjxied  the  people  with  a  sense  of  their  power." 

No  greater 'testimony  could  be  given  of  the  merits  of  Lewis  Cass  than 
that,  after  almost  a  century  of  the  test  of  time,  the  people  of  Michigan 
should  erect  in  honor  of  his  work,  and  in  tribute  to  the  man,  a  memorial 
such  as  was  recently  placed  to  his  memory  on  Mackinac  island.  On  this 
beautiful  column  of  bronze,  accompanying  a  life-like  portrait  of  Cass,  is 
this  inscription: 


dbyGoot^lc 


GFNESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  57 

Cass  Cliff 

NiNiietl  by  the 

Mk'liigiui  Hislorical   CoiimitsKfou 

and 

JliK-kiUiic   IsliiiKl   Stiite   I'nrk   Comniission 

ill  Lonoi-  of 

LEWIS    CASS, 

Teacber,  lawyei-,  explorer, 

Soldier,   diplomat,    statesiiDiu    . 

Bom,  October  9tli,  1782. 

Died,   June  17th,  ISCC. 

Appointed  by  President  Tboniiis   JefEerson 

U.   S.  Mnrshal  for  the  District  of  Ohio,  1807-1811. 

Brigadier-General,  1813. 

Governor  of  Michigan  Territoi-j*.  1813-1831. 

Secretary   of  War  in   President 

Andrew  Jackson's  Cabinet.   1831-1836. 

Minister  to  France,  1836-1842. 

United  States  Senator  from  Michigan.  1845-1818;  1S40-1857. 

Secretary  of  State,  1SC7-1860. 

He  explored  the  countiy  from  the  Great 
Lakes  to  the  Mlsslsslpiil  Rlvei'  and 
jSTegotiated  with  the  Indian  tribes  jnst 
Treaties.     His  fair  and  generous  treatment 
Accorded  to  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest 
Secured  to  the  Peninsular  State  its 
Peaceful  settlement  and  continued  prosperity. 

Erected  1015  by 

The  Citizens  of  Sliclilgan 

In  grateful  appreciation  of 

His  distinguished  and  patriotic  services 

To  his  Country   and  State. 

It  would  be  hard  to  exaggerate  the  greatness  of  the  task  which  con- 
fronted Cass  at  the  beginning  of  his  long  career  as  governor  of  Michigan 
territory.  For  at  least  two  years  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812,  Michi- 
gan was  prostrate  from  its  effects.  The  French  on  the  River  Raisin  were 
destitute.  Near  Detroit  the  settlers  were  almost  as  badly  off.  Cass  worked 
with  untiring  vigilance  to  relieve  their  distress,  calling  in  the  national  aid. 
Added  to  his  other  troubles,  the  Indians  pillaged  and  murdered  where  force 
was  not  present  to  restrain  them. 

One  of  his  greatest  problems  was  to  convert  the  French  settlements, 
destitute,  defenseless,  foreign  and  slow,  into  prosperous  and  progressive 
American  communities.  Their  material  distress  was  first  attended  to.  In 
1813  Cass  secured  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  from  the  government 


dbyGoot^lc 


5o  <;kneki-:e  county,  michican. 

to  distribute  among  them,  which  he  spent  mainly  in  flour  for  the  River 
Raisin  settlers.  But  he  saw  clearly  the  need  of  American  enterprise  and 
skill  to  mix  with  these  colonists,  from  which  they  might  learn  something 
of  that  providence  and  energy  needed  to  push  back  the  frontier  which 
hemmed  the  French  in  to  the  river  banks.  To  attract  Eastern  settlers,  lands 
must  be  surveyed  and  offered  for  sale  on  easy  terms ;  and  here  he  was  ham- 
pered by  no  small  difficulty. 

In  1812  Congress  had  provided  that  two  million  acres  of  government 
lands  should  be  surveyed  in  Michigan,  to  be  set  apart  as  bounty  lands  for 
the  soldiers  of  the  war.  On  an  alleged  examination,  the  surveyors  reported 
that  there  were  scarcely  any  lands  in  Michigan  fit  for  cultivation.  Accord- 
ing to  the  official  report  of  Juhvard  Tiffin,  surveyor-general  for  the  North- 
west : 

"The  country  on  the  Indiana  boundary  line  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Auglaize  river,  and  running  thence  north  for  about  fifty  miles,  is 
(with  some  few  exceptions)  low,  wet  land,  with  a  very  thick  growth  of 
underbrush,  intermixed  with  very  bad  marshes,  but  generally  very  heavily 
tim1}ered  with  beech,  cottonwood,  oak,  etc.;  thence  contimiing  north,  and 
extending  from  the  Indian  boundary  eastward,  the  number  and  extent  of 
the  swamps  increases,  with  the  addition  of  numbers  of  lakes,  from  twenty 
chains  to  two  and  three  miles  across. 

"Many  of  the  lakes  have  extensive  margins,  sometimes  thickly  covered 
with  a  species  of  pine  called  'Tamarack,'  and  in  other  places  covered  with  a 
coarse,  high  grass,  and  uniformly  covered  from  six  inches  to  three  feet  (and 
more  at  times)  with  water.  The  margins  of  these  lakes  are  not  the  only 
places  where  swamps  are  found,  for  they  are  interspersed  throughout  the 
whole  country,  and  filled  with  water,  as  above  stated,  and  varying  in  extent. 

"The  intermediate  space  between  these  swamps  and  lakes— which  is 
probably  near  one-half  of  the  country— is,  with  very  few  exceptions,  a  poor, 
barren,  sandy  land,  on  which  .scarcely  any  vegetation  grows,  except  very 
small,  scrubby  oaks. 

"In  many  places  that  part  which  may  be  called  dry  land  is  composed  of 
little,  short  sand-hills,  forming  a  kind  of  deep  basin,  the  bottoms  of  many 
of  which  are  composed  of  marsh  similar  to  the  above  described.  The  streams 
are  generally  narrow  and  very  deep  compared  with  their  width,  the  shores 
and  bottoms  of  which  are  (with  very  few  exceptions)  swampy  beyond 
description;  and  it  is  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  a  place  can  be  found 
over  which  horses  can  be  conveyed  in  safety. 

"A  circumstance  peculiar  to  that  country  is  exhibited  in  many  of  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  59 

marshes,  by  their  being'  thinly  covered  with  a  sward  of  grass,  by  walking 
on  which  evinces  the  existence  of  water,  or  a  very  thin  mud,  immediately 
under  their  covering,  which  sinks  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  under  the 
pressure  of  the  foot  at  every  step,  and  at  the  same  time  rises  Ijefore  and 
behind  the  person  passing  over  it.  The  margins  of  many  of  the  lakes  and 
streams  are  in  a  similar  condition  and  in  many  places  are  literally  afloat. 
On  approaching  the  eastern  part  of  the  military  lands,  towards  the  private 
claims  on  the  straits  and  lake,  the  -country  does  not  contain  so  many  swamps 
and  lakes,  but  the  extreme  sterility  and  barrenness  of  the  soil  continue  the 
same. 

"Taking  the  country  altogether,  so  far  as  has  l>een  explored,  and  to  all 
appearances,  together  with  information  received  concerning  the  balance,  it 
is  so  bad  there  would  not  be  more  than  one  acre  out  of  a  hundred,  if  there 
would  be  one  out  of  a  thousand,  that  would  in  any  case  admit  of  cultiva- 
tion," 

Of  course  Congress  had  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  conditions  were 
other  than  as  reported.  In  i8i6.a  new  law  was  passed,  which  provided 
for  locating  the  two  million  acres  of  bounty  lands  partly  in  Illinois  and 
partly  in  Missouri,  This,  apparently,  was  an  official  condemnation  of  Michi- 
gan lands  by  the  national  government,  an  action  which  became  widely 
known  in  the  East,  through  the  newspapers.  The  common  belief  grew  up 
that  the  interior  of  ^Michigan  was  a  vast  swamp  that  might  well  be  aban- 
doned to  fur-bearing  animals  and  the  trappers  and  hunters.  School  geo- 
graphies based  on  Tiffin's  report  contained  maps  of  Michigan  with  "Inter- 
minable swamps"  printed  across  the  interior  of  Michigan  territory.  The 
effect  was  to  deter  many  from  seeking  homes  in  Michigan  who  under  a 
more  fai'orable  report  would  have  filled  up  the  country  rapidly.  Instead  of 
Michigan,  the  rival  state  of  Illinois  and  the  lands  south  of  Michigan  re- 
ceived the  first  great  immigrations  from  the  Eastern  states. 

Besides  this  gross  ignorance  of  Michigan  lands  in  the  East,  due  to 
misrepresentations,  Cass  had  to  contend  with  the  natural  distrust  and  dread 
of  the  Indians,  who  had  so  lately  been  allies  of  the  British,  and  stories  of 
whose  horrible  atrocities,  with  no  lack  of  fanciful  coloring,  had  reached 
Eastern  ears.  Not  only  was  the  presence  of  the  Indians  a  deterrent  to 
immigration  and  disquieting  to  the  settlers,  but  they  still  held  title  to  most 
of  the  Michigan  lands.  To  deal  with  this  problem,  C*iss  was  made  superin- 
tendent of  Indian  affairs  for  the  Northwest,  and  gave  early  attention  to 
extinguishing  the  Indian  titles,  as  a  first  step  to  the  removal  of  the  Indians 
from  the  Great  Lakes  region.     A  grand  council  of  the  Chippewas  and  Otta- 


dbyGoot^lc 


60  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

was  was  held  in  1819  at  the  site  of  Saginaw,  where  a  treaty  was  signed,  by 
which  one  hundred  and  fourteen  chiefs  and  principal  sachems  ceded  to  the 
United  States  a  tract  of  country  estimated  to  include  about  six  million 
acres.  According  to  the  words  of  the  treaty,  the  boundaries  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Beginning'  at  a  point  in  the  present  Indian  boundary  line  (identical 
with  the  principal  meridian  of  Michigan),  which  runs  due  north  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Auglaize  river,  six  miles  south  of  the  place  where  the 
base  line,  so-called,  intersects  the  same;  thence  west  sixty  miles;  thence  in  a 
direct  line  to  the  head  of  Thunder  Bay  river;  thence  down  the  same,  follow- 
ing the  course  thereof,  to  the  mouth,  thence  northeast  to  the  boundar}^  line 
between  the  United  States  and  the  British  province  of  Upper  Canada;  thence 
with  the  same  to  the  line  established  by  the  treaty  of  Detroit,  in  the  year 
1807;  and  thence  with  the  said  line  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

This  treaty  is  Imown  as  the  Treaty  of  Saginaw.  In  1821  Governor 
Cass  and  Hon.  Solomon  Sibley,  who  was  associated  with  him  as  United 
States  Indian  commissioner,  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Ojibways,  Ottawas 
and  Pottawatomies  on  the  site'of  Chicago,  which  has  since  been  known  as 
the  Treaty  of  Chicago.  The  boundaries  of  the  lands  ceded  by  this  treaty 
included  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  square  miles  in  southwestern 
Michigan. 

The  year  before  a  cession  of  land  was  secured  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
Cass  was  on  his  way  to  explore  the  northern  and  western  portions  of  the 
territory,  and  with  him  \\as  a  considerable  party,  including  Henry  R.  School- 
craft, as  geoiogist.  He  had  determined  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the 
Indians;  to  explain  to  them  that  their  visits  to  the  British  in  Canada  for 
presents  must  be  discontinued,  and,  among  other  things,  to  investigate  the 
copper  region  and  make  himself  familiar  with  the  facts  concerning  the  fur 
trade.  An  incident  occurred  in  the  council  at  the  Sault  that  was  thoroughly 
characteristic  of  the  personal  coolness  and  courage  of  Governor  Cass  in  his 
dealings  with  the  Indians.  In  a  disagreement  that  arose,  the  Indians  be- 
came threatening.  At  the  close  of  an  animated  discussion,  one  of  the  chiefs, 
a  brigadier  in  the  British  service,  drew  his  war  lance  and  struck  it  furiously 
in  the  ground.  He  kicked  away  the  American  presents  and  in  that  spirit 
the  council  was  dispersed.  In  a  few  moments  the  British  flag  was  flying 
over  the  Indian  camp.  Cass  at  once  ordered  his  men  under  arms.  Pro- 
ceeding to  the  lodge  of  the  chief  who  had  raised  the  flag,  he  took  it  down, 
telling  him  that  no  such  insult  could  be  permitted  on  American  soil.  He 
said  he  was  the  Indians'  friend,  but  that  the  flag  was  a  symbol  of  national 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSJCE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  6l 

power,  and  that  only  the  American  flag  could  float  above  the  soil  of  his  and 
their  country.  If  they  attempted  to  raise  any  other  "the  United  States 
would  set  a  strong  foot  upon  their  necks  and  crush  them  to  the  earth." 
The  boldness  of  the  governor  had  the  intended  effect;  soon  after  this,  a 
treaty  of  cession  was  peaceably  concluded.  The  expedition  continued  along 
the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  whence  they  crossed  southward  to  the 
Mississippi  river  and  thence  up  the  \Visconsin  to  Green  bay.  The  return 
to  Detroit  was  made  by  way  of  Chicago  and  the  Indian  trail  through  south- 
ern Michigan,  thus  giving  to  men  dose  to  the  national  government  a  first- 
hand knowledge  of  the  country  misrepresented  by  the  early  surveyors. 

Cass  now  pushed  forward  the  new  surveys,  which  he  had  already  in- 
duced the  government  to  undertake  as  early  as  1816.  By  1818  they  had 
progressed  so  far  that  a  land  office  was  established  at  Detroit  and  sales  were 
begun.  In  1820  the  best  of  Michigan's  lands  then  on  sale  could  be  bought 
for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  and  the  way  was  open  for  any 
prudent  and  industrious  man  to  make  a  moderate  home  for  his  family. 
Immigration  gradually  scattered  settlers  through  the  Michigan  forests.  The 
plow  began  the  task  of  achieving  the  victories  of  peace.  The  settlers  found, 
instead  of  "innumerable  swamps,''  a  fertile,  dry  and  undulating  soil,  clothed 
with  richest  verdure,  crossed  by  clear  and  rapid  streams  and  studded  with 
lakes  abounding  with  fish.  In  the  clearings  of  the  forest,  the  cosy  log  hut 
of  the  pioneer  soon  curled  its  smoke  to  the  heavens  from  the  banks  of  lake 
and  stream,  where  children  played  and  men  and  women  toiled,  and  rested 
after  toil;  and  among  the  stumps  and  felled  trunks  of  the  trees,  little  patches 
of  new  wheat  basked  in  the  sun  like  green  islands  amid  the  vast  and  magni- 
ficent ocean  of  wilderness. 

STEAM   TH.\NSrOUT.\TION    ON    LAND    AND    WATP:R. 

Immigration  to  .Michigan  was  much  helped  at  this  time  by  the  beginning 
of  steam  transportation  on  the  Great  Lakes.  The  da\'  of  the  steamboat  was 
dawning.  In  the  same  year  with  the  first  land  sales  at  Detroit,  "Walk-in- 
the- Water,"  named  after  a  Wyandot  chief,  made  her  first  appearance  (1S18) 
and  was  hailed  as  the  harbinger  of  a  new  era.  In  1819  she  made  a  trip  to 
Mackinac  Island,  a  voyage  if  not  so  famous  as  that  of  the  "Griffin"  more 
than  a  hundred  years  before,  was  yet  one  looked  upon  generally  with  much 
curio.sity,  and  associated  in  the  Eastern  newspapers  with  reference  to  the 
"Argosy''  and  the  search  for  the  golden  fleece.  She  ran  with  some  regular- 
it\'  between  Buffalo  and  Detroit,  until  she  went  ashore  in  a  storm  on  Lake 


dbyGoot^lc 


62  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Erie  in  1821.  A  number  of  boats  quickly  succeeded  her,  and  by  the  end  of 
the  territorial  period  a  thousand  passengers  daily  were  landing  from  lake 
steamers  at  the  port  of  Detroit, 

Contributory  to  the  strength  of  this  immigration  to  Michigan  was  the 
Erie  canal.  In  1825  this  great  "ditch"  opened  an  all-water  route  from  the 
Great  I..akes  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Combined  with  the  steamboats  on  the 
lakes  the  canal  gave  cheap  and  easy  transportation  for  settlers  and  their 
merchandise  from  the  great  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Union  to  the  doors 
of  the  new  territory. 

This  fresh  impetus  to  immigration  made  a  demand  for  roads  to  the 
interior.  At  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812  there  were  no  good  roads  any- 
where in  the  territory.  While  the  war  had  taught  the  need  of  roads  to 
connect  Detroit  with  the  Ohio  valley  and  with  Chicago,  it  was  now  seen 
that  immigration  would  also  be  greatly  helped  by  a  road  around  the  west 
end  of  Lake  Erie,  Cass  appealed  to  the  general  government  for  aid  and 
his  call  was  liberally  responded  to.  Congress  provided  for  the  construction 
of  a  road  from  Detroit  to  Chicago  to  Fort  Gratiot,  and  to  Saginaw  bay.  A 
road  was  also  projected  from  Detroit  to  the  mouth  of  Grand  river.  Before 
the  close  of  the  territorial  period,  these  roads  were  well  advanced. 

With  better  roads,  a  bountiful  soil  and  an  increasing  poixilation,  little 
centers  of  interior  settlement  began  to  crystalize.  Villages  sprang  up  at 
Pontiac,  Romeo,  Ann  Arbor,  Ypsilanti,  Tecumseh,  Adrian,  Jackson,  Battle 
Creek,  Kalamazoo,  White  Pigeon,  St.  Joseph,  Grand  Rapids,  Flint  and 
Saginaw.  All  of  these  settlements  were  on  important  roads  and  rivers  of 
Michigan. 

In  1S30  the  population  of  Michigan  was  31,6,^0.  In  the  four  years 
following  it  had  more  than  doubled,  reaching  87,273.  From  then  to  the 
end  of  the  decade  it  went  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds,  mounting  in  1840 
to  212,267.  The  prime  secret  of  this  great  immigration  was  the  improved 
means  of  transportation.     In  the  words  of  one  historian: 

"Michigan  as  well  as  the  other  Western  states  owe  in  fact  their  unex- 
ampled growth  more  to  mechanical  philosophy  acting  on  interna!  improve- 
ment, than  to  any  other  cause.  What  stupendous  consequences  does  Ameri- 
can mechanical  philosophy,  the  characterizing  feature  of  the  present  age, 
exhibit  throughout  the  country?  The  railroad,  the  canal,  the  steamboat,  the 
thousand  modes  and  powers  by  which  machinery  is  proijelled,  how  vastly 
has  it  augmented  the  sum  of  human  strength  and  human  happiness.  What 
glorious  prospects  does  it  open  before  us  ?  It  has  bound  together  the  wealth 
of  the  north  and  the  south,  the  east  and  the  west,  the  ocean  and  the  lakes. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  63 

as  a  sheaf  uf  wheat;  and  urged  forward  the  progress  of  improvement  in 
mighty  strides.  Pouring  its  milhons  into  the  wilderness,  it  has  sent  forth, 
not  serfs,  but  hardy,  practical,  enterprising  men,  the  founders  of  empires, 
who  have  finished  the  work  of  erecting  states  hefore  the  wolf  and  the 
panther  have  fled  from  their  dens.  Bestriding  the  lakes  and  the  streams 
which  discharge  their  waters  through  the  Mississippi,  it  has  studded  them 
with  hundreds  of  floating  palaces,  to  conquer  winds,  waves  and  tides.  In  a 
single  day  it  lives  almost  a  century.  More  powerful  than  Xerxes  when  he 
threw  manacles  into  the  Hellespont,  it  has  claimed  the  current  of  rivers  by 
the  dam,  the  millrace  and  the  water  wheel,  and  made  them  its  slave.  It  has 
almost  nullified  S]>ace,  by  enabling  us  to  rush  across  its  surface  like  the 
wind,  and  prolonged  time,  by  the  speed  with  which  we  can  accomplish  our 
ends.  It  can  do  the  work  of  innumerable  armies  and  navies  in  war  and  in 
peace.  It  has  constructed  railroads  across  the  mountains  and,  in  the  sublime 
language  of  another,  'the  backs  of  the  AUeghanies  have  bowed  down  like 
camels'." 

Under  the  administration  of  Governor  Cass,  a  steady  advance  was 
made  in  local  and  territorial  self-government.  Cass  was  a  democrat,  in 
the  broadest  sense  of  the  word,  iDelieving  thoroughly  in  the  rule  of  the  peo- 
ple, by  the  people  and  for  the  people.  Even  at  the  exi>ense  of  curtailing  his 
own  powers,  he  consistently  advocated  a  larger  measure  of  government  by 
the  people.  Population  had  so  increased  by  1S19  that  Michigan  was  allowed 
a  delegate  in  Congress.  William  Woodbridge,  the  first  delegate,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Solomon  Sibley  and  he.  in  turn,  by  the  beloved  Father  Richard. 
Under  the  influence  of  Cass,  Michigan  advanced  a  step  in  popular  govern- 
ment by  the  transfer  of  legislative  power  from  the  governor  and  judges 
to  the  governor  and  a  council  of  nine,  to  be  selected  from  eighteen  chosen 
by  the  people.  In  1827  the  people  were  given  exclusive  power  to  choose  the 
councilmen. 

Governor  Cass  was  a  firm  Miever  in  jiopular  education.  "Of  all  pur- 
poses," he  declared,  "to  which  a  revenue  derived  from  the  people  can  be 
applied  under  a  government  emanating  from  the  people,  there  is  none  more 
interesting  in  itself,  nor  more  important  in  its  effects,  than  the  maintenance 
of  a  public  and  general  course  of  moral  and  mental  discipline.  Many  repub- 
lics have  preceded  us  in  the  progress  of  human  society;  but  they  have  dis- 
appeared, leaving  liehind  them  little  besides  the  history  of  their  follies  and 
dissensions  to  serve  as  a  warning  to  their  successors  in  the  career  of  self- 
government.  Unless  the  foundation  of  such  governments  is  laid  in  the 
virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  community,  they  must  be  swept  away  by  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


64  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

first  commotion  to  which  poJitical  circumstances  may  give  birth.  Whenever 
education  is  dilYused  among  the  people  generally,  they  will  appreciate  the 
value  of  free  institutions;  and  as  they  have  the  power,  so  must  they  have 
the  will  to  maintain  them.  It  appears  to  me  that  a  plan  may  be  devised 
which  will  not  press  too  heavily  upon  the  means  of  the  country,  and  which 
will  insure  a  competent  portion  of  education  to  all  youth  in  the  territory." 
These  views  seem  commonplace  enough  today,  hut  at  the  time  they  were 
uttered,  they  M'ere  on  the  frontier  of  educational  thinking.  Under  his 
influence  legi.'^lation  was  secured  to  enforce  these  practical  propositions. 

One  of  Cass's  strongest  supporters  in  educating  the  people  was  Father 
Richard,  who,  in  1809,  brought  to  Michigan  from  Baltimore  the  first  print- 
ing press  used  west  of  the  AUeghanies.  One  of  the  first  things  published 
was  the  "Cass  Code,"  as  it  was  popularly  called,  a  sort  of  abstract  of  the  laws 
then  in  force  in  the  territory.  In  1817  was  founded  the  Detroit  Gazette, 
and  the  day  of  the  newspaper  in  Michigan  had  dawned.  Other  papers  fol- 
lowed, in  Ann  Arbor,  Monroe  and  Pontiac. 

Throughout  his  administration  Governor  Cass  sought  by  every  means 
in  his  power  to  strengthen  the  foundation  of  Michigan's  prosperity.  He 
found  it  weak  from  the  throes  of  war  and  left  it  strong.  His  was  a  solid 
and  discriminating  judgment,  of  which  the  young  commonwealth  stood  most 
in  need.  Discreet,  sagacious,  prudent,  politic,  he  sought  always  the  good  of 
Michigan.  A  soldier,  educator  and  statesman,  he  gave  freely  the  best  that 
was  in  him.  A  contemporary  has  said,  "It  can  he  affirmed  safely  that  the 
present  prosperity  of  Michigan  is  now  more  indebted  to  Governor  Cass  than 
to  any  other  man,  living  or  dead."  The  verdict  of  the  passing  years  is  re- 
flected in  the  language  of  judge  Cooley,  in  his  "Michigan,"  in  which  he 
says,  "Permanent  American  settlement  may  be  said  to  have  begun  with  him, 
and  it  was  a  great  and  lasting  boon  to  Michigan  when  it  was  given  a  gov- 
ernor at  once  so  able,  so  patriotic,  so  attentive  to  his  duties,  and  so  worthy 
in  his  public  and  private  life  of  respect  and  esteem." 

A    PERIOD    OF    RAPID    GROWTH. 

The  six  remaining  years  of  the  territorial  period,  after  Cass's  entrance 
into  Jackson's  cabinet,  were  years  of  unprecedented  growth  in  Michigan's 
population  and  general  development.  In  1832  the  question  of  statehood 
began  to  be  agitated,  but  untoward  events  drew  away  attention  for  the 
moment.  The  western  Indians  had  risen  under  Black  Hawk,  and  spread 
terror  even  into  Michigan.     The  same  year  an  epidemic  of  Asiatic  cholera 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  65 

broke  out,  the  ravages  of  which  were  so  severe  as  nearly  to  paralyze  all 
activities.  A  second  attack  occurred  in  1834,  which  carried  away  Governor 
Porter,  the  successor  of  Cass.  Meanwhile  a  negro  riot  in  Detroit,  due  to 
an  attempt  to  return  two  fugitive  slaves  to  their  Southern  masters,  broke 
out  in  183,3  'infl  threatened  to  assume  alarming  proportions. 

In  1835,  with  the  tremendous  impulse  given  to  immigration  by  the  re- 
newed interest  in  Michigan  lands,  a  decisive  step  in  advance  was  taken.  The 
territorial  census  of  the  preceding  year  showed  a  population  of  87,278, 
nearly  thirty  thousand  more  people  than  were  required  under  the  Ordinance 
of  1787  for  admission  to  the  Union.  In  April  of  that  year  members  to  a 
constitutional  convention  were  elected,  who,  in  May,  met  at  Detroit  and 
adopted  a  constitution,  which  was  approved  by  the  people  at  an  election  in 
October. 

THE  "TOLEDO    WAR." 

The  people  conceived  tJiat  they  had  a  right,  under  the  Ordinance  of 
1787,  to  have  the  southern  boundary  of  Michigan  fixed  at  a  line  drawn  due 
east  from  the  southernmost  bend  of  Lake  Michigan.  This  right  was  dis- 
puted by  Ohio,  which  had  Ijeen  a  state  since  1803.  Indiana  and  Illinois  were 
also  interested  adversely  to  Michigan's  claim,  since  this  would  cut  off  a 
northern  strip  of  territory  which  they  had  come  to  look  upon  as  belonging 
to  them.  Toledo  was  the  real  object  of  the  controversy  which  ensued,  and 
it  is  often  therefore  called  the  "Toledo  War."  Toledo,  then  as  now  an  im- 
portant post  on  Lake  Erie,  was  in  the  disputed  strip  of  land  claimed  by 
Ohio  and  Michigan.  The  dispute  grew  so  bitter  that  both  Governor  Lucas, 
of  Ohio,  and  Acting-Governor  Stevens  T.  Mason,  of  Michigan,  called  out 
the  militia  on  each  side  to  enforce  the  respective  claims.  The  question  had 
also  a  i>ractical  national  aspect.  Tlie  President,  Andrew  Jackson,  who  saw 
on  one  side  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  with  votes  in  the  electoral  college, 
and  a  Territory  with  no  vote  at  all  on  the  other,  was  between  duty  and  a 
strong  temptation.  As  John  Quincy  Adams  said,  "Never  in  the  course  of 
my  life  have  I  known  a  controversy  of  which  all  the  right  was  so  clearly  on 
one  side,  and  all  the  power  so  overwhelmingly  on  the  other;  never  a  case 
where  the  temptation  was  so  intense  to  take  the  strongest  side,  and  the  duty 
of  taking  the  weakest  was  so  thankless." 

In  October,  1835,  the  same  month  in  which  the  state  constitution  was 
adopted,  the  people  of  Michigan  elected  a  complete  set  of  officials  for  the 
new  state  government.  Stevens  T.  Mason  was  elected  governor.  Isaac  E. 
(5) 


dbyGoc^lc 


66  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Crary  was  elected  to  Congress.  The  Legislature  met  and  elected  Lucius 
Lyon  and  John  Norvell  United  States  senators.  Michigan  now  had  two 
governments.  The  territorial  government  was  recognized  by  the  President 
and  Congress:  the  state  government  was  recogriized  by  the  people  of  Michi- 
gan. Ultimately,  Michigan's  view  prevailed,  except  in  relation  to  the  south- 
ern boundary.  The  President  and  Congress  would  not  yield  on  that  point. 
The  people  of  Michigan  did  not,  in  fact,  yield,  until  they  were  com- 
mitted by  a  convention  falsely  purporting  to  represent  them.  This  convention, 
which  met  at  Ann  Arbor,  December  6,  1836,  accepted  the  proposition  of 
Congress  that  Michigan  should  lie  admitted  to  the  Union  if  it  would  relin- 
quish all  claim  to  the  disputed  strip  of  land  on  the  south,  and  accept  instead 
certain  lands  bordering  on  Lake  Superior — lands  now  known  as  the  Upper 
Peninsula  of  Michigan.  Michigan  technically  became  a  state  in  the  Union 
on  January  26,  1837.  It  is  very  significant,  however,  that  the  constitution 
adopted  in  1835  was  tacitly  accepted  by  Congress  without  a  change,  and 
without  being  re-adopted ;  that  the  officers  then  chosen  continued  in  office 
without  re-election  and  th.it  the  representative  elected  to  Congress  was  seated 
without  re-election. 

DETKOIT    IN    1837. 

At  the  time  Michigan  was  admitted  to  the  Union,  conditions  of  life  in 
the  new  state  were  still  very  primitive.  The  French-Canadians  were  still 
an  appreciable  element  in  the  population.  French  farms  still  clustered  about 
the  mouths  of  the  rivers  and  along  the  shore  north  and  south  of  Detroit. 
One  of  the  strongest  centers  was  still  Detroit.  "Detroit  in  this  year  1S37," 
says  Cooley,  "had  become  a  considerable  town,  having  now  perhaps  eight 
thousand  people.  Old  wind-mills,  upon  which  the  people  formerly  relied  for 
the  grinding  of  cereals,  were  coming  now  to  be  disused,  though  some  were 
still  standing.  The  noble  river  in  front  of  the  town  offered,  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year,  many  inducements  to  sports  and  festivities,  of  which  all  classes 
of  the  people  were  eager  to  avail  themselves.  In  the  winter,  when  frozen 
over,  it  became  the  principal  highway  and  was  gay  with  the  swift-going 
vehicles.  A  narrow  box  upon  runners,  wide  apart,  made  the  common  sleigh, 
and  the  ponies,  sometimes  driven  tandem,  seemed  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
racing  almost  as  much  as  their  masters.  When  there  was  no  snow,  the  little 
cart  was  the  common  vehicle  of  land  carriage  for  all  classes  of  the  people; 
ladies  went  in  it  to  church  and  to  parties,  and  made  fashionable  calls,  being 
seated  on  a  buffalo  robe  spread  on  the  bottom,  and  they  were  backed  up  to 
the  door  at  which  they  wished  to  alight  and  stepped  upon  the  threshold  from 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  6/ 

it.  Now  and  then  there  was  a  family  which  had  a  caleche,  a  single  carriage 
with  the  body  hung  upon  heavy  leathern  straps,  with  a  small,  low  seat  in 
front  for  the  driver,  and  with  a  folding  top  to  be  raised  in  sun  or  rain. 
But  the  cart  was  a  convenience  which  all  classes  could  enjoy  and  appreciate, 
and  it  was  especially  adapted  to  a  town  like  Detroit,  which  was  built  upon  a 
clay  bank  and  had  as  yet  neither  sidewalk  nor  pavement. 

"Many  Scotch,  with  a  fondness  for  making  money,  were  among  the 
business  men  of  Detroit,  and  they  had  a  shrewd  knack  at  doing  so.  There 
were  also  some  Irish  and  some  English,  but  the  major  part  of  the  people 
who  were  not  French  were  of  American  birth.  Among  those  were. now 
being  established — what  in  fact  had  existed  before,  though  not  in  much 
strength — societies  for  literary  culture  and  enjoyment.  One  of  them  was 
the  Detroit  Young  Men's  Society,  which  for  twenty  years  was  to  be  an  im- 
portant institution  in  the  town  and  the  training  school  of  governors,  sena- 
tors and  judges.  At  the  barracks,  though  there  was  none  now,  there  would 
shortly  be  a  small  military  force  to  preserve  peace  on  the  frontier,  and  the 
officers  and  their  famiHes  would  constitute  an  important  and  valuable  addi- 
tion to  the  society  of  the  place  at  all  times." 

Such  was  Detroit  when  Michigan  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  These 
conditions  throw  some  light  upon  what  may  be  expected  for  other  parts  of 
the  new  state.  Outside  of  Detroit,  the  largest  centers  of  population  were 
Monroe,  Ann  Arlior,  Marshall,  Tecumseh,  Pontiac  and  Adrian,  all  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  and  all  mere  villages  of  very  primitive  life.  Most 
of  the  people  were  small  farmers,  of  New  England  descent,  but  immediately 
from  New  York  and  Ohio.  Life  was  hard.  Rude  cabins,  hard  labor  and 
chills  and  fever  were  the  common  lot  of  all.  Of  meats,  salt  pork  was  the 
staple,  but  all  had  wheat  or  corn  bread  and  potatoes.  Wild  fruits  and  wild 
game  were  abundant  and  wild  honey  and  maple  sugar  were  much  prized. 
Clothing  was  made  of  coarse  home-made  cloth.  One  of  the  great  incon- 
veniences was  the  lack  of  mills.  Primitive  grist-mills  and  saw-mills  began 
to  make  their  appearance  about  this  time.  The  saw-mills  contributed  to  the 
clearing  of  the  forests  and  to  better  homes.  Framed  houses  gradually  super- 
seded the  log  cabins.  Among  the  people  the  domestic  virtues  were  strong, 
and  churches  and  schools  were  among  the  first  institutions.  The  churches 
were  of  all  denominations.  In  southeastern  Michigan  there  were  many 
Quakers,  a  sober,  industrious,  steady  and  thrifty  people.  Of  this  sect  was 
one  of  Michigan's  first  poets,  Elizabeth  Margaret  Chandler,  whose  anti- 
slavery  poems  were  once  widely  read.  Of  lawyers,  Michigan  had  its  full 
share,  and  doctors  were  plentiful,  who  rode  the  country  on  horseback,  with 


dbyGoot^lc 


DO  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

medicines  in  saddle  bags.  Roads  were  few  and  postal  facilities  were  meager. 
The  railroad  was  gaining  groimd.  The  pioneers  were  not  without  their 
amusements,  thongh  the  sports  and  pastimes  were  crude  enough.  Among 
these,  the  hunt,  the  husking-bee,  the  raising-bee,  sleighing  parties,  dancing 
and  the  spelling-bee  held  first  place.  On  the  whole,  the  pioneers  of  this 
period,  while  suffering  many  privations,  were  contented,  happy  and  free 
from  many  of  the  ills  that  a  more  advanced  civilization  has  brought  to  the 
people  of  our  own  day. 

AN    ERA    OF    SPECULATION. 

Up  to  the  summer  of  1837  prosperity  in  Michigan,  considering  pioneer 
conditions,  was  quite  general.  The  recent  immigrations  were  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  the  West.  Michigan  was  the  land  of  promise.  All  were 
producers.  The  newly  elected  Legislature  reflected  the  new  impulse.  From 
1835  to  1837,  fifty-seven  new  townships  were  provided  for  and  sixty-six 
state  roads ;  eleven  railroads  and  nine  banks  were  chartered.  Speculation  was 
rife.  To  the  imagination,  nothing  seemed  impossible.  The  wildest  schemes 
found  ready  backers.  Land  was  bought  in  great  quantities,  at  inflated 
prices,  without  even  being  seen.  Fortunes  were  expected  to  be  made  by 
rise  in  prices.     Everybody  seemed  about  to  grow  rich. 

A  most  interesting  phase  of  this  mania  was  the  condition  of  the  cur- 
rency. The  first  bank  established  in  Michigan,  at  Detroit  in  1806,  had  not 
been  successful.  Various  devices  for  currency  were  subsequently  resorted 
to.  In  1817  another  Detroit  bank  was  founded;  fifteen  banks  were  in  exist- 
ence within  the  limits  of  the  state  when  Michigan  was  formally  admitted 
to  the  Union.  A  disastrous  step  was  taken  when,  on  March  15,  1837,  the 
Legislature  passed  a  general  banking  law,  by  which  any  association  of  per- 
sons might  by  voluntary  action  assume  banking  powers.  This  law  was  a 
response  to  the  popular  cry  against  "special  privileges,"  enjoyed  apparently 
by  a  few  corporations  who  desired  a  monopoly  of  this  profitable  line  of 
business.  It  was  supposed  that  proper  safeguards  were  made,  in  the  various 
provisions  in  the  law,  protecting  the  public.  Along  in  the  spring,  it  happened 
that  owing  to  financial  pressure,  business  houses  in  leading  Eastern  cities 
failed,  which,  starting  a  panic,  resulted  in  a  run  upon  the  banks  of  New 
York.  Banks  began  to  fail  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston  and  Balti- 
more. To  add  to  the  embarrassment  in  Michigan,  the  same  legislature 
which  had  authorized  the  general  banking  law,  had  authorized  Governor 
Mason  to  borrow  five  millions  of  dolkirs  for  the  building  of  railroads,  canals 


dbyGoot^lc 


r.ENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  69 

and  other  improvements.  The  Legislature  now  authorized  Michigan  banks 
to  susijend  specie  payments,  with  the  general  banking  law  still  in  force; 
which,  of  course,  left  to  the  people  authority  to  organize  banks  and  issue 
bills  while  in  a  state  of  suspension.  As  a  result,  the  state  was  soon  flooded 
with  an  irredeemable  currency.  Issues  were  secured  on  wild  land  at  values 
limited  only  by  the  consciences  of  the  owners,  and  on  city  lots  which  sur- 
veyors afterwards  located  well  out  in  Lake  Michigan.  Banks  were  located 
with  a  special  design  not  to  be  found.  In  1838  the  bank  commissioners 
reported:  "The  singular  spectacle  was  presented  of  the  officers  of  the  state 
seeking  for  banks  in  situations  the  most  inaccessible  and  remote  from  trade, 
and  finding  at  even,^  step  an  increase  of  labor  by  the  discovery  of  new  and 
unknown  organizations.  Before  they  could  be  arrested,  the  mischief  was 
done ;  large  issues  were  in  circulation  and  no  adequate  remedy  for  the  evil." 
It  was  said  that  every  village  plat,  if  it  had  a  hollow  stump  to  serve  as  a 
vault,  was  the  site  of  a  bank.  The  bank  inspectors  were  deceived  in  many 
ways.  It  is  said  that  in  some  cases  what  appeared  to  the  inspectors  to  be 
kegs  of  specie  were  in  reality  kegs  of  nails,  with  a  few  coins  on  top.  Adja- 
cent banks  kept  each  other  informed  of  the  movements  of  the  inspectors;  as 
soon  as  the  inspectors  got  through  at  one  place,  the  specie  inspected  would 
be  sent  on  by  special  messenger  to  the  next  bank,  to  be  there  again  inspected. 
New  banks  were  formed  faster  than  the  inspectors  could  close  up  the  "rotten" 
ones.  When  a  bank  failed  it  was,  of  course,  the  lalx>rers  and  the  small 
farmers  who  suffered  mo.st,  for  they  had  no  means  of  keeping  informed  as 
to  what  banks  were  unsound,  nor  of  getting  nd  of  doubtful  bills.  By  1840 
only  about  a  half  dozen  of  this  brood  of  "wild  cat"  banks  were  still  con- 
sidered sound.  The  paper  of  the  others  was,  of  course,  absolutely  worth- 
less. It  is  reported  of  one  of  the  Campaus  at  Grand  Rapids,  that  in  grim 
irony  he  papered  the  walls  of  his  room  with  them,  saying,  "If  you  will  not 
circulate,  you  shall  stay  still."  Land  was  a  drug  on  the  market.  Distrust 
in  business  was  universal.  This  situation  was  not  peculiar  to  Michigan, 
TDther  states  had  similar  experiences  and  it  was  natural  that  these  results 
should  be  followed  by  a  [xilitical  revolution;  the  Whigs  swept  into  power, 
making  William  Henry  Harrison,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  Will- 
iam Woodbridge,  governor  of  Michigan. 

INTEKNAI.   IMPROVEMENTS. 

During  the  period   of   rapid  growth   under  the   great   immigration   of 
1835-37,  Michigan  had  undertaken  a  great  system  of  public  improvements. 


dbyGoot^lc 


70  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

especially  in  roads  and  canals.  So  impressed  were  the  people  with  the  ap- 
parent magic  of  the  Erie  canal  upon  the  growth  of  New  York,  that  in  the 
constitution  of  1835  it  was  provided,  that  "Internal  improvements  shall  he 
encouraged  by  the  government  of  this  state:  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Legislature  as  soon  as  may  be.  to  make  provision  by  law  for  ascertaining 
the  proper  objects  of  improvements,  in  relation  to  roads,  canals  and  navig- 
able waters;  and  it  shall  also  be  their  duty  to  provide  by  law  for  an  equal, 
systematic  and  economical  application  of  the  funds  which  may  be  appro- 
priated to  these  objects." 

Governor  Mason  acted  promptly  upon  this  mandate  from  the  people, 
recommending  to  the  Legislature  an  extensive  prograin  of  roads,  railroads 
and  canals.  The  Legislature  as  promptly  responded,  authorizing  the  gov- 
ernor to  borrow  on  the  state's  credit  five  million  dollars  to  carry  out  the 
proper  improvements.  Three  lines  of  railroads  were  to  be  built;  one  from 
Detroit  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  river;  one  from  Monroe  to  New 
Buffalo,  and  one  from  the  mouth  of  the  Black  river  to  the  navigable  waters 
of  the  Grand  river.  A  canal  was  to  be  built  from  Mt.  Clemens  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Kalamazoo  river,  and  another  around  the  falls  of  the  St.  Mary's  river. 
By  facts  and  figures  it  was  demonstrated  that  the  railroad  from  Detroit  to 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  must  pay  thirty  per  cent  annually  upon  the  cost. 
In  vain.  Governor  Mason  cjuestioned  whether  the  sum  the  state  had  under- 
taken to  borrow  would  build  the  works  undertaken;  in  vain,  he  suggested 
leaving  the  minor  works  to  individual  enterprise.  When  a  state  enters  upon 
a  system  of  pubHc  improvements,  sections  and  locaUties  will  not  submit  to 
waive  their  claims,  in  favor  even  of  the  general  welfare,  as  opposed  to  their 
local  advantage. 

In  1839  there  began  a  series  of  misfortunes  which  were  to  lead  ulti- 
mately to  the  total  abandonment  of  the  internal  improvement  scheme.  The 
two  banks  which  had  possession  of  all  the  state  bonds  for  the  five-million- 
dollar  loan — the  Morris  Canal  and  Banking  Company  and  the  Pennsylvania 
United  States  Bank,  which  had  hypothecated  the  major  portion  of  the  bonds 
for  their  own  debts — had  failed.  About  one-half  the  face  value  of  the  loan 
had  been  received  by  the  state,  but  the  whole  amount  of  the  bonds  was  in 
the  hands  of  parties  who  would  insist  on  having  full  payment.  Should  the 
state  refuse  to  pay,  it  would  be  stamped  in  the  money  market  with  the  dis- 
grace of  repudiation,  to  which  the  people  of  Michigan  would  be  extremely 
sensitive.  The  general  bank  crash  of  the  time  added  to  the  startling  condi- 
tion. Work  on  the  state  railroads  was  dragged  along  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty. .    Ordinary  state  expenses  could  be  met  only  by  borrowing.     To  raise 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  y\ 

the  money  by  taxes  would  have  been  intolerable  to  a  people  already  in  dire 
distress.  Happily,  the  state  was  able  to  reach  an  agreement  with  the  bond- 
holders. In  the  end  all  the  l>onds  were  retired,  and  the  state's  good  name 
was  saved. 

It  finally  began  to  dawn  n[X)n  the  comprehension  of  even  the  dullest, 
that  most  of  the  projects  which  the  state  had  undertaken  were  wild  and 
chimerical.  The  Central  and  Southern  railroads  were  an  exception ;  these 
were  now  well  under  way.  But  the  idea  began  to  mature  that  the  building 
and  managing  of  railroads  is  essentially  a  private  business.  The  Legislature 
invited  proposals  from  state  creditors  for  the  purchase  of  the  railroads.  In 
1846.  both  these  roads,  so  far  as  then  built,  were  sold  to  corporations  chart- 
ered for  the  purpose  of  purchasing.  Under  the  new  management  they  went 
rapidly  forward  to  completion,  soon  becoming  great  national  highways,  quite 
as  useful  to  Michigan  as  it  ever  was  dreamed  they  could  be.  In  the  con- 
stitution of  1850  the  people  of  the  state  expressly  prohibited  the  state  "to 
subscribe  to  or  be  interested  in  the  stock  o£  any  company,  association,  or 
corporation,"  or  "to  be  a  party  to  or  interested  in  any  work  of  internal 
improvement,  nor  engaged  in  carrying  on  any  such  work,  except  in  the 
expenditure  of  grants  to  the  state  of  land  or  other  property." 

In  1841,  with  John  S.  Barry  as  govenior,  the  Democratic  party  came 
back  to  power  in  Michigan.  Governor  Woodbridge  had  been  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  Barry  was  the  man  for  the  times — a  man  of  hard 
sense,  ecoliomy  and  frugality;  a  man  of  experience  in  public  life,  scrupulously 
honest  there  as  in  his  business  as  a  merchant.  The  story  is  told  that  he 
mowed  the  state-house  yard,  sold  the  grass  and  put  the  money  in  the  state 
treasury.  The  farmers  of  Michigan  gave  him  two  terms  in  succession,  and 
elected  him  again  in  1850;  between  his  second  and  third  terms  came  Alpheus 
Felch,  William  L,  Greenley  and  Epaphroditus  Ransom. 

During  the  term  of  Governor  Ransom  the  state  capital  was  removed 
from  Detroit  to  Lansing,  a  more  central  place  for  the  rapidly  growing  state. 
In  the  same  year,  1847,  came  two  notable  immigrations.  The  first  was  that 
of  a  group  of  Hollanders,  to  western  Michigan,  who,  under  their  leader, 
Re\'.  Van  Raalte  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church,  founded  the  city  of  Hol- 
land, and,  later,  Hope  College.  This  was  the  vanguard  of  a  large  influx  of 
Hollanders  to  this  .section,  which  has  built  on  a  permanent  foundation  the 
interests  of  Grand  Rapids  and  the  neighboring  country.  Quite  different 
was  the  other  immigration,  that  of  James  Jesse  Strang  and  his  followers,  to 
Beaver  Island,  in  northern  Lake  Michigan.  Strang  had  been  a  Alormon 
elder  at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  and,  upon  the  death  of  Joseph  Smith,  claimed  to 


dbyGoot^lc 


72  GENKSEE    COUNTY^    MICHIGAN. 

have  been  divinely  sanctioned  as  his  successor.  He  was  defeated,  however, 
by  Brigham  Young',  who  drove  him  away.  First,  he  went  to  Wisconsin; 
but  presently  he  removed  to  Beaver  Island,  where  he  founded  a  kingdom 
whose  capital  he  named  after  himself,  St.  James.  Here  he  made  laws,  enforced 
them,  and  gained  a  considerable  following.  Not  the  least  of  his  achieve- 
ments was  getting  himself  elected  to  the  state  I-egislature,  for  two  successive 
terms,  where  he  is  said  to  have  performed  his  dudes  ably  and  to  have  won 
many  friends.  But  his  introduction  of  polygamy  into  his  colony  at  Beaver 
island  led  to  his  assassination;  shortly  after  his  death,  the  colony  dispersed. 
The  experience  of  the  people  during  the  fifteen  years  since  1835  had 
revealed  many  defects  in  the  first  state  constitution.  In  1850  a  new  con- 
stitution was  adopted ;  among  other  provisions,  the  governor's  power  of 
appointment  was  restricted,  and  restrictions  were  imposed  upon  the  legis- 
lative power  of  the  state  Legislature,  esi>ecially  in  relation  to  finances.  In 
general,  it  favored  greater  liberty,  more  privileges  to  individuals  and  less 
to  the  governing  bodies. 

A   NEW  REGIME. 

With  the  exception  of  the  brief  Whig  ascendency  under  Governor 
Woodbridge,  the  state  was  continuously  under  control  of  Democratic 
power  until  1854.  In  that  year,  at  Jackson,  was  formed  the  first  state 
organization  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  United  States,  which  elected  as 
governor  of  Michigan,  Kinsley  S.  Bingham,  re-elected  him  in  1856,  and 
maintained  an  ascendency  unbroken  for  twenty-eight  years.  In  i860  the 
Republicans  elected  as  grwernor,  Austin  Blair,  the  "war  governor,"  whose 
statue  stands  today  in  front  of  the  capital  in  Lansing,  a  witness  to  the  love 
and  respect  of  the  people. 

During  the  quarter  of  a  century  of  statehood  prior  to  the  Civil  War, 
Michigan  made  substantia!  advance  in  education.  The  schools  at  the  time 
Michigan  became  a  state  were  very  primitive.  There  were  no  professional 
teachers.  The  best  to  be  had  were  promising  sons,  or  daughters,  who  took 
what  the  people  could  afford,  "boarded  around,"  and  kept  the  children  busy 
with  the  "three  R's"  in  a  log  shanty.  Of  school  conveniences  as  we  know 
them,  there  were  few  or  none.  Two  names  stand  out  at  the  beginning  of 
the  new  regime  of  statehood  destined  to  be  long  remembered  in  the  edu- 
cational history  of  Michigan:  Isaac  E.'  Crary  and  John  D.  Pierce.  The 
former  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1835;  the  latter 
was  the  first  superintendent  of  public  instruction  under  the  new  constitution. 
These  men  were  neighbors,  in  Marshall,  and  had  often  discussed  together 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  73 

the  subject  of  state  education.  Pierce  was  a  graduate  of  Brown,  who,  in 
1S31,  bad  been  sent  out  to  the  West  by  the  Cong;regationalists  as  a  home 
missionary.  Through  Crary,  who  had  great  influence  with  Governor  Mason, 
he  now  became  superintendent  of  pubhc  instruction,  to  whose  charge  was 
given  the  whole  subject  of  state  education  and  the  management  of  a  million 
acres  of  land  transferred  by  Congress  to  the  state  as  trustee  of  the  sixteenth 
section  in  every  township  in  Michigan.  In  response  to  a  request  from  the 
Legislature,  Pierce  reported  a  system  of  common  school  and  university  edu- 
cation which  in  its  essential  features  forms  the  foundation  of  the  educational 
system  in  operation  in  Michigan  today. 

CIVIL   WAR  DAYS. 

In  i860  Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
by  the  Republican  party,  on  a  platform  hostile  to  slavery.  Some  Southern 
states  thereupon  announced  that,  rather  than  submit  to  this,  they  would 
secede  from  the  Union.  They  called  popular  conventions,  formally  adopted 
ordinances  of  secession,  and  formed  among  themselves  the  Confederate 
States  of  America.  The  Northern  states  held  that  these  states  were  stili  in 
the  Union,  since,  by  assent  to  the  Constitution,  all  the  states  had  made  an 
indissohtble  bond.  Certain  border  states  sympathized  with  the  South  as  to 
slavery  and  secession,  but  they  would  not  go  so  far  as  to  join  them  in  main- 
taining a  new  republic  by  force.  The  border  states  tried  to  be  peacemakers, 
and  proposed  compromises.  One  of  these  is  known  as  the  Crittenden  Com- 
promise, proposed  by  Senator  Crittenden  of  Kentucky.  It  satisfied  neither 
side,  and  a  similar  fate  met  all  the  compromises  proposed,  even  those  of  the 
peace  conference  called  in  1861.  Michigan  refused  to  take  part  in  this  con- 
ference. It  seemed  to  her  that  no  conference  could  be  called  a  peace  con- 
ference worthy  the  dignity  of  the  state,  when  held  under  a  threat  of  war, 
unless  the  North  should  surrender  principles  upon  which  Abraham  Lincoln 
had  been  elected.  Nor  did  Michigan  sympathize  with  President  Buchanan's 
view,  that  the  federal  government  could  not  constitutionally  use  force  to 
keep  the  states  in  the  Union. 

Governor  Austin  Blair  took  a  strong  stand  upon  the  platform  of  an 
indestructible  Union,  "Safety  lies  in  this  path  alone,"  he  said.  "The  Union 
must  be  preserved,  and  the  Iflws  must  be  enforced  in  all  parts  of  it,  at  what- 
ever cost.  Secession  is  revolution,  and  revolution  in  the  overt  act  is  treason, 
and  must  be  treated  as  such."  Michigan  was  at  i>eace  without  a  peace  con- 
ference.    Hostile  action  bv  the  Southern  states  would  be  in  the  nature  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


74  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

insurrection  and,  if  need  be,  tlie  aniiy  of  die  federal  government  must  be 
called  upon  to  suppress  insurrection.  In  case  the  regular  army  could  not  do 
it,  the  state  militia  must  be  called  out. 

This  sentiment  was  echoed  by  Senator  Chandler,  who  in  1854  had  suc- 
ceeded Senator  Cass.  "The  people  of  Michigan  are  opposed  to  ail  com- 
promises," he  said.  "They  do  not  l>elieve  that  any  compromise  is  necessary; 
nor  do  I.  They  are  prepared  to  stand  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  as  it  is;  to  stand  by  the  government  as  it  is;  to  stand  by  it  to  blood  if 
necessary," 

War  was  inevitable.  On  April  12.  1861,  Fort  Sumter,  in  Charleston 
harbor,  was  attacked,  and  a  few  days  later  surrendered.  Michigan  was 
roused  as  one  man.  From  the  University  of  Michigan  to  the  humblest  red 
school  house,  students  listened  to  professors  and  teachers  on  the  great  issue 
of  preservingthe  Union.  Si)eakers  in  every  center  of  population  from  city 
to  hamlet  spoke  to  thoughtful  and  earnest  audiences  of  people  on  the  duty 
of  every  citizen  to  rise  to  the  defense  of  the  Union,  even  to  his  last  drop 
of  blood,  if  necessary.  In  Detroit  the  citizens  listened  to  the  now  aged 
General  Cass,  who  affirmed :  "It  is  the  duty  of  all  zealously  to  support  the 
government  in  its  efforts  to  bring  this  unhappy  civil  war  to  a  speedy  and 
satisfactory  conclusion,  by  the  restoration  in  its  integrity  of  that  great  charter 
of  freedom  beciueathed  to  us  by  Washington  and  his  compatriots." 

When  the  call  to  arms  came  from  President  Lincoln,  Michigan  was 
among  the  first  to  send  I'olunteers  to  seal  the  Union  with  their  blood.  Dur- 
ing the  great  struggle  that  followed,  Michigan  put  into  the  field  nearly  a 
hundred  thousand  men.  When  the  war  was  over,  no  state  in  the  Union  had 
greater  cause  to  rejoice  over  the  record  made  by  her  sons,  many  thousands 
of  whom  were  left  in  sokliers'  graves  on  Southern  battlefields. 

ZACn.\KI\H    CHANDLER. 

rjuring  the  war,  and  in  the  year  immediately  preceding,  Michigan  had 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  a  man  who,  of  all  her  sons,  can  alone 
dispute  rank  with  Lewis  Cass  as  the  greatest  figure  in  her  political  history — 
Zachariah  Chandler.  Chandler  was  fortunate  in  the  time  of  his  advent  on 
the  poHtical  stage,  succee<!ing  Cass  in  1857,  when  large  ouestions  were  before 
Congress  and  the  American  i>eopie.  Where  Cass  had  been  conservative. 
Chandler  was  the  most  radical  of  radicals;  he  was  an  anti-slavery  nian,  with 
the  courage  of  his  convictions. 

Zachariah  Chandler  was  born  in  Bedford,  New  Hampshire,  December 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  75 

10,  1813.  He  was  educated  for  business  and  in  early  life  taught  school. 
In  1833  he  caught  the  "Michigan  fever,"  emigrated  to  the  new  territory 
and  settled  in  Detroit,  where,  under  the  name  of  Moore  &  Chandler,  he  and 
his  hrother-in-iaw  opened  a  general  store  on  Jefferson  avenue  near  Randolph 
street.  Chandler  showed  his  husiness  acumen  in  jpving  all  the  speculative 
schemes  of  this  period  a  wide  berth,  and  hence  was  in  a  way  to  become  rela- 
tively prosperous  notwithstanding  the  genera!  financial  crash  of  1837.  He 
was  also  public-spirited  and  when,  after  1850,  he  began  to  give  considerable 
thought  to  political  matters,  his  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  state  due 
to  numerous  business  trips  which  had  brought  him  into  personal  contact  with 
men  in  every  locality  prominent  and  influential  in  business  and  public  con- 
cerns, he  was  equipped  to  turn  his  great  talents  to  the  public  service.  In 
1850  he  was  elected  a  deleg'iite  to  the  Whig  state  convention.  In  1851  he 
was  elected  by  the  Whigs  mayor  of  Detroit,  as  against  John*R.  Williams, 
who  had  held  the  office  for  six  years  and  was  one  of  Detroit's  most  con- 
spicuous and  popular  citizens.  Three  years  later  the  Republican  party  was 
organized  "under  the  oaks"  at  Jackson  and  developed  strength  enough  to 
elect  its  candidate  for  governor.  In  the  Republican  campaign  of  1856  Mr. 
Chandler  gave  full  rein  to  all  his  wonderful  energy.  Michigan  Republicans 
gained  an  overwhelming  victory.  Fremont,  the  Republican  candidate,  car- 
ried Michigan  by  nearly  twenty  thousand  majority.  The  Republican  state 
ticket  was  elected,  and  the  Legislature  was  Republican  by  a  majority  on 
joint  ballot  of  seventy-two.  It  was  this  Legislature  which  chose  Mr. 
Chandler  United  States  senator  to  succeed  Lewis  Cass. 

The  Kansas  troubles  were  in  the  front  when  Chandler  entered  the 
Senate,  His  plan  of  action  was  characteristic  of  the  man :  he  met  the  threats 
of  the  opposition  with  open  defiance.  His  first  speech  struck  straight  from 
the  shoulder.  He  said,  "The  old  women  of  the  North  who  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  crying  out,  'the  Union  is  in  danger !'  have  passed  off  the  stage.  They 
are  dead.  Their  places  will  never  be  supplied,  but  in  their  stead  we  have  a 
race  of  men  who  are  devoted  to  this  Union  and  devoted  to  it  as  Jefferson 
and  the  fathers  who  made  it  and  bequeathed  it  to  us.  Any  aggression  has 
been  submitted  to  by  the  race  who  have  gone  off  the  stage.  They  were  ready 
to  compromise  any  principle,  anything.  The  men  of  the  present  day  are  a 
different  race.  They  will  compromise  nothing.  They  are  Union-loving 
men;  they  love  all  portions  of  the  Union;  they  will  sacrifice  anything,  hut 
principle,  to  save  it.  They  will,  however,  make  no  sacrifice  of  principle. 
Never!  Never!  No  more  compromises  will  ever  be  submitted  to  save  the 
Union,     If  it  is  worth  saving,  it  will  be  saved.     The  only  way  that  we  shall 


dbyGoot^lc 


76  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

save  it  and  make  it  permanent  as  the  everlasting  hills  will  be  by  restoring 
it  to  the  original  foundations  upon  which  the  fathers  placed  it.  I  trust  in 
God  civil  war  will  never  come;  but  if  it  should  come,  upon  their  heads,  and 
theirs  alone,  will  rest  the  responsibility  for  every  drop  of  blood  that  may 
flow."  Of  the  Dred  Scott  decision  he  said:  "\\1iat  did  General  Jackson 
do  when  the  sjipreme  court  declared  the  United  States  bank  constitutional? 
Did  he  bow  to  it?  No!  He  said  he  would  construe  the  constitution  for 
himself.  I  shall  do  the  same  thing.  I  have  sworn  to  support  the  consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  and  I  have  sworn  to  support  it  as  the  fathers 
made  it,  and  not  as  the  supreme  court  has  altered  it."  Speaking  upon  the 
John  Brown  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry,  he  said :  "John  Brown  has  been  exe- 
cuted as  a  traitor  to  the  state  of  Virginia,  and  I  want  it  to  go  upon  the 
records  of  the  Senate  in  the  most  solemn  manner  to  be  held  up  as  a  warning 
to  traitors,  itorth,  south,  east,  west.  Dare  to  raise  your  impious  hands 
against  this  government,  its  constitution  and  its  laws,  and  you  hang.  Threats 
have  been  made  year  after  year  for  the  last  thirty  years,  that  if  certain  events 
happen  this  Union  will  be  dissolved.  It  is  no  small  matter  to  dissolve  this 
Union.     It  means  a  bloody  revolution  or  it  means  a  halter." 

Senator  Chandler  bore  his  part  nobly  in  the  exciting  issues  of  the  war 
and  reconstruction.  Only  once,  in  1875,  when  there  was  a  small  Republican 
majority  in  the  state  Senate  coincident  with  recalcitrancy  of  some  members, 
was  Chandler  defeated  for  re-election  to  the  United  States  Senate.  But  he 
was  timlier  too  valuable  to  lie  idle;  Grant  called  him  into  his  cabinet  as 
secretary  of  the  interior,  where  he  served  until  the  end  of  Grant's  term.  In 
1879,  on  the  resignation  oi  Isaac  P.  Christiancy,  Chandler's  senatorial 
opponent  in  1875.  the  Michigan  Legislature  promptly  elected  Chandler  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  In  February  of  that  year  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  and 
a  few  flays  afterward  made  what  was  probably  the  most  memorable  speech 
of  his  senatorial  career— the  famous  phillippic  against  the  participation  of 
Jefferson  Davis  in  the  benefits  of  an  act  pensioning  veterans  of  the  Mexican 
War.  On  the  evening  of  the  last  day  of  October  of  that  year,  after  a 
powerful  campaign  speech  in  Chicago,  he  had  retired  late  to  his  room  in  the 
Grand  Pacific  hotel;  the  next  morning  he  was  foimd  dead  in  his  bed,  from  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy  which  had  cut  him  off  without  warning.  His  body  was 
laid  to  rest  in  Elmwood  cemetery,  Detroit,  amid  the  grief  of  a  nation. 

While  Mr.  Chandler  was  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  Michigan 
had  had  seven  governors,  all  but  one  having  served  two  terms.  In  1864 
Henry  H.  Crapo,  of  Genesee  county,  was  elected  to  succeed  Governor  Austin 
Blair.  Mr.  Crapo's  opponent  was  William  M.  Fenton,  also  of  Genesee, 
who  went  to  the  front  as  colonel  of  the  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry  and  sen.-ed 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  77 

with  distinction  in  several  campaigns.  Despite  the  fact  that  Colonel  Fcn- 
ton's  military  record  and  his  standing  as  a  citizen  were  unimpeachable,  the 
strong  party  spirit  and  Republican  strength  in  the  state  elected  Mr.  Crapo 
by  a  majority  of  over  seventeen  thousand. 

GOVERNOR    HENRV    Tl.    CRAPO. 

Governor  Crapo  was  born  at  Dartmouth,  near  New  Bedford,  Massa- 
cliusetts.  May  24,  1804.*  His  father  was  of  French  descent  and  cultivated 
a  farm  for  a  livelihood.  The  land  was  not  very  productive  and  the  life 
of  a  farmer  at  that  time  and  place  meant  incessant  toil  and  many  privations. 
The  lad  was  early  inured  to  these.  The  opportunities  for  education  were 
scant.  But  with  an  active  mind,  energy  and  a  determination  to  learn,  he 
took  advantage  of  the  near-by  town  of  New  Bedford  to  pick  up  some  knowl- 
edge of  books.  There  being  an  opening  for  a  land  surveyor,  he  quickly 
made  himself  familiar  with  its  duties  and  requirements,  and  with  his  own 
hands,  through  the  kindness  of  a  neighboring  blacksmith,  made  a  compass 
and  began  life  off  the  farm  as  a  surveyor.  In  1832  he  took  up  his  residence 
in  New  Bedford  and  followed  his  occupation  as  a  surveyor  and  occasionally 
acted  as  auctioneer.  He  was  elected  town  clerk,  treasurer  and  collector  of 
taxes,  in  which  positions  he  served  for  about  fifteen  years.  When  New 
Bedford  was  incoqrarated  as  a  city  he  was  elected  an  alderman.  He  was 
appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education  and  as  such  prepared  a 
report  upon  which  was  based  the  estahhshment  of  the  free  public  library  of 
that  city,  the  hrst  of  its  kind  in  this  country,  ante-dating  that  of  Boston  by 
several  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees.  While  a 
resident  of  New  Bedford  he  became  greatly  interested  in  horticulture.  He 
acquired  a  quite  unpromising  piece  of  land,  which  he  subdued  and  improved. 
Upon  this  he  planted  and  successfully  raised  a  great  variety  of  fruits,  flowers 
and  shrubbery  and  ornamental  trees.  He  soon  became  widely  known  for 
his  efforts  in  horticulture,  was  a  noted  exhibitor  at  fairs  and  a  valued  con- 
tributor to  publications  on  that  subject.  The  chief  business  of  New  Bed- 
ford at  that  period  was  whaling  vessels  and  the  fitting  out  of  vessels  with 
supplies,  and  the  receipt  and  marketing  of  the  return  cargoes  was  the  lead- 
ing industry.  It  was  very  profitable.  Mr.  Crapo  became  interested  in  this 
enterprise  and  was  part  owner  of  a  vessel  which  bore  his  name  and  which 
made  successful  voyages.  He  was  also  interested  in  fire  insurance  and  was 
an  officer  of  two  companies. 

.po  is   quoted  substantially  from   the  excellent  work  entitled, 


dbyGoot^lc 


78  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Having  invested  in  pine  lands  in  Michigan,  he  removed  to  the  state  in 
1856  and  settled  at  Flint.  Here  he  engaged  extensively  in  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  pine  lumber.  Branch  establishments  were  set  up  by  him  at 
Holly,  Fentonville  and  Detroit.  Engaging  in  this  business  with  his  char- 
acteristic energy  and  slirewdues,'!,  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  recognized 
as  one  of  the  most  successful  lumbermen  in  a  state  noted  for  successful  lum- 
bermen. He  was  mainly  instrumental  in  the  construction  of  a  railroad 
from  Flint  to  Holly,  where  it  connected  with  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee. 
This  road  was  afterward  expanded  to  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette  and 
stretched  across  the  state  to  the  Lake  Michigan  shore.  From  this  small 
nucleus  has  grown  what  is  now  an  elalxirate  railroad  system  ^liich  gridirons 
the  state  in  every  direction.  He  was  active  in  public  affairs  in  his  home  city, 
of  which  he  was  elected  mayor,  after  a  residence  of  only  a  few  years.  In 
1862  he  was  elected  a  state  senator  and  proved  himself  to  be  a  very  prac- 
tical and  useful  memljer.  In  1866  he  was  elected  to  a  second  term  as  gov- 
ernor. This  term  expired  on  the  ist  of  January,  1869.  His  death  fol- 
lowed about  six  months  later  from  a  disease  which  attacked  him  l>efore 
the  close  of  his  official  hfe  and  which  seriously  hampered  him  for  many 
months  previous. 

The  inaugural  message  of  Governor  Crapo  to  the  Legislature  of  1865 
is  characterized  by  his  hard-headed  good  "sense.  He  advocated  the  prompt 
payment  of  the  state  debt  and  the  adoption  of  the  permanent  policy,  "Pay 
as  you  go."  This  policy  led  to  a  close  scrutiny  of  all  appropriations  and 
prevented  the  incurring  of  any  indebtedness  for  schemes  and  enterprises  of 
doubtful  expediency.  He  urgently  advocated  measures  to  Induce  immigra- 
tion to  the  state.  After  calling  attention  to  the  vast  and  varied  resources 
of  Michigan  and  its  ^Xipulation  so  meager  in  proportion  to  its  capabihties 
for  sustaining  many  times  more,  he  says,  "We  want  settlers.  Five-sixths 
of  our  entire  territory  remains  still  a  wilderness.  The  vast  tracts  of  wood- 
land, however  rich  and  fertile  they  may  be,  are  of  no  use  to  us  until  cleared 
and  improved;  and  nothing  but  labor  can  do  it.  Our  rich  mines  of  copper, 
iron,  coal,  gypsum,  our  springs  of  salt,  our  fisheries,  and  our  forests  of  valu- 
able tim'ber,  are  all  calling  for  men;  we  want  settlers."  The  I.^gislatiire 
heeded  his  advice  and  a  bill  was  introduced  and  favorably  reported  in  the 
Senate,  creating  an  immigration  commission,  providing  for  the  ap]X)intment 
of  an  agent  and  for  the  systematic  circulation  of  literature,  to  be  distrilxited 
in  Europe,  inviting  the  attention  of  intending  emigrants  to  the  advantages  of 
Michigan.     This  bill  was  not  acted  on  at  that  session,  but  a  few  years  later 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  79 

the  subject  was  taken  u|)  iiersistently.  It  appears  that  other  Western  states, 
notably  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  were  already  in  the  field  and  had 
agents  in  New  York  and  in  Europe  in  their  own  interests.  It  is  said  that 
these  agents,  not  content  with  picturing  in  glowing  colors  the  advantages  of 
the  states  which  they  represented,  sometimes  went  out  of  their  way  to  dis- 
parage Michigan.  It  was  cliarged  that  immigrants  who  were  under  contract 
and  whose  expenses  to  this  country  had  been  paid  by  Michigan  manufac- 
turers, were  tampered  with  on  their  arrival  in  New  "i^ork  by  agents  of  rival 
states,  and  induced  by  representations  of  doubtful  veracity  to  violate  their 
contracts.  It  was  this  sharp  practice  at  which  one  feature  of  the  pro[K>sed 
legislation  was  aimed.  Probably  it  was  wi.se  to  avoid  friction  with  our 
neighbors,  and  in  this  liew  the  bill  was  allowed  to  die.  The  governor  called 
special  attention  to  the  natural  resources  and  the  situation  of  the  state  with 
reference  to  manufactures.  With  so  many  and  so  varied  advantages,  he 
argued  that  the  state  should  be  no  longer  dependent  on  Eastern  manufac- 
turers, but  should  make  its  own  supply  of  needful  articles  and  also  meet 
the  demands  of  the  western  market.  To  this  end  he  encouraged  all  measures 
having  a  tendency  to  invite  capita!  and  labor  in  any  and  all  branches  of 
manufacture. 

Another  important  subject  of  the  time  was  the  disposition  of  swamp 
lands.  Tbe  general  government  had  given  to  the  state  six  million  acres  of 
what  were  described  as  swamp  lands.  Not  that  all,  nor  really  any  consider- 
able portion,  of  such  lands  were  actually  in  swamps.  In  some  localities  they 
were  overflowed  at  certain  seasons;  in  others,  beaver  dams  had  given  them 
the  ai^pearance  of  swamps,  and  in  almost  all  cases  they  could  be  drained 
and  sulxlued  at  small  cost,  and  possessed  a  very  rich  alluvial  soil.  The 
question  was  how  to  dispose  of  these  lands  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
state.  In  1859  the  Legislature  adopted  the  ixilicy  of  appropriating  such  lands 
for  the  building  of  roads.  The  purpose  of  the  general  government  in  donat- 
ing the  lands  to  the  state,  as  set  forth  in  the  act  of  Congress  making  the 
cession,  was  to  provide  for  their  reclamation  by  means  of  levees,  drains,  etc. 
Nominally  a  road  might  Ire  considered  a  levee  and  practically,  in  many 
instances,  the  building  of  a  road  was  as  good  a  way  as  any  of  reclaiming 
the  lands  and  o]Jening  them  up  to  settlement.  The  policy  had  been  pursued 
with  satisfactory  results  on  the  start,  but  gradually  degenerated  into  the 
grabbing  of  valuable  tracts  by  contractors  for  the  building  of  roads  which 
l)egan  nowhere  and  ended  nowhere,  and  for  roads  begun  but  never  finished, 
and  by  combinations  of  greedy  persons  who  were  robbing  the  state.     The 


dbyGoot^lc 


8o  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

governor  calleil  an  emphatic  halt  to  the  practice  and  urged  the  Legislature 
to  take  steps  to  rescue  the  remaining  acres.  The  Legislature  responded  by 
passing  an  act  for  the  appointment  of  a  swamp  land  commissioner  to 
examine  all  roads,  inquire  into  the  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  letting  of 
contracts,  and  requiring  his  aj>|)roval  of  all  unfinished  contracts  before  pay- 
ment should  be  made. 

There  was  considerable  popular  prejudice  against  the  agricultural  col- 
lege. Even  the  farmers  themselves,  who  had  decided  views  on  the  question 
of  economy  when  taxpaying  time  came  around,  felt  that  it  was  an  expensive 
luxury  which  had  very  little  to  show  as  justification  for  its  existence.  In 
1862  the  general  government  made  an  appropriation  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  acres  of  public  lands  for  the  maintenance  and  support  of 
such  an  institution,  which  grant  had  been  accepted  by  the  state.  Governor 
Crapo,  in  his  message,  says  regarding  the  college:  "I  am  aware  that  in 
consequence  of  the  very  unfavorable  circumstances  surrounding  this  institu- 
ti6n  during  the  first  tew  years  of  its  existence,  and  which  to  a  very  great 
extent  controlled  its  operation.^,  many  of  the  people  of  the  state,  who  should 
have  been  deeply  interested  in  its  prosperity  and  success,  imbibed  strong 
prejudices  against  it,  and  were  even  disposed  to  abandon  it  altogether."  But 
the  governor  counsels  suspension  of  judgment  and  giving  the  institution  an 
opportunity  to  do  justice  to  itself  and  its  friends.  Of  a!i  classes,  the  farmer 
is  most  deeply  interested,  and  the  farmer  should  regard  it  with  pride.  While 
its  demands  have  seemed  to  be  large,  the  fact  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
it  is  laying  the  foimdations  and  that,  large  as  the  expenditures  seem,  they 
are  really  small  in  comparison  with  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved. 
"Agriculture  is  no  longer  what  it  was  once  regarded  by  a  majority  of  other 
professions,  and  partially  admitted  bj''  the  farmers  themselves  to  be — a  low, 
menial  employment,  a  mere  drudgery,  delving  in  the  soil—but  is  becoming 
recognized  as  a  noble  science.  Formerly  any  man  who  had  merely  suffi- 
cient sense  to  do  just  as  bis  father  did  before  him  and  to  follow  his  example 
and  imitate  his  practice,  was  regarded  as  fully  competent  to  become  a 
farmer.  The  idea  of  applying  science  to  the  business  was  sneered  at  and 
denounced  by  many  of  the  farmers  themselves  as  'book  farming.'  But  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  has  now  justly  come  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  noble  and  dignified  callings  in  which  an  educated  man  can  engage," 
The  Legislature  heeded  his  advice  and  made  a  liberal  appropriation  to  set 
the  college  upon  its  feet.  This  was  the  critical  time  in  the  infancy  of  the 
institution,  when  it  might  have  been  easily  smothered.     The  earnest  words 


dbyGoot^lc 


GTi:Nl:SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  8l 

of  the  governor,  backed  by  his  lEifluence,  encouraged  the  friends  of  the  col- 
lege and  today  the  people  of  the  state  will  rejoice  that  the  strong  support 
of  Governor  Crapo  resulted  in  saving  it  for  a  noble  and  beneficient  career. 

CSovernor  Crapo  exercised  the  pardoning  power  with  extreme  caution. 
He  held  the  view  that  the  executi\'e  had  no  right  to  annul  or  make  \'oid  the 
acts  and  decisions  of  judicial  tribunals  in  the  trial,  conviction  and  sentence 
of  any  person  unless  in  the  contingency  of  the  discovery  of  new  facts  which 
would,  if  proved  upon  the  trial,  have  established  the  innocence  of  the  ac- 
cused, or  so  mitigated  the  offense  that  a  less  iienalty  would  have  been 
imposed.  While  he  admitted  that  extreme  cases  might  arise  under  circum- 
stances which  would  make  an  exception  to  the  rule  desirable,  he  held  to  it 
quite  rigidly.  He  did  not  admit  the  influence  of  mere  i)ersonal  sympathy 
for  the  victims  of  the  criminal  law,  or  their  families  or  friends.  In  reply 
to  the  claims  that  a  convict  having  suffered  for  a  time  and  the  public  excite- 
ment and  notoriety  of  his  offense  having  passed  away,  no  possible  good  can 
l>e  gained  by  keeping  him  longer  in  prison,  he  insisted  that  the  principle  of 
justice  and  the  claims  of  society  for  self-protection  must  not  jje  lost  sight 
of.  The  guilty  are  not  punished  because  society  wishes  to  inflict  pain  and 
suffering,  but  liecause  its  own  safety  requires  it  and  because  the  onlv  re- 
paration the  criminal  can  make  is  the  example  afforded  by  his  endurance  of 
the  penalty.  To  effectually  meet  these  ends,  punishment  must  be  made  cer- 
tain. There  have  been  governors,  both  before  and  since,  who  seemed  to 
regard  the  executive  prerogative  as  a  matter  of  mere  sentiment.  There 
have  l>een  cases  where  sympathy  went  too  far.  There  have  l>een  instaiices 
which  were  little  less  than  unfortimate.  In  modern  times  the  business  of 
getting  convicts  out  of  our  prisons  and  relieving  them  from  the  conse- 
quences of  their  crimes  through  the  aid  of  a  sympathetic  governor  has  been 
carried  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  refreshing  to  contemplate  a  man  who, 
while  he  was  not  lacking  the  kindness  of  a  gentle  nature,  still  had  the  firm- 
ness to  stand  for  justice  and  right,  as  he  clearly  saw  them. 

At  the  biennial  election  of  1866  Governor  Crapo  was  elected  for  a 
second  term  by  a  majorit}'  of  upwards  of  twenty-nine  thousand.  Governor 
Crapo  entered  ujx>n  his  new  term  of  office  in  January,  1867.  somewhat 
broken  in  health,  but  with  mind  as  vigorous  and  active  as  ever.  In  spite  of 
his  impaired  physical  condition,  he  insisted  upon  personally  looking  after 
his  extensive  private  interests,  and  kept  in  close  touch  with  all  public  affairs. 
His  second  regular  message  to  the  Legislature  was  a  full  and  lucid  discus- 
(6) 


dbyGoc^lc 


82  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

sion  of  all  the  problems  then  before  the  state  authorities.  He  again  dwelt 
on  the  immigration  question,  but  the  Legislature  adjourned  without  making 
effective  his  sensible  recommendations. 

Governor  Crapo  was  very  sparing  with  vetoes  and  it  is  notable  that  they 
were  for  the  most  part  sustained.  The  most  exciting  event  during  his  entire 
gubernatorial  career  grew  out  of  bis  vetoes  in  the  matter  of  municipal  aid 
to  railroads.  That  was  the  day  of  feverish  railroad  building  schemes.  Rural 
communities  were  exceedingly  anxious  for  railroads,  and  many  villages 
were  induced  to  support  projects  which  would  make  them  railroad  centers. 
In  several  instances  the  people  did  not  wait  for  legislative  authority,  but 
went  ahead  and  \'Dted  aid,  issued  and  put  bonds  on  the  market  and  then 
came  and  asked  the  Legislature  to  validate  them.  With  a  veto  message. 
Governor  tJrapo  called  a  halt  to  this  practice.  It  is  interesting  to  observe 
with  what  neatness  he  riddles  the  sophistical  arguments  of  those  who  said 
the  thing  being  done  should  be  legalized  to  save  investors  in  the  bonds.  The 
schemes  expanded  insidiously.  At  first  the  aid  voted  by  municipalities  was 
limited  by  law  to  five  per  cent  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  municipality; 
shortly  this  was  increased  to  ten  per  cent,  with  a  tendency  to  further  in- 
crease the  rate,  .^.t  first  the  district  included  in  the  liability  on  the  bonds 
was  the  municipality:  shortly  this  was  extended  to  include  the  entire  county 
in  which  the  municipality  was  situated. 

But  most  important  of  all,  he  vetoed  the  acts  passed  to  permit  localities 
to  vote  aid  to  railroad  enterprises.  The  thing  having  previously  l)een  done 
and  lieing  considered  so  much  a  matter  of  course,  he  did  at  the  outset  ap- 
prove such  bills.  But  he  soon  saw  the  tendency  of  such  legislation  and 
when  the  bills  came  pouring  in  on  him  he  wailed  until  some  fourteen  had 
accumulated  and  then  sent  them  back  with  a  message  which  settled  the  case 
for  all  time,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned.  He  called  attention  to  the  pro- 
vision of  the  constitution  that  "the  credit  of  the  state  shail  not  Ije  granted 
to  or  in  aid  of  any  person,  association  or  corporation;  the  state  shall  not 
subscribe  to  or  be  interested  in  the  stock  of  any  company,  association  or 
corporation;  shall  not  be  a  party  to  or  interested  in  any  work  of  internal 
improvement."  He  argued  that  the  principle  considered  by  the  framers  of 
the  constitution  so  essential  for  the  protection  of  the  state  should  by  im- 
plication, at  least,  apply  to  towns  and  counties.  Clearly  the  policy  of  the 
state,  as  expressed  in  its  constitution,  was  opposed  to  all  this  legislation.  While 
refraining  from  discussing  the  judicial  aspects  of  the  question,  he  Ijelieved 
that  all  would  agree  with  him  that  it  was  of  doubtful  constitutionality. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  OJ 

He  went  to  great  length  in  discussing  the  economic  i>earings  of  the 
question.  He  beheved  the  i>ermanent  welfare  of  the  state  would  be  injured. 
While  railroads  were  desirable  and  greatly  lieneficial  to  a  community,  if  they 
were  secured  at  the  cost  of  an  accumulation  of  municipal  debt  and  enormous 
taxation  we  should  destroy  the  value  of  property  and  retard  settlement.  Then, 
instead  of  increased  growth  and  resources,  we  should  drive  away  population 
and  wealth.  At  a  time  when  other  states  were  trying  to  extricate  themselves 
from  the  burden  of  taxation  caused  by  the  war,  and  were  deferring  public 
improvements,  the  ^jeople  of  Michigan,  by  municipal  action,  were  competing 
with  each  other  in  the  creation  of  vast  amounts  of  indebtedness.  He 
showed  how  insidiously  the  idea  of  municipal  aid  had  expanded.  At  the 
outset  the  rate  was  limited  to  five  per  cent  and  the  liability  was  confined  to 
a  few  localities.  Within  four  years  the  restrictions  had  been  swept  away 
and  there  were  towns  which  were  in  danger  of  accumulating  forty  per  cent 
of  such  bonded  indebtedness.  Such  a  course  could  have  but  one  ending — 
bankruptcy  and  repudiation. 

The  aggregate  length  of  the  railroads  already  proposed,  which  relied 
for  their  completion  upon  aid  from  taxes,  was  not  less  than  two  thousand 
miles.  The  amount  of  capital  necessary  to  construct,  complete  and  effi- 
ciently equip  this  extent  of  railroad  could  not  l>e  less  than  sixty  million 
dollars.  It  was  claimed  that  if  about  one-third  of  the  cost  could  be  obtained 
by  taxation  the  balance  could  be  procured  of  capitalists  by  the  issue  of  stocks 
and  mortgages.  It  would  then  be  necessary  for  the  people  of  the  state  to 
create  an  indebtedness  of  twenty  millions  in  city,  township  and  county  bonds. 
Could  such  bonds  be  sold  for  casli  either  at  home  or  abroad?  It  was  not 
likely  they  could  be  sold  outside  the  state.  There  was  not  surplus  capital 
enough  in  the  state  to  take  them;  certainly  not  unless  they  could  be  bought 
at  a  very  small  percentage  of  their  face  value.  Thus  the  actual  aid  to  rail- 
roads would  be  very  small  indeed,  compared  with  the  amount  of  municipal 
indebtedness.  As  the  Jx>nds  continued  to  be  depreciated  in  value,  additional 
taxes  would  be  called  for  and  urged  to  make  up  the  deficit,  and  thereby 
prevent  the  total  loss  of  what  had  been  already  appropriated,  until  repudia- 
tion woidd  inevitably  follow. 

The  gloomy  picture  which  the  governor  thus  drew  of  the  results  Hkelv 
to  end  the  course  which  the  state  was  pursuing  in  this  matter,  was  both 
timely  and  truthful.  It  was  clear  to  level-headed  and  unprejudiced  men, 
Init  such  was  the  p0|njia.r  furor  that  many  minds  were  dulled  to  its  appre- 
ciation.    The  bills  lay  on  the  table  for  a  month  while  great  excitement -pre- 


dbyGoot^lc 


84  CKNESKK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

vailed  in  the  popular  discussion  of  the  subject.  When  the  matter  was 
finally  brought  to  a  vote,  the  veto  of  the  governor  was  sustained  by  the 
narrow  margin  of  a  single  vote.  It  is  not  often  that  a  governor  has  the 
delicate  task  of  saving  the  people  from  themselves,  but  saneness  and  firm- 
ness are  admirable  in  any  emergency. 

.^fter  the  war,  an  important  event  in  Michigan's  history  was  the  move- 
ment for  a  revision  of  the  constitution  of  1850.  In  his  inaugural  mes- 
sage in  1865,  Governor  Crapo  called  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  to  the 
constitutional  provision  for  submission  of  this  question  to  the  people  in  the 
general  election  of  1866.  The  necessary  steps  were  accordingly  taken,  and 
in  due  course  delegates  were  elected  to  the  convention.  This  convention 
was  held  at  Lansing  from  May  15  to  August  22,  1867,  It  proved  har- 
monious and  industrious.  But  at  the  election  in  1868  the  new  constitution 
which  was  there  drawn  up  ■was  not  adopted  by  the  people, 

GOVERNOR    fIENt:Y    P,    BALDWIN, 

Governor  Crapo's  successor  was  Henry  P,  Baldwin,  of  Detroit,  who 
served  from  iS6g  to  1873.  Governor  Baldwin  was  a  native  of  Coventry, 
Rhode  Island,  where  he  was  bom,  February  22,  1814.  He  had  been  elected 
to  the  state  Senate  in  i860.  During  his  administration  as  governor,  several 
matters  of  importance  developed.  One  of  these  was  the  resumption  of  the 
st:ite  geological  survey.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  philanthropic  work 
and  used  his  influence  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  unfortunate  and 
the  neglected.  In  1871  was  organized  the  state  board  of  charities  and  cor- 
rections. The  eastern  insane  asylum  was  established  at  Pontiac.  One  of 
the  most  notable  events  of  this  period  was  the  great  destruction  of  life  and 
property  by  forest  fires,  which  swept  across  the  state  in  1871.  When  this 
great  calamity  became  known,  Governor  Baldwin  took  prompt  and  energetic 
measures  for  relief  of  the  distressed  and  suffering  people.  In  1881,  almost 
exactly  ten  years  later,  a  second  visitation  of  fire  swept  through  Tuscola. 
Lapeer,  Huron  and  Sanilac  counties,  covering  a  considerable  part  of  tJie 
region  which  suffered  so  severely  before. 

Tn  1871  Governor  Baldwin,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature,  expressed 
the  belief  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  erection  of  a  permanent  capitol, 
and  recommended  that  the  necessary  steps  be  taken  to  that  end.  The  old 
building  erected  in  1847  was  a  piatn  frame  structure,  intended  only  as  a 
temporary  capitol.  (jovernor  Baldwin  appointed  the  building  commission 
authorized  by  the  T-egislature  and  work  on  the  new  capitol  was  begun  on 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY^    MICHIGAN.  85 

January  i,  1879.  The  day  of  the  formal  dedication  of  the  building;  the  com- 
mission rej^xirted  that  every  obhgation  had  been  fully  paid  and  that  there 
remained  in  the  state  treasury  upwards  of  $4,000  to  the  credit  of  the  build- 
ing fund. 

GOVERNOR    JOHN    J.     EAGI.EY. 

John  J.  Bagley  was  governor  from  1S73  to  1877.  He  was  a  native 
of  New  York,  born  in  Medina,  Orleans  county,  July  24,  1832.  One  of  the 
first  important  events  of  his  administration  was  the  participation  of  Michi- 
gan in  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  at 
Philadelphia,  July  4,  1S76.  In  Michigan  commemorative  exercises  were 
held  in  all  the  principal  cities  and  villages.  The  international  exposition  at 
Philadelphia  was  held  from  May  10  to  November  10.  An  attractive  Michi- 
gan building  was  erected  on  the  grounds,  wholly  by  voluntary  contributions 
from  Michigan's  citizens.  The  rt^ister  kept  at  this  building  showed  thirty- 
two  thousand  signatures  of  Michigan  visitors.  Very  much  of  the  success 
of  Michigan's  part  in  the  exposition  was  due  to  the  generosity,  energy  and 
activity  of  Governor  Bagley,  who  was  cx-officio  a  member  of  the  board  of 
managers. 

During  the  first  term  of  Governor  Bagley  there  was  much  important 
legislation.  Chief  among  the  acts  was  that  which  created  a  state  board  of 
health.  Tn  1873  was  created  the  office  of  railroad  commissioner.  The  office 
of  commissioner  of  insurance  was  established.  The  subject  of  banking 
was  thoroughly  overhauled;  old  laws  were  repealed,  and  a  general  law  was 
adopted  for  the  regulation  and  control  of  ail  banks  organized  imder  it.  The 
artificial  propagation  of  fish  had  been  found  practicable,  and  it  seemed  to  be 
quite  feasible  to  restock  the  lakes  with  more  vaiuabie  varieties  so  as  to 
prolong  indefinitely  the  life  of  the  fishing  industry;  with  this  in  view,  the 
Legislature,  acting  upon  the  governor's  suggestion,  created  a  fish  commis- 
sion. Governor  Bagley's  administration  was  a  business  administration, 
characteristic  of  the  plain,  unassuming,  shrewd  and  well-!jalanced  citizen  at 
its  head. 

In  1873  the  question  came  up  again  of  revising  the  state  constitution. 
The  Legislature  appointed  a  commission,  which  formulated  a  new  one,  but 
when  it  was  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  spring  election  of  1874,  they 
rejected  it. 

The  successor  of  Governor  Bagley  was  Charles  M.  Croswell,  of 
Adrian,  who  served  from  1877  to  1881.     It  was  early  in  his  administration 


dbyGoot^lc 


86  GENESEE    COUNTY;    MICHIGAN. 

that  the  reform  school  for  girls  was  established  at  Adrian.  In  1879  Thomas 
A.  Edison,  who,  though  not  a  native  of  Michigan,  spent  much  of  his  early 
life  in  St.  Qair  county  and  made  his  first  successful  inventions  in  the  state, 
established  the  success  of  his  incandescent  electric  lamp,  which  revolution- 
ized the  lighting  of  interiors  not  only  in  this  state  bvit  throughout  the  world. 
In  1880  David  H.  Jerome,  of  Saginaw,  was  chosen  governor.  During 
his  one  term  the  St.  Mary's  Falls  ship  canal  was  transferred  to  the  general 
government.  About  this  time  Judge  Andrew  Howell,  acting  under  the 
auspices  of  the  state,  compiled  the  state  laws  of  Michigan.  An  epoch  in  the 
commercial  development  of  the  state  was  marked  by  the  connecting  of  the 
railway  systems  of  the  two  ijeninsulas  of  Michigan. 

THE    GREENr..\CK    MOVEMENT. 

At  the  election  of  1882  a  long-established  political  precedent  was  over- 
turned. Since  the  founding  of  the  Republican  party  in  1854,  that  party  had 
been  successful  in  electing  its  candidates  to  state  offices.  This  year  the 
opposition  ticket  won,  electing  as  governor  Josiah  W.  Begole,  of  Flint.  The 
victory  was  the  effect  by  a  fusion  of  the  Democrats  with  the  "Greenbackers," 
a  party  which  had  lieen  steadily  gaining  strength  since  1876.  At  the  election 
of  1876  the  Greenback  party  gave  a  total  of  8,207  votes  for  William  Sparks, 
the  Greenback  candidate  for  governor,  and  about  this  many  were  cast  for 
the  presidential  candidate,  Peter  Cooper,  out  of  a  total  nation-wide  vote  of 
81,000.  In  1878  their  candidate  for  governor  in  Michigan  receiveil  75,000 
votes.  The  purpose  of  the  Greenl>ack  party  was  to  defeat  the  alleged 
machinations  of  the  monied  interests  and  save  the  "greenback,"  the  people's 
money.  This  money  had  come  into  existence  during  the  Civil  War,  great 
quantities  of  treasury  notes,  or  greenbacks  (from  the  color  of  the  notes), 
having  been  authorized  by  Congress.  A  total  of  $450,000,000  of  these  notes 
had  been  issued,  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  except  customs  duties  and  inter- 
est on  the  public  debt.  This  policy  helped  to  stamp  in  the  popular  mind  the 
idea  that  the  government  could  create  money,  if  only  the  monied  interests 
were  not  selfishly  opposed  to  it.  Along  with  the  demand  for  more  "fiat" 
money  went  the  "grange  movement"  among  the  farmers,  who  organized  to 
cut  out  the  middle  man  and  to  compel  the  railroads  to  exact  less  toll  to  take 
their  crops  to  market.  In  the  minds  of  the  "Greenbackers,"  the  Republican 
party,  as  the  dominant  party,  was  playing  into  the  liands  of  the  rich.  Their 
natural  allies,  regardless  of  other  con.siderations,  would  1)e  the  opposition 
party,  and  the  result  was  the  defeat  of  the  Republicans, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  87 

Governor  Begote  was  born  in  Livingston  county,  New  York,  January 
20,  1815.  Wheii  he  became  of  age,  in  1836,  he  came  to  Michigan  and  settled 
in  Genesee  county,  where,  with  his  own  hands,  he  aided  in  building  some  of 
the  early  residences  in  Flint.  Perseverance  and  energy  won  him  a  compe- 
tency, and  at  the  end  of  eighteen  years  he  was  the  owner  of  a  five-hnndred- 
acre  farm.  He  was  an  ardent  anti-slavery  man,  his  grandparents  having 
emigrated  from  Maryland  to  New  York  about  the  l>eginning  of  the  century 
because  of  their  dissatisfaction  with  the  institution  of  slavery.  He  joined 
the  Republican  party  at  its  organization  in  1854  and  was  early  elected  to 
various  local  nfhces.  During  the  Civil  War  he  did  active  work  in  recruit- 
ing and  furnishing  supplies  for  the  army;  his  eldest  son  was  killed  near 
Atlanta,  Georgia,  in  1864.  In  1870  he  was  elected  state  senator,  and  in 
1S72  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  national  convention  at  Philadelphia. 
As  a  memljer  of  the  forty-third  Congress  he  took  great  interest  in  legisla- 
tion to  better  the  conditions  of  the  farmers,  being  a  member  of  the  commit- 
tee of  agriculture.  His  activities  along  those  lines  was  largely  influenced 
by  the  fact  that  he  was  a  practical  farmer.  The  transition  from  a  Republi- 
can to  a  Greenbacker  was  easy.  The  high  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Begole  was 
held  by  his  fellow  townsmen  despite  bis  defection  from  the  Republican  party 
is  well  shown  in  the  following  extract  from  the  Flint  Globe,  the  leading 
Repiiblican  paper  at  that  time  in  Genesee  county: 

"So  far,  however,  as  Mr.  Begole,  the  head  of  the  ticket,  is  concerned, 
there  is  nothing  detrimental  to  his  character  that  can  be  alleged  against  him. 
He  has  sometimes  changed  his  mind  in  politics,  but  of  the  .sincerity  of  his 
]>eliefs  and  the  earnestness  of  his  [purpose,  nobody  who  knows  him  enter- 
tains a  doubt.  He  is  incapable  of  bearing  malice,  even  against  his  bitterest 
political  enemies.  He  has  a  warm,  generous  nature,  and  a  larger,  kinder 
heart  does  not  beat  in  the  lx>som  of  any  man  in  Michigan.  He  is  not  much 
givai  to  making  sj^eeches,  but  deeds  are  more  significant  of  a  man's  charac- 
ter than  words.  There  are  many  scores  of  men  in  all  parts  of  the  state 
where  Mr.  Begole  is  acquainted  who  have  had  practical  demonstrations  of 
these  facts.  ;md  who  are  liable  to  step  outside  of  party  lines  to  show  that 
they  do  not  forget  his  kindness,  and  who,  no  doubt,  wish  that  he  was  a 
leader  in  what  would  not  necessarily  prove  a  forlorn  hope.  But  the  Repiili- 
lican  party  in  Michigan  is  too  strong  to  be  beaten  by  a  combination  of 
Democrats  and  Greenbackers,  even  if  it  is  marshaled  by  so  good  a  man  as 
Mr.  Begole." 

Among  the  important  legislation  of  Governor  Begole's  administration 


dbyGoot^lc 


88  GENESEE    COL'NTY,    MICHIGAN. 

was  the  establishment  of  the  northern  insane  asylum  at  Traverse  City.  A 
bureau  of  labor  statistics  was  created.  A  stringent  law  was  passed  to  pre- 
vent insurance  companies  combining  to  fix  a  rate.  The  labor  element  showed 
its  increasing  strength  in  a  law  forbidding  the  employment  of  children 
under  fourteen  years  of  age.  A  compulsory  school  law  required  the  at- 
tendance of  children  under  this  age  for  at  least  six  months  every  year. 

Returning  Republican  strength,  combined  with  other  causes,  resulted 
in  the  election  of  Russell  A.  Alger  in  1884  by  a  small  majority  to  succeed 
Governor  Eegole.  ?Ie  was  a  native  of  Medina  county,  Ohio.  During  the 
Civil  War  he  was  proinoted  rapidly  in  the  army,  becoming,  after  a  year  of 
service,  colonel  of  the  Fifth  Michigan  Cavalry  in  Custer's  famous  brigade. 

During  Governor  Alger's  administration  the  Portage  Lake  and  Lake 
Superior  ship  canal  was  transferred  to  the  general  goi'ernment.  The  sol- 
diers' home  was  established  at  Grand  Rapids,  The  state  mining  school  was 
established  in  the  copper  coimtry  at  Houghton.  A  pardon  board  was  created. 
Tn  1885  the  Legislature  made  provision  for  the  semi-centennial  anniversary 
of  the  admission  of  Michigan  as  a  state  in  the  union,  to  lie  held  at  Lansing, 
June  15,  1886.  On  the  occasion  of  this  celebration  notable  addresses  were 
made  by  many  prominent  citizens  and  officials,  which  were  printed  and  pub- 
lished by  the  state.  This  volume,  including  the  ftdl  proceedings,  comprised 
over  five  hundred  pages  and  is  a  ^'ahiable  and  highly  interesting  collection 
of  historical  data. 

Governor  Alger  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  in  1886,  and 
Cyrus  G.  Luce,  of  Coidwater,  I:)ecame  his  successor.  He  was  a  native  of 
Windsor,  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio.  The  Legislature  of  1889  gave  consider- 
able attention  to  the  subject  of  woman  suffrage ;  the  ballot  was  not  given  to 
women  generally,  but  a  law  was  passed  permitting  women  in  Detroit  to 
vote  for  members  of  the  school  board  of  the  city,  which  at  the  time  was 
considered  an  entering  wedge  to  lead  to  woman  suffrage  for  all  officers. 
Among  other  legislation  was  an  act  giving  counties  local  option  in  the  mat- 
ter of  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 

A    CHANGE    IN    REGIME. 

In  the  election  of  iSqo  came  the  first  real  Democratic  triumph  since 
tiie  Republican  party  was  organized.  Edwin  B.  Winans  was  a  Democrat. 
The  causes  operating  in  Michigan  in  favor  of  the  Democrats  were  part  of  a 
tidal  wave  which  in  that  year  swept  the  whoie  country.  One  of  the  most 
spectacular   events   in   the   nation's   history   occurred   in   Governor   Winans' 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN.  8g 

administration,  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago,  to  cele- 
brate the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America  by 
Columbus.  Governor  Winans  appointed  a  board  of  managers,  of  which  he 
was  ex-officio  chairman,  whose  service  did  great  credit  to  the  state  in  dis- 
playing her  arts  and  industries.  It  is  estimated  that  nearly  half  the  adult 
Ijopulation  of  the  lower  peninsula  saw  the  exposition  at  some  stage  of  its 
progress,  many  spen<ling  sometimes  a  week  or  more  and  making  sul>sequent 
visits.  The  formal  opening  of  the  Michigan  building  took  place  on  April 
29,  iSg.-^.  This  commodious  and  elegantly  furnished  structure  cost  upwards 
of  forty  thousand  dollars.  September  13  and  14  were  set  apart  as  Michigan 
days  at  the  fair  and  were  well  observed.  Most  striking  was  the  exhibit 
made  by  Michigan  in  the  agricultural  building.  The  hortiailtural  exhibit 
hardly  did  justice  to  the  state,  l)ecause  of  the  failure  of  the  apple  crop  the 
season  before,  and  the  inadequate  appropriation  for  collecting  and  shipping 
and  the  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of  fruit  growers.  The  forestry  exhibit 
was  adequate,  befitting  the  most  celebrated  of  the  timber  states.  The  min- 
eral exhibit  led  all  others  in  copper  and  iron  and  received  more  awards  than 
that  of  any  other  state.  The  educational  exhibit  was  fairl_v  creditable.  Mark 
W.  Stevens,  of  Flint,  later  circuit  judge,  was  secretary  of  the  Michigan 
World's  Fair  commission. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Winans  was  followed  by  that  of  John 
T.  Rich,  of  Elba,  Lai^eer  county,  Republican  candidate  in  1892.  Among 
the  subjects  of  legislation  considered  in  Governor  Rich's  administration 
were  charters  and  charter  amendments  for  municipalities,  the  borrowing 
power  of  the  state,  taxation  of  church  property,  the  contract  labor  system 
in  the  state  prisons,  and  the  fusion  of  political  parties. 

GOVERNOR    HAZEN    S.    PINGREE. 

Hazen  S.  Pingree  was  elected  governor  in  1894.  His  career  was  sliort, 
but  strenuous.  He  was  a  native  of  Denmark,  Maine.  Mr.  Pingree's  most 
marked  characteristics  were  dislike  of  conventional  ways  of  doing  things 
and  a  determination  to  be  his  own  "Iwss"  while  governor.  He  was  a  vet- 
eran of  the  Civil  War,  having  seen  service  in  the  battles  of  second  Bull  Run, 
Fredericksburg,  S  pott  sylvan  i  a.  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg  and  other  desider- 
ate and  bloody  engagements.  After  the  war  he  became  a  shoe  dealer  in 
Detroit  and  made  wealth  by  hard  work,  good  business  judgment  and  ener- 
getic management.  His  business  ability  and  freedom  from  pohtcal  antago- 
nisms made  him  mayor  of  Detroit.     His  political  shrewdness  during  the  street 


dbyGoot^lc 


90  GENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

car  strike  in  1890,  while  he  was  mayor,  secured  his  re-election  three  times 
afterwards,  and  his  genuine  sympathy  with  working  men,  ampiy  demon- 
strated, made  possible  his  election  as  governor. 

The  keynote  of  Governor  Pingree's  policy  was  primary  election  and 
railroad  taxation.  He  also  in  his  characteristic  manner  |>aid  his  respect  to  a 
class  of  persons  who  frequented  the  capitol  during  sessions  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. He  had  decided  views  upon  the  question  of  public  franchises,  gained 
through  his  experience  with  the  Detroit  street  railways.  The  great  weak- 
ness of  his  administration  was  lack  of  tact  in  dealing  with  members  of  the 
Legislature.  During  his  administration  provision  was  made  for  agricul- 
tural institutes  in  the  several  counties.  The  beet  sugar  industry  was  bo- 
nused;  and  another  law  in  the  interest  of  the  farmer  made  it  a  penal  offense 
to  color  oleomargarine  in  imitation  of  butter. 

■niE    SI'ANISH-AMERIC.AN    WAR. 

It  was  while  Mr.  Pingree  was  governor,  in  1898,  that  war  brolte  out 
with  Spain,  war  being  formally  declared  on  April  25.  The  following  ac- 
comit  of  Michigan's  part  in  this  war  is  taken  from  the  excellent  work  en- 
titled "Michigan  as  a  Province,  State  and  Territory:" 

"The  state  cut  something  of  a  figure  in  the  war,  aside  from  the  regi- 
ments which  it  put  into  the  field.  Russell  A.  Alger,  who  was  secretary  of 
war,  was  a  former  governor  of  Michigan.  Upon  his  shoulders  fell  the 
responsibility  of  equipping,  transporting  across  the  sea  and  maintaining  in 
the  field  the  troops  required  in  the  campaigns  in  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico  and  the 
Philippines.  After  more  than  thirty  years  of  peace,  it  may  well  be  sup- 
posed that  the  .sudden  call  to  active  military  operations  found  the  country 
all  unprepared  for  such  an  emergency.  In  response  to  the  President's  call 
the  country  arose  almost  en  masse.  Tenders  of  service  came  from  every 
direction.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  ten  men  offered  their  services  where  one 
was  required.  These  overwhelming  offers  were  embarrassing.  Meanwhile 
the  war  dei>artment  was  trying  its  utmost  to  get  things  in  shape  for  equip- 
ping and  hauling  the  recruits  to  the  regular  army  and  the  volunteers  gath- 
ered by  the  states.  To  transport  the  army  and  its  equipment  and  supplies 
to  Culm  required  many  ships.  In  this  emergency  Secretary  AFger  called 
to  his  assi-stance  Col.  Frank  _T.  Hecker,  of  Detroit,  of  whose  fitness  for  the 
task  the  secretary  had  personal  knowledge,  and  assigned  to  him  the  duty  of 
procuring  the  ships.  They  were  promptly  forthcoming.  The  command  of 
the  Fifth  Corps,  whicii  was  the  army  which  invaded  Cuba  and  fought  lie- 


dbyGoot^lc 


gent:see  county,  Michigan.  91 

/ore  Santiago,  was  assigned  to  Major-Gen.  William  R.  Shafter,  a  native  of 
Michigan,  who  had  served  efficiently  in  the  Civil  War,  which  he  entered  as 
a  Heutenant  of  the  Seventh  Michigan  Infantry.  After  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War  he  joined  the  regular  army,  in  which  he  had  risen  to  the  rank 
of  brigadier-general,  nix)n  merit  and  length  of  service.  Coi.  Henry  M. 
Duffield,  of  Detroit,  was  made  a  brigadier-general  of  vokinteers  and  was 
assigned  to  the  command  in  Culja  of  a  brigade  composed  of  the  Ninth  Mas- 
sachusetts and  the  Thirty-third  and  Thirty-four  Michigan  Regiments  of 
Volunteers.  Major  George  H.  Hopkins,  of  Detroit,  was  appointed  a  per- 
sonal aid  to  the  secretary  of  war  and  was  assigned  to  the  duty  of  selecting 
camps  and  inspecting  the  sanitary  and  other  conditions  surrounding  them. 
Only  a  small  fraction  of  the  regiments  raised  were  called  to  the  front.  Others 
were  gathered  in  camps  at  Tampa,  Mobile,  Washington  and  ChJckamauga, 
Besides  these  thus  gathered  in  army  camps,  there  were  others  in  regimental 
camps  in  their  se\'eral  states,  which  nevei-  left  them,  but  were  disbanded 
after  it  became  e\-ident  that  their  services  in  the  field  would  not  ]>e  required. 
It  was  the  duty  of  Major  Hopkhis  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  conditions 
of  these  various  camps  and  suggest  methods  of  remedying  defects.  After 
the  engagement  at  Santiago,  which  practically  ended  the  war,  the  health  of 
the  troops  in  Cuba  required  that  the  men  be  sent  north  at  the  earliest  possi- 
ble moment.  Accordingly  a  convalescent  camp  was  established  at  Montauk 
Point,  Long  Island,  to  which  the  whole  of  Shafter's  army  was  brought.  In 
this  camp  Major  C.  B.  Nancrede,  of  the  medical  department  of  the  State 
University,  was  chief  surgeon.  He  had  served  from  the  l.)eginning  of  the 
war  as  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-third  Michigan,  and  upon  his  promotion  was 
succeeded  by  Major  \'ictor  C.  Vaughan,  also  of  the  State  University. 

'"It  happened  that  the  Legislature  was  in  session  when  the  war  broke 
out.  It  promptly  passed  an  act  for  a  war  loan  of  a  half  million  dollars. 
Governor  Pingree  threw  himself  with  all  his  wonderfn!  energy  into  the  task 
of  raising,  etjuiiiping  and  sending  into  the  field  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment  the  state's  quota.  On  the  day  following  the  call  of  the  President 
an  order  was  issued  for  the  mobilization  of  the  entire  Michigan  National 
Guard  at  Island  Lake  within  three  days.  Gen.  F.,  M.  Irish  was  placed  in 
command  and  the  work  of  completing  the  roster  of  the  several  regiments 
was  earnestly  prosecuted.  The  regiments  thus  organized  were  designated 
Thirty-first.  Thirty-second,  Thirty-third  and  Thirty-fourth  Michigan  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  following  in  numerical  order  the  infantry  regiments  of  the 
Civil  War,     The  Thirty-first  was  mustered  May  loth  and  left  on  the  15th, 


dbyGoot^lc 


92  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

under  command  of  Col.  Cornelius  Gardner,  for  Cliicbamauga  Park,  Geor- 
gia. The  Thirty-second  was  mustered  May  4  and  left  on  the  19th,  under 
command  of  Col.  William  T,  McGurrin,  for  Tampa,  Florida.  The  Thirty- 
third  was  mustered  May  20  and  left  on  the  28th,  under  command  of  Col. 
Charles  L.  Boynton,  for  Camp  Alger,  near  Washington.  The  Thirty-fourth 
was  mustered  May  25  and  left  June  6,  under  command  of  Col.  John  P. 
Petermann,  for  Camp  Aiger.  Under  the  second  call  of  the  President  the 
Thirty-fifth  Regiment  was  organized  under  Col.  E.  M.  Irish,  July  li,  and 
left  for  Camp  Meade,  Pennsylvania,  Septemljer  15.  In  organizing,  equip- 
ping and  training  these  regiments  while  in  camp  at  Island  Lake,  Captain 
Irvine,  of  the  Eleventh  United  States  Infantry,  and  Lieutenant  Winans,  of 
the  Fifth  United  States  Cavalry,  rendered  efficient  service. 

"The  men  gathered  in  the  southern  camps,  particularly  at  Chicka- 
nmuga  and  at  Camp  A\ger,  suffered  severly  from  sickness.  At  the  former 
camp  there  was  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  and  the  Thirty-first"  Michigan 
was  removed  to  Macon,  Georgia,  where  it  remained  in  camp  until  Jajiuary, 
1899,  when  it  was  sent  to  Cuba.  It  was  landed  at  Genfugas  and  was  thence 
distributed  in  the  towns  of  Santa  Clara  province  to  preserve  order  and  pro- 
tect property.  The  regiment  was  engaged  on  this  service  until  the  following 
April,  when  it  was  returned  to  this  country  and  mustered  out.  It  lost  four- 
teen men  who  died  from  sickness  in  southern  camps  and  hospitals. 

"The  Thirty-second  was  one  of  the  earliest  regiments  moved  to  Fer- 
nandina,  Florida,  where  it  remained  in  camp  for  some  time.  It  was  not 
among  those  assigned  to  service  in  Cuba,  and  after  a  little  delay  it  was 
transferred  to  Fort  McPherson,  Georgia,  where  it  remained  until  Septem- 
ber, when  it  was  returned  to  Michigan,  and  mustered  out  of  service.  While 
in  the  service  twenty  men  died  of  disease. 

"The  Thirty-third  and  Thirty-fourth  went  to  Tampa,  whence  they 
were  embarked  for  Cuba  on  the  transports  'Paris'  and  'Harvard.'  They 
were  in  General  Duffield's  brigade,  which  formed  a  part  of  General  Shaffer's 
army  which  fought  and  defeated  the  Spaniards  at  Santiago.  They  did  not 
participate  in  the  fight  at  San  Juan  Hill,  but  were  engaged  in  the  attack  at 
Aguadores.  which  was  planned  to  divert  the  enemy  from  the  plan  of  battle 
of  the  main  army  and  prevent  their  reinforcing  it.  In  this  engagement  three 
of  the  Thirty-third  were  killed  or  died  of  wounds.  Yeilow  fever  broke  out 
in  the  camp  at  .Siboney  and  fifty  died  there  or  at  Montauk  Point  or  on  the 
transport  bound  for  the  latter  camp.  The  Thirty-fourth  suffered  even  more 
severeK',  for  eighty-eight  deaths  in  that  regiment  are  recorded,  a  very  large 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHTGAN.  93 

lJro)»rtion  of  these  Ijeing  from_  yellow  fever  while  in  camp  near  Santiago 
or  in  hospital  on  Loii^  Island.  These  regiments  were  returned  from  Culm 
in  AngTist  and  reached  Michigan  in  Septemljer.  They  were  mustered  out  at 
various  times  Isetween  September  3,  1898,  and  January-  2,  1899.  Of  those 
who  survived  the  hardships  of  the  campaign,  many  returned  broken  in 
health.  The  Thirty-fifth  was  mustered  out  at  Augusta,  Georgia,  March. 
iSyt),     Of  its  meml)ers,  twenty-three  died  of  disease  in  camp. 

"The  whole  number  of  men  mustered  was  six  thousand  six  iumdred 
and  seventy-seven,  and  the  total  number  of  deaths  alx)Ut  two  hundred  and 
fifty.  Through  the  efforts  of  Go\'emor  Pingree,  the  men  were  permitted  to 
draw  thirty  to  ninety  days  pay  upon  furlough  prior  to  discharge.  Those 
who  were  in  Cuba  were  also  allowed  pay  for  the  fever-infected  uniforms 
they  were  compelled  to  destroy. 

"Besides  the  infantry  regiments  furnished  to  the  volunteer  service, 
Michigan  was  represented  in  the  naval  arm.  Being  encouraged  thereto  by 
the  general  government,  a  naval  brigade  was  organized  in  Michigan  in  1897. 
I.'he  navy  department  assigned  for  the  use  of  such  naval  brigade  the  United 
States  ship,  'Yantic,'  which  was  at  the  time  in  the  Boston  navy  yard  under- 
going repairs.  The  delicate  international  question  of  getting  this  war  ves- 
sel through  Canadian  waters  was  successfully  disposed  of.  The  governor 
of  Michigan,  on  behalf  of  the  state  receipted  for  the  'Yantic'  to  Ije  delivered 
to  her  commanding  officer,  Lieut.-Com,  Gilbert  Wilkes,  at  Montreal,  From 
that  point  she  was  taken  and  handled  by  the  officers  and  men  of  the  state 
naval  reserves,  and  arrived  at  Detroit,  December  8,  1897.  The  men  had 
some  opportunity  to  drill  and  familiarize  themselves  with  naval  discipline. 
Before  the  call  for  volunteers,  Governor  Pingree  received  a  telegram  from 
the  navy  department  asking  for  men  for  service  on  the  United  States  ship 
'Yo.^emite.'  The  call  was  promptly  responded  to  and  two  hundred  and 
sevenly  men  and  eleven  officers  of  the  Naval  Militia  of  Michigan  enlisted 
in  the  navy.  The  'Yosemite'  was  wholly  manned  by  Michigan  men  and, 
imder  the  conunand  of  I.ieut.-Com.  W.  H.  Eniory,  convoyed  the  transport 
'Panther'  to  Guantanamo  and  covered  the  first  successful  landing  of  Ameri- 
can troops  on  Cuban  soil.  Afterward  it  maintained,  single-handed,  the 
blockade  of  San  Juan,  Puerto  Pico,  and  proved  the  efficiency  of  the  ship 
and  her  crew  by  the  capture  of  prizes  and  the  destruction  of  blockade  run- 
ners. The  governor  in  his  annual  message  congratulated  the  state  on  the 
showing  made  in  the  war  by  its  naval  militia,  and  also  congratulated  the 
men  upon  the  records  they  made." 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


SINCE   THE    WAR    ^ 


At  the  election  of  1900  Aaron  T.  Bliss,  of  Saginaw,  was  eiected  gov- 
ernor. He  was  a  native  of  Smithfield,  Madison  covinty.  New  York,  and, 
like  Governor  Pingree,  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  having  served  in 
the  Tenth  New  York  Cavalry.  In  1882  he  was  elected  from  Saginaw 
county  to  the  state  Senate;  he  also  served  one  term  in  Congress.  In  1897 
he  was  elected  department  commander  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 
The  main  subjects  of  legislation  while  he  was  governor  were  primary  re- 
form and  railroad  taxatiiMi.  The  Western  State  Norma!  School  was  estab- 
lished at  Kalamazoo.  At  Saginaw  was  established  the  Michigan  Employ- 
ment Jnstittition  for  the  Blind. 

Governor  Bliss  was  succeeded  in  1905  by  Fred  M.  Warner,  of  b'ann- 
ington,  Oakland  county.  Previous  to  this  time  Mr.  Warner  had  served  in 
the  state  Senate  and  as  secretary  of  state.  He  has  the  distinction  of  l>eing 
among  the  very  few  governors  of  Michigan  who  have  ser\'ed  three  terms 
in  succession,  being  re-elected  in  1906  and  1908.  During  his  first  term  the 
semi-centennial  of  the  [lassage  of  the  first  boat  through  the  Sault  Ste,  Marie 
canal  was  celebrated  {1905V  At  the  election  in  1908  the  revised  constitu- 
tion, as  drawn  up  hy  tlie  constitutional  convention  held  at  Lansing  in  1907-8, 
was  adopted.  This  constitution,  while  following  closely  that  of  1850,  cur- 
tailed the  ix)wc'r  of  the  Legislature  and  extended  that  of  home  rule  in  the 
municipalities.  Among  the  acts  of  legislation  while  Mr.  Warner  was  gov- 
ernor were  provision  for  direct  nomination  of  candidates  for  state  offices, 
provision  for  a  popular  advisory  vote  for  United  States  senator,  and  pro- 
vision for  the  present  state  railroad  commission. 

The  first  governor  elected  under  the  constitution  of  1908  was  Chase 
S.  Osborn,  Republican,  who  served  one  term,  beginning  in  1911.  He  was 
a  native  of  Huntington  county,  Indiana,  and  in  early  life  engaged  in  news- 
paper work.  In  1887  he  purchased  the  Sautt  Ste.  Marie  Nczcs.  and  since 
then  has  lived  mainly  at  the  "Soo."  The  principal  laws  enacted  during  his 
administration  were  a  general  revision  of  the  primary  election  law,  a  city 
home  rule  bill  authorizing  the  use  of  the  initiative,  referendum  and  recatl, 
provision  for  a  state  fire  marshal,  and  a  law  allowing  women  to  \ote  at 
school  primaries. 

Since  January  i,  1913,  Woodbridge  N.  Ferris,  of  Big  Rapids,  has  been 
governor.  His  second  term  will  exfwre  December  31.  of  this  year  (1916). 
Mr.  Ferris  was  horn  in  1853  in  a  log  cabin  four  miles  from  Spencer,  Tioga 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICirKJAN,  95 

county.  New  York.  In  this  neighlwrhcxK.!  and  in  neiglilwring;  academies  he 
received  his  early  education,  and  later  tanght  school  and  earned  his  way 
through  the  Oswego  Normal  and  Training  School.  In  1873  he  entered 
upon  tJie  medicaJ  course  in  the  University  of  Michigan.  In  1875  he  or- 
ganized a  business  college  at  Freeport,  Illinois,  and  later  l>ecame  principal 
of  the  normal  department  in  the  Rock  River  University.  In  1877  he  or- 
ganized a  business  college  in  Dixon,  llJiiiois,  and  in  1884  the  Ferris  Indus- 
trial School  at  Big  Rapids,  The  latter  school  was  started  with  fifteen  stu- 
dents; the  enrollment  for  the  current  year  ( 1916)  is  about  two  thousand 
students.  Through  his  extensive  educational  work,  Mr.  Ferris  became  one 
of  the  best  known  citizens  of  Midiigan.  He  is  the  first  Democratic  gov- 
ernor since  the  election  of  Governor  Winans  in  1890,  and  received  at  his 
second  election  nearly  forty  thousand  more  votes  than  the  Republican  candi- 
date. Chase  S.  Os1x>rn. 

One  of  the  bitterly  contested  bills  while  Mr.  Ferris  has  l>een  governor 
is  the  "Sliding  Scale"'  biJ!,  to  increase  passenger  fares  on  Michigan  rail- 
roails,  which  was  defeated  in  the  house  by  a  \'ote  of  forty-five  to  fifty-four. 
A  new  primary  election  law  has  been  passerl,  pro\'i(ling  for  a  separate  Mllot 
for  each  party ;  no  person  who  is  the  regular  candidate  on  the  ballot  of  one 
party  can  have  his  name  written  in  on  the  ballot  of  another  parly;  and  in 
order  to  gain  a  place  on  the  ticket  a  candidate  must  receive  in  the  primary 
a  ten  per  cent  vote  of  his  party.  A  teachers'  retirement  fund  has  been 
secured ;  the  Michigan  Historical  Commission  created ;  also  an  annual  ap- 
propriation of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  use  of  the  state  board 
of  health  for  the  study  and  prevention  of  tul^erculosis.  In  1913  occurred 
one  of  the  most  .^erious  crises  in  the  recent  industrial  history  of  Michigan, 
when  the  Western  l'"ederation  of  Miners,  attempting  to  get  a  foothold  in  the 
Michigan  copper  country,  fomented  a  strike  of  the  miners,  which  lasted 
from  July,  1913,  to  April,  1914.  Throughout  this  controversy  the  course 
of  Governor  Ferris  was  such  as  to  secure  the  hearty  approval  of  the  miners, 
the  mine  owners  and  of  the  people  of  the  state  generally.  The  mine  owners 
were  induced  to  offer  re-employment  to  all  men  who  had  not  been  guilty  of 
violence,  on  condition  of  renoimcing  membership  in  the  Western  Federation 
of  Miners,  which  was  agreed  to  by  the  striking  memljers  of  the  federation 
through  a  referendum  vote.  In  addition,  the  main  demands  of  the  miners 
were  granted,  which  included  a  minimum  wage  of  three  dollars,  an  eight- 
hour  day  and  better  working  conditions. 


iGoo-^lc 


GENTZSEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 


XATUKAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE   STATE. 


l-'rom  the  point  to  wliich  we  have  now  come,  the  aiitmiin  of  1916,  it 
iriity  I)e  wei!  to  glance  at  the  natural  resources  of  the  state,  its  industrial 
an<t  commercial  interests,  its  development  of  land  and  water  transportation, 
its  progress  in  education,  and  its  social  elements. 

AlM3ve  the  rocks  of  the  Michigan  peninsulas  lies  one  of  the  most  fertile 
soils  of  the  Union.  It  has  furnished  the  Imckhone  of  industry  in  Michigan; 
as  niFiny  persons  are  engaged  in  agriculture  as  in  all  other  indiistries  com- 
bined. The  climate  also  is  favorable  for  the  growing  of  all  crops  profitable 
in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  eNcept  cotton,  sugar  cane  and  rice.  Wheat 
and  corn  have  ahva3'S  been  staple  and  reliable  cro^js,  but  a  striking  charac- 
teristic of  Michigan's  agricultural  products  is  their  great  variety.  The  latest 
to  be  cultivated  extensively  is  the  sugar  beet. 

Tn  the  earlier  days  of  the  lower  peninsula  one  of  the  most  prominent 
industries  was  lumliering.  Practically  the  whole  of  the  peninsula  was  cov- 
ered with  den.se  forest.  The  removal  of  the  forest  went  hand  in  hand  with 
the  advance  of  agriculture.  Great  quantities  of  pine  were  taken  from  the 
Saginaw  country,  Ijeginning  in  earnest  about  i860.  It  was  estimated  that  in 
1872  two  and  a  half  billion  feet  of  pine  lumber  was  sawed  there  by  fifteen 
hundred  saw-mills,  employing  twenty  thousand  persons  and  representing  a 
capital  of  twenty-five  million  dollars.  The  entire  amount  cut  in  the  state  in 
1883  was  estimated  at  four  billion  feet.  The  industry  still  thrives  on  a 
large  scale  in  the  upper  peninsida. 

The  lumber  industry  naturally  gave  rise  to  the  manufacture  of  furni- 
ture. r,rand  Rapids  and  Hetroit  became  world-renowned  centers  of  furni- 
ture making.  The  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements  was  a  natural 
accf)mpaniment  of  the  clearing  of  the  forests  and  the  growth  of  agriculture. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  manufacture  of  vehicles.  In  Detroit,  Flint  and 
Lansing  the  manufacture  of  automobiles  has  grown  to  large  proportions. 
Detroit,  among  other  cities,  is  also  the  home  of  a  large  industry  in  stoves, 
ranges  and  furnaces  and  all  varieties  of  heating  devices.  Other  large  De- 
troit industries  arc  the  manufacture  of  cigars  and  tobacco  goods,  lx>ot&  and 
shoes,  and  drugs.  Chemical  laboratories  have  l>een  an  important  item  in  the 
aggregate  industries  of  the  state.  The  cities  along  the  shores  of  the  Great 
Lakes  have  engaged  largely  in  the  fresh  water  fisheries,  the  most  productive 
in  the  United  States.  I.alwr  conditions  in  all  these  industries  have  been 
excellent  in  Michigan,  evidence  for  which  is  the  attitude  of  organized  labor 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COaNTY,    MICHIGAN.  9/ 

and  the  absence  of  aiiy  strikes  of  conseqvience  in  any  of  them.  The  farmer, 
the  manufacturer,  the  irierchant  and  the  laborers  have  recognized  that  labor 
disturbances  are  wasteful  for  all  concerned  and,  by  mutual  concessions,  all 
differences  have  been  harmonized  in  the  interest  of  the  general  progress. 

The  first  minerals  mined  in  Michigan  were  copper  and  iron.  Actual 
operations  in  copper  mining  were  iDegun  in  1843,  in  the  vicinity  of  Kewee- 
naw Point,  by  Boston  capitalists.  In  1866  the  discovery  of  the  CaUimet  and 
Hecla  conglomerate  lode  marked  a  new  era  in  copper  mining.  Until  the 
development  of  copper  mining  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  states  in  the  early 
eighties,  the  Michigan  mines  produced  almost  the  whole  domestic  supjjly  and 
nearly  twenty  per  cent  of  the  world's  supply.  In  the  production  of  iron, 
Michigan  leads  all  the  states,  her  principal  iron  districts  being  the  Mar- 
quette, Menominee  and  Gogebic  ranges  in  the  Lake  Superior  region.  The 
first  ore  was  taken  out  in  1854  from  Marquette  district. 

In  1835  coal  mining  in  Michigan  began  at  Jackson;  but  the  extensive 
operations  have  been  since  i860.  Michigan  coal  has  not  been  able  to  com- 
pete in  price  with  the  coal  from  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia. 
About  i860  lx:gan  the  development  of  the  salt  industry.  It  has  been  mainly 
confined  to  the  Saginaw  country.  Michigan  is  still  a  leading  state  in  the 
production  of  salt.  Another  important  mineral  industry  is  the  manufacture 
of  Portland  cement.  It  began  in  1872,  when  a  plant  was  built  near  Kala- 
mazoo. Upwards  of  a  million  barrels  are  now  produced  annually.  The 
manufacture  of  land  fertilizers  from  the  gj-psum  deposits  has  become  an 
important  industry  in  several  localities.  The  largest  gjpsum  mills  are  at 
Grand  Rapids,  where  the  first  was  built  in  1S41.  Clay  for  brick  making 
has  furnished  materia?  for  about  three  hundred  brick  kilns  in  the  state. 
Building  materials  aljound  in  the  fine  sandstones,  slates  and  other  stones. 
Grindstone  quarries  have  been  oi>ened  in  Huron  county,  and  graphite  mines 
have  been  worked  to  some  extent  in  Baraga  county  in  the  upper  peninsula. 

TR.\NSPORTATION",  !   "        'i 

The  building  of  cars  has  from  early  days  been  an  important  industry 
in  Michigan.  Since  1852,  when  the  Michigan  Central  railway  was  ccan- 
pleted  Ijetween  Detroit  and  Chicago,  railroad  building  has  developed  rapidly. 
This  was  sul>stantial!y  aided  by  grants  of  land  for  the  purpose,  given  to  the 
state  by  the  national  government.  The  Michigan  Central  now  has  branches 
to  all  parts  of  the  state  feeding  the  great  trunk  line  from  every  direction 

(7) 


dbyGoc^lc 


9o  GENIiSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern,  the  second  eariiest  Hne,  has  h'kewise 
acquired  numerous  tributary  hnes.  The  Detroit,  Grand  Haven  &  Milwau- 
kee railroad,  the  Pere  Marquette  system,  the  Ann  Arbor  railroad,  the  Grand 
Rapids  &  Indiana,  and  the  extensions  of  the  Grand  Trunk  system  of  Can- 
ada, afford  abundant  means  of  trans-peiiinsu]ar  communication  and  trans- 
portation. Similar  facilities  are  afforded  in  the  upper  peninsula  by  the 
Diiluth,  South  Shore  &  Atlantic,  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern,  the  Minne- 
apolis, St.  Paul  &  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  numerous  branch  lines.  The 
development  of  the  automobile  had  its  inception  in  Michigan,  and  in  the 
marvelous  advance  made  in  the  motor  car  industry  Michigan  stands  first  in 
number  of  cars  manufactured  and  volume  of  business  in  that  Hne.  The 
motor  car  industry  is  third  in  money  value  in  the  United  States,  only  steel 
and  cotton  exceeding  it.  Electric  roads  extend  into  nearly  every  section  of 
lower  Michigan  and  in  addition  to  passengers,  do  a  large  freight  and  express 
business. 

Water  transportation,  on  the  Great  Lakes,  has  kept  pace  with  the  rail- 
roads and  has  given  rise  to  the  industry  of  ship- building.  Michigan  forests 
have  furnished  the  finest  ship  timber  in  the  world.  In  the  days  of  wooden 
ships  the  principal  centers  of  this  industry  were  at  Detroit,  Bay  City  and 
points  on  the  St.  Clair  river.  With  the  coming  of  the  steel  ship,  the  works 
at  these  places  were  expanded  to  meet  the  demand  and  are  now  rivalled 
only  by  those  near  Cleveland.  Of  late  years  the  growth  in  lake  tonnage  has 
been  verj'  rapid  and  the  size  and  num'ber  of  water  craft  have  increased  in 
proportion.  Great  leviathans  carry  coal,  iron,  copper  and  grain  from  the 
far  end  of  Lake  Superior  to  lower  Lake  Erie  and  to  Cliicago  and  Milwaukee, 
and  smaller  craft  carry  full  loads  into  all  harbors.  Each  year  witnesses  a 
substantial  increase  of  investment  in  great  plants  to  meet  the  demands  of 
the  Great  Lakes  carrying  trade. 

EDUCATIONAL    ADVANCEMENT. 

With  the  material  advancement  of  the  state  has  gone  hand  in  hand  the 
expansion  of  Michigan's  educational  system.  Rural  schools,  primary  schools, 
grammar  schools,  high  schools,  academies,  colleges  and  the  State  University 
—all  have  advanced  together.  Over  the  state  are  thousands  of  school  dis- 
tricts, with  a  school  population  of  near  a  million.  In  the  cities,  manual 
training  has  gained  headway  in  recent  years,  and  industrial  schools,  of  the 
type  of  the  Ferris  Institute,  have  multiplied,  where  the  talents  and  inclina- 
tions of  boys  and  girls,  in  any  given  direction,  are  developed  and  that  train- 
ing of  hand  and  eye  given,  which  In  after  life  is  useful  in  a  thousand  ways 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  99 

r^ardless  of  vocation.  These  schools  have  a  sociological  as  weli  as  an  edu- 
cational aspect,  for  through  their  training,  genius  may  be  discovered,  to  the 
manifest  advantage  of  humanity.  Another  feature  of  recent  progress  is 
the  kindergarten,  starting  the  very  youngest  children  along  lines  of  health- 
ful instruction  to  education  in  the  schools.  Teachers'  institutes  mark  a 
notable  advance  in  improving  the  quality  of  the  teaching  force  in  all  the 
schools,  and  the  training  of  teachers  in  normal  schools  has  enlisted  the 
service  of  some  of  the  best  trained  educators  of  the  state.  The  oldest  of 
the  normal  schools  is  that  at  Ypsilanti,  opened  in  1852.  Others  are  the  Cen- 
tra! State  Normal  School,  at  Mount  Pleasant;  the  Northern  State  Normal 
School,  at  Marquette,  and  the  Western  State  Normal  School,  at  Kalamazoo; 
in  their  names  the  word  "College"  has  now  been  substituted  for  "School." 

The  crown  of  this  system  of  schools  is  tlie  University  of  Michigan. 
From  the  kindergarten  to  the  university,  the  Michigan  boy  or  girl  will  find 
the  successive  studies  carefully  graded  to  each  stage  of  development  and 
to  the  general  needs  of  a  great  variety  of  vocational  and  cultural  attain- 
ments. Since  the  Civil  War  the  university  has  had  three  presidents,  includ- 
ing Erastns  O.  Haven,  who  was  president  at  the  close  of  the  war;  the  others 
have  been,  the  well-beloved  and  late  lamented  Dr.  James  B.  Angell,  and  the 
present  incum'bent,  Dr.  Harry  B.  Hutchins.  Dr.  Henry  S.  Frieze  was  act- 
ing-president for  one  year,  between  President  Haven  and  President  Angell. 
Doctor  Angell  served  from  1871  to  1909,  and  during  this  long  period  under 
his  wise  guidance  the  university  gained  recognition  world-wide  as  ranking 
among  the  first  of  the  leading  universities  of  the  United  States.  In  1870 
women  were  admitted  on  an  equal  basis  with  men,  a  courageous  step,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  no  institution  of  similar  rank  had  yet  taken  it.  Women 
are  now  to  l:>e  found  in  all  its  departments — in  literature,  science  and  the 
arts,  engineering,  medicine  and  surgery,  law,  pharmacy  and  dentistr)'.  These 
departments  are  housed  in  over  twenty-five  principal  buildings  at  Ann  Arlxir, 
on  tracts  of  land  containing  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  valued  at 
nearly  six  miUion  dollars.  During  the  current  college  year  over  seven  thou- 
sand students  have  there  received  instruction.  Since  its  organization  over 
thirty  thousand  graduates  have  gone  out  from  its  walls  into  ei'ery  leading 
profession,  into  public  life,  into  educational  work,  and  are  to  be  found  today 
in  every  state  of  the  Union  and  in  nearly  every  foreign  country  helping  in 
every  good  work  of  the  world. 

Two  other  state  colleges,  each  in  its  line  doing  a  great  work  for  the 
honor  of  Michigan,  are  the  Agricultural  College,  at  East  Lansing,  and  the 
Mining  College,  at  Houghton,  in  the  upper  peninsula.     The  former,  estat>- 


dbyGoot^lc 


lOO  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

lished  in  1857,  and  endowed  by  the  national  government  with  two  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  acres  of  pubHc  lands,  is  the  oldest  institution  of  its  kind 
and  standing  in  the  United  States.  Besides  being  a  professional  school  in 
the  sciences  upon  which  agriculture  depends,  it  aims  to  prepare  its  students 
for  the  duties  of  social  and  civil  life.  In  connection  is  an  agricultural  farm 
for  purposes  of  experimentation.  Women  are  now  admitted  to  all  its  classes. 
Like  the  state  university,  it  receives  part  of  its  financial  support  through 
the  Legislature.  The  Michigan  College  of  Mines  is  in  the  heart  of  the 
great  "copper  country"  of  Lake  Superior.  It  was  first  opened  in  1886.  It 
is  al.so  supported  by  the  state. 

In  addition  to  these  state  institutions  of  higher  and  special  learning  are 
the  denominational  colleges.  Of  these,  the  most  important  are  at  Albion, 
Olivet,  Kalamazoo.  Hillsdale,  Holland,  Detroit,  Adrian,  Alma  and  Battle 
Creek.  Albion  was  founded  by  the  Methodists  in  1861;  Olivet  in  1859,  by 
the  Congregationalists;  Kalamazoo  in  1855,  by  the  Baptists;  Hillsdale  was 
founded  in  1855,  and  Hope  College,  at  Holland,  in  1866.  The  latter  was 
contemplated  from  the  establishment  of  the  Dutch  colony  at  Holland  in 
1847,  and  was  preceded  by  the  Holland  Academy  in  1851.  Detroit  University, 
organized  in  1881,  was  established  by  Roman  Catholics  of  the  diocese  of 
Detroit,  and  is  in  charge  of  the  Jesuits,  an  order  of  the  church  devoted  to 
education.  Adrian  College  was  founded  in  1859.  Alma  College  was 
founded  by  the  Presbyterians  in  1887.  Battle  Creek  College  was  estab- 
lished in  1874  by  the  Seventh-Day  Adventists.  Besides  these  there  are  many 
denominational  academies,  seminaries  and  schools. 

Michigan's  unparalleled  advantages  for  agriculture,  her  unequaled 
inducements  to  lalwr  in  a  great  variety  of  factories  and  mines,  and  her  unex- 
celled system  of  common  schools  and  higher  education,  have  brought  to  her 
farms,  cities  and  mines,  a  diverse  population  of  all  nationalities— Scotch, 
Irish,  English,  Dutch,  German,  Scandinavian,  Hungarian,  Polish  and  Italian 
— to  make  homes  for  themselves  in  her  two  peninsulas.  At  an  early  day 
the  French  came  in  from  Canada  and  settled  along  the  shore  above  and 
below  Detroit  and  to  the  Mackinac  country;  and,  later,  the  pine  htmbering 
brought  numljers  of  French-Canadians  to  Saginaw  and  farther  north  to  the 
lands  above  the  bay.  Direct  immigration  from  France  has  never  occurred 
to  anv  extent.  During  the  period  of  the  British  occupation  of  the  North- 
west, English  settlers  came  in  considerable  numbers,  mainly  to  the  vicinitv 
of  Detroit,  and  also  some  persons  of  Scotch  and  Irish  descent.  The  great 
immigration  of  the  Irish  came  with  the  troubles  in  the  homeland  in  the  first 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Indians  of  Genesee  County, 

It  is  unfortunate  for  the  memory  of  any  race  to  have  its  history  written 
by  its  enemies.  This  is  the  sad  fate  of  the  Indians.  Their  place  in  history 
has  been  determined  by  those  who  belong  to  an  ahen  and  antag;onistic  people 
with  whom  relentless  warfare  was  waged  almost  from  the  period  of  their 
first  contact.  The  result  of  these  wars  was  the  defeat  of  the  red  man,  the 
spoliation  of  his  territory,  and  the  loss  of  his  pristine  freedom  and  with 
these  went  all  those  virtues  and  peculiarly  interesting  habits  of  mind  that 
characterized  him  in  his  native  wilds.  In  writing  the  history  of  those  ene- 
mies and  so  justify  in  the  eyes  of  posterity  his  own  conduct,  there  is  a 
grievous  temptation  to  the  conqueror,  who  may  have  many  acts  of  oppression 
to  palliate,  to  exaggerate  the  offenses  of  his  enemy,  even  to  construe  into 
offenses  acts  which  were  meant  to  be  friendly. 

The  history  of  the  Indian  is  at  best  fragmentary  and  often  written  to 
subserve  some  ulterior  purpose ;  and,  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  in  addition 
to  the  incertitude  of  the  white  man's  incomplete  and  often  prejudiced  record, 
the  information  we  get  from  the  Indian  about  himself  is  often  less  reliable 
than  that  given  us  by  the  white  man.  This  grows  out  of  certain  inherent 
ethical  concepts  of  the  Indian,  coupled  with  an  inability  to  understand  the 
white  man's  motive,  whose  insatiable  desire  for  knowledge  is  quite  beyond 
the  ken  of  the  less  tutored  or  rather  differently  tutored  red  man. 

The  Indian  was  taught  from  his  childhood  that  curiosity  was  a  vice 
leading  to  gossip,  which  soon  developed  into  the  detestable  habit  of  mis- 
chief-making. There  was  not  a  more  contemptible  character,  from  the 
view  point  of  the  red  man,  than  that  of  the  mischief-maker,  and  any  tend- 
ency toward  idie  curiosity  which  developed  among  the  youth  of  the  forest 
folk,  and  which  naturally  led  to  mischief- making,  was  sternly  rebuked,  not 
by  any  corporal  chastisement,  but  by  the  sharp  shafts  of  ridicule  and  scorji 
which  seldom  failed  to  correct  the  incipient  habit.  Had  the  Indian's  feel- 
ing toward  corporal  punishment  been  different,  the  ducking-stool  might  have 
been  invoked  to  put  down  the  habit  of  gossip  or  mischief-making;  but  corp- 
oral punishment  was  so  utterly  irreconcilable  with  his  conception  of  personal 


dbyGoot^lc 


102  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

liberty,  as  to  be  inadmissible  as  a  corrective.  Among  the  Iroquois  a  visit  to 
the  offender  by  a  delegation  of  the  tribe  eacb  wearing  a  husk  nose  four  or 
five  inches  long,  suggesting  that  the  wearer  had  to  so  elongate  his  natural 
nose  in  order  to  associate  with  one  who  had  the  habit  of  putting  his  nose 
into  other  folk's  affairs,  was  generally  a  sufficient  hint  to  correct  the  mis- 
chief-making propensities  of  the  offender. 

Such  was  the  result  of  this  trait  of  Indian  character  and  his  ideas  of 
social  ethics,  that  when  a  white  man  came  among  them  asking  questions  as 
to  the  affairs  of  the  red  man,  which  from  their  angle  could  not  in  any  con- 
ceivable manner  concern  the  white  man,  he  was  placed  in  the  category  of 
the  mischief-maker,  and  as  such  regarded  as  a  legitimate  butt  for  his  ridi- 
cule. This  found  its  exercise  in  some  versatile  Indian  of  imagination,  who, 
with  the  air  of  a  Roman  senator  and  a  face  immobile  and  inexpressive  of 
any  humor,  would  impro\'ise  legends,  folk  lore,  history,  tradition,  or  what- 
ever seemed  to  appease  the  prurient  desire  of  the  white  man ;  thus  many  a 
faked  tale  has  come  into  the  literature  of  the  white  man  as  veritable  Indian 
lore. 

We  might  aiso  add  to  the  difficulties  above  specified  the  contradictory 
accounts  of  various  writers,  who  so  much  differ  even  in  those  matters  that 
palpably  came  within  their  own  observation  and  which  were  the  very  sub- 
ject matter  of  their  investigation;  these  further  impress  one  with  the  need 
of  critical  examination  of  all  the  records.  A  prominent  example  is  the 
estimate  of  the  Indian  by  the  Recollects,  who  brand  the  red  men  as  gross, 
stupid  and  rustic  persons,  incapable  of  thought  or  reflection,  with  less  knowl- 
edge than  the  brutes,  and  utterly  unworthy  of  any  missionary  effort  for 
their  redemption.  Over  against  this  opinion  is  the  Judgment  of  the  Jesuits, 
who  attribute  to  these  same  men  good  sense,  tenacious  memory,  quick  appre- 
hension, solid  judgment,  and  add  that  they  take  pleasure  in  hearing  the  word 
of  God. 

By  some  whose  observation  has  been  obviously  superficial,  the  Indian 
has  been  described  as  taciturn  and  stoical.  Such  a  characterization  is  per- 
haps excusable  in  one  who  has  seen  the  Indian  in  the  presence  of  strangers, 
standing  like  a  statue,  immobile  for  hours,  with  no  word  but  a  grunted 
exclamation  of  negation  or  assent,  betraying  neither  emotion  not  interest 
in  his  environment.  But  let  the  observer  follow  the  apparently  stolid  Indian 
into  his  home,  where  he  is  unrestrained  by  the  presence  of  strangers,  and 
he  would  have  found  him  the  rustic  humorist,  rollicking,  given  to  the  exer- 
cise of  practical  joking,  quick  in   repartee,  ready  to  give  and  to  take  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  IO3 

with  that  philosophy  that  enables  hini  to  laugh  at  the  joke  upon  himself, 
however  rough,  as  heartily  as  when  another  is  the  victim.  Ail  of  these 
suggestions  would  seem  to  emphasize  the  need  of  presenting,  if  possible, 
the  Indian  as  he  was,  carefully  eliminating  those  matters  of  incertitude,  and 
attempting  to  present  him  as  a  man,  a  father,  husband,  to  introduce  him 
to  his 'fellow  men  as  a  provider— so  we  may  see  him  in  his  family;  in  fine, 
to  accentuate  the  human  interest  element  in  writing  this  account  of  the 
forest  men  whom  our  early  writers  properly  called  "silviages,"  or  forest 
folk,  but  whose  epithet  has  been  corrupted  into  "savages,"  even  as  our  con- 
ception of  them  has  Ijeen  corrupted.  As  Genesee  county  has  an  Iroquois 
Indian  name,  sonorous  and  beautiful  in  its  suggestiveness,  so  let  us  do,  at 
least,  justice  to  these  men  and  women  from  whom  we  have  adopted  the 
name,  for  these  i>eople  have  a  closer  connection  with  the  history  of  our 
locality  than  has  generally  been  known. 

In  considering  the  Indians  of  this  county  and  vicinage,  it  is  plainly 
necessary  to  go  beyond  the  narrow  confines  of  our  county  and  take  a  com- 
prehensive view  of  the  Indians  of  Canada  and  the  United  States.  It  is 
quite  obvious  that  the  American  Indians,  or  Amerinds,  to  use  the  new  word 
coined  by  the  ethnologists,  with  their  inborn  wanderlust  and  frequent 
enforced  migrations  resultant  from  the  exigencies  of  their  status  and  hostile 
environment,  could  not  have  any  distinctive  history  in  any  locality,  where 
they  may  have  for  a  time  lived,  which  would  form  anything  like  a  com- 
pleted narrative,  or  have  any  particular  historic  value  if  treated  without 
reference  to  antecedent  conditions. 

The  discoverers  of  North  America  found  north  of  Mexico  a  land 
whose  extent  baffled  the  imagination,  whose  inhabitants  were  so  few  that 
the  greater  portion  of  the  coimtrywas  entirely  unoccupied — so  few  that 
every  conception  of  territorial  dominion,  possession  or  occupancy,  based  on 
European  standards,  is  fallacious  and  misleading  when  applied  to  the  new 
world.  Here  and  there  regions  were  held  by  some  tribe  or  nation,  under  a 
title  which  the  other  tribes  conceded,  but  it  was  all  based  on  force,  the  good 
old  rule  of  Rob  Roy  that  they  .should  take  who  have  the  power,  and  they 
should  keep  who  can.  Here  and  there  were  villages  of  a  few  families, 
located  by  some  streatn  or  lake,  with  an  indefinite  hinterland  forming  the 
hunting  grounds  of  the  people  who  wandered  over  them  in  summer  and 
returned  to  winter  in  the  village.  The  intertribal  lx)undary  lines  were  gen- 
erally tlie  watersheds  that  separated  one  drainage  basin  from  another. 

A   great  pfjrtion  of  these  Indians  still  depended  on  the  chase  and  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


I04  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Spontaneous  gifts  of  nature  in  the  way  of  fruits,  nuts  and  edible  roots  for 
sustenance,  and  these  naturally  had  less  claim  on  the  soil  of  any  region 
wh«-e  they  roamed;  some,  however,  had  developed  a  crnde  agriculture  and, 
as  tillers  of  the  land,  had  a  more  ethical  basis  for  their  claims  of  ownership. 
Not  only  had  they  become  more  stable  in  their  haibitations,  but,  by  reason  of 
a  more  dei>endable  supply  of  food,  they  had  become  more  numerous  and, 
what  then,  as  now,  is  more  important,  more  able  to  defend  their  claims 
regardless  of  any  ethical  basis  or  abstract  right.  It  was  the  variant  stand- 
ards of  the  whites  and  Indians  as  to  land  tenures  that  caused  most  of  the 
wars,  and  it  is  to  the  credit  of  the  whites  that  they  generally  recognized 
the  claims  of  the  Indians,  howe-ver  worthless  from  European  standards,  and 
extinguished  the  same  by  purchase,  although  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
in  the  bargaining  for  such  titles  the  Indians  were  often  overreached  by  their 
better  informed  purchasers. 

THE  STORY   OF  AV-OUN-A-WA-TA. 

Many,  many  years  ago,  as  the  Indians  say  to  designate  time  iong  past, 
there  was  born  among  the  people  of  the  hills,  Ono-nun-da,  a  boy  who  grew 
to  manhood  among  the  warriors  of  his  tribe,  but,  unlike  them,  averse 
to  war  and  oppressed  by  a  consciousness  of  its  wickedness  and  inutility.  He 
saw  around  him  the  results  of  this  wrong.  He  saw  that  his  people  were 
victims  of  the  wrongs  inflicted  by  other  tribes  and  that  in  retaliation  they 
gloried  in  returning  wrong  with  wrong;  that  consequently  they  were  feeble 
in  numbers  and  slept  insecure,  for  with  the  dawn  might  come  a  war  cry  of 
an  enemy.  The  war  lust  had  seized  upon  his  people.  He  looked  to  the 
east  and  there  saw  the  people  of  the  stone,  the  0-ney-yote-car-ono,  whom 
we  call  the  Oneidas,  and  in  them  a  people  of  the  same  language  as  his  own, 
but  they  were  his  enemies;  he  looked  farther  toward  the  rising  sun  and 
there  were  the  Ga-ne-gao-ono  (Mohawks),  also  of  his  own  language,  but 
they,  too,  were  enemies;  when  he  looked  toward  the  setting  sun  he  Ijeheld 
the  men  of  the  Gwe-no-cweh-ono,  the  Oneidas,  of  his  own  blood  and  lan- 
guage, and  beyond  them  the  Nun-da-wa-ono,  the  people  of  the  big  hill,  and 
they,  too,  were  of  his  own  speech  and  blood,  biit  all  were  enemies.  It 
grieved  him  that  he  was  to  go  out  some  day  to  kill  these  people  whose 
fathers'  fathers  had  been  his  fathers'  fathers,  and  who  were  his  brothers. 

He  often  sat  with  bowed  head  and  brooded  over  these  things  that  were 
in  his  mind,  while  other  youths  exercised  with  the  bow  and  the  club.  The 
old  men  said  of  him  that  he  would  be  greater  than  these  warriors,   for  his 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I05 

words  burned,  and  that  it  would  come  to  pass  that  he  would  lead  the  men 
who  make  war,  and  they  would  follow. 

And  when  it  came  for  him  to  dream  his  dream,  he  went  out  into  the 
deep  forest  and  there  he  lay  for  days,  fasting,  and  when  he  came  to  be  like 
one  dead,  his  dream  came  to  him,  and  he  saw  a  beautiful  vision  of  a  world 
at  peace.  After  he  saw  the  wonder  river,  the  O-hee-o,  and  upon  its  bank 
grew  the  great  trees  and  their  branches  hung  over  its  waters,  filled  with 
fruits  and  nuts ;  and  he  saw  the  canoes  on  the  river,  those  on  the  right  side 
floating  down  stream,  and  on  the  left  side,  they  floated  up  the  stream,  and 
the  paddles  were  idle,  for  they  needed  no  propulsion.  And  when  the  people 
in  the  canoes  were  hungry  they  held  up  their  hands  toward  the  trees,  and 
the  boughs  bent  down  and  gave  their  fruit  into  the  hands  of  the  hungry. 
And  there  were  no  thorns  on  the  briers,  nor  on  the  trees,  no  beasts  of  prey, 
and  no  wrong,  for  such  was  the  world  before  the  pride  and  ambition  of  the 
Indian  had  challenged  the  power  of  Rawennyo,  who  made  the  world,  and 
wars  had  not  come,  nor  hunger  and  pestilence,  to  curse  the  people  of  the 
world. 

And  when  he  had  dreamed  his  dream,  he  arose  and,  weak  with  fasting, 
but  with  a  vision  of  the  peace  that  was  once  the  heritage  of  the  world,  he 
came  to  the  village  of  the  hili  people,  and  there  he  Sifted  his  hands  to  the 
east,  the  south,  the  west  and  the  north,  and  said :  "Oh,  Rawennyo,  I  have 
seen  the  world  at  peace  in  my  dream,  and  I  understand  what  you  have  set 
for  me  to  do;  f  accept  the  task  and  will  perform  what  you  have  appointed 
for  me  to  do.     I  am  content." 

Then  Ay-oun-a-wa-ta  went  out  among  the  men  of  his  tribe  and  told 
them  of  his  dream,  and  besought  them  to  make  peace  forever  with  their 
brothers  to  the  east  and  to  the  west,  for  they  were  of  one  blood  and  flesh. 
And  he  told  them  that  it  was  the  will  of  Him-who-made-the-world  that  they 
should  form  an  alliance  to  last  forever  with  these,  their  brothers;  and  the 
men  said  that  his  words  were  good,  but  in  the  council  that  was  called  the 
people  rejected  the  words  of  Ay-oun-a-wa-ta  because  they  feared  A-ho- 
tar-o,  the  war  cliief.  who  carried  serpents  about  his  neck,  so  he  was  called 
A-ho-tar-o  of  the  Snaky  Locks. 

Then  Ay-oun-a-wa-ta,  rejected  by  his  own  people,  went  to  the  east, 
fill  he  came  to  tiie  land  of  the  Mohawks,  bearing  the  white  wampum  which 
means  peace,  and  he  told  them  of  his  mission  from  Him-who-made-the- 
world,  to  unite  the  people  to  the  east  and  the  west  in  one  league  so  that  the 
people  of  the  race  would  be  forever  at  peace  and  become  numerous  so  they 


dbyGoot^lc 


I06  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

would  fear  no  other  tribe,  and  the  Mohawks  said  that  this  was  good,  and 
they  adopted  Ay-oun-a-wa-ta  to  be  one  of  them,  for  his  own  people  had 
rejected  his  words,  which  were  the  words  of  Rawennyo.  Then  they  sent 
him  with  others  of  the  Mohawks  to  the  Oneidas,  the  Cayngas  and  the  Seiie- 
cas,  bearing  the  white  wampum,  and  all  of  these  people  said  likewise  that 
his  words  were  good.  And  when  they  had  taken  council  all  together,  they 
went  to  the  people  of  the  hill,  bearing  the  white  wampum,  and  told  them 
that  they  had  entered  into  an  alliance  forever,  and  that  they  wanted  the 
people  of  the  hill  to  join  them,  as  they  were  the  fathers  of  all,  and  that 
A-ho-tar-o  should  be  the  great  chief  of  all  the  tribes,  in  war.  So  it  was 
agreed  that  they  should  l)ecome  the  great  league,  and  this  was  the  great 
peace,  Kayanerenh-Kowa,  and  all  the  five  tribes  took  an  oath  to  be  forever 
at  peace  with  each  other.  So  became  the  Wis-nyeh-goin-sa-geh,  or  the  five 
peoples  bound  together  by  an  oath,  and  it  became  in  the  history  of  the  land  of 
America  what  the  Romans  were  in  the  early  history  of  Europe. 

Ay-oun-a-wa-ta,  adopted  by  the  Mohawks,  became  the  great  man  of 
that  tribe  and  honored  as  the  founder  of  the  confederacy  of  the  Iroquois, 
called  by  the  whites  the  "Five  Nations."  To  this  day  the  Mohawks  in 
their  new  home  in  Ontario,  whither  they  moved  after  the  War  of  the  Rev- 
olution, still  have  their  Ay-cun-a-wa-ta,  the  successor  in  a  line  of  chiefs, 
"raised  up"  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  place  of  the  great  dreamer,  who 
brought  about  the  league. 

This  poetic  account  of  the  formation  of  the  great  league  is  given  here 
because  it  marks  one  of  the  most  important  events  of  Indian  history,  and 
in  the  opinion  of  the  writer  a  far-reaching  event  in  determining  not  only 
the  subsequent  trend  of  Indian  history,  but  that  of  the  whites  in  America. 

THE    FIVE   NATIONS. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America  the  league  of  the  Iroquois 
had  grown  to  such  a  status  that  it  formed  the  most  important  political 
entity  in  North  America,  north  of  Mexico.  Its  territory  was  the  state  of 
New  York  except  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  a  small  part  in  the  northeast, 
and  another  in  the  western  end  of  the  state.  This  territory  was  poetically 
named  by  the  Indi;iiis  the  Ho-den-o-sau-nee,  or  long  house.  This  term, 
however,  fails  to  express  adequately  the  figurative  meaning  of  the  Indian. 
The  Indian  home  was  rather  stibstantially  built,  of  a  frame  work  of  tim- 
bers covered  with  bark.  The  house  was  orientated,  and  in  case  a  daughter 
grew  to  marriageable  age  and  married,  an  addition   was  built  on  the  east 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  10^ 

end  for  the  new  fire,  and  the  marriage  of  a  second  daughter  resulted  in  a 
similar  addition  to  the  western  end;  a  third  daughter's  marriage  caused 
another  addition  to  the  east  of  the  first  daughter's  home,  and  a  fourth 
daughter's  home  was  built  on  the  western  end.  This  resulted  'n  a  house  of 
five  fires,  or  a  long  house,  and  this  growth  of  the  home  from  the  original 
fire  to  the  five  fires,  is  figuratively  expressed  by  the  Indians'  terms,  Ho-den- 
o-sau-nee,  which  they  poetically  applied  to  their  home  land,  with  its  five 
tribes.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  this  log-house  had  no  other  doors  than 
to  the  east  and  west,  so  we  find  at  the  time  the  league  first  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  whites,  that  their  central  fire  was  that  of  the  Onondagas, 
the  fathers  of  the  league,  the  first  to  the  east  was  that  of  the  Oneidas,  next 
the  Mohawks,  who  were  the  keepers  of  the  eastern  door,  west  of  the  Onon- 
dagas was  the  fire  of  the  Cayugas,  and  west  of  it,  that  of  the  Senecas,  the 
keepers  of  the  west  door.  As  in  case  of  the  actual  home,  it  was  the  reverse 
of  etiquette  to  approach  any  fire  except  by  the  proper  door,  and  the  duty  of 
protection  owed  by  the  youth  to  age  is  exemplified  by  the  keepers  of  the  two 
doors,  who  owed  the  duty  of  protecting  all  the  fires  of  the  interior  tribes 
from  assault  from  either  direction.  We  hear  of  the  Mohawks  informing 
the  emissaries  of  the  whites  who  had  come  on  a  diplomatic  errand  to  the 
Onondagas  and  had  gone  direct  to  that  trilw,  avoiding  the  Mohawks,  that 
it  was  very  improper  to  gain  admission  to  the  long-house  through  the  chim- 
ney, instead  of  entering  at  the  doorway. 

The  tenn  Iroquois,  the  exact  meaning  of  which  is  In  doubt,  is  racial  in 
its  suggestion  rather  than  political,  and  included  the  various  detached 
branches  of  the  people  of  similar  language  and  habits,  as  well  as  the  consti- 
tuent memljers  of  the  Five  Nations. 

These  outlying  members  of  the  Iroquois  race  were  clustered  about  the 
western  end  of  the  long-house.  Those  to  the  sotith  were  properly  called 
the  Southern  Iroquois.  Professor  Gass,  in  the  "Historical  Register."  gives 
a  considerable  number  of  bands  or  tribes  of  Iroquoisan  stock;  these,  he  says, 
melted  away  from  disease  and  ceased  to  have  any  place  in  history,  their 
remnants  toeing  absorbed  in  other  surviving  tribes.  Of  them  all,  two  tribes 
were  prominent,  the  Andastes  and  the  Tuscaroras.  The  Andastes,  also 
known  as  the  Susquehannocks.  Connestogas,  and  other  unpronounceable 
names,  were  later  destroyed  by  the  members  of  the  league,  while  the  Tus- 
caroras, in  1714,  returned  northward  from  their  southern  home  and  formed 
an  alliance  with  the  league,  and  are  now  perhaps  the  most  progressive  of 
all  the  remaining  of  the  Iroquois  stock. 

The  western  Iroquois  consisted  of  the  Eries,  Cats  or  Gahquahs,  livmg 


dbyGoot^lc 


I08  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

in  the  western  end  of  New  York  and  extending  into  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio. 
They  were  subdued  by  the  Seagiie  and  their  name  is  preserved  as  the  name 
of  the  lake  that  formed  the  northern  bounds  of  their  territory.  The  Neutral 
Nation  lived  on  both  sides  of  the  Niagara  river,  but  mostly  on  the  Ontario 
side.  The  Senecas  called  them  the  Attiowandaronks,  or  the  people  whose 
language  is  a  little  different.  Further  west  and  toward  the  lake  of  the 
Hurons,  was  the  Tionnontates,  or  people  over  the  mountain,  also  called  the 
Petuns,  or  Tobacco  Nation.  These  Canadian  tribes  and  other  outlying 
branches  whose  names  are  lost  to  the  historian  of  the  present  day,  were 
sometimes  called  the  Hurors,  and  the  ethnologists  of  today,  following'  the 
very  apposite  suggestion  of  the  Canadians,  use  the  term  Huron-Iroquois,  as 
embracing  the  entire  family  of  tribes  above  named. 

The  Tuscaroras,  coming  from  the  south  in  the  year  of  1714,  asked 
for  admission  to  the  league,  and  a  council  of  the  five  tribes  was  held  at  the 
central  fire,  at  the  rock  which  marked  the  place  of  these  great  meetings. 
After  due  deliberation,  it  was  decided  that  the  sanctity  of  the  league  was 
such  that  it  could  not  be  enlarged  by  admitting  another  tribe  on  equal  foot- 
ing with  its  five  constituent  members.  It  was,  however,  determined  that  as 
the  Tuscaroras  were  of  their  own  blood  and  of  similar  language,  to  whom 
the  right  of  hospitality  was  due,  it  would  be  cruel  to  ignore  the  petition  of 
their  own  kindred  by  an  utter  refusal  of  protection,  so  it  was  in  the  figura- 
tive words  of  the  Indians,  decided  that  the  Tuscaroras  might  come  to  the 
west  door  of  the  long-house  to  the  tree  which  by  a  fiction  of  the  Indians 
grew  at  the  door,  and  there,  holding  onto  the  tree  under  its  branches,  remain 
under  the  protection  of  the  league,  and  especially  under  care  of  the  Senecas, 
the  keepers  of  the  west  door;  an  officer  was  "raised  up,"  who  was  called  the 
ho!der-onto-the-tree,  and  his  duty  was  forever  to  keep  in  the  minds  of  the 
Tuscaroras  their  subordinate  position  in  the  league.  To  this  day  this  condi- 
tion exists,  and  in  the  councils  of  the  league  this  subordinate  position  of  the 
Tuscarora  is  still  insisted  on  by  the  other  members;  no  Tuscaroras  has  any 
voice  in  the  general  council,  except  on  the  favor  of  the  others,  and  a  lifted 
finger  by  any  of  the  other  councilors  brings  him  to  his  seat. 

After  the  formation  of  the  league  it  is  said  that  the  members  offered 
to  each  of  the  other  tribes  of  like  blood  membership  in  the  league;  but  they 
refused  or  rather  ignored  the  invitation,  and  their  failure  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  offer  resulted  in  their  being  regarded  as  enemies  of  the  confederacy 
and  treated  as  such.  =■ 

North  and  south,  east  and  west  of  this  Huron-Iroquois  race  were  lo- 
cated an  alien  race  divided  into  many  tn'bes,  which  in  later  vears  came  to 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESHE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  IO9 

l>e  called  by  the  name  of  Algonquins.  This  name  it  seems  was  that  of  a 
small  and  rather  insignificant  tribe  of  this  stock,  also  called  the  Adirondacks. 
Of  these  Aigonquins,  those  at  the  south  had  early  been  brought  into  some- 
thing like  subjugation  to  the  league.  The  principal  of  these,  the  Delawares, 
who  called  themselves  the  Lenni  Lenape,  deserve  especial  attention.  If  the 
league  of  the  Iroquois  may  be  called  the  Romans  of  the  new  world,  the 
Delawares  may  be  called  the  Greeks.  They  were  a  subjugated  people,  but 
their  conquerors  always  held  them  in  highest  esteem  for  their  superior  intel- 
ligence. They  were  in  habits  and  character,  as  well  as  intelligence,  superior 
to  the  other  Aigonquins,  and  their  name  rather  tlian  the  other  should  have 
been  applied  to  the  races  now  called  .Algonquin,  as  they  were  regarded  as  the 
fathers  of  their  race.  From  their  traditionary  history  we  get  the  key  that 
unlocks  the  mystery  of  that  vanished  people  called  the  Mound  Builders. 
The  Indians  were  great  visitors  and  the  Iroquois  often  visited  the  Dela- 
wares and  from  them  learned  many  things.  They  were  to  the  various  other 
Algonquin  peoples,  grandfathers:  and  this  is  a  term  of  great  respect  and 
suggests  the  highest  honor,  as  ancient  lineage  and  old  age  were  to  the  In- 
dians proof  of  great  wisdom. 

The  Delaware  tradition  tells  of  their  migration  from  the  west,  in 
which,  coming  to  a  river  across  which  was  a  people  numerous  and  powerful, 
their  advance  was  stayed.  These  people  were  advanced  in  status,  had  fixed 
alxxles,  and  were  of  a  i>eaceful  dis^x^sition ;  however,  they  objected  to  the 
advance  of  the  Delawares  through  their  territories,  and  thus  matters  stood 
when  another  tide  of  emigration  of  the  race,  called  by  the  Delawares  the 
Mengwe — that  Ijeing  their  name  for  the  Iroquois — also  came  to  the  same 
river  with  intent  of  seeking  a  homeland  beyond  the  river.  These  two  races, 
being  thus  barred  from  further  progress  by  the  Tailegewi,  or  trans-river 
people,  planned  to  force  a  way  through  the  ojiposing  people.  Negotiations 
followed,  and  the  Tallegewi  apparently  acquiesced  in  their  crossing,  but  the 
good  faith  of  the  Tallegewi  was  doubtful  and  when  a  portion  of  the  forces 
had  crossed,  it  was  attacked  by  the  Tallegewi  and  roughly  handled;  but 
the  others,  coming  to  the  assistance  of  their  people,  soon  routed  the  enemy 
and  in  the  war  that  follovjed  drove  them  out  of  their  territory  to  the  south- 
w^ard:  the  T,enni  Lenaije  and  Mengwe  passed  on  to  their  future  homeland. 
The  alliance  between  these  two.  however,  did  not  continue  for  a  long  period, 
and  when  the  whites  came  they  found  the  Delawares  or  Lenni  a  subject 
race  to  the  Iroquois,  or  descendants  of  the  ancient  Mengwe  of  the  story, 
who,  to  make  use  of  the  idiom  of  the  Indians,  had  made  women  of  them 
and  deprived  them  of  the  right  to  carry  warlike  weapons. 


dbyGoot^lc 


no  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  seats  of  the  Delawares  at  this  time  was  the  state  of  Pennsylvania 
and  westward,  while  the  cognate  tribes,  or  grandcliildren  of  the  Delawares, 
were  to  Ije  found  in  the  Hudson  valley,  on  Long  Island,  and  in  the  New 
England  states.  Closely  allied  with  the  Delawares  were  the  Shawanoes, 
who,  if  tradition  may  be  rehed  on,  were  driven  from  their  early  home  in 
New  York  by  the  Iroquois,  and  who  became  the  Gypsies  of  the  new  world; 
their  habits  were  nomadic,  even  more  than  those  of  the  other  Indians,  most 
of  whom  were  given  to  wanderlust. 

The  Indians  to  the  south  of  the  Delawares  were  the  Povvhatans  of 
Virginia,  the  small  tribes,  the  Corees,  Pamlicos,  Mattamskeets,  Pasquotanks, 
along  the  North  Carolina  coast,  all  of  Algonquin  stock,  and  it  is  even  claimed 
that  the  Sioiix,  or  Dakotas,  were  represented  near  Cape  Fear,  by  name  the 
Catawbas,  Waxaws,  Waterees,  Tntelos,  Soponis  and  Manahoaes.  Wedged 
in  among  these  Sioux,  if  they  were  Sioux,  were  the  Tuscaroras,  ^roquois 
emigrants  from  the  northland.  South  were  various  tribes  consisting  of  the 
meml^ers  of  the  Mobilian  family,  but  of  these  southem  Indians,  the  Chero- 
kees,  whose  ancestors  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  once  numerous  Talle- 
gewi,  of  the  Delaware  tradition,  driven  from  their  former  country  along 
the  Tallegewi  Sipi],  as  the  Delawares  called  the  Ohio  river  and  Allegheny 
river  from  the  headwaters  of  the  latter,  to  the  entry  into  the  Mississippi. 
These  are  probably  the  present  representatives  of  the  ancient  Mound  Build- 
ers, so  called,  whose  remains  are  found  along  this  river  of  the  Tallegewi, 
especially  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  Moundsville,  West  Virginia,  and  other  places 
along  that  river. 

The  more  southem  Indians  are  for  the  most  part  known  only  his- 
torically. Their  tribes  have  ceased  to  have  any  political  existence,  and  their 
names  are  preserved  only  by  the  chronicler  and  in  various  geographic  names 
that  commemorate  their  former  localities  and  suggest  their   former  power. 

Two  exceptions  to  this  rule  are  worthy  of  mention.  The  Tuscaroras 
and  Cherokees,  who  were  of  northern  origin,  showed  exceptional  vitality 
and  to  this  day  have  their  own  reservations  and  to  some  extent  keep  up 
their  tribal  traditions. 

Along  the  valley  of  the  Hudson  river  were  bands  of  Algonquins,  the 
most  notable  being  the  Mohicans  and  the  less  known  Wappingers,  Warana- 
waukongs,  Tappans,  Tachami,  Sintsinks,  Kitchawauks,  Makimanes  and,  on 
Long  Island,  the  Matonwaks.  In  New  England  were  the  Naragansetts,  the 
Pequods,  the  Wampangoags  and  the  Micamacs.  In  the  extreme  north  of 
the  New  England  states  were  the  Wabenaki.  All  these  were  of  Algonquin 
stock. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  Ill 

To  the  north  of  the  Huron-Troquois  were  the  Adirondacks  and  the 
Ottawas,  and  the  far  northern  forests  sheltered  the  men  of  the  puckered 
blankets,  the  Ojibways.  destined  to  break  through  the  barrier  and,  like  the 
Goths  of  old,  to  find  a  more  congenial  homeland  toward  the  south.  These 
northern  people  were  not  closely  united  by  any  political  bond  and  many  of 
them  belonged  to  a  lower  stratum  in  the  scale  of  advancement  toward  civ- 
ilization; they  had  not  learned  the  art  of  making  pottery,  and  in  derision 
the  people  of  the  confederated  Iroquois  referred  to  them  as  the  men-who- 
boi led- stones,  referring  to  their  habit  in  cooking  meat  by  placing  it  in  a 
skin  sunk  into  a  hole  in  the  ground,  and  after  pouring;  in  water  to  drop  hot 
stones  on  it. 

For  the  sake  of  classification  it  is  well  here  to  divide  the  Indians  into 
three  classes:  the  first,  the  confederated  Iroquois  of  New  York,  calling  them- 
selves Wis-nyeh-goin-sa-geh,  or  the  five  peoples  bound  together  by  an  oath, 
whose  territory  was  poetically  called  the  Ho-den-o-sau-nee,  or  the  house 
that  has  grown  out  to  form  a  home  for  more  than  one  family;  the  second, 
the  various  members  of  the  Huron-Iroquois  races,  forming  a  fringe  about 
the  western  end  of  the  long-house,  with  some  branches  in  the  far  south,  all 
of  similar  language  to  the  Five  Nations,  but  who  failed  to  attach  themselves 
to  the  league  when  the  opportunity  offered,  and  who  may  l^e  called  the  un- 
confederated  Huron-Iroquois;  the  third,  the  Algonquins,  north,  south,  east 
and  west  of  the  Huron-Iroquois,  confederated  and  un  con  federated,  whose 
principal  and  typical  member  was  the  Delaware  nation,  and  whose  lowest 
type  were  probably  the  men- who-boil- stones,  in  the  far  north.  Of  the  sec- 
ond division,  most  were  conquered  by  the  confederated  Iroquois,  within  the 
historical  period,  losing  their  tribal  identity,  except  the  Tuscaroras,  who 
came  back  north  and  took  the  subordinate  position  in  the  confederacy.  The 
loss  of  tribal  identity  in  the  history-  of  the  redmen,  however,  does  not  mean 
the  loss  of  all  its  members.  The  habit  of  adoption,  which  prevailed  among 
the  Iroquois  especially,  suggests  that  the  members  of  a  subjugated  tribe 
were  largely  incorporated  into  the  tribe  of  the  conquerors,  so  increasing  its 
numbers  and  adding  to  its  prestige  and  power.  This  custom  of  adoption 
was  an  ancient  one  and  had  its  ritual  sanctified  by  ancient  usage,  which  car- 
ried with  it  a  sacred  obligation  on  the  part  of  the  person  adopted  and  the 
tribe  adopting.  These  ancient  ceremonies  meant  much  to  the  Indian,  who 
by  nature  was  given  to  formalities,  especially  when  those  rites  were  sanc- 
tioned by  ancient  usage.  To  illustrate,  a  few  years  ago  there  was  still  living 
on  the  Mohawk  reservation  near  Brantford,  Ontario,  one  John  Key,  who 
was  the  last  survivor  of  the  progeny  of  the  Tutelos,  who  had,  before  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


112  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

War  of  the  Revolution,  fled  from  their  home  on  the  Rapahannock  river  and 
became  incorporated  into  the  trj!>e  of  the  Mohawks;  hkely  many  others  of 
various  other  tribes  had  in  the  same  manner  found  refuge  in  adoption  and 
incoqxiration  into  the  various  other  members  of  the  confederacy.  The  wife 
of  King  Tandy,  a  Seneca  friend  of  the  writer,  admitted  herself  to  be  an 
Abenaki,  and  when  she  was  bantered  for  her  alliance  with  the  enemies  of  her 
race,  she  suggested  that  it  was  to  get  e\'en  with  one  of  them  that  she  married 
him — this  with  a  twinkle  in  her  expressive  black  eyes. 

When  the  white  man  came,  the  confederated  Iroquois  had  established 
their  military  superiority  over  the  Algonquins  to  the  south  and  east,  so  that 
all  fear  of  invasion  from  either  of  these  points  had  ceased.  Nor  did  they 
have  any  fear  of  the  uncon  federated  Huron-Iroquois.  To  them  they  were 
boimd  by  ties  of  blood  and  a  common  language.  Among  them  there  was  no 
power  that  could  stand  before  the  warriors  of  the  league.  Traffic  was  carried 
on  between  these  various  peoples;  an  aged  Seneca  informed  the  writer  that, 
according  to  the  traditions  of  his  forefathers,  the  trail  to  Canada,  whither 
they  went  for  materials  for  arrow  points,  led  under  the  falls  of  Niagara; 
that  one  could  then  walk  dry  shod  from  the  American  side  down  under  the 
falling  waters  and  come  up  again  on  the  Canadian  side,  but  that  falling 
rocks  in  later  times  had  obliterated  and  destroyed  the  old  trail  and  forced 
them  to  resort  to  the  canoe  in  crossing. 

HOCIIELAGA. 

When  Jaques  Cartier,  in  September,  1535,  reached  the  Indian  town  of 
Hochelaga  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Montreal,  he  found  a  village 
containing  about  fifty  houses.  Jlis  description  of  these  houses  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  Iroquois  long-house.  The  name  of  the  village  also  suggests 
Iroquois  people  as  its  inhabitants.  The  iinal  syllable  of  the  name  is  the  Iro- 
quois locative,  and  it  means  "the  place  of."  Similar  to  it  is  the  same  ending 
of  the  Iroquois  name  Onondaga.  Here  and  at  the  village  of  Stadcona, 
farther  down  the  river,  the  whites  first  came  into  communication  with  the 
people  of  that  great  and  dominant  race.  The  reports  these  people  gave  to 
Cartier  were  to  the  effect  that  up  the  Ottawa  river  there  were  fierce  people 
continually  waging  war  with  each  other.  How  far  up,  the  Hochelagans  did 
not  ^now.  The  Hochelagans  were  very  friendly  and  hospitable,  and  the 
method  of  extending  their  hospitality  also  is  distinctively  Iroquoisan.  The 
glimpse  we  get  of  Indian  character  from  Carder's  account  is  one  of  the  first 
and  best,  unfortunately  a  momentary  one;  but  there  appears  to  have  been 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  II3 

about  fifty  houses  and  a  palisaded  fort.  There  seems,  too,  a  suggestion  that 
the  town  was  within  a  pahsaded  enclosure,  but  in  some  portions  the  record 
seems  to  be  at  variance  with  that  fact;  if,  in  accordance  with  the  usual  cus- 
tom of  the  Iroquois  who  bnilded  on  a  frontier,  the  village  would  be  outside 
of  the  fort,  but  adjacent,  and  the  fort  of  palisades  would  be  kept  up  as  a 
place  of  refuge  in  case  of  invasion.  That  there  was  a  fort  of  palisades  at 
Hochelaga  also  suggests  the  nearness  of  the  frontier,  and  this  supposition  is 
borne  out  by  all  the  facts  that  come  down  to  us  as  to  the  dispersion  of  the 
Indian  tribes. 

Much  speculation  has  l>een  in<!ulged  in  by  later  writers  as  to  the  popu- 
lation of  Hochelaga,  and  in  an  article  read  by  the  celebrated  Horatio  Hale, 
before  the  Congress  of  Anthropology  at  Chicago,  at  the  World's  Fair,  in 
1S93,  he  estimated  the  i^opulafion  as  from  two  to  three  thousand.  This  esti- 
mate is  i^robably  extremely  exaggerated.  If  the  town  had  as  many  hundreds 
as  he  estimates  thousands,  it  would  have  been  remarkable  among  the  villages 
of  that  race,  considering  the  status  of  the  Indians  of  that  day.  The  Indians 
were  not  prolific. 

The  coming  and  going  of  Cartier  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  Indians  of 
the  St.  I..awrence.  but  the  intercourse  lietween  the  whites  and  red  men  soon 
ceased  and  a  period  of  oblivion  succeeded,  continuing  until  the  coming  of 
Champlain,  of  renowned  memory,  in  the  year  ifio.'?.  In  the  meantime  Stand- 
cone  and  Hochelaga  had  disappeared,  and  in  the  place  of  these  villages  of 
Cartier's  time,  Champlain  found  a  few  wandering  Algonquins  along  the 
river.  The  people  up  the  Ottawa  were  no  longer  an  alien  and  inimical  race. 
This  disappearance  of  Hochelaga  has  been  the  subject  of  much  conjecture; 
the  historians  and  romancers  have  found  in  it  the  source  of  much  conjec- 
tural writing,  some  of  which  is  put  forth  as  history  and  some  purely  as 
6ction.  From  the  fact  that  an  alien  and  enemy  race  was  found  to  hold  the 
territory  of  the  former  villagers,  it  has  been  generally  supposed  that  the 
former  and  numerous  inhal>itants,  with  their  palisaded  forts,  had  been  driven 
out  in  war  waged  against  them  by  the  Algonquins  who  were  found  to 
have  succeeded  to  the  occupancy  of  the  territories  of  the  former  Iroquois 
inhabitants.  This  supposition  seems  unfounded  and  carries  evidences  of  its 
own  fallacy.  Assuming  that  the  villages  of  Hochelaga  and  Staiidcone  were 
of  the  size  and  importance  of  the  assumed  figures  of  Hale,  and  palisaded  as 
reported  by  Cartier,  it  is  difficult  to  concede  that  they  would  have  fallen 
victims  to  their  northern  Algonquin  enemies,  especially  as  Champlain  found 
these  latter  few  in  numlwr  and  living  in  mortal  fear  of  the  Iroquois;  more- 
(8) 


dbyGoc^lc 


114  ■  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

over,  in  all  subsequent  encounters  the  Iroquois  proved  themselves  to  be  far 
superior  to  the  Algontiuins.  Probably  the  exaggerated  idea  of  the  size  and 
importance  of  these  towns,  or  hamlets,  are  responsible  for  these  fallacies 
a^:  to  the  fate  of  the  two  towns,  and  when  we  more  properly  come  to  con- 
sider them  as  of  very  httle  importance,  and  of  very  small  size,  the  his- 
toric value  of  their  subsequent  fate  becomes  proportionately  diminished.  Mr. 
Hale  finds  in  the  habits  and  traditions  of  the  Wyandots  evidence  that  they 
were  the  descendants  of  the  remnant  of  the  Hochelagaais,  who  fled  west  and 
south  when  their  village  was  attacked  and  destroyed  by  the  Algonquins. 
Mr.  Lightall,  in  his  most  interesting  romance,  "The  Master  of  Life,"  has 
made  the  disaster  to  the  Hochelagans  the  starting  point  for  the  emigration 
of  the  Iroquois  from  Canada  into  New  York  and  the  formation  of  the  great 
league. 

It  is,  however,  quite  unnecessary  to  appeal  to  warfare  as  the  cause  of 
the  fall  of  Hochelaga,  and  it  seems  to  be  more  probable  that  war  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  There  was  among  the  Iroquois  a  traditional  myth 
of  a  great  serpent  whose  breath  was  the  pestilence  which  buried  itself  under 
the  village  of  the  red  man  and,  by  the  emanations  of  its  body  and  the  pesti- 
lence of  its  breath,  brought  sickness  and  death  to  the  people  of  the  fated 
village.  The  first  knowledge  of  the  visitation  of  the  sequent  came  from  the 
appearance  of  these  dire  results  and,  to  escape  the  ser|jent,  the  people,  with 
adroit  skill  would  gather  together  the  few  needed  utensils  and  silently  de- 
nart,  in  a  stealthy  manner  so  as  to  avoid  giving  their  hidden  enemy  any 
alarm.  They  then  sought  in  some  remote  locality  a  new  place  of  habitation, 
where  they  might  live  free  from  the  poisonous  presence  of  the  serpent,  un- 
less that  enemy,  after  long  seeking  again,  should  find  them  out  and  again 
bring  the  pestilence  upon  them. 

It  is  quite  easy  in  the  light  of  motlern  sanitary  science  to  see  the  cause 
of  this  serpent  myth  of  the  pestilence  in  the  unsanhary  conditions  that 
would  accumulate  around  a  village  of  these  primitive  men.  The  strongest 
palisades  were  of  no  avail  against  its  insidious  approach.  No  remedy  known 
to  the  medicine  men  of  the  forest  folk  availed  to  stay  its  ravage.  This  myth 
furnishes  a  more  probable  hypothesis  of  the  di.sappearance  of  the  two  vil- 
lages of  the  Iroquois  of  Cartier's  day  than  any  forced  suggestion  of  war 
against  them  successfully  waged  by  an  enemy  who  from  every  other  sug- 
gestion was  utterly  inferior.  All  these  attempts  to  explain  the  matter,  how- 
ever, belong  rather  to  the  domain  of  fiction  than  history:  suffice  it  to  say 
that  the  coming  of  Champlain  found  an  entirely  different  race  possessing  the 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  II5 

valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence;  and  here  turns  the  fate  of  nations.  The  events 
that  foHowed,  in  which  he  was  the  prime  mover  and  principal  actor,  were 
of  greatest  import  to  the  generations  that  were  to  inhabit  the  vast  country 
of  northern  America.  If  we  were  to  apply  the  canons  of  historical  criti- 
cism, it  would  not  be  difficult  to  see  in  his  career  and  in  his  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  France  in  the  new  world,  events  that  have  determined  the 
course  of  all  its  subsequent  history;  which  gave  tiie  new  world  over  to  free- 
dom of  religion,  freedom  of  thought  and  democracy,  and  which  may  leaven 
the  old  world  models  and  mould  their  tendencies,  until  the  entire  world 
shall  have  become  democratic. 

Champlain  had  brought  a  numiier  of  young  men,  or  rather  boys,  who 
were  to  learn  the  languages  of  the  Indians  and  become  interpreters.  Among 
them  probalily  the  most  celebrated  was  Stephen  Brule,  who  was  the  first 
white  to  come  up  the  Ottawa  river  aiid  the  first  to  behold  our  Lake  Huron. 
Wisdom  would  have  suggested  that  Champlain  should  have  waited  for  these 
young  men  to  qualify  for  their  ofifice,  and  to  obtain  the  knowledge  they 
could  impart  before  entering  into  any  alliance  which  might  prove  entang- 
ling. Champlain  was  ignorant  of  the  affairs  of  the  Indians  beyond  the 
valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  little  knowle<;lge  he  could  derive  from  the 
imperfect  communications  with  the  Algonquins  that  he  came  in  contact  with, 
ajjprised  him  that  they  were  at  enmity  with  a  race  to  the  southward,  against 
which  they  sought  his  active  aid.  He  had  no  means  of  determining  the  jus- 
tice of  that  quarrel.  Who  were  the  aggressors,  what  questions  of  right  or 
wrong  were  involved,  he  knew  not.  Especially  was  he  utterly  imadvised  as 
to  the  numlier  or  power  of  that  southern  race,  or  the  possible  results  of  his 
alliance  with  the  Adirondacks.  He  was  a  dashing  soldier,  hut  not  a  diplo- 
mat. Under  these  circumstances  he  listened  to  their  siren  appeals  and 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  enemies  of  the  great  league,  an  alliance  cemented 
and  sanctified  by  those  ceremonies  that  meant  so  much  to  the  Indians,  but 
were  lightly  entered  into  by  the  French. 

He  soon  joined  an  expedition  of  his  allies  against  their  enemies.  His 
allies  included  the  Ottawas,  who  dwelt  up  the  river  that  now  preserves  their 
name,  the  same  warlike  people  to  whom  the  Hochelagans  referred  in  their 
taie  to  Cartier  and  the  "Mantagnais,"  a  rather  indefinite  term,  referring  to 
some  highland  band  of  the  Algonquins,  and  some  of  the  Hurons,  who  be- 
cause of  territorial  location  had  become  joined  to  the  Algonquins  in  the  war 
against  the  league. 

It   M'as   June,    1609,    when    the    fateful   expedition   of   sixty   red    men, 


dbyGoot^lc 


Il6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

armed  with  their  native  weaixms.  and  three  whites — Champlain  and  two 
others— paddled  up  the  Sorel  river  out  on  the  placid  waters  of  the  lake  now 
named  for  ChaiTipIain.  There  the  little  flotilla  of  canoes  sighted  a  similar 
flotilla  of  the  enemy.  Fighting  on  the  waters  is  not  to  the  taste  of  the  Indian. 
The  narrow  confines  of  a  canoe  forbid  the  room  for  the  strategy  of  the  red 
man.  Both  parties  took  to  the  shore.  There  a  few  discharges  of  the 
guns  of  the  Frenclimen  decided  the  battle,  and  ChampJain  and  his  red  allies 
saw  their  enemies  flee  from  this  new  and  terrible  instrument  of  destruction. 
They  regarded  their  victory  as  complete  and  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
Indian  it  was.  The  Algonquins  saw  an  enemy  before  whom  they  had  often 
fled,  and  whom  they  had  always  feared,  flee  before  the  new  alliance.  They 
returned  to  the  St,  Lawrence  and  soon  afterward  another  battle  was  fought 
by  the  French  and  Indian  aUies  against  some  Iroquois  who  held  a  palisaded 
fort;  even  this  advantage  was  of  no  avail  against  the  weapons  of  the  white 
men.  Champlain  was  jubilant,  for  he  had  now  earned  the  gratitude  of  his 
red  allies,  who  promised  him  aid  in  exploring  the  great  west  and  northwest. 

The  effect  of  these  two  conflicts  on  the  league  was  the  0{4)osite.  There 
was  no  jubilation.  They  saw  the  French  in  alliance  with  their  enemies  and 
with  a  new  weapon  against  which  their  crude  ones  were  useless.  This  did 
not  bring  them  to  despair,  but  the  seeds  of  implacable  hatred  toward  the 
French  were  sown  in  the  breasts  of  the  people  of  the  long-house,  and  never 
afterwards  could  the  diplomacy  of  the  French  quench  that  hatred. 

Not  far  from  this  same  time  when  Champlain's  canoes  came  up  the 
Sorel  from  the  north,  Hendrick  Hudson  came  up  the  Hudson  from  the 
south.  He  came  in  friendship  and  in  him  the  leaguemen  saw  a  different 
race  of  white  men.  He  came  to  open  up  trade.  The  Indians  had  furs  and 
wanted  the  new  weapon  of  the  white  man.  The  Dutch  were  astute  traders 
and  they  wanted  the  furs  of  the  red  men.  They  sailed  up  the  river  and  met 
the  Iroquois,  smarting  under  their  defeat  from  the  French,  and  they  soon 
supplied  the  new  weapon  to  the  men  of  the  league  and  taught  its  use,  and 
so  commenced  the  traffic  which  was  destined  to  make  New  York  City  the 
first  emporium  of  the  New  World,  as  the  Iroquois  of  the  league  had  made  it 
from  the  time  of  Ay-oun-a-wa-ta,  the  Empire  state. 

So  there  began  the  conflict  between  the  French  of  Canada  and  their 
Indian  allies  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Five  Nations  aided  by  the  Dutch, 
and  later  by  the  English,  on  the  south — the  French  representing  despotism; 
the  league,  Dutch  and  English  representing  the  ideals  of  democracy.  Who 
can  say  that  it  was  not  the  power  of  the  league  that  decided  the  fate  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  II7 

America  by  turning  the  tide  in  favor  of  the  democratic  principle,  which 
was  the  vitai  principle  of  their  own  polity. 

This  brings  the  general  view  of  Indian  history  down  to  the  early  years 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  this  century  saw  the  attainment  of  the  great- 
est power  of  the  league.  Ay-oun-a-wa-ta  had  dreaniefi  of  universal  peace, 
an  entire  world  without  war,  as  men  today  dream.  The  fruition  of  this  dream 
was  the  great  peace  between  the  five  peoples;  as  today,  their  ethics  were 
tribal  and,  l">eing  at  jjeace  with  each  other,  they  had  more  oi>p;>ortunity  to 
make  war  against  those  outside  the  league.  All  their  history  during  this 
period  and  their  activity  in  war  were  motived  by  their  liatred  for  the  French 
and  their  allies.  Beginning  about  1638,  after  their  harvest  of  furs  for  a 
score  of  years  had  been  great,  and  nearly  all  of  which  had  been  traded  with 
the  Dutch  into  guns  and  munitions,  they  began  systematically  to  destroy 
the  outlying  bands  of  uncon federated  Huron-Iroquois  and  such  of  the  AI- 
gonquins  as  had  joined  the  French.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  warfare 
was  carried  on  ruthlessly,  and  that  opposition  was  punished  by  extermina- 
tion, especially  since  they  were  located  far  from  the  home  of  the  league, 
which  made  ado|>tion  into  the  tribe  less  practicable. 

The  superior  equipment  and  morale  of  the  men  of  the  league  triumphed 
over  the  numliers.  however  great,  of  their  enemies.  The  Huron  country 
was  completely  overrun.  The  missions  shared  the  same  fate.  The  Jesuit 
fathers,  busied  on  errands  of  mercy  and  endeavoring  to  relieve  the  dreadful 
suffering,  fjeing  French,  fell  under  the  club  of  the  invading  force.  Some 
died  at  the  stake  and  so  sealed  a  life  of  devotion  with  a  martyr's  death. 
But,  regardless  of  the  general  cataclysm  that  came  upon  the  Huron  country, 
there  still  remained  bands  of  this  people,  who  came  over  into  Michigan,  or 
remnants  of  the  Huron-Iroquois  of  an  earlier  day,  who,  even  as  late  as 
1800,  still  lived  in  our  peninsula  and  to  some  extent  retained  their  tribal 
customs.  According  to  Copway,  the  Hurons  were  divided  into  five  distinct 
tril;es  who,  in  imitation  of  the  confederated  five  nations,  had  formed  some- 
thing like  an  alliance.  On  their  dif^ersal  the  first  nation  fled  to  the  south 
of  Lake  Huron,  about  Saginaw ;  subsequently  it  moved  further  south  on  the 
St.  Clair.  A  part  of  the  Huron  ijeople  fled  to  the  isle  of  St.  Joseph  in  the 
Georgian  bay.  A  remnant  of  the  Tobacco  Nation,  the  Petuns,  fled  to  Mack- 
inac island,  and  were  joined  by  Ottaiwas.  Here  they  failed  to  find  the 
safety  sought,  for  even  in  these  hidden  places  the  warriors  of  the  league 
sought  them  out,  and  they  started  to  the  islands  of  Lake  Michigan  near 
Green  bay;  some  went  northward  to  Chequamegon  bay,  of  Lake  Superior, 


dbyGoot^lc 


Il8  GEN^ESEK   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

where  Father  Allouez  found  them.  These  fugitives,  fleeing  from  one  enemy, 
came  info  the  sphere  of  the  dreaded  Sioux;  driven  back  again  they  sought 
asylum  on  the  island  of  the  Turtle,  Mackinac,  where  in  1671  they  received 
the  ministrations  of  the  gentle  Father  Marquette.  During  these  troublous 
times,  in  the  milder  parts  of  the  Canadian  northland  there  hung  like  a 
threatening  cloud,  a  hardy  race  of  Indians,  the  Ojibways— or  the  Chippe- 
was  of  later  times — whose  history  is  inseparably  connected  with  the  history 
of  Michigan  and  of  our  county.  The  year  iSoo  found  a  village  of  them 
within  the  present  bounds  of  the  fifth  ward  of  the  city  of  Flint. 

Of  the  early  habitations  of  the  various  Indians  in  Michigan  and  vicin- 
ity during  the  years  both  following  and  preceding  the  disi>ersal  of  the 
Hurons,  we  get  only  a  kaleidoscopic  view.  So  rapidly  did  one  tribe  appear 
in  a  particular  locality,  and  so  suddenly  vanish;  so  frequent  were  the  forays 
of  the  ever-active  Iroquois  of  the  league,  that  only  certain  salient  points  can 
here  he  shown.  The  sahent  points,  or  landmarks,  leading  up  to  the  eigh- 
teenth century  appear  to  be,  first,  the  formation  of  the  Iroquois  league  by 
Ay-oun-a-wa-ta ;  second,  the  coming  of  Cartier  in  1535,  and  the  glimpse  we 
get  of  the  condition  at  that  date,  followed  by  a  period  of  oblivion  during 
which  we  find  that  great  changes  occurred;  third,  the  coming  of  Champlain 
up  the  St.  Lawrence,  his  ill-advised  alliance  with  the  Algonquins  and  Huron 
enemies  of  the  league,  causing  the  French  to  be  placed  by  the  Iroquois 
league  in  the  category  of  its  enemies;  fourth,  the  coming  of  Hendrick  Hud- 
son up  the  Hudson  river  at  practically  the  same  time  as  Champlain,  and  the 
consequent  opening  of  trade  by  the  Dutch,  resulting  in  arming  the  warriors 
of  the  league:  and  fifth,  the  successful  wars  of  the  league  against  the  allies 
of  the  French,   resulting  in  their  dispersal. 

Their  dispersal  was  the  beginning  of  what  may  appropriately  be  called 
the  volkwandenmg  of  the  native  races  in  and  about  Michigan,  similar  to  the 
period  of  Eurcpean  history  which  followed  the  breaking  up  of  the  Roman 
power  and  the  irruption  of  the  northern  races.  In  our  local  volkwanderung 
we  have  another  parallel ;  there  was  a  northern  nation,  which,  profiting  by 
the  disintegiation  of  the  more  southern  tribes,  was  to  pour  down  into  more 
congenial  because  more  southern  homes.  This  was  the  Chippewa  nation, 
which  was  destined  for  a  time  to  hold  in  dominion  a  greater  extent  of  terri- 
tory perhaps  than  any  other  Indian  tribe,  not  excepting  the  great  league. 

Around  these  historical  nuclei  we  may  group  many  facts  derived  from 
the  oral  history  of  the  various  races.  There  are  stories  told  by  the  "Keepers 
of  the  faith,"  and  to  these  we  may  add  the  deductions  of  the  ethnologists. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  tig 

who  under  governniental  sanction  and  at  governmental  expense,  have  gar- 
nered the  field,  sifted  out  the  chaff  and  built  up  a  splendid  monument  to  the 
memory  of  our  Indian  brothers. 

There  is  a  beautiful  story  told  of  a  little  people  who  once  dwelt  on  the 
island  of  the  Turtle,  or  Mackinac.  They  were  peaceful  and  happy,  they 
were  simple  in  their  habits,  temperate  in  their  desires,  and  found  upon  and 
about  the  i.sland  that  was  theirs  and  on  the  adjacent  shores  of  its  encir- 
cling lake  all  that  their  hearts  could  desire.  They  grew  numerous,  and  the 
lesson  they  impressed  upon  their  children  was  that  of  contentment  and 
thankfulness.  But  even  in  their  retreat  they  did  not  escape  the  baleful  ac- 
tivity of  the  Iroquois,  who  came  upon  them  and  destroyed  their  villages, 
killed  their  men  and  women.  But  a  few  esc^ed  by  the  direct  aid  of  their 
manitou,  and  these  few,  transformed  by  their  manitou  into  ethereal  beings, 
for  many  years  haunted  the  forests  of  the  state.  When  some  belated 
hunter,  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  woods,  heard  peals  of  merry  laughter,  he 
knew  it  was  from  the  little  fairy  folk,  who  had  been  so  miraculously  saved 
from  the  hands  of  the  hated  Iroquois,  to  wander  in  the  forest  far  from  the 
island  of  the  Turtle,  but  always  happy  as  in  the  day  of  their  glory. 

SW.\G-0-NO— TIIE-PEOPI.E- WHO- WENT -01;T-0F-THE-LAND. 

There  lingers  in  the  traditions  of  the  Senecas  a  storj'  of  a  band  of 
their  own  race  who  once  lived  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  but  who  in  very  early 
times  became  dissatisfied  with  their  own  country  and  determined  upon  a  , 
general  exodus  in  hopes  of  finding  the  Utopia  of  their  desires.  They  gath- 
ered together  their  meager  holdings  and,  like  a  stream,  went  out  of  the  land. 
It  should  be  remeniljered  that  the  Indians  had  no  domestic  animals  except 
the  dog,  consequently  no  beast  of  burden.  They  were  their  own  means  of 
transportation,  except  when  their  route  followed  a  waterway,  when  the 
canoe  furnished  a  means  of  transportation,  but  this  also  required  hard  labor. 
The  name  of  these  emigrants  was  a  compound  built  up  of  Indian  words: 
"Swageh;  pronounced  gvitturaliy,  meant  flowage,  or  flowing,  like  the  waters 
of  a  stream,  and  it  takes  Ixit  little  imagination  to  see  in  this  word  the 
imitation  of  the  noise  of  swirling  waters  of  a  swift  stream  like  our  word 
"swash,"  a  name  that  Southey  might  have  used  in  his  description  of  the 
waters  at  Ladore  had  .he  been  acquainted  with  the  dialect  of  the  leagiiemen. 
Akin  to  this  is  the  Chippewa  word  "See-be,"  which,  according  to  Copway, 
means  a  stream  and  is  also  an  imitation  of  flowing  waters.  If  we  add  to 
this  word  the  Indian  word  "0-no,"  meaning  people,  we  have  "Swageh-o- 


dbyGoot^lc 


I20  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

no,"  meaning  the-people-who-went-out-of-the-land.  If  the  Indian  referred 
to  the  place,  or  country  of  this  ]>eople,  he  appended  the  location,  "Ga,"  and 
the  word  became  Swageh-o-no-ga,  hterally  translated  as  the  place-of-the- 
people-who-went-out-of-the-Iand.  This  Iroquois  name  is  now  preserved  in 
the  geographic  "Saginaw"  and  the  "Saguenay"  of  Cartier's  record;  while 
the  first  part  is  the  name  of  the  "Sauks,"  "Saukies,"  or  "Sacs,"  an  Indian 
tribe  which  in  more  recent  historic  times  lived  in  Wisconsin,  but  whose  tra- 
ditional homeland  was  the  Saginaw  country.  Here  we  come  into  touch  with 
our  own  locality,  for  our  county  of  Genesee  was  part  of  this  Saginaw 
country,  and  so  the-people-who-went-out-of-the-land  were  our  predecessors 
in  occupancy  of  this  our  present  homeland. 

Of  the  maps  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  English  maps  generally  in- 
clude this  portion  of  Michigan  as  territory  of  the  Iroquois  of  the  league. 
On  maps  of  Hudson's  Ixty,  etc.,  in  1755,  and  on  later  editions  in  1772,  we 
see  the  eastern  portion  of  this  peninsula  as  belonging  to  the  "Six  Nations," 
but  they  place  a  village  of  the  Ottawas  on  our  river  not  far  from  Taymouth, 
Saginaw  county.  These  maps  also  place  a  viiJage  of  the  Messisauges  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  St.  Clair  river  jnst  above  the  lake  of  St.  Clair.  "Accurate 
Map  of  North  America,"  by  Ewan  Bowen,  Geographer  to  His  Majesty,  and 
John  Gibson,  Engineer,  1763,  gives  the  eastern  portion  of  lower  Michigan 
as  occupied  by  the  Iroquois,  and  also  marks  the  Ottawa  village  and  that  of 
the  Messisauges  the  same  as  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  map  above.  It  is  to  be 
noted  that  the  Senex  Map  (English)  of  17 10,  shows  no  name  of  occupants 
of  this  region,  and  the  folding  map  in  Colden's  "History  of  the  Five  Na- 
tions," published  in  1747,  shows  no  name  of  the  Indian  inJiaWtants  of  this 
portion  of  Michigan  except  a  village  of  the  Ouwaes  down  toward  Detroit. 
The  French  maps  of  this  period  do  not  give  to  the  Iroquois  the  possession 
of  this  region.  The  map  of  1746,  auspices  of  Monsigneur  Le  Due  D'Or- 
leans,  shows  the  Ottawas  in  the  lower  Saginaw  valley,  but  no  Iroquois.  The 
French  map  of  Sr.  Robert  DeVangondy  fils,  dedicated  to  Le  Conte  D'Ar- 
genson,  secretary  of  state,  in  1753,  shows  a  village  of  "Ouontonnais"  at 
the  head  of  Saginaw  bay. 

Were  there  no  such  story  as  given  aitx)ve  of  the  people-who-went-out- 
of-the-land,  were  all  the  evidences  given  by  the  writers  and  map-makers  and 
all  history  from  the  Indians  themselves  utterly  lost,  there  would  .still  be 
indisputable  proof  that  the  Saginaw  country,  or  the  valley  of  the  present 
Saginaw  river,  with  the  Flint,  Shiawassee,  Cass,  Tittabawassee  and  their 
afiluents,  was  once  and  for  a  long  period  occupied  by  a  branch  of  the  great 
Huron-Iroquois  family  of  tribes. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


The  written  record  may  be  uncertain,  the  traditional  one  vague,  but 
the  evidence  furnished  by  the  stone  implements  and  other  relics  tdl  a  taie 
that  convinces.  In  the  careful  exploration  under  the  supervision  of  Mr. 
Doyle,  of  Toronto,  of  the  educational  department  of  the  province,  we  have 
data  as  to  the  kind  and  character  of  the  things  made  of  stone,  and  some- 
times less  endurable  materials,  that  once  entered  into  the  domestic  economy 
of  the  former  inhabitants.  Many  of  these  are  of  ethnic  value,  that  is,  they 
are  of  form  or  function  pecuHar  to  some  trite,  used  perhaps  in  some  rite 
or  ceremony  which  was  not  observed  hy  any  other  tribe.  All  over  the  por- 
tion of  Ontario,  from  J.^e  Huron  eastward  to  Toronto,  and  even  farther, 
which  was  the  ancient  home  of  the  Huron -Iroquois,  are  found  these  stone 
implements  of  peace  and  of  war,  ornaments,  and  things  used  in  the  rites  of 
squilture,  and  these  are  ahnost  monotonous  in  their  similarity.  North, 
south  and  east  we  find  a  different  condition.  The  testimony  of  these  stone 
witnesses  from  the  ancient  days  bears  witness  of  a  different  people,  whose 
habits  differed,  who  had  a  different  religion.  There  we  fail  to  find  the 
butterfly  amulet  of  banded  slate,  common  throughout  the  Huron  country. 
The  little  stone  effigy  of  a  bird,  also  of  the  Huronian  slate,  which  the  women 
of  the  early  day  wore  in  their  hair  to  announce  pregnancy  and  claim  its 
privileges,  is  not  to  be  found;  but  in  the  most  of  this  Canadian  land  and 
extending  over  into  Michigan,  we  find  the  same  conditions.  The  tell-tale 
stone  bird,  with  the  Ixise  drilled  at  each  end  to  receive  the  thong  that  tied 
it  upon  the  head  of  the  squaw,  the  butterfly  stone,  and  even  the  etched  pic- 
ture of  the  clan  totem — all  these  have  l>een  found  in  profusion  here  in  Gen- 
esee county,  thus  proclaiming  that  the  same  [wople  who  occupied  the  parts 
of  Ontario  a}x3ve  referred  to  also  occupied  the  eastern  part  of  Michigan, 
including  Genesee  county.  Were  these  relics  found  but  rarely,  or  in  iso- 
lated in.stances,  the  deduction  would  not  be  justified;  hut  such  is  not  the  case. 
They  are  found  all  over  this  and  adjacent  counties,  scattered  here  and  there 
in  great  numbers,  especially  along  the  streams  where  the  Indians  naturally 
built  their  hamlets. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Iroquois  people-who-went-out-of-the-land,  and 
who  gave  us  the  name  Saginaw,  were  not  limited  to  a  single  migration,  but 
that^many  such  streams  of  migrants,  following  one  after  another,  for  many 
years,  came  to  Michigan  and  that  the  ties  that  bound  the  Hurons  of  Michigan 
to  those  of  Canada  were  close  and  intimate. 

Of  these  former  possessors  of  Genesee  county,  one  alone  has  survived 
and  preserved  its  tribal  identity — the  Sacs — and  from  their  traditions  we 
have  the  fact  that  they  came  from  Canada  to  the  Saginaw  country,  thence 


dbyGoot^lc 


122  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

were  driven  out  and  went  on  to  Wisconsin,  where  they  settled  and  became 
closely  connected  with  the  Foxes,  or,  to  use  the  Indian  name,  "Outagamies." 
So  closely  united  were  these  two  in  country  and  policy  that,  in  history,  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  are  generally  mentioned  together  as  forming  one  political 
entity. 

This  occupancy  of  our  county  by  the  Huron-Iroquois  people  is  the 
earliest  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  either  from  the  traditions  of  the 
Indians  or  from  the  deductions  of  the  ethonologists.  All  the  remains — 
whether  in  the  form  of  mounds,  places  of  sepulchre,  arrow  points,  stone 
implements — point  to  these  people  as  the  earliest  occupants,  and  also  show 
that  their  occupancy  was  one  of  long  duration.  Probably  they  were  a  hun- 
dred years  or  more  l)efore  Columbus  came,  and  continued  until  the  disper- 
sion of  the  Hurons  in  Canada  about  1638,  or  until  what  may  be  termed  the 
volkwanderung  of  the  Algonquins  and  the  un  con  federated  Huron-Iroquois 
of  this  region. 

THE   MOUND   BUILDERS. 

The  earliest  explorers  of  America  came  illusioned  with  certain  theolo- 
gical conceptions,  which  dominated  ali  their  conclusions  as  to  America  and 
its  people.  Among  these  was  the  belief  that  the  Hebrews  were  the  original 
people,  and  that  any  other  people  must  of  necessity  be  an  offishoot  of  that 
race.  They  made  no  exception  in  the  case  of  the  Indians  and  attempted  to 
trace  this  entirely  distinct  people  living  in  another  continent,  of  a  distinct 
language,  of  a  different  and  inferior  status,  without  flocks,  back  to  the 
Hebrews.  To  do  so  called  for  the  exercise  of  great  ingenuity.  The  lost 
tribes  of  Israel  furnished  the  basis  of  many  fantastic  hypotheses  put  forth 
with  perfect  assurance  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Indians.  The  Indians  being  of 
an  inferior  status,  this  must  be  accoimted  for,  and  it  was  assumed  that  their 
predecessors  in  America  had  been  of  higher  civilization.  With  these  basic 
assumptions,  the  investigations,  as  is  wont  to  be  the  case,  resulted  in  corroba- 
tory  evidence  of  preconceived  theories.  Linguistic  afllinities,  mostly  imagin- 
ary, were  pointed  out.  Flood  myths  were  discovered  which  of  course  must 
refer  to  the  story  of  Noah.  And  to  cap  the  sheaf,  did  not  the  very  name  of 
the  progenitor  of  the  Hebrew,  race,  Adam,  mean  red?  What  caviler  could 
ask  for  more  cogent  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  Indians  were  merely 
Hebrews  transformed  into  Americans  in  some  manner  and  fallen  from  their 
earlier  and  higher  status  of  civilization. 

The  result  was  that  in  the  larger  mounds  of  the  Ohio  valley  and  vicinity 
they  saw  the  remains  of  the  earher  civilization.     The  men  who  built  those 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  123 

mounds  became  the  "Mound  Builders."  and  they  were  endowed  with  the  arts 
and  customs  of  the  civihzed  status.  The  illusion  did  not  stop  at  pseudo- 
scientific  statement.  It  had  a  basis  of  theological  misconception  and  it  became 
the  basis  of  a  new  theological  system.  A  romancer  seized  on  the  explanation 
of  the  theological  scientific  explorers  of  the  mounds,  and  wove  it  into  a 
romance  of  a  people  who  by  the  command  of  Yaveh,  before  the  Babylonian 
captivity,  left  their  home  in  Judea  and,  with  their  flocks,  household  goods, 
families  and  servants,  and  under  guidance  of  deity,  traveled  by  land  to  the 
sea,  where,  after  building  a  ship,  they  set  sail  and  after  many  days  and  the 
hardships  of  Aeneas,  they  landed  in  a  new  country.  Then  followed,  in 
archaic  language  and  poor  orthography,  a  tale  o£  the  spreading  of  these 
favored  people  of  Israel  over  America,  who  were  thus  led  to  a  new  world  and 
saved  from  the  impending  captivity  in  Babylon.  They  separated  into  two 
branches,  one  of  which,  by  departing  from  the  precepts  of  their  God,  sank  into 
barbarism.  The  wars  between  these  two  i>eople  resulted  in  the  extermination 
of  the  more  enlightened  nation,  so  America  reverted  to  barbarism,  and  the 
ancient  civilization  of  these  Hebrews,  thus  miraculously  led  to  a  new  world, 
ceased;  and  when  Columbus  came  he  found  the  darkness  of  savagery  where 
once  flourished  a  civilized  and  advanced  race. 

Kipling,  in  his  inimitable  tale  of  "Griffin's  Debts."  tells  of  the  drunken 
and  broken  soldier  who  went  among  the  natives  and  by  a  heroic  death  became 
to  them  a  god,  and  who  "may  in  time  become  a  solar  myth."  The  realization 
of  this  suggestion  could  be  no  more  astounding  than  the  fact  that  this  fiction 
of  the  romancer,  whimsied  by  the  common  conception  of  the  Indian's  origin, 
has  become  a  sacred  Irook  to  a  great  religious  sect,  as  the  Mormon  bible. 

For  riiany  years  this  mythical  people  were  believed  to  have  held  sway 
over  the  eastern  portion  of  the  United  States,  and  for  want  of  any  more 
definite  name  were  called  the  "Mound  Builders."  The  school  books  of  earlier 
days  had  chapters  about  them,  describing  them  as  a  people  superior  to  the 
Indians;  but  later  investigations,  and  the  credence  now  given  to  the  Delaware 
tradition,  have  relegated  them  to  the  category  of  the  hyperboreans  and  cen- 
taurs of  the  more  ancient  fables. 

As  an  epithet,  the  name  Mound  Builders  might  be  properly  apphed  to  a 
number  of  the  tribes,  many  of  which  were  mound  builders  to  some  extent. 
The  moimd  builders  par  excellence  were  probably  the  Tallegewi  of  the  Ohio 
valley,  supposed  to  be  represented  in  more  recent  historic  times  by  the  Chero- 
kee s,  their  descendants. 

Of  the  four-kinds  of  moimds,  viz. :  The  "Effigy  mound,"  made  in  imi- 
tation of  some  animal,  the  burial  mound,  made  as  a  place  of  sepulture,  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


124  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

fortification  inmiiid,  and  the  plain  tumulus,  containing  no  remains  of  human 
beings,  only  two  are  found  within  the  region  of  Michigan — the  fortification 
mound  and  the  burial  mound.  The  first  of  these  is  generally  a  circular  or 
eliptical  mound,  enclosing,  with  the  exception  of  a  gateway,  a  piece  of  level 
ground.  The  mounds  were  made  by  setting  up  on  end  a  row  of  small  logs 
as  palisades,  the  lower  end  being  set  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
these  banked  up  with  a  buttress  of  earth  piled  up  against  the  palisades  inside 
and  out.  The  fort  was  completed  by  binding  the  palisades  together  with 
withes  or  rawhide,  and  by  erecting  platforms  on  the  inside  to  accommodate 
the  warriors,  who  from  this  elevated  place  could  throw  stones  or  shoot  their 
arrows  down  upon  an  attacking  host.  It  was  this  kind  of  fort  that  Cartier 
found  at  Hochelaga.  When  this  fort  fell  into  disuse  and  the  pahsades  rotted 
and  fell  away,  the  circular  ridge  of  earth  remained  for  many  years  to  tell  of 
the  preparedness  of  some  band  of  forest  folk,  and  the  location  of  such  forts 
marks  a  frontier;  only  the  fear  of  attack  brought  them  into  being.  Their 
presence  helps  us  accordingly  to  locate  the  frontier  line  separating  the  hostile 
tribes  and  determining  the  boundaries  of  their  occupancy.  The  burial  mound 
were  made  by  laying  the  remains  of  the  dead  and  piHng  upon  them  sufficient 
earth  to  cover  them,  and  to  raise  a  mound  which  became  the  marker  for  the 
place  of  burial.  These  two  kinds  of  mounds,  both  of  which  are  found  in  the 
Saginaw  country,  are  distinctively  Huron-Iroquois  in  form,  and  give  added 
proof  of  the  occupancy  of  this  region  by  that  race.  In  this  limited  sense  the 
Iroquois  are  entitled  to  fje  called  the  Mound  Builders  of  the  Saginaw  country. 

CENESEE    COUNTY    UNDER    IIURON-IROQUOIS    OCCUPANCY. 

From  the  analogy  of  Huron- Iroquois  customs,  domestic  and  social,  we 
may  reproduce  the  life  and  customs  of  our  Huron  predecessors  who  held 
and  tilled  the  fields  of  our  county  where  now  we  reap  and  gather  into  our 
bams.  We  must  not  picture  a  large  population.  We  must  not  talk  of  vil- 
lages, much  less  cities,  according  to  our  conception  of  such  political  units. 
When  we  speak  of  villages  the  word  must  be  used  in  a  quaHfied  sense.  Among 
the  Indians  it  was  no  more  than  hamlets,  where  a  few  families  of  two  or 
three  score  of  people  spent  the  winters,  and  these  were  located  along  the 
streams  and  lakes. 

The  houses  of  these  early  people  of  Genesee  county  were,  we  may 
assume,  the  framed  buildings  of  large  poles  or  small  logs,  say  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet  wide  and  slightly  longer.  The  frames  were  bound  together  by 
strips  of  rawhide,  and  when  completed,  covered  by  the  bark  of  elm  or  birch. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  I25 

SO  joined  together  as  to  be  impervious  to  rain,  snow  or  wind.  The  four  sides 
of  the  house  faced  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  and  the  doors  were 
toward  the  east  and  the  west.  The  orientation  of  the  homes  was  significant. 
Toward  the  four  i»ints  of  the  c<1mi>ass,  the  Indian  turned  reverently  when 
he  offered  his  prayers,  and  from  each  point  he  invoked  the  blessing  of  his 
Maker. 

In  the  niiddle  of  the  house  was  a  fireplace,  conveniently  located  on  the 
ground  in  the  center  of  the  room,  and  a  hole  in  the  roof  over  the  fire  gave  an 
outlet  for  the  smoke,  which  from  an  Indian  fire  made  of  dry  wood  of  the 
approved  kind  was  not  so  thick  or  offensive  as  the  smoke  from  the  white 
man's  fire;  besides,  was  not  the  smoke  the  medium  of  communication  with  the 
Master  of  Life  and  did  it  not  in  its  forms  give  to  the  red  man  visions  of  the 
unseen  things  of  the  mystery  world.  Along  the  sides  of  the  room  were  plat- 
forms for  seats  by  day,  for  beds  by  night.  These  were  covered  with  skins, 
and  beneath  were  receptacles  for  the  edible  things  gathered  from  the  woods  or 
garnered  from  the  fields — the  nuts,  the  roots,  the  com,  the  beans  and  the 
squashes.  The  husk  bags,  hung  from  the  rafters,  held  the  maple  sugar  or 
the  meal  ground  from  the  parched  com.  Flere  was  the  pottery  ware,  the 
mortar  of  wood,  and  the  pestle  of  stone.  Here  the  bag  of  skins  in  which 
the  housewife  kept  her  needles  of  bone  and  thread  of  sinews.  Here  were 
the  bowls  of  wood  and  the  ladles  of  horn  or  wood,  and  there  the  gourd  or 
drinking  cup,  the  heavy  club,  the  big  stone  with  a  rawhide  thong  which  was 
to  break  the  ice  in  winter.  Here  were  the  fish  hooks  made  of  bone,  and  the 
spear,  with  its  bone  point.  Here  the  deer  horn,  made  into  a  spade  to  dig 
around  the  soil  where  the  "three  sisters"  grew. 

The  fire  was  kept  alive  by  banking  the  coals  in  ashes  throughout  the 
winter,  for  fire-making  was  lalMrious;  besides,  fire  was  sacred  and  the  making 
of  the  fire  in  a  new  home,  and  the  making  of  a  new  fire  in  the  old  home  each 
year,  was  a  matter  of  ceremony  sanctioned  by  ancient  rites  and  sanctified  by 
ancient  custom. 

In  winter,  the  period  of  relaxation,  the  men  passed  their  time  largely 
in  inactivity.  The  women  made  or  mended  the  clothing  for  the  family.  They 
wove  the  husk  bottle  for  use  and  husk  masks  for  rnerry-making ;  the  husk 
nose  to  wear  as  a  rebuke  to  the  gossip  or  mischief-maker.  They  all,  men, 
women  and  children,  rollicked  and  romped  with  each  other  and  played  various 
games.  The  men  made  bows,  spears,  arrows  and  shaped  the  stone  by  chipping 
off  the  fiakes  of  chert  until  the  spear  point  or  arrow  was  achieved.  They 
polished  the  stone  for  a  chisel  to  cut  away  the  charred  wood  where  the  coals 
were  piled  on  to  make  the  wooden  bowl,  or  the  trough   for  the  sap  of  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


126  GENESEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN. 

maple.  This  work  was  the  school  for  manual  training  of  the  young,  who 
dilligentiy  helped  the  older  folk.  In  the  evening  there  gathered  around  the 
middle  fire,  the  men  and  women,  the  youth  and  the  children,  and  there  some 
old  man  whose  life  had  l>een  given  to  keep  aiive  the  unwritten  history  of  the 
people,  some  "Keeper-of -the- faith,"  perhaps,  stated  the  things  of  the  olden 
days,  as  their  fathers  had  told  them,  of  the  deeds  of  their  heroes,  of  the  migra- 
tion of  the  tribe,  of  their  glory  in  war  and,  above  all,  of  their  duty  to  give 
thanks,  "to  our  mother,  the  earth,  which  sustains  us,  to  the  rivers  and  streams, 
which  supply  us  with  water,  to  all  herbs,  which  furnish  us  medicine  for  the 
cure  of  our  diseases,  to  the  corn,  and  to  her  sisters,  the  beans  and  squashes, 
which  give  us  life;  to  the  bushes  and  trees  which  provides  us  with  fruits; 
to  the  wind,  which,  moving  the  air,  has  banished  diseases;  to  the  moon  and 
stars  which  have  given  to  us  their  lights  when  the  sun  was  gone;  to  our 
grandfather  He-no,  who  has  protected  his  grandchildren  from  witches  and 
reptiles,  and  has  given  us  the  rain;  to  the  sun,  who  has  looked  upon  the  earth 
with  a  beneficent  eye,  and  lastly  we  return  thanks  to  the  Master  of  Life, 
Rawennyo,  in  whom  is  embodied  all  goodness,  and  who  directs  all  things  for 
the  good  of  his  children.'" 

And  so  the  children  and  the  young  men  and  girls  of  the  Hurons  of 
Genesee  county  were  taught  reverence  for  the  Creator,  ;md  obedience  to  their 
elders,  and  respect  for  the  aged,  who  because  of  their  long  life  knew  all  that 
the  younger  people  knew  and  much  besides;  and  if  the  speaker  hesitated,  the 
young  people  said,  "I  listen ;"  and  if  any  one  by  reason  of  drowsiness  or  inat- 
tention failed  to  so  respond,  he  was  disgraced,  so  attention  to  the  words  of 
the  wise  was  also  taught  to  the  youth  of  that  age. 

In  early  February,  the  month  of  the  new  year  when  the  pleiades,  which 
the  Indians  called  "the  Guides,"  were  directly  over  head  when  the  stars  came 
out  at  nightfall,  came  the  new  year,  for  the  Creator  of  the  world  made  the 
world  with  these  stars  hanging  directly  over  it.  Then  the  people  gathered 
together  to  give  thanks  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives;  smoke  was  sent 
up  from  the  sacred  tobacco  to  bear  the  messages  of  reverence  and  supplica- 
tion, and  a  white  dog,  pure  in  color  and  without  blemish,  was  killed,  for  so 
their  father  had  done  before  them. 

In  March,  the  month  of  the  maple  sap,  they  gathered  again,  and  again 
rendered  thanks  for  the  earth,  and  the  medical  plants,  and  the  "three  sisters," 
and  the  winds,  and  the  trees,  and  the  Master  of  Life;  but  especially  did  they 
give  thanks  to  Rawennyo,  who  gave  them  the  maple  trees,  and  to  the  tree 
itself,  for  its  sweet  water  from  which  to  make  the  maple  sugar. 

Again  in  May,  the  planting  month,  they  gathered  to  recognize  the  aid 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  12/ 

of  the  Creator  in  their  labor  of  planting  the  seeds,  and  to  ask  for  an  abund- 
ant harvest.  And  when  the  strawberry,  the  berry-that-gro\vs-on-the-hillside, 
ripened,  this  too  was  an  evidence  of  the  goodness  of  Hini-who-made-us,  and 
this,  too,  called  for  recognition  by  a  gathering  together  of  the  people,  followed 
by  solemn  and  devout  worship  according  to  the  customs  and  ritual  of  their 
fathers. 

But  of  all  the  religious  festivals  of  these  Huron-Iroquois,  the  greatest 
was  the  green-corn  festival,  that  occurred  in  the  fall  when  the  roasting  ears 
were  (it.  With  many  of  the  Indians,  this  month  was  called  the  "Month  of 
roasting  ears."  The  corn  was  the  most  important  food  product  of  the  In- 
dians. The  ease  of  its  production,  and  the  variety  of  forms  in  which  it  was 
used  made  it  the  principal  food  of  the  red  man,  although  its  two  sisters,  the 
bean  and  the  squash,  came  next  and  were  almost  universally  referred  to 
together  as  the  three  sisters.  The  feast  in  honor  of  this  gift  of  the  Creator 
was  elaborate  in  its  ceremonies;  it  covered  four  days,  each  of  which  was 
devoted  to  some  particular  religious  service  or  social  enjoyment. 

They  had  an  exaggerated  idea  of  personal  liberty.  The  death  penalty 
was  inflicted  for  crime.  But  imprisonment,  never— they  had  no  jails.  In 
war  an  honorable  captivity  was  recognized  and  hostages  given,  but  captivity 
as  a  punishment  for  crime  was  not  sanctioned.  Enslavement  of  an  enemy 
was  just,  but  the  distinction  l>etween  master  and  slave  was  not  broad,  as 
among  civilized  persons. 

Those  people  had  a  rude  but  efl^icient  system  of  agriculture.  In  summer 
the  women  went  out  into  the  woods  and,  if  new  fields  were  to  be  chosen  for 
their  planting  the  next  year,  built  a  tire  about  the  trees  in  order  to  kill  them 
and  let  in  the  sun.  The  next  spring,  at  proper  intervals  between  the  trees  so 
killed,  they  built  small  fires  of  the  dead  branches  of  these  trees,  which  killed 
the  vegetation,  and  the  ashes  formed' a  fertilizer.  On  the  sites  of  these  fires, 
a  little  later  in  the  planting  month,  after  digging  up  the  soil  with  a  sharpened 
stick  or  deer's  horn,  the  women  planted  the  three  sisters — com,  beans  and 
squash — all  in  one  hill.  The  corn  growing  up  made  a  pole  for  the  beans  to 
grow  upon;  the  squash  sent  its  vines  out  over  the  adjacent  ground.  In  this 
way,  with  little  tillage,  probably  as  great  results  in  the  way  of  food  supplies 
were  obtained  as  would  seem  possible  from  any  other  method  conceivable. 
No  fences  were  required,  as  they  had  no  domestic  animal  to  stray  or  trespass. 
The  crows  were  watched,  and  if  the  witches  came,  appeal  was  made  to  the 
Ga-go-sa,  or  cult  of  the  false  face,  to  exorcise  them.  These  same  medicine 
men  ministere<l  to  the  sick,  especially  when  the  disease  was  accompanied  by 
delirium;  for  this  symptom  suggested  the  seeing  of  the  flying  faces  in  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


I2S  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

sky,  and  the  Ga-go-sa  of  the  red  face  was  in  all  the  traditions  of  the  Huron  a 
symbol  of  blessings  to  come.  We  may  believe  that  the  visible  presence  of 
these  florid  faces  at  the  bedside  of  the  delirious  patint  may  have  diverted  his 
visions  from  the  black  and  distorted  features  of  the  vicious  faces  of  his  delir- 
ium and  soothed  his  spirits. 


About  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  site  of  our  county  was 
unoccupied  by  any  resident  Indian  tribe.  The  Hurons,  who  had  for  a  long 
time  held  it,  were  gone.  The  Sauks  had  gone  on  to  Wisconsin,  and  others  of 
the  Huron  race  had,  with  the  dispersal  of  that  people,  broken  up  into  bands 
who  had  sunk  back  into  the  interior,  always  away  from  the  terrible  men  of 
the  league. 

Lahontan's  book  published  in  1703  has  a  map  which  shows  our  covint\' 
to  have  been  at  that  date  a  trapping  ground  "for  the  friends  of  the  French," 
and  abounding  in  beaver.  In  the  early  part  of  1688  Lahontan,  in  going  to 
the  country  of  the  Ojibways  and  Outanos  near  Michillimackinac,  found  a 
large  band  of  these  Outauos,  numbering  three  or  four  hundred,  who  had 
spent  the  winter  trapping  on  our  river  and  were  then  returning  to  their 
northern  home.  The  same  map  shows  that  the  Ottawas  at  that  time  had 
villages  farther  south  and  near  Detroit.  In  1710  there  was  a  village  of  Otta- 
was between  our  county  and  Saginaw,  and  Colden  in  1745  gives  the  location 
of  another  village  of  the  same  people  between  us  and  Detroit ;  we  may  assume 
that  they  held  this  region  for  many  years.  The  power  of  the  league  having 
declined,  the  Ottawas  lived  in  comparative  peace,  and  when  the  Chippewas 
came  in  they  fraternized  with  them  as  friends  and  allies.  The  Ottawas  were, 
according  to  Lahontan,  of  great  agility,  but  were  inferior  to  the  Huron- 
Iroquois  in  bravery.  They  were,  hke  their  Huron  predecessors,  agriculturists. 
Lahontan  says  that  they  had  very  pleasant  fields,  in  which  they  sowed  Indian 
corn,  peas  and  beans,  besides  a  sort  of  "citruls"  (summer  squash)  and 
"melons"  which  differed  much  from  ours. 

The  ancient  seat  of  the  Ottawas  was  in  the  Manitoulin  island,  and  the 
French  called  them  "Cheveux  releves,"  from  their  custom  of  wearing  the 
hair  erect,  as  appears  from  the  account  of  the  Jesuits.  They  were  referred 
to  in  1796  in  grand  council  of  the  Indians  of  lower  Canada  as  the  "Courte 
Oreilles,"  or  cut-eared  Indians.  They  traced  their  own  origin  and  that  of 
the  Ojibways  and  Pottawatomies,  to  a  common  ancestral  people  in  the  north 
land,  and  the  relationship  between  these  three  branches  of  Algonquins  was 
always  close  and  friendly. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GEKESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  I29 

The  first  white  men  that  the  Ottawas  ever  saw  were  the  French  at  the 
time  of  Champlain,  and  they  were  of  those  who  alUed  themselves  with  him 
and  went  with  him  up  the  Sorel  against  the  Mohawks  of  the  league.  The 
alHance  was  ever  sacred  to  them;  they  fought  with  the  French  in  the  war 
against  the  F,ng]ish  and  when  the  British  arms  prevailed  they  were  reluctant 
to  believe  it  possible  and  slow  in  transforming  allegiance  to  the  English. 

The  French  character,  with  its  buoyancy  and  love  of  adornment,  ingrat- 
iated them  with  the  Ottawas,  who  were  more  given  to  gaudiness  than  the 
Hurons ;  during  their  occupancy  of  Genesee  county  there  were  among  them 
many  French  and  half-breeds,  as  traders  and  habitues,  with  whom  they 
fraternized.  A  French  patois  became  a  medium  of  common  communication. 
To  this  period  we  may  refer  the  French  names  of  our  locality,  of  which 
"Grand  Blanc,"  and  "Grand  Traverse"  as  applied  to  the  place  where  the  old 
trail  crossed  the  Flint  river,  are  prominent  examples. 

Their  allegiance,  once  transferred  from  the  French  to  the  English,  was 
faithfully  fulfilled,  and  even  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution  they  continued 
to  adhere  to  the  English,  whose  equivocal  action  in  holding  the  military  posts 
in  the  United  States,  if  not  the  direct  incitment  of  the  Enghsh,  caused  them 
to  refuse  recognition  of  the  American  claims.  The  punishment  they  received 
from  Wayne  forced  the  treaty  of  Ft.  Greenville,  in  1795,  by  which  they  gave 
up  a  large  and  valuable  part  of  their  Michigan  territory.  This  division  did 
not  include  any  part  of  Genesee  county,  which  continued  to  be  Indian  lands 
down  to  the  treaty  of  1807. 

The  foregoing  account  of  the  occupation  of  our  county,  first  by  the 
Hurons  and,  after  a  period  of  non-occupancy,  by  the  Ottawas,  and  later  by 
the  Ojibways,  materially  differs  from  the  accoimt  given  by  Franklin  Ellis 
in  chapter  II  of  the  excellent  Abbott  history  of  our  county.  Mr.  Ellis  gives 
a  detailed  account  of  defeat  and  expulsion  of  the  Sauks  by  a  combined  attack 
of  the  Ottawas  and  Ojibways.  He  tells  of  the  occupation  of  the  Saginaw 
valley  and  its  tributary  streams  by  the  Sauks,  except  the  valley  of  the  Cass 
river,  which  was  occupied  by  a  kindred  people,  the  "Onottoways ;"  how  the 
invaders  entered  the  country  in  two  columns — one,  the  southern  Ottawas, 
through  our  woods  from  the  south,  the  other,  composed  of  Ojibways  and 
Ottawas  from  the  Mackinac  country,  coasting  in  their  canoes  along  the  west- 
ern shore  of  Lake  Michigan  by  night,  and  hiding  by  day;  how  they  readred 
the  bay  near  the  mouth  of  the  Saginaw  river — that  half  of  one  force  was 
landed  west  of  that  point,  and  the  other  half  proceeding  to  a  point  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  when  both  parties  moved  up,  one  on  each  side  the 

(9) 


dbyGoc^lc 


130  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN^ 

river,  in  the  darkness.  The  party  on  the  west  side  attacked  the  village  of  the 
Sauks  and  drove  them  across  the  river  where  they  were  met  and  again  defeated 
with  great  slaughter  by  the  band  on  the  east  side.  He  goes  on  to  tell  that 
the  remnant  of  the  Sauk  villagers  then  fled  to  an  island  in  the  river,  hoping 
for  safety  in  the  middle  of  the  river  that  was  denied  them  on  either  bank: 
That  night  ice  formed  on  the  river,  of  sufficient  thickness  to  enable  the  victor- 
ious Ojibways  to  cross  over,  where  they  massacred  all,  except  twelve  women. 
The  invaders  then  separated  into  bands  and  attacked  and  destroyed  the  out- 
lying villages  of  the  Sauks  and  also  the  Onottoways  in  the  Cass  valley.  One 
deadly  struggle  took  place  on  the  Flint  river  a  little  north  of  the  Saginaw 
county  line,  and  destruction  was  carried  to  the  villages  of  the  Shiawassee, 
Cass  and  Tillabawasee  rivers.  All  of  this  was  accomplished  by  the  invaders 
from  the  north,  while  the  Ottawas  from  the  south  fell  upon  the  Sauks  just 
below  the  present  city  of  Flint,  defeating  and  driving  them  down  the  river 
to  Flushing,  where  again  they  fought  and  again  defeated  the  fleeing  Sauks  in 
a  bloody  battle.  Out  of  this  series  of  battles  "a  miserable  remnant  made  their 
escape  and  finally,  by  some  means,  succeeded  in  eluding  their  relentless  foes, 
and  gained  the  shelter  of  the  dense  wilderness  west  of  Lake  Michigan."  A 
note  to  the  Ellis  account  says,  "One  of  the  Indian  accounts  of  this  sanguin- 
ary campaign  was  to  the  effect  that  no  Sauk  or  Onottoway  warrior  escaped, 
that  of  all  the  people  of  the  Saginaw  valley  not  one  was  spared  except  the 
twelve  women  before  mentioned,  and  that  they  were  sent  westward  and 
placed  among  the  tribes  beyond  the  Mississippi.  This,  however,  was  unques- 
tionably an  exaggeration,  made  by  the  boastful  Chippewas,  for  it  is  certain 
that  a  part  of  the  Sauks  escaped  "beyond  the  lake."  Mr.  ElHs  says  that  the 
conquerers  did  not  at  once  take  possession  of  this  conquered  territory,  but 
that  it  became  a  common  hunting  ground,  and  was  believed  to  l>e  haunted  by 
the  spirits  of  the  murdered  Sauks;  that  finally  they  overcame  this  supersti- 
tious terror,  and  the  Chippewas  built  their  lodges  in  the  land  which  their 
bloody  hands  had  wrenched  from  its  rightful  possessors.  As  evidence  of  the 
battles  described,  Mr.  Ellis  refers  to  the  large  number  of  skulls  and  bones 
found  on  the  island  and  other  points  on  the  Saginaw  river. 

Mr.  Ellis's  account  is  entirely  at  variance  with  many  known  facts,  and 
bears  many  internal  evidences  of  general  error.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  an 
occupancy  of  the  Saginaw  country,  including  Genesee  coimty,  by  a  people  of 
Huron  race,  from  an  early  period,  presumably  down  to  the  time  when  the 
Hurons  were  driven  out  of  Ontario,  or  soon  after  1638.  Of  this  Huron  peo- 
ple a  branch  acquired  the  name^  "Sauks,"  from  an  abbreviated  form  of 
Swageh-o-no,     meaning     the-people-who-went-out-of-the-!and.       From    this 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I3I 

people  the  name,  "Saginaw,"  as  applied  to  the  river  and  coimty,  arose. 
Whether  the  name  "Sauks"  was  originally  applied  to  all,  or  a  portion  of  the 
Huron  inhabitants,  is  uncertain ;  but  the  Saginaw  country  in  time  came  to  be 
called  by  the  name  of  the  Sauks,  or,  to  use  the  correct  form,  the  Osaugies. 
The  name  is  Huron.  In  1638  began  a  general  stampede  of  the  Indians  of 
Ontario  because  of  the  inroads  of  the  confederated  Iroquois  of  New  York, 
whose  expeditions  went  up  the  Ottawa  river  and  even  to  the  straits  of  Macki- 
nac and  into  the  Saginaw  country.  All  the  tribes  within  the  reach  of  these 
terrible  enemies  fled  from  their  power.  The  Sauks  disappeared  from  the 
Saginaw  country.  Their  country  became  a  hunting  ground  for  the  friends  of 
the  French.  A  French  map  of  about  1680,  "Carte  Generale  de  Canada," 
marks  it  "Chassee  de  Castor  des  Amis  des  Frant^ois"' — a  hunting  ground  of 
beaver  for  the  friends  of  the  French.  Lahontan's  map  (1703)  also  marks  it 
as  a  common  hunting  ground  for  the  friends  of  the  French.  In  Charlevoix's 
"History  of  New  France"  we  find  the  following:  "During  the  summer 
(1686)  information  arrived  that  the  Iroquois  had  made  an  irruption  into  the 
Saguinam,  a  very  deep  bay  in  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Huron,  and  had 
attacked  the  Ottawas  of  Michilimackinac,  whose  ordinary  hunting  ground  it 
was."  Lahontan  tells  us  that  in  the  spring  of  1688  he  met  three  or  four 
hundred  Ottawas  returning  from  a  winter  spent  here  trapping.  In  early 
part  of  1667  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  Ontogamis  (Foxes),  two  hun- 
dred Sauks  and  eighty  Hurons  came  to  Chagonamigon  (St.  Michaels  Isle)  in 
western  Lake  Superior,  to  hear  Father  Ajlouez;  and  in  1669  Father  Allouez 
went  up  the  Fox  river  to  Lake  Winnebago  from  Green  bay  and  began  his 
labors  among  the  Sacs,  Foxes  and  other  tribes. 

Next  we  have  the  maps  showing  a  village  of  the  Ottawas  in  our  valley. 
The  French  map  and  Colden's  map  of  practically  the  same  date  (1745-6) 
show  the  Ottawas  to  be  the  only  settled  inhabitants  of  this  region. 

In  August,  1 701,  when  a  treaty  of  peace  was  made  between  the  Six 
Nations  of  New  York  and  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies  at  the  grand 
council  at  Montreal,  we  find  "the  Hurons  and  Ottawas  from  Michilimackinac, 
Ojibways  from  Lake  Superior,  Crees  from  the  remote  north,  Pottawatomies 
from  Lake  Michigan,  Mascoutins,  Sacs,  Foxes,  Winnebagoes,  and  Menomi- 
nees  from  Wisconsin,  Miamis  from  the  St.  Joseph,  Illinois  from  the  river  Illi- 
nois, Abenakis  from  Acadie,  and  many  allied  hordes  of  less  account,"  gath- 
ered to  make  peace,  for  which  all  were  anxious — the  Hurons,  Sauks  and 
Algonquins,  because  they  had  been  driven  out  from  their  homeland  by  the 
invasion  of  the  Iroquois  league;  the  leagtie  itself,  because  it  had,  by  incessant 
and  wasting  warfare,  felt  its  powers  waning. 


dbyGoot^lc 


132  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

From  the  above  authorities  we  find  the  Sauks  settled  in  Wisconsin  as 
early  as  1667.  It  is  quite  reasonable  to  assume  that  when  they  fled  from  this 
country,  which  had  for  many  generations  been  their  home,  which  was  hal- 
lowed by  the  associations  of  many,  many  years,  they  fled  away  from  their 
enemies  whom  they  feared,  and  not  into  closer  proximity  to  that  enemy. 
They  fled  from  the  Saginaw  country  and  from  Genesee  county  to  Wiscon- 
sin, or  away  from  the  power  of  the  Five  Nations,  just  as  the  Ottawas,  the 
Hurons  of  Ontario,  the  Petuns,  and  others  fled  from  that  powerful  enemy, 
in  one  general  exodus  to  the  west  and  northwest,  always  away  from  the  land 
of  the  league. 

In  the  light  of  these  basic  facts,  can  we  imagine  any  such  thing  as  a 
junction  of  the  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  in  a  war  of  extermination  against  a 
considerable  tribe  of  their  allies.  If  it  took  place  at  all,  the  expedition  must 
have  happened  between  163S  and  1667,  at  a  time  when  both  Ottawas  and 
Chippewas  were  fighting  in  alliance  with  the  Sauks  for  their  very  existence 
against  a  common  enemy. 

Mr.  Ellis  gained  his  account  from  a  tradition  of  the  "boastful  Chip- 
pewas." The  story  of  the  Chippewas,  as  stated  in  the  note  above  quoted, 
sometimes  claimed  utter  extermination  of  the  Sauks,  except  twelve  women. 
In  another  form  as  quoted  by  Albert  Miller,  on  page  377,  Vol.  13,  "Michigan 
Historical  Collections,"  the  story  is  that  a  council  was  held  by  the  Chippewas, 
Pottawatomies,  Ottawas  and  Six  Nations  of  New  York,  as  a  result  of  which 
"they  all  met  at  the  island  of  Mackinac  and  fitted  out  a  large  army  and  started 
in  bark  canoes  down  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Huron."  Then  follows  a  detailed 
account  of  various  battles,  each  of  which  was  disastrous  to  the  Sauks;  a 
burial  of  the  slain  in  a  common  grave,  and  final  extermination  of  the  Sauks, 
except  twelve  women  who  were  sent  to  the  Sioux.  This  story  was  told  by  an 
old  Indian,  Put-ta-gua-si-mine. 

The  main  objection  to  this  tale  is  that  the  Sauks  were  not  exterminated, 
but  were  in  Wisconsin  before  1668;  while  the  Six  Nations  of  New  York,  so- 
called,  did  not  exist  until  after  1714. 

It  might  also  be  said  of  Mr.  Ellis's  account  that  the  name  Onottoways, 
which  he  gives  to  the  people  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Sauks,  and  who 
suffered  a  like  fate,  is  no  more  nor  less  than  one  of  the  names  of  the  Otta- 
was, variously  spelled  Ottaways,  Ouwaes,  Ouatonais,  and  a  dozen  other  ways. 
The  particular  form  used  by  Mr.  Ellis  seems  to  be  made  by  prefixing  the 
Huron  "Ono"  (people)  to  "Ottaways,"  making  "Ono-Ottaways,"  contracted 
to  "Onottoways"  (the  Ottawa  folk).  As  there  was  a  village  of  the  Ottawas 
here  after  the  departure  of  the  Sauks  somewhere  near  the  place  assigned  as 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I33 

the  location  of  the  "Onottoways,"  a  tradition  of  which  probably  lingered  in 
the  minds  of  the  Chippewas,  their  boastful  story  of  the  expedition  could  well 
include  this  "other  people,"  although  the  Sauks  and  Onottoways  were  never 
synchronous  residents  in  the  Saginaw  country. 

The  most  serious  objection  to  the  tale,  however,  is  the  fact  that  the 
Sauks  never  suffered  any  such  crushing  calamity  as  related.  They  fled  to 
Wisconsin,  where  they  were  so  numerous  that  in  1787  Joseph  Aisne  found 
a  single  village  of  them  containing  seven  hundred  men,  and  in  1763  so  close 
was  the  bond  of  friendship  between  them  that  no  other  tribe  except  the 
"Osaugees"  was  admitted  to  the  secret  councils  of  the  Chipjiewas  in  which 
were  perfected  the  plans  for  taking  the  fort  at  MicbJlimackinac;  the  two 
alone  carried  the  plan  into  effect. 

The  various  stories  told  by  the  Chippewas  as  to  this  war  against  the 
Sauks  seem  to  have  been  given  in  explanation  of  various  places  of  burial 
along  the  Saginaw  river  and  its  tributaries,  where  the  remains  of  consid- 
erable numbers  of  humans  were  found.  From  first-hand  evidence  obtained 
by  the  writer  of  this  chapter  from  various  Chippewas  of  Minnesota  and  from 
excavations  of  mounds  in  that  state,  it  was  found  invariably  that  the  Chip- 
pewas explain  a  place  of  common  burial  as  a  "big  battle."  Communal  inter- 
ment was  the  custom  among  the  Hurons,  but  not  among  the  Chippewas ;  con- 
sequently a  battle  seemed  to  them  to  be  the  natural  explanation  of  such  com- 
mon burials. 

From  all  the  facts  it  seems  that  the  story  referred  to  of  the  expedition 
of  the  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  must  be  put  in  the  category  of  myths,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  boastful  tales  of  the  Chippewas  who  invented  a  battle  for  each 
place  of  common  burial  of  their  Huron  predecessors. 

THE    CHIPPEWAS. 

The  Chippewas,  or  Ojibways,  were  a  hardy  northern  race,  generally  of 
fine  physique  and  great  powers  of  endurance.  Their  ancient  seats  were 
around  the  western  end  of  Lake  Superior,  and  north  of  the  lake.  They 
were  of  Algonquin  race,  closely  related  to  the  Ottawas,  and  became  allies 
of  the  French  together  with  that  tribe.  The  rigors  of  their  climate  pre- 
vented the  development  of  agriculture  to  the  same  extent  that  it  prevailed 
among  the  Hurons  and  other  more  southern  tribes,  and  drove  them  to  the 
chase  as  a  means  of  sustenance,  making  life  more  precarious.  This  also  had 
its  effect  on  their  social  conceptions.  Among  the  Huron-Iroquois,  age 
brought  honor.     The  old  men  were  recognized  as  the  receptacles  of  wisdom 


dbyGoot^lc 


134  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

garnered  through  the  many  summers.  The  old  women  were  the  arbiters  in 
all  matters  of  genealogy,  and  whenever  anything  depended  upon  birth  or 
descent,  whether  office,  heritage  or  honors,  the  decision  of  the  oldest  woman 
was  the  final  decision,  as  she  was  the  ultimate  register  of  vital  statistics. 

With  the  Chippewas,  with  a  less  dependable  source  of  food  supply,  with 
famines  occurring  with  almost  periodica!  regularity,  the  aged  became  a  bur- 
den upon  the  band,  lessening  its  social  vitality;  consequently  they  were  to 
be  eliminated  in  the  interest  of  the  safety  of  the  tribe.  Among  all  the  In- 
dians of  the  extreme  north,  of  the  lower  social  status,  those  of  feeble  age 
and  who  were  unable  to  earn  their  own  living,  who  thus  became  a  burden 
upon  the  tribe,  were  to  be  done  away. 

There  was  a  myth  of  the  river  of  sacred  waters,  of  such  magical  proper- 
ties that  when  anyone  was  drowned  in  its  floods  he  was  immediately  trans- 
ported to  the  regions  of  the  blessed  in  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Indian  para- 
dise. This  adhered  in  the  belief  of  the  Chippewas,  and  when  any  old  person 
who  felt  himself  a  burden  upon  the  community  expressed  a  desire  to  go  to  the 
river  of  sacred  waters,  his  wish  was  obeyed  and  the  pilgrimages  that  went  to 
this  fabled  river  took  with  them  these  feeble  ones  who  went  down  into  its 
sacred  waters,  and  through  them  to  the  reward  of  the  next  world,  and  so  was 
preserved  the  race. 

The  Chippewas  were  subject  to  frightful  visitations  of  the  pestilence, 
in  the  many  forms  of  filth  disease.  So  great  had  been  its  ravages  among 
them  that  in  the  common  sign  language  of  the  more  western  Indians,  the 
sign  that  meant  a  Chippewa  was  made  by  picking  with  the  thumb  and 
finger  of  the  right  hand  on-  the  body,  in  imitation  of  the  picking  of  the  scab 
from  this  disease.  Their  medical  knowledge  was  much  inferior  to  that  of 
the  Hurons,  and  far  inferior  to  that  of  their  "grandfathers,"  the  Dela- 
wares,  who  excelled  all  the  other  Indians  in  this  branch  of  knowledge,  so 
much  so,  that,  as  Heckwelder  states,  it  was  common  for  white  women  who 
lived  in  contact  with  them  to  call  the  Indian  doctor  for  their  diseases  in  pre- 
ference to  the  white  practitioner. 

The  Chippevvas  in  earliest  times  were  associated  closely  with  tlie  Ot- 
tawas,  and  in  the  language  of  the  early  French  writers  the  term  Ottawa  is 
often  used  in  a  generic  sense  to  include  all  the  Algonquin  tribes  about  the 
lakes  who  came  down  the  river  of  the  Ottawas  to  trade.  Parkman,  in  his 
"Frontenac  and  New  France,"  page  151,  descril^es  them  as  "a  perilous 
crew,  who  changed  their  minds  every  day,  and  whose  dancing,  singing  and 
yelping  might  turn  at  any  time  into  war  whoops  against  one  another,  or 
against  their  hosts,  the  French.     The  Hurons,  he  adds,  were  more  stable. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  ,  I35 

The  later  years  of  the  seventeenth  century  brought  about  something 
like  a  respite  for  these  Indians.  The  wasting  wars  had  weakened  the  con- 
federated Iroquois,  and  their  forays  had  become  less  frequent  and  less 
fierce.  In  1690  the  Qiippevvas  and  their  allies  came  down  the  river  of  the 
Ottawas  with  beaver  skins  of  the  value  of  about  one  hundred  thousand 
crowns,  and  an  era  of  prosi>erity  dawned  upon  them.  Some  of  these  furs 
were  probably  taken  from  the  Flint  river,  for  we  have  seen  that  in  the 
spring  of  1688  Lahontan  found  something  like  three  or  four  hundred  of  the 
Ottawas  from  the  north  leaving  the  valley  of  our  rivers,  where  they  had 
wintered,  trapping  beaver. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  coming  of  the  Ottawas,  and  probably  soon 
after  the  peace  of  T7oi,that  the  Chippewas  of  the  north  came  into  our  val- 
ley- They  came  peacefully  and  were  welcomed  by  the  Ottawas,  their  allies, 
who  had  preceded  them  in  settling  in  the  valley  of  the  Saginaw,  which  had 
been  the  common  hunting  grounds  after  the  departure  of  the  Sauks.  There 
was  room  for  all;  for,  as  Parkman  states,  referring  to  the  Indians  of  fifty 
years  later,  the  greater  part  of  Michigan  was  tenanted  by  wild  beasts  alone; 
the  Indians  were  "so  thin  and  scattered,"  he  says,  "that  even  in  those  parts 
which  were  thought  well  peopled,  one  might  sometimes  journey  for  days 
together  through  the  twilight  forest  and  meet  no  human  form."  Such  was 
the  paucity  of  the  Ottawa  and  the  Chippewa  inhabitants  of  our  county  that 
it  is  quite  probable  that,  all  told,  they  may  never  have  exceeded  five  or  six 
himdred. 

The  branch  of  the  Chippewas  that  settled  here  in  our  region  came  to. 
be  known  as  the  Chit>pewas  of  the  Saginaw,  and  by  the  year  of  1761,  as  we 
team  from  the  journal  of  Lieutenant  Gorrell,  commandant  at  Green  Bay, 
the  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  had  partitioned  the  state  of  Michigan,  the  Ot- 
tawas taking  the  west  portion  and  the  Chippewas  taking  the  east,  the  divid- 
ing line  being  drawn  south  from  the  post  at  Michiiimackinac,  It  may  be  a 
question  as  to  vvliether  this  partition  applied  to  the  two  tribes  in  lower  Mich- 
igan, but  it  is  quite  certain  that  we  soon  find  the  Ottawas  of  the  lower  por- 
ions  of  the  state,  including  those  who  were  on  the  Flint  river,  settled  west- 
ward; but  all  did  not  go,  as  appears  from  the  fact  that  at  the  treaty  of 
Saginaw   some  Ottawas   participated   and   became   signatory  parties   to   the 

In  the  meantime,  French  traders  and  many  half-breeds  had  become  resi- 
dents for  trade  or  otherwise  among  the  Indians  of  our  county,  and  they 
to  a  considerable  extent  adopted  the  dress  and  conformed  to  the  customs 


dbyGoot^lc 


136  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

and  manners  of  the  natives.  They  painted  themselves  for  the  feast  or  fight 
according  to  the  usages  of  the  Indians,  and  the  people  of  the  county  of 
Genesee  became  a  mixed  race,  Ottawa,  Chippewa  and  French,  among  whom 
were  the  half-breeds;  the  language  became  a  mixed  one,  with  many  French 
terms,  a  jargon  of  the  three  languages.  The  testimony  of  many  writers 
makes  these  Chippewas  of  the  Saginaw  a  depraved  people.  Under  their 
dominion  our  county  was  less  moral,  less  law-abiding,  less  productive,  and 
in  every  way  of  a  s.tatus  inferior  to  what  it  was  under  the  Huron  Sauks. 
In  place  of  the  grave  religious  festivals  of  that  people,  the  practices  of  the 
Chippewas  were  irreligious  and  irreverent.  The  Hurons  had  lived  here 
many  generations,  and  each  place  was  doubtless  the  subject  of  some  tradi- 
tion; sacred  associations  chistered  about  them,  and  here  and  there  along  the 
rivers  were  the  common  graves  of  their  ancestors.  The  Chippewas  were 
new  comers,  who  had  been  corrupted  by  association  with  the  worst  element 
of  the  whites,  and  they  seem  to  have  left  behind  many  of  the  sterner  virtues 
of  their  rugged  ancestors  of  the  north.  Among  the  more  settled  and  devel- 
oped tribes  there  existed  an  intricate  clan  system,  each  clan  being  repre- 
sented by  some  animal.  The  members  of  each  clan  were  of  blood  relation- 
ship to  each  other,  and  such  consanguinity  brought  duties  of  hospitality. 
The  Hurons  had  four  of  these  clans,  the  Bear,  the  Wolf,  the  Hawk  and  the 
Heron.  The  Chippewas  had  only  partially  developed  this  clan  system,  as 
the  ties  of  blood  were  less  strong  and  relationship  less  certain. 

The  event  of  greatest  historical  importance  that  happened  to  these 
Indians  was  the  war  of  Pontiac.  If  we  could  have  the  history  of  that 
momentous  event  in  its  entirety,  of  the  men  who  went  out  from  Mus-cat-a- 
wing  to  fight  for  the  mistaken  cause  of  the  conspirator  who  was  led  to  his 
destruction  by  his  faith  in  the  French  and  hatred  of  the  English;  if  we 
could  tell  the  deeds  of  daring,  the  eloquence  of  the  chiefs,  the  devotion  of 
the  men,  we  might  have  something  of  greatest  interest  as  local  history. 
Unfortnnatly,  we  only  know  a  few  of  these  facts,  and  can  state  them  only 
in  such  genera!  terms  as  quite  eliminate  the  human  interest  so  inseparably 
connected  with  personal  adventure. 

The  chiefs  of  the  Saginaw  Chippewas  attended  the  council  held  at 
Ecorse  on  April  27,  1763.  "There  were  the  tall  naked  figures  of  the  wild 
Ojibways,  with  quivers  slung  at  their  backs,  and  with  light  war-clubs  resting 
in  the  hollow  of  their  arms;  Ottawas,  wrapped  close  in  their  gaudy  blankets; 
Wyatidottes,  fluttering  in  painted  shirts,  their  heads  adorned  with  feathers, 
and  their  leggings  garnished  with  bells.     All  were  soon  seated  in  a  wide 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I37 

circle  upon  the  grass,  row  within  row,  a  grave  and  a  silent  assembly.  Each 
savage  countenance  seemed  car\'ed  in  wood  and  none  could  have  detected 
the  ferocious  passions  hidden  beneath  that  immobile  mask.  Pipes,  with 
ornamented  stems,  were  lighted  and  passed  from  hand  to  hand."  So  Park- 
man  described  the  council  of  our  Indians,  including  those  who  came  from 
Mus-cat-a-wing,  on  the  Pewonigowinsee-be,  where  is  now  the  fifth  ward. 

Tliey  listened  to  the  burning  eloquence  of  Fontiac,  who  played  upon 
their  hatred  for  the  English  and  their  traditional  friendship  for  the  French, 
to  his  appeals  to  their  superstitions  to  his  interpretation  of  the  dream  of 
the  Delawaire  of  the  Wolf  clan,  who  by  fasting,  dreaming  and  incantations 
was  permitted  to  approach  the  Master  of  Life,  and  of  the  message  that  the 
Delaware  brought  back  to  the  Indians,  of  the  wishes  of  the  Master  of  Life 
to  extirpate  the  dogs  in  red  coats  and  restore  the  primitive  conditions  of  the 
Indians  when  they  were  masters  of  the  land.  The  decision  of  the  council 
was  for  war,  and  in  this  decision  the  men  of  the  Saginaw  country  joined. 

Wasso,  chief  of  the  Saginaws,  led  two  hundred  men  from  our  valleys 
to  the  camp  of  Pontiac  in  May  and  they  took  an  active  part  in  most  of  the 
fighting  that  followed.  The  invitation  from  Pontiac  to  the  Chippewas  of 
this  region  to  join  him  against  the  EngHsh  is  shown  in  the  following  speech, 
as  reiMrted  in  the  "Journal  of  Pontiac:"  "I  have  sent  wampum  belts  and 
messages  to  our  brothers  the  Chippewas  of  Saginaw  and  to  our  brothers 
the  Ottawas  of  Michilimackinac  and  to  those  of  the  Thames  river  to  join 
us."     This  speech  was  delivered  at  the  Pottawatomie  village  on  May  5,  1763. 

Not  only  did  the  Chippewas  of  our  region  receive  the  belts  and  wam- 
pum, with  the  messages,  but  they  also  sent  a  delegation  to  the  Chippewas 
at  Michilimackinac,  as  appears  from  the  report  of  Alexander  Henry,  quoted 
by  Warren  in  his  "History  of  the  Chippewas,"  page  213,  that  there  arrived 
at  MicJiilimackinac  a  band  of  Indians  from  the  bay  of  Sag-n-en-auw,  who 
had  assisted  at  the  siege  of  Detroit,  and  came  to  muster  as  many  recruits 
for  that  service  as  they  could.  These  emissaries  also  wanted  to  kill  Henry, 
who  was  found  by  them  to  be  English,  but  they  were  prevented  in  their 
designs  by  M.  Cadotte,  who  had  acquired  great  influence  with  the  northern 
Chippewas:  he  also  advised  against  the  participation  of  the  northern  branch 
in  the  war. 

Our  Chippewas  returned  from  their  northern  trip  with  little  encour- 
agement, and  soon  afterwards  there  happened  a  most  disgraceful  episode 
in  which  our  Indians  were  the  principal  actors  and  in  which  our  chief, 
Wasson,  lead  the  perpetrators.     In  the  "Jonrnal  of  Pontiac,"  page  208,  we 


dbyGoot^lc 


l^S  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

find  the  account  of  this  occurrence  as  follows:  "About  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  an  officer  who  had  commanded  the  fort  at  Sandusky  and  had  been 
taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  escaped  from  the  camp,  or  rather,  from  a 
French  farmhouse  where  his  Indian  wife  had  sent  him  for  safe-keeping. 
It  was  learned  from  him  that  the  Indian  who  had  been  shot  and  scalped  was 
a  chief  and  nephew  of  VVasson,  chief  of  the  Saginaw  Chippewas,  and  that 
Wasson,  enraged  that  his  nephew  h^id  been  killed  in  the  skirmish  of  the  morn- 
ing, went  to  Pontiac's  camp,  said  abusive  things,  and  demanded  Mr.  Camp- 
bell for  revenge,  saying:  'My  Brother,  I  am  fond  of  this  carrion  flesh  which 
thou  guardest;  I  wish  some  in  my  turn;  give  it  to  me.'"  The  story  con- 
tinues: "Pontiac  gave  him  up  and  Wasson  brought  him  to  his  camp  where 
he  had  his  young  men  strip  him  of  his  clothes.  Then  he  killed  him  with  a 
blow  of  his  tomahawk  and  afterwards  cast  him  into  the  river;  the  Ixxly 
floated  down  stream  to  the  place  where  the  Frenchmen  had  taken  him  when 
he  left  the  fort,  in  front  of  M.  CuUiero's  house,  and  it  was  buried." 

This  act  of  chief  Wasson  brought  a  stain  on  the  fame  of  Pontiac,  who 
had  many  excellent  and  chivalrous  qualities.  One  version  of  the  affair  is 
that  Wasson  took  the  prisoner  from  the  camp  of  Pontiac  in  the  absence  of 
that  chief,  and  that  on  his  learning  of  the  fate  of  Campbell,  he  was  so 
enraged  that  Wasson  fled  to  Saginaw  to  escape  the  fury  of  the  chief.  News 
of  peace  between  the  French  and  English  had  already  reached  the  Indians 
before  this  act  of  Wasson,  and  they  were  informed  that  their  Great  Father, 
as  they  were  pleased  to  call  the  French  king,  had  given  up  all  claim  to  the 
land  they  were  fighting  for;  but  renegade  Frenchmen,  who  wanted  to  keep 
alive  the  hatred  against  the  English,  whom  they  hated,  to  this  end  informed 
the  Indians  that  the  pretended  peace  was  an  invention  of  the  English  and 
that  even  then  two  French  armies  were  coming  to  aid  them.  In  their 
credulity  the  Indians  of  our  region  were  thus  stimulated  to  hold  on,  even 
after  the  Wyandots  and  Pottawatomies  had  entered  into  agreement  for  peace: 
and  they  with  their  allies,  the  Ottawas,  made  up  the  ambush  at  the  bridge 
in  the  battle  of  Bloody  Bridge,  where  they  inflicted  great  loss  upon  the 
British. 

The  deferred  fulfillment  of  these  promises  of  aid  and,  more  cogent  than 
this,  the  approach  of  winter,  cooled  the  ardor  of  the  Indians  and  in  the  fall 
they  graduaJiy  deserted  the  great  chief  and  returned  to  their  homes.  The 
men  of  the  Saginaw  country  returned  to  their  friends  at  the  various  villages 
along  the  Saginaw  and  the  Flint. 

In  the  council  that  was  held  between  General  Bradstreet,  on  behalf  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I39 

the  British  government,  and  various  tribes  of  Indians  who  had  favored  the 
conspiracy  and  fought  in  the  war  the  year  before,  Wasson  represented  a 
considerable  number  of  the  tribes  and  was  the  principal  orator  of  the 
occasion.  In  his  opening  speech  he  said ;  "My  Brother,  last  year  God  for- 
sook us.  God  has  now  opened  our  eyes  and  we  desire  to  l>e  heard.  It  is 
God's  will  our  hearts  are  altered.  It  was  God's  will  you  had  such  fine 
weather  to  come  to  us.  It  is  God's  will  also  there  should  be  peace  and 
tranquillity  over  the  face  of  the  earth  and  of  the  waters." 

After  this  pious  exordium,  he  frankly  admitted  that  his  Indians  had 
been  responsible  for  the  war  against  the  fort  at  Detroit,  and,  in  direct  contra- 
diction of  the  custom  of  the  Indians  to  lay  on  the  young  men  all  initiative 
in  a  war,  he  said  it  was  the  misguided  chiefs  and  old  men  who  planned  the 
same-.  He  promised  to  receive  the  English  king  as  the  father  of  the  Indians 
in  place  of  the  French  king,  and  so  the  men  of  Mus-cat-a-wing  transferred 
their  allegiance  from  the  French  to  the  English.  This  must  have  been  a 
hard  task  for  these  people,  who  had  steadfastly  adhered  to  the  cause  of  the 
French  from  the  time  of  Champlain,  who  were  bound  to  them  by  so  many 
ties  and  associations,  and  whose  hatred  for  the  English  had  Ijeen  fostered 
by  every  wile  that  French  diplomacy  could  suggest. 

Chief  Wasson,  who  represented  the  various  tribes  at  the  council  alx)ve, 
was  [lerhaps  the  most  prominent  chief  of  ail  the  Indians  of  our  valley  and, 
from  a  historical  standpoint,  the  l>est  known.  We  now  have  no  knowledge 
of  his  Hfe  here,  but  as  the  principal  chief  of  all  the  Chippewas  of  this 
region,  he  was  no  doubt  a  frequent  visitor  to  our  locality  and  especially  to 
Mus-cat-a-wing  on  the  Flint. 

In  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  which  followed  soon  afterwards,  the 
Indians  of  this  locality  were  not  .so  partisan  in  favor  of  their  new  masters: 
but  that  they  joined  the  British  in  the  various  battles  can  well  lie  accepted. 
The  activity  of  the  Five  Nations  under  the  influence  of  the  great  Johnson 
could  not  have  failed  to  influence  these  Indians,  who  were  so  warlike  in  their 
nature. 

As  the  Indians  in  1763  had  refused  to  transfer  allegiance  from  the 
French  to  the  English,  so  in  the  years  following  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
they  refused  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  American  government. 
They  were  situated  at  a  point  so  accessible  to  the  Canadian  side  of  the 
border,  and  were  so  much  in  contact  with  them,  that  their  influence  still 
continued  to  be  felt,  and  the  intrigues  of  the  British  in  Canada,  who  hoped 
for  the  further  prosecution  of  war,  which  would  restore  the  lost  colonies, 
aide{I  in  keeping  up  this  equivocal  relationship  l^etween  the  Indians  of  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


I40  GKNESKF.    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Saginaw  region  and  the  territorial  government  established  in  1787.  The 
Indians  of  Mus-cat-a-wing  must  have  been  especially  effected.  Among  them 
were  many  French  and  half-breeds,  who  were  very  poor  advisers  in  matters 
of  tribal  safety.  They  were  also  in  close  touch  with  their  Chippewa  brothers 
at  the  north,  all  of  whom  were  very  well  disposed  toward  the  English. 

About  the  close  of  the  year  181 1  there  was  a  noticeable  unrest  among 
the  Indians  of  the  lake  regions  generally,  and  this  was  accompanied  by  an 
abundance  of  arms,  of  a  kind  and  character  quite  beyond  the  ordinary  reach 
of  the  Indians.  The  source  of  this  supply  was  apparent.  The  English  of 
Canada,  anticipating  the  coming  war.  had  in  advance  armed  the  Indians  upon 
whom  they  could  rely,  and  this  policy  of  preparedness  also  extended  to  the 
Chippewas  of  our  region;  they  were  one  of  the  tribes  easiest  to  reach  and 
easiest  to  persuade  and,  in  accordance  with  the  general  policy  of  securing  the 
aid  of  the  Indians,  which  is  patent  in  the  correspondence  of  the  various 
English  officials,  these  Indians  had  been  approached  before  actual  warfare 
started  and  their  alliance  sought.  M.  Lothier,  agent  for  the  Michilimackinac 
Company,  writes  January  13,  i8iz,  thait  the  Indians  throughout  the  country 
where  his  company  traded  were  all  dissatisfied  with  the  American  govern- 
ment, and  expresed  opinion  that  in  event  of  war  between  the  British  and 
Americans  "every  Indian  that  can  liear  arms  would  gladly  commence  hos- 
tilities against  the  Americans."  John  Askin,  from  Michilimackinac,  in  June, 
1813,  tells  of  the  activity  of  the  Indians  recruiting  at  that  point,  of  which 
he  ai>parently  had  charge.  He  pledges  the  active  aid  of  all  Indians  capable 
of  engaging  in  war  to  aid  the  British,  including  all  the  Indians  along  the 
Michigan  side  of  Lake  Huron  and  taking  in  the  Indians  of  this  region. 
According  to  communications  from  Wisconsin,  it  would  seem  that  the 
Indians  generally  had  been  persuaded  that  the  "lives  of  their  children" 
depended  on  the  success  of  the  British  in  the  war. 

In  1814  they  were  actively  engaged  as  fighting  men  and  as  spies  for  the 
British.  In  a  letter  from  W.  Claus,  from  York  (Toronto),  dated  the  14th 
of  May,  1814,  is  the  following: 

"The  Indians,  who  arrived  at  Burlington  on  the  6th  inst.  from  Sandv 
Creek,  Saguina  Bay,  report  that  Mr.  Dickson  was  at  Green  Bay  during  the 
whole  of  the  winter,  and  that  the  Winnebagoes,  Folavoines,  Chippewas,  and 
ail  the  Nations  of  the  north  side  of  Lake  Michigan,  met  with  him  in  sugar 
making  season,  and  that  he  was  collecting  a  great  many  cattle  in  the  Green 
Bay  settlement. 

"Thirteen  Indians  of  Naywash's  band  arrived  at  Burlington  on  the  gth 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNFSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I4I 

Inst,  from  Flint  river,  and  say  they  were  informed  that  two  vessels  and  six 
gunboats,  with  about  300  men,  had  passed  the  river  at  St.  Clair  about  22 
or  23  April,  for  Michilimackinac,  and  that  about  250  men  remained  at 
Detroit.  These  Indians  report  that  there  are  about  500  men  at  Saguina 
Bay,  who  are  ready  to  show  their  attachment  to  their  great  father,  when- 
ever his  troops  shal!  return." 

This  Naywash  was  perhaps  that  chief  of  the  Chippewas  who  in  1786 
joined  in  a  deed  of  certain  lands  near  Detroit  to  Alexander  McKee,  in  con- 
sideration of  good  will,  etc,  and  who  states  that  the  grantee  had  fought 
with  them  in  the  iate  war  against  the  enemy. 

They  had  listened  to  another  "Prophet",  and  again  they  had  been  sadly 
misled  to  their  defeat.  At  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812  it  may  be  believed 
that  the  Indians  of  our  valleys  had-become  bewildered  by  the  various  tempt- 
ing promises  of  the  British  and,  earlier,  those  of  the  French;  by  the  dreams 
of  Pontiac;  by  the  visions  of  this  later  prophet;  all  this  had  lured  them  to 
defeat  and  destruction,  and  when  Cass  and  his  comrades  met  them  at  Sag- 
inaw to  treat  with  them  for  their  lands,  and  reminded  them  that  as  a  con- 
quered people  they  could  not  make  demands  but  must  take  what  their  con- 
querors dealt  out  to  them,  the  grim  logic  of  this  suggestion  must  have  come 
home  to  these  deluded  people — losers  in  every  war  they  had  undertaken — 
with  a  crushing  force,  which,  found  its  sequel  in  their  giving  up  to  such  a 
large  extent  the  territories  they  claimed. 

ROM.ANTIC    TRADITIONS. 

Flavius  J.  Littlejohn,  of  Allegan,  whose  experiences  as  a  surveyor 
began  about  the  time  of  the  admission  of  Michigan  as  a  state,  was  brought 
into  close  relations  with  many  bands  of  Indians  then  inhabiting  the  various 
parts  of  this  peninsula.  From  this  contact  he  gleaned  many  stories,  which 
were  in  part  published  in  1875.  The  edition,  however,  was  mostly  lost  by 
fire  and  the  work,  "Legends  of  Michigan  and  the  Old  Northwest,"  is  now 
very  scarce. 

The  writings  of  this  author  are  ultra  romantic,  and  in  giving  verbatim 
the  dialogues  of  his  very  interesting  characters,  he  places  a  rather  grievous 
burden  upon  our  credulity.  But  his  stories  have  an  apparent  basis  of  fact, 
and  most  certainly  a  historic  value.  It  seems  proper  to  give  in  brief  out- 
line some  of  them  that  deal  with  our  locality;  it  would  be  unwise  to  reject 
them  entirely  while  we  treat  as  historically  valuable  the  tales  Herodotus 
brought  out  of  Egypt. 


dbyGoot^lc 


142  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICIlir.AN. 

Alxint  the  year  1804  there  was  a  village  of  the  Chippevvas,  known  as 
Mus-cat-a-wing,  located  along  the  river  within  the  present  bounds  of  the 
fifth  ward  of  Flint.  The  Indians  name  of  the  river  was  Pewonigo-win-se-be, 
or  the  river-of-the-flints,  and  from  this  name  the  band  of  Chippewas  was 
called  I'ewonigos.  Up  the  river  from  Mus-cat-a-wing,  and  about  a  mile 
aljove  Geneseevilie,  was  Kish-Kaw-bee,  another  village  of  the  Pewonigos. 
At  this  time  Ne-o-me,  a  name  that  occurs  in  the  early  accounts  of  our  city, 
was  chief  of  the  Pewonigos  and  resided  at  Mus-cat-a-wing,  his  territory 
including  the  entire  basin  of  the  river  to  the  headwaters  of  its  affluents. 

At  this  same  time  a  remnant  of  the  Hurons  lived  on  the  Shiawassee 
river,  their  territory  also  extending  up  to  the  head  of  the  tributary  streams, 
and  their  chief  lieing  Chessaning,  a  young  man  who  had  recently  become 
chief. 

Ne-o-me's  lirolher,  Mix-e-ne-ne,  was  stib-chief  and  a  relative,  Ton-e- 
do-ganee,  was  war  chief  of  the  Pewonigos.  A  sister  of  Ne-o-me,  by  name 
of  Men-a-cum-seqna,  lived  with  her  brothers  at  Mus-cat-a-wing. 

Chessaning  also  had  a  sister,  Ou-wan-a-ma-che,  and  as  the  relations 
between  these  two  hands,  Huron  and  Chippewa,  were  especially  friendly,  it 
came  shout  that  Chessaning  paid  his  suit  to  the  sister  of  Ne-o-me,  while 
that  chief  became  interested  in  the  sister  of  Chessaning.  Ton-e-do-ganee 
had  been  rejected  by  Men-a-cum-sequa,  and  later,  seeing  Chessaning's  sister, 
became  violentlj'  in  love  with  her,  but  slie  rejected  him. 

She  had  also  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  suit  of,  Ne-o-me,  whose  sister, 
Men-a-cuni-sequa,  instead  of  favoring  Chessaning,  had  fallen  in  love  with 
a  French  trader  whom  the  Indians  called  Kassegans.  Of  this  love  Ne-o-me 
was  ignorant,  but  it  had  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  war  chief,  who  was 
determined  to  profit  by  it  in  .some  way  to  the  injury  of  Ne-o-me,  whom  he 
wished  to  succeed  as  chief. 

Chessaning,  being  rejected  by  Men-a-cum-sequa,  determined  to  appeal 
to  Ne-o-me  to  exercise  his  power  as  a  chief  and  coerce  his  sister  into  the 
marriage. 

Ne-o-me  at  this  time  had  ambitions  and  was  planning  to  bring  under 
his  rule  an  independent  band  of  Chippewas  to  the  north  on  the  Cass  river. 
To  this  end  he  was  plotting  an  invasion  of  that  country,  and  when  Chessaning 
asked  for  his  interference  in  his  behalf  with  the  sister,  he  made  the  same 
conditional  on  Chessaning's  joining  the  proposed,  expedition.  Ches^saning, 
with  true  chivalry,  said  that  he,  a  chief,  could  not  barter  for  a  wife,  how- 
ever fair,  and  the  diplomatic  Ne-o-me  then  appeased  him  by  promising  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  143 

hand  of  Men-a-cum-seqiia,  imconditionaliy,  after  which  he  asked  Chessan- 
ing's  aid  as  a  favor  to  his  prospective  brother-in-law ;  this  diplomacy  secured 
the  promise  of  Chessaning's  forces. 

Ton-e-do-ganee,  the  war  chief,  thought  this  the  moment  to  interfere 
and  he  dramatically  informed  Xe-o-me,  in  presence  of  Chessaning,  that  the 
chief's  sister  was  in  love  with  the  trader  and  that  even  then  they  had  fled 
down  the  river;  this  fact  was  corroborated  by  Se-go-giien,  the  mnte  foster- 
brotlier  of  Chessaning,  who  had  seen  the  canoe  and  elopers  on  the  river. 
The  effect  of  this  announcement  was  the  opposite  of  the  war  chief's  expecta- 
tions. Chessaning's  chivalrous  nature  again  asserted  itself  and  he  assured 
Ne-o-me  that  this  fact  of  the  elopement  would  not  affect  his  promise  of 
aid,  as  it  had  plainly  l^een  beyond  Ne-o-me's  knowledge,  and,  turning  upon 
the  war  chief,  he  accused  him  of  bad  faith  that  merited  puni,shment,  which 
he  promised  to  inflict. 

Ne-o-me  during  the  negotiations  had  visited  Chessaning's  home  and 
so  ingratiated  himself  with  Ou-wan-a-ma-che,  that  she  relented  her  former 
decision  and  they  became  engaged. 

There  were  at  Mus-cat-a-wing  two  renegades,  outlaws  from  the  east, 
who  ]iad  taken  advantage  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Pewonigos.  and  loitered 
alx5Ut  Mus-cat-a-wing,  leading  a  vagabond  life.  One  was  a  white  man  and 
the  other  a  half-breed.  To  them  Ton-e-do-ganee  went  with  a  plan  of 
revenge  upon  Chessaning  and  Ne-o-me. 

The  intended  bride  of  Chessaning  had  fled,  and  the  war  chief  planned 
a  similar  disappointment  to  Ne-o-me,  by  inducing  the  two  outlaws  to  abduct 
the  sister  of  Chessaning.  ft  was  planned  that  they,  taking  advantage  of 
the  disorder  of  the  expedition,  should  seize  Ou-wan-a-ma-che,  and  take  her  in 
their  canoe  up  the  river  to  Kish-Kaw-bee,  where  she  was  to  be  hidden  in 
the  lodge  of  a  relative  of  the  war  chief.  The  two  were  also  to  take  informa- 
tion to  the  chief  of  the  Wakisos  against  whom  the  invasion  was  planned, 
of  the  plans  of  Ne-o-me. 

The  outlaws  undertook  the  execution  of  the  war  chief's  plan  for  revenge. 
Thev.  however,  failed  in  part,  for,  after  reaching  Om-a-gan-see,  Chessan- 
ing's village  on  the  Shiawassee,  and  seizing  his  sister,  they  paddled  down  the 
■Shiawassee  to  the  Flint  and  on  attempting  to  go  up  that  river  to  Kish-Kaw- 
bee,  thev  were  cut  off  by  Ne-o-me's  sentinels  and  had  to  turn  down  stream. 
Passing  the  mouth  of  the  Shiawassee,  they  hrqjed  to  reach  the  Tittabawassee, 
but, here  again  they  were  obliged  to  turn  back,  because  the  camp  fires  of  a 
large  number  of  warriors  apprised  them  of  the  gathering  of  Chessaning's 


dbyGoot^lc 


144  GENESEE.  COUNTY,,  MICHIGAN. 

forces.  They  were  driven  to  ascend  the  Cass  river,  called  by  the  Indians 
Wakishegan,  on  the  headwaters  of  which  they  knew  of  a  grotto  where  they 
hoped  to  be  safe  until  they  could  communicate  with  the  war  chief. 

The  trader,  fleeing  with  Men-a-cum-sequa,  had  preceded  them  up  this 
river  and,  after  visiting  the  village  of  the  Wakisos,  had  also  sought  refuge 
in  this  same  cavern. 

The  aged  chief  of  the  Wakisos,  because  of  his  infirmities,  had  dele- 
gated the  rule  to  his  daughter,  Mo-KJsh-e-no-qua,  and  she  hastened  to  meet 
the  invading  forces  of  Ne-o-me.  So  successfully  did  she  prepare  her  defense, 
which  included  an  ambush,  that  Ne-o-me's  forces  were  severely  handled  and 
his  advance  guard  nearly  annihilated.  Then  only  did  Ne-o-me  know  that 
he  was  making  war  against  a  woman.  Turning  back,  he  joined  Chessan- 
ing's  forces,  and  for  the  first  time  they  were  informed  of  the  abduction  of 
Ou-wan-a-ma-che,  This  information  came  from  the  foster-mother  of  Chessan- 
ing,  who  had  pursued  the  abductors  in  her  canoe  and  had  traced  their  flight 
up  the  Cass.  Ne-o-me  and  Chessaning,  with  a  few  picked  men,  and  the 
mute  Se-go-guen,  paddled  up  the  hostile  river,  their  objective  being  the 
cavern,  and  on  their  way  found  that  the  Wakisos  had  abandoned  the  river 
and  retreated  to  some  inland  refuge.  Keeping  on,  they  reached  the  cave 
and  there  found  the  elopers,  renegades  and  the  captive.  The  eloping  sister 
of  Ne-o-me  was  forgiven  and  the  captive  sister  of  Chessaning  rescued. 
Three  marriages  followed.  Men-a-cum-sequa  and  the  trader;  Ne-o-me  and 
Ou-wan-a-ma-che,  and  Chessaning  and  the  Amazon  leader  of  the  Wakisos, 
for  peace  was  happily  achieved  through  the  office  of  the  chivalrous  Chessan- 
ing.    The   renegades   were   forced  to  run  the  gauntlet  and   were  banished. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    LONG    LAKE. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  these  stories  is  that  of  the  battle  of 
Long  Lake,  the  hero  of  which  was  the  mute  boy,  Se-go-guen,  the  foster- 
brother  of  chief  Chessaning,  of  whom  we  have  heard  in  the  above  tale. 
It  appears  that  this  part  of  Michigan  was,  not  long  after  the  occurrences 
related  above,  cursed  by  a  large  number  of  renegades,  mostly  outlaws  from 
the  older  settled  portion  of  the  east,  whose  crimes  had  driven  them  from 
their  former  homes  and  who  had  imposed  on  the  well-known  hospitality  of 
the-IndifmsibyiseftHng-afnong  them  and  there  leading'lives  of  vicious  indo- 
lence. They  had  formed  themselves  into  organized  bands,  having  their  secret 
words  and  signs  and  places  of  rendezvous,  and  were  bound  by  oath  to  aid 
each  other.     They  levied  a  tribute  upon  the  traders  who  came  among  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  .  I45 

Indians,  burdening  tliat  traffic  with  a  tax  that  fell  heavily  upon  both  the 
traders  and  the  Indians.  In  case  tribute  was  not  paid,  robbery,  arson,  and 
even  murder,  were  the  penalties. 

Okemos,  chief  of  the  Ottawas,  whose  principal  village  was  at  Al-i- 
Kou-ma  (Grand  Rapids)  on  the  Grand  river,  was  an  ally  of  Chessaning 
and  Ne-o-me,  and,  because  of  an  exceptionally  atrocious  murder  of  a  trader 
located  among  the  Ottawas,  he  called  for  a  conference  of  the  three  chiefs  to 
devise  some  plan  for  suppressing  these  depredations,  by  driving  out  the  out- 
laws. The  meeting  was  appointed  at  Owosso,  some  miles  up  the  Shiawassee 
river  from  Om-a-gan-see,  the  residence  village  of  Chessaning,  that  being 
handiest  for  the  conference. 

In  accordance  with  the  arrangement,  the  three  chiefs  met,  but  the  rene- 
gades, being  apprised  of  the  meeting  and  apprehensive  of  its  object,  had  one 
of  their  number  spy  on  the  meeting.  This  one,  lying  on  the  ground  behind 
the  lodge,  overheard  all  the  plans  of  the  three.  Se-go-^ien,  who  had  accom- 
panied Ghessaning,  with  an  intuitive  feeling  of  danger  investigated  and 
found  the  spying  outlaw  and  informed  Chessaning  of  his  discovery.  The 
spy  esca^ied  down  the  river  to  Om-a-gan-see.  Chessaning,  returning  to 
Om-a-gan-see,  soon  identified  the  spy  through  the  woodcraft  of  the  mute. 
On  being  charged,  the  man  at  first  denied,  but  finally  admitted  his  guilt, 
defied  Chessaning  and  even  made  an  attempt  with  his  tomahawk  upon  the 
life  of  the  boy,  Se-go-gxien,  for  his  part  in  the  capture.  Chessaning,  stand- 
ing by,  stabbetl  the  renegade,  but  not  fatally.  He  was  then  put  in  confine- 
ment under  guard,  but  in  the  meantime  it  appeared  that,  by  the  secret  means 
of  communication  of  the  renegades,  he  had  made  known  the  plan  of  the 
chiefs  to  the  leaders  of  the  outlaws. 

The  plan  of  the  three  chiefs  was  to  gather  a  cordon  of  warriors  in  the 
upper  valleys  of  the  rivers  and  like  a  drawn  net,  to  close  in,  driving  the  out- 
laws down  the  streams  and  finally  out  of  the  country. 

The  warning  sent  out  by  the  spy,  however,  gave  notice  to  the  outlaws, 
who  decided  on  a  counter-stroke;  this  was  to  simultaneously  attack  the 
several  traders,  looting  their  warehouses,  and  join  at  a  place  of  meeting 
known  only  to  the  initiated. 

The  wounded  spy,  feigning  complete  exhaustion  from  his  wound, 
caused  his  guards  to  relax  their  watchfulness,  and  so  escaped.  When  his 
escape  had  been  discovered,  the  mute  Se-go-guen  asketl  the  privilege  of  track- 
ing him,  and,  with  his  trained  dog,  which  to  some  extent  supplied  the  sense 
of  hearing,  set  out  in  pursuit.     Following  unerringly,  he  traced  the  spy  to  a 

(10) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


146  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

point  near  Long  Lake,  and  thence  saw  him  take  a  hidden  canoe,  cross  the 
lake  and  disappear  in  a  ravine  on  the  opposite  shore.  Circling  the  lake, 
Se-go-guen  discovered  the  place  of  rendezvous  of  the  renegades,  where  their 
bands  had  already  gathered  with  the  loot  of  several  traders  and  with  the  two 
captive  daughters  of  one  of  them.  Eluding  the  sentinels,  he  went  back  over 
his  track  and  found  the  forces  of  the  three  chiefs,  whom  he  led  to  the  place 
of  hiding.  There  the  renegades  were  surrounded  and  killed,  to  a  man, 
about  eighty  in  all.  This  battle  of  Long  I^ke  cleared  this  region  of  out- 
laws and  a  few  years  iater,  when  the  first  settlers  came,  they  found  the 
region  undisturbed  by  lawlessness.  To  these  three  chiefs,  Ne-o-me  of  the 
Chippewas  of  the  Flint  river.  Chcssaning  of  the  Hurons  of  the  Shiawassee, 
and  Okemos  of  the  Ottawas,  of  the  Grand  river,  three  different  races,  is  due 
the  credit  for  this  delivery;  but  chiefly  is  the  honor  due  to  Se-go-guen,  the 
mute  boy  of  the  Shiawassee. 

A  sequel  to  these  tales  of  romance  that  cluster  about  our  present  homes 
built  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Mus-cat-a-wing,  is  foimd  in  the  unpublished 
manuscript  of  this  same  writer.     It  is  the  tale  of 

THE  CAPTIVES  OF  THE  SAGINAW, 

The  two  renegades  who  were  caught  after  their  abduction  of  Ou-wan- 
a-ma-che,  sister  of  Chessaning,  chief  of  the  Shiawassos,  and  punished  by 
expulsion  from  the  country  after  running  the  gauntlet,  had  retired  to  a 
remote  and  little  visited  region.  They  had  suffered  through  the  orders  of 
Mo-Kish-e-no-qua,  queen  of  the  Wakisos,  who  afterward  became  the  wife 
of  Chessaning.  They  left  with  unuttered  vows  of  vengeance,  fleeing  down 
stream  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tittabawassee,  and  up  that  stream  to  its  remote 
headwaters,  where  they  found  the  unvisited  region  referred  to.  Here  they 
lived  in  seclusion  and  so  escaped  the  fate  of  the  other  renegades  of  the 
battle  of  Long  Lake.  I-eaming  of  this,  the  two  postponed  the  day  of 
revenge  because  of  the  turn  of  that  battle.  But  they  never  gave  over  the 
plan. 

Their  region  was  swampy  and  the  favorite  haunt  of  many  fur-bearing 
animals.  They  trapped  diligently,  finding  a  market  for  their  furs  at  Otasse- 
bewing,  midway  between  the  rivers,  and  gaining  from  time  to  time  news  of 
Chessaning  and  Mo-Kish-e-no-qua,  who  were  now  the  happy  parents  of  two 
children,  a  boy  and  a  girl. 

Facts  froiTi  the  outside  world  came  in  to  the  two  renegades  from  tiie 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  147 

visits  to  the  trading'  point  and  from  their  intercourse  with  a  band  living  not 
far  from  their  trading  place.  Their  swampy  region  was  full  of  animal  life. 
The  muskrat,  mink,  otter,  beaver  and,  in  the  higher  regions,  the  lynx,  bear, 
coon  and  marten,  all  of  which  fnriiished  a  tempting  prize  for  the  trappers. 
Six  years  of  this  life  brought  them  to  the  year  1810,  and  then  the  time 
seemed  propitious  for  carrying  into  effect  their  plans. 

At  this  time  there  were  other  Indians  of  Huron  origin  inhabiting  the 
region  of  the  territory  of  Chessaning,  whose  allegiance  was  given  to  another 
chief,  then  of  middle  age  and  of  great  energy,  by  the  name  of  "Gray  Eagle"; 
these  Indians,  more  numerous  than  the  Shiawassos,  were  called  the  Wassen- 
ings.  The  border  line  separating  the  regions  of  these  two  independent 
peoples  was  rather  indefinitely  drawn  along  the  watershed  between  the  Shia- 
wassee and  the  Tittabawassee,  and  along  this  watershed  frequent  quarrels 
took  place  between  the  hunters  of  tlie  two  bands,  growing  out  of  uncer- 
tainty about  the  boundary  line.  Generally  the  good  sense  of  the  two  chiefs 
brought  about  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  differences  and  averted  open 
hostilities,  but  friction  continued  and  anything  that  could  be  construed  into 
acts  of  aggression  was  magnified  into  undue  importance. 

In  the  spring  of  1810  our  two  outlaws  following  a  band  of  the  Wassen- 
ings  into  this  border  region  with  a  hope  of  embroiling  the  two  chiefs  in  war, 
found  an  opportunity  to  precipitate  hostilities.  Meeting  a  band  of  the  Shia- 
wassos on  the  disputed  border,  a  wordy  dispute  ensued,  which  would  prob- 
ably have  ended  in  words,  had  not  one  of  the  renegades  who  had  furtively 
crept  up  to  a  point  where  he  was  unseen,  shot  an  arrow  that  stmck  and 
killed  a  Shiawasso  brave.  This  precipitated  a  figbt  that  resulted  in  several 
deaths,  but  finally  the  Wassenings  were .  forced  to  retreat.  Both  l)ands  dis- 
claimed the  initiative  in  the  fight,  and  the  usual  diplomacy  of  the  two  chiefs 
gave  way  to  violent  and  challenging  notes:  preparations  were  made  for  war. 

Chessaning  had  offered  to  arbitrate,  by  leaving  it  to  Ne-o-me,  of  the 
Pewonigos:  but  the  Gray  Eagle,  whose  military  power  was  supposed  to  be 
superior,  refused  anything  but  war. 

The  old  alhance  between  Chessaning,  Okemos  and  Ne-o-me  was  again 
appealed  to.  and  Okemos  promised  aid,  as  did  Ne-o-me.  Ne-o-me  at  once 
repaired  to  Om-a-gan-see,  Chessaning's  capitol,  and  proposed  a  plan  to  con- 
fine the  war  area  to  the  territory  of  the  enemy — the  Tittabawassee  region — 
by  a  blockading  fleet  of  canoes,  which  was  to  close  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Okemos  was  to  march  from  Ak-mon-shee  (Lansing)  overland  and 
strike  the  enemy  on  the  head  waters  of  the  river,  driving  them  down  toward 


dbyGoot^lc 


I4»  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

Gray  Eagle's  village,  Wassebewing,  where  Midland  now  stands,  and  by  a 
quick  campaign  from  the  east,  south  and  we&t  to  roll  up  the  enemy  to  his 
destruction  or  retreat  northward.  The  two  renegades  who  had  fraternized 
with  the  Wassenings,  were  summoned  by  Gray  Eagle,  who  had  detected 
their  part  in  the  first  fight,  and  who,  knowing  their  familiarity  with  both 
Chessaning's  and  Ne-o-me's  country,  placed  upon  them  the  alternative  of 
getting  information  as  to  the  intended  movements  of  the  three  chiefs,  or 
death,  telling  them  of  his  knowledge  of  their  part  in  bringing  on  the  war. 
The  two  renegades  accordingly  set  out  to  the  village  of  Chessaning,  where 
they  not  only  succeeded  in  getting  the  outline  of  the  three  chiefs'  plans,  but 
also  succeeded  in  abducting  Red  Cloud  and  Dew  Drop,  the  children  of 
Chessaning  and  Men-a-cum-sequa,  together  with  the  young  woman  who  had 
them  in  charge. 

On  their  disappearance  it  was  thought  they  were  dead,  but  the  wood- 
craft of  the  mute  discovered  the  true  fact,  and,  with  the  half-breed  lover 
of  the  young  woman,  they  started  in  pursuit, 

The  outlaws  returned  to  Gray  Eagle  with  the  news,  but  he  gave  them 
strict  injunction  to  keep  the  captives  safely,  and  subject  to  his  further  orders. 
The  outlaws  retreated  to  their  hiding  place  up  the  river,  but  as  the  Ottawas 
closed  in  from  the  west,  the  forces  of  Chessaning  and  Ne-o-me  from  the  east 
and  south  soon  forced  Gray  Eagle  to  sue  for  peace.  Se-go-guen  and  the 
half-breed  pursued  the  outlaws  and,  after  shooting  both,  rescued  the  cap- 
tives, who  returned  to  their  home.  This  was  the  last  foray  of  the  men  of 
Mus-cat-a-wing,  and  only  a  few  years  passed  when  the  village  of  Pewonigos 
ceased  to  be  exclusively  the  home  of  the  Indian;  for  Jacob  Smith,  a  trader. 
built  a  home  there  and  he  and  Ne-o-me  established  a  friendship  which  lasted 
until  Smith's  death  in  1825, 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  III. 
Indian  Treaties  and  Reservations. 

the  treaty  of  1807. 

Governor  William  Hull,  who,  as  governor  of  the  territory  of  Michigan, 
was  ex  officio  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  on  the  above  date  concluded 
a  treaty  at  Detroit  with  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Wyandots  and  Potta- 
watomies,  by  which  these  several  Indian  tribes  ceded  to  the  United  States 
that  portion  of  Michigan  east  of  a  hne  drawn  north  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Auglaize  river  in  Ohio,  to  a  point  due  west  from  the  outlet  of  Lake 
Huron,  and  from  that  point  running  northeasterly  on  a  direct  line  to  the 
White  Rock  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Huron;  from  that  place,  which 
was  a  place  well  known  to  the  Indians  and  a  landmark  in  their  map  making, 
the  line  followed  along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  southward  to  the  Maumee 
(Miami)  river,  which  formed  the  southern  boundary  of  the  ceded  lands. 
This  western  boundary  ran  north  between  the  present  counties  of  Lenawee 
and  Hillsdale,  through  Jackson  and  Ingham,  between  Chnton  and  Shiawassee, 
to  a  point  near  the  middle  of  the  same;  the  direct  line  from  thence  termi- 
nated near  where  is  now  the  southeast  corner  of  Huron  county. 

This  grant,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  included  nearly  all  of  Genesee  county, 
excepting  a  small  corner  off  the  northwest,  in  Montrose  township.  A 
considerable  portion  of  this  ceded  territory  had  been  previously  ceded  by 
the  treaties  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  Muskingum  and  Greenville,  so  that  the  title 
of  the  United  States  had  been  four  times  conceded  by  the  Indians. 

The  stipulation  of  the  government  was  for  the  payment  to  the  Chippe- 
was of  the  sum  of  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars 
and  thirty-three  cents,  either  in  cash  or  implements  or  goods,  at  the  option 
of  the  government,  to  be  in  the  discretion  of  the  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs ;  the  same  payment  to  the  Ottawas,  and  a  similar  payment  to  the 
Wyandots  and  Pottawatomies  together,  making  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars in  all  to  the  four  tribes.  It  was  also  stipulated  that  the  sum  of  six 
thousand  dollars  should  be  paid  annually  to  the  four  tribes,  to  be  divided  the 
same  as  the  former  payment.    These  were  payable  at  Detroit.    The  Chippewas 


dbyGoot^lc 


150  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

at  Saginaw  and  the  Ottawas  at  Miami  were  each  to  have  a  government 
blacksmith  furnished  them,  who  was  to  aid  them  in  their  attempts  at  agri- 
culture. 

Accompanying  the  article  of  Governor  Felch  on  the  Indian  treaties, 
in  Vol.  26  of  the  "Michigan  Historical  Collections,"  page  275  and  following, 
is  a  map  of  the  lands  covered  by  this  treaty,  and  containing  practically  all 
of  Genesee  county.  The  Indians,  however,  continued  to  occupy  Genesee 
county;  they  did  not  understand  that  they  had  ceded  these  lands  here,  and 
a  dispute  arose  as  to  this  fact.  The  diagonal  line  from  the  White  Rock, 
squthwestwardly,  was  beyond  the  knowledge  of  the  Indians  to  locate  accu- 
rately. It  is,  however,  significant  that  Ne-o-me,  during  the  interval  between 
this  treaty  of  1807  and  the  Saginaw  treaty  of  1819,  had  moved  from  Mus- 
cat-a-wing  (the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint)  down  the  river  into  what 
is  now  Montrose  township,  and  onto  lands  that  were  not  included  in  the 
treaty  of  1807.  Whether  this  removal  was  because  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  line  of  the  treaty  is  not  known,  but  the  fact  remains.  It  was,  however, 
the  pohcy  of  Cass  at  the  later  treaty  to  practically  concede  the  Indian 
claims  to  Genesee  county,  as  he  well  knew  that  his  careful  preparations 
for  the  cession  of  the  lands  that  he  expected  to  secure  at  the  later  treaty 
could  not  fail  of  success;  the  Indian  claim  might  better  be  conceded  than 
to  make  the  friction  that  would  result  if  he  asserted  the  rights  of  his 
government  under  the  old  treaty. 

Not  only  did  the  Indians  continue  to  occupy  this  ceded  territory  after 
the  treaty  of  1807,  but  they  even  engaged  in  the  War  of  1812  against 
the  Americans.  A  complete  forfeiture  of  all  their  rights  to  the  territories 
which  they  had  at  any  time  held  might  very  properly  have  been  claimed 
by  the  Americans,  had  it  not  been  waived  by  the  treaty  of  Spritigwells,  a 
place  near  Detroit,  which  was  held  in  September,  1815.  This  was  essen- 
tially a  treaty  of  peace.  The  cession  of  lands  did  not  enter  into  it,  unless 
the  relinquishment  of  its  right  of  conquest  by  the  American  government 
might  be  called  such.  The  Indians  had  been  continually  at  war  with  the 
Americans  from  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  and  their  recent  experiences 
in  the  War  of  1812  inclined  them  to  peace;  so  by  the  council  of  1815  a  peace 
was  declared  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  ChippewaSj 
Ottawas  and  Pottawatomies.  The  United  States  also  agreed  to  restore 
to  these  Indians  ail  their  possessions,  rights  and  privileges  which  they 
enjoyed  in  the  year  181 1,  or  previous  to  their  engaging,  in  the  War  of  1812; 
the  tribes  in  question  agreed  to  place  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the 
United  States  government,  and  of  no  power  whatever  other  than  that  gov- 


d  by  G OO"^  I c 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  151 

ernment.  The  treating  parties  also  reaffirmed  the  treaties  of  Greenville 
and  of  1807,  and  any  other  treaty  between  the  contracting  parties.  By 
this  last  provision  the  Indians  lost  any  claim  that  they  had  to  Genesee 
county  growing  out  of  an  error  in  the  boundary  line  or  misnuderstanding  of 
its  location.  The  object  of  this  treaty  of  1815-  was  to  restore  the  status 
quo  ante,  and  to  absolve  the  Indians  from  any  taint  of  treason  in  engaging 
in  the  War  of  181 2  as  allies  of  the  British;  also  to  secure  their  further 
allegiance  to  the  United  States  of  America. 

TREATY   OF   SAGINAW. 

Lewis  Cass,  who  became  territorial  governor  after  the  War  of  1812, 
was  instructed  to  be  active  in  securing  the  cession  of  Indian  titles.  The 
war  had  brought  many  soldiers  of  the  Americans  to  Michigan.  These  sol- 
diers knew  more  about  the  lands  and  their  possibilities  for  agriculture  than 
did  the  survyor-general,  who  reported  that  not  more  than  one  acre  in  one 
hundred,  probabh'  not  one  in  a  thousand,  of  the  lands  in  Michigan  would 
ever  be  usable  for  agricultural  purposes.  A  number  of  these  soldiers  were 
mustered  out  of  service  at  Detroit  after  the  war.  Among  them  was  John 
Hamilton,  afterwards  a  resident  of  Flint.  The  demand  for  land  by  set- 
tlers was  insistent.  Cass  was  young,  ambitious  and  resourceful.  In  1817 
he  treated  with  the  Indians  and  got  the  northwestern  part  of  Ohio  and  the 
northeastern  jjart  of  Illinois.  In  1818  he  obtained  the  cession  from  the 
Pottawatomies  of  the  rich  valleys  of  the  Wabash  and  Tippecanoe  rivers. 
A  treaty  a  year  seems  to  have  been  the  pace  he  set  for  himself,  and  so  in 
1819  he  begun  the  preparations  for  the  treaty  with  the  Chippewas  for  the 
region  about  Saginaw  bay. 

The  Chippewas  had  not  received  all  the  pay  due  them  under  previous 
treaties  and  Cass,  realizing  the  difficulties  tliat  would  arise  if  he  atternpteii 
to  create  further  obligations  while  previously  incurred  ones  remained  unfui- 
fiiled,  secured  on  his  own  personal  responsibility  from  the  banks  at  Detroit 
the  funds  and  paid  the  Indians  what  was  due  them.  The  prize  was  over  six 
million  acres  of  land,  situated  around  the  bay  of  the  Saginaw,  accessible 
and  promising  great  future  development.  This  tract  was  known  to  be  rich 
in  timber  and  salt.  Its  fisheries  were  attractive  and  its  agricultural  wealth 
untold.  The  position  of  the  Indians  was  equivocal.  They  had  fought 
against  the  Americans  during  the  war  just  closed.  They  could  expect  no 
considerations  of  friendship  to  protect  them.  Their  title  was  by  conquest 
and  the\'  were  now  conquered,  and  the  right  of  the  United  States  had  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


152  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

same  sanction  as  their  own.  The  treaty  of  Springvvells  had  formally  for- 
given them  their  transgressions  in  the  war,  but  there  was  nothing  of  good 
will  behind  it  and  the  power  of  the  Americans  had  been  demonstrated.  They 
came  into  the  treaty  with  a  consciousness  of  the  weakness  of  their  own 
position  and  of  the  strength  of  the  government  against  them. 

Cass  did  not  neglect  any  precautions.  He  had  at  his  command  a  staff 
of  the  ablest  men  of  the  army,  men  who  had  great  experience  with  the 
Indians.  His  interpreters  were  men  who  had  passed  a  life  among  the 
Indians  and  who  knew  the  Indian  language  as  well,  in  some  instances 
better,  than  their  native  tongue.  Cass  brought  into  his  councils  the  men 
who  of  all  were  best  equipped  to  estimate  and  know  the  wants  and  weak- 
nesses of  the  Indians,  namely,  the  traders.  These  men  had  been  brought 
into  touch  with  the  Indians  not  as  enemies,  but  as  friends,  and  the  friend- 
ships that  had  grown  up  between  these  traders  and  the  Indians  were  assets 
that  Cass  did  not  fail  to  see  and  enlist.  These  men  could  go  as  the  friends, 
ostensibly,  of  the  Indians,  in  reality  as  the  paid  agents  of  the  whites;  while 
acting  in  these  dual  relations,  they  could,  and,  as  the  sequel  shows,  did, 
help  themselves  by  reserves,  and  the  knowledge  they  had  made  the  location 
of  these  reserves  very  desirable. 

Joseph  Campau  was  then  a  trader  of  great  experience,  located  at 
Detroit,  from  which  point  he  traded  with  the  Indians  in  every  direction.  A 
nephew,  Louis  Cami>au,  had  been  a  trader  in  the  interior  of  the  state,  but 
in  1815  had  settled  at  Saginaw,  Jacob  Smith,  of  Detroit,  located  among 
the  Indians  on  the  Flint  river  at  Ne-o-me's  town,  where  Montrose  now  is, 
and  at  Mus-cat-a-wing,  the  present  location  of  the  fifth  ward  of  Flint.  He 
was  called  Wahbesins,  by  the  Indians.  He  was  a  great  friend  of  Ne-o-me, 
the  principal  of  the  four  chiefs  of  the  Pewanigos  of  the  Flint  river.  Smith 
had  fraternized  with  these  Indians;  he  had  an  Indian  family  and  was  thus 
more  than  a  disinterested  adviser.  He  went  to  the  council  as  the  friend 
of  Ne-o-me  and  his  activity  and  influence  were  perhaps  the  most  effective 
factors  in  determining  the  trend  of  the  treaty.  He  afterwards  received  five 
hundred  dollars  from  Governor  Cass  for  his  services,  and  the  interest  that 
he  received  from  the  reserves  that  his  family  managed  to  secure  was  much 
more. 

■  Many  other  white  men  attended  the  council.  Whitmore  Knaggs,  an 
interpreter,  whose  name  is  frequently  seen  on  the  pages  of  the  early  history 
of  Michigan;  Henry  Connor,  Wabeskendip,  companion  of  Cass,  and  a  son 
of  Richard  Conner,  captive  among  the  Indians;  Louis  Beaufait,  an  edu- 
cated Frenchman  and  a  colonel,  who  in  the  early  fall  of  iSi8  had  followed 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  1 53 

the  old  trail  out  into  the  vicinity  of  Genesee  county  and  explored  the  adjacent 
country;  Col.  Louis  Godfroy,  a  trader  of  experience  and  an  officer  of 
ability;  John  G.  Leib,  afterwards  judge;  Andrew  G.  Whitney,  a  young 
lawyer,  who  afterwards  became  the  attorney-general  of  the  territory;  Archi- 
bald Lyons,  an  Indian  trader,  with  his  half-breed  wife;  Henry  Riley,  the 
"old  man,"  with  two  of  his  three  half-breed  children,  John  and  James, 
both  of  whom  received  reserves,  as  did  their  absent  brother  Peter;  Major 
John  Whipple,  of  the  United  States  army,  who  in  1816  kept  one  of  Detroit's 
five  taverns ;  Capt.  Jacob  Visger,  who  with  three  others  had  secured  from 
some  Indian  chief,  purporting  to  represent  the  Indian  owners,  the  grant  of 
thirteen  counties  at  the  rate  of  about  nine  dollars  a  county ;  William  Tucker, 
called  "Tucky"  in  the  Abbott  history,  an  interpreter,  the  son  of  the  cele- 
brated William  Tucker,  Sr. ;  John  Hersey,  called  "Hursen"  in  the  Abbo^: 
history,  who  made  the  second  entry  of  lands  in  Oakland  county;  Ms^jor 
Robert  A,  Forsythe,  private  secretary  to  Governor  Cass,  who  afterward 
drafted  the  treaty. 

The  Indians  of  Genesee  were  represented  by  their  four  chiefs,  Ne-o-me, 
who  came  from  his  town  in  Montrose,  with  four  members  of  his  family; 
Mix-e-ne-ne,  and  his  squaw  and  two  girls,  Taw-cum-e-go-qua  and  Nah-tun-e- 
ge-zhic;  Ton-e-do-gan-ee,  war  chief  and  second  to  Ne-o-me,  and  Kaw-ga- 
ge-zhic,  the  fourth  chief,  a  younger  brother  of  Ne-o-me  and  who  lived  far 
up  the  river  above  Mus-cat-a-wing.  These  four  represented  the  Pe-wan-i-gos 
of  the  Flint  river.  These  Indians  had  not  become  so  far  democratic  as  to 
have  "head  men,"  but  "they  all  moved  together  in  a  mass  as  their  chiefs 
directed,"  as  was  afterwards  related  by  one  of  them.  The  government 
of  these  four  was  a  family  matter,  three  of  the  chiefs  being  brothers  and 
the  other  a  near  relative. 

The  most  interesting  personage  there,  the  one  who  in  after  years  caused 
the  greatest  litigation  and  whose  identity  was  a  matter  for  determining 
the  title  of  a  great  tract  of  the  city  of  Flint,  was  the  half  grown  daughter 
of  the  chief,  Mix-e-ne-ne,  Taw-cum-e-go-qua,  then  about  "three  feet  high" 
as  related  by  the  witnesses  in  the  canse  of  Dewey  vs.  Campau,  and  dressed 
in  a  calico  skirt,  a  iong  dress,  pantalets  and  smoked  skin  moccasins.  She 
was  there  with  her  father's  family,  and  probably  "hung  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  crowd,  timidly,"  with  the  women  and  children,  for  the  most  part, 
except  when  she  was  taken  by  Smith  and  presented  to  Cass,  as  one  of 
the  children  of  his  Indian  friends  for  whom  he  was  desirous  of  providing 
with  a  reserve  at  Mus-cat-a-wing.  She  did  not  live  at  this  place,  but  down 
the  river  at  Pe-won-i-go-wink,  as  the  reservation  came  to  be  known,  and 
was  there  married. 


dbyGoot^lc 


154  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  place  of  the  treaty  was  on  the  bank  of  the  Saginaw  river  just 
below  where  the  present  court  house  of  Saginaw  county  now  stands.  Louis 
Campau  had,  under  directions  of  General  Cass,  built  a  council  house  of  some 
considerable  capacity,  and  also  had  built  a  small  house,  or  both,  nearer  the 
river  for  the  governor  and  staff.  A  dining  room  and  office  were  also  prepared 
in  the  trading  house  of  Campau. 

In  the  middle  of  the  council  house  was  a  platform  of  hewn  logs  raised 
about  a  foot  from  the  floor,  for  the  use  of  the  governor  and  his  staff  of 
ofl^icials  who  attended  him.  Around  this  platform  were  left  spaces  for  the 
Indians,  into  which  logs  had  been  rolled  to  form  seats. 

General  Cass  arrived  on  September  lo,  1819.  Very  few  Indians  had 
come  although  many  had  camped  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Two  vessels, 
a  schooner  and  a  sloop,  had  come  up  from  Detroit  with  supplies  and  goods, 
and  a  company  of  the  Third  United  States  Infantry,  under  Capt.  C.  L. 
Cass,  brother  of  the  governor,  had  come  along  as  military  escort.  They 
.  anchored  in  the  river  opposite  the  council  house.  The  uncertain  attitude 
of  the  Indians  made  this  precautionary  measure  advisable.  Campau's  trad- 
ing house  was  at  the  service  of  the  governor.  Here  was  a  dining  room  and 
office.  Here  in  the  dining  room  the  private  council  was  held,  at  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  grand  council  house.  The  various  conferences  at  this  place 
determined  the  treaty.  It  was  a  few  days  after  Cass's  arrival  before  the  real 
sessions  of  the  council  commenced.  They  lasted  many  days  and  not  until 
the  third  day  did  all  the  Indians  attend.  The  entire  numi>er  of  Indians 
of  all  kinds  has  been  estimated  as  high  as  four  thousand  and  as  low  as 
fifteen  hundred.  Of  the  real  councilors  of  the  Indians,  who  finally  signed 
the  treaty,  the  number  was  one  hundred  and  fourteen — chiefs,  head  men, 
braves  and  warriors.  These  favored  ones  were  the  only  ones  admitted 
to  the  council,  the  women  and  children  remaining  in  timid  groups  around  the 
building  awaiting  the  outcome. 

General  Cass,  knowing  the  Indian  love  of  ceremony,  opened  the  coun- 
cil with  due  formality,  and  then  proceeded  to  inform  the  Indians  of  the 
object  of  the  assembly — that  is,  the  object  of  his  government  in  calling 
them  together.  As  stated  by  him,  the  desire  for  the  welfare  of  his  red  chil- 
dren was  the  motive  of  the  Great  Father  at  Washington;  to  promote  and 
perpetuate  the  friendly  relations  which  had  Iieen  formally  declared  at  the 
treaty  of  Springwells  in  1815.  He  pictured  the  irresistible  advance  of  the 
white  settler;  the  pressure  they  would  exercise  upon  the  lands  of  the  red 
children;  the  driving  out  of  the  game,  necessitating  a  different  mode  of  hfe; 
that  it  was  the  part  of  wisdom  for  the  chiefs  to  lead  their  people  into  newer 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  1 55 

and  better  ways  of  living;  that  they  should  abandon  the  old  things  and 
should  adopt  the  new ;  that  less  dependence  should  be  placed  on  the  pre- 
carious hunting  and  fishing,  which  often  failed  to  bring  sustenance,  and 
that  more  dependence  should  be  placed  on  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  to  be 
developed  by  agriculture  on  the  fertile  fields  to  be  reserved  for  the  Indians 
sufficient  to  meet  their  needs,  and  to  be  selected  by  the  Indians  themselves; 
and  that  the  government  was  willing  to  buy  their  lands  at  a  fair,  even  a 
generous  price,  for  the  use  of  the  white  emigrants  who  would  come  among 
them  and  live  as  neighbors  and  friends. 

The  Indians  heard  this  in  sullen  silence.  Plainly  the  agriculture  of 
the  white  man  did  not  appeal  to  them.  The  suggested  pressure  of  the 
settlers  aroused  antagonism. 

After  Knaggs  and  Connor,  the  interpreters,  had  ceased,  and  an  inter- 
val of  silence  had  elapsed,  O-ge-maw-kete  arose  and  spoke  with  gravity, 
hut  decision.  He  opposed  the  proi>osition  of  Cass.  He  was  barely  tweniy- 
one  in  years,  but  eloquent  and  a  mode!  of  Indian  beauty.  He  was  the 
principal  speaker  and  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Indians.  Addressing  the 
governor,   he  said : 

"You  do  not  know  our  wishes.  Our  people  wonder  what  has  brought 
you  so  far  from  your  homes.  Your  young  men  have  invited  us  to  come 
and  light  the  council  fire.  We  are  here  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace,  but 
not  to  sell  our  lands.  Our  American  Father  wants  them.  Our  English 
Father  treats  us  better;  he  has  never  asked  for  them.  Your  people  tres- 
pass upon  our  hunting  grounds.  You  flock  to  our  shores.  Our  waters 
grow  warm;  our  land  melts  like  a  cake  of  ice;  our  possessions  grow  smaller 
and  smaller;  the  warm  wave  of  the  white  man  rolls  in  u^ron  us  and  melts 
us  away.  Our  women  reproach  us.  Our  children  want  homes ;  shall  we 
sell  from  under  them  the  spot  where  they  spread  their  blankets?  We  have 
not  called  you  here.     We  smoke  with  you  the  pipe  of  peace." 

Others  of  the  chiefs  spoke,  among  them  Mishenenanonequet  and  Kish- 
kawko— the  latter  a  wily,  troublesome  person  who  had  come  from  Canada 
among  the  Chippewas  of  the  Saginaw.  Here  he  had,  by  his  ability,  attained 
some  considerable  influence  and,  although  an  interloper,  was  allowed  partici- 
pation in  the  council,  where  by  right  he  had  no  voice.  His  vehemence  of 
expression  so  irritated  Cass  that  he  answered  with  earnestness,  reproving 
the  speaker  for  his  arrogance  and  reminding  the  Indians  that  their  Great 
Father  at  Washington  had  just  terminated  a  war  in  which  he  not  only 
defeated  the  Enghsh  king,  whom  they  called  their  English  Father,  but  also 
the  Indians  themselves;  that  by  their  hostilities  against  the   Great   Father 


dbyGoot^lc 


156  GENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

at  Washington  they  had  forfeited  their  lands  by  all  the  rules  of  warfare, 
and  that  he  might  rightfully  take  them  without  payment  of  anything,  but 
that  he  preferred  to  act  magnanimously  and  pay  them  for  their  lands,  and  at 
the  same  time  secure  to  them  ample  reserves  where  their  women  and  chil- 
dren could  live  in  security  and  spread  their  blankets,  receive  aid  from  their 
Great  Father  and  1^  taught  to  make  the  soil  productive. 

With  this  the  council  closed  for  the  day,  followed  by  a  period  of  con- 
ferences-— the  Indians  among  themselves,  the  traders  with  the  Indians,  and 
the  traders  with  the  commissioners.  Intrigues,  threats  and  advices,  all 
governed  by  the  interests  of  the  parties,  filled  the  interim  between  the  meet- 
ings of  the  council.  A  day,  two,  three,  passed,  during  which  the  Indians 
smoked  and  counselled  together,  as  told  by  the  governor,  but  from  all  their 
dehberations  there  resulted  nothing  definite.  One  baleful  influence  was 
removed,  however;  Kish-kaw-ko,  the  vehement  Indian  from  Canada,  con- 
soled himself  by  drink,  and  after  the  first  day's  council  became  too  besotted  to 
participate. 

If  left  to  the  Indians  themselves,  the  council  would  have  been  barren 
of  results  for  Cass.  They  continued  to  be  sullenly  opposed  to  any  cession 
of  lands.  But  here  the  power  of  the  traders  was  felt.  Smith  in  particular 
influenced  Ne-o-me,  who  is  described  by  Campau  as  an  ignorant,  but  kind 
and  well-meaning  man.  Not  only  was  he  powerful  with  the  Pewanigo 
chief,  but  he  was  i:)ersonally  acquainted  with  about  every  chief  present,  each 
of  whom  had  some  act  of  kindness  on  his  part  to  remember.  He  had 
entertained  them  and  in  their  need  had  given  them  something  to  aid  them. 
With  Ne-o-me  it  was  more.  It  was  a  brotherhood  in  which  the  Indian 
recognized  his  brother  Wahbesins  as  his  wiser  counsellor.  Smith  had  a 
tent  and  Ne-o-me  was  with  him  daily.  Smith,  seeing  that  the  cause  of 
the  Indians  was  desperate,  was  determined  to  help  his  friends  and  set  about 
securing  such  reservations  as  he  could  for  those  in  whom  he  was  especially 
interested,  Ne-o-me  candidly  said,  as  related  by  Nau-gun-nee,  "I  know  not 
what  to  do  in  the  case,"  and  put  it  into  Smith's  hands  to  secure  for  his 
family  such  benefits  as  he  could.  Smith  accepted  the  commission  and  thence- 
forth used  his  good  offices  for  the  benefit  of  his  friends.  So  the  council 
seemed  to  be  dead-locked,  until  word  came  to  Ne-o-me,  through  Whitmore 
Knaggs,  the  interpreter,  that  the  wishes  of  Wahbesins  should  be  acceded  to. 
Then  did  Ne-o-me  oppose  the  purpose  of  the  Indians,  as  expressed  by 
Ogemawkete  in  council.  The  dominant  influence  of  Ne-o-me  soon  brought 
about  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  Indians.     Beaufait  and  Campau  had 


dbyGoot^lc 


GFNi;SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I37 

also  been  working  along  lines  similar  with  Smith's.  Thej',  too.  had  friends 
to  be  provided  for,  and  they  too  received  promises. 

The  second  assembly  of  the  council  found  a  more  receptive  represen- 
tation of  Indians.  Cass,  also,  had  waived  the  matter  of  removing  the  Indians 
beyond  the  Mississippi.  At  this  council  there  was  a  great  deal  of  dis- 
cussion, but  it  referred  to  matters  of  detail,  rather  than  main  issues.  These 
had  been  disposed  of  by  the  negotiations  in  the  interval  between  the  two 
grand  councils.  Among  these  it  had  been  agreed  that  eleven  reserves  of 
six  hundred  and  forty  acres  each  should  be  made  at  the  Grand  Traverse  of 
the  Flint,  to  be  given  to  as  many  Indians  by  name,  such  names  to  be  handed 
in  by  Smith.  At  this  second  council  all  was  adjusted,  and  its  adjournment 
was  only  to  give  time  for  drafting  the  treaty  preparatory  to  signing,  which 
was  reserved  for  the  last  grand  council. 

It  is  said  in  the  Abbott  history  that  tlie  talents  and  powers  of  Smith 
would  seem  to  have  suggested  to  Cass  his  employment  as  interpreter  and 
negotiator  for  the  government,  and  that  the  fact  that  Cass  did  not  so  employ 
him  implied  a  distrust  of  Smith.  It  would,  however,  seem  that  some  arrange- 
ment existed  between  Cass  and  Smith,  and  that  the  course  was  evidence  of 
Cass's  astuteness.  Smith  as  an  open  employee  of  the  United  States  would 
have  lost  much  of  his  influence  with  the  Indians,  which  bore  such  good 
results.  It  is  very  significant  that  Cass  paid  Smith  afterwards  five  hun- 
dred dollars  for  his  services  at  the  council.  The  conclusion  is  quite  justified 
that  he  was  there  from  the  first  as  the  paid  agent  of  Cass,  while  ostensibly 
wholly  on  the  side  of  the  Indians. 

The  last  day  of  the  grand  council,  on  which  the  treaty  was  to  be 
signed,  was  the  greatest  of  all.  The  council  house  was  crowded  with 
Indians,  all  being  admitted,  to  the  full  capacity  of  the  building.  While 
the  treaty  purports  to  be  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the 
Chippewa  Nation  of  Indians,  there  were  present,  and  participating,  a  num- 
ber of  Ottawas,  some  of  whom  signed  the  treaty.  Military  pomp  and 
ceremony  attended  the  signing.  First,  Lewis  Cass,  as  commissioner  of 
Indian  affairs,  signed  the  document.  Next,  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
Indians,  being  the  chief's  head  men  and  warriors  of  the  Chippewas  of  the 
Saginaw,  signed  the  same.  The  name  of  Ne-o-me,  signed  by  another, 
appears  as  Reaune.  The  totem  sign  of  the  Indian  generally  appears  accom- 
panied by  the  name  written  by  the  secretary.  The  subscribing  witnesses 
were  Secretaries  Lieb  and  Whitney;  Forsyth,  private  secretary  of  Governor 
Cass;  Captains  Cass  and  Root;  Lieutenant  Peacock;  Godfrey,  Knags,  Tucker, 
Beaufait,  Hersey,  interpreters;  John  Hill,  army  contractors;  Barny  Campeau, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


V.  S.  RyJey,  J,  Whipple,  Henry  I.  Hunt,  William  Keith,  A.  E.  Lacock, 
Richard  Smythe,  John  Smythe,  B.  Head,  Conrad  Ten-eyck  and  Louis  Deqiiin- 
dre.  This  last  grand  council  at  which  the  treaty  was  signed  as  above  was 
September  3,  1819,  a  memorable  day  whose  centennial  anniversary  ought 
to  be  observed  fittingly,  as  it  was  one  of  the  most  dramatic  events  of  our 
history. 

The  testimony  of  Louis  Campau,  the  trader,  given  at  the  trial  of  the 
Dewey-Campau  case  at  Saginaw  in  i860,  is  worthy  of  preservation  as  the 
sworn  account  of  the  treaty  in  question,  and  as  bearing  upon  the  family 
of  Ne-o-me  and  the  Indians  of  Mus-cat-a-wing.  He  said,  "1  live  at  Grand 
Rapids;  am  sixty-eight  years  old  last  August.  I  remember  the  treaty  of 
1819.  I  then  resided  here.  I  had  then  resided  here  four  years  before  the 
treaty.  I  was  then  trading  with  the  Indians.  Joseph,  one  of  the  defendants, 
is  my  uncle.  I  had  a  trading  house;  this  was  opposite  the  lower  end  of 
the  bayou;  the  house  now  there  I  built  in  1822;  it  was  farther  up  that 
my  store  was,  I  was  here  at  the  treaty.  There  was  old  Mr,  Riley,  Con- 
nor, Eeaufait,  Knaggs,  Godfrey,  Whipple,  Visger,  Forsyth,  Tucker,  Hersey, 
and  a  halfbreed  named  Walker,  brought  from  Mon-a-qua-gon.  I  have 
seen  the  treaty  and  know  the  witnesses  without  looking  at  the  treaty  book. 
If  any  of  those  are  alive  it  must  be  Mr.  Hersey;  I  heard  this  summer 
that  he  was  alive;  I  saw  him  in  1836  in  Chicago;  we  traded  then  together; 
think  he  is  the  only  one  living.  I  was  requested  by  Cass  to  come  on  ahead 
and  make  suitable  provision  for  a  store  house  and  dining  room  and  council 
room,  etc.  The  most  of  the  business  was  at  General  Cass's  office,  going  in 
and  going  out.  There  was  a  long  table  in  the  dining  room,  and  the  private 
council  was  held  there.  The  office  and  the  dining  room  were  separated 
only  by  a  storehouse.  There  were  four  log  buildings  all  together,  end  t{i 
end.  These  were  six  to  eight  rods  from  the  room  where  the  grand  council 
room  was,  I  think  Cass  arrived  in  the  afternoon,  and  sent  his  agents  for 
the  Indians  to  gather  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock.  This  was  after  all  the 
departments  got  here^all  the  principal  officers  had  got  here.  The  next 
morning  the)-  met  at  the  council  house.  The  first  council  was  to  let  them 
know  that  he  was  sent  by  the  Great  Father  to  make  a  treaty  with  them, 
that  he  wanted  to  buy  their  lands,  stating  the  points,  and  for  them  to  go 
back  and  smoke  and  think  about  it;  they  then  worked  at  private  business 
for  three  or  four  days,  when  he  called  them  together  again.  After  he 
got  the  will  of  the  principal  chiefs,  there  was  much  trouble  to  get  the  consent 
of  all.  At  the  second  council  there  was  great  difficulty;  hard  words;  they 
threatened  General  Cass  among  the  rest.     The  object  of  the  council  after 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  150 

they  consented  to  treat,  was  to  state  the  terms  on  which  he  was  authorized 
to  treat.  From  the  second  to  the  third  council  was  five  or  six  days.  They 
stayed  nine  or  ten  in  all.  The  last  council  was  to  read  the  treaty  to  them ; 
it  was  read  and  interpreted  to  them.  Harry  Connor  was  the  interpreter.  1 
was  present  at  the  last  council;  went  in  the  morning,  and  did  not  leave 
until  they  all  left.  I  cannot  tell  everything  that  was  done  there,  for  it  is 
impossible  to  recollect  them  all.  Tribal  reservations  were  first  made.  Gen- 
eral Cass  sat  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  shanty;  the  table  was  next  to 
him,  then  a  row  of  logs,  and  beyond  that  the  Indians — women,  children 
and  all.  Then  after  the  reservations  for  the  tribes  were  made,  the  reserva- 
tions were  made  for  the  half-breeds — first  the  Riley's,  then  a  Campau,  and 
then  mentioned  Mrs.  Coutant;  she  was  right  opposite  General  Cass,  and 
Connors  when  reading  the  treaty  pointed  her  to  the  Indians  as  their  rela- 
tive, and  when  her  name  was  said  they  resfxinded  as  though  pleased.  After 
the  treaty  was  read  and  approved  by  the  Indians  and  signed  by  them, 
which  was  as  soon  as  read,  Genera!  Cass  ordered  the  money  to  be  brought 
to  the  table — it  was  all  in  half  dollars — for  the  i>ayment  After  the  treaty 
was  made,  it  was  sundown,  and  the  Indians  all  got  drunk  and  nothing  could 
be  said  by  anyone,  and  General  Cass  gave  the  order  to  be  off.  The  Crow 
was  a  good  looking  young  fellow^ooked  like  a  half-breed;  he  had  a  little 
log  house  and  a  store  house  and  a  hen  house,  and  tried  to  imitate  the  whites 
as  much  as  he  could  in  cooking,  etc.  He  had  a  tent  he  made  himself.  I 
knew  Ne-o-me  and  his  band  after  the  treaty;  knew  him  well;  he  traded 
with  me  as  long  as  I  sold  here.  Knew  Ne-o-me  before  the  treaty  from 
the  time  I  came  here  in  the  spring  of  1815;  knew  his  hunters;  he  never 
had  any  children  that  I  know  of;  I  paid  no  attention  to  any  of  them  unless 
they  were  able  to  trade  with  me.  Ne-o-me  was  very  ignorant,  but  he  was 
very  good,  honest  and  kind.  I  knew  Ton-dog-a-ne  well,  as  well  as  I 
knew  Ne-o-me;  he  was  the  second  chief  of  Ne-o-me  at  the  time,  and  after- 
wards head  chief.  I  knew  all  the  head  men  of  the  band  who  was  a  hunter; 
heard  them  after  the  treaty  converse  about  the  treaty,  and  Mix-e-ne-ne;  also 
he  used  to  trouble  me.  I  understood  the  Chippewa  language  at  that  time; 
I  was  brought  up  with  them  from  the  time  I  was  seven  years  old.  I  was 
sixty-eight  last  August.  I  was  never  in  the  office;  I  was  in  the  council 
room  from  four  in  the  morning  till  the  evening,  and  this  is  a  statement  of 
the  facts  as  they  took  place  before  my  eyes,  as  I  was  there  after  the  treaty 
was  signed,  and  the  goods  and  money  distributed,  and  the  Indians  were  all 
drunk.  Cass  and  his  party  left  before  daylight  next  morning;  the  troops 
before  ten  o'clock.    At  the  time  of  the  treaty  there  was  no  Flint  village  where 


dbyGoot^lc 


l60  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Flint  now  is.  Where  Ne-o-me  lived  was  called  Ne-o-me"s  village.  Where 
Flint  now  is  was  called  Musca-da-win.  The  English  called  it  Grand  Traverse, 
Ne-o-nie  was  a  short,  thick-set  man,  a  little  stooped  at  the  time  of  the  treaty; 
he  must  have  been  forty-five  to  fifty-five  years  old." 

According  to  Kaw-ga-ge-zhic,  brother  of  Ne-o-me,  also  a  chief  of  a 
band  about  six  miles  up  the  river  from  the  village  of  h'lint,  at  "Tobosh's" 
trading  house,  Ne-o-me  was  the  principal  orator  at  the  treaty. 

Ne-o-me  lived  at  his  village,  Ne-o-me  town,  on  the  reservation  in  the 
present  town  of  Montrose  until  his  death,  in  1827.  He  was  the  last  to  exer- 
cise the  real  powers  and  prerogatives  of  a  chief  over  the  Chippewas  of  our 
county.  His  territories  had  diminished,  his  i>eop!e  had  decreased  in  num- 
bers, and  their  old  customs  had  been  lost.  He  outlived  his  good  friend 
Smith  by  about  two  years.  In  his  earlier  years  he  had  all  the  fierceness  and 
blood  lust  of  the  wild  Chippewa,  and  extorted  a  large  ransom  for  a  white 
captive  that  he  had  taken,  James  Hardin,  in  the  war,  whom  his  brother, 
Mix-e-ne-ne,  was  determined  on  torturing.  Like  the  Chippewas  in  general, 
he  was  a  believer  in  evil  spirits,  Munesous,  the  spirits  of  the  departed  Sauks, 
who  still  haimted  the  valleys  of  the  Saginaw  and  Pewanigowink.  The 
law  of  retaliation  was  recognized  by  the  Chippewas,  and  what  could  Ije 
more  natural  than  that  the  ghosts  of  these  murdered  Sauks  should  come 
back  to  retaliate  upon  the  Chippewas.  Ne-o-me,  if  we  credit  Campeau's 
estimate  of  his  age  at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  Saginaw,  was  not  much  over 
sixty  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  left  children  and  grandchildren.  A 
brother  was  alive  to  testify  in  the  Dewey  suit  in  i860.  His  name  was  ICaw- 
ga-ge-zhic.  Ne-o-me's  daughter,  Sa-gos-a-qua,  also  testified  in  that  suit,  and 
identified  Taw-cnm-e-go-qua  as  the  daughter  of  Mix-e-ne-ne.  This  daughter 
of  Ne-o-me  was  the  same  for  whom  one  of  the  si  x-hundred-and- forty -acre 
reservations  was  made  at  Flint. 

Ephraim  S.  Williams,  of  Flint,  many  years  after  the  treaty  of  Saginaw, 
told  the  following  story:  The  Indians  of  the  Saginaw  had  become  indebted 
to  Louis  Campau,  who  had  traded  among  them  for  four  years  prior  to  the 
treaty  in  the  sum  of  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  there  was  an  under- 
standing between  him  and  the  chiefs  that  he  should  receive  this  money 
from  the  funds  that  might  become  due  to  the  Indians  on  account  of  the 
treaty.  General  Cass  was  also  informed  of  this  agreement,  and  at  the  time 
when  the  money  was  brought  in  he  called  the  attention  of  the  chiefs  to  the 
matter,  and  asked  if  he  might  pay  Campeau  the  sum  due  him  in  accordance 
with  the  understanding.  They  told  him  that  they  were  his  children,  under 
his  protection,  and  that  he  should  pay  the  money  to  them  directly,   which 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  l6l 

Cass  accordingly  did.  This  attitude  of  the  Indians  was  by  Campau  charged 
to  the  influence  of  the  other  traders.  Smith  in  particular,  who,  anticipating 
a  harvest  of  traffic  when  the  Indians  came  into  their  money,  were  averse 
to  seeing  so  much  of  it  go  to  Cami>au.  Smith  had,  through  Kishkawko 
and  other  chiefs  of  the  Indians,  very  easily  persuaded  the  Indians  that  their 
present  needs  were  more  imperative  than  the  payment  of  old  debts.  Cara- 
peau,  seeing  his  money  lost,  hopped  from  the  piatfomi  and  struck  Smith 
twice  in  the  face;  but  further  fighting  between  him  and  Smith,  who  was 
quite  willing  to  fight  it  out,  was  stopped  by  the  interpreters,  Beaufait  and 
Connor,  who  interposed  and  separated  the  belligerents. 

The  traders,  interpreters  and  others  pacified  the  Indians  finally  and 
they  returned  to  sleep  off  the  effects  of  their  debauch.  After  they  had 
entirely  recovered  from  the  same,  they  were  both  tractable  and  amiable— so 
much  so  that  after  the  governor  and  his  staff  had  left,  they  sent  the  orator, 
Mishenenanonequet,  to  overtake  and  convey  to  the  governor  their  complete 
satisfaction  and  pleasure  at  the  council  and  resulting  treaty. 

The  pertinent  provisions  of  the  treaty  were  as  follows : 

iiticle'i  of  n  treit(  iinile  imd  miKluded  it  Siginin  lu  tUe  Territui-y  of  ■vriLhlgnn 
hetiipeti  the  United  States  of  -inieiici  in  their  (^nimlsMimei  lenis  Ca-w  nnd  the 
Chippewi  Nation  of  ludlnus 

*rt  1  Ihe  Chlppenn  Nation  of  Indians  In  i^jub) deration  of  the  stipulations 
lieiein  mide  on  the  paiTr  of  the  Lulted  'States  do  herein  foreier  cede  to  the  Iiitted 
States  the  land  comprehended  nithm  the  foUonme  lines  ind  boundaries  Beginning 
flt  ii  point  lu  the  ]>reseiit  Indian  boundai\  line  which  non  rung  due  north  from  the 
mouth  ot  the  gieat  Yuglalze  rliei  six  miles  south  of  the  place  where  the  base  Hue 
so  tailed  intersects  the  same  thente  nest  sixti  miles  thence  in  a  dliect  line  to  the 
head  of  Thunder  Bl1^  liier  thence  down  the  same  following  the  courses  thereof  to 
the  mouth  thence  northeast  to  the  bound'>r\  line  between  the  United  States  ind  the 
Bilttsh  Proiinoe  of  tipper  Caiiada  thence  with  the  same  to  the  line  established  b\ 
the  tieitj  of  Detroit  iu  the  \eor  oue  thousand  eight  hundied  and  seicn  thence  with 
said  line  to  the  place  of  be^liminf; 

\rt  2  From  the  cession  aforesaid  the  follonliig  ti  ids,  .)f  imd  shill  be  res^r^el 
for  the  use  of  the  Chippewa  Nation  of  Indians 

One  tract  of  fiie  thousand  and  seien  hundred  and  si^ty  acies  up<  n  Flint  rher  to 
include  Keaumes  tillage    and  a  place  called  kishknwbawee 

\it  3  There  sLiH  le  reser\ed  for  the  use  (f  each  of  the  persona  herpuiafter 
meiiti  >ned  nnd  then  hen-,  nhich  persons  ire  all  Indnn  b^  descent  the  filloning  ti  itts 
ff  land 

For  the  use  of  Nowoke^ik,  MetawMiene,  Mokltchenoqua.  Nondaahemau,  Petabona- 
qu!i,  Messiiwakut,  Chehalk,  KItchegeequa,  Sagosequa,  Annekeitogua  and  Tawcumego- 
Qim,  each  si.-c  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land,  to  be  located  at  or  near  the  Grand 

(II) 


dbyGoc^lc 


152  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

ImeisB  of  tiie  Hiut  liiei  lit  p.u  ii  lii  mii«  iH  thi.  lie  \nn  of  tlje  liiltel  vt  tps 
may  direct 

4.rt  4  In  conaideiatluii  of  the  ceiwkii  nforesaltl  the  lulled  statea  tigiee  t  !  ■> 
to  tlie  Chltpewu  Niition  it  ludi  iiis  iiiiiiiiilU  foreier  the  sum  of  one  thousand  il  II  ih 
111  slUer  and  do  alao  agree  that  all  aimxiities  due  h^  am  foiuiei  tieatv  to  the  mII 
tribe   shall  be  hereafter  paid  In  silvei 

4rf  "i  The  Sptlpwlation  (.outjiiiied  iii  the  tiettj  of  (.leemiDe  lehithe  to  the  light 
of  the  ludlawB  to  huut  upon  the  laud  ceded  while  it  continues  the  piopem  of  the 
Lutted  Stitea  shall  apylj  to  this  tieitv  and  the  Indians  shall  f*i  the  Raiue  teim  euj  )y 
the  privilege  if  luiklHj,  aiigii  ujitii  the  aiiiie  1  nd  couinilttin^  «j  unneieh'<ar\  \\  iste 
tipon  the  trees 

Art  7  The  T  nited  Stiiteh  lesene  the  light  to  the  ti  t  ei  itl  ilti  t  ii  il  i  1 
thiough  any  pait  of  the  Imd  lesened  h\    this  tie.  tj 

Art  s  The  1  nlted  Istates  eii^it.e  to  pio\ide  nil  Miiii«it  hlitksmith  f  i  the 
Indians  it  Suglnan  so  long  as  the  Pie'ildent  of  the  T  nited  Stiites  luny  think  pri  per 
imd  to  furnish  tlie  Chippen  i  Indiims  nith  snch  ruiinluL  uteuHiN  imd  cuttle  and  to 
eniplo\  suih  pefjoiis  ti.  aid  them  in  tlieli  ivntnltuie  is  the  Irwident  m  ii  deem 
expedient 

The  names  <f  the  Inch  in  v.h  signed  this  treats  in  liuled  the  n-imt 
Reaume  meint  lar  \e  i  me  ind  the  viHige  referreil  tj  ts  Reinme  s 
village,  was  the  village  of  Ne-o-me.  Mix-e-ne-ne,  brother  of  Ne-o-me,  also 
signed  the  treaty,  his  name  appearing  as  "Meckseonne."  Ton-e-do-gaunee 
appears  on  the  treaty  as  "Fonegawne,"  and  Kaw-ga-ge-zhic  appears  as  "Kog- 
kakeshik.". 

Of  the  eleven  reserves  made  for  persons  named,  "all  Indian  by  descent," 
six  are  names  of  women,  as  the  ending,  "qua,"  the  Chijjpewa  word  meaning 
woman,  denotes.     The  other  five  are  masculine  names  in  the  same  language. 

THE   TRIBAL   RESERVATION. 

Of  the  tribal  reservation  <jf  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land,  to  include  the  village  of  Ne-o-me,  and  the  place  called  Kish- 
kawbawee,  there  could  be  no  dispute.  No  caviler  could  suggest  that  the 
tribe  was  any  other  than  the  Chippewas  of  the  Saginaw,  and  so  the  United 
States  on  the  next  season  after  the  treaty  was  made  surveyed  the  same 
and  set  off  for  the  tribe  the  reservation,  partly  in  the  present  county  of 
Genesee  and  party  in  Saginaw,  to  include  the  two  villages  named. 

In  Genesee  county,  the  reservation  contained  all  of  section  4,  the  east 
half  of  section  5,  the  west  half  of  section  3,  the  north  half  of  section  9,  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  8,  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  10,  all 
in  the  town  of  Montrose.    This  reserve  in  Genesee  county  was  a  rectangular 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  163 

piece  of  land,  containing  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  with 
the  FHnt  river  running  approximateiy  through  the  center  of  it. 

This  reservation  was  known  by  the  Chippewa  name  for  the  Fhnt 
river,  Pewonigowink,  and  afterwards  the  town  containing  it,  was  given  the 
name  of  the  town  of  Pewonigowink ;  but  this  was  later  changed  to  Montrose. 
Upon  this  same  land  afterwards  the  Flint  River  Agricultural  Society  estab- 
lished its  fair  grounds  and  held  its  fairs,  and  in  later  times  it  had  been 
known  as  the  Taymouth   fair. 

A  celebrated  place  is  known  as  the  Old  Indian  field,  where  travelers  up 
and  down  the  river  were  accustomed  to  camp.  This  was  on  the  Pewonigo- 
wink reservation  in  Saginaw  county.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians  planted 
their  own  corn  on  this  field  for  years ;  but  finally  the  grub  worms  destroyed 
their  crop  for  two  or  three  years  in  succession,  when  they  abandoned  the 
field,  believing  that  the  Manitou  had  cursed  it.  These  Indians  were  extremely 
superstitious  and  believed  in  evil  spirits,  especially  the  ghosts  of  the  Sauks, 
who  in  their  traditions  were  murdered  by  their  ancestors  under  circumstances 
of  great  cruelty.  Ephraim  S.  Williams,  the  Indian  trader  of  Saginaw  and 
Flint,  tells  of  their  fears  as  follows: 

"It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  ancient  Chiiipewas  imagined  the  coun- 
try which  they  had  wrested  from  the  conquered  Sauks  to  be  haunted  by 
the  spirits  of  those  whom  they  had  slain,  and  that  it  was  only  after  the 
lapse  of  years  that  their  terrors  were  sufficiently  allayed  to  permit  them  to 
occupy  the  'haunted  grounds."  But  the  superstition  still  remained,  and  in 
fact  it  was  never  entirely  dispelled.  Long  after  the  Saginaw  valley  was 
studded  with  white  settlements,  the  simple  Indians  still  believed  that  myste- 
rious Sauks  were  lingering  in  their  forests  and  along  the  margins  of  the 
streams  for  the  purposes  of  vengeance;  that  'Manesous,'  or  bad  spirits  in 
the  fonn  of  Sauk  warriors,  were  hovering  around  their  villages  and  camps 
and  the  flank  of  their  hunting  grounds,  preventing  them  from  being  suc- 
cessful in  the  chase  and  bringing  ill-fortune  and  discomfiture  in  a  hundred 
ways.  So  great  was  their  dread  that  when  (as  was  frequently  the  case) 
they  became  possessed  with  the  idea  that  the  'Manesous'  were  in  their  imme- 
diate vicinity,  they  would  fly  as  for  their  lives,  abandoning  everything — 
wigwams,  fish,  game  and  all  their  camp  equipment — and  no  amount  of 
ridicule  by  the  whites  could  induce  them  to  stay  and  face  the  imaginary 
danger.  Some  of  the  Indians  whose  country  joined  that  of  the  Saginaws 
played  upon  their  weakness  and  superstition  and  derived  profit  from  it 
by  lurking  around  their  villages  or  camps,  frightening  them  into  flight  and 
then  appropriating  the  property  which  they  abandoned.     There  was  a  time 


dbyGoot^lc 


164  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

every  spring  when  the  Indians  from  Saginaw  and  the  interior  would  con- 
gregate in  large  numbers  for  the  purpose  of  putting  up  dried  sturgeon, 
which  made  a  very  delicate  dish  when  properly  cooked,  and  was  much  used 
in  those  days  in  the  first  families  of  Detroit.  We  used  to  purchase  con- 
siderable of  it  for  our  use.  The  Indians  would  select  the  best,  flay  them, 
hang  them  across  poles  in  rows,  about  four  feet  from  the  ground  and  two 
feet  apart,  then  a  gentle  smoke  was  kept  under  them  until  they  were  per- 
fectly dry,  then  packed  up  in  bales  of  perhaps  fifty  pounds  each.  When 
their  bales  were  put  up  for  summer  use,  then  the  poor  lazy,  worthless  Indians 
from  a  distance  who  had  an  eye  to  supplying  themselves  with  provisions 
which  they  never  labored  to  obtain,  would  commence  in  different  ways  to 
excite  their  fears  that  the  'Manesous'  were  about  the  camp,  until  at  last 
they  would  take  to  their  canoes  and  flee,  often  leaving  almost  everything 
they  possessed.  Then  the  'Manesous' — thieving  Indians  from  the  bands  who 
had  cunningly  brought  about  the  stampede  for  the  sake  of  plunder— would 
rob  the  camps  of  what  they  wanted  and  escape  to  their  homes  with,  per- 
haps, their  supplies  of  fish  for  the  summer,  and  often  of  sugar  and  dried 
venison.  I  have  met  them  fleeing  as  above;  sometimes  twenty  or  more 
canoes;  have  stopped  them  and  tried  to  induce  them  to  return,  and  we 
would  go  with  them;  but  no,  it  was  the  'Manesous,'  they  said,  and  nothing 
could  convince  them  differently;  away  they  would  go,  frightened  nearly 
to  death.  I  have  visited  their  camps  at  such  times  and  secured  their  effects 
that  were  left  in  camp  from  destruction  from  wild  animals.  After  a  while 
they  would  return  and  save  what  was  left.  During  these  times  they  were 
perfectly  miserable,  actually  afraid  of  their  own  shadows. 

"Similar  scenes  were  enacted  by  their  hunting  parties  in  the  forests 
of  the  Shiawassee  and  the  Flint,  and  at  their  summer  camps,  the  beauti- 
ful inland  lakes  of  their  southern  border.  I  have  had  them  come  to  me 
from  places  miles  distant,  bringing  their  rifles  to  me  and  asking  me  to 
examine  and  re-sight  them,  declaring  that  the  sights  had  been  moved;  and 
in  some  cases  they  had,  but  by  themselves  in  their  fright.  I  always  did, 
when  applied  to.  re-sight  and  try  them  until  they  would  shoot  accurately 
then  they  would  go  away  cheerfully.  I  would  tell  them  they  must  keep 
their  rifles  where  the  'Manesous'  could  not  find  them.  At  other  times 
when  they  had  a  little  bad  luck  hunting  or  trapping,  they  became  excited 
and  would  say  that  the  game  had  been  over  and  in  their  traps,  and  they 
could  not  catch  anything.  I  have  known  them  to  go  so  far  as  to"  insist 
that  a  beaver  or  otter  had  been  in  their  traps  and  had  gotten  out;  that 
their  traps  were  bewitched  or  spellbound,  and  their  rifles  charmed  by  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  165 

'Manesous,'  so  they  could  not  catch  or  kill  anything.  They  then  got  up  a 
great  feast,  and  the  medicine  man,  or  conjurers,  through  their  wise  and 
dark  performances,  removed  the  charm  and  all  was  well;  traps  and  rifles 
did  their  duty  again." 

Ne-o-me  continued  to  live  at  his  village  on  the  reservation  after  the 
treaty  of  Saginaw  was  made.  The  pictures  of  Indian  life  given  above  will 
aid  in  understanding  the  life  he  led.  He  continued  to  be  a  close  friend 
of  the  trader,  Jacob  Smith,  until  Smith  died  in  1825,  Ne-o-me  died  in 
1827,  and  was  succeeded  by  Ton-e-do-ganee,  the  war  chief,  who  had  become 
second  chief  to  Ne-o-me.  As  the  name  of  the  new  chief  in  his  language 
means  a  furious  dog,  perhaps  he  was  better  adapted  to  ruhng  these  super- 
stitious people  of  Pewonigowink  than  was  the  amiable  Ne-o-me.  In  this 
succession  of  the  new  chief,  we  may  see  the  fulfillment  of  the  long  deferred 
ambition  of  the  war  chief,  of  which  the  romantic  tale  tells  when  he  dra- 
matically annoimced  to  Ne-o-me  and  Chessaning  the  fact  of  the  sister's 
elopement  with  the  French  trader. 

At  the  treaty  of  Saginaw,  Cass  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  attempt  to 
provide  for  the  removal  of  the  Chippewas  to  some  point  west  of  Lake 
Michigan,  The  reservations  for  the  Indians  at  that  treaty  were  small  and 
insignificant  as  compared  to  the  great  extent  of  the  ceded  territory  of  over 
six  milUon  acres.  But  even  these  insignificant  and  relatively  unimportant 
tracts  were  envied  by  the  settlers,  and  Cass  never  gave  up  his  intention  of 
removing  the  Indians.  In  pursuance  of  the  general  policy  of  his  govern- 
ment, various  treaties  were  made  with  the  different  tribes  by  which  they 
were  induced  to  move  to  the  westward,  on  lands  given  them  in  lieu  of  their 
Michigan   reserves. 

The  Chippewas  of  our  locality  had  become  divided  into  three  bands, 
the  Swan  Creek  band,  the  Black  River  band  and  the  Saginaw  band.  These 
were  regarded  as  separate  and  distinct  from  the  northern  Chippewas.  In 
March,  1836,  a  treaty  was  made  by  the  United  States,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  Chippewa  nation  and  Ottawa  nation  on  the  other,  by  which  cession 
of  their  lands  were  made.  The  benefits  of  this  treaty,  however,  were  con- 
fined to  the  Chippewas  of  the  upper  peninsula  and  the  region  between  the 
Grand  river  and  the  "Cheboigan."  It  was  not  intended  that  the  affairs 
of  the  three  bands  above  named  should  be  involved  in  this  treaty.  On 
May  9,  1836,  a  treaty  was  made  by  the  United  States,  through  Henry  R. 
Schoolcraft,  commissioner,  and  the  Swan  Creek  and  Black  River  bands 
of  the  Chippewas,  by  which  they  gave  up  their  reservations  and  in  return 
were  to  receive  thirteen  sections  of   land  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  or 


dbyGoot^lc 


l66  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

northwest  of  St.  Anthony  falls.  Among  the  chiefs  who  signed  this  treaty 
was  Kay-way-ge-zhig  (imentling  day),  the  father  of  David  Fisher,  who 
hved  many  years  in  Gaines  near  the  Crapo  farm ;  he  died,  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him,  on  April  26,  1884,  and  is  now  buried  on  the  Crapo  farm. 
Of  all  the  Chipiiewas  who  once  held  title  to  this  county,  his  family  were 
prol>abIy  the  last  residents.  His  Indian  name  was  Wah-e-lenessah  and  he  was 
]>rol)aWy  the  last  chief  within  this  county.  A  great-great-grandtlaughter  of 
his  is  now  living  in  the  city  of  Flint. 

On  Januar)'  14,  1837,  at  Detroit,  was  consummated  the  treaty  between 
the  Saginaw  band  of  the  Chippewas  and  the  United  States.  This  treaty 
was  also  negotiated  by  Schoolcraft,  as  commissioner  for  the  United  States. 
Among  the  provisions  of  this  treaty,  the  Saginaw  l>and  ceded  to  the  United 
States  all  the  reservation  on  the  Flint  river,  or  the  Pewonigowink  reserva- 
tion. Ey  this  cession  the  last  vestige  of  tribal  lands  within  the  county  of 
Genesee  was  surrendered.  The  Indians  had  the  right  to  Hve  on  certain 
reservations  further  north,  for  five  years,  and  were  then  to  remove  to  a 
western  location  to  be  selected  for  the  purpose  by  a  delegation  of  the  Indians, 
who  were  to  make  a  personal  examination  of  the  same.  The  place  was  to 
be  in  proximity  to  kindred  tribes  who  had  already  moved  there.  It  was 
contemplated  thai  if  such  location  could  be  satisfactorily  made,  the  ("liiiv 
pewas  should  then  form  a  "re-union''  with  such  kindred  tribes  and  move 
thereto. 

The  lands  ceded  were  to  Ije  sold  by  the  United  States  government  and 
the  moneys  received  for  them  were  to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians. 
Tonedogaunee.  successor  of  Ne-o-me,  signed  this  treaty,  with  twenty-six 
other  chiefs  of  the  Saginaw  band,  of  the  Chippewas.  It  is  also  significant 
that  ten  of  the  chiefs  who  signed  it  w^ere  to  receive  each  the  sum  of  five  hun- 
dred and  one  dollars,  and  Tonedogaunee  was  one  of  these. 

On  Deceml)er  20,  1837,  a  further  treaty  was  made  between  this  band 
and  the  United  States,  with  Schoolcraft  acting  as  commissioner.  The  coun- 
cil was  held  "on  the  Flint  River,"  and  this  was  the  only  instance  of  a  treaty 
being  made  here;  it  was  at  the  present  site  of  our  city  of  Flint,  or  the  Grand 
Traverse  of  the  Flint,  that  the  Indians  gathered  for  council  and  made  the 
treaty.  The  delegation  of  Indians  who  had.  under  the  stipulations  of  the 
earlier  treaty  of  January,  visited  the  western  location  and  selected  a  place 
for  their  future  home,  had  reported,  and  this  council  wasi  to  give  tribal  sanc- 
tion to  the  re|X>rt  nf  the  delegation.  The  reservation  selected  was  "on  the 
headwaters  of  the  Osage  river,  in  the  country  visited  by  the  delegation  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  167 

the  triJie  during  the  present  year,  to  be  of  proper  extent,  agreeably  to  their 
numbers,  embracing  a  due  proportion  of  wood  and  water,  and  lying  con- 
tiguous to  tribes  of  kindred  languages."  To  this  treaty  were  signed  the 
names  of  Tonedogaunee  and  Kau-gay-ge-zhig,  the  latter  as  having  been  a 
party  to  the  treaty  of  the  Swan  Creek  Indians,  whose  son  was  David  Fisher 
of  Genesee  county.  John  Garland,  major  of  the  United  States  army;  Henry 
Connor,  the  interpretei-  and  sub-agent,  T.  B.  W.  Stockton ;  G.  D.  Williams, 
commissioner  of  internal  improvements,  South  Michigan;  Jonathan  Beach, 
Charles  C.  Hascall,  receiver.-i  of  public  moneys;  Ailwrt  J.  Smith,  Robert  J. 
S.  Page.  Wait  Beach,  l^ev.  I,utl'er  D.  Whitney  and  T.  R.  Cimimings  signed 
as  witnesses. 

Another  treaty  was  made  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  and 
the  representatives  of  the  several  bands  of  Indians  within  the  Saginaw  dis- 
trict, at  Saginaw,  on  the  23rd  day  of  January,  1838.  By  its  provisions, 
which  were  in  the  nature  of  additional  safeguards  to  the  Indians  in  securing 
the  proper  sums  for  the  sale  of  the  lands  ceded,  the  United  States  agreed 
that  the  sales  should  be  conducted  the  same  as  other  sales  of  public  lands; 
that  the  lands  slionki  be  ]>nt  up  for  sale  by  the  register  and  receiver  of  the 
land  office  at  five  dollars  per  acre,  and  should  not  go  at  less  than  that  price 
for  two  years:  after  that  the  price  of  lands  unsold  should  be  two  and  a  half 
dollars  uer  acre.  The  object  of  this  agreement  was  to  quiet  the  fears  of  the 
Indians  that  a  combination  might  be  made  to  get  the  lands  for  a  small  sum. 
This  treatv  seems  to  have  lx:en  the  last  that  in  any  way  affected  Genesee 
count}'. 

Kl!SF.RV.\TIONS    TO   INDIVIDU.ALS. 

The  difficulties  of  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of 
Saginaw,  1819.  so  far  as  they  effected  Genesee  county,  arose  from  disputes 
as  to  the  identity  of  the  persons  for  whose  use  the  reservations  "at  or  near 
the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint,"  were  made. 

There  were  eleven  of  these.  They  were  surveyed  by  the  government 
in  the  early  part  of  i8::>0,  and  the  survey  showed  each  reservation  with  the 
name  of  the  person  for  whom  it  was  reserved.  Six  of  these  were  located 
along  the  north  side  of  the  river,  each  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres. 
^~hey  were  irregularly  tonnded.  by  the  river  on  the  south,  the  other  three 
Ijounds  l>eing  right  lines,  hut  not  parallel.  They  were  numbered  from  east 
to  west:  Niiml)er  one,  for  Taw-cum-e-go-qua :  number  two,  for  Meta-wa- 
ne-ne;  number  three,  for  Annoketoqua;  numl>er  four,  for  Sagosequa;  num- 


dbyGoot^lc 


l68  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

ber  five,  for  Nondasheniau ;  number  six,  for  Messawawkut.  The  five 
reserves  south  of  the  river  were  similarly  surveyed,  with  the  river  for  their 
northern  boundary,  and  numbered  from  east  to  west:  Number  seven,  for 
Nowokezhik;  number  eight,  for  Mokitchenoqiia ;  number  nine,  for  Che-I>alk; 
number  ten  for  Petabonequa;  and  number  eleven,  for  Kitchigeequa.  These 
are  all  Indian  names;  those  ending  in  "qua"  are  feminine,  the  others  mascu- 
line. All  the  persons  named  were,  by  the  treaty,  to  1«  "Indians  by  descent," 
words  which  would  seem  to  be  unequivocal  and  quite  incapable  of  misappli- 
cation. 

To  treat  these  various  reserves  seriatim:  Number  one,  for  the  use  of 
Taw-cum-e-go-qua,  was  the  subject  of  long  and  strenuous  litigation,  the 
issue  of  the  dispute  de[x:nding  on  the  identity  of  the  Indian  woman.  Taw- 
cum-e-go-qua,  Two  Indian  women  were  brought  forward,  each  as  the  per- 
son so  named  in  the  treaty.  One  of  these  was  a  girl,  of  tender  age  at  the 
time  of  the  treaty  of  1819.  She  was  the  daughter  of  sub-chief  Mixenene 
and  was  present  at  the  treaty  with  her  father  and  his  family.  She  was  also 
a  niece  of  Ne-o-me,  the  head  chief.  Being  a  full-blooded  Indian,  she  came 
within  the  treaty  provision.  She  lived  with  her  parents  on  the  reservation 
af  Pewonigowink  until  she  grew  to  maturity  and  married  an  Indian  by  the 
name  of  Kahzheauzungh.  They  had  three  children.  In  1841,  she  sold  her 
interest  in  the  reservation  to  John  Barlow  and  Addison  Stewart  and  later 
their  rights  passed  by  certain  conveyances  to  George  H.  Dewey  and  Rufus 
J.  Hamilton.  Of  all  the  claims  put  forth  by  various  persons  to  the  Indian 
reserves,  theirs  seemed  the  best.  They  had  acquired  by  purchase  the  title 
from  an  Indian  woman  who  it  was  conceded  bore  the  name  for  which  the 
reserve  was  made.  She  was  an  Indian  by  descent.  Her  relationship  was 
such  with  the  ruhng  chiefs  who  made  the  treaty,  that  she  was  the  logical 
person  for  whom  such  provision  would  naturally  be  made. 

Even  with  all  these  equities,  the  title  of  Dewey  and  Hamilton  was  con- 
tested. A  trader  bv  the  name  of  Bolieu,  the  same  who  was  called  Kasseqaus 
bv  the  Indians,  and  who  figures  in  one  of  the  romantic  tales,  had  married  an 
Indian  wife,  and  their  daughter,  Angelique  Bolieu,  whose  Indian  name  was 
said  to  be  Tawcumegoqua,  was  claimed  to  be  the  true  beneficiary  of  the  first 
reserve.  .She  had  been  sent  to  a  school  and  educated,  and  afterwards  mar- 
ried a  man  named  Coutant,  by  whom  she  had  two  children,  a  son  and 
daughter.  Her  husband  dying,  she  married  Jean  Baptiste  St.  Aubin.  She 
was  of  middle  age,  and  married,  when  the  treaty  was  made  in  1819,  and  she 
died  about  eight  years  after  that  date,  leaving  her  two  children.     She  had 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  169 

never  had  possession  o£  the  reserve,  although  it  was  said  she  had  claimed  it 
as  her  property.  After  her  death,  her  two  children,  Simon  Coutant  and 
Angchque  Coutant  Chauvin,  conveyed  the  reser\'ation  to  Joseph  Campau  of 
Detroit.  This  was  in  October,  1833.  In  1839  other  deeds  were  made  in 
confirmation  of  these  deeds  of  1833,  and  Joseph  Campau,  claiming  the 
reserve,  took  possession  by  placing  tenants  on  the  same.  A  patent  was 
issued  to  Campau  by  the  United  States  government. 

These  two  conflicting  claims  to  the  reserve  came  into  court  on  a  suit 
by  Dewey  and  Hamilton  against  Campau.  At  the  first  trial,  Campau  was 
successful.  The  case  then  went  to  the  supreme  court,  where  it  was  affirmed. 
This  case  was  determined  on  a  technical  defect  in  the  deed  and  the  merits 
involved  were  not  decided.  Dewey  and  Hamilton  then  secured  other  deeds 
that  obviated  the  technical  defects  and  another  suit  was  begun,  which  was 
transferred  to  Saginaw  county  for  trial  because  of  the  influences  that  might 
operate  in  Genesee  county  to  prejudice  the  jury.  The  growth  of  population 
in  Flint,  which  had  become  a  city  before  the  suit  was  instituted,  made  the 
reserve  a  tempting  prize.  The  best  legal  talent  of  the  state  appeared  for 
the  litigants.  Moses  Wisner,  (at  one  time  governor  of  Michigan,  the  father 
of  the  late  Judge  Wisner  of  Flints,  M.  E.  Crowfoot  and  J.  Moore,  repre- 
sented Dewey  and  Hamilton.  S.  T.  Douglass,  W.  M.  Fenton,  J.  G.  Suther- 
land and  Chauncey  P.  Avery  were  attorneys  for  Campau.  The  trial  of 
this  suit  at  Saginaw  in  i860  resulted  in  a  verdict  to  the  effect  that  Tawcume- 
goqua,  daughter  of  Mixenene,  was  the  person  of  that  name  for  which  resei-ve 
number  one  was  intended,  and  that  Dewey  and  Hamilton,  who  had  acquired 
her  rights  in  the  same,  were  the  owners  of  it  and  entitled  to  its  possession. 

This  suit  went  to  the  supreme  court  and  the  decision  of  that  court,  in 
the  Ninth  Michigan  Report  at  page  381,  et  seq.,  contains  a  great  deal  of 
historical  interest.  "Evidence  was  adduced,"  says  the  Reporter,  "tending 
to  prove  that  at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  Saginaw,  and  for  many  years  prior 
and  subsequent  thereto,  a  band  of  Chippewa  Indians  resided  at  the  village 
of  Pewonigowink.  on  the  Flint  river,  and  alxiut  ten  miles  below  the  Grand 
Traverse  of  that  river,  in  the  place  where  the  present  city  of  Flint  is  located; 
that  during  all  the  time  referred  to,  Neome  was  the  chief  of  this  band ;  that 
Tonedogane  was  the  principal  warrior,  or  second  chief  of  the  band,  and 
succeeded  Neome  in  the  chieftianship  on  his  decease;  that  one  Mixenene  was 
also  a  member  of  this  band,  and  a  brother  of  Neome,  and  that  Mixenene 
had  a  daughter  named  Tawcumegoqua,  who  was  about  six  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  the  treaty,  and  was  a  member  of  Neome's  family;  that  Neome 


dbyGoot^lc 


I/O  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

also  had  three  children — -two  females,  Segosaqua  and  Owanonaquatoqna, 
the  former  ai>out  ten  or  twelve  years  old  at  the  time  of  the  treaty,  the  latter 
a  woman  grown,  and  one  boy,  Ogibwak,  who  was  aliout  fifteen  years  of 
age,  and  a  grandson,  Metawanene ;  that  all  tlie  children  named  were  full 
blood  Indian  children ;  that  at  the  time  referred  to,  Jacob  Smith  had  a  store 
near  the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint  river,  in  which  he  carried  on  trade 
with  the  Indians  of  that  vicinity,  and  was  a  man  of  considerable  influence 
among  them;  that  Neome.  his  children  and  said  grandchild,  and  his  l>and, 
including  Tonedogane  and  also  Mixenene  and  his  little  daughter  Taw- 
cumegoqua,  were  present  at  the  treaty ;  that  on  the  night  prior  to  the  last 
council,  at  which  the  treaty  was  read  over,  agreed  to  and  signed,  Jacob 
Smith  came  to  Neonie's  tent  and  advised  him  to  get  special  reservation  of 
land  for  his  children  and  ])romised  to  assist  bim  in  doing  so:  that  at  the 
grand  council  held  the  next  day  between  the  Indians  and  General  Cass, 
Neonie  came  forward  before  General  Cass,  with  his  three  children,  Owan- 
onaqnatoqua,  Sagosaqua  and  Ojibwak,  and  said  grandchild  Metaquanene 
lieing  with  him,  and  Jacob  Smith  standing  by  his  side,  and  asked  for  reserva- 
tions of  land  for  these  children ;  that  General  Cass  assented,  and  that  the 
names  of  the  children  were  written  down,  and  that  it  was  talked  of  and 
understood  at  the  treaty  that  these  children  got  special  reservations  of  land; 
*  *  *  that  for  thirty  years  or  more,  subsequent  to  the  treaty,  N'eome's 
liand  continued  to  reside  at  Pewonigowink.  uixin  the  reservation  described 
in  article  2  of  the  treaty  as  'one  tract  of  five  thousan<l  seven  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  upon  the  Flint  river,  to  include  Rheaume's  (Neonie's)  village, 
and  a  place  called  Kishkawbee';  and  that  during  a  portion  of  this  time  the 
Indian  children  above  named,  including  Tawcumegoqua,  resided  with  the 
band  upon  this  tribal  reservation,  and  a  portion  of  the  time  'J'awcumegoqua, 
with  her  family,  and  another  family  of  said  Imnd  resided  on  the  premises 
in  question."  The  court  affirmed  the  judgment  of  the  court  lielow.  and  so 
the  verdict  of  the  jury  giving  the  land  to  Dewey  and  Hamilton  stood.  The 
result  appears  to  have  been  eminently  just. 

Reservations  numbers  two,  three,  four,  five  and  six,  which  were  reserved 
for  the  following  persons,  "all  Indian  by  descent,"  respectively,  Metawan- 
ene, Annoketoqua,  Sagosequa,  Nondasheman  and  Messaw-wakut,  were  the 
subject  of  litigation.  The  names  Metawanene,  Nondasheman  and  Messaw- 
wakut  are  masculine,  and  the  names  Sagooequa  and  Annoketoqua  are 
feminine  names,  so  it  might  very  reasonably  be  assumed  that  numbers  two, 
five  and  six  were  for  males  and  numbers  three  and  four  for  females.     At 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I  "I 

least  to  the  lay  mind,  to  use  the  language  of  a  Connecticut  judge,  "in  the 
absence  of  judicial  construction  the  writing  would  !>e  held  to  mean  what  it 
says."  In  the  case  of  these  reservations,  unfortunately,  litigation  arose, 
leading  to  judicial  construction,  with  the  following  results : 

Jacob  Smith,  the  trader,  who  had  so  actively  aided  Cass  in  bringing 
about  the  treaty  of  Saginaw,  soon  after  the  treaty  built  a  log  storehouse  for 
his  trade.  The  site  of  this  trading  post  was  in  the  fifth  ward  near  the  comer 
of  Lyon  street  and  First  avenue,  and  not  far  from  the  present  situation  of 
the  office  of  the  Durant-Dort  Carriage  Company.  Smith  had  Iieen  here  at 
the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint  for  some  years  previously  to  the  treaty. 
In  1806  his  home  was  in  Detroit  at  the  corner  of  Woodward  avenue  and 
Wnodbridge  street,  and  his  white  family  continued  to  live  in  Detroit  until 
after  his  death.  He,  like  other  traders,  doubtless  had  his  trading  post  at  the 
most  convenient  place  for  communication  with  the  Indians  with  whom  he 
traded — that  is,  on  the  Fhnt  river  where  the  grand  trail  crossed  it.  His 
residence  there  can  only  lie  i^egarded  as  temporary,  go\-erned  by  the  exi;'- 
encies  of  his  traffic  with  the  Indians.  He  had  during  his  stay  there  formed 
a  strong  friendship  with  the  chief  Neome,  who  lived  at  the  Mus-cat-a-wing, 
or  the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint,  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  l>ut  who  had  moved  down  the  river  to  "Neome's  town,"  in  the 
present  town  of  Montrose,  .some  time  before  the  treaty  of  iSiQ.  The  usual 
reference  made  by  writers  of  local  history  to  Smith's  settlement  at  FHnt, 
places  the  date  immediately  after  the  treaty.  The  fact  is  that  he  had  a 
trading  post  there  liefore  that  date.  proUabiy  as  early  as  1810,  and  that  he 
never  settled  there  in  the  sense  of  l>ecoming  a  permanent  resident.  He  kept 
his  family  in  Detroit  and  sojourned  on  the  Flint  for  the  puqxise  of  traffic 
with  the  Indians;  in  1819,  he  built  a  log  trading  store,  of  a  more  substantial 
character  than  his  previous  store  of  which  we  have  no  record  except  the 
deduction  that  during  several  years  trading  he  must  have  had  some  place 
suitable  for  his  business.  His  log  store  was  built  before  the  reservations 
there  were  surveyed,  and  when  surveyed,  the  one  numbered  two.  for  Meta- 
wanene,  included  the  site  of  his  btulding.  His  store  was  built  at  the  fork 
of  the  trail  where  the  grand  trail  from  Detroit  after  its  Grand  Traverse 
of  the  Flint  separated  into  two  trails,  one  going  down  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  to  Saginaw  and  the  other  following  the  more  direct  route  north  to  Mt. 
Morris,  Pine  Run,  Birch  Run  and  Saginaw.  It  was  a  central  point  and 
esi)ecially  favorable  for  trade  with  the  surrounding  Indians.  There  Smith 
continued  to  remain  and  trade  with  the  Indians,  his  family  lieing  in  Detroit. 
In  1822  his  mother  and  sister  were  with  him,  for  a  time  at  least.     Fie  con- 


dbyGoot^lc 


172  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICTIIGAN. 

tinned  to  have  friendly  relations  with  Ne-o-me  and  the  Indians  generally. 
At  the  time  Smith  built  his  log:  house  in  1819,  another  trader,  a  Frenchman 
by  the  name  of  Baptiste  Cochios  was  also  located  there  in  trade.  The 
friendly  relations  between  him  and  Smith  continued  until  Smith's  death. 
An  Indian  boy,  An-ne-me-kins,  called  "Jack"  by  the  whites,  also  Hved  with 
Smith  a  considerable  part  of  the  time.  Ephraim  S.  Williams,  of  Flint, 
whose  knowledge  of  the  matter  makes  his  statement  of  high  authority,  says; 
"He  [Smith]  lived  there  [at  Flint]  during  the  trading  season,  making  occa- 
sional visits  to  his  family  in  Detroit.  In  1825  he  died,  from  neglect  as 
much  as  from  disease,  at  his  trading  post,  after  a  lingering  and  pitiable 
sickness.  A  good-hearted  Frenchman,  by  the  name  of  Baptiste  Cochios, 
who  was  with  him  upon  the  trading  ground  in  1819  and  was  himself  an 
Indian  trader,  having  his  posts  upon  the  Flint  and  on  the  Saginaw,  per- 
formed for  the  brave  but  unfortunate  man  the  last  sad  rites  of  humanity. 
An  Indian  lad  who  had  lived  with  Smith  for  several  years  and  who  attended 
him  in  his  sickness,  was  the  only  household  mourner — a  few  Indians  gath- 
ered in  mournful  groups  about  the  grave  as  the  remains  of  the  unfortunate 
man  were  committed  to  the  earth.  Ne-o-me  was  there,  his  trusty  and  reli- 
able friend,  mute  with  grief.  With  that  feeling  of  gratitude  which  belongs 
to  the  Indian  character,  and  which  takes  rank  as  a  cardinal  virtue  in  their 
untutored  minds,  the  Indians  proved  true  and  faithful  throughout  his  sick- 
ness to  the  last.  The  brave,  warm-hearted,  generous  Indian  trader,  Jacob 
Smith,  the  earliest  white  pioneer  upon  the  Saginaw  and  the  Flint,  lingered 
and  died  in  a  sad  condition  and,  but  for  the  good  Cochios  and  his  Indian 
assistants,  would  have  gone  to  his  grave  uncoffined.  Within  a  few  days 
after  his  decease,  his  son-in-law,  C.  S.  Paine,  came  from  Detroit  to  the  trad- 
ing house,  which  had  so  recently  been  the  scene  of  such  long,  unrelieved 
suffering,  and  gathered  up  most  carefully  and  carried  away  the  few  poor 
remnants  of  the  earthly  store  left  by  the  noble-hearted  Indian  trader.  Sa-gos- 
e-wa-qua,  the  daughter  of  Ne-o-me,  in  recounting  this  history,  expressed 
herself  with  a  sententious  brevity  peculiar  to  the  Indian,  which  is  worth 
recording;  it  points  to  a  moral  if  it  does  not  adorn  a  tale:  'When  Wah- 
be-sins  [Smith]  sick,  nolxidy  come;  him  sicker  and  sicker,  nobody  come. 
Wah-be-sins  die,  little  tinker  come  and  take  all  him  blankets,  all  him  cattle, 
all  him  things.'  Neome  soon  followed  his  friend  Wah~be-sins,  to  the  spirit- 
land.  He  died  in  1827,  at  the  tribal  home,  a  few  miles  above  Saginaw  city, 
faithfully  attended  through  a  long  and  severe  sickness  by  his  children  and 
relatives,  enthroned  in  patriarchal  simplicity  in  the  hearts  of  his  people, 
beloved  and  mourned." 


dbyGoot^lc 


GFNKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I73 

At  the  time  of  his  death  Smith  had  a  family  in  Detroit,  consisting  of 
a  son,  Albert  J.  Smith,  and  four  daughters,  Harriet  M.  Smith,  Caroline 
Smith,  Louise  L.  Smith  and  Maria  G.  Smith.  Soon  after  the  death  of 
Smith,  Major  Garland,  the  husband  of  one  of  these  daughters,  took  posses- 
sion of  the  place  where  Smith  had  had  his  post,  and  made  claim  in  behalf 
of  the  heirs  to  the  title  of  the  five  reservations  from  2  to  6  inclusive,  his 
claim  Ijeing  that  the  Indian  names  of  the  persons  for  whom  these  reservations 
were  made  were  the  names  of  these  children  of  the  trader;  that  Metawanene, 
the  owner  of  the  second  reserve,  did  not  mean  the  grandson  of  chief  Neome, 
an  "Indian  by  descent,"  but  it  meant  Albert  J.  Smith,  the  white  son  of 
Jacob  Smith  the  trader;  that  Annoketoqua  did  not  mean  the  daughter  of 
Ne-o-me  by  that  name,  an  Indian  by  descent,  but  it  meant  the  daughter  of 
Smith,  of  Detroit,  a  white  woman;  that  Sagosaqua,  the  daughter  of  Ne-o-me, 
an  Indian  by  descent,  was  not  intended  as  the  beneficiary  of  reserve  numljer 
four,  but  that  the  real  Sagosaqua  was  another  white  daughter  of  the  trader 
in  Detroit;  that  Nondashenian,  a  man's  name,  did  not  mean  any  man  at  all, 
but  it  meant  the  white  daughter  of  Smith  at  Detroit;  the  sixth  reser\'e,  for 
Messaw-wakut,  a  male  Indian  by  descent,  also  meant  another  white  daughter 
of  Smith.  It  was  claimed  that  the  Indians  who  had  visited  Detroit  had 
given  these  names  to  the  children.  Such  occurrences  were  not  uncommon, 
but  this  casual  use  of  such  names  by  individual  members  of  a  tribe  was  not 
equivalent  to  adoption,  which  was  a  matter  of  ceremony  and  an  act  of  the 
tribe.  Only  formal  adoption  by  act  of  the  tribe  in  its  collective  capacity 
could  give  any  tribal  rights  and,  in  the  language  of  the  whites,  such  adopted 
member  probably  could  not  be  called  an  "Indian  by  descent." 

The  great  demand  for  lands  in  the  vicinity  beginning  in  the  early  thirties 
gave  the  five  square  miles  involved  a  prospective  value  to  which  the  claim- 
ants were  fully  alive.  In  1839,  Albert  J.  Smith  came  on  and  took  actual 
possession  of  the  lands  in  question  for  himself  as  reserve  in  number  two, 
and  for  his  three  sisters  then  living  and  for  the  heirs  of  the  one  who  had 
died.  They  ciaimed,  and  asserted,  ownership  of  the  same,  and  at  the  next 
session  of  congress  they  brought  the  matter  before  that  body,  asking  its 
authority  for  grants  of  the  five  reserves  to  the  children  of  Smith,  Their 
claim  was  based  upon  the  services  of  the  trader  at  the  treaty  of  Saginaw, 
the  successful  termination  of  the  same  being  attributed  largely  to  these 
services.     The  following  is  an  excerpt  from  their  petition  to  congress: 

"Although  the  reservations  intended  for  your  memorialists  under  the 
treaty  of  .Saginaw  have  been  partially  occupied  under  them,  and  always 
known  and  acknowledged  as  being  intended   for  them,  yet  they  never  have 


yGoo-^lc 


1/4  CENESEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

received  or  obtained  such  a  title  from  government  as  would  authorize  them 
to  sell  or  convey  any  portion  of  the  said  lands,  in  consequence  of  their  hav- 
ing been  embraced — -unintentionally,  as  your  memoriabsts  believe — among 
the  numlier  uf  reservations  intended  for  ])ersons  l>eing  'Indians  by  descent' ; 
owing  to  which  the  general  land  office  has  not  felt  authorized  to  issue  pat- 
ents for  the  said  land  in  the  name  of  your  memorialists." 

The  claimants  had,  in  January,  1835,  procured  a  certificate  signed  by 
ten  of  the  one  hundred  and  fourteen  Indian  signers  of  the  treaty.  Of  the 
obtaining  of  this  certificate  Ephraim  S.  Williams,  of  Flint,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account : 

"This  docimient  being  an  important  one,  it  is  given  here  entire.  With- 
out it  the  heirs  of  Smith  could  never  have  obtained  titles  to  their  lands, 
for  the  go\-emment  had  refused  for  years  to  grant  them;  and  many,  even 
members  of  Congress,  in  those  days  doubted  the  right  of  Congress  to  pass 
an  act  to  set  aside  the  treaty  of  1S19  and  grant  these  lands  to  others  than 
persons  of  Indian  descent.  Many  persons  have  thought  that  Congress  might 
as  well  pass  an  act  to  grant  one  man's  farm  to  another.  All  those  acts 
were  a  violation  of  the  granted  rights  of  the  treaty  of  1819. 
M  VII  MPM 

Ilic  HiibsinlieiH  (.liiefs  mil  liuid  men  of  ttie  (  hipiie^v  1  11  itiuna  uid  subscribm-s  of 
the  tieiiti  of  Sii.iliuiw  do  heieln  tertifj  tliiit  the  fiie  lesetvations  iit  and  neai  tbe 
(.1  iiid  Ji  nei'-e  of  the  Unit  ihti  uimle  bi  the  tieiitj  of  181'>  were  made  aud 
]iit<(HRil  f  1  the  rtie  f"ll  Hill.:  iioiied  iieiwais  1!?  Mehnvaueiie  ill  m  Ubert  J  <?inith 
Mi's"  m  «  ikiit  I  I  III  HI  s  iMiiK  I  ilijii  Hnrrlet  M  Smitli  Sagomiqiwi  ilias  Csrolliie 
Miittli  Mill  Mi  H|iii  111  s  I  iiis.i  [  Smith  Noudasho-iuin  (mans  name)  alias  inrlii 
I  siiiitli  ictih  --K  liimtlied  aiitl  tmU  uiAen)  kuown  to  ui  tiud  diHtiuguished  b^  the 
afoie«iiil  iiiiiies  is  tbi,  thiltlieii  of  the  lute  Jatob  Smith  and  furthei  <*rtif\  that  the 
Hfores.iId  (liiintiuis  to  the  ihildieu  iifoiewild  neie  made  iu  coiiKideratlon  of  seniLfS 
leurteied  b^  siUl  Taiob  Smith  (deteawed)  to  the  Chliipewa  natlou  and  the  frleiidii 
lUteitoui-Be  tliiit  wubeilHted  between  the  yarties  foi  niniij  \eais  ftp  further  certifj  thit 
Metawaiiene  alias  Albert  J  Suiith  now  pieseiit  at  the  evetutlon  of  this  oertiflcate  H 
the  turn  of  Jacob  Smith  deceased  mid  we  lecogiiiae  hiui  us  oue  of  the  foui  i.hlldien 
to  >\houi  the  before  mentioned  donations  were  made  and  intended 
Signed 

I         S      niLLI\MS  NoNONIIlhVMt, 

(5.    n.    WltLUMS.  \\'.\Rr,KT01JHCE. 

Ch,*s.  H.  Rodd,  Sabwarbon, 

Witnesses  present.  Chunetosh, 

SnAsoE, 
Wash  WIN, 

Wayshonono, 

MOMEMEO, 

"Saginaw,  .Tanniiry  22.  1S35.  ToteiiiH. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENFSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

"Territory  of  Miehigiiii,  ^ 
'■Oakland  County,  r^^" 

"Personally  iiiiiienretl  before  me  tbo  sutist-ribpr,  :i  jiiKlk-e  i 
for  the  f(iiiiit.v  of  OiikliUKl.  Kiiliniiiii  S.  Williainw,  Eaiiiire, 
iitcoiilluj;;  to  Jaw,  (le]irisctl]  and  Kailli  tliHt  lie  was  present  i 
withiu  certifii^iite  anil  kuw  tlii'  nitliiii  iiameil  chiefs  luul  liend  men  uinke  their  uiiirks 
to  the  said  i-ertiflcate.  Deiioiient  lurtlier  aiiith  that  the  subscribers,  chiefs,  and  hetiil 
men  -m  aforewiiil,  i-esiile  In  the  vicinity  of  Saginaw,  Oaklsuii  Pounty,  Territory  of 
Mk-liii;an.  I)e(nnifnt  fni-ther  siiitli  tliiit  the  contents  of  the  certificate  aforesaid  were 
by   him    fnlly   exiitained   and   wei-e   i-heerfnily   assented   to   by   the   iiforesald   chiefs   find 


"This  statement  of  the  Chippewa  chiefs  was  made  at  a  council  that 
had  been  called  for  the  purpose  at  the  place  and  date  tnentioned,  chiefly 
through  the  influence  and  instrumentality  of  the  brothers,  G.  D.  and  E.  S. 
Williains,  who  were  then  traders  at  Saginaw.'" 

The  conncil  was  attended  by  Albert  J.  Smith  and  Col  T.  B.  W.  Stockton, 
rep  resell  ta  ting  the  Smith  heirs.  At  the  first  meeting  the  "chief  speaker." 
O-ge-maw-ka-ke-to,  spoke,  claiming  that  the  reserves  were  made  for  Indians 
by  descent  and  not  for  the  white  children  of  the  trader.  At  the  second 
meeting  after  "certain  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  the  chiefs,"  to  quote 
from  William's  account,  the  chief  sjwaker  and  the  other  nine  chiefs  signed 
the  certiflcate.  Similar  certificates  were  procured  from  other  signers  of 
the  treaties,  one  at  Big  Rock  village  on  the  Shiawassee,  one  at  Flint  River, 
and  another  at  Grand  Saline,  We  again  quote  Ephraim  Williams,  who 
Iwd  probably  as  great  knowledge  of  these  transactions  as  any  disinterested 
witness : 

"All  the  above  documents  were  laid  before  Congress  in  support  of  the 
petition  of  the  Smith  claimants;  also  a  tnemorial  from  persons  residing  at 
Flint  and  vicinity.  Here  follow  the  names  of  fifty  persons,  not  one  in 
twenty  of  whom  knew  anything  of  the  treaty  besides  what  they  had  heard 
talked  by  others. 

"How  inconsistent  and  ridiculous  to  suppose  for  a  moment  that  Jacob 
Smith  would  have  done  so  inconsistent  a  thing  as  to  have  presented,  at  the 
treaty  of  1819,  the  names  of  three  Indians  for  the  names  of  three  of  his 
daughters  as  given  in  the  treaty;  not  at  all  probable.  I  knew  Mr.  Smith 
and  I  never  believed  he  did  any  such  thing. 

"The  result  of  the  laying  of  all  these  things  before  Congress  was  the 
passage  of  an  act,  'To  authorize  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  cause 


dbyGoot^lc 


176  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

to  be  issued  to  Albert  J.  Smith  and  others,  patents  for  certain  reservations 
of  land  in  Michigan  Territory.' 

"In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  five  patents  were  issued 
June  2,  1836. 

"This  was,  at  that  time,  considered  a  final  settlement  of  the  question 
of  title  to  those  reservations,  but  it  was  not  very  long  before  the  opinion 
began  to  be  entertained  by  some  (an  opinion  that  was  afterwards  sustained 
by  the  courts)  that  these  patents  did  not  and  could  not  convey  a  title  as 
against  any  person  or  persons  who  could  prove  themselves  to  be  the  right- 
ful reservees  in  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  treaty.  It  would  seem 
that  the  proofs  adduced  by  the  Smith  heirs  had  been  ample  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  their  claims,  but  there  were  still  doubts  whether  they  could 
hold  under  the  article  of  the  treaty  which  provided  that  the  lands  granted 
should  be  for  the  use  of  persons  of  Indian  descent  only. 

"About  this  time  it  was  discovered  that  a  young  Chippewa  whose 
name  was  Jack,  and  who  had  been  brought  up  and  protected  by  Jacob 
Smith,  claimed  to  be  the  real  Metawanene,  and  consequently,  the  owner  of 
the  reservation  numbered  two  on  the  land  plat,  and  that  some  Indian  women 
made  the  same  claim  to  sections  that  had  been  patented  to  the  daughters  of 
Jacob  Smith. 

"In  March.  1S41,  the  Indian  claimant  to  reservation  numbered  two 
deeded  this  tract  to  Gardner  D.  Williams,  of  Saginaw,  who,  in  June,  1845, 
conveyed  one  moiety  of  the  same  to  Daniel  D.  Dewey,  of  Genesee,  and  by 
these  persons  a  suit  was  commenced  in  the  circuit  court  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  claim  of  the  true  Metawanene  and  the  possession  of  the  lands. 

"After  many  years  of  delay,  this  cause  came  to  a  final  trial  in  1856, 
at  the  March  term,  held  by  Judge  Sanford  M.  Green,  in  the  city  of  Flint. 
Plaintiff,   Messrs.   Williams  and   Dewey;   defendant,   Chauncey   S.    Payne." 

"Albert  J.  Smith  had,  in  1S36,  deeded  to  Mr.  Payne  an  undivided  three- 
fourths,  and  to  T.  B.  W.  Stockton,  an  undivided  one-fourth  of  the  reserva- 
tion. In  18^0  Mr.  Stockton  conveyed  his  interest  to  Mr.  Payne,  who  thus 
became  the  sole  owner.  Attorneys  for  the  plaintiffs  were  Hon,  Moses  Wis- 
ner  and  James  C.  Blades ;  for  the  defendants,  Messrs,  E.  C.  and  C.  I.  Walker, 
of  Detroit,  John  Moore,  of  Saginaw  city,  and  Charles  P.  Avery,  of  Flint, 
which  last  named  gentleman  had  then  recently  purchased  an  undivided  half 
of  Mr.  Payne's  interest  in  the  property  thus  becoming  equally  interested 
with  him  in  the  result  of  the  suit.  Many  witnesses,  both  white  and  Indian, 
were  produced  on  both  sides  and,  after  an  expensive  and  lengthy  trial,  it  was 
decided  in  favor  of  the  defendant,  thus  deciding  a  case  which  during  years 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  1/7 

of  litigation  had  caused  much  excitement  and  some  bitter  feeling,  and  which 
is  a  matter  of  general  historic  interest  in  the  annals  of  the  county  of  Genesee. 

"The  trial  Of  a  similar  suit,  involving  the  title  to  reservations  numbers 
three  and  four,  was  also  had  before  Judge  Green,  at  Flint,  in  the  December 
term  in  the  same  year,  resulting,  as  in  the  case  of  section  two,  adversely  to 
the  Indian  title.  The  suit  was  brouglit  in  the  names  of  two  of  the  Indian 
women  before  mentioned,  who  claimed  to  be  the  real  Annoketoqua  and 
Sagosequa,  and  consequently  owners  of  the  tracts  that  had  lieen  patented 
respectively  to  Louisa  L.  Smith  and  the  heirs  of  Caroline  Smith,  deceased. 
For  the  plaintiff  there  appeared  several  Indians  who  were,  or  claimed  to 
have  been,  at  the  treaty  of  1819,  and  whose  testimony  was  given  to  show 
that  the  reservations  were  not  intended  for  the  children  of  Jacob  Smith,  but 
for  the  daughters  of  Nc-o-me,  and  that  the  Indian  claimants  in  this  case 
were  the  daughters  of  that  chief.  There  were  other  claims  made,  under  the 
treaty,  to  those  reservations,  by  persons  of  Indian  descent,  but  they  were 
defeated  by  the  claims  and  influence  of  the  white  Smith  children  and  the 
treaty  set  aside  and  violated. 

"The  violation  of  sacred  treaties  by  the  government,  made  with  the 
Indians,  has  been  one  great  cause  of  so  much  trouble  with  the  western 
tribes  of  Indians,  T  think." 

The  above  resume  of  the  htigation  over  the  hve  reserves  by  Mr,  Will- 
iams seems  very  just  in  its  conclusions.  That  the  Indians,  in  parting  with 
their  title  to  their  lands,  reluctantly  giving  to  the  whites,  whom  they  hated, 
the  territories  that  bad  been  their  homes,  should  in  making  reserves  from 
the  grant  consider  the  children  of  any  white  man  in  preference  to  their  own 
children  is  quite  unlielievable,  and  the  final  determination  of  the  claim  to 
these  reservations  adversely  to  the  Indians  must  stand  as  an  example  of 
fraud,  legalized  by  the  white  man's  courts,  and  a  justification  of  the  distrust 
that  the  Indians  have  of  the  white  man's  justice. 

From  the  contents  of  a  letter  written  by  General  Cass  in  1S31,  it  would 
he  implied  that  Smith  had  a  flock  of  half-breed  children,  as  well  as  a  legiti- 
mate family  at  Detroit;  from  this  letter  it  would  appear  that  the  provision 
as  to  reserving  the  lands  for  Indians  by  descent  was  inserted  in  the  treaty 
to  prevent  the  fraud  afterwards  legalized  by  Congress  and  the  courts,  which 
Cass  had  reason  to  believe  Smith  anticipated.     The  letter  is  as  follows; 

Detroit,  Juue  22,  1831. 
I  ([iiv(!  (»eeii  i-eijiieKted  fi)  stiilii  the  fiu-ts  ciiniiected  with  the  reservation  of  eleven 
KfH-tioiin  of  liiiid  at  Flint  ri\ef,  innrte  nndev  the  treaty  of  Siiglnaw,  bo  far  as  respects 

(12) 


dbyGoc^lc 


178  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

aiij  interests  held  thetem  by  the  (.hildrpii  of  Ji<.>b  Smith  \.t  thp  time  this  resen  1 
tUn  was  mnde  I  understord  thjit  the  Indinns  intencled  that  a  nmnlipr  of  the  spl 
tlons — I  belieie  Ave  or  3i\ — should  be  gtanted  to  the  children  of  Smith  iiid  tlie  names 
given  by  them  to  the  grantees  of  these  sections  were  sjid  to  be  his  childien 

Fiom  Urtumstiinces  not  necessjrv  to  detail  here  I  was  led  to  suspect  thit  Sinitii 
designed  the  land  for  bis  white  ihlldieii  and  thit  most  ot  the  names  purioitiu^  to  he 
those  of  his  Indttn  children  were  in  fiiet  the  names  if  his  white  childien  nhlcli 
the  Indians  who  were  in  the  Jiahlt  of  freqoentlug  his,  house  had  gUen  to  them  To 
gniid  ngiiiist  the  consequent e^  of  theii  ittenipt  I  tlierefoie  mserted  in  the  iiti  le 
lio\ldlng  for  these  reseriatious  a  cHuse  confining  them  to  iiersons  of  Indian  descent 
I  hiie  an  indistmct  recollection  tliat  one  voung  tirl  was  Mpoken  of  is  in  Iiidlnn 
daughter  of  Smith  but  cannot  rememhei  the  name  I  Itnow  I  ewis  Be.iufuit  and  Henry 
Connof  well  they  were  both  at  the  treitv  of  Saglinw  and  thev  are  veiy  honest  men 
in  whose  htatements  full  confldence  mav  be  placed 

(Msned)     lEwis  Cass 

Of  resen'C  number  seven,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  the  l>eneficiary 
was  plainly  one  Edward  Campaii,  the  half-breed  son  of  the  trader.  His 
Indian  name  was  Nowokezhic,  and  he  was  here  in  the  possession  of  his 
reserve  when  John  Hamilton,  Ephraim  S.  Williams,  Harvey  Williams  and 
Schuyler  Hodges  came  through  Flint,  in  the  winter  of  1822-3,  en  route  for 
Saginaw  with  supplies  for  the  garrison  there.  His  title  was  conveyed  to 
John  Todd,  the  tavern  keeper,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suggest  that  the 
intent  of  the  treaty  was  not  fully  carried  out  so  far  as  this  one  reserve  was 
concerned.  As  to  reservation  number  eight,  to  Mokitchenaqua,  there  were 
two  claimants,  one  a  half-breed  daughter  of  Archie  Lyons,  who  married  a 
squaw  by  the  name  of  Ka-zhe-o-ije-oii-no-qua.  This  woman  outlived  him 
and  was  a  witness  on  the  trial  of  Dewey  and  Campau  at  Saginaw  in  i8fio. 
The  Mokitchenqua,  daughter  of  above,  was  Elizabeth  Lyons  by  her  white 
name.  Another  claimant  was  Marie  Lavoy,  and  stili  another  was  Nancy 
Crane.  All  of  these  were  halfbreeds,  and  so  answered  the  requirements  of 
the  treaty  that  they  should  Ix;  of  Indian  descent;  all  were  Mokitchenaquas. 
As  the  Indians  had  no  surname,  the  reservation  to  Mokitchenaqua  was  quite 
like  a  reservation  for  "Mary"  in  a  white  man's  deed.  The  determination 
of  identity  naturally  depended  on  evidence  of  facts  and  circtimstances  out- 
side the  document  itself.  Each  of  these  three  claimants  had  applied  for 
and  obtained  certificates  of  identity  from  the  authorities  of  the  land  office 
at  Detroit.  The  Lyons  woman  received  hers,  August  2,  1824;  the  Lavoy 
woman  received  hers,  February  37,  1827,  and  the  Crane  woman,  claimed 
to  be  the  half-breed  daughter  of  Jacob  Smith,  by  name  Nancy  Smith, 
received  hers  July  22,  1831.  This  certificate  to  Nancy  Smith  Crane  as  the 
Mokitchenaqua  entitled  to  reservation  number  eight  received  sanction   from 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    lIICHIfiAN.  179 

the  general  land  office,  whose  commissioner,  on  August  5,  1835,  approved 
the  same,  and  a  patent  was  granted  to  her  on  March  7,  1840.  Major  John 
Garland  appears  to  have  l>een  the  real  party  in  interest  in  urging  the  claim 
of  his  wife's  half-breed  sister,  for  her  rights  had  been  transferred  to  him 
before  patent  issued.  The  interest  of  the  Lyons  claimant  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  Gardner  Williams  and  ICintzing  Pritchette.  Garland's  title  had 
been  transferred  to  Payne  and  Stockton,  and  the  litigation  was  between 
Williams  and  Pritchette,  on  the  one  hand,  and  Payne,  Stockton  and  others, 
on  the  other  hand,  involving  the  question  as  to  whether  EHzaljeth  Lyons  or 
Nancy  Smith  was  the  Mokitchenaqua  for  whom  the  reserve  was  made. 
On  trial,  the  court  determined  that  Elizabeth  Lyons  was  the  true  owner  of 
the  reserve  and  that  Williams  and  Pritchette  were  entitled  to  it  under  their 
deeds.  In  this  case,  Payne,  who  was  the  husband  of  one  of  Smith's  white 
daughters  and  whose  title  had  come  through  John  Garland,  the  husband  of 
another  of  Smith's  white  dai^;hters,  was  confronted  by  a  certificate  of  cer- 
tain Chippewa  chiefs  similar  to  those  upon  which  their  wives  predicated 
their  claims  to  the  reserves  north  of  the  river,  to  the  effect  that  Elizabeth 
I^yons  was  the  person  entitled  to  the  reserve  and  not  the  Nancy  Smith  from 
whom  they  claimed  title.  This  case  is  reported  in  Walker's  Chancery 
Report,  page  120,  and  in  Douglass's  report  at  page  546  and  the  following 
pages,  and  forms  an  interesting  chapter  in  our  !oca!  historj'. 

Reserves  mimliers  nine,  ten  and  eleven,  from  their  location,  had  little 
value  as  compared  to  the  other  reserves,  and  consequently  were  not  so  allur- 
ing to  the  white  men  and  did  not  become  the  object  of  their  cupidity  and 
iitigation.  They  went  to  the  half-breeds,  Jean  Visgar,  son  of  the  trader  who 
was  at  the  treaty,  and  who  had  been  in  the  attempt  to  acquire  lands  in  Mich- 
igan at  nine  dollars  a  county  (this  reservation  was  probably  intended  for 
the  son  of  Ne-o-me) ;  to  Phillis  Beaufait,  half-breed  daughter  of  the  French 
trader,  and  to  Catherine  Mene,  half-breed.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  each 
case  the  reservations  south  of  the  river  were  given  to  persons  of  the  gender 
suggested  by  the  Indian  name  of  the  reservee,  contrary  to  the  case  of  the 
claim  of  the  children  of  Smith  to  certain  of  the  reserves  north  of  the  river. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Settlement  of  Flint  Before  1837. 

Flint  was  the  first  prominent  center  of  settlement  planted  beyond  Pontiac 
on  the  old  Saginaw  Indian  trail,  and  the  second  settlement  planted  bej'ond 
that  cordon  of  tangled  forest  and  dread  morass  surrounding  Detroit,  which 
was  popularly  supposed  to  be  the  vestibule  of  a  vast  uninhabited  wilderness 
whose  lands  were  barren  and  where  nothing  but  wild  beasts,  migratory  birds 
and  venomous  reptiles  were  ever  destined  to  find  an  alxxle.  Only  a  little 
time  before,  the  great  interior  of  the  lower  peninsula  of  Michigan  was  an 
unexplored  and  unknown  country.  The  story  has  already  been  told,  how, 
after  the  War  of  1812,  the  United  States  surveyor-general,  Edward  Tiffin, 
declared  to  the  national  government  that  "the  intermediate  space  between  tliese 
swamps  and  lakes — which  is  probably  near  one-half  of  the  country — is,  with 
very  few  exceptions,  a  poor,  barren,  sandy  land,  on  which  scarcely  any  vege- 
tation grows  except  very  small,  scrubby  oaks,"  and  concluded  with  his  opin- 
ion that  "there  would  not  be  more  than  one  acre  out  of  a  hundred,  if  there 
would  be  one  out  of  a  thousand,  that  would  in  any  case  admit  of  cultivation." 
Thanks  to  Lewis  Cass,  governor  of  Michigan  territory,  and  others  whom  he 
was  able  to  influence,  this  judgment  was  soon  proved  to  be  false.  In  1818  he 
set  out  from  Detroit,  accompanied  by  Hon.  Austin  E.  Wing  and  two  or 
three  other  friends,  on  a  tour  of  observation  and  discovery.  Through  the 
first  stage  of  their  northwestern  journey  after  leaving  Detroit  the  as^iect  was 
by  no  means  reassuring.  At  times  their  horses  sank  knee-deep  in  the  sloughs 
or  wallowed  through  the  marshy  places  along  the  trail.  It  really  seemed  as 
if  the  dismal  tales  of  the  surveyors  and  Indian  traders  would  prove  true.  At 
last,  after  floundering  over  a  distance  which  seemed  a  hundred  miles,  but 
which  in  reality  was  little  over  a  dozen,  they  came  to  higher  ground  and 
more  open  country,  which  is  now  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county  of 
Oakland.  From  that  point  they  continued  their  journey  with  comparative 
ease  northwestward  over  a  dry  roiling  country  through  beautiful  open  groves 
of  oak  and  along  the  margins  of  pure  and  limpid  waters.  During  their  jour- 
ney, which  lasted  about  a  week,  they  penetrated  nearly  to  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  Genesee.    When  they  returned  they  carried  back  with  them  the  knowl- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  l8l 

edge  and  proof  that  Michigan  was  not  a  worthless  desert,  as  represented, 
but  a  beautiful  and  fertile  land  awaiting  only  the  touch  of  the  settler's  axe 
and  plow  to  yield  an  abundant  increase  to  reward  his  toil. 

The  broad  Indian  trail  taken  by  this  i)arty  of  explorers,  which  ran  from 
Detroit  to  Saginaw,  and  along  which  for  many  years  the  northern  tribes  of 
Indians  came  down  in  large  numbers  to  barter  their  furs  for  supplies  and  to 
receive  their  annuities  from  the  English  and  United  States  governments, 
crossed  the  Flint  river  at  a  point  called  by  the  I'Vench  traders  the  Grand 
Traverse,  and  it  was  a  favorite  resting  place  and  camping  ground  for  them 
and  the  neighlxjrJng  tribes,  as  game  and  fish  were  there  especially  abundant. 
It  is  owing  to  this  circumstance  that  Flint  became  a  center  of  settlement. 

Its  name,  however,  is  not  so  easily  accounted  for.  According  to  some, 
the  Chii>pewa  Indians  called  the  region  now  occupied  by  the  city  Mus-cu~ta- 
wa-ningh,  or  "open  plain,  burned  over,"  and  the  stream  which  flows  through 
it  Pe-won-nuk-cnmg,  or  "the  river  of  the  flint."  Just  why  they  should  have 
named  the  river  so  is  unexpiainable,  for,  though  its  bed  is  rocky,  there  is 
nothing  about  it  suggestive  of  flint.  Judge  Albert  Miller,  who  worked  for 
John  Todd  in  the  early  thirties,  records  in  the  "Michigan  Historical  Collec- 
tions" the  name  of  the  settlement  as  Pe-won-a-go-seeba.  William  R.  McCor- 
mick,  who  as  a  Ixjy  lived  with  his  parents  at  this  site  in  1832,  gives  the  name 
of  the  settlement  as  Sco-ta-wa-ing,  or  "burnt  opening,"  and  tliat  of  the  river 
as  Pe-won-a-go-wing-see>ba,  or  "flint  stones  in  the  river."  It  is  clear  that 
whichever  name  in  the  Indian  language  was  correct  for  the  river,  it  meant 
"flint,"  in  some  form.  Col.  E.  H.  Thomson  concludes  the  matter  by  saying: 
"After  wrestling  for  several  years  with  these  Chippewa  jawbreakers,  the 
early  settlers  ended  the  struggle  by  calling  both  river  and  settlement  'Flint,'  " 
and  Flint  they  are. 

INDIAN    OCCUPATION. 

The  story  of  the  Indian  occupation  of  Flint  as  sketched  in  tlie  Abbott 
history,  may  be  here  briefly  retold.  The  Sauks  and  Onotawas  held  in  peace 
the  Flint  river  and  the  country  of  its  neighboring  streams.  I^ng  ago  the 
Chi[>pewas  and  Ottawas  of  Mackinac  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Qttawas 
about  Detroit  and  by  preconcerted  agreement  met  near  the  mouth  of  the  Sagi- 
naw and  proceeded  to  destroy  the  Indian  villages  along  its  banks.  They  suc- 
ceeded there  and  turned  to  destroy  the  remainder  of  the  Sauks.  One  of  the 
most  imiwrtant  of  these  battles  was  fought  on  the  high  bluff  that  overlooks 
the  Flint  a  half  mile  below  the  present  city,  almost  directly  across  the  river 
from  the  school  for  the  deaf,     .\nother  battle  was  fought  down  the  river  a 


dbyGoot^lc 


l82  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

mile  above  Flushing,  and  a  third  sixteen  miles  beiow  Flushing  on  the  Flint 
The  allied  forces  mastered  this  territory,  and  eventually  joined  the  British 
troops  with  a  view  to  exterminating  the  Americans  who  had  settled  on  the 
St.  Ciair,  the  Clinton  and  the  Detroit  rivers.  This  alliance  continued  to  the 
close  of  the  War  of  1812.  But  with  the  success  of  the  Americans  the  spirit 
of  the  Indians  was  broken,  and  when  the  first  white  settlers  came  to  the  banks 
of  the  Flint,  the  Chippewas  were  inclined  to  be  very  friendly.  Indeed,  traffic 
with  the  red  man  was  the  potent  incentive  that  attracted  the  first  white  men 
to  the  depths  of  the  wilderness  about  Flint,  The  furs  secured  by  the  bullets 
and  arrows  of  the  Indians  were  of  great  value.  The  Indians  often  exhibited 
traits  of  character  in  transactions  with  their  pale-faced  neighbors  quite  as 
commendable  as  the  copies  set  for  them  by  their  white  invaders.  There  were 
several  villages  of  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Flint.  They  were  glad  to  bring 
to  traders  and  merchants  not  only  their  furs,  but  their  baskets  and  maple 
sugar,  in  exchange  for  the  white  man's  wares.  Too  often  the  red  man  wanted 
"firewater,"  and  while  under  its  influence  he  needed  to  be  met  with  firmness 
and  caution.  We  are  toid  of  but  few  collisions  between  settlers  and  natives 
which  could  not  be  amicably  adjusted.  Many  interesting  and  thrilling  experi- 
ences have  been  told  by  some  of  the  pioneers  who  had  won  the  confidence  of 
the  Indians. 

AN    IGNOMINIOT'S    WTTIPPING. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  fight  between  one  of  the  chiefs  and  "Aunt  Polly" 
Todd,  who  kept  the  first  tavern  at  Flint.  She  was  of  the  stuff  of  which  the 
wives  of  pioneers  are  made.  One  day  the  old  Chippewa  chief  Ton-a-da- 
ga-na  called  through  the  door  for  whiskey.  Mrs.  Todd,  who  was  alone, 
refused  him,  whereupon  the  chief  forced  his  way  into  the  room,  drew  a  long 
knife  and  was  about  to  attack  her  when  she  struck  him  across  the  face  with 
a  heavy  splint  broom,  knocking  him  down.  She  then  jumped  on  him,  placed 
her  knees  on  his  chest  and  held  his  wrists  until  help  came  in  response  to  her 
screams.  The  next  day  the  old  chief  came  back  to  the  tavern  and,  baring 
his  breast,  invited  death  at  her  hands,  saying,  "Old  chief  no  good.  Whipped 
by  white  squaw." 

Aunt  Polly's  son,  Edward  A.  Todd,  says  that  he  saw  the  sub-chief  Pero, 
who  was  of  a  very  jealous  disposition,  shoot  his  wife  to  death.  The  shooting, 
he  says,  occurred  near  where  now  is  Genesee  Mill.  She  was  buried  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  in  an  orchard  of  plum  trees  about  half  way  between 
Garland  street  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  Saginaw  street  bridge;  a 
kettle,  tobacco,  beads,  etc.,  were  buried  with  her  and,  adds  Mr.  Todd,  "noth- 
ing was  ever  done  about  it." 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


THE  FIRST  WHITE  SETTLER  AT   FLINT. 


The  distinction  of  being  the  first  white  settler  on  the  site  of  Flint  prop- 
erly belongs  to  Jacob  Smith,  a  man  closely  associated  with  the  Indians  of 
Flint  and  Genesee  county  throughout  a  long  life.  He  was  descended  from  a 
German  family,  but  was  born  in  the  French  city  of  Quebec.  From  early  boy- 
hood he  was  intimately  connected  with  the  English,  the  French  and  the 
Indians,  and  naturally  he  grew  up  able  to  speak  their  languages  fluently.  He 
became  a  resident  of  Detroit  and  after  the  War  of  1812  engaged  in  trading 
with  the  Indians  in  the  region  which  includes  Genesee  county.  After  Cass's 
treaty  with  the  Indians  in  1819  at  Saginaw,  he  made  the  Grand  Traverse  of 
the  Flint  his  permanent  trading  post.  By  making  himself  one  with  his  Indian 
friends,  and  by  his  habits  of  fair  dealing,  he  inspired  their  confidence  and  his 
sound  judgment  and  sagacity  were  their  unfailing  resource  in  time  of  need. 
This  bond  of  friendship  between  Smith  and  the  Indian  chiefs  of  the  region 
was  strongly  cemented  as  time  passed,  until  his  relations  with  them  were  those 
of  a  brother.  Down  to  a  very  late  day  the  remnants  of  these  once  powerful 
tribes  cherished  his  memory  with  sincere  affection. 

The  conditions  at  the  site  of  Flint  were  most  favorable  for  Smith's  pur- 
pose. The  Indian  trail  leading  from  Detroit  to  Saginaw  crossed  the  Flint 
river  just  above  the  bridge  on  Saginaw  street,  where  there  was  a  fording 
place,  long  known  to  the  early  French  traders  as  the  Grand  Traverse,  or 
"great  crossing."  Here,  on  the  site  of  the  first  Baptist  church  in  Fhnt,  Jacob 
Smith  built  a  log  trading  post  in  1819,  where  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1825. 
Without  doubt  this  log  house  was  the  first  building  erected  for  a  white  man's 
occupancy  in  the  county  of  Genesee. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  Smith's  principal  object  in  locating  at 
this  place  was  to  take  possession  of  the  reservations  which  he  had  caused  to 
be  granted  in  the  treaty  of  Saginaw,  and  to  hold  them  for  himself  and  chil- 
dren. It  seems  to  be  quite  generally  believed  among  those  who  have  not 
examined  into  the  facts,  that  Smith  was  entirely  engrossed  in  the  Indian 
trade  and  made  no  agricultural  improvements  at  all.  But  there  are  papers  to 
show  that  a  part  of  his  lands  were  cleared  and  cultivated  by  him,  or  imder 
his  direction.  One  of  these  papers  is  a  sealed  instrument  which  is  self- 
explanatory,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a  ctpy 

Wliei'tiiM,  I,  David  ^  W  Lnibin  hue  this  div  cmfeled  iniS  gneu  up  to  Jacob 
Smith  11  certain  leiise  foi  11  SPttiou  of  land  on  Flint  rher  in  the  county  oC  OakUnd 
dated  the  'Jlst  day  of  DeLembei  In  the  yeir  of  our  li<iid  one  thou-wind  eight  hnndred 
and    twenty-one    (18211      is    1\    lofereice   tr    said    lei'se    mil    miie    fulU    appeii     and 


dbyGoc^lc 


l84  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Wliereua  the  sa'iil  Jui/iib  >Smltli  hiitli  heretofore  commeui.-eil  a  (.-erlaiii  suit  mi  i\  l""il; 
account  agftinst  nie  before  Jolm  lIcDoiiiild,  Esq..  a  justice  of  tlie  peace  iu  aud  for  the 
county  of  Wayne.  Now,  (herefove,  in  conalderiitlon  of  the  wild  Jacob  Smith  hnving 
discontinued  said  suit,  aiul  having  given  me  a  general  release  of  all  debts  and  demauas 
whatsoever,  I  do  hei'eby  ghe.  arant,  sell,  and  convey  Into  the  said  Jacob  Smith  all 
my  right,  title,  interest,  anil  claim  wiiatSoever  to  all  the  wheat,  com,  potatoes,  barlej-. 
peas,  beans,  and  oiita,  and  all  other  crops  whatsoever,  now  growing  on  said  section  of 
land,  or  elsewhete  in  the  county  oC  OaiilHnd,  and  likewise  all  other  property  of  every 
kind  and  description  which  I  now  own  hi  the  comity  of  (lakhinil.  In  witiicw-!  «lieri"if 
I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  this  fifth  diiy  ut  \iimi^t,  in  tlic  jeiu'  cf  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundreil  and  twenty-two. 

Witness:    Geobgf,  A.  Gage.  I>i\m  \i.  W.  Cobuin.     (Seali 

From  this  it  clearly  appears  that  a  part  of  the  reservation  had  been 
cleared  and  that  crops  were  growing  upon  it  at  least  as  early  as  1822;  that 
in  1822  it  was  occupied  as  a  farm  by  Mr.  Corbin  under  lease  from  Jacob 
Smith,  and  that  Mr.  Corbin,  who  for  some  reason  was  unable  to  meet  his 
payments,  relinquished  the  lease  to  Mr.  Smith  in  that  year.  That  the  farm, 
after  being  given  up  by  Corbin,  was  carried  on  by  Mr.  Smith  until  his  death, 
seems  clear  from  another  paper,  which  is  as  follows: 

Detroit,  April  -i,  1S25. 
To  all  wliiim  11  m.ii  riiuri-ni  :  Mr.  (Jeorifp  Lyons  is  hereby  authorized  to  take 
possession,  in  the  )i;mie  of  -Metaw.nieiie,  I'V  Albert  J.  Wmitli.  a  minor,  of  the  house 
and  faian,  situated  on  T'liiit  rii'er,  lately  <nni[)ied  liy  .Tiicob  Smith,  deceased,  until  some 
further  definite  arrangement.  The  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  one  wapin.  three  plows,  and 
four  sets  of  hariiew  belonir  to  ine.  ami  Jlr.  Lyon  is  liereiiy  authorized  to  recelie  thein 
In  my  naaie  from  any  person  now  at  tlie  farni. 

(Signed)     JouH  Gakland. 
P.   S. — All   other   iiroiierty   on   tlic   premises   beloiiis'   to   the   estate   of   Jacob    Smith. 
It  is  my  wish  tliat  an   Inventory  be  taken  of  them  by   Mr.   Lyons  and   Mr.   IC.   Canu.au, 
ami   left   with   Mr.   Caiiipiiii, 

ISit;nein     .Ioiin   (;.\ki..vmi. 

Mr.  Smith's  death,  at  the  age  of  forty-live  years,  was  the  tirst  death  of 
a  white  person  which  occurred  within  the  present  limits  of  Genesee  county. 
It  left  a  name  which  runs  through  all  of  the  litigation  over  title  to  the  lands 
now  occupied  by  the  city  of  Flint  and  which  dragged  its  slow  length  along 
down  even  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  retarding  the  development  of  the 
north  side  of  the  river  and  causing  family  and  neighlxDrhood  heart-burnings 
for  many  a  year. 

Mr.  Corbin,  to  whom  reference  is  made  in  the  Smith  papers,  had  been  a 
soldier  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  died  at  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin.  Mr,  E. 
Campau  (Fran^;ois  Edouard  Campau)  was  a  half-breed,  who  owned  reserva- 
tion No.  7.  There  he  lived  in  a  cabin  built  by  himself,  and  was  frequently 
employed  by  Mr.   Smith.     On  Jtme   12,  1825,  he  obtained  a  patent  for  this 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  185 

land  and.  as  he  removed  from  it  soon  afterwards  permanently,  it  is  probable 
that  the  motive  of  his  residence  was  to  help  him  get  the  patent;  in  that  case 
he  could  hardly  be  classed  as  a  settler.  George  Lyons  lived  on  the  Flint  river 
five  years,  but  exactly  where  is  not  known.  Neither  can  the  exact  date  of  his 
residence  be  given;  probably  he  lived  near  the  Grand  Traverse  at  the  time  of 
Smith's  death. 

IJIVAl,  setti,!-:ments. 

The  earliest  rival  of  Flint  as  a  center  of  settlement  was  Grand  Blanc. 
Previous  to  the  death  of  Jacob  Smith,  Grand  Blanc  received  settlers  in  the 
persons  of  Jacob  Stevens  and  his  sons.  Rufvis  and  Sherman.  This  was  in 
1823.  They  came  from  western  New  York,  whence  came  so  many  of  the 
early  pioneers  of  this  county;  indeed,  it  is  probable  that  the  county  was  named 
for  Genesee  county,  in  New  York,  and  appropriately,  for  another  reason — ■ 
the  word  Je-nis-he-yuh  signified  in  the  Seneca  tongue  "the  beautiful  valley." 
The  name  of  one  of  the  tribes  belonging  to  the  Six  Nations  in  western  New 
York  was  Chennussie,  probably  from  the  same  root  as  Genesee.  In  1826 
there  were  added  to  this  settlement  Edmond  Perry,  Sr.,  and  Rowland  B. 
Perry,  from  Livingston,  county,  New  York.  In  1827-29  came  Edward  H. 
Spencer,  from  Vermont,  William  Roberts,  George  E.  Perry  (Connecticut), 
Joseph  McFarlan,  Ezekiel  R.  Ewing,  Jeremiah  Riggs  and  family  and  a  num- 
ber of  others.  Most  of  these  were  from  western  New  York;  a  few  were 
from  New  England.  By  1830  Flint  had  quite  a  respectable  rival  in  village 
beginnings  in  the  southeasteni  part  of  the  county,  which  would  tend  to  inter- 
cept settlers  moving  towards  Flint. 

In  that  year,  1830,  John  Todd,  then  living  at  Pontiac  in  Oakland  count}-, 
during  a  prospecting  tour  visited  the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint  and,  being 
pleased  with  the  location,  purchased  from  Edouard  Campau  a  section  com- 
prising seven  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  for  eight  hundred  dollars.  The 
deed  was  dated  April  i,  1830.  Returning  to  Pontiac,  he  took  his  wife  Polly 
and  two  young  children,  Edward  and  Mary  (later  Mrs.  David  Gould,  of 
Owosso),  and,  cutting  the  road  through  the  woods  from  Grand  Blanc  to 
Flint,  returned  to  his  new  purcliase.  The  journey  took  three  days.  In  the 
emigrant  train  were  stock,  farm  implements  and  household  goods  enough  to 
begin  pioneer  life.  To  them  belongs  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  per- 
manent residents  on  the  site  of  Flint.  Mr.  Todd  at  once  repaired  the  Campau 
cabin,  sixteen  by  eighteen  feet  in  dimensions,  and  his  wife,  known  then  and 
for  years  afterward  as  "Aimt  Polly  Todd,"  soon  made  things  comfortable 
within.     In  the  neighboring  Grand  Blanc  settlement  Rufus  W.  Stevens  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


l86  CKNESBE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

just  completing  a  sawmill  on  the  Thread  river,  and  from  there  Mr.  Todd  got 
lumber  with  which  he  enlarged  these  humble  quarters  and  opened,  in  1S21, 
the  famous  inn  known  as  "Todd's  Tavern."  The  hospitahty  of  the  host  and 
the  good  management  and  energetic  lalx»rs  of  "Aunt  Polly"  made  it  a  popular 
public  resort.  It  was  situated  on  the  site  of  the  Wolverine  Citizen  office,  and 
some  time  after  its  removal  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

From  the  time  of  Mr.  Todd's  arrival,  the  Grand  Traverse  was  known 
as  Todd's  ferry.  He  kept  a  canoe  at  the  crossing  for  the  accommodation  of 
travelers.  Usually  he  did  duty  as  ferryman  himself,  but  in  the  absence  of 
himself  or  the  men,  the  women  lent  a  helping  hand.  The  ferry  was  almost 
directly  back  of  the  Wolverine  Citizen  office.  The  canoe  was  hollowed  from 
a  tree  and  was  about  six  feet  wide  and  large  enough  to  carry  over  wagons 
and  sleighs.  There  was  no  charge  for  crossing,  but  the  fame  of  this  conveni- 
ence doubtless  brought  a  good  revenue  to  the  tavern. 

Mr.  Todd  later  sold  a  part  of  his  land  to  John  Clifford  and  Wait  Beach 
and  removed  to  the  present  site  of  the  First  National  Bank,  on  Saginaw 
street.  He  afterwards  bought  a  farm  on  the  I-lushing  road,  where  he  and  his 
wife  lived  for  many  years.  Later  they  moved  to  Owosso,  where  "Aunt 
I'oily,"  honored  with  years,  died  at  the  home  of  her  eldest  son,  ex-Mayor 
E,  A.  Todd,  in  1868.  "Uncle  John  Todd"  died  in  that  city  on  May  15,  1882, 
having  lived  to  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-eight  years.  He  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  in  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna,  March  5,  1784,  whence  he 
removed  early  in  life  to  Palmyra,  New  York.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  ]Si2  and  was  in  the  battle  of  Fort  Erie.  He  came  to  Michigan  in  iSni. 
crossing  Lake  Erie  on  the  second  trip  of  the  "Walk- in -the- Water,"  and  later, 
in  1825.  was  married  to  Polly  Smith,  who  lived  near  Pontiac. 

EARLY    PERMANENT    SETTLERS. 

The  same  spring  that  Mr.  Todd  came  to  the  Grand  Traverse,  came  also 
Benajah  Tupper  and  his  brother-in-law,  Archikdd  Green,  and  a  cousin  of 
Tupper's,  named  Preston.  They  came  from  Rush,  Monroe  county.  New 
York,  and  for  a  time  occupied  the  deserted  cabin  built  by  Jacob  Smith.  Mr. 
Green  intended  to  buy  land  and  become  a  permanent  settler,  but  his  wife 
died  soon  after  his  arrival  and  he  returned  to  New  York.  Tupper  and 
Preston  stayed  for  a  couple  of  years,  hunting  and  trading.  Finally  a  violent 
quarrel  broke  out  between  Preston  and  the  Indians,  who  made  it  so  uncom- 
fortable for  the  two  that  they  returned  to  the  East.  They  are,  therefore,  not 
in  the  same  class  of  i>ennanent  settlers  as  Mr.  Todd  and  his  family. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  187 

In  the  summer  of  1S31,  Nathaniel  Ladd  and  his  wife  arrived  from  Utica, 
JVew  York,  and  hved  for  a  short  time  in  the  Smith  cabin  with  Tupper  and 
Preston.  The  same  year  came  Col.  James  W.  Cronk  and  family ;  Mr.  Cronk 
died  while  serving  in  the  Mexican  War  in  1847.  Mr.  Ladd  and  his  family 
remained  until  1832,  when  they  removed  to  Grand  Blanc.  r..yman  Stow,  to 
whom  Mr,  Ladd  sold  his  property  on  the  Flint  river,  was  the  first  blacksmith 
on  the  site  of  Fiint,  and  had  his  shop  just  across  the  street  from  the  Cttisen 
office.  In  1832  George  Oliver,  an  Englishman,  joined  the  little  settlement; 
also  Elijah  N.  Davenport,  who  occupied  a  small  log  house  which  stood  near 
the  site  of  the  later  Hamilton's  mill,  and  who  soon  afterward  moved  to  Bay 
City,  where  he  died.  He  was  one  of  the  first  highway  commissioners  in  the 
old  town  of  Grand  Blanc,  in  1833.  He  kept  a  tavern  at  the  Grand  Traverse 
in  1834.  Another  settler  of  1832  was  James  McCormick,  but  he  moved  away 
in  1835. 

Neighboring  parts  of  the  county  were  slowly  receiving  settlers  by  1833. 
In  that  year  Asa  Farrar  had  made  his  appearance  in  what  is  now  Atlas. 
Benjamin  Pearson  and  .Addison  Stewart  had  built  their  cabins  near  the  north 
line  of  the  present  township  of  I'lint.  In  that  year,  too,  came  Lewis  Buck- 
ingham, later  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county.  With  him  came  several  associates 
from  western  New  York  who  formed  a  settlement  on  the  line  between  the 
present  townships  of  ]\'Ioimt  Morris  and  Genesee.  By  reason  of  their  opposi- 
tion to  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  their  place  was  by  a  few  derisively 
called  "the  Cold  \A'^atcr  Settlement." 

OKGANIZED    GOVERN  MKNT. 

In  the  same  year  of  1833  occurre<!  the  firsl  election  of  officers  for  the 
new  township  of  Grand  Blanc,  which  included  the  settlement  at  the  site  of 
Flint.  The  following  citizens  received  official  honors:  Lyman  Stow,  justice 
of  peace  and  assessor;  John  Todd,  highway  commissioner;  Elijah  N.  Daven- 
port, constable ;  James  W.  Cronk,  trustee  of  school  lands ;  George  Oliver, 
overseer  of  highways. 

One  of  the  first  decisions  of  the  new  town  government  was  to  dispense 
with  Todd's  ferry  and  build  a  good  bridge  over  the  Flint  river  at  the  foot  of 
Saginaw  street.  The  contract  to  build  the  bridge  was  sublet  to  a  Mr.  Davis, 
and  with  its  completion  and  the  erection  of  the  Thread  grist-mill  the  settle- 
ment began  to  wear  the  aspect  of  a  village.  Augustus  C.  Stevens,  a  man  of 
considerable  means,  came  on  from  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  bought  two  hun- 
<lred  acres  on  the  east  side  of  the  Saginaw  road  from  James  Cronk,  while  his 


dbyGoot^lc 


l88  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

brother,  Kufus  W.  Stevens,  established  a  small  store  similar  to  the  one  he 
had  in  Grand  Blanc.  It  was  their  money  that  built  the  grist-mill.  At  this 
time,  too,  came  Daniel  O'SulIivan,  the  first  school  teacher  in  Flint. 

Pioneer  conditions  are  reflected  in  the  prices  of  real  estate  at  this  time. 
In  1833  James  W.  Cronk  purchased  the  Todd  domain  for  seven  hundred 
and  fifty-one  dollars,  Mr.  Todd  reserving  his  house  and  one  and  a  half  acres 
of  land.  In  August,  1834,  Augustus  C.  Stevens  purchased  of  Cronk  and  wife 
aii  the  section  lying  on  the  east  side  of  Saginaw  street  for  eight  hundred 
dollars,  and  on  January  31,  1835,  James  W.  Cronk  and  wife  sold  the 
remainder,  or  that  ixjrtion  lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  same  street,  to 
William  Morri,son  and  J.  C.  Dubois  for  one  thousand  dollars.  Six  montl's 
later,  however,  Messrs.  Morrison  an'd  Dubois  reconveyed  to  Cronk  for  the 
s:ime  amount.  Colonel  Cronk  and  wife  then  sold  to  John  Todd  the  Morrison 
and  Dubois  purchase,  or  the  lands  west  of  Saginaw  street  for  two  thousand 
twii  hiKKlred  and  fifty  dollars. 

Fr[(ST   VILLAGE   PLATS. 

The  village  was  first  platted  as  early  as  1830,  the  plat  being  filed  by  A.  E. 
\\  iithares.  who  called  it  the  village  of  Sidney.  His  plat  embraced  four 
blocks,  from  Saginaw  street  to  Clifford,  east  and  west,  and  from  the  river 
to  First  street,  north  and  south.  In  1833  the  site  was  resurveyed,  a  new  plat 
\\u^  made,  and  the  name  of  Flint  River  was  substituted  for  Sidney.  The 
new  plat  covered  the  Sidney  plat  and  more,  extending  to  the  present  Fourth 
street  on  the  east  to  Harri,son  street.  On  October  9,  1835,  J'^hn  Clifford  had 
registered  in  Oakland  county  a  plat  bounded  as  follows :  commencing  at  the 
bridge,  thence  along  Saginaw  street  to  Fourth,  Fourth  to  Harrison,  Harri- 
son to  Kearsley,  Kearsley  to  Clifford,  and  along  Clififord  to  the  river.  Wait 
Beach  platted  the  west  side  of  Saginaw  street,  July  13,  1836;  his  plat  covered 
the  land  bounded  by  the  Flint  river,  Saginaw,  Eleventh  and  Church  streets. 
September  6,  1836,  John  Clifford  and  others  platted  that  portion  of  the 
village  bounded  by  the  Flint  river,  thence  along  East  street  to  Court,  Court 
to  Saginaw,  Saginaw  to  Fourth,  I'-ourth  to  Harrison,  Harrison  to  Kearsle\-, 
Kearsley  to  Clifford,  and  Clififord  to  the  river.  September  22,  Elisha  Beach 
platted  the  tract  bounded  by  Eleventh,  Pine,  Fifteenth  and  West  streets. 
January  12,  1837,  Chaimcey  S.  Payne  platted  and  offered  for  sale  lots  in 
the  village  of  Grand  Traverse.  This  plat  lay  upon  the  east  side  of  Saginaw 
street  and  was  bounded  by  the  river,  Saginaw  and  North  streets.  Four  days 
later  he  made  an  addition  on  the  west  side  of  Saginaw  street,  which  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENFlSEE    county,    HICIIiCAN.  189 

Ixtuiided  by  the  latter  street,  North  and  West  streets,  and  the  FHnt  river. 
This  was  the  extent  of  the  settiement  on  the  Flmt  at  the  time  when  Michigan 
l>ecame  a  state  in  the  Union.  Except  the  first  ones,  these  plats  were  all  sur- 
veyed hy  Capt.  Harvey  Parke,  of  Pontiac. 

FIRST   POSTOFFICE  ESTABLISHED. 

Before  that  event  the  first  postoffice  had  been  established  there.  The 
name  of  the  office  was  Flint  River.  The  first  po.'^tmaster  was  Lyman  Stowe. 
appointed  August  5,  1834.  Tt  is  said  that,  like  many  another  ohliging  public 
servant  under  similar  circumstances,  he  at  times  carried  the  ix)stoffice  about 
the  streets  in  his  silk  hat.  When  the  office  was  at  home  it  was  situated  on 
the  north  west  corner  of  the  pre.sent  Saginaw  and  Kearsley  streets,  on  the 
site  of  the  First  National  Bank.  Mr.  Stowe  was  reappointed,  Septemlier. 
1836,  but  was  succeeded  by  John  Todd  the  following  year,  whose  commis- 
sion was  dated  October  2,  1837.  While  Flint  was  still  a  village  the  fol- 
lowing postmasters  succeeded  Mr.  Todd:  William  P.  Crandall,  l)eceml)er 
28,  1839;  William  Moon,  June  16,  184 1 ;  William  P.  Crandall,  Octolwr  12. 
1844;  Alvin  T.  Crosman,  April  28,  1849:  Ephraim  S.  Williams,  Mav  7, 
1853- 

LAND    OS'TICE. 

An  event  of  much  significance  for  the  increase  of  settlement  in  Fhnt 
was  the  establishment  of  the  United  States  land  office  there  August  23. 
1836.  This  institution  was  a  center  of  interest  wherever  established,  as  the 
place  where  title  to  lands  was  secured.  There  all  sales  of  United  States 
lands  were  recorded,  and  reports  of  these  were  made  to  the  commissioner  of 
the  general  land  office  at  ^Va?hington,  D.  C :  anri  in  due  course  a  patent  for 
the  land  purchased,  signed  bv  the  president,  was  sent  to  the  local  office  and 
delivered  to  the  purchaser.  This  office  was  continued  at  Flint  until  January 
14,  1857,  when  it  was  removed  to  East  Saginaw.  Following  are  the  officials 
who  served  at  Fhnt:  Registered:  Michael  Hoffman.  July  5,  1836;  John 
Earston,  August  10,  183*^;  Comehus  Roosevelt.  May  21,  1849;  William  M. 
Fenton,  March  25,  1853.  Receivers:  Charles  C.  Hascall,  July  5,  1836; 
Elijah  E.  Witherhee.  February  23,  1843;  Rol>ert  J.  S.  Page,  October  T2. 
1844;  Charles  C.  Hascall.  March  21.  1845;  George  M.  Dewey,  March  r8, 
1849:  Russell  Bishop,  March  18.  1853. 

From  East  Saginaw  the  office  was  remo\-ed  to  Grayling,  where  the 
maps,  field  notes  and  all  the  records  were  destroyed  by  fire.  The  office  was 
then  moved  to  Marquette  in  the  upper  peninsula. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENICSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


ROAD   BUILniNG. 


Another  impulse  to  the  settlement  of  Flint  was  the  road  from  Detroit, 
which  was  first  improved  by  the  national  government.  It  followed  very 
nearly  the  old  Indian  trail,  its  piir[X)se  being  originally  to  connect  the  forts 
at  Detroit  and  Saginaw.  It  was  first  cut  out  in  the  winter  of  1822-1823 
from  Saginaw  to  Flint  by  detachments  of  the  Third  United  States  Infantry, 
sufficiently  to  allow  the  passage  of  horses  to  and  from  Saginaw.  Previous 
to  this  a  road  southward  from  l-'lint  had  been  cut  and  partially  corduroyed 
through  the  swampy  lands  between  Royal  Oak  and  Detroit,  by  soldiers  under 
command  of  Colonel  Leavenworth.  In  1824,  the  territorial  government 
authorized  the  appointment  of  a  commissioner  to  lay  out  and  establish  a 
territoriaf  road  from  Detroit  to  Saginaw.  Though  this  was  surveyed  in 
1826.  it  was  four  years  before  the  construction  of  the  road  reached  Genesee 
county  and  1833  when  it  had  reached  as  far  as  the  present  Kearsley  street. 
In  1834  the  swamp  was  filled  in  between  Kearsley  street  and  the  Flint  river, 
the  bridge  was  started,  and  in  the  same  year,  or  in  the  spring  of  1835,  the 
road  was  finished  to  a  point  aix;nt  five  miles  north  of  the  river,  which  was 
the  end  of  the  work  done  upon  it  by  the  national  government.  Judged  by 
standards  of  today,  this  road  was  scarcely  deser\'ing  of  the  name,  but  for 
those  days  it  was  serviceable  and  over  it  came  a  large  [xirtion  of  the  early 
settlers  to  their  homes  in  Genesee  county. 

With  the  improvement  of  this  road  and  the  establishment  of  the  post- 
office  and  the  land  office  at  Flint,  a  line  of  stages  from  Flint  to  Pontiac  was 
begun  by  William  Clifford.  As  early  as  1833  Joshua  Terry  carried  tlie 
mails  over  the  route  l:>etween  Pontiac  and  Saginaw,  making  weekly  trips, 
with  limited  accommotiations  for  passengers.  The  Clifford  stage-line  was 
a  much  needed  improvement  and  was  continued  under  variotis  managements 
imtil  the  completion  of  a  railway. 

Not  least  among  the  attractions  for  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Flint  were  the  Thread  river  mills.  The  saw-mill  started  at  Grand  Blanc 
in  1828  has  the  honor  of  l^eing  the  first  effort  in  a  line  of  industry  that  gave 
Flint  its  initial  prominence  as  a  manufacturing  city.  It  provided  lumber 
for  the  first  homes  in  the  county.  The  proprietors  were  Rowland  Perry 
and  Harvey  Silencer.  According  to  some  accounts  the  first  saw-mill  near 
Flint  was  built  by  George  Oliver  as  early  as  1830,  but  in  1833  or  1834  one 
was  built  nearer  Fhnt  by  Rufus  W,  Stevens.  In  1836  another  was  begim  by 
Stage,  \\''right  &  C'ompany.     AIx>ut  the  same  time  the  Ste\'ens  Iwothers  buiit 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENTiSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I9I 

the  first  grist-mill  in  Flint,  at  the  intersection  of  Thread  river  and  the  Sag- 
inaiw  road.  This  greatly  promoted  imniigratioii,  by  furnishing  means  of 
making  flour  or  meal  without  having  to  make  the  long  trips  to  Pontiac  or 
to  Detroit,  and  drew  to  Flint  the  trade  for  many  miles  around.  A  season's 
crop  of  grain  would  sometimes  come  from  Saginaw  by  canoe  to  be  ground 
in  Flint,  The  grist-mill  occupied  the  place  of  first  imiwrtance  in  this  budd- 
ing industrial  community,  but  along  in  the  fifties  the  saw-mill  finally  came 
into  its  own  with  the  development  of  lumbering  as  a  commercia!  enterprise. 
In  1836  was  started  the  first  mercantile  enterprise  of  importance  in  the 
growing  village,  when  Messrs.  Robert  F.  Stage  and  Ira  D.  Wright  built 
the  first  store,  an  adjunct  to  their  milling  enteq>rise.  It  was  situated  on 
Mill  and  Saginaw  streets  not  far  from  the  bridge.  The  stock  was  valued 
at  twenty  thousand  dollars,  a  large  sum  for  that  time.  The  store  was  a 
substantial  frame  building,  the  upper  story  of  which  was  used  as  a  public 
hall.  In  it  were  convened  all  the  religious  meetings  of  the  day  and  the 
fir.st  court  was  held  within  its  walls. 


These  impulses  to  the  early  settlement  of  Flint  are  reflected  in  the 
marked  increase  oi  settlers  from  1835  to  1838.  Among  others  who  came 
in  1835  were  Oliver  A,  Wesson  and  John  M.  Cumings,  men  of  much  im- 
portance t(i  the  early  growth  of  Flint.  Among  those  who  settled  here 
during  the  years  1836-1838  were  the  following:  Samuel  Alport,  Asa  An- 
drews. John  Bartow.  Chauncey  Barber,  Rev.  John  Beach,  Wait  Beach, 
Lewis  G.  Bickford,  James  Birdsall,  Giles  Bishop,  Sn,  Giles  Bishop,  Russell 
Bishop,  Rev.  Daniel  R.  Brown,  I>e\vis  Buckingham,  Wilham  Clifford,  Thomas 
R.  Cumings,  (irant  Decker,  George  M.  Dewey,  Dr.  Elijah  Drake,  Thomas  J. 
Drake,  W'illard  Eddy.  William  Eddy,  George  W.  Fish,  David  Foote,  Daniel  S. 
Freeman,  Miles  Gazlay,  Ward  Gazlaj',  J.  C.  Griswold,  George  H.  Hazelton, 
Charles  Heale,  Henry  M.  Henderson,  James  Henderson,  George  J.  W.  Hill, 
Waldo  Howard,  Dr.  John  A.  Hoyes,  W.  Lake,  Robert  D.  Lamond,  Daniel 
B,  Lyon.  James  McAlester,  R,  McCreery,  Edmond  Miles,  William  Moon, 
William  A.  Morrison,  Roliert  J.  S.  Rage,  William  Patterson,  Chauncey  S. 
Payne,  Benjamin  Pearson,  Nicholas  Russell,  Orrin  Safford,  D.  S.  Seeley, 
Charles  Seymour,  Robert  F.  Stage,  Addison  Stewart,  Col.  Thomas  B.  W. 
Stockton.  Artemas  Thayer,  Edward  H.  Thomson,  John  Townsend,  Eugene 
X'anilevcnter,  James  B.  Walker,  Henry  C.  Walker,  Ephraim  S.  Williams, 
Elijah  B.  Witherbee  and  Ira  D.  -Wright. 


dbyGoot^lc 


192  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Thomas  P.  Wood,  later  a  resident  of  Goodrich  for  more  than  sixty 
years,  came  to  VVhigville,  Genesee  comity,  in  1834,  when  only  twelve  years 
of  age.  He  returned  to  New  York  state  later,  finishing  his  education,  and 
removing  again  to  Genesee  coimty  after  his  marriage  to  Pauliita  M.  Hulbert, 
of  West  Bloomfield,  New  York,  residing  at  Goodrich  more  than  sixty  years. 

Particulars  about  some  of  these  families  may  be  of  interest,  Benjamin 
Cotharin  was  engaged  in  boot  and  shoemaking,  in  a  shop  just  north  of  the  city 
hall.  Messrs.  Seeley  and  Howard  conducted  a  tailor  shop  over  Stage  & 
Wright's  store.  Beyond  the  Thread  river  was  a  brick  yard  owned  by  Reuben 
Ttipper  and  Silas  Pierce.  William  A.  Morrison  was  engaged  in  the  primi- 
tive lumbering  industry.  The  Bishop  brothers,  Russeil  and  Giles,  were  em- 
barked in  commercial  pursuits.  Daniel  B.  Lyon  was  also  engaged  in  business. 
The  year  1836  witnessed  the  advent  of  a  small  colony  from  Batavia  and  the 
adjacent  parts  of  Genesee  count)-.  New  York.  Among  them  was  Willard 
Eddy,  who  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the  first  bank  in  Flint.  He  was 
the  father  of  Hon.  Jerome  Eddy,  later  mayor  of  the  city  of  Flint  and  one  of 
the  representatiA-e  business  men  of  the  city.  Robert  Patrick  assisted  in  the 
construction  of  the  first  grist-mill.  Orrin  Safford  was  one  of  the  first  justices 
of  the  peace  in  Flint  township.  One  of  the  first  lawyers  was  Col.  E.  H. 
Thomson.  Ephraim  S.  Williams  and  George  M.  Dewey  were  early  mer- 
chants and  were  largely  engaged  in  land  operations.  Among  those  whose 
names  apjiear  conspicuously  as  givers  of  liberal  gifts  to  encourage  the  growth 
of  the  city  is  Chaimcey  S,  Payne,  a  large  landowner  and  one  of  the  i>arties 
in  the  litigation  involving  the  Smith  reservation.  Henry  M.  and  James  Hen- 
derson contributed  much  to  the  growth  of  early  Flint,  building  later  a  block 
of  stores  and  conducting  a  large  mercantile  bu.siness.  Few  early  citizens  were 
Ijetter  Iieloved  than  Rev.  James  McAlester,  who  for  many  years  was  engaged 
in  ministerial  labor,  helping  to  organize  .several  Methodist  churches  in  the 
county.  By  trade  he  was  a  wagon  maker,  devoting  his  Sabbaths  to  clerical 
work.  Another  local  preacher  was  Daniel  S.  Freeman,  who  in  early  years 
in  Flint,  followed  blacksmithing.  Hon.  James  B.  Walker  was  for  manv 
years  engaged  in  commercial  pursuits,  but  afterwards  identified  himself  with 
the  state  charitable  institutions  and  wa.';  active  in  promoting  enterprises  for  the 
welfare  of  the  city. 

The  great  majority  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Flint  and  Genesee  countv 
brought  with  them  from  the  East  the  staunch  old  New  England  equipment 
of  mind  and  morals — intelligence,  education,  the  qualities  that  make  for  a 
wholesome  society,  and  the  sweet  remembrance  of  family  ties;  for  this  rea- 
son Flint  has  won  fame  among  her  sister  cities  as  a  community  of  honor- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  I93 

able,  hospitable  and  law-respecting  people.  Churches  and  schools  were  early 
built  in  the  clearings.  And  though  education  was  often  dispensed  in  the 
cramped  cabin  of  the  settler,  and  never  in  any  edifice  more  pretentious  than 
the  single-roomed  log  school  house  built  in  a  day  by  the  combined  labors  of 
a  few  earnest  heads  of  families,  yet  in  these  rude  institutions  of  learning 
there  have  been  laid  the  foundations  of  many  an  honorable  and  useful  career. 

FIRST   SCHOOI-S. 

.According  to  Edward  A.  Todd,  the  first  school  teacher  in  Flint  was  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Billings,  whom  he  describes  as  a  "tall,  raw-boned,  red- 
headed fellow,"  whose  school  was  across  the  road  from  Todd's  tavern.  But 
Col.  E.  H.  Thomson  gives  the  generally  received  opinion  that  the  first  school 
was  kept  by  Daniel  O'Sullivan.  This  was  in  1834,  in  a  shanty  on  the  river's 
bank,  near  Hamilton's  dam,  or  upon  the  site  of  the  present  Genesee  mills. 
His  terms  were  ten  cents  per  week  for  each  pupil.  There  were  about  a 
dozen  pupils,  sons  and  daughters  of  John  Todd,  James  McCormick,  R.  W. 
Stevens,  James  W.  Cronk,  I,yman  Stowe,  and  his  own.  He  thus  netted 
for  his  labors  less  than  one  dollar  and  twenty  cents  per  week. 

In  18,^5  a  man  by  the  name  of  Aaron  Hoyes  taught  a  school  in  the 
same  place  and  during  his  illness  a  young  woman  by  the  name  of  Lucy  Riggs 
temporarily  filled  his  place.  At  that  time  the  pupils  were  the  three  Stevens 
children,  Leander,  Albert  and  Zobedia:  the  Cronk  children,  Corydon,  Wal- 
ter and  Abagail;  Edward  Todd;  Adeline  and  Emeiine  Stowe,  and  the  Mc- 
Cormick children,  William,  Ann  and  Sarah.  In  1836  a  small  school  house 
was  put  up  on  the  comer  now  occupied  by  the  Fenton  block,  in  which  the 
first  school  was  kept  by  a  Miss  Overton.     She  received  a  dollar  a  week. 

E.MSLY  RELIGIOUS  INTEREST. 

As  with  education,  so  with  regard  to  religious  observance.  The  pio- 
neers recognized  it  as  being  among  the  necessities  of  life,  equally  with  food, 
raiment  and  shelter.  As  soon  as  they  had  secured  these  in  the  most  primi- 
tive form,  they  embraced  every  op]^K>rtunity  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  divine 
worship.  It  is  told  of  a  lady  living  in  Flint  in  the  seventies,  that  when  she 
first  came  to  the  place  with  her  husband  their  first  inquiries  were  concerning 
religious  services,  and  when  informed  that  such  were  to  be  held  in  a  barn  at 
the  Grand  Blanc  settlement  on  the  following  Sabbath,  they  prepared  to  at- 

(■31 


dbyGoc^lc 


194  GENESEE    COUNTY^    MICHIGAN. 

tend.  They  learned  that  the  distance  of  the  place  of  meeting  was  fully  seven 
miles,  ovei*  bad  roads,  with  streams  to  \x  forded,  requiring  more  than  a  day 
of  difficult,  slow  and  unpleasant  travel,  but,  with  others,  they  set  out  in  an 
ox-wagon  on  Saturday,  reached  their  destination  the  same  night,  attended 
seivice  on  Sunday,  and  arrived  back  in  p-Hnt  Monday  afternoon.  So  intense 
was  their  longing  for  religious  companionship  that  they  had  taken  three 
days  of  difficult  travel  and  precious  time  before  a  tree  had  been  felled  or 
other  step  had  been  taken  towards  building  them  a  roof  to  shelter  their 
heads. 

Among  the  earliest  of  the  pioneer  preachers  in  Genesee  county  were  the 
Rev.  W.  H.  Brockway,  a  Methodist  missionary  to  the  Indians;  Elders  Fra- 
zee  and  Oscar  North,  Methodists;  Benedict  and  Gambell,  both  Baptists; 
Rev.  Isaac  W.  Ruggles.  a  Congreg;ationalist.  and  others.  The  first  religious 
meetings  were  held  at  Grand  Blanc,  whence  they  extended  northward  to 
Flint  and  other  points.  The  first  services  at  Flint  were  held  by  the  Rev. 
Oscar  North.  The  ncighlxjring  "Coldwater  settlement"  was  a  favorite  |X)int 
for  traveling  preachers  who  passed  through  the  county.  One  feature  that 
specially  distinguished  the  spirit  of  these  early  services  was  the  small  atten- 
tion paid  to  denominational  differences.  Any  Christian  service  was  eagerly 
welcomed  by  the  pioneers,  who  fully  appreciated  the  value  of  the  church 
privileges  they  h;id  left  behind  when  they  emigrated  from  their  old  homes 
in  the  East. 

Among  the  first  Catholic  clergymen  to  visit  the  field  were  Rev.  Law- 
rence Kilroy  and  Rev.  Martin  Kindig,  afterward  vicar-general  of  Milwau- 
kee, Wisconsin,  who  figured  so  conspicuously  in  the  cholera  epidemic  which 
decimatet!  Detroit  in  1S34.  The  reverend  father  was  indefatigable  in  his 
efforts  to  alleviate  distress  among  all  sects  and  classes  and  used  his  private 
means  so  liberally  as  to  impoverish  himself  and  contract  an  indebtedness 
which  it  required  years  to  liquidate.  After  a  long  life  of  ceaseless  toil  and 
benevolence,  he  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-two  years, 

SOCr.M.   AMUSEMENTS. 

The  pioneers  were  not  averse  to  the  lighter  and  gayer  side  of  life.  The 
craving  for  social  enjoyment  comes  from  one  of  the  deepest  instincts  of 
human  nature.  The  outsider  is  lonesome.  Good  cheer  has  always  been  an 
important  element  in  normal  human  life.  Feasting  and  making  merry  went 
along  with  the  more  serious  things,  and  of  all  the  places  to  feast  and  make 
merry  in  early  Flint,  the  chief  was  Todd's  tavern.     "Aunt  Polly"  Todd,  if 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  I95 

we  may  l>e!ieve  half  that  is  told  of  her,  was  abnndantiy  able  to  shine  in  the 
social  sphei'e  of  white  traders,  half-breed  and  full-blooded  Indians  and 
thrifty  pioneers.  And  the  landlord  of  Todd's  tavern  could  easily  set  a  good 
table  with  venison,  with  turke}'  and  fish,  abundantly  supplied  by  the  Indians, 
Talking  was  not  one  of  the  lost  arts  at  the  Ixiard  of  "Uncle  John"  Todd, 
and  good  stories  never  failed. 

One  of  the  first  social  events  of  Flint  took  place  in  this  old  tavern.  In 
the  winter  of  1831  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Todd  gave  a  wedding  reception  in  honor 
of  George  Oliver  and  Miss  Keziah  Toby,  lx>th  of  whom  had  been  in  the 
employ  of  my  lord  and  lady  of  the  inn.  That  same  winter  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Todd  gave  a  "house  warming."  An  adequate  idea  of  this  grand  occasion 
was  given  years  afterwards  by  "Aunt  Polly"  Todd  herself: 

"in  February,  Mr,  Todd  had  the  frame  addition  to  his  house  all  fin- 
ished, and  as  Sam  Russell— -the  only  violinist  in  the  county — was  procurable, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Todd  determined  to  give  a  housewarming.  For  this  purpose 
all  the  settlers  in  Flint  and  Grand  Blanc — about  thirty  in  number— were 
invited  to  the  'Flint  Tavern,'  to  pass  the  following  evening.  Meantime  all 
the  ladies  put  their  best  garments  in  readiness,  and  Mrs.  Todd — who  had 
better  facilities  for  importing  new  articles  into  the  settlement  than  many  of 
the  others- — had  a  full  new  suit  and  a  splendid  new  dress  cap.  ready  for  that 
special  occa,sion,  all  purchased  some  weeks  previously  by  Mr.  Todd  in  De- 
troit. As  the  evening  advanced,  the  guests  commenced  arriving,  and  'Aunt 
Polly'  concluded  to  dress  up.  As  she  appeared  among  the  ladies  they  ail 
expatiated  on  her  becoming  dress  and  'perfect  love  of  a  cap.'  Mrs.  Todd, 
ha^'ing  a  light  in  her  hand  at  the  time,  stood  opposite  a  looking-glass  and, 
casting  an  admiring  glance  at  herself  therein,  mentally  agreed  that  she  did 
look  well,  and  that  it  ivas  'a  love  of  a  cap.'  While  elevating  the  light  to  get 
a  more  correct  view  of  the  Isanti  ful  piece  of  finery,  it  caught  in  some  of  the 
delicate  Ijorders  or  riblx>ns,  and  a  fire  ensued  which  reduced  the  gay  head- 
dress to  a  few  burned  rags  in  less  than  three  minutes.  However,  the  tuning 
of  the  fiddle  previous  to  the  dance  set  the  gentlemen  to  looking  up  their 
partner,  and  Mrs.  Todd,  who  loved  dancing,  was  on  the  floor  one  of  the 
first,  looking  just  as  well  and  as  happy  in  another  cap  of  less  pretentions 
than  her  lost  beauty.  In  those  times  a  dance  was  the  only  amusement 
lookerl  for  at  any  gathering,  and  when  an  invitation  was  given,  it  was  sure 
to  be  accepted." 

Other  centers  of  hospitality  and  social  life  in  early  Flint  were  the 
Northern  Hotel  and  the  Genesee  House.  The  Northern  Hotel,  which  was 
built  and  kept  for  a  short  time  by  Captain  Crane,  was  conducted  by  William 


dbyGoot^lc 


196  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Clifford,  who  founded  the  River  House,  which  he  had  taken  over  from  John 
Todd-  in'  1838,  too  small  for  his  increasing  business.  The  Northern  Hotel 
then  became  headquarters  for  the  Flint-Pontiac  stage-line.  The  Genesee 
House  was  built  in  1S37  by  Thomas  j.  Drake,  and  stood  at  the  angle  formed 
by  Detroit  and  Saginaw  streets.  Mr.  Drake's  successors  were  Cornelius 
Roosevelt,  S.  W.  Gil>son,  W.  R.  Scoville.  Mr.  Allen.  Mr.  Pettee  and  Jared 
Mason.  Mr.  Mason  subsequently  built  the  Carlton  House,  which  stood  upon 
the  site  of  the  present  Bryant  Hotel,  and  was  first  opened  January  i.  1836. 
This  hotel  was  afterwards  changed  to  the  Irving;  House,  and  was  destroyed 
by  fire. 

THE    PROFESSIONS. 

The  professions  of  law  and  medicine  were  not  represented  in  early 
Flint.  The  first  residetit  attorney  in  the  county,  however,  lived  in  Fenton- 
ville.  He  was  Philip  H.  McOmber.  About  1832  he  came  to  Michigan  from 
Saratoga  county.  New  York,  practicing  first  in  the  Oakland  county  courts, 
but  removing  in  1834  to  Fenton  township.  Hon.  William  M.  Fenton,  who 
knew  him  very  well,  says  of  him^  that  his  talents  as  a  lawyer  were  of  a 
superior  quality.  He  not  only  stood  high  as  a  lawyer,  Ijut  was  most  highly 
esteemed  as  an  honest  and  public-spirited  citizen  and  a  hospitable  gentleman. 
He  was  the  first  prosecuting  attorney  of  Genesee  county.  His  death  oc- 
curred about  1844.  The  first  resident  attorney  in  Flint,  who  settled  here 
in  1836,  had  also  previously  practiced  law  in  Oakland,  to  which,  after  a 
few  years,  he  returned:  this  was  Thomas  J.  Drake.  According  to  Judge 
Baldwin,  Mr.  Drake  was  connected  as  counsel  with  most  of  the  leading- 
cases  in  northern  Michigan  during  a  long  term  of  years,  and  was  always 
happy  and  in  his  element  when  advocating  the  interests  of  the  people.  He 
was  senator  from  Genesee  county  from  1S39  to  1842.  The  same  year  Mr. 
Drake  settled  in  Flint,  1836,  came  John  Bartow,  who  was  soon  after  ap- 
pointed register  in  the  land  office.  He  was  elected  state  senator  in  1837. 
In  partnership  with  Mr.  Bartow  was  Edward  H.  Thomson,  who  had  been  a 
student  in  the  office  of  Millard  Fillmore,  afterwards  President  of  the  United 
States.  He  had  practiced  in  New  York.  He  caime  to  Flint  in  1838.  In 
1845-6  he  was  prosecuting  attorney  for  Genesee  county  and  was  state  sena- 
tor from  Genesee  for  the  years  1848  and  1849.  He  also  served  in  the  lower 
house  and  filled  many  other  important  offices. 

As  with  the  lawyers  so  with  the  doctors — the  first  physicians  who 
served  the  settlers  of  Genesee  county  came  from  the  neighboring  Oakland. 
Among  these  pioneers  of  the  profession  were  David  L.  Porter,  J.  B.  Rich- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  197 

ardsoii  and  Olnistead  Chamberlain.  The  one  most  frequently  employed  was 
Doctor  Chamberlain,  although  he  was  not  compelled  to  rely  on  his  pro- 
fession for  a  iivelibood  and  did  not  follow  it  as  a  regular  business.  He 
was  present  with  Colonel  Cronk  in  the  fatal  sickness  of  the  latter  at  Flint 
in  1832.  The  first  physician  to  locate  and  practice  in  the  county  was  Dr. 
Cyrus  Baldwin,  who  settled  at  Grand  Blanc  in  the  spring  of  1833,  where 
he  became  a  deacon  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  the  following  year  Dr. 
John  W.  King  located  in  the  same  settlement  and  for  many  years  was  a 
mighty  influence  for  moral  and  spiritual,  as  well  as  the  physical,  health  of 
Genesee  county.  l"he  first  resident  physician  in  Flint  was  Dr.  John  A. 
fioyes,  who  settled  here  in  1835.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  medical  school 
at  I'"airfield,  Herkimer  county.  New  York.  About  1847  his  health  began  to 
fail  and  two  years  later  ,on  December  20,  he  died  at  Flint,  aged  forty-three 
years.  Another  of  the  earliest  physicians  in  Flint  was  Doctor  Richardson, 
who  came  about  1837,  but  removed  west  soon  after  1840.  Thus  in  the 
professional  as  well  as  in  the  business  and  social  life  of  Flint  there  has  been 
considerable  progress  by  the  time  Michigan  was  formally  admitted  to  state- 
hood. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Flint,  and  its  condition  at  the  time  Michigan 
became  a  state,  is  fairly  reflected  in  Blois'  "Gazetteer  of  Michigan" : 

"Flint:  A  village,  postoffice  and  seat  of  justice  for  Genesee  county, 
situated  on  Flint  river.  It  has  a  banking  association,  an  edge  tool  factory-, 
saw-mi!l,  two  dry  goods  stores,  two  groceries,  two  physicians,  a  lawyer  and 
the  land  office  for  the  Saginaw  land  district.  The  United  States  road  passes 
through  it.  There  is  a  good  supply  of  water-power  in  and  around  it.  The 
emigration  to  this  place  has  been  very  great  the  past  two  years,  and  still 
continues.  The  village  is  flourishing  and  the  country  around  it  is  excellent. 
It  is  estimated  to  contain  three  hundred  families." 


dbyGoot^lc 


Pioneer  Days  in  the  Townships. 

The  county  of  Genesee  ;is  laid  out  by  the  act  of  1835  embraced  all  of 
its  presait  area  except  the  eastern  range  of  townships,  which  then  belonged 
to  I-.apeer.  The  oldest  township  in  the  county  is  Grand  Blanc,  organized 
March  9,  1833.  It  was  larger  than  now,  including  its  present  area  and  all 
of  the  present  townships  of  Fenton,  Mundy,  Flint,  Mount  Morris,  Genesee, 
Burton,  Atlas  and  Davison.  The  second  township  was  Flint,  erected  March 
2,  1836.  It,  too,  was  larger  than  now,  embracing  not  only  its  present  area 
and  that  of  the  city  of  Flint,  but  also  the  present  townships  of  Burton,  Clay- 
ton, Flushing,  Mount  Morris,  Genesee,  Thetford,  Vienna  and  Montrose. 
Argentine  was  organized  July  26.  1836,  which  included  the  township  of 
Fenton  besides  its  present  area.  On  March  11,  1837,  was  organized  the  town- 
ship of  Mundy,  which  then  included  also  the  present  township  of  Gaines.  By 
the  same  act  Vienna  was  organized  from  the  northern  part  of  f'lint,  to  include 
also  the  lands  now  in  Montrose  and  Thetford,  Thus,  in  1837,  all  of  Genesee 
county  was  included  in  five  townships.  Grand  Blanc,  Flint,  Argentine,  Mundy 
and  Vienna,  the  latter  having  been  added  only  a  few  weeks  after  the  state 
was  admitted  to  the  Union. 

The  remaining  townships  of  the  county  were  organized  in  the  following 
order : 

1838,  March  6,  Genesee,  fenton  and  Flushing. 

1839,  April  19,  Kearsley,  covering  territory  absorbed  later  by  Genesee 
and  Burton. 

1842,  February  16,  Thetford  and  Gaines. 

1S43,  March  9,  Forest,  Richfield,  Davison  and  Atlas  were  added  from 

Lapeer  county. 
1846,  March    25,    Clayton   and    Montrose;   the   latter   was   first   called 

"Pewanagawink ;"  changed  to  "Montrose"'  by  act  of  January  15, 

1848. 
1855,   February   12,  Mount  Morris. 
1855,  October  12,  Burton. 


dbyGoot^lc 


OUTLINE  .\!AP  OP  GENESEE  COUNTY. 


dbyGoot^lc 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Much  that  is  of  interest  to  the  early  settlement  of  the  township  has  been 
given  in  the  history  of  Flint,  with  which  the  township  is  very  closely  allied. 
The  earliest  land  entries  were  made  in  1833,  by  Nathan  M.  Miles,  Levi  Gilkey 
and  Nathaniel  Nelson.  Most  of  the  lands  of  the  county  were  taken  up  in 
the  year  1836  and  i^carcely  an  acre  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  government 
after  that  year.  To  the  families  of  Jilijah  Carmen  and  Jesse  Torrey  belongs 
the  honor  of  first  breaking  the  forests  of  the  township.  Mr.  Carmen,  who 
was  slightly  earlier  than  Mr.  Torrey,  settled  in  1835  on  section  25.  He  died 
there  in  1840.  Mr.  Torrey  settled  in  1836  on  section  24,  with  his  wife, 
daughter  and  four  sons,  and  their  neighborhood  became  known  as  the  Torrey 
settlement.  At  this  settlement  were  ait  the  first  logs  ever  floated  down  the 
IHint  river,  about  one  thousand,  for  which  a  compensation  of  fifty  cents  a  log 
was  received. 

Other  early  neighborhood  settlements  in  the  township  were  the  Dye, 
Utley,  Cronk,  Bristol,  Stanard,  Carter  and  Crocker  settlements,  all  originally 
founded  by  the  gentlemen  whose  names  they  bear,  who  were  leading  spirits  in 
these  localities.  One  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  the  Stanard  settlement,  on 
section  35,  founded  in  1836  by  William  N.  Stanard  and  sons,  of  Genesee 
county,  New  York.  The  Cronk  settlement,  originally  on  sections  7  and  8, 
was  founded  by  James  W.  Cronk  in  1837.  The  I>ye  settlement  was  founded 
by  James  W.  Cronk  in  1837.  The  Eh-e  settlement  was  founded  by  Ruben 
Dye,  who  located  in  1843  on  section  20:  his  sons  established  themselves 
around  him  and  populated  the  settlement — hence  the  name. 

Among  other  leading  .settlers  of  the  township  in  the  earliest  period  were 
Lysander  Phillips,  Daniel  O'Sullivan,  Andrew  Hyslop,  George  Crocker, 
Jeremiah  Kelsey,  Dewitt  C.  Curtis,  Capt.  Benjamin  Boomer,  Horace  Bristol, 
Marvin  E.  Persons,  Wilham  Van  Slyke.  Philip  Beltsworth,  J.  D.  Eggleston, 
John  Thome.  Jabez  Blackinton.  F.  A.  Begole,  Anson  Gilbert,  Edward  Tup- 
per,  A.  Herrick,  Robert,  P.  Aitkin,  Morgan  Chapman,  Alfred  Gifford,  Cor- 
nelius I.-ane.  Thomas  Daly,  Stephen  Crocker,  Robert  Dultam  and  others. 

The  first  school  house  in  the  township  was  built  in  1838,  on  the  bank 
of  Swartz  creek,  on  the  corner  of  .section  23.  The  teacher  who  disciplined 
the  youth  of  this  early  period  was  Miss  Louisa  Kimball,  who  afterwards 
became  Mrs.  Joseph  Freeman  and,  later,  Mrs.  Horace  Bristol.  The  second 
teacher  was  Miss  Jane  Watkins,  whose  brief  career  there  was  terminated  by 
the  burning  of  the  log  school  house.  Thereupon  Mrs.  Alonzo  Torrey  opened 
her  own  house  for  the  school  and  for  three  months  the  pupils  were  taught 


dbyGoot^lc 


200  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

by  her,  while  a  frame  building  of  more  extended  proportions  was  being  con- 
structed.    The  new  building  was  opposite  the  old  site  on  section  24. 

It  was  in  this  building  that  the  early  religious  services  of  the  township 
were  held.  Previous  to  this,  however,  in  1836,  Rev.  James  McAlestcr,  of 
the  Methodist  denomination,  formed  a  class  and  held  service  at  the  house  of 
Alonzo  Torrey.  The  class  embraced  members  of  the  Torrey,  Kelsey  and 
Bristol  families.  The  first  circuit  preacher  who  ministered  to  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  little  flock  was  Rev.  Luther  D.  Whitney,  who  held  services  there 
during  the  years  1838  and  1839. 

We  are  happy  to  say  that  by  the  aid  of  Ernest  Nefif,  clerk  of  FUnt  town- 
ship, the  early  records  of  the  township  have  been  found  and  their  valuable 
contents  are  now  accessible  to  the  historian.  These  records  consist  of  various 
books:  Book  of  Road  Records;  Book  of  Estrays  and  Marks;  Record  of  the 
School  Inspectors;  Record  of  Town  Libraries;  Minutes  of  Surveys  of  Roads 
of  Town  of  Flint.  These  books  probably  contain  the  earliest  records  in  the 
county,  except  the  records  of  the  town  of  Grand  Blanc,  which  are  earUer  by 
two  or  three  years. 

Among  the  curios  of  these  records  are  the  records  of  marks,  by  which 
each  owner  of  stock  identified  his  property,  and  which  suggests  the  time 
before  fences  were  in  order  among  the  settlers.  The  first  entry  was  made  on 
the  4th  day  of  April,  1836,  as  follow : 

"Lyman  Stow's  mark,  A  slit  in  the  right  Ear.  Recorded  this  4th  day  of 
April,  1836." 

Then  follow ;  "Alanson  Dickinson's  Mark,  A  Square  Crop  off  the  left 
ear.     Apr.  8.  1836." 

"Ezekiel  R.  Ewing's  Mark,  A  Swallow  tail  in  the  end  of  the  right  ear. 
May  2,  1836." 

"Lewis  Buckingham's  Mark,  A  hole  in  the  right  ear,  square  left,  Aug. 
25.  1836." 

"John  Patton's  Mark,  A  square  crop  off  the  right  ear.     Oct.  11,  1836." 

"Grover  Vinton's  Mark,  A  Half  Crop  off  the  under  side  of  the  Right 
Ear  and  a  Half  crop  off  the  upper  side  of  the  left  Ear.     Oct.  loth,  1836." 

"Sherman  Stanley's,  Mark  A  Crop  off  the  right  ear  and  half  penny 
under  the  Left.     January  25th,  1837." 

"Ephraim  S.  Walker's  Mark  a  crop  off  the  left  ear  and  a  slit  in  the 
right.     April  12,  1837." 

"Asa  Torrey's  Mark,  A  Crop  and  a  slit  off  the  Right  Ear.     April   17, 

■837." 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENI'SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  20I 

"James  W.  Cronk's  Mark,  A  Swallow  tail  in  the  end  of  the  left  ear. 

April  20th.  1837." 

"Jeremiah  Kelley's  Mark,  A  slit  in  the  left  ear.     May  5,  1837." 
"John  P.  Kelley's  Mark,  A  slit  in  the  end  of  both  ears.     June  2,  1837,'' 
"Alonzo  Torry's  Mark,  A  hole  in  the  right  ear.    Jnne  12,  1837.'' 
"Lysander  Phillips'  Mark.     A  Crop  ofi  the  right  Ear  and  A  SHt  in 

the  Left.    July  ist,  1837." 

"Jessee  Torrey's  Mark.     A  Crop  and  a  Slit  olT  the  Left  Ear.     Julv  6, 

1837" 

An  interlineation  says  "deceased  1865.'" 

"Rufus  W.  Stevens'  Mark.  A  crop  and  a  half  Cn^p  of  the  right  ear. 
July  8,  1837." 

"Philo  Fairchild's  Mark.  A  Half  crop  uf  the  underside  of  the  right  ear. 
Jany.  14,  1839." 

"Plinny  A.  Skinner's  Mark  A  Swallow  tail  in  the  left  ear  and  a  slit  in 
the  right.     May  22,  1839." 

"Eben  Storer's  Mark  A  Slit  in  the  end  of  the  rig'ht  car  and  a  slit  on  the 
under  side  of  the  same.     Oct.  26,   1839." 

"Shuhal  Atherton's  Mark  A  Square  crop  off  the  left  ear.  April  17. 
1840." 

"Adonijah  Athcrton,  Mark  \  Swallow  tail  in  the  end  of  the  left  ear. 
April  17,  1S40." 

"Perus  Atherton  Mark  a  hole  through  the  left  ear.     May  2,  1840." 

"James  Ingalls  Mark  a  srjuare  crop  off  the  left  Ear  and  a  hajipennv 
under  the  right." 

"Albert  Storer's  Mark  -\  Slit  in  the  end  of  the  right  Ear  and  a  slit  on 
the  upper  side  of  the  same.    January  22,  1842." 

"Nathan  J.  Rublee's  Mark  a  Square  Crop  of  the  Wright  ear. 
"Flint,  January  29,   1S42." 

"Stewart  H.  Webster's  Mark  a  Slit  in  the  Point  of  each  ear. 
"Flint.  Oct.  27,  1842. ■■ 

h'rom  this  time  on  the  entries  of  marks  are  less  fre(]uent.  as  probably 
the  fences  were  Jieginning  to  hold  the  stock  and  make  the  car-mark  record 
of  less  utility. 

Charles  C.  Curtis.  A.sahel  Curtis,  Asahel  Robinson,  O.  Parker,  Lewis 
Colby,  Jesse  Whitcomb,  George  R.  Sprague  and  William  Barnhart  had 
entered  their  respective  marks  before  1850,  and  on  January  21.  1851,  the  firm 


dbyGoot^lc 


202  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

of  Hazleton  &  McFarlan  recorded  their  mark  for  logs,  it  being  the  letters, 
"H.  M.  T.  B."    This  was  the  only  mark  for  logs  entered. 

The  first  entry  of  strays  was  in  the  month  of  December,  1839,  and  is  as 
follow;  "Came  into  the  enclosure  of  the  subscriber  one  j-earling  heifer  on 
or  about  the  fourth  of  December,  1839.  Said  heifer  is  red,  with  one  white 
star  in  her  forehead  and  the  end  of  her  tail  white;  also  said  heifer  is  very 
small  in  size.  Flint  Dec.  17,  1839."  Another  similar  finding  of  estray  is 
entered  in  December  of  same  year  by  John  P.  Kellogg,  and  thereafter  from 
time  to  time  strays  were  so  reported  by  those  who  took  them  up. 

In  the  middle  fifties  the  stock  evidently  had  become  more  numerous 
and  many  entries  are  made  of  strays  in  1855  and  1856.  Later  on  they  were 
less  proportionately  and  the  last  is  entered  on  November  21,  1896. 

The  record  of  libraries  is  a  valuable  index  to  the  literary  tastes  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  the  county.  From  it  we  have  taken. some  interesting  data 
in  "Res  Literaria."  After  the  formation  of  the  Ladies'  Library  Association, 
in  1851,  the  activity  of  the  school  district  libraries  was  not  so  pronounced. 
It  was,  however,  kept  up  for  many  years  more  and  the  high  standing  of  the 
books  bought  was  maintained  to  the  last.  Many  of  the  older  ]^>eople  of  the 
county  can  remember  of  school  libraries  and  the  educational  work  they  did 
among  the  hungry  minds  of  the  patrons.  The  entries  of  the  old  book  come 
down  to  1859,  among  the  last  entries  being  a  list  of  books  bought  in  1858. 

The  record  of  school  inspectors  opens  with  the  records  of  a  meeting 
of  the  board  of  school  inspectors  held  at  the  town  clerk's  office.  April   ti, 

1837,  at  which  Ephraim  Walker  was  elected  chairman,  Orrin  Stafford, 
town  clerk,  signed  the  minutes  of  the  meeting.  At  this  meeting  the  inspectors 
divided  the  town  into  ten  school  districts,  number  one  of  which  covered 
the  territory  of  the  present  city  south  of  the  river  and  number  two,  that 
north  of  the  river.  The  growth  of  the  region  rendered  it  necessary  to  create 
three  more  districts  during  the  year.     For  the  year  ending  with  September, 

1838,  the  report  from  district  number  one  shows  the  attendance  of  pupils 
between  five  and  seventeen  years  of  age  to  have  been  thirty-nine  in  a!!;  over 
seventeen,  twenty-one;  making  the  total  number  of  scholars,  sixty.  The 
term  of  school  was  nine  months.  Most  of  the  districts  made  no  report.  The 
amount  of  money  raised  in  the  first  school  district  was  ninety  dollars  for  a 
school  building  and  four  hundred  ninety-nine  dollars  for  current  school 
expenses.  School  district  number  five  had  School  for  six  months,  and  raised 
seventy  dollars  for  school  purposes.  School  in  the  sixth  district  was  kept 
seven  months,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety  dollars  was  raised  for  exi>enses. 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  20^ 

After  paying  therefrom  one  hundred  dollars  for  a  school  house.  No  other 
district  made  report  of  any  school  supported  in  the  districts. 

It  appears  that  Lyman  Stow,  E.  S.  Walker  and  J.  L.  Gage  were  insiiect- 
ors  of  schools  for  Flint  township,  and  Josiah  Alger,  W.  D.  Morton  and 
Dudley  Brainerd,  of  Mundy  township,  in  1839.  In  1839  districts  numljers 
one,  three,  four  and  five  reported  schools,  and  an  attendance  in  all  of  the  four 
reporting,  one  hundred  forty-seven  pupils.  The  text  books  were  Kirkham's 
Grammar,  Blake's  Philosophy,  Webster's  Spelling-book,  Hale's  United  States 
History,  Cobb's  I^eader,  as  standards;  while  in  some,  the  report  shows  a 
number  of  text-books,  including  Peter  Parley's  Geography,  Olney's  Granmiar, 
Emerson's  Arithmetic,  Smith's  Arithmetic,  Botham's  Arithmetic,  Adams' 
Arithmetic,  ail  in  the  same  school. 

In  1840  the  inspectors  of  the  county,  E.  Drake  and  L.  Stow,  reported 
district  number  one  as  having  the  same  number  of  pupils  as  in  1838,  namely, 
sixty;  district  number  two,  however,  reported  thirty-three,  making  the  num- 
ber within  the  territory  of  the  present  city  of  Flint,  ninety-three.  District 
number  four  had  twenty-nine  pupils ;  'district  five  had  twenty-five :  number  six 
had  forty-two,  and  number  eight,  thirty-six. 

The  record  shows  the  reports  of  1841,  1842,  1843,  1844,  and  so  on.  down 
to  the  organization  of  the  city,  and  then  continues  until  t!ie  year  i86q.  This 
old  volume  contains  a  mass  of  information  as  to  the  early  schools  of  the 
county,  and  as  such  is  invaluable. 

GRAND  BLANC  TOWNSHU'. 

The  oldest  land  entries  in  the  jiresent  Grand  Blanc  township  were  made, 
July  17,  1824,  by  parties  from  Livingston  and  Ontario  counties.  New  York. 
From  Livingston  were  William  Thompson  and  Charles  Little;  from  Ontario, 
Samuel  B.  Perkins.  The  purchases  were  made  on  sections  9,  10  and  15, 
amounting  in  all  to  five  hundred  acres.  Section  15  was  the  first  section  to  be 
entirely  bought  up,  the  last  purchase  being  made  prior  to  July  4,  1829.  The 
lands  of  the  entire  township  had  been  taken  up  by  1836,  excepting,  of  course, 
section  16,  which  was  school  land. 

The  first  white  settlers  in  Grand  Blanc  were  Jacob  Stevens  and  his  famiKl 
who  came  to  the  township  in  the  spring  of  1823.  Besides  Mr.  Stevens  and 
hi.s  wife,  the  family  consisted  of  two  sons  and  five  daughters.  They  had 
arrived  in  Detroit  from  New  York  in  August,  1822,  and  first  settled  in  Oak- 
land county,  on  the  Saginaw  trail,  where  they  made  some  improvements ;  but 
finding  their  land  title  defective,  they  sold  out  and  removed  to  Grand  Blanc. 


dbyGoot^lc 


204  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

A  letter  written  by  Mr.  Stevens  in  1825  may  be  given  as  typical  of  the  experi- 
ences of  a  settler  removing  with  his  family  from  "York  State"  to  Genesee 
county  in  these  early  days : 

(iriiuliliiw.  July,  A.  D.  lS2j 

Honored  Psireiita — Tlie  iieriod  since  I  wrote  yon  1  iicEiuowletlge  Is  a  long  one. 
iiiMl  I  lirue  not  sufficient  reasons  to  offer  to  Justify  so  shiiiiieful  11  neglect.  Vnrions. 
indeed,  huve  been  tLe  cliaujfea  and  vk-lssltiwles  of  my  life  since  tbnt  time.  An  ntteniiit 
to  describe  tlieiu  in  a  single  letter  would  be  unLivalllng.  ^^o  ftimily,  jjerlniits.  the  siae 
of  mine  can  have  enjoyed  better  heiilth,  say  for  twenty  yeiirs  past  Our  doctors'  bills 
lin^e  scarcely  exceeded  that  uunibev  of  dollars. 

I  sold  my  fiirui  in  Ijinia.  soon  after  the  close  at  the  war,  for  four  thousand 
dollars.  I  whs  some  In  debt,  and  my  Intention  was  to  have  naited  a  few  years  to  see 
what  the  tuiTi  of  the  times  might  be,  and  then  luiivhase  somewhere  quite  within  the 
bounds  of  my  capital ,  but  fate  or  fortune  determined  otherwise.  The  family  soon 
became  uneasy  lit  having  no  permanent  home  of  their  own.  ludeeil,  I  disliked  a  statp 
so  inactive  myself,  and  determineil  to  purchase,  ami  did.  to  nearly  the  amount  of  uiy 
money.    It  was  well  laid  out,  but  at  a  bad  time. 

1  was  sensible  a  depreciation  on  property  nmst  take  place,  but  put  it  off  till  by  and 
by,  and  souie  way  or  other  was  blind  to  Its  approach.  The  farm  admitted  of  gi'eat 
improvements  being  made,  and  a  good  house  among  the  rest  would  be  vei'y  convenient, 
and,  accordingly,  the  best  me.ms  we  had  were  taken  to  procure  materials,  viz;  stone, 
brick,  lumber,  etc.  About  this  time  the  amazing  fall  in  the  value  of  real  estate,  as 
well  as  of  all  other  iiroperty,  and  the  many  complaints  from  other  people,  whom  1 
thouglit  forehanded,  but  in  debt  to  me.  whs  alarming.  I  told  Rufus  (who  seemed  the 
boy  destined  to  live  at  home)  my  fears,  and  I  thought  we  had  better  sell  off  our 
Inniber,  etc.,  and  eiideaior  to  back  out.  Naturally  ambitious,  this  ide.i  he  could  not 
bi-ook.  He  Tircferr^l  to  drhe  the  buildiiis  and  risk  the  consequences.  We  finally  did, 
and  it  Is  only  necessary  to  observe  that  It  tlung  us  completely  in  the  background  in 
bad  times.  Since  that  we  tiave  had  many  shifts  and  but  few  shirts.  Too  proud  to 
be  iioor  among  my  old  friends,  1  determined  to  try  a  new  country  again.  Michigan 
seemed  tlie  most  proper,  being  nbont  (he  same  latitude  and  easiest  of  access.  We 
arrned  in  Detroit  the  latter  part  of  August.  lR2a,  with  about  eight  hundred  in  cnsn 
and  some  other  jiroperty.  Sllsfortune,  however,  seemed  unwilling  to  Quit  us  at  this 
point.  Itufus  had  been  in  the  counfiy  one  year  previous  to  this  and  had  contracted 
for  a  piece  of  land,  second-handed,  and  had  done  considerable  labor  on  the  same.  I 
did  not  altogether  like  the  land,  but  omctiided  to  niake  »  stand  and  go  to  work.  We 
built  a  good  log  house,  dug  a  well,  and  made  some  other  Improvements,  but  before 
one  year  had  jHissert  we  found  we  could  get  no  title  to  the  land.  This  place  was 
about  twenty-five  miles  northwest  of  Detroit  Tprobably  in  the  (iclnity  of  Pontlac],  and 
what  to  do  in  this  case  was  n  material  question.  Our  e^vitenses  drew  hard  upon  our 
little  capitJil,  and  to  siiend  more  money  and  more  time  there  was  preposterous. 
Kventnally.  we  agi-eed  to  try  another  venture.  At  this  time  there  were  troops  stationed 
at  Saginaw,  a  place  about  seventy-five  miles  northwest  of  Detroit,  and  on  our  route. 
A  settlement  had  been  commenced  there  and  the  siiirit  of  settlement  seemed  bent  for 
the  northwest.  We  sold  our  i  111  proi emeu ts  to  Mr.  Oilier  Williams,  and  took  his  note 
for  thirty-five  dollars  a  year,  for  five  years,  reseriing  the  use  of  the  honse  for  one 
year.  In  Mui-ch,  182:-{,  Rufus  and  I  started  to  explore  to  the  northwest.  We  were 
much  pletsed  with  the  country  nud  prosjiects  at  this  place.  The  road  thus  far  had 
no  obstacles  to  impede  n  tejim  with  n  reasonable  load  for  any  country,  and  at  this 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  205 

time  was  considerably  tnueied  liy  oftt<!eva,  IndiaoM,  traders  nnd  settlers  nt  Siigiiiaw. 
We  believed  that  an  establiahnient  hero  nilglit  not  only  be  beneflcial  for  ourselves,  hut 
coiiveoient  for  travelers  uud  emigriints. 

It  Is  an  old  Iiidiiin  settlement,  situated  about  twenty  miles  from  our  fli'st  place, 
and  about  the  same  distance  from  the  fartliest  wlilte  settlement  northwest  of  Detroit. 
There  are  some  French  families  seven  miles  northwest  of  us  [Flint],  and  no  more 
iititll  we  reach  Saj^maw.  Bufus  and  1  flung  up  a  siuall  log  house,  and  on  the  23d 
of  May,  1823,  Eunice,  mywelf,  two  youngest  childi-en,  Ruftis  and  Sherman,  with  a  good 
team,  and  as  many  goods  ris  would  make  us  comfortable,  arrived  here.  We  cleared, 
plowed  and  sowed  with  wheat  and  oats  about  ten  acres,  completing  the  same  June  lOtL. 

Sirs.  SteveuH  and  the  <'hifdren  then  returned,  and  one  of  the  girls  liept  house,  and 
BO  through  the  season.  At  this  time  we  felt  morally  certain  of  hailnj;  neighbors  the 
nest  spring;  but  here,  sir,  I  must  inform  yon  that  the  government  saw  fit  the  winter 
following  to  evacuate  the  post  at  Saginaw,  which  measure  has,  so  far.  completely 
paralyzetl  all  settlemewts  to  the  northwest,  turning  the  tide  of  emigration,  which  has 
been  lei-y  great,  to  the  s<)uth  and  we^t.  This  was,  indeed,  very  discourasiing,  Imt  for 
ns  tiiere  was  no  fair  retreat.     •     »     • 

After  Speaking  of  hi*  Indian  neig;hhors,  who  wei'e  very  friendi},  he 
concludes  as  follow : 

^eieril  purchases  hn  I  iteh  1  een  mile  it  iieini«es  idJoinni„  us  iiid  we 
hase  little  doubt  will  bt  settled  ne\.t  spiiii^,  Jind  pieiioiations  seem  to  be  making  ;>uce 
more  foi  a  settlement  it  '^uiniw  'ne  ha^e  this  jeii  one  huudied  ind  seieutj  shocks 
of  wheat  and  about  mne  ities  of  com  the  stoutest  growth  of  coin  I  e^er  loiaed  If 
nothing  befalls,  I  lutiLipite  fifty  bushels  to  the  icre  TVe  haie  two  voke  of  oxen,  two 
hoises  iiie  cows  plentv  of  hogs  and  a  number  of  voung  cattle  and  such  is  the 
(ountij  that  thej  keep  fat  snmmei  and  wiutei  The  winteis  are  surpriaingh  mild 
last  winter    in  fact    nan  no  wlntei  at  nil      l\e  did  not  spend  three  tons  of  hay  with 

ill  om  stock  V  liigt  iwition  of  the  covintn  is  openings  and  the  cittle  get  their 
iliing  in  old  fog  and  has-jwood  spioiits  in  tlie  swale*"  The  greatest  countij  foi  wild 
feed  and  hay  I  eiei  saw  ^\e  can  summei  ind  winter  my  numbei  of  cattle  if  ne  had 
them  Blue  joint  is  the  jrincipal  ^iss  in  tlie  low  meadons  On  the  higher  parts  is 
fomid  consideitble  led  top  lud  foul  meadow  glass  Jemima  has  a  faniil>  and  Hies 
m  the  state  of  New  Toik  Horatio  niid  Augustus  ire  merdiints  In  thnt  stite  Horatio 
I  undeistand   is  quite  foielianded      lugustua  is   ilso  domg  well      Eunice  and  Charlotte 

lie  theie  it  present  on  »  iisit  I'ntt*  leeis  •-  ho>l  this  snmmei  In  the  teiitt  r\  Ihe 
list   if  tlir   fnniilj   aie  m  tin    wooils 

Jacob  Stevens  was  then  a  man  of  hne  proportions,  about  sixty  years  of 
age.  As  is  said  by  one  who  knew,  "He  was  a  true  type  of  the  gentiemen  of 
the  old  school,  to  whose  moral  and  physical  courage  as  a  pioneer  was  united 
a  rare  intelligence  marked  by  a  Uterary  taste,  showing  itself  conspicuously 
even  in  the  few  scattered  remnants  of  his  correspondence  which  have  come 
down  to  this  day."  About  1831  he  returned  to  New  York,  with  the  majority 
of  his  family,  where  he  passed  the  remaining  portion  of  his  hfe. 

Rufus  W.  Stevens,  his  son,  traded  with  the  Indians  in  a  log  house  situ- 
ated on  the  site  of  the  later  Grand  Blanc  Hotel.     He  became  the  first  post- 


dbyGoot^lc 


206  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

master  of  Grand  Blanc.  In  1830  he  commenced  a  saw-mill,  and  soon  after  a 
grist-miil,  on  what  became  known  as  the  Thread  Mill  property.  These  mills 
performed  a  most  important  function,  for  years  supplying  all  the  people 
living  between  Pontiac  and  Saginaw,  In  the  early  thirties  Stevens  moved 
to  Flint  and  became  identified  with  the  milling  interests  there. 

In  October,  1825,  Edmund  and  Rowland  B,  Perry  entered  lands  situ- 
ated upon  sections  11  and  14.  In  the  following  February,  Edmund  removed 
some  of  his  family  here  from  Avon,  Livingston  county,  New  York,  and  the 
rest  of  the  family  in  1826.  He  was  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  an  educated 
Quaker,  possessed  of  great  energy  and  force  of  character,  a  respected  citizen 
and  a  kind  friend  who  believed  in  doing  good  without  ostentation.  His 
granddaughter,  Isabella,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Genesee  county. 

Other  settlers  of  Grand  Blanc  prior  to  the  winter  of  1830-31  were, 
Edward  H.  Spencer,  William  Roberts,  George  \L.  Perry,  Judge  Jeremiah 
Riggs  and  sons,  Joseph  Mci'arlen,  Jeremiah  Ketchum,  Caleb  S.  Thompson, 
Jonathan  Dayton,  Caleb  Embury,  Ezekiel  R.  Ewing,  Washington  Thompson, 
I'hineas  Thompson,  Judge  Jeremiah  R.  Smith,  Silas  Smith,  R.  T.  Winchell, 
Clark  Dibble,  Jonathan  Davison  and  Pearson  Farrar. 

Caleb  S.  Thompson  relates  that  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  1829  there 
were  about  forty-five  persons  in  Grand  Blanc,  all  of  whom,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  were  Avon,  Livingston  county.  New  York.  Edward  PI.  Spencer 
ha<]  a  rough  log  house,  and  about  one  acre  cleared  aud  planted  to  corn,  pota- 
toes, etc.  The  Stevenses  had  some  forty  acres  under  cultivation  and  there 
were  some  fifty  or  sixty  acres  in  cultivation  in  the  Perry  settlement.  Judge 
Riggs  and  his  sons  had  also  made  a  good  beginning.  Thirteen  lots  lying 
along  the  Saginaw  road  and  seven  lots  on  Perry  street  had  already  been  pur- 
chased and  ten  more  eighty-acre  lots  were  entered  during  the  remaining  part 
of  the  year  1829.  The  Saginaw  road  was  laid  out  and  staked  so  that  it  was 
easy  to  find  it.  but  no  work  had  been  done  upon  it.  The  traveled  highway, 
which  followed  the  Indian  trail,  went  rambling  around  through  the  woods, 
avoiding  hills  and  swamps,  and  was  quite  a  comfortable  wagon  road.  The 
streams  and  low  places  had  been  bridged  some  time  previous  by  the  Unitc<l 
States  soldiers  stationed  in  garrison  at  Saginaw. 

After  1830  settlers  began  to  come  in  rapidly,  mainly  from  western  New 
York.  In  1833  the  township  was  organized,  and  the  first  election,  which  was 
held  at  the  hou=e  of  Rufus  W.  Stevens  resulted  in  the  choice  of  the  following ' 
officers:  Supervisor,  Norman  Davison;  clerk,  Jeremiah  R.  Smith;  assessors, 
Rufus  W.  Stevens,  Lyman  Stow  and  Charles  Buder;  justices  of  the  peace, 
Norman  Davison,  Lyman  Stow  and  Jeremiah  R.   Smith;  constable  and  col- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  207 

lector,  Augustus  C  Rjggs;  highway  commissioners,  John  Todd,  Edmund 
I'erry  and  Jonathan  Dayton;  constable,  Elijaii  N.  Daveii]^x)rt ;  trustees  of 
school  lands,  Loren  P.  Riggs,  Clark  Dibble  and  James  W.  Cronk;  commis- 
sioners of  schools,  Jeremiah  Riggs,  Jeremiah  R.  Smith  and  Norman  Davison ; 
school  inspectors,  David  Mather,  Paul  G.  Davison  and  Caleb  S.  Thompson; 
director  of  tlie  poor,  Edmund  Perry;  overseers  of  highways,  District  i, 
George  Oliver;  District  2,  Jonathan  Davison;  District  3,  Norman  Davison; 
District  4,  Ira  Dayton. 

The  village  of  Grand  Blanc  was  one  of  the  earliest  village  centers  in  the 
county.  As  early  as  1826  a  postoffice  was  established,  with  Kufus  W. 
Stevens  as  postmaster.  His  house  was  also  the  first  public  tavern  in  the 
place.  The  first  regular  store  was  opened  by  Robert  r~.  Stage  and  Ira  D. 
Wright  in  1835,  with  a  stock  valued  at  twenty  thousand  dollars,  though 
this  was  moved  to  Flint  in  1836.  The  first  school  was  a  small  frame  build- 
ing built  by  Edmund  Perry,  Sr.,  about  1830,  and  Miss  Sarah  Dayton  taught 
the  first  school  there.  The  earliest  church  societies  were  the  Baptist,  Congre- 
gational and  Alethodist,  all  organized  by  1835,  with  goodly  congregations. 

fentoin;  town.'^hip. 

'i"he  lirst  land  entered  in  the  township  of  Fenton  was  taicen  in  March, 
1834,  by  Clark  Dibble,  on  section  34.  In  April  of  that  year  Dustin  Chene> 
and  family  came  from  Grand  Blanc  township  and  settled  where  now  is  the 
village  of  Fenton,  The  years  immediately  following  witnessed  the  growth 
of  a  considerable  settlement  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  settlers 
coming  in  from  neighlxtring  counties  and  from  New  York.  A  settlement 
was  made  at  the  site  of  Linden  in  1836.  Very  little  land  of  the  township 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  government  by  the  end  of  that  year  and  bj'  the 
following  year  settlement  was  reached  up  into  the  northern  sections. 

In  1834  came  R.  A.  Carman  and  A.  S.  Donaldson;  in  1835,  Jonathan 
Shepard,  Joseph  Thorp,  William  Remington  and  Elisha  Larned.  Mr.  Earned 
was  from  Yates  county.  New  York,  and  settled  on  section  32,  but  in  1837 
moved  to  Fenton.  William  Remington,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  and  later 
a  resident  of  New  Bedford.  Massachusetts,  and  of  Dutchess  and  Ulster 
counties,  New  York,  came  with  Mr.  Larned  in  1835,  settling  near  him. 
Joseph  Thorp  came  from  Genesee  county.  New  York,  and  settled  finally  on 
section  36,  at  the  site  of  Fenton. 

■The  Chapin  brothers,  Alonzo  and  Murzah,  were  two  of  the  first  settlers 
in  Fenton  township.    Originally  they  were  from  Irondequoit,  Monroe  county, 


dbyGoot^lc 


208  r.E>;E5EE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

New  York,  but  had  come  tu  Wayne  county,  Michigan,  in  1833,  where  they 
located  in  the  township  of  Dearborn.  Murzah  Chapin  and  his  family  moved 
into  Fenton  township  in  1836,  and  Alonzo  and  wife,  the  year  after.  They 
settled  first  near  Mud  lake,  and  later  near  Linden.  During  the  years  of  his 
early  residence  in  the  township,  Alonzo  engaged  in  teaming  in  various  parts 
of  the  state,  transporting  goods  for  settlers  and  making  trips  as  far  west  as 
Lake  Michigan,  becoming  widely  acquainted  with  pioneer  families  and  the 
conditions  of  settlement  over  a  wide  area.  He  became  one  of  the  most  pros- 
perous farmers  in  the  county  and  was  for  many  years  a  strong  influence  in 
the  growth  of  the  Fenton  neighlxirhood. 

Prominent  among  others  who  came  to  the  township  before  1840  were 
Oliver  Warren,  Theophilus  Stone,  Waiter  Sluyter,  A.  Kirby,  H.  M.  ThoTUp 
son,  H.  Lee,  M,  Walton,  J.  Van  Winkle  and  S.  I'.  Thompson. 

Very  early  in  the  settlement  of  the  township,  population  began  to  con- 
centrate about  a  site  of  great  natural  beauty  on  the  Shiawassee  river,  in  the 
extreme  southeast,  which  was  destined  to  develop  into  the  present  flourishing 
village  of  Fenton.  The  story  of  the  discovery  of  this  site  and  of  its  first 
settlers,  cannot  be  better  told  than  in  the  words  of  Hon.  Dexter  Horton  in 
an  address  made  in  the  centennial  year  of  1876: 

Eiirl.v  In  the  yeiii'  1S3J,  Clark  Dibble  iviis  threiulhig  liis  wtiy  tiirougli  ;i  trackJess 
wildemesMs  from  Slilinviiasee  to  Ui'uuiliin-  (noir  (iriuid  Bliiuc),  ana  by  some  mlstaKe 
lie  got  on  the  White  Lube  trnil.  lieiit-liiiig  what  is  uon-  llillniiin'a,  he  started  to  make 
farther  iiortii  imtl  fli'st  discovered  this  beiiutlfiil  iiluce  wlUc-h  la  now  our  village.  Me 
wjia  su  fiji'cibly  strucit  with  ItM  locutlou  that  he  st'nnied  for  a  day  and  examined  thor- 
oughly the  lay  of  the  land.  So  takeu  uii  was  he  with  the  place  that  ou  his  arrival 
at  "(iraiiilaw"  he  luduced  Duatln  Cheney,  Jjoren  Higgs  and  Jobu  Gallowiiy,  with  their 
faiidlles  to  couie  with  him  to  thia  spot:  (theuey  and  faniiiy  came  firKt,  then  Clitrb  Dibble, 
then  Oalloway  and  Uiggs — all  iu  April,  1834. 

Mrs.  Dtistiu  Chenej'  was  the  first  while  woni:iu  that  steppe<l  ou  the  spot  where 
OTir  flouriahing  viiliige  now  shimlB.  Toiliiy  ahe  is  slowly  [laaaiug  itway.  She  realdeit 
withiu  oue  mile  of  wliei'e  I  uow  stand,  liiiviiig  acted  well  her  part  In  the  great  draniit 
of  life— the  mother  of  eight  cliildven.  For  the  last  fifteen  years  ahe  can  truly  say, 
"I'm  blind,  oh,  I'm  blind.''  Go  and  visit  her,  as  I  Lave  done,  and  Jlsten  to  her  words 
of  wisdom  and  her  tale  of  pioneer  life,  and  then  say,  if  you  can.  If  she  has  not  per- 
formed well  ber  iinrt  in  life.  Though  blind  to  the  world,  though  dnrbneas  obsti'ucts 
her  vision,  she  wees  arross  the  river  with  a  vision  aa  bright  as  the  dazzling  raya  of  the 
ooonday  sun.     What  a   chapter,  what  a   hlstoi-y  nilght  be  written  of  this  truly  good 

Harrison  Cheney  waa  tlie  flrat  while  cliild  Imu'u  beve,  and  both  mother  and  child 
are  living.  Cheney's  family  built  the  first  honse,  i>u  the  ground  where  Jlrs.  E.  Btrd- 
aall  now  i-esldes,  the  next  where  Mllery  Aniiers<ni  uow  lives;  Galloway  the  next,  near 
the  gate  to  the  fair  ground. 

Many  weeks  had  not  passed  before  the  cry  came  from  the  little  band  in  the  wlldei'- 
neaa,   "Lost I  Lost!"   Ixmlse   Cheney,   a   little  prattling,    sweet   cherub   of  seven   years. 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  SOg 

liiid  Htniyed  uwiiy.  Hei-  motJier,  with  sonif  of  tlie  older  childreu,  hiid  goUB  iifouiiii  ii 
little  Mwale,  where  Clioudler's  house  now  Btuiids,  to  see  if  there  would  uot  be  a  good 
lilnce  to  plant  com.  She  told  the  little  girl  to  go  back,  but  somehow  she  strayed 
jiway.  and  Oie  cry  ot  "I-ost!  Lost"  reacheil  (irand  Btaiic,  Oi'oveland,  Holly  uiid  White 
liiike,  and  the  ploueers  citnie  to  assist. 

On  the  thii-d  dnj.  11.  Wliichell,  who  lind  been  lit  work  on  Dibble's  mill,  aud  who 
had  been  hiuitlug  fur  the  chil<1.  came  hi  iiejrly  exhausted  and  threw  himself  on  the 
lied  at  ahout  twelve  o'clock.  At  iibont  two  o'clock  he  awoke,  having  dreauieil  where 
tJie  child  was.  He  luHiiedliitely  iiut  on  his  hat  and  went  iind  found  tlie  child  iu  the 
exact  spot  where,  but  a  few  nionieiits  befoi-e,  hf  saw  her  In  his  dream.  Hhe  hud  been 
lost  three  days  and  was  found  jnst  over  beyond  the  hill  where  the  Baptist  seminary 
uow  stands,  uear  a  little  pool  of  water.  She  wan  In  nearly  an  exhausted  condition. 
The  little  thing  would  crawl  down  and  tiike  a  drink  of  water,  and  then  crawl  back  on 
dry  ground  to  die.     She  afterwards  l>ecame  the  tirst  wife  of  Galen  Johnson. 

Dibble  built  the  first  saw-inill,  in  1S34,  and  got  It  running  in  the  fail.  Due  by  one 
the  pioneers  came:  It.  H.  JlcOmber  and  faniilj-,  Uncle  Dick  Doniitdson  and  family, 
it.  LeRoy,  W.  31.  Fenton,  K,  Ijiriied.  W.  Remington,  Walter  Dibble,  E.  Pratt.  A. 
Bailey,  etc. 

The  lirat  hotel  was  built,  in  ISIT,  by  It.  J^Koy  and  \V.  M.  Fenton,  where  the 
Kvei'ett  House  now  stands,  and  Mr.  bVuton  opened  it  with  a  dunce.  July  4th  of  the 
same  year,  Uncle  Dick  Doualdson'B  band  did  the  fiddling  aud  EUsha  I.anied  grace- 
fiilly  mode  music  with  the  tumblers  aud  decanters  behind  the  bar 

11.  LeKoy  opened  the  tirst  store,  where  Richardson's  wagon-shop  uow  stands,  in 
1«37,  and  in  1838  was  appointed  tirst  postmastei-,  and  held  that  office  for  thirteen  years. 
A  Mr.  Taylor  succeeded  him,  aud  after  his  death  a  part  of  the  poatolfice  was  found 
iu  his  pocket. 

This  year  (ISas)  tlie  tirst  school  house  was  built  and  a  Mr.  Nottingham  was  the 
first  teacher.  At  that  time  the  right  of  the  schoolmaster  to  whip  was  not  questioned, 
and  II  deei>er  and  more  lasting  Impi-ession  wan  often  uiade  with  the  gad  thnn  witli 
the  blackboard. 

At  this  time,  and  in  tills  old  log  school  house,  a  ploneei"  and  geutleiuan,  now 
Ihlng  H  short  distance  from  here,  was  cnlled,  us  be  thought,  to  preach,  and  In  an 
hour  of  work  and  religi<tnK  excitement  be  had  what  was  called  In  those  days  the 
■"imwer."  He  rolled  over  and  over  on  the  floor.  Scott  McOmber  played  that  the  young 
man  had  fainted,  seized  a  pall  of  water,  and  immediately  the  "power"  left  him  and 
the  would-be  preacher  revived. 

The  first  physician  was  Doctor  Pattlaou;  the  first  blacksmith  was  Elisha  Holmes, 
and  tlie  first  bricklayer,  John  Harmon.  The  fir.-<t  church  organization  was  that  of  the 
First  Presbytevian  church,  which  took  place  February  28.  1810.  In  the  third  story  of  the 
uow  Krlttou  stoi-e,  and  the  following  constituted  its  membei-ship:  Silas  Newell,  Sarah 
Newell,  George  H.  Newell,  John  Hadlej,  Jr..  Sophia  Hadley,  Benjamin  Rockwell,  Louisa 
Rockwell,  Daniel  I,eRoy,  Blra.  T*Roy,  I,ucy  Thorp,  John  Fenwick,  Jane  Fenwlck,  JameK 
K.  Wortmaii.  John  G.  Gallup,  Mrs,  Gallup,  Eliza  McOmber  and  I-ucy  LeRoy.  The  giant 
oaks  were  felled,  migration  continued  to  How  111.  and  God  was  in  the  wilderness. 

Another  interesting  reminiscence  of  early  days  in  Fenton  is  found  in 
an  address  made  in  1878  by  Dr.  S.  W.  Pattison,  who  was  the  first  resident 
physician  in  Fenton.     Following  is  an  extract  from  this  address : 
(14) 


dbyGoot^lc 


2IO  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Dl^bleville,  now  Fentonille,  wns  ii  centi-iil  point  wheve  several  Iiidlun  trnils  came 
together,  about  sixty  inilea  from  Detroit  and  twenty-el Klit  miles  from  Pontiae,  liaving 
Holly  on  the  east,  Kose  on  the  south,  Byron  on  the  west  iinil  Mundy  on  tiie  north. 
I  was  satisfied  that  eventually  it  would  become  n  |ilHce  of  soine  importance,  and  time 
nas  justified  my  expectation. 

At  this  time  the  IrniiaiLti  were  in  tlie  neighborhood  In  large  numbers,  oiittvating 
Bome  land  near  by.  I  will  relate  a  little  circumstance  to  Illustrate  the  state  of  society 
in  Dibbievilie  in  1836.  While  I  was  exploring  as  already  stated,  leaving  my  family 
In  the  building  where  the  Indians  hjid  for  a  long  time  iirocured  whlsliy,  they  could 
not  realize  the  change  and  still  visited  the  houwe  In  eeai-ch  nf  their  poison — whlnkj. 
One  day  a  very  fierce  and  «Kly-l<M>l'ing  Indian  came  in  and  insisted  u|)ou  being  fur- 
nlslied  whislty.  Peeltina;  ai'ound,  he  discovered  a  small  trunlt  and,  shalting  It.  produced 
quite  a  Jingling,  as  It  contained  one  or  two  hundred  dollars  In  silver.  His  conduct  quite 
alarmed  my  wife,  who  feiired  siie  would  receive  another  visit  from  this  ugiy-lool;ing 
salvage.  Her  fears  were  fully  realized,  for  about  one  or  two  o'clock  at  night  he  i-oui- 
menced  a  violent  knocking  at  the  door,  which  was  well  barricaded,  saying  he  wanted 
scoter  (fire).  He  continued  his  knocking  until  it  was  evident  he  would  break  Auvm 
the  door.  Wife  calling  for  a  gun  to  shoot  the  Indian,  my  sou  (editor  of  the  Ypnilaiiti 
Commercial),  then  twelve  years  of  age,  found  his  way  out  from  a  chamber  eiilrunce 
and  alarmed  Mr.  Dibble,  who  scared  the  nini'awder  off,  imd  the  next  day  scared  lilin 
from  the  vicinity. 

It  soon  became  knowni  tiiat  n  physician  lind  settled  at  Dibbievilie.  and  I  had  pro- 
fessional calls  quite  a  distance — ^to  Highland,  White  Lake,  Grand  Blanc.  l>eerfield.  Hart- 
land,  etc  I  was  guided  to  many  of  these  places  through  timbered  o[ieniugs  by  nmrkwl 
trees,  often  following  ludian  trails.  At  this  time  government  lands  were  being  rapidly 
taken  up,  and  while  some  lands  were  t.'ikea  by  si)eculator8,  the  country  was  being 
dotted  all  Oier  by  real  residents,  aud  the  greater  number  were  enterprising,  thrifty 
and  Intelligent,  making  good  societj-.  Highland,  generally  known  as  "Tlimey  Settle- 
ment," and  White  Lake  are  samples,  building  sciicM)l  honse-;  .tnd  chuivheH  lUmn^r  tmiu 
the  first  aettlemeut. 

Mariy  of  the  first  settlers,  however,  were  poor,  and  when  tbey  liad  tiiki>ii  up  tlicir 
homes  had  but  little  left  to  live  on,  and  provisions  were  very  liigh.  I  well  remember 
paying  fifteen  dollars  for  a  barrel  of  flour  and  every  kind  of  eatables  in  proiioi-tlon. 
Much  of  coru.  oats,  etc.,  came  fi-om  Ohio,  but  Ttnney  settlement  wns  our  Egyi't.  There 
was  coiTi  there.  The  second  year  I  made  several  meals  among  the  farmers  on  boiled 
wheat  for  bread,  and  it  was  no  sucriflce  This  scarcity  was  of  short  duration.  Siion 
there  was  a  surplus  of  provisions,  and  Detroit,  sixty  miles  away,  was  our  market,  and 
money  was  as  scarce  as  provisions  had  been.  During  the  months  of  August  and  Sep- 
■  tember  the  intermittent  and  remittent  fevers — diseases  peculiar  to  low  or  flat  countries — 
prevailed  to  a  large  extent.  The  well  were  the  exception;  whole  families  were  down; 
many  became  discouraged,  and  some  fled  back  to  New  York;  but  It  was  remarkable 
that  most  of  these  retnrneit  again  to  Michigan.  But  here  and  there  an  old  pioneer 
can  realize  the  prii'ations  and  hardships  of  the  first  settlers  of  this  part  of  Michigan. 
They  were  generally  Industrious,  and  the  axe  and  the  plow  soon  converted  the  forests, 
oak-openings  and  prairies  into  fruitful  fields. 

The  first  Sabbath  si-hool  at  Dibbievilie  was  begun  in  my  house  and  conducted  by 
my  wife,  assisted  by  Norris  Thorp,  then  a  young  man.  It  was  soon  after  removed  to 
a  log  school  house  on  the  east  side,  and  strengthened  by  a  Mr.  Warren's  family  and 
others  moving  in,  it  became  a  permanent  institution." 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  211 

William  M,  Fenton,  once  lieutenant-governor  of  Michigan,  after  whom 
the  town  and  village  were  named,  writes  interestingly  about  this  time  of  the 
early  days  in  Fenton;  especially  appropriate  here  is  the  following: 

Dlbbleville— so  cnlled  from  Clai'k  Dibble— In  1836  compriaea  n  sjniill  saw-mill,  situ- 
ated wliere  tbe  flim ring-mill  in  tile  lillage  now  stands,  a  small  frame  shell  of  a  house, 
uear  Clark's  houae  (a  shell  also),  and  another  occ-upled  by  Dr.  S.  W.  Patterson. 

The  road  from  Springfield  passed  the  bouse  of  James  Thurp,  east  of  the  village, 
and  crossed  near  the  present  bridge.  Dibble's  liouse  was  near  the  west  end  of  the 
bridge.  Tiience  the  road  to  the  "Grand  River  country"  passed  on  to  the  west,  striking 
the  present  road  near  the  piibllc  square;  tlience  by  L.  P.  Riggs'  and  Bailey's  farms 
and  on  by  "'Sadler's  Taiem"  west.  Anotliei'  road  branched  off  to  "Warner's  Mills," 
now  I,inden,  passing  John  Wiilbur's  and  Duatin  Pbeney's  forms.  Wallace  Dibble  occu- 
pied the  farm  snutli  and  Ebenezer  Pratt,  that  north  of  the  village,  and  a  road  ran 
uortli  passing  McOmber's  and  so  on  to  William  Gage's  and  thence  to  Grand  Blanc. 

The  above  names  comprise  ttie  nearest  settlements  at  that  time,  and  tlie  above  all 
the  roads,  which  were  simply  tracits  mnrktug  the  first  passage  of  teams  througii  the 
county.  This  point  was  early  noticed  by  business  men  of  Pontlac,  which  was  the 
market  for  flour  at  that  time  fi'oiu  Scott's  Mills  at  DeWitt:  the  flour  bemg  drawn 
down  this  roud.  crosseil  the  stream  here,  tlience  to  Springfield  and  to  Pontiac.  Scott's 
gray  team  was  familiar  with  its  load  to  all  on  this  line,  walking  at  the  rate  of  four 
miles  an  hour  day  after  day,  and  fed  only  nights  and  mornings. 

In  tlie  year  1830.  Robert  LeRoy  and  William  JI.  Feutou  were  seillns  goods  in 
I'lintiac.  Their  attention  was  tnnied  in  this  direction.  Judge  Daniel  LeRoy  (father  of 
Robert)  predicted  that  tbis  iioint  would  be  on  the  gi'e.it  and  principal  thorouglifare 
and  line  of  railroad  to  the  westera  portion  of  the  state,  and  LeRoy  and  Fenton,  liaving 
the  clioice  of  buying  liere  or  tluit  jwirt  of  Flint  west  of  Saginaw  street  and  soutli  of 
the  river,  chose  by  Judge  T^Hoy's  advice  tlils  point,  estiiblished  tliemselves  here  In 
December.  183ti,  and,  at  tlie  judge's  suggestion,  [>latted  and  named  tbe  village  Fenton- 
lille  io  tbe  spring  of  1837.  The  work  of  starting  a  village  was  commenced  by  putting 
the  little  uncovered  saw-mill,  with  Its  single  saw,  in  motion;  a  road  to  Flint  (present 
plank  road),  another  to  Wiiite  Ijike,  etc.,  were  projected,  and  a  new  saw-mill,  a  grist- 
mill, tavern,  store  and  dwellings  begun,  lienjamln  Rockwell  purchased  a  third  intei-est 
and  added  by  his  means  to  the  enterprise.  The  first  building  tliey  erected  was  the 
house,  corner  Adelaide  street  and  Shiawassee  avenue  (southwest  corner),  built  of  plank, 
sawed  wltliiu  the  week  in  which  it  was  erected,  and  at  once  occupied  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Fenton  as  residence  and  boardmg-house  for  fifteen  to  thirty  mechanics  until  the 
hotel  was  built. 

The  household  goods  were  brought  on  lumber- wagons  from  Pontiac  and  the  stream 
was  crossed  on  a  bridge  of  logs.  1  well  remember  driving  sucii  a  load,  reaching  the 
stream  after  dark,  finding  it  swollen  by  rains,  hailing  "Clark,"  who  cume  down  to 
the  river-Bide  with  a  lantern,  and  tlien,  with  its  light  as  my  "guiding  stiir,"  cracking 
my  whip  and  driving  across,  every  log  afloat  and  sinking  a  foot  or  more  undei'  the 
horses'  feet;  but  we  were  sitfely  across,  and  that  little  pioneer  experience  only  added 
zest  to  our  enjoyment  of  npw  scenes  and  primitive  modes  of  life,  which  must  be  seen 
to  be  appreciated. 

In  tlie  siiring  of  1M3T  a  townBlii|>  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  called  "Sadler's 
Tavern,"  four  miles  west  of  Fentoiiville.  The  towns  of  Fenton  and  Argentine  were  then 
one  and  called  Argentine.  About  tno  o'clock  p.  m.  of  town  meeting  day,  a  load  of 
working  mciL    (a«  were  .ill   the   ]>ii>iipert.)    from   Fentonvillf   drove   U|i   to   the   iHillt.  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


212  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

offeied  their  lotts  Jumes  H  Mumij  iiiid  Di  S  tt  P  itterson  were  on  the  bojiid 
and  lefused  to  accept  the  lotes  atnting  thev  had  ^oted  foi  supei\isor  in  the  inoiuine, 
and  (iecliiretl  off  Ihe  bt-cret  was  the^  hiid  detlared  off  fm  i  XVhig  and  the  load 
were  Democrats  Ihej  fenred  the  result  An  argnnient  enwoeiH  thej  Laniassed  md 
counted  up,  md  hiiding  the  \ute  uttered  would  not  change  the  lesutt  received  theui 
Doctor  Patterson  stating  thetr  win  of  decl  tring  off  w  is  the  law  becauw  thej  did  so 
iu  Yoik  State  We  coH)dt  see  It  lud  the  lesult  o£  this  trifling  affair  was  that  appll 
(iitlon  wai  made  at  the  ne\t  session  of  the  Ijesiiilnture  and  through  the  Influence  "t 
Daniel  B  Wakefield  tlieu  senatoi  froui  this  district  the  township  of  lenton  was  set 
off  and  hencefortli  niaiiated  its  onn  buHlueHM  In  Michigan  and  not  in  loik  i>tatc 
fishion     »     «     *    «     * 

Prudence  and  foretlH  uglit  an  seldom  the  cliaiacteristlcs  of  the  iiioneei  lo  iliii« 
trite  On  itsltiug  this  place  In  the  wiutei  of  lH3(y37  Clark  Dibbles  hjuse  furnished 
the  onlj  eutertaninient  He  nas  a  pioneer  pioper  He  had  a  wife  and  plenty  of 
smali  children  his  hunte  nab  a  shell  onh  sided  up  rooms  It  had  none  but  a  blanket 
tieparated  the  bonideis  from  the  famll}  the  lattei  occu|>ieil  the  stove-ioom  In  wht<n 
were  i  bed  i  fe«  chaiis  and  h  table  Heie  were  the  family  and  what  few  clothes 
belonged  to  them  with  some  sets  of  croikeri  kni\es  and  foiks  and  heie  we  must 
eat  oi  starve  (  laik  nuutd  iilse  with  the  Ink  go  to  a  log  be  hid  diawn  up  befoie 
the  door  chop  off  enough  to  make  i  hie  then  take  bis  gun  and  go  to  the  woods  ind 
in  a  little  time  bring  in  a  deei  \enlson  wan  the  staple  meat  ind  bucknhe^t  cake^ 
the  bread  Tea  could  be  had  at  lntei\'(ls  nnd  whtskv  occasionally  butter  wheit  flour 
and  pork  were  scarce  commodities 

Many  a  cuiious  scene  has  tiansplred  in  that  shanty  Old  Nate  I('ille\  was  one 
of  the  characters  John  Wllbm  mother  md  the  traveler  stopiiiig  to  wirm  would  le 
regaled  by  a  coniersatlon  and  see  the  peculiai  leer  of  the  eje  md  shrug  of  the  shoni 
ders  of  those  half  ragged  ai'd  bandit  loiiking  men  and  feel  as  he  left  them  he  h  id 
escaped  a  dangei  I'eace  to  (.lark  Dibbles  ashes'  He  has  gone  from  among  us  killed 
b^  the  fall  of  a  tiee  on  his  own  place  to  which  lie  had  lemoved  f\er  the  hills  soutn 
But  his  hoiisekeeijer  nniat  come  tu  foi  a  note  hi     histoiicnl  incidents 

At  dinner  one  dav  the  boiled  lenlsoi  and  buckwheat  cakes  weie  being  rapldiv 
boltetl  bi  hungn  men  lloie  venison  was  called  foi  She  put  hei  fork  Into  the  kettle 
foi  anotbei  piece  and  latsed  to  the  i.onstemation  of  his  guests  what'  "Vot  a  piece 
of  venison  as  was  anticipated  but  one  of  Clarks  cistoff  stockings  no  doubt  ucl 
dentally  Inserted  in  the  boiling  lessel  b^  one  of  the  little  imps  cutting  capers  arouiul 
bed  and  stoie  It  can  be  better  imagined  than  described  how  hungry  men  seized  a 
buckwheat  eiike  and  dec]  t red  themselves  perfectly  content  to  go  tbeti  wavs  md  eat  no 
more  of  that  particular  mess  of  pott-i|:e 

One  of  Wilburs  fmilliar  lllustiatlcns  when  he  wished  to  be  cousideied  is  saying 
something  shrewd  was  lliere  is  a  wheel  within  i  wheel  Mi  LeRoj  for  manj 
years  the  settlers  were  amused  bj  his  saving  while  thev  recollected  and  recounted  then 
earliest  impressions  of  Uncle  Tnhn  ind  old  ^ate  Biilev  the  lattei  pecnllatlj  looking 
the  brigand   although  m  fact  is  harmless  is  a  doie 

One  of  the  ina'^inis  of  that  day  was  that  n  barrel  of  whisky  was  better  In   i  fainih 
(especially  to  bring  up  a  fimilv)  than   i  fairnw  cow     This  m  ly  be  so — It  is  not  neces 
Sary  to  argue  the  point — but  there  seemed  reason  to  believe  that     \rj,entlne  Mideli  i 
as  whisky  from  Murraj  s  was  called    had  t  good  deil  to  do  with  the  brlgandi    their 
queer  looks  and  mi  sterlous  saj  Inffs  and  shrugs 

Let  not  old  Nate  be  confounded  with  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  Plislia  Bailey 
He  was  a  welKliggei    md     ilth  ueh  adi  im  ed  m  yenrs    jt  one  time  received  ui  w  his 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  2X3 

buL'li,  111  tiie  Ijotlom  of  riie  \vell.  ;l  falling  tub  filled  with  stoite.  Most  men  would  have 
been  killed  by  the  blow.  Bailey  survived  rind,  while  much  Injured,  still  i-ei'overed  and 
dug  luoi-e  wells.    *     *     • 

The  imiiiigrution  of  lUSti  wiis  continued,  but  with  some  rtbiitemeut,  in  1.S37.  The 
Influx  ot  settlers  in  and  uround  Ifeiitoiiville  was  hirge;  farmers  settled  ybout  the  vll- 
l.ige  .iiid  for  several  miles  in  each  direction,  uiid  eiicli  iiiiide  hia  bee  and  summoned 
nil  to  liis  iild;  mechanics  and  men  of  all  eniptoymeiit  sought  this  i>oIut  and  soon  after 
the  opeulug  of  the  spring,  ii  stoif  and  hotel,  saw-mill.  grM-mlll,  blacksmith  shop,  car- 
lienter'B  and  iMilnter's  stioiis  and  houses  wei'e  under  way  and  In  rapid  progress  of  con- 
struction. The  hotel  firnt  bnllt  was  what  is  now  known  as  the  Rli^s  House;  it  was  the 
flrst  store  on  the  opt>osite  comer  of  the  street,  since  changed  to  face  south,  and  is  the 
building  now  standing  on  the  northwest  comer  of  Shiawassee  avenue  and  LeRoy  street. 
Xi>  better  store  or  taveni  was  known  north  of  Detroit  in  those  days.  The  house  on 
the  north  side  of  the  iiubllc  square  {occuiiieil  by  Sheldon)  whs  erected  also  by  William 
JI.  teuton,  ami  theti  considered  a  big  house.  Houses  on  both  aides  of  the  river  were 
erected:  Judge  I>eIioy  built  the  house  now  constituting  part  of  LeRoy  Hotel  and 
Benjamin  Itockwell,  one  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  now  occupied  by  Nathaniel  Hodge 

These,  in  iny  I'ecol lection,  not  to  forget  Ullsha  Holmes'  blackAunltb  shop,  were  among 
the  first  buildings  and  mostly  finished  in  lsa7-3S.  The  lumber  was  auwed  principally 
at  the  old  mill,  and  the  new,  after  It  was  up.  Including  some  jilne  logs  from  Long  Lake. 
Whitewood  and  basswood  were  used  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  the  better  quality  of 
pine  required.  Including  sash-  and  door-Stuff  and  shingles,  were  hanled  from  Flint. 

This  spot  showed  in  that  year  all  the  bustle,  activity  and  enterprise  of  a  village 
soon  to  gi-ow  into  large  proportions,  and  Iiere  let  me  remark,  as  a  well-known  fact,  that 
but  for  the  pecuniary  embarrassment  and  want  of  capital  of  the  early  proprietors, 
Feutonvllle  in  Its  first  thi-ee  years  growth  would  have  Increiiseil  in  popnlatlon  at  least 
fourfold  beyond  what,  with  its  limited  means  at  hand,  it  was  destined  to  reach.  But 
there  was  no  lack  of  perseverance  and  unity  of  feelini;  then  among  its  iKipulntion :  all 
labored  late  and  early,  and  when  any  public  occasion  caileii  them  out,  none  remained 
behind. 

The  Fourth  of  July  was  celebrated  that  year  in  iierhaps  as  gay  and  festive  style 
as  it  eier  has  been  since.  The  hotel  was  nnflnisheil.  bnt  its  roof  was  on.  sides  Inclosed 
and  doors  laid,  and  Esquirp  JleOmbec  was  Invited  to  deliver  the  usual  address.  JIarshal 
Ilamlltoii,  as  he  was  called  U  cai-penter.  since  renio\Gd  to  Tuscola),  in  the  red  sash  of 
one  of  Ills  ancestors,  directed  the  procession,  and  an  extensive  one,  rest  assured,  it 
was;  not  a  pioneer-wagon  for  ten  miles  ai'ound  had  dejiosited  its  load  in  the  forest  but 
it  was  here  that  day.  with  all  its  former  living  freight,  and  the  newborn  Infants  to 
boot.  Fifes  and  drums,  too — the  remainders,  perhaps,  of  some  ¥ork  state  milltia- 
tralning — were  in  requisition,  and  gnns  were  fired  from  Holmes'  iinvil.  Shiawassee, 
r.lvlngston  and  Oakland  tiinied  out  In  numbers  large  for  the  time  and  seats  of  rough 
boards  were  placed  for  the  assemblage  as  they  gathered  to  that  promising  building — 
the  hotel.  Esquire  McOnilier  delivered  one  of  his  finest  siieeches,  a  free  lunch  was 
zealously  partaken,  the  toasts  were  jiatrlotlc  to  the  coi-e,  and,  to  crown  .ill.  we  had.  as 
usnal,  not  only  grest  heat,  but  a  liolent  thunder-storm  just  at  the  close  of  our  feast, 
which  shook  the  earth  and  heavens,  and  made  the  building  tremble  and  dishes  rattle, 
whereat  Esqnire  McOinber,  being  in  his  happiest  mood,  turning  his  eyes  upward,  poured 
forth  a  stream  of  fervid  eloquence  and  made  use  of  some  tremendous  expletives  which 
it  becomes  not  a  veracious  writer  of  history — to  be  read  by  ail  the  human  family  here- 
abouts— to  relate.     The  old  settlers,  if  any   read  this,  will  remember  and  supply  the 


dbyGoo<^lc 


214  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Philip  H.  llcOmbei.  the  father  of  the  McOmbera  ui.w  Lmnvn  m  Feiitoii,  w;i8  ii 
lawyer  from  Savafoga  county,  New  York.  At  an  early  diiy  (say  1835)  he  settled  in 
Genesee  couQty.  I>Dug  Ijabe  was  the  spot  he  selected  nnd  uiioii  its  banks,  where  now 
stands  the  Ixmg  Lake  Hotel,  he  erected  a  dwelling.  Enteiiiri^ilng  and  talented  as  a 
lawyer,  he  soon  became  widely  and  favorably  known  •  •  *  aud  It  is  due  to  Philip 
H.  McOmher,  as  well  as  to  bis  sons,  that  honorable  mention  in  this  sketch  of  our 
eiirly  history  should  l)e  made  of  one  who,  with  Others,  made  the  wilderness  "to  bud 
and  blossom  as  the  rose"  For  many  years,  on  the  banks  of  Ixing  Lake,  a  hospitable 
mansion  welcomed  all  who  came,  and  the  delicious  peaches  raised  by  him  for  many 
years  on  the  l)anks  of  the  Jake  were  freely  bestowed  and  gratified  the  palates  of  all  who 
ranked  among  his  friends  or  who  made  his  house  their  home  for  the  time  being.  He, 
with  many  other  pioneers  of  this  region,  has  gone  to  his  last  resting-place,  and  to 
him,  with  others,  we  who  sui'Tive  Hhonid  not  hesitate  to  award  the  meed  of  praise 
for  their  untirmg  energy  in  bringing  into  notice  this  region  of  country,  now  teeming 
with  its  busy  population  and  its  Industrious  citizens. 

Among  the  many  incidents  of  interest  In  the  early  settlement  of  this  town,  let 
me  not  forget  to  name  the  fact  that  the  first  piano,  the  tones  of  which  were  heard 
in  Fentoiivllle,  was  brought  hfre  m  1837  by  Mrs.  Benjautln  Rockwell,  a  Ulster  <jf 
W,  M,  FMiton.  It  was  placed  lu  the  hotel  (now  Eiggs  House),  in  the  large  room,  sonth- 
east  corner,  second  story.  Mrs.  Rockwell  and  Mrs.  Fentou  were  both  good  players  At 
a  place  north  of  Long  Lake  resided  a  band  of  Indians;  many  of  them  were  well  known, 
but  more  6si)ecially  the  one  called  "King  I'jsher."  He  was  the  chief  of  the  tribe  and 
from  year  to  year  received  the  presents  of  his  tribe,  not  only  from  the  T'nlted  Stafe-i. 
but  from  Canada,  traveling  annually  for  that  purpose  to  Detroit  and  Maiden.  The 
band  was  large.  Fiwher,  the  chief,  was,  on  occasions  of  his  visits,  dressed  in  a  frock 
coat  of  navy  bine,  a  tall  hat  of  furs,  ornamented  with  ^Iver  bauds  and  medals,  rluss 
pendent  from  his  ears,  gaiters  and  legfilngs  of  deerskin  and  strings  of  wampum  and 
heads  appended  Take  him  all  in  alt,  he  was  worthy  of  his  name.  iJmall  in  stature. 
but  with  a  bold,  manly  bearing,  erect  and  dignified,  he  trod  the  earth  as  one  of  nature's 
noblemen,  which  he  certainly  was.  His  house  (of  logs*  was  always  open  to  welcome 
and  cherish  the  weary  traveler,  and  no  more  hospitable  board  or  convenient  lodging 
was  found  in  all  the  countiy  round.  The  traveler  was  furnished  with  the  skins  and 
fars  of  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  for  his  bed,  and  as  by  magic,  when  he  retired  to 
repose  around  him  fell,  in  gentle  folds,  the  light  gauae  protection  from  the  enemy  of 
sleep  (mosquitoes),  in  those  days  so  little  known  to  ordinary  inhabitants,  bnt  care- 
fully provided  for  his  quiet  by  "King  Fisher."  Would  you  know  how  in  those 
days  he  looked,  find  the  portrait  of  Aaron  Burr,  or  one  who  has  been  him 
MS  he  trod  Wall  street  in  his  failing  days,  and  the  one  is  a  counterpart  of  the 
other.  Fisher,  with  some  of  his  family  (now  living  and  known  to  most  of  the  readersi. 
came  down  to  hear  tile  music  of  which  he  had  been  told.  He,  in  his  full  dress, 
was,  with  some  of  bis  tribe,  ushered  up  and  In  his  klngij  majesty  took  the  chair 
offered  him  and  sat,  but  without  uncovering;  his  attendants  stood  respectfully  about 
him  and  a  little  retired.  Petowauokuet,  an  Indian  and  a  good  deal  of  a  Joker, 
familiar  to  the  pioneers  aud  usually  full  of  fun,  awed  by  the  presence  of  majesty, 
stood  back  in  resjiectfui  silence.  Mrs.  Kockwell  struck  the  keys.  The  Indians  gen- 
erally seemed  enchanted;  King  Fisher's  muscles  were  rigid,  not  a  movement  or  sound 
of  surprise  from  him ;  he  was  all  dignity  and  bore  himself  as  a  king.  The  piece 
pla.ved,  the  song  sung,  and  he  turned  to  Mrs.  Fenton  and.  through  Dan  Runyan,  who 
was  present  as  his  interpreter— for  he  disdained  to  speak  English,  although  he  fully 
understood    it,   as    in    his   squiby    (drunken)    moods   was   readily    seen — asked    her    to 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  2I5 

Uaui-e!  Ot  toiiip*  tliis  niis  too  niut-li  and  wiis  respectfully  declined,  but  it  was  about 
as  uiucli  as  kingly  dignity  could  do  to  prevent  all  the  little  Indians  from  trijjiilng 
it  on  the  liglit,  fantastic  toe,  to  tbe  music  of  the  [liano  as  played  by  Mrs.  Bockwell. 
Arising  witli  the  flignlty  peculiar  to  his  race,  Fisher  exclaimed,  as  he  gazed  at  the 
piano,   "Man  could  not  uiake  it ;  Maiiltou  made  It !" 

lu  frout  of  the  Itiggs  Hotel,  and  near  the  sidewttlk,  stood  then  two  or  three 
oak  trees  of  medium  size  and  fine  shade.  In  preparing  for  building,  these  were 
carefully  preserved  tititil  after  the  hotel  was  completed,  and  traielers  and  others 
b^au  to  hitcli  their  horses  near,  when  the  constant  stamping  of  horses  and  cattle 
iibout  their  roots  cnuaed  their  decay.  I  have  often  thought  it  would  have  been  money 
well  Invested  to  have  inclosed  those  trees  with  a  anbstuntial  fence,  far  enough  from 
their  roots  to  have  preserved  tlieui.  Like  the  one  which  still  remains  at  the  houne 
of  Ben.  llird'4n]l,  those  ti'ees  would  now  hn^e  towered  up  in  the  grandeur  of  the 
"tall  oak  of  the  forest,"  and  spread  their  branches  wide,  and  shaded  and  sheltered 
and  protected  from  storm  and  smi  not  only  the  hotel,  but  many  buildings  near,  and 
the  traveler  and  pedestrian  as  th^'  passed  along  I^elioy  street.  But  they  have  gone; 
the  doom  of  decay  was  upon  them,  and,  like  all  things  terrestrial,  they  were  soon 
passing  away. 

My  i-etoUectiou  is  that  the  first  pre-.icliing  we  had  in  Fentouiille  was  from  Elder 
Jones  (late  of  Holly,  and  whose  sons  are  settled  there,  or  near),  a  Baptist  mmister. 
and  that  he  held  forth  at  the  house  of  Doctor  Patterson, 

On  the  north  side  of  the  river,  about  whei-e  David  Smith's  house  Is,  was  a  log 
school  house.  Ministers  of  other  denominations  made  occasional  visits  and  preached 
there.  The  want  of  istrnie  convenient  place  for  church  and  public  meetings  was  soon 
seen  and  a  house  for  that  puriioBe  was  built  by  William  M.  Fentou  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  KliKubeth  and  Ix'ltoy  streets.  It  was  a  one-story  building  of  fair  length 
and  width,  fitted  up  with  seats  and  a  plain  desk,  and  auswei'ed  the  purpose,  not  only 
for  i-ellgfons.  hut  public  ineetingg  for  some  years,  and  was  free  of  rent.  The  first 
Presbytei'lau  minister  was  Mr.  VaniS'ess,  who  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Burghardt,  and 
all  seemetl  *ery  glad  to  have  a  place  for  worship.  Several  political  meetings  were 
held  there  also  and  a  debating  school  was  started  with  headquarters  In  the  same 
building.  It  may  be  that  the  numerous  young  men  of  Fentonvllle  who  have  become 
soinenhat  eminent  in  the  legal  profession  gained  their  first  ideas  of  oratory  in  that 
same  first  cliurch  edifice,  which,  after  the  building  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church, 
wa&  «old  to  Kobert  I.eKoy,  who  removed  It  to  where  Roberts'  hotel  is,  and  it 
now  constitutes  his  bar-i-oom.  Among  the  young  men,  graduates  from  Mr.  Fenton's 
law  ofllce,  which  stoinl  adjolnhig.  may  be  named  Thomas  Steere,  Jr.,  now  of  Woon- 
socket,  Rhode  Island.,  and  late  United  Stiites  consul  at  Dundee,  Scotland :  Thomas  A- 
Touug,  late  a  soldier  in  the  Tlilrteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  killed  and  burled  on  the 
battlefield  of  ShHoli;  J.  (!.  Sutherland,  of  ijaglnaw,  now  Judge  of  that  circuit:  and 
Hciir.!  Clag  Itiggs,  Esq..  well  knomi  among  us,  now  journeying  to  tlie  far  West, 
seekliiK  perhajis  a  new  home  and  more  rooD)  for  his  ambition  to  soar  in.  They  have 
all  done  themselves  credit  in  their  lU'ofession.  and  we  need  not  be  ashamed  tliat 
their  (Irst  training  constitutes  part  of  our  early  history.  Among  the  merchants  of 
reiitonvllle  may  he  named  Samuel  N.  Warren  and  William  M.  Thurber,  now  of  Flint, 
and  David  ,^nw.  of  the  same  iilace.  Physicians  of  an  early  day  were  Doctor  Pat- 
terson, before  named;  Dr.  Tltranae  Steere,  long  and  favorably  known,  whose  reiualns. 
with  those  of  his  wife,  now  repose  In  the  cemetery ;  Doctor  Gallup,  now  principal 
of  a  female  seminary  In  Clinton,  New  York;  all  Intelligent  and  highly  respectable  as 


dbyGoo<^lc 


2l6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

priLtitioners  and  as  citizui^  nud  doiig  tLLinaehes  lurt  the  leaidente  of  tLi  ii  iil  i 
tion  credit  while  among  us. 

The  log  htuse  wib  sooii  found  h  sniill  for  the  rising  geneiation  (for  be  it  Itnjwn 
that  pioneers  are  geneiaiii  lomi?  miriied  Tieopie  Bhc^e  offspring  come  fi'it  ui  jii 
the  stage  and  require  schooling)  and  a  school  house  of  fall  dimensions  and  toleriblu 
aipeannte  wis  eietted  near  the  site  of  tliB  rirst  PreHb\teilm  church  The  I  )t  fii 
this  as  well  as  the  chnich  were  donations— so  was  the  cenieterv — to  tlie  public  but 
church  and  school  house  ha^e  disnpi>eired  Ike  title  to  the  lots  is  seated  in  pili  ite 
leisons  but  the  cemetery  renums  i  monument  to  thtw  who  hine  iiassed  awm  and 
there  ire  none  among  us  who  visit  Its  Scenes  i\itliout  l)eing  reminded  of  the  fimiliai 
ind  beioied  faces  }f  fiiends  lelatlons  and  companions  wlio  once  trod  the  stage  of 
life  and  mmgled  in  the  buey  scenes  of  the  little  village  in  its  incipient  enteiprise 
md  giadual   de^eitpment 

\mong  the  eailier  mechanics  weie  one  S  ijje  i  \eii  ue.it  Jotiiei  5-nipi  a  mill 
wright  iiimg  new  I  belieie  ind  one  if  tlie  flr&t  who  heliied  to  stait  Fast  'gagman 
in  building  its  tlrst  mill  David  Smitli  was  prominent  imong  them  and  could  then 
dc  more  work  hi  a  di^  than  an^  man  I  eier  kne^  perhips  he  can  now — at  all 
events,  he  is  reliable  every  waj  Ed  Fi  mbs  was  another  he  is  father  in  law  of 
Kusaell  Bishop  of  Flint,  and  keeps  hotel  at  Macklnic  Mis  Bishop  vyis  bom  in  Fen 
tonville  (I  believe  in  the  second  sfoi\  of  the  store  coiner  IjcRov  imd  fehiawnssee  ave 
nue  where  Franks  kept  house)  Let  me  not  forget  Seth  Rhodes  who  was  a  timber 
hewer  ind  one  of  the  best  ever  Inonu  It  was  said  after  a  stick  wis  toleriblj  stoied 
and  Rhodes  had  struck  his  line  each  blow  of  his  broad  nxe  {and  it  was  a  vei\  briid 
one)  would  carrj  the  keen  edge  throut,h  the  «tick  leaving  a  surfite  as  stiaight  md 
smooth  IS  If  r-ountershiv cd  Rhodes  had  forty  acies  of  land  adjoining  Wilburs, 
enough  to  have  made  him  comfortable  could  he  have  kept  it  Hut  alas'  like  mam 
ctheiK  his  lunnlng  e\ienses  outrin  his  lucime  and  aftei  he  had  ^M  out  md  hewed 
the  timbei  for  the  fiist  gristmill  and  settled  his  accounts,  he  found  it  necessary  to 
sell  out  to  pay  his  debts  it  was  fimliinrly  stid  of  him  that  he  with  his  family  (ill 
huge  eaters  and  provisions,  high)  had  eaten  up  his  veai  s  vioik  ind  foity  attes  of 
Imd  He  too  has  gone  from  among  us— peace  to  his  ashes— vet  histoi-y  would  be 
imperfect   v^ithout   mention   of  his  name 

The  first  re|L,ulai  hotel  keeper  was  Thomas  Iiish  inri  tit  that  hotel  the  fiist  town 
meeting  was  held  after  the  orKaniiiition  Irish  was  a  cirpenter  ilso — in  fact  there 
was  no  man  amoug  us  who  could  not  turn  his  hand  to  bulldtng  fences  putting  on 
sidintr  lajlng  floor  painting  etc  and  this  ill  who  particii  ited  m  the  earliei  settle- 
ment of  our  place  will  remember  well  In  the  earh  part  of  March  1S3S  (sav  5tb) 
the  giound  between  Ben  Blidsalls  house  and  the  west  line  of  the  village  e"£teiiding 
from  'ihliwas&ee  avenue  down  north  to  the  mirsh  hid  been  plowed  and  was  sowed 
with  oats  It  was  protected  bj  a  rail  fence  During  the  month  there  was  nr  i  lin 
m  the  dajtime  hut  like  the  period  In  the  building  of  King  Solomons  temple  gentle 
showers  watered  the  earth  at  night  The  air  was  balmv  and  warm  as  in  the  months 
of  June  and  July  ind  vi^etatlon  vms  well  advanced  until  befou  tin  dose  of  the 
month  (say  25th)  there  could  be  seen  where  now  stand  several  fine  dwellings  i 
beautiful  green  field — oats  springing  up  iuxuiiantly  and  the  oak  opeiunss  nil  around 
presented  to  the  eye  the  beauties  of  siiring  lu  the  early  history  of  the  country  it 
was  not  unusual  to  plow  in  Febru  irv  but  in  this  year  (l'*38)  crops  were  generally 
sown  In  March  The  variation  of  the  seasons  then  was  remarkable  ftr  the  pieeedmg 
jear  ice  was  upon  the  giound  up  to  April 

Some  one  who  has  preceded  me  in  relating  the  histoiiial   incidents  of  this  town 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  21/ 

!iiis  suUl  tluit  tlie  cijiiiif.'ea  in  streets  lijive  created  some  coiiCusloii  anil  that  the  record, 
tbei-eof  eonld  iiiit  be  found.  For  the  eoiivenlence  of  reference  to  Inquiring  minds  in 
tliiit  iTgard.  I  hai'e  caiiaed  exiiiiiinntlon  to  be  made,  iind  find  that  the  record  exists 
among  the  aivhivea  of  the  cli'C'ilit  court  for  tlie  county  of  Genesee,  in  the  first  volume, 
on  iiage  75.  It  is  an  order  vacating  certain  streets,  and  was  made  the  7tii  of  March, 
1S42,  Hefore  that  time  that  highway  commissioners  (In  1839)  had  nltered  Shiuwassee 
nvenue  and  the  Jwelllng  house  of  Judge  T^eltoy  liiid  changed  liiiuds.  Its  front,  once 
noi-tli,  hud  lieen  revei'aed  to  face  the  new  sti'eet,  and  in  n  sliort  time  after,  by  the 
iild  of  the  lirst  eburcL  moved  to  ils  new  front,  was  converted  Into  the  "IjeRoy  House,'' 
and  keiit  for  a  while  liy  liobert  Leltoy  It  is  a  little  curious  to  exaudne  that  old 
i-eiiffd.  It  was  made  at  a  time  wlien  the  court  had  wliat  the  lawyers  called 
ejHiulettes^that  Is.  associate  judges.  At  that  time  the  counties  kept  in  otBce  Ity 
election  tiio  judges,  who  sat  ujiou  the  bench  with  the  cii'cult  judge  (who  was  also 
11  justice  i)f  the  au|ireme  court,  as  then  formed),  and  tiiat  is  about  all  tiiey  did,  viz. 
to  sit  ou  the  bent-li  with  the  [ireBiding  judge.  True,  the  two  could,  being  the  ma- 
jority of  the  bench,  oveiTule  the  iiresidhig  judge,  but  tliey  seldom  did  It.  Sometimes 
their  ^uiijutliles  for  their  neighbors  Involved  In  litigation.  iMrhaps  under  indictment, 
would  lead  tlieni  to  act  and  In  such  case,  if  they  hapiieued  to  differ  with  the  learned 
circuit  judge,  he  would,  after  consultntion,  give  the  judgment  of  the  eourt  .iccord- 
Ingly,  but  with  n  frown  and  a  distinct  announcement  that  It  was  not  his  opinion, 
but  he  was  overnded  by  his  learned    (71   asaociatea. 

In  the  court  where  the  order  referred  to  was  made  sat  only  one,  as  the  records 
show — I.ynutn  Stow,  formerly  of  Flint,  now  sleeping  that  long  sleep  that  knows  no 
wjiklng.  Xo  one  accused  Judge  Stow  of  nnj-  remarkable  legal  acumen,  but  he  was 
one  of  the  earliest  of  the  pioneers  of  our  county,  and  as  such  deserves  honorable 
mention.  When  the  red  man  waw  almost  the  only  human  being  in  all  the  country 
round.  Judge  Stow  penetrated  the  forest  and  preceded  at  first,  but  ultimately  lived 
to  see  developed,  the  march  of  civilization  which  levels  the  forest  and  brlt^s  in  train 
t'utenir'sing  vlllagew,  mills  and  ma nnf actor iei,  and  con*erts  the  wilderness  Into  pro- 
iluctlve  farniK  May  he  be  as  liajiiiy  in  the  home  to  which  he  has  gone  as  his  honest 
worth  in  this  world  seemed  to  entitle  him ! 

One  of  the  earlier  settlors  of  the  town  was  Josiqdi  A  Ityram,  who  lived  on  a  lake 
beai-ing  his  name  (Byram  lake).  He  was  from  Flushnig,  Ix)ng  Island,  and  with  his 
family  had  lived  m  luxury.  The  quiet  of  his  grounds  was  seldom  disturbed  by  the 
white  man's  tread  until  Augustus  St.  Amand— then  a  young  Frenchman,  just  from 
I'arls,  who,  by  the  way  ot  New  Orleans  and  the  Mississippi,  hud  reached  Michigan — - 
made  Byrani's  aciiu.ilutance.  The  result  was  he  came  out  with  Byram  from  Detroit 
and  purchased  near  liim.  His  fowling-piece  and  flshlug-rod  brought  with  him  afforded 
him  nuiuaement.  and  In  the  bachelor's  hall  which  he  erected  out  of  logs  were  all  the 
various  articles  of  luxury  he  had  beeu  able  to  bring  with  him.  He  was  hospitable 
and  glad  to  entertain  any  friend  who  udght  visit  him— Indeed,  we  found  in  the  first 
experience  of  pioneer  life  a  real  treat  and  pleasure  is  visiting  the  beautiful  openings 
and  clear  lakes,  as  well  as  the  hospitable  dwellings  of  both  Byram  and  St  Amand. 
Not  the  least  romantic  of  the  earlier  scenes  of  pioneer  life  was  what  befel  St.  Amand. 
In  one  »f  his  journeys  to  Detroit  for  provisions  (for  be  it  known  what  little  money 
a  man  brougiit  here  was  soon  used  up  in  that  way),  on  his  return,  when  on  the 
Saginaw  turnjiike.  near  Springfield,  he  found  a  carriage  broken  down.  A  gentleman 
and  ladj  were  there — father  and  daughter;  the  lady  appeared  to  be  in  distress,  the 
gentleman  takiug  things  easy,  as  was  his  wont.  But  the  cblvalrlc  feelings  of  St. 
Amand  could  not  he  restrained,  esiieclally  as  he  gazed  ou  the  young  form  and  saw 


dbyGoo<^lc 


2I»  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

the  youth  iiud  beruitj.  with  the  lutelligeiice  auJ  sparklltij;  eje  of  ii  drmisel  lu  distress, 
iiinl  q\iick  as  thought  he  was  upon  his  feet,  rendering  such  iisststauce  as  was  required 
to  repiiir  damages  aud  see  the  travelers  on  tbeir  way  to  Pouttac.  St.  Amand  (.■ould 
at  that  time  speak  but  few  words  of  Englisli,  but  a  look  of  gratitude  and  admiration 
beamed  in  tender  eyes,  aud  St.  Amand  felt  the  dart  of  love  iiiercliig  his  heart,  ai, 
moving  his  hand,  he  hade  the  damsel  adieu,  and  exclaimed.  "Au  revolr."  It  was 
Indeed  with  them  "Au  revolr,"  for  the  attachment  foinied  on  that  then  roniautie  and 
forest  road  eoou  culmluuted,  and  Augustus  St.  Amand  became  the  husband  of  c'ai'oline 
I*Roy.  Sweet  girl  she  was,  and  became  the  mother  of  suu«,  one  of  whom  has  laid 
down  his  life  in  the  cause  of  hia  country,  falling  a  sacrltice  In  the  war  to  resti>r<' 
the  Union. 

In  times  gone  by  there  was  an  excitement  known  as  "Antl-Masoni-y,"  in  western 
New  York,  aud  there  was  a  place  called  Stafford,  near  Batniia.  At  the  first-named 
place  dwelt,  among  others,  a  man  named  Blisha  Holmes,  who  removed  to  aud  became 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  FwitouvUle.  In  the  days  of  our  early  settlement,  after  Holmes 
had  flnlslied  htS' labor  in  his  shop  (he  was  a  blacksmith),  he  would  regale  his  listeneri^ 
with  racy  anecdotes  and  with  many  a  tale  of  how  Morgan  was  supposed  to  pass 
through  Stafford,  inside  the  stagecoach  of  the  "Swlftsure  Llue,"  gagged  and  uiainieleil. 
on  his  way  to  "that  bourne  from  which  no  traveler  returns,"  Just  before  the  dan-u 
of  day:  and,  as  he  was  iiostmaster,  he  would  say,  "If  there  was  anything  of  the  kiml, 
wouldn't  I  have  known  it!''  Aud  so  he  would  defend  those  who  had  been  acijused 
of  the  big  crime  of  abduction,  and  wind  up  by  saying  that  "Weed,  the  whisker- 
clipper,  circulated  the  stoi'j-,  and  boasteil  that  the  body  he  found  was  a  good  enough 
Morgan  uutli  after  elwtion." 

Eilsha  Holmes  was  a  wan  of  strong  memory,  and  esiiecialiy  in  the  political  his- 
tory of  the  country  unequaled.  From  his  postofflce  of  Stafford  he  brought  barrels  of 
news|iai>ers,  and  if  e^cr  at  a  loss  for  facts  (which  seldom  happened),  would  ransack 
the  barrel",  until  he  found  the  dociinicnt— and  he  was  alwajn  right,  his  memory 
lufalliblc. 

The  first  mail  obtaineil  in  the  new  village  was  by  a  mail-route,  procured  after  a 
long  effort,  running  from  Poutiac  vm  White  Lake  twice  a  week.  I  well  remember,  in 
those  days  of  flow  malls,  the  anxiety  we  experienced  on  the  eve  of  an  ImiMirtant 
event.     One  with  which  Holmes  was  connected   is  illustrative  of  many  ■ 

The  national  convention  of  Democrats  was  assembled  for  nomination  of  a  lYesi- 
dent  in  1844.  and  anxiety  to  hear  the  result  was  general.  Cass  was  a  candidate,  and 
others.  A  crowd  had  assembled,  waiting  for  the  e\pected  mall,  which  was  sare  to 
bring  the  news,  and  after  nmch  speculation.  Holmes,  In  his  dry  way,  said,  "Gentlemen, 
you  are  all  mistaken.  The  nominee  will  be  a  iie\v  man;  guess  who."  At  last  Holmes 
said,  "Gentlemen,  I  have  got  the  history  of  tills  coimtry,  and  its  statesmen  in  and 
out  of  Congress.  In  my  head,  and  the  nominee  will  be  James  K.  Polk."  "Polk — -Polk 
—who  is  he!"  "Why,"  said  Holmes,  "you  don't  read  the  newspapers ;  It  is  James  K. 
Polk,  of  Tennessee."  Yet  the  bystanders  were  not  satlsfled;  indeed,  they  ai!  agreed 
that  for  once  Holmes  was  ndstaken.  But  the  mail  came  and  Holmes  was  right.  The 
old   anvil    was   brought   out,    the   nomination   saluted    in    ancient    style,   amid    sliouts   of 

"James  K.   Polk,   of  Tennessee, 
The  very  man  I  thought  'twould  he." 


Latourette,  Esq,  now  an  enterprising  citizen  and  banker  among  u 


!    early   day   David    : 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  219 

home.  He  was  tbe  first  tu  eiieonriijrt'  tlie  ^rowtli  of  tl-.is.  iiiiil  eutei-etl  iiit<)  the  uiiiiiii 
fai;tu!-e  of  linseed  oil.  IJke  many  other  pioneers,  thia  aida't  make  him  rich.  Ijut  his 
enterprise  in  another  sphere  of  iiction  did  (so  said);  nud  now,  wltli  new  life  iiud 
energy,  he  Is  putting  hia  slioulder  to  the  wheel  to  oi)en  another  iron  mail  to  our 
pleasant  village.     Maj'  his  elfovts  meet  the  success  they  deseri-e '. 

Among  the  men  of  Pontine  who  came  here  at  an  etirly  daj  was  Judge  Diinlel 
I-eRoy,  of  whom  mention  hixf  before  been  mniie.  He  was  sliigiilfli-  in  ninuy  thiu^ 
not  the  least  of  whicli  was  thjit  he  became  pious.  Joined  the  church  and  thereupon 
became  one  of  the  nbollttonists  of  the  old  stamp,  who,  though  In  a  veiy  small  minority, 
thought  they  were  right,  and  went  ahead,  believing  that  time  would,  witli  patience 
and  perseverance.  accom|iliah  all  things,  and  like  Wellington  at  the  buttle  of  Waterloo. 
that  they  could  pound  the  longest— and  so  they  have.  •  ♦  •  This  is  a  (ligi'esslon, 
jierhaps,  but  lllusti'ative  of  the  times  when  the  Judge  took  the  only  abolition  )>aper 
circulated  in  Fentouvllle — ThP  Star  of  the  East — pubtlshtil  In  the  state  of  Maine. 

While  on  this  subject  let  me  call  to  mind  some  of  the  scenes  of  1S4I>— -Tippecanoe 
and  Tyler,  too."  There  was  an  immense  gathering  and  great  excitement  in  our 
usually  quiet  village.  Tom  Drakp  and  others  were  here,  and  the  frame  of  the  new 
flourlng-niill  was  uji  and  tbe  roof  on  There  the  people  began  to  assemble,  I>rake 
walked  to  and  fro  in  front  of  the  hotel — hands  In  his  pockets,  eyes  on  the  ground- 
digesting  the  matter  for  the  coming  speech  and  preparing,  as  well  .ts  he  could,  to 
digest  the  pork  and  beans  and  hard  cider  with  which  the  ci'owd  was  to  be  regaled. 
Wagons  with  hard  elder  were  diawn  up  In  front,  the  kettles  were  on  the  fire,  the 
pork  and  beans  were  boiling,  and  one  team  had  arrived  from  Flint  with  a  load  of 
shingles  to  be  used  In  dealing  out  the  refreshments,  for  be  it  known  that  kulvea, 
forks  and  spoons  were  alike  interdicted;  pork  and  beans  were  her\e<l  on  shingles 
iitid  from  a  split  shingle  spoons  were  formed.  The  sjieeches  went  on  in  the  usual 
way.  The  iieople  were  told  that  In  the  White  House  gold  spoons  were  used,  that 
Vnu  Bnren  contemplated  a  standing  army  of  at  least  twenty  thousand  uieiu  .ind 
insisted  on  that  odious  scheme  called  the  "sub-treasury."  whereby  the  money  of  the 
jieople  was  to  be  locked  up  and  we  were  all  to  be  reduced  to  lieji^'ary^  NhllllnK  a 
djiy  and  a  sheeii's  pluck  for  wages  and  meat— and  "that  same  old  coim,"  dead  but 
stuffed,  was  run  up  on  a  iiole,  and  all  the  people  shouted  and  roared,  and  drank  hard 
cider,  and  pulled  out  their  "latch- strings,"  and  ate  pork  and  beans  off  .t  shingle  with 
a  split  shingle  for  a  aimon,  while  Ellsha  Holmes,  quietly  hammering  away  at  his  anvil, 
looked  down  the  ilsta  of  time,  ransacked  hia  memory  (or  a  parallel,  and  with  pro- 
phetic vision,  exclaimed,  "Go  it  while  you're  young,  boys;  feel  good  while  you  may; 
but  if  my  name  is  Klisha  Holmes,  your  'Tyler,  too,'  wiil  be  a  tartar;  for  my  history 
tells  me  Tyler  Is  a  life-long  Democrat,  and  you  will  find  his  policy  stamped  on  the 
uext  administration,  or  I  am  not  Ellsha  Holmes." 

And  history  has  recorded  the  ti'uth  of  his  jirophecy.  Would  thai  thei-e  were  mrup 
among  us  who  looked  to  the  lessons  of  the  past,  nnd  so  performed  their  duties  as 
good  citizens  to  bring  about  the  greatest  possible  good  In  the  future  1 

Another  of  our  early  settlers  deserves  mention  here.  Hon.  Jeremiah  RIggs.  who 
settled  In  Michigan  when  It  was  a  territory,  was  a  member  of  the  territorial  council 
(as  was  Judge  Lelioy),  and  at  tbe  formation  of  the  state  government  took  part  as 
one  of  the  framera  of  the  first  and  best  constitution— for  surely  Innovations  have  not 
Improved  our  flrat  constitution.  He  was  a  man  of  kind  and  genial  disposition,  beloved 
by  all,  and  for  many  years  after  he  came  to  this  village  might  be  seen  at  the  RIggs 
hotel,  his  mind  treasured  with  memories  of  the  past  and  his  conversation  instructive 
and   amusing  beyond  what   Is  often   found.     He  has  left  behind   him   sons,   some  of 


dbyGoo<^lc 


220  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

wbom   lire  jiiihdi;;   iik.   mid   ;i    iiieiiiory   wlilcli   will    hu   cherlKlied   with   reB|>ect   by   :i]l    to 
wliiHii   he  \i-iiK   kniiwii, 

Dustiii  Cheney,  the  tirst  settler  in  the  township  as  well  as  in  the  village 
of  I'enton,  was  a  veteran  of  the  War  of  1812.  Mr.  Cheney's  son,  Harrison 
Cheney,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  (1835).  Imtnediately 
following  the  arrival  of  Dustin  Cheney  at  the  site  of  Fenton,  came  Ciark 
Dibble,  George  Dibble,  Lauren  P.  Riggs,  John  Galloway  and  Robert  Win- 
cheil.  With  them  at  the  early  "raisings"  were  John  Alexander  Galloway, 
William  Gage  and  Hannibal  Vickery.  One  of  the  early  "characters"  in  Fen- 
ton was  "Johnny"  Wilber,  also  a  veteran  of  the  War  of  t8i2,  noted  for  his 
jovially,  qiiaintness  and  honesty.  "Uncle  Dick"  Donaldson  was  another 
favorite  among  the  pioneers  of  Fenton.  Robert  LeRoy,  the  partner  of  William 
yi.  I'^enton  in  laying  out  and  building  up  the  village,  came  with  his  father, 
Daniel  LeRoy,  from  New  York  to  Detroit  in  1818  and,  after  a  residence  in 
Pontiac  from  1830,  came  with  Mr.  Fenton,  in  the  winter  of  1836-1837,  to 
the  site  of  the  latter  village.  They  oi^ened  the  fir.st  store  in  the  place.  Others 
came  in  rapidly  and  in  a  short  time  the  settlement  began  to  take  on  the  aspects 
of  a  promising  viHage. 

The  village  of  Fentonville  was  platted  in  1837  and  included  the  portion 
which  extends  from  Robert  street,  on  the  north,  to  South  street,  on  the  south, 
and  from  East  street  to  West  street.  These  remained  the  hmits  until  1859. 
Previous  to  the  first  platting,  the  place  was  called  Dibbleville,  from  one  of  its 
early  settlers,  Clark  Dibljle. 

Fenton  and  LeRoy  built  the  first  tavern  in  the  village,  named  later  the 
Riggs  House,  from  Judge  Jeremiah  Riggs,  who  occupied  it  from  1843.  Thev 
also  purchased  and  greatly  improved  the  saw-mill  which  the  Dibbles  had  built 
previous  to  1837,  and  built  a  grist-mill.  Robert  I^Roy  liecame,  in  1838,  the 
first  postmaster  of  the  village  and  held  the  office  for  thirteen  years.  Mail 
was  first  brought  here  on  horseback  over  the  Grand  River  road. 

'["he  first  law  office  in  the  village  was  opened  by  William  M.  Fenton, 
and  several  who  afterwards  became  able  practitioners  received  the  rudi- 
ments of  their  legal  education  in  his  office.  Another  pioneer  lawyer  of 
Fenton  was  Alexander  P.  Davis,  a  native  of  Aurelius,  Cayuga  county,  New 
York,  who  later  became  state  senator.'  The  first  physician  to  practice  here  was 
Dr.  Samuel  W.  Pattison,  who  came  in  1836.  The  second  was  Dr.  Thomas 
Steerc,  who  came  about  1838.  from  Norwich,  Chenango  county,  New  York. 
With  him  for  a  short  time  was  Dr.  John  C.  Gallup.  Very  promineiit  among 
the  early  physicians  who  came  later  to  the  township  was  Dr.  Lsaac  Wixom, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  221 

who,  previous  to  his  residence  in  the  township,  practiced  in  jVrgentine  and 
was  a  state  senator  in  1841. 

Fentonville  had  an  early  rival  for  village  honors  in  what  has  heconie 
the  village  of  Linden.  The  first  settlers  here  were  Richard  and  Perry  I^nib, 
who  settled  in  1835,  on  section  20.  For  a  long  time  the  house  of  Perry 
Lamh  furnished  accommodations  for  travelers  and  Mrs.  Lamb  was  known 
far  and  wide  as  an  excellent  housewise,  a  courteous  entertainer  and  a  most 
exemplary  pioneer  lady.  Mrs.  Lamb's  father,  Zenas  Fairbank,  came  to  the 
neighborhood  in  1836  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine.  Other  early 
settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Linden  were  Asahel  Ticknor,  Charles  and  Joseph 
Byram,  Seth  C.  Sadler,  Consider  Warner,  Eben  Harris,  Jonathan  Shephard 
and  Beniah  Sanborn. 

The  village  was  first  platted  in  February,  1840.  Consider  Warner  and 
Kl)en  Harris  were  among  the  ori^nal  proprietors.  Mr.  Warner  built  a 
saw-mill  here  in  1837,  and  in  1838  began  the  erection  of  a  grist-mill.  In 
1839  Warner  and  Harris  opened  a  store  and.  in  1840,  a  drug  store.  Be- 
tween 1836  and  1840  a  log  bridge  was  built  across  the  Shiawassee  at  Lin- 
den, and  soon  after  it  was  carried  away  by  the  raising  of  the  riam  a  frame 
bridge  was  thrown  across,  the  first  of  many  others  to  follow. 

The  first  school  in  Linden  was  taught  in  1839,  by  a  daughter  of  Al>el 
]').  Hunt,  in  a  shantj-  which  stood  in  front  of  the  grist-miil.  Walter  Brown 
taught  at  the  same  place  the  following  winter;  he  had  taught  earlier  a  school 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  east.  The  first  building  erected  purposely  for 
a  school  house  within  what  are  now  the  corporate  limits  of  the  village,  was 
a  log  structure  put  up  in  1840  on  the  street  running  south  from  the  Union 
Block.  Louisa  Hillman  and  John  Morris  were  among  its  early  teachers;  it 
was  used  only  about  two  years,  when  a  frame  building  was  completed. 

The  first  religious  society  in  the  village  was  organized  previous  to  1838 
by  the  Free-Wiil  Baptists;  its  first  minister  was  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  from 
Holly,  Oakland  county,  who  is  said  to  have  preached  his  first  sermon  here 
the  previous  year  from  a  pile  of  saw-logs  in  the  mill-yard.  Rev.  Hiram 
Madison  was  also  early,  having  preached  a  funeral  sermon  in  August,  1836. 
The  second  religious  organization  was  formed  by  the  Metliodists,  who  or- 
ganized a  class  about  1838-39.     An  early  minister  was  Rev.  Daniel  Miller. 

In  1840  a  village  was  laid  out  at  Mount  Pleasant,  by  John  Cook,  who 
with  his  l^rotber,  Solomon,  had  settled  there.  On  the  eastern  shore  of  Long 
lake,  below  the  "narrows."  Pliilip  H.  McOml>er  settled  in  1834  and  long 
kept  a  tavern  known  as  the  I-ong  T-ake  House.     The  vicinity  of  this  pleasant 


dbyGoot^lc 


222  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

lake   was  destined   to   l>ecome  a    favorite   summering;  place   and   picnicking 
ground  for  the  surrounding  region. 

The  first  meeting  in  the  township  for  election  of  officers  was  held 
April  2,  1838,  at  the  Fentonville  hotel,  with  results  as  follows:  Supervisor, 
Walter  Dibble;  town  clerk,  I-auren  P.  Riggs;  justices  of  the  peace,  Asahel 
Ticknor,  Tliomas  Irish,  John  Cook  and  Elisha  Lamed;  school  inspectors, 
Asahe!  Ticknor,  Charles  J.  Birdsall  and  R.  J.  Gage;  assessors,  P.  H.  Mc- 
Omber,  Herman  Lamb  and  Jacob  Knapp:  commissioners  of  highways, 
James  Thorp,  Seth  C.  Sadler  and  H.  Garfield;  coHector,  Ehsha  W.  Postal; 
directors  of  the  jxior,  James  Thorp  and  E,  A.  Byram;  constables,  John 
Nichols  and  Morris  Thorp;  pathmasters,  William  Nichols,  Seth  C.  Sadler, 
Elisha  Bailey.  Perry  Lamb,  Charles  Tupper.  William  Remington,  Philip  H. 
McOmher,  John  Cook  and  Hiram  Lamb. 

ATLAS    TOWNSHIP. 

Atlas  township  was  originally  a  part  of  Lapeer  county,  being  detached 
from  Lapeer  and  added  to  (^nesee  county  in  1843.  ^^  was  organized  in 
1S36  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  townships  in  this  region  to  receive  settlers. 
The  first  settler  was  Asa  Farrar,  who,  in  September,  1830,  purchased  land 
on  section  1 8  and  buih  a  log  house  upon  it  the  same  year.  He  was  a  brother 
of  Pearson  l'~arrar,  who  settled  the  same  year  in  Grand  Blanc  upon  an 
adjacent  section.  They  came  from  Monroe  county,  New  York.  The  first 
birth  and  the  first  marriage  in  Atlas  township  occurred  in  Asa  Farrar's  fam- 
ily, respectively,  in,  1833  and  1831I. 

The  second  settlement,  as  well  as  land  purchase,  was  made  by  Judge 
Norman  Davison  in  1831  on  the  banks  of  Kearsley  creek  in  section  8.  Mr. 
Davison  and  family  were  from  Avon,  Livingston  county,  New  York,  Soon 
after  his  settlement  he  buih  a  two-story  frame  house  from  lumber  obtained 
from  Rowland  B.  Perry's  mill.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  Davisonville,  orig- 
inally known  as  Atias  Postoffice.  Here  were  situated  the  first  postoffice, 
merchants,  mills,  workshops  and  schools.  The  saw-mill  was  built  in  1833 
and  the  grist-mill  in  1836,  Mr.  Davison  was  the  first  postmaster.  Elias 
Rockafellow  established  here  the  first  blacksmith  shop  in  1837,  and  in  1838 
Fitch  R.  Track  opened  the  first  store.  In  1840  William  Thomas  opened  a 
tavern,  and  in  the  next  year  Oliver  Palmer  first  began  wool-carding  and 
stock-dressing.  The  first  school  in  the  township  was  taught  here  by  Sarah 
Barnes,  in  a  lean-to  adjoining  Davison's  house,  as  early  as  1836,  the  earhest 
religious  services  in  the  township.    Judge  Davison  was  a  meml>er  of  the  first 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENF.SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN".  22T, 

constitutional  convention  of  1835,  the  first  supervisor  of  the  old  town  of 
Grand  Blanc  in  1833,  and  while  Atlas  was  still  attached  to  Lapeer  county 
he  was  one  of  the  judges  of  that  county.  He  held  various  other  offices  and 
in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  gave  genera!  satisfaction,  securing  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

In  1833  also  came  John  and  Aaron  Brigham,  brothers,  from  Lewis 
county.  New  York,  settling  ujMn  section  5 ;  but  in  1836  they  removed  to 
Hadley.  Nehemiah  S.  ?>urpee  and  Samuel  Lason  settled  in  1834.  In  1835 
came  Alexander  and  James  Lobban,  James  McCraith  and  two  sons,  Ezra 
K.  Paschall,  Noah  and  William  Owen,  Joseph  R.  Johnson  and  son,  James 
(;.  Horton,  Talford  and  Daniel  Poweil  and  Lewis  Mentor. 

In  Septeraijer,  1835,  was  founded  the  nucleus  of  the  village  of  Good- 
rich. In  that  month  Moses  and  Enos  Goodrich,  brothers,  from  Clarence. 
Erie  county,  New  York,  purchased  more  than  one  thousand  acres  on  sec- 
tions near  the  center  of  liie  township.  After  building  a  log  house  on  sec- 
tion JO.  they  returne{i  to  Clarence,  and  in  the  following  year  brought  out  a 
numljer  of  relatives  to  the  new  home.  The  father.  Levi  H.  Goodrich,  a 
native  r)f  Hampshire  county,  Massachusetts,  joined  the  family  here  in  the 
fall  of  the  same  year.  From  this  time  the  name  of  Goodrich  has  Ijeen  inti- 
mately connected  with  all  the  social,  commercial  and  political  history  of 
.\tlas  township.  Shortly  after  the  father's  arrival  a  frame  house  was  built 
on  the  corner  of  what  were  later  Main  and  Clarence  streets,  directly  east 
from  the  later  Bushaw  Hotel.  Here  was  kept  a  general  store  and  the 
"Goodrich  Bank."  A  saw-mill  was  put  in  operation  in  April,  1837.  The 
Goodrich  mill,  built  and  equipi>ed  by  the  Goodrich  brothers  at  a  cost  of  eight 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  l)egan  merchant  work  in  1845.  The  first 
frame  dwelling  was  built  in  1838  by  Enos  Goodrich,  which  later  became  part 
of  the  home  of  William  H.  Putnam.  Hon.  E.  H.  Thomson,  the  first  attor- 
ney and  later  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Flint,  first  settled  here  in  1837.  For 
many  years  Moses  Goodrich  continued  to  reside  upon  the  fine  farm,  which 
was  included  in  the  purchase  of  1835,  surrounded  by  an  affectionate  family 
and  all  the  comforts  which  are  the  reward  of  an  honorable  and  industrious 
life. 

During  the  year  1836  many  families  took  up  their  residence  in  Atlas 
township.  Among  these  were  Daniel  and  Manley  Swears  (brothers),  Hiram 
Fillmore  (a  cousin  of  President  Fillmore),  Albert  Demaree  and  his  sons. 
David,  Cornelius,  Jacob  and  Garrett,  Daniel  Swears,  Sn.  James  Black.  James 
Kipp,  Peter  Lane,  John  Mancour,  James  Burden,  Jacob  and  Thomas  Van- 
tine.  John  Hosier.  William  Carpenter,  Joseph  Russell,  Hiram  Husted,  John 


dbyGoot^lc 


224  (iENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

L,  McNiel,  Jacob  Thomas,  Levi  Preston  and  Lewis  Cumniings.  In  1837 
Dr.  Cyrus  Baldwin,  the  first  resident  physician,  Lewis  Van  Cleve,  his  son, 
Lewis,  Jr.,  Samuel  Winship,  Eiias  Rockafellow,  the  first  blacksmith  and 
iron  founder  in  the  township;  Fitch  R.  Tracy,  the  first  merchant;  Samuel 
Walker,  John  K.  Pearsons,  William  (loodrich,  Moses  Wisner  and  Michael 
Bowers.  Other  settlers  who  became  residents  in  the  early  period  were  Brad- 
le}'  Cartwright,  Freeman  Coolage,  John  V'antine,  Julius  Barnes,  Amos  H. 
Fisk,  Stephen  Horton,  William  Surryhiie,  Moses  Frost,  William  Roberts, 
Joseph  Tyler,  Fdward  Fortune,  Albert  V'antine,  Cliarles  \^antine  Jonathan 
Frost,  E[Jiraim  S.  Frost,  Ralph  C.  Atkins,  Albert  J.  Bates,  Ira  G.  Hootnn. 
Peter  Vantine,  Paul  Liscomb,  James  Vantine,  John  Perritt,  Matliew  P. 
Thomas,  Jacob  H.  Howe,  Isaac  Carmer,  Elijah  Carmer,  Oliver  Palmer, 
Nathaniel  Fairchild,  Clark  Hutchins,  Hiram  Maxfield,  Marlin  Davison  and 
Thomas  P.  Wood. 

The  first  town-meeting  was  held  in  Atlas  on  April  4,  1836,  at  "Davi- 
son's Mills."  Twenty-two  voters  were  present,  and  the  result  of  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  was  as  follows:  Sui^ervisor,  Ezra  K.  Parshall;  township 
clerk,  Nonnan  Davison;  assessors,  John  Brigham,  Asa  Farrar  and  James  G. 
Horton;  collector.  Tames  Lobban;  directors  of  the  poor,  Moses  Goodrich 
and  Aaron  Brigham;  commissioners  of  highways,  Moses  Goodrich,  Paul  G. 
Davison  and  Asa  Farrar;  constable,  James  Lobban;  school  commissioners 
for  three  years,  Oliver  P.  Davison,  I^vi  W.  Goodrich  and  Ezra  K.  Parshall; 
justices  of  the  peace,  Norman  Davison,  l-'zra  K.  Parshall,  Moses  Goodrich 
and  Alexander  Lobban ;  fence-viewers,  Moses  Goodrich,  Oliver  P.  Davison, 
Alexander  Lobban  and  Samuel  Lason;  jwund  keeper,  Xorman  Davison; 
overseer,  road  district  No.  i,  Oliver  P.  Davison,  road  district  No.  2,  John 
Brigham,  road  district  No.  3,  Samuel  I-ason,  road  district  No,  4,  Moses 
Goodrich;  school  insjiectors.  Ezra  K.  Parshall,  Oliver  P.  Davison,  James 
G.  Horton.  Paul  G.  Davison  and  Levi  W.  Goodrich, 

FLUSHING    TOWNSHIP. 

Rufus  llarrison  has  the  honor  of  l)eing  the  first  white  settler  of  Flush- 
ing township.  He  settled  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  near  the  south- 
east comer  in  the  fall  of  1835.  The  second  permanent  settler  in  the  town- 
ship was  Henry  French,  who  located  on  section  36  in  the  same  fall.  His 
brother,  Eljenezer,  came  the  next  year.  Probably  the  only  other  permanent 
settler  of  1835  was  John  Evans,  of  Manchester,  England,  who  came  to 
Michigan  after  a  brief  residence  in  New  York.     Others  who  came  Ijefore 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  225 

1840  were  Thomas  L.  Brent,  David  and  James  Penoyer,  Ezra  Smith,  Origin 
Packard  and  Alexander  Barlx:r. 

Thomas  Brent  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  earlier  settlers, 
having  acquired,  before  his  coming,  a  national  reputation  and  a  large  for- 
tune. At  one  time  he  paid  taxes  on  about  seventy  thousand  acres  of  land 
in  Michigan.  He  was  a  Virginian  by  birth  and  married  a  noble  Spaiiish  iady 
with  whom  he  had  Income  acquainted  while  on  a  mission  to  that  country 
in  the  employ  of  the  United  States  government.  His  married  life  is  said 
to  have  been  unhappy.  Before  his  death  he  sank  his  fortune  and  became 
"land  poor."  In  1836  he  built  a  saw-mill  near  his  place  on  section  3,  but  a 
freshet  in  the  following  spring  destroyed  it.  This  part  of  the  township  con- 
tained a  large  acreage  of  pine  and  a  second  mill  was  soon  built,  up  from  the 
river  out  of  reach  of  freshets.  It  is  said  that  nearly  every  man  who  settled 
early  in  the  township  worked  at  some  time  or  other  for  Mr.  Brent,  clearing 
up  land  and  earning  enough  money  to  pay  for  homes  of  their  own.  The 
"Brent  farm"  was  widely  known  throughout  the  region. 

John  Paton,  a  native  of  Blackford,  Perthshire,  Scotland,  and  later  a 
resident  of  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  purchased  lands  on  section  22  and  27  as 
early  as  1834,  but  did  not  settle  until  1837.  He  had  come  to  America  in  the 
spring  of  1827.  In  1843  Mrs.  Paton  wrote  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  England, 
which  is  worth  repeating  as  typical  of  pioneer  conditions  in  Flushing  town- 
ship at  that  time,  being  written  during  the  closing  days  of  the  famous  "hard 
H  mter 

Flushing  Near  Flint  River  4prII  6  1&43 
I  «ill  n  t  itten  pt  tr  jij)olt^i7t  foi  not  wilting  eiilier  but  let  tlie  simple  truth 
suttue  I  line  ind  four  lettois  I  nn\  mj  wrlttai  (one  entlielv  finished)  but  litked 
funds  to  pet  tlieni  It  Is  eTsler  to  lelease  n  dozen  letters  than  to  prepay  one  For 
tile  one  tbev  will  take  produce  for  the  otbei  tbey  eiact  cfieh  ind  that  is  a  very 
Ht  iroe  article  heie  foi  oui  hnsluei-s  Is  carried  on  mosth  by  barter  We  sold  about 
two  bundled  dolliii<i  uoitti  of  stock  in  the  last  ^eiii  and  it  was  with  gie-it  difflculti 
we  Kot  sill  dolliirs  in  cash  limes  lin\e  been  veri  hard  and  I  feir  not  yet  it  the 
worst  Vccortliug  to  accounts  tlint  fin  be  relied  on  we  hiie  liad  the  hirdest  winter 
that  Ltf.  occuired  for  fifty  foin  yens  It  commenced  in  October  and  Is  now  snow 
lug  the  snon  m  the  wood*!  is  from  two  to  thiee  feet  deep  But  we  don  t  suffer  on 
the  timbered  land  anything  like  those  on  the  01k  openings,  as  regirds  our  stock 
nlthou^li  we  jire  destitute  of  anithmg  In  the  shape  of  fodder  In  our  barns  for  we 
luiie  the  woods  to  resort  to  where  tiiere  is  plenty  of  maple  and  basswood  and  we 
lilt  them  down  and  tlie  cattle  feed  on  the  tops  ind  loik  pretty  well  where  thev  are  well 
attended  t»  But  w«  liear  of  cattle  dyinE  in  all  diiections  and  of  some  farmers  knock 
ing  the  whoie  of  their  cattle  on  the  bead  to  8a\e  them  from  1  lingering  stanation  iiftei 
feeding  out  all  their  stoie  others  austainlng  them  tn  flour  ytctmls  all  othei  being 
exhausted     last  winter  (!    e    1S4142)   we  had  an  unusually  open  season  and  ■\  ^ery 

(IS) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


22b  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

early  spring  Our  fleld'^  neiet  looked  so  well— fruit  tiees  lii  full  bloom— imd  ail  seemed 
cheering  in  tlie  month  of  Aijril  but  oui  hopes  were  soon  blighted  We  had  ^eveie  fio^ 
in  Mn  wLitii  LUt  (S  oui  liloisiimH  and  whfit  was  still  norse  oui  i.oin  the"  ii  tedious 
drought  succeeded  whifh  almost  burnt  up  the  nheat— nt  least  stunted  it  so  the  stnw 
wta  worth  little  then  to  finish  when  it  wiis  lu  the  milk  there  weie  t>unitt  sbuweis 
tiiat  stiuck  it  with  rust— the  late  sown  suffereO  most  •  *  •  I  am  Lappj  to  saj  1 
hate  enjoyed  bettei  heilth  thif,  wmter  than  I  haie  wils  I  came  lu  the  m  >oOs  (oier 
six  ^ears)  and  if  the  tormeiitiuK  ague  ttdl  keeii  awai  I  will  es-titse  It  It  Is  i  siu 
gular  thing  to  find  one  put  of  the  day  a  person  wiil  feel  able  to  go  about  and  do  u 
little  work  and  anothei  pait  not  Lble  to  ilse  from  the  pillow  and  is  ciazj  as  lhi  be 
&uih  has  been  hanging  on  me  foui  \eai8  New  settleis  Reneiallj  hate  it  but  aftei 
they  get  Hctlimated  it  is  very  he.ilth\  Cousiderlng  the  haid  times  our  count>  is  set 
tling  very  fist  Ihere  are  six  families  froiu  Stockiioit  settled  near  to  ua  and  there 
ire  spieral  moie  coming  out  fiom  there  this  spring  We  hme  let  a  biiek ground  to 
two  of  these  1  must  tell  ^ou  ne  Ua\e  had  the  good  lU(.k  to  find  a  co^imlue  on  oui 
farm  but  we  ha\e  not  been  ible  to  aacertiin  its  e\tent  it  Is  of  e\.celleiit  quality 
We  sold  seien  dollirs  worth  of  it  last  fall  when  we  found  it  iliings  ^neially  pmspei 
with  us  since  I  last  wiote  loii 

About  1840  there  began  to  form  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  town- 
ship the  "EngHsh  settiement."  In  that  fali  came  John  Reed  and  James 
BaiJey,  soon  followed  by  Samuel  and  James  Wood,  of  Lancashire,  and 
Mary  Vernon,  who  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Wood,  and  her  father,  John 
Bailey,  who  was  the  father  also  of  James  Bailey-  Later  there  settled 
Thomas  Hough,  Sr.  and  J,,  Richard  Bowden,  William  Bailey  and  Thomas 
Newell,  ail  of  the  same  nativity.  Most  of  them  had  been  farmers  in  the 
old  country,  but  their  newness  to  pioneering  in  a  western  wilderness  led  to 
some  amusing  exj>eriences. 

A  good  story  is  told  by  John  Reed,  who  had  a  fierj'  temper  which  was 
not  always  under  control.  On  one  occasion  he  became  angry  with  his  cow 
and  drove  her  away  into  the  woods  to  the  north,  kicking  her  at  every  stqi, 
until  finally  both  were  tired  out.  He  had  tried  to  turn  her  !mck  at  first,  but 
she  was  obstinate  and  that  roused  his  ire.  His  boot  came  up  at  the  same 
time  with  his  ire  and  when  at  last  he  stoi>ped  to  rest  he  found  himself  in  a 
strange  neighborhood,  lost  in  the  forest.  He  finally  pulled  off  one  of  his 
boots,  milked  the  cow  in  it.  drank  the  milk  and  lay  down  on  a  log,  where  he 
was  found  the  next  day  by  the  neighbors,  who  had  instituted  a  search  for 
him.  He  had  fought  mosquitoes  ail  night  and  looked  somewhat  the  worse 
for  wear. 

The  beginnings  of  Flushing  village  are  marked  by  the  purchase  of  the 
water  power  there  by  Horace  Jerome,  from  St.  Qair,  Michigan,  in  1836. 
Jerome  was  working  in  co-operation  with  Charles  Seymour,  of  Litchfield 
county,  Connecticut.     The  frame  of  the  mill  was  put  up  in  the  summer  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  22/ 

1837  and  in  1838  one  saw  was  in  operation.  In  1840  Seymour,  in  company 
with  Benjamin  Bowers,  built  the  first  grist-mill  in  the  place,  on  the  site 
of  the  later  Flushing  mills.  In  the  same  year  Seymour  platted  the  village, 
on  lx)th  sides  of  the  river. 

Horace  Jerome  is  connected  in  Flushing's  history  with  the  ill-fated 
"wild-cat"  institution,  "The  IHint  J^apids  Bank."'  of  1838.  The  experiment 
resulted  in  such  ill  repute  for  its  sponsors  that  soon  after  failure  Jerome  left 
the  region  and  did  not  return. 

Flushing  township  was  organized  in  1838;  the  early  records  being  lost, 
no  account  can  be  given  of  the  earliest  official  history  of  the  township. 

The  first  religious  society  in  the  township  was  formed  in  the  English 
settlement,  where  the  pioneers  were  mainly  Methodists,  A  class  was  formed 
soon  after  the  first  arrivals  and  the  first  meetings  were  held  in  James 
Wood's  Ic^  house.  Their  first  preacher  was  a  Mr.  Whitwam  and  their  first 
class  leader  James  Wood.     A  church  was  not  built,  however,  until  1864. 

Marshall  Talbot  taught  the  first  school  in  the  township  as  it  was  then, 
ju.st  across  the  present  boundary  in  Mount  Morris.  At  the  English  settle- 
ment a  school  house  was  built  about  1845, 

MUNDY   TOWNSHIP. 

The  earliest  land  entries  in  Mundy  township  were  made  in  1833  on 
sections  13,  14,  11  and  12,  respectively,  by  Daniel  Williams,  of  Lapeer 
county,  Michigan,  John  Richards,  of  Niagara  county.  New  York,  and  Brad- 
bury Eastman,  of  Tompkins  county.  New  York.  The  only  lands  of  the 
township  in  the  hands  of  the  government  at  the  end  of  1836  were  forty 
acres  in  section  28,  which  were  taken  up  in  1S37. 

The  first  permanent  settlements  effected  in  this  township  were  by  Dan- 
iel Williams,  Eli  Gilbert  and  Jason  L.  Austin  in  1833  on  section  13.  Volney 
tSiles  settled  soon  afterward  on  section  11.  In  the  following  year  came 
Morgan  Baldwin  and  George  Judson.  All  of  the  settlers  were  from  the 
state  of  New  York. 

Among  those  who  had  made  their  homes  in  Mundy  township  before 
Michigan  was  admitted  to  the  Union  are  the  following:  Thomas  Glover, 
David  Gibson,  Seth  Kitchen,  Ebenezer  Bishop,  Josiah  Alger  and  family  of 
ten  children,  Mr.  Barnum,  Asa  Pierce,  William  Odell,  Jeshurum  Leach,  Jon- 
athan G,  Firman  and  others. 

The  first  white  male  child  born  in  the  township  of  Mundy  was  Thomas 


dbyGoot^lc 


228  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

CJlover's  son,  Henry  Glover,  and  the  first  white  female  child  was  Hannah 
Baldwin,  daughter  of  Morgan  Baldwin,  her  birth  occurring  March  30,  1835. 

The  township  was  named  in  honor  of  Edward  S.  Mundy,  who  was 
lieutenant-governor  of  Michigan  when  the  township  was  organized,  March 
II,  1837.  On  April  3  the  first  township  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Josiah  Alger,  when  eighteen  votes  were  cast,  of  which  only  three  were  from 
the  west  half  of  the  township.  The  following  officers  were  chosen:  Super- 
visor, John  Alger ;  town  clerk,  Morgan  Baldwin ;  assessors,  Jonathan  G. 
Firman,  Morgan  Baldwin,  Benjamin  Simmons  and  Seth  Kitchen;  collector, 
George  Judson;  commissioners  of  highways,  J.  G.  Firman,  George  Judson 
and  Jeshurum  Leach;  school  inspectors,  Jonathan  G.  Firman,  Ira  Dunning 
and  Dudley  Brainard;  justices  of  the  peace,  Benjamin  Simmons,  one  year, 
JoSiah  Alger,  two  years,  Morgan  Baldwin,  three  years  and  Henry  M. 
Thompson,  four  years:  constables,  George  Judson  and  Volney  Stiles. 

The  condition  of  settlement  in  1840  is  reflected  in  the  vote  at  the 
general  NovemJjer  election,  whose  interest  was  sufficient  to  bring  out  the 
total  voting  strength  of  the  township.     Eighty-nine  votes  were  cast. 

The  first  school  district  organized  in  the  town.ship  was  in  the  Baldwin 
neighborhooil,  in  the  spring  of  1837.  A  school  was  taught  the  summer  fol- 
lowing by  Miss  Mary  Gazley  in  a  log  school  house  which  .stood  on  the  cor- 
ner of  the  farm  later  owned  by  LaFayette  Odell.  Mrs.  Conant  kept  school 
temporarily  in  her  own  house  in  the  summer  of  1836  before  the  school 
house  was  built.  The  first  winter  term  was  taught  by  a  Scotchman  named 
McClergan,  or  McClagan,  DeWitt  C,  Leach  taught  a  number  of  terms 
afterwards. 

In  1837  the  Methodists  formed  a  class  at  or  near  the  Odell  school 
house,  but  it  is  was  not  of  long  duration  there.  A  Presbyterian  society 
was  formed  in  1844.  The  first  sei*vices  were  held  by  Rev.  P.  H.  Burghardt. 
This  church  was  for  many  years  a  mission,  receiving  aid  from  the  Home 
Missionary  Society.  In  1845  a  Baptist  society  was  organized  near  Mundy 
Center. 

ARGENTINE    TOWNSHIP. 

-By  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  lands  of. Argentine  township  were 
taken  up  in  the  year  1836,  and  very  little  was  entered  before  then.  As 
early  as  1825  Samuel  Dexter,  of  New  York,  entered  lands  in  sections  19 
and  27,  but  for  speculation  rather  than  for  settlement.  Two  years  later 
Elijah  Crane,   of   Wayne  county,   entered   eighty  acres  in   section   26.      In 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  22g 

1835  James  fl.  Murray  and  Sa%  Murray,  of  Washtenaw  county,  made 
entries  in  lands  entered  before  1836, 

The  first  white  men  who  became  residents  of  what  is  now  Ai^entine 
township  were  James  H.  Murray  and  Wiiiiani  Lobdell,  in  1836.  Mr.  Mur- 
ray, who  formerly  hved  near  Rochester,  New  York,  came  from  Cayuga 
county,  in  that  state,  with  his  family,  and  first  settled  in  Washtenaw  county. 
His  purchase  of  land  in  section  35  of  Argentine  township,  was  made  to 
secure  a  water  privilege,  and  as  soon  as  he  moved  his  family  -thither,  in 
March,  1836,  he  built  the  dam  now  standing  at  the  village  and  erected  a 
saw-mill.  Two  or  three  years  later  he  built  a  fram.e  grist-mill,  from  whicb 
flour  was  drawn  to  Detroit  in  wagons.  Mr.  Murray  also  built  the  first  store 
in  the  village,  opposite  the  grist-mill.  He  also  built  the  second  hotel  in  the 
place,  the  first  having  been  built  by  Abram  Middlesworth.  Argentine  soon 
became  a  village  center  of  considerable  importance. 

Among  the  earliest  settlers  who  contributed  to  the  growth  of  the-town- 
s!iip  may  be  njentioned  William  Ix>bdell,  William  Alger,  William  Jennings, 
William  and  Iienr>'  Pratt,  Ira  Murray,  Israel  Crow,  Calvin  W.  Ellis,  Benja- 
min Taylor,  Amos  Sturgis,  David  Brooks,  Solomon  Sutherland,  Halsey 
Whitehead,  Asa  Atherton,  David  Brooks  and  others. 

A  postoflice  was  established  at  the  village  at  an  early  day  and  called 
Booton;  but,  owing  to  the  fact  that  there  was  another  office  in  the  state 
with  a  similar  name,  it  was  finally  changed  to  Argentine.  James  H.  Mur- 
ray was  the  first  postmaster  and  to  him  is  given  the  credit  for  naming  the 
township.  Mail  was  carried  on  horseback  over  a  route  which  extended  from 
Pontiac  to  Ionia.  William  Hubbard  and  Brown  Hyatt  were  among  the 
earliest  mail  carriers. 

A  village  plat  for  Argentine  was  laid  out  in  1844,  but  the  building  of 
the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railway  through  Fenton  left  Argentine  so  far  to 
one  side  as  to  destroy  its  prospects  of  growth  as  a  village. 

As  in  the  case  of  IHint  township,  the  earliest  records  of  Argentine 
township  can  not  be  foimd.     No  records  exist  earlier  than  1850, 

MOUNT    MORRIS    TOWNSHIP. 

Mount  Morris,  while  being  one  of  the  earliest  townships  to  receive 
settlers,  was  one  of  the  latest  to  be  separately  organized,  its  lands  having 
formed  a  part  of  Flushing  and  Genesee  until  1855.  From  1833  to  ^^3^ 
its  territory  was.  a.  part  of  Grand  Blanc  township.     It  was  under  the  juri^- 


dbyGoot^lc 


230  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

diction  of  IHiiit  township  from  1836  to  1838,  when  it  was  divided  between 
Fhishing  and  Genesee, 

The  first  ripples  of  the  oncoming  tide  of  immigration  readied  the  iands 
of  Mount  Morris  in  May,  1833.  In  that  month  "Uncle  Ben"  Pearson,  of 
Avon,  Livingston  county.  New  York,  purchased  lands  on  sections  25  and  36. 
Shortly  afterwards  there  arrived  at  Todd's  tavern  on  Flint  river,  which 
was  Mr.  Pearson's  headquarters,  four  men^Lewis  Buckingham,  John  Pratt, 
Isaac  N.  Robinson  and  Richard  Marvin,  from  Mount  Morris,  Livingston 
county.  New  York, — who  were  also  in  search  of  lands.  Happy  in  the 
prospect  of  securing  neighbors,  Mr.  Pearson  guided  them  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  his  claims,  about  four  miles  north  of  Flint  on  the  Saginaw  road, 
where  all  except  Marvin  entered  lands  and  later  settled.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  "Cold  Water  settlement."  The  first  dwelling  erected  in  this 
settlement  on  lands  in  Mount  Morris  was  that  of  Mr.  Pearson,  upon  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  36. 

In  this  settlement  was  kept  the  first  .-chool  in  the  township.  It  was 
tanght  in  the  house  of  I^wis  Buckingham  by  Miss  Sarah  Curtis  as  early 
as  the  winter  of  1835-36.  There  were  some  eight  or  ten  pupils.  In  1836 
or  1837  the  children  of  the  settlement  went  to  a  log  school  house  built  on 
section  31  in  Genesee  township,  in  which  the  first  teacher  was  Miss  Flarriet 
Hoyes.  Soon  afterivard  another  log  school  house  was  built  on  Moses 
Camp's  farm,  on  section  19  in  Genesee  township,  in  which  it  is  claimed 
Newton  Robinson  taught  the  first  school.  The  first  school  house  in  Mount 
Morris  township  was  not  built  until  alxiut  1848. 

At  this  settlement  also  was  formed  the  earliest  religious  association  of 
the  township,  in  1834.  Among  the  prominent  Mount  Morris  members  were 
John  Pratt  and  Charles  N,  Beecher.  The  society  was  Presbyterian,  but  any- 
one was  counted  a  member  who  helped  to  pay  the  preacher.  A  church  was 
built  here  as  early  as  1836,  where  .services  were  held  for  twenty  years.  The 
first  pastor  was  Elder  Cobb. 

During  1834,  1835  and  1836  the  "Cold  Water  settlement"  was  con- 
siderably increased  by  new  arrivalsj  among  whom  were  Lyman  G.  Bucking- 
ham, Alanson  and  Luther  Dickinson,  Ashael  Beach,  Daniel  Curtis,  Ezekiel  R. 
Ewing,  Charles  N.  Beecher,  Edwin  Cornwell,  Frederick  Walker  and  Henry 
Parker.  Previous  to  1840  there  had  arrived  in  the  east  half  of  the  town- 
ship Rodman  W.  Albro,  Manley  Miles,  Lyman  G,  Buckingham,  Alanson 
Dickinson,  William  Pierson,  John  Rusco,  near  Devil's  Lake,  Jesse  Clark, 
Porter  Flemings,  John  Pratt,  Daniel  Curtis  and  his  father-in-law  Bacon, 
Luther  Trickey,  who  had  been  here  two  or  three  years,  Juha  Barrows,  Elder 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COIINTY,    MICHIGAN.  23I 

Cobb,  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  Daniel  Andrews,  Pratt's  brother-in-iaw, 
Humphrey  Hunt,  Charles  N.  Beecher,  who  owned  a  large  tract  of  land, 
Edwin  Cornwell,  Linus  Atkins,  - — —  Twogood,  William  Woolfitt,  Frederick 
Walker,  Henry  Barber,  George  Schoiield,  with  a  large  family  of  sons,  Will- 
iam Bodine  and  Richard  Johnson.  In  the  west  half  of  the  township  were 
James  Armstrong,  Abial  C.  Bliss,  Sylvester  Beebe,  William  Chase,  Jacob 
Dehn,  Ezekiel  R.  Ewing,  Nathaniel  Hopson,  William  H.  Hughes,  Dominick 
Kelly,  Vincent  Runyoii,  l^ussell  Welch  and  Alvin  Wright,  who  were  all 
there  prior  to  1840. 

The  settlement  made  in  October,  1836,  by  Frederick  Walker  on  section 
12,  was  the  first  made  on  the  site  of  the  later  village  of  Mount  Morris.  Mr. 
Walker  was  an  Englishman,  who  had  lived  for  some  time  in  EKitchess  county. 
New  York.  When  the  postoffice  was  established  he  became  the  first  post- 
master, the  office  being  kept  at  his  house.  In  the  beginning  there  was  little 
to  indicate  this  as  the  place  for  a  village,  but  its  destiny  was  decided  when 
in  1857  it  was  designated  as  a  station  on  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette  rail- 
road. 

The  township  takes  its  name  from  Mount  Morris,  Livingston  county, 
New  York.  When  it  was  erected  into  a  separate  township  in  1855  the 
meeting  for  the  election  of  officers  was  held  in  an  old  abandoned  log  house 
which  stood  on  the  west  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  34.  The 
whole  number  of  votes  polled  at  this  election  was  seventy-four,  and  the 
following  officers  were  chosen:  Supervisor,  Ezekiel  R.  Ewing;  township 
clerk,  Bradford  P.  Foster;  treasurer,  Samuel  R.  Farnham;  justices  of  the 
peace,  P'reclerick  Walker,  H.  S.  Root  and  Daniel  Pettengill;  highway  com- 
missioners, Alanson  Payson.  Rodman  W.  Albro  and  H.  S.  Root;  school 
inspectors,  G.  L,  Ewing  and  J.  L.  Deland;  overseers  of  the  poor,  Alanson 
Payson  and  William  S.  Pierson;  constable.  E.  L.  Johnson. 

GENESEE    TOWNSHIP. 

Until  1833  no  white  person  resided  in  the  township  of  Genesee.  Then 
came  Luman  Beach  and  Addison  Stewart,  between  whom  lies  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  settler.  Beach  settled  in  section  30  and  Stewart  on  section 
31.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  the  "Cold  Water  settlement."  The  name, 
jokingly  conferred  by  their  neighbors,  in  reality  was  a  tribute  to  the  exemp- 
lary habits  and  irreproachable  character  of  these  settlers,  who  were  all 
total  abstainers.  Good  health  gave  them  good  appetites,  for  which  their 
settlement  received   the  ambiguous  compliment  of   "Hungry  Hill,"     Other 


dbyGoot^lc 


232  GENHSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

than  Beach  and  Stewart,  the  earHest  members  of  this  settlement  were  Lewis 
Buckingham,  Isaac  N.  Robinson,  John  Pratt  and  Benjamin  Pearson. 

The  intelhgence  and  progressiveness  of  the  pioneers  of  the  "Cold  Water 
settlement"  insured  the  prompt  establishment  of  a  school  for  the  education 
of  their  children.  The  first  school  in  the  township  was  kept  here  at  the 
house  of  Lewis  Buckingham,  by  Sarah  Curtis,  as  early  as  1835-36,  with 
some  eight  or  ten  pupils.  In  1836-37  a  school  house  was  built  on  section 
31,  in  which  the  first  school  was  taught  by  Harl-iet  Hoyes. 

Here  also  was  organized  tlie  first  religious  society  in  the  township.  The 
Methodists  held  meetings  in  1836  at  the  house  of  Lewis  Buckingham,  which 
were  addressed  by  Rev.  William  Brockway,  a  missionary  and  Indian  agent, 
who  afterwards  stopped  there  on  his  way  between  Detroit  and  Saginaw. 
Previous  to  this,  in  1834-35,  Elder  Gambell,  of  Grand  Blanc,  a  Baptist 
minister,  held  occasional  services  at  the  house  of  John  Pratt.  A  Presbyter- 
ian society  was  organized  in  May,  1834,  by  Rev.  Mr.  McEwin,  of  Detroit, 
either  at  the  house  of  John  Pratt  or  Isaac  N.  Robinson,  The  society  built 
a  frame  church  in  1834  or  1835.  One  article  of  faith  adopted  reflects  the 
strong  sentiment  which  gave  the  settlement  its  name : 

"Article  3.  We  believe  that  the  manufacture  and  vending  and  use  of 
all  intoxicating  liquors,  except  for  medical  and  manufacturing  purposes,  is 
morally  wrong,  and  consequently  do  agree  to  abstain  therefrom," 

From  this  beginning  settlement  extended  into  other  parts  of  the  town- 
ship. A  settlement  almost  as  well  known  as  "Cold  Water  settlement"  was 
the  "Stanley  settlement."  This  was  begun  in  1835,  at  the  comers  of  sections 
8,  9,  16  and  17,  and  was  named  from  its  first  settler,  Sherman  Stanley. 
Mr.  Stanley  was  a  very  thorough,  energetic  farmer,  a  man  of  the  strictest 
integrity  and  a  conscientious  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  came  from 
Mount  Morris,  Livingston  county,  New  York,  With  him  came  Albert  T. 
Stevens.  Both  men  brought  their  wives  and  children,  who  later  married- 
and  settled  about  the  old  homes.  The  same  year  came  Cyrenus  Lake,  with 
his  wife  and  five  children,  and  Joseph  Simons,  with  his  mother,  two  sisters 
and  three  brothers.  In  1837  Ezra  Stevens  and  numerous  relatives  added 
their  fortunes  to  the  colony.  The  next  year  came  Peter  Snyder,  Henry  D, 
Hunt,  Charles  R.  Cooley  and  an  Irishman  named  Patrick  Daly.  The  whole 
settlement  except  three  Stevenses  and  Daly  were  from  Mount  Morris,  New 
York.     Daly  was  from  Ireland  and  Cooley  from  Wayne  county,  New  York. 

The  lands  of  the  township  were  rapidly  taken  up,  in  1833,  a  httle  more 
than  one  thousand  two  hundred  acres;  in  1834,  a  little  more  than  one  thou- 
sand five  hundred  acres;  in  1S35,  almost  four  thousand  acres,  and  in  1836, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  233 

when  the  grand  rush  came  and  the  tide  of  immigration  was  at  its  flood, 
over  fifteen  thousand  acres  were  entered. 

At  this  time  about  a  quarter  of  the  township  was  covered  with  pine, 
following  generally  the  course  of  the  river  and  lying  principally  on  its  south 
bank.  The  rest  was  mainly  white  oak.  A  number  of  saw-mills  were  early 
built,  the  first  by  Mr.  Harger,  probably  in  1834.  The  power  was  furnished 
by  Kearsley  creek.  A  second  mill  was  built  on  the  Kearsley  in  1836  by  the 
Joneses  about  a  mile  above  the  Harger  mill.  Another  was  built  there  in 
1837  by  Ogden  Clark. 

Probably  the  first  white  child  born  in  Genesee  township  was  Damon 
Stewart,  a  son  of  Addison  and  Lucy  Stewart,  in  1834;  this  honor  is  dis- 
puted between  Mr.  Stewart  and  Edward  Beach,  son  of  Luman  Beach,  who 
was  Ixjm  in  the  same  month,  the  exact  birthdays  l>eing  uncertain.  Henry 
Cadwell  and  Ann  M,  Stanley  were  the  first  persons  to  \x  united  in  the  bonds 
of  matrimony,  in  the  fall  of  1838.  During  the  same  fal!  occurred  the  first 
death  among  the  settlers,  that  of  Abigail  Stevens,  the  little  daughter  of 
Weed  H.  Stevens.  The  first  death  of  an  adult  was  that  of  Eliza  Bucking- 
ham, wife  of  Isaac  N.  Robinson,  in  February,  1839.  In  1840,  or  1841,  the 
first  burial  ground  was  opened  in  Genesee,  on  land  purchased  by  John  E. 
Upton. 

Genesee  township  takes  its  name  from  the  "Genesee  country,"  New 
York,  from  which  came  many  of  its  early  pioneers.  It  was  organized  in 
1838.  The  first  meeting  was  held  in  the  "Cold  Water  settlement"  at  the 
house  of  Juba  Barrows.  The  following  officers  were  chosen :  Supervisor, 
John  Pratt;  town  clerk,  Charles  N.  Beecher;  assessors,  Addison  Stewart, 
Daniel  Curtis  and  A.  H.  Hart;  school  inspectors,  Addison  Stewart,  Juba 
Barrows  and  I.  N.  Robinson;  commissioner  of  highways,  Sherman  Stanley, 
Bushnell  Andrews  and  Alanson  Dickinson;  justices  of  the  peace,  A.  H.  Hart, 
Jeremy  Hitchcock,  C.  N.  Beecher  and  Asa  Spencer;  collector,  L.  G.  Buck- 
ingham ;  constables,  L.  G.  Buckingham,  Frederick  Walker,  Albert  T. 
Stevens  and  G.  I..  Jones;  directors  of  the  poor,  John  Martin  and  Peabody 
Pratt;  overseers  of  highways,  road  district  No.  i,  B.  Piersons,  road  district 
No.  2,  N.  Cone;  road  district  No.  3,  William  Thayer;  road  district  No.  4. 
Sherman  Stanley;  road  district  No.  5,  J.  Hitchcock;  road  district  No.  6. 
William  Tillori;  road  district  No.  7,  Samuel  Clark,  Jr. 

GAINES   TOWNSHIP. 

The  history  of  Gaines  township  began  later  and  developed  perhaps  Jess 
rapidly   than  most  of  the  other  townships  of  the  county.     This  was   due 


dbyGoot^lc 


234  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

partly  to  the  large  acreage  of  dense  and  heavy  timber,  the  lack  of  streams 
large  enough  for  mill  purposes  and  the  situation  of  the  township  on  the 
western  border  of  the  county.  Philander  McLain,  who  moved  his  famil;- 
from  Oakfend  county  to  this  township  in  December.  1838,  has  stated  that 
the  only  settlers  in  the  town  of  that  time  were  Hartford  Cargili,  the  Fletch- 
ers and  the  Darts — probably  the  Darts  had  not  yet  come  in. 

Hartford  CargiU,  the  first  settler  o£  the  township,  moved  in  from 
Bloomfield,  Oakland  county,  in  1836,  and  settled  on  section  36.  liphraim 
Fletcher,  from  "York  state,"  settled  in  the  same  year  in  the  locality  known 
as  "Fletcher's  Comers."  Joshua  Dart  settled  a  little  to  the  east  of  the 
"Corners"  in  1839.  As  the  oldest  man  in  the  township  at  the  time  of  its 
separate  organization,  he  was  given  the  privilege  of  naming  it,  which  he  did, 
after  an  acquaintance  of  his,  General  Gaines. 

The  first  township  meeting  for  the  election  of  officers  was  held  in  1842 
at  the  house  of  Ephraim  Fletcher,  at  which  twenty-one  votes  were  polled. 
The  following  officers  were  elected :  Supervisor,  William  B.  Young ;  town- 
.ship  clerk,  Martin  Dart;  treasurer,  Ephraim  Fletcher;  school  inspectors. 
Martin  Dart,  Marvin  Williams  and  Walter  B.  Beers;  directors  of  the  poor, 
Martin  Dart  and  Ephraim  Fletcher;  commissioners  of  highways,  James  P. 
Allen,  Lyman  Perkins  and  William  Gazlay;  justices  of  the  peace,  James  P. 
Alien.  Philander  McLain,  Walter  B.  Beers  and  Frederick  Wilcox;  constables, 
Elisha  Martin  and  Lanman  Davis :  overseers  of  highways,  William  B.  Young, 
Jonathan  Yerkes,  Marvin  Williams,  William  Gazlay,  Walter  B.  Beers,  John 
Rood,  Hartford  Cargili,  Fred  Wilcox  and  Ehjah  Lyman. 

Owing  to  the  relatively  slpw  development  of  Gaines  township,  it  was 
not  until  1842  that  the  number  of  children  warranted  the  formation  of  a 
school  district.  About  1845  the  settlers  living  in  the  Van  Fleet  and  CargiU 
neighborhood  hired  a  teacher  and  had  a  school  kept  in  the  Cargili  place.  It 
is  probable  that  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Cargili  was  the  teacher. 

It  was  1856  before  the  first  settlement  was  made  on  the  site  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Gaines.  On  the  Fourth  of  July  in  that  year  the  first  passenger  train 
over  this  portion  of  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railroad  passed  over  the  site 
of  the  village,  then  in  the  midst  of  heavy  forest.  In  that  year  the  first 
dwelling  house  was  built  there  by  Thurston  Simmons,  who  came  in  from 
Livingston  county.  In  the  same  year  came  George  B.  Runyan,  who  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  the  new  "Gaines  Station  Postoffice."  The  village 
was  platted  in  1859. 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 


nUKTON  TOWNSHIP. 


A  majority  of  the  early  settlers  of  Burton  township  carne  from  the 
towns  of  Adams  and  Henderson,  in  Jefferson  county.  New  York,  and  their 
location  was  known  for  many  years  as  the  "Atherton  settlement."  In  1835, 
two  brothers,  Shulxiei  and  Perus  Atherton,  settled  on  the  Thread  river. 
With  them  was  Pliny  A.  Skinner.  They  came  in  from  Oakland  county. 
These  three  families  passed  the  winter  alone  in  the  wilderness,  but  before 
the  lapse  of  twelve  months  there  was  destined  to  be  here  a  thriving  settie- 
ment  of  some  thirty  families. 

Previous  to  the  coming  of  the  Athcrtoiis,  Levi  Gilkev,  one  of  the  very 
earliest  pioneers  in  the  vicinity  of  f^Iint,  came  from  Genesee  county.  New 
York,  and  for  a  few  years  lived  on  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  small  stream 
which  still  bears  his  name.  The  date  of  his  purcliase,  which  was  all  that 
part  of  section  7  remaining  outside  the  reservation,  was  May  11,  1831. 
Very  little  is  known  about  this  first  settler.  But  in  1834  Reuben^  Tupper 
came  in  from  Grand  Blanc  and  located  on  the  Saginaw  road  near  the  site 
of  the  later  Atherton  settlement.  Mr.  Tupper  was  thus  the  first  permanent 
white  settler  in  the  township.  Among  those  who  settled,  mainly  at  the 
"Atherton  settlement,"  previous  to  1840  were  Henry  Schram,  Capt.  Nathan- 
iel Curtis,  Adonijah  Atherton,  Ashael  Robinson,  Elisha  Salisbury,  all  with 
their  families,  and  Harmon  Clark,  Barnabus  Norton,  James  Ingalls,  Joseph 
Chamliers  and  sons,  John  Hiller,  William  Tilton,  Thomas  Bownes,  William 
Bendle,  Benjamin  Boomer,  Horace  iioomer,  Clark  Boomer,  Cephas  Car- 
penter, Tunis  Cole,  Adonirani  Dan,  Daniel  Kstes.  Col.  T.  Gorton,  John  T. 
Gage,  Ovid  Hemphill,  Harris  Hiblrard.  Charles  Johnson,  John  McCormick. 
Samuel  McCormick.  Benjamin  F.  Olmstetl,  Walter  Rail,  William  Rail. 
Thomas  Sweet,  EphraJm  Walker  and  Jesse  Whitcomb.  Jacob  Eldridge,  Ed- 
ward Eldridge,  John  Clifford,  Levi  Walker,  Benjamin  Pearson.  Samuel  S. 
Todd.  Zenas  Goulding,  Charles  P.  Day,  Nathaniel  B.  Overton,  Jesse  Chap- 
man, Joel  Bardwell,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Harrington,  Albert  G.  Gage,  l^Janiel  Hil- 
ler, fra  Donelson,  Timothy  B,  Tucker,  Peter  Stiles,  Samuel  C.  Stiles,  Abel 
S.  Donelson,  George  Beckwith,  Warren  Annable,  Oliver  Short,  and  a  large 
family  of  sons,  Nathan  I^mison,  Mark  M.  Jerome  and  Andrew  Cox. 

The  first  years  were  trying  ones  to  the  people  in  the  "Atherton  settle- 
ment." The  removal  from  New  York  to  Michigan  and  the  purchase  of 
their  lands  had  in  most  instances  exhausted  their  means.  For  a  year  oi- 
two  many  of  them  worked  for  the  Atherton  brothers,  Captain  Curtis  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


336  GKNKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Pliny  A.  Skinner.  But  soon  their  resources  were  gone.  Poor  crops  re- 
duced all  to  ;i  common  poverty.  Destitution  and  privation  existed  upon  all 
sides.  Women,  nurtured  amid  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  their  eastern 
homes,  wept  and  prayed  alternately  as  their  vision  took  in  the  dense  forests 
.stretching  beyond  the  few  acres  of  stumpy  land  which  had  been  cleared 
alxjut  their  rude  cabins.  But  the  band  of  common  suffering  only  the  more 
(irmly  knit  the  ties  of  friendship  and  neighborly  affection  and  urged  oi] 
the  strong  arms  and  undaunted  hearts  that  were  to  wring  from  the  frown- 
ing wilderness  a  competence. 

The  consolations  of  religion  naturally  formed  a  bulwark  of  strength 
among  these  pioneers.  A  religious  society  was  eariy  formed.  A  majority 
in  the  "Atherton  settlement"  were,  or  became  soon  after  their  arrival,  mem- 
liers  of  the  Baptist  and  C"ongregational  societies.  Shubae!  Atherton  was  a 
deacon  of  the  Baptist  church.  His  brother,  Adonijah,  was  a  deacon  of  the 
Congregational  church.  The  iirst  religious  meeting  in  the  township  was 
held  in  Shul>ael  Atherton's  house  some  time  during  the  summer  of  1836. 
The  following  winter  a  revival  took  place.  Meetings  were  held  in  thi 
sch(x)l  house.  Baptists,  Congregationahsts  and  Methodists  joined  in  the 
services  and,  as  a  result,  every  man,  woman  and  child  of  the  thirty  families, 
except  one  family,  was  converted  and  baptized. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in  the  "Atherton  settlement"  in  the 
summer  of  1836.  .The  first  teacher  was  Betsey  Atherton,  daughter  of 
Adonijah.  From  1836  to  1856  the  schools  and  school  reports  are  so  inter- 
woven with  those  of  Flint  township  that  separate  school  data  for  Burton 
is  practically  impossible  to  obtain. 

On  April  7,  1856,  the  first  town.ship  meeting  was  held  at  the  Atherton 
school  house,  when  the  following  officers  were  elected:  Supervisor,  Harlow 
Whittlesey;  township  clerk,  Daniel  E.  Salisbury;  treasurer,  Robert  Cham- 
liers;  school  inspector,  Henry  D.  Frost;  justices  of  the  peace,  Jacob  M. 
Eldridge,  Talman  Frost,  Nelson  Norton  and  Joel  Bardwell;  highway  com- 
missioners, Enoch  M.  Chambers,  Abalino  Babcock  and  Harrison  G.  Conger; 
directors  of  the  poor,  Ira  Chase  and  Salmon  Stone;  constables,  Edward 
Eldridge,  Lorenzo  T.  Frost,  Charles  Pettis  and  Perry  Judd;  overseers  of 
highways:  District  No.  i,  William  Van  Buren;  No.  2,  Francis  Hitchcock; 
No,  3.  James  BigeJow;  No.  4,  Jacob  Plass;  No.  5,  Richard  Bush;  No.  6, 
Joseph  W.  Metcalf:  No,  7,  Salmon  Stone;  No,  8,  John  P".  Alexander;  No. 
9,  Caleb  Gillett;  No.  10,  Daniel  Jeffers;  No.  11,  Ambrose  Jones;  No.  12, 
William  L.  Van  Tuyle;  No.  13,  Perus  Atherton;  No.  14,  Henry  F.  Frank- 
hn;  No.   15,  John  O'Conor;  No,   16,  David  Smith;  No.   17,  JoeJ  Wardwell; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  237 

No.   18,  Asa  Wolverton;  No.   IQ,  Ira  Chase;  No.   20,  Wallace  W.  Gorton; 
No.  21,  Rnfus  Chase;  No.  22,  Henry  F.  Hill. 

CLAYTON    TOWNSHIP. 

The  township  of  Clayton  was  originally  covered  with  dense  forest, 
where  the  wolf,  the  panther  and  the  bear  found  safe  retreat,  where  the 
pride  of  the  forest— the  deer— had  his  home  and  where  the  red  mail  am- 
bushed his  foe  or  stalked  his  game.  A  more  herculean  task  than  that  of 
clearing  away  this  sturdy  greenwood  and  preparing  the  pleasant  farms 
which  today  dot  its  surface  can  hardly  be  imagined,  but  the  indemitable  will 
and  perseverance  of  the  pioneers,  together  with  their  ability  to  endure  long 
and  severe  toil  with  all  its  attendant  hardships,  accomplished  the  mighty 
work. 

The  history  of  this  achievement  l>egan  in  the  locality  known  as  the 
"Miller  settlement."  In  1836,  Adam  Miller,  a  native  of  Germany  who  had 
lived  for  a  time  in  Livingston  county.  New  York,  settled  with  his  family  on 
section  35.  They  came  into  the  township  by  way  of  Flint,  following  ; 
well-worn  Indian  trail  which  led  north  as  far  as  the  Indian  sugar  camp  in 
Gaines  township.  This  trail  became  approximately  the  line  of  a  portion  of 
what  afterwards  came  to  be  known  as  the  "Miller  road,"  the  first  in  the 
township. 

During  the  infancy  of  this  settlement,  people  coming  here  from  lb- 
direction  of  Flint  spoke  of  going  "up  the  Swartz."  In  time  the  small  stream 
flowing  near  liecame  known  as  Swartu  creek,  though  only  a  branch  of  the 
main  stream,  which  gave  its  name  to  the  postoffice  established  there  in  1S42. 
The  mail  route  extended  from  Flint  north  to  the  Grand  river  road,  via 
Vernon  and  old  Shrawasseetown.  Peter  Miller,  a  son  of  Adam  Miller,  was 
one  of  the  first  postmasters.  In  the  same  year  with  the  postoffice  a  store 
was  started  in  the  Miller  settlement  by  Miller  and  Rail.  The  village  of 
Swartz  Creek  was  not  platted  until  1877,  the  year  after  the  railway  was 
completed. 

It  was  probably  in  this  settlement  that  the  first  school  in  the  township 
was  taught.  The  children  of  the  settlement  first  attended  a  school  kept  bv 
Miss  Watkins,  of  Mundy,  in  a  log  school  house  built  across  the  line  in 
Gaines  in  the  spring  of  1838.  In  1S39  a  frame  school  house  was  erected 
on  the  north  side  of  the  line  where  later  the  store  of  Messrs.  Miller  stood. 
.A  religious  society  was  here  organized  by  the  Methodists  as  early  as  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


2^8  GENESEE    COl'NTY,    MICHIGAN. 

fall  of  1837.  Kev.  Whitney,  then  stationed  at  Flint,  was  the  first  preacher. 
In  1856  a  frame  church  was  built  on  land  taken  from  the  Miller  property. 

Early  pioneers  of  1837  in  or  near  the  Miller  settlement  were  John 
and  Thomas  Nash,  John  Hartsock,  Seth  Silsby,  Emir  Woodin,  Seth  Hath- 
away and  Sedgwick  P.  Stedman. 

Another  early  beginning  was  the  "Lyons  settlement,"  in  the  northwest 
part  of  the  township.  In  the  winter  of  1839  Isaac  Lyons,  in  compan}- 
with  his  brothers-in-law,  Jacob  Coddington  and  John  Clement,  all  from 
Tompkins  county.  New  York,  but  residing  since  1836  in  Flint,  settled  here. 
Mr.  Lyons  built  a  log  blacksmith  shop  on  the  comer  of  his  place,  for  a  long 
time  the  only  one  within  a  radius  of  many  miles.  About  1844  a  log  school 
house  was  built  on  the  corner  of  his  land,  in  which  the  first  school  was  kept 
by  Miss  Angeline  Smith. 

A  third  settlement  of  note  in  the  early  days  was  the  "Donahoo  settle- 
ment." In  1845  Michael  Donahoo,  always  known  here  as  "Squire"  Etona- 
hoo,  came  from  the  north  of  Ireland  to  America  and  settled  in  Clayton. 
When  he  came  to  the  township  there  was  but  one  team  of  horses  in  it  except 
a  span  of  ponies  owned  by  Daniel  Miller,  although  several  owned  one  horse. 
Oxen  were  used  universally  for  teaming.  "Erin's  green  isle"  sent  several 
sons  to  become  residents  of  Clayton.  Considerably  earlier  than  Squire 
Donahoo  were  Bernard  Lennon  and  Patrick  Conlen,  who  came  in  1834-40. 
Both  later  married  sisters  of  Michael  Donahoo.  Bernard  Trayor,  who  also 
married  a  sister  of  Mr.  Donahoo,  came  with  the  latter  and  located  in  the 
same  neigh Iwrhood.  Three  Carton  brothers,  William,  Peter  and  John,  set- 
tied  about  1842  in  die  northern  part  of  the  township.  Patrick  Bradley  located 
four  miles  east  of  Lyons  Corners.  A  near  neighlx>r  was  James  E.  Brown, 
who  settled  in  1840  and  became  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  town. 

Among  other  first  settlers  of  the  township  were  Joseph  iJurbridge,  from 
England,  who  settled  near  the  center  of  the  town  in  1837;  the  Ottawa  broth- 
ers— James,  Stephen,  George  and  John— also  from  England,  who  settled  in 
the  summer  of  1840;  Albert,  Granger,  William  and  Richard  Goyer,  about 
1840-42;  James  W.  Cronk,  E.  W.  Fenner,  James  Glass  and  Peter  Lan- 
non.  Sr. 

In  1844,  as  shown  by  the  official  list,  the  resident  taxjmyers  in  what 
is  now  Clayton  township  numljered  seventy-four.  In  1846  the  township 
was  deemed  to  have  a  sufficient  jKipulation  to  warrant  its  separate  organiza- 
tion. At  the  first  election,  which  was  held  in  the  school  house  in  district  No. 
6,  fifty-one  votes  were  cast.  The  following  officers  were  elected:  Super- 
visor, Alfred  Pond;  town  clerk,  Francis  Brotherton;  treasurer,  Theron  Wal- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  239 

lace;  justices  of  the  peace,  Seth  Neweil,  Isaac  Lyons  and  Caleb  Calkins;  asses- 
sor, Harry  Brotherton  and  Seth  Silsby ;  commissioners  of  highways,  Richard 
C.  Goyer,  John  C.  Clement  and  John  M.  Nash;  inspectors  of  schools,  Alan- 
son  Niles  and  Alfred  Pond;  directors  of  the  poor,  Alex.  H.  Fenner  and  Barn- 
ard Carpenter;  constables,  John  M.  Nash,  Silas  Henry  and  Elhanan  W. 
Fenner ;  overseers  of  highways,  Alfred  Richardson,  Wright  N.  Clement,  Albert 
Granger,  Alexander  H.  Fenner,  William  Piper,  Bernard  Lennon,  John  M. 
Nash,  Morgan  D.  Chapman,  Abraham  Knight  and  David  Felt. 


In  July,  1833,  Charles  McLean  came  to  \'ienna  township  from  Sagi- 
naw county,  whither  he  had  emigrated  about  1826  from  "York  state."  His 
house  became  one  of  the  earliest  hostelries  in  this  township,  on  the  Saginaw 
turnpike.  He  also  built  the  first  frame  school  house  in  the  township,  about 
opposite  the  later  village  school  house;  in  this  house  was  kept  the  postoftice, 
established  in  1836  or  1837,  for  all  the  region  lying  between  Flint  and  Sagi- 
naw, and  there  also  was  held  the  first  township  election. 

Prominent  among  the  early  settlers  of  this  township  were  Sylvester  Vib- 
bard,  Hiram  Benjamin,  Joseph  C.  Winters,  Humphrey  Mclean,  George 
Sparks,  Waterman  W.  Neff,  Clark  Abbey,  George  Huyck,  Theodore  P. 
Dean,  Reuben  and  Daniel  Warner,  Russell  G.  Hurd,  William  Hotchkiss, 
Isaiah  Merriman,  Edward  Maybee,  ChristojiJier  Hughes,  William  Sissins, 
Joshua  Pattee,  George  T.  Bingham,  Samuel  Rone,  John  R.  Whittemore, 
Ormond  and  Joel  Booth,  Marcus  Goodrich,  Nahum  N.  Wilson,  Lemuel  John- 
son. John  Jackson,  Charles  Montle,  Justin  S.  W.  Porter,  Nicholas  Sigsby. 
Daniel  N.  Montague,  Capt.  Robert  L.  Hurd,  Grovener  Vinton  and  Seth  N. 
Beden. 

Among  the  "first  things"  in  the  township,  to  Hiram  Benjamin  is  ascril^ed 
the  honor  of  being  the  father  of  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  new  settle- 
ment— a  daughter — her  birth  occurring  early  in  1836.  Theodore  P.  Dean, 
from  Saginaw  county,  built  the  first  saw-mill  in  the  township,  in  1838,  at 
the  site  of  the  present  Clio. 

By  the  same  act  as  Mundy  township,  Vienna  was  organized  March  11, 
1837,  and  the  first  township  meeting  was  held  April  3  at  the  house  of 
Charles  McLean.  Officers  were  chosen  as  follows:  Moderator,  William 
Hotchkiss;  inspectors  of  election,  Hiram  Benjamin.  Grovener  Vinton,  Josiah 
C.  Winters;  clerk,  Thomas  J.  Drake;  supervisor,  William  Hotchkiss;  town 
clerk,  Hiram  Benjamin ;  assessor,  Clark  Abbey,  Isaac  Van  Tuyl  and  George 


dbyGoot^lc 


240  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Sparks;  collector,  Edward  Maybee;  directors  of  £he  poor,  Charles  McLean 
and  Theodore  P.  Dean;  highway  commissioners,  Grovener  Vinton,  Hiram 
Benjamin  and  Waterman  W.  Neff;  constables,  Edward  Maybee  and  Charles 
McLean;  school  inspectors,  Russell  G.  Hurd,  William  Hotchkiss  and  L  Mer- 
riman;  justices  of  the  peace,  Russell  G.  Hurd,  Hiram  Benjamin,  George 
Sparks  and  Isaiah  Merriman;  fence-viewers,  Grovener  Vinton,  Hiram  Benja- 
min and  Russell  G.  Hurd;  overseer  of  Highways,  Russell  G.  Hurd;  pound- 
master,  Charles  McLean. 

The  first  school  house  in  Vienna  township  of  which  record  is  pre- 
served was  a  frame  building,  situated  in  the  "Pine  Run  settlement."  Josiah 
W.  Begole,  later  a  prominent  resident  of  Flint  and  governor  of  Michigan, 
taught  the  first  school  there,  in  the  winter  of  1837-38. 

The  Methodists  were  the  first  to  hold  religious  meetings  in  the  township. 
Their  circuit  preachers  came  to  Pine  Run  as  early  as  1836.  A  class  was 
formed  here  in  1837  or  1838,  the  leader  being  Isaiah  Merriman.  A  Congre- 
gational society  was  organized  here  in  1845,  by  Rev.  Orson  Parker,  an  evan- 
gelist. 

THETFORD  TOWN.'jHiP. 

As  late  as  the  beginning  of  1S35,  Thetford,  which  was  heavily  timbered, 
remained  still  a  wilderness  unbroken  by  the  axe  of  the  white  man.  From 
1835  to  1840  scattered  settlements  were  made  in  different  parts  and  a  large 
share  of  the  town  was  purchased  from  the  government.  A  considerable  por- 
tion, especially  the  best  pine  lands,  were  bought  up  by  speculators.  The  first 
land  was  taken  by  Grovener  Vinton,  in  January,  1835;  he  was  also  the  first 
settler.  He  came  originally  from  Avon,  Livingston  county.  New  York,  but 
had  lived  since  1831  in  the  Saginaw  valley.  His  location  in  Thetford  was 
on  section  31.  His  second  daughter,  Roxy  Ann,  was  the  first  white  child  born 
in  the  township.  Mr.  Vinton  occupied  a  prominent  and  influential  position 
among  the  pioneers  of  Thetford  and  enjoyed  their  unlimited  confidence  and 
esteem.  He  lived  to  a  hale  and  hearty  old  age,  witnessing  the  vast  changes 
and  improvements  in  the  region  with  whose  history  his  name  was  so  inti- 
mately connected  and  interwoven.  Until  the  fail  of  1836  Mr.  Vinton's  was 
the  only  family  in  the  township,  when  Isaac  and  Nelson  Van  Tuyl,  with 
their  families,  came  in  from    Oakland  county,  settling  on  section  29. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  influential  pioneers  of  Thetford  townshijj 
was  Corydon  E.  Fay.  He  came  from  Avon,  Livingston  county,  New  York, 
and  settled  in  the  fall  of  1837  on  section  30.  His  house  was  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  north  of  Vinton's.     He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  built  a 


dbyGoot^lc 


(JENFriEE    COtlNTV",    MICHIGAN.  24I 

small  log  shop  on  the  section  corner,  the  only  one  in  the  region.  The  iirst 
job  of  blacks  mi  thing  consisted  of  making  a  plow-clevis  out  of  the  poles 
of  two  old  axes;  the  clevis  was  made  for  Grovener  Vinton.  In  1850  travel 
on  the  Saginaw  turnpike  had  so  increased  as  to  call  for  houses  to  entertain 
the  travelers  and  Mr,  Fay  opened  the  first  inn  in  the  town.  It  was  known 
as  the  Fay  House,  and  was  in  excellent  repute  with  the  travelers  who  then 
thronged  the  roads  leading  to  the  pineries  of  Michigaii.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  I'^ayvilie.  Several  other  buildings  were  built  and  quite  a  settlement 
sprang  up.  But  its  life  was  short.  A  postoffice  was  established  here  in  1842, 
with  Corydon  I*"ay  as  postmaster.  It  was  called  Thetford  and  was  kept  in 
Fay's  log  house.  A  school  house  was  built  here  as  early  as  1838,  known 
as  the  Fay  school  house,  on  section  31.  This  was  a  frame  building  and 
was  built  by  Isaac  and  Nelson  Van  Tiiyl.  It  is  probable  that  the  first  school 
was  taught  previous  to  this  by  Josiah  W.  Begole,  in  a  private  log  house. 
The  first  school  taught  in  the  Fay  school  house  was  kept  by  Miss  Calista 
Hnrd,  of  Fine  Run.  in  1836. 

By  1840  Thetford  township  numbered  among  its  citizens  Benoni  and 
Quartiis  W.  Clapp,  Crawford  Barkley,  Charles  M.  Bouttell,  Richard  Buell, 
Ezra  H.  Martin,  Thomas  Alpin,  Leonard  Beckwith,  William  Rice,  William 
W.  Boughton,  Reuben  J.  D>'e  and  Nahum  N.  Wilson. 

In  1842  the  township  was  organized.  The  first  meeting  was  held 
April  4,  in  the  Fay  school  house,  when  the  following  officers  were  elected: 
Supervisor,  Isaac  Van  Tuyl;  town  clerk,  Corydon  E.  Fay;  treasurer,  Simeon 
Simmons;  justice  of  the  peace,  one  year,  Isaac  Van  Tuyl,  two  years,  Rich- 
ard Buell,  three  years.  William  Rice,  four  years,  Ezra  H.  Martin;  highway 
commissioners,  Benoni  Ciapp,  Crawford  Barkley  and  Thomas  Aplin;  asses- 
,sors,  Albert  Castle  and  Nelson  S.  Van  Tuyl;  school  inspectors,  Richard 
Buell,  Isaac  Van  Tuyl  and  Nelson  S.  Van  Tuyl;  overseers  of  the  poor, 
Benoni  Clapp  and  Grovener  Vinton;  constables,  William  W.  Boughton, 
Quartus  W.  Clapp  and  Uzial  Boutwell. 

DAVISON    TOWNSHIP. 

Davison  township  became  a  part  of  Genesee  county  March  9,  1843^  six 
years  after  receiving  its  first  settler.  Since  its  organization  in  1840  it  had 
been  a  township  of  Lapeer  county.  Its  settlement  began  in  the  year  Michi- 
gan was  admitted  to  the  Union,  when  Andrew  and  Alson  Seelye  and  their 
sister,  Debby.  settled  on  section  31.  They  came  from  Charleston,  Saratoga 
(16) 


dbyGoot^lc 


242  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

county.  New  York.  In  September,  1837,  the  father,  Abel  Seelye,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  and  four  sons,  came  from  Saratoga  and  settled  near  the 
other  children.  Miss  Debby  Seelye  married  Seth  J.  Wicker,  who,  in  1852, 
erected  the  first  hotel  tn  the  township  and  sold  the  first  goods  in  the  same 
building. 

About  a  mile  from  the  Seelyes,  on  section  35,  settled  Christopher 
Miller  in  1S37.  Mr  Miller  later  claimed  to  have  settled  first.  He  and 
his  sons  came  in  from  Chautauqua  county.  New  York.  He  built  the  first 
frame  house  in  the  township  in  1839  and  the  first  school  was  taught  in  his 
vacated  shanty  about  the  same  time  by  Miss  Sabrina  Barnes.  In  1838  Ira 
Potter,  a  native  of  Vermont,  later  residing  at  Rochester,  New  York,  and 
near  Port  Huron,  Michigan,  brought  his  family  to  Davison  townshipj  set- 
tling on  section  i. 

Mr.  Potter's  family  did  not  suffer  the  wants  and  privations  so  common 
to  the  lot  of  many  pioneers,  as  he  purchased  in  Detroit  and  brought  here 
with  him  sufficient  flour  and  pork  to  last  one  year.  Still  for  many  yeans 
they  were  far  from  markets,  Pontiac  being  the  principal  point  and  but  little 
money  comparatively  was  received  from  farm  products.  Ira  W.  Potter 
recalls  the  fact  that  he  very  frequently  made  the  journey  to  the  latter 
city,  hauling  with  an  ox-team  thirty  bushels  of  wheat,  for  which  he  received 
five  shillings  per  bushel,  the  journey  occupying  three  days'  time.  All  other 
early  residents  here  can  relate  the  same  experince  and  recall  with  great 
animation  the  terrible  condition  of  early  roads  and  the  consequent  struggle 
to  obtain  a  few  dollars  in  money  at  far-away  markets. 

In  the  years  immediately  following  Mr.  Potter's  arrival  came  Justice 
Henry  and  William  Sheldon,  from  F.rie  county,  New  York;  Abelino  Bab- 
cock,  from  Oakland  county,  Michigan;  Jacob  Teachout,  Harrison  G.  Con- 
ger, Samuel  Crandal!  and  Goodenough  Townsend.  Mr.  Townsend  was  a 
native  of  Wheelock,  Caledonia  county,  New  York.  His  ancestors  served 
in  the  American  Revolution.  He  was  the  first  super^-isor  of  Davison  town- 
ship and  later  served  in  many  official  capacities.  He  was  the  first  post- 
master, from  1849  to  1852,  and  established  the  first  Sabbath  school  in  1842. 

Previous  to  1844  the  following  additional  settlers  were  residents  :  Calvin 
Cartwright,  James  A.  Kline,  Almeron  Perry,  William  Phillips,  Henry  Hast- 
ings, Thomas  Park,  William  Thomas,  Clark  Potter,  FJeazer  Thurston, 
Samuel  Johnson,  Abraham  HotchkJss,  Samuel  J.  Ashley,  Abner  Hotchkiss, 
Robert  Knowles,  John  Austin,  David  Casler,  John  Casler,  Daniel  Dayton. 
Hart  W.  Cummins,  Silas  S.  Kitchen,  Iddo  H.  Carley,  S.  M.  Fisk.  Ira  Cobb. 
Elias  Bush  and  Thomas  O.  Townsend. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  243 

The  first  township  meeting  was  held  Apri!  6  at  the  house  of  Goodenough 
Townsend,  when  fourteen  legal  votes  were  cast.  The  following  officers  were 
chosen:  Supervisor,  Goodenough  Townsend;  town  clerk,  Jacob  Teachout; 
treasurer,  Justin  Sheldon ;  collector,  Abel  Seeley,  Jr. ;  assessors,  Jacob  Teach- 
out,  Robert  E.  Potter  and  Alson  Seeley;  school  inspectors,  Jacob  Teachout, 
Robert  E.  Potter  and  Goodenough  Townsend;  directors  of  the  poor,  Justin 
Sheldon  and  Abel  Seeley;  highway  commissioners,  Abelino  Babcock,  Good- 
enough  Townsend  and  Harrison  G.  Conger;  justices  of  the  peace,  Jacob 
Teachout,  Goodenough  Townsend,  Abel  Seeley  and  Justin  Sheldon;  con- 
stables, Ira  W.  Potter  and  Abel  Seeley,  Jr. ;  pound-master,  Samuel  Crandall ; 
overseers  of  highways,  Harrison  G.  Conger,  Jacob  Teachout,  Justin  Sheldon, 
John  C.  Miller  and  Abel  Seeley,  Jr. 

One  of  the  earliest  game  laws  in  Michigan  was  that  enacted  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  1841,  when  it  was  voted,  "That  no  person  or  persons  shall  kill 
any  deer  in  the  limits  of  this  township  between  the  loth  day  of  January 
and  the  loth  day  of  July  of  each  year,  and  all  persons  killing  deer  contrary 
to  this  law  shall  forfeit  the  sum  of  five  dollars  for  every  deer  killed  in  said 
township,  and  such  offenders  may  be  prosecuted  before  any  justice  in  said 
township  or  county," 

UlCHFIELD    TOWNSHIP. 

Richfield  was  originally  a  part  of  Lapeer  county.  It  was  organized 
in  1837,  embracing  within  its  limits  also  the  present  towns  of  Forest  and 
Davison.  It  was  added  to  Genesee  county  in  1843.  The  earliest  settlers 
of  what  is  now  Richfield  were  received  only  a  little  previous  to  its  organ- 
ization. In  the  year  1836  nearly  all  the  land  in  the  town  was  bought  up,  a 
very  good  recommendation  of  its  land  for  the  purpose  of  settlement.  One 
of  the  most  extensive  buyers  was  Thomas  L.  L.  Brent,  a  Virginian,  who 
explained  as  the  reason  for  his  extensive  purchases  that  he  wished  to  keep 
the  land  out  of  the  hands  of  speculators. 

The  first  settlement  was  made  in  1836  by  Rial  Irish,  of  Pontiac,  who 
cut  his  way  through  from  there  over  a  route  known  from  that  time  as  "the 
Irish  road,"  over  which  many  other  settlers  came  into  Uiis  township.  He 
settled  on  section  19,  in  the  midst  of  considerable  pine,  and  in  1837  com- 
menced building  a  mill  on  Belden  Brook  to  convert  it  into  lumber.  This 
mill  property  was  afterwards  sold  to  David  L.  Belden  for  seven  thousand 
dollars;  he  began  operations  in  1S39,  but,  owing  to  his  inexperience  and  the 
extremely  moderate  price  at  which  lumber  had  to  be  sold,  he  was  unsuc- 
cessful. 


dbyGoot^lc 


244  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  Rial  Irish  came  George  Ohver  and  family, 
who  settled  on  section  21.  During  the  several  years  of  his  residence  in  the 
town  he  made  shingles  and  acted  as  guide  to  newcomers  who  were  looking 
for  land.  His  daughter  was  the  first  white  child  bom  in  the  town.  With 
Mr.  Oliver  came  Samuel  Johnson,  who  worked  for  him  awhile,  but  did  not 
become  a  permanent  settler  in  the  town.  Thomas  Clark  was  the  third  set- 
tler. He  was  a  native  of  Rutland  county,  Vermont.  Early  in  life  he  had 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Saratoga  county.  New  York,  and  lived  later  in 
Otsego  and  Jefferson  counties  in  that  state.  It  was  from  the  village  of 
Lyme,  in  the  latter  county,  that  he  came  to  Michigan  in  1836  and  settled  on 
section  22,  A  little  later  the  same  year  came  Orsimus  Cooley,  from  Oak- 
land county,  to  section  20.  The  next  family  was  that  of  William  Teachout. 
in  1837,  who  settled  on  section  30.  In  the  spring  of  1839  EHas  Van  Schaick 
and  family  settled  on  section  39,  A  few  weeks  later  came  Jeremiah  R. 
Stanard  and  Argalus  Matthews  to  section  6. 

Some  of  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  by  the  pioneers  are  shown  by 
what  Mr.  Matthews  had  to  go  through  with  to  get  a  small  quantity  of  wheat 
prepared  for  use.  He  had  no  team  or  wagon,  and  to  get  them,  had  to  work 
one  day  for  the  wagon  and  two  and  one-half  days  for  the  oxen.  Then  it 
took  him  one  day  to  get  the  oxen,  go  after  the  wagon  and  get  to  his  home 
ready  for  a  start  tP  the  mill.  All  the  next  day  was  spent  in  getting  to  the 
mill  with  his  grist  and  then  he  found  that  he  could  not  get  it  ground  under 
two  or  three  weeks.  So  home  he  returned  and  took  his  wagon  and  oxen 
to  their  respective  owners.  Three  weeks  later  the  perfonnance  had  to  be 
rei>eated  to  get  the  flour  home.  Each  night  that  he  remained  in  Flint  he 
had  to  pay  one  dollar  lor  his  entertainment,  ,so  that  when  he  finally  cast  up 
accounts,  he  found  that  he  had  given  thirteen  days'  work  and  two  dollars 
in  money  to  get  seven  and  one-half  bushels  of  wheat  ground  into  flour. 

Among  others  who  settled  in  the  town  at  an  early  day  were  Asa  Davis, 
William  Draper,  E.  B,  Witherbee.  Isaac  and  Phineas  J.  Tucker,  Zebulon 
Dickinson.  Andrew  Chapi>ell,  John  Van  Bu,skirk,  Joseph  French,  Frederick 
Olds,  Francis  Davis.  Amherst  W.  Matthews,  Alanson  Munger,  Jephtha 
Stimpson,  Nathaniel  Hart.  Joseph  Morford,  William  Throop,  John,  Sr., 
John,  Jr.,  and  Leander  E.  Hill,  Garrett  Zufelt,  Stephen  Cady,  Caleb  Lank- 
ton,  Henry  F.  Shepiird.  Nelson  Warren,  Samuel  Elmore,  Thomas  Dibble, 
William  Munger.  Noah  Hull,  William  W,,  Cyrus,  and  Isaac  L.  Matthews, 
I-aban  and  Alvah  Rogers  and  Andrew  Cook. 

The  "first  things"  in  the  early  settlement  of  a  locality  always  have  a 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  245 

special  interest.  In  this  town  the  first  saw-mill  was  completed  by  William 
Draper  and  E.  B.  Witherliee  in  1838  on  section  17.  It  was  the  largest  and 
Ijest  mill  built  in  the  town  for  a  score  of  years.  The  Belden  mill  was 
second.  The  first  bridge  over  the  Flint  in  this  town  was  biiilt  in  1848  at 
the  crossing  of  the  Irish  road. 

As  was  frequently  the  case  in  this  part  of  Michigan,  the  Methodists 
were  the  first  denomination  to  enter  the  field  of  religions  labor  in  Richfield, 
holding  services  here  as  early  as  1839  or  1840;  among  the  members  of  the 
first  class  organized  were  Asa  and  Martha  Davis,  Nelson  and  Elizabeth 
Warren,  and  Joseph  and  Julia  Morford.  The  first  school  hou-se  was  built 
in  1838,  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town.  The  second  was  built  on  the 
school  section,  in  1839,  and  the  third  in  1843  on  section  6. 

The  first  couple  married  in  Richfield  were  R.  E.  Potter  and  Abigail 
Clark.  Tbey  were  married  on  the  5th  of  January,  1840.  at  the  residence 
of  the  bride's  father,  Thomas  Clark.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by 
Nathaniel  Smith  of  the  town  of  Forest,  then  a  part  of  this  town.  The 
company  present  on  the  happy  occasion  consisted  of  the  families  of  the 
parties,  George  Oliver  and  wife  and  Elias  Van  Schaick  and  wife.  Mrs. 
Potter  died  Angust  19,  1845,  leaving  three  children,  the  eldest  of  whom 
was  the  first  white  mate  child  bom  in  the  town.  The  second  marriage  was 
that  of  Caleb  Lankton  and  Maria  Teachout,  which  took  place  atout  two 
years  later. 

A'iHage  centers  in  this  town  developed  late.  Not  until  1855,  when  V. 
Maxfield  and  E,  R.  Goodrich  built  their  saw-mill  near  the  place  where  the 
state  road  cro.sses  the  Flint,  did  the  first  symptoms  appear.  A  tavern  and 
store  followed.  Much  later  began  the  village  of  Richfield  Center,  though 
the  first  jKistoffice  in  the  town  was  established  there  in  the  early  forties, 
with  Pliineas  J.  Tucker  as  postmaster. 

Of  the  first  town  meeting,  and  of  all  the  proceedings  of  the  town  from 
1837  to  1857,  no  records  can  now  lie  found.  From  tradition  it  is  learned 
that  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  a  small  shanty  at  Draper  and  Wither- 
bee's  saw-mill.  Less  than  a  dozen  voters  were  present.  The  following  is 
a  list  of  the  first  officers,  as  near  as  can  be  determined : 

Si!]>ervi,sor.  William  Drajier;  town  clerk,  E.  B.  Witherbee;  collector, 
George  Oliver ;  justices  of  the  i>eace,  Orsimus  Cooiey,  Thomas  Clark,  George 
Oliver  and  Nathaniel  Smith :  assessors  and  school  inspectors,  George  Oliver 
and  Thomas  Clark;  commissioners  of  highways,  George  Oliver,  William 
Draper  and  Thomas  Clark;  constable,  William  Rettan. 


dbyGoot^lc 


246  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

FOREST    TOWNSHIP. 

The  name  of  this  township,  as  might  be  supposed,  was  derived  from 
its  heavy  growth  of  timber.  About  three-fourths  of  it  was  covered  with 
pine,  which  stood  in  its  natural  state  for  many  years.  Speculators,  who 
bought  up  the  land  for  the  pine  timber,  let  the  trees  stand  till  lumber  was 
worth  a  price  which  would  warrant  them  in  cutting  the  timber.  At  the 
time  the  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  organizing  the  township  there 
was  some  difficulty  in  fixing  upon  a  name,  until  a  facetious  member  of  the 
House  said,  "As  it  is  all  woods,  and  nobody  lives  there,  I  think  we  had  better 
call  it  Forest."  and  Forest  it  was  called. 

James  Seymour  entered  the  first  land  in  this  township,  March  i,  1836, 
on  section  36.  The  first  land  entered  by  an  actual  settler  was  that  by  Henry 
Hiester  (or  Heister),  November  9,  of  the  same  year,  on  section  19.  Mr. 
Hiester  bi'ought  his  family  here  from  Livingston  county,  New  York,  eariy 
in  the  spring  of  1837.  For  about  two  months  the  Hiesters  were  the  only 
white  residents  of  the  town.  Then  the  Smith  family  came.  The  head  of 
the  family  was  Nathaniel  Smith,  a  man  of  a  religious  turn  of  mind,  steady 
and  industrious  habits  and  upright,  straight-forward,  irreproachable  char- 
acter. The  first  rehgious  meetings  in  Forest  were  held  at  the  houses  of 
Mr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Hiester.  The  members  of  the  Smith  family  grew  up  in 
this  community  and  were  numbered  among  the  most  influential  citizens  of 
the  town.  Next  after  the  Smiths  in  1837  came  the  Eegel  family,  from  the 
town  of  Howard,  Steuben  county.  New  York,  at  whose  head  was  Stephen 
Begel.  The  site  of  their  settlement  became  later  the  village  of  Otisville,  on 
section  21,  about  which  grew  up  this  numerous  and  useful  family  of  four- 
teen children. 

Other  early  settlers  were  Matthew  McCormick  (1839),  an  Irish  immi- 
grant who  had  for  some  time  lived  in  Washtenaw  county;  Stephen  J.  Seeley 
(1841};  John  Nixon;  John  Crawford  (1S42),  a  native  of  the  county  of 
Antrim,  Ireland;  James  Crawford,  John's  father  (1844);  Jeremiah  Olds, 
William  H.  Diamond,  John  H.  Fry  and  John  Darling. 

Forest  township  grew  slowly  for  some  fifteen  years  after  its  first  settle- 
ment, on  account  of  the  heavy  timber  and  the  great  quantities  of  the  test  lands 
held  by  speculators.  About  1845-50  the  trade  in  Michigan  pine  lumber 
began.  In  185 1  the  Hayes  saw-mill  was  built  near  the  Begel  settlement. 
A  boarding-house,  store  and  several  dwellings  for  the  mtll  hands  were  built. 
This  was  the  first  impulse  to  the  future  village  of  Otisville.  John  Haves 
was  from  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  247 

In  April,  1843,  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Stephen 
Begel.  Thirteen  votes  were  cast,  with  the  following  result,  so  far  as  can 
be  ascertained:  Supervisor,  Nathaniel  Smith;  town  clerk,  Chauncey  W. 
Seeley;  treasurer,  William  R.  Smith;  justices  of  the  peace,  John  Crawford, 
Nathaniel  Smith,  William  R.  Smith,  Amos  Begel;  commissioners  of  high- 
ways, John  Crawford,  Nathaniel  Smith  and  Amos  Smith;  overseers  of  the 
poor,  Amos  Begel  and  Nathaniel  Smith. 

The  act  detaching  Forest  front  I^peer  county  and  adding  it  to  Genesee 
took  effect  on  March  31,  1843,  a  fe^v  days  previous  to  the  first  town  meet- 
ing. The  reasons  for  this  change  of  county  relations  were  principally  busi- 
ness convenience  and  ease  of  communication.  The  main  business  of  the 
peoj>le  of  the  town  centered  at  Flint,  and  Flint  river  formed  the  principal 
means  of  transporting  their  produce  and  manufactures  to  their  principal 
market. 

MONTROSE    TOWNSHIP. 

The  original  name  of  Montrose  was  Pewanigawink ;  a  portion  of  the 
Pewanigawink  reservation  of  the  Saginaw  Chippewas  extended  into  this 
township.  The  new  name  was  given  by  an  act  of  the  state  Legislature  in 
1848.  The  township  was  organized  in  1846  and  the  first  meeting  was  held 
at  the  house  of  George  Wilcox,  April  5,  1847.  .  The  following  officers  were 
chosen:  Supervisor,  John  Farquharson;  town  clerk,  John  R.  Farquharson; 
treasurer,  John  McKenzie;  justices  of  the  peace,  George  Wilcox,  Charles 
Hartshorn,  Benjamin  H.  Morse  and  Asahel  Townsend;  assessors,  Seymour 
W.  Ensign,  Sr.,  and  Archibald  Morse;  highway  commissioners,  John  Farqu- 
harson, Benjamin  H.  Morse  and  Seymour  W.  Ensign,  Jr. ;  school  inspector, 
George  W'ilcox;  directors  of  the  poor,  John  McKenzie  and  Benjamin  H. 
Morse;  constables,  William  Wilcox  and  Seymour  W.  Ensign,  Sr. ;  overseers 
of  highways,   Charles  Hartshorn  and  John  McKenzie. 

Se}'mour  W.  Ensign,  who  was  chosen  at  this  meeting  assessor  and 
constable,  was  the  first  settler  of  the  township.  He  came  originally  from 
Stafford,  Genesee  coimty.  New  York,  in  1832,  and  first  settled  at  Grand 
Blanc.  Later  he  removed  to  Saginaw  county.  In  the  spring  of  1S43  he 
brought  his  family  to  section  22.  The  same  season  came  George  Wilcox 
and  Richard  Travis. 

The  most  prominent  man  in  the  township  during  his  lifetime  was  John 
Farquharson.  who  came  from  Scotland  to  America  in  1830.  After  a  resi- 
dence in  Albany,  New  York,  and  Saginaw  county,  Michigan,  he  came  to  the 
township  in  1845.     He  was  the  first  supervisor.     To  him  is  accredited  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


248  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

change  of  the  name  of  the  town  from  Pewanigawink  to  the  Scottish  name 
of  Montrose,  His  reason  probably  was  to  attract  his  friends  in  Scotland 
and  others  of  that  nativity  to  the  settlement.  Among  other  early  Scotch 
settlers  was  John  McKenzie,  from  Aberdeen,  who  came  in  1847.  ^n  later 
years  a  considerable  number  of  Scotch  families  of  sterilng  worth  made 
Montrose  their  home. 

Owing  to  the  lumbering  interests  and  its  interior  situation,  the  early 
growth  of  Montrose  was  slow.  The  first  mill  was  put  in  operation  in  1849, 
on  Woodruff's  creek,  and  was  built  by  a  colored  man,  James  Sisco.  A  few 
months  later  Russell  Wells  erected  a  saw-mill  on  Brent's  run.  The  first 
tavern  was  not  opened  until  1866  or  1867,  by  William  H.  Ried,  and  in  the 
latter  year  Thomas  W,  Pettee  established  the  first  store.  The  number  of 
voters  in  this  township  in  1859  was  less  than  fifty. 

THE   WINTER   OF    WANT. 

Any  historical  record  of  the  early  days  in  the  township;^  of  Genesee  would 
be  incomplete  without  reference  to  the  hard  winter  of  1842  and  1843.  This 
was  a  record  breaker  in  the  annals  of  the  old  inhabitants,  and  we  may  judge 
something  of  its  severity  from  the  fact  that  snow  fell  on  the  i8th  day  of 
November,  1842;  as  late  as  April  ist  the  depth  of  snow  was  recorded  as 
three  and  a  half  feet  on  the  level,  while  snow  squalls  were  noted  on  the 
17th  of  that  month.  Over  one  hundred  and  fifty  days  of  sleighing  were  had 
during  the  year.  It  is  difficult  at  this  time  to  realize  that  want  could  come 
to  the  i>eople  of  this  fruitful  county,  with  its  bountiful  harvests  of  wheat 
now  being  garnered  and  its  crops  of  al!  kinds  that  make  for  plenty.  But 
then  the  land  had  been  but  recently  taken  up.  The  great  tide  of  immigra- 
tion that  poured  into  Michigan  and  into  Genesee  county  came  in  1S36,  and 
the  swamps  and  forests  had  hardly  been  opened  in  most  favorable  localities 
when  the  winter  of  '42  and  '43  set  in.  Cattle,  hogs,  horses,  sheep  and 
poultry  had  become  rather  plentiful,  and  the  hay  of  the  swales  and  scanty 
grain  that  could  be  raised  in  the  small  clearings  were  all  the  fodder.  Hay 
in  the  fall  of  1842  was  six  dollars  a  ton.  In  April,  1843,  it  was  twenty 
dollars,  and  twenty  dollars  represented  a  big  sum  at  that  time.  When  the 
early  spring  came,  even  the  best  provided  for  of  the  settlers  were  coming 
to  be  without  fodder  and  with  little  or  no  grain.  Silas  D,  Halsey,  then  liv- 
ing in  Grand  Blanc,  and  one  of  the  most  prosperous  farmers  of  the  time, 
records  in  his  diary  these  hard  times  and  the  fact  of  fodder  being  exhausted 
and  cattle  starving.     Wheat  in  the  fall  had  been  three  shillings  and  oats  a 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  249 

shilling  [)er  bushel ;  in  the  spring  the  prices  were  one  dollar  and  three  shill- 
ings, respectively. 

These  prices  nominally  as  stated  do  not,  however,  represent  their  real 
valne,  as  their  scarcity  made  them  cash  articles  and  only  a  very  few  of  the 
settlers  had  any  money,  so  the  ]>rices  asked  and  the  cash  payment  exacted 
made  them  utterh'  unobtainable  by  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
county.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  market  was  at  Pontiac,  and  that  the 
transportation  to  Flint  involved  a  three  or  four  days  trip,  with  a  team  which 
must  be  fed  by  the  way,  and  the  difficulties  appear. 

On  March  i8,  1843,  Mr.  Halsey  in  his  diary  says:  "A  very  gloomy 
time.  Fodder  almost  all  gone  and  many  cattle  already  dead  and  dyhig. 
Some  have  had  to  browse  their  cattle  for  six  weeks  already,  and  many 
Iieople  arc  destitute,  and  no  prospect  of  winter  breaking  yet.  What  we  are 
going  to  do  I  do  not  know.  It  looks  gloomy.  The  only  hope  we  have  is 
that  it  will  soon  come  around  warm.  If  not.  we  are  all  gone."  Later  he 
records  the  continuance  of  the  cold,  and  even  as  late  as  March  24,  the  coldest 
day  of  the  year  is  recorded,  and  the  freezing  of  the  well  twenty-four  feet 
deep,  and  iK)tatoes  in  the  cellar  lost  by  the  cold.  He  goes  out  in  to  the 
woods  around,  and  with  his  son  cuts  down  the  bass  woods;  the  cattle  eat 
their  twigs,  and  by  this  process  of  "browsing"  they  ward  off  starvation 
after  the  hay  has  lieen  all  consumed.  A  neighbor  comes  to  report  that  his 
family  are  reduced  to  the  point  of  starvation.  Potatoes  are  all  that  is  left; 
flour  has  been  gone  for  a  considerable  time.  He  asks  that  his  better  pro- 
\-ided  neighiwr,  who  has  some  money,  shall  go  to  Pontiac  and  get  flour  to 
save  the  lives  of  himself  and  others  similarly  situated.  These  api>eals  are 
not  to  be  turned  aside.  Mr.  Halsey  takes  his  team  and  cash  and  after  four 
(.lays  returns  from  l^ontiac  with  five  Jjarrels  of  flour,  and  men  and  women 
come  from  the  surrounding  region  with  pillow  cases  and  other  improvised 
recqitacles,  and  the  five  barrels  are  distributed  among  the  needy  according 
to  their  wants  and  as  near  as  may  be ;  so  famine  is  averted  in  the  town  of 
Grand  Blanc  and  many  children  live  to  bless  the  benefactor.  All  uncon- 
scious of  any  merit,  he  had  done  his  pioneer  duty  and,  although  he  religiously 
kept  a  diary  of  the  events  of  each  day,  yet  he  modestly  refrained  from  any 
mention  of  this  act,  leaving  it  to  be  told  by  those  who  had  been  saved.  Add 
to  the  fears  of  lo.ss  of  their  cattle,  upon  whose  preservation  so  much  depended, 
the  religious  excitement  caused  by  the  "Millerite"  prophecy  of  the  coming 
end  of  the  world  which  was  devoutly  believed  in  by  many  and  which  was 
cause  of  anxiety  to  many  who  doubted,  and  the  extreme  condition  of  the 
men  and  women  of  this  county  may  be  imagined.     Not  only  did  the  people 


dbyGoot^lc 


250  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

of  this  county  face  want,  but  the  people  of  the  entire  state  were  similarly 
situated.  In  Washtenaw  county,  Mr.  Halsey  records,  the  same  conditions 
prevailed,  and  even  those  who  had  money  and  wanted  to  buy,  went  out  with 
their  teams  throughout  the  state  and  came  back  to  report  failure,  as  there 
was  no  wheat  to  Ije  lx)ught.  "Help,  Lord,  or  we  ijerish,"  records  the  pious 
man.  The  middle  of  April  saw  a  changed  condition  of  weather  and  the 
songs  of  the  birds  cheered  the  people;  the  snow  melted  away;  the  grass, 
springing  before  its  usual  time,  for  the  snow  had  kept  the  groimd  from 
freezing,  soon  brought  back  the  pioneer  hope,  and  the  hard  winter  became  a 
reminiscence. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  VI 

First  County  Court. 

All  or  portions  of  the  lands  now  in  Genesee  county  have  at  different 
times  Iwen  included  in  Wayne,  Macomb,  Oakland,  Lapeer,  Saginaw  and 
Shiawassee  counties.  Genesee  was  set  off  as  a  separate  county  by  an  act  of 
the  territorial  Legislature  aiJproved  March  28,  1835,  ^'^'^  ^'^■'  judicial  pur- 
poses remained  attached  to  Oakland.  About  a  year  later,  on  March  8, 
1836,  Genesee  became  an  organized  county. 

The  first  county  officers  were  elected  for  Genesee  on  August  22,  1836, 
as  follow:  .Associate  judges,  Jeremiah  R.  Smith  and  Asa  Bishop;  judge  of 
probate,  Samuel  Rice ;  sheriff,  Lewis  Buckingham ;  clerk,  Robert  F.  Stage ; 
treasurer,  Charles  D.  W.  Gibson;  register  of  deeds,  Oliver  Wesson;  coroners, 
Chauncey  Chapin  and  Rufus  W.  Stevens;  county  surveyor,  Ogden  Clarke, 

On  October  4,  1836,  the  supervisors  from  the  three  townships  then 
organized  held  the  first  board  meeting  in  the  tailorshop  of  Daniel  H.  Seeley, 
in  Flint,  These  memibers  were  Samuel  Rice,  of  Grand  Blanc.  Lyman  Stowe, 
of  Flint,  and  Samuel  W.  Pattison,  of  Argentine.  But  on  finding  that  no 
iKioks  or  stationery  for  their  use  had  l>een  provided,  the  board  adjourned 
to  October  17.  Again  adjournment  was  necessary,  because  of  the  absence 
of  Mr.  Pattison,  but  he  was  present  on  the  i8th.  The  first  important  action 
of  the  county  Iward  of  supervisors  was  therefore  taken  on  October  18,  which 
was  a  resolution  to  raise  a  tax  of  $2,000  assessed  and  apportioned  as  follows  : 

Assessment.        Coimty.  Town.  Collector. 

Flint $203,973         $1,267.43         $23' 52         John  Todd 

Grand   Blanc 117,896  732-57  146.20         Caleb  S.  Thompson 

Some  idea  of  relative  values  is  given  when  it  is  understood  that  the 
assessment  and  apportionment  of  Argentine  was  included  with  that  of  Grand 
Blanc,  together  making  oniy  a  little  over  half  of  Flint's  assessment,  which 
doubtless  reflects  the  property  values  in  Flint  village. 

The  county  seat  for  G«nesee  was  located  by  an  act  of  the  territorial 
Legislature,  August  25,  1835,  "on  the  west  side  of  the  Saginaw  turnpike, 
on  lands  recently  deeded  by  John  Todd  and  wife  to  one  Wait  Beach,  known 


dbyGoc^lc 


3^2  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

as  the  Todd  Farm,  at  Flint  river,  at  a  ix>iiit  commencing  at  or  within  twenty 
rods  of  the  center  of  said  described  land  on  said  turnpike."  It  was  pro- 
vided, however,  that  the  owner  of  the  land  should  deed  to  the  county  two 
acres  of  land  for  a  court  house  and  public  square,  an  acre  for  a  burial 
ground,  and  two  church  and  two  school  lots  "of  common  size,"  which  was 
done.  A  building  for  the  county  jail  and  court  room  was  begun  in  the  fall 
of  1838  and  completed  in  the  fail  of  ]83q  at  a  cost  of  about  five  thousand 
dollars.  It  was  a  solid,  rectangular  building  of  oak  logs.  The  lower  and 
stronger  part  was  the  jail;  the  upi>er  part  was  the  court  room.  The  persons 
appointed  as  a  building  committee  to  superintend  the  construction  were 
Charles  Seymour,  Robert  F.  Stage  and  John  Pratt. 

Temporarily,  for  the  holding  of  the  circuit  court  of  Genesee  for  1837 
and  1838,  the  sheriff  provided,  first,  the  upfjer  story  of  Stage  &  Wright's 
store,  and  afterwards  the  hall  over  Benjamin  Pearson's  store.  At  the 
former  place  the  first  term  of  court  was  held  in  February,  1837,  by  the  Hon. 
George  Morell,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  state  supreme  court.  The  first 
case  tried  and  decided  api}ears  to  have  l^en  that  of  Andrew  Cox  vs.  Goshen 
Olmsted,  which  was  an  ap-jieal  from  Justice  Lyman  Stowe's  decision  in 
justice's  court,  in  which  judgment  was  rendered  for  the  plaintiff  for  the 
sum  of  five  dollars  and  sixty-three  cents,  together  with  costs  taxed  at  seven 
dollars  and  sixty-three  cents.  The  attorney  for  the  plaintiff  was  Thomas 
J.  Drake.  Barton  and  Thomson  were  attorneys  for  the  defendant.  The 
case  was  appealed  and  a  verdict  returned  for  the  defendant  of  sixteen  dol- 
lars damages ;  the  judgment  of  the  justice  of  the  peace  was  "reversed, 
vacated  and  annulled,  and  altogether  held  for  nothing,"  and  Goshen  Olm- 
sted was  directed  to  recover  from  Andrew  Cox  the  damages  and  also  the 
sum  of  eighty-eight  dollars  and  forty-two  cents  for  costs  of  the  appeal. 
This  judgment  was  given  February  12,  1841,  nearly  five  years  after  the 
commencement  of  the  case. 

The  other  cases  on  this  first  calendar  were: 

1.  Chauncey  Bogue  vs.  Timothy  J.  Walling.  Action  for  attachment. 
Thomas  J.  Drake,  attorney  for  plaintiif. 

2.  Jason  L.  Au.stin  vs.  Daniel  R.  Williams.  Action,  an  appeal. 
Attorney  for  plaintiff,  P.  If.  McOmber.  Attorney  for  defendant,  Thomas 
J.  Drake. 

3.  Charles  McLean  vs.  Theodore  P.  Dean.  Action,  an  appeal. 
Attorney  for  the  plaintiff,  T.  J.  Drake.  Attorney  for  defendant,  George 
Wisner. 


dbyGoot^lc 


(;eni;see  county,  ancHiGAN.  253 

The  first  circuit  court  held  in  the  new  log  building  was  the  January 
term  for  1840.  In  reference  to  the  first  case  tried  there,  Alvah  Brainard, 
for  niany  years  a  loved  and  respected  citizen  of  Grand  Blanc,  who  was  one 
of  the  jurors  on  the  case,  relates  the  following  amusing  anecdote: 

"The  difference  between  the  parties  was  trifling.  One  of  the  parties 
had  shut  up  one  of  the  other's  hogs  and  was  going  to  fat  it.  There  was  no 
place  prepared  for  the  jurors  to  deliberate  in.  Mr.  Hascall  was  building  ;t 
dwelling  house  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  turnpike  from  the  court  house, 
so  the  arrangements  were  made  for  the  jurors  to  go  over  to  this  place  in  the 
cellar  part.  The  house  was  set  upon  blocks  about  two  feet  from  the  ground 
and  the  dirt  had  been  thrown  partially  out,  so  that  we  had  a  shady,  airy  and 
rustic  place,  with  plenty  of  shavings  under  foot  which  had  fallen  down 
through  the  loose  floor  above.  There  were  no  seats,  but  we  could  change 
positions  very  readily,  by  lying  down,  or  standing  or  sitting  upon  our  feet. 
It  was  a  pleasant  and  secluded  place — we  could  look  out  on  all  sides  and 
see  what  was  going  on  u[>Dn  (he  outside.  Being  so  open,  the  wind  would 
blow  through  and  fill  our  eyes  with  sawdust,  and  it  was  a  very  warm  day; 
so,  under  all  circumstances,  we  were  not  in  a  very  urgent  hurry  and  we 
could  not  agree  upon  a  verdict.  The  constable  would  look  under  often: 
'Gentlemen,  have  you  agreed?'  Our  answer  would  be,  'More  water,  more 
water.'  So  along  toward  night  we  ventured  out  of  the  den  or  pen,  and 
went  before  the  court  without  having  agreed  on  a  verdict,  for  or  against," 

Judge   Marell  presided   at  this   meeting.     His   term   as  justice  of   the 
supreme  court  began  in   18,^2  and  he  was  chief  justice  in  1843.     His  suc- 
,  cesKors  in  the  circuit  court  of  Genesee  county  have  been  as  follow:  William 
A.  Fletcher.  Charles  W,  Whipple,  Sanford  M.  Green,  Josiah  Turner,  William  ' 
Newton,  Charles  H,  Wisner  and  Mark  W,  Stevens. 

In  the  proceedings  of  the  board  of  supervisors  for  a  meeting  held 
December  5,  1836,  is  found  the  earliest  official  reference  to  the  county  poor. 
The  sum  of  seventy-two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  was  allowed  to  Jason  L. 
Austin  for  care  of  county  paupers,  and  sixty-three  dollars  and  fourteen  cents 
to  the  township  of  Flint  for  care  and  removal  of  a  family  of  county  pau]>ers. 
On  January  8,  1839,  county  superintendents  of  the  poor  were  appointed: 
they  were  Benjamin  Rockwell,  of  Flushing.  Lyman  Stowe,  of  Flint,  and 
lohn  Pratt,  of  Genesee.  The  following  day  the  board  of  county  commis- 
sioners abolished  the  distinction  between  town  and  county  paupers;  all  paup- 
ers in  the  county  were  thereafter  to  be  considered  a  county  charge.  It  was 
nearly  a  <lecade.  however,  l>efore  a  county  farm  was  purchased  and  still 
longer  before  the  fir.=t  county  poor  house  was  bnilt. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER   Vri. 
Indian  Trails  and  Public  Highways. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  degree  of  civilization  to  which  a  nation  has 
attained  may  be  judged  by  the  number  and  quality  of  her  means  of  com- 
munication and  transportation.  In  the  zenith  of  her  power,  ancient  Rome 
built  a  superb  system  of  communication  for  the  empire,  radiating  from  the 
"city  of  the  seven  hills"  to  all  important  points  in  the  provinces.  In  the 
sixteenth  century  the  Spaniards  found  in  Central  and  South  America  an 
admirable  system  of  solid  and  durable  roads,  which  were  built  centuries 
before  the  coming  of  the  invaders;  almost  equaling  the  famous  Roman 
roads  were  those  built  by  the  Incas  in  Peru  and  by  the  Aztecs  in  Mexico 
and  Yucatan. 

The  earliest  roads  of  the  United  States  in  historic  times  are  the  Indian 
trails.  In  large  measure,  these  primitive  lines  have  been  followed  as  settle- 
ment has  arlvance<l  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  westward.  The  early  turn- 
pike built  through  New  York,  the  Erie  canal  opened  in  1825  and  the  great 
New  York  Central  railway  follow  closely  the  ancient  war-trail  connecting 
the  confederate  nations  of  the  Iroquois  from  the  Hudson  to  the  foot  of 
Lake  Erie.  Michigan  was  traversed  in  all  directions  by  the  trails  of  the 
Indians  and  their  numerous  paths  in  Genesee  county  bear  witness  that 
here  was  a  region  important  before  the  advent  of  the  white  man.  In  press- 
ing their  way  through  the  lands  of  the  county  from  one  township  to  another, 
the  settlers  constantly  found  the  lines  marked  out  by  the  Indians  the  most 
expeditious  and,  later,  many  of  them  were  made  the  lines  of  township  roads. 

Among  the  chief  Indian  trails  of  Genesee  county  was  the  great  trunk 
line  for  travel  north  and  south,  having  its  terminals  at  Saginaw  and  Detroit, 
It  came  into  the  county  on  section  35,  township  of  Grand  Blanc,  from 
Holly  in  Oakland  county,  passed  through  the  township  of  Grand  Blanc 
where  the  Saginaw  road  now  is,  and  entered  the  township  of  Burton  on 
section  32.  Thence  it  crossed  sections  30  and  19,  passed  through  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Flint  and  crossed  the  river  at  the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint, 
It  divided  into  two  trails  north  of  the  river,  one  running  along  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  river  to  Saginaw,  and  the  other  towards  Mt.  Morris,  following 
the  highlands,   thence   to   Pine   Run   and   Farrandville  and   left   the   county 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  255 

from  section  3,  township  of  Vienna.  The  swampy  nature  of  the  lands  of 
the  county  in  early  times  made  the  ridges  and  highlands  the  natural  lines 
for  the  minor  trails. 

By  an  early  writer  the  trails  of  the  valley  of  the  Saginaw  river  have 
been  likened  to  a  fan  spreading  out  in  various  directions  from  the  lower 
valley  and  reaching  the  headwaters  of  various  affluent  streams.  There  is 
now  great  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  location  of  these  trails,  but  one  ran 
from  a  place  up  the  river  near  Geneseeville  southward  on  the  watershed 
between  Kearsley  creek  and  the  stream  that  enters  the  river  on  section  18, 
of  Richfield.  This  trail  passed  across  near  the  springs  on  section  35  of 
Genesee,  and  crossed  Kearsley  creek  on  section  2  of  Burton,  circling  east- 
ward on  the  watershed  between  Kearsley  creek  and  Gilkey  creek,  coming 
into  Grand  Blanc  on  section  i,  and  crossing  the  main  trail  at  Grand  Blanc; 
thence  it  ran  through  sections  16  and  21  nearly  along  the  state  road  to 
Oakland  county,  thence  into  Fenton,  terminating  at  Long  lake.  Another  trail 
followed  the  watershe<l  between  the  two  streams  that  enter  the  river,  one 
on  section  27  and  the  other  on  section  36  in  Flushing  township,  and,  fol- 
lowing the  watershed  through  Hushing,  Clayton  and  Gaines  townships,  it 
crosse<l  the  Shiawassee  river  where  the  road  now  crosses  on  section  26, 
coursed  around  Lobdeii's  lake  into  Argentine  township  and  thence  across 
the  comer  of  section  thirty  of  I-^cnton. 

These  were  probably  the  principal  trails  across  the  county  of  Genesee 
(luring  the  time  of  the  Sauks  and  down  to  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the 
whites.     Of  these,  the  Abbott  history  says : 

"The  present  county  of  Genesee  was  crossed  in  various  directions  by 
Indian  trails,  which  by  being  traveled  for  years  by  themselves  and  their 
ponies  had  Ix:conie  hard-l^eaten  paths  worn  into  the  soft  soil  in  some  places  to 
the  depth  of  more  than  a  foot.  The  principal  of  these  was  the  "Saginaw 
trail,"  which  was  the  Indian  road  from  Saginaw  to  Detroit.  Its'  route  lay 
through  Genesee  count}'  from  Pewonigowink  up  the  Flint  river  to  its  south- 
ern bend,  thence  south  by  way  of  Grand  Blanc  and  the  Big  Springs  (Oak- 
land county)  to  Detroit.  The  place  where  it  crossed  the  Flint  was  known 
as  the  Grand  Traverse,  or  great  crossing  place,  a  name  probably  given  to  it 
by  Boheu,  the  P>ench  trader.  A  Ijeautiful  open  plain  lying  in  the  bend  of 
the  river,  on  the  north  side  and  contiguous  to  the  crossing,  was  named,  in 
Indian,  Mus-cat-a-wing,  meaning  'the  plain  burned  oven'  This  is  now  in 
the  first  ward  of  the  city  of  Flint,  A  part  of  it  had  formerly  Ijeen  used  by 
the  Indians  as  a  corn  field,  and  it  was  always  a  favorite  cami>ing  ground, 
as  many  as  fifteen  hundred  of  them  having  been  seen  encamped  on  it  at 


dbyGoot^lc 


256  GENTISEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

one  time  by  people  who  are  still  living.  Over  this  trail,  too,  for  years  after 
the  first  settlers  came  to  Genesee  county,  thousands  of  Indians  passed  and 
repassed  annually,  the  throng  always  being  particularly  large  at  the  time 
when  they  went  down  to  receive  their  annuities.  These  yearly  payments 
were  made  in  the  early  times  by  botli  the  United  States  and  the  British 
governments ;  the  latter  was  usually  paid  at  Maiden.  The  amount  paid  there 
was  fifty  cents  a  head  to  Indians  for  all  ages  from  the  red  patriarch  of  ninety 
years  to  the  papoose  upon  its  mother's  back.  On  these  occasions,  therefore, 
every  member  of  the  tribe  took  the  trail  tu  be  present  at  the  muster  for 
pay.  After  a  time  the  British  payments  ceased  and  the  United  States  adopted 
a  plan  of  paying  at  inland  points  to  avoid  the  demoralization  which  resulted 
from  vast  collections  of  Indians  at  Detroit.  These  interior  payments  were 
oftenest  made  at  Saginaw,  but  on  one  or  two  occasions  they  were  made  at 
Pewonigowink.  The  money  was  silver  coin  and  this  was  brought  up  from 
Detroit  on  pack  horses.  Two  boxes  of  one  thousand  dollars  each,  weighing 
one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  slung  on  each  side,  were  a  load  for  a  pack 
horse.  The  party  (generally  consisting  of  an  interpreter  and  sub-agent) 
made  its  way  twenty  miles  per  day  and  slept  out  in  the  woods  without 
fear,  though  without  firearms.  The  journey  occupied  four  days  from 
Detroit  to  Saginaw." 

The  good  roads  movement,  which  has  assumed  such  proportions  in 
recent  years,  may  be  said  to  have  begun  in  1822.  The  old  Indian  trail  from 
Detroit  to  Saginaw,  by  way  of  Royal  Oak,  Birmingham,  Pontiac,  Water- 
ford,  Holly,  Grand  Blanc  and  the  Grand  Traverse  of  the  Flint,  had  served 
for  the  traffic  of  the  Indians  and  the  early  traders  and  as  bridle  path  for 
the  earliest  white  explorers,  who  followed  it  in  their  ex]>lorations. 

In  1822,  the  unrest  of  the  Indians  growing  out  of  their  dissatisfaction 
with  the  treaty  of  1819,  and  their  divided  allegiance  between  the  English 
and  the  Americans,  caused  the  government  to  establish  a  military  ^xist  at 
Saginaw.  Two  companies  of  the  third  United  States  Infantry,  under  Major 
Baker,  were  transferred  from  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  to  Saginaw,  and  tlie 
necessity  of  supplying  this  post  made  it  imperative  to  improve  the  old  trail. 
This  was  done  by  detachments  of  the  soldiers,  under  the  command  of  Lieu- 
tenants Brooks  and  Bainbridge.  When  their  work  was  completed,  it  was 
so  cut  out  and  leveled  that  horseback  travel  in  summer  and  sleighs  in  winter 
were  possible.  The  old  trait  then  ceased  to  be  a  trail  and  took  upon  itself 
the  dignity  of  a  road.  It  is  said  by  one  of  the  old  chroniclers,  that  the 
soldiers  built  a  bridge  across  the  Flint,  but  if  they  did  it  was  temporary  and 
soon  ceased  to  Ije  usable  for  the  puqKise  intended. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  257 

The  garrison,  notwithstanding  the  skillful  attendance  of  the  post  sur- 
geon, Doctor  Pitdier,  found  the  place  so  unhealthy  that  it  was  withdrawn 
in  the  fall  of  1823,  and  with  its  departure  the  needs  that  had  caused  the 
betterment  of  the  road  ceased  and  it  fell  into  decay. 

While  the  garrison  was  at  Saginaw,  a  contract  was  let  to  John  Hamil- 
ton and  one  Harvey  Williams  to  transport  the  supplies  for  the  troops 
from  Detroit  to  Saginaw.  These  two,  with  Ephraim  S,  Williams  and 
Schuyler  Hodges,  went  over  the  new  road  in  the  winter  of  1822-3  with 
three  sleigh  loads  of  supplies.  They  had  to  put  ail  three  teams  of  oxen  to 
one  sled  to  get  it  across  the  river  and  up  the  banks. 

With  the  coming  of  settlers  the  need  for  road  repair  being  imperative. 
The  terminus  at  Saginaw  was  a  place  of  importance  as  the  Indians  there 
were  expert  fishermen  and  the  trout  they  took  were  in  demand  by  the  set- 
tlers. In  1831  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  was  raised  by  popular  sub- 
scription for  the  puqxise  of  cutting  out  the  road  from  Flint  to  the  Cass 
river. 

On  November  15,  1831,  John  Todd,  tavern  keeper  at  Flint,  Phinneas 
Thompson,  and  Albert  Miller,  school  teacher  of  Grand  Blanc,  started  out 
with  axes,  a  tent  and  supplies  for  two  weeks  on  their  backs,  to  do  the  work. 
They  moved  out  northward  a  few  miles  and  camped,  cutting  back  a  day 
and  then  ahead  a  day,  and  then  moving  their  camp  again.  At  night,  as 
Miller  afterwards  related,  they  were  serenaded  by  wolves  that  gathered  in 
large  bands  alx5Ut  the  tent  at  night.  While  at  Birch  Run,  Miller  thought- 
lessly left  his  leather  mittens  outside  the  tent  and  in  the  morning  they  were 
not  to  bt  found;  the  wolves  had  eaten  them.  Reaching  the  Cass  river 
they  made  a  raft  of  ash  logs  cut  out  of  trees  on  the  river  bank  and  crossed. 

The  section  of  the  road  south  from  the  Hint  was  not  so  well  treated, 
for  in  1832  Mr.  William  McCorniick,  who  came  over  it  from  Detroit, 
characterizes  the  road  from  Detroit  to  Royal  Oak  as  the  worst  he  had 
ever  seen.  He  also  says  that  the  portion  of  the  road  from  the  old  Indian 
trading  house  of  Riifus  W.  Stevens,  at  Grand  Blanc,  to  the  Flint  river,  was 
only  a  sleigh  road  cut  through  the  woods  for  winter  use,  and  in  many  places 
not  passable  for  wagons  because  not  wide  enough.  Soon  afterwards,  he 
was  called  to  go  down  the  river  as  escort  for  a  young  lady  who  was  to  visit 
friends  at  Saginaw,  and,  with  Colonel  Marshall,  of  Flint,  they  accomphshed 
the  route  in  two  days  by  drawing  the  canoe  over  the  riffles  in  many  places 
where  the  water  was  too  low  for  free  navigation. 

The  territorial  roads  built  previous  to  the  admission  of  Michigan  as  a 

(17) 


dbyGoc^lc 


258  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

State  were  practically  all  built  to  connect  Detroit  with  Chicago  and  St, 
Joseph,  and  all  of  them,  with  the  one  exception  of  that  from  Rochester  to 
Lapeer,  ran  south  of  Genesee  county. 

W.  R.  Bates,  in  the  Golden  Jubilee  history,  says  that  the  road  from 
Detroit  to  Saginaw  by  Flint  was  surveyed  in  1826,  but  that  it  did  not  reach 
Flint  until  1833.  The  road  map  of  the  land  commissioner  of  the  state, 
which  gives  the  territorial  roads,  does  not  include  this  one  In  question;  it 
would  seem  that  the  road  became  a  highway  de  facto,  by  its  transition  from 
an  Indian  trail  to  a  road  by  the  work  of  the  soldiers,  and  that  its  further 
betterment  depended  more  upon  the  vohintar\'  ai<I  of  the  settlers  along  the 

The  "Emigrants  and  Travelers'  Guide,"  published  at  Philadelphia  in 
1834,  contains  a  map  of  Michigan  territory,  and  only  one  highway  is  desig- 
nated in  CJenesee  county,  the  one  from  Detroit  to  Saginaw,  marked  "Gov- 
ernment road." 

The  early  desire  of  better  facilities  for  transportation,  and  the  lines  of 
communication  most  urgently  needed  by  the  settlers  of  Genesee  after  the 
state  was  formed,  are  reflected  in  the  action  of  the  first  Le^slature  of 
Michigan  from  1835  to  1848,  which  authorized  the  laying  out  and  establish- 
ment of  a  number  of  state  roads.  Among  routes  authorized  for  Genesee 
county,  were  the  following:  from  Grand  Blanc  through  the  county  seat 
of  Lapeer  to  the  mouth  of  the  Black  river,  in  St.  Clair  county;  from  Flint 
through  Lapeer  and  Romeo  to  Mt.  Clemens;  from  Flint  to  Ann  .Arlwr; 
from  Flint  through  the  towns  of  Atlas,  Groveland,  Brandon  and  Indepen- 
dence, to  Pontiac;  from  Flint  through  the  Miller  settlement,  Shiawassee  Town 
and  Hartwellville,  to  Michigan  village,  in  Ingham  county;  from  Flint  through 
the  town  of  Gaines  to  Byron;  from  Flint  through  Conmna,  to  Lansing; 
from  a  point  on  the  Saginaw  turnpike  about  fourteen  miles  north  of  Flint, 
through  Flushing,  Murray  Mills  and  Brighton  to  Ann  ArijOr;  from  Fenton- 
ville  to  Brighton;  from  Fentonville  to  Byron,  in  Shiawassee  county;  from 
Fentonvilie  to  Springfield,  in  Oakland  county.  To  authorize  roads,  how- 
ever, was  not  to  build  them;  many  of  these  roads  "laid  out  and  established" 
by  the  Legislature  on  paper  were  not  for  many  years  made  ready  for  travel, 
and  some  of  them  were  not  built  at  all  in  the  way  originally  intended. 

Road  making,  other  than  the  state  roads  above  <!escril>ed,  began  in 
the  activities  of  James  W.  Cronk  and  R.  J.  Gilman.  road  commissioners  of 
the  township  of  Flint,  which  then  included  the  present  township  of  Clayton. 
Flushing,  Montrose,  Vienna,  Mt.  Morris.  Thetford,  Flint.  Genesee  and  Bur- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  21^9 

ton.     On  June  15,  1836,  these  two  commissioners  laid  out  ten  roads,  which 
were  numbered  one  to  ten  inclusive,  and  were  as  follows : 

Road  number  one  ran  across  the  country  from  the  Lapeer  line  on  the 
east  to  the  Shiawassee  line  on  the  west,  its  eastern  terminus  being  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  i,  tow-nship  8  north,  range  7  east,  and  its  western 
and  northwest  corner  of  section  6,  township  8  north,  range  5  east.  This 
road  is  now  the  Frances  road,  except  the  eastern  six  miles  between  Forest 
and  Richfield  towns — those  towns  being  then  a  part  of  Lapeer  county.  This 
Frances  road  therefore,  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  recorded  road  in  the 
county. 

lioad  number  two  ran  from  the  northwest  corner  of  section  6,  town- 
ship 7  north,  range  5  east,  east  on  township  line  six  miles  and  a  half  to 
quarter  stake  on  north  side  section  6,  township  7  north,  range  6  east.  This 
road  is  now  the  Potter  road  between  Flushing  and  Clayton,  extended  half 
a  mile  eastward. 

Road  number  three  is  described  as  running  from  southeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion I,  township  7  north,  range  5  east,  to  southwest  corner  of  section  6,  same 
township,  six  miles.  This  is  now  the  Beecher  road,  through  the  town  of 
Clayton. 

Koad  num]>er  four  began  at  the  southwest  corner  of  section  6,  town- 
ship 7  north,  range  6  east,  and  ran  one  mile  east,  thence  south  five  miles, 
along  the  section  line,  ending  at  the  southeast  comer  of  section  31  in  the 
same  township.  The  first  mile  of  this  road  is  now  part  of  the  Beecher  road. 
One  mile  of  the  north,  and  the  south  five  miles  of  this  road,  were  discon- 
tinued by  the  commissioners  of  highways.  December  17,  1850;  the  other 
four  miles  are  not  now  used  as  a  highway. 

Road  number  five  ran  south  five  miles  from  the  southea.st  corner  of 
section  5,  township  7  north,  range  6  east,  on  section  line,  and  is  now  the 
northern  part  of  the  Linden  road,  in  the  township  of  Flint, 

Road  number  six,  commencing  at  the  southwest  corner  of  section  7J 
township  8  north,  range  7  east,  ran  thence  east  three  miles  on  section  hne, 
and  formed  three  miles  of  the  Stanley  road  in  the  township  of  Genesee, 

Road  numl>er  seven  commenced  at  the  southwest  corner  of  section  6, 
town.ship  8  north,  range  7  east  (the  center  of  the  village  of  Mt.  Morris). 
and  ran  thence  six  miles  east  along  the  section  line,  and  is  now  the  Mt. 
Morris  road  across  Genesee  township  to  the  Richfield  line. 

Road  number  eight  was  the  present  Bristol  road  across  the  township  of 
Burton. 


dbyGoot^lc 


26o  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Roaii  number  nine  was  that  part  of  the  center  road  from  Frances  road 
south  to  the  Stanley  road  and  half  a  mile  farther  south,  in  the  township 
of  Genesee.  This  road  now  passes  through  Geneseeville  and  departs  from 
the  section  line  on  which  it  was  laid  out  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  surface 
of  the  river  valley. 

Road  number  ten,  the  present  Hemphill  road,  just  north  of  the  county 
farm,  one  mile  and  five  chains  long,  had  its  western  terminus  in  the  "Sagana" 
turnpike,  and  its  eastern  at  the  quarter  stake  between  sections  29  and  30, 
township  7  north,  range  7  east  (Burton). 

On  July  25,    1836,  James  W.   Cronk  and   Charles   McLean,   road  com- 
missioners of  Flint,  laid  out  four  more  roads. 

Road  ntimber  eleven  was  the  present  Vienna  road  across  Thetford, 
running  through  Thetford  Center  and  East  Thetford. 

Road  number  twelve  is  now  the  Wilson  road  across  the  township  of 
Vienna. 

Road  number  thirteen  is  now  the  Dodge  road  across  the  township  of 
Vienna. 

Road  number  fourteen  runs  from  the  center  of  Clio  due  south  on  the 
section  line  to  the  town  of  Mt.  Morris,  a  part  of  the  Clio  road. 

On  August  3,  1836,  commissioners  Charles  McLean  and  R.  J.  Oilman 
laid  out  road  number  fifteen,  from  a  point  on  the  "Sagana"  turnpike,  east  to 
the  quarter  stake  on  the  east  side  of  section  24,  township  of  Vienna,  a 
distance  of  fifty-seven  chains  and  sixty-seven  links.  This  is  now  that  part 
of  the  Smith  road  in  the  township  of  Vienna. 

On  September  20,  1836,  road  commissioners  James  W.  Cronk  and 
K.  J.  Oilman  laid  out  three  more  roads. 

Road  number  sixteen,  from  the  quarter  stake  on  the  south  line  of 
section  30,  township  of  Oenesee,  east  forty  chains,  thence  north  on  section 
line  forty  chains,  and  east  on  the  subdivision  line  twenty  chains.  This  is 
now  part  of  Pierson  street,  I^wis  road  and  a  short  unnamed  road  in  the 
township  of  Genesee. 

Road  number  seventeen  was  the  present  Calkins  road  across  the  town- 
ship of  Clayton. 

Road  number  eighteen  is  now  the  county  line  road  between  Genesee 
and  Shiawassee  counties,  along  the  west  bounds  of  Clayton. 

Road  number  nineteen  seems  to  have  been  partly  recorded  by  the  com- 
missioners, but  the  record  was-erased,  andon  September  5,  1837,  the  then 
commissioners,  James  W.  Cronk  and  John  L.  Gage,  in  order  to  keep  up 
the  consecutive  numbering  of   roads,   laid  out  a  road  and   gave  it  number 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  261 

nineteen,  as  follows:  Beginning  on  the  east  line  of  section  12,  twenty-two 
chains  and  twenty-five  links  south  of  the  northeast  comer  of  said  section 
12,  in  township  7. north,  range  5  east,  thence  west  nineteen  chains  and  eighty- 
five  links  and  ending  north  forty-five  degrees  west,  thirty-two  chains  and 
fifty  links.  The  record  is  attested  by  Orrin  Safford,  town  clerk.  This  road 
was  in  north  part  of  the  city  of  Flint. 

Road  number  twenty,  laid  out  September  20,  1836,  by  Commissioners 
Clark  and  Oilman,  is,  or  rather  was,  a  road  within  the  present  city  limits 
and  in  this  record  we  find  the  first  mention  of  Saginaw  street.  The  road 
commenced  "at  the  stake  in  the  center  of  'Sagina'  street,  from  which  the 
section  corner  of  sections  17,  18,  19  and  20  in  township  7  north,  range  7 
east,  bears  south  nine  degrees  east,  twenty-nine  chains;  thence  south  fifty- 
one  degrees  west,  ten  chains  and  fifty  links  on  Shiawassee  street,  thence 
north  thirty-nine  degrees  west,  two  chains  and  thirty-four  links  to  a  stake, 
from  which  a  white  oak  eight  inches  diameter,  bears  north  seventy-six 
degrees  west,  twenty  links;  thence  south  fifty-one  degrees  west,  ten  chains 
to  a  stake,  from  which  a  white  oak  bears  north  forty-five  degrees  west, 
sixty  links;  thence  south  six  degrees  east  four  chains  to  a  stake,  from  which 
the  quarter  stake  standing  on  the  south  line  of  section  18,  bears  north  fifty- 
two  degrees  east,  four  chains  and  ninety-two  links." 

Road  number  twenty-one,  laid  out  September  20,  1836,  by  commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gilman.  was  the  south  three  miles  of  Center  road,  in  Burton, 
running  from  Maple  Grove  road  north  to  Mill  road. 

Road  number  twenty-two,  laid  out  September  20,  1836,  by  the  same 
commissioners,  was  the  one  mile  of  the  Lennon  road  between  sections  19 
and  30,  township  of  Flint. 

Road  number  twenty-three,  same  date  as  number  twenty-two,  ran  from 
the  southeast  corner  of  section  33,  township  of  Flushing,  north  five  and  a  half 
miles  on  the  section  line.  This  road  as  it  now  exists  conforms  to  the  descrip- 
tion alxjve  only  in  two  places. 

Road  number  twenty-four,  of  the  same  date  as  number  twenty-two, 
is  the  road  running  north  from  the  village  of  Flushing  to  the  Stanley  road 
and  a  half  mile  east  of  Stanley  road. 

Road  number  twenty-five,  of  the  same  date  as  above,  is  three  and  a 
half  miies  of  Elm  road  between  Mt.  Morris  and  Flushing  from  the  north 
line  of  those  townships. 

Road  number  twenty-six,  of  the  same  date,  is  the  Stanley  road  from 
road  number  twenty-four  east  seven  and  a  half  miles,  to  the  "Sagana" 
turnpike. 


dbyGoot^lc 


262  GENESEE    ^tNTV,    MICHIGAN. 

Road  number  twenty-seven,  oi^^tlie  saiii«  *fate,  is  the  ^tiort  Of  ihe  Bris- 
tol road  running  from  the  Shiawassee"  courlty  line  east  eig'^  miles  thff?(Igh 
Clayton  into  Flint  township,  to  Otterbuiin. 

Road  number  twenty-eight,  of  the  saiHe  date,,  is  the  Leiinon  ("o^d  ffoi# 
the  Shiawassee  line  nine  miles  east  through  Glayt-inn  to  the  middle  «>^  flint 
township. 

Road  number  twenty-nine,  of  the  same  date,  i&  tfee  Nichols  road  ;.''.«6ss 
Clayton  from  Gains  to  Flushing. 

Road  number  thirty,  same  date,  is  the  river  roftdl  on  west  side  of  thf« 
Flint  river  from  the  southwest  corner  of  Mt.  Morris  to  the  north  line  of 
Flushing. 

Road  number  thirty-one,  of  the  same  date,  is  the  Liiniieii  road  from 
north  line  of  Mt.  Morris  to  the  south  line  of  same,  and  south:  by  the  set-off, 
half  a  mile  into  township  of  Flint. 

Road  number  thirty-two,  same  date,  was  the  Corunnai  road'  hv>ret  Shia- 
wassee county  to  Smith's  reservation.  This  was  afterwards-  ihclbded  in 
the  northern  state  road  of  1838. 

Road  numlner  thirty-three,  same  date,  was  the  Calkins  road'  eaat  from 
Clayton  two  and  a  half  miles  to  Smith's  reservation. 

Road  number  thirty-four,  of  same  date,  was  the  Webber  mad.  aiGiross 
Mt.  Morris,  from  Francis  road  to  the  Potter  road. 

Road  number  thirty-five,  same  date,  was  a  section  of  the  Pierson:  roaid 
four  and  a  half  miles  west  from  section  25  in  Mt.  Morris. 

Road  number  thirty-six,  same  date,  is  the  Jennings  road  across-  Mt. 
Morris,  from  the  Frances  road  to  the  Potter  road. 

On  October  10,  1S36,  Commissioners  Cronk  and  Gilman  laid  out  roads 
thirty-seven  to  forty,  inclusive. 

Road  number  thirty-seven  is  the  Morrish  road  from  Swartz  Greek,, 
six   miles  north. 

Road  number  thirty-eight  was  a  road  from  southeast  corner  of^'seotibni 
34,  Clayton,  north  six  miles  on  the  section  line.  The  south  mile'of  this- 
road  is  now  part  of  the  Seymour  road,  and  the  north,  two  miles  part  of.' 
the  Marshal!  road ;  the  other  three  miles  do  not  seem  to  have  been  opened^ 

Road  number  thirty-nine  was  to  run  from  the  southwest  corner  of 
■section  34,  township  of  Clayton,  north  on  the  section  tine  six  miles.-  The 
south  three  miles  of  this  road  is  now  part  oi  the  VanVleet  road;  the 'oliier 
three  were  not  opened. 

Road  number  forty  is  the  Mt.  Morris  road  west  from  the  center-  of. 
the  village  of  Mt.   Morris,  eight  miles. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  263 

On  October  29,  1836,  Commissioners  Cronk  and  Gilman  laid  out  the 
Dodge  road  across  Thetford  as  road  number  forty-one. 

Road  number  forty-two,  of  Novemlier  8,  1836,  was  a  road  of  the  early 
day  from  the  "Sagina"'  turnpike,  eastward  to  a  point  near  the  first  of  Smith's 
reservations;  its  exact  location  is  now  difficult  to  define. 

Road  number  forty-three,  of  March  20,  1837,  laid  out  by  Commis- 
sioners Cronk  and  Gilman,  included  a  section  of  the  Potter  road,  also  of 
the  Richfield  road  ami  Western   road. 

Road  number  forty-four,  same  date  as  forty-three,  is  the  road  running 
north  and  south  through  the  middle  of  section  3,  township  of  Burton,  to 
the  Ritchfield  road  in  township  of  Genesse. 

Road  number  forty-five,  laid  out  March  28,  1837,  was  the  first  road 
laid  out  by  the  commissioners  with  reference  to  the  piat  village  of  Grand 
Traverse;  it  commences  in  center  of  Detroit  street,  where  North  street  inter- 
sects it,  and  runs  north  thirty-four  degrees  east  to  section  i,  etc. 

Road  nunil3er  forty-six  was  laid  out  December  19,  1836,  by  James  W. 
Cronk  and  R,  J.  Gilman  as  road  commissioners  of  the  township  of  Flint, 
and  Daniel  B,  Blakefield  and  C.  D.  W.  Gibson  as  road  commissioners  of 
the  township  of  Grand  Blanc.  It  was  eighteen  miles  long,  and  followed  the 
three  township  lines  between  the  township  of  Flint  and  Grand  Blanc  as 
then  constituted.  This  road  was  divided  into  two  parts  of  nine  miles  each; 
the  township  of  Flint  assumed  the  maintenance  of  the  eastern  part,  and 
Grand  Blanc,  of  the  western.  The  portion  of  Flint  was  erected  into  road 
districts  No.  i  of  Flint,  and  Grand  Blanc's  portion  into  road  district  No, 
3  of  Grand  Blanc. 

Road  number  forty-sei'en,  laid  out  by  Commissioners  Cronk  and  Gil- 
man, March  29,  1837,  was  a  road  in  the  vicinity  of  Farrandville  and  Clio, 
from  the  "Sagina"  road. 

Road  number  forty-eight  was  the  road  from  Clio  north  to  the  Saginaw 
line. 

On  April  20,  1837,  road  commissioners,  Cronk  and  Gilman,  divided  the 
township  of  Flint  into  seventeen  road  districts.  On  March  29,  1837,  they 
altered  the  road  running  easterly  from  Kearsley  street  in  the  village  of 
Fhnt  to  the  southeast  corner  of  section  5  (the  Ridifield  road)  and,  as  defined, 
it  became  road  numlier  forty-nine.  The  record  of  this  road  is  attested  by 
Addison  Stewart,  town  clerk. 

Road  number  fifty  was  declared  such  after  a  jury  of  twelve  had  declared 
the  necessity  of  opening  it,  on  the  29th  day  of  March,  1837.  It  was  in 
the  heart  of  the  present  city  of  Flint, 


dbyGoot^lc 


264  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

Road  number  fifty-one  wels  an  alteration  of  the  river  road  north  of 
the  river,  in  the  vicinity  of  Flushing,  made  on  May  i,  1837;  it  was  attested 
by  Orrin  Safford,  town  clerk. 

Road  number  fifty-two,  opened  May  15,  1837,  by  James  W.  Cronk, 
John  L.  Gage  and  A.  H.  Hart,  road  commissioners,  was  three  miles  of 
the  present  Atherton  road  in  Burton,  between  the  Center  road  and  Vassar 
road. 

Road  number  fifty-three,  laid  out  June  24,  1837,  by  Cronk  and  Gage, 
commissioners,  was  the  street  between  the  Stewart  plat  and  Maplewood 
plat  in  the  north  end  of  Flint. 

Road  number  fifty-four,  laid  out  July  i,  1837,  was  a  definition  of  the 
highway  to  connect  with  the  easterly  end  of  Fifteenth  street  as  iaid  out 
on  the  map  of  F'iint  village. 

Road  number  fifty-five  was  the  alteration  of  a  pre-existing  road  in 
■  the  southern  part  of  Burton,  but  the  road  as  so  ahered  appears  to  have 
been  discontinued. 

Road  number  fifty-six  was  laid  out  on  July  i,  1837,  by  Commissioners  . 
Cronk  and  Gage,  from  the  present  city  of  Flint  to  the  southwest  corner 
of  section  35,  township  of  Flint;  part  of  it  is  now  the  Torrey  road. 

Road  number  fifty-seven,  laid  out  July  i,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  is  the  two  miles  of  the  VanSlyke  road  in  the  townshi]> 
of  Flint,  between  the  Atherton  road  and  Maple  avenue. 

Road  number  fifty-eight,  laid  out  September  5,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  was  a  highway  across  section  34,  township  of  Clayton ;  but 
it  appears  to  have  been  discontinued. 

Road  number  fifty-nine,  iaid  out  September  5,  1837,  by  Cronk  and 
Gage,  commissioners,  is  now  the  Miller  road  from  Flint  to  Otterburn. 

Road  number  sixty,  altered  and  laid  out  September  5,  1837,  by  Cronk 
and  Gage,  commissioners,  defines  the  river  road  down  the  river  on  south 
side  and  alters  the  earlier  surveys  of  the  same. 

Road  number  sixty-one,  laid  out  June  8,  1837,  by  Commissioners  Cronk 
and  Gage,  was  a  road  on  section  25,  township  of  Burton,  which  seems  to 
have  been  discontinued. 

Road  number  sixty-two,  laid  out  September  26,  1837,  by  Cronk  and 
Gage,  commissioners,  is  the  south  half  mile  of  the  Lewis  road  north  of 
the  city. 

Road  number  sixty-three,  laid  out  August  20,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  is  a  small  section  of  the  Potter  road  from  the  Clayton- 
Flushing  line  to  the  river  road. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  265 

Road  number  sixty-three,  laid  out  August  20,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  is  a  small  section  of  the  Potter  road  from  the  Clayton- 
Flushing  line  to  the   river  road. 

Road  mimber  sixty-four,  laid  out  November  7,  1837,  is  obsolete. 

Road  number  sixty-five,  laid  out  November  18,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  opened  a  mile  of  highway,  now  the  Dye  road  between 
Beecher  and   Calkins  roads. 

Road  number  sixty-six,  laid  out  November  10,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  is  now  the  Eray  road  from  Frances  road  to  Stanley. 

Road  number  sixty-seven,  laid  out  December  13,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  is  now  the  half  mile  of  the  Lewis  road  running  south  from 
the  Carj^enter  road. 

Road  number  sixty-eight,  laid  out  Decemlier  22,  1S37,  by  Commis- 
sioners Cronk  and  Gage,  is  now  the  Atherton  road  from  the  Fenton  road 
to  the  Van  Slyke  road. 

Road  number  sixty-nine,  laid  out  December  22,  1837,  by  Commission- 
ers Cronk  and  Gage,  was  designed  to  change  the  course  of  the  McKinley 
road  three  miles  north  of  Flushing  to  curve  eastward  around  the  bend  of  the 
river. 

Road  number  seventy,  laid  out  December  22,  1837,  by  Commissioners 
Cronk  and  Gage,  is  now  the  mile  of  the  Need  road  between  Frances  and 
Mt.  Morris  roads. 

Road  number  seventy-one,  laid  out  January  17,  1838,  by  Cronk  and 
Gage,  commissioners,  defines  a  portion  of  the  river  road  to  Flushing  through 
.section  5  and  adjoining  sections,  town  of  Flint. 

Road  number  se\'enty-two,  laid  out  January  24,  1838,  by  Cronk  and 
Gage,  commissioners,  and  road  numljer  seventy-three,  laid  out  at  the  same 
time,  described  roads  entering  the  site  of  our  city;  but  they  were  evidently 
not  of  permanent  use.  The  later  highways  of  the  city  and  the  building 
of  the  roads  outside  on  section  lines  seem  to  have  supplanted  these  mean- 
dering roads. 

Road  number  seventy-four,  laid  out  January  24,  1838,  by  Commis- 
sioners Cronk  and  Gage,  is  now  the  Linden  road  from  the  Potter  road  south 
to  the  river  road. 

Road  number  seventy-five,  laid  out  March  26,  1838,  by  Cronk  and 
Gage,  commissioners,  appeared  to  have  been  straightened  to  conform  to 
the  section  line  and  is  now  part  of  the  Atherton  road,  immediately  east  of 
the  Grand  Blanc  road. 

Road  number  seventy -six,  laid  out  March  26,   1838,  by  John  L.  Gage 


dbyGoot^lc 


266  (lENMSEF.    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

and  A.  11.  Hart,  commissioners,  is  now  the  Belsay  road  from  ICai^t  C^ourt 
road  south  three  miles  to  the  Bristol  road,  in  Burton. 

Road  number  seventy-seven,  laid  out  at  same  time  as  number  seventy- 
six,  across  section  13,  Burton,  is  supplanted  b\'  the  Northern  state  road. 

Road  number  seventy-eight,  laid  out  at  same  time  as  number  seventy- 
six,  is  now  the  Davison  road  to  Davison  township,  which  then  was  the 
county  line. 

Road  number  seventy-nine,  laid  out  March  27,  1838,  by  Commissioners 
James  W.  Cronk,  A.  H.  Hart  and  John  L.  Gage,  now  the  Genesee  road, 
north  from  Kearsley  road  in  Burton  to  the  corner  of  sections  34  and  35  in 
Genesee. 

Road  number  eighty,  laid  out  March  28,  1838,  by  Commissioners  Gage 
and  Cronk,  includes  the  Clark  road  in  Genessee,  from  Vassar  road  west. 

The  town  of  Flint  having  been  cut  down  in  its  territory  by  the  forma- 
tion of  the  town  of  Vienna  by  Act  31,  of  Laws  of  1837,  comprising  town- 
ship 9,  of  ranges  5,  6  and  7  (now  Montrose,  Vienna  and  Thetfonl),  a 
re-districting  of  the  town  was  made  by  Commissioners  of  Highway  James 
W.  Cronk  and  John  L.  Gage,  March  27,  1838,  dividing  the  town  into  eight 
road  districts. 

Atlas,  including  the  present  Davison  township,  had  also  Ijeen  formed 
into  a  township  of  Lapeer  county,  and  by  joint  action  of  T.  R.  Cummings, 
Ira  D.  Wright  and  Parus  Atherton,  commissioners  elected  in  the  spring  of 
1838  for  the  township  of  Flint,  and  Charles  Vantine  and  Asa  Farrar,  com- 
missioners for  the  new  township  of  Atlas,  a  new  road,  numbered  eighty-one, 
was  laid  out  along  the  then  county  line,  now  forming  three  miles  of  the 
Vassar  road  from  Maple  Avenue  road  north.  This  new  road  was  to  be 
maintained,  as  to  the  south  half,  by  the  township  of  I-'lint,  and  as  to  the 
north  half,  by  Atlas. 

On  June  18,  1836,  Ira  D.  Wright  and  Parus  Atherton,  commissioners, 
laid  out  road  number  eighty-two,  which  is  now  that  mile  of  the  Geneset: 
road  from  Bristol  road  to  Maple  avenue  road  in  Burton;  and  on  the  same 
day  they  laid  out  road  number  eighty-three,  being  the  two  miles  of  the  Belsay 
road  between  the  Atherton  road  and  Maple  avenue  road,  in  Burton  town- 
ship. 

T.  R.  Cummings  and  Ira  D.  Wright,  commissioners,  on  March  28, 
1839,  laid  out  road  number  eighty-four,  running  across  section  13  of  Bur- 
ton, now  part  of  the  Lapeer  road.  This  road  was  surveyed  by  C.  G. 
Curtis,  surveyor. 

On   same  day   these  coinmissioners   laid  out   road   number   eighty-hve. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESKE    COUNTYj    MICHIGAN.  267 

to  commence  in  "the  old  road  on  the  north  side  of  FHnt  river  where  Wilham 
Blackington's  west  Hne  crosses  it,"  running  thence  by  courses  to  connect 
with  Third  street,  in  the  village  of  Grand  Traverse. 

The  same  day  the  commissioners  redistricted  the  town  of  Flint,  divi<i- 
ing  it  into  fifteen  road  districts. 

At  the  spring  election  of  1839  fra  D.  Wright,  Ovid  Hemphill  and 
Willard  Kddy  were  elected  commissioners  of  highways  of  Flint,  and  on 
April  10,  1839,  Wright  and  Hemphill,  commissioners,  laid  out  road  number 
eighty-six,  which  commenced  at  the  quarter  stake  in  the  east  side  of  section 
29,  Burton,  and  run  west  half  a  mile  to  the  center  of  the  section.  This 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  act  of  Commissioner  Hemphill  and  the  road 
is  appropriately  called  the  Hemphill  road. 

Road  number  eighty-seven,  laid  out  July  15,  1809,  by  Commissioners 
Eddy  and  Wright,  was  an  extension  of  TweUth  street,  village  of  Flint, 
and  was  attested  in  1844. 

On  November  i,  1839,  Commissioners  Wright  and  Eddy  laid  out,  as 
road  number  eighty-eight,  a  mile  of  road  across  the  middle  of  section  36, 
Burton,  from  east  to  west.     Only  the  west  end  of  this  is  at  present  a  highway. 

On  December  12,  1839,  the  same  commissioners  laid  out  what  is  now 
-the  Atherton  road,  from  the  Fenton  road  east  to  the  Grand  Blanc  road, 
,as  road  number  eighty-nine. 

P,oad  number  ninety,  laid  out  December  30,  1839,  by  the  joint  action 
of  Ira  D.  Wright  and  Willard  Eddy  as  highway  commissioners  of  the  town- 
ship of  Flint,  and  William  Blades  and  John  P.  F-ritz.  commissioners  of  the 
township  of  Grand  Blanc,  commenced  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  town- 
ship of  Flint,  on  the  county  line  between  Genesee  and  Lapeer  counties,  and 
ran  west  on  the  township  hne  between  Flint  and  Grand  Blanc  four  miles 
and  sixty-one  chains  to  Saginaw  turnpike.  This  is  now  part  of  the  Maple 
Avenue  road. 

Road  number  ninety-one,  laid  out  March  13,  1840,  by  Commissioners 
Wright  and  Eddy,  is  now  the  Davison  (formerly  the  Lyon)  road  from  the 
curve  in  section  1,  Burton,  west  to  the  "reservation," 

Road  number  ninety-two,  laid  out  March  13,  1840,  by  Commissioners 
Wright  and  Eddy,  is  Fifth  avenue  from  E>etroit  street  to  the  west  line 
of  Smith's  reservation. 

On  April  6,  1840,  the  commissioners  again  divided  the  town  of  Flint 
into  sixteen   road  districts. 

John  L.  Gage.  Asa  Torrey  and  Henry  Schram  were  elected  commis- 
-  of  highways  for  Flint  at  the  spring  election,  1840. 


dbyGoot^lc 


268  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Gage  and  Torrey,  July  4,  1840,  laid  out  more  accurately  the  portion 
of  the  Torrey  road  in  section  26,  township  of  Flint,  as  road  number  ninety- 
three. 

On  January  i,  1841,  the  three  commissioners,  Gage,  Torrey  and  Schram, 
opened  as  a  highway  the  mile  of  the  present  Belsay  road  between  the  Bristol 
and  Atherton  roads  in  Burton.     This  road  was  not  designated  by  number. 

In  March,  1841,  the  commissioners  again  re-districted  the  town  of 
Flint  into  seventeen  road  districts. 

At  the  election  of  1841  WilHam  Blackington,  Benjamin  Boomer  and 
Daniel  Andrews,  were  elected  highway  commissioners  and  E.  O.  Leach, 
town  clerk. 

On  July  12,  1841,  Commissioners  Blackington  and  Andrews  laid  out 
road  number  ninety-four,  in  section  25,  Burton.  This  does  not  appear  to 
be  a  highway  now. 

On  June  14,  1841,  the  same  commissioners  laid  out  road  number 
ninety-five,  which  is  now  part  of  the  Vassar  road. 

Road  number  ninety-six,  laid  out  March  31,  1842,  by  Commissioners 
D.  Andrews  and  William  Blackington,  was  a  road  within  the  present  city  of 
Flint  and  had  its  terminus  at  "railroad'';  it  is  now  superseded  by  city  streets. 

Road  number  ninetj'-seven,  laid  out  March  29,  1842,  by  Commissioners 
Andrews  and  Blackington,  began  at  the  end  of  River  road  on  the  town  line 
between  Flint  and  Flushing  running  southeasterly  to  the  road  across  Black- 
ington's  land. 

Road  number  ninety-eight,  laid  out  March  29,  1842,  by  Commissioners 
Andrews  and  Blackington,  is  the  present  Western  road  in  Burton  from 
the  Maple  ave!iue  road  north  to  the  Atherton  road. 

Road  number  ninety-nine,  laid  out  March  12,  1842,  by  D.  Andrews  and 
Benjamin  Boomer,  commissioners  of  highways,  was  a  meandering  road  run- 
ning up  the  river  from  E.  S.  Walker's  land  to  the  village  of  Flint,  to  con- 
nect with  road  running  northerly  from  Hazleton's  Mills. 

Road  number  one  hundred,  laid  out  March  29,  1842,  ran  north  from 
the  village  of  Grand  Traverse;  it  began  at  the  southeast  corner  of  block 
36,  Grand  Traverse  (corner  of  Third  avenue  and  Henderson  street),  and 
ran  northeasterly  by  courses  to  the  Genesee  line.  A  part  of  this  is  n<nv 
St.  Johns  street. 

On  April  23,  1842,  William  H.  Lyon,  Ada  Torrey  and  Emery  Church, 
newly  elected  highway  commissioners  of  the  township  of  Flint,  laid  out 
road  number  one  hundred  and  one,  now  the  east  half-mile  of  the  Hemphill 
road,  Burton. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CENKSEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  269 

Road  number  one  hundred  two  was  laid  out,  June  4,  1842,  by  Com- 
missioners Lyon  and  Church,  from  Court  street  south  along  the  railroad. 

Road  number  one  hundred  three,  laid  out  September  17,  1842,  by  Com- 
missioners Lyon  and  Torrey,  is  the  mile  of  the  center  road  between  the 
Atherton  road  and  Lapeer  road,  Burton. 

On  June  6,  1842,  William  H.  Lyon,  Emery  Church  and  Asa  Torrey, 
Commissioners  of  highway  of  the  township  of  Flint,  and  S.  M.  Smith, 
George  Crocker  and  Andrew  Hyslop,  commissioners  of  highways  of  the 
township  of  Flushing,  laid  out  road  number  one  hundred  four,  running 
from  the  southeast  corner  of  section  33,  township  7  north,  range  6  east, 
north  to  the  Crocker  {now  Miller)   road. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Legislature  bad  set  the  west  half  of  the 
present  township  of  Flint  into  the  township  of  Flushing,  and  by  survey 
made  January  21,  1843,  Isaiah  Merriman,  county  surveyor,  defined  the 
line  by  distances  and  courses. 

Road  number  one  hundred  six  was  laid  out  by  Commissioners  Lyon, 
Torrey  and  Church,  January  28,  1843.  It  is  now.  that  part  of  the  Mill 
road  in  Burton,  between  Western  road  and  Genesee  road. 

The  changes  made  in  the  boundary  of  the  township  of  Flint  neces- 
sitated the  re-districting  of  the  same,  which  was  done  April  23,  1843,  by 
Commissioners  Torrey  and  Church,  dividing  the  township  into  twenty  road 
districts. 

Road  number  one  hundred  seven,  laid  out  April  23,  1843,  by  the  new 
commissioners  of  highway,  C.  B,  Petrie,  John  Hiller  and  Horace  Bristol, 
is  now  a  small  portion  of  Center  road  from  Mill  road  north,  in  Burton. 

Road  number  one  hundred  eight,  laid  out  at  the  same  time  by  the 
same  commissioners,  connected  the  "river  road''  with  the  "division  road," 
now  in  city  of  Flint. 

Under  head  of  road  numljer  one  hundred  nine,  on  May  10,  1843.  the 
commissioners  above  named  discontinued  road  number  sixty-one,  in  sec- 
tion 25,  Burton. 

Road  number  one  hundred  ten  was  located  the  same  day  by  the  com- 
missioners along  the  south  line  of  .section  25,  to  take  the  place  of  the  dis- 
continued road. 

On  June  3,  1843,  Commissioners  Petrie  and  Bristol,  of  Flint,  acting 
with  Highway  Commissioners  Richard  Johnson  and  Hanly  Miles,  of  Genesee, 
altered  a  road  between  their  township,  as  road  number  one  hundred  eleven. 
As  this  road  commences  at  the  Saginaw  turnpike,  at  a  certain  distance  from 


dbyGoot^lc 


2/0  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

a  white  oak  tree,  it  is  rather  uncertain  to  locate.  It  was  somewhere  in  the 
north  end  of  Flint. 

Road  number  one  hundred  thirteen  was  laid  out  by  order  of  the  court. 
Associate  Judge  Jeremiah  R.  Smith  and  Probate  Judge  Samuel  Rice,  and 
ran  from  quarter  stake  in  south  line  of  section  27,  Burton,  north  to  the 
former  boundary  of  "town  of  Kearsley"  three  miles.  Of  this,  only  the 
mile  between  the  alteration  road  and  Mill  road,  and  the  part  between  Lapeer 
road  and  Court  road,  api>ears  to  be  opened  at  this  date. 

Under  head  of  road  number  one  hundred  fourteen,  is  discontinuance 
order  by  the  court  in  confirmation  of  the  determination  of  the  commis- 
sioners, under  road  one  hundred  nine. 

Under  heading,  road  number  one  hundred  fifteen,  we  have  discontinu- 
ance of  a  road  from  the  intersection  of  Kearsley  street  with  Saginaw  turn- 
pike, dated  March  6,  1844.  It  appears  that  this  road  was  discontinued  on 
verdict  of  a  jury  composed  of  Adonijah  Atherton,  Perus  Atherton,  Joseph 
Chambers,  John  F.  Schram,  James  Ingalls,  Tunice  Cole,  Henry  Schram,  Ira 
Chase,  H.  Clark,  P.  A.  Skinner,  Truman  Echram  and  William  Chambers. 
The  record  is  attested  by  Henry  C.  Walker,  town  clerk.  John  Hiller, 
Willard  Fddy  and  Ira  D.  Wright  were  commissioners  of  highways  of 
Flint  in  1844.     Pratt  R.  Skinner,  deputy  surveyor,  did  the  survey  work. 

In  1845,  Ira  D.  Wright,  Charles  W.  Grant  and  Daniel  McKercher 
became  highway  commissioners  of  Flint  and  George  R,  Sprague,  town 
clerk. 

In  1846,  the  highway  commissioners  of  Flint  were  Gilbert  Conklin, 
James  Carter  and  T.  J.  Gates.  These  commissioners  caused  to  be  recorded 
certain  surveys  of  roads.  Of  these,  road  number  one  hundred  eighteen, 
laid  out  November  5,  1833,  by  J.  Dayton  and  Edward  Perry  with  John 
Todd,  the  first  commissioners  of  highways  of  Grand  Blanc,  and  the  first 
in  the  present  county  of  Genesee,  surveyed  by  H.  Park,  surveyor.  The 
record  is  as  follows: 

"Mlnutea  of  11  roiid  ueur  Steeveus'  Grist  Mill.  Comiueuclng  sit  jin  Elm  tree  four- 
teen incbea  iu  diameter,  standing  on  the  line  of  the  V.  B.  Road  soutli  tliirty-eiglit  degrees 
west,  twenty-foni-  chains  and  nlnety-flve  links  froni  tbe  N.  B,  comer  of  section  nineteen 
township  seven  north  of  range  aeveii  east,  thence  south  forty-live  degrees  west  eighty-six 
chains  and  twentj-elght  links  to  a  iKist  standing  on  the  west  side  of  said  section.  Thence 
on  said  line  sonth  one  degree  and  thirty  minutes  east,  four  chains  and  sixty-eight  Units 
to  the  southwest  comer  of  siild  section.  Variation  2:30'  east  Nov.  5th,  1.S33.  H.  Park, 
Surveyor. 

J.  Dayton  )  Coins,  of 

Edward  Peri7  )  Higliways. 

Recorded  at   Flint  the  5th   (l;iy  of   Mny,  A.   D.  IStC. 
Attest    Geo.  R.  Sprngue  town  clerk." 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  27I 

The  grist-mill  referred  to  was  on  Thread  lake  and,  at  the  time  the 
road  was  laid  out,  in  the  township  of  Grand  Blanc. 

Road  number  one  hundred  nineteen  was  also  laid  out  by  Jonathan 
Dayton  and  Edward  Perry,  commissioners  of  highways  of  Grand  Blanc 
township,  August  29,  1833,  also  surveyed  by  H.  Park,  surveyor,  com- 
mencing at  a  post  on  west  side  of  lot  i,  and  running-  by  courses  and  with 
reference  to  certain  ]josts  and  trees  now  gone.  This  road  was  recorded  in 
Flint  township  May  5,  1846,  attested  by  George  R.  Sprague,  town  clerk. 

Road  numljer  one  hundred  twenty,  a  road  from  Steevens  grist-mill, 
was  also  laid  out  by  J.  Dayton  and  E.  Perry,  commissioners  of  Grand  Blanc, 
February  28,  1834,  and  it  opened  what  is  now  four  miles  of  the  Fenton 
road  south  of  Flint.  This  was  recorded  in  Flint  township,  May  5,  1846. 
It  was  surveyed  by  Paul  G.  Davidson,  surveyor. 

Road  number  one  hundred  twenty-one,  laid  out  February  24,  1834,  by 
John  Todd  and  Edward  Perry,  commissioners,  was  "a  road  north  of  Flint 
river,"  and  Ijegan  in  the  middle  of  the  United  States  road  at  southwest 
corner  of  section  30,  of  Genesee,  and  ran  east  to  river,  being  the  present 
Pierson  road  to  river.  This  road  was  surveyed  by  James  McCormick,  sur- 
veyor, and  was  recorded  in  Flint  township  records,  May  5,  1846. 

The  activities  of  the  commissioners  of  highways  of  Flint  in  1846  were 
mostly  in  the  line  of  correcting  the  surveys  of  existing  roads,  and  espe- 
cially in  making  their  roads  conform  to  the  road  laid  through  the  county 
by  the  state  officials  as  the  Northern  State  road. 

On  February  16,  1847,  they  laid  out,  on  the  survey  of  Julian  Bishop, 
county  surveyor,  the  road  now  the  Dye  road  north  of  the  Calkins  road 
in  Flint  township.  And  on  March  2,  1847.  they  laid  out  the  present  Atherton 
road  from  the  United  States  road  east  about  two  hundred  rods. 

The  commissioners  of  highways  for  Flint,  elected  in  1847,  were  Charles 
W".   Grant,  George  Crocker  and  Jacob  Eldridge,  and  A.   Bump  was  clerk. 

In  1848  the  commissioners  were  Ellas  J.  Bump,  George  Crocker  and 
Charles  W.  Grant.  On  December  16,  1848,  they  recorded  the  survey  of 
the  State  Road  Commissioners  J.  P.  Bloss,  P.  Miller  and  S,  P.  Stedman,  of 
the  State  road  from  Flint  to  the  town  of  Clayton.  They  also  laid  out 
certain  roads  within  the  present  city  of  Flint. 

The  changes  of  township  lines  by  erection  of  new  townships,  and  altera- 
tion of  old  township  lines  caused  by  the  growth  of  new  settlements,  necessi- 
tated the  recording  by  transcript  of  roads  laid  out  in  other  jurisdictions, 
and  we  find  on  page  117  of  the  Book  of  Road  Records  of  Flint  town- 
ship the  transcript  of  a  road  opened  on  the   15th   day  of   May,    1838,  by 


dbyGoot^lc 


272  GENESEE    COtJNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Gilbert  Caswell,  Benjamin  Bower  and  Peter  Miller,  commissioners  of  Flush- 
ing township.  This  was  a  part  of  the  present  Beecher  road  and  the  river 
to  Flushing  west  of  the  river. 

The  next  transcript  is  of  an  alteration  of  the  road  which  would  seem 
to  have  been  the  original  Torrey  road,  made  by  Commissioners  Gilbert, 
Caswell  and  Bower  of  Flushing,  on  May  23,   1834, 

The  next  transcript  is  of  a  road  laid  out  along  section  line  between 
sections  5  and  6  of  Flint,  to  the  river  bank,  and  appears  not  to  be  used  as 
such  at  the  present  time. 

The  portion  of  the  Dye  road  running  one  mile  south  from  the  Corunna 
road  was  laid  out  by  Andrew  Hyslop  and  Isaac  Lyons,  Jr.,  commissioners 
for  Flushing,  November  10,  1840,  and  recorded  by  transcript  in  Flint  town- 
ship. 

The  next  recorded  transcript  from  the  Flushing  records  was  a  road 
laid  out  March  24,  1842,  by  Anson  Gilbert  and  William  Lyon,  commission- 
ers of  Flushing,  from  the  quarter  stake  in  south  line  of  section  4,  township 
7,  range  6,  and  running  south  thirty-seven  degrees  and  fifty-five  minutes 
east  to  the  river  road. 

Next  we  find  a  mile  of  the  present  Dye  road  between  the  Lennon 
road  and  the  Bristol  road,  laid  out  by  Simon  M.  Smith  and  Andrew  Hyslop, 
commissioners  for  Flushing,  July  25,  1842. 

On  the  25th  day  of  June,  1842,  these  two  commissioners,  with  William 
Smith  and  M,  L.  Barret,  commissioners  of  highways  for  the  township  of 
Mundy,  laid  the  part  of  the  present  Calkins  road  running  east  from  the 
present  town  line  between  Clayton  and  Flint,  this  road  when  so  laid  out 
being  on  the  township  line  of  Mundy  and  Rushing. 

Commissioners  George  Crocker,  S.  M,  Smith  and  Andrew  Hyslop,  laid 
out,  on  May  23,  1845,  the  present  Linden  road  from  Maple. avenue  three 
miles  north. 

On  March  18,  1884,  George  Crocker  and  S.  M.  Smith,  as  such  com- 
missioners, laid  out  the  mile  of  the  Bristol  road  immediately  east  from 
the  Linden  road. 

On  December  7,  1845',  Commissioners  of  Highways  E.  G.  Langdon 
and  Jacob  H.  Coddington,  of  Flint  township,  laid  out  one  and  a  half 
miles  of  the  Lennon  road  east  from  the  Dye  road. 

On  March  12,  1849,  E.  Walkley,  surveyor,  laid  out  a  part  of  the  road, 
now  the  Potter  road,  between  Flint  and  Mt.  Morris,  and  it  was  adopted  and 
declared  a  highway  by  action  of  Ira  D.  Wright  and  William  Bendle,  for 
Flint,  and  C.  B.  Seelev  and  Joseph  W.  Metcalf  for  Genesee  township. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  273 

On  August  II,  1849,  H.  S.  Penoyer,  surveyor,  laid  out  the  road  after- 
wards known  as  the  Murray  road,  now  a  street  in  the  newer  part  of  the 
second  ward  of  Flint,  and  his  survey  was  made  a  record '  and  the  road 
declared  such  by  action  of  Commissioners  Ira  D,  Wright  and  Elias  J. 
Bump,  for  Flint,  the  same  day. 

The  present  Jiidd  road  from  the  Western  road  to  the  Saginaw  road 
was  declared  a  highway  by  the  action  of  Commissioners  William  Bendle 
and  Ovid  Hemphill,  November  6,  1849. 

Kearsiey  street  had  been  used  as  such  and  was  so  laid  out  and  dedi- 
cated on  the  plat  of  the  village  of  Flint  river,  so  far  east  as  East  street, 
which  was  so  called  because  it  was  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  village  at 
that  time,  so,  on  application  of  interested  jjersons  made  to  the  commission- 
ers on  the  3rd  day  of  December,  1849,  the  commissioners,  William  Bendle 
and  Ovid  Hemphill,  declared  it  to  lje  a  highway  farther  out  to  the  extent  of 
an  additional  forty-one  chains  and  twenty-five  links,  to  west  line  of  section 
7.  This  was  in  accordance  with  survey  made  b}^  Julian  Bishop,  surveyor. 
In  I'^bruary  of  next  year,  1850,  the  commissioners  extended  it  still  further 
and  made  a  more  correct  description.  These  records  of  the  opening  of 
Kearsiey  street  are  on  pages  134  et  seq.  of  the  Book  of  Road  Records  of 
Flint  township. 

The  many  roads  evened  by  the  commissioners  of  the  townships  of 
inint,  Flushing,  Mundy,  Grand  Blanc  and  other  townships  had  by  the  middle 
of  the  century  so  covered  the  county  with  roads  that  their  activity  in  that 
line  ceased  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  thereafter  we  find  them  giving  their 
attention  to  the  improvement  of  roads  already  laid  out  and  to  correcting  the 
descriptions,  etc. 

On  January  8,  1851,  Supervisor  A.  T  Davis,  of  Flint  township,  acting 
with  James  Carter  and  Ira  Stannard,  commissioners  of  highways,  granted 
to  tlie  president  and  directors  of  the  Genesee  County  Plank  Road  Company 
the  right  of  way  to  use.  for  the  purposes  of  planking  the  same,  the  Saginaw 
road  so  called,  from  Flint  to  the  north  line  of  Grand  Blanc  township.  This 
action  was  cancelled  by  the  same  officers  the  same  day  and  renewed  by  a 
more  formal  and  accurately  described  road,  immediately  after  such  cancella- 
tion. 

Thomas  B.  Begole  ajjjiears  on  the  records  as  one  of  the  commissioners 
of  highways  for  Flint,  in  the  year  of  185 1. 

We  find  about  this  time,  alterations  of  the  earlier  roads,  many  of  which 
were  laid  by  metes  and  courses,  to  conform  to  the  topographical  conditions 

(18) 


dbyGoc^lc 


274  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

of  the  lands  traversed;  also  changes  to  make  the  roads  conform  to  the  sec- 
tions Hnes.  Among  the  activities  of  Commissioners  Begole  and  Carter,  in 
the  !ast  of  1851,  were  laying  out  a  mile  of  road  north  from  the  Davison 
road,  through  the  middle  of  section  3,  now  a  part  of  our  good  roads  system; 
the  survey  of  a  section  of  the  road  to  the  home  of  "Alonzo  Torrey."  St. 
John  street  was  surveyed  and  recorded  from  a  place  near  the  "steam  mill  lot" 
to  the  Genesee  town  line.  A  section  of  the  Calkins  road  west  from  the 
present  city  was  another  of  their  road  creations.  The  "Northern  wagon 
road"  was  altered  by  them.  In  conjunction  with  C.  Cartwright  and  Nich- 
olas Hosmer,  of  Davison,  which  had  now  been  set  off  from  Lapeer  county 
and  into  Genesee,  they  laid  out  the  township  hne  road  between  Davison 
township  and  Flint,  now  part  of  the  Vassar  road. 

In  1852  we  have  the  name  of  Grant  Decker  as  commissioner  of  bijih- 
ways  of  Flint  township,  he  who  was  the  first  mayor  of  the  city  of  Flint. 
In  that  year  they  laid  out  a  small  part  of  the  Jennings  road  north  from  the 
"reservation."  This  was  accomplished  in  conjimction  with  commissioners 
of  highways  of  Flushing,  Arthur  C.  Andrews  and  Truman  Herrick.  The 
most  important  part  of  their  official  activity  was  the  laying  out  of  Court 
street  east  from  East  street,  and  the  record  of  this  act  may  be  found  on 
page  167  of  the  Book  of  Road  Records  of  Flint  township. 

In  i85,-5  the  additional  commissioner  was  W.  J.  Cronk  and  the  board, 
at  that  time  arrived  at  the  dignified  position  of  having  a  clerk  in  the  person 
of  G.  W.  Hood.  During  that  year  they  opened  several  roads,  and  among 
them  one,  in  conjunction  with  the  Flushing  commissioners,  along  the  line 
between  the  two  townships,  now  part  of  the  Potter  road. 

Court  street  was  o[}ened  from  a  point  near  the  small  bridge  eastward  to 
a  road  "known  and  designated  as  the  railroad."  A  part  of  Stockdale  street 
was  opened  this  year  and  a  rather  indefinite  road  near  that  extending  east- 
ward. In  December  they  laid  out  the  Dye  road  from  Maple  avenue  north 
to  the  Miller  road.  It  appears  that  the  latter  road  had  acquired  the  name 
Miller  road  as  early  as  1853. 

In  1854  the  commissioners  had  little  in  road  opening  to  do,  and  the 
founding  of  the  city  of  Flint  in  1855  took  away  from  them  a  great  part 
of  their  resiwnsibility,  the  transfer  of  the  city's  street  from  them  to  the  city 
authorities  confining  them  to  the  country  roads.  The  rather  anomalous 
conditions  that  had  existed  when  the  growing  population  of  the  present  city's 
limits  had  made  a  center  of  population  that  warranted  the  formation  of  a 
city  government  out  of  the  township  government,  had  placed  a  great  burden 
of  responsibility  upon  the  township's  officials,  and  it  is  to  their  credit  that 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  2/5 

they  did  so  well  meet  their  arduous  tasks  and  so  well  solved  the  matter  of 
road  making,  upon  which  so  much  depended  in  the  development  of  the  county. 

A  little  before  1850  a  new  experiment  in  road  making  was  tried  in 
Genesee  county,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  state.  It  consisted  in 
covering  a  proposed  route  with  a  layer  of  wood,  generally  in  the  form  of 
piank,  from  two  to  four  inches  thick,  laid  upon  timbers  placed  lengthwise 
upon  a  graded  roadbed.  In  the  absence  of  railways  these  "plank-roads" 
answered  a  most  excellent  purpose.  This  was  particularly  so  in  those  parts 
of  Genesee  where  the  sandy  character  of  the  land  made  obtaining  a  solid 
roadbed  doubtful.  Large  corporations,  heavily  capitalized,  were  created 
by  state  legislation  to  exploit  plank-roads  in  various  parts  of  the  state.  In 
1847  was  organized  the  first  company  whose  proposed  route  lay  across  any 
part  of  Genesee — the  "Pontiac  and  Corunna  Plank-Road  Company."  It 
was  authorized  to  construct  a  piank-road  from  Pontiac  to  Corunna,  via 
Byron,  in  Shiawassee  county,  which  would  pass  through  the  southwestern 
corner  of  Genesee;  for  some  reason  the  road  was  not  built. 

During  the  decade  1848  to  1858  several  of  these  companies  were  char- 
tered for  parties  in  Genessee  county,  and  some  of  them  built  roads.  Among 
them  were  the  Genesee  County  Plank-Road  Company,  the  Flint  and  Fenton- 
ville  Plank-Road  Company,  the  Saginaw  and  Genesee  Plank-Road  Com- 
pany, and  the  Oakland  and  Genesee  Plank-Road  Company.  They  first  pro- 
posed to  build  a  road  from  Flint  to  the  south  line  of  the  township  of  Grand 
Bianc,  on  the  Saginaw  road.  The  plans  of  this  company  came  to  naught, 
though  in  1854  Flint  was  connected  through  Grand  Blanc  with  Holly  on 
the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railroad;  as  early  as  1858  more  than  fifteen  thou- 
sand passengers  a  year  were  carried  over  it;  its  practical  usefulness  ended 
in  1864  with  the  opening  of  the  Flint  &  Holly  railroad.  The  second  of 
the  companies  named  proposed  a  road  from  Flint  to  Fentonville.  This 
road  was  finally  completed  and  proved  very  useful.  Its  charter  was  repealed 
in  1871  and  no  toll  was  taken  after  1872.  A  fine  graveled  road  has  taken 
its  place.  The  proposed  road  from  Flint  to  the  Saginaw  river  was  also 
completed  in  1852.  This  was  of  great  benefit  and  was  largely  used  until 
the  opening  of  the  FHnt  &  Pere  Marquette  railroad,  from  Flint  to  East 
Saginaw.  The  company  last  named  was  unsuccessful.  Their  purpose  was  to 
connect  Flint  with  Pontiac  by  way  of  Grand  Blanc  and  Atlas  townships. 
Notwithstanding  the  "plank  road  fever"  was  at  its  height,  the  road  was  never 
built. 

Jn  igog  the  board  of  supervisors  adopted  the  county  good  road  svstem 
and  appointed  the  three  members  of  the  county  good  roads  commission.     At 


dbyGoot^lc 


276  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

that  time,  110  roads  in  the  county  could  be  classified  as  good  roads,  except 
some  sniaJl  isolated  stretches.  The  standing  of  the  county  as  one  of  the 
great  auto  niannfacturing  centers  of  the  world  made  this  condition  seem 
quite  inconsistent,  and  the  people  of  the  county,  realizing  this,  voted  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  road  improvements.  It  has  been  the  [wlicy 
of  the  commissioners  to  construct  the  main  traveled  roads  and  unite  these 
into  a  system  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  county  as  a  whole.  Several 
trunk  lines  iiave  been  constructed  across  the  county ;  one  hundred  and  ninety 
miles  have  been  built  and  six  miles  were,  in  July,  1916,  under  construction. 
In  the  gravels  of  the  glacial  deposits  have  been  found  fine  materials  for  road 
construction,  and  thus  the  ice  age  is  doing  an  economic  benefit  to  the  people 
in  Genesee  county  today.  The  Miller  road  to  Swartz  creek,  the  Flushing 
road,  the  old  State  road  to  Fenton,  the  old  Saginaw  turnpike  from  Grand 
Blanc  to  Pine  Run,  the  Lapeer  road,  and  the  Corunna  road,  are  among  the 
best  improved  and  most  traveled  of  the  new  roads.  This  good  work  of  the 
good-roads  commissioners  meets  the  hearty  approval  and  co-oi^eration  of 
the  people  of  the  county.  The  members  of  the  commission  are  at  the  present 
time  Lynus  Wolcott,  Fred  R.  Ottaway  and  Wilbur  Becker.  In  the  fall  of 
1916  the  board  of  supervisors  took  preliminary  steps  toward  presenting  to  the 
people  of  the  county  a  one-million-dollar  bond  issue  for  good  roads. 

The  activity  in  road-making  throughout  the  county  has  t>een  equaled 
only  by  the  road  improvement  within  the  city.  The  commencement  of  1916 
found  Flint  with  twenty-four  and  one-half  miles  of  paved  streets,  and  the 
present  season  will  add  ten  miles.  The  expenditure  of  igi6  within  the  city 
for  pavement  and  sewers  will  approximate  half  a  million  dollars.  This 
furnishes  a  fitting  sequel  to  the  subscription  of  one  hundred  dollars  raised 
in  1831,  and  the  cutting  out  of  the  brush  and  trees  from  the  old  trail  between 
Flint  and  the  Cass  river,  in  November  of  that  year,  by  John  Todd,  Phinneas 
Thompson  and  Albert  Miller. 

Graveled  turnpikes  have  taken  the  place  of  the  short-lived  plank-roads. 
Gravel  beds  are  abundant  in  Genesee,  and  conveniently  distributeil.  At  times 
these  roads  have  been  constructed  by  corporations,  which  have  kept  them  in 
good  condition  and  charged  a  nominal  toll  for  all  vehicles  passing  over  them ; 
at  other  times,  they  have  been  kept  in  repair  by  the  various  townships.  The 
automobile  has  worked  a  marvelous  transformation  in  the  condition  of  roads 
in  the  county,  and  the  "good  roads"  movement  has  placed  Genesee  among 
the  first  counties  in  the  state  for  the  number  and  quality  of  her  public  road- 
ways. 

The   conmion   public   conveyance   over   the   early   roads    from   Genesee 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  277 

county  to  the  rest  of  the  world  was  the  stage-coach.     A  reminiscence  of  this 
vehicle,  given  by  a  well-known  newspaperman  of  other  days,  is  as  follows : 

Tlie  old  stage-coucli  was  the  fastest  and  best  public  couveyauue  by  limd  foi'ty-flve 
years  ago.  Its  route  was  along  the  muin  puHt-roads,  and,  iiltbougb  u  third  of  11  century 
has  elapsed  since  steam  wae  harnessed  to  the  flying  car  and  the  whistle  of  the  locomo- 
tive usurped  the  place  of  the  echoing  stage-horn  that  heralded  the  coDiing  of  the  "■four- 
wheeled  wonder,"  bearing  the  mail  with  the  traveling  public  and  their  ba^uge,  yet 
along  the  byways  iind  more  secluded  portions  of  our  country  the  old  stjige-coach,  the 
venerated  relic  of  our  past,  is  still  the  speediest  mode  of  ti-iivel  and  the  stage-liom  yet 
gives  notice  of  its  approach.  Thus,  In  this  "llrectloB,  and  In  ninny  others,  we  cany 
the  |)ast  with  us. 

As  one  makes  a  pilgrimage,  in  imagination,  along  tlie  old  stnge-ronte,  the  spirit 
of  the  jiast  seems  to  start  Into  charm,  bringing  back  the  old  associations,  "withdrawn 
afar"  and  mellowed  by  the  light  of  other  days. 

Reader,  you  can  fancy  this  ancient  vehicle — a  black-painted  and  deck-roofed  hulk — 
starting  out  from  Detroit  with  its  load  of  pasaengers.  swlnghig  on  its  thorough-br.ices 
attached  to  the  fore  and  hind  axle,  and  crowded  to  its  fullest  capacity.  There  was  a 
boot  projecting  three  or  four  feet  behind  for  luggage;  an  iron  railing  run  oroimd  the 
top  of  the  coach,  where  extra  baggage  or  passengers  were  stowed,  as  occasion  reyulred. 
The  drher  occupied  a  high  seat  In  front:  under  his  feet  was  a  plitce  for  his  trai's  and 
the  mail:  on  each  side  of  his  seat  was  a  lamp  firmly  fixed,  to  light  his  way  by  night; 
inside  the  coach  were  three  seats,  which  would  accommodate  nine  passengers.  You  can 
Imagine  the  stage-coach,  thus  loaded,  starting  out  at  tiie  ■'get-ape"  of  the  driver,  as 
lif  (vai'ks  his  whip  oicr  the  bends  of  his  leiiders.  when  all  four  liois*s  spring  to  their 
woik  and  anay  goes  the  lumbering  \ehicle.  soon  loht  to  sight  in  the  woods,  struggling 
along  the  old  Saginaw  road,  lurching  from  side  to  side  Into  deep  ruts  and  often  into 
deeper  mudholes. 

For  bringing  people  to  a  common  le^el,  and  making  tlieni  acijualnted  with  each  other 
and  tolerant  of  each  other's  opinions,  gli'e  nie  the  old  stage  coach  on  the  old  pioneer 
road.  You  can  ride  all  day  bj  the  wide  of  ii  man  in  a  riiilwny  car  and  he  will  not 
deign  to  speak  to  you.  But  in  the  old  coach,  silence  found  a  tongue,  and  unsociability 
a  voice ;  common,  wants  made  them  companions  and  common  haiilships  made  them  friends. 

Probably  this  was  the  only  place  where  the  Democrat  and  old-line  Whig  ever  wei^e 
tn  quiet  juxtaposition  with  that  acrid,  angular,  intensely  earaest  and  cordially  hated 
man  called  an  Abolitionist.  Spumed  and  "tabooed"  as  an  agitator,  fanatic  and  dis- 
turber of  the  public  peace  by  both  the  old  parties,  his  presence  was  as  much  shunned 
and  despised  as  were  his  political  principles.  But  tliis  mnu  thus  hated  was  fouuil  "cheek 
by  jowl"  with  Democrat  and  Whig  in  the  old  stage.  Who  shall  say  that  these  old  jiol- 
itlclans,  sitting  face  to  face  with  n  C'lmmon  enemy,  and  compelled  to  listen  to  "Abolition 
doctrine,"  were  not  benefited  bj  It?  Perhaps  this  was  the  laiveu  cast  Into  the  Democ- 
racy and  Whiggery  of  the  past  that  fimilly  leadened  the  nliole  lump. 

When  the  roads  were  very  bad  the  "mud-wagon,"  on  thorough-braces,  di-iiwii  by 
two  s|ian  of  horses  was  substituted  for  the  regular  coach.  The  verb  tint  was  obsolete 
at  such  times,  but  the  lerb  xpnitrr  was  conjugated  througli  nil  its  moods  and  tenses. 
The  wagon,  the  horses,  the  driver,  and  the  iwissengers  could  testify  to  this,  fur  they 
were  often  literally  covei'ed  with  "free  soil."  The  driver,  sitting  high  up  on  the  front, 
was  monarch  of  the  road.  B*ei-ytliing  that  could,  must  get  out  of  his  way.  If  there 
was  any  opitosltlon.  he  had  only  to  slap  his  hand  on  the  uiail-bag,  and  say,  ''tincle 
Sam   don't  want  this   little   satchel   detained."     And   thus  on   they   co.     The   drher,   as 


dbyGoc^lc 


2/8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

lie  ueais  a  tuioiu  postofliLe  bv  the  roadside  oi  *illafce  nliip'i  out  ILie  tin  liorn  fi  iii 
its  sbe^tli  It  his  side  iiud  s^ids  fortb  a  succesbiun  of  peulmg  uotea  that  wake  tlie 
slumbering  echoes  whjLh  leierbuate  and  die  awij  in  the  dl&tant  aicadea  of  the 
foiest  The  taiem  oi  iilHge  citchiug  the  farat  note  of  the  horn  iw  im mediately 
awake  411  aie  on  the  qui  im  to  witness  the  coming  In  of  tlie  stage  with  its  loiid 
if  passengers  aud  to  heai  tht  news  fiom  the  outei  norld  loutxined  lu  the  old  itid 
locked  leather  mnilbag 

The  stage-coach  of  loitj  fiie  jeais  ago  was  an  imiHutaiit  institution  Its  coihIUb 
wns  alnaj-a  in  inteiesting  event  It  had  ill  the  enchmtment  about  It  that  distance 
lend"  The  settlement  or  Milage  hiiled  its  advent  as  a  ship  returning  from  i  long 
Liulse  bringing  ielali\es  friends  ind  news  fitm  i  foreign  land  It  linked  the  mood 
land  ullages  with  each  other  and  kept  tiiem  all  in  (.ommunicatkn  with  tlie  i  utslde 
"orid  But  tlitw  little  foui  ntoked  missives  oming  from  long  dis.tjute&  whether 
biltct  dour  oi  business  notes  had  each  i  poatnl  chiige  of  one-quirter  of  a  dollii 
Correspondence  cost  something  in  those  days 

The  stat,e-coach  so  finiiliar  to  tlie  flist  geueritiou  of  the  piesent  centon  wis 
famlliarl\  known  is  the  Concoid  coich  and  this  no  donbt  oilglnated  fiom  the  fact 
thtt  the  oiigluil  pattern  was  built  in  Concord  New  Hampshire,  which  in  fact  is 
the  habitat  of  this  kmd  of  vehicle  and  the  manufactnie  is  cairied  on  there  to  the 
I  lespiit   time 

The  common  stvle  ot  (onh  coat  probjbh  fiom  two  huudied  to  thiee  hundred 
doLlar«  lud  hnd  i«  ni  iiiv  kmd*  of  lunning  and  standmg  rigging  as  a  lebei  wagon 
oi  an  iverage  lake  schooner  On  a  lough  load  tlie  middle  seat  was  pieferable  be- 
<a«se  being  placed  aniidship  the  motion  was  a  minimum  one  while  the  ftiwiid 
and  i>iitlcHlarlT  the  lear  seits  snung  up  and  down  like  the  bow  and  stem  of  u  sea 
going  ship  in  a  heavy  sen  bows  on  On  a  smooth  road  the  back  seat  wis  the 
lie  plus  vltia  of  comfort  and  the  firat  pisseigeis  were  suie  to  secure  it  With  ii  coach 
full  of  Jolly  pissengtis  in  plensaiit  weather  and  cuitaius  close  diawn  it  wts  renllv 
a  lUMiiious  mole  of  tnveling,  only  es-telled  on  l.ind  bj  the  palace  cjr  of  aftei  days. 
As  early  as  1833,  Joshua  Terry  had  a  contract  for  carrying-  the  mails 
over  the  route  between  Pontiac  and  Saginaw.  His  trips  were  made  weekly 
and  he  had  limited  accommodations  for  passengers.  Upon  the  establishment 
of  the  land  office  and  postoffice  at  Flint  River  village,  WiUiam  Cltfiford  ran  a 
line  of  stages  to  Pontiac.  This  line  was  continued  under  various  manage- 
ments until  the  completion  of  a  through  route  by  railway.  In  an  early  num- 
ber of  the  Whig  we  find  the  following  advertisement  of  Messrs.  Pettee  and 
Boss,  stage  proprietors : 

The  stage  for  Pontiac  leaves  Flint  each  morning  (Sundays  excepted),  stopping  at 
Grand  Blanc,  Stony  Run,  Groveland,  Springfield,  Clarkstou,  Austin  and  Waterford, 
and  arrives  at  Pontiac  in  time  to  enable  passengers  to  take  the  cars  the  Siime  day 
for   Detroit. 

E.  N.  Pettee, 
A.   J.   Boss, 
Flint,  March  23,  1850.  Proprietors, 

Mr.  M.  S.  Elmore  has  written  the  following  interesting  reminiscence  of 
the  old  IHint  stage  lines : 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENTlSEE    county,    MICHIGAN.  279 

i''cmr  or  flvi! — surely  not  moip  than  a  lialf  doaeii— luerrbimts  of  earlier  Flint 
reiuiiin  to  talk  o\er  exiiyriencos,  when  their  goods  and  wiires  were  "liauled"  on  wagons 
from  the  stiitiona  on  the  D.  &  M.  nillway  at  Pontiac,  FeiitonvUle  or  Holly — James 
Decker,  WllUuni  Stevenson,  Jerome  Eddy,  Robert  Ford,  W.  H.  Hammersley,  51.  S. 
Elmore,  et  al.  Please  note.  I  do  not  say  earliest  Flint,  or,  siiades  of  Cotharin,  or 
I  )'Doiioughue,  tJrant  Decker,  Fox,  Cuttiuiings.  the  Hendersons  or  Deweys  mlgbt  pro- 
test my  little  list  were  too  recent,  Sam  Aplin,  Charles  Selleck  and  John  Atchison 
n'ere  the  res|jonslble  teamsters  by  whom  all  freight  of  whatever  sort  was  transported 
fi'oiii  the  D.  &  M.  R.  R.  to  Flint,  each  malting  not  more  than  one  trip  per  day  over 
the  uneven  planlt  roads,  tiiroiigh  ail  seasons  and  in  every  kind  of  weather.  The  com- 
bined loads  of  these  three  teams  would  not  have  tilled  the  smallest  modem  freight 
i-ar  on  the  F.  &  P.  M.  Travel  over  the  siime  routes  on  Boss  &  Borrell's  line  of  stages 
was  r^arded  good  evidence  of  progress  and  the  plank  road  to  Saginaw  an  important 
fact  in  facilitating  travel  and  traffic,  in  tlie  year  of  the  advent  to  the  writer  to  the 
city — 1858— more  than  fifteen  thousand  passengers  having  been  transported  oier  this 
line  of  stages.  One  recalls  the  anticipated  arrival  and  departure  of  stages — two,  three, 
and  BOmetinies  six — at  tlie  old  "Carletou,"  on  fair  days  or  four.  And  right  here  I 
^Uli  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  from  an  interesting  letter  to  the  writer,  from  a  former 
Flint  boy,  J.  Earl  Howard,  assistant  treasurer  of  the  P.  M.  Company  and  of  the  0., 
H.  &  D.  Railroad  Company  office  at  Cincinnati.  Referring  to  this  stage  line.  Mr. 
Howard  says:  "What  a  stir  they  used  to  make  in  the  usually  quiet  town  when  they 
came  in  from  Holly  and  Fentoii.  More  noise  and  bustle  around  the  old  'Carieton'  than 
there  has  been  since  with  the  new  'Brj-unt.'  W.  W.  Barnes  was  the  stage  and  express 
agent,  and  subswjuently  the  railroad  agent  when  the  line  was  opened  to  Saginaw, 
and  the  depot  was  located  about  JIcFai-lan's  Mill,  afterward  joint  freight  agent  of 
the  F.  &  P.  M.  and  Flint  and  Holly  roads.  Afterward  the  depot  building  nas  removeil 
to  the  juncture  of  these  two  i-oads,  on  the  river  bank  opposite  the  present  passenger 
station  of  the  P,  SI.  The  old  freight  building  Is  yet  doing  duty  in  the  railroad  yards, 
on  Kearsley  street." 

'I~lie  oldest  highway  in  Genesee  county  is  the  FHnt  river,  which  is  men- 
tioned in  the  provisions  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  admitting  the  Northwest 
Territory.  By  that  ordinance  it  was  provided  that  the  waters  of  all  the 
streams  that  found  outlet  of  their  waters  through  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
which  were  susceptible  of  navigation  by  boats  or  batteau,  should  be  free  for 
the  use  of  the  people  forever.  The  Flint  river  has  been  held  by  the  courts 
to  be  one  of  the  streams  that  come  within  this  provision,  and  hence  we  may 
say  that  this  river  is  the  oldest  legal  highway  in  our  county.  Even  before 
this  provision  of  1787,  the  river  was  used  for  the  canoeS  of  the  Indians  and 
batteau  of  the  French  traders  who  trafficked  among  the  Indians  for  their  furs. 
The  Indians  had  many  villages,  small  hamlets,  along  the  banks  of  the  streams 
of  the  Saginaw  valley  and  to  these  the  traders  resorted;  the  river  was  the 
logical  highway  for  coming  and  going  among  these  villages.  Mus-cat-a-wing, 
a  Chippewa  village  on  the  site  of  the  fifth  ward  of  Fhnt,  and  Kishkawbee, 
another  village  of  the  same  people,  located  on  the  bank  of  the  river  about  a 
mile  above  Geneseeville,  were  two  of  these.     On  this  waterway  the  most 


dbyGoot^lc 


28o  GRNE-SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

important  place  was  the  Grand  Traverse,  the  ^xiint  where  the  old  trail  from 
Saginaw  to  Detroit  crossed  the  river,  then  the  Pewanigo-win-see-be,  or  river 
of  the  fJints.  This  point  was  destined  to  develop  into  the  city  of  Flint.  If 
we  were  to  go  back  into  geological  history,  we  would  find  a  time  when  a 
great  lake  spread  out  over  a  great  part  of  the  county,  covering  half  the 
present  towns.  Its  waters,  overflowing  finally,  by  erosion  of  the  glacial 
drift,  found  an  outlet  through  the  great  moraine  deposit  which  had  dammed 
its  floods.  It  drained  these  waters  until  the  lake  became  a  series  of  swamps ; 
then  a  drainage  channel,  developing  through  these  swamps,  gradually  grew 
into  a  river  and,  sinking  deeper  into  the  till  of  the  pleistocene  over  which 
it  flowed,  drained  the  swamps  and  became  the  highway  for  the  canoes  of 
the  natives,  just  as  the  moraine  where  the  lake  found  its  outlet  formed  the 
line  of  least  resistance  to  their  travel  overland.  So  the  two  routes,  one  by 
water  and  one  by  land,  crossed  where  Flint  now  stands.  It  was  not  chance, 
but  the  slow  evolution  of  natural  forces,  working  through  the  ages,  that 
ordained  the  building  of  our  city  where  it  now  is. 

The  navigability  of  our  river,  in  common  with  the  others  of  the  Sagi- 
naw valley,  was  firmly  believed  in  by  the  earliest  settlers.  Canal  utility  in 
the  development  of  a  country  was  firmly  fixed  in  the  common  thought.  The 
Erie  canal  was  the  great  example.  The  guide  books  used  by  emigrants  from 
the  East  advised  them  to  take  the  Erie  canal  to  Buffalo  and  the  steamboat 
from  there  to  Detroit.     Many  had  come  here  by  that  route. 

In  1839,  Gardner  D.  Williams,  Ephraim  S.  Williams,  Perry  G.  Gard- 
ner, James  Frazier,  Norman  Little,  W,  L.  P.  Little,  Thomas  J.  Drake,  Ben- 
jamin Pearson,  Rotjert  F"".  Stage,  Wait  Beach,  Charles  G.  Hascall  and  T.  L. 
Brent  were  authorized  by  the  Legislature  to  o^wn  books  for  the  stock  of 
the  "Genesee  and  Saginaw  Navigation  Company,"  which  was  thereby  incor- 
porated. This  corporation  was  authorized  to  enter  upon  the  Flint  river  and 
lands  on  either  side;  to  use  such  materials  as  it  required  to  erect  its  dams, 
locks,  tow  path,  etc.— in  fine,  to  do  anything  proper  to  canalize  the  river 
from  Flint  village  to  a  point  in  section  35  or  36,  town  11,  range  4  east,  near 
the  city  of  Saginaw.  Not  only  did  the  ambition  of  this  company  contemplate 
the  navigation  of  the  river  from  Flint  to  Saginaw,  but  it  proposed  to  connect 
the  Cass  river  by  the  most  direct  and  eligible  route. 

So  certain  was  the  navigibility  of  the  river  fixed  in  the  minds  of  the 
Legislature  even,  that  when,  in  1835,  the  legislative  council  of  the  territory 
gave  to  Rufus  W.  Stevens,  of  Grand  Blanc,  and  James  McCormick  the 
authority  to  build  the  dam  in  the  Flint  river  "at  or  near  where  the  Saginaw 
turnpike  crosses  the  river,"  it  was  expressly  provided  that  they  should  make 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  281 

and  maintain  a  lock  for  the  passage  of  water  craft,  ninety  feet  long  and 
sixteen  wide,  and  from  slack  water  below  the  dam  to  slack  water  of  sufficient 
depth  a)x)ve  the  dam  for  the  protection  of  the  navigation  rights  of  the  nsers 
of  the  river. 

The  navigation  company  apparently  did  not  succeed  in  its  promotion 
plans,  for  in  1844,  by  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  improve  the  navigation  of 
the  I'lint  river,"  there  was  appropriated  out  of  the  lands  of  the  state  for 
internal  improvements  a  tract  of  five  thousand  acres  "for  the  purpose  of 
clearing  the  fiood  wood  from,  and  otherwise  improving  the  navigation  of, 
the  Fhnt  river  from  the  village  of  Flint  to  the  Saginaw  river."  The  improve- 
ment contemplated  by  this  act  was  left  to  the  commissioner  of  internal  im- 
provements, who  might  dig  a  canal  around  the  obstructions  in  case  it  seemed 
to  him  the  better  way  to  accomplish  the  desired  ends. 

In  1846  a  new  corporation  was  organized,  "The  Genesee  and  Saginaw 
Navigation  Company,"  with  Chancy  S.  Paine,  George  M.  Dewey,  Eugene 
Van  Deventer,  James  Frazer,  Henry  M.  Henderson,  Porter  Hazelton,  Ezek- 
iel  R.  Ewing,  James  B.  Walker.  Joseph  K.  Rugg,  Elijah  N.  Davenport, 
Nelson  Smith  and  William  McDonald  as  incorporators.  This  company  had 
the  same  powers  as  the  former  company,  but  their  limits  were  from  Flint  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Shiawassee  river.  Similar  organized  efforts  were  made 
aljout  this  time  to  navigate  the  Shiawassee  and  the  Cass. 

This  company  was,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1850,  authorized 
to  make  the  charges  therein  specified  for  carriage  of  one  thousand  pounds 
per  mile,  for  freight  of  various  classes;  flour,  salted  pork  and  beef,  butter, 
cheese,  whJske}'  and  beer,  cider,  etc.,  were  in  the  same  class.  This  act  was 
passed  on  the  2nd  day  of  April,  1850,  and  a  few  days  afterwards  the  scow 
"Empire,"  frying  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  had  left  Flint  for  its  maiden 
trip  to  Flushing  with  jmssengers  and  a  cargo  of  freight.  Some  later  trips 
are  recorded.  But  the  navigation  on  the  river  was  not  demonstrated  to  l>e 
feasible  and,  as  Mr.  Bates  in  the  "Jubilee  Historj'  of  Flint"  says,  the  coming 
of  the  plank  road  soh-etl  the  trans}>ortation  question  against  the  waterways 
and  the  attention  of  our  road  builders  was  turned  into  another  channel. 

The  real  utility  of  the  river  as  a  water  highway  began  about  the  year 
1846  when  the  lumbering  interests  commenced  the  operations  that  after- 
wards became  so  extensive.  When  the  attention  of  the  builders  of  our 
county  was  directed  to  the  value  of  the  timber  along  the  river  above  the  city, 
its  manufacture  into  lumber  soon  became  the  leading  industry.  The  first 
uses  of  the  river  were  of  little  importance  measured  by  the  value  of  the  logs 
transported,  but  the  larger  operations  of  the  years  beginning  with  1848  made 


dbyGoot^lc 


282  GENESEE    COUNTYj    MICHIGAN. 

it  a  matter  of  vital  import  to  the  groyving  lumber  industry.  For  a  genera- 
tion after  1848  the  river  was  the  center  of  the  greatest  activity.  Rafting 
was  never  a  part  of  this  transportation,  as  the  distance  was  not  so  great  as 
to  require  rafting  of  the  logs;  but  the  drive,  in  the  earlier  period  was  very 
important,  as  was  later  the  booming  of  logs  and  transporting  of  same  by 
the  boom  company  which  was  organized  to  meet  the  greater  needs  of  the 
growing  industry. 

The  use  of  the  river  for  log  driving  ceased  about  1878.  Since  that  time 
the  river  has  been  deserted  by  craft  of  industry,  but  its  use  for  pleasure 
craft  has  grown  to  a  considerable  extent.  Alx)ut  the  year  1900,  "Cap" 
Foster  owned  and  ran  the  "Caprice,"  a  steamer  of  about  one-hundred-pas- 
senger capacity,  on  the  slack  water  of  the  dam  above  the  city  to  Hitchcock's 
Grove,  a  favorite  place  for  picnics.  Shortly  after  that  time  W.  H.  Smith 
came  to  Flint  and  he  built  the  "Dawn,"  a  steamer  of  about  the  same  capacity, 
and  ran  it  for  pleasure  parties  on  the  river.  He  was  joined  later  by  his 
brother,  Louis  Smith,  and  together  they  have  navigated  the  river  for  pleas- 
ure seekers  since  that  time.  Their  gasoline  launch,  the  "Mego,"  was  a 
familiar  sight  along  the  river  for  years,  and  later  the  "Genesee"  and  the 
"Belle"  have  carried  many  thousands.  The  opening  of  Owana  Park,  farther 
up  the  river,  made  a  new  place  of  resort  and  there  are  now  from  seventy- 
five  to  eighty  launches  on  the  stretch  of  river  above  the  dam.  The  limit 
of  this  navigation  was  the  Hitchcock  grove  for  many  years,  but  later  im- 
provement has  made  it  possible  to  run  launches  five  or  six  miles  up  the  river 
and  in  very  favorable  water  conditions  some  have  gone  up  to  Geneseeville. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Geoz,ogic  Conditions  of  Settlement. 

In  its  geological  structure  the  county  of  Genesee  presents  ;i  double 
aspect.  The  geologists  of  the  state  a,ptly  call  the  first  the  "bed  rock"  geology. 
This  is  the  bed  rock  basis  upon  which  the  other  structure,  consisting  of 
glacial  drift,  is  superimposed.  If  this  covering  of  glacial  materials  couid 
be  removed  and  the  basic  rocks  underlying  I;>e  exposed  in  their  contours, 
the  landscape  that  would  be  presented  would  be  of  extreme  interest.  It  is 
not  at  all  easy  to  visualize  this  hidden  formation  that  upholds  the  later 
deposits,  but  from  the  data  that  we  have  from  driiiing  wells,  from  some 
shafts  that  have  been  sunk  for  purposes  of  coal  explorations,  and  from 
excavations  for  quarries  and  clay  mining,  we  may  get  a  glimpse  of  it. 

Certain  river  beds  and  smaller  drainage  courses  would  be  seen,  and 
the  general  course  of  the  principal  one  would  be  found  meandering  across 
the  county  from  the  southwest  toward  the  northeast,  and  at  this  time  but 
partially  defined,  as  the  drillings  have  not  been  sufficiently  extensive  to  give 
all  the  desired  data. 

Outcropping  the  rocky  banks  of  these  courses  would  be  found  sand- 
stone, of  considerable  thickness  in  places,  interstratified  with  shales,  thin 
veins  of  limestone  and,  rarely,  very  thin  coal  veins.  In  the  bottom  of  these 
Iieds  might  also  be  formd,  exposed  at  intervals,  coal  veins  of  considerable 
thickness.  The  depth  of  this  principal  drainage  bed  has  been  determined  at 
certain  points  to  have  been  at  least  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet — in  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  country. 

It  may  be  said  that  this  river  bed  runs  approximately  across  the  towns 
of  Argentine,  Gaines,  Mundy,  curving  eastward  through  Grand  Blanc  into 
Burton  and  toward  Thread  Lake,  crossing  the  city  of  I-ilint  toward  the  hos- 
pital, thence  northward  toward  Mt.  Morris,  turning  then  into  Genesee  town- 
ship, and  through  that  meandering  toward  Forest  and  through  that  town, 
where  it  reaches  its  greatest  depth. 

This  pre-glacial  valley,  which  the  oil  drillers  of  Ohio  would  call  the 
"lobe,"  had  its  lateral  affluent  valleys.  To  Henry  Meida,  an  experienced  well 
driller,  whose  work  has  extended  through  many  of  the  towns  of  our  county 


dbyGoot^lc 


284  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

antl  who  hiis  been  interested  to  keep  records  of  other  wells,  we  are  indebted 
for  these  facts.  From  his  statement  the  various  depths  of  hard  rock  under 
the  city  of  Flint  are  as  follows :  On  edge  of  Thread  Lake  and  near  Stan- 
ford avenue,  220  feet;  on  Nichols  street,  near  Swartz  creek,  20  feet;  on 
Grand  Traverse  street,  corner  of  Court,  70  feet;  on  comer  of  Beach  and 
Ninth  streets,  100  feet;  on  Fenton  road  east  of  G.  T.  tracks,  alxiut  56  feet; 
near  M.  S.  D.,  ico  feet;  a  mile  south  of  that,  150  feet;  coal  mine  of  Old 
Genesee  Coal  Company,  150  to  180  feet;  corner  of  Detroit  and  Ninth  ave- 
nue, 130  feet;  near  Crosby  and  Detroit  streets.  200  feet.  Away  from  the 
principal  drainage  course  as  given  above,  the  depth  in  many  places  runs 
:iIjout  twenty  to  thirty  feet. 

In  general  terms,  the  hard  rock  formation  under  our  county  may  be  said 
to  be  of  the  Saginaw  and  Woodvitle  formations,  as  classified  by  our  state 
geologists,  corresponding  to  the  Conemaugh  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  of  the 
upper  coal  measures  and  a  part  of  the  great  central  coal  basin  of  lower 
Michigan,  which  comprises  the  coimties  of  Shiawassee,  Clinton,  Ionia,  Gratiot, 
Isabella,  ilontcaini.  Midland,  Saginaw,  Bay,  Genesee,  and  parts  of  many 
adjoining  counties.  Saginaw,  in  particular  deserves  special  mention,  as  it  is 
there  and  in  Bay  county  adjoining,  that  this  coal  region  referred  to  has  been 
commercially  developed.  If  we  will  bear  in  mind  the  mitten  shape  of  our 
peninsula,  this  coal  basin  might  be'  figurativeh  said  to  lay  in  the  niittenod 
hand. 

]\lr.  Brentz,  now  of  the  geological  department  of  Chicago  University, 
when  he  was  teacher  of  Flint  high  school  made  some  geological  explora- 
tions of  the  county.  He  states  that  the  general  surface  of  the  underlying 
hard  rock  foundation  of  tlie  county  conformed  generally  to  the  surface  of 
the  present  time,  suggesting  that  the  distribution  of  glacial  materials  over 
thi*^  hard  rock  Ixisis  was  ratlier  uniform  in  thickness,  or  relatively  so. 

The  present  surface  of  our  county,  its  physiographic  features,  the  con- 
tour of  its  hills  and  valleys,  however,  are  the  results  of  a  different  and  later 
geological  period — the  period  of  glacial  action,  when  the  ice  fields  that  covered 
the  greater  part  of  northern  United  States  hid  this  hard  rock,  filling  in  its 
drainage  courses,  its  river  l)eds  that  had  been  eroded  through  the  action  of 
water  during  the  long  geological  ages,  and  made  a  new  surface.  The  old 
things  passed  away  and  new  conditions  reigned.  The  rugged  rocky  hills,  that 
towered  above  these  ancient  valleys  and  ravines,  with  their  caverns,  and  rivers 
running  over  rock  and  shingle,  were  hidden  by  tlie  gravels,  sand,  till,  clay  and 
boulders  that  were  transported  by  the  mighty  force  of  the  moving  river  of 
ice  from  the  north,  which  flowed  a  few  feet  each  year  over  our  land,  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  285 

finally,  when  that  ice  sheet  receded  under  the  heats  of  an  aUcred  chniate,  tlie 
receding  glacier,  halting  its  retreat  here  and  there  as  though  reluctant  to 
give  back  the  land  that  it  had  conquered,  standing  at  bay  for  a  time,  spread- 
ing tiie  earth  that  was  part  of  itself,  here  in  mounds,  there  in  ridges,  damming 
the  waters,  or  directing  their  courses,  made  a  new  land  and  prepared  for  a 
new  life.  The  river  that  had  been,  ceased  to  be,  and  a  new  river  was  born,  to 
run  according  to  the  will  of  the  glacier  that  gave  it  being.  The  genius  of  the 
ice  was  not  content  to  take  a  life,  as  in  the  poem  of  Goethe,  but  busted  itself 
with  making  a  continent. 

When  the  receding  glacier  had  so  far  retreated  that  the  southern  portion 
of  the  state  was  freed  from  the  ice,  the  lobe  that  pushed  itself  up  through  the 
bay  of  Saginaw,  lingered,  and  its  various  stages  of  recession  and  retrogres- 
sion made  the  hilis  and  valleys,  guided  the  waters  of  our  county,  made  the 
soils,  piled  up  the  gravels,  spread  the  clay,  the  sand  and  gravels,  and  gave 
]K>tential  being  to  the  deposits  of  mar!  in  the  lakes;  then  the  county  of 
Genesee  was  formed  and  its  future  was  determined. 

This  lobe,  the  Saginaw  glacier,  spread  out  over  the  entire  county.  Its 
effects  upon  the  drainage  were  especially  interesting  and  here  is  perhaps  the 
best  example  of  what  the  geologists  have  termed  the  "willowy"  system  of 
drainage.  If  we  will  note  the  direction  of  tlie  streams,  that  together  are  the 
drainage  of  the  Saginaw  valley  in  its  extreme  extent,  we  will  see  this  system 
in  its  perfect  development.  Turn  a  map  of  Michigan  over  so  that  we  face  the 
head  of  the  bay  of  Saginaw.  Note  the  Saginaw  river  entering  the  head  of 
the  bay,  then  follow  the  Cass  river  up  from  the  entrv^  of  that  river  into  the 
Saginaw,  to  its  head  waters,  and  we  see  that  the  main  river  follows  along  a 
course  that  almost  parallels  the  shores  of  the  bay,  curving  around  southwest- 
erly, then  west,  then  north  by  northwest,  until  it  joins  the  Saginaw ;  then 
follow  the  course  of  the  Tittabawassee.  as  it  curves  around  parallel  to  the 
western  shore  of  the  bay,  in  a  similar  way,  until  it  reaches  and  joins  its  waters 
with  those  of  the  Saginaw  and  Cass,  and  all  are  discharged  tlirough  the  Sagi- 
naw into  the  bay.  This  system  of  drainage,  from  its  similarity  to  the  willow 
tree,  gives  the  name  "willowy"  to  the  geological  nomenclature  of  this  day. 
The  Saginaw  river  forms  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  the  two  rivers  named  form 
the  drooping  branches,  and  the  other  affluent  streams,  the  tree  top,  and  the 
striking  similarity  is  apparent. 

The  question  occurs.  What  is  the  cause  of  this  pecuHar  drainage  system? 
Why  did  not  these  rivers  all  flow  direct  toward  the  bay  which  finally  received 
their  waters?    The  explanation  is  the  glacier.    The  waters  of  Genesee  county 


dbyGoot^lc 


286  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

furnish  a  less  conspicuous  example  o£  the  same  kind  of  drainage  and  its 
course  is  also  assignable  to  the  same  cause. 

The  sites  of  the  two  most  southern  townships  of  our  county,  Atlas  and 
Fenton,  were  the  first  to  emerge  from  the  ice  of  the  glacier.  For  a  con- 
siderable period  of  time  after  their  emergence  the  rest  of  the  county  con- 
tinued to  deposit  its  earthy  materials  along  its  edge,  forming  a  distinct 
moraine  across  these  two  townships,  and  damming  the  waters  that  were  along 
one  edge,  which,  following  the  line  of  least  resistance,  toward  the  west,  formed 
the  Shiawassee  river;  its  course  is  directed  by  moraines  of  the  two  townships. 
The  emergence  of  these  two  townships  from  the  field  of  ice  meant  their 
general  submergence  by  the  waters  of  the  glacier.  The  lakes  formed  by  these 
waters  still  exist  in  the  following:  Copnaconiec,  Long,  Loon,  Mud,  Silver, 
Ryan,  Pine,  Squaw,  Lobdell,  Shina,  Mecastin,  McKane  and  Myers,  together 
with  nianj-  unnamed  ponds  and  kettle  holes. 

The  Shiawasse  river  receives  its  tributaries  from  the  south,  except  some 
of  the  lakes  mentioned,  which  discharge  their  waters  into  that  river.  These 
two  towns  cHspIay  the  most  striking  evidences  of  giaciai  action ;  the  names  and 
ridges  are  marked,  in  many  places,  of  considerable  magnitude.  There  are  few 
places  Ijetter  adapted  to  the  study  of  glaciation  than  this  portion  of  Gene- 
see county,  not  even  excepting  the  region  of  Green  Bay,  Wi,sconsin,  nor  the 
Leaf  Hills  of  Mmnesota. 

Of  the  Shiawassee  river,  Mr.  Bretz  says:  "Bnt  a  few  miles  north  the 
land  lies  lower  than  the  level  of  the  stream  (Shiawassee).  The  river  does 
not  flow  north  seeking  this  lower  level,  because  a  moraine  borders  its  north- 
em  side  and  the  valley  it  occupies  was  first  formed  by  border  drainage  from 
the  ice  sheet  at  the  time  the  moraine  was  built.  The  actual  surface  of  Gene- 
see county  at  that  time  was  much  higher  north  of  the  Shiawassee  river,  be- 
cause the  great  ice  sheet  covered  the  land.  As  it  melted,  its  waters  ran  along 
its  edges  through  this  part  of  the  county,  eroding  a  valley,  which  the  pres- 
ent Shiawassee  now  occupies,  though  a  puny  successor  to  the  glacial  streams." 

A  further  recession  of  the  Saginaw  glacier,  and  a  temporary  stand  of  its 
field  of  ice,  is  marked  by  a  line  running  through  the  townships  of  Forest, 
Richfield,  Genesee,  Flint  (city  and  town),  the  corner  of  Clayton,  and  per- 
haps Gaines.  This  stand  is  evidenced  by  morainic  deposits  along  the  north- 
em  banks  of  the  Flint  river  and  the  Swartz  creek.  This  moraine  holding 
back  the  waters,  and  the  glacier  itself,  which  as  Mr.  Bretz  suggests,  made  the 
northern  part  higher,  dammed  the  waters,  forming  an  extensive  lake  cover- 
ing the  greater  portion  of  Burton,  Mundy.  Grand  Blanc,  Davison  and  Rich- 
field. And  this  lake  finally,  after  the  glacier  had  further  receded,  found  an 
outlet  through  the  great  moraine  where  the  city  of  Flint  now  stands  and  in 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  287 

the  fifth  and  third  wards,  forming  the  Fhnt  river  as  the  trunk  of  the  willow, 
which  with  the  upper  Flint  river,  the  Swartz  creek,  the  Thread  rJver,  the 
Kearsley  creek  and  the  smaller  streams,  make  up  our  local  willowy  drainage. 
This  drainage  basin  is  made  up  of  gently  sloping  general  surfaces,  all  tend- 
ing toward  the  eroded  outlet  of  the  ancient  lake  at  Flint,  and  coming-  from 
the  east  rather  than  from  the  west,  as  the  general  slope  of  the  county  towards 
the  northwest  would  lessen  the  drainage  from  the  west.  The  Swartz  creek, 
because  of  these  facts,  furnishes  the  smaller  contribution  to  the  waters  of 
the  outlet,  the  Fhnt  below  the  city,  than  the  other  side  of  the  willow  tree. 

To  quote  Mr.  Bretz  again,  "Thus,  practically  the  whole  drainage  of  the 
southern  half  of  Genesee  county,  excepting  the  Shiawassee  river,  comes  to 
one  point  where  the  Flint  river  cuts  through  this  moraine  in  the  west  part 
of  the  city  of  IHint.  North  of  this  barrier,  the  Flint  moraine,  the  streams 
again  take  the  consequent  course  with  minor  deflections.  Since  the  surface 
is  more  or  less  irregular  with  small  moraine  ridges  and  the  beaches  of  a 
second  glacial  lake,  the  adherence  to  a  strictly  consequent  course  is  not 
marked." 

This  covering  of  the  basic  rock  formation  by  the  glacial  detritus,  be- 
longs to  the  pleistocene  i>eriod.  In  this  drift  may  be  found  the  rounded 
boulders  from  the  granitic  rocks  of  the  far  north,  the  sands  and  gravels, 
decomposed  remains  of  the  sandstones,  clays  of  various  kinds,  in  which  the 
blue  clay  predominates,  and  which,  in  some  of  the  lower  portions,  assumes 
a  semi-stratified  appearance. 

The  materials  of  this  period  have  been  of  great  importance  in  the  econ- 
omic development  of  the  county.  The  absence  of  exposures  of  stratified 
rocks  made  the  quarrying  of  stone  impossible  except  in  the  township  of 
Flushing  and  along  the  lower  stretches  of  the  river;  the  boulders  entered 
into  tiie  building  of  the  foundations  of  the  early  homes  of  the  city  and 
rural  portions  of  the  county.  Sand  of  suitable  quality  for  building  purposes 
is  found  in  nearly  every  town.  In  many  places  it  was  not  uncommon  to 
find  sand  in  the  excavation  for  the  foundation,  of  suitable  grade  to  make  the 
mortar  for  the  walls.  Gravel  for  road-making  was  also  common  as  a  part 
of  the  glacial  materials.  In  1913  there  were  thirty-three  dealers  in  sand  and 
gravel  for  commercial  purposes  in  the  county  of  Genesee;  the  townships  of 
Atlas.  Burton,  Davison,  Fenton,  Flint,  Flushing,  Chines,  Genesee.  Mundy, 
liichfield  and  Vienna  were  all  represented  in  the  list. 

The  lakes  of  the  southwest  part  of  the  county  contain  marl  of  a  high 
degree  of  purity  and  great  commercial  value.  The  deposit  is  both  rich  and 
of  great  depth.  In  the  early  days  the  settlers  used  it  to  a  limited  extent  for 
burning  lime,  and  it  entered  into  the  building  of  foundations  and  the  plast- 


dbyGoot^lc 


2»0  GENESEE    COUNTY^    MICHIGAN. 

ering;  of  houses  of  settlers.  The  lime  used  in  the  early  building  activities 
of  the  city  of  Flint  came  for  the  most  part  from  similar  marl  deposits  in 
similar  glacial  lakes  of  Lapeer  county  near  the  line  of  Genesee.  Of  these, 
Lime  lake  furnished  i^erhaps  most.  l"his  marl  was  also  used  1)\'  the  house- 
wives  for  scouring  materials. 

Transported  boulders  of  limestone  sometimes  occurred  of  sufficient  size 
and  frequency  to  use  for  lime  burning.  One  instance  of  this  was  an  especi- 
ally large  boulder  of  that  stone  on  section  7,  township  g,  range  8,  east, 
Forest  township. 

CEMENT  INDUSTRY. 

The  growth  of  the  Portland  cement  industry  in  Michigan  from  a  single 
plant  in  1896,  with  an  output  of  seven  thousand  dollars  value,  to  ten  plants 
in  1912,  with  an  annual  output  of  more  than  three  millions  value,  has  caused 
the  marl  deposits  in  the  glacial  lakes  of  Genesee  county  to  become  of  great 
industrial  importance.  Before  the  year  1900  options  were  taken  upon  the 
marl  rights  in  several  of  these  lakes,  and  in  1900  these  options  were  taken  up 
and  the  rights  secured  from  the  farm  owners  of  the  lands  around  and  under 
the  lakes.  That  year  the  Detroit  Portland  Cement  Company  and  the  Egypt- 
ian Portland  Cement  Company  began  building  o^jerations  on  the  shores  of 
Silver  and  Mud  lakes.  Since  then  their  operations  have  increased.  They 
first  began  to  produce  cement  in  1902  and,  with  some  exceptions  caused  by 
re-organization  and  Htigation,  have  done  an  increasing  business.  The  Aetna 
Portland  Cement  Company,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Simmons,  has 
been  especially  active  and  prosperous.  It  now  has  eight  kilns  and  a  daily 
output  of  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  hundred  barrels.  They  are  now  instal- 
ling two  new  kilns  of  great  capacity,  and  their  prospective  output  when  these 
are  in  operation  will  be  about  eighteen  hundred  barrels  of  cement  per  day. 
The  market  is  practically  all  in  the  state  of  Michigan,  about  fifty^  per  cent 
going  to  Detroit.  Their  mad  runs  over  ninety  per  cent  of  carbonate  of 
lime  and  an  analysis  of  this  marl  some  time  ago  shows  as  follows: 

Silica .96 

Alumina   and    Iron .44 

Lime   5-43 

Magnesia i-66' 

Carbon  ioxide 42-99 

DilYerence 1.52 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  289 

The  depth  of  this  marl  deposit  is  in  some  places  as  great  as  twenty-seven 
feet,  and  enough  is  in  sight,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Simmons,  to  assure  the  active 
operation  of  their  plant  for  thirty  years.  The  clay,  sufficiently  rich  in  com- 
bined silica,  has  not  as  yet  been  found  in  quantities  in  Genesee  county,  and 
at  the  present  time  it  is  brought  from  the  vicinity  of  Corunna.  The  estimated 
possible  production  of  one  of  these  companies  in  1900,  after  a  careful  examin- 
ation by  competent  persons,  was  over  twenty-eight  million  barrels,  and  the 
present  output  of  the  two  companies  must  run  near  eight  hundred  thousand 
barrels  per  year,  with  prospect  of  over  a  million  next  year. 

The  salt  industry  has  ne\'er  been  a  part  of  the  activities  of  this  county, 
although  some  attempts  were  made  in  the  days  of  the  saw-mills.  The  salt- 
bearing  strata  underlie  our  county,  and  about  fifty  years  ago  a  well  was 
drilled  by  H.  H.  Crapo  near  the  present  lumber  yard  of  the  Randall  Lumber 
Company  with  a  view  to  salt-making.  The  use  of  sawdust  for  fuel  to  evapor- 
ate the  brine  was  one  of  the  plans  of  the  mill  men.  The  well  was  sunk  fifteen 
hundred  feet  or  more  and  brine  was  found,  but  the  plan  was  abandoned,  the 
brine  Ijeing  insufficiently  rich  in  salt  to  make  the  manufacture  of  salt  an  allur- 
ing field.  Somewhere  in  the  boulevard  Jjetween  the  lumberyard  of  the  Ran- 
dall Company  and  the  river,  you  may  walk  over  this  buried  salt  well. 

One  of  the  mining  industries  of  the  county  is  the  clay  mining  of  the 
Saginaw  Paving  Brick  Company,  of  Saginaw,  which  for  some  years  has 
operated  a  clay  mine  down  the  river  from  the  village  of  Flushing.  The  clay 
is  called  "fire  clay,"  and  it  forms  a  stratum  beneath  some  overlying  strata  of 
sandstone  and  shale.  It  is  taken  out  by  a  power  plant  on  an  inclined  tram- 
way and  shipped  to  Saginaw.  The  extent  of  this  mining  has  resulted  in  an 
excavation  of  large  dimensions,  and  to  a  depth  considerably  below  the  level 
of  the  river  which  runs  nearby.  This  excavation  furnishes  one  of  the  very 
few  exposures  of  hard  rock  in  the  county,  and  the  strata  consists  of  sand- 
stone and  shales.  It  is  said  that  a  thin  coal  vein  was  also  tapped  that  fur- 
nished coal  sufficient  to  run  the  engine  for  power.  The  mine  is  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  22,  township  8  north,  range  5  east. 

Following  are  the  chief  physiographic  characteristics  of  the  townships 
of  Genesee  county,  and  some  of  the  ways  in  which  they  have  been  related 
both  to  the  red  men  and  to  the  white  settlers. 

BRICK    CLAYS. 

There  is  hardly  a  township  in  the  county  of  Genesee  where  clays  suit- 
able for  brick  making  are  not  found.     In  the  earliest  times,  when  the  city  of 

(19) 


dbyGoc^lc 


2gO  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Flint  was  Just  l^eginning  to  grow  and  brick  stores  were  coining  into  use,  tlie 
brick  was  made  near  Detroit  street,  in  the  present  fifth  ward.  Later  it  was 
also  made  in  various  portions  of  the  second,  third  and  fourth  wards.  At 
the  present  time  a  sandstone  brick  is  made  in  larg-e  quantities  on  the  western 
side  of  the  city  of  Flint  by  the  Flint  Sandstone  Brick  Company.  This  brick, 
unlike  the  other  makes,  is  of  sand  and  stone  lime.  The  sand  is  taken  from 
the  lands  of  the  company  just  outside  of  the  city,  and  is  rich  in  silica,  while 
the  lime  comes  from  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  The  annual  output  of 
this  company  is  over  six  million  brick,  and  all  of  this  product  finds  a  market 
in  the  city  of  Flint. 

Brick  of  the  common  kind  is  made  at  CHo,  Atlas,  Duffield,  Gaines,  Grand 
Blanc,  South  Mundy  and  Otisville,  lieing  the  ordinary  red  brick,  from  the 
clays  containing  oxide  of  iron. 

The  coimty  of  Genesee  contains  many  artesian  wells,  the  most  prominent 
one  being  the  mineral  well  at  the  corner  of  Saginaw  and  First  streets,  in  the 
city  of  Flint.  This  well  is  alx)ut  three  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet  deep. 
When  it  was  first  bored,  and  not  to  its  present  depth.  Dr.  Orson  Millard,  of 
Flint,  a  physician  and  chemist  of  recognized  ability,  analyzed  its  waters  and 
found  it  to  contain  organic  elements  as  follows : 

To  one  pint  of  water- 
Sodium   Carbonate    0.434  gr. 

Magnesium   Carbonate 0.432  gr. 

Ferrous  Carlxinate 0.088  gr. 

Calcium  Carbonate 0.724  gr. 

Potassium  Chloride    1.227  §•"- 

Sodium  Chloride i-SQi   gr. 

Magnesium   Chloride   S--^^^  gr. 

Calcium   Chloride   0.761,  gr. 

Calcium    sulphide    9-392  gr. 

Silica    0.064  gr. 

Alumina   0.054  gr. 

Org.    matter   and   loss 0.083  gf. 


20.081   gr. 


The  well  bored  for  salt  by  H.  H,  Crapo  was  also  an  artesian  well  and  flowed 
for  many  years ;  its  waters  were  too  salty  for  domestic  use  and  were  also 
charged  with  minerals  other  than  salt.     Artesian  wells  have  been  drilled  at 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  29I 

many  places  in  the  town  of  Davison,  the  one  in  the  village  near  the  de[)Ot 
being  typical,  the  depth  running  from  two  to  three  hundred  feet.  There  are 
many  flowing  wells  in  this  township.  In  Mundy  township,  and  near  the  line 
between  Flint  and  Mundy,  there  are  quite  a  number  of  artesian  wells,  also 
some  near  the  Genesee  line  northeast  of  Flint.  On  the  river  flats  near  the 
Chevrolet  plant  there  are  several  such  wells  in  use,  and  (if  great  utility. 

Another  plant  that  uses  the  materials  of  the  county  economically  to  a 
great  extent,  is  the  Ruilders'  Supply  Company,  of  Flint,  which  manufactures 
building  blocks,  tile  and  ornamental  cement  work,  from  the  cement  made  at 
Fenton  of  the  marl  described  above.  This  company  also  finds  in  the  sands 
of  the  county  another  material  for  its  manufacturing  purposes,  and  is  now 
putting  out  twelve  to  thirteen  hundred  blocks  of  different  dimensions  per 
day,  all  of  which  is  eagerly  waited  for  by  the  builders  of  Flint. 

Tile  making  from  the  clays  of  the  county  has  been  an  industry  of  Grand 
Pilanc,  Atlas  and  Davison,  and  also  of  Duffield,  but  the  present  operations  are 
small. 

That  the  greater  portion  of  Genesee  county  is  underlaid  by  coal  strata 
of  economic  value  is  quite  certain.  In  times  past  there  have  been  attempts  to 
open  mines  for  taking  out  coal,  but  until  recent  years  it  has  not  been  of  great 
success,  nor  is  it  at  the  present  time  of  importance  in  supplying  the  needs  of 
the  city  and  county.  Mr.  Brueck,  of  Bay  City,  at  one  time  operated  a  mine 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  in  Montrose,  but  it  was  not  a  paying 
business  and  soon  ceased.  The  Genesee  Coal  Company  and  others  in  recent 
years  have  opened  some  shafts  in  the  vicinity  of  Flint,  especially  on  the  Burr 
farm  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city,  but  their  output  has  been  small  and 
difficulties  in  getting  rid  of  the  water  has  made  the  mining  costly.  The 
industry  will  probably  become  important  in  the  future  when  engineering  has 
solved  the  water  problems,  and  perhaps  it  is  for  the  l>enefit  of  all  that  this 
valuable  natural  resource  be  conserved  in  nature's  storehouse  under  the  county 
of  Genesee  for  the  future  use  of  its  teeming  thousands,  than  to  have  it 
exhausted  by  the  present  generation. 

The  latitude  of  the  city  of  Flint  is  forty-three  degrees  and  one  minute 
north ;  its  longitude  is  eighty-seven  degrees  and  four  minutes  west.  As  the 
city  is  nearly  the  geographical  center  of  the  countj-,  the  latitude  and  longitude 
of  the  other  portions  of  the  county  may  be  determined  from  that  of  the  city. 

The  altitudes  of  the  various  railway  stations,  as  determined  from  rail- 
way surveys  and  levelings,  are  as  follows:  Crapo  F'arm,  774  feet  above  sea 
level;  Davison,  788  feet:  Duftield,  780  feet;  Fenton,  907  feet;  Flint  City,  at 
the  Grand  Trunk  depot,  712.  and  at  the  Pere  Marquette  depot,   711   feet; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEE    COUNTY, 


Gaines,  857  feet;  Goodrich,  733  feet;  Grand  Blanc,  839  feet;  Linden,  872 
feet;  Otterburn,  771  feet,  and  Swartz  Creek,  779  feet.  At  the  weather 
bureau  station  in  Fhnt,  the  altitude  is  726  feet. 


FLINT   TOWNSHIP, 

The  surface  of  Flint  township  is  undulating,  comprising  some  fine 
stretches  of  level  land,  varied  by  gentle  declivities,  which  give  variety  to  the 
landscape  and  make  it  one  of  the  most  attractive  townships  in  the  county. 
The  soil  is  a  mixture  of  clay  and  sand,  and  generally  of  good  quality,  though 
varying  in  localities,  and  affords  a  bountiful  crop  to  the  farmers.  The 
streams  of  water  which  traverse  its  surface  are  the  Flint  river  and  Swartz 
creek,  the  first  of  which  passes  through  the  city,  flows  through  the  northern 
portion  of  the  township  and  passes  out  near  the  northwest  corner.  Swartz 
creek  rises  in  the  township  of  Gaines  and  enters  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
township  of  Flint,  meandering  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  flowing  into  the 
Thread,  and  eventually  into  the  Flint  river. 

FENTON  TOWNSHIP. 

The  physical  features  of  Fenton  township  are  varied  and  interesting. 
The  principal  stream  in  the  Shiawassee  river,  an  insignificant  stream  at  its 
entry  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  township,  but  attaining  to  respectable 
proportions  before  it  leaves  it  on  the  west.  Its  general  course  is  northwest, 
and  its  waters  furnish  several  excellent  mill-powers — notably  at  Fenton  and 
Linden  villages.  After  leaving  Fenton,  it  receives  the  surplus  waters  of 
numerous  lakes,  large  and  smalt.  Of  these  lakes,  the  township  contains  no 
less  than  twenty,  covering  a  total  area  of  about  2,160  acres,  apportioned  as 
follows:  Long  lake,  on  sections  2,  11,  13.  14,  23  and  24,  850  acres;  Hib- 
bard's  lake,  section  12,  30  acres;  Crooked  lake,  section  13,  50  acres:  Loon 
lake,  sections  15  and  16,  150  acres;  Squaw  lake,  principally  on  section  15,  60 
acres;  Ball  lake,  section  21,  40  acres;  Mud  lake,  section  22,  225  acres;  Silver 
lake,  sections  27,  28  and  33,  275  acres;  Pine  lake,  sections  28,  29,  32  and  33, 
160  acres;  Byram  lake,  sections  29  and  30,  130  acres;  others,  190  acres. 
Aside  from  these,  are  miUponds,  making  the  total  lake  and  pond  area  of  the 
township  about  2,200  acres,  or  more  than  that  of  the  entire  balance  of  the 
county. 

Many  of  the  lakes  of  Fenton  possess  clean,  bold  shores,  sandy  bottoms 
and  deep  waters,  and  most  of  them  abound  in  numerous  varieties  of  fish, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENFSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  293 

such  as  bass,  perch  and  others.  Silver  lake  is  tributary  to  Mud,  and  through 
the  latter  to  the  Shiawassee  river,  and  is  so  named  from  its  clear  waters  and 
bed  of  light  sand.  Byram  lake  was  named  from  an  early  settler  on  its  shore, 
and  the  others,  from  various  circumstances  and  surroundings. 

Long  lake,  the  principal  .sheet  of  water  in  the  township  and  county,  is 
about  three  miles  in  length  and  averages  nearly  half  a  mile  in  width.  With 
the  exception  of  its  southwestern  shore,  which  is  marshy  tn  places,  its  borders 
are  most  picturesque  and  beautiful.  The  southern  extremity,  below  "the  nar- 
rows," is  in  most  places  shallow  and  wild  rice  grows  profusely  in  localities. 
High  banks  extend  along  a  great  part  of  the  eastern  shore.  The 
outline  of  the  lake  is  broken  by  "points"  and  bays,  and  a  fine  island  of  over 
twenty  acres  is  situated  near  the  center,  north  and  south,  and  somewhat 
nearer  the  western  than  the  eastern  shore.  Another  small  island  is  near  the 
extreme  southern  margin  of  the  lake.  Long  lake  is  one  of  the  prettiest  inland 
lakes  in  the  country  and  has  become  one  of  the  most  popular  summer  resorts 
in  southern  Michigan. 

The  vicinity  of  the  lakes  of  Fenton  was  the  favorite  resort  of  the  red 
tribes  who  occupied  the  region  ere  the  advent  of  a  paler  race.  The  clear 
waters  tempted  them  to  launch  their  canoes  thereon  and  entice  from  their 
depths  their  finny  inhabitants,  or  disport  in  wanton  glee  amid  their  waves. 
The  surrounding  hills  and  forests  afforded  them  rare  sport  in  the  chase,  for 
deer,  wolves,  bears  and  other  animals — fit  targets  for  the  hunter's  skill — 
abounded.'  So  much  attached  were  the  red  men  to  this  beautiful  "land  of 
lakes"  that  it  was  their  desire,  when  their  days  of  hunting  on  earth  were  over, 
to  be  laid  to  rest  amid  the  scenes  made  dear  by  life-long  association.  Here, 
on  the  border  of  the  lake,  their  remains  were  laid,  their  faces  to  the  setting 
sun,  and  the  rippling  waters  murmured  their  funeral  songs,  while  the  breezes 
wailed  a  mournful  requiem  through  the  pines,  as  the  spirit  of  the  warriors 
journeyed  to  the  happy  hunting-grounds  of  their  fathers. 

The  principal  Indian  burial-place  in  the  township  was  on  the  northeast 
shore  of  Mud  lake,  and  close  by  was  their  camping  ground.  A  large  number 
of  graves  were  long  to  be  seen  in  the  burying-ground.  Others  were  also 
found,  but  not  as  extensive.  The  Indian  corn-fields  were  sometimes  sources 
of  inconvenience  to  farmers,  as  they  were  diflScult  to  plow,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  corn  was  year  after  year  planted  in  the  same  hills,  while  the  latter  were 
raised  a  little  higher  each  year  and  were  often  ten  or  twelve  feet  apart.  Quite 
an  extensive  corn-field  was  found  east  of  the  present  village  of  Linden.  This 
was  on  a  farm  once  owned  by  Alonzo  J.  Chapin, 

On  the  edge  of  the  township  of  Mundy  dwelt  a  small  tribe  whose  chief 


dbyGoot^lc 


294  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

was  one  "King  Fisher,"  or  Fisher,  corrupted  from  Visger,  the  name  of  a 
French-Indian  half-breed.  Their  biirying-ground  was  the  one  mentioned  as 
having  existed  near  Mud  lake,  in  Fenton,  and  at  present  no  traces  of  it  can 
be  found,  owing  to  long  cnltivation.  Fisher  was  a  lover  of  athletic  sports, 
as  well  as  whiskey,  and  on  occasions  of  town-meetings  was  accustomed  to 
visit  the  village  and  join  in  whatever  of  the  nature  of  sport  was  going  on. 
Among  the  feats  of  the  young  men  of  that  day  was  the  one  of  jumping  over 
a  string  held  at  a  certain  distance  above  the  ground.  Alonzo  J.  Chapin  was 
rather  more  than  the  equal  of  Fisher,  one  of  whose  toes  was  so  long  that  it 
would  catch  on  the  string.  The  chief  would  take  hold  of  it  angrily,  and 
exclaim,  "Toe  no  good!  Me  cut  him  off — me  jump  you!"  He  was  exceed- 
ing loth  to  speak  English,  except  when  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 

In  the  fall  of  1877,  while  constructing  a  dirt-road  across  Crane's  Cove, 
on  the  west  side  of  Long  lake,  a  party  of  workmen  found  a  skelton  of  very 
large  size,  some  two  or  three  feet  below  the  surface.  As  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  this  locality  was  the  favorite  Indian  resort  for  hunting  and  fishing, 
the  skeleton  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  frame-work  of  a  gigantic  warrior, 
though  why  he  should  have  been  buried  just  there  was  not  satisfactorily 
explained,  as  it  was  some  distance  from  their  common  burial-place  on  Mud 
lake. 

GRAND  BLANC  TOWNSHIP. 

The  surface  of  Grand  Blanc  township  is  a  rolling  upland.  Originally, 
the  northern  part  was  covered  with  dense  forests  of  the  deciduous  trees  so 
common  to  Michigan,  while  the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the  township 
afforded  a  fair  representation  of  the  lands  called  hazel-brush  openings. 

Thread  river,  its  principal  water-course,  takes  its  rise  in  Oakland  county 
and,  flowing  to  the  northwest,  leaves  the  township  near  the  center  of  the 
north  border.  This  stream  in  its  course  affords  good  water-power  privileges, 
which  were  early  utilized,  and  with  its  numerous  small  tributaries  rendered 
feasible  a  complete  system  of  ditching  and  drainage  adopted  where  swampy 
lands  existed. 

Grand  Blanc  lake  includes  a  small  portion  of  section  31 ;  Slack's  lake,  of 
sections  34  and  35.  A  small  lake  of  some  twenty  acres  in  extent,  called  Smith 
lake,  is  situated  upon  section  22.  Numerous  springs  are  found  in  various 
parts  of  the  township,  some  of  them  quite  strongly  impregnated  with 
magnesia. 

The  soil  is  of  an  excellent  quality,  and  consists  of  a  dark,  sandy  and 
gravelly  loam,  alternating  with  clay  loam  and  alluvial  deposits  of  a  vegetable 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  295 

cliaracter.  Peat  beds  are  found  in  some  portions  of  the  township,  also  brick 
and  potter's  clay  of  a  good  quality.  The  staple  products  are  live  stock,  wool, 
pork,  corn,  fruit,  sugar  beets,  beans  and  the  various  cereals.  The  cultivation 
of  winter  wheat  is  especially  successful. 

ATLAS    TOWN.SHir. 

The  surface  of  .\tlas  township  is  rolling  and.  in  a  state  of  nature,  was 
quite  heavily  timl>ered  in  the  north  part.  The  southern  portion  consisted 
generally  of  rose-willow  and  hazel-brush  o]}enings.  The  soil — a  sandy  loam 
—is  of  an  excellent  quality  and  in  the  quantity  and  excellence  of  its  products 
Atlas  takes  a  front  rank  among  Genesee  county  townships. 

Its  water  courses  are  the  Thread  and  Kearsley  rivers.  The  former 
takes  its  rise  in  Oakland  county  and  flows  in  a  northwest  course  across  the 
southwestern  corner  of  the  township.  The  latter  stream  also  finds  its  source 
in  Oakland  county  and,  entering  the  township  from  the  southeast,  receives 
as  a  tributary  the  outlet  of  Lake  Keshinaguac,  flows  on  in  a  northwesterly 
direction  through  the  central  part  of  the  town,  and  leaves  it  from  the  north 
border  of  section  4.  In  its  passage  the  Kearsley  affords  excellent  water- 
power  privileges,  which  have  lieen  in  use  at  the  villages  of  Goodrich  and 
Davisonville  (Atlas)   since  the  first  settlement  of  the  township. 

Neshinaguac  lake,  with  an  area  of  aljout  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles, 
lies  in  the  central  part  of  section  2^.  Other  small  bodies  of  water  are  sit- 
uated upon  section  3.  Numerous  springs,  several  of  whose  waters  are  im- 
pregnated with  iron,  exist  in  all  portitms  of  the  township  and,  as  a  whole, 
the  township  is  well  watered  and  drained.  The  i«ople  are  successfully  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  and  their  farms  are  in  an  advanced  state  of  cul- 
tivation.    Neat  residences  and  farm  buildings  alxiund  on  every  side. 

FLUSHING  TOWNSHIP. 

The  township  of  Flushing  is  watered  by  the  Flint  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries, enters  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  town  and,  after  a  winding 
course,  leaves  it  near  the  center  of  the  northern  boundary.  The  mill-sites 
along  the  river  were  early  improved,  and  it  still  furnishes  power  at  mimer- 
ous  places  within  the  limits  of  the  county.  Along  the  river  the  surface  of 
the  township  is  somewhat  varied,  the  banks  in  places  being  high  and  steep 
and  the  land  in  the  immediate  vicinity  rolling,  while  at  others  they  are 
gentlv  sloping  and  the  neighboring  country  nearly  level.     A  large  portion 


dbyGoot^lc 


296  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

of  the  township  is  exceedingly  level  and  the  whole  was  originally  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  heavy  timber,  in  which  was  considerable  pine. 

The  sail  of  Flushing  is  of  the  nature  of  that  common  to  this  region, 
having  a  large  proportion  of  sand.  Upon  the  lands  where  pine  grew  thickly 
it  is  more  sandy  than  elsewhere,  and  some  of  the  "pine  plains,"  or  "pine 
barrens,"  as  they  are  called,  are  of  comparatively  small  value.  Flushing  is 
one  of  the  wealthiest  townships  in  the  county. 

MUNDY   TOWNSHIP. 

The  natural  characteristics  of  Mundy  township  are  much  the  same  as 
those  of  its  sister  towns,  consisting  of  a  generally  level  surface,  with  por- 
tions considerably  undulating,  a  variety  of  soil  and  originally  a  considerable 
acreage  of  timber.  In  many  respects  it  is  one  of  the  best  townships  in  the 
county  and  its  improvements  are  very  generally  excellent.  It  was  settled  by 
an  energetic,  thrifty  class  of  farmers  and  the  success  which  has  attended 
their  efforts  to  build  up  substantial  and  comfortable  homes  in  the  wilderness 
is  everywhere  apparent  in  the  fine  farms  and  dwellings,  and  the  various 
accompaniments  of  a  well-ordered  agricultural  community.  Its  first  settlers 
possessed  intelligence  and  this,  combined  with  enterprise,  wrought  a  wonder- 
ful change  in  the  face  of  the  region  which  frowned  upon  them  many  years 
ago  in  all  the  majesty  of  a  forest-crowned  domain,  where  the  axe  of  the 
pioneer  had  never  swung  nor  its  strokes  echoed  through  the  primeval  aisles. 
But  as  change  is  the  order  elsewhere,  so  was  it  here,  and  the  pleasant  and 
peaceful  homes  of  today  are  a  marked  contrast  to  the  wilderness  of  earlier 
vears. 

ARGENTINE  TOWNKHIP. 

Much  of  the  surface  of  Argentine  township  is  rolling  and  many  pleas- 
ing landscapes  are  within  its  borders.  Its  soil  has  the  same  character- 
istics as  all  that  in  the  immediate  region.  Fine  improvements  are  met  with 
throughout  the  township  and  evidences  of  prosperity  and  weahh  are  seen 
on  nearly  every  hand.  The  township  is  well  watered  by  the  Shiawassee 
river  and  its  tributaries,  which  furnish  considerable  power,  and  numerous 
lakes  and  ponds  add  to  the  water-area.  Principal  among  the  latter  are  Lob- 
dell,  on  sections  35  and  36,  named  after  an  early  settler  on  its  shore;  Mur- 
ray, on  section  34,  named  after  first  settler  in  the  township;  McKane,  on 
sections  28  and  32;  McCasiin,  section  22;  Bass,  section  27,  etc.  Lobdel! 
lake  was  changed  somewhat  in  area  by  the  raising  of  a  dam  at  Argentine 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENfiSEE    COHiSJTY,    MICHIGAN.  297 

village.  The  shores  in  many  places  are  marshy,  and  in  various  parts  of  the 
township  tamarack  swamps  exist.  A  large  acreage  of  timher  is  yet  left,  al- 
though but  a  portion  of  this  township  was  heavily  timbered,  the  balance 
l>eing  "oak-openings." 

MT.     MORRIS    TOWNSHIP. 

In  its  natural  features  Mt.  Morris  township  is  very  similar  to  other 
interior  <Iivisions  of  the  county  already  described,  the  surface  being  slightly 
rolling  and  covered  originally  with  heavy  forests  of  beech,  maple,  oak,  ash 
and  many  other  varieties  of  deciduous  trees  indigenous  to  the  soil  in  this 
section  of  the  state.  The  Flint  river,  in  its  flow  to  the  northwest,  crosses  the 
extreme  southwest  corner.  Devil's  lake,  a  small  body  of  water  containing 
from  ten  to  fifteen  acres,  is  situated  upon  section  35.  Brent's  run  takes  its 
rise  from  this  lake,  and  flows  northerly  through  the  central  part.  Several 
other  small  tributaries  of  the  Flint  cross  the  township  and  flow  in  a  general 
northwest  course.  Stone  similar  to  that  obtained  in  the  Flushing  quarries 
is  found  in  the  bed  of  the  river  upon  section  31.  The  soil  is  very  productive. 
The  people  are  chiefly  agricultunsts.  and  wool,  live  stock  and  wheat  are  the 
principal  products. 

r.ENESKF,    TOWNSHIP. 

The  township  called  Genesee  received  its  name  from  the  pioneers,  many 
of  whom  came  from  the  "Genesee  country"  in  western  JVew  York,  and  a 
goodly  number  of  them  from  Genesee  county.  It  was  btit  natural  that  they 
sliould  desire  to  perpetuate  the  name  of  that  fair  country,  whose  fertile  soil 
had  already  made  it  famous  throughout  the  country  as  a  sort  of  modem 
.-\rcadia.  where  to  dwell  was  to  enjoy  the  best  things  of  life- — not  alone  in  a 
material,  but  also  in  an  aesthetic  sense.  And  it  was  also  fitting  that  this 
township,  having  so  large  an  area  of  the  beautiful  oak  or  timbered  oi>enings, 
thus  resembling  in  its  primitive  form  that  pleasant  land,  should  also  bear  its 
name. 

Its  surface  is  comparatively  lexel.  though  it  might  properly  be  called 
lightly  rolling  in  some  parts,  principally  on  the  south  and  east  side  of  the 
river.  About  one-fourth  of  the  surface  was  originaly  covered  with  pine,  the 
pinerv  generally  following  the  course  of  the  river  and  lying  principally  on 
its  south  bank.  The  soil  of  the  pine  land  was  of  a  light,  sandy  nature.  The 
rest  of  the  town   was  timliered   with  hardwood,   white   oak  predominating, 


dbyGoot^lc 


2t)S  GENnSEI?    COUNTY,    MICIIICAK. 

and  in  the  southwest  part  there  was  considerable  timbered  opening.  The 
soil  in  the  parts  of  the  town  free  from  i>ine  is  of  a  fine  quality  and  com- 
posed of  a  rich  clayey  loam,  mixed  with  some  gTa\'el  and  sand. 

The  town  is  well  watered.  Flint  river,  the  principal  water-course,  enters 
from  Richfield,  near  the  southeast  comer  of  section  I2,  and  pursues  a  some- 
what torturous  course  through  the  town  in  a  general  southwest  direction, 
passing  through  some  parts  of  sections  12,  13,  11,  10,  15,  16,  21,  28,  29  and 
32,  at  the  southwest  corner  of  which  it  crosses  the  line  in  the  township  of 
Burton.  Its  course  is  crooked  and  its  current  generally  sluggish.  Near  the 
southwest  corner  of  section  11  it  is  more  rapid  and  furnishes  a  very  good 
water-power  which  has  lieen  utilized  for  many  years.  The  stream  second  in 
importance  is  Kearsley  creek,  which  enters  from  Burton  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  section  35.  crosses  sections  34,  33  and  32,  till  it  reaches  Flint 
river,  into  which  it  discharges  its  waters  a  little  south  and  west  of  the 
center  of  the  latter  section.  The  third  stream  is  Butternut  creek,  coming 
from  the  north,  draining  portions  of  the  towns  of  Forest  and  Thetford.  It 
enters  near  the  northeast  corner  of  section  i,  crosses  it  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion, flows  across  the  corner  of  section  12,  turns  to  the  west,  and  crosses 
section  ii  till  it  joins  the  Flint  river,  a  little  distance  east  of  Geneseeville. 
Stanley  creek.  Bray  brook,  and  a  half  dozen  or  more  lesser  streams  are 
tributaries  of  Flint  river. 

GAINES    TOWNSHIP. 

The  surface  of  Gaines  township  is  generally  level  and  was  originally 
covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  hea\'y  timlier.  In  places  slight  undulations 
are  met  with,  but  nothing  rising  to  the  dignity  of  hills.  The  soil  is  very 
good  and  adapted  to  the  growth  of  ail  grains  raised  in  this  region.  The 
township  had  a  large  acreage  of  timber  and  its  development  has  Ijeen  [per- 
haps less  rapid  than  that  of  most  of  the  other  townships  in  the  county.  That 
its  resources  are  abundant,  however,  is  evident  from  the  fine  improvements 
in  its  older  settled  portions.  It  has  no  streams  of  consequence,  a  branch  of 
Swartz  creek,  in  the  northern  part,  l>eing  the  principal  one.  Along  the  lianks 
of  the  latter,  in  early  years,  were  extensive  groves  of  maple,  and  a  trail 
reached  from  Flint,  which  was  used  by  the  Indians,  who  manufactured  here 
large  (|uantities  of  maple-sugar.  The  ancient  trail  has  disappeared  and  the 
dusky  people  who  threaded  it  eighty  years  ago  and  more  have  been  laid  to 
rest  beside  their  fathers  and  entered  upon  the  happier  hunting-grounds  of 
which  they  dreamed. 


dbyGoot^lc 


NTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Burton  township  is  comparatively  level,  yet  sufficiently  ele\ated  above 
the  iied  of  its  water-ccmrses  to  afford  gootl  surface  drainage.  It  was  heavily 
timbered,  originally,  with  fine  forests  of  l>eech.  maple,  red  and  black  oak, 
Ijasswood  and  other  varieties  of  deciduous  trees.  Upon  sections  5,  6.  19 
and  20  was  found  considerable  pine,  while  sections  27  and  34  were  what 
was  termed  by  the  original  settlers  "staddle  lands.'' 

The  Flint.  Thread  and  Kearsley  rivers  are  the  principal  wafer-courses. 
The  former  flows  in  a  southwesterly  course  across  the  northv^-est  corner  of 
the  township;  the  latter  runs  in  a  northwesterly  direction  across  the  north- 
east comer  of  the  same;  while  Thread  river  enters  the  town  from  the 
south  and,  flowing  in  a  general  northwest  course,  leaves  the  township  near 
tlie  center  of  the  west  border. 

The  soil  consists  of  an  admixture  of  sand  and  clay  loam,  alternating 
with  a  dark  vegetable  mould,  and  in  it  general  characteristics  are  the  same 
as  predominates  in  all  drift  formations.  It  is  highly  productive  and,  with 
careful  cultivation,  yields  handsome  returns  to  the  husbandman.  The  i>eo- 
pie  are  chiefly  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Their  farms  are  under  a 
good  state  of  cultivation  and  neat  farm  houses  and  sul>stantial  outbuildings 
abound.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  city  of  Flint  has  taken  largely  from  Bur- 
ton township,  first  for  factories  and  later  for  many  additions  and  plats  for 
residence  and  business  purposes. 

CL.WTON   TOWNSHIP. 

Clayton,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  slight  undulations,  is  generally 
level.  The  soil  is  of  the  nature  ])eciiliar  to  this  part  of  Michigan  and.  from 
appearance  of  the  farms  and  their  improvements— Clayton  is  exclusively  an 
agricultural  township — the  inference  is  that  its  fertility  is  Ijeyond  question. 
Originally  the  township  was  covered  with  a  dense  forest,  where  the  nightly 
howl  of  the  wolf  resounded;  where  the  Hthe  panther  often  lurked:  where 
bears  found  safe  retreats:  where  the  pride  of  the  forest— the  deer— had  his 
home,  and  where  the  red  man  was  the  only  human  being  who  trod  its  mazes, 
"ambushed  his  foe,  and  stalked  his  game."  A  more  herculean  task  than  that 
of  clearing  awa\-  this  sturdy  greenwood  and  preparing  the  pleasant  farms 
which  todav  dot  the  surface,  can  scarcely  be  imagined.  It  was  only  the 
indomitable  will  and  jmrseverance  of  the  pioneers  coupled  with  their  ability 


dbyGoot^lc 


.300  CENEi-KE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

to  undergo  long  and  severe  toil,  with  all  its  attendant  hardships,  that  accom- 
plished the  mighty  work.  That  it  was  accomplished  is  the  pride  of  the  actors 
in  the  scene,  who,  axe  in  hand  and  rifle  on  shoulder,  marched  conquering 
through  the  wilderness.  There  is  said  to  be  no  better  agricultural  land  in 
America  than  obtains  in  Clayton  township. 

VIENNA   TOWNSHIP. 

The  surface  of  Vienna  township  may  be  described  in  general  terms  as  an 
elevated  plain,  cut  by  the  rather  deep  ravineii  formed  by  its  water  courses. 
On  several  sections  to  the  immediate  west  and  southwest  of  Clio  village  pine 
originally  predominated-  The  remainder  of  the  township  was  covered  prin- 
cipally with  heavy  forests  of  deciduous  trees,  common  to  this  portion  of  the 
state. 

Brent's  and  Pine  runs  are  the  principal  water  courses.  These  streams 
flow  towards  the  northwest  and  ultimately  empty  their  waters  into  Flint 
river.  They  have  rendered  service  in  former  years  to  assist  in  sawing  into 
merchantable  lumber  the  valuable  pines  which  once  swayed  their  towering 
tops  over  a  large  portion  of  the  township,  and  the  latter  stream  has  done 
duty  in  propelling  the  machinery  of  the  grist-mills  in  Clio.  The  people  are 
chiefly  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  the  staple  products  Ijeing  wheat,  corn 
and  live  stock.  Since  the  disappearance  of  the  [jine  forests  and  lumbering 
interests  the  attention  of  the  inhabitants  has  been  more  exclusively  devoted 
to  agriculture.  The  soil,  though  light  and  sandy  in  those  portions  once 
denominated  "pineries,"  is  well  adapted  to  wheat  and  other  cereals.  The 
whole  township  is  Ijeing  rapidly  developed  into  good  farming  lands,  and  a 
corresponding  increase  in  wealth  and  population  is  the  result.  Since  Flint 
1)ecame  a  city  of  approximately  eighty  thousand,  the  scarcity  of  houses  there 
has  brought  to  Clio  and  Mt.  Morris  many  who  are  employed  in  the  factories. 

THETFORD   TOVkfNSHrr. 

Thetford  township  contains  some  of  the  good  farming  lands  of  Genesee 
county,  and  the  beautiful  scenery,  the  well-tilled  fields,  the  majestic  woods, 
and  the  fine  dwellings  and  barns  that  denote  the  thrift  and  industry  of  its 
people,  well  repaj'  the  observant  traveler  for  the  trouble  incidental  to  a  trip 
through  the  town. 

Down  to  a  period  of  time  as  late  as  the  l>eginning  of  the  year  1835  it 
had  been  a  wilderness.     The  surveyors  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  3OI 

had  passed  throiig:h  the  trackless  maze  of  its  dense  forests,  recording  their 
progress  by,  and  leaving  as  tokens  of  their  presence  the  "blazes"  on  trees 
that  marked  the  section  lines  and  corners.  Some  wandering,  adventurous 
white  hunter  or  trapper  may  have  casually  passed  through  in  pursuit  of  his 
perilous  calling,  but,  aside  from  these  persons,  it  is  probable  that,  of  human- 
kind, none  save  the  moccasined  foot  of  the  Indian  had  trod  the  virgin  soil 
or  rustled  the  leaves  with  which  the  lofty  trees  had  carpeted  the  earth  be- 
neath their  spreading  branches. 

These  Indians  belonged  to  the  Chippewa  nation  and  were  only  transient 
inhabitants  here,  they  not  having  any  village  within  the  limits  of  this  town- 
ship. They  came  here  to  hunt  and  fish,  though  the  latter  s|x>rt  was  not  as 
plentiful  as  the  former  on  account  of  the  lack  of  lakes  and  large  streams. 
They  had  a  well-defined  trail,  which  started  from  the  banks  of  the  Flint 
river,  in  the  present  township  of  Richfield,  and  ran  in  a  direction  a  Httle  west 
of  nortli  and  in  a  nearly  direct  course  to  Tuscola,  on  the  Cass  river,  and  to 
Saginaw  l>ay,  near  the  present  site  of  Bay  City.  This  trail  entered  Thet- 
ford  not  far  from  the  southeast  corner,  followed  the  pine  ridges  and  crossed 
the  line  into  Tuscola  county  near  the  corner  of  sections  3  and  4.  Along  this 
trail  the  Indians  traveled  for  many  years,  sometimes  in  large  i>arties  and 
again  singly  or  by  twos  and  threes.  They  were  generally  mounted  on  their 
hardy  ponies  and  in  sandy  places  the  hoofs  of  these  sturdy  little  animals  had 
worn  away  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  a  ffwt  or  more.  These  Indians  remained 
here  many  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  country  by  the  whites  began  and 
the  most  amicable  feelings  existed  l>etween  the  two  races  at  all  times.  They 
had  a  favorite  camping-place  near  the  residence  of  Richard  Buell,  where  two 
or  three  families,  more  or  less  as  the  case  might  be,  would  come  and  stay 
for  a  few  days  at  a  time  while  they  hunted  the  deer  and  other  game  with 
which  the  forest  teemed.  They  were  on  esj>ecially  friendly  terms  with  the 
Buell  family,  for  whom  they  had  conceived  a  great  liking  when  they  first 
settled  here  and  with  whom  they  often  engaged  in  trade.  Another  of  their 
favorite  camping-grounds  was  on  the  l»nks  of  Butternut  creek,  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  town,  near  the  present  village  of  Whitesford. 

In  the  work  of  cultivating  the  soil  the  farmer's  plow  frequently  brings 
to  the  surface  some  relic  of  the  aborgines.  in  the  shape  of  flint  arrow  or 
spear-heads,  stone'  knives,  pii>es,  or  pieces  of  rude  pottery.  Frequently,  too, 
the  plow  breaks  into  the  shallow  grave  of  some  of  these  former  dwellers 
and  turns  their  Ixjnes  up  to  bleach  in  the  sun- — to  be  destroyed  by  the  chafing 
fingers  of  the  storm  and  the  ever-destructive  touch  of  time.  Do  these  sense- 
less bones  represent  the  once  proud  form  of  the  haughty  warrior  who  strode 


dbyGoot^lc 


302  GENKSKE    COL'NTY,    MICHIGAN, 

forth  defiantly  to  battle  with  his  equally  haughty  ;md  courageous  foe.  and 
fell  Ijeneath  his  enemy's  superior  prowess? 

DAVISON    TOWNSHir. 

The  surface  of  ]^avison  township,  north  of  a  Hue  drawn  diagonally 
from  the  northeast  corner  to  the  center  of  the  west  border  is  comparatively 
level.  That  portion  lying  south  of  this  line  is  roUing,  with  an  altitude  of  per- 
haps forty-five  feet  above  the  former.  Kearsley  and  Black  creeks  are  the 
principal  water-courses.  The  former  enters  the  township  from  the  south 
and,  flowing  in  a  general  southwest  course,  leaves  it  on  the  west  border  of 
section  y.  The  latter  takes  its  rise  from  Potter  lake  and,  flowing  thence 
north,  describes  in  its  passage  through  a  ]>ortion  of  Richfield  township,  the 
arc  of  a  circle.  It  then  enters  Davison  from  the  north  Ixirder  of  section  2. 
and  continues  in  a  southwesterly  course  until  it  effects  a  junction  with  the 
Kearsley,  on  section  7. 

Potter  lake,  containing  an  area  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
lies  mainly  within  section  i  of  this  township,  the  remainder  in  Lapeer  county. 
Hasler  lake,  considerably  larger  in  extent  than  the  former,  lies  also  across 
the  line  dividing  the  counties  of  Genesee  and  Lai^er,  though  the  greater 
portion  is  within  section  _'?6.  Vast  tamarack  swamps,  now  partly  drained, 
extend  across  sections  i.  T2,  1,1,  T4.  23  and  24,  making  an  almost  continuous 
waterway  Iietween  the  tH-o  lakes.  This  was  a  timl>ered  township  originall)', 
oak,  beech,  mapie  and  other  varieties  of  deciduous  trees  predominating. 
Small  groves  of  pine  were  found  on  ixjrtions  of  sections  14,  27  and  33. 

The  soil  is  of  the  same  character  as  that  of  surrounding  townships — a 
sandy  loam  on  the  knolls  and  higher  portions,  a  dark  alluvium  mixed  with 
vegetable  mould  on  the  lowlands.  A  system  of  drainage  has  been  inaugurated 
by  many  landowners  within  the  past  few  years,  by  which  the  value  of  their 
acres  has  been  vastly  enhanced  and  many  other  fields  reclaimed  an<l  rendered 
productive  which,  but  a  few  years  since,  were  considered  valueless.  The  peo- 
ple are  chiefly  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  stock  raising,  wool  growing 
and  the  cultivation  of  fruits,  com,  potatoes,  beans,  sugar  beets  and  the  cereals 
being  the  specialties.  .Many  fine  farms,  residences  and  commodious  outbuild- 
ings dot  its  landscape,  giving  evidence  of  the  enterprise  and  thrift  of  the 
people  who  reside  here,  and  that  they  are  rapidly  surrounding  themselves 
with  all  the  comforts,  conveniences  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life. 


dbyGoot^lc 


MICHIGAN. 


RICHFIELD  TOWNSHIP. 


The  surface  i>f  Richfield  township  is  shghtly  roHiiig.  being  roughest  in 
the  northeast  jxirt  and  along  the  course  of  Flint  river.  The  original  forest 
of  this  town  was  in  most  parts  a  variety  of  all  kinds  of  hardwood  timber, 
but  along  the  course  of  the  river  was  a  belt  of  pine  of  an  average  width  of 
about  one  and  a  half  miles,  and  along  Hasler  and  Briar  creeks  similar 
growths  were  found.  This  pine,  covering  about  one-lhird  of  the  town,  was 
to  some  extent  interspersed  with  other  timber  and  was  of  good  quality  and 
size.  The  soil  of  the  pine  lands  is  lighter  than  that  of  the  rest  of  the  town, 
which  varies  from  a  sort  of  marl  to  a  black,  gravelly  or  sandy  loam,  fertile 
and  easily  tilled.  The  Jjest  part  of  the  township  for  agricultural  purposes 
lies  in  the  southwest  half,  but  all  is  productive,  and  well  repays  the  toil  of 
the  husbandman  with  remunerative  crops. 

Unlike  many  townships  in  Michigan,  there  are  none  of  those  small 
lakes,  so  common  in  this  state,  within  the  borders  of  Richfield.  The  princi- 
pal water-courses  are  the  Flint  river  and  Black  creek.  Flint  river  enters  the 
town  near  the  northeast  corner  of  section  12,  and  runs  in  a  somewhat  tor- 
tuous, but  generally  westerly,  course,  jxtssing  through  portions  of  sections  i. 
2.  7,  9,  10,  II,  12,  16,  17  and  18,  passing  into  the  township  of  Genesee  near 
the  southwest  corner  of  section  7.  Its  course  in  this  town  is  about  twelve 
miles  in  length  and  its  current,  rather  sluggish.  Black  creek,  which  is  tlie 
outlet  of  Potter  lake,  enters  the  town  near  the  center  of  the  east  line  of 
section  ;^6,  runs  westerh'  alxiut  a  mile  and  three-quarters,  turns  sharply  to 
the  south  and  passes  into  Davison.  Ilasler's  creek  is  the  outlet  of  a  lake  of 
the  same  name  lying  in  the  town  of  Elba,  Lapeer  county,  and  runs  northerly 
along  the  east  border  of  the  town  through  section  13,  and  in  a  northwest 
course  across  section  12  till  it  reaches  the  Flint  river  and  unites  its  waters 
with  those  of  the  lai-ger  stream.  Briar  creek,  Belden  creek  and  four  other 
small  streams  are  tributaries  to  Flint  river.  The  two  first  named  unite  with 
it  in  the  eastern  jiart  of  section  t8.  the  former  flowing  from  the  north  and 
the  latter  from  the  south. 

ilany  traces  still  remain  to  testify  of  the  presence  here  of  the  aborigines 
—those  nomadic  wanderers  who  have  now  so  nearly  disappeared  from  this 
cfrtmtry  which  was  once  one  of  their  favorite  hunting-grounds.  Numerous 
trails  led  in  various  directions  through  the  township,  the  principal  ones  being 
the  Saginaw  trail,  near  the  Irish  road,  and  one  from  the  vicinity  of  Nepes- 
sing  lake,  in  Lapeer  county ;  in  this  township  the  Indians  had  a  camping- 


dbyGoot^lc 


304  GKNESEli    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

place  on  the  south  bank  of  Fhnt  river,  in  section  11.  Near  this  place  they 
cultivated  some  corn  on  a  sort  of  opening,  which  gave  to  the  locality  the 
name  of  "the  Indian  garden."  On  sections  20  and  21  and  in  other  localities 
in  the  town  they  had  "sugar-bushes,"  where  they  tai>ped  the  maple  trees  and 
in  their  rude  way  manufactured  an  inferior  kind  of  maple  sugar.  Among 
these  traces  of  former  inhabitants  of  this  section  of  our  country  none  [Mssess 
a  greater  interest  to  the  antiquary  or  the  historian  than  the  mysterious 
mounds  that  here  and  there  He  scattered  alraut  throughout  the  state.  In  the 
pinery,  on  section  5,  is  a  large  mound,  evidently  formed  by  the  work  of 
human  hands,  as  is  proved  by  the  mixed  condition  of  the  soil  composing  it. 
Its  diameter  is  some  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  and  its  elevation  above  the  sur- 
rounding surface,  about  five  feet.  A  smaller  movind  on  the  bank  of  Black 
creek,  in  section  35,  was  opened  and  a  skull  and  some  other  bones  taken  out. 
Upon  these  mounds  large  forest  trees  were  growing  at  the  time  of  the  first 
settlement,  indicating  that  they  had  then  reached  an  age  of  at  least  a  hun- 
dred years  since  the  mounds  were  piled  up. 

FOREST   TOWNSHIP. 

The  lands  of  Forest  township  were  originally  heavily  timbered  and  gen- 
erally with  pine  of  fine  quality  and  large  size,  intermingled  with  oak,  maple, 
l>eech,  ash,  elm.  butternut  and  many  other  varieties  of  timber  in  limited 
quantity.  Owing  to  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  this  pine  timber,  the  land 
was  largely  taken  up  by  speculators  or  by  those  who  held  them  till  lumber 
was  worth  a  price  which  would  warrant  them  in  cutting  the  timJ>er. 

The  soil  is  \'aried  in  its  composition,  being  composed  of  sandy,  gravelly 
and  clay  loam,  distributed  very  irregularly.  Tt  is  all  underlaid  by  a  heavy 
clay  -subsoil  of  great  depth,  and  is  fertile  and  easily  worked.  It  is  well  suited 
for  the  cultivation  of  general  crops  and  is  excellent  for  wheat. 

The  surface  of  the  land  is  usually  lightly  rolling  in  its  nature,  though 
in  some  parts  it  becomes  a  little  more  uneven  and  rises  in  low  hills.  In  the 
south  part  of  the  town  Hes  what  is  known  as  Compton  hill,  which  is  the  point 
rising  highest  above  the  surrounding  surface.  Proljably  the  most  elevated 
part  of  the  town  is  the  northern  portion.  Commencing  with  the  lakes,  near 
Otisville,  a  strip  of  territory  made  up  of  alternating  knolls  and  marshes  runs 
in  each  direction,  reaching  nearly  across  the  town  from  north  to  south. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  small  lakes  scattered  about  the  town.  At 
Otisville  a  cluster  of  them,  seven  in  number,  lies  south  and  east  of  the  vil- 
lage.    It  is  supposed  that  originally  these  were  all  united  in  one  body  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    WICIIIGAN.  JO5 

water,  but  that  the  changes  in  the  streams,  the  decreased  rainfaU  caused  by 
the  clearing  up  of  the  forests,  and  the  accumulation  of  decayed  vegetation, 
have  lowered  the  surface  of  the  water  and  \yai\t  bars  and  marshes  that  now 
separate  them  one  from  another.  Two  others  of  these  lakes  are  found  one 
and  a  half  miles  west  of  Otisville,  one  on  section  20  and  one  on  section  29. 
Anotlier,  known  as  Crawford's  lake,  is  located  in  the  south  part  of  section 
24.  Near  the  northeast  corner  a  small  [Kirtion  of  Otter  lake  extends  into 
this  township.  These  lakes  are  all  of  the  same  general  character,  having  an 
average  de]>th  of  soitie  thirty  or  forty  feet  and  a  sandy  or  muddy  bottom. 
The  shores  in  some  places  are  bold  and  in  others,  more  or  less  marshy. 
These  lakes  were  formerly  abundantly  supplied  with  fish  of  various  kinds 
and,  though  somewhat  depleted  by  unseasonable  and  unsportsmanlike  fish- 
ing, stili  furnish  a  fine  field  for  six>rt  to  the  lover  of  the  piscatorial  art. 

The  principal  stream  of  the  town  is  the  outlet  of  Otter  lake,  which  Sows 
across  the  town  diagonally,  in  a  southwest  course,  entering  Thetford  near 
the  west  quarter  line  of  section  31,  and  is  a  tributary  of  Flint  river.  Its 
shores  were  originally  covered  along  its  whole  course  with  a  heavy  growth 
of  butternut  trees,  which  fact  gave  it  the  name  of  Butternut  creek,  a  name 
which  it  still  bears.  It  receives  the  waters  of  a  few  tributary  streams,  the 
largest  one  being  the  outlet  of  the  Otisville  lakes. 

MONTROSE  TOWNSHIP. 

The  surface  of  ilontrose  township  is  varied  and  cut  by  the  valleys  and 
ravines  formed  by  the  Flint  river  and  its  tributaries.  This  was  a  pine  town- 
ship orij^naily  and  during  the  first  years  of  the  white  man's  occupancy  the 
inhabitants  were  chielly  engaged  in  the  various  occupations  incident  to  a  him- 
Ijering  region,  p'or  this  reason,  added  to  the  fact  that  it  was  tlie  latest 
settled  district  in  the  county,  Montrose  long  wore  a  general  aspect  of  rough- 
ness or  newness  in  strong  contrast  to  the  major  portion  of  the  county. 

The  present  inhabitants  are  princi]>ally  employed  in  the  pursuits  of 
agriculture.  The  soil,  though  in  some  places  hght  and  sandy,  produces  fav- 
orably and  time  only  is  needed  to  bring  the  products  of  this  up  to  the  best  of 
the  other  townships  in  the  county.  Its  principal  water-course,  the  Flint  river, 
enters  the  town  near  the  center  of  the  south  border  and,  flowing  in  a  general 
northerly  direction,  passes  through  the  central  part  and  leaves  the  township 
just  west  of  the  center  of  the  north  border.  Brent's  run  enters  from  the  south- 
east corner  and,  flowing  in  a  northwest  course,  discharges  it^  surplus  waters 
(20) 


dbyGoot^lc 


306  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

into  the  Flint  on  section  15,  and  Pine  run,  another  tributary  of  the  Fiint 
river,  in  flowing  to  the  northwest  crosses  the  extreme  northeast  corner  of  the 
township.  Coal — -and  rock  similar  to  the  Flushing  sandstone — crops  out  in 
the  bed  of  the  Flint  on  section  28. 

A  portion  of  the  Pewangawink  reservation  of  the  Saginaw  Chippewas 
extended  into  this  township,  including  the  whole  of  section  4,  the  west  half 
of  section  3,  the  east  half  of  section  5,  the  north  half  of  section  9,  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  10, 


dbyGoc^lc 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Pioneer  Agriculture. 

When  the  settlement  of  Genesee  county  began  in  earnest,  after  the  day 
of  the  redman  and  the  adventurous  hunter  and  trapper,  the  earhest  industry 
that  engaged  the  white  settlers  was  agriculture.  The  soil  of  the  county  is 
not  imlike  that  of  the  "Genesee  country"  of  western  New  York,  whence  came 
so  many  of  the  settlers  of  Genesee  county.  The  surface  was  then  largely 
covered  with  timber  of  various  kinds  and  the  soils  varied  somewhat  with 
the  timber.  There  was  some  heavily  timbered  land,  especially  in  the  region 
of  Forest  township:  there  were  oak  openings,  burr  oak  plains,  some  pine 
tracts,  and  numerous  spots  where  the  land  was  treeless  and  covered  with 
grass  suggesting  the  prairies  of  the  west.  The  heavily  timbered  hardwood 
lands  were  largely  clay.  This  soil,  although  as  productive  as  any  in  the 
state,  was  more  difficult  to  clear,  and  usually  cost  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars 
an  acre  to  fit  it  for  cultivation.  There  was  one  advantage  in  timbered  land, 
however,  for  the  settler  of  small  means;  after  the  timber  was  cut  down  the 
soil  scarcely  required  plowing.  A  drag  drawn  by  one  yoke  of  oxen  gen- 
erally was  sufficient  to  render  this  highly  mellow  land  ready  to  receive  the 
seed.  The  pine  lands  were  somewhat  sandy.  The  white  oak  oi>enings,  which 
covered  a  large  part  of  the  county,  were  quite  different  from  the  timbered 
lands.  Their  surface  was  covered  with  a  layer  of  vegetable  mould.  Marl 
was  generally  found  under  this  surface,  and  limestone,  pebbles,  sand,  and 
frequently  clay  and  yellow  loam,  were  found  below.  This  soil  was  specialty 
favorable  to  wheat  and  was  among  the  most  valuable  wheat  lands  in  the 
county.  It  was  easy  to  till  and  seldom  failed  to  produce  a  good  crop  even  in 
the  most  unfavorable  seasons.  Oats  and  com  throve  well  on  it,  though  it 
was  not  so  good  for  hay.  The  only  disadvantage  was  that  the  soil,  on  ac- 
count of  the  thick  tufts  of  matted  grass,  required  sometimes  four  or  five 
yoke  of  oxen  in  order  to  make  any  headway  in  breaking  it  up  for  the  seed. 
The  burr-oak  plains  presented  the  appearance  of  vast  cultivated  orchards. 
The  soil  was  somewhat  like  that  of  the  white-oak  openings.  It  contained  a 
great  deal  of  lime  and  its  great  productiveness  made  it  specially  prized  by 
the  settlers. 


dbyGoot^lc 


308  GENESi;b;    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

In  the  hea\ily  limbered  township  the  settler's  first  problem  was  to  clear 
the  land.  If  he  could  afford  to  hire  this  done  he  could  generally  get  it  for 
the  equivalent  of  about  fifteen  dollars  an  acre.  The  trees  were  felled  and 
either  were  split  into  rails  for  fences  or  logs  for  the  buildings,  or  were  rolled 
together  and  burned.  Where  the  timber  was  liglit  the  trees  were  frequently 
girdled  to  let  in  the  sun. 

The  settlers  usually  judged  the  lands  of  the  county  by  those  with  which 
they  were  familiar.  The  prime  test  was  its  ability  to  produce  wheat,  and 
the  frequent  verdict  respecting  the  lands  of  Genesee  was  that  in  this  respect 
they  were  superior  to  those  they  had  left  in  New  York.  The  first  care  of 
the  settler  was  the  immediate  needs  of  his  family.  Wheat  was  generally  the 
first  crop  he  sowed,  and  in  quantity  limited  to  the  extent  of  the  small  clear- 
ing in  the  timlier  or  the  amount  of  land  he  and  his  sons  could  bring  under 
cultivation.  Enough  j^Mtatoes  and  other  vegetables  were  raised  for  the  fam- 
ily use.  Abundant  crops  usually  rewarded  these  first  labors.  After  a  little 
while  they  began  to  haul  a  surplus  to  Pontiac  or  other  distant  market,  though 
the  price  received  was  often  scant  reward  for  the  labor.  Wheat  has  been, 
and  still  is.  one  of  the  leading  agricultural  products  of  Genesee  county, 
although  beans  and  sugar  beets  are  prominent  factors  in  the  Ust.  Wheat  har- 
vested in  1840  amounted  to  37,399  bushels.  In  1910  it  reached  278,064 
bushels. 

The  production  of  hay  in  Genesee  county  is  contkicted  on  a  large  scale. 
At  first  it  was  grown  only  in  sufficient  quantities  for  stock.  At  an  early 
day,  however,  it  began  to  l>e  produced  in  excess  of  stock  requirements.  The 
first  marketed  was  sold  to  lumiiermen  and  brought  a  considerable  revenue. 
Later  it  was  pressed  into  liales,  first  by  hand  and  then  by  power-presses. 
The  hay  product  has  increased  from  1,941  tons  in  1840  to  121.209  tons  in 
1910. 

Stock,  especially  sheep  and  cattle,  were  raised  at  an  early  day.  Even 
the  earliest  settlers  raised  some  sheep,  from  whose  wool  garments  were  made 
in  the  home  by  the  thrifty  housewife  and  daughters.  "Home-^un"  was  the 
prevailing  style  of  cloth  among  the  |>ioneers.  A  comparatively  large  numl^er 
of  fine-wooled  breeds  of  sheep  were  earlj'  introduced  into  Grand  Blanc,  and 
a  little  later  into  the  adjoining  towns.  In  1852  it  was  officially  reported  at 
the  county  fair  that,  "If  Genesee  county  deserves  special  credit  for  her  pro- 
ductions in  any  one  department  of  stock  over  others,  it  was  obsen'able  in 
the  sheep-pens.  It  is  but  a  very  few  years  since  the  fine-wooled  varieties 
were  first  introduced  amon^  us,  yet  we  now  find  them  represented  here  in  a 
display   which    would   be   creditable    to   much    older    counties."     That    year 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  309 

33.000  pounds  of  wool  were  sold  at  Flint,  at  twenty-nine  cents  :i  pound. 
On  this  record  an  agricultural  journal  comments,  that  "wool  is  commencing 
to  be  an  article  of  considerable  revenue  to  the  farmers  of  Genesee  county." 
The  following  year,  50,000  pounds  were  sold  in  the  same  market  at  prices 
varying  from  thirty-five  cents  to  fifty-five  cenis  a  pound.  These  amounts 
steadily  increased  with  the  years.  The  price  also  increased  under  the  extra- 
ordinary demand  created  by  the  Civil  War.  At  one  time  it  exceeded  one 
dollar  a  pound. 

These  war  prices  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Genesee  County  Sheep- 
Breeders'  and  Wool-Growers'  Association.  The  meeting  to  organize  was 
held.  May  25,  1865,  at  the  house  of  Jonathan  Dayton  in  Grand  Blanc.  A 
large  numlier  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  county  were  present.  At  the 
same  time,  there  was  considered  the  plan  of  holding  annual  sheep-shearing 
festivals.  The  plan  was  adopted,  and  continued  to  bring,  annually,  pleasure 
and  profit  for  many  years.  At  this  meeting  Henry  W.  Wood  was  chosen 
to  preside;  F.  H.  Rankin  was  secretary.  The  report  on  a  plan  and  constitu- 
tion, made  by  D.  H.  Stone,  E.  G.  Gale,  and  T).  H.  Seeley,  was  adopted.  The 
following  officers  were  chosen:  President,  H.  W.  \Voo<!,  of  Flint  City; 
vice-presidents  Emmaus  Owen,  of  Grand  Blanc,  R.  A.  Carman,  of  Flint,  and 
A.  P.  Gale,  of  Atlas;  secretary,  Francis  H.  Rankin,  of  Fhnt;  treasurer,  D. 
H.  Stone,  of  Grand  Blanc;  auditors,  Charles  Pettis,  of  DavLson,  and  Henry 
Schram,  of  Burton:  executive  committee,  C.  H.  Rockwood,  of  Genesee, 
Jonathan  Dayton,  of  Grand  Blanc,  J.  Is.  Pierson.  of  Atlas,  H.  C.  Van  Tiffin, 
of  Flint,  E.  G.  Gale,  of  Atlas,  I'].  J.  Pierson.  of  Grand  Rlanc,  and  Edmond 
Perry,  of  Davison. 

l'"or  this  meeting  a  sheep-shearing  program  had  l>een  prepared  and  was 
greatly  enjoyed  by  all.  Many  people  were  present  from  neighboring  counties 
and  some  from  the  state  of  New  York.  Among  those  who  took  part  in  the 
shearing  were  josephus  Morgan,  Joseph  Barton,  Benjamin  Newman  and  S- 
Miner,  of  Grand  Blanc;  M.  F.  Dunn  and  Orson  Bingham,  of  Genesee;  Will- 
iam Hawkins,  Alfred  Ewer  and  Edward  Ewer,  of  Flint  City;  J.  C.  Rocka- 
fellow,  of  Davison:  W.  H.  Borden  and  Elien  Higgins,  of  Mundy;  Levi 
Beecher  and  Charles  Beecher.  of  Atlas;  William  Dullam  and  Frank  Cousins, 
of  Flint  township.  Some  one  hundred  and  fifty  sheep  were  in  the  yards,  but 
not  all  were  shorn.  The  judges  were  asJ  follows:  On  bucks,  J.  W.  Begole, 
R.  A.  Carman;  on  ewes.  David  Schram,  C.  C,  Pierson,  Stephen  Jordan;  on 
weighing,  Oren  Stone:  on  shearing,  J.  W.  King,  C.  H.  Rockwood,  A.  S. 
Doneison.     Among  owners  of  sheep  whose  fleeces  were  specially  commented 


dbyGoot^lc 


3IO  GliNKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

on,  were  E,  J.  Pierson,  D.  H.  Stone.  Charles  Bates.  Gurdon  Watrous  and  J.  C. 
Dayton,  of  Grand  Blanc;  H.  W.  Wood,  of  Flint  City;  A.  P.  Gale,  of  Atlas; 
P.  A.  Montgomery,  of  Burton;  Charles  Pettis  of  Davis,  and  C.  H.  Rock- 
wood,  of  Genesee.  A  meeting  was  held  the  following  year  at  Flint.  Of 
this  meeting  Mr.  Rankin,  the  secretary,  published  in  the  next  issue  of  his 
Wolverine  CtHsen  the  following  comment:  "There  was  not  an  inferior 
sheep  ui>on  the  grounds  and,  although  in  older  counties  larger  exhibitions 
may  have  l>een  had,  we  (juestion  if  anywhere  in  this  state  an  equal  humi>er 
of  better  animals  have  ever  been  collected  together.  *  *  *  Xhe  wool  of 
the  fleeces  was  all  of  line  texture,  good  length  of  staple,  pliant  and  soft,  such 
as  any  locality  might  feel  proud  of  producing  and  such  as  would  do  credit 
to  a  display  of  such  animals  (Merinos)  even  in  those  parts  of  Vermont  and 
New  York,  where  their  care  and  cultivation  is  made  a  specialty.  The  flocks 
of  Messrs.  Gale,  of  Atlas,  Dewey,  of  Mount  Morris,  Rising  &  Munger,  of 
Richfield,  .Stone,  of  Grand  Blanc,  Rockwood  and  Beahan.  of  Genesee,  Pettis, 
of  Davison,  Crasper,  of  Burton,  and  others,  are  destined  yet  to  have  a  fame 
in  the  annals  of  sheep-husbandry."     The  following  premiums  were  awarded: 

On  bucks,  three  years  old  and  over,  first  premium  to  E,  B.  Dewey,  of 
Mount  Morris;  second  premium  to  E.  G.  Gale,  of  Atlas. 

On  imcks.  two  years  old,  first  premium  to  P.  A.  Montgomery,  of  Burton; 
second  premium  to  William  Lobban,  of  Davison. 

On  bucks,  one  year  old.  first  premium  to  D.  H.  Stone,  of  Grand  Blanc; 
second  premium  to  Stone  &  Dayton,  of  Grand  Blanc. 

Judges  on  above  classes,  James  Faucett,  of  Bath,  Steul>en  county,  New 
York;  Stephen  Hillman,  of  Pontiac,  Oakland  county,  and  M.  M.  Hillman, 
of  Tyrone.  T-ivingston  county,  Michigan. 

On  ewes  (pens  of  three),  three  years  old  and  over,  first  premium  to 
D.  H.  Stone,  of  Grand  Blanc:  second  premium  to  Rising  &  Munger,  of  Rich- 
field. 

On  ewes  (i>ens  of  three),  two  years  old.  first  premium  to  Rising  & 
Munger;  second  premium  to  E.  G.  Gale,  of  Atlas. 

Judges  on  two  Jast-mentioned  classes,  Henry  Schram.  of  Burton; 
Stephen  Jordan,  of  Atlas,  and  Charles  Bates,  of  Grand  Blanc. 

On  ewes  (l>ens  of  three),  one  year  old,  first  premium  to  D.  H.  Stone; 
second  premium  to  P.  A.  Montgomery,  of  Burton. 

Judges  on  this  class,  S.  Andrews,  of  Howe!! ;  Phineas  Thompson,  of 
Grand  Blanc,  and  M.  M.  Hillman,  of  Tyrone,  Livingston  county. 

The  breeding  of  sheep  stiil  continues  to  be  a  leading  industry  of  Ciene- 
see  county.     The  flocks  of  the  county  have  been  constantly  improved  by  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


;    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


importation  of  approved  breeds  from  the  most  successful  wool-lowing  states 
in  the  country.  The  present  extent  of  the  industry  may  be  judged  by  the 
census  of  igio  which  shows  the  clip  of  that  year  to  be  60,304  fleeces,  valued 
at  $125,476.  Dr.  B.  F.  Miller,  of  Flint,  is  known  throughout  Canada  and  the 
United  States  as  one  of  the  best  breeders  and  judges  of  Oxfords,  his  sheep 
taking  prizes  in  both  countries. 

The  breeding  of  cattle  for  the  market  came  somewhat  later  than  sheep. 
The  cow  was  an  essential  sup|x>rt  of  the  pioneer  househokl.  Milk,  butter 
and  cheese  added  no  small  comfort  to  the  settler's  table.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, the  settlers  began  to  raise  cattle  to  sell,  and  finally  for  the  outside 
market.  The  first  eastern  market  was  Buffalo,  New  York.  The  beginning 
of  this  trade  was  when  a  drove  of  cattle  were  driven  thither  by  Porter 
Hazelton  and  James  Schram,  of  Flint.  The  first  blooded  animals  brought 
into  the  county  were  Durhams  and  Devons;  after  them,  the  Ayrshires.  Jona- 
than Dayton  and  Rowland  B.  Perry  were  among  the  first  owners  of  Dur- 
ham? in  the  county.  The  first  full-blood  Shorthorns  were  brought  into  the 
county  by  David  Halsey,  of  Grand  Blanc.  At  an  early  date  they  were 
brought  into  Fenton  township,  by  Elisha  Larned,  and  into  Burton  by  Perus 
and  Adonijah  Atherton.  These  came  from  the  Birney  herd  at  Bay  City. 
The  first  Herefnrds  were  brought  to  the  county  by  Governor  Henry  H.  Crapo, 
from  Stone's  herd  at  Guelph.  Ontario.  In  later  years  the  Holstein  became  a 
favorite  and  some  of  the  best  herds  in  America  were  owned  in  Genesee  county, 
notahlv  those  of  ex-Congressman  D.  D.  .'\itken,  W.  E.  Fellows  and  J.  Ed. 
Burroughs. 

THE   CRArO    FARM. 

Tlie  farm  of  tlie  late  Governor  Crapo,  in  Gaines  township,  may  be  taken 
as  tyjiical  of  the  best  stock  farms  of  the  county,  indeed  of  the  best  farnis  in 
every  way.  In  its  origin  it  is  remarkable;  it  comprises  over  a  thou- 
sand acres,  of  which  some  six  hundred  acres  were  originally  a  malarious 
swamp  considered  by  many  quite  worthless.  These  were  reclaimed  by  Gov- 
ernor Crapo  and  brought  to  a  state  of  high  productiveness.  These  pro- 
ductive acres  are  commonly  known  as  the  "Crapo  farm,"  a  permanent  monu- 
ment to  Governor  Crapo's  far-seeing  sagacity,  his  practical  agricultural  wis- 
dom and  his  vigorous  business  ability.  Previous  to  the  enactment  of  the 
drainage  laws  now  in  force  he  had  frequently  driven  over  the  rough  cordu- 
rov  road  crossing,  the  "Dead  Man's  Swamp,"  as  it  was  locally  called,  on 
account  of  its  miasma.  The  rank  growth  of  wild  grasses  indicated  a  luxuri- 
ant soil,  which  he  believed  could  be  reclaimed  by  proper  drainage.     He  set 


dbyGoot^lc 


312  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

about  the  task  and  succeeded  in  ha\'ing  an  outlet  opened  foi-  the  swamp 
waters  into  Swartz  creek.  A  main  ditch,  four  feet  in  width  at  the  bottom 
and  ten  feet  at  the  top,  was  made,  nearly  four  miles  in  length.  A  descent 
of  twelve  feet  from  the  marsh  to  the  creek  was  secured,  furnishing  a  reliable 
and  rapid  current.  This  scheme  of  drainage  involved  a  large  outlay,  Ixit 
an  extensive  acreage,  before  absolutely  worthless,  was  reclaimed,  and  other 
lands  which  were  more  or  less  damaged  by  the  dead  water  of  the  marsh 
were  rendered  capable  of  much  higher  cultivation.  During  his  life-time 
Governor  Crapo,  and  his  son,  William  W.  Crapo,  after  him,  gave  special 
attention  to  the  raising  of  pure-blood  Herefords. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Crapo  the  farm  went  to  his  grandson,  also  named 
Henry  H.  Crapo,  of  New  Bedford,  Connecticut.  A  brother,  however,  Stan- 
ford T.  Crapo,  of  Detroit,  whose  tastes  run  more  to  agriculture,  has  had  the 
active  charge  of  the  farm.  The  specialty  of  the  farm  is  Hereford  cattle 
raising.  The  grave  of  David  Fisher,  the  last  chief  of  the  Chippewas,  is  on 
this  place.  The  farm  lalxir  was  done  for  years  almost  entirely  by  Indians  of 
the  Fisher  and  Chatfield  famihes,  allied  by  affinity,  who  moved  in  i8gi  to 
Isabella  county,  where  they  have  lands,  but  who  came  back  lo  the  old  home  in 
summer  and  find  employment  on  the  farm. 

ACRICULTUBAI.    SOCIETY. 

To  encourage  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  county  there  was  early 
formed  the  Genesee  County  Agricultural  Society.  For  this  purpose  a  pre- 
liminary meeting  of  prominent  farmers  of  the  county  was  held  January  12. 
1850,  in  Flint.  At  an  ad'oined  meeting  on  Februar}'  15.  a  constitution  was 
adopted  and  the  following  officers  elected:  President,  Hon.  Jeremiah  R. 
Smith,  of  Grand  Blanc;  vice-presidents,  Elhridge  G.  Gale,  of  Atlas,  Isaac 
Middleworth,  of  .Argentine,  Alfred  Pond,  of  Clayton.  Daniel  Dayton,  of 
Davison,  George  W.  Piper,  of  Forest,  James  Hosie,  of  Flushing,  Benjamin 
Pearson,  of  Flint,  William  Tanner,  of  Fenton,  E.  Fletcher,  of  Gaines,  Daniel 
H.  Seeley,  of  Genesee,  Rowland  B.  Perry,  of  Grand  Blanc,  John  Farquhar- 
son,  of  Montrose,  John  Eiichards.  of  Mmidy,  Garret  Zufelt,  of  Richfield, 
Richard  Buel.  of  Thetford,  and  Daniel  Montague,  of  Vienna;  recording 
secretary,  James  B.  Walker,  of  Flint:  corresponding  secretary,  George  M. 
Dewey,  of  Flint;  treasurer,  Augustus  St,  Amand,  of  Flint;  executive  com- 
mittee, Jonathan  Dayton,  of  Grand  Blanc,  C.  D.  W.  Gibson,  of  Grand  Blanc, 
John  L.  Gage,  of  b^lint.  C.  N.  Beecher,  of  Genesee,  and  Peabody  Pratt,  of 
Flint. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  3I3 

The  object  of  the  society,  as  set  forth  in  the  first  article  of  the  consti- 
tution, was  "to  promote  agriculture,  horticulture  and  mechanical  arts  in 
Genesee  county,  Michigan."  The  first  fair  of  the  society  was  held  in  Flint, 
October  2  and  3  of  that  year,  in  a  grove  near  the  Methodist  church.  In 
1871  the  society  was  legally  incor^jorated,  the  cor^xirators  and  trustees  l>eing 
Elijah  W.  Rising,  Francis  H.  Rankin,  Oren  Stone,  Charles  C.  Beahan, 
Charles  Pettis,  Henry  Schram,  William  J.  Phillips,  Frederick  H.  KelHcutt. 
Jesse  M.  Davis,  Grant  Decker,  Levi  Walker  and  John  L.  Gage, 

The  fair-gromuls  of  the  society  were  from  time  to  time  enlarged 
and  improved.  In  1854,  four  acres  known  as  the  "Stockton  tract,"  then 
recently  added  to  the  village  plat  of  Flint,  were  purchased  of  Messrs.  Fenton 
and  Bishop,  for  alwut  four  hundred  dollars,  on  which  the  annual  fair  was 
held  in  October  of  that  year.  The  proceeds  of  the  fair  in  1855  enabled  the 
society  to  pay  in  full  for  the  grounds.  Two  years  later  this  area  was  nearly 
doubled,  by  the  purchase  of  an  adjoining  tract,  from  Jlon.  Artenias  Thayer, 
at  two  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  an  acre.  Later  a  small  tract  was  added  by 
purchase  from  Colonel  l-'enton.  These  grounds  were  in  the  south  part  of  the 
city  near  the  Thread  river.  In  1870  new  fair-grounds  were  selected.  The 
society  purchased  of  John  Hamilton,  for  ten  thousand  dollars,  tracts  from  the 
McNeil  and  Hamilton  out-lots,  to  which  the  buildings  of  the  society  were 
removed.  The  old  grounds  were  sold  and  platted  as  city  lots.  In  1877  the 
new  grounds  were  enlarged  by  tlie  purchase  of  two  more  lots  from  "John 
Hamilton's  out-lots''  for  five  hundred  dollars. 

Among  the  early  presidents  of  the  society  were  Jeremiah  R.  Smith. 
Benjamin  Pearson,  Grant  Decker,  Jonathan  Dayton  and  Henry  Schram.  For 
many  years  F.  H.  Rankin,  Jr.,  was  the  secretary  and  a  leading  spirit  in  keep- 
ing up  interest  in  the  annual  fair.  With  the  growth  of  the  city  of  Flint,  the 
lands  of  the  societ)'  were  sold  for  platting  purposes,  and  the  society  disbanded. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  X. 

Flint  River  Village,  1837-1855. 

The  progress  of  Flint  in  the  years  1835-37  was  typical  of  the  progress 
in  Genesee  county  and  Michigan  as  a  whole,  a  growth  which  was  Iroth  cause 
and  effect  of  the  general  mania  of  wild  speculation  in  lands  and  village  lots 
to  which  Flint  and  Genesee  county  were  not  exceptions.  The  story  of  wild- 
cat banking  in  the  Michigan  of  this  period  has  been  told  in  the  portion  of 
this  work  devoted  to  the  state's  history;  it  was  under  the  general  banking 
law  of  Marcli,  1837,  that  Genesee  county  began  its  lessons  in  financiering. 
The  county  then  had  a  population  of  less  than  three  thousand  people,  of 
whom  about  three  hiuidred  were  in  the  Flint  settlement  at  the  Grand  Traverse, 
ffere  were  situated  The  Farmers'  Bank  of  Genesee  County  and  The  Genesee 
County  Bank.  Both  of  them  were  tenks  of  issue ;  officially  connected  with 
these  and  other  banks  of  the  county  were  Delos  Davis,  John  Bartow,  Charles 
C.  Hascall,  Roljert  F.  Stage  and  Robert  J.  S.  Page.  The  notes  of  these 
hanks  circulated,  however,  for  but  a  short  time;  all  l>anks  in  the  county  sus- 
j>ended  payment  in  1838.  on  the  decision  of  the  supreme  court  relieving  the 
stockholders  from  any  liability  touching  the  redemption  of  the  bills  of  the 
bank,  Flint  and  Genesee  county  suffered  their  full  share  of  the  hard  times 
which  followed  in  the  wake  of  this  lamentable  experiment  in  every  settle- 
ment in  Michigan. 

A    PERIOD   OF   ADVANCEMENT. 

But  the  vears  following  recovery  from  the  fmancial  panic  of  1837  were 
a  period  of  marked  development  in  the  history  of  l-Tint.  The  lands  especially 
on  its  south  and  southeast  were  being  rapidly  settled  and  pioneers  were  push- 
ing northward  to  the  Flint  river  and  beyond.  The  establishment  of  the  land 
office  at  Flint  greatly  promoted  immigration  to  the  vicinity.  The  beginnings 
of  agriculture  reflected  upon  the  growth  of  trade  in  the  village.  The  sur- 
plus of  wheat  and  corn  demanded  Ijetter  facilities  for  grinding  and  a  market 
nearer  than  Pontiac  or  Detroit,  and  in  1837  a  grist-mill  was  established  in 
Flint  where  the  Saginaw  turnpike  crossed  the  Thread  river.  '  For  some  years 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  3I5 

this  was  the  only  grist-mill  within  reach  of  settlers  for  many  miles  around 
Klint  and  was  of  vast  importance  in  the  development  of  the  region.  A  saw- 
mill had  been  in  operation  since  1830.  A  second  saw-mill  was  built  by  Stage 
and  Wright  in  1836  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Flint  river  near  where  the 
present  Grand  Trunk  depot  stands.  Flint  had  become  a  little  industrial 
center,  destined  to  achieve  a  great  future  in  manufacturing.  The  Hydraulic 
Association,  in  which  Chauncey  S.  Payne  was  senior  partner,  followed  soon 
with  another  mill.  The  Stage  and  Wright  mill  was  sold  about  1840  to 
Messrs.  Stevens  and  Pearson,  and  when  John  Hamilton  l>ecame  sole  pro- 
prietor, he  added,  about  1844,  a  grist-mill ;  in  1852  his  son,  William,  became 
sole  proprietor.  In  1850  the  Flint  mills  sawed  5,200,000  feet  of  tumlwr. 
By  1854  there  were  four  steam  mills  and  three  water  mills,  with  an  aggregate 
capacity  for  cutting  16.800,000  feet  of  lumljer,  which  established  permanently 
Flint'g  reputation  as  a  himliier  market. 

To  facilitate  communication  and  transjHjrtation  to  and  from  Flint,  to 
stimulate  trade,  and  to  increase  immigration  to  the  neighborhood,  increased 
attention  was  given  to  roads  and  railroads.  In  1837  the  Northern  Railroad 
Company  was  chartered.  Although  this  virgin  effort  was  fated  to  end  in 
little  more  than  prehminary  work  for  an  indifferent  wagon-road,  it  raised 
the  hopes  of  pioneers  who  had  already  settled  along  its  route  and  attracted 
the  attention  of  others  who  were  in,  search  of  new  homes.  In  1839  a  stage 
line  connected  Flint  with  the  new  railroad  from  Detroit,  at  Birmingham. 
In  1843  the  railroad  reached  Pontiac.  Stages  were  nm  from  Flint  to  Fentou- 
ville  from  1856  on,  to  connect  with  the  new  railroad  lieing  built  througli 
there  by  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  Railway.  The  next  year  was  organized 
a  Flint  company  looking  to  a  railroad  through  Saginaw  to  the  northwest, 
which  marked  the  Iieginuing  of  the  Flint  &  Pore  Marquette.  Previous  to 
the  completion  of  these  hoi>eful  projects  the  Indian  trails  furnished  primitive 
passageways  through  the  forests,  and  were  soon  improved  to  l>ecome  the 
first  new  roads  over  which  the  pioneers  from  the  outlying  settlement.^ 
journeyed  to  Flint  for  lumber,  fiour  and  other  merchandise.  A  plank  road 
was  built  south  through  Grand  Blanc  to  connect  with  the  northern  terminus 
of  the  Holly,  Wayne  &  Monroe  railroad,  at  Holly.  Another  was  laid  to 
Fenton  to  connect  with  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railroad.  A  third  wa,s 
built  to  Saginaw.  The  ri\-er  also  furnished  an  outlet  to  some  degree.  In  a 
local  paper  of  March  27,  1852,  ai^ears  the  following  item: 

"Port  of  Fhnt- — Arrivals  and  Departures. 

Departed,  scow  'Kate  Hayes',  Captain  Charles  Mather." 


dbyGoot^lc 


3Il5  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

THF   FIRST  BRICK   BUILDING. 

It  was  in  this  period  that  the  first  brick  building  was  erected  in  Fhiit. 
In  1844.  Alexander  Ward,  a  brick  maker,  came  to  Flint,  His  operations 
and  those  of  his  sons  and  others  associated  with  them  have  made  a  continuous 
record  in  that  industry  down  to  the  present  time.  John  Zimmerman  was 
one  of  Ward's  apprentices,  who  at  the  start  was  just  a  German  lad,  unable 
to  si>eak  a  word  of  English.  They  first  used  clay  along  the  borders  of 
Thread  creek  at  the  head  of  Church  street,  but  later  worked  over  many 
blocks  on  Ijoth  sides  of  Saginaw-  street,  from  Eighth  street  south.  This 
industry  has  played  a  very  significant  part  in  the  history  of  Flint.  It  has 
for  its  monument  many  large  stores,  schools,  churches,  homes  and  factories. 
The  story  of  the  two  first  brick  buildings  for  business  in  THint  has  been  well 
told  by  Mr.  M.  S.  Flmore : 

"With  one's  municipal  pride  stimulated  anew  almost  any  day  when  one 
walks  abroad  in  our  fair  city,  to  discover  new  structures  not  before  seen, 
lofty,  imposing,  picturesque  or  pretentious,  the  homes  of  vast  enterprises, 
or  the  dwellings  of  contented  citizens,  one  who  has  noted  through  develop- 
ing decades  this  evolution  in  architecture  is  apt  to  rememlier  the  distant  days 
when  brick  and  stone  were  less  in  evidence  in  building,  and  but  little  appeal 
was  made  to  the  aesthetic  fancy  of  the  beholder.  Nor  does  it  seem  so  long 
ago  that  this  condition  obtained  in  the  future  Vehicle  City. 

"There  seems  to  !«  a  diversity  of  opinion  regarding  the  priority  of  two 
brick  buildings,  each  thought  by  some  to  have  been  the  first  structure  of 
brick  for  business  purposes  in  the  place — the  Cumings  or  Crapo  store,  on 
north  Saginaw  street,  and  the  building  once  known  as  the  Hazelton  store,  on 
south  Saginaw  street,  west  side  near  First  street.  This  building,  now  three 
stories  high,  and  occupied  by  Campbell  &  Ingersoll,  music  dealers,  and  George 
E.  Childs,  jeweler,  was  originally  built  with  steep  gable  roofs,  pitching  to 
front  and  rear,  alrove  a  second  story  and  big  attic.  1  remember  it  well, 
although  both  this  and  the  Cumings  buildings  were  built  before  I  came  to 
Fhnt.  Various  authorities  agree  that  the  'Scotch  store'  of  Cumings  &  Cur- 
ren  was  built  in  1851-2,  while  I  have  l>een  informed  by  an  old  citizen  familiar 
with  the  event,  Hon.  Jerome  Eddy,  that  the  Hazelton  stores  were  built  in 
1854;  the  building  was  thought  to  be  quite  a  marvel  in  architecture.  It  has 
been  said  that  George  Hazelton  and  George  W.  Hill  joined  in  its  con.struc- 
tion :  but  this  I  do  not  find  substantiated.  The  stores  were  originally  occu- 
pied by  the  Flazelton  brothers;  the  south  store  for  dry-goods,  by  George; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  317 

the  north  store  )>y  Homer  and  Porter,  with  hardware.  George  W,  Hill 
afterward  occupied  the  stores  with  furniture  and  undertakers'  wares  for 
many  years,  l>efore  Ijeing  improved  by  an  additional  story  and  modern  roof. 

"The  corner,  or  north  part  of  the  'Scotch  store,'  as  it  was  known,  was 
occupied  by  Cumings  &  Curren  as  a  general  store  in  the  fifties;  and  some- 
one else,  probably  Jerome  Kddy,  was  selling  goods  in  the  south  half  of  the 
building. 

"It  should  not  l)e  forgotten  that,  at  the  time  of  which  1  write,  the  north 
side  of  the  river  was  the  popular  side,  and  was  confidently  ex[>ected  to  remain 
the  princi]>al  section  for  business  in  the  hopeful  hamlet  and  future  city.  Real 
estate  controversies,  familiar  to  the  citizens  of  that  time  who  remain,  were 
regarded  the  unhappy  and  effectual  means  of  driving  business  and  building 
to  the  south  side.  This  will  account  for  the  existence,  during  the  earliest 
history  of  the  town,  of  thriving  shops  on  the  north  side,  when  D.  S.  Fox. 
\V.  O'Donoghue,  the  Deweys,  Witherbee,  Jerome  Eddy,  William  Stevenson, 
Cumings  &  Cnrren,  O.  F.  I'orsyth,  and  others,  as  also  for  two  taverns, 
believed  to  have  selected  the  l>est  locations  in  the  town  for  future  success  and 
prosperity. 

"The  'Scotch  store'  was  sold  to  Hon,  H,  H.  Crapo,  proprietor  of  the 
Crapo  lumber  mills  and  business,  and  was  for  many  years  conducted  in  its 
interest  and  for  its  benefit. 

"Capt  Damon  Stewart,  too  well  known  as  a  native  to  require  an  intro- 
duction, talked  with  me  entertainingly  of  this  old  building  when  asked  for 
data,  saying  'I  ought  to  know,  for  I  helped  to  carry  the  brick,'  and  he  seems 
to  have  been  generally  useful  for  so  young  a  lad.  An  experience  of  the 
liuilder  that  could  scarcely  Ije  had  in  this  day.  was  to  discover,  when  ready 
for  it,  that  he  could  find  no  timber  long  enough  for  so  big  a  roof,  and  the 
completion  of  the  buikling  as  planned  was  achieved  only  after  men  had  gone 
into  the  woods,  far  up  the  river.  Young  Stewart  ('Damon'  will  make  his 
recognition  easy)  was  one  of  the  'gang'  on  a  job  that  proved  'strenuous.' 
The  time  was  in  January  and  the  water  was  low  in  the  streams,  so  that  often 
dredging  had  to  Ije  resorted  to,  to  float  the  logs  to  deeper  water.  Much  of 
this  cold  work  was  done  while  wading:  yet  it  was  more  comfortable,  he 
declared,  than  working  in  the  cold  on  land. 

"Captain  Stewart  tells  of  an  incident  which  occurred  while  the  walls 
were  Ijeing  built,  wherein  one  of  the  bricklayers,  an  unpopular  fellow,  was 
one  day  late,  and  one  of  the  men  seeing  him  coming,  mischievously  or 
viciously  threw  the  mason's  trowel  into  the  space  between  the  outer  and  inner 
lavers  of  brick,  emptying  a  full  trowel  of  mortar  on  the  tool ;  and,  added 


dbyGoot^lc 


3l8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Captain  Stewart,  'today  it  might  be  found  in  the  south  wall,  near  the  three 
windows,  which  were  not  there  at  that  time.'  Interest  has  been  added  to  the 
foregoing  story  by  a  fortunate  statement  of  George  C.  Willson,  that  this 
trowel  was  found  in  the  wall,  during  recent  changes  in  the  building,  as  Mr. 
Stewart  predicted,  and,  I  believe,  is  now  in  Mr.  Willson's  possession.  (\ 
Free  and  Accepted  Mason  might  fear  that  the  symbolical  uses  of  the  trowel 
had  hardly  been  exeniphfied  in  this  incident.) 

"But  I  think  the  strangest  story  in  connection  with  the  Cumings-Crapo 
store  comes  from  George  (".  Willson,  under  whose  management  the  building 
is,  and  is  yet  to  be  told.  It  now  appears  that  during  all  this  half-centnry 
of  momentous  years,  the  prosaic  and  plain  structure  we  have  thought  of,  and 
spoken  of,  as  the  'Scotch  store'  or  the  'Craixi  store,'  had  secreted  from  the 
ken  of  mortals,  a  romance.  While  men  did  come  and  men  did  go,  during 
the  years  when  lovers  have  had  time  to  be  born,  to  have  found  their  ailinity, 
wed,  divorced,  and  died;  when  passers-by  have  daily  looked  upon  the  severe 
and  angular  as[>ect  of  this  famihar  pile;  this  act  in  an  unpubhshed  drama 
was  waiting  for  its  recall.  Hidden,  irrecoverably,  it  was  believed,  in  the 
fastnesses  of  a  rude  and  narrow  sepulchre,  was  found  a  small  box  in  the 
wall,  containing  numerous  letters,  written  in  a  style  of  chirography  that  indi- 
cates the  writer  to  ha\'e  been  an  accomplished  lady;  the  composition  of  the 
letters  in  language  one  might  expect  from  the  pen  of  a  school  teacher,  which 
she  evidently  was.  These  epistles  tell  us  only  one  side  of  a  story,  the  fair 
writer  often  complaining  that  she  had  received  no  replies  to  her  letters. 
They  were  written  from  HamiMon,  Michigan,  and  Mount  Morris,  New  York, 
under  date  of  1849  and  1850  to  James  Curren,  who  was  at  that  time  asso- 
ciated with  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Cumings,  in  the  mercantile  business  in 
Flint.  Cumings  &  Curren  were  then  erecting  the  brick  building  at  the  comer 
of  North  Saginaw^  street  and  Second  avenue,  which  was  for  years  familiarly 
known  as  the  Crapo  Variety  Store,  and  later  occupied  as  a  'general  store' 
by  Pomeroy  Brothers.  While  remodeling  the  building  in  the  fall  of  1898 
for  the  manufacturing  plant  of  the  Flint  Gear  and  Top  Company,  the  letters 
above  referred  to  were  found  in  the  west  wall,  in  a  round  wooden  box, 
together  with  a  lock  of  hair,  and  a  card  on  which  two  hands  were  clasped, 
entwined  with  ribbons  with  the  inscription:  "True  Friendship,"  and  date 
June  10,  1849.  On  placing  these  letters  Ijetween  walls  of  brick  and  mortar, 
Mr.  Curren  undoubtedly  sought  to  hide  forever  all  traces  of  a  sweeter  senti- 
ment which  he  wished  to  banish  from  his  future  life.  Shortly  afterward  he 
sailed  for  Australia,  where,  we  understand,  he  met  with  reverses,  returning 
home  to  die.     George  Willson  had  the  peculiar  pleasure,  during  the  fall  oi 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  319 

1905,  of  delivering  the  box  with  letters  enclosed  to  the  original  writer,  a 
resident  of  Flint,  and  an  interesting  invalid  .of  advanced  years.  These  inci- 
dents invest  the  ancient  Cumings-Crapo-Durant  &  Dort  buildings  with  more 
than  a  cold  commercial  atmosphere  for  future  dwellers  of  the  north  side 
when  passing  by  it. 

"The  patronage  enjoyed  by  these  first  stores  in  Flint  was  not  limited 
to  the  radius  of  a  few  miles,  between  county  towns,  or  less,  but  trade  invited 
the  sparse  population  from  long  distances  every  way,  when  days  were  required 
to  come  and  return.  Produce,  furs,  butter  and  eggs,  maple  sugar  and  berries 
were  brought  to  exchange  for  goods,  and  the  stores  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river  did  a  thriving  business. 

"The  Brent  family,  whose  great  farm  was  located  three  or  four  miles 
below  Flushing,  were  quite  distinguished  for  their  wealth  and  position.  It 
is  said  that  they  and  their  neighbors  were  accustomed  to  come  to  'the  Flint' 
by  boat  on  Flint  river,  projwlled  by  Indians,  to  exchange  produce,  furs  anti 
Spanish  dollars  for  goods,  which  being  loaded  into  their  boats,  they  could 
return  to  their  homes  with  less  effort,  by  the  helpful  course  of  the  current. 
It  is  likewise  currently  believed  that  these  native  boatmen  loaded  themselves 
with  fire-water,  sometimes,  imbibing  with  the  fluid  a  sportive  disposition  to 
tint  the  little  town  a  warm  Indian  red;  but  they  were  usually  peaceable. 
sturdv  anfl  skillful  men  with  oar  or  paddle." 

i:arly  industries. 

Alxnit  this  time  ?M:gan  the  manufacture  of  hoots  and  shoes  in  Flint. 
Reuben  McCreery,  Augustus  Knight,  Abram  Barker,  Royal  C.  Ripley,  John 
Ouigley  and  John  Delbridge  were  the  most  prominent  men  early  in  this 
industry.  The  needs  of  the'  pioneer  settlers  were  cared  for  in  a  different 
manner  then  than  are  the  needs  of  our  citizens  today.  A  recent  writer 
remarks ; 

"In  1840  and  1850  shoe  stores  did  not  keep  a  record  of  the  sizes  of 
their  customers'  feet  and  shoe  them  on  a  telephone  order  by  a  uniformed 
dehvery  service.  In  those  days  lx)0ts  and  shoes  were  not  articles  of  com- 
merce, hut  of  manufacture,  and  the  stores  could  not  supply  the  call  for  foot- 
wear. The  customer  was  sent  to  the  neighlx>ring  shoe  shop  to  leave  an  order 
and  a  measure.  For  men,  the  product  would  be  cowhide  or  calfskin  boots, 
and  for  women,  bootees.  As  the  population  of  the  village  and  county  grew, 
so  grew  the  boot  factories  until  at  the  height  of  the  industry  this  village  had 
five  or  six  shops,  not  then  dignified  by  the  name  of  factories,  and  from  fifty 


dbyGoot^lc 


320  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

to  seventy-five  employees  steadily  occupied  in  the  making  of  boots  and  shoes 
to  measure.  Akin  to  this  production  was  that  of  the  leather  from  which  the 
boots  were  made,  and,  while  not  a  Flint  industry,  it  was  installed  by  Flint 
capital  and  directed  by  Flint  energy.  The  greater  part  of  the  leather  for  all 
the  boot  work  of  this  section  was  made  by  Barker  &  Ripley  in  a  tannery 
which  they  operated  at  Vassar,  in  the  heart  of  the  hemlock  territory.  Their 
product  was  largely  cowhide  and  calfskin  for  the  factory  purpose,  but  there 
was  a  surplus  over  local  demands  left  in  the  rough  and  shipped  East  from 
Flint  after  there  were  shipping  facilities.  This  industry  contributed  to  Flint's 
material  prosperity  and  figured  in  the  volume  of  its  output." 

The  Genesee  iron  works  were  built  in  1847,  '^y  William  Cough,  and 
among  their  early  products  was  the  mowing  machine.  They  made  agricul- 
tural implements  of  a  primitive  kind  and  cared  for  such  machine  work  as 
the  few  mills  then  in  operation  required.  In  1848  a  steam  engine  was  started 
in  this  plant:  prior  to  this  time  there  was  only  one  steam  engine  in  this 
region,  which  ran  a  pail  and  tub  factory  operated  by  Elias  Williams  near  the 
river  bank  about  where  the  Crapo  saw-mill  was  afterwards  located.  These 
works  were  allied  to  the  lumljering  activities  of  Flint  and  played  a  vastly 
important  part  in  pioneer  development.  With  them  may  Ije  classed  another 
shop,  that  of  A.  Culver.  Rev.  John  McAlester's  wagon-shop  began  its 
valuable  service  at  an  early  day.  Over  the  Genesee  Iron  works,  Merriman 
&  Abernathy  started  in  1S46  a  pioneer  effort  in  the  nature  of  caqjenter  shop 
work.  This  was  a  planing-mill  to  dress  lumljer  and  to  make  sash,  doors  and 
blinds,  turning,  cabinet  work,  frames  and  scroll  work.  Thomas  Newell 
later  became  interested  in  this  venture.  Mr,  Newel!  was  for  many  years  a 
partner  of  S.  C.  Randall,  founder  of  the  Randall  Lumber  and  Coal  Company, 
which  is  the  successor  of  this  pioneer  industry. 

Also  auxiliary  to  the  lumiwring  industry  was  the  manufacture  of  [jotash 
and  pearl.  The  asheries  in  the  village  shipped  great  quantities  to  the  East. 
The  financial  returns  of  this  industry  were  generous  and  contributed  to  the 
capital  that  was  rapidly  starting  Flint  on  its  prosperous  career. 

In  Octolier,  1835,  J.  F.  Alexander  established  a  wool-carding  mill  on 
the  Thread  river.  Ten  years  later  John  C.  Griswold  engaged  in  the  .same 
business  at  the  Thread  mills.  For  years  these  mills  carded  all  the  wool  of 
this  section  and  the  product  was  taken  home  to  the  women,  who  spun  it  into 
yarn  and  wove  it  into  the  native  homespun  of  the  pioneers.  Mr.  Alexander 
advertised  his  carding  mills  in  verse,  as  follows : 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  32I 

"Wool-carding  done  at  the  Alexander  carding-machine ; 
All  being  new,  nothing  said  about  it  being  washed  clean. 
The  women's  instructions  are,  'Tell  Mr.  Alexander,  please. 
Make  me  as  good  rolls  as  yon  can;  it  will  my  mind  ease.' 

"I  will,  if  you  grease  the  wool  so  and  so,  and  be  sure 
Then  your  rolls  shall  be  nice,  can't  lje  beat,  nothing  truer; 
And  your  mind  will  be  at  rest  when  yon  see  that  they  are 
Made  at  the  Carding-Mills,  No.  i,  of  J.  F.  Alexander." 

THE    OLD   BRTCK    COURT    HOUSE. 

One  of  the  earliest  brick  buildings  erected  in  Flint  village  at  this  time 
was  the  new  court  house.  At  a  meeting  of  the  supervisors  in  1S47  a  move- 
ment was  begun  for  a  fire-proof  building;  no  results  were  obtained  until 
1851,  when  the  board  appointed  Julian  Bishop,  of  Grand  Blanc,  D.  N.  Mon- 
tague, of  Vienna,  and  William  Patterson,  of  Flint,  as  a  building  cominittee 
"to  receive  proposals,  and  cause  to  be  erected  a  substantia!  fire-proof  county 
btiilding,"  for  offices  for  the  county  clerk,  treasurer,  register  of  deeds  and 
judge  of  probate.  The  building  was  to  be  erected  on  the  court  house  square 
at  an  expense  of  not  more  than  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  It  was 
finished  the  same  year  by  Enos  and  Reuben  Goodrich  at  a  cost  of  about  nine 
hundred  dollars. 

EARLY  LAWYERS. 

Among  the  Flint  lawyers  who  probably  tried  cases  in  this  building  was 
James  Birdsall,  who  came  to  the  village  in  1839.  He  was  a  native  of  Chen- 
ango county.  New  York,  where  he  had  been  a  banker,  politician,  extensive 
lumberman  on  the  Susquehanna  river,  president  of  the  Norwich  bank,  and  a 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  Congress;  he  was  seventy-three  years  old  at 
the  time  of  his  death  in  Flint  in  1856.  Artemas  Thayer  was  admitted  to 
tlie  bar  in  Flint  in  the  same  year  Mr.  Birdsall  came;  he  later  became  an 
extensive  dealer  in  real  estate.  Alexander  P.  Davis,  a  native  of  Cayuga 
countv,  New  York,  removed  to  Flint  in  1843  from  Livingston  county,  Mich- 
igan, and  for  nearly  thirty  years  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  in 
the  county;  he  n^as  elected  to  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney,  state  senator 
and  other  positions  of  honor.  Levi  Walker,  a  native  of  Washington  county. 
New  York,  came  to  Flint  in  1847.  He  held  many  positions  of  high  honor 
(21) 


dbyGoot^lc 


322  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

and  rendered  signal  ser\'iccs  to  his  fellownien.  Of  him  it  has  been  said. 
"As  a  lawyer,  he  stood  in  manjr  respects  at  the  head  of  his  profession.  Hi.? 
opinion  upon  any  law  point  was  considered  by  his  professional  brethren  as 
ahnost  conclusive."  At  the  time  of  his  death,  while  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  the  sj^x^aker  of  the  house  said,  "It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Walker  the  house  has  lost  one  of  its  best  and  ablest 
members.  Shrinking  from  no  la!x»r,  with  watchful  attention  to  every  detail, 
he  was  never  satisfied  until  he  had  thoroughly  mastered  his  subject.  Then, 
with  clearness  of  argument  and  aptness  of  illustration  he  presented  his  views, 
almost  invariably  to  receive  the  sanction  and  approval  of  his  associates." 


The  medical  profession  in  Flint  village  was  represented  by  several  physi- 
cians of  considerable  eminence.  Dr.  Robert  D.  Lamond,  a  graduate  of  the 
medical  school  at  Castleton,  V'ermont,  and  also  of  the  Fairfield  Medical 
College,  in  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  came  to  Flint  alxjut  1838  from 
Pontiac,  where  he  had  commenced  practice  soon  after  1830.  He  repre- 
sented Genesee  counly  in  the  Legislature  in  1844.  and  continued  to  reside  in 
Flint  until  his  death  in  1871.  Before  1840  Dr.  Elijah  Drake  settled  in  Flint. 
practicing  here  until  his  death  in  1875.  In  1840  came  Dr.  George  W.  Fish. 
Doctor  Fish  removed  to  Jackson  in  1848,  holding  subsequently  many  high 
positions  of  trust  which  kept  him  from  Flint,  to  which  he  did  not  return 
until  late  in  life.  Dr.  Daniel  Clarke,  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  removed  from 
Grand  Blanc  to  Flint  in  1844,  where  he  continued  to  practice  for  the  greater 
portion  of  his  life.  In  1845  ^^-  ^^  I-^skie  Miller  came  to  Flint  from  Lai>eer, 
but  after  seven  years  remo\'ed  to  Chicago  and  was  subsequently  appointed 
professor  of  obstetrics  in  Rush  Medical  College.  In  1848,  Dr.  John  Willet, 
a  graduate  of  Geneva  (New  York)  Medical  College,  began  his  practice  in 
Flint,  where  he  continued  until  appointed  as  surgeon  in  the  army  in  1862, 
On  his  return  he  entered  the  drug  business,  and  later  was  elected  to  the  state 
Legislature. 

In  the  winter  of  i8.ii-i84>  there  was  organized  at  Flint  the  Genesee 
County  Medical  Society,  the  first  organization  of  the  kind  in  the  county.  Of 
this  society  the  following  mention  was  made  in  an  address  by  Dr.  G.  W. 
F'ish  in  1876; 

"About  thirty-five  years  ago.  four  physicians  met  in  an  office  in  the 
Uttle  village  of  Flint,  and,  after  much  deliljeration  and  consultation,  organ- 
ized the  first  medical  society  ever  formed  in  this  part  of  the  state.     They 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENF.SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  323 

were  all  young  men,  but  recently  from  the  schools,  natives  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  and  had  all  a  common  alnui  maier— the  old  Fairfield  Medical 
College,  in  Herkimer  county.  New  York.  Of  those  who  that  day  attached 
their  signatures  to  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  first  Genesee  County 
Medical  Society,  one.  Dr.  John  A.  Hoyes,  has  been  dead  almost  a  score  of 
years;  another,  Dr.  Robert  D.  Lamond,  died  some  five  years  since;  the  third, 
Dr,  John  W.  King,  lies  in  his  coflin  and  will  soon  be  ]>orne  by  ns  to  his  last 
resting-place,  and  the  fourth  is  he  who  now  addresses  you." 

In  a  letter  written  later  by  Doctor  Fish  he  sjjeaks  of  this  old  society  as 
follows;  "We  sent  to  I!)etroit  and  to  Pontiac  for  copies  of  the  constitution 
and  by-laws  of  their  respective  medical  societies,  and  framed  one  suited  to 
our  wishes.  My  impression  is  that  Doctor  Hoyes  was  the  first  president 
and  Dr.  I,amond,  secretary.  I  also  think  that  the  first  annual  meeting  was 
held  at  Flint,  the  following  June,  at  which  meeting  Doctors  Steere  and 
Gallup,  of  Fentonville,  and  Doctor  Baldwin,  of  Atlas,  became  members,  and 
perhaps  Doctor  Miller,  of  Flushing,  may  have  joined  at  that  time,  or  soon 
after.  I  may  Ix:  mistaken  one  year  in  the  date  of  the  organization,  but  I 
think  I  am  right.  The  society  remained  in  active  operation  for  many  years, 
until  I  went  south.  J  Ijelieve  ail  the  regular  bred  physicians  who  came  into 
the  county  became  members  of  the  society,  l^e.'^ides  some  from  Lapeer,  Shia- 
wassee and  Saginaw  coimties.'' 

VILLAGE    SCHOOLS. 

The  schools  of  Flint  during  the  period  of  village  growth  made  a  notable 
advance,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  sketch; 

"The  first  ofiicial  report  of  the  school  inspectors  was  made  Octoljer  20, 
1838;  from  which  report  we  learn  that  the  whole  number  {>f  scholars  attend- 
ing was  60,  of  whom,  39  were  between  the  ages  of  five  and  seventeen  years ; 
the  nunil>er  under  five  and  over  seventeen  being  21.  Duration  of  school,  six 
months.  Amount  raised  by  tax  was  $586,  of  which  $499  was  for  building  a 
schoolhouse.  and  $87  for  the  support  of  schools.  This  house  must  have  been 
the  frame  building  which  formerly  stood  at  the  comer  of  Clifford  and  First 
streets,  on. the  site  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Browning's  hotise.  Although  the 
public  school  was  thus  legally  organized,  there  were  man)-  and  formidable 
obstacles  to  its  success.  Hard  times  soon  came  on  and  money  was  scarce, 
and  the  teachers  often  doubly  earned,  by  delays  and  duns,  the  pittance  which 
they  received.  But  the  greatest  obstacle  was  want  of  faith  in  the  free- 
school  system,  and  hence  the  attempt  to  run  the  mongrel  system  hampered 


dbyGoot^lc 


324  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

with  rate-bills,  which  were  often  very  onerous,  especiaUy  in  the  primary 
department,  offering  a  temptation  to  parents  with  large  families  of  small 
children  to  tolerate,  if  not  encourage,  absence  from  school;  and  as  each 
absence  increased  the  burden  on  those  remaining,  the  evil  grew  in  a  con- 
stantly increasing  ratio,  until  sometiines  the  school  was  brought  to  a  prema- 
ture close.  After  struggling  thus  for  several  years  without  recognizing  the 
real  impediment  in  the  way,  the  friends  of  education  made  a  rally  on  the 
union-school  system  as  a  sovereign  remedy  for  all  scholastic  ills.  That  por- 
tion of  the  district  lying  north  of  Flint  river  having  been  set  off  as  a  separate 
district,  those  remaining  purchased  an  entire  block  and  proceeded  to  erect 
a  house  in  the  second  ward.  But  here,  at  the  outset,  a  most  egregious  and 
irreparable  blunder  was  perpetrated.  The  lot  at  that  time  was  covered  with 
a  fine  growth  of  young  oaks,  which  were  most  carefully  exterminated; 
whereas,  had  they  been  left  to  grow,  they  would  by  this  time  have  formed  one 
of  the  finest  groves  in  the  county.  This  house,  which  was  a  two-story  wooden 
building,  surmounted  by  a  cupola  not  remarkable  for  its  grace  or  artistic 
effect,  contained  four  commodious  rooms.  It  did  good  service  for  many 
years, 

"On  the  completion  of  the  house  a  union  school  was  inaugurated  in  the 
fall  of  1846,  under  charge  of  N.  W.  Butts,  with  an  ample  corps  of  teachers. 
Years  passed  on  and  many  a  faithful  teacher  did  valiant  service,  though  often 
with  a  depressing  consciousness  of  Egyptian  taskwork  to  make  scholars  of 
pupils  who  attended  at  random.  As  an  illustration  of  the  extent  of  this  evil 
of  irregular  attendance,  we  cite  a  report  for  the  term  ending  August,  1853, 
as  follows:  Whole  number  enrolled,  64;  average  attendance,  18;  average 
absences,  46.  The  total  result,  under  this  incubus  of  the  rate-bill,  was  not 
very  satisfactory;  the  panacea  had  failed  and  a  new  remedy  must  Ije  tried. 

"Accordingly,  we  find  that  at  the  annual  school-meeting  held  in  1855 
the  following  resolutions  were  adopted,  prefaced  with  a  preamble,  setting 
forth  that  the  experience  of  ten  years  had  demonstrated  the  failure  of  the 
union-school  system  to  give  any  adequate  return  for  the  expense  incurred, 
while  it  completely  excluded  four-fifths  of  the  children  of  the  district  from 
any  participation  in  its  questionable  benefits ;  and  believing  that  the  great 
interests  of  education  would  be  advanced,  the  burden  of  taxation  diminished, 
and  the  harmony  of  the  second  and  third  wards  improved  by  a  frank  and 
open  abandonment  of  the  present  system,  and  the  division  of  the  district; 
therefore, 

"  'Resolved,  that  the  union  system  as  adopted,  so  far  as  it  goes  to  estab- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  325 

lish  the  academic  department  in  said  school,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
abandoned. 

"  'Resolved,  that  we  have  ten  months  of  school  the  coming  year  in  this 
house.  That  we  have  one  male  and  two  female  teacliers  qualified  to  teach 
the  primary  and  English  branches  of  education. 

"  'Resolved,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  the  great  interest  of 
education  in  our  city  would  be  advanced  by  a  division  of  Union  school  district 
No.  I,  so  that  Saginaw  street  should  be  the  dividing  line.' 

"In  accordance  with  this  expression  of  public  sentiment,  upon  petition 
of  the  parties  interested,  the  division  was  made  by  the  school  inspectors, 
and  district  No,  3,  embracing  the  then  third  ward,  was  formed.  But,  the 
disintegration  having  commenced,  another  division  was  called  for  and  made, 
forming  district  No.  4,  of  that  portion  of  the  third  ward  lying  north  of 
Court  street. 

"The  old  District,  No.  i  was  now  left  in  an  anomalous  position,  for,  as 
jnight  have  been  expected,  with  the  adoption  of  the  foregoing  resolutions 
no  provision  was  made  for  sustaining  a  public  school,  the  customary  asses.'i- 
nient  of  one  dollar  per  scholar  being  ignored,  with  the  following  curious 
results;  From  the  report  of  1855-56  it  appears  that  the  whole  amount  of 
teachers'  wages  was  $1,235,  of  which  the  amount  assessed  on  rate-bills 
($646.47)  was  more  than  one-half,  while  the  moiety  of  less  than  one-fifth 
($214.82)  was  derived  from  the  primary-school  fund  and  mill-tax,  and 
$343.52,  more  than  one-fourth,  was  received  from  non-residents,  a  propor- 
tion unparalleled  in  the  history  of  our  schools,  and  an  evidence  of  the  [wpu- 
larity  of  the  teacher  then  in  charge.  Prof.  M.  B.  Beals. 

"This  was  certainly  bringing  the  free  public  school  to  its  lowest  terms, 
and  a  continuance  of  the  same  must  soon  have  led  to  the  total  abandonment 
of  the  whole  system.  But  the  people  were  not  ready  for  such  a  catastrophe 
and  ever  after,  at  the  annual  meetings,  voted  as  liberally  as  the  law  allowed 
for  the  support  of  schools,  and  would  gladly  have  anticipated,  by  a  decade, 
that  relea.l:e  from  the  thraldom  of  rate-bills  which  the  legislature  ultimately 
gave." 

THE  FIRST  NEWSPAPER. 

These  early  years  of  Flint  under  statehood  were  signalized  especially 
by  the  growth  of  the  press.  All  of  the  newspapers  in  Grenesee  county  up 
to  1854  were  pubhshed  in  Flint.  The  first  was  published  as  early  as  January, 
1839.  It  was  a  democratic  sheet  known  as  The  Flint  River  Gazette,  pub- 
lished by  Joseph  K.  Averill.     The  press,  fixtures  and  type  with  which  it  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


326  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Started  had  previously  been  in  use  in  the  state  of  Xew  York,  and  the  extent 
of  the  equipment  may  be  judged  from  the  purchase  price  paid  by  Mr.  Averill, 
namely,  one  thousand  ninety-three  dollars  and  ninety-one  cents.  Its  publica- 
tion proved    unsuccessful  and  in  1841  it  ceased  to  exist. 

The  following  story  about  this  paper  is  told  by  Mr.  W.  R.  Bates  :  When 
the  population  of  the  embryo  city  of  l-'lint  was  well  down  in  the  hundreds, 
the  community  was  somewhat  startled  by  the  appearance  of  a  boy  on  the 
streets  of  the  hamlet  offering  for  sale  a  paper.  The  boy's  name  was  Edward 
Todd  and  the  name  of  paper  was  the  Whip  Lash.  Mr.  Todd  informs  nie  that 
nearly  everyone  bought  a  copy  because,  as  he  naively  added,  'nearly  everybod}' 
was  mentioned  in  its  columns.'  He  says  that  for  many  years  no  one  knew 
who  was  responsible  for  it,  but  that  William  P.  Crandall  and  Cornelius  Roose- 
velt secured  his  services  to  sell  it  on  the  streets  and  that  they  were  its  editors. 
This  gossiping  sheet  was  printed  on  the  hand  press  of  the  first  paper  pub- 
lished at  Flint — The  Flint  River  Gasette — and  nearly  every  item  had  its  sting. 
So  it  seems  that  the  modern  Town  Topics  of  New  York  City  had  its  proto- 
type in  the  forests  on  the  banks  of  the  Flint  way  back  in  the  thirties." 

The  second  newspaper  in  the  county  was  The  Northern  Advocate,  Whig 
in  politics,  published  in  1840  by  William  Perry  Joslyn;  but  the  following  year 
it  was  removed  to  Pontiac.  In  June,  1843,  appeared  the  first  number  of 
The  Genesee  County  Democrat,  published  by  William  B.  Sherwood,  who 
before  had  unsuccessfully  published  the  Shiawassee  Democrat  and  Clinton 
Express,  at  Corunna  in  Shiawassee  county;  he  was  not  more  successful 
at  Flint.  The  Genesee  RepnhUcan,  a  democratic  paper,  first  appeared  in 
April,  1845.  It  was  understood  to  lie  owned  by  Gen.  Charles  C.  Hascall. 
In  the  same  year  appeared  The  Flint  Republican,  published  by  Daniel  S. 
Merritt.  It  was  this  paper  which,  iu  1848,  came  under  the  proprietorship 
of  Royal  W.  Jenny,  who  had  been  connected  with  it  at  least  since  1840. 
In  1853  he  ceased  to  publish  the  Republican  and  immediately  commenced 
the  publication  of  the  Genesee  Democrat,  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the 
early  newspapers.  Two  short-lived  papers.  The  Western  Citisen  and  The 
Genesee  Whig,  the  first  owned  by  O.  S.  Carter,  the  second  by  Francis  H. 
Rankin,  were  published  about  1850.  In  that  year  Mr.  Rankin  founded 
what  proved  to  be  a  worthy  rival  of  the  Genesee  Democrat,  namely  The 
Genesee  Whig,  whose  name  after  the  dissolution  of  the  Whig  party  was 
changed  first  to  The  Wolverine  Citizen  and  Genesee  Whig  and  finally  to 
The  Wolverine  Citizen.  From  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party 
at  Jackson  in  1854  this  paper  was  a  distinctively  Republican  paper  of  the 
"stalwart"  type.      Its  editor  was  actively  instrumental  in   reorganizing  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GF.NKSEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  ■i,^-] 

anti-slavery  elements  of  the  old  Whig  and   Democratic   parties  of  Genesee 
county. 

EARLY  RELIGIOUS  INTERESTS. 

The  oldest  religions  organization  in  Flint  is  the  Court  Street  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  which  hegan  in  a  humble  way  in  1B35  when  Rev. 
William  H.  Erockaway  established  the  first  preaching  at  Flint  in  the  bar- 
room of  Mr.  Beach's  tavern.  Next  year  the  upper  story  of  Stage  &  Wright's 
store  was  used  and  the  first  class  was  organized.  The  first  quarterly  rneeting 
of  the  Michigan  conference  was  held  at  IHint  in  1837.  The  name  "Flint 
River  Mission"  appears  on  the  minutes  in  1837  for  the  first  time,  with 
Luther  D,  Whitney  as  preacher  in  charge  and  Samuel  P.  Shaw,  presiding 
elder.  During  the  athiiinistration  of  I^ev.  F.  B.  Bangs,  who  was  appointed 
to  the  Flint  work  in  the  autumn  of  1841,  a  church  edifice  was  built  on  the 
lot  donated  to  the  societj'  by  Wait  Beach,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Beach 
and  Sixth  streets.  It  was  dedicated  on  the  evening  of  December  21,  1844. 
The  size  of  the  building  was  thirty-five  by  fifty-iive  feet,  with  a  small  gallery 
in  one  end.  The  annual  conference  of  1847  made  Flint  village  a  station 
entirely  distinct  from  the  circuit.  About  this  time  a  number  of  improvements 
were  made  in  the  church  property.  Among  those  who  served  on  this  appoint- 
ment previous  to  1855,  after  Rev,  Whitney,  were  Revs.  I^rman  Chatfield, 
Ebenezer  Steel,  F'.  B.  Bangs,  William  Mothersill,  Harrison  Morgan,  David 
Burns,  M.  B.  Cambuni,  Dr.  B,  S.  Taylor,  William  Mahon,  J.  M.  Arnold 
and  George  Taylor, 

The  first  Presbyterian  church  of  Flint  had  its  beginning  with  members 
of  another  conmiunion.  In  1837  their  leader.  Rev.  M.  Dudley,  organized 
seventeen  persons  into  a  Congregational  church,  at  the  "River  House."  In 
1840,  there  being  no  Congregational  association  in  this  region,  they  placed 
themselves  under  the  care  of  the  presbytery  of  Detroit.  At  about  the  same 
time  they  built  a  church  where  later  stood  the  Henderson  warehouse.  By 
1845  this  building  had  been  enlarged  and  removed  to  the  east  comer  of 
Saginaw  and  First  streets,  and  not  long  afterwards  the  members  entered 
upon  the  work  of  erecting  a  new  house  of  worship,  which  was  dedicated 
on  January  26.  1S48.  The  Congregationalists  remained  connected  with  this 
church  until  1867.  Pre\'ious  to  1S55  the  principal  pastors  of  this  society 
were  Revs,  Dudley,  Bates,  Parker,  Beach,  VanNest,  Atterbury  and  Northrop. 

As  earlv  as  1837  an  efifort  was  made  to  organize  a  Baptist  church  in 
Flint,  which  was  presently  successful.  An  event  which  considerably  strength- 
ened the  movement  was  the  disl>anding  of  a  church  of  fifteen  members  five 


dbyGoot^lc 


328  GENEStE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

miles  from  Flint  in  present  Burton  township,  who  transferred  their  mem- 
bership to  the  Flint  church.  The  meetings  of  the  new  society  were 
held  in  a  room  over  the  jail  in  the  court  house,  but  repeated  disturbances 
in  those  quarters  led  them  to  take  a  room  in  the  Crapo  building,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  until  a  church  should  be  built.  The  erection  of 
the  first  meeting-house  was  accomplished  only  with  great  difficulty  and  was 
dedicated  in  1855. 

St.  Paul's  church,  Protestant  Episcopal,  began  in  1839.  In  that  year 
the  missionary.  Rev.  Daniel  E.  Brown,  visited  Flint  and  reported  that 
"The  voice  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman  in  celebrating  the  services  of  our 
church  had  never  been  heard  here."  In  October  the  bishop  visited  Flint 
and  reported  such  zeal  manifested  for  the  organization  of  a  parish  that  he 
consented  at  once  to  the  proposed  measure.  Rev.  Mr.  Brown  bega»  work 
here  in  November  and  in  the  following  month  a  church  was  organized,  among 
whose  members  were  George  M.  Dewey,  Grant  Decker  and  Henry  C.  Walker. 
The  wardens  elected  were  T.  D.  Butler  and  Milton  A.  Case.  On  the  original 
vestry  were  Reuben  McCreery,  Jonathan  Dayton,  Henry  M.  Henderson, 
Chauncey  S.  Payne  and  James  .B.  Walker.  The  holy  communion  was  cele- 
brated for  the  first  time  on  Christmas  day,  1839.  Rev.  Daniel  E.  Brown 
became  the  first  rector.  In  March,  1S49,  the  bishop  visiting  the  new  parish 
found  that  a  temporary  building  had  been  neatly  fitted  up  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  congregation,  but  it  was  forced  to  solicit  help  from  the  Fast 
to  complete  the  building  of  a  church.  Rev.  Mr.  Brown  succeeded  in  raising 
from  that  source  about  one  thousand  seven  hundred  dollars  above  expenses. 
Many  difficulties,  however,  still  attended  the  achievement  of  putting  up  the 
new  church  building,  which  was  not  completed  until  July,  1843.  This  was 
known  as  the  "Old  church."  a  building  thirty-four  by  forty-eight  feet,  stand- 
ing on  village  lot  No.  5,  block  No.  2.  In  his  report  to  the  convention  in 
1S44,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown  speaks  of  liberal  donations  "received  from  the 
friends  of  the  church  in  New  York,  of  an  elegant  set  of  communion  plates, 
also  a  superb  copy  of  the  Bible,  and  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  for  the  use 
of  chancel  and  reading-desk."  In  1846  the  resignation  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Brown  was  accepted  "with  deep  regret."  During  a  period  of  seven  years 
his  official  acts  were  as  follows:  Baptisms,  47  (infant,  33;  adult,  14),  con- 
firmations, 24;  funerals,  21;  marriages,  12.  His  successor  was  Rev.  Charles 
Reighley,  who  resigned  in  1850.  His  official  acts  during  these  three  years 
were;  Baptisms  35  {infant,  28;  adult,  7);  confirmations,  12;  marriages.  3; 
burials,  33.  In  1852  Rev.  John  Swan  Ijecame  the  next  rector,  who  still  held 
that  position  when  the  village  became  a  city. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  329 

In  this  period  also  were  laid  the  foundations  of  St.  Michael's  Roman 
Catholic  church.  Bishop  P.  Lefever,  of  the  diocese  of  Detroit,  was  the 
impidse  which  placed  in  form  of  organization  the  material  for  a  Roman 
Catholic  church  in  Flint.  The  first  efforts  date  back  to  September  2,  184,3, 
tliough  the  building  was  several  years  in  process  of  erection.  The  ground 
on  which  it  stands  was  deeded  by  Chauncey  S.  Payne  and  George  M.  Dewey 
gave  two  hundred  dollars  towards  the  fund,  while  many  leading  citizens 
contributed  more  or  less  liberally  as  their  means  ]>ermitted.  Among  the 
friends  from  Detroit  who  rendered  material  aid  to  the  struggling  enterprise 
were  Lewis  Cass,  Joseph  Campau,  Bishop  P.  Lefever,  Peter  Desnoyer,  and 
many  other  names  well  known  in  olden  times.  Daniel  O'Sullivan,  whose 
arrival  in  Flint  occurred  in  July,  1834,  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  building,  having  contributed  both  in  means  and  lalxDr  to 
the  enterprise.  The  first  regularly  installed  pastor  was  Rev.  Michael  Mona- 
ghan,  who  remained  some  time  after  the  completion  of  the  church,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  Kinderkins,  brother  of  Vicar-General  Kinderkins, 
of  Detroit,  who,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  C.  L.  Deceuninck,  in  1856, 
who  organized  a  school  under  the  management  of  two  lay  teachers.  His 
pastorate  extended  over  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  during  which  time  he  was 
active  in  many  benevolent  enterprises  and  did  much  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  of  the  church. 

The  first  cemetery  in  Flint  was  a  piece  of  ground  about  an  acre  in 
extent  known  as  the  "old  Patterson  homestead."  It  was  bounded  on  the 
south  by  Fifth  street,  on  the  west  by  Grand  Traverse,  on  the  north  by  Court 
and  on  the  east  by  Church.  This  acre  was  deeded  in  1835  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wait  Beach  to  the  county  for  a  burial  ground.  It  was  in  use  about  eight 
years  and  twenty-five  interments  were  made  in  it,  when  it  was  vacated.  In 
1841  a  new  location  was  chosen,  known  as  the  "old  burial  ground,"  situ- 
ated on  the  north  side  of  the  Richfield  road  on  Kearsley  street  about  half  a 
mile  east  of  Saginaw  street.  The  bodies  were  disinterred  from  the  original 
ground  and  reburied  here.  In  1842  John  Beach  deeded  to  the  county  an 
acre  of  ground  as  a  first  addition  to  this  plat,  which  was  the  last  addition 
made  while  Flint  remained  a  village. 

Flint  village  saw  also  the  beginning  of  two  leading  benevolent  associa- 
tions, the  Masons  and  the  Odd  Fellows.  The  first  lodge  of  the  order  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons  was  convened  in  Flint,  April  6,  1848,  and  was 
organized  as  Genesee  Lodge  No.  23.  Its  first  officers  were  H.  I.  Higgins, 
worthy  master;  Chauncey  S.  Payne,  senior  warden;  Willard  Eddy,  junior 
warden ;  Charles  Reighley,  secretary  and  treasurer ; —  Wright,  senior 


dbyGoot^lc 


330  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

deacon;  Benjamin  Boomer,  junior  deacon; Ingals,  tiler.    The  lodge 

held  its  early  meetings  in  the  Starr  building,  in  the  first  ward,  owned  by 
Chauncey  S.  Payne,  and  since  burned.  I'he  first  member  initiated  was  Col. 
E.  H.  Thomson.  It  then  moved  into  the  Hil!  building,  on  the  south  side 
of  Saginaw  street.  In  December,  1845,  it  surrendered  its  charter  and  its 
books  and  papers  were,  by  order  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state,  together 
with  jurisdiction  over  its  membership,  transferred  to  FHnt  Lodge  No.  2;^, 
Free  and  Accepted  ■  Masons. 

Genesee  Lodge  No.  24,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  was  insti- 
tuted, June  I,  1874,  by  Deputy  Grand  Master  Alfred  Treadway,  of  Pontiac, 
under  a  dispensation  granted  by  the  Most  Worthy  Grand  Master  Andrew 
J.  Clark,  of  Niles.  The  dispensation  was  replaced  by  a  charter  from  the 
grand  lodge,  July  22,  1847.  The  lodge  reported  on  the  30th  of  June  of 
the  same  year  thirty-three  contributing  meml>ers.  Its  first  officers  were 
Edward  H.  Thompson,  noble  grand;  George  M.  Dewey,  vice-grand;  Charles 
D.  Little,  secretary;  Sylvester  A.  Pengra,  treasurer.  E.  H.  Thomson  was  the 
first  representative  from  Genesee  Lodge  to  the  grand  lodge  of  Michigan  and 
was  also  its  first  district  deputy  grand  master.  The  second  corps  of  officers 
of  the  lodge,  installed  in  January,  1848,  were  George  M.  Dewey,  noble 
grand;  Charles  D.  Little,  vice-grand;  Sylvester  A.  Pengra,  secretary;  George 
H.   Hazelton.  treasurer. 

THE    FIRST    LIBRARY. 

In  the  closing-years  of  tliis  period  was  organized  an  institution  of  much 
interest  to  a  group  of  Flint  people  desirous  of  improvement  in  scientific 
knowledge.  Feeling  the  want  of  Irooks  which  they  could  not  individually 
command,  they  associated  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  library.  The  charter 
members  of  the  club  were:  D,  Clarke,  M.  Miles,  R.  S.  Hutton,  C.  L.  Avery. 
William  Stevenson,  S.  E.  Wilcox,  F.  H.  Rankin  and  A.  B.  Pratt. 

At  a  meeting  called  at  the  office  of  F.  H.  Rankin,  February  8,  J853.  a 
society  was  organized  and  the  following  officers  were  elected :  President, 
D.  Clarke;  secretary,  F.  H.  Rankin;  librarian,  M.  Miles;  treasurer,  William 
Stevenson.  The  object  of  the  society  was  fully  set  forth  in  the  constitu- 
tion as  follows :  "The  society  shall  be  known  as  the  Flint  Scientific  Insti- 
tute. Its  objects  shall  be  to  promote  the  study  and  investigation  of  the  sev- 
eral branches  of  scientific  knowledge,  the  estabfishment  of  a  library  of  scien- 
tific works  and  a  museum  of  natural  history;  and  its  funds  shall  be  devoted 
to  the  procuring  of  such  l>ooks,  charts  and  other  matters  as  shall  promote 
those  objects."     The  objects  were   further  elucidated   in   a  paper   "On  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


(;i".M-si':ic  couN'i'y,  Michigan,  _^3t 

iinporttiiice  of  acquiring  and  extending  scientific  knowledge,"  read  by  the 
president  at  the  first  qnarterly  meeting,  held  April  6,  1853,  which  paper  was 
by  request  published  in  the  Genesee  Whig.  In  May,  1853  a  circular  was 
issued  calling  public  attention  to  the  objects  and  needs  of  the  institution 
and  soliciting  aid  in  membership  and  donations  of  books,  and  also  specimens 
of  natural  history  to  form  a  cabinet.  In  resixinse  to  this  appeal,  the  fol- 
lowing names  were  added  to  the  list  of  members :  T.  Newail.  E.  Dodge, 
H.  R.  Pratt,  J.  N.  Lake.  M.  Pratt,  S.  B.  Cummings.  G.  Andrews.  D.  Glen- 
dall,  J.  Guild,  M.  B,  Deals,  C.  E.  McAlester,  J.  Kellancl.  William  B. 
McCreery,  Charles  Rankin,  M.  D.  Seeley,  J.  N.  Burdick,  H,  Wilson,  R.  P. 
Aitkin  and  William  Travis. 

Many  specimens  were  brought  in  by  farmers  and  others  and  the  mem- 
bers generally  went  to  work  with  a  will.  Some,  who  were  occupied  during 
business  hours,  brought  in  valuable  contributions  as  the  result  of  their  morn- 
ing and  evening  excursions  with  the  gun  or  fishing-rod,  and  obtained  for 
their  reward,  in  addition  to  the  consciousness  of  aiding  a  worthy  cause, 
improved  health  and  renewed  vigor. 

In  March,  1854,  a  course  of  twelve  lectures  having  been  completed,  a 
series  of  weekly  informal  meetings  for  the  discussion  of  stated"  subjects 
was  commenced.  The  subject  of  geography  in  all  relations  was  taken  up; 
the  topic  was  announced  two  weeks  in  advance  and  was  discussed  after  the 
report  of  standing  committees.  A  wide  range  was  taken  and  a  large  portion 
of  the  earth's  surface  was  passed  in  review.  Many  facts  of  interest  were 
noted,  much  thought  elicited,  and  without  donbt  all  engaged  in  the  work 
profited  by  it. 

The  Ladies  Library  Association  of  Flint  was  organized  in  1851.  It 
was  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Michigan.  By  special  invitation  of  Mrs.  T.  B. 
W.  Stockton,  a  small  band  of  ladies  met  at  her  residence  to  consider  the 
practicability  of  forming  some  society  to  supply  the  lack  of  culture  for  them- 
selves and  their  families.  This  work  the  ladies  of  Flint  felt  to  be  theirs. 
\\'hile  the  fathers,  brothers  and  husbands  were  felling  the  forests,  erecting 
mills,  tilling  the  soil  and  Iniilding  for  their  families  new  homes,  the  mothers, 
wives  and  daughters  did  what  was  in  their  power  to  furnish  wholesome 
food  for  the  intellect.  The  result  of  the  first  meeting  was  the  forming  of 
an  association  for  mutual  improvement,  and  the  decision  to  meet  once  a  week 
to  discuss  literary  subjects,  to  read  and  com[>are  ideas  on  what  was  read, 
and  a  resolution  to  do  what  they  could  to  establish  and  sustain  a  i>ermanent 
library.  v\  constitution  was  written  and  presented  by  Mrs.  R.  W,  Jenny, 
which  was  adopted.     TJie  following  officers  were  chosen  for  the  first  year : 


dbyGoot^lc 


332  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

President,  Mrs.  T.  B.  W.  Stockton;  vice-president,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Walker;  record- 
ing secretary,  Mrs.  R.  W.  Jenny;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Dr.  Manly  Miles;  libra- 
rian, Miss  Hattie  Stewart.  A  corresponding  secretary,  a  book  committee  of 
three  and  an  executive  committee  of  five  persons  were  added  to  the  list 
of  officers  during  the  first  year.  After  some  discussion  relative  to  ways 
and  means,  and  the  prospect  of  supporting  a  library,  the  ladies  adjourned 
to  meet  the  following  week  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  WilHam  M.  Fenton. 

At  their  next  meeting  was  expressed  their  firm  resolve  to  establish  a 
library,  and  their  organization  was  called  the  "Ladies'  Library  Associa- 
tion" ;  although  they  had  no  funds  in  the  treasury  save  the  small  sum  of 
ten  dollars  from  membership  fees.  This  sum  was  immediately  laid  out  for 
books  and  the  members  decided  to  supply  the  lack  of  reading  matter  by 
furnishing,  each  from  her  own  store,  books  and  periodicals,  and  exchanging 
with  others.  Some  donations  of  books  followed,  the  most  valuable  of 
which  was  a  complete  set  of  works  known  as  "Harper's  Family  Library," 
the  gift  of  Chauncey  S.  Payne.  Lectures  and  various  kinds  of  entertain- 
ments were  improvised  to  gain  funds  for  books,  the  proceeds  of  which  the 
first  year  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  only;  still,  the  ladies 
were  in  no  wise  disheartened,  and  they  continued  to  feast  and  to  entertain 
the  public  by  lectures,  readings,  tableaux  and  dramatic  representations  until 
two  hundred  and  forty  volumes  were  placed  upon  their  shelves,  as  shown 
by  their  first  catalogue.  These  were  all  carefully  chosen.  With  increase 
of  meml>ership,  some  liberal  donations  and  renewed  efforts,  the  next  cata- 
logue, in  1854,  numbered  about  five  hundred  volumes.  In  1853  ^^^  asso- 
ciation became  incorporated  under  the  direction  of  the  following  olBcers: 
President,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Payne;  vice-president,  Mrs.  H.  I.  Higgins;  recording 
secretary  (pro  tem),  Mrs.  A,  Thayer;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  F.  H. 
Rankin:  treasurer,  Mrs.  A.  T.  Crosman;  clerk,  Mrs.  R.  W.  Jenny;  librarians, 
Mrs.  J.  B.  Walker  and  Mrs.  O.  Hamilton.  The  fine  Flint  public  library  is  the 
successor  of  the  Flint  Ladies  Library  Association. 

THE  OLD   FLINT    B.'\ND. 

Among  the  organizations  which  began  in  Flint  village  and  continued 
to  give  pleasure  to  the  people  of  the  later  city,  none  were  more  appreciated 
than  the  old  Flint  Band.  This  was  organized  in  the  summer  of  1848,  and 
was  composed  of  the  following  gentlemen :  Leader,  E-flat  sax-horn,  E.  F. 
Frary ;  B-flat  clarionet,  Leonard  Wesson ;  cornopean,  William  Hamilton 
and  Franz  Barnhart ;  shde  trombone,  Ira  F.  Payson  and  G.  H.   Hazelton ; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  333 

French    horn.    Homer    HazeUon;    ophicleide,    Charles    D.    Littie;    trumpet, 
George  W.  Hill;  drum,  Willard  Pettee. 

The  instruments  were  purchased  of  Adam  Couse,  then  the  sole  music 
dealer  in  Detroit.  The  first  instructor  of  the  band  was  T.  D.  Nutting.  An 
old  member  says,  "I  took  my  place  in  the  band  very  soon  after  its  organi- 
zation, having  succeeded  Willard  Pettee  (bass-drum).  I  held  my  position 
for  fifteen  years,  during  which  time  forty- four  persons  had  belonged;  not 
one  of  the  original  mem1>ers  remained  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  and 
yet,  to  use  a  solecism,  it  was  the  same  old  band.  Practicing  in  those  old 
times  was  pleasant  enough  to  the  members,  but  there  were  persons  Uving 
within  one  or  two  blocks  of  the  band  room  who  never  greeted  us  with 
smiles,  but,  on  the  contrary,  some  maternal  members  of  households  gave 
strong  evidences  of  nervous  derangement.  The  old  residents  that  yet 
remain  will  remember  that  those  discordant  sounds  were  not  confined  to 
the  band-room  alone;  night  was  made  hideous  as  we  wandered  up  and 
down  the  streets  playing  the  music  that  had  charms  for  us.  This  band 
was  originated  and  sustained  by  the  members  for  their  enjoyment  and 
recreation,  rather  than  for  any  profit  connected  therewith.  Most  of  the 
members  were  from  the  ranks  of  prominent  citizens — merchants  for  the  most 
part.  This  gave  cliaracter  to  the  organization,  and  it  in  time  helped  Flint, 
rendering  it  pleasant  for  our  neighbors  of  the  surrounding  townships  and 
villages  to  come  in  on  the  'day  we  celebrate,'  and  others.  We  played  at 
political  gatherings — ^for  all  parties  alike — for  church  festivals,  on  'St.  Pat- 
rick's Etay  in  the  Morning,'  for  steamboat  excursions  to  Saginaw  river 
bay,  and  for  nearly  all  public  gatherings  in  the  city.  Strangers  visiting 
Flint  were  very  sure  to  hear  from  us  in  the  way  of  serenades.  The  band 
members  were  elected  honorary  members  of  the  old  'Harmonic  Society," 
etc.,  and  came  to  be  one  of  the  'institutions.'  Whenever  we  went  abroad, 
we  were  taken  by  Will  Pettee's  four-horse  team,  which  was  considered  some- 
thing pretentious  in  those  days  of  ox-teams— no  railways  with  us  until  long 
years  after.  For  the  purchase  of  instruments  and  other  expenses,  ,the 
members  were  assessed,  each  member  on  entering  the  band  paying  thirty 
dollars.  After  this,  assessments  followed  at  the  rate  of  from  three  to 
eight  dollars  per  capita.  I  notice  the  initiation  fees  of  the  forty-four  mem- 
bers before  referred  to  aggregate  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars,  and  with  assessments  added  would  leave  little  less  than  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars  paid  by  these  band  members  out  of  their  own 
pockets." 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XI. 
Mexican  and  Civil  Wars, 

The  tirst  public  exigency  which  required  the  calling  out  of  troops  after 
Genesee  became  a  cotinty  was  the  war  with  Mexico — 1846  to  1848.  At 
that  time  the  population  of  the  county  was  small  and  among  its  people 
there  would  be  found  comparatively  few  who  could  l>e  spared  from  the  cabins 
and  clearings,  where  they  stood  on  constant  duty  as  sentinels  to  guard,  their 
families  against  the  assault  of  hunger  and  want.  Nevertheless  there  were 
some  men  of  Genesee,  both  officers  and  soldiers,  who  followed  their  country's 
flag  to  the  fields  of  far-off  Mexico.  The  First  Regiment  of  Michigan  Volun- 
teers was  cotnmanded  by  Col.  T.  B.  W.  Stockton,  of  Flint,  and  among  the 
companies  which  composed  it  was  that  of  Captain  Hanscom,  of  Pontiac, 
which,  though  made  up  largely  of  Oakland  countj'  volunteers,  contained  a 
few  from  Genesee.  The  Fifteenth  United  States  Regiment  also  contained 
Michigan  companies,  and  one  of  these  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Eugene 
Van  De  \"eiiter,  of  Genesee.  In  that  company  were  Alexander  \V.  Davis, 
of  Grand  Blanc,  severely  wounded  at  Churubusco;  ^V'illiani  R.  Buzzell,  who 
died  of  disease  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  October  29,  1847;  Claudius  H.  Riggs, 
of  Grand  Blanc,  who  died  at  Vera  Cruz,  July  12,  1847;  Robert  Handy, 
reported  as  dead  in  Mexico ;  Henry  L.  Brannock,  who  survived  his  term 
of  service,  and  perhaps  others,  whose  names  cannot  lie  given.  The  regi- 
ment of  which  Captain  Van  De  Venter's  company  was  a  ^lart  was  in  the 
division  of  Gen.  Gideon  J.  Pillow,  of  Tennessee.  Of  Genesee  county  soldiers 
who  served  in  Captain  Hanscom's  company  we  can  give  only  the  names 
of  James  W.  Cronk  and  Norton  Cronk,  of  Clayton,  the  former  <if  whom 
died  in  Me.xico. 

The  ne.xt  military  history  of  Genesee  county  commenced  in  those 
spring  days  of  1861,  when  the  guns  of  besieged  Sumter  sounded  a  war- 
signal  which  reverberated  across  the  hills  and  streams  from  ocean  to  ocean. 
The  intense  earnestness  with  which  Michigan  entered  into  the  war  is 
reflected  in  the  burning  message  of  Governor  Blair  to  the  Legislature  in 
extra  session,  January  2,   1862, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  335 

i  c^iiiiiot  .•lll^e  rliLW  lu-ie£  ilddress  wltllciut  iin  illustnitiuii  of  the  Kleat  ol.jwt  tli;it 
.Hi-iiplt'w  nil  iiieu'w  Diliuls.  The  Wmitheni  i-*-belllou  still  nmintnins  ii  twld  front  jiKiiinst 
ihi'  I'liioii  iiruiieH.  That  Is  thi-  ciiuse  of  nil  our  complU-iitimin  jiin'Oiiil  mid  onv  trimliles 
nt  luijiie.  To  ileal  wisely  with  It  is  Ui  fiiicl  ti-  abort  riiid  eiiay  deliveninee  of  thciii  iill. 
'J'ho  DiHiijIi.  of  Mi<-hlgiiii  Jire  no  lille  spwtntors  of  this  tti^ent  contest.  They  hiive  fur- 
nished all  the  tvooiiB  reijutreil  of  them  jind  nre  in-eiitii-ing  to  imy  the  taxes  and  tn 
submit  to  the  most  onerous  Inu'deiis  without  a  niurnnii-.  They  are  ready  to  inii-ease 
their  sa<Till<-eB,  if  need  he,  to  refjHlre  ImpoaBihilities  of  no  man,  but  to  be  iwtieHt  and 
wiiit  But  to  see  the  viist  armies  of  the  reiiubltc,  and  nil  its  iietunliiry  reaourcea,  used 
t()  protect  mid  sustain  the  accursed  system  which  lins  been  a  iiei-petwal  and  tyrannical 
diafm-liei-,  and  which  now  makes  s;iiiguinary  wai-  upon  the  I'nion  and  the  constitution, 
is  iirei-lsely  whiit  they  will  never  submit  to  tamely.  The  loyal  states,  hiiving  fui- 
nisheil  ade(|UHtc  means,  both  of  men  and  money,  to  crush  the  rebellion,  have  a  i-iKht 
to  e.\|icct  those  men  to  he  used  with  the  utmost  vigor  to  accomiillsh  tlie  ob.lect,  and 
that  ivithout  any  mawkish  symiiathy  for  the  Interest  of  traitors  in  arms,  rpoii  thohi' 
who  caused  the  war,  and  now  maintain  il,  its  chief  burdens  oujeht  to  fall.  Xo  iiroii- 
frty  of  a  reliel  ought  to  he  fi-ee  frian  C'ouhseiition — nut  even  the  saei'eti  slave.  The 
objet-t  of  war  Is  to  destroy  the  iwiwei-  of  the  enemy,  aud  whatever  measui-es  are  cnlcu- 
iated  to  iiccompllsh  that  oWe'-t  a]i<l  are  in  accordance  with  tlie  iiBnges  of  civilized 
nations.  ouRlit  to  be  employeil.  To  undertake  to  put  down  a  iMiwerful  rebellion  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  save  aud  protect  all  the  chief  soui-ces  of  the  power  of  that  rebel- 
lion, aeems  to  conimon  mhuls  but  a  short  remove  from  simple  folly.  He  who  is  not 
for  the  rniiiii,  uni-caiditlonally,  lu  this  iiiortnl  struggle,  is  against  it.  The  hlgheNt 
dictates  of  iiatriolism,  Justice  aud  humanity  combine  to  demand  that  the  war  should 
lie  conducted  to  a  speedy  close  upon  principles  of  the  moat  heroic  enerity  and  retri- 
butive power.  The  time  for  gentle  dalliance  has  long  shice  passed  away.  We  meet 
ail  oieiny.  vindictive,  bloodthirsty  and  cruel,  jn-ofoundly  In  earnest,  Inspired  with  an 
I'LLcri.',!  atid  self-sacrifice  which  would  honor  a  good  cause,  respecting  neither  laws,  coii- 
-ititutions  nor  lilstorlc  lueuKiries,  fantastically  devoted  only  to  his  one  wicked  puri«>so 
to  destroy  the  govenmieut  and  establish  his  slave-holding  oligarchy  in  ita  stead.  To 
treat  this  enemy  gently  is  to  excite  liis  derision.  To  pi-otect  his  slave  property  is  to 
help  bim  to  butcher  our  jteople  and  burn  odr  houses.  No.  He  must  he  met  with  au 
activity  and  a  purpose  equal  to  his  own.  Hurl  the  t'nlon  foi-ces,  which  outnumber 
him  two  to  one,  upon  his  whole  line  like  a  tliunderbolt ;  pay  tliem  out  of  his  pi-operty, 
feed  them  from  his  gi'anaries,  mount  them  upon  bla  hoi-ses.  carry  them  In  his  wagons. 
If  be  haw  any,  and  let  bIm  feel  the  full  force  of  the  atorni  of  war  which  he  has 
raisiil.  I  would  apologize  neither  to  Kentucky  nor  anybody  else  for  these  measures, 
but  quickly  raiiRe  all  ueutriils  either  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  Just  a  little  of 
the  courage  and  ability  which  carried  Najioleon  over  the  Alps,  di'a^ng  his  caunon 
thniugh  the  snow,  would  quickly  settle  this  contest,  and  settle  It  right.  If  our  sol- 
diers must  die,  do  not  let  it  be  of  the  inactivity  aud  dise;ises  of  camps,  but  let  them 
at  least  have  the  satisfaction  of  falling  like  soldiers,  amid  the  roar  of  battle  and  hear- 
ing the  shouts  of  victorj-;  then  will  they  welcome  It  as  the  tired  laborer  welcomes 
Hleej).     Let  us  hope  that  we  have'  not  much  longer  to  wait. 

That  Michigan  nobly  responded  to  the  spirit  of  these  words  in  this 
great  crisis  of  onr  national  life,  evidence  abounds.  The  cry  was  everv- 
where,  "Liberty  and  Union,  one  and  inseparable,  now  and  forever."  At 
a  patriotic  meeting  held  in   Detroit,   the  following  well-known  poem   bv 


dbyGoot^lc 


336  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Julia  Ward  Howe  was  read,  with  thrilling-  effect,  cheer  upon  cheer  greeting 
each  stanza: 

\Ae   me  cjining    I    tliti     iliilniii     thjep  liii    liert.   IhtniMii  1   uuie 

Froaj    UisslsHliif  1  s    nliidlD„    stieiiui    aud    fitiui    \en     i-agl  inds    slure; 

^^e  lea^e  oui  iilonu  iinil  wuikshopa    out   ni\es  and  tbildieu  (lent 

With  he^rtH  too  full  for  utterjiiice    witli  lint  ti  silent  teai 

W  e  tlure  not  look  beLlud  us,  but  btendfiistlT  before — 

fle  are  eouilB^ir    lather    ibiahim — ^tliiee  liniidted   tbouaind   moie' 

If  von  tooL.  acioss  the  htlltopa  thflt  meet  the  uortheiii  sir 

Long  moling  line*  of  iHlug  dnat  youi   M-Jijn  uin\    deien 

And  now  the  wind     in  Liiatant    teais  tlie  cloudj   lell  aside 

And  Boats    iloft  oni    spiiugled  flag  in  (ilorv  and  In  pride 

And  bayonets  m  the  snnllght  gle^ni    and  binds  braie  muRic  ijoui — 

We  me  coming    lather  Abiaiiani— tbiee  limidred  thoitamd   moie' 

If  lou  look  all  up  our  lallevs,  wheie  tin,  growing  liiiiests  ahine 
You  niay  see  oui  sturdj  fimietbcya  fast  forming  Into  line 
And  children    fioni  theii  mothers   huees,  aie  pulling  at  the  weeds, 
And  learning  hon   to  leap  aud  wjw    igainst  their  counti-j  s  needs 
And  a  faiewell  gioup  stands  weermg    it  erery  cottage  door — 
Me  are  coming    Fatliti    ibrahani — three  Uundied   thousand  nnie' 

You  ha^e  culled  ua    md  were  coinin).   bj  RlebniondB  bloody  tide 

To  lav  ns  down    for  fieedoms  soke    our  brothers    bones  beside 

Oi   from  foni  tieiB<Hia  savage  grasp  fd  wieuch  the  muideiouM  1  hide, 

^Uid  In  tlie  fnce  of  f  lelgn  foes  its  fiaginents  to  ptiade 

Six  hundred  thousind  loyal  men  and  tine  litwe  gone  befoie— 

■Re  are  coming    Father  Abraham— thiee  hnudied   thouwmd   more' 

In  the  adjutant-generars  report  for   1862  we  read: 

The  res|iont-e  of  the  iHiople  of  thi:  stiile  to  the  Trealdent's  i-ull  wan  iiatriotii"  and 
prompt  almost  beyond  expettatiou.  Individuals  of  eiery  degi'ee  of  iiromliiente  forth- 
irith  began  to  interest  themwives  iu  the  busineMS  of  lining  the  regiuients.  Cummiiui- 
tles  ga\e  to  It  their  time  and  their  alniowt  exclusive  attention  while,  better  than  all. 
the  substantial  masses  of  the  people  offered  tlienisel*es  in  person.  War  meetings  wei-e 
hold  In  almost  every  village  and  tomishlp  iu  the  state.  Uepreaentatlves  of  all  classes 
coaverted  themselves  either  hito  i-ecruits  or  rKTultlng  oUicers,  and  among  the  most  etli 
dent  of  the  latter  were  ministers  of  the  gosiiel,  some  of  whom  led  the  men  they  bad 
enlisted  into  the  Held. 

Immediately  f<)llowIng  the  issue  of  the  oi-der  referred  to,  applications  reached  the 
adjutaut-geuernl's  oftice,  by  telegraph  aud  othej'wlse,  from  all  sections  of  the  state, 
urging  authoiit.v  to  recruit  and  desiring  lustl'UL-tlons  and  forms  for  the  enlistment  of 
tompanies.  Fai-llitles  to  promote  this  purpose  nere  proniptly  furnished  and  as  soon 
as  the  camp  grounds  could  be  provided  with  suitable  quarters,  men  began  to  flock  in 
by  companies  and  detachments.  The  gentlemen  who  had  been  eliarged  with  the  duty 
uf  suiiervising  the  organization  of  the  raiments  performed  their  labors  with  diligence 
and  success,  and  In  little  over  a  month  fi-oni  the  liate  of  the  Prenident's  call,  men 
Rufflclent  had  been  raised  in  the  state,  and  nearly  enough  were  in  camp,  to  fill  all  the 
raiments  wblch  the  war  deiiartment  had  asked  for  under  the  President's  requisltlcni. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GliNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  337 

The  church  and  the  press  rendered  immense  service.  The  "Red  Book 
of  Michigan"  says: 

lli*^  Ctiiistim  Uiiiiili  til  tLis  st  lo  fetiid  Ih  iHved  b\  lis  imuumed  pitiiotsui 
111(1  m  ini/est  cleiotiou  to  tlit  t  iiise  of  riie  cuuntr^  in  element  of  Immense  success 
Ul  true  pitiluts  ((uiuieti<l  its  iioliie  coarse  all  f  iltliful  (  hilstlnuH  eiiduise  its  glorious 
iHIou  iiom  tliu  time  tliiit  Suiuttr  wns  flr*^  on  until  lee  lud  Jolinslon  laid  doBii 
llieii  lebelhous  iims  mil  I>(nK  fleil  foi  lits  lift  it  eiicoui  ifeed  and  neived  b^  word 
iiui  deed  tiie  soldipi  lu  tlif  field  ilded  luufli  m  the  ntiuitmeiit  of  the  men  bs,  its 
iili[iriniil  of  the  muse  iiid  ila  i]H?nU  moned  iibboiiiiice  ot  rebels  uDd  those  who 
Hjiiiiiithi^wl  «itli  tlitin  lud  <  1 1 '  •<  ■'1  Ihe  win  \\lieit  It  did  wot  cowiudtce  most  meitji 
nid  gtmeinig  disloMiIt^  U'-M-'-  nul  hi  itl  est  tieiaoii  pie\euted  its  being  included  In 
the  l*io^ldeiKT  of  Uod  union,  the  instiuinintiiiitles  to  sine  the  notion  and  hence 
neither  deseiies  iioi  csiii  eYfiect  iin  bettei  fate  thi>u  the  ceitim  condemmtlon  of  e\en 
tiTie  lover  of  his  counti-j  and  of  hiB  race  and  the  dtopprOMil  of  the  God  of  nations 

llie  ■valuable  serilces  lendend  nt  this  time  bj  the  loyil  press  throughout  Oib 
Btite  till!  neicr  be  oieiestimated  for  Its  succ^iful  efforts  iii  atrengtheinng  the  hind') 
of  iiubin  ofticeis  iu  niouldluK  [inblit  opinion  in  faioi  of  !o\nltv  to  the  goiernment 
in  eucournging  putitotisni  amon-,  the  misses  and  insimlns,  thfse  t  Ihe  front  «lth  i 
heiolsiii  leiidiiio  to  giiH  int  deeds 

At  the  close  of  1862,  the  loyalty  of  the  people  of  Michigan  and  the 
splendid  service  of  the  Michigan  troops  had  won  a  high  place  in  the  esteem 
of  the  nation.     The  adjutant-general  in  closing  his  report  for  the  year  said: 

Tlie  same  determluiilion  seems  to  exist  as  at  the  commeuceuient  of  the  war,  that 
it  must  be  iiut  down  and  the  nation  redeemed  at  iiny  sacriflce.  The  promptness  and 
cheerfulness  witli  which  e*ei'j-  cull  umde  by  the  general  government  upon  the  state 
bus  been  responded  to,  hesiienks  the  intelligent,  loyal  patriotism  of  its  people.  The 
[leoiile  of  Jlichigaii  in-e  Intelligently  loya!  on  the  subject  of  war,  and  lier  soldiery  are 
bilelllgeutly  brave  and  pati'lotlc,  true  to  the  honor  of  their  state  and  their  nation, 
preferring  on  all  occasions  death  before  dishonoring  either.  The  troops  from  the  state 
of  Michigan  have  gained  a  prominent  itosition  in  the  armies  of  the  nation.  They  hjive 
done  their  duty  faithfully  and  fearlessly  and  borne  tlie  brunt  of  many  well-fought 
battles.  Some  of  them  hare  fii-oved  an  anomaly  In  modem  warfare.  Suddenly  called 
fl-om  the  conmion  vocations  of  life,  and  within  a  ^pvy  few  days  of  the  time  of  leaiing 
their  native  state,  they  have  been  pitted  against  the  veteran  trooiis  of  the  enemy  o( 
their  country  in  superior  nimibers,  and  completely  routed  them.  It  has  been  the  for- 
tune of  some  of  them  voSinitarily  and  successfully  to  lead  the  "forlorn  hope,"  regard- 
less of  opposing  numbers.  Their  scars  and  thinned  ranks  now  attest  their  seriices 
to  their  countrj-.  The  honor  of  their  nation  and  their  state  has  been  safe  in  their 
hands,  and  botli  wiH  cherisli  and  reward  them.  Monuments  to  the  memory  of  the 
brave  dead  are  now  erected  In  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  national  monuments  to 
their  memory  will   be  erected  by  a   grateful  countrj. 

With  the  surrender  of  the  Southern  army  under  General  Lee,  April  9, 
1865,  and  the  surrender  of  Johnston's  army  the  same  month,  came  peace. 
The  first  of  the  Michigan  troops  came  home  in   the   following  June,  and 
<2'.) 


dbyGoc^lc 


338  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICITIGAN. 

on  the  14th,  Governor  Crapo,  recently  elected  from  Genesee  county  to  suc- 
ceed Governor  Blair,  issued  the  following  proclamation  of  welcome  and 
thanks  to  the  returning  soldiers : 

In  the  imuie  of  the  reople  if  MichiKiiii  1  tliitnk  tou  f  i  the  hoiioi  yon  Iim^  (Inn 
UB  t>i  jour  I  iloi  your  soldieili  betilng  vom  m\incible  cournge  evei\wlieit  (lis 
pliiyed  whether  upon  the  fielil  of  battle  in  the  perilous  assault  01  iu  the  deidlT 
bieiith  for  your  patience  undei  the  fatigues  and  }nivatlous  and  suffeilnga  niciileiit  tt 
w  tr  nnd  foi  your  discipline  and  ready  obedience  to  the  oideis  of  vour  supeilois  l\e 
are  proud  in  believing  that  when  the  history  of  this  rebellion  shall  hue  been  mitten 
where  all  haie  done  well  none  mil  stiiid  hlfchei  on  the  roll  of  fame  thin  the  flfi'"  is 
and  soldieis  sent  to  the  field  fr  m  the  Uyal    ind  pafilotic  sta.te  of  Michltin 

At  the  dose  of  the  war  each  returning  regiment  delivered  to  its  state 
its  colors,  the  governor  being  avithorized  by  the  war  department  to  receive 
them.  On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1866,  the  colors  of  the  Michigan  regiments 
were  formally  presented  in  Detroit,  through  the  governor,  to  the  state,  and 
the  occasion  was  honored  by  an  appropriate  celebration.  A  great  procession 
Vi^as  formed  by  the  soldiers  of  the  war,  which  marched  through  the  streets 
of  the  city,  in  regimental  order,  bearing  through  the  isles  of  assembled 
thousands  the  emblems  of  patriotism,  bravery  and  gallant  services.  At  the 
close  of  the  procession,  which  was  one  of  the  finest  and  most  inspiring 
ever  witnessed  in  Michigan,  the  soldiers  were  massed  in  front  of  the  speaker's 
stand  on  the  Campus  Martius,  where  they  delivered  their  flags  to  the  gov- 
ernor. Appropriate  addresses  were  made,  among  them  an  address  by  Go\-- 
ernor  Crapo,  on  receiving  the  flags,  in  which  he  said  in  part : 

I  receive,  in  behalf  of  the  ueopie  of  Michigan,  these  lionovahfe  meninrialN  of  your 
valor  and  the  nation's  gJory,  and,  on  their  part,  I  once  more  thank  youi'  for  the  lii'lde 
sacrifices  you  ha\'e  rendered  m  defending  and  preservlnc  the  life  of  the  nation,  iit  iiu- 
hazard  of  your  liiea  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  so  many  of  your  conn-jdes.  I  maj-  ventHre 
to  give  you  the  assurance  that  you  haie  the  unbounded  gi'iititurte  and  love  of  your 
fellow-citizen  a,  and  that  between  you  auil  them  the  glory  of  these  defaced  old  flags 
will  ever  be  a  subject  of  Inspiration — a  common  bond  of  affection.  To  you  they  vep- 
vesent  a  nationality  which  you  have  periled  your  lives  to  maintain  and  are  emblematic 
of  a  liberty  which  your  strong  arms  and  stout  hearts  have  helped  to  win.  To  ua 
they  are  our  fathers'  flags — the  ensigns  of  all  the  worthy  dead— your  comrades,  our 
rehithea  and  frienda— who  for  their  preservation  haie  given  their  blood  to  enrich  the 
battlefields  and  their  agonies  to  hallow  tlie  prison  pens  of  a  demoniac  enemy.  They 
are  your  flags  and  ours.  How  rich  the  treasure!  They  will  not  be  forgotten  nor 
their  histories  he  left  unwritten. 

Their  stories  will  be  household  woids  iind  the  laiiids  of  those  who  come  after  us 
will  dwelt  upon  the  thoughts  of  manly  endeavor,  of  stanch  endurance,  of  lllnstrlous 
achievements,  which  their  silent  eloquence  will  ever  suggest.  They  will  ever  lypify 
the  grand  results  accomplished  by  the  loyal  men  of  the  nation  in  this  ijreat  rebelltoii. 
and  shoMid  the  flame  of  patriotism  ever  wane  upon  our  altar-stone,  the  halo  from  these 
mementoes  wilt  kindle  again  the  ancient  fire  that  electrified  the  world. 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  339' 

Let  us,  then,  tenderly  dciiosit  them,  as  siit-red  i-elics,  hi  tile  jirohives  of  oiii"  state, 
there  to  stand  forever,  her  proudest  iwssession — a  revered  incentive  to  liberty  imd 
imtrlotlsni  Jind  a  conataiit  rebulte  and  terror  to  opi>resslon  and   treason. 

In  the  interior  arrangement  of  the  new  capital  at  Lansing  the  soldier 
and  his  services  were  not  forgotten,  but  were  most  favorably  and  substantially 
remembered.  With  almost  a  profuse  liberality,  a  large  and  cominodious 
rotunda  was  set  apart,  designated  as  the  "War  Museum."  This  is  the  deposit 
of  the  Michigan  battle  flags,  properly  placed  in  regimental  order  in  magnifi- 
cent vertical  cases,  reaching  almost  to  the  ceihng,  erected  around  the  sides 
of  the  apartment,  superbly  mounted  with  heavy  plate  glass;  these  builet- 
raarked  and  battle-worn  flags  are  the  grandest  and  most  impressive  monu- 
ment to  the  soldiers  of  Michigan.  In  addition,  elegant  table  cases  now 
encircle  one  of  the  rotundas,  containing  a  large  and  interesting  collection 
of  relics  of  the  war. 

During  the  period  which  intervened  between  the  birth  and  the  death 
of  trie  great  Rebellion,  Genesee  gave  to  the  war  more  than  two  thousand 
men,  whose  names  are  recorded  on  the  rolls  of  one  rifle,  one  engineer,  ten 
cavalry  and  twenty-three  infantry  regiments  and  nine  batteries  of  Michi- 
gan, besides  several  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery  organizations  of  other 
states  and  one  regiment  of  United  States  volunteers.  Several  of  the  regi- 
ments most  noticeable  for  the  number  of  Genesee  county  men  serving  in 
them  are  especially  mentioned  below  in  historical  sketches  of  their  organi- 
zations and  services  in  the  great  war  for  the  Union. 


When,  at  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  President  Lincoln  called  on  the 
several  loyal  states  for  an  army  of  seventy-five  thousand  men  to  sustain 
the  power  of  the  government  again,st  a  rebellion  which  had  unexpectedly 
proved  formidable,  Governor  Blair  of  Michigan  responded  by  issuing  his 
proclamation  calling  for  twenty  companies  out  of  the  uniformed  volunteer 
force  of  the  state,  with  field  and  staff  officers  to  compose  two  regiments 
of  infantry,  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  President  if  required.  The 
war  department  had  placed  the  quota  of  Michigan  at  one  full  regiment, 
but  the  governor  very  wisely  concluded  that  a  second  regiment  should  be 
made  ready  for  service  if  it  should  be  needed,  as  he  believed  it  would  be. 
Three  days  after  the  governor's  call  (April  19)  the  state's  quota  was  filled 
and  her  first  regiment  was  ready  for  muster  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States   fully  equipped  with  arms,   ammunition  and   clothing,  awaiting  only 


dbyGoot^lc 


340  GKNKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

the  orders  of  the  war  department.  On  the  13th  o£  May  it  left  Detroit 
for  Washington,  being  the  first  regiment  to  arrive  at  the  capital  from  any 
point  vyest  of  the  AHeghany  mountains. 

The  governor's  call  for  twenty  companies  had  heen  promptly  and  fully 
responded  to,  and  so  after  making  up  the  First  Regiment  there  still  remained 
ten  coniiKinies  which,  having  failed  t<3  secure  places  in  the  First,  were  ready 
and  anxious  to  he  organized  as  the  Second  Regiment  of  Michigan.  And 
among  these  companies  was  "The  Flint  Union  Grays."  This  company  had 
existed  in  the  city  of  Fhnt  from  the  year  1857.  We  find  mention  of  the 
first  Ojpening  of  their  armory  in  Flint,  October  2,  1858,  when  they  were 
expecting,  but  had  not  yet  received,  their  arms  from  the  state  arsenal;  the 
election  of  civil  and  military  officers  of  the  company  was  as  follows : 

President.  L.  Wesson;  vice-president  William  P.  Humphrey;  secretary, 
W.  I.  Beardsley;  treasurer,  Wilhani  R.  Morse;  captain,  T.  B.  W.  Stockton; 
first  lieutenant.  William  R.  Morse;  second  lieutenant,  William  Turver;  third 
lieutenant,  Levi  Failing;  first  sergeant,  1..  Wesson;  second  sergeant,  C.  Pea- 
body;  third  sergeant,  R.  M.  Barker,  fourth  sergeant,  James  Farrand;  first 
corporal  A.  J.  Boss,  Jr.;  second  corporal,  L.  Church;  third  corporal,  W. 
Boomer;  fourth  corporal,  WiHiam  Charles;  armorer,  O.  McWilliams. 

Probably  there  was  not  one  among  these  officers  who  had  then  ever 
dreamed  of  such  scenes  as  some  of  them  afterwards  saw  at  Williamsburg, 
Malvern  Hill  and  the  Wilderness,  or  of  the  fame  which  their  comiKiny  was 
destined  to  win  on  a  score  of  bloody  fields.  But  the  people  of  Flint  and  of 
Genesee  county  were  proud  of  it  then,  as  they  had  reason  to  be  in  far  greater 
degree  afterwards.  This  com])any  furnished  to  various  commands  in  the 
union  army  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  six  field  officers,  eleven  cap- 
tains and  eighteen  lieutenants — a  very  unusual  company  record. 

Immediately  after  the  publication  of  the  governor's  proclamation  and 
when  it  was  known  that  the  Qrays  would  volunteer  in  a  body,  a  large  and 
extremely  enthusiastic  public  meeting  was  held,  April  18,  at  the  court  house 
in  Flint.  A  circular  letter  of  the  war  committee  in  Detroit  was  read  and 
acted  on,  and  the  meeting  adopted  a  series  of  intensely  patriotic  resolutions 
among  which  was  the  following:  "That  the  young  men  comprising  the  mili- 
tary company  of  this  city,  and  those  who  may  volunteer  to  fill  up  its  ranks  in 
this  emergency  of  our  common  country,  are  worthy  of  all  encouragement  and 
praise  for  their  patriotism,  and  that  we  will  contribute  all  sums  necessary  to 
sustain  and  support  the  families  of  all  members  of  said  company  who  may  l>e 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  if  they  need  such  aid;  we  will 
also  contribute  mir  full  proportion  of  the  amount  required  to  e<|uip  and  muster 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  341 

into  the  service  of  the  United  States  the  two  regiments  required  from  the  state 
of  Michigan."  A  committee  composed  of  William  M.  Fenton,  E.  H.  McQuigg 
and  H.  M.  Henderson,  was  appointed  to  carry  out  so  much  of  this  resolution 
as  applied  to  the  raising  of  money  as  a  loan  to  the  state,  and  J.  B.  Walker,  E.  S. 
Williams  and  A.  P.  Davis  were  appointed  a  like  committee  to  carry  into  effect 
that  [Kirt  which  promised  aid  and  sup^mrt  to  the  families  of  volunteers.  In  the 
puhlished  account  of  the  proceedings  of  that  meeting  it  is  mentioned  that 
"every  union  word  uttered  was  greeted  with  thunders  of  applause." 

On  April  23  the  Grays  met  for  the  choice  of  officers,  and  the  following 
we're  elected  to  the  commissioned  grades:  Captain,  William  R.  Morse;  first 
lieutenant,  William  Turver;  second  lieutenant,  James  Farrand.  On  the  eve  of 
their  departure  to  join  the  Second  Regiment  at  its  rendezvous,  the  Grays 
paraded  through  the  principal  streets  of  Flint  and  were  addressed  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  great  concourse  of  i>atriotic  and  admiring  spectators  by  Colonel 
F'enton,  whose  remarks  on  the  occasion  were  reported  by  the  Citisen  in  its 
next  issue  as  follows:  "The  Hon.  W.  M.  Fenton  had  been  with  the  com- 
pany for  alx>ut  a  year,  and  constantly  engaged  for  two  weeks  past  in  per- 
fecting the  enlistment  and  preparing  for  its  departure.  At  the  request  of 
Captain  Morse,  he  now  addressed  the  officers  and  men,  alluding  to  the  new 
position  they  were  alxiut  to  occupy— its  great  importance;  the  entire  change 
now  to  take  place  in  their  habits  of  life:  the  necessity  for  prompt  obedience 
to  the  commands  of  their  superiors,  and  of  true  courage,  as  contradisting- 
uished from  brutality.  He  exhorted  them  to  remember  that  the  eyes  of  the 
frieutls  they  were  to  leave  behind  woidd  lie  constantly  on  them  in  whatever 
situation  they  might  be  placed,  their  ears  oi>en  to  every  report  of  their  action, 
their  pniyers  ascending  night  and  morn  for  their  welfare  and  success,  and 
that  the  fervent  hope  would  animate  them  that  those  who  now  went  forth  to 
stand  by  their  country  in  its  hour  of  trial  would  return  with  laurels  honorably 
won  in  its  service.  After  giving  them  some  practical  hints  as  to  their  mode  of 
life,  the  importance  of  strict  cleanliness  and  temperance  in  both  meat  and 
drink,  he  asked  if  anv  one  of  them  would  object  to  take  an  oath,  substantially 
as  follows : 

"  'T  do  solemnly  swear,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  Go{l,  that  1  will 
support  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  maintain  it  and  my  country's 
flag,  if  necessary,  with  my  life:  that  I  will  obey  the  commands  of  my  super- 
ior officers  while  in  service,  and  will  defend  and  protect  my  comrades  in  bat- 
tle to  the  best  of  my  physical  abihty.'  None  objecting,  the  oath  was  repeated 
aloud,  with  uplifted  hand,  by  all  the  officers  and  members  of  the  company. 


dbyGoot^lc 


342  GENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  scene  was  solemn  and  impressive,  and  was  appropriately  closed  by  a 
benediction  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joslin." 

Another  ceremony,  no  less  interesting,  was  the  presentation  to  eacii 
member  of  the  company  of  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament.  Ninety-five  of 
these  had  been  furnished  and  prepared  for  the  purpose  by  the  members  of 
the  Methodist  fipiscopal  Sabbath  school,  each  book  having  upon  its  fly-leaf 
this  inscription :     "Presented  by  the  Sabbatli  School  of  the  Methodist  E. 

Church,   l'~lint,   Michigan,   To  ,   of  the   I^"lint   Union   Grays, 

April  30,  1861.  'My  men,  put  your  trust  in  the  Lord, — and  l)e  sure  you 
keep  j^our  powder  dry. — -Oliver  Cromwell.'  " 

This  presentation  was  made  while  the  Grays  stood  in  line,  with  open 
ranks,  at  the  corner  of  Saginaw  and  Kearsley  streets.  A  number  of  ladies 
of  Flint  passed  along  the  line  and  pinned  upon  the  breast  of  each  soldier  a 
tri-colored  rosette,  bearing  the  words,  "The  Union  and  the  Constitution!" 
and  nearly  every  one  of  the  spectators  wore  the  red,  white  and  blue  upon 
some  part  of  their  dress.  A  presentation  of  revolvers  to  the  commissioned 
officers  of  the  company  was  made  by  the  Hon.  E.  H.  Thomson,  and  as  he 
assigned  to  each  pistol  its  particular  mission  and  alluded  to  their  uses,  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  around  was  enkindled  anew. 

The  company  left  Flint  on  the  30th  of  May,  being  transported  to  Fen- 
tonville  in  wagons  and  other  vehicles  of  which  a  greater  number  than  were 
needed  for  the  purpose  were  furnished  by  the  patriotic  citizens.  The  column 
was  headed  by  the  Flint  Band  and  was  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of 
relatives  and  friends  of  the  soldiers;  the  plank-road  company  passed  them 
all  toll-free.  Taking  the  cars  of  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railroad,  at  Fen- 
tonville,  the  Grays  soon  reached  Detroit  and  were  reported  at  Ft.  Wayne, 
the  regimental  rendezvous. 

The  companies  volunteering  for  the  Second  Regiment  had  clone  so  in 
the  supposition  that  it  would  be  mustered  for  a  three-months  term  of  serv- 
ice, as  the  First  Regiment  had  l>een.  But  a  few  days  later  instructions  were 
received  from  the  war  department  that  no  more  troops  l>e  mustered  or  ac- 
cepted for  a  less  term  than  three  years;  when  this  was  announced,  there  were 
some  in  all  the  companies  who  naturally  enough  objected  to  the  longer  term 
and  declined  to  l^e  mustered  for  it.  This  was  the  case  in  the  Flint  company, 
as  in  others.  The  vacancies  in  its  ranks  from  thi.s  cause,  however,  were  not 
numerous,  but  it  was  necessary  to  procure  recruits  to  fill  them;  and  for  this 
purpose  Captain  Morse  returned  to  Flint  on  the  i8th  of  May,  The  alacrity 
with  which  this  call  was  responded  to  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  arrived  in 
Flint  on  Saturday  and  on  the  following  Monday  reixirted  with  tlie  requisite 


dbyGoot^lc 


GiCNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  343 

number  of  recruits  at  Ft.  Wayne.  On  the  same  day — May  20 — the  Second 
Regiment  was  announced  as  fu!l,  and  on  the  25th  it  was  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  for  three  years  by  I-ieut.-CoI.  E.  Backus,  of  the  United 
States  Army.  The  field  officers  of  the  regiment  were  Israel  B.  Richardson, 
colonel ;  Henry  U.  Chipman,  lieutenant-colonel ;  Adolphus  W.  Williams, 
major. 

In  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  the  company  from  Flint  was  desig- 
nated as  F  Company.  A  list,  purporting  to  be  a  correct  one,  of  the  members 
of  the  company  as  mustered  at  Ft.  Wayne  is  found  in  newspapers  of  that 
time,  and  as  it  contains  names  which  are  not  found  on  the  rolls  in  the  adjutant- 
general's  office,  it  is  given  below  in  full: 

Captain,  William  R.  Morse;  first  lieutenant,  William  Turver;  second 
lieutenant,  James  Farrand;  first  sergeant,  George  R.  Bisbey,  second  sergeant, 
William  B.  McCreery;  third  sergeant,  Sumner  Howard;  fourth  sergeant, 
Goundry  Hill;  fifth  sergeant,  Joseph  McConnell;  first  corporal,  Edwin  C.  Tur- 
ver; second  corporal,  James  Bradley;  third  corporal,  Damon  Stewart;  fourth 
corporal,  Joseph  Van  Buskirk;  fifth  corporal,  William  L.  Bishop;  sixth  cor- 
poral, Walter  H.  Wallace;  seventh  corporal.  Nelson  Fletcher;  eighth  corporal, 
Walter  E.  Burnside;  wagoner,  James  S.  Smith;  drummer,  Elisha  Kelley. 

I'rivates:  William  H.  Allen,  Milton  S.  Benjamin,  George  L.  Beamer, 
Tnse[>h  N.  Bradley,  Robert  S.  Bostwick,  Andrew  A.  Baxter,  LaF'ayette  Bost- 
wLck,  Myrick  S.  Cooley,  S.  Bradford  Cummings,  Charles  B.  Collins,  Thomas 
Cbapin,  Jr.,  Clark  F.  Chapman,  John  Cavanagh,  George  Carnier,  James  Coe, 
Edward  A.  Dennison,  George  Davis,  Charles  C.  Dewstoe,  Pratt  Day,  Cornel- 
ius D.  Hart,  Daniel  J.  Ensign,  Orlando  H.  Ewer,  John  G.  Fox,  Squire  E. 
F'oster,  William  F".  F^irgerson,  Horatio  Fish,  Charles  L.  Gardner,  Joseph  H. 
George,  Richard  H.  Halsted,  George  Hawkins,  Henrj'  W.  Horton,  Francis 
Haver,  William  Houghton.  Julius  A.  Hine,  Charles  E.  Kingsbury,  Philip  Kel- 
land,  John  Kain,  Sheldon  B.  Kelley,  George  Lee.  Harrison  Lewis,  Merton  E. 
Leland,  John  B.  Miller,  Charles  D.  Moon,  Dehon  McConneii,  David  McCor- 
nell,  Charles  W.  Mitchell,  George  L.  Patterson,  Samuel  L.  Ploss,  Hamilton 
PIoss,  James  F.  Partridge,  John  A.  Palmer,  Cornelius  E.  Rulison,  Charles  J. 
Rankin.  Edwin  Ruthruff,  Andrew  J.  Rogers,  Arba  Smith,  Jacob  C.  Sackner, 
Charles  Sickles,  James  Scarr,  George  H.  Sawyer,  Lyman  Stow,  Alva  L.  Saw- 
yer. Hercules  Stannard,  Andrew  M.  Sutton,  Frederick  B.  Smith,  Albert 
Schultz,  Hiram  Tinney.  I^'rankHn  Thompson,  Edgar  Tibbets,  Charles  Tuttle, 
Cornelius  Van  Alstine,  Richard  S.  Vickery,  James  N.  Willett,  John.Weller, 
George  Walter.  Emory  A.  Wood  and  William  E.  Williams. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Thursday.  June  6,  the  Second  Regiment,  one  thou- 


dbyGoot^lc 


344  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

sand  and  twenty  strong,  embarked  on  three  steamers,  and  at  eight  o'clock  p. 
m.  left  Detroit  for  Cleveland,  arriving  there  the  following  morning.  From 
Cleveland  it  proceeded  by  railway,  via  Pittsburgh,  Harrisburg  and  Baltimore, 
to  Washington,  reaching  the  capital  on  the  lOth.  The  following  account  of  its 
arrival,  which  appeared  under  the  head  of  "Sjiecial  Dispatch  to  the  New  York 
Tribune,"  is  taken  from  that  paper  and  given  here  in  full  as  showing  the 
excited  state  of  public  feeling  at  that  time,  as  well  as  the  crude  and  peculiar 
ideas  of  military  discipline  and  movements  which  then  prevailed.  The  accnunt 
dated  Washington,  June  lo,  1861,  was  as  follows: 

The  Second  Micliigaii  Itegiiiieiit,  Colonel  RleliJinlsiin,  nrrivetl  nt  four  o'clock  tills 
moviiiDg.  *  ■>  *  Word  lind  come  from  tlie  Tlnltwl  Stiites  niiii-Khjil  that  iin  jittiick 
would  be  make  on  them  in  Kjiitlniore,  iuul  the  trnin  lialted  seven  miles  on  the  otliei" 
side  of  the  Monunientiil  City  wliere  the  men  londed  their  muskets.  The  orders  were 
to  avoid  an  encounter  If  DORslble,  hut  tf  nnnvoidiilile  to  tiiko  no  hiilf  metisureH.  but 
for  each  company  to  liKht  tn  the  death  and  for  the  pioneers  to  make  rieim  work  with 
houses  froDi  which  they  were  assailed. 

In  a  suburb  on  the  otlier  side  :i  brick  was  thmwn  at  .1  laiv.iti'.  It  did  iiol  hil, 
but  the  orderly  sei'geunt  of  CouiiKiny  E  drew  Ills  rvM.lviT  and  llred  :it  the  stoni'r. 
He  was  seen  to  full,  hnt  whethei'  killed  or  not  Is  uuknoivn. 

At  the  depot  11  riiw  private  accidentufly  discliarged  his  innsket,  tlie  liall  whisk.'d 
through  the  car,  ciiuslng  {jreiit  excitement,  but  no  harm  was  done. 

Two  miles  this  aide  of  Utiltimore  11  shot  from  behind  a  fence  went  thrcmgii  :i  car. 
The  lights  were  extlujiuished  and  the  men  ordered  to  form  in  line  of  battle  if  the  shot 
should  be  followed  by  more.  Sentinels  were  posted  In  each  cnr.  Neiir  the  Relny  houwe 
firing  was  heflrd  from  one  of  our  picket  guards.  It  was  reported  that  they  had  been 
attacked  and  had  killed  four  men.  The  trutli  Is  not  known.  The  informant  adds  tliat 
the  rt^iment  received  a  lienrtj-  welcome  from  the  wi>niui  in  and  beyond  llaltininre, 
while  no  mim,  so  far  as  he  saw.  sreeted  theni. 

The  I'egimeut  Is  a  flne-lookluj;  bodj-,  UHiiibcrliis;  ti'ii  iiitndred  and  tweoty.  'J'lieir 
uniforms  are  dark  hliie,  like  the  I'ir.^t  Michigun,  and  they  are  armed  piu-tially  with 
new  Minie  guns  aud  partially  with  the  Hariier's  FeriT  musket  of  1846,  They  are  well 
supplied  with  clothing  and  camp  equipage.  Thli-ty  women,  wlio  will  serve  as  nurses 
and  laundresses,  accompany  the  regiment.  This  afternoon  the  regiment  was  received 
by  General  Scott  and  the  President  at  their  residence^. 

The  regiment  made  a  stay  of  several  weeks  in  the  District  of  t.olumliia, 
its  camp  being  named  "Camp  Winfield  Scott."  It  was  brigaded  with  the 
Third  Michigan,  First  Massachusetts  and  Twelfth  New  York,  the  brigade 
commander  being  Colonel  Richardson,  of  the  Second  Michigan.  When 
General  McDowell  made  his  forward  movement  towards  Manassas,  this 
brigade  moved  with  the  army  into  Virginia  and  was  engaged  in  the  fight  at 
Blackburn's  Ford,  July  18,  and  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Sunday,  July  21. 
In  the  panic  and  disorder  which  ended  that  disastrous  day  the  Second  Regi- 
ment behaved  with  great  steadiness,  covering  the  retreat  of  the  brigade  to- 


dbyGoot^lc 


(.;ENi;st:E  county,  Michigan.  345 

wards  Washingtiin,  for  which  it  was  warmly  comphmented  by  the  heroic 
Richardson, 

After  Bull  Run  the  regiment  was  encami^ed  for  some  weeks  near  Arl- 
ington, an<l  later  in  the  season  at  Ft.  Lyon,  Virginia,  where  it  remained  dur- 
ing the  fall.  About  December  20  substantial  and  comfortable  winter-quart- 
ers were  constructed  at  "Camp  Michigan,"  three  miles  from  Alexandria,  on 
on  the  Acotink  road.  While  this  camp  was  in  process  of  construction  an 
officer  wrote  that  "Cabins  are  growing  up  on  every  side,  adorned  with  doors 
and  windows,  procured  by  a  process  called  'cramping,'  which  is  somewhere 
on  the  debatable  ground  between  buying  and  stealing."  Here  the  regiment 
remained  until  March,  1862,  when  it  moved  with  its  brigade  and  the  .Vrmy  of 
the  Potomac  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  thence  up  the  Peninsula  to  Yorktown 
and  Williamsburg,  at  which  latter  place  it  took  active  part  in  the  severe  engage- 
ment of  Monday.  May  5.  sustaining  a  loss  of  fifty-five  killed  and  wounded. 
Among  the  latter  were  Captain  Morse,  of  F  Company,  who  was  afterwards 
transferred  to  the  invalid  corps,  and  Capt.  William  B.  McCreery,  an  original 
member  of  F  Companj-,  but  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  command  of  Com- 
pany G:  he  received  three  severe  wounds,  by  one  of  which  his  left  wrist  was 
])ermanently  disabled.  Afterwards  having  recovered  sufficiently  to  return  to 
the  field,  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Mich- 
igan Infantry,  and  two  months  later  iiecame  its  colonel.  He  led  his  regiment 
.gallantly  through  the  fire  and  carnage  of  Stone's  River  (December  31,  1862, 
to  January  3.  1863),  and  fought  at  its  head  at  Chickamauga  (September  20, 
1863),  until  he  had  received  three  severe  wounds,  and  was  finally  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  enemy.  He  was  sent  to  Libby  prison,  Richmond,  from  which, 
however,  he  succeede<!  in  making  his  escape  by  tunneling  under  the  walls, 
February  19,  1S64.  Six  days  later  he  returned  to  Flint,  where  a  public  recep- 
tion was  extended  to  him  by  leading  citizens  and  a  banquet  was  given  in  his 
honor  at  the  Carlton  House,  March  2.  The  disability  resulting  from  his  num- 
erous wounds  coni]>elle(l  his  retirement  from  the  .service  and  he  resigned  in 
September.  .1864.  Maj.-Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  in  reluctantly  accepting  his 
resignation,  took  occasion  to  compliment  him  highly,  in  orders,  on  his  honor- 
able rec(jrd  and  the  gallantn,'  of  his  service  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 
These  facts  relating  to  the  military  career  of  Colonel  McCreery  are  mentioned 
here  in  connection  with  the  battle  of  Williamsburg  Ijecause  that  fight  virtually 
severed  his  connection  with  the  Second  Regiment,  in  which  he  was  among  the 
most  honored  and  popular  of  its  officers. 

From  Williamsburg  the  Second  Regiment  moved  with  the  army  up  the 
Peninsula  to  and  across  the  Chickahominy  and  fought  in  the  batde  of  Fair 


dbyGoot^lc 


346  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Oaks,  May  31  and  June  1,  1862.  Its  loss  in  that  engagement  was  fifty-seven 
killed  and  wounded;  tliat  of  Company  F  was  fourteen,  or  one-fourth  the  total 
killed  and  wounded  of  the  regiment.  Three  companies  of  the  Second,  how- 
ever, were  not  engaged  in  the  fight. 

In  the  retreat,  or  "change  of  base"  as  it  has  sometimes  been  called,  from 
the  York  River  railroad  to  James  river,  the  regiment  fought  at  Glendale,  or 
Charles  City  Cross-Roads,  June  30,  and  at  Malvern  Hill,  July  I.  From  the 
latter  field  it  retired  with  the  army  and  moved  to  Harrison's  Landing  on  the 
James,  where  it  remained  until  the  general  evacuation  of  that  position,  August 
15,  when  it  marched  down  the  Peninsula  and  was  moved  thence  by  way  of  the 
Chesapeake  bay  and  Potomac  river  with  other  troops  to  the  assistance  of  the 
imperiled  army  of  General  Pope  in  the  valley  of  the  Rappahannock.  During 
this  campaign  it  took  part  in  the  fights  of  August  28,  29,  30,  and  in  the  battle 
of  Chantilly,  Septemljer  i. 

At  Frederickburg  the  Second  was  not  actively  engaged.  It  crossed  the 
Rappahannock  on  the  12th  of  December,  but  in  the  great  battle  of  the  next 
day  was  held  in  reserve  and  sustained  only  a  loss  of  one  killed  and  one 
wounded  by  the  enemy's  shells ;  but,  with  the  Eighth  Michigan  it  was  among 
the  last  of  the  regiments  of  the  army  to  recross  to  the  north  side  of  the 
river  on  the  i6th. 

On  the  13th  of  February,  1863,  the  regiment  moved  to  Newport  News, 
Virginia,  and  on  the  igth  of  March  took  its  route  to  Baltimore,  and  thence 
by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad  and  steamers  on  the  Ohio  river,  to  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  with  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  of  which  it  was  a  part.  The 
corps  remained  in  Kentucky  during  the  months  of  April  and  May,  and  in 
June  was  moved  to  Mississippi  to  reinforce  the  army  of  General  Grant  near 
Vicksburg.  The  Second  went  into  camp  at  Milldale,  near  Vicksburg,  on 
the  17th  and  a  few  days  later  was  stationed  at  Flower  Dale  Church.  On  the 
4th  of  July,  the  day  of  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg,  the  regiment  left  Flower 
Date  and  moved  east  towards  the  capital  of  Mississippi  to  take  part  in  the 
operations  against  the  rebel  army  of  General  Johnston.  It  arrived  in  front  of 
Jackson  on  the  evening  of  the  loth,  and  on  the  i  ith  advanced  in  skirmish  line 
on  the  enemy's  rifle-pits,  which  were  taken  and  held  for  a  time.  Superior 
numbers,  however,  compelled  the  Second  to  retire  from  the  position,  with  a 
loss  of  eleven  killed,  forty-five  wounded  and  five  taken  prisoners.  On  the 
13th  and  14th  of  July  the  regiment  was  again  sUghtly  engaged.  On  the  17th 
and  iSth  it  was  engaged  in  destroying  the  Memphis  &  New  Orleans  railroad 
in  the  vicinity  of  Jackson  and  Madison  and  then  moved  through  Jackson, 
which  had  been  evacuated  by  the  enemy,  back  to  Milldale ;  it  remained  there 


yGoo-^lc 


(;kni;see  county,  MiciiiGAN.  347 

till  August  5,  when  it  marched  to  the  river,  and  thence  moved  with  the  Ninth 
Corps  by  way  of  Cincinnati,  to  Kentucky,  and  encamped  at  Crab  Orchard 
Springs,  in  that  state,  on  the  30th  of  August.  Here  it  remained  twelve  days 
Before  September  10  it  broke  camp  and  took  the  road  for  Cumberland  Gap 
and  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  reaching  the  latter  place  September  36.  It  mo\'ed 
from  the  vicinity  of  Knoxville,  October  8,  and  was  slightly  engaged  at  Blue 
Springs  on  the  loth.  On  the  20th  it  was  again  at  Knoxville,  but  immediately 
afterwards  moved  to  I-oudon,  and  thence  to  Lenoir,  Tennessee,  where,  on 
the  8th  of  November,  its  men  commenced  building  winter  quarters.  Ilie 
strength  of  the  regiment  at  that  time  was  rejiorted  at  live  hundred  and  three, 
present  and  absent. 

The  anticipation  of  passing  the  winter  at  Lenoir  was  soon  dispelled  by 
the  intelligence  that  the  enemy  under  General  Longstreet  was  moving  up  the 
valley  of  the  Tennessee  in  heavy  force,  evidently  having  Knoxville  as  his 
objective  point.  On  the  14th  of  November  the  Second  Regiment,  with  its 
division,  the  First  Division  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  was  ordered  out  to  meet  and 
repel  Longstreet,  who  was  reported  to  be  crossing  the  Tennessee  below  Lou- 
don. He  was  found  in  force  near  Hough's  Ferry,  on  the  Holston,  and  the 
division  fell  back  to  [,enoir.  Here  a  line  of  battle  was  formed;  but,  on  the 
enemy  coming  up,  the  retreat  towards  Knoxville  was  resumed,  the  Second 
l^egiment,  with  its  brigade,  forming  the  rear  guard.  On  the  i6th  it  again 
stood  in  line  at  Campbell's  Station  to  resist  the  advance  of  Longstreet.  who 
■\\as  pressing  up  with  great  vigor.  A  sharp  engagement  ensued  in  which  the 
Second  lost  thirty-one  in  killed  and  wounded.  The  position  was  .stubbornly 
held  tilt  dark,  when  the  retreat  was  resumed.  The  regiment  reached  Knox- 
ville at  five  o'clock  in  tiie  morning  of  the  17th  after  a  march  of  nearly  thirty 
miles  through  mud  and  rain  and  a  battle  of  several  hours'  duration,  all  with- 
out rest  or  food.  It  took  position  on  a  hill  below  the  city,  at  Ft.  Saunders, 
i\'here  rifle-pits  were  constructed  and  where  the  regiment  remained  during 
the  siege  which  followed.  On  the  19th  and  20th  it  was  slightly  engaged,  and 
on  the  24th,  under  orders  to  attack  a  line  of  rifle-pits,  it  advanced  under 
command  of  Major  Byington,  moving  several  hundred  yards  across  an  open 
plain  swept  by  a  front  and  flank  fire  of  musketry  and  canister.  The  line  was 
carried,  but  could  not  be  held:  the  attacking  force  was  dislodged  and  com- 
pelled to  retire,  with  a  loss  to  the  Second  Regiment  of  eighty-one  killed  ami 
wounded — very  nearly  half  its  whole  number  in  the  fight.  Among  the  killed 
was  .A.djutant  William  Noble  and  Major  Byington  was  mortally  wounded. 

On  the  morning  of  Sunday,  November  29,  1863,  a  force  of  the  eneniy 
consisting   of   two   veteran    Georgia   brigades    of    McLaw's   division,    made 


dbyGoot^lc 


34o  GFNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

a  furious  and  persistent  assault  on  Ft.  Saunders;  but  they  were  repelled 
and  finally  driven  back  in  disorder  with  a  loss  of  eight  hundred  in  kiJIed, 
wounded  and  prisoners  and  three  stands  of  colors.  With  the  force  inside 
the  fort  during  this  assault  were  Companies  A,  F,  G  and  H,  of  the  Second 
Michigan.  Their  loss,  however,  was  inconsiderable,  being  only  five  killed 
and  wounded.  From  that  time  the  regiment  saw  no  fighting  at  this  place 
other  than  slight  skirmishes,  and  on  Friday  night,  December  4,  the  enemy 
withdrew  from  Ijefore  Knoxville,  after  a  siege  of  eighteen  days'  duration. 

The  Second  marched  from  Knoxville,  December  8,  and  moved  to  Rut- 
ledge.  On  the  16th  it  moved  to  Blain's  Cro.ss-Roads,  which  was  its  last 
march  in  1S63.  During  the  year  that  was  then  about  closing,  the  regiment 
had  moved  a  distance  of  more  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles.  It 
remained  at  Blain's  for  about  a  month,  during  which  time  it  was  "veteran- 
ized;" the  number  re-enlisting  as  veterans  was  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight. 
About  the  middle  of  January,  1864,  it  moved  to  Strawberry  Plains,  thence 
to  Knoxville  and  to  Erie  Station,  remaining  at  the  latter  place  until  Febru- 
ary 4;  it  then  moved  under  orders  to  proceed  to  Detroit,  Michigan,  and 
reached  there  twenty  days  later.  Here  the  veteran  furlough  was  given 
to  those  uho  had  re-enlisted,  and  Mt.  Clemens  was  made  the  place  of 
rendezvous.  At  this  place  the  regiment  received  orders  on  the  4th  of 
April  to  proceed  to  Annaimlis,  Maryland,  to  rejoin  the  Ninth  Army  Corps, 
which  had  in  the  meantime  moved  from  Tennessee  to  Virginia  to  reinforce 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  regiment  left  Annapolis  on  the  22nd,  pro- 
ceeded to  Washington,  ;ind.  thence  into  Virginia,  where  on  the  5th  of  JiTay 
it  crossed  the  Rapidan  and  joined  the  army  which  was  then  moving  into 
the  Wilderness.  For  six  weeks  following  this  time  the  Second  was,  with 
its  companion  regiment  of  the  brigade,  so  constantly  employed  in  march, 
.skirmish  or  battle,  that  it  is  hardly  practicable  to  follow  the  intricacies  of 
the  movements;  but  the  following  statement  of  casualties  during  that  time 
shows  where  and  how  it  fought.  The  statement,  which  includes  only  tlie 
killed  and  wounded  (and  not  the  missing),  is  taken  from  the  report  of 
the  regimental  surgeon,  Richard  S.  Vickery:  In  the  Wilderness  l>attle.  May 
6,  killed  and  wounded,  38:  at  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  May  12,  killed 
and  wounded,  11;  at  Oxford,  North  Anna,  May  24.  killed,  i;  skirmish  of 
May  24.  killed,  r ;  Pamunkey  River,  May  31,  2;  skirmish,  June  i,  5;  skirm- 
ish. June  2,  2;  battle  of  Eethesda  Church,  June  2.  38;  Gold  HartKir  and 
other  actions,  from  June  4  to  June  10,  9, 

The  regiment  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  the  James  river  on  the  15th, 
reached  the  enemy's  works  in   front  of  Petersburg  on  the   i6th,  and   took 


dbyGoot^lc 


(;c:neser  county,  Michigan.  349 

part  in  the  attack  of  the  next  two  days  with  the  following  losses  in  killed  and 
wounded:     In  battle  of  June  17,  91;  in  battle  of  June   i8,  83. 

Recruits  to  the  number  of  Hve  hundred  or  more  had  joined  the  regi- 
ment since  the  veteran  re-enlistment— otherwise  such  losses  would  have  been 
impossible. 

On  the  30th  of  July  the  Second  took  part  in  the  engagement  which 
followed  the  explosion  of  the  mine  and  Hustained  a  loss  of  twenty  killed 
and  wounded  and  thirty-seven  missing.  Having  moved  with  the  Ninth 
Corps  to  the  Weldon  railroad,  it  there  took  part  in  repelling  the  enemy's 
assault  on  our  lines  August  19,  losing  one  killed  and  two  wounded.  On  the 
30tli  it  crossed  the  Weldon  railroad  and,  moving  towards  the  enemy's  right 
flank,  participated  in  the  engagement  of  that  date  at  Poplar  (irove  Church 
about  a  month  at  Peebles'  Farm,  but  moved,  October  27,  in  the  advance  on 
Boydton  Flank-Road,  losing  seven  wounded  in  that  affair.  It  then  remained 
at  Peebles',  engaged  in  picket  duty  and  fortifying,  till  November  29,  whet 
it  moved  to  a  point  about  ten  miles  farther  to  the  right  on  the  City  Point  & 
Petersburg  railroad,  and  there  remained  m  the  trenches  during  the  winter. 
On  the  25th  of  March  it  fought  at  Ft.  Steadman  and  sustained  severe  loss. 
It  again  lost  slightly  at  the  capture  of  Petersburg,  j\pril  3.  It  then  moved 
to  the  South  Side  railroad,  eighteen  miles  from  Petersburg,  and  remained 
nearly  two  weeks,  but  in  the  meantime  the  army  of  Lee  had  surrendered  and 
the  fighting  days  of  the  regiment  were  passed.  It  moved  to  City  Point 
and  embarking  there  on  the  i8th,  was  tran,sported  to  Alexandria,  Virginia, 
from  whence  it  moved  to  a  camp  at  Tenallytown,  Maryland.  On  the  27th 
of  May  it  was  detached  for  duty  in  Washington  City  and  remained  there 
for  about  two  months.  On  the  29th  of  July,  having  on  the  previous  daj' 
been  mustered  out  of  the  service,  it  left  by  railroad  for  Michigan,  and  on 
the  1st  of  August  it  reached  Detroit  and  was  soon  afterward  paid  and  dis- 
banded. In  a  published  account  of  the  regiment's  return,  it  was  stated  that 
of  ail  the  original  members  of  Company  F,  Orlando  H.  Ewer,  of  Flint, 
was  the  only  one  who  remained  in  its  ranks  to  t)e  included  in  the  final 
discharge  "after  four  yeans  and  a  quarter  of  honorable  ; 


Headciunrters   First  J 

Opposite  Frederieksbiire,  Yi\. 
DecPiiiber  otii,  1SG2. 
S|ifriiil  Orders.  No.  111. 

II.    Private  Frank  Tlioiuiisoii.  Coiupauj-  F,  Second  Miehlgiin  Voluiiteera,  is  detiiiti'tl 
oil  siiecial  duly  nt  these  lieiidqiiiirtei-s  ns  postmnster  nnd  ninil  cflirier  for  tbe  brPgyde. 

(Signed)     O.  M.  Poe, 
Olfioiiil:  Jnutes  Reld,  Lieut,  .ind  A.  A.  A.  C  Colonel  Commnniliiig  BrlgHde. 


dbyGoc^lc 


350'  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

In  Company  F,  Second  Michigan,  there  enhsted  at  Flint,  Franklin 
Thompson  (or  Frank,  as  nsnally  called)  aged  twenty,  ascertained  after- 
ward and  about  the  time  he  left  the  regiinent  to  have  been  a  female,  and  a 
good  looking  one  at  that.  She  succeeded  in  concealing  her  sex  most  admir- 
ably, serving  in  various  campaigns  and  battles  of  the  regiment  as  a  soldier, 
often  employed  as  a  spy,  going  within  the  enemy's  lines,  sometimes  absent 
for  weeks,  and  is  said  to  have  furnished  much  valuable  information.  She 
remained  with  the  regiment  until  April,  1863,  when  it  is  supposed  she  appre- 
hended a  disclosure  of  her  sex  and  deserted  at  Lebanon,  Kentucky,  but 
where  she  went  remains  a  mystery. 

.\t  the  reunion  of  the  regiment  held  at  Lansing.  October  ir,  1883,  the 
mysterious  disapi^earance  of  F'rank  Thompson  was  cleared  up,  and  in  Mav, 
1900,  Colonel  Schneider  published  a  complete  history  of  Frank  Thompson, 
or  Mrs.  Seelye,  who  died  at  Laporte,  Texas,  Septem1>er  5.  1898,  and  was 
buried  under  the  auspices  of  Houston  (Texas)  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  of  which  she  had  been  an  honored  member. 

Till':  Ol.D  Fr.AG  OF  T((E  SECOND  MICHIGAN   INFANTKY. 

During  the  preliminary  organization  of  the  Second  Infantry,  nearly 
every  company  was  presented  with  a  flag  by  the  citizens  of  the  locality  where 
it  had  been  recruited,  and  upon  arriving  at  the  rendezvous  in  Detroit,  the 
Niles  company  having  been  designated  as  the  "color  company,"  the  flag 
brought  by  them  was  used  as  the  regimental  colors.  In  February,  1862, 
this  flag,  being  of  very  light  silk,  had  become  unserviceable.  Col.  O,  M. 
Poe,  commanding  the  regiment,  obtained  from  the  war  <lei>artment  a  set  of 
regulation  infantry  colors,  which  he  presented,  with  a  stirring  speech,  to  the 
regiment,  and  the  original  flag  was  returned  to  its  donors.  This  second  flag 
was  carried  in  thirty-four  engagements,  and  under  its  folds  eleven  officers  and 
one  hundred  and  ninety-four  men  were  killed  in  action  or  mortally  wounded. 
On  the  24th  of  November,  1863,  at  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  the  regiment,  under 
command  of  Major  Byington,  charged  the  enemy's  rifle  pits.  Eighty-four 
were  killed  and  wounded  out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  engaged,  including 
Major  Byington,  who  was  mortally  wounded,  four  officers  and  the  cok)r  serg- 
eant killed,  and  six  sergeants  who  lost  a  leg  each,  the  flag  staff  being  hit  three 
times.  On  July  30,  1864,  during  the  attack  which  followed  the  blowing  up 
of  a  fort  within  the  enemy's  lines,  near  Petersburg,  Virginia,  known  in  the 
list  of  engagements  as  "The  Crater,"  the  regiment  was  in  the  advance  of  the 
charge  made  by  the  Ninth  Corps.    At  every  step  the  fire  of  the  enemy  in  front 


dbyGoot^lc 


GEN'ESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  35I 

and  on  each  flank  concentrated  upon  them  and  plowed  their  ranks  with  great 
slaughter.  The  charge  was  checked  on  the  side  of  the  crest;  there  was  a  halt, 
and  finally  the  whole  line  of  the  brigade,  wavering  under  terrible  odds, 
recoiled;  nearly  surrounded  through  lack  of  proper  support,  the  regimental 
commander  among  the  dead,  fifty-seven  men  killed  and  prisoners,  and  seeing 
escape  hopeless.  Color  Sergeant  Jesse  Gaines  ran  to  the  rear  as  far  as  possible, 
and  cast  the  flag  over  the  parapet  towards  our  lines,  trusting  it  woiild  be  seen 
and  saved  by  some  of  our  men;  he  was  almost  instantly  a  prisoner,  with 
others  of  the  color  guard.  The  flag  was  found  and  taken  by  the  enemy  and 
carrictl  a  trophy  to  Richmond. 

A  Richmond  paper,  narrating  the  events  of  this  desperate  battle,  said,  in 
substance:  "Among  the  flags  taken  was  that  of  the  Second  Michigan  Infan- 
try, an  organization  well  known  in  our  army  since  the  first  Bull  Run  battle. 
It  bears  the  names  of  many  prominent  engagements  with  both  the  eastern  and 
western  armies.  This  regiment  must  have  Ijeen  nearly  annihilated,  or  it  would 
never  have  lost  its  colors."  And  Sergeant  Gaines,  in  his  interesting  sketch, 
pithily  says:  "It  is  true  the  flag  was  lost,  but  it  was  never  surrendered." 
\Vhen  Richmond  was  taken  it  was  found  in  the  rel>el  capitol,  removetl  to 
Washington,  and  later,  by  an  order  of  the  war  department,  sent  to  the  regi- 
mental association,  and  is  now  among  the  war  relics  in  the  capitol  at  Lansing. 

As  a  proof  that  no  dishonor  was  attached  to  the  regiment  for  its  loss 
under  such  trying  circumstances.  General  Mead,  commanding  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  ordered  a  new  flag  to  be  presented  to  the  regiment,  which  was 
done.  Upon  general  orders  of  army  headquarters,  the  following  most  ]irom- 
inent  battles  and  sieges,  in  which  the  regiment  had  borne  a  creditable  part, 
were  printed  u]X)n  this  last  flag,  as  far  as  practicable,  all  minor  engagements 
being  left  out  for  want  of  space  on  the  flag:  Blackburn's  Ford,  BuH  Run, 
siege  of  Yorktown,  Williamsburg,  Fair  Oaks.  Glendale,  Malvern  Hill,  Ciian- 
tilly,  Fredericksburg,  siege  of  Vicksburg,  siege  of  Petersburg,  Crater,  Weldon 
Railroad,  Ream's  Station,  Poplar  Springs  Church,  Hatcher's  Rim.  Fort 
Steadman,  Capture  of  Petersburg  and  Appomattox. 

Of  scenes  lung  [i  [ssed    mid  bittles  stilfe 

Wlieie  it  inlned  a  hnlo  of  glon 
Tliis  tleii  old  flag   eafli  stai  and  strtiw 

t'oiild  tell  mtny  a  toncliniK  strm 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  The  Association  of  Sunuors  of  the  Second 
Michigan  Infantry,  at  Kalamazoo,  October  i6,  1888,  a  committee  consisting 
of  Capt.  John  V.  Ruehle,  Jr.,  Capt..  John  C.  Hardy  and  Capt.  William  J. 
Handy,  was  ap]>ointed  to  report  upon  a  design  for  a  regimental  badge.    At  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


352  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

reunion  held  at  Saginaw,  August  29,  1S89,  this  committee  reported  as  fol- 
lows:    "A  design  for  a  badge  has  been  considered  and  a  sketch  is  herewith 

submitted :    Material  of  badge  and  bar  to  be  of  gold.     The  cost  will  be  $ ■, 

the  badge  to  be  a  seven-pointed  star,  in  general  form  and  dimensions  similar 
to  the  one  adopted  by  the  Kearney  Division  Association;  a  circle  of  leaves 
enclosing  the  diamond  or  lozenge  of  the  Third  Army  Corps  in  red  enamel,  the 
same  resting  upon  the  cannon  and  anchor  of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps  in  blue 
enamel;  around  the  corps  badges  the  words  'Blackburn's  Ford,  1861,  to  .\p- 
pomatto.x,  1865' ;  below  in  a  scroll  '2d  Mich.  Infty' ;  the  l>adge  to  be  susi>ended 
from  a  bar  pin  by  a  red  ribbon.  The  committee  also  suggests  that  the  issue  of 
badges  shall  be  confined  to  the  following  persons  only:  First,  to  those  who 
were  identified  with  the  regiment  and  served  in  it  during  any  of  the  following 
campaigns,  and  were  honorably  discharged  from  the  regiment :  The  Penin- 
sular campaign,  under  McClellan;  in  Virginia,  under  Pope,  Virginia,  under 
Burnside,  Kentucky  under  Bumside,  Mississippi  under  Grant,  Mississippi 
under  Sherman,  Tennessee  imder  Burnside,  or  the  final  camjiaign  against 
Richmond  under  Grand;  second,  to  the  nearest  surviving  heir  of  any  member 
of  the  regiment  who  was  killed,  died  of  wounds  or  disease  in  the  service  or 
died  since  mustered  out  (if  honorably  discharged),  the  intention  being  that 
e\-ery  memlier  who  served  creditably  with  this  regiment  may  hereafter  be 
represented  by  this  badge,  and  none  others."  This  report  was  ado])tetl  and 
the  same  committee  made  a  permanent  one  to  carry  out  its  provisions. 

Sa).  UleliJinl  SI.  Million,  (ieiiesee  Co.:  priviitf  Co.  K;  pro.  to  coiu.-sei^t.,  Nov.  7, 
].S01;  pro,  to  2d  Heut.  Co.  K;  pi-o.  to  Iwt  lieiit.  jiiiil  ;ulj..  M;uth  Ci,  18(12:  resigned 
Aug.  ;■».   1W!2. 

giiiii'.-MiiBter  Hwgt.  .Tiinn's  Hm.ilfy,  (•'Ihir;  jii-o.  Ii>  'M  liftil.  Vo.  I:  Is!  Jienr.  ;iiid 
Ciipt.  Co.  F. 

QiiiuvMnsiter  Sei-Kt.  (ioniiilrj  Hill,  IHint:  ]>ro.  lo  2(1  lii'iit.  Vi>.  F;  jiin,  ti>  Isi  licut. 
niid  qii,'ii-.-niiiNtcr.  IJpc.  :[.  lStK>;   must,  out  Sept.  SO,   l.Slil. 

Scrgt-jriU.  Josepli   Vjiu  BiiBltii-k,  Fiiiit;  iiro.   to  1st  lieiil.   t'o.   li. 

Company  F. 

Capt..  WilliiiJii  11.  Miifse,  Fliut;  eiil.  ApriJ  ^5,  18C1;  wounded  fit  Wlllliiiii8bui-g,  Vn., 
lliiy  G,  1802;  res.  Aur.  22,  1S63,  to  accept  iippointnieut  in  Invalid  corps. 

Ciipt.  Juiues  Bradley,  FJInt;  enl.  Dec.  3,  1863;  wub  qr.-inr.-serKL ;  pi-o.  to  2rt  lieut. 
Co.  I,  Aug.  25,  1862;  pro.  to  let  lieut.  Co.  F;  died  of  wounds  received  in  action  near 
Petersburg,  Va.,  June  17,  1804;  buried  at  Arlington  National  Oenieterj',  Vri.  Now 
burled  at  Hiver  Uun,  Mich. 

Fli-st  Lieut.  Win.  Puvvcr,   Flint:  eiil..  Ajiril  2T,.  IMl!  ;   res.   .Inly  2!l,   1K(!2. 

Second  Lieut.  .lauies  Fiirrand.  Flint:  enl,  -Vju'il  25,  1.SII2;  ])ro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  G, 
March  6,  1862;  pro.  to  capt.  Co.  V,  Axifi.  1,,].8«2;  killed  in  actioLL  near  Wpottsyli-iiniii 
Court  House,  May  12,  1864. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  353 

Seuoiul  Lieut.  Gouudry  Hill  (qr.-mr.-sergt.)  ;  2(1  lieut.  Co.  F;  onl.  Aug.  !).  1802; 
lat  Ueut.  aud  qr.-mr.  Dec.  3,  ISt>2 ;  must,  out  Sept.  30,  18«4. 

Second  Lieut.  Nelson  Fletolier  (sergt,),  Flint;  2d  lieut,  Dec.  1.SC2;  killed  in  action 
near  Oxford,  Noith  Anna  river,  Vti.,  May  24,  1864. 

Sergt.  George  R.  Blsbey,  died  nt  Cnnip  Winfield  Scott,  Md.,  July  11,  1S61. 

Sergt.  WlUiain  B.  McCreerj-,  Flint;  pi-o.  to  CHpt.  Co.  G. 

Sergt.  Sumner  Howard,  Flint;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.  regular  army,  August,  1861. 

Sergt.  Goundry  Hill,  Flint;  pro.  to  qr.-mr.-sergt.  March  7,  1862. 

Covp.  Edwin  C.  Turver.  enl.  May  25,  1661 ;  disch.  for  dtsal)lllty,  Sept,  1861. 

Coip.  James  Bradley,  enl.  May  25,  1861 ;  pro.  to  qr.-mr.-sergt.  Aug.  1,  1S62. 

(torp.  Damon  Stewart,  enl.  Mtiy  25,  1861 ;  disch.  to  nccept  commission  In  Twenty- 
tliii-d  Infantry. 

Corp.  Joseph  \";in  BiiBldrk,  enl.  May  25,  1861;  pro.  to  sergt.-maj.  Sept.  16,  1862. 

Coi-p.  William  L.  Bisliop,  enl.  Mny  2."),  1S61 ;  kille<l  in  battle  at  Yorktown,  Vn., 
April  16,  1862. 

Corp.  Selson  Fletcber  (sergt. I,  eiii.  May  25,  1861;  pro.  to  qr.-nir.-sergt.  Dec  1,  1862. 

Privates-— William  H.  Allen,  must  out  June  28,  1865;  Bavid  Anderson,  Vienna, 
must.  oHt  July  28,  lS6Ei;  William  J.  Allen,  Vienna,  must,  out  June  25,  1865;  William  L. 
Bisbojt,  erti-p.,  died  at  Yorktowu,  Va.,  April  16,  1862;  George  R.  Bisbey,  sergt.,  died  of 
diseiise  irJ  Camp  Winfield  Scott,  Va.,  July,  1861;  Joseph  N.  Bradley,  disch.  for  disability, 
Dec.  2,  1862;  Adln  C.  Billings,  sergt.,  Flint  Tp.,  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  K;  Andrew  A. 
Baxter,  disch.  for  disability,  July  14,  1862;  James  Bensou,  Flint  Tp.,  killed  at  Wilder- 
ness, Ya.,  May  6,  1864;. George  Beemer,  died  in  action  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Nov.  24, 
1863:  Milton  S.  Benjamin,  Vienna,  dlscli.  for  wounds,  Jan.  28,  1865;  George  Gamier, 
dleil  in  action  at  Wtliiamsburg,  Va.,  May  5,  1862;- Oharlea  B.  Collins,  disch.  to  enlist 
in  regular  sei-vice,  Dec.  5,  1862:  S.  Bradford  Cnmmings,  disch.  for  disability,  Feb.  19, 
1803:  Tbonias  Chupin.  Jr.,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  June  21,  1864;  Clark  F.  Chapman, 
Flhit  Tp.,  disch.  for  wounds,  Feb.  26,  1865;  James  Coe,  must,  out  July  28,  1865;  John 
Deltz.  disch.  for  disability,  Jan.  5,  1863;  George  Davis,  discli.  at  end  of  service.  May 
25,  1864:  Cornelius  De  Hart,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Dec.  25,  1864;  Charles  E. 
Deioster,  disch.  at  end  of  sei-vice,  Deo.  25,  1S64:  Daniel  J.  Ensign,  died  June  3,  1862, 
Qt  wounds  received  at  Fair  Oaks,  Va.;  Orlando  H.  Ewer,  Flint  Tp.,.must  out  July  28, 
ISIiTi:  Cliurles  L.  Gardner,  died  of  disease  at  Camp  Lyons,  Va.,  Oct.,  1861;  Joseph  H. 
iiei)r^'e.  disch.  for  disability,  Sept.,  1861;  John  R.  Goodrich,  disch.  for  disability,  Oct. 
i::t.  isi;2:  William  Honshton.  disch.  for  dlsabllitj-,  Sept.,  1861;  Julius  Heine,  disch.  (or 
ili*il)ility,  Jan.  5,  ISIS:  Frederick  Holtz,  CIa>-ton,  died  nt  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Dee.  12, 
1863,  of  wounds;  Fi-ancls  Haven,  Flint;  died  In  action  near  Petersburg.  Va.,  June  17, 
1S64;  A'irgii  Hadstitlt,  missing  In  action  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Nov.  24,  1863;  Henry  W. 
Hoi-tou.  trans,  to  I'et.  Res.  Corps.  Mai-ch  15,  1864;  Richard  H.  Halstead,  disch.  at  end 
of  service,  June  21,  1864 ;  Charles  Hnrtner,  disch.  to  re-enilst  as  veteran,  Dec.  31,  1863 ; 
James  V.  Homell,  absent,  sick,  not  must,  out  with  company;  Sheldon  B.  Kelly,  died  In 
action  at  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  Slay  31,  1862:  John  Kane,  disch.  for  disability,  Sept.,  1861; 
Philip  Kelland,  disch.  for  disability,  July  19,  1362;  Elisha  Kelly,  nmslcian;  disch.  to 
i-e-enlist  as  veteran,  Dec.  31,  1863 ;  Charles  E.  Kingsbury,  Fort  Tp.,  must,  out  July  28, 
1865;  George  Lee,  Grand  Blanc  Tp.,  must,  out  July  28,  1865;  Charles  D.  Moore,  died 
June  6,  1802,  or  wounds  received  at  Fair  Oaks,  Va.;  Dellion  McConnell,  died  in  action 
at  Fair  Oaks,  May  31,  1862;  John  B.  Miller,  died  in  action  at  Chantllly,  Vn..  July  1, 
1862:  David  McConnell,  disch.  to  enlist  in  regular  service,  Dec.  5,  1862;  Peter  McNally, 
Vienna  Tp.,  must,  out  May  26,  1865 ;  Samuel  L.  Floss,  died  of  disease  at  Washington, 

(23) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


354  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

UlS  -•»  1H)1  HuiilltiJ  lie*  (lie.1  (tilistisL  It  ^^  lshillfrt<li  iug  2!>  ISbl  Time-i  F 
Pirtudge  musfchu  dlscli  foi  dls-iMlitj  l>ec  '*  IfeGl  AVnllace  I  Paikei  Genesee 
Ijj  (eteran  must  out  Jiilj  2S  1SG5  (.Ufirles  lljuiklu  died  o£  dinetise  it  iiliuittoii 
Heights  Va  Sept  20  ISbl  Loinellua  £.  Rutison  diacli  iit  end  of  serWee  June  21 
1804  Nithan  U  KlLliaidson  Unit  uuiBt  mit  Tuly  2^  1sIj5  George  Ruddlmnii  Tllnt 
must  out  July  28  1865  TiLOb  C  Sackrler,  died  Tune  24  18(i2  of  wounds  Jjiuies  s 
SmltJi  disch  fjr  disiibillti  sqrt:  isoi  irbi  hmltli,  dlucli  for  dlsublliti  Sept  ISOl 
Geoige  Sawvei  disch  foi  di'iililht*  Oct  ISbl  Jimes  '«ciii  dtscli  nt  eiid  of  serute 
June  21  1864  lymun  Stow  discli  it  end  of  serMce  June  21  1S04  Vlbert  L  »>i»-(ii 
dls*,li  at  eud  of  sen  ice  June  21  ISW  limUliuB  <linltli  diwii  Jan.  27  isea  Hei 
cules  'itunuaid  veteran  must  (ut  Tulj  2S  1S6I)  Geoige  Sheldon  dlscU  to  le  enlist 
It  veteran  Dee  il  I'iGS  ilbert  sUiultz  dlscli  l.i  leeuiist  it  leteiin  Dec  81  ISixJ 
ClMiiles  H  «!tone  Hint  died  of  diser^e  neu  4.1e\indilu  \a  Oct  6  1«64  Tolni  G 
Sanford  Vienna  Tp  died  of  disease  neir  AJeMiidmi  ^a  Oct  20  1864  Matliiiis 
Schermerbom  mubt  out  Mu  20  1S65  Idnln  (_  lunei  corii  dl'*,b  foi  dls,ibllit\ 
Sept  ISGl  Jobn  01  Josepb  W  TonipkiiiM  mu^t  out  Aug  '>  1S65  Hlnui  Tennev 
discb  It  end  of  semci  Miy  25  1S04  Edgar  Tibbnls  disch  at  end  of  seiske  Maj 
25  !'*(>*  Tohn  H  Tibbnli  disch  at  end  of  wrwce  No\  'I  lSfl4  John  Waltci  dlstb 
at  «id  of  senlce  Jiiue  21  ISOi  Jimen  WiUett  dl*^U  it  end  of  senite  Miy  21  l'*64 
TVmiim  B  Wlllinini.  dlwch  foi  disabllitj  Oct  1801  bnion  A  Wood  discb  foi  dis 
ability  Aug  4  1S62  lohii  i  ttpller  trans  to  ^  et  Res  Loips  Noi  15  1864  Don  \ 
Williams    must    out   Tnly    >\    1*5(1-.     Rolieit  H    7    ^^  iinei     ^leimi   1\t     mwit    out   Iiux 

19,  1S(15. 

romp-iiiu   I'r. 
William  li.   AI.-Gm'i.i.   Fliat;   (.Mpt.   .Sept.   10,   l.SOl  :   wouiuled   »t   Willhimsburg.   V^i.. 
In  three  places  severely.  Hay  ■>.  lvfS2:  pro.  to  lieut.-oolonel  21st  itegt.  llicb.  Inf..  Nov. 

20.  1862;  colonel.  Feb.  S.  IRIB:  token  prisoner  at  Cbickamausa,  Teui.,  Sept.  20,  ISaS: 
wounded  in  three  places  sevei'ely :  escaped  from  Llbby  Prison.  Feb.  10,  1864 :  reslsrned 
on  account  of  woiuids.  Seiit.  14,  lS(y. 

James  Tairind  iiint;  1st  lieut.  March  0,  1S62;  pi-o.  to  capt.  Co.  C,  Aug.  1,  1862: 
killed  In  ictlon  near  fepottsylvnnla  Ooiirt  House,  Va.,  May  12,  1864. 

Geoige  Sheldon  fcenton,  com.-wrgt.;  sergt.  Co,  K;  pro.  to  lat  lieut.  Co.  C;  iinist. 
out  ns  sergt 

Hercules  Staiiuaid    Flint   (sergt.);  pro.  to  2d  lieut.;  must,  out  as  sergt. 

PrUatei — W  ird  Beiry,  Argentine,  Co.  E,  died  of  wounds,  June  19,  1804,  near 
Petersburg,  Va. ,  Heiiiy  Ilormiin,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  O,  must,  out  July  28,  18(15;  llyrou 
Green,  Atlas,  Co.  B,  died  June  17,  1804,  of  wounds;  James  M.  Hill,  Atlas.  Co.  R,  iiiiMS- 
ing  In  action,  July  30,  1864;  Ijafayette  Hill,  Atlas,  Co.  B.  must,  out  Aug.  2.  18(!sT; 
Walter  P.  Jones,  Fenton,  Go.  B,  must,  out  July  28,  ISfiS;  Charles  K.  Litson,  Atlas, 
Co.  H,  must,  out  July  28,  1865;  Read  IJirde,  Argeutlne.  Co.  E,  muHt.  out  ,Tii].v  2«,  ]«(iri: 
Robert  P.  Meddleivorth,  Argentine,  Co.  B,  died  neai-  Petevsbui-ft.  X-.y..  .Time  in.  isa4. 
of  wounds;  Abra'm  D.  I'eiTy,  Atlas,  Co.  K,  died  nt  Waslilngtou.  -Tuly  17.  1W4,  of 
wounds;  Orrin  D.  Putnam,  Argentine  O.,  died  at  Washington,  .Tune  2,  1864,  of  aci-i- 
deiital  wounds;  Thomas  Pei'17,  Fulton,  Co.  I,  must,  out  July  2S!,  1865:  Chiirles  It. 
Snook,  Argentine,  Co,  E.  died  July  6,  1S64,  <)f  wounds;  As.i  Rhepiird,  Argentine.  Co.  G. 
must,  out  July  28,  18G5;  George  W.  Tliarrett,  Davison,  Co.  H,  must,  out  July  28.  1865: 
Joseph  B.  Vamum.  Atliis  Tp..  Co.  H.  must,  out  Aug.  IT.  18n">:  Ghiiries  Webber,  1-Viiloii. 
Co.  B,  must,  out  Aug.  2,  lS(ir.. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUN'IY,    MICHIGAN. 


EIGlITir    INFANTRY. 


The  Eighth  Regiment  was  formed  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1861. 
Its  organizer  and  commanding  officer  was  Col.  William  M,  Fenton,  of 
Flint,  previously  major  of  the  Seventh  Infantry,  from  which  he  was  pro- 
moted to  this.  The  nucleus  of  the  Eighth  Regiment  was  a  Genesee  company 
called  the  "F'enton  Light  Guard"  which  had  been  organized  at  the  armory  in 
FUnt,  May  10,  a  few  days  after  the  departure  of  the  Flint  Union  Grays  to 
join  the  Second  Regiment  at  Detroit.  It  had  been  expected  that  the  Light 
Guard  would  take  the  field  as  a  part  of  the  Seventh  Regiment,  and  in  fact 
it  had  Ijeen  designated  as  E  Company  in  that  organization;  but  as  the 
Seventh  was  able  to  muster  its  full  complement  of  ten  companies  without 
this,  it  was  transferred  to  Colonel  Feiiton's  command,  not  only  with  the  con- 
sent but  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  officers  and  men.  Another 
Genesee  company  which  entered  the  Eighth  was  named  the  Excelsior  Guard, 
and  representatives  of  the  county  were  found  in  all  of  the  eight  other 
companies  of  the  regiment.  These  last-named  companies,  however,  were 
principally  made  up  of  men  from  the  counties  of  Shiawassee,  Clinton,  Gratiot, 
Montcalm,  Kent,  Ingham,  Jackson  and  Barry. 

On  the  I2th  of  .Vugust  the  several  companies  were  designated  and  ordered 
to  rendezvous  at  Grand  Rapids  on  the  21st.  Under  these  orders  the  Kenton 
Light  Guard,  one  hundred  and  seven  strong,  under  Capt.  Russell  M.  Barker, 
anil  the  Excelsior  Guard,  Capt.  Ephraim  N.  Lyon,  left  Flint  and  moved  to 
Fentonville,  and  thence  by  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railroad  to  Grand  Rapids, 
where  the  regimental  camp  was  pitched  in  the  fair  grounds  and  named  "Camp 
Anderson."  Here  the  regiment  remained  for  four  weeks  engaged  in  drill, 
organization  and  the  filling  of  its  ranks  to  the  maximum  number.  On  the 
I  Sth  of  Sqjtember  it  moved  to  Detroit,  and  thence  to  a  camp  at  Ft.  Wayne, 
below  the  city,  where,  on  the  23d,  it  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
.service  for  three  years  by  Capt.  H,  R.  Mizner,  United  States  Anny,  its 
strength  when  mustered  was  nine  hundred.  Its  field  officers,  besides  Colonel 
Fenton,  were  Lieut. -Col.  Frank  Graves  and  Maj.  Amasa  B.  A\'atson. 

In  the  organization  of  the  regiment  the  Fenton  Light  Guard  was  desig- 
nated as  A  Company  and  it  was  mustered  under  the  following  named  com- 
missioned officers:  Captain,  Simon  C.  Guild,  promoted  to  captaincy  in  place 
of  Captain  Barker,  who  resigned  at  Camp  Anderson  on  account  of  ill-health; 
first  lieutenant,  George  E.  Newell;  second  lieutenant,  George  H.  Turner. 

The  Excelsior  Guard  was  designated  as  G  Company,  and  its  first  com- 


dbyGoot^lc 


356  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

missioned  officers  were:  Captain,  E.  N.  Lyon;  first  lientenant,  Horatio 
Belcher;  second  lieutenant,  N.  Miner  Pratt, 

Orders  for  the  departure  of  the  regiment  were  received  on  the  26th  of 
September,  and  on  the  27th  it  embarked  on  the  steamers  "Ocean"  and  "May 
Qiieen"  and,  moving  down  the  river  and  lake,  arrived  at  Cleveland  the  follow- 
ing morning.  From  there  it  moved  b)'  railroad  through  Pittsburgh,  Harris- 
burg  and  Baltimore  to  Washington,  where  it  arrived  on  the  30th  and  en- 
camped on  Meridian  Hill;  its  camp  was  named  "Camp  Williams."  In  due 
time  the  men  received  amis  and  equipments.  On  the  gth  of  October  the  regi- 
ment moved  to  Annapolis,  Maryland,  and  there  occupied  the  ground.'^  of  the 
Naval  Academy. 

On  October  19  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  embark  on  board  the  ocean- 
steamer  "Vanderbilt,"  then  lying  at  Annapolis.  It  was  evidently  bound  on 
some  distant  expedition,  but  its  destination  and  object  were  unknown  and 
were  matters  of  endless  surmise  and  speculation  among  the  officers  and  men 
during  the  passage  down  the  Chesapeake.  On  the  "Vanderbilt"  with  the 
Eighth  was  the  Seventy-ninth  New  York  Regiment,  called  the  "Highlanders,"' 
and  neither  regiment  appeared  to  be  very  favorably  impressed  with  the  appear- 
ance or  presence  of  the  other.  One  who  was  present  on  board  the  ship  at 
that  time  wrote  afterwards  concerning  this:  "The  men  of  the  Eighth  Mich- 
igan and  Seventy-ninth  New  York  looked  distrustfully  on  each  other.  The 
ship  was  rather  uncomfortably  crowded,  having  eighteen  hundred  persons  on 
board,  and  every  effort  to  obtain  }>etter  storage  by  one  party  was  jealously 
watched  by  the  other.  The  Eighth  regarded  the  Seventy-ninth  as  a  set  of 
foreigners  and  sots,  and  the  latter  regarded  our  men  as  a  lot  of  undrilled 
bush-whackers  tinged  with  verdancy."  How  long  this  state  of  feeUng  con- 
tinued does  not  appear,  but  it  is  certain  that  there  was  afterwards  developed 
between  the  Eighth  and  Seventy-ninth  a  friendship  which  became  absolute 
affection — so  strong  and  marked  that  it  was  proverbial  among  the  different 
commands  of  the  army  where  the  two  regiments  were  known.  It  was  a  chain 
whose  links  were  forged  under  the  hammers  of  suffering  and  danger  and 
welded  in  the  fire  of  battle. 

When  they  arrived  at  Fortress  Monroe  they  found  the  roadstead  crowde<l 
with  a  fleet  made  up  of  war-steamers  and  transports  filled  with  troops.  This 
fleet,  including  the  "Vanderbilt,"  went  to  sea  in  the  morning  of  October  29, 
and  the  sight  was  grand  and  inspiring.  For  a  time  the  winds  favored  and 
the  sea  was  comparatively  smooth,  but  afterwards  a  heavy  gale  came  on  in 
which  the  vessels  were  scattered  and  three  or  four  of  them  lost.  During 
this  time  the  troops  suffered  greatly  from  sea-sickness  and  overcrowding  on 


dbyGoO'^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,,    MICHIGAN.  357 

the  transports.  The  fleet  had  sailed  under  sealed  orders  and  its  destination 
was  as  yet  unknown  except  to  the  naval  and  military  commanders.  At  last 
the  storm  abated,  the  vessels,  one  by  one,  returned  within  signaling  distance 
of  each  other,  and  the  low  shores  of  South  Carolina  became  visible  on  the 
starboard  hand.  Six  days,  from  the  time  of  its  departure  from  Fortress 
Monroe,  which  seemed  as  many  weeks,  the  fleet  arrived  off  Hilton  Head, 
South  Carolina,  November  4,  1861.  The  object  of  the  expedition  was  now 
apparent,  and  with  a  smoother  sea  and  an  enemy  almost  in  sight,  sea-sickness 
and  dejection  gave  place  to  buoyant  spirits  and  eager  enthusiasm. 

The  fleet  was  composed  of  fourteen  armed  vessels,  twenty-two  first-class 
steamers,  twelve  smaller  steamers  and  twenty-six  saihng  vessels.  The  com- 
mander of  the  fleet  was  Commodore  S.  F.  Dupont,  whose  flag-ship  was  the 
splendid  steam-frigate  "Wabash."  The  land  forces  consisted  of  thirteen 
regiments  of  volunteers  in  three  brigades — in  all,  about  eleven  thousand  men 
— under  command  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman.  The  Second  Brigade,  composed 
of  the  Fiftieth  and  One  Hundredth  Pennsylvania,  Eighth  Michigan  and 
Seventy-ninth  New  York,  was  under  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  Isaac  I.  Stevens. 

The  channel  connecting  Port  Royal  harbor  with  the  sea  was  guarded  on 
either  side  by  a  strong  rebel  fortification.  These  were  known  as  Forts  Walker 
and  Beauregard,  and  the  reduction  of  these  by  the  navy  was  the  first  work  to 
be  done.  For  three  days  after  their  arrival  the  vessels  remained  in  quiet 
below,  as  the  weather  was  not  considered  sufficiently  favorable  for  operations, 
but  on  the  7th  the  "Wabash"  set  her  .signal  for  battle  and  advanced  to  the 
attack,  followed  by  the  other  armed  ships  in  their  proper  order.  They  moved 
in  a  circular  line,  up  past  one  fort  and  down  past  the  other,  delivering  their 
tremendous  broadsides  into  each  as  they  came  abreast  of  it.  With  the  fire 
from  the  ships  and  the  responses  from  the  forts  it  was  ahnost  a  continuous 
volley  of  artillery,  which  shook  the  earth  and  made  the  very  waters  tremble. 
But  at  length  the  fire  of  the  forts  began  to  slacken,  their  replies  grew  more 
and  more  feeble,  and  finally  the  Stars  and  Bars  above  their  ramparts  gave 
place  to  the  white  flag.  A  little  later  the  standard  of  the  Union  floated  above 
the  captured  works  on  both  sides  of  the  channel. 

On  the  following  day  the  Eighth  landed  at  Hilton  Head  and  occupied 
Ft,  Walker.  On  the  17th  of  December  it  moved  to  Beaufort,  a  place  of  sur- 
passing beauty,  where  many  of  the  wealthy  people  of  Charleston  had  in  the 
old  days  of  ])eace  made  their  summer  residences.  It  was  now  found  deserted 
by  nearly  all  its  inhabitants  except  negroes.  The  camp  here  was  made  in  a 
grove  of  stately  and  magnificent  live-oaks;  and  but  for  the  losses  sustained  in 
the  vicinity,  the  stay  of  the  regiment  at  this  place  would  have  been  among  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


358  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

most  pleasing  of  all  its  experiences  during  its  term  of  service.  On  the  i8th, 
Companies  A  and  F  of  the  Eighth  were  sent  on  a  reconnoitering  expedition 
to  the  mainland,  across  Coosaw  river,  and  while  engaged  in  this  service  David 
Burns  Foote  of  Captain  Guild's  company,  was  killed  hy  the  enemy;  he  was 
the  first  man  of  the  regiment  who  fell  in  his  country's  service.  The  Eighth 
during  the  time  it  was  stationed  at  Beaufort  was  engaged  in  other  reconuois- 
sances  and  in  picket  duty:  detachments  occupied  Grey's  Hill,  Ladies'  Island, 
Brickyard  Point  and  some  of  the  neighboring  plantations. 

The  first  battle  in  which  the  regiments  was  engaged  was  that  of  CoDsaw 
River,  or  Port  Royal  Ferry,  January  i,  1862.  An  official  refwrt  by  Colonel 
Fenton  to  General  Stevens,  embracing  an  account  of  that  engagement,  is 
here  given : 

MviisLVND    Post  Koi  \r    I  fbri     T  11    1    IM! 

Bki(.  GtB  SinLNs — Ml  I  li  \e  tile  honor  to  leiwrt  that  in  LOiuplifiiict,  with  \<m 
[iiilei  tlilH  tcgliiieiit  mis  sdfeiv  Imdeil  nt  the  Adims  IIou<ie  on  tlie  umliitHud,  liimug 
effected  the  crossliif.  In  fliitbdits  ftoui  Brickyard  Point  Port  Ro\  tl  Islimd  and  took 
u])  its  line  of  morcb  towTids  tlie  enemj  s  buttery  it  this  plice  iit  one  oclock  p  m  Oh 
our  iippioach  toTsimls  the  ferr\  we  weie  ordered  to  attiitk  (as  sbirml'dKis)  n  mnaketl 
battery  which  ojeiied  flie  on  us  fiom  the  light  I  InimedliitelT  detit-bed  the  flrat  tn 
and  tenth  comiw  nks  and  dliwted  then  miirch  to  the  left  and  front  ou  the  bjitterj 
which  Has  followed  hi  four  iddltlonal  companies  to  the  light  and  fioiit  The  flie  of 
the  battery  with  shells  continued  on  our  lines  until  the  sktimishers  reached  the  light 
when  it  was  turned  on  them  ind  on  their  apjiroith  right  left  and  fiont  to  within 
hfty  to  one  bundled  yirds  of  the  eueui\  a  pobition  i  fiie  (f  luiiaketry  wiib  oii«ied 
upon  them  The  foirt  of  the  eiieniv  na  well  as  the  bitter*  witfc  concealed  to  1  con 
slderable  extent  bv  treea,  brush  tnd  underwood  but  iippeared  to  onwlst  1  f  two  mounted 
honltzers  snppoited  bi  a  legimeiit  11  inoie  of  infnntrv  and  some  eavjilry  The  akii 
iniaheis  neit  mensunlU  intctted  bj  undeil  rusli  md  furrows  and  continued  theii 
are  upon  the  eiiemi  which  mus  leturned  b^  volleys  f  miiaketii  md  shellH  fioin  the 
lattery  Oui  Are  was  well  diiected  nid  seenied  to  be  effectlie  One  mounteii  oflicer 
wh(  seemed  to  be  lery  actue  wis  seen  to  fali  fiom  his  horse  it  which  the  (iio|», 
on  the  enemy  s  right  were  tliiown  into  confuai  n  Their  1  osltlon  seemed  to  be  ch  iiii, 
Ing  to  the  rear  and  is  oiii  sMrmlshers  were  cilled  off  ind  the  raiment  fjimed  m 
line  the  enemy-  fire  ceased  The  r^ment  wia  then  miicbed  to  Its  postti  n  In  Hue 
of  battle  in  reir  of  the  f  ut    it  this  point 

I  lent  Col  Graces  led  the  left  and  Mij  «  itson  the  right  of  the  sklnnisheis  Tin 
major  In  leading  on  the  Imi  lecened  i  seiere  flesh  wound  In  the  let,  I  hue  t< 
report  that  officers  and  men  behaved  with  idmiriible  bra\en  md  coolntss  Tbc  loss 
of  the  enemy  from  the  wclUlliected  Are  of  our  skirmishers  cannot  be  less  thin  foiti 
Our  loss  Is  se^en  wounded  two  missing  I  ba^e  the  honor  to  be  ^erv  resiectfiilU 
jour  obedient  sei\ant  Wm    M    rENTOH 

Col.  Eighth  MichigRU  Regiment. 

Among  those  who  fell  in  the  action  at  Beaufort  Ferry  was  Corp.  John 
Q.  Adams,  of  Captain  Guild's  company,  mortally  wounded  and  left  in  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


r,ENM-:SEE    COUNTY.    MICITTGAN.  359 

eiieiiiy's  hands.  Some  negroes  who  came  into  the  Union  lines  two  or  three 
days  afterwards  gave  Colonel  Kenton  an  account  of  his  death.  They  said 
they  saw  him  after  the  battle  in  a  wagon  at  the  railroad  surrounded  by  spec- 
tators. He  received  water  to  drink  from  them  hut  would  give  no  informa- 
tion. They  asked  him  if  it  was  right  to  come  into  their  country  and  drive 
tiieni  off  their  land.  He  said  it  was  and  that  there  were  those  behind  who 
would  avenge  his  fall.  He  remained  true  to  his  flag  and  was  conscious  until 
midnight,  when  he  died.  Upon  these  facts  being  sworn  to,  Colonel  Fenton 
embodied  them  in  an  official  re[xirt,  to  which  was  appended  the  following 
order : 

HKAbyirAHTKRS,   STII    MiCHKiAN    INIWTBV, 

Cnmp  iieiir  BeiUifort,  S.  C,  .Tun.  7,  1862. 
S|iecirti  OrJers. — In  I'liusiilcriiUon  of  tlie  noble  Jiud  heroic  tleatli  of  Jolm  Q.  Adams, 
eorporfll   In   Co.   A,   the   iibovc   reiiort   will    Im   entered   on   the   regimental   rceords,    with 
this   order.  Ry   order   of 

Coi..   Wji.    :\r.    1'>:nk)N. 
X.   .\liNK«   PKAiT,  Adjiitniir. 

During  the  months  of  January,  hebriiary  and  March  the  regiment  was 
employed  in  drill  and  [)icket  duty,  l>ut  was  always  ready  to  respond  to  march- 
ing orders.  These  were  constantly  expected  and  were  finally  received  on  the 
9th  of  April,  when  the  l^ighth  left  Beaufort  and  moved  to  Tybee  Island, 
Georgia,  where  it  was  reported  to  Gen,  Q.  A.  Gillmore  commanding  the 
operations  against  Savannah.  It  was  present,  bnt  not  engaged,  at  the  bom- 
bardment of  Fort  Pulaski  on  the  loth  and  nth,  as  also  at  the  surrender  of 
that  formidable  work. 

On  the  i6th  of  April  seven  companies  of  the  regiment  (A,  B.  G,  D,  H, 
I  and  K,  each  about  forty  strong)  were  detailed  with  a  detachment  of  Rhode 
Island  artillery  as  an  escort  to  Lieut.  C.  H.  Wilson,  chief  of  the  topographi- 
cal engineers,  department  of  the  South,  to  make  a  reconnoissance  of  Wilm- 
ington Island  with  a  view  to  the  erection  of  fortifications  upon  it  if  found 
practicable.  The  force  was  embarked  on  the  steamer  "Honduras"  and  moved 
to  the  execution  of  the  duty  assigned.  This  resulted  in  an  engagement  with 
a  force  of  the  enemy  consisting  of  the  Thirteenth  Georgia,  "Ogiethrope  Light 
Infantry,"  and  the  "Altamaha  Scouts."  in  all  about  eight  hundred  strong.  A 
detailed  account  of  this  movement  and  battle  is  given  in  Colonel  Fenton's 
official  report  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy: 

Ht:.uiQu.\BTKBa,   ICiuuTU   UiiuriiKNT  iMiUH.    Vols. 

Oil  boHi-d  steiimer  "Hondnriis,"  off  Wilmington  Islnnd,  Gn.,  Aiirll  16,  1862,  11  p.  m. 
LiKUT.  W,  Ij.  M.  BiiKoKR,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-Genei-iil : 

8!K— I  have  the  hon()r  to  i-ejwrt,  for  tl)e  Hiforuiiitlon  of  llie  general  conimimdlng, 
thai    in  i-nmi))i:niee  with    S|>erinl   Orders  No.   41,   I   embarked   with   seven   companies   of 


dbyGoot^lc 


360  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

tLe  Eighth  Michigan  Regiment,  as  an  escort  to  Lieut.  C  II.  Wiisou,  Tripographic.ii 
Euglueer,  on  a  reconnoiss»nce  of  Wlluiington  Island.  Two  coiupaoles  were  lan(3ecl  at 
Sci'lven's  plantation  under  command  of  Capt.  Pratt,  with  orders  from  I.leut.  Wilson  to 
Bkirt  Turner's  Creek.  The  other  five  comiianles  were  lauded  at  Gibson's  piautation. 
Two  of  these  t-ompiiuies  were  ordered  to  sitirt  Turner's  Creek.  A  third  was  to  take 
the  roud  to  the  right,  towui'ds  the  terry  at  (Janan's  BfufT,  to  protect  the  boat-imrty  uii 
Oathind  Creek.  Owing  to  the  small  number  of  boats,  and  the  distance  from  the 
Hteiimer,  which  was  aground,  some  delay  occurred  in  the  disembarkation.  I  dire'-ted 
Lieut.-Col.  Grsiea  to  follow  with  the  second  company  to  skirt  Turner's  Creek;  but 
he  by  misdirection  look  the  road  to  the  right,  towards  Canan's  BlufC,  and  on  lauding 
with  the  reniatnlng  companies,  I  reoeiied  information  fi-om  him  that  the  euemj'  were 
In  force  at  Flatwood's  plantation,  and  to  the  left  of  the  road.  This  made  the  recon- 
noissance  with  boats  unsafe,  and  I  ordered  the  companies  ail  in  and  stationed  the 
remaining  companies  to  guard  against  au  attack  at  our  landing,  and  seut  out  strong 
pickets  on  both  roads.  I  believe  the  advance  of  the  company  to  the  right,  instead  of 
along  Turner's  Creek,  saved  my  i-ommaiid,  as  it  sooner  enabled  me  to  post  the  men 
to  advantage,  and  take  a  position  from  which  the  enemy's  appi-oach  could  be  obseried. 
The  enemy  appeared  to  be  the  Georgia  Thirteenth,  about  eight  hundral  strong,  ariiied 
nith  Enfield  rifles.  As  they  apiiroached,  about  four  p.  m.,  with  a  strong  body  of  skir- 
mishers in  the  skirt  of  woods  below  the  roiid,  the  companies  to  the  right  and  left  cit 
the  road,  in  accordanre  with  my  lntatruetlon»,  opened  fire.  I  immediately  sounded  the 
charge  for  an  advance  of  the  companies  in  the  rear  of  the  first  line;  but  the  flr-*t  line, 
misunderstanding  the  signal,  fell  back  to  the  next  coiupauj-.  A  constant  and  effective 
Bre  was  kept  up  on  both  sides  from  the  cover  of  the  trees  and  bushes.  Lieut.  Wilson, 
who  had  returned  with  the  boat's  party,  here  proved  of  great  service  to  me,  and  took 
a  party,  at  my  request,  to  the  left.  I  ordered  a  company  to  the  right  to  flank  tlio 
enemy.  Both  operations  were  sutvessful,  and  111  a  few  moments  the  enemy  retreated 
m  confusion,  leaving  several  dead  on  the  iield,  and  followed  by  om-  men  with  loud 
cheers.  It  being  now  about  sunset,  I  recalled  our  ti'oops,  and,  giving  to  Lieut.  Wilson 
the  conunand  of  pickets  stationed  to  guard  against  surprise,  formed  the  companies 
into  line  as  originally  posted,  sent  the  dead  and  wounded  lu  boats  to  the  ship,  and 
gradually,  and  lery  quietly,  under  cover  of  darkness,  withdrawing  the  men,  sent  them 
on  board  as  fast  as  our  limited  transportation  would  allow.  At  the  last  trlji  rif  the 
boat  I  embarked,  accompanied  by  Lieut.  Wilson,  Lleut.-Col.  Urates,  and  the  i-emainder 
of  the  command,  at  about  ten  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  immediately  brouglit  on  board  the  two 
eompanles  left  at  Scriven's  plantation.  After  the  enemy  retreated  we  were  unmolested. 
It  is  due  to  the  ofBcers  and  men  of  the  command  to  my  that  generally  they  behaved 
with  cool  and  Intrepid  courage,  .id.!-  Pratt  fell  dead  near  my  side,  gallantly  fighting, 
musket  in  hand,  and  cheering  on  the  men.  Our  loss.  I  regret  to  say,  was  compara- 
tively large — ten  killed  and  thirty-five  wounded,  out  of  a  command  of  three  hundrwl 
men.  Among  the  wounded  was  Acting  Lieut.  Badger,  of  Co.  C,  who  was  in  eiiarge 
of  the  advanced  picket,  and  exhibited  undaunted  courage.  He,  with  one  of  his  men, 
was  taken  prisoner.  Both  escaped,  and  were  brought  In  when  the  enemy  retreateil. 
The  captain  of  the  "Honduras''  is  deserving  of  great  credit  for  hla  kind  attention  to 
the  wounded,  and  he  aiforded  us  every  facllitj  for  the  comfort  of  officers  .ind 
men  in  his  power.  I  respectfully  refer  you  to  Lieut.  Wilson's  report,  which  I 
have  seen,  which  contains  some  facts  not  embraced  In  this  report:  among  others,  in 
relation  to  the  men  detailed  in  charge  of  the  field-pieces  on  board  ship,  who  were 
vigilant  and  attentive.  Herewith  I  transmit  a  list  of  casualties.  I  iiui,  very  respect- 
fuUy,   your   obedient    servant, 

William   M.   Fenton,   Col.   Ommanding. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  36T 

The  part  of  Lieutenant  Wilson's  report  to  which  Colonel  Fenton  alluded 
as  having  reference  to  the  detachment  in  charge  of  the  field-piece  was  as  fol- 
lows: "Lieutenant  Caldwell  and  sixteen  men  of  the  Rhode  Island  volunteers, 
with  one  light  six-pounder,  were  left  in  charge  of  the  steamer.  The  gun 
could  not  be  handled  on  account  of  the  inability  of  the  boat  to  lie  alongside 
the  landing.  .  .  .  After  holding  the  ground  for  three  hours  the  entire 
force  was  quietly  eralmrked  without  further  accident,  though  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  had  the  enemy  renewed  his  attack  while  we  were  embarking  we 
should  have  suffered  great  loss.  Our  five  small  boats  could  not  move  more 
than  fifty  men  every  thirty  minutes,  and  the  steamer  lay  in  such  a  iwsition 
that  the  six-pounder  could  not  be  brought  to  bear  without  jeopardizing  the 
lives  of  our  own  people.'" 

From  Wilmington  Island  the  command  returned  to  Beaufort,  and  the 
first  knowledge  which  General  Stevens  had  of  the  battle  of  the  i6th  was 
conveyed  by  the  arrival  of  the  dead  and  wounded  from  that  field.  The  dead 
were  buried  with  all  military  honors,  the  entire  brigade  attending  their  funeral. 

Next  came  the  present;ition  to  the  regiment  of  a  beautiful  fiag  furnished 
by  citizens  of  Genesee  county  and  forwarded  by  a  committee  composed  of 
Hon.  j.  Ij.  Walker.  George  T.  Clark  and  Charles  P.  Avery.  It  was  of  the 
richest  and  heaviest  silk,  and  fringed,  tasseled  and  starred  with  gold.  On  its 
stripes  in  golden  letters  were  the  words  "One  Country,  One  Destiny,"  "Eighth 
Michigan  Infantry."  On  its  staff  was  a  silver  plate  bearing  the  engraved 
inscription:  "Presented  to  the  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Eighth  Regiment, 
Michigan  Infantry,  by  their  friends  and  neighbors  of  Genesee  County."  It 
was  sent  by  the  donors  "in  token  of  their  high  respect  for  the  Eighth  Regi- 
ment, on  account  of  their  gallant  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Coosaw,"  and  it 
arrive<l  at  Hilton  Head  on  the  very  day  when  the  men  of  the  Eighth  were 
again  distinguishing  themselves  at  Wilmington  Island. 

The  ceremony  of  presentation  was  imposing.  At  evening  parade  on  the 
25th  of  April  the  regiment  was  formed  on  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square,  of 
which  the  fourth  .side  was  formed  by  General  .Stevens  and  his  staff.  The 
color  was  in  the  center.  It  was  formally  presented  to  the  regiment  by  General 
Stevens,  who,  after  making  a  few  introductory  remarks,  and  reading  aloud 
the  letter  of  the  committee  at  Flint,  said : 

Solrtiei's  of  Mielilgiin:  It  is  criitifying  to  know  by  tliis  Ifttcr  from  your  frleiuls 
that  your  services  nre  niijireointed  by  tbem ;  .and  I,  \yho  on  tiie  day  niluded  to,  w:is 
yonr  comuiandliiK  general,  feel  proud  in  referring  to  tbe  occasion  which  cnlis  fortb 
from  your  friends  at  home  such  an  acknowledgment.  Your  bravery  and  undaunted 
conrnse,  led  on  by  your  gallant  colonel  in  face  of  the  enemy  at  the  battle  of  Coosaw, 
deserves,  as  it  has  received,  the  bighest  commendation. 


dbyGoc^lc 


362  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

TIlis  biiiLiU'i-  ciiiUL'S  iit  ji  j>ri>iil(ious  iiumieiit.  Vou  Line;  iuMtd  tii  tlie  reiJUtiiHoii 
ulreiiily  ;n-(|Uire(l  [iiiotliei'  briliiuiit  nehievenient.  Wliilo  tliis  fln?  wiis  coimisuert  ns 
it  wci'o  ri>  tlie  teiirtsr  lucivlvR  of  tlie  ileeii.  ami  on  the  very  day  of  Its  ante  jirrlvnl 
lit  Hilton  HctLil,  you  were  teMtliig  tlie  streufe'tli  iit  yiniv  arms  iigalnst  overwheliiiiiig 
(Kids  of  the  eiit'Uiy  on  WiliHtiigton  Isliiiul,  inldiiig  new  liistve  to  your  iilreiKly  lii'illiiuil 
career,  iind  tiiviiig  new  evidence  of  your  Intrepidity  and  braiery.    *        *    * 

T'nfiirl  that  flag  I  Let  It  float  to  the  Iweeae!  Thei*.  fellow- soldi erw,  is  your 
banner !  Inscribed  uiion  its  inutile  folds  is  the  motto,  "One  Couutvy.  One  Kentlny !" 
It  Is  Rurumuuted  hy  tlie  oasl*"^ — emblem  of  Htrenjjtb— and  beflriug  on  its  ontsti'etcbed 
wlngM  the  iirestlue  of  vittorj-.  I,ike  tile  eagle  of  Nai'oleon  and  of  ancient  Itonie, 
its  luartb  iw  onward  and  upward.  I'lioii  the  folds  of  that  banner  is  the  work 
of  fair  bauds,  the  da nirUter.-i  of  Jltehigan.  your  hued  ones  nt  home,  endeared  to  yon 
by  the  tender  ties  of  mother  iinil  daufrbter,  sister  and  friend.  That  l.-i  the  Haj;  the 
Kiillant  .Taekson  bore  aloft  when  he  said,  "The  Union;  it  must,  it  shall  be  preserved!" 
It  is  the  fliig  Wttshlngton  ftmght  for  and  sustained.  We  iii-e  following  in  the  foot- 
steiiH  of  our  brave  and  lieroie  iincestors.  Let  us,  like  them,  while  in  tlie  diseharge 
of  our  duties  as  soldiers,  and  rejoicing  In  Huccosses,  remember  our  obligations  ns 
Christians,  t'ommlt  It  to  the  CJod  of  Battles.  His  arm  will  be  stretched  forth  to 
succor  and  to  save.  Here,  niion  onr  knees,  tn  the  preHence  of  Almighty  <J<»iI.  let  \tn 
invoke  His  blessing.  I  t-all  njion  you.  .'hiiplain.  If  is  fit  and  jiroper  rh;]t  if  he  con 
secrated  with   [iruyer. 

The  chiiplain  resix>nded  in  an  earnest  and  eluipent  prayer.  'J'he  colors 
were  received  in  due  form,  with  drnm,s  beating,  and  arms  presented.  Then 
Colonel  I-"enton  six)lce,  thanking  the  general  and  congratulating  the  officers 
and  men  of  hi-,  regiment.  In  conchiding,  he  turned  towards  the  flag,  as  it 
was  held  aloft  b>'  the  tall  color-ljearer,  and  said : 

(_'olor-hearer  and  Oolor-guards :  I  know  you  all.  and  know  you  well.  That 
Imniier  in  your  hands  will  be  iiroudly  borne  and  bravely  defended.  And  shtaild  you 
full,  you  will  H-ra|i  its  folds  around  yon.  defending  it  while  life  remains.  Soldiers, 
you  miiy  well  feel  pri)nd  that  yon  have  been  honored  by  your  general.  In  the  presen- 
tation of  that  Hag.  You  will  stand  by  It  to  the  last.  I  feel  aud  know  yoii  will. 
Yon  have  tried  on  the  soil  of  both  South  Carolina  and  (Jeorgiu,  and,  one  and  all,  you 
will  maintain  the  elinracter  you  have  acf|u!red,  and  do  honor  to  the  state  which  has 
sent  .von  forth. 

The  speech  was  followed  by  three-times-thrce  cheers  for  the  colonel,  the 
color,  and  its  donors,  and  the  ceremony,  which  had  been  witnes.sed  by  a  large 
number  of  soldiers  of  other  commands  and  by  many  citizens  of  South  Caro- 
lina, was  over. 

During  the  month  of  May  the  ['Eighth  was  engaged  on  picket  duty  and 
other  similar  service  on  Port  Royal  Island.  On  the  2d  of  June  it  moved 
thence  to  Stone's  River,  South  Carolina,  to  relieve  the  Twenty-eighth  Massa- 
chusetts Regiment  on  picket  on  James  Island,  where  the  Eighth  arrived  on 
the  day  fallowing  its  departure  from  Port  Royal,  Here  it  was  attached  to 
the  First  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  under  General  .Stevens;  the  brigade 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  363 

was  placed  under  coinniand  of  Colonel  l'"enton.  and  I,ieutenant-Co!onel 
Graves  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  regiment. 

The  battle  of  James  Island,  or  Secessionville,  as  it  is  frequently  called, 
was  fought  on  the  i6th  of  June.  In  it  the  Eighth  Michigan  took  a  more 
prominent  part  and  suffered  more  severely  than  any  other  regiment,  and. 
taking  everything  into  consideration,  its  losses  here  were  more  terrible  than  it 
sustained  on  any  other  lield  during  its  long  and  honorable  career.  Secession- 
ville, the  scene  of  the  battle,  was  described  by  Dr.  J.  C.  Wilson,  surgeon  of 
the  Eighth  Regiment,  ;is  "a  \'illage  composed  of  a  few  houses  whose  owners 
have  seceded  from  them,  situated  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land  jutting  intfi  the 
stream  on  the  east  side  of  James  island,  skirted  by  tidal  marshes  and  swamps 
on  either  side,  and  difficult  of  approach,  except  from  the  westward,  where  is 
a  rebel  fort  which  commands  this  entrance."'  The  fort  was  a  formidable 
earthwork  with  a  parapet  nine  feet  in  height,  surrounded  by  a  broad  ditch 
seven  feet  deep  and  protected  by  a  broad  and  almost  impenetrable  abatis.  The 
i!eck  of  dry  land  over  which  alone  it  was  approachable  was  barely  two  hun- 
dred yards  in  width  and  every  inch  of  it  could  be  swept  at  close  range  by  can- 
ister from  the  six  heavy  gims  of  the  fort  and  by  musketry  from  its  defend- 
ers. And  it  was  over  such  ground  and  to  the  assaiilt  of  such  a  work  that  t!ie 
troops  of  Stevens'  division  moved  forward  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
that  bloody  and  eventful  i6th  of  June,  1862, 

The  attacking  column  was  made  up  of  Colonel  Kenton's  and  Colonel 
Leasure's  brigades,  the  former  composed  of  the  Eighth  Michigan,  Seventh 
Connecticut  and  Twenty-eighth  Massachusetts  regiments,  and  the  latter  of 
the  Forty-sixth  and  Seventy-ninth  New  York  and  One  Hundredth  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  four  batteries  of  artillery — in  all  three  thousand  three  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  men.  The  following  account  of  the  battle  was  written  b\- 
the  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  then  at  James  island,  and  pui)- 
iished  in  that  paper  immediately  after  the  fight  ■ 

The  ndvnuced  regiuieuts  were  the  Eighth  Mlchlsii".  rhe  KHieiLO-iiUitli  Xew  York 
ntid  the  Seventh  Counectlcnt  There  in  some  coiifusiiiu  iia  lo  the  oriler  in  which  tiii'se 
resiuieiits  ciMiie  op  to  the  furt;  it  seems,  however,  from  the  best  iiifonoiitiou  witbiii 
reiiCh,  tlint  the  glorioiiR  Imt  iinfortuniite  Righth  Mlchlgtm  was  the  flrKt  there,  led  hy 
Its  giillnnt  LleiiteHiint-rolouel  Ci-aves.  The  lumiediate  assault  upon  the  fort  wni 
not  siiccessfti),  and  the  canse  of  tta  failure,  as  1b  uaual  iu  such  p»w  Is  ililtieult  to 
determine.  *  ♦  •  It  iirpeiirw,,  from  the  statenieuts  of  some  of  the  ofhcecs  aurt 
uieu  ill  these  regimentM,  that  about  one  half-mllo  from  the  fort  there  wuh  a  narrow 
liass  through  a  hedge,  and  the  men  were  comiielied  to  pass  through,  a  very  few  ahreast. 
thus  delaying  their  advance.  The  Eighth  Michigau  got  through  and  pushed  on  with 
gi-eat  vigoi-  lip  to  the  fort,  wbli-h  tliey  assaulted  with  a  shout.  They  were  met  nltb 
a   murderous  lire  from  f!ic  fiM't  In   fi'ont  and   fi'oni   flanliing  batteries.     A  few  of   those 


dbyGoot^lc 


364  GENE3EK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Iir;ne  iiiei]  <j\Pfcume  .ill  diinKers  jind  dlfficultips  mul,  rusliiiit,'  r.ier  tlip  dtad  bodie's 
(if  tLeii'  slimgtitered  comrades,  actuiilly  climbed  Into  the  fort;  but  It  was  Imiwssible 
for  tliem  to  lUiiiiitiiin  tlielr  ground  there  agJLinat  the  feai-ful  odds  which  opijosed  them, 
ihe  uieii  wlio  should  hine  supported  them  being  delayed  In  passing  through  the 
hedge. 

The  Eighth  was  obliged  to  fall  back  as  the  Seveuty-ulnth  New  Xork  came  up. 
led  by  the  brave  Colonel  Morrison,  who  mounted  the  walls  of  the  fort  and  discharged 
all  the  barrels  of  his  reiol^er  m  the  very  faces  of  the  enemy.  Wounded  In  the  head, 
and  unsuiiported,  he  was  ohligwl  to  retreat.  About  ns  far  hehiud  the  Seventy-ninth 
as  that  regiment  was  behind  the  Eighth  Michigiin  Ciime  the  Seventh  Connecticut, 
which  niad«  a  spasmodic  and  almost  ludeiieiident  effort  against  the  fort,  but  was 
obliged  to  fall  back.  Thus  the  brave  regiments  which  were  intended  to  act  In  concert 
.IS  the  advance  went  into  the  fight  one  at  a  time,  one  repulsed  and  falling  hack  as  the 
other  came  up,  thus  creating  confusion,  and  rendei'lng  iibortive  the  charge  on  the  fort 
at  this  time. 

A  failure  like  this  always  disheartens  troops.  It  was  just  in  front  of  the  fort, 
■ind  in  the  fivHt  cliiirise,  thivt  the  noble  and  brave  ("aiitain  Church  LComiwiny  D,  oC 
the  Eighth]  fell,  piei'ced  through  the  bead  with  a  niusliet-ball.  He  was  a  fine  ofBcer 
and  beloved  by  his  men.  I  knew  and  admired  his  commanding  person  and  fr.ink. 
honest  beiirlng.  Although  HUfCeriiig  from  dlsea.ie,  he  arose  from  his  bed  and  led  his 
men  to  the  fatal   ditch. 

The  Klglith  Michigan  lia-<  been  most  unfortunate.  Forward  in  every  akli'mlsh  and 
i-iin  now  wcarcel;  number  thi-ee  hundred  men.  All  these  i-egimeiits  fought  well,  and 
piled  their  dead  around  the  fort;  but  It  was  a  terrible  sacrifice,  and  a  vain  one. 

The  fii-Ht,  as  has  been  said,  to  re.ieh  the  fort  were  the  Michigan  Eighth  and  New 
York  Seventy-ninth.  This  wiiK  not  the  natural  oi'der,  but  the  Seventi--ninth,  he.irlng 
the  cheern  of  the  Eighth,  ran  past  the  other  regimcntn  and  joined  the  Eighth  as  it 
reached  the  works.  lioth  regiments  suffered  terribly  from  the  fire  of  the  enemy  as 
they  ai)proached — the  Eighth  from  graiie  and  canister,  the  Seventy-ninth  from  mns- 
ketiy,  as  the  nature  of  the  wounds  showed.  Badly  shattered  and  wholly  exhausted 
fi'om  three-fourths  of  a  uille  of  the  double-iiuick,  many  fell  jmwerless  on  reaching 
the  works:  while  a  few.  In  sufficiently  good  condition,  mounted  the  parapet,  from 
which  the  enemy  had  been  driien  by  our  sharp  and  effective  fire,  and  called  upon  the 
others  to  follow  them. 

At  about  nine  o'clock,  which  seemed  to  be  the  crisis  of  the  battle,  and  when  tlie 
generals  seemed  to  be  consulting  whether  they  should  again  advance  upon  the  fort, 
or  retire,  the  gunboats  decided  the  question  by  opeiilug  a  heavy  c.iiiuonade  in  our 
i-ear,  which.  Instead  of  telling  upon  the  rebels,  threw  their  shot  and  shell  hito  our  own 
ranks.  This  must  have  resulted  from  Ignorance  on  their  part  as  to  our  precise  posi- 
tion, owing  to  the  rapid  changes  upon  the  field  and  In  the  intervening  timber.  The 
sheila  fell  and  burst  in  the  vei-y  midst  of  our  men,  sei-eral  exploding  near  the  com- 
manding general  and  staff.  The  effect  of  this  unfortunate  mistake  was  an  order  for 
the  troops  to  retire,  nlilch  they  did  in  perfect  order,  taking  position  on  the  old  picket- 
In  the  Scottish  American  newspaper,  of  New  York,  there  appeared  a 
few  days  after  the  battle  a  communication  from  an  ofificer  of  the  Seventy- 
ninth  Highlanders  in  which  the  gallantry  of  the  Eighth  at  Secessionvillc  is 
thus  noticed : 


dbyGoot^lc 


GFNESEE    COTiNTY,    MICHIGAN.  365 

I  sliouM  menti  11  tint  tlie  Tlglitli  Mklilgim  siiuill  m  uumliei  lilt  e^cn  nun  a 
Leio  hid  been  reiiuised  tuna  tlie  tcit  wltli  tetilWe  loss  jnst  is  we  adi  meal  liie 
llichignn  men  fouUl  not  Liie  uaniberert  four  liuudred  wlien  tbey  adianced  nlieii 
the\  retired  thej  hid  one  hundred  ind  ninety  killed  nn.l  wounded  One  compauj 
ilone  lost  I  uuderitmid  no  less  than  iiinet>  eitfht  men  Ihe  ordejl  thiough  which 
thev  hiid  pa^jsed  the  Seveutj  uintli  were  now  eiperienclDg  bhot  down  b^  unseen 
enemies,  and  without  hn^ing  jin  opportunltj  of  letuiulng  the  flie  with  im  effect 
the  men  got  diSLOin  iged  but  lenmlned  stubbornli  on  the  groimd  until  tlie  ordei  nna 
giien  to  letiie— an  older  let  me  noj  which  was  only  rendered  necess.ir\  b*  the 
shameful  fact  that  notwith&tiiHdlng  the  strong  forte  within  auppnting  distance  no 
supijort  came  The  foit  was  ours  had  we  received  iiBsiatance  but  It  is  1  fact  thit 
<iinnot  be  gainsaid  that  eieiy  man  who  fell  around  its  lamparts  bel>iii,ed  to  the 
Figlith  Michigan  and  the  'Seventh  ninth  New  Toiii — the  two  neikest  leg  niciits  In 
point  of  numbers    in  the  whole  forte  under  command  of  <,eneril  BenU.im 

The  Eighth  Regiment  went  into  the  fight  with  a  tota!  strength  of  five 
hundred  and  thirty-four  officers  and  men,  and  its  loss  in  the  assault  was, 
according  to  the  surgeon's  re|xjrt,  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  killed  and 
wounded  and  thirty-seven  missing;  this  was  more  than  one-third  of  the  num- 
ber engag-ed;  the  first  report  of  its  loss  made  it  somewhat  greater  than  this. 
General  Stevens,  in  his  "General  Order  No.  26''  dated  James  Island,  South 
Carolina,  June  18,  1862,  mentinned  the  hemisni  of  the  Eighth  Michigan  a;> 
follows : 

*  *  '  Parties  from  tlie  leiiding  regiments  of  the  two  brigades,  the  Mlglitli 
Jiichigan  iiiid  the  Seventj--nlnth  Highlanders,  mounted  and  were  shot  down  on  the 
piittipet,  oflicers  and  men.  These  two  regiments  especially  covered  themselves  with 
jilory  and  their  fearful  i-asualties  show  the  hot  work  in  which  they  were  engaged. 
Two-fifths  of  the  Eighth  Micbigjui  and  n«irly  one-quarter  of  the  Sei-enty-niiith  High- 
landers were  domi.  either  kilied  or  wounded,  and  all  the  reinniulng  regiments  had  a 
large  number  of  casualties.  *  •  •  In  congratulating  his  comrades  on  their  heixilc 
valor  and  constancy  on  that  terrible  field,  the  commanding  genera!  of  the  division  hats 
not  words  to  express  his  and  your  grief  at  the  sacrifices  that  have  been  niade.  Our 
best  and  truest  men  now  sleep  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking.  Their  dead  Iwdles 
lie  on  the  enemy's  iiarapet.  riini-ch,  Pratt,  Cottriil.  Guild.  Morrow,  Ilorton.  Hitchcock, 
and   niaiij-   other   gjillant   iiiul   iir)Me   men   we   shall   see   no   more. 

Among  the  killed  of  the  Eightli  Regiment  in  this  action  was  Capt.  S.  C. 
Guild,  of  Flint,  commanding  Comi>any  A.  On  the  14th  of  June  he  had  writ- 
ten a  letter  to  friends  in  Michigan  in  \yhich  he  said,  "I  cannot  but  regret  that 
I  am  so  long  delayed  from  the  prosecution  of  my  studies,  but  this  war  must 
first  be  settled,  and  the  majesty  of  truth  and  the  constitution  vindicated;  and 
if  I  do  nothing  more  in  life,  it  will  be  sufficient  service  that  I  have  been  a 
soldier  in  this  war.  Yet  it  is  needless  for  me  to  conceal  my  dislike  of  this 
kind  of  life,  and  that  my  earnest  desire  is  to  escape  from  it  the  first  opportun- 
ity.    It  is  entirely  dissonant  with  my  feelings,  habits  and  thoughts,  and  can 


dbyGoot^lc 


366  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

iicver  ]x  less  than  an  unplejisant  duty;  and  yet,  as  a  duty,  it  is,  in  a  sense,  a 
pleasure  to  perfonu  it.  I  have  learned  much,  however,  which  will  serve  me 
ill  all  my  future  life."  I'wo  days  later  this  hero  died  on  the  hostile  rampart, 
with  his  face  to  the  foe. 

Colonel  Fenton  was  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  brigade,  at  his 
own  request,  on  the  21st  of  June.  On  resuming  command  of  the  Eighth 
Rtgiment,  he  made  a  very  earnest  and  determined  effort  to  have  it  relieved 
fur  a  time  from  active  service,  on  account  of  the  arduous  service  it  had  per- 
furmed  and  the  fearful  losses  it  had  sustained.  But  the  answer  was,  "At 
present  all  the  regiments  in  the  department  of  the  South  are  needed,  and 
more  than  needed,  in  the  [xjsitions  they  now  occupy." 

Cieneral  Stevens'  command  evacuated  James  Island  on  the  5th  of  July, 
the  P-ighth  Regiment  being  the  last  to  leave  as  it  had  been  the  first  in  advance. 
Moving  to  Hilton  Head,  it  embarked  there,  July  13,  with  the  Seventy-ninth 
New  Yfirk,  Twenty-eighth  Massachusetts,  Seventh  Connecticut,  and  other 
regiments,  fi>r  I'ortress  Monroe,  where  they  arrived  on  the  i6th  and  landed 
at  Newport  News  on  the  following  day.  They  knew  they  were  destined  to 
"reinforce  the  Army  of  the  I'otomac  after  its  disasters  in  the  Seven  Days' 
fight:  they  did  not  like  the  change,  for  they  preferred  to  remain  in  the  Sooth, 
where  their  laurels  had  been  won.  The  Eighth  remained  three  weeks  in  camp 
at  Newport  News,  and  during  this  time  Colonel  Fenton  left  for  Michigan  to 
obtain  recruits,  leaving  Lieutenant- Co  Ion  el  Graves  in  charge  of  the  regiment. 
The  command  left  this  camp  August  4  and,  moving  to  the  Rappahannock 
river,  took  part  in  the  campaign  of  General  Pope,  fighting  at  second  Bull 
Run  August  29  and  30,  and  Chantilly,  Sej}teml>er  i,  losing  considerably  in 
both  engagements.  Soon  after  it  moved  with  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  to 
which  it  had  been  attached,  into  Maryland.  It  fought  at  South  Mountain. 
Septemljer  14.  losing  thirteen  wounded,  and  was  again  engaged  in  the  great 
battle  of  Antietam,  September  jy.  Early  in  that  day  it  formed  in  fine,  with 
its  brigade,  on  the  right;  but  about  noon,  when  the  battle  Ijecaine  general,  it 
was  ordered  to  the  left  and  took  possession  near  the  historic  Stone  Bridge. 
"A  more  terrific  fire  than  we  here  met  with,"  wrote  an  officer  of  the  regiment, 
"it  has  not  been  my  lot  to  witness.  It  equaled,  if  it  did  not  exceed,  that  of 
James  Island.  At  first  our  men  gained  ground  and  drove  the  enemy  half  a 
mile,  but  the  battery  that  covered  our  advance  and  answered  to  the  enemy's 
in  front  getting  out  of  ammunition,  together  with  the  arrival  of  a  fresh  rebel 
brigade  from  Harper's  Ferry  flanking  our  position  and  bringing  our  men 
under  a  cross-fire,  changetl  the  fortunes  of  the  day  in  their  favor,  and  when 
night  closed  up(m  the  scene  of  carnage  the  enemy  reoccupied  the  ground 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICIITGAN".  367 

wrcsteil  from  them  ;it  such  fearful  sacrifice  in  the  afternoon."  The  bridge, 
however,  was  not  retaken  Ijy  the  enemy  and,  although  the  Union  forces  had 
been  driven  back  here  on  the  left,  the  advantage  remained  with  them  on 
other  parts  of  tlie  field.  The  battle  was  not  renewed  to  any  extent  on  the 
following  day,  the  enemy,  while  keeping  up  the  appearance  of  a  strong  line  in 
front,  retreated  from  his  ]^x)sition  to  the  Potomac,  pre[jaratory  to  crossing 
back  into  Virginia. 

The  loss  of  the  Kighth  at  Antietam  was  twenty-seven  killed  and  wounde<l 
— a  loss  which  appears  quite  severe  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  regiment 
went  into  action  with  considerably  less  than  two  hundred  men.  having  been 
reduced  not  only  by  its  terrible  losses  in  previous  battles  but  also  by  dis- 
charges; more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  discharged  from  the 
Eighth  in  the  year  1862.  of  whom  just  one  hundred  enlisted  in  the  regidar 
army.  'J'he  places  of  these  were  filled  to  some  extent  by  recruits,  of  whom 
a  mimlier  joined  the  regiment  the  day  Ijefore  Antietam:  it  was  said  of  them 
that,  although  they  had  never  before  heard  a  hostile  gun.  they  endured  the 
terrible  initiation  of  that  day  with  almost  the  steadiness  of  veterans. 

For  about  a  month  after  the  battle  the  regiment  remained  in  Maryland, 
a  short  time  in  the  vicinity  of  Antietam  and  a  longer  time  in  Pleasant  \'allev. 
During  this  time  Colonel  I'^enton  returned,  and  Capt.  Ralph  Ely  was  pro- 
moted to  major,  in  place  of  Watson,  resigned.  On  the  26th  of  October  the 
Eighth  marched  to  Weverton,  thence  to  Berlin,  Maryland,  where  it  crossed 
the  Potomac  on  pontoons  into  Virginia.  It  i>assed  through  Lovettsville, 
Waterford,  Slack's  Mills,  Rectortown  and  Salem,  to  Waterloo,  where,  on  the 
nth  of  November,  it  received  the  announcement  of  General  Burnside's  pro- 
motion to  the  command  of  the  army.  On  the  15th  it  was  at  Sulphur  Springs, 
and  moved  thence,  by  way  of  Fayetteville  and  Bealton  Station,  to  a  camp 
about  ten  miles  east  of  the  latter  place,  where  was  read  the  order  forming 
the  "right  grand  division"  of  the  army,  by  uniting  the  Second  and  Ninth 
Corjjs,  under  command  of  Gen.  E.  V.  Sumner.  On  the  i8th  the  regiment 
marched,  leading  the  brigade,  and  on  the  19th  reached  Falmouth,  opposite 
Fredericksburg,  where  the  army  was  rapidly  concentrating.  Here  it  remained, 
a  part  of  it  acting  as  provost-guard  of  the  division,  until  the  12th  of  Decem- 
ber, when  it  crossed  the  Rappahannock  to  Fredericksburg,  but  was  not  en- 
gaged in  the  great  battle  of  the  i^tli.  It  recrossed  on  the  15th,  and  remained 
at  Falmouth  until  February  13,  1863.  when  it  moved  with  the  Ninth  Corps, 
which  had  been  detached  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  to  Newport  News, 
\'irginia,  and  there  camped,  evidently  waiting  orders  for  a  further  movement 
which  the  officers  and  men  hoped  might  take  them  back  to  the  department  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


,■^68  GENESKE    COHNTYj    MICHIGAN. 

the  South.  The  regiment  remained  in  camp  at  Newport  News  for  more  than 
a  month;  during  this  time  Colonel  Fenton  resigned,  his  health  having  become 
greatly  impaired.  Major  Ely  was  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel  and  was 
then  in  command  of  the  regiment;  Capt.  E.  W.  Eyon,  of  G  Company,  was 
made  major. 

On  the  20th  of  March  the  Eighth  Regiment,  being  again  under  march- 
ing orders,  embarked  at  Newport  News  on  the  steamer  "Georgia"  prepara- 
tory to  the  commencement  of  the  long  series  of  movements  and  marches  in 
the  Southwest  which  afterwards  gave  it  the  name  of  "the  wandering  regiment 
of  Michigan."  It  left  Newport  News  on  the  21st,  arrived  at  Baltimore  on  the 
22(1,  and  proceeded  thence  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad  to  Parkersburg, 
West  Virginia.  It  reached  there  on  the  24th,  and  embarked  on  the  steamer 
"Majestic"  for  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  it  arrived  at  noon  on  Thursday 
the  26th.  At  that  time  it  was  brigaded  with  the  Second,  Seventeenth  and 
Twentieth  Michigan  regiments,  under  Brig.-Gen,  Orlando  M.  Poe  as  brigade 
commander;  this  was  the  First  Brigade,  First  Division  Ninth  Army  Corps. 
This  corps,  then  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  had  for  its  immediate  mis- 
sion in  Kentucky  to  observe  and  hold  in  check  the  forces  of  the  guerrilla  chief 
Ji>hn  Morgan,  who  at  that  time  seemed  to  be  omnipresent  in  all  that  region 
and  whose  movements  were  giving  the  government  no  little  trouble  and 
alarm. 

The  Eighth,  moving  by  railroad  from  Louisville  on  the  28th,  proceeded 
to  Lebanon,  Kentucky,  and  remained  stationed  there  and  at  Green  River 
Fort,  Kentucky,  for  some  weeks.  While  the  command  lay  at  Lebanon  there 
was  issued  the  first  number  of  a  paper  entitled  The  Wolverine,  which  was 
announced  as  "published  by  members  of  the  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry,  and 
will  be  issued  as  often  as  circumstances  will  permit.''  How  many  numbers 
of  this  journal  were  ever  published  is  not  known. 

About  the  ist  of  June  the  Ninth  Corps,  which  had  been  scattered  in 
detachments  at  various  points  in  Kentucky,  was  ordered  to  move  to  Missis- 
sippi to  reinforce  the  army  of  General  Grant,  then  operating  against  Vicks- 
burg.  The  Eighth  Regiment  moved  with  the  corps,  going  to  Cairo,  Illinois, 
by  rail,  and  then,  embarking  on  boats  on  the  Mississippi  river,  was  trans- 
ported to  Blaynes  Bluff,  Mississippi.  From  there  it  moved  to  Milldale,  Mis- 
sissippi, remaining  there  and  at  Flower  Dale  Church  near  Vicksburg  until 
the  operations  against  that  stronghold  ended  in  its  capitulation,  July  4.  Then 
it  moved  with  the  corps  towards  Jackson,  Mississippi,  in  pursuit  of  the  army 
of  Johnston,  who  had  been  hovering  in  General  Grant's  rear,  attempting  to 
raise  the  siege  of  Vicksburg.     In  the  several  engagements  which  occurred 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    C0I:NTY,    MICHIGAN,  369 

from  the  loth  to  the  i6th  of  July  the  Eighth  participated,  but  suffered  Httle 
loss.  After  the  evactiation  of  Jackson  on  the  i6th  it  returned  to  its  former 
camp  at  Milldale,  remaining  tliere  till  August  6,  when  it  again  took  boat  on 
the  Mississippi  and  moved  north  with  the  corps.  It  reached  Memphis  in  the 
night  of  the  nth  and  [xissed  on  to  Cairo,  and  thence  to  Cincinnati  where  it 
arrived  on  the  i8th;  crossing  the  river  it  camped  at  Covington,  Kentucky. 
From  Covington  it  moved  by  way  of  Nicholasville  to  Crab  Orchard,  Ken- 
tucky, reaching  there  August  27  and  remaining  there  in  camp  two  weeks.  On 
the  loth  of  September  it  was  again  on  the  march  and  moved  by  way  of  Cum- 
l)erland  Gap  to  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  reaching  there  on  the  26th. 

The  Eighth  was  slightly  engaged  with  the  enemy  at  Blue  Springs, 
October  10,  and  after  considerable  marching  and  countermarching  went  into 
camp  October  29  at  I^enoir  Station  where  it  remained  until  November  14.  It 
was  then  with  its  division  ordered  to  Hough's  Ferry  on  the  Holston  river  to 
check  the  advance  of  Longstreet,  who  was  re^jorted  moving  up  from  Georgia 
towards  Knoxville.  He  was  found  in  strong  force.  The  Union  troops 
retired  Ixfore  him  and  passing  back  through  Lenoir  continued  the  retreat  to 
Knoxville.  Being  hard  pressed,  however,  a  stand  was  made  at  Campbell's 
Station,  on  the  16th;  a  battle  ensued,  lasting  from  about  one  p.  m.  until  dark, 
and  resulting  in  a  loss  to  the  Eighth  of  eleven  wounded.  During  the  night 
the  retreat  was  continued,  and  the  regiment  reached  Knoxville  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  17th  after  an  almost  continuous  march  of  two  days  and  three 
nights,  including  a  battle  of  several  hours'  duration,  moving  over  the  wiffst  of 
roads  through  mud  and  rain,  and  with  less  than  quarter  rations. 

Then  followed  the  siege  of  Knoxville  b)'  Longstreet,  which  continued 
eighteen  days,  during  all  which  time  the  Eighth  occupied  the  front  line  of 
works  and  suffered  severely  for  lack  of  food  and  sufficient  clothing.  On 
Sunday,  November  29,  two  veteran  Georgia  l)rigades  belonging  to  McLaws" 
rebel  division  made  a  furious  assault  on  Fort  Saunders,  one  of  the  works  in 
the  line  of  fortifications  inclosing  Knoxville,  and  were  repulsed  and  driven 
iKick  with  a  loss  of  nearly  eight  hundred  men.  The  Eighth  Michigan  was  one 
of  the  regiments  which  received  and  repelled  the  assault.  In  the  night  of  the 
4th  and  5th  of  December  the  enemy  withdrew  from  before  Knoxville;  in  the 
pursuit  which  followed  the  Eighth  took  part,  f)ut  with  no  results,  and  on  the 
J  6th  it  encamped  at  Blain's  Cross-Roads.  This  proved  to  be  the  last  camp 
which  it  occupied  for  any  considerable  length  of  time  in  Tennessee.  It 
remained  here  about  three  weeks,  during  which  time  three  hundred  of  its 
members  re-enlisted  as  veterans.     On  the  Eighth  of  January,  1864,  the  veter- 

'24) 


dbyGoc^lc 


370  GENESEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN. 

aiiized  command,  under. orders  to  report  at  Detroit,  left  its  camp  and  took  the 
road  across  the  Cumberland  mountains  for  the  railroad  at  Nicliolasviile, 
Kentucky,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  distant.  It  reached  that  place  in  ten 
days,  having  made  an  average  of  nearly  twenty  miles  a  day  over  miserable 
roads  and  through  the  snow  and  ice  of  the  mountain-passes;  it  arrived  at 
Detroit  on  the  25th  and  there  received  the  veteran  furlough.  At  the  end  of 
the  specified  time  the  men  reassembled  at  the  rendezvous  (the  city  of  Flint), 
where  Capt.  Charles  H.  McCreery  was  in  charge  of  a  recruiting-station  for 
the  "veteran  Eighth."  On  the  Eighth  of  March  they  left  again  for  the  front, 
proceeding  by  way  of  Cincinnati  to  Annapolis,  Maryland,  to  rejoin  the  Ninth 
Corps,  which,  after  the  regiment  had  left  Tennessee  had  been  ordered  East  to 
reinforce  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

The  Eighth  remained  at  Annapolis  until  April  23,  when  it  moved  to 
Washington  and  thence  across  the  Potomac  to  Warrenton  Junction.  On  the 
opening  of  the  campaign  of  1864,  it  moved  with  the  army  on  the  4tli  of  May, 
crossed  the  Rapidan  at  Germania  Ford  on  the  5th,  and  on  the  following  day 
was  hotly  engaged  in  the  Wilderness,  losing  ninety-nine  in  killed,  wounded 
and  missing.  Among  these  was  Col.  Frank  Graves,  who  was  made  prisoner 
by  the  enemy  and  as  was  reported  shot  in  cold  blood  because  he  applied  the 
epithet  "robber"  to  one  of  his  captors  who  was  taking  his  boots  from  his  feet. 

On  the  8th  of  May  the  Eighth  marched  over  the  old  field  of  Chancellors- 
vliie  and  on  towards  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  where,  on  the  12th,  it  took 
part  in  the  assault  on  the  enemy's  intrenchments,  losing  forty-nine  officers 
and  men  in  the  bloody  work  of  that  day.  During  the  fight  the  corps  com- 
mander. General  Burnside,  rode  up  and  called  out  to  the  regiment,  "Boys, 
you  must  support  this  battery  and  hold  the  hill  at  all  hazards,  for  it  is  the 
key  to  our  safety,"  and  a  moment  later  inquired  what  regiment  it  was.  Colo- 
nel Ely  informed  him.  "Ah!"  returned  the  general,  "the  Eighth  Michigan! 
I  know  you.  You'U  hold  it!"  and  rode  away.  The  regiment  crossed  the 
Pamunkey  river  May  28  and  moved  towards  Bethesda  Church,  where  in 
the  battle  of  June  3  it  gallantly  charged  and  carried  the  enemy's  rifle-pits,  sus- 
taining a  loss  of  fifty-nine,  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  On  the  12th  it  was 
encamped  near  Mechanicsville,  Virginia.  The  next  day  it  crossed  the  Chicka- 
hominy  and  on  the  14th  crossed  the  James  river;  from  that  point  it  moved 
by  a  forced  march  to  the  front  of  Petersburg.  It  arrived  there  in  the  evening 
of  the  i6th,  and  on  the  17th  and  i8th  it  took  part  in  the  attacks  on  the  enemy's 
works,  losing  forty-nine  killed  and  wounded.  For  six  weeks  after  that  time 
it  was  constantly  employed  on  the  fortifications,  under  fire.  In  the  fight  at 
"the  Crater,"  July  30,  it  was  engaged,  losing  thirteen  killed  and  wounded. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  37I 

Soon  after,  it  moved  to  the  Weldon  railroad,  and  fought  there  in  the  action 
of  August  19,  losing  thirty  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing,  among  the  kiiled 
being  Maj.  Horatio  Belcher,  of  Flint.  It  was  again  engaged,  with  but  sHght 
loss,  on  the  2ist,  and  on  the  30th  it  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Poplar  Grove 
Churcli,  losing  eight  wounded. 

The  Eighth  remained  near  Peebles'  Farm  engaged  in  fortifying  and 
picket  duty  till  November  29,  when  it  moved  again  to  a  position  before 
Petersburg.  It  assisted  in  repulsing  the  enemy  in  his  attack  on  Ft.  Stead- 
man,  March  25,  1865,  and  on  the  2d  of  April  was  engaged  in  the  attack  on 
Ft.  Mahon,  assisting  in  carrying  the  work  and  l>eing  the  first  regiment  to 
place  its  colors  on  the  hostile  ramparts.  The  next  day  it  marched  into  Peters- 
burg. After  this  it  was  employed  in  guard  duty  on  the  South  Side  railroad 
till  the  20th  when  it  marched  to  City  Point  and  on  the  following  day  embarked 
on  transports  and  proceeded  to  Alexandria,  Virginia;  from  there  it  moved 
to  Tenallytown,  Maryland,  on  the  26th.  It  moved  into  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, May  9,  and  was  there  engaged  in  guard  and  patrol  duty  until  July  30, 
1865,  when  it  was  mustered  out  of  the  service.  Its  strength  when  mustered 
out  was  six  hundred  and  three  officers  and  men,  it  having  been  quite  largely 
augmented  by  recruits  during  the  latter  part  of  its  term  of  service.  The  regi- 
ment left  Washington  on  the  1st  of  August  and  on  the  3d  arrived  at  Detroit, 
were  paid  and  disbanded,  and  the  survivors  of  "the  wandering  regiment  of 
Michigan"  returned  to  their  homes  and  the  vocatitms  of  peaceful  life.  Dur- 
ing its  existence  the  regiment  had  moved  over  seven  thousand  miles  by  land 
and  sea:  more  than  nineteen  hundred  men  had  marched  in  its  ranks;  and  it 
had  been  engaged  in  thirty-seven  battles  and  skirmishes  in  seven  different 
states  of  the  Union. 

Charles  Howard  Gardner  was  a  school  bo\'  about  thirteen  years  of  age, 
in  the  city  of  Flint  when  the  war  broke  out.  His  father  went  to  the  field  on 
the  first  call  for  troops  in  the  Second  Michigan.  On  the  second  call,  Charley's 
teacher,  Capt.  S.  C.  Guild,  joined  the  Eighth  Michigan.  Charley  l>eing  very 
much  attached  to  him,  entreated  to  be  allowed  to  go  with  him.  "I  can  go  to 
the  war  with  my  drum,  and  take  the  place  of  a  man,"  was  the  noble  1>oy's  per- 
sistent plea.  "I  think  it  my  duty  to  go,  especially  as  you,  mother,  do  not 
greatlj'  neefl  me  at  home."  The  poor  mother,  who  had  already  surrendered 
her  husband,  reluctantly  consented,  and  her  Ixiy  joined  the  Eighth  Michigan 
with  Captain  Guild,  ordered  to  Port  Royal.  On  the  way  Charley  met  his 
father  in  Washington ;  saw  him  a  little  way  off.  Forgetting  that  he  was  in 
the  ranks  he  broke  and  ran  to  his  father's  arms.     It  was  their  last  meeting 


dbyGoot^lc 


372  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

on  earth;  the  father  died  soon  after  in  Alexandria.     After  his  father's  death, 
Charley  wrote: 

Dear  lIotLei- : — 1  jiiii  iieai'  lirukeu-lieai'tcil.  I  try  to  bu  cUuerfui,  but  'tin  of  no  use. 
My  luiud  c-oiistttiitiy  runs  i»  tUe  direcUou  oE  borne,  a  fresli  gusb  of  tears  conn;  to  uiy 
eyea  and  J  have  to  weep.  But,  mother.  If  tbia  la  so  hard  for  me,  wbitt  must  It  be  for 
yoiiV  Don't  take  It  too  niut-h  to  heart,  for  remember  tbat  you  have  me  left,  ami  1  will 
do  my  beat  to  lielp  you.  I  sbalJ  send  you  all  my  mouey  hereafter,  for  I  really  do  not 
need  money  here. 

And  this  promise  he  fulfilled  to  the  letter.  His  captain  guarded  him  like 
a  father.  At  the  terrible  battle  of  James  Island  the  Captain,  while  on  the 
jjarapet  of  the  rebel  works,  was  struck  by  a  shot  and  fell  over  the  wall  into 
the  rebel  hands  and  was  seen  no  more.  Charley,  so  bereaved,  his  captain  and 
dear  friend  gone,  in  his  agony  of  soul  murmurs,  "Oh,  how  I  pity  his  poor 
mother!"  Charley  passed  through  many  severe  engagements,  often  escaping 
death  as  if  it  were  by  a  miracle.  Stilt  he  kept  with  the  regiment;  was  at 
Vicksbiirg,  and  with  Burnside  in  the  Kast  Tennessee  campaign,  in  the  moun- 
tains and  at  Knoxville.  But  during  the  siege  of  that  place,  a  chance  shot 
struck  him  on  the  shoulder  and  entered  the  lung.  The  surgeon  wrote  to  his 
mother.  "He  has  been  in  a  dangerous  condition,  but  is  fast  recovering." 
Next  tidings,  the  regiment  was  on  the  way  home  on  veteran  furlough;  heard 
from  at  Louisville,  at  Indianapolis,  at  Michigan  City,  and  last  at  Detroit. 
"He  may  !«  here  tonight^he  will  be  here  tomorrow,"  said  his  devoted  and 
loving  mother.  Every  summons  to  the  door  was  Charley.  Everything  was 
in  readiness  for  a  happy  meeting;  mother,  sister  and  brother  waiting  for  him. 
The  suspense  is  great  and  trying.  A  knock  at  the  door.  All  start- — all  crv, 
"  'Tis  Charley !"  All  rush  to  the  door.  No.  A  telegram  :  "The  regiment 
has  arrived,  but  Charley  is  dead !" 

OrFlCEBS    AND    MEN    OF    THK    EIGHTH    IBFAMTKY    FBOM     OKNKSKE    liQUNTV. 

V.,].  VVui.  .M.  I'-enfoii,  Fliut;  enl.  Aug.  7,  18G1;  res.  March  15,  1863. 

Maj.  Kitbriiim  W,  T.yon,  Flint;  enl.  Aug.  10,  1861;  i-es.  Mareh  10,  ims. 

l8t  Lieut,  and  Adj.  N.  Mlaer  Prntt,  Flint;  en!.  Aud:.  14,  1S61;  killed  in  battle  of 
Wiimington,  G.i.,  April  16,  1862. 

1st  Lieut,  ami  Qr.  Mr.  Asa  Gregory,  Flint;  eul.  Aug.  12,  1801;  commlHsary  of 
U.  S.  Vols.,  Nov.  20,  1862;  brev.-maj.  V.  S.  Vols.,  April  3,  1865;  must,  out  April  26, 
1866. 

Surg.   James  C.   Wilson,   Flint;   enl.   March  3,  1862;    res.   for  disiib.,   March   6.   1.%3. 

Asst  Snrg.  John  WlHelt,  Flint;  enl.  Xov.  22.  1862;  surg.  'M  Intt,  Nov.  2f>,  1864, 
to  June  30,  1865. 

Chaplain  Win.  Mnhon,  Flint;   enl.  Ann.  26,  1861;   res.  June  24,  1862. 

Sergt-MnJ.  Kdw.  K.  ChaKe,  Flint;  enl.  M;iy  1,  1863;  2d  ileut,,  July  5,  1864:  vet. 

Ser8t.-Ma3.  Orrln  Bump,  Flint;  enl.  An;;.  1.  1S61;  2d  Ileut.  Co.  F,  March  27,  1863. 

Sergt.-Maj.  Os^iir  Bliss.   Feiiton;   enl.  Ang.  2r>,  1862;   (lisch.  by  order,  Mny  .^1.  186r>. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENi:SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  373 

Si.si't:t.-)Iiij.    Wm.   11.   AitkeD,    Fiiiit;    enl.    Dw.    18,   IStil;    must,    out   July   30,    18(15; 

Com.-Sergt.  Ellas  G.  Williams,  Flint;  eul.  Aug.  12,  1861;  pro.  to  2(1  lieut.  anil 
qr.-mi'.,  Oct.  20.  1SIJ2. 

Coni.-Seriit.    Hiirve.v    J.    riiristiiin,    Flint;    oni.    Aiis.    1!»,    1801:    1st    lieut.    Co.    G, 

Feb.  10,  imr,. 

Ooiu.-Sei-fc't.  Wni.  J.  Uhrlstiun,  Flint;  enl.  Aug.  12,  1861;  capt,  SOtli  Inf.,  Jiin.  8, 
18(15. 

Coni.-Sergt.  CIius.  G.  Watkius,  Fliut;  enl.  Sept.  17,  ISfil;  pro.  1st  lieut.  Co.  U. 

Hosii.  Steward  Milton  M.  Fenner,  Flint;  enl.  Aug.  12,  1801;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.  (Jo.  D. 
Nov.  22,  18C1. 

Riuirt,  Alvii  M.  liogers,  eul.  Aug.  14,  3S61;  must,  out  July  30,  1865;  veteran. 

Itiiiid,   ()r\illo   McWiliiiuns,   enl,   July   1,   18(J1;    must,   out   July   PS,   IHGTi. 

Gompnuy  A. 

CiLi>t.  Simon  <;.  Uuild,  Flint;  eul.  Sept.  21,  1S61;  killed  in  battle  at  Jiimes  Islaurt, 
Va.,  June  IB,  18ti2. 

Cjipt.  E))liralm  W.  Lyon,  Flint;  pro.  to  maj.  Feb.   1,  1863;   rea.  March  10    1863 

L'apt,  Jnmea  S.  Donoliue,  Flint ;  trans,  from  Co.  li ;  illshoiiorablv  dismissed 
restored,  and  ti-ans.  to  Co.  I  lis  capt. 

Cnpt.  Jobn  S.  Freemiiu,  Flint;  trans,  from  Co,  D;  wounded  at  Wilderness  ^b 
May  6,  18lj4;  must,   out  Oct.  18,   1804. 

Uapt.  Edward  U.  Cliase,  Fliat;  enl.  April  25,  1S(}0;  bre\-.  capt.  V.  S.  \o1b  ipiU  2 
lSt!5,  for  ctmsijlcuous  gailautry  In  assault  on  Fort  Mjilioue,  Va. ;  must,  out  Julj  JO   l&to 

1st  Lieut.  Ueorge  E.  Newell,  Flint;  enl,  Sept.  12,  1861;  pro.  to  capt  Co  I  Sept 
10,  1HB2. 

Ist  Lieut.  Jobii  S.  Freeman,  Flint;  eul,  Jan.  1,  1S63;  pi-o,  to  capt,  Co.  D,  May  3, 
18tW. 

Ist  I>leut.  Thomas  Campbell,  Goodricii;  enl.  Marcli  18,  1803;  killed  in  battle  near 
I'etersburg,  Va.,  June  17,  1864. 

lat  Lieut.  Lewis  .M.  Webster,  Fliut;  enl.  Nov.  20,  1864;  res.  May  20,  1805;  was 
sei-gt  and  2cl  iieut. 

1st   Lieut.   Andi-ew   H.   Gillis,   Flint;    must,   out   July   30,   1865. 

2d  Lieut.  George  H.  Turner.  Flint;  eni.  Sept.  21.  1861;  res.  Sept.  25,  1862. 

2d  Ijicnt.  John  y.  Freeman,  Flint;  enl.  Sept.  1,  1862;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co,  A, 
Jan.  1.  1863. 

2d  Lieut.  Chai-les  t>ldy,  Flint;  enl.  Jan.  1,  1863;  pro.  to  lat  lieut.  Co,  F,  April 
16,  1863. 

2d  IJeut.  Harrison  H.  Williams,  Griind  Blanc;  enl.  April  20,  1864;  woinided  in 
battle  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  17,  1864;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  July  5,  1864;  disch.  for 
disability.   Nov.   17,   1864. 

Sei^t.  James  W.  Page,  eul,  June  11),  1S61;  disc,  for  disability,  Jan,  10,  1862. 

Sergt.  James  II.  Atcliinsoii,  enl.  June  19,  1861;  die.1  at  Hilton  Head,  S.  C,  Dec. 
25,  1861. 

Sei^.  Heni-y  Cllne  (veteriiu),  enl.  June  10,  1861;  diud  July  12,  1864,  of  wounds 
i-ecelvf^  at  Petersburg,  Va. 

Sergt.  John  S.  Freeman,  eiil.  June  10,  1861;  pro.  to  2d  Deut.  Co.  A,  Sept.  1,  1S62. 

Senrt.  David  B.  Foote,  enl.  June  19,  1861;  killed  on  Ooosaw  Siver,  S.  C,  Dec.  18, 
1861. 

Corp.  Milton  Barows  (sergt.l,  eul.  June  19,  1861;  died  at  sea  ou  steimboaf  "Argo," 
July  ■'!,   18(12,  of  wounds  reeeivod   in   battle. 


dbyGoot^lc 


374  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Corp.  Jolm  Q.  AtUims,  eiil.  June  19,  1861;  killed  in  battle  of  Port  Koyal,  S.  C. 
Jim.  1,  1863. 

Corp.  Orville  McWilllums,  enl.  June  19,  1861;  app,  cliief  musician,  April  21,  1S64, 

Con».  Cliarlea  Cruaper,  enl.  June  19.  1861:  dlsch.  for  disability,  March  6,  1863. 

Corp.  Charley  Bady   (sei^.),  enl.  June  19,  IRGl;  pro.  to  2iJ  lieut.,  Jan.  1,  18tl3. 

Corp.  Henry  W.  Caldwell,  enl.  June  IS),  1861;  diach.  for  aisabillty,  Dec.  12,  ISC2. 

Corp.  EdwaiM  K.  Chase,  enl.  June  19,  1861:  pro.  to  sergt.-mnj. 

Corp  Kedman  I.  Babcock,  enl.  June  19,  1861,  killed  in  battle  of  riiantilly,  Va., 
Sept.  1,  1862. 

Musician  Ellas  ParlieM,  died  at  Falmouth,  \a..,  Jan.  11,  1S6H. 

Cliarles  Howard  Gardner,  "tlie  Drummer  Boy  of  the  Eighth,"  died  at  Kuoxvllle, 
'i'eou.,  Dec.  2,  1803,  of  wounds. 

Wagoner  Kormtni  Brown,  discb.  Sept.  22,  18tl4,  end  of  service. 

Privates — Edward  Brooks,  killed  in  action  at  Port  Koyol  Ferry,  S.  ('.,  Jan,  i, 
1862;  Charles  Bickford,  disch.  to  enlist  in  regular  service.  OcL  135,  18ti2,  Auias.i  Brace, 
diBcb.  to  enlist  in  regular  service,  Oct.  2.5,  1862 ;  William  Babcock,  dlsch.  for  disability, 
Feb.  5,  1863;  George  H.  Bennett,  dlsch.  for  disability,  Jan.  2,  1863;  James  H.  Burt, 
Atlas,  died  of  wounds  In  Wllilei-ness,  Va.,  May  9.  1861 ;  Abel  S.  Bennett,  died  iu  action 
at  James  Island,  S.  C,  June  16,  1862;  Alonzo  Boucher,  must  out  July  30,  1865: 
Timothy  Condon,  dlett  in  action  at  Wilmington  Island,  Ga.,  April  16,  1862;  Oliver 
Cone,  died  of  disease  at  Hilton  Head,  S.  C,  Dec.  2rl,  1862;  Monroe  Cuddeback,  disch. 
for  disability,  June  :i3,  1862;  Baniey  Cullen,  diseh.  for  disability,  Oct.  25,  1862;  Henry 
Cartrlgbt.  dlsch.  for  disability,  Nov.  5.  1862;  Gustavus  Chapel,  Flint,  died  of  disease 
at  Milldale,  Miss.,  July  X,  1863;  Heni?  W.  Oadwell,  dlsch.  for  disnblllty,  Dee  12,  1862; 
Harlow  Clother,  disch.  for  disability.  May  19,  1863:  Edward  H.  Chapman,  dlsi-h.  for 
disability,  Nov.  26,  1862:  Henry  Casey,  dlsch.  at  end  of  sen  ice,  Sept.  22,  l.S(i4;  W.ilTei- 
mother,  diseh.  at  end  of  service.  Sept  22,  1864;  Mortimer  Carter,  dlsch.  foi'  di-JibilHy. 
Jan.  15,  1865;  Levi  Collins,  Grand  Blanc,  dlsch.  by  ortler,  June  1.  1865;  Wairen  I'ole. 
triins.  to  Vet.  Bes.  Cori)s,  Jan.  21,  1803;  Ira  Delllng.  died  In  action  at  James  Islaml. 
S.  C,  June  10.  1S62 ;  William  Delbrldge,  died  of  dlso!iae  at  NtcholasviHe.  Ky.,  Aug.  24, 
1863:  James  Drumond,  died  of  womids  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  17,  1864;  Charles 
Dye,  must  out,  July  30.  1865;  Thomas  Donahue,  must,  out  July  30,  186ri;  Oliver 
Dye,  discli.  for  disability.  Nov.  29,  1864:  Emory  Deuton,  disch.  for  dlsabilltj',  March  20, 
1805;  Trumbull  C.  PJIder,  dIseh.  for  dlsabilltj-,  Jan.  10,  1862;  Chauncey  KKHleston, 
dlsch.  for  dlsubilitj-.  May  15,  186D;  Peter  A.  Fritz,  died  of  disease  iit  AVashington, 
I>.  0.,  Nov.  23.  1861;  Andrew  Glllls,  dlsch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran.  Feb.  17,  180i,  Thomas 
Heather,  died  of  disease  at  Beaufort,  S.  (.'.,  Jan.  10,  1862;  Harrison  S.  Haync,  died 
of  disease  at  Grand  Baplds,  Mich.  Sept.  20,  1861;  Burdett  E.  Hopkins,  dlsch.  for  dis- 
ability, April  C,  1802;  William  W.  Harris,  dlsch.  to  enl.  In  regular  service,  Oct  25, 
1862;  James  P.  Hoffman,  disch.  to  enl.  in  I'egulai-  service,  Oct  25,  1862;  Lyman  Hues- 
tard,  dlsch.  at  end  of  service,  Sept.  22,  1864;  Theodore  Jennings,  died  of  disease  at 
Hilton  Head,  R.  0.,  Nov.  14.  1861;  Mott  Johnston,  dlsch.  for  disability,  Oct.  25,  1802; 
Aylmer  Jennings,  must,  out  July  30,  1865;  Thonms  M.  KIpp,  died  of  disease  at  Beau- 
fort, S.  C.  Jan.  6,  1862:  Thomas  Kimmel,  DaUson.  must,  out  July  30.  1865;  Charles 
D.  Ijong,  dlsch.  for  disability,  June  23,  18C2 ;  Fletcher  I,*wl8,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 
Sept.  22,  1864;  Isaac  Lalne,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Sept.  23,  1804;  Montle  Moss, 
died  in  action  at  Bull  Run.  Va.,  Aug.  29,  1862:  Charles  McKee,  dlsch.  to  enl.  in  regular 
service,'  Oct.  24,  1862;  Adam  D.  Miller,  dlsch,  for  disability,  Sept.  13,  1804;  Heni-j- 
W.  Mason,  dlaeh.  Jan.  4,  1865,  for  promotion  in  30th  Mich.  Inf.;  Abraham  B.  Miller, 
disch,  to  re-enl,   as  leteran,   Dei.-,   2!),   ls«3,    Addiwn    H.    Mattice,   must   out   July  30, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  375 

IStij;  Fi'iiuk  Ntwumi],  must,  out,  July  30,  18G5;  Albert  S.  Newmau,  died  of  disease 
at  Hilton  Head,  S.  C,  Nov.  2(),  1802;  Kuusom  I>.  OKboru,  diach.  ut  eud  o£  service, 
Sept.  27,  1864;  Heury  Odeli,  died  of  disease  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  Oct.  2,  18G1;  James  W. 
I'iige,  dist-ii.  iov  disiibillty,  Jan.  10,  im2;  Abi-rtm  D.  Penny,  dlsc'li.  for  dlsiibiiity,  Sept. 
20,  1862;  Allia  Passing,  dlscli.  to  enl.  in  regulm-  sei-vice,  Oct.  24,  ISSS;  James  M. 
Pei'sims,  dlscli.  at  end  of  service,  Sept.  22,  1864 ;  Jolin  D.  Pattie,  discli.  at  end  of 
service.  Sept.  22.  Ifi04;  William  K.  Pratt,  inuat.  out,  Julj  30,  1865:  Danlei  C.  Parlter. 
discb.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran;  George  W.  Kail,  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran,  Dec.  20, 
l«(ia;  Fred.  Siiillinger,  died  of  wounds  received  at  Wllniingtou  Island.  Ga.,  April  24, 
1802;  Stepiien  Swart,  discli.  for  disability,  Warcii  28,  1802;  Henry  M  htores.  disci 
at  end  of  service,  Sept.  22,  18*H;  Hiram  Snyiaud,  tmns.  to  Vet.  Res.  Coipa  Jan  21 
1805:  David  B.  Took,  died  in  action  at  Coosaw  River,  S.  C,  Dec.  18.  1861  Hanfoid  L 
I'odd,  must.  out.  July  30,  1S65;  George  Waiaiee,  died  of  disease  at  Beaufort,  1  C 
May  24.  1.S62;  Jolin  A.  Warner,  discU.  to  enl  in  regular  seriioe,  Oct.  24  1802  Warien 
Wilcox,  died  of  wounds  at  Woehington,  D.  C,  Oct.  2,  18!i4;  Lewis  M.  Webster  dist 
to  i-e-enl.  as  veteran,  Dec.  29,  1863;  Harrison  H.  Williams,  disch.  to  re-eni  as  veteran 
Dec.  29,  18C3;  Moses  Wall;er,  Atlas,  must,  out,  July  30,  1805;  Harris  nooden  must 
out,  July  30,  1865;  William  P.  Youngs,  diacb.  for  disability,  Dec.,  1862. 

Cofiipany  /'' 

Iwt  I.ieul.  rliiirioK  Ediiy,  Flint  (sergt.),  2d  lieiit.  Co.  A,;  pro.  1st  iieut.  Co.  F, 
.\|>ril  10,  im\:   mu«l.  out,  Sept.  29,  1864. 

2d  Lieut.  (Ji-i-iiL  Hump,  Flint;  enl.  March  27,  1803;  pro.  1st  Iieut.  Co.  (!,  April 
20,   1864. 

I'rivnteii— James  AdaniH,  Flint,  discii.  for  disability,  Dei%  4.  1864;  Stephen  L.  J. 
HiuKliam.  t'lhit,  illscb..  for  dlaalillity,  Dec.  21,  1804;  Cliarlea  Cartwright,  Grand  Blanc, 
must.  out.  Jnly  W.  1«')5;  Willord  Clemens,  Kichfleld,  must,  out,  July  30,  1865;  Samp- 
siiiL  Doughty.  Hiirton,  died  In  action  in  Wiiderueas,  Va.,  Jlay  0,  1864;  Charles  A. 
FcnI.  Flint,  dlKcii.  by  order.  Ang.  12,  1865;  Nathan  I,.  Grundy,  Burton,  must,  out, 
.lul.v  ;:it,  l^iT);  William  Horton,  Flint,  must,  out,  July  30,  1805;  David  Houghton. 
VioniLii.  niMsi.  oiii,  July  30,  1805;  Wiiiani  F.  Metcalf,  Burton,  died  of  disease  at 
HuvwI.v,  X.  .1..  (icl.>l)er.  1804:  Jerome  B.  McWayne,  Atlas,  must  out.  July  30,  1865; 
HarrlKoii  K.  I'riyue.  Woiuit  Jlorris,  dietl  of  disease  at  Salisbury,  N.  C,  Dec.  25..  1864; 
William  B.  I'i'lleti.  Flint,  must,  out  July  30,  1865;  tJeorge  R.  Pratt,  Ai^entine,  must, 
out.  July  30,  lMi.'i:  WJIli.iui  H.  Siieperd,  Forest,  died  in  action  .-it  Wildevuess,  Va.. 
-May  0,  1864:  DiiiiiH  fJiiiiiik,  Argentine,  died  of  wounds  in  Washington,  D.  C,  June  30, 
1804;  Hiram  Sturgis,  Argentine,  died  in  action  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  18,  1864: 
Silas  ID.  Van  Shaick,  Richtteid,  died  of  diaease  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  July  10,  1864; 
Stacey  B.  Wai-ford,  Flint,  must.  out.  July  30.  1865:  Charles  R.  Warren,  Flint,  must, 
out  July  .'10,  ISOr.. 

Comixtiiii  (I 

Caiit.  Ephruini   W.   Lyon,   Flint;   enl.  Aug.  10,   1861;   trans,   to  Co.   A,   Sept.   1,  1S62. 

Capt.  Horatio  Belcher,  Flint;  enl.  Sept.  1,  1862;  pro.  to  major,  June  3,  1804. 

(lapt.  Harvey  J.  Christian,  Flint;  enl.  April  25,  1805;  must,  out,  July  30,  1865. 

1st  Lieut.  Horatio  Belcher.  Flint;  enl.  April  20,  1804;  pro.  to  adj.  July  5,  1804. 

1,st  Lieut,  Han-ey  J.  Christian,  Flint;  enl.  Jan.  8,  1865;  pro.  to  capt.,  April  25,  1865. 

Sergt.  John  L  Philips.  Flint;  enl.  Jan.  1,  1863;  pro.  to  2d  Jleut.;  res..  Dec.  15. 
1863. 

Sergt  Nathan  M.  Healey,  Flint;  disch.  for  disability,  Oct.  18,  1862. 

Corp.  Wm.  E.   Christian,   Flint    (sergt.);   pro.   to  com-sergt.,    Sept.  24,  1864. 


dbyGoot^lc 


376  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Cori).   JoLii  E.   Gibfiuii,   I'Imt,   diacli    to  eiilM  iti   legiil.u'   .iiuij.  t'<-t.  25,   1^V>>. 

Corp.   Sej-mour  Hill,  I'llut;  disci),  ut  BeJiifoit,   S.  C,  lliiivli  4,  1882. 

Uorp.  Harvey  J.  Clu-istiim,  Flint;  in'o.  to  com-sei-gt,  Sept.  24,  1864. 

Oorp.  Francis  Hoiiklus.  IHiut;  trans,  to  Invalid  Corps,  Nov.   1,  1803. 

Corp.  Eliel  E.  Miller,  Flint;  dlscli.  at  New-  York,  Feb.  14,  1H63. 

Musician   Josepli   Dans.    Flint;    died   Mai-cli   2«,   1862. 

Musician  Alva  M.  Itogers,  Flint;  app.  prinL-iiial  luuslclun,  Feb.  1!J.  IMM. 

Privates — Caasander  Ackley,  died  Dec.  3,  1802,  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  of  wounds 
received  in  action.  Jjmes  K.  AmiBtron^,  died  Dec.  5.  1864,  at  KnowUle,  Tenn.,  of 
wounds.  Hiram  Applebee,  veteriiu;  must,  out,  July  30.  1865.  Pliineaa  Allen,  dlsch. 
by  order.  May  31,  1865.  William  Austin,  must,  out,  July  30,  1805.  Daniel  S.  Boyer, 
died  lu  action  at  James  Island,  S.  C.,  Juue  10,  1862.  Albert  M.  Brannick.  died  in 
action  at  James  lf<l(iiid,  S.  C,  June  16,  1862.  Justus  Beebe,  disch.  for  disjibility,  Aug. 
18,  1802.  John  Bowles,  discli.  to  enter  regular  servli^e,  Oct.  24,  1862;  Alfred  Benton, 
veteran;  miSBing  in  action  in  WildemMS,  \'a..  May  6,  1804.  George  Beebe,  veter.in; 
must,  out,  July  30,  1805.  Jobii  R,  Benjamin,  veteran;  must  out,  July  30,  1865.  Wilson 
Baldwin,  dlscii.  to  re-*ul.  as  leteran.  William  Burger,  must,  out,  July  30,  1865. 
James  Caiinen.  died  in  action  at  James  Island,  S.  C.,  June  16,  1862.  Emory  R.  Curtis, 
died  In  action  at  Jiimes  Island,  S.  C.  Juue  10,  1802.  William  Capron,  died  In  action 
at  James  Island,  H.  C,  June  16,  1802.  John  Cummings,  dlscli.  for  disability,  Jlarch  4, 
1862.  Luthei-  0.  Uleielaiid.  discb.  to  enlist  in  regular  service,  Oct.  24,  1862.  \"an 
Wert  Coulton,  H'enton;  discli  to  enl.  in  regular  service,  Oct.  25,  1802.  CUarles  Colton, 
Mount  Morris ;  died  of  disease  at  Falmoutb,  Va.,  Jan.  16,  1863.  Sidney  B.  Castle,  died 
of  disease  at  WanLlngton,  D.  V,.,  June  27,  1864.  Marcus  Curtis,  died  of  disease  at 
Andersonvllle,  Ga.,  Sp|rt.  17,  1864  Edson  Conrad,  died  of  disease  at  Andersonvllle. 
Ga.,  May  12,  1864.  Mlhenus  Colby,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Sept.  22,  186i.  George 
B.  Ciii-nes,  Fenton;  died  in  action  near  Petersbm-g,  Va.,  Juue  .S,  1864.  William  M. 
CHappel,  must,  out,  July  30,  ]865.  William  Cannon,  must,  out,  July  .TO,  1865.  Willinm 
H.  Cesler,  Gaines;  must,  ont,  Jnly  30,  1805.  Edwai-d  S.  Dart,  disch.  for  disability. 
Get.  18,  1802.  Robert  Dixon,  mlBslng  in  action  In  Wildemess,  Va.,  May  6,  1.^64. 
Franklin  J.  Derrlll,  disch.  for  disability,  April  6,  1864.  Clark  Dibble,  disch.  by  order, 
May  31,  1865.  Sylvester  Kcleston,  disch.  for  dlsabiUty,  June  4,  1863.  Horatio  M. 
Flint,  must,  ont,  July  30,  18(5.  Geoi-ge  W.  Foot,  disch.  for  wounds,  May  1,  18Ki. 
Horatio  W.  Felt,  disch.  ut  end  of  service,  Sept.  22,  1804.  John  Ganwn,  disch.  at  end 
of  sen-ice,  Sept.  22.  1.804.  William  H.  Granger,  disch.  for  dlsabilitj,  Sept.  25,  1801. 
George  I).  Gear}-,  disch.  to  i-e-eul.  In  r^ulttr  sertlce.  Oct.  23.  1862.  Plieodore  finiison, 
disch.  by  order,  Aug.  4,  18<15.  William  M.  Ojge,  disch  to  re-cnl  as  \eteran.  Nathan 
Ganson,  diSch.  by  order,  July  1S65.  William  Hamilton,  died  June  23,  1862,  from 
wounds  received  nt  James  Island,  S.  C.  Franklin  B.  Hon  land,  died  in  action  at 
James  Island,  S.  C,  June  16,  1S02.  Seymour  Hill,  disch.  for  dlaabillty,  March  4,  18fi2. 
Halzy  M.  Henstreet,  discb.  to  enl.  in  regular  service,  Oct.  24,  1862.  I.  R.  Hamilton, 
disch.  for  disability,  Dec.  11,  1862.  Ansel  L.  Hamilton,  died  of  disease  at  Newport 
News,  Feb.  24.  1803.  Francis  Hopkins,  trans  to  Vet.  Res.  Orps,  Nov.  1,  1863.  Charlew 
Hibbard,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  1(1,  1K64.  Hiram  Hibbard,  disch.  at  end  of 
service,  Sept.  22,  1804.  Corneliiia  Hays,  disch.  ut  end  of  sen-ice.  Sept.  22,  1864. 
Walter  Holmes,  discb.  to  re-eul.  as  veteran.  Miles  P.  Hall,  died  of  dlw.ise  at  Detroit. 
Mich..  Nov.  17,  1864.  William  E.  Hamilton,  disch.  by  order.  May  33,  180.1.  Ira  Ingalla, 
disch.  for  wounds.  April  18,  J865.  Alvin  Y.  Jones,  died  In  action  at  James  Island, 
S.  C,  Jane  10,  1802.  Ellhu  W.  Jndd,  disch.  for 'disability,  April  17,  1861.  John 
Kinsman,  died  in  action  at  James  Island,   R.  C,  June  16,    18C2.     William  Kinsman, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  -^"J-J 

ilisi-L.  for  (lisiibilitj,  .\c,v.  :!U.  IMiJ'.  Iwuio  It.  Kiiiiiey,  diwl  irf  wounds  uuiir  l*(;tersburt'. 
Vn.,  Sept.  !!(),  lS(i4.  Tlii>(.aoi-e  F.  Lwiliei-,  dlsi'li.  to  ve-eiil.  In  i-egnlnr  service,  Oct..  21, 
ISffii.  Ettsoii  Laiigiey,  must,  out,  July  30,  1805.  MutliewH  l-iiftiyette,  must,  out,  July  'W, 
185fi.  Oren  B.  McNltt,  rtlscli.  (or  rtVsjibllLty,  Jiiu.  7,  1H12.  Nelson  Meiiker,  dlst-li.  tm 
ilisiibllity,  Miirc-li  4,  1S62.  Josliiiii  Meiikei-,  tll»c-h.  for  illsiiliility,  Miiivli  4,  1«G2.  John 
W.  JIooii,  (llsch.  fur  (lisMbility,  Nov.  1!),  18tJ2.  I^-mxii  Mjiripn,  aiwli.  to  eui.  In  i-eguliii- 
servlt'e,  Oct.  2S,  l.SOli.  George  .Morw,  dletl  of  dlsejise  jit  I-ebiinoii,  Ky.,  Aiirll  15.  LSKJ. 
Beujiiiniii  F.  Miiiisli,  Fentoii :  dlsi-h.  iiy  oi-der,  June  20,  180o.  Ht'ni'y  Nichols,  discli. 
tor  dianbility,  Nov.  2,  ISIW.  Aaelbevt  V.  Overton,  dieil  in  iietion  iit  Jimies  Island,  S.  C„ 
June  1«,  3802.  iMyron  Odeii,  illRcl).  to  eul.  in  regi'lm'  iifi".v,  Oct.  2.'>.  1«G2.  JoLn 
Owens,  ti-ans.  to  Vet.  Ken.  Ciii-jis,  Dei-.  1,  LSK^.  (ieorge  W.  l'lilll!i>s.  died  iit  Wiisliiiif.'- 
ton,  D.  C,  of  wounds,  June  ];!.  1K(14.  Iteiijamlu  F,  Peiae,  disc-li.  to  re-eul.  as  veteran, 
l>ee.  20,  \m.\.  WlHiHui  rainier,  dlscli.  Iiy  oi-der,  JuJie  0.  l«(r>.  WiHlani  I'arks,  diseli. 
by  order,  June  28,  1S(>5.  Osiiier  I'lirks,  Jlimdj-;  dlsirli.  by  order,  JIuy  SI,  1S05.  George 
W.  PerkhiN,  dist-li.  for  dlsiiliilit.v.  .Ian.  4.  l.S((5.  .<auiuel  RihhI,  ilisc-h.  for  disability, 
Dec.  31,  llS(i2.  Joliii  r.uni]i,  dU^I  ul  (^)ld  Hailior,  \'a.,  June  1H,  LStW.  Jobn  II.  Hoc, 
must,  out,  July  30,  l.Siri.  W^iltt-r  S.  .Siivaj.'e,  dii'il  al  Hull  Uuii,  .\ni.'.  !tO,  lSfi2.  Peter  B. 
Himonson,  died  in  action  a!  .liiuifw  Island,  S.  ('..  June  Hi,  ISda.  Aliiion  Sherwood, 
dlSKb.  for  dlsiibllily,  t^eiit.  (i,  ls(i:>.  Amos  .Shirk,  dlNcli.  to  enl.  in  regular  service, 
Oct.  23,  I8G2.  RsnMoni  Stei.Lens,  diwcii.  to  enl.  in  regular  service,  Oct.  25,  1S02. 
Burton  F.  Sawyer,  I'"euton,  disi'li.  for  disnbillty,  Jliiy,  1805.  Dewitt  i.'.  Spiiulding. 
must,  out,  Jidy  30,  18tJ5.  William  II.  SLaw,  discb.  by  order,  June  20,  ISH.  Klbert 
H.  Stiwyer,  Fentoii,  dlwli.  for  illsaliiiitj",  Feb.  4.  1SC5.  Williaiu  Tracy.  dl«eli,  for 
wounds,  Mnrcb,  lS(j."i.  Jiinics  M.  W'rigbt,  died  in  action  at  James  Island.  M.  O.,  .iune 
10,  1882.  (^barles  A.  Wing.  \\\m.-\\.  f<ir  disability,  Nov.  20,  ISOl.  William  Wilsi>n, 
disch.  to  enl.  in  regular  ser\U-c.  0<l,  2o.  1K02.  Jiijiliet  I.  Willowei',  dlscb.  to  enl.  in 
i-eguliir  sei-vit-e,  Oct.  25,  1802.  Byron  Wright,  died  at  Wasldngtou,  D.  (.:.,  of  womids, 
June  11,  1804.  Caleb  B.  Wriglit,  died  at  Washington,  U.  C.,  of  wounds,  July  5,  1804. 
William  A.  Wriglit,  dle<l  of  dlsejise  at  Annniwlls,  JJd..  Mitreh  4,  ISGo.  Churies  G. 
Walldns,  disch.  to  re-cni.  as  vclcriUi.  Dec  2!l.  IWCi.  WllUiim  Wheeler,  nuisf,  out 
July  30,  1805. 

iifhll-    VuHliMWIi-H. 

Jiimes  K.  Donahue,  Flint:  -lA  lient.  ('o.  B.  e>il.  Weiit.  'li.  LSOl ;  Ist  lient.  Co.  H, 
May  14,  1862;  |iro.  to  caiit.  Co.  A;  disinlsawl,  then  restored!  trans,  ciipt.  Co.  1.  -Ian.  1. 
18ft5:   disch.   for  wounds,   Sept.   24,   l«ti4. 

J.  Brash  Fenton.  Flint;  2d  lient.  Co.  B,  enl.  A[n'il  21,  1.'<02;  pro.  to  Isl  lii'ut. 
Co.  G,  Sent.  1,  1802;  res.  Mint-h  15.  180;i, 

Edwin  M.  Hovey.  Feutou;  2d  lient.  \\^.  v..  ciil.  Sepi.  !,  Vs\;-2:  Isr  lient.  Co.  It. 
Jan.  1,  18C3:  wounded  at  Wildcniess.  \:\..  Ma.v  0,  ISW;  pro.  to  capt,  Co.  C,  June  :i, 
1.804;    must.   ont.   July   30,   IWiO. 

Milton  M.  Feiinor,  Flint:  2d  lleul.  Co.  r,  cul.  Nov,  22.  I.Sin  ;  pro.  lo  1st  lient. 
Co.   K.   Oct.  1.  l.*>2;   res.   Nov.   25,   IStti. 

Martin  I,.  Wiley.  Flint;  2d  lient.  Co.  C,  enl.  Dec.  1.  l.St)2;  pro.  to  Iwt  lieul.  Co.  R, 
Maivh  2T.  18al;  brev,^-al)t.  V.  M.  Vols.,  April  2,  1803:  capt.  <'o.  11,  Am'ii  25.  I8O-1: 
mnst.   ont,   July  30,    18(55. 

Jobn  S.  Freennin,  Flint :  servt.  Co.  A  ;  2d  lleut.  and  lat  lient.  Co.  A ;  c;ipt.  Co.  11, 
May  3,   1804;   wonnditl   at  ^Vilderness.   Va.,   May  0,  1864:   mnat.  out,  Oct   18,   1864. 

Charles  H.  McOreeiy.  Flint:  2d  Heuf.  Co.  K,  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862;  1st  lleut.  and 
adj.,  Sept.  24,  1862;  capt.  Co.  F,  Miircli  2T,  1863:  brev,-m;,jiir  U.  S.  Vols.,  April  2.  ISOS; 
must,  out,  Oct.  7,  1806. 


dbyGoot^lc 


378  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


CbHtles  Eddy,  Flint  (sergt)  ;  2d  lieut.  C".  A;  lu-o.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  F.  April  IR. 
ISGa ;  must,  out  SeiH.  20.  IStU. 

On-ill  Bump,  Fiiut;  2(1  lieut,  Co.  F;  eol.  MarcU  27,  1803;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  G, 
April  20,  1864 ;  ad.i.  July  5,  1864 ;  uiHst.  out,  Oct.  l.S,  18«4. 

Geo.  B.  Newell,  Flint;  Ist  lieut.  Oo.  A;  eiil.  Sept.  21,  1881;  pro.  to  cnpt.  Co.  I, 
Sept.  10,  1862;  res.,  Miirt-h  10,  1803. 

Win.  Tracj,  Flint  (sergt,);  2d  lieut.  Oo.  H;  trmis.  2d  lieut.  to  Co.  K,  May  3, 
1S64;  iiro.  to  lat  lieut.  CV>.  K,  April  25,  1865;  iiniRt.  out,  .luly  30,  1865. 

Pi'lvntes— John  M.  Bell,  Grimd  Blanc,  Co.  B;  discli.  by  order,  June  13,  1805, 
Oeorge   M.    Billiug>4,    Co.    I;    ilisch.    by    order     July   2S     180  \l\a    Blocxl,    Argentine, 

Co.  E;  killed  in  action  at  Grove  Cliui-cli,  Va.,  June  d  lSb4  Ti  Imai  M.  Bammn,  Co.  B; 
must,  out,  July  30,  18C5.  Jiinies  Cliase,  Flint  Co  I  d  sell  for  disabUity,  Dee.  14,  1862. 
Tliomus  Cnmiibell.  Flint,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  Vet  Res  (  ris  Jan  15  1864.  Wiliiani  H. 
Cole,  Fenton,  Co.  B;  diacb.  l>j-  order,  June  ■!  1805  M  rk  H  Ohaniberluin,  Fenton. 
Co.  I;  mnst.  out,  June  1,  1805.  Lewis  Close  AIiumIi  Co  I  discli  it  end  of  service, 
Aug.  15,  1865.  John  H.  Covert,  Gatiiea,  Co.  I;  inusf.  tint,  July  30,  ]S65.  Tliomas 
Clayton,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  K;  diac-h.  by  order,  Mareli  3,  1805.  Erastiia  Dickinson, 
musician,  Co.  H;  discli.  fit  end  of  service,  S^it,  27,  1864,  Franklin  Bldridse,  Fenton, 
Co.  B;  dlsch.  by  order,  June  1,  18(15.  Benjamin  B.  Eddy,  Co.  H;  dlscIi,  by  oi-der, 
J«ue  1,  1860.  Lambert  S.  Foster,  Corp.,  Oo.  I;  discb.  for  disnbility,  April  24,  1863. 
David  M.  Grooms,  Fenton,  Co.  B:  discb.  by  order,  June  1,  1865.  McDowell  Griswold, 
Co.  I;  discb,  by  order,  Aug.  'J,  1865.  Gilbert  C.  Hinckley,  iiiusiclan,  Oo.  B;  died  of 
disease,  Oct.  22,  1861.  Joliii  Hager,  Oo.  0;  dlseh.  by  order,  Jnne  1,  1865.  Truman 
Hinman,  Co,  H;  discb.  by  order.  May  20,  1805,  James  Househinder,  Mt.  Mori'ls,  Oo.  B; 
must,  out,  July  30,  1865,  Williaui  S.  Jeivell,  musician,  Oo.  H;  dlsch.  April  7,  1863. 
Lyman  V.  Knnpp,  Vienna,  Co.  K;  died  of  diaejise  at  Annapolis,  JId.,  April  5,  18(U. 
William  Miller,  Co.  K;  died  of  disease  at  Barbour sv  11  le,  Ky.,  May  1.  1864.  Orville 
filcWilllams,  band;  must,  out,  July  30,  1865.  Asa  Pnrsball,  I'araliallville,  Co.  I;  discli. 
for  disability,  Dec'.  14,  1862.  William  L.  Perkins,  Atlas,  Co,  E;  dietl  of  disease  at 
Aimaix>lis,  Md.,  Aiiril  2,  18(t4,  James  W.  Rlcb,  Gaines,  Co.  1;  sergt.;  dlsch.  for  dis- 
ability, Sept.  12,  1802.  Beldin  Robinson,  Fenton,  Oo.  K;  discli.  for  disabilitj',  Aug.  13, 
1863;  Alva  M.  Rogers,  band:  must,  out,  July  30,  1805.  Tbaddeus  Rogers,  Fenton, 
Co.  B;  disch.  by  order,  June  1,  1865.  Daniel  Shank,  Argentine,  Oo.  H;  die<l  July  5, 
1804,  of  wound  received  at  Grove  Cbureb,  Va„  June  3,  1864.  John  Tallman,  Fenton, 
t;o.  H;  discb.  by  order,  June  1,  1865.  Austin  B,  Ten-y,  Grand  Blanc,  Oo.  H;  must, 
out,  July  30,  1805.  Frank  A,  Taylor,  Mundy,  Co.  D;  must,  out,  July  30,  1865.  Joseph 
D.  Tbonms,  Kichfleld,  Oo.  H;  died  of  disease  at  City  Pohit,  Va.,  Feb.  6,  1805.  AuguK- 
tns  H.  Vickery,  Fenton,  Oo.  B;  dlsch.  by  order,  June  1,  1865.  Hannibal  Vlckery. 
Fenton,  Co.  H;  dlsch.  by  order,  Aug.  3,  1865.  John  O.  Wolverton,  sergt.,  Oo.  B;  trans. 
to  Signal  Corps,  Oct.  13,  1863.  Seth  B.  Watson,  Flint,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at  Flint. 
Mich.,  Feb.  28,  1864.  Wliliam  Woodbury,  N.  0.  S.;  must,  out,  July  30,  3.S65.  Deviilons 
Wilber,  Oo.  H.;  discli.  by  order.  May  20,  1865.  James  A.  Williams,  Fenton,  Co.  B; 
absent,  wounded ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

TENTH   INFANTItY. 

The  Tenth  Regiment  was  recruited  and  orgnnized  in  the  autumn  of  1861 
and  the  following  winter,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Hon.  Edward  H.  Thom- 
son, then  president  of  the  state  military  board,  its  rendezvous  was  established 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  3/9 

at  the  city  of  Flint.  Tlie  rule  had  been  adojited  by  Governor  Blair,  and  up 
to  that  time  closely  adhered  to,  to  establish  no  regimental  rendezvous  in 
places  inaccessible  by  railroad,  and  as  Flint  had  then  no  railway  communica- 
tion it  require<l  all  the  influence  and  energy  of  the  patriotic  president  of  the 
board  to  procure  the  order  designating  his  own  city  of  Flint  as  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Tenth  during  its  organization.  But  the  order  was  finally 
obtained,  and  the  camp  of  instruction — of  which  he  was  made  provisional 
commandant — was  named  by  the  officers  "Camp  Thomson,"  in  his  honor. 

This  camp  was  situated  near  the  eastern  Umits  of  the  city  on  the  left 
bank  of  Flint  river,  "on  a  piece  of  undulating  ground  including  a  small  piece 
of  woods  separated  from  the  drill-ground  by  a  low  marsh,  which  in  the  spring 
time  was  overflowed  by  the  high  water  of  the  river."  Comfortable  barracks, 
mess  and  cook-rooms  were  erected,  and  here  the  men  of  the  Tenth  made 
winter-quarters  and  their  home  for  a  period  of  nearly  six  months — a  period 
which  during  its  continuance  they  thought  to  be  one  of  considerable  hardship, 
but  to  which  from  their  later  camps  and  bivouacs,  they  often  looked  back  as 
a  season  of  comfort  and  pleasant  associations. 

The  severaf  companies  composing  the  regiment  were  recruited  under  the 
following  names:  "Byron  Guard/'  afterwards  designated  as  A  Company; 
"Saginaw  liangers,"  afterwards  designated  as  B  Company;  "Orion  Union 
Guard,"  afterwards  designated  as  C  Company;  "Sanilac  Pioneers,"  after- 
wards designated  as  D  Company;  "Scarritt  Guard,"  afterwards  designated  as 
1'^  Company;  "Holt  Guard,"  afterward  designated  as  F  Company;  "Luni 
Guard,"  afterwards  designated,  as  G  Comp;my;  "McCIellan  Guard,"'  after- 
wards designated  as  H  Company;  "Genesee  Rangers,"  afterwards  designated 
as  I  Company;  "Dickerson  Guard,"  afterwards  designated  as  K  Comjany, 

The  first,  third  and  ninth  of  the  above  companies,  especially  the  ninth, 
were  largely  made  up  of  men  from  Genesee,  and  the  comity  was  represented 
in  nearly  all  the  other  companies. 

The  "Byron  Guard"  reported  at  the  rendezvons  eighty-six  strong. 
November  5,  1861,  being  the  second  company  in  camp;  the  first  was  the 
"Saginaw  Rangers,"  who  arrived  November  i.  The  first  commissioned  offi- 
cers of  tlie  "Guard"  were  Henry  S.  Burnett,  captain;  Robert  F.  Guhck,  first 
lieutenant;  Bradford  Cook,  second  lieutenant. 

The  "Orion  Union  Guard"  reported  at  Camp  Thomas,  November  11, 
with  the  minimum  numl)er  of  men.  The  nucleus  of  this  company  was  formed 
at  Orion,  Oakland  county,  by  B.  B.  Redfield;  it  was  afterwards  moved  to 
Goodrich,  Genesee  county,  and  consolidated  with  a  company  being  raised 
at  the  latter  place  by  Myron  Bunnell,  the  consolidated  company  retaining  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


380  i;ent;see  couNxy,  Michigan. 

name  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  Orion  recruits.  The  comi>any  was 
mustered  under  the  following  commissioned  officers:  Mvron  Bunnell,  cap- 
tain; Benjamin  B.  Kedfield,  first  Heutenant;  Alvah  A.  Colhns,  second  Heu- 
tenant. 

The  "Genesee  Rangers"  joined  the  regiment  at  Camp  Thomson,  Novem- 
ber 30,  only  thirty-one  strong,  under  Captain  Barker,  who  had  previously 
resigned  his  captaincy  of  a  comj^any  which  had  been  raised  for  the  Seventh 
Infantry  and  afterwards  transferred  to  the  Eighth  under  Colonel  Kenton. 
A  part  of  a  company  which  had  been  raised  in  Lapeer  county  by  P.  S. 
Titus  and  which  had  reported  at  the  camp  of  the  regiment  November  20 
was  consohdated  with  the  "Rangers"';  the  company  received  the  designating 
letter  I,  under  the  following  officers:  Russell  M.  Barker,  captain;  Piatt  S. 
Titus,  first  lieutenant ;  John  Algoe,  second  lieutenant. 

On  Wednesday,  February  5,  1862,  the  regiment  was  reviewed  by  Gover- 
nor Blair,  at  Camp  Thomson;  on  that  and  the  following  day  it  was  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  hy  Colonel  Wright,  U.  S.  A.  The  Tenth 
was  now  an  organized  regiment  in  the  service  of  the  government,  under 
the  following  field-officers:  Colonel,  Charles  AT.  Lum;  lientenant-colonL'1. 
Christopher  j.  Dickerson  ;  major,  James  J.  Scarritt. 

The  ceremony  of  presentation  of  a  national  Hag  to  the  regiment  was 
performed  on  Friday,  the  nth  of  April.  The  event  is  mentioned  in  General 
Robertson's  "Flags  of  Michigan"  as  follows:  "The  Hon.  E.  H.  Thomson, 
in  one  of  his  eminent  _[)atriotic  speeches,  presented,  on  behalf  of  the  citizens 
of  Fhnt,  a  very  elegant  flag,  made  of  the.  best  roll  silk,  on  which  was 
inscribed  the  name  of  the  regiment,  and  the  word  'Tuebor;'  on  a  silver  band 
on  the  staff  the  words,  'Presented  to  the  Tenth  Regiment,  Michigan  Infantry, 
hy  the  Citizens  of  Flint."  A  res[xinse  in  good  spirit  and  taste  by  Col.  C.  M. 
Lum,  commanding  the  regiment,  with  a  prayer  by  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Boyden. 
Judge  .\very,  of  Fhnt.  and  Professor  Siddons  followed  W'ith  brief  and  appro- 
priate s[>eeches.  After  the  speeches  Colonel  Lum  delivered  the  colors  info 
the  hands  of  the  color-sergeants,  wdio  was  said  to  be  six  feet  seven  inches  in 
stature.  On  this  occasion  the  men  of  the  Tenth  paraded  in  their  new  regu- 
lation uniforms,  and  were  armed  with  'Austrian  rifles,  just  received,'  which 
in  their  inexperience  they  tlicn  believed  to  be  a  reliable  and  effective  weapon. 
While  they  stood  in  hollow  s(|uare.  Mrs.  Fenton  and  other  ladies  of  Flint 
distributed  to  each  member  of  the  regiment  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament." 

The  regiment,  nine  hundred  and  ninety-seven  strong,  took  its  departure 
from  Caiiip  Thomson  on  Tuesday,  the  22nd  of  .\pril.  its  finst  destination 
being  St.   Louis,  Missouri.     There  was  then  no  railroad   from  Flint  to  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


(iliNESEE    COUNTY,    MICITKiAN.  381 

line  of  the  Detroit  &  iliiwaukee  road.  The  men  were  moved  to  Holly  Sta- 
tion on  wagons  and  other  vehicles  furnished  by  patriotic  citizens  of  Genesee 
and  Oakland  counties.  This  first  stage  oi  their  long  journey  was  accom- 
plished in  a  snow-storm.  This  gave  additional  sadness  to  partings,  many 
of  which  proved  to  be  final.  At  Holly,  after  abundant  feasting,  the  com- 
mand took  the  train  for  Detroit,  and,  marching  through  the  city  to  the  Michi- 
gan Central  depot  escorted  by  the  "Lyon  Guard"  and  Detroit  "Light  Guard," 
embarked  on  a  train  consisting  of  twenty-three  passenger  and  five  freight 
cars  drawn  by  two  locomotives;  at  a  little  before  midnight  they  left  for 
the  West.  Michigan  City  was  reached  at  two  o'clock  p.  m.  on  Wednesday, 
and  at  six  p.  m.  on  Thursday  the  regiment  was  at  East  St.  Louis.  On 
the  following  day  it  embarked  on  the  steamer  "Gladiator""  and  at  four 
p.  m.  on  Friday  moved  down  the  Mississippi.  Cairo  was  reached,  and 
during  the  short  stop  which  was  made  there  the  most  sensational  rumors 
were  circulated  tliat  desperate  fighting  was  then  in  progress  at  i'ittsburg 
J^anding  on  the  Tennessee,  the  known  destination  of  the  regiment;  that  the 
river  at  Paducah  was  filled  with  dead  floating  down  from  the  battle-field 
above  and  many  other  stories  of  similar  import.  But  the  "Gladiator"  moved 
on  up  the  Ohio  on  Saturday  afternoon,  passed  l^'ort  Henry  on  Sunday,  and 
on  Monday  night  reached  Pittsburg  Landing.  She  was  ordered  to  proceed 
four  miles  farther  up  the  Tennessee  to  Hamburg,  which  was  reached  on 
Tuesday  the  27th,  just  one  week  after  the  departure  from  Camp  Thomson, 
Here  the  regiment  was  disembarked  on  the  28th,  and  on  the  2Qth  was 
assigned  to  duty  in  Col.  James  D.  Morgan's  brigade,  Payne's  division,  left 
wing  Army  of  Mississippi.  On  its  first  advent  among  the  veterans  of  Shik)h 
the  regiment  received  the  usual  attentions  wdiich  old  soldiers  pay  to  fresh 
troops,  such  as  allusions  to  the  cleannes.s  of  uniforms  and  the  size  of 
knapsacks,  with  fretjuent  aiJiilications  of  the  epithets  "paper-collar  soldiers,"" 
"liand-box  regiment."  and  many  similar  compliments;  but  all  this  was  given 
and  received  in  good-humor,  for  all  knew  that  a  few  days  of  marching  would 
lighten  the  knapsacks  an<l  remedy  the  objectionable  brightness  of  uniforms, 
and  that  after  the  first  action  all  would  l;>e  old  soUliers  together. 

The  first  march  of  the  regiment  in  the  enemy's  country  was  made  on 
the  29th  when  it  moved  up  about  fi\-e  miles  and  bivouacked  for  the  night  in 
the  woods.  On  the  ist  of  May  it  again  advanced  towards  Farmington, 
Mississippi,  and  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  that  village  until  the  enemy's 
evacuation  of  Corinth  May  30.  During  this  time  it  was  several  times 
.slightly  engaged  in  skirmishing,  but  sustained  no  loss,  except  on  the  '26th 


dbyGoot^lc 


382  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

when  the  adjutant,  Lieut.  Sylvester  D.  Cowles,  was  instantly  killed  by  the 
btillet  of  a  sharpshooter  while  on  picket. 

The  entire  summer  of  1863  was  passed  by  the  regiment  in  marching, 
camping,  picketing,  and  similar  duties  in  the  north  part  of  the  states  of 
Mississippi  and  Alabama,  but  without  any  notable  event,  more  than  occa- 
sional skirmish,  occurring  in  its  experience.  On  the  ist  of  June  it  was  at 
Rienzi,  Mississippi,  and  from  the  2nd  to  the  iith  at  Booneville  and  vicinity. 
About  June  15  it  enainiped  at  Big  Springs,  six  miles  from  Corinth,  and 
remained  there  five  weeks.  At  this  place  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  was 
heid.  The  stay  at  this  camp  was  regarded  by  all  as  among  the  most  agree- 
able of  all  the  regiment's  sojourning  during  the  war.  On  the  27th  of  July 
the  headcjuarters  of  the  regiment  were  at  Camp  Leighton,  Tuscumbia,  Ala- 
bama, but  the  several  companies  were  posted  at  different  places  for  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty  miles  along  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad  engaged 
in  guarding  that  line.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dickerson,  who  was  at  Town 
Creek,  Alabama,  with  a  part  of  the  regiment,  evacuated  that  place  in  haste 
in  the  night  of  the  31st  on  account  of  the  reported  advance  of  a  heavy  force 
of  the  enemy.  The  camp  was  reoccupied  the  next  da}-,  as  the  enemy,  if 
there  had  been  any  in  the  vicinity,  had  moved  in  another  (Hrection. 

About  the  last  of  August  it  was  announced  that  the  command  was  to 
move  to  Nashville,  Tennessee.  On  the  ist  of  September  the  several  detach- 
ments of  the  regiment  concentrated  at  the  military  ferry  on  the  Tennessee 
river,  and  awaited  orders  to  move;  the  orders  were  received  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  and  the  command  moved  northward.  The  march  occupied  nine 
days,  during  which  the  regiment  passed  through  Rogersville,  Athens,  Elkton. 
Pulaski,  Lynnville,  Columbia,  Spring  Hill,  and  Franklin,  and  in  the  evening 
of  the  nth  bivouacked  two  miles  from  Nashville.  Here  it  remained  on 
picket  till  the  15th,  when  it  moved  through  the  city  and  encamped  in  the 
southern  suburbs. 

The  labor  demanded  of  the  regiment  during  its  stay  at  Nashville  was 
severe.  It  consisted  of  work  on  the  extensive  fortifications  which  had  been 
laid  out  by  General  Negley,  the  commandant  of  the  post,  besides  constant 
picketing  and  guarding  of  forage-parties  which  were  continually  sent  out  into 
the  surrounding  country ;  this  was  the  only  means  of  subsisting  the  forces  in 
Nashville,  as  all  communication  with  the  city  by  rail  or  river  was  destroyed. 
This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  about  two  months.  Nashville  was  held  by 
the  divisions  of  Negley  and  Palmer,  but  out  of  communication  with  the 
ovitside  world  and  surrounded  on  every  side  by  troops  of  the  enemy,  princi- 
pally cavalry.     The  .\rmy  of  the  Cumberland,  however,  had  defeated   the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  383 

army  of  Bnigg  at  Perryville,  Kentucky.  It  was  marchinfj  southward  from 
Bowling  Green  under  General  Kosecrans  to  the  relief  of  the  beleaguered 
force,  and  on  the  6th  of  November  his  advance  guard  reached  the  river  at 
Edgefield  opposite  Nashville.  Railroad  communication  was  now  open  to 
Mitchell,  thirty-five  miles  north  of  Nashville.  Soon  after,  it  was  opened 
to  the  city;  this  gave  relief  in  the  matter  of  rations  to  the  troops  who  had 
l:)een  so  long  imprisoned  there  and  lightened  the  forage  and  picket  duty, 
but  the  labor  on  the  defensive  works  of  the  town  was  still  continued  and 
a  great  amount  of  work  was  to  be  done  in  repairing  roads  and  bridges 
for  the  advance  of  the  army  southward. 

The  Tenth  did  not  move  forward  with  the  .\rmy  of  the  Cumberland 
on  the  26th  of  December  in  the  advance  on  Murfreeslwro,  but  remained 
nearly  seven  months  after  that  time  at  Nashville  engaged  in  provost,  grand 
guard  and  fatigue  duty  and  in  protecting  comtnnnication  between  Nash- 
ville and  Murfreesboro  and  other  points.  Upon  one  occasion  (April  ro, 
1863)  a  detail  of  men  from  H  and  E  companies,  forty-four  in  number, 
under  command  of  Eieut.  Francis  W.  Vanderberg,  were  sent  to  guard  a 
railway  train  to  and  from  Murfreesboro,  and  on  their  return  were  attacked 
by  a  Ixxly  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  ambush  at  ,-\ntioch  Station,  three  miles 
north  of  Lavergne,  the  train  having  been  stopped  for  some  cause  when 
the  attack  was  made.  Lieutenant  Vanderberg  fell  mortally  wounded  at  t!ie 
first  or  second  fire  and  five  of  his  men  were  killed,  ten  wounded  and  three 
taken  pn,soners,  making  a  total  loss  of  nineteen,  or  two-fifths  of  the  force 
engaged.  With  the  exception  of  the  loss  of  its  adjutant  killed  on  picket  in 
Mississippi,  this  was  the  first  loss  inflicted  on  the  regiment  in  action  by 
the  enemy. 

The  men  and  officers  of  the  Tenth  had  begun  to  regard  Nashville  as 
their  permanent  camping-place,  and  some  of  them  had  formed  such  strong 
attachments  there  that  when,  on  the  19th  of  July,  orders  were  received  to 
move  southward  they  were  welcomed  with  very  little  of  the  enthusiasm  which 
.similar  orders  would  have  produced  a  few  months  earlier.  But  the  regi- 
ment moved  in  the  nioming  of  the  20th,  and  reached  Murfreesboro  at  noon 
of  the  2ist;  here  it  remained  on  picket  and  guard  duty  till  August  I9tli, 
when  it  again  marched  southward. 

The  history  of  the  regiment  during  the  four  months  next  succeeding 
its  departure  from  Murfreesboro  is  that  of  an  almost  continuous  march 
through  the  states  of  Tennessee,  Alabama  and  Georgia.  It  passed  south 
through  h'osterville,  Shelbyville,  Famiington,  Tennessee,  and  Lewisburg, 
to  Columbia;  remained  there  on  provost  duty  from  the  23rd  to  the  26th  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


384  GENESp;n    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

August;  moved  on  tlirotigh  there  from  ,August  ^9  to  September  i;  thence 
passed  through  Huntsville,  Brownsville,  on  Flint  river,  Alabama,  I^rkinviile, 
Scottsboro',  and  Bellefonte  to  Stevenson,  Alal>ama,  remaining  at  the  last- 
named  place  on  provost  (hity  from  the  7th  to  the  21st  of  September;  moved 
to  Bridgeport,  Alabama;  remained  there  till  October  i;  moved  at  midnight, 
througli  dense  darkness  antl  fathomless  mud  on  the  road  to  Jasper,  Tennes- 
see; passed  that  place  and  moved  to  Anderson's  Cross-Roads;  remained 
there  picketing  from  the  3rd  to  the  i8th  of  October;  moved  to  Dallas, 
Tennessee,  thirteen  miles  above  Chattanooga,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ten- 
nessee river;  remained  there  three  days  within  hearing  of  the  cannonading 
between  the  hostile  armies  at  Chattanooga;  moved  again  October  24th,  passed 
through  Washington.  Tennessee,  and  arrived  on  the  26th  at  Smith's  Ferry 
over  the  Tennessee,  fifti'-five  miles  above  Chatt:iiiooga.  There  the  regiment 
remained  for  nearly  four  weeks,  during  which  time  the  men  had  constructed 
comfortable  cjiiarters  with  fireplaces  and  other  conveniences,  Ijelieving  this 
would  be  their  camping  place  for  the  winter,  which  was  then  approaching. 
But  on  the  20th  of  November  marching  orders  came,  and  on  Saturday  the 
2ist,  the  Tenth  Michigan  was  again  on  the  march.  In  the  evening  of  the 
22nd  it  was  once  more  within  hearing  of  the  cannonade  from  the  batteries 
on  Lookout  Mountain,  ami  on  the  23rd  it  reached  Camp  Caldwell  on  die 
right  bank  of  the  Tennessee,  four  miles  alxive  Chattanooga. 

Crossing  to  the  south  side  of  the  river  on  the  24th,  the  Tenth  stood 
in  line  during  the  progress  of  the  great  conflict  at  Lookout  and  Missionary 
Ridge,  but  was  not  engaged  in  either  of  those  battles.  Soon  after  midnight, 
in  the  morning  of  the  26th.  it  moved  up  to  1"ennessee,  crossed  Chickaniauga 
creek  on  a  pontoon-bridge  and  marched  up  the  right  bank  of  that  stream, 
where  a  part  of  the  brigade  met  a  small  force  i»f  the  retreating  enemy  and  a 
skirmish  ensued  in  which  one  man  of  the  regiment  was  slightly  vvimnded  bv 
a  si>ent  ball.  The  enemy's  evacuated  works  at  Chickaniauga  Station  were 
occupied  on  the  same  day ;  the  Tenth  was  the  first  to  enter  the  works.  On  the 
27th  the  regiment  enterefl  Georgia  for  the  first  time,  passing  through  Gray- 
ville  and  camping  near  Ringgokl.  On  the  28th  orders  were  received  to 
march  in  pursuit  of  I-ongstreet,  who  was  known  to  lie  in  the  vicinity  of 
Knoxville.  Under  these  orders  the  regiment  marched  with  its  brigade  on 
the  2gth  and  continued  to  move  rapidly  up  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  until 
December  6th,  when  it  had  reaeheil  a  point  some  fifteen  miles  above  Loudon, 
where  the  intelligence  was  receiveil  that  T^mgstreet  ha{l  withdrawn  from 
Knoxville  and  retreated  into  \'irginia.  Then  the  column  was  ordered  to 
return  to  Chattanooga.     The  Tenth  passed  thrfiugh  Madisonville  to  Colum- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENEHEE    COUNTY,    MICHICAN.  385 

bia,  Tennessee,  remaining  at  the  latter  place  from  the  9th  to  the  15th  of 
December,  during  which  time  the  bridge  across  the  Hiawassee  river  was 
constructed  by  Company  I,  on  the  i8th  it  reached  its  old  camp  four  miles 
above  Chattanooga.  Here  it  remained  til!  the  26th,  when  it  moved  to  near 
Kossville,  Georgia,  and  prepared  to  go  into  winter-quarters  after  a  marching 
campaign  of  more  than  four  months'  duration.  The  men  had  come  in  from 
the  East  Tennessee  march  worn  out.  famished  and  tattered,  many  of  them 
having  no  shoes;  they  had  been  compelled  to  cut  up  their  ragged  blankets 
into  wrappings  for  their  feet.  Certainly  no  men  ever  stood  more  in  need 
(if  rest  and  rectiperation. 

At  the  Rossvilie  camp  the  men  built  tight  and  comfortable  log  cabins, 
each  containing  a  fireplace,  and  in  these,  when  not  out  on  picket  duty,  they 
spent  the  two  remaining  months  of  winter  in  a  very  agreeable  manner.  The 
Ceorgia  climate  was  found  to  be  quite  different  from  that  of  Michigan;  the 
month  of  February  was  quite  as  warm  and  pleasant  as  the  northern  April. 
On  the  28th  and  .29th  of  January,  the  Tenth  was  out  on  a  reconnoissance  to 
Ringgold  and  the  march  proved  quite  oppressive  on  account  of  the  heat. 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  mustering  as  veterans.  Nearly  all  the 
c()mpanies  had  the  retpiisite  three-fourths  of  their  number  re-enlisted  when, 
in  the  evening  of  February  3,  the  regiment  was  ordered  out  on  picket  to 
Chickamauga  Station,  eight  miles  away.  It  remained  out  till  the  14th,  when 
it  was  marched  back  to  camp  and  the  veteran  muster  was  completed  on  the 
16th,  three  hundred  and  eighty  men  signing  the  veteran  enlistment  for  three 
years  dating  from  Fehi-uary  6.  The  niun]>er  of  veterans  was  afterwards 
increa,sed  to  over  four  hundred.  When  re-enlistment  and  muster  was  per- 
fected, the  men  waited  impatiently  for  the  veteran  furlough  (which  some 
of  them  were  destine*!  never  to  receive).  In  the  morning  of  February 
23rd  the  regiment  had  orders  to  march  imme<liately.  with  three  days'  rations 
and  sixty  rounds  of  ammunition.  The  men  could  bardly  beheve  that  they 
were  ag:iin  to  march  to  the  front  before  making  the  long-anticipated  visit 
to  their  homes,  but  they  fell  in  without  much  audible  complaint  and  marched 
away  on  the  road  wliich  was  to  lead  them  to  their  first  battle-field.  The 
regiment  moved  to  within  a  mile  of  Ringgold  and  camped  for  the  night.  In 
the  morning  of  the  24th  it  moved  to  a  point  l^etween  that  town  and  Tunnel 
Hill,  w^here  the  brigade  joined  the  forces  which  had  moved  out  from  Chatta- 
nooga to  make  a  reconnoissance  in  force  of  the  enemy's  position  in  the  direc- 
tion of  .Dalton  and  Lafayette,  Georgia.  The  enemy  were  flanked  out  of 
their  works  at  Tunnel  Hill,  and  retired  towards  Dalton.     The  Tenth,  with 

(25) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


386  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

other  comniands,  followed  in  pursuit,  and  at  about  five  o'clock  p.  in.  arrived 
at  Buzzard  Roost- — a  rocky  stronghold  of  the  rebels,  situated  in  a  pass 
of  the  mountains  known  as  Kenyon's  Ga]>— -three  miles  from  Dayton.  The 
works  were  in  the  rear  of  Rocky-Face  Ridge  and  fully  commanded  the  Gap. 
Some  skirmishing  was  done  in  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  the  24th  and  the 
regiment  took  position  for  the  night  between  two  si>urs  of  Rocky-Face  Ridge. 

On  the  25th  the  early  \xiTt  of  the  day  was  consumed  in  skirmishing; 
but  about  two  o'clock  p.  m.  the  Tenth,  with  the  Sixtieth  Illinois,  were  ordered 
forward  in  line  over  the  ridges  to  attack  the  enemy  and  carry  his  position. 
They  moved  forward  gallantly  into  a  very  hot  artillery  and  musketry  fire 
from  greatly  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy;  remaining  under  this  terri- 
ble enfilading  fire  for  about  forty  minutes,  they  did  what  men  could  do  to 
carry  the  position,  but  were  at  last  forced  back  by  superior  numbers.  At 
the  end  of  one  hour  and  ten  minutes  the  regiment  reoccupied  the  position 
from  which  it  had  advanced  to  the  charge.  In  this  Ijrief  time  it  had  lost 
forty-nine  killed  and  wounded  and  seventeen  missing,  among  the  latter  being 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Dickerson,  who  was  wounded  and  made  prisoner  l)y  the 
enemy. 

A  characteristic  account  of  the  battle  given  l)y  a  rebel  paper — die  ^Vtlanta 
Register  of  February  29,  1864 — was  as  follows:  "On  Tliursday,  the  25th, 
the  enemy  commenced,  about  nine  a.  m.,  to  skirmish  with  our  pickets  and 
sharpshooters.  At  one  p.  m.  the  Federal  general,  Morgan,  advanced  on  our 
right  centre  to  force  the  Gap.  They  were  gallantly  met  by  Reynolds'  bri- 
gade, of  Stevenson's  division,  Clayton's  brigade,  of  Walker's  division,  and 
Stavall's  brigade,  of  Stewart's  division,  when  a  lively  fight  took  place.  The 
enemy  made  three  desperate  assaults  to  take  tlie  Gap,  and  were  repulsed 
each  time  with  great  slaughter,  being  enfiladed  at  the  same  time  by  our 
artillery.  We  captured  some  twenty  prisoners,  among  them  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  C.  J.  Dickerson,  of  the  Tenth  Michigan,  which  regiment  alone  lost 
two  hundred  and  fifty  killed  and  wounded.  That  night  the  enemy  fell  back 
behind  their  intrenchments — some  three  or  four  miles  from  our  front  line — 
and  a  portion  of  their  forces  moved  over  to  our  left  and  succeeded  in  taking 
a  gap  leading  to  the  Lafayette  road,  through  Sugar  Valley,  three  miles 
south  of  Dayton." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  while  this  acc(mnt  makes  the  loss  of  the  'l~enth 
more  than  five  times  what  it  really  was  in  killed  and  wounded,  it  admits 
that  the  two  regiments  which  formed  the  Union  attacking  column  encountered 
a  rebel  force  of  three  brigades  in  a  strongly-fortified  position.  In  fact, 
neither  the  Tenth  nor  the   Sixtieth   Illinois  had  all  its  strength   present   in 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  387 

the  fifjht;  only  eight  companies  of  each,  making  a  total  ot  alxiut  nine  hun- 
dred men,  were  engaged. 

On  the  26th  the  regiment  with  its  brigade  was  rehevcd.  Tt  inarched 
to  Ringgold,  from  which  place  it  returned  to  camp  at  Kossville  on  the  27th, 
and  about  the  5th  of  March  moved  to  Chattanooga  en  route  for  Michigan. 
It  arrived  at  Detroit  on  the  iitli.  There  the  men  received  the  veteran  fur- 
lough, with  orders  to  reassemble  at  its  exj)iration  at  the  rendezvous — the 
city  of  Flint.  Upon  reassembling  they  remained  in  Flint  for  some  days.  It 
was  a  visit  which  was  long  remembered  by  both  soldiers  and  citizens.  The 
veterans  and  recruits  left  Flint  on  the  20th  of  April  an<l  moved  by  way  of 
Fentonville  to  Detroit,  thence  by  way  of  Kalamazoo  and  I-afayette  to  Jeffer- 
sonville,  Indiana,  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  Nashville,  arriving  at  the  latter 
city  April  24th.  They  left  Nashville  on  the  27th,  and  marched  t{>  Chatta- 
nooga, where  they  arrived  on  the  nth  of  May.  and  on  the  12th  marched 
to  their  old  winter-quarters  at  Rossville,  which  were  found  undisturbed 
and  in  good  condition.  On  the  13th  they  marched  in  search  of  the  br!ga{le 
which  had  moved  forward  with  the  army  May  2,  an<l  overtook  it  in  the 
morning  of  the  i6th,  marching  nineteen  miles  farther  the  same  day  with 
(ien.  Jeff  C.  Davis's  division,  which  was  moving  towards  Rome.  On  the 
17th  the  regiment  took  part  in  the  fight  at  Oostanaula  river,  and  in  the  cap- 
ture of  Rome  on  the  following  day,  Ixith  without  loss.  Then  followed  a 
series  of  marches  and  maneuvers  by  which  the  Tenth  moved  to  Dallas,  to 
Ackworth,  Georgia,  and  to  near  Ijist  Mountain,  and  reached  the  base  of 
Kenesaw  Mountain  on  the  19th  of  June.  On  the  27th  it  formed  part  of 
the  reserve  of  the  charging  column  at  Kenesaw.  Its  losses  during  June  were 
fourteen  killed  and  wouniletl 

The  enemy  having  evacuated  his  works  at  Kenesaw,  the  Tenth  took 
part  in  the  pursuit,  marching  on  the  3rd  of  July,  and  reaching  the  Chatta- 
hoochee river  on  the  17th.  Ou  the  19th  it  advanced  to  Durant's  Mill,  on 
Peachtree  creek,  and  took  part  in  the  actions  of  that  and  the  following  day, 
losing  twenty-three  killed  and  wounded.  Through  the  remainder  of  July 
and  nearly  all  of  August  it  lay  in  the  lines  of  investment  before  Atlanta. 
.\ugust  30th  it  mo\-ed  with  a  reconnoitering  column  to  Jonesboro,  and  took 
part  in  the  battle  at  that  place  on  the  ist  of  September,  charging  across  an 
open  field  on  the  enemy's  works,  and  losing  thirty  killed  and  forty-,seven 
wounded:  among  the  former  was  the  commanding  officer  of  the  regiment. 
Major  Burnett.  It  was  claimed  for  the  Tenth  that  in  this  action  it  took 
more  prisoners  than  the  nmiilier  of  men  which  it  carried  into  the  fight.     For 


dbyGoot^lc 


388  GENESEE    COUNIY,    MICHIGAN. 

its  conduct  on  this  occasion  it  was  complimented  by  Generals  Thomas,  Davis 
and  Morgan,  the  corps,  division  and  brigade  commanders. 

On  the  28th  of  September  the  Tenth  left  Atlanta  and  moved  by  rail 
to  Chattanooga,  Stevenson,  Huntsville.  Athens  and  Florence,  Ala.,  tearing  up 
the  Memphis  &  Charleston  railroa(i.  For  several  days  it  was  in  pursuit 
of  Wheeler's  and  Forrest's  cavalry,  but  did  not  overtake  them.  On  the  13th 
of  October  the  regiment  moved  by  rail  back  to  Chattanooga,  where  it 
remained  five  days:  on  the  iSth  agaifi  took  the  road,  moving  to  Lee  and 
Gordon's  Mills;  Georgia,  to  Lafayette,  to  Summerville,  up  Duck  creek, 
through  Broomtown  Valley,  and  Alpine,  Georgia,  across  the  mountains  into 
Alabama,  to  Gayiesville  (October  22nd),  and  then  back  to  Rome,  Georgia, 
where  it  was  in  camp  November  i.  On  the  9th  it  was  at  Etowah,  Georgia, 
and  on  the  13th  at  Cartersville.  where,  at  six  o'clock  a.  m.  on  that  day,  it 
"bade  good-by  to  the  cracker  line,  and  to  all  communications,  and  piunged 
into  the  Confederacy  with  four  days'  rations,  marching  south  and  tearing  up 
the  railroad  as  we  moved."  On  the  13th  it  made  fifteen  miles,  on  the 
[4th  twenty-five  miles,  and  on  the  15th  fifteen  miles,  burning  the  bridge  over 
the  Chattahoochee,  and  reaching  Atlanta  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of 
that  day. 

"As  we  approached  Atlanta,'"  wrote  an  officer  of  the  Tenth,  "a  huge 
column  of  black  smoke  was  seen,  and  soon  we  found  the  railroad  depots 
and  buildings  with  the  foundries  and  manufactories,  a  burning  mass." 
When  night  closed  in  the  whole  heavens  were  illuminated  by  the  glare  of 
the  conflagration,  and  the  innumerabJe  camp-fires  of  the  Union  hosts  which 
lay  encircling  the  con(|iiered  city,  busy  with  their  final  preimrations  for  the 
storied  "march  to  the  sea." 

The  force  com[X)sing  the  great  army  which  Sherman  had  ct>ncentrated 
here  for  the  mysterious  expedition,  whcse  destination  was  then  only  a  matter 
of  conjecture,  were  composed  of  four  corps- — tlie  Seventeenth  (a  consohda- 
tion  of  the  old  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth)  and  the  Fifteenth  forming  his 
right  wing,  and  the  Fourteenth  and  Twentieth  forming  the  left  wing  of  his 
grand  army  of  invasion.  In  that  army  the  position  of  the  Tenth  Michigan 
was  with  the  First  Brigade.  Second  Division  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps.  The 
other  regiments  of  the  brigade  were  the  Fourteenth  Michigan,  the  Sixteenth 
and  Sixtieth  Illinois,  and  the  Seventeenth  New  York,  ai!  imder  Col.  Robert 
F.  Smith  as  brigade  commander. 

The  right  wing  was  the  first  to  move  out ;  then  came  the  Twentieth 
Corps,  and  la,stly  the  Fourteenth,  and  with  this  corps  the  Tenth  Regiment 
marched  away  at  noon  on  the  Sixteenth  of  November.     A  distance  of  eleven 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  389 

niiies  was  made  during  the  afternoon,  and'at  night  the  brigade  bivouacked 
near  the  celebrated  Stone  Mountain,  a  round-topped  knob  of  soHd  limestone 
alwut  one  mile  in  diameter  at  the  base  and  rising  bare  and  gray  from  the 
level  plain  to  a  height  of  about  thirteen  hundred  feet.  From  this  halting- 
place  the  regiment  set  out  at  six  in  the  morning  of  the  17th  and,  with  fine 
weather  and  a  good  road,  made  a  march  of  fifteen  miles,  passing  through  the 
decaying  settlements  of  Lassonia  and  Conyer's  Station.  On  the  i8th  the 
Yellow  and  Alcova  rivers,  tributaries  of  the  Ocmulgee,  were  crossed  on  pon- 
toons, and  the  tired  men  of  the  Tenth  Hghted  their  bivouac  fires  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Covington,  the  seat  of  justice  of  Newton  county.  During  this  day  they 
had  marched  as  train-guard  and  made  a  distance  of  ten  miles. 

In  the  morning  of  the  19th  they  resumed  their  journey  at  six  o'clock 
in  a  drizzling  rain,  and  at  night  found  themselves  twenty  miles  from  Cov- 
ington and  twice  that  distance  from  each  of  the  towns  of  Macon  and  Mill- 
edgeville.  The  evening;  of  the  20th  saw  them  encamped  three  mites  from 
Eatonton  and  fifteen  from  Milledgeville.  Here  the  dull  boom  of  distant 
artillery  was  heard;  this  was  the  first  hostile  soun<l  which  they  had  heard 
since  their  departure  from  Atlanta.  Their  march  of  the  21st  was  com- 
menced at  ten  a.  m.  and  was  continued  until  three  p.  m.,  at  which  time 
twelve  miles  had  been  accomplished,  and  they  went  into  cani|>  for  the  niyht. 

No  move  vi'as  made  on  the  22nd.  Orders  were  here  read  to  the  regi- 
ment giving  the  liberty  to  forage  on  the  country  and  to  appropriate  any- 
thing necessary  for  the  sustenance  of  man  or  beast.  "These  orders  [said  a 
letter  written  by  a  soldier  of  the  Tenth]  are  generally  lived  up  to  and  often 
exceeded.  The  citizens,  on  hearing  of  our  ajiproach,  take  everything  of  value 
to  the  woods  and  swamps  and  cover  them  with  brush,  or  bury  them  in  the 
ground.  But  the  'Yanks'  were  not  long  tn  discovering  this  and  but  little 
is  presumed  to  have  escaped  their  notice.  Sweet  potatoes,  meal,  flour,  various 
kinds  of  Uquor,  tobacco,  silk,  and  even  coin,  were  thus  imearthed  from  their 
hiding-places,  and  many  a  frolic  was  had  by  the  blue-coats  at  the  Confeder- 
ates' expense. 

"It  was  truly  amusing  to  go  ahead  of  the  army  proper  and  see  the  for- 
agers' proceedings.  They  were  as  good  as  skirmishers  and  advance  guards, 
and  often  were  the  only  ones  we  had.  They  never  failed  to  rout  the  rebels 
whenever  and  wherever  found.  Citizens  could  tell  our  approach  long  before 
the  army  came  along,  by  the  popping  of  guns,  squealing  of  hogs  and  the 
noises  of  various  farm  fowls.  Nothing  escaped  the  foragers'  notice  and  but  ■ 
little  that  was  serviceable  to  us  eluded  their  grasp.  When  they  came  to  a 
plantation  they  generally   separated  into   small  squads,   each  squad   hunting 


dbyGoot^lc 


390  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

for  some  special  thing.  As  if  taught  by  instinct  that  we  meant  them  harm, 
all  animals  and  fowls  tried  to  secrete  themselves  or  get  out  of  reach  of  us. 
Hogs,  sheep  and  cattle  would  take  to  the  woods,  fowls  to  the  outbuildings  and 
turkeys  to  the  trees.  But  it  was  all  of  no  avail.  The  enterprising  and  per- 
sistent Yankees,  prompted  by  hunger  and  the  thoughts  of  a  savory  dish, 
were  sure  to  hunt  them  out  and  bring  them  to.  We  had  orders  not  to  fire 
our  guns  to  procure  food,  but  that  order  was  only  partially  lived  up  to. 
Any  animal  which  we  could  not  corner  and  catch  we  shot,  and  when  the 
fowls  took  to  the  trees  or  the  tops  of  buildings  the  Enfield  rifle  was  sure 
to  bring  them  down.  Often  would  the  fat  turkey  take  shelter  in  the  trees, 
and  cry  'quit,  cjuit!'  but  there  was  no  quit.  Occasionally  the  foragers  would 
find  a  lot  of  tobacco,  honey  or  sorghum  molasses.  Then  there  was  a  rush 
and  scramble.  To  many,  a  swarm  of  bees  was  no  more  an  impediment  to  the 
getting  of  tlie  honey  than  if  they  had  been  so  many  biue-flies.  A  crowd  of 
soldiers  might  be  seen  around  a  Iwrrel  of  molasses,  the  head  knocked  in, 
and  they  with  their  cups  filling  their  canteens,  coffee  pots,  little  pails  and 
every  available  kind  of  vessel  that  would  hold  the  sweet  fluid.  At  all  hours 
of  the  day  they  might  be  seen  coming  in  and  taking  their  places  in  the  ranks 
with  face,  hands  and  clothes  besmeared  with  molasses  and  honey.  To  see 
them,  one  might  think  they  would  stick  to  the  Union,  or  to  anything  else; 
and  they  would,  too.  Such  was  foraging  in  Georgia,  and  even  more  than 
can  l»e  descrilied  with  the  pen.     Imagination  must  supply  the  rest."' 

In  the  morning  of  November  23,  at  six  o'clock,  the  regiment  was  again 
on  the  road  and  marched  leisurely  to  within  two  miles  of  Milledgeville, 
where  it  rested  for  the  night.  Alxiut  noon  of  the  24th  it  passed  through 
Milledgeville  and  at  night  the  men  built  their  fires  eight  miles  beyond  the 
town.  Here  the  foragers  brought  in  a  ton  and  a  half  of  captured  flour  found 
secreted  in  a  swamp.  On  the  25th  a  distance  of  eleven  miles  was  made  and 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  the  brigade  reached  Sandersville,  the  countv  seat 
of  Washington  county.  The  marches  of  the  27th  and  28th  brought  the 
regiment  to  a  camping  place  one  mile  south  of  Louisville,  the  county  seat  of 
Jefferson,  where  it  remained  for  three  days  picketing  and  foraging. 

In  the  first  five  days  of  December  the  men  of  the  Tenth  marched  sixty- 
three  miles,  and  camped  on  the  night  of  the  5th  at  Briar  creek,  sixty  miles 
from  Savannah.  EKiring  the  6th  and  7th  they  made  thirty-six  miles,  though 
continually  impeded  by  timber  felled  across  the  road  and  bridges  destroyed 
by  the  enemy.  They  had  now  entered  the  marshy  country  lying  along  the 
south  side  of  the  Savannah  river.  Their  march  of  the  8th  was  uneventful, 
but  on  the  Qth  they  came  upon  a  hostile  battery  of  three  guns  so  |X5sted  as 


dbyGoot^lc 


CENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  39I 

to  command  a  road  or  causeway  over  which  they  were  compelled  to  pass 
through  one  of  the  swamps  which  were  numerous  in  that  region.  The 
Second  Illinois  Battery  was  ordered  into  position  and  soon  cleared  the  road, 
but  with  the  loss  of  one  of  its  lieutenants  killed.  The  ret)cl  battery  on  its 
retreat  encoimtered  the  Twentieth  Anny  Corps  and  was  captured.  On  the 
[Oth  the  regiment,  with  its  brigade,  moved  southward  to  the  crossing  of 
the.  Savannah  &  Charleston  railroad,  and  went  on  picket  in  that  vicinity. 
In  the  morning  of  the  following  day  they  marched  nine  miles  south  and  took 
IJosition  in  the  Union  line  of  investment  four  and  a  half  miles  from  Savan- 
nah— one  line  being  formed  to  face  the  city  and  another  facing  towards 
the  country  through  which  they  had  just  imssed.  They  had  completed  a 
distance  of  nine  hundred  and  forty  miles,  marched  since  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  now  sat  down  to  the  siege  of  Savannah. 

The  city  was  defendet!  by  fifteen  thousand  to  twenty  thousand  men 
Ijehind  exceedingly  strong  fortifications,  and  the  artillery  fire  under  which 
the  Tenth,  in  common  with  other  regiments,  lay  was  continuous  day  and 
night.  On  the  14th  news  was  received  of  the  capture  and  occupation  of 
Ft.  McAllister,  south  of  the  city.  The  first  mail  received  by  the  regiment 
in  a  period  of  .six  weeks  came  to  it  here  on  the  17th.  Finally  in  the  night  of 
December  20-21,  the  enemy  evacuated  the  city,  and  on  the  21st  the  Tenth 
marched  in. 

The  regiment  ret)iaine<l  a  little  more  than  four  weeks  in  Savannah,  and 
on  the  20lh  of  January,  1865,  it  moved  with  the  army  up  the  right  bank  of 
the  Savannah  river  bound  north.  It  reached  Sister's  Ferry  on  the  Savannah 
Jamiarv  28  and  remained  there  until  the  night  of  Sunday,  February  5.  when, 
with  the  other  troops  of  the  command,  it  crossed  to  the  north  .side  of  the 
river.  "Shouts  and  wild  hurrahs  rent  the  welkin  as  the  feet  of  each  succes- 
sive regiment  touched  the  soil  of  Carolina" — so  wrote  an  officer  of  the  Tenth 
who  was  present  at  this  memorable  cro.ssing.  The  regiment  remained  here 
two  days  before  moving  north,  and  while  here  (February  6)  the  non- 
veterans  of  the  Tenth  were  mustered  out  of  the  service;  just  three  years 
had  expired  since  the  completion  of  the  original  muster  at  Camp  Thompson. 

The  regiment  moved  on  the  8th  and  passed  through  South  Carolina  with- 
out the  occurrence  of  any  si>ecially  notable  event  in  its  own  immediate  expe- 
rience. The  march  through  this  state  was  much  the  same  as  it  had  been 
through  Georgia,  excepting  that  here  the  foragers  found  a  far  less  prodtictive 
field  and  the  track  of  the  army  was  marked  by  a  far  more  general  destruc- 
tion of  property  than  in  Georgia;  nearly  all  the  buildings  were  burned  and 
only  the  tall,  naked  chimney-stacks  left  standing:  while  all  along  the  western 


dbyGoot^lc 


392  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

and  northwestern  horizon  great  columns  of  smoke  by  day  and  the  red  glow 
of  conflagration  by  night  told  how  the  cavalry  of  Kilpatrick  were  wreaking 
their  treasured  vengeance  against  the  Palmetto  state. 

The  Tenth  Regiment  reached  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  March  1 1 
and  was  there  slightly  engaged  in  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy.  On  the  12th 
it  crossed  the  Cape  Fear  river,  skirmishing  at  Averyslx)ro,  and  on  the  16th 
was  again  engaged  at  the  same  place,  losing  three  men  killed.  Moving  in 
advance  of  the  corps  on  the  iSth,  six  companies  being  deployed  as  skirmish- 
ers, they  struck  the  enemy  about  noon  and  a  lively  skirmish  ensued.  The 
regiment  was  ordered  to  take  position  at  the  junction  of  the  Smithfield  and 
Goldsboro  roads;  during  the  night  it  was  attacked,  but  repulsed  the  enemy 
and  held  its  position  until  relieved  by  troops  of  the  Twentieth  Corps  on  the 
19th;  then  it  moved  and  formed  on  the  right  of  the  second  line  of  battle  at 
Bentonville.  About  four  p.  ra  the  enemy  moved  up  in  heavy  masses  antl 
charged  the  first  line,  but  was  repulsed.  Then  the  Tenth  with  a  brigade 
moved  forward  to  the  first  line  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  enemy  was  dis- 
covered coming  in  on  the  left  flank.  The  line  was  at  once  changed  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  works  and,  after  pouring  a  volley  into  the  ranks  of  the 
rebels  they  were  charged  and  driven  back  with  the  bayonet ;  many  prisoners 
and  arms  were  taken.  On  the  20th  the  regiment  skirmished  during  the  entire 
day  and  night  and  on  the  21st  moved  towards  Goldsboro,  reaching  there  on 
the  23rd.  Moving  from  Goldsboro,  it  reached  Smithfield  April  ro  and 
Raleigh,  April  13.  From  Raleigh  it  moved  to  Averj^'s  Ferry,  forty-five 
miles  above  Fayetteville,  and  lay  there  from  the  15th  to  the  21st  of  April, 
when  it  moved  to  Holly  Springs,  on  the  road  to  Raleigh.  On  the  28th  it 
was  at  Morseville,  North  Carolina,  and  there  received  the  announcement  that 
its  campaigning  was  over  and  the  war  ended  by  the  surrender  of  Johnston. 
In  its  pa.ssage  through  the  two  Carolinas  the  regiment  had  sustained  a  loss 
of  fifteen,  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 

Moving  north  on  the  30th  of  April,  the  Tenth  arrived  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  May  7;  it  remained  there  till  the  loth  when  it  marched  on  towards 
Washington,  reaching  there  about  the  i6th.  It  took  part  in  the  grand  review 
of  General  Sherman's  army  at  the  capital  on  the  24th.  Moving  on  the  13th 
of  June,  it  proceeded  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  it  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service  July  19  and  ordered  to  Michigan.  It  reached  Jackson  on  the  22nd 
and.  was  paid  ofif  and  discharged  August  i,  1865. 

The  length  and  severity  of  this  regiment's  marches  during  its  term 
of  service  were  remarkable.  It  is  shown  that  during  1862  and  1863  its  foot- 
marches    aggregated    sixteen    hundred    miles;    that    its    marches    in     1864 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  39^ 

amounted  to  thirteen  hundred  ami  seventy-five  miles,  and  those  in  1865  to 
six  hundred  and  twenty  miles — -a  total  of  three  thousand  live  hundred  and 
ninety-five  miles;  this  was  exclusive  of  the  distances  accomplished  by  rail- 
road and  steamer.  There  were  few,  if  any,  regiments  in  the  service  whose 
marching  record  surpassed  this,  1~he  brigade  to  which  the  Tenth  was 
attached  during  the  period  of  its  remarkable  marchings  through  Tennessee, 
Georgia  and  Alabama  was  quite  generally  known  among  the  men  of  the 
Southwestern  army  as  "Morgan's  brigade  of  Davis's  foot -cavalry,"  the  divi- 
sion being  that  commanded  by  Gen.  Jeff  C.  Davis. 

Mn,i.  lli'iiry  S.  liuniett,  CooiU'k-li;  .'iil.  Xov.  111.  18i;:i;  killed  in  h.ittle  iit  Joiics- 
b.u-...   (i;l.,   Se|)t.   1.  LSIU. 

.\63.  KrtwiD  F.  Holmes,  l-Vuton ;  fill.  Mnj-  ,S,  ISO.T;  pru.  to  c»pt.  June  7.  isil.-.: 
must,  (iut  an  adj. 

Surg.  .TniiieB  C.  WflJsoii,  Flint;  cnl.  T'w.  7,  imi;  trims,  mn-a.  .stii  l{t>«t,  .\li<'liif.',(h 
Vol.   Inf.   lliivcli   ![,  18(12. 

rii;i|).   Rev.   Jesae   S.   Boyden,   Flint;   onl.   April   10.   ]S(>2;    ros.   .\n;,'.   ;n.   ISCii. 

Serf,'t.-JIiij.  Krlwtn  F.  Holmes.   Fenton :   pro.  to  Hilj. 

Qiutr.-M:ES.    Kcrjrt.   Ult-itHon    P.   Perry.   Flint;    pni.    to   2i\   Heiit,    Co.    (;. 


C.ipt     lleiirj    S.    linrnctt.   Co.Hlrii-li ;    enl.    (k-t.   4.    IHH  .    pro.   to   niil.l.    ^o^.    IK,   ISK'I. 

(■:i]Jt.  .Icjini   Al^'oe.   Flint ;  enl.  Aujr    lili.  l.S(!4:  diseli.   for  woinirtH,   Mm-eli  X.  lS(ir>. 

I'd  LfMit.  Mnxn-pll   (J    CixAey.   Flint   {sergt.)  ;   2(i  lieut.  Co.  A,   M.ircli  31.  l.SftS;   res. 

I'ri^.ttes — ,l;mies  Atlierfon.  Argentine;  must,  out  July  1!1,  IsGTi.  Jacoh  C.  Beutley. 
MhiiiIj  .  disci),  lit  end  of  Hei'ilfe.  .\prll  4.  l.SCo.  I^.uniraou  Ooudou,  Argentine;  vetcrjin: 
ninst  out  July  111,  lS(ir,.  John  I);imoii,  Flint;  discli.  for  diaiilillit.v,  Seiit.  20,  lS(i2. 
fliiirk's  Diirliy.  disch.  to  i-e-enl.  as  vetpriiii.  Feb.  0,  IfM.  Judsou  Eni-y,  must,  out  July 
W,  l.Sli.'i.  Albei-t  I'lvvy,  Argentine:  dlaeli.  hy  order,  Sliiy  20,  ISCir..  Andreiv  EfEerts. 
diHch.  lit  end  of  service,  Feb.  (f,  ISih).  BMwiird  F.  Fuller,  dlscIi.  nt  end  of  sen  lee. 
Feb.  IS,  LSfiri.  William  (iove,  must,  out  July  li),  1R63.  KIbert  Hiiwley,  dieil  of  disease 
.it  Oeei-fipia.  Slifh.,  .M;trt-li  20.  1,S(>3.  Daniel  B.  Liicey,  trims,  to  Vet.  Res.  Coriis.  April 
1".  1S(54.  Charles  Sligglesn-ortli.  died  of  disejiae  !it  Ciuciunatt,  O..  July  2,  ISflS.  Ethan 
Marah,  diseh.  for  ndnority.  Marcli  10.  1S02,  George  Minor.  I'lliit .  dtsch.  for  disability. 
Wept.  24,  1,SH2.  Allen  XorrEs.  Argentine:  died  of  diseise  at  Flint,  MicU.,  Slai-ch  !>. 
1«(>2.  Alexander  ()"Kourke,  Burton;  veteran;  discii.  for  disability,  July  22,  18GS, 
Monroe  Putnam.  Argentine:  vetei-nn:  must,  out  July  1!'.  1365.  Philip  Richardson,  dii-d 
of  dtseise  fit  Xashviile,  Teun..  Mnrcli  i;!.  1863.  Miles  J.  Itood.  disch.  for  disability, 
Maitli  17.  1S(I.H.  Charles  Bauhenger.  dlseli.  at  end  of  service.  April  22.  IsfiS.  Manly 
Witteni.  discharged.     Marlon   Wltteai,   Muiidy;  disch.  for  (iisabtiltj,  !>!.■.  2:i.  lSf;2. 

('iitnimiin   C. 
Caiit.   Myi'oii    niiiiLiell,    (i(«>rtrieli ;    enl.   Sept.    24.   ISOl;    ves.    Nov.    18,    1S62. 
2d  Lieut.  George  A.  Alien,  Flint;  must,  out  Feb.  10,  IsfiS,  at  end  of  service. 
2d  Lieut.  James  R.  Kipp,  Goodrich;  enl.  ainy  20.  1865;  must,  out  July  1!>,  1865. 
Corp.  Job,  R.  Klpp.  vet*riin,  Goodrich  (sergt.) ;  pro,  to  2d  lieut. 


dbyGoc^lc 


3Q4  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

C.iri>.  Mile/  Swears.  \eter;iii,  (ioodi'ich   (sfi-j;!.!  :  mu^t.  i.iit  July  lit,  1S(ir>. 

Corp.  Jiimes  lAtt-y,  Flint;  luusk'hiu:  niunt.  imt  iit  euil  uf  wrvU-e.  L'eli.  ti,  isiy. 

Privates— EllIiH  AimoH,  Flint;  disi-li.  to  re-eiil.  mh  veteriiu,  Veh.  fi.  1Mi4.  (;i'iMge 
Kusli,  (JoodricU;  diseli.  to  re-eul.  iis  vpter.iii,  Veh.  r,.  1S(i4.  Miii-vlii  C.  IliLrn,..!.  tioDil- 
rich:  dlitcL.  to  rc-enl.  !is  veteran.  Feb.  (•.  ISIU,  Jliirviii  t'.  Hitniey,  (JikhIi'IcIi  ;  iIlmUj. 
to  I'e-eul.  IIS  vetM-tin.  Feb.  6,  1864.  Ilcni-j-  S.  Biihvell,  U.KHlrli-b:  ili.sch.  tn  n-eiil.  ris 
veteniu,  Feb.  fi,  lt**>4.  Joliu  15.  Iteecli.  Cuixlrii'h;  ilii'il  i.f  aisense.  .Iiily  'Si.  ^^^C  Cfuriiu 
W.  Btawell.  P'orest:  dlwb.  for  dlHiihllitj-.  Seiit.  1:!.  IMiU.  Williuni  B;iHletl.  Ulcd  of 
disease  iit  Nashville,  Tenn..  Jim.  5,  IMS.  KM  lljixter,  Atliis;  diefl  of  diseiiKo  ;it  lAiok- 
out  Mountain,  Tenn..  Sept.  11,  1SG4.  Krjistns  i'oi-niu,  llit-lifield ;  died  to  jR-tloii 
near  Dalton,  Gti.,  Feb.  25.  1864.  OHCur  ciituniint^.  tioodrleli;  died  In  iictioii  iit 
Jouesboii).  Git..  Se|it.  1,  1.S64.  Fraiik  Crittenden,  Fm-est:  discli.  to  re-eul,  as  vetenin, 
Feb.  6,  1864.  Nelson  Domier,  (Joodrifli :  died  of  diHensc  lit  Ciini])  I>enniw)n.  Oliio. 
Aug.  2,  lf<62.  BeujHmin  Frlck.  Goodrli-li;  disi-li.  tit  end  of  sers  ice,  Feb,  (i,  INGT.. 
Stephen  Hustead,  .Atlas;  died  in  iittlon  nwir  Diilton,  <!ii„  Feb,  2."),  ISivi.  llarker  Hili- 
biird,  Flint:  diwli.  to  re-enl.  nn  vcteniii.  I'V1>,  «.  ISUl.  I-klniuud  K.  HedRliii.  Flint; 
niuHt.  ont  July  1».  1,SC.,1,  Weeiey  W,  HetUtlii.  Flint:  must,  ont  Jniy  1!).  IStiri,  Sylvester 
Hiiynes.  Atlas;  at  end  of  Hervl<-e,  Feb.  U,  IStif..  Preiittsa  C.  Harris.  Flint;  diwab.  ai 
end  of  servk-e.  Feb,  (t  18lir..  Hiirrls  Hajiies.  Pltiit;  dlsc-li.  at  end  of  service,  E'eb.  (i, 
18ti.">,  Cliai-les  W.  JoLuson,  Goodrich;  died  of  diseiiae  at  Nasliviile,  Tenn..  Dei-.  24. 
1S62.  Benjamin  Overliolser.  Richfield;  diacli.  Dei.:  IS.  18(12.  Onier  I'ratt.  Goodrich: 
died  of  disease,  June  10.  1802.  Henry  Pennell.  (ioodrlc-h;  drowned.  (Jhiirle.s  H.  Riini- 
leii,  nint;  veteran:  must,  ont  July  10.  IMiD.  Itenben  L.  Smith,  mnst,  out  July  111, 
ISSTi,  Oeorge  N,  Scbllllnger.  Goodrich;  discb.  at  end  of  service,  Feb.  U,  liser>.  Cieor^o 
Stowe,  Flint;  disch.  to  re-ent.  as  veteran,  Feb.  (i,  18(14,  John  W.  Saunders.  Goodrich; 
died  of  disease  nt  Atlanta,  Ga..  Oct.  31,  18(54.  Nelson  Swears,  Flint;  died  of  dlseuHc 
at  I^ulBvlIle.  Ky..  Aiirll  G.  1862,  James  Vnnslckles.  Graud  Bbinc;  disch.  for  disability. 
Sept.  2(i,  1862.  Aaa  Voientine,  Goodrich;  (eteriiu:  must,  ont  July  Kl.  lS(!r.,  Ini  Wood. 
Flint;   died   of  diMeiise  iit  Kei)kuk,   lowii,  Ahk-  21,   18(12. 


Ciii.t.   lUisscI!   M.   llarUiT.    I'"linl;   r.iiL   I ii-t.   I,   1M,I  :   ivsiyiicd   Noi.  :>!l.   l»<ii:i. 

First  I-ient,   (iuorgt  A.  Ajiiin.   Fiint ;   .nil.   May  .s.   ISti,",:   must,  out  July   l!i.    IMCf. 

Second  Lieut,  Thomas  Branch,  Flint;  enl.  Manb  :i1,  1S«.1:  must.  Feb.  li.  ISIm.  iit 
end  of  service. 

Sergt.  Henry  H,  Chittenden.   Flint:   ilisili.   for   liisiibiiitj.   Feb.   !).   INIi:!, 

Senit.  George  A.  Apiin.  Flint ;  iironiotwl  to  1st  lieut. 

Sergt,  Jose|)h  E.  Tnpiter,  Flint;  promoted  to  serfft.-maj 

Sergt,  Thoniiis  Branch,   Flint;  jiromoted  to  2d  lieut. 

Corp.  William   H.   Davie,   Flint    (serst,)  :   must,  out   bj-   general   order,   July   :l.   l.SC.-,, 

Con».  Aria  Smith,  Flint;  died  of  disease  at  Nashville,  March  4,  ISd:!. 

Corp,  Lymiin  E,  Davie,  Flint;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  V.  S,  C,  Inf.,  Nov.  !i.  ^Sl\:•,. 

Privates — Theodore  Armstrong,  Flint;  died  of  disease  at  Farmington,  Miss,,  June 
3,  1862.  Jason  L.  Austin,  Flint;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Oct  23.  1862.  George  Aplin. 
Flint  (sergt,);  veteran:  dlsch.  to  re-enlist  as  veteran,  Feb.  G.  18(M.  David  J.  Andrews, 
died  In  action  at  Bentonvllle.  N.  C,  March  lil,  1865.  Charles  W.  Brewer,  died  of  dis- 
ease at  Camp  Deimlson,  Ohio,  June  2(1,  1802,  William  H.  Batlgley,  Flint;  discli.  for 
disability,  April  9,  1862.  Joslah  N.  Barkley,  Flint;  dlsch.  for  diBiibllilj-,  April  17,  1862. 
Benjamin  M.  Bradsliaw  (coii).) ;  dlsch.  for  disitbUity,  .Vprll  10,  1862.  John  Brown, 
dlsch.  for  disability,  Sept.  20,  1862,    Joseph  Barton,  Flint;  dlsch.  for  disability,  July  18, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GIINIZSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  ^gc; 

1.SG2.  Tlionms  K.  Hr.ibitzon,  vfteriin:  dJcl  of  vvoiiiuls  Mt  Xiisiiville.  Teiiii..  \h-<:  3,  ls«i4. 
Juliii  Cliutlboiim.  Uooilricli ;  died  of  disuiise  at  Ciiiiii)  IJeiiulwon,  Oliiu,  Auk.  !■  ]8(i2. 
AbniliJiiii  tliase.  dlach.  for  dlwililllty,  Deo.  10,  IK(I2.  Eiliviii  Crittenden,  must,  out  July 
ID,  lHOn.  Jfluies  \V.  Crittenden,  must,  out  July  111.  imc.  Jolm  W.  L'unln,  Goodrich; 
amst.  out  July  10,  Ihm.  Williniu  H.  Uiivie.  iiuiHt.  out  July  IE).  1«65.  I.yiuan  K.  Diivle, 
Corp.,  pi-o.  to  1st  Iteut.  C.  8.  C.  T.,  Nov.  9,  1803.  t'Uester  Fui'rar,  dlscli.  ftn-  dlsiibllity, 
OL-t.  22,  1802.  Mortliiiei'  B.  Glltmsm.  dlHcli.  for  dtwibllity.  Sept.  2G.  18b'2.  Henry  IJ. 
Uriffin,  (llHcli.  iit  end  of  service.  Felt.  U.  1M)5.  l-'i-nnklin  It.  IIopklnH,  died  of  rtiHeiiwe 
lit  Faroiington.  Miss..  -Tune  2!).  1S(!2.  Abraui  ci.  riitvrisoii.  dlwh.  Miirdi  21.  1Mi:i. 
Newton  D.  Hodfie.  discli.  to  re-eulist  jls  veteriin,  \-\h.  i;,  1MI4.  .\bnili:ini  i'..  lIougUlDii. 
musician,  veteran,  must,  out  July  l!l,  imTi.  llirjim  !■:.  ll.iwcll,  must,  out  July  111.  INiir.. 
Boswell  N,  Hilton,  must,  out  July  111,  IMl.".  Willi:nii  ■McComl).  dlst-li.  for  dlsiibllltj. 
Oct.  20,  1862.  Wlllbun  ().  Morse.  nuiHt.  out  July  V.I.  i'MC.  isiuic  Meaerraull.  must, 
out  July  11'.  IWS.  (ieorge  Miirsiiiill.  nmst.  out  July  1".  I'^i-'i-  I'liUip  Mnrshnll,  Tliet- 
ford,  must,  out  July  H',  l«(iri.  Wovthey  K.  Mlllnnl,  (Itscli.  to  re-eullst  at  veteriin,  Feb. 
G,  18G4.  Benjamin  Alcott,  Burtou;  musl.  out  July  lil,  l.Sfl."..  J.inies  Alcott,  Burton; 
must,  out  July  19.  1865.  Ilezekliih  Pierce,  must,  out  July  li),  1,S((o.  Myron  Pettit. 
Thetford;  must,  out  July  IS,  1865.  Jiimes  S.  I'ettlt.  Tlietford;  nmst.  out  July  19.  ISGii. 
Lewis  Kaisin,  must,  out  July  19,  18Ki.  John  Slwito.  died  of  diKfuse  tit  St.  Irfiuis,  Mo.. 
June  14.  ISfG.  Ai-hn  Smith,  died  <if  dlsejise  at  Niishville.  Tenn.,  March  4.  1863. 
Niithanlel  Taylor,  trans,  to  T'.  S.  Engineers.  July.  1SGJ.  Henry  Vautassel,  dlsch.  to 
re-enlist  at  veteran.  Feb.  G,  1S«4.  Augustus  Welcli,  dtsch.  for  dlwibllity.  A|iril  20. 
1IS«2.     Henry  f.  Welislcr,  died  of  diseawe  at  Henderson,  Ky..  May  m.  IMili. 

First  l.ient.  .Joliii   Alsioe.   Flint,  Co,  C:   eiil.  Mai-ch  r[l.   I8li:'.:   inoH.  to  ciipt.  Co.  A. 

Second  Lieut.  Joaeph  E.  Tupper.  Flint.  Co.  (i ;  jn'o.  tr.  mn,i.  17tb  I',  H.  C.  T..  Nov., 
1863.  _ 

Se^nd  Llput.  Gleaeou  F.  Periy.  Flint,  Co,  (1;  cnl,  .liiuc  7,  T-Uir.;  must,  out  -July 
19.    1863v 

First  Ueut.  Newton  D.  Hodge,  nint,  Co.  li  tseisn,!;  2il  licnl,;  ml  iliiy  2li,  l,s(;.->: 
1st  lieut.  June  7,  1865:  must,  out  July  19,  ISfio. 

First  Lieut,  John  R,  Thomson.  Flint,  Co,  Iv  ;  eul.  June  Xi.  lMii2  Ilid  lit'ut,  Feb.  22. 
],S63). 

Private— Miles  Allen,  Berlim.  ('o.  <!:  died  of  disease  at  Chattanoof^a,  Teuu..  Ilcl, 
17,  1S64.  Alexander  Allen,  Co.  B;  disch.  to  re-enlist  at  veteran,  Feb.  G,  1SG4.  I*vi 
Allen.  Co.  «;  must,  out  .July  19.  1865.  John  (J.  All|K>rt,  N.  C.  S. ;  must,  out  July  19. 
1865.  Abner  B.  Clark,  C.rnnd  Blanc,  Co.  K:  discb.  for  disiibtlity.  Frank  M.  Cum- 
mings,  Co.  B;  dlsch.  foi-  disability,  Feb.  14.  1863.  Oeorce  A.  Flshell,  Co.  K:  dlsch.  to 
re-enlist  at  veteran,  Feb.  18.  1S64.  James  H.  Finn,  Co.  K;  dlscli.  for  disabilltj-.  Josepli 
Hnrster.  Flint.  Co.  H;  diai-li.  for  disjiliilit.v.  Illnim  Ilowlnnd.  Flint.  Co.  H;  died  at 
Smith's  Ferry.  Nov.  IS,  1863.  of  accidental  wounds.  Edwin  F.  Holmes,  Flint,  Co.  H: 
disch.  to  i-e-enlist  as  veteran,  Feb.  10.  1864.  Alvarus  F.  Hosner.  FMnt,  Co.  G:  nbsent 
on  furlough;  not  must,  out  with  company,  Myron  M.  Hnngerford.  Flint,  Co.  H;  must. 
t.ut  July  19,  1865.  James  Ingles,  Flint,  Co.  Q:  must,  out  July  19,  1805.  David  I). 
Ingies,  I^lint.  Co,  H;  dlseh.  at  end  of  service.  Siarch  18,  1S<:5.  r«wls  Kelsey,  Co.  B: 
must,  out  July  19.  1865.  Oscar  D.  I.ia8on.  C«.  K:  dlsch.  at  end  of  service.  Feb.  6,  1865. 
TjCwIs  Meeker,  Fcnton.  Co,  H:  ninst.  out  July  19,  186.1.  Gerry  A.  Neivcomb,  Co.  H: 
mustfl  out  July  19,  1S65.  Levi  Ovid,  Co.  H;  dlsch.  at  eud  of  service.  Mai-cli  28,  1865. 
Lewis  Parrlsli,  Co.  H:  dlsch.  for  disability,  July  19,  1.S(t2.     Tra   E.  Payson.  VTmt.  Co.  K: 


dbyGoot^lc 


3Q6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

liied  ill  HCtioii  iu-:u-  Diiltoii,  (J;i.,  Feb.  25,  lS<i4.  Itoswell  Pettiugill,  Co.  G;  dleii  of  ills- 
fiiae  lit  NiiuUvllle,  Tenu.,  S€irt.  »,  1S64.  Ceorge  W.  Petisley,  Gnines,  Co,  it;  must,  out 
July  in,  1H03.  Cheater  Roy,  Gaines,  Co,  G ;  most,  out  July  1ft,  1865.  Nelson  lllpley, 
Mimily,  t>.  H;  mnst,  out  July  li),  1865.  O.  B.  Rogers,  Co.  B;  filsch.  for  cllsiibillty, 
AlirU  20,  1802.  Hlriim  Sloc'imi,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disability,  Oct  11,  1862.  Ricliard 
Stewart,  Fltut,  Co.  G;  died  iit  Joneaboro,  Gm„  Sei)t.  1,  1864,  of  wounds.  Henry  Shiii- 
niaii,  Co.  «;  died  iit  JJashville,  Tbuu.,  Se|)t.  12,  186-1,  ol  wounds.  Samuel  Tan  Rvery, 
Ci).  B;  dlsdi.  for  disability,  Aug.  25,  1S62.  C.  B.  WiU({ert,  Feuton,  Co.  K;  dlech.  for 
disability.  Allen  E.  Wlsuer,  C-o.  B;  dIscU.  for  disiibllity,  June  17,  1860.  Myron  C. 
Woodard.  con».,  Co.  B;  disc-li.  to  re-enlist  as  veterau.  Feb.  8,  1864.  Lewis  B.  Wells. 
sei'Bt.,  Cnind  Blaiic;  veterau;  iibsent.  sick;  not  must,  out  with  eoniiinny. 

The  Sixteenth  Regiment  of  Michigan  Infantry  was  designated,  at  the 
time  of  its  organization  and  for  more  than  eight  months  after  its  muster  into 
the  United  States  service,  as  "Stockton's  Independent  Regiment,"  because 
raised  under  authority  given  for  that  purpose  by  the  war  department  to 
Col.  T.  B.  W.  Stockton,  of  the  city  of  l^'lint.  Under  the  first  call  for  volun- 
teers from  Michigan,  Colonel  Stockton  had  tendered  his  services  to  Gover- 
nor Blair  to  organize  and  command  a  regiment  and  had  received  some 
encouragement  that  he  should  receive  the  command  of  the  Second  Infantry 
Regiment,  which  was  then  forming.  This,  however,  was  afterwards  given 
to  Colonel  Richardson,  On  the  organization  of  the  Fifth  Regiment  it  was 
understood,  though  whether  promised  or  not  is  not  known,  that  Colonel 
"Stockton  was  to  Ije  its  commander;  but  this  also  proved  to  be  a  premature 
announcement,  and  the  command  was  given  to  Colonel  Terry.  Upon  this. 
Colonel  Stockton  repaired  to  Washington  and  in  an  interview  with  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  made  the  rec(nest  for  authority  to  raise  a  regiment  in  Michigan, 
and  was  by  the  President  referred  to  the  secretary  of  war  who  gave  the 
desired  permission,  uiH>n  the  condition  that  Governor  Blair's  acquiescence 
should  first  be  obtained.  But  the  Governor  would  consent  only  on  condi- 
tion that  security  should  be  given  for  the  necessary  expenses  of  the 
organization  and  subsistence  of  the  proposed  regiment  until  it  should  be 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States.  Colonel  Stockton  was  not 
prepared  to  comply  with  this  condition  and  it  seemed  as  if  his  plan  was 
destined  to  faihire.  But  just  at  this  time  occurred  the  battle  and  defeat  of 
Bull  Run;  upon  this,  he  again  went  to  Washington  and  obtained  a  second 
interview  with  Secretary  Cameron,  whom  he  found  fully  aHve  to  the  neces- 
sity for  more  troops  to  avert  the  peril  in  which  the  capital  and  the  country 
stood  in  consequence  of  the  then  late  disaster.  This  consideration  over- 
shadowed all  others  and  induced  the  Secretary  to  grant  the  Colonel's  request, 
free  from  the  condition  which  he  had  before  imposed.    The  necessary  order 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNKSEE    COL'NTY,    MICHIGAN.  39/ 

was  issued  by  the  department  and  Colonel  Stockton  returned  withont  delay 
to  Detroit. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  he  had  been  authorized  to  raise  a 
regiment,  a  number  of  applications  were  made  to  him  by  persons  desiring 
authority  to  recruit  com|)aiiies  for  the  new  organization.  Among  the  first 
of  these  was  Capt.  Stephen  Martin,  who  in  making  his  request,  inquire<l 
what  was  to  be  the  name  of  the  regiment.  In  answer,  the  Colonel  said  that 
he  (Martin)  should  have  the  privilege  of  giving  a  name  to  the  organization 
as  well  as  of  raising  a  company  for  it.  "Then,"  replied  the  Captain,  "it 
shall  be  'Stockton's  Independent  Regiment'."  a  designation  which  was  at 
once  adopted.  Recruiting  was  immediately  commenced  at  several  points  in 
the  state  and,  though  it  proceeded  under  some  discouragement,  the  progress 
made  was  so  rapid  that  the  regiment  was  ready  for  muster  in  less  than  five 
weeks  from  the  issuance  of  the  war  department  order  authorizing  the 
organization. 

In  nine  of  the  companies  of  this  regiment  there  were  officers  or  enlisted 
men.  or  both,  from  Genesee  county.  There  was  one  company,  however, 
which  (particularly  during  the  raising  and  organizing  of  the  regiment)  was 
generally  known  as  "the  Genesee  company."  because  it  was  very  largely 
composed  of  men  from  this  county.  This  was  the  com]>any  raised  by  Capt. 
Thomas  C.  Cam  whose  recruiting  station  was  at  the  city  of  (■lint.  The 
recnuting-name  of  the  company  was  the  "Genesee  I-ight  Guard,"  though  its 
nucleus  was  an  organization  which  had  Iwen  earlier  kni>wn  as  the  "l''hishing 
Light  Artillery."  Captain  Carr's  company  filled  up  rapidly  and  on  the  7th 
of  August,  1861,  it  left  Flint  tmder  his  command  and  jiroceeded  to  the  regi- 
mental rendezvous  which  had  been  established  at  Detroit,  the  camp  being 
named  "Camp  Backus"  in  honor  of  l.ieut.-Col.  E.  Backus,  U.  S.  A,,  b\' 
whom  the  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service,  Septem- 
ber 7-13,  1861.  The  field  and  staff-ofHcers  of  the  regiment  were:  Colonel, 
Thomas  B.  W.  Stockton;  lieutenant-colonel,  John  V.  Reuhle;. major,  Norvai 
K.  Welch:  adjutant,  T,  1{.  Morris;  surgeon.  Isaac  Wixom;  assistant  surgeon, 
William  H.  Butler:  chaplain.  Rev,  W.  H.  Brockway:  quartermaster.  F.  H. 
Klder. 

The  officers  of  the  "Genesee  Tight  Guard,"  designated,  in  the  organiza- 
tion as  C  Comi>any,  were:  Captain.  Thomas  C.  Carr;  first  lieutenant.  Miner 
S.  Newell;  second  lieutenant,  Randolph  W.  Ransom. 

On  Saturday,  September  14.  orders  were  received  from  the  war  depart- 
ment directing  Colonel  Stockton  to  proceed  with  his  regiment  to  Washington. 
D.  C.     Preparations  were  at  once  commenced  and  on  the  following  Monday 


dbyGoot^lc 


3y8  GENESEE    COUNrY,    MICHIGAN, 

tile  command  was  ready  to  take  its  dei>arture.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon of  that  day  the  companies  marched  out  upon  the  parade-ground  at 
(.'amp  Backus  and  formed  in  a  hollow  square  for  the  ceremony  of  the  presen- 
tation of  a  flag,  the  gift  of  the  ladies  of  Detroit—through  Mrs.  Charles  fi. 
Dunks — -to  Stockton's  independent  Regiment.  The  flag  was  of  heavy  blue 
silk,  six  by  six  and  one-half  feet  in  dimensions,  bearing  on  one  side  the 
arras  of  the  state,  with  the  words  "Stockton's  Regiment"  underneath,  and 
on  the  reverse  the  national  emblems — the  eagle  and  .shield — and  the  words 
'  Stand  by  the  Union."  upon  a  scroll.  The  presentation  address  was  made 
by  Judge  Wiikins  and  was  resjiomted  to  by  Colonel  Stockton,  Ijoth  speeches 
being  applauded  most  enthusiastically.  The  color  was  received  from  the 
hand  of  Mrs.  Dunks  by  Cokmel  Stockton,  and  by  him  handed  to  Sergt.  C. 
McDowell,  of  the  "Genesee  f.ight  Guard,"  which  was  the  color  company. 

.At  six  o'clock  the  regiment,  numbering  .seven  hundred  and  sixty-one 
cnhsted  men,  marched  to  the  river,  where  Ccmipanies  A.  15  and  V  embarked 
on  the  steamer  "City  of  Cleveland."  and  the  other  comfxinies,  with  the 
field  and  staff  on  the  "May  Queen.''  bound  for  Clevehuid.  They  arrived 
at  that  city  in  the  following  morning  and  proceeded  thence  by  rail  via  Pitts- 
burg, Harrisburg  and  Baltimore,  to  Washington,  which  they  reached  on 
Thursday.  September  19.  Tiiere  the  regiment  remained  in  camp  till  the 
28th,  whon  it  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia  and  moved  to  Fort  Corcoran. 
After  a  three  days'  stay  at  that  place  it  was  moved  to  Hall's  Hill,  Virginia, 
where  it  was  assigned  to  the  Third  (Buttertield's)  Brigade,  in  Gen.  iMtz- 
John  Porter's  division.  The  infantry  regiments,  besides  Colonel  Stockton's. 
composing  the  Third  Erigatle  were  the  Eighty-third  Pennsylvania,  Colonel 
McLane:  the  Seventeenth  Xcw  Vork,  Cokwiel  Lansing,  and  the  People's 
I'^lL'-worth    Regiment    ( i''orty-i"oiirth    Xcw   York),   Colonel   Stephen   Stryker. 

Here  was  regularly  laid  out  a  camp  which  became  the  winter-(|uarters 
of  the  regiment  and  the  home  of  its  officers  and  men  for  a  period  of  nearly 
six  months.  The  time  was  devoted  nminly  to  the  attainment  of  military 
discipline,  proficiency  in  drill  and  to  the  transformation  of  a  liody  of  brave 
and  patriotic  citizens  into  an  efficient  regiment  of  soldiers.  In  effecting  this 
the  military  education  and  experience  of  Colonel  Stockton  was  invaluable: 
his  success  was  complete  and  was  universally  acknowledged,  b-specially  were 
the  benefits  of  his  oversight  and  experience  discemable  in  the  superior  sani- 
tary condition  of  the  regiment  during  its  stay  at  Hall's  Hill  and  in  the 
campaign  which  followed. 

Before  the  earliest  .streakings  of  daylight  in  the  moniing  of  March  10, 
1862,  the  Third  Brigade  struck  camp  and  marched  from  its  winter-quarters 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNKSEE    COITNTY,    MICHIGAN.  399 

to  l-airfax  Court  House,  where  the  Forty-fourth  New  York  was  temjx)- 
rarily  <ietached  and  in  company  with  AveriU's  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry 
advanced  on  CenterviUe,  the  troops  fully  believing  at  that  time  that  a  direct 
movement  was  to  be  made  on  Richmond.  But  the  enemy's  works  at  Center- 
viUe and  Manassas  were  found  deserted;  the  detachment  returned  and  the 
entire  brigade  marched  through  drenching  rain  over  most  wretched  roads  and 
in  a  state  of  gloom  and  disappointment  to  Alexandria,  where  it  embarked  on 
steamers  on  the  21st  of  March  and  on  the  following  day  proceeded  down  the 
Potomac  and  the  Chesapeake  bay  to  Fortress  Monroe,  arriving  there  on  the 
24th,  it  marched  thence  on  the  25th,  to  a  camp  in  the  vicinity  of  Hampton. 
This  was  a  Virjj'inia  village  which  had  then  recently  been  destroyed  by  fire  by 
order  of  the  Confederate  General  Magruder — a  place  which  nature  had 
made  beautiful,  which  its  inhabitants  had  embellished  and  embowered  with 
roses  and  woodbine,  but  now  only  a  waste  of  bare  chimneys  and  blackened 
walls.  The  camp  of  the  regiment  was  located  about  two  miles  from  the 
village  and  was  named  "Cam|>  Wide  Awake."  Here  the  command  remained 
until  the  J/th.  when,  with  the  brigade,  it  took  part  in  a  reconnoissance  in 
force,  moving  as  far  up  the  Peninsula  as  Big  Bethel;  but  encountering 
no  serious  opposition,  it  returned  to  the  camp  near  Hampton. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  April  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  strong,  move<l  up  the  Peninsula  by  the  differ- 
ent roads,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th,  Stockton's  regiment,  with  the 
Third  Brigade,  stood  before  the  enemy's  intrenchments  at  Yorktown.  Here 
General  Butterfield  called  the  officers  of  his  brigade  together  and  gave  orders 
for  each  regiment  to  leave  all  knapsacks  under  charge  of  one  man  and  to  Ije 
ready  in  two  minutes  to  charge  the  rebel  works.  It  was  rumored,  and  was 
probably  true,  that  the  general  had  asked  permission  to  make  the  assault  with 
his  brigade.  Had  he  done  so,  with  such  support  as  might  easily  have  been 
furnished,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  fading  daylight  of  that  Saturday 
afternoon  would  have  seen  the  Stars  and  Stripes  floating  over  the  hostile 
ramparts;  but  the  desired  permission  was  not  given,  and  that  night  the  great 
army  lighted  its  camp-fires  in  front  of  the  fortified  line  and  sat  down  to  a 
four  weeks'  siege  of  Yorktown, 

While  at  this  place  the  regiment  w-as  engaged  in  the  usual  routine  duty 
and  drill,  inters|>ersed  with  labor  upon  the  earthworks  and  parallels  which 
were  constructed  in  pursuance  of  the  plan  of  the  commanding  general  to  cap- 
ture the  place  by  regular  approach.  During  this  time  the  strength  of  the 
regiment  had  been  augmented  to  one  thousand  men  by  enlistment  and  by  the 
addition  of  two  new  companies  from  Detroit.     The  health  of  the  command 


dbyGoot^lc 


400  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

aiso  remained  good,  in  consequence  of  the  strict  sanitary  rules  of  Colonel 
Stockton,  and  in  marked  contrast  to  that  of  many  other  regiments;  notahle 
among  these  was  its  companion  in  the  brigade,  the  Forty-fourth  New  York, 
whose  men  suffered  so  severely  from  sickness  that  when  the  advance  was 
made  they  were  left  as  a.  garrison  at  Yorktown. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  May  4,  it  became  known  that  the 
hostile  fortifications  were  evacuated  and  soon  the  troops  were  in  motion  in 
pursuit  of  the  retiring  enemy.  Colonel  Stockton's  command  remained 
within  the  captured  works  until  the  8th  of  May  when  it  embarked  and  pro- 
ceeded thence  up  the  York  river  to  West  Point,  Virginia,  reaching  there  on 
the  following  day.  While  at  this  place  the  regiment  received  its  designating 
number,  which  the  colonel,  though  on  some  accounts  unwilling  to  do  so, 
was  induced  to  accept  in  view  of  possible  future  advantages  which  might 
accrue  to  his  officers  and  men.  From  this  time  it  was  no  longer  known  as 
"Stockton's  Independent  Regiment,"  but  as  the  Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry, 
in  the  Third  Brigade,  First  Division  (Morrell's)  of  the  Fifth  Provisional 
Army  Corps,  which  was  formed  at  that  time  (May  loth)  and  placed  under 
command  of  Gen.  Fitz-John  Porter. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  the  Sixteenth  marched  with  it,';  brigade  from 
West  Point  to  Cumberland  on  the  Pamunkey  river.  Thence  it  moved  by 
way  of  White  House  and  Tunstall's  Station  to  Gaines'  Mill  where  it  arrived 
on  the  26th,  having  advanced  forty  miles  from  Yorktown  in  eighteen  days! 
Before  daybreak  on  the  27th  of  May  the  division  of  General  Morrell  movecl 
irom  Gaines'  and  marched  rapidly  through  rain  and  mud  towards  Hanover 
Court  House  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  railroad  at  that  point;  in 
this  vicinity  there  was  known  to  be  a  considerable  force  of  the  enemy,  which 
proved  to  be  Branch's  division  consisting  of  seven  regiments,  with  artillery. 
A  part  of  Morell's  division — the  Second  Maine  and  the  Twenty-fifth  and 
I'orty-fourth  New  York — under  command  of  General  Martindale,  was  left 
by  the  way  to  hold  an  important  position,  while  the  remainder  of  the  divi- 
sion went  forward  to  capture  the  station  at  Hanover  and  destroyed  the 
railway  track.  This  service  was  successfully  accomplished,  while  Martin- 
dale  bravely  held  his  ground  against  the  determined  attack  of  Branch.  H 
Martindale  could  have  been  forced  from  his  position,  the  advanced  troops 
of  Morrell  would  have  been  left  in  a  most  i>erilous  situation;  but  in  this 
attempt  the  rebels  failed  and,  after  a  hot  engagement  of  more  than  an 
hour's  duration,  were  compelled  to  retire  with  a  heavy  loss  in  killed,  wounded 
and  prisoners.  On  the  Union  side  the  loss,  in  the  Forty-fourth  New  York 
alone,  was  twenty-seven  killed  and  fifty-seven  woimded.     "General  Butter- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GF.NESEE    COUNTY^    MICHIGAN.  40I 

field,  hearing  firing  in  the  rear,  moved  his  command  at  once  to  the  point 
of  attack.  Few  of  the  Sixteenth  who  were  present  will  ever  forget  that 
march  in  line  of  battle  across  wheat-fields,  through  swamps  and  ravines, 
cheering  as  they  advanced,  impetuous  to  strike  their  first  great  blow  for 
freedom.  The  enemy,  seeing  that  to  remain  was  to  be  captured  or  killed, 
fled  in  dismay,  leaving  their  dead,  wounded  and  many  prisoners  on  our  hands. 
The  day's  work  was  a  complete  triumph  and  that  night  we  bivouacked  for 
the  first  time  on  the  field  we  had  won.  *  «  *  Here  for  the  first  time 
the  regiment  had  a  taste  of  living  on  the  enemy.  Through  some  strange 
freak,  the  commanding  officers  winked  at  it.  Beef,  pork,  dried  fruits  and 
preserves — in  fact,  everything  that  an  epicure  could  crave — were  procured  in 
abundance  and  indulged  in  with  apparent  emotions  of  pleasure.  That  day 
was  never  forgotten  by  the  Sixteenth  during  its  entire  service  thereafter; 
its  members  ever  after  repeated  the  operation  whenever  the  country  afforded 
the  material."  The  division,  having  successfully  accomplished  its  mission, 
returned  to  its  camp  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  near  Gaines' 
Mill,  on  the  29th  of  May.  At  about  one  p.  m.  on  the  31st,  the  crash  of 
artillery  and  the  incessant  roar  of  musketry  were  heard  coming  from  the 
woods  and  thickets  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river;  the  infernal  uproar  con- 
tinued during  most  of  the  afternoon.  It  was  the  battle  of  P""air  Oaks.  The 
men  of  the  Sixteenth  stood  with  their  brigade  in  line  ready  to  cross  the 
stream  to  the  assistance  of  their  comrades,  but  they  were  not  ordered  in  on 
this  or  the  following  day,  when  the  fight  was  renewed. 

With  but  one  change  of  camp,  the  Sixteenth  remained  near  Gaines' 
Mill  imtil  the  first  day  of  the  Seven  Days'  battles — ^Thursday,  June  26 — 
when  it  was  moved  in  haste  towards  Mechanicsville  to  support  the  right  of 
the  Union  line  against  the  a,ssault  of  the  redoubtable  Stonewall  Jackson,  but 
it  was  not  engaged  in  the  fierce  battle  that  ensued.  Before  daylight  on  the 
following  morning  it  retired  with  other  regiments,  though  not  unmolested  by 
the  enemy,  from  the  position  held  during  the  night's  to  Gaines'  Mill,  where 
a  line  of  battle  was  formed  with  Butterfield's  brigade  on  the  extrame  left, 
Sykes'  division  of  regulars  on  the  right,  and  McCall's  Pennsylvania  Reserves 
division  in  the  second  line.  Approaching  them  were  the  rebel  commands 
of  Gens.  A.  P.  Hill,  Longstreet,  H.  D.  Hill  and  the  dreaded  Jackson,  in  all 
more  than  fifty  thousand  men,  against  half  that  number  on  the  Union  side. 
The  battle  was  opened  by  a  furious  attack  on  Porter's  right.  Here  the 
enemy  was  at  first  repulsed  but  renewed  the  assault  and  turned  the  Union 
right;  this  retreated  in  disorder,  and  caused  the  whole  line  to  give  way  which 

(26) 


dbyGoot^lc 


402  GENKSEE    COVNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

resulted  in  L'olonel  Stockton  lieing  made  prisoner  by  the  enemy.  Sick  and 
unfit  for  duty,  he  had  insisted  on  entering  the  field  at  the  head  of  his  regi- 
ment, though  against  the  expostulations  and  earnest  protest  of  his  surgeon; 
and  now,  dismounted  and  weak  from  illness,  he  Ijecame  separated  from  his 
command  in  the  tunr.oil  and  disorder  of  the  retreat  and  was  afterwards 
captured  and  taken  to  Richmond,  The  hardships  which  he  was  compelled 
to  endure  during  his  subsetjuent  captivity  wrought  injury  to  his  health  from 
which  he  never  recovered. 

The  retreating  line  was  finally  rallied  and  the  Sixteenth,  now  under  com- 
mand of  Major  Welch,  with  other  troops,  charged  on  the  defiant  foe,  but 
only  to  be  decimated  and  hurled  back  in  utter  rout,  leaving  their  dead  and 
wotmded  on  the  crimson  field.  This  closed  the  disasters  of  the  day  for  the 
Sixteenth,  and  a  bloody  day  it  had  been  for  this  regiment.  Its  losses  had 
been  forty-nine  killed,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  wounded  and  fifty-five  miss- 
ing. Of  the  killed,  three  were  officers,  and  among  these  was  Capt.  Thomas 
C.  Carr,  of  the  Genesee  company,  the  first  member  of  the  regiment  to  die  on 
the  battlefield. 

The  day  of  Gaines'  Mill  had  closed  in  blood  and  defeat.  During  the 
succeeding  night  the  Union  forces,  including  the  remnant  of  the  Sixteenth 
Michigan,  succeeded  in  crossing  the  swollen  Chickahominy  and  destroying 
the  bridges  behind  them,  though  two  bridges  farther  down  the  stream  (Bot- 
tom's and  Long  Bridges)  still  remained;  it  was  not  long  after  sunrise  on 
Saturday  morning  when  the  rebel  force  under  the  indomitable  Jackson  was 
massed  at  the  upper  one  of  these  and  making  preparations  to  cross  to  the 
south  si<le.  Other  hostile  forces  were  also  advancing  from  Richmond  direct 
on  McClellan's  left  wing,  and  in  view  of  this  rather  alarming  situation  of 
affairs  the  General  had,  as  early  as  Friday  evening,  decided  on  a  retreat  by 
the  whole  army  to  the  James  river  where  a  base  of  supplies  could  be  held 
and  communication  on  the  river  kept  open  by  the  co-operation  of  the  Union 
gunboats.  The  troops  were  informed  of  the  proposed  change  by  an  appar- 
ently triumphant  announcement,  intended  merely  to  encourage  the  soldiers 
and  lighten  in  some  degree  the  gloom  of  the  great  disaster,  that  a  new  and 
mysterious  flank  movement  was  about  to  be  executed  which  would  surely 
and  swiftly  result  in  the  capture  of  Richmond.  No  such  assurance  how- 
ever could  conceal  from  the  intelligent  men  who  formed  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  that  their  backs  and  not  their  faces  were  now  turned  toward  the 
rebel  capital  and  that  the  much  vaunted  change  of  base  was  made  from 
necessity  rather  than  choice. 

During  the  four  days  succeeding  the  battle  of  Gaines'  Mill  the  men  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COONTY,    MICHIGAN.  403 

the  Sixteenth  took  part  in  the  daily  fight,  skirmish  and  march  which  brought 
them  on  Tuesday,  July  i,  to  the  heights  of  Malvern.  On  that  field  the 
regiment  lost  thirty-nine  killed  and  wounded  and  three  missing,  but  it  held 
the  position  assigned  it,  repulsing  the  repeated  attacks  of  the  enemy  with 
unsurpassed  bravery  and  strewing  the  ground  thickly  with  his  dead  and 
wounded.  The  battle  was  opened  at  this  point  at  about  four  o'clock  p.  m., 
and  from  that  time  until  darkness  closed  the  roar  of  musketry  was  uninter- 
mitting.  Finally  the  carnage  ceased,  and  the  men  of  the  North  laid  them- 
selves down,  victors,  they  believed,  to  rest  on  the  blood-soaked  field;  but  at 
about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  July  2d  orders  were  given  to  fall  in  for 
a  march,  and  the  regiment  moved  silently  down  the  hill  and  away  on  the 
road  to  Berkeley,  or  Harrison's  I,anding,  leaving  their  dead  and  wounded 
behind. 

No  one  who  was  not  present  can  ever  realize  the  bitterness  of  humilia- 
tion and  despair  that  pervaded  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army  as  they  turned 
their  backs  upon  a  victorious  field  and  marched  away  in  the  gloom  of  the 
night,  and  through  the  mud  and  pouring  rain  of  the  succeeding  morning,  to 
seek  the  protection  of  the  gunboats  in  the  river  against  a  beaten  foe  who 
was  at  the  same  time  retreating  in  an  opposite  direction.  But  the  wearied 
and  dispirited  men  struggled  on,  some  in  sullen  silence,  some  cursing,  and 
some  actually  weeping  in  the  agony  of  their  shame,  until  at  last  they  rested 
on  the  banks  of  the  James  under  the  friendly  guns  of  the  Union  fleet. 

Four  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  army  at  Harrison's  Landing,  the 
commander  of  the  Fifth  Corps  (General  Porter)  issued  a  general  order 
congratulating  the  officers  and  men  of  his  command  "on  the  perils  through 
which  they  have  so  honorably  passed,  and  the  successes  they  have  added 
by  their  valor  to  the  glory  of  our  arms,"  and  mentioning  especially  their 
gallantrv  at  Yorktown,  April  5 ;  New  Bridge,  May  24 ;  Hanover  Court- 
House,  May  27;  Mechanicsville,  June  26;  Gaines'  Mill,  June  27;  New  Mar- 
ket, June  30,  and  Malvern  Hill,  July  i.  A  complimentary  order  was  issued 
by  the  commander  of  the  Third  Brigade,  in  which  was  the  Sixteenth  Mich- 
igan, as  follows : 

Head<|I7.ihtilbs    Huttjckfjf.ld's   Bbioadp:,    Moheell's    Division. 
Circular. 

UkAVE    SoI.mEBS    OF    THE   TUIHO    BRIGADE; 

It  is  with  no  orrtiiinry  pride  tliat  your  genernl  proniulgiites  to  you  general  orders 
No.  4,  from  tile  headqmt iters  of  the  army  corps.  Your  braveiT  aii<l  gallantry  have 
woD  niy  love,  and  yoii  are  us  deiir  to  me  aa  brothers.  1*1  the  esprit  and  the  pride 
whieli  have  always  distinguished  yon  be  renewed  and  redoubled.  Your  children's 
children  will   be  iirouil   of  your  noble  nets,  and  your  c<)untry  will   love  you.     Let  every 


dbyGoc^lc 


404  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

one,  offlfera  and  men,  make  renewed  exerttont-,  and  let  the  nest  ciU  to  nrnis  And  tlie 
brigade,  as  It  always  has  been  heretofore,  uiifllncblug,  unfaltering,  devoted  to  the  coun- 
try and  the  honor  of  its  flag.  ]jet  the  proud  recollections  of  the  glorious  names  your 
banner  will  hear  redouble  your  strength  and  zeal,  so  tliat,  ns  heretofore,  you  will 
equal  tniti^  j-.mr  numliet."!  of  the  eneitij.  Bj-  command  of 

BaiG.-GEN.    Bummriop 
(Signed)     Thoh.  J.  Hoyt,  Asst    A<Ut-Gpn 

During  the  night  of  the  31st  of  July  the  enemy  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  suddenly  opened  fire  from  more  than  fifty  pieces  of  artillery  on  the 
Union  army  lying  on  the  north  side,  the  camp  o£  Butterfield's  brigade  being 
fairly  within  their  range.  The  scene  was  a  grand  and  exciting  one  and  the 
wildest  commotion  ensued,  the  great  guns  of  the  fleet  in  the  river  adding 
their  thunders  to  the  roar  of  the  cannonade.  Very  little  injury  was  inflicted 
however  on  either  side.  On  the  following  day  the  Third  Brigade  crossed 
the  river,  burned  the  plantation  buildings  near  which  the  hostile  batteries  had 
been  placed  and  then  made  a  reconnoissance  towards  Petersburg,  but  finding 
no  enemy  it  returned  to  the  river  and  bivouacked  on  the  Ruffin  plantation 
where  it  remained  five  days  foraging  on  the  country  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  recrossed  the  river  to  its  former  position.  After  this,  few,  if  any,  note- 
worthy events  occurred  in  the  experience  of  the  Sixteenth  during  the 
remainder  of  its  stay  at  Harrison's  landing. 

In  the  night  of  the  14th  of  August  the  regiment  struck  camp  and  with 
its  corps  took  the  advance  in  the  march  of  the  army  down  the  Peninsula, 
reaching  Hampton  after  three  days'  and  one  night's  march.  There  was  a 
striking  contrast  between  the  appearance  of  the  haggard  and  tattered  rem- 
nant of  the  Sixteenth  Michigan  who  now  returned  to  their  old  camping- 
place,  and  that  of  Stockton's  Independent  Regiment  of  well-fed  and  healthy 
men  as  they  had  marched  away  from  the  same  place  a  little  more  than  four 
months  before;  but  their  hope  and  courage  were  still  high  and  none  were 
doubtful  of  ultimate  triumph.  On  the  igth  they  took  transports  for  Acquia 
Creek,  and  arrived  there  the  following  morning,  proceeding  thence  by  rail- 
road to  Fredericksburg.  Remaining  there  until  the  evening  of  the  23d,  the 
hne  of  march  was  then  taken  northwestwardly  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rappahannock  and,  after  an  eventless  march  and  some  countermarching 
reached  Kelley's  Ford  on  the  26th.  During  the  night,  orders  were  received 
to  burn  such  regimental  and  company  property  as  could  not  be  carried  and 
be  ready  to  march  at  daybreak  for  the  line  of  the  Orange  &  Alexandria  rail- 
road. On  arriving  at  Bealton  Station,  it  was  reported  that  the  enemy  had 
destroyed  a  portion  of  the  railroad  between  that  place  and  Alexandria  and 
had  captured  and  burned  a  large  amount  of  property.     Rations  had  become 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  4O5 

very  low  and  a  forced  march  was  necessary  to  make  a  junction  with  the 
Army  of  Virginia,  under  General  Pope,  which  was  effected  by  the  corps 
at  Groveton  August  29.  While  at  this  place  the  troops  were  formed  in  line 
of  battle,  but  no  engagement  occurred.  For  his  failure  to  engage  the  enemy 
General  Porter  was  severely  censured  by  General  Pope. 

The  command  then  moved  towards  Manassas  and  on  the  30th  a  new 
position  was  taken  near  Bull  Run.  The  brigade  lay  for  hours  under  a  heavy 
artillery  fire  until  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  when  the  regiments  were 
formed  in  column  by  division  and  ordered  to  advance.  The  infantry  of  the 
eneiny  lay  well  protected  in  a  deep  railroad  excavation  and  a  large  number 
of  artillery  pieces  were  posted  in  the  rear  of  the  infantry  and  on  higher 
ground.  When  the  Third  Brigade  had  reached  an  open  field,  the  enemy 
poured  into  its  ranks  an  infernal  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry.  The  brigade 
advanced  most  gallantly  to  within  a  few  yards  of  the  enemy's  infantry,  and 
on  that  spot  the  bones  of  its  brave  men  who  fell  on  that  day  were  found 
when  the  survivors  again  marched  over  the  field  months  afterwards.  While 
the  brigade  was  engaged  at  this  point  a  force  of  the  enemy  attacked  in 
flank  and  they  were  thus  forced  back  in  disorder  and  with  severe  loss.  No 
troops  ever  better  deserved  victory  than  did  the  Union  forces  on  that  day 
and  that  they  did  not  obtain  it  was  no  fault  of  theirs.  It  was  because  "some 
one  had  blundered."  The  loss  of  the  regiment  in  this  battle  was  seventy- 
nine  killed  and  wounded,  among  whom  were  three  color-bearers,  and  seven- 
teen missing.  Capt.  Randolph  W.  Ransom,  of  Flint,  was  also  among  the 
killed. 

After  this  crow'ning  disaster  the  command  fell  back,  by  way  of  Centre- 
ville  and  Hall's  Hill,  their  winter  camp  of  1861-62,  to  Arhngton  where  a 
rest  of  ten  days  was  had,  during  which  Colonel  Stockton  returned  from  his 
captivity  in  Richmond  and  the  regiment  received  considerable  accessions  to 
its  numbers  from  hospitals  and  other  sources.  On  the  I2th  of  September 
the  brigade,  under  command  of  Colonel  Stockton,  moved  with  the  Fift' 
Corps  on  the  Maryland  campaign  which  culminated  in  the  bloody  battie  of 
Antietam,  September  17th.  On  that  day  the  Fifth  Corps  was  not  engaged, 
though  towards  evening  the  Third  Brigade  was  ordered  first  to  the  right  and 
then  back  to  the  left,  but  sustained  no  loss. 

On  the  20th  the  Fifth  Corps — the  Sixteenth  Michigan  in  advance — 
started  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  columns  of  I-ee,  and  engaged  his  rear 
guard  at  Shqjherdstown  Ford;  after  this  the  regiment  and  brigade  returned 
and  camped  near  Sharpsburg  on  Antietam  creek,  where  the  Twentieth  Maine 
Regiment  was  added  to  the  brigade. 


dbyGoot^lc 


406  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

On  the  30th  of  October  the  Fifth  Corps  broke  camp  and  marched  by 
way  of  Har[}er's  Ferry,  a  point  at  which  the  Potomac  river  was  crossed,  to 
Warrenton,  Virginia.  This  march  occupied  ten  days,  and  during  its  con- 
tinuance the  men  of  the  Sixteenth,  in  common  with  those  of  other  regi- 
ments, foraged  almost  at  will  in  the  country  through  which  they  passed ;  the 
result  was  that  their  commissariat  was  abundantly  supplied  with  rations  of 
the  best  quality.  "So  well,"  says  Captain  Powers,  "was  the  regiment  sup- 
plied with  poultry,  fresh  meats,  honey  and  preserves  that  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  division  made  a  sly  insinuation  to  Colonel  Stockton  that  the 
Sixteenth  must  have  had  a  lax  training  in  its  youth  to  so  soon  forget  that 
high  moral  culture  that  had  made  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  so  fond  of  fur- 
nishing food  for  the  powder  of  rebel  bushwhackers." 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Fifth  Corps  at  Warrenton,  the  regiment  found 
itself  under  a  new  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — General  Burn- 
side — who  had  superseded  General  McClellan  in  that  command  on  the  5th 
of  November;  at  about  the  same  time  General  Porter  was  relieved  of  the 
command  of  his  corps.  General  Burnside,  on  assuming  command  of  the 
army,  reorganized  it  into  three  grand  divisions  of  two  corps  each.  The 
Fifth  and  Third  Corps  forming  the  centre  grand  division  were  placed  under 
command  of  "Fighting  Joe"  Hooker. 

The  army,  resuming  its  march  reached  the  Acquia  Creek  railroad  on 
the  26th  of  November,  and  the  brigade  of  which  the  Sixteenth  Michigan 
formed  a  part  encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  what  was  afterwards  known  as 
Stoneman's  Switch. 

On  the  I2th  of  December  the  Fifth  Corps  moved  to  the  Rappahannock 
river,  opposite  Fredericksburg,  where  the  commander  of  the  army  was  pre- 
paring for  the  great  battle  which  was  fought  on  the  following  day.  Durinr 
the  progress  of  that  unequal  fight  the  Third  Brigade  remained  quiescent 
until  about  four  p.  m.,  when  it  was  ordered  across  the  river.  It  crossed  and 
formed  line  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  then  advanced  under  a  heavy  fire 
of  musketry  and  canister,  halting  near  the  front  at  a  point  which  was  shghtly 
protected  by  the  conformation  of  the  field.  This  position  was  held,  but  with 
some  loss,  until  darkness  closed  the  contest  for  the  day.  The  fight  was 
renewed  on  the  14th,  but  the  results  were  far  less  sanguinary,  both  sides 
held  their  ground,  though  the  general  result  was  most  disastrous  to  the 
Union  arms. 

At  midnight  of  the  15th  the  brigade  went  to  the  front  and  withdrew 
all  the  pickets  on  that  part  of  the  field,  and  shortly  after  daylight  crossed  to 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  407 

the  north  side  of  the  Rappahannock  as  the  main  body  of  the  army  had  done 
during  the  night. 

The  Sixteenth  Regiment  cannot  be  said  to  have  participated  prominently 
in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  but  it  performed  all  that  was  required  of 
it,  and  in  doing  so  sustained  a  loss  of  twenty-three  killed  and  wounded. 
After  the  battle  it  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Stoneman's  Switch. 

In  the  spring,  after  General  Hooker  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the 
army  and  was  making'  preparation  for  that  forward  movement  which  ended 
at  Chancellorsville,  the  Sixteenth  moved  with  the  other  regiments  of  the 
command  to  the  Rappahannock  and  passed  up  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river 
April  27,  It  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  the  stream  on  the  28lh  and  was 
present  on  the  field  of  Chancellorsville  during  all  of  the  three  bloody  days 
succeeding  Ma}'  i,  taking  part  in  the  fight  at  Hooker's  headquarters  on  Sun- 
day, but  sustaining  no  heavy  attacks  and  losing  only  one  killed  and  six 
wounded.  At  the  close  of  the  campaign  it  recrossed  the  river  with  the 
army  and  returned  to  camp  at  Falmouth,  where  on  the  iSth  of  May  at  even- 
ing parade  Colonel  Stockton  took  leave  of  the  regiment,  having  resigned  f.or 
the  purpose  of  raising  a  brigade  of  Tennessee  troops,  under  authority  con- 
ferred by  Gov,  Andrew  Johnson  and  sanctioned  by  the  war  department. 
This  resignation  gave  the  command  of  the  regiment  to  Lieut-Col.  Norval  F. 
Welch  who  was  afterwards  killed  in  an  assault  upon  the  enemy's  works  at 
Poplar  Grove  Church  in  the  Petersburg  campaign. 

Farly  in  June  it  was  learned  that  the  enemy  was  moving  towards  the 
Shenandoah  valley  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  put  in  motion  to  meet 
and  oppose  him.  On  the  30th,  at  Aldie,  the  Third  Brigade  joined  General 
Pleasonton  on  an  expedition  to  disperse  Stuart's  cavalry,  which  resulted  in  a 
fight  at  Middlehurg,  June  21,  in  which  the  loss  of  the  Sixteenth  was  nine 
wounded;  this  was  one-half  the  loss  of  the  whole  brigade.  The  command 
then  returned  to  .A.ldie  where  it  remained  till  the  25th,  when  it  commenced 
a  forced  inarch  to  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania;  it  reached  Gettysburg  in 
the  morning  of  July  2,  when  the  great  conflict  had  already  commenced. 
The  Third  Brigade  was  detached  from  the  remainder  of  the  division  and 
about  three  p.  m.  was  posted  on  the  Little  Round  Top,  forming  the  extreme 
left  of  the  Union  line.  The  order  of  the  brigade  line  was  as  follows:  On 
the  left,  the  Twentieth  Maine,  Colonel  Chamberlain;  next,  the  Thirty-third 
Pennsylvania,  Captain  Woodward:  next  the  Forty-fourth  New  York, 
Colonel  Rice;  and  on  the  right,  the  Sixteenth  Michigan,  Colonel  Welch:  the 
brigade  being  under  command  of  Colonel  Vincent  who  on  that  day  fell 
mortally  wounded.     In  this  position  the  brigade  was  soon  attacked  by  Hood's 


dbyGoot^lc 


400  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

division  of  Longstreet's  corps.  The  enemy  came  on  impetuously  and  with 
great  confidence  on  account  of  superiority  in  numbers,  being  a  division  against 
a  single  brigade;  but  his  repeated  assaults  were  successfully  repelled.  His 
last  attack  was  made  simultaneously  on  the  front  and  flank  of  the  brigade 
so  that  the  Maine  regiment  was  compelled  to  change  face  to  repel  the  flank- 
ing column.  But  the  work  was  bravely  and  successfully  done,  and  when 
ammunition  was  well-nigh  exhausted  and  no  reinforcements  were  neai*. 
Colonel  Rice,  who  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  brigade  when  Vincent 
fell,  sent  word  to  each  of  the  regimental  commanders  to  fix  bayonets  and  on 
a  signal  from  him,  to  charge.  The  enemy  received  the  charge  steadily  at 
first,  then  wavered,  rallied,  wavered  again,  and  at  last  broke  in  confusion, 
with  a  loss  of  five  hundred  prisoners  and  over  one  thousand  stand  of  arms. 
The  brigade  pressed  on  through  the  valley  and  halted  with  its  left  resting 
on  Big  Round  Top,  on  which  its  line  was  soon  after  established.  The  fight- 
ing at  Little  Round  Top  was,  nearly  all  in  which  the  Sixteenth  took  active 
part  at  Gettysburg,  and  in  it  the  loss  of  the  regiment  was  sixty  in  killed 
and  wounded. 

A  special  correspondent  of  the  Nezv  York  Tribune  mentions  the  brigade 
as  follows ; 

While  this,  main  b  ttle  itn oiling  tno-tiiirds  of  bctli  rmies  hi\  for  its  object  the 
posaesHicn  of  siclties  f  l«e  ime  in  epi&fdlfal  ciinbnt  had  taketi  place  upon  the  st^the- 
handle  itwlf  more  limited  but  more  fuilous  When  at  tlie  be^,nmlng  of  the  flght 
the  Texan  line  o^erlanied  the  left  if  "^icUes  and  burst  ucnss  the  Devils  Deu  there 
were  not  Lnlon  soldiers  on  either  of  the  Kound  Tcps  inH  a  group  of  higml  men  and 
General  Wairen  the  chief  engineer  on  the  Smilier  Knob  The  rebel  column  looked 
up  amazed  \o  troops  peered  oiei  to  oppose  them  Ijonelj  and  frightened  the  little 
bunih  of  signalmen  flung  their  mjsterious  mes^agex  through  the  blue  air  But  the 
nitunl  grinmeas  of  the  gniiled  mountain  seemed  of  itself  to  intimidate  the  anested 
Tesans  Like  a  f  rtress  dismantled  it  rose  piled  high  with  naturil  maninries  and 
on  its  granite  ramparts  oiks  of  a  hundied  veara  wa^ed  darklj  The  signal  eolois 
were  no  moie  than  tullp'*  as  thev  blew  to  and  fro  on  its  leserted  profile  Its  fluikf> 
were  wild  ravines  lilie  the  laiia  of  satyrs  and  goblins  Before  this  ntrthern  hill  the 
tanfe  led  haired  Texans  shrink  an  mstj  nt  iKllni,  uj  through  pondety  counteuinei 
Then  with  a  jell  the\  mo\ed  up  amrag  the  bowlleis  and  quaiiles  threw  their  shaip 
shooters  into  shelves  of  (utcrjiplng  shale  and  hollow  rhomboids  of  gneiss  and  gieen 
stone  and  at  the  ciest  of  little  Round  lor  their  artillery  far  behind  hailed  sh  wers 
of  shell  and  tall 

It  WIS  a  terrille  instint  \Mth  the  Round  T  p  iDst  the  Union  position  \s  >uld  be 
a  scjthe  witboit  a  handle  i  man  one-iimed  and  rne-fo  ted  the  destruction  of  the 
whole  arniv  nas  posltiie  Already  the  signil  flags  were  foiled  the  signal  n  en  nere 
retreating 

•^tJ^  cried  barren  \cu  aie  the  i  niiy  njw  T^^^e  jiui  flags  is  if  the\  stoid 
in  line  of  battle,  and  you  ten  were  ten  thousand." 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  409 

They  Hliook  down  defiances — that  Jiandful  of  imyoteiit  telegraphers — and  raised  a 
cheer  out  of  their  forlornness  that  wan  iike  a  dymg  t-oniediau's  laugh. 

For  a  moment  the  Tesans  wavei'ed ;  they  closed  ui)  column  and  advancpd  more 
slowly,  anticipating  a  desperate  defense. 

Just  then  music  burst  through  one  of  the  gorges  and  the  tread  of  men  came  in 
from  the  rear.  They  wore  blue  uniforms.  They  were  marching  to  the  peach  orchard 
to  relnfori*  Blmey.  Warren  galloped  down,  hia  dark  Indian  face  almost  bloodless. 
■■I  must  have  a  brigade,"  he  said.  "I  take  the  respoiiHibility  of  detaching  you,  (Jeneral 
Vincent !     Out  yonder  we  may  be  repulsed ;  here  we  should  be  destroyed." 

The  brigade  of  Vinewit  faced  left  and  ran  up  the  bill  with  a  will.  The  plain, 
morasa  gorge  and  farther  woodslde,  as  they  looked  01  er,  was  full  of  advancing,  deploy 
ing,  flanking  columns  of  gray.  A  huzza  they  flung  over  their  bristling  bayoiipts  as 
tliey  boldly  advanced  down  the  decliiity,  and  simultaneous  volleys  poured  upward  and 
downward.  Hazlltt.  the  gunuer,  came  also  at  Warren's  command.  His  battery  would 
not  budge  on  the  rock-strewn  height.  The  horses  could  not  keep  tbeir  balance  up  the 
almost  vertical  places,  with  the  dead  weight  of  thirty-pounders  below  them.  Pioneers, 
with  frenzied  blows,  leveled  the  oak  trees;  they  charged  the  bowlders  and  blew  them 
to  pieces;  they  made  a  roadway  as  speedily  as  a  housewife  sweeps  a  stair.  Then  to 
every  gun  lines  of  men  put  their  sinews  and  shoulders.  Leier  and  shove!  cleared  the 
path.  A  flying  battery,  Indeed,  it  went  hawking  into  the  clouds,  and  when  it  screamed 
from  Its  eyrle  the  line  of  battle-flags  waved  like  the  pinions  of  its  young.  Warren 
was  away  for  reinforcements.  Vincent  shouted.  "Aim,  men!  We  must  hold  fast  here 
though  we  all  perish." 

"Aye!     Aye!"  came  in  the  niche  between  the  volleys. 

Now  the  strong  mountain  groaned  to  see  the  blood  the)  ^[itlt  down  his  face  He 
grew  into  a  \olcano,  palpitating,  smoking,  running  over  with  fire.  Great  seams  of  blaze 
zigzagged  down  his  cheeks.  His  eyes  were  shot  through  with  shells.  Into  the  oaken 
tHiiglea  of  his  hair  men  climbed  like  battle-panthers  and.  niortallj  shot  in  their  perches, 
leaped  out  with  a  yell  of  rage. 

Steadily,  deadly,  murderous,  the  Texnns,  column  after  column,  wound  np  the 
ledges.  Vincent's  ammunition  was  falling.  His  men  robbed  the  cartridge  boxes  of 
their  slain  comrades.  They  rolled  the  boulders  down  and  half  way  to  the  base  stabbed 
and  parried  with  cold  steel.  Side  swords  were  crossed.  Heads  opened  to  scabbard 
cuts.  The  de^lilsh  things  that  were  done  half  way  to  heaven  on  that  scarred  knob 
will  haunt  it  a  thousand  years.  The  hot  battery  quaked  over  all  through  its  natural 
granite  embrasures.  Line  after  line  driien  back,  new  columns  of  yelling  savages 
leaped  upward. 

Men  of  JUaine,  Jlichlganders,  New  I'orkers,  Ppnnsylvnnians  hurled  them  back. 
From  a  series  of  charges  the  enemy's  attack  rep.ohed  into  a  lolleying  rest,  lying  upon 
their  faces.  A  cry  ran  through  the  ITnion  line  almost  plaintive  in  its  po\erfy:  "The 
ammunition  Is  out!" 

Then  said  young  Chamberlain,  of  Maine,  a  boy-faced  college  professor:  "Men! 
Our  only  hope  is  in  the  steel;  1  barge  with  me'"  Like  the  swooping  out  of  the  clouds 
of  a  flock  of  blackbirds,  gold-daggered,  upon  the  flies  of  com,  the  lumbermen  and 
watermen  of  Alaine  whistled  down  the  precipices,  the  rebel  lines  were  swallowed,  as 
if  the  ground  liad  opened,  into  the  gorges  behind  the  Devil's  Den  and  Round  Top  was 
saved  to  the  Union,  of  which  it  became  the  keystone,  Indeed,  on  this  decisive  day 
of  blood. 

Standing  now  on  Bound  Top,  who  can  revive  all  the  strong  or  beautiful  episodes 
that  were  written  on   the  scorched  parchment  of  this  liindscape;   the  tenderness,   the 


dbyGoo<^lc 


410  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

fitrocitles,  tlie  f orgn eiie'^st^,  the  ioiiely  aKutues,  the  t-ryliig  on  (ieiif  men  to  liplji  iinii 
blind  men  to  liave  mercy.  A  hunilred  and  fiftj'  tliouajnid  fighting  men  repreaeuted  the 
population  of  the  greiitest  city.  Set  this  city  nfire,  loosen  the  jails  and  dens  of  it, 
make  fiends  hoivl  In  the  flames  fi>r  Inst  or  fly  In  despair,  send  charity  and  heroism 
ujion  bold  and  noble  errands,  and  yon  hni-e  Bupeiiiclal  battle.  What  nobie  heirta  ceased 
to  beat  at  Gettysbui^  and  got  no  fame;  what  awful  crimes  were  committed  and  got 
no  infamy  1  Dropped  into  the  eentnry  and  the  repnblic,  the  j;ood  and  the  evil  that  fell 
that  day  were  but  as  the  poisons  and  the  sweets  that  ripen  in  the  purple  apple. 

In  the  morning:  of  the  3d  the  brigade  was  relieved  and  took  position  in 
the  rear  of  the  main  Hne.  On  the  moriiing  of  July  5  it  was  discovered  that 
the  enemy  had  retreated  and  the  Fifteenth  marched  with  the  army  in  pursuit. 
Slight  collisions  were  had  with  Lee"s  rear  griard  at  Jones'  Cross  Roads  on 
the  loth,  and  at  WilHamsport,  Maryland,  on  the  12th  of  July.  On  the  17th 
the  regiment  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Berlin  and  was  almost  constantly  on  the 
march  from  that  time  until  September  16  when  it  reached  Culpeper.  There 
it  remained  till  October  7,  when  it  moved  to  Raccoon  Ford  and  crossed  the 
Rapidan.  It  crossed  the  Rappahannock  on  the  loth,  recrossed  on  the  nth, 
and  moved  to  Brandy  Station,  where  the  enemy  was  attacked  by  a  portion  of 
the  corps ;  but  the  Sixteenth  Regiment  was  not  engaged.  Another  period  then 
ensued  of  marching  and  countermarching,  with  a  staj'  of  a  week  in  camp  on 
the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  until  the  7th  of  November,  when  the 
Sixteenth  was  slightly  engaged  and  lost  three  wounded  in  the  capture  of  a 
rebel  work  near  Rapi>ahannock  Station.  It  moved  with  the  army,  November 
26,  on  the  Mine  Run  campaign,  which  ended  without  results  on  the  2d  of 
December,  when  the  regiment  went  into  camp  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock near  the  railway  station. 

At  this  place  nearly  three  hundred  memljers  of  the  regiment  re-enlisted 
as  veterans,  were  mustered  as  such  on  the  24th  of  December,  and  about  a 
week  later  left  for  Michigan  on  furlough.  They  reached  Detroit  on  the  9th 
of  January.  At  the  expiration  of  their  furlough  February  9,  they  reassem- 
bled at  Saginaw  City,  and  on  the  17th  left  that  place  to  rejoin  the  army.  On 
their  return  the  regiment  made  winter  quarters  at  Bealton  Station,  where 
they  remained  till  April  30,  1864,  when  they  moved  to  Brandy  Station  pre- 
paratory to  commencing  the  campaign  of  the  Wilderness. 

In  that  campaign  the  movements  of  the  Sixteenth  were  too  numerous  to 
follow  in  detail.  It  moved  across  the  Rapidan  at  Germania  Ford,  May  4, 
and  on  the  6th  and  7th  took  part  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  sustaining 
no  loss  on  the  6th,  but  losing  on  the  following  day  thirty-five  in  killed  and 
wounded.  On  the  8th  it  made  a  forced  march  to  Laurel  Hill  near  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House,  and  in  the  evening  of  that  day  was  attacked  by  the  enemy 


dbyGoot^lc 


CEMKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  4II 

in  an  almost  impassable  swamp;  but  its  loss  was  inconsiderable,  while  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  enemy  were  taken  prisoners.  May  22  the  Sixteenth 
moved  from  Spottsylvania  towards  the  North  Anna  river  and,  being  the 
advanced  guard  of  the  corps,  it  encountered  the  rear  guard  of  the  enemy  at 
Polecat  creek  and  captured  a  considerable  number  of  prisoners.  The  next 
day  it  was  engaged  at  North  Anna  river,  where  it  charged  successfully  and 
drove  the  enemy.  It  crossed  the  Pamunkey  river  at  Hanover  Town  in  the 
morning  of  the  28th.  and  assisted  in  throwing  up  works  on  South  creek.  On 
the  29th  it  moved  to  Tolopotomoy  creek  and  crossed  it  just  before  evening. 
May  30  it  moved  forward  and  became  engaged  with  the  enemy,  losing  the 
major,  Robert  T.  Elliott,  who  was  killed  at  the  head  of  the  regiment.  On 
June  I  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  advance  its  line,  and  in  doing  so  was 
brought  under  a  raking  cross-lire.  The  Sixteenth  advanced,  drove  the  enemy 
from  their  rifie-pits  and  held  the  position  thus  secured.  The  next  day  the 
corps  took  up  a  new  position  and  while  the  movement  was  in  progress  the 
enemy  attacked  in  heavy  force,  but  a  heavy  storm  came  up  and  stopped  the 
battle;  it  was  renewed,  however,  on  the  3d  of  June,  and  again  on  the  4th, 
This  three  days'  fight  was  near  Bethesda  church,  and  in  it  the  Sixteenth 
Regiment  was  engaged  during  each  day.  From  this  point  it  moved  by  way 
of  Cold  Harbor  and  Dispatch  Station  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Chickahominy, 
and  there  remained  until  the  12th,  this  being  its  first  rest  since  crossing  the 
Rapidan  on  the  4th  of  May;  the  intervening  time  had  been  constantly  em- 
ployed in  march,  skirmish,  or  battle. 

On  the  13th  of  June  the  regiment  crossed  the  Chickahominy  by  the 
Long  Bridge  and  marched  to  the  James  river,  which  it  crossed  on  the  i6th 
and  arrived  in  front  of  Petersburg  on  the  17th.  Then  followed  a  month  of 
severe  labor  in  the  trenches,  from  which  the  regiment  was  relieved  and  placed 
in  reserve  August  15,  Three  days  later  it  moved  to  the  Weldon  railroad,  and 
was  there  engaged  in  the  construction  and  occupation  of  defenses  until  Sep- 
tember 30  when  it  formed  part  of  the  force  which  stormed  and  carried  the 
enemy's  fortifications  near  Poplar  Grove  church,  in  which  desiderate  assault 
the  Sixteenth  lost  fifty-two  killed  and  wounded,  among  the  former  being 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  regiment.  Colonel  Welch,  who  died  on  the 
parapet. 

Following  the  death  of  Colonel  Welch,  Major  Partridge  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  regiment,  retaining  it  imtil  the  muster  out  of  service.  A  corre- 
spondent writes  as  follows : 

"A  more  magnificent  charjje  was  never  ninde  by  any  corns  In  any  war,"  srtid  Gen- 
eral H'arren,  siieaklns  of  t!io  cliiirge  ma<Ie  today  by  General  Griffin'a  division  upon  a 


dbyGoot^lc 


412  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN, 

redoubt  and.  line  of  formidable  breastworks  froutiug  upon  our  headqiiiirters.  The  place 
is  called  Peeble's  farm,  from  this  belug  the  name  of  tlie  owner  and  late  occupant  of  a 
large  deserted  house  nearby,  five  miles  from  Petersburg  and  ubout  the  same  distance 
from  the  Danillle  railroad.  "Was  It  not  a  splendid  charge?"  I  have  heard  scores 
ask.  The  natural  tendency  of  General  Wairen  to  apeak  in  terms  of  glowing  exulta- 
tion of  the  brilliant  and  daring  achievements  of  his  troops,  or  any  portion  of  them, 
cannot  in  this  case  be  set  down  as  exaggeration.  Everyone  who  saw  the  charge,  or 
who  has  expressed  an  opinion  on  it — and  there  are  none  who  have  not  passed  an 
opinion— speak  In  the  highest  terms  of  the  dash,  courage  and  Impetuosity  of  the  men 
erkgaged.  There  were  two  charges  made,  and  subsequently  some  fighting,  I  will  recite 
the  events  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence.  The  stury  is  not  Jengthy,  for  in  each 
case  the  rout  was  short  and  decisive. 

At  0  a.  m.  the  First  and  Second  Diilslons  of  the  corps.  Colonel  Hoffman's  brigade 
of  the  Third  Division  and  several  batteries  took  up  their  line  of  march.  The  other 
troops  of  General  Crawford's  division  and  most  of  the  corps  batteries,  together  with  a 
division  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  remained  to  hold  the  works  and  forts  at  our  old  iwsitlon, 
the  latter  troo|is,  as  well  as  the  batteries,  being  under  Ueueral  Crawford's  command. 
Arriving  at  the  edge  of  a  piece  of  woods,  fronting  which  was  an  open  space,  beyond 
Peeble's  house,  was  seen  a  redoubt  and  a  line  of  the  enemy's  entrenchments.  The 
enemy's  pickets,  meantime,  had  fallen  back  before  our  advancing  column  to  the  redoubt. 
The  enemy  opened  with  six  pieces  of  artillery.  To  this  redoubt  and  the  earthworks 
in  the  distance  was  not  over  six  hundred  yards  and  a  line  of  battle  was  formed. 

It  was  determined  to  charge  this  redoubt  and  the  works.  The  chaise  was  made 
solely  by  (Jeneral  Griffin's  division.  General  Ayres'  division  was  on  the  right  of  Gen- 
ei'al  Griffin's,  and  Colonel  Hoffman's  brigade  on  the  right  of  the  former  diilsion;  but 
the  latter  troops  did  not  charge.  The  Eighteenth  Wassacbusetts  Battalion.  Captain 
Bert  commanding,  was  first  sent  forward  as  skirmishers,  but  found  too  weak,  and  was 
subsequently  strengthened  by  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Pennsylvania.  Colonel 
Rinson,  and  the  First  Michigan,  Major  Hopper  commanding.  The  order  being  given 
to  chaise,  the  skirmish  battle  lines  soon  advanced  across  the  oi)eu  ground.  The  charg- 
ing column  pressed  steadily,  earnestly,  persistently  forward.  Rebel  shell  and  bullets 
had  no  dismaying  effect. 

"A  conimlsaion  to  him  who  first  mounts  the  parapet  of  that  redoubt,"  shouted 
Colonel  Welch,  of  the  Sixteenth  Michigan,  to  hi«  men.  "Follow  me!"  He  led  his  regi- 
ment. He  was  the  first  to  mount  the  parapet,  when  he  waved  his  swoivl.  In  an  Instant 
a  rebel  bullet  penetrated  his  brain  and  he  lay  dead.  The  men  followed  simultaneously 
and  mounted  the  works  at  difCerent  points,  the  colors  of  some  half  dozen  raiments 
floating  triumphantly  where  a  few  moments  before  rebel  colors  had  fiauiited  their 
traitorous  folds  to  the  breeze.  It  is  no  nonder  that  there  should  be  different  claimants 
for  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to  plant  the  Stars  and  Stripes  on  the  works.  AH 
behaved  magnificently  and  all  are  deserving  of  life  and  honor.  Nearly  one  hundred 
prisoners  were  captured  and  one  cannon.  The  enemy  got  off  his  remaining  guns,  but 
not  all  his  horses. 

"We  have  taken  the  enemy's  first  line  of  works;  can  jou  take  the  second?"  shouted 
General  Griffin,  "Yea,  yes,"  was  the  responsive  shout  from  a  thousand  throats,  and 
they  did  take  the  second  line,  as  bravely  as  they  took  the  first.  In  the  second  line 
was  a  second  redoubt.  Brave  heroes  had  fallen,  but  a  splendid  victory,  a  double 
I'lctory.  had  been  won.  It  was  all  the  work  of  a  few  minutes,  a  work  requiring  less 
time  that  I  have  taken  to  write  It.  The  second  line  was  on  the  farther  edge  of  the 
ojien   field,   and  beyond  were  woods.     Through   the   latter   woods  the  beaten  enemy   fied 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GKNESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  4I3 

in  LMte  Tn  Ingidea  if  Hetb  R  diilslon  weie  in  the  foice  ipiJO'Sing  us  No  jiitllleti 
was  used  m  oui  side  Both  lines  of  eirthworks  weie  leij  strong  ind  the  redoubts 
were  substautiully  put  up  The  Nnith  Corps  troops  were  shortly  after  placed  In  front 
of  the  Fifth  Corps 

Ueiultirj  filing  wts  liept  up  between  the  opposing  pieliets  until  ii)out  5  p  m 
when  the  enenij  chirked  ou  the  Ninth  Lorps  causing  them  to  fall  bicl!  in  Lonfuslon 
Quickl-*  the  Fifth  Corps  rushect  to  the  ie=>c«e  of  the  Ninth  and  sent  the  euemv  btck 
beiond  the  giouml  he  had  lecotered  Night  and  durknesH  and  nin  ended  the  dui  a 
tonflict  But  it  has  been  a  d)j  of  splendid  luctess  itid  our  troops — is  well  thej  mav 
be — aie  jubilant  o\er  their  Tictor\ 

AlHjor  Paitridge  "litteenth  Michigan  but  commanding  the  Pighti  third  Penn»nl 
laula  had  an  exceedlnglj  narrow  eacai*  He  was  hit  on  the  (hlu  b^  1  minle  bail 
which  strnck  the  neck  just  glancing  the  jngulai  ^ein  and  then  eaterln^  the  shouldet 
mid  passing  out  at  the  back 

There  Is  deep  and  unlieisal  regret  at  the  loss  of  tolonei  A\  elch  A  more  populai 
and  ligilant  officer  was  not  in  the  dUiiion  Not  twenty  aeien  \eus  of  age,  a  mist 
piomialug  (.  ireer  in  the  future  neemed  open  befo  e  1  Im  He  came  out  as  major  of 
the  legiment  Imru^^t'e  pitriotic  and  fearless  he  wat.  bra\e  to  rashness  and  this 
nas  his  great  and  onh  fault  After  completing  his  educition  he  becime  a  student 
at  law  which  profession  he  had  just  entered  upon  with  the  most  brilU-int  prospects 
of  buccesb  before  him  when  like  thousands  of  the  brilluut  loung  men  of  oui  couutir 
he  entered  the  armj  to  fight  m  defense  of  his  country  At  one  time  he  was  pihato 
secretary  to  Lewis  Ca&s  His  bod\  will  be  euihiimed  and  sent  home  (  iptiin  I  Inlei 
comnilssarj  his  clissniite  ind  fellow  townsnnu  will  con\e>  his  lemiins  to  his  fiieiirts 
ill  Michigan 

For  more  than  two  months  after  this  battle  the  regiment  lay  most  of  the 
time  ill  the  trenches  at  Poplar  Grove  church.  In  December  it  accompanied 
the  corps  on  a  raid  to  Bellefield,  Virginia,  on  which  about  sixteen  miles  of 
railroad  was  destroyed.  It  was  in  the  trenches  before  Petersburg  during 
January,  1865,  and  on  the  6th  and  7th  of  February  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Dabney's  Mills,  losing  heavily.  It  fought  at  Hatcher's  Run,  March  25 ;  at 
White  Oak  Road,  March  29;  at  Quaker  Road,  March  31;  at  Five  Forks, 
April  I ;  at  Amelia  Court  House,  April  5,  and  at  High  Bridge,  April  6.  After 
Lee's  surrender  it  marched  to  Sutherland  Station,  where  it  remained  stationed 
during  April,  and  early  in  May  it  marched  to  Washington,  D.  C,  arriving 
there  on  the  12th  and  taking  part  in  the  grand  review  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  May  23.  It  was  encamped  near  Washington  until  the  i6th  of 
June,  when  it  moved  under  orders  for  Louisville,  Kentucky,  arriving  there  on 
the  2ist.  Thence  it  moved  across  the  river  to  Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  and 
was  there  mustered  out  of  service  July  8.  The  men  and  officers  left  on  the 
10th  for  Michigan,  and  on  the  12th  arrived  at  Jackson,  where  on  the  25th  of 
July,  1865.  they  received  their  pay  and  were  disbanded. 

At  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  after  fighting  all  day  and  part  of  the 
night,  a  Michigan  regiment  lay  down  on  their  arms  and  were  soon  asleep. 


dbyGoot^lc 


-{14  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Their  ainmunition  wagon  coming  up  late,  the  mules,  hungry  and  thirsty,  being 
halted  near  the  sleeping  place  of  the  colonel,  gave  several  of  their  peculiar 
howls,  which  suddenly  awoke  the  colonei,  who,  much  provoked  at  being  thus 
so  unceremoniously  disturbed,  and  in  his  bewildered  condition  thinking  that 
the  noise  was  made  by  the  musicians  of  the  regiment  at  band  practice,  called 
to  the  adjutant,  saying,  "Put  these  devilish  buglers  under  arrest  and  send 
them  to  the  rear;  they  will  jeopardize  the  safety  of  the  whole  army." 

John  Steele,  a  private  in  Company  K,  Sixteenth  Michigan,  having  his 
right  arm  shot  off  at  Middleburg,  Captain  Hill  said  to  him  a  few  minutes 
after;  "John,  you  cannot  carry  a  musket  any  more."  John  replied  with 
tears  in  his  eyes:     "\o,  Captain,  but  I  can  carry  the  colors,  can't  I?" 

While  the  Sixteenth  Michigan  was  engaged  at  Cold  Harbor,  a  Maryland 
regiment  broke  while  under  fire,  and  when  falling  back  was  checked  and  held 
by  the  Sixteenth.  The  colonel  of  the  regiment  struggled  to  rally  it,  but  with- 
out success,  when  he  hurriedly  advanced  to  Colonel  Partridge  and,  with  tears 
streaming  down  his  manly  face,  exclaimed:  "Colonel,  would  to  God  that  T 
commanded  a  Michigan  regiment!"  He  had  hardly  said  these  words  when 
a  rifle  bullet  passed  through  his  body,  killing  him  instantly. 

The  following  anecdote  is  told  with  all  due  respect  to  tiie  cause  therein 
alluded  to,  and  also  for  the  colonei  and  chaplain  referred  to,  and  is  only 
recited  as  an  extreme  example  of  how  tenacious  and  jealous  commanders  of 
regiments  become  of  the  standing  of  their  commands. 

One  of  the  Michigan  regiments  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  brigaded 
with  a  Pennsylvania  regiment,  into  which  their  chaplain  had  infused  consider- 
able of  religious  feeling.  Several  had  been  baptized;  this  feeling  also  pre- 
vailed to  some  extent  in  other  regiments  of  the  brigade,  but  had  not  taken 
effect  in  the  Michigan  regiment.  The  chaplain  referred  to,  having  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Michigan  regiment  at  heart,  conceived  the  idea  of  calling  on  the 
colonel,  a  soldier  from  his  youth  and  every  inch  a  man,  gruff  but  brave,  not 
sudden  and  quick  in  quarrel,  nor  full  of  strange  oaths,  but  bearded,  like  the 
pard.  and  gaining  reputation  even  in  the  cannon's  mouth.  Consequently  the 
chaplain  waited  upon  him;  calling  at  his  tent  and  finding  him,  he  stated  that 
several  members  of  other  regiments  of  the  brigade  had  recently  experienced 
religion  and  in  his  own  regiment  he  had  baptized  fifteen  the  previous  day, 
remarking  also  that  he  was  very  desirous  of  a  like  result  in  the  Michigan 
regiment,  but  unless  the  Colonel  made  some  effort  in  that  direction  the  regi- 
ment would  be  left  behind  in  the  matter.  Tlie  colonel,  a  little  nettled  at  what 
he  considered  over-zeal  of  the  chaplain,  and  especially  at  the  idea  of  having 
his  regiment  suspected  even  of  being  slow  or  behind  in  any  respect,  started 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  415 

to  his  feet,  called  the  sergeant  major,  and  hurriedly  said:  "Give  my  compli- 
ments to  the  adjutant  and  direct  him  to  dtlail  immediately  with  orders  to 
report  to  the  chaplain  here,  twenty  men  tor  baptism:  my  regiment  shall  not 
be  beat  in  any  way  by  any  regiment  in  the  brigade."  The  chaplain  gave  him 
one  serious  look  and  left  quickly. 

Col.  Thoiwis  H.  W.  Stockton,  Flint;  Aug.  22,  1801;  res.  Miiy  IS,  1863. 

Surgeon   ISitJic  VVIxoiu.  Argentine;   Aug,   10,  1801. 

Qr.-JIast,-Sergt.  Henry  H.  Ajiliii,  Flint;  i)ro.  to  2d  lieut.,  July  7,  1S;(>5;  iiiiist.  iiui 
iis  sergt. 

<    iiiiti  ly   t 

(   lit    111  mi^  <      I     11     I  lint     J  ll^    31     IMl      lillel   in   I    til       t   1     1   hs     M  II     \ 
June  ll    IMiJ 

<  Lljt  Inlni?  M  Bel  iLti  lilt  InUK  1S(4  li  ill  i  sdi  t  1  dis  I  il  f\  M\ 
li    lS(j 

Iliwt  lient  ■Wmei  s  \  \>  li  Unit  J  ih  1  IH  1  j]  ,1  iit  mist  t  f 
seriite  Sent    7    1804 

Inat  I  ieut  Itiiuaolili  W  Iliiisoni  11  it  \n-  I  1^  1  I  ill  1  1  I  ttl^  t  liill 
Run    \«     \iv    ^    IbW     o    H  2d  lieut    fi   m   Jn]\      1     isn     t      \.  1       1    IM  1 

Second  I  ieut   /\\n\  B    rnilijini    Hint     \iv    ->"    1^'-     ti  iiih    to  Li    I. 

becoud  lieut  Menzo  Sn  iit  [lushing  \prll  27  1>563  woundeil  In  sitti  u  t  IlI 
(ptornoy  ^  I  June  1  1Mj4  pio  to  lat  lieut  4«g  i  1S04  must  out  Jia  -<1  I  t  t 
eul  cf  serU  e    &ei  t    2b    T-n 

feergt   IiiuiE  M    Bekhei-   Hint    110   to  com  seigt    Sept   22    1S61 

fceigt   Hiiinson  Wi  j    Unit     (liscli   for  distiblllfi     died  Dec   2    isoi 

Con     *iza  M   Mies  (seigt )     dlBcIi    foi  wounds    Sept    1   \'**i2 

Aluslclm  Henrv  Dails    Hint    dlach    Oct  25    1862 

TV  gjnei  Thoiuia  Belden    llhit  (conn     must    out  July  <*    1S6j 

rilvttes — ■\lerritt  iien  dlsch  br  oi-der  \iig  12  1S03  J  tuies  iipleliee  diseh 
to  re-eul  as  Tetenin  liec  21  1%3  Nitliimel  N  Anderson  dieil  Mircli  31  IRi^'i  Pd 
wild  Bi^  died  in  Plidi  delpliia  Ta  Noi  2S  lSt2  of  wounds  lecehed  in  action 
Irtnaid  Button  disiU.  for  disalilliti  Oct  1  1%2  Edwin  Barlow  dlach  for  disiblllti 
\o\  IS  1S<2  Wllllfiui  Bare  disch  Sept  7  I'^m  Bdwaid  C  Biigg  dlscb  Patrick 
Bradlej-  died  of  disease  at  Litv  Point  \a  Seiit  16  1R64  Belibeu  Bradlab  must 
out  Julj  s  1K05  Jobu  S  Cnpp  must  out  Juh  '^  1865  BmC  Cuher  dtscU  for  dis- 
ibll!t\  Not  13  18152  JoLu  Conquest  discb  (01  wounds  ^ot  2S  1S62  Augustus 
Chiipel  dlscb  May  **  1MJ2  James  Crawford  died  of  wounds  at  rhiladelpbiii  Pi 
June  4  1864  Hiram  G  Dulling  died  of  wounds  it  Nen  Ijrl  Haiboi  Sept  1«G4 
Hi  De^re  dlscb  for  disability  No*  13  lSb2  llbeit  Donn  died  of  disease  in  bos 
rltal  Pdwaid  Da\ia  discb  to  re-enl  as  leterim  Dec  24  V*k>^  Dennis  Falb^  dLscb 
b>  ordei  of  auigeon  teb  2  1S02  Sniitb  Forsyth  dlscb  foi  disability  Feb  2^5  1862 
^Siinfiid  Guthile  died  of  wounds  at  Washington  D  C  Moi  20  1864  Richard  C 
(Jover  dlscb  bv  order  Mnv  IS  IWtS  Jinies  Hempsted  leteian  must  out  July  8 
1S65  Geoifce  «  Hilton  rtlsch  foi  dl8abillt\  Apill  6  ISW  George  Handy  died  In 
action  at  Spottsi lyonla  ^a  Mai  S  1804  Roswell  Hlltfu  dlsih  for  disability  Noy 
n  asr2  Arthui  M  Hodget.  leteum  absent  on  furlough  not  must  out  with  com 
innv  Orrin  Tobnaon  dlscb  for  diaabillfi  Mi-^  20  1862  Charles  Knappa  disch  to 
reenl    as  letpnn    D«    24    IM).       Ceoige  Moban    disih    tj  re-enl    as  letcr  ti    Dec    24 


dbyGoot^lc 


4l6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

ia()!i.  Jiimes  McKep,  disch.  to  i-e-enl.  ;is  leternn,  Dei-.  24,  1W)3,  Andrew  J.  Mcnowell. 
diacL.  for  disiiblltty,  June  17.  It«62.  Albert  B  Mi-Clellan.  disch.  for  dls-iblllty,  April  21, 
18(12.  Charles  Martin,  died  of  wounds  iit  Gettysburg.  Pa.,  July  21.  1863.  George  W. 
Monroe,  died  of  disease  in  bosiiital.  Kussell  C.  Moon,  disclinrged.  Elislia  Moses,  discli. 
April  1,  18(i3.  Oliarles  Marion,  disch.  Feb.  20,  1S63.  Milton  C.  Miller,  died  in  action 
at  Spottaylvauin,  Va.,  May  8,  1864.  Patriclt  Murphy,  must,  out  July  8.  1865.  Ellas 
Palmer,  disci,  for  disability.  Feb.  25,  lbe2.  Phllandei-  Payne,  disch.  Sept.  7,  1864. 
Geraliom  Palmer,  died  of  disease  at  Gaines"  Mill,  Va..  June  11,  1862.  Abrnm  Parsons, 
died  of  disease  at  Georgetown,  D.  C  April  15.  1802.  Ira  Patterson,  died  of  disease, 
Aug.,  1862.  James  Ricliards.  died  of  disease  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  Aug.  31,  1S62.  James 
Ripley,  disch.  for  disability,  Feb.  24.  1S61.  Charles  H.  Itoot,  disch.  for  disiibiilty. 
John  Shout,  disch.  for  disability,  Feb.  24,  1S03.  Charles  Stariis.  died  of  disease.  Sept., 
1862.  Samuel  P.  Smith,  disoh.  to  re-eui.  as  veteran,  Dec.  24,  1803.  Nathan  Small. 
must,  out  July  H,  1S65.  James  Shoiiks.  discli.  by  order.  May  24.  1865.  George  Turner. 
disch.  Dec.  20,  1&62.  Garwood  Tupper,  must,  out  July  8,  1805.  George  Tower,  disch, 
for  disability,  Dec.  26,  1R62.  Thomas  Thompson,  nmst.  out  July  8,  1865.  Wtiiiam 
Teachout,  must,  out  July  8,  1865.  Marlon  Van  Riper,  disch.  for  disability.  Harrison 
Way,  disch.  for  disability,  Dec.  10.  1802.  Daild  S.  Weaver,  dlsi-h.  for  disability.  April 
1!),  1S02.  Harry  Wilder,  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  \eteran.  Adonirani  A.  Worth,  died  of  dis 
ease  at  Yorlitown,  Va.,  May  1,  1862.  Abram  Way.  died  May  12.  1864,  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action  at  Siiottsj-Ivanla.  Va.    Dewitt  Williams.  dl-«.-h.  Sept.  7,  1864. 

Other  Companies. 

E.  Franli  Eddy,  Flint;  2d  lieut.,  Co.  G,  Aug.  9,  1861;  wounded  in  battle  of  Gaiiiea' 
Mill,  Va.,  June  27,  1802;  pro.  to  1st  lleut.,  Co.  G,  Nov.  3,  1862;  capt.,  Co.  G,  Aug.  11. 
1803;  pi-o.  to  iieut.-coI.,  2!)th  Mich.  Inf.,  July  29,  1864. 

T.  Frank  Powers,  Feuton;  sergt.  Co.  K;  2d  lieut.,  Co.  A,  Nov.  3,  1802;  1st  lieut., 
Co.  B,  June  21,  1864;  capt..  Co.  B,  Aug.  3.  1864;  must,  out  July  8,  1865. 

Gilbert  R,  Chandler,  Forest ;  2d  lieut.,  Co.  D,  July  21,  1801 ;  Ist  lleut.,  Sept..  1862 ; 
capt.,  April,  1803 ;  lost  his  left  ami  in  action  at  Gaines'  Mill,  June  27,  1802 ;  was  after- 
wards in  battles  of  Chancel lorsv Hie  and  Gettysburg;  trans,  to  Vet.  lies,  Corps,  Aug. 
11,  1863 ;  must,  out  of  service,  Oct.  10,  1867. 

Irving  M.  Belcher,  Flint;  sergt..  Col  C;  2d  lleut.,  Co.  B,  Aug.  30,  1862;  let  lieut., 
Co.  K.,  April  17,  1863;  pro.  to  cnpt.  Co.  C. 

Charles  Veeder,  Genesee;  sergt..  Co.  G;  1st  lieut.,  Co.  E;  must,  out  July  8,  1SG5. 

Ziba  B.  Graham,  Flint;  sergt.,  Co.  C;  2d  lieut..  Cos.  C  and  G;  1st  lieut,  Co.  1, 
Api-il  23,  1863 ;  wounded  at  North  Anna  River,  Va.,  May  23,  1864 ;  must,  out  at  end 
of  service,  Sept.  7,  1804. 

James  L.  Topping,  Fenton,  2d  lient,  Co.  I,  Sept.  4.  1862 ;  resigned  March  23,  1863. 

IJoyd  G.  Streevor,  Flint;  sergt.;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.;  must,  out  as  sergt. 

Patrick  Murphj,  Flint;   sergt.;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.;   must,  out  as  sergt. 

Privates — Samuel  Atherton,  Argentine,  Co.  A;  must,  out  July  8,  1805.  William 
Atberton,  Argentine.  Co.  I;  disch.  from  Vet.  Res.  Corps  by  order,  July  10,  1865.  Na- 
thaniel Austin,  Argentine,  Co.  K;  disch.  by  order,  May  30,  1865.  Corp.  John  J.  Bost- 
wick,  Co.  K;  died  of  disease  near  Falmouth,  Va..  Nov.  26,  1863.  Nathan  Barton,  Ar- 
gentine, C«.  I;  died  at  Laurel  Hill,  Va.,  May  10,  1864.  George  S.  Bailey,  Fenton,  . 
Co.  D ;  died  of  disease  at  City  Point.  Va..  July  28.  1864.  Samuel  D.  Bostwicb,  Argen- 
tine, Co.  K ;  died  of  disease,  Dec.  8.  1802.  James  Brady,  Areentine,  Co.  A ;  must,  out 
July  8,  1865.  George  W.  Chase,  Argentine,  Co.  A;  must,  out  July  8.  1865.  Jacob  A. 
Clark,  Argentine,  Co.  A;  disch.  for  disability,  Dec.  16.  1803.    Lewis  Case,  veteran,  Ar- 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  417 

gentiue,  Co,  A  ;  must,  out  July  8,  1865.  Jacob  W.  Craw,  Argentine,  Co.  1 ;  died  of  dis- 
ease, Nov.  25,  1864.  John  Coles,  Argentine,  Co.  I ;  disch.  by  order,  May  30,  1865. 
Deimls  Falbey,  Flushing,  Co.  G ;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Nov.  21,  18G3.  Lambert  Pos- 
ter, Qaiues,  Co.  B;  luuat,  out  July  8,  1865.  George  Gamer,  Penton,  Co.  B;  must,  out 
Juiy  8,  1865.  Edgar  G.  HIclts,  Argentine,  Co.  I ;  discb.  Jan.  15,  1863.  Tbomas  Hopkius, 
Jr.,  Argentine,  Co.  I;  discb.  March  5,  1863.  Joseph  H.  Hough,  Flint;  Co.  B;  discli. 
by  order,  July  0,  1865.  David  Hubbard,  Montrose,  Co.  H ;  dIsch,  by  order,  June  13,  1865. 
William  Hardlck,  Argentine,  Co.  I;  dlsch.  by  order,  May  30,  1865.  William  E.  Jacobs, 
Flushing,  Co.  K;  dlsch.  March  22,  1863.  John  Knight,  Flint,  Co.  G;  diach.  March  17, 
1863.  Steiihen  M.  Kent  (corp.,  sergt.),  Co.  K;  disch.  to  re-enllst  as  veteran,  Dec.  23, 
1863.  Albert  L.  Metz,  Argentine,  Co.  I;  diach.  by  order.  May  30,  1865.  James  A.  Mc- 
Knlght,  Argentine.  Ca  I;  dlsch.  for  promotion,  Dec.  S,  1863.  George  W.  Noyes,  Penton, 
Co.  D;  disch.  for  disiibllity.  Elin  Starks.  Argentine.  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  in  hospital. 
April  18,  1863,  Theodore  Stemhardt,  Flint,  Co.  G;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Sept  30, 
1863.  Alfred  Starks,  Argentine.  Co.  I ;  dlsch.  by  order.  May  30,  1865.  George  Seymour, 
Argentine,  Co.  N;  dlsch.  by  order,  May  30,  1865.  William  Tillman,  Argentine,  Co.  I; 
dlsch.  Feb.  it,  1863.  Philo  Wliite,  Argentine,  Co.  K;  discb.  by  order.  May  29,  1865. 
Ethan  H.  Wright,  Mt.  Morris,  Co.  K ;  disch.  by  order,  July  10,  1865. 

TWENTY-TIIIRD  INFANTRY. 

The  Twenty-third  Regiment,  which  was  raised  and  organized  in.  the 
summer  of  1862  under  the  President's  call  for  volunteers  issued  July  2, 
immediately  after  the  dose  of  the  Seven  Days'  battles  on  the  Virginia  penin- 
sula, was  rendezvoused  at  East  Saginaw,  under  D.  H,  Jerome  as  commandant 
of  the  camp  of  instruction  and  organization.  It  was  composed  of  volunteers 
from  the  sixth  congressional  district,  and  contained  two  companies  raised  in 
Genesee,  as  well  as  a  considerable  number  of  men  from  the  county  serving  in 
several  of  its  other  companies. 

The  Genesee  companies,  while  recruiting  and  until  the  organization  of 
the  regiment  was  completed,  were  known  as  the  "Thomson  Light  Guard,"  in 
honor  of  Col.  E.  H.  Thomson,  and  the  "Wolverine  Guard."  The  former  was 
recruited  to  more  than  the  maximum  strength  by  Capt.  Charles  E.  McAlester 
and  Lieutenant  Stewart  in  about  three  weeks'  time,  and  the  latter,  recruited 
princii>ally  by  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Smart,  filled  its  ranks  in  about  two  weeks  from 
the  beginning  of  enlistment.  The  Wolverine  Cilisen  of  August  9,  1S62, 
mentioned  that  "Colonel  Thomson  and  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Smart  are  addressing 
the  people  at  different  places  in  the  county,  to  raise  the  quota  of  Genesee  for 
the  Twenty-third  Regiment,"  and  about  the  same  time  a  Flint  correspondent 
of  the  Detroit  Free  Press  said,  "The  Rev.  J.  S.  Smart,  presiding  elder  of  this 
district,  lately  felt  it  his  duty  to  go  to  the  wars,  so  he  told  his  family  and 
friends  to  'stand  clear,'  for  he  was  going  that  way.     He  immediatelv  started  a 

(27) 


dbyGoc^lc 


4l8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

recruiting  office,  and  the  fact  soon  spreading  through  the  city  and  county,  in 
four  days  afterwards  the  elder  had  a  full  company  of  one  hundred  men  on 
his  rolls.  He  then  posted  off  to  Detroit,  got  his  commission  as  captain,  and  is 
now  here,  organizing  and  straightening  out  matters  preparatory  to  leaving 
for  the  camp  of  the  Twenty-third  at  Saginaw.  The  new  captain  is  very 
popular  and  could  have  had  another  hundred  men  if  he  had  been  authorized 
to  accept  them,  lie  is  now  called  here  the  'Fighting  Parson.'  "  This  corre- 
spondent was  decidediy  in  error  as  to  the  time  in  which  the  company's  ranks 
were  filled  and  other  portions  of  his  communication  were  too  highly  colored; 
but  it  was  not  an  exaggeration  as  to  the  height  of  the  patriotic  enthusiasm 
which  then  existed  among  the  people  of  the  county  in  regard  to  the  furnish- 
ing of  their  full  quota  and  the  promotion  of  enlistments,  particularly  in  the 
companies  that  were  to  join  the  Twenty-third  Regiment. 

The  two  Genesee  comi>anies  left  Flint  early  in  August  and  proceeded  to 
the  rendezvous  at  East  Saginaw,  where  on  the  30th  of  that  month  they  were 
reported  respectively  as  one  hundred  and  nine  and  one  hundred  and  twelve 
strong,  the  former  number  representing  the  strength  of  Captain  McAlester's 
company.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Smart,  after  seeing  his  company  filled,  retired  from 
it  and  accepted  the  chaplaincy  of  the  regiment.  The  command  of  the  com- 
pany then  devolved  on  Capt.  Damon  Stewart,  previously  first  lieutenant  and 
adjutant  of  the  regiment,  and  still  earlier  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  the 
Second  Michigan  Infantry,  serving  with  that  regiment  in  the  campaign  of 
the  Peninsula. 

In  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  the  "Thomson  Light  Guard"  was 
designated  as  C  Company,  under  the  following  commissioned  officers :  Cap- 
tain, Charles  E.  McAlester ;  first  lieutenant,  George  W.  Buckingham ;  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  William  C.  Stewart;  the  "Wolverine  Guard"  was  designated 
as  K  Company,  its  commissioned  officers  being;  Captain,  Damon  Stewart; 
first  lieutenant,  Samuel  C.  Randall;  second  lieutenant,  John  Rea. 

The  field-officers  of  the  Twenty-third  at  its  organization  were:  Marshall 
W.  Chapin,  colonel;  Gilbert  E.  Pratt,  lieutenant-colonel;  Benjamin  F.  Fisher, 
major;  dating  from  August  23,  1862.  The  regiment,  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-three  strong,  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  at 
the  rendezvous  on  the  nth  and  12th  of  September,  and  it  being  understood 
that  the  command  would  be  immediately  ordered  to  the  front,  preparations 
for  the  movement  were  at  once  commenced. 

On  the  16th  of  September  orders  were  issued  for  Company  C,  H  and 
K  to  take  up  their  line  of  march  for  Detroit,  preparatory  to  departure  for 
the  theatre  of  war.     Pursuant  to  these  orders  they  broke  camp  in  the  morn- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  419 

ing  of  the  17th  and  were  transported  on  the  cars  of  the  Flint  &  Pere  Mar- 
quette railway  to  Mt.  Morris,  which  was  then  the  southern  terminus  of  the 
road;  thence  were  moved  across  the  country  by  way  of  Fhnt  to  the  Detroit  & 
Milwaukee  railroad  over  which  they  proceeded  by  train  to  their  destination. 
At  Flint  a  bountiful  repast  had  been  provided  for  them  and  they  were 
received  by  the  citizens  with  great  enthusiasm — the  more  so,  no  doubt, 
because  this  first  detachment  included  the  two  Glenesee  companies,  and 
for  the  same  reason  the  adieux  which  were  waved  to  them  here  and  every- 
where in  their  passage  through  the  county  were  the  more  sad  and  tearful. 
The  memory  of  that  occasion  was  long  fresh  and  vivid  in  the  minds  of  sur- 
viving soldiers  and  relatives  and  friends  of  those  who  never  returned.  "Tlie_ 
incidents  of  that  first  movement,"  wrote  an  officer  of  the  regiment,  "were 
no  doubt  similar  to  those  of  the  remaining  companies  over  the  same  route — 
flat  cars,  rain,  sunshine,  tears,  smiles,  feasting  at  Flint,  transportation  by 
variety  of  vehicles,  hilarity,  airs,  boisterous  mirth,  and  much  good  cheer." 

On  the  following  day  the  remaining  companies  left  the  rendezvous  and. 
moved  by  the  same  route  to  Detroit,  where  they  arrived  in  the  evening  and 
were  hospitably  entertained  by  the  patriotic  citizens.  With  but  little  delay 
the  ten  companies  were  embarked  on  steamers,  which  landed  them  at  Cleve- 
land the  next  morning;  the  weather  was  rainy  and  dismal  and  the  condition 
of  the  men  anything  but  comfortable.  From  Cleveland  the  regiment  moved 
by  rail  across  the  state  of  Ohio,  to  Cincinnati,  where  after  a  stop  of  some 
hours  it  again  proceeded  by  railroad  and  on  Sunday  morning,  September  21, 
reached  Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio  river  opposite 
Louisville,  Kentucky.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  command  moved 
to  "Camp  Gilbert"  near  by,  and  that  night  for  the  first  time,  the  tired  men 
of  the  Twentj'-third  slept  upon  the  soldier's  bed— the  bosom  of  mother  earth. 

At  this  time  the  Southern  general,  Buckner,  was  reported  to  be  approach- 
ing Louisville,  and  in  consequence  of  the  panic  thus  caused,  many  of  the 
people  were  crossing  to  the  north  side  of  the  river.  Large  quantities  of 
government  stores  were  also  being  transferred  to  the  Indiana  side,  by  order 
of  the  general  then  in  command  at  Louisville.  The  Twenty-third  was  placed 
on  duty,  guarding  the  pubhc  property  and  ferry  landing  at  Jeffersonville, 
and  remained  so  employed  for  two  days  and  nights,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  it  crossed  the  river  and  camped  in  the  southwestern  suburbs  of  Louis- 
ville. Here  the  situation  of  the  men  was  not  the  most  comfortable  and  it 
was  made  worse  by  their  almost  complete  ignorance  of  the  methods  by  which 
veteran  soldiers  manage  to  force  something  like  comfort  out  of  the  most 
unfavorable  surroundings.     A  few  hours  later  they  were  ordered  to  move 


dbyGoot^lc 


420  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

to  another  camping-place,  and  while  on  their  way  tliither  they  passed  a 
brigade  or  division  of  the  army  of  General  Bueli,  which  had  then  just 
entered  the  city  after  a  fatiguing  forced  inarch  from  Nashville  in  pursuit  of 
the  Southern  army  under  General  Bragg.  As  the  Twenty-third  marched 
past  the  dusty  and  hat  tie- scarred  veterans  of  Shiloh,  and  Farmington 
and  luka,  the  latter  indulged,  as  veterans  are  apt  to  do,  in  many  a  joke  at 
the  expense  of  the  fresh  troops,  few  of  whom  had  yet  heard  the  whistle  of 
a  hostile  bullet.  The  officer  before  quoted  says  of  this  incident,  "The  con- 
trast of  their  dirty,  tattered  and  torn  garments  with  our  men  was  a  matter 
of  much  comment.  We  were  surprised  that  they  jeeringly  hinted  at  our 
jgreenness  and  inferiority  which  a  few  months'  experience  in  marches  and 
on  battle-fields  would  change.  In  time  we  learned  that  they  had  not  been 
mistaken  in  their  estimate  of  our  relative  merits  as  soldiers," 

The  camp  to  which  the  regiment  was  moved  at  this  time  will  be  well 
recollected  by  those  who  occupied  it  as  "the  Brick-yard  Camp,"  a  dreary 
and  comfortless  place  where  the  command  remained  without  tents  or  other 
shelter  until  the  afternoon  of  the  3rd  of  October,  when  the  Thirty-eighth 
Brigade,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  composed  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Second 
and  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Ohio,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth 
and  Twenty-third  Michigan,  all  under  command  of  General  Dumont, 
marched  away  from  Louisville  on  the  road  to  Shelbyviiie,  Kentucky.  The 
weather  was  very  hot,  the  road  dusty,  water  almost  impossible  to  obtain, 
and  the  men,  not  having  yet  learned  the  meaning  of  "light  marching  order," 
were  overloaded  with  the  cumbrous  outfits  which  they  brought  from  home. 
When  late  at  night  they  halted  on  the  bank  of  a  muddy  stream  known  as 
Floyd's  fork,  the  exhausted  and  footsore  troops  were  glad  enough  to  lie 
down  upon  the  ground,  with  no  shelter  but  their  blankets,  and  no  thought  but 
that  of  rest  from  the  fatigues  of  this  their  first  severe  march. 

Late  the  next  morning  they  arose  stiff  and  sore  in  every  joint  and 
soaked  with  the  rain  which  was  still  falling.  Coffee  was  made  from  the 
muddy  water  of  the  stream,  in  which  hundreds  of  mules  were  stamping  and 
wallowing.  The  rations  were  neither  very  good  nor  plentiful,  but  these 
were  on  this  occasion  supplemented  by  supplies  taken  from  a  mansion  which 
stood  near  by,  from  which  the  occupants  had  fled  on  the  approach  of  the 
troops.  The  soldiers,  impressed  with  the  idea  that  all  food,  raiment  and 
other  movables  found  in  the  enemy's  country  belonged  to  Uncle  Sam's  elect, 
proceeded  to  ransack  the  premises,  bringing  off  meat,  meal,  vegetables,  sauce, 
honey,  jellies,  preserves,  and  some  pretty  good  stock  for  the  stable — a  por- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENFSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  42I 

tion  of  which  we  recognized  the  next  spring  grazing  in  the  valley  of  the 
Saginaw," 

Early  in  the  day  the  rain  ceased  and  the  command  moved  out  towards 
Shelbyville,  which  was  reached  the  same  evening.  The  Twenty-third 
encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village.  Here  the  brigade  remained  until 
the  morning  of  October  9,  when  it  moved  through  the  village  and  on  towards 
Frankfort,  arriving  in  the  neighborhood  of  that  town  the  same  night.  The 
advance  guard  of  the  force  had  already  entered  the  city  after  a  skirmish  with 
the  cavalry  of  the  enemy,  who  had  succeeded  in  destroying  the  fine  bridge 
of  the  Lexington  &  Frankfort  railroad,  and  had  attempted  the  destruction 
of  the  turnpike- bridge. 

On  the  march  from  Louisville  to  Frankfort,  large  numbers  of  negroes 
had  fallen  in  with  the  column,  some  engaging  as  servants  to  the  officers,  but 
more  accompanying  the  force  without  any  definite  object;  among  the  dusky 
crowd  were  found  "the  names  or  lineal  descendants  of  every  prominent  gen- 
eral in  the  rebel  army."  A  considerable  number  of  Kentucky  horses  had  also 
"fallen  in"  on  the  line  of  march  and  were  being  ridden  by  officers  and  pri- 
vates. But  on  arrival  at  Frankfort  there  came  for  these  a  host  of  claimants. 
The  day  was  one  of  reckoning  for  those  in  whose  possession  they  were 
found.  "A  court-martial  was  instituted,  and  held  a  protracted  session  at 
Frankfort.  It  must  have  made  sad  havoc  among  the  Wolverines  but  for  the 
fact  that  our  fighting  companion.  Captain  Walbridge,  who  rode  the  best 
captured  steed  into  the  town  on  that  eventful  morning,  October  10,  was  the 
honored  judge  advocate  of  the  court." 

With  the  exception  of  an  expedition  in  pursuit  of  the  guerrilla  chief, 
John  Morgan,  the  Twenty-third  remained  at  Frankfort  thirteen  days.  It  was. 
at  this  time  under  command  of  Major  B.  F.  Fisher,  the  colonel  being  in 
command  of  the  brigade  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Pratt  being  absent.  It  was- 
while  the  regiment  lay  at  this  place  that  the  death  occurred  of  Lieut.  John 
Earle,  of  E  Company,  on  Sunday,  October  ig,  1862.  His  remains  were 
sent  home  to  Michigan  in  charge  of  Sergeant  Lyons.  At  about  the  same 
time  the  regiment  received  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Captain  Norville, 
of  fever,  at  Saginaw  City,  October  3. 

At  a  little  past  midnight  in  the  morning  of  the  day  of  Lieutenant 
F.arle's  death,  the  men  of  the  Twenty-third  were  startled  from  their  sleep 
by  the  thrilling  sound  of  the  "long  roll.''  At  one  o'clock  a.  m,  they  were 
marching  rapidly  away  in  pursuit  of  the  redoubtable  Morgan,  who  was 
reported  to  be  at  Lawrenceburg ;  two  companies  of  the  regiment,  however, 
K  and  G,  were  left  as  a  guard  at  Frankfort.     The  pursuing  column  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


422  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

almost  as  a  matter  of  course  too  late  to  overtake  the  main  body  of  Morgan's 
force  but  succeeded  in  capturing  a  few  men  and  horses  belonging  to  his 
rear  guard.  With  these  trophies,  the  command  returned  the  same  evening 
to  the  camp  at  Frankfort,  having  marched  twenty-six  miles  under  the  usual 
disadvantages  of  choking  dust  and  great  scarcity  of  water. 

The  regiment  took  its  final  departure  from  Frankfort  late  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  2ist  of  October  and  encamped  that  night  in  an  oak  grove  a 
few  miles  down  the  road  towards  Lawrenceburg.  On  the  following  day  it 
passed  through  tliat  town,  and  made  its  camp  for  the  night  at  Big  Spring, 
some  miles  farther  on.  The  weather  had  suddenly  grown  cold,  and  many 
of  the  men  suffered  for  need  of  the  blankets  which  had  been  foolishly  thrown 
away  as  incumbrances  in  the  heat  and  dust  of  previous  marches.  In  the 
morning  of  the  23rd  the  Kentucky  hills  and  vales  were  white  with  hoar- 
frost. The  regiment  was  early  in  line ;  during  this  day's  march  it  passed 
through  Harrodsburg.  Here  the  men  were  not  permitted  to  make  a  free 
exploration  of  the  town,  on  account  of  their  rather  damaging  record  as 
indiscriminate  foragers.  About  noon  of  the  24th  they  passed  through  the 
little  village  of  Perryville  in  the  outskirts  of  which  the  armies  of  Buell  and 
Bragg  had  fought  the  battle  of  Chaplain  Hills  sixteen  days  before.  Many 
of  the  Union  and  Confederate  wounded  from  that  engagement  were  still 
in  the  village  and  in  the  farm-house  hospitals  of  the  vicinity.  That  night 
the  weary  men  of  the  Twenty-third  made  their  bivouac  on  the  banks  of  an 
abundant  and  tolerably  clear  stream  of  water  called  the  Rolling  fork. 

In  the  march  of  the  following  day,  this  stream  was  crossed  and 
re  crossed  many  times  in  its  meandering.  Late  in  the  day  the  regiment 
reached  the  little  half-burned  village  of  Bradfordsville.  The  latter  part  of 
the  day's  march  had  been  made  in  a  cold,  drenching  rain,  which  as  night 
fell  turned  to  snow,  and  on  the  following  morning,  Sunday,  October  26, 
the  arctic  covering  lay  six  inches  deep  over  the  ground.  This  was  con- 
sidered a  remarkable  event  for  that  latitude  and  brought  remembrances  of 
Northern  homes  to  the  minds  of  many  whose  eyes  would  never  again  look 
upon  the  whitened  expanse  of  the  Michigan  hills  and  valleys.  During  all 
that  Sabbath  day  the  tired  men  enjoyed  a  season  of  rest  and  recreation 
around  their  comfortable  camp-fires.  While  they  rested  the  snow  disap- 
peared, so  that  their  march  of  the  following  day,  while  over  bare  roads, 
was  free  from  tormenting  dust.  In  the  evening  of  the  27th  the  brigade 
arrived  at  Newmarket,  Kentucky,  where  several  commands  of  the  rear  guard 
of  Buell's  army  were  found  encamped;  there  the  Twenty-third  and  its  com- 
panion regiment  also  went  into  camp  and  remained  for  eight  days,  engag- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  423 

ing  in  recuperation,  drills  and  the  preparation  of  muster-rolls,  to  be  used 
upon  a  pay-day  which  all  hoped  might  come  in  the  near  future. 

On  the  4th  of  November  the  brigade  again  moved  forward,  and  on  the 
5th  passed  through  Munfordsville,  where  a  Union  force  of  ten  thousand 
men  lay  encamped.  On  the  6th  it  reached  Dripping  Springs,  where  it 
remained  one  day,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  arrived  at  Bowling  Green, 
Kentucky,  a  town  which  "had  the  appearance  of  having  been  visited  by 
pestilence,  famine,  and  the  besom  of  destruction,"  as  was  remarked  by  some 
of  the  officers  of  the  Twenty-third.  "A  large  rebel  force  had  wintered  there, 
and  remained  until  driven  otit  by  the  Union  forces  under  General  Mitchell, 
and  they  had  made  of  the  whole  visible  creation  one  common  camping- 
ground."  This  place  was  destined  to  be  the  home  of  the  Twenty-third 
Regiment  for  a  period  of  more  than  six  months.  Its  camp,  which  was 
afterwards  transformed  into  substantial  and  comfortable  winter-quarters, 
was  pitched  near  the  magnificent  railroad-bridge  crossing  the  Big  Barren 
river,  and  the  guarding  of  this  bridge  formed  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the 
regiment  during  the  winter  of  1862-63;  '^^  other  duties  were  camp  routine, 
drill,  picket,  provost  and  railway  gtiard,  and  the  convoying  of  railroad  trains 
of  stores  over  the  road  from  Bowling  Green  to  Nashville.  While  here,  the 
Twenty-third  with  its  brigade  formed  part  of  the  Tenth  Division  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  they  were  successively  under  command  of 
Generals  Granger,  Manson  and  Judah,  as  commandants  of  the  post  during 
the  six  months  that  they  remained  here. 

The  period  of  the  regiment's  stay  at  Bowling  Green  was  marked  by 
many  notable  events,  some  pleasant,  some  painful  and  others  ludicrous. 
Near  the  town  was  a  pleasure-ground  many  acres  in  extent  with  a  magnifi- 
cent spring  of  clear  cold  water  in  its  center.  This  seems  to  have  been  a 
favorite  resort  for  both  citizens  and  soldiers  and  we  are  told  that  "here, 
upon  many  a  happy  occasion,  the  beauty  and  the  chivalry  of  Bowling  Green, 
and  many  Yankees,  assembled  to  enjoy  the  scene  of  unequaled  hilarity  and 
mirth."  It  was  several  times  the  case  that  snow  fell  to  a  sufficient  depth 
for  sleighing  and  these  opportunities  for  pleasure  were  improved  to  the 
utmost.  Private  entertainments,  too,  were  sometimes  given  by  the  citi- 
zens, and  "there  were,  in  several  instances  strong  indications  of  attach- 
ments lx:tween  some  of  the  boys  in  blue  and  the  fair  damsels  of  Bowling 
Green.  *  *  *  These  were  oases  in  the  dreary  Sahara  of  the  war."  On 
the  morning  of  the  momentous  ist  of  January,  1863,  the  artillery  on  College 
Hill  fired  a  salute,  which  was  afterwards  changed  to  target  practice,  and 
during  a  part  of  the  time  of  its  continuance  the  camp  of  the  Twenty-third 


dbyGoot^lc 


424  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Michigan  seems  to  have  been  the  target,  for  several  solid  shots  were  thrown 
into  it,  doing  some  damage  to  quarters  and  creating  no  little  consternation. 
This  was  the  first  time  the  regiment  had  been  actually  under  fire. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1863,  occurred  one  of  the  most  distressing  events 
in  the  experience  of  the  regiment  at  Bowling  Green.  This  was  the  sudden 
death  of  fJeutenant-CoIonel  Pratt.  He  had  mounted  a  powerful  and  restive 
horse,  biit  was  scarcely  seated  in  the  saddle  when  the  fiery  animal  plunged, 
crushing  and  killing  him  instantly.  He  was  a  good  and  popular  officer  and 
was  sincerely  mourned  by  the  men  and  officers  of  the  regiment. 

When  spring  had  fairly  opened,  it  began  to  be  rumored  that  the  troops 
occupying  Bowling  Green  would  soon  be  moved  from  there  and  enter  active 
service.  The  men  of  the  Twenty-third  Michigan  did  not  regret  this  probabil- 
ity of  a  change,  for,  although  their  experience  had  been  in  some  respects 
as  pleasant  as  any  which  soldiers  in  time  of  war  have  a  right  to  expect, 
yet  they  had  been  terribly  reduced  in  numbers  by  sickness  while  there  and 
it  was  believed  that  this  evil  would  be  aggravated  by  the  coming  of  warm 
weather.  Besides,  they  had  grown  tired  of  the  monotonous  duty  which  they 
were  called  on  to  perform  and  were,  as  soldiers  almost  always  are,  inclined 
to  wish  for  a  change.  About  the  20th  of  May,  orders  were  received  to 
make  all  preparations  for  a  movement  and  to  hold  the  commands  in  readiness 
for  the  march;  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month  the  regiment  broke  camp 
and  moved  with  its  brigade  on  the  road  to  Glasgow,  Ky.,  which  point  was 
reached  on  the  30th.  Here  the  Twenty-third  remained  until  the  13th  of 
June,  when  it  was  ordered  in  pursuit  of  a  force  of  guerrillas,  said  to  be  at 
Randolph  about  twelve  miles  distant.  Almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  nothing 
resulted  from  this  expedition,  and  the  regiment  returned  to  Glasgow  on  the 
i6th  after  a  most  severe  and  exhausting  march.  On  the  22nd  it  again  moved 
with  Mason's  brigade,  to  Scottsville;  thence,  on  the  26th,  to  Tompkinsville ; 
and,  July  4,  back  to  Glasgow.  Here,  however,  it  made  little  stay,  but  marched 
out,  now  in  full  pursuit  of  John  Morgan,  to  Munfordsville,  reaching  there 
July  7,  then  to  Elizabethtown  and  Louisville  by  rail,  reaching  the  latter  city 
on  the  nth.  Morgan  was  now  reported  across  the  Ohio  river  in  Indiana. 
The  Twenty-third,  as  part  of  the  command  of  General  Judah,  crossed  to 
New  Albany,  Indiana,  but,  making  little  stop  there,  proceeded  to  Jefferson- 
ville  and  thence  up  the  river  by  steamer  to  Madison,  Indiana,  reaching  Cin- 
cinnati in  the  evening  of  the  13th.  From  that  city  the  fleet,  on  which  was 
the  Twenty-third  with  the  other  regiments  under  command  of  General 
Judah,  passed  up  the  river  to  Maysville,  Concord  and  Portsmouth,  Ohio; 
at  the  latter  place  they  remained  until  July  20,  when  they  returned  tO'Cin- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  425 

cinnati  and  disembarked  the  troops.  From  there  the  Twenty-third  was 
transported  by  railroad  to  Chilhcothe,  and  thence  to  Haniden  Junction, 
where  it  encami^ed  for  a  few  days.  Within  the  camp-ground  of  the  regi- 
ment at  this  place  there  remained  a  rude  rostrum,  from  which,  on  a  previous 
occasion,  the  notorious  Vallandigham  had  set  forth  his  pecuhar  views  to  the 
populace  of  southern  Ohio.  But  now  the  same  rostrum  was  occupied  by 
the  chaplain  of  the  Twenty-third,  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Smart,  who  most  elo- 
quently "consecrated  it  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  while  the  regiment  made  the 
welkin  ring  with  shouts  for  liberty  and  the  Union." 

There  was  no  occasion  to  continue  longer  in  the  pursuit  of  Morgan,  for 
that  daring  leader  and  his  band  had  already  been  destroyed  or  captured. 
The  regiment  then  returned  to  Cincinnati,  crossed  the  Ohio  to  Covington, 
and  moved  thence  by  rail  to  Paris,  Kentucky,  arriving-  there  on  the  28th,  just 
in  time  to  assist  the  small  Union  force  stationed  there  in  protecting  the  town 
and  an  important  railway  bridge  at  that  point  against  an  attack  by  Pegram's 
rebel  cavalrj-.  This  affair  occurred  on  the  29th,  and  in  it.  the  first  actual 
engagement  in  which  the  Twenty-third  took  part,  the  conduct  of  the  regi- 
ment was  most  creditable.  It  .remained  here  until  the  4th  of  August,  when 
it  moved,  by  way  of  I-exington  and  Louisville,  to  Lebanon,  Kentucky,  and 
thence  to  New  Market,  where  it  arrived  on  the  8th  of  August,  and  was 
incorporated  with  the  Second  Brigade,  Second  Division,  of  the  Twenty-third 
Arm.y  Corps,   then  organizing  at  that  point. 

On  the  i6th,  marching  orders  were  received,  and  on  the  17th  of  August, 
at  two  o'clock  p.  m..  the  regiment,  with  its  division,  moved  out  and  took  up 
the  long  and  wearisome  march  for  East  Tennessee.  The  camp  of  that  night 
was  only  seven  miles  out  from  New  Market,  on  Owl  creek,  where  the  com- 
mand rested  during  all  of  the  following  day  and  night,  but  moved  forward 
again  at  daybreak  in  the  morning  of  the  19th,  and  camped  that  night  on 
Green  river.  The  march  was  resumed  on  the  following  morning,  and  two 
days  later,  August  22,  the  regiment  forded  the  Cumberland  river  and  began 
to  ascend  the  foot-hills  of  the  Cumberland  mountains.  In  the  evening  of 
the  25th  it  made  its  camp  at  Jamestown,  the  county  seat  of  Fentress  county, 
Tennessee. 

On  the  30tli  the  command  reached  Montgomery.  Tennessee,  where  were 
Generals  Burnside  and  Hartsufif,  with  the  main  body  of  the  army,  com- 
manded by  the  former  officer.  In  passing  through  this  little  settlement  "an 
enthusiastic  old  lady  harangued  the  corps  upon  the  glory  of  its  mission,  alter- 
nately  weeping  and   shouting,   invoking  the   blessings   of   heaven  upon   the 


dbyGoot^lc 


426  GENF:SEE   county,   MICHIGAN. 

troops,  and  pouring  out  volleys  of  anathemas  upon  the  enemies  of  the 
country." 

On  the  ist  of  September  the  men  of  the  Twenty-third  had  passed  the 
gorges  of  the  mountains,  descended  their  southeastern  slope  to  the  valley  of 
the  Tennessee,  and  camped  late  at  night  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Clinch 
river,  a  tributary  of  the  larger  stream.  Fording  the  Clinch  in  the  forenoon 
of  the  2nd  of  September,  the  corps  marched  forward  and  passed  Kingston, 
a  considerable  town  of  East  Tennessee,  near  which  the  waters  of  the  Clinch 
join  those  of  the  Holston  and  form  the  Tennessee  river.  The  camp  of  the 
Twenty-third  was  pitched  for  the  night  about  two  miles  beyond  Kingston. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  3rd  the  troops  were  in  line  ready 
for  the  march,  and  then,  for  eight  long,  weary  hours,  the  Twenty-third 
Michigan  and  its  companion  regiments  of  the  brigade  waited  for  the  order 
to  move.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  the  brigade  was  formed  in  square 
four  lines  deep,  and  while  standing  in  that  formation  was  addressed  by  its 
commander.  General  White,  who  read  a  dispatch  just  received  from  General 
Bumside,  announcing  the  capture  of  Knoxviile  by  the  Union  forces.  General 
White  then  congratulated  his  command,  and  called  on  Colonel  Chapin,  of  the 
Twenty-third,  for  a  speech.  The  Colonel  responded  in  an  address  which, 
being  brief  and  comprehensive,  is  given  here  entire.  He  said,  "Boys,  the 
general  calls  on  me  to  make  a  speech.     You  know  that  I  am  not  much  of  a 

speaker,  and  all  I  have  to  say  is,  that  you've  done  d d  well !     Keep  on 

doing  so!" 

Long  and  loud  acclamations  greeted  this  vigorous  harangue;  then  the 
brigade  resumed  its  previous  formation,  and  after  another  tedious  delay, 
moved  out  on  the  road  to  Loudon,  which  was  reached  early  in  the  afternoon 
of  Friday,  September  4.  The  enemy  had  hastily  evacuated  all  the  strong 
works  which  they  had  built  at  this  place,  but  had  succeeded  in  destroying 
the  great  and  important  railroad  bridge  across  the  river.  Here  the  brigade 
remained  for  about  ten  days. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  march  across  the  mountain,  supplies  had 
become  so  much  reduced  that  rations  of  corn  in  the  ear  were  issued  to  some 
of  the  troops,  and  after  their  arrival  at  Loudon  this  situation  of  affairs  was 
but  little  improved  until  Tuesday,  the  8th  of  September,  when  the  first  rail- 
road train  reached  the  town  from  Knoxviile  and  was  hailed  with  wild 
delight  by  the  weary  and  hungry  soldiers.  Before  this,  however,  their  neces- 
sities had  been  partially  relieved  by  repairing  and  putting  in  running  order 
a  grist-mill  which  the  enemy  had   dismantled  before  his  evacuation.     The 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENFISEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  427 

advance  of  the  wagon-trains  also  came  up  at  about  the  same  time  that  the 
railroad  was  opened  for  use. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  September  15,  the  men  of  the  Twenty- 
third  were  roused  from  their  slumbers  to  prepare  for  a  march;  one  hour  later 
they  were  moving  on  the  road  to'  Knoxville,  twenty-eight  miles  distant.  This 
march  was  performed  with  all  possible  speed,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  the 
regiment  bivouacked  within  a  short  distance  of  that  city.  The  next  morning 
it  entered  tl:e  city,  but  soon  after  proceeded  by  rail  to  Morristown,  a  distance 
of  about  forty  miles.  Only  a  short  stay  was  made  here,  and  on  the  19th  it 
returned  to  Knoxville  and  went  into  camp  at  the  railroad  depot.  The  next 
day  was  the  Sabbath  and  here,  for  the  first  time  in  months,  the  ears  of  the 
men  were  greeted  by  the  sound  of  church  bells.  They  passed  the  day  in  rest 
and  quiet,  little  dreaming  of  the  furious  battle  that  was  then  raging,  away  to 
the  southward,  upon  the  field  of  Chickamauga,  or  of  the  rout  and  di,saster  to 
the  Union  arms  which  that  day's  sunset  was  to  witness. 

At  four  o'clock  Monday  morning  the  brigade  took  the  road  towards 
Loudon  and  arrived  there  the  same  night.  Here  the  Twenty-third  occupied 
a  pleasant  and  elevated  camp  in  a  chestnut  grove,  and  remained  stationed  at 
Loudon  for  about  five  weeks,  engaged  in  picket  duty  and  scouting,  and  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  time  frequently  ordered  into  line  of  battle,  continu- 
ally harassed  by  reports  of  the  near  approach  of  the  enemy  under  Longstreet, 
who  had  been  detached  from  the  army  of  Bragg  in  Georgia,  and  was  press- 
ing northward  with  a  heavy  force  towards  Knoxville. 

This  advance  of  Longstreet  decided  General  Burnside  to  retire  his  forces 
from  Loudon  and  on  the  28th  of  October  the  place  was  evacuated;  the 
Twenty-third  Michigan  was  the  last  raiment  to  cross  the  pontoon- bridge, 
which  was  then  immediately  swung  to  the  shore,  the  boats  being  loaded  upon 
cars  and  sent  to  Knoxville.  All  this  being  accomplished,  the  army  moved  to 
Lenoir,  Tennessee,  and  camped  beyond  the  town;  the  line  of  encampment 
extended  many  miles.  The  same  night  the  camp-fires  of  the  enemy  blazed 
upon  the  hills  of  Loudon,  which  the  Union  forces  had  just  evacuated. 

At  the  new  camp  on  the  Lenoir  road  the  Twenty-third  Regiment  remained 
until  the  14th  of  November,  when  it  moved  with  the  army  back  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Hough's  Ferry,  where  a  sharp  engagement  ensued,  and  the  enemy 
was  driven  se\'eral  miles  southward.  The  anny  returned  to  Lenoir  on  the 
1 15th,  and  on  the  following  day  commenced  its  retreat  to  Knoxville,  having 
destroyed  its  transportation  and  camp  equipage  and  turned  all  the  teams  over 
to  the  several  batteries,  .^.t  Campbell's  Station  the  enemy  came  up  and 
attacked  repeatedly  and  with  great  energy;  these  attacks  were  successfully 


dbyGoot^lc 


428  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

repelled,  but  the  retreat  was  continued  with  ail  practicable  speed  to  Knoxville, 
where  the  Twenty-third  arrived  at  four  a.  ni.  on  the  17th,  after  a  march  of 
twenly-eight  miles  without  rest  or  food,  and  having  fought  for  five  hours, 
losing  thirty-one  killed  and  wounded  and  eight  missing. 

This  engagement  is  described  by  a  correspondent  in  the  Louisville 
Journal  as  follows : 

One  brigiide  of  the  Ninth  Corps  was  iii  advance,  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Second 
Diviaiou,  Twenty-third  Corps,  lu  the  center,  and  one  brigade  of  the  Ninth  Corps  as  rear 
guaM.  The  siiiruilshing  was  begun  by  the  Ninth  Corps,  forming  in  rear  of  General 
White's  couiaiund,  which  formed  in  line  to  protect  the  stock,  etc.,  as  It  possed  to  the 
re-.ir,  and  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  which  was  the  rear  guard  and  was 
to  file  past.  Again  was  the  Second  Brigade  in  position  where  It  must  receive  the  shock 
of  Imttle  and  must  sustain,  more  or  less,  the  honors  already  won.  The  arrangements 
lor  hiittle  liad  hardly  been  completed  before  the  cavalry  came  in  from  the  front,  fol- 
lowed by  the  infantry  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  and  tivo  heavy  lines  of  the  enemy  emerged 
from  the  woods  thi'ce- quarters  of  a  mile  in  front.  Each  line  consisted  of  a  division 
and  were  dressed  almost  wholly  in  the  United  States  uniform,  which  at  fli'St  deceived 
us.  Their  first  Hue  advanced  to  within  eight  hundred  yards  of  General  White's  front 
before  that  officer  gave  the  order  to  hre.  Heushaw's  and  the  Twenty-foui'th  ludlana 
batteries  thou  opened  on  them  with  aheil,  but  they  moved  steadily  forward,  closius 
up  as  their  lines  would  be  bi'oken  by  this  teiTible  fire,  uuti!  within  three  hundred  and 
iifty  yards  of  our  main  line,  when  the  batteries  mentioned  opened  on  theiu  with  can- 
ister, and  four  batteries  iu  the  rear  and  right  and  left  of  General  White  opened  on 
their  reiir  line  with  shell.  This  was  more  than  they  could  stand.  Their  front  line 
bi'oke  and  ran  bacli  some  distance,  where  they  reformed  and  deployed  right  and  left 
and  engaged  the  Thirteenth  Kentucky  and  Twenty-third  Michigan  on  the  right  and 
the  Eleventh  Ohio  and  One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Illinois  on  the  left,  which  were  sup- 
porled  by  General  Ferrero's  command  of  the  Ninth  Corps.  This  unequal  contest  went 
on  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  The  only  advantage  over  them  so  far  was  In  artillery, 
they  not  having  any  in  position  yet.  It  seemed  to  be  their  object  to  criish  the  inferior 
force  opiwsing  them  with  their  heary  force  of  infantry.  The  men  were  too  stubborn; 
they  would  not  yield  an  inch,  but  frequently  drove  the  rebels  from  their  [losltlon  and 
held  their  ground.  Finding  they  could  not  move  them  with  the  force  alreadj  emiilojed, 
the  rebels  moved  forward  another  line  of  Infantry,  heavy  as  either  of  the  first  two, 
and  placed  In  position  three  battei'les.  Their  guns  were  heavier  and  of  longer  range 
than  those  of  the  Second  Brigade,  and  were  situated  to  command  General  White's  posi- 
tion, while  his  guns  could  not  answer  their  Are.  They  got  the  range  of  these  guns 
at  once  and  killed  and  wounded  seierat  gunners  and  disabled  several  horses,  when 
General  White  ordered  them  back  to  the  position  occupied  by  those  in  the  rear,  the 
infantry  holding  the  position  covei-ed  by  the  artillery  on  the  hill.  An  artillery  fight 
then  began  which  continued  nearly  two  hours  till  It  was  growing  dark  :md  the  order 
was  given  for  our  troops  to  fall  back  to  resume  the  march  to  Knoxville 

'■Their  bugles  sang  truce,  for  the  night  cloud  had  lowered. 

And  the  sentinel  stars  set  their  watch  In  the  sky; 
And  thousands  had  sunk  on  the  ground  overpowered. 
The  weary  to  sleep  and  the  wounded  to  die." 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  429 

ilie  uiiu'ioeme  t  ff  llie  tiwpa  s  llie*  iiioica  frDui  the  held  of  bittle  was  a  pi  tuie 
)f  skiJl  inU  tenwiiship  Ibp  Muth  Coips  uio*ei  iff  Hist  levoUing  the  duty  of  pro 
tetting  the  rear  uioa  the  trooi)8  of  General  White  fhev  weie  hotlj  1  ursued  bv  the 
eneuiv  nho  hoped  t(  bieak  the  letieit  iuto  a  rout  but  not  a  man  quickened  his  pace 
and  their  lines  dressed  us  wben  matching  lu  reilew  awe  evidence  of  the  utter  dis 
legaid  ff  peisonal  aafetv  to  sine  the  honor  of  three  Atxyt  fighting  and  toll  The 
enemj  mide  use  of  e\ei-\  adiautage  he  thought  he  could  gflln  but  nrt  i  nio^e  did  he 
mate  that  estiped  the  quick  gtaiiie  of  dltlsloa  or  brigade  commandei  who  would  fate 
abciit  or  ohinge  his  front  as  the  owasion  required  delherliig  a  few  lolle^s  'w  well 
dlieitetl  as  t>  check  and  drl^e  bad  the  enemy  utterij  di*  omfited  Tor  two  miles  this 
mint  rr  game  was  pla\e<l  with  such  success  bv  the  Sectnd  Brigade  as  to  cinse  the 
lebel  chief  to  draw  off  ilrttnllv  icltiic * ledgln^  himself  checlimited  at  the  game  he 
begnii   and   seemed   nnxious  to  plaj 

lliis  retieit  mer  that  Held  was  a  sight  so  graud  and  beautiful  m  its  ininafee 
ment  that  It  attucted  the  ttentlon  of  eier\  ofBcei  and  man  who  could  lea\e  his 
command  to  nitness  it  The  heights  in  fiont  and  on  the  le-ir  were  filled  with  pers  n& 
of  high  and  low  rant,  almost  grown  boisterous  with  pleasurable  excitement  as  eJ  h 
mfie  it  ti  ^is  of  Genei  il  White  showed  them  the  discomfited  enem>  falling  back  to 
asaiime  a  new  ofCenshe  movement  and  to  meet  the  sime  fate  a*  before  General 
Burii'iide  who  nltnessed  its  mam  genient  r'fnounced  it  a  masterl\  effirt  against  su  h 
numbers 

Mght  ccmlne  n  the  enemi  fciowhig  less  troullesome  C  lonel  Chapin  commtndiug 
the  brigade  nho  hid  been  unwell  for  a  number  of  la^s  but  had  refused  to  leive  the 
field  while  the  enemi  was  In  front  was  now  suffering  tw  that  he  was  oidered  to  quit 
liis  post  and  the  command  de^oUed  upon  Col  W  C  Hobson  of  the  Ihiiteenth  Ken 
tuckv   who  led  the  men  from  the  held  and  condu  ted  the  retreat  to  Knoxiilie 

Of  Colonel  Cliapln.  commanding  the  Se  end  Brigade  I  need  not  idl  to  ivhit  I 
hare  said  His  excellent  manigement  of  the  troops  uimn  three  fields  and  hi*  person! 
braieiv  haie  attiched  him  to  his  men  as  few  commander&  are  attached  His  stafl! 
C  ptains  (,  llui  nl  Shell  n  and  I  leuten  nt  le  rsi  n  are  nirth\  f  lioners  f  tlieti 
1 1  lie  ieadei 

Then  followed  the  memorable  siege  of  Knoxviile,  which  continued  until 
the  sth  of  December,  when  the  enemy  retreated.  In  the  operations  of  this 
siege  the  regiment  took  active  and  creditable  part,  and  on  the  withdrawal  of 
the  forces  of  Longstreet  it  joined  in  the  pursuit,  though  no  important  results 
were  secured.  The  enemy  having  passed  beyond  reach,  the  regiment  camped 
at  Blain's  Cross-Roads,  December  13,  and  remained  until  the  25th,  when  it 
was  moved  to  Strawberry  Plains,  From  the  commencement  of  the  retreat 
to  Knoxviile  until  its  arrival  at  the  Plains  the  situation  and  condition  of  the 
regiment  had  been  deplorable,  for  many  of  its  men  had  been  without  blankets, 
shoes  or  overcoats,  and  in  this  condition,  being  almost  entirely  without  tents, 
thev  had  been  compelled  to  sleep  in  unsheltered  bivouac  in  the  storms  and 
coid  of  the  inclement  season;  at  the  same  time  to  subsist  on  quarter-rations 
of  meal,  eked  out  by  such  meager  supplies  as  could  be  foraged  from  the 
country.     I'he  command  remained  at  Strawberry  Plains  about  four  weeks. 


dbyGoot^lc 


430  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN, 

engaged  upon  the  construction  of  fortifications,  and  on  the  21st  of  January, 
1864,  marched  to  the  vicinity  of  Knoxville  where  it  was  employed  in  picket 
and  outpost  duty  until  the  middle  of  February.  During  that  time  it  had 
three  quite  sharp  affairs  with  the  enemy's  cavalry,  January  14,  22  and  27,  in 
the  la&t  of  which  seven  men  were  taken  prisoners  and  one  mortally  wounded. 
From  this  time  until  the  opening  of  the  spring  campaign  it  was  chiefly  engaged 
in  scouting,  picket  and  outpost  duty,  in  which  it  was  moved  to  several  differ- 
ent points ;  among  these  were  Strawberry  Plains,  New  Market,  Mossy  Creek, 
MorrJstown  and  Charleston,  Tennessee,  at  which  last-named  place  it  was 
stationed  on  the  ist  of  May,  1864. 

The  Atlanta  campaign  of  General  Sherman  was  now  about  to  open,  and 
the  Twenty-third  Michigan  being  destined  to  take  part  in  it,  the  regiment 
left  Charleston  on  the  2d  of  May  and  took  the  road  to  Georgia.  Passing 
down  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  and  thence  up  Chickamanga  creek,  it  reached 
the  vicinity  of  Tunnel  Hill  on  the  7th  and  confronted  the  enemy  at  Rocky- 
Face  Ridge,  Georgia,  on  the  8th  of  May,  opening  the  fight  on  that  day  by 
advancing  in  skirmish  line  and  taking  possession  of  a  commanding  crest  in 
front  of  the  hostile  works.  In  the  advance  from  Rocky-Face,  the  regiment 
with  its  brigade  passed  through  Snake  Creek  Gap,  arrived  in  front  of  Resaca 
on  the  13th,  and  on  the  following  day  took  part  in  the  assault  on  the  enemy's 
strong  works  at  that  place.  The  result  of  this  attack  was  a  repulse  of  the 
attacking  column  and  a  loss  to  the  Twenty-third  of  sixty-two  in  killed  and 
wounded;  all  of  this  was  incurred  in  a  few  minutes  of  desperate  fighting. 
The  enemy,  though  successful  in  repelling  the  assault,  evacuated  his  position 
at  Resaca  and  moved  to  the  Etowah  river  where  his  rear  guard  was  overtaken 
and  slightly  engaged  by  the  Union  pursuing  force  of  which  the  Twenty-third 
Michigan  formed  a  part.  F'rom  this  point  the  regiment  moved  on  to  Dallas 
and  took  a  position  in  front  of  the  rebel  works  at  that  place,  where  it  remained 
from  the  27th  of  May  until  the  ist  of  June;  during  this  time  it  was  almost 
constantly  engaged  day  and  night  in  skirmishing  with  the  advanced  lines  of 
the  enemy.  Again  the  rebel  forces  evacuated  their  strong  position  and  moved 
south  towards  Atlanta,  the  Union  troops  pressing  on  in  close  and  constant 
pursuit;  in  this  service  the  Twenty-third  Regiment  participated  and  took  part 
in  the  engagements  at  Lost  Mountain,  Georgia,  Kenesaw  Mountain  and 
Chattahoochee  river,  and  later  fought  in  front  of  Atlanta  until  the  capitula- 
tion of  that  stronghold.  On  the  ist  of  October  it  was  at  Decatur,  Georgia, 
and  on  the  3d  of  that  month  it  moved  from  there,  northward,  in  pursuit  of 
the  rebel  General  Hood,  who  was  then  marching  towards  Nashville. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  43I 

While  engaged  in  this  service  the  Twenty-third  marched  with  its  division 
(it  was  then  in  the  Second  Brigade,  Second  Division  of  the  Twenty-third 
Army  Corps)  to  Marietta,  New  Hope  Church,  Big  Shanty,  Allatoona,  Carters- 
ville,  Kingston,  and  Rome,  Georgia,  and  from  the  last-named  place,  through 
Snake  Creek  Gap,  to  Villanon,  Summersville,  Tennessee,  and  Cedar  Bluff,- 
Alabama,  and  thence  back  to  Rome.  There  it  remained  a  short  time,  and 
early  in  November  again  moved  through  Alabama  into  Tennessee,  and  was 
stationed  at  Johnsonville,  employed  in  garrison  duty  and  the  construction  of 
defensive  works  until  the  24th.  It  was  then  moved  by  rail  to  Columbia, 
Tennessee,  where  it  arrived  on  the  25th,  while  a  heavy  skirmish,  amounting 
to  almost  a  general  engagement,  was  in  progress  near  that  place  between  the 
armies  of  Thomas  and  Hood.  A  part  of  the  regiment  was  immediately 
advanced  upon  the  skirmish  line,  while  the  remainder  of  the  command  went 
into  position.  At  midnight  it  was  withdrawn  and  ordered  to  the  line  of  Duck 
river,  where  it  lay  on  the  south  side  of  the  stream,  throwing  up  defenses  and 
frequently  skirmishing  with  the  enemy.  It  was  constantly  on  duty  day  and 
night  until  near  daylight  in  the  morning  of  the  28th,  when  it  retired  across  the 
river  to  the  north  bank,  where  it  held  position,  and  keeping  up  an  almost  con- 
tinual skirmish  with  Hood's  advance  till  noon  of  the  29th,  falling  back  with 
the  army  to  the  vicinity  of  Spring  Hill,  Tennessee,  about  ten  miles  north  of 
Duck  river.  Here,  at  about  dark  on  the  same  day,  the  enemy  was  found  in 
force  occupying  the  road.  An  attack  was  made,  and  after  a  short  fight  the 
Confederates  were  driven  from  their  position.  The  Union  forces  then 
resumed  the  march  to  Franklin,  Tennessee,  and  arriving  there  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  30th,  immediately  took  position  and  commenced  throwing  up  tem- 
porary defenses.  At  four  o'clock  p.  m.  the  enemy  attacked  in  four  strong 
lines  and  with  great  desperation,  but  was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  The 
attack  was  several  times  renewed,  but  unsuccessfully  until  about  ten  p.  m., 
when  a  still  more  furious  assault  was  made  by  the  enemy,  who  succeeded  in 
planting  his  colors  on  the  works  in  front  of  the  Twenty-third  Regiment,  but 
was  again  forced  back  after  a  hand-to-hand  fight.  At  eleven  p.  m.  the  regi- 
ment with  the  other  Union  troops  withdrew,  and  crossing  the  river  moved  on 
the  road  to  Nashville,  arriving  there  at  two  p.  m.  on  December  i,  having 
marched  fifty  miles  in  forty-eight  hours,  six  hours  of  which  had  been  passed 
under  fire  in  the  desperate  battle  of  Franklin.  During  the  week  which  had 
elapsed  since  the  arrival  of  the  Twenty-third  at  Columbia  the  men  had  sufifered 
severely  from  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  in  the  last  two  days  of  the  move- 
ment had  subsisted  on  less  than  quarter-rations. 


dbyGoot^lc 


432  GENESEE    COXTNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  regiment  lay  witliin  the  works  at  Nashville  for  two  weeks,  :uid  then 
in  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  December  it  moved  out  with  its  division  and 
the  other  commands  under  General  Thomas  to  attack  the  Confederate  army 
which  had  in  the  meantime  concentrated  in  their  front  just  south  of  Nash- 
ville. In  the  great  battles  of  the  15th  and  i6th  of  December,  which  resulted 
in  the  defeat  and  complete  rout  of  Hood's  army,  the  Twenty-third  took  an 
active  part.  "On  the  15th,  while  the  regiment  was  making  a  charge  on  a 
position  occupied  by  a  portion  of  the  enemy  behind  a  stone  wall,  its  flag-staff 
was  shot  in  two  and  the  color-sergeant  severely  wounded,  but  before  the 
colors  fell  to  the  ground  they  were  grasped  by  the  corporal  of  the  color-guard 
and  gallantly  carried  to  the  front,.  On  the  17th  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy 
commenced  and  during  the  first  three  days  of  the  march  the  rain  fell  in  tor- 
rents, the  mud  being  fully  six  inches  deep,  which,  with  the  swollen  streams, 
rendered  progress  extremely  difficult  and  tedious.  The  pursuit  was  continued 
until  Columbia  was  reached,  where  a  halt  was  made  and  the  movement  ended." 

The  following  is  from  a  correspondent : 

\tu  lie  loug  since  poeted  ou  oui"  glorious  battles  of  tlic  Ijtli  jind  Ifatli  of  Decern 
ber  before  NashUlle  Tlieie  is  mucli  to  nilte  it  seems  that  the  woiJd  can  neiei 
know  MIcliignn  sliould  knon  moie  tbati  tUe  mere  telegrapliEc  reports  if  the  part  whlcb 
her  braie  soldieis  ticted  file  Twenty  thiid  and  Iwent^  fiftii  are  in  tbe  Iwentytiiird 
Arm>  Coips  rile  luorulng  uf  the  loth  was  nann  and  the  eniUi  fortunatelj  for  our 
movement,  ivas  coiered  with  n  den»<e  fofe  SteedniJii  loinmaiids  The  Fourth  and 
sixteenth  Corps  passed  deSintlj  n\er  then  works  and  umed  forward  to  confront  the 
eaem\  hi  his  works  vhUe  the  Tweutj  third  Corps  luoted  far  to  our  tight  passing 
between  oui  foi tlfications  and  the  city  und  passing  out  foimed  in  four  lines  upon 
the  e\tieuie  light  of  our  line  of  infantiv  We  then  hegJii  our  usual  movement  in 
battle  during  the  whole  Geoifela  campaign  swinging  around  to  our  left  as  we  uio\ed 
forwatd  and  pie'islng  haid  upon  the  enemj  s  right  This  we  continued  until  tur  bnt 
teries  leached  the  deslied  po<)ltion  One  bv  one  thev  opened  until  the  whole  eaith 
seemed  to  tremble  the  enemy  responding  as  is  written  feebly  The  results  of  these 
feeble  efforts  leaiiied  our  Hues,  cduaing  ua  to  hug  the  etrth  tloselj  but  with  uupleisjut 
sounds  passing  ua  and  feeling  proud  of  the  general  commanding  who  had  so  deHunth 
pushed  so  much  heiiy  ordnance  into  the  len  fat.e  of  tliat  boasting  braggait  Hood 
Hooker  before  Ivenesuw  had  caused  our  heaits  to  swell  under  the  suhlime  thunder 
tones  of  hii  artillery  but  Thomas  before  Nishillie  ha\lng  facilities  for  multiple  ing 
the  notes  struck  them  boldly  and  reached  such  of  those  e\plosi\e  mines  of  feeling 
and  emotion  is  seldom  burst  upon  one  la  this  world  While  Steedmm  on  our  left 
md  the  lourth  Corps  on  h)s  right  and  the  sixteenth  Corpn  weie  charging  upon  and 
taking  succeasUe  lines  of  the  enemi  our  nips  again  moied  bj  the  flank  neirlj  thiee 
miles  to  OUI  right  and  fiont  our  whole  line  haiiug  pushed  the  enemy  back  lu  wheeling 
movement  around  and  upon  his  right  flank  where  were  built  his  strongest  fortidcations, 
and  wheie  he  made  his  mo«t  stubborn  resistance  that  dav  We  reached  again  the 
extreme  right  of  our  infantry  lines  4  J  ismitb  s  force  had  just  taken  a  high  hill 
and  a  batterv  frtm  the  enemi  Behind  this  hill  our  Lor|  =«  formed  and  inoimg  over 
it  near  its  base  upon  the  opposite  side  where  runs  the  Harrodsbuig  pike  passed 
through  the  resting  lines  tf  the  Sixteenth  Corps  relieving  them  and  presaed  on  through 
a  wood  to  the  open  flelds  of  the  \  alley      Here  the  balls  from  the  skirmiab  line  began 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  433 

to  fly  around  otir  heads  and  sliells  from  u  battery  uiiou  tile  next  emliieace  half  a  mile 
to  our  rlglit  sbrieked  over  and  tore  U[)  the  ground  before  us.  Down  through  the  fields, 
over  fences,  pust  a  mauHlon  but  a  few  uiomeiits  sint-e  the  headquarters  of  a  rebel 
genei'al,  and  over  the  flelds  and  hills  we  ran.  As  our  regiment  climbed  to  the  brow  of 
a  slight  elevation  we  dislodged  the  enemy  fiom  a  stone  wall,  losing  a  standurd-bearei' 
and  several  sergeants  of  Company  I  wounded,  but  escaping  wonderfully,  b.v  the  favor- 
able lay  of  the  ground,  that  shower  of  lead.  We  cast  a  glance  toward  the  high  point 
from  whlcU  burst  forth  tlie  smoke  fr<nn  the  enemy's  batteries.  A  regiment  in  advance 
of  all  others  had  climbed  to  within  a  hundred  yards  of  tlie  battery.  A  horseman  had 
taken  its  Star-Spaugled  Banner  and  rode  forward  to  the  very  mouth  of  the  cannon, 
then  turned  around  and  waved  It  to  his  valiant  followeri.  I  need  not  attempt  to 
describe  the  shout  of  itiide,  of  triumph  and  of  Joy  that  went  up  from  our  corps.  The 
hill  and  battery  were  ours.  The  major  who  bore  our  beautiful  banner  there  was  JIajor 
Dunn,  of  the  Third  Tennessee  Infantry,  f  ntil  that  himr  we  had  known  but  little  of 
the  niaeniflcpnr'p  of  thnt 

'Tlai;  of  the  flee  heiit's  hoiie  and  home, 

Uy   angel   hands   to   vnlor   given. 
Whose  stars  Jmie  lit  the  wetkln  dome. 

And   all   whose   hues   were   bom   In   heaven." 

The  siiadps  of  evening  were  falling,  the  enemy  liad  fled.  We  entrenched  onrsehes 
and  hiy  down  to  rest.  Another  hour  and  our  regiment  was  building  strong  works  on 
the  hill,  up  near  where  the  last  battery  was  taken  The  enemy,  h.iif  a  mile  distant, 
on  a  bill  of  equal  height,  was  heard  doing  a  like  work.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th  the  battery  from  General  Couch's  division  oirened  upon  the  enemy's  work  at  sliort 
range,  doing  splendid  execution,  piercing  reijeatedly  their  works,  and  e\en  playing  the 
sharpshooter,  by  crushing  through  the  trees,  from  which  were  seen  the  smoke  of  rebel 
skirmishers;  the  wind  blew  strong  and  cold.  Far  to  the  left  was  seen  the  flash  of 
our  artillery,  bringlug  no  audible  response.  The  whole  line  poured  out  its  \olunie  of 
iron  until  about  2  p.  m.  All  days  legions  of  cavalry  had  been  moving  to  our  right. 
Then  came  the  charge.  Our  first  brigade.  General  Cooper's,  moved  from  our  left  and 
began  the  ascent  of  that  steep  hill,  the  summit  of  which  was  tlie  last  stronghold  of  the 
enemy  visible  to  us.  We  watched  our  fiag  as  it  moved  slowly  but  steadily  up,  until 
It  reached  the  summit,  when  It  waved  triumphantly  tliere  and  the  rebels  were  seen 
fiying  before  it.  The  excitement  all  along  the  line  became  intense.  The  flag  that  first 
waved  over  the  enemy's  work  at  the  summit  of  the  hill  was  that  of  the  Twenty-fifth 
ailchlgan.  A  few  hundred  yards  to  the  tight  of  this  point  the  enemy  was  seen  to 
plant  hurriedly  a  battery  and  Are  wildly  a  few  shots,  when  our  sklrmlshei's  silenced  It. 
A  moment  more  and  this  was  ours.  Still  on  the  right  and  higher  up  than  all,  there 
was  such  heavy  musketry  firing  aw  to  produce  that  iierfect  roll  which  tells  that  It  is 
the  carbine  with  Its  seven  or  more  shots.  Suddenly,  very  suddenly,  it  ceased.  Our 
cavalry,  which  in  these  two  days"  flghtlng  had  redeemed  itself  from  all  odium  attached 
to  Its  character  in  the  days  of  Wolford.  had  there  captured  a  brigade.  The  glorious 
day's  work  was  done.  "Ho,  for  Alabama!"  was  then  our  watchword  We  marched 
over  their  works  and  on  In  the  pursuit.  Such  a  scene!  Their  trenches,  the  corn- 
fields, the  Granny  White  plite,  which  we  then  struck,  the  whole  were  covered  with 
great  and  small  arms,  ammunition  and  accoutrements,  wounded,  dead — indeed,  all  the 
paraphernalia  and  debris  of  a  routed  army.  Glory  enough;  we  had  reached  the  acme 
of  our  arms  and  felt  a  kind  of  pity  for  those  who  had  not  been  here  to  see  all  this. 
(28) 


dbyG00<^lc 


434  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Soon  after  this  utter  rout  of  Hood's  army  and  its  expulsion  from  Ten- 
nessee, the  Twenty-third  Army  Corps  received  orders  to  move  east  to  tlie  city 
of  Washington,  and  on  the  ist  of  January,  1865,  the  Twenty-third  Michigan, 
as  part  of  this  corps,  left  Columbia  and  took  up  its  line  of  march  for  Clifton, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  on  the  Tennessee  river,  at  which  point 
it  arrived  on  the  8th  of  the  month.  On  the  i6th  it  embarked  at  that  place 
and  proceeded  thence  by  steamer,  on  the  Tennessee  and  Ohio  rivers,  to  Cin- 
cinnati, where  it  arrived  on  tlie  226  and  immediately  left  by  railroad  for 
Washington.  Reaching  that  city  on  the  29th,  it  went  into  camp  at  "Camp 
Stoneman,"  D.  C,  and  remained  until  the  9th  of  February.  At  that  time 
the  regiment  moved  to  Alexandria,  Virginia,  where  on  the  nth  it  embarked 
with  its  corps  on  transports  bound  for  Sniithville,  North  Carohna,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  reaching  that  point  of  destination  after  a 
passage  of  four  days.  On  the  17th  it  moved  with  the  other  forces  in  the 
movement  against  Fort  Anderson,  taking  position  before  it  on  the  i8th  under 
a  furious  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry.  Upon  the  capitulation  of  the  fort 
and  its  occupation  by  the  Union  forces  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  Febru- 
ary, the  Twenty-third  Michigan  Infantry  was  the  first  regiment  to  enter  the 
captured  work.  The  regiment  was  again  engaged  at  Town  Creek,  North 
Carolina,  on  the  20th,  taking  three  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners  and  two  pieces 
of  artillery.  In  the  morning  of  the  23d  the  Union  force  crossed  the  Cape 
Fear  river  to  its  north  bank,  and  found  that  the  city  of  Wilmington  had  been 
evacuated  by  the  enemy  during  the  previous  night.  The  corps  moved  up  the 
coast  on  the  6th  of  March,  and  reached  Kinston,  North  Carolina,  just  at  the 
close  of  the  severe  engagement  at  that  place.  In  this  movement  the  Twenty- 
third  marched  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  in  six  days,  and  during  the 
last  twenty-four  hours  moved  constantly  without  halting,  except  long  enough 
to  draw  rations  and  to  issue  thirty  additional  rounds  of  ammunition  to  the 

The  corps  left  Kinston  March  20,  and  on  the  22d  reached  and  occupied 
Goldsboro,  where  on  the  following  day  the  advance  of  General  Sherman's 
army  made  its  appearance,  coming  in  from  the  south.  The  Twenty-third 
Regiment  was  then  ordered  back  ten  miles  to  Mosely  Hall,  to  guard  the  rail- 
road at  that  point  while  the  army  was  receiving  its  supplies.  On  the  gth  of 
April  the  regiment  moved  with  the  army  on  the  road  to  Raleigh,  which  was 
reached  and  occupied  by  the  advance  on  the  13th,  the  Twenty-third  Michigan 
entering  the  city  on  the  following  day  and  receiving  the  welcome  news  of 
Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox.  The  regiment  remained  at  Raleigh  until 
after  the  war  had  been  clo,=ed  by  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  army  under 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENEiEE    COUNTY,    MICfTIGAN.  435 

Johnston.  Jts  fighting  days  were  over,  but  its  men  had  yet  to  experience  a 
little  more  of  the  fatigues  of  marching.  On  the  3d  of  May  it  moved  on  the 
road,  by  way  of  Chapel  Hill,  to  Greensboro,  ninety  miles  distant,  and  reached 
that  town  on  the  7th.  Two  days  later  it  left  by  rail  for  Salisbury,  North 
Carolina,  and  remained  there  until  the  28th  of  June,  when  it  was  mustered 
out  of  service.  All  that  now  remained  of  military  life  to  the  men  of  the 
Twenty-third  was  the  homeward  journey  to  Atichigan  and  their  final  pay- 
ment and  discharge.  They  were  transported  by  railroad  through  Danville 
and  Petersburg  to  City  Point,  Virginia,  and  thence  by  steamer  to  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  where  they  again  took  railway  transportation  for  the  West,  and 
arrived  at  Detroit,  July  7,  1865.  On  the  20th  of  the  same  month  they  were 
paid  and  disbanded,  and  each  went  his  way,  to  know  no  more  of  march  and 
bivouac  and  battle  except  as  cherished  memories  of  the  eventful  past. 


(iilbert  Bogiirt,  Ji-.,   Flint,  a^t.  surg.;   Sept.  10,  1802;   res.  Aiiril  2G,   1S64. 
J.   S.  Simu-t.  Flint,   cUfi]>liii";   ifs.  July  31,  1863. 

Cliai'lea  A.  Jliiuia.  l-'lliit.  aei-gt.-iimjor ;  iiro,  to  2d  lleut.  Co.  I,  Jlnrch  R,  1S64. 
Rev.  Eeujoiiiin  M,  Fiiy,  Flint,  chaplain;  Sov.  11,  1S64;   res.  Jlurch  4.   ISOj. 

Company  C. 

Ciiiit.  Cliiu'les  E.  McAleater,  Flint;  Aug.  1,  lS(i2;  ti-ane.  to  1st  U.  S.  Vet.  Vol.  En- 
giueei'8,  Aug.  18,  1804. 

First  I^ieut.  Oeorge  W.  Buckiiighiini.  l"lliit;  .V.us.  1, 

Second  IJeiit.   WiUtyni   C.   Stewart.   Flint;   iiro.   10   1 
killed  in  battle  of  Resacn,   Oa.,   May  14,  1804. 

Second  Lieut.  Jarvls  E.  Albro,  Mount  Morris;  pro.  to  l3t  lleut.  Oct.  (i,  18(>4;   to 
cajit.  Co.  K,  March  4,  18G5;  must  out  June  28,  1S65. 

Second  Lieut.  Ciiatle  I*  Newell,  Clayton ;  must,  out  June  28,  I860. 

Sergt.  Albert  A.  Bluiore,  Riclifleld ;  |)ro.  to  2(1  lleut.  Co.  K,  Dec.  13,  1862 ;  Ist  lleut, 
Co.  D,  Jan.  3,  lS(i4;  Ciipt.  Oct.  0,  1804;  must,  out  June  28,  1805. 

Sergt.  John  D,  IJght,  Grand  Blanc;  nmst.  out  nt  Salisbury,  N.  C,  June  28,  1865. 

Sergt.  Kgbert  B.  Kiiowlton,  Flushing;  dlsch.  for  disability,  June  10,  1863. 

Sergt.  Levi  Wells,  Jr.,  Montrose;  died  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Dec.  3,  1862. 

Sergt.  Merrltt  W.  Elmore,  Flint;  pi-o.  to  sergt.-nia jor ;  2d  lleut.  Co.  I,  Oct.  0,  1864; 
1st  lleut.  tto.  E,  Nov.  30.  1864;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 

Corp.   Caste   LI.  Newell.   Clayton;    pro.   to  sei^.-mnjor,   Nov.   20,    1864;    2d   lieut., 
Nor.  30,  1864. 

Corp.  James  M.  Wllkins,  Richfield;  must,  out  by  order,  July  13,  1865. 

Corp.  WilUiim  S.  Caldwell,  Genesee;  dietl  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Feb.  28,  ISO;!. 

Corp.  Charles  P.  Rumlow,  I^int;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 

Corp.  John  T.  Turner.  Hushing;  died  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Feb.  28,  1863. 

Corp.    Harmon    Van    Bnsklrk,   Vienna ;    absent  on    furlough ;    not   must,    out    with 
company. 

Corp.  Andrew  J.  Hosle.  Flushing;  killed  In  battle  at  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1804. 

Musician    Somuei    R.   Wycoff,   Grand    Blanc;    trans,    to   Invalid    Corps;    must,    out 
July  14,  1865. 


dbyGoc^lc 


436  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Musicinu  I'orbes  D.  Ewer,  Flint;  diBt-li.  ivr  disubUity,  Marcli  14,  1863. 

Wusiciun  Reuben  Gage,  Mundy;  must,  out  June  28,  18G5. 

Privates— Jo nies  Benjamin,  Davieon;  disch.  for  disabiiity,  Jan.  30,  1863.  Sandford 
M.  Badgley,  Mundy;  died  at  Burnt  Hickory,  Ga„  of  wounda,  May  29,  1865.  William 
M.  Beslierer,  Forest;  must,  out  June  28,  lStl5.  Henry  H.  Beebe,  Forest;  dlsch.  for 
wounds,  Nov.  3,  1864.  Oeoi^e  W.  Brown,  Vienna;  must,  out  June  15,  1865.  James 
Baiawln,  Clayton;  must,  out  June  28,  18«5.  Edwin  C.  Bingham,  Vienna;  must,  out 
June  28,  1865.  William  Barber,  Genesee;  must,  out  June  12,  1865.  Martin  V.  Ciistle, 
Vienna ;  died  of  disease  nt  Nashville,  Tenn.,  July  1,  1864.  John  Conneli,  trans,  to  28tli 
Mieliigan  Infanti-y.  Levi  Craig,  Flnshing;  piust.  out  May  29,  1865.  Andrew  S.  Clark, 
Flint;  must,  out  Juue  28,  l.ses.  George  W.  Oooley,  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 
Nathan  J,  Conrad,  Vienna;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Patrick  Clancy,  Mount  Morris; 
must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Warren  1.  Davis,  died  of  disease  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Nov.  20, 
18()2.  John  N.  Dumoud,  Flint;  died  lu  action  at  Eesaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864.  Alonzo 
Dickinson,  Flint;  must,  out  Juue  28,  1865.  Melvin  W.  Drake,  Linden;  must,  out  June 
28,  1865.  James  Davis,  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Asa  M.  Davis,  Elcbfielfl;  must. 
out  June  28,  1805.  Edward  Eckles,  Flint ;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Wlliam  H.  Eagle, 
Flint;  must,  out  Juue  28,  1865.  George  H.  Eckies,  nint;  must,  out  May  13,  1865. 
David  Foot,  Vienna ;  died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Jan.  6,  1863.  Pen? 
Flemings,  Flint;  dlscii.  for  disability,  Oct.  3,  1862.  Christer  Felton,  Jr.,  Flint;  must. 
out  June  28,  1865.  William  L.  FaiTand,  Vienna;  must,  out  July  5,  1865.  Charles  S. 
Freeman,  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Salem  C.  Gleason,  Flushing;  dlsch.  for  dis- 
ability, Dec.  19,  1862.  Charles  E.  Green,  Clayton;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Jan.  10.  1803. 
David  W.  Gilbert,  Flint;  dlscii.  for  disability,  Dec.  20,  1865.  James  H.  Gilbert,  Thet- 
foi-d;  dlsch.  at  Detroit,  Mich.  George  Huwley,  Forest;  died  of  disease  at  Bowling 
Green,  Ky.,  Nov.  24,  1862.  Bamey  Hai-per,  Flint;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Dee.  17,  1862. 
Marshall  B.  Howe,  Flushing;  died  of  disease  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Dec.  15.  1862.  Isaac 
M.  Howell,  Flint;  died  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  of  wounds  received  May  14,  1864,  John 
Hosie,  Flushing;  died  of  disease  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  Thomas  Hough,  Flushing; 
died  of  disease  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  Sept.  11,  1864.  Robert  S.  Hamill,  Forest;  must, 
out  June  28.  1865.  John  Hughes,  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  William  Hawley, 
Forest;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Albert  Hawley,  Forest;  must.  June  21,  1865.  Jesse 
W.  Hicks,  Thetford;  must,  out  June  15,  1865.  Stephen  Hovey,  Vienna;  must,  out 
May  24,  18G5.  Richard  W.  Johnson,  Flint ;  must  out  May  30,  1865.  Reuben  N,  Lucas, 
Flint;  died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  March  5,  1863.  Legrand  Lamphere, 
Ylinf.  disch.  for  disability,  Feb.  20,  1863  George  F  I^wis  Mundv  disoh  for  dis- 
ability. May  11,  1863.  John  D.  Light,  must  out  June  28  1865  John  McDonald, 
Vienna;  died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green  K\  Not  24  lfi62  Charles  E  Macomb, 
died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Dec  7  1862  James  \  Mills  Richfield  trans, 
to  Vet.  Res.  Coi'ps,  May  1,  1864.  Walter  Ma'^well  Genesee  dl-ith  by  ordei  Oct.  24, 
1863.  Morris  A.  Miller,  Rlehfleld;  died  ot  disease  nt  Ntshiille  Tenn  Dec  3  1864. 
Westel  Mudge,  Forest;  disch.  for  dlsabilifv  June  1  1863  Samuel  Kelson  Burton; 
must,  out  June  20,  1865.  George  W.  Ottway  Claj  ton  died  of  disease  at  Saginaw, 
Mich.,  Oct.  3.  1862.  Edgar  A.  Pilton.  Richfield  died  of  dise'ise  nt  Bowling  Green  Ky., 
March  1,  1863.  William  Putnam,  Mundy  must  out  June  28  1865  George  Puiithorp, 
Vienna ;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Irving  Rogers  rirat  died  in  action  at  Hesacn  Ga., 
May  14,  1864.  Charles  Rice,  Flint ;  died  of  diaense  at  Richmond  ^  a  April  4  1864. 
James  Boberts,  Richfield;  must,  out  May  29  1865  William  E  Eanney  Foiest  must, 
out  June  28,  1865.  Eufus  Eanney,  Forest  must  out  June  28  1865  Willard  Rinney, 
Forest ;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.    James  A    Rose    Gene'.ee     must    out  June  28    1865. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  437 

George  A.  Robluson,  Flushing;  uiust.  out  June  5,  1865.  Chavmeey  Rbyno,  Galues;  must, 
out  June  3,  1865.  Reuhen  W.  Siige,  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Theodore  W,  SeJick, 
Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Henry  D.  Sleeper.  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 
Andrew  S.  Smltn,  Flualiing;  must,  out  June  28,  1805,  William  W.  Stevens,  died  of 
disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Dec.  26,  1862.  George  Sliippy,  died  of  disease  at  Leb- 
anon, Ky.,  Dec.  4,  1862.  Elon  F,  Thomiison,  Rlclifleid;  died  of  disease  at  Knoxville, 
Tenn.,  Feb.  5,  1864.  William  Trumbull,  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Cliarles  F. 
Tibbies,  Flushing;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Theodore  U.  Tupper,  Flint;  must,  out 
June  28,  1865,  Samuel  P.  Tubbs,  Rlcbfleld;  must,  out  June  38,  1865.  William  H. 
Uudei'hill,  Vienna;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Enoch  Ternon,  Flushing;  trans,  to  Vet, 
Res,  Corps,  Dec,  15,  1863.  William  Wan-en,  Forest;  disch.  for  disability,  Nov.  12. 
1862.  Frederick  N.  Walker,  Mount  Morris;  died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky„ 
Marcb  -i.  1863.  Bphrnlm  Wright,  Flint;  dIsch.  for  disability,  Josliua  Wltherall, 
Vienna;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Willavd  S.  Williams,  Flushing;  must,  out  June  28, 
18C5.     James   M,   Williams.   Flushing;   must,   out  July  24,   1865. 

Company  K. 

Capt.  Damon   Stewart,   ii-lint;   Aug.   1,   1802;   must,   out  March   4,  1865. 

Oapt.  Jarvis  E.  Aibro,  Mount  Morris,  March  4,  1865;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 

First  Lieutenant  Samuel  C.  Kandall,  Flint;  Aug.  1,  1862;  pro.  to  capt. ;  must,  oat 
aB  1st  lieut.,  June  28,  1865. 

Second  Lieut.  John  Rea,  Fllut;  Aug.  1,  1862;  res.  Dec.  13,  1862. 

Second  Lieut  Albert  A,  Elmore,  Richfield,  pro.  to  capt,  Co,  D;  must,  ont  June  28, 
1865;  was  sergt.  Co,  C;  then  2d  lieut.  Co.  K;  then  1st  lleut,  Co.  D,  Jan.  3.  1864; 
wounded  at  Eesaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864;  pro.  to  capt.  Oct.  6,  1864, 

Second  Lieut,  John  P,  Atchinson,  Burton;  Oct.  6,  1864;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 

Sergt,  WlUiJim  M,  Beagle,  Flint;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.  Co.  A,  Feb.  6,  1863;  1st  lleut 
June  20,  1864 ;  died  of  wounds  received  at  l^ost  Mountain,  Ga,,  June  16,  1864, 

Sergt.  Jonathan  A.  Owen,  Flint ;  died  of  disease  at  Wilmington,  N.  C.  April  1,  1865. 

Sergt  Charles  A.  Muma,  Fllut;  sergt.-major ;  pi-o,  to  2il  lieut  Co.  I.  March  8,  1864; 
1st  lleut  Co.  H;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 

Sergt.  Robert  Ij.  Warren,  Flint;  disch.  Feb.  2,  1863. 

Sei-gt,  James  G.  Fisher,  Flint;  trans,  to  28th  Inf.  June  28,  1805. 

Corp.  William  J.  SIcAlIIster,  Burton;  absent,  sick;  not  must,  out  with  company, 

Coi-p,  Nelson  A.  Chase,  Atlas;  died  in  Florence  prison-pen,  Oct.  21,  1864, 

Corp,  George  Brosseau,  Flushing;  ti'ans,  to  Inv.  Corps;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 

Corp.  Tberan  E.  Hasklns,  Flushing  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 

Corp.  John  Gregory,  Vienna;  must,  out  by  order.  May  30,  1865. 

Corp-  Dwight  Babcock,  Burton ;  dlsch,  Nov.  21,  1862, 

Corp,  Truman  S.  Alexander,  Burton ;  died  at  New  Albany,  Dec.  26.  1802. 

Musician  Benjamin  Long,  Thetford ;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 

Musician  George  Freeman,  Flint;   must,  out  June  2X.  186S, 

Wagoner  Almon  E^leston,   Flint;   disch,  for  disability,   Oct.  6,  1S64. 

Privates— Delno  AtchJns,  Flint;  died  In  action  at  Reaaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864.  Sam- 
uel W.  Allen,  Muudy;  must,  out  June  28,  1806.  Brackett  J.  Allen.  Slundy;  must,  out 
June  28.  1865.  William  B.  Allen,  Mundy;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Henry  C.  Boyer, 
Flint;  died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Dec.  20,  1862.  Edmond  L.  Beach,  Gen- 
esee; died  of  disease  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Nov.  9,  1862.  5Iortimer  C.  Bodine.  Vienna; 
died  of  disease  at  I-ebanon,  Ky.,  Nov,  12.  1802.  Charles  Best,  Atlaa;  discb.  for  dis- 
ability,   Feb.   5,   1803.     Hiram   Barber,    Buiton;    disch.   for  dlsabiHt.v.   March  20,   1863. 


dbyGoot^lc 


438  GENi'-SEn:  county,  Michigan. 

Geome  W.  Bimee,  Atlas;  trims,  to  Vet.  Ites.  Corps,  Feb.  15,  1884.  Hiram  H.  Bardwell, 
Burton;  trnns.  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  May  1,  1864.  Marlon  Bralnard,  Ui'aud  Blanc;  luust. 
out  June  28,  lS6a.  Clarence  Burrows,  Genesee;  must,  out  June  28,  1885.  Jaiues  Crane, 
Fenton;  dtsch.  for  disability,  Jan.  23,  1863.  Wlllard  Crutliers,  Atlas;  must,  out  Dec. 
H,  1865.  Xoah  Crittenden,  Genesee;  died  of  disease  at  Lonisvllle,  Ky.,  Dec.  3,  1864. 
John  W,  Cleveland,  Flint;  must,  out  May  12,  1865.  Silas  Collins,  Grand  Blauc;  must, 
out  June  28,  1865.  William  L.  Deuier,  Kichfleld;  trans,  to  28tli  Mich.  Inf.  Elijah 
Deeter,  Fenton;  must,  out  June  9,  1865.  ElUis  Doty,  Fenton;  must,  out  June  20,  1865. 
James  Dunn,  Argentine;  must,  out  June  29,  1865.  Nelson  J.  Dunn,  Genesee;  must, 
out  June  28,  1865.  John  C.  Flint,  Davison;- disch.  for  disability,  Feb.  23,  1863.  Orick 
J.  Fales,  ^'ienua;  died  of  disease  at  JefEersonville,  Ind.,  Oct.  15,  1864.  Edward  Fales, 
Flint;  must,  out  Juue  28,  1865.  William  J.  Fales,  Wundy;  must,  out  June  28,  1865. 
James  W.  FIsli,  Flint ;  must,  out  June  28,  1805,  George  M.  Goodenough,  Davison ;  died 
of  disease  at  Columbus,  Ga.,  April  14,  1864.  while  prisoner  of  war.  Warren  Oustin, 
Davison;  must,  out  June  17,  1865.  Enos  Golden,  Grand  Blanc;  luuat.  out  June  0,  1865. 
JeriT  Hoffman,  Grand  Blanc;  died  of  disense  at  Mumfordsvllle,  Ky.,  Dec.  15,  1862. 
Albert  Herrick,  Genesee;  died  of  disease  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  Sept.  9,  1864.  Justin 
Hewitt,  Davison;  missing  in  action  near  Kuoxville,  Tenn.,  Jan.  27,  1864.  James  E.  Howe. 
Davison;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Israel  Hill,  Davison;  must  out  June  7,  1865.  Hiram 
D.  HerrleU,  Vienna;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Sylvester  C.  Hicks,  Vienna;  must,  out 
June  28,  1865.  I^afaj-ette  Hathaway,  Davison;  must,  out  Juue  28,  1865.  Richard  SI. 
Hughes,  Mount  Morris;  must,  out  Slay  29,  1805.  Conrad  Hoffman,  Flint;  must,  out 
June  28,  1865.  HeniT  Ingolls,  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Horace  Jewell,  died 
of  disease  at  Glasgow,  Ky.,  June  16,  1863.  Walter  P.  Jones,  Fenton ;  dIsch.  for  dis- 
ability, Feb.  2,  1863.  Nathan  H.  Johnson,  Mount  Morris;  died  in  action  at  CanipbeH's 
Station,  Tenn.,  Nov.  16,  1863.  Jos^h  H.  King,  HaKleton;  must,  out  June  2H.  1S65. 
H.  D,  Lindsley,  must  out  June  28,  1865.  Robert  MetJumsey,  Thetford;  died  of  disease 
at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  March  17,  1863.  John  M.  Mynds,  disch.  for  disability,  Jan.  2, 
1863.  John  McCumse.v,  Thetford;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Jan.  12,  1863.  Arthur  More- 
house, Genesee;  died  in  action  at  Eesaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864.  Angus  McPherson.  Rleli- 
ileld;  died  of  disease,  Jmie  5,  1864.  I.*ster  S.  McAllister,  Davison;  must,  out  June  as, 
1865.  William  J.  Montgomeiy,  Burton ;  must  out  June  7,  1865.  Tlionias  McUumsey, 
Thetford;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  A.  W.  Mathews,  Richfield;  must,  ont  Aug.  12,  1865. 
Daniel  S.  Potter,  Flint ;  died  of  disease  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Nov.  22,  1802.  James  Porter. 
Mundy;  died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  April  23,  1863.  Henry  C.  Phelps,  Atlas; 
must  out  Juue  28,  1863,  Andrew  V.  R<)use,  aiundy;  must,  out  Miiy  15,  1865.  Caleb  A. 
Richardson,  Genesee ;  dlsch.  by  order,  April  2.  1865.  Andrew  J.  Sumner,  Vienna ;  dlscli. 
for  disability.  Dec.  27.  1863.  Mathew  Smith.  Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  John 
Sinnott,  Genesee;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Calvin  Stafford,  Thetford;  must,  out  June 
2.8,  1865.  Samuel  Siters,  Thetford ;  must,  out  June  28,  18C5.  Shannon  W.  Scott,  Thet- 
ford; must,  out  June  28.  1865.  Harvey  Stephens,  Genesee;  must,  out  June  28,  1805. 
Irwin  Stafford,  Thetford :  must,  out  .Tune  28,  1865.  Parker  Sfott,  TUetford ;  must,  out 
July  3,  1865.  William  B.  Thui-ston.  died  of  disease  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Jan.  10, 
18C3.  James  N.  Tower,  Richfield;  trans,  to  2Sth  Michigan  Infantry.  Ambrose  Thomas, 
Flint;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  William  H.  Thorp,  Fenton;  must  out  June  2S,  1865. 
William  A.  Van  Tuyl,  Genesee;  died  of  disease  at  Citiclnnatl,  Ohio,  Oct.  18,  lSf!2. 
Alfred  B.  Vorce,  died  near  Knoxillle.  Tenn.,  Jan.  28,  1864,  of  wounds.  George  A'an 
Vaikeuburgh,  I>arison;  died  in  action  at  Kesaca,  Ga.,  May  14,  1804.  Albert  Van  Vlelt. 
Gaines;  must,  out  June  28,  1805.  William  H.  Wheeler,  Flint;  died  of  disease  at 
Glasgow,   Ky..   July  11,   1863.     Charles   .s;.    Warner,   Vienna;   disch.   for   dlsiibillty.   .^prli 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  439 

2T,  1803.     HaiLiilton   S.  WiIOm',  Dnvimui;  died  of  disease  at  Aiidersonvilie,  Ga.,   Sept.   1. 
1864.     Ileiiry    Witililey,    Flint;    must,    out   June    28,    lS«Ei.     I.estoi-    N.    Wltliers,    Atlas; 
must.  oHt  June  28,  1805.    Deloss  Woraen,  Muiidy;  must,  out  Jmie  2y,  1865. 
Other  Compnnics. 

Capt.  George  W.  Buckiugliaui,  Flint,  Co.  A ;  pi'o.  from  let  lieut.  Oo.  C,  Feb.  13. 
1863;  wounded  In  battle  at  Campbell's  Stntion,  Tenii.,  Nov.  16,  18(J3;  res.  Sept.  20,  1804. 

William  M.  Begole,  Flint;  2d  lieut.  Co,  A;  enl.  (sei-gt.  Co.  K)  ;  Feb.  S,  1863;  pro. 
to  capt.  June  20,  1864;  died  Oct.  15,  1804,  of  wounds  received  lu  action  at  I»at  Mouu- 
tnln,  Ga..  June  16,  1864. 

Albert  A.  Elmore,  RlcMeld;  capt.  Co.  D;  pro.  from  Ist  lieut.  Co.  I),  Oct.  6.  1804; 
wouudedat  Resaoa,  Ga.,  May  14,  1804;  must,  out  June  28,  1805. 

William  C.  Stewart,  Flint;  1st  lieut.  Oo.  K;  Oct.  3,  1863;  killeil  nt  Kesiica,  Ga., 
May   14,  1864. 

Merrltt  W.  Elmore,  Flint.  1st  lieut.  Co.  E,  Nov.  30,  1864;  must,  out  June  28,  1805. 

Charles  A.  Muma,  Flint,  1st  lieut.  Co.  H;  must,  out  June  28.  1865. 

Privates — James  Austin,  Vienna,  Co.  D;  must,  out  June  28,  186a.  Joseph  Billings, 
Thetford,  Co.  H;  trans,  to  2Sth  Mioliiguu  Infantrj'.  Jolin  Borlisou,  Gaines,  Co.  K,  one 
year;  must,  out  June  6,  1865.  John  T.  Barnum,  Atlas,  Co.  I;  must,  out  June  28,  1805. 
John  M.  Cliilds,  Gaines,  Co.  E.  one  year;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  George  Crow,  Gen- 
esee, Co.  1;  must  out  June  28,  1865.  William  Dneltgen,  Burton,  Co.  G;  musician; 
tnius.  to  Vet  Kes.  Coi-ps,  Nov.  15,  1863.  Madison  Fisher,  Mundy-.  Co.  D;  must,  out 
Aug.  12,  1865.  Henry  Oiddings,  Gaines,  Co.  H;  must,  out  June  5,  1865.  Charles  M. 
Muycb,  Vienna,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at  Anderson v  11  le,  Ga.,  Marcli  23,  1804.  Theodoi-e 
Helmer,  Thetford,  Co.  B;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Benjamin  H.  Hewitt,  Genesee, 
Co.  B,  one  year;  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Carlos  E.  Hall,  Gaines,  Co.  G;  must,  out 
June  28,  1865.  Sunnier  W.  Howard,  Flint,  Co.  I;  must,  out  May  19,  1865.  Charles  A. 
Neff,  Vienna,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Feb.  25.  1865.  James  Pannelee,  Vienna,  Co.  B  (corp) ; 
died  of  disease  at  Anderson vi lie,  Ga.,  Sept.  8,  1S64.  Homer  D.  Penoyer,  Flushing,  Co. 
E  (wagoner);  must,  out  June  28,  1865.  Otis  H.  Reed,  Fenton,  Co.  G;  must,  out  June 
28,  1865,  En-in  D.  Savage,  Clayton.  Co.  I,  died  of  disease  at  JefCersonvllle.  lud.,  Jan. 
1,  1865.  John  C.  C.  Stepliens,  Genesee.  Co.  H;  must,  out  June  10,  1865.  Hiram 
Towsley,  Fenton.  Co.  G;  died  of  disease  at  I^ulsvllle,  Ky.  .  Charles  Walner,  Flint. 
Co.  G;  trans,  to  28th  Wlclilgan  Infantrj-.  Phiio  Wheaton,  Forest.  Oo.  G;  ninst.  out 
June  14,  1«6,1.  James  Youn«.  Vienna.  Co.  B;  must,  out  May  30,  1805.  Charles  H. 
Penoyer.  Mount  Morris,  Oo.  E   icorp.l;  absent  on  detaplied  service. 

TWENTY-NINTH   INFANTRY. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  of  Genessee  county — officers  and 
private  soldiers — served  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  with  the  Twenty-ninth 
Michigan  Infantry.  This  regiment  was  organized  at  Saginaw  in  the  autumn 
of  1S64;  its  muster  into  the  Utiited  States  service  was  completed  on  the  3d 
of  October  in  that  year.  Three  days  later  it  left  the  rendezvous  for  Nash- 
viile,  Tennessee,  where  it  arrived  October  12th  and  soon  after  moved  to 
Decatur,  Alabama,  reaching  there  on  the  26th.  On  the  day  of  its  arrival  at 
Decatur  that  place  was  attacked  by  the  army  of  the  Confederate  General  Hood. 


dbyGoot^lc 


440  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

and  the  Twenty-ninth  took  part  in  the  defense  of  the  position  until  the  30th, 
when  the  enemy  retired. 

From  the  "Red  Book  of  Michigan" : 

When  tbe  rebel  General  Hood  was  on  bis  uortheru  campaign  lu  IHtyi  ti.r  the  pur 
imse  of  overrunning  Tennessee,  getting  possession  of  Nashville  and  Jjouisdlle  and 
threatealug  the  cttles  ou  the  Ohio  river,  the  Twenty-ninth  Michigan  (letrulted  and 
rendezvoused  under  the  supervision  of  Hon.  John  F.  Drlggs,  M.  C  )  undei  (.ommand 
of  Col.  Thomas  M.  Saylor,  was  stationed  at  Nashville,  and  ou  the  advance  of  Hood  upon 
Decatur,  Ala.,  it  was  sent  forward  to  that,  point,  arriving  there  on  the  20th  just  lu 
time  to  march  from  the  cars  to  its  position  in  line  to  meet  the  advance  if  Hoods  forces 
then  attacking  that  place.  Col.  Charles  C.  Doolittle,  of  the  Eighteenth  Michigan  was 
in  command  of  the  post  of  Decatur,  and  for  some  days  previous  to  the  2f!th  had  l>een 
watching  the  moiements  of  Hood's  army,  as  well  as  those  of  Forest  ind  Rodde}  and 
had  scouted  the  surrounding  country  as  thoroughly  as  possible.  On  the  morning  of 
the  2Gth  he  sent  out  several  detachments  on  the  Somervllie  and  Oourtland  roads  one 
oC  which  met  a  prettty  Strong  force  about  three  miles  out  on  the  Somen  die  road  and 
was  obliged  to  retire.  Not  exiiecting  the  advance  of  Hood's  army  for  a  daj  or  two  at 
least.  Colonel  Doolittle  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  might  he  a  scouting  party  of  Eoddey  s 
command;  but,  at  half  past  one  o'clock  p.  m.,  of  the  same  day,  his  videttes  reported 
the  enemy  advancing  on  the  place  He  imniediately  made  preparations  for  action  and 
rode  to  the  advance  post  on  the  Somervllie  road.  On  seeing  the  enemy's  column  form- 
ing into  Hue  with  sklrinlMhers  out,  he  ordered  the  Second  Tennessee  Cavalry  to  hold 
the  enemy  in  check,  and  then  hurried  back  to  headfluarters  and  made  the  necessai^y 
disposition  of  his  force  to  meet  the  coming  attack. 

Battery  A,  First  Tennessee  IJght  Artillery,  supported  by  the  reserie  picket  of  the 
Elghteeath  Michigan  that  had  been  ordered  up,  soon  got  into  position  in  a  small  redoubt 
commanding  the  Somervllie  road  and  vicinity,  and  at  once  opened  flre  on  the  enemy's 
line  of  battle.  The  Tenth  Indiana  Cavalry  had  also  been  ordered  np  and  was  engaged 
at  various  points  looking  nfter  and  checking  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  Finding  that 
he  could  hold  the  rebels  in  check,  Colonel  Doolittle.  about  twenty  minutes  after  the 
artillery  opened  fire,  ordered  the  right  wlug  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Michigan,  which  had 
Just  arrived  by  rail  from  Nashville  and  been  placed  behind  the  breastworks  on  the  left 
flank,  to  move  to  the  front  and  occupy  the  line  of  vifle-pits  on  the  left  of  the  redoubt. 
This  they  accomplished  in  the  most  gallant  style  under  a  hot  fire  from  the  enemy's 
artillery  and  musketry,  which  they  withstood  with  firmness.  Soon  after  the  other  wlug 
of  the  raiment  was  ordered  out  and  one  hundred  of  the  men  In  command  of  the  Major 
were  sent  to  what  was  known  as  I'ort  No.  1.  Battery  1,  First  Ohio  Light  Artillery, 
had  been  ordered  forward  and  opened  ou  the  enemy,  the  fight  continuing  till  durk,  the 
rebels  being  unable  to  gain  any  advance,  notwithstanding  they  made  'several  attempts 
to  charge  the  line.  Colonel  Doolittle  then  withdrew  the  advance  force  inside  the  main 
works,  leaving  one  hundred  meu  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Sllchlgan  to  strengthen  the  picket 
line  and  hold  the  line  of  the  rifle-pits.  In  the  engagement  of  this  day  the  pickets  on 
the  Union  line,  from  the  redoubt  to  the  riier  on  the  right,  remained  in  their  position, 
and  when  night  came  the  picket  line  was  intact.  It  was  ascertained  that  the  attack 
was  mado  hy  Walthal's  division,  flve  thousand  strong,  of  Stewart's  corps.  Hood's  army, 
and  was  fought  by  Colonel  Doolittle  with  less  than  five  hundred  men  and  a  small  amount 
of  artillery.  During  the  night  of  the  2fith  the  Union  forces  were  receiving  reinforce 
ments,  and  on  the  27th  nothing  more  important  occurred  than  the  driving  back  of  the 
enemy's  skirmishers  on  the  front  and  right  flank.    On  the  2«th.  about  3  a.  m.,  the  enemy 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  44I 

drove  in  a  iiortion  of  tlip  pickets  on  the  right  aud  estahllahed  theuiKelves  In  giiiiher  Imles 
within  four  hundred  yards  of  the  worlta.  An  attempt  was  uuide  early  m  the  morning 
to  dislodge  them  and  re-eatiihllsh  the  line,  but  the  enemy  were  too  well  jirotected  to  be 
moved.  Some  time  afterwards  they  were  surijrised  by  Capt.  W.  C.  Moore,  Eighteenth 
Michigan,  with  about  fifty  men  ft'om  that  regiment  and  a  few  clerks  and  orderlies  from 
district  headquarters,  who  made  a  moHt  daring  and  dashing  attni-k  on  them,  driving 
them  from  their  holes  lliie  scared  rats  and  talking  one  hundred  and  fifteen  prisoners. 
During  the  day  the  battle  became  general:  the  I'nlon  troojis,  haiing  been  reinforced 
and  numbering  about  five  thousand,  had  made  a  most  determined  defense,  and  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  21)th  it  was  ascertaineil  that  the  enemj''s  forces  had  all  been  with- 
drawn except  a  strong  rear  guard,  and  at  about  i  p.  m.  he  was  driven  out  of  his  last 
line  of  rifle-pits. 

The  noble  and  successful  defense  of  Decatur  by  Colonel  Doollttle,  against  such 
enormous  odds,  was  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  remarkable  of  the  war,  and  Its  Import- 
ance, in  view  of  its  effect  upon  the  great  battle  of  Nashville,  nhich  soon  followed,  was 
second  to  no  minor  engagement  during  the  rebellion. 

The  exemplary  conduct,  vigorous  and  splendid  fighting  of  Colonel  Saylor's  regiment 
iind  his  officers,  although  Jess  than  a  mouth  in  the  field,  could  scarcely  ha\-e  been  ex- 
celled  by  long  tried  veterans. 

From  that  time  the  regiment  garrisoned  Decatur  until  the  24th  of  Novem- 
ber, when  it  marched  to  Murfreesboro;  reaching  there  on  the  26th  it  com- 
posed a  part  of  the  defending  force  at  that  point  during  the  siege  of  Nash- 
ville and  Murfreesboro  by  Hood,  being  engaged  with  a  part  of  the  enemy's 
forces  at  Overall  Creek,  December  7.  Having  been  sent  out  to  escort  a  rail- 
way-train on  the  1,1th,  it  was  attacked  at  Winsted  Church  by  a  superior  force 
of  the  enemy — infantry  and  artillery— and  in  the  severe  action  which  ensued 
it  sustained  a  loss  of  seventeen  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  The  track 
was  relaid  under  a  brisk  fire  and  the  regiment  brought  the  train  safely  hack 
to  Murfreesboro  by  hand,  the  locomotive  having  been  disabled  by  a  shell. 
On  the  (5th  and  i6th  it  was  attacked  by  two  brigades  of  the  enemy's  cavalry 
on  the  Shelbyville  turnpike,  south  of  Murfreesboro,  while  guarding  a  forage- 
train,  and  was  again  slightly  engaged  at  Nolansville  on  the  17th.  On  the 
27th  it  moved  by  rail  to  Anderson,  and  was  assigned  to  the  duty  of  guarding 
the  Nashville  &  Chattanooga  railroad.  It  remained  on  this  duty  till  July, 
1865,  when  it  moved  to  Decherd,  Tennessee,  and  thence  to  Murfreesboro, 
arriving  there  on  the  19th.  It  was  employed  there  on  garrison  duty  till 
September  6,  when  it  was  mustered  out  of  the  service;  on  the  8th  it  left  Ten- 
nessee for  Michigan,  and  was  disbanded  at  Detroit  about  the  13th  of 
September. 


t-NINTn    INFANTBY    FB 

Lieut.-Col.  B.  Frank  Eddy,  Flint;  enl.  Sept.  5,  1864;  must,  out  S^t,  6,  1865, 
First  Sergt.  and  Adj.   Henry  P.   Seymour,  I^lnden;   enl.  July  20,  1864;   pro.  to  capt 
Company  F. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


442  GENESEE    COUNTY;    MICHIGAN. 

Adj.  Charles  S.  CHmmiiigs,  riiislilug ;  eiil.  Sept.  23,  ISW;  iiiiist.  out  Sept.  0,  1865, 
Surg.  Titus  Duiifau,  ItiL-hfleid  ;   eul.   Sept.  2U,  ISCiJ  ;   roe.   .Tiiu.  8.  lSt>5. 

Company   Q. 
First  Lieut.  Truiuau  W.   Hawlej,   RicMeltl;    eol.   Sei)t.   Hi,   1S(U;   must,  out  Sept. 
25,  1865. 

Second  Lieut,  Clinrleti  S.  Cumniiugs,  Flushlug;  enl.  Aug.  21,  1,SU4;  pro.  to  1st  ]Ieut. 
Couipuiiy  K. 

Sergt.  Cortland  It.  Demaree,  Flint;  must,  out  Sept.  C,  1863. 
Seret.  G.  E,  Towusena,  Flint;   must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Sergt.  P.  H.  Ton-sley,  Vienna ;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Sergt.  Josiah  Itock,  Flushing;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  186a. 
Corp.  Philip  Myers,  Burtou  (sei-gt.) ;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Cori'-  David   Scanlon,   Flint;   absent;   sick;   not   uiustei'ed   out   witli   company. 
Corp.  John  Gay,  Argentine;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Corp.  Michael  Kooney.  Mount  Moi-ria;  must,  out  Sept.  6.  1865. 
Corp.  Silouie  Plew,  Mount  Morris;  must,  out  Sept.  0,  1865. 
Cluiuitcey  Bacon,  wagoner,  Flint ;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 

Pri*  ate'^ — Etclianl  Copland,  must,  out  Sept.  C,  1865.  Jaiuua  Cooley,  Rlclifield ; 
must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  C.  C.  Feuner,  Klchfleld;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  William 
Goddard.  Flushing;  died  of  disease,  Jan.  12,  1863.  Henry  N.  Gay,  Flushing;  must,  out 
Sep.t  0,  1865.  Bllzur  Hunt.  Flushing;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  A.  J.  Knickerbocker, 
Mouut  Morris;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865,  Richard  M,  Kelch,  Davison;  must  out  Sept.  6, 
1865.  Philip  Myers,  must,  out  Sept  6,  1863.  Charles  H.  Mitts,  Vienna ;  must,  out  Sept. 
6,  1865.  Samuel  B.  Mitts.  Flushing;  must,  out  Sept  6,  1865.  John  Murray,  Burton; 
must  out  S«^t,  6,  1863.  John  McCulloch,  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  William  H.  Moore, 
Mouut  Morris;  died  of  disease.  April  16,  1863.  James  Slahouey,  must,  out  May  10, 
George  Niibors,  corp.,  Grand  Blanc;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Hugh  Nixon,  must,  out 
July  18,  1865.  Homer  Parsell,  Corp.,  Argentine;  must  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  George  Pat- 
rick, Burton;  must,  out  Sept  6.  J865.  William  lUley,  Flint;  must,  out  Sept  6,  1865, 
Allen  M  Tonn.  Button,  must  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Francis  M.  Town,  Flushing;  nmst. 
out  Sept.  6,  1865 

Company  H. 
Capt.  La  Rue  Schram,  Burton;  enl.  Sept.  17,  1864;  hou.  disch.  March  22,  1865. 
First  Lieut.  George  J.  Hill,  Richfield;  enl.  Sept  17,  1864;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Second  Lieut.  Ge-u-ge  Reed,  Forest;  enl.  Sept.  17,  1864;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Sergt.  Peter  McKinney,  Flint;  dlsch.  for  disability,  -Tan.  14,  1865. 
Sergt.  George  Rudth,  Burton;  must,  out  Sei)t.  6,  1865. 
Sergt.  James  P.  Gloier,  Grand  Blanc;  must,  out  Sept  6,  1865. 
Sergt.  Mortimer  M.  Olds,  Richfield;  must,  out  by  order,  June  2,  1865. 
Corp.  Charles  Smith,  Forest;  died  of  disease  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  Jan.  19,  1865. 
Corp.  Jolm  Retgle.  (irand  Blanc;  must,  out  by  order.  May  17,  1865. 
Corp.  John  lEickler,   Grand   Blanc ;    died   of  disease  at   Murfreesboro,   Teim.,    Jan. 
19.  1865. 

Corp.  Jnaoii  P.  Udridge    Oraud  Blanc   (sergt)  ;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  186B. 
■    Corp.  David   Dickinson,   Richfield;   must,   out   by   order.   May   17,   1865. 
Corp.  Edward  Carley,  Davison;   must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Corp.  Samuel  S.  Clemens,  Richfield;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1863. 
Musician  Edgar  Annlbal,  Atlas;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
Privates — William  Beagle,  Vienna;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.    Peter  Baker,  Forest; 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  443 

W  B    „  h  It  t    ou     Se  t    0    1  f)  Is 

:  M       11     IH        ]>d      rl    \    B  d    (    aud  B  d  ed  of 

i    JSllo     Tlio    aa  t     e    lit  lifleld    mua     o  t  Sept 
1  r        U  e  t  C     e    tl     to       ui  It    o  t  =iei  t    6    lS6f>      W I  D     is    But    n     ui  at 

e  1''         J      e    1   nui  J,  d  Bl  n       u  st   o  t  <!eit    6    1805     1  lilne  s  H 

u      u  Se  t         I860     Clii  sto  lie    t  o  e     G       i  B    u  ust        t 

o      J      es  D         Ti      \ie  m  St    out   '^ei  t  6    ISOo     D     1      HI    eln  li 

Bu  m  ft       t  Se  t  ft   VMo      \ul      ruJHrtBro      must    out  M       18   ISdj 

E  i    tt   J    Ho  to      HI  hfie  d         ust    out   M  v   16    116j      No      \    Le  t    Tl   sill  jt      as 
o  t    ''e:  t    6    IS60     la    c    PUIl  pa    <  r     d    Bl  n        u  st    out    Sei  t    6     iSbj     7ebul 
Parker    Rl  hfleld    must    out  Sept    J   186       W    re     Presto      Ge  esee     u    st      ut  Sei  t 
e    186<>     Mnrt    Kobi  son    Bur  on    n  uflt    out   Sei      6    IStS     Moti  en    Roof    It    iiflel  I 
m  st    out   'ile  t    6    l'^eJ     Heurj    H    Isbotto    G  and   BI  nc     n  ust    out   be]  t    6    1'* 
Tho  nas  She  tz.  dtaoh    tor  dtsat  Hi  v    iprfl  '>'>    1S65     J  stlce  Steve  s,  u  ust    out  Sei  t 
C    ISO.      tliilMuiher   Sli         M  n!       m  st    out   Se  t    6    is&j     (_liris  o  lie     W    sone 
FentiHi;    Tiiust.   out   ,Se|it.   6.   ISbu.     Therou   Woodruff,    Forest;   must,   out   .Se])t.    0.    IMi... 
WLIUiitii  I).  Wallnc-e,  Flint;  nuist.  out  Sept.  G.  1SC5. 

Other  Companies. 

Jefferson  J.  Wilder.  Vienim;  1st  lieut.  Co.  A;  must  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 

Heiii-j-  P.  Sej-mour,  I.iuden;  capt.  Co.  F,  March  27,  ISCS;  must,  out  Sept.  0,  LSIi-'i. 

Johu  Branch,  Forest ;  2d  lieut.  Co.  F,  July  29,  1864 ;  i-es.  Jau.  24,  1865. 

Pi-ivates— Emerson  Anis,  Co.  K ;  muBt.  out  Sept.  0,  18G5.  Elliott  R.  Burnett.  Atlas, 
Co.  A;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Edward  L.  Baker,  (ienesee,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Sept. 
6,  1865.  Edward  H.  Carsou,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  E;  died  of  disease  at  Slurfreesboro, 
Tenn.,  Dec.  24.  1864.  Samuel  H.  Crawl,  Foi-est.  Co.  A;  Diust.  out  Sept.  8,  1865,  George 
Clarl;,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  George  Dunn,  I'lenna,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept.  6, 
1SG5.  Andrew  Daly,  Fluslilng,  Co.  E;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Charles  Dlblile,  Co.  ii; 
must,  out  Sept,  (!,  1865.  Sdiiiuel  A.  Dlclison,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Sept  6,  1865.  Aaron 
Finehout,  (irand  Blauc,  Co.  A;  uiust.  out  Sept.  6,1865.  Donuan  Finehout,  Grand  Biaiic. 
Co.  A ;  must,  out  8^t.  6,  1865.  Rlmore  Ferris,  Davison,  Oo.  F ;  must,  out  Sept.  0,  1865. 
WillLiin  Goddai-d,  Co.  F;  died  of  disease  at  Jefferson viile,  Ind.,  Jan.  12,  1864.  John  I.. 
Grimner.  Burton,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  James  QHmau,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  C: 
must,  out  Sept.  <>,  1865.  Thomas  L.  Hunt,  Birch  Kun,  Co,  F;  must  ont  Sept  6,  1805. 
Heuiy  W.  Howland,  Atlas,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Nathan  A.  Jenks,  Clayton, 
Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept  6,  1865.  Henry  Kincade,  Atlas,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865, 
Henry  D.  King,  Genesee,  Co.  P ;  sergt, ;  must,  out  May  23,  1865.  William  B.  Kent,  Co. 
K;  must,  out  S^it  6,  1865,  J<«eph  Lynch,  Burton,  Co.  O;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865. 
I>avid  Lowe,  Flushing,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Detloft  Locke,  Clayton,  Co.  D; 
iimat.  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Charles  W.  Lamont,  Co,  K;  must  out  Sept,  6,  1865.  WHliani 
H.  Moon,  Co.  F;  died  of  disease  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  6,  1865.  Andreiv  J.  Martin, 
Burton,  Co.  F;  must,  out  May  18,  1865.  Isaac  Martin,  Burton,  Co.  F;  must,  out  June 
ly,  1865.  John  Mallory,  Burton,  Co.  F;  must  out  May  24,  1865.  Perry  E.  Newman, 
Davison,  Cfl.  E;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Frank  F.  Osbum,  Vienna,  Co.  E;  must,  out 
March  fi,  1865.  Jacob  Phillips,  Co,  K;  mnst.  out  Sept.  6.  1865.  Theodore  Poquette,  C<i. 
K ;  must  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Daniel  K.  Roberts,  Forest  Co.  A ;  must,  out  Sept,  16,  1865. 
George  Shai-pstein,  Co,  K ;  died  of  disease  at  Hilton  Head,  N.  C  May  19,  1865.  George 
W.  Summer,  Vienna,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  James  Smeaton,  nushing,  Co.  C; 
nmsf,  out  Sept  6,  1865.  Charles  S.  Smith,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  E;  must,  out  June  23, 
1865,    Andrew  Sheperd,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  P;  must,  out  June  23,  1865.    Joshua  Wether- 


dbyGoot^lc 


444  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

bee,  Vietinft,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at  D'iili'iield,  Mich..  Sept.  2H.  18G4.  Willlnm  C, 
Wiiber,  AtliiB,  Co.  A ;  must,  out  Sept.  6,  1865.  Williani  W.  Whipple,  Graud  Biane,  Co.  A ; 
must,  out  S^t.  6,  1865.  William  Wooden,  Burton,  Co.  V;  must,  out  S^t.  6.  1S65. 
Albeit  Johnson,  Genesee,  Co.  F;  corp;  absent,  sicl:;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

THIRTIETH  INFANTRY. 

On  account  of  the  numerous  attempts  made  by  the  enemy  to  organize 
in  Canada  plundering  raids  against  our  northern  border,  authority  was  given 
by  the  war  department  to  the  governor  of  Michigan,  in  the  autumn  of  1864, 
to  raise  a  regiment  of  infantry  for  one  year's  service,  especially  designed  to 
guard  the  Michigan  frontier.  Its  formation,  under  the  name  of  the  Thirtieth 
Michigan  Infantry,  was  begun  at  Jackson  in  November,  1864,  and  completed 
at  Detroit  on  the  9th  of  January,  1S65.  To  this  regiment  Genesee  county 
furnished  between  sixty  and  seventy  men,  most  of  whom  served  in  Company  I. 

When  the  organization  was  completed  the  regiment  was  stationed  in 
companies  at  various  points,  one  company  being  placed  at  Fort  Gratiot,  one 
at  St,  Clair,  one  at  Wyandotte,  one  at  Jackson,  one  at  Fenton,  three  in  Detroit 
barracks,  and  one  on  duty  in  the  city.  But  the  speedy  collapse  of  the  Rebel- 
lion put  an  end  to  Canadian  raids,  and  the  regiment,  although  the  men  were 
willing  for  service,  had  no  active  duty  to  perform.  It  remained  on  duty 
until  the  30th  of  June,  1865,  and  was  then  mustered  out. 


FBOM    GUNESEE   COUNTY. 

John  Wlllett,  Flint;  surgeon;  eni.  Jan.  0,  1865;  juust.  out  June  30,  1805. 

Capt.   Wm.  E.   Christian,   Fliut;   eni.   June  SI,  I860;   must,   out  Jime  30,   1865. 

2d  Lieut.  Henry  M.  Jlason,  Flint;   eni.   June  it,   1865;   must,  out  June  30,   ISt'Jo. 

Sergt.  Henry  C.  Fuller,  Hint;  must,  out  June  30,  1805. 

Sergt.  Wm.  L.  Soyer,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 

Sergt.  John  B,   Tiiylor,   Flint ;  must,  out  June  30.  1865. 

Sergt.  Ambrose  Mevritt,  Grand  Blanc;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 

Corp.  Josiah  P.  Hackett,  Flint,  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 

Corp.  Sidney  J.  Reynolds,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 

Corp.  Gtibei't  Chamberlain,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 

Corp.  M.  V.  B.  Clark,  Flint,  must,  out  June  30,  1S65. 

Com  patty  I. 
Privates — Leonard  J.  Adams,  Davison;  nmst.  out  June  30,  1865.  Oliver  Bassett, 
Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Amerce  J.  Bachelder,  Flint;  must,  out  Aug.  IS,  1865, 
Amos  Butler,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30.  1865.  Thomas  H.  Beamish,  Flint;  must,  out 
June  30,  1865.  Daniel  H.  Camjjbell,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Wtiliam  F.  Clap- 
saddle,  Davison,  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Hiram  H.  Clapsaddle,  Davison;  must,  out 
June  30,  1865.  Adonlram  J.  Conger,  Davison;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Melvin  E, 
Crandall,  Atlas;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.     Edward  Cmumlngs,  Atlas;  must,  out  Jime 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  445 

30,  18C5.  Robert  M,  Dulley,  Atliis;  must,  out  June  30,  18C5.  Mtirk  Elwell,  GrJiml 
Blanc;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Heiii-y  H.  Griswold,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1885. 
Charles  Gunn,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1805.  Frank  H.  Hungerford,  Flint;  must,  out 
June  30,  1865.  Willinui  V.  Hilton,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Benjamin  Hllker. 
Flint:  niuBt.  out  June  30,  1865.  Wllliiiiu  Hurd,  Grand  Bliino;  must,  out  June  30,  1863. 
Henry  O.  Hardj-,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1805.  Williimi  II.  Jones,  Genesee;  must,  out 
June  30,  1865.  Iioreiizo  Johnson,  Atliis;  must,  out  June  30,  18G5.  Francis  Keene.  Flint: 
must,  out  June  30,  1865.  John  P.  Kore,  Atlas;  must,  out  June  30,  1S65.  Robert  Knowlea, 
Dnvlson;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Harrison  T.  Kipp.  Atlas;  must,  out  June  30,  18C5. 
Hymnn  Lee,  Atlas;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Webster  W.  Mieltle,  Flint;  must,  out  June 
30,  1865.  Alfred  McMlchnel,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1863.  Saiiford  SIcTaggert. 
Davison;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Oscar  B.  Moss,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 
Luther  Miller,  Atlas;  must  out  June  30,  1865.  Frank  Myers.  Atliis;  must,  out  June 
30,  1865.  William  Odell,  Genesee ;  most,  out  June  30,  1865.  Spencer  W.  Pierce,  Flint ; 
must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Eugene  Phelpa,  Grand  Blanc;  must,  out  June  30,  1865,  Martin 
W.  Eipley,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Enos  D.  Stilaon,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30, 
1865.  WlllJnm  Snydra-,  Clayton;  must,  out  June  30,  1S65.  William  H.  Seymour,  Burton; 
must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Sampel  Spicev,  Atlas;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Thomas  Sad- 
dlngton.  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Andrew  Seeley,  Davison;  must,  out  June  30, 
1865.  Cyms  Tlttsworth,  Atlas:  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Clark  Tlttsworth,  Atlas; 
must,  out  June  30,  186fi.  Walter  E.  Vandusen,  Atlas;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Gardner 
White,  Flint;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 

Company  K. 
William   D.   Gilbert,   Flint;   must,   out  July  30,   1865. 

FIRST   ENGINEERS    AND    MECHANICS. 

The  regiment  bearing  this  name  was  raised  in  the  summer  and  autumn 
of  1861,  under  Col,  WiUiam  P.  Innes  as  commanding  officer,  having  its 
rendezvous  at  Marshall,  Calhoun  county.  It  was  intended,  as  its  name 
implies,  to  }ye  principally  employed  in  the  numerous  kinds  of  mechanical  and 
engineering  work  incident  to  the  operations  of  an  army.  Uniike  many  other 
special  organizations,  it  was  largely  used  for  the  purpose  originally  designed. 
It  was  also  armed  with  infantry  weapons,  and  whenever  called  on,  its  mem- 
bers showed  themselves  as  prompt  in  battle  as  they  were  skillful  in  labor. 
The  regiment  contained  a  considerable  number  of  men  from  Genesee  county. 
At  a  meeting  held  in  Flint,  September  17,  1861,  and  composed  largely  of 
eligible  men,  it  was  resolved  to  form  a  company  to  join  the  Engineers  and 
Mechanics,  and  George  T.  Clark  was  elected  captain  of  the  proposed  organ- 
ization. But  for  some  cause  the  project  failed,  and  no  company  distinctively 
of  Genesee  county  material  was  formed,  though  the  county  contributed  about 
one-third  to  the  formation  of  Company  B,  nearly  one-fourth  its  members  to 
Company  F,  and  slightly  to  six  other  companies  of  the  regiment. 

The  Engineers  and  Mechanics  were  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


446  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

United  States  at  the  rendezvous  by  Capt.  H.  R.  A'lizner,  United  States  of 
America,  October  28  to  December  6,  1861.  On  the  21st  of  the  latter  month, 
they  left  Marshall,  about  one  thousand  and  thirty  strong,  for  I^uisville,  Ken- 
tucky. On  account  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  service  required  of  them, 
they  were  employed  in  detachments,  and  thus  it  would  be  impracticable  to 
trace  them  through  all,  or  half,  their  numerous  marchings  and  labors.  One 
of  the  detachments  was  under  Gen.  O.  M.  Mitchell  in  his  advance  on  Bowhng 
Green,  and  among  the  first  Union  troops  to  enter  that  town  after  its  evacua- 
tion by  the  enemy.  After  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson  opened  Tennessee 
to  the  Union  forces,  the  Engineers  and  Mechanics  were  speedily  at  work  in 
that  state  repairing  bridges  and  railroads  and  opening  lines  of  communication. 
For  eight  weeks  immediately  following  the  battle  of  Shiloh  they  were  engaged 
in  constructing  steamboat-landings.  In  June,  1862,  they  built  seven  bridges 
on  the  Memphis  &  Charleston  railroad,  ranging  from  eighty  to  three  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  were  also  engaged  throughout  the  season  in  open- 
ing and  repairing  railroads  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  northern  Alabama 
and  Mississippi. 

While  at  I^vergne,  Tennessee,  on  the  ist  of  January,  1863,  a  part  of 
the  regiment  was  attacked  by  two  brigades  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  under 
Generals  Wheeler  and  Wharton,  with  two  pieces  of  artillery,  but  succeeded 
in  defeating  them  with  serious  loss.  During  the  year  the  regiment,  divided 
into  detachments,  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  building  bridges,  making 
pontoon-boats  and  other  similar  work  in  Tennessee  and  noithern  Alabama. 
One  of  these  bridges,  over  the  Elk  river,  Tennessee,  was  four  hundred  and 
sixty  feet  long.  The  same  work  was  continued  through  the  greater  part  of 
1864  mostly  in  the  vicinity  of  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  Decatur,  Bridgeport, 
and  Stevenson,  Alabama.  The  men  whose  term  had  expired  were  mustered 
out  in  October,  1864,  but  there  were  enough  re-enlisted  men  and  recrufts  to 
keep  the  command  up  to  its  original  strength. 

Alx>ut  the  ist  of  November  the  regiment,  except  two  companies,  was 
transferred  to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  where  it  destroyed  an  immense  number  of 
rebel  foundries,  rolling-mills  and  other  similar  works,  and  then  marched  with 
Sherman's  army  to  Savannah.  It  was  obliged  to  keep  up  with  the  columns 
and  to  perform  an  immense  amount  of  labor  in  destroying  railroads  and 
bridges  at  the  same  time.  After  several  weeks'  labor  in  fortifying  Savannah, 
the  Engineers  proceeded  with  Sherman  through  the  Carolinas,  and  thence  to 
Washington.  In  June,  1865.  the  regiment  was  sent  to  Nashville,  where  it 
was  employed  on  the  defenses  until  the  latter  part  of  September,  when  it  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  447 

mustered  out  of  the  service  and  ordered  to  Michigan.  It  was  disbanded  at 
Jacksonville  on  the  ist  of  October,  1865. 

Ciimpani/  B. 

Clii.rles  11.  Cuiliiey,  Flint;  BerKt. ;  |>vo.  to  Ist.  lieut.  Co,  E,  Nov.  S,  18G4;  must,  out 
Keiit.  22,  i«i5. 

I'riviites— Oscai-  F,  Allen,  Burton;  djscli.  at  end  of  aervit-e,  Oct.  13,  imi.  Joliu 
Amot,  Grfiiid  Bltmc;  dlscli.  l>y  order,  June  G,  1865.  George  IE.  Boyer,  Rlchflelil;  ilificli, 
for  disability,  I>ee.  0,  1862.  Wnrren  Buckley,  Flint ;  discti.  for  disabilit;-,  Feb.  T,  1863. 
Edwiu  Builey,  Flusbing;  dlscli.  for  disability,  April  25,  1803.  Jik-hael  Bro»-u,  Fllut; 
died  of  disease,  Mui-cb  20,  1862.  ilayuard  Carter,  Flint;  died  of  dtseuse,  Atiril  A,  1862. 
Hiraui  F.  OliaDUUin,  Pliut;  dlech.  foi'  diaibility,  July  5,  1862.  Joiintliitu  Cuduey,  I'"li:it: 
dlscli,  for  dlsiibllity,  Mny  17,  1862.  Jiicob  D,  Carpenter,  Davison;  must,  out  jit  Nasu- 
vUle,  Teun.,  Sent.  22,  1865.     Edwjird  Funcheon,  Flint ;  dlscli.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31, 

1864.  Ami  H.  Field,  Flint;  disci),  to  i-e-eal.  as  i-eterau,  Jan.  1,  186i.  Henry  K.  Utdley, 
Davison;  discli.  by  order,  Oct.  4,  1865,  JiimeB  Greeiuilcb,  Flint;  disch.  by  order,  June 
6,  18C5.  Julius  Gordon,  Mundy;  dlscli.  by  order,  Oct.  4,  1865.  Phllo  Gilbert,  Flint; 
dIsch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct:  31,  1864.  Giij-  R.  Ollbei-t,  Flint;  diaeh.  at  end  of  service, 
Oct.  31,  1864.    Benjamin  F.  GUbei-t,  Flint;  died  of  disease  at  XasLvUle,  Teau.,  Oct.  I. 

1862.  Albert  S.  Hart,  Genesee;  died  of  disease,  Marcli  20,  1862.  Isaac  Howell,  Flint; 
discli.  for  disiibiUty,  Aurll  16,  1862.    Jautes  Hill,  Vleuufl;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Feb.  7, 

1863.  Frederick  N.  Hopkins,  Flushing;  disch.  for  disability.  June  13,  1803.  Hlrnni 
Howe,  Davison;  must,  out  at  NaSbville,  Teiui.,  Sept.  22,  1865.  Jolin  Link,  Jr.,  Flint; 
distrb.  by  order,  June  6,  1865.  Jolin  AIcKercher,  Flint;  dlscb.  at  end  of  service,  Oct. 
31,  1864.    David  F.  Nelson,  Mundy;  veteran;  must,  out  at  Xashvllle,  Tenn.,  Sept  22, 

1865.  Fayette  B.  Nelson,  Mnndy,  must,  out  at  Nasliville,  Tenn.,  Sept.  22,  1865.  Fernando 
C.  Petty,  Flushing;  must,  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sent  22,  1865.  AVillard  Petty. 
Flushing;  dlsch.  by  order,  June  6,  1865.  Don  C.  Pettj',  Flushing;  dlsch.  for  disabllitj-. 
May  6,  1862.  Daniel  J.  Kaudall,  Flint;  con'.;  dlsch.  for  disability,. March  6,  1802.  Jud- 
sou  A.  stone,  Clayton;  disch.  by  order,  June  6,  1865.  Theodore  Standard,  Flint;  dlscli. 
by  order,  June  6,  1865.  Frederick  A.  Smith,  Flnshing ;  must,  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
Sei)t.  22,  1865.  Charles  K.  Welch,  Diivisou;  veteran;  must,  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sent. 
22,  1805.     Henry  II.  Wallace,   Flint ;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31.  1S64 

Company  F. 

Allen  Campbell,  Davison ;  qr.-mr.  sei'gt.  Co.  F ;  pro.  to  2d  Ileut.  Co.  D,  Nov.  23,  1864 ; 
must,  out  SejJt.  22,  1865. 

George  W.  White,  Fenton;  sei^t. ;  pro,  to  2d  lieut.  Aug.  18,  1862;  to  1st  lieut.  Jan. 
1,  1864;  must,  out  Oct.  26,  3864,  end  of  service. 

Privates — Sidney  Ai-rowsmith,  Genesee;  disch,  for  disability,  June  28,  1882.  William 
M.  Barney,  Fenton;  disch.  for  disability,  May  5,  1862.  Erastus  Call,  Flint;  disch.  by 
order,  June  6,  1865.  Erastus  Call,  Jr.,  Fenton;  disch.  by  order,  June  6,  1865.  Alfred 
Call,  Genesee;  disch.  by  order,  June  6,  1865.  James  Cartwrlght,  Vienna;  dlsch.  at  end 
of  service,  Oct.  31,  1864.  Ales.  Campbell,  Davison;  veteran;  dlsch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran, 
Jan.  1,  1864.  Delavon  Heath,  Vienna ;  dlsch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31,  1864.  Philip 
Houalnger,  Vienna;  corp. ;  dlsch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31,  1864.  Norwln  0.  Johnson, 
disch.  for  dianbility,  July  5,  1862.  Solomon  S.  Miles,  Richfield ;  dlsch.  at  end  of  service, 
Oct.  31,  1864.  Hugh  McDonald,  must  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sept.  22,  1865.  George 
Phelps,  Grand  Blanc;  disch.  by  order,  June  6,  1865.    Benjamin  Paine,  Vienna;  dlsch. 


dbyGoot^lc 


448  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN, 

for  diaabiiity,  May  14,  1862.  Henry  S.  PelUngiil,  Vienna;  disci,  for  disability,  Sept,  1, 
1862.  William  Short,  Burton ;  dlsch.  by  oi-der,  July  17,  1865.  Lewis  A.  Scott,  t'enton ; 
disch.  for  disability,  July  15,  1862.  Cyrus  J.  Sillsby,  Vienna.  John  Scriveu,  Fenton; 
must,  out  at  Knsbvllle,  Tenn.,  Sept.  22,  18(15.  Daniel  W.  Turner,  discli.  by  order,  June 
0,  18t>ij.     Murtin  C.  Tuiipei-,  Gnind  Blanc;  dlscli.  by  order,  July  17,  18C5. 

/"  Other  Companies. 
Tbaddeua  S.  Beers,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at  Nasliville,  Tenn.,  Oct.  24,  18ti2.  Joseph 
Bellinger,  Tlietford,  Co.  G;  dlscli.  for  disability,  March  2,  1862.  Joim  Butler,  Forest, 
Co.  G;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31,  18«4.  Theodore  E.  Beers,  Co.  I;  disch.  at  end 
of  service,  Oct.  31,  1S64.  I^^rwizo  Colby,  Forest,  Co.  G;  discli.  at  end  of  service,  Oct. 
31,  1864.  Jonathtm  Coonier,  Co.  G;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31,  1804.  Martin  I.^ 
Cuddeback,  Flint,  Co.  D;  must,  out  at  Nashville,  Sept.  22,  1865.  Abraham  F.  Coniinl, 
Flint,  Co.  H;  die-l  of  disease  at  Nashville,  Feb.  12,  1863.  John  S.  Decker,  Forest,  Co. 
G;  discli.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31,  1864.  Joel  B.  Fall-child,  Flint,  Co.  H;  disch.  by 
oMer,  June  6,  18Go.  (5eoi^e  D.  GeiTy,  Ulchfleld,  Co.  Q ;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct, 
31,  1804.  Peter  Gordon,  Flint,  Co.  H;  diaeh.  for  promotion,  Feb.  13,  1804.  Henry  C. 
Haskett,  Co.  I;  discli.  by  order,  June  0,  1S05.  George  Ij.  Judevine,  Flint;  corp.,  Co.  K; 
veteran;  ti-aus.  to  5th  Battery,  Mich.  Light  Artillery,  Dec.  2,  1862.  Harris  Marsh, 
Davison,  Co,  G;died  of  dlsense  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Marcli'lS,  1862.  Reuben  S.  McCor- 
mlck,  Forest,  Co.  G ;  died  of  disease  at  Bardstown,  Ky.,  April  19,  1862.  Wm.  Miller, 
Davison,  Co.  L;  died  of  disease  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sept  25,  1863.  Oren  McComb, 
Forest,  Co.  G;  disch.  for  disability,  July  17,  1863.  Adelbert  Pursell,  Flint,  Co.  H; 
disch.  by  order,  June  6,  1865.  Wni.  B.  Parker,  Flint,  Co.  I ;  trans,  to  Vet  Res.  Corps, 
May  1,  1864.  George  W.  Sweet,  Burton,  Co,  I;  dlseh.  by  ovder,  June  6,  1805.  Charles 
Snnnders,  Forest,  Co.  G;  disch.  for  promotion,  Aug.  17,  1863.  Abel  C.  Smith,  Forest, 
Co.  G;  eul.  Nov.  21,  1861;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct  31,  1864.  Dennison  W.  Spencer, 
Co.  L;  must,  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sept.  22,  1865.  Wellington  Teachout  Rlchfleld, 
Co.*  G ;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  31,  1864.  Enoch  B.  Woodman,  Forest,  Co.  G ;  disch. 
for  disability,  April  21,  1862.  Salmer  Wood,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
Oct.  29,  1862.  Jacob  W.  White,  Thetford,  Co.  G;  disch.  to  re-enl,  as  veteran,  Jan.  1, 
1864.  Calvin  Wakefield,  Davison,  Co.  L;  must,  out  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sept.  22,  1865, 
Charles  L.  Piickard,  Flint,  Co.  F;  enl.  one  year;  disch.  by  G.  O.,  June  6,  1865.  David 
M.  Twiner,  Flint,  Co.  F;  enl.  one  year;  disch.  by  G.  0.,  June  6.  1865. 

FIRST   CAVALRY. 

The  First  Cavalry  Regiment,  which  contained  a  considerable  number  of 
men  from  Genesee  county,  was  organized  in  the  summer  of  iS6i,  under  Col. 
T.  F.  Brodhead.  It  left  its  rendezvous  at  Detroit,  about  eleven  hundred 
strong,  September  29th  in  that  year,  proceeded  to  Washington,  and  thence  to 
Frederick,  Maryland,  where  it  passed  most  of  the  winter.  In  the  spring  of 
1862  it  entered  Virginia.  During  that  year  it  was  engaged  in  service  on 
the  upper  Potomac,  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and  along  the  east  slope  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  being  engaged  at  Winchester,  Middletown,  Strasbtirg,  Harrison- 
burg, Orange  Court-House,  Cedar  Mountain,  and  second  Bull  Run,  losing  in 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  449 

these  actions  thirty  killed  or  died  of  wounds  and  fifty-eight  wounded.     It 
passed  most  of  the  winter  at  Frederick,  Maryland. 

In  the  early  part  of  1863,  it  was  engaged  in  grand  guard  duty  along 
the  front  line  of  the  Washington  defenses  in  Virginia.  On  the  27th  of  June 
it  moved  towards  Gettysburg;  on  the  3d  of  July  at  that  place  it  met  and 
charged  Hampton's  legion  of  three  regiments  of  Virginia  cavalry  and  beat 
it  in  six  minutes,  losing  eighty  men  and  eleven  officers  out  of  the  three  hun- 
dred who  went  into  action.  It  was  again  engaged  at  Fairfield  Gap  on  the 
4th,  and  lost  considerably.  Again,  at  Falling  Waters,  Virginia,  it  was 
severely  engaged  and  captured  five  hundred  of  the  enemy,  with  the  standards 
of  the  Fortieth  and  F'orty-seventh  Virginia  Infantry.  It  was  in  Kilpatrick's 
division  and  took  part  in  all  the  movements  and  actions  of  that  general  dur- 
ing the  summer  and  fall  of  1863.  In  Decemlser  nearly  four  hundred  of  the 
men  re-enlisted  as  veterans  and  received  the  veteran  furlough.  On  their 
return,  the  regiment  rendezvoused  at  Camp  Stoneman,  near  Washington, 
where  it  was  newly  equipped,  and  was  joined  by  a  new  battalion  which  had 
been  mustered  at  Mt.  Clemens  in  December,  1863.  It  took  part  in  the  move- 
ments of  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  the  crossing 
of  the  Rapidan  in  May,  1864,  to  the  early  part  of  August,  when  it  was 
moved  to  the  Shenandoah  valley  and  joined  to  the  army  of  Sheridan;  it  took 
part  in  the  subsequent  movements  of  that  army,  except  the  battle  of  Fisher's 
Hill,  losing  during  the  year,  up  to  the  ist  of  November,  eighty-two  killed 
in  battle  or  died  of  wounds,  and  one  hundred  and  two  woimded  in  action. 
It  remained  near  Winchester,  Virginia,  till  the  27th  of  February,  1865,  when 
it  fell  in  with  the  other  cavalry  of  Sheridan  to  move  on  the  great  raid  to  the 
James  river.  It  reached  White  House  on  March  19  and  soon  after  joined 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  before  Petersburg;  with  that  army  it  remained 
till  the  surrender  of  Lee,  taking  part  in  many  engagements,  among  which 
were  those  at  Five  Forks  and  Appomattox.  After  the  surrender  it  moved 
to  Petersburg  and,  a  little  later,  to  North  Carolina  with  the  other  forces. 
From  there  it  returned  to  Washington,  took  part  in  the  great  review  of  the 
army.  May  23,  and  soon  after  was  moved,  via  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  rail- 
road and  the  Ohio,  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers,  to  F"t.  Leavenworth. 
Then  followed  seven  months  of  duty  on  the  plains  as  far  west  as  the  base  of 
the  Rocky  mountains,  during  which  the  regiment  was  engaged  in  some 
skirmishing  with  Indians  and  lost  slightly  in  killed  and  wounded.  It  was 
consolidated  at  Ft.  Bridger  with  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Michigan  Cavalry, 

(29)   ■ 


dbyGoc^lc 


450  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

forming-  an  organization  known  as  the  First  Michigan  Veteran  Cavalry.     It 
was  paid  oft  and  disbanded  March  lo,  1866. 

The  following  interesting  story  of  the  First  Michigan  Cavalry  at  Second 
Bull  Run,  taking  from  the  Detroit  Saturday  Night,  is  told  by  Capt.  E.  L. 
Negus : 

Uu  tbe  14ti[  of  August,  Reno  joliied  Pope  witli  eight  thousand  men.  I'tipe.  with  his 
iirmy,  now  numbering  about  fifty  thousand  nieu  got  a  scai-e,  fell  back  from  Cedar  Mouu- 
tjlu  and  took  up  a  strong  iiositiou  aioug  the  north  tiaub  of  the  Itapimhanuock.  On  the 
lOth  hia  arnij'  extended  from  Wurrentou  Springs  eight  miles  ejist  along  tlie  river. 
From  this  date  until  the  niglit  of  the  SOth  of  August.  Pope  did  not  know  wbere  Lee's 
army  was.  He  had  lost  it.  Pope  had  estiibliahed  liis  headquarters  with  oil  his  army 
train  at  Cutlett'a  Station,  ten  miles  In  the  rear  of  the  center  of  his  line.  On  the  22nd 
of  August.  Stuai't  with  two  or  three  thousaud  cavalrymen  crossed  the  river  above 
Pope's  extreme  right  and,  gaining  the  rear  of  the  I'liion  lines,  pressed  down  to  Catiett's 
Station,  capturing  Pope's  headquarters  teut  with  alt  of  his  uniforms  and  the  dispatch 
book  containing  the  movements  of  the  army.  They  also  burnt  several  millions  ot 
rations,  two  trains  of  cars  and  ail  of  his  wagon  train,  besides  taking  with  them  several 
hundred  head  of  mules  and  horses. 

The  whole  cavalry  lorce  of  the  Union  army  was  at  once  put  in  pursuit  of  the 
raiders.  The  First  Michigan  Cavalry  found  them  on  the  night  of  the  23d  on  the  south 
bank  of  Itoblnson  river.  We  threw  out  pickets  along  the  north  side  of  the  stream  and 
went  into  ciinip.  Early  the  nest  morning  there  came  a  call  from  the  "Jolmules"; 
"Don't  shoot.  Yanks,  we  have  something  to  show  you."  ■■What  is  It,  Johnny?"  we  asked 
them.  ■'It's  I'ope's  headquarters  in  the  saddle."  "All  right,  we  won't  shoot."  Aud  in 
a  few  moments  they  trotted  out  a  big  buck  u^ro  dressed  in  Pope's  uniform,  and 
mounted  on  a  big  white  horse,  saying,  "This  is  Pope's  headquarters  in  the  saddle." 
Now  it  has  always  lieeii  a  question  In  my  mind  which  one  of  the  tv-'v  had  the  greater 
military  ability.  Pope  or  the  buck  "nigger." 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th.  General  Buford,  who  commanded  our  brigade  ot 
cavalr.v.  received  notice  th.it  Poi>e  had  lost  I.ee's  army,  numbering  some  ninety 
thousand  men.  and  that  he  should  send  his  troopers  out  to  find  them.  So  the  brigade 
was  sent  out  in  different  directions  to  And  them.  The  First  Michigan  was  ordered  to 
go  on  the  west  side  of  Bull  Run  mountains  and  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  the  lost  army. 
On  the  nioruliig  of  the  28th  we  reached  a  little  town  called  White  Plains,  about  three 
miles  west  of  Thoroughfare  Gap.  It  was  here  that  we  tound  the  rebels'  trail.  Jackson 
had  passed  two  days  before  and  the  road  was  lined  with  stragglers  Lougatreet's  corps 
was  eiicamped  some  two  miles  to  the  west  of  this  town,  where  it  had  been  for  the  night, 
and  they  set  out  at  once  to  make  It  hot  for  us.  Our  command  fell  back,  taking  the 
road  that  Jackson  had  gone  01  er  the  day  before,  picking  up  many  of  his  stragglers. 
Here  an  incident  occurred  that  1  will  never  forget,  i  was  riding  along  with  my 
bugler  by  my  side — his  name  wits  O'Keefe,  and  he  was  a  typical  Irishman — when  he 
said  to  one  of  the  Johnnies,  "Johnny,  you  don't  wear  very  good  clothes."  At  once 
there  came  back  the  sharp  and  not  overdellcate  retort,  "When  we  go  out  to  kill  hogs, 
we  don't  put  on  our  best  clothes." 

The  "rebs"  came  on  In  force  and  drove  us  back  through  the  gap,  but  we  contested 
e\ery  foot  of  ground  and  did  not  retreat  until  we  were  outflanked  on  both  sides.  The 
command  passed  through  the  gap  mid  took  up  a  strong  position  at  Hayinarket.  If  we 
had  had  one  brigade  nf  mfniitry  with  us  we  could  have  held  the  gap  against  the  whole 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GFNESEE    COtJNTY,    MICHIGAN.  45I 

of  Loiigstrecfs  L-orps  until  this  time,  and  ttie  battle  of  Hull  Run  would  Lave  been 
written  vei'y  differently  on  the  pagea  of  lilstory. 

At  Haymarket  we  could  see  the  advance  of  the  rebel  army  as  it  came  through  the 
gap.  They  liled  to  the  left  and  toot  the  rond  that  led  down  to  the  right  oC  Jnckson^s 
corps.  On  Uie  morning  of  the  30th  Biifurd  received  orders  to  report  nlth  hia  command 
to  Pope's  headquarters,  then  in  the  saddle  on  the  ridge  near  the  Henry  House,  which 
was  already  fanioua  from  its  associations  with  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Uun.  This  ridge 
slopes  off  in  a  gentle  plain  toward  Groveton,  some  tlivee  miles  to  the  west.  It  was  on 
this  plain  that  Pope  had  massed  his  army  of  forty  thousand  men,  uot  one  of  them  In 
Ime  of  battle,  and  all  ready  for  the  slaughter.  To  the  south  and  west  of  this  plain 
was  a  wooded  ridge,  and  behind  these  woods  Longstreet  had  formed  hia  line  of  battle 
unbeknown  to  Pope.  From  this  ridge  the  southern  general  saw  the  mass  of  men  on  the 
plain  below  and  it  was  here  that  he  placed  his  artillery  of  sixtj  guns,  all  ready  for  the 
slaughter  when  the  time  came.  Pope  stlli  supposed  Ijongstreet  to  be  a  day's  march 
away.  At  three  o'clock  a  deserter  was  brought  to  Pope,  who  stated  that  Longstreet  was 
theie  in  forte,  but  Pope  would  not  believe  It  and  at  four-thirty  sent  off  a  courier  to  Wash- 
ington to  aimounce  that  the  battle  was  won.  Believing  this.  Pope  ordered  Buford  with 
his  brigade  of  cnviilry  to  pas«  around  the  left  of  the  Union  army  and  strike  Jackson's 
■■etreating  corps  on  the  road  leading  to  Thoroughfare  Gap,  which  we  proceeded  to  do. 
Not  finding  any  Johnnies,  we  retraced  our  steps  and  had  proceeded  some  distance 
n-hen  we  ran  into'  the  ri^'ht  of  Longstreet's  army  composed  of  a  brigade  of  cavalry  made 
up  of  the  First.  Third  and  Fifteenth  Virginia,  the  very  flower  of  the  confederate  "chiv- 
alry" and  outnumberinjc  us  two  to  one.  Our  regiment  charged  that  great  force  and 
drove  theiii  back  behind  their  guns,  tlie  brigade  holding  the  field  for  some  time,  when 
we  retired  to  the  north  side  of  Bull  Run.  This  charge,  as  will  be  shown  later,  saved 
tt  large  jtart  of  Pope's  retreating,  bleeding  army. 

For  Pope  to  win  at  Bull  Kun  was  not  in  the  destiny  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
There  were  other  series  of  events  preiiaring  in  which  Pope  had  no  place.  Lincoln  had 
not  issued  his  emancipation  prociamritlon  and  the  time  was  not  ripe.  Let  us  return  to 
that  part  of  the  field  where  tile  First  Michigan  fought.  At  the  time  of  the  charge, 
longstreet  had  iinniosked  his  artillery.  Sixty  cannons  thundered  and  Bashed  against 
the  brave  men  below  on  the  plain.  A  masked  battery  had  opened  on  our  left,  not 
twenty  rods  away.  But  the  enemy  was  taken  by  surprise,  as  we  were,  and  at  first 
their  shots  went  over  our  he-.ida.  Then  they  depressed  the  guns,  which  were  double- 
shotted  with  grape  and  canister.  The  charges  struck  the  ground  half  way  between  our 
line  and  the  guns.  It  was  a  monstrous  sight.  The  shot  made  craters  in  the  earth, 
and  the  cannon  seemed  like  a  loiomo  throwing  forth  molten  lava.  The  brigade  had 
taken  up  a  strong  position  on  a  ridge,  where  the  First  Michigan  joined  them  on  their 
right,  ready  for  action.  We  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  soon  there  was  seen  a  large 
body  of  cavalry  moving  out  from  a  little  piece  of  woods  on  our  front.  From  a  distance 
they  might  have  been  taken  for  a  huge  serpent  stretching  toward  the  crest  where  we 
were  formed.  2\'othiug  like  it  had  been  seen  since  the  taking  of  the  grand  redoubt  at 
Moscow  by  Naiwleon'a  cavnliy.  We  saw  the  oncoming  three  thousand  horsemen  at  full 
trot  and  heni'd  the  rattling  of  their  sabers  and  the  fierce  roar  of  the  charging  host. 

All  at  once  this  scene  changed.  The  bugle  soimded  the  charge,  the  First  Michigan 
started  forward  with  drawn  salwrs'  raised  high  above  their  heads,  glistening  in  the 
setting  sun.  It  was  a  sight  to  behold.  It  was  like  the  beginning  of  an  earthquake 
as  the  First  Michigan  hurled  itself  at  the  front  ranks  of  the  enemy.  The  shout  of  the 
men  and  the  shock  of  the  two  columns  coming  together  could  be  heard  aboie  the  roar 
of  the  battle.  Horses  and  riders  were  hurled  to  the  ground  to  he  trampled  under  foot 
by  the  rushing  hosts. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


452  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

There  lire  mometits  in  b.'ittle  wlieii  llie  soul  hardens  uu<l  the  soldier  seeuis  to  he- 
come  as  firm  as  a  atiitue.  With  a  yell  that  spread  terror  before  them,  tiie  first  bat- 
tulion  of  the  First  Michignii,  led  by  Colonel  Brodhead,  with  Major  Town  by  hia  side, 
and  keeping  their  allgnujeiit  as  if  on  jmrade.  rotle  upon  the  first  rank  of  the  eneDiy, 
aybertug  all  who  eiiuie  within  reach.  Tlie  first  battalion  was  nearly  annllillated,  bnt  on 
came  the  next  battalion.  The  enemy  could  not  withstand  our  hea^y  blows  and  gave 
way  Into  a  disordered  rout  to  take  shelter  behind  the  rebel  guns.  We  held  possession 
of  ttiat  part  of  the  field  until  dark,  when  we  retired  to  the  north  biintc  of  Bull  Rim. 

Meantime,  hammered  by  Longstreet's  artillery,  the  Union  army  fell  buck  froiu 
Gvoveton,  from  the  rnlli-oad  cut,  fi-om  the  plain.  A  disbanding  urniy  Is  like  a  spring 
thaw.  The  whole  hends,  cracks,  siiaiis,  floats,  i-olis,  fulls,  crushes,  hurries,  plunges.  Is 
one  struggling  mass.  Rout  is  the  worst  of  all  conflicts.  Friends  slay  each  other  lu 
their  mad  flight.  The  artillerymen  rush  ofC  with  their  horses  and  the  guns  are  left  Co 
the  care  of  themsehes.  The  soldiers  of  the  wagon  train  unhitch  and  take  tbeir  anlmala 
for  escape.  Wagons  are  upset  with  their  four  wheels  in  the  air,  blocking  the  road  and 
lielping  the  massacre.  As  tbey  crush  and  crowd  they  trample  ou  the  living  and  the 
dead  alike.  A  rushing  mass  fills  i-oads.  paths,  bridges,  fields,  bills,  valleys,  woods — all 
are  choked  up  hy  this  flight  of  sixty  thousand  men.  Knapsacks,  muskets,  cartridges, 
boxes  and  belts  are  cast  away.  No  more  officers,  no  more  generals.  Bull  Itun  was 
filled  with  a  Htruggling  mass  of  human  beings.  «ach  was  this  flight  At  one  narrow 
gorge  the  bodies  were  so  packed  that  they  formed  a  foot  bridge  for  the  Ih-lng.  Until 
this  day  that  muddy  stream  has  not  given  up  the  dead  that  were  covered  by  the  sand 
washed  down  by  the  streams  of  human  blood  spilt  on  the  iilains  of  JIunaasas 

The  First  Michigan  Cavalry  was  sacrificed  at  Bull  Eun  to  save  a  iiortlon  of  Pope's 
army.  When  the  rebels  were  seen  forming  for  the  charge  General  Buford  ordered 
the  regiment  to  charge,  saying  that  he  would  support  us  with  the  Fourth  and  Fifth 
New  York  Ciivalrj-.  The  First  made  the  charge  and  drove  the  enemy  back,  and  held 
them  In  check  while  the  rest  of  the  brigade  and  that  imrtlou  of  the  army  on  tbat  part 
of  the  field  fell  back  to  the  north  bank  of  Bull  Run.  Buford  never  came  to  our  support. 
but  fled  across  the  sti-eam,  saving  himself  and  the  rp«t  of  his  command.  The  First 
Michigan  was  left  to  be  massacred.  I  know  this,  for  I  took  the  order  from  General 
Buford  to  Colonel  Brodhead  to  charge,  and  was  In  tbe  front  rank  of  the  charge,  myself. 
I  lost  every  man  In  my  company  but  Ave,  all  the  rest  being  killed,  wounded  or  taken 
prisoners  in  that  fight.  The  next  morning  tliere  were  3ust  five  who  answereil  the  roll 
call.     The  raiment's  total  loss  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-three. 

I  cannot  close  this  report  of  tbe  battle  witliout  mention  of  some  of  the  brave  men 
who  laid  down  tbeir  lives  at  second  Manassas  tbat  their  country  might  live.  Brod- 
head, who  led  the  ciiarge,  great  in  all  the  grandeur  of  expected  death,  bared  himself 
to  every  blow  in  the  tempest.  He  hod  hia  horse  killed  under  him,  and  received  two 
gun-shot  wouuds  through  his  breast  from  which  he  died. 

While  weltering  in  his  life's  hlood  on  that  disastrous  field  be  wrote  these  lines  to 
his  wife  in  Detroit :  "I  die  a  maityr  to  my  country  through  Pope's  Imbecility  and  Mc- 
Dowell's treason,  but  the  old  flag  will  triumph  yet." 

This  letter  was  publishefl  In  the  Detroit  papers  at  the  time  and  created  a  great  deal 
of  excitement  at  the  war  department  at  Washington.  Every  means  was  taken  to  sup- 
press it. 

All  in  all,  1  challenge  the  annals  of  warfare  to  produce  a  more  brilliant  and  suc- 
cessful cavalry  charge  than  the  one  made  by  the  First  Michigan  ut  Bull  Run.  That 
regiment  saied  Pope's  bleeding  army  there,  as  It  saved  the  day  at  Gettysburg. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CENICSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Warner  H.  riersoii.  FUut;  sergt.  \u  Co.  G;  2iJ  lieut.  Co.  B,  iliiy  IS,  18^3;  1st  lieut. 
Co.  H.  June  14,  1864;  capt.  Co.  D,  Oct.  25,  18G4;  must,  out  Nov.  7,  1865. 

Privates— CliiiHucey  T.  Aiiible,  Uenesee,  Co.  D;  iHsch.  at  end  of  service,  Feb.  17, 
18«6.  Augustus  A.  Allen,  Genesee,  Co,  D;  must,  out  Mai-ch  10,  1866.  James  C.  Bing- 
ham, Geuesee,  Co,  D;  must,  out  June  30,  1806.  Robert  Bolton,  Co.  C;  discL.  for  dis- 
ability, Murcli  11,  1863.  William  BoutcLer,  Genesee,  Co.  H;  dtsch.  at  end  of  service, 
Aug.  22,  1864.  Charles  Be«man,  Co.  C;  disch,  to  re-enl,  as  veteran,  Dec.  21,  1863. 
Charles  Croff,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  dlsnbtllty.  Wilson  P.  Donaldaou.  Fenton,  Co.  G;  must. 
out  Mai'ch  10,  1800.  William  F.  Baton,  Fenton,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease  at  Alexandria, 
Va.,  Oct.  28,  1S62.  William  P.  Eddy.  Feuton,  Co.  G;  diach.  by  order,  June  7.  1865. 
James  Fm'loug,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  eud  of  service,  Xng.  22,  1864.  Frederick  Faro,  Co.  C ; 
disch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran.  Dec.  21,  1863,  Giles  B,  E'ellows,  Genesee,  Co.  D;  must,  out 
March  10,  1866.  Isaac  Gilbert,  Thetford,  Co.  A;  must  out  March  10,  1S06.  James  B. 
Gallup,  Flushing.  Co.  C;  must,  out  March  6.  1806.  Robert  Garner,  Fenton,  Co.  F; 
must,  out  Slarch  25.  1866.  Almon  Gage,  Co.  M;  must,  out  Aug.  25,  1865.  Thomas  P. 
Hill,  Co.  F;  most  out  July  1,  1865,  Andrew  A.  Holiday,  Co.  C;  disch,  for  wounds, 
May  23,  1804.  Beujumin  F.  Hicks,  Co.  C;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran,  Dec.  21,  1863. 
Robert  Jackson,  Co,  C;  disch,  for  disability,  Se|)t.  2T,  1S02.  Jeremiah  L.  Knapp, 
Fenton,  Co.  D;  disch.  by  order,  Slay  3,  1S65.  Frank  Keferly,  Co.  H;  died  in  action  at 
Bull  Run,  Vs.,  Aug.  SO,  1862.  Henry  J.  I.arned,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  Co.  H.  Joseph  Mc- 
Conib,  Forest  Co.  A;  most,  out  March  10,  1866  Harvey  M,  McCastney,  Co.  F;  must, 
out  March  25,  1866.    John  O'Hara,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  D;  must,  out  March  10,  1866. 

William  Perkins,  Co.  II;  disch.  for  disability.  George  Pridmore,  Flushing,  Co.  0; 
died  of  disease  at  Fort  Collins,  C.  T.,  Dec.  22,  1865.  Felix  F.  Randall,  Co,  H ;  disch. 
for  disability.  Amasa  Rogers,  Co.  C ;  disch.  to  re-enl,  as  veteran.  Dee.  21,  1863.  Austin 
Stow,  Co.  C;  missing  in  action  at  Fall-field  Gap,  July  4,  1863.  Robert  Sackner.  Fenton, 
Co.  G;  must,  out  March  10,  1866.  Seymour  P.  Thompson,  Co.  C;  disch.  for  dls.ibility. 
Orange  Thomas,  Co,  H;  disch.  to  re-enl,  as  veteran,  Dec.  21,  1863.  W.  C.  Thomas.  Co. 
C;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Feb.  15,  1864.  William  H.  Teeples,  Co.  C;  died  of  wounds 
at  Bi-entsviUe,  Va.,  Jan,  0,  1863.  Samuel  H,  Thomas,  Co.  C;  died  of  wounds  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pa.,  Aug.  5,  1863.  Charles  Waldo,  Co.  B;  must,  out  March  10,  1866.  John  Waldo, 
Co.  B;  must,  ont  March  10.  1866.  William  R.  W  Scott.  Genesee,  Co.  H;  must,  out  March 
31,  1866.  Louis  S.  Wesson,  Fenton,  Co.  K;  must  out  June  30,  1866.  Henry  Tntes., 
Fenton,  Co.  A;  must,  out  March  10,  1866.  Tracy  G.  Merrill,  Richfield,  Co.  A;  trans, 
from  Co.  H,  Tth  Cav.;  most,  out  at  Salt  I-ake,  March  10,  1866.  Aiexion  Thayer,  Fluk- 
ing, Co.  A;  trans,  from  Co.  H;  must,  out  June  26,  1S65.  Hosea  Birdsall,  Co.  C,  corp; 
must  out  May  2,  1862.  Simeon  P.  McFarlnnd,  Gaines,  Co.  K;  trans,  from  Co.  G;  must, 
out  by  order,  July  12,  1865.  Thaddeus  W.  Dockwood,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  Mulligan's 
Brjgiide. 

THIRD    CAVAI,RV. 

The  Third  Ca\'alry  Regiment  was  raised  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  i86r, 
having  its  rendezvous  at  Grand  Rapids.  The  Genesee  county  men  serving 
in  its  ranks  were  sufficient  in  aggregate  number  to  make  up  the  majority  of 
a  fuil  company.  They  were  distributed  among  several  companies  of  the 
regiment,  though  most  numerous  in  Company  I, 

The  Third  Cavalry  left  Grand  Rapids  more   than  a  thousand  strongs 


dbyGoot^lc 


454  GENESEE    COUNTYj    MICHIGAN. 

November  i8,  1861,  and  proceeded  to  St.  I^uis,  Missouri,  where  it  remained 
in  winter  quarters  at  the  Benton  Barracks.  In  1862  it  moved  south  and 
participated  in  the  operations  at  New  Madrid  and  Island  No.  10,  also  in  the 
siege  of  Corinth,  and  the  subsequent  campaign  in  northern  Mississippi,  where 
it  remained  during  the  entire  season.  In  that  series  of  operations  it  captured 
twelve  hundred  and  eighty-six  prisoners  of  the  enemy,  among  whom  were 
five  field-  and  thirty-two  line-ofiicers.  It  passed  the  winter  in  northern 
Mississippi,  and  in  1863  was  again  employed  in  that  state  and  western  Ten- 
nessee in  almost  continuous  marching,  fighting  and  raiding,  and  by  the  ist 
of  November  in  that  year  had  taken  an  additional  number  of  prisoners 
sufficient  to  make  the  whole  number  captured  by  it  since  its  commencement 
of  service  two  thousand  one  hundred,  of  whom  about  fifty  were  officers. 
"During  the  year  [from  January  i  to  November  i,  1863]  the  regiment 
marched  a  distance  of  ten  thousand  eight  hundred  miles,  exclusive  of  marches 
by  separate  companies  and  detachments."  Accompanying  the  third  in  its 
movements  was  a  light  battery  of  twelve-pound  howitzers.  On  the  ist  of 
January,  1864,  the  regiment  arrived  at  La  Grange,  Tennessee,  where  it  pre- 
pared winter  quarters,  and  where  during  January  nearly  six  hundred  of  its 
members  re-enlisted  as  veterans  and  received  the  usual  furlough — to  rendez- 
vous at  Kalamazoo.  From  that  place  they  moved,  with  their  numbers 
largely  augmented  by  recruits,  to  St.  Louis,  where  they  remained  about  two 
months  on  provost  duty  in  the  city  while  awaiting  the  arrival  of  new  horses 
and  equipments.  Still  dismounted,  the  regiment  moved  May  18,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Arkansas,  there  joining  the  army  of  General  Steele.  It  was 
mounted  and  armed  with  the  Spencer  repeat! ng-carbine  on  the  ist  of  August, 
and  from  that  time  until  winter  was  engaged  in  scouting  and  outpost  duty 
in  that  state.  Its  winter  quarters  were  at  Brownsville  Station,  on  the  Mem- 
phis &  Little  Rock  railroad.  On  the  14th  of  March  it  was  transferred  from 
Arkaasas  to  the  military  division  of  West  Mississippi,  under  General  Canby, 
to  move  with  the  forces  designed  to  operate  against  Mobile.  After  the  fall 
of  that  city  the  regiment  was  employed  on  outpost  duty  til!  after  the  sur- 
render of  Lee  and  Johnston,  and  was  then  detailed  as  the  escort  of  General 
Canby,  on  the  occasion  of  his  receiving  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate 
General  Taylor  and  his  army.  It  moved  across  the  country  from  Mobile  to 
Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana,  arriving  there  May  22,  1865.  On  Sheridan's 
assuming  command  of  the  division  of  the  Southwest,  the  Third  was  ordered 
to  join  troops  destined  for  Texas,  and  left  Baton  Rouge  June  10,  moving 
bv  way  of  Shreveport,  and  across  Texas  to  San  Antonio,  where  it  remained 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  455 

employed  in  garrison  duty,  scouting  expeditions  for  the  protection  of  the 
frontier,  and  other  similar  duty  till  February  15,  1866,  when  it  was  dis- 
mounted and  mustered  out  of  service.  The  men  returned  via  Victoria, 
Indianola,  New  Orleans,  and  Cairo,  Illinois,  to  Jackson,  Michigan,  and  there 
received  their  final  payment,  March   15,   1866. 


Wllliitm  Dunliam,  Fentoti,  enpt.  Uo.  I;  enl.  Sept.  7,  1801:  res.  Mtiy  11,  1S02 

OiTln  W.  Bowlnna,  Feuton;  aei^.  Co.  C,  2(1  lleut.  Co.  E,  Aiiril  29,  18S3:  1st  lieut. 
Co.  I,  Oct  24,  1864 ;  ciipt.  Co.  C,  Nov.  17,  1S64 ;  hon.  discb.  June  6.  1865. 

Jncob  W.  Miller,  Feuton;  wergt.  Co.  I;  2d  lleut.  Co.  K,  Sept.  18,  1864;  lion,  rtisch. 
Jnue  6,  1865. 

Andrew  Hlckey,  2<l  lieut. :  pro.  to  1st  Jieut.  Co.  I ;  dieil  of  diHease,  Feb    16.  1803. 

Clarence  L.  Miles,  Fenton,  (jr.-nir.  sergt. ;  pro.  lu  1st  lieut.  Co.  — ,  Dth  Cin. 

('•mpany  I. 

Diivkl  B.  .VliiIoi-hou,  Uisdi  fur  iliwiibility,  Oct.  HI,  lsfi2.  Cliiirles  O,  Ailiuus.  scret., 
Feutou;  discli.  for  dlBiibilily,  Feb.  12,  1862.  Cieorge  RordHi,  discU.  for  dls.ibtllty,  Veh. 
14,  1862;  nitiBt.  out  Sept.  14,  1805.  ■\Vllllaiu  Battiiy,  died  of  disease  at  New  Jladrlil. 
Mo.,  Marcb  14,  1S62.  George  Borden,  must,  out  Sept  14,  1SG5.  Merrill  Cherry,  Feuton ; 
Teternn;  must,  out  Feb.  12,  1866.  William  Chestnut,  Feuton;  must,  out  Jan.  23,  1866. 
Stephen  H.  Calkins,  veteran;  discli.  for  disability.  Sept  25,  1S65.  Harry  B.  Camp. 
Flint ;  died  of  disease  at  BrownsviJle,  Ark.,  Sept.  3,  1804.  Barnard  Duff,  died  of  disease 
at  Duvall'8  BlufC,  Ark.,  Oct.  13,  1864.  Carlton  Fosltet,  died  of  disease  at  Jackson,  Sept. 
22,  1862.  Eensselaer  C.  Fuller,  must  out  Feb.  12,  1S66.  John  Huntley,  died  of  disease 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  28,  1862.  George  E.  Horton,  musician,  Fenton ;  discb.  to  re-enl. 
as  vet  Jan.  1!),  1864.  John  W.  Kipp,  Fenton;  died  of  disease  at  Corintli,  Miss.  Edward 
Ij.  Mott,  diach.  July  21,  1862.  Cornelius  Quick,  died  of  disease  at  Benton  Barracks. 
Dec.  25,  1801.  John  W.  Snell,  must,  out  Feb.  12,  1S66.  Guy  Sliaw.  must,  out  Feb.  12. 
1860.  Han-isoii  Traiihiignn,  Feuton,  Corp.;  died  of  disease  at  New  Madrid,  Mo.,  April 
9,  1862.  I^vl  W.  Thatcher,  disi-b.  for  disabillt}',  March  25,  1864.  George  Tanner,  dlsch. 
June  21,  1862.  Legrand  P.  Williams,  dlsch.  at  end  of  service.  Oct.  24,  1-S64.  Edwnrd 
Wellover,  died  of  disease  at  Memphis,  Tenu.,  July  26,  1864.  Jonathan  M.  Willover.  died 
of  disease  at  Holly,  Mich.,  Dec.  10,  1861. 

George  Batne,  Co.  D;  died  of  diseiise  at  Kalamazoo,  Mich,,  April  17,  1S64.  .Tames 
Bueil,  Co.  M;  dlsch.  to  re-enl.  as  vet  Jan.  19,  1H64;  must  out  Feb.  12,  1860.  WIlUuiu 
H.  Borst  Co.  B;  must,  out  June  21,  1805.  Charles  M.  Brown.  Oi.  B;  must,  out  Feb. 
12,  1860.  George  Buell,  Co.  M;  must  out  Feb.  12,  1806.  David  Buell,  Co.  M;  iiuiat 
out  Aug.  1865.  Jesse  Cooper,  Co.  D;  must,  out  Feb.  12,  1866.  Andrew  J.  Chappell, 
Co.  M;  died  of  disease  at  St.  I^uis,  SIo.,  Jan.  5,  1802.  Edward  O.  Fiero,  Co.  E;  died 
of  disease  at  Brownsville,  Ark.,  Sept.  0,  1864.  William  W.  Flowers,  Co.  F,  Genesee; 
died  of  disease  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.,  Nov,  18,  ]S64.  John  W.  Pouts,  Co.  C;  dlsch. 
Dec.  7,  1864.  Wallace  Gilbei-t,  Co.  F.  Thetford;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Nov.  6,  1864. 
Nelson  B.  Htcks,  Co.  M;  died  of  disease  at  Jackson,  Oct.  19,  1862.  Hobert  Hacket  Co. 
L,  Flint;  must,  out  Feb.  12,  1866.  Jas.  K  Lee,  Co.  H;  dlsch.  Aug.  26,  1865. ,  Henry 
Marvin,  Co.  M;  dlsch.  to  re-eul.  as  vet.  Jan,  19,  1864.  Charles  Slaseman,  Co.  A;  must, 
out  Aug.  23.  1805.  George  W.  Smith,  Co.  M ;  diach.  for  disability.  Jan.  3,  1863.  Linus 
B.  Smith,  Wagoner,  Co.  M;  disch.  for  disability,  April  If),  1864.  William  Styles,  Co. 
E;  died  of  disease  at  Chicago,  III.,  Aug.  12,  1S64.    Geoi^e  W.  Swain,  Co.  M;  disch.  to 


dbyGoot^lc 


45^  GENESKE    COUNTY",    MICHIGAN. 

re-^Lil.  iis  vet.  Jiiu.  1!),  1804.     Ciilvin  H.  Swain,  Co.  A:  must,  out  Keb.  12,  ISGfi.     Sliithew 


FOURTH    CAVALRY. 

The  raising  of  this  regiment  was  authorized  in  the  early  part  of  July, 
1S62,  as  a  part  of  ilichigan's  quota  of  eleven  thousand  six  hundred  and 
eighty-six  men  to  he  furnished  under  the  President's  call  for  troops  to 
retrieve  the  disasters  of  the  Seven  Days'  battles  before  Richmond.  The 
rendezvous  of  the  Fourth  was  established  at  Detroit,  and  the  regiment,  having 
its  ranks  filled  to  the  maximum,  was  there  mustered  for  three  years'  service 
on  the  29th  of  August.  Its  colonel  was  Robert  G.  Minty,  promoted  from 
the  lieutenant -colonelcy  of  the  Third  Cavalry.  The  surgeon  of  the  regiment 
was  Dr.  George  W.  Fish,  of  Flint,  and  about  eighty  other  residents  of  Gen- 
esee county  were  found  in  its  ranks  distributed  among  nearly  all  its  companies. 

The  I''ourth  left  Detroit,  September  26,  1862,  and  moved  to  the  seat  of 
war  in  Kentucky,  by  way  of  Louisville,  Being  fully  armed,  mounted,  and 
equipped,  it  was  placed  in  active  service  without  much  delay.  It  was  in  the 
advance  in  the  attack  on  the  guerrillas  of  John  Morgan,  at  Stanford,  Ken- 
tucky, and  joined  in  the  pursuit  of  those  raiders  to  Crab  Orchard.  In  the 
attack  on  Lebanon,  Kentucky,  November  9,  it  also  led  the  advance,  charging 
into  the  town  two  miles  ahead  of  the  infantry,  driving  out  Morgan  with 
an  equal  or  superior  force,  and  capturing  a  large  quantity  of  stores.  On 
the  13th  of  December,  by  a  forced  march,  the  regiment  surprised  and  cap- 
tured the  enemy's  pickets  at  Franklin,  Tennessee,  driving  out  a  large  rebel 
force  with  heavy  loss.  It  led  the  advance  on  Murfreesboro,  and,  after  the 
capture  of  that  place,  was  engaged  in  numerous  expeditions,  driving  l>ack 
the  enemy's  cavalry  which  infested  the  country,  and  capturing  several  hun- 
dred prisoners. 

In  May,  i86,'5,  foHowed  by  detachments  of  other  regiments  the  Fourth 
led  a  gallant  charge  into  the  camps  of  three  Confederate  regiments  of  cavalry, 
routed  them  and  took  fifty-five  prisoners  and  the  colors  of  the  First  Alabama. 
When  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  advanced  south  from  Murfreesboro  in 
June,  1863,  the  Fourth  Cavalry  was  again  in  the  lead,  and  repeatedly  engaged 
with, the  enemy.  In  these  fights  and  skirmishes  it  was  always  successful 
until  it  reached  the  vicinity  of  Chattanooga,  where  it  was  several  times 
repulsed.  The  season's  service  was  so  severe  that  on  the  ist  of  November 
only  about  three  hundred  of  the  men  remained  mounted. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENHSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  457 

After  constant  service  through  the  winter — mounted  and  dismounted — 
among  the  mountains  of  southeastern  Tennessee,  the  regiment  returned  about 
the  last  of  March,  1864,  to  Nashville,  where  it  received  fresh  horses,  and 
was  newly  equipped.  It  then  returned  to  Sherman's  army,  which  it  accom- 
panied in  the  Georgia  campaign,  constantly  engaged  in  the  same  kind  of 
arduous  service  before  described.  Its  hardest  conflict  was  on  the  20th  of 
June,  at  Lattimore's  Mills,  when  with  the  Seventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  it 
engaged  three  cavalry  brigades  of  the  enemy,  twice  charging  with  the  sabre, 
and  repelling  several  determined  assaults  on  its  own  line.  Having  finally 
fallen  back  on  its  supports,  it  aided  in  repelling  an  attack  by  General  Wheel- 
er's whole  force,  which  was  driven  back  with  heavy  loss.  In  this  fight  the 
regiment,  which  had  about  three  hundred  men  present,  lost  thirty-seven  in 
killed  and  wounded. 

After  the  capture  of  Atlanta  the  mounted  men  of  the  regiment  followed 
Hood's  army  northward  nearly  to  the  Tennessee  river,  harassing  his  rear 
and  taking  many  prisoners.  By  this  time  only  about  one  hundred  of  their 
horses  remained  fit  for  service.  They  were  turned  over  to  another  com- 
mand, and  the  Fourth  dismounted,  concentrated  at  Nashville  in  October.  It 
was  remounted  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  by  the  last  of  January,  1865, 
was  back  on  duty  at  Gravelly  Spring,  Alabama. 

Leaving  there  March  12,  it  joined  with  other  regiments  in  a  long  raid 
through  Alabama,  swimming  rivers,  building  corduroy  roads,  fighting  the 
rel^l  cavalry  General  ForrcKt.  and  finally  capturing  the  city  of  Selma,  Ala- 
bama, which  was  defended  by  at  least  seven  thousand  of  Forrest's  men 
behind  very  strong  fortifications,  .^t  one  point  fifteen  hundred  dismounted 
cavalry,  of  which  the  Fourth  formed  a  part,  charged  the  intrenchments  and 
captured  them  in  twenty  minutes,  having  had  three  hundred  and  twenty-four 
men  killed  and  wounded.  This  was  on  the  2d  of  April.  On  the  20th, 
after  numerous  adventures,  the  command  reached  Macon,  Georgia,  where 
the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Lee  was  the  signal  to  cease  fighting. 

The  Fourth,  however,  gained  still  another  title  to  renown,  by  the  capture 
of  Jefferson  Davis,  near  .'Kbbeville,  Georgia,  April  10,  1865.  The  regiment 
soon  after  marched  to  Nashville,  where  it  was  mustered  out  on  the  ist  of 
July,  and  nine  days  later  was  disbanded  at  Detroit.  The  list  of  the  battles 
and  skirmishes  of  the  Fourth  Regiment  numbered  ninety-four.  Few  of  them, 
it  is  true,  were  very  severe,  but  their  number  shows  that  the  regiment  was 
full  of  energy  and  valor. 


dbyGoot^lc 


458  GENESEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN. 

Ceo.  W.  Fish,  Fliut,  Surg,;  enl.  July  26,  1862;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Jacob 
litiltelyou,  Atlus,  sevgt.;  2d  Iteut.  Co.  K,  Feb.  18,  1863;  1st  lieut  Sept.  13,  1863;  wound- 
ed iQ  action  at  Olevelaud,  Teim.,  Dee.  9,  1863;  capt.  Aug.  14.  1864;  res.  Jan.  8,  1865. 
Geo.  F.  FIsli.  Flint,  sergt.  Co.  F;  2d  lieut.  Co.  L,  July  21.  .1864;  1st  lieut.  Co.  F.  Dec.  10, 
1804 ;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  18(S.  Ansel  Adauis,  Atlas,  com.-aergt. ;  mast,  out  July  1,  1865. 
Ira  F.  Austiu,  Co.  L;  died  of  disease  at  Xe^v  Albany,  Ind.,  Nov.  17.  1862.  Albert 
Adiims,  Forest,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Jolin  C.  Brown,  Flint,  Co.  B ;  must,  out 
Aug.  15,  1865.  Henry  M.  lirown.  Forest,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Abel  H. 
BeriT,  Flusliiug,  Go.  H;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  ,1865.  Benjamin  F.  Bump,  Clayton,  Co.  H; 
must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Henry  E.  Bambart,  Flushing,  Co.  M;  must  out  Aug.  15,  1865. 
G.  Brown,  Flint,  Co.  B;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Nov.  13,  1803.  Almon  Barrow,  Atlas, 
Co.  K ;  discb.  for  disability,  Sept  11,  1863.  John  W.  Caftins,  Flushing,  Co.  H ;  died  of 
disease  at  Cartersvllle,  Ga.,  July  31,  1864.  Franklin  A.  Carlni,  Flint,  Co.  B;  must,  out 
Aug.  15,  1865.  Alonzo  Curtis,  Fentoii,  Co.  C;  aiseb.  by  order,  Aug.  20,  1865.  Wm.  H. 
Coiiover,  Forest,  Co.  H;  discli.  by  order,  Aug.  26,  1365.  Jolin  Douglass,  Co.  B;  discb. 
by  order,  June  27,  1865.  Orrin  Dunning,  Atlas,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Rufus 
N.  Davison,  Gaines,  Co.  L;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Francis  M.  Eddy,  Flint,  Co.  L; 
must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Herbert  O.  Faruum,  Flint,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865. 
Dennis  Failj,  Flusbing,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Nathaniel  Gallagher,  Fenton, 
Co.  B ;  must,  out  Aug.  15.  1865.  James  A.  Giles,  Fenton,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Oct.  7,  1865. 
Gerard  A.  Goi-don,  Flint,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Aug.  35.  1865.  Jobn  L.  Green,  Flushing, 
Co.  B;  disch.  by  order,  July  10,  1865,  Truman  Henderson,  Atlas,  Co.  K;  dlsch.  by  order, 
July  27,  1865.  Jobn  A.  Hopkins,  Flint,  Co.  B ;  discb.  for  disabllitj-,  June  15,  1864.  Jo- 
sepli  Hershey,  Flint.  Co.  B;  disch.  for  dlaabilltj-,  Dec.  16,  1861.  Homer  G.  Hazleton, 
Flint,  Cp.'F;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Ijiuls  B.  Hopkins,  Flint,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Aug. 
15,  1865.  William  S.  HeiTlck.  Atlas,  Co.  H;  must  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Silas  J.  Harper, 
Vlltit,  Co.  M;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  18!f5.  Decatur  Jacos,  Atlas,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug. 
15,  1865.  EH  Jennings,  Atbis,  Co.  K;  dlsch.  for  disability  Sept.  18  1R03.  Sirenus  Lane, 
Atlas,  Co.  K;  dlsch.  by  oMer  May  27,  1865.  Edwin  Lunei  Fenton  Co  \  died  of 
disease  at  Nashville,  Tenn.  Nicholas  Munson,  Co.  L  died  of  diwase  at  Columbia  Tenn 
July  24,  1864.  Benjamin  McIUroy,  Flushing,  Co.  C  must  out  Aug  15  1865  Heniv 
Murry,  Gaines,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  William  H  G  Mirtin  Flushing  Co  D 
must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Jacob  E.  Munn,  Flushing  Co  D  must  out  Aug  15  1865 
John  Melllroy,  Flushing,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug.  1'^  1865  John  Moirlsh  Clayton  Lo 
K;  must,  out  Aug.  15.  1865.  George  M.  Miles,  Flint  Co  I  must  out  Ma\  2'i  1865 
Harlan  P.  Nlles,  Flushing,  Co.  K;  dlsch.  by  order  June  23  1865  Milton  Oldfield 
Atlas,  Co.  K;  dlsch.  by  order,  June  2,  1865.  Charles  W  Pettengiii  Flushing  Co  K 
died  of  disease  at  Chattanooga,  Teun.,  Aug.  1,  1864.  Barrett  Plerson,  Genesee,  Co.  r. 
must-  out  Aug.  15,  1805.  George  Baab.  Flint,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1866.  Bansler 
Ransom,  Flushing,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug.  15.  1865.  CbarlesStflrk,  Fenton,  Co.  B;  must, 
out  Aug.  15.  1865.  Fi-ancls  St.  John.  Flushing.  Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Eugene 
M.  Seeley,  Forest,  Co.  M;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  Harlan  Sykea,  Co.  A;  disch.  by 
order,  Aug.  21,  1865.  Reuben  C.  Stem,  Vienna,  Co.  K;  died  at  Rome.  Ga.,  after  being 
captured.  May  15,  1864.  Henry  Trickey,  Flint,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1865.  George 
R.  Vantine,  Atlas,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  John  R.  Van  Housten,  Clayton,  Co. 
M;  died  of  disease  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  26,  1864.  Robert  van  Tiffin,  Burton,  Co. 
M;  discharged  by  order.  Aug.  25.  1865.  Levi  S.  WaiTen,  Flint,  Co.  F;  disch.  for  pro- 
motion, Dec.  10,  1864.  Edward  A.  Whitman.  Flint,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1805. 
Andrew  J.   Wiird,   Flint,   Co.   F;   must,   out  Aug.   15,   1865,     William   C.   Whitmnn,   Flint. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  459 

Co.  F;  must,  nut  Aug.  15,  18(j5.  S;iiuuel  Whltmiin.  tlrjinil  Bl.inc,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug. 
15,  1805.  Witlluiu  Wood.  Davison,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  James  D.  Haight, 
Flint,  Co.  B;  must,  out  ou  detached  serrica  Chiis.  D.  Sunimers,  Flint,  Co.  P;  killed  lu 
"battle  at  Xoondify  Creelt,  Ga.,  June  20,  1864.  Rufus  A.  Stacy,  Flint,  Co.  IT;  must,  out 
Aug.  15,  1865.  Chiii-lea  A.  Wni-d,  FUut,  Co.  F;  mtist.  o«t  Aug.  15,  1865.  Geo.  B.  Walker, 
Flint,  Co.  I;  ou  detached  service  with  S.  C.  Troops.  David  B.  Cranston,  Co.  I;  ou  de- 
tached service.  Alvin  Fox,  Attns,  Co.  K;  died  of  disease  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  May 
10,  1893.  Joliu  Kichards,  Atlas,  Co.  K;  trans,  to  Invalid  Corps,  Sept.  1.  1863.  Charles 
A.  Petty,  Flushing,  Co.  K;  absent,  sick;  not  must,  out  with  company.  Seymour  Iiewis, 
Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug.  15,  1.S65.  Martin  Wilcox,  Co.  M;  absent,  siclt;  not  must,  out 
with  company.     Slartln  L.  Harper,  Flint,  Co.  M;  must  out  Aug.  15.  1865. 

FIFTH    CAVALRY. 

The  Fifth  Regiment  of  Cavalry  was  raised  in  the  summer  of  1862, 
under  authority  from  the  war  department  and  the  governor  of  the  state  to 
Joseph  T.  CopeJand,  then  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  First  Cavalry.  The 
rendezvous  of  the  Fifth  was  at  Detroit,  where  it  was  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  under  Colonel  Copeland,  on  the  30th  of  August 
in  the  year  named.  About  seventy  men  of  Genesee  county  served  in  the 
ranks  of  its  several  companies,  more  of  these  being  in  Company  K  than  in 
any  of  the  others. 

For  about  three  months  after  muster  the  Fifth  remained  at  the  head- 
quarters waiting  for  arms,  and  at  the  time  of  its  departure — December  4 — 
the  men  had  been  but  partially  armed,  though  fully  equipped.  From  Detroit 
the  command  moved  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  remained  there  through  the 
winter.  In  the  spring  of  1863,  after  being  fully  armed,  it  was  attached  to 
the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Third  Division  of  the  Cavalry  Corps,  Army  of 
the  Potomac. 

As  it  is  impracticable  to  furnish  a  detailed  account  of  its  almost  innum- 
erable marches  and  constantly  changing  movements  and  counter-movements 
during  the  campaign  of  1S63,  we  give  in  brief  a  list  of  the  engagements 
with  the  enemy  in  which  the  regiment  took  part  during  that  eventful  year, 
namely — Hanover,  Virginia,  June  30;  Hunterstown,  Pennsylvania,  July  2; 
Gettvsburg,  July  3;  Monterey,  Maryland,  July  4;  Cavetown,  Maryland,  July 
5;  Smithtown,  Maryland,  July  6;  Boonsboro,  Maryland.  July  6;  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland,  July  7;  Williamsport,  Maryland.  July  7;  Boonsboro  (2d), 
July  8;  Hagerstown  (2d),  July  10;  WilHamsport,  July  10;  Falling  Waters, 
Virginia,  July  14;  Snicker's  Gap,  Virginia,  July  19;  Kelly's  Ford,  Virginia. 
SepteiTiber  13:  Culpeper  Court  House.  Virginia,  September  14;  Raccoon 
Ford,  Virginia.  September  16;  White's  Ford,  Virginia,  September  21 ;  Jack's 


dbyGoot^lc 


460  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Shop,  Virginia,  September  26;  James  City,  Virginia,  October  12;  Brandy 
Station,  Virginia,  October  18;  Buckland's  Mills,  Virginia,  October  19; 
Stevensburg,  Virginia,  November  19;  Morton's  Ford,  Virginia,  November' 
26. 

At  the  close  of  the  active  operations  of  if^63  the  Fifth  went  Into  camp 
at  Stevensburg,  Virginia,  passing  the  winter  there  and  along  the  line  of  the 
Rapidan.  About  the  ist  of  March  it  took  part  in  the  raid  of  General  Kil- 
patrick  to  the  defenses  of  Richmond,  where  it  was  attacked,  March  2,  by  the 
enemy  in  large  force,  and  obliged  to  retire  to  New  Kent  Court  flouse,  where 
it  joined  General  Butler. 

A  detachment  of  the  regiment  had  accompanied  Colonel  Dahlgren  in 
the  famous  raid  in  which  he  lost  his  life.  It  advanced  to  within  five  miles 
of  Richmond,  and  drove  the  enemy  from  his  first  and  second  lines  of  defense, 
but  was  finally  compelled  to  retreat  behind  the  Chickahominy.  At  Old 
Church  the  body  containing  the  detachment  of  the  F'ifth  was  attacked  and 
compelled  to  cut  its  way  to  White  House  landing,  which  was  reached  on 
the  following  day.  On  the  nth  it  embarked  at  Yorktown,  moved  by  the 
York  and  Potomac  rivers  to  Alexandria,  and  thence  to  the  camp  at  Stevens- 
burg. It  was  then  transferred  from  the  Third  to  the  First  Cavalry  Division 
at  Culpeper  Court  House. 

The  Fifth  took  active  part  in  the  memorable  campaign  of  General  Grant 
in  1864.  It  crossed  the  Rapidan  May  5,  and  on  the  6th  and  7th  was  hotly 
engaged  with  the  enemy  in  the  Wilderness,  It  was  in  Sheridan's  great 
cavalry  expedition  against  the  rebel  communications,  fighting  at  Beaver  Dam 
Station,  May  9,  at  Yellow  Taverns,  May  10  and  11,  and  at  Meadow  Bridge 
on  the  1 2th.  On  the  14th  it  crossed  the  Chickahominy  at  Bottom's  Bridge, 
marched  thence  to  Malvern  Hill,  and  from  there  to  Hanover  Court  House, 
destroying  railroad  track  and  bridges.  It  crossed  the  Pamunkey  river  at 
White  House  on  the  22d,  and  marching  by  way  of  Aylett's  and  Concord 
Church,  rejoined  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  near  Chesterfield  on  the  25th. 

It  was  in  the  action  at  Hawes'  Shop,  May  28,  at  Baltimore  Cross-Roads 
on  the  29th,  and  at  Cold  Harbor  and  0!d  Church  Tavern  on  the  30th. 
Again,  on  the  raid  along  the  line  of  the  Virginia  Central  railroad,  it  fought 
at  Trevillian  Station,  June  11,  where  the  enemy  were  driven  several  miles, 
leaving  in  the  hands  of  the  Union  troops  about  six  hundred  prisoners,  fifteen 
hundred  horses,  one  stand  of  colors,  six  caissons,  forty  ambulances,  and 
fifty  wagons.  On  the  12th  it  was  engaged  a  few  miles  nearer  Louisa  Court 
House,  on  the  Gordonville  road,  and,  passing  thence  towards  the  James  river. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GF.NESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  461 

crossed  that  stream  and  marched  to  Jerusalem  plank-road,  south  of  Peters- 
burg. On  the  4th  of  August  it  embarked  for  Washington,  and  moved  thence 
through  Maryland  and  across  the  Potomac,  to  Halltown  and  Berryville,  Vir- 
ginia. It-  fought  at  Winchester  on  the  lith  and  at  Front  Royal  on  the 
i6th  of  August,  On  the  19th  a  squadron  of  the  regiment  was  attacked  by 
Mosby's  guerrillas,  and  was  driven  to  the  main  body,  with  a  loss  of  sixteen 
.killed  and  mortally  wounded. 

Among  the  subsequent  engagements  of  the  regiment  during  the  Valie\- 
campaign  of  1864  were  Leetown  and  Shepardstown,  August  25;  Opequan 
Creek,  August  28;  Smithfield,  August  29;  Berryville,  September  3;  Summit, 
September  4;  Opequan,  September  19  (where  it  routed  the  enemy's  cavalrv. 
broke  his  infantry  lines,  and  captured  two  battle-flags  and  four  hundred 
prisoners)  ;  Moimt  Crawford,  Virginia,  October  2:  Woodstock,  October  9: 
Cedar  Creek,  October  19  (capturing  a  great  number  of  prisoners  and  driv- 
ing the  enemy  in  great  confusion);  and  Newtown.  November  12,  where  it 
fought  an  entire  brigade  of  the  enemy. 

After  the  last  named  action  the  regiment  returned  to  Camp  Russell, 
near  Winchester,  where  it  remained  until  February  27,  1865,  when  it  moved 
southeast,  as  part  of  Sheridan's  force,  on  the  famous  raid  of  that  general 
to  the  James  r!\er.  It  was  engaged  in  action  at  Louisa  Court  House,  March 
18,  1865,  and  joining  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  before  Petersburg,  fought 
under  Sheridan  at  Five  Forks,  Virginia,  March  30  and  31  and  April  i.  On 
the  2d  of  April  it  was  engaged  with  the  enemy  on  the  Southside  railroad; 
on  the  4th,  at  Duck  Pond  Mills;  on  the  6th,  at  Sailor's  creek;  and  then  took 
part  in  the  closing  events  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  from  the  (Jth  to  the 
9th  of  April,  1865. 

After  the  surrender  of  J.ee  the  Fifth  moved  with  the  cavalrj'  corps  to 
Petersburg,  and  was  ordered  thence  shortly  afterwards  to  North  Carolina. 
It  returned  to  Washington,  D.  C,  in  time  to  participate  in  the  grand  review 
of  the  veteran  armies  of  Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan,  in  the  latter  part  of 
May.  Immediately  after  this  it  was  moved  west  with  the  Michigan  Cavalry 
Brigade,  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad  and  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers,  to  St.  Louis;  thence  by  steamer  on  the  Missouri  river  to  Ft,  Leaven- 
worth, Kansas.  There  the  men  having  two  years  or  more  to  serve  were 
transferred  to  the  First  and  Seventh  Michigan  Cavalry,  and  then,  on  the 
22d  of  June,  the  Fifth  was  mustered  out  of  ser^dce.  The  regiment  reached 
Detroit  on  the  ist  of  July,  where  the  men  received  their  pay  and  dispersed. 


dbyGoot^lc 


462  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 


OFFICERS   AND    MEN    OF    THE   FIFTH    CAVALRY   FF 

Henry  H.  Pettee,  Flint,  1st  lieut.;  eiii.  Aug.  14,  1862;  died  at  Detroit,  Midi,,  ffom 
Injuries  received  by  full  from  a  horse. 

John  B.  Borden,  I-lnden,  sergt.  Co.  G;  2d  lieut.  April  14,   1865;  must,  out  ns  sergt, 

Voiilpuny  K. 

.Toliu  Buell,  died  in  :ii:tioii  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1SG3.  Stewart  Curie,  discli. 
for  disutility,  Nov.  6,  1803.  Nytliaii  Davis,  dlBcb.  for  disability,  Nov.  2,  1S63.  George 
S.  Decker  (aergt),  gained  from  missing  in  action.  Henry  D.  Howes  (corp.),  dlscL.  by 
order,  Sept.  12,  1863.  Curtis  H.  Hlgley,  lulsslng  In  action  at  Bucklaud'a  Mills,  Get  10, 
186i.  Noah  W.  Halcouib,  must,  out  June  23,  1865.  Jolin  B.  Looker,  must,  out  Jime  23, 
1865.  Abram  Lewis,  flisch.  for  disability,  Sept.  28,  1804.  Warren  A.  Jlarahall  (corp.), 
discli.  for  disability,  Sept.  19,  1862.  James  Xewberry,  died  of  disease  at  Audersonville, 
Gu.,  Sept  13,  186i.  Luther  Kabble,  must,  out  June  23,  1805.  Daniel  I.  Uandall,  discb. 
by  oi-der,  ilay  17,  1866.  Ti-uiuan  D.  SpauldiiUE.  diach.  for  dlsabllttj-,  Sept.  1,  1862. 
Oliver  Stewart,  diach.  for  disabllltj-,  Oct.  20,  1882.  Oscar  Sbattnck,  died  In  action  at 
Booosboro',  Md.,  July  8,  1863.  Lee  Thayer,  nmat.  out  June  23,  1865.  George  W.  Thorp, 
must,  out  June  23,  1865.  William  Wheeler  (corp.),  sei^t.;  must  out  June  23.  1865. 
William  Wheeler  (corp.),  sergt;  must  out  Juue  23,  1865.  James  B.  Warner,  died  of 
disease  at  Anderaonville,  Ga.,  Oct.  18,  1864.  Alva  Brace,  trans.  t<D  Invalid  Corps.  March 
18.  18G4.  Adam  Dell,  missing  In  action  at  Newcastle  Feixy,  Va..  June  4,  1864.  Wtlllaiu 
S.  Pailthorp.  sick  In  hospital;  not  must,  out  with  company.  John  F.  Pittten.  sick  in 
hospital;  not  must.  Dut  with  conii)any.  William  Warner,  tvans.  to  Iiivalkl  CorpK,  Mtiy 
5,  1SC4. 

Other  Companies. 

Henry  S.  Beebe,  t^ntou,  Co.  G;  died  of  diseaae  at  Richmond,  Va.,  Dec.  1863.  David 
F.  Baird,  Fentou.  Co.  G ;  discii.  for  disability,  June  23,  1864.  Aaron  J.  Croesmau,  Flint, 
Co.  A;  must  out  June  22,  1865.  Asa  L.  Grossman,  Flint,  Co.  A;  disch.  for  disability, 
April  12,  1864.  Andrew  Cole.  Flint,  Co.  C;  diach.  for  wounda,  Feb.  9,  1.865.  Orlando 
CrofC.  Flint,  Co.  I  (wagoner):  must  out  June  23,  1865.  John  Day,  Co.  G;  gained 
from  missing  In  action.  Henry  Eaton,  Flint,  Co.  A;  must,  out  June  22.  1865.  Henry 
Foi-sytli,  Grand  Blanc,  t'o.  F  (musician) ;  died  of  disease  at  Anderson vl lie,  Ga.,  Aug.  28, 
1864.  Joel  K.  Fairbanks,  Feuton,  Co.  C;  died  of  disease  at  Anderson vi lie,  Ga.,  Way  20. 
1864.  Ward  A.  Field,  Feuton.  Co.  G;  died  of  disease  at  Richmond,  Va.,  Jlai-ch  15,  1864. 
John  B.  Heteheier,  Fenton,  Co.  G;  died  of  disease  at  Stevensburg,  Va.,  Jan.  24,  1864. 
Francis  P.  Kent,  Feuton,  Co.  G;  died  in  action  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1883.  Simon 
Kinney,  Richfield.  Co.  E;  must  out  June  23,  1865.  Cyrenaus  Lucas,  Flint,  Co.  A;  trans, 
to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Jnu.  15,  1804.    Mild  A.  Lucas,  Flint  Co.  A;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Oct 

20,  1862.  Salmon  G.  Lacey,  Co.  C ;  died  of  disease  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  25,  1862. 
Simon  P.  ilcFarland,  Gnines,  Co.  <5;  trans,  to  1st  Michigan  Cavalrj-.  James  Aliller, 
Grand  Blanc.  Co.  A;  dlsch.  by  order,  May  3,  1865.  Grlce  Mathewson,  Flint,  Co.  C; 
must,  out  Juue  22,  1865.  Pulaski  Pierce,  Fentou,  Co.  G ;  died  of  disease  at  Richmond, 
Vt,  Dec.  25,  1863.  Harry  N.  Shannon,  Linden,  Co.  M;  died  of  disease  at  Washington, 
D.  C.  Feb.  23,  1863.    Wm.  E.  Smith,  Co.  F ;  died  of  disease  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Aug. 

21,  1863.  Charles  11.  Shepard.  Fentou,  Co.  G;  diach.  for  disability,  Nov.  21,  1863. 
Abuer  D.  Sweet  Fenton,  Co.  G;  disch.  for  disability.  Nov.  12.  1861.  Wm.  P.  Snow,  Co. 
C;  dlsch.  for  wounds.  May  22,  1865.  Phlneas  I.  Tucker,  Co.  A;  dlsch.  by  order,  Juue 
9,  1865.  Ethan  A.  Wright,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  G;  dlsch.  for  disability.  Oct.  5,  1863. 
James  H.  Webster.  Flint.  Co.  C ;  must  out  June  22,  1865.  Myrou  F.  Harris.  Fenton,  Co. 
G    (Corp.);    must,   out   June   22,   1865.     Amos   B.    I.obdcll,    Fenton,   Co.   G    <blafl;smith)  ; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENFiSEE    COCNTY,    MICHIGAN.  463 

must,  out  June  22,  1865.  Wm.  E.  Alexamlei',  Gpiiesee,  Co.  C  ((.wi).)  :  iiinst,  out  June  2!), 
18G5.  Lyvester  D.  Broford,  Gniiies.  lilcliiirij  Horriugtoii,  Forest.  Newell  Miller,  Grnnd 
Blanc. 

SIXTH    CAVALRY. 

The  Sixth  Michigan  Cavalry,  which  was  organized  at  Grand  Rapids  in 
the  autumn  of  1862.  carried  on  its  rolls  the  names  of  between  forty  and  fifty 
men  from  Genesee  county.  It  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service 
with  twelve  hundred  men,  vmder  Col.  George  Gray,  on  the  13th  of  October 
in  that  year,  and  on  the  lOth  of  December,  following,  left  the  rendezvous 
for  Washington,  D.  C,  mounted  and  equipped,  but  not  armed.  It  remained 
in  the  vicinity  of  Washington  through  the  winter,  and  on  the  opening  of  the 
campaign  of  1863  joined  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
being  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Third  Division.  During  the 
campaign  of  that  year  it  experienced  much  of  active  service  in  Virginia, 
Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania,  taking  part  in  engagements  and  skirmishes  as 
follows:  Hanover,  Virginia,  June  30;  Hunterstown,  Pennsylvania;  Gettys- 
burg, July  3;  Monterey,  Maryland,  July  4;  Cavetown,  Maryland,  July  5; 
Smithtown,  Boonsboro,  Hagerstown,  and  Wiiliamsport,  Maryland,  July  6; 
Hagerstown  and  Williamsport,  July  10;  Falling  Waters,  Virginia,  (where, 
according  to  official  reports,  it  was  highly  distinguished  for  gallant  behavior), 
July  14;  Snicker's  Gap,  July  19;  Kelly's  Ford,  September  13;  Culpeper  Court 
House,  September  14;  Raccoon  Ford,  September  16;  White's  Ford,  Septem- 
ber 2 1 ;  Jack's  Shop,  September  26 ;  James  City,  October  1 2 ;  Brandy  Station, 
October  13;  Buckland's  Mills,  October  19;  Stevensburg,  November  19;  and 
Morton's  Ford,  November  26.  From  the  latter  date  it  remained  in  winter- 
quarters  at  Stevensburg  until  the  28th  of  February,  1864,  when  it  joined 
the  cavalry  column  of  Kili>atrick  on  his  great  raid  to  the  vicinity  of  Rich- 
mond. Returning  from  that  expedition  to  camp  at  Stevensburg,  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  First  Cavalry  Division,  and  soon  after  moved  camp  to  Culpeper. 
It  was  engaged,  and  fought  bravely,  near  Chancellorsville,  May  6,  and  skirm- ' 
ished  on  the  7th  and  8th.  On  the  morning  of  the  9th  it  moved  with  General 
Sheridan's  command  on  the  raid  to  the  rear  of  the  Confederate  army,  holding 
the  advance.  From  this  time  until  the  close  of  the  year  its  history  is  one  of 
almost  continuous  movement,  which  may  be  summed  up  by  the  enumeration 
of  the  fights  and  skimiishes  in  which  it  took  part,  as  follows:  Beaver  Dam, 
Virginia,  May  9;  Yellow  Tavern,  May  10  and  11 ;  Meadow  Bridge,  May  12; 
Hanover  Court  House,  Virginia,  May  27;  Hawes'  Shop,  May  28;  Baltimore 
Cross  Roads,  May  29;  Cold  Harbor,  May  30  and  June  i ;  Trevillian  Station, 


dbyGoot^lc 


464  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

June  II  and  12;  Cold  Harbor,  July  21;  Winchester,  August  11;  Front  Royal, 
August  16;  Leetown,  August  25;  Shepherdstown,  Virginia,  August  26;  Smith- 
field,  August  29 ;  Berryville,  September  3 ;  Summit,  September  4 ;  Opequan, 
September  19;  Luray,  September  24;  Port  Republic,  September  26,  27  and 
28;  Mount  Crawford,  Virginia,  October  2;  Woodstock,  October  9;  Cedar 
Creek,  October  19;  Madison  Court  House,  December  24. 

On  the  opening  of  the  spring  campaign  it  moved  with  the  other  cavalry 
forces  of  Sheridan,  February  27,  1865,  towards  Gordonsville,  and  fought  at 
Louisa  Court  House,  Marcli  8.  Then  the  command  moved  by  way  of  White 
House  Landing  to  and  across  the  James  river,  and  joined  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  final  battles  of  the  war,  being  engaged  at 
Five  Forks,  Virginia,  March  30,  31  and  April  i;  at  Southside  railroad,  April 
2;  Duck  Pond  Mills,  April  4;  Sailor's  creek,  April  6;  and  Appomattox,  April 
9.  In  one  of  these  engagements  the  rebel  General  Picket  was  captured,  and 
he  afterwards  spoke  of  the  diarge  of  the  Sixth  on  that  occasion  as  "the 
bravest  charge  he  ever  had  seen." 

After  Lee's  surrender  the  regiment  moved  to  Petersburg,  thence  to 
North  Carolina,  and  then  north  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  it  marched  in 
the  great  review  of  May  23.  Immediately  after  it  was  ordered  west,  and 
moved  with  the  Michigan  Cavalry  Brigade,  via  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  rail- 
road,, and  the  Ohio,  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers,  to  Ft.  Leavenworth. 
There  it  received  orders  to  move  over  the  plains,  westward,  on  duty  in  the 
Indian  country.  The  officers  and  men  were  greatly  disgusted  at  this,  but 
they  would  not  soil  their  noble  record  by  disobedience,  and  so  they  moved 
unhesitatingly  to  the  performance  of  the  disagreeable  duty,  on  which  they 
remained  till  the  17th  of  September,  1865,  when  the  men  of  the  regiment 
whose  term  did  not  expire  lief  ore  February  i,  1866,  were  consoHdated  with 
the  First  Michigan  Cavalry,  and  the  remainder  of  the  command  was  ordered 
back  to  P't.  Leavenworth,  where  it  was  mustered  out  of  service,  November 
24,  1865.  Returning  to  Michigan,  it  arrived  at  Jackson,  November  30,  and 
was  there  disbanded. 

The  Sixth  Cavalry,  together  with  the  First,  the  Fiftieth  and  tlie  Seven- 
tieth, formed  the  Michigan  Cavalry  Brigade,  which  was  under  command 
of  the  redoubtable  Gen.  George  Armstrong  Custer  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
The  following  account,  taken  from  the  Detroit  Free  Press,  is  from  the  pen 
of  the  well-known  writer,  Charles  A  Ward 

Custer  8  coniinuiitl  oocui)1ed  the  e\treine  lielit  nf  (leiienil  Jleiules  ^m^  on  tint 
eventful  diiv  The  liilgnde  held  it>4  position  uiinmle'Stetl  until  ten  i  m  when  tiie 
euenn    JiiiieJiuii   m   foue   <n   tile   light   flunk   of   the   lirigiule   nuil   begin   tu   ptni    siilid 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  465 

sUiiC  HUiI  Mliell  iDto  tile  L'uiou  ruiikh  In<m  11  battery  of  six  gmis.  The  niiirksinansliiii  of 
the  Confederate  gunners  was  uocurate  and  their  Are  caused  haioc  among  the  Michigan 
men.    Custer  at  once  reformed  his  lines  until  they  were  shaped  like  a  letter  L 

One  section  of  Battery  SI,  Second  Itegular  ArtUlerj-,  supported  by  four  squadrons 
of  the  Sixth  Michigan,  facing  towards  Gettysburg,  formed  the  shorter  branch  of 
the  new  line.  Two  sections  of  battery,  supported  by  portions  of  the  Sixth  on  the 
left  and  the  First  Michigan  on  the  right,  with  the  Seventh  still  further  to  the  right. 
and  in  advance,  were  in  readiness  to  check  any  attack  tliat  mtght  be  made  liy  way 
of  the  Oxford  road.  The  Fifth  Cavalry,  the  only  raiment  to  the  brigade  armed 
with  the  new  Spencer  i-iirblne,  wiis  dismounted  and  placed  In  front  of  the  center  and 
left. 

The  two  sections  of  Batterj-  M  soon  dro^e  the  Confederate  gunners  from  the 
Held.  Again  followed  a  period  of  anxious  waiting.  The  roar  of  cannon,  the  Incessant 
rattle  of  inusketry,  the  huge  clouds  of  smoke  away  to  the  left  apprised  the  waiting 
brigade  that  their  comrades  in  arms  were  engaged  in  a  deadly  struggle.  The  troopers 
of  the  brigade  were  listeners,  but  not  spectators.  Whither  the  tide  of  battle  surgpd 
they  could  only  guess     The  next  moment  might  involve  them  la  its  maelstrom. 

Hot.  thirsty,  hungry,  the  men  sat,  arms  In  hand,  until  long  after  noon.  The 
sensations  of  physical  discomfort  were,  however,  minimized  by  their  appreciation  of 
the  great  tragedy  that  was  being  enacted  about  them.  The  crisis  of  the  long  struggle 
was  at  liand.    The  cause  for  which  they  fought  was  the  pawn  of  battle  that  day. 

Suddenly  Custer's  outposts  on  the  Oxford  road  came  scurrying  In.  Thp  attention 
of  the  command  was  riveted  on  the  flying  troopers.  Each  individual  unit  was  alert. 
And  then  over  the  crest  of  the  range  of  hills  m  the  foreground  came  the  enemy's 
skirmishers,  a  line  of  dismounted  cavalry  that  extended  far  to  the  left  of  Custer's 
position.  The  Fifth,  lying  dismounted  in  front  of  the  brigade,  was  ordered  to  a  more 
advanced  position  to  meet  the  enemy's  advance  with  their  Spencer  carbines.  Custer's 
orders  were  to  hold  the  position  at  all  hazards.  This  order  the  Slichlgan  men  literally 
obeyed  until  their  last  cartridge  was  expended. 

Col.  Russel  A.  Alger,  Major  N.  H.  Ferry  and  Major  L.  S.  Trowbridge  led  the 
regiment  Into  this  action.  They  occupied  the  middle  ground  between  the  two  armies. 
Their  ^alor  was  witnessed  by  the  troopers  massed  along  the  York  pike.  It  stimulated 
the  command  for  the  greater  struggle  that  was  to  come.  The  Confederate  line  came 
on  the  Fifth  with  a  yell.  From  the  shelter  of  fences,  rocks  and  friendly  hillocks 
the  Spencers  ijoured  forth  a  fire  that  made  the  enemy  retoU.  Again  they  came  down 
the  slope  m  increased  numbers  and  with  augmented  fury.  Again  the  Fifth  met  the 
shock  and  rolled  the  attacking  party  back  upon  itself.  The  next  time  the  insistent 
rebel  skirmishers  struck  Alger's  raiment  on  the  left  flank.  It  was  then  that  the 
gallant  Ferry  fell,  cheering  his  battalion  to  hold  its  ground. 

The  resistance  of  the  dismounted  Fifth  to  these  repeated  attacks  was  made  with 
the  carbine.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  new  repeating  weapon  could  be  discharged 
was  a  painful  surprise  to  the  enemy.  One  deadly  volley  followed  another  so  swiftly 
that  the  living  could  not  fill  the  gaps  made  by  this  terrible  new  instrument  of  destruc- 
tion. Bach  time  they  hesitated,  poised  for  a  moment  In  swaying  column,  turned  and 
fled.  The  efficiency  of  the  weapon  had  compensated  for  the  disparity  In  numbers.  It 
had  also  made  serious  Inroads  In  the  stock  of  shells  carried  by  the  troopers  of  the 
Fifth.  The  last  round  was  In  the  magaalues.  Empty  weapons  would  be  useless  even 
in  the  hands  of  brnie  men.     Colonel  Alger  sounded  the  retreat. 

Custer's  olert   eye,   from    his   position   on   the   pike,    covered   each    minute   detail 

(30) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


466  GENESKE    COUNTY,    MlCHIfiAN. 

Tlie  Sc'\eiitli,  1-ouiix.iaed  of  rjiw  mt^u  ouly  four  luoiitlis  on  the  muster  roll,  lay  to  the 
right  ana  soDiewhut  lu  advance  of  the  main  posltlou.  It  fould  aaie  the  Fifth.  In 
it  few  uiouieuts  the  Seventh,  following  Col.  Willinm  D.  Mann,  was  flyins  hl-i'osh  the 
broken  gi-ouiid  to  meet  the  Uoufederate  charge.  The  fljlng  column  crashed  in  Head- 
long collision.  Neither  the  blue  nor  tlie  gi-ay  gate  heed  to  leraonal  safety.  The 
inspiration  of  the  moment  was  in  their  blood.  .^11  were  carried  info  the  nnielstrom  by 
the  IvresiBtlble  impulse  of  a  conflict.  The  apiiearauce  of  the  Seventh  was  ii  aurpriae 
to  the  Confederates.  The  niomeutum  of  the  Jliehigiiu  troopers  i-olled  their  SQuadrons 
bafli,  one  upon  the  other,  (irnsptng  this  advantage  of  the  first  Impart,  Colonel  Mann 
pushed  the  enemy  through  the  harvest  flelds  in  a  hand-to-haud  struggle  until  his 
adversuries  found  refuge  behind  a  high  uiihvoken  fente  which  the  mounted  men  could 
not  clear,  iN'othing  dauuted,  the  Seventh  i-ode  bravely  up  to  the  fence  and  discharged 
their  rei'olvei-s  over  It  into  the  vei-y  faces  of  the  foe. 

The  grouud  now  occupied  by  the  Seventh  was  untenable.  They  were  (■•■mpellea 
to  I'etire,  the  enemy  in  swift  pursuit.  Hy  this  time  the  Fifth,  from  whose  pursuit 
Colonel  Mann's  charge  had  diverted  the  jelling  Confederates,  had  partially  succeeded 
in  i-emounting  and  Major  Trowhciilge  led  a  battalion  of  this  regiment  to  tlie  su.-cor 
of  the  Seventh.  Trowbridge  had  his  horse  shot  under  him,  but  his  charge  checited 
the  rebel  pursuit.  Custer's  eye  kindled  with  satlsfiictlon  as  he  noted  the  eflicieucy  and 
valor  of  the  trooiiers  he  had  been  named  to  le^id.  With  such  men  he  could  make  his 
brigade  the  pride  of  the  anny. 

For  the  moment  there  was  |M'ace  on  the  field  before  him,  a  peace  broken  now 
and  then  by  the  desultiiry  fivhig  of  scattered  HklrmlMliers.  The  blue  and  the  gi'ay 
"ere  breathing.  The  First  imd  the  Sixth  were  sjiectators  fi'om  the  laubige  of  the 
batten'.     Thus  far  the  blue  had  held  their  position. 

-\.nd  then  trouble  again  reared  Its  head  from  behind  the  crest  of  thiit  ridge.  Four 
regiments  of  gray  cavalry  came  over  the  summit  and  swept  majestically  down  on 
the  Michigan  brigade.  It  was  Wade  Hampton's  brigade  of  veteran  troopers,  the  pride 
of  Lee's  army.  To  meet  It  Custer  had  but  the  fire  of  Battery  M  and  the  First  Michi- 
gan formed  In  reserves.  The  odds  woi-e  tremendous.  But  the  young  commander  had 
orders  t<i  hold  his  position.  He  was  pi-otecting  the  riglit  flank  of  the  men  who  were 
defending,  with  desperate  valor,  the  long  line  that  stretched  away  to  his  left. 

The  First  was  formed  lu  column  of  battalions.  Custer  ordered  the  First  to  meet 
the  advancing  foe.    Batterj-  M  poured  solid  shot  into  the  oncoming  host. 

Wltli  Colonel  Town  at  Its  bead,  the  regiment  went  forward  at  a  trot,  sabers  drawn. 
Within  a  short  distance  of  the  enemy  the  chaise  was  sounded  and,  with  ii  mighty 
yell,  the  First  hurled  itself  at  the  hejn->-  columns.  As  each  squadron,  in  almost 
faultless  alignment,  struck  the  enemy  it  was  broken  by  the  Impact  and  spread  out 
upon  either  flank  of  the  succeeding  one,  as  the  currents  of  a  river  are  and  foi-med 
into  eddies  by  an  immovable  obstruction.  But  these  bi'oken  squadi'ons  formed  again 
in  the  w^ake  of  the  regiment  and  returned  to  tlie  assault.  The  audacity  of  the  cliarge 
surprised  Hampton's  troopers.  The  rapidity  of  the  blows  threw  them  into  confu- 
sion. The  execution  of  the  Michigan  Siibers  turned  the  sweeping,  cocksure  advance  int<t 
a  rout  and  the  enemy  made  haste  to  tlie  protection  of  the  ridge  from  behind  which 
it  had  emerged. 

Those  who  saw  the  gallant,  charge  pive  unstinted  praise  to  the  action  <»f  the 
Jlichigan  men.  In  Its  execution  it  ri\als  the  famous  cavalry  actions  of  history,  it 
was  -a  flttiug  Hnale  to  the  heroic  deeds  of  an  eventful  day.  It  demonstrated  the 
dei>endal)11ity  of  the  Michigan  brigade.  It  made  Custer  a  marked  man  In  the  cavalry 
service. 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEi:    COUNTY,    MICHIOAN.  467 

Vna  those  Iiniels  neie  (l«ailj  pmcliasei]  \Mien  the  i«.imeuts.  firmed  agnm 
on  the  iork  pike  the\  weie  pltlfullv  depleted  The  Flist  had  list  in  ten  mmiites  &li 
uffaceiB  and  eighty  men  Of  officers  and  men  in  the  bn^iide  hte  hundred  and  f<;itvt\^o 
failed  tc  iinsner  roll  onll  Mne  officein  and  sKtv  nine  men  Tteie  LHIed  Twentj  Ave 
officers  and  two  huudred  and  ne^en  men  were  wounded  feeien  offitera  and  two  hun 
dred  and  twenty  die  men  were  missmg  Such  was  the  toll  of  the  hard  fought  stru^le 
which  prjtetted  Sleides  light  Such  wis  the  xatilflce  Mithigiux  t^^Jin  made  on 
the  field  rt  (  ettj-Jhuio- 

IleadqniirterB   Third   Cavali-y  Division. 

Appomattox    Court    House, 

April   9,   1S(15. 
Hoidieis  iif   the   Third   C.n.ilij    Dnisloii. 

With  profound  gratitude  toward  the  (iod  of  buttleN.  liy  whose  blessings  our  enemies 
have  heeu  Humbled,  and  our  armM  rendered  triumphant,  your  commanding  general 
avails  himself  of  this,  his  first  opportunity,  to  exiiresa  to  you  his  admiration  of  the 
herok'  manner  in  whU-h  you  hme  iiasaed  through  the  sevles  of  battle  which  today 
resulted  in  the  surrender  of  the  euemy'a  entire  army.  The  record  established  by 
your  Indomitable  com'age  in  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  war.  Your  prowess  La? 
won  for  you  even  the  respect  and  admiration  of  your  enemies. 

During  the  iiast  sis  months,  although  In  most  instances  confronted  by  superior 
numbers,  you  have  captured  from  the  enemy  In  open  battle,  one  hundred  and  eleven 
pieces  of  field  artlllerj-,  sixty-fi^e  battle  flags  and  upwards  of  ten  thousand  prisoners 
of  war,  Including  seven  general  officers.  Within  the  past  ten  days,  and  Included  In 
the  al>o*e,  you  have  captured  forty-five  pieces  of  field  artillery  and  thirty-se^en  battle 
flags. 

You  have  never  hist  a  guu,  never  lost  a  color,  and  never  been  defeated,  and  not- 
nithstanding  the  numerous  engagements,  including  those  memorable  battles  of  the 
Shenandoah,  you  have  citptui-ed  every  piece  of  artillery  the  enemy  has  dared  to  open 
uiwn  you. 

The  near  eiHieh  of  peace  renders  It  improbable  that  yon  will  be  called  upon  again 
to  undergo  the  fatigues  of  toilsome  march  or  the  exposure  of  the  battlelield,  but 
should  the  aasistance  of  keen  blades  wielded  by  jour  sturdy  arms  be  required  to  hasten 
the  coming  of  the  glorious  peace  for  which  we  have  been  so  long  contending,  the 
general  commaudiug  is  jiroudly  confident  that  In  the  future,  as  In  the  past,  every 
demand   will   meet  with  a   hearty   and  willing  restionse. 

I^t  us  hoi>e  that  our  work  is  done:  that,  blessed  with  the  comforts  of  peace,  we 
may  soon  be  permitted  to  return  to  the  pleasure  of  home  and  friends. 

For  our  comrades  who  lia^e  fallen  let  us  cherish  a  grateful  remembrance;  to 
the  wounded  anil  those  who  languish  in  southern  prisons,  let  our  heartfelt  sympathy 
be  turned. 

And  now,  siieaking  of  myself  alone,  when  the  war  is  ended,  and  the  task  of 
the  historian  begins,  when  those  deeds  which  have  rendered  the  name  and  fame  of 
the  Third  Cavalry  Division  Imperishable,  are  Inscribed  upon  the  bright  pages  of  our 
country's  history,  I  only  ask  that  my  name  be  written  as  the  conunander  of  the  ThlM 
Cavalry   Division. 

George  A.  Custeb. 
Brevet  Major-General. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

George  W.  Barbour,  Fentou,  sergt. ;  24  lieut.  Co.  D ;  enl.  June  18,  1864 ;  must,  out 
ot  eud  of  service,  June  26,  1865. 

John  Torrey,   Flint,  Ciipt.;   eul.  Aug.   15,  1862;   resigned   Feb.  18,   1863. 

Privates — Thomas  B.  Armstrong,  Co.  G;  died  of  disease  ut  City  Point,  Va.,  July  11, 

1864.  George  W.  Barbour,  Fenton,  Co.  D,  qr.-m. -sergt. ;  discb.  by  order,  July  1,  1864. 
Edwin  Beclcwlth,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at  Anderson i-ille,  Ga.,  May  31,  1864.  E.  E. 
Covert,  Burton,  Co.  C;  died  of  disease  at  AndersonviHe,  Ga.,  Jan.  17,  1865.  David  Case, 
Tbetford,  Co.  I,  farrier;  disch.  May,  1863.  Albert  Cash,  Flint,  Co.  L,  com. -sergt. ;  must, 
out  Nov.  24,  1865.  Jonas  P.  Clark,  Linden,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  D.  Cbase, 
Co.  I;  disch.  for  disability,  March  1,  1863.  Augustus  Derby,  Flint,  Co.  L;  must,  out 
Nov.  24,  1865.  Garrett  Dewsfoe,  Burton,  Co.  0;  trans,  to  Signal  Corps,  April,  1864. 
Blankln  B.  Davis,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  1st  Mich.  Oav.,  Nov.  17,  1864.  Marion  Eldridge, 
Flint,  Co.  C;  died  of  wounds  at  Trevillian,  Va.,  June  11,  1864.  Martin  Foote,  Co.  C; 
died  of  wounds  at  Trevillian,  Va.,  June  11,  1864.  Reuben  P.  Forbes,  Fenton,  Co.  I; 
trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps.  July  1,  1863.  Augustus  B.  Holmes,  Fenton,  Co.  I ;  disch.  by 
order,  Aug.  17,  1865.  Theodore  Kress,  Burton,  Co.  C;  must,  out  July  27,  1865.  James 
A.  McClintock,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  C;  must,  out  July  27,  1865.  Wm.,  Martin,  Flint,  Co. 
L;  died  of  disease  at  Washington,  D.  0.,  Jan.  10,  1863.  Herman  W.  Merrill,  Mnden, 
Co.  I;  disch.  for  promotion,  Feb.  24,  1S64.  Albert  Moulthrop,  Thetford,  Go.  I;  mlssii^ 
in  action  at  Woodstock,  Va.,  Oct  9,  1864.     Hylen  E.  Hortou,  Co.   I;  must,  out  June  30, 

1865.  Edwin  Nichols,  Argentine,  Co.  D ;  died  of  disease  at  Richmond,  Va.,  Dec.  14, 
1863,  while  prisoner.  l*vi  Orner,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  I ;  died  oC  disease  at  Richmond,  Va., 
Feb.  23,  1864.  Samuel  J.  Peck,  Fenton,  Co.  0;  died  of  disease  at  City  Point,  Va.,  Aug. 
1,  1864.  James  C.  Parsons,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Nov.  24,  1865.  Mortimer 
Happlege,  Flint,  Co.  C,  qr.-m.- serge. ;  died  at  Hanover,  Va.,  May  28,  1864.  H.  H.  Shep- 
ard.  Linden,  Co.  I ;  discharged.  John  Snook,  Argentine,  Co.  D ;  must,  out  Nov.  24,  1865. 
Wiilis  Skinner,  Argentine,  Co.  D;  must  out  July  19,  1865.  John  H.  Sheldon,  Mundy,  Co. 
I;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  John  Speean,  Gaines,  Co.  L;  must,  out  July  10,  1865.  Elizur 
H.  Thatcher,  Fenton,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at  AndersonviHe,  Ga.,  July  18,  1864,  while 
prisoner.  William  M.  Voorhles,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  Aug.  8,  1865.  Hiram  A.  Whalen. 
Fenton,  Co.  I,  com. -sergt. ;  died  of  disease  at  AndersonviHe,  Ga.,  Aug.  26,  1864,  while 
prisoner.  John  D.  Williams,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  I ;  missing  in  action  at  Trevillian  Sta- 
tion, Va.,  June  11,  1864.  Charles  C.  Stowe.  Co.  C;  disch.  for  disability,  Oct.  9,  1863. 
James  C.  Bingham,  Genesee,  Co.  0;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  1st  Mich.  Cav.,  Nov.  17,  1805. 
George  Beckwith,  Burton,  Co.  C;  died  of  wounds,  July  10,  1864;  prisoner  when  lie  died. 
Giles  E.  Fellows,  Genesee,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  1st  Mich.  Cav.,  Nov.  17,  1865.  Aug- 
ustus A.  Allen,  Genesee,  Co.  0 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  1st  Mich.  Cav.,  Nov.  17,  1865.  Thomas 
W.  Hill,  Genesee,  Co.  C;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  George  Telling,  Argentine,  Co.  D; 
killed  in  battle  at  Boonsboro',  Md.,  July  8,  1863. 

THIRTEENTH   MICHIGAN   BATTERY. 

The  Thirteenth  Michigan  "Battery  was  organized  at  Grand  Rapids  and  was 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service  one  hundred  and  sixty  strong,  Janu- 
ary 20,  1864.  Its  rolls  show  that  about  thirty  men  from  Genesee  county 
served  in  its  ranks.  It  left  Grand  Rapids  February  3,  and  reached  Washing- 
ton on  the  7th.     It  was  engaged  in  drill  in  that  city  till  May  14,  when  it  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTV,    MICHIGAN.  469 

ordered  to  Kort  Sleninier,  D.  C,  and  remained  there  and  in  other  of  the 
Washin^on  defenses  through  the  year,  assisting  in  the  defense  of  Fort  Stevens 
against  the  attack  of  the  rebel  General  Early  on  the  nth  and  12th  of  July, 
1864.  It  remained  at  Fort  Reno  (being  attached  to  Harden's  division. 
Twenty-second  Army  Corps)  until  February  27,  1865,  when  it  was  mounted 
as  cavalry  and  detailed  for  duty  in  Maryland,  assisting  the  Thirteenth  New 
York  Cavalry  in  suppressing  guerrillas  and  other  similar  duty.  Immediately 
after  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  it  was  on  duty  with  the  Thirteenth 
New  York  Cavalry  in  Maryland,  pursuing  the  fugitive  conspirators,  and  assist- 
ing in  capturing  two  of  their  number — Arnold  and  Mudd.  The  battery  was 
dismounted  Jime  16,  and  again  ordered  to  garrison  duty  in  Ft.  Reno,  where 
it  remained  till  the  19th,  when  it  left  for  Michigan,  and  was  mustered  out  of 
service  and  disbanded  at  Jackson,  July  i,  1865. 

MEMItEBS    OS'    THK    THIBl'EENTU     BATTEKY    FBOM     GENKSEE    COUNT!'. 

Richard  C.  Wetlmvnld,  Flint,  2il  lieut.,  enl.  Dec.  12,  1S63;  must,  out  Feb.  29,  1864. 
William  Ceazer,  Fliut;  died  of  disease  at  Washington,  March  17,  1864.  William  H. 
Chase,  P'lushlng ;  must,  out  July  1.  186S,  Ezra  S,  Cleveland,  Genesee ;  must,  out 
July  1,  1805,  Nathaniel  Call,  Flushing;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  George  Cunningham, 
Burton;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  Myron  H,  Griffln,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1,  1865, 
Charles  H.  Guyer,  Fllut;  discli..  by  order.  May  6,  1865.  Thomaa  Halnstult,  Flint; 
must,  out  July  1,  1S65.  Joyle  Herrlugton,  Forest;  must,  out  July  1,  I860.  John 
Hunter,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1,  1S65.  Alphonzo  Jack,  Flint;  must  out  July  1. 
1865.  Reuben  Johnson,  Vienna;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  Aionzo  T^mfried,  Genesee; 
must,  out  July  1,  IS60.  James  H.  Prali,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1,  1863.  EUas  Palmer, 
Flushing;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  Stephen  Russell,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1,  1865. 
Jobn  Sinclair,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  Micbstel  Shea,  Montrose;  must,  out 
July  1,  1865.  David  Utley,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1.  1865.  Joseph  Utley,  Flint;  must. 
out  July  1,  1865.  Henry  Van  Buren,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  Milton  Van 
Buren,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1,  1865.  Melvln  Van  Buren,  Flint;  must,  out  July  1, 
1865.  David  T.  Weaver,  Montrose;  disch.  for  disability,  Aug.  2,  1864,  Jeremiab  M. 
White,  Atlas;  must,  out  July  1.  1865.  John  Zeiter,  Vienna;  must,  out  July  1,  1865. 
George  Wood,  Flint;  nnist.  out  July  1,  1865.  \Vm.  F.  Thompson,  Flushing;  must,  out 
July  1,  1865. 

OTIIEK  GENESEE  COUNTY  SOLDIERS. 

Besides  the  regiments  which  have  been  mentioned  above  there  were 
several  others  which  contained  soldiers  from  Genesee  county.  Of  the  men 
serving  in  those  regiments,  the  list  is  as  follows: 


S,  N.  Audrous,  enl.  at  Coldwater,  Mich.,  April  18,  1861,  Co.  C;  served  with 
regt.  at  Bull  Run,  July  21,  1861;  returned  and  must,  out  at  end  of  three  months' 
term  ol  service;  afterwards  served  as  1st  lieut.  in  Forty-fourth  Illinois  Inf.  and  In 
Fifth  U.  S.  Inf.  Darius  C,  Bradlsh,  Flint,  Co.  E;  2d  Ileut.  Aug.  22,  1861;  1st  lient 
Co,  D,   July  14,  1862;   capt.   Co.   1',  Aug.   30,  1862;   killed  In  action   at   Wilderness,   Va., 


dbyGoot^lc 


47°'  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

May  5,  1864.  Thoums  JIiijt,  Flint,  sergt.  Co.  B;  2(1  lieut.  May  3D,  Itftjo;  must,  out  as 
sergt.  William  O.  Boughton,  Flint,  Co.  B ;  must  out  July  G,  1865.  Sylvester  D.  Bray- 
ton,  Flint,  Co.  D;  discli,  for  disability,  Aiiril  18,  1862.  Alouzo  Butler,  Flint,  Co.  B: 
died  of  disease  at  Old  Point  Comfort,  Va.,  April  23,  1862.  David  Brown,  Co.  B; 
must,  out  July  9,  1865.  Geoi-ge  W.  Comfort,  Flint,  cori>-  Co.  B,  veteran;  must,  out 
July  0,  1865.  Herny  C.  Eggleston,  Flint,  Co.  B ;  died  in  nc-tion  at  Wilderness,  May  5, 
1864.  Hiram  D.  Jennings,  Flint,  Co.  B ;  diach.  for  wounds,  Aug.  8,  1802.  Thomas  Lane, 
Flint,  Co.  B;  died  in  action  at  Gaines'  Mill,  Va.,  June  27,  1862.  Thomas  Moran. 
Linden,  Co.  F;  died  lu  attlon  at  Bull  Run,  Va.,  Aug.  30,  1862.  Thomas  Marr,  corp- 
Co.  B,  veteran;  must,  out  July  0,  1865.  Patrick  O'Brien,  Co.  A;  trans,  to  U.  S.  Art. 
December,  1862.  Porter  Snow,  Flint.  Co.  B ;  disch.  for  disubillty,  May  8,  1862.  William 
Stannard,  musician,  Co.  B,  veteran;  must,  out  July  !l,  1865.  Alonao  Smith,  Flint, 
Co.  B,  veteran;  must,  out  July  5,  1865.  GUbert  Suzor,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  C;  dlsch. 
for  wounds,  May  1,  1865.  Henfj-  Vim  Valkenburg,  Flint,  Co.  F;  disch.  for  wounds 
at  Fort  Corcoran,  Va.,  Jan.  30,  1.S63.  George  Van  Wert,  Flint,  Co.  B,  veteran;  must, 
out  July  9,  1805.  Zacli.  Wisiier,  Fpnton,  Co.  K;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps.  March  15, 
1864. 


Phineas  D.  Belden,  Co.  D;  died  hi  action  at  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  May  31,  1862. 
Michael  Bolger,  Co.  C;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran,  Dec.  15,  1863.  William  Edwards, 
Co.  F;  disch.  for  disability,  Jan.  17,  1863.  Milo  Foster,  Flint,  Co.  C;  must,  out  July 
20.  1865.  Charles  D.  Harper,  Fenton,  Co.  F;  died  May  17,  1862.  of  wounds  received 
at  Williamsbuvg.  Va.  Irwui  Humphrey,  Co.  G;  disch.  for  disability,  Dec.  6,  1862. 
Minor  L  Hammond,  Co.  G ;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran,  Dec.  15,  1863.  Warren  F. 
Harris,  Fenton,  Co.  D ;  died  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  May,  1864,  of  wounds.  Gilman 
F.  Holmes,  Co.  F;  disch.  for  disability,  Oct.  3,  1863.  Ransom  Hazelton,  Fenton.  Co.  F; 
dlsch.  for  disability.  Feb.  11,  1863.  Isaac  Leech,  Co.  G;  died  hi  action  at  Fair  Oaks. 
Va.,  May  31,  1862.  Christopher  C.  Mitchell,  Fenton.  Co,  F;  died  of  disease  at  York- 
town,  Va..  May  12.  1S62.  Alliert  Middleworth,  Co.  H;  disch.  at  Detroit.  Mich.,  July  31. 
1862. 

Joshua  P.  Sutton,  IHint,  capt.  Co.  H;  enl.  June  1».  1861;  res.  Jan.  17,  1SC2. 
AlBion  S.  Mathews,  Flint,  1st  lieut.  Co.  H;  enl.  June  24,  1861;  res.  Dec.  11,  1861. 
Clias.  W.  Harris,  Flint.  2d  lieut.  Co.  H;  enl.  June  24,  1861;  pro.  1st  lieut.,  Jan.  1, 
1862;  wounded  in  action  at  Spottsylvania  C.-H.,  May  11,  1864;  must  out  Nov.  4, 
1864.  John  G.  McMilleu,  Fenton,  sergt;  pro.  to  1st  sergt,  Aug.  18,  1864;  must,  out 
as  sergt.  Orin  Beldln,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease  at  Camp  Benton,  3Id.,  June  7,  1861. 
Morris  Blrdsall.  Co.  F;  disch.  for  disability,  Dec.  12.  1862.  Francis  Brown,  Co.  F; 
disch.  at  end  of  service,  Aug.  22,  1804.  Edwin  Bradley,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disability, 
Dec.  7,  1863,  James  Brooks,  Co.  H;  dlsch.  to  re-eul.  as  veteran,  Dec.  18,  1863.  Henry 
A.  Borden,  Co.  A,  veteran;  must,  out  July  5,  1865.  Ransom  Brown,  Co.  F;  died  of 
disease  at  Harrison's  Landing,  Aug.  fl,  1862.  Jonathan  Crysler,  Co.  B;  died  at  Fairfax 
Seminary  Hospital,  Va..  Oct.  7,  1862.  James  J.  Carmer.  Co.  E;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as 
veteran,  Dec.  18,  1863.  Albert  H.  Dickinson,  Co.  F;  died  of  disease  at  Camp  Benton, 
Md.,  Nov.  20,  1801.  Francis  Dubois,  Co.  A ;  dlsch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran,  Dec.  18,  1863. 
Mathew  Daley,  Co.  A;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Aug.  22,  1862.  Newell  N.  Famham,  Co. 
H;  died  in  action  at  Antietiim.  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862.  Hiram  W.  Flint,  Co.  F,  veteran; 
must,  out  July  5.  1865.  Frank  Flint,  Co.  H;  must  out  July  5.  1865.  Samuel  W. 
Harback,  sergt,  Co.  F;  disch.  for  dlsiibility,  March  4.  1863.  Joseph  Hiirding,  Co.  F; 
died   of  wounds,   Reiit.  22,  1802.     Elizur  B.   Holmes,  Co.   F;   disch.   to   re-enl.  as   vetenin. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  47 1 

Dec.  IS,  ISIW.  Isiuie  B.  Hmiuji,  Co.  F;  diweli.  for  diaibility,  Jau,  1,  18(Ki.  Allan 
McLaln,  Co.  F;  discb.  yt  eiid  of  service,  Aug.  22,  1864.  Thomas  M.  Itobiiisoii,  muaiclun, 
Co.  F;  disch.  to  re-enl.  im  vetei'ou,  Dec.  18,  1863.  Christian  Sliter,  Co.  !■';  disch.  at  end 
of  service,  Aug.  28,  1864.  Wbitmaii  D.  Southwortli,  Co.  F;  dlsch.  for  disability,  Sept. 
28,  1862.  JoJm  J.  Thorp,  Co.  F;  discli.  to  re-enl.  in  Sixth  U.  S.  Cav.,  Oct.  1,  1862. 
Dumaii  P.  Vimwert,  sergt.,  Co.  F ;  died  of  disease  at  Camp  Benton,  Md.,  Nov.  20,  1861. 
WlUiuu)  Vnnefis,  Penton,  Co.  F,  veteran;  must,  out  July  5,  1805.  Franl;  Wbeeler, 
Co.  F;  discli.  for  disiibility,   July  5,  1S(i2. 


(jliliu   II    "*lill   1  1     1    I      li  It    (        I       le-i    Dec.   10,   ISGl.     John   D.   Williiiiiis, 

Argentine  id  lieut  Cj  II  enl  %(i  o  IS02  must,  out  Sept.  ITi,  18(Ht.  Stephen  A. 
Mosliei  Richfield  sergt  Co  I  pro  to  1st  lieut  May  10,  1865;  must,  out  as  aei^. 
41beit  -idnnis  (-o  I  dlach  for  dls-ibllitj  I>ec  13  1862.  James  Allen,  Co.  F,  discli. 
to  reenl  as  \etenn  Dec  7  1863  Danin  4  Buchanan,  Llndai,  Co.  F;  discli.  for 
dtsabilitj  Dec  1  1S62  Lafayette  Daiia  Co  F  must,  out  Sept.  15,  1865.  Lucleii  L. 
Davis.  Co  F  must  out  Sept  15  I860  Washington  Davis,  Vienna,  Co.  F;  must  out 
Sept  1j  1S65  Orlando  B  Dails,  1  leuna  Co  F  must,  out  Sept.  15,  1865.  Andrew 
J  JohuHon  Co  l!  disch  to  re-enl  is  leteian  De<..  7,  1863.  Martin  Slahar,  Co.  G; 
must  out  Sept  15  1%5  Pulaski  Pierte  Linden  Co.  B;  disch.  for  diaibilitj-,  Feb.  27, 
1862  Chailis  Pette^  Co  H  dischaiged  C^eorge  V,  Fenton,  corp.  Co.  E;  must,  out 
Sept  lo  lS(.f.  Jnthim  ^hite  linden  C>  F  dlach.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran,  Dec.  10, 
1S(,. 


ISfaD    iiinst    int  Se|t   10  I860 

LLHtNTII    INl'^NlEl      tNEW). 

^^illlam  -ilexiudei  C.euesee  Co  1  must  out  Aug.  1,  1865.  George  IV.  AIe.\;inder, 
Genesee  Co  F  must  out  Ang  4  1865  Edward  \  Allen,  Fenton,  corp,  Co.  2;  must. 
ont  Sept  16  1S65  Henry  O  Clark  ienton  Co  11;  must,  out  Sept.  16,  1865.  Law- 
rence Cionan  Fenton  Co  K  must  out  Sept  16  1865.  Joel  Dibble,  Fenton,  corp.  Co. 
H  must  ont  bept  10  1865  John  W  Dediick  Fenton,  corp.  Co.  H;  must,  out  Sept. 
16  181)5  Leiov  FIIK  Bmtoii  Co  B  must  out  Sept.  10,  1865,  Albert  B.  Fondy. 
Mundj  Co  H  nmst  out  Sept  16  1S05  Oniei  r  Hall,  Genesee,  Co.  H;  died  of  dis- 
ease lit  Chiittanoigi  Tejiu  June  4  1H>5  Chaile"*  H.  JefCers,  Fenton,  Co.  H;  must, 
out  Sept  11  1S65  Mel\in  R  Iveith,  f.eiieaee  C*  B  must,  out  Sept.  16,  1865.  William 
Moodj  teuton  corp  Co  H  (seigt )  must  1  ut  Sept  16,  1865.  James  McGinuIgal, 
Fenton  Co  H  must  out  Sept  16  1S<  t  (hailes  T  Stevens,  Genesee,  Co.  B;  must,  out 
Sept  16  181)5  Heul  en  s  Fein  teuton  seigt  (  o  H  died  of  dlseiise  iit  .Taekson,  Mich., 
March  b    1S65 


Ikliidge  Austin  Co  U  disch  for  disability  S^t.  15,  1862.  H.  J.  Andrews, 
Genesee  Co  K  disch  at  end  of  service  Nov  20  1863.  Orvill  Bennett,  Thetford, 
Co  G  disch  at  end  of  seivlie  ^o\  20  IsflS  William  F.  Clopscudder,  Davidson,  Co. 
G  disch  at  end  of  serine  ^ol  2(>  1S63  Geoige  Crow,  Genesee,  Co.  K;  disch.  at 
end  of  senile  Noi  20  1S63  Isaac  R  Hunt  Co  F  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Sept  9, 
1805     Kobert  Ivnonles   Davison    Co    K     di-ich    nt  end  of  sen'iee,  Nov.  20,  1863. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Rev.  Henry  H.  Korthroji,  Fliat,  chaplHin;  enl.  March  21,  1862;  must,  out  Oct.  26. 
1862.  Silas  Austin,  IHint,  veteran  (sergt.)  ;  2d  lieut.  Co,  D,  AprU  25,  1865;  1st  lieut. 
July  5,  1865;  must,  out  as  2d  lieut,  July  25,  1865.  James  D.  Haight,  Flint,  Co.  D; 
dlscli.  for  dlaaMlity,  Aug.  6,  1863;  Delien  Hill,  Richfield,  Co.  D;  missing  in  battle  of 
Ohickamauga,  Tenn.,  Sept.  19,  1863.  Augustus  Tibals,  Flint,  Co.  D;  dlsch.  for  dis- 
ability, July  18,  1863.  George  D.  Torrey,  Flint,  Co.  A;  died  of  disease  on  the  iield  of 
Shiloll,  A[)ril  27,   1862. 


1st  Lieut,  iind  Adit.  George  W.  C.  Smitli,  Montrose;  enl.  Miirch  14,  1860;  pro. 
to  capt.  July  7,  18C5;  must,  out  as  adj.;  w:is  sei-gt.  Co.  A,  2d  lieut.  Co.  A;  pro.  lo  1st 
lieut  and  adjt. 

Company  A — 1st  Lleot.  Abram  0.  Speer,  dlsch.  for  wounds,  Oct.  25,  1864 ;  was 
sergt,  of  Co.  A,  2d  lieut.  of  Co.  A.  Edward  Akin,  Montrose,  Co.  A,  veteran ;  must,  out 
July  18,  1865.  Warren  Hal),  Montrose.  Co.  A ;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  veteran,  Jan.  4,  1864. 
George  F.  Miner,  corp.  Co.  A ;  died  of  disease  at  Keokuk.  lowrt,  Nov.  27,  1862.  Orlnndo 
Roaebrook,  Co.  K ;  must,  out  July  IS,  1865. 

FIFTEENTH    INFASTBY. 

Walter  Hrown,  Co.  D;  died  of  disease  at  Pittsburg  landing,  Tenn..  June  4,  1862. 
Abner  Cooper,  Linden,  Co,  U;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Dec.  24,  1864.  Wm.  H.  Corey, 
Gaines.  Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug.  13,  1865.  John  Debon.  Gaines,  Co.  D;  must  out  Aug. 
13.  1865.  Edward  Edson,  Gaines,  Co.  D;  diach.  by  order.  June  22.  1865.  James  B. 
B'airbanks.  Linden,  Co.  D,  sergt.;  disch.  for  disability,  Aug.  11,  1863.  Wellington  G. 
Kidder,  Gaines,  Co.  E;  disch.  by  order.  May  30,  1865.  Newton  A.  Lord,  Thetford, 
Co.  B;  dlscb.  by  order.  May  30,  1865.  Charles  Mabley,  Linden,  Co.  D;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability, June  26,  1863.  Joseph  Remiugton,  Gaines,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug.  13,  1865. 
Orren  Sage,  Linden,  Co,  D;  died  of  disease,  June  26,  1862.  Jacob  Shuler,  Co.  D; 
must,  out  Aug.  13,  1865.  Asa  White.  Thetford,  Co.  F;  dlsch.  by  order,  July  24,  1865. 
John  Simpson,  Fenton,  Co.  F,  veteran;  must,  out  by  order,  Aug.  13,  1865.  Richard 
Cai-l,  LIndeu,  Co.  D;  killed  at  Shiloh,  Tenn.,  Aug.  6.  1862. 

SE\-ENTEESTH    I  UFA  N  TRY. 

ThonuiB  Matthews,  Flint,  lat  lieut.  Co.  K,  June  17,  1862;  capt.  Co.  A,  Wiiy  13, 
1863;  niaj.  Oct  14.  1804;  must  out  June  3.  1865.  Wm.  H.  Brierly,  Flint  Oo.  E; 
must,  out  June  3,  1865.  Austin  Herrick,  Genesee,  Co.  E ;  must,  out  June  3,  1865. 
George  D.  Herrick,  Genesee,  Co.  E;  must,  out  June  3,  1865.  Squire  Mathews.  Flint, 
Co.  K;  died  of  disease  at  Covington,  Ky.,  April  17,  1864.  Jacob  Sutton,  Gaines,  Co. 
B ;   died  i)f  disease  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Aug.  30,  1863. 

1   Second  Mich.   Inf. 


Chas.  D.  Brown,  Flint,  1st  lieut  and  adj.;  enl.  Sept  1,  1864;  must  out  June  8, 
1805.  Joseph  H.  Canfield,  Argentine,  Co.  D  ;  must,  out  June  8,  1865.  Wm.  H.  Xelson. 
Fenton,  Co.  A;  diseh.  for  promotion,  April  20.  1865.  Horton  8.  Sperry.  Grand  Blanc. 
Co.   D;   must   out  June  8,   1865. 

TWEPiTY- SECOND    INFANTBY. 

Gilbert  E.  Waters,  Fenton,  asst.-surg..  enl.  June  IS,  1863;  not  mustered.  John 
Baxter,  Fenton,  Oo.  G;  trans,  to  Twenty-ninth  Mich.  Infantry.     Richard  Powell,  Fen- 


dbyGOO<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  473 

toil,    Co.    U;    dial   of   (lisciise   at    Clmttanoogii,    Tomi.,    July    20,    1804.      William    Wood, 
Mundy,  Co.  H;   mu'it.  out  .Tune  26,  1865. 

Moutvllli;  Beujiiiniii,  Cljjton,  Co.  H,  one  year;  must,  out  Juue  30,  1865.  Clarence 
D.  Case,  Thetford,  Co.  E,  one  year;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Henry  H,  Connor,  Feutou, 
Co.  H,  one  year;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Edwatii  Calkins,  Clayton,  Co.  H,  one  year; 
must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Day  Cuddeback,  Flint,  Co.  I,  one  year;  must,  out  June  30, 
1865.  John  M.  Cliapmau,  Flint,  Co.  I,  one  year;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  William 
Deal,  Feutou,  Co.  K,  one  year ;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  John  M.  Davis,  Feuton, 
Co.  E,  one  yejir;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  James  Fanclier,  Flint,  Co.  I,  one  year; 
must,  out  June  30,  1865.  William  H.  Giles,  Fenton,  Co.  B,  one  year;  must,  out  June 
30,  1865.  Wllltam  Grahaiii,  Flint,  Co.  I;  mnat.  out  June  30,  1863.  James  A.  Gould, 
must,  out  June  28,  1865.  John  Holingworth,  Flint,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 
George  S.  Joliusou,  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Jolin  Jones,  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 
Lester  MeKuight,  Fenton,  Co.  A,  one  year;  must,  out  Juno  30,  1865.  John  McGienchy, 
mint,  Co.  I,  one  year;  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Amos  H.  Palmei-,  Flint,  Co.  I,  one 
year;  must,  out  June  30,  ISCfi.  Richard  Rone,  Vienna,  Co.  I,  one  year;  must,  out 
June  30,  1865.  James  TLomas,  must,  out  June  30,  ]86o.  William  Tlttley,  Flint,' Co.  I; 
must,  out  June  30,  1865.  Henry  Vanetta,  Fenton,  Co.  A,  one  year ;  must  out  June  30. 
1865.  William  H.  Wright,  Co.  K;  died  of  disease  at  Camp  Butler,  111.,  May  1.  1S65. 
James  W.  Whittiilier,  must,  out  June  30,  1865.  William  W.  Woolford,  must,  out 
June  30,  1865.  Charles  H.  Ktiip,  Fenton,  Co.  A,  one  year;  must  out  June  ?A\  ISte. 
lOmmet  D.  IIerma)i,   Fllul,   Co.   A,  one  year;   must,   out  June  30,   1865. 


Isi'ael  P.  Whitmer,  Atlas,  Capt.  Co.  K,  Nov.  20,  1863;  must,  out  July  26,  1S65. 
Levi  S.  Warren,  Flint,  private  Fourth  Mich.  Cav.;  pro.  lo  2d  lleut.  Co.  A,  April  22, 
1864;  disch.  Feb.  28,  1865.  Charles  Albro,  Flint,  Co.  G;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
Aug.  14,  1864,  of  tvounds.  David  Babcock,  Grstud  Blanc,  Co.  E ;  died  of  disease  at 
Camp  Nelson,  Ky.,  Feb.  7,  1864.  Horace  Beckwith,  Mount  Morris,  Co.  Q;  must,  out 
July  21,  1865.  Dwight  Babcock,  Burton,  Co.  G;  must,  out  July  26,  1S65.  Luther  J. 
Briggs,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  26,  1865.  James  Cisco,  Co  G'  must,  out 
July  21,  1865.  Peter  Carpenter,  Co.  F;  discharged  at  end  of  service  Oct  l**,  1865. 
Henry  Dorman,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  F;  must,  out  July  20,  1865  Ephralm  Eualgm, 
Montrose,  Co.  G;  died  of  disease  at  Salisbury.  N.  C,  May  22,  1864  John  Lutz,  Flint, 
Co.  H;  must,  out  July  26,  1S65.  John  Oakley,  Flint,  Co.  G;  must  out  July  26,  1865. 
Frank  Smith,  Atlas,  Co.  G;  disch.  for  disability,  February,  1865  Harmon  &chnider. 
Grand  Blanc,  Co.  I;  must,  out  July  7,  1865.  Jonathan  Westbiook  Vienna,  Co.  C; 
died  June  28,  1864,  from  wounds  received  in  battle  June  26,  1864,  Petersburg,  Va. 
Albert  E.  SlcCieliau,  Slundy,  Co.  A;   absent,  sick;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Joshua  Billings,  Jr.,  Thetford,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  14,  1863. 
William  L.  Deneen,  Richfield,  Co.  F;  must  out  June  5,  1865.  Richard  I>ewey,  Birch 
Run,  Co.  I;  must,  out  June  5,  1865.  Madison  Fisher,  Mundy,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug.  9, 
1865.  Joseph  Fox,  Birch  Run,  Co.  I;  disch.  at  end  of  sei-vice,  March  1,  1865.  Squire 
R.  Haines,  Genesee,  Co.  F;  must,  out  May  15,  1866.  John  E.  Jewell,  Thetford,  Co,  B; 
disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  6,  1865.  Orlaniio  Levalley,  Thetford,  Co.  F;  disch.  at 
end  of  service,  Oct.  18,  1865.  Amherst  M.  Mathews,  Richfield,  Co.  D ;  must  out  Aug.  9, 
1865.     John  O'Hearn,  Riclifield,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  17,  1865.     Rufus 


dbyGoc^lc 


474  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

J.  PeiHioyer,  Co.  H;  discL.  for  disiibilltj-,  June  5,  ISCC.  ErtwJird  M.  Sinuot,  Genesee, 
Co.  E;  must,  out  June  5,  1S6U.  Horiice  Stephens,  Genesee,  Co.  E;  must,  out  Juue  5, 
1866.  Tlriah  N.  Short.  Thetfoid,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Oct.  1865.  Abram  Van  Buskirk, 
KIclifieliJ,  Co.  D;  dlsch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  17,  1865.  Caleb  WUite,  Forest,  Co.  D; 
mnst.  out  June  5,  1866.  Clinrlea  Wiilmer,  Flint,  Co.  H;  trims,  from  Twenty -third  Inf. 
Kufus  J.  Brown,  Clayton,  Co.  H ;  sergt. ;  trans,  from  Tiventj-tlilnl  Inf. :  must,  out 
June  o.  LSCe. 


Kdwin  Allen,  Bnf.  H;  discL.  for  disability,  July  21,  1862.  Kdwurd  W.  Barber, 
Flint,  But.  B;  diea  of  disease  at  Cairo,  111.,  March  25,  1802.  JToses  Brooks,  Bat.  F; 
tliaeh.  for  disability,  Nov.  LS,  1862.  Seth  Bowdlsb,  Atlas,  Bat.  I;  dlsch.  for  disability, 
Feb.  4,  1S65.  Edmund  Beebe,  Genesee,  Bat.  E;  veteran;  dlsch.  at  end  of  service, 
Jan.  21,  1S65.  Auson  A.  Bigeiow,  Genesee,  Bat.  B;  veteran;  must,  out  Aug.  30,  1865. 
Sobleski  Beamer,  Bat.  E;  must,  out  June  14,  1863.  Zaia  Beebe,  Mundy,  Bat.  E;  must. 
out  Aug.  30,  1865.  Fi-aukllu  A.  Barber,  Fenton,  Bat.  L;  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1865. 
Van  RensHnliier  Birdsall,  Davison,  Bat.  I. ;  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1865.  Azarlah  Compton, 
Flint,  Bat.  B;  veteran;  must,  out  June  14,  1863.  Alvin  F.  Crosby,  Davison,  Bat.  I; 
discli.  hy  order.  May  26,  1805.  Nelson  F.  Demarest,  Bat.  F;  veteran;  must,  out  July  1, 
1865.  William  Darling,  Feuton,  Bat.  H;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  vet.  Jan.  1,  1864.  Levi 
Falrchlld,  Grand  Blanc,  Bat.  I;  died  of  disease  at  Rome,  Ga„  July  14,  1864.  Barnabas 
C.  Gi-eenlield,  Mundj-,  Bat.  D;  traus.  to  ^'et.  Corps,  Oct.  IS.  1864.  'Walter  P.  Hyde, 
Atlas,  Bat.  I;  dlsch.  for  disability,  April  2,  1S63.  Arthur  Hemiisteud,  ijcneaee.  Bat.  B; 
must,  out  Aug.  30,  1805.  Albert  Hathaway,  Bat.  B ;  must,  out  Aug.  30,  1805.  Norman 
Herii'k,  Mundy,  Bat.  IT;  disch.  by  order,  May  9,  1865.  Joe!  L.  .Tones,  Fenton,  Bat.  L; 
disch.  for  disability,  May  12,  1865.  Charles  Jewett,  Bat.  E ;  trans,  to  Vet  Res.  Corps, 
Oct.  18,  1864.  William  H.  Judd,  Bat.  H;  must  out  July  22,  1865.  Elijah  H.  Lamb, 
<3rand  Blanc,  Bat.  E;  disch.  by  order,  Aug.  9,  1865.  Henry  W.  Marsli,  Bat.  A;  must. 
out  July  28,  1865.  David  P.ivker,  Bat.  A;  disch.  at  end  of  service.  May  31,  1864. 
Geoi^e  W.  Prescott,  Feuton,  Bat.  L;  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1865.  Charles  H.  Itoot,  Mundy, 
Bat  K;  must  out  July  22,  1865.  Abraham  Eouse,  Mundy,  Bat.  B;  must  out  May  20, 
1865.  Harvey  E.  Rockafellow,  Atlas,  Bat.  I;  must,  out  July  14,  1863.  John  Simons, 
Atlas,  Bat,  A;  died  of  disease  at  Cliiittanooga,  Tenu.,  June  17,  1864.  Johu  A.  Spencer. 
Atlas.  Bat.  A;  died  of  disease  at  GrayviUe,  T^.,  April  14,  1864.  Vocius  D.  Starr, 
Bat.  A;  dlsch.  at  end  of  service,  Way  31,  1864.  Simeon  Simons,  Atlas,  Bat.  A;  must, 
out  July  28,  1865.  Francis  N.  Slaght  Bat.  E;  must  out  Aug.  30,  1865.  William  W. 
Skiuuei-,  Fentou,  Bat  I  dihch  for  dlsabilitj-,  May  17,  1863.  Washington  Teachout, 
KIchSeld,  Bat  A;  must  out  Juh  28,  1865.  Myron  C.  Wllkerson,  Genesee,  Bat.  E; 
must,  out  Aug.  30,  1805  Tames  411en,  Fenton,  Bat.  H;  disch.  for  disability,  June  3, 
1862.  Bdwln  Allen,  teuton  Bnt  H;  disch.  for  disability.  July  21.  1862.  John  Simons, 
Atbis,   Biit.  A;   died  <.f  disei«e    it  C  hattanooga,  Temi.,  June  IT,   1864, 


John  C.  Godley  Flint  CLpt  Co.  A;  eul.  Sept  2,  1861;  maj.,  Sept.  25,  1SG2;  res. 
Sept.  12,  1863.  Johu  <„  Crawford,  aergt.-maj.,  2d  lleut.  Co.  „;  rail.  Sept  9,  1862; 
res.  March  31,  1863  A\illiam  W  Booth,  Fenton,  q.-m.  sergt.;  trans,  to  bosp.  stewart, 
Nov.  1,  1862.  William  S.  Brown,  Co.  A;  disch.  to  enlist  in  regular  service,  March  13, 
1863.  John  Ballentlne,  Co.  A ;  dlsch.  at  end  of  service,  Oct.  22.  1804.  I^ymau  F.  Dodge, 
Fenton,  Co.  H;  died  of  disease  at  Hamburg,  Tenu.,  May  14,  1862.  Albert  I.  Demarest, 
Co.  A;  disch.  for  disability,  June  14,  1862.  John  S.  Hovey.  Co.  li;  dlsch.  for  disability, 
July  1,  1862.     Wai.  S.  TjindHey.  Co.  E;   supposed  killed  by  explosion  of  steamer  "Sul- 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  475 

tuiiu,"  April  27,  1805.  Jease  Jloreliouse,  Flint,  Co.  A  tcoi-jj.)  ;  dlscli.  for  dlaabllitj". 
May  5,  1863.  David  Maniy,  Co.  A;  disch.  at  end  of  aeivice,  July  10,  1865.  Willinui 
Rice,  Co.  A;  dlsct.  for  dlsnhility,  Feb.  1,  1862.  Seth  WllHoms,  Co.  A;  dlscli.  for  dl»- 
iibility,  Oct  22,  1864. 

Butler  S.  Tubbs,  Fenton,  sergt.,  2d  lleut.  Co.  G;  enl.  March  24,  1865;  trans,  to 
First  Cavalry,  Nov.  7,  1865;  lat  ileiit..  May  26,  1865:  must,  out  as  2d  Ueut.  Co.  A, 
March  10,  1866.  Manrico  M.  BUbs,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  March  15,  1864. 
George  Carrier,  Co.  K ;  trans,  to  First  Mlchigfln  Cavalry,  Nov.  17,  1865.  John  Cook, 
Jr.,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Dec.  15,  1865.  Sylvester  Bccleston,  Vienna,  Co.  I>;  must,  out 
Dec.  8,  1865.  Jacob  Gnssman,  Grand  Blanc,  Co.  E;  trans,  to  First  Mich.  Cavalry,  Nov. 
17,  1865.  Jerome  Gnss,  Fliishhig.  Co.  C;  must,  out  Dec.  15,  1865.  Monson  H.  Hovey, 
Vienna,  Co.  L;  must,  out  Dee.  8,  1865.  James  McFarlane,  Blontvose,  Co.  C;  must,  out 
Dec.  15,  1865.  Gilbert  B.  Monroe,  Tlietford,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Dec.  15.  1863.  Frank 
Men-ow,  Co,  G;  must,  out  July  17.  1865.  Charles  M.  .Mc-Laiu,  Vienna,  Co.  L;  must, 
out  Dec.  8,  1865.  Russell  McMannus,  Montrose,  Co,  G ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 
Mny  1,  1864.  Tracy  J.  Merrill,  Richfield.  Co.  H;  trans,  to  First  Michigan  Cavalry, 
Nov.  17.  1805.  J.  L.  Miller,  Co.  C:  died  at  Salem  Church,  Va.,  May  27,  1864.  Wni. 
JlcComb,  Thetford,  Co.  C;  died  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  4,  1864.  Hogei-  ralne, 
Vienna,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Dec.  15.  1865.  James  Smith,  Flnslilug.  Co.  C;  must,  out 
I>ec.  13,  1865.  'Austin  Shealy,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Dec.  15,  1865.  John  H.  Sloan,  Co.  L: 
must.  out.  Dec.  8,  18G5.  Dwlght  Stewart,  Co.  L;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1865.  Leiivltt 
Tooles,  Vienna,  Co.  C;  must,  out  May  10,  1863.  Election  Thayer,  Flushing,  Co.  H; 
trans,  to  First  Mtchigjin  Cavalry,  Amos  W.  Wester,  Vienmi,  Co.  I,,;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 
1805,  Mason  Ide,  Monti'oee.  Co.  C;  sicii  in  hospital;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  W,  Wilson.  Tlietford.   To,  C;  disch.  for  disability,   Sept.  30,  1863. 


Ashel  Bedon,  Co,  II;  died  of  disease  at  I^exinjj^on,  Ky.,  April  10,  1864.  Thoniiis 
Benrtle,  Flint,  wagoner,  Co.  I ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Jan.  15,  1864.  Roger  AV. 
Bunting,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  1865.  George  D.  CuiTler,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Sept. 
22,  1865.  Nathaniel  Coulter,  Co  I ;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  1865.  Chauncey  Denny,  Flint, 
sergt.  Co.  I ;  must,  out  Oct.  4,  1865.  Joseph  Fisher,  Flint,  Co.  I ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res, 
Corps,  Jan,  13,  1864.  Albert  Hurst,  Fenton,  Co.  I ;  disch.  (or  minority.  May  7.  1863. 
Barney  Haryer,  Flint,  Co.  I ;  disch.  for  disability,  June  6,  1863.  Orlando  J.  Hutciiinson, 
Co.  T ;  gained  from  missing  in  action.  Reuben  Hldorm,  Flint,  Co.  I ;  died  of  disease 
at  Lexington,  Ky.,  March  5.  1864.  Clements  King,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  1865. 
Oren  B.  McNett,  Flint,  sergt.  Co.  I;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  1865.  George  B.  McComb, 
Flint,  Co,  1;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Nov.  23,  1864.  Charles  W.  Mosher,  Richfield, 
cori>.  Co.  Ill  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  May  1,  1864.  Horace  B.  Madison,  Fenton, 
Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  Dec,  24,  1864.  Charles  D.  Phillips,  Co.  I; 
died  of  disease  at  Camj)  Nelson,  Ky..  June  21,  1864.  Franklin  E.  Potter,  Fenton, 
Co.  I ;  gained  from  missiug  In  action,  Elmer  Preston,  Fenton,  Co.  I ;  disch.  Feb.  8, 
1803.  Andrew  Pottei.  Fenton,  Co.  I;  disch.  for  disability,  Sept.  5,  1864.  Isaac 
I'otter,  Co.  I;  disch.  for  disability,  Dec.  30,  1863.  Patricit  Reynolds,  Flint,  Co.  I; 
discli.  for  disability,  April  2il,  1865.  Ebin  Remii^ton,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  1863. 
Blias  C.  Seeley,  Flint,  Co.  L;  must,  out  June  23,  1865.  Timothy  O,  Sullivan.  Co.  C; 
must,  ont  Sept.  22,  1865.  Elijah  W,  Smith,  Flint,  Co,  1;  missing  In  action  at  Turner's 
Ferry,  July  9,  1864.  Jotham  G.  Stevens,  Gaines,  Co.  H;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 
Jan.  15,  1864.    Orlo  H.  VanSickles,  Flint,  Co.  I;  gained  from  missing  In  action,    James 


dbyGoot^lc 


476  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Van  Sicklea,   Flint,  Co.  M;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  1865.     Beujfimin  H.  Green,   Flint,  Co.   1; 
died  In  hospital  at  Kingston,  Ga.,  July  20,   ]864. 

HINTH    CAVALRY. 

Solomon  1'.  Bi-ocliwny,   Flint;  niaj.  Nov.  3,  1862;   lieut.-eol.  June  27,  1865;   must, 
out  July  24,  ISeS,  as  iiwjoi-.     Jacob  Fisher,  Co.  K;  dlsch.  for  disability,  July  8,  1S65. 


TKNTH    < 

Samuel  W.  Harbnck,  Fenton,  sergt.  Co.  L;  2d  Hent.  Co.  I,  April  1,  1864;  1st  lieut. 
Oct.  19,  1865;  must,  out  Nov,  11,  1865.  J^sup  Morehouse,  Flint,  sergt.  Co.  D;  2d 
lleut.  Co.  H,  April  3,  1864;  1st  lleut.  Feb.  18,  1865;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1865.  Edwin 
A.  Botsford,  Fentou,  2d  lieut.  Co.  L;  eul.  Aug,  21,  1863;  res.  Feb.  14,  1865.  Joshua  J. 
Armstrong,  Fenton,  Co.  L;  dlsch.  for  disability,  July  27,  1864.  Lyman  G.  Bigelow, 
Co.  D;  disch.  for  iiromotion,  July  28,  1864.  Adelbert  Ohadwlck,  Fenton,  Co.  L;  must, 
out  Nov.  11,  1865.  William  H.  Dunning,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1865.  Chester 
S.  Dymond,  Feutou,  corp.  Co.  L;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1865.  Lewis  B.  F.  Dickenson, 
Fenton,  Co.  L;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  18^.  Chester  FaiTer,  Fenton,  Co.  L;  must,  out 
Nov.  11,  1865.  Rlias  S.  Hale,  Flint,  Co.  L;  must  out  May  24,  1865.  Albert  J.  Hirst, 
Fenton,  corp.  Co.  L;  must,  out  July  10,  1865.  Merle  D.  Ingram,  Fenton,  Co.  L;  must, 
out  Nov.  11,  1865.  Frauds  Jenderine,  Fenton,  Co.  I>;  must,  out  March  20,  1805. 
Fraaklin  McOallam,  Fenton,  Co,  L;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1865.  George  Marlatt,  Fenton, 
Co.  L;  must,  out  Nov.  22,  IS60.  Burton  Perry,  Fenton,  Co,  L;  must,  out  Nov.  27, 
1865.  Alien  A.  Porter,  Fenton,  Co.  L;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1865.  Joseph  H.  Rowe, 
Fenton,  Co.  Ii ;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1865.  James  Spence,  Argentine,  Co.  M ;  dlsch.  by 
order,  Aug.  3,  1865;  Washington  Todd,  Genesee,  Co.  D;  disch.  for  disability,  June  0, 
1865.  James  A.  Taylor,  Fenton,  quar.-mas.  sergt.  Co.  L;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1865. 
Benjamin  B.  Welch,  Fenton,  Co.  L ;  died  of  disease  at  Grand  Rapids,  Mlcli.,  Nov.  6, 
1863.  John  H.  Groom,  Fenton,Co.  L;  disch.  for  disability,  Oct.  17,  1864.  Mon-ia  L. 
Groom,  Fenton,  Co.  L ;  must,  out  Nov.  11,  1864.  Ohas.  W.  Thorii,  Fenton,  Co.  L ;  must, 
out  Nov.  11.  1865. 

George  Osterhout,  lUirtoti;  must   out  Mav  *  1865 

FIRST   HEOIMfcNT    IMITED    STATES    SHARPSHOOTraS. 

Company  K — William  Atherton    nt    record 

Company  C — Marcus  A.  Watson  trunsf  to  Ini  ilid  tort*"  Jan.  1,1,  1864.  J:imi's  B. 
Delbridge,  discb.  for  disabllltj     Feb    6    1863 


J.«wls  Beeler,  Atlas,  Co.  K  distb  f  r  dls.ibilltj  «!ept  14  18G4.  James  H.  {;ri 
Flint,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Sept.  30  186  Jos^hus  J  hnson  1  enton,  Co.  G ;  must. 
Sept.  30,  1865.     Richard  Williams    Hint    to    I     must    out  veit    30,  1865. 


Company  G — -Uavid  W.   Bcemor    Fcuton     eni    Aug    2-    l^(l;   died   of  wounds,   Jiin. 

rOKTi   FOIBTH    ILLINOIS    1NF4NTB1 

S.  N.  Androus,  later  of  Flint  2d  lieut  Co  E  eni  lug  12,  1861  {Lieut.  Androus 
had  been  principally  instrumental  In  nislng  the  company)  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  for  gal- 
lant and  meritorious  conduct  at  battle  of  Pea  Eidge  Mo  battalion  adjutant  at  Park 
Barracks,  Louisville,  Ky.,  for   ibcut  one  jear     ti  ns    to  Fifth  TI.  S.  Inf.,  and  served 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  477 

as  niiiHteriiig  officer   f<ir   Itliode   Island   and   Connect  fen  t ;   iiiiist.    out   of   service   Jlay   1. 
1866. 

XieiCTi:    REGIMENT    NEW    YOBK    CAT  ALKY. 

Frank  K,  Willett,  FHiil;  enl.  Sept.  21,  1861;  wounded  iu  action  and  taken  prisoner, 
near  Weldou  Bviilgc,  Vii,,  ou  WHson'a  raid  around  Klchniond,  June  29,  1804;  confined 
ten  months  in  -itidcrsonville  iiikI  other  prisons;  paroled  April  23,  1865;  nmst.  o«t  June 
16.  1S65. 

Andrew  Ferris^  Forest;  enl.  September,  1863;  served  through  operations  against 
Petersburg,  at  BurksvlJIe,  Vn.,  smd  at  Appomattox;  disch.  June,  1865. 

PIBST   MAINE  CAVAIJIY. 

Cliireace  D.  L'lmer,  now  of  Flint,  formerly  of  Eocklaud,  Me.;  1st  lieut.,  and  ordered 
on  duty  as  oast,  qr.-mast.  3d  Brigade.  2d  Div.  Cav.  Corps;  served  during  the  war  on 
staff  of  Gen.  Charles  H.  Sniitli,  now  col,  ISth  U.  S.  Inf. 

UBIOADE    BAUD,    SECOND    BBIOADE,    FOTJKTn    DIVISION,    TWENTV-TIIIBD    ARMY    CORPS. 

Conrad  A.  Hoffman,  leader,  Feuton ;  Cyrus  Alsdorf,  Jefferson,  James  Shuttleworth, 
HoUln  A.  Jenny,  Williani  Gale  William  Graham,  Edwin  G.  Nlles.  Merton  S.  Stewart, 
Davtd  C.  Bri^s,  Stephen  ^  Gates  James  A.  Hungerford,  Charles  L.  Sheldon,  Francis 
M.  Wheeler,  Mortimei  M    'itanfoid   Alva  U.  Wood,  Adney  F.  Forbes. 


BRIGADE    B^ND     SBCC 

John  J.  VanderbHigl  Feuton  enl.  April  13,  1864;  must,  out  Aug.  2,  1865.  Elbert 
N.  Chandler,  Feuton  enl  Aiiil  13  1864;  must,  out  April  29,  1865.  Charles  C.  Oolrath, 
Ifenton ;  enl.  April  13,  1)>I>1 ;  must,  out  July  28,  1865. 


Oscar  Adams,  Flint,  major  and  paymaster  U.  S.  Vols;  enl.  March  IS,  18(54;  must, 
out  Nov.  15,  1863.  Andrew  B.  Chapln.  Flint,  asst.  surg.  of  U.  S.  Vols.;  enl.  Sept.  12, 
1862;  res.  Aug.  20,  1864.  Gilmau  T.  Holmes,  Gaines,  1st  lieut.,  1st  Mich.  Colored  Inf., 
102d  U.  S.  O.  T.;  enl.  Nov.  7,  1363:  regt.  q.-m..  May  6,  1865;  res,  June  30,  1865.  Almon 
C.  Barnard,  GeiiPSPe  Co.,  1st  lieut,  12tli  U.  S,  Colored  Artillery;  enl,  July  15,  1864. 

THE   HEROIC. 

The  following  oration  was  delivered  by  Hon.  W.  B.  Arms,  of  Feuton, 
at  Fentonviile,  July  4,  1865: 

Ihe  eight*  umth  umheisaij  of  <.ur  nati<nil  indeienden  e  cjmes  to  us  fhiiee 
battled  for  thiough  a  fresh  biptlsni  jf  fire  md  lUod  4nd  while  today  we  com 
memoiate  the  heioli  siciifices  and  gloiioua  ichieiements  if  the  noble  men  who  amid 
perils  tnd  dingers  amid  sttrms  and  darkness  foundel  thii  beautiful  and  ddmirable 
system  of  free  go\einment  which  by  the  blessings  of  God  we  trust  wlli  continue  to 
live  on  in  tlie  aces  to  come  enduring  strengthening  and  ddnndng  until  It  shall  ha^e 
flothed  with  dignity  nnd  made  regal  and  universal  the  sacred  principle  that  men  are 
capable  of  self  go*einment  let  ns  not  foiget  the  costly  sacrifice  of  anguish  suffering 
and  blood  which  secures  tj  us  the  pricelesi  bleisings  of  today  thtt  the  lea\e«  of  the 
tiees  of  liberty  hiie  grown  and  sprod  only  as  Its  loots  hate  been  watered  and  fer 


dbyGoo<^lc 


4/8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

tilized  with  blood;   thiit  for  these,  men   lu   e\ery   ago  li;ne  become  exiles,  outeaats  itnd 
Iniigulshed  in  ioatlisome  duiigeons. 

Need  I  fuvtlier  remind  you  of  tlie  liorrors,  the  desolutiou  yiid  migiiiah  wIiilIi  onr 
own  genei-jition  has  been  subjected  to,  in  L-rushing  out  this,  the  bloodiest,  ghastliest 
rebellion  of  all  timeV— that  to  enable  us  to  look  upon  an  unbrolten  nationality  today, 
the  continent  lias  sbalten  with  the  tread  of  armed  men,  tlie  earth  has  been  made  red 
with  tlie  blood  of  the  slain,  and  soii'ow,  mourning  and  tears  ha*e  been  carried  into 
tliousands  of  homes  all  over  this  land,  so  that  we  ourselves  by  our  own  experience  have 
learned  as  ouv  fathers  did  before  us  the  price  of  liberty  and  nationality.  And  while 
today  we  rejoice  as  never  before,  this  goodly  heritage  of  our  ftitbers  ia  doubly  dear  to 
us.  as  its  title  deeds  are  sealed  with  the  mingled  blood  of  the  fathers  aad  their  chil- 
dren. Today  we  can  look  over  this  broad  land,  from  Plymouth  Rock  in  the  east,  to  the 
luountains  in  the  west,  from  the  northern  lakes  to  the  gulf,  and  can  soy  of  these 
lakes  and  mountiilns,  of  these  mighty  rivers  and  ijlains.  They  are  ours,  and  o^er  them 
waves  ill  peJceful  triumph  that  blessed  flag  which  has  won  forth  fii>m  tlie  smoke  of 
battle  without  a  stripe  erased  and  every  star  bright  and  beautiful  upon  its  foldh. 

lint,  while  our  hearts  are  thrilled  with  ]iatriotic  impulses,  there  is  a  widness 
mingled  with  our  joys.  There  are  tearful  eyes,  and  aching  hearts  here  and  elsewhere, 
for  eveiT  community  has  furnished  Its  heroes  and  its  martyrs  in  this  war.  I  see  those 
before  me  today  who  have  lost  cherished  frleuds  by  rebel  bullets  ou  the  li.ittiefleld. 
They  sleep  on  southern  soil,  lone  and  solitary;  no  fcentle  hand  will  strew  sweet  flowers 
o^er  their  graves,  and  the  low  nioau  of  the  sighiug  wind  is  their  only  requiem;  or, 
those  who.  far  worse.  ha*e  been  cruelly  starved  in  loathsome  prisons,  famishing,  starv- 
ing, thinking  of  home  and  friends,  but  with  no  kind  hand  to  give  them  even  a  crust 
of  bread  or  pass  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  their  parched  and  burning  lips;  no  sound  but 
the  ceaseless  tramp  of  the  sentinel  and  the  wild  ravings  of  unfortunate  victinis  around 
them.  Fathers  ha^e  lost  sons,  sisters  have  lost  brothers,  wives  ha*e  lost  husbands, 
who  have  gone  forth  i«  the  strength  and  glory  of  manhood  to  return  no  more  forever, 
until  the  trumpet  of  the  Archangel  shall  wake  the  sleeping  nations  of  the  dead. 

But  you  weep  not  as  others  we^i.  They  have  fallen  martjTS  for  a  nation's  life, 
for  a  nation's  lil)ertiea  and,  with  the  martyred  heroes  who  have  gone  before  theiu  their 
names  shall  live,  ever  bright  and  enduring,  in  the  memories  of  succeeding  generations, 
through  all  time  to  come.  But  terrible  as  has  been  the  ordeal  of  fire  and  blood  through 
which  we  hove  been  passing,  let  us  witii  the  greiit  Apostle,  "forgetting  those  things 
which  are  behind,  press  forward,"  rejoicing  that  God  has  given  us  the  victorj-  over  all 
our  euemies  and  brouglit  upon  them  confusion  and  disjcrace;  that  we  have  a  country 
where  ti'aitors  cannot  li*e,  where  slaves  cannot  breathe,  but  where  the  Inspiration  of 
liberty,  infusing  itself  Into  the  masses,  shall  build  up  In  industry  and  wealth,  intelli- 
gence and  power,  the  mightiest  people  of  earth.  Cannot  we  all  say  with  the  great 
Scottish  bard: 

"Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead, 
Wlio  never  to  himself  hath  said. 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land?" 

Previous  to  the  sixteenth  century,  wiuit  little  of  republicanism  there  was  m  Europe 
was  found  centered  in  the  free  cities  of  Italj  and  among  the  villages  and  sninlier  towns 
of  the  brave  and  hardy  Swiss,  along  the  valleys  of  the  Alps  m  Switzerland.  Our  fore- 
fathers at  Piymoutb  Rock  on  the  22nd  day  of  Decembra-,  1620,  knelt  down  upon  the 
rugged  rock,  with  no  eye  but  their  fathers'  God  to  witness  the  Imiwsing  ceremony,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  that  immense  temple,  dedicated  to  human  liberty,  whowe  granite 
pillars  crown  the  shores  of  eitlier  ocean,  and  beneath  nbose  .iinple  dome  we.  with  mil- 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  479 

lions  of  other  worshipiiers,  are  peruilttecl  to  C"ii;{i-es;ite  mid  renew  iind  rebjiirtlsie  tlie 
vows  made  by  our  fathei's. 

Tile  stoi-y  of  Knglish  iiggreasions  and  the  heroif  strugglea  of  the  colonies  ih  patent 
in  history,  until  a  few  liundi'ed  chesta  ol  tea  settled  the  question  of  peai-e  or  wnr. 
The  tax  was  smiill,  tlie  love  of  tea  was  strous.  btit  principle  triumphed,  and  those 
stem  old  patriots  made  the  largest  dish  of  ten  that  day  ever  hrewed  on  the  I'oiitinent, 
as  they  rolled  up  tlieir  sleeves  and  tumbled  it  iuto  Boston  Hiirhor. 

But  how  we  love  to  think  of  these  noble  men  as  tliey  met  lu  Independence  Hall 
and  settled  the  question  of  independence  forever !  Bold  and  defiant,  as  one  after  another 
they  signed  the  deathless  charter  of  our  iiherties.  John  Hniicix-k  seized  the  pen  ami 
with  a  dashing  hand  wrote  his  name,  exclaiming,  "Tliere.  Kina  George,  you  t-an  rejid 
that  over  the  Atlantic  Cloeao,  three  thousand  niilen  away."  Such  were  the  fiithei-»i. 
No  wonder,  then,  the  immoi-tnl  deeds  of  their  children. 

During  the  last  year  a  lady  collecting  supplies  for  the  .-ioidler*  calleil  at  the  Itou'w 
of  n  farmer  in  the  (Jreeu  Jlountaln  state.  He  gme  liberally  for  the  object,  and  said, 
"I  have  had  four  sons  In  the  army;  one  of  them  has  been  killed.  My  youuKext  son  is 
now  at  home;  if  Grant  can't  whip  I-ee  wlthont  him,  he  Ik  ready  to  go  any  time." 
Jackson  once  threatened  to  liang  Oalhotin;  If  he  had  done  ho,  the  war  ivonid  hate 
been  averted,  but  unfortunately  the  cockatrice's  («gs  of  treason  were  allowed  to  batch 
out.  Calhonn.  to  unite  soutlieni  men  in  his  schemes  of  nnllilii.-ation,  instituteil  what  tbej 
termed  the  observance  of  the  birthday  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Xo  northern  niemlier  of 
Oongress  was  linited.  but  they  knew  Jackson's  eagle  eje  was  watching  them  and 
dared  not  do  less  tliau  invite  him.  After  the  cloth  w.-ls  removed  from  the  table,  Calhoun 
arose  to  iirojiose  the  first  toast,  it  was  "Liberty  first,  the  I'nlon  afterwards;"  before 
It  could  be  di'unk  to.  Jackson  was  upon  his  feet,  his  eyes  Hushing  lire,  his  gaunt  frame 
drawn  up  to  its  full  heiglit.  "I  propose,"  said  he.  "as  tlie  first  toast,  "I'nioii  and 
Ijiherty,  one  and  inseparable,  now  and  forever,"  It  was  silently  drunk ;  the  ctmipaiiy 
dispersed,  never  to  meet  upon  such  an  occasion  agahi.  Mr.  Clayton,  of  Delaware,  came 
to  Calhoun  and  told  him  that  Jackson  said  unless  he  retracted  at  once  he  ivonld  have 
hlui  arrested  for  treason,  tried  for  treason,  and.  If  found  guilty,  by  the  eternal,  he 
would  haiis  him  as  a  traitor.  "Then."  stild  <'alhonii.  "he  will  do  it,''  and  he  was  not 
long  in  retracting. 

Tre.ihon  culminated  in  the  crime  against  Sumter.  All  day  long  eight  thousand 
men  trained  sliot  and  shell  against  the  foit  with  its  iittle  garrison,  but  the  band  of 
hei-oes  never  iiuniled  until  the  magazine  w^^8  fired.  Then  they  quietly  took  down  the 
flag  and  i^olled  it  up,  to  he  preserved  until  that  fort  should  again  come  Into  our  pos- 
session. How  dilTerent  on  that  Palm  Sunday  when  tweutj'  thousand  peoiile  gathered 
at  that  fort  and.  taking  out  the  flag  which  had  been  four  years  laid  away,  unfurled 
It  to  the  breeze  amid  the  wild  and  deafening  shouts  of  loyal  men  and  women  J  Of 
those  eight  thousand  traitors,  how  few  are  left  to  tell  the  storj-  of  their  shame! 
RdwaM  Knflln,  who  basted  the  prli-ilege  of  firing  the  first  shot,  committed  suicide  the 
other  day.  and  gave  as  his  reason  for  the  act.  in  a  letter  written  before  his  death,  that 
he  could  not  live  under  such  a  government  as  the  T''nited  States.  Jjike  Judas,  lie  has 
gone  to  his  own  place,  and  would  that  all  traitors  would  go  and  do  likewise. 

How  changed  the  scene  now,  from  these  last  four  years  of  trial!  Then  the  lurid 
flames  of  war  lighted  up  the  continent  with  their  ghastly  ghire:  a  thousand  cannon 
sent  forth  their  desolating  fires;  hundreds  of  thousand  of  men  confronted  each  other 
in  hostile  lines,  for  i)un>oses  of  butcheiT  and  slaughter,  the  desi-endants  of  tiie  men 
who  fought  side  by  side  at  Brandywhie  and  Yorktown  for  independence  were  found 
confi'onting   each   other   like  fierce   gladiators   thirsting   for   each   other's   blood,    tens   of 


dbyGoot^lc 


480  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

tliousaiiil  huii-ying  ou  to  t.ike  the  vaciint  plai'^  of  tlie  sl.iln.  Tlie  people  of  tliese 
Nortlieni  states,  although  hetirtslck  and  weary  ot  the  strife  at  times,  yet  never  lost 
their  faith  nor  tired  in  the  work.  But  now,  how  changed !  Peace,  radiant,  luminous, 
Hm[leH  upon  us  and  spans  the  lery  heavens  ahove  us  with  the  bow  of  promise  to  cele- 
hriite  the  goldeu  marriage  of  liberty  and  union.  The  rebel  cannon  at  Charleston  and 
Itichmoud,  once  used  to  batter  down  this  government,  now  send  forth  salvos  of  artillery, 
welcoming  Its  return.  South  Carohnu  says  to  Maasachusetts .  "We  are  conquered,  we 
submit:  your  ideas  have  triuniiihed ;  ours  are  lost  forever,"  Lee's  great  army,  where 
IS  it!  Scattered  like  the  autunm  leaies;  himself,  with  Jefferson  Davis  and  many 
others,  feeding  upon  United  States  rations,  which  they  seem  to  relish  well ,  and  the 
chances  are  that  we  sliall  be  obliged  to  furnish  hemp  for  some  of  them  or  they  will 
iie*er  get  their  dues. 

The  London  Timcn  siiid  we  <-ould  not  carry  on  the  war,  because  they  would  not 
let  us  have  the  money  to  do  mi.  Now  we  haie  the  bent  flnanclai  system  In  the  world 
and  Europe  takes  our  bonds  freelj.  The  English  put  an  Armstrong  gun  in  every  rebel 
fort;  we  paid  tliem  off  by  sending  shipload  after  sluploud  of  provisions  to  her  starring 
operatives  at  JIanchester.  Louis  Napoleon  supposed  re])ublican  ideas  had  collapsed 
surely.  So  iuspiied  was  he  with  a  missionary  spirit,  he  thought  he  would  Christianize 
the  Meslcans;  but  they  don't  take  his  kind  of  Christianity  easily,  and  they  seem  to 
begin  to  think  that  their  chances  of  salvation  are  about  as  good  as  his.  Maximilian 
will  undoubtedly  return  home  inipiessed  with  the  truth  that  I'ro^ldence  never  designed 
him  for  missionary  work. 

Let  us  rejoice  again  that  wo  have  come  out  of  this  crucible  of  affliction  so  strong, 
so  mighty  In  all  material  resources;  that  the  American  name  is  such  a  tower  of 
strength  abroad — so  honoi'ed  and  feared  that  even  our  enennes  say  that  we  are  the 
strongest  people  in  the  world,  because  we  conquered  the  rebellion  when  they  wished 
it  to  succeed;  and  they  were  still  more  surprised  that  we  would  not  become  bankrupt, 
as  they  predicted.  I.et  us  jiralite  Oiod  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,  that,  though  the 
storm  has  spent  its  fury  upon  us  and  the  tempest  lashed  us  with  its  waves,  and  clouds 
and  darkness  ha\e  been  around  us,  yet  tlirough  all  the  wild  tumult  He  has  brought 
us  forth  In  victory  and  peace  at  the  dawning  of  a  brighter  day. 

The  student  of  historj  need  not  now  go  back  to  classic  times  m  search  of  the 
heroic.  The  name  of  the  gunner  of  the  "Cumberland"  will  live  to  the  latest  time. 
With  botii  legs  shot  off,  as  he  found  she  was  sinking  to  the  water's  edge,  he  drew  the 
blessed  stumps  upon  the  breach  of  the  cannon  and,  seizing  the  lanyard,  applied  the 
match,  and  as  the  fated  steamer  went  down  in  the  gurgling  waves  the  last  broadside 
of  the  "Cumberland"  yelled  forth  the  note  of  defiance  to  the  foe.  A  noble  color  ser- 
geant lu  a  New  York  regiment  was  shot  down  and  mortally  wounded;  as  he  was  taken 
from  the  field  he  held  fast  his  grasp  upon  the  colors,  and  tliey  were  carried  with  him 
to  the  hospital ;  in  the  wild  delirium  of  death  he  was  still  clinging  to  the  flag.  It  is 
related  of  Napoleon  that  when  he  swept  the  field  with  his  glass  and  saw  the  wlilte 
plume  of  Slurat  dancing  to  and  fro  in  the  sunlight  as  he  moved  on  at  the  head  of 
his  legions,  he  knew  the  victory  was  safe.  Was  not  Grant  equally  certain  of  victory 
when  he  heard  the  thunder  of  Sheridan's  cannon  as  he  swept  like  a  hurricane  upon 
the  enemy's  lines? 

It  Is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  record  of  Michigan  during  this  war  is  gratifying 
to  her  citizens  and  one  of  which  their  children  will  be  proud,  indeed.  We  have  put 
nearly  one  hundred  thousand  men  into  the  field — about  one-eighth  of  our  entire  popu- 
lation— and  of  the  character  of  Michigan  soldiers  for  endurance,  courage  and  daring, 
as  well  as  every  soldierly  quality,  I  am  not  here  to.  speak.     Their  fighting  qualities 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  40I 

iire  kDowu  from  Washing  ton  tu  the  Jtir.  Uraiide.  At  fhickiimaiign,  tliej  fjUPd  Riise- 
ccans  from  annihilation;  at  Fi^e  Forlis  tliey  stattered  like  chafC  the  serried  L-olumns 
of  Lee'a  grand  army.  The  bones  of  her  alain  mingle  with  the  soil  of  every  gi-eat  battle- 
field from  the  Wilderness  to  Mobile.  The  brilliant  ijheridaa  and  the  dashliis  Custer  liave 
made  her  fame  nB  imperishable  as  granite;  but,  as  if  that  were  not  enough  of  glory,  It 
was  reserved  as  a  crowning  net  for  Wichlgan  to  capture  Jeff  Davis  and  the  whole 
Southern  Coufederncy,  bootK,  hoops  and  all.  Itluch  as  Michigan  has  to  be  proud  of  in 
her  vast  mineral  and  agrlculturnl  resources,  her  sparkling  lakes,  her  admirable  syntem 
of  public  schools,  the  wealth,  intelligence  and  culture  of  her  people,  yet  more  than  all 
these  does  she  prize  the  fame  of  her  citizen  soldiery.  And  from  her  soil  there  shall 
arise  a  polished  shaft  iminting  heavenward,  upon  whose  enduring  surface  shall  be 
engraven  the  heroic  deeds  of  her  honored  dead. 

But  there  are  other  heroes  whom  I  cannot  jKtss— the  white  refugees  of  the  South, 
driven  out  from  home,  outcasts  and  wanderers,  mercilessly  shot  down  and  butchered, 
starved  and  plundered,  ii^  ing  In  caves  and  dens,  secreting  themselves  by  day,  wander- 
ing upoQ  the  mountains  by  night.  Oh,  who  shall  tell  the  horrors  of  their  sufferings? 
And  can  we  forget  today  those  true  iind  tried  friends  at  the  South,  iilthough  dark- 
skinned,  who  haie  ne^er  failed  to  (n"eet  our  flag  with  cheers;  whose  acts  of  kindness, 
constancy  and  faithfulness  to  our  oHicers  and  soldiers,  fleeing  for  life  from  Southern 
prisons,  is  part  of  the  noble  record  of  this  war?  Secreting  them  by  day,  suiiplying 
them  with  food,  acting  as  trusty  guides  by  night,  they  have  piloted  thousands  from 
Southern  hells  to  the  Union  lines.  Nor  can  we  forget  the  sable  warriors  of  Port  Hud- 
son and  Oloustee;  nor  those  who  made  breastworks  of  their  bodies  as  they  fell  thick 
and  fast  around  the  heroic  Colonel  Shaw,  at  Fort  Wayne,  seizing  the  flag  of  the 
Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  and  bearing  it  aloft  In  triumph  amid  that  wild  carnival 
of  death.  Their  fame  was  justly  eanied.  And  who  would  be  mean  enough  to  try  and 
steal  it  from  them?  Who  has  not  heanl  of  Robert  Small,  the  slave  pilot  who,  when 
the  rebel  captain  of  the  steamer  "Planter"  was  intending  to  hand  her  over  to  the 
rebels,  coolly  took  her  out  of  Charleston  harbor  and  put  her  in  the  possession  of  the 
United  States  authorities?  A  noble  net,  which  has  nuide  him  a  hero  the  world  over. 
Justicfc  terrible  and  i-etributive.  has  overtaken  the  chiefs  and  iilotters  of  all  the  guilt 
and  criminality  of  this  odious  i-ebelliou.     They  have  found  hut  too  true  the  startling 

Tint  r     this  l>olt  shill  find    uid  [  lerte  i  ii   through 
Though  under  hells  pioftimdest  wiie  thru  diiest 
Fi    tmd  a  sheltering  grai  e 

The  opening  futme  tf  lui  countrv  Ironis  up  herilc  to  us  \sith  1  grandeui  ind 
magnlflten  e  which  Is  diazling  u  the  l>eholdeis  Cmiing  out  cf  the  mighty  tciiflict 
with  uuHhilen  fiith  111  the  ,i;enius  of  our  institution"  purified  chtstened  and  strength 
ened  with  the  Inspiration  of  liberty  animating  all  hearts  there  rise  up  before  us  the 
radttut  gloites  of  an  empire  teeming  with  free  industrions  thrhing  mHliiT«  where 
cultuie    intelligenie    refinement   ind  moral  heroism  ire  the  onlj   rhals 


(31) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


CHAPTER  XII. 
Railroads. 

The  magnificent  steam  railroads  of  today  have  come  by  a  slow  process 
of  development  from  the  wooden  tramways  of  an  earlier  age  in  Europe. 
In  the  sixteenth  century  in  England  rails  of  wood  were  laid  for  the  trans- 
portation of  coal  from  the  mouths  of  the  coal  pits  to  the  place  of  shipment. 
In  1829  the  celebrated  engineer,  George  Stephenson,  won  with  the  "Rocket" 
in  a  prize  contest  for  speed  in  which,  drawing  a  load  of  some  twelve  tons, 
he  made  the  remarkable  record  for  that  day  of  thirty  miles  an  hour.  In 
1829  a  railroad  was  put  in  operation  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester; 
it  was  this  road  which  had  offered  the  prize  won  by  Stephenson — a  prize 
of  five  hundred  pounds  for  a  locomotive  engine  which  would  rim  at  least 
ten  miles  an  hour  and  draw  a  load  three  times  its  own  weight.  The  success 
of  railroads  in  England  attracted  attention  in  the  United  States.  In  1831 
fourteen  miles  of  the  Baltimore  Sr  Ohio  road  were  in  operation.  The  state 
of  Michigan,  which  has  never  been  behind  in  the  paths  of  progress,  caught 
the  spirit  of  the  age  and  in  1830  chartered  the  first  railroad  company  west 
of  the  Appalachians.  On  July  31  of  that  year  Governor  Cass  approved  the 
incorporating  of  the  "Pontiac  &  Detroit  Railway  Company,"  the  forerunner 
of  the  present  Detroit,  Grand  Haven  &  Milwaukee  railroad,  and  the  first 
road  completed  to  any  point  in  Genesee  county. 

Among  the  original  incorporators  of  this  company  were  John  P,  Helfen- 
stein,  Gideon  O.  Whittemore,  William  F.  Moscley,  William  Thompson  and 
Harvey  Parke.  The  cajiital  stock  was  to  be  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  difficulties  of  the  Michigan  wilderness  were  indeed  too  great  at  this 
early  time  and  the  projected  railroad  did  not  materialize.  In  1834  a  new 
company  was  chartered  with  the  same  name,  the  capital  stock  to  be  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  The  road  was  to  be  l^egun  within  two  years  and  com- 
pleted witliin  six.  It  has  been  said  that  the  history  of  no  railroad  ever 
built  is  replete  with  more  amusing  and  grotesque  incidents  or  marked  by 
more  financial  ups  and  downs  than  that  of  the  old  Detroit  &  Pontiac  road. 
One  of  the  principal  stockholders  and  managers,  Sherman  Stevens,  of 
Pontiac,  tells  the  following  story  of  the  building  of  this  road : 

"The  first  cash  outlay  in   building  the   Pontiac  railroad  was   for  tim- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  483 

bered  land  at  .Royal  Oak  and  for  building  a  steam  saw-niill  to  make  the  five- 
by-seven-inch  oak  rails.  As  soon  as  the  mill  was  in  operation  I  put  men 
at  work  clearing  and  grubbing  the  roadway  toward  Detroit.  It  was  all  the 
way  through  heavy  timber  from  the  mill  to  the  rear  of  the  farms  fronting 
on  the  river.  As  fast  as  the  trees  were  cut  down,  all  that  were  suitable 
were  made  into  ties,  while  the  large  trees  were  rolled  to  the  center  and  so 
placed  as  to  form  two  continuous  lines  of  logs.  On  these  logs  the  ties  were 
placed,  having  a  gain  cut  in  each  end  to  receive  the  five-by-seven  oak  rails. 
When  the  rail  was  placed  in  the  gains  a  wooden  wedge  was  driven  along- 
side the  rail,  which  fastened  it  solidly  in  place.  After  making  a  few  rods 
of  this  style  of  road,  we  put  a  car  upon  it  and,  by  the  use  of  a  towing  line 
to  enable  the  horse  to  travel  outside  the  ties,  we  were  able  to  deliver  them 
as  fast  as  required.  We  made  a  ditch  on  each  side  of  the  track,  throwing 
the  dirt  excavated  into  the  space  between  the  rails,  which  was  the  means  of 
keeping  the  water  from  the  track  and  making  a  dry  and  solid  road  for 
horses.  With  two  working  parties  of  twenty  men  each,  one  overlooked  by 
'Uncle  Jack'  Keys  and  the  other  by  John  W.  Hunter,  who  was  the  first 
settler  of  what  is  now  the  village  of  Birmingham,  wbile  John  R.  Grout  was 
the  engineer  in  charge,  in  a  few  months  we  reached  Jefferson  avenue.  Here 
we  erected  a  depot  and  commenced  the  transporting  of  passengers  and  freight 
to  Royal  Oak.  The  wagon  roads  across  the  heavy  timbered  land  were 
almost  impassable.  The  emigration  into  Oakland,  Genesee  and  Lapeer 
counties  was  large  and  it  was  not  unusual  for  us  to  receive  one  hundred 
dollars  for  a  single  day's  traffic  over  these  wooden  rails.  The  receipts  from 
this  source  nearly  met  our  expenses  in  extending  the  road  to  Birmingham. 
We  made  that  place  the  terminus,  until  we  foimd  the  wear  upon  the  wooden 
rails  was  beginning  to  broom  tbem  to  an  extent  that  we  feared  would  unfit 
them  to  receive  the  flat  iron  bar  for  which  they  were  intended. 

"As  iron  at  that  time  cost  ninety  dollars  a  ton  and  the  amount  we 
required  would  cost  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the  outlook  became  seri- 
ous. We  had  the  control  of  money,  but  our  bank  might  be  jeopardized  by 
using  any  considerable  sum  in  the  purchase  of  iron.  We  finally  applied 
to  the  Legislature  for  power  to  raise  a  loan  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
on  six  per  cent.  Iwnds  having  twenty  years  to  run.  This  was  at  a  time 
long  before  the  utility  of  free  passes  was  known  and  our  application  must 
stand  upon  its  merits.  I,  however,  invited  a  carload  of  the  members  to 
make  an  excursion  over  the  road  to  see  its  importance  and  its  situation. 

"It  was  upon  this  occasion  that  Salt  Williams  (who  was  inclined  to 
stutter)  told  the  man  who  asked  him  if  there  was  no  danger  that  the  horses 


dbyGoot^lc 


4S4  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

might  bolt  and  throw  the  car  from  the  track,  that,  "the  only  d-d-danger  on 
the  Pon-Pontiac  R-r-r-road''  was  that  he  might  die  of  old  age  before  he 
could  get  through.  To  ohviate  that  danger  as  much  as  possible,  I  took  the 
place  of  the  driver  and  took  the  legislators  over  the  road  with  such  speed 
and  smoothness  as  some  of  them  had  never  before  witnessed,  and  soon  after 
their  return  the  bill  was  called  up  and  became  a  law. 

"As  soon  as  the  bonds  could  be  prepared  and  signed  I  went  to  New 
York,  sold  them  at  par  and  purchased  iron  and  a  locomotive.  This  loco- 
motive came  from  the  shop  of  Baldwin  &  Company,  Philadelphia,  and  had 
on  each  side  a  brass  plate  bearing  the  name  of  the  writer.  It  retained  that 
name  until  I  parted  with  my  interest  in  the  road,  and  it  was  then  renamed 
the  'Detroit.'  Some  twenty  years  afterward  I  found  it  and  'Uncle  Jack' 
Keys  still  doing  duty  about  the  depot  of  the  then  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  road. 

"  'Uncle  Jack'  Keys,  a  black  horse  and  the  locomotive  were  identified 
with  the  road  for  twenty-five  years.  Old  Pete  (the  black  horse)  drew  the 
first  oak  rails  from  the  mill,  drew  the  first  passenger  car  over  the  road,  and 
for  years  did  the  switching  at  Pontiac  and  exhibited  an  intelligence  rarely 
seen  in  any  animal  of  any  kind.  He  learned  how  far  from  the  track  he 
must  stand  to  be  safe  while  a  train  was  passing.  If  on  hearing  a  train 
approaching,  he  found  himseif  too  near  he  would  move  sideways  a  foot  or 
two.  While  shifting  cars  he  would  not  start  until  he  had  first  looked  back 
to  see  the  number  he  was  expected  to  draw,  and  if  more  than  a  given  num- 
ber were  in  the  train  he  would  not  pull  a  pound,  but  as  soon  as  the  extra 
cars  were  detached  he  would  pull  with  all  his  strength." 

From  Mr.  Stevens'  account  it  is  clear  that  the  road  was  very  primitive 
and  that  the  building  of  it  made  slow  progress.  It  was  completed  to  Birm- 
ingham in  1839.  The  cars  were  scheduled  to  make  two  trips  a  day  from 
Detroit  to  Birmingham,  from  which  point  stage  coaches  took  passengers  to 
Pontiac,  Flint  and  points  on  the  Grand  river.  While  Royal  Oak  was  the 
terminal  the  cars  were  drawn  by  horses,  and  for  a  portion  of  the  time  the 
cars  were  run  upon  wooden  "ribbons."  The  introduction  of  steam  was 
regarded  as  a  notable  event.  In  1834  the  road  was  completed  to  Pontiac. 
The  following  reminiscences  of  this  road  told  by  a  contemporary  well  reflects 
its  truly  pioneer  character; 

"Trains  would  frequently  stop  between  way  stations  at  a  signal  from 
some  farmer  who  wished  to  ask  a  few  questions  or  to  take  passage.  An  old 
lady  denizen  of  a  farm-house,  with  spectacles  of  a  primitive  manufacture 
placed  high  upon  her  forehead,  came  running  out  to  the  train,  waving  her 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENEriEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  485 

bandanna.  Her  signal  being  heeded,  the  train  was  brought  to  a  stop,  and 
her  inquiry  of  the  conductor  was,  if  a  certain  lawyer  named  Drake  was  on 
board.  After  receiving  a  negative  answer,  a  short  conversation  was  kept 
up  before  the  train  started  on  its  journey.  It  was  no  uncommon  occurrence 
for  the  engineer,  who  kept  his  shot-gun  with  him,  to  bring  down  game  from 
his  engine,  shut  off  steam  and  send  his  fireman  after  the  fruits  of  his  marks- 
manship. The  road  being  laid  with  strap  rails,  one  of  the  duties  of  the  con- 
ductor was  to  keep  a  hammer  for  the  purpose  of  spiking  down  'snake- 
heads'  whenever  they  were  seen  from  the  cab  of  the  engineer." 

Five  years  later,  in  184S,  a  company  was  chartered  whose  fortunes 
looked  to  the  westward  along  part  of  the  route  of  the  old  "Northern  Rail- 
road." This  was  the  Oakland  &  Ottawa  Railroad  Company.  Its  purpose 
was  to  connect  the  western  terminus  of  the  Detroit  &  Pontiac  road  with  the 
mouth  of  the  Grand  river,  and  thence  by  steamer  with  Milwaukee.  Capital 
stock  was  fixed  at  two  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  road 
was  to  be  built  by  way  of  Fentonville  in  Genesee  county  and  was  to  be  begun 
within  five  years  and  completed  within  fifteen  years. 

Work  was  begun  on  it  in  1852.  It  was  estimated  that  two  thousand 
six  hundred  tons  of  iron  would  be  needed  to  lay  the  road  from  Pontiac  to 
Fentonville.  This  was  purchased  in  England.  So  slow  was  the  work,  how- 
ever, that  four  years  passed  before  the  first  train  was  drawn  over  any  por- 
tion of  the  track  in  Genesee  county.  It  was  natural  that  two  roads  so 
closely  allied  as  these  should  consolidate,  which  they  did  in  1855,  under  the 
name  of  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railway.  In  the  same  year  the  road 
recahed  Holly,  in  1856,  Fentonville,  in  1857,  Ionia,  and  in  1858,  Grand 
Haven.  This  rapid  progress  was  made  possible  by  a  fortunate  European 
loan  of  over  a  million  dollars.  But  in  i860  the  foreclosure  of  the  mortgage 
by  the  bondholders  placed  the  road  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  For  some 
time  the  influence  of  the  Great  Western  railroad  in  Canada  had  become 
paramount  in  the  management  of  the  corporation.  When  that  company 
foreclosed,  the  Michigan  company  was  reorganized  under  the  same  name— 
except  that  it  was  called  a  "railroad  company"'  instead  of  a  "railway  com- 
pany." In  1873  the  earnings  of  the  road  again  proved  to  be  insufficient  to 
pay  the  interest  upon  its  bonded  debt.  In  1875  its  president,  C.  C.  Trow- 
bridge, of  Detroit,  was  appointed  receiver.  In  1878  the  Great  Western 
Railroad  bought  it  for  one  million  eight  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
It  was  again  reorganized,  under  the  name  of  the  Detroit,  Grand  Haven  & 
Milwaukee   Railway  Company.     Since    1883.  when  the  Great  Western   and 


dbyGoot^lc 


4^6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Grand  Trunk  Railway  of  Canada  amalgamated,  the  road  has  been  a  part 
of  the  Grand  Trunk  system.  The  principal  stations  on  this  road  in 
Genesee  county  are  Gaines,  Linden  and  Fenton. 

The  first  railroad  over  which  a  locomotive  drew  a  train  into  Flint  was 
the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette.  As  originally  planned,  this  road  was  to  extend 
from  Flint  to  Ludington  (then  Pere  Alarquette).  The  company  promoting 
it  was  organized  at  Flint  in  1857,  The  capital  stock  was  five  million  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  original  subscribers  were  as  follows: 
George  M.  Dewey,  Benjamin  Pearson,  Alvin  T.  Crosman,  Daniel  D.  Dewey, 
Josiah  Pratt,  Theodore  G.  Mills,  C.  Roosevelt,  Artemas  Thayer,  H.  W. 
Wood,  James  Henderson,  R.  D.  Lamond,  Alexander  McFarlan,  F.  N. 
Pettee,  E.  H.  McQuigg,  Charles  B.  Higgins,  R.  Bishop,  E.  F.  Frary,  M. 
Miles,  Giles  Bishop,  A.  B.  Witherbee.  George  W.  Fish,  H.  C.  Walker,  H. 
M.  Henderson,  T.  C.  Meigs,  Chauncey  K.  Williams,  Charles  F.  Dewey, 
William  Patterson,  G.  R.  Cummings. 

This  road  had  its  origin  in,  and  its  construction  was  greatly  aided  by, 
certain  congressional  land  grants.  In  1856  Congress  provided  that,  to  help 
the  state  build  railroads  between  certain  specified  points  in  Michigan,  there 
should  be  granted  to  the  state  every  alternate  section  of  land  for  six  sections 
in  width  on  each  side  of  the  proposed  roads— under  certain  conditions.  The 
Legislature,  in  1857,  accepted  this  grant  of  land  with  the  conditions  im- 
posed and  vested  in  the  new  company  the  title  to  that  portion  of  the  lands 
intended  by  Congress  to  aid  in  constructing  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette. 
The  proceeds  of  the  lands  were  to  be  applied  to  no  other  purpose  than  the 
building  of  the  road.  Only  the  "T"  rail  must  be  used  in  the  construction. 
After  the  certified  completion  of  twenty  miles  of  the  railroad  the  company 
could  sell  sixty  sections  of  land  included  within  any  continuous  twenty  miles 
of  the  line,  and  other  sixty  sections  upon  similar  conditions  until  the  whole 
road  should  be  finished.  Then  the  company  could  sell  the  rest  of  the  land, 
but  not  before.  The  road  was  to  be  surveyed  and  located  by  December  i, 
1857.  At  least  twenty  miles  of  the  road  must  be  built  each  year  and  the 
whole  must  be  completed  within  seven  years.  The  lands  thus  donated 
amounted  to  six  hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand  four  hundred  acres,  of 
which,  according  to  the  first  arrangement,  only  half  could  be  sold  before  the 
completion  of  the  road;  this  was  amended  in  1859  and  the  sale  allowed  of 
the  entire  amount  of  land  due  upon  each  completed  section;  also  the  time 
for  the  completion  of  the  first  twenty  miles  was  extended  to  December  i, 
1859- 


dbyGoot^lc 


geneset:  county,  Michigan.  487 

The  survey  and  location  of  t!ie  route  was  made  and  accepted  by  Aug- 
ust, 1857.  Originally  the  line  was  to  extend  from  Flint  through  the  coun- 
ties of  (ienesee,  Saginaw,  Midland,  Gladwin,  Clare,  Osceola,  Lake  and  Ma- 
son, to  Ludington,  on  Lake  Michigan.  But  the  surveyed  route  passed  south 
of  Gladwin  through  Isal>ella  and  Mecosta.  Subsequently  the  route  v^as 
again  changed  so  as  to  pass  wholly  to  the  north  of  these  two  counties.  This 
was  a  vigorous  beginning  and,  despite  the  teniiwrary  set-back  caused  by  the 
financial  panic  of  1857.  a  third  of  the  line  between  Flint  and  Saginaw  had 
been  cleared  and  about  three  miles  graded  ready  for  ironing  by  the  close  of 

1858. 

Hard  times  following  the  panic  of  1857  compelled  the  bonding  of  the 
road  in  March,  1859,  to  the  amount  of  fi\-e  million  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  By  October,  i8f;9.  the  remainder  of  the  line  between  Flint  and  Sagi- 
naw was  nearly  ready  for  the  iron.  But  December  the  time  had  expired  in 
which  the  first  twenty-mile  section  was  to  be  finished.  Apprehensions  were 
felt  that  the  state  would  now  declare  a  forfeiture.  On  the  contrary,  the 
governor,  hacked  by  influential  citizens,  assured  the  contractors  that  no  ad- 
vantage would  be  taken  of  the  company's  misfortune.  In  July,  1S60,  the 
work  was  resumed,  though  prosecuted  slowly. 

The  road  had  been  built  from  Saginaw  southward,  and  reached  Gen- 
esee cmmty  in  the  beginning  of  1861 ;  on  January  20,  1862,  it  was  opened 
for  traffic  to  Mount  Morris;  on  December  8,  of  that  year,  the  first  locomo- 
tive entered  Flint,  and  the  event  was  attended  with  an  appropriate  celebra- 
tion and  an  entertainment  at  the  Carlton  House.  The  officers  of  the  com- 
pany at  that  time  were:  Fber  B.  Ward,  of  Detroit,  president;  Charles  A. 
Trowbridge,  Henry  H.  Fish,  Palmer  V.  Kellogg,  of  Utica,  New  York; 
Henry  Hobbs,  Charles  B.  Mott.  East  Saginaw;  Benjamin  Pierson,  Alfred 
J.  Boss,  Flint:  Morgan  L.  Drake,  of  Pontiac;  treasurer.  William  II.  Bron- 
son;  secretary,  Morgan  I-,  Drake. 

In  the  following  year  energetic  steps  were  taken  by  this  company  to 
connect  Flint  by  rail  with  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  road.  Abortive  attempts 
had  been  made  to  build  a  road  from  Flint  to  Pontiac  ever  since  the  com- 
pletion of  the  line  between  Pontiac  and  Detroit.  In  1846  the  Legislature 
had  incorporated  the  Pontiac  &  Genesee  Railroad  Companj',  with  a  capital 
stock  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  later  increased  to  one  million  dol- 
lars. This  came  to  naught.  In  1848  the  Genesee  &  Oakland  Railroad  Com- 
pany was  chartered,  with  a  capital  stock  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.     Its  fate  was  similar.     In  1859  the  Legislature  authorized  the  Flint 


dbyGoot^lc 


4«0  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

&  Pere  Marquette  Company  to  make  certain  arrangements  with  the  latter 
company  for  the  building  of  this  line,  but  of  this  nothing  came  Ijeyond  the 
snrvey  of  a  ronte  between  Flint  and  Fentonville. 

Tn  1863  powerful,  practical  and  wealthy  parties  took  up  the  project; 
but  instead  of  Pontiac  as  the  junction  point,  they  chose  Holly,  The  Flint 
&■  HoUy  Railroad  Company  was  incorporated,  of  which  the  leading  spirit 
was  Hon.  Plenry  H.  Crapo,  afterwards  governor  of  Michigan.  He  was 
president  of  the  company  and  a  member  o£  the  board  of  directors.  With 
him  were  associated  men  of  means  in  Genesee  county  and  a  number  of  heavy 
capitalists  of  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts:  Oliver  Prescott,  John  R.  Thorn- 
ton and  Edward  S.  Mandell,  of  New  Bedford:  Levi  Walker  and  J.  B.  Wal- 
ker, of  Flint,  and  David  Smith,  of  F'entonville.  The  commissioners  to  re- 
cei\-e  subscriptions  to  the  stock  were  Oliver  Prescott  and  William  W.  Crapo, 
of  New  Bedford :  Henry  H,  Crapo  and  H.  W.  Wood,  of  Flint,  and  David 
Smith,  of  Fentonville,  There  had  been  some  thought  of  building  the  line 
to  Fentonville,  but  the  a<lvantage  of  Holly  as  a  junction  point  were  soon  ap- 
parent. The  work  was  liegun  at  once  and  pushed  with  vigor.  So  rapid  was 
the  progress  it  was  opened  to  Holly  on  November  i,  1864.  The  first  train 
over  the  line  was  drawn  by  the  company's  new  locomotive  "City  of  Flint." 
During  the  first  month  four  hundred  and  sixty  tons  of  freight  were  carried 
and  $3,485.80  was  received  from  passenger  traffic.  At  the  end  of  the  first 
fiscal  year  the  company  showed  a  balance  of  $39,203.14. 

After  nearly  four  years  of  successful  operation,  during  which  the  busi- 
ness of  the  road  grew  steadily,  the  Flint  &  H0II3'  road  was  sold,  in  April, 
1868,  to  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette,  for  about  $550,000.  The  total  cost  of 
the  road  had  been  $430,423.06.  In  the  years  immediately  following,  the 
road,  for  a  short  interior  line,  made  a  most  remarkable  showing  of  profit. 

With  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  Genesee  county  now  given  a 
railway  outlet  to  Detroit,  Lake  F>ie  and  the  East,  and  to  Grand  Haven  and 
Milwaukee  on  the  west,  attention  was  directed  to  the  northwest,  fn  the  fall 
of  1866  work  was  begun  on  that  portion  of  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette 
line  between  East  Saginaw  and  Ludington;  and  it  was  completed  to  Luding- 
ton,  Dcceml^r  i,   1874. 

Several  lines  have  been  consolidated  with  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette, 
Among  those  in  which  Genesee  county  is  especially  interested  have  been  the 
Holly,  Wayne  &  Monroe  railway,  which  furnished  a  southeastern  connec- 
tion with  Lake  Erie,  beginning  in  1870;  the  Bay  City  &  East  Saginaw  road, 
connecting  with  Lake  Huron;  and  the  Flint  River  railroad,  running  from  the 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  489 

junction  four  miles  north  of  Flint  to  Otter  Lake.  These  lines  were  con- 
solidated in  1872.  The  main  line  of  the  Flint  &  Fere  Marquette  passes 
from  north  to  south  nearly  through  the  center  of  the  county,  numbering 
among  its  principal  stations  CMo,  Mount  Morris,  Flint  and  Grand  Blanc. 
This  road  has  been  of  vast  importance  to  the  settlement  and  growth  of 
Genesee  county.  In  recent  years  it  has  had  many  misfortunes  and  at  present 
its  financial  condition  is  not  entirely  satisfactory.  I'-or  Genesee  county  it  is 
of  greatest  importance  that  this  road  should  continue  its  service. 

Railway  connections  eastward  from  Flint,  with  Port  Huron,  were  not 
secured  until  if^/i.  The  trials  and  failures  and  final  success  of  the  endea- 
vors to  huild  this  line  make  a  long  and  romantic  story,  reaching  from  the 
earliest  days  of  the  state's  history.  This  line  was  the  route  of  the  first  rail- 
road projected  to  pass  through  Genesee  county  and  was  a  part  of  the  gen- 
era! plan  adopted  by  the  state  commissioners  of  internal  improvement  in 
1837.  The  road  was  to  be  one  of  three  across  the  southern  peninsula.  The 
first,  to  extend  from  Detroit  through  the  Kalamazoo  valley  to  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Joseph  river  in  Berrien  county,  was  the  forerunner  of  the  present 
Michigan  Central.  The  second,  from  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Raisin 
river,  in  Monroe  county,  to  New  Buffalo,  in  Berrien,  was  the  l3eginning  of 
the  present  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  system.  A  third,  the  north- 
ernmost road,  was  to  run  from  Palmer,  or  from  near  the  mouth  of  Black 
river,  to  St.  Clair  county,  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Grand  river,  in 
Kent  county,  or  to  Lake  Michigan  in  Ottawa  county.  It  was  to  he  called 
the  Northern  railroad.  Its  name  would  hardly  indicate  its  situation  today, 
but  at  the  time  it  was  located  it  passed  through  the  northern  tier  of  counties 
in  which  there  were  no  settlements  except  the  .sparse  and  isolated  ones  in 
Saginaw.  Mackinac  and  Chippewa  counties.  At  the  outset  the  sum  of  $550,- 
000  was  appropriated  for  the  three  roads.  The  relative  importance  of  the 
roads  in  the  minds  of  the  legislators  seems  to  be  indicated  in  the  fact  that 
$50,000  was  to  be  spent  on  the  Northern  road,  $100,000  on  the  Southern, 
and  $400,000  on  the  Central.  Doubtless  the  Northern  had  not  so  many 
interested  advocates  as  the  Central  and  Southern. 

The  surveys  were  made  at  once.  The  Northern  railroad  route  was 
surveyed  from  the  St.  Clair  river  through  the  center  of  Genesee  county, 
thence  to  Lvons  in  Ionia,  and  from  there  westward  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Grand  river.  The  total  distance  was  two  hundred  and  one  miles.  Commis- 
sioner James  B.  Hunt,  who  caused  the  survey,  made  the  estimates  and  speci- 
fications and  let  the  contracts;  among  these  was  one  for  $i^o,ooo,  made  with 


dbyGoot^lc 


490  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Gen.  Charles  C.  Hascall,  of  Flint,  for  building  the  road  in  Genesee.  This 
work  was  done  in  1838-1839.  Further  appropriations  were  now  needed  and 
were  made  for  the  road,  in  all  about  $130,000.  The  last  appropriation  was 
in   1831) — $40,000. 

A    MOKE  STABLE    POLICY   ADOPTED. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  ihc  people  of  the  state  began  to  awaken  to 
the  real  nature  of  the  economic  problem  they  had  undertaken  so  lightly.  The 
effects  of  the  financial  panic  of  1837  were  felt  on  every  hand.  The  disasters 
consequent  upon  the  misplaced  ^5,000,000  loan  caused  a  widespread  feeling 
among  the  people  that  the  adoption  of  so  comprehensive  a  system  of  im- 
provements had  been  premature.  The  results  of  this  feeling  was  the  restric- 
tion of  appropriations  to  the  works  considered  of  most  vital  importance, 
particularly  to  those  which  seemed  to  promise  to  return  the  interest  on  their 
cost.  The  Central  and  Southern  lines  had  been  pushed  with  vigor  and  were 
then  in  partial  operation.  After  1839  appropriations  were  restricted  to  them 
and  by  1841  all  idea  of  constructing  the  Northern  railroad  by  the  state  was 
abandoned.  In  1843  't  w^s  formally  abandoned,  by  "an  act  to  authorize 
the  construction  of  a  wagon-road  on  the  line  of  the  Northern  railroad,"  and 
ordering  the  application  and  apppropriation  for  that  purpose  of  al!  non-resi- 
dent highway  taxes  for  a  distance  of  three  miles  on  either  side  of  the  line. 

A  special  commissioner  was  appointed  for  each  county  along  the  route, 
who  should  superintend  the  expenditure  of  monies  for  the  "Northern  Wa- 
gon-Road." Gen.  Charles  C.  Hascall  was  the  commissioner  appointed  for 
Genesee.  So  difficult  was  the  work,  however,  and  so  slowly  prosecuted  that 
by  1846  only  a  small  portion  of  the  line  was  passable  for  wheeled  vehicles. 
In  that  year  the  act  was  repealed.  But  in  1848  an  act  was  approved  appro- 
priating twenty  thousand  acres  of  internal  improvement  lands  to  construct 
and  improve  the  road  from  Port  Huron  to  Corunna.  The  governor  ap- 
pointed Alvin  N.  Hart,  of  Lapeer,  special  commissioner  to  superintend  the 
portion  of  the  work  east  of  Shiawassee  county.  Up  to  1849  all  the  appro- 
priations for  a  wagon  road  had  been  expended  on  the  route  originalJy  adopt- 
ed for  the  railroad.  In  that  year  an  act  was  passed  appointing  Lewis  S. 
Tyler,  of  Genesee  county;  Albert  Miller,  then  of  Saginaw  county,  and  Henry 
Newberry,  of  Shiawassee  county,  commissioners  to  relocate  the  line  of  the 
road  between  Flint  and  Corunna.  The  special  commissioner,  Mr.  Hart,  was 
directed  to  expend  the  appropriation  on  the  line  they  should  adopt. 

The  commissioners  had  three  hues  from  which  to  choose.     An  eligible 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  49I 

southern  route  passed  through  the  Miller  settlement  in  Genesee  county. 
There  was  a  possible  northern  route  through  the  village  of  Flushing.  A 
central  route  passed  through  the  Lyon  settlement.  A  road  had  been  opened 
on  both  southern  and  centra!  lines  and  the  country  along  these  between  Flint 
and  Corunna  had  been  partially  settled.  On  the  northern  line  a  good  road 
had  been  made  from  f'lint  to  Flushing  and  the  country  was  also  well  settled. 
But,  beginning  about  a  mile  west  of  the  Flint  river  at  Flushing,  there  was  a 
whole  township  of  heavy  timber  which  reached  in  a  solid  mass  almost  to 
Corunna,  without  a  settler.  A  large  portion  of  this  tract  was  internal  im- 
provement land,  which  had  been  .selected  to  pay  for  the  labor  of  opening 
the  road  which  the  commissioners  were  to  locate.  Besides  this  the  commis- 
sioners were  to  take  into  consideration  subscriptions  for  the  respective  hnes 
and  locate  the  road  where  it  would  best  serve  the  public.  Large  subscrip- 
tions for  the  northern  line  were  made  by  George  and  Porter  Hazelton,  of 
Flint,  and  by  James  Seymour,  of  Flushing.  The  commissioners,  after  ex- 
amining carefully  the  merits  of  each  route,  were  unanimous  for  the  north- 
ern one.  Immediately  was  recommenced  the  cutting  out  and  grubbing  of 
the  line  between  Flint  and  Lapeer.  Poor  as  this  road  may  have  been  there 
is  no  doubt  that  it  greatly  aided  the  settlement  of  that  portion  of  the  county 
which  lay  along  its  line. 

Meanwhile,  in  1847,  the  now  abandoned  state  project  of  the  "Northern 
Railroad"  was  taken  up  by  a  corporation  chartered  as  the  Port  Huron  & 
Lake  Michigim  Railroad  Company  to  build  a  railroad  from  Port  Huron  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Grand  river.  Capital  stock  to  the  amount  of  two  million 
dollars  was  authorized,  and  John  Wells,  Alvtn  N.  Hart,  Charles  C.  Hascall, 
Alfred  L,  Williams,  Jesse  F.  Turner,  Ira  Porter,  Edmund  B.  Bostwick  and 
Thomas  W.  White  were  named  charter  commissioners  to  receive  subscrip- 
tions. The  company  was  to  begin  within  five  years  and  complete  the  road 
within  fifteen  years,  the  state  relinquishing  to  the  company  all  her  rights  and 
privileges  in  the  old  line.  In  1851  "ten"  and  "twenty"  years  were  substi- 
tuted, respectively,  for  "five"  and  "fifteen";  but  increased  efforts  to  com- 
plete the  subscriptions  to  the  stock  met  with  little  success. 

In  1853  encouragement  was  received  from  Quebec.  H.  Malcolm  Cam- 
eron announced  that  parties  in  that  city  might  furnish  means  to  build  the 
road.  Negotiations  resulted  in  a  contract  with  prominent  railroad  men  there 
to  complete  the  road  by  January  i,  1857,  on  condition  that  the  Legislature 
would  increase  the  capital  stock  to  eight  million  dollars.  For  this  an  extra 
session  was  sought;  but,  notwithstanding  the  sanction  of  a  mass-meeting 


dbyGoot^lc 


492  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

called  by  the  promoters  at  Jackson  to  secure  the  session,  the  governor  de- 
clined to  convene  the  Legislature  and  the  company  had  to  await  the  regular 
session  of  1855.  In  that  session  the  charter  was  amended  as  desired  and  aid 
was  given  in  other  ways.  But  still  matters  did  not  appreciably  mend.  Then 
came  the  proposition  from  N.  P.  Stewart,  of  Detroit,  to  purchase  the  char- 
ter and  build  the  road  without  delay,  but  suspicion  was  awakened  that  Mr. 
Stewart  was  working  in  the  interest  of  a  rival  road,  the  Detroit  &  Milwau- 
kee Railway.  It  was  feared  that  if  he  should  get  possession  of  the  charter 
he  would  kiil  their  project,  and  they  declined  to  seil.  Thereupon,  Mr.  Stew- 
art, in  1856,  organized  a  new  company,  which  was  chartered  as  the  Port 
Huron  &  Milwaukee  Railroad  Company.  The  new  route  was  surveyed  at 
once  and  work  upon  it  was  pushed  with  vigor.  A  dock  was  built  at  Port 
Huron.  Sime  twenty  miles  of  grading  was  done.  About  a  mile  of  track 
was  laid  at  the  Port  Huron  end  of  the  line.  AH  this  was  done  to  raise  the 
hopes  of  the  people  and  increase  the  general  faith  in  the  final  success  of  the 
enterprise.  But  disappointment  was  again  in  store.  At  about  this  stage 
Mr.  Stewart  assented  to  the  consolidation  of  this  line  with  the  Detroit  & 
Milwaukee  road  at  Owosso.  From  that  time  work  on  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  road  ended;  the  means  raised  for  it  was  used  west  of  Owosso.  Still 
the  friends  of  the  old  road  did  not  give  up.  They  still  had  their  charter. 
Finally,  in  1863,  Mr,  Jerome,  of  New  York,  purchased  the  charters  of  both 
companies — that  is,  of  the  Port  Huron  &  Lake  Michigan  and  that  part  of 
the  Port  Huron  &  Milwaukee  lying  east  of  Owosso.  But  presently  Mr.  Je- 
rome died. 

In  1865  a  course  was  adopted  that  was  destined  to  lead  success.  The 
old  friends  and  promoters  of  the  road  rallied  to  the  support  of  the  original 
plan.  The  new  idea  was  to  repurchase  the  charters  from  the  Jerome  estate, 
and  for  this  purpose  to  secure  local  subscriptions  and  municipal  aid.  To 
facilitate  negotiations  with  the  Jerome  heirs,  bills  were  introduced  into  the 
Legislature  to  repeal  the  charters.  The  expected  result  was  secured.  The 
charters  were  bought  at  a  reduced  figure  and  work  was  immediately  begun 
on  the  road.  By  November,  i8fi6,  the  roadbed  was  nearly  completed  from 
Port  Huron  and  the  Lapeer  county.  More  than  enough  ties  had  been  con- 
tracted for  this  distance.  The  right  of  way  had  l>ecn  secured  over  nearly 
all  the  route  as  far  west  as  Flint,  Several  townships  along  the  way  had 
voted  them  bonds  to  aid  the  enterprise.  It  was  confidently  hoped  that  the 
road  would  be  in  full  operation  between  Port  Huron  and  Flint  by  1869. 
But  unforeseen  troubles  arose  in   getting  the  iron  and  rolling-stock.     The 


dbyGoot^lc 


GF.NKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  493 

firm  of  S.  W.  Hopkins  &  Company,  of  New  York,  were  first  tried,  who 
furnished  materials  enough  to  complete  the  eastern  portion.  The  first  cargo 
of  rails  reach  Port  Huron,  June  24,  1869,  and  the  track  was  laid  at  once. 
Supplies  came  slowly.  Further  negotiations  were  made  in  Europe.  It  was 
not  until  1870  that  the  track  was  finished  as  far  as  Iralay  City.  In  1871  it 
reached  Lapeer,  and  in  October  entered  Genesee  county;  on  November  12 
it  reached  Flint.  On  Thursday,  November  30,  an  "inaugural  trip"  was 
made  over  the  entire  sixty-six  miles  between  Flint  and  Port  Huron  by  a 
party  composed  of  Hon.  Arfemas  Thayer  and  some  fifteen  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen; Mr.  Thaj'er  was  a  Flint  member  of  the  board  of  directors.  Much 
enthusiasm  greeted  this  party  along  the  route.  The  formal  opening  of  this 
line  was  celebrated  by  an  excursion  party  from  Port  Huron  to  Flint;  over 
two  hundred  men  and  women  were  taken  over  this  course  in  four  coaches 
by  the  locomotive  "Flint  City."  At  the  Thayer  House,  in  Flint,  the  party 
was  complimented  by  a  dinner,  which  was  marked  by  much  hilarity  and 
many  speeches  suiting  the  occasion.  December  13,  1871,  trains  began  to 
run  regularly  between  the  two  cities.  Some  thirty-four  years  had  passed 
since  the  people  of  "FHnt  River  settlement"  had  first  rejoiced  over  the  pass- 
age of  the  "Northern  Railroad"  bill  and  the  promise  of  an  early  connection 
with  the  world  outside  by  rail. 

On  February  i,  1877,  a  road  which  was  practically  a  continuation  of 
this  line  was  formally  opened  between  Flint  and  Lansing.  It  was  built  by 
the  Chicago  &  Northeastern  Railroad  Company,  incorporated  in  1874.  At 
Lansing  this  road  joined  what  was  then  the  Peninsular  Railway,  which  con- 
nected with  the  Michigan  Central.  A  through  line  was  thus  opened  from 
I^ort  Huron  to  Chicago.  Subsequently  the  Chicago  &  Northeastern  line 
was  purchased  by  eastern  capitalists  with  the  purpose  of  destroying  it  as  a 
competitor  to  other  through  lines  under  their  control.  In  1880  it  was  con- 
solidated with  a  number  of  companies  under  eastern  control,  which  operated 
under  the  name  of  the  Chicago  &  Grand  Trimk  system.  In  1900  it  was  again 
sold  and  became  a  part,  together  with  the  line  from  Flint  to  Port  Huron, 
of  the  Grand  Trunk  system  of  Canada,  with  which  it  still  remains.  Its  value 
to  the  people  of  Genesee  county  is  equaled  only  by  the  Pere  Marquette,  these 
two  great  lines  forming  its  arteries  of  commerce  with  Detroit  and  the  East, 
Port  Huron  and  Canada,  Saginaw,  Ludington  and  the  Northwest,  Milkau- 
kee.  Chicago,  and  all  points  in  Michigan  and  the  great  world  beyond. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  Xlir. 

Early  Years  of  Flint  City. 

Flint  City  was  incorporated  in  1855.  Until  then,  though  streets  were 
regularly  laid  out  and  built  upon,  no  municipal  organization  existed  and  the 
settlement  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Flint  township.  In  the  early  part 
of  January,  1S55,  the  subject  of  a  separate  organization  was  agitated.  All 
agreed  as  to  its  feasibility,  but  there  was  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  advantage  of  a  city  over  a  village  charter.  An  article  from  a  leading 
local  paper  embodies  the  sentiments  of  those  who  favored  a  city  charter : 

A  woiil  now  u|)on  the  iii'ojjrlety  of  having  our  Iiicoriiorjition  a  city.  It  is  conceded 
on  all  htiHtls  thiLt  ive  sliould  lie  iiK^oi^iurated.  It  is  also  true  tliiit  11  village  <.-liarter  might 
meet  our  present  requirements,  but  withia  the  limits  of  tlie  proposed  coriioi'atlou  we  ha^e 
already  as  iiiiuiy  iuhnbltuuts  as  the  city  of  Grand  Uaplds  tiad  wheu  lucovpoi'ated,  and 
considei~dhly  more  than  the  city  of  Adrian  when  she  got  her  charter.  And  as  the  rate 
lit  whicli  we  have  been  growing  for  two  or  three  years  imst.  if  we  should  now  be  incor- 
porated as  a  vlUnge,  It  is  almost  a  matter  of  course  that  we  should  And  It  necessary  to 
have  our  village  chiuter  chaiigeil.  for  a  city  one  by  the  time  tlie  Legislature  meetK.  two 
years  hence.  Bj  obtaining  a  city  charter  now  we  oi)viate  the  necessltj  of  apijetiring 
again  before  the  I-egislature  within  a  short  Interval. 

In  January,  1855,  a  citizens'  meeting  was  held  in  the  court  house  to 
consider  the  subject  of  a  city  charter  and,  after  several  hours  of  spirited 
debate.  Gen.  C.  C.  Hascall,  I^vi  Walker,  Charles  N.  Beecher,  F.  H.  Rankin, 
James  Birdsall,  George  M.  Dewey  and  C.  S.  Payne  were  chosen  a  commit- 
tee to  draft  the  provisions  of  the  proposed  charter.  The  draft  was  pre- 
sented to  an  adjourned  citizens"  meeting  and,  after  further  discussion, 
adopted.  The  business  of  working  over  a  settlement  into  a  city  was  gone 
through  with  by  the  Legislature  with  its  customary  dispatch  and  the  act  of 
incorporation  became  a  law  by  the  approval  of  Governor  Bingiiam,  i''chru- 
ary  13,  1855. 

At  the  time  of  its  incorporation,  Flint  had  about  two  thousand  inhabi- 
tants. The  principal  residents  probably  appear  in  the  tax-roll  for  (hat  year, 
which  included  the  following  names: 

Allen,  John  C.  Aylward,   Wllliaui.  Andrews,   Geiirge. 

Aplln,  Samuel.  Ali>ort,   Samuel.  Alexiinder.  B.  F. 

Andrews,  Asa.  .\nderson,  Reuben.  .\<-keminn,  William. 

Adiims,    Eber.  .Vtchinsoti,   Abbey.  .\therton,   Amn. 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Athertou,  Mrs.  A. 

l-aruej,   James. 

Fentou,  William  M. 

Arnold,  Lewis. 

Charles,  William. 

Fleming,  Mrs. 

Apllu,  Tbomas. 

Coukling  &   Kello^. 

Fish,  Mrs.  Octavia. 

Allen.  Sarah. 

Ciirmau  &  Lovejoy. 

Fi-ary.  Frank  B. 

Anuatroug  &  Co. 

c'arman,  Jose|ili. 

Foot,   David, 

Armstrong,  J.  W. 

Collins,  William. 

Firman,   Josiah. 

Allen  &  KaiKlall. 

Cooper,    Hiram. 

French,   Susan. 

Biuney,    W.   M. 

Cornell,  D.  B, 

I'rlzaell,  Siiuiuel. 

Baker,   WUlinii]. 

Curtis,  Samuel. 

Freeman,  Daniel  S. 

Buzzel,  John. 

<_'ulver,  George, 

Fuller,  Charles  L. 

Booth.  Joel  A. 

Clark.  Daniel. 

Fuller,  Asahel. 

Uiiltuy,  Williiim. 

<'lark,  Widow. 

Farrell,  Bichard. 

Btcbforil.  I-ewis  G, 

Carrier,   Erastus  K. 

Forsyth.  O.  F. 

Blades,  J.  H.  C. 

Craft,  Josiah. 

Freeland,  Cornelius. 

Behee,  George. 

Case.  Mrs. 

FerguMon,  Jauies. 

Bearaley.  Stephen. 

r'adivell,   ICdward. 

Fiin-est,  William. 

Burrows,  J.  C. 

Ciai-k,   II,   U. 

[■'arley,  Josiah. 

Bump.  Dai-id, 

Culver,   Edward. 

Frai-y.  D.   S. 

Beiirdslee,  A. 

CuiLilufis,  Eliziibeth. 

I'-cuton  &   Bishop. 

BeLan.   John. 

Culver,   Alfred. 

F.)ss,  Juhn. 

Bishor,  GUes. 

f  iiufmau,    — , 

(JrifHth.  Orrin. 

Bishop.  Russell. 

riark, . 

iiarhind.  John. 

Bishop,  R.  &  I. 

IX'ceuninck.  Charles  L. 

(ioff,  Cyrus  H. 

Bliides,  William. 

Dodfie,  Natlianiel, 

Giilett.  Amos. 

Beecher.  Charles  N. 

Danes.   Fi-edei-ick   B. 

Gosliii,  James  H. 

Beecher  &  Hlggins. 

Dewey,  George  M. 

Griswold,  Martha. 

Bailer,  Jarvia. 

Dewey,  D.  D. 

(:«.kleu,  Robert. 

Birdsall,  James. 

Dewey  &  Crosman. 

r.nzhiy.   William. 

Blrdsitll.  Jesse. 

Dewey  &  Pearson. 

Goodrich,  O.  C. 

Barker  &  Patterson. 

Darlinc,  Ash. 

Gret-n,   S,   JI. 

Baker,  Mrs. 

Decker,  James  C. 

Guild,    Mi-s. 

Branch,  Thomas, 

Davis,  A.   P. 

Gazlay.  Miles. 

Belcher  &  French. 

DelbrfdKe,   John. 

(i.iKlay,  Ward. 

Bevins,  Nancy. 

Dawsoii,   liii'liard. 

Gillian.   William. 

Bump.  Anderson. 

Dnike.  Elijah, 

GillniHii,  1>. 

Cnnilnsts  &  Cari'oii. 

Decker.  GriUlf. 

Gahan  &  Decker. 

l»arling.    James. 

Golden.    William. 

Collins,  Orson. 

Horan,  John. 

Hiimilton.  John  B. 

Chauibei-s.  Wiiliiim  D. 

Daua,  Oiauiicey. 

Ilnghes,   Michael. 

Curtis,  Daniel. 

De   Grafr,    Peter. 

IIolbiMok,  James. 

Oliirk.  Willinm. 

Elrtriilge,   I,   X, 

llogan.  Thomas. 

Clark.  W.  &  J.  B. 

E.ldy,  .lerome. 

Huhhard.  Malinda. 

Curtis  &  Son. 

Eddy,  Wiilard. 

Ilnlilnai'd,  William  R. 

Cum  Infra,  Thomas  R. 

I'Mdy.  William, 

Ileale,  Charles. 

Crandnll,   William  P. 

l.:ffle,   Geoi-ge. 

Crosinan,   A.    T. 

Elmore,  M.   S. 

Holmes.  Frederick. 

Gary,  Alonzo. 

Elstow.   Sanmel. 

Henderson,  Henry  M. 

Costlllo.  Andrew. 

Fogiirty,  John. 

Hlgi^lus.  Henry  I. 

Croff.  Abner. 

ii'airchild.   Phllo. 

Hiegins.  0,  R. 

Ouduey,   Charles  H. 

Failing,  Leri. 

Hopkins,  G.  S. 

dbyGoo<^lc 


496 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Hood,   George  F. 

Liidd,  Xalhaniel. 

Patterson,  William. 

Hiiwklns,  William. 

Lowe,  A.   V. 

Pratt,  Mrs.  Roxana. 

Hill,  George  J.  W. 

Lac'y,  Albert  D. 

Parker.  Rev.  Orson. 

Higgins  &  Bi-otlier. 

l*ister.  Thomjie. 

Pralt,  H.   R. 

HiiKeltou,  George  H. 

Lanckton,  Caleb. 

I'ettee,  E.  N. 

Hiigerty,  Mrs. 

McAl ester,  James. 

I'age,  Robert  J.  S. 

H.-iscali,  Charles  C. 

Morrison  &  Eildy. 

Palmer,  J.  W. 

HiiniiltoLi,  Wm.  &  0. 

Miiore.  James. 

Quick,  David. 

Hrimiltoii,  Wmiam. 

Miles.  Manley. 

Quigley  &  Holgate. 

Hiiiiilltou,   O. 

Mowry,  Henry. 

Qnigley,  John. 

Ilitrrlson,  Andrew. 

Moore,  Stephen. 

HandaU,  Abner. 

Howell,  Isaac. 

Moon,  William. 

Rankin.  Francis  H. 

HHUiilton,  Jolm. 

Mason,  Jared. 

Ilyan,  Daniel. 

Hill.  Ciuy. 

.Marshnii.  William. 

liichai-da,  Richard. 

Howjiitl,  Mrs. 

Merch,  Silas  P. 

Runyon,   Content. 

Higgins,  M.  E. 

McFarlan,  Alexander. 

Reynolds,  Almou. 

Harper,  Lemuel  L. 

Morse,  Lorenzo  D. 

Itoosevelt,  Cornelius. 

Haver,  William. 

Merriman,  Isaiah. 

Roilgers,  T.  V. 

II;nvley,  John. 

JIcMlnaman,   Pat. 

Robinson,  Isaac  N. 

Henry.  Eunice. 

McCollum,  James, 

Rice,  Charles. 

Howe,  Mrs.  Wm. 

Mothersill,  William. 

Rising,  H.  C. 

Hunt.  I'erry. 

rallies,  Mrs.  E. 

Itlpley  &  Armstrong. 

Ii-ow,  W.  W. 

Mt-Xamee,  B. 

Russell,  N. 

Jones,  Itausom. 

Miles,  Mrs.  Isaac. 

Rice,  William. 

Jolmeon,  Edwin. 

Miller,  William. 

Stevenson,  William. 

Jenny,  Koyal  W. 

Matbei',  Darld. 

Smith,  A.  G. 

Jackson.  R.  H. 

McCitll,  Philip. 

StillMon,  Hnrris. 

Joy,  John. 

SiHttison,  Seth  A. 

seynuniv.  Charles. 

Johnson  &  Blunchard. 

Moi-se,  David. 

Siilton,   John. 

Juaa,  Ilichard. 

XewcomI),  Henry. 

S<-()ville.  William  R. 

Klrby,  George,  &  Oo. 

Xash.  Daniel  L. 

Stewart.  [.;.  M. 

Keyes.  Douglass. 

Newc-onib,  Thomas. 

Switon,   William. 

Kline,  Joseph. 

>'ewell,  Tliomas. 

Stevens,  A.  C.   (pstat< 

Kent.  . 

O'Siillivan,  Daniel. 

Saunders,  Mrs. 

Kline,  Mrs.  James. 

Stage.  Mrs. 

Kellogg,   Jlarlon. 

Olmsted,   Gosen. 

Siiiith,    Itev.   George. 

Klhie.  John  A. 

Oftoway,  Stephen  H. 

Skinner  &  Martin. 

Knickerbocker,  Benner. 

J'ettee  &  Brother. 

Sliter,  H.  M. 

IJnk,  John. 

I'jirrish,  Jasper. 

StoH',  Mrs. 

I-eacli,  Dewltt  C. 

I'ntrick,  William. 

Swan,  liev.  John, 

l.elbermnn,  E. 

Peai-sons,  William. 

Safford,  Orrin. 

Lewis.   E.  J. 

Peorile'a  Bank. 

Simmons,  T. 

Lyon,  William  H.  C. 

I'ayne,  Channcey  S. 

Sperry,  George. 

Lake,  Warner. 

I'earsoli,  Horry. 

Sceley.  Mark  D. 

Lnke,  Nicholas. 

I'helps.  H.  C. 

Sliifforrt,  Edmonil. 

I^ke,  John. 

I'atrick,  Charles. 

.Summers,  Charles  H. 

r*e,  Edward. 

I'eiirson.  Benjamin. 

Surryhne.  William. 

Lee,  Thonias. 

Tarks,  Thomas. 

Stewart,  P.  H. 

Liimond,  Kobert  D. 

I'ettee,  W.  N. 

Skldmore,  John. 

r^wis.  Royal  D. 

Perry.  H.  W. 

Stewart,  Mrs. 

dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Stow,  G(jorge. 
Tbonisoii;  E.'  H, 
Trainer.  Piitrlck. 
Trlckey,  Luther. 
Tliurter,  Williiini  M. 
Tbayer,  WillinoL 
Tolles.  Ileiirj". 
'i'liiiyor,  Arteniiia. 
Tolliivor.  Williiim. 
Todil,  .Tolm. 
True,  William  W. 
Terrill,  Diivid. 
Utley,  Elislifi. 
Vjiu  Ness,  I'etei'. 
Van  Syclile,  G.  A, 
Villi  Timiti,   Scliuyler. 


V,\n  Tiniiu,  Reuben. 
\"im  ^'ecliten,  M.  B. 
Wlteeler,  Slieimrd. 
Woort,  H.  W. 
Warren.  Thonins. 
Wolverton,  Kte[ilieti. 
Wliitlii^',  Jolm  W. 
Wiseuinu.  I.yman. 
WittRoii,  David. 
Wnit.  George. 
Will  Iter,  r.evl. 
WaUiley  &  I'lffiord. 
WiiiTen,  Snmnel  N. 
wniianis,  Ephraim  S. 
Wossoii,  T^oiiard. 


Wii 


,  Mi-t^ 


Wicks,  Sitmuel  B. 
Willett,  John. 
Wltherbee,  Mrs. 
Ward,  Alexander. 
Wood,  T.  F. 
Watkins,  Nathan. 

Woodliouse, . 

Webber,  Jolm. 
Walker,  James  B. 
Walker,  J.  B.,  &  Co. 
Walker,  H.  C. 
Wltherbee,  Austin  B. 
Wood,  Smith  &  Wicka. 
Yawkey,  J.  H. 
Ya-n-key.  J.  H.  &  Son. 
Yorks.  Jiiines. 


FIRST  CITY  OFFICERS. 


Tlie  iirst  charter  election  was  held  April  2,  1865,  when  the  following 
officers  were  chosen:  Mayor,  Grant  Decker;  recorder,  Levi  Walker;  super- 
visor, Charles  N.  Beecher;  treasurer,  Elihu  F.  Frary;  marshaJ,  Cornelius 
Roosevelt;  directors  of  the  poor,  Benjamin  Pearson  and  Henry  I.  Higgins; 
schooi  inspector,  Daniel  (.Hark;  justices  of  the  pciice,  Charles  Seymour,  Levi 
Walker,  Lewis  G.  Bickford  and  Willard  Eddy. 

Ward  Officers — First  ward :  Aldermen,  George  M.  Dewey  and  James 
W.  Armstrong;  assessor,  Ashael  Fuller;  street  commissioner,  William  Moon; 
constable,  Cyrus  A.  Goff.  Second  ward:  Aldermen,  Benjamin  Pearson  and 
David  Mather;  assessor,  William  Hamilton;  street  commissioner,  William 
Eddy;  constable,  Erastus  K.  Carrier.  Third  ward:  Aldermen,  Wilham  M. 
Fenton  and  A.  T.  Crostnan;  assessor,  David  l'"oot;  street  commissioner, 
John  C.  Griswold;  constable,  Daniel  L.  Nash. 

Respecting  the  officers  of  Flint  City  from  the  days  of  the  first  elections, 
W.  R.  Bates  writes: 

Qi'ant  Decker,  the  flrst  uiiiyor  of  L'lint,  was  forty-one  years  of  age  when  elected 
mayor.  Laving  been  born  February  4,  1814,  in  Deckertown,  New  Jersey,  where  his  family 
located  before  the  War  of  the  Kevolution.  He  came  to  Flint  in  lS3i)  and  engaged  in 
the  lumbering  business.  Subsequently  he  was  Interested  in  a  floor  mill  erected  by  him- 
self and  Hon.  Aitemas  Thayer.  Later  still  he  was  Interested  In  a  flour  and  feed  mill 
and  Capt.  Ira  H.  Wilder  was  associated  with  him.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  his 
various  business  places  were  burned  eight  times  in  forty  years,  he  continued  nearly  up 
to  tlie  time  of  his  death  as  one  of  the  active  and  highly  respected  business  men  of  Flint. 
He  was  one  of  tlie  founders  of  the  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church  and  was  one  of  its 

(32) 


dbyGoc^lc 


49°  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

officers  at  tlie  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  Decker's  large  frame  mansion  was  one  of  tbe  flne 
old  homes  of  the  city,  but  after  his  death  it  made  place  for  the  residence  of  former 
Mayor  William  A.  Pateraoii.  Since  Mr.  Decker's  Incumbency  of  the  office  of  mayor.  th:it 
position  has  been  filled  by  fifty  different  persons.  Of  these.  Col.  William  M.  Fenton, 
William  Hnmllton.  Col.  William  B.  McCreery.  David  S.  Fox,  Judge  George  H.  Durand, 
A.  D,  Alvord,  George  E.  SIcKliiiey.  Guy  W.  Selhy  and  Charles  S.  Mott  were  re-elected. 
the  others  having  held  the  office  but  one  term  each. 

Among  the  mayors  of  Flint  are  some  who  had  state-wide  reputations  and  whu  niuy 
be  mentioned  here  without  detracting  from  the  excellent  records  made  by  the  others. 
William  M.  Fenton,  mayor  for  two  term*.  1858  and  1850,  was  a  great  lawyer  and  a 
successful  business  man ;  lie  was  colonel  of  the  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry  durinj?  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  and  was  lieutenant-governor  of  Michigan.  Henry  H.  Crapo, 
mayor  lu  1860,  served  the  state  for  two  terms  as  its  governor.  William  B.  McCreery 
was  a  colonel  during  the  Civil  War,  state  treasurer  and  United  States  consul  at  Santi- 
ago de  Chili.  George  H.  Durand,  mayor  two  terms,  1R73  and  1874,  was  a  member  of 
Congress  one  term,  a  justice  of  the  state  supreme  court,  appoiiitwl  by  Gov.  E.  B. 
Wlnana  to  fill  a  vacancy ;  and  at  the  time  when  he  was  stricken  with  the  illness  which 
resulted  in  his  death  he  was  the  democratic  candidate  for  po^eruor  of  the  state. 
Jerome  Eddy,  mayor  In  1878,  was  chairman  of  the  democratic  state  central  coniuilttee 
and  United  States  consul  at  Chatham,  Ontario.  BIr.  Eddy  died  November  24,  1005 
George  R.  Gold,  mayor  in  18!)S.  was  judge  of  probate  and  trustee  of  the  state  institution 
for  the  feeble  minded  at  Lapeer.  Judge  Gold  was  a  model  citizen,  a  delightful  com- 
panion and  his  death  was  a  distinct  loss  to  this  city  and  state.  Geoi'ge  K  Taylor,  niajor 
in  1802,  was  a  state  senator  and  judge  of  probate.  Col.  Edwartl  H.  Thomson,  mayor  iii 
1877,  was  a  man  of  culture,  the  owner  of  one  of  the  best  private  Shakespearean  libraries 
In  the  country,  which  is  now  the  property  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  a  man 
known  far  and  wide  as  a  lectui'er  on  Slii»keH])e,ire,  as  a  raconteur  and  a  genial  gentle- 
man. His  hospit.ible  home,  containing  also  his  library,  was  located  where  is  now  the 
residence  of  Arthur  G.  Bishop,  on  Kenrsley  street.  William  A.  Atwood,  mayor  In  1882, 
has  long  been  known  as  a  conservative  and  successful  business  man  and  has  served  as 
state  senator.  D.  D.  Altl^en  served  two  terms  as  a  member  of  Conjcress,  is  a  lawyer, 
manufacturer,  banker  and  a  friend  to  the  man  who  needs  ii  friend.  There  are  few 
names.  If  anj-.  among  the  long  list  of  past  and  present  city  officials  about  whom  tlie 
writer  could  not  truthfully  say  coniplliiieiitary  things,  did  space  allow.  F.  D.  Baker  Im 
at  present  postmaster  of  Flint.  Charles  S.  Mott  is  a  director  of  the  General  Motors 
Company.  W.  W.  Joyner  was  postmaster  of  Flint.  S.  C.  Randall  was  grand  com- 
mander of  Michigan  Knights  Templar.     H.  C.  Spencer  served  as  state  senator. 

The  office  of  city  recorder  was  abolished  in  1876,  since  which  time  the  conimim 
connr-il  has  etei'ted  a  city  clerk. 

ROSTER   OF   CITY  OI'FICIALS. 

A  complete  list  of  the  city  officials  follows : 

Mayor.  Rr.corOin:  Tvmimrvr. 

1855 — Grant    Decker r^vl    Walker Elihu  II.  Frary, 

1856 — R.  J.   8.   Page Charles  B.   Hi^ins John   G.   Griswold. 

1857— Henry  M.  Henderson-_M.    L.    Ht^lns George  F.  Hood. 

]S58 — William  SI.  Fenton Charles   Hascall George  F.  Hood. 

1859— William  M.  Fenton Charles   Hascall George  F.  Hood. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Mayor.  liecorder.  Treasurer, 

1860— Henry  H.  Crapo I«wls  G    Bickford John  A.  Kltne. 

1861— Kpliriam   S.   WlUiams.-U  G.  Buckingham Joiin  A.  Kline. 

1862— William    Paterson J.  it.  Brousseau John  A.  Kline. 

1863— -William^  Hamilton Henry  K-    Lovell Anson  S.  Witbee. 

1864— Wtlliiim  Hamilton Alvin  T.  Grossman Anson  S.  Witbee, 

1865— William  B.  McCreery__ Alvin  T.  Grossman Anson  S.  Wlthee. 

1866— William  B.  McCreery— Alvin  T.  Ci'ossman William  W.  Barnea. 

1867— Austin  B.  Wltherbee George  It.  Gold William  W.  Bamea. 

1868 — Samuel  M.  Axford George  R.  Gold William  W,  Barnes. 

1869— William  S,  Patrick Anson  S.  Wlthee William  W.  Banies. 

18T0— James  B.   Walker Anson  S.  Wlthee William  W.  Bamea. 

1871— David  S.  Fox Charies  E.  McAlester William  W.  Barnes. 

1872— David  S.  Fojt F.  H.  Itaukin,  Sr. William  W.  BarDea. 

1873— George  H.  Durand Soloman  V.  Halies William  W.  Barnea. 


1876- William   Hamilton F.   II.   Itankiu,   Sr William  W.   Barnea. 

Ira  H.  Wilder. 

1877— Kdward   H.   Thomson.,!'.   H.   Kankin,   Sr (To  fill  vacancy) 

1878— Jerome    Eddy F.  H,  Rankin,  Sr Gbarles  C.  Beahan. 

1878— James  0.  Willson J.  B.  F.  Curtis Charles  C.  Beahan. 

1880— Zacheus   Chase J.  B.  F.  Curtis Jared  Van  Vleet. 

1881— Chiirles  A.   Mason .1.  B.  F.  Curtis Jared  Van  Vleet. 

Albert  0.   Lyon Francis  Rankin,   Jr. 

(To  fill  vacaQcy) 

1882— William  A.  Atwood Albert  C.  Lyon 

1883— George  E.  Newall D.  D.  Aitkeu -.Jonathan  Palmer. 

1884— William  W.  Joyner D.  D.  Aitken Ezra  K.  Jenkins. 

1885 — Matbew    Davison IX  D.  Aitlien Jolin  W.  Tiioraas. 

1886— George  T.  Warren John  H.  Hicok Watson  C.  Pierce. 

1887— John  C.  Dayton John  H.  HIcok John  McKercher. 

18SS— Oreu  Stone Ijolm  H.  Ilicok John  McKercber. 

188ft— F.   D.  Baker SI.  W.  Stevens Frederick  A.  Piatt. 

18SM)— W.  A.  Paterson John  Russell Frederick  A.  Piatt 

la')]— F.  H.  Rankin,  Jr Ralph  I,.  Aldricb Frank  E.  Wlllett. 

Fred  W.  Brennan Frank  K.  Willett. 

(To  fill   vacancy) 

1802 — George  E.   Taylor Fred  W.  Breunau J.  Frank  Algoe. 

1803 — Andrew  J.  Ward Fred  W.  Brennan J.  Frank  Al^oe. 

1894— Arthur  C.  McCall l"red  P.  Baker Edwin  C.  J.itchfieid. 

1805— John  Zimmerman Fred  P.  Baker Kdwin  C.  I.itclifieid. 

1896— Samuel  C.  Randall Fred  I'.  Baker .Daniel   E.  McKercher. 

1807— Hilton  C.  Pettlbmie Fred  P.  Baker Daniel  I-:.  McKercher. 

18!)S— George  R.  Gold Fred  P.  Baker Delaskie  D.  Fi'eeman. 

1800-11.    Alox.   Crawford l>ed   I'.   Baker .ItelaskiP  D.  Freeman. 

ii'red  Freeman 
(To  fill  vacancy.) 
ItKIO— <:-lL.irle«  A.  Cumniings-Fivd    1'.    Iliikei- .lobn   Ballnntyne. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Clerk.  Trcaaitrcr. 

Fi'ed   P.   Bilker John  .Hiillaiityne. 

(To  fill   vacancy) 

1902 — A.  D.  AJi-ord U.   E.   Newcombe Milton  0.  Pettibone. 

1903— A.   D.    Alvord 1>.   E.  Xewcombe Milton  C.  Pettjbone. 

1904 — Bruce  3.  MacDonald.    Delos  K,    Newcombe Isaac  Finley. 

1005— D.  D.  Aitkin IJelos  E.   Newcombe Isaac  Ftnley, 

1906— Geoi^e  E.  McKlnley — Delos  E.   Newcorobe Melvin   C.   Bowman. 

1907— George  E.  McKinley — Delos  E.   Newcombe Jlelvin   C.    Bowman. 

1008— Horace  0.   Spencer Delos  E.  Newcombe Tbonias  Page. 

1909— Guy  W.  Selby Deios  E.   Newcombe Tbojnas  Page. 

1910 — Guy  W.  Selby Delos  E.   Newcombe B.  Clifford  Case. 

1911— John  a:  C.  Menton Delos  E.   Newcombe B.  Clifford  Case. 

1912 — Charles  S.  Mott Delos  E.   Newcombe Arthnr  B,  Raab. 

1913 — Charles  S.  Mott Delos  E.   Newcombe ^^ Aitiinr  E.  Raab. 

1914— J.  R.  MacDonald Delos  E.   Newcombe Louis  B.  Zink. 

1915— William  H.  McKelgban.. Delos  E.   Newcombe Louis  E.  Zink. 

1916 — Earl  F.  Johnson Delos  E.   Newcombe Jobn  II.  I^ng, 

Of  the  fifty-one  mayors  of  the  city  there  are  nineteen  living,  all  of  whom  still  reside 
in  Flint,  except  George  T.  Warren  and  H.  A.  Crawford-  The  surviving  mayors  are: 
Mathew  Davison,  F,  D.  Baker,  William  A.  Pnterscm,  John  Zimmerman,  H.  A.  Crawford, 
V.  A.  Cuinnilngs.  C.  B.  Dibble,  A.  D.  Alvord,  B.  J.  MacDonald,  D.  D.  Aitken,  George  E. 
McKinley,  Horace  C.  Spencer,  Guy  W.  Selby,  John  A.  C.  Meiton,  Charles  8.  Mott,  J.  R. 
MiicDonald,  Winiani  H.  McKelgban,  Earl  F.  Johnson. 

In  the  first  years  of  the  city,  covering  the  administrations  of  Mayors 
Decker,  Page,  Henderson  and  Fenton,  its  growth  was  severely  handicapped 
by  the  general  financial  stringency.     M.  S.  Elmore  writes  of  this  crisis: 

Re<  illliie  the  difliLUltiPs  ml  embiirassment'.  !•«  well  i«  the  exredlentf,  revolted  to 
tD  secnie  hnsine'i''  or  to  meet  the  eiigencie'?  of  trade  md  of  redits  I  am  sure  the 
business  men  of  the  past  two  oi  thiee  decades  tnii  haie  but  \ery  imperfect  cin*.eptlon 
of  business  metb  idsi  during  the  jenr'>  Immediately  preceding  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
Money  was  SO  scarce  it  might  be  end  there  w  is  next  to  none  B'lrter  dicker  eliarHC 
terlzed  the  style  of  trade  and  traffic  between  the  merchant  and  hif>  customers  Butter 
efega  pelts  md  «ibingles  represented  the  currency  of  exchange  Ibe  few  banks  any 
where  issuing  bills  which  would  be  -k  epted  is  currency  In  escbmge  for  feoods  or  labor 
were  wholh  imdequate  to  'Ripply  the  needs  of  even  the  limited  business  of  the  time 
The  money  of  only  one  jr  two  binks  m  Michigan  was  r^arled  as  at  all  safe  to  hindle 
Bills  of  a  ^eiy  few  ianks  In  WlhCjnsln  were  taken  at  a  discount  I  do  utt  recaU.  iny 
bink  in  Chicago  or  indeed  in  the  state  of  Illinois  whose  ibsue  wis  considered  safe  to 
tjiich  Two  or  three  binks  in  Ohio  and  here  and  there  one  in  the  state  of  New  Yjrli 
w  uld  be  accepted  but  none  from  my  stite  except  perhaps  notes  of  the  Michigan 
State  Bank  of  Detroit  were  thought  safe  to  hold  oier  night,  so  that  before  time  for 
bank  to  close  Au«tm  Witherbee  was  \erj  sure  to  receive  a  call  from  such  of  the  pitrons 
of  Exchange  Bank  as  found  bills  on  <my  banks  In  their  tills  at  that  hour  These  were 
deposited  with  the  understnndiiuf  that  von  would  be  credited  the  amount  received  on 
them 

The  great  seari^lty  of  slhei    for  change    was  likewise  embarrassing    lud  in    innoj 
ance  at  this  time     Spinish  siUer  which  hid  been  a  common  currency  fjr  yeirs    from 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  50I 

tlip  Spanish  dolhir  to  the  six-pence,  half-dollarB,  qu.iitei's  and  sliilliTiws,  had  been  mostly 
boiiglit  «p  for  manufacturing  purposes  and  American  coin  was  lei'y  scarce.  (It  will  be 
t'emembei-ed  this  was  "befo'  the  wa'").  A  malieshlft  expedient  waa  hit  upon,  adopted 
by  a  few  merchants — the  writer  twmg  one— to  issue  small  "shin  plaster"  currency,  made 
payable  at  "Esehange  Bank,"  in  which  money  was  deposited  to  redeem  tliem,  and  these 
were  accepted  as  money  In  busiueiw,  appreciably  i-elieving  the  mconienience  and  shortage. 
Specimens  of  these  little  substitutes  for  Uncle  Sam's  money  are  yet  lu  existence.  The 
government  later  issued  the  "shin  plaster"  currency,  which  filled  a  long-felt  want,  speci- 
mens of  which  may  likewise  be  found  among  the  curios  of  collectors.  The  breating  out 
of  the  wur  and  the  necessity  for  money  for  the  "boys"  relieved  none  too  soon  the  strin- 
gency all  felt,  and  the  boys  in  blue  soon  begun  to  help  out  the  old  folks  at  home  with 
Uncle  Sam's  greenbacks,  spending  tliem  niennwliile  freely  for  tlieir  own  needs,  or  indul- 
gence, and  so  soon  changed  the  financial  condition  oC  the  whole  northern  section  of  the 
eountry. 

ELEMENTS    WHICH    GAVE  IMPULSE   T(l   TiiE    CITy's    GROWTH. 

Flint's  vital  connections  with  the  outside  world  have  been  made  almost 
wholly  within  the  period  of  her  city  growth.  Telegraphic  communication 
was  first  opened  in  December,  1858,  by  a  line  from  Flint  to  Feiitonville,  con- 
necting with  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railroad.  The  work  was  done  by 
William  W.  True  and  the  first  operator  at  Flint  was  Miles  D.  McAlester,  a 
graduate  of  West  Point,  who  afterwards  gained  distinction  as  major  of 
United   States  engineers  and  bre\'et  brigadier-general   United   States  army. 

The  first  locomotive  reached  the  city  over  the  line  of  the  Flint  &  Fere 
Marquette  railway  from  the  north,  December  8,  1862.  This  event  was  cele- 
brated amidst  general  rejoicing  and  a  grand  banquet  held  at  the  Carlton 
House.  The  work  upon  the  Flint  &  Holly  railroad  was  commenced  in  the 
summer  of  1863  and,  by  the  untiring  energy  of  Governor  Crapo,  president 
of  the  company,  seconded  by  the  leading  business  men  of  Flint,  it  was 
graded,  tied,  ironed  and  made  ready  for  the  rolling-stock  in  about  eighteen 
months.  The  trip  of  the  first  locomotive,  the  "City  of  Flint,"  over  it, 
November,  1864,  was  the  occasion  of  great  rejoicing,  as  it  was  the  first  out- 
let southward. 

In  1871  a  road  extending  from  Port  Huron  to  Flint  was  completed,  as 
the  Port  Huron  &  f-ake  Michigan  railroad.  In  1877  the  Chicago  &  North- 
eastern railroad,  extending  from  Flint  to  Lansing,  was  placed  in  running 
order.  These  two  roads  w'ere  then  consolidated  as  part  of  the  line  of  the 
Chicago  &  I,ake  ?Itiron  railroad,  and  continued  as  such  until  the  purchase 
of  the  Chicago  &  Northeastern  by  Vanderbiit. 

The  new  impulse  given  to  the  city  by  these  new  avenues  of  communi- 
cation was  felt  especially  by  the  industries  of  lumbering  and  manufacturing. 


dbyGoot^lc 


502  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  Crapo  lumber  mill,  established  in  the  city  by  Henry  H.  Crapo  in  1856, 
in  the  seventies  reached  a  capacity  of  twenty  million  feet  of  lumber  per  an- 
num. Only  second  were  the  McFarlan  mills,  established  in  1850,  which 
cut  eleven  million  feet  a  year.  The  mills  of  Begole,  Fox  &  Company,  built 
in  1865,  put  out  a  large  product.  Jerome  Eddy's  mills,  estabhshed  in  1868, 
cut  ten  million  feet  a  year.  The  saw-mill  made  a  natural  demand  for  the 
planing-mill.  Among  these  mills  was  Newall  &  Company's  planing-mili, 
built  in  1855.  Another  was  established  in  1867  by  Beardslee,  Gillies  &  Com- 
pany, whose  products  found  a  market  in  New  York,  Ohio,  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut.  Fliram  Smith's  mills  made  a  specialty  of  handling  hard- 
wood. Stave  and  shingle-mills  followed  up  in  the  slashings.  Decker  &  Has- 
kell's stave-mill,  which  had  its  origin  in  1870,  was  devoted  entirely  to  the 
manufacture  of  staves  and  headings.  W.  B.  Pellett's  factory,  established 
in  1874,  was  one  among  many  which  manufactured  sash,  doors  and  blinds. 

The  flour-mill  was  not  behind  the  lumber-mill  in  feeling  this  added 
impulse.  The  old  Thread  mills  continued  under  a  succession  of  owners  far 
into  this  period,  manufacturing  in  the  seventies  one  hundred  barrels  of  flour 
a  day,  much  of  which  found  its  way  to  the  East.  Patterson  &  Carman's 
flour-mill,  started  in  1877,  made  sixty  barrels  a  day.  In  1879  the  I-'lint 
mills  had  an  aggregate  capacity  of  sixty  thousand  barrels  of  flour  annually. 

Among  other  industries  which  were  started  before  the  eighties  under 
the  stimulating  influences  were  the  Flint  chemical  works,  the  Genesee  iron 
works,  the  Flint  paper  mills,  Castree  &  Odell's  agricultural  implement  shop, 
Patterson's  carriage  factory,  Alexander's  carding-mills,  and  Stone's  woolen- 
mills.  The  city  of  Flint  Gas-Light  Company,  organized  in  1870  by  James 
B.  Walker,  Josiah  W.  Begole,  William  M.  Fenton  and  Jesse  B.  Atwood, 
began  supplying  gas  to  the  city  in  1871.  In  the  first  year  there  were  ninety 
consumers,  using  about  two  million  nine  hundred  thousand  cubic  feet  of 
illuminating  gas.  By  1880  the  company  had  laid  seven  miles  of  pipe  and 
.supplied  gas  to  two  hundred  and  sixty  consumers. 

The  educational  interests  of  the  people  were  not  lost  sight  of  in  this 
rapid  advance  in  the  pursuit  of  things  material.  Schools,  which  had  been 
early  established,  kept  pace  with  the  increased  school  population.  A  union 
school  building  had  been  completed  in  1846  and,  though  in  1855  the  union 
system  was  threatened  with  abandonment,  the  academic  course  continued  to 
be  taught  and  to  gain  in  public  favor.  In  1S69  rate-bills  were  abolished  and 
a  free  public  school  Ijecame  a  reality.  In  1875  the  present  high-school  build- 
ing was  completed  and  opened,  under  the  charge  of  Professor  Crissey.     A 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  503 

class  of  eight  graduated  fron^  the  high  school  at  the  dose  of  the  first  school 
year,  1875-76;  within  three  years  this  number  was  raised  to  twenty-one. 
Besides  the  high  school,  there  was  a  school  house  in  each  of  the  four  city 
wards  at  this  time,  with  a  total  enrollment  including  the  high  school  of  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-seven  pupils.  In  addition,  the  city  con- 
tained the  state  institution  for  educating  the  deaf,  dumb  and  the  blind,  estab- 
lished properly  in  1857  under  the  principalship  of  B.  M.  Fay.  In  1879  it 
had  an  attendance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pupils. 

The  spirit  fostered  by  the  successful  pursuit  of  worldly  goods  might 
be  supposed  to  have  been  no  light  strain  upon  the  habits  of  the  people 
respecting  the  development  of  character  and  the  observance  of  religious  wor- 
ship. Yet  Flint  in  this  period  witnessed  a  wholesome  progress  along  all  lines 
of  moral  and  spiritual  endeavor. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
Lumbering  and  Allied  Industries. 

The  pioneer  lieginnings  of  the  lumber  industry  in  Genesee  county  have 
been  traced  in  connection  with  preceding  chapters;  a  word  might  he  added 
as  to  the  "modus  operandi"  of  lumbering  in  the  early  days. 

In  the  earher  period  of  the  lumberiug  activity,  the  individual  owner- 
ship of  the  timber  lands  along  the  river  operated  to  make  the  logging  busi- 
ness simpler  in  method  than  afterwards  prevailed.  The  custom  in  the  early 
times  was  to  establish  a  camp  at  some  place  on  the  lands  to  be  cut  over; 
this  consisted  of  a  building  of  logs  or  slabs  temporarily  made,  with  provis- 
ion for  cooking  and  bunking  the  men.  The  ideal  camp  was  a  long  house, 
with  bunks  along  the  sides,  a  long  table  in  the  middle  and  a  kitchen  in  one 
end.  Ample  provision  was  made  for  fires  to  warm  it  in  winter,  the  time  of 
activity. 

The  men,  who  were  called  "hunber  jacks,"  were  generally  young  men, 
whose  fathers  were  the  farmers  in  the  vicinity:  and  even  the  fathers  joined 
in  during  the  winter  when  the  period  of  farming  did  not  demand  their  at- 
tention or  when  they  could  give  a  portion  of  their  time  from  the  clearing 
of  their  own  land. 

The  routine  of  the  camp  was,  "early  rising"  on  the  part  of  the  team- 
sters and  the  cook  and  his  assistant,  the  preparation  of  the  breakfast  and  the 
feeding  of  the  teams.  The  breakfast,  which  was  eaten  by  candle-light,  was 
of  pancakes,  black  strap,  pork,  or  fresh  meat  when  obtainable,  beans,  pota- 
toes, all  seasoned  by  the  appetite  of  young  and  hearty  men  accustomed  to 
work.  The  morning  light  found  these  men  out  in  the  woods;  two  choppers 
working  together  with  two  sawmen  made  up  a  gang.  At  this  period  the 
trees  were  felled  by  the  choppers,  and  then  cut  into  logs  of  the  proper  length 
by  the  sawmen.  The  swampers  cut  out  the  roads  and  hauled  the  logs  cut 
by  the  gang  out  to  the  skidway,  where  the  skidders  aided  the  teamsters  to 
roll  the  logs  down  onto  the  skids.  Oxen  were  used  exclusively  in  the  haul- 
ing of  the  Ic^s  from  the  woods  to  the  skidways.  The  skidways  were  numer- 
ous and  the  logs  were  rolled  on,  or  "skidded,"  with  reference  to  convenience 
of  loading,  to  haul  to  the  banking  grounds. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  505 

There  was  a  wliolesome  rivalry  between  various  gangs,  each  trying  to 
show  results  in  larger  production  of  logs;  the  pay  of  the  men  depended  upon 
the  amount  of  work  accomplished  a!id  varied  from  twenty-two  to  thirty 
dollars  per  month,  with  board.  In  later  times  the  gang  was  decreased  in 
miml>er  to  three  men,  one  chopper  and  two  sawmen;  this  resulted  from  the 
custom  of  sawing  the  tree  down,  instead  of  chopping  it  down.  The  chopper, 
or  axeman,  cut  two  cuts  opposite  each  other  in  the  sides  of  the  tree,  and  the 
sawmen  regulated  their  work  by  these  axe  cuts.  The  tree  when  felled  was 
measured  by  the  axeman  who  made  the  cuts  to  show  where  it  should  be 
sawed  into  logs,  the  length  running  from  twelve  to  eighteen  feet;  the  nature 
of  the  tree  as  to  straightness  determined  the  length;  most  of  the  logs,  if  the 
tree  allowed  it,  were  sixteen  feet  long,  or  twice  the  length  of  the  axeman's 
pole,  which  was  eight  feet  long.  The  judgment  of  the  axeman  as  to  which 
way  the  tree  should  fall,  and  how  when  felleti,  it  should  be  cut  into  logs, 
was  of  great  value;  an  unskilled  man  could  cause  considerable  loss  by  an 
error  of  judgment  in  either  case. 

The  hauling  of  the  logs  from  the  skidway  to  the  banking  grounds  was 
done  on  wide  sleds,  as  wide  as  eight  feet,  which  contained,  when  skillfully 
loaded,  a  large  number  of  logs.  At  the  lianking  ground  these  were  made 
into  solid  piles,  or  banks,  each  containing  a  large  number  of  logs  and  ail 
being  the  property  of  some  firm  or  company.  These  logs  were  so  piled  as  to 
enable  them  to  be  dropped  into  the  river  by  the  least  possible  work  and  as 
near  the  same  time  as  possible.  'V\''hen  the  river  was  at  running  stage  in  the 
spring,  these  l>anking  grounds  were  the  scenes  of  great  activity.  The  logs 
were  gotten  into  the  river  in  a  short  time,  and  when  there,  the  aggregate  of 
the  logs  comprised  a  "run."  The  size  of  the  river  precluded  its  long-con- 
tinued occupancy  for  a  run,  so  each  owner  took  every  care  to  get  his  run 
into  the  river  at  the  proper  time  with  great  expedition,  and  then  to  run  it 
down  as  fast  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  others  likewise  engaged. 
As  the  river  was  a  highway,  the  use  of  it  was  open  to  everyone,  but  the 
etiquette  of  the  lumberman  led  him  to  do  all  that  could  be  done  to  avoid 
two  runs  getting  together  and  mingling  the  logs  of  different  owners.  The 
run  once  started,  the  river  men — and  all  the  lumber  jacks  were  river  men 
of  more  or  less  skill— kept  it  going  until  the  logs  had  been  delivered  to  the 
mill.  This  was  the  method  of  the  early  days  of  the  lumbering  industry  in 
Genesee  county  along  the  river.  It  was  confined  to  the  river  entirely,  but 
the  streams  that  fell  into  the  river  were  also  of  utility  in  running  logs.  It 
is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  the  Thread  creek  was  never  used  as  a  run- 


dbyGoot^lc 


5o6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

\v;iy  for  logs,  as  the  pines  that  attracted  the  lumbermen  did  not  thrive  in  the 
basin  of  that  stream;  while  along  the  banks  of  the  IHint  river,  in  the  spring, 
twenty  million  or  more  feet  of  logs  might  be  found. 

The  lumbering  business  brought  into  the  vernacular  of  the  people  var- 
ious terms  that  would  be  unknown  to  the  people  of  today.  The  "swampers," 
who  made  the  roads  in  the  woods  for  the  logs  as  felled  and  cut  by  the  gang; 
the  "skidders,"  who  piled  the  logs  on  the  skidway;  the  "jam  crackers,"  who 
broke  out  the  logs  that  held  back  the  jam,  and  so  released  the  same,  and  the 
"sackers,"  who  searched  out  those  logs  that  had  gone  astray  into  bayous,  or 
low  water,  and  so  got  grounded.  The  latter,  often  four  to  a  log,  got  into 
the  water  and  eased  the  log  out  into  deep  water,  or  "sacked"  it  out. 

The  development  of  the  business  to  much  greater  importance  resulted 
in  another  change,  which  was  the  organization  of  the  boom  company.  When 
the  experience  of  the  men  who  managed  the  logging  operations  had  shown 
the  inconvenience  and  extra  work  involved  in  the  skidding  of  the  logs,  the 
removal  to  the  banking  ground,  and  the  running  of  each  man's  or  firm's 
logs  separately,  with  the  danger  of  one  run  striking  another  and  so  mingling 
the  logs  of  the  two  owners,  it  was  determined  that  the  boom  plan  was  more 
economic.  By  this  plan  the  Flint  river  was  boomed  for  five  miles  or  so  up 
the  stream  above  the  Hamilton  dam,  and  each  mill  owner  secured  boom 
rights  at  some  place  along  this  reach  or  river.  The  logs  were  then  dropped 
into  the  river  at  any  convenient  place,  and  allowed  to  run  down  as  they 
might;  often  the  river  was  full  from  Flint  to  Columbiaville.  These  logs 
were  marked  with  the  owner's  mark,  and  in  one  instance  we  find  the  mark 
made  as  a  matter  of  record,  as  stated  in  the  old  records  of  Flint  township. 
The  men  who  run  the  logs  were  employed  not  by  the  mill  owners,  but  by 
the  boom  company  and  they  worked  at  the  logs  all  summer,  generally  as 
many  as  forty  men  finding  steady  work  in  summer.  The  logs  were  run 
down  the  river  and  a  man  at  each  boom  pulled  the  logs  belonging  to  the 
boom  owners  into  the  opening  made  by  a  swinging  boom  that  ran  out  into 
the  passage  in  the  middle  of  the  river;  the  logs  so  boomed  were  arranged 
with  reference  to  economy  of  space  and,  as  needed,  were  run  down  to  the 
mill.  The  logs  of  the  various  mill  owners  were  made  a  basis  for  an  assess- 
ment of  the  expenses  of  the  boom  operations  and  thus  all  danger  of  the 
earher  runs  was  avoided. 

The  river  had  its  tragedies.  In  1865  three  men  tried  to  run  a  log  down 
near  Columbiaville  and  the  big  end  grounded  on  the  apron  of  the  dam;  3 
log  turned,  throwing  them  off,  and  two  of  the  three,  Harrison  Spencer  and 
Fzra  Collins,  drowned,  while  Mack  Lyman  was  saved. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  507 

The  river  men  responded  when  the  war  came  and  most  all  of  them  went 
out  to  serve  in  the  mihtary  forces  of  the  United  States.  It  is  said  of  them 
that  they  made  the  very  best  of  soldiers,  and  certainly  the  preparation  in 
camp,  as  axe  men,  as  swampers,  as  skidders,  as  jam  crackers,  and  sackers, 
was  a  school  for  the  soldier  that  made  for  obedience  to  superiors,  discipline 
and  efficiency. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  wonderfully  rapid  development  of  the  lumber 
industry  in  the  period  during  and  immediately  subsequent  to  the  Civil  War. 
In  1863  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette  railway  was  opened  for  traffic  between 
Flint  and  Saginaw,  and  other  lines  were  soon  afterwards  opened;  by  afford- 
ing means  of  rapid  transportation  to  outside  markets,  these  roads  gave  a 
tremendous  impulse  to  all  branches  of  business  in  the  county,  especially  to 
lumbering.  This,  together  with  the  increased  demand  for  lumber  created 
by  the  great  Civil  War,  inaugurated  for  the  lumbering  interests  of  the  I'lint 
river  valley  an  era  of  unexampled  prosperity.  It  extended  from  about  1866 
to  the  great  revulsion  which  came  with  the  financial  panic  of  1873-4.  The 
zenith  of  prosperity  was  reached  in  the  years  1869-1871.  Then  began  a 
gradual  decline.  In  1870  nine  mills  were  in  operation  in  Flint  with  an  an- 
nual capacity  of  ninety  million  feet  of  lumber.  They  employed  over  five 
hundred  men.  Their  value  ran  up  to  a  half  million  dollars.  In  1878-79 
there  were  but  three  in  operation,  employing  less  than  half  as  many  men 
and  cutting  but  little  over  a  third  as  many  feet.  The  supply  of  logs  was  at 
that  time  rapidly  diminishing  on  the  upper  waters  of  Flint  river.  Lumljer 
production  for  export  was  approaching  its  end.  Sliiugles  were  l)eing  exten- 
sively made,  however,  from  old  logging  fields.  The  supply  in  Genesee  count}' 
was  already  so  far  exhausted  that  only  two  small  tracts  remained,  on  sec- 
tion 15  in  Forest  township  and  a  tract  of  less  than  fifteen  acres  in  the  town- 
ship of  Richfield.  ,\fter  that,  lumbering  was  continued  largely  by  importing 
pine  from  Saginaw  and  neighboring  counties. 

One  of  the  most  famous  lumbering  establishments  in  the  county  was 
the  Crapo  mills,  at  Flint.  In  1856  Ilenry  H.  Crapo,  with  characteristic  fore- 
thought, conceived  the  idea  of  competing  not  only  with  the  principal  lumber- 
ing marts  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  states,  but  with  foreign  countries.  He 
came  to  Michigan  in  1855,  shortly  after  which  he  purchased  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  large  tract  of  pine  land  in  this  region.  It  was 
his  intention  at  the  time  to  lumljer  this  tract  and  float  the  logs  to  Saginaw, 
but  shortly  after,  or  nearly  in  1856,  he  visited  Flint  and  became  satisfied  that 
here  was  the  point  at  which  to  manufacture  this  timber  into  lumber.     In 


dbyGoot^lc 


508  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

1856  he  purchased  the  "Walkley'"  miU  and  during  the  summer  of  1857 
manufactured  about  two  miJlion  feet  of  lumber,  which  was  considered  in 
those  days  an  extensive  business.  As  this  mill  was  shut  in  by  the  property 
of  McQuigg,  Turner  &  Company,  owners  of  the  mill  near  the  dam,  he  con- 
ceived the  plan  of  purchasing  that  also.  In  the  fall  of  1857  ^^  effected  its 
purchase  and  in  both  mills  during  the  season  of  1858  manufactured  alxiut 
seven  million  feet  of  lumber.  By  March,  185S,  he  had  his  business  thor- 
oughly estabhshed.  He  returned  to  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  where 
his  family  were  residing,  and  moved  with  them  to  Flint.  After  this  time  the 
"old  mills"  were  improved  by  the  addition  of  new  machinery.  They  were 
soon  rmi  to  a  capacity  of  twelve  million  feet  per  annum,  even  before  any  rail- 
road was  projected  to  Flint,  Before  the  con.struction  of  the  Flint  &  Holly 
railroad,  which  was  built  largely  by  the  energy  of  Mr.  Crapo,  the  good 
lumber  sawed  at  these  mills  was  hauled  with  teams  to  Holly  and  I'-enton- 
ville,  to  the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  railroad,  and  from  the.se  points  shipped 
east  and  south. 

In  i860  Mr.  Crapo  purchased  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Flint  river 
the  mill  known  as  the  "Busenbark"  mill,  which  he  ran  two  years  and  after- 
wards sold.  In  1864  the  large  planing-niiii  sash,  door  and  blind-factory  was 
added  to  his  business  and  turned  out  annually  many  million  feet  of  dressed 
lumber,  as  well  as  large  quantities  of  sash,  doors,  blinds,  mouldings  and 
boxes.  The  old  "Walkley"  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  season  of  1865, 
but  fortunately  little  lumber  was  burned  with  it  owing  to  the  rule  always 
adhered  to  of  keeping  the  .space  about  the  mills  clean.  Hardly  had  the  ruins 
of  this  mill  become  cold  when  the  debris  was  cleared  away  and  the  founda- 
tion of  3  larger  mill  was  laid.  This  mill,  with  the  old  mill  at  the  dam,  had 
a  capacity  for  sawing  over  twenty  million  feet  per  annum,  and  the  two  mills 
were  run  to  nearly  that  limit  until  the  old  mil!  was  burned  in  1877,  This 
immense  amount  of  lumber  has  found  a  market  principally  at  the  East  and 
South,  and  some  of  it  has  e^■en  been  shipped  to  San  Francisco  around  Cape 
Horn.  The  saw-mill  and  planing-mill  were  later  shipped  with  all  the  mod- 
ern improvements  for  the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  sash,  doors,  blinds, 
mouldings  and  packing-boxes. 

Henry  H.  Crapo,  the  founder  of  this  large  business  and  governor  of 
Michigan  for  two  terms— 1864-68— died  at  Flint  in  July,  1869,  but  the 
business  w'as  continued  without  any  material  change  under  the  able  manage- 
ment of  his  only  son,  William  W,  Crapo.  William  Crapo  Durant,  a  grand- 
son of  Governor  Crapo,  received  his  first  business  training  in  the  Crapo 
mill  and  yards. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GtNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  509 

The  impetus  thus  gi\-en  by  Mr.  Crapo  was  soon  followed  by  Alexander 
McFarlan,  William  Hamilton  and  Messrs.  Begole,  Atwood,  Fox,  Carpenter, 
Smith  and  Eddy.  Alexander  McFarlan's  mills  were  established  in  1850,  the 
firm  at  that  time  having  been  Hazelton  &  McFarlan.  In  May  of  the  follow- 
ing year  the  mills  were  destroyed  by  fire  and  Mr.  McFarlan  purchased  the 
interest  of  his  partner  and  rebuilt;  in  April,  1863,  they  were  again  burned 
and  immediately  rebuilt;  again,  in  1871,  they  were  pursued  by  lire  and  de- 
stroyed and  larger  mills  erected.  The  material  worked  was  altogether  pine, 
the  logs  being  cut  from  timber-lands  owned  by  the  proprietor  in  Genesee 
and  Lapeer  counties  and  floated  down  the  Flint  river.  The  power  employed 
was  steam.  Two  circular  saws  of  large  dimensions  were  run,  also  apparatus 
for  cutting  lath  and  shingles.  The  capacity  of  the  mills  reached  eleven 
million  feet  a  year.  These  mills  were  distinguished  as  being  the  oldest  on 
the  Flint  river. 

The  lumlier-mills  of  Begole,  Fox  &  Company  were  established  in  Sep- 
tember, 1865.  The  partners  were  Josiah  W.  Begole,  David  S.  Fox  and 
George  L.  Walker.  They  ranked  among  the  heaviest  lumber  dealers  in  the 
city  and  were  large  manufacturers  of  lath  and  shingles. 

Jerome  Eddy's  mill  was  built  in  the  year  1868  on  the  corner  of  Kearsley 
and  Island  streets.  It  had  a  capacity  for  dressing  ten  million  feet  of  lum- 
ber, manufacturing  about  ten  thousand  doors  and  a  corresponding  number 
of  sash  and  bUnds  per  annum.  A  destructive  fire  consumed  the  first  mill 
erected,  but  Mr.  Eddy  immediately  rebuilt  it.  In  three  months  from  the 
time  it  was  burned  one  of  the  most  perfect  and  complete  mills  in  the  state 
took  its  place. 

The  firm  of  Newail  &  Company  was  one  of  the  oldest  establishments 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  sash,  doors  and  blinds.  It  was  established  in 
1855,  embracing  as  partners  Thomas  Newail,  George  E.  Newall  and  S.  C. 
Randall.  The  firm  of  Beardslee,  Gillies  &  Company  built  a  planing-mill  in 
1867  and  the  next  year  added  the  manufacture  of  boxes.  Hiram  Smith's 
mills,  built  in  1877,  made  a  speciaJty  of  handling  hardwood.  Decker  &  Has- 
kell's .stave-mills  had  their  origin  in  1870,  They  were  devoted  entirely  to 
the  manufacture  of  staves  and  headings.  In  May,  1874,  a  fire  destroyed  the 
mill  and  much  of  the  stock,  but  new  buildings  and  machinery  soon  took  the 
place  of  the  old.  The  factory  of  W,  B.  Pellett  was  established  in  1874  to 
manufacture  sash,  doors  and  blinds,  but  later  made  a  specialty  of  extension- 
tables. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


A    SUMMARY    OF    THE    LUMBER    SITUATION. 

F,  A.  Aldrich,  in  sketching  the  industrial  history  of  FHnt,  has  well 
sumnied  np  the  facts  about  the  great  period  of  lumbering  in  Genesee  county 
and  its  relation  to  manufacturing  industries  allied  tp  and  growing  out  of  it. 
Speaking  of  the  fifties,  he  says: 

The  time  for  extxinsiou  Iwd  avi'iveil.  Tlie  kiiowleilge  of  tlie  I't'sourfes  of  the  country, 
tLe  iiossUilliiles,  the  men  to  nccoiupllHh  things,  the  muuey.  Lad  all  awaited  the  litieniiig 
of  events,  iind  nil  of  these  elenients  hiid  been  moving  steadily  toward  this  iieriod.  There 
were  a  few  aaw-nillls  nioiig  the  baults  of  the  river,  doing  n  small  bueinesa,  bHt  there  was 
no  enormous  output.  What  surplus  was  nt'eumulated  was  hauled  to  Saginaw,  where 
there  were  shipping  facilities  and  where  buyers  for  Eastern  yards  assembled  cargoes 
from  many  similar  sources  of  sup|)ly  and  shipped  them  cast  by  sailing  vessels  to  Buffalo. 
and  beyond  via  the  Rrie  canal.  Albnnj-  was  then  the  lumber  distributing  center  of 
America  and  must  of  Allchigan's  forest  product  found  Its  way  there.  Explorations  had 
shown  the  great  bodies  of  muKniticent  white  pine  forest  la  Lapeer  and  Tuscola  counties 
and  hi  the  north  western  corner  of  Genesee  county.  The  meanrterings  of  the  Flint  river 
and  its  north  and  south  branches  wade  pithways  Into  the  very  heart  of  all  this  wealth 
of  timber  and  seemed  to  initte  it  to  come  out  from  its  solitude  of  years  to  the  ghimour 
of  civiliziition  and  udd  to  the  making  of  a  new  era.  A.  McFarlan,  William  Hitmilton. 
H.  H.  Crapo,  B«!ole-Fox  &  Compiiny  and  J.  B.  Atwood  &  Company  were  the  chief  own- 
ers of  thousands  of  acres  of  timlwr  lands  along  the  banks  of  these  streams  and  from 
small  beginnings  they  evolved  an  immense  lumber  business,  so  that  the  city  and  sur- 
rounding couiitrj-  beciime  dependent  to  a  vast  degree  uiton  this  industry.  The  original 
idea  waH  to  float  all  the  logs  to  Saginaw  for  milling,  but  the  nature  of  the  river 
showed  flint  to  t>e  jii'e-emineutly  the  place  for  handling  them.  Tbe  saw-mills  could 
exjMind  inider  the  Inflnence  of  nianngement.  money  and  market,  and  the  men  In  Flint 
IKissessed  the  first  two  of  these  elements  and  the  further  aggressiveness  of  making  an 
aveniie  to  reach  the  market.  The  plank  i-ojul  served  for  sveral  years,  but  railroad  taciil- 
tles  were  imperative.  They  came  because  the  men  of  Fltut  said  they  jnust  cojue,  and  these 
men  did  their  full  share  lu  promoting,  capitallalng,  and  even  operating.  The  first  rail 
outlet  was  to  Saginaw  in  18fl2.  followeil  something  over  a  year  later  by  the  connecting 
link  between  Flint  and  Holly,  nuikhig  an  all-rail  route  to  the  South  and  East. 

All  this  was  accomplished  duiing  war  times,  and  with  the  close  of  that  tragedy 
ciiuie  the  leap  in  all  kinds  of  (.■omniercial  undertakings.  Thoughts  and  ambitions  and 
efforts  could  be  centered  on  material  domestic  exiMinaloii  and  all  things  pertaining  to 
industrial  Flint  were  ripe  to  take  advantage  of  these  condttlons.  Eight  or  ten  mills 
had  come  Into  ojjeratlon  at  various  pointH  along  the  river  front  and  ndllions  of  feet 
of  logs  were  being  cut  up  in  the  forest  sections,  poured  into  the  river  and  floated  to 
Flint.  The  whole  Industrial  atmosphere  was  surcharged  with  lumbering  and  the  Kindfi- 
cations  of  the  Industry  were  many,  affecting  innumerable  intei'ests.  An  army  was  gradu- 
ally accumulated  in  the  woods  with  which  couimunlcation  must  be  maintained  and  to 
which  supiilles  must  be  forwanled.  There  must  be  a  plan  and  system  for  drlvina  the 
logs  from  where  the  woodmen  felled  them,  to  tbe  Siiw-mills,  resulting  in  the  Flint 
Klver  Boom  Company.  Another  army  gatliereil  araund  the  mills,  running  machines, 
sorting,  piling  and  shipping  lumber.  The  selling  force  was  by  no  means  a  small  one; 
tlie  aci'ounting  fur  rill  thi-  business  reqtilred  another  crop  of  helpers.  So  several  thou- 
sand  men   were  attracteil   lieri'  and   atfiliated   with  this  splendid  enterprise.     They   were 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  5I  I 

iid<Ieil  tu  tlie  populiition  of  the  towu  and  hnd  to  be  provided  witli  homes.  Uuilding  lloiir- 
LSltod,  iitti'uctiiig  cnrpeiiters.  The;  must  needs  ent  Hnd  be  clothed,  so  tbut  stores  multl- 
Iilieil,  with  their  utteiidtiiit  pi'opiietoi's  and  clerks.  There  wus  a  steiidy  trnin  of  wagoiis 
or  Hleighs,  hauling  foodstufTe  Into  the  wooda  for  men  and  beasts,  and  the  country 
aroiiiid  tlie  t'lty  was  the  Hource  of  suijijI.v.  liequiremeiits  of  every  sort  were  active,  and 
every  element  of  trade  imrticipnted  iu  tlie  prosperity  of  lumber. 

The  fnme  of  Flint  as  a  luniber  center  was  wide  and  buyers  were  stationed  here  (u 
bid  for  the  iiroducts  of  these  mills  or  arrange  for  special  cuts  that  building  require- 
ments In  any  direi^tion  might  deuinnO.  Knmtugs  were  good  and  n  splendid  business 
training  tanie  to  thousands  of  men  who  afterwards  arrived  at  that  stage  where  they 
took  up  and  have  currle<l  ou  the  sti'eam  of  in'osperity  that  had  Its  rise  In  the  primitive 
lumbering  days,  swetleil  Inio  the  riisblna,  mighty  flood  of  the  seventies,  and  was  later 
to  pass  on  In  the  deep,  steiidy,  strong  current  of  a  iixed  and  diveraified  industrial  activ- 
ity. Statistics  are  not  particularly  Interesting  and  the  billions  of  feet  of  luniber  cut 
in  Flint  count  Cor  little  now  e.^cetit  as  leaving  a  legacy  tar  more  valuable  than  the 
computed  price  of  all  the  forest  [ii-oducts  that  have  passed  through  Flint's  gateways  of 
commewe.  That  some  of  it  iveiithered  Caiie  Horn  to  fill  orders  in  San  Francisco,  or 
sought  a  iiuii'bet  in  Kuro|ie  or  Asia,  is  a  mere  lesson  In  geography.  Lumbering  com- 
menced to  decline  In  the  eighties;  it  was  lilKtory  in  the  nineties,  but  it  left  weuitb  In 
homes,  property,  mercantile  enterprises,  schools,  chtircbes  and,  equal  to  all  the  rest, 
men^men  who  had  been  triilned  to  meet  emergencies,  to  accompli!*  things,  to  worl;  out 
problems  anil  to  succeed.  It  left  women  who  had  made  homes,  honies  indeed:  U  left  a 
•Jiiciety  Itiiii  ims  welded  together  by  the  unity  of  a  common  Interest. 


f  irUSINEBB. 

A  few  asked  the  question,  "What  ne.vtV"  and  of  a  very  truth  fur  a  year  or  two 
tlie  destiny  of  Flint  hung  treniblbig  In  the  balance.  More  went  to  work  with  enerny 
to  create  "next."  The  character  of  lumberins  changed  and  for  some  years  logs  cut 
far  to  tlie  north  were  hauled  in  by  traiiiloads,  tumbled  into  the  river,  to  follow  Ihe 
jiathway  of  tl:elr  [iredece'fsors.  up  the  gang  and  out  in  boai'ds  to  waiting  cars.  I.uniber 
<'ut  in  mills  that  had  followed  llie  receding  idne  northward  was  stopped  off  here,  milted 
in  planliig-mllls  and  forwarded  as  a  dressed  product  to  the  Kast.  In  the  forests  out  of 
which  (Genesee  county  wns  caii-ed  were  great  sections,  or,  lu  mining  terms,  pockets  of 
hardwood,  and  iu  the  clearing  process  such  came  to  Flint  In  vast  (juantltlee  In  the  shape 
of  bolts.  To  convert  Ihese  Into  barrels,  or  barrel  material,  was  another  manufiicturlng 
interest,  which  lasted  for  some  time  after  the  pine  tumliering  had  practically  ceased  and 
was  one  of  the  many  industries  into  which  manufacturing  business  resolved  Itself  as  the 
siiiireme  Ininbering  interests  were  dissolving  Into  fragments.  So  the  planing  and  stave- 
niills  suiierseded  the  wiw-mills  and  the  lumber  workers  were  still  in  demand.  Tbeir 
earnings  still  Bwelled  the  sum  total  of  domestic  tranB,ictb>us;  their  fiimilies  still  formcil 
part  of  the  social  body  and  their  children  were  growing  uii  for  future  conmiereial 
ncdvlties. 

As  the  himiiering  dei'lineil,  Mime  of  the  oiieratives  iiurchaweil  farms  for  themselves 
in  the  oiieniLigs  and  began  working  their  own  destinies.  The  agricultural  resources  of 
llie  lo<-allt)-  had  vastly  Incre.ised  as  the  cuitivateil  aress  enlarged  and  Flint  was  the 
market  center.  The  Thread  grlst-nilll  was  at  the  high  tide  of  its  activity;  hiid  been 
rebuilt  as  a  thoi'inigiily  ni)-to-dn1e  mei-cbant  mill,  and  was  buying  all  grain  offered, 
milling  it  into  Hour  and  shi]>piiig  it  far  and  wide.  The  Genesee  Flouring  Mills  had 
absorbed  the  attention   of  the   Hnniiltons  that   had  formerly   been  devoled   to   the   s;iw- 


dbyGoo<^lc 


512  GENKSKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

WHS  (listrlbutlug  it  as  a  111.1  iinfuctui-ea  iiroduct  in  nil  direotlons.  Still  ouotber,  the 
Cltj-  JlOls,  came  Into  commisaiou  because  of  the  gi'eat  agricultural  resources,  .lud  the 
flour-iiillllng  iictlilties  of  the  city  weat  a  long  way  toward  beeping  up  the  aggregate  of 
busine'is  that  might  drop  off  by  reason  of  the  decline  in  lumbering.  The  Thread  Mill 
has  lieeii  burneil  down,  but  the  other  two  mills  have  changed  their  equipment  to  modem 
requirements  and  are  in  continuous  operation,  Tlieir  capacity  is  far  beyond  the  local 
anpiily  and  thej-  ship  in  miiny  cais  of  grain  and  distribute  in  all  directions  ninny  cars 
of  iiiflliag  iiroducts.  Not  only  uas  the  grain  marketing  and  milling  active,  but  ail  farm 
products  of  the  section  were  pouring  into  the  food  store-houses  of  the  world  through  the 
assembling  point  of  Flint  mid  !ihiiii)ing  increns^ed  rather  than  diminished  from  year  to 
year.  This  is  equally  true  today  and.  while  not  strictly  to  be  classed  as  a  uinnufac- 
turiiig  interest,  it  would  not  be  fair  to  withhold  from  agriculture  its  full  share  &>■  a 
devolving  agency,  hand  in  hiiud  with  the  indu'Strlal  contributions. 

Men  who  had  been  employees  in  the  mills  became  proprietors  of  their  own  business, 
lie  it  what  it  might,  for  the  atmosphere  of  prosperity  was  here,  and  the  spirit  was  buoy- 
antly "Forward."  They  created  avenues  into  which  latent  talent  could  turn  and  were 
I'esponslble  for  the  new  lines  of  manufacturing,  which  was  assuming  n  di\ersifled  charac- 
ter Instead  of  the  one  great  interest,  lumber.  The  agricultural  prosperity  naturally 
dictated  a  factory  to  supply  famiing  tools  and  for  several  years  such  an  industry,  includ- 
ing foundrj-,  machine  Rhop.  wood  working  and  finishing,  was  a  prosperous  and  aggres- 
sive Institution,  employing  nianj'  oijerativee.  Another  result  of  agricultural  expansion 
wan  a  factory  making  creameries,  and  it  was  a  power  in  educating  the  farmers  into  a 
proper  appreciation  of  the  laliie  of  their  grazing  lands  and  cows.  A  soap  factory  was 
another  Industiy  that  was  eminently  prosperous  and  accumulated  wealth.  Unostenta- 
tiously this  wealth  was  invested  and  was  steadily  increased  into  an  estate  of  generous 
proportions  Through  those  years  of  accumulating,  the  owner  cherished  a  tbought  of 
returning  to  the  city  that  gave  film  his  home  and  competency,  a  monument  of  his  grateful- 
ness. Therefore,  when  Jauie*  J.  Hurley  was  called  to  his  eternal  reit  it  was  found 
that  he  bad  generously  endowed  a  hospital  for  the  city  of  Flint. 

Pump  factories  added  then  usefulu^s  to  the  needs  of  the  developing  country  and 
contriliiited  to  the  nf^regate  of  the  city's  manufacturing,  until  the  more  modern  drlie- 
weli  largely  replaced  the  wooden  pump.  Broom  factories  have  been  a  part  of  the 
manufacturing  Interests  for  many  years.  The  manufacture  of  clothing,  both  for  men 
and  women,  has  at  different  times  been  of  importance.  A  shoe  factory  was  organized 
here  at  one  time,  hoping  to  deieiop  a  business  alrmg  lines  that  have  made  other  locali- 
ties wealthy;  but  conditions  were  not  favorable  and  after  a  year  or  two  it  was  dis- 
mantled. A  table  factory  was  another  institution  that  offered  work  to  craftsmen  in 
wood,  and  for  several  years  did  a  large  business  and  drew  generous  earnings  to  the 
city.  The  receding  of  the  lumber  supply  made  operations  too  expensive,  and  Its  activities 
ceased.  Before  Eegole-Fox  &  Company  suspended  lumbering  oi>eratIons  they  had  pro- 
videtl  for  utilizing  their  property  for  further  manufacturing  enterprises.  The  water- 
power  site  was  sold  to  F,  R,  Lewis,  who  organized  a  paper  manufacturing  Industry, 
making  a  market  for  all  the  surplus  straw  of  the  farming  community.  His  product 
was  straw  wrapping  paper  and  straw  board.  Eventually  there  was  added  a  plant  utllis: 
Ing  this  straw  hoard  in  making  egg  crates  In  large  quantities. 

Cigars  came  to  be  manufactured  In  Flint  in  1875,  when  Myer  Ephraim  started  a 
little  shop.  Others  were  attracted  to  the  business  and  succeeded.  Oraduated  from 
Ephraim  factory,  they  essayed  a  business  career  for  themselves,  or  employees  became 
emidoyers.  So  new  factories  were  created  and  they  seemed  invariably  to  fill  a  need  and 
increased  the  abrogate  of  business.    Gradually  Flint  has  come  to  be  a  cigar  manufac- 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  513 

tutiiit,  leuti^r  Hitii  a  cLozeu  1  irge  tnttunes  mikiU);  lud  ihipiim^  tliuub,tti<lH  of  ilollais 
wortU  of  uiiinufactured  tobticco  nuimiTllj  mid  distributing  good  eamiugB  to  the  hun 
ilreds  of  skilled  operutl\es  The  trjuelhig  forces  of  these  factories  co^ei  a  wide  terri 
tory  iiKl  I  1  irge  clientele  looks  to  I  lint  foi  theli  ilfcoi  itocks  It  I&  to  the  ciedlt  of  tlie 
iiidustiT  that  he.LlthfuI  ctnditions  toi  woili  preiiill  in  all  the  futtones  \uA  thit  the 
liroflfs  lime  lidded.  «ot  a  little  to  home  DinUng  in  the  city 

The  oulv  factory  of  it**  klud  lii  the  world  was  the  announcement  of  mother 
Institution  stinted  piluiiiillj  to  iiitiodufe  1  llhit  Inientlon  )  noiel  rtiohing  deilce 
for  disiilajing  hats 

But  it  so  happened  that  the  uianuf  ictuie  of  vehicles  has  come  to  le  the  dominant 
but  bj  no  me.1118  the  sole  Interests  of  Industilil  Flint  aud  aiound  the  word  Vehkle 
are  now  unified  all  of  lifes  phases  for  nianj  iiidit iduals  finiilies  societies  ud  bu'a 
ness  inteiests  of  the  citv  In  ISCS  1\  i  I'atei-aon  came  to  Flint  started  a  small 
Laiihige  ami  repait  shop  and  therein  was  bom  the  industiy  that  has  come  to  be 
Flints  iiide  fhls  business  n  is.  for  min\  learw  almost  eutireh  locil  In  ch  iracter 
and  of  e\eeediiiglj  modest  lolume  but  bv  the  foice  of  splendidly  directed  efforts  it  has 
ad^auied  to  a  commanding  commeicial  position  Tlie  Begoleto^;  Sc  Cimpanj  lumber 
vard  hecame  the  stte  of  the  Flint  W  agou  Works 

In  !«%  fl  C  Dunnt  became  onnei  of  i  pitent  on  a  load  cirt  and  Inilted  J  D 
Dort  to  join  hini  In  the  mannf  ictnring  venture  nhkh  eventuated  in  the  lirgest  manu 
factuiln?  institution  of  the  citj  the  Duriiit  Doit  Cirri  ige  rimpaiii  and  it&  allied 
Interests  The  leal  Intioduetlou  of  all  thiee  of  these  big  factotles  to  the  market  of  the 
Borid  wai  thiough  the  road  cart  which  enjoyed  a  wonderful  wave  of  populartt*  from 
ISST  to  1W)5  iind  In  the  manufictuie  of  nhkh  all  three  Institutions  were  hea'^llv 
laiolied  duiing  that  period  looking  down  upon  this  industn  fioin  the  heights  of 
present  kiuwledge  It  ilmost  seems  as  though  idvauced  sheets  of  the  book  of  futurity 
might  haie  lieen  sprend  out  befoie  those  lenponRlble  for  the  mamgement  It  was  nit 
foitune  but  huslnebS  ability  and  hosinesa  foieaight  that  has  giien  Flint  this  pre 
emlnente  is  time  passed  along  a  fixed  puriiose  formed  and  a  steady  advance  towird 
the  attamiiieiit  of  thit  impose  has  mule  Flint  the  Vehicle  Clt\  Also  as  the  indus 
try  his  adiaiiced  men  nhoMe  e\perlence  «nd  tialning  with  the  gioning  industiy  have 
m  Lde  them  valuable  have  been  diawn  within  the  circle  of  ndministiation  hi^e  been 
idmitted  Into  councils  have  been  assigned  to  executive  positions  and  bj  their  eipe- 
rience  and  their  genius  have  contributed  theli  auota  to  Flints  sucreea  Around  the 
home  of  the  complete  vehicle  ire  clu^teied  factoiles  for  many  of  the  component  jcces 
sorles  iiid  with  the  very  fact  of  manuf  icturhig  itself  has  come  the  idea  of  a  manu 
factuimg  distikt  eaulpi  ed  with  eveiv thing  conducive  to  ideal  working  conditions 
coupled  with  homes  ind  enjoyable  eniiionment  readily  accessible  The  very  natuie 
of  tin   I   iniii„     f  the  present  pi  ints  hithn  ites  the  eventual  conihig  of  more 


llii  s  I  iiiuti  tun  11.  leiekimeut  wis  iie\ti  charactcii^eJ  Iv  \  ki  imble  to  tike 
idvnitit,e  of  e^lstlnfe  loiidition"  but  came  ibout  m  m  ordeih  w  iv  as  needs  weie  felt 
the  lesiKniae  came  upon  that  feolid  foundation  which  with  business  judfemeut 
Insures  success  In  the  earlj  days  of  the  canlage  Industry  W  F  Stewart  commenced 
making  buggv  bodies  and  wood  woik  His  experiences  have  leen  but  those  of  the  indus 
try  to  which  he  was  allied  and  b>  thought  study  and  energv  he  kept  pace  with 
its  uiaich  of  iiiogress  tnd  ccntributed  a  goodly  propoition  to  the  sum  total  of  Flint  b 
commercialism      'ki  the  AiniHtrong  Spring  Works  came  int  >  existence  ind  has  justi 


dbyGoo<^lc 


514  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

fled  Its  riglit  to  be  coutiuue'l  and  iacrcasiug  usefultiei;^.  (ju  c-.iuie  tbe  Imperial  Wheel 
Pprnpany,  an  institution  known  nli  over  vehiclerloni  as  the  lai^est  nad  best  wheel  iJiout 
In  the  world.  Its  equipment  includes  uillls  and  forest  areas  In  the  South  to  supply 
Its  timber  requirements.  The  history  of  the  automobile  industry  would  show  that  at 
about  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  ceiituiy  it  hod  passed  aU  esperimental  stages  and 
was  a  fixed  element  lii  the  world's  business.  The  management  of  the  wheel  plant, 
perceiving  the  possibilities,  promptly  equippeil  its  factory  to  supply  jiutomobile  wheels 
and  today  Fimt  furnishes  the  majority  of  these  wheels  for  American  cars.  Attracted 
by  the  vehicle  interests,  the  Flint  Axle  WortM  established  a  plant  In  farm  lands  just 
outside  the  city  limits,  but  the  municipal  bouudaries  were  soon  e^cpanded  to  insure  It 
lire  and  police  protection.  The  Flint  Varnish  Works  soon  followed  into  the  same  local 
Ity,  Icnown  as  Oak  Park,  where  an  ideal  manufacturing  center  was  created.  The 
Michigan  Paint  Company  has  a  history  like  many  other  industries  more  or  less  allied 
to  the  vehicle  interests — of  a  small  beginning  and  expansion.  The  Flint  Woolen  Mills, 
which  were  so  important  in  early  development,  were  later  discontinued.  The  Flint 
Specialty  Company  makes  the  whipsockets  of  the  world.  A  tnnnery  was  establisheil 
to  moke  carriage  leathers  and  another  factorj-  furnishes  biigsj-  boots,  aprons  and  cut 
leather  necessities.  This  detail  is  not  exploitation,  but  an  exposition  of  the  result  of 
concentrating  eveiy  fibre  of  business  ability  and  thought  into  clinnnels  of  progress  along 
a  specific  line.  Modem  gc<%raphles  will  tell  you  that  Flint  In  noted  as  producing  more 
vehicles  than  any  other  city  in  the  world:  therefore,  it  is  not  imrtlcularly  surprising 
tliat  accessory  Interests  would  ally  themselves  with  n  locality  that  can  offer  such  a 
market  and  attract  such  attention,  and  ft  Is  easy  to  comprehend  what  a  wide  publicity 
must  result  for  Flint  when  such  an  output  Is  being  spread  over  the  earth  by  the  selling 
corps  of  ali  the  factories.  The  permanent  character  of  tlielr  eiinlpineut  is  the  beat 
comment  on  the  question  of  their  success  and  their  gi'ndualiy  tucreustng  shipments  to 
other  vehicle  centers  is  the  evidence  of  their  profitable  operation  and  exiwinsioii. 

lAke  the  lumbering  opeiiitions  of  early  years,  these  larled  vehicle  industries  have 
attracted  to  the  city,  mechanics  and  operatives  of  many  kinds.  Young  people  have  grown 
up  with  the  business  and  iiave  attained  to  i-esponsible  iwsitlons  in  divei'S  lines.  They 
h.T.ve  been  graduated  from  the  college  of  experience,  and  have  gone  as  proprietors  or 
managers  elsewhere  Merit  is  recognized  and  appreciated  while  organized  promotions 
develop  both  talent  and  loyalty.  Their  business  or  mechanical  education  Is  not  all  that 
the  management  Las  done  to  make  conditions  attractive  to  the  great  body  of  helpers 
and  co-workers  The  various  vehicle  and  accessory  companies  have  equippeil  a  splendid 
club  with  reading,  billiard,  bowling,  bath  and  gymnastic  rooms.  The  operatives  them 
selves  maintain  It,  as  well  as  a  generous  slct  and  accident  benefit  jt.'aociation.  An  organ- 
ized effort  for  beautifying  landscapes  In  resident  sections  is  another  interesting  element 
of  this  community  Idea, 

[Note:  The  excellent  article  by  Mr.  Aldrlch  was  written  in  1905  and  before  the 
city  of  Flint  became  one  of  the  gi'eatest  manufacturing  centers  for  automobiles  in  the 
world.] 

FENTON. 

The  manufacturing  industries  of  Fenton  have  shown  a  steady  develop- 
ment since  the  late  fifties.  The  first  saw-mi!l  and  grist-mill  there,  built  about 
1837  on  the  Shiawassee  river  by  Wallace  Dibble,  Robert  LeRoy  and  William 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  5I5 

M.  Fenton,  did  a  great  service  for  the  settlement  of  this  part  of  the  county. 
The  old  mill  gave  place  to  one  built  on  the  same  site  by  Riker  &  Adams  in 
1S58.  This  mill  was  burned  and  a  new  one  put  tip,  later  owned  by  Messrs. 
CoKvell  and  Adams,  who  entered  into  business  in  1867.  Mr.  Colwell  was  a 
native  of  Livingston  county  and  Mr.  Adams  came  here  from  the  army  after 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  The  miii  stood  on  the  site  of  the  original  one 
built  by  LeRoy  &  Fenton,  who,  in  1876,  expended  twenty-one  thousand  dol- 
lars upon  it  in  repairs  and  improvements.  From  August  r  to  November  i, 
1877,  ten  thousand  barrels  of  flour  were  ground  at  this  mill.  The  warehouse 
was  built  in  1865  by  J.  R.  Mason  on  the  east  side  of  LeRoy  street  imme- 
diately north  of  the  railroad.  Before  the  fire  of  April  24,  1S79,  this  firm  was 
engaged  to  a  large  extent  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  coopers'  matei'ial 
and  barrels,  but  their  mills  were  destroyed  at  that  time. 

About  1855-56  Samuel  G.  Alexander  located  in  Fenton.  He  was  an 
Englishman  by  birth  and  a  practical  worker  in  woolen  cloths.  He  had  for- 
merly l>een  employed  in  the  milLs  of  the  Messrs.  Stearns,  at  Pittsfield,  Ma,ssa- 
chusetts,  and  upon  coming  to  Fenton  engaged  in  buying  wool  and  selling 
cloths  for  the  Pittsfield  mills.  He  in  time  started  a  small  woolen- factory 
here,  but  for  want  of  capital  could  do  but  little.  Finally  the  citizens  became 
interested,  and  on  the  T5th  of  October,  1864,  the  Fenton  Manufacturing 
Company  was  organized,  with  a  capital  stock  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  taken 
by  (he  principal  business  men  and  fanners  in  the  vicinity.  David  L.  La- 
tourette  was  the  heaviest  stockholder.  A  large  factory  was  built  and  fur- 
nished, at  a  cost  of  about  sixty-four  thousand  dollars,  and  the  material 
manufactured  was  of  the  first  quality.  For  some  time  an  extensive  business 
was  transacted.  In  January,  1868,  the  stock  was  increased  to  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  Upon  the  failure  of  Mr.  Latourette  in  1S71  and  the  conse- 
quent collapse  of  his  bank,  the  woolen- factory  was  forced  to  suspend  opera- 
tions. A.  Wakeman  became  Latourette's  assignee.  The  factory  long  stood 
idle,  and  its  price  to  any  purchaser  continued  to  decrease  until  finally  it  was 
bought  in  the  spring  of  1873  by  Mr.  Wakeman's  son,  L.  E.  Wakeman,  F.  H. 
Wright  and  J.  H.  Earl  (the  latter  of  Flint),  for  eight  thousand  dollars,  the 
firm  name  being  Wright.  Wakeman  &  Company.  Mr,  Wright  purchased  a 
half-interest,  .'\fter  the  great  panic  of  1873  they  continued  business-  until 
thev  had  sunk  all  their  capital  and  the  stockholders  generally  had  lost.  They 
were  finally  obliged  to  close  up  and  make  an  assignment  for  the  benefit  of 
their  creditors.  Since  then  the  factory  had  not  been  in  use  up  to  the  time 
it  was  destroyed,     ft  h:iil  fnniishcil  pitiplnytnent  for  as  many  as  thirty  hands 


dbyGoot^lc 


5l6  GENESEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN, 

and  was  closed  in  October,  1877.  It  was  subsequently  purchased  on  a  mort- 
gage by  George  L.  Lee,  of  Detroit,  who  owned  it  when  it  was  burned  (April 
24.  1879).     Its  destruction  caused  a  total  loss  to  him,  as  it  was  uninsured. 

A  steam  carding-mill  and  wool-manufacturing  house  was  erected  in 
1871  by  S.  G.  Alexander  &  Son.  after  the  closing,  at  that  time,  of  the  fac- 
tory. It  was  subsequently  transformed  into  a  cotton-batting  factory  by  the 
same  persons. 

The  subject  of  building  a  fruit-preserving  factory  at  Fenton  was 
broached  to  the  citizens  of  the  place  in  March,  1873,  through  the  columns  of 
the  Fenton  Gazette  by  Charles  A.  Keeler,  but  it  was  not  until  1876  that  it 
was  established.  The  dryer  first  put  in  proved  unsatisfactory  and  the  pro- 
prietors, Messrs.  Buskirk  and  Eritton,  inserted  a  Williams  machine  in  its 
place,  which  dried  the  fruit  very  rapidly  and  without  changing  its  color.  In 
the  fall  of  that  year  (1876)  one  hundred  bushels  of  apples  were  dried  daily. 
The  institution  was  destroyed  with  i^thers  equally  unfortunate  iti  the  great 
fire  of  April  24,  1879. 

The  Rose  Manufacturing  Company  was  incorporated  under  the  general 
laws  of  Michigan  on  January  31,  1S7Q.  It  had  commenced  fitting  up  a 
building  at  Fenton  about  the  iirst  of  the  previous  December  and  early  in 
March  following  began  operations.  It  had  purchased  all  the  machinery, 
fools,  etc.,  of  the  Ypsilanti  Whip-Socket  Manufacturing  Company  and,  be- 
sides the  new  varieties,  it  made  all  the  styles  formerly  manufactured  by  the 
company  named.  The  stock  of  the  Rose  Manufacturing  Company  was  orig- 
inally ten  thousand  dollars.  George  P.  Rose,  the  patentee  of  most  of  the 
varieties  of  sockets  made,  was  the  general  manager,  superintending  the  entire 
work. at  the  factor)'.  The  main  office  and  depository  was  at  Nos.  71  and  73 
Jefferson  avenue,  Detroit.  The  goods  made  were  at  that  time  undoubtedly 
the  finest  the  country  produced.  The  rooms  in  use  occupied  three  stories 
of  a  building  at  the  north  end  of  LeRoy  street,  erected  for  a  carriage-manu- 
factory by  Cole,  Kimball  &  Campbell.  This  half  of  the  building  was  twenty- 
two  by  sixty  feet  in  dimensions.  The  motive-power  was  furnished  by  a 
twenty-horse  power  engine.  Mr.  Rose  had  been  engaged  in  this  business 
for  some  time  before  coming  to  Fenton.  About  thirty-five  varieties  of  sockets 
were  originally  manufactured,  A  fine  japanning  oven  was  one  of  the  fea- 
tures of  the  establishment,  in  which  one  thousand  could  be  japanned  at  once. 
Malleable  iron  sockets  were  cast  from  patterns  made  by  Mr.  Rose.  Tubular 
sockets  were  also  made  and  an  extensive  trade  was  worked  up  from  the  very 
beginning. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  517 

On  south  LeRoy  street  was  a  large  brick  building  which  was  erected 
originally  by  Messrs.  Hirst  and  Boyes  for  use  as  a  grist-mill  and  oil-mill.  I 
was  operated  by  them  about  a  year  and  was  purchased  in  i86g  by  A.  J. 
Phillips,  who  converted  it  into  a  pump  and  safe  factory.  Mr.  Philhps  manu- 
factured very  fine  iron  and  porcelain-) ined  pumps,  double  and  single  water- 
drawers  and  milk-safes  of  all  kinds.  Planing,  matching,  sawing  and  resaw 
ing,  turning,  etc.,  were  also  done  to  order  and  a  good  business  was  transacted 
annually. 

Thomas  Whittle  had  operated  a  brewery  on  a  small  scale  previous  to 
1870  in  a  building  north  of  the  river  and  west  of  T^Roy  street.  In  the  year 
named  he,  in  company  with  Messrs.  Colwell  and  Adams,  built  a  brick  brewery. 
About  1854-56  a  foundry  was  started  by  Henry  VanAlstine,  who  came  to 
Fenton  from  Byron,  Shiawassee  county.  Besides  numerous  other  articles, 
he  manufactured  what  were  known  as  "Empire"  plows  and  had  a  fair  cus- 
tom. The  establishment  was  later  owned  by  Messrs.  L.  Fitch  and  son.  The 
Messrs.  Fitch  were  proprietors  of  this  foundry  from  the  fall  of  1873.  Mr. 
Fitch,  Sr.,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Oakland  county,  having  removed  to 
the  township  of  Oxford,  from  Genesee  county,  New  York,  in  1S39. 

The  Fenton  Novelty  Works  were  established  by  H,  S.  Andrews  about 
April  I,  1878.  Picture-frames  in  all  styles,  rustics,  brackets,  etc.,  were  manu- 
factured. Mr.  Andrews  was  one  of  the  earliest  emigrants  from  New  York 
to  Michigan.  In  1820,  when  a  boy,  he  came  with  his  father,  Ira  Andrews, 
upon  the  steamer  "Wa!k-in-the-Water."  the  first  upon  Lake  Erie,  from 
Buffalo,  New  York,  to  Detroit,  where  his  father  became  one  of  the  early 
hotel-keepers.  Mr.  Andrews,  Sr.,  afterwards  removed  to  West  Bloomfieid. 
Oakland  county,  and  died  at  Birmingham.  In  1844  H.  S.  Andrews  worked 
at  his  trade,  that  of  blacksmith,  in  Fenton,  subsequently  moved  away,  but 
ultimately  returned.  For  years  before  moving  here  he  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  region  and  when  a  boy  was  personally  acquainted  with  Rufus 
Stevens,  the  first  settler  in  Grand  Blanc.  Mr.  Andrews  for  some  time  owned 
and  kept  the  Andrews  House,  in  Fenton,  later  King's  Hotel.  He  wrote 
numerous  historical  articles  for  the  press,  all  interesting  descriptions  of  the 
early  settlement  of  the  region  which  was  so  long  his  home. 

The  onlv  establishment  operated  in  1880  by  water  (since  the  burning  of 
the  saw-mills)  was  the  grist-mill  of  Colwell  &  Adams,  and  this  not  entirely. 
Steam  was  used  to  a  great  extent,  especially  in  case  of  low  water,  and  the 
same  motive-power  was  also  utilized  in  other  manufactories.  The  Shia- 
wassee river,  although  but  a  small  stream,  furnished  a  remarkable  amount 


dbyGoot^lc 


5l8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

of  power,  and  that  without  flooding  as  extensive  a  tract  as  would  be  supposed 
from  the  nature  of  its  shores.  Later,  the  Phillips  family,  father  and  sons, 
operated  one  of  the  largest  window  screen  factories  in  the  country. 


At  l''lushing  a  woolen  factory  and  carding  machine  was  early  operated. 
It  was  finally  discontinued  in  that  capacity  and  became  part  of  a  flouring- 
mill,  which  was  afterwards  burned.  A  saw-mill  on  the  west  side  of  the  river 
was  originally  built  by  Messrs.  Cull  and  Warner  for  a  sash-factory.  A 
furnace  near  the  west  end  of  the  bridge  was  originally  built  for  an  ashery 
by  Mr.  Henderson,  of  Flint,  and  converted  into  a  furnace  by  Ogden  Clarke. 
Green  &  Langdon  used  it  for  a  time  as  an  ashery.  A  shingle-factory  on 
the  north  side  of  the  street,  west  of  the  bridge,  belonged  to  Mr.  Willett,  and 
a  saw-mill  and  rake-factory  near  it  was  owned  by  Mrs.  Henry  French  and 
managed  by  Smith  &  Martin.  The  village  contained  also  the  usual  number 
of  mechanic-shops  found  in  a  place  of  its  size.  There  is  no  location  in 
Michigan   furnishing   better   advantages    for   manufacturing   than   Flushing, 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XV. 
Banks  and  Banking. 

When  uiie  ascends  marble  steps  into  some  wonder  of  tlie  American 
buikiers'  art ;  as  he  moves  through  offices  magnificently  finished,  with  a  long 
line  of  wickets,  behind  which  are  a  crowd  of  bookkeepers,  collectors  and 
messengers;  as  he  sees  desk  after  desk  occupied  by  sharp-eyed  officers  and 
assistants ;  as  he  notes  with  what  smoothness  and  consummate  ease  the  busi- 
ness is  divided  and  handled,  like  some  huge  power  machine,  made  of  the 
finest  metal— he  is  struck  with  admiration  for  a  thing  so  immense,  so  far- 
reaching,  yet  so  graceful  and  perfect.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  that  the 
science  which  it  is  practicing  and  developing— the  science  of  banking  and 
finance— had  a  beginning  long  ago,  in  the  days  of  rude,  undeveloped  barter- 
ing. It  is  a  far  reach  from  the  days  of  trade  when  the  medium  of  exchange 
was  a  string  of  pelts,  a  sack  of  meal,  or  a  few  green  beads,  to  this  age  of 
intricate  business  system,  but  our  task  in  this  chapter  will  be  to  give  in  brief 
the  history  of  banking  in  Genesee  county. 

In  March,  1837,  two  months  after  Michigan  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  a  state,  a  general  banking  law  was  enacted,  making  the  banking 
business  free  to  all  persons.  The  early  banks  of  Genesee  county  were  inaug- 
urated under  this  law.  The  general  provisions  of  the  law  were  fairly  drawn, 
except  that  in  the  two  most  important  features — security  to  the  bill  holders 
and  a  bona  fide  capita!  to  secure  the  depositors — they  were  inadequate.  The 
capital  must  not  be  less  than  fifty  thousand  dollars  or  more  than  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  The  issue  could  be  two  and  one-half  times  the  capital 
paid  in.  The  issue  should  not  exceed  seven  per  cent,  on  discounts,  and  the 
banks  were  required  to  make  semi-annual  dividends,  thus  assuring  the  banks' 
ability  to  do  this.  The  security  for  the  payment  of  the  banks'  obligations 
were  to  be  the  specie  in  the  vaults  of  the  corporation  and  bonds  and  mort- 
gages on  real  estate  to  be  held  by  the  bank  commissioner.  Few,  if  any, 
banks  had  this  specie,  though  the  law  required  thirty  per  cent  of  the  capital 
to  be  paid  in  "legal  money  of  the  United  States,"  These  specie  deposits  fur- 
nished little  reliable  security.  The  bank  commissioner,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
examine  the  banks  once  in  three  months,  was  often  deceived,  for  one  bank 


dbyGoot^lc 


520  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

would  inform  another  as  to  the  advent  of  this  official,  thus  giving  each  one  an 
opportunity  to  secure  sufficient  funds  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  bank- 
ing department. 

These  pioneers  of  finance  were  not  without  strategy.  A  good  story  has 
been  told  in  Abbott's  history  of  an  ex-governor  of  Michigan,  who  in  going 
from  one  bank  to  another  on  his  trip  of  inspection,  thought  he  noticed  a 
familiar  look  in  the  boxes  containing  the  silver.  After  reaching  the  end  of 
his  route,  though  finding  all  the  banks  supplied  with  specie,  he  suddenly 
turned  back  and,  re-examining  the  banks,  found  all  but  one  without  coin. 
This  was  the  system  of  banking  in  the  early  days  of  Genesee  county,  the 
overthrow  of  which  so  shocked  the  state,  financially,  that  many  years  elapsed 
before  a  recovery  from  its  effect  was  manifest. 

One  of  these  "wild  cat"  banks  began  operations  in  Flint  in  the  winter  of 
1S37-38,  under  the  name  "Genesee  County  Bank."  The  bank  was  in  a  one- 
story  wooden  building  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Saginaw  and  Fourth 
streets,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  building 
was  afterward  moved  to  Ann  Arbor  street  and  converted  into  a  dwelling. 
The  president  of  the  "Genesee  County  Bank"  was  A.  A.  Haskell  and  its 
cashier,  R.  F.  Stage.  In  time  the  credit  of  the  bank  reached  such  a  point 
that  its  script  was  not  worth  even  its  former  value,  ten  cents  on  a  dollar  in 
gold  and  silver,  and  it  was  forced  to  suspend  in  April,  1839,  leaving  a  large 
amount  of  worthless  script  unredeemed.  There  were  several  of  these  "wild 
cat"  banks  in  the  county,  the  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank  now  having  in 
its  possession  a  relic  of  these  wild  years  of  finance,  a  bank  note  issued  on 
the  "Farmers  Bank  of  Flint  River  Rapids." 

Besides  these  two  banks,  there  was  another  "wild  cat"  Ijank  at  Good- 
rich, which  issued  irregular  currency — -$1.50,  $1.75,  $2.50,  and  so  on.  This 
bank  was  also  forced  to  suspend  operations  in  the  spring  of  1838. 

During  the  years  when  the  county  had  no  legitimate  banking  house,  the 
legal  tender  was  gold  and  the  private  banks  were  usually  located  in  an  old 
stocking  or  a  corner  in  the  loft.  Russell  Bishop,  who  had  come  to  Genesee 
county  in  1836,  was  at  that  time  receiver  of  the  United  States  land  office 
and  was  often  the  custodian  of  thousands  of  dollars.  On  a  number  of 
occasions  he  drove  to  Detroit,  a  two-days  trip,  with  as  much  as  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  in  gold  stowed  away  in  the  bottom  of  the  wagon. 

Land  during  the  thirties  could  be  purchased  for  as  little  as  a  dollar  and 
a  quarter  an  acre.  About  this  time  speculators  bought  up  large  tracts  from 
the  government,  which  took  its  pay  in  the  paper  currency  of  the  day.  Banks 
of  the  "wild  cat"  iiature  had  sprung  up  all  over  the  country,  issuing  currency 


dbyGoot^lc 


Cl^NK.SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  52I 

whose  circulation  was  poorly  secured,  and  failures  were  numerous,  occasion- 
ing much  distress  to  the  people.  In  1836  President  Jackson  issued  his  fam- 
ous "Specie  Circular,''  which  directed  all  pubhc  officers  to  receive  and  pay 
out  coin  only.  This  put  banks  issuing  their  own  paper  at  a  stand-still  and  a 
panic  occurred  in  1837,  but  the  circular  was  instrvimental  in  bringing  this 
kind  of  speculation  to  a  close. 

When  Genesee  county  had  recovered  from  the  "wild  cat"  banking  of 
the  late  thirties,  it  had  some  bitter  experience  as  a  guide  for  future  banking 
operations.  The  first  bank  to  operate  in  Flint  was  the  private  bank  of  Will- 
iam Paterson  and  George  Ha2eIton,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  present 
Citizens  Commercial  and  Savings  Bank,  the  capital  being  furnished  by  a 
brother  of  Mr.  Hazelton.  In  due  time,  however,  the  financial  backing  of 
the  bank  was  withdrawn  and  the  balance  of  the  cash  on  hand,  together  with 
the  cashier,  Mr.  I'aterson,  disappeared,  and  neither  has  ever  been  heard  of 
since. 

Another  of  the  early  banks  of  Flint  was  the  private  bank  of  A.  W. 
Brockwa)'.  Mr.  ]irockwa>'  was  an  Eastern  gentleman  who  had  come  to 
Michigan  and  engaged  in  business  in  Flint,  erecting  the  building  on  Saginaw 
street  now  owned  by  Smith,  Bridgtnan  &  Company.  This  bank,  which 
occupied  a  corner  of  the  building,  was  successful  during  its  existence  and 
supplied  a  much-needed  business  want  at  the  time. 

Among  the  first  of  the  legitimate  banking  houses  was  the  Exchange 
Bank,  opened  by  the  firm  of  Meigs,  Stone  &  Witherbee  in  1858,  Mr.  Meigs 
coming  from  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  Mr.  Stone  from  Sandy  Hill,  New 
Jersey.  These  two  gentlemen  formed  a  partnership  with  Austin  B.  Wither- 
bee, who  had  come  with  his  parents  from  the  East  to  Flint  in  1841. 

Mr.  Witherbee  ha<l  grown  up  from  Ijoyhood  in  Flint,  being  well  and 
favorably  known  to  everyone  in  the  count)'.  He  became  known  throughout 
Michigan  as  a  banker  of  integrity  and  judgment,  and  the  bank  was  mainly 
organized  through  his  personal  efforts.  He  inspired  such  confidence  in  the 
directors  of  the  institution  that  the  management  was  almost  entirely  entrusted 
to  his  discretion.     His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Col.  F.  H.  Thomson, 

The  Exchange  Bank,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Witherbee,  proved 
a  great  financial  success.  In  the  spring  of  1864,  Mr.  Witherbee  purchased 
the  interests  of  Messrs.  Meigs  and  Stone,  and  became  sole  owner  of  the 
bank  imtil  the  organization  nf  the  First  National  Bank  in  1865,  of  which  he 
took  the  cashiership,  with  H,  M.  Henderson  as  president,  and  O.  F.  Fo'r.syth 
as  vice-president. 

Henry  M.  Henderson,  one  of  the  early  .settlers  of  the  county,  came  to 


dbyGoot^lc 


522  GENESEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Michigan  in  1836  from  Livingston  county.  New  York.  He  was  engaged  in 
the  dry  goods  business  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  James,  and  together 
they  built  the  Henderson  block  in   1842. 

O.  F.  Forsyth  came  to  the  West  from  New  York  state  and  engaged  in 
the  hardware  business  in  Fhnt  with  James  H.  Whiting,  in  the  store  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Saginaw  and  East  Kearsley  streets,  now  occupied  by 
the  United  Cigar  Company.  He  also  built  the  home  on  the  corner  of  Beach 
and  Third  streets,  which  was  afterward  purchased  by  Henry  M.  Mclntyre, 
and  is  now  owned  by  St.  Matthew's  Catholic  parish.  Mr.  Forsyth  afterward 
removed  to  Bay  City,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  hardware  business,  and 
in  later  years  conducted  a  wholesale  establishment  in  Detroit. 

The  bank  was  organized  with  a  capital  paid  in  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  and  with  the  following  named  gentlemen  as  directors :  H.  M.  Hen- 
derson, O.  F.  Forsyth,  A.  B,  Witherbee,  George  Crocker,  William  M.  Fen- 
ton,  William  E.  McCrecry,  Benjamin  Pearson,  E.  H.  McQuigg  and  K.  C. 
Turner. 

All  of  these  directors  were  business  men  of  sagacity  and  influence 
throughout  the  county.  E.  H.  McQuigg,  who  was  born  in  Tioga  county, 
New  York,  in  1807,  arrived  in  Flint  in  1855,  and  previous  to  his  removal 
to  the  West  had  been  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  on  a  five-hundred-acrc 
farm  in  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna.  After  taking  up  his  residence  in 
Flint  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  with  F.  F.  Hyatt  and  E,  C.  Turner, 
but  the  firm  afterwards  disposed  of  their  interests  to  Governor  Crapo,  re- 
taining all  their  pine  lands.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  Mr.  Mc- 
Quigg was  one  of  ten  men  to  subscribe  to  a  fund  of  five  thousand  dollars  to 
assist  in  getting  the  first  soldiers  into  the  field  from  Michigan. 

George  Crocker,  another  of  the  directors  of  the  institution,  was  widely 
known  throughout  the  county.  He  came  to  Genesee  county  from  Devon- 
shire, England,  in  the  spring  of  1837,  and  purchased  from  the  government 
four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Flint  township.  In  1842  he  was  joined  by  his 
younger  brother,  Stephen,  who  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
the  land,  paying  for  the  same  in  cash.  With  this  capital,  wielded  by  sagacity 
and  good  judgment,  Mr.  Crocker  ]>ecame  one  of  the  affluent  men  of  the 
county.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  common  sense,  deliberate  in  coming  to 
conclusions,  but  when  his  opinions  were  once  formed,  inflexible  in  his  pur- 
pose. As  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  bank,  one  of  its  first  directors,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  1874,  its  vice-president,  he  was  a  valuable  member 
of  its  board  of  managers. 

Benjamin  Pearson,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Genesee  county,  arrived 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  52.1 

at  Todd's  tavern,  in  Flint  River,  in  1833,  having  come  from  Avon,  Living- 
ston county,  New  York.  He  purchased  a  large  section  of  land  in  what  is 
now  the  second  ward  of  Flint  and  also  a  great  deal  of  land  in  Mt.  Morris, 
Genesee  and  adjoining  townships.  Mr.  Pearson  first  settled  in  Mt.  Morris 
township,  about  four  miles  north  of  Flint,  and  built  the  first  house  ever 
erected  in  that  township.  He  became  widetj'  known  throughout  Genesee 
county  and  was  associated  with  all  of  its  early  development.  He  was  one 
of  the  original  vestrymen  of  St.  Paufs  irarish  and  built  the  second  frame 
house  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  afterwards  owned  by  William 
Busenbark  on  Harrison  street.  He  was  also  at  one  time  one  of  the  trustees 
of  the  Michigan  asylum  for  the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind.  His  death  occurred 
in   1867. 

Messrs.  Fenton  and  McCreery  withdrew  from  the  bank  before  the  or- 
ganization was  fully  completed.  They  were  succeeded  by  William  L.  Smith 
and  Leonard  Wesson.  William  Gibson  was  made  teller  and  acted  as  such 
for  many  years,  and  at  the  organization  of  the  Citizens  Bank  he  was  chosen 
its  cashier. 

Edward  C.  Turner,  who  was  named  as  one  of  the  directors  of  the  bank, 
was  prominent  among  those  citizens  of  the  community  who  were  closeh- 
identified  with  its  growth  and  development.  Born  in  Owego,  New  York,  in 
1830,  be  came  west  in  1855  and  located  in  Flint,  becoming  associated  with 
E,  H.  McQuigg  in  the  ownership  of  what  has  since  become  known  as  the 
Crapo  Lumber  Mills,  this  association  lasting  until  after  tlie  mill  was  sold  to 
Governor  Crapo.  Mr.  Turner  then  entered  the  mercantile  business  with 
Henry  Haynes,  the  firm  l>eing  Haynes  &  Turner.  In  company  with  Oren 
Stone,  Mr.  Turner  laid  out  Stone  and  Turner's  addition  on  the  north  side 
of  the  city.  The  Turner  homestead,  adjoining  the  Frederick  Judd  homestead 
on  East  Kearsley  street,  was  one  of  the  fine  residences  of  Flint  in  its  dav, 
Mrs.  Turner,  who  was  Miss  Cornelia  Seymour,  of  Itliaca,  New  York,  is 
.still  Hving  and  actively  interested  in  the  social  affairs  of  the  community. 
Mr.  Turner  died  in  1896. 

Leonard  Wesson  was  born  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  came  to 
Genesee  county  in  1830,  when  he  was  but  twelve  years  of  age.  He  was 
employed  by  a  mercantile  firm  in  Pontiac  and  in  1836  was  detailed  to  deliver 
a  load  of  gootls  to  Avery  &  Company  of  Saginaw.  The  trip  being  made  by 
team,  he  drove  through  Flint,  which  at  that  time  was  but  a  hamlet,  on  his 
way  to  Saginaw  passing  only  one  home  of  a  white  man,  a  Frenchman,  who 
had  a  squaw  wife.  In  1837  he  bought  a  small  stock  of  merchandise,  loaded 
it  into  a  wagon  and  drove  to  Flint,  where  he  found  a  one-room  shanty  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


5:^4  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

stayed  until  he  disposed  of  his  goods.  He  lived  at  different  times  in  several 
places  in  Genesee  county,  at  one  time  running  a  genera!  store  in  Fenton.  In 
1843  he  located  permanently  in  Fhnt,  being  for  some  time  the  partner  of 
Elijah  Witherbee,  the  firm  conducting  a  mercantile  business  on  the  site  now 
occupied  by  Zimmerman  &  Ottaway,  on  Saginaw  street.  iVIr.  Wesson  built 
the  residence  at  the  corner  of  Beach  and  Fourth  streets  afterward  owned  by 
Alonzo  Torrey.  He  afterward  owned  the  Ira  Wright  homestead,  at  the 
corner  of  Harrison  and  Second  streets,  occupied  for  the  last  forty-four  years 
by  Dr.  Orson  Millard.  Mr.  Wesson  was  actively  identified  with  the  pioneer 
life  of  the  county  and  became  a  prominent  factor  in  its  early  development. 
His   death   occurred   in    1887. 

One  of  the  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank  in  its  early  days  was 
Benjamin  Cotharin,  who,  during  his  long  life  in  the  community,  was  a  well- 
known  character.  He  reached  Flint  River  settlement  on  a  bright  morning 
in  1836,  riding  a  diminutive  pony,  with  the  tools  of  his  trade,  boot  and  shoe- 
making,  fastened  on  the  saddle  behind  him.  Meeting  Ira  D.  Wright,  one  of 
the  first  residents,  he  inquired  whether  it  was  possible  to  secure  pasture  for 
his  pony,  and  receiving  an  affirmative  reply,  made  a  bargain  at  eighteen  pence 
per  week.  Upon  inquiring  as  to  the  location  of  the  pasture,  the  reply  was 
"Anywhere  on  the  common."  Mr.  Wright,  having  received  the  first  week's 
pay  in  advance,  generously  appropriated  it  in  treating  the  bystanders.  Mr. 
Cotharin  started  his  shop  just  north  of  the  city  hall  on  Saginaw  street,  where 
he  kept  the  first  boot  and  shoe  store  in  the  county.  He  afterward  conducted 
a  large  mercantile  establishment.  Later  he  built  a  number  of  stores  in  the 
business  district  and  by  shrewdness  and  thrift  gained  a  competency  that 
enabled  him  to  retire  from  active  business  life  in  1868.  He  served  as  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank  for  twenty-nine  years.  His 
death  occurred  in  Fhnt  in  1899. 

William  L.  Smith  was  a  native  of  Middiebury,  Connecticut.  He  was 
born  in  183 1  and  came  to  Flint  with  his  half-brother,  Eli  T.  Smith,  founding 
what  is  now  the  well  known  mercantile  firm  of  Smith,  Bridgman  &  Com- 
pany. He  was  one  of  the  original  stockholders  of  Oak  Grove  Hospital  and 
a  prominent  member  of  the  Congregational  church.  His  wife,  a  woman  of 
great  intellect  and  refinement,  much  beloved  in  the  community,  was  Miss 
Anna  Olcott,  of  Woodbury,  Connecticut,  her  death  occurring  in  Fhnt  in 
1900.     Mr.  Smith  died  in  California  in  igo6. 

In  1870  H,  M.  Henderson,  who  had  engaged  in  banking  with  his  son- 
in-law,  Giles  L.  Denham,  withdrew  from  the  presidency  of  the  bank  and 
was  succeeded  by  E.  H.  McQuigg  as  president  and  George  Crocker  as  vice-   ■ 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  525 

president.  In  February,  1871,  the  cashier,  A.  B,  Witherbee,  died  and  was 
succeeded  by  Cliarles  S.  Brown,  who  had  been  connected  with  the  Old 
Exchange  Bank  in  1865  and  with  the  First  National  Bank  in  all  the  various 
positions.  Mr,  Witherbee's  death  was  severely  felt  by  all  classes  of  citizens 
in  Flint,  and  especially  by  those  engaged  in  manufacturing  and  mercantile 
pursuits. 

The  bank  finding  its  capital  not  sufficient  for  the  growing  wants  of  tlie 
city  and  county,  in  June,  1872,  increased  the  amount  to  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  In  1875,  finding  their  quarters  rather  inconvenient  and  being 
of  the  opinion  that  they  should  own  their  banking  house,  they  purchased  the 
building  of  the  Walker  brothers,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Kearsley  and 
Saginaw  streets. 

Mr.  McQuigg  was  succeeded  in  1875  by  F.  F.  Hyatt,  as  president. 
Ferris  F.  Hyatt  came  from  Hyattville,  New  York,  in  the  sixties,  and  at  once, 
on  account  of  his  wealth  and  culture,  became  influential  in  the  business  and 
social  life  of  the  town.  He  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  with  E.  H. 
McQuigg  and  Edward  C.  Turner.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Governor 
Henry  H.  Crapo,  who  died  shortly  afterward.  Mr.  Hyatt's  second  wife 
was  a  daughter  of  Doctor  Campbell,  one  of  the  early  physicians  of  Illinois. 
The  Hyatt  home  in  Flint  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  social  centers  of 
the  town.  It  still  remains  in  possession  of  the  Hyatt  family,  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  business  district  in  Flint.     Mr,  Hyatt's  death  occurred  in  1883. 

In  1880  David  S.  Fox  was  made  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
and  Charles  S.  Brown,  cashier.  David  S.  Fox  was  for  many  years  promin- 
ent in  the  business  affairs  of  the  county.  He  was  born  in  Warren  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  18 17,  his  grandfather  being  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  He  was  employed  by  a  firm  who  were  engaged  in  manufacturing 
shingles  and  acquired  his  business  training  before  coming  to  Michigan  in 
1846.  He  was  a  member  of  the  lumber  firm  of  Walker  &  Begole,  who  manu- 
factured shingles  and  also  speculated  in  timber  lands.  They  bought  large 
tracts  of  pine,  and  floated  the  logs  down  the  river  to  their  mills  at  Flint.  Mr. 
Fox  in  later  years  became  connected  with  the  Flint  Wagon  Works,  which 
afterwards  was  acquired  by  the  Chevrolet  Motor  Company.  Mr.  I*"ox  died 
in  1901. 

Charles  S.  Brown  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  E.  Brown,  the  founder 
of  St.  Paul's  iwrish  in  the  thirties.  He  was  born  in  Flint  in  1847  ^"'^ 
received  his  early  education  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut.  When  he  was  only 
seventeen  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the  army  and  fought  during  the  years 
of  the  Civil  War.     He  afterward  became  colonel  of  the  First  Regiment,  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


5^6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

then,  in  regular  line  of  succession,  became  general  of  the  Michigan  brigade. 
For  seventeen  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustes  of  the  Michigan 
scliool  for  the  deaf,  and  for  several  years  was  treasurer  of  the  institution. 
His  wife  was  Miss  Harriet  Thompson,  a  daughter  of  Claudius  Thompson,  a 
native  of  New  York  state  who  came  West  in  the  pioneer  days  and  was  one 
of  the  early  sheriffs  of  Genesee  county.  General  Brown  died  in  Flint  jn 
1904. 

Paul  H.  Stewart,  who  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
this  bank  in  1871,  came  to  the  township  of  Flint  in  1853,  his  native  home 
being  in  New  York  stjite.  He  was  born  in  1809.  A  history  of  this  county 
would  be  incomplete  without  a  mention  of  tliis  influential  citizen  who  was 
associated  for  many  years  with  the  business  life  of  Flint.  He  was  engaged 
in  the  hardware  business  at  one  time  for  a  number  of  years  and  was  after- 
ward in  the  real  estate  business.  He  was  a  memljer  of  the  vestry  of  St. 
Paul's  church.  He  owned  the  entire  block  bounded  by  Third,  Fourth,  Beach 
and  Saginaw  streets,  and  his  Iiome  was  built  near  the  corner  of  the  block 
where  the  Dresden  Hotel  now  stands.  His  wife  was  Miss  Adeline  Mather, 
who  died  in  1890,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one.  Mr.  Stewart  served  as  director 
of  this  bank  luitil  his  death. 

In  1885,  after  the  expiration  of  the  twenty-year  period,  the  bank  was 
re-chartered  as  the  FUnt  National  Bank.  About  this  time  Herman  L.  Pier- 
son,  of  Flint,  and  D.  Embury,  of  Grand  Blanc,  were  added  to  the  list  of 
directors,  Charles  F.  Draper  held  the  iwsition  of  teller  at  this  time,  after- 
ward.becoming  connected  with  the  American  Exchange  National  Bank  of 
Detroit. 

Mr.  Embury  was  a  Jiative  of  Avon,  Livingston  county,  New  York, 
being  born  in  1817,  He  was  accidentally  killed  near  his  home  in  Grand 
Blanc  in  1885.  In  1886  William  Hamilton  was  elected  a  director  and  in 
1887  Lyman  J.  Hitchcock's  name  was  added  to  the  board.  The  board  of 
directors  was  afterwards  augmented  by  the  election  of  Frank  Dullam,  S.  C. 
Randall,  John  J.  Carton,  William  McGregor  and  B.  F.  Cotharin.  In  1887 
William  Hamilton  was  elected  president  and  J.  J.  Carton,  vice-president. 

Jn  1905,  at  the  termination  of  the  twenty-year  period,  it  was  again 
chartered  as  The  Xational  Bank  of  Flint.  Austin  Witherbee  was  cashier  of 
the  bank  from  its  i>rganization  until  his  death  in  1871,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Charles  S.  Brown,  who  continued  to  serve  as  cashier  until  his 
death  in  1904.  John  J.  Carton  was  then  elected  president  in  1905,  after 
the  death  of  William  Hamilton.  Bruce  J.  Macdonald,  who  had  been  con- 
nected with  the  bank  for  manv  years  a?  teller  and  assistant  cashier,  was  made 


dbyGoot^lc 


gese:sek  county,  Michigan.  527 

cashier  in  1904  at  the  death  of  C.  S.  Brown  and  continued  to  occupy  this 
position  up  to  1916. 

John  J.  Carton  was  born  in  Clayton  township,  Genesee  county,  in  1856. 
his  father  being  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county.  He  studied  law  under 
the  guidance  of  Charles  D.  Long,  of  Flint,  afterward  judge  of  the  supreme 
court,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1884,  forming  a  partnership  with 
Ceorge  H.  Durand.  He  served  as  county  clerk  for  two  terms  and  also  as 
city  attorney  of  Flint.  Mr.  Carton  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  members 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity  of  the  state,  being  a  past  grand  master  of  the 
grand  lodge  of  Michigan,  an  active  member  of  the  supreme  council,  thirty- 
third  degree.  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  and  deputy  for  Michigan.  He 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  three  terms  in  suc- 
cession and  during  the  last  two  terms  was  speaker.  He  was  also  president  of 
the  constitutional  convention,  which  convened  at  Lansing  in  1907.  At  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Michigan  State  Bar  Association  in  1914  he  was  elected 
its  president  and  served  in  that  capacity  one  3'ear.  He  is  one  of  the  best 
known  lawyers  in  the  state  and  a  jurist  of  distinction. 

William  McGregor,  a  valuable  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  came  of  sturdy  Scottish  ancestrj'  and  was  born  in  Ixroy, 
New  York,  in  1836.  He  came  to  IHint  in  1850,  being  a  protege  of  Alex- 
ander McFarlan,  who  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business.  In  1869  Mr. 
McGregor  joined  with  William  Hamilton  in  the  purchase  of  the  mill  located 
at  the  dam  in  the  Flint  river.  This  mill  was  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  country, 
having  been  built  by  Mr.  Hamilton's  father,  John  Hamilton.  It  was  closed 
in  1875  on  account  of  the  exhaustion  of  timber.  In  connection  with  this 
mill,  the  firm  also  ran  a  large  mill  at  Bay  City,  where  they  also  operated  a 
.salt  block.  Mr,  McGregor's  wife  was  Miss  Marie  Brousseau,  of  Rochester, 
New  York,  whose  death  occurred  in  Flint  in  1913.  Mr.  McGregor  may  be 
said  to  be  a  splendid  example  of  a  self-made  man,  and  has  occupied  an  envi- 
able jwsition  in  the  business  and  financial  life  of  the  conmmnity.  He  is  in 
splendid  health  at  the  age  of  eighty-three. 

George  L.  AValker,  one  of  the  directors  of  this  bank,  was  born  in  Mt. 
Morris,  New  York,  in  1838.  His  father,  Frederick  Walker,  was  engaged 
in  the  lumbering  businet^s  in  Flint  when  it  was  a  mere  hamlet.  Mr.  Walker 
in  his  youth  was  a  clerk  for  J.  B,  Walker  in  a  building  on  the  corner  where 
the  National  Bank  building  now  stands,  on  Kearsley  and  Saginaw  streets.  ?Ie 
afterwards  entered  the  employ  of  Governor  J.  W.  Begole,  and  later  was  one 
of  the  firm  of  Begole,  Fox  &  Company,  the  firm  incorporating  in  1884  as 
tlic   }"lint   A\'agon   Works.      Tn    1887   Mr.   Walker  removed  to  Detroit  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


528  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

was  instrumental  in  organizing  tlie  Consolidated  Car  Heating  Company,  of 
Albany,  New  York,  and  was  also  interested  in  iron  mining  in  Cuba.  In 
1896  he  returned  to  Flint  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Buick  Motor 
Company,  being  vice-president  up  to  the  time  it  became  identified  with  the 
General  Motor  Company.  Mr.  Walker  is  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  having 
helped  to  make  Flint  the  progressive  city  that  it  is  today.  His  death  occurred 
in  1909. 

Samuel  C.  Randall,  who  during  his  association  with  the  National  Bank 
of  Mint,  was  a  director  and  also  vice-president,  was  born  in  V'estal,  New 
York,  and  came  to  Flint  in  the  early  fifties.  He  served  during  the  Civil 
War  and  before  its  close  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy.  He  was  for  many 
years  engaged  in  the  lumbering  business  and  was  at  one  time  mayor  of  Flint. 
He  was  a  thirty-third-degree  Mason  and  was  prominent  in  Masonic  circles 
throughout  Michigan,  a  past  grand  commander  of  Michigan  Knights  Templar. 
He  died  in  1909. 

Benjamin  F.  Cotharin  was  a  son  of  Benjamin  Cotharin,  one  of  the  early 
stockholders  of  the  bank,  and  was  elected  a  director  in  1896.  He  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  the  furniture  business  in  Flint,  in  1872  being  a  part- 
ner of  William  Charles,  the  firm  name  being  CharJes  &  Cotharin.  Mr. 
Cotharin  later  purchased  his  partner's  interest  and  conducted  the  busi- 
ness alone.  He  was  also  a  director  of  the  Flint  Water  Works  Company  and 
was  closely  connected  with  the  progress  of  Flint.  At  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1905,  he  was  the  owner  of  a  great  deal  of  valuable  resi- 
dence and  store  property. 

The  following  officers  and  directors  have  been  connected  with  this  bank 
since  its  organization:  H.  M.  Henderson,  O.  F.  F'orsyth,  A.  B.  Witherbee 
George  Crocker,  William  M.  Fenton,  William  B.  McCreery,  Benjamin  Pier- 
son,  E.  H.  McQuigg  and  E.  C.  Turner.  Other  directors  from  1871  to 
18S5  were:  D.  S.  Fox,  Paul  H.  Stewart,  Robert  W.  Dullani,  L.  W.  Cronk- 
hite,  Oscar  F.  Clarke,  David  Embury.  The  directors  since  1885  have  been: 
L.  J.  Hitchcock,  Frank  Dullam,  S.  C.  Randall,  Wm.  McGregor,  B.  F. 
Cotharin,  J.  J.  Carton,  >V.  R.  Hubbard,  Geo.  L.  Walker,  B.  J.  Macdonald, 
W.  E.  Stewart,  W.  C.  Welis,  Walter  O.  Smith,  Charles  W.  Nash,  Charles 
M.  Begole,  C.  B.  Burr. 

In  1916  the  First  National  Bank  consolidated  with  the  Genesee  County 
Savings  Bank.  By  this  consolidation  the  charter  of  the  National  Bank  of 
Flint  was  surrendered  and  the  county  is  now  without  a  national  bank. 
Experience,  however,  has  taught  that  banks  organized  under  the  state  law 
admit  of  a  large  scope  of  business  and  give  better  service  to  a  larger  num- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  529 

ber  of  patrons  than  banks  organized  under  federal  restrictions.  The  new 
bank,  as  one  of  the  big  institutions  of  the  state,  starts  out  with  an  enviable 
prestige. 

CITIZENS  COMMERCI.AL   AN]>  SAA'INGS    BANK. 

The  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Flint  was  organized  in  1871,  by  the 
election  of  the  following  gentlemen  as  directors:  iion.  William  M.  Fenton, 
Alexander  McFarlan,  J.  B.  Atwood,  Henry  Stanley,  Col.  William  B. 
McCreery,  William  Hamilton  and  J.  W.  Begole,  with  a  capital  of  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars.  William  M.  Fenton  was  elected  president,  William  Hamilton 
vice-president,  and  W.  L.  Gibson  was  made  cashier.  This  banking  institu- 
tion commanded  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  public  from  the  very  first 
day  of  its  existence.  The  gentlemen  having  its  management  were  widely 
known  as  among  the  first  m  the  county  of  Genesee  for  probity  and  integrity. 

Alexander  McFarlan  was  born  in  Montgomery  county.  New  York, 
in  1812  and,  like  thousands  of  other  active  young  men,  who  knew  no  diffi- 
culties and  obstacles  but  what  perseverance  and  honesty  would  surmount, 
followed  the  judicious  advice  of  Horace  Greeley  and  came  West.  Follow- 
ing the  pathway  made  by  the  early  French  voyageurs,  he  traveled  on  foot 
from  Chicago  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Illinois  river  and  proceeded  by  boat 
to  St.  Louis;  thence  down  the  Mississippi,  and  up  the  Ohio  to  its  junction 
with  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers,  visiting  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati 
and  Pittsburgh.  These  wanderings  consumed  what  money  Mr.  McFarlan 
had,  but  he  managed  to  reach  Caledonia,  New  York,  where  he  operated  a 
small  tannery  for  about  ten  years  before  coming  to  Flint,  where  he  pur- 
chased a  half  interest  in  the  unfinished  saw-mill  of  George  H.  Hazelton. 
Later  he  became  the  owner  of  large  tracts  of  pine  lands  in  various  parts 
of  Michigan  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  the  largest  stockholder  in 
the  Citizens  National  Bank. 

WilHam  Hamilton  carried  the  mails  from  Michigan  City  to  Chicago 
when  a  boy,  the  contract  having  been  taken  by  his  father.  He  was  bom  in 
1824  and  1843  came  with  his  parents  to  Flint,  where  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life  he  was  prominent  in  the  development  of  the  town.  He  operated 
a  flouring-mill  for  many  years,  on  a  site  now  in  the  very  heart  of  the  business 
district  of  the  city.  Following  this  he  engaged  extensively  in  the  lumbering 
business,  later  associating  himself  with  William  McGregor,  this  partnership 
lasting  for  over  thirt\^  vears.     Mr.  Hamilton  became  closely  identified  with 

(34) 


dbyGoc^lc 


530  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

the  growing  interests  of  the  community  and  in  the  seventies  was  one  of  the 
directors  who  secured  the  land  grant  for  the  railroad  running  from  Lansing 
to  Flint,  which  later  became  a  part  of  the  present  Grand  Trunk  Railway. 
In  company  with  J.  B.  Atwood,  he  built  what  is  now  known  as  the  Bryant 
Hotel  block,  which  at  that  time  was  the  one  first-class  hotel  in  the  county. 
When  establishing  the  Citizens  National  Bank  Mr.  Hamilton  and  Colonel 
Fenton  went  to  Washington  to  secure  the  charter.  Mr.  Hamilton  was  also 
engaged  in  agricultural  enterprises  and  owned  the  three-hundred-and- forty- 
acre  tract  of  land  which  is  now  a  part  of  the  enormous  factory  district  of  the 
city  of  FHnt.     His  death  occurred  in  1899. 

Henry  Stanley,  one  of  the  directors  of  this  bank,  was  a  menil^er  of 
the  Stanley  family  who  formed  what  was  known  in  Genesee  township  as  the 
,  "Stanley  settlement,"  Sherman  Stanley,  his  father,  being  one  of  the  most 
prominent  of  the  early  pioneers  of  this  locality,  coming  from  Mt.  Morris, 
New  York,  in  1835.  Soon  afterwards  he  induced  some  of  his  friends  from 
the  East  to  follow  him,  and  in  1836-37  a  number  of  families  from  the  same 
town,  including  Albert  T.  Stevens,  formed  this  small  settlement,  their  lands 
adjoining.  The  village  of  Mt.  Morris  derived  its  name  from  the  native 
home  of  these  residents.  Henry  Stanley  came  to  Flint  during  his  young 
manhood  and  engaged  in  the  grain  and  produce  business,  owning  and  oper- 
ating a  large  elevator,  the  firm  name  being  Stanley  &  Clapp.  Mr.  Stanley 
built  a  home  at  the  corner  of  Beach  and  Court  streets,  where  he  resided 
with  his  family  for  many  years.  He  was  well  known  throughout  the  county 
and  died  in  Flint  at  the  age  of  sixty-six.  His  daughter,  Miss  Imogene 
Stanley,  became  the  wife  of  Edward  Thayer,  a  brilliant  young  attorney 
and  a  son  of  Artemus  Thayer,  but  his  death  occurred  when  he  was  .still 
under  thirty  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Thayer  has  been  a  resident  for  the  past 
fifteen  years  of  Paris,  France. 

Josiah  W.  Begole,  who  was  afterward  elected  to  the  governorship  of 
the  state  of  Michigan,  came  of  French  ancestry.  His  maternal  grand- 
father, Captain  Eolles,  of  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  was  an  officer  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution  and  his  father  was  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  the 
War  of  1812.  Mr.  Begote  had  been  identified  with  the  affairs  of  Genesee 
county  from  an  early  date,  coming  with  his  parents  to  the  township  of  Mt. 
Morris  in  1816,  when  he  was  only  a  year  old.  He  was  one  of  the  members 
of  the  lumber  firm  of  Begole,  Fox  &  Company  and  his  name  added  strength 
to  the  bank  directorate. 

Within  a  period  of  three  months  from  the  time  its  doors  were  thrown 
open  to  the  public,  the  capital  was  increased  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  .531 

and  still  further  augmented  the  following  year  to  one  hundred  and  twent)'- 
iive  thousand  dollars.  The  sudden  death  of  Colonel  Kenton  in  May,  1871, 
resulted  in  a  change  of  some  of  its  officers.  William  Hamilton  was  made 
president,  Alexander  McFarlan  was  made  vice-president  and  James  Van 
Vleet  was  added  to  the  board  of  directors,  fn  January,  1876,  at  the  annual 
meeting',  a  still  further  change  in  the  management  was  made  by  the  election 
of  Alexander  McFarlan  as  president  and  Col.  William  B.  McCreery  as 
vice-president.  Still  later  (1879)  Colonel  McCreery  was  made  cashier  in 
the  place  of  Mr.  Gibson. 

William  B.  McCreery,  director  of  the  Citizens  National  Bank,  and 
afterwards  vice-president  and  cashier,  was  born  in  Mt.  Morris,  New  York, 
in  1S36,  coming  to  Genesee  county  with  his  parents  in  1839.  His  father, 
Reuben  McCreery,  built  the  old  McCreery  homestead,  afterwards  owned  by 
C.  D.  Ulmer,  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Grand  Traverse  streets.  William 
R.  McCreery  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Genesee  county  in  1859  and  practiced 
law  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War.  He  served  with  distinction, 
entering  the  service  as  a  member  of  Company  F,  Second  Michigan  Infantry, 
and  coming  home  as  colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Michigan  Infantry  Regi- 
ment, to  which  rank  he  was  promoted  in  regular  order  for  valor  on  the 
field  of  battle.  He  was  seriously  wounded  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  and 
again  at  Chickamauga.  He  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  latter  place  and  after 
a  trying  period  of  imprisonment,  escaped  from  Libby  prison  in  1864 
through  a  tunnel  which  had  been  dug  by  himself  and  a  number  of  his  fellow 
prisoners.  On  his  return  from  the  front.  Colonel  McCreery  associated  him- 
self in  the  general  merchandise  business  with  F.  W.  Judd.  He  subsequently 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  and  conducted  a  saw-mill  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  just  south  of  the  Saginaw  street  bridge.  He  was  afterwards  collector 
of  internal  revemie  for  this  district,  under  President  Grant,  and  in  1875 
was  elected  state  treasurer,  which  position  he  occupied  for  four  years.  He 
also  served  as  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  agriculture  for  seven  years, 
and  for  several  years  lie  represented  the  United  States  as  consul  general  to 
Valparaiso.  Chile,  to  which  post  he  was  apixiinted  under  the  Harrison  admin- 
istration. He  was  largely  interested  in  the  construction  of  the  extension 
of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  from  Flint  to  Lansing,  and  was  one  of  the 
original  stockholders  and  at  one  time  president  of  the  Flint  City  Water 
Works  Company.  He  was  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church  and  a 
man  of  genial  disposition.  3  good  citizen  and  a  brave  soldier.  His  death 
occurred  in  Flint  in  1896. 

His  wife,   a   gracious  and   queenly   woman,   was  Miss  AdaFenton,   a 


dbyGoot^lc 


532  (IKNKSKK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

daugliter  of  Col.  William  M.  Fenton.  Their  son,  Hon.  Fenton  R.  McCreery, 
has  been  for  twenty  ye.ir.s  in  the  diplomatic  service  of  the  United  States, 
being  for  eight  years  secretary  of  the  legation  at  Santiago,  Chile,  and  later 
for  some  years  first  secretary  of  the  embassy  in  Mexico  City.  Subsequently 
he  served  as  United  States  minister  to  Santo  Domingo  and  Honduras. 

William  L.  Gibson,  the  cashier  of  the  Citizens  National  Bank,  was 
born  in  Murray,  Orleans  county,  New  York,  in  1846.  In  his  youth  he  came 
with  his  parents  to  Michigan,  his  father,  Samuel  W.  Gibson,  being  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  old  Genesee  House,  which  stood  at  what  is  now  the  inter- 
section of  Detroit  and  North  Saginaw  streets.  Mr.  Gibson  married  Miss 
Bgssie  Bishop,  a  daughter  of  Giles  Bishop.  In  1880  he  removed  to  Jack- 
sonville, Florida,  where  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  he  was  connected  with 
one  of  the  large  banks  of  that  state.  Illness  of  a  serious  nature  incapacitated 
him  for  business  a  few  years  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Jackson- 
ville in  1904. 

James  VanVleet,  one  of  the  directors  of  this  bank,  came  from  Romulus, 
Seneca  county,  New  York,  in  1844,  to  examine  land  he  had  previously  pur- 
chased in  Gaines  township,  where  he  became  a  resident,  being  its  super- 
visor for  eighteen  years.  He  removed  to  Flint  in  1869  and  sen'ed  for  four 
years  as  county  treasurer.     His  death  occurred  in  Flint  in  191 5. 

The  Citizens  Commercial  and  Savings  Bank,  which  was  reorganized  in 
I80O  from  the  old  Citizens  National  Bank,  has  been  under  the  presidency 
of  Robert  J.  Whaley  since  its  reorganization,  a  term  of  about  twenty-six 
years.  Its  present  cashier  is  William  E.  Martin.  Hon.  Horace  C.  Spencer 
was  its  first  cashier  after  its  organization  as  a  state  bank.  Connected  with 
this  bank  are  some  of  the  best  business  men  of  the  city. 

Robert  J.  Whaley,  who  has  been  president  of  this  bank  for  twenty-six 
years  was  Irorn  in  Castile,  New  York,  in  1840.  When  he  was  twenty-seven 
years  of  age  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  McFarlan,  a  daughter  of  Alexan- 
der McFarlan,  of  Flint.  Coming  to  Flint  in  the  autumn  of  1867,  he  went 
into  the  employ  of  his  father-in-law,  who  was  at  that  time  extensively 
engaged  in  the  lumbering  business,  Mr.  Whaley  continuing  in  this  business 
until  the  death  of  Mr.  McFarlan  in  1881.  Mr.  Whaley  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  sagacious  banking  men  of  the  county,  his  comprehensive  grasp 
of  financial  affairs  having  won  for  him  an  unexcelled  reputation  for  busi- 
ness acumen. 

Horace  C,  Spencer,  the  first  cashier  of  the  Citizens  Commercial  and 
Savings  Bank,  was  born  in  Springville,  Erie  county.  New  York,  in  1832. 
Coming  to  Michigan  in   1866,   he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business   until 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  533 

1880,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interests  to  attend  to  other  affairs.  Mr. 
Spencer  was  one  of  tlie  original  stockholders  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of 
Bay  City,  Michigan,  which  was  organized  in  T877,  and  has  been  conversant 
with  banking  affairs  for  many  years.  He  served  in  the  state  Senate  during 
Governor  Alger's  administration  and  was  a  member  of  the  committee  that 
redistricted  the  state.  His  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Arthur  G.  Bishop,  the 
present  president  of  the  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank.  T'or  many  years 
Mr.  Spencer  has  been  connected  with  public  affairs,  having  served  as  mayor 
of  Flint  and  also  for  several  terms  as  a  member  of  the  city  park  board,  in 
which  capacity  he  rendered  invaluable  service.  Mr.  Spencer,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-five,  is  one  of  the  best  preserved  men  in  the  county  and  still  actively 
interested  in  financial  and  civic  affairs. 

Henry  C.  VanDusen,  the  cashier  of  the  Citizens  National  Bank  at  the 
time  of  the  surrender  of  its  charter  as  a  national  bank,  was  bom  in  Michi- 
gan City,  Indiana.  He  fought  in  the  Civil  War  and  later  came  to  Flint, 
being  identified  with  the  banking  life  of  the  community  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  at  his  former  home  in 
Michigan  City. 

George  W.  Hubbard,  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  hardware  business  in 
Genesee  comity,  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  this  bank.  Mr. 
Hulabard  is  one  of  the  most  widely  known  business  men  of  Genesee  county 
and  sold  o.x-yokes  in  1885  to  the  grandfathers  of  the  present  generation. 
Mr.  Hubbard  was  in  business  at  one  time  with  Charles  M.  Wager,  the 
firm  name  being  Flubbard  &  \'\'ager,  but  for  many  years  has  conducted 
the  establishment  under  the  name  of  the  George  W.  Hubbard  Hardware 
Company.     Mr.  Hublxird  was  horn  in  Canandaigua,   New  York,   in    1844. 

Soon  after  the  reorganization  of  the  bank  in  1891  the  following  board 
of  directors  were  elected:  Robert  J.  Whaley,  J.  W.  Begole,  S.  I.  Beecher. 
George  VJ.  Buckingham,  George  W.  Hubbard,  Ale-x.  McFarlan,  W.  C. 
Durant,  D.  D.  Aitken.  J.  R.  Stockdale,  J.  H.  Whiting,  H.  C.  Spencer.  The 
present  officers  are:  President,  K.  J.  Whaley;  vice-president,  CJeorge  W. 
Hubbard;  cashier,  W.  E.  Martin;  assistant  cashier,  H.  E.  Potter;  directors: 
R.  J.  Whaiey,  G.  W.  Hubbard,  J.  H.  Whiting,  D.  D.  Aitken,  Alex.  McFar- 
lan, H.  Winegarden,  Thomas  Doyle,  F.  D.  Buckingham,  C.  L.  Bartlett,  E. 
S.  Lee,  J.  E.  Burroughs,  C.  H.  Miller,  E.  H.  Watson.  Capital  stock  paid 
in,  $150,000;  surplns.  $230,000. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


GENESEE   COUNTY   SAVINGS   BANK. 


The  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank  was  organized  in  1872  and  opened 
its  office  for  business  on  the  first  day  of  May  in  that  year,  with  a  capital 
stock  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Its  original  board  of  directors  were  James 
B.  Walker,  Giles  L.  Denham,  John  Orrell,  W.  W.  Crapo,  Russell  Bishop, 
W.  F.  Browning,  George  C.  Kimball,  C.  C.  Pierson  and  Henry  Brown.  Its 
first  officers  were :  J.  B.  Walker,  president ;  G.  L.  Denham,  vice-president ; 
Ira  H,  Wilder,  cashier. 

James  B.  Walker,  the  first  president  of  the  Genesee  County  Savings 
Bank,  was  identified  with  the  life  of  the  county  since  its  earliest  days,  arriv- 
ing in  FHnt  in  1836,  when  it  was  a  mere  hamlet.  He  was  born  in  Locke, 
Cayuga  county.  New  York,  in  1812.  Mr.  Walker  was  engaged  as  clerk  in 
the  first  dry  goods  store  opened  in  Flint,  the  proprietors  of  which  were  Beach 
&  Wesson,  and  afterwards  was  employed  in  the  dry  goods  store  of  H.  M. 
Henderson.  In  1838  he  built  a  store  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  con- 
ducting a  mercantile  business  until  1842,  when  he  erected  another  store  on 
the  corner  of  Kearsley  and  Saginaw  streets,  where  he  continued  in  business 
until  1858.  He  was  appointed  by  the  governor  of  tlie  state  resident  trustee 
and  to  have  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  asylum  for  the  dead,  dumb 
and  blind,  and  for  fifteen  years,  from  1858  to  1873,  he  devoted  his  energies 
to  this  institution.  During  Mr.  Walker's  terra  as  mayor  of  Flint  the  first 
pavement  was  laid  on  Saginaw  street.  He  was  one  of  the  original  founders 
of  St.  Paul's  EpiscojKil  parish,  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  early 
residents  of  Flint.  His  home  was  located  in  the  block  bounded  by  h'irst, 
Second  and  Grand  Traverse  streets,  which  was  afterward  the  home  of  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Anna  McCali.     Mr.  Walker  died  in  Flint  in  1877. 

Giles  L.  Denham,  the  vice-president  of  the  Genesee  County  Savings 
Bank,  was  born  in  New  Bradford,  Massachusetts,  in  1842.  He  came  west  to 
Detroit  in  the  interests  of  the  Pere  Marquette  railroad,  and  shortly  after- 
ward came  to  Flint,  where- he  became  interested  in  business  affairs.  Flis 
wife  was  Miss  Jane  Henderson,  a  daughter  of  H.  M.  Henderson.  Mr. 
Denham  is  still  residing  at  the  Denham  homestead  in  Flint. 

Ira  H.  Wilder  was  Ixirn  in  Canandaigua,  New  York,  in  1839,  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  Civil  War,  being  a  member  of  a  regiment  belonging  to  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  when  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  fought,  and  also 
participating  as  an  officer  in  all  the  engagements  of  that  army  until  the  close 
of  the  war.     After  being  mustered  out,  Captain  Wilder  came  to  Flint  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  535 

engaged  iii  the  milling  business,  until  1871,  when  he  entered  the  First 
National  Bank  as  bookkeeper,  remaining  there  until  1872,  when  he  was 
made  the  first  cashier  of  the  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank.  He  died  in 
Muskegon,  Michigan,  several  years  ago. 

W.  F.  Browning,  of  the  original  board,  conducted  a  mercantile  business 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  furniture  store  of  Doty  &  Salisbury,  dealing 
principally  in  hats  and  furs;  and  Henry  Brown  was  also  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  in  Flint,  running  a  clothing  store  on  the  site  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Crawford  &  Zimmerman  Clothing  Company. 

C.  C.  Pierson  was  a  natiye  of  Avon,  Livingston  county,  New  \ork,  and 
located  in  Grand  Blanc  in  1843.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Gene- 
.see  County  Agricultural  Society. 

George  C.  Kimball  was  the  owner  of  the  Genesee  Iron  Works  of  Flint, 
and  also  built  the  portion  of  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette  railroad  between 
Holly  and  Saginaw.  He  was  also  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  part- 
nership with  Major  Morse,  the  firm  name  being  Morse,  Kimball  &  Com- 
pany. 

John  Orrell,  of  the  original  board  of  directors,  was  born  in  Heaton, 
Lancashire,  England,  in  1882.  He  came  to  America  in  his  youth  and  studied 
for  the  ministry,  becoming  a  clergyman  of  the  Unitarian  church.  He  after- 
wards came  to  Michigan  and  entered  the  employ  of  Governor  Henry  H, 
Crapo  in  the  lumber  business,  and  married  Governor  Crapo's  daughter.  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Crapo.  His  death  occurred  in  1876.  His  son,  Wiiiiam  Crapo 
Orrell,  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  on  the  board  of  directors  of  the  bank. 
Of  the  original  board  of  directors,  only  one  member,  Hon.  W.  W. 
Crapo.  is  htijl  li\'ing.  Mr.  Crapo,  the  only  son  of  Governor  Henry  H.  Crapo, 
is  one  of  the  prominent  lawyers  of  the  East  and  a  resident  of  New  Bedford, 
Massachusetts.  He  was  for  many  years  president  of  the  old  Flint  &  Pere 
Marquette  Railroad,  up  to  the  time  of  its  sale  to  the  Pere  Marquette  syndi- 
cate, and  during  his  tenure  of  office  this  railroad  enjoyed  its  most  halcyon 
days.  Mr.  Crapo  was  the  senior  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Crapo  & 
Clifford,  of  New  Bedford,  which,  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  successfully 
conducted  for  the  United  States  the  litigation  against  Great  Britain  to 
recover  damages  for  neutrahty  violations,  and  received  for  their  services 
what  was  at  that  time  said  to  be  the  largest  fee  ever  paid  for  legal  services 
in  this  country,  the  sum  of  one  million  dollars.  Mr.  Crapo  is  now  presi- 
dent, and  has  been  for  many  years,  of  the  New  Bedford  Institution  for 
Savings,  the  largest  institution  of  its  kind,  outside  of  Boston,  in  the  New 


dbyGoot^lc 


53^  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

England  states.  He  is  also  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Merchants  National 
Bank  in  New  York  City. 

Russell  Bishop,  who  succeeded  James  B.  Walker  as  president,  came 
to  Fhnt  in  the  spring;  of  1837.  Jle  was  born  in  Leroy,  New  York,  in  1815, 
and  removed  with  his  family  to  Oakland  county  when  he  was  but  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Upon  removing  to  Flint  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business, 
his  stock  of  goods  being  transported  from  Detroit  by  team.  His  business 
was  conducted  on  the  corner  of  Kearsley  and  Saginaw  streets,  where  the 
Fenton  block  now  stands.  In  185 1  his  health  Ijecoming  impaired,  he  jour- 
neyed to  Mexico  and  Texas,  making  a  part  of  the  interior  trip  by  horse- 
back. The  same  year  he  went  to  England  to  attend  the  World's  Exposition 
in  Loudon.  After  his  return  to  Flint  he  was  appointed  by  Franklin 
Pierce  as  receiver  of  public  money  at  the  general  land  office  in  FMint,  which 
was  at  that  time  one  of  three  stations  in  the  state.  Mr.  Bishop  then  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  business,  to  which  he  devoted  himself  exclusively  until  the 
organization  of  the  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank.  In  1838  he  built  a  fine 
residence  on  Beach  street,  clearing  the  lot  of  the  heavy  timber  with  which 
it  was  covered.  Mr.  iiisbop  married  Miss  Mary  Thomson,  a  sister  of 
Col.  E:  H.  Thomson.  Their  son  is  Arthur  G.  Bishop,  the  present  presi- 
dent of  the  bank  and  also  president  of  the  Michigan  State  Bankers'  Asso- 
ciation during  1915-16.  Russell  Bishop,  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  mar- 
ried Miss  Frances  Green,  daughter  of  Judge  Sanford  Green,  of  Bay  City, 
one  of  the  ablest  jurists  of  the  state,  who  in  his  day  contributed  to  his  pro- 
fession a  valuable  legal  work  on  "Crime." 

Russell  Bishop  was  succeeded  as  president  of  the  Genesee  County  Sav- 
ings Bank  by  William  A.  Atwood,  formerly  vice-president  of  the  institution, 
Mr.  Atwood  had  been  a  memlier  of  the  firm  of  Stone,  Atwood  &  Company, 
proprietors  of  the  Flint  Woolen  Mills,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Wood  & 
Atwood  Hardware  Company.  He  was  born  in  Niagara  county,  New  York, 
in  1835,  and  during  his  young  manhood  had  been  engaged  in  the  Imnher 
business  in  Canada.  In  1866  he  came  to  Michigan  and  was  associated  in 
the  same  business  with  Jesse  B.  Atwood,  his  brother,  and  B.  W.  IJvings- 
ton,  operating  a  mill  with  a  capacity  of  about  thirty  thousand  feet  a  day. 
In  1836  he  was  elected  to  the  state  Senate  to  represent  Genesee  and  Livings- 
ton counties  and  during  his  incumbency  of  the  office  was  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  state  affairs,  public  lands,  and  railroads.  During  his  term  of 
service  he  secured  for  Flint  a  new  city  charter,  and  also  put  through  various 
bills  for  public  improvements  at  Flushing  and  Howell,  Michigan.     His  wife 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  53/ 

was  Miss  Helen  WootI,  a  daughter  of  H.  W.  Wood,  one  of  the  oldest  resi- 
tlents  of  Flint.     Mr.  Atwood  died  in  iQoS. 

Other  memljers  of  the  board  of  directors  of  this  institntion  who  served 
at  different  periods  from  1875  to  1900,  were :  George  R.  Gold,  M.  Davi- 
son. C.  C.  Behan,  J.  C.  Willson,  J,  ]{.  Atwood,  H.  C.  Spencer,  F.  H.  Pierce. 
G.  E.  Taylor. 

The  first  cashier,  Ira  Wilder,  occupied  this  position  for  twenty  years. 
Arthur  G.  Bishop  then  became  cashier  in  1892,  and  held  that  office  until  he 
was  made  president  of  the  bank  at  the  death  of  Dr.  James  C.  Willson,  who 
succeeded  William  A.  Atwood.  James  Martin,  who  has  been  associated 
with  the  bank  in  all  its  various' capacities  for  the  past  thirty  years,  succeeded 
Mr.  Bishop  as  cashier,  and  remains  in  1916  as  cashier  of  the  amalgamated 
banks. 

By  the  affiliation  in  1916  of  the  National  Bank  of  Flint  and  the  Gene- 
see Connty  Savings  Bank,  the  entire  board  of  directors  of  both  banks 
merged  as  one  Ixiard,.  with  the  following  officers  and  directors:  President, 
.A.  G.  }5ishop;  vice-president,  H.  C.  Spencer;  cashier,  James  Martin;  direc- 
tors. W.  W-  Crajw,  H.  C.  Spencer,  J.  D.  Dort,  G.  C.  Willson,  E.  W.  Atwood, 
!■".  A.  Aldrich,  J.  H.  Crawford.  C.  S.  Mott,  A.  G.  Bishop,  J.  J.  Carton. 
W.  O.  Smith.  William  McGregor,  W.  C.  Wells,  W.  R.  Hubbard,  C.  B. 
Burr,  C.  M.  Begole.  C.  W.  Nash.  B.  J.  McDonald;  capital,  $500,000;  sur- 
plus, $500,000. 

The  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank  in  1915,  ojjened  a  branch  of  the 
ni.-iin  bank  at  the  comer  of  Asyhmi  and  Kearsley  streets,  for  the  conven- 
ience of  patrons  in  the  fourth  ward. 


In  the  year  1893,  Tra  11.  Wilder,  who  had  resigned  his  position  as 
national  iiank  examiner,  with  the  aid  of  several  of  Flint's  men  of  finance, 
organized  the  Union  Trust  and  Savings  Bank.  Its  first  board  of  directors 
included  C.  T.  Bridgman,  W.  .A.  Paterson,  W,  H.  Edwards,  M.  Davison, 
Sr-,  Romain  Putnam.  C,  H.  Wisner.  James  J.  Hurley,  Ira  H.  Wilder,  Flint 
P.  Smith,  lis  first  president  was  Charles  T.  Bridgman  and  cashier,  Mr. 
Wilder.  Later,  Mr.  Wilder  was  succeeded  by  Mathew  Davison,  who  served 
as  cashier  for  many  years  and  was  succeeded  by  L.  H.  Bridgman,  its  pres- 
ent cashier.  It  has  been  one  of  the  most  succeesful  of  the  city  banks  and 
enjoys  the  universal  confidence  of  the  pubfic. 

Charles   T,   Bridgman,   the  present   president  of  the  Union  Trust  ami 


dbyGoot^lc 


538  CENliSIiE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Savings  Bank,  was  born  in  Huntsburg,  Ohio,  in  1845,  receiving  his  education 
in  the  preparatory  department  of  the  University  of  Chicago  and  the  Russell 
Mihtary  School  of  Ohio.  In  1864  he  arrived  in  Flint  and  entered  the  employ 
of  the  William  L.  Smith  Company,  and  in  1871  became  a  partner  in 
the  concern,  the  firm  name  being  changed  to  Smith,  Bridgman  &  Company. 
Mr.  Bridgman  has  been  for  many  years  a  trustee  of  the  Congregational 
church.  He  has  always  been  a  great  traveler  and  recently  completed  a  trip 
around  the  world. 

Mathew  Davison,  who  served  as  cashier  of  this  bank  for  many  years, 

is  one  of  the  large  holders  of  Flint  business  property,   owning  also  much 

farm  land  in  Genesee  county.     His  first  venture  in  Flint  was  in  the  clothing 

busine.ss,  and  he  has  always  maintained  a  reputation  for  splendid  business 

■  acumen.     He  served  as  mayor  of  the  city  of  Flint. 

Romain  Putnam,  one  of  the  original  directors  of  this  bank,  was  bom 
in  Batavia,  New  York,  in  1838.  In  1855  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Gene- 
see county,  driving  from  Detroit  to  Burton  township.  When  Mr.  Putnam 
was  a  young  man  of  twenty  he  engaged  in  the  l)uying  and  selling  of  stock. 
Later,  he  I)ecarae  a  resident  of  Flint,  entering  the  grain  business,  the  firm 
name  being  Beecher  &  Putnam,  and  later  R.  Putnam  &  Company.  Besides 
owning  a  large  elevator  in  Flint,  the  firm  also  operated  one  at  Clio.  Mr. 
Putnam's  wife  was  Miss  Ellen  Wolverton,  a  daughter  of  Asa  Wolverton, 
wJio  came  to  Burton  township  in  1855  from  Tioga,  New  York.  Mr.  Put- 
nam's death  occurred  in  IHint  several  years  ago. 

James  J.  Hurley,  one  of  the  original  directors,  was  born  in  I-omlon, 
England,  in  1850,  coming  to  America  in  1871.  He  came  as  far  as  Grand 
Blanc  and  thence  on  foot  to  Flint,  where  he  obtained  employment  at  the 
Sherman  Hotel  as  porter.  He  afterward  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
soap  and  later  entered  the  coal  and  wood  business.  Subsequently,  he  became 
interested  in  real  estate,  building  many  residences,  which  he  rented  for 
reasonable  sums,  showing  always  toward  his  tenants  a  most  commendable 
spirit  of  justice  and  fairness.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  largest 
stockholders  of  the  first  light  and  power  company  of  Flint.  His  death 
occurred  in  1905.  Mr.  Hurley  was  a  man  of  broad  human  sympathies,  as 
was  evidenced  by  his  gift  to  the  city  at  the  time  of  his  death  of  sufficient 
funds  with  which  to  build  a  general  h{>spital,  on  a  site  which  he  had 
previously  selected  and  purchased  for  this  purpose.  Hurley  Hospital  is 
Begole  street.  In  al!  its  appointments  it  is  one  of  the  most  modern  and  best 
equipped  hospitals  in  the  state  and  a  fitting  monument  to  its  founder. 

Flint  P.   Smith,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Union  Trust  and  Savings 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIC.AN.  539 

Bank,  for  many  years,  was  Irorn  in  i'enlieid,  Ohio,  in  1853.  He  was  a  son 
of  Hiram  Smith,  who  came  to  Michigan  in  1845  and  engaged  in  the  lum- 
bering business.  In  1847  iVIr.  Smith,  the  eider,  sawed  a  large  amount  of 
lumber  in  Lapeer  county  and  rafted  it  to  Saginaw,  this  being  the  first  lum- 
ber ever  sent  from  that  county.  He  then  returned  to  Ohio  and  on  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  War  spent  one  year  in  cutting  black  walnut  with  which 
to  make  gun  stocks  for  the  government.  He  returned  from  Ohio  to  Michi- 
gan in  1867,  and  located  in  Mint,  which  at  that  time  had  twenty  hiniber 
mills.  He  built  a  large  mill  and  dealt  in  hardwood,  prolrably  cutting  half 
the  hard  lumber  ever  marketed  in  this  county,  including  a  large  amount  of 
oak.  For  many  years  he  was  known  throughout  the  county  as  "Hardwood" 
Smith,  a  name  which  clung  to  him  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  built  one 
of  the  few  really  fine  residences  in  Flint  at  that  time,  situated  on  the  corner 
of  Stockton  and  Third  streets,  now  owned  by  George  Forrest. 

Flint  P,  Smith,  having  a  wide  knowledge  of  lumbering  through  his 
father's  extensive  operations,  succeeded  to  the  business,  and  for  many  )-ears 
operated  the  old  Crapo  mill.  He  afterward  engaged  in  the  same  liusiness 
in  Orvisbiirg,  Mississippi,  later  returning  to  Flint.  Mr.  Smith  owned  a  large 
amount  of  real  estate  in  the  business  district  and  was  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  judicious  of  business  men.  As  one  of  the  directors  he  was  also  a 
heavy  stockholder  in  the  Union  Trust  and  Savings  Bank.  He  was  married 
in  1875  to  Miss  Franc  A.  Brainerd,  of  Attica,  New  York,  who,  after  Mr. 
Snuth's  death,  which  occurred  in  1909,  erected  to  his  memory  the  nine- 
story  office  building  known  as  the  Flint  1'.  Smith  building,  at  the  corner 
of  Union  and  Saginaw  streets,  the  most  ])retentioi.is  business  block  in  the 
C(iinity.  the  gronnd  floor  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  Industrial  Savings 
Bank. 

'Judge  George  H.  l>urand  and  Wiliiani  F.  Stewart  were  later  added 
to  the  directorate  to  fill  vacancies.  William  F.  Stewart,  who  was  entirely 
a  self-made  man,  was  bom  in  London,  Ontario,  in  1846.  He  learned  car- 
riage making  in  his  youth  aufl  in  1868  located  in  Pontiac,  Oakland  county, 
and  engaged  in  tluit  business.  Tn  i88[  Mr.  Stewart  established  himself  in 
the  manufactnring  business  in  Flint,  making  carriage  bodies  on  an  exten- 
sive scale.  Later,  when  the  automobile  industry  developed,  he  built  auto- 
mobile bodies.  He  erected  on  the  corner  of  Industrial  and  Hamilton  ave- 
nues a  large  factory  building  for  this  purpose.  Mr.  Stewart  was  a  man  of 
unf)uestionetI  business  integrity  and  judgment,  and  a  valuable  acquisition 
to  the  directorate  of  this  bank.  He  died  in  Flint  in  1911.  Judge  Durand 
was  one  of  the  foremost  citizens  i>f  the  state. 


dbyGoot^lc 


540  CENEHEIZ    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  officers  ;ind  directors  of  the  Union  Trust  and  Savings  Bank  in 
1916  are;  C.  T.  Bridgi-nan,  president;  W.  A.  Paterson,  vice-president;  W. 
H.  Edwards,  vice-president;  M.  Davison,  chairman  of  the  board;  L.  H. 
Bridgman,  cashier:  J.  K.  Storer,  assistant  cashier;  directors,  C.  T.  Bridg- 
inan,  \\.  A.  J'aterson,  M.  Davison,  George  W.  Cook,  W.  H.  Edwards, 
\V.  !■:.  Braman,  J-.  H.  Rankin,  A.  M.  Davi:,on,  J.  G.  Windiate,  C.  H.  Bon- 
hright,  S,  S.  Stewart,  R.  W.  Selleck. 

INIHTSTRIAI,    SAVINGS    BANK. 

Tile  industrial  Savings  Bank,  tlie  youngest  of  the  tinancial  institutions 
of  Eiint,  was  organized  in  the  original  bank  building  being  located  on  the 
corner  of  Hamilton  and  Industrial  avenues,  near  the  offices  of  the  automo- 
bile industries.  In  1913  the  bank  opened  a  central  bank  in  the  Fhnt  P. 
Smith  building  and  the  former  bank  is  now  run  as  a  branch  to  the  main 
bank.  Plon.  Charles  S.  Mott,  president,  is  an  ex-mayor  of  Flint,  and  a 
<lirector  of  the  General  Motors  Company.  He  is  a  man  of  large  wealth,  and 
a  generous,  public-spirited  citizen. 

Grant  J.  Brown,  who  has  been  cashier  of  this  bank  since  its  organi- 
zation, was  formerly  assistant  cashier  of  the  Peoples  State  Bank  at  Flushing, 
and  later  was  state  bank  examiner. 

The  third  oftke  of  this  banking  house  was  opened  in  1916  on  St. 
John  street,  Fairview,  for  the  convenience  of  business  men  and  factory 
employees  in  the  far  north  and  east  sides  of  Flint. 

Its  officers  and  directors  are:  C.  S.  Mott,  president;  C.  W.  Nash, 
vice-presirlent;  Grant  J.  Brown,  cashier;  F.  M.  Bufifum,  assistant  cashier: 
P.  H,  Callahan,  assistant  cashier:  John  S.  DeCamp,  assistant  cashier;  direc- 
tors, D.  D.  Aitken,  Dr.  F.  D.  Baker,  N.  J.  Berston,  E.  D.  Black,  Wf  P. 
Chrysler,  vV.  E,  l~e!!ows,  I-ennard  Freeman,  Grant  J.  Brown,  A.  B,  C,  Hardy, 
G.  R.  Jackson,  R.  Kleinpell,  C.  S.  Mott,  S.  S.  Stewart,  J.  G.  Warrick,  Fred 
J.  Weiss. 

Reflecting  actual  conditions  most  accurately  is  the  reixjrt  of  the  banks. 
an  increase  of  more  than  one  million  dollars  being  shown  in  savings  depos- 
its in  1915.  When  compared  with  the  previous  year,  this  is  particularly 
encouraging  as  showing  the  thrifty,  careful  character  of  the  citizenship 
which  is  contributing  toward  the  greatness  of  the  city. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


HANK    CLEARINGS. 


1910  $23,333482.90 

1911  19,825,050.25 

1912  19,872,170.20 

1913  21,785,953.64 

1914  23,816,941.72 

1915  28,616,939,84 

1916  49.7.13.857.38 

The  reccird.s  of  the  Mint  (^lenring  House  Association,  as  reported  for 
the  year  ending  September  30,  1916,  to  the  New  V'ork  Gearing  House  Asso- 
ciation, show  the  banking  institutions  of  this  city  to  have  just  completed  the 
most  successful  year  in  the  history  of  the  city.  They  liave  nearly  doubled 
all  previous  records  for  the  same  period  and  have  established  a  total  dose  to 
the  $50,000,000  mark,  more  than  doubling  the  banner  year  of  1910.  What 
is  even  more  remarkable  in  reflecting  the  growth  of  the  city  and  its  business, 
the  year  just  closed  exceeds  heavy  clearings  of  1915  by  a  margain  that  was 
nearly  sufficient  to  doitble  that  year's  record  also.  The  records  for  the  year 
just  closed  show  tliat  the  city  is  enjoying  the  most  prosperous  period  in  its 
history. 


The  First  National  Bank  of  l-"enlon  uas  organized  in  the  ^umnlcr  of 
1863,  with  David  L.  Latourette  as  president  and  manager.  In  1871  Mr. 
Latourette  failed,  the  bank  was  closed,  the  operations  of  the  woolen  factory 
were  suspended  and  stockholders  suffered  severe  los.ses. 

.\fter  the  suspension  of  the  Fir.st  National  Bank  its  business  was  princi- 
pally transferred  to  the  State  Bank  of  Fenton,  which  had  been  established 
the  preceding  January  (1S71).  it  was  organized  under  the  state  law  and 
was  not  a  bank  of  issue.  Its  first  officers  were:  President,  Josiah  Buckbee; 
cashier,  Edwin  Trnmp;  directors,  Josiah  Buckbee,  .\ndrew  Cornwall,  John 
F.  Walton,  Harvey  Fannington.  Erastus  T.  Tefft. 

Mr.  Buckbee,  the  president,  came  from  Jefferson  county,  New  York, 
in  April,  1856,  and  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  trade,  which  he  continued  until 
the  bank  was  established. 

Cranson's  Bank,  a  private  institution,  was  established  by  Job  Cranson  in 
1876.  A  general  banking  business  was  transacted.  Mr.  Cranson  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers  in   Michigan,  having  removed   from   Madison   county, 


dbyGoot^lc 


542  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MiCHlGAN. 

New  York,  in  1S30,  with  the  family  of  his  father,  lilisha  Cranson,  and 
settled  in  the  town  of  Wehster,  Washtenaw  county.  In  1833  Job  Cranson 
removed  to  the  township  of  Brighton,  Livingston  count)',  where  he  made  the 
lirst  purchase  of  land  and  became  the  first  settler.  Until  his  removal  to 
Fenton  in  1867  Mr.  Cnuison  was  engaged  in  fanning,  and  after  locating 
there  was  for  a  short  time  .secretary  of  the  Fenton  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. 

In  1880  there  were  three  banks  in  h~iint  and  two  village  banks.  In 
1916  there  are  four  kmks  in  Flint  and  fourteen  village  banks.  In  1880 
the  combined  deposits  of  the  county  banks  were  aiiout  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  In  1916  they  approximate  eighteen  millions.  Since  1880  one 
.state  bank  has  been  orgauized  in  Ifenton,  two  in  ['"lushing,  one  in  Montrose, 
one  in  Clio,  one  in  Otisville.  and  one  in  Davison,  and  private  banks  in  Grand 
Blanc,  Mt.  Morris,  Goodrich,  Gaines,  .Swartz  Creek  and  J,inden.  In  1880 
there  were  five  banks  in  Genesee  county.  In  1916  there  are  eighteen  banks 
successfully  conducted. 

The  Otisville  State  Bank  was  estaMLshed  in  the  village  of  Otisville  in 
jgoy.  Its  officers  are:  President,  C.  D.  Doane;  vice-president,  Andrew 
Reece:  cashier,  A.  I'rosser.  Its  paid-up  capital  is  $20,000,  and  the  surplus, 
$5,000. 

The  i'"entoii  State  Savings  Bank  was  establislied  in  1908.  Its  oiVicers 
are;  President.  C.  J.  Campbell;  vice-president.  J.  M.  I''ikes;  cashier,  F.  H. 
Hitchcock.     Its  paid-up  capital  is  $25,000,  and  it  has  a  surplus  of  $8,000, 

The  Peoples  State  Bank  of  Flushing  was  estabhshed  in  1900.  Its  offi- 
cers are:  President.  I..  .V.  Vickery;  vice-president,  John  H,  Rowe;  cashier. 
Ff,  L.  Mann.     It  has  a  paid-up  capital  of  $25,000,  and  a  surplus  of  $16,000. 

The  First  State  and  Savings  Bank  of  Flushing  was  established  in  i88t. 
Its  officers  are:  President,  V.  ,\.  Niles;  vice-president,  E.  L.  Cornwall; 
cashier,  George  Packard,  It  has  a  paid-up  capital  of  $27,500,  and  surplus 
of  $27,000. 

The  Montrose  State  Bank,  in  the  village  of  Montrose,  was  established 
in  1889.  Its  officers  are:  President,  F.  P.  Sayre;  vice-president,  A.  B. 
Wood;  cashier,  W.  A,  Speer.  Its  paid-up  capital  is  $20,000  and  its  surplus 
is  $r,ooo. 

The  Clio  State  Bank,  in  the  village  of  Clio,  was  established  in  1885.  Its 
officers  are:  President,  Charles  G.  Matgen;  vice-president,  Thomas  Oliff; 
cashier,  Charles  E.  Taylor.  It  has  a  paid-up  capital  of  $25,000,  and  a  sur- 
plus of  $2,500. 


dbyGoot^lc 


r.ENFSl^E    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  543 

The  Davison  State  Bank,  in  the  village  of  Davison,  was  established 
ill  1895.  Its  officers  are;  President,  A.  B.  Cullen;  vice-president,  S.  T, 
H;dl;  cashier,  W.  G.  Billings;  assistant  cashier,  M.  A.  McBratney.  Its 
paid-up  capital  is  $25,000,  and  its  snrplns,  $14,000. 

The  Commercial  Savings  Bank,  of  Fenton,  was  established  in  1898, 
Its  officers  are:  Presiilent,  li.  C.  I'^orte;  vice-president,  L.  E.  Becker; 
cashier,  E.  M.  Newall.  It  has  a  paid-up  capital  of  $25,000,  and  its  surplus 
is  $15,000- 

The  Citizens  Bank,  a  private  bank  in  the  village  of  Gaines,  was  organ- 
ized in  1907.  Its  officers  are:  President,  W.  E.  Cozadd;  vice-president, 
A.   T.  Miller;  cashier,  George  W.  Chase,  Jr. 

The  Bank  of  Goodrich,  in  the  village  of  (ioodrich,  was  organized  in 
iyo8.  Its  officers  are:  I'resident,  A.  S.  Wheelock;  vice-president,  Warren 
(.ircen;  cashier,  R.  !v  Hlcbelcr.  Its  jiaid-up  capital  is  $5,000,  and  its  surplus 
$i,2on. 

The  liank  of  Swartz  Creek  was  organized  in  the  village  of  Swartz 
Creek  in  1906.  Its  officers  are:  I'resident,  C.  J.  Miller;  vice-president,  M. 
D.  Davison;  cashier,  I'rank  Wiklman;  assistant  cashier,  W.  L.  Miller. 

The  I''arniers  Exchange  Bank  of  Grand  Blanc  was  organized  in  the 
village  of  (irand  lilanc  in  1908.  Its  officers  are:  President,  F.  J.  Sawyer; 
vice-president,  J'Yank  M.  I'erry;  cashier,  A.  D.  Gundry;  assistant  cashier, 
I".   Larohardiere.      Its  paid-up  capital   is  $5,000,  and   its  surplus  $2,000. 

Tlie  iksnk  of  J.iiiden  was  organized  in  that  village  in  i88g.  Its  officers 
iire ;  I'resideTit,  James  I,.  .Spencer;  cashier,  F.  V.  Gteruni.  Its  paid-up 
capital  is  $10,000. 

The  Hank  of  Mt.  Morris,  in  the  village  of  Ml.  Morris,  is  a  private 
bank  established  in  1903.  by  D.  ii.  I'ower,  of  I'ontiac,  with  a  capital  stock 
ui  $5,000.  In  1905  Charles  D.  Stanley,  of  Mt.  Morris,  bought  this  Eink 
anil  operated  it  until  igri,  when  he  sold  one-half  interest  in  it  to  Edward  C. 
Van  DeWalker.  who  at  that  time  took  over  the  active  management.  It  has 
at  ]>resent  (1916)  both  a  commercial  and  a  savings  department.  Its  officers 
are:  Proprietors,  Stanley  &  Van  DeWalker;  cashier,  E.  C.  Van  DeWaiker; 
a-;sistant  cashier.  M,  \'.  Coddington. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  X\[. 
The   Prksh. 

The  press  has  e^"er  been  one  of  the  most  patent  agencies  in  die  develoji- 
nieiit  of  new  comitry.  It  has  been  the  jieople's  forum  and  its  editorial  utter- 
ances have  gone  far  toward  cultivating  a  spirit  of  citizenship.  The  editor 
has  been  observer,  critic,  chronicler,  biographer  and  historian,  recording  day 
by  day,  year  by  fear,  the  rise  and  growth  of  a  commonwealth. 

In  the  year  1839  a  small  printing  outfit,  consisting  of  press,  fixtures  and 
type,  was  laboriously  transported  by  team,  canal  and  lake  from  a  small  town 
ill  New  York  state  to  Detroit  and  thence  overland  to  Flint  River  by  Joseph 
K.  Averill,  who  issued  The  flint  River  Gaselte,  the  first  newspai)er  ever 
printed  in  Genesee  county.  This  pubhcalion  existed  for  aljont  two  years, 
the  only  copy  which  is  known  to  have  been  preserved  being  now  in  the 
possession  of  Mrs.  George  M.  Dewey. 

Mr.  Averill,  however,  did  not  succeed  in  his  venture,  and  a  second 
paper,  The  Northern  Advocate,  was  printed  in  1840.  This  sheet  did  not 
survive  for  any  length  of  time  and  was  followed  by  the  Genesee  Gazette, 
another  short-lived  paper,  which  was  issued  by  W.  S.  IJentoii  Sc  Company  in 
1842. 

The  Genesee  Herald  was  the  next  newspaper  to  make  its  appearance, 
being  published  in  1843  by  J.  Dowd  Coleman,  but  was  shortly  discontinued. 
This  publication  was  followed  by  the  Genesee  County  Democrat,  but  the 
l>eriod  of  its  duration  cannot  be  given. 

The  Flint  Republican  was  issued  in  1845  by  Daniel  S.  Merritt,  "terms 
$1.50  cash,  or  $2.00  in  produce,  in  advance."  This  paper  was  not  long 
afterwards  acquired  by  Royal  W.  Jenny  in  1848,  its  name  being  changed  to 
the  Genesee  Democrat.  Under  different  names,  it  continued  to  be  printed 
until  1906  and  in  the  sixty  years  of  its  existence  exerted  a  widespread 
influence  throughout  Genesee  and  surrounding  counties. 

The  Genesee  Democrat  was  one  of  the  three  early  newspapers  which 
were  destined  to  have  a  long  and  useful  existence  in  this  county,  the  other 
two  being  the  Wolverine  Citisen,  founded  in  1850  by  Francis  H.  Rankin, 
and  the  Flint  Globe,  started  in  1S66  by  Charles  F.  Smith,  Henry  S.  Hilton 
and  Robert  Smith. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  545 

The  vicissitudes  of  journalistic  life  in  those  early  days  can  only  be 
appreciated  by  those  who  experienced  them  and  the  varying  fortunes  of  our 
county  papers  are  so  identified  with  the  personal  characters  of  their  pro- 
prietors that  a  history  of  the  one  is  a  biography  of  the  other.  The  Demo- 
crat was  no  exception.  Hven  the  name  Genesee  Democrat  is  so  intimately 
connected  with  its  founder,  Royal  W.  Jenny,  that  few  of  the  residents  of 
Flint  who  knew  Mr.  Jenny  can  think  of  the  former  without  recalling  the 
eminently  popular  nature  and  friendly  disposition  of  the  latter. 

Mr.  Jenny  continued  as  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  paper  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1S76.  For  some  weeks  after  Mr.  Jenny's  death  the 
paper  was  conducted  by  Mrs.  Jenny,  a  gifted  woman,  who  was  also  the 
author  of  a  Ixiok  of  poems  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  voKime.  Mrs.  Jenny, 
however,  soon  disposed  of  the  paper  to  H.  N.  Mather,  who  enlarged  and 
improved  it  and  added  a  Sunday  edition. 

Mr.  Mather  came  to  Genesee  county  in  1876  from  New  York  state, 
where  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  mercantile  and  milhng  business  in  Buffalo, 
fie  was  born  in  West  Bloonifield,  New  York,  in  1827,  receiving  his  educa- 
tion at  Lima  University,  and  was  a  well-read  man.  As  editor  of  the  Demo- 
cratic paper  of  Genesee  coimty,  he  was  alert  and  aggressive.  He  purchased 
the  paper,  fixtures  and  good  will  from  Mrs.  Jenny  after  the  death  of  her 
hu.shand  for  five  hundred  dollars.  During  Mr.  Mather's  editorship  of  the 
paper,  he  conducted  it  on  pohtical  lines,  from  a  Democratic  standpoint. 
Upon  leaving  Flint  in  1879,  he  went  to  Saginaw,  where  he  edited  the  Sagiiiaw 
Daily  News  for  some  years,  changing  his  political  afKliations  and  support- 
ing James  G.  Blaine  during  his  candidacy  for  President.  In  later  years  Mr. 
Mather  resi<led  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  where  he  passed  away  in  1909. 

Mr.  Mather  disposed  of  the  paper  in  1878  lo  Jerome  Eddy,  then 
mavor  of  Klint.  Mr.  F.ddy  had  previously  been  identified  with  the  mercan- 
tile life  of  the  county,  being  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  lumbering  business 
and  operating  a  ptaning-mill  in  company  with  Artenius  Thayer,  During 
President  C!evelan<!'s  administration  he  served  as  United  States  consul  at 
Chatham,  Canada. 

The  original  Eddy  homestead  was  at  the  corner  of  East  Kearsley 
and  Clifford  streets,  the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  Flint  public 
library  building.  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Eddy  moved  nearly  forty  years  ago  to  their 
home  on  Church  street,  one  of  the  most  im[X)sing  homes  of  the  colonial 
tyi)e  of  architecture  in  this  part  of  Michigan,     It  was  built  by  George  Hazel- 

(35) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


546  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

ton  in  the  early  thirties  and  is  still  occupied  by  Mrs.  Eddy,  a  woman  of 
charming  personality  and  prominence  in  the  social  affairs  of  the  community. 

Mr.  Eddy  conducted  the  paper  for  a  short  time  and  then  transferred  the 
active  managerial  duties  and  editorship  to  his  son,  Arthur  J.  Eddy,  who,  a 
few  years  before,  had  graduated  from  the  literary  department  of  Harvard 
University,  and  was  later  married  to  Miss  Lulu  Orrell,  a  granddaughter  of 
Governor  Henry  H.  (^rapo.  Mr.  Eddy  is  now-  a  prominent  corporation 
lawyer  in  Chicago  and  a  writer  of  ability. 

In  1884  the  Eddys  established,  in  connection  with  the  Genesee  Demo- 
crat, the  Daily  Neics,  and  this,  together  with  the  Weekly  Genesee  Democrat, 
was  purchased  in  [887  by  \V.  H.  Werkheiser  &  Sons,  of  Raston,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

From  1887  until  [(/J5  Mr.  Werkheiser  and  his  two  sous.  George  and 
!^>ank  E.  Werkheiser,  edited  the  paper,  the  daily  edition  l)eing  known  as  the 
Daily  Neit's.  Mr.  Werkheiser  had  previously  had  considerable  experience  in 
newspaper  work,  in  1867  editing  a  Democratic  paper,  the  Ei'ening  Mail,  in 
Philipshurg,  New  Jersey,  and  also  being  financially  interested  in  the  Saitshttry 
(Pa.)  Press.  The  city  editorship  of  the  Daily  A'ews  during  this  period  was 
capably  handled  by  Mr.  George  V\'erkheiser,  who  enjoyed  the  reputation  of 
having  been  the  most  active  new.sgatherer  the  county  had  ever  known.  Mr. 
Werkheiser  is  now  editing  a  paper  in  .'Mderson,  West  Virginia. 

In  1905,  when  the  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  W.  V.  Smith,  of 
Olean,  New  York,  it  had  become  a  publication  of  broad  influence  through- 
out the  community.  Shortly  afterward  it  was  absorbed  by  H.  H.  Fitz- 
gerald, 

The  Wolverine  Citizen  was  founded  in  1850  by  Mr,  F,  H,  Rankin, 
being  known  in  its  infancy  as  the  Genesee  Whig,  and  was  destined  to  have 
a  long  and  useful  existence  in  Genesee  county.  About  six  years  after  it 
was  first  started  the  name  was  changed  to  The  Wolverine  Citisen  and  Gene- 
see Whig,  but  later  the  latter  half  of  its  designation  was  dropped. 

The  history  of  the  Wolverine  Citizen  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  county.  Under  the  agitation  caused  by  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  (Compromise,  the  Genesee  Whig  strongh^  favored  the  formation 
of  the  Republican  party,  and  from  1854  until  1915  was  known  as  a  Repub- 
hcan  journal,  of  the  most  stalwart  type.  Its  editor  was  actively  instru- 
mental in  reorganizing  the  anti-,slavery  elements  of  the  old  Whig  and  Demo- 
cratic parties  of  Genesee  county,  having  been,  while  chairman  of  the  Whig 
county  committee,  also  chosen  chairman  of  an  independent  central  county 
committee  at  a  convention  of  electors  of  Genesee  county  held  in  Septcn'ber. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GEN'ESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  547 

1854,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  anti-slavery  strength  against  the  at- 
tempted encrnachmcnts  of  the  slave  power  upon  the  guaranteed  free  terri- 
tory of  the  nation.  The  language  of  the  call  for  the  meeting  invited  all 
"opposed  to  the  'Nehraska  swindle'  and  the  extension  of  slavery  in  the 
national  domain."  For  eighteen  months  during  the  Civil  War  the  IVol- 
vcrine  Ciitsen  was  conducted  as  a  daily,  and  wnelded  a  great  influence  in  be- 
half of  the  Federal  cause.  In  its  long  career  it  can  Iwast  of  having  been 
the  graduating  school  of  a  numl>er  of  young  men  who  later  gained  prom- 
inence in  the  field  of  Michigan  joumalism.  Among  the  earlier  members  of 
this  fraternity  were:  Hon.  W.  R.  Bates,  late  of  the  Lumberman's  Gasettc; 
(.'.  B.  Turner,  of  the  Fontiac  Gasette;  R.  L.  Warren,  of  the  Lawrence  Ad- 
irrilscr:  Morgan  Bates,  Jr.,  late  of  the  Marshall  Statesman;  E.  D.  Cowles, 
of  the  S\i(/mazi-  Daily  Couner;  W.  A.  Smith,  of  the  Charle^'oix  Sentinel; 
Harry  Hall,  of  the  Stuart  Locomotive;  Charles  Fellows,  of  the  Flint  Jour- 
nal; Orlando  White,  of  the  Linden  Record,  and  A.  M.  Woodin,  of  the 
Lansing  Sentinel. 

[■"rancis  H.  Rankin,  the  editor  of  the  Wolverine  Citi::eH,  was  a  native 
of  County  Down,  Ireland,  being  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  land.  He 
came  to  America  in  1S48  and  located  in  Michigan,  at  Pontiac,  where  he 
learned  the  printer'.s  trade.  He  came  to  Genesee  county  in  1850,  where  for 
the  remainder  of  his  days  he  was  a  prominent  factor  through  his  journalistic 
activity  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  community.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  not  only  the  oldest  editor  in  the  county,  but  in  the  state  he.  liad 
longest  held  control  of  a  single  pai>er.  He  was  a  finely  educated  man  and 
his  editorials  were  most  scholarly.  He  was  also  the  author  of  a  number  of 
poems  which  were  published  in  Blackiwod's  Magazine.  His  wife,  the 
daughter  of  an  ii^pi.scopalian  clergyman  in  Ireland,  the  Rev.  Richard  T. 
Hearn,  of  County  Longford,  was  a  woman  of  fine  mind  and  brilliant  con- 
versational powers.  She  was  a  leader  in  social  and  civic  affairs  and  was  one 
<if  the  organizers  of  the  Indies'  Library  Association. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Rankin,  the  paper  continued  to  be  published  by 
his  son,  Francis  H.  Rankin,  the  second  of  the  name.  Mr.  Rankin  has  been 
for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Ixjard  of  education  and  has  also  served  for 
some  years  as  one  of  the  trustees  for  the  Michigan  school  for  the. deaf. 
Under  his  direction  the  paper  was  published  up  to  1915.  when  it  was  finally 
discontinued. 

The  I'lint  Globe  was  established  in  August,  1866,  the  original  proprie- 
tors being  Charles  F.  and  Robert  Smith  and  Henry  S.  Hilton.  The  office  was 
located  in  the  second  story  of  \^■hat  was  known  as  tlie  L^nion  block,  on  Sagi- 


dbyGoot^lc 


548  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

naw  street.  Mr.  Hilton  was  the  managing  editor,  Mr.  Smith  having  charge 
af  the  printing  department  and  the  general  business  of  the  office.  W.  H. 
Brainard  and  Snmner  Howard  were  successively  engaged  as  local  editors. 
The  concern  was  purchased  by  Almon  L.  Aldrich  in  August,  1869.  In  the 
summer  of  1870  the  office  was  moved  to  the  third  story  of  the  Covert  block, 
corner  of  Saginaw  and  First  streets,  for  the  sake  of  additional  room  and  in 
order  to  give  the  editor  a  sanctum  apart  from  the  composing  and  press- 
rooms. However,  the  office  being  iii  the  third  story,  it  became  necessary  for 
its  removal  io  .^ome  building  in  which  the  fir^t  floor  could  be  utilized  for  the 
presses.  No  such  building  offered  itself  at  a  reasonable  rent.  The  proprie- 
tor, therefore,  purchased  a  lot  on  the  comer  of  Kearsley  and  Brush  streets, 
and,  in  the  month  of  July,  1870,  commenced  the  erection  of  a  building  as  a 
I>fermanent  home  for  the  Globe. 

Mr.  Aldrich  had  been  a  newspaper  man  prior  to  his  remo\'al  to  Genesee 
county,  having  been  the  editor  of  the  St.  Joe  Traveler,  at  St.  Joseph,  Michi- 
gan, for  some  years.  lie  was  a  man  of  ability,  being  a  graduate  of  the  liter- 
ary department  of  the  Vniversity  of  Michigan  in  i860,  after  having  re- 
ceived'an  academic;'.!  course  in  several  schools  of  New  York  state,  his  for- 
mer home. 

;(  'The  Globe  was  Republican  in  pohtics  and  exercised  its  due  share  of 
influfence  in  directing  public  affairs  and  public  sentiment.  It  was  many  times 
chdsen  as  the  official'paper  of  the  city.  Some  of  the  former  proprietors  of 
the'G/fl&c  were:  (.'harles  F.  Smith,  who,  soon  after  leaving  the  Glohe,  re- 
moved, to  Kansas  and  for  two  years  held  the  office  of  treasurer  of  Labette' 
coimty;  Henry  S.  Hilton,  who  later  was  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Clinton 
Htpiibliemi,  at  St.  Johns,  Clinton  county,  Michigan ;  and  Robert  Smith,  who 
was'owner  and  editor  of  the  Gratiot  Journal,  published  at  Ithaca,  Gratiot 
cotmty,  Michigim,  one  of  the  most  ably  conducted  and  successful  papers  in 
the  state.  Among  those  who  were  connected  with  the  Glohe  as  local  editors 
may  be  mentioned  Louis  R.  I^onieroy,  now  <leceased ;  M.  L.  Seeley,  later 
residing  in  Genesee  townshii>.  in  this  county;  Will  F.  Clarke,  later  deputy 
collector  of  internal  re\enue  in  this  district;  Henry  H.  Gibson,  later  of  Grand 
Kapids.  and  Harry  Sni-dicor,  later  of  Chicago.  In  1899  the  Globe  was  pur- 
chased bv  James  Slocum,  publisher  of  the  Holly  Advertiser. 

Mr.  Slocum,  who  was  a  practical  newspaper  man,  became  prominently 
identified  with  the  affairs  of  the  county  during  his  three  years  as  editor, 
and  printed  also  the  Daily  Glohe,  a  bright,  aggressive  publication  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  comnmnity.  In  1902,  however,  he  disposed  of  Ixith 
papers  to  E.  J.  Ottaway.  of  Port  Huron,  and  later  became  the  editor  of  The 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  549 

Gleaner^  which  was  published  in  Detroit.  A  few  months  later  Mr.  Ottaway 
sold  the  papers  to  H.  H.  Fitzgerald,  of  St.  Johns,  Michigan.  About  this 
time  Mr.  Fit:;g;erald  also  purchased  the  Daily  Journal,  which  he  consolidated 
with  The  Globe  into  the  IVcekly  Globe  and  Daily  Journal.  During  the  years 
which  Mr.  Fitzgerald  owned  and  edited  the  Daily  Journal  the  population  of 
the  county,  and  more  especially  the  city,  increased  greatly,  the  result  of  the 
many  large  manufacturing  industries  which  located  in  Flint,  and  problems 
of  a  perplexing  nature  were  constantly  confronting  the  editor.  These,  how- 
ever, were  wi.sely  commented  upon  and  Mr.  Fitzgerald's  influence  as  a  news- 
paper man  of  ability  and  discretion  was  widely  recognized  throughout  the 
county  and  state.  During  his  management  the  Daily  Journal  became  one  of 
the  leading  dailies  of  Michigan. 

In  191 1  Mr.  Fitzgerald  di.sposed  of  his  interests  to  the  Booth  Publish- 
ing Company,  and  Charles  M.  Greenway,  a  newspaper  man  of  ability,  as 
editor-in-chief,  and  Myles  K.  Bradley,  managing  editor,  have  for  the  past 
five  years  conducted  the  Flint  Daily  Journal,  which  now  has  a  circulation  oi 
over  twenty  thousand  copies.  The  paper  maintains  a  high  standard  and  has 
a  large  circnlation,  covering  a  territory  twenty-five  miles  in  each  direction 
from  its  place  of  publication. 

The  Flint  Journal,  a  Democratic  weekly  paper,  was  estaldished  by 
(~^harles  Fellows  in  1875.  Shortly  afterward  it  became  the  property  of  Doc- 
tor Carman,  who  sold  it  to  George  McConnoily  in  Ijpecember.  1882.  On 
March  3,  1883.  Mr.  McConnoHy  began  the  publication  of  the  Daily  Journal. 
There  had  Ijeen  up  to  this  time  six  unsuccessfiil  attempts  to  publish  a,  daily 
paper  in  Flint,  but  it  remained  for  Mr.  McConnoily,  with  hi.s  practical  knowl- 
edge of  printing  and  his  remarkal>lc  energy,  to  accomplish  this  difficult  task, 
Mr.  McConnoily  had  received  his  newspaper  experience  in  the  office  of  the 
Batilc  Creek  Press,  when  he  was  but  a  l)oy,  and  had  been  a  newsj>aper  man 
of  experience  all  his  life.  He  came  to  Flint  in  1882  from  Bay  City,  and 
conducted  the  Flint  Journal  first  as  a  Democratic  paper,  then  from  an  inde- 
pendent standpoint,  and  later,  under  the  Cleveland  administration,  as  a  Re- 
publican organ. 

In  October,  1888,  Mr.  McConnoily  sold  the  Journal  to  John  W.  Stoul, 
and  a  few  months  later  it  became  the  property  of  John  J.  Coon,  of  Belvidere, 
Illinois.  Air.  Coon  had  also  been  a  news])aper  man  for  some  year.s  before 
coming  to  Genesee  county.  He  was  liorn  in  Peoria  county,  Illinois,  in  1851, 
and  was  a  graduate  of  the  literary  department  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 
His  first  journalistic  experience  was  in  the  publication  of  the  Chicago  Real 
Estate  and  Building  fburnal.     in  t88i  he  bought  the  GUman  (Illinois)  Star. 


dbyGoot^lc 


550  GENEStE    COUNJY,    MICHIGAN. 

which  lie  ran  successfully  for  several  ye;irs.  He  then  purchased  the  HiHz'i- 
(Icre  (lilinois)  Northzvestern  and  after  a  prosperous  period  of  editorship 
sold  it  and  purchased  the  Flint  Journal.  Mr.  Coon's  proprietorship  of  the 
pa[>er  was  terminated  hy  his  death  in  1901,  and  his  widow,  Mrs.  Julia  Coon, 
a  woman  of  fine  mental  attributes,  became  the  editor  and  managing  owner 
until  she  disposed  01  her  interests  to  George  H.  Gardner,  of  Saginaw.  In 
September,  1902,  the  paper  was  purchased  by  M.  H.  I'~itzgerald  -.mA  consoli- 
dated with  the  Globe. 

Actively  identified  with  die  publication  of  the  Daily  Nezvs  an<i  the  Daily 
Journal  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  was  Alfred  Galbraith,  who  died 
in  April,  1916.  During  the  last  few  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Galbraith  was 
secretary  of  the  Flint  lioard  of  Commerce.  Mr.  GalbraitI)  was  a  credit  to 
the  newspaper  profession. 

In  1914  a  daily,  the  I'lint  Prcs.i,  was  started  by  Arthur  C.  Pound  and 
William  Thompson.  Mr.  Thompson  was  interested  in  a  nunilwr  of  state 
Ijapers,  among  Ihent  being  the  Batlle  Creek  Daily  Journal,  the  Kalamazoo 
Evening  Press  and  the  I..an.sing  Press.  The  venture  was  not  a  financial  suc- 
ces,  however,  :md  the  paper  was  discontinuetl  I>efore  the  end  of  the  year. 
Mr.  Thompson  has  since  retired  from  newspaper  work  and  Mr.  Pound  is 
now  editorial  writer  on  the  Grand  Rapids  Press,  having  been  for  a  year  after 
his  removal  from  Flint  connected  with  the  Akron   (Ohio)   Beacon  Journal. 

The  Michigan  H^irror,  a  monthly  publication,  is  published  in  Flint,  and 
is  devoted  entirely  to  the  interests  of  the  Michigan  school  for  the  deaf. 

The  Flint  Flashes,  a  weekly  paper  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  So- 
cialists, is  j»ublished  in  I'lint,  G.  ^Y.  Starkweather  being  manager  and  G.  N. 
I^wrence,  editor. 

Among  the  newspapers  published  in  the  villages  of  Genesee  county,  only 
two  of  the  publications  which  were  started  in  an  earlier  day  are  still  in  exist- 
ence, the  Fcnton  Observer  and  the  Fenton  Independent.  The  Fentonville 
Observer  was  organized  in  1854,  by  W.  W.  Booth  and  I'erry  Joslin.  The 
Fenton  Independent  was  established  in  1868,  by  H.  N.  Jennings,  and  secured 
a  good  circulation  in  Fenton  and  throughout  the  county. 

The  publications  issued  at  this  time.  1916,  in  Genesee  county  are  :  Daily : 
Flint  Daily  Journal,  weeklv ;  Daidson  Index,  CUo  Messenger,  Montrose  Rec- 
ord, Flashing  Observer.  Fenton  Independent.  Fenton  Observer,  Otisville  Star, 
Flint  Fla.<;hes.  monthly:  Michigan  Mirror. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
Bench  ano  Eak. 

'['lie  thing  we  are  too  dull  to  master  is  the  thing  we  are  most  apt  to 
undervalue.  Perhaps  tins  is  one  reason  why  the  three  learned  professions, 
inediciiie,  theology  and  law,  have  heen  unappreciated  from  time  immemorial 
by  the  average  mind.  To  attain  eminence  in  any  of  them,  a  man  must  have 
brains,  morality  and  common  sense  in  a  superlative  degree.  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  says,  "Lawyers  are  the  brightest,  ministers  know  the  most,  and 
doctors  are  the  most  sensible."  It  is  with  the  lawyers  of  Genesee  county 
that  this  chapter  will  deal. 

By  act  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  the  territory  of  Michigan,  setting 
off  certain  parts  of  Oakland,  Shiawassee  and  Lapeer  counties  to  form  Genesee 
county,  approved  March  j8,  1835,  the  partial  organization  of  (he  county  was 
effected.  It  was,  however,  provided  hy  this  act  that  it  should,  for  judicial 
l>urposes,  be  attached  to  Oakland  county.  The  county  seat  of  Oakland  was 
then  at  Pontiac,  and  subsequently  the  litigation  from  Genesee  county  above 
ju.stice's  court  proceedings  went  to  Pontiac  for  trial. 

The  State  Legislature,  by  an  act  approved  March  8,  1836,  declared  the 
county  to  be  a  municipality,  having  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  other 
counties.  This  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  state  of  Michigan  made  Genesee 
county  a  de  facto  county,  and  as  such  was  entitled  to  have  its  courts  within 
its  territorial  limits,  and  its  coimty  seat  was  established  at  Fhnt.  A  saving 
clause  provided  that  any  and  all  suits  then  pending  in  any  of  the  courts  of 
Oakland  should  be  continued  in  that  county  and  prosecuted  to  their  determi- 
nation, and  that  all  justice  cases  pending  should  also  be  determined  in  the 
court,  the  same  as  though  the  new  county  had  not  be  organized.  There  was, 
in  consequence  of  this,  an  element  of  uncertainty  in  the  status  of  the  county, 
the  Legislature  of  the  state  of  Michigan  passing  this  act  in  March,  1836. 
However,  as  there  was  no  state  of  Michigan  until  January  i,  1837,  this  act 
had  been  passed  by  a  premature  and  unauthorized  body.  The  de  facto  con- 
ditions, however,  gave  sanction  to  the  status  of  the  county. 

At  this  time,  from  March  28,  1835,  until  March  8,  1836,  while  the  resi- 
dents of  this  county  were  judicially  within  the  county  of  Oakland,  the  prin- 
cipal practitioners  at  the  bar  of  that  county,  from  examination  of  the  records 


dbyGoot^lc 


552  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

of  the  cases  then  pending,  were  Walker  &  Bates,  Morgan  S.  Drake,  Howard 
&  Sawyer,  Drake  &  Whittemore,  William  Draper,  Goodwin  &  Hand,  and 
Thomas  J.  Drake,  the  latter  being  at  that  time  a  resident  of,  and,  perhaps 
the  only  practitioner  at,  Flint. 

The  first  court  ever  held  in  the  county  of  Genesee  was  in  the  h'lint  store 
of  Stage  &  Wright,  directly  across  the  street  from  John  Todd's  tavern,  or 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  intersection  of  Saginaw  street  and  the  right  of 
way  of  the  Pere  Marquette  Railroad.  This  court  was  held  in  the  summer 
of  1837  and  was  presided  over  by  Justice  George  Morrell,  of  the  supreme 
court.  The  state  was  at  that  time  divided  into  circuits  and  several  justices 
of  the  supreme  court  held  court  in  the  various  circuits.  There  were  four 
causes  on  the  calendar  for  the  first  term  of  court,  Thomas  J.  Drake  appear- 
ing as  attorney  in  all  of  them,  Bartow  &  Wilson  appearing  in  one  of  them, 
P.  H.  McOmber  in  another  and  George  Wisner  in  another.  The  first  case 
on  the  calendar  was  that  of  Chauncey  Bogue  versus  Timothy  J.  Walling, 
attachment,  begun  on  February  24,  1837,  by  Thomas  J.  Drake,  attorney  for 
plaintiff.  The  date  of  commencement  of  this  suit  would  seem  to  contradict 
the  statement  made  in  Abbott's  history  that  this  term  of  court  was  held  in 
February.  It  might  be  said,  parenthetically,  that  this  case  was  dismissed  by 
an  order  of  Judge  Mark  W.  Stevens,  presiding  at  the  term  of  the  circuit 
court  for  Genesee  county  held  in  April,  igi6.  This  possibly  will  siSence  for- 
ever those  facetious  individuals  who  infer  at  times  that  a  lawsuit  is  inter- 
minable. This  venerable  case,  although  it  lasted  nine  years  beyond  the  three 
score  years  and  ten  allotted  to  mankind,  and,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  long  after 
all  the  litigants  and  lawyers  had  gone  to  their  final  reward,  has  been  duly  and 
properly  laid  to  rest  by  the  order  of  the  court  having  jurisdiction  therein, 
duly  made  and  entered  in  the  records  of  the  court. 

Philip  H.  McOmber  was  the  first  resident  attorney  of  Genesee  county. 
He  came  to  Michigan  from  Saratoga  county.  New  York,  settling  first  in 
Groveland  county,  in  1832,  and  removing  to  Fenton  in  1834,  Fenton  at  that 
time  being  in  Oakland  county.  Mr.  McOmber  kept  a  tavern  at  Groveland 
before  he  went  to  Fenton,  his  reputation  as  a  genial  landlord  soon  being 
established.  Of  his  legal  talents,  they  were  said  to  be  of  a  superior  order. 
He  was  the  first  prosecuting  attorney  for  Genesee  county. 

Of  Thomas  J.  Drake,  it  is  said  that  he  was  a  man  of  a  scholarly  bearing 
and  was  careful  and  fastidious  in  his  personal  appearance.  He  was  married 
shortly  before  he  removed  from  Pontiac  to  Flint  and  took  up  his  residence 
near  the  banks  of  the  river  in  the  third  ward.  Almost  directly  across  from 
this  spot  was  a  settlement  of  Indians  who  still  lingered  about  the  site  of  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


tiENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  553 

old  Indian  village  of  Muscatawing.  Soon  after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drake  came 
to  their  new  home  an  epidemic  of  smallpox  so  isolated  the  Indians  as  to  cut 
them  off  from  all  intercourse  with  the  whites,  bringing  them  to  the  verge 
of  starvation.  Mrs.  Drake  is  said  to  have  each  day,  with  her  own  hands,  pre- 
pared food  in  large  quantities  and  left  it  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  the  Indians 
later  paddling  across  the  stream  in  their  canoes  to  receive  it.  and  thus  their 
desperate  condition  was  alleviated.  Afterward  when  Mrs.  Drake  suffered  a 
serious  attack  of  tyiihoid  fever,  the  Indians  expressed  their  gratitude  in 
every  way  to  the  white  woman  who  had  befriended  them,  by  sending  their 
,s(juaws  to  care  for  her  and  in  i>ayiiig  her  the  most  assiduous  attention.  Mrs. 
Drake,  however,  died  later,  and  Mr.  Drake  returned  to  Pontiac,  where  he 
passed  away  in  1875.  In  later  years,  after  his  removal  to  Pontiac,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Lincoln  to  the  office  of  chief  justice  of  the  United 
States  court  in  Utah. 

In  1838  a  two-story  log  house  was  built  and  the  court  room  was  installed 
in  the  second  floor  of  the  building,  the  lower  floor  being  used  for  a  jail.  The 
location  of  this  building  was  on  the  site  of  the  present  court  house. 

Among  the  first  lawyers  who  came  to  the  little  town  of  Flint  were  Mr. 
Rugg  antl  John  Bartow,  experienced,  able  men,  coming  from  different  locali- 
ties, but  with  a  kindred  purpose,  to  escape  the  influence  of  conviviality,  which 
at  that  time  permeated  all  classes  in  older  settlements.  Men  of  liberal  educa- 
tion, of  culture  and  refinement,  gracious  and  urbane  in  manner,  they  gave  a 
tone  an<l  trend  to  legal  practice  quite  unusual  in  small  towns,  where  generally 
the  pettifogger,  with  little  knowledge  of  law  and  less  of  general  culture, 
though  the  man  who  could  use  the  m<)st  abusive  language  to  his  opponent 
in  the  case,  was  the  best  lawyer.  .\  little  later  came  William  M.  Fenton  and 
Levi  Walker,  men  with  profound  knowledge  of  law  and  gentle,  dignified 
manner,  and  so  it  happened  that  early  Flint  escai>ed  the  blatant  type  of  bar- 
rister. 

Ji>hn  Bartow  located  in  KHnt  in  1836  and  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  as 
a  legal  practitioner.  He  was  afterward  associated  with  Fdward  H.  Thom- 
■^on,  the  firm  name  being  Bartow  &  Thomson. 

F.dward  H.  Thomson,  lawyer  and  scholar,  was  born  at  Kendal,  in  the 
county  of  Westmoreland,  England.  He  came  to  this  cotmtry  at  an  early 
age  with  his  parents,  who  made  their  home  in  Boston.  Massachusetts.  He 
was  educated  for  his  chosen  profession  principally  in  the  law  office  of  Millard 
Fillmore  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  after  having  received  an  academic  education 
at  White  Plains,  New  York.  In  1837  Mr.  Thomson  emigrated  to  Michigan 
after  having  a  few  years'  experience  in  the  law  business  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


dbyGoot^lc 


554  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Governor  Stevens  G.  Mason,  Michigan's  first  governor,  appointed  him  prose- 
cnting  attorney  of  I-apeer  county.  He  remained  there  but  one  year,  however, 
when  he  removed  to  FHnt  and  entered  into  the  law  partnership  with  Mr. 
Bartow,  who  was  then  register  of  the  United  States  land  office. 

With  Mr.  Bartow  as  a  partner.  Mr.  Tliomson  acted  as  prosecuting 
attorney  for  Genesee  county  in  1845-46  and  in  1847  he  was  elected  to  the 
.state  Senate,  his  district  emhracing  Genesee,  Oakland,  Lapeer,  Shiawassee, 
Saginaw  and  Tuscola  counties  and  the  entire  up|)er  peninsula.  By  his  activity 
in  the  advocacy  of  a  foreign  emigration  bill  he  attracted  the  favorable  notice 
of  Governor  Ransom,  and  wa,*  appointed  state  emigration  agent,  with  head- 
<iuarters  in  New  York  City.  Subsequently  his  headquarters  were  removed 
to  Stuttgart,  Germany,  and  by  his  indefatigable  efforts  he  was  directly  respon- 
sible for  the  removal  of  over  twenty  thousand  hard-working  Germans  to  the 
J'cninsula  state. 

While  in  London,  in  185 1,  he  received  the  appointment  of  United  States 
deputy  commissioner  to  the  great  industrial  exposition  in  that  city,  generally 
known  as  the  World's  Fair.  In  this  position  his  assiduous  attentions  to 
.-\merican  visitors  and  his  efficient  aid  and  timely  advice  to  exhibitors,  gained 
for  him  high  encomiums,  while  his  distinguished  Iwaring  and  scholarly  attain- 
ments gave  him  entree  into  the  homes  of  many  of  the  nobility.  On  his  return 
to  this  -country  he  remained  in  Washington  for  a  time,  but  soon  afterwards 
resumed  his  legal  practice  in  Flint.  When  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  broke 
out  Governor  Blair  appointed  him  a  member  of  the  state  military  board,  and 
later  he  was  made  president  of  the  board. 

In  spite  of  his  busy  life,  he  found  time  tii  cultivate  a  rare  taste  in  litera- 
ture and  as  a  genial,  scholarly  gentleman  occupied  an  enviable  position  in  a 
community  which  included  men  and  women  of  di-scemment  and  intellectual- 
ity. He  was  an  ardent  student  of  Shakespeare  and  his  magnificent  Shake- 
.spearian  library,  which  through  the  munificence  of  the  late  James  McMillan, 
now  graces  the  University  of  Michigan,  is  one  of  the  finest  collections  ever 
made  in  the  Central  states.  His  Shakespearian  readings  and  lectures,  which 
were  frequently  delivered,  not  only  in  Flint,  but  in  many  other  cities,  won 
the  highest  praise  from  press  and  laymen.  His  wife  was  also  a  very  intellect- 
ual woman  and  her  private  collection  of  rare  Bibles,  which  numbered  over 
three  hundred  volumes,  were  considered  of  sufficient  value  and  rarity  to  have 
l>een  acquired  in  later  years  by  the  University  of  Michigan. 

James  Birdsall  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Genesee  county  in  1839, 
coming  to  Flint  from  Chenango  county.  New  York.  He  had  been  engaged 
in  the  banking  business  in  his  native  state  and  had  also  been  a  member  of  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  555 

lower  House  of  Congress.  He  died  in  Flint  in  1856,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
three  years. 

James  S.  Goodrich,  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1840,  came  to  Atlas  township 
and  began  the  practice  of  law.  He  wa,s  a  mcm!>er  of  the  Goodrich  fiimily  for 
which  the  village  of  Goodrich  was  named.  He  is  said  to  have  possessed  a 
wonderfuily  retentive  memory,  and  Abbott's  history  sa}s  that  "he  read 
'Hume's  History  of  England'  through  in  forty-eight  hours,  and  from  that 
single  perusal  could  give  important  events  therein  recorded,  with  dates."  In 
the  spring  of  1851  he  was  elected  judge  of  Genesee  county,  hut  contracted 
an  acute  disease  from  which  he  died  in  Detroit,  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
before  beginning  his  term  of  office. 

Morgan  L.  Drake,  a  brother  of  Thomas  J.  Drake  and  a  native  of  Pontiac, 
came  to  Flint  in  the  late  thirties  and  practiced  his  profession  for  some  years. 
From  1840  to  1842  he  was  prosecuting  attorney  of  Genesee  county,  but  after- 
wards returned  to  Pontiac,  where  he  remained  until  his  death. 

William  F,  Mosely  was  one  of  the  two  pioneer  lawyers  of  Fenton,  the 
other  being  the  above  mentioned  Philip  H.  AicOmber.  Mr.  Mosely  had 
previously  been  a  member  of  the  bar  in  Oakland  county,  but  practiced  in 
CJenesee  county  for  some  j'ears,  holding  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney 
in  1841,  He  afterwards  removed  to  Shiawassee  county,  where  he  died  in 
i860. 

Robert  J.  S.  Page,  attorney,  settled  in  Flint  in  1838,  In  1850  and  1851 
he  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  was  later  honored  by  being 
elected  the  second  mayor  of  the  city  of  Flint,  and  also  probate  judge, 

Alexander  P.  Davis,  who  was  Irarn  in  Cayuga  county.  New  York,  came 
to  Flint  in  1842,  having  previously,  for  a  short  time,  been  a  resident  of  Liv- 
ingston county.  He  was  a  partner  at  one  time  of  John  Bartow,  hut  later 
removed  to  Fenton,  where  he  died  in  1871. 

George  R.  Cunimings,  who  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1842.  practiced 
law  in  Flint  for  a  short  time  and  acted  as  county  clerk  in  1846. 

Chauncey  K.  Williams,  attorney,  first  in  Fentonville  and  later  in  I'l'mt, 
was  practicing  in  1850.  He  was  the  first  high  priest  of  the  chapter  of  Roya! 
Arch  Masons,  instituted  in  Flint  in  January,  1857. 

In  the  year  1850,  the  business  directory  of  the  coimty  shows  the  fol- 
lowing members  of  the  bar:  J,  K,  Rugg,  justice  of  the  [jeace,  attorney  and 
counsellor;  J,  Eirdsall,  attorney  and  counsellor;  John  Bartow,  attorney  and 
counsellor;  Levi  Walker,  attorney  and  solicitor  in  chancery:  William  M. 
Fenton,  attorney  at  law:  A,  P,  Davis,  attorney  at  law  and  justice  of  the 
peace:   F.dward  H,  Thomson,   attorney  and  counsellor:   Fllsworth   Walklev, 


dbyGoot^lc 


556  GENKSEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN. 

• 

county  judge;  J.  S.  Goodrich,  attorney  at  law,  Goodricli,  and  O.  D.  Rich- 
ardson, attorney  at  iaw,  Flint. 

In  the  late  forties  and  early  fifties  an  active  practitioner  at  the  Genesee 
county  bar  was  Moses  Wisner,  of  Pontiac,  whose  son,  Charles  H.  Wisner, 
was  for  many  years  circuit  judge  of  the  county  of  Genesee.  He  was  a  native 
of  Cayuga.  New  York,  being  born  in  1815,  and  came  to  Michigan  when  a 
young  man.  After  several  years  of  farming  he  studied  for  the  law  and  in 
1841  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  proved  to  be  a  lawyer  of  great  ability.  In 
1858  he  was  elected  governor  of  Michigan  and  his  first  message  to  the  Legis- 
lature was  an  able  efifort.  He  entertained  extremely  nidical  views  of  right 
and  wrong  and  as  an  advocate  had  few  equals.  He  was  a  great  friend  of 
Judge  Baldwin,  also  of  Oakland  county,  but  Ijecame  opposed  to  him  in  politics 
and,  after  party  feelings  ran  high,  became  the  most  bitter  enemy  of  his  one- 
time friend.  At  his  death,  however,  it  was  found  that  he  had  appointed 
Judge  Baldwin  administrator  of  his  entire  estate,  thus  <lemonstrating  his  high 
regard  for  the  ability  and  wisdom  of  his  opponent.  When  the  call  to  duty 
came  in  1861,  Governor  Wisner  organized  a  regiment  of  infantry  in  Oakland 
county  and  accompanied  it  to  the  south,  but  the  hardships  of  camp  life  made 
inroads  upon  his  health  and  he  contracted  a  malady  from  which  he  died  in 
1863, 

William  M.  h'cnton,  prominent  in  the  early  life  of  the  county,  was 
another  product  of  the  iilast  who  came  to  this  state.  A  graduate  of  Hamilton 
College,  he  entered  the  banking  house  of  his  father  in  Norwich,  New  York, 
but.  bis  health  failing,  he  went  to  sea,  where  he  attained  promotion  and  hon- 
orable mention.  Giving  up  the  life  of  a  sailor,  he  married  the  daughter  of 
Judge  James  Birdsall,  of  Norwich,  New  York,  and  came  to  practice  at  Dibble- 
ville,  Genesee  county,  the  village  which  later  changed  its  name  in  his  honor 
to  Fentonville,  He  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  but  studied  for  the 
law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1842.  In  1848  he  was  elected  lieutenant 
governor  and  re-elected  in  1850.  Upon  removing  to  Flint,  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Pierce  as  registrar  of  the  land  office.  Early  in  1861  he  was 
made  major  of  the  Seventh  Michigan  Infantry,  but  before  mustering  was 
commissioned  colonel  of  the  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry.  In  the  battle  of 
James  Island  the  loss  to  his  regiment  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  was  one- 
third  the  entire  numlier;  the  regiment  was  afterwards  attached  to  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  and  fought  at  Second  Bull  Run,  Chantilly,  South  Mountain 
and  Antietam.  Colonel  Fenton  resigned  his  command  at  Newport  News 
on  account  of  impaired  health.     He  was  a  member  of  the  Flint  volunteer  fire 


dbyGoot^lc 


GFNESr.E    COUNTV.    MJCHICAN.  557 

department  and  it  w;is  while  he  was  answering  a  call  to  duty  as  chief  that  an 
accident  occurred  which  afterwards  caused  his  death. 

Colonel  Kenton  deeded  to  the  city  the  land  vi\yot)  which  was  buiEt  the 
first  city  hall,  provided  that  the  site  would  never  )x  used  for  any  other  but  a 
city  building,  and  the  same  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  handsome  municipal 
structure  erected  a  few  years  ago.  He  was  also  chiefly  instrumental  in  pro- 
curing for  Flint  the  location  of  the  institution  for  the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind. 
Courteous,  reserved  in  manner  and  skilled  in  his  profession.  Colonel  Fenton 
exerted  in  many  ways  a  lasting  and  wide-spread  influence  in  the  community. 

I.^vi  Walker  rame  to  Flint  aliout  the  same  time  as  William  M.  Fenton. 
He  was  born  in  1803  in  Washington  county,  New  York,  and  received  his 
literary  training  at  several  of  the  prominent  academies  of  the  East.  He 
read  law  at  an  early  age  with  Judge  Reid,  of  Homer,  New  York,  and  also 
in  Utica,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in.  Genoa,  New  York,  in 
1835.  He  subsecjuently  removed  to  Auburn  and  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  Hon.  George  H.  Rathijone,  then  a  member  of  the  United  States  Con- 
gress. He  was  associated  with  Hon.  William  H.  Seward  as  counsel  in  the 
memorable  defense  of  the  insane  negro  murderer,  Freeman,  to  which  Charles 
I'Yancis  Adams  made  eloquent  reference  in  the  Seward  memorial  services. 

Mr.  Walker  was,  while  yet  a  young  man,  the  editor  of  a  paper  at 
Brockport,  New  York,  where  he  wielded  a  trenchant  pen  in  the  interest  of 
what  was  then  known  as  the  National  Republican  party.  It  was  the  first 
anti-slavery  paper  published  in  New  York.  In  1S37  he  married  Louise 
Meech,  whose  grandfather  kept  a  tavern  in  Worthington,  Massachusetts, 
where  General  Burgoyne  was  once  brought  while  being  taken  a  prisoner  to 
Boston.  In  1847  Mi"-  Walker  removed  to  Flint  where,  ten  years  before, 
several  of  his  brothers  had  preceded  him  and  where  he  became  most  actively 
identified  with  all  business,  educational  and  social  interests  of  the  growing 
town,  the  Walker  school  built  near  his  residence,  l)eing  named  in  his  honor. 
His  daughter,  Helena  Victoria  Walker,  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Ladies' 
Library  Association  and  a  woman  of  scholarly  tastes,  was  elected  president 
of  the  Genesee  County  Historical  Society  in  1914.  Her  death  occurred  in 
igi6  at  tile  age  of  seventy -three. 

William  Newton,  who  joined  the  law  fraternity  of  Genesee  county  in 
the  early  fifties,  was  an  able  member  of  the  l>ar.  and  was  born  in  Kingston, 
Jamaica,  in  1822.  At  an  early  age,  he  went  to  Baltimore,  Maryland,  where 
his  boyhood  days  were  spent  and  where  he  received  hh  academic  education. 
He  studied  law  for  several  years  in  Ballstou  Spa,  New  York,  and  came  to 
Michigan  in   1848,  locating  in  Detroit,  where  he  entered  the  law  office  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


55^  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Lothrop  &  Dnffield,  While  in  Detroit  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
supreme  court.  Shortly  afterwards,  his  health  becoming  imi>aired,  he  went 
to  California,  arriving  there  at  the  height  of  the  gold  excitement,  and  was 
one  of  the  discoverers  of  "Gold  Hill"  in  Yuba  county.  He  returned  to  Mich- 
igan in  1853,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Flint  and  becoming  associated  with 
Col,  William  M.  Fenton,  this  law  partnership  continuing  up  to  the  time  of 
the  death  of  Colonel  Fenton  in  1871. 

In  1881,  William  Newton  was  elected  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of 
Genesee  county,  being  re-elected  in  1887.  As  judge  of  the  seventh  judicial 
circuit,  his  decisions  usually  stood  the  test  of  the  higher  courts,  in  which 
respect  he  had  few  if  any  superiors  among  the  circuit  judges  of  Michigan. 
In  the  fall  of  1892  he  was  nominated  for  justice  of  the  supreme  court  and 
made  a  remarkable  run  against  Ills  Republican  opponent,  being  defeated  by 
the  narrow  margin  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  at  a  time  when  Michigan 
usually  went  Republican  by  about  fifty  thousand.  A  man  of  brilliant  mind, 
though-rugged  exterior,  he  attained  eminence  as  a  lawyer  and  jurist,  and  the 
Genesee  county  bar  lost  a  worthy  representative  when  he  passed  away  in 
1903. 

Sumner  Howard,  who  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Genesee  county  in 
the  late  fifties,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  attorneys  the  county  has  ever 
produced.  When  a  very  young  man  he  attracted  the  attention  of  William 
M.  Fenton,  and  it  was  princii^Hy  through  the  kindness  of  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Fenton  that  Mr.  Howard  was  enabled  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  .the  law. 
being  a  student  for  some  time  in  Colonel  Fenton's  office  and  also  a  member 
of  his  family.  Sumner  Howard  may  lie  said  to  have  been  a  self-made  man 
in  every  sense  of  the  word.  He  was  a  great  wit  and  was  utterly  unmoved  by 
the  conventionalities  of  society.  He  was  prosecuting  attorney  in  1864  and 
held  the  office  until  1868.  He  was  elected  to  the  state  I^egislature  and  took 
his  seat  in  1883,  being  made  speaker  of  the  House  in  this,  his  first  term.  He 
later  was  appointed  United  States  district  attorney  for  the  district  of  Utah 
and  in  this  capacity  prosecuted  the  persons  implicated  in  the  celebrated 
Mimntain  Meadow  massacre,  under  the  leadership  of  the  notorious  John  D. 
Lee.  His  record  in  this  case  attracted  so  much  attention  that  he  acquired  a 
national  reputation  as  a  criminal  lawyer.  He  was  appointed  United  States 
district  judge  of  Arizona,  and  thus  judicial  honors  were  added  to  his  reputa- 
tion as  lawyer  and  prosecutor.  As  sergeant  of  the  Second  Infantry  during 
the  Civil  War  he  saw  service  and  was  later  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  Sum- 
ner Howard,  a  man  of  great  forensic  ability,  .stands  out  as  one  of  the  best 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  559 

examples  of  the  pioneer  lawyer  of  Michigan,  one  of  those  men  whose  energies 
were  a  potent  influence  in  its  formative  period. 

One  of  the  most  promising  lawyers  of  the  ante-bellum  days  was  T.  C. 
Carr,  who,  after  a  few  years'  practice,  went  to  the  war  and  died  from  a  gun- 
shot wound  in  battle.  He  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Carr  &  Gulick  and 
was  considered  a  very  talented  member  of  the  profession,  his  death  terminat- 
ing what  promised  to  be  a  brilliant  career. 

The  bar  of  the  county  before  the  war  included  Charles  Hascall,  Adams 
&  Seeley,  Sumner  Howard,  John  Bartow,  J.  R.  White,  J.  Z.  Richards,  George 
R.  Cummings,  Levi  Walker,  Chauncey  Wisner,  J.  H.  C.  Blades,  A.  Bump, 
C.  P.  Avery,  W.  J.  Walker,  Oscar  Adams  and  A.  U.  Wood.  ("Bench  and 
Bar,"  page  9.) 

William  O.  Axford,  a  brother  of  Dr.  S.  M.  Axford,  practiced  at  the 
bar  of  Genesee  county  from  i860  to  1868,  afterwards  removing  to  the  West, 
where  he  died  in  1876. 

In  the  sixties  the  bar  was  augmented  by  tlie  admission,  or  advent,  uf 
H.~.-\.  Sutherland,  James  A.  Ransom,  J.  L.  Topping,  Henry  C.  Riggs,  Henry 
R.  Lovell  and  Henry  Fenton.  I^ter  additions  to  the  bar  were  John  H. 
Hickok,  Henry  C.  Van  Atta,  Ransom  C.  Johnson,  George  E.  Taylor,  Mark 
W.  Stevens  (now  circuit  judge  of  the  county),  Edward  E.  Lee,  D.  D.  Aitkin, 
John  W.  Ingham,  Zorrie  B.  House  of  Otisville,  G.  H.  Williams,  Clarence 
Tinker,  George  R.  Gold,  Leroy  Parker,  Charles  D.  Long,  Charles  H.  John- 
son, Charles  H.  Wisner,  George  M,  Walker  and  E.  M.  Thayer, 

The  military  service  attracted  members  of  the  bar,  especially  at  the  out- 
break of  the .  Rebellion,  and  we  find  one  of  the  most  active  practitioners, 
Willliam  M.  Fenton,  as  colonel  of  the  Eighth  Regiment  Michigan  Infantry, 
going  to  the  front,     Sumner  Howard,  as  sergeant,  and  T.  C.  Carr  went  also. 

Later,  the  Spanish-American  War  found  Lieut.  James  S.  Parker  in  Cuija 
as  the  commander  of  his  company,  and  in  July,  1916,  Major  Guy  M.  Wilson 
was  at  the  state  camp  at  Grayling,  accompanying  the  Michigan  National 
I'iuard  to  Texas,  ready  and  anxious  to  meet  whatever  demands  the  service 
has  for  him  on  the  Mexican  border. 

Of  the  official  services  of  the  bar  in  various  civil  ix)sitions,  we  may  men- 
tion that  Thomas  J.  Drake  served  as  member  of  the  Legislative  Council  of 
the  territory  of  Michigan  in  1834,  and  later  in  various  important  positions. 
In  the  con.stitiitional  convention  of  1850  John  Bartow  was  a  delegate  from 
this  district.  In  the  convention  of  1867,  Sumner  Howard,  Henry  R.  Lovell 
and  Thaddeus  G.  Smith  represented  this  district.     ("Bench  and  Bar,"  page 

10.) 


dbyGoc^lc 


S6o  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

George  R.  Gold,  one  of  the  prominent  legal  men  of  his  day,  was  born 
in  Cornwall,  Connecticut,  in  1830,  of  Puritan  stock.  He  was  educated  in 
several  private  academies  of  the  East,  and  later  graduated  from  the  law 
school  of  Yale  College.  Shortly  after  his  marriage  he  became  a  resident  of 
Pine  Rnn,  Genesee  county,  where  he  taught  school  for  a  year  or  so.  He 
then  came  to  Flint  and  entered  into  the  practice  of  law.  He  became  county 
clerk,  and  later  filled  the  office  of  city  attorney  for  fifteen  consecutive  terms. 
He  was  afterwards  elected  judge  of  probate,  judge  Gold  was  at  one  time  a 
partner  of  Charles  D.  Long,  and  afterwartls  had  for  business  associates, 
Sumner  Howard  and  WilHam  Newton,  his  record  in  jurisprudence  heing 
an  enviable  one.  His  death  occurred  in  1902  at  his  residence  on  Harrison 
street,  which  was  formerly  the  home  of  Robert  Stage  and  was  the  first  frame 
house  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  all  of  the  other  houses  being,  at 
the  time  of  its  erection,  constructed  of  logs. 

Edward  Thayer,  another  member  of  the  Genesee  county  bar  in  the 
seventies,  was  a  son  of  Artemas  Thayer.  He  was  one  of  the  brightest  young 
lawyers  in  the  profession,  with  a  fine  legal  mind,  but  died  suddenly  when  he 
w;is  less  than  thirty  years  of  age. 

Henry  R.  Lovell  for  many  years  a  prominent  member  of  the  Genesee 
county  bar,  was  born  in  Sharon,  Connecticut,  in  1831.  He  was  educated 
in  several  academic  schools  in  the  East  and  graduated  from  Union  College, 
at  Schenectady,  New  York,  in  1853.  He  was  principal  for  a  time  at  White- 
hall Academy,  New  York,  and  also  of  Seneca  Collegiate  Institute.  Tiring  of 
the  schoolmaster's  life,  he  came  to  Michigan,  arriving  in  Genesee  county  the 
day  that  Eort  Sumter  was  fired  upon.  A  little  later  he  entered  the  law  office 
of  Col,  William  M  I'^enton  and  was  afterwards  admitted  to  the  bar.  Jn  1867 
he  became  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  at  Lansing  and  was  on 
the  judiciary  committee.  He  was  at  one  time  prosecuting  attorney  of  Gene- 
see county  and  was  for  a  number  of  years  judge  of  probate.  His  death 
occurred  in  1905. 

John  H.  Hicok,  one  of  the  prominent  attorneys  of  Genesee  county  during 
the  eighties,  was  born  in  Homer,  New  York,  in  1844.  He  received  his 
academic  education  at  Homer  Academy,  and  afterwards  graduated  from 
Hamilton  College,  Clinton,  New  York.  He  was  in  the  banking  business  with 
his  father  in  Homer,  but  in  1879  he  disposed  of  his  interests  and  came  to 
Flint,  where  he  completed  the  study  of  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Genesee  county  in  1879.  He  was  a  man  of  cultivated  tastes,  being  a  con- 
tributor to  a  number  of  literary  magazines.  He  was  appointed  postmaster 
in  1897,  but  did  not  live  to  finish  his  term,  as  he  passed  away  in  1898, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Among  the  attorneyH  who  practiced  during  the  severities  was  Clark 
Johnson,  a  native  of  Genesee  county.  His  son.  Ransom  Johnson,  was  also 
admitted  to  the  bar  and  practiced  for  a  number  of  years.  His  second  son, 
Charles  H.  Johnson,  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  member  of  the  Genesee 
county  bar,  holding  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  for  several  terms;  he 
was  at  one  time  a  partner  of  Judge  C.  H,  Wisner.  His  death  occurred  in 
1912. 

Charles  D.  I.niig,  who  before  his  admis-^^ion  to  the  bar  of  Genesee  county, 
had  sacrificed  an  arm  in  the  Civil  War,  was  active  in  the  legal  profession  and 
during  his  lifetime  held  various  civil  offices.  He  was  elected  to  the  supreme 
bench  in  1888  and  continued  the  duties  of  this  honored  position  until  his 
death  in  igo2.  A  memorial  to  Justice  Long  is  found  in  the  131st  Michigan 
Report  at  page  XXXVII,  by  the  Hon.  John  J.  Carton.  Other  memorial 
tributes  were  presented  by  George  E.  Taylor,  of  Flint,  Justice  Alien  B. 
Morse  and  DeVere  Hall,  of  Bay  City,  and  by  Justices  Moore,  Grant  and 
Hooker, 

Josiah  Turner.  \\ho  was  judge  of  the  old  seventh  judicial  circuit,  com- 
prising Shiawassee,  Livingston,  Genesee  and  Tuscola  counties,  was  bom  in 
Addison  county,  Vermont,  in  181 1.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1833  and 
four  years  later  moved  to  Michigan.  He  started  for  Howell,  but  had  some 
difficulty  in  locating  it.  as  it  was  at  that  time  only  a  four  corners,  known  as 
Livingston  Center.  He  commence*!  the  practice  of  law,  his  office  being  in  a 
corner  of  the  village  tavern.  In  appearance  he  was  a  typical  judge  of  the 
old  school,  his  dress  unicjue  and  his  temper  judicial.  Judge  Turner  succeeded 
Judge  Sanford  M.  Green,  who  resigned  in  1857,  and  in  his  long  residence  of 
twenty-four  years  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court  came  almost  to  be  regarded 
as  a  resident  of  Genesee  count\^  When  he  retired  in  1882  the  lawyers  of  the 
Genesee  coimty  bar  made  him  a  gift  of  a  very  handsome  horse  and  phaeton 
as  a  testimonial  of  their  high  regard.  He  subsequently  became  United  States 
consul  at  Amherstburg,  Ontario.  Judge  Turner  held  precedence  as  one  of  the 
representative  lawyers  and  jurists  of  the  state  and  his  name  merits  an  endur- 
ing place  on  the  roster  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  who  aided  in  the  civic  and 
material  betterment  of  the  progress  of  Michigan.  His  death,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-five,  occurred  in  1907  in  Owosso,  Michigan,  where  he  had  made  his 
home  in  later  years.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  William  Ellsworth,  of 
Berkshire,  Vermont,  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  family  of  Ellsworths, 
among  whom  was  Oliver  Ellsworth,  formerly  chief  justice  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States  and  minister  to  France. 


dbyGoot^lc 


562  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

George  E.  Taylor,  for  many  years  a  practicing  attorney  of  Genesee 
county,  was  born  in  Walled  Lake,  Michigan,  in  1838.  He  came  to  Flint 
in  1872  and  shortly  afterwards  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  held  the  office 
of  judge  of  probate  for  eight  years  and  was  actively  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  up  until   the  time  of  his  death,   which  occurred  in   1893. 

George  H.  Durand  was  appointed  to  the  bench  of  the  supreme  court  in 
October,  1892,  to  fiil  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  Justice  Morse. 
Judge  Durand. was  born. at  Cobelskill,  New  York,  in  1838,  and  came  to  Mich- 
igan in  1858.  He  was  an  able  and  brilliant  member  of  the  Genesee  county 
bar  for  many  years,  being  elected  to  Congress  in  1874  and  serving  for  one 
term.  Under  President  Cleveland's  administration  he  was  appointed  special 
counsel  of  the  United  States  in  the  prosecution  of  smugglers  at  Portland, 
Oregon,  and  made  a  flattering  record  for  himself  in  that  capacity,  securing  a 
number  of  convictions.  He  received  the  nomination  for  governor  of  the 
state  of  Michigan  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1902,  but  was  stricken,  his 
death  occurring  in  1903.  i\t  a  memorial  session  in  his  honor  in  the  supreme 
court,  on  February  23,  1904,  several  members  of  the  Ijar  and  bench  eulogized 
his  memory;  the  memorial  address  of  John  J.  Carton  was  ordered  published 
in  the  reports  of  the  court,  and  may  be  found  at  page  XXXV  of  Vol,  135, 
Michigan  Reports.  A  memorial  of  the  Genesee  County  Bar  Association, 
signed  by  Charles  H.  Wisner,  Clinton  Roberts,  George  W.  Cook,  Everett  L. 
Bray  and  John  J.  Carton,  was  also  read  and  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  same 
report  at  page  XXXV  et  scq. 

George  M.  Walker,  son  of  Hon.  T..evi  Walker,  practiced  at  the  bar  of 
Genesee  county  for  many  years.  He  had  succeeded  his  father  as  justice  of 
the  peace,  whicli  office  he  held  for  more  than  twenty-five  yars.  Mr.  Walki-r 
died  in  1905. 

Charles  H.  Wisner,  son  of  Judge  Moses  Wisner,  of  Pontiac,  was  -.m 
able  practitioner  at  the  bar  of  Genesee  county  and  was  elected  in  1893  as 
circuit  judge,  entering  upon  his  office  in  January,  1894,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  until  his  death  in  1915.  Judge  Wisner  posse.ssed  a  knowledge  of 
mechanics  which  almost  stamped  him  as  a  genius  and  he  was  a  man  of  ver- 
satile talents  outside  of  his  chosen  profession.  He  superintended  the  huil<!- 
ing  of  the  new  county  court  house  and  also  the  Masonic  temple  in  Flint,  and 
his  services  in  this  direction  resulted  in  acquiring  for  Flint  the  two  finest 
buildings  ever  constructed  in  Genesee  county. 

The  present  incumbent  of  the  office  of  judge  of  the  circuit  court  is 
Mark  W.  Stevens,  appointed  by  Governor  Ferris  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused 
by  the  death  of  Judge  Wisner  in  1915.     Judge  Stevens  was  born  in  Linden. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  -^6;^ 

Genesee  county,  and  since  his  residence  in  I'lint  has  Ijeen  identified  promin- 
ently with  all  affairs  of  a  civic  and  municipal  nature.  He  is  a  man  of  wide 
experience  as  a  practicing  attorney  and  brings  to  the  office,  in  addition  to 
legal  ability  of  high  order,  extreme  courtesy  and  affability. 

William  R.  Bates,  a  retired  member  of  the  Genesee  county  bar,  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  1877.  He  was  born  in  Cazenovia,  New  York,  in 
1845,  ^"'J  received  his  early  education  at  the  Cazenovia  Seminary.  Mr. 
Bates  first  came  to  Michigan  as  a  student  at  the  university  in  1863,  and  in 
1866  he  settled  in  Flint,  as  a  reporter  on  the  JVohertne  Citisen.  Later  he 
went  to  Chicago  with  the  Daily  RcpiAlican,  remaining  until  that  paper  was 
sold  to  a  syndicate  and  its  name  changed  to  the  Intcr-Ocean.  Mr.  Bates 
then  returned  to  Michigan  and  was  for  several  years  engaged  in  lumbering 
on  the  Augres  river.  In  1871  he  was  appointed  register  of  the  United 
States  land  office  at  Saginaw.  This  position  he  resigned  in  1876,  returning 
to  Flint,  where  he  completed  the  study  of  law.  After  his  admission  to  the 
bar,  he  was  appointed  special  agent  of  the  United  States  pension  bureau  by 
Secretary  Z.  Chandler,  but  resigned  in  1879  to  lieconie  secretary  to  United 
States  Senator  Henry  P.  Baldwin.  In  1882  he  was  appointed  special  agent 
of  the  United  States  treasurj'  de[>artment,  succeeding  Gen.  O.  L.  Spaulding, 
who  was  elected  to  Congress.  In  1886-88  Mr.  Bates  serve<l  as  secretary  to 
the  Repubhcan  state  central  committee  with  Senator  James  McMillan  a.s 
chairman  and  from  1888  to  i8g6  he  was  political  secretary  to  Senator  Mc- 
Millan. Subseijuently  he  served  for  eight  years  as  United  States  marshal 
of  the  eastern  district  of  Michigan.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Major  Irv- 
ing Belcher,  who,  with  his  two  sons,  was  among  the  Civil  War  heroes  of 
Genesee  county  whose  lives  were  sacrificed  for  the  Union.  During  the  winter 
of  1916,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bates  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  anniversary  at 
"The  Oaks,"  the  old  Belcher  homestead,  one  of  the  historic  landmarks  of 
the  county. 

TIJE   GENESEE   COUNTY   R.Wi    ASSOCIATION, 

On  the  morning  of  November,  1897,  at  a  meeting  of  the  attorneys  of 
Genesee  count)\  a  suggestion  was  made  to  the  members  of  the  bar  to  further 
the  common  interests  of  the  profession  and  to  give  united  action  to  such  mat- 
ters as  might  be  of  utility  to  the  people  of  the  county  and  the  lawyers  as 
officers  of  the  courts  of  justice  by  forming  an  association.  The  result  of 
this  action  was  that  a  tentative  organization  was  there  made,  with  further 
adjournment  to  perfect  the  same.     The  avowed  objects  of  the  association 


dbyGoot^lc 


564  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

wdfe' to  promote  social  intercourse  among  the  members  of  the  profession 
sind  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  the  commonweaUh  by  improving  the 
administration  of  justice. 

On  November  ig,  the  temporary  organization  again  convened  and  a 
permanent  organization  of  the  Genesee  County  Bar  Association  was  per- 
fected. A  constitntion  of  high  ideals  was  adopted  and  officers  elected.  In 
June,  1915,  the  State  Bar  Association  met  at  FHnt,  its  members  being  the 
guests  of  the  county  association. 

The  first  president  of  the  County  Bar  Association  was  the  Hon,  George 
H.  Durand,  and  the  lawyers  who  have  since  filled  that  position  have  been 
successively,  Everett  L.  Bray,  Clinton  Roberts,  Mark  W.  Stevens,  Fred  W. 
Brennan  (Kepublican  candidate  for  circuit  judge  in  1916),  Edward  S.  Lee, 
Cieorge  F.  Brown,  E.  D.  Black,  George  W.  Cook,  John  J.  Carton,  James  S. 
Parker,  Thomas  Stockton,  WilHam  V.  Smith  and,  at  present,  Guy  VV.  Selby. 

The  signers  of  the  constitution  of  the  association  are  as  follows :  George 
O.  Crane,  Ed.  S.  Lee,  R.  C.  Johnson,  Daniel  Heims,  Horace  P.  Martin,  E. 
D.  Black,  E.  A.  Murphy,  Fred  W.  Brennan,  James  H.  McFarlan.  Z.  B.  House, 
George  H.  Durand,  Charles  A.  Durand,  John  J.  Carton,  Charles  H.  Wisner, 
Everett  L.  Bray,  J.  W.  Stockwell,  Mark  W.  Stevens,  William  D.  Skinner, 
George  F.  Brown,  George  D.  Williams,  Guy  M.  Wilson,  H.  R.  Lovell, 
Edward  H.  Holmes,  George  M.  Walker,  W.  E.  Scott,  George  W.  Cook, 
Jalrtes  S.  Parker.  C.  Tinker,  D.  D.  Aitkin,  Henry  C.  Van  Atta,  Clinton 
Roberts,  George  R.  Gold.  D.  P.  Halsey,  Ira  T.  Sayre.  Charles  H.  Johnson, 
Colonel  O.  Swayze.  William  Stevenson,  George  E,  Taylor,  W.  S.  Pierson, 
William  R.  Franklin.  Thomas  F.  Stockton,  W.  R.  Bates.  D.  S.  Frackleton, 
T.  M.  Russell.  John  H.  Farley.  WilUam  L.  Landon,  W.  L.  Brooks,  Harry 
V.  Blakely,  Homer  J.  McBride,  John  C.  Graves,  William  T.  Yeo,  John  1'. 
Baker,  William  C.  Stewart.  John  H.  Taylor,  Guy  W.  Selby,  WiHiam  V. 
Smith,  Clare  M.  Gundry,  Roy  E.  Brownell,  M.  M.  Frisbie,  William  E. 
Barrett,  De  Huli  Travis,  Claude  H.  Stevens,  Clark  M,  Johnson,  Robert  A. 
Howard. 

The  present  bar  of  the  county  as  listed  in  the  calendar  of  the  last  term  of 
circuit  court  (19161  comprise  the  following  in  order  of  date  of  admission  to 
the  bar:  Clarence  Tinker,  1876:  Edward  S.  Lee,  i877;Zorrie  B.  House.  1879; 
James  M.  Torrey,  1879;  David  D.  Aitkin,  1879;  David  P.  Halsey,  1881 ; 
Ira  T.  Sayre.  1881;  W.  V,  Smith,  1881 ;  Charles  A.  Durand,  1881 ;  David 
S.  Frackleton,  1882;  Mark  W.  Stevens.  1883;  James  H.  McFarlan,  1884; 
John  J.  Carton,  1884;  Fred  W.  Brennan.  1885;  John  H.  Farley,  1886; 
Edward  D.  Black,   1886;  Clinton  Roberts.   1886;  George  F.  Brown.    1887; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  jb^ 

iLverett  L.  Bray,  1887;  James  L.  Spencer,  1888;  Frank  P.  Sayre,  1889; 
Colonel  O.  Swayze,  1891 ;  Thomas  F.  Stockton,  1892;  E.  A,  Murphy,  1893; 
James  S.  Parker,  1894;  Daniel  Reims,  1895;  Warren  S.  Rundeil,  1895;  Will- 
iam D.  Skinner,  1895 :  Guy  M.  Wilson,  1896 ;  William  S.  Pierson, 
1896;  Edward  H.  Holmes,  1897;  George  W,  Cook,  1897;  Horace 
P.  Martin,  1897;  W.  E.  Barrett,  1898;  William  R.  Franklin,  1899; 
William  L.  Landon,  1901 ;  George  F.  MacNeal,  1901 ;  John  C.  Graves,  1902 ; 
Homer  J.  McBride,  1902;  Clifford  A.  Bishop,  1902;  John  F.  Baker,  1903; 
Robert  A.  Howard,  1903;  H.  V.  Blakely,  1903;  William  C.  Stewart,  1904; 
John  H.  Tyler,  1905;  Guy  W.  Selby,  1906;  Roy  E.  Brownell,  1907;  Clare 
In'.  Gundry,  1907;  Marshall  M.  Frisbie,  1907;  Clark  M.  Johnson,  1907; 
De  Hull  N.  Travis,  1908;  Claude  H.  Stevens,  1909;  Clarence  Kellogg,  1910; 
Elwyn  M.  Tanner,  191 1;  Clarence  A.  Cameron,  1912;  William  W.  Black- 
ney,  1912;  Arthur  T.  Barkey,  1912;  Leo  M.  Church,  1913;  Allen  P.  Smith, 
3913;  Charles  M.  Van  Benschoten. 

GENESEE    CIVIL    I.I.ST. 

In  this  list  the  names  are  given  of  some  of  those  who  have  held  county 
office,  and  also  a  partial  list  of  those  resident  in  Genesee  county  who  have 
iield  impdrtant  office  in  or  under  the  state  or  national  government. 

STATE  OFFICERS. 

Governor — Henry  H.  Crapo,  first  inauguration,  January  4,  1865;  second 
inauguration,  January  2,  1867.  Josiah  W.  Begole,  inauguration,  January  i, 
1883. 

Lieutenant-Governor — William  M.  Fenton,  first  term,  1848-49;  second 
term.  1850-51. 

Member  of  the  J^cgislativc  Council  of  the  Territory — Thomas  J.  Drake, 
Daniel  LeRo>-. 

Delegate  to  the  first  Conz'ention  of  Assent  (convened  at  Ann  Arl)or, 
September  26,  1836)— Thomas  J.  Drake. 

Delegate  to  constilittioiial  convenlion  of   1835 — ^Norman  Davison. 

Delegates  to  CottstitiitiojiaJ  Convention  of  1850  (convene<i  at  I..an.sHig, 
1850)— John  Bartow,  Elbridge  G.  Gale,  DeWitt  C.  Leach. 

Delegates  to  Constitutional  Convention  of  1857  (convened  at  Lansing, 
1857)— Sumner  Howard,  Henry  R.  Lovell,  Thaddeus  J.  Smith. 

Member  of  Constitutional  Convention  of  1907  (convened  at  I-ansing, 
1907)- — John  J.   Carton. 


dbyGoot^lc 


566  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Representatives  in  Congress — ^Josiah  W.  Begole,  1872;  George  H.  Dur- 
and,   1874;  D.   D.   Aitken,   1893-96. 

Slate  Treasurer— V^i\\\3,m  B.  McCreery,  Tamiarv  i,  1875,  to  Janiiar\-  i. 

1879. 

Commissioner  of  State  Land   Office — Minor  C.   Newell,   1883-86. 

Circuit  Judges— John  S.  Goodrich,  1851-52;  Sandford  N.  Green,  1852- 
57;  Josiah  Turner,  1857-82;  William  Newton,  1882-94;  Charles  H.  Wisner, 
1894-1915;  Mark  W.  Stevens,  1915-16. 

State  Senators — Charles  C.  Hascall,  1835-36;  John  Bartow,  1838; 
TliomasJ.  Drake,  1839-41;  Daniel  B.  Wakefield,  1842-43;  William  M.  Fen- 
ton,  1846-47;  K.  B.  Witherliee.  1847;  Edward  H.  Thomson,  1848-49;  Enos 
Goodrich,  1853-54;  Reuben  Goodrich,  1855-56:  James  Seymour,  1857-5S; 
A.  P.  Davis,  1859-60:  E.  G.  (iaie.  1861-62:  Henry  H.  Crapo,  1863-64;  A.  P. 
Davis,  1865-66;  W.  B.  Arms,  1867-68;  Thaddeiis  G.  Smith,  1869-70;  Josiah 
W.  Begole,  1871-72;  James  L.  Perry,  1873-74;  George  W.  Fish,  1875-76; 
F.  H.  Rankin,  1877-78;  S.  R.  BiUings,  1879-82;  G.  E.  Taylor,  18S3-84; 
H.  C.  Spencer,  1885-86:  W.  A.  Atwood,  1887-88:  William  Ball,  1889-90; 
J.  R... Benson,  1891-92;  J.  D.  Crane,  1893-94;  R.  C.  Johnson,  1S95-96;  G.  W. 
Teep.le,  1897-98;  I.  T.  Sayre.  1899-igoo;  W.  S.  Pierson,  1901-02;  George 
Barnes,  1903-04;  J.  F.  Riimer,  IQ05-06;  T.  J.  Allen,  1907-08;  F.  J.  Shields, 
1909-10;  L.  Freeman,  1911-12;  E.  J.  Curts,  1913-14;  G.  A.  Barnes,  1915-16. 

State  Representatives — ^J.  R.  Smith,  1S37-42:  John  L.  Gage,  1843:  R. 
D.  Ljimond,  1844;  George  H.  Hazelton,  1845-46;  Enos  Goodrich,  1847; 
Aiifred  Pond,  1847;  William  Blades,  1848;  Samuel  Warren,  1848:  Daniel 
Dayton,  1849;  J.  H.  Kilbounie,  1849;  J.  K.  Abbott,  1850;  DeWitt  C.  Leach, 
1850;  Charles  N.  Beecher,  1851-52;  Joseph  S.  Fenton,  1850-52;  E.  G.  Ga!e, 
1853-54;  James  Seymour,  1853-54;  A.  Middleywarth,  1855-56;  Daniel  M. 
Montague,  1855-56;  Charles  N.  Beecher,  1857-58;  Reuben  Goodrich,  1857- 
58;  Benjamin  Grace,  1859-60;  Edward  Thompson,  1859-60;  A.  W.  Davis, 
1861-62;  F.  H.  Rankin,  1862-64;  Thaddeus  G.  Smith,  1863-64;  George  W. 
Thayer,  1863-64;  James  Van  Vleet,  1865-66;  Robert  P.  Aitkin.  1865-66; 
George  W.  Thayer,  1865-66;  James  Van  Vleet,  1867-68;  Robert  P.  Aitkin. 
1867-68;  C.  H.  Rockwood,  1867-68;  Dexter  Horton.  1869-70;  Edward 
Mason,  1869-70;  James  L.  Currie,  1869-70;  James  B.  Mosher,  1871-72; 
Oscar  Adams,  1871-72;  John  I.  Phillips,  1871;  George  Kipp,  1873-74;  Levi 
Walker,  1873;  Frederick  Walker,  1873-74;  James  B.  Mosher,  1875-76; 
r^Roy  Parker.  1875-76;  S.  R.  Billings,  1875-76;  John  Willett,  1877-78;  S. 
R.  Billings,  1877-78;  John  Willett,  1879;  Jacob  Bedtelyon,  1879;  A.  S. 
Partridge,  1881-S2:  H.  B.  Diller.  1881-83;  Sumner  Howard,  1883-84;  NT.  A. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  567 

Beecher,  1885^8;  H.  H.  Bardwell,  1885-88;  H,  R.  Dewey,  1889-90;  J.  W. 
White,  1889-90;  M.  I..  Seeley,  1891-92;  G.  E.  Houghton,  1891-92;  J.  F. 
Cartwright,  1893-94;  G.  M.  Curtiss,  1893-96;  G.  W.  Peer,  1895-96;  S.  C. 
Goodyear,  1897-1900;  W.  R.  Bates,  1897-98;  J.  J.  Carton,  1899-1904;  E. 
W.  Walker,  :90i-04;  M.  W.  Fairbanks,  1905-08;  H.  H.  Prosser,  1905-08; 
I.  G.  Ormsbee,  i909-io;.E,  G.  Wheeler,  1909-12;  G.  C.  Myers,  1911-12; 
E.  T.  Middleton,  i9i3-]4;  B.  F.  Crapser.  1913-14;  R,  L.  Ford,  1915-16; 
W.  Ormslree,  1915-16. 

COUNTY    OFFICERS. 

Judges  of  Probate — Samuel  Rice,  1836;  Ogden  Clark,  1844;  Charles 
D.  Little,  1848;  R.  J.  S.  Page,  1850;  Henry  I.  Higgins,  1850;  Warner  Lake, 
1S52;  Samuel  B.  Wicks,  i860;  L.  G.  Bickford.  1866;  George  R.  Gold,  1868; 
Thaddeus  G.  Smith,  1876-84;  H.  R.  Lovell.  1885-92;  G.  E.  Taylor,  1893- 
1900;  D.  S.  Frackleton,  190T-08;  C.  O.  Swayze,  1909-16. 

Proseculing  Attomeys~V.  H.  McOmber,  1839-40 :  \\'.  F.  Mosley, 
1841:  M.  L,  Drake,  1842-44;  E.  H.  Thomson.  1845-46;  Joseph  K.  Rugg, 
1847-50;  A.  P.  Davis,  1852-56;  Sumner  Howard,  1858;  C.  W.  Wisner,  i860; 
.\.  P.  Davi.s,  1862;  Sumner  Howard,  1864-68;  H.  R.  Lovell,  1870-72  ;  Charles 
D.  Ix>ng,  1874-78;  C.  H.  Wisner,  1881-84;  K.  S.  Lee,  1885-86;  C.  H.  John- 
son, 1887-90;  J.  M.  Russell,  1891-92;  G.  F.  Brown.  1893-96;  F.  W.  Brennan, 
1897-1900;  G.  W.  Williams,  1901-04;  H.  P.  Martin,  1905-08;  J.  S.  Parker, 
1909-12:  C.  A.  Bishop,  1913-16. 

.SVim^.5— Lewis  Buckingham,  1836;  Reuben  McCreery,  1840;  William 
Clifford,  1842:  Reuben  McCreery,  1844-46;  William  Blades,  1848;  George 
S.  Hopkins,  1850-52;  Lyman  G.  Buckingham,  1854-56;  Lewis  Buckingham, 
1858:  Claudius  T.  Thompson.  1860-62;  John  A.  Kline,  1864-66;  George  W. 
Buckingham,  1868-70;  John  A.  Kline,  1872;  Eugene  Parsell,  1874;  Philo  D. 
Philhps,  1876-78;  Peter  Gordon,  Jr.,  1881-82;  Eugene  Parsell,  1883-84;  A. 
C.  McCali.  1885-88;  B.  S.  Jennings,  1889-90:  F.  D.  Baker,  1891-92;  W.  A. 
Gamer.  1893-96;  A.  C.  McCall,  1897-98;  E.  G.  Rust,  1899-04;  J-  C.  Zim- 
merman. 1905-08;  W.  O.  Parkhurst,  1909-12;  F.  A.  Green,  1913-16. 

County  Clerks — Robert  F.  Stage,  1836;  W.  A.  Morrison,  1839;  Thomas 
R.  Cummings,  1842;  Charles  E.  Dewey,  1844;  George  R.  Cummings,  1846; 
Anderson  Bump,  1848-52;  Mark  D.  Seeley,  1854-56;  George  B.  Merriman, 
1858 :  George  R.  Gold,  1860-62 ;  Charles  D.  Long,  1864-70 ;  Lorenzo  D.  Cook, 
1872-74:  David  P.  Halsey,  1876-78;  J.  J.  Carton,  1881-84;  J-  L-  Spencer. 
1885-88;  G.  S,  Crane.  1889-90;  E.  A.  Murphy,  1891-92;  G.  W.  Cook,  1893- 


dbyGoc^lc 


568  C.l^NKSiLE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

96;  J.  C  Graves,  1897-iyoo;  T.  J.  Allen.  1901-04;  W.  W,  Rlackney,  1905- 
10;  F.  A.  Wertmaii,  1911-16. 

Register  of  Deeds — Oliver  G.  Wesson,  1836;  Benjamin  Rockwell, 
1840-42;  Lewis  G.  Bickford,  1844-48;  George  R.  Cummings,  1850;  Charles 
Seymour,  1852;  Fitch  R.  Tracy,  1854-56;  William  H.  C.  Lyon,  1858;  George 
F.  Hood,  1860-62;  Benjamin  J.  Lewis,  1864;  John  Algoe,  1866-72;  George 
E.  Taylor,  1874-76;  Charles  C.  Beahan,  1878;  G.  E.  Newell,  1881-84;  C.  A. 
Muma,  1885-S8;  J.  A.  Button,  1889-90;  H.  A,  Day,  1891-92;  J.  A.  Button. 
1893-94;  G.  C.  Paine,  1895-98;  S.  Mathewson,  1899-02;  J.  Ballantyne, 
1903-05;  Moses  Middleton,   1909-16. 

County  Treasurers — C.  D.  W.  Gibson,  1836-38;  Orin  Safford,  1840-44; 
Augustus  St.  j\mand,  1846-50;  John  L.  Gage,  1851;  Reuben  McCreery, 
1852-54;  Josiah  \V.  Begole,  1856-62;  Harlow  Whittlesey,  1864-66;  James 
Van  VIeet,  1868-70;  William  W.  Barnes.  1872;  Charles  C.  Beahan,  1874; 
Samuel  R.  Atherton,  1876-78;  C.  H.  Rockwell,  1881-84;  John  Campbell, 
1885-88;  D.  Richards,  1889-90;  A.  J.  Cox,  1891-92;  D.  Richards,  1893-94; 
J.  Ballantyne,  1895-98;  E.  F.  Johnson,  1899-02;  E.  J.  Curts,  1903-04;  C.  O. 
Hetchler,  1905-10;  O.  P.  Graff,  1911-14;  A.  C,  Proper,  1915-16. 


dbyGoot^lc 


dbyGoo<^lc 


ADDENDA, 


(Vol.  I,  pp.  566-568.) 


The  election  of  November  7,  1916,  r.esulted  as  follows:  State  senator 
(thirteenth  district),  Hugh  A.  Stewart;  representatives  (first  district), 
Ransom  L.  Ford,  (second  district)  William  B.  Ormsbee;  circuit  judge,  Mark 
W.  Stevens;  judge  of  probate,  John  C.  Graves;  sheriff,  John  S.  Chesnut; 
county  clerk,  Jesse  C.  Good;  county  treasurer,  Alva  C.  Proper;  register  of 
deeds,  Moses  Middleton;  prosecuting  attorney,  Roy  E.  Brownell;  circuit 
court  commissioners,  Clarence  A.  Cameron  and  Robert  A.  Howard ;  coroners. 
James  D.   Stuart  and  Henry  Cook;  drain  commissioner,  Alfred  H.  Reid. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XVITi. 
Early  Piivslciaks  and  Medical  Societiks. 

The  life  of  a  medical  practitioner  in  these  days  of  antiseptic  hospitals, 
proprietary  remedies  and  visits  facilitated  by  twelve-cylinder  louring  cars 
and  perfect  roads,  does  not  mean  quite  the  arduous  existence  that  it  meant 
one  hundred,  or  eighty,  or  even  fifty  years  ago,  when  the  disciples  of  Aescula- 
pius labored  patiently  and  untiringly  for  the  good  of  their  fe!!ow-man.  The 
greatest  of  English  historians,  Macaulay,  has  said,  "The  history  of  a  country 
is  best  totd  in  a  record  of  the  lives  of  its  people,"  and  possibly  no  truer 
account  of  the  settling  of  new  lands  may  l^e  chronicled  than  in  the  recording 
of  the  lives  of  these  sturdy  pioneers,  the  county  doctors.  They  should  he 
accorded  the  deference  of  the  historian. 

When  Genesee  county  was  still  partly  covered  with  forests,  and  the  vil- 
lages were  tiny  hamlets,  came  the  first  doctor,  Cyrus  Baldwin,  who  removed 
from  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  and  came  to  Grand  Blanc  in  the  spring 
of  1833.  He  was  a  deacon  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in  that  locality.  In 
1837  he  went  to  Atlas,  was  the  pioneer  physician  in  that  township  and  prac- 
ticed there  for  a  number  of  years.  The  second  physician  to  settle  in  the 
vicinity  of  Grand  Blanc  was  Dr.  John  W.  King,  who  came  in  1834.  After 
the  removal  of  Doctor  Baldwin,  Doctor  King  remained  as  the  only  physician 
of  the  settlement  until  the  spring  of  1848,  when  Dr.  H.  C.  Fairbank  became 
his  partner  in  the  profession.  This  partnership  continued  until  the  winter 
of  1849-50  when  Doctor  King  withdrew  entirely  from  practice  and  soon 
afterward  removed  to  the  village  of  Flint,  where  he  engaged  in  the  foundry 
business.  After  some  two  years,  however,  he  returned  to  Grand  Blanc,  or 
Whigville,  to  pass  his  remaining  years  in  comparative  retirement  upon  his 
farm.  In  1873  he  suffered  an  attack  of  paralysis,  from  which  he  never  fully 
recovered,  and  died  in  November,  1876. 

.Another  of  the  early  physicians  to  migrate  to  the  new  country  was  Dr. 
Samuel  W.  Pattison,  who  came  in  1836  to  make  his  home  in  Fenton.  Dr. 
Thomas  Steere  was  the  next  to  locate  in  the  same  village,  coming  from  Nor- 
wich, Chenango  county,  New  York,  in  1838.  He  died  in  i860,  being  much 
beloved,  and,  in  accordance  with  his  last  wishes,  was  buried  just  at  sunset 


dbyGoot^lc 


570  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

in  a  black  walnut  coffin  in  tlie  little  cemetery  just  outside  the  town.  He 
enjoyed  an  envialjle  reputation  as  a  worthy  citizen  and  an  excellent  prac- 
titioner. Dr.  John  C.  Galiup  was  in  Fenton  during  Doctor  Steere's  last 
years  and  was  associated  with  him  for  some  time.  But  the  work  was  ardu- 
ous, the  remuneration  difficult  to-  secure  and  the  early  physicians  who  pio- 
neered in  virgin  territory  did  not  enjoy  the  most  desirable  comforts  of  life; 
so,  tiring  of  the  difficulties  to  be  surmounted.  Doctor  Galiup  finally  gave  up 
his  practice  in  Fenton  and  subsequently  removed  to  Clinton,  New  York, 
where  he  became  the  principal  of  a  well-known  seminary  for  young  ladies. 
Dr.  Isaac  Wixom,  of  Kenton,  who  practiced  his  profession  for  half  a 
century  in  Michigan,  was  born  near  Hector,  Tompkins  county,  New  York,  in 
1803.  He  studied  for  a  time  in  the  office  of  a  country  physician  near  his 
home  and  subsequently  attended  lectures  and  graduated  at  Fairfield,  Herki- 
mer county.  New  York.  Being  at  that  time  under  age,  he  could  not  be 
granted  a  diploma,  although  his  standing  entitled  him  to  one.  In  1824  he 
attained  his  majority  and  received  his  diploma  from  the  Medical  Society  of 
Penn  Yan,  Yates  county,  New  York.  He  immediately  began  practice  in 
Steuben  county,  continuing  for  four  years.  In  the  spring  of  1829  he  emi- 
grated to  Michigan,  his  father  having  preceded  him,  and  settled  near  the 
lalter's  home,  in  the  township  of  Farmington,  Oakland  county.  During  his 
stay  there  he  engaged  in  practice  and  also  "kept  tavern."  Fifteen  years  of 
constant  lahor  in  his  profession,  however,  together  with  his  other  duties, 
wearied  him  and  in  1841].  he  removed  to  the  township  of  Argentine,  Genesee 
county,  where,  thinking  to  avoid  the  hardships  which  lay  in  the  path  of  the 
country  doctor,  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  and  milling  business.  But  he 
had  been  \'ery  successful  and  had  become  too  great  a  necessity  as  a  physician 
and  also  as  a  surgeon  for  his  wishes  to  be  realized.  So,  through  charity  for 
his  neighbor,  he  again  took  up  the  life  of  hard  rides  and  long  hours,  in  a  com- 
munity which  had  no  other  doctor  to  minister  to  the  needs  of  the  inhabitants. 
Doctor  Wixom  purchased  land  in  Argentine  and  moved  his  family  there  the 
year  following.  For  fifteen  years  he  enjoyed  a  large  practice  in  and  around 
Argentine  and  also  built  up  a  greater  portion  of  the  village,  ivhich  was  for 
some  years  a  point  of  greater  commercial  interest  than  Fenton.  In  1S3S  he 
was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  I,£gislature,  then  convened  in  Detroit, 
and  was  for  two  years  a  member  of  the  bouse  committee  on  education. 
While  in  that  capacity  he  took  an  active  part  in  measures  relating  to  the  found- 
ing of  the  University  of  Michigan.  In  1841  he  was  elected  to  the  state 
Senate.  During  his  term,  in  company  with  Hon.  James  Kingsgley,  he  drew 
up  one  of  the  first  railroad  charters  granted  in  Michigan.     In  1861,  Doctor 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESIlF.    county.    MICHIGAN.  37I 

VVixoiD  aided  in  raisinj;  ''Stockton's  Imlependent  Regiment,"  afterwards 
known  as  the  Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  and  accompanied  it  to  the  field 
as  its  surgeon.  For  two  years  he  remained  with  it,  participating  in  twenty- 
two  engagements.  Owing  to  his  failing  health,  he  found  it  necessarv'  to 
resign  and  in  iB6.-?  he  returned  to  Argentine.  He  afterwards  removed  to 
Fenton  in  1869. 

Dr.  George  W.  f'ish.  one  of  the  early  physicians  of  Genesee  county, 
located  in  the  township  of  Genesee  in  1836.  A  little  later  he  removed  to 
Flint,  where  he  practiced  until  1846.  His  health  failing  about  this  time,  he 
went  to  Central  America  and  stayed  for  some  time,  identifying  himself  with 
the  Panama  Railroad  Company.  A  few  years  later  he  went  to  China,  where 
he  remained  for  seven  years  in  the  interests  of  the  board  of  missions  as  head 
of  the  medical  department.  While  in  China,  he  was  appointed  United  States 
consul  to  fill  a  vacancy  at  Hong-Kong.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  Doctor 
Fish  returned  to  America  and  entered  the  army  as  brigade  surgeon,  and  when 
he  had  fulfilled  his  duty  to  his  country  returned  to  Flint  and  resumed  his 
active  professional  life.  He  was  later  appointed  United  States  consul  at 
Tunis,  .Africa.     His  death  occurred  in  1871. 

In  1846  Dr.  Joseph  W.  Graham  came  from  C)x\'osso  to  Fenton  and 
remained  there  in  practice  until  about  1851,  when  he  removed  to  Flint.  About 
two  V ears  later  he  left  Flint  and  located  in  New  .Mbany,  Indiana,  from  which 
place  he  afterwards  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  died.  In  1850  Dr.  Will- 
iam B.  Cole  came  to  Fenton.  After  a  few  years  he  retired  from  practice  and 
held  several  township  offices.  He  finally  went  to  Pontiac,  Oakland  county, 
where,  in  1871,  he  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  Pontiac  Jacksonian  from 
the  widow  of  its  former  proprietor,  D.  H.  Solis.  He  soon  became  the  sole 
proprietor  of  the  paper,  but  in  May,  1872,  he  sold  an  interest  to  Mr.  Sheridan 
and  in  the  fa!!  of  the  same  year  the  firm  moved  the  ofhce  and  materia!  to 
I.udington,  Michigan,  where  the  publication  became  known  as  tiie  Ludington 
Appeal. 

To  Davison\'ille  in  1844  came  I>r.  Elbridge  G.  Gale,  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  a  graduate  of  the  medical  college  of  Castleton,  Vermont.  He 
practiced  there  with  success  until  1851.  after  which  he  became  interested  in 
jjolitics.  He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  for  several  terms  and  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  constitutional  convention  in  1850.  Soon  after  this  he  entirely 
withdrew  from  the  practice  of  medicine  and  devoted  his  efforts  to  farming 
and  sheep  raising.  His  successor  in  practice  was  Doctor  R.  N.  Murray,  of 
Atlas. 


dbyGoot^lc 


57-  CliNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

At  Goodridi,  iti  1846,  Dr.  Joseph  Eastman  entered  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. He  afterwards  removed  to  a  farm  in  Davison  township  and  still  later 
removed  to  the  city  of  Flint,  where  he  died  in  1878.  About  1842  Flushing 
welcomed  a  Resident  physician  in  Doctor  Miller,  who  practiced  there  for 
many  years,  afterwards  going  to  Springfield,  Oakland  county,  and  still  latei 
ti>  Winona,  Michigan. 

In  1847  Dr.  H.  C.  I'-airbank,  who  was  Iwrn  in  Wayne  county.  New 
York,  and  was  a  graduate  of  the  Willoughby  University  and  of  the  Western 
Reserve  College,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  commenced  practice  in  the  village  of 
Flint  with  Dr.  R.  D.  Lamond.  In  1848  Doctor  Fairbank  went  to  Grand 
Blanc  and  entered  practice  there,  beinjr  asstK-iated  with  the  veteran  Doctor 
King.  This  professional  partnership  continued  for  a  year  and  a  half,  when 
Doctor  King  retired  to  his  fann.  Doctor  Fairbank  remaining  in  Grand 
Blanc  until  November,  1864,  when  he  removed  to  Flint. 

All  of  these  men  were  practitioners  of  the  "old  school"  of  ■allopathy. 
Later  came  exponents  of  homeopathy,  the  pioneer  in  tiiis  branch  of  the  pro- 
fession being  Dr.  1.  N.  Eldridge,  of  Flint.  Doctor  l'~Idridge  was  a  graduate 
of  the  Homeopathic  Medical  College  of  New  York  and  also  of  Cleveland. 
Ohio,  and  was  one  of  the  oldest  homeojrathic  practitioners  in  the  slate.  In 
1847  ^^  was  one  of  the  eight  physicians  present  at  the  formation  of  the  first 
Michigan  Institute  of  Homeopathy.  He  came  to  Michigan  from  Livingston 
cotmty.  New  York,  in  1847.  locating  first  in  Ann  Arbor,  coming  to  Flint  in  a 
professional  way  in  1850  and  settling  here  permanently  a  little  later.  He 
had  a  business  partner  in  Dr.  E.  F.  Olds,  who,  however,  only  remained  in 
Flint  for  a  short  time,  going  later  to  South  Lyon,  Oakland  county,  and  later 
to  Howell.  Dr.  William  S.  Cornelius  came  to  Flint  a  short  time  after  Doc- 
tor Eldridge,  but  removed  after  a  few  years  of  practice.  About  this  time 
came  Dr.  Lewis  Taylor,  who  located  in  Flushing.  Dr.  Charles  M.  Putnam 
established  himself  in  Flint  alwut  1864.  Dr.  C.  S.  Eldridge  practiced  in 
F'lint  in  1865.  Dr.  J.  G.  Malcolm  next  came  in  1866,  remained  a  numlier 
of  years  and  then  removed  to  Memphis,  Tennessee.  Dr.  A.  J.  Adams  com- 
menced to  practice  in  Flint  in  1873.  The  list  of  homeopathic  physicians  in 
Genesee  county,  as  given  in  the  "Annual  (homeopathic)  Directory"  for  1878 
is  as  follows:  I.  N.  F:idridge.  C.  M.  Putnam,  A,  J.  Adams.  C.  A.  Hughes. 
and  M.  E.  Hughes,  Flint;  Lewis  Taylor,  Flushing:  R.  E.  Knapp,  Fenton ;  A. 
Austin,  Argentine:  J.  Parks.  Gaines, 

Dr.  Robert  D.  Lamond,  a  graduate  of  the  medical  college  of  Castleton. 
Vennont,  came  to  Flint  in  1838  from  Pontiac,  where  he  had  commence<l 
practice  soon  after  1830.     In  1835  he  was  a  member  of  the  Oakland  county 


dbyGoot^lc 


CENESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  ^y^ 

Medical  Society  antl  was  afterward  elected  its  secretary.  He  resided  in  Flint 
the  remainder  of  his  life  and  took  an  active  part  in  social,  professional  and 
educational  life.  He  represented  Genesee  connty  in  the  Legislature  of  1844 
and  died  in  1S71.  Doctor  Richardson  was  another  of  the  early  physicians, 
coming  to  Flint  in  1837.  but  he  remained  only  a  few  years,  removing  about 
1840  to  the  West. 

Among  the  most  interesting  men  engaged  in  the  medical  profession  in 
Flint  was  Dr.  S.  M.  Axford,  who  came  to  the  city  in  1858  from  Detroit. 
So  great  was  his  success  that  many  humorous  tales  were  related  of  him,  to 
the  effect  that  it  was  once  said  of  him  that  there  was  not  a  home  in  the  town 
that  he  had  not  visited  and  that  his  fellow  practitioners  were  all  a  bit  resent- 
ful because  of  his  advent  into  their  midst.  He  built  what  was  known  as  the 
Axford  House  in  Flint,  which  was  primarily  intended  for  a  private  hospital, 
l^eing  an  edifice  which  in  those  days  was  considered  ciuite  elegant  and  very 
expensive;  but,  for  some  reason,  Doctor  Axford  altered  his  plans  and  the 
fine  house  was  occupied  by  him  as  a  place  of  residence.  His  death  occurred 
in  1873  and  he  was  greatly  mourned  by  ai!  of  the  physicians  in  the  city  who 
had  grown  to  admire  his  personality  and  professional  attainments.  He  had 
been  in  his  youth  a  resident  of  Oakland  county,  where  his  father  had  owned 
extensive  lands,  and  he  rccc)ve{l  his  medical  education  at  the  I'niversity  of 
Michigan. 

In  1857  a  partnership  e.xisted  between  Dr.  R.  D.  I^imoud  and  Dr.  James 
C.  Willson.  Doctor  Willson  was  born  of  Scotch-Irish  parentage  in  the  town- 
ship of  Fitzroy,  Ontario,  in  1833,  and  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Michigan  in  1857.  He  established  his  practice  in  Flint  soon  after  his  gradu- 
ation. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  young  doctor  had  a  delicate  constitution, 
riding  long  distances  on  horseback,  through  mtid  and  mire,  over  corduroy 
roads,  day  and  night,  summer  and  winter,  he  developed  a  robust  constitution 
which  carried  him  through  long  years  of  usefulness  and  helpfulness  to  man- 
kind. Doctor  Willson  had  only  commenced  his  active  professional  life  when. 
in  1861,  the  country  of  his  adoption  faced  a  crisis  and  he  placed  his  life  and 
his  skill  at  the  service  of  the  government.  Appointed  surgeon  of  the  Tenth 
Michigan  Infantry,  he  left  his  practice  and  went  to  the  front.  In  1862  be 
was  transferred  to  the  Eighth  Michigan,  called  the  "Flint  regiment"'  because 
it  was  recruited  largely  from  Flint  and  vicinity  and  had  at  its  head  Col. 
William  M.  Fenton  of  this  city.  Doctor  Willson  joined  the  F^ighth  at  Beau- 
fort, South  Carolina,  and  was  on  the  field  in  every  battle  fought  by  that  hard- 
hit  and  hard-hitting  regiment.  Broken  down  in  health  by  the  hardships  of 
campaigning,  he  was  forced  to  surrender  his  commi,ssion,  receiving  an  honor- 


dbyGoot^lc 


574  (;km-:ske  county,  Michigan. 

able  discharge.  His  military  service  was  recognized  when,  in  1864,  after 
he  had  resumed  his  practice  in  Flint,  he  was  appointed  by  the  governor  of 
the  state  to  the  post  of  Michigan  mihtary  representative  at  Washington. 

In  1865  Doctor  Willson  was  married  to  Miss  Rhoda  M.  Crapo,  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  H.  Crapo,  then  governor  of  Michigan.  Doctor  Wiilson  was 
for  many  years  conspicuous  in  the  hfe  of  the  community.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber for  some  time  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Michigan  school  for  the 
deaf,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank, 
succeeding  the  late  William  A.  Atwood  as  president.  Doctor  Willson  was  one 
of  the  patriarchal  figures  of  I'lint  and  his  death,  in  IQ12,  removed  one  of 
the  best  known  residents  of  Genesee  county.  .After  his  death  his  home  and 
extensive  grounds,  formerly  the  okl  Governor  Crapo  homestead,  was  acquired 
by  the  city  of  Flint  for  a  pubUc  park. 

In  i860  Dr.  M.  M.  Smith  took  up  the  practice  of  Medicine  in  Flint, 
remaining  for  alx>iit  eight  years,  coming  to  Michigan  from  Buffalo,  New 
York.  He  died  in  1868  at  his  residence  on  First  street,  directly  across  the 
street  from  The  Green,  as  the  half  of  the  block  now  bounded  by  South  Sagi- 
naw street.  East  First  street  and  Beach  street  was  then  called. 

In  1866  was  formed  the  Genesee  County  Medical  Association.  On 
Saturday,  May  26.  a  number  of  physicians  of  the  county  held  a  preliminary 
meeting  at  the  Irving  House,  in  Flint,  to  take  measures  for  its  formation. 
R.  D.  Lamond  was  chosen  chairman  and  J.  B.  F.  Curtis,  secretary  of  the 
meeting.  A.  B.  Chapin,  M.  K  Baldwin  and  C  W.  Tyler  were  chosen  as  a 
committee  to  draft  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  and  S.  M.  Axford,  C.  \'. 
Tyler.  S.  Lathrop,  L.  N.  Beagle.  A.  B.  Chapin,  M.  I'~.  Baldwin  and  J.  E.  F. 
Curtis  were  chosen  delegates  to  the  State  Medical  Convention  to  be  held  at 
Detroit  on  June  5.  The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  July  14.  At  the 
adjourned  meeting  the  committee  reported  a  constitution,  which  was  adopted 
and  signed  by  the  physicians  present,  namely:  R.  D.  Lamond,  H.  C.  Fair- 
bank,  A.  B.  Chapin.  S.  M.  Axford.  James  B.  F.  Curtis,  Flint;  S. 
I-athrop,  Pine  Run;  M.  F.  Baldwin,  Genesee;  Lewis  S.  Pilcher,  Clayton. 
The  name  adopted  for  the  organization  was  "The  Genesee  County  Medical 
Association,"  which  had  for  its  declared  object  "to  promote  medical  and  gen- 
eral science,  and  in  every  way  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession.'' The  following  were  cho.sen  its  first  officers:  President,  R.  D. 
Lamond;  vice-president.  H.  C.  i'"airbank:  secretary,  J.  B.  F.  Curtis;  treasurer, 
A.  B.  Chapin. 

A  number  of  phvsicians  were  admitted  as  members  of  the  association 


dbyGoot^lc 


GF.NESEI-:    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  575 

at  dififerent  times  subsequent  to  its  organization.  Rut  several  did  not  sign 
the  constitution  and  by-laws  and  several  others  withdrew  afterwards.  Dis- 
.satisfaction  crept  into  the  association  and  it  was  finally  dissolved  about  1873. 
It.s;  last  recorded  meeting  was  held  on  May  17.  of  that  year. 

On  August  18,  1871,  the  Flint  Academy  of  Medicine  was  organized  at 
a  meeting  of  the  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  county  held  at  the  Scientific 
institute  rooms  in  Flint  Dr.  Daniel  Clarke,  of  Flint,  as  chairman,  appointed 
a  committee,  composed  of  Drs.  A.  B.  Chapin  and  TIenry  P.  Seymour,  of 
Flint,  and  Dr.  Adelbert  F.  Coupe,  of  F'lushing,  to  draft  a  constitution  and 
by-laws.  By  the  first  article  of  the  constitution  a,s  reported,  the  name  and 
style  of  the  association  was  to  be  "The  Society  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
of  Genesee  County."  On  motion  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Willson,  of  Flint,  this  article 
was  amended  by  the  substitution  of  the  name  above  given.  The  several 
articles  and  the  entire  constitution  and  by-laws  were  then  adopted.  The 
article  having  reference  to  eligibility  for  membership  was  as  follows:  "Any 
physician  in  good  standing,  and  who  is  a  graduate  of  a  regular  school  of 
medicine  recognized  by  the  .\merican  Medical  .Association,  may  become  a 
'member  of  this  academy." 

The  nieni!:)er?  of  the  academy  at  its  organization  were,  Daniel  Clarke, 
H.  C  .  I''airbank,  James  C.  Willson,  George  W.  Fish,  Thomas  R.  Euckham, 
William  Bullock,  .-\.  B.  Chapin,  Orson  Millard,  Henry  P.  Seymour,  P.  G. 
Wartman,  A.deliwrt  F.  Coupe,  Newcomh  S.  Smith,  Hiram  H.  Bardwell  and 
(".  W.  Pengra.  The  following  were  its  officers:  President,  Daniel  Clarke; 
vice-president,  Adelbert  P'.  Coupe;  secretary,  Orson  Millard;  treasurer,  Jjunes 
C.  Willson:  board  of  censors,  Newcnmii  S.  Smith,  George  W.  Fish  and  James 
C.  Willson. 

Dr.  Daniel  Clarke,  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  academy,  was  a  native 
of  Boston.  Massachusetts,  and  a  graduate  of  both  the  literary  and  medical 
departments  of  Harvard  University.  Doctor  Clarke's  splendid  mentalitv. 
both  in  his  chosen  profession  and  in  the  more  aesthetic  branches  of  learning, 
placed  him  in  an  enviable  position  in  the  community  and  he  enjoyed  a  most 
successful  practice,  which  lasted  until  his  death.  He  was  consulted  by  the 
younger  members  of  the  profe.ssion  upon  important  subjects  and  was  not  only 
a  skille<i  scientist,  but  a  specialized  Ixitanist.  The  beautiful  elms  which 
grace  b"ast  Kearsley  street  and  many  other  of  the  handsome  residence  dis- 
tricts of  Flint  were  the  famous  "Boston  Elms"  and  were  brought  when  strip- 
lings from  their  native  haunts  and  planted  by  Doctor  Clarke  himself  along 
the  principal  streets.     Doctor  Clarke  was  the  founder  of  the  Flint  Scientific 


dbyGoot^lc 


57*>  GENRSEE    COL'NTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Institute,  which  was  later  merged  into  the  High  School  Museum,  at  one  time 
the  object  of  much  interest  and  discussion,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the 
hoard  of  educiition  for  a  long  period  of  years.  Doctor  Miles,  a  brother-in- 
law  of  Doctor  Clarke,  came  to  Flint  in  1870,  hut  remained  only  a  short  time, 
going  to  Lansiufj  where,  in  later  years,  he  was  an  instructor  in  Michigan 
College. 

Among  the  best  kunwn  physicians  of  the  early  seventies  in  Flint  was 
Doctor  Bullock,  who  eiijined  an  cxtensiv'c  practice,  lie  was  a  man  ot 
research  and  skill  and  invented  what  was  known  as  "sweet  cjuinine,"  which 
at  one  time  bad  a  very  large  sale  and  was  manufactured  on  an  extensive 
scale  by  a  large  drug  firm  in  Detroit. 

Dr.  Thomas  R.  Buckham,  a  native  of  Chingacousy,  Peel  county,  Ontario, 
and  a  graduate  of  \'ictoria  University,  Toronto,  came  to  Flint  in  186S  from 
Petrolia,  Ontario,  where  he  had  enjoj'ed  a  successful  practice  for  a  mmiber 
of  years.  He  was  of  highly  cultivated  intellect,  fond  of  the  classics  and 
well  versed  in  them,  and  was  the  author  of  a  work  on  insanity,  considered  in 
its  medico-legal  relations  and  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  After  his 
death  in  1891,  his  practice  was  continued  by  his  son,  Dr.  James  N.  Buckham, 
a  man  of  genial  disposition  and  scholarly  tastes,  who  was  for  many  years 
division  surgeon  of  the  Grand  Trunk  railroad,  and  who  passed  away  in 
Rochester,  Minnesota,  April  18,  1908. 

Among  the  older  physicians  who  practiced  in  Flint  during  the  late  seven- 
ties and  early  eighties  was  Dr.  A.  A.  Thompson.  Born  in  Richmond,  Ver- 
mont, in  1829,  he  attended  a  primitive  school,  and  when  he  was  eighteen 
years  of  age  was  sent  to  Oberlin  College,  where  he  graduated  with  the  degree 
of  ilacbelor  of  .\rts.  later  receiving  bis  Master  of  .\rts  diploma.  A  few 
years  later  he  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan.  He  was  professor  of  anatomy  and  chemistry  in  Olivet  College 
for  several  years,  after  which  be  went  into  practice  at  VermontviUe,  Mich- 
igan. In  1862  he  entered  the  army  and  acted  as  assistant  surgeon  in  the 
Twelfth  Michigan  Infantry,  remaining  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1869 
Doctor  Thompson  was  elected  to  the  state  Legislature  from  Eaton  county, 
after  which  he  was  appointed  United  States  consul  at  Goderich,  Ontario, 
under  President  Grant.  In  1878  he  went  to  Long  Island  College  Hospital, 
later  locating  in  Flint,  where  he  enjoyed  a  large  practice  for  many  years. 
His  death  occurred  hi  1892. 

Among  the  older  physicians  who  are  residing  in  Flint,  but  not  engaged 
in  active  practice,  is  Dr.  Orson  Millard,  bom  near  Rochester,  Michigan,  in 


dbyGoot^lc 


GF.NFSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  577 

1845,  '^"d  a  descendant  of  Millard  Fillmore.  Doctor  Millard  is  a  graduate 
of  the  University  of  Michigan  and  was  engaged  in  active  practice  in  Flint 
for  forty  ye;trs.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Knights  of  the  Loyal 
Guard,  a  fraternal  beneficiary  society  which  had  its  inception  in  Flint,  and 
was  also  the  Democratic  nominee  for  regent  of  the  University  of  Michigan 
in  1905.  Doctor  Millard  is  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  has  held  many 
positions  of  honor  and  trust.  At  present  he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  Hurley  fiospital. 

Dr.  Mabel  B.  King,  of  Flint,  is  probably  the  oldest  practicing  physician 
in  Flint,  being  in  vigorous  health  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight.  She  was  born 
in  Brimfield,  Ohio,  in  1838,  and  was  a  graduate  of  the  Mt.  Holyoke  Young 
Ladies  Seminary  in  Massachusetts.  Later  she  graduated  from  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  having  been  previously  married 
to  Dr.  Robert  L.  King,  himself  a  graduate  of  tlie  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  later  of  the  Pulta  Medical  College  of  Cincinnati.  Both  Dr.  Robert 
King  and  his  wife  located  in  Fenton,  where  they  practiced  for  twelve  years, 
later  coming  to  Flint,  where  Dr.  Robert  King  died  in  1890. 

Dr.  NoaJi  Bates  was  ;i]so  Ijorn  in  1838  and  is  still  living  and  actively 
engaged  in  professional  duties.  He  was  born  in  Norfolk  county.  Ontario, 
and  was  educated  at  Toronto  University  before  entering  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  I'niversity  of  Michigan.  He  practiced  in  Linden,  Genesee 
county,  for  several  vears.  later  coming  to  Flint,  where  his  remaining  years 
are  Iwing  spent.  Doctor  Bates  has  been  secretary  of  Genesee  Lodge  No. 
174,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century. 

Dr.  Orson  W.  Tock  was  bom  in  Tompkins,  New  York,  in  1845,  coming 
with  his  parents  to  Michigan  when  a  child.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  he 
enlisted  in  the  Twenty-second  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry  and  while  seeing 
service  was  captured  as  a  prisoner  at  Chickamanga.  The  Twenty-second 
Regiment  went  into  action  with  about  five  hundred  men  and  all  that  were  not 
killed  in  this  engagement  were  captured.  With  his  health  stjattered.  Doctor 
Tock  returned  to  Michigan  and  soon  afterwards  entered  the  University  of 
Michigan,  where  he  graduated  from  the  medical  department  in  1870.  He 
afterwards  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  New  York,  and 
at  Rush  Medical  College.  Chicago.  He  enjoyed  for  many  years  a  very  exten- 
sive practice  in  Flushing  and  throughout  the  county  and  was  well  known  in 
medical  circles  throughout  the  state.     His  death  occurred  in  1914. 

Dr.  R.  N.  Murray  was  also  among  the  veteran  practitioners.  He  resided 
in  Grand  Bknc  and  Goodrich  before  coming  to  Flint,  where,   for  a  great 


dbyGoot^lc 


578  GENKSEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

number  of  years,  he  enjoyed  an  exfensi\e  practice;  in  later  life,  he  was  at 
the  head  of  a  private  hosjiital.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Rush  Medical  College. . 
His  death  occurred  in  1915. 

Dr.  Henry  R.  Case  was  born  in  1S4S  in  Oakland  county  and  was  a 
graduate  of  the  National  Medical  College  of  Washington,  D.  C.  He  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Grand  Blanc,  where  he  remained  for 
many  years.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  C.  W.  D.  Gibson,  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Grand  Blanc  township.  In  later  life  Doctor  Case  practiced  in 
Flint,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1908. 

Of  the  older  physicians  who  have  died  during  the  i>ast  decade  or  so, 
have  been  Dr,  L.  N.  Beagle,  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Pine  Run  and  Clio. 
Genesee  county,  and  for  many  years  a  practicing  physician  in  Flint ;  Dr. 
Hiram  H.  Bardwell,  once  elected  to  the  state  Legislature  and  for  many  years 
a  successful  practitioner  in  Mt.  Morris,  who  came  to  Flint  in  the  early  eighties 
and  remained  here  until  his  death  in  191 5,  and  Dr.  Bela  Cogshal!,  who  died 
in  1914,  after  practicing  his  profession  in  Gaines,  Genesee  county,  and  after- 
ward for  many  years  in  Flint. 

Dr.  Andrew  Slaght,  of  Grand  Blanc,  was  among  the  best  known  of  the 
physicians  practicing  in  this  locality  and  was  born  in  Simcoe  county,  Ontario, 
in  1832.  Doctor  Slaght  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Michigan  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  Genesee  county.  His  two  sons  followed 
in  their  father's  steps  and  are  practicing  physicians  in  the  same  township, 

Dr,  L.  E.  Knapp  was  another  of  the  well-known  older  physicians,  being 
bom  in  Salem,  MicJiigan,  in  1842,  and  practicing  in  Linden  and  Fenton  for 
many  years.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Homeopathic  Hospital  College  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Dr,  C.  L.  Howell  was  born  in  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  in  1841  and  was  a 
graduate  of  Rush  Medical  College,  of  (~hicago.  He  enhsted  in  Company  G, 
Second  Michigan  Cavalry,  and  saw  a  great  deal  of  service  during  the  Civil 
War.  He  was*engaged  in  the  battles  of  New  Madrid,  Corinth,  Perryville, 
Murfreesboro,  Nashville,  Chattanooga  and  Chickamauga,  At  Franklin  his 
horse  was  shot  from  beneath  him,  but  he  escaped  injury.  He  took  pari  in 
the  M'ilson  raid  and  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant.  Before  coming  to 
Flint  he  practiced  for  a  number  of  years  at  Goodrich,  Genesee  county.  His 
death  occurred  in  1893. 

Dr.  Rachael  J-  Davison  was  born  in  Grand  Rlanc  township  and  was  the 
daughter  of  Paul  Davison,  a  native  of  Lima,  New  York,  who  settled  in 
Grand  Blanc  township  in  t8;<7.  He  was  an  old  Jacksonian  Democrat,  a 
highly  educated  and  well-reared  man.     Doctor  Davison   inherited   from   her 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  579 

father  a  brilliant  mind  and  during  her  active  professional  life  in  Flint  was 
prominently  identified  with  the  educational  interests  of  the  county.  She  was 
a  niemlTcr  of  the  school  board  for  a  number  of  terms  and  at  great  persona! 
sacrifice  assisted  a  number  of  yonng  men  in  securing  university  educations. 
Doctor  Davison,  during  her  later  years,  took  an  active  interest  in  the  good 
road.s  movement  and  was  directly  responsible  for  the  placing  of  signs  on  all 
country  roads  in  Genesee  county.  She  was  a  graduate  of  the  Homeopathic 
Hospital  College  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  died  in  Flint  in  T914. 

Dr.  G.  V.  Chamberlain  ivas  born  in  South  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1849.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Detroit  College  of  Medicine  and  began  his 
practice  in  Genesee  county  in  1884,  locating  in  Flint.  He  became  a  partner 
of  Dr.  A.  A.  Thompson,  this  association  lasting  up  until  the  death  of  Doctor 
Thompson.  Doctor  C'hamberlain  enjoyed  a  large  practice  in  Flint  and 
vicinity  for  thirty-one  j-ears.  his  death  occurring  in  1915. 

Dr.  G.  W.  Howland,  a  native  of  Genesee  county,  was  one  of  the  active 
practitioners  in  Flint  during  the  eighties.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan.  Hi.';  death  was  the  result  of  a  runaway  accident,  and 
occurred  in  1900. 

Dr.  George'  C.  Palmer,  a  resident  of  Flint  from  1891  until  his  death  in 
i8<)4,  was  a  native  of  Stonington,  Connecticut.  Born  in  1839,  his  young 
manhood  was  spent  hi  New  England,  where  he  received  his  academic  educa- 
tion. Later  he  came  west  and  in  1864  graduated  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan.  Shortly  afterwards"  he  received  the 
appointment  of  assistani  physician  at  the  Michigan  asylum  for  the  insane  at 
Kalamazoo.  Later  he  was  made  assistant  and  then  superintendent  of  the 
same  institvition.  When  the  "Crapo  grove"  in  Flint  was  purchasetl  by  the 
incorporators  of  Oak  Grove  Hospital  for  a  private  sanitarium,  Doctor  Palmer 
was  invited  to  Ijecome  its  medical  director.  This  position  he  filled  until  his 
death. 

Dr.  Colonel  B.  Burr,  the  present  able  head  of  Oak  Grove  Hospital,  was 
born  at  T-ansing,  Michigan,  in  1856.  His  literary  education  was  received  at 
the  University  of  Michigan,  his  medical  training  at  Columbia  University. 
Before  coming  to  Flint  in  1894,  he  was  for  some  years  medical  superin- 
tendent of  the  Michigan  asylum  for  the  insane  at  Pontiac.  He  is  the  author 
of  a  work  on  insanity,  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  and  is  also  the 
author  of  a  number  of  scientific  pamphlets  along  the  lines  of  his  specialty, 
which  have  Iteen  rea<I  before  meetings  of  state  and  national  medical  .societies 
and  printed  in  their  jonrnais.     Doctor  Burr  has  served  as  president  of  the 


yGoc^lc 


58Q'  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Michigan  State  Medical  Society  and  of  the  American  Medico-psychological 
Association. 

Among  the  best  known  of  the  later  physicians  was  Dr.  E.  R.  Campbell, 
who  won  an  enviable  reputation  in  his  profession  during  his  residence  in 
Flint.  He  was  born  in  Port  Perry,  Ontario,  and  received  his  medical  train- 
ing at  Toronto  University.  Doctor  Campbell  came  to  Flint  in  i8qo  from 
St.  Ignace,  Michigan,  and  during  his  residence  in  Flint  was  married  to  Miss 
Margery  Durant,  daughter  of  W.  C.  Durant,  and  great-granddaughter  of 
Henry  H.  Crapo,  one  of  the  early  governors  of  Michigan.  Doctor  Camphell 
now  makes  his  home  in  New  York  City, 

Dr.  David  L.  Treat  was  born  in  Adrian,  Michigan,  in  1874.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  the  Starling  Medical  College  in  Columhus,  Ohio,  and  practiced  in 
Adrian  for  a  number  of  years,  being  also  a  member  of  the  Democratic  State 
Central  Committee  and  prominent  in  politics  throughout  the  state.  He  was 
atone  time  chairman  of  the  board  of  the  Home  for  Childreii  at  Coldwater, 
and  was  influential  in  securing  for  Adrian  the  Bixby  hospital.  He  was  also 
instrumental  in  founding  in  Adrian  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce.  He 
came  to  Flint  in  19  f  5  as  superintendent  of  the  General  Motors  emergency 
hospital  and  also  has  exclusive  charge  of  its  welfare  work, 

:  The  officers  of  the  Genesee  County  Medica!  Society  for  1916  are: 
President,  B.  K.  Burnell;  vice-president,  C.  H.  O'Neill;  treasurer,  F.  D. 
Miner;  secretary,  Ray  Morrish :  directors,  J.  G.  R.  Manwaring,  E.  D.  Rice, 
W.  G.  Bird,  N.  Bates  and  A.  S.  Wheeiock. 

On  July  I,  1916,  the  following  physicians  were  engaged  in  practice  in 
Genesee  county: 

Flint — -Elbert  1,  Allen,  Gordon  Henry  Bahlman,  Edwin  Huntington 
Bailey,  Frank  Dymond  Baker,  Noah  Bates,  Daniel  C.  Bell,  John  Charles  Hen- 
son,  William  Grant  Bird,  George  H.  Bradt,  Guy  Davis  Eriggs,  Byron  E.  Bur- 
nell.  Colonel  Bell  Burr.  Melvin  E.  Chandler.  Carl  D.  ChaiJell,  Clifford  P.  Clark, 
Homer  E.  Clarke,  Myron  William  Clift,  Thaddeus  Sidney  Conover.  Henry 
Cook,  Ethan  Allen  DeCamp,  Victor  H.  De  Somoskeoy,  Edwin  G.  Dimond, 
Cyrus  J.  Dove,  Claud  G.  Eaton,  John  W.  F.vers,  George  Reinhold  Goering, 
Raymond  Halligan,  Louis  H.  Hallock,  John  W.  Handy,  David  S,  Jickling, 
Wilham  C.  Kelly,  Mabel  B.  King,  Don  D.  Knapp,  Herbert  D.  Knapp,  Mark 
S.  Knapp,  J.  G.  R,  Manwaring.  J.  C.  McGregor,  Oscar  W.  McKenna,  Orson 
Millard,  Frederick  B,  Miner,  Ray  S.  Morrish.  Henry  R,  Niles,  Charles  H. 
O'Neil,  John  W.  Orr,  Albert  A,  Patterson,  Charles  T.  Ramoth,  Herbert  E. 
Randall,  Frank  E.  Reeder,  A.  J.  Reynolds,  E.  D.  Rice,  Eugene  V.  Riker, 
Floyd  A.  Roberts,  Edward  C.  Rumer,  John  R.  Shank,  H.  E.  Stewart,  James 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  581 

r.  Stuart,  H.  R,  Thomas,  Frederick  L.  Tapper,  William  I.  Whitaker,  Waiter 
H.  Winchester,  G.  K.  Pratt,  M.  R.  Sutton,  M.  S.  Gibbs,  Ivan  LillJe,  Lucy 
Elliott.  J.  B.  Probert. 

Flushing — John  H.  Houton,  Joseph  Scheidler,  De  Verne  C.  Smith. 

Pen  ton- —Jefferson  Goukl,  A.  R.  Ingram,  Burton  C.  McGary,  M.  B. 
Smith,  Albert  G.  Wright. 

Montrose — John  M.  Galbraith,  S.  T.  Goddard,  Charles  W.  Goff. 

Clio— B.  T.  Goodfellow,  Perry  E.  White. 

Mt.  Morris^Francis  H.  Callow,  Hugh  W.  Graham. 

Goodrich— A.  S.  Wheelock,  F.  J.  Burt. 

Linden — Mark  E.  Topping,  B.  R.  Sieeman,  C.  B.  Irwin. 

Davison — L.  J.  Loc)^  James  F.  Rumer,  William  J.  Wall. 

Swartz  Creek — A.  D.  Clark,  James  Houston. 

Grand  Blanc— James  W.  Parker,  William  M.  Slaght,  W.  C.  Reid. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Schools  .and  i ■Education. 

Gone  ioiiff  since,  the  day  of  "the  little  red  school  house,"  that  generator 
of  coijcentrated  intellectual  fire,  hallowed  by  the  shades  of  Webster,  Choate, 
and  a  hundred  other  illustrious  names.  In  the  flamboyant  present  we  get 
our  somewhat  promiscuous  education  from  ornate  buildings  of  brick  and 
stone.  Parents  no  longer  need  to  stint  themselves  to  buy  text-books  for  their 
children,  since  now  the  state,  in  loco  parentis,  flings  the  text-hooks  at  their 
heads.  Without  attempting  to  balance  the  relative  merits  of  the  oM  and 
the  new,  or  trying  to  decide  whether  the  loss  of  the  accurate  and  broad 
knowledge  of  the  learned  few  is  well  atoned  for  by  the  thin  educational 
veneer  of  the  many,  let  us  turn  to  conditions  at  home  in  this  year  of  grace, 
1916. 

Schools  and  the  means  of  education  were  ever  first  in  the  thoughts  of 
Genesee  county  pioneers  and  their  descendants  have  not  been  false  to  the 
fine  educational  spirit  of  these  worthy' hewers  of  the  way.  When  Daniel 
O'Sullivan.  "the  Irish  schoolmaster,"  arrived  in  Fhnt  River  settlement  in 
1834  and  taught  twelve  pupils  in  a,  little  cabin  near  the  Thread  creek,  at  the 
rate  of  ten  cents  per  week,  he  little  dreamed  that  the  scene  of  his  humble 
educational  efforts,  over  eighty  years  later,  would  boast  many  great  buildings 
devoted  to  learning  and  costing  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars. 

i\aron  Hoyes  succeeded  Mr.  O'Sullivan  as  teacher  and  remained  until  a 
small  building  was  erected  for  school  purposes  on  the  land  now  occupied  by 
the  Fenton  block,  th-C  first  schoolmistress  being  a  Miss  Overton. 

The  reports  of  early  educational  interests  in  Genesee  coimty  are  very 
meager  and  from  1S37  ""t'l  ^^55  the  data  are  most  incomplete.  However, 
the  ofificial  fijjures  of  the  school  inspector  of  1838  give  the  number  of  pupils 
as  sixty,  of  whom  thirty-nine  were  between  the  ages  of  five  and  seventeen  and 
twenty-one  were  under  five  and  over  seventeen.  After  struggling  for  some 
years  to  maintain  a  school  on  the  rate  plan,  which  was  frequently  a  great 
tax  on  parents  with  several  children,  the  friends  of  education  made  a  rally 
for  the  union  school  system  as  a  remedy  for  scholastic  ills,  and  in  1845-46 
the  old  "Union  School,"  as  it  was  known  for  many  years,  was  built  on  the 
site  of  what  is  now  the  Walker  school. 


dbyGoot^lc 


(.[£NKyEi;    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  583 

Later,  when  Flint  became  a  city  in  1855,  Prof.  William  Travis,  an 
accomplished  teacher,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Flint  schools  for  three 
years  and,  by  his  ability,  culture,  energy  and  enthusiasm,  gave  a  new  impetus 
to  the  cause  of  education,  which  left  a  lasting  impression.  At  the  annual 
meeting  in  1859  it  was  voted  unanimously  to  organize  a  graded  school  and 
the  followin_s^  board  of  trustees  was  elected:  For  three  years,  Levi  Walker 
and  Daniel  (.larkc;  for  two  _years,  S.  N.  Warren  and  Grant  Decker;  for  one 
year.  John  DelbriJge  and  (.'.  K.  Heecher.  Jt  would  be  impracticable  to  note 
here  all  of  the  teachers  whose  faithful  labors  have  done  so  much  to  lay  the 
foundation  upon  which  the  reputation  of  the  Flint  schools  was  built. 

April  3,  1869,  is  a  most  iitfporlant  date  in  the  educational  history  of 
Michigan,  worthy  a  cenlennial  remembrance  as  the  day  when  No.  116  of 
the  acts  of  the  Legislature  for  that  year,  by  virtue  of  which  rate-bills  were 
finally  alxilished  and  the  free  public  school  really  estabhshed,  was  approved 
by  the  governor  and  became  the  law  of  the  state.  This  event  gave  new 
vitality  to  the  cause  of  education  which,  together  with  the  constant  growth 
in  population  and  weaith,  soon  placed  the  Flint  schools  on  a  high  plane. 

In  1855  district  No.  3,  which  contained  the  most  territory  and  largest 
number  of  pupils  with  the  least  taxable  property,  proceeded  to  erect  a  brick 
house  on  Oak  street  in  the  third  ward.  This  house  (which  was  a  two-story 
Iniilding,  neither  commodious  nor  elegant)  originally  contained  two  school- 
rooms and  a  small  recitation  room.  In  the  absence  of  any  records,  we  can 
only  say  that  able  and  faithful  teachers  labored  here  and  did  their  part  in 
advancing  the  great  work  of  education. 

Distrfct  No.  4,  which  contained  the  least  territory,  with  the  smallest 
numljer  of  pupils  and  a  larger  proportion  of  taxable  property,  instead  of 
building,  purchased  an  unfinished  dwelling  house  on  Grand  Traverse  street 
known  as  the  Blades  house,  and,  fitting  it  up  as  an  apology  for  such  a  school 
house,  occupied  it  as  such  for  several  years.  It  was  not  very  successful  and 
an  effort  was  made  in  1S61  to  have  it  united  with  No.  3.  In  1863  there  was 
a  decided  expression  of  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  measure.  The 
formal  consent  of  the  district  officers  was  obtained  and  the  measure  was 
effected.  The  democratic  principle  of  free  public  schools  seems  to  have  been 
but  chmly  recognized  in  this  enterprise.  In  a  remonstrance  against  abandon- 
ing the  Blades  house  and  substituting  the  city  hall  building,  a  measure 
demanded  for  the  accommodation  of  more  pupils,  it  was  claimed  that  as  they 
had  escaped  the  burden  of  a  school  tax  in  a  great  measure  in  the  past, 
immunity  should  he  continued  asi  a  vested  right  in  the  future.     In  1867  dis- 


dbyGoot^lc 


584  GENMSKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

tricts  Nos.  I  and  3  were  united  under  the  title  of  "Union  School  District  of 
the  City  of  Flint."  After  the  annual  meeting,  the  school  was  reorganized 
under  this  act,  with  the  following  board  of  trustees :  President,  Levi  Walker; 
secretary,  William  L.  Smith ;  treasurer,  George  R.  Gold ;  Paul  H.  Stewart, 
Sumner  Howard  and  Daniel  Clarke.  The  union  made  the  necessity  for 
further  accommodations  urgent.  As  the  best  temporary  relief  which  could 
be  obtained,  the  unfinished  building  on  the  corner  of  Saginaw  and  Third 
streets,  known  as  the  City  Hall  building,  was  leased  of  the  city  for  a  nominal 
sura  and  fitted  up  at  an  expense  of  about  five  thousand  dollars  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  high  school.  This  house  continued  to  be  used  for 
this  purpose  until  the  completion,  in  1875,  of  the  present  high  school  build- 
ing. After  this  time  a  male  principal  was  employed  in  addition  to  the  super- 
intendent, S.  R.  Winchel  being  the  first  to  occupy  that  position.  The  trustees' 
report  at  the  annual  meeting  of  1S70  shows  two  male  and  thirteen  female 
teachers;  the  nun;ber  of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  district  between  the  ages  of 
five  and  twenty.  1,269;  whole  number  attending  school.  1,157,  of  whom  150 
were  non-residents. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  approved  March  t8,  1871,  amending  the 
charter  of  the  city  of  Flint,  the  school  district  No.  i  of  the  town  of  Flint  was 
annexed  to  the  city  as  the  fourth  ward  and,  by  the  consent  of  both  parties, 
became  merged  in  Union  school  district,  its  property  being  transferred  and 
its  liabilities  assumed.  A  brief  sketch  of  this  school  will  illustrate  the  rise 
and  progress  of  schools  in  a  new  country  and  verify  the  old  adage  that  "where 
there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way."  The  territory  now  comprising  the  fourth 
ward  was,  for  some  ye.ars  after  the  settlement  of  Flint,  mostly  ociJupied  by  -a 
dense  growth  of  pine,  forming  a  most  striking  feature  in  the  landscape  and 
giving  the  newcomer  the  impression  that  he  had  at  last  reached  the  border  of 
that  vast  pine  forest  of  northern  Michigan  of  which  he  had  heard  so  much. 
After  the  establishment  in  this  vicinity  of  the  state  institution  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  deaf  and  dumb  and  the  blind,  this  pinery  was  rooted  out  and  a 
village  platted.  Keing  connected  with  the  business  portion  of  the  city  by  a 
new  bridge,  a  settlement  soon  grew  up  there.  As  the  nearest  school  house 
was  at  an  inconvenient  distance,  the  need  of  another  was  felt.  On  April  9, 
1859,  this  territory  was  set  off  as  district  No.  i  of  the  town  of  Flint  and  was 
soon  afterward  organized  by  a  meeting  at  the  house  of  G.  F.  Hood.  At  this 
time  it  was  reported  that  .all  the  qualified  voters  in  the  district  to  the  number 
of  twenty-one,  including  one  female,  had  been  notified.  The  following 
officers  were  elected :  Moderator,  D.  M.  McKercher;  director,  H.  G.  Beach ; 
assessor,  H.  W.  Whitney.     At  a  special  meeting,  held  April  28,  on  motion  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


ci;ni:si';)-:  countv,  M]CHinAN.  j^H^ 

G.  F.  Hood  it  was  voted  that  the  board  have  power  to  purchase  materials  and 
put  up  an  eifrhteen-by-twenty-eight-foot  shanty,  suitable  for  a  school  building. 
This  was  built  at  a  cost,  including  furniture,  of  about  one  hundred  and  forfy 
dollars.  It  did  good  service,  Iwing  used  eleven  years,  and  then,  after  the 
completion  of  the  new  house,  was  sold  at  auction  for  thirty-three  dollars. 
By  the  time  of  the  annual  meeting  in  1867,  the  number  of  pupils  had  increased 
to  one  hundred.  The  shanty  had  become  too  small  and  the  necessity  for  a 
new  building  was  felt,  l-'or  tliat  purpose  it  was  rcsoh'ed  to  raise  one  thou- 
sand dollars  by  tax  and  three  thousand  dollars  by  loan.  A  plan  submitted 
by  P.  Cleveland,  of  Flint,  was  adopted  and  a  two-story  brick  building,  sur- 
mounted by  a  belfry,  was  erected.  It  cont:iined  a  spacious  school  room  in 
each  story.  At  the  next  aiuiual  meeting  in  1868,  it  was  resolved,  by  a  vote 
of  twenty-eight  (o  eight,  that  two  dollars  per  scholar  be  raised  by  tax  for  the 
support  of  the  school.  This  tax  ainounted  to  two  hundred  and  sixty-two 
dollars.  In  1869  a  graded  school  was  established  and  the  following  six 
trustees  elected:  L.  P.  Andrews,  J,  Williams,  G,  I..  Walker,  O.  Maltby.  G. 
Stanard  and  J.  Haver.  'Ihe  reported  state  of  the  finances  at  this  time  was 
"an  empty  treasury,  rate-bills  abolished  by  law  and  teachers  unpaid."  How- 
ever, these  difficulties  were  overcome.  A  male  teacher,  C.  Donelson,  was 
employed  and  the  school  conliniied  to  flourish  until  absorbed  into  the  "union 
school  of  the  city"  in  iS/r. 

School  district  No.  2  was.  formed  March  8.  1845.  In  fiie  following 
year  a  brick  school  house  was  built  on  Detroit  street.  The  early  records  of 
this  district  are  lost  or  inaccessible.  It  seems  not  to  have  been  very  prosper- 
ous or  to  have  soon  fallen  into  decay.  Its  condition  became  a  source  nf 
such  annoyance  that  the  inhabitants  took  steps  to  improve  the  character  of  the 
school.  The  financial  crisis  of  1857  niaterially  hindered  the  plans,  but  at 
the  annual  meeting  in  that  year  the  project  was  started.  A  committee 
reported  at  the  next  meeting  in  favor  of  a  new  school  house;  the  report  was 
adopted  and  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  was  raised  to  aid  the  enterprise. 
The  result  was  the  building  of  the  best  school  house  in  the  county  at  that 
time.  This  zeal  in  a  good  cause  went  on  to  establish  and  sustain  a  first 
class  school.  At  the  annual  meeting  in  1859  a  graded  school  was  organized 
under  the  act  of  the  Legislature  then  rece7itly  passed,  and  the  following  gen- 
tlemen were  elected  a  board  of  trustees:  For  one  year,  D.  S.  Freeman  and 
D.  S.  Fox ;  for  two  years,  A.  McFarlan  and  O.  Adains ;  for  three  years,  F. 
H.  Rankin  and  H.  W.  Wood.  In  1865  x-aluable  apparatus  was  bought  and 
two  thousand  dollars  raised  by  tax  to  enlarge  the  new  school  house,  which 


dbyGoot^lc 


586  GKNMSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

had  become  inadequate  to  accommodate  the  increasing  number  of  pupils.  In 
1867  the  enlarged  house  again  became  crowded  and  another,  known  as  the 
■'Branch  House,"  was  built  on  Second  street  at  the  corner  of  Lyon  street. 

The  movement  which  had  been  inaugurated  in  tlie  union  school  district 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river  for  building  a  new  house,  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  in  this  ward  and  in  1871  a  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
adopted  in  favor  of  union  on  certain  conditions.  These  conditions  were 
assented  to  and.  after  further  conference,  the  consolidation  of  the  four  wards 
of  the  city  in  one  scliool  district  was  effected  by  an  act  of  the  J-,egislature 
approved  March  28,  1872.  Thus  this  prosperous  school  in  the  full  tide  of 
its  success  became  merged  in  that  grand  enterprise  which  has  brought  all  the 
Flint  schools  into  one  organization. 

Each  augmentation  of  the  union  school  district  rendered  the  call  for  a 
new  house  more  urgent.  In  1871  the  board  of  trustees  in  their  report  most 
strongly  urged  the  absohite  necessity  for  enlarged  accommodations.  A  tax 
of  five  thousand  dollars  was  voted  for  the  purchasing  of  a  site  and  the  issuing 
of  lx>nds  to  the  amount  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  authorized.  Later 
fifty -five  thousand  dollars  was  added  to  the  amount  of  bonds  authorized.  A 
committee,  consisting  of  President  Angel)  of  the  State  University,  Professor 
Estabrook  of  the  State  Normal  School  and  Hon.  M.  E.  Crofoot  of  Pontiac, 
recommended  the  adoption  of  the  Lamond  block  as  the  most  eligible  site  for 
a  building- — the  site  now  occupied  by  the  high  school  building.  Their  recom- 
mendation was  adopted  by  the  board  and  subsequently  ratified  by  the  tax- 
payers. The  south  four  lots  of  that  portion  of  the  block  now  occupied  were 
obtained  at  a  cost  of  eight  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  north  four 
lots  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 

After  deciding  upon  the  size,  ground  plan  and  general  arrangement  of 
ihe  building,  the  subject  was  referred  to  Porter  &  Watkins.  architects, 
who  submitted  plans  and  specifications  of  the  building.  The  contract  was 
awarded  to  Reuben  Van  Tiffin,  June  16,  1873,  at  sixty-eight  thousand  dol- 
lars, the  work  to  be  completed  July  i,  1875.  The  contract  was  faithfully 
fulfilled  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  hoard  of  trustees.  The  whole  amount 
paid  the  contractor  was  seventy-seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  dollars  and  sixty-two  cents. 

No  serious  accident  occurred  to  any  of  the  workmen  engaged  in  the 
construction  of  the  building,  but  the  edifice  itself  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
destruction  by  fire,  which  originated  from  the  culpable  carelessness  of  the 
men  employed  to  install  the  heating  apparatus.     Had   it  not  been   for  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  58/ 

timely  discovery  of  the  blaze  by  some  young  men  returning  from  a  late 
party,  the  whole  structure  would  soon  have  been  a  mass  of  flames. 

A  sad  event,  one  wliich  greatly  shocked  his  colleagues  and  threw  a 
gloom  over  the  entire  community,  was  the  death  of  Hon.  Levi  Walker, 
which  occurred  on  April  25,  1874,  at  Lansing,  where  he  was  engaged,  with 
his  accustomed  energy  and  fidelity,  in  discharging  the  duties  of  representa- 
ti\e  in  the  state  Legislature.  Mr.  Walker  had  been  for  twenty  years  con- 
nected with  Flint  schools  in  tlieir  various  phases  of  organization  and,  by 
his  generous  nature,  culture,  sound  judgment,  legal  experience  and  sturdy 
independence,  had  rendered  invaluable  service  at  many  a  critical  juncture, 
and  his  death  was  a  great  loss. 

The  building  was  dedicated  on  July  13,  1875,  on  which  occasion  a 
highly  interesting,  and  instructive  address  was  delivered  by  Hon.  Duane 
Doty,  of  Detroit.  On  August  30.  1875,  the  school  was  opened  in  its  several 
departments,  under  charge  of  Professor  Crissey,  assi.sted  by  an  able  corps 
of  teachers.  A  class  of  eight  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  the  close 
of  the  school  year  1875-76.  In  1877  the  graduates  numbered  fourteen;  in 
1878  there  were  twenty-one.  The  high  school  was  organized  with  four 
course  of  study:  Classical,  Latin,  linglish  and  scientilic.  Comix)sition  ami 
elocutionary  exercises  were  given  throughout  the  several  courses.  The  first 
of  these  courses  prepared  students  for  the  classical  course  in  the  University 
of  Michigan,  the  second  for  the  Latin  and  scientific,  the  third  for  the  scien- 
tific and  engineering  course  (requiring,  however,  the  addition  of  one  year's 
work  in  Latin")  and  the  fourth  for  the  English  literary  course.  This  was 
one  of  the  high  schools  of  the  state  from  which  students,  if  recommended, 
were  admitted  to  the  university  upon  their  diplomas. 

Marshall  T.  Gass  took  charge  of  the  schools  in  1880  and  was  verv 
[lopuiar  with  the  pupils.  He  left  during  the  year  1883  to  do  excellent  work 
among  the  deaf  and  dumb  in  Michigan  and  Towa  institutions,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Irving  W.  Barnhart.  who  remained  until  1886,  since  when  he  has 
had  a  successful  business  career  in  Grand  Rapids.  Mr.  Barnhart  was  fol- 
lowed by  Wesley  Sears,  who  remained  for  two  years  and  was  succeeded  by 
David  McKenzie  in  1888.  Mr.  McKenzie  had  been  principal  of  the  high 
school  for  some  years  previous.  He  contimied  as  superintendent  for  four 
years  and  did  splendid  work  for  the  schools,  bringing  them  to  a  high  state 
of  efficiency.  He  enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all,  school  board,  par- 
ents and  children  alike.  ?Iis  excellent  work  in  the  Detroit  central  high 
school  has  demonstrated  his  great  ability. 


dbyGoot^lc 


588  GliNESKE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  next  to  take  charge  of  the  Flint  schools  was  George  W.  Fiske,  a 
\-ery  cultured  and  scholarly  gentleman,  who  remained  only  one  year  and  was 
succeeded  by  V,'.  H.  Honey,  a  rigid  disciplinarian.  Mr.  Honey  was  suc- 
ceeded by  F.  K.  Hathaway,  a  gentleman  of  fine  education  and  unusual  exe- 
ciiti\'e  ability,  who  stayed  for  four  years  and  did  good  work,  leaving  the 
schools  in  iSqS  in  excellent  condition.  He  was  followed  by  W.  C.  Hull, 
who  remained  for  three  years.  Mr.  Hull  was  succeeded  in  1901  by  R.  H. 
Kirtland.  who  also  remained  three  years.  At  this  time  A.  N,  Cody  had 
been  principal  of  the  high  school  for  several  years,  and  on  the  retirement 
of  Mr.  Kirtland  was  promoted  to  the  siiperintendency.  Mr.  Cody  still  occu- 
]iies  this  position. 

P.\R0CHI.1L   SCHOOLS. 

The  history  of  the  Flint  schools  would  not  be  complete  without  men- 
tion of  St.  Michael's  parochial  school.  In  the  year  1856  a  small,  one-room 
building  was  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  old  St.  Michael's  church  build- 
ing, during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Fr.  Deceunnick.  School  started  the  same 
year  with  Miss  Fawcett  as  teacher.  The  buildings  was  used  for  school  pur- 
poses until  1871,  when  the  present  school  building  was  erected  by  Rev.  Fr. 
Gtlloetise.  Among  the  teachers  employed  were  Julia  Marum,  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  William  Hamilton,  Mary  Wallace,  Miss  Holland,  Miss  Anna  Lennon 
and  John  Donovan,  the  latter  better  known  as  "Donovan  of  Bay."  During 
the  administration  of  Rev.  Fr.  Haire,  the  Sisters  of  Immaculate  Heart  of 
Mary  were  brought  to  Flint  ami  given  charge  of  tlie  schools,  which  have 
since  been  conducted  under  their  supervision.  Through  the  efforts  of  Rev. 
Fr.  Murphy  and  the  Sisters,  many  important  changes  have  lieen  made  and 
at  present  it  consi,sts  of  grammar,  primary  grades,  kindergarten  and  mu.sic. 
The  course  of  study  embraces  Christian  doctrine,  reading,  spelling,  lan- 
guage, geography,  arithmetic.  United  States  history,  civil  government,  phy- 
siology, penmanship,  drawing,  nature  study,  sight  singing.  A  music  depart- 
ment was  added  in  1896.  Tliis  course  embraces  lessons  in  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music,  piano,  viohn,  banjo,  mandolin  and  guitar,  and  is  considered  a 
very  important  adjunct  to  the  school. 

St.  Mathew's  Catholic  school,  opened  in  1914,  by  the  Rev.  Fr.  Michael 
John  Comerford,  is  a  handsome  brick  structure  on  Beach  street,  and  is  under 
the  supervision  of  Mother  Hilda  of  the  Order  of  the  Immaculate  Heart.  Alt 
,Sa:ints'  parish  school,  the  institution  founded  by  Rev.  Fr.  John  B.  Hewelt,  is 
one  of  the  finest  school  buildings  in  Flint,  where  five  hundred  children  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN.  589 

foreign  parentage  are  tanght  the  English  language  and  are  also  instructed 
in  the  duties  of  American  citizenship.  From  the  roof  the  American  flag 
floats  reassuringly  and  within  are  to  he  found  a  club  and  reading  rooms.  It 
is  the  home  of  the  Hungarian,  Slavic,  Italian,  Bohemian,  Moravian,  Polish, 
and  ("horvatian  societies  of  Flint,  who  use  it  as  a  club  house  and  social  settle- 
ment. 

The  phenomenal  growth  of  the  city  of  Flint  from  1905  to  1916,  in- 
creasing its  population  from  about  sixteen  thousand  to  about  seventy-five 
thousand,  has  necessitated  the  erection  of  new  buildings  for  school  purposes 
as  follows :  the  new  Stevenson  school,  the  new  Clark  school,  the  Dort  school, 
the  Oak  school  addition  of  six  rooms,  the  Hazelton  school  increased  to  ten 
rooms,  tile  Kearsley  school,  four  additional  rooms,  the  Parkland  school,  the 
Homedale  school  and  the  Fairview  school.  These  various  new  buildings  and 
the  increased  facilities  of  former  buildings  have  made  a  four-fold  increase 
in  school  rooms.  This  does  not,  however,  keep  up  with  the  city's  growth, 
and  a  new  building,  the  George  W.  Cook  school,  is  voted,  to  cost  about 
ninety  thousand  <lonars  and  to  be  completed  l>efore  the  fall  of  1917.  The 
old  high  school  bnildiiig.  too,  has  become  obsolete  and  a  new  one,  to  be  of 
the  most  approved  character,  is  now  \oted  and  the  appropriation  of  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars  made  for  it. 

Alvin  N.  Cody  has  held  the  responsible  position  of  superintendent  of 
schools  for  the  entire  time  since  7905.  C.  G,  Wade  resigned  as  principal  of 
the  high  school  to  become  superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Superior,  Wiscon- 
sin, in  1914:  Linus  S.  Parmelee  succeeded  him  as  principal  and  has  since 
filled  lliat  position  with  great  credit  and  notable  efficiency. 

The  high  school  has  grown  very  rapidly,  not  only  in  nnmljcrs  of  pupils 
in  attendance,  but  also  in  the  scope  of  instruction,  which  has  been  expanded 
to  meet  present-day  requirements.  \'ocational  instruction,  sanitation  and 
domestic  science  arc  all  receiving  attention.  There  is  now  being  built  on  the 
site  of  the  old  Clark  school  a  "fresh  air"  school  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
those  students  who  need  a  different  en\ironn)ent  for  physical  reasons.  All 
of  the  new  school  buildings  are  models  of  their  kind  and  are  frequently 
visited  by  boards  of  education  from  other  places  who  contemplate  building 
and  wish  to  inspect  the  very  latest  thing  in  school  architecture.  With  the 
completion  of  tlie  new  high  school  building,  the  Cook  building  and  the  fresh 
air  school,  it  may  be  said  with  little  fear  of  contradiction  that  Flint  will  be 
the  best  equipped  city  in  the  United  States  in  school  buildings  and  apparatus. 


dbyGoot^lc 


rivSEE    COUNT- 


Nl)   TEACIIKRS   OF   THE   FLINT   SCHOOLS. 


Board  of  Education,  1916:  George  W.  Cook,  president;  A.  J.  Wil- 
danyer.  secretary ;  H.  W.  Zimmerman,  E.  D.  Foote,  John  McKeighan,  Dr. 
Henry  Cook,  W,  E.  Martin,  W.  W.  "RIackney  and  Dr.  F.  E.  Reeder;  Alvin 
N.  Cody,  superintendent. 

High  School:  Linus  S.  Parnialee,^  principal;  W.  J.  Russell,  John  E. 
W'elJwood,  J.  W.  Bums,  R.  E.  Wightnian,  Leroy  Pratt,  Mary  Seymour, 
Henrietta  Lewis,  Bertha  WiUianis,  Mary  E.  S.  Gold,  Lilian  Gold,  Harriet 
Mudge,  Edna  Ballard,  Nellie  Mingay,  Mae  Beardsley,  Adah  Lea,  Otteha 
Sdunek,  Florence  Fuller.  Ethel  Martin,  Helen  Desjardins,  Viola  Becker, 
Jane  Payne,  Ruth  Halliday,  l^iira  Millar,  Jennie  Smith.  Helen  Lohrstorfer. 

W.  J.  Puffer,  principal  Dort  school:  Mary  Kelly,  principal  Stevenson 
school;  (irace  C.  Pierce,  principal  Doyle  school;  Nina  Bushnell,  principal 
W'alker  school;  Clara  Nixon,  principal  Oak  Street  school;  Mary  Coates, 
principal  Clark  school;  Elizaheth  Coates,  principal  Homedalc  school;  Anna 
]\i.  Derbyshire,  principal  Hazelton  school;  Eva  Curtis,  principal  Parkland 
school;  Elizabeth  Welch,  i)rincipal  Fairview  school;  Lillian  Park,  principal 
Kearsley  school ;  Fanny  Gifford,  principal  Rankin  school. 

County  Normal:     Ellen  ^Knderson,  principal;  Rose  Walsh,  critic. 

S]iecial  Teachers:  H.  A.  Tiedman,  manual  training;  Howard  Bush, 
mamia!  training:  James  Hendrickson,  manual  training;  G.  Roscoe  Correll, 
manual  training:  Paul  l-'icld,  athletic  director  and  coach;  Edith  Harden, 
physical  training:  Sarah  Dewey,  drawing;  Jean  Farr,  writing;  Ohve  Wallar, 
writing  assistant;  Christine  Keyes,  nurse;  Gertrude  McGill.  primary  super- 
visor; Alice  Campbell,  auxiliary;  Edna  Wisler,  auxiliary;  Emehne  Fisher, 
music :  J.  Warren  Gregory,  high  school  music ;  Marion  Sly,  domestic  science ; 
Gladys  Giftord,  domestic  science;  Edna  Carr.  domestic  science:  Minerva 
Sanson,  domestic  science ;  Katiierine  Beekman,  domestic  science ;  Ruth  Hans- 
ford, domestic  science;  I-aurella  M''ilder,  domestic  science. 

Grade  Teachers:  J,  Irving  DeLong,  Grace  Bell,  Lillian  Rector,  Ger- 
trude Sherman,  Lina  Turner,  Lillah  Knight,  Saidee  Fletcher,  Mable  Vro- 
man,  Mabel  V.  Wood,  Nev;i  Saunders,  Neva  Springer,  Jessie  Baumgart, 
Mildred  Footc,  Margjiret  Sears,  Katherine  Young,  Charlotte  Whitney,  Mar- 
guerite Wilson,  F.thel  .Scott,  Myrtle  Lynn,  Caroline  Walker,  Mildred  Bon- 
bright,  Helen  Dyball,  N.  Adelaide  Smith,  Edith  Cole,  Helen  Stevenson,  E. 
Jane  Bennett.  S.  .\da  Beamer.  Ida  M.  Rude,  Grace  L.  George,  Clara  Rog- 
ers, Clara  Stein.  Marv  Dewing,  Aileen  Vermilya.  Lena  McLeod,  Carolyn  T. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESfiE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  59I 

Anderson,  Nettie  Fuller,  Florence  Zuick,  Bertha  Williams,  Florence  Wilder, 
Edith  Garbett,  Elizabeth  Miller,  Fern  Hewitt.  Elizabeth  Kirk,  Elizabeth 
Gezon,  Mabel  H.  Pattinson,  Rika  "Rauaan,  Anna  Tazelaar,  Marion  D.  01m- 
stead,  Winnifred  Potter,  Fannie  Swarthaut,  Laura  Robinson,  Rosa  Gifford, 
Edith  Brader,  Jennie  Downs,  Mary  Rice,  Dora  Stenson,  Bessie  Cole,  Flor- 
ence Leonard,  Helen  Tyler,  Mable  Titsworth,  Ethel  Sherff,  Vivian  Barga, 
Enmia  Earle,  Gwendolyn  Reed,  Rena  Strickland,  Jennie  M.  Haight,  Maurie 
Fletcher,  Hazel  Kitchen,  Audra  Slaybaugh,  Isabelle  C.  Lane,  Mal>el  Stewart, 
Vida  Swartout,  Irene  Roderick,  Helen  Moss,  Irma  Goheen,  Ella  Walker, 
Sara  Waller,  Esther  Stein,  Elsie  Lukins,  Jessie  Hulton,  Mary  Sullivan, 
Grace  Bennett,  Margaret  V.  K.  Wiley,  Caroline  Storrer,  Fay  Bovee,  Alma 
Harris,  I'Vances  E.  Burrington,  Ethel  Winkler,.  Anna  L.  Rogers.  Agnes 
Nelson,  M.  Alice  Elwood,  A'liriam  Slaybaugh,  May  Snyder,  I.x>ra  Corder, 
Blanche  Pickett,  Anna  Wilton,  Bertha  Milwash,  Agnes  M.  Ahearne,  Stella 
Maier,  Bernice  Tinker,  Nellie  Thacker,  Mildred  Johnson,  Lulu  Brockway, 
Gail  Welsh,  Mary  Slater,  Eugenia  Carman,  Anna  Doll,  Charlotte  Hill,  Anna 
SnlHvan,  Mina  McEachan,  Anna  Field,  May  Westfall,  Edna  A.  Clark,  Lecta 
Cornelius,  Martha  Handloser,  \'iola  Roselit,  Jane  George,  I-ovica  Dean, 
June  Anderson,  Nina  Irvine,  \'ivian  Hoppaugh,  Florence  Kurd,  Bertha 
Holmes,  Vesta  Bostwick,  Alva  Lockhart.  Anna  Paris,  Francis  Mathews 
May,  Hilda  Hagquest,  Cecil  Stabbins,  Ella  M.  Guild,  Saidee  M,  Wilhams, 
W\-la  Waterman,  Martha  E.  Howe,  Ruth  E.  Smith,  Velma  Smith,  Fern 
White,  Jennie  \-^an  Tuyl.  .\bbie  Mauer.  Edna  Gwen,  Vara  Parren,  Meetri 
Lewis,  Leta  Thompson,  Ethel  W^illiamson,  Jean  Jackson,  Rhea  Richardson, 
Zelda  Maynard,  Mary  Mauer,  Bertha  Scott,  Winnifred  Mack,  Eleanor 
Stewart,  Marie  Reiman,  Irene  Dole,  Lulu  Fraley,  Estella  Rose,  Julia  Feies, 
Hazel  Hunter,  Mary  Beach,  Matie  Carter,  Irene  \V.  P'oster,  Helen  Dean, 
Myrl  Miller,  Anna  Olson,  MabelJe  Mullin,  Christine  Stockman,  Ella  Hage- 
dorn,  Bess  McCrerry,  Lulu  Prevost,  Lillian  Reynolds,  Louise  Parrott,  Ma- 
belle  Peabody,  Adelaide  Cole. 

The  graduating  class  of  1913  numbered  eighty-three,  which  up  to  1915 
was  the  largest  ever  graduated.  In  1Q15  the  class  numbered  one  hundred 
eleven;  in  1916,  one  hundred  eight. 

The  addition  of  a  large  numl^er  of  foreigners  to  the  population  has 
called  for  a  night  school,  which  is  held  in  a  convenient  building  at  the  north 
end  of  the  city  and  is  attended  by  a  large  number  of  those  desiring  to  be- 
come nxire  efficient  in  the  English  language. 

At  this  time.  July  i.  1916,  Flint  has  fourteen  school  buildings,  two 
hundred  forty-five  teachers  and  an  average  daily  attendance  of  pupils  of  six 


dbyGoot^lc 


^')2  GI;NKSKE    county,    MICHIGAN. 

thousand,  nine  hundred  twenty-one,  exclusive  of  the  Catholic  schools,  whose 
enrolhnent  is  approximately  one  thousand. 

MISS  hicok's  school 

One  of  the  highly  respected  institutions  of  Flint  is  the  select  private 
school  kept  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Steele  Hicok,  a 
descendant  of  the  Major  Bnttrick  who,  at  Lexington,  "fired  the  shot  that 
went  around  the  world,"  and  of  the  General  Putnam,  who  left  his  plow  in 
the  furrow  at  the  call  of  the  minute  men.  Combining  good  New  England 
ancestry  with  culture  and  ability.  Miss  Hicok,  having  been  previously  identi- 
fied with  the  Flint  Jiigh  school  for  many  years  as  instructress,  has  been  able, 
in  this  age  of  unnsuai  methods,  to  hold  fast  to  the  best  educational  ideals 
and  her  school,  ahhough  small,  occupies  a  distinct  position  among  the  educa- 
tional institutions  of  the  county. 

STATE    SCHOOJ.    FOR    THE   DK.-VF. 

Oi  the  state  educational  institutions,  a  school  was  early  located  at 
Flint  for  the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind.  To  Hon.  E.  H.  Thomson  belongs  the 
honor  of  introducing,  in  1S48,  the  act  which  resulted  in  establishing  this 
splendid  school.  The  fir.st  board  of  trustees  comprised  the  following:  Eton 
Farnsworth,  of  Wayne:  Gen.  Charles  C.  I-^ascall,  of  Genesee:  Charles  H. 
Taylor,  of  Kent ;  (.'harles  ]•'..  Stewart,  of  Kalamazoo,  and  John  P,  Cook,  of 
Hillsdale. 

The  board  decideil  npon  Flint  as  the  most  eligible  location.  Twenty 
acres  of  groun*!  ivere  donated  by  Col.  T.  B.  W.  Stockton  to  the  trustees  for 
a  site  and  three  thousand  dollars  was  subscribed  by  the  citizens.  Charles  H. 
Falnier  was,  in  December,  1850,  appointed  as  principal. 

In  1857  the  Legislature  amended  the  act  of  1848  so  that  the  institution 
should  be  entirely  independent  of  the  Kalamazoo  insane  asylum,  which  had 
been  up  to  that  time  in  charge  of  the  same  board.  Under  the  amended  act 
the  first  board  for  the  Flint  institution  consisted  of  James  B.  Walker,  Benja- 
min Pierson  and  John  Le  Roy.  B.  M.  Fay  was  chosen  principal  and  organ- 
ized the  school  work  proper  in  1857.  The  subsequent  history  of  this  school 
has  been  authoritatively  sketched  by  Superintendent  ('rands  D.  Clark,  whose 
words  may  here  appropriately  find  a  place : 

Iji  tliE'ir  vi.vit  ti>  tlie  ntlier  states  lu  seai't/h  nf  iiifonuiilioii  the  tniRlees  liad  lieeu 
fiivor.-tbl.v  ini|)fesseU  with  the  Itev.  Barnabiis  Miiyiiiiiyl  Fny,  iiu  iiistfuctor  In  the  ludiuiui 
iiisfitiitloii  for  tJie  blind,  rtml  when  they  (leclflert  to  open  t!ie  school  the.v  invited  lilm  to 


dbyGoc^lc 


.^-i'l^'^^^SH^Tr^ft'l^^    ,'S4^JB     .^.^ 

i!^^^>^                 _^S 

j^-.'jtr'lKffiM^^BK 

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hi 

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•  i  BBM 

^mmmfyft.:. 

'■iMifJ-r— •*->■! 

.MAIN    I.IIIIUN'        Si^ll      S(  HOOr     llJit    THP    1  >1    \1      I1I\I 


BROWN    HAI,I.,    STATIC    SCHOOl,    FOR    THR    DEAF,    Fr,INT. 


dbyGoot^lc 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  593 

t>t'i.'Onie  iiriiicipal.  He  accepted  tlie  iuvitutiou  of  tlie  trustees  iiutl  uotice  was  giveu  thut 
tlie  wclioiil  would  be  open  for  the  I'eceirtioii  of  pupils  on,  the  first  of  February,  1854. 

On  the  6th  of  Februitry  the  first  piipli  came:  he  was  James  Bradley,  who  for  many 
>eiirs  liiid  been  a  prosperous  farmer  at  Lawton,  Miclilgan,  but  is  imiw  residing  near 
Flint.  liy  the  close  of  the  fii-st  year  there  were  seventeen  pupils  In  attendance.  Doctor 
I'.iy  continued  as  sopenutendeut  fur  a  little  more  than  ten  years,  i-esiRning  In  Septem- 
ber. lS(i4.  During  his  adniinistvntlon  the  school  met  with  more  than  the  ordinary 
iliificnities  of  young  Institutions,  as  the  great  Civil  War  demanded  most  of  the  atten- 
tion imd  money  of  the  state:  still  it  pro^ered  and  the  attendance  rose  to  one  hundred 
,iinl  thi-ee  pupils  (eighty  (leaf  and  twenty-three  blind),  in  July,  1863;  but  then  the 
ileii.ii'tiiient  for  the  blind  was  suspended,  and  In  June,  1804,  thei'e  were  only  eighty-one. 
.Ill  (leiif 

It  would  lie  a  serious  omission  to  pass  over  this  period  without  iiientiouiug  the 
ser\ioes  of  Hon.  James  B.  Walker,  of  Flint.  T'p  to  1856,  this  school  and  the  asylum  for 
rbe  insane  were  under  the  management  of  one  board,  but  in  that  year  the  Legislature 
enacted  that  there  nliould  be  a  separate  board  for  each,  and  the  govenior  appointed  as 
trustees  for  the  school  for  the  deaf:  Jamet.  B.  Walker,  Benjamin  Plerson  and  John  I'. 
I*  Itoy.  SIP.  Walker  was  chosen  treasurer  ami  building  commissi  oner,  otfices  which 
he  continued  to  hold  until  March  31.  1873.  During  this  time  all  the  lai^er  and  more 
expensive  buildings  of  the  school,  with  the  exception  of  Brown  Hall,  were  erected,  and 
the  state  of  Michigan  owes  much  to  Mr.  Walker's  energy  and  bu^ness  ability. 

Doctor  Fay  showed  rare  foresight  In  the  selection  of  his  assistants.  His  first  two 
teachers  were  W,  L.  M.  Breg  aud  James  Denlson;  the  former,  after  years  of  faithful 
work,  has  gone  to  his  reward ;  the  other  for  mnny  years  has  been  the  honored  head  of 
llie  Kendall  school  at  Washington,  D.  C.  To  these  were  added,  in  1868,  Misses  Belle  H. 
lijinsom  and  Harriet  L.  Seymour,  and  Jacob  Ij.  Green,  who  was  succeeded,  in  February, 
is5»,  by  Thomas  L.  Brown,  while  Willis  Hubbard  appears  as  a  new  teacher  in  1863. 
iCgliert  Ij  Bangs,  a  teacher  of  experience  in  the  New  York  institution,  was  chosen  to 
•succeed  Doctor  Fay,  and  under  hini  the  school  continued  to  progi'ess. 

On  August  14  and  15,  1872.  a  conference  of  superintendents  and  principals  of  the 
.American  institutions  for  the  deaf  was  held  at  the  Michigan  school,  which  was  addresseil 
by  A.  Graham  Bell,  on  the  Importance  of  using  hiK  father's  invention,  "Visible  Speech." 
Ill  leaching  articulation  to  the  deaf.  Had  those  present  known  that  Mr.  Bell  was  at 
work  on  the  invention  which  made  him  famous  all  over  the  civilized  world,  hJs  words 
111  fa\or  of  visible  speech  would  have  had  more  weight.  As  it  was,  this  particular 
niediod  was  adopted  at  the  Michigan  school,  but  oidy  remained  in  use  two  years, 
rhough  some  of  the  eastern  schools  used  it  for  ten  or  twelve  years  after  that  time. 

It  has  been  often  said  thut  one  of  the  results  of  that  visit  of  Mr.  Bell  was  the 
beginning  of  the  teaching  of  speech  in  the  Michigan  school,  hut  this  is  not  so,  as  at  a 
n>nferencp  of  the  superintendents  lield  in  Washington  In  May,  186fi,  u  resolution  was 
uiianimousij'  passed  recommending  that  provision  for  such  teaching  be  made  at  ever.i 
Ameilcuu  school  for  the  deaf.  In  accordance  with  which  Geoi^je  L,  Bi-ockett  was  "placed 
in  charge  of  the  depaitment  of  ai-ticulatiun"  in  the  fall  of  1868  This  department  has 
grown  steadily  fi-oni  that  time  and  at  pi-esent  contains  more  than  half  the  pupils  of  the 
•yhool.  To  Mr.  Bangs  belongs  the  credit  of  estahlishli^  the  excellent  system  of  tiiide 
leaching  that  has  for  so  long  a  time  distinguished  the  Slichlgan  school.  Exactly  when 
each  trade  was  b^un,  it  Is  impossible  now  to  say  There  was  none  when  Mr.  Bangs 
Clime,  and  he  left  a  fine  system  well  equii^wd.  The  offlclnl  reports  of  the  -scMoOl  afe 
sl'icularly  silent  on  the  subject,  hut  tradition  informal  us  that  the  first  and  most  expen- 


dbyGoot^lc 


594  GENIiSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

sue  of  tlie&e  «hoi&  nns  liiult    md  eqiilpred  bj   Mi    A^iilket   nftli  noiie^   tliiit  riit  I*gi= 
1  tnre  inteudett  to  go  towards  tlie  iiiiiin  building 

■Mr  Wiilkei  letiieil  m  1S73  imd  was  suceeedea  iis  ti-eiisuier  Iv  Hon  Willimi  I 
Smith  nliu  ijne  to  the  Khool  the  sirtendld  gysteni  of  hoikkeeiiiug  which  hit.  been  (.on 
tiuueil  e*er  since  B^  this  time  the  hulldiiigs  of  the  stbool  weie  ho  complete  that  Mi 
smith  tuiiieil  Ills  iitteiitloii  to  the  ).ioliii(ts  and  by  bis  wisdom  nml  foiesisht  le};iii  tlie 
wirk  which  hiis  nude  the  school  „iouiid8  the  beautj  sptt  of  Hint 

Under  this  sjime  iidiiiinlstintion  In  1S74  Mrs  isirab  It  Jone<i  ii  gnduute  of  the 
liist  Auierkiiu  Hchool  foi  the  denf  nt  Hnitford  wits  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the 
,  rls  of  the  -^bool  ii  position  that  she  held  till  her  denth  on  iiirli  21  1903  This  rtireh 
gifted  woniHii  bas  left  hei  impress  on  the  manners  ind  ehiriicter  of  i  jzeneration  of  the 
leiif  girls  of  out  state 

In  Ma\  isro  Mr  Hints  teii^ied  iflei  hmiig  beried  the  school  fitthfuUj  tn 
ilaioM"tweti e  lenrs  Among  bis  lust  niipointments  we  find  flie  names  of  I  dwin  Bnifon 
ml  John  AVistin  the  foimei  of  whom  was  foieiuau  of  the  cihliiet  shop  tintll  bis  deatl 
11  Jmie  0    i'xjj    imd  the  lattei   m  still  cblcf  engineer 

Ml  Uinj,s  H  IS  simeeiled  b\  I  flillis  P  ii]  er  n  teitliei  In  the  school  who  bell 
Iht  office  mitil  the  cb '■e  of  the  session  of  1S78  71  nheii  be  lesigned  ti  iccei>t  the  j,os 
tlou  of  suiieiintendeiit  of  the  Kiineas  iscbool  The  tiiistees  em]tlo\ed  is  bis  succes^oi 
1)1  Thoiuas  Miclutjie  nho  bad  been  foi  tweutj  six  yeiirs  at  the  beid  of  the  Indlani 
(bool  and  who  lie^m  his  work  in  Michigan    Augnst  1    187*1 

In  1880  the  blind  who  hiid  been  edncited  in  connection  with  the  deif  were  lemovel 
I  I  tine  new  building  lu  L,inNlng  the  niauigeinent  of  which  wis  gi\en  to  ii  sepnriif< 
bo  ird  of  trustees  Ibeie  iie*oi  mis  inj  j,ood  retson  wbv  these  t^n  i  classes  i>f  chtldion 
should  be  t.iught  in  the  siime  school    as  their  needs  are  eutliely  diffeient 

Doctoi  MicIutTie  retired  it  the  close  of  the  M.hool  yeai  in  1S82  and  the  boat  1 
H  pointed  to  sucteed  him  D  II  rbuit.b  who  hiid  been  stenard  foi  nine  ^ears  is 
snt  eetntendeut  and  as  iiinciiai  of  the  educational  department,  *  V  Piatt  who  bal 
raiight  in  the  vchool  foi  some  ^ears  Luder  this  airai^emeut  the  board  expected  to  get 
ijKie  efflclent  seiike  In  both  depiiitmeiits  nltbout  my  addltlcnal  e^itense  but  appar 
jilh  the  hope  proied  delusne  foi  in  September  ISSiJ  M  T  Gass  was  appointed 
sii>eiluteudeiit  Mr  ChuitJi  letumed  to  his  old  position  is  stewird  wblcb  he  con 
lined  to  held  until  October  1  ISSJl  when  on  iccount  of  failing  health  he  declined  i 
IP  It  ointment  r  I  Sw  in  wis  ippolnted  to  succeed  him  and  held  the  iw&ltioii  until 
bit.  death  In  inoo  rtiscbnrging  its  taiious  nnd  onerous  duties  in  n  manner  th  it  called 
foi  rlie  leij  bl^,liest  praise  It  was  eutirelv  owing  to  Ills  abllltr  and  accuracy  that  the 
s(booJ  for  the  deif  bis  the  reput  itlon  of  needing  less  corre  tlon  fmjm  the  auditirgeneial  s 
oihce  than  im  otbei  stite  institution  He  was,  «hh  succeeded  bj  Di  Henr>  Rol  ind 
^lles 

III  1891  the  niintj-euieut  of  the  school  which  for  so  iiiam  yens  had  been  in  the 
bunds  of  Its  (wn  boaid  of  trustees  was  taken  from  thein  by  the  Legislature  and  placed 
m  thft  iMtnds  of  the  central  boiiid  )f  tontiol  of  state  institutions  which  ilso  had  clinige 
f  tlie  st  ite  public  school  and  the  school  fur  the  blind  Ibis  iii  ingement  continued 
only  until  3»»J    when  the  next  I^gislatuie  changed  it 

On  JuU  1    1892    rhomas  Monroe   who  foi  ten.  jears  bad  tmgbt  lu  the  school    su 
ceeded  M    T    (.ass  as  superintendent      (.ie.it  results  were  e\ijected  fiom  this  appoliu 
ment   as  Mi    Monioe  thoioughu  undeistood  the  deiif    iiid  tlieii  lan^afee    but  he  neier 
ddressed  ehildien    is  theii    suiieiintendent      He  was  stricken  with   tvpboid  feier  in 
September  IC  before  school  opened    ind  died  en  September  30 

At  the  next  legulai  inectin^  f  the  bond  on  Octolei  27  1S92  Di  I  rancib  D  riarke 
was  elected   but   lid  not  icint  f  i  dnt\   until  Dweml  ei  1      Mi    (_liil  t  bid  taufeht  In  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTYj    MICHIGAN.  595 

,\fu    lurk   school  fur  !<Meiiteeu  jejirs  uiul   had   been  superi  litem  lent  of  tlie  Arkanajia 
M'liool  for  seven  years. 

On  Miiy  25,  18!)3,  flie  scliool  wiis  iigfilu  i'e()rgfiuize(l,  lielu^  agiiin  gheii  Into  the  care 
•il  Its  owu  board  of  ti'ustees:  Iloa.  C.  B.  Turner,  of  Poutiao,  president;  Hou  J.  A. 
1'1'otter,  of  VflBsar,  Beeretai-y,  and  Geu.  Charles  S.  Bi-own.  of  Flint,  treasurer,  conatitut- 
iuK  a  most  efUcient  bonnl.  The  spirit  which  t-'ovei'n«l  theui  may  be  judtied  from  these 
I'vtracta  from  their  ttrst  import :  "We  hitve  oliiin(re<l  past  customs  by  liislstli^  that  the 
liiiplls  and  thi'lr  <-onifoi't  shall  he  the  first  objet-t  of  the  scliool.  We  realize  the  fact  th.it 
lliis  school  was  and  Is  supiwrted  tov  the  good  of  the  deaf  children  of  this  state  iinil. 
MliHe  (leslrliig  the  utmost  economy,  we  thtuk  that  any  saving  made  at  the  expense  of  the 
]pr<«ress  or  comfort  nt  the  pnplK.  defeats  the  purpose  of  the  school  We  wish  our 
^.Tiidnates   to   be   the   best    hi   the   wovlil.   and   luiy   saving   which   iirevents   this  Is   false 

These  words  wei'e  inspired  bj  <!eu  C  S.  Hrown,  the  treasurer  of  the  board,  who. 
jiK  ihe  resident  mcuiher,  naturally  dlsplayeil  the  greatest  Interest  In  the  school,  and  his 
ivjHU-t  shows  the  spirit  In  wlilcli  lie  laliored  for  the  deaf  clilidren,  warda  of  the  state. 
ill  the  school  room,  on  the  play  ground,  in  the  work  shoiis  or  the  dining  room,  ut  social 
jiurties  or  athletic  contests,  the  s<)ldierly  tigiu'e  of  (Jeiieral  Brown  was  &  fiimillar  and  a 
lery  welcome  sight  and.  wIlU  the  quick  instinct  of  children,  the  pupils  recognized  the 
leuderiiess  of  Ills  hojirt  and  loved  htm,  and  when,  on  October  27,  1004,  he  answered  the 
cvill  of  the  (ireat  Coinniaiider  and  passed  to  his  eternal  reward,  though  there  were  many 
"ho  mourned  him  slncei-el.v,  none  felt  his  loss  more  keenly  than  those  deaf  children  for 
nlnHn  he  had  labored  so  faithfully.  Brown  Hall,  built  d«i1ng  his  trusteeslilp  and  named 
111  his  honor,  will  Rtand  as  an  enduring  monument  to  his  memory. 

ITie  pnsslng  of  the  fiftieth  year  of  the  work  of  this  school  was  recently  celebrated 
by  a  reunion  of  the  alumni  at  the  school,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Michigan  Association 
(•f  the  l>paf.  I'pwaidf,  of  three  hundred  of  them  returned  to  the  school  and  passed  four 
\ery  happy  days  in  renew  iiig  old  friendshiiis.  viewing  old  scenes  and  in  seeing  the 
iiiaiij   changes  and  Imp'i'oi enients  that  have  taken  place  since  their  school  time. 

To  com  memo  rate  this  reunion,  the  Association  ijreseuteil  to  the  school  a  bronne 
nieniorial  of  Jtev.  Baruahas  Fay,  the  lirht  firluclpal  of  the  school,  which  was  placed  in 
a  cons]ilcuouK  place  in  the  front  hall  of  the  main  building,  and  among  those  who  were 
rireseut  at  Its  unveiling  whs  Dr.  l':;dwin  Alien  Fay,  the  eldest  sou  of  Rev.  Dr.  Fay,  vlce- 
pi-esldent  of  Gallaudet  College,  who  spoke  on  the  occasion. 

This  tablet  bears  in  lias-rellef  a  fine  likeness  of  Dr.  Fay,  and  was  the  work  of 
liny  r  Caiiienler.  a  graduate  of  the  school,  who  is  winning  a  reputation  by  his  skill 
.IS  :i   '-i'ni]itor,  tbi«  incmoi'i.il   liiblel   being  by  no  means  his  first  successful  work  of  art. 

The  work  done  by  the  Michigan  school  for  the  deaf  during  the  half 
century  of  its  exi?!tence  is  a  source  of  pride.  True,  none  of  its  graduates 
have  been  presidents,  governors,  judges,  or  filled  any  office  higher  than  that 
of  county  clerk.  Among  them  are  no  great  lawyers,  doctors,  clergymen  or 
statesmen.  Worldly  wealth  has  come  to  very  few.  But  not  one  has  ever 
l>een  a  convict  in  a  penitentiary  and  but  very  few,  less  than  half  a  dozen  in 
a  list  of  ahiiost  tw-o  thousand,  have  been  obliged  to  apply  for  county  or  state 
aid.  Trained  to  look  upon  labor  as  honorable  and  to  regard  the  opportunity 
to  work  as  the  best  luck  that  can  come  to  them,  they  have  labored  diligently 


dbyGoot^lc 


596  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

and  faithfully  in  the  stations  to  which  it  lias  pleased  God  to  call  them,  doing 
with  their  might  whatsoever  their  hands  find  to  do,  and  being  self-respect- 
ing, industrious  and  upright  men  and  women. 

The  Michigan  school  for  the  deaf  increased  in  attendance  and  in  stand- 
ard of  excellence  under  the  super\'ision  of  Doctor  CJarke.  On  August  12, 
1913,  was  laid  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  administration  and  dormitory 
buildings,  Doctor  Clarke,  in  his  office  as  grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge 
of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  state  of  Michigan,  presiding  at  the 
ceremonies.  Only  a  very  few  days  afterwards  Doctor  Clarke  passed  away 
very  suddenly,  his  death  occasioning  universal  regret. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  curriculum  of  the  school,  a  dramatic  class 
was  organized  some  few  years  ago  and  several  of  Shakespeare's  plays  have 
been  successfully  produced  in  the  sign  language  by  the  pupils. 

After  the  death  of  Doctor  Clarke,  the  board  of  control  tendered  the 
position,  made  vacant,  to  the  Hon.  I-uther  L.  Wright,  state  superintendent 
of  public  instruction  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  educators  of  this  coun- 
try. 

The  Michigan  school  for  the  deaf  has  for  many  years  ranked  as  one  of 
the  finest  institutions  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States.  Robert  J.  Whaley 
and  A.  G.  Bishop,  of  Flint,  did  splendid  service  as  members  of  the  lx)ard  of 
trustees.  The  present  resident  trustee  is  ex-Mayor  F.  H.  Rankin,  who  served 
for  many  years  as  a  member  of  the  Flint  board  of  education.  Mr.  Rankin 
has  l>een  a  very  valuable  official,  giving  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  educa- 
tional work. 

The  Michigan  Mirror,  a  monthly  publication  edited  and  printed  by  the 
pupils,  is  devoted  entirely  to  the  interests  of  the  institution.  The  farm  con- 
nected with  the  school  affords  a  practical  education  in  agriculture  and  the 
departments  of  sewing,  domestic  science,  printing,  tailoring,  woodworking, 
cobbling  and  arts  and  crafts,  each  under  efficient  instructors,  offer  to  the 
pupils  the  necessary  aid  in  the  way  of  becoming  industrious  and  self-support- 
ing citizens. 

FENTON. 

The  present  school  system  of  Fenton  dates  from  the  organization  of 
district  No.  r,  or  the  union  school  district,  in  T856.  A  school  building,  com- 
modious for  that  time,  was  erected  in  1859  and  greatly  enlarged  in  1867. 
During  the  first  three  years  after  the  organization  of  the  union  district, 
schools  were  held  in  the  old  frame  building  and  in  the  second  story  of  a 


yGoo-^lc 


GENICSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  597 

building  on  the  soirth  side,  tlie  lower  portion  of  which  was  used  as  a  store. 
In  1864  two  brick  ward  school  houses  were  built,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
river,  and  in  September,  1878,  it  was  voted  to  expend  three  thousand  dollars 
in  constructing  new  ones.  I'he  number  of  children  enrolled  in  the  district  in 
1879  was  about  seven  hundred.  The  superintendent  for  1878-79  was  George 
K.  Cochrane,  who  was  employed  at  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The 
expenses  of  the  district  for  that  year  were  about  five  thousand  five  hundred 
eighty  dollars.  The  following  officers  composed  the  district  board :  Modera- 
tor, Dexter  Blorton;  director,  Charles  H.  Turner;  assessor,  Josiah  Buckbee; 
other  trustees.  A.  W.  Riker,  J.  E.  Bussey  and  B.  F.  Stone. 

Fenton,  as  the  second  center  of  population  in  the  county,  early  pro- 
vided its  young  people  with  the  advantages  of  a  high  school  training.  Its 
present  superintendent  of  school  is  E.  E.  Cody  and  the  principal  is  Miss 
Helen  L.  Wood.  The  village  schools  have  a  corps  of  fifteen  teachers,  in- 
cluding ^>ecial  instructors  of  music,  drawing  and  penmanship.  A.  P.  Ingra- 
ham  is  president  of  the  board  of  education,  M.  B.  Smith,  E.  A.  Philips,  C.  J. 
Campbell,  L.  K.  Decker  and  C.  J,  Philips  being  the  members  of  the  board. 

On  August  25,  1869,  a  new  building  was  dedicated  for  the  Fenton 
Seminary,  an  institution  conducted  hy  the  Baptist  denomination  in  Michi- 
gan. It  was  founded  as  a  preparatory  school  for  Kalamazoo  College,  and 
at  its  inception  a  two-story  frame  building  was  sufficiently  large  in  which  to 
conduct  the  school,  in  the  new  building  the  school  had  for  its  first  principal 
Mr.  Wedge,  Prof.  C.  \^an  Dorn  being  for  a  number  of  years  in  charge.  The 
JHiikling  stood  upon  a  site  donated  by  David  L.  I.^tourette  in  the  northwest 
part  of  the  village.  It  was  a  four-story  stone  structure  built  at  a  cost  of 
thirty  thousand  dollars.  Tn  187S-79  the  number  of  pupils  in  attendance  was 
about  thirty. 

Tn  1868  the  first  steps  were  taken  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
the  Trinity  Schools  at  Fenton,  founded  by  Episcopalians.  The  idea  was  to 
establish  a  seminary,  or  high  school,  for  boys,  whicli  should  "afford  facilities 
for  a  tiiorough  English  and  classical  education,  and  probably  a  special  course 
for  any  young  men  who  may  be  looking  forward  to  the  ministry" ;  also  "a 
school  of  like  grade  for  girls,  which  shall  present  an  extensive  course  of  in- 
struction, combining  the  useful  and  ornamental  branches  usually  taught  in 
the  schiKils  of  the  highest  order."  The  institution  was  incorporated,  Sep- 
temlrer  14,  1868,  under  the  name  of  "Trinity  Schools."  In  1872  the  trustees 
were  Right  Rev.  Samuel  A.  McCoskry,  bishop  of  the  diocese;  James  Burten- 
shaw  and  William  N.  Carpenter,  of  Detroit;  C.  H,  Turner,  B.  K.  Dibble, 
F.  II.  Wright  and  Rev.  O.  E.  Fuller,  of  Fenton.     The  building  for  boys  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


598  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

erected  first  and  given  the  name  of  Latimer  Hall,  It  stood  on  a  tract  of  five 
acres  of  ground  in  the  western  part  of  the  village,  was  built  of  brick  and 
was  forty  by  forty-six  feet  in  dimensions,  with  four  floors.  It  was  formally 
opened  and  dedicated  November  14,  1872,  the  dedicatory  address  being  de- 
livered by  Rev.  T.  C  Pitkin,  D.  D.,  of  St.  Paufs  church  of  Detroit.  The 
girls'  school,  "Ridley  Hall,"  was  not  then  completed,  but  on  that  occasion  a 
considerable  amount  of  money  was  subscribed  by  other  parishes.  The  walls 
of  the  building  (which  was  the  same  in  size  as  Latimer  Hall)  had  lieen  put 
up  at  the  same  time  with  the  latter,  but  it  was  not  until  the  fall  and  winter  of 
1875  that  the  work  was  carried  forward  to  completion,  or  so  far  as  they 
were  ever  completed.  But  one  wing  of  each  building  as  provided  in  the 
plans  was  erected.  Ridley  Hall  occupied  a  l^eautiful  location  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  village,  on  a  lot  containing  one  and  one-half  acres.  It  was 
opened  in  charge  of  Ezra  Bautler,  of  Virginia,  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev, 
Mr.  Applegate,  the  successor  to  Rev,  O.  E,  Fuller.  The  former,  while  in 
charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  parish  at  Fenton,  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  to  the  schools.  Contributions  had  lieen  forwarded  from  Pennsylvania 
and  other  states,  but  the  venture  finally,  after  a  few  years  of  struggle  against 
fate,  was  necessarily  discontinued  and  the  buildings  were  sold  on  a  mort- 
gage- 

OTHER  SCHOOLS  AND  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS, 

Among  other  village  schools  of  importance  previous  to  1880  was  the 
public  school  at  Flushing,  district  No.  2,  which  included  the  village.  It  was 
organized  as  a  union  district  before  1866.  In  1871  was  erected  a  two-story 
brick  school  house  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars.  The  village  of  Flush- 
ing has  given  great  attention  to  its  schools,  at  this  time  A.  E.  Ransom  being 
president  of  the  board  of  education,  M.  D.  Phelps,  secretary,  and  Dr.  Joseph 
Schiedler,  E.  T.  Mercer  and  D.  E.  Rhodes,  members  of  the  l>oard;  W.  E, 
Parker,  superintendent,  and  Z.  W.  Storrs,  principal  of  the  high  school.  There 
are  employed  six  teachers,  exclusive  of  the  principal. 

The  Clio  schools,  district  No.  7,  Vienna  township,  are  under  a  board  of 
education,  of  which  George  Lacure  is  president;  R.  S.  Jennings,  secretary; 
Hugh  McCormick,  J,  R,  Field  and  E.  L,  Powers,  members  of  the  board, 
W.  D.  White  is  superintendent  of  schools;  Mabel  Goodfellow,  principal,  and 
in  addition  there  are  employed  seven  other  instructors,  including  s]>ecial 
teachers  of  music  and  drawing. 

Davison  is  abreast  of  other  Genesee  county  villages  in  educational  in- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEli    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  599 

terests,  and  its  board  of  education  names  George  P.  Hill  as  president;  Archie 
Forsythe,  as  secretary,  and  M.  F.  Downer,  James  H.  Baxter  and  George  Pot- 
ter as  members  of  the  lx>ard.  C.  I,.  McCullough  is  superintendent  and  Ceci] 
Krapt,  principal,  Tliese  are  assisted  by  six  teachers,  including  one  in  man- 
ual training. 

The  Linden  schools,  district  No.  3,  Fenton  township,  have  Robert  Brad- 
ley for  president ;  I-'red  Judson,  for  secretary,  and  A.  L.  Stahle,  Merritt  John- 
son and  Claud  C.  Hyatt  for  members  of  its  board  of  education.  A.  J.  Flint 
is  superintendent,  and  Zoa  Spencer  and  five  assistants  comprise  the  faculty. 

In  Montrose,  E.  E.  Corwin  is  president ;  R.  A.  Walker,  secretarj- ;  j.  G, 
Faner,  N.  L.  McCormick  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Galbraith,  trustees,  comprise  the 
board  of  education.  T.  C.  Sutton  is  principal  of  the  high  school  and  has 
four  assistants. 

Mt.  Morris  consolidated  school,  with  S.  V.  Johnson,  president;  Doctor 
Graham,  Fred  Lindsey,  A.  A.  Bray  and  William  Woolfitt,  trustees,  forming 
its  board  of  education,  is  one  of  the  high-standing  institutions  of  the  county. 
William  J.  Maginn  is  principal  of  the  high  school,  apparently  by  life  tenure, 
and  has  four  teachers  as  a.ssistants. 

The  Otisville  schools  are  under  the  supervision  of  a  lx>ard  composed  of 
George  W.  Lee,  president;  C.  W.  Phipps  and  Peter  D.  Clark,  members. 
E.  A.  Branch  is  superintendent  and  Mary  E.  Stang  is  principal,  assisted  by 
three  other  teachers. 

The  Grand  Blanc  consolidated  school,  at  Grand  Blanc,  has  for  its  board 
of  education  Dr.  Tiiomas  Farmer,  president ;  Charles  Baker,  secretary ; 
George  Coggins,  Willis  J.  Perry  and  Thomas  Penny,  trustees.  James  Smith 
is  principal  of  the  high  school  and  there  are  three  assistant  instructors. 

The  Gaines  village  sch<x)I  is  under  the  board  composed  of  George  W. 
Anns,  president;  F.  W.  McCann,- George  W.  Chase,  George  Judson  and  N. 
E.  Preston,  trustees.  A.  W.  Hackney  is  principal  of  the  high  school  and 
has  three  assistants. 

The  village  of  Goodrich,  Atlas  township,  has  for  its  board  of  education 
Warren  Green,  president ;  Fretl  Sharland,  secretary ;  Ephraini  Hersoh, 
George  Putnam  and  Dr.  A.  S.  Wheelock,  trustees.  E.  P.  Mears,  former 
principal,  has  resigned,  leaving  at  the  present  time  a  vacancy  in  the  princi- 
paiship.    The  board  employs  four  teachers. 

Swartz  Creek's  bonrd  of  education  is  made  up  of  C.  I.  Briniley,  presi- 
dent; H.  R.  Richardson,  Lee  Parker,  H.  B.  Freeman  and  Frank  Ruby, 
members.     W.  E.  Hamilton  i?  principal  and  has  two  assistants. 


dbyGoot^lc 


600  GENESER   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

In  addition  to  the  public  schools  of  the  county,  two  business  schools, 
under  private  management,  are  doing  good  work  in  the  city  of  Flint.  They 
are  the  Flint-Bliss  Business  College,  South  Saginaw  street,  Flint,  O.  E. 
Knott,  proprietor,  and  W.  A.  Cooley,  principal ;  and  the  Baker  Business  Uni- 
versity, corner  of  Kearsley  and  Harrison  streets;  president,  Eldon  E.  Baker. 

Hurley  Hospital  Training  School  for  Nurses,  Anna  M.  Schill,  superin- 
tendent, is  a  branch  of  that  institution. 

The  County  Normal  School,  with  its  headquarters  in  the  city  of  Flint, 
is  intended  to  ^ive  to  the  young  men  and  women  of  the  county  who  desire 
to  fit  themselves  for  the  vocation  of  teaching  an  opportunity  for  normal 
school  work  without  the  expense  of  attending  a  state  school.  A  large  num- 
ber of  these  young  people  are  taking  advantage  of  this  class.  The  graduat- 
ing class  of  iQoS  numbered  twelve;  in  1909  it  numbered  sixteen;  in  rgio, 
sixteen;  in  1911,  sixteen;  in  1912,  fourteen:  in  1913,  twenty;  in  1914, 
twenty-two;  in  1915,  twenty-one,  and  in  1916,  twenty. 

:  .  The  board  of  the  County  Normal  School  consists  of  the  state  superin- 
tendent of  public  instruction,  ex-officio,  Superintendent  A.  N.  Cody,  of 
Flint,  and  Commissioner  ].  L.  Riegle,  of  Flint.  Miss  Florence  Colling  is  the 
l)resent  principal. 

,  "Religion,  Morality  and  Knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  govern- 
ment.and  the  haj^iness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall 
forever  be  encouraged." 


dbyGoot^lc 


dbyGoo<^lc 


STE^'ENSON   SCHOOI^,   FT^INT. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XX. 
Books  and  Libraries. 

Cariyle  says,  "!n  books  lies  the  soul  of  the  whole  past  time;  the  articu- 
late, audible  voice  of  the  past,  when  the  bodily  and  material  substance  of  it 
has  altogether  vanished  hke  a  dream."  Any  victim  of  the  commonplace 
worries  of  life,  stepping  into  the  cool,  harmonious  silence  of  a  well-kept 
reading  room  finds  himself  banished  from  the  heat  of  the  business  world. 
Here  he  may  convene  with  old  sages  and  philosophers,  or,  for  variety,  brush 
elbows  with  kings  and  emperors.  In  this,  perhaps,  lies  the  reason  for  the 
general  feeling  that  a  good  library  is  worthy  of  reverence.  The  residents  of 
this  county  have  never  been  inattentive  to  the  inlwrn  desire  to  read  print. 

The  early  settlers  of  Genesee  county  were  of  a  high  intellectuality.  They 
came  largely  from  New  York  state  and,  being  mostly  descendants  of  the 
Puritans  of  New  I'higland,  they  brought  with  them  the  love  of  learning  that 
characterized  their  New  England  and  New  York  ancestry.  Mayhew's  re- 
port on  the  .schools  of  Michigan,  quoted  by  Hon.  D.  W.  Leach  in  a  com- 
munication to  the  National  Era  in  1851,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
of  four  thousand  six  hundred  and  five  whites  in  the  county  of  Genesee  in 
1847,  over  twenty-one  years  old,  there  was  only  one  who  could  not  read  and 
write.  Among  a  people  of  such  a  high  standard  of  literacy  it  must  be  as- 
sumed that  books  were  demanded. 

In  one  of  the  earliest  records  of  the  town  of  Elint,  we  find  a  list  of  the 
names  of  library  books  received  of  Jonathan  Lamb,  of  Ann  Arbor,  bought 
Tuly  26,  1843,  belonging  to  the  several  school  districts  of  the  town  of  Flint. 
The  list  was  as  follows:  "Treatise  on  Domestic  Economy,"  "Universal  His- 
tory" (four  sets),  "Letters  on  Astronomy,"  "The  Useful  Arts"  (two  sets), 
"Science  and  the  Arts  of  Industry,"  "Education  and  Knowledge,"  "The  Sea- 
sons— Winter,  Spring,  Summer,  Autumn,"  "The  T-'armer's  Companion," 
"Lives  of  Eminent  Men"  (three  sets),  "Paley's  Natural  Theology"  (two 
sets),  "Great  Events  by  Great  Historians,"  "The  Fireside  Friend,"  "Life  of 
Columbus,"  "Story  of  the  Constitution,"  "Knowledge  Under  Difficulties" 
(two  sets),  "Columbus  and  Vespucius,"  "Historic  Tales  for  Youth,"  "Juve- 
nile Budget  Opened,"   "Scenes  in   Nature,"   "Means   and   Ends,"   "Country 


dbyGoot^lc 


(>0>  (^^NiCSEK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

KambJes,"  "Pleasures  of  Taste,"  "Things  by  Their  Right  Name,"  "juvenile 
Jjudget  Re-Opened,"  "Balboa,  Cortes,  Pizarro,"  "The  Child's  Friend,"  "Pic- 
tures of  Karly  Life,"  "Lucy's  Conversations,"  "Lucy's  Stories,"  "Lucy  at 
the  Seaside,"  "Lucy  at  Study,"  "L,ucy  at  the  Mountains,''  "Lucy  at  Play," 
"Rollo  Learning  to  Talk,"  "Rollo  learning  to  Read,"  "Rollo  at  School." 
"Rollo  at  Vacation,"  "Rollo  at  Play,"  "Rollo  at  Work,"  "Rollo's  Museum," 
"RoUo's  Philosophy,  Sky.'"  "Rollo's  Philosophy,  Fire,"  "Rollo's  Philosophy, 
Water,"  "Rollo's  Philosophy,  Air,"  Rollo's  Travels,"  "Rollo's  Correspond- 
ence," "Rollo's  Experiments,"  Hayward's  Physiology,"  "The  Teacher's  Man- 
ual," "Combe  on  the  Constitution  of  Man,"  "Willard's  United  States,' 
"Hitchcock's  (Geology,"  "Spurzheim  on  Education,"  "The  Americans  in  Their 
Moral,  etc.,  Relations,"  "I>ectures  to  Ladies,"  "Slate  and  Blackboard  Exer- 
cises," "Teacher  Taught,"  "Wayland's  Moral  Science,"  "Wayland's  Politi- 
cal Economy,"  "Philosophy  of  Human  Life," 

These  books  were  under  the  control  of  the  board  of  school  ■  inspectors 
of  the  town,  then  composed  of  R.  D.  Lamond,  George  W.  P^ish  and  Henry 
C.  Walker,  and  on  April  19.  1844.  the  board  adopted  certain  "rules  for  the 
regulation  of  the  township  library." 

Under  these  rules  the  sexeral  school  district  directors  could  draw  from 
the  library  books  according  to  the  proportion  to  which  the  district  was 
entitled  and  loan  them  to  families  of  the  district,  not  more  than  one  at  a  time 
to  a  family,  to  l>e  retained  only  two  weeks  and  then  returned. 

Oil  August  14,  1843,  James  McAllester,  director  of  district  No.  i,  com- 
prising the  present  city  south  of  the  river,  drew  twenty-nine  of  these  books, 
from  which  it  would  appear  that  his  territory  contained  alwut  three-sevenths 
of  the  families  in  one  town.     The  books  were  to  be  returned  in  three  months. 

John  L.  Gage,  director  of  school  district  No.  5,  drew  out  ten  volumes, 
.\ugiiEt  24,  1843,  and  Asahel  Curtis,  director  of  district  No.  6,  drew  seven 
l)Ooks,  October  16,  1S43.  Henjamin  Boomer,  district  No.  3,  drew  ten  vol- 
lumes,  Decemljer  3,  1843.  On  April  2,  1844,  Isaiah  Merriman,  director  of 
district  No.  i,  drew  thirty-four  volumes,  or  practically  half  of  the  entire 
library  of  seventy-one  volumes.  On  July  6,  1844,  J.  T.  Peck,  director  of 
district  No.  10.  drew  three  books.  In  this  manner  the  Ijooks  circulated 
among-  the  several  districts.  John  Hiller,  director  of  district  No.  6,  Mr. 
t.'hase,  of  district  No.  8,  appear  from  time  to  time  as  having  received  from 
H.  C.  Walker  their  quota  of  the  library. 

In  1844  the  library  evidently  received  another  invoice  of  books,  for  we 
now  find,  "Lives  of  Female  Sovereigns,"  "History  of  China,"  "History  of 
Insects,"  "Tales  of  .Vmerican  History."  "Swiss  Family  Robinson,"  "Thatcher's 


dbyGoot^lc 


f;]:xESEi-:  <:ol:nty,  Michigan.  603 

Indian  'IVaits,"  "The  Poor  Rich  Man  and  The  Rich  Poor  Man,"  "Tales  of 
tlic  American  Revolution,"  "Lockhart's  Napoleon,"  "Abercrombie  on  the 
Tnteilecttiai  Powers,"  "Adventures  in  Africa,"  "Montgomery's  Lectures  on 
General  Literature,"  "Brewster's  IJfe  of  Newton,"  "Rnssel's  History  of 
Palestine." 

There  were  many  others,  all  of  which  show  excellent  judgment  in  the 
selection.  The  library  now  numbered  one  hundred  thirty-nine  volumes  and 
district  No.  i  (Flint  village)  was  entitled  to  draw  sixty-six  volumes.  The 
library  grew  in  1S45  •'"'^  district  No.  2,  comprising  the  present  city  north  of 
the  river,  drew,  by  WilHam  l"hayer,  director,  twenly-five  volumes  in  Novem- 
ber, 1845,  -"ihowing  the  population  of  the  north  side  to  be  about  two-fifths 
of  that  on  the  south  side.  In  the  winter  of  1845-6  the  library  had  grown  to 
two  hundred  tifty  volumes  and  in  quality  showed  discriminating  literary  taste 
in  selection,  history,  philosophy,  biography,  travels  and  hterature  making  the 
bulk  of  the  library. 

In  the  list  of  directors,  1846,.  who  drew  books  for  their  di'Stricts,  are 
the  names  of  Charles  Johnson,  district  No.  8;  Randal  Calvin,  of  No.  6; 
R.  J.  Gilmore,  of  No.  4;  WilJard  Eddy,  of  No.  i;  Jacob  Plass,  of  No.  7; 
John  Delbridge,  of  No.  q;  S.  Stone,  of  No.  6:  Jesse  J.  IBeasley,  of  No.  8. 
and  N.  Dodge,  of  No.  3. 

In  1847  the  library  had  grown  to  about  three  hundred  fifty  volumes, 
and  we  find  H.  J.  Higgins,  director  of  No.  i;  Jonathan  Cudney,  of  No.  3; 
Rosal  Stanard,  of  No.  4;  William  Milton,  of  No.  7;  Elias  J.  Bump,  of  No. 
16;  Ira  Stanard,  of  No.  4;  Cephas  Caqienter,  of  No.  6;  J.  L.  Martin,  of  No. 
16:  Horace  L.  Donelson,  of  No.  S:  Nelson  Norton,  of  No.  10,  and  R.  J. 
Artkin,  of  No.  16. 

The  library  still  grew  and  there  appear  in  the  list,  the  "Life  and  Times 
of  Patrick  Henry,"  as  well  as  of  Marion,  I.afayette,  Boon,  Black  Hawk, 
Paul  Jones,  Wayne  and  John  Eliot:  the  "Sketch  Book,"  Prescott's  "Mexico," 
"Heroes  of  the  Revolution,"  Stephen's  "Central  America,"  Gibbon's  "Rome," 
Rollin's  "Ancient  History,'"  and  other  books  of  high  standard. 

Tn  the  years  from  18.19  *o  1^5^  the  library  appears  to  have  been  activelv 
circulated  and  to  have  grown  by  purchase  from  time  to  time  to  about  five 
hundred  volumes.  It  was  rich  in  Americana,  travels,  history,  morals  and 
philosophy.  If  the  character  of  the  books  they  read  may  be  taken  as  an 
index  of  the  intellectuality  of  the  people  of  Genesee  county  in  those  days,  it 
must  l>e  conceded  that  the  standard  was  a  high  one,  as  compared  with  the 
commonlv  circulated  works  of  our  library  of  iqi6.     The  list  of  books  se- 


dbyGoot^lc 


604  GTCNESliK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

lected  March  5,  1850,  by  Levi  Walker,  director  of  district  No.  i  (Flint 
City),  and  returned  June  i,  1850,  is  in  point.  They  were  "Josephus,"  "Use- 
ful Arts,"  "Washington  and  His  Generals,"  "Philosophy  of  Human  Life," 
"The  World  and  Its  Inhabitants,"  "P'amous  Men  of  Ancient  Times,"  "Fa- 
mous Indians,"  "Agricultural  Chemistry,"  "Curiosities  of  Human  Nature," 
"History  of  Switzerland,"  "Constitutional  Jurisprudence  of  the  United 
States,"  Edgewood's  "Moral  Tales,"  Belknap's  "American  Biography"  (two 
volumes).  Goldsmith's  "Rome,"  Turner's  "Sacred  History,"  "Painters  and 
Sculptors,"  "Miscellanies,"  "Life  of  Alexander  the  Great,"  "Live  and  Let 
Live,"  "Original  Tales,"  "The  American  Poultry  Book,"  "The  Flower  Bas- 
ket," "The  Floweret,"  "The  Ornament  Discovered,"  "Lucy  on  the  Moun- 
tains," "Display  and  Poetical  Remains,"  "Fairy  Tales,"  Pailey's  "Grave," 
"Washington,"  "Columbus."  Pailey's  "Anecdotes,"  "Love  to  Run  After 
Children." 

\lonzo  Torry,  on  May  19,  1S51,  selected  for  district  No.  3.  "History 
of  Greece,"  D'Aubiquqe's  "Reformation,"  "History  of  the  Indians,"  "Great 
Events  by  Great  Historians,"  "The  World  and  Its  Inhabitants,"  "Josephus," 
Markham's  "History  of  France,"  "Knowledge  Lender  Difficulties,"  "Patrick 
Henry,"  "Life  of  Columbus,"  "Famous  Men  of  Ancient  Times,"  "Past. 
Present  and  Future."  "Tiie  Pillars  of  Hercuies,"  "Fanious  Indians." 

FUNT  scientific:  institute. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  the  societies  for  culture  in  Genesee  county  was 
the  Flint  Scientific  Institute,  composed  of  a  group  of  persons  who  desired 
improvement  in  scientific  knowledge  and  felt  the  need  of  books  which  they 
could  not  individually  command.  They  associated  to  form  a  library  of 
books  exclusively  on  scientific  subjects.  The  leader  in  this  movement  seems 
to  have  been  F.  H.  Rankin,  at  whose  office  a  society  was  organized  in  Febru- 
ary, 1853,  In  March,  1854,  a  course  of  lectures  was  planned,  also  a  series 
of  weekly  meetings  for  the  discussion  of  stated  subjects.  These  were  of 
wide  range,  but  mainly  of  a  geographical  nature. 

While  these  studies  were  being  pursued,  the  field  of  discussion  was 
enlarged.  May  15,  1855,  by  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  offered  by  Mr. 
Rankin,  by  which  section  B  was  established  to  meet  weekly  on  another  even- 
ing, distinct  from  that  devoted  to  scientific  discussion,  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  subjects  of  a  wider  range,  including  history,  literature  and  art. 
These  meetings  were  carried  on  simultaneously  with  the  others,  with  much 
interest  in  the  animated  discussion  of  a  variety  of  subjects.     At  the  same 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNI'SEF    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  605 

time  the  work  of  collecting  materials  for  the  museum  was  pushed  forward 
until  the  accumulation  became  embarrassing  and  called  out  a  resolution 
adopted  June  22,  1855:  "Resolved  that  the  institute  meet  in  a  committee 
of  the  whole  on  Saturday  evening  next  at  six  o'clock,  and  each  consecutive 
evening  except  Sundays  at  the  same  hour,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  an:l 
cataloguing  the  museum." 

On  October  24,  1855,  the  executive  committee,  in  a  report  setting  forth 
the  importance  of  some  better  arrangement  lor  the  increase  and  preservation 
of  the  museum,  recommended  the  appointment  of  curators  to  take  charge  of 
the  arrangement  of  the  specimens  in  their  respective  branches,  as  follows: 

Botany  and  entomology.  Doctor  Clarke ;  mineralogy,  M,  B.  Beals ;  osteo- 
logy and  comparative  anatomy,  Doctor  Stewart;  reptiles  and  conchology, 
Doctor  Miles;  ornithology,  C.  L.  Avery;  paleontology,  C.  E.  McAIester; 
ichthyology,  E.  Dodge;  archaeology,  J.  B.  Clark;  miscellaneous,  G.  Andrews. 
These  several  curators  reported  from  time  to  time  tlie  condition  and  needs 
of  their  respective  departments. 

On  July  4,  1855,  an  enlertainment  was  given  ?>y  the  ladies  for  the 
pecuniary  lienelit  of  the  institute,  the  net  proceeds  of  which  were  one  hun- 
dred thirteen  dollars  sixty-three  cents.  This  was  the  first  of  many  entertain- 
ments .subsequently  given  by  the  ladies  of  Flint  and  Genesee  county,  to  whom 
much  credit  is  due  for  material  aid  in  sustaining  the  enterprise.  With  the 
funds  thus  obtained  at  this  time  valuable  additions  were  made  to  the  hbrary, 
including  a  subscription  to  Professor  Agassiz's  great  work,  "Contributions 
to  the  Natural  History  of  the  United  States."  On  January  2,  1856,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  feasibility  of  publishing  a  history 
of  Genesee  county.  The  plan  was  to  combine  with  an  account  of  the  settle- 
ment a  full  de,=cri]>tion  of  the  physical  geography  and  natural  history  in  all 
its  departments.  JMany  of  the  materials  were  at  hand  and  probably  the 
project  might  have  l>een  attempted  but  that  a  thorough  geological  survey  of 
the  state,  indulging  this  county,  seemed  to  be  a  desirable  preliminary.  Ac- 
cordinglv  a.  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Doctor  Miles,  Mr.  Ran- 
kin, Mr,  Beals  and  the  president,  who  proceeded  to  bring  the  subject  to  the 
attention  of  the  Legislature  by  means  of  i>etitions  circulated  in  all  parts  of 
the  state  and  also  by  correspondence  and  personal  interviews  with  many 
persons  of  influence.  The  project  undoubtedly  had  an  important  influence 
in  securing  by  legislative  action  the  geological  survey  of  1859-69  by  Profes- 
sor Winchell.  Doctor  Miles  was  appointed  his  assistant,  having  charge  of 
die  zoological  department.  His  preliminary  report,  containing  a  very  full 
hst  of  the  animals,  birds,  reptiles  and  shells  found  in  the  state,   was  pub- 


dbyGoot^lc 


6o6 


ENESEE    COUNT' 


lished  in  the  first  volume  of  Professor  Winchell's  report.  This  apiKiintment 
was  a  deserved  and  gratifying  compliment  to  the  doctor  and  through  his  sub- 
sequent appointment  to  a  professorship  in  the  State  Agricultural  College, 
opened  an  avenue  to  his  life's  work  in  a  congenial  field  which  he  most  suc- 
cessfully cultivated. 

With  the  inroads  made  hy  the  Civii  War  upon  its  limited  membership, 
it  may  well  be  conceived  that  after  the  war  the  most  that  could  be  hoped  for 
was  to  keep  the  organization  alive  and  preserve  its  material  for  future  use. 
This  was  done,  but  the  incubus  of  the  war  was  upon  every  ctvi!  enterprise 
and  it  was  hard  for  a  time  to  do  anything  more.  "However,  an  effort  was 
made  and,  after  much  canvassing,  encouragement  was  received  by  assurance 
of  support,  to  atteni[)l  a  new  start.  For  this  purpose  a  spacious  hall  was 
taken  in  an  unfinished  condition  on  a  lease  for  a  term  of  years.  Considerable 
expense  was  incurred  in  finishing  and  furnishing  the  room.  The  collection 
was  moved  with  much  labor  and  the  new  hall  was  dedicated  to  science  with 
an  address  from  President  Angell,  of  the  State  University.  But  disappoint- 
ment was  again  encountered,  for  while  many  were  prompt  and  ready  to  meet 
their  engagements,  others  neglected  and  declined  to  redeem  their  pledges 
and,  deeming  it  unfair  and  useless  to  tax  the  generous  friends  of  the  in- 
stitute further,  it  was  decided  to  cancel  the  hidebtedness  by  a  transfer  in 
trust  to  the  union  school  district  of  the  city  of  Flint.  In  the  document  of 
conveyance  it  is  set  forth  that  it  is  received  "upon  trust  to  preserve  and 
maintain  the  library  and  cabinet  of  specimens  of  said  scientific  institute  in  a 
suitable  room  or  rooms  in  the  high-school  building  or  some  other  suitable 
building,  and  to  cause  the  same  to  be  and  remain  forever  free  to  the  in- 
habitants of  said  city  of  b'iint  for  examination  and  inspection  at  all  proper 
times." 

This  transfer  was  made  on  January  5,  1877,  and  thus  the  valuable 
cabinet  illustrating  the  natural  history  of  the  county  an<i  state,  the  result  of 
years  of  labor  and  care  in  its  collection  and  preservation,  was  lodged  in  a 
safe  place,  where  it  could  be  made  directly  available  in  illustrating  the  teach- 
ings of  science,  not  t>nly  to  the  pupils  of  the  high  school,  but  to  all  who 
might  wish  to  avail  themselves'  of  its  advantages  under  propter  restrictions. 
The  tali  glass  cases  of  shells,  fossils,  minerals,  botanical  specimens,  etc.,  are 
still  a  part  of  the  laboratory  equipment  of  the  Central  high  school.  The 
new  "public  library"  in  those  days  was  small  enough  to  find  easy  accommo- 
dation in  one  of  the  recitation  rooms.  The  presence,  moreover,  within  the 
school  walls  of  really  fascinating  classics  made  a  tempting  pasture,  so  'tis 
said,   for  students  who  preferred  browsing  therein  to  doing  their  algebra. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  607 

have  been  misspent  in  wrestling  with  our  old  friends  A  and  B,  "those  pecul- 
iar men  who  paid  their  debts  at  snch  irregular  times  and  in  such  extraor- 
dinary amounts,  and  who  would  haggle  over  mills  and  decimals  of  a  mill, 
Unforgotten  and  nnregretted  those  golden  hours  even  yet;  hours  that  might 
and  who  had  the  singular  habit,  when  they  wished  to  know  the  time  of  day, 
of  reckoning  it  from  the  length  of  a  shadow  cast  by  a  church  steeple  in 
Australia." 

ladies'  liehaky  association. 

The  Ladies'  Library  Association  was  formed  in  1851  and  incorporated 
in  1853.  By  1854  it  was  acquired  a  library  of  live  hundred  volumes.  In 
1861  the  library  was  nearly  destroyed  by  fire,  but,  by  the  awakened  sym- 
pathies of  the  community  and  the  prompt  payment  of  the  amount  insured, 
they  were  able  to  take  adi'antage  of  the  low  prices  of  books  from  a  failing 
publishing  house.  This  nearly  repaired  their  loss  and  placed  in  their  collec- 
tion many  valuable  works.  At  this  time  the  circulation  of  a  subscription 
paper  for  the  purpose  of  pro\'iding  for  the  library  a  more  commodious  build- 
ing met  with  great  success.  A  lot  was  purchased  on  the  corner  of  Beach 
and  Kearsiey  streets  and  within  the  same  year  of  its  conmiencement  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  edifice  was  laid,  with  Masonic  ceremonies,  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Hon.  William  M.  Fenton.  The  cost  of  the  building  was  about 
six  thousand  dollars.  It  was  dedicated  on  June  30,  1868.  The  dedicatory 
address,  by  His  Excellency.  Governor  Crapo.  contained  this  high  tribute  of 
praise  to  the  ladies  for  their  zeal  and  perseverance:  "They,  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  present  time,  have  never  abandoned  their  task  or  become  dis- 
heartened in  view  of  discouragements  and  difficulties.  Conscious  of  the 
good  work  in  which  they  were  engaged,  they  have  yielded  to  no  obstacles  or 
embarrassments,  and  the  result  is  this  fine  structure,  both  a  credit  and  an 
ornament  to  the  city,  these  volumes,  the  chariots  of  knowledge,  and  this  hall. 
which  they  so  well  adorn,  and  of  which  we  all  may  so  well  be  proud." 

This  dedication  of  a  ladies'  library  building  was  an  event  new  in  the 
annals  of  our  country,  but  it  was  soon  to  be  followed  by  numerous  like 
associations  throughout  the  state.  In  1871  the  library  celebrated  its  twen- 
tieth anniversary.  On  this  occasion  many  literary  and  floral  oi¥erings  were 
contributed  and  valuable  gifts  received  in  money  and  books.  Many  tokens 
of  encouragement  and  commendation  were  received  from  persons  of  long- 
established  literary  merit.  On  March  22,  1876,  the  centennial  year  of  our 
nation's  life,  the  ladies  celebrated  the  quarter-centennial  of  their  hhrary.  Sev- 


dbyGoot^lc 


6oS  r.KNESEi-:  county,   michkjan. 

eral  sister  libraries  were  well  represented  and  participated  in  the  exercises 
by  able  addresses  and  poems. 

The  objects  of  the  society  at  the  outset  could  not  be  better  expressed 
tlian-by  quoting  a  portion  of  a  letter  from  one  who  was  present  and  bore  a 
part  in  its  organization,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Pratt,  of  Lansing.  "We  remember," 
wrote  she,  "this  organization  came  of  a  sentiment  to  secure  and  foster  a 
more  cultivated  social  and  moral  atmosphere — not  only  for  ourselves,  but 
for  a  field  beyond- — securing  avenues  for  wider  views,  for  higher  and  nobler 
asi)i rations."  Mrs.  K.  Bartow,  of  Buffalo,  a  former  member  who  aided  in 
its  formation,  wrote  thus:  "Your  kind  invitation  brings  a  rush  of  pleasant 
memories.  Its  life  and  growth  have  been  a  precious  desire  of  mine.  I  regret 
I  cannot  clasp  hands,  as  of  old,  with  the  members  on  the  appointed  day," 

The  poem  written  for  and  read  on  the  occasion  by  F.  H.  Rankin  con- 
tained a  fine  eulogy  on  the  ladies'  ta.ste  in  their  selection  of  books. 

Wl},v  l^ilk  iif  |)i-iiJtliiK  lluuit.'I'tH''     l.uok  iii'ouiiil. 
TlHiii  llii;He  Mlu'lies  the  imswer  luiiy  be  found. 
Sii  ciive  of  i'iiti1(?H.  no  Golcoiicla's  mine. 
,N((  golden  vein,  no  Oi-lental  slirfiie, 
l'"ei-  kn(?n  tlic  iveiUili  of  treasure  lockeii  iiwny— 
I'reserveil  in  iii'tnteil  tboughts;  that  );ninil  uiTiiy 
\'on   li  lUi'w  liiive  iit'C'niiinliited  liere, 
AVlikli  we,  hi  this  angusl  centenuiol  yeiir — 
Youi'  quiirler-ceuteiutry^ — have  met  to  greet 
The  fniif  of  Jill  your  Inboifi,  so  complete, 
Could  guests  hdve  finer  buiiqiiet  thjin  we  flnil! 
Or  with  more  ciioii*  eompanionsLlp  he  Joined? 
The  kings  of  niiud;  tbe  emperors  of  tliousht; 
The  iiitellectnul  gEjints  n-ho  have  wrought 
In  every  field  of  litemry  fame. 
Is  ('omjiiiiiy  eiititleil  to  nwlnim. 

Mrs.  Damon  Stewart  writes:  "The  idea  of  making  the  Ladies'  Library 
a  free  public  library  was  latent  in  the  association.  Tt  had  come  up  again  ami 
again  for  discussion.  Resolutions  to  that  effect  were  voted  down  repeatedly, 
because  not  all  could  .see  quite  alike,  and  the  public  did  not  give  much  en- 
couragement, yet  there  was  a  very  general  desire  to  do  what  seemed  to  be 
the  best  thing  for  the  city.  Finally,  at  a  special  meeting,  on  June  28,  1884, 
it  was  unanimously  decided  to  present  the  library  to  the  city.  The  following 
resolutions  were  adopted,  and  the  Hon.  George  H.  Durand  was  requested 
to  present  them  to  the  city  : 

"  'At   a   special   meeting  of  the   Ladies'   Library  Association   of   Flint, 


dbyGoot^lc 


(;en[':see  county,  Michigan.  6u() 

having  associated  ourselves  together  for  the  purpose  of  cultivating  a  taste 
for  literature  and  establishing  a  library  in  our  midst ;  and, 

"  'Whereas,  having  labored,  for  this  purpose  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years,  we  now  find  our  labors  crowned  with  success ;  and, 

"  'Whereas,  the  liberality  of  a  generous  public  ha\'ing  so  greatly  con- 
tributed to  this  success,  we  do  hereby 

"  'Resolve,  that  the  ladies  of  said  association,  to  show  their  appreciation 
of  such  liberality  and  believing  that  the  wants  of  the  public  will  be  better 
subserved  in  the  future  by  a  free  public  city  library;  be  it  therefore 

"  'Resolved,  that  said  association  do  hereby  present  to  the  city  of  Flint 
the  library  and  building  now  liefonging  to  said  association,  to  be  forever  a 
free  city  library  and  reading  room,  the  ladies  reserving  the  right  to  appoint 
four  trustees  who  shall  co-operate  with  said  city  in  carrying  out  the  above 
object.' 

"A  committee  of  the  following  named  ladies  was  authorized  to  carry 
out  and  put  in  effect  these  resolutions  by  presenting  to  the  said  city,  through 
your  honorable  body,  the  library  building,  and  such  other  property  as  the)' 
may  have  to  dispose  of,  the  city  to  guarantee  the  carrying  out  of  the  above 
requirements  in  connection  with  a  debating  club.  And  the  said  library  and 
reading  room  to  be  kept  open  through  every  day  and  evening  of  the  years 
of  the  future  for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  M.  G.  Stockton,  Arabella  Ran- 
kin, Helen  Hill  and  Lizzie  M.  Carman,  committee. 

"Judge  Durand  presented  the  resolutions  to  the  common  council.  Tlie 
matter  was  referred  to  a  committee,  which  reported  as  follows: 

"  'Your  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  communication  of  the 
Ladies'  Library  Association,  find,  after  a  careful  consideration  of  the  mat- 
ter, that  it  would  cost  the  city  to  run  the  library  in  the  present  building,  to 
the  best  judgment  of  the  committee,  at  least  one  thousand  two  hundred  to 
one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per  year,  with  five  hundred  dollars  to 
start  with  for  new  books  and  rebinding  old  ones.  This  would  be  offset  in 
part  by  the  rent  of  the  lower  part  of  the  building,  if  it  could  be  rented,  leav- 
ing the  balance  to  be  raised  by  tax.  It  has  been  said  that  the  fines  from  the 
justice's  office  would  go  to  a  free  library.  We  would  say  that  the  fines  col- 
lected under  city  ordinance  amount  to  but  little  more-  than  enough  to  pay 
the  justice.  The  fines  collected  under  state  laws  are  paid  to  the  county 
treasurer  and  by  him  distributed  to  the  schools  of  the  county.  We  would 
sav  that  the  city  would  be  called  upon  within  the  next  two  years  to  build 
two  or  three  bridges  at  :■  cost  of  many  thousand  dollars.  We  would  also 
(39) 


dbyGoc^lc 


6lO  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

state  that  within  the  next  two  years  the  city  will  lose  from  the  tax  hst  per- 
sonal property  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  to  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  (W.  W.  Crapo  and  Begole,  Fox  & 
Company,  himber),  a  loss  at  the  present  rate  of  taxation  of  more  than  two 
thousand  dollars.  While  acknowledffing  the  value  of  the  gift  and  the  great 
good  that  would  come  of  it,  yet  your  committee  would  deem  it  unwise  under 
the  circumstances  for  the  city  to  assume  any  additional  hurden  at  the  present 
time.' 

"The  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted. 

"The  more  the  subject  was  considered,  the  more  desirable  it  seemed 
that  the  Ladies'  Library  should  be  transformed  into  a  free  public  Hbrary. 
The  Scientific  Library  had,  as  stated  above,  made  a  bill  of  sale  of  its  library 
and  museum  to  union  school  district,  January  5,  1877,  and  with  this  example 
in  mind,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consult  with  the  school  board,  April 
25.  1885,  and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted: 

"  'That  the  officers  of  this,  the  Ladies'  Library.  Association  of  Flint, 
he  anil  are  hereby  authorized  and  instructed,  in  the  name  of  this  association. 
to  execute  a  deed  and  bill  of  sale,  of  all  the  property  of  the  association,  both 
real  and  personal,  to  union  school  district  of  the  city  of  Flint,  under  the  sole 
condition  that  said  property  be  devoted  to  library  purposes.' 

"This  resolution  was  presented  to  the  school  Jward  and,  after  due  con- 
sideration, the  following  resolution,  presenteil  by  Trustee  Wisner,  was  un- 
animously adopted : 

"  'Resolved,  that,  on  behalf  of  the  union  school  district  of  the  city  of 
Fhnt,  we  accept  the  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Kearsley  and  Beach 
streets,  known  as  the  Ladies'  Library  Association  building,  and  the  books 
and  fixtures  which  it  contains,  to  l>e  used,  or  if  any  portion  be  sold  to  be 
used  solely  for  the  maintenance  of  a  public  library  in  the  city  of  Flint; 

"  'Resolved,  that  the  committee  on  libraries  is  hereby  authorized  to  see 
that  the  necessary  i>apers  are  executed  and  recorded,  transferring  the  title  to 
said  property  to  union  school  district ; 

"  'Resolved,  that  we  tender  our  thanks  to  the  ladies  of  the  Library  As- 
sociation for  their  generous  and  unselfish  act  in  devoting  to  public  use  and 
the  common  good  so  much  valuable  property,  the  result  of  many  years  of 
untiring  effort  and  representing  not  only  the  labors  of  the  present  donors, 
but  of  many  who  have  ceased  from  their  labors  and  entered  into  their  re- 
ward, and  whose  works  do  foftow  them.'  ■ 

"The  secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees,  Mrs.  Dibble,  was  instructed  to 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENLSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  6l  I 

cause  to  be  prepared  an  engrossed  copy  of  the  above  resolutions  and  forward 
it  to  the  secretary  of  the  Indies'  Library  Association. 

"There  were  about  four  thousand  books  in  the  hbrary.  The  deed  thus 
giving  the  Ladies'  Library  in  trust  to  the  union  school  district,  was  signed 
by  Frances  McQuigg  Stewart,  president,  and  Anna  Walker  McCall,  secre- 
tary. ]u\y  II,  1885,  the  remaining  thirty-seven  dollars  fifty-five  cents  in  the 
treasury  was  given  to  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  as  the  successors  of  the 
Soldiers'  Aid  Society.  From  1885  until  1905  the  public  library  occupied 
the  same  buildings,  the  Hst  of  voUimes  increasing  each  year  with  the  growth 
of  the  city." 

This  general  survey  of  our  library's  growth  must  pay  a  special  tribute 
to  that  same  Dr.  Daniel  Clarke,  elsewhere  mentioned.  It  was  due  in  large 
part  to  his  critical  knowledge  of  literature  and  science  that  so  high  a  stand- 
ard was  originally  set.  He  not  only  supervised  the  selection  of  new  books, 
but  enriched  the  little  library  with  many  volumes  from  his  own  shelves.  Any 
one  who  prowls  today  among  the  less  frequented  nooks  of  the  library  will 
still  discover  a  few  well-bound,  finely-printed  old  classics,  with  the  name  of 
this  benefactor  in  autograph  on  the  fly  leaf.  Many  lovers  of  good  literature 
feci  indebted  to  him  for  showing  the  way  to  a  better  appreciation  of  the 
world's  best  minds,  and  hold  him,  though  unknown,  in  grateful  remem 
hrance. 

FLINT    PUBLIC    LIBRARY, 

Wheels  and  the  printing  press  have  made  the  world  more  neighborly. 
That  cosmopolitan  Scot,  Mr,  Carnegie,  who  has  taken  the  whole  country 
under  his  wing,  made  it  possible  in  1905  for  Flint  to  erect  a  steel-framed 
house  for  its  books.  It  is  constructed  of  stone,  in  style  suggestive  of  the 
(jreck,  on  the  comer  of  Clifford  and  East  Kearsley  streets.  The  interior 
furnishings  are  handsome  and  a  good  collection  of  photographs  ornament  the 
walls.  Perhaps  the  greatest  treasure  contained  in  the  library  is  one  of  the 
original  volumes  of  Audubon's  "Birds  of  America,"  now  priceless.  This 
volume,  together  with  three  descriptive  volumes,  was  a  gift  to  the  Ladies 
Library  Association  in  1876  from  Hon.  William  L.  Bancroft,  of  Port  Huron. 
On  the  second  floor  of  the  building  is  housed  the  museurh  of  the  Genesee 
C'ounty  Historical  Society,  thus  forming  a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  available 
literature  concerning  this  locality.  The  work  of  the  head  librarian,  Mrs. 
f.ena  Caldwell,  extending  over  a  period  of  thirty  years,  cannot  be  over-esti- 
mated. 

Four  deptxsit  libraries  have  been  placed  in  different  sections  during  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


6l2  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

past  year,  collections  of  books  being  sent  from  the  public  library  to  the  Dort 
school,  the  Fairview  school,  Hurley  hospital  and  the  Marvel  Carburetor  Com- 
pany and  it  is  planned  to  establish  five  or  six  more  of  these  libraries  during 
the  coming  year.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  present  public  library  is 
inadequate  for  the  needs  of  the  city,  land  has  been  purchased  adjoining  the 
building  on  the  east,  and  large  wings  will  soon  be  added  to  make  room  for 
the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  volumes. 

The  annua!  report  for  the  year  closing  July  i,  1916,  shows  a  circulation 
for  the  year  of  67.965  volumes  and  8,226  persons  enrolled  on  the  card  system. 
There  are  17,376  volumes  in  the  library,  1,745  of  which  were  added  during 
the  year  just  ended.  The  board  of  education  in  1914  set  aside  a  room  to 
be  known  as  the  "Genesee  County  Historical  Room  and  Museum."  It  has 
developed  into  a  very  valuable  collection  of  pioneer  and  pre-historic  relics 
and  specimens.  The  Silas  ColHns  collection,  the  gift  of  Silas  Collins,  of 
(irand  Blanc,  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  country. 

BURTON    ladies' 

The  Burton  Ladies'  Library  was  organized  in  1882  by  a  group  of  v 
residents  of  the  township  of  Burton,  Genesee  county.  The  charter  members 
were,  president,  Mrs.  Dan  Church;  secretary  and  treasurer,  Mrs.  Orson  Bing- 
ham; librarian,  Mrs.  Ella  Rockwood;  Mrs.  John  W.  Eldridge.  Mrs.  Morti- 
mer Hammond  and  Mrs.  Ed  Granger. 

The  first  volumes  were  donated  by  the  members  and  purchased  with 
funds  raised  by  the  organization.  At  the  time  that  the  Ladies'  Library  Asso- 
ciation of  Flint  transferred  their  library  to  the  union  school  district  of  the 
city  of  Flint,  all  of  the  duplicate  volumes  on  hand  were  purchased  by  the 
Burton  Ladies'  Library  and  gradually  the  collection  was  formed.  In  1890 
William  Hammond,  of  Burton,  donated  a  site  on  the  corner  of  the  Davison 
and  Covert  roads  and  through  the  efforts  of  the  members  a  library  building 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  six  hundred  dollars.  Funds  were  secured  by 
subscription  and  upwards  of  one  thousand  volumes  were  housed  in  the  library 
building.  For  nearly  twenty-five  years  the  association  continued,  but  for  the 
past  ten  years,  the  conditions  in  rural  life  being  materially  changed,  the 
library  has  been  closed  and  in  1916  the  land  was  disposed  of.  '  At  Goodrich 
and  Atlas,  thriving  ladies'  library  associations  are  maintained,  also  at  Flush- 
ing and  Fenton. 


dbyGoot^lc 


(5ENEf^KE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  613 

Tills,  Books  cau  ao— uor  tliis  uloue;  they  give 
New  views  to  life  anil  teach  us  how  to  live; 
Tliey  soothe  the  gi-ieved,  the  stubborn  they  cbitstise, 
Fools  they  admonish,  and  confirm  the  wise; 
Their  aid  they  yield  to  all ;  they  never  shun 
The  man  of  sorrow,  nor  the  wretch  undone: 
Unlike  the  hard,  the  selfish  and  the  proud, 
They  fly  uot  sullen  from  the  suppliant  crowd ; 
Nor  tell  to  various  people  various  things, 
But  show  to  subjects  what  they  show  to  kings. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
Res  Liteuaria. 

In  reviewing  things  literary  in  the  history  of  a  county  one  is  held 
within  bounds,  as  the  scope  is  necessarily  limited.  Genesee  county,  however, 
has  contributed  to  the  world  of  letters  numerous  creditable  offerings  which 
will  live  to  perpetuate  the  names  of  those  who  wrote  them. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  complete  bibliography  of  Genesee  county 
authors  with  titles  of  their  productions  are  not  available.  To  the  one  who 
prepares  sucli  a  list  the  public  will  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude.  Among  those 
who  have  earned  a  place  in  such  a  list,  are  M.  S.  Elmore,  Dr.  f.uther  Lee, 
W.  R.  Bates,  Rev.  C.  A.  Lippincott,  D.  D.,  Mrs.  Ida  McGlone  Gibson.  Mrs. 
Arabella  Rankin,   i'^enton  R.  McCreery  and  Arthur  C.  Pound. 

In  volume  14  of  the  ''Michigan  Historical  Collections"  may  be  found 
an  epic  of  the  Saginaw  country,  by  Judge  Albert  Miller,  one  of  the  very 
earliest  of  the  pioneers,  a  native  of  Vermont,  who  visited  Grand  Blanc  when 
there  were  no  white  men  in  the  surrounding  counties.  This  contribution. 
"The  Rivers  of  the  Saginaw  Valley  Sixty  Years  Ago,"  is  of  value  histori- 
cally. Starting  from  the  Kawkawlin,  "a  noted  stream  for  fish  and  game," 
the  writer  passes  "over  all  the  ground,  that  near  the  valley  streams  is  found," 
including  the  streams  of  Genesee. 

Among  the  earlier  residents  of  this  locality  who  were  gifted  with  a 
literary  taste  and  ability,  was  Mrs.  M.  Louise  Thayer,  the  wife  of  Artemus 
Thayer,  a  well-known  resident  of  early  Flint.  Mrs.  Thayer  was  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Manly  Miles,  who  came  to  the  settlement  of  Flint  River  in 
1837.  She  was  a  woman  of  refinement,  exceptionally  fond  of  society, 
and  the  enthusiastic  patron  of  every  organization  that  found  a  place  in 
the  early  life  of  the  town;  a  lady,  in  the  old-school  sense  of  the  word,  who 
gave  fresh  impetus  to  the  associations  of  a  struggling  village  and  growing 
city.  Mrs.  Thayer  was  one  of  the  early  promoters  of  the  Ladies'  Library 
and  an  efficient  officer  of  that  organization.  She  was  the  author  of  many 
short  poems  .of,  much  merit  and  charm.  A  volume  of  her  literary  produc- 
tions was  published  a  number  of  years  ago,  but  is  now  unobtainable. 

In  1869  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thayer  celebrated  their  silver  wedding,  the  first 


dbyGoot^lc 


(iliNESEE    COUNTY,    MlC"lllGAN.  615 

silver  wedding  ever  celebrated  in  Flint,  on  which  occasion  a  poem  of  wel- 
come, composed  by  the  hostess,  was  read.  We  select  the  opening  and  clos- 
ing verses: 

k     I  Hi  ml-iil!    -eeui'-  U  «ieit!ie  >,iv  tioi  ii-.  t  iiiKlil. 

Mill  ^nliiil  e\eij    biou    ^^ith  ii>s\    llglit 

1  \<.eM     11   lj<;iaiiiiK  wltli  blad  smiles  »e  nt^ 

In  Miiuoii>  nltb  biltbt  festivity 

Whicli   Is  tlio  iffaiiiu^   uf   tbH  <1  j     iiiij    li  ut 

To  us  1  [leclous  aiinliersnrv 

Oer  wlilcli   soft    slhei\    flouds  in   1    1    1    m  11 

Oci   thiitv  vetiit  of  ietroii)eet  we  sti  n 

Xlirough  scenes  tUat  seem  but  as  of  (e-iteiday 

Xet  all  tbls  lai>ee  of  time  but  malce^  uioie  <lear 

rbewe  lemlnlstente-i  from  leir  to  jetii 

Aud  often    maybsii  when  the  dtiy  is  djlng 

VA  ill  CT  iiie  from  out  the  pines  a  reijuieni 

tor  t>.irU    ioies    for  clijldhood  s  pleasure  9lt,biug. 

Foi  life  lesiwuses  to  tbit  earliest  b\mn 

\oices  from  imtl\e  bill  nnawering  came 

AwRkeulUs  eclio^  in  our  lake-bound  home 

Sweet  niurniuriiit,s  of  the  past  will  eier  Ungei 

In  fond  day  drenms. 

Kheu  Hmes  all  iKitent  finger 

I  olnts  to  our  rest    u^ion  the  soul  e  tel     se 

Mjit  ne  emi  1  up  i    11     11  111  th  it  biitht  Home  >f  I  eaee. 

Flint,  ITeb.  7,  186!t. 
Silver  Wedding. 


Francis  H.  Rankin,  Sr.,  of  Flint,  the  pubhsher  and  owner  of  the  Gene- 
see Whig  and  the  Wolverine  Citizen  for  many  years,  was  a  man  of  broad 
intellect  and  ability.  Previous  to  his  coming  to  America  in  1848,  he  was 
connected  with  The  Citizen  or  The  Dublin  Monthly  Magazine,  a  literary 
periodica!  of  Dublin,  Ireland,  and  was  also  the  author  of  a  number  of  poems 
which  appeared  in  Blackwood's  Magasine.  After  his  arrival  in  this  country 
a  number  of  his  poems  appeared  in  Godey's  Lady's  Book,  published  in  Phila- 
delphia. Mr.  Rankin  contributed  much  to  the  literary  life  of  the  commun- 
ity and  it  is  a  regrettable  fact  that  his  productions  were  not  issued  in  book 
form  and  preserved  to  posterity.  Mr.  Rankin's  sonnet,  "The  Aeolian  Harp," 
.-ippeared  in  the  Dublin  Citiscn  in  1841. 


dbyGoot^lc 


c;enesf,e  county,  Michigan. 


Uii-.!!       Hiisii       i_jiu  that  le  m>uii(J    whit'li  tlius  I   iieiir. 

So  tieinulauHl\  sweet    ^u  softiv  low; 

loo  weak  for  joy    too   mnsiiiil   for  woe. 
Which  falls  to  fiiiutlv    geiiHv    that  the  esir 
Is  left  to  doubt  its  lielug     tis  i-o  near 

In  Its  relutiousbip  to  silence?     I  ist ! 

Do  ye  uot  hear  it  struggling  to  exist? 
TIs  conqueror      \nd  non   in  wild  cnreer 

It  nisbet  like  a  tempeHt  Send  along; 
^ow  shlierinE  witli  i  ige — "till  niusiial— 
Now  shouting  like  a  reielling  biiihin\l : 

Now  iiiimi  king  the  svienw  Hoftesf  song: 
\ow  rising  oer  the  winds  loud  loioe — anon. 
Hanging  on  his  la«t  kl'A  to  die  nhen  he  is  gone. 

Ilirk       III »    the  chord  of  luerij    io}    now   rings! 

Ileii   lifn    Jt  thrills  In  gladness'     There^'tis  gone: 

And  111  w  I  sweet  sad  nielancboly  tone 
Swells  ■sionh  on  the  in  ind  with  It  hringa 
Reiiienihi'aiiw'i-  of  1  mg  lo^t  precious  things: 

Telling  of  withered  htpes     affe<tion  cmsh'd; 

Of  clilll   chill  heaiti  that  once  with  warm  love  gush'd : 
Of   snn-bright    iisions   that   hiive   made   them   wings 

And  down  iiwjiy  withal,  to  come  no  iiioi'e: 
Of  the  young,  gentle  si>lrit'8  early  blight. 

lOre  the  first  blossom  of  Its  life  wiis  o'er. 
Too  fragile  to  withstand  the  world's  hard  smite — 
"Tls  gone!     Sinking  to  silence,  like  the  wiiil 
Of  music's  dying  i^trit.  on  some  far-off  gale. 

William  J.  Walker,  son  of  the  Rev.  Warum  Walker,  a  Baptist  clergy- 
man, and  nephew  of  I-evi  Walker,  one  of  the  early  residents  of  Flint,  was 
the  author  of  a  book  of  manuscript  poems  which  has  been  preserved  in  the 
old  Walker  library,  as  possessing  much  merit.  Mr.  Walker  studied  for  the 
law,  but  died  within  a  short  time  after  his  admission  to  the  bar.  Included  in 
the  book  of  verse  is  the  following: 


The    last    faint    twilight    fades; 

The  gloomy  pull 
Of  evening's  gathering  shades 

Is  flung  o'er  alt. 
Now  while,  ns  parting  duy 
In  darkness  dies  away, 
We  lift  our  hands  to  pray. 

I-ord,  bear  our  call. 


yGoc^lc 


(.1  NLSl-V     >(»L\1 

^       MJLHIGAN. 

We 

MHL    110    goirt 

11(11    futie 

Nor  ieuBth  ot 

yens 

O 

Mite  fiom  Rill 

una  -ilinme 

ina  cnim  oui 

fell  IS 

ill 

lowlj    a-f  we 

kneel 

Tlij 

piii-dnliig  loi 

e  reieiil 

Our 

Vk  Nliik-j  the  suii  lo  test 

Villi  (lleM  (111  oceiiis  lirmist 

riie   eieiilng  breeze 
Oil    tliiis  let  nil  o\n  woe- 
ill    (lentil    sereiii^    i^MiHe 
ShcIi  be  our  lust  lepose 
H  lien   Htinpii    deiKres 

'-ooii   Hbiill   the  iiioni  leKiinie 

ItH  glorioii*?  sway 
^Hil  mmn  Rbtill  gi\A  the  toiiiU 

A  brighter  rtny 
When   eiirtli  rrojii  pole  t<i  |ii>h 
'^hnll  biiiii   tiiil    HIte   i  stmll 
nie   hem  ens    rosether    loll 


Mr.  Alvah  llraiiierd,  of  Grand  Blanc,  published,  in  1865,  a  small  book- 
let concerning  ttie  pioneer  life  of  that  locality,  which  is  of  much  interest 
historically.  The  little  book  is  now  out  of  print,  but  the  few  copies  which 
have  been  preserved  are  of  value  as  a  record  of  early  days  in  Genesee  county. 

Mrs.  Royal  W.  Jenny,  the  wife  of  the  one-time  editor  of  the  old  Gene- 
see Democrat,  was  the  author  of  a  book  of  verse  which  was  published  in  the 
eighties.  Her  granddaughter.  Miss  Florence  Jenny,  has  inherited  much  of  the 
literary  ability  of  her  grandparents  and  is  now  entering  her  fifth  year  as 
teacher  of  German  in  Vassar  College,  Miss  Jenny  obtained  her  degree  from 
a  German  university,  and  a  few  years  ago  collaborated  with  Professor 
Mosher,  of  Oberlin  College,  in  editing  a  German  text-l)ook  which  at  present 
is  being  used  in  several  of  the  large  colleges  of  the  country.  Her  sister, 
who  was  Miss  Ethel  Jenny,  is  now  Mrs.  Selden  Osgood  Martin,  whose  hus- 
band is  director  of  the  bureau  of  research  of  Harvard  University.  Mrs. 
Martin,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan,  and  the  winner  of  a  scholarship  at  Radcliffe  College,  is  the  author 
of  a  series  of  articles  on  "Railroad  Research  in  Massachusetts,"  which 
appeared  a  few  years  ago  in  one  of  the  leading  Eastern  publications,  and  is 


yGoo-^lc 


Oi8  <;KN]i;sEE  county,   Michigan, 

also  a  .contributor  to  a  number  of  literary  magazines.      Mrs.   Martin  makes 
lier  home  at  Garden  City,  Long  Island. 

William  Stevenson,  a  resident  of  Flint  for  many  years,  was  the 
writer  of  over  four  hundred  hymns,  which  have  been  published  in  various 
collections.  He  was  also  the  author  of  "Sights  and  Scenes  in  Europe,  or 
Cencilings  by  the  Way,"  which  was  published  in  1882,  being  the  outgrowth 
uf  a  series  of  letters  written  to  the  Wolverine  CtHsen  in  1881,  while  the 
writer  was  touring  England  and  the  Continent.  Mr.  Stevenson's  "Hymn 
to  the  Sea,"  composed  during  a  Sunday  morning  service  on  shipboard, 
brings  to  mind  in  the  opening  chapter  of  this  entertaining  volume,  his  talent 
as  a  sorig  writer : 


whose  glory  fills  the  sddes, 
'I'o  TLee,  from  all  tlmt  dwell  tidow. 
J^t  lilgbest  praises  rise. 

Illy  hand  tlie  moving  \viiter»  siiread. 

The  winds  obey  thy  will; 
And  ocean's  troubled,  heaving  lireast 

Thy  mighty  arm  can  stUl. 

'I'o  Tliee  we  trust  out  feeble  breiitli: 

Our  ways  are  In  thy  hand; 
Thy  wHtchful  cure  will   safely   keei> 

Secure  on   sea.  as  land. 

Kternal   Father,   Sovei-eign   Ixjrd, 

Accept  the  praise  we  bring; 
And  when  we  stand  on  crystal   f"eii. 

A    nobler  sons  we'll  sine. 

Mr.  Stevenson  was  for  many  years  a  valued  member  of  the  Flint  board 
of  education,  and  the  Stevenson  school,  which  occupies  a  site  on  a  large 
tract  of  land  formerly  owned  by  him  in  the  northern  part  of  Flint,  is  named 
in  his  honor.  Dr.  Thomas  R.  Buckham,  a  well-known  physician  of  Flint 
from  1868  to  1891,  was  the  author  of  a  work  on  the  legal  aspects  of  insan- 
ity, published  in  1883,  and  bearing  the  title,  "Insanity  Considered  in  Its 
Medico-Legal  Relations."  The  work  is  of  great  erudition  and  shows  its 
author  to  have  been  of  high  intellectuality  and  of  unusual  sociological  pre- 
science. It  has  been  used  as  authority  in  deciding  important  cases  in  the 
supreme  courts  of  several  states.  This  volume  and  others  of  like  character 
may  be  regarded  as  potent  causes  for  the  present  rarity  of  the  plea  of 
insanity  as  a  defense  in  legal  cases  and  the  discriminating  suspicion  which 
attaches  to  such  a  defense. 


dbyGoot^lc 


(IKNKSEE    COUNTY.    MICHIGAN,  6.l.y 

Egbert  L.  Bangs,  of  Flint,  was  the  author  of  a  number  of  poems,  which 
are  soon  to  be  collected  and  published  in  book  form,  by  his  son.  Dwight 
L.  Bangs.  iVIr.  Bangs  for  many  years  occupied  a  prominent  place  in 
affairs  literary  in  Flint,  and  the  Bangs  Shakespeare  Club,  a  society  of  many 
years  standing,  was  named  in  his  honor, 

Sidney  Austin  Witherbee,  a  son  of  Austin  Witherbee,  who  was  a 
prominent  resident  of  Flint  in  the  fifties  and  sixties,  and  grandson  of  Co!. 
E.  H.  Thomson,  is  the  author  of  several  books  of  poems  which  were  pub- 
lished a  few  years  ago.  At  the  close  of  the  Spanish-American  War  he  also 
issued  a  volume  of  "National  Songs,"  under  the  nom  de  plume  of  "Netsua 
Yendis." 

Miss  Effie  Douglas  Putnam,  of  Flint,  published  in  1888  a  volume  of 
poems  under  the  title  of  "Margaret  and  the  Singer's  Story,"  and  also  issued 
in  1903  "Cirillo,"  the  story  of  a  musician,  published  by  the  Life  Publishing 
Company  of  New  York.  Miss  Putnam  was  the  leading  member  of  the  Rhea 
Dramatic  Club,  which  was  organized  in  Flint  in  1884,  which  for  a  number  of 
years  was  an  active  theatrical  society.  She  was  also  a  talented  musician  ' 
and  a  proficient  performer  on  the  harp.  The  following  poem,  "My  Harp." 
is  included  in  her  book  of  verse; 


Uf  ^l^lillt^  winliig   iini  ut  gi  icelul  mould 

^tmng  with  ita  (.boid»  of  "illiei     red    mil  bhie 

Tuned  to  bigh  key    melodious  luui  tnie 

I   apeik   to   It     11    I   faithful   fiieiid 

WUkh  hath  no  intei'est    nor  selfish  eiiil 
It  anawereth      Ah  me    tbe  lo\elj    tone' 

It  W  the  sweetest  lolce  that  I  ha\e  known 

I    [Mils  111}   hanili  aloDK  the  slletit  stiings 

And  soft  the  siid    the  melancholy    things 
W  lie  nlth  n  touch     with  len   life  thej    sigh 

Tilte   forest   leiiflets  nhpn   the  nliid   N  hii.h 

The  venerable  Rev.  Seth  Reed,  whose  long  life  of  ninety-three  years 
lias  been  spent  principally  in  the  Methodist  ministry  of  the  state  of  Michi- 
fjan,  and  much  of  it  in  the  vicinity  of  Genesee  county,  has  written  an  auto- 
biographic account  of  his  activities  as  a  circuit  rider,  preacher  and  mission- 
ary among  the  pioneers  of  the  state  and  also  among  the  Indians.  This 
work  is  replete  with  interesting  incidents  of  early  times  and  is  in  itself  a 
history  of  the  rehgious  side  of  pioneer  life.  Mr.  Reed  is  still  a  resident  of 
Flint  and  has  recently  celebrated  the  seventy-third  anniversary  of  his  entry 


dbyGoot^lc 


620  (iENESKK    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN, 

into   the  ministry.      He  was  elected   in    igi6  as   president   emeritus   of   the 
Genesee  County  Historical  Society. 

The  Rev.  W.  Dudley  Powers,  D,  D.,  a  Virginia  gentleman  who  was 
for  some  years  the  rector  of  St.  Paul's  church  in  FSint,  and  a  talented, 
brilliant  speaker,  was  the  author  of  a  volume  of  poems  entitled  "My  Songs 
in  the  Evening."  from  which  "Taps"  is  selected  as  an  example  of  his 
poetical  gifts. 


i!ii    to    sleei) !     Uo   tii   sleep !     (io    to   sleeit ! 
It  is  night.  tb«  soldier's  <liiy  i»  done. 
It   tH  nisbt,   tlie  soldier's  fljilit   is  won. 

O'er  the  Ullls  iiiul  througli  the  gleu 
Where  the  ivinfliiiK  river  glides. 
Where  the  soiig  bird  frightened  hides. 
To  the   nioiratnin's  iiinreied  sides. 
Drifts  the  iHiRle's  uijilit  "Anieii," 

f'lnne  imd   iove  rtnd   honor   hover — 
Lover's  love  nhoiiC  a  lover- 
Round  thy  foruis.  ye  soidiere  brine. 
Heat   ye.  i-est  ye  iii   thy  Krave. 
(Jo   to   sleep !     Oo   to   Bleep!     Go    to   sleeiif 

/\mong  the  writers  who  have  attained  distinction  in  the  literary  worl<l 
is  .A.rthur  J.  E{ldy,  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jerome  Eddy,  who  was  born 
in  Flint  in  1859.  Mr.  Eddy  studied  law  at  Harvard  Law  School  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Genesee  county  by  Judge  Newton.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  was  owner  and  publisher  of  the  Genesee  Democrat,  the  Sunday 
Democrat  and  the  Daily  News.  He  went  to  Chicago  to  practice  law  in 
i88g  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Edwin  Walker,  of  that  city,  the  firm 
of  Walker  &  Eddy  being  coimsel  for  the  World's  ColumUan  Exposition 
and  for  a  number  of  -railroads  and  other  large  corporations.  Since  the 
organization  of  his  own  law  firm  in  1900  Mr.  Eddy's  professional  work 
has.  been  confined  exclusively  to  certain  phases  of  corporation  work  and  he 
is  the  specially  retained  counsel  for  many  of  the  largest  corporations  in  the 
country. 

Among  his  literary  productions  are  "Two  Thousand  Miles  in  an  Auto- 
mobile," which  was  issued  in  1902,  This  volume  is  descriptive  of  the  first 
long  journey  taken  in  an  automobile  in  America  and  is  the  pioneer  book  on 
automobiling  in   this  country.     "Tales  of  a   Small  Town'"  are   impressions 


yGoo-^lc 


GF.NESEK    COUNTY.    MiCHKlAN,  62  i 

(if  Flint,  and  many  of  the  characters  are  easily  recognized  by  people  of 
their  day  and  generation.  "Ganton  &  Co.",  a  novel  of  t"he  Chicago  busines.s 
world,  was  sLibsecjnently  dramatized  under  the  title  of  "The  Great  John 
Ganton"  and  produced  with  George  Fawcett  in  the  leading  role.  Mr.  Eddy's 
work  on  "The  Law  of  Combinations,"  published  in  1900,  has  remained  the 
standard  legal  work  on  combinations,  and  "The  New  Competition,"  a  law 
work  dealing  with  competitive  conditions  along  radical  and  revolutionary 
lines,  has  already  passed  through  four  editions.  Mr.  Eddy's  appreciation 
of  art  and  literature  has  placed  him  in  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  arl 
world,  and  for  some  years  he  has  been  a  discriminating  patron  of  the  Chicago 
Art  Institute  and  connected  with  its  various  committees.  Among  his  books 
on  art  are  "Delight,  the  Soul  of  Art,"  a  compilation  of  five  Lectures  delivered 
at  tJie  Chicago  Arl  Institute  and  elsewhere;  "Cubists  and  Post- Impression- 
ists," a  large  and  fully  illustrated  work  dealing  with  the  modem  movement 
in  art,  and  the  "Recollections  and  Impressions  of  James  McNeill  Whistler.'* 
Whistler  painted  a  full-length  portrait  of  Mr.  Eddy  in  1894,  at  which  time 
a  friendship  began  which  lasted  until  the  artist's  death  in  1903,  Mr.  Eddy's 
collection  of  modern  pictures  is  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  .\uicrica  and 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  complete  collections  in  the  world. 

Mr.  Eddy  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which  entertained  Prince 
Henrv  at  the  time  of  his  \'!sit  to  Chicago,  and  was  afterwards  decorated 
by  the  German  Emperor,  being  made  Knight  of  the  Red  Eagle. 

Mrs.  Kddy,  who  was  Miss  Lucy  Crapo  Orrell,  the  granddaughter  of  Gov- 
ernor Henry  H.  Crajx),  is  the  author  of  some  very  charming  verse,  the  fol- 
lowing lines  being  written   for  "A  California   Flower  Calendar:" 

-Night    sleeiis.    rticy    dowus,    thvoujrli    Ibi'    Hli^niowy    lir. 

O'er   the  luniizaiiltii,   wild   wiugs  wliir. 

Wake  tlie  puipliiig  valleys,  vlolel   lirewef  stlf. 

DafCodila    nnii   J<mqulls,    111I11    <lii>i)s    foil. 
Winter  storuis  are  brewlDg,  song  hiiils  call: 
BlooiiiN  the  rose  of  SJmroii,  loveliest  of  all. 

Blow    wistaria    bloHeoniH.    blow    in'iicia    tree, 
Oranjre   boughs   aud    tilmonil,    pui'lile   Heiiv-rte-lis. 
fherokee  iinenione.  winds  of  Arciidy 

Suiiltells.   could-bella,   wild   flowers  fair; 
Songs  of  iiioTintfiin  watoi-s,   rinclnn  in   thp  air; 
MariiJOMii    lilips.    |)o|>lile3   pveiTwhere. 


dbyGoc^lc 


622  CENK-SEP:    county,    MICHIGAN. 

GoJO    of   Oidiir   vifseK,    toiicli    ami   g", 

Kleetins  ;is  the  sunset's  iifterglow. 

Wben   ne   ti-y   to  woo   tliem.   iiwiiy   Ihey   lilow. 

Glenius  CUe  inum-yllis,  shine  tbe  lilies  white. 
Float  on  (iusky  wiUers  lotus  blossoms  iirlght ; 
On  the  dlatnnt  mesa  loonis  tJie  yucca  light. 

Through  the  jiicnraiKlii  sHpiihli-e  blossoms  swlug. 
Like  n  flocit  ot  blue-birds  fluttering  on  the  wine. 
Joy  Is  III  the  tree-toiis,  sweetly  carolling. 

Myrtles  wi'entheiJ  In  rose  mists,  crown  the  wiinflerinE  breeze,    . 
Bend  the  Inden  frult-bouiflis.  drone  tlie  huney-hep'!. 
In  the  phlox,  hollyhocks,  oleander  trees. 

ITragrnnt  nre  the  vineyards,  blue  gwtves  tnine. 
Flash  the  tiuy  sickles,  strlitiring  everj-  vine. 
From  ;i  thousand  iH'ewees  flowM  the  ruby  wine. 

Fiides   the    flnmliig   sunset,    night-birds   wing. 
Through  the  wige  and  ehaiiarral   arroyo  breezes  sing: 
Sllrery  twlnkllug  trail-bells  ffir  ofE  ring. 

Twinkle  starry  iietals  in  the  antuniu  Klejims. 
Glliiiniei'lng  on  green  stalks,  fringed  moonbeams; 
Twilight  shadows  deepen,   the  year  dreams 

Time  and  petals  drifting  softly  thn)ngh   tbe  Iwiwers, 
Float  the  flaming  dlnls.  yule-tide  hours: 
Euchailstlc  lilies,  scariet  Christmas  flowei's. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Steele  Hicock,  of  Flint,  well  known  in  literary  life  of 
the  community,  is  the  author  of  delightful  stories  for  children  which  have 
appeared  in  St.  Nicholas,  Harper's  Young  People  and  other  publications. 
Miss  Hicock  has  also  written  a  number  of  poems,  some  of  her  more  recent 
ones  appearing  in  The  Outlook.  She  was  also  some  years  ago  a  contributor 
to  The  Illustrator,  an  Eastern  publication,  and  the  New  York  Independent. 

Dr.  C.  B.  Burr,  an  eminent  alienist  of  national  reputation  and  for  over 
twenty  years  the  distinguished  head  of  Oak  Grove  hospital,  is  the  author 
of  a  volume  published  in  1906,  entitled  "A  Primer  of  Psychology  and  Mental 
Disease."  This  work  was  designed  as  a  text  btxik  for  medical  students  and 
for  attendants  and  nurses  in  training  schools.  It  is  also  a  valuable  ready 
reference  book  for  the  general  practitioner,  is  considered  authoritative  and 
has  passed  through  several  editions.  After  the  third  edition  the  title  was 
changed  to  "The  Handbook  of  Psychology  and  Mental  Disease." 

Dr.  Francis  Devereux  Clarke,  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  the 
able  superintendent  of  the  Michigan  school  for  the  deaf,  at  Mint,  with  his 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEK    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN.  6^,', 

broad  knowledge  of  the  brain  deveiopment  of  the  deaf,  was  able  to  give 
to  the  great  work  of  special  education  a  volume  known  as  "Michigan 
Methods."  This  work  treats  of  the  presentation  of  the  very  beginnings  of 
language,  numbers,  geography  and  other  matters  of  vital  importance  in  the 
teaching  of  the  deaf.  This  valuable  work  is  now  lieing  used  in  the  schools 
for  the  deaf  throughout  the  country  and  also  in  many  similar  institutions  in 
luirope.  For  his  educational  service  he  was  given  the  I>octor's  degree  in 
Humane  Letters  by  Gallaudet  College,  in  1908.  Doctor  Clarke  was  a  man 
of  varied  attainments.  Besides  tjeing  an  able  educator,  a  civil  engineer  and 
a  naturalist,  he  was  a  writer  of  abihty  and,  aside  from  his  treatise  on  primary 
grade  work,  was  the  co-editor  oi  the  American  Annah  of  the  Deaf,  the  largest 
publication  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  deaf  in  this  country,  edited  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  was  also  the  author  of  a  number  of  short  stories 
for  children.     His  death  occurred  at  Flint,  Septemljer  7,  1913. 

John  \V.  Fitzgibton,  reporter,  war  correspondent  and  prominent  political 
writer  of  Michigan,  although  born  in  New  Jersey,  came  with  his  parents  to 
Genesee  county  at  such  an  early  age  that  he  may  be  almost  considered  as 
one  of  the  natives  of  this  locality,  liis  father  settling  on  a  farm  near  Flint 
when  he  was  an  infant.  Mr.  Fitzgibbon  obtained  his  early  education  in 
Flint,  Col.  William  E.  McCreery  giving  him  employment  which  enabled 
him  to  finish  his  course  at  the  Flint  high  school.  When  about  twenty  years 
of  age  he  went  to  Detroit,  w-here  he  attracted  the  attention  of  the  late  James 
F.  Scri]>ps,  owner  and  publisher  of  the  Detroit  Evening  News,  who  became 
his  life-long  friend,  l-'or  thirty  years  Mr.  Fitzgibbon  has  been  connected 
with  the  Detroit  A'e7k<s.  He  represented  the  Neios  in  Cuba  prior  to  and  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  Spanish-AmSrican  War  and  in  the  Philippines  duruig 
the  insurrection.  He  has  been  correspondent  for  the  News  during  several 
congressional  sessions  at  Washington,  D,  C,  and  he  has  attended  the  legis- 
lative sessions  at  Lansing  contimiou,sly  for  twenty  years  except  while  in 
Cuba,  the  Philippines,  or  at  Washington.  With  the  death  of  Joseph  Greusel, 
Mr.  Fitzgibbon  became  the  dean  of  the  legislative  corresiKjndents  at  Lansing. 

Mrs.  Wadsworth  Warren,  of  Detroit,  formerly  Miss  Adelaide  Birds- 
all,  of  Flint,  and  granddaughter  of  James  Birdsall,  of  the  old  Birdsall  fam- 
ily of  F"entun,  has  published  several  volumes  of  stories  for  juveniles,  which 
have  l)een  justly  popular.  She  is  one  of  the  active  members  of  the  Michigan 
Authors'  Association  and  has  also  been  engaged  for  the  past  two  or  three 
years  in  playwriting. 

Charles  Clark,  of  Detroit,  formerly  of  Fenton,  was  the  author  of  a  book 


yGoo-^lc 


624  GKNKSEK    COUNJY,    MICIlHiAN. 

uf  travel  entitled,  "Japan,  a  Child  of  the  World's  Old  Age,"'  which  was  is- 
sued in  1910,  following  a  year's  sojourn  in  the  Orient. 

Mrs.  Lizzie  Beach  Stevens,  of  Linden,  was  the  author  of  a  volume  de- 
scriptive of  the  Columbian  Fair,  being  a  very  interesting  account  of  the  ex- 
position, and  was  also  the  author  of  a  book  of  poems. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hunting,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Klint,  was  the  author  of  a  book  of  poems  of  merit.  His  son,  Gardner  Hunt- 
ing, has  taken  up  literary  work  as  a  profession  and  is  a  regular  contributor 
to  a  number  of  leading  magazines.  He  has  also  published  several  works  of 
fiction,  including  "A  Hand  in  the  Game,"  a  novel  published  a  few  years  ago. 

Luther  L.  Wright,  formerly  superintendent  of  public  instruction  for 
Michigan  and  now  superintendent  of  the  Michig:ui  school  for  the  deaf,  and 
one  of  the  most  progressi\'e  educators  of  the  country,  is  the  author  of  a 
treatise  on  "The  Teaching  of  Mental  Arithmetic,"  prepared  with  a  view  to 
the  obviation  of  text  books  in  the  study  of  mathematics.  Mr.  Wright  is 
also  a  regular  contributor  to  a  number  of  magazines  on  subjects  of  an  edu- 
cational nature. 

Harry  A.  Franck,  of  Flint,  a  graduate  of  the  high  school,  class  of  1899, 
and  later  professor  of  Spanish  and  Greek  in  Columbia  University,  made  his 
initial  bow  to  the  literary  world  in  a  volume  of  travel  entitled,  "A  Vagabond 
Journey  Around  the  World,"  which  was  published  by  the  Century  Company 
in  1910:  A  year  or  so  later  he  produced.  "Zone  Policemen,"  followed  by 
"Four  Months  Afoot  in  Spain."  Mr.  l-Vanck  is  at  present  preparing  for 
publication  a  work  on  the  Mexican  situation  as  viewed  from  the  stan<ipoinl 
of  the  Mexican  peon,  his  recent  writings  having  attracted  most  favorable  at- 
tention from  leading  critics.  ' 

Mrs.  Rupert  Hughes,  formerly  of  Flint,  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Harry 
Mould,  nee  Mina  Stevens,  and  better  known  to  the  theatrical  and  operatic 
world  as  Marian  Manola,  is  the  author  of  many  short  stories  which  appear 
from  time  to  time  in  smart  cosmopolitan  publications.  The  amount  ]jaid  for 
her  scenario  of  "Gloria's  Romance,"  recently  written  for  film  production, 
in  which  Miss  BilHe  Burke  has  been  featured,  was  twelve  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars,  said  to  be  one  of  the  largest  sums  ever  paid  for  a  moving  pic- 
ture scenario.  Mrs.  Hughes  is  the  wife  of  Rupert  Hughes,  the  well-known 
author,  playwright,  composer  an<l  sculptor,  whose  home  is  at  Bedford  Hills. 
Westchester  county,  New  York. 

Mrs.  Jacquette  Hunter  Eaton,  the  wife  of  Marquis  Eaton,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  attorneys  of  Chicago,  and  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Flint  P.  Smith, 
of  J'lint.  with  whom  she  made  her  home  for  some  years,   is  the  writer  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


(JliKKSEf;    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  ~         625 

many  delightful  short  stories  which  have  appeared  in  recent  years  in  several 
of  the  leading  magazines. 

W.  Harold  Kingsley,  of  Flint,  a  young  newsp;tper  man,  formerly  with 
the  Ithaca  (N.  Y.)  Journal,  and  now  with  the  Grand  Rapids  (Mich.)  Press, 
who,  while  a  student  in  the  literary  department  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, was  one  of  the  leading  contributors  to  the  Michigan  Daily,  is  the  author 
of  a  number  of  poems  which  show  much  talent  and  which  have  been  copied 
in  the  press  of  other  states.  The  Boston  Transcript  recently  published  his 
Thanksgiving  poem  of  1915: 

Out  of  II  wild  dissension,  sLeei'  In  ii  ui:w-kiii>n'u  y,t:>i\. 
The  Spirit  ot  !,itierty  rose  and  rode  on  a  Dream-goiJ'K  t-liiiriot— wosi ; 
Rode  to  11  new  eiirteiivor.  stood  ou  Atlantis'  l>iuik,'; 
Fdcing   tlie   sun,   witli   a    task   b^un, 
Offerhii!    (ioil    lier    tlinukH. 

Beiirlng  11   noble  tminiiet,  crowned  in  u  new  ideal. 
The  Sou  of  Lilterty  rose  and  stood  at  CivlliKatiou's  wheel ; 
Onnquered  a  foe  of  Lis  dreaming,  hoping,   NtnigglinK  ranks, 
Fitcing  the  sky  with  a  brow  reai-eil  high. 
Offering    God    iale    thanks. 

Out  of  a  sterner  grat)iile,  out  of  an  inborn  strife, 
The  Union  of  Liberty  rose  and  stood  a  newer  breath  of  life; 
Heating  the   sword   to  a    ijlowshare,   furrowed   tbo  yielding   banks. 
Facing  the  dawu  wKh  a  mightier  brnwu, 
Offering    God    her    thanks. 

Hoping  and  pitying,  praying,  biitblug  love  In  a   tear. 
The  Nation  of  Liberty  stands  nloue,  Iree  from  a  phantom  fear; 
Drawn  in  a   new  formed  legion,  all  Humanily'fi  ranks, 
Pacine  tlie  suli  wi(h  a  work  well  done, 
nffeiing   Ood    her   thank.«. 

VV.  V.  Smitii  has  contributed  many  articles  upon  the  Indians,  and  is  a 
recognized  authoritj-,  especially  relating  to  the  tribes  of  New  France,  New 
York  and  the  old  Northwest  Territory. 

Mrs.  Kate  E.  Buckham  is  well  known  in  newspaper  and  magazine 
circles  as  a  popular  writer. 

Edwin  O.  Wood,  LI,.  D..  is  the  author  of  "Historic  Mackinac"  and  a 
numlier  of  papers  relating  to  the  old  Northw^t  Territory. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XXn. 

:  SocrAi,  Life. 

E.  L.  Bangs,  in  the  "Book  of  the  Golden  Jubilee,"  has  written  charm- 
ingly of  early  social  Hfe  in  Flint.  As  he  observes,  social  life  results  from 
one  of  the  deepest  cravings  of  human  nature.  Even  the  dog  or  the  horse 
is  lonesome  as  an  "outsider,"  and  will  take  strong  measures  to  get  in  with 
his  kind  and  make  himself  agreeable.  Even  in  the  primitive  pioneer  days 
of  "Aunt  Polly"  and  "Uncle  John"  Todd  there  was  social  life  at  Flint,  which 
centered  about  the  old  tavern,  but  social  intercourse  was  necessarily  very 
limited  in  days  when  homes  were  far  apart  in  the  forest  on  Indian  trails  and 
cowpaths. 

Nor  is  the  record  of  that  early  social  life  easy  to  gather.  Mr.  Bangs 
says:  "Interviewing  those  who  have  been  dead  for  many  years  should  Ije 
one  of  the  accomplishments  of  one  called  upon  to  write  up  the  early  social 
life  of  Flint.  Most  of  those  who  were  prominent  in  that  period  and  were 
themselves  social  factors  are  sleeping  in  the  cemetery.  Those  who  are  still 
living  do  not  remember  to  any  great  extent  those  particulars  that  would 
help  to  make  an  interesting  sketch.  All  whom  I  have  seen  think  social  life 
in  Flint  was  uncommonly  pleasant,  but  I  have  found  it  difficult  to  obtain 
interesdng  particulars.  In  a  general  way  they  teil  me  some  things,  but  just 
the  things  I  would  gladly  see  put  in  print  are  with  the  dead.  '  With  pencil 
and  paper  in  hand  one  Sunday  afternoon  I  tried  to  carry  on  the  holy  work 
of  an  interview  for  the  good  of  the  public  with  an  old  and  valued  friend 
of  mine.  She  told  me  that  she  came  to  Michigan  in  1S33.  living  at  first 
in  Mt.  Morris,  in  a  house  set  up  of  blocks  of  wood,  and  she  used  to  listen 
sometimes  to  the  howling  of  wolves  underneath  it.  Stalwart  character  ought 
to  be  the  result  of  such  environment— -character  such  as  could  not  be 
developed  where  no  sterner  sounds  can  be  heard  by  moonHght  than  the  voices 
of  belligerent  cat*.  -'     %'^ 

"Mrs.  ,  in  1836,  dived  on  the' riVer 'bank  on  the  site  of  the 

old  Red  Tavern,  which  not  many  now  living  can  remember,  I  asked  about 
the  social  life  of  the  children,  for  I  do  not  happen  to  know  any  more  pleas- 
ing sight  than  a  lawn  party  of  very  young  children,  full  of  fun  and  frolic, 
such  a  party,  I  mean,  as  we  often  see  today.  .\nd  then  their  consumption 
of  refreshments  when  the  time  come.'i  is  .something  noteworthy.     'Was  any- 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEF   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  627 

thing  of  that  kind  done  for  very  young  children  in  your  young  days,  iriy 
friend?'  'Children  were  children  then  as  well  as  now,'  was  the  answer. 
'They  had  pleasant  times,  but  there  was  no  formality  for  them.  Invita- 
tions were  not  issued  for  them,  and  their  lives  were  more  isolated  than  the 
lives  of  children  are  now.'  Social  life  distinctively  for  children  was  not  a 
feature  of  the  early  days  of  FUnt. 

"'Well,  what  did  the  older  people  do  in  the  winter  for  amusement?' 
'Sleighrides  were  quite  frequent  in  my  younger  days;  old  and  young  enjoyed 
them  together.  The  sleighrides  usually  culminated  in  a  supper,  and  a  return 
when  the  evening'  was  considerably  advanced.' 

"  'Was  there  any  love-making  on  such  occasions?'  My  friend  thought  a 
moment,  ga^ed  thoughtfully  on  vacancy,  and  said  she  could  not  distinctly 
remember,  but  she  thought  there  might  have  been, 

"From  a  few  ancient  relics  she  produced  several  invitations  on  note 
paper,  each  suggestive  to  her  of  a  pleasant  occasion  long  past,  but  not  one 
of  them  was  dated  with  the  day  of  the  month  or  year,  and  how  old  they 
were  she  could  not  tell. 

"She  spoke  of  frequent  dancing  ]>arties  that  were  held  in  an  old  resi- 
dence on  the  corner  of  Court  and  Saginaw  streets,  known  by  everybody  as 

the  Hascall  place.     Mrs.  — — has  a  vivid  memory  of  parties  that 

were  given  by  various  families.  The  invitations  were  quite  general,  for 
there  was  then  no  sharply  dividing  line  that  distinguished  'our  set'  from 
the  other  set. 

"I  asked  about  the  dress  on  such  occasion.  She  satisfied  me  that  the 
ladies  of  that  period  understood  the  art  of  dressing,  and  I  presume  there 
never  has  been  a  time  when  they  did  not  know  how  to  array  themselves 
attractively.  'Did  the  gentlemen  appear  in  the  conventional  swallow- 
tail?' She  could  not  distinctly  remember  to  what  extent  the  swallow  tail 
prevailed,  but  said  she,  with  emphasis,  'The  gentlemen  did  look  mighty 
well.' 

"  'The  caterer  had  not  at  that  time  appeared.  The  hostess  of  the  even- 
ing at  least  supervised  the  refreshment  department  and  the  good  things  were 
chiefly  home-made.  Goo<l  they  were,  the  variety  was  great,  and  the  con- 
sumption was  more  than  a  make,  lielieve.  On  some  occasions  the  gentlemen 
would  quietly  retire  to  a  certain  room  for  a  quiet  smoke.'  'And  then.'  .she 
added,  'T  can't  say  what  else  they  went  for.' 

"Those  were  the  palmy  days  of  E  .H.  Thomson,  who  used  to  enter- 
tain those  he  met  at  evening  parties  with  recitations  from  Shakespeare.  He 
was.  my  friend  told  me,  a  fine  story  teller.     Were  there  any  dinner  parties?' 


yGoo-^lc 


628  GKNKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

'Yes,  they  were  quite  frequent,  but  there  were  no  toasts  with  formal  responses 
until  later  years.' 

"  'How  about  young  ladies  on  such  occasions?'  T  can't  remember  what 
they  wore,  but  they  looked  as  pretty  as  pinks.' 

"Pleasant  memories  in  the  mind  of  Mrs. clustered  around 

the  old  Boss  tavern,  a  few  miles  from  Flint.  She  called  to  mind  one  occa- 
sion of  marked  interest  to  her.  There  was  a  sleighride  and  a  great  supper 
had  been  ordered.  A  jolly  spirit  of  rollicking  good-will  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  all  in  the  sleigh.  Some  had  to  stand  in  the  sleigh  for  want  of  room. 
I  can't  understand  why  they  had  to  do  this.  Had  I  been  there  I  should 
have  offered  some  one  a  seat,  and  at  the  same  time  should  have  retained  my 
own.  Perhaps  that  was  done,  but  my  infonnant  made  no  mention  of  such 
an  act  of  courtesy.  There  was  singing  all  along  the  way.  One  strain  of  one 
song  still  lingered  in  her  memory.     It  was  this: 

'Lightly  row,   lightly   row, 
On  the  glassy  wave  we  go.' 

"The  chaperone  had  not  at  that  time  appeared  in  Flint,  though  on  that 
particular  occasion  there  were  some  suspicious  transactions  that  suggested 
a  field  of  usefulness  for  a  chaperone  that  could  see,  and  at  the  same  time 
be  conveniently  nearsighted.  On  that  particular  occasion  a  gentleman  lost 
oiie  of  his  mittens,  a  just  penalty  for  not  keeping  it  on,  and  hunted  in  vain 
for  it.  'Where  is  my  mitten?  What  has  become  of  my  mitten?'  And  in 
response  to  this  query  there  came  a  musical  response  from  a  young  lady, 

'Look  high,  look  low, 
Look  on  my  big  toe,' 

and  there  he  found  it.  'And  it  didn't  seem  a  bit  out  of  character  then," 
said  my  informant,  'but  I  suppose  such  a  thing  now  would  shock  conventional 
proprieties;  but  we  did  have  good  times.' 

"In  the  summer  season  the  picnic  party  was  in  high  favor.  Lemona<ie 
flowed  freely  and  there  were  eatables  by  the  bushel.  On  such  occasions  one 
may  be  allowed  to  unbend  his  dignity,  or,  if  he  is  very  aspiring,  he  may 
climb  a  sapling  and  bend  it  down  and  drop  from  its  top  to  the  ground,  if  he 
chooses  to,  and  be  applauded  as  an  acrobat.  These  early  picnics,  I  am  told, 
were  free  from  gossip  and  from  the  slightest  approach  of  rudeness.  There 
was  good  talking  not  only  of  the  kind  that  entertained,  but  not  infrequently 
upon  subjects  that  required  previous  good  thinking  to  talk  well  upon. 

"A  woman  once  said  of  her  husband,  'The  trouble  with  Mr.  


yGoo-^lc 


r.ENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  629 

is  that  he  always  supposes  that  other  people  can  do  what  he  does.'  It  is 
not  so  with  such  of  our  good  Flint  people  who  look  back  with  tender  pride 
upon  the  ways  oftheir  friends  in  early  social  life.  They  think,  and  doubt- 
less honestly,  that  other  people,  notably  those  of  a  later  time,  cannot  do  what 
the  early  comers  did  socially.  Time  has  gilded  these  half- forgotten  social 
ways  with  a  halo  that  glorifies  them.  Who  shall  blame  this  honest  pride  in 
old  time  observances?    Not  I. 

"He  who  would  catch  good  fish  of  all  kinds  should  fish  in  all  waters. 
He  who  would  look  up  bits  of  information  that  the  public  has  forgotten  and 
would  set  before  the  public  those  bits  of  semi-gossipy  happenings  that  the 
public  generally  read  w-ith  more  enjoyment  than  they  do  reports  of  sermons, 
should  interview  all  the  elderly  ladies  in  Flint  who  are  willing  to  tell  about 
their  social  life  when  they  were  young. 

"Such  a  lady,  like  her  predecessor,  told  me  that  she  came  to  Flint 
when  she  was  five  years  old.  That  was  not  far  from  seven  years  before 
Flint  became  an  incorporated  city.  It  was  village  life  then,  with  all  the  quiet 
charm  that  one  finds  in  a  pleasant  community  not  yet  mad  with  the  haste 
to  be  rich. 

"The  history  of  Genesee  county  informs  us  that  'nine-tenths  of  the  early 
settlers  of  this  county  came  from  New  York  state  and  New  England,  and 
brought  with  them  the  advanced  ideas  of  the  favored  communities  from 
which  they  came,  upon  the  subjects  of  education  and  religious  observances.' 

"The  madam  who  T  am  now  interviewing  called  to  mind  pleasant  even- 
ings at  the  old-fashioned  spelling  school.  Sides  were  chosen,  and  as  fast  as 
one  of  the  contestants  misspelled  a  word,  down  he  sat  and  the  battle  continued 
till  only  one  speller,  the  champion  of  the  evening,  was  left  on  the  floor. 
These  contests  were  always  exciting  and  were  scenes  of  genuine  pluck'ili' the 
hour  of  battle,  and  of  hilarious  fun  when  the  battle  was  over.  Madam  ' 
with  whom  we  are  now  talking  was  at  least  once- victor  in  such  a  contest. 
She  spelled  down  her  last  competitor  on  the  word  'weasel,'  the  wrong 
spelling  given  being  'weasil.'  Tt  is  not  easy  to  catch  a  weasel  asleep  and 
that  night  the  little  girl,  now  a  woman,  how  many  years  young  I  will  not 
tell,  was  wide  awake,  and  she  said  her  father  was  proud  of  her  success. 

"Is  this  lady  correct  when  she  insists  that  the  log  school  house  and  the 
3[jelling  school  gave  us  better  spellers  than  we  now  find  in  our  well-equipped 
schools?  I  cannot  say,  but  I  do  know  that  in  my  own  spelling-school  days 
there  was  good  spelling,  and  I  also  know  that  nowadays  words  do  some- 
times appear  under  a  spell  that  is  by  no  means  enchanting, 

"Our  early  settlers,  especially  those  from  New  F.ngland,  brought  with 


yGoo-^lc 


630  GRNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

them  their  long-cherished  ideals  of  religions  observances.  The  church  to 
some  extent  is  a  factor  in  social  life  and  in  pioneer  days  seems  likely  to 
be  a  more  potent  social  factor  than  when  wealth  brings  in  its  train  social 
observances  of  a  more  conventional  character.  There  was  a  friendly  fra- 
ternal feeling  among  the  churches. 

"The  lady  now  furnishing  material  for  this  chapter  told  me  that  in 
her  girlhood  the  children  went  to  church  with  their  parents  and  even  the 
babies  had  a  place  in  the  pews. 

"The  donation  party  then  did  double  duty  as  a  financial  expedient  and 
a  social  function.  What  was  done  on  such  occasions?  A  donation  is,  of 
'  course,  a  gift,  and  sometimes,  I  have  been  told,  on  such  occasions  not  only 
were  provisions  given  away,  but  the  good  minister  who  received  them  as  a 
supplementary  appendage  to  his  salary  was  aiso  given  away.  But  as  a  social 
feature  in  the  early  days,  the  donation  party  really  was  a  party  of  no  mean 
pretensions.  There  was  every  variety  of  food  and  every  variety  of  folks, 
and  no  small  amount  of  the  food  brought  went  home  with  the  folks  who 
brought  it.  Somehow,  eating  together  seems  not  only  to  open  the  mouth 
and  loosen  the  tongue,  but  also  to  open  the  heart.  This  time-honored  occa- 
sion, now  obsolete  in  I'lint,  had  its  uses,  and  the  good  times  enjoyed  on 
sUch  occasions  are  still  remembered  with  pleasure. 

"As  royal  entertainers  in  the  early  days  my  informant  mentioned  the 
family  of  Chauncey  Payne.  Sometimes  there  were  dancing  parties,  and  the 
dancing  of  that  day  as  seen  by  the  lady  now  under  interview,  was  decorous 
and  courtly. 

"She  mentioned  as  conspicuous  in  early  social  life  the  Deweys,  the 
Cmnminses,  the  Pages,  the  family  of  Benjamin  Pearson,  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
E.  H.  Thomson,  Russell  Bishop  and  wife,  Grant  Decker  and  Colonel  Fenton 
and  their  wives,  and  said  there  were  many  more  whose  names  did  not  occur 
to  her  at  this  time. 

"Card  playing  was  seldom  indulged  in,  and  the  conversation  was  of 
high  order.  'Yes,'  said  she,  'they  could  talk.'  Gentlemen  and  their  wives 
made  evening  calls  at  the  firesides  of  their  neighbors,  with  delightful  infor- 
mality. 

"We  have  now  reached  the  year  1848  and  much  attention  was  then 
paid  to  music,  said  my  informant,  herself  a  musician  of  no  mean  attain- 
ments.' There  was  a  social  side  as  well  as  a  musical,  and  some  of  the  young 
people,  now  elderly  people,  remember  with  pleasure  the  musical  gatherings 
held  in  the  evening  in- the  old  Walker  school  house  and  conducted  by  a  Mr. 
Nutting,   an  accomplished'  Southern   gentleman. 


dbyGoot^lc 


<;]-,tv[:.SlrK    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  63I 

"Long  ago  there  was  a  May  Day  festival  held  on  the  North  Side — 
a  briUiant  affair  for  the  young  people  and  an  enjoyable  one  for  their  seniors. 
There  were  guests  from  Detroit  and  Saginaw,  The  name  of  the  May  queen 
was  not  given  me.  Presumably  there  was  not  as  much  competition  for  the 
queenly  honor  as  in  present  times  there  is  for  the  scepter  of  the  queen  of  the 
carnival. 

"With  all  the  social  activity  of  those  days,  the  good  people  could  lind 
time  and  inclination  to  listen  to  three  sermons  on  Sunday.  Surely  there 
was  then  less  of  rush  and  hurry  than  now. 

"  'And  when  did  you  come  to  Flint  ?'  said  I  to  an  elderly  lady  who 
kindly  consented  to  be  my  third  victim,  as  I  sat  with  pencil  in  hand  at  her 
home.  'Well,'  said  she,  'I  came  to  this  place  in  1842,  from  Batavia,  New 
York.'  And  how  old  were  you  then  ?'  She  peered  through  her  glasses  half 
hesitatingly  and  I  explained  that  I  had  no  deep-laid  plot  to  put  figures 
together  so  as  to  figure  out  her  present  age,  for  ladies,  even  the  best  of  them, 
are  just  a  little  shy  on  that  subject.  'I  was  fifteen  years  old  when  I  came  to 
live  in  Flint.'  'A  winsome,  wide-awake  lassie  I  think  you  must  have  been.' 
She  confirmed  my  guess  by  telling  how  she  once  peeped  through  the  cracks 
of  a  primitive  dwelling  to  see  how  the  older  people  got  along  at  a  kind  of 
'hail-fellow-well-mef  function,  in  which,  for  some  reason,  she  did  not  par- 
ticipate. It  will  hardly  do  for  me  to  record  the  names  or  sayings  or  doings 
of  some  well-remembered  people  whom  our  fifteen-year-old  lassie  with  an 
inquiring  turn  of  mind  saw  through  the  cracks.  I  know  not  if  one  of  them 
is  here  today,  certainly  there  can  be  at  most  but  few. 

"  'Won't  you  tell  me  what  people  u,sed  to  do  in  those  days  in  a  social 
way?  Surely  they  did  not  work  all  the  time.'  'By  no  means  was  it  all 
work.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  play,  a_good  deal  of  fun,  and  any  amount 
of  good  feeling.     Yes,  we  .did  have  good  times.' 

"  'While  building  a  better  house,  people  used  to  live  in  shanties,  of 
considerable  size,  but  no  matter  how  primitive  the  shanty,  it  was  good 
enough  to  receive  company  in,  and  such  temporary  buildings  were  often 
the  sctne  of  festive  gatherings  that  are  pleasant  to  remember. 

"  'There  is  a  feature  of  our  social  life  at  present  that  was  never  heard 
of  in  the  early  days.  Ladies  now  get  together  in  the  afternoon,  sometimes 
in  the  evening,  and  not  a  gentleman  is  to  lie  seen  there,  and  I  don't  like  it 
a  bit.' 

.  ■  "T  checked  ,mv  pencil  on  hearing  this  statement  and  gave  utterance  to 
an  'amen,'  that,  like- the  curses  of  Macbeth,  was  not  loud  but  deep,  for-I, 
like  many  another  man,  have  painful  memories. 


dbyGoot^lc 


632  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

"THe  elderly  lady  seemed  amused  at  the  heartiness  of  my  response,  and 
then  went  on:  'In  the  early  days  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  as  a  lady 
sending  out  invitations  for  a  social  gathering  composed  exclusively  of  ladies. 
Why,  it  would  have  been  the  tamest  affair  on  earth.  We  old-timers  never 
did  such  a  ridiculous  thing  as  that.  Men  were  of  some  account  when  I  was 
young.  Husbands  went  with  their  wives,  young  men  went  with  some  young 
lady  or  two,  and  both  the  masculine  and  feminine  element  were  fully  repre- 
sented. They  did  not. wait  for  bedtime  before  lighting  their  lanterns  and 
starting  out.  Our  parties  in  those  days,  when  the  evening  church  service 
used  to  begin  at  early  candlelight,  were  in  full  career  by  seven  o'clock. 

"'Was  there  music  at  your  parties?'  'There  was  more  or  less,  but 
pianos  were  scarce.  My  mother's  was  the  second  piano  in  Flint,  and  the 
possession  of  such  an  instrument  gave  considerable  dignity  to  the  family 
in  whose  house  it  was.' 

"  'Those  must  have  been  happy  days  when  there  were  only  two  pianos 
in  the  place,'  said  I.  'Now  please  think  of  something  else  that  used  to  lie 
done  to  enliven  your  social  life.' 

"  'Well,  we  used  to  play  games,  especially  the  old-fashioned  game  of 
forfeits.  Even  very  dignified  people  quite  enjoyed  a  game  of  blind  man's 
buff.  How  would  Flint's  four  hundred  look  today  in  evening  dress  playing 
that  game?     Yet  we  enjoyed  it.' 

"There  was  a  good  deal  of  dancing.  The  square  dances  were  in  high 
favor,  interspersed  with  polkas,  cotillions,  schottisches  and  waltzes.  If  the 
dances  are  improperly  named,  O  reader,  pardon  the  ignorance  of  the  writer 
and  believe  that  in  Flint's  early  social  life  all  kinds  of  dances  were  possible 
and  were  brilliantly  executed.  The  only  drawback  to  the  dancing  was  the 
music.  No  one  then  fiddled  for  pay  and  for  that  reason  he  who  could  play 
the  violin  was  always  welcome.  Robert  Stage  excelled  as  a  scraper  of 
cat-gut,  and  his  ajjpearance  at  a  party  with  his  violin  always  produced  great 
uneasiness  of  the  feet,  and  soon  developed  rj^thmic  motion. 

"  'When  I  was  quite  a  young  lady  there  was  comparatively  little  card 
playing.  People  did  play,  but  would  have  beeii  shocked  at  the  Idea  of  playing 
in  the  daytime.  The  men  then  had  no  cluh  rooms  to  go  to  where  they  coukl 
smoke  and  play  cards,  to  the  neglect  of  business,  and  the  women  would  have 
found  it  intolerably  stupid  to  play  cards  alone.' 

"  'Tell  me.  if  you  please,  about  the  refreshments  they  used  to  .serve  on 
social  occasions  in  the  early -days  of  the  place.  Were  they  easy  to  be  obtained 
when  maJ-keting  fa<3l^teK*^were  liot  \tli!it  they  how  are?' 


yGoo-^lc 


CENESEE    COI'NTY,    MICHUiAN.  633 

"  'Not  SO  easy  to  be  obtained,  but  they  were  good,  and  not  merely 
refreshing,  but  absohiteiy  distressing  by  reason  of  their  abundance.' 

"  'Suppose  you  give  nie  the  menu  that  was  customary  to  serve  on  really 
elaborate  occasions.' 

"  'O,  menu — they  did  not  have  any  use  for  that  word  then.  But  1 
will  call  to  mind  as  well  as  I  can  what  I  have  often  seen  served  at  an  old- 
time  social  gathering.  First  as  to  the  meats.  They  were  placed  often  on  a 
side  table  and  carved  in  sight  of  the  guests.  One  gentleman  would  carve 
the  turkey,  and  I  call  to  mind  Mr.  — ■  who  was  especially  skill- 
ful in  turkey  carving.  Seeing  him  carve  was  next  thing  to  eating  itself. 
Another  gentleman  would  slice  the  ham,  a  large  lioiled  ham,  fancifully  deco- 
rated with  cloves.  Still  another  would  distribute  the  'chicken  fixin's,'  and 
in  those  days  poultry  was  abundant.  There  were  also  still  other  kinds  of 
meat.  Boiled  tongue  and  wild  game,  such  as  partridge,  quail  and  pigeon 
often  graced  the  table.  Even  the  most  prosperous  people,  however,  did  not 
own  dishes  enough  to  hold  all  this  rich  abundance.  So  the  good  housewives 
used  to  lend  their  dishes  to  each  other  and  a  keen-eyed  woman  could  gen- 
erally see  something  on  the  table  that  reminded  her  of  home.  Cakes  of 
all  kinds  were  in  evidence  and  they  were  placed  in  full  view  of  the  guests. 
Spectacular  effect  was  aimed  at  as  well  as  the  pleasure  of  feasting  upon  the 
fat  of  the  land.  A  cake  pyramid,  whose  structure  was  too  complicated  for 
any  man  to  comprehend,  loomed  up  in  the  center  of  the  table.  Its  height 
was  less  than  that  of  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  but  it  was  pretty  high,  and 
was  the  syndml  of  a  high  time  for  those  who  witnessed  its  gradual  demolition 
and  disapi>earance.' 

"I  ventured  to  ask  with  what  hquids  fhe,se  delicacies  and  substantials 
were  floated  out  of  sight.  'O',  we  had  coffee,  of  course,  and  in  many  places 
there  was  a  well-filled  sideboard.  Wine  and  brandy  were  not  infrerjuentiy 
served  at  social  gatherings  such  as  I  have  just  described.' 

"'How  ahoiit  ice  cream,  did  you  have  that?'  'Have  ice  cream?  Ves, 
indeed  we  did.  The  cow  in  those  days  was  not  a  four-wheeled  affair  and 
milk  was  not  kept  from  turning  sour  with  formaldehyde.  The  cream  was 
genuine,  and- the  women  who  froze  it  were  genuine,  too,  and  the  ice  cream 
they  made  did  have  a  certain  richness  and  flavor  that  you  can't  find  in 
boughten  ice  cream.  We  used,  on  many  occasions,  to  have  two  immense 
molds  of  ice  cream  that  looked  like  small  mountain  i>eaks,  one  at  each'end 
of  the  table,  each  with  a  different  flavor;  vanilla  and  strawi^erry  were  the 
favorite  flavors.'  'If  tlie  first  flavor  did  not  cjuite  satisfy,  could  a  gentleman 
lie  allowed  a  second  helping  from  the  second  little  mountairt  peak?'     'Yes, 


yGoo-^lc 


634  GI'NIiSKK    rOL'Ni'V,    MICIIKIAN. 

indeed,  gentlemen  were  not  bashful  about  such  things  in  those  days,  and  the 
ladies  enjoyed  helping  them  a  second  time.'  T  expressed  my  refjrets  that  I 
was  born  many  years  too  late. 

"Wonderful  men  and  women  at  the  table  were  our  early  settlers.  1 
have  read  that  'There  is  a  satisfaction  in  seeing  Englishmen  eat  and  drink; 
they  do  it  so  heartily,  trusting  that  there  is  no  harm  in  good  beef  and  mut- 
ton and  a  reasonable  f|uantity  of  good  liquor.  Thus  our  early-coming  people 
seem  to  have  at  least  eaten,  with  no  fear  whatever  of  the  failure  of  the 
American  stomach. 

"'How  were  the  gentlemen  usually  dressed  on  festive  occasions?'  'Gen- 
erally in  neat  business  suits.  The  swallow  tail  was  quite  uncommon,  and  a 
man  in  one  would  not  have  felt  entirely  at  home.' 

"  'What  next  occurs  to  you  on  the  subject  of  early  social  lifer'  ■\Veli, 
1  nmst  not  forget  the  sleighricks.  I  can  almost  hear  the  jingle  of  the  bells 
now,  and  the  many  voices  that  1  shall  never  hear  again.  Not  infrequently 
after  a  good,  long  ride  we  would  all  meet  at  Aunt  Polly  Todd's,  where  a 
well-spread  table  would  be  ready  for  us.' 

"'Were  stylish  sleighs  then  common?'  'By  no  means.  We  used  (u 
charter  large  lumber  sleighs,  with  no  seats  at  all  except  for  the  driver.  With 
clean  straw  on  the  bottom  and  good  buffalo  robes  on  the  straw,  and  us 
young,  folks  (just  look  at  me  now)  on  the  robes.  A  sleigh  with  us  was 
democratic,  but  it  was  full  of  ertjoynient.  Many  times  have  we  driven  to 
Grand  Blanc  and  Flushing.  There  was  little  style  about  the  sleighs,  but  the 
horses  were  not  at  all  slow,  neither  were  the  young  men. 

"  'On  one  occasion  one  of  the  gentlemen  had  secreted  a  bottle  of  brandy 
in  his  overcoat  pocket.  The  handsomest  woman  in  Flint  (.she  is  not  living 
now  and  you  must  not  breathe  her  name)  pi^cked  his  pocket  and  drop[}ed 
the  bottle  out  into  the  deep  snow,  where  it  was  found  in  the  spring  when  the 
snow  melted.'  'Was  the  brandy  still  in  the  bottler'  'J  cannot  tell  you,  sir, 
kit  the  bottle  was  found.' 

"■'What  was  the  favorite  amusement  in  the  early  days?'  'Dancing  was 
decidedly  the  favorite.  There  were  dancing  schools  as  early  as  1848.  Danc- 
ing was  taught  in  the  old  hotel,  opposite  the  court  house,  and  af^er  the  pupils 
had  received  their  instructions,  -the  old  jjeople  drop]>ed  in  and  danced.'  On 
one  occasion,  the  lady  now  speaking  for  your  benefit,  was  greatly  amused. 
There  was  a  young  man  present  who  could  not  dance  at  all.  His  best  girl 
could,  and  greatly  enjoyed  it.  She  was  a  beautiful  girl  and  was  in  great 
demand  as  a  partner  in  the  dance.  On  this  occasion  her  future  husljand 
looked  onas  a  wallflower  and  with  such  an  expressiim  on  his  face  that  had 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  SjS 

Ilis  thoughts  been  expressed  in  words,  they  would  probably  have  t>eeii'a  fine 
brand  of  cuss  words.  The  giri  enjoyed  the  dance  and  the  spectators  enjoyed 
the  agony  of  the  onlooker  wlio  could  not  dance  and  who  could  not  keep  his 
best  girl  from  dancing  with  his  rivals.' 

"'Did  the  church  social  count  for  nuich  as  a  social  factor  in  the  early 
days?'  'Yes.  it  counted  for  more  than  it  does  now.  There  were  fewer 
counter  attractions  for  the  youn.!;.  and  there  was  a  condition  of  social  good 
feeling  among  the  churches. 

"  'It  can  hardly  be  called  a  social  factor  and  yet,  as  tliere  was  a  social 
side  to  it,  I  may  mention  that  there  was  much  horseback  riding  when  T  was 
a  young,  lady. 

"  'I  cannot  forget  the  high,  old-fashioned  fireplace  that  was  a  great 
attraction  in  so  many  homes.  It  was  a  social  force  in  its  way,  for  talk  will 
be  at  its  best  before  a  good  wood  fire,  in  a  big  fireplace,  when  it  would 
languish  over  a  furnace  register, 

"'Customs  have  gradually  changed.  Looking  back  a  long  way,  I  can- 
not fix  the  time  when  the  gentlemen  gradually  faded  out  of  united  social 
life,  and  went,  alas,  too  much,  by  themselves.  And  the  ladies  began  to  issue 
invitations  to  social  functions  for  ladies  only.  It  was  not  the  good  old'way 
and  it  is  no  improvement  at  all." 

"The  writer  of  this  sketch  lived  in  New  York  City  for  ten  years  pr<:- 
vious  to  coming  to  Flint.  In  New  York  he  was  familiar  with  the  Knicker- 
bocker custom  of  making  New  Year's  calls  and  found  the  custom  pleasantly 
recognized  when  he  came  to  Flint  in  1864.  This  good  old  Knickerbocker 
custom,  now  falhng  into  'innocuous  desuetude,'  has  been  a  factor  in  the  early 
social  life  of  Flint  that  is  deserving  of  consideration.  It  Ijegan  there  at  a 
much  earlier  date  than  I  had  supposed,  if  my  informant  has  an  accurate 
memory.  As  far  back  as  1842,  when  her  parents  had  moved  from  the  state 
of  New  York,  a  neighbor  said  to  her  mother.  'Now  when  New  Year's  Day 
comes  you  must  exi^ect  to  see  Indians  in  your  house.  They  will  expect  some- 
thing, and  they  will  surely  come.  I  doubt  if  there  were  any  doorbells  to 
ring  in  those  days.  But  the  visitor  who  called  could  use  his  knuckles  for  a 
knocker  and  thus  apprise  the  inmates  of  the  house  that  some  one  would'  like 
to  come  in. 

"The  Indian  callers  gave  no  intimation  of  their  wish  for  admission. 
They  simply  went  in  and  with  their  moccasined  feet  they  glided  in  so  silently 
that  rhany  a  time  the  lady  of  the  house  has  been  surprised  to  find' a  number 
of  them  in  her  front  room  looking  over  the  appointments  of  the  apartment. 
They  did  not  mean  to  l>e  rude,  but  it  was  their  way.     A  piano  was  to  theiii 


dbyGoot^lc 


636  CRNESEE    county,    MICHIGAN. 

an  objett  of  special  wonder.  On  New  Year's  Day  they  would  go  from 
house  to  house  with  this  salutation;  'Ugh,  ugh,  Hoppy  Noo  Year,  Hoppy 
Noo  Year.'  Whether  or  not  they  i>ainted  up  and  feathered  up  for  such 
occasions  I  did  not  learn,  but  Indian  callers  on  New  Year's  Day  would  cer- 
tainly now  be  almost  as  unique  a  feature  as  some  New  Year's  turnouts  that 
white  men  have  figured  in  within  my  memory." 

A  great  step  was  taken  in  advance  with  the  establishment  of  roads,  rail- 
roads and  newspapers,  and  the  opening  of  communication  with  the  outer 
world.     Speaking  of  the  days  before  the  Civil  War,  Prof.  F.  H.  Humphrey 

"Social  life  was  in  full  glow  and  a  spirit  i>f  true  democracy  seemed  to 
prevail  in  all  functions  pertaining  to  society.  Among  the  notable  events 
were  the  musical  club  parties,  held  at  intervals  of  two  or  four  weeks,  on 
which  occasion  a  fine  selected  program  of  instrumental  and  vocal  music  was 
rendered  by  home  talent,  after  which  dancing  was  the  social  pastime,  clos- 
ing at  eleven  o'clock  p.  m.  These  entertainments  were  held  at  private  homes 
of  Flint's  generous  citizens.  Tfie  Musical  Cl'iib'  became  known'  as  the  Har- 
monia  Club  and  finally  ceased  to  exist.  Meantime  private  home  parties 
became  a  .source  of  social  pleasure,  on  which  occasion  an  orchestra  was  present, 
and  after  the  usual  reception  ceremonies,  cards  and  dancing  were  the  amuse- 
ments." 

Of  the  old  Flint  Harmonia  Club,  and  its  place  in  the  social  activities  of 
those  days,  M.  S.  Elmore  writes  as  follows: 

"The  popularity  of  the  'Musical  Club'  was  doubtless  due  in  a  con- 
siderable degree  to  its  attractiveness  as  a  fortnightly  social  center  for  the 
elite  and  society  favorites  to  gather,  whether  especially  interested  as  mem- 
Iters -likely -to  appear  on  the  program  iir  drawn  thither  in  the  ex'pectation  of 
meeting  other  genial  spirits  who  were  pleased  to  be  accounted  members  for 
encouragement  of  the  club  and  the  fun  there  was  in  it.  For  indeed  the 
club  was  the  first  and  foremost  function  for  refined  amusement  in  the  little 
city.  At  no  time  since  'those  good  old  day.s'  could  the  society  of  Flint  claim 
more  intelligence,  refinement  of  manners,  or  the  culture  derived  from  good 
reading  and  discussion,  than  when  comprising  the  families  and  society  youth 
of  Flint  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  Facilities  for  cultivation  derived  from 
travel,  from  easy  communication  with  centers  of  art  and  musical, interpre- 
tation, it  is  true,  have  shown  their  advantages  within  the  last  two  decades, 
while  of  the  days  T  recall  these  aids  were  limited.  But  it  will  likewise  be 
recalled  that  society  lines  were  drawn  more  exacting  then  than  now  thev 
f^m  te  be. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESFE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  6,17 

■'The  Harmonia  Club  was  organized  with  a  view  to  permanency,  with 
a  president,  secretary,  program  committee,  and  sometimes  a  critic;  their 
election,  annual;  the  president  was  always  a  lady,  the  secretary  a  gentleman. 
Meetings  were  fortnightly,  being  held  at  private  residences  where  a  piano 
was  found,  Flint  was  proud  in  the  possession  of  more  pianos  than  most 
towns  of  its  population  in  this  state,  despite  the  handicap  of  a  necessary 
transportation  by  wagon  from  Fenton,  Holly  or  Pontiac;  the  first  piano  came 
through  mud,  from  Detroit,  when  four  days  was  good  time  in  transit. 

"Among  the  places  popular  for  club  recitals  were  Mrs.  Russell  Bishop's 
commodious  music  room,  on  Beach  street,  this  lady,  a  sister  of  Col,  E.  H, 
Thomson,  being  an  excellent  pianist  and  a  favorite  accomj^nist;  at 'Mrs. 
Colonel  Fenton's,  where  is  now  the  McCreery  homestead;  Mrs.  V..  H.  Thom- 
son's, whose  dwelling,  which  contained  the  Colonel's  famous  library,  was 
situated  on  the  site  of  A.  G.  Bishop's  residence;  with  Mrs.  F.  H.  McQuigg 
and  daughter,  where  now  is  the  new  [wstofifice ;  Miss  McQuigg,  now  Mrs. 
Stewart,  was  an  active  member;  Mrs.  William  Hamilton,  then  on  Court 
street,  whose  daughters,  and  sister,  Miss  Manim,  were  frequently  on  pro- 
grams; the  Misses  Crapo,  at  the  Crapo  homestead,  later  Doctor  Wiilson's 
residence  destined  to  become  Willson  Park.  Of  several  young  ladies.  Miss 
Rhoda  and  Miss  Emma  only  appeared  in  vocal  numbers;  the  Misses  Moon, 
on  Garland  street — Miss  Hattie's  name  for  piano  solos  frequently  appear- 
ing; and  the  Stewarts  on  Detroit  street.  In  this  family  Miss  Kllen  (Mrs. 
Henry  Seymour)  and  her  brother.  Will,  played  many  fine  duets.  This  popu- 
lar youth  followed  his  brother  Damon  to  the  front,  early  in  the  war,  and 
was  killed  at  Resaca. 

"The  Payne  mansion  on  Third  avenue  (new  version)  was  sometimes 
thrown  open  for  club  recitals.  Mrs.  George  M.  Dewey's  was  likewise 
opened  for  club  meetings.  Mrs.  Townsend's,  Mrs.  A.  Thayer's,  Mrs.  George 
T.  Clark's,  Mrs.  H.  M.  Henderson  and  daughters,  Mrs.  James  Henderson, 
Mrs.  J.  B.  Walker  and  daughter,  and  yet  a  number  of  other  houses  were 
open  to  these  popular  society  functions. 

"I  readily  remember  the  familiar  faces  of  society  gentlemen  with  hut 
little  claim  for  musical  criticism,  perhaps,  but  who  enjoyed  the  social  fea- 
ture and  who  seldom  failed  to  attend  and  heartily  applaud  every  number: 
Hamilton,  Robert  Page,  Turner,  Fenton,  Avery,  Newton,  the  Bishops.  Rus- 
sell and  Giles,  Pettee,  Eddy,  Witherbee,  et  al. 

"Miss  Hulda  Johnson  (Mercer),  Mrs.  M.  E.  Church,  Misses  Belle 
Jenny,  Julia  Saunders,  Jenny  Williams,  Kate  Decker,  Helena  Walker,  Emily 
Beecher,    Ada    Fenton,    Maggie   and   Jennie    Henderson   and    other    ladies ; 


dbyGoot^lc 


638  GKNF.5EK    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN. 

Messrs.  Harley  Qark,  Eiiiiore,  Dewitt  Parker,  Hammersley,  McAliister, 
Woolhouse  and  Deary  assisted  in  the  programs." 

Two  very  popular  vocal  organizations  of  the  seventies  and  eighties  were 
the  Fugtienoids  and  the  Flint  Choral  Society.  The  former,  founded  in 
18751  was  a  glee  club  of  eight  voices.  The  original  membership  was  as  fol- 
lows: First  tenors,  Jerome  Haver,  M.  G.  Wood;  second  tenors,  H.  M. 
Sperry, -A.  J.  Wathng;  first  l>ass,  M.  Bowman,  Williain  French;  second  bass, 
Delos  Fall,  Wilhs  Parker;  H.  W.  Fairbank,  director.  The  first  appearance 
was  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  By 
their  excellent  drill  and  perfect  harmony  they  at  once  established  themselves 
in  popular  favor.  They  assisted  at  all  the  band  and  choral  society  concerts 
and  at  many  private  entertainments.  A  portion  of  the  club  visited  the  larger 
cities  of  the  state.  All  the  members  had  from  time  to  time  invaded  the  rural 
districts  and  invariably  met  with  immoderate  applause  and  (very)  moderate 
'financial- success.  It  was  their  practice  always  to  devote  the  first  day  of  the 
^  new  year  to  convivial  pleasures.  On.  that  day  in  a  body  they  paid  their 
respects  to  their  many  friends,  and  these  occasions  established  for  them  a 
reputation  for  excellent  music  and  brilliant  social  qualities.  An  Eastern 
musician  of  repute  expressed  a  very  general  .sentiment  in  this  toast  given 
at  a  sodal  gathering:  "Those  jo5!y  I'^uguenoids — may  they  ever  \k  as  suc- 
cessful as  they  are  happy." 

The  Fhnt  Choral  Society  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  young  people's  sing- 
ing-class which  had  for  its  nucleus  the  pupils  of  the  high  school.  The  society 
rendered  some  of  the  heavier  ofatorio  choHises  and  a  number  of  Mendels- 
sohn's part-songs,  besides  many  operatic  choruses. 

In  i860  the  Old  Flint  Band  had  l.)econie  known  as  Clay's  Cornet  Band. 
It  numbered  at  that  time  as  members:  S.  G.  Clay,  leader;  C.  J.  Dewstoe, 
A.  P.;  Conant,  William  Stewart,  Allen  S.  Stewart,  George  W.  Hill,  D.  K. 
Smith, ,  Thomas  Symons,  William  Charles,  W.  C.  Cummings  and  George 
Andrews.  Later  many  changes  occurred.  Old  members  resigned  and  their 
piaes  have  been  filled  by  new  ones.  In  1865  it  was  reorganized  and  called 
the  Armstrong  Comet  Baud,  and  remained  so  until  J.  Henry  Gardner's 
preseiice.  infused  new  spirit  into  its  members  and  it  was  christened  Gardner's 
'  Flint -City  Ban<l.  ■  No-better  Iwstory  of  its  achievements  could  be' given  than 
the  numerous  press  notices  of  that  day.  On  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to  Detroit, 
in  connection  with  the  commaudery  of  Knights  Templar,  the  city  press  thus 
spoke  of  the  band: 

'■'The  hundreds  that  were  present  soon  swelled  to  thousands,  so  that  it 
is  ^fe  to  say  that  fully  three  thousand  persons  hstened  to  them.     \s  they 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESKK    COi'NTY,    MICHIGAN.  639 

came  np  the  street  marching  with  that  wonderful  precision  for  which  they 
are  famed,  they  were  greeted  by  a  ringing  cheer  by  the  crowd  which  made 
way  for  their  approach.  Instead  of  their  plumes,  each  man  had  a  neat  torch 
in  his  helmet,  thus  presenting  a  novel  and  unique  appearance  and  furnished 
light  enough  for  their  music.  Their  program  embraced  a  fine  collection  of 
music — overtures,  selections,  medleys  and  some  of  Gardner's  exquisite  solo 
R-flat  and  Mait  Corliss's  solo  work  judiciously  thrown  in.  There  is  one  thing 
in  favor  of  the  tend  which  should  be  borne  in  mind:  the  memljers  of  it  are 
gentlemen.  They  are  recruited  from  the  ranks  of  the  business  men  and  the 
professions  in  the  beautiful  city  of  Flint  and  constitute  a  standing  advertise- 
ment for  that  city  which  is  worth  ten  times  what  it  costs  the  citizens." 

In  1874  the  leader  of  the  band  was  the  recipient  from  the  ladies  of  IHint 
of  a  very  elegant  testimonial  in  the  shape  of  a  superb  gold  E-flat  cornet, 
imported  from  England  at  a  cost  of  three  hundred  dollars.  Mayor  George 
H.  Dnrand  presented  the  instrument  on  Ijehalf  of  the  ladies  in  a  most  happy 
speecli,  which  was  responded  to  in  fitting  terms  by  Mr.  Gardner.  During 
the  Centeimial  year  the  band  accompanied  the  Detroit  CommandeTy  as  their 
musical  escort  to  Philadelphia.  An  enthusiastic  reception  awaited  them  on 
their  return  home.  They  were  met  at  the  station  by  a  large  concourse  of 
citizens,  the  Flint  Cadets  receiving  them  with  military  honors,  and  Col.  I'-.  II. 
Thomson  welcoming  them  says:  "[  have  lieen  deputed  in  the  absence  of 
our  worthy  mayor  and  also  tn  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  b'lint  to  welcome  yon 
home  again — to  the  home  where  loved  ones,  together  with  generotls  and 
confiding  friends,  have  watched  your  every  movement  from  the  time  of 
your  departure.  In  the  providence  of  heaven  yon  are  permitted  to  return 
after  having  traveled  from  the  lakes  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard  without  a 
casualty  of  any  kind,  and  I  may  add  in  this  connection,  covered  with  glory 
and  honor.  A  wise  man  hath  said.  'He  that  hath  no  music  in  his  soul  is 
■fit  for  treasons,  stratagems  and  spoils,'  and  I  am  afraid  that  if  in  your  travels 
such  an  one  had  ventured  into  your  presence,  that  by  the  power  of  music, 
guided  by  your  master-leader,  you  would  have  taken  htm  captive  and  made 
him  confess  to  the  skill  and  potency  of  your  marvelous  proficiency.  It  is 
due  to  you  to  say  that  when  you  left  Flint  no  lingering  doubt  remained  that 
you^  would  in  any  manner,  fail  in,  your  high  mission,  either  as»^entiei»en  or 
musicians,  but  with  all  that  pride  and  high  character  of  your  musical  organ- 
ization you  would  honor  the  noble  commandery  of  the  Detroit'  Knights 
Templar  and  stand,  like  them,  at  the  very  head  of  your  profession." 

In  the  summer  of  1878  a  grand  state  band  tournament  occurred  at  the 
state  capitol.     Twenty  leading  bands  of  the  state  participated  and;  lifter  a 


dbyGoot^lc 


640  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

severe  and  very  ■  sprrited  contest,  which  excited  the  most  intense  interest, 
Gardner's  Flint  City  Band  bore  away  the  prize,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
doiiars  in  gold  and  an  elegant  gold-plated  cornet. 

"Among  the  church  societies,"  says  Professor  Humphrey,  "the  Metho- 
dist, Baptist,  Roman  Catholic  and  Episcopal  were  the  most  prominent,  the 
last  named  being  the  only  church  society  allowing  popular  games  and  danc- 
ing, taking  a  liberal  view  of  social  enjoyment.  This  society  at  one  time  dur- 
ing its  struggle  for  a  new  edifice  and  equipment,  organized  a  series  of  social 
entertainments  by  which  means  a  large  sum  was  raised  toward  the  purcliase 
of  the  organ  that  still  does  duty  at  St.  Paul's. 

"The  principal  amusement  at  these  entertainments  was  dancing,  the 
music  being  volunteered  by  members  of  the  society,  prominent  among  whom 
were  the  Misses  Decker,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Turner  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  H.  Hum- 
phrey. It  is  fitting  here  to  say  that  these  entertainments  excelled  in  point 
of  refinement,  moral  influence  and  the  elevating  of  a  higher  standard  of 
social  intercourse  more  than  most  other  forms  of  amusement. 

"In  the  seventies  and  eighties  other  social  organizations  sprang  into 
existence.  Owing  to  the  natural  trend  of  increasing  ^xipulation  and  wealth, 
social  distinctrcfis"  became  apparent  and  society  took  on  more  and  more 
exclusiveness.  The  Married  People's  Club  and  Kettle  Drum  Society  became 
leading  factors  in  social  life  among  the  'Four  Hundred.'  A  commendable 
feature  of  these  entertainments  was  puncttial  observation  of  the  hours  of 
attendance,  eight  to  eleven  o'clock  p.  m.  Refreshments  were  served  on  each 
occasion.  Sometimes  a  six  o'clock  dinner  was  served,  after  which  dancing 
followed  until  the  sounds  of  'Home,  Sweet'  Home'  from  the  orchestra 
announced  the  hour  of  departure. 

"Among  those  who  had  spacious  homes  for  these  brilliant  affairs  were ; 
J.  B.  and  William  A.  Atwood,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Durant,  Hon.  George  H.  Durand. 
B.  F.  Simington,  Dr.  J.  C.  Willson,  S.  C.  Randall,  M.  S.  Elmore,  Jerome 
Eddy,  George  L.  Walker,  Oren  Stone,  Dr,  A.  A.  Thompson  and  C.  T. 
Bridgman. 

"It  may  be  well  to  mention  that  many  of  the  fraternal  associations  gave 
numerous  entertainments  during  the  year,  military  balls.  Knights  Templar 
parties,  and  one  of  the  most  notable  events  was  the  leap-year  ball  given  by 
the  ladies  of  the  Masonic  families,  which  eclipsed  anything  of  the  kind  that 
occurred  before  or  since." 

To  keep  in  memory  the  days  of  old,  and  to  gather  historical  data  for  a 
record  of  the  life  of  the  county,  there  was  early  organized  a-county  pioneer 
and  historical  society.     At  early  as  1857  the  Genesee  County  Pioneer  Asso- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENEHEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  64I 

ciation  was  formed,  pursuant  to  a  public  call  signed  by  William  M.  Fentoii, 
C.  C.  Hascall',  and  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  other  citizens  of  the  county. 
On  the  last  day  of  December  in  that  year  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  hall  of 
the  Flint  Scientific  Institute.  Benjamin  Pearson  was  in  the  chair  and  Dr, 
Elijah  Drake  was  secretary  of  the  meeting.  A  committee  was  chosen  com- 
posed of  William  M.  Fcnton,  lidward  H.  Thomson  and  H.  M.  Henderson, 
charged  with  the  duty  of  prei>aring  a  constitution  and  by-laws  for  the  pro- 
posed society.  At  an  adjourned  meeting  held  on  Washington's  birthday  the 
committee  reported  a  constitution,  which  was  adopted,  and  the  society  was 
organized  by  the  election  of  the  following  as  officers:  President,  Hon. 
Jeremiah  R.  Smith ;  recording  secretary,  EH jah  Drake,  M.  D. ;  corresponding 
secretary,  Hon.  Charles  P.  Avery;  treasurer,  Henry  M.  Henderson;  librarian, 
Manley  Miles,  M.  D. ;  vice-president  (one  in  each  township  of  the  county)  : 
Atlas,  Enos  Goodrich;  Argentine,  William  H.  Hicks;  Burton,  Perus  Ather- 
ton;  Clayton,  Alfred  Pond;  Davison,  Goodenough  Townsend;  Fenton,  Rob- 
ert LeRoy ;  Flint  township,  John  Todd ;  Flint  city,  Charles  C.  Hascall ;  Flush- 
ing, John  Patton ;  Forest,  John  Oawford;  Gaines,  Hartford  Cargill;  Gene- 
see, Sherman  Stanley;  Grand  Blanc,  Silas  D.  Halsey;  Montrose,  John  Mc- 
Kenzie;  Mount  Morris,  Ezekiel  R.  Ewing;  Mundy,  Morgan  Baldwin;  Rich- 
field, Jeremiah  Standard;  Thetford,  Benoni  Clapp;  Vienna,  Russell  G.  Hurd. 

It  had  been  the  custom  of  the  association  to  hold  annual  reunions,  at 
which,  after  the  transaction  of  the  routine  business,  addresses  and  narratives 
of  pioneer  experience  were  related  by  the  early  settlers.  For  many  years 
these  gatherings  were  held  at  Long  lake  in  the  town  of  Fenton  (usually  in 
August),  and  were  regarded  as  occasions  of  great  enjoyment  and  interest. 

One  of  the  picnics  of  the  pioneer  association  was  held  at  the  grove  at 
the  head  of  Long  lake  on  August  24,  18S2,  and  the  following  letter  was  read 
from  Enos  Goodrich,  then  an  aged  man.  who  had  for  many  years  been  a 
pioneer  of  the  county ; 

W  itfitowu    ItistfU   Co     "yicji.,   Aug.   23,   18S2. 
1     (le  Iioneeis  if  (.enesee  CiiiDt^    nieetiiiK 

It  in  mornlaK  niiii  tlie  '.uii  sliiues  Imght  on  the  fields  niid  woods  of  Wfltertowii, 
llie  place  I  hiie  adopted  (or  my  permanent  home  if  the  home  of  an  old  jnan  can  be 
laid  to  be  leinnuent  on  eirth  iet  friendly  dn  my  thoughts  and  niemorlee  revert  back 
to  old  Genesee  bhe  has  had  mv  be«  efCoits  for  it  v,-\t  nithin  her  borders  that  the 
prime  nnl  manhood  of  m\  life  w  ts  spent  She  will  alw  ijs  hnie  uiy  best  wishes  and  If, 
In  leturn  her  soni  ind  daughters  nill  some  time  gne  a  thought  to  trie  and  my  humble 
efforts  In  her  behilf  the\  will  shed  i  n\  of  smisbme  along  mv  pnthwiiy  In  the  declin- 
ing years  of  inj   lifa  Ehob   Ooodbich. 

(41)      ■ 


dbyGoc^lc 


642  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

<Dn  August  26,  1886,  the  pioneers  were  addressed  by  Gov.  Josiali  W. 
Beg-ole,  of  Flint,  and  were  also  addressed  by  many  of  the  surviving  iiioiieer 
men  and  women  of  the  county,  who  graced  the  occasion  by  their  presence 
and  inspired  the  yonng  by  recitals  of  tales  of  the  early  times  with  their  hard- 
ships and  triumphs. 

Of  the  picnics  held  in  1887  and  1888  no  record  appears  in  the  press  of 
those  dates',  but  in  1889,  on  the  29th  day  of  August,  the  picnic  was  held 
as  usual,  with  President  Horton  in  the  chair.  The  picnic  was  largely  attended. 
Judge  William  Newton,  of  Flint,  being  the  speaker  of  the  day,  and  his 
address  is  given  in  full  in  the  Genesee  Democrat  of  August  31,  1889.  This 
is  the  first  press  report  of  an  address  in  full  that  we  find.  The  name  of  the 
society  was  changed  at  this  meeting,  to  be  thereafter  known  as  the  Genesee 
County  Union  Pioneer  Society.  The  same  officers  were  re-elected.  Judge 
Newton  said  in  part: 

"Invited  by  the  favor  of  your  worthy  president  to  address  the  pioneers 
of  Genesee  county,  I  accei>ted  that  duty  with  reluctance,  and  great  distrust 
of  my  ability  to  do  justice  to  the  men  and  women  who  were  the  pioneers  of 
our  civilization.  I  have  concluded  to  address  you  along  the  line  of  'The  Debt 
that  Civilization  Owes  the  Pioneer." 

"Michigan  of  today  is  not  the  Michigan  of  fifty,  forty  or  even  thirty 
years  ago.  The  elegant  houses,  the  churches  and  schools  of  today  and  the 
increasing  improved  farms,  weighted  down  with  the  rich  golden  harvests, 
and  orchards  bending  under  the  weight  of  luscious  fruits,  do  not  in  any 
sense  represent  the  Michigan  of  those  times.  ,  .  .  The  men  ami  women 
who  settled  in  Michiganand  in  this  county,  while  not  confined  to  any  par- 
ticular nationality,  were  mostly  from  New  York,  Vermont,  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts.  They  brought  with  them  to  their  chosen  field  the  habits  and 
spirit  of  their  thrifty  New  England  home.  They  brought  with  them  love  of 
religious  freedom,  love  of  the  free  public  school  system,  and  their  love  of 
home  and  the  purest  morahty," 

The  speaker  then  referred  to  the  great  interest  that  the  owner  of  a  home 
has  in  the  public  weal,  saying  that  "he  who  defends  a  home  is  the  truest 
patriot."  Judge  Newton,  in  referring  to  the  primeval  conditions  said,  "The 
country  slept,  a  wilderness  in  the  arms  of  nature." 

Judge  Newton's  speech  which  he  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  this 
gathering  has  been  placed  among  the  archives  of  the  Genesee  County  His- 
torical Society, 

The  annual  picnic  and  meeting  of  the  Genesee  County  Union  Pioneer 
Society  held  on  the  29th  of  August,  i8go,  was  a  memorable  one.     The  men 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COL'NTY,    MICHIGAN.  643 

and  women  who  gathered  on  this  occasion  were  favored  by  the  presence  of 
Judge  Albert  Miller  of  Bay  City.  There  were  two  picnics  that  year — one, 
of  dissenters  who  were  not  in  favor  of  the  place  of  meeting  as  previously 
decided  by  the  directors  and  who  met  at  the  usual  place,  and  another  picnic, 
at  Peer's  landing.  It  was  at  the  Peer's  landing  meeting  that  Judge  Miller 
spoke.  There  was  a  noticeable  absence  of  the  old  pioneers,  as  many  had 
died,  and  the  speaker  was  perhaps  the  oldest  pioneer  of  the  county  present, 
although  he  had  removed  from  Genesee  county  and  taken  up  his  residence 
in  another  locality.  Space  prevents  a  full  report  of  Judge  Miller's  speech. 
The  Judge,  however,  referred  to  the  time  when  he  knew  every  white  man 
residing  between  Waterford  and  the  Straits  of  Mackinac,  when  Saginaw  had 
a  population,  all  told,  of  exactly  twenty-eight  persons,  and  when  there  was 
not  a  white  settler  in  either  Shiawassee^  Lapeer,  Clinton,  Tuscola  or  Huron 
counties.  Judge  Miller  spoke  of  the  time  when  he  came  from  the  mountains 
and  hillsides  of  Vermont  and  passed  over  the  oak  openings'  this  side  of 
Waterword,  thinking  of  that  region  as  a  barren  waste.  He  told  of  coming 
to  Grand  Blanc  and  to  the  hospitable  roof  of  Washington  Thompson;  how 
he  found  friends  and  acquaintances  in  Harvey  Spencer  and  E.  R.  Ewings 
living  in  that  locality.  He  told  how  he  learned  that  John  Todd,  on  Flint 
river,  wished  to  hire  a  man,  so  he  journeyed  to  his  home  and  hired  out  for 
eleven  dollars  a  month;  how  he  cooked  for  the  family  during  the  illness  of 
Mrs.  Todd,  in  the  old  trading  house  of  Edward  Campau,  the  Nau-a-ke-zhic, 
for  whom  the  reserve  number  seven  was  made,  and  which  he  afterwards 
sold  to  Mr.  Todd  for  eight  hundred  dollars.  He  spoke  of  his  labors  for 
Todd,  the  first  day  cutting  a  bee-tree,  from  which  they  extracted  two  pails 
of  honey,  a  vivid  reminder  of  one  of  Coo^ier's  stories  in  "Oak  Openings." 
He  told  of  the  dances  in  this  year  of  1831,  of  cutting  out  the  road  from 
Flint  river  to  Cass  in  the  fall  of  that  year;  of  the  first  marriage  in  the  county, 
that  of  his  sister  to  Eleazer  Jewett  in  October,  1831;  of  teaching  school  at 
Grand  Blanc  in  the  winter  of  1831-32;  of  the  accession  of  a  large  number  of 
settlers  in  that  year,  and  that  Grand  Blanc  was  a  larger  and  more  important 
place  than  Flint. 

In  1893  the  annual  picnic  was  held  at  the  old  place,  and  was  presided 
over  by  Dexter  Horton,  president.  Among  the  speakers  was  John  Siaight, 
of  Mundy,  H.  H.  Rackman,  of  Detroit,  and  G.  A.  Sutherland,  of  Argentine. 
William  Evans,  of  Grand  Blanc,  aged  ninety-six,  was  the  oldest  person 
present,  and  among  those  in  attendance  was  Edmund  Perry,  of  Davison, 
who  came  to  the  county  in  1826. 

In  1894  the  picnic  was  held  at  Long  Lake,  August  31,  and  S.  A.  Wood, 


dbyGoot^lc 


644  GENESEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN. 

of  Detroit,  gave  a  biographical  account  of  Judge  Leory,  who  was  prominent 
in  the  early  days  of  Fenton,  owning  the  first  store  in  Fenton  and  also  being 
its  first  postmaster.  S.  A.  Winthrop,  of  Ft.  Wayne,  and  Judge  Gold,  of 
Flint,  also  made  addresses.  The  picnic  .of  1896  was  at  the  same  place  arid 
was  addressed  by  Col.  A.  T.  Bliss,  of  Saginaw,  as  the  principal  speaker. 
Rev.  F.  A.  Blades,  of  Detroit,  and  Rev.  O,  Sanborn,  of  Linden,  also  gave 
brief  addresses. 

The  picnic  of  1896  was  the  occasion  of  a  debate  on  free  silver,  Judge 
McGrath,  of  the  supreme  court  of  Michigan,  speaking  on  the  one  side,  and 
Charles  E.  Townsend,  now  United  States  senator,  advocating  a  gold  standard. 

On  August  26,  1897,  the  pioneers  were  addressed  by  Professor  Lxjomis, 
of  Chicago,  whose  subject  was  "George  Rogers  Clark,  the  Leader  of  the 
Rangers  of  the  Revolutionary  War  Period."  He  related  how  the  present 
state  of  Michigan  nearly  became  a  part  of  Canada,  and  gave  to  Clark  the 
credit  for  saving  it  to  the  Union  of  States.  He  placed  his  hero  in  the  highest 
niche  of  fame  and  said  that  his  services  to  his  country  were  second  to  none, 
not  even  the  great  Washington.  Judge  John  Miner,  of  Detroit,  also  piiid 
a  tribute  to  the  sturdy  character  of  the  pioneer.  At  this  meeting  Dr.  H,  C. 
Fairbank,  of  Flint,  was  elected  historian  of  the  county. 

On  September  2,  1898,  the  picnic  was  held  at  the  "old  place,"  and  was 
called  to  order  by  its  long-time  president,  Dexter  Horton,  of  Fenton.  Major 
George  W.  Buckingham,  of  Flint,  was  one  of  the  speakers  of  the  occasion, 
as  was  also  the  Hon.  George  E.  Taylor,  of  Flint,  both  of  the  speakers  being 
sons  of  old  Genesee  county  settlers.  Hon.  S.  R.  Billings  was  elected  histor- 
ian to  fill  the  place  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Doctor  Fairbank. 

On  August  31,  1899,  the  members  of  the  Pioneer  Society  gathered 
again  at  the  old  spot  to  do  honor  to  the  men  and  women  who  made  Genesee 
county  what  it  is  today.  Professor  Loomis,  of  Chicago,  was  present  as  one 
of  the  speakers,  his  theme  being  "Expansion."  Judge  Waite,  of  Detroit, 
also  spoke  on  "Pioneer  Life"  and  the  Spanish  War,  and  Milo  D.  Campbell, 
of  Coldwater,  spoke  on  "Pioneer  Patriotism." 

On  Thursday,  August  29,  1901,  a  crowd  of  over  five  thousand  persons 
gathered  for  the  pioneers'  picnic.  President  Horton  being  the  presiding  officer 
of  the  day.  Rev.  Mr.  Holland,  of  Perry,  addressed  the  society,  comparing 
the  modern  methods  of  life  with  those  of  the  past,  and  speaking  also  on 
good  roads.  Rev.  Mr.  Halliday,  of  Fenton,  was  also  one  of  the  speakers  of 
the  day,  and  Judge  Waite,  of  Detroit,  formerly  of  Fenton,  paid  a  tribute  to 
the  founders  of  his  former  home  town. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  1902,  Edwin  O,  Wood,  of  Flint,  was  elected 
as  president  of  the  association,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  the 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE'    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  645 

former  president,  Mr.  Horton.  On  this  occasion  George  K.  Taylor,  of 
Flint,  gave  a  most  interesting  address  replete  with  narratives  of  the  early 
days.  Rev.  S,  A.  Northrup,  of  Kansas  City,  formerly  of  Grand  Blanc, 
spoke  of  the  benefits  of  the  present  educational  system,  and  Clyde  McGee, 
of  Farmington,  Frederick  Dewey,  of  Grand  Blanc,  and  \V.  H.  S.  Wood,  of 
Howell,  also  made  brief  addresses. 

The  pioneers'  picnic  held  at  T-ong  Lake  on  the  3rd  day  of  September, 
1903,  was  largely  attended.  T.  J.  Allen,  as  officer  of  the  day,  acted  as  master 
of  ceremonies.  Prosecuting  Attorney  WilHams,  of  Flint,  Mark  W.  Stevens, 
of  Flint,  and  Rev.  Francis  Blades,  of  Detroit,  whose  father  came  to  Genesee 
county  in  1835,  were  among  the  speakers.  Mr.  Blades  spoke  at  length  on 
historical  matters  relating  to  the  Fisher  Indians  of  the  Chippewa  tribe. 

At  the  thirty-eighth  annual  pioneer  picnic,  held  at  the  usual  place  on 
Long  lake,  August  25,  1904,  Edwin  O.  Wood,  president,  called  the  gather- 
ing to  order,  Thomas  J.  Allen  acting  as  officer  of  the  day.  Prayer  was 
offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Dunning,  of  Fenton,  and  speeches  were  made  by  Senator 
James  E,  Scripps,  of  Detroit;  Charles  A.  Gower,  of  I^ansing;  Judge  Joseph 
B.  Moore,  of  the  supreme  court,  and  Dr.  J.  B.  Bradley,  of  Eaton  Rapids. 
Officers  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  were  W.  A.  Garner,  of  Flint,  president; 
H.  N.  Jennings,  of  Fenton,  secretary,  and  W.  A.  Wadley,  vice-president. 
At  this  meeting  an  organization  of  the  supervisors,  officers  and  ex-officers  of 
the  county  was  effected,  with  James  Van  VIeet,  of  Flint,  as  president ;  Thomas 
J,  Allen,  secretary,  and  Stephen  Mathewson,  treasurer,  Charles  Bates,  of 
Grand  Blanc,  aged  ninety-five,  was  the  oldest  pioneer  present.  Other  aged 
pioneers  were,  Timothy  Kennie,  of  Flint,  aged  ninety-one;  Benjamin  Rail, 
of  Clayton,  aged  ninety-one;  Mrs.  H.  A.  Kennedy,  of  Vienna,  aged  ninety- 
one;  Mrs.  Morgan  Baldwin,  of  Mundy,  aged  eighty-nine;  Damon  Stewart, 
of  Flint,  aged  seventy  (the  oldest  pioneer  from  the  county),  and  a  number 
of  others.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  A.  Carman,  of  Burton,  who  had  been  wedded 
for  fifty-nine  years,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  Buck,  of  Fenton,  who  had 
,  been  married  fifty-three  years  before  were  of  the  gathering.  Mrs.  Ambrose 
Johnson,  of  Mundy,  mother  of  fifteen  children,  grandmother  of  twenty-four 
and  great-grandmother  of  three,  was  also  present. 

In  the  year  of  1905,  on  August  31,  the  society  was  favored  by  addresses 
by  D.  D.  Aitken,  mayor  of  Flint;  W.  H.  S.  Wood,  of  Howell,  and  the  Rev. 
Charles  A.  Lippincott,  D.  D..  of  Flint.  Jarvis  E.  Albro  was  elected  presi- 
dent for  the  ensuing  year.  In  rgo6  the  si^eakers  were  Governor  Warner, 
Lieutenant-Governor  Patrick  H,  Kelley  and  Congressman  Samuel  W.  Smith. 
The  governor  was  greeted  by  Charles  Bates,  of  Grand  Blanc,  aged  ninety- 
seven;   John  Reeson,    aged   ninety-one;    David  Handy,   aged  ninety,    and 


yGooc^lc 


646  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

Thomas  Dibble,  aged  seventy-seven,  who  had  lived  in  Genesee  county  for 
seventy-five  years.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Wright,  ninety-two  years  old,  was 
also  present.  Among  the  speakers  was  Dewitt  C.  Leach,  aged  eighty-four, 
who  was  delegate  from  this  county  to  the  constitutional  convention  of  1850. 

In  the  year  1907,  the  speakers  who  addressed  the  picnic  were  John  J. 
Carton  and  Mark  W.  Stevens,  of  Flint,  and  Daniel  Davis,  of  Pontiac.  The 
absence  of  a  nuiiiber  of  old  pioneers  was  noticeable,  but  among  those  pres- 
ent was  Mr.  Sutton,  of  Fenton,  who  had  just  celebrated  his  ninety-ninth 
birthday.  In  1908  the  addresses  were  made  by  Congressman  Samuel  W. 
Smith,  of  Pontiac;  Mark  W.  Stevens,  of  Flint,  and  L.  V.  Curry,  of  Flint 
township,  one  of  the  old  pioneers. 

A  meeting  of  persons  interested  in  the  formation  of  a  county  historical 
society  was  held  in  Loyal  Guard  hall  in  Flint,  January  26,  1915,  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed  to  formulate  a  tentative  plan  of  organization,  reported  a 
proposed  constitution  for  the  society.  The  meeting,  which  was  largely 
attended,  was  called  to  order  by  Fenton  R.  McCreery,  chairman.  The  report 
of  the  committee  was  adopted  and  the  plan  of  the  organization  approved. 
George  N.  Fuller,  secretary  of  the  Michigan  historical  commission,  was 
present  and  delivered  an  address. 

George  W.  Cook,  president  of  the  city  board  of  education,  addressed 
the  meeting,  followed  by  William  L.  Jenks,  of  Port  Huron,  member  of  the 
state  historical  commission.  Chauncey  Cummings,  of  FHnt,  was  also  one 
of  the  speakers,  as  was  also  the  Rev.  Seth  Reed,  the  oldest  retired  clergyman 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  conference. 

The  organization  of  the  Genesee  County  Historical  Society  being 
effected,  the  following  officers  were  elected:  President,  Miss  Helena  V. 
Walker;  vice-president,  Fenton  R.  McCreery;  curator  and  historian,  Francis 
H.  Rankin;  secretary,  William  V.  Smith. 

The  museum  which  has  been  established  by  the  society  now  occupies  the 
second  floor  of  the  public  library  building  and  is  a  creditable  collection, 
which  promises  to  be  much  larger  within  the  next  few  years.  The  nucleus 
of  the  collection  were  gifts  made  by  Byron  E.  Dodge,  of  Richfield,  and 
Silas  Collins,  of  Grand  Blanc,  both  of  whom  had  been  for  many  years  col- 
lectors of  historical  relics  of  the  county.  These  have  been  added  to  by 
other  members  and  the  museum  at  present  occupies  all  of  the  available  space 
in  the  building.  The  Genesee  County  Historical  Society  has  aroused  an 
enthusiastic  interest  and  bids  fair  to  become  a  permanent  and  lasting  influ- 
ence in  matters  pertaining  to  the  history  of  the  county.  The  present  officers 
are:  President,  Fenton  R.  McCreery;  curator  and  historian,  Francis  H. 
Rankin;  secretary,  W.  V.  Smith;  president  emeritus.  Rev.  Seth  Reed.    The 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  647 

above  named  officers,  with  Chauncey  Cummings  and  Edwin  O.  Wood,  con- 
stitute a  board  of  directors. 

The   fohowing  bit   of  verse,   whose  authorship   is   well  known   to   all, 
well  reflects  the  spirit  of  the  pioneers  and  pioneer  days  in  Genesee  ri.iirilv: 

Wlio  were  the  men  iiiid  whence  came  they 

Who  bravely  swung  Oieir  axes, 
And  felieiJ  the  forest  day  by  day. 

Ijnteri'ifiea  by  taxes' 

Of  Purlti  iilc  stocl    weie  s,  me 

Self  [Kilaed    seiene    ind   saving 
New  lo  k  sinred  others    glad  to  <-on  e 

Rel   1  e       Id     guc  bm  iug 

Ihej    l»r  ii„l  t   g<   d    li  es  theli    t    1   t     share, 

More  than   the  r   shale   oft   tJk  n„ 
V  heaven  on  earth  w  tl    womoi  s  care 

Of  the  1  log  cabins  unking 

the   SOL    I    life   of   eiilj    d  s« 

Hen    ileasantli    It   gl  ded 
pHih  lied  with  each   in  sot    1   w  vs 

Anl  no     ne  felt  t   e  sided 

4roui  d  those  cabins  oft  \t  night 

The  >-kullii  ig  wohes      me  ]  1   nlii  g 
\.  d   half  in  liem     h  If  In  nffright 

Tile  sleeiieiR  he^i  1  their  h  wliiig 

the  tiniil  deei  thit  loaniel  the  vood 

Fed  rtunl  the  little  clearing 
\nd  m  the  d  stanie  often  sto  «! 

HiK  en  o  is— halt  fear  ng 

flright  shone  the  imple  fireplaee 
As  winter  crept  on  slowlj 

<  ontentment   (teamed   on  every  face 

Hones    iltai    file  wis  h  ly 

How  groined  joui    tibles  with   good  cheer 
Wh^i    resting  from  your  labors 

<  uests  came  to  dnnce  fron  f  r   md  near, 

A  lollv  lind  of  nelghlois 

What  changes    a  th  s  0  ty  fair 

Ha\e   pissed   before   your   vision 
Old  timers,  ><u  d  I  \jur  full  -ihare 

To  It  ake  our  town  elyeiin 

You  c  uited  tv  n  tallon    dii 

A  feeble  gllmmei   shedding 
Sometimes    perhaps    there  w  is  a   slip 

But  oftener  a  wedding 


dbyGoot^lc 


648  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

You've  seen  the  lamp  with  kerosene 

That  once  your  parlors  lighted, 
Give  way  to  gas,  whose  riidiant  sheen       ' 
..'•■'  Made  every   heart   delighted. 

'  ■    '  ■      Tben   "press  the  button"  came  this  wny. 

And  women  now  are  looking 
To  that  not-far-off  hoKiy  day, 
When  it  will   do  their  ('ooklng 

The  Fen        s    ges  h on  whee 

TV  he     Boss  w       i     ii  or 

Fo  d   m  n    rj    to  yo     appe    % 
\        e  f e     the  r  an    en    r  gor 

Whe  e  now    l>  o        btifcj    streets  you   see, 

Yo  ha  e  bee      Iraw       v     at  e 

Bu    o  ou    year  of  Jubl  ee 

lo  he    d  the  st  eet  e  r    a     e 

Rew  wa      of  thou  ht  are     so  he  e 
The  es  l(«s   of  brin   tone      u    1  y 

If        our  he    ts.    heres    e*    of  fe  r 
The  e  B  n  ore  of    o  e  on  Mond 

So    e   feathe  s    1  ot  jed    f    n     f  white 


W  he       he  h  a  fl    shed      oul   n 

ou  he  d  lie  gu  s  n  d  js  of  yo  e 
When    re  son  sta  ked    leflant 

ou  se  V  he  tin  e  when  peai?e  o  e 
Wi  h    f  epdon     stood    rel  an 


Nott     ock    g 

t    tb  fro      ]  blee 

Fron        n 

ers    mus      speeches 

H  w  St    nge 

he  con  r  St     h  t      0 

As    backn 

n     11  e  no  }    reache 

H    ^  off    o  who  ga  e 

Her  g  o   one  beginn    g 
And   s  n    ed  her    ownrd      h  t     e  ■ 

More     f  wh  cb  she  s  w  nn  n 

Od  timers    1     e  has  tl  I     ed 
Bu    fev     re    ef    t     te       our 

X         n    e      hen   spea      g   of  vo 
Bef    en         ea       we  e  honry 

B       son  e      h  n         od         e         ng 

O  d  times    hej     I      e    em  e 

Thoae  dajs  thej    never  will  forget 

Till  fades  life's  dying  ember. 


yGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Clubs  of  Today. 

"CLifture,"  says  one  of  our  modern  American  writers,  "is  not  an  accident 
of  birth,  although  our  surroundings  advance  or  retard  it;  it  is  always  a  matter 
of  individual  education."  The  club  is  a  natural  growth  wherever  people  live 
together  in  organized  society.  It  springs  up  because  of  the  spontaneous  desire 
of  individuals  to  profit  by  contact  with  other  minds.  The  nature  of  the  club 
depends  somewhat  upon  the  common  interests.  In  any  society  -there  are  Hkely 
to  be  as  many  cUibs  as  there  are  related  interests  appealing  to  different  groups. 
The  club  may  be  purely  social,  or  it  may  be  based  on  a  mutual  interest  in  his- 
tory, art,  literature  or  travel;  or  the  object  may  lie  in  some  particular  form 
of  activity,  or  may  be  to  encourage  patriotism  in  some  form,  or  to  commem- 
orate an  event. 

It  is  natural  to  expect  that  in  Genesee  count)',  as  in  all  counties,  the  great- 
est number  and  variety  of  interests  should  be  found  in  the  largest  center  of 
|)0])iilation :  so  it  is  that  Flint  has  the  most  noteworthy  of  these  organizations. 

HISTORV   CLASS   OF   'y6. 

The  .American  History  Class  is  probably  the  oldest  club  in  the  city.  On 
February  6,  1876,  seven  ladies  met  with  Mrs.  Gregory  Dibble  to  discuss  the 
practicability  of  organizing  a  club  for  the  study  of  American  history.  As  a 
result,  a  class  was  formed,  with  president  and  secretary,  the  membership  being 
limited  to  twenty.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  months,  the  class  has  met 
every  week  since.  During  the  progress  of  years,  its  study  has  been  extended 
to  include  J'.nglish  and  French  history  and  the  history  of  the  Dutch  Republic 
and  many  other  countries.  In  1894  the  word  "American"  was  dropped  from 
the  name  of  the  club,  which  has  been  since  known  as  the  History  Class  of  '76. 
Undoubtedly,  it  is  the  oldest  club  in  the  county.  Meetings  are  held  at  the 
houses  of  the  members — a  month  at  a  place- — Uie  hostess  acting  as  president. 


THE    ART    < 


The  Art  Class,  organized  in  1881,  probably  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being, 
next  to  the  club  just  mentioned,  the  oldest  in  the  city.     It  was  started  inform- 


dbyGoot^lc 


050  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

ally  by  a  few  ladies  who  met  on  Monday  afternoons  to  discuss  art  topics.  It 
was  really  the  outgrowth  of  two  other  small  reading  groups  composed  of  the 
following  ladies:  Mrs.  William  Lyon,  Mrs.  Russell  Bishop,  Mrs.  William 
Clark,  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Brown,  Mrs.  William  A.  Atwood,  Mrs.  Henry  Young, 
Mrs.  John  H.  Hicok  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Hicok. 

Mrs.  William  Lyon  was  the  founder  of  the  club.  One  afternoon  she 
invited  the  ladies  of  the  two  small  history  classes  mentioned  above  to  meet  at 
her  home  and  the  matter  of  organizing  a  club  for  the  study  of  art  topics  was 
broached.  The  ladies  agreed  among  themselves  that  there  should  be  no  ballot- 
ing on  names,  but  that  each  lady  should  be  privileged  to  bring  to  the  ciub  the 
next  Monday  afternoon  one  friend  whom  she  might  wish  to  have  associated 
with  her  in  the  proposed  study.  Those  invited  in  this  informal  manner  con- 
stituted, with  the  charter  members,  the  first  Art  Class.  For  thirty-five  years 
the  club  has  held  regular  meetings,  and  many  names  associated  with  the  early 
history  of  Genesee  county  may  be  found  on  its  membership  Hst. 

For  the  first  eight  years  of  its  existence  no  records  were  kept  and  the 
club  had  .no  constitution  or  by-laws.  In  1889,  however,  this  was  changed, 
rules  and  regulations  were  adopted  and  officers  were  appointed,  Mrs.  W.  A. 
Atwood  being  elected  president  and  Mrs.  E.  T.  Smith,  secretary.  A  program 
committee,  selected  alphabetically,  arranges  each  year  a  course  of  study,  the 
scope  of  which  has  gradually  been  broadened  until  it  now  includes  topics  in 
history,  music,  poetry,  political  economy,  astronomy  and  many  other  subjects. 
The  club  meets  at  the  homes  of  members,  and  membership  is  limited  to  twenty- 
eight. 

The  Art  Class  has  always  been  very  quiet  and  retiring  in  its  tastes  and 
has  never  belonged  either  to  the  city  or  state  federation.  Its  present  officers 
are  Mrs.  Frank  E.  Willett,  president;  Mrs.  I.  M.  Eldridge,  secretary;  Mrs.  C. 
B.  Crampton,  treasurer,  and  the  program  committee  consists  of  Mrs.  F.  D. 
Clarke,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Cumings  and  Mrs.  A.  M.  Davison. 

The  following  is  the  present  list  of  members:  Mrs.  W.  L.  Bates,  Mrs. 
Guy  Blackington,  Mrs.  H.  D.'  Boriey,  Mrs.  J.  N.  Buckham,  Mrs.  C.  B.  Burr, 
Mrs.  J.  J.  Carton,  Miss  Annie  Carroll,  Mrs.  F.  D.  Clarke,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Cum- 
ings, Mrs.  C.  B.  Crampton,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Davison,  Mrs.  I.  M.  Eldridge,  Mrs. 
H.  H.  Fitzgerald,  Mrs.  D.  S.  Fox,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Hubbard,  Mrs.  G.  C.  Kellar, 
Mrs.  W.  C.  Lewis,  Mrs.  J,  B.  Pengelly,  Mrs,  F.  H.  Pierce,  Mrs.  E.  T.  Smith, 
Mrs.  D.  T.  Stone,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Swan,  Mrs.  Alice  Travis,  Mrs.  F.  E.  Willett, 
Mrs.  L.  L.  Wright  and  Mrs.  H.  L.  Young. 

The  following  ladies,  most  of  whom  live  now  in  other  cities,  and  nearly 
all  of  whom  have  been  active  members  at  some  period,  constitute  the  list  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  65I 

honorary  members:  Mrs.  T.  D.  Bacon,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Brodhead,  Mrs.  D. 
Church,  Mrs.  G.  Dibble,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Durant,  Mrs.  Jerome  Eddy,  Mrs.  M.  T. 
Gass,  Mrs.  A.  B.  C.  Hardy  Mrs.  J.  H.  Hicok,  Miss  Elizabeth  Hicok,  Mrs. 
John  Irwin,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Lippincott,  Mrs.  W.  H.  I,\'on,  Mrs.  D.  MacKenzie, 
?.Irs-  R.  E.  Macduff.  Mrs.  F.  A.  Piatt,  Mrs.  Crapo  Smith,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Van 
Deusen,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Whiting.  Mrs.  R.  J.  Whaley,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Wood. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  deceased  members :  Mrs.  J.  C.  Willson,  Mrs. 
I.  H.  Wilder,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Vaughan,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Thompson,  Mrs.  W.  L.  Smith, 
Mrs.  G.  R.  Gold,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Brown,  Mrs.  W.  A.  Atwood,  Mrs.  H.  M.  Curtis, 
Miss  Marion  Chandler,  Mrs.  M.  A.  C.  Orrell,  Mrs.  Sarah  Ferris,  Mrs.  William 
Clark,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Atwood,  Mrs.  Henry  Neill,  Mrs.  A.  W.  Seabrease,  Mrs.  W. 
B.  McCreery,  Mrs.  S.  Androus,  Mrs.  Nellie  B.  Dort,  Mrs.  Mav  Foote. 

MRS.  FOBES'  KEADING  CLASS. 

One  of  the  earhest  literary  clubs  in  Flint  or  Genesee  county  was  a  read- 
ing club  which  met  each  Tuesday  afternoon  for  many  years  in  the  eighties 
and  early  nineties,  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  R.  J.  Fobes,  at  the  northwest  corner 
of  East  and  First  streets.  This  club  was  said  to  be  most  enjoyable.  It  was 
organized  first  as  a  neighborhood  affair,  but  several  members  from  other 
parts  of  the  city  were  afterward  invited  to  join.  It  remained  always  most 
informal  and  never  had  constitution  or  by-laws,  records  or  officers.  The 
club  never  had  probably  at  one  time  a  larger  number  of  members  than  twelve 
or  fourteen,  and  eight  or  nine  was  an  average  attendance  at  the  meetings.  No 
papers  were  ever  attempted,  the  aim  of  the  class  being  recreation  rather  than 
dull  study.  From  one  of  the  later  members  of  Mrs.  Fobes'  Reading  Class, 
the  following  incomplete  list  of  members  has  been  obtained :  Mrs.  Fobes, 
Mrs.  Belcher,  Mrs.  Vv.  C  I-ewis,  Mrs.  R.  J.  Whaley.  Mrs.  H.  C  VanDeusen. 
Mrs.  C.  S.  Brown,  Mrs.  Briscoe,  Mrs.  A.  G.  Bishop,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Bucking- 
ham, Mrs.  C.  H.  Wood,  Mrs.  J.  N.  Buckham,  Mrs.  Oren  Stone. 

THE   SHAKESPEARE    CLUB. 

Flint  has  two  Shakespeare  clubs,  the  older  one  of  which  is  believed  to  be 
the  oldest  Shakespeare  club  in  the  state,  as  it  has  been  in  existence  since 
January  21,  1889,  when  a  number  of  members  of  the  Ladies  Art  Class  invited 
their  husbands  to  meet  with  them  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Ira  H.  Wilder,  on 
the  site  where  the  Y.  M,  C.  A.  building  no\y  stands,  to  organize  an  evening 
club  of  men  and  women  for  the  reading  and  study  of  the  works  of  Shake- 


dbyGoot^lc 


652  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

speare  and  Shakespearean  literature.  The  club  was  for  some  time  designated, 
in  good-natured  raillery,  by  the  name  "The  Art  Class  Annex."  The  follow- 
ing were  the  charter  members:  Helen  C.  Atwood,  H.  L.  Brown,  Charles  S. 
Brown,  Jennie  Church,  Evelyn  T,  Curtis,  Henry  M,  Curtis  Mary  M.  Gold, 
George  R.  Gold,  Grace  L.  Gass,  M.  T.  Gass,  B.  M.  Hicok,  John  H.  Hicok, 
H.  L.  Lewis,  William  C.  Lewis,  Elizabeth  N.  F.  Macduff.  Ralph  E.  Mac- 
duff, Anna  C.  Piatt,  Fred  A.  Piatt,  Elizabeth  H.  Smith,  Harriet  P.  Thomp- 
son, Almon  A.  Thompson,  Kelene  Van  Deusen,  H.  C.  VanDeusen,  Elizabeth 
J.  Wilder,  Ira  H.  Wilder,  Rhoda  C.  Willson,  James  C.  Willson,  Clara  C. 
Wood,  Charles  H.  Wood,  Sarah  M.  Bridgraan,  Charles  T.  Bridgman,  Flora 
O,   Wiliett,  Frank  E.  Willett,  Esther  M.  Orrell,  David  Mackenzie. 

The  following  names  have  been  added  to  the  list  of  the  membership 
since  the  club's  organization:  Elizabeth  S.  Hicok,  E.  M.  Eddy,  Lena  M. 
Hutchins,  Merritt  C.  Hutchins,  Elizabeth  C.  Buckham,  James  N.  Buckham, 
William  A.  Atwood,  Nellie  B.  Dort,  J.  Dallas  Dort,  Frances  A.  Hunting, 
George  F.  Hunting,  D.  D.,  Mary  E.  Pierce,  Franklin  H.  Pierce,  Anna  M. 
Smith,  William  L.  Smith,  Maude  A.  Vaughan,  Katherine  J.  Brodhead,  Will- 
iam H.  Brodhead,  Annette  W.  Burr,  C.  B.  Burr,  E.  T.  Neill,  Henry  Neill, 
M.  Frances  Bishop,  Fenton  R.  McCreery,  Eusebia  F.  Hardy,  Alexander  B.  C. 
Hardy,  Gertrvide  A.  Bates,  William  R.  Bates,  Hally  Holmes,  Edward  H. 
Holmes,  Harriet  B.  Bacon,  Theodore  D.  Bacon,  Addie  C.  Carton,  John  J. 
Carton,  Sarah  H.  Irwin,  Lucy  H.  Hammond,  Elmer  E,  Hammond,  Anna  L 
Lippincott,  Charles  A.  Lippincott,  D.  D.,  Carrie  S.  Bishop,  Arthur  G.  Bishop, 
J.  G.  Inglis,  Mrs.  Inglis,  Zylpha  I.  Fitzgerald,  Howard  H.  Fitzgerald,  Celia 
Ransom  Clarke,  Frances  D.  Clarke,  Marcia  W.  Dort,  Bertha  G.  Atwood, 
Edwin  W.  Atwood,  Frances  S.  Willson,  George  C.  Willson,  Delia  W.  Bon- 
hright,  Charles  H.  Bonbright,  Walter  O.  Smith,  Lottie  Clarke,  Thomas  P. 
Clarke,  Mary  Gold,  Lillian  Gold,  Edith  Pengelly,  J.  B.  Pengelly,  Gertrude 
Borley,  Howard  D.  Borley,  Helen  Wright,  Luther  L.  Wright. 

This  club  has  been  from  its  inception  until  the  present  time  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  social  and  literary  Hfe  of  Flint.  The  club  study  has  always 
been  exclusively  devoted  to  "the  works  of  Shakespeare  and  Shakespearean 
literature,"  as  the  first  of  the  simple  laws  and  regulations  adopted  at  organ- 
ization set  forth  should  be  the  rule. 

Three  plays  are  read  by  the  club  each  season,  the  casts  for  which  are 
arranged  by  a  specially  appointed  committee.  A  carefully  prepared  paper 
on  the  play  selected  for  study  is  read  at  the  first  meeting,  by  the  member  dele- 
gated for  that  duty.  Selections  from  the  authorities  and  commentators  are 
quoted;  the  critic  on  rendering,  comments  on  the  reading  at  the  end  of  each 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  653 

act,  the  critic  on  pronunciation  reports;  then  the  views  of  each  member  on 
the  rendition  and  on  the  text  are  requested.  The  chib  has  always  worked 
seriously.  However,  at  the  end  of  the  reading  of  plays,  "off  nights"  have 
been  given,  to  which  guests  have  been  invited.  Many  clever  papers,  original 
^kits  and  burlesques,  reminiscent  of  "Portia,"  "Hamlet,"  "Desdemona"  and 
the  rest,  have  made  the  Shakespeare  Club's  open  evenings  occasions  to  be 
recalled  with  joy.  The  membership  is  limited  to  forty,  club  meetings  being 
held  at  the  homes  of  members. 

THE  BANGS   SHAKESPEARE  CLUB. 

The  Bangs  Shakespeare  Club,  which  came  into  being  by  the  initiative  of 
Egbert  L,  Bangs,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made  in  "Res  Literaria,"  is  a 
younger  club  than  the  one  first  mentioned,  but  has  always  contained  among 
its  membership  names  equally  well  known  and  prominent  in  literary  circles 
of  the  city.  Although  started  as  a  Shakespeare  club,  the  scope  of  study  has 
b,'jen  wide  and  varied,  including  mythology,  sociology,  nature,  music,  phil- 
osophy and  general  literature.  The  present  year's  program  is  mainly  devoted 
to  Russian  literature.  Shakespeare,  however,  is  not  entirely  neglected, 
receiving  attention  from  time  to  time.  The  management  and  making  of  a 
program  each  year  is  left  to  a  committee  of  three,  and  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  is  for  the  year  the  presiding  officer  of  the  club  meetings.  At  pres- 
ent Miss  Florence  Fuller  is  ex  officio  president  of  the  club. 

COLUMBIAN    CLUB. 

Regarding  the  Columbian  Club,  Miss  Emily  West  has  been  kind  enough 
to  prepare  for  this  book  the  following; 

"The  publicity  and  promotion  department  of  the  Columbian  Exposition 
at  Chicago  in  1893  was  exceptionally  wei!  organized  and  its  work  executed 
with  remarkable  efficiency.  In  connection  with  it,  each  state  had  its  world's 
fair  committee,  with  branches  in  each  county.  Among  the  activities  of  the 
county  committees  was  included  the  organization  into  clubs  of  those  who 
expected  to  visit  the  exposition  during  its  continuance,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  such  study  of  the  history,  geography  and  resources  of  the  countries 
expecting  to  send  exhibits  as  would  render  them  intelligent  and  appreciative 
visitors  when  the  exposition  should  finally  open.  The  Genesee  county  com- 
mittee consisted  of  three  members,  two  of  whom  were  Mrs.  Flint  P.  Smith 
and  Mrs.  Mary  Rice  Fairbank,  of  Flint.     To  these  ladies  was  due  the  organ- 


dbyGoot^lc 


654  GENIiSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

ization  of  the  Columbian  Club  under  the  able  leadership  of  Miss  Helena  \'. 
Walker.     The  foregoing  also  suggests  the  reason  for  its  name. 

"The  Columbian  Club  held  its  first  meeting  in  the  reading  room  of  the 
armory  of  the  Flint  Union  Blues,  on  the  second  floor  of  the  present  Armory 
building,  and  on  a  Tuesday,  which  is  its  present  day  of  meeting.  The  first 
year's  program  consisted  of  topics  connected  with  the  discovery  of  America, 
which  the  exposition  was  designed  to  celebrate,  and  the  parts  taken  by  vari- 
ous nations  in  the  exposition  and  colonization  of  the  new  land,  together  with 
the  study  of  the  progress  of  the  preparations  for  the  exposition  itself,  its 
location,  its  transportation  facilities,  its  expected  exhibits,  etc.,  and  the  thou- 
sand and  one  useful  details  furnished  by  the  "publicity  department"  of 
magazines  and  newspapers.  This  year's  work  was  of  immense  value  to  the 
club  members  who  visited  the  exposition  in  1893  and  of  hardly  less  value  to 
those  who  were  denied  the  privilege  of  going.  The  water  color  painting, 
formerly  in  the  Michigan  building  and  now  in  the  public  library,  was  pur- 
chased for  one  hundred  dollars.  The  Columbian  Club,  in  its  inception,  was 
not  designed  as  a  permanent  organization,  but  as  its  members  have  found 
their  years  of  anticipatory  study  so  beneficial,  and  as  no  one  who  had  visited 
the  exposition  had  seen  the  whole  of  the  vast  enterprise,  the  first  anniversary 
of  its  organization  found  its  memljers  gathered  to  continue  the  study  of  the 
great  fair — retrospectively.  It  was  agreed  among  them  that  of  all  the  exhib- 
its inspected,  the  one  least  understood  was  that  in  the  United  States  building, 
and  that  accordingly  it  behooved  them  as  American  citizens  to  make  for  sev- 
eral years  a  study  of  their  own  country.  The  club  programs  deal  with  the 
progress  of  the  American  nation. 

"Following  the  programs  of  United  States  history,  a  general  survey  of 
European  history  formed  the  ground  work  of  a  year's  study,  and  later, 
different  countries  were  studied  in  some  detail,  much  attention  being  given 
to  their  progress  in  art,  science  and  literature.  In  all  these  programs,  current 
events  and  current  literature  have  received  attention,  and  discussion  has  fol- 
lowed all  papers  read.  The  Columbian  Club  was  federated  in  i8g6,  soon 
after  the  Michigan  State  Federation  was  formed,  and  has  continued  its 
membership  to  the  present  time,  deriving  much  benefit  therefrom. 

"From  the  foregoing  it  will  appear  that  the  aim  of  the  Columbian  Club 
in  the  beginning  was  a  selfish  one— that  is,  the  personal  benefit  to  be  gained 
in  preparing  for  a  single  event:  later,  a  no  less  selfi,sh  one,  the  pleasure  of 
association  and  satisfaction  derived  from  the  broadening  of  knoivledge  and 
gain  in  expression  and  intellectual  culture.  In  this  regard,  the  history  of 
the  Columbian  Club  is  that  of  nearly  all  similar  organizations  and,  hke  those 


dbyGoot^lc 


GKNESEE    COTTNTY,    MICHIGAN.  655 

which  have  attained  to  its  years  of  experience,  it  is  extending  its  efforts  and 
influence  to  the  betterment  of  the  community  instead  of  the  individual  mem- 
ber, as  is  evidenced  by  the  attention  given  to  civics  and  by  its  philanthropies 
during  the  past  few  years.  Last  spring  it  took  the  initiative  in  organizing 
a  county  federation  of  women's  clubs,  which  promises  much  for  the  future. 

"During  its  early  history,  the  Columbian  Club  was  purely  a  study  cKib, 
but  for  some  years  [jast  social  features  have  l>een  added.  It  has  entertained 
clubs  from  other  parts  of  the  county  and  has  been  entertained  by  them.  It 
was  once  hostess  to  the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs.  Thanksgiving 
Day  is  regularly  celebrated  with  a  dinner,  and  an  annual  picnic  is  held  in 
Tune.  Its  membership  is  unlimited.  It  welcomes  all  women  who  are  inter- 
ested in  its  work.     Its  doors  are  always  open  to  visitors. 

"In  its  twenty-four  years  of  existence  it  has  had  but  eight  differenl 
presidents.  The  combined  terms  of  three  of  them  is  fifteen  years.  At  no 
lime  has  its  membership  been  larger  than  at  present,  except  perhaps  in  its 
first  year.  The  prospect  at  present  is  that  the  year  of  1916-1917,  which 
begins  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  October,  will  be  its  happiest  and  most  pros- 
perous one. 

The  officers  for  1976  are:  President,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Seeley;  first  vice- 
president,  Mrs.  James  McFarlan ;  .second  vice-president,  Mrs.  Jonathan 
Edwards;  secretary,  Mrs.  Marvin  J.  Lamb;  corresponding  secretary.  Miss 
Emily  West;  treasurer.  Mrs.  F.  L.  Tupper;  auditor,  Mrs.  Charles  B.  T.^land. 

Tin;  TWENTIETH    CENTL'KY  CLUB. 

In  the  year  1897  '^  group  of  twenty-five  young  women  met  and  organ- 
izttd  the  Twentieth  Century  Club  and  adopted  a  constitution  and  by-laws. 
The  object  of  this  club  was  to  study  literature  and  current  events.  But  as 
the  nineteen  years  have  passed,  each  year  has  brought  forth  some  new  line 
of  study,  which  has  included  history,  travel,  science,  literature,  art  and  nature. 
'i~he  work  of  the  club  has  always  been  most  thorough  and  conscientious,  and 
as  many  of  its  members  have  traveled  extensively,  they  have  been  able  to 
add  materially  to  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  each  year's  program. 

The  club  year  is  from  October  to  May,  and  the  social  side  of  the  club 
life  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  hospitality  of  its  members,  who  open  their 
liomes  for  the  weekly  meetings.  The  open  days  throughout  the  year's  pro- 
grams have  been  among  the  most  deUghtfu!  events  in  the  history  of  the  vari- 
ous clubs  of  our  city. 

The  following  are  the  officers  for  1916:    President,  Mrs,  W.  T.  Walker; 


dbyGoot^lc 


656  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

secretary  and  treasurer,  Miss  Jessie  Baker;  program  committee;  Miss  Busii- 
nell,  Mrs.  Clift  and  Mrs.  DeWaters. 

In  Memoriam :  Mrs.  NeiHe  Davison  Bridgman,  Miss  Anna  Bucking- 
ham. Miss  Ernestine  Bnrr  and  Mrs.  Mary  Knickerbocker  Cummings. 

THE    GARLAND    STREET    I.iTEKARY    CLUB. 

The  Garland  Street  Literary  C!ub  was  organized  in  1888  as  a  neighbor- 
hood study  club  and  has  grown  from  small  proportions  to  a  club  which 
occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  club  life  of  the  city.  The  following  ladies 
arrange  the  programs  for  each  year:  Mrs.  John  Hotchkiss,  Mrs.  P.  B. 
Peltier,  Mrs.  G.  H.  McQuigg,  Mrs.  A.  F.  Kaufmann,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Durand 
and  Miss  Alice  Townsend.  The  officers  are;  President,  Mrs.  George  H. 
Durand,  and  secretary,  Mrs.  Edward  Fuller,  The  program  for  the  coming 
year  embraces  studies  in  civic  betterment,  juvenile  courts  of  the  county, 
housing  problem  and  local  sociological  questions. 

THE    UESEAUCH    CLUB. 

The  Research'  Club  was  organized  in  1903,  through  the  efforts  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Van  Winkle,  and  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  literary  subjects.'  Its 
membership  is  limited  to  thirty-five  and  the  meetings  for  the  season  of  1916-17 
are  presided  over  by  Mrs.  R.  W.  Eaton,  president.  This  club  is  also  inter- 
ested in  the  study  of  foreign  I 


One  afternoon,  twenty-six  years  ago,  two  friends  with  musical  ambi- 
tions were  discussing  the  latest  number  of  The  Etude,  a  weil-known  musical 
magazine.  They  were  much  interested  in  the  articles  on  "The  Women's 
Musical  Clubs,"  which  had  been  organized  throughout  the  Eastern  states. 
The  idea  of  such  a  society  in  Flint  occurred  to  them  and  a  committee  of,  one, 
appointed  by  themselves,  visited  the  musically  inclined  women  of  the  city, 
made  known  the  plan  and  called  a  meeting  for  all  who  were  interested  in 
such  a  society.  The  meeting  was  successfully  attended  and  at  that  time  the 
St,  Cecelia  Club  was  organized,  the  name  being  later  changed  to  "St.  Cecelia 
Society," 

On  October  21,  i8gp,  the  organization  was  perfected  with  the  foUow- 
ing  twelve  ladies  as  charter  members:  Mrs.  Nellie  Bates  Dort,  Mrs.  Carrie 
B.   Stone,  Mrs.  Emma  M.  Pierce,  Mrs.  Minnie  Vincent,  Miss  Anna  Mc- 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  657 

Master,  Miss  Anna  Ford;  Miss  Lilla  Grace  Smart,  Miss  Alice  Smith,  Miss 
Alma  Bates,  Miss  Hallie  Freeman,  Miss  Blanche  Eldridge  and  Miss  Edith 
Barton.  The  officers  elected  were:  President,  Mrs,  Dort;  critic,  Mrs.  Stone, 
and  secretary.  Miss  Smart. 

The  first  program  was  given  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Dort.  The  club  next 
adopted  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  which  provided  for  the  additional  offices 
of  two  vice-presidents  and  an  executive  committee.  The  club  met  at  the 
homes  of  members  once  in  two  weeks  during  the  first  two  years.  The 
society  re-organized  in  1892,  with  twenty  members  enrolled  and  with  Mrs. 
Dort  as  president,  and  honorary  members  were  first  admitted  at  the  fall 
election  in  1892.  Miss  Hallie  Freeman  was  the  second  president  of  the 
society.  In  1893  the  Maccabee  hall  was  engaged  for  the  recitals  and  weekly 
meetings  and  that  year  Mrs.  Flint  P.  Smith  was  elected  president.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1895,  the  society  was  incorporated  under  the  state  laws.  In  this  year 
also  the  society  purchased  their  first  grand  piano,  and  a  revision  of  the  con- 
stitution and  by-laws  was  made,  which  provided  for  an  annual  election  in 
January. 

Later,  the  meetings  were  held  in  the  hall  in  Stone's  theater  and  still  later 
in  St.  Cecelia  hall,  which  was  arranged  for  the  use  of  the  society  in  the 
Aimory  building.  For  many  years  since  the  organization  of  the  St.  CeceHa 
Society  the  music-loving  public  has  been  afforded  the  opportunity  of  hearing 
famous  artists  under  its  auspices.  The  Michigan  Music  Teachers  Associa- 
tion held  its  annual  convention  in  Flint  some  years  ago,  through  the  efforts 
of  the  society,  and  for  many  seasons  the  concerts  arranged  by  the  executive 
committees  have  ranked  among  the  attractions  of  the  year.  During  the 
season  of  1915-16  the  Minneapolis  Symphony  Orchestra  was  one  of  the 
offerings  of  note. 

The  society  annually  sends  delegates  to  the  National  Music  Teachers 
Association,  and  is  an  ably  conducted  organization  which  contributes  much 
to  the  musical  and  social  life  of  the  city. 

Miss  Lilla  Grace-  Smart,  one  of  the  charter  members,  is  now  Mrs.  Boris 
Ganapol,  the  wife  of  one  of  the  leading  musicians  of  Detroit  and  herself  a 
talented  performer.  One  of  the  foremost  musical  conservatories  of  Detroit 
is  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ganapol.  The  officers  of  the  St. 
Cecelia  Society  are:  President,  Mrs.  Harry  Winegarden;  vice-president, 
Mrs.  J.  C.  King;  secretary,  Miss  Mildred  Davie;  treasurer,  Mrs.  L.  G. 
Kurtz. 

(42) 


dbyGoo<^lc 


6S8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MJCHICAN 


THE    CHORAL    UNION. 

The  Choral  Union  is  a  large  society  devoted  to  the  interests  of  com- 
munity music.  Its  promoter  and  founder  was  J.  D.  Dort.  The  officers  for 
1916  are:  President,  C.  H,  Bonbright;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Harry  Wine- 
garden  ;  secretary,  Mrs.  Howard  A.  Field.  The  Choral  Union  has  a  mem- 
bership of  over  two  hundred  and  under  its  direction  several  pretentious  ora- 
torios have  been  produced. 

THE  FLINT  DRAMATIC    CLUB. 

The  Flint  Dramatic  Club,  a  society  for  the  study  of  dramatic  art,  was 
organized  in  1912,  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Patrick  R.  Doherty.  The 
first  play,  "The  Scrap  of  Paper,"  was  presented  at  Stone's  theater  in  March 
of  that  year.  The  second  year's  work  resulted  in  the  presentation  of  "The 
Banker's  Daughter,"  on  February  4,  1913,  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev. 
Fr.  Michael  J.  Comerford.  In  1914  Luther  L.  Wright,  formerly  of  the  state 
board  of  education,  now  superintendent  of  the  Michigan  school  for  the  deaf, 
directed  a  pretentious  and  most  successful  production  of  "The  College 
Widow."  The  club  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  permanent  association  and 
has  taken  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  club  life  of  the  city.  A  large  per  cent 
of  the  proceeds  from  the  plays  are  given  each  year  to  a  charitable  organiza- 
tion, under  whose  auspices  the  performance  is  given. 

THE    ROTARY    CLUB. 

The  Rotary  Club,  a  local  chapter  of  the  International  Association  of 
Rotary  Chibs,  was  established  in  Flint,  April  7,  1916,  with  twenty-two 
charter  members.  The  association  has  established  chapters,  not  only  in 
cities  throughout  the  United  States,  but  in  Canada,  Great  Britain  and  the 
Philippines,  and  membership  is  formed  on  the  imique  plan  of  one  active 
and  representative  man  from  each  line  of  business  and  profession  in  the 
community,  to  encourage  high  ethical  standards,  to  increase  the  efficiency 
of  members  by  the  development  of  improved  ideas  and  business  methods, 
and  to  quicken  interest  in  civic,  social,  commercial  and  industrial  develop- 
ment. 

The  Flint  chapter  is  one  of  the  most  recent  of  the  two  hundred  and 
ninety  chapters  estaUished  in  this  country,  and  in  the  few  months  of  its 
existence  has  increased   in  membership  to  sixty,  having  already  become   a 


dbyGoot^lc 


CiENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN.  659 

recognized  factor  in  the  business  and  professional  life  of  the  community. 
The  officers  of  the  club  are:  President,  Walter  E.  Dunkin;  first  vice-presi- 
dent, John  J.  Mercer;  second  vice-president,  Glenn  R.  Jackson;  treasurer, 
William  A.  Hastings ;  secretary,  DeHull  N.  Travis.  These  officers,  together 
with  the  following  gentlemen,  compose  the  board  of  directors:  Grant  J. 
Brown,  Albert  Dodds  and  Keinhardt  Kleinpell.  Honorary  member,  Will- 
iam Jennings  Bryan. 

FLINT    GOLF    CLUB. 

The  ['"lint  Golf  Club  was  originally  organized  as  the  Flint  Country  Club 
in  September,  1910,  by  thirty-seven  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Flint,  who 
purchased  the  Lewis  O.  Medbury  farm  of  three  hundred  and  ten  acres,  one- 
half  mile  north  of  the  village  of  Atlas,  for  the  establishment  of  a  club  house 
and  grounds.  The  old  Medbury  homestead  was  remodeled  into  a  handsome 
and  well-appointed  club  house  and  work  was  started  on  the  development  of  a 
golf  course  to  which  nature  had  lent  much  assistance  by  providing  natural 
hazards,  the  rolhng  land  being  threaded  by  a  winding  stream.  In  due  time 
the  membership  was  extended  to  associate,  non-resident  and  honorary  mem- 
bers, the  total  membership  on  July  r,  1916,  being  one  hundred  and  sixty. 

In  the  spring  of  1916  it  became  apparent  that  the  interests  of  the 
organization  could  best  be  served  by  placing  all  members  on  the  same  finan- 
cial basis  and  accordingly  the  Flint  Golf  Club  was  organized,  with  a  capital 
of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  representing  stock  at  fifty  dollars  per  share, 
of  which  each  member  should  be  the  owner  of  one  or  more  shares,  and  of 
which  nearly  fifty  thousand  dollars  has  already  been  subscribed. 

The  Flint  Golf  Club  now  represents  a  golf  course,  well  developed, 
together  with  splendid  club  buildings  and  equipment,  the  value  of  which 
is  about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  club  is  located  twelve  miles 
from  Flint  and  is  accessible  by  interurban  car  service  and  improved  gravel 
and  macadam  roads. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  charter  memliers  of  the  club:  Arthur  G. 
Bishop,  J.  Dallas  Dort.  D.  D.  Aitken,  J.  H.  Whiting,  Edwin  O.  Wood,  John 
J.  Carton,  Fred  A.  Aldrich,  Charles  S.  Mott,  C.  B.  Burr,  Francis  H.  Rankin, 
Everett  L.  Bray,  William  A.  Paterson,  Charles  M.  Begole,  Walter  O.  Smith, 
Homer  E.  Clarke,  A.  H.  Goss,  A.  P.  Brush,  J.  Allen  Heany,  Joseph  H. 
Crawford,  Edwin  W.  Atwood,  Merritt  C.  Hutchins,  E.  R.  Campbell,  Harry 
W.  Watson,  Hubert  Dalton,  W.  H.  Little,  Harry  H.  Bassett,  Thomas  Doyle, 
Hugh  J.  Jackson,  Charles  H.  Bonbright,  George  E.  Pomeroy,  W.   S.   Bal- 


dbyGoot^lc 


66o  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

lenger,  R.  T.  Armstrong,  Charles  A.  Cummings,  M.  E.  Carlton,  Howard  H. 
Fitzgerald,  W.  E.  Wood,  Gerard  Warrick, 

The  present  board  of  governors,  who  have  served  for  the  past  three 
years,  are:  President,  Harry  H.  Bassett;  secretary  and  treasurer.  Homer 
E,  Clarke;  assistant  secretary  and  treasurer,  Andrew  J.  Buckham;  Edwin 
W,  Atwood,  Hugh  J.  Jackson  and  George  E.  Pomeroy.  In  the  fall  of 
TO16  a  committee  was  appointed  to  report  upon  the  advisability  of  disposing 
of  the  present  grounds  and  securing  a  site  adjoining  the  city  limits  on  the 
south, 

woman's  council. 

The  Woman's  Council  was  organized  in  April,  1916,  with  twenty-five 
charter  members,  the  object  of  the  society  being  the  promotion  of  civic 
welfare.  Although  the  council  has  been  in  existence  only  a  few  months,  it 
already  has  a  membership  of  four  hundred  and  eighty-one  of  the  prominent 
women  of  the  city.  The  society  proposes  to  act  as  an  aid  to  the  common 
council  in  looking  after  civic  interests,  and  also  in  working  in  connection  with 
the  park  board  and  city  sanitary  committee.  Committees  on  sanitation, 
legislation,  amusements  and  education  have  been  appointed,  the  following 
members  serving  as  the  officers  for  1916:  President,  Mrs.  N.  J.  Eerston, 
Sr. ;  first  vice-president,  Mrs.  John  J.  Carton;  second  vice-president,  Mrs. 
John  D.  Mansfield;  treasurer,  Mrs.  D.  S,  Childs;  secretary,  Miss  Jane  Payne. 


yGoo-^lc 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Fraternal  and  Benevolent  Societies. 

In  all  parts  of  the  county  were  established  early  the  fraternal  orders, 
ivhose  continuous  development  has  brought  unmeasurable  ijenefits,  not  only 
to  their  members,  but  to  all  with  whom  they  have  been  associated  in  the 
cf>n!plex  relations  of  a  growing  community.  Fraternal  co-operation  has  ever 
been  a  prominent  factor  in  the  development  of  Genesee  county.  While  keen 
and  stimulating  competition  has  never  been  lacking  among  its  business  and 
professional  men,  they  have  worked  together,  in  the  most  harmonious  man- 
ner, in  matters  concerning  the  general  welfare.  Whether  the  growth  of 
fraternal  and  Ixneficiary  societies  has  been  the  effect  of  the  fraternal  spirit 
which  prevails,  or  that  this  SDirit  has  been  fostered  by  these  societies,  is  an 
interesting  problem.  Certain  it  is  that  their  conception  and  development 
have  been  contem[X)raneous  with  those  of  the  community  and  that  the  names 
of  their  officers  and  leaders  are  to  be  found  prominently  connected  with  all 
of  its  business  and  social  enterprises.  The  number  and  variety  of  such 
organizations  are  continually  increasing  and  their  prosperous  condition  is 
further  proof  of  the  congenial  nature  of  their  environment. 

INDEPENDENT  ORDER  OF  ODD  FELLOWS. 

The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  has  the  distinction  of  having 
established  the  first  of  the  many  local  lodges  now  existing  in  Flint,  and  for 
nearly  sixty  years  its  members  here  have  faithfully  and  loyally  upheld  the 
dignity  and  traditions  of  their  illustrious  order.  As  a  natural  result,  the 
little  band  of  seven  which  established  the  first  lodge  has  grown  to  a  mem- 
bership of  hundreds  in  Flint  and  nearly  two  thousand  in  Genesee  county. 

Genesee  Lodge  No.  24,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  granted 
a  dispensation  on  April  29,  1847,  to  organize  in  the  then  village  of  Flint, 
with  Edward  H.  Thomson  as  noble  grand  and  George  M.  Dewey  as  vice- 
grand.  Two  of  the  charter  members  afterward  became  grand  masters.  Will- 
iam M.  Fenton,  in  1855.  and  Edward  H.  Thomson,  in  1872.  The  late  Francis 
H.  Rankin  became  a  member  of  this  lodge  soon  after  its  organization  and 
served  as  its  treasurer  for  many  years.  He  was  grand  master  in  1872.  This 
lodge  is  justly  proud  of  the  fact  that  it  has  never  failed  to  make  its  report 
to  the  grand  lodge,  never  missed  being  represented  there,  has  always  held  its 
regular  meetings  on  Tuesday  evenings,  and  has  paid  many  thousands  of 


dbyGoot^lc 


663  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

dollars  for  relief  and  burial  benefits.  The  earliest  meeting  places  cannot  be 
definitely  located,  but,  according  to  the  recollection  of  some  old  members,  it 
met  for  a  time  over  No.  323  South  Saginaw  street  and  in  1867  had  its  home 
over  No.  318  South  Saginaw  street,  removing  about  that  time  to  the  hall  in 
the  Judd  block.  In  the  fall  of  1903  it  decided  to  own  its  own  home  and 
purchased  the  Ladies'  Library  building,  which  it  transformed  into  a  hand- 
some and  commodious  temple,  the  first  meeting  being  held  there  on  February 
15,  1904.  Later,  when  the  Masonic  orders  built  their  temple  on  South  Sagi- 
naw and  Fourth  streets,  the  Odd  Fellows  purchased  the  temple  previously 
occupied  by  the  Masons  in  the  Bryant  House  block. 

Genesee  Lodge  No.  24,  has  a  membership  of  three  hundred  and  eighty 
and  the  meetings  are  held  every  Tuesday  evening  in  Odd  Fellows  temple. 
The  present  officers  are :  Noble  grand,  Charles  Sims ;  vice-grand,  C.  S.  Van 
Winkle;  recording  secretary,  Hiram  Curtis;  financial  secretary,  J.  Lone; 
treasurer,  Delos  Rosenkrans. 

Friendship  Lodge  No.  174,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was 
instituted  on  November  20,  1871,  over  No.  322  South  Saginaw  street,  with 
ten  charter  members.  From  this  small  beginning,  through  trying  and  peril- 
ous times  and  many  changes,  this  lodge  has  fought  its  way  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  state,  with  a  present  membership  of  over  six  hundred.  Its  staf? 
work  is  fast  gaining  an  enviable  reputation.  It  also  has  never  missed  send- 
ing its  reports  and  dues  to  the  grand  lodge  and  it  is  well  represented  in  the 
camp  and  canton. 

Friendship  Lodge  now  has  a  membership  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  and 
the  meetings  are  held  in  the  temple  every  Thursday  evening.  The  officers  are : 
Noble  grand,  Edward  Teague;  vice-grand,  Gienn  Webb;  recording  secretary, 
S.  R.  Moon;  financial  secretary,  Frank  Post;  treasurer,  Fred  Howland. 

Fhnt  River  Encampment  No.  28,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
was  instituted,  December  19,  1868,  with  five  meml^ers  (none  of  whom  now 
survive)  in  Odd  Fellows'  hall,  Judd  block.  The  first  candidate  was  the  late 
E.  H.  Thomson,  who  in  later  years  became  grand  master.  During  its  long 
and  prosperous  career  it  has  admitted  several  hundred  members,  buried 
many,  paid  out  large  sums  for  sick  and  funeral  benefits,  never  missed  its 
annual  report  to  the  grand  encampment  of  Michigan,  and  has  always  had  one 
or  more  representatives  in  the  grand  bodies.  The  grand  encampment  has 
twice  been  its  guest,  first  in  1892  and  again  in  1903.  Five  other  encamp- 
ments have  been  organized  from  it  and  it  has  produced  seventy-five  chief 
patriarchs.      Flint  River  Encampment  now  has  a  membership  of  over  two 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  663 

hundred  and  the  meetings  are  held  the  first  and  third  Mondays  in  each  month, 
in  I.  O.  O.  F.  temple. 

Canton  Col.  Fenton  No.  27,  Patriarchs  Militant  (Odd  Fellows),  was 
chartered  on  Auf^^ust  30,  1887,  and  mustered  into  service  on  November  28, 
following,  in  the  hall  in  the  Judd  block,  with  thirty-eight  members.  Its  first 
officers  were :  Captain,  T.  A.  Willett ;  lieutenant,  W.  A.  Boland ;  ensign, 
C.  S.  Martin.  It  has  always  -been  well  to  the  front  along  military  lines  and 
second  and  five  first  prizes  and  one  national  prize.  One  of  its  members, 
has  won  both  state  and  national,  fame,  winning,  in  competitive  drill,  five 
Gen.  T.  A.  Willetf,  organized  the  department  council.  The  meetings  of 
Canton  Colonel  Fenton  now  are  held  the  second  and  fourth  Wednesdays  of 
each  month  in  Odd  Fellows  temple.  The  officers  are :  Captain,  C.  S.  Mar- 
tin; lieutenant,  Seth  Jerome;  ensign,  Fred  May;  clerk,  J,  Clare  Atkins,  and 
accountant,  Frank  T.  Hall. 

DAUGHTER.S    OF    KEBEKAH. 

Ada  B.  Rebekah  Lodge  No.  17  was  instituted,  May  4,  1888,  in  the  hall 
over  No.  324  South  Saginaw  street,  by  the  late  George  M.  Dewey,  of 
Owosso,  then  past  grand  master,  with  twenty-five  charter  members.  Mrs. 
Elise  A.  Willett  and  Mrs.  May  Martin  were  first  noble  grand  and  vice-grand, 
respectively.  Charles  S.  Martin,  of  Friendship  Lodge  No.  174,  was  commis- 
sioned district  deputy  grand  master  for  the  new  Rebekah  lodge.  This  lodge 
has  assisted  in  the  institution  of  six  Rebekah  lodges  in  the  vicinity  and  had 
for  finir  years  an  officer  in  the  Rebekah  assembly.  In  the  year  1916  Ada  B. 
Rebekah  Lodge  has  five  hundred  and  thirty-five  members  and  in  1915  became 
the  largest  lodge  in  the  state.  The  meetings  are  held  on  the  first  and  third 
Fridays  of  the  month  in  Odd  Fellows  temple.  The  lodge  is  said  to  have 
the  finest  drilled  degree  in  Michigan.  The  officers  are:  Noble  grand,  Mrs. 
Rose  Post;  vice-grand,  Weltha  Heddaugh;  recording  secretary,  Mae  H. 
Martin;  financial  secretary,  Alvah  Devereaux;  treasurer,  Florence  Currie; 
district  deputy.  Pearl  Powell. 

Genesee  Rebekah  Lodge  No.  355  was  organized  through  the  elTorts  of 
members  of  Genesee  Lodge  No.  24,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
after  which  it  was  named.  It  was  instituted  on  the  afternoon  of  May  12, 
1900,  at  the  hall  in  the  Judd  block,  by  Past  Noble  Grand  Elise  A.  Willett, 
of  Ada  B.  Rebekah  Lodge  No.  17,  as  special  deputy,  with  thirty-six  charter 
members.  The  principal  officers  then  elected  were,  Mrs.  Clara  Abbey,  noble 
grand,  and  Mrs.   Y\dora  Hall,  vice-grand.     In  the  evening  of  that  day  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


664  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

degrees  were  conferred  uijon  forty -seven  candidates  and  six  months  from 
that  date  the  membership  exceeded  one  hundred!  The  home  of  this  lodge 
is  now  in  Odd  Fellows  temple,  where  it  meets  on  the  second  and  fourth  Fri- 
day evenings  of  each  month,  A  commendable  harmony  exists  between  the 
two  sister  lodges,  each  striving  ever  to  work  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
other,  Genesee  Rebekah  Lodge  now  has  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  mem- 
bers. The  officers  are:  Noble  grand,  Mrs.  Frank  Curtis;  vice-grand,  Mrs. 
Stevenson;  secretary,  Mrs.  Louis  Smith,  and  financial  secretary,  Mrs,  Van 
W'agnon. 

FREF,    .^ND    ACCEPTF.D    MASONS. 

The  Masonic  fraternity  was  among  the  first  of  the  fraternal  orders  to 
establish  a  local  organization  in  Flint  and  it  has  ever  had  a  strong  hold  upon 
the  citizens.  For  many  of  the  earlier  years  of  its  history  its  lodge  rooms 
were  among  the  social  centers  of  the  young  city  and  while  the  present  elaborate 
means  for  entertainment  were  lacking,  its  social  functions  were  none  the  less 
enjoyable.  Many  of  even  the  younger  generation  still  remember  with  pleas- 
ure the  balls  and  other  entertainments  given  therein.  In  fact,  it  was  because 
dancing  and  card  playing  in  Masonic  buildings  were  prohibited  hy  the  regula- 
tions of  the  order  that  the  former  temple  was  not  for  many  years  formally 
dedicated  as  such.  The  several  organizations  Ijeing  among  the  earliest  estab- 
lished in  Michigan,  had  originally  very  large  jurisdictions,  extending  toward 
Port  Huron  and  Detroit  on  the  east  and  south  and  indefinitely  to  the  north 
and  west,  many  of  their  members  being  drawn  from  the  Saginaw  valley. 

All  of  the  Masonic  bodies  then  organized  met  in  the  hall  in  the  building 
adjoining  the  First  National  Bank,  near  the  corner  of  Saginaw  and  Kearsley 
streets,  removing  thence  to  the  temple  in  the  Bryant  House  block. 

One  of  the  important  events  in  the  history  of  the  fraternity  was  the 
purchase  of  this  home.  The  first  action  toward  this  was  taken  in  November, 
1867,  but  it  was  not  until  April,  1870,  that  a  committee  was  appointed  with 
full  power  to  act.  Many  sites  and  buildings  were  considered,  resulting  in  the 
purchase,  from  Thayer,  Hamilton  and  Atwood,  of  the  third  and  fourth 
stories  of  what  is  now  the  Bryant  House  block.  This  was  deeded,  Septem- 
ber 24,  1872,  to  trustees  for  Flint  Lodge,  Washington  Chapter  and  Genesee 
Valley  Commandery,  enclosed  and  roofed,  the  price  being  five  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  opening  ceremony  was  a  grand  Knights  Templar  ball,  December 
13,  1873,  and  was  occupied  by  the  Masonic  bodies  up  to  the  time  of  the 
dedication  of  the  present  Masonic  temple. 

During  the  year  1905  the  different  lodges  of  the  Masonic  order  held  a 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  665 

number  of  meetings  and  decided  to  build  a  permanent  temple.  A  number  of 
committees  were  appointed,  with  the  result  that  on  February  7,  1906,  an 
association  known  as  the  Masonic  Temple  Association  of  Flint  was  formed. 
The  first  officers  elected  were:  President,  J.  H.  Crawford;  vice-president, 
Francis  D.  Clarke;  secretary,  T.  J.  Allen;  treasurer,  L.  H.  Bridgman. 

On  February  8,  1906,  the  association  became  an  incorporated  body, 
with  a  board  of  trustees  including  two  members  from  each  of  the  Masonic 
bodies.  The  present  officers  of  this  association  are:  President,  J.  H.  Craw- 
ford; vice-president,  C.  D.  Wesson;  treasurer,  L.  H.  Bridgman;  secretary, 
C.  S.  H.  Chase. 

In  January,  1908,  lot  9,  block  4,  village  of  Mint  River,  on  the  corner  of 
East  Fourth  and  Saginaw  streets,  was  purchased  of  WilHam  H.  Edwards, 
and  the  erection  of  the  present  stately  Masonic  temple  was  soon  afterward 
commenced. 

The  last  meeting  of  Fhnt  Lodge  No.  23,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
was  held  in  the  old  temple  on  March  28,  191 1.  and  the  Masonic  fraternity  at 
large  held  a  farewell  meeting  in  the  old  temple  on  March  30,  1911.  G. 
Roscoe  Swift,  grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state  of  Michigan, 
and  the  other  grand  lodge  officers  dedicated  the  temple  in  the  afternoon  of 
May  16,  1911.  The  building,  together  with  the  lot  and  furnishings,  is  esti- 
mated to  liave  cost  approximately  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
The  Masonic  temple  is  one  of  the  finest  buildings  in  the  county,  if  not  the 
finest.  The  late  Judge  Charles  H.  Wisner  was  made  chairman  of  the  build- 
ing committee  and  devoted  a  great  deal  of  time  to  the  details  of  construction. 
Judge  Wisner's  assistance  in  this  direction  was  invaluable,  as  was  also  his 
assistance  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  county  building,  as  he  possessed 
a  wide  knowledge  of  mechanics  and  building  construction  and  personally 
supervised  the  work.  Tlie  temple  contains,  besides  the  several  lodge  rooms, 
a  large  auditorium  for  entertainments,  club  and  reading  rooms,  which  are 
situated  in  the  blue  lodge  lobby  and  parlor,  and  a  dining  room  with  appoint- 
ments for  four  hundred  guests.  There  is  also  arranged  a  ladies'  parlor  and 
reception  room,  which  is  open  during  the  day. 

Flint  Lodge  No.  23,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma.sons,  was  chartered  on  Janu- 
ary 10,  1849,  and  maintained  its  existence  until  December,  1854,  at  which 
time  its  charter  was  surrendered.  No  other  information  regarding  it  is 
available,  but  it  seems  probable  that  its  members,  or  a  portion  of  them, 
organized  Flint  Lodge  No.  23,  to  which  a  charter  was  issued  on  January  11, 
1855,  upon  the  petition  of  thirty-seven  charter  members,  with  John  B. 
Hamilton  as  worshipful  master  and  ten  other  officers.     None  of  these  officers 


dbyGoot^lc 


G66  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

are  now  living.  This  lodge  has  enjoyed  a  steady  and  prosperous  growth  for 
years.  It  was  honored  in  1S58  by  the  election  of  William  M.  Fenton  as 
grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge  of  Michigan,  P""ree  and  Accepted  Masons, 
and  also  in  1912  by  the  election  of  the  late  Francis  D.  Clarke  to  the  same 
high  office. 

Flint  Lodge  No.  23  has  a  membership  of  eight  hundred  at  the  present 
time.  Regular  communications  are  held  the  first  Tuesday  of  each  month. 
The  present  ofificers  are:  Worshipful  master,  Ernest  A.  Smith;  senior 
warden,  L.  G.  Cronk;  junior  warden,  Harvey  E.  Johnson;  treasurer,  C.  H. 
Miller;  secretary,  C.  S.  H.  Chase;  senior  deacon,  John  E.  Storrer;  junior 
deacon,  William  E.  Proper. 

The  following  have  served  as  worshipful  masters  of  Flint  Lodge  No, 
23:  John  B.  Hamilton.  1855;  Benjamin  J.  Lewis,  1856;  Chauncey  K. 
W^illiams,  1857;  William  M.  Fenton.  1858,  1859,  i860,  1861 ;  E.  D.  Will- 
iams, 1862:  William  Clark,  1863;  Wilham  M,  Fenton,  1864;  Abner  Ran- 
dall, 1865,  1866;  Samuel  C.  Randall,  1867,  1868,  1869,  1870;  James  B.  F. 
Curtis,  1871,  1872,  1S73,  1874,  :875,  1876;  Samuel  C.  Randall,  1877,  1878, 

1879.  1S80,  1881;  Charles  S.  Brown.  1882;  Charles  B.  Wallace,  1883,  1884. 
1885,  1886;  Joseph  H.  Crawford,  1887,  1888;  John  McKercher,  1889,  1890, 
i8gi.  1892,  1893:  Edward  D.  Black,  1894;  John  McKercher,  1895;  ^^ed 
J.  Ford,  1896,  1S97;  Menzo  F.  Cook,' 1898,  1899;  W.  Lee  Church,  1900, 
1901 ;  Charles  H.  Miller,  1902,  1903;  Albert  T.  Austin,  1904;  Jason  H. 
Austin,  1905;  William  W.  Edgcombe,  1906;  Francis  D.  Clarke,  1907;  Tru- 
man S.  Cowing,  190S:  Charles  S.  H.  Chase,  1909;  John  J.  Raab,  19T0; 
E.  Frank  Wood,  191^;  Arthur  E.  Raab,  1912;  John  H.  Neubert,  1913; 
Ralph  B.  Long,   1914;  Fred  W.  Hanneman,   1915;  Ernest  A.  Smith,   1916. 

Genesee  Lodge  No.  174,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  chartered  on 
January  11,  1866,  with  eight  members.  Its  first  worshipful  master  was  John 
B.  Hamilton  and  the  late  Judge  George  H.  Durand  was  the  first  candidate 
initiated.  This  lodge  has  grown  up  by  the  side  of  its  older  sister,  amicably 
sharing  with  it  in  the  labors,  costs  and  rewards  of  fraternal  life,  and  there 
is  between  their  members  a  truly  Masonic  spirit.  Several  of  the  past  masters 
of  this  lodge  have  been  elected  to  the  chair  of  grand  master  of  the  grand 
lodge  of  Michigan,  George  H.  Durand,  in  1874,  and  John  J.  Carton,  in  1895. 

The  following  have  served  as  worshipful  masters  of  Genesee  Lodge 
No.  17/1:  John  B.  Hamilton,  1865;  James  B.  Newton,  1866,  1867,  t868, 
i86g;  George  H.  Durand.  1870,  1871,  1872,  1873,  1874.  1877:  George  M. 
Bushneil,  1875;  Thomas  W.  Drennan.  1876;  Leroy  C.  Whitney,  1S78.  1879, 

1880,  t88i,  1882,  1883;  Frank  E.  Palmer,  1884 ;  John  B.  E.  Castree,  1885; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENp;SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  667 

Charles  H.  Wisner.  1886;  Charles  B.  Leland.  1887,  1888;  Benjamin  F. 
Miller,  1889;  John  J.  Carton,  1890,  1891 ;  Thomas  J.  Allen,  1892,  1893; 
Joseph  H.  Rankin,  1894,  1895;  Louis  G.  Wilfison,  1896,  1897;  Clayton  N, 
Doty,  1898,  1899;  Colonel  O.  Swayze,  1900,  1901;  George  Werkheiser, 
1902,  1903;  James  S.  Parker,  1904;  John  R.  MacDonald,  1905,  1906; 
Charles  A.  Durand,  1907;  James  M.  Torrey,  1908;  Homer  J.  McBride,. 
1909;  Harry  V.  Blakely,  1910;  Frank  P.  Wildman,  1911 ;  Arthur  C.  Cross- 
man,  1912;  Thomas  Carl  Millard,  1913;  Raymond  C.  Chase,  1914;  Everett 
Ciapp,  1915;  Harry  R.   Nickerson,  1916. 

Genesee  Lodge  No.  174  has  a  membership  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
and  the  meetings  are  held  the  first  Wednesday  in  each  month.  The  present 
officers  are:  Harry  R,  Nickerson,  worshipful  master;  S.  A.  Shue,  senior 
warden;  Richard  Holt,  junior  warden;  treasurer,  C.  B,  Leland;  secretary, 
Dr.  Noah  Bates;  George  H.  McDonald,  senior  deacon,  and  Frank  W.  Pike, 
junior  deacon. 

When  the  first  blue  lodge  was  organized,  the  nearest  chapter  was  located 
at  Pontiac.  The  need  of  a  similar  organization  at  Flint  was  quickly  felt, 
and  on  the  first  day  of  April,  1856,  ten  members  met  under  dispensation,  and 
Washington  Chapter  No.  15,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  was  instituted,  Stillman 
Blanchard,  past  high  priest,  officiating.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the  grand 
chapter  a  charter  was  granted,  dated  January  13,  1857.  Chauncey  K.  Will- 
iams was  the  first  eminent  high  priest.  As  the  jurisdiction  of  the  chapter 
still  covers  all  of  the  county  and  villages  adjacent  to  Flint,  its  meetings  bring 
together  many  who  might  otherwise  remain  strangers. 

The  meetings  of  Washington  Chapter  are  now  held  on  the  first  Thurs- 
day of  the  month  and  the  membership  is  five  hundred.  The  officers  are: 
Ralph  B,  Long,  eminent  high  priest ;  F.  W.  Hanneman,  king ;  Edward  C. 
Farr,  scribe;  Frank  J.  Magill,  treasurer;  C.  S.  H.  Chase,  secretary;  Robert 
H.  Darnton,  captain  of  the  host;  William  H.  Kijpatrick,  principal  sojourner; 
Leland  Stanford  Wood,  royal  arch  captain. 

The  following  have  served  as  high  priests  of  Washington  Chapter  No. 
15:  Chauncey  K.  Williams,  1857,  1858,  1859;  John  B.  Hamilton,  i860; 
Daniel  Clark,  i86r.  1862,  1863,  1864,  1865.  1867,  1868;  Abner  Randall, 
1869.  1870,  1871,  1S72,  1873,  1874,  1875,  1876,  1877;  James  B,  F.  Curtis, 
1878,  1879;  Marcus  Lane,  1880;  Samuel  C.  Randall,  1881,  1882;  Zacheus 
Chase.  1883,  1884;  Stephen  Mathewson,  1885,  1886,  1887,  1888;  J.  B. 
Edward  Castree,  1889.  1890;  John  McKercher,  1891.  1893;  Charles  B. 
Leland,  1893:  Thomas  J.  Allen,  1804.  1895;  Edward  D.  Black,  1S96,  1897; 
George  L.   McQuigg,   1898;   Charles   S.   H.   Chase,    1899,    1900;   Albert  T. 


dbyGoot^lc 


668  GENESEE    COUNTY,    Miril|i;.AN 

Austin,  1901,  1902;  Menzo  F.  Cook,  1903;  Fred  J.  Pierson,  1904;  W.  Lee 
Church,  1905;  George  H.  Gordon,  1906;  Truman  S.  Cowing,  1907;  Francis 
D.  Clarke,  1908;  Ruby  J.  Roether,  1909;  John  C.  Clasen,  1910;  Edwin  C. 
Litchfield,  1911;  Frank  J.  Magili,  1912;  Francis  M.  Buffum,  1913;  Jason 
H.. Austin,  1914;  Walter  F.  Brandes.  1915;  Ralph  B.  Long.  1916. 

Between  the  organization  of  the  chapter  and  the  formation  of  a  coni- 
mandery,  a  period  of  over  nine  years  elapsed,  and  it  was  not  until  1865  that 
F'lint  Masons  could  receive  their  Templar  degrees  af  home.  On  April  10  of 
that  year  a  disijensation  was  granted  to  Genesee  Valley  Commandery  No.  15, 
which  was  organized  with  eight  meml^rs,  in  the  old  Masonic  hall,  June  2, 
1865.  The  tliree  principal  officers  were,  John  B.  Hamilton,  eminent  com- 
mander; Paul  H.  Stewart,  generalissimo,  and  John  Allen,  captain  general. 
The  officers  were  duly  installed  by  Garey  B.  Noble,  right  eminent  grand  com- 
mander of  Michigan,  on  June  27,  1865,  at  which  time  the  first  work  of  the 
new  commandery  was  done  by  conferring  the  orders  upon  Abner  I^ndall, 
Lyman  G.  Buckingham,  Francis  H,  Rankin,  Charles  Goodale  and  Henry 
Brown.  John  R.  Hamilton  served  two  years  and  in  1867  was  succeeded  as 
eminent  commander  by  Samuel  C.  Randall,  who  served  continuously  until 
1878,  although  he  was  in  1876  elected  grand  commander  of  Michigan 
Knights  Templar  and  ably  performed  the  duties  of  that  office.  Joseph  H. 
Crawford  was  elected  grand  commander  of  Michigan  Knights  Templar  in 
1906,  and  Fred  A.  Aldrich  is  serving  for  the  present  year  of  1916.  The 
only  surviving  charter  member  is  Robert  Ford.  This  commandery  has 
always  stood  high,  both  in  the  personnel  of  its  members  and  the  efficiency 
of  its  work. 

Genesee  Valley  Commandery  Xo.  15  meets  the  first  Friday  of  each 
month.  The  present  membership  is  three  hundred  and  fifty.  The  officers 
are:  Eminent  commander,  Fred  J.  Pierson;  general,  L.  G.  Willison;  cai>- 
tain  general,  F.  A.  Roberts;  senior  warden,  F.  W.  Siegel;  junior  warden,  T. 
S.  Cowing;  treasurer,  B.  J.  Macdonald;  prelate,  M.  C.  Pettilxine  (dead); 
recorder,  C.  S.  H.  Chase;  standard  bearer,  John  M.  Goepfert;  sword  bearer, 
A.  C.  Raab,  and  warder,  Alexander  M.  Ritchie. 

The  following  have  served  as  eminent  commanders  of  Genesee  Valley 
Commandery  No.  15:  John  B.  JIamilton,  1865  to  1867:  Samuel  C.  Ran- 
dall, 1867  to  187S;  Charles  S.  Brown,  187S  to  1881 ;  Charles  H.  Wood, 
1881  to  1883;  Albert  Myers,  1883  to  1885;  Zacheus  Chase,  1885  to  1886; 
Milton  C.  Pettibone,  1886  to  1888:  Henry  C,  VanDusen,  1888  to  1890; 
George  L.  McQuigg,  1800  to  1892;  Edward  W.  Mclntyre,  1892  to  1894; 
Arthur  C.  McCall,  1894  to  1896;  Joseph  H.  Crawford,  1896  to  1898;  Joseph 


yGoo-^lc 


gi::nesek  county,  Michigan.  669 

H,  Rankin,  1898  to  1900;  Thomas  J.  Allen,  1900  to  1901.;  Charles  S.  H. 
Chase,  1901  to  1902;  Fred  A.  Aldrich,  1902  to  1903;  Edwin  C.  Litchfield, 
1903  to  1904;  Charles  A.  (^uraiiigs,  1904  to  1905;  S.  Sidney  Stewart,  1905 
to  1906;  L.  Henry  Bridgman,  1906  to  1907;  Menzo  F.  Cook,  1907  to  1908; 
Arthur  M.  Davison,  1908  to  1909;  Charles  D.  Wesson,  1909  to  1910;  Will- 
iam S.  Ballenger,  1910  to  1911:  John  L.  Pierce,  1911  to  1912;  Benjamin 
F.  Miller,  Jr.,  1912  to  J913;  Albert  T.  Austin,  1913  to  1914;  Maurice  L. 
Dyer,  1914  to  1915;  Fred  W.  Brennan,  1915  to  1916;  Fred  J.  Pierson,  1916. 

Much  the  youngest  of  the  Masonic  bodies  in  Flint  is  Flint  Council  No. 
56,  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  which  was  chartered  on  January  21,  1890, 
with  nine  members,  J.  B.  E.  Castree  being  the  first  thrice  illustrious  master. 
It  has  now  a  membership  of  three  hundred  and  the  meetings  are  held  on  the 
first  Monday  in  the  month.  The  officers  are:  Thrice  illustrious  master, 
Francis  M.  Buffen ;  deputy  master,  Jesse  S.  Langston ;  principal  conductor 
of  the  work,  J.  J.  Raab;  recorder,  C.  S.  H.  Chase;  captain  of  the  guard, 
Fred  Tiedman;  conductor  of  the  council,  Robert  H.  Darnton. 

The  following  have  served  as  thrice  illustrious  masters  of  Flint  Coun- 
cil No.  56:  J.  B.  Edward  Castree,  1890;  John  McKercher,  1891,  1892, 
1893.  1S94.  1895,  1S96;  Thomas  J.  Allen,  1897,  1898:  Louis  G.  Willison, 
1899,  1900;  John  McKercher,  1901,  1902,  1903,  1904;  Charles  H.  Miller, 
1905,  1906;  Albert  T.  Austin,  1907,  1908;  Francis  D.  Clarke,  1909,  1910; 
L,  Henry  Bridgman,  191 1;  John  L.  Pierce,  1912;  Fred  J.  Pierson,  1913; 
Flovd  A.  Roberts,  1914;  Tidwin  C.  JJtchfield.  1915;  Francis  M.  Buffum, 
1916. 

OKnEK    OF    THE    EASTERN    STAR. 

Closely  affihated  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  is  the  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star,  its  members  l>eing  Master  Masons  and  their  wives,  daughters  and 
sisters.  The  order  exists  for  the  purpose  of  giving  practical  effect  to  one 
of  the  beneficient  purposes  of  Freemasonry,  which  is  to  provide  for 
the  welfare  of  the  wives,  mothers,  widows  and  sisters  of  Master 
Masons.  Its  principles  are  promulgated  here  by  Flint  Chapter  No.  138, 
which  was  organized  at  Masonic  hall  in  1894  with  thirty-one  members,  and 
received  its  charter  on  January  28,  1895.  Its  first  presiding  officers  were 
Mrs.  Carrie  T.  Henderson,  worthy  matron,  and  Louis  G.  Willison,  worthy 
patron.  The  membership  of  the  Eastern  Star  at  the  present  time  is  five 
hundred  and  sixty.  The  meetings  are  held  the  second  Monday  in  each  month 
in  Masonic  temple.     The  officers  for  1916  are  Elsie  L.  Stevenson,  associate 


yGoo-^lc 


670      ■  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

matron,  acting  as  worthy  matron ;  John  F,  Baker,  worthy  patron ;  secretary, 
Mrs.  Bessie  Wesson;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cowing. 

There  are  a  number  of  social  orders,  including  the  Knights  of  Bethie- 
hem,  made  up  of  Masons,  but  not  a  part  of  the  Masonic  bodies. 

ROYAL   ARCANUM. 

The  Royal  Arcanum,  originally  organized  in  Boston,  November  5,  1877, 
became  identified  with  Flint  in  the  organization  of  Apollo  Council  No.  27, 
on  the  I2th  day  of  the  same  month.  The  Hfe  of  the  local  body  has  therefore 
been  contemporary  with  that  of  the  parent  order.  The  cormcil  was  instituted 
in  the  lodge  rooms  on  the  third  floor  of  the  Sutton  building,  with  sixty-three 
members.  It  continued  to  meet  in  its  original  lodge  rooms  until  some  time 
in  1878,  when  the  use  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  rooms,  located  over  the  First 
National  Bank,  was  secured.  The  council  moved  later  to  Friendship  Lodge 
hall,  in  the  McDermott  block,  in  1884.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  two  of 
the  charter  members  have  held  office  ever  since  its  organization,  Frank  Dul- 
1am  and  Dr.  Noah  Bates. 

Apollo  Council  No.  27  has  a  membership  of  sixty-eight  and  the  officers 
are,  regent,  John  Cranston ;  secretary,  W.  A.  Blanchard ;  collector,  John  W. 
Newall,  and  treasurer,  Frank  Duliam. 

KNIOHTS    OF   THE    MACCABEES. 

The  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  was  among  the  first  of  the  beneficiary 
societies  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  Flint.  During  the  winter  of  1880-1881, 
while  imder  the  control  of  the  Canadian  organization,  two  tents  were  organ- 
ized here,  almost  simultaneously,  F'Hnt  Tent  No.  369  and  Venus  Tent  No, 
following  September  became  an  independent  body,  under  the  name  of  the 
275.  On  June  11,  1881,  the  order  was  incorporated  in  Michigan  and  in  the 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees  of  Michigan,  which  title  it  retained  until  it  was 
changed  to  the  Knights  of  the  Modern  Maccabees. 

One  explanation  of  the  popularity  of  this  order  here  may  be  the  fact 
that  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  Flint  was  its  financial  headquarters.. 
In  October,  1881,  Robert  J.  Whaiey,  of  Flint,  was  appointed  great  finance 
keeper,  to  fill  a  vacancy.  At  the  next  annual  meeting  he  was  elected  as  his 
own  successor  and  was  re-elected  at  a  number  of  subsequent  meetings  of  the 
great  camp. 

The  pioneer  organization,  Flint  Tent  No.  269,  existed  but  a  few  months 
and  then  surrendered  its  charter.     Venus  Tent  No.  275  was  organized  on 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  6/1 

February  15,  1881,  with  twenty-five  members,  in  the  office  of  Lee  &  Aitken. 
Flint  Tent  No  464,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  was  organized  July  23, 
1891,  with  a  membership  of  thirty-seven.     If  first  met  in  G.  A.  R.  hall. 

Flint  Hive  No.  252,  Ladies  of  the  Modern  Maccabees,  was  organized, 
November  10,  1892,  with  a  membership  of  twenty-five,  in  G.  A.  R.  hall. 
The  meetings  of  flint  Hive  are  now  held  in  the  Knights  of  Pythias  hall,  the 
second  and  fourth  Tuesdays  of  the  month,  and  the  membership  is  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-five.  The  officers  are :  Commander,  Lola  Hawley ;  past 
commander,  Emma  E.  Bortie;  Ueutenant  commander,  Alice  Green;  chaplain, 
Anna  Pratt;  finance  keeper,  Gertrude  Fellows;  record  keeper,  Rose  J,  Rose. 

Venus  Hive  No.  72,  Ladies  of  the  Modern  Maccabees,  was  organized 
in  G.  A.  R.  hall,  April  30,  1891.  It  has  a  membership  of  fo,ur  hundred  and 
in  1915  was  presented  with  the  banner  for  being  the  largest  hive  in  the  state. 
The  meetings- are  held  on  the  first  and  third  Tuesdays  of  each  month  and  the 
present  officers  are,  commander,  Mrs,  Fanny  Wilkins ;  lieutenant  commander, 
Mrs.  Amy  Wilkins;  record  keeper,  Mrs.  Julia  Ottaway;  finance  keeper,  Mrs. 
Blanche  Groover;  chaplain,  Mrs.  Mate  Eggelston. 

Yeomans  Hive  No.  905,  Ladies  of  the  Modern  Maccabees,  is  the  young- 
est of  the  trio,  being  organized  on  February  18,  1904.  In  IQ16  it  had  a 
membership  of  ninety-five  and  meetings  are  held  in  the  K.  of  P.  hall  the 
second  and  fourth  Thursdays  in  the  month.  The  officers  are,  commander, 
Mrs.  Clara  Washer;  record  keeper,  Mrs.  Mary  Lockhead;  finance  keeper, 
Minnie  Woodin,  and  chaplain,  Edith  Sargeant. 

KNIGHTS  OF  THE  MACCABEES  OF  THE   WORLD. 

Another  beneficiary  order  which  has  been  somewhat  closely  connected 
with  Flint  by  reason  of  the  residence  here  of  one  of  its  grand  officers,  is  the 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees  of  the  World,  which  was  organized  originaiiy  in 
Canada  and  was  incorporated  in  Michigan  in  the  year  1884.  D.  D.  Aitken 
has  been,  almost  since  its  incorporation,  the  general  counsel  of  the  order. 
It  is  represented  in  FUnt  by  Vehicle  City  Tent  No.  11,  which  was  organized, 
November  12,  1902,  with  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-two.  Its 
original  meethig  place  was  in  the  old  Odd  Fellows  hall,  in  the  Judd  block. 
Vehicle  City  Tent  No.- 11  has  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  twelve  and 
its  meetings  are  held  the  first  Monday  in  every  month,  in  G.  A.  R.  hall.  The 
officers  are,  past  commander.  Dr.  L.  H.  Hallock;  commander,  Howard  C. 
Mathis;  lieutenant  commander,  C.  F.  Gilbert;  recorder  and  finance  keeper, 
James  Wood, 


dbyGoot^lc 


672  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  Knights  of  the  Modern  Maccabees  and  the  Maccabees  of  the  World 
have  since  consolidated  and  are  now  known  as  the  Maccabees,  Venus  Tent 
No.  464,  formerly  No.  275,  has  a  membership  of  five  hundred,  and  meets 
every  second  and  fourth  Monday  of  the  month,  in  the  McDerniott  building. 
The  officers  are,  commander,  Bernie  Parkhurst ;  record  keeper,  A.  J.  Suff , 
and  finance  keeper,  John  W.  Newall. 

DEGREE  OF   HONOR. 

The  Degree  of  Honor  meets  every  Tuesday  in  the  K.  P.  hail  and  has  a 
membership  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight.  The  officers  are,  chief  of 
honor,  Elizabeth  Harriman;  recorder,  Mrs.  William  Springer,  and  treasurer, 
Emma  Spencer. 

GR.'\Nn  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Governor  Craix)  Post  No.  145,  Department  of  Michigan,  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  with  its  one  hundred  and  forty-two  members,  who  partici- 
pated in  the  celebration  of  our  Golden  Jubilee,  is  one  of  the  strongest  organ- 
izations, one  of  the  most  honored  and  most  highly  esteemed  by  the  citizens 
of  our  city.  The  objects  of  the  order  are,  charity,  loyalty,  and  to  preserve 
and  strengthen  those  kind  and  fraternal  feelings  which  bind  together  the 
soldier,  sailor  and  marines  who  united  to  suppress  the  rebellion  of  '6t  to  '65, 
and  to  perpetuate  the  memory  and  history  of  the  dead. 

This  post  was  organized  and  the  officers  duly  installed,  July  7,  1883,  in 
the  hai!  in  the  Judd  block,  the  following  named  charter  members  being  elected 
to  the  offices,  to-wit;  Richard  H.  Hughes,  commander;  John  Algoe,  senior 
vice-commander ;  Frank  E.  Willett,  junior  vice-commander ;  Charles  A. 
Muma,  adjutant;  William  Charles,  quartermaster.  The  following  named 
comrades  were  also  charter  members  of  the  post:  James  K.  Biddleman, 
George  McConnelly,  George  Raab,  WilUam  Tiirver,  Ira  M.  Camp,  Gabriel 
Demorest,  George  W.  Buckingham,  George  W.  Fish,  Frank  W.  Dennison, 
Henry  N.  Gay.  WiUiam  R.  Marsh,  James  Hempstead,  Mathew  Smythe, 
Marvin  C.  Barney,  Isaac  Rynex,  Abram  Rickey. 

A  large  number  of  the  comrades  who  have  been  members  of  the  post 
have  occupied  positions  in  our  municipal,  county  alid  state  government. 
Among  them  are,  Comrade  Charles  D.  Long,  who  was  mustered  February 
2j,  1884,  elected  department  commander  for  the  year  1885 ;  Comrade  M.  C. 
Barney,  elected  senior  vice-commander  of  the  department  for  the  year  1901. 
Comrade  O.   R,   Eockhead  received  the  appointment  of  assistant  adjutant- 


yGoo-^lc 


GKNESEE   COUNTV,    MICHIGAN.  673 

general,  and  held  that  position  in  18S5  and  1886.  Comrade  George  W. 
Buckingham  occupied  die  chairmanship  of  the  board  of  control  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  Many  of  the  comrades  have  risen  to  positions  of  honorable 
mention,  all  have  honorably  earned  the  respect  of  their  fellow  citizens  and 
some  of  them  are  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  laixirs  with  great  pleasure  in 
the  evening  of  life. 

Nearly  ail  of  the  comrades,  living  or  bivouacked  with  the  dead,  rushed 
into  the  vortex  of  war  in  their  teens,  emerged  therefrom  to  engage  in  the 
struggle  of  our  rapid  national  progress  and,  with  but  few  exceptions,  have 
conscientiously  devoted  themselves  to  the  upbuilding  of  patriotic  citizenship. 

History  can  never  do  full  justice  to  those  who  gave  their  life-blood  as 
a  sacrifice  to  the  perpetuation  of  freedom  and  the  principles  of  self-govern- 
ment, nor  can  the  people  of  our  country  too  highly  esteem  those  surviving 
comrades  who  are  rapidly  passing  away. 

The  past  commanders  of  Governor  Crapo  Post  are  as  follows :  Richard 
H.  Hughes,  Oscar  F.  Lockhead,  Frank  E.  Willett,  Charles  Bassett,  John 
Algoe,  Andrew  J.  Ward,  George  W.  Buckingham,  George  E.  Newall,  Wel- 
come L.  Farnum,  Marvin  C.  Barney,  Edward  C.  Marsh,  George  Raab, 
Charles  W.  Austin,  James  H.  FaiUng,  Orange  Thomas,  J.  R.  Benjamin, 
Wallace  Caldwell,  William  M.  Wheeler,  George  W.  Hilton,  Paul  Country- 
man, James  VanTassel,  John  W.  Begg,  William  Stone,  Joseph  Rush,  Charles 
L.  Bentley,  T.  A.  Willett. 

NATIONAL  LEAGUE  OF  VETERANS  AND   SONS. 

McKinley  Camp  No.  8,  National  League  of  Veterans  and  Sons,  a 
patriotic  and  beneficiary  order,  was  organized,  December  18,  1901,  at  G.  A. 
R.  hall,  which  has  continued  to  be  its  meeting  place.  Among  its  objects  are 
the  inculcating  a  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States  and  the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  honorably  discharged  soldiers, 
sailors  and  marines. 

McKinley  Camp  No.  8  has  a  membership  of  one  thousand.  The  meet- 
ings are  held  on  the  first  and  third  Fridays  of  each  month  and  the  present 
officers  are,  colonel,  W.  H.  Lingle;  lieutenant-colonel,  E.  L.  Mills;  major, 
Clark  M.  Johnson;  chaplain,  E.  C.  Marsh;  quartermaster,  P.  H.  Andrews; 
adjutant,  E.  A.  Jennings.     The  camp  holds  its  meetings  in  G.  A.  R.  hall. 

The  Ladies'  National  League,  Camp  McKinley  No.  4  meets  every  sec- 
ond and  fourth  Friday  afternoon  in  G.  A.  R.  hall  and  the  membership  is 
(43^ 


dbyGoot^lc 


674  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

one  hundred  and  sixty.  The  officers  are,  president,  Mrs.  Mae  H.  Martin; 
first  vice-president,  Mrs.  Matie  Bartlett;  secretary,  Mrs.  Winifred  Sluyter; 
treasurer,  Mrs.  Wiona  Jennings. 

woman's  relief  corps. 

Prominent  among  the  many  benevolent  organizations  in  Flint  stands 
Governor  Crapo  Woman's  Relief  Corps  No.  23.  It  was  organized,  October 
15,  1884,  by  sixteen  enthusiastic  women,  "to  assist  in  caring  for  the  Union 
veteran  and  his  family;  to  inculcate  lessons  of  patriotism  in  the  ciimmnnity, 
and  to  assist  in  the  observance  of  Memorial  Day."'  The  three  principal  char- 
ter officers  were  Mrs.  Mary  A.  McConnelly,  president;  Mrs.  Harriet  P. 
Thompson,  senior  vice-president;  Mrs.  Ann  Willett,  junior  vice-president. 
How  well  these  purposes  have  been  carried  out  is  a  matter  of  public  knowl- 
edge. Since  its  organization  it  has  expended  in  Flint  for  Union  veterans 
and  their  families  over  two  thousand  dollars.  There  have  also  been  sub- 
stantial contributions  made  to  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  Grand  Rapids,  the 
National  W.  R.  C.  Home,  the  hall  of  fame  in  the  court  house  of  Genesee 
county,  and  to  other  worthy  objects.  The  original  meeting  place  was  in  the 
old  I.  O.  O.  F.  hall  in  the  Judd  block,  but  it  was  afterwar{!  change<l  to 
G.  A.  R.  hall.  The  corps  now  num!)er  one  hundred  and  seven  members.  The 
meetings  are  held  on  the  first  and  third  Wednesdays  of  the  montli.  The 
officers  are,  president.  Etta  Van  Tassel;  senior  vice-president.  Susan  Marsh; 
junior  vice-president.  Rose  Rich;  secretary,  Ella  Earl;  treasurer,  Alice  Gil)- 
_son:  condiictres,s,  Mary  Eggelstone,  and  chaplain,  Elvira  Hilton. 

DAUGHTERS,  OF    THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

Genesee  Chapter  No.  352,  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  was 
organized  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Harriet  P,  Thompson,  December  27,  1897, 
with  a  membership  of  eighteen.  This  order,  which  claims  to  be  the  largest 
national  organization  of  women,  has  for  its  object  the  promotion  of  patriot- 
ism and  to  arouse  an  interest  in  and  preserve  hi.storic  landmarks.  The 
local  chapter  has  had  small  opportunity  for  work  on  the  latter  part  of  its 
objects,  but  has  contributed  to  local  philanthropic  work  and  assisted  in  the 
erection,  in  Washington.  D.  C,  of  Memorial  Continental  Hall,  in  honor  of 
Revolutionary  heroes.  The  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  has  a 
membership  of  thirty-five  and  the  meetings  are  held  at  the  homes,  the  second 
Thursday  in  the  month.     The  officers  are:     Regent.  Mrs,  George  Pomeroy; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GliNIiSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  O75 

first  vice-regent,  Mrs.  D.  D.  Aitken;  second  vice-regent,  Mrs.  Harry  Demor- 
est;  treasurer,  Mrs.  H.  H.  Stewart;  secretary,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Keeney;  historian, 
Mrs.  E.  D.  Black:  registrar,  ]\riss  Ehvood. 

BENEVOLENT   AND    PROTECTIVE    ORDER   OF   ELKS. 

Flint  Lodge  No.  222,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  was 
organized  under  a  dispensation  from  the  grand  lodge,  December  4,  1891,  a 
charter  being  granted  on  the  15th  day  of  Jnne  following.  At  its  first  meet- 
ing, which  was  held  in  the  lodge  rooms  in  the  Ward  building,  a  class  of  forty- 
eight  was  initiated.  These  rooms  were  ocaipied  until  the  order  removed  to 
quarters  in  the  Jndd  block.  At  the  completion  of  the  Dryden  building  on 
South  Saginaw  street,  the  entire  sixth  floor  was  leased  for  a  term  of  years, 
wherein  the  knlge  and  club  rooms  were  located  nnti!  the  present  Elks  temple 
was  erected. 

In  December,  1914,  the  temple  was  formally  opened  with  a  reception  to 
the  public,  the  building  occupying  the  site  at  the  corner  of  Beach  and  Second 
streets,  formerly  known  as  the  Dr.  Lamond  homestead.  The  value  of  the 
property,  including  the  land,  building  and  furnishings,  is  alK)ut  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  Architecturally,  the  building  is  considered 
one  of  the  finest  temples  in  the  country,  and  the  membership  list  includes 
most  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  the  community.  Socially  and  financially, 
the  order  in  Flint  is  in  a  most  flourishing  condition,  the  building,  in  its  up- 
to-date  appointments,  offering  to  the  members  all  of  the  advantages  of  a 
mo<lern  city  club.  The  membership  at  present  is  lietween  nine  hundred  and 
one  thousand. 

The  officers  for  1916  are:  Exalted  ruler,  W.  W.  Mountain;  esteemed 
leading  knight,  Paul  D.  Phillips :  esteemed  loyal  knight,  K.  A.  Ward,  esteemed 
lecturing  knight,  Howard  W.  Mason;  secretary,  A.  J.  Buckham;  treasurer, 
L.  H.  Bridgman;  tyler,  Clyde  F.  Leach;  esquire,  W.  T.  Glidden;  inner  guard, 
George  Boysen.  The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  exalted  rulers  who  have 
served  Flint  Lodge  from  its  organization,  1891,  to  1916:  Harry  W.  Watson, 
John  M.  Russell,  John  J.  Carton,  Frank  R,  Streat,  Harry  F.  Dowker,  Will- 
iam Wildanger.  Clark  C.  Hyatt,  C.  J.  Haas,  D.  D.  Aitken,  Marion  T.  Hyatt, 
James-  S.  Parker,  Charles  A.  Durand,  George  F.  Caldwell,  James  Martin, 
William  K.  Franklin,  Homer  M.  Eaton,  W,  W.  Mountain. 


dbyGoot^lc 


.676  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

KNIGHTS    OF    THE    LOYAL    GUARD. 

The  Knights  of  the  Loyal  Guard,  a  fraternal  beneficiary  society,  was 
organized  in  Flint,  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  Michigan,  on  January  31, 
1895,  ^fs  original  incorporators  were:  Francis  H.  Rankin,  William  C  Dur- 
ant,  Edwin  O,  Wood.  B.  F.  Cotharin,  Mark  W.  Stevens,  Dr.  O.  Millard, 
J.  P.  Burroughs,  T.  Fred  Anderson  and  Frank  D.  Buckingham. 

Subordinate  Division  No.  i  was  organized  on  the  evening  of  February 
21,  1895,  in  the  hall  in  the  Judd  block,  on  which  occasion  over  five  hundred 
members  were  obligated.  Ex-Mayor  John  R.  MacDonald  was  the  first 
captain-general  of  Division  No.  i. 

Judge  Durand  Division  No.  15  meets  the  first  Saturday  of  each  month 
in  Loyal  Guard  Hall.     Edward  Glynn  is  recorder. 

The  executive  officers  of  the  Loyal  Guard  for  1916  were,  president,  H. 
H.  Prosser;  secretary  and  treasurer,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Warren. 

In  August,  1916,  the  Loyal  Guard  consolidated  with  the  Columbian 
Circle,  of  Chicago.  During  the  twenty-one  years  of  the  Loyal  Guard,  pre- 
ceding the  merger,  it  paid  out  more  than  one  million  dollars  to  the  benefici- 
aries of  its  deceased  members. 

-    KNIGHTS   AND   LADIES    OF   SECURITY. 

Genesee  Council  No.  393,  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security,  was  organ- 
ized in  Flint,  February  17,  1896,  in  G.  A.  R.  hall,  which  is  still  its  meeting 
place.  Its  original  membership  of  eighty-four  has  now  grown  to  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty.  The  meetings  are  held  the  first  and  third  Tuesdays  of  the 
month.  The  present  officers  are,  president,  Frank  Willour;  first  vice-presi- 
dent, J.  Weckerly;  second  vice-president,  H.  Haskins;  prelate,  Mrs.  Ras- 
kins ;  financier,  Mrs.   Pike ;  secretary,  Mrs.   Nellie  Robertson. 

KNIGHTS   OF   PYTHIAS. 

Ivanhoe  Lodge  No.  27,  Knights  of  Pythias,  was  organized,  September 
10,  1875,  in  the  hall  over  the  I^"irst  National  Bank,  with  twenty-seven  mem- 
bers. The  later  Henry  R.  Lovell  was  especially  honored  by  his  election  as 
grand  chancellor  of  Michigan,  and  he  also  served  as  representative  to  the 
supreme  lodge.  Knights  of  Pythias.  For  thirty  years  this  lodge  has  faith- 
fully performed  its  work  and,  while  there  have  been  periods  of  trial  and 
depression,  it  has  ever  loyally  upheld  the  chivalric  principles  of  the  Pythian 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  677 

mystic  trio,  friendship,  charity  and  benevolence.  From  their  first  quarters 
the  lodge  removed  to  Pythian  castle,  in  the  Awanaga  block,  and  a  number  of 
years  later  to  the  hall  in  the  Judd  block. 

What  is  now  known  as  Ivanhoe  Company  No.  21,  Uniform  Rank, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  was  organized,  I'^ebruary  22,  1886,  in  Pythias  hall,  over 
the  First  National  Bank,  with  seven  charter  members,  of  whom  Albert  Myers 
was  captain;  Stephen  P.  Wing,  first  lieutenant;  William  Galbraith,  second 
lieutenant;  the  only  surviving  member  being  D.  D.  Aitken.  For  a  number 
of  years  the  new  organization  throve  finely  and  won  commendation  wherever 
it  appeared  in  public,  then  interest  languished  and  for  upwards  of  fourteen 
years  but  little  was  done.  In  1904-5,  however,  an  infusion  of  new  blood 
rejuvenated  the  order  and  placed  it  again  in  trim  for  effective  work.  Its  first 
public  appearance  was  in  the  ranks  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  parades,  with  about 
forty  knights  in  line. 

The  Knights  of  Pythias  now  has  a  membership  of  three  hundred  and 
the  officers  are,  chancellor  commander,  P.  I-.  Stacy;  vice-chancellor,  F.  H. 
Hill;  prelate,  Arthur  Corrigan;  master  of  finance,  George  H.  Eastman; 
master  of  exchequer,  C.  E.  Redmond.  The  meetings  are  held  every  Mon- 
day evening  in  the  Ward  building. 

TRIBE  OF  BEN-nUR. 

Ben-Hur  Court  No.  i,  Tribe  of  Ben-Hur,  was  organized  in  July,  1896, 
with  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-six.  In  1916  it  had  a  member- 
ship of  one  hundred  and  forty-five,  with  the  following  officers:  Chief  of 
court,  Frank  DuUam ;  scribe,  Mrs.  Mary  Lockhead ;  keeper  of  tribute,  Helen 
Lane.    The  meetings  are  held  the  first  Monday  in  the  month. 

INDEPENDENT   ORDER   OF   FORESTERS. 

Court  Kearsley  No.  3108,  Independent  Order  of  Foresters, 
was  organized  by  thirty-eight  charter  members  in  1896,  in  the  lodge  rooms 
over  the  First   National   Bank. 

Court  Flint  No.  239,  Independent  Order  of  Foresters,  now  has  a  mem- 
bership roll  of  four  hundred  and 'thirty-five  and  the  meetings  are  held  the 
second  and  fourth  Wednesflays  of  the  month.  The  officers  comprise, 
chief  ranger,  J.  Roether;  financial  secretary,  Frank  Burton;  recorder,  Albert 
Rackstraw;  treasurer,  Guy  Shank. 

Companion  Court  Albino  Alfred  began  business  in  Odd  Fellows  hall, 


dbyGoot^lc 


678  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

September  17,  1898.  with  thirty  meml:)er5.  Companion  Court  Albino  Alfred 
meets  the  first  and  third  Tuesdays  of  each  month  in  K.  of  P.  hall,  and  the 
principal  officers  are,  chief  ranger,  Mrs.  Leona  Brace;  vice-chief,  Mary 
Smith;  orator,  Eiia  Tanner;  past  chief  ranger,  Christina  Burton;  financial 
secretary,  Louie  Haskins;  recording  secretary,  Jva  Sanders,  and  treasurer, 
Anna  Patterson. 

MOOERN    BK0TirKKH001>    OF    AMERICA, 

Flint  Lodge  No.  1286,  Modem  Brotherhood  of  America,  a  beneficiary 
order,  which  originated  in  Tipton,  Iowa,  in  the  year  1897,  ^"^^  organized 
March  22,  1894,  in  Foresters  hall,  with  thirty-four  charter  members.  Its 
present  meeting  place  is  Knights  of  Columbus  hall  and  its  membenship  is 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty.  The  meetings  are  held  the  second  and  fourth 
Tuesdays  of  the  month.  The  officers  are.  president,  William  Loss;  Earl 
Manning,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Martha  Young,  secretary,  and  Marion  Young, 
treasurer. 

HOME    MUTUAL    BENEFIT    ASSOCIATION. 

The  Michigan  Funeral  Benefit  Association  was  organized  at  the  office 
of  A.  W.  Dodds,  June  ro,  1899,  by  A.  W.  Dodds,  Rev.  H.  E.  Wolfe,  I.  N. 
Walker,  A.  D.  Alvord,  E.  P.  Bailey,  George  Archer  and  J.  N.  Willett,  all 
residents  of  Flint,  luider  the  title  of  the  United  Mutual  Death  Bene- 
fit Society.  It  was  organized  under  a  plan  devised  by  one  of  its  originators 
for  the  payment  of  a  sum  graduated  according  to  age,  ui>on  the  death  of  its 
members.  It  was  succe.ssful  from  the  start  and  in  a  few  years  numbered 
four  thousand  members.  A  more  elastic  organization  was  then  found  to  be 
necessary  and  the  society  was  incorporated  on  February  3,  1904.  The  order 
is  purely  beneficiary  in  character,  having  no  lodge  or  fraternal  features,  and 
is  now  doing  business  in  a  number  of  other  states.  The  name  has  since 
been  changed  to  The  Home  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  and  has  a  present 
membership  of  three  thousand  five  hundred.  The  meetings  are  held  once 
a  month.  The  officers  are  Milton  Pollock,  president;  James  5.  Parker, 
vice-president;  R.  J.  Gillespie,  secretary.  The  directors  are  Milton  Pollock, 
R.  J.  Gillespie,  James  S.  Parker  and  W.  E.  Martin, 

ladies'    catholic    BENEVOLENT    ASSOCIATION, 

Branch  624,  Ladies'  Catholic  Benevolent  Association,  was  organized  in 
C.  M,  B,  A,  hall,  October  31,   1900,  with  thirty-five  members.     The  Ladies' 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  679 

Catholic  Benevolent  Association  is  now  comix>sed  of  two  branclies,  St. 
Michael's  Branch  No.  624,  with  a  meml>ership  of  fifty-seven,  which  meets 
the  first  and  third  Wednesdays  of  the  month  in  K.  of  C^'hall,  and  St. 
Mathew's  Branch,  which  has  a  membership  of  seventy-four  and  meets  the 
,  first  aiKl  third  Tuesdays  of  the  month  in  St.  Mathew's  social  hall.  The 
officers  of  St.  Michael's  branch  are,  president,  Mrs.  Katharine  Dunn;  first 
vice-president,  Mrs.  Ellen  Campbell;  secretary,  Mrs.  Sam  Wey,  and  treasurer, 
Miss  Minnie  Wisler.  The  officers  of  St.  Mathew's  branch  are,  president, 
Mrs.  Frances  Lyon;  first  vice-president,  Mrs.  John  C.  Hughes;  second  vice- 
president,  Mrs.  John  LaMear;  financial  secretary,  Miss  Adelaide  Horrigan; 
recorder,  Mrs.   P,  H.  Callahan ;  treasurer,  Miss  Catherine  Stafford. 

KNIGHTS    OF    COLUMliUS. 

Flint  Council  No.  695,  Knights  of  Columbus,  a  Cathohc  order,  founded 
upon  unity  and  charity,  began  its  corporate  existence  in  Flint  on  September 
14,  igo2.  The  first  meetings  were  held  in  Loyal  Guard  hall,  and  later  meet- 
ings were  held  in  Father  Murphy's  hall.  In  October,  191 1,  the  order  leased 
for  a  term  of  years  the  entire  second  floor  of  a  fine  building  on  Detroit 
street,  which  is  completely  equipped  for  lodge  and  club  purposes,  including  the 
lodge  hall,  reading  and  billiard  rooms,  library  and  dining  rooms.  In  the 
lourteen  years  of  its  existence  the  local  order  has  increased  from  ninety-two, 
its  original  membership,  to  its  present  roll  of  over  six  hundred.  The  meet- 
ings are  held  the  first  and  third  Thursdays  of  each  montli.  The  officers  are, 
Edward  Glynn,  grand  knight ;  Thomas  Stockton,  deputy  grand  knight; 
Charles  Miller,  financial  secretary:  Fred  Hazel,  chancellor:  John  Eurley, 
treasurer. 

FR.^TERN.M,  ORDER    OF    E.XGLES. 

Flint  Aerie  No.  620,  b'ratemal  Order  of  Eagles,  was  established  on 
February  16,  1904.  The  meetings,  which  are  held  on  the  first  and  third 
Wednesdays  of  the  month,  are  now  being  held  in  the  Awanaga  block,  pend- 
ing the  erection  of  a  permanent  home  by  the  order.  In  August,  1915,  the 
property  on  North  Saginaw  street  owned  by  John  W.  Newall  was  pur- 
chased and  within  the  next  year  will-be  occupied  by  a  building  to  be  devoted 
to  the  use  of  the  order,  which  now  has  a  meml>ership  of  six  hundred  and 
ninety.  The  officers  for  1916  are:  President,  George  E.  McKinley;  secre- 
tary, T.  J.  Broderick;  treasurer,  George  L.  Lukes. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


MODERN   WOODMEN   OF  AMERICA. 


Flint  Camp  No,  4948,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  a  beneficiary 
order,  was  organized  August  20,  1897,  with  fifteen  charter  members,  in 
Friendship  hall.  The  meetings  are  now  held  on  the  first  and  third  Fridays 
of  each  month,  in  the  hall  at  No.  409  South  Saginaw  street.  The  present 
membership  is  three,  hundred  and  sixty ;  Nathum  W.  Long,  clerk.  Vehicle 
City  Camp  No.  7885  meets  the  second  and  fourth  Mondays  of  each  month 
in  the  hall  in  the  McDermott  block.  The  membership  of  this  camp  is  over 
two  hundred.     Kryn  Schippers  is  clerk. 

ANCIENT  ORDER  OF   HIBERNIANS, 

Division  No.  i,  Ladies  Auxiliarj',  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  was 
organized  in  1895,  with  thirty-five  charter  members.  It  met  at  first  in  the 
St.  Michael's  school  building,  later  in  the  annex  of  Loyai  Guard  building  No. 
I,  and  now  holds  its  meetings  in  Knights  of  Columbus  hall.  The 
present  memljership  is  fifty.  The  county  president  is  Miss  Mary  Barkey 
and  the  local  president  is  Miss  Maynie  Folen. 

Division  No.  i  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  holds  its  meetings 
in  K.  of  C.  hall.     E.  A.  Murphy  is  the  county  president  for  1916. 

THE    BROTHERHOOD    OF    AMERICAN    YEOMEN, 

Homestead  No,  1536,  Brothethood  of  American  Yeomen,  was  estab- 
lished in  Flint  in  1910.  The  meetings  are  held  the  first  and  third  Tuesdays 
of  each  month  in  Woodmen  hall.  The  order  has  a  membership  at  present 
of  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five.  The  officers  are  John  Miller,  past 
foreman;  August  Strasburg,  foreman;  R.  C-  Smith,  master  of  ceremony; 
J.  E.  Heath,  corresponding  secretary;  G.  Humphrey,  master  of  accounts. 

ROYAL    NEIGHBORS    OF    AMERICA, 

Flint  River  Camp  No.  1122,  Royal  Neighbors  of  America,  was  organ- 
ized on  December  14,  1900.  The  meetings  are  held  the  first  and 
third  Wednesdays  of  the  month  in  U,  C.  T.  hall.  The  present  membership 
is  two  hundred.  The  officers  for  1916  are:  Mrs.  Hannah  Anderson,  oracle; 
Mrs.  Flora  Moriarty,  vice-oracle ;  Marie  Haight,  recorder ;  Mrs.  Fern  Park, 
receiver. 

Josephine  Camp  No.  7425  was  organized  on  November  7,   1912.     The 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  68l 

meetings  are  held  the  first  and  third  Thursdays  of  each  month  in  G.  A.  R. 
hail.  The  present  membership  is  one  hundred  and  seventy-six.  The  offi- 
cers for  1916  are:  Mrs.  Flora  E.  Powelson,  oracle;  Mrs.  Minnie  Richeson, 
vice-oracle;  Mrs.  May  B.  Sartwell,  recorder. 

Vehicle  City  Camp  No.  6167  was  organized  on  November  I,  igo8.  The 
meetings  are  held  the  second  and  fourth  Thursdays  of  each  month  in  Wood- 
men hall.  The  present  membership  is  one  hundred  and  twenty.  The 
officers  for  1916  are:  Mrs.  Eastman,  oracle;  Mrs.  Carrie  Newby,  vice- 
oracle;  Minnie  Brown,  recorder;  Louise  Spring,  receiver. 

Myron  B.  Enright  Camp  No.  7554  was  organized  on  January  21, 
1914.  The  meetings  are  held  the  first  and  third  Wednesday  afternoons  in 
U.  C.  T.  hall.  The  present  membership  is  seventy-five.  The  officers  for 
1916  are:  Louise  Haskins,  oracle;  Daisy  Fraidenburg,  vice-oracle;  recorder, 
Mabei  McDiarmid;  receiver,  Myrtle  Marble. 

NATIONAL    UNION. 

Flint  Council  No.  174,  of  the  National  Union,  a  fraternal  beneficiary 
society,  was  organized  in  Flint  in  the  early  seventies,  the  charter  members 
then  including  a  number  of  the  best  known  business  men  of  the  city.  The 
council  is  still  holding  meetings  on  the  second  and  fourth  Mondays  of 
the  month  in  the  Flint  P.  Smith  building.  The  present  officers  are,  James 
G.  Mallery,  Arthur  Bishop  and  John  W.  Newall. 

LOYAL   ORDER    OF    MOOSE. 

The  Loyal  Order  of  Moose,  No.  159,  a  fraternal  benefit  society,  includ- 
ing funeral  benefit  features,  was  chartered  on  December  30,  1909.  The 
order  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition  and  meetings  are  held  every  Tues- 
day night  in  Moose  temple  hall.  The  club  rooms  adjoining  include  a 
gymnasium  and  reading  rooms,  the  present  membership  numbering  seven 
hundred  and  fifty-five.  The  officers  for  1916  are:  Dictator,  William  M, 
Denmark;  vice-dictator,  Clyde  A.  Pierce;  secretary,  Fred  J.  Maginn; 
treasurer,  John  E.  Storer. 

THE  VEHICLE   CLUB. 

The  Vehicle  Club,  a  mutual  benefit  association,  with  commodious  club 
rooms,  located  at  the  corner  of  East  Kearsley  and  Harrison  streets,  has 
a  membership  of  seventeen  thousand,  fifteen  thousand  of  that  number  being 


dbyGoot^lc 


682  GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

enrolietl  in  the  insurance  department.  The  club  is  the  outgrowth  of  the 
Fellowcraft  Club  of  FHnt,  and  was  organized  seventeen  years  ago,  with 
one  hundred  and  fifty  members.  The  first  meeting  in  regard  to  organiza- 
tion was  in  the  form  of  a  mass  meeting  and  was  held  in  the  building  adjacent 
to  the  Majestic  theater,  J.  Dallas  Dort  being  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic 
promoters  of  the  association.  The  meeting  at  which  the  organization  was 
perfected  was  held  in  the  Inghs  block,  which  was  the  headquarters  of  the 
club  until  six  years  ago,  when  they  entered  the  present  building.  The  Manu- 
facturers Association  of  FHnt  equipped  the  club  roams  when  they  were  first 
organized  and  also  equipped  the  new  building.  The  running  expenses  are 
paid  by  the  members. 

The  club  rooms  are  arranged  with  bowling  alleys,  cafe,  reading  rooms, 
and  a  gymnasium  for  athletic  events  of  all  kinds.  The  Vehicle  Club  has 
been  a  prominent  factor  in  the  industrial  Hfe  of  Flint.  Its  presiding  offi- 
cers in  igi6  are:  President,  O.  G.  Snyder;  treasurer,  Fred  Proper;  secre- 
tary, F.  W.  Boswell. 

YOUNG  men's  christian  associ.^tion. 

In  the  office  of  the  mayor  of  Flint,  on  May  9,  1913,  there  was  held 
a  meeting  of  a  few  men  to  consider  the  advisability  of  raising  a  fund  in 
Flint  for  the  erection  and  equipping  of  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
building.  This  meeting  was  called  at  the  suggestion  of  L.  IL.  Buell,  state 
secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  Michigan.  Present 
besides  Mr.  Buell  were  D.  D.  .A.itken,  C.  S.  Mott,  C.  M.  Greenway,  P.  H. 
Bridgnian,  C.  H.  Bonbright  and  J.  A."  Van  Dis,  the  latter  being  at  that  time 
boys'  work  secretary  of  the  associations  of  Michigan.  A  further  suggestion 
by  Mr.  Bueli  was  that  the  men  mentioned  herewith  should  act  as  an  execu- 
tive committee  to  take  up  preliminary  work  of  organizing  a  campaign  and 
to  present  to  the  people  of  Flint  for  their  approval  the  matter  of  raising  a 
fund  for  the  purpose  already  stated.  C.  S.  Mott  was  elected  chairman,  C.  H. 
Bonbright,  secretary,  and  D.  D.  Aitken,  treasurer  of  the  committee. 

The  committee  spent  much  time  in  preliminary  study  and  it  was  decided 
to  formulate  an  organization  for  the  campaign  and  to  arrange  for  a  banquet 
to  be  attended  by  men  of  the  city  and  to  present  the  proposition  of  inaugu- 
rating a  campaign  of  the  business  men'S  committee,  Floyd  A.  Allen,  chair- 
man of  the  factory  men's  committee,  F.  A,  Aldrich,  D.  T,  Stone  and  F,  G. 
of  the  factory  men's  committee,  F.  A.  Aldrich,  D.  T.  Stone  and  F.  G.  Evatt, 
Evatt,  members  of  committee  on  banquet.     A.  E.  Raab,  J.  H.  Bamberg  and 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  683 

Nelson  Webster  were  appointed  a  committee  to  have  charge  of  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  subject  in  the  churches,  and  John  L.  Fierce  was  made  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  headtjuarters. 

The  banquet  was  held  in  the  Masonic  temple  on  June  17,  1913.  and  was 
attended  by  about  three  hundred  business  men  who  agreed  to  adopt  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  executive  committee  that  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  be 
raised.  These  men,  for  the  most  part,  were  divided  into  teams  under  the 
general  committee  already  mentioned  and  in  the  seven-day  campaign  about 
one  hundred  and  eleven  thousand  dollars  was  subscribed. 

On  July  19,  1913,  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  was  held  and, 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  state  organization  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  a  resolution  was  adopted  that  application  shoidd  be  made  to 
the  secretary  of  state  for  an  organization  to  be  known  as  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  I-'lint,  and  that  the  executive  committee  act  as  direc- 
tors for  the  first  year.  It  was  also  adopted  that  the  purpose  of  the  new 
association  would  be  to  develop  character  and  usefulness  of  its  meml>ers  and 
to  improve  spiritual,  moral,  mental  and  physical  conditions  of  young  men. 

After  the  funds  had  been  raised  for  the  building,  plans  were  secured 
for  the  structure  and  a  site  at  Nos.  218-30  East  Kearsley  street  was  selected 
for  the  building.  On  the  recommendation  of  the  state  committee,  Shattuck 
&  Hussey,  of  Chicago,  w^ere  employed  as  architects  for  the  building. 

When  the  campaign  was  inaugurated  the  plan  was  to  erect  a  building 
three  stories  in  height,  but  the  committee,  after  very  careful  consideration, 
foreseeing  the  great  growth  of  the  city  and  the  demand  for  homes  for  young 
men,  decided  to  build  an  additional  story  and  thus  provide  thirty-five  more 
rooms  than  originally  planned.  This  was  done  at  an  additional  expense  of 
fourteen  thousand  dollars,  but  it  has  proved  an  excellent  investment  which 
aids  substantially  in  paying  the  operating  cost  of  the  association.  The 
building,  as  already  mentioned,  has  four  stories  in  addition  to  a  very  fine 
basement  and  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  structures  of  the  city.  It  has  all 
of  the  appointments  of  a  modern  association  building. 

On  account  of  the  usual  shrinkage  in  the  pletlges  and  the  expense  of 
the  additional  story  of  the  building,  a  second  campaign  was  held  in  June, 
1915,  when  a  fund  of  more  than  ten  thousand  dollars  was  subscribed.  The 
entire  indebtedness  on  all  the  property,  valued  at  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  is  now  about  seven  thousand  dollars. 

The  building  was  opened  on  December  i6,  1914,  with  a  series  of  recep- 
tions  covering  four  days  and  during  this  opening  week  about  eleven  thousand 
persons  visited  the  building. 


dbyGoot^lc 


6o4  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

It  is  of  interest  to  quote  from  the  report  of  Hon.  C.  S.  Mott,  presi- 
dent of  the  association,  given  at  a  meeting  of  the  membership  on  May  25, 
1916,  which  report  covered  the  period  of  time  from  the  opening  of  the  build- 
ing up  to  April  30,  1916,  a  period  of  one  year  and  four  and  one-half  months. 
O.  R.  Largent,  the  first  general  secretary  of  the  association,  presented  to  the 
finance  committee  and  the  board  of  directors,  prior  to  the  opening  of  the 
building  a  suggested  budget  for  operating  expenses  during  the  first  year  and 
one-half.  This  budget  was  adopted  and  shows  that  the  operating  cost  of 
the  association  was  kept  within  the  budget  allowance  and  that  all  expenses 
for  the  budget  period  had  been  promptly  paid;  also  that,  on  May  i,  1916,  the 
association  started  on  its  second  fiscal  year  with  no  open  accounts  and  with 
a  surplus  of  $1,098.54,  representing  a  cash  balance  of  $600.42  and  prepaid 
insurance  of  $498.12.  It  is  believed  that  in  this  first  year  of  the  work  of 
the  association  a  substantial  start  was  made  in  the  various  departments.  The 
regular  work  was  divided  up- into- different  departraents,  headed  by  com- 
mittees responsible  for  the  activities  of  their  respective  departments.  These 
committees  are  the  executive,  financial,  religious  work,  educational,  physi- 
cal, social,  boys,  house,  membership  and  industrial.  Mention  may  be  made 
very  briefly  of  the  work  of  these  committees  as  given  in  the  president's 
report. 

In  addition  to  conducting  a  nymber  of  excellent  meetings  for  men  and 
Bible  classes  for  both  boys  and  men,  the  religious  work  committee  has 
striven  at  all  times  to  promote  a  wholesome  atmosphere  about  the  building 
and  throughout  all-  the  activities  of  the  association,  the  underlying  purpose 
being  so  to  conduct  the  work  of  the  association  that  it  will  have  a  character- 
building  influence  in  the  lives  of  boys  and  men.  The  educational  committee 
for  the  first  year  purposely  did  not  plan  any  extensive  work  for  this  depart- 
ment  further  than  organizing  clubs  and  arranging  for  educational  talks. 

In  the  physical  department  there  were  held  fourteen  gymnasium  classes 
weekly,  with  a  total  attendance  of  12,976.  The  attendance  at  all  indoor 
privileges,  not  including  baths  and  individual  use  of  the  gymnasium  and  swim- 
ming pool,  was  20,970.  Thirty-six  men  and  one  hundred  and  one  boys  learned 
to  swim  in  the  swimming  pool  of  the  association  building.  In  addition  to 
athletic  contests  and  match  games,  the  physical  department  is  used  often  in 
extension  work,  which  includes  swimming  classes  for  younger  boys,  factory 
gymnasium  meets  on  Saturday  afternoons,  church  league  games,  high  school 
games,  and  Vehicle  Worker's  Club  basket-ball. 

Some  of  the  most  interesting  social  events  of  the  city,  especially  for 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  685 

young  people  of  Flint,  have  been  held  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  and  in 
some  of  these  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  has  co-operated. 

The  boys'  division  is  divided  into  three  groups,  known  as  younger  stu- 
dents, older  students  and  employed  boys.  Various  activities  along  lines 
especially  planned  for  boys  have  been  conducted  for  those  various  groups, 
with  leaders  composed  of  leading  men  of  the  city.  Space  does  not  permit 
going  into  detail  about  this  work  with  boys,  but  it  includes  competitions 
in  games,  swimming,  Bible  study,  etc. ;  High  School  Club,  Employed  Boys' 
Study  Club,  Newsboys'  Club  activities,  which  means  that  on  Saturday  for 
three  hours  newsboys  have  use  of  the  gymnasium  and  swimming  pool;  camp- 
ing and  older  boys'  state  and  county  conferences,  father  and  son  banquet, 
courses  in  boy-life,  nature  study,  vacation  trips  and  "hikes,"  and  social 
gatherings. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  work  under  the  direction  o-f  the 
house  committee  is  that  which  pertains  to  the  dormitory.  There  are  seventy 
rooms  with  accommodations  for  ninety  men.  The  plan  of  the  member- 
ship committee  is  to  establish  in  a  substantial  way  a  minimum  membership 
of  one  thousand  embers. 

The  work  of  the  association  is  in  charge  of  eighteen  directors  and  the 
title  to  the  property  is  vested  in  the  board  of  six  trustees.  The  present 
board  of  directors  are,  C.  S.  Mott,  president;  F.  A.  Aldrich,  vice-president; 
Grant  J.  Brown,  treasurer;  Gyles  E.  Merrill,  Dr.  William  R.- Davis,  Charles 
M.  Greenway,  Charles  H.  Bonbright,  E.  D.  Black,  N.  C.  Webster,  William 
Beacraft,  A.  N.  Cody,  Dr.  B.  E.  Burnell,  Dr.  C.  E.  Williams,  W.  C.  Jones, 
Floyd  A.  Allen,  Arthur  Raab.  L.  C.  Hamilton,  W.  T.  Walker.  The  board 
of  trustees  consists  of  J.  D.  Dort,  chairman;  D.  D.  Aitken,  treasurer;  C.  W. 
Nash,  J.  E.  Burroughs,  L.  H.  Bridgman,  F.  A.  Beard, 

THE    YOUNG    women's    CHRISTIAN    ASSOCIATION. 

The  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  of  Flint  was  incorporated 
in  February,  1908.  Its  organization  was  the  direct  result  of  many  prelimi- 
nary meetings  and  conferences  held  by  the  womea  of  the  city,  when  the 
needs  of  Flint  in  this  direction  were  discussed  and  the  conclusion  was  reached 
that  such  an  institution  was  imperatively  required  for  the  betterment  of 
the  community.  The  movement  had  its  inception  among  the  young  business 
women,  and  one  of  them.  Miss  Nina  Mills,  especially,  was  untiring  in  her 
efforts  to  attain  the  end  of  the  organization,  subsequently  achieved. 

Mrs.  Bruce  J.  Macdonald,  who  was  particularly  well  qualified  for  the 
work,  having  been  a  member  of  the  Oregon  state  committee  of  the  Young 


dbyGoot^lc 


686  GENESFE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Women's  C'hristian  Association,  was  made  chairman  and  with  the  assistance 
of  a  committee  of  workers,  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  securing  the  pledge 
of  one  thousand  members.  A  board  of  twenty-one  directors  was  chosen  by 
the  pledged  members  and  Mrs.  Macdonald  was  elected  the  first  president  of 
the  association,  Mrs.  Fritz  Miller,  at  that  time  Miss  Louise  Fenton,  was 
chosen  first  vice-president  and  made  the  head  of  the  religious  department; 
Mrs.  B.  F.  t'otharin  was  made  second  vice-president  and  placed  in  charge  of 
the  department  of  economics;  Mrs.  T.  M.  Eldridge  was  chosen  third  vice- 
president  and  headed  the  department  of  education  and  physical  culture,  and 
Mrs.  John  J.  (.'arton  was  elected  fourth  vice-president  and  managed  the 
social  work.  Mrs,  E.  A.  DeWaters  was  made  secretary  of  the  board  and 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Swan,  treasurer. 

The  foremost  need  was  an  association  home  and  dormitory  adequate 
to  rneet  the  nee^s  of  the  young  women  members  who  required  such  accom- 
modations. A  gymnasium  was  also  one  of  the  features  aimed  at  and  secured 
through  the  efforts  of  the  original  board.  The  association  obtained  a  lease 
on  the  ]3roperty  known  as  the  Oren  Stone  homestead,  at  the  comer  of  First 
and  Harrison  streets  and,  with  the  lease,  took  an  option  to  purchase.  This 
option  was  later  closed  and  the  property  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
association.  Dining  rooms  were  fitted  up  and  a  cafateria  established.  It 
has  been  successfully  conducted  and  its  receipts,  under  the  careful  manage- 
ment of  the  committees  in  charge,  have  paid  off  a  large  portion  of  the  debt 
that  had  incurred  when  the  property  was  purchased.  The  old  home  has 
been  remodeled  hy  transforming  it  into  a  gymnasium  and  offices.  D.  D. 
Aitken,  Fred  A.  Aldrich,  H.  H.  Fitzgerald,  Mrs.  George  C.  Wilison,  Mrs. 
F.  W.  Swan  and  Mrs.  J.  D.  Hotchkiss  were  the  trustees  chosen  to  hold  the 
legal  title  to  the  proi>erty, 

A  summer  camp,  called  the  Betty  Swan  camp,  was  later  established, 
and  the  young  women  of  the  association  were  provided  with  a  place  for 
summer  outings.  It  was  first  located  on  the  river  about  five  miles  north  of 
Flint,  but  it  was  afterward  removed  to  Long  lake.  Here  the  young  women 
are  offered  the  advantages  of  a  brief  vacation  at  a  nominal  cost  and  the  camp 
is  one  of  the  most  important  additions  to  the  activities  of  the  association. 

The  present  membership  list  is  about  one  thousand.  The  officers  for 
1916  are:  President,  Mrs.  Cooper  Baldwin ;  vice-president,  Mrs.  F.  W. 
Swan;  recording  secretary.  Miss  Dorothy  Dort;  corresponding  secretary, 
Mrs.  F.  J.  Ottaway;  treasurer,  Mrs.  B.  E,  Burnell;  genera!  secretary,  Miss 
Maude  Morse;  membership  and  employment  secretary,  Miss  Lelia  Coleman; 
house  secretary.  Miss  Lenna  Clark;  physical  director.  Miss  Florence  Tenny; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  687 

extension  and  girls'  work  secretary,  Miss  Hulda  Daniels;  cafateria  director, 
Mrs.  Ida  Irvine. 

THE  king's  daughters. 

A  circle  of  King's  Daughters,  a  branch  of  the  parent  organization  which 
was  founded  in  New  York  City  in  1886,  was  started  in  Flint  in  1887  by 
Miss  Florence  E.  Fuller,  of  the  Congregational  Sunday  school.  As  the 
society  was  non-sectarian,  the  membership  lists  soon  included  workers  from 
all  denominations,  and  in  1916  Opportunity  Circle  of  the  King's  Daughters, 
with  Mrs.  Robert  J.  Whaley  as  the  honorary  meml)er,  has  an  active  member- 
ship of  over  four  hundred.  The  society  was  incorporated  untler  the  laws 
of  the  state  of  Michigan  in  April,  191 1.  In  1912  a  property  on  Stevens 
street,  in  the  second  ward,  was  purchased  and  a  home,  known  as  the  King's 
Daughters  Home,  was  established.  The  society  maintains  in  this  home  a 
day  nursery,  which  scientifically  cares  for  infants  and  small  children  of 
wage-earning  women,  the  number  of  children  cared  for  during  the  fiscal 
year  ending  July  i,  1916,  numbering  about  three  thousand.  The  organiza- 
tion has  also  supported  a  visiting  nurse  to  care  for  the  deserving  sick  since 
1907. 

The  work  of  the  order  is  carried  on  through  the  efforts  of  its  members 
and  the  free-will  offerings  of  the  public.  The  only  general  appeal  of  the 
King's  Daughters  is  made  on  Charity  day,  which  has"  come  to  be  an  annual 
event.- 

The  following  officers  of  the  society  were  elected  for  1916:  President, 
Mrs.  A.  A.  Patterson;  vice-president,  Mrs.  G.  D.  Briggs;  recording  secre- 
tarj-,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Orr;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Siegel;  treasurer, 
Mrs.  E,  W.  Hubbard.  These  officers,  with  the  following  ladies,  comprise 
the  executive  board:  Mrs,  A,  S,  fCauImann,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Bishop,  Mrs.  Will- 
iam Richards,  Mrs.  S.  Carroll,  Miss  Tane  Ceeley. 

THE    child's    welfare    SOCIETY. 

The  Child's  Welfare  Society,  a  purely  philanthropic  association,  was 
organized  in  1914,  the  object  of  the  society  being  the  alleviation  of  defec- 
tive, dependent  and  delinquent  juveniles.  The  association  since  its  inception 
has  proved  itself  of  inestimable  value  in  the  relief  of  sick  children  and,  from 
a  small  beginning  of  about  twenty-five  members,  has  grown  to  a  society  with 
an  active  memi)ership  of  over  eight  hundred.  A  vi.siting  nurse  is  maintained, 
who  goes  about  among  the  deserving,  poor  and  also  instructs  the  mothers 


dbyGoot^lc 


6o8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

of  the  foreign  families  in  the  scientific  care  of  infants.  Daring  the  month  the 
average  number  of  nursing  calls  made  is  one  hundred  and  forty-five ;  instruc- 
tive calls,  ninety-five,  and  special  service  calls,  fifty.  The  society  also  pro- 
vides pure  milk  for  infants,  which  is  distributed  from  regulated  refrigerated 
ice  stations,  and  also  maintains  a  free  cHnic  for  infants  in  the  factory  dis- 
trict of  the  city.  It  provides  clothing  for  needy  children  and  also  proper 
clothing  for  mothers,  if  desired.  Although  the  society  has  only  been  in 
existence  two  years,  it  has  established  a  summer  camp  for  delicate  children, 
at  the  farm  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nichol,  near  Fenton,  known  as  the  "Happy 
Day  Farm,"  which  during  the  summer  of  1916  cared  for  thirty-four  children 
for  a  period  of  from  one  to  three  weeks,  with  a  nurse  in  charge.  A  number 
of  these  children  found  to  l>e  in  need  of  medical  attention  were  afterward 
cared  for  at  the  expense  of  the  society  at  the  University  Hospital  in  Ann 
Arbor  and  at  other  institutions.  The  Child's  Welfare  Society  expects  to 
establish  soon  a  permanent  home  for  the  care  of  children  during  the  summer 
months  and  a  committee  was  appointed  in  June,  1916,  to  report  upon  the 
securing  of  a  building  site  for  this  purpose. 

The  oflSicers  of  the  society  for  1916  are:  President,  Mrs.  C.  B.  Burr; 
vice-presidents,  Mrs.  M.  W.  Qift,  Mrs.  N.  J.  Berston,  Sr.,  and  Mrs.  W. 
H.  Edwards;  secretary,  Mrs.  J.  Ed.  Burroughs;  treasurer.  Miss  Katharine 
Bishop;  visiting  nurse.  Miss  Mary  Chayre. 

ST.  Michael's  benevolent  society. 

Among  the  older  organizations  which  were  of  benefit  in  the  earher  days, 
was  St.  Michael's  Benevolent  Society,  organized  in  1866  under  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  Fr.  Charles  Decuennick,  the  chief  aim  of  which  was  to  furnish  aid 
where  needed  in  the  burial  of  its  members.  The  Cathohc  Mutual  Benefit 
Association  was  organized  in  1S78  under  the  auspices  of  Rev.  Robert  W. 
Haire,  which  embodied  the  principle  of  life  insurance  as  one  of  its  main  fea- 
tures. These  organizations  were  worthy  predecessors  of  the  present  Catholic 
benevolent  societies  of  Flint  and  in  their  day  did  great  good. 

ST.  Paul's  men's  club. 

Rev.  J.  Bradford  Pengelly,  in  the  winter  of  1913-14,  organized  the  St. 
Paul's  Men's  Club,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  the  business  men  of  the  city 
to  think  collectively  about  the  serious  problems  of  the  day  in  municipal  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  689 

civic  affairs.  This  club  is  non-sectarian  and  the  membership  Hsts  include 
men  from  ail  denominations.  The  Men's  Qub  was  organized  with  twelve 
charter  members  and  at  the  present  time,  three  years  after  its  inception,  has 
a  membership  of  about  seven  hundred.  Each  year  the  club  brings  to  Flint 
the  best  speakers  on  phases  of  civic  Hfe  that  can  be  procured.  Among  the 
prominent  men  who  will  address  the  club  during  the  season  of  1916-17  are 
Dr.  C.  B.  Ball,  chief  sanitary  inspector  of  Chicago;  Dr.  Graham  H,  Taylor, 
president  of  the  Chicago  School  of  Civics;  Dr.  V.  C.  Vaughn,  dean  of  the 
medical  school  of  the  University  of  Michigan;  Rt.  Rev.  C.  D.  Williams, 
bishop  of  Michigan;  James  A.  McDonald,  editor  of  the  Toronto  Globe; 
George  E.  Hooker,  secretary  of  the  City  Club  of  Chicago;  Prof.  Theo.  G. 
Scares,  of  the  University  of  Chicago;  Mayor  Hoan,  of  Milwaukee;  S.  S. 
Marquis,  head  of  the  social  welfare  department  of  the  Ford  Motor  Com- 
pany, of  Detroit,  and  Edgar  A.  Guest,  of  the  Detroit  Free  Press. 

The  officers  of  the  St.  Paul's  Men's  Club  for  1916  are:  Rector,  Rev. 
J.  Bradford  Pengelly;  president,  Horace  E.  Potter;  first  vice-president.  Earl 
F.  Johnson;  second  vice-president,  Eugene  H.  Watson;  recording  secre- 
tary, Truman  S.  Cowing;  corresponding  secretary,  John  S.  DeCamp;  treas- 
urer, Irving  Young. 

TRADKS    UNIONS, 

As  is  usual  in  cities  which  have  become  industrial  centers,  there  are  in 
Flint  trades  and  lalxir  unions,  which  constitute  an  important  factor  in 
the  lives  of  manufacturing  employees.  Among  the  unions  which  are  estab- 
lished in  Flint  are:  Flint  Federation  of  Labor,  Edward  L.  Capias,  presi- 
dent, and  J.  A.  C.  Menton,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Bricklayers'  Union  No. 
12,  local;  Carpenters'  Union  No.  7213,  local;  Cigar  Makers'  Union  No. 
186,  local;  Machinists'  Union  No.  551;  Molders'  Union  No.  318,  local; 
Musicians'  Union;  Painters'  Union  No.  68r,  local;  Pattern  Makers'  Union; 
Plumbers'  Union  No.  370,  local;  Stage  Employees'  Union;  Typographical 
Union  No.  535,  local 

George  Starkweather,  pubhsher  of  Flint  Flashes,  a  weekly  labor  paper, 
was  elected  in  1916  vice-president  of  the  Michigan  State  Federation  of 
Labor. 

There  is  a  state  free  employment  bureau  in  Flint  with  ex-Mayor  George 
E.  McKinley  in  charge  as  deputv  state  labor  commissioner. 
(44)  ' 


yGoc^lc 


690  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

FLINT    factories'    MUTUAL    BENEFIT    ASSOCIATION. 

Of  inestimable  benefit  also  to  the  industrial  life  of  Flint  is  the  Flint 
Factories  Mutual  Benefit  Association  and  its  subsidiary,  the  Vehicle  Work- 
ers' Club,  which  were  organized  in  1901,  by  J.  D.  Dort.  Eighteen  factories 
are  interested  in  this  association,  and  are  the  same  which  support  the  Manu- 
facturers' Association.  The  Mutual  Benefit  Association  is  supported  entire- 
ly by  the  dues  of  members,  the  thirty-one  trustees  who  direct  the  association 
being  elected  by  the  members,  and  it  is  claimed  that  all  but  two  are  factory 
workers. 


About  1847-48  a  Masonic  lodge  was  organized  in  Fenton,  consisting 
of  seven  members  and  called  Fentonville  Lodge  No.  53.  Among  the  origi- 
nal members  were  Dr.  Isaac  Wixom,  Thomas  Patterson  and  Daniel  Donald- 
son. Doctor  Wixom  was  its  first  master.  In  1850  its  membership  was 
twenty-six.  Many  of  its  members  entered  the  service  during  the  war  and 
several  died  or  were  killed  in  action.  In  1857  the  charter  of  the  old  lodge 
was  surrendered,  and  the  same  year  Fentonville  Lodge  of  Strict  Observance 
was  organized,  under  dispensation  from  the  grand  lodge.  In  1859— Jan- 
uary 14 — a  charter  was  granted  and  it  has  since  been  known  as  Fenton- 
ville Lodge  No.  109.  The  first  master  under  the  new  charter  was  Michael 
Ayers.  Genesee  Chapter  No.  29,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  was  chartered  on 
January  12.  1864.  Genesee  Council  No.  17,  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  was 
chartered  on  June  7,  1865,  but  the  charter  was  arrested  on  January  7,  18S9. 

Fenton  Conirhandery  No.  14,  Knights  Templar,  was  chartered  on  June 
17,  1864.  In  1869,  subsequent  to  the  burning  of  the  town  hall,  in  which 
the  Masonic  rooms  were  located,  a  new  building  was  erected  on  Leroy  street, 
nearly  opposite  the  old  site,  and  fine  rooms  fitted  up  for  the  use  of  the  order. 
The  dedication  services  were  held  on  November  12,  1869,  when  a  large  num- 
ber of  Sir  Knights  were  present  from  various  places,  and  the  occasion  was 
one  long  to  be  rememliered  by  those  of  the  fraternity  who  participated. 

Fenton  Lodge  No.  43,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  chartered  on 
January  9,  1851,  and  surrendered  its  charter  in   1858. 

The  Eastern  Star  also  has  a  chapter  in  Fenton,  being  Fenton  Chapter 
No.  248. 

Fenton  Lodge  No.  125,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  l-'ellows,  was  insti- 
tuted on  December  17,  1868,  at  which  time  numerous  members  were  present 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  69I 

from  lodges  at  Flint  and  Byron.  Rankin  Encampment  No.  46,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  organized  in  the  winter  of  1870-71. 

Fenton  Lodge  No.  395,  Knights  of  Honor,  was  organized  in  Fenton, 
November  2,  1876,  by  Deputy  Grand  Dictator  Alfred  Terry,  of  the  grand 
lodge,  and  the  following  officers  were  chosen,  viz :  Past  dictator,  E.  M. 
Hovey;  dictator,  Lewis  V.  Curry;  vice-dictator,  F.  S.  Steers;  assistant  dic- 
tator, Robert  Perry ;  reporter,  Cicero  J.  K.  Stoner ;  financial  reporter,  Walter 
Blackmore;  treasurer,  Benjamin  F.  Stone;  chaplain,  J.  H.  Phipps;  guide, 
William  Albetson;  trustees,  Walter  Blackmore,  B.  F.  Stone,  L.  V.  Curry. 
"The  object  of  this  order  is  to  unite  fraternally  all  acceptable  men  of  every 
profession,  business  or  occupation;  to  give  all  moral  and  material  aid  in  its 
power  to  members  of  the  order  by  holding  moral,  instructive  and  scientific 
lectures,  by  encouraging  each  other  in  business  and  assisting  them  to  obtain 
employment ;  to  establish  a  benefit  fund  from  which  a  sum  not  to  exceed  two 
thousand  dollars  shall  be  paid,  at  the  death  of  a  member,  to  his  family,  or  to 
be  disposed  of  as  he  may  direct;  to  provide  for  creating  a  fund  for  the 
relief  of  sick  and  distressed  members;  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  human- 
ity in  every  possible  manner."  The  Odd  Fellows  lodge  rooms  were  rented 
by  this  society. 

Fenton  Lodge  No,  64,  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  was  organ- 
ized March  2T,  1879,  with  twenty-one  members.  Its  objects  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  Knights  of  Honor. 


Linden  Lodge  No.  132,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  organized  under 
dispensation  early  in  1861,  and  chartered,  January  10,  1862.  It  started  with 
seven  members.  Its  first  master  was  I.  B.  Hyatt.  The  hall  was  in  Union 
block. 

The  Eastern  Star  order  has  a  chapter,  being  Linden  Chapter  No.   175. 

Strict  Account  Lodge  No.  276,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was 
organized,  March  17,  1876,  with  eleven  members.  Its  first  executive  officer 
was  E.  R.  Parker. 

FLUSHING. 

Flushing  Lodge  No.  223,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  chartered  on 
January  9,  1868.  Flint  Rapids  Chapter  No.  116,  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
was  chartered  on  January  20,  1886. 


dbyGoot^lc 


692  GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 

The  Eastern  Star  also  has  a  chapter,  being  Flushing  Chapter  No.  176. 
Previous  to  1880  were  instituted  Rankin  Lodge  No.  139,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  Valley  Lodge  No,  693,  Knights  of  Honor. 


Vienna  Lodge  No.  205,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  chartered  on 
January  10,  1867.  The  Eastern  Star  also  has  a  chapter  in  Clio,  being  Vienna 
Chapter  No.  283. 

Vienna  Lodge  No.  191,  Inde]^>endent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  insti- 
tuted, June  26,  1S72,  at  Ciio,  by  Acting  Grand  Master  F.  H.  Rankin.  The 
first  officers  were,  F.  H.  Rankin,  Grand  Master;  Roger  Rathbone,  Noble 
Grand,  and  \V.  W.  Blackney,  secretary. 


Eagle  Lodge  No.  320,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  insti- 
tuted at  a  meeting  held  in  a  hatl  over  Beemer's  blacksmith  shop  on  the  17th 
of  October,  1878,  by  E.  H.  Thomson,  grand  master  of  the  state.  The 
number  of  charter  members  was  five.  The  first  officers  were  as  follow: 
Noble  Grand,  Charles  E.  Kingsbury;  vice  grand,  William  E.  Clark;  secre- 
tary, A.  J.  Kellogg;  treasurer,  Allison  W.  Whipple;  inner  guard,  N.  T. 
Wilson;  outer  guard,  Samuel  Wilson;  conductor,  D.  W.  Allen;  warden, 
John  Bodine. 

Bryant  Lodge  No.  1334,  Knights  of  Honor,  was  instituted  by  Edward 
Newkirk,  of  Bay  City,  January  13,  1879,  with  twenty-two  charter  members, 
and  the  following  officers,  viz:  Dictator,  J.  B.  Laing;  vice  dictator,  John 
S.  Elwell;  assistant  dictator,  T.  W.  Averill;  reporter,  A.  W.  Nicholson; 
financial  reporter,  F.  W.  Nicholson;  treasurer,  Joseph  Myles;  chaplain, 
Charles  Moon;  guide,  Willard  P.  Ranney;  guardian,  William  Gott;  senti- 
nel, Robert  Beemer;  past  dictator,  Frank  C.  Trowbridge;  trustees,  Charles 
E.  Kinsbury,  John  S.  Elwell,  Silas  Patten. 

MONTROSE. 

Montrose  Lodge  No.  428,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  chartered 
on  January  29,  1902.  Montrose  Chapter  No.  351,  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star,  is  also  in  existence  here. 


d  by  G OO"^  I c 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  693 


SWAKTZ    CREEK. 


Swartz  Creek  Lodge  No,  458,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  chartered 
on  May  25,  1910.  Swartz  Creek  Chapter,  Order  Eastern  Star  (under  dis- 
pensation)  was  recently  organized. 


Davison  Lodge  No.  2^6,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  chartered 
January  9,  1868.  The  Order  of  Eastern  Star  is  represented  by  Davison 
Chapter  No.  299. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Patriotic  Societies. 

"Patriotism,"  says  Disraeli,  "depends  as  much  on  mutual  suffering  as  on 
mutual  success:  and  it  is  by  that  experience  of  all  fortunes  and  all  feelings 
that  a  great  national  character  is  created."  So  great  a  length  of  time  has 
elapsed  since  Americans  have  had  to  face  the  stress  of  war,  that  they  have 
almost  come  to  regard  it  as  a  romantic  characteristic  of  bygone  ages— as 
did  the  patricians  of  imperial  Rome  in  the  voluptuous  days  before  the  over- 
whelming barbarian  invasions.  Happier  we  than  those  unfortunate  Romans 
if  our  patriotic  societies  can  keep  us  alive  to  the  truth  that  only  by  being 
ready  to  suffer  for  our  national  ideals  can  we  hope  to  retain  our  liberties. 

DAUGHTEliS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  KEVOLUTION. 

A  chapter  of  the  society  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 
loyally  perpetuates  in  Genesee  county  the  deeds  of  those  brave  men  who,  in 
1776,  gave  to  their  country  independence  and  freedom.  The  only  three 
soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  War  who  found  their  last  resting  place  within 
the  confines  of  this  county  were  Altramont  Donaldson,  who  is  buried  at 
Fenton;  a  Mr.  Beach,  whose  remains  He  in  the  Httle  cemetery  at  Mt.  Morris, 
and  Charles  Stewart,  who  rests  in  Glenwood  cemetery  in  Flint.  The  graves 
of  these  three  soldiers  are  tenderly  cared  for  by  the  Daughters. 

Genesee  Chapter  No.  352,  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  was 
organized  in  June,  1Q07.  with  eighteen  charter  members.  Mrs.  Harriet 
Thompson  was  elected  the  first  regent  of  the  society  and  continued  to  hold 
that  office  until  she  removed  from  the  city.  Her  successor  in  office  was  Mrs. 
Annie  Stevens  Rundell,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Alta  Button 
Baker.  The  present  officers  of  the  society  are:  Regent,  Mrs.  Mary  Rix 
Pomeroy;  first  vice-regent,  Mrs.  Ada  Aitken;  second  vice-regent,  Mrs.  Mabel 
Demorest;  secretary,  Mrs.  Mabel  Keeney;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Mary  Stewart; 
historian,  Mrs.  E.  D.  Black;  registrar,  Miss  Carrie  Elwood. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  members,  including,  those  who  are  now 
deceased  and  those  who  have  removed  from  the  county : 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTS,    MICHIGAN.  695 

lliirrlet    1'.   TLouipson,  now   deceased ;    descendant  of   Col.    Samuel   Robinson,   born   at 

.Hni-dwick,  Massachusetts,  August  15,   1738;   died  at  Bennington,   Vermont,  May 

3,  1813. 
Annette  Wheeler  Burr,  descemliint  of  I'aul   Wlieeier,  born  ut  Stonltigtoti,    Connecticut, 

Seyteuiber,  1728. 
Cornelia   Miles  Clark,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  Isaac  Jlilea,  born   in  Connecticut, 

1752;  died  in  HomeF,  New  Yorli,  February,  1816. 
Celia   Laura    Kansom   Clarlie,   descendant   of   Bzekiel    Ransom,    born    in    Ma ssucLu setts ; 

died  In  Kalamazoo,  Micblgaii,  November  4,  1833. 
Samuel  Fletcher;  served  in  Vermont. 
Miss  Mabel  Clark,  active  member;  descendant  of  Col.  James  Tyre,   born  at  Andover, 

Miissiicliusetts,  January  24,  1710;  died  January  8,  1776. 
Samuel  Clark,  born  In  Sherbom,  Massachusetts,  August  7.  1740;   died  in  Sberbovn. 

December  4,  1839. 
IClizabetb  Muiison  Davison,  active  member;  descendant  of  Natiiantel  Falrcblld,  bom  In 

New  Jersey,  January,  1752;  died  ia  Clarence,  New  York,  January  1838. 
Ma.ior  John  Coffe,  bom  in  Hertford,  New  Hampshire,  February  10,  1727 ;  died  in  Bed- 
ford, February  3,  1818. 
Col.  John  Munson  of  Morris,  New  Jersey ;  died  at  Morris,  New  Jersey,  lu  March,  1738. 
Rebecca    Folper  Crapo  Durant,   active   member;    descendant  of  Peter  Crapo,    Irovn   in 

Rochester  of  Treetown,  Massachusetts,  1744;   died  In  TreetQwn,  March  3,  1823. 
Belle  A.  Jenny,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  James  Harrington,  bom  June  29,  1763; 

died  in  Aubum,  Michigan.  October  13,  1825. 
Mai'jiaret  Strong  Keeney,  active  member;    descendant  of   Lieut.  John   Strong,  born   In 

Woodbui-y,  Connecticut,  November  10,  1752;   died  in  Woodbury,  April  19,  1843. 
Maiy  E.  A,  Sayre  McConnelly,  active  member;  descendant  of  Judge  James  Knapp,  Iwm 

in  Dutchess  county.  New  lork,  January  31,  1764;  died,  Yates  county.  New  York. 

December  13,  1831. 
Mdi'Karet   Thompson    Olcott,    active   member;    descendant  of   Reuben    Martin,    born    In 

Woodbury,  Connecticut,  June  22,  1765;  died  February  14,  1836. 
Mary  A.   Woodworth  Parmer,   active  member;   descendant   of  James  Knapp,    born    In 

Dutchess  county,  New  York,  January  31,  1764;   died,   Yates  county.  New  York, 

December  13,  1831. 
Anna    Maria    Olcott    Smith,   now   deceased;    descendant    of    ^hel    WoodwaM,    boi'ii    at 

Lebanon,   Connectlout,   April    1,   1736;    died    December   61     1821. 
Minnie  Davison  Whitehead,  now  deceased;  dearendant  of  Asi   Davison,  born  In  Pres- 
ton, Coimecticut,  September  1,  1736;  died  December  31    1821. 
Clinton  Huffman  Hyatt,  descendant  of  Ambrose  Evarta    born  in  Connecticut,  1759. 
Harriet  Carey  Kelley,  descendant  of  Stephen  Faircblld,  Iwrn  In  Connecticut,  February 

3.  1725;  died  iu  Georgia,  Vermont,  July  31,  1802. 
Gratia  E.  Dayton  Mahon,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  Caleb  Dayton,  born  in  Mllford, 

Connecticut;  died  In  Arlington,  Vermont,  1809, 
Caroline  Frances  Elwood,  active  member;  descendant  of  Jasper  Mead,  born  in  Nonvalk. 

Coimecticut.  February  12,  1755;  died  in  Galaway,  New  York,  May  23,  1830. 
Peter  Elwood,  born  in  Windsor.  New  York,  March  5,  1754;  died  In  Hallsvllle,  New 

York,  December  30,  1831. 
Rachel. Sr.  Ford,  descendant  of  Samuel  Lee,  born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  1754. 
Genevleie  Decker  McCteery,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  Lieut.  William  Brush,  born 

on  Lous'  Island.  New  York,  1750;  died  at  Norwich,  New  York, 
Harriet  I/iuise  Thompson  Brown,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  C^pt.  Bliab  Parnam, 

horn  in  Coventry,  Connecticut,  July  25,  1750;  died  in  New  York,  1806, 


dbyGoot^lc 


696  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Julia  Isiibelle  Bnish  Holmes,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  Lieut.  William  Bi-ush,  born 
on  Long  Island,  New  York,  1750;  died  at  Norwich,  New  York. 

Mary  Ijovlnla   Ingersoll  Yoiiug,  active  member;  descendant  of  Francis   Ingevsoll,  bovn 
In  Vermont. 

Grace  Eliza  Reynolds  Lockhead,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  Tbomae  Lyon,  born   in 
Fairfield,  Connecticut,  October  9,  1749;  died  in  Avon,  New  York,  Slarcli  4,  3835. 

Anna  lluldah  Plerson  Edwards,  active  member;  descendant  of  Joseph  Churcliill,  boru  In 
Sheffield,  Massachusetts,  February  14,  1750;  died  in  Hubbardtown,  Vermont, 
March  21,  1821. 
Samuel  Churchill,  bom  in  Sheffield,  Jlaseacliu setts,  1721;  died  In  Halifax,  Massa- 
chusetts, January,  1801. 
Jesse  Pearson,  born  iu  Couueelicut,  Miiy  6,  17CI;  died,  Avon,  New  York,  JiUiuarv  10, 
1837. 

Martha  Jane  Pierson  Pier,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  Cliarles  Churchill  Plerson. 
Jesse  Pearson,  born  In  Connecticut,  May  6,  1761;  died,  Avon,  New  York,  January  10, 

1837. 
Joseph  Churchill,  bom  in  Massachusetts,  February  14,  1750;  died  in  Hubbardtown, 
Vermont,  March  21,  1821. 

Adelia  Walker  Stevens,  now  deceased;  descendant  of  Jerendah  Fletcher,  born  In  West- 
foi-d,  Massachusetts,  April  9,  1756;  died  at  Wilton,  Maine,  October  14,  1S39. 
Lemuel  Perham,  born  in  Dunstable,  Massachusetts,  1727;  died  in  Farmingtou,  Maine, 
1795. 

Margaretta  L.  Eulison,  descendant  of  Samuel  Lee,  born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  1754. 

Annie  Stevens  Rundell,  descendant  of  Hugh  Stewart,  bom  in  Edgarton,  Massachusetts, 
February  22,  1751;  died  in  Farmington,  Maine,  Augnst  5,  1S35. 

Nellie  Beeeher  Goodes,  descendant  of  Amos  Beecher,  bora  iu  Walcott,  Connecticut,  June 
10,  1743;  died  in  Rensselaer ville,  New  York,  December  «,  1780. 

Ada  Elizabeth  Aitkin,  active  member ;   descendant  of  Caleb  Ticluior,  born  in  Newark, 
New  Jersey,  April  10,  1858. 

Ida  L.  Hughes,  descendant  of  Timothy  Hughes,  born  in  WhIps  in  1748;  died  iu  Charles- 
town.  New  York,  July  5,  1792. 

Sarah  L.   Van  TifDin,  now  deceased;   descendant   of  John   (iibson,   bovn   iu    Galloway, 
Si^tland.  In  1765 ,  died  in  Caledonia.  New  York,  September  25,  1836. 

Bertha  Billings  Black,  active  member;  descendant  of  Joel  Rexford,  bom  In  New  Hnven, 
1750;  died  In  Smyrna,  Chenango  county.  New  York,  March  22.  1821. 

Carrie  Billings  Miller,  active  member;  descendant  of  Joel  Rexford.  born  in  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  in  1750;  died  In  Smyrna,  Chenango  county,  New  Torii,  March  22,  1821. 

Mabel  (Clayton  Demorest,  active  member;  descendant  of  Capt.  Reuben  Slaytou,  born  In 
Brookfleld.  Massachusetts,  May  30,  1748;  died  In  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  1811. 

Delia  C.  Howell,  descendant  of  William  Capwell,  born  in  Coventry,  New  York,  October- 
IS,  1750;  died  in  Attica,  New  York,  June,  1842, 

Alice  A.  Pierson  Grieve,  descendant  of  Jesse  Pearson,  born  iu  Connecticut,  Jlay  G,  17C1 ; 
died  In  Avon,  New  York.  January  10,  1837. 
Joseph  Churchill,  bom  in  Sheffield,  Ma8sachusett-4.  EebrUiiiy  14,  175(1;  died  in  Hub- 
bardtown, Vermont,  March  21,  182L 

Blary  Begole  Cnmmlngs,  active  member ;  descendant  of  Edmund   Beach,  born  iu  Con- 
necticut, 1718;  died  in  I-extugton,  New  York,  I&IO, 
Isaac  Miles,  bom  Aiwust  25,  1752;  died  in  Homer.  New  York.  February  10,  ISlff. 

Alta  Button  Raker,  active  member;  descendant  of  Thomas  Nichols,  horn  May  15,  17S2; 
died  May  22,  1811. 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  697 

Matthias  ituttoii,  liom  in  I'laiiilieM,  Connecticut,  July  2!i,  1730;  died  in  Wells,  liut- 

land  county,  Vermont,  1811. 
Eleazer   Smltli,   boni   In   Hadley,   MiisSiiehusettK,   Tiinuaij'   27.   17:i"i;   ilieil   in   Aniliei'st. 

Jill ssacbu setts,  Jiinunry  4,  1816. 
I*ri  Cook,  born  in  Amherst,  Miissiiohusetts,  ITCl;  dieil  in   Ashvllle,  Miissncluiaetta, 

December  24,  3843. 
Moses  Cook,  bom  in  Amherst,  Miissiichuaetts,  May  2ii,  172G;  died  iiv  AsLville,  Mjtssa- 
chusetts.  1812. 
Jessie  S.  Ijflpr,  descendant  of  I«vl  (Javlord    born  in  Wnterbui'v    Connecticut    Janiuiry 

10,  1730;  died  in  Haiiiersfleld,  \eH    loik    August  17    17^5 
.Susan  Smith,  descendant  of  Thomas  Baldwin   boiu  in  rimii'a    ^en  lorli    letu-uai'y  23, 

1755;  died  Januai-y  14,  1810, 
Dora  Allan  Smith,  active  member;  descendant  of  Co)    Jaiob  Stroud    lorn  In  Aniwell, 
New  Jersey,  January  13,  17S5;  died  in  stioudsburg    Penns>iranla    July  14,  1S06, 
Andrew  Lytle,  Sr,.  ttom.  Bnllybay,  Iieland    1718     diel    Salem    New   Tersej    1795. 
Andrew  Lytle,  Jr..  bom,  Ballybay,  Ireland    1741    died  Hiclue    Wisconsin    1795. 
Nathan  Allan,  bom  East  Bridi^iort    MjisswchusettH    1722    died  '^alem    \ew  Jersey, 

Aprii  5,  1800. 
Cant.  John  Bush,  bom,  Germany,  1735    died  Dinbi    Nen  \ir\,    ^■*^^) 
Mary    Alice   Elwood,    active   member;    descendnnt    tt    letei    I  Inood     boin    11    Un\n    of 
Mlndeii.  New  York.  March  5.  1754     died  In  Halls\ille    New    1  il     Dei  ember  30, 
1831, 
Jasiwr  Mende,  bom  in  Nonvalk,  Connectkut   I-el  [  1  ii\   1      1  lied  in  d  liway.  New 

Yorli.  May  23.  1830. 
Mary  B,  Howard  Powers,  descendant  of  Edwii  I  I    \    p    b  ui    u  1"2C     died    1800. 

Lient,  Thomas  r>ewi8,  bom  In  Virsinia    174')    died  in  B  ith  ((untv    Kentucky.  1809. 
Suaie  Rix  Ponieroy.  present  regent:  desiendmt  of  Riifus  Kix    bom  in  Oneidn  Castle, 

Oneida,   Xew  York,  1759;   died   in   ''priugfleld    New    loik    1828 
Julia   B.   Abbott  Slnyton,  active  niembei     destendint  of  Enock  White    bom  in  South 
Hiidiey.  Massachusetts.  Fehruan    1747    diefl  in  South  Hadley    Jannarv  10,  1813. 
Camilla  Erso  Phillips  Woolflft  descenilant    tf  Eoleit  Hopkins  bom  in  AVest  Greenwich. 

Rhode  Island,  March  l.'i,  1756;  died   \ui.ust  11    1S38 
Klla  Harrington  Busenbark.  active  memljer    descenlmt  of  William  Hariiugton    bom  in 
Norwich,  Connecticut.  May  23.  17S2     diel  m  Johnsons  Creek    New   York    Novem- 
ber 2.  1830. 
Mary  Shearer  Stewart,  active  member    descendnnt  of  William  stienei    h  rn  in  Palmer. 

Massachusetts,  1748;  died  in  Fiaukllu    Massachusetts    1S29 
Iiiesi  B,  Sheerer,  descemlant  of  Willinm  '■heirer    liom  in  Palmei    M  s-.  ich  i=ptts,  1748; 

died  in  FrankUi),  Massachtisetta    1^21 
T*ah  Beach  Garner,  active  member;  descendant  of  Corp    Jededinh   Holcoiub    born  in 

Connecticut,  1740;  killed  in  Re\ olutiounri  War    Noieniber  27    1779 
AbiRall    Pearce   Crampton   Bvatt,   descendant   of    Jeremiah    Jenks    born    in    Sinithfield, 
Rhode   Island,  November  29,  1739     died   In  Newport    New    Hampshire    January 
4.  1811. 
Jease  T<ane. 
Capt.  John  Clark, 
Csipt.  James  Munger. 
Mary  Humphrey  Malnes.  s^ctlve  member:  descendant  of  Ellsha  Eldridpe,  born  In  New 

Haven,  Connecticut,  175B;  died  in  Lansingbun:.  New  York.  December  1,  1841. 
Ella   Ekli'idse  liockwood.  active  member;  descendant  of  Elisha   RldridKe.  bom  in  New 
Haven.  17.'ie:  died  in  1-atisinpburK,  New  York,  December  1.  1841, 


dbyGoot^lc 


698  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

E(1ii;i   Eeila  Floyd,  active  iuei«l>ei' ;  deHcendant  of  Jeremiah  Beard  Eella,  born  In  New 

Canann,  Connecticut,  Deceniher  21.  1832;  died  in  New  CaoaaD,  Oetoher  15,  17*55. 
Xlnrhi    Louise  Button,   active   member;    descendant  of   Moses  Cook,   born    in   Amherst, 

Jlassnchu setts,  may  2U,  1726;  died  m  Anhfield,  Uaxsachusetts,  1812. 
Levi  Cook,  born  In  Amhei'st,  Massachusetts,  ITfil;   died  In  Ashfield,  Mawsachusetts, 

December  24,  1843. 
Thomas   Nichols,   born   in   Connunght,    Ireland,   May    15,   17;!3;    died    in   Charlemont, 

Massachusetts,  Mii;  22,  1811 
Elenzer   Smith,   bom  in   Hadley,  JInsaachusptts,   -Tannary  27.   172,"),   died   in   Amherst, 

Massachusetts,  January  4,  1816. 
Anna   Seuvlu   Goodwin  Johnson,   descendant  of  Joshua   Copp,   Warren,   New   Hampshire 
Ella   Iteed    Cooper   Baldwin,    active   member ;    descendant   of  Amos   Hastings,   born    in 

HftTerhlU,  Massachusetts,  February  3,  1757;  died  in  Bethel,  Maine,  July  28,  1829. 
Catherine  B.  S.  Htdball,  active  member;  descendant  of  Gen,  Daniel  Broadbead,  born  In 

TJlater  county.  New  York,  November.  173S;  died  in  Mllford,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 15.  1809. 
Anna  Alido  Bosworth  Gentry  King,  active  member;  descendant  of  Nathaniel  Boswortb, 

bom  in  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  1767 ;  died  in  Pittstown,  New  Jersey,  1853. 
Major  Benjamin  Bosworth,  bom  in  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  January  J>,  1733;  died  in 

Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  November  T,  1810. 
Christopher  Mason,  Jr.,  born  in  Swanay,  Octol«r  22.  1738;  died  In  ^^wanzy.  July  13, 

1805. 
Lilli.Tn   Wyrel!    Mullin,    aetivc   member;    descendant    of   Harmon   Bulifson,    Jr.,    bom    in 

Readlngton,  New  York,  September  15,  1760 ;  died  In  Blenheim,  New  York,  March 

24,  1851.  ■ 
Etrlla  r,.  Wessinger,  active  member;  descendant  of  Allen  Matfeson,  born  In  Coventry, 

Rhode  Island,  January  20,  1755;  died  In  Berlin.  New  York,  July  9,  1830 
Jaines  Greene,  bom  in  Witrwlcl;,  Rhode  Islniid,  February  14,  17riO:  In  Smith  Berlin, 

New  York,  May  2,  ia^2. 
Ina  R.  Torrey  King,  active  member ;  descendant  of  John  Torrej ,  burn  in  MaRSJi.  hu&ett.'i, 

September  5,  1754;  died  In  New  Yorit,  Marcb  9,  1822 
Esther  March  Cram,  removed  to  Indianapolis, 

Mrs.   Bertha    B,   Trembley,    active   member;    descendant   nf   Roger   Kinne.    i'lirii    In   Con- 
necticut; died  In  New  York. 

ORnCR   OF    THE    STAUS   AND    STRIPES. 

One  of  the  first  patriotic  societies  formed  in  Genesee  county  was  the 
local  camp  of  the  Order  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  This  society  was  organ- 
ized in  Washington  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  but  its  membership 
was  inclined  to  include  politicians  rather  more  largely  than  men  who  had 
seen  service,  and  its  life  was  short.  The  order  in  Genesee  county,  however, 
numbered  over  one  hundred  members.  The  more  patriotic  order  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  soon  became  a  more  popular  organization,  how- 
ever, in  public  estimation,  as  the  ex-soldiers,  to  whom  the  memory  of  the 
sufferings  and  hardships  they  had  endured  but  so  recently,  did  not  regard 
favorably  an  order  founded  so  much  on  partisanship.     Their  loyalty  to  their 


yGoc^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  699 

comrades  was  paramount,  so  the  Order  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  did  not 
thrive  for  long;.  C'apt.  Georj^e  Newall  was  its  local  commander  during  its 
short  life. 

SOEDIEKS  AND  SAILORS  OF  GENESEE   COUNTY. 

The  Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  Genesee  County  was  an  organization  which 
was  perfected  in  October,  1879,  the  men  most  interested  being  Dr.  J.  C.  Will- 
son,  Col.  E.  H.  Thomson  and  George  W.  Buckingham.  Mr.  Buckingharn 
was  chosen  president,  and  the  vice-presidents  were,  Slade  Montgomery, 
Argentine ;  Jacob  Bedtelyou,  Atlas ;  Emery  Howe,  Burton ;  WilHam  Stone, 
Clayton;  Hiram  Applebee,  Davison;  George  W.  Barber,  Fenton;  John  H. 
Corey,  Flint;  Dr.  C.  E.  Riilison,  Flushing;  Silas  Patten,  Forrest;  Qiarles 
Baker,  Jr.,  Grand  Blanc;  Wa.shington  E.  Todd,  Genesee;  William  D.  Bailey, 
Gaines;  Benjamin  F.  Pease,  Mundy;  J.  W.  Barber,  Montrose;  G.  V.  S. 
Young,  Mt.  Morris:  Freeman  Decker,  Richfield;  Jacob  W.  White,  Thetford; 
Jerome  Olliver,  Vienna;  George  E.  Newali,  Flint  City;  Dr.  J.  C.  Willson, 
Flint  City:  William  Charles,  Flint  City:  William  Turner,  Flint  City 

GRANM  ARMY  OF  HIE   REPUBLIC, 

Governor  Crapo  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  was  organized  on 
June  5,  1883.  The  charter  members  numbered  twenty-three.  Its  first  com- 
mander was  Comrade  Richard  H.  Hughes  and.  succeeding  him,  the  follow- 
ing named  members  have  held  the  ofBce :  Frank  E.  Wiilett,  Oscar  F.  Loch- 
head,  Charles  A.  Bassett,  John  Algoe,  Andrew  J.  Ward,  George  W.  Buck- 
ingham, Welcome  L.  Farnum,  George  W.  Newall,  Marvin  C.  Barney,  Edward 
C.  Marsh,  Charles  W.  Austin,  James  H.  Failing,  Orange  S.  Thomas,  John 
W.  Benjamin,  John  W.  Begg,  George  W.  Hilton,  Joseph  Rush,  George  Raab, 
Charles  L.  Bentley,  Thomas  A.  Wiilett,  Jarvis  E.  Albro,  E.  A.  Jennings, 
Wallace  Caldwell  and  James  Van  Tassell.  The  present  commander  is  T,  A. 
Wiilett. 

The  various  soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  at  different  times  been  mem- 
bers of  the  post  number  fi\'e  hundred  and  five,  and  the  membership  of  the 
post  at  its  floodtide  was  three  hundred  and  fifty.  It  now  numbers  seventy- 
eight,  many  of  whom  are  feeble  in  health  and  unable  to  attend  the  meetings. 
Of  its  members  who  held  rank  in  the  army,  were  Gen.  T.  B.  W.  Stockton, 
breveted  brigadier-general;  Col.  William  B,  McCreery,  colonel  of  the  Twenty- 
first  Michigan  Infantry;  Philo  D.  Phillips,  who  was  major  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred Twenty-sixth   New  York  Volunteer  Infantry;  Rev.  H.   H.   Northrup, 


dbyGoot^lc 


700  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

chaplain  of  the  Thirteenth  Michigan  Infantry;  James  C.  Willson,  surgeon  of 
the  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry,  ranking  as  major;  John  Algoe,  captain; 
George  W.  Buckingham,  captain;  Charles  A.  Bassett,  captain;  M.  F.  Camp- 
bell, captain;  Ira  Wilder,  captain;  Martin  L.  Wiley,  captain;  Charles  S. 
Brown,  captain;  Almon  A.  Thompson,  surgeon  Twelfth  Michigan  Infantry, 
and  James  H.  Failing,  lieutenant  commanding  company. 

The  members  of  the  post  are  loyai  to  the  memory  of  their  comrades  in 
that  the  duties  of  the  officers  includes  the  decorating  of  the  graves  of  the 
deceased.  Old  soldiers  are  laid  to  rest  in  the  various  cemeteries  of  the  city 
and  also  in  the  Whigville  cemetery,  the  Burton  cemetery,  the  Grand  Blanc 
cemetery,  the  Five  Points  cemetery,  the  McFarland  cemetery,  the  Bristol 
cemetery,  the  Cronk  cemetery  and  the  Tupper  cemetery,  also  Flushing,  Good- 
rich, Davison  and  Richfield,  in  each  of  which  lies  some  former  member  of 
the  post. 

The  present  officers  of  the  post  are:  Commander,  T.  A.  Willett; 
senior  vice-commander,  William  A.  Bloomer;  junior  vice-commander,  Rufus 
Ranney;  adjutant,  E.  A.  Jennings;  quartermaster,  James  Van  Tasseil;  sur- 
geon, A.  Van  Aerman;  chaplain,  M.  C.  Barney;  officer  of  the  day,  George 
Raab;  officer  of  the  guard,  Wray  Mitchell;  sergeant  major,  E.  C.  Marsh; 
quarter  sergeant,  William  R.  Pratt;  patriotic  instructor,  James  H.  Failing, 

The  present  roster  of  the  post  contains  the  following:  Charies  Baker, 
Jr.,  Ninth  Michigan  Cavalry;  Marvin  C.  Barney,  Tenth  Michigan  Infantry; 
William  D.  Bailey,  Twenty-third  Michigan  Infantry;  John  Begg,  First  United 
States  Engineers ;  Melvin  C.  Bowman,  Eighth  Michigan  Cavalry ;  Luke 
Boyce,  First  Nebraska  Cavalry;  John  E,  Buchanan,  Twenty-ninth  Indiana 
Infantry;  Frank  C.  Burnham,  Maine  Coast  Guard;  John  H.  Carey,  Twenty- 
seventh  Michigan  Infantry;  Mortimore  Carter,  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry; 
John  Cleveland,  Twenty-third  Michigan  Infantry;  Silas  CoUins,  Twenty-third 
Michigan  Infantry;  C.  H.  W.  Conover,  United  States  Engineers;  Miles  P. 
Cook,  Twentieth  Ohio  Battery;  William  H.  Crawford,  First  Michigan  Cav- 
alry; John  Donlon,  United  States  Navy;  James  H.  Failing,  Fifteenth  Mich- 
igan Infantrv;  Ira  L.  Fales,  First  Michigan  Cavalry;  J.  Brush  Fenton,  lieu- 
tenant Eighth  Michigan  Infantry;  Corydon  E.  Foote,  Tenth  Michigan 
Infantry;  Charles  B,  Ford.  Tenth  Michigan  Infantry;  Thomas  W.  Gilbey, 
Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry;  Andrew  H.  Gillies,  lieutenant  Eighth  Mich- 
igan Infantry;  Jonathan  Gordon,  First  New  York  Cavalry;  Henry  M.  Graff, 
Ninety-eighth  New  York  Infantry:  John  Grierson.  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry; 
John  Hollingsworth,  Twenty- fourth  Michigan  Infantry;  j,  E.  Howe,  Twenty- 
third  Michigan  Infantry;  Oscar  F.   Lochhead,    Second   Michigan   Infantry; 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENE.SEJl    county^    MICHIGAN.  7OI 

living  McConnell,  Second  New  York  Heavy  Artillery;  Edward  C. 
Marsh,  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry;  Wray  Mitchell,  Twenty-seventh 
Michigan  Infantry;  Ira  G.  Ormsby,  Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry; 
Albert  Palmer,  Iowa  Cavalry;  Thomas  Pack,  musician.  Eighth  Michigan 
Infantry;  Charles  R.  Pomeroy,  Fourteenth  Vermont  Infantry;  William  R. 
Pratt,  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry;  George  liaab,  Fourth  Michigan  Cavalry; 
Edgar  Randall,  First  Michigan  Infantry;  Freeling  H.  Rich,  Tenth  Michigan 
Infantry;  Joseph  Remington,  Fifteenth  Michigan  Infantry;  Joseph  Rush, 
One  Hundred  Sixtieth  New  York  Infantry;  Amader  Ruby,  Twenty-second 
Michigan  Infantry;  PhilHp  Smith,  One  Hundredth  Ohio  Infantry;  Reuben 
C.  Smith,  Twenty-second  Michigan  Infantry;  John  H.  Soper,  Ninetieth  New 
York  Infantry;  Enos  Sulhvan,  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry;  George  W. 
Sweet,  First  Michigan  Engineers;  John  W.  Taylor,  Second  Michigan 
Infantry;  Jeremiah  Thompson,  Sixth  Michigan  Cavalry;  George  H.  Turner, 
lieutenant  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry;  George  A.  Tyler,  First  Michigan  Cav- 
alry; Abram  Van  Aerman,  One  Hundred  Fifty-first  New  York  Infantry; 
James  M.  Van  Tassell,  Third  Michigan  Cavalry;  Frank  E.  Willett,  Eighth 
New  York  Cavalry;  Thomas  A.  Willett,  gunner's  mate,  United  States  Navy; 
William  Angle,  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry;  Frank  Butclier,  Fifty-first  Indi- 
ana Infantry;  Charles  Dye;,  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry;  Charles  Dunham, 
Seventeenth  Indiana  Infantry;  Dolphus  Davis,  Eighty-third  Pennsylvania 
A'^olunteer  Infantr}';  Leroy  lillis.  Twentieth  New  York  Cavalry;  Morris  East- 
man, Fourth  Michigan  Infantry;  Charles  Eichof,  One  Hundred  Fiftieth  New 
York  Volunteer  Infantry;  John  Emery,  Eighth  Michigan  Infantry;  Thomas 
Fouch,  Loudon  Rangers,  Virginia;  R.  H.  Fosdick,  Fourth  Michigan  Cavalry; 
John  Morrish,  Fourth  Michigan  Cavalry;  Talman  C.  Owens,  Tenth  Mich- 
igan Infantry;  Charles  H.  Penoyer,  Twenty-third  Michigan  Infantry;  Rufus 
Rainey,  Twenty-third  Michigan  Infantry;  Milo  Swears,  Tenth  Michigan 
Infantry;  William  Sperl,  One  Hundred  Fifty-second  New  York  Infantry; 
William  Vanderwood,  Twenty-fourth   Michigan  Infantry. 

Soon  after  the  installation  of  the  post  in  Flint,  there  were  smaller  posts 
started  in  Davison,  CHo,  Fenton,  Swartz  Creek,  Gaines,  Mt.  Morris,  Linden 
and  Flushing.  From  Davison  and  Davison  township  a  number  of  men,  pro- 
portionately greater  to  its  population  than  almost  any  township  in  Michigan, 
answered  to  the  call  of  their  country,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war  one 
of  the  strongest  orders  in  the  county  perpetuated  the  memory  of  their  com- 
rades. In  1884  they  organized  Henry  W.  Knapp  Post  No.  284,  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic.  Its  first  commander  was  Lester  S.  McAllister  and  it  had 
thirtv-one  charter  members.     The  commanders  since  then  have  been,  A.  A. 


dbyGoot^lc 


702  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Elmore,  Alexander  Campbell,  William  M.  Knapp,  Willard  Clemmons,  S.  S. 
Clemmons,  John  Cottrell,  B.  F.  Sanford,  G.  R.  Van  Tine,  B.  W.  Perkins, 
S.  A.  Comstock,  William  A.  Monroe,  C.  B.  Smith,  M.  H.  Hewitt,  A.  M. 
Davis,  James  Cooley,  Milo  Swears,  and  the  present  commander,  L.  G.  Adams. 
The  post  increased  in  membership  until  it  was  represented  at  the  national 
encampment  at  Detroit  in  1891  by  sixty-four  members.  The  natural  decrease 
among  the  membership  from  death  has  reduced  the  same  to  seventeen  at  the 
present  date. 

"We  believe  as  a  post  we  have  been  an  educator  in  patriotism  and  good 
citizenship,"  says  A.  A.  Elmore,  to  whom  this  book  is  indebted  for  this 
account  of  the  post. 

At  Clio,  James  Bradley  E'ost,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  was  organ- 
ized in  1883.  The  membership,  diminished  by  the  inevitable  death  of  the 
old  soldiers,  has  left  but  a  remnant  of  its  one-time  roster.  It  numbers  at 
present  C.  H.  Woolson,  William  Wood,  Joseph  Euffum,  A.  S.  Shelley,  Sil- 
vester Leach,  George  Vanest,  Porter  Greenfield,  Jerome  Courier,  Edward 
Ormsby,  J.  J.  Powell,  Cyrus  Perrigo,  Henry  Richardson,  John  Sloan,  P.  H. 
Eoomis,  Evard  Leach,  W''.  C.  Lewis,  Louis  Speckler,  Charles  Barker,  Hiram 
Chase,  William  Bone  and  Ira  Phillips. 

Ransom  Post  No.  89,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  was  organized  in 
Flushing  in  October,  18S2.  It  had  forty-two  charter  members,  and  at  one 
time  had  as  many  as  sixty  members.  It  had  for  its  first  commander  Stewart 
Curie,  and  since  that  time  the  following  have  served  as  commanders :  James 
M.  Greenfield,  W.  H.  J.  Martin,  Cornelius  E.  Rulison,  William  Davie,  S.  H. 
Tliomas,  John  W.  Caldwell,  Cyrus  Phelps,  ^V.  J.  Ottaway,  Chester  Felton, 
Walter  V.  Banning,  Albert  Crosby,  A.  D.  Olmstead,  O.  H.  Perry,  Isaac 
Wheeler,  John  Wheeler  and  W'iUiam  Stone.  The  post  was  named  for  Capt.  . 
Randolph  Ransom,  an  uncle  of  A.  E.  Ransom,  editor  of  the  Flushing 
Observer. 

The  present  ofiicers  of  the  post  are:  Commander,  James  M,  Green- 
field; senior  vice-commander,  Spellman  Loop;  junior  .vice-commander,  S.  H. 
Thomas;  officer  of  the  day,  John  W.  Caldwell;  quartermaster,  Cyrus  G. 
Phelps,  chaplain,  W^.  J.  Ottaway.  The  roster  of  its  present  membership 
includes  the  following  eleven  members,  the  few  survivors  of  the  many  who 
have  been  members  of  Ransom  Post:  A.  E.  Bennett,  Seventeenth  Connecti- 
cut Infantry;  John  W.  Caldwell,  Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry;  Enos  Delong, 
Tenth  Michigan  Infantry;  G.  W.  Darling,  Third  Ohio  Infantry;  C.  S.  Free- 
man, Twenty-third  Michigan  Infantry;  James  M.  Greenfield,  Seventh  Mich- 
igan  Infantry;    H.    H.    Kahl,   One   Hundred   Twenty-first   Ohio   Volunteei 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  70^ 

Infantry;  Speltman  Loop,  One  Hundred  Sixth  New  York  Infantry;  W.  J. 
Ottaway,  Thirteenth  Michigan  Battery;  Cyrus  Phelps,  Tenth  Missouri 
Infantry;  S.  H,  Thomas,  First  Michigan  Infantry. 

Colonel  Fenton  Post  No.  24,  Grand  Anny  of  the  Republic,  was  organ- 
ized August  29,  1881,  at  Fenton,  and  is  thus  the  oldest  in  the  county.  Its 
first  commander  was  Dexter  Horton,  and  since  that  time  the  following 
named  comrades  have  served  in  that  capacity :  Charles  F.  Barber,  Tames 
Robertson,  Ernest  T.  Winters,  Thomas  G.  Skelton,  Louis  V.  Curry,  C.  F. 
Wertman,  Alva  H.  Marsh,  William  Butcher,  James  N.  Ripley,  Silas  K.  Free- 
man, Vernon  C.  Smith  and  Charles  A.  Sadden,  who  is  the  present  com- 
mander. 

Of  the  present  membership  of  twenty-six,  we  are  able  to  give  the  fol- 
lowing partial  roster:  Charles  A.  Sadden,  William  Butcher,  Ernest  T. 
Winters,  Vernon  C.  Smith,  Perry  Birdsall,  Henry  Munson,  M.  D.  Hering- 
ton,  Daniel  Harrington,  H  iram  Hodges,  Edgar  Duq>hy,  George  Wass, 
Frank  Potter,  Mumford  Billings,  Emory  Denton,  George  W.  Barber,  Frank 
Fessenden,  Adam  Andrews,  Charles  Bentley,  Gilbert  Angus,  Francis  Cleve- 
land, J.  J.  Carmer,  George  Gates,  Edward  Bennett  and  Mr.  Ferchencer. 

Each  year  sees  the  sad  diminishing  of  the  post.  Each  year  a  few  more 
brave  men  go  to  claim  the  great  reward;  each  j-ear  those  who  are  left,  pos- 
sibly, are  too  feeble  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  gatherings  of  their  com- 
rades. There  are,  however,  some  who  are  still  hale  and  hearty.  May  they 
round  out  many  years  of  usefulness  in  giving  visible  evidence  of  the 
spirit  of  '61,  and  in  furnishing  an  inspiration  for  the  oncoming  generation. 
We  salute  them. 

woman's  relief  cokps. 

Governor  Crapo  Relief  C'orps  No.  23,  located  at  Flint,  auxiliary  to  the 
Grand  Army  post,  was  organized  in  October,  1884,  with  fourteen  charter 
members.  The  first  officers  were:  President,  Mary  A.  McConnelly;  senior 
vice-president,  Mrs.  Hattie  P.  Thompson;  junior  vice-president,  Mrs.  Anna 
Willett;  .secretary,  Mrs.  M,ary  Lochhead;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Catharine  Part- 
ridge; chaplain,  Mary  Muma;  conductor,  Lydia  Flughes;  guard,  Nettie 
Barney.  These  and  others  compose  a  small  band  of  earnest,  patriotic  women 
who  took  up  the  work  of  assisting  the  soldiers  of  the  Rebelhon  and  their 
dependent  ones.  The  membership  during  the  first  year  increased  to  upwards 
of  one  hundred  and  they  have  clothed  the  needy,  comforted  the  sick  and 
buried  the  dead.     .As  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  is  the  only  auxiliary  to  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


704  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  their  work  is  supposed  to  be  for  Civil  War 
veterans  only.  They  have,  however,  frequently  digressed  from  the  national 
rules  and  at  one  time  did  much  for  a  widow  of  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812. 
During  the  Spanish  war,  over  three  hundred  dollars  was  raised  and  expended 
for  the  local  soldiers  who  saw  service  and  for  their  relief  from  affliction 
after  their  return  from  Cuba.  In  the  thirty-two  years  of  its  existence,  the 
corps  has  expended  over  three  thousand  dollars  in  its  benevolent  work. 

Twice  it  has  been  honored  by  having  the  department  (state)  head- 
quarters in  F"lint.  The  president,  secretary  and  treasurer  have  twice  been 
elected  or  appointed  from  the  local  corps,  an  honor  that  has  never  come  to 
any  other  corps  of  the  state,  Mrs,  Mary  A.  McConnelly  and  Mrs.  Harriet 
P.  Thompson  were  the  ladies  of  Flint  honored  by  being  elected  presidents 
of  the  state  society. 

The  line  of  work  of  the  Relief  Corps  has  been  patriotic  and  benevolent, 
assisting  the  soldiers  in  decorating  the  graves  of  their  deceased  comrades, 
presenting  flags  to  schools,  churches  and  the  boy  scouts,  and  similar  benevol- 
ent work.  The  Woman's  Relief  Corps  is  a  secret  society  and  its  philan- 
thropic work  is  not  proclaimed  to"  the  public.  Few  of  its  acts  of  charity  are 
ever  known  outside  of  the  order,  but  the  good  deeds  of  this  l>and  of  conscien- 
tious women  need  no  recording. 

N.\TION.^I,  LEAGUE  OF  VETERANS   AND   SONS. 

The  National  T^eague  of  Veterans  and  Sons  had  its  birth  in  the  state 
of  Michigan,  at  the  city  of  Saginaw,  in  the  year  1899.  A  local  camp,  Camp 
William  McKinley,  was  instituted  at  Flint  in  the  month  of  December,  1902. 
Its  first  colonel  was  George  Raah,  of  the  Fourth  Michigan  Cavalry.  Subse- 
quent colonels  have  been  Frank  Willett,  of  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry;  Milo 
Swears,  of  Tenth  Michigan  Infantry;  M.  C.  Barney,  Tenth  Michigan 
Infantry;  R.  J.  Bassett,  son  of  a  veteran;  P.  H.  Andrews,  Eleventh  Maine 
Volunteers;  Frank  E.  Halliday,  son  of  a  veteran;  William  H.  Lingle,  son 
of  a  veteran,  and  Robert  J.  Gillespie,  son  of  a  veteran.  The  National  I.^ague 
of  Veterans  held  its  national  camp  at  Flint  in  the  year  1903,  and  at  this 
meeting  M.  C.  Barney,  of  Flint,  was  elected  as  Heutenant-genera!  of  the 
national  organization.  The  national  organization  has  about  eight  hundred 
members  and  the  local  camp  about  one  hundred.  Present  officers  of  local 
camp:  William  H,  Lingle,  colonel;  E.  A.  Jennings,  adjutant,  which  office 
he  has  held  for  several  years. 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,   MICHIGAN. 


REGIMENT  A 


The  various  regiments  which  were  in  part  recruited  or  raised  iji  Genesee 
county  have  had  reunions  from  time  to  time,  and  especially  the  Tenth  and 
Eighth  Michigan  Infantry.  These  regiments  have  had  their  anmu'I  meeting 
at  Flint,  Davison  and  Flushing,  at  various  times.  The  Tenth  Michigan 
held  its  golden  jubilee  at  P'lint  on  September  lo,  1911.  The  Second  Mich- 
igan Infantry  held  its  reunion  at  Flint  in  1915.  The  Twenty-first  Michigan 
also  meets  here  at  times;  the  Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry  and  the  First 
Michigan  Engineers  have  also  held  reunions  at  Flint.  The  annual  reunion 
of  the  Eighth  Michigan  is  held  on  June  16,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of 
James  Island,  at  which  the  regiment  distinguished  itself  and  suffered  heavily 
in  killed  and  wounded. 

The  Twenty-third  Michigan  held  its  reunion  in  Davison  on  August  7, 
1893. 

FLINT    UNION    BLUES, 

The  Flint  Union  Blues  was  a  patriotic  society  organized  after  the  Civil 
War,  in  1872,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  and  maintaining  a  military  com- 
pany in  Flint.  The  first  meeting  was  held  at  Awanaga  Hall  in  June,  1872, 
and  at  a  meeting  in  July  the  following  officers  were  elected :  President, 
C3iarles  S.  Brown;  vice-president,  Ira  H.  Wilder;  secretary,  O.  F.  Loch- 
head;  treasurer,  S.  N.  Andrus.  It  was  resolved  to  adopt  a  uniform  of  dark 
blue,  with  white  trimmings,  and  to  assume  the  title  of  the  "Flint  Union 
Blues."  As  the  state  only  furnished  muskets,  equipments  and  rent  for  arm- 
ories, the  question  of  paying  for  the  uniforms  was  an  important  one,  which 
was  solved  by  a  subscription  circulated  among  the  citizens,  who  contributed  . 
liberally,  Messrs.  Alexander  McFarlan,  J.  W.  Begole  and  William  B. 
McCreery  heading  the  list  with  handsome  amounts. 

The  first  election  for  company  officers  occurred  on  August  14,  1872, 
with  the  following  result:  Captain,  William  R.  Morse;  first  lieutenant,  O. 
F.  Lochhead;  second  lieutenant,  George  E.  Newall;  first  sergeant,  Ira  H. 
Wilder ;  second  sergeant,  tV.  Rosenthal ;  third  sergeant,  Peter  Lennon ;  fourth 
sergeant,  Charles  H.  Wood;  fifth  sergeant,  J.  D.  Lavin;  corporals:  first, 
Charles  A.  Fox;  second,  W.  J.  Seymour;  third,  Alexander  McFarlan,  Jr.; 
fourth,  Andred  Bailey;  fifth.  Thomas  J.  Post;  sixth,  A.  E.  Foote;  seventh, 
H.  N.  Gay;  eighth,  W.  H.  Pier. 

The  company  was  mustered  into  the  state  service  by  Adjutant-General 
(45) 


dbyGoot^lc 


706  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

John  Robertson,  October  i8,  1872,  and  made  its  first  street  parade  the  same 
day.  During  the  evening  fohowing  this  event  they  gave  a  military  ball  and 
reception,  by  which  they  realized  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars.  The 
Blues  soon  after  were  the  guests  of  the  Detroit  Light  Guard,  received  the 
most  cordial  hospitality  and  won  many  encomiums  for  the  excellence  of 
their  drill  and  gentlemanly  deportment.  During  the  same  year  the  ladies 
of  the  first  ward  presented  the  company  with  a  beautiful  silk  flag;  there- 
upon George  E.  Childs  was  appointed  color-sergeant,  and  A.  K.  Fotte  and 
John  King,  color  guards. 

In  1873  the  company  was  ordered  to  Lansing  to  participate  in  the  cere 
monies  connected  with  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  state 
capitol.  During  1874  the  Detroit  Light  Guard  were  its  guests  and  the 
occasion  of  their  visit  is  a  memorable  one  in  the  annals  of  the  company. 
The  company  was  ordered  to  the  scene  of  the  railroad  riots  in  1877  ^^^^ 
promptly  responded,  as  they  did  also  on  a  subsequent  similar  occasion  when 
required  by  the  sheriff. 

The  principal  officers  of  the  company  from  1872  to  1S78  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

i873^Captain,  O.  F.  Lochhead;  first  lieutenant,  George  E.  Xewall; 
second  lieutenant,  Ira  H.  Wilder;  first  sergeant,  John  K!in^. 

1874 — Captain,  O.  F.  Lochhead;  first  lieutenant,  George  F,  Newall; 
second  lieutenant,  Tra  H.  Wilder;  first  sergeant,  John  King. 

1875 — Captain,  George  E.  Newall;  first  lieutenant,  John  King;  second 
lieutenant,  George  E.  Childs;  first  sergeant,  Charles  A.  Fox. 

1876 — -Captain,  George  E.  Newall;  first  lieutenant,  John  King;  second 
lieutenant,  George  E.  Childs;  first  sergeant,  Charles  A.  Fox. 

1877 — ^Captain,  George  E.  Newall ;  first  lieutenant,  Ira  H.  Wilder ; 
second  lieutenant,  George  E.  Childs;  first  sergeant,  H.  M.  Sperry. 

1878 — Captain,  Ira  H.  Wilder;  first  heutenant,  George  E.  Childs; 
second  lieutenant,  H.  M.  Sperry;  first  sergeant,  W.  H.  Pier. 

The  Blues  were  members  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  Michigan  state 
troops  and  were  designated  as  C  Company  in  regimental  formation.  Flint 
is  the  headquarters  of  the  regiment  and  among  tKe  regimental  ofl^icers  who 
have  emanated  from  the  company  are  the  following:  Col.  O.  F.  Lochhead, 
Adjutant  C.  S.  Brown,  Sergeant-Major  John  King.  Color- Sergeant  C,  H. 
Wood,  Commissary  S.  V.  Haker. 

Since  1872  the  Union  Blues  have  had  fifteen  commading  officers,  as 
follows:  Captains.  William  R.  Morse,  O.  F.  Lochhead.  George  Newall, 
Ira  Wilder,  George  E.  Childs,  -Edward  S.  Lee,  Charles  H.  Miller,  Fred  W, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    rOUNTV,    MICHIGAN.  707 

Breniian,  George  M.  Sayles,  Frank  D.  Buckingham,  W.  E.  Stewart,  James 
S.  Parker,  Charles  F.  Martin,  Guy  M.  Wilson  and  Thomas  Colladay,  who  is 
now  captain.  Of  the  above  captains,  O.  F.  Lochhead  became  colonel  of 
the  Third  Infantry;  James  S.  Farker  also  rose  to  the  same  rank;  Guy  M. 
Wilson  is  now  major  in  the  same  regiment. 

The  company  has  one  of  the  best  rifle  ranges  in  the  country,  about  four 
miles  out  of  the  city  on  the  road  to  Mt.  Morris,  and  a!fows  shooting  up  to 
one  thousand  two  hundred  yards. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish -American  War  the  following  ofiicers 
and  men  were  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  on  May  14,  1898,  at 
Island  Lake,  Michigan : 

Captain,  William  E.  Stewart;  first  lieutenant,  James  S.  Parker;  second 
lieutenant,  Charles  S.  Martin ;  first  sergeant,  Joseph  J.  Carscadden ;  quarter- 
master sergeant,  Heinrich  M.  Gagnus;  sergeants,  Hubart  M.  Long,  Thomas 
W.  Hamilton,  G.  Arthur  McConnelJy  and  Claude  G.  Webster;  corjiorals, 
Samuel  J.  Kimbrose,  Ordell  E.  George,  Fred  V.  Favereaux,  Clarence  L, 
Booth,  Willi,?  A.  Coe  and  George  Piggott;  musicians,  Fred  J.  Wright,  Bert 

E.  Bryan  and  Artificer  \YaUace  Eddy;  wagoner,  Charles  H.  Ferguson. 

Privates:  John  H.  Baker,  Elmer  Baker,  John  Baird,  David  H.  Blaine, 
Claude  Breede,  William  J.  Barritt,  James  B.  Ballinger,  Barney  E,  Bath- 
weli,  John  M.  Brown,  George  H.  Cox,  Robert  A.  Catlin,  William  H.  Carr, 
Charles  M.  Corville,  Philo  E.  Carr,  Claude  E.  Cole,  Jesse  H.  Dickerson, 
Percy  D.  Davison,  Charles  E.  Davis,  Willard  A.  Delong,  Neil  A.  Dewar, 
Stephen  DeLisle,  Edward  G.  Evans,  Arthur  G.  Evatt,  Rodney  W.  Eaton, 
Walker  B.  Foster,  Michael  Flynn,  Wilham  A.  Frise,  Bert  Fredenburg,  Irvin 
Hall,  AllDert  H.  Hauer.  Herbert  K.  Hempstead,  Cornelius  J.  Hayes,  Harry 

F,  Hosier.  Clarence  Hartford,  Henry  G.  Jason,  Edwin  E.  Jones,  Frank  E. 
Johnson,  George  Kenevvell,  John  Kenewell,  Karl  Kendrick,  William  A.  Win- 
ters, Thomas  J.  Welch,  Claude  C.  Lowry,  \^^!liam  Loranger,  Weldon  M. 
Lewis,  William  E.  Locke,  James  E.  McReady.  Duncan  McCoU,  Ernest 
McLean,  Frank  P.  McAuley,  Arthur  McCormick,  Harry  C.  Hulty,  Wallace 
Reid,  Lewis  S.  Ross,  Harry  M.  Stevenson,  William  J.  Stringer,  Daniel  T. 
Stanton.  Frank  Stewart,  Albert  J.  Stanard,  William  L.  Scully.  Martin 
Skall,  Guy  F.  Scott,  Koy  L.  Scott,  George  L.  Soper,  Robert  Sinclair,  John 
Scanlon,  William  C.  Stevens,  Albert  J.  Stevenson,  Lewis  Tahnadge,  James 
M.  Tubbs,  Allie  Van  Slyke,  James  P.  Van  Buskirk,  William  Varb.  John  N. 
Wagoner,  Charles  M.  WiUiams.  Martin  W^elsh,  William  J.  Weidman,  George 
J.  Wiel.  James  A.  Wheeler,  Fred  W.  Warren,  Wilbur  H.  Warren,  Cornelius 
Wilcox,  Edward  A.  Wilson,  Henry  W.  Ziegel. 


dbyGoot^lc 


708  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

After  the  company  had  reached  Camp  Alger,  near  Dun  Loring,  Vir- 
ginia, Captain  Stewart  was  detailed  for  other  duty,  and  so  the  company  went 
to  the  island  of  Cuba  under  command  of  Lieutenant,  afterwards  Colonel, 
James  S.  Parker,  who  commanded  the  company  through  the  war. 

The  company  landed  in  Cuba  on  June  27,  1898,  and  the  first  day  of 
July  they  took  part  most  valiantly  in  the  battle  of  Agnadoras.  Their  next 
duty  was  to  guard  a  camp  of  Spanish  prisoners  and,  being  men  of  Mich- 
igan and  renowned  for  versatility,  they  were  ordered  by  General  Young  to 
build  a  dock.  This  they  commenced  on  July  4,  i8g8,  and  after  its  accom- 
plishmenl;  they  were  employed  in  improving  the  roads.  They  next  had  a 
rest  in  a  camp  of  recuperation  and  came  back  to  Montauk  Point,  New  York, 
and  thence  home.  A  tablet  of  marble  in  the  armory  of  this  company  of 
P~lint  has  the  following  inscription: 

"In  Memoriam — Company  A,  Thirty-third  Infantry.  Ablino  J.  Bab- 
cock,  promoted  lieutenant  Company  L,  died  Siboney,  July  26,  1898.  Alfred 
J.  Stevenson,  died  Siboney,  July  2(),  1898.  Allie  P.  Van  Slyke,  died  Siboney, 
August  17,  i8g8.  Clyde  Breede,  died  at  sea,  August  21,  1898.  Edward  A. 
Wilson,  died  at  sea,  September  4,  1898.  Wilbur  H.  Warren,  died  at  Otis- 
ville,  September  18,  1898.  James  M.  Tubbs,  died  at  Holly,  September  25, 
1898.  William  J.  Weidman,  died  at  Detroit,  October  3,  1898.  Walter  B. 
Foster,  died  at  St  Ignace,  December  24,  1898. 

"This  company  organized  at  Flint,  Michigan.  Mustered  in  at  Island 
Lake,  May  14.  Left  by  railroad  for  Camp  Alger,  May  29.  Marched  from 
Camp  Alger  to  Dun  Loring,  June  22.  From  there  by  railroad  to  Alexandria. 
Took  S.  S.  Washington  for  Fortress  Monroe.  Thence  by  U.  S.  S.  Yale  at 
Hampton  Roads  for  Cuba,  June  23.  Arrived  at  Siboney,  June  27.  In 
action  at  Agnadoras  before  Santiago,  July  i.  In  camp  at  Silioney  until 
July  20.  Left  Silroney  by  railroad  for  Sardinaries.  Remained  there  until 
August  20.  Left  by  railroad  for  Santiago  and  sailed  on  Harvard  for  Camp 
Wikotl.  Landed,  August  26.  Left  for  Flint,  September  2.  Arrived  home, 
September  4.  1898." 

The  company  was  mustered  out  of  the  United  States  service  at  Flint, 
December  19,  1898. 

Twice  since  the  Spanish -American  War  has  the  call  come  for  the  Blues 
to  perform  military  service  at  critical  times.  The  first  was  when  the  state 
institution  at  Lapeer  was  visited  by  an  epidemic  and  the  quarantine  regula- 
tions required  a  strong  arm  for  their  enforcement.  The  company  under 
Captain  Wilson  performed  this  duty  in  an  eminently  satisfactory  way.     The 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    CO'JNTY,    MICHIGAN.  709 

routine  of  guard  duty  in  the  severe  winter  weather  was  very  trying,  but  the 
men  met  every  requirement  and  won  the  praise  of  their  superiors. 

Again,  when  the  peace  of  the  copper  country  was  jeopardized  by  the 
strike,  the  company  was  called  on.  In  the  first  instance  the  company  was 
ready  on  three  hours  call,  and  in  the  last,  on  two  and  a  half  hours  call.  The 
call  for  mobilization  of  the  state  troops  came  from  Colonel  Bersey,  adjutant- 
general,  to  Major  Guy  M.  Wilson,  commanding  the  second  battalion,  on  the 
afternoon  of  June  i8,  1916;  the  quick  response  of  the  Union  Blues,  Com- 
pany A,  Thirty-three  Infantry,  Capt,  Thomas  Colladay,  evidenced  the  high 
spirit  of  the  company.  The  men  began  to  assemble  at  the  armory  at  once 
and  was  soon  ready  to  entrain.  The  roster  of  the  company  that  responded 
ready  to  go  to  the  camp  is  as  follows : 

Capt.  Thomas  Colladay,  Lieut,  Ira  Irving,  I.ieut.  John  Hynan;  sergeants, 
Clarence  Booth,  Gladstone  Maclean,  Moses  Wright,  Frank  Sanborn;  cor- 
porals, Harrison  Wright,  Harry  J.  Leonard,  Lloyd  Yorton,  William  F. 
Berndt,  William  Ward;  musicians,  R.  L.  Osborn,  Earl  G.  Fenner,  John 
Davidson;  cook,  Alfred  Hayward;  privates,  Lee  Austin,  George  E.  Brabbs, 
Charles  Berndt,  Glen  Boyer,  Arthur  Bailey,  Fred  Breish,  Fred  H.  Dormire, 
William  L.  Goodall,  Arthur  Hardy,  L.  Hess.  Joseph  Hill,  John  R.  Hursh, 
Frank  A.  Hursh,  Emery  Hawkes,  Hoyt  M.  Hollenshed.  Edwin  P.  Harris, 
A.  J.  Johnson,  Henry  W.  Kruse,  August  Klein,  Ray  R.  Kumlauf,  Webster 
H.  Knee,  Gilbert  Fl  Looze,  Leonard  Lightall,  Ernest  Lewis,  Stephen 
Michael,  Thomas  Mangan,  William  Marshall,  James  M.  Marshall,  Carl  W. 
MuUenenhagen,  J.  S.  Mills,  Bruce  Mills,  .A.ndrew  Ostrander,  Fred  A.  Potter, 
Elmer  H.  Remender,  Charles  Richmond,  Bert  Ryan,  Ivan  H.  Smith,  Leon 
W.  Smith,  George  E.  Sutherland,  Walter  P.  Sibley,  Ralph  Schoultz.  Vernon 
C.  Swihart.  Henry  A.  Stehbens,  George  Savory,  Horace  Truesdale,  Charles 
Taylor,  Wilford  G.  Vallarie,  Paul  R.  Whitton.  George  Boike,  Berthold 
Endress,  Edward  Dare,  Charles  Sifton.  Otto  E.  McVannel,  L.  Vern  Paul, 
Floyd  Van  Steenburg,  Archie  F.  Lowley,  John  D.  Badgley,  Edward  Nelson, 
Carl  Marshall,  Albert  Bierschback. 

The  war  prospect  stimulated  recruiting  and  the  following  men  were 
mustered  in  as  unassigned  recruits:  Earl  Francis,  Frank  Hascall,  Ray 
Henry,  Frank  Scott,  Earl  Farmalee,  Henry  Rody,  Levi  Ostrander,  David  C. 
Cusen,  William  R.  Flitcher,  Courtland  Le  Clair,  Charles  A.  Keskey,  George 
R.  Graham,  Clarence  W.  Smith,  Edward  Fitch,  George  T.  Hughes,  Julius 
A.  Szeznkauski,  Lloyd  B.  Pattey,  Charles  Moon,  Oscar  Vickstrom,  Henry 
Chapman,  Richard  M,  Cook.  Bert  Camplain,  Clyde  Grover,  Andrew  White, 
Burrell  Scott.  Charles  F.   Miller,  Arthur  J-   Stout,  Alfred  George  Bessnett, 


dbyGoot^lc 


7IO  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Russell  Taylor,  Harry  Sulleiiberger,  D.  D.  McCiibbiii,  Herman  Crites,  For- 
est E.  Williams,  Horace  Mayviily,  Ralph  E.  Elder,  John  Bartkowiak,  Eldon 
Call,  Albert  E.  Wetlierel!,  Everett  Scott,  Edward  C.  Scheneman,  Howard 
Esterbrook,  Lester  Dauglass.  Daniel  C.  Hall,  Harold  E.  Bradshaw,  Alen  D. 
Cripps,  Bert  Fredeiiberg,  Henry  C.  Oliver  and  Dewey  Jones. 

The  machine  gun  company  of  Flint  had  its  origin  in  the  preparedness 
sentiment  that  has  recently  swept  over  the  country.  Its  captain,  A.  C.  Cross- 
man,  has  had  experience  in  the  United  States  army.  At  the  time  the  call 
for  the  troops  came,  the  company  had  not  been  equipped  with  machine  guns, 
and  so  received  rifles  and  went  out  as  infantry.  Its  response  was  as  prompt 
as  that  of  the  other  company.  The  machine  gun  roster  is  as  follows :  Capt. 
A.  C.  Crossman,  IJeut.  Fred  J.  Wright;  sergeants,  M.  H.  Spreen,  W.  S, 
Ailen,  H.  Hodgson,  D.  W.  Elemming,  Raymond  Peterson;  corporals,  R.  H. 
Chase,  C.  B.  Hutty,  W.  A.  Johnson,  W.  L.  Lautenschlager  and  B.  W.  Upthe- 
graff;  privates,  J.  E.  Alexander,  D.  C.  Allan,  R.  L.  Allen,  H.  C.  Bachelor, 
J.  Batancek.  W.  M.  Beveridge,  A.  H.  C.  Bradow,  H.  M.  Bradow,  G,  F. 
Brown,  A.  W.  Crago,  R.  W.  Davis,  H.  C.  Day,  C,  C.  Erno,  G.  F.  Gardner, 
P.  H.  Gatz,  T.  M.  Gilliespie,  M.  F.  Graham,  C.  L.  Hobson,  E.  H.  Hobson. 
J.  D.  Howard,  E.  R.  Kennerd,  C.  A.  Leach,  J.  McKay,  G.  A.  McMillan,  C. 
Nelson,  C.  E.  Nickerson,  J.  O.  Perrott,  G.  J.  Sarchett,  W.  J.  Shannon,  L. 
H.  Sherman,  K.  M.  Sills,  G.  R.  Semmens,  D.  J.  Whitehead,  H.  B.  Buys,  L. 
Moore,  E.  G.  Dressel,  H.  W.  Scott,  W.  M.  Brittain,  Albert  Simpson,  W. 
Rackley,  H.  Wickes  and  M.  J.  Crites. 

The  two  companies  left  Flint  for  Grayhng,  June  24,  1916,  and  an 
immense  throng  assembled  to  bid  them  God-speed.  The  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  and  Spanish  Veterans  turned  out  and  Mayor  Johnson  addressed 
them  as  follows : 

Officeia  niHl  iieiubeis  f  (  mii  m  i  nl  M  it  bine  (  un  (  imj  m  Thirty-third 
Regiment  Mlihig  n  Nttiouil  (  uirils  *«  (hief  exeiutne  of  the  city  of  Flint,  I  bid 
\ou  a  farenell  In  behilf  of  the  entire  Litlzenship  of  this  itv  Mnnj  of  U9  have  aaseui- 
Liled  here  tcdai  to  bid  lou  God  <ipee6  in  the  couflkt  into  which  ^ou  mav  be  cnlled.  We 
liope  that  the  tresent  difhculty  between  the  Inited  Stites  and  Mexico  maj  be  adjusted 
without  ret^itfng  tj  force  of  urms  But  If  It  is  11  t  ae  ill  feel  thjt  jou  boys,  with 
other  Boldiers  of  this  nation  will  be  nhle  t>  -lettle  it  \eiy  aitKf icttriU  \ou  lire  going 
to  be  our  reriesentitiies  on  the  battle  line  of  tlie  greitt=t  nRtion  in  the  world  and  we 
know  thit  rtu  will  bring  credit  and  honor  upon  jour  countiy   your  flag  and  yourselves. 

Be  that  as  It  niav  you  haie  exprehsed  your  retdine^s  to  sene  jour  couiiti-y  In 
wh  Ltever  manner  ciicumstance^  may  demoud  While  ne  regiet  thnt  it  has  become  neces- 
san  for  you  to  j,o  to  the  front  we  itlso  reiU^e  the  mau\  surlfiLes  you  ^re  making  In 
the  inteiests  of  vour  countu  i  u  are  lejimg  lour  positions  loup  hjne  \our  fiimiiies 
aiirt  loui  loiel  mes  t>  fight    if  nete".s.iiy    the  b  ttles    f  joui  countn 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  7I I 

4u<l  tills  giitbeiiiig  heie  todar  of  the  citizenn  of  rimt  n  iiit  yiu  to  know  tliit  ne 
adnilie  Tour  pitrlotKiii  loiaitv  ami  courtge  ^uU  we  iv-ure  jou  ne  iipreciate  your 
unselfish  deletion  to  tlie  mteiests  o£  the  nation 

We  a!w  want  to  assure  jou  that  duiiiig  voui  abseiiLC  ^our  fumiliea  and  deieuient-i 
wl!l  le  taied  for   and  the  iJOMtinis  of  tiuat   whiih  jon  are  leiilufe    will  bp  open  to  you 

Siiue  of  lou  ninT  ujt  now  realize  the  inanv  hardships  vou  will  be  called  upm  to 
eiiduie  in  tlliuate  lud  tountu  to  which  ^ou  are  not  aecuBtomed  Xou  must  leniember 
that  your  healtli  is  of  great  iiniKiitance  and  we  hope  that  jon  will  uegle<  t  nothing,  thit 
your  offliers  might  suggest  for  Its  pieservatlon 

The  history  of  past  e^pedititus  hjs  shown  thit  the  failure  to  ob-*rie  health  regul  i 
tlons  hie  been  moie  of  a  mena\.e  than  the  bullets  of  the  enemy  Therefoie  boys  I 
reiieat  look  aftei  \(Ut  health  as  fii  is  iwssible  thit  ku  mtl^  leturn  to  uh  robust 
and  stioug 

The  citi/ens  of  Flint  htie  been  pleised  to  contribute  a  small  fund  in  t  ahoit  time 
— I  wish  it  neie  more — to  he  used  by  the  officer'?  of  lour  companies,  to  idd  If  possible 
to  joui  loiutoits  iiiiil  heiltli    and  nhen  moie  Is  ueeded    we  will  );1  idl;  re'ipond 

Nti^  bove  IS  JOU  leiie  Flint  undei  the  '^tar&  and  stripes  the  emblem  of  the 
greite&t  nation  on  eiith  lou  will  be  followed  with  the  pnyeis  of  nil  of  our  citizens 
praying  for  your  speedj  and  siife  letuni      God  be  with  jou    till  we  meet    igim 

In  reply  to  the  mayor's  farewell  message,  Major  Guy  M.  Wilson  assured 
the  citizens  that  the  responsibility  resting  on  the  company  officers  of  the 
Flint  companies  was  I'ery  close  to  their  hearts. 

"May  we  return  to  you  with  that  trust  which  you  have  given  us,  abso- 
lutely unsullied,"  he  said,  "T  have  believed  in  preparedness  for  a  great 
many  years,  but  I  want  to  ask  you,  Who  is  to  blame  for  this  war?  I  will 
answer.  It  is  the  great  body  politic  of  the  American  people  who  have  not 
believed  in  preparedness.  If  you  had  trained  your  boys  and  your  husbands, 
Mexico  would  never  have  dared  to  slap  us  on  one  cheek  and  then  on  the 
other.  The  last  message  I  want  to  leave  with  you  is,  to  prepare  for  the 
great  task  that  must  come,  by  providing  military  training  in  the  schools. 

"If  the  English  language  were  adequate  I  would  express  our  apprecia- 
tion for  the  gift  you  have  presented  us,  but  I  can  assure  you  that  the  money 
will  be  spent  to  provide  the  things  the  soldiers  need,  and  as  the  wives  and 
mothers  would  provide,  if  the  men  were  at  home.  God  bless  you,  and  we 
thank  you." 

With  Major  Wilson,  as  members  of  his  battalion  staff,  went  Lieut.  Frank 
A,  Lawrence  and  Sergt.-Major  Edgar  M.  Oaks.  After  remaining  at 
Grayling  for  three  months,  the  Michigan  National  Guard,  including  the 
Flint  companies,  were  ordered  to  the  Mexican  border. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN 


SPANISH    WAR    VETERANS. 


The  local  camp  of  Spanish  War  Veterans  has  a  membership  of  about 
thirty-five.  It  has  had  the  following  commanders:  James  S.  Parker,  major 
of  the  Thirty-third  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry;  Charles  S.  Martin,  cap- 
tain Comjjany  A,  Thirty-third  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry;  George  Lukes, 
of  Thirty-third  Michigan  Infantry;  Frank  Heike,  of  the  Thirty-second  Mich- 
igan Infantry,  and  Fred  Hanneman,  sergeant,  Troop  Three,  Fifteenth  United 
States  Regular  Cavalry. 

Of  these  veterans,  most  of  them  were  of  the  local  company  (A,  Thirty- 
third  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry),  known  as  the  Blues;  but  Fred  Elliott, 
of  the  Thirty-fourth  Michigan  Infantry,  George  Lukes,  of  the  Thirty-second 
Michigan  Infantry  and  Fred  Morrish,  of  the  Thirty-first  Michigan  Infantry, 
are  exceptions. 

The  present  officers  of  the  camp  are:  Fred  S.  Hanneman,  commander; 
Silas  Dunham,  senior  vice-commander;  John  Wagner,  junior  vice-com- 
mander; Frank  Jax,  officer  of  the  day;  O.  A.  Harris,  officer  of  the  guard; 
Fred  Morrish,  chaplain;  Neil  Dewar,  adjutant,  and  George  Lukes,  quarter- 
master. The  three  trustees  are  Col.  James  S.  Parker,  Capt.  Charles  S. 
Martin  and  Ed  Welsh. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Villages  of  Genesee  County. 

In  speaking  of  the  founders  of  a  coninionwealth,  we  are  speaking  of 
brave,  unselfish  people,  who  blazed  their  way  through  a  wilderness  fraught 
with  hardships  and  privations  and  toil,  to  a  glimpse  of  future  civilization 
which  could  only  be  made  possible  through  sacrifice  and  years  of  waiting. 
The  men  who  settled  in  Genesee  county  were  the  same  type  of  men  who 
settled  all  new  countries — men  who  loaded  their  families  and  their  eiifects 
into  ox-teams  or  covered  wagons  and,  'mid  tears  and  farewells,  started  on 
the  long,  tedious  journey  to  the  West.  Many  men  who  sought  new  homes 
in  the  solitude  of  the  forest  and  on  the  banks  of  virgin  streams  were  men 
who  brought  with  them  the  amenities  and  culture  of  good  society  and  the 
wholesome  remembrance  of  family  ties. 

Men  of  all  nations  are  inclined  to  be  clannish  and  many  were  led  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  supposedly  lucky  friends  or  neighbors,  who  had 
braved  western  wilds  and  sent  back  cogent  messages  of  promised  prosper- 
ity that  fired  the  breasts  of  those  left  liehind  with  a  spirit  of  adventure  and 
a  resolve  to  follow. 

When  the  pioneer  has  waited  until  cities  and  villages  have  sprung  up; 
when  civilization  has  expressed  itself  in  great  churches  and  schools  and 
departments  of  commerce,  he  may  not  justly  esteem  himself  entitled  to  the 
distinctive  place  among  his  neighbors  that  one  accords  to  the  sturdy  citizen, 
whose  purpose  in  life  should  have  incited  him  to  leave  the  home  of  his  birth 
and  found  the  early  settlements  in  the  Michigan  forests. 


The  village  of  Fenton,  in  the  township  of  the  same  name,  is  happily 
situated  in  the  valley  of  the  Shiawassee  river,  in  a  section  of  the  county 
dotted  with  small  lakes  of  great  beauty. 

Early  in  the  year  1834,  Clark  Dibble  was  threading  his  way  through 
a  trackless  wilderness  from  Shiawassee  to  Grand  Blanc  and  by  some  mis- 
take he  struck  the  White  Lake  trail.  Pushing  a  little  farther  on.  he  crossed 
the  undulating  ridge  to  the  south  and  was  so  struck  with  the  beautiful  loca- 


dbyGoot^lc 


714  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

tion  of  the  spot  that  he  stopped  for  a  day  to  examine  the  lay  of  the  land. 
So  pleased  with  his  discovery  was  he  that,  after  his  arrival  at  Grand  Blanc, 
called  Grumlaw,  he  induced  his  friends,  Dustin  Cheney,  Loreii  Riggs  and 
John  Galloway,  to  go  with  him  and  form  a  settlement  at  this  place,  Mr. 
Cheney  and  his  family  were  the  first  to  go,  Mrs.  Cheney  being  the  hrst 
white  woman  who  ever  visited  the  spot.  Mr.  Dibble  moved  his  household 
next,  followed  by  John  Galloway  and  Mr.  Riggs,  and  thus  the  settlement  of 
Dibbleville,  afterwards  Fentonvilie,  was  effected.  These  pioneers  had  first 
located  in  Grand  Blanc,  which  they  had  reached  by  following  the  main  trail 
from  Detroit  to  Saginaw. 

The  vicinity  of  the  many  lakes  surrounding  Fenton  was  the  favorite 
resort  of  the  red  tribes  who  occupied  this  region.  The  hills  and  forests 
afforded  them  hunting  grounds  for  deer,  wolves  and  bear,  and  the  lakes 
furnished  fish  in  abundance.  In  the  edge  of  the  township  of  Mundy  dwelt 
a  small  tribe  whose  chief  was  named  "King  Fisher,"'  who  cultivated  a  few 
fields  and  grew  Indian  corn.  "King  Fisher"  was  later  well  known  through- 
out this  locality.  On  one  occasion  he  journeyed  to  the  settlement  with  some 
of  his  followers,  to  hear  the  music  of  which  he  had  been  told,  Mrs.  Benja- 
min Rockwell,  a  sister  of  William  M.  Fenton,  having  brought  the  first  piano 
to  Fenton.  The  Indian  chief  was  graciously  received  by  Mrs.  Rockwell  and 
Mrs.  Fenton  and,  notwithstanding  his  kingly  dignity,  which  never  for- 
sook him,  became  transfixed  at  the  sound  of  the  piano,  which  he  said  "Mani- 
tou  made.'"  This  piano,  an  exquisitely  carved  harpsichord,  is  now  among 
the  cherished  possessions  of  the  Hon.  Fenton  R.  McCreery,  of  Flint,  a 
grandson  of  Colonel  Fenton. 

Since  1840  the  village  has  increased  in  growth  until  it  is  now  the 
second  center  of  ^xipulation  in  the  county.  There  are  two  weekly  news- 
papers and  two  substantial  banks,  and  it  now  boasts  one  of  the  most  popular 
summer  resorts  in  this  section  of  the  state,  Long  lake,  which  is  several  miles 
in  length  and  lies  directly  to  the  north  of  the  village,  being  fringed  with 
several  hundred  handsome  cottages. 

Fenton,  with  an  abundance  of  electric  power,  is  well  lighted,  a  mod- 
ern system  of  boulevard  hghts  having  recently  been  installed  on  the  princi- 
pal business  street.  It  has  many  attractive  homes,  its  streets  are  wide  and 
well  shaded,  and  it  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  Tyrone  hills,  from  the  top  of  which 
may  be  obtained  a  fine  view  of  the  surrounding  country,  the  vision  covering 
an  area  of  many  miles,  in  the  Sistance  being  Holly,  Davisbnrg  and  Long 
Lake. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENliSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  715 

The  town  has  five  cliurches,  handsomely  constructed,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  Rev.  W.  B.  Collins,  pastor;  the  Baptist,  Rev.  Robert  Davles, 
pastor;  the  Presbyterian,  Rev.  John  McWilHaras,  pastor;  St.  Jude's  Episco- 
pal, at  present  without  a  rector,  and  St.  John's  Cathohc  church,  Rev.   Fr. 

D.  L.  Dillon,  priest.  In  addition  to  these  houses  of  worship,  the  Christian 
Scientists  hold  regular  services,  although  they  are  yet  without  a  church 
edifice. 

A  woman's  civic  association  was  organized  in  1910  and  has  a  present 
membership  of  about  two  hundred.  It  has  aided  materially  in  promoting  the 
civic  interests  of  the  community  and  has  become  an  efficient  force  in  the 
affairs  of  the  municipality.  The  association  has  recently  purchased  a  build- 
ing which  is  used  for  auditorium  purposes  and  also  as  a  civic  center.  The 
officers  are:  Mrs.  T.  C.  McLeod,  president;  Mrs.  R.  B.  Renwick,  secretary; 
Mrs.  E.  C.  Forte,  treasurer.  Several  literary  clubs,  among  which  is  the 
Bay  View  Club  and  the  Entre  Nous  Club,  contribute  their  part  in  adding 
to  the  educational  and  social  life  of  the  town. 

An  industry  of  importance  to  the  village  is  the  cement  works,  located 
on  the  banks  of  Silver  lake,  the  two  plants  employing  several  hundred  men 
in  the  manufacture  of  a  high  grade  of  portland  cement,  the  marl  for  the 
purpose  being  taken  from  the  bed  of  the  lake  near  by. 

A  factory  has  also  recently  been  organized  in  Fenton  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  hydroplanes  on  a  small  scale,  Long  lake,  nearby,  proving  a  practical 
place   for  experimental  operations. 

The  Masonic  fraternities  of  the  town  include  Fenton  Lodge  No.  109, 
N.  H.  Chestnut,  master;  Genesee  Chapter  No.  29.  Royal  Arch  Masons,  A. 
W.  Cinnar,  high  priest,  and  Fenton  Commandery  No.  14,  Knights  Templar, 

E.  C.  Hyatt,  eminent  commander. 

The  village  also  has  a  first  class  hotel  and  is  a  station  on  the  Detroit, 
Grand  Haven  &  Milwaukee  railroad.  Its  population  is  two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  thirty-three. 

The  officers  for  T916  are;  President,  Edwin  M.  Cole;  clerk,  Ross 
McCurdv:  treasurer.  Flovd  J-.  McCullom;  assessor,  Arthur  W.  Crimmer. 


Flushing,  the  center  of  a  fine  agricultural  district  and  in  point  of  popu- 
lation in  the  county  exceeded  only  by  Flint  and  Fenton,  is  located  on  the 
banks  of  the  Flint  river,  the  whole  site  being  originally  covered  with  a 
dense  growth  of    heavy  timber,  of  which  a  large  part  was  pine. 


dbyGoot^lc 


7l6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Flushing  claims  as  its  first  white  settler,  Rufus  Harrison,  who  took  up 
his  abode  at  that  place  in  1835.  One  of  the  most  prominent  among  the 
early  settlers  of  this  locality  was  Thomas  L.  Brent,  a  Virginia  gentleman 
of  wealth,  who  had  been  United  States  cliarge  d'affaires  to  Portugal. 
Abbott's  history  states  that  Mr.  Brent  represented  his  country  in  Spain.  A 
great  deal  of  interest  attaches  to  the  Brent  family,  which  was  of  much 
importance  during  the  early  days,  it  appearing  unusual  that  Mr.  Brent,  a 
man  of  cultivated  tastes,  and  his  wife,  a  woman  who  was  connected  with  a 
noble  family  of  Spain,  together  with  their  son,  Henry,  and  their  daughter 
Charlotte,  both  of  whom  had  received  expensive  educations  in  Paris,  should 
isolate  themselves  in  a  virgin  forest  away  from  the  luxuries  and  refinements 
of  the  civilized  European  world  to  which  they  had  so  long  been  accus- 
tomed. Mr.  Brent  built  a  log  house  on  the  banks  of  the  river  below  Flush- 
ing, and  when  he  died  his  body  was  carried  down  a  steep  ladder  from  the 
loft  and  brought  to  Flint,  where  the  funeral  services  were  held  from  the 
home  of  Mr.  Dewey.  Mr.  Brent  expended  his  large  fortune  in  buying  gov- 
ernment lands,  at  one  time  paying  taxes  on  seventy  thousand  acres  of  Michi- 
gan land.  In  1836  he  built  a  dam  across  the  Flint  river  and  in  the  same  year 
erected  a  saw-mill,  but  a  severe  flood  in  the  spring  of  1837  washed  away 
the  dam  and  for  a  time  threatened  the  mill.  Nearly  every  man  who  located 
in  this  section  of  the  country  worked  at  one  time  or  another  for  Mr.  Brent 
and  the  hamlet  of  Brent  Creek  nearby  is  named  for  him.  He  had  fond 
dreams  of  building  a  fine  residence  on  this  spot,  but  he  died  before  his  wishes 
were  realized.  He  had  constructed,  however,  a  wine  cellar  in  the  face  of 
the  bluff  near  his  cabin  and  in  this  his  choicest  brands  were  kept.  After  his 
death  his  widow  carried  out  his  plans  for  the  home  and  a  repHca  of  the 
large  colonial  homes  of  Virginia  stood  at, the  head  of  a  long  lane  on  the 
Brent  estate.  This  house  is  said  to  have  contained  at  this  time  a  small 
chapel,  built  after  plans  of  Mrs.  Brent,  who  was  a  Catholic  by  faith  and 
had  long  been  denied  the  privilege  of  worshipping  according  to  the  stately 
manner  in  which  she  had  been  accustomed  in  Spain.  Mrs.  Brent  died,  how- 
ever, soon  after  the  house  was  completed  and  the  property  is  now  owned  by 
Arthur  G,  Bishop,  the  president  of  the  Genesee  County  Savings  Bank  in 
Flint. 

Flushing  has  a  flourishing  business  men's  association,  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  with  a  membership  of  about  forty,  which  contributes  to  the 
advancement  of  mercantile  and  industrial  conditions.  The  officers  are : 
President,  Herbert  A.  Stewart;  secretary,  Leo  Travis. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN.  717 

It  is  the  center  of  a  wealthy  farming  community,  which  finds  at  Flush- 
ing a  market  for  commodities.  The  village  has  two  banks  and  a  weekJy 
newspaper.  There  are  three  churches,  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  with  Rev. 
J.  E,  Lewin,  as  pastor;  the  Presbyterian,  with  Rev.  M.  G.  Pawley  as  pastor, 
and  the  Baptist  church,  whose  pulpit  is  now  vacant. 

Flushing  has  two  Masonic  bodies,  Flushing  Lodge  No.  223,  Dr.  Joseph 
Scheidler,  master,  and  F'lint  Rapids  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Guy 
Turner,  high  priest.  The  Odd  Fellows  are  represented,  Rankin  Lodge, 
whose  noble  grand  is  William  G.  Smith,  being  named  for  Francis  H.  Ran- 
kin, the  former  editor  of  the  Wolverine  Citizen,  in  Flint. 

There  are  several  clubs  in  Flushing,  one  of  which,  the  Flushing  Improve- 
ment Club,  was  organized  by  a  number  of  women  interested  in  the  better- 
ment of  civic  conditions;  and  two  others  are  the  Tuesday  Club,  and  the 
Philomathians. 

The  present  officers  of  the  village  are:  President,  Frank  P,  Haskall; 
clerk,  Harry  L.  Mann;  treasurer,  Edgar  F.  Boman;  assessor,  Willis  C.  Wil- 
cox; trustees,  John  S.  Frawlcy,  Perry  Nichols,  W.  S.  Davis,  Thomas 
McKenzie,  M.  J.  Backofen,  Wilfred  J.  Short 

Flushing  is  situated  on  the  Saginaw  division  of  the  Grand  Trunk  rail- 
road, and  has  a  population  of  one  thousand  and  seventy-nine.  Among  its 
influential  citizens  are  Ira  T.  and  Franklin  P.  Sayre.  H.  H.  Prosser,  F.  R. 
Ottaway  and  James  Greenfield,  each  of  whom  has  held  offices  of  trust  and 
served  the  countv  or  state  with  signal  abilitv  and  credit. 


Clio,  the  fourth  center  of  population  in  the  county  of  Genesee,  is  on 
the  main  line  of  the  Pere  Marquette  railroad  and  also  on  the  hue  of  the 
Saginaw,  Bay  City  &  Flint  interurban  railway.  It  is  twelve  miles  distant 
from  Flint  and  during  the  past  ten  years  has  received  a  steady  growth,  due 
somewhat  to  the  fact  that  it  is  easily  accessible  from  Flint  and  has  become 
the  home  of  many  suburbanites  desirous  of  avoiding  the  high  prices  of  land 
in  the  city. 

■  It  has  three  churches,  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  the  Free  Methodist 
and  the  Methodist  Protestant ;  also  a  good  graded  school,  a  grange  hall,  a 
large  elevator  and  a  Masonic  temple.  It  has  a  paved  business  district  and 
electric  power  and  lights. 

A  board  of  commerce  is  awake  to  the  possibilities  of  civic  advancement, 


dbyGoot^lc 


7l8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

under  the  presidency  of  M,  C.  Doyle,  and  there  are  both  Masonic  and  Odd 
Fellow  lodges.  A  branch  of  th'e  Detroit  creamery  is  at  present  located  in 
Clio  and  manufacturing  condensed  milk. 

The  village  officers  are:  President,  Charles  Matson;  clerk,  William  G. 
Goodrich;  treasurer,  Charles  H.  Reed;  assessor,  Glenn  Williams.  Cho  was 
incorporated  as  a  village  in  1873.     Its  population  is  nearly  one  thousand. 


The  village  of  Davison,  a  station  on  the  main  line  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
railroad,  ten  miles  east  of  Flint,  was  named  for  Judge  Norman  Davison, 
who  came  from  Avon,  New  York,  to  this  section  of  the  county  when  it  was 
a  dense  and  almost  unbroken  wilderness.  On  the  banks  of  Kearsley  creek, 
beneath  the  shadows  of  a  stately  forest,  was  pitched  the  family  abode,  and 
on  the  spot  where  the  village  now  stands  a  saw-mill  was  erected  in  1833, 
followed  by  a  grist-mill  in  1836,  and  the  early  travelers  in  this  region  remem- 
bered well  the  long  tramps  over  Indian  trails  and  marked  trees  to  Davison's 
mills.  A  postoffice  was  here  established  in  1836  and  in  1837  Judge  Davison 
was  appointed  postmaster.  Prior  to  1S40  the  south  half  of  Davison  town- 
ship was  attached  to  Atlas  and  the  north  part  to  Richfield.  During  this 
time  when  Atlas  formed  a  portion  of  Lapeer,  Judge  Davison  was  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  latter  county,  and  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  conven- 
tion that  met  in  Detroit  in  1835  to  frame  the  first  state  constitution. 

The  wilderness  to  which  Judge  Davison  came  over  eighty  years  ago  has 
now  given  away  to  cultivated  fields,  macadamized  roads  are  substituted  for 
the  Indian  trails  and  the  hum  of  the  locomotive  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
warning  howls  of  the  wolf. 

In  the  year  1916  Davison  furnishes  a  marketing  center  for  a  pros- 
perous rural  community;  it  has  four  churches,  the  Catholic,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  the  Free  Methodist  and  the  Baptist.  It  has  a  state  bank  and 
Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows  lodges.  It  has  several  clubs  devoted  to  social  and 
literary  pursuits  and  has  recently  built  a  hall  for  auditorium  purposes. 

The  population  in  1916  is  seven  hundred.  The  village  officers  are: 
President,  Anson  W.  Adams;  clerk,  Seth  McBratney:  treasurer,  Edmund  C. 
Haynes;  assessor,  Floyd  Pettingill. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


GRAND   BLANC. 


Grand  Blanc,  or  Grnmlaw,  as  it  was  called  in  the  early  days,  was  an 
old  Indian  camping  ground  and  was  settled  by  the  first  white  family  that  ever 
located  in  Genesee  county,  the  Stevens,  who  came  from  the  state  of  New 
York  to  Detroit  in  1822,  and  removed  to  Grand  Blanc  in  the  spring  of  1823. 

In  Volume  14  of  the  "Michigan  Historical  Collection"  an  epic  of  the 
Saginaw  valley  country  by  Judge  Albert  Miller  refers  to  Jacob  Stevens : 

(;;il>ti)iii  SteveiiB  wns  the  fii'Bt  iimn 

Who  there  it  settlement  beRfiii. 

'Tia  seven  jiiirt  sixty  years  or  more 

Since  he  tbnt  region  rtld  explore. 

When  first  he  settled  there  'twiis  then 

iS'enr  twent.v  julles  from  more  white  men. 

The   iiiuue   of   the   place    wiis   then    "firiiw    l(l;iw," 

For  as  Frenchmen  imasecl  tlie  i>]nee  fhe.r  s.tw 

A  "Big  White"  lunn  who  there  realcled. 

And   thdt   cli'cnmsitiiiU'e   n    n-.niie   iirovkleil. 

The  FiT;)dimen  wrote  the  niimp  "Oriunl  Rhine," 

If  nils  so  pronotidceil  by  every  Y:iiik. 

Grand  Blanc  was  a  site  on  the  road  from  Detroit  to  Saginaw,  and  was 
a  rough  highway  traversed  by  officers,  Indians,  traders  and  settlers  of  Sag- 
inaw, At  the  time  that  Mr.  Stevens  and  his  wife  and  seven  children  ar- 
rived, the  only  people  residing  in  the  settlement  at  Flint  River  were  a  few 
families  of  half-breeds,  French  and  Indians.  Mr.  Stevens  built  a  log  house 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Sawyer  residence.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
a  man  of  intelligence  and  of  hterary  taste,  and  a  typical  gentleman  of  the 
old  school,  possessing  great  moral  and  physical  courage. 

In  1829  the  road  to  Saginaw  was  laid  out  and  staked.  This  highway, 
which  followed  the  Indian  trail,  was  a  rambling  road  through  woods,  avoid- 
ing hills  and  swamps,  the  streams  and  low  places  having  been  bridged  some 
time  previously  by  the  United  States  soldiers  stationed  in  garrison  at  Sag- 
inaw, 

The  exodus  from  the  northwestern  counties  of  the  state  of  New  York 
to  the  new  lands  of  Michigan,  during  the  years  from  1836  to  1840  was  very 
great.  Entire  districts  in  the  old  state  were  almost  depopulated  by  the  emi- 
gration of  sturdy  pioneers  who  desired  cheap  lands  and  homes  of  their  own. 
Grand  Blanc  and  adjacent  settlements  received  a  due  share  of  these  pioneers, 
but,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  surrounding  country  was  thickly  settled,  it 


dbyGoot^lc 


720  GENESEE    COHNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

has  remained  a  small  village.  It  is  unincorporated  and  is  located  seven  miles 
southeast  of  Flint,  on  the  line  of  the  Pere  Marquette  railroad,  in  the  heart 
of  a  rich  farming  district. 

It  has  a  grade  school,  a  private  bank,  flouring-mill,  elevator  and  a 
creamery.  It  is  electric  lighted  and  has  two  churches,  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal and  the  Congregational.     Its  population  is  four  hundred. 


Linden,  in  the  township  of  Fenton,  was  first  settled  by  two  brothers, 
Richard  and  Perry  Lamb,  in  the  fall  of  1835.  For  a  long  time  the  log  house 
of  Perry  Lamb  furnished  accommodations  for  travelers,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lamb  being  known  far  and  wide  as  most  hospitable  entertainers,  the  road 
passing  their  home  being  the  trail  to  Dibbleviile,  via  Silver  lake. 

The  village  of  Linden  dates  its  origin  from  1840,  when  it  was  laid  out 
by  Consider  Warner  and  Eben  Harris,  the  hostelry  known  as  "Springer's 
Hotel''  being  built  by  them  also  in  that  year.  The  village  was  incorporated 
by  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1871. 

The  leading  industry  of  Linden  is  the  co-operative  creamery,  a  concern 
modeled  after  the  plan  of  similar  creameries  in  Wisconsin  and  said  to  be 
the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  Michigan.  Its  president  is  W.  H.  Keddy,  of 
Fenton,  and  it  is  owned  and  controlled  by  its  patrons.  Its  plan  of  organiza- 
tion was  for  the  owners  of  cattle  to  take  as  many  shares  of  stock  as  he  had 
cattle,  paying  for  each  share  of  stock  four  dollars.  This  made  each  cattle 
owner  a  stockholder  and  a  patron  of  the  plant.  At  the  organization  of  the 
company  it  started  out  with  seven  hundred  shares  of  stock  issued  and  it  has 
proved  a  success  from  its  inception. 

The  village  has  three  churches,  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  Rev.  E.  A. 
Cross,  pastor;  the  Seventh-Day  Adventists,  Rev.  Timothy  Somerville,  pas- 
tor, and  the  Presbyterian,  whose  pulpit  is  now  vacant.  There  are  two  fra- 
ternal bodies,  Linden  Lodge  No,  132,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Corse  L. 
Crandall,  master,  and  Strict  Account  I-odge  No.  276,  Independent  Order 
Odd  Fellows,  Harry  Stiff,  noble  grand.  It  also  has  a  weekly  newspaper 
and  one  bank.  Its  population  is  five  hundred  fifty.  Its  vilJage  officers 
are :  President,  Frank  F.  Glerum :  clerk.  Chancy  Tamlyn ;  treasurer,  Claude 
E.  Hyatt;  assessor,  William  E.  Dooley. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY, 


MONTROSE 


Montrose,  located  near  the  old  reservation  of  Pewanigawink,  is  the 
most  northern  of  the  villages  on  the  route  to  Saginaw  by  the  river  trail  of 
the  Indians.  Its  first  white  resident  was  Seymour  W.  Ensign,  a  native  of 
New  York  state  who  had  emigrated  to  Saginaw.  In  1842  Mr.  Ensign, 
having  purchased  of  the  Brent  estate  forty  acres  in  Montrose  township,  tied 
two  canoes  together  and  built  a  platform  upon  them,  and,  with  family,  goods 
and  stores,  towed  his  primitive  craft  fifty-five  miles  by  river  to  his  home  in 
the  wilderness.  At  that  time  there  was  not  a  white  person  living  in  the  town- 
ship, neither  were  there  roads  or  clearings, 

Montrose  has  two  churches,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  and  the  Baptist. 
It  has  one  weekly  newspaper  and  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellow  lodges.  It  is 
centrally  located  in  the  midst  of  a  good  agricultural  district.  It  was  incor- 
porated as  a  village  in  1899.  Its  population  is  four  hundred  fifty.  The 
village  officers  are:  President,  L.  M.  Jennings;  clerk,  A.  J.  Eckles;  treas- 
urer, E.  B.  Fuller;  assessor.  M.  S.  Russell. 


The  village  of  Gaines,  in  the  western  portion  of  Genesee  county,  was 
once  covered  with  a  dense  growtli  of  heavy  timber  and  was  threaded  by  a 
branch  of  the  Swartz  Creek.  Along  the  banks  of  the  latter  in  early  years 
were  extensive  groves  of  maple  and  a  trail  reached  from  Fiint,  which  was 
used  by  the  Indians,  who  made  here  large  quantities  of  maple  sugar.  This 
industry  is  still  carried  on  extensively  in  this  locality,  but  the  ancient  trail 
has  disappeared,  althovigh  there  are  still  fiving  in  this  vicinity  several  fami- 
lies, descendants  of  the  aborigines  who  inhabited  this  region. 

Gaines  has  one  bank  and  two  churches,  the  Methodist  church,  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Barton  as  pastor,  and  the  Catholic  church,  Rev.  Fr.  F.  J.  Burke, 
priest.  It  was  incorporated  as  a  village  in  1875.  Its  population  is  two  hun- 
dred seventy-five.  The  officers  for  igi6  are:  President,  George  W, 
Chase,  Jr.;  clerk,  Harry  G.  Baxter;  treasurer,  William  P.  Cozadd;  assessor, 
R.  J.  Jones. 

MT.    MORRIS 

The  village  of  Mt.  Morris,  six  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Flint,  on  the 
lines  of  the  Pere  Marquette  railroad  and  the  Bay  City,  Saginaw  &  Flint  in- 
(46) 


dbyGoot^lc 


722  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

terurban  railway,  was  known  in  early  days  as  the  "Coldwater  settlement," 
its  pioneers  being  opposed  to  the  use  and  abuse  of  intoxicants.  It  is  gen- 
erally conceded  that  Benjamin  Pearson  was  the  pioneer  of  Mt.  Morris. 
With  other  settlers  who  emigrated  to  the  West  from  Livingston  county.  New 
York,  he  had  come  to  Flint  river  in  1833  and  devoted  some  weeks  to  "land- 
looking/'  After  selecting  land  in  this  locality  and  purchasing  it  from  the 
government,  Mr.  Pearson  erected  the  first  dwelling  ever  built  in  Mt.  Morris 
township.  During  the  succeeding  year  he  was  joined  by  other  arrivals  and 
a  settlement  was  effected,  a  school  was  opened,  a  society  of  Presbyterians 
organized  and  the  "Coldwater  settlement,"  as  it  was  known,  disseminated 
and  practiced  in  their  midst  the  principles  of  temperance.  Later  the  settle- 
ment was  named  Mt.  Morris,  deriving  its  name  from  the  early  home  of 
many  of  the  settlers,  Mt.  Morris,  Livingston  county.  New  York. 

However,  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  this  settlement  as  a  village  until 
1857,  when  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette  line  had  been  surveyed  and  active 
operations  commenced,  when  quite  a  number  of  families  settled  upon  the 
site  of  the  prospective  village. 

The  following  item  appeared  in  the  Wolverine  CiHsen  of  Flint  on  Janu- 
ary 25,  1862:  "The  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette  railway  was  regularly  opened 
for  passengers  and  freight  traffic  in  connection  with  Boss,  Burrell  &  Com- 
pany's line  of  stage  coaches  on  Monday  last.  The  railway  is  now  completed 
from  East  Saginaw  as  far  as  Mt.  Morris  station,  within  six  miles  of  Flint. 
The  company  has  iron  on  hand  to  continue  the  track  to  Flint  as  soon  as  the 
season  opens."  In  1867  an  act  incorporating  the  village  passed  the  state 
legislative  body. 

Mt.  Morris  in  the  year  of  1916  has  a  good  business  district  of  well 
built,  up-to-date  stores,  a  private  bank,  and  three  churches,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  the  Baptist  and  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church,  with  Rev.  Fr.  Thomas 
Luby  as  priest.  The  Mt.  Morris  consolidated  schools,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  William  J.  Maginn,  rank  among  the  best  of  the  village  schools  in  the 
state.  Mt.  Morris  also  has  a  large  elevator  and  a  number  of  attractive  resi- 
dences, and  is  a  progressive  village,  with  a  population  of  seven  hundred  and 
eighty. 

SWARTZ    CREEK. 

Swartz  Creek  is  an  unincorporated  village  in  the  township  of  Mundy, 
and  is  the  site  of  what,  in  the  pioneer  days,  was  the  division  between  the 
heavy  timber  and  the  "oak  openings."     Regarding  the  first  early  white  set- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  723 

tier  in  what  is  now  the  township  of  Mundy,  there  is  some  dispute,  but  it 
has  been  generally  accepted  that  Morgan  Baldwin  and  George  Judson  were 
the  first  residents  of  this  locality. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  settlement  persons  coming  from  the  direc- 
tion of  Flint  spoke  of  going  "up  the  Swartz,"  though  it  was  only  a  branch 
of  the  main  stream,  and  in  time  the  settlement  was  named  Swartz  Creek. 
Adam  Miller  was  one  of  the  first  residents  of  this  locality,  who,  assisted  by 
several  members  of  his  family,  chopped  a  road  through  from  his  land  to 
Flint  river,  which  afterwards  became  known  as  the  "Miller  road"  and  is  now 
one  of  the  finest  highways  in  the  county. 

Swartz  Creek  has  a  large  elevator,  three  beet  weighing  stations,  the 
sugar  beet  industry  being  carried  on  extensively  in  this  locality;  a  good 
graded  school,  a  private  bank,  which  is  one  of  the  chain  of  private  banks 
operated  under  the  management  of  Ira  T.  Sayre,  of  Flushing,  and  a  number 
of  stores.  It  has  also  two  churches,  the  Catholic  church  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal.    Its  population  is  six  hundred  and  fifty. 


In  September,  1835,  Moses  and  Enos  Goodrich  came  to  Atlas  township 
and  purchased  from  the  government  over  one  thousand  acres  of  land.  I'Vom 
the  period  of  their  settlement  in  this  locality  tlie  name  of  Goodrich  has  been 
interwoven  with  all  social,  commercial  and  political  history  of  the  township. 
They  founded  mills,  a  village  store,  and  opened  to  cultivation  fields  of  the 
best  land  to  be  found  in  this  section  of  Michigan.  These  two  brothers  were 
joined  by  others  of  their  family,  among  them  Aaron  Goodrich,  who  had  been 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Tennessee  and  in  1849  was  appointed  by  President 
Taylor  as  chief  justice  of  Minnesota.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  Repub- 
lican national  convention  at  Chicago  in  i860,  which  resulted  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

A  postofifice  was  established  on  the  site  of  the  village  in  1846,  with 
Enos  Goodrich,  postmaster,  it  being  known  at  that  time  as  Atlas  postoffice, 
but  was  changed  to  its  present  title  in  1849.  The  village  of  Goodrich  is  on 
the  direct  line  of  the  Detroit  United  Interurban  railroad  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  farming  district  of  good  resources. 

Goodrich  has  two  churches,  the  Baptist  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal. 
It  has  also  a  high  school  of  ten  grades,  a  private  bank,  a  number  of  stores 
and  a  good  hotel.     In  1916,  through  the  effort.';  of  Dr.  A.  Wheelock,  a  small 


dbyGoot^lc 


724  GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

but  very  complete  hospital  was  built,  fully  equipped  and  planned  on  very 
up-to-date  principles.  Goodrich  has  also  a  growing  dairy  concern.  The 
village  has  a  population  of  four  hundred. 


The  villajfe  of  Otisville,  in  Forest  township,  was  built  about  the  site  of 
the  Hayes  saw-mill,  in  1851.  There  was  quite  a  settlement  here  at  this  time, 
the  mill  company  building  a  few  small  houses  for  themselves  and  a  boarding 
house  for  their  employees.  It  was  platted  in  1863  by  William  F.  Otis  and 
T.  D.  Crocker  and  named  Otisville.  There  were  several  members  of  the 
Otis  family  who  settled  in  this  locality,  Francis  W.  Otis,  of  Cleveland,  being 
the  owner  of  the  large  saw-mill  which  was  placed  in  position  and  operated 
under  the  supervision  of  John  Hamilton,  father  of  William  Hamilton,  of 
Flint.  In  Otisville  and  vicinity  from  i860  to  1870  there  were  twelve  large 
saw-mills  in  operation. 

Otisville  in  1916  has  two  churches,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  and  the 
Free  Methodist,  and  a  graded  school  of  twelve  grades,  a  state  bank  and  a 
creamery.  The  president  of  the  village  is  Paul  J.  Laing.  The  population  is 
three  himdred  and  seventv-five. 


The  village  of  Atlas,  from  point  of  location,  is  one  of  the  most  attrac- 
tive of  the  hamlets  of  the  county,  Kearsley  creek  affording  excellent  water 
power  privileges. 

Among  the  prominent  pioneers  of  this  locality  were  the  Carpenters,  who 
came  from  Dutchess  county.  New  York,  William  Carpenter,  in  company 
with  Levi  Preston,  coming  on  foot  from  Niagara  county,  New  York, 
through  Canada  to  Detroit,  and  thence  by  the  old  Saginaw  road  to  Atlas, 
where  they  selected  land,  purchased  it  from  the  government  and  buiit  log 
houses  and  put  in  a  few  crops.  They  then  returned  to  New  York  state  and, 
with  their  families,  again  started  for  the  new  home  in  the  western  wilder- 
ness. They  were  thirty  days  by  ox-team  on  the  journey,  but  arrived  .safely 
at  their  destination.  The  Carpenter  family  have  been  most  prominent  in  the 
growth  and  development  of  this  part  of  the  county,  and  members  of  the 
family  are  still  residents  of  this  locality,  William  Carpenter,  of  Goodrich, 
l>eing  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  Genesee  county. 

Atlas   in   1916  has  a  population  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five,   its 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  725 

residents  being  chiefly  retired  farmers.  There  is  one  flouring-miil,  the  Hast- 
ings mill,  a  school,  a  general  store  and  postoffice,  and  one  church,  the  Pres- 
byterian.    It  is  a  station  on  the  Detroit  United  Interurban  railway. 

GENESEEVILLE. 

The  village  of  GeneseevilJe  was  an  important  settlement  in  the  early 
days  of  the  county  and  a  number  of  saw-miHs  were  built  along  the  banks 
of  the  Kearsley  creek  and  the  Flint  river  by  the  pioneers  of  this  locality. 
The  first  saw-mill  was  built  in  1834,  Kearsley  creek  being  dammed  for  that 
purpose  about  one  hundred  rods  above  its  junction  with  the  river.  Benjamin 
Pearson  was  interested  in  this  mill,  which  was  built  by  a  Mr.  Harger.  The 
mill  was  not  very  large,  but  it  furnished  lumber  for  many  of  the  pioneer 
homes  in  this  part  of  the  county.  A  second  mill  was  built  on  the  Kearsley 
in  1836,  known  as  the  Jones  mill,  and  was  built  about  one  mile  alrove  the 
first  mill.  The  third  was  built  in  1837  by  Ogden  Clarke,  and  the  fourth  on 
the  Flint  river  at  Geneseeville.  This  last  named  mill  was  afterward  owned 
by  Reuben  McCreery,  who,  in  1853,  also  built  another  mill  in  this  locality. 

In  the  early  days  there  were  no  bridges  across  the  streams  and  it  was 
not  until  1843  that  a  bridge  was  built,  the  location  of  this  being  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Kearsley  creek.  In  i860  the  "Fay  bridge"  was  built,  at  a  crossing 
which  is  the  site  of  a  bridge  at  the  present  time.  The  FHnt  river  and  the 
Kearsley  creek  were  much  larger  streams  during  the  early  days,  owing  to 
the  heavy  growths  of  timber  which  lined  their  banks.  The  first  white  per- 
son bom  in  the  town  of  Genesee  was  Damon  Stewart,  whose  ividow,  who 
was  Miss  Frances  McQuigg,  is  now  residing  in  Flint. 

The  village  of  Geneseeville  was  platted  in  1858  by  Reiiljcn  McCreery 
and  Simon  King,  and  a  postoffice  was  established  in  1859.  Geneseeville  in 
1916  has  one  church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  and  a  few  stores.  An  old 
grist-mill,  which  was  originally  built  by  Reuben  McCreery  in  1849  ^nd  trans- 
ferred eventually  to  Isaac  O.  Rogers  in  1875.  is  still  operated  by  members 
of  the  Rogers  family.     The  population  of  Geneseeville  is  about  one  himdred. 


The  township  of  Thetford  was  named  by  one  of  its  early  residents, 
Nahum  N.  Wilson,  for  the  town  of  Thetford  in  Orange  county,  Vermont, 
and  Thetford  Center  takes  its  name  from  the  township.  The  village  is  now 
only  a  four  corners  with  the  usual  few  stores  and  residences. 


dbyGoot^lc 


726  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

PINE  RUN. 

On  the  site  of  what  is  now  Pine  Run  in  early  days  was  located  the 
famous  tavern  of  Corydon  E.  Fay,  who  for  a  number  of  years  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  residents  of  this  locality.  He  came  to  Genesee  county 
from  A\'on,  Livingston  county.  New  York,  in  1837,  and  secured  employment 
on  the  farm  of  Benjamin  Pearson,  afterward  purchasing  land  for  himself. 
In  1850  travel  on  the  Saginaw  turnpike  came  to  assume  proportions  which 
called  for  houses  of  entertainment  for  travelers  along  its  route,  and  Mr. 
Fay  built  a  large  frame  building  and  opened  the  first  inn  on  the  road  between 
Flint  River  and  Saginaw.  It  was  called  the  Fay  House  and  for  many  years 
was  a  famous  hostelry  in  this  part  of  the  state,  but  was  discontinued  as  a 
tavern  in  1867. 

Pine  Run  in  1916  has  one  church  and  a  few  stores.  Its  population  is 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

ARGENTINE. 

The  village  of  Argentine  is  in  the  township  of  that  name,  which  at  first 
included  what  is  now  Fenton.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  number  of  lakes,  among 
which  are  I.obdell  lake,  named  after  a  settler  on  its  shores;  Murray  lake, 
named  after  the  first  settler  in  the  township;  McKane,  McCaslin  and  Bass 
lakes.  It  is  said  that  wolves  and  bears  in  large  numbers  were  seen  in  this 
locality  in  the  days  of  the  first  settlements. 

James  H.  Murray,  who  had  come  to  the  west  from  Rochester,  New 
York,  settled  in  Argentine  in  1835,  and  in  1836  built  the  dam  in  the  village, 
later  erecting  a  saw-miSl.  William  Lobdell,  for  whom  Lobdell  lake  was 
named,  settled  near  Argentine  in  1836.  He  had  come  to  Detroit  from 
Auburn,  New  York,  and.  being  the  owner  of  a  wagon  and  three  horses, 
found  employment  in  transporting  pioneer  families  and  their  effects  through 
to  Grand  River.  On  one  of  these  trips  he  found  the  land  upon  which  he 
afterward  settled. 

A  postoffice  was  established  at  the  village  at  an  early  date,  and  called 
Booton,  but  was  later  changed  to  Argentine,  mail  being  carried  on  horseback 
over  a  route  which  extended  from  Pontiac  to  Ionia.  The  village  lias  a  few 
stores,  hotel,  and  a  population  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GE,\'ESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


WHIGVII.LE. 


Whigville  also  known  as  Gibsonviiie,  is  situated  one  and  one-half  miles 
northeast  of  Grand  Blanc  and  five  miles  from  Flint,  Here  are  located  a 
Baptist  church,  a  school  and  a  few  stores.  The  first  saw-mill  in  the  county 
was  built  here  in  1828  by  Rowland  B.  Perry  and  at  one  period  considerable 
business  was  transacted  here.  It  undoubtedly  would  have  become  a  flourish- 
ing village,  but  the  Flint  &  Pere  Marquette  railroad  surveyed  its  road  through 
Grand  Blanc,  which  was  an  inducement  for  many  of  the  earlier  residents  to 
remove  to  that  village.  The  old  Gibson  homestead,  one  of  the  landmarks 
on  the  old  state  road,  and  formerly  the  home  of  C.  D.  W.  Gibson,  is  still 
occupied  by  members  of  the  Gibson  family.  Gibsonville  has  a  few  stores 
and  a  population  of  about  one  hundred. 

CRAPO    FARM. 

Crapo  Farm  is  a  station  on  the  main  line  of  the  Grand  Trunk  railroad, 
named  for  the  eleven-hundred-acre  farm  of  Governor  Henry  H.  Crapo.  This 
tract  of  land  was  originally  a  swamp  which  Governor  Crapo  reclaimed  and 
made  extensive  improvements  thereon,  until  today,  under  the  ownership  of 
Hon.  W.  W.  Crapo,  of  New  Bedford.  Massachusetts,  it  is  one  of  the  finest 
farms  in  this  section  of  Michigan.  Governor  Crapo  was  highly  interested 
in  the  development  of  this  land  and  gave  it  his  close  attention.  At  one  time 
he  was  a  regular  contributor  on  agricultural  topics  to  the  Albany  Country 
Gentleman.  Among  the  interesting  persons  who  might  be  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  Crapo  farm  is  Henry  M,  Flagler,  the  multi-millionaire  who 
has  built  the  chain  of  great  hotels  along  the  Florida  coast,  and  who,  while  he 
was  still  a  young  boy,  found  employment  on  this  farm  and  iived  here  for  a 
number  of  years. 

Crapo  Fann  is  only  a  small  four  corners,  with  a  population  of  about 
fifty  inhabitants. 

BRENT    CREEK. 

Brent  Creek,  a  small  hamlet  on  the  River  road  from  Flushing  to  Sag- 
inaw, was  named  for  Thomas  L.  L.  Brent,  It  has  a  few  stores  and  a  popu- 
lation of  about  one  hundred. 


dbyGoot^lc 


728  gene=;ee  county,  Michigan. 


BA7JKIN  P05T0FFICE. 


Rankin  postoffice  is  a  small  four  corners  in  Mundy  township,  with  one 
church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  a  grange  hall,  one  general  store  and  a  few 
houses.     It  was  formerlv  known  as  Mnndv  Centre. 


OTTERS  URN. 


Otterburn  is  a  small  hamlet  on  the  main  line  of  the  Grand  Trunk  rail- 
road between  Durand  and  Flint.     Its  population  is  one  hundred  and  fifty. 


Belsay  is  a  station  on  the  Grand  Trunk  railroad  near  the  division  of 
the  main  line  and  the  belt  line,  and  is  a  freight  and  shipping  point  for  grow- 
ers of  sugar  beefs,  who  market  their  crops  from  this  station.  There  are 
only  a  few  houses  and  no  stores. 

RICHFIELD    CENTRE. 

Richfield  Centre  is  a  small  hamlet  in  Richfield  township,  on  the  site 
of  the  old  Maxfield  saw-mill,  which  was  built  in  1855.  In  the  old  days 
there  was  also  a  tavern  at  this  place,  but  for  many  years  it  has  been  occu- 
pied as  a  residence.  There  is  one  church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  and  a 
few  stores. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XXVir. 
Religious   Organizations. 

Iteligioii  is  like  llif  fiishkm.  One  niim  wears  his  doublet  slusLeil,  nnotber  hn/ei], 
miotlier  idiiili;  hut  every  lUini  LiUh  a  tloublet.  So  every  iimii  lintli  liis  religion.  We 
illffei'  nlioiit  triiLJiLiiug.  Joiib   SiCLnKw. 

The  religious  settlers  of  Genesee  county  came  here  not  to  lose  their  in- 
fluence in  isolation,  or  to  cover  their  light  by  worldly  cares  and  pleasures,  but 
to  unite  their  strength  in  building  up  the  kingdom  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. So  those  of  like  faith  and  education  early  formed  themselves  into 
societies,  or  church,  and  began  planning  for  permanent  influence.  Hence, 
the  fine  church  edifices  which  now  adorn  our  community  stand,  and  will 
stand,  for  spiritual  excellences  which  are  of  more  value  to  humanity  than 
the  highest  towers  which  trade  and  commerce  can  erect  or  the  most  exquis- 
ite works  which  genius  and  art  can  produce. 

The  religious  aftairs  of  the  county  have  kept  pace  with  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  population  and  the  development  and  growth  of  the  community. 
The  number  of  church  societies  has  l)een  materially  increased  and  there  has 
also  been  a  marked  increase  in  the  efficiency  of  those  which  were  fonned 
and  started  in  the  early  days.  From  the  earliest  settlement  of  Flint  River 
and  the  surrounding  villages,  the  churches  have  exerted  a  vast  influence  in 
every  good  movement  that  has  concerned  the  welfare  of  the  commonwealth. 

COL'RT    .STREET    METHODIST    CHURCH. 

The  Court  Street  Methodist  church  has  claims  to  Ijeing  the  oldest  church 
society  in  Flint,  as  Bradford  Frazce,  a  minister  belonging  to  the  Saginaw 
mission,  preached  in  Flint  River  in  1834  when  there  were  not  more  than 
four  or  five  families  living  in  the  settlement.  The  following  year,  1835,  the 
Rev.  WiSIiam  H.  Brockway,  a  memher  of  the  same  mission,  traveled  from 
Saginaw  every  third  week  and  preached  at  Flint  River,  and  also  five  miles 
north,  at  Mt.  Morris,  then  called  the  "Cold  Water  Settlement,"  the  early 
settlers  of  that  neighborhood  iaeing  nearly  all  of  the  temperance  faith.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Brockway  always  traveled  on  foot,  carrying  his  bundle,  his  Bible 
and  his  hymn  lx)ok.  and  held  his  meetings  on  the  upper  floor  of  the  frame 
store  owned  by  Stage  &  Wright, 


dbyGoot^lc 


730  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICIIiGAN. 

In  1837,  howe\er,  a  small  number  of  the  Methodist  faith  organized 
themselves  into  a  society,  but  tliey  seem  to  have  suffered  the  most  extreme 
financial  embarrassments,  tor  the  steward's  account  of  the  first  two  quar- 
ters shows  the  whole  amount  of  money  received,  including  public  collection, 
to  have  been  fourteen  dollars  and  sixty-two  cents.  Later,  in  1837,  the  name 
of  "Flint  River  Mission"  appears  on  the  minutes  of  the  Saginaw  mission, 
with  Luther  D.  Whitney,  preacher,-  in  charge.  Mr.  Whitney  names  in  his 
journal  the  following  preaching  places:  Genesee,  Pine  Run,  Kearsley, 
Atherton  Settlement,  Grand  Blanc,  Miller  Settlement,  Torry  Settlement,  Car- 
man Settlement,  Richard  Johnson's  and  Stanley  Settlement. 

At  a  conference  of  the  Methodist  church  held  in  1841  the  Rev.  F.  B. 
Bangs  was  appointed  to  Flint  and  during  the  first  year  of  his  lators  a  site 
was  secured  for  a  parsonage  and  church.  The  conference  of  1843  sent  the 
Rev.  William  Mothersill  to  the  Flint  River  work  and  during  his  pastorate  a 
small  building  for  church  purposes  was  erected,  the  size  of  the  building 
being  thirty-five  by  fifty-five  feet.  The  building  of  this  church  was  a  great 
achievement.  Several  times  the  work  was  discontinued  for  the  want  of  funds : 
then  small  collections  would  enable  the  work  to  be  resumed  and  the  finances 
of  the  members  and  friends  were  taxed  to  the  utmost.  From  1841  to  1854, 
however,  the  church  increased  in  numbers  under  the  pastorate  of  a  number 
of  vigilant  workers. 

About  the  period  of  1855-60  it  had  several  very  vigorous  pastors: 
George  Taylor,  John  Russell,  John  A.  Baughman  and  T.  J.  JosHn,  under 
whom  the  work  of  the  parish  was  so  ably  conducted  that  in  i860  it  was  found 
that  the  church  accommodations  were  entirely  inadequate.  Accordingly 
during  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baughman  the  building  was  enlarged 
and  beautified.  For  several  years  preceding  this  time  the  subject  of  temper- 
ance had  excited  much  interest  in  the  community.  The  question  of  the  prac- 
ticability of  mitigating  or  suppressing  intemperance  by  the  enactment  and 
enforcement  of  prohibitory  laws  was  discussed  with  great  earnestness,  which 
aroused  the  enmity  of  the  liquor  interests,  and  the  church  received  a  number 
of  threatening  messages  supposed  to  emanate  from  that  source.  However, 
the  alterations  on  the  church  building  were  scarcely  finished  when,  in  1861, 
it  was  redticed  to  ashes,  the  work,  as  many  thouglit,  of  the  opponents  of  tem- 
perance reform.  In  1S62,  however,  another  large  building  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  twelve  thousand  dollars.  The  work  of  the  church  went  success- 
fully on  under  a  number  of  pastors,  including  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Perrine,  Rev. 
W.  E.  Bigelow,  Rev.  Luther  Lee,  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Gardner  and  Rev.  J.  F. 
Davidson,  all  of  whom  labored  in  the  fields  of  practical  and  spiritual  endeavor 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  73I 

with  an  ever-increasing  membership  until  1873,  when  the  Rev.  Dr. 
McEldowney,  formerly  professor  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  Albion  College,  took 
charge  of  the  pastorate. 

Following  the  Rev.  McEldowney  were  A.  F.  Bourns,  W,  H.  Peace, 
James  Venning  and  I.  N.  Elwood.  In  1888  a  splendid  new  edifice  was  built 
to  make  room  for  the  large  congregation,  and  in  1889  it  stood  completed  and 
was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Thomas  Bowman.  Again,  in  1892,  a  fire  broke  out 
from  accidental  causes  and  the  beautiful  new  church  was  burned  to  the  ground. 
Afflicted,  but  not  cast  down,  the  society  again  devoted  itself  to  the  task  con- 
fronting it,  till  another  edifice  was  erected,  the  same  in  which  they  now  wor- 
ship and  which  was  dedicated  in  1894.  From  the  first  appointment  in  1834 
until  the  present  time  the  pastors  of  the  Court  Street  Methodist  church  have 
been  earnest,  hard-working  men,  having  at  heart  the  interests  of  their  congre- 
gation. The  present  incumbent,  the  Rev.  Howard  Field,  is  no  exception,  and 
under  his  pastorate  the  membership  has  reached  the  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred mark. 

From  the  first  appointment  in  1834  up  to  the  present  year  of  1916  the 
pastors  who  have  served  the  Court  Street  church  have  been,  Bradford  Frazee. 
\V.  H.  Borckway,  O.  F.  North,  L.  D.  Whitney,  Larnion  Chatfield,  Etenezer 
Steel,  F.  B.  Bangs,  William  Mothersill,  Harrison  Morgan,  David  Bums,  M. 
B,  Camburn,  B.  S.  I'ayler,  William  Mahon,  J.  M.  Arnold,  George  Taylor,  J. 
A.  Baughman,  W.  H.  Perrine,  W.  E.  Bigelow,  Luther  Lee,  T.  C.  Gardner, 
J.  F.  Davidson,  John  McEldowney,  W.  H.  Pearce,  James  Venning,  L  N. 
Ehvood,  J.  P.  Pryor,  N.  G.  Lyons.  Henry  E.  Wolfe,  G.  W.  Grimes,  C.  E. 
Allen,  A.  Ravmond  Johns,  Ralph  Cushman  and  Howard  A.  Field. 

GARLAND  STREET  METHODIST  CHURCH. 

At  the  time  of  the  burning  of  the  Court  Street  church  in  1861,  some  of 
the  members  of  the  society  held  the  opinion  that  a  more  central  location 
should  be  chosen  for  the  ne^v  church.  This,  however,  being  thought  unwise, 
the  situation  resolved  itself  into  the  forming  of  a  new  society  on  Garland 
street,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  By  means  of  transfer  from  the  old 
church,  their  membership  soon  amounted  to  eighty.  The  first  pastor  was  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Crawford,  under  whose  direction  the  new  house  of  worship  was 
erected  and  finished  before  the  close  of  1861,  the  lots  on  which  the  church 
was  built  being  generously  donated  by  Chauncey  L.  Payne  and  Charles  P. 
Avery.  In  1878  the  Rev.  T.  J.  Joslin  was  appointed  pastor,  the  same  min- 
ister bv  whose  untiring  work  the  Court  Street  society  had  been  able  to  rebuild 


dbyGoot^lc 


732  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

after  the  fire  of  1861.  The  Garland  Street  church  in  the  one  year  of  Mr. 
Josh'n's  pastorate  brought  its  membership  up  to  nearly  three  hundred.  The 
fir=t  church  building  had  been  improved  from  year  to  year,  until  in  188S  it 
was  decided  to  erect  a  spacious  brick  edifice  on  the  same  site.  By  a  curious 
parallel  the  corner  stone  was  laid  on  the  same  day  as  that  of  the  third  Court 
Street  church.  The  degree  of  success  realized  by  the  Garland  Street  church 
is  seen  in  the  fact  that  during  the  years  from  1888  to  1Q16  the  membership 
has  steadily  increased,  until  at  this  time,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  G. 
W.  Olmstead,  it  numbers  twelve  hundred. 

The  pastors  who  have  served  the  Garland  Street  church  since  its  organ- 
ization in  1861  to  the  year  of  1916  are:  Orrin  Whitman,  W.  O.  Burnett, 
G.  W.  Lowe,  E.  R.  Hascall.  William  Fox,  Isaa.c  Crawford,  Jacob  Horton, 
A,  F.  Bowns,  H.  S.  White.  W.  W.  Washburn.  G.  H.  Whitney,  E.  E.  Caster, 
T.  J.  Joslin.  E.  W.  Frazer.  G.  W.  Jennings,  G.  N.  Kennedy,  G.  H.  Whitney, 
E.  D,  Dimond,  W.  H.  Kider.  G.  W.  Olmstead. 

0.\K   PARK    METilOillST   EPI.SCOPAL   CIIUKCII. 

The  Oak  I'ark  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  organized  in  1909,  the 
first  services  being  held  in  a  tent  erected  for  the  purpose  at  the  comer  of 
Newali  and  North  Saginaw  streets.  Within  six  months  the  site  was  pur- 
chased and  the  chapel  adjoining  the  present  edifice  was  built  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Rev.  Frank  Field,  the  first  pastor.  Two  years  later  the  base- 
ment of  the  church  was  built  and  the  services,  with  the  Rev,  Frank  Miner 
as  pastor,  were  held  here  until  1915,  when  the  church  edifice  was  erected,  the 
entire  cost  being  seventy  thousand  dollars.  The  new  church  which  was 
dediaited  in  1916,  is  one  of  the  handsome  churches  of  Flint,  with  a  most 
approved  system  of  lighting,  and  has  also  installed  an  acousticon,  or  tele- 
phone system,  for  the  aid  of  the  deaf. 

Under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Horace  Mallinson,  who  has  been  in 
charge  for  the  past  three  years,  the  membership  has  reached  the  six  hundred 
mark,  and  the  Sunday  school  rolls  include  four  hundred  names. 

KEARSLEY    STREET    METHODIST    EFISCOI'AI.    CHURCH. 

The  Kearsley  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  organized  in  1909, 
through  the  efforts  of  the  Rev,  P,  B,  Hoyt,  who  is  now  the  pastor  of  the 
Lake  X'iew  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The  church  building,  at  the  comer 
of  East  Kearsley  and  Forest  streets,  was  formerly  an  old  mission  church 
which  was  erected  a  number  of  years  ago,  but  has  been  arranged  to  suit  the 


dbyGoot^lc 


CENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  733 

needs  of  a  growing  congregation.  Mr.  Hoyt  remained  as  pastor  for  six 
years,  or  until  1915,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Duddeon  took  charge.  At  the  recent 
conference  held  in  1916  the  church  was  admitted  to  the  Flint  Ministerial 
Association  and  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Hill  appointed  as  pastor.  It  has  a  mem- 
bership of  one  hundred,  a  Sunday  school  of  two  hundred,  and  flourishing 
societies  of  both  the  Junior  and  Epworth  leagues. 

RIVERSIDE   METHODIST   EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

The  Riverside  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  also  organized  in  1909, 
through  the  efforts  of  the  same  Rev.  P.  B.  Hoyt  who  was  influential  in 
effecting  the  organization  of  the  Kearsley  Street  church.  This  church  is 
located  on  Lewis  boulevard  in  the  suburb  of  Homedale,  and  was  also  under 
the  charge  of  Mr.  Hoyt  until  1915,  when  Mr.  Duddeon  took  charge  of  the 
pastorate  in  connection  with  his  work  at  the  Kearsley  Street  church.  In 
1916  this  organization  was  aiso  admitted  to  the  Fhnt  Ministerial  Association 
and  the  Rev.  George  Tripp  was  appointed  pastor.  It  has  a  membership  of 
one  hundred,  with  a  Sunday  school  attendance  of  two  hundred. 

LAKE  VIEW  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

The  Lake  \'iew  Methodist  F.piscopal  church  was  first  started  in  191 1 
as  a  Sunday  school  in  Efni  Park,  a  southern  suburb  of  Flint,  the  classes 
being  held  in  a  house  at  the  comer  of  Pingree  and  Ferris  avenues.  During 
that  year  twenty  persons  effected  an  informal  organization  and  the  Rev.  J. 
B.  Goss  officiated  as  pastor.  The  society  was  permanently  organized  in 
1912,  by  the  Rev.  Harrison  Karr,  and  a  building  was  erected  for  church 
purposes  on  Ferris  avenue.  The  Rev.  G.  W.  Wright  then  took  charge  of 
the  pastorate  for  two  years,  followed  by  the  Rev,  George  Loomas  for  one 
}'ear.  In  1916  the  Rev.  P.  B.  Hoyt  was  appointed  pastor,  and  under  his 
leadership  the  society  has  purchased  the  property  at  the  comer  of  Fifteenth 
and  South  Saginaw  streets  and  will  eventually  erect  a  church  edifice.  The 
present  membership  is  eighty-four,  and  the  membership  of  the  Sunday  school 
is  two  hundred  and  iifty-one.  The  Epworth  league  and  the  Junior  league 
also  have  an  increasing  membership. 

AFRICAN    METHODIST    CHirRCII. 

The  African  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  organized  in  1875,  at  the 
Jiome  of  Mrs.  Nancy  West,  by  a  few  members  of  one  of  the  Sunday  school 


dbyGoot^lc 


734  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

classes  in  the  Garland  Street  church,  and  was  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Rev.  John  Furgeson.  It  was  part  of  a  circuit  of  which  Saginaw  was  the 
head.  .\  church  btiildhig;  was  shortly  erected  in  1876,  called  the  Quinn 
Chapel  church,  and  cost  the  members  many  years  of  energy  and  struggle. 
Among  the  pastors  who  have  been  in  charge  were  John  Fiirgeson,  C.  W.  E. 
Gilmore,  G.  W.  Brown,  J.  S.  Masterson,  S.  Simons,  Benjamin  Roberts,  J.  S. 
Hill,  D.  A.  Graham,  W.  H,  Simpson  and  others.  Their  present  membership 
numbers  about  one  hundred  under  the  Rev.  William  Morley,  pastor. 

FREE   METHODIST   CHUKCH. 

The  society  of  the  Free  Methodist  church  was  organized  in  1880.  Their 
church  building,  which  was  a  part  of  the  old  Presbyterian  church,  was  pur- 
chased and  moved  to  its  present  site  on  Oak  street  in  1885.  The  following 
have  served  as  pastors:  A.  V.  Leonardson,  W.  N.  Pittinger,  W.  S.  Haight, 
E.  D.  Hartley,  E.  Steere.  W.  Cuthbert,  E.  W.  Harding,  A.  S.  Andrews,  J. 
M.  Greene,  W.  W.  Hoyt,  H.  Montgomery,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jackson  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Warren.  The  society  at  present,  under  the  present  pastor,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Forterfield,  numbers  seventy-three  members  and  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  scholars  in  the  Simday  school. 

SECOND    FREE    METHODI.ST    CHURCH. 

The  Second  Free  Methodist  church  was  organized  about  the  year  1908 
and  the  Rev.  F,  J.  Calkins  appointed  pastor.  In  eight  years  the  membership 
has  increased  to  one  hundred  ten.  the  present  minister  being  the  Rev.  Mr. 
McCarty. 

METHODIST    PROTEST.ANT    CHURCH. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  church  is  one  of  the  youngest  church  organ- 
izations in  the  city,  being  organized  in  1900.  Its  building  was  dedicated, 
March  18,  1901,  on  the  comer  of  North  Saginaw  and  Elizabeth  streets. 
From  a  small  beginning,  hs  membership  has  increased  to  over  two  hundred. 
Its  pastors  have  been  W.  H.  Cole,  M.  J.  Weaver  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hescott. 
In  1916  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Cole  was  recalled  to  a  second  pastorate. 

EVANGELICAL    CHURCH. 

The  society  of  the  Fourth  Ward  Evangelical  church  dates  its  beginning 
to  the  year   1864,  when  it  was  detached  from  the  Owosso  mission  and  con- 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTV,    MICHIGAN.  735 

stituted  a  mission  by  itself.  During  the  first  few  years  it  was  part  of  a  cir- 
cuit of  six  towns.  In  1868  they  began  the  building  of  a  brick  church  in  the 
fourth  ward,  which  they  dedicated  in  March,  1869,  and  which  they  have 
much  improved  recently.  For  many  years  their  society  enjoyed  great  pros- 
perity, but  there  came  a  time,  as  seems  to  be  the  case  with  almost  all  German 
congregations  in  this  country,  when  the  language  problem  became  a  serious 
question.  The  children  of  German  families,  growing  up  with  American 
children,  learned  our  language  and  soon  wished  their  church  services  con- 
ducted in  English.  So  this  was  agitated  for  some  years,  till  in  1897 
they  resolved  to  change  all  their  public  services  from  the  German  to  the  Eng- 
lish language  and  since  then  the  society  has  increased  in  growth.  The  mem- 
bership in  1916,  under  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Stroh,  numbers  two  hundred  fifty, 
with  an  increasing  Sunday  school  and  a  large  Young  People's  Alliance, 

KEAK=I,EY    PARK    EVANCELICAL    CHURCH. 

The  Kearsley  Park  Evangelical  church,  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Kirn,  organized  in  191O.  is  doing  a  wonderfully  flourishing  work,  and 
eien  in  a  few  months  has  gained  a  membership  of  eighty-five,  with  a  Sim- 
dav  school  of  three  hundred.  The  influence  of  such  a  church  in  the  out- 
Iving  districts  of  Flint  can  hardly  be  estimated  and  does  credit  to  the  pastor 
in  charge. 

EIR.ST    PRICSBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 

The  first  settlers  of  Flint  found  church  organizations  on  either  side  of 
them,  and  on  the  Sabbath  day  they  could  elect  to  go  to  meeting  either  to 
Genesee,  four  miles  to  the  north,  or  to  Grand  Blanc,  six  miles  to  the  south, 
so,  there  l)eing  no  Congregational  society  in  Flint  River,  on  May  7,  1837, 
seventeen  persons  of  that  faith  met  at  the  "River  House,"  the  home  of 
Lewis  Buckingham,  and  organized  the  Congregational  Association. 

However,  there  was  no  Congregational  Association  in  this,  region,  so 
this  society,  in  18^.0.  submitted  its  articles  of  faith  to  the  presbytery  of 
Detroit  and  was  taken  under  the  care  of  that  body.  Afterward  we  find  it 
appeahng  to  this  presbytery  in  cases  of  discipline  and  submitting  to  its  gov- 
ernment. The  first  commimion  was  held  in  a  barn  standing  near  the  east 
comer  of  the  square  west  of  Saginaw  and  north  of  Kearsley  streets. 

The  Rev.  Orson  Parker  supphed  the  pulpit  a  part  of  the  first  year, 
being  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  Beach.  In  1845  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Atter- 
bury  was  ordained  and  installed  as  the  first  regular  pastor.     Not  long  after 


dbyGoot^lc 


736  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

Mr.  Atterbury  began  his  ministry,  the  church  entered  upon- the  work  of  erect- 
ing a  house  of  worship  and  in  1848  an  edifice  was  dedicated,  being  a  large 
white  wooden  building,  oi"  the  old-fashioned  type,  on  the  corner  of  Saginaw 
and  Second  streets.  One  of  the  organizers  of  this  church  society.  Wait 
Beach,  a  son  of  Jonathan  Beach,  who  had  participated  in  the  scenes  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  gave  the  land  for  this,  the  first  house  of  worship  of  the 
Presbj'terian  church;  he  also  gave  the  land  for  the  Methodist  church  and 
parsonage  on  Court  street :  also  land  for  the  first  cemetery  and  the  land  for 
the  court  house. 

One  of  the  early  pastors  of  this  church  was  the  Rev.  H.  I-I.  Northrup, 
who  served  as  pastor  from  1852  until  1867  and  afterward  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  long  life  in  Flint.  During  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Archibald 
McSween.  who  assumed  the  pastorate  of  the  church  in  1868,  the  land  on 
Grand  Traverse  street,  now  the  site  of  the  Presbyterian  manse,  was  pur- 
chased and  fitted  up  at  a  cost  of  about  four  thousand  dollars. 

In  1876  the  Rev,  George  P.  Tindall  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  and 
labored  for  five  years,  during  which  time  eighty-five  new  members  were 
received.  Mr,  Tindall  then  retired  from  the  service.  In  1885,  the  old 
church  being  inadequate  for  the  needs  of  the  congregation,  it  was  voted  to 
erect  an  imposing  stone  structure  two  blocks  to  the  south  on  Saginaw  street. 
This  undertaking  was  accomplished  tmder  the  direction  of  the  pastor.  Rev, 
Henry  Melville  Curtis,  who,  during  his  pastorate  in  Flint,  became  very 
influential  in  the  affairs  of  the  church.  Rev,  Mr.  Curtis  closed  his  pastorate 
in  1800  and  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  George  F.  Hunting,  D.  D.,  who 
remained  from  1891  until  1S95:  the  Rev.  Henry  Neill,  who  was  pastor  from 
i8q5  to  1899,  3""^  the  Rev.  J,  G,  Inglis,  who  occupied  the  pulpit  from  1899 
to  1891. 

Mr.  Inglis  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  (Charles  A.  Lippincott,  D,  D.,  who 
remained  for  twelve  years,  from  1901  to  IQ13,  Under  the  pastorate  of 
Doctor  Lippincott,  a  man  whose  ability  was  recognized  and  valued  both  in 
his  parish  and  in  the  business  and  civic  circles  of  the  community,  the  work 
of  the  church  was  rapidly  extended  and  the  membership  greatly  increased. 
Doctor  Lippincott  resigned  to  take  charge  of  a  pastorate  in  South  Bend, 
Indiana,  and  the  present  pastor  is  Rev.  H.  D.  Borley,  under  whose  leader- 
ship the  church  rolls  now  contain  seven  hundred  names  and  the  benevolent 
societies  carrv  on  a  large  and  beneficent  work. 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


PARKLAND    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 


The  Parkland  Presbyterian  church  society  has  nearly  completed  its  first 
church  building,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Howard  J,  Clifford,  a  one- 
time leader  of  the  Salvation  .Army.  It  is  a  sightly  edifice  of  brick  and  stone, 
following  the  lines  of  old  Enghsh  architecture,  with  a  seating  capacity  of 
nearly  five  hundred.  The  needs  of  institutional  work  are  well  looked  out 
for  in  the  system  of  club  rooms,  shower  baths,  kitchen,  etc.,  and  there  is  a 
primari'  room  for  two  Inmdred  children.  The  entire  work  has  been  carried 
on  without  debt.     . 

FIRST    BAPTIST    CHURCH. 

As  early  as  the  year  iS^y  an  attempt  was  made  to  secure  the  permanent 
organization  of  a  Baptist  church  in  Flint.  Several  efforts  having  failed, 
finally  a  society  was  effected,  which  was  begun  under  the  direction  of  the 
Rev,  Alfred  Handy,  missionary  6f  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission 
Society. 

The  first  meetings  of  the  society  were  held  In  a  room  over  the  jail,  in  the 
court  bouse,  but  within  a  few  years  a  church  building  was  erected  and  on 
December  12,  1855,  was  dedicated  the  first  house  of  worship  of  the  First 
Baptist  church  of  Flint.  In  1868  it  was  enlarged  and  re-dedicated.  The 
first  seven  years  of  endeavor  were  full  of  trials  and  discouragements,  but 
from  1869  to  1874  it  enjoyed  a  high  degree  of  prosperity.  In  common  with 
all  churches,  its  financial  support  suffered  for  some  years  from  the  great 
panic  of  1873. 

The  first  church,  a  frame  building,  was  built  after  a  hard  struggle  and 
was  afterwards  enlarged.  This  building  served  its  purpose  until,  in  1890, 
their  numbers  and  ability  had  increased  so  they  were  enabled  to  erect  the 
beautiful  and  commodious  structure  that  stands  at  the  comer  of  Second  and 
Beach  streets,  a  credit  to  themselves  and  the  city. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  C.  E,  Lapp,  1905-10,  a  branch  Sunday 
school  was  established  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city,  which,  owing  to  the 
rapid  growth  of  that  section,  soon  developed  into  an  independent  organ-  . 
ization  known  as  the  North  Baptist  church.  This  church  now  has  a  mem- 
bership of  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  and  a  property  valued  at  from  forty 
to  sixty  thousand  dollars,  and  its  pastor  is  Rev.  George  M.  Vercoe, 

At  the  present  time  the  First  and  North  churches  are  co-operating  in  a 

(47) 


dbyGoc^lc 


738  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Hungarian  mission  work  in  the  neighborhood  of  Center  street  and  Indus- 
trial avenue.  The  First  church  is  also  interested  with  another  down-town 
church  in  promoting  mission  schools  in  that  rapidly-growing  section  of  the 
city  known  as  the  fifth  ward. 

The  Fir.st  church  owns  a  parsonage,  which  is  splendidly  located  about 
four  blocks  from  the  house  of  worship,  and  some  vacant  lots  which  are  being 
held  for  use  as  the  city  grows.  The  church  membership,  under  the  present 
pastor.  Rev.  G.  C.  Crippen,  numbers  eight  hundred. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  pastors  of  the  Baptist  church  during  the  years 
of  its  history:  Alfred  Handy,  A.  K.  Tupper,  J.  S.  Goodman,  J.  S.  Royden, 
Charles  Johnson.  S.  Cornelius,  S.  W.  Titns,  James  Cooper,  C.  J.  Thompson, 
W.  L.  Farmun,  L.  D.  Temple,  W.  I.,  Farmim,  W.  W.  Hicks,  E.  R,  Curry. 
C.  E.  Lapp,  J.  M.  T.  Childrey  and  G.  C.  Crippen. 

COLORED    BAl'TIST    CHURCH. 

The  Colored  Baptist  church  conducts  its  work  under  the  leadership  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Dunzy,  with  a  membership  of  about  sixty.  It  has  a  fine  church 
edifice  with  rooms  for  social  service. 

ST.  Michael's  CAriioi.ic  church. 

Sometime  previous  to  1855  St.  Michael's  Roman  Catholic  church  had 
been  completed  and  occupied  its  first  building  in  Flint.  In  1856  Rev.  C.  L. 
Deceimick  began  a  pastorate  which  extended  over  fifteen  years.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Father  Flanigan,  who  remained  two  years.  Rev.  James 
Gillespie  was  installed  as  pastor  in  1873.  ^^  organized  a  school  and  had 
as  instructors  a  principal  and  two  assistant  teachers  and  an  average  attend- 
ance of  two  hundred  pupils  during  the  regular  term  of  ten  month.s.  A  .sub- 
stantial school  building  of  brick  was  meanwhile  erected,  at  a  cost  of  seven 
thousand  dollars,  with  rooms  in  which  the  various  societies  of  the  church 
held  their  meetings.  The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  Rol>ert  W.  Haire,  who  was 
installed  on  August  T,  1875.  His  administration  was  successful,  his  energies 
being  mainly  directed  to  the  maintenance  of  the  parochial  school,  to  which 
he  gave  much  of  his  time  and  attention.  In  1879  it  numbered  about  three 
hundred  pupils,  who  were  instnicted  by  an  efficient  corps  of  teachers.  The 
primary  department  was  under  the  supervision  of  Sister  Catherine,  assisted 
by  three  religieuses,  all  of  the  order  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  from 
Monroe,  Michigan.     Father  Haire  went  to  Dakota  in  1881  and  Father  T.  I, 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  739 

Murphy  was  called  from  Grand  Haven,  Michigan,  to  the  parish  in  charge 
of  St,  Micliael's  church.  On  entering  upon  his  work,  he  found  himself  with- 
out a  residence  to  Hve  in.  with  a  church  building  falling  over  his  head  and 
everywhere  evidences  of  decay.  Under  Father  Murphy's  administration  a 
new  parochial  residence  has  been  erected ;  the  present  large  and  handsome 
brick  and  stone  church  has  been  built,  at  a  cost  of  thirty  thousand  dollars; 
a  fine  hall  just  north  of  the  church  has  been  built,  at  a  cost  of  fourteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  to  which  his  congregation  and  friends  have  access  at  all  times. 
It  is  named  the  "Father  Murphy  Hall"  and  is  capable  of  seating  about  six 
hundred  persons.  As  an  evidence  of  Father  Murphy's  popularity  and  of 
the  good  feehng  existing  toward  him  and  his  society,  more  than  two-thirds 
of  the  cost  of  the  hall  was  donated  by  non-Catholics  of  all  creeds.  The 
parish  school  has  about  two  hundred  and  thirty  pupils,  taught  by  the  Sisters, 
an<l  about  one  thousand  persons  attend  the  two  masses  said  in  the  church 
each  Sunday.  I-'ather  Muq>hy  is  beloved  by  every  one,  his  charity  and  gen- 
erous nature  making  him  easily  one  of  the  most  popular  and  public  spirited 
men  in  Flint. 

ST.  Matthew's  church. 

St.  Matthew's  parish  includes  all  the  territory  sotith  and  east  of  Flint 
river,  and  has  had  only  one  priest  since  its  founding  in  Octo'jer.  ign.  the 
Rev.  Father  Michael  J.  Comerford.  Father  Comerford  is  a  Michigan  man, 
educated  at  the  Jesuit  College  in  Detroit  and  well  known  for  his  fine  scholar- 
ship and  broad  spirit.  The  first  services  of  this' parish  were  held  in  the 
Davison  block,  and  that  same  year  a  tract  of  land  was  bought  on  the 
east  side  of  Beach  street,  between  Second  and  Third  streets.  The  new 
school  (mentioned  elsewhere)  was  opened  in  1914  in  a  fine,  modern  brick 
building,  of  which  the  first  fioor  is  used  for  church  services,  pending  the 
erection  of  a  church  of  which  the  plans  are  already  completed.  Owing 
to  the  large  number  of  communicants,  four  masses  are  said  each  Sunday. 
During  the  illness  of  Father  Comerford,  Father  Van  Antwerp  is  fulfilling 
the  duties  of  assistant  priest. 

ALL  saints'  CJIUHCH. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  Father  John  B,  Hewelt,  the  parish  of  All 
Saints'  church  has  been  doing  a  great  work,  the  church  and  school  house, 
side  bv  side,  ministering  to  the  needs  of  about  five  thousand  five  hundred 
.'iouis.     A  goodly  proportion  of  the  foreign  population  of  Flint  here  receive 


dbyGoot^lc 


740  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Spiritual  counsel.  The  active  work  of  All  Saints'  church  has  checked  and 
reduced  to  a  niinimuni  the  growth  of  Sociahsm  in  Flint,  and  foreign  agitators 
of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  coming  to  urge  strikes  among  the 
factory  workers  have  been  every  time  thwarted  in  their  plans  by  the  vigilance 
of  the  church.  Through  the  efforts  of  Father  Hewelt,  two  dramatic  clubs 
have  been  organized,  one  English,  the  other  in  foreign  languages;  clothing 
and  groceries  are  distributed  among  the  poorer  districts;  every  Sunday,  from 
four  to  ten  p.  m.  the  parish  house  is  open  to  hear  and  adjust  cases  of  dis- 
agreement among  parishioners,  avoiding,  if  possible,  the  courts  of  law,  and 
the  good  foreign  population  of  Flint  is  constantly  being  instructed  in  and 
helped  to  understand  and  obey  the  laws  of  the  country,  state,  county  and 
municipality  in  which  they  live. 

ST.  Paul's  episcop.a.l  church, 

St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church  is  among  the  most  active  churches  of  cen- 
tral Michigan  and  its  organization  was  the  result  of  a  visit  in  1839,  of  the 
Rev.  Daniel  E.  Brown,  missionary  to  the  Indians,  who  visited  Flint  River 
on  a  prospecting  trip.  Nineteen  of  the  early  residents  of  the  county  asso- 
ciated themselves  together  for  the  purpose  of  starting  a  church  society,  and 
on  Christmas  day  of  that  year  the  holy  communion  was  celebrated  for  the 
first  time  in  Genesee  county  by  an  EpiscopaHan  clergyman. 

Notice  of  tile  organization  was  communicated  to  the  bishop  and  in  1840 
the  same  Daniel  E.  Brown  became  the  tirst  rector  of  St.  Paul's  church.  A 
temporary  building  had  been  fitted  up  for  the  use  of  the  members,  built  of 
rough  boards  and  logs  and  generally  referred  to  as  "The  Tabernacle,"  In 
1842,  however,  a  small  amount  having  been  raised  by  subscription  among 
the  Episcopalians  throughout  the  county,  a  building  was  erected  on  the  site 
of  what  is  now  the  Orpheum  theatre  in  F'hnt.  This  was  known  as  the  "Old 
Church,''  a  building  "thirty-four  feet  broad  and  forty-eight  feet  long,"  and 
in  1843  was  consecrated  as  "St.  Paul's  church"  by  the  bishop.  During  this 
year  the  parish  purchased  a  bell,  which  is  still  in  use,  and  at  a  meeting  of 
the  vestry  in  that  year  it  was  "Resolved,  that  the  sexton  be  instinicted  to 
ring  the  bell  on  Sundays  for  the  benefit  of  the  Presbyterian  society  (who 
have  no  bell)  if  they  request  it,  when  the  Episcopal  society  has  no  service." 

In  1846,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown  having  resigned,  the  Rev,  Charles  Reigh- 
ley  took  charge  of  the  parish,  followed  by  the  Rev.  George  Swan.  Later  a 
call  was  extended  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Birchmore,  a  scholarly  and  refined  gentle- 
man, who  became  the  rector  on  Easter  day,  i860.     Mr.  Birchmore's  activity 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  741 

resulted  in  repairs  to  the  chtirch  and  the  purchase  of  a  very  handsome  font, 
which  is  still  in  use.  An  organ  built  by  the  rector  at  a  cost  of  nine  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars,  was  also  installed  and  the  gallery  enlarged.  The 
resignation  of  Mr.  Birchmore  was  accepted  after  nearly  ten  years  of  service, 
and  in  1869  the  Rev.  Marcus  Lane  became  rector. 

At  this  time  the  building  of  a  new  church  became  a  recognized  neces- 
sity, and  the  winter  was  spent  in  hauling  stone  from  the  quarries  of  John 
Sutton,  near  Flushing,  Mr.  Sutton  having  liberally  donated  the  same  pro- 
vided the  parish  would  "get  it  out."  It  required  nearly  four  hundred  cords 
of  stone  to  construct  the  church,  which  was  erected  on  the  Beecher  property 
at  the  comer  of  Saginaw  and  Third  streets.  Built  in  pure  English  Gothic 
style,  St.  Paul's  church  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  churchmaiiship  and 
ability  of  Marcus  Lane.  A  window  of  great  beauty  has  recently  been  placed 
in  the  south  wall  of  the  church  as  a  special  memorial  to  him. 

The  Rev.  William  A.  Seabrease  was  the  next  rector,  coming  from  Min- 
eral Point,  Wisconsin,  in  1881.  During  his  rectorship  the  vested  choir  was 
introduced  and  many  changes  made.  Mr.  Seabrease  resigned  in  1888  and 
the  Rev.  Ralph  E.  Macdufif  accepted  the  call  to  the  parish,  remaining  for 
fifteen  years,  thus  having  the  longest  rectorship  in  the  history  of  the  parish. 
Mr.  Macduff  became  very  prominently  identified  with  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity during  his  stay  in  Flint  and  accomplished  much  for  his  church  and 
his  city.  He  resigned  in  1902  and  went  to  Jackson,  where  he  remained  for 
a  number  of  years,  afterwards  devoting  himself  entirely  to  literarv  work. 
His  death  occurred  in  Flint  in  1916. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Macduff  the  church  extended  a  call  to  the 
Rev.  E.  A.  Penick,  of  Phoenix,  Arizona,  which  he  did  not  accept,  although 
he  ministered  to  the  parish  until  the  Rev.  W.  Dudley  Powers,  D,  D,,  came 
in  1903.  Doctor  Powers  remained  for  ten  years,  and  during  his  stay  the 
present  rectory  was  built  and  a  number  of  memorials  to  the  church  were 
received.  Doctor  Powers,  a  man  of  scholarly  ability,  resigned  in  1913,  and 
was  followed  by  the  present  rector,  Rev.  John  Bradford  Pengeliy. 

Under  the  rectorship  of  Mr.  Pengeliy,  St.  Paul's  church  has  enjoyed 
three  years  of  the  most  active  progressiveness.  The  chapel  has  been  entirely 
remodeled,  and  the  old  rectory,  directly  adjoining  the  church,  has  been  torn 
down  to  make  way  for  a  stone  parish  house  to  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of 
sixty  thousand  dollars.  This  parish  house  will  include,  besides  club  and 
reading  rooms,  a  large  auditorium  for  public  meetings,  the  St.  Paul's  Men's 
Club  having  attained  a  membership  of  over  three  hundred  men  of  all  denom- 


dbyGoot^lc 


742  GKN1^SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

inations.     The  different  societies  of  the  parish   are   in   excellent  condition, 
the  membership  being  in  1916  aJiout  eleven  hundred. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  rectors  of  St.  Paul's  church  from  1840 
to  1916;  Daniel  E.  Brown,  Charles  Reighiy,  John  J.  Swan,  J.  W.  Birch- 
more,  Marcus  Lane,  A.  W.  Seabrease.  R.  E.  Macduff,  W.  Dudley  Powers,  J. 
Bradford  Pengelly. 


This  Episcopalian  parish  was  organized  as  a  result  of  Christ's  Mission 
Sunday  school,  started  toward  the  close  of  the  rectorship  of  the  Rev.  Ralph 
E.  Macduff,  of  St.  Paul's  church,  in  1902.  The  persons  most  directly  inter- 
ested were  Miss  Helen  Stone,  who  gave  the  use  of  a  house  for  the  services. 
Miss  Elizalwth  Durand  and  Stuart  Hoyt.  In  addition  to  the  Sunday  school 
work,  there  was  regular  vesper  service  each  week.  In  1907  the  Rev.  Charles 
L.  Ramsay  was  appointed  priest  and  in  1910  the  present  church  building  was 
erected.  The  membership  list  now  mimbers  two  hundred,  and  the  church, 
located  in  the  newer  section  of  Flint,  has  an  ever-widening  sphere  of  influ- 
ence.    The  present  rector  is  Rev,  C.  E.  Bishop, 

THE    ADVENT    CHURCH. 

In  1875  was  organized  in  Flint  a  society  of  Seventh-Day  Adventists, 
resulting  from  a  series  of  tent  meetings  heid  in  and  near  Flint,  by  Elders 
Lamson  and  Jones.  The  first  society  comprised  forty-six  members.  In 
1S77  a  church  building,  of  Gothic  style,  was  completed,  with  sittings  for 
three  hundred  persons.  The  membership  at  present  amounts  to  about  one 
hundred. 

CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH. 

The  organization  of  the  Congregational  church  of  Flint  dates  from 
1867.  Its  first  membership  was  composed  mainly  of  those  who  had  been 
members  of  other  churches  of  the  same  order  elsewhere  in  the  state,  in  the 
Western  Reserve  (of  Ohio)  or  in  the  East.  Many  of  these  had  connected 
themselves  with  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Flint,  of  which  the  Rev. 
H.  H.  Northrup  was  then  the  able  pastor;  but  their  liberal  theology  was 
hardly  in  accord  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Presbyterians,  so  in  the  summer 
of  1867  they  decided  that  it  would  be  wise  to  form  a  Congregational  church 
of  the  New  England  type. 

After  a  few  weeks'  reflection  and  consultation,  a  meeting  was  held  on 


dbyGoot^lc 


GEXESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  743 

the  evening  of  September  i8,  1867,  at  the  home  of  WilHam  L.  Smith,  since 
then  widely  known  thronghout  Michigan  as  one  of  its  leading  merchants. 
The  Rev.  Frank  P.  Woodbury,  of  Meriden,  New  Hampshire,  was  invited  to 
preach  the  following  Sunday  at  Awanaga  hail,  at  which  time  a  Sunday 
school  was  formed,  with  William  T_.  Smith  as  superintendent.  That  week 
Mr.  Woodbury  was  formally  made  pastor  at  a  yearly  salary  of  twelve  hun- 
dred dollars.  In  1868  a  church  site  was  secured  at  the  .southeast  comer  of 
Saginaw  and  Second  streets.  The  building  was  begun  in  June  and  finished 
in  November. 

Among  the  donations  received  from  outside  sources  was  that  of  the 
Hon.  Levi  Walker,  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  who,  on  the  even- 
ing before  the  dedication,  unsolicited  and  in  the  dark,  slipped  a  hundred- 
dollar  bill  into  the  hand  of  the  chairman  of  the  building  committee  and 
hastily  left  before  the  extent  of  his  gift  could  be  known. 

Among  those  following  the  successful  pastorate  of  Mr,  Woodbury  was 
the  Rev.  Edward  Woolsey  Bacon,  of  the  celebrated  Bacon  family  of  Con- 
necticut and  conspicuous  for  his  rare  gift  of  preaching.  Many  years  later, 
his  nephew,  the  Rev.  Tlieodore  D.  Bacon,  was  also  pastor  of  the  same  church 
and  generally  accepted  in  the  State  Congregational  Association  as  one  of  its 
leading  scholars.  Upon  leaving  Flint  he  entered  the  Unitarian  denomina- 
tion, since  when  he  has  been  pastor  of  the  Old  North  church  of  Salem, 
Massachusetts.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  R.  C.  Hufstader  and  the  church 
membership  two  hundred  and  ninety-five. 

Below  are  the  pastors  of  the  Congregational  church  who  have  sen'ed 
from  1867  to  1916:  L.  P.  Woodbury,  B.  D.  Conkling,  E.  W.  Bacon,  Rich- 
ard Cordiey,  F.  S.  Hayden,  A.  B.  Allen,  L.  B.  Piatt.  Henry  Ketchum,  A.  J. 
Coveil,  W.  H.  Brodhead.  H.  L.  Hoyt,  J.  G.  Haigh.  T.  D.  Bacon,  Ernest 
Evans,  R.  C,  Hufstader. 

FIRST   CHURCH    OF   CHRIST.    SCIENTIST. 

First  (Hiurch  of  Christ,  Scientist,  was  organized  in  Flint  in  igoo.  The 
services  since  the  date  of  organization  have  been  held  in  an  auditorium  of 
the  Ward  building,  corner  West  Second  and  Saginaw  streets,  and  a  reading 
room  adjoining  has  also  been  maintained.  The  church  has  enjoyed  a  steady, 
substantia!  growth  in  membership,  and  in  November,  1915,  purchased  the 
property  at  the  corner  of  Harrison  and  East  Court  streets,  formerly  the 
George  W.  Buckingham  homestead,  where  a  church  edifice  is  being  erected. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN". 


THE    SALVATION    ARMY. 


Flint  first  became  acquainted  with  the  Salvation  Army  about  the  year 
1884,  since  which  time  this  organization,  with  its  stirring  watchword  of 
"Blood  and  Fire,"  has  accomplished  much  toward  the  betterment  of  the  com- 
munity. Beginning  with  a  force  weak  in  numbers,  but  strong  in  earnest- 
ness, they  have  always  occupied  a  recognized  place  in  the  public  esteem.  The 
regular  membership  now,  in  1916,  numbers  over  three  hundred,  with  a  fol- 
lowing of  four  thousand  five  hundred.  A  prominent  feature  is  their  band 
of  thirty-five  pieces,  which  was  sent  by  the  city  of  Flint  to  the  International 
Congress  in  London  in   1914,  where  it  won  much  praise. 

"The  Citadel,"  a  fine  building  of  brick  and  stone,  was  erected  on  Beach 
street,  in  the  heart  of  P'lint,  mainly  through  the  efforts  of  Capt.  Howard 
J.  Clifford,  at  that  time  of  the  Salvation  Army,  Ixit  now  pastor  of  the  Park- 
land Presbyterian  church.  While  many  citizens  contributed  toward  the  cita- 
del, yet  the  largest  single  subscription  was  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  by 
W.  C.  Durant.  Directly  adjoining  "The  Citadei"  is  the  home  of  Adjutant 
May,  whose  door  is  open  day  and  night  to  the  call  of  distress. 

Churches  belonging  to  FHnt  Ministerial  Association,  1916:  First  Bap- 
tist church.  Rev.  G.  C.  Crippen,  membership  800;  North  Baptist  church. 
Rev.  George  M.  Vercoe,  membership  425;  Central  Christian  church,  Rev. 
J.  O.  Crawford,  membership  286;  Congregational  church.  Rev.  Robert  Cary 
Hufstader,  membership,  295 ;  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church,  Rev.  J.  Bradford 
Pengelly,  membership,  1,100;  Christ's  mission,  Rev.  C.  E.  Bishop,  member- 
ship 200;  Fourth  Ward  Evangelical  church.  Rev.  C.  B.  Stroh,  membership 
250;  Kearsley  Park  church.  Rev.  Frederick  Kim,  membership  55;  First  Free 
Methodist  church.  Rev.  Mr.  Porterfield,  membership  2;^;  Second  Free  Meth- 
odist church,  Rev.  F.  J.  Calkins,  membership  no;  Lutheran  church.  Rev. 
Theodore  Andres,  membership  200;  Mennonite  church.  Rev.  Mr.  Cleine, 
membership  60:  Court  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Rev.  Howard 
Field,  membership  1,400;  Garland  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Rev. 
G.  W.  Olmstead,  membership  1,200;  Oak  Park  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
Rev.  E.  H.  Mallinson,  membership  600;  Kearsley  Street  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  Rev.  C.  W.  Hill,  membership  100;  Riverside  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Rev.  George  Tripp,  membership  100;  Lake  View  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  Rev.  P.  B.  Hoyt,  membership  84;  Quinn  African  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  Rev.  John  O.  Morley,  membership  150;  Methodist 
Protestant   church,   Rev.   J.   H.    Cole,   membership   200;   First   Presbyterian 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  745 

church.  Rev.  H.  D.  Borley,  membership  700;  Parkland  Presbyterian  church, 
Rev.  Howard  J,  Qifford,  membership  200;  Salvation  Army,  Adjutant  May, 
membership  30D. 

Churches  not  in  Ministerial  Association:  Apostolic  Holiness  church, 
1900  I-yman  street.  Rev.  G.  E.  Houghton;  Homedaie  Baptist  church,  corner 
Jane  and  Towa  streets;  Hungarian  Baptist  church,  Central  avenue  and  Boule- 
vard; Mt.  Olive  Baptist  church,  Pine  street,  Rev.  Mr.  Dungy;  Webster 
Avenue  Baptist  church.  North  Saginaw  street;  Christian  Science  church, 
corner  Harrison  and  Court  streets;  Latter- Day  Saints;  Reorganized  Church 
of  Latter-Day  Saints,  Newall  street.  Rev.  R.  A.  Harder;  Lutheran.  Swedish, 
services  in  Y.  N1  C  A.  building;  Seventh-Day  Adventists,  Stockton  street, 
Rev.  R.  E.  Tefft. 

The  different  villages  throughout  Genesee  countv  were  likewise  vigilant 
in  the  early  days  in  the  establishing  01  houses  of  worship,  and  with  great 
personal  sacrifice  they  labored  to  lay  the  foundation  of  good  society  and  good 
government. 

The  town  of  Fenton  was  identified  with  the  organization  of  religious 
societies  as  early  as  1840,  when  the  Baptist  society  was  started  with  a  few 
members,  but  it  soon  disbanded,  part  of  the  members  going  to  Linden  and 
others  to  Rose  Center,  Oakland  county.  A  new  society  was  organized  in 
1H50  by  the  Rev.  A.  Lamb,  of  Parshalville,  Livingston  county,  and  in  1857 
a  hall  was  built  for  church  purposes;  the  building  is  still  standing.  In  later 
years  a  stone  church  was  erected  and  since  then  the  membership  has  increased 
in  a  proportionate  growth  with  the  town. 

The  Methodists  first  completed  and  dedicated  a  church-  in  Fenton  in 
1853,  with  the  Rev.  George  Brown  as  pastor.  The  Presbyterians  conse- 
crated a  church  building  in  1858.  the  society  having  been  formed  as  early  as 
1840.  St.  Jude's  church.  Episcopal,  was  organized  in  1859  and  the  services 
were  then  held  in  a  small  frame  building.  A  beautiful  stone  editice  has 
since  ]>een  erected,  which  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  small  churches  in  the 
county,  constructed  in  the  simple  Gothic  style. 

The  Roman  Catholics  held  services  in  Fenton  in  the  early  days  in  the 
homes  of  the  parishioners,  but  it  was  not  until  1868  that  a  church  and  par- 
sonage was  erected.     The  first  priest  was  the  Rev.  Fr.  Thomas  Eafter. 

Previous  to  1840  the  Methodists  organized  a  religious  society  in  Flush- 
ing, holding  their  meetings  for  some  time  in  a  school  house.  Later  a  church 
building  was  erected  and  the  society  from  its  beginning  has  ever  been  in  a 
prosperous  condition.  Among  the  early  pastors  who  ministered  to  the  needs 
of  the  comnumity  were  several  of  the  pastors  who  were  prominently  identi- 


dbyGoot^lc 


746  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

fied  with  the  Methodist  societies  in  Fiint,  including  Rev.  Mr.  Bigelow,  Mr. 
Barnes,  Rev.  Seth  Reed,  T.  J.  Joslin  and  others.  In  Flushing  are  now 
established  chnrches  of  all  denominations. 

In  Pine  Run,  Clio,  Richfield  and  Davison,  the  first  societies  to  organize 
were  also  the  Methodists,  who  established  small  churches  in  these  villages 
during  the  period  of  1858-65.  For  a  number  of  years  the  societies  had  no 
ministers,  but  were  supplied  with  preachers  belonging  to  a  circuit,  and  at 
other  times  the  services  were  read  by  the  members.  Later,  however,  small 
churchs  were  built  and  supplied  with  resident  clergymen.  The  Methodists 
also  established  the  first  chiirch  in  Goodrich  and  OtisviUe,  and  in  Mt.  Morris 
built  and  dedicated  a  church  as  early  as  1841. 

Among  the  most  beautiful  churches  in  Genesee  county  is  St.  Mary's 
church  in  Mt.  Morris,  recently  finished  at  a  cost  of  about  forty  thousand 
dollars. 

Far  back  in  the  early  thirties  of  the  last  century,  when  Michigan  was 
yet  a  territory  and  the  present  county  of  Genesee  but  forest  and  swamp,  a 
few  Irish  settlers  formed  the  nucleus  around  which  St.  Mary's  congregation 
at  Mt.  Morris  grew.  Separated  from  an  organized  parish  by  many  miles 
of  difficult  and  fatiguing  travel — for  those  were  the  days  of  the  stage  coach 
and  the  ox-team — these  few  families  received  spiritual  attention  only  at  iong 
intervals  from  missionary  priests  who  were  sent  from  Detroit  by  Bishops 
Rese  and  Lefevre.  The  aged  people  of  Mt.  Morris  congregation  have  many 
holy  reminiscences  of  the  heroic  Fathers  Kendigen,  Cullen  and  Kilroy,  who, 
in  blinding  snow  and  pouring  rain,  with  knapsack  strapped  over  their 
shoulders,  traveled  on  horseback  from  Detroit  to  Sault  Ste,  Marie  to 
administer  the  last  sacrament  to  the  dying  and,  perchance,  to  gather  the 
scattering  families  of  the  community  into  a  log  house  to  assist  at  the  sacrifice 
of  the  mass. 

The  settlers  becoming  more  numerous,  a  church  was  built  at  Flint. 
To  this  church  the  people  for  miles  around  were  attached.  In  1867  the  num- 
ber of  families  living  near  Mt.  Morris  had  so  increased  as  to  warrant  the 
erection  of  a  church.  The  permission  of  Bishop  I.-efevre  was  obtained  and 
a  frame  church  built.  This  church  was  called  St.  Mary's  and  was  attached 
as  a  mission  to  the  parish  at  Flint.  In  1870  Bishop  Lefevre.  recognizing 
the  growth  of  the  mission,  decided  to  elevate  it  to  the  dignity  of  an  inde- 
pendent parish.  This  he  did  in  the  fall  of  1870  by  appointing  the  Rev. 
Father  M.  Canters,  who  was  then  assistant  priest  at  Bay  City,  the  first  resi- 
dent pastor.     Father  Canters  remained  in  charge  nearly  two  years  and  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENKKIiE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  747 

succeeded  by  Father  G.  M.  Girard.  Father  Girard  was  pastor  nearly  six 
years  and  was  succeeded  by  Father  E.  M.  DeKiere.  Father  DeKiere 
remained  in  charge  five  years.  Father  D.  P.  Coyle  was  the  next  pastor  from 
1884  to  1887.  To  Father  Coyle  succeeded  Father  L.  J.  Van  Straelen,  who 
remained  in  charge  over  eleven  years.  Father  T.  J.  Slattery  was  the  next 
pastor  from  1898  to  1900.  To  Father  Slattery  succeeded  the  present  pastor, 
Father  T.  Luby. 

The  entire  valuation  of  the  property  of  St,  Mary's  church,  including  the 
parish  hall,  is  over  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  church  contains,  besides  its 
fine  altar  and  organ,  several  paintings  of  value.  The  parish  of  St.  Mary's 
contains  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  families.  The  church  also  has  a  mis- 
sion at  Birch  Run,  consisting  of  about  seventy-five  families,  and  a  church 
is  being  completed  this  year  (1916)  at  a  cost  of  about  eighteen  thousand 
dollars.     Fatlier  Luby  also  has  charge  of  this  mission. 

The  Rev.  Father  Thomas  I.uby  is  a  man  of  imusual  qualifications  for 
his  work,  having  broad  views  and  a  strong  personality.  In  Genesee  county 
and  in  more  distant  localities,  his  influence  has  been  beneficent,  not  only  in 
the  work  of  his  parish  but  in  combating  the  more  threatening  forms  of 
socialism.  As  a  writer  of  anti-socialistic  pamphlets.  Father  Luby  has  at- 
tracted wide-spreatl  and  deserved  notice. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 
The  Golden  Jubilee. 

On  June  6-8,  1905,  there  was  celebrated  at  Flint,  in  the  county  of 
Genesee,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  city.  Many  cities  have  observed 
their  fiftieth  anniversary,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  city  has  ever 
had  the  privilege  of  combining  with  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  its  incorporation  the  ceremonies  incident  to  the  dedication  of  a 
stately  new  court  house,  of  a  beautiful  new  library  building,  of  memorial 
tablets  to  its  soldiers  and  sailors,  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  a  new 
federal  building  and  the  welcoming  home  of  its  former  citizens.  The  fif- 
tieth anniversary  of  Flint  was  signalized  by  the  most  substantial  evidences 
of  financial,  intellectual  and  moral  prosperity. 

The  historian  of  the  day,  Rev.  Theodore  D.  Bacon,  prepared  for  the 
official  record  this  "History  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  and  Old  Home  Coming 
Reunion."  We  cannot  do  better  than  quote  in  its  entirety  this  thorough 
and  able  contribution  to  the  city's  history.     It  reads  as  follows: 

"George  Eliot  says, somewhere  that  there  has  never  been  a  great  nation 
without  processions.  There  is  profound  truth  in  the  remark.  Celebrations 
and  processions  are  not  such  trivial  things  as  they  seem  sometimes  when 
we  come  to  read  alx>ut  them.  The  speeches  may  be  forgotten,  and  the 
order  of  march  and  the  number  of  men  in  line,  which  were  such  burning 
questions  the  week  Ijefore  the  event,  may  seem  utterly  trivial  the  day  after, 
but  a  new  sense  of  common  life  remains,  stirred  into  consciousness  by  the 
celebration,  which  would  otherwise  have  lain  dormant.  People  feel  that 
they  belong  together  more,  they  are  less  a  crowd  and  more  a  real  body 
corporate.  The  United  States  was  more  a  country  after  the  Centennial, 
so  Flint  is  more  of  a  city  as  a  result  of  its  Semi-Centennial  Jubilee. 

"It  is  good,  too,  that  these  celebrations  should  be  recorded,  even 
though  the  record  may  not  be  quite  as  interesting  as  tlie  latest  novel,  for 
it  brings  to  mind  more  than  the  mere  events  in  detail.  As  these  are  recalled, 
there  comes  with  them  a  renewal  of  th^t  common  feeling  which  makes 
the  life  of  the  city,  and,  as  the  years  go  by,  the  old-time  celebration  gains 
in  significance  for  young  and  old. 

"The  Jubilee  had  its  inception  in  a  chance  remark  to  Mayor  Bruce  J. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  749 

Macdonald,  by  one  who  happened  to  be  looking  over  the  records  of  the  city, 
that  Mr.  Macdonald  was  the  fiftieth  mayor  of  the  city.  Further  conference 
between  the  mayor  and  Alderman  M.  P.  Cook  led  to  a  motion  by  the  latter 
in  the  council  for  a  celebration  and  a  committee  to  have  charge  of  it.  The 
motion  was  passed  unanimously  and  the  movement  was  inaugurated.  This 
general  committee  confined  its  activities  principally  to  the  apixiintment  of 
an  executive  committee,  carefully  chosen  from  representative  men  of  the 
town,  by  whom  the  plan  was  outlined  and  the  various  subordinate  commit- 
tees were  appointed. 

"At  the  outset  the  plan  for  the  celebration  was  extremely  modest,  not 
to  say  meager,  but  as  the  idea  grew  in  the  minds  of  the  people  suggestions 
began  to  come  in  from  all  sides  and  a  much  broader  and  more  adequate 
conception  of  what  was  to  be  done  was  established.  It  was  designed  that 
the  celebration  should  appeal  to  all  classes  of  the  community  and  also  make 
as  deep  an  impression  as  might  be  on  those  who  come  from  outside.  There 
must  be  a  recollection  of  the  past,  an  appreciation  of  the  present  and  a 
glance  into  the  future.  There  must  be  display  and  amusement,  and  a  set- 
ting forth  of  material  advancement  and  prosperity;  but  these  must  not  Idc 
allowed  to  overshadow  the  moral  and  intellectual  aspects  of  the  occasion. 
Every  living  person,  near  and  far,  who  had  ever  lived  in  Flint,  must  be 
made  to  fee!,  as  far  as  possible,  that  he  or  she  had  an  important  share  in 
this  celebration. 

"In  order  to  accomplish  this  result,  it  was  needful,  not  only  to  make 
ready  an  adetjuate  celebration,  but  to  make  it  widely  known.  For  this  pur- 
pose the  newspapers  of  the  state  were  kept  filled  with  interesting  reading 
concerning  Flint  and  its  golden  jubilee,  and  a  persistent  canvass  was  made 
for  names  of  former  inhabitants  of  the  city  to  whom  programs  and  invita- 
tions to  be  present  were  sent.  Dignitaries  of  other  cities  and  other  promi- 
nent citizens  of  the  country  also  were  urged  to  l>e  present.  Nor  were  these 
appeals  in  vain,  for  when  the  day  arrived  a  great  concourse  arrived  to  help 
make  the  celebration  an  eventful  one. 

"A  few  words  should  be  said  also  regarding  the  financial  side  of  the 
enterprise.  Naturally  such  an  undertaking  could  not  be  carried  through 
without  a  good  deal  of  expense,  but  so  great  was  the  willingness  of  the 
people  of  the  city  to  contribute  in  cash  and  labor  and  supplies  that  not 
onlv  was  the  celebration  carried  through  according  to  the  program,  but, 
wonderful  to  relate,  a  substantial  surplus  was  left  after  the  celebration  was 
over.  The  total  cash  subscriptions  were  $8,373.75.  while  a  surplus  of 
$1,203.46  was  reported  to  the  common   council  on   Novenilier  6,   after  all 


dbyGoot^lc 


750  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

bills  had  been  paid.  How  wel]  this  foresight,  pubhc  spirit  and  executive 
ability  were  rewarded,  the  remainder  of  this  narrative  must  endeavor  to  set 
forth. 

"The  formal  exercises  began  on  Tuesday  evening,  June  6,  1905.  At 
six  o'clock  the  mayor,  common  council  and  other  city  officials  and  ex-offi- 
cials gathered  at  the  Drydcn  and  mardied  from  there,  escorted  by  the  chief 
marshal,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Parker,  his  aides  and  Company  A,  Michigan 
National  Guard,  to  the  First  Wai-d  park,  where  the  celebration  was  formally 
turned  over  to  the  mayor,  Hon.  D.  D.  Aitkin,  by  Judge  Charles  H.  Wisner, 
chairman  of  the  general  committee.  In  a  few  well-chosen  words,  the  chair- 
man made  the  presentation,  which  was  fittingh'  replied  to  by  Mayor  Aitkin. 
A  great  ringing  of  l>ells  and  blowing  of  factory  whistles,  all  over  the  city, 
proclaimed  that  the  celebration  was  formally  opened.  The  officials,  present 
and  past,  then  retired  to  the  Dryden  to  i>artake  of  a  banquet,  while 
the  troops  proceeded,  in  company  with  Crapo  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  to  the  Grand  Trunk  deixjt  to  receive  the  old  battle-Hags,  which 
arrived  from  Lansing  in  charge  of  Colonel  Cox.  These  flags  had  been  car- 
ried by  Michigan  regiments  through  the  Civil  War  and  are  very  precious 
mementoes.  They  were  carried  to  the  Bryant  House  for  safe-keeping  until 
the  parade  next  morning. 

"At  eight  o'clock  came  ihe  illumination  of  the  city,  which  afforded 
entertainment  to  the  crowds  assembled  on  the  streets.  In  addition  to  the 
eight  electric  arches  on  South  Saginaw  street,  two  new  arches  had  been 
erected,  one  just  across  the  bridge  on  North  Saginaw  street  bearing  the 
legend,  "Fhnt,  Vehicle  City,"  and  one,  the  Jubilee  arch,  at  the  corner  of 
South  Saginaw  and  Fifth  streets.  They  were  now  put  in  operation  for  the 
first  time.  But  the  special  attractions  were  the  two  search-lights,  sent  to 
the  city  by  the  United  States  navy  department,  and,  above  all,  the  electric 
fountain  in  the  First  Ward  park,  a  labor  of  love  on  the  part  of  Manager 
Beard  of  the  electric  light  works.  Superintendent  Fisher,  of  the  water 
works,  and  Chief  Rose,  of  the  fire  department, 

"One  of  the  search-lights  was  erected  just  north  of  the  fountain  on  a 
raised  platfomi,  whence  its  dazzling  rays  were  directed  along  the  great 
throng  on  Saginaw  street,  while  the  other  was  mounted  tip  at  the  Michigan 
state  school  for  the  deaf,  and  sent  its  great  ]>eams  toward  the  sky  from 
various  angles,  attracting  attention  for  miles  around.  But  it  was  the  foun- 
tain after  all  that  held  the  attention  of  those  who  were  able  to  get  anywhere 
near  it,  with  its  waters  constantly  pouring  over  the  bright  lights,  which 
changed  from  red  to  blue  or  to  pale  green,  and  then  perhaps  to  the  bright 


dbyGoot^lc 


g!':nesee  county,  Michigan.  751 

light  of  the  ordinary  lamp,  only  to  come  Ijsck  in  a  moment  to  some  other 
color,  the  whole  modified  and  rendered  opalescent  by  the  flow  of  water. 
People  would  gaze  for  a  while  and  then  make  room  for  others,  only  to 
stand  around  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd  and  work  thier  way  back  slowly 
for  another  view  of  the  fascinating  object.  Slowly  the  crowds  faded  away 
to  rest  before  the  more  strenuous  celebration  of  the  two  days  to  come. 

"Wednesday  morning  the  celebration  began  early  by  a  salute  of  fifty 
guns  at  six  o'clock,  followed  at  eight  by  fifty  strokes  of  the  city  hall  bell; 
and  soon  thereafter  Saginaw  street  was  alive  with  people  and  with  sound, 
for  the  l>ands  were  assembling,  and  strains  of  a  dozen  different  melodies 
in  as  many  different  keys  set  the  small  boy  to  dancing  and  the  sensitive  ear 
to  shrinking.  But  by  9:30  all  clashing  of  chords  had  ceased  and  the  whole 
line  of  march  was  thronged  with  eager  spectators  awaiting  the  first  grand 
parade.  The  business  blocks  and  many  private  houses  were  gaily  and  often 
elaborately  decked  with  flags  and  bunting,  and  from  every  window  and  from 
the  tops  of  many  houses  spectators  were  in  evidence.  The  line  of  march 
was  in  the  form  of  a  string  with  a  loop  at  the  end  of  it.  The  procession 
marched  north  on  Saginaw  street,  from  Eighth  street  as  far  as  Wood  street, 
then  west  to  Detroit  street,  and  southerly  on  Detroit  to  Saginaw,  and  up 
Saginaw  to  Fifth.  As  leader  in  the  procession  came  the  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  Hon.  Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  in  a  carriage  with  Mayor 
Aitkin.  Standing  erect  in  the  carriage,  he  made  a  most  conspicuous  figure 
and  was  heartily  cheered  along  the  whole  line  of  march.  Following  him 
came  tiie  athletic  figure  of  Governor  F'red  M.  Warner,  of  Michigan,  on 
horseliack,  well-mounted,  and  surrounded  by  the  regidation  group  of  gor- 
geously arrayed  aides.  Then  came  two  battalions  of  the  Michigan  National 
Guard,  led  by  Brigadier-General  Harrah  and  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Bates.  As  they  marched  along,  with  upright  carriage  and 
swinging  ste]i,  thev  made  a  fine  impression  and  were  greeted  with  hearty 
applause.  But  the  special  favorites  were  the  Detroit  Naval  Reserves,  who 
followed,  for  these  men  had  seen  real  service  and  had  met  the  Spaniards  in 
the  West  Indies.  The  conflict  was  not  a  long  one,  but  it  had  been  enough 
to  show  that  the  spirit  of  '76  and  '61  is  still  with  us,  and  that  men  accus- 
tomed to  luxury  and  the  pleasant  things  of  life  still  have  the  old  mettle  in 
them  and  can  put  up  with  the  hardships  and  the  harsh  discipline  of  the  com- 
mon vsailor  for  the  sake  of  the  country  and  the  old  flag.  The  spirit  is  just 
as  truly  in  the  soldiers  as  in  the  sailors,  but  these  men  had  had  the  chance 
to  show  it  and  were  still  ready  for  active  service. 

"Then  came  Michigan's  own  high  dignitaries  in  state  and  nation,  Sen- 


dbyGoot^lc 


752  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

ator  Alger,  Mr.  Justice  Brown,  of  the  United  States  supreme  court,  the 
Michigan  supreme  court  in  a  body,  other  federal  and  state  judges,  and  other 
state  and  local  officials,  completing  the  first  division  of  the  procession. 

"The  second  division  was  Masonic,  and  attracted  attention  by  the  accu- 
rate execution  by  the  Knights  Templar  of  the  elaborate  evolutions  laid 
down  in  their  manual. 

"It  was  notyet  time  for  the  old  Flint  part  of  the  procession,  yet  the 
next  division  was  more  significant  of  the  heroic  in  the  early  days  of  the 
city  than  any  other,  for  it  was  the  Grand  Anuy  division.  Here  they  come, 
the  band  playing  as  gaily  as  for  any  of  the  divisions  that  have  gone  before, 
but  somehow  it  is  not  gaiety  that  comes  to  the  mind  and  heart  as  this  divi- 
sion comes  up  the  street.  See  the  flags  as  they  come  along,  faded  and  torn, 
with  here  and  there  a  round  hole  in  their  faded  stripes.  How  tenderly  they 
are  carried!  And  then  see  the  men  that  follow  them,  in  their  Grand  Army 
blue.  Here  is  one  with  an  empty  sleeve,  there  another  who  goes  with  a 
crutch,  and  many  a  one  who  must  needs  use  a  cane.  They  are  not  so  very 
old,  say  sixty-five  on  an  average,  but  how  long  ago  it  seems  from  the  time 
when  they  went  forth,  when  the  city  was  just  beginning  to  lie.  To  most 
of  the  spectators  their  work  is  a  matter  of  history,  not  of  memory,  and  it 
seems  like  having  men  step  out  of  a  book  to  see  them  marching  along.  Even 
to  a  few  who  can  rememljer  those  stirring  times  of  '6i,  the  memory  seems 
like  that  of  a  bygone  era.  And  how  hard  it  is  to  realize  that  these  men 
were  hardly  more  than  boys  when  they  went  forth.  To  us  they  have  been 
elderly,  gray-bearded  men  for  many  a  day.  Is  it  possible  that,  when  the;' 
did  those  things,  they  were  really  not  so  old  as  our  National  Guard  boys? 
How  strange  it  all  seems!  They  pass,  and  the  city  is  better  for  having 
seen  them. 

"Then  come  more  fraternal  orders,  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
Knights  of  Columbus,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  Woodmen,  Gleaners, 
Grangers,  and  finally  the  Order  of  Eagles,  making  up  the  fourth  division. 

"In  contrast  to  the  military  display  which  had  preceded  them,  but  of 
no  less  interest  to  the  spectator,  came  the  last  two  divisions  of  the  procession 
devoted  to  Old  Flint  and  to  New  Flint.  As  leader  of  the  Old  Fhnt  division 
came  a  weather-beaten  and  dilapidated  old  stage  coach  in  which  James  K. 
Polk  rode  to  Washington  for  his  inauguration,  now  drawn  by  four  horses 
and  with  its  top  occupied  by  pigs  and  chickens.  It  was  older  than  the  city, 
but  vet  more  elegant  than  many  a  public  vehicle  that  drew  settlers  hither  in 
search  of  homes.  Behind  the  coach  came  a  band  of  real  Indians.  On  ordi- 
nary days  they  are  much  like  other  good  citizens,  but  today  they  are  gor- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  753 

geous  and  terrible  in  buckskin  and  feathers  like  their  fathers  of  old.  Fol- 
lowing them  came  a  load  of  logs,  illustrating  Flint's  earliest  industry,  and 
after  that  a  float  containing  a  log-cabin,  with  a  raccoon  on  its  roof  and 
skins  of  various  animals  hanging  on  its  walls.  In  front  of  the  cabin  door 
sat  the  housewife,  spinning  industriously  and  at  the  same  time  rocking  a 
cradle  of  old-time  make.  By  her  side  stood  the  husband,  with  his  cradle 
(for  grain)  over  his  shoulder.  Many  another  suggestion  of  old  days  fol- 
lowed, including  the  doctor  in  his  old-fashioned  gig,  and  the  old  fire  depart- 
ment under  the  veteran  Chief  James  Williams,  all  togged  out  after  the  old 
fashion  and  pulling  the  hand  pump  that  used  to  break  the  backs  of  enthu- 
siastic young  fire  laddies. 

"Finally  there  came  that  division  which  represented  all  that  for  which 
the  rest  of  the  celebration  had  been  prepared,  namely,  New  F-Iint.  It  was 
represented  by  its  mercantile  industries,  its  vehicle  industries,  and  by  an  orna- 
mental section  consisting  of  a  floral  parade.  Following  the  band,  the  mail- 
carriers,  in  Uncle  Sam's  blue  and  gray  uniform,  led  the  mercantile  section, 
and  after  them  came  floats  of  all  sorts  representing  the  varied  industries  of 
Saginaw  street,  and  with  the  present  fire  department,  brought  up  the  rear 
in  imposing  style.  Then  came  the  representation  of  the  city's  chief  indus- 
try— vehicles.  Following  its  own  band,  came  the  brigade  of  vehicle  work- 
ers of  the  city,  all  in  white  uniforms,  and  then,  after  another  band,  six 
allegorical  floats,  on  which  much  care  and  ingenuity  had  been  lavished.  On 
the  first  appeared  a  large  globe,  to  which  was  attached  a  wheel,  and  as  the 
wheel  was  turned  by  the  goddess  of  fortune  the  glolxr  revolved,  an  indica- 
tion of  the  part  which  the  vehicle  industry  plays  in  making  the  world  go 
roimd.  Seated  on  the  floor,  among  lx>xes,  kegs,  etc.,  were  figures  symbol- 
ical of  art,  industry  and  commerce.  The  next  five  represented  the  progress 
which  has  been  made  in  the  form  of  vehicles,  beginning  with  a  jungle 
scene,  with  a  man  reclining  in  a  hammock  suspended  from  a  pole  carried 
on  the  shoulders  of  two  stalwart  negroes.  A  second  showed  an  Egyptian 
woman  under  a  canopy  on  a  camel's  back,  surrounded  by  Arabs,  A  third 
showed  an  Indian  squaw  with  a  papoose,  riding  on  a  travois,,  or  Indian 
drag,  made  of  two  poles  hitched  to  a  pony's  sides,  across  which  a  board  was 
fixed  on  w^hich  the  squaw  was  seated.  Still  a  fourth  showed  the  two- 
wheeled  ox  cart  of  Old  Mexico  drawn  by  oxen,  while  the  latest  and  finest 
output  of  the  vehicle  factories  formed  an  appropriate  climax.  To  tell  of 
the  beauties  of  the  floral  display  reqitires  both  more  space  and  daintier 
words  than  is  at  the  writer's  disposal.  Let  the  reader  with  the  bare  facts 
(48) 


dbyGoot^lc 


754  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHir.AN. 

at  his  disposal,  of  ladies  on  horseback,  floats  and  gorgeously  trimmed  car- 
riages and  automobiles,  supply  the  vision  to  his  own  imagination. 

"So  ended  the  first  day's  procession,  but  by  no  means  all  its  celebra- 
tion. Of  this  it  was  but  the  beginning.  The  parade  was  followed  imme- 
diately by  the  laying  of  the  comer  stone  of  the  Federal  building.  The  exer- 
cises were  begun  with  prayer,  followed  by  the  laying  of  the  stone  by  the 
grand  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  Michigan,  after  which  tlie 
Hon.  D.  D.  Aitkin,  mayor  of  the  city,  delivered  the  following  address  of 
welcome : 

Mr    Prea  dent      On  beli    f  of  tlie  flu         L        I  otii  e       ae  he  s 

e\er     eslwsht     e\eult     the  ii  us  rlous     laitu  a      li     1  s  n  tli  tile  r  prea 

euee    a  knowledgment  of  the  cltys  npprec    tion 

The  ny  ng  f  the  comer  sto  e  of  tt  s  elifl  e  nh  ch  is  to  be  dedicated  to  go  em 
mental  uses     s     n  ev  deuce  that  Flint    as  j   g    en  ue  E   f  n  li  s     ss  n  ed    sutl 

I  r  I  or  Ions  th  t  It  is  entitled  t  h  lliiing  in  whi  b  to  carry  out  its  bus  ness  relations 
wltli  the  go  emn  ent  I  s.  y  fnm  Iv  Mr  Pre^  dent  bee  se  it  seems  t  ne  that  this 
gre  t  repub  ic  is  m  de  of  tlio  sanls  o(  munic  pn  fnm  es  both  1  rge  d  small 
c    erlng  aU  the    en  tor    o  er  nhlch  w     es  the  ''tars  i    1  Stripes 

The  great  it  es  are  m  n  lit  es  with  the  r  own  mun  c  pa  go  ernmenls  The 
siarsely  settled  tow  shl]     h       m  n    li      t  1    in  Its  crude  a    1     ndevelopel  cond 

tlon  («r  les  o  i  i  ow  i  the  scle  e  of  goTemment  they  11  separate  v  one 
alleg  anee  to  form  a  fnrt  of  nd  as  a  whole  eonstlt  e  this  republl  f  o  s  Wl  e 
some  f  oui  assoc  ated  u  ui  i  !p  1 1  es  outnumber  us  iu  popu  ation  a  thou'iandfo  d  ind 
for  weft  th  the  compar  son  no  d  be  st  1  less  f  r  ble  et  fo  le  ot  t  en 
other   pa  rlotlsm  a  d  1     e  of  eo  ntiv   we  clilm  to  be  the  lee    of  inv 

r  fty  vears  ago  wh  e  yet  snal  wi  h  no  kno  edge  of  n  e  pa  c.0  emn  en  we 
felt  others  would  hi  e  greater  resi  ect  nd  we  oursel  es.  co  Id  cc  m  11  h  p-eater 
thi  gs  if  we  were  c  t  an  I  we  became  ncori  rate  and  tx>k  on  the  1  gn  tv  f  the 
name  il  ho  gh  o  r  n  unbers  were  few  From  that  dav  to  this  the  i  npro  en  ents  and 
in  reaw  population  h  e  c  nat  nt  y  gone  forw  rd  and  there  has  ne  er  ee  a  t  me 
when  we  cou  1  not  say  the  e  has  been  a  mater  a  I  impro  ement  n  the  veai  ast  passed 
nd  tolnv  honored  by  the  presence  of  some  of  our  country  s  most  distinguished  sons 
1  ylng  the  co  ner  stone  of  th  s  bu  ling  to  be  erected  and  led  cat  ng  the  tw  bea  ti 
fu  bu  dings  one  to  educat  n  a  d  the  other  to  j  stl  e  is  certai  y  s  fflclent  re  so  for 
rejo  c  ng  and  congratu  ations  among  the  peop  e  of  F  nt  a  d  it  s  w  tU  n  n  a  le 
fcree  of  i.rlde  that  I  again  exte   I  t    j       their  thanks  f  r        i  i  rese  ce  here    od 

"Mayor  Aitkin  was  followed  by  the  Hon.  Fred  M.  Warner,  governor 
of  Michigan,  who  also  delivered  an  appropriate  address  of  welcome  to  the 
distinguished  guests  from  near  and  far. 

"The  Hon.  Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
was  then  introduced  and  spoke  as  follows: 

"Mr.   Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  Michigan: 

"We  are  assembled  to  perform  an  Interesting  fnuction — a  ceremony  which  denotes 
the  growth  and  progress  of  a  great  people.     We  are  taking  n  distinct  step  iu  advance. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  755 

Old  ficllitles  and  old  uieth"Ml->  iie  Inidequite  for  )  resent  and  future  uceds  Proitsion 
must  be  made  by  tlie  go\erument  to  meet  m  good  m  inner  the  Increasing  requirements 
of  the  people  who  ire  going  forwnid  nlth  »  will  and  with  liemeiidouf.  nnnientum  to 
develop  and  evpiind  tieli  upportunitiea  to  the  \en   utmost 

Ihe  growth  of  the  titT  of  Flint  and  tlie  state  of  Alichigan  his  been  grent  BJth 
City  and  state  huie  incieased  with  remaikable  lapldlty  It  has  net  been  niinv  years 
since  the  spot  nheieon  ne  stand  wis  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  \irgiu  forest  It  wis  not 
long  ngo  thiit  the  hard^  ploneeis  eiiteied  the  wilderness  tc  lij  the  foundation  of  the 
present  ad\inced  civilization  which  we  behold  We  ciimot  contemplate  piesent  con 
ditlons  without  re  ailing  the  fact  that  this  conununiti  like  many  otheis  in  the  United 
States  WIS  most  foitunate  in  the  high  qualltj  of  its  eailj  settleis  No  countrj  upon 
this  earth  was  e^er  mne  blessed  thin  our  own  b\  the  si.leudid  men  ind  women  who 
went  Into  the  forest  to  carve  out  their  destiin  Thei  hid  deep  love  f>i  the  honie 
TUd  abiding  demotion  to  the  state  Thei  thirsted  themwelies  for  knowledge  and  were  a 
Godfearing  people  Ihey  endured  pruaflon  without  n  uiunniir  ihey  met  haidship 
without  complaint  They  hid  unlimited  confldence  in  their  future  T^e  witness  todaj 
the  imple  fruition  of  their  efforts  and  their  hopes— the  achle^emeut  In  large  measiiie 
of  their  exalted  puipose  \s  we  conti  ist  the  present  with  the  pist  we  iai\  well 
belleie  that  thej  builded  better  than  thev  tuew 

The  cornerstone  Of  this  community  wis  well  set  It  wis  liid  In  filth  in  the 
church  filth  In  the  state  faith  in  the  school  house  and  faith  in  the  hieside  and  the 
faith  of  the  fatheis  is  the  faith  of  the  childien 

The  building  which  will  rise  here  is  to  be  dedicated  to  a  high  use — the  service 
of  the  leoile  There  is  no  depaitment  of  oui  goiemment  which  ttnies  so  inlimatelv 
and  so  constantly  into  contict  with  them  an  tlie  poatofflce  depaitment  In  fict  the 
yast  majoilty  of  our  countrymen  ha*e  no  physicil  evidence  of  the  evisteme  if  any 
othei  department  of  our  national  goveinnieiit  lhe\  are  daily  and  hourlj  brought  into 
touch  with  this  great  department  The  woid  great  K  not  misapplied  It  Is  used  advis 
ediy  for  there  is  nt  postal  senke  In  anj  country  which  approaches  it  in  magnitude 
and  there  i&  no  other  deiMirtment  of  the  goiemment  possesses  suth  last  maililnei? 
and  tiansacts  so  large  a  vtlume  of  the  iwoples  business 

When  the  postoffice  here  wis  est  iblished  three  qniiters  of  a  century  ago  under 
the  name  of  Flint  Ruer  there  were  ten  thousand  six  bundled  postofllces  In  the  Inlted 
States  and  the  gifss  annual  e\pendltuiea  it  the  postoffice  department  were  two  mil 
lion  nine  bundled  thou8.ind  dollais  Last  year  there  weie  seventy  one  thousand  post 
offices  The  gioss  expenditure  of  the  depaitment  was  one  hundred  ind  fifty  twt  mil 
lions  of  dollarn  In  1X34  there  wis  a  profit  to  the  government  in  the  service  of  eighty 
thousand  dollais,  while  there  wia  a  loss  last  vear  of  over  eight  millions  of  dollars. 
Then*  were  twenty  five  million  miles  of  mall  service  performed  in  the  formei  vear 
and  Ave  hundred  and  five  millions  of  miles  in  the  litter 

Vie  gain  from  this  brief  eihibit  some  conception  of  our  rapid  ind  vast  national 
development  for  the  postal  system  his  merely  e\pinded  m  ies|ionse  to  )nt  national 
growth     It  his  merely  kept  pice  vtith  ini  lommercnl    social  and  nafiomtl  needs 

It  Is  Impossible  to  exaggerate  the  beneflcenee  of  this  great  brtnch  of  our  govern 
meiitil  service  It  has  been  a  most  potent  ftctoi  m  our  social  and  national  upbuild 
[ng  It  is  an  indispensable  Instrument  of  tiade  and  commerce  Paraljze  it  f  jr  even  i 
hrlef  tinie  and  the  great  business  world  would  be  seriously  embirrassed 

It  has  alwiys  been  the  helpful  handmaiden  of  education  It  promotes  the  wide 
dissemin itlon  of  liteiature  It  deliveis  the  press  within  large  areas  free  and  wheie 
it  Is  not  ciiiied  flee  it  is  deliieied  it  a  lov^  ccst  with  unfailing  lefeulaiitv  ind 
unii/ln«  punctualltj       Thriiigh    tht    instiumenl  ilitj    ff   the  postoffice  depirtment    the 


dbyGoo<^lc 


756  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

press  reaches  the  uttermost  parts  of  tlie  republic  aud  iieople  residing  iu  tie  most  widelj' 
sepuruted  sectioua  in  our  conntry  readily  coaiinunicate  wltli  each  otlier.  The  Ameri- 
can people  are  essentially  a  reading  people.  They  live  in  the  vital  present  tind  uiuat 
have  the  latest  Informatiun  from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  at  the  earlitst  possible 
moment.  The  postal  system  emibles  them  to  keep  abreast  of  rapidly  ti'aneplrlng  events 
at  home  and  abroad.  The  system  is  not  sectional  in  its  oiwratlon,  for  it  performs  its 
functions  with   Imparthitlty   iu  ali  neighborhoods  and  all  jwrtlons  of  the  country. 

"The  preiseiit  high  state  of  the  postal  .system  has  not  been  achieved  at  a  singlo 
bound.  It  Is  the  fruit  of  j-ears  of  study,  of  eaniest,  patient  effort.  It  is  in  the  full- 
est degree  of  ooiutiou.  From  the  days  of  Beujamm  Franklin  until  now  the  effort  has 
been  to  suit  the  postal  service  to  the  expanding  needs  of  the  people.  We  haie  pjissed 
from  the  saddte-bags  to  the  railway  postoffice.  We  have  developed  In  the  cities  from 
the  poHtofflre  where  the  people  went  to  receive  their  mail  to  the  free  delivery  system 
which  carries  It  to  their  doorw.  We  have  developed  from  the  postofHce  at  the  country 
crossroads  to  the  rural  free  delivery,  which  brings  the  mail  daily  to  the  ftirmera'  gates. 

"There  is,  perhaps,  no  branch  of  the  service  which  iias  been  moi'e  rapid  in  its 
development  and  more  beneficent  in  its  operation  tlian  rural  fi'ee  delivery.  Bight  years 
ago  it  was  iu  its  inelpiency.  There  were  many  wbo  had  no  faith  in  it  and  who  doubted 
its  efficacy.  Fortunately,  there  were  those  who  were  optimistic  enough  to  believe  that 
the  service  could  be  successfully  established  and  who  well  appreciated  the  needs  of  the 
great  agricultural  communities  of  the  United  States.  It  has  rapidly  passed  from  the 
e3ci>erimental  stage  and  become  a  permanent  feature,  far-reaching  in  its  effects 

"Eight  years  ago,  there  were,  all  told,  forfy-four  routes.  The  aimual  appropriation 
was  forty  thousand  dollars,  less  than  fifteen  thousand  of  which  was  expended.  Last 
year  there  were  more  tlinu  twenty-four  thousiind  routes,  covering  more  than  five  liundred 
and  seven tj--iiiiie  thousand  miles,  Involving  an  expenditure  of  more  than  twelve  millions 
of  dollai-s.  The  appropriation  by  the  last  Congi-ess  for  the  support  and  extension  of 
the  rural  free  delivery  service  for  the  coming  year  amounts  to  twenty  millions  of  dollars. 

"The  rural  free  delivery  service  has  not  been  and  Is  not  self-supporting,  and  It  will 
not  become  self-sustaining  for  years  to  come;  yet  the  service  is  so ■  beneficent  in  its  larger 
results  that  It  will  be  maintained  and  extended  r^ardless  of  this  fact  It  haw,  by  no 
means,  reached  the  limit  of  its  development.  It  will  continue  to  expand  and  m  good 
time  will  be  extended  to  every  neighborhood  where  It  is  feasible.  It  will,  no  doubt,  in 
years  to  come,  become  self-supporting.  In  measuring  its  effects  we  cannot  regard  it 
purely  from  the  pecunlrii-y  standpoint.  The  people  do  not  stop  to  consult  thp  ledger 
when  they  make  provision  for  their  moral  or  intellectual  welfare.  We  must  view 
the  service  as  we  consider  all  governmental  measures  and  policies — from  the  standpoint 
of  the  ends  accomplished.  In  a  very  marlced  degree  it  removes  the  Isolation  of  the  farm 
and  brings  agricultural  communities  into  close  touch  with  trade  centers, 

"The  postal  department  is  the  only  great  department  which  is  ensentially  devoted 
to  promoting  knowledge  among  the  people.  It  Is,  indeed,  a  vital  agent  in  the  general 
cause  of  education.  The  American  people  believe  in  an  educated  citizenship.  They 
firmly  believe  that  it  is  the  predicate  of  our  highest  and  best  development,  and  that  it 
is,  in  the  final  analysis,  the  source  of  the  strength,  the  safety  and  the  permanence  of 
our  institutions.  There  is  nothing  in  which  we  more  justly  pride  ourselves,  as  a  people, 
than  in  the  fact  that  we  have  promoted  the  cause  of  education;  that  we  have  freely  and 
without  regard  to  cost,  supported  the  schools,  and  have  maintalnpd  those  agencies  mid 
facilftiea  which  tend  to  educate  the  great  masses  of  our  countrymen. 

"The  money  order  system  which  has  been  ini^oiporatcd  as  one  of  the  function')  of 
the   poatoffiee   department,   enables   the   government   to   transfer   small    sums   among   the 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  757 

IteoiJle.  The  system  has  been  m  oimrntiou  fur  iibout  lorty  yeiirs  aud.  11  lias  gruwn 
i-ajjidly.  The  amount  of  money  orders  issued  the  first  year  amounted  to  uear  four 
miHion'^  of  dollars  Last  year  the  aggregate  was  about  three  huiidi-ed  :iud  eighty  milliona 
of  dollars.  There  were  Issued  In  the  lust  year  foi-elgii  money  oi-ders  to  the  iiujount  of 
more  than  forty  two  millions  of  dollars.  When  we  consider  the  fact  thiit  the  aggi-egate 
of  domestic  and  foreign  money  orders  is  composed  of  comijaratively  small  sums,  we 
can  gain  some  conception  of  the  widespread  benefit  of  the  system. 

"It  IS  a  pleasure  to  us  all  to  be  present  and  associate  ourselves  with  this  moat 
important  step  in  giving  practical  effect  to  the  will  of  Congress  and  the  wish  of  this 
community.  The  building  wbich  will  be  erei,-ted  here  in  due  course,  will  stand  for  many 
years  to  come.  The  seasons  will  come  and  go,  iidminlstratious  will  rise  and  fall,  but  it 
will  continue  to  be  an  efficient  instrument  In  building  up  the  social  and  commercial 
interests  of  this  community,  destined  to  gi-eatnesa  yet  unattalned. 

"We  lay  this  cornerstone  at  an  Interesting  period  in  our  national  histoi-j-;  at  a  time 
wlien  we  are  at  peace  with  the  world  and  when  there  is  harmony  within  our  border, 
and  wlien  our  countrymen  are  engaged  as  ueier  before  in  the  pursuit  of  tUelr  gainful 
occupations.  We  obserie  no  signs  of  danger  about  us.  Everj'where  there  is  a  most 
ab'mdant  assurance  of  increasing  strength  and  expanding  power  in  all  of  the  ways 
which  make  for  a  higher  and  better  people.  There  are  neither  social  nor  economic 
disorders  which  will  not  find  their  sure  antidote  in  the  essential  soundness  and  patriotism 
of  the  great  body  politic  and  the  incoixuptible  virtue  of  the  great  masses  of  the  best 
republic  the  world  lias  ever  known. 

■■permit  nie  to  congratulate  you  on  your  golden  Jubilee.  Fate  has  scattered  many 
who  claim  this  as  home  to  other  states  and  other  communities.  They  lune  attained 
success  and  honors  elsewhere,  but  this  community  possesses  for  them  a  peculiar  Interest 
and  they  return  tiNiay  with  affection  and  gratitude.  The  home  of  our  youth  ii  home  In 
a  very  essential  sense  always. 

■'Marieloiis  changes  hnie  come  in  fifty  yeiirs  and  greater  changes  still  iiwait  you  m   . 
fifty  years  to  come,  If  you  but  use  well  your  opportunities  and  stand  for  those  high 
Ideals  which  have  sti  prospered  you  In  the  past. 

"I  most  heartily  congratulate  you  upim  the  cel^ratlon  of  the  completion  of  the 
half  century  of  your  growth  as  a  municipal Ity.  lou  haie  Just  reason  for  pride  In  what 
you  have  so  well  accomplished.  The  name  of  riint  is  widely  celebrated.  It  stands  for 
progress,  for  high  commercial  honor,  for  law  and  order,  for  education  and  gootl  morals. 
Here  the  home  Is  exalted  above  all  else.  , 

"You  celebrate  an  important  event  under  happy  auspices.  Tou  have  incited  to  share 
with  you  In  your  felicitations  those  whom  the  hand  of  fate  has  scattered  among  other 
states  and  other  communities.  They  return  to  the  old  I'oofti'ee  with  true  filial  affection 
and  rejoice  with  jou  in  what  you  have  so  splendidly  achieved.  May  the  half  centui-j 
upcn  whli'h  joa  enter  with  such  promise,  fulfill  in  full   nien=ure  the  prophecy  of  today, 

"Tile  A'^jce-President  was  followed  by  the  Hon,  Samuel  W.  Smith,  rep- 
resentative of  the  sixth  congressional  district,  who  had  rendered  the  most 
vakiable  assistance  to  the  city  in  secnring  an  appropriation  for  the  building 
and  who  extended  his  congratnlation.s  in  a  felicitious  address  which  was 
cordially  and  heartily  applauded. 

"The  exercises  at  the  Federal  building  were  followed  in  the  afternoon 
by  a  battalion  parade  and  exhibition  drill  at  the  fair  grounds,  which  drew 
out  a  large  and  enthusiastic  coinpany  of  spectators. 


dbyGoot^lc 


75^  GEN'EriHE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

"The  elements  of  the  parade  were  the  two  battahons  of  infantry,  the 
Detroit  Naval  Reserve  and  the  I>etroit  and  Fhnt  commanderies  of  Knights 
Templar,  After  the  march  to  the  fair  grounds  there  was  a  battalion  parade 
by  the  First  Battalion  of  the  First  Infantry,  an  artillery  drill  by  the  Naval 
Reserves  and  an  exhibition  drill  of  their  graceful  and  intricate  evolutions 
by  Detroit  Commandery  No.  i,  Knights  Templar.  No  attempt  can  be  made 
to  describe  all  the  marchings  and  counter-marchings,  except  to  say  that  the 
Naval  Brigade  found  its  work  to  include  more  elements  of  warfare  than 
had  been  expected,  as,  owing  to  recent  rains,  parts  of  the  fair  grounds  were 
little  better  than  pools  of  water,  so  that  hauling  cannon  about  by  hand  was 
anything  but  easy  or  tidy  work  and  not  so  very  different  from  landing  on 
a  muddy  shore. 

"After  the  drill  came  an  inspection  of  Company  A,  of  the  Third  In- 
fantry, the  march  b:Lck  to  the  fair  grounds,  and  a  concert  at  the  park  by 
the  First  United  States  Infantry  Band  from  Fort  Wayne. 

"Meanwhile,  another  set  of  military  exercises,  less  showy,  but  not  less 
memorable,  was  taking  place  in  front  of  the  new  court  house,  namely,  the 
dedication  of  the  memorial  tablets  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  Genesee 
covmty  in  the  Civii  War  and  the  Spanish-American  War.  The  tablets  were, 
of  course,  in  the  entrance  hall  and  corridors  of  the  court  house,  but  in  order 
to  make  room  for  the  great  crowd  the  exercises  were  held  on  the  lawn  in 
front, 

"Escorted  by  the  fife  and  drum  corps,  the  veterans  marched  from  the 
Grand  Army  hall  to  the  court  house,  and  there,  after  music  and  bugle  call 
and  the  'assembly'  by  prominent  Grand  Amiy  men,  introductory  remarks 
were  made  by  M.  C  Barney,  chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the 
work.  A  few  words  from  his  remarks  are  given  here  to  help  set  forth  the 
^roud  right  that  these  men  have  that  their  names  should  be  emblazoned  in 
our  halt  of  justice: 

Tijii  grand  old  Genesee  tounti  gaie  practically  ill  iter  bojs  and  men  between  the 
age<!  of  eigliteen  ind  foitj  tue  to  help  make  the  grand  total  )f  255b 5b^l  thit  went  to  the 
front  itud  ''i\ed  this  nation  Michigan  gine  00747  nhich  wns  a  greater  niiiuber  thin 
mis  subject  to  draft  between  the  tt-ei  of  eighteen  and  fortj  hie  of  this  nunilei  14 "53 
were  tilled  In  action 

Very  mnn\  Genesee  toimti  soldlei  bo^a  are  in  unknown  grives  il!  oiei  the  South 
laud  and  their  names  will  neiei  be  known  except  as  tbej  appear  on  these  wnll'^  T\e 
are  glad  todn  that  we  can  siy  to  the  people  wh)  lost  friends  on  those  bloodj  battle 
fields  ind  to  the  friend"  of  those  who  lo^t  their  health  on  Cuban  soli  that  tlieir  names 
sli<ill  be  placed  on  these  walls,  on  that  beautiful  Tennessee  marble  from  siuthern 
battlefields. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  759 

■  "Mayor  Aitkin  then  spoke  words  of  welcome  of  more  than  usual  feel- 
ing and  appropriateness,  and  was  followed  by  Capt.  E.  M.  Allen,  of  Port- 
land, Michigan,  the  memorial  orator.     A  portion  of  his  address  follows: 

We  meet  todftj  to  iiiduJge  a  clmptei  of  the  unwritten  history  of  the  Ciill  War  to 
eoout  stnie  of  tlie  uniii  ailiered  blessliifcs  oiouglit  foi  us  nail  to  pay  a  passmg  tribute 
to  tlioie  men  who  aiaiie  blessings  jiOBSible  I  nni  \eri  pioud  of  Mlebigau  wlilch  baa 
honored  nie  bv  ntlortlon  ihiond  not  onlj  tor  the  eiilendid  cmlization  which  la  hers 
todiy  but  especiaHy  prjiid  of  ber  pitnotic  devotion  to  the  geneial  goiernment  in  the 
hour  of  common  peril  In  a  night  of  extreme  danger  General  Reamey  said  Pnt  a 
Mlchlgin  regiment  on  guiird  »ud  nhile  the  silent  itars  looked  down  m  admirition  and 
the  night  Wfpt  dews  of  pit*  the  sleepless  song  of  Michigan  Ite^jt  wat  h  md  guard  while 
the  army  slept  to  dreim  it  home   lud  friends  around  the  fireside 

More  than  ninety  per  cent  <f  the  men  of  mihtiry  age  m  lIiLhl^m  werp  it  the 
fiont  ^o  portion  of  tins  lonimoun ealth  wis  more  patriotic  than  this  splpniiid  countT 
of  Genesee  The  lecord  shows  that  ninety  three  per  cent  of  her  men  of  military  age 
left  home  with  ill  its  endearments  to  maintain  the  honor  of  our  flag  many  al  is  to 
And  on  distant  battlefields  a  soldier -J  buriil  Can  we  today  realize  what  this  percentage 
meant  to  the  people  of  -your  cltv  forty  \ears  ago  Let  me  giie  you  an  object  lesson 
There  are  perhaps  one  hundred  men  In  this  audience  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
fortyflie  The  siine  rule  applied  today  would  tale  nmetythree  of  these  and  march 
them  away  keeping  step  to  the  music  of  the  Union  Twenty  boys  in  your  high  school 
o\er  eighteen  \eais  old  Call  eighteen  of  them  out  put  them  in  the  lUeiy  of  their 
country  ind  itand  them  up  to  biaie  the  shrt  and  sliell  of  an  imrlacable  foe  Think  of 
thii    my  vounj,  fiiend-     lud  tn    t     leilize  what  it       st  ti   be  patilitlc   in  those  hertic 


"^fter  piyino-  tribute  to  the   sons  of  Tenesee  county   for  the   record 
h  d  d 


m        d  g       T         ei 


"C.  C.  Dewstoe,  postmaster  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  had  'Genesee  County 
during  the  War'  as  his  assignment  and  was  most  heartily  received.  The 
fact  that  he  used  to  live  in  Genesee  county  and  went  from  here  to  the  front 
placed  him  in  close  touch  with  his  theme  and  with  his  audience,  though  he 


dbyGoot^lc 


760  CKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

had  been  long  absent  from  this  city.  He  spoke  of  the  services,  not  only  of 
the  men,  but  also  of  the  women  of  the  country,  'to  whom  is  due  in  a  large 
degree  the  great  measure  of  our  final  achievement.'  With  a  look  forward 
and  a  final  word  of  appreciation  to  the  Grand  Army,  the  address  was  closed. 

"Then  followed  the  Hon.  R.  A.  Alger,  of  the  United  State  Senate,  in 
an  appropriate  and  feeling  address  on  'The  Soldiers  of  Genesee  County.' 
after  which,  with  more  music  and  the  sounding  of  'taps,'  the  memorial  exer- 
cises were  closed. 

"For  most  people  the  next  exercise  was  supper,  but  the  alumni  of  the 
University  of  Michigan  took  advantage  of  the  interval  to  have  a  banquet 
at  the  Dryden  for  President  Angel!,  who  was  to  be  one  of  the  speakers  at 
the  dedication  of  the  library  next  day.  Following  the  co-educational  prin- 
ciple of  the  university,  instead  of  a  toastmaster,  there  was  a  toast-mistress 
in  the  person  of  Miss  M.  Louise  Wheeler,  of  the  high  school.  President 
Angell  was  in  a  reminiscent  vein  and  charmed  his  hearers  with  a  talk  on 
the  worth  of  the  university,  illustrated  by  the  careers  of  some  of  its  grad- 
uates. Some  of  the  more  distinguished  alumni  from  out  of  town  were  pres- 
ent, including  Judge  McAlvay  and  Judge  Carpenter  of  the  Michigan  su- 
preme court,  and  Mayor  Codd  and  ex-Mayor  Maybury  of  Detroit,  each  of 
whom  made  short  addresses. 

"The  evening  celebration  had  for  its  jirincipal  feature  an  illuminated 
parade  of  vehicles  and  floral  floats.  These  were  the  s;ime  which  had  ap- 
peared in  the  morning's  procession,  but  with  an  added  interest  from  the 
glow  of  street  lights  and  torches.  The  streets  were  completely  choked  by 
the  throngs  of  people  who  turned  out  to  witness  the  parade  and  for  a  good 
time  generally.  The  crowd  was  like  that  of  the  night  before,  only  more 
so,  and  much  enlivened  by  uniforms  of  National  Guards  and  Naval  Re- 
serves. To  quote  a  newspaper  report,  'They  paraded,  sang,  whistled,  yelled 
and  generally  let  people  know  that  they  were  in  town.'  But  with  all  the 
jollity  and  boisterousness,  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  but  good  humor  and 
essential  good  order  everywhere.  The  illuminated  fountain  was  again  the 
center  of  a  great  deal  of  interest. 

"At  the  same  time  with  the  out-of-door  celebration  a  general  reception 
was  held  in  the  court  house  for  all  the  distinguished  guests,  which  was 
attended  by  almost  the  entire  population  of  the  city  and  the  invited  guests. 
A  great  many  other  social  functions  were  held  of  a  private  and  public  char- 
acter, which  contimied  long  into  the  night.  One  of  the  most  memorable 
and  enjoyable  of  these  was  the  reunion  of  the  ex-members  of  the  Flint 
Union  Bhies,  at  the  armory.     Addresses  were  made  by  distinguished  guests. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GRNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  761 

and  many  former  menil^ers  enlivened  the  occasion  with  humorous  reminis- 
cences of  the  old  days. 

"Let  us  close  our  account  of  the  day  with  a  further  extract  from  the 
newspaper  report  just  mentioned,  slightly  modified : 

"■MiiHlc  njLS  ii«  free  .is  iiir  .iiul  lUmoBt  its  plentiful.  ISmids  iilajtil  iiud.  blared  fniiu 
tile  i);n-ks,  from  leraiuliiH  <if  the  liotels,  fi'om  the  reviewing  st^iud  iind  from  the  (jave- 
meut.  The  fife  and  drum  yoi-iis  shrieked  iiud  I'jittled,  musiL-jil  L-oiitrlvimcea  lu  stoit-s  sent 
plaintive  notes  to  the  street,  imd  gramophouen  were  heard  at  vai'lous  comers,  Eveu  the 
hllnd  man  with  the  huud  organ,  the  colored  man  with  the  guitar — they  all  helped,  and 
Fllut  WiLS  uiusloked  lu  most  gisiieroua  fashiou. 

"Until  late  at  night  there  waw  a  big  crowd  of  jubilee  vlKltora  on  the  streets;  but 
with  the  midnight  triiliis  gone,  the  jiini  thiuiied  out.  Flint  folks  and  their  guests 
wiitched  the  iltumluation  of  the  fountain,  the  ceaseless  shafts  from  the  Kcarchllghts, 
heard  tlie  bunds  play  the  last  timp  for  the  night,  and  went  home  to  the  sleep  of  the 
weary  and  to  do  It  ail  over  agaiu  the  next  day. 

"It  might  be  wupiMised  that  the  doing  it  all  over  again  next  djiy  must  imohe  some- 
thing of  sanieuesa  and  weariness,  and  so  It  would  have  been  hud  Thursday's  ijrocesslou 
been  of  the  sume  character  as  Wednesday's.  But  while  the  first  procession  had  to  do 
with  the  present  and  the  puat,  and  nas  largely  military,  the  second  looUeil  toward  the 
future.  It  was  mode  up  principally  of  the  schoois  of  the  city.  Twi  thousand  of  all 
ages  and  siaes,  from  the  little  tots,  tiKi  small  to  keep  up  with  the  procession  if  they  kept 
step  with  the  music,  up  to  the  gritdunting  i-lass  of  the  high  scliool,  marched  In  line,  each 
carrying  a  small  American  flag.  Great  ci-owda  gathered  to  see  them  and  cheered  them 
no  less  henrtilj-  and  enthuslaBttcally  than  they  had  cheered  the  procession  the  djiy  before, 
.ind  in  response,  yame  many  a  eheer  and  many  a  waving  of  flags  from  the  little  folks 
in  the  procession.  Witli  iteculiar  appropriateness.  Dr.  Jamaf  B.  Angell,  the  revered 
president  of  the  State  Universitj.  and  so  the  top  stone  of  our  educational  system,  led 
the  way.  and  with  him  other  speakers  and  ju'ouilueut  guests  aud  citizens.  luchidlng.  of 
course,  the  cit,*  board  of  education.  Then,  on  foot,  leading  the  schools,  came  the  high 
school  facility,  n  ith  true  dignity,  each  carrying  a  flag  like  their  pupils.  Nest  followed 
the  high  school  cadets,  In  black  coats  aud  white  duck  trousers.  ri*ailng  the  soldiers  of 
the  day  before  In  the  smartness  with  which  they  carried  themselves  and  the  precision 
of  their  drill.  Following  tliem  came  tlie  other  members  of  the  high  school  in  the  order  of 
their  classes,  and  then  the  Stevenson.  Walker,  Kearsley.  Oak,  Doyle,  Clark  and  Hazleton 
schools,  with  classes  led  by  their  teachers.  So  flUed  were  the  smaller  children  with  the 
marching  spirit,  that  even  when  forced  to  halt  for  a  moment,  their  feet  still  kept  time 
to  the  music  of  the  band. 

"Then,  all  in  white,  came  St.  Michael's  parochial  school,  and  after  them,  schools 
from  the  countr.v  In  wagons.  Most  interesting  perhaps  of  all,  and  certainly  with  the 
greatest  appeal  to  the  sympathies  of  the  spectators,  was  the  last  school  contingent,  con- 
sisting of  the  state  school  for  the  deaf,  marching  along  with  happy  faces,  apparently 
to  the  music  of  the  band,  though  not  a  note  reached  their  ears,  Xor  could  they  he.ir  the 
applause  which  greeted  them  all  along  the  line;  yet,  it  was  not  all  in  vain,  for  tlieir 
e.ves  made  up  In  some  measure  for  their  lack  of  hearing  and  took  In  with  delight  the 
fluttering  of  flags  and  the  wai  Ing  of  hands  and  handkerchiefs  as  they  passed, 

"The  jirocesslon  was  approprlatel.v  closed  by  a  floral  parade.  In  which  gaily  decked 
carriages  and  automobiles  took  jiart. 


dbyGoc^lc 


762  GENESliE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

"Instead  of  breaking  up  on  Saginaw  street,  as  that  of  the  previous  day, 
the  procession  appropriately  marched  out  on  Kearsley  street,  in  front  of  the 
library,  before  being  dismissed,  and  thus  made  itself  a  great  escort  to  the 
distinguished  guests  as  they  proceeded  thither  for  the  dedication  of  the 
beautiful  huildin'g.  Thither  they  were  followed  by  as  large  a  crowd  as 
could  come  within  range  of  the  voices  of  the  speakers.  After  an  invoca- 
tion by  Father  Murphy,  of  St.  Michael's,  George  W.  Cook,  president  of 
the  board  of  education,  introduce<l  Dr.  J.  C.  Willson  as  presiding  officer, 
who  made  a  few  remarks  in  keeping  with  the  occasion,  and  then  gave  place 
to  Mayor  Aitkin,  who  once  more  gave  an  address  of  welcome.  After  the 
singing  of  'America'  by  a  chorus  of  public  school  pupils.  President  Angell 
then  spoke.  His  address  was  quiet  and  scholarly,  appropriate  to  the  occa- 
sion and  in  keeping  with  the  quiet  and  dignified  architecture  of  the  building 
to  be  dedicated.  It  was  received  with  close  attention  and  with  hearty 
applause.     It  was  as  follows : 

■■These  ai-e  iJi-cud  aud  gJiid  dnya  for  the  city  of  i'lmt.  The  fond  iniyiiories  of  lier 
paat  and  tlie  hvlght  hoi>es  for  lier  future  equally  clrni'm  our  lieiirt.  Justly  couapicnous 
among  the  celebrations  i>f  the  week  Cor  the  permanence  of  Interest  whifh  it  awakens. 
Is  the  dedication  of  tlie  new  library  building.  As  the  years  roll  on,  the  recollections  of 
the  intellectual  stimulus  which  will  have  heen  received  in  this  home  of  letterM  by 
thousands  of  eager  young  minds,  will  be  among  the  dearest  that  bind  them  to  this  city. 
It  Is,  therefore,  eminently  fitting  that  in  the  rejoicings  of  this  festival,  we  find  opitor- 
tunity  to  consider  the  significance  of  the  opening  of  thi&  house  to  Its  high  uses,  and  to 
express  our  thanks  to  the  far-sighted  women  who,  by  their  earnest  efforts,  laid  the 
foundation  of  this  library,  and  to  the  generous  donor  of  the  beautiful  building  which  we 
now  dedicate. 

"We  seldom  consider  into  what  exalted  comiiiinionship  a  library  admits  u"*.  When 
an  eminent  man  like  Admiral  Dewey  or  the  President  of  the  United  Stntes  conies  to  our 
town,  we  esteem  ourselves  highly  honored.  The  public  press  reports  the  vitiit  with  the 
fullest  detallB.  If  it  ever  happens  to  us  to  be  admitted  into  a  royal  presence,  we  regard 
the  privilege  as  one  of  the  notable  events  in  our  lives. 

"But  have  you  ever  paused  to  think  Into  what  a  society  you  will  be  Introduced  on 
crossing  the  threshold  of  your  library  when  it  is  filled  with  books'  Have  you  ever 
realized  that  there  you  may  stand  in  the  august  presence  of  men  of  larger  mould  and 
loftier  spirit  than  most  of  the  illustrious  warriors  and  sovereigns  of  the  world?  There 
Homer  may  await  you  witli  his  imperishable  song,  and  Plato  with  his  vision  of  a  seer, 
Aristotle  with  his  political  wisdom,  and  Demosthenes  with  his  matchless  eloquence. 
There  the  genial  Horace  may  welcome  you  with  his  epic  that  charms  the  school  boy  of 
today  almost  as  it  did  the  court  of  Augustus,  and  Cicero  with  his  melodious  and  re- 
sounding periods.  Then  follows  tlie  stately  procession  of  mediaeval  and  modern  poets, 
philosophers,  historians,  scientists,  novelists— Dante,  Petrarch,  fSi-otlus,  Kant.  Hegel. 
Rousseau,  Goethe,  Schiller,  Shakespeare,  Bacon,  Newton,  Scott,  Gibbon,  Emerson,  Long- 
fellow, IjOwell,  Hawthorne,  and  their  illustrious  compeers.  There  they  all  may  he, 
waiting  to  recpue  us  and  give  us  their  best  thoughts  and  words.  Suppose  tliey  were  In 
the  flesh.     The  <-lty  could  not  •■ontnin  the  crowds  who  would  come  hurrying  from  all 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  763 

ijurts  of  tbe  woi'id  to  jour  gates  to  look  upon  tliis  select  i-oiuimiiy,  tUe  cUoicest  and 
uoblest  spirits  of  all  liistory.  But  tliougli  it  is  uot  grnnteil  us  to  aulute  them  in  peiiton, 
we  liu\e  the  yreoious  heritage  tliey  liave  left  us  of  all  that  was  highest  ftiid  best  in 
theni.  We  may  well  stand  with  uueoiered  lieud  iind  rerereut  awe  jih  we  enter  those 
IKirtala  aud  comprehend  the  full  import  of  the  fiict  that  there  we  ai'e  permitted  to  come 
into  intimate  communion  nith  them,  as  they  were  In  their  hours  of  highest  InspiratloD. 
and  have  them  coude*icend  to  speak  to  us  iib  friend  to  fnend.  to  Instruct,  to  comfort,  to 
delight,  to  iuspii'e  us.  What  an  unspeakable  joy  it  will  be  to  us  to  escai«  from  the 
narrow  dungeon  of  our  ignorance  into  the  free  air  and  light  of  this  palace  of  wisdom, 
to  flee  at  times  from  the  Iriisome  cares  of  our  daily  life  to  the  sweet  compuntoiishtp  of 
these  noljle  men,  to  turn  aside  from  the  din  of  the  street  and  the  sh(q)  into  the  peace 
and  quiet  of  our  temple  of  learning,  to  be  lifted  from  the  depressions  and  disappoint- 
ments which  often  overwhelm  us  to  the  exaltations  and  inspirations  and  hopes  and 
enthusiasms  which  may  be  kindled  by  contact  with  these  master  s[)irits. 

"Under  that  roof  these  great  men  of  all  the  centuries  will,  as  hosts,  be  ever  ready 
with  their  work  to  welcome  us  to  their  presence.  Your  generous  and  appreciative  friend 
has  here  rearetl  u  palace  for  them  worthy,  by  its  beauty  and  dignity,  and  completeness 
of  appointments  to  be  their  permanent  home.  There  they  will  speali  their  words  of 
wisdom  and  cheer  to  you  and  to  your  children  and  to  your  children's  children.  That 
will  be  the  center  and  in  large  degree  the  source  of  the  intellectual  life  of  this  rapidly 
growing  city. 

"Now  tlint  your  benefactor  has  so  iioblj  done  his  iwrt,  it  remains  for  the  city  to 
see  that  the  library  is  maintained  and  managed  in  an  effective  manner.  It  would  uot 
only  be  an  act  of  ingratitude,  but  it  would  be  a  mockery  If  in  such  an  edifice  as  that  we 
should  not  find  a  good  and  growing  and  well  administered  library  There  is  no  more 
important  commission  In  your  city  than  the  commission  charged  with  the  care  of  your 
libi-ary.  Let  us  hope  tliat  they  will  always  be  chosen  with  special  regard  to  their 
fitness  for  their  official  duty  and  without  reganl  to  their  party  affiliations.  Especially 
is  wisdom  needed  in  the  selection  of  your  books.  It  Is  not  so  difficult  to  choose  books 
for  the  cultivated  and  scholarly  readers.  But  in  your  library  you  must  provide  for  all 
your  population.  Particular  care  should  be  hud  to  procure  books  attracth'e  and  useful 
to  your  artisans  and  mechauicB  and  common  laborers.  They  should  be  led  to  feel  that 
this  is  the  place  where  they  can  most  profitably  spend  a  spare  hour  and  can  find  some- 
thing to  bring  new  brightness  into  their  monotonous  lives.  The  efforts  which  you  ha>  e 
already  Initiated  to  make  the  library  serviceable  to  the  pupils  In  your  schools,  must 
now  be  redoubled.  The  teachers  and  the  library  authorities  must  always  contrive  to 
co-operate  heartily.  The  multiplication  of  libraries  in  this  country  has  alreiidy  elevated 
the  work  of  the  library:  the  tnfiuence  which  a  competent  librarian  can  wield  in  his 
guidance  of  the  reading  and  studies  of  the  young  is  seldom  outn-eighed  by  that  of  the 
teacher  or  the  preacher.  In  no  maimer  can  a  generous  appropriation  of  funds  for  the 
support  of  a  library  be  more  wisely  expended  than  in  securing  a  competent  librarian. 

"Judging  by  my  own  experience  and  by  my  observation  of  others,  I  doubt  whether 
the  guide  books  which  have  been  written  to  tell  one  what  works  to  read  have  been  of 
great  service.  The  simple  reason  why  they  are  not  very  helpful  Is,  that  to  advise  one 
what  to  read,  you  should  know  something  of  his  aptitudes  and  taste  and  something  of 
his  plans  of  life.    General  advice  is  a  shot  in  the  air.    It  may  hit  nothing. 

"But  a  competent  person  may  give  helpfnJ  counsels  to  the  young  concerning  useful 
methods  of  reading  whatever  one  does  read,  and  may  indeed  specify  what  are  some  of 
the  best  liooks  on  certain  topics.  A  good  librarian,  if  leisure  enough  is  left  him.  may 
nttract   and   help  willing   auditors  by   occasional   lectures  or   inform.il   talks,   on   how   to 


dbyGoo<^lc 


764  GENESEE    C0X:NTY,    MICHIGAX. 

rend  a  ll^laI^  But  iiersonal  eu^fcestiuni  to  meet  paiticulor  needs  me  the  most  fruitful 
of  good  iud  Just  heie  tbe  ichool  teachers  if  competent  to  advise  <,  tn  be  of  the  utmost 
sei^iLe  In  no  nny  can  the  library  be  made  bo  \  iluable  is  by  tbe  hearty  and  s^itenntit 
poopeiation  of  the  librailan  and  the  teacher'^  It  nonld  be  ier(  useful  if  the\  could 
fioio  time  to  time  meet  to  confei  uion  the  best  method  of  securing  harmonious  action 
Toi  it  IS  the  geneiation  now  eomnig  on  to  the  rtiKe  who  are  cbleflj  to  pioflt  Ij  the  use 
ot  this  iibiiir^  It  Is  thiough  tJiem  that  the  eitj  Is  to  lecene  its  chief  benefit  To 
imlte  them  to  rend  to  trim  them  to  rit.bt  lithlts  of  readlnj,  fo  Inspiie  them  with  higb 
ideals  (f  what  one  should  seek  and  lo*e  iii  reiding  shtuld  he  the  anplntion  of  pttenfa 
an  I  teachers.  If  this  llbraiy  Is  to  yield  its  laigest  harvest  or  good 

lite  all  good  things,  this  lihiarv  iniv  to  some  persons  bring  no  good  it  may  eicD 
me.in  an  instrument  of  haiiu  It  mar  bilng  n*  gc  3d  because  it  may  be  utterly  neglected 
No  doubt  there  tie  miny  families  who  hue  ueier  drawn  a  book  fiom  the  shelves  It 
ma\  bilng  no  good^lt  may  even  cause  intellectual  not  to  say  moiai  injury  if  it  is 
misused  It  IS  possible  to  choose  from  mj  gi-eat  llbiarv  such  passjiges  from  woiks  ind 
to  peiuse  them  m  such  a  spirit  as  to  gritlfv  and  stimulate  prurient  desires  01  if  one 
does  not  descend  to  bo  unwoithv  ind  shameful  an  act  one  may  read  In  such  a  manner 
as  to  he  guilty  of  intellectual  dissipition  l\h*t  ne  may  call  the  desultory  readers  are 
exposed  to  this  dangei  Ihev  pick  up  wbatevei  book  01  magazine  comes  flrst  to  hand, 
provided  thej  are  suie  th  it  It  mikes  no  tis.  ui)on  theli  mental  poweis  They  spend 
their  time  dawdling  o\er  a  chiptei  jf  tins  liook  tlien  over  a  chapter  of  that  as  men 
ff  the  town  now  join  this  giu  companion  for  an  Uour  ind  then  anotbei  for  the  next 
hour  for  frholous  talli  and  irofitless  gosslj  and  so  wsinder  aimless  through  tlie  day 
nithout  any  fruitage  to  show  foi  their  time  Thev  lose  the  ponei  if  they  evei  had  it 
of  cfnsecutlve  studv  and  thought   mil  dlscouise  on  my  theme  whiteier 

I  do  not  mean  to  Intimate  tbat  we  Should  nevei  come  to  this  lihraiv  to  tead  for 
plea&ure  and  entertainment  One  of  the  greit  Tnd  proper  uses  of  bookw  is  to  refresh 
and  amuse  us  in  oui  houis  of  wearine^  and  depression  I  ike  the  societv  of  our  choicest 
friends  tbev  niaj  wiseli  be  sought  foi  the  sole  puipose  of  diverting  our  minds  from  the 
flood  of  caies  md  trouble*>  which  come  In  ui>oii  ill  of  us  Tlie  libraiT  mai  well  be 
The  vvoiids  sweet  in  from  care  and  weaiisome  tiiimoil  Or  m  our  happv  ind 
nieri-v  moods  we  m  iv  seek  confeenuil  ctmiwiiiv  m  the  creations  of  Cervantes  and  Moliere 
and  ihakesiteaie  and  Di'-kens  and  'Mark  X^vaiu  Keading  foi  pastime  is  1  commendable 
occupation  if  wiselv  followed  Ixivsell  in  his  pindo\lctl  wtyle  tells  us  that  whnt  Dr 
Joimson  cilled  browsing  m  a  librarv  is  the  onlv  way  In  which  time  can  be  profitably 
wasted  But  to  browse  pioflttblv  one  should  have  in  appetite  onlv  for  whit  has  some 
merit  I  have  known  lads  bom  vvlth  a  literary  instinct  as  unerring  as  that  of  the  bee 
foi  finding  honev  to  have  the  free  lun  of  a  large  libiarv  and  come  out  with  a  wonderful 
range  of  good  learning  Such  instances  show  the  unwisdom  of  having  the  same  lules 
to  guide  everyone  In  his  reading  In  such  ciaes  as  those  just  cited  tbe  evimiile  ind 
taste  of  the  pirents  often  determine  the  success  of  the  experiment  The  books  thev  tilk 
about  fondii  at  table  and  quote  from  fieelv  and  appositely  are  likely  to  arrest  the 
attention  of  the  child  Therefore  me  mav  siv  that  the  home  as  trulv  as  the  school  miy 
largelj  deteimine  what  advantage  shall  be  gained  In  tins  library  Parents  who  for 
their  chlldrens  sake  aie  uueful  what  guests  thev  admit  to  their  hcuse  and  whit 
companionships  they  ccunsel  the  childien  to  form  may  well  onsider  vvhnt  leidlui, 
comes  under  their  roof  and  whit  llteraiy  tastes  they  encouiage  In  theii  household 

In  these  davs  when  reviews  and  img^zines  and  school  histirles  of  literature 
abound  thfre  seems  ground  for  one  caution  to  youthful  readers  It  is  not  to  be  content 
with   lenliuf,   ihoiit   „!eiit   Inks     ml   Lieit  men    lot  ti   stulv   tlie  va    lis  themsr  les   it 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  765 

grt'Ht  men.  Miiny  of  the  outlines  of  English  liter. itai'e,  for  example,  which  pupils  in 
Echiiol  are  required  to  study,  nmtiilii  datet  and  iiiinies  and  brief  descriptions  of  master- 
pieces and,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  can  contain  little  else.  But  ti-amming  the 
memory  wltL  these  ia  not  leiirnlng  literature.  Ueiidiug,  mastering  and  lenrnlng  to 
appreciate  and  love  oue  of  the  great  works  of  a  great  author  is  better  than  to  lenru 
the  diT  facts  in  the  lives  of  a  score  of  authors.  So  our  magazines  and  reviews  treat 
UH  to  criticisms  sometimes  wise,  and  sometimes  unwise,  of  many  authors.  But  all  these 
are  of  little  \aliie  until  the  works  themselves  of  the  authors  have  been  stuitied.  With 
the  works  the  biogriiph  of  the  authors  should  he  read  In  order  to  appreciate  the 
couditioiiB  under  which  the  works  were  produced.  But  far  better  is  It  to  gahi  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  one  great  writer's  life  and  works  than  to  learu  a  few 
fragmentary  facts  as  second  hand  about  the  lives  and  writings  of  many. 

"One  of  the  most  difficult  questious  to  settle  iu  these  days  in  the  selection  of  hooks 
for  !i  library  or  In  directing  the  reading  of  the  young  is,  how  large  shall  be  the  propor- 
tion of  Action  in  a  library  or  in  the  re;\diug  of  anyone.  Just  now  we  are  flooded  with 
fiction,  stretching  from  the  short  story  of  the  magazine  to  the  two  volume  novel.  I 
observe  that  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  volumes  drawn  from  one  imiwrtant  library  in 
Michigan  (In  1001-02)  are  classed  under  the  two  heads  of  juvenile  lictlon  and  Action. 
And  I  suppose  the  experience  of  other  popular  libraries  is  similar.  This  shows  at  least 
that  there  Is  a  great  craving  for  Action.  That  craving,  a  library  like  this  must,  to  a 
ftiir  degree.  Strive  to  meet.  Xor  need  we  regret  that  there  is  a  strong  desire  for  sterling 
works  of  Action.  They  stimulate  and  nonrisli  the  Imagination.  They  gii'e  us  vi\id 
pictures  of  life.  They  iMii-ti'ay  for  us  the  working  of  human  passions.  They  give  reality 
to  history.  Sometimes  they  cultivate  a  taste  for  reading  in  those  who  would  otherwise 
be  inclined  to  I'ead  little,  and  so  lead  them  to  other  branches  of  literature. 

■'But  on  the  other  Land,  1  think  It  must  be  confessed  that  a  great  deal  of  the  Action 
which  is  now  deluging  the  market  Is  the  veriest  trash  or  worse  than  trash.  Sluch  of  It 
is  positively  bad  lu  Its  inAuence.  It  awakens  uiorbld  passions.  It  deals  in  most 
exaggerated  representations  of  life.     It  is  vicious  in  style. 

"'It  is  a  most  delicate  task  for  the  authorities  of  a  library  like  this  to  draw  the  line 
between  the  works  of  fiction  which  should  be  and  those  which  should  not  lie  found  on 
its  shelves.  As  to  the  individual  reader,  the  best  we  can  do  is  to  elevate  his  taste  as 
rapidly  as  we  can  by  placing  In  his  Lands  Action  attractive  at  once  in  Its  matter  and 
in  Its  Style.  We  must  hope  that  with  the  cultivation  of  taste  to  which  our  best  schools 
aspire,  we  can  rear  a  generation  which  will  prefer  the  best  things  in  literature  to  the 
inferior.  That  is  the  reason  why  the  teachers  of  languages  and  literature  In  our  schools 
should  be  not  mere  linguists,  but  persons  of  refined  literary  taste,  who  will  imbue  their 
pupils  with  a  love  for  the  truest  and  highest  In  every  literature  which  they  can  read. 

■'I  would  like  to  commend  to  my  young  friends  who  desire  to  profit  by  the  use  of 
this  library  the  habit  of  reading  wItU  some  sj-stem  and  of  roaklug  brief  notes  upon  the 
contents  of  the  books  they  read.  If,  for  instance,  jou  are  studying  the  history  of  some 
lieriod,  ascertain  what  works  you  need  to  study  and  finish  such  parts  of  them  as  con- 
eei'u  your  theme.  Do  not  feel  obliged  to  read  the  whole  of  a  large  treatise,  but  select 
such  chapters  as  touch  on  the  subject  In  hand  and  onilt  the  rest  for  the  time.  Young 
students  often  get  swamped  and  lose  their  way  la  Serbonlan  bogs  of  learning,  when  they 
need  to  explore  only  a  simple  and  a  plain  pathway  to  a  speciiic  destination.  Have  n 
purpose  and  a  plan  and  adhere  to  it  in  spite  of  alluring  temptations  to  turn  aside  Into 
attractive  fields  that  are  remote  from  your  subject.  If  in  a  note  book  you  nill,  on 
finishing  a  work,  jot  down  the  points  of  Importance  In  the  volume  and  the  references 
to  tlio  [laire  or  I'h.iptci',   yon   will   frequently  And   It  of  the  greati'st   'service   to  run   oier 


yGoot^lc 


766  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

tliew  notes  nad  lefresli  jour  rnemoiy  If  vou  are  dispo^vi  to  ndd  some  words  of  com 
meiit  or  iiltki'ani  on  the  bool  tliat  iinctke  als.  will  make  y  u  a  moie  attenti\e  readei 
ind  nill  nialte  an  Inteiestint.  record  fd  yoii  to  consult 

If  it  is  ever  illoi\able  to  euvv  another  ne  miy  emy  the  happv  glTer  of  this 
building  the  just  ^satisfaction  with  nhlch  he  m  ly  look  upon  the  completion  of  this  wirk 
Here  he  hts  (i)ened  a  fountain  the  streams  wbere;>f  shall  make  glad  generations  to 
come  Thev  sliall  loik  upi  u  this  home  is  the  titce  where  they  hiie  received  Intellectuii 
stimulus  and  uourisiunent  Some  even  ma\  renieuibei  it  as  the  place  of  their  first  real 
intellectual  awakening — we  might  saj  of  theii  intellectual  birth  How  many  a  toiling 
uiither  who  in  her  poyeitv  is  unable  t<  supply  hei  eagei  minded  thildren  with  the 
simplest  boob's  will  dally  speak  hei  woid  of  blessing  on  the  nolle  m  n  who  his  openel 
the  intpllectual  treasures  of  the  world  to  her  househild  Here  is  the  shrine  of  true 
Americin  democracy  for  here  the  child  of  the  washerwoman  may  sit  bv  the  side  of  the 
child  of  the  millionaire  and  ivitb  equal  fieedom  hold  sweet  communion  with  the  great 
and  good  (f  ail  ages  The  eye  can  lewt  on  no  more  charming  scene  than  will  be  witnessed 
daily  in  this  heiutiful  temple  of  learning  where  ingenuous  students  of  eierj  stttlon  In 
lifp  whether  clad  In  the  coarse  jeiins  of  the  w  rkm  n  or  m  the  broidcloth  of  the  wealthy 
will  le  seen  pui suing  their  studies  with  exactly  the  same  opportunities  of  making  their 
'  way  to  a  position  at  eminence  and  usefulness  imoiig  the  great  sthilirs  of  the  world, 
M'ly  we  not  siv  with  piide  that  this  opening  of  high  mteliectual  privileges  to  all  is  in 
full  accord  with  the  spirit  of  this  histonc  state  which  his  offered  to  eiery  child  within 
its  bordeis  the  opportunity  to  enjov  almost  without  (.ost  all  the  privileges  of  education 
from  those  of  the  primarj  school  uii  to  the  highest  whkli  Michigan  liu  gl\e. 

"The  next  address  wa?  delivered  Iiv  the  Hon.  W.  W.  Crapo,  as  fol- 
lows : 

There  is  nothing  whkh  moie  cleaily  maiks  the  intellectuil  progress  of  Flint  duim? 
the  list  fifty  \ejrs  than  this  edifice  whith  todiy  is  dedicated  to  free  public  use  lii  it  is 
represented  the  desire  for  bioider  knowledge  a  more  perfect  mental  culture  a  closei 
icquiintinte  with  the  best  thought  of  the  past  and  present  and  i  cleiiei  in&ight  into 
the  nuestigatlons  and  achiei  enients  of  modern  science  To  satisfy  the  hungrv  longings 
of  the  mind  this  building  his  been  eretted  in  order  tiiat  it  miy  serie  as  the  repositoiy 
In  which  to  store  the  Intellectual  tieasures  of  the  world  and  from  which  the  people  old 
and  young  can  diaw  for  theit  enjoymMit    their  enlightenment  and  their  inspiration 

Libraries  haye  stimulated  and  aided  and  to  a  certain  degree  haye  measured  the 
civilization  of  nations  ind  the  Intelligence  of  communities  Wheie  ieiming  is  repressed 
md  books  ire  denied  there  is  subjugation  and  superstition  Where  edu  atlon  |ie- 
\alls  and  bxiks  are  easily  accessible  there  will  be  found  improved  tocial  order  i  clearer 
concerrtion  of  individual  rights  and  duties  a  higher  standard  of  public  re^qionsiblllti  and 
greater  freedom  Tveiy  additional  librnrv  creates  a  new  center  of  intellectual  life 
woiklng  for  the  elevation  of  mankind  to  i  higher  plane 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  residence  across  the  wav  f  ic  ng  the  libmv  buill 
ing  was  the  home  of  mv  father  i  i  Itlzen  of  Flint  respected  \nd  honored  bv  his  fellow 
townsmen  This  circumstance  in  itself  has  little  or  no  significance  but  "Ur  Ohaiiman 
youi  kindly  mention  of  him  today  prompts  me  to  allude  perhaps  not  inappropriately  on 
this  occasion  to  his  early  struggle  for  education  and  to  contrast  the  present  with  the 
past  He  was  brrn  on  a  locky  New  England  farm  which  by  Insistent  and  unremitting 
hiid  wiirk  with  the  practice  of  painstiking  frugality  furnished  n  scinty  livelihiod 
The  prospect  whiLh  ciened  up  before  the  bov    was  one  of  tdl  and  deprlvntion      He 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENIiSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  767 

longed  for  better  thiiifi?  and  to  rise  above  tbp  narrow  limitations  of  adverse  BuiToundinES, 
To  accoihpUah  this  lie  must  lia\'e  education.  His  only  hope  for  success  in  the  outside 
world  was  tlirougli  an  outfit  of  mental  equipment.  I  have  heard  him  tell  Of  his  tliree 
moatlis'  schooling  and  the  long  walks  through  the  snow  to  the  dlstiint  school  house. 
Denied  the  trttining  of  schools,  It  was  for  him  to  educate  himself.  Encouraged  by  a 
syuipnthizing  mother,  the  few  pennies  that  could  be  spared  went  for  the  purchase  of 
school  books,  which  were  studied  in  the  long  hours  of  the  night  by  the  light  of  the 
home-made  tallow  candle.  The  few  boolts  in  the  houses  of  neighboring  fiirma  were 
borrowed  and  mentally  devoured.  If  there  had  been  granted  to  him  the  oiiportimitles 
and  privil«!es  which  tills  Institution  will  afford  to  the  youth  of  the  present  time,  wliat 
a  flood  of  sunshine  would  haie  ehei^red  and  brightened  his  boyhood  days.  At  eighteen 
he  was  the  teacher  of  a  country  school,  and  in  teaching  others  he  had  better  ojiportunity 
for  teaching  himself.  This  story  is  not  an  unusual  or  extra oi-dlnary  one.  It  Is  the  story 
of  hundreds  of  New  England  farmer  boys  of  one  hundred  years  ngo.  To  them  there 
was  no  roj'al  road  to  learning.  The  path  was  stouy  and  beset  with  thorns  and  briars. 
The  laggard,  the  incompetent,  the  indifferent  who  entered  it  stumbled  and  fell  by  the 
way,  but  those  with  determined  i>uriJOse  and  unfaltering  will  reached  the  goal.  At  the 
age  when  the  unhersity  student  receives  his  diploma,  those  men  of  rugged  training  were 
employed  in  the  activities  of  life.  While  they  had  not  the  polish  of  the  university,  they 
had  acquired  self-reliance,  and  in  their  hard  experience  had  gained  the  capacity  for 
sound  Judgment  and  power  of  clejtr  and  positive  espi'ession  which  placed  them  on  fair 
terms  with  their  more  favored  contemporaries.  The  ultimate  test  of  men  is  found  in 
thi'  quality  of  their  performance. 

"In  studj  ing  the  lives  and  career  of  those  men  of  a  hundred  years  ago  and  noting 
nhat  they  accomplished,  the  query  Is  sometimes  raised  whether  the  modern  methods 
of  leanilng  made  easy  are  in  ei'evy  way  advisable,  whether  the  system  of  instruction 
which  puts  a  pi-op  here  and  a  lubricator  there  and  itads  the  brain  with  esthetic  culture 
tends  to  make  sti'ong  men  and  strong  women.  The  possession  of  much  and  varied  Infor- 
mation is  useful,  but  still  the  question  is  at  times  presented  whether  the  crowding  of  the 
brain  with  a  miscellaneous  assortment  of  learning,  the  parts  of  which  have  no  relation 
to  the  whole,  and  whether  the  Itnowing  of  something  about  everything,  and  not  knowing 
ev'-i-ythlng  about  something,  whether  the  superficial  rather  than  tlie  solid  reatlty  of 
knowledge,  can  in  evei-j  respect  advantageously  take  the  place  of  the  training  and 
discipline  of  the  mind  which  wrought  the  mental  toughness  and  fibre  and  brawn  of 
the  earlier  days. 

"I  do  not  answer  this  question,  nor  do  I  enter  upon  its  discussion.  Fur  me  to 
attempt  to  do  so  In  the  presence  of  the  able  and  dlstitLguished  educators  who  are  with 
us  today  would  be  rank  presumption. 

"The  library  presents  no  such  inqulrj'  apd  Is  clouded  with  no  such  doubt.  While 
the  tendency,  perhaps  I  should  say  the  necessity,  of  the  public  school  is  to  run  all  the 
children  through  one  common  mould,  regardless  of  disposition  or  temperament,  regard- 
less of  hereditary  Infiuences — In  short  regardless  of  the  child  and  the  life  before  it — 
the  library  deals  with  the  individual  and  meets  the  especial  wants  of  the  Individual, 
whether  in  the  department  of  literature  or  historical  research,  of  philosophy  or  economies, 
or  of  science  and  arts.  The  library  brings  the  student  in  close  companionship  with  the 
best  scholars  and  furnishes  the  Inquirer  and  Investigator  with  the  searchlight  that 
reveals  the  achlev'ements  of  the  world's  ablest  experts. 

"There  is  no  magical  power  in  books.  More  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
John  Harvard,  a  young  English  clergyman,  gave  his  private  library  and  a  small  sum  of 
money  to  eibiblMi  ,1  coJJeixe  in  Nc«   lluKland.     It  bus  ,1   mere  T'ltt.inci',  tho  raei-est  trifle, 


dbyGoot^lc 


768  CENE-iEE    COI  NTY      MICHIGAN 

fvhen  compared  ultli  tlie  luuuiflceuce  of  Tubus  Hoikiub  of  Baltimore  oi  Leluud  StiinfurU 
In  California  oi  John  Kotkefellei  it  tliicigo  but  it  wus  the  founditiou  of  Hu^ald 
Uulieisin  the  pride  and  glcrj  of  Massjithusetta  There  lued  lu  Hanards  tune 
eminent  "rtatesnieu  and  leiiiued  juiHts  and  famous  soldieis  some  of  wlioae  uimee  aie 
uow  fdigotten  oi  lemembeied  onlj  as  found  in  liiogiaphies  in  the  iko\et^  of  llhiuiie'' 
hut  the  name  of  John  Hir\aid  is  l>.nown  md  houoieil  and  blessed  throughout  tlie 
ch  lli/ed  world,  and  his  fame  will  enduie  as  the  ages  loll  ou 

Little  moie  thin  two  imndred  >eiis  ago  a  few  oithod"X  Connecticut  cleigjmen 
met  bj  flprointiuent  lii  Savbiook  at  tlie  uioutU  of  the  Connecticut  ruer  Lach  me  of 
them  biought  Tsith  lilm  a  Looli  whifh  he  plated  upon  the  tible  and  in  that  simple 
ceremony  and  In  the  dedication  of  that  little  pile  of  books  to  the  uses  of  education  was 
the  beginning  of  the  gieut  1  lie  Inneiwtj  On  tlie  Lami.us  it  New  Haien  stands  the 
llbrarj  building  coustiucted  of  brown  stone  beiutiful  in  its  aichltecture  perfect  In  its 
[)ioipoitlous  and  admiiablj  jdipted  to  the  u'<e  for  whitL  It  n  \n  intended  The  students 
of  afty  yeira  ago  gazed  upon  it  with  admiiation  for  it  was  tlien  b\  fir  the  hnei-t  of 
the  college  bulldlngH  and  he  regiided  its  contents  witii  leierenie  but  now  the  w  .ird 
has  come  to  ns  that  it  is  pioposed  to  tear  down  tins  building  so  deir  to  the  Ueaits  of 
thousands  of  men  thioughout  the  land  In  oidei  that  uiion  it-s  site  a  laiger  and  grinder 
md  more  magnificent  building  liu  be  erected  for  the  tccommod itlon  <f  the  acinmulatm? 
tieasures  ot  the  nniieisitv  What  a  marvelou'S  growth  fiom  the  little  seed  planted  by 
tbese  Connecticut  clei^men 

It  was  thus  two  hundred  yeais  ago  that  a  collection  of  books  the  nucleus  of  a 
llbiary  nas  the  primal  source  fiom  whith  &i.iang  each  <f  the  two  older  unnersities  of 
this  countr*  repreaentnig  as  they  do  so  much  of  the  mtellectuil  foice  of  this  nation  in 
it«  historical  deielopment 

Ihe  donoi  of  this  building  In  the  centuiies  to  come  will  not  be  lemembered  as 
the  successful  lion  and  steel  workei  or  is  the  gieat  captain  of  mduatrv  that  be  w  is 
but  foi  his  enliahtened  Ilbenllti  and  (.olosbai  benefictions  to  the  woiJd  In  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge  imong  men  thiough  the  igenc\  of  books  I  congi  ituHte  the  people  of 
Flint  in  their  coming  into  the  possession  of  this  building  of  substantial  construction  and 
excellent  design  and  which  adds  tnother  to  the  attrioti^e  public  buildings  of  which  they 
are  Justly  proud  It  is  evidence  that  what  was  cnce  the  little  village  of  Gianrt  Traverse 
has  now  become  a  city  of  importance  not  merely  in  Industrial  ictlvlties  and  commercial 
transactions  ind  social  and  iiolitlcil  influences  but  also  in  educatioml  advantages  This 
building  ma>  net  impress  the  thoughtless  imi  frivolous  who  pass  bv  without  entering  (t 
but  those  who  come  with  serious  purposp  n  ill  liiid  within  its  walla  the  semt.  and  jewels 
that  enrich  the  mind  and  gi\e  to  life  added  i  leisures  It  is  accessible  to  ill  ind  as  fiee 
as  is  the  blghw  ^^  to  the  traieler 

Coming  into  this  possession  new  duties  confront  vou  The  lihrarj  must  I  e  equipped 
and  maintained  Let  the  work  be  done  intellicenth  and  liherailv  4.  few  generous  and 
public  spirited  women  fort^  jears  oi  more  ago  started  this  movement  and  lu  sptte  of 
many  obstacles  can  led  It  forwaid  with  unselfish  and  self  denying  zeal  They  deserie 
unstinted  priiae  and  lasting  remembrince  The  task  now  falls  upon  the  men  ind  mai 
thev  exhibit  the  same  willing  spliit  and  fostering  cire  Remember  that  the  public 
llbiary  Is  the  ciown  of  the  public  whool  In  the  de*eloinient  of  hlghei  education  Regard 
it  as  the  easentlil  adjunct  foi  completing  ind  perfecting  the  mtellectuil  gr  wth  of  the 
communitv  Cherish  it  na  i  precious  asset  and  the  cit\  w  II  find  its  rewird  in  the 
enlightened  mind  and  the  grateful  heart  of  Its  people 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  y^i^ 

"Mr.  Crapo's  address  was  scholarly,  thoughtful  and  stimulating,  and 
received  dose  attention  and  approval.  Then  followed  two  short  congratu- 
latory talks  by  Hon.  M^illiani  C.  ilaybury,  ex-mayor  of  Detroit,  and  the 
Hon.  Francis  A.  Blades,  controller  of  the  same  city,  two  gentlemen  who 
are  always  given  a  hearty  and  cordial  reception  in  the  City  of  Flint, 

"One  more  ceremony  of  dedication  remained,  as  part  of  the  jubilee, 
namely,  that  of  the  county  court  house.  This  took  place  on  the  steps  of 
the  new  building,  and  long  before  the  hour  set  for  the  ceremony  a  great 
crowd  had  assembled  in  the  same  place  where  men  had  gathered  the  day 
before  to  listen  to  the  army  veterans.  After  an  invocation  and  short  address 
by  the  Mayor  and  by  Judge  C.  H.  Wisner,  who  had  charge  of  the  erection 
of  the  building,  came  the  principal  orator  of  the  day,  Jvistice  Henry  B. 
Brown  of  the  United  States  supreme  court.  His  address  was  largely  in  the 
nature  of  an  historical  review  of  that  court  of  which  he  was  a  distinguished 
member,  from  its  establishment  down  to  the  present  day.  A  special  interest 
was  felt  in  the  speaker,  aside  from  his  official  position,  on  account  of  his 
l>eing  a  Michigan  man,  and  everyone  who  could  get  within  the  sound  of 
his  voice  listened  with  close  attention,  well  repaid  by  the  value  of  the 
address  and  the  inside  views  which  it  gave  of  the  workings  of  the  greatest 
court  of  justice  of  any  nation. 

"Justice  Brown  was  followed  by  Chief  Justice  Moore,  of  the  state 
supreme  court,  whose  address  consisted  largely  of  reminiscences  of  the 
Genesee  county  bar,  to  which  others  added  their  quotas. 

"Reminiscences  had  thus  been  pretty  freely  indulged  in,  in  one  form 
or  another,  at  most  of  the  jubilee  meetings;  but,  on  such  occasions  there  is 
never  enough  until  old  times  have  been  talked  over  from  every  point  of 
view.  Hence,  for  the  lawyers  there  must  be  many  more  reminiscences  at 
the  banquet  given  that  evening  in  honor  of  Justice  Brown  and  the  justices 
of  the  state  supreme  court,  while  for  the  rest  a  special  reminiscent  meeting 
was  held  at  the  Court  Street  Methodist  church,  at  which  an  account  was 
given  of  the  origin  and  history  of  the  different  churches  of  the  city,  and  a 
mmiber  of  old  residents  of  the  city  told  of  their  experiences  in  early  days. 
As  most  of  these  accounts  are  reproduced  in  this  volume  in  one  form  or 
another,  no  attempt  will  be  made  to  give  them  here.  A  single  incident, 
however,  which  created  some  amusement,  may  be  worth  mentioning. '  It 
was  an  announcenient  with  some  solemnity,  that  a  most  valuable  and  inter- 
esting relic  of  the  early  days  was  to  be  presented  to  the  audience,  in  the 
shape  of  the  earliest  Flint  postoffice.  It  was  explained  that  in  some  respects 
(49) 


dbyGoc^lc 


•^JQ  GENESEE    COUNTY,    IidCHIGAN. 

the  earliest  postoffice  was  in  line  with  the  latest  improvements  in  that  ser- 
vice, as  it  was  moveable,  going  from  place  to  place  wherever  its  patrons 
were  to  be  found.  With  much  ceremony  the  relic  was  then  uncovered,  and 
proved  to  be  an  old  stovepipe  hat. 

"While  these  old-time  memories  were  being  recalled  at  the  various  gath- 
erings, more  spectacular  entertainment  had  also  fjeen  going  on  elsewhere. 

"Early  in  the  afternoon  there  were  band  concerts  in  various  places, 
then  later  a  baseball  game,  and  at  five  o'clock  an  exhibition  run  by  the  lire 
department.  As  soon  as  it  grew  dark  the  electric  display  was  resumed, 
there  were  more  band  concerts  and,  finally,  as  a  grand  wind-up,  a  display 
of  fireworks  from  the  Saginaw  street  bridge.  The  street  in  that  vicinity 
was  once  more  thronged  to  congestion,  and  as  the  light  faded  from  the 
'Good-night'  set-piece  with  which  the  exhibition  closed,  the  Golden  Jubilee 
went  out,  as  it  began,  in  a  blaze  of  glory," 


?Ion.  C.  PI,  Wisncr,  circuit  judge,  was  chairman  of  the  general  com- 
mittee for  the  Flint  Golden  Jubilee  and  old  Home  Coming  Reunion.  Edwin 
O,  Wood  was  chairman  of  the  executive  committee. 

The  surplus  remaining  from  the  Golden  Jubilee  fund  was  used  to  pre- 
pare and  publish  a  book.  Rev.  C.  A.  Lippincott,  D.  D.,  was  selected  as 
editor. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  less  than  twelve  years  following  the  fif- 
tieth anniversary  of  Flint  its  population  had  increased  during  that  time 
about  five  hundred  per  cent. 


dbyGoot^lc 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
Greater    Flint. 

The  transformation  of  the  city  of  Flint  from  a  population  of  thirteen 
thousand  in  1910  to  a  city  having  approximately,  according  to  the  data  avail- 
able, eighty-five  thousand  people  in  1916,  all  in  a  period  of  about  sixteen 
years,  is  a  story  which  merits  especial  mention":  Genesee  county  and  the 
city  of  Flint  are  so  much  a  part  of  each  other  that  the  history  of  one  is 
necessarily  a  record  of  the  progress  of  the  other. 

The  industrial  activities  of  Flint  for  the  twelve  years  from  1904  to 
1916,  have  been  of  such  unusual  proportions  as  to  have  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  and  the  press  throughout  the  country. 

The  percentage  of  increase  in  population  from  1900  to  1910,  as  shown 
by  the  United  States  census,  and  the  percentage  of  growth  from  1910  to 
the  end  of  1916,  has  made  a  new  record  in  the  history  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  townships  which  border  on  the  city  have  also  been  the  beneficiaries 
of  the  growth  of  the  city. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  Indians  roamed 
the  forests  of  the  Saginaw  valley,  Flint  was  a  trading  post.  Among  the 
first  white  men  to  visit  the  spot  were  two  CathoHc  priests,  who  were  soon 
followed  by  a  Frenchman  named  Bolieu,  but  they  did  not  remain  long, 
pushing  to  the  north.  Later,  Jacob  Smith,  who  had  been  a  captain  at  De- 
troit at  the  time  of  Hull's  surrender,  came  to  Genesee  county.  After  the 
close  of  the  War  of  1812,  he  was  employed  by  the  government  to  visit  the 
Chippewa  Indians  and,  locating  on  the  Flint  river,  he  soon  entered  upon 
intimate  terms  with  this  tribe,  his  efforts  facilitating  the  treatv  made  by 
General  Cass  at  Saginaw  a  few  years  later.  Jacob  Smith,  the  founder  and 
father  of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Flint,  was  a  German  by  birth  and  a  native 
of  Quebec,  and  on  a  gentle,  shaded  slope  in  Gienwood  cemeterv  there  stands 
a  tall  black  monument,  its  inscriptions  dimmed  with  age,  commemorating 
the  early  deeds  of  this  first  white  settler,  who  died  in  1825. 

Flint  was  located  on  the  only  main  road  from  Detroit  to  Saginaw,  part 
of  which  was  a  rough  highway  cut  through  the  forests  from  the  Saginaw 
river  to  the  Flint  by  two  detachments  of  the  Third  United  States  Infantry, 
under  Lieutenants  Brooks  and  Bainbridge  in  1822-23.  It  was  little  more 
tlian  a  bridle  path.     From  the  Flint  river  to  Royal  Oak  the  Indian  trail  was 


dbyGoot^lc 


■]-J2  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

used,  and  from  there  to  Detroit  a  corduroy  road  was  built  across  the  swamp 
and  low  land.  Flint  thus  became  a  station  of  rest,  as  it  were;  so  the  his- 
toric tavern  of  John  Todd  was  built  for  the  accommodation  of  travelers 
journeying  overland  to  Saginaw,  the  straits  of  Mackinac  and  Lake  Superior. 
This  building,  constructed  mainly  of  rough  hewn  logs,  is  said  by  old  settlers 
to  have  stood  near  where  the  Wolverine  Citisen  building  now  stands.  Mr. 
Todd  also  operated  a  primitive  ferry  immediately  in  the  rear  of  his  tavern, 
but  a  little  later  the  government  bridged  this  spot  across  the  river,  which 
then  was  much  wider  than  it  is  at  the  present  time.  In  1828  a  saw-mill 
was  built  upon  the  banks  of  the  Thread  river,  which  marked  the  beginning 
of  the  lumber  industry  which  made  fortunes  for  many  Flint  men.  Little 
did  its  one-time  proprietors,  Rowland  Perry  and  Harvey  Spencer,  dream 
that  nearly  a  half  century  after  the  passing  of  this  industry  Flint  was  des- 
tined to  grow  to  magnificent  proportions,  which  might  prove  disquieting  to 
even  old  "Uncle  Ben"  Pearson,  who  prophesied  years  ago  that  although 
Flint  was  a  thriving  place,  he  "hardly  thought  it  would  ever  become  a  sea- 
port town." 

The  installation  of  a  United  States  land  office  in  1S36  added  to  the 
prestige  of  the  Httle  community,  and  later  a  grist-mill  and  a  saw-mill  were 
built  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  settlers. 

Tke  Michigan  Gazetteer,  published  in  1838,  contains  the  first  obtain- 
able semi-official  information  in  regard  to  the  village: 

FLINT:  A  village,  postoffice  nnd  seat  of  Justice  for  Genesee  county,  sltunted  011 
Pliiit  river.  It  liaa  a  banking  association,  iin  edge  tool  factory,  saw-mill,  two  tlty 
goods  stores,  two  grocciies,  two  physicians,  a  lawyer  und  the  land  office  for  tlie  Sagl- 
new  land  district.  The  United  States  toad  passes  tliroiigli  it.  Tliere  is  a  good  supply 
of  water  power  In  and  nround  it.  The  emigration  to  this  place  has  been  very  greiit 
the  past  two  years  and  still  continues.  The  village  Is  flourishing,  and  the  country 
around  it  excellent.  It  is  estimated  to  contain  three  hundred  families.  Distant  fi-om 
Detroit,  58   miles  northwest,  and  from  Washington   City,   584   miles  northwest. 

In  the  early  fifties,  lumbering  as  a  commercial  enterprise  was  under- 
taken and  about  ten  years  later  Flint  became  the  center  of  the  lumber  in- 
dustry in  Michigan,  a  large  amount  of  the  finest  timber  in  the  state  being 
found  along  the  FHnt  river  and  its  tributaries.  At  the  zenith  of  this  in- 
dustry a  milHon  feet  of  lumber  was  being  sawed  annually  by  some  of  the 
larger  lumbermen  of  the  period.  Along  the  Flint  river  were  located  the 
once  famous  mills  of  Governor  Crapo,  McFarlan  &  Company,  William 
Busenbark,  Hamilton,  Smith  &  Carpenter;  Hascall,  Begole  Fox  &  Company; 
J.  B.  Atwood  &  Company ;  Eddy,  and  a  dozen  others,  not  including  mills  in 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNXy,    MICHIGAN.  773 

Operation  at  Geneseevilk  and  other  points  on  the  river  and  along  the  Kears- 
ley  creek.  The  village  of  Flint  in  the  fifties,  which  had  a  population  of 
about  two  thousand,  took  on  the  g-ener;d  aspect  of  a  typical  lumber  camp, 
the  old  McFarlan  tavern  on  St.  John  street  being  the  center  about  which  the 
social  life  of  the  lumbermen  revolved. 

The  lumber  industry  gave  out  in  1876,  however,  as  the  resources  had 
become  practically  exhausted,  and  for  a  few  years  Flint,  the  county  seat  of 
Genesee,  although  growing  slowly,  had  practically  settled  down  to  become 
the  entrepot  of  a  prosperous  agricultural  region.  The  men  who  had  oper- 
ated the  mills  and  the  men  who  had  worked  in  the  mills  either  bought  or 
leased  the  lands  of  the  county  and  the  latter  had  engaged  in  farming  or  gone 
into  other  lines  of  business,  most  of  them  remaining  in  the  county. 

In  1880  there  were  a  few  varied  industries.  William  A.  Paterson,  a 
practical  wagon-maker  of  Guelph,  Ontario,  who  had  come  to  Fhnt  in  1869, 
had  started  a  small  carriage  and  repair  shop  and  also  manufactured  farm 
wagons.  The  Begole  Fox  &  Company  lumber  yard  had  become  the  site  of 
the  Flint  Wagon  Works,  a  small  concern  which  later  grew  to  large  propor- 
tions and  whose  inception  was  presided  over  by  James  H.  Whiting. 

Flint  in  1886  had  a  population  of  about  eight  thousand  people.  Its 
streets  were  wide  and  shady,  its  homes,  some  even  pretentious,  were  homes 
of  taste,  set  far  back  on  green  lawns  and  surrounded  by  stately  elms  and 
maples.     It  was  the  typical  small  American  community  of  the  middle  West. 

About  this  time  there  appeared  on  the  horizon  a  young  man  destined 
to  rock  the  cradle  of  an  industry  from  which  has  emerged  a  colossus  of  en- 
terprise, that  has  made  Michigan  one  o£  the  most  prosperous  states  in  the 
Union  and  marked  Fhnt  as  a  city  of  achievement.  On  August  i,  1886, 
William  C.  Durant,  the  grandson  of  Governor  Henry  H.  Crapo,  then  a 
young  man  of  twenty-five,  embarked  in  the  road-cart  industry  in  Flint,  in 
company  with  J.  Dallas  Dort,  who  was  at  that  time  salesman  for  a  local 
hardware  concern.  The  total  capital  of  these  two  young  men  was  two 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  product  which  it  aimed  to  manufacture  and  place 
upon  the  market  was  a  two-wheeled  road  cart,  on  which  a  manufacturer  at 
Coldwater,  Michigan,  had  obtained  a  patent.  It  was  claimed  that  the  cart 
neutralized  the  motion  of  the  horse  and,  as  an  inexpensive  vehicle,  was 
suited  to  the  needs  of  the  Western  agriculturist. 

Mr.  Durant  went  to  Coldwater  and  purchased  patterns  and  machinery 
of  the  old  Coldwater  Cart  Company,  which  had  been  partially  damaged  by 
fire,  and  established  a  small  plant  in  Flint.  The  output  of  the  new  company 
for  the  first  year  was  four  thousand  vehicles.     The  business  increased  rap- 


dbyGoot^lc 


774  gene:see  county,  Michigan. 

idly  and  the  firm  was  soon  sub-letting  its  manufacturing  to  other  concerns, 
in  order  to  keep  up  with  the  public  demand.  The  company,  foreseeing  the 
great  possibilities  which  would  accrue  from  the  manufacture  of  a  general 
line  of  vehicles,  developed  the  "Blue  Ribbon"'  line  of  carriages,  which,  within 
a  comparatively  short  time,  reached  annual  sales  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand,  the  evohition  of  this  enterjjrise  being  sensational  in  the  manu- 
facturing tield  of  that  time. 

About  this  time  Flint  awoke  to  the  consciousness  that  an  industrial 
awakening  was  imminent,  and  became  alive  to  its  possibilities.  W.  A.  Pat- 
terson, who  had  been  building  road  carts  for  the  Durant-Dort  Company,  in 
addition  to  the  manufacture  of  his  own  line,  embarked  on  an  extensive  scale 
in  the  manufacture  of  carriages,  and  the  Flint  Wagon  Works,  with  J.  H. 
^Vhiting,  as  general  manager,  expanded  to  greater  proportions  and  was  soon 
building  many  thousands  of  wagons  and  carriages  annually.  In  the  early 
days  of  this  industry  W.  F.  Stewart  started  the  manufacture  of  carriage 
bodies  and  woodwork,  the  enterprise  growing  into  one  of  the  foremost  rising 
industries  of  the  city,  and  soon  Fhnt  became  known  as  one  of  the  largest 
centers  of  the  vehicle  industry  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  year  1900  Flint  was  keeping  step  with  the  march  of  progress  and 
with  its  vehicle  factories  and  other  industries  had  grown  to  be  a  community 
of  about  thirteen  thousand  people.  It  was  a  city  equipped  with  all  things 
conducive  to  ideal  working  conditions,  coupled  with  comfortable  homes  and 
a  most  enjoyable  environment. 

About  this  time  Thomas  Buick,  a  practical  engineer,  was  working  on 
a  gasoline  engine  upon  which  he  had  secured  a  patent,  and  was  operating 
a  small  plant  for  its  manufacture  in  Detroit.  The  Flint  Wagon  Works 
Company,  seeing  a  market  for  stationary  farm  engines  through  their  farm 
wagon  agencies,  purchased  the  business  of  Mr.  Buick  and  removed  it  to 
Flint,  building  for  the  purpose  a  factory  which  now  forms  a  part  of  the 
Mason  Motor  Company.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Buick,  with  the  assistance  of 
Walter  L.  Marr,  now  chief  engineer  of  the  Buick  Motor  Company,  built 
the  first  Buick  automobile,  which  was  practically  the  old  "Model  F"  car. 
The  officers  of  the  Wagon  Works  Company  brought  the  car  to  the  atten- 
tion of  Mr.  Durant,  who  was  one  of  the  first  manufacturers  in  the  country 
to  realize  that  the  motor-driven  vehicle  was  destined  to  displace  the  horse. 
He  foresaw  the  possibilities  of  manufacturing  automobiles  in  large  quanti- 
ties and,  in  spite  of  the  antagonism  which  prevailed  among  skeptical  per- 
sons, entered  the  automobile  field  with  the  courage  and  determination  born 
of  his  vision  of  an  evolution  to  come  in  the  means  of  transportation.     In 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  775 

1904  Mr.  Durant  farmed  the  Buick  Motor  Company  and  the  plant  was 
moved  to  Jackson,  Michigan,  where  the  old  buildings  of  the  Imperial  Wheel 
Company  were  utilized  pending  the  erection  of  the  first  Buick  factory  at 
Oak  Park. 

During  the  year  1900,  men  interested  in  the  advancement  of  the  city 
conceived  the  idea  of  enlarging  the  area  of  Flint,  to  provide  for  future  de- 
velopment. The  result  was  the  platting  of  Oak  Park  subdivision  to  the 
north  of  the  city  limits.  The  Durant-Dort  Company  was  behind  the  move- 
ment, and  through  the  efforts  of  its  officials  and  with  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  the  business  men,  Mrs.  Minnie  Loranger,  daughter  of  William  Hamilton, 
who  had  owned  the  land,  and  William  C.  Durant,  acting  as  trustee  for  the 
Flint  I*~actory  Improvement  Association,  arranged  for  the  opening  of  the 
plat.  About  ninety  of  the  three  hundred  acres  platted  consisted  of  a  dense 
oak  forest,  from  which  the  subdivision  received  its  name.  Out  of  the  three 
hundred  acres,  one  hundred  were  set  aside  to  furnish  sites  for  future  indus- 
trial concerns.  The  balance  was  divided  into  residence  lots  and  sold.  The 
profits  accruing  from  the  sale  of  these  lots  were  set  aside  as  a  fund  to  be 
used  by  the  association  in  bringing  new  factories  to  the  city.  To  this  move- 
ment may  be  credited  the  securing  of  the  Flint  Axle  Works  (now  the 
Walker-Weiss  Axle  Company)  and  the  J.  B.  Armstrong  Manufacturing 
Company.  I^ter,  through  the  constructive  genius  of  Mr.  Durant,  there 
came  the  Buick  Motor  Company,  Weston-Mott  Company,  the  Imperial 
Wheel  Works  plant,  later  occupied  by  the  Monroe  Motor  Company,  and 
now  a  unit  of  the  Buick  plant;  the  Flint  Varnish  Works,  the  W.  F.  Stewart 
Company,  Champion  Ignition  Company  and  the  Micliigan  Motor  Castings 
Company.  •  • 

As  factory  after  factory  arose  where  there  had  been  but  woodland  and 
cultivated  fields  a  short  time  before,  the  western  part  of  the  plat  became 
dotted  with  residences  and  business  places.  In  1916  Oak  Park  is  one  of 
most  thickly  populated  sections  of  the  city,  being  the  home  of  thousands  of 
men  employed  in  the  great  factories  of  the  north  end  industrial  section. 

The  first  year's  output  of  the  Buick  Company  factory  was  sixteen 
automobiles.  The  second  year  it  produced  five  hundred,  and  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  year  Mr.  Durant  completed  plans  for  a  plant  and  organi- 
zation to  develop  the  increasing  volume  of  business  which  the  great  Buick 
Motor  plant,  the  largest  group  of  factory  bi^ildings  in  the  world  given  over 
to  the  manufacture  of  one  make  of  automobiles,  was  destined  to  enjoy. 

The  original  three-hundred-acre  tract  known  as  the  Hamilton  farm,  is 
now  the  site  of  affiliated  factories  which  cover  eighty  acres  of  ground  and 


dbyGoot^lc 


77f>  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

from  which  in  1916  were  shipped  sixty  thousand  automobiles,  with  a  pro- 
duction of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  planned  for  1917. 

In  1908  Mr.  Durant  organized  the  General  Motors  Company,  of  which 
the  Buick  Motor  Company  was  a  subsidiary  plant.  Into  this  corporation 
was  brought  the  Cadillac  Motor  Car  Company  of  Detroit,  for  which  the 
corporation  paid  nearly  five  million  dollars  in  cash ;  the  Olds  Motor  Works, 
of  Lansing;  the  Oakland  Motor  Car  Company,  the  Northway  Motor  Com- 
pany, of  Detroit;  the  Jackson-Church-Wilcox  Company,  of  Saginaw,  the 
Weston-Mott  Company,  and  tlie  General  Motors  Truck  Company,  of  Pon- 
tiac. 

The  first  year  the  sales  of  the  General  Motors  Company  exceeded 
$34,000,000,  making  Mr.  Durant  the  recognized  leader  in  the  field  of  motor 
cars.  The  profits  of  the  General  Motors  Company  in  1909  were  over 
$9,000,000,  and  the  second  year  of  business  resulted  in  profits  exceeding 
$10,000,000.  From  its  inception  the  General  Motors  Company  was  a  hold- 
ing company,  each  unit  of  the  organization  being  operated  upon  a  separate 
basis. 

The  results  obtained  by  Mr.  Durant  and  his  associates  were  most  grat- 
ifying. One  of  the  most  important  industries  secured  for  Oak  Park  was 
the  Weston-Mott  Company,  a  small  manufacturing  concern  in  Utica,  New 
York,  which  was  induced  to  transfer  its  equipment  and  force  of  workmen 
to  Flint,  to  produce  axles  for  the  Buick  Motor  Company.  The  Weston- 
Mott  Company,  starting  in  one  factory  building,  increased  its  production 
in  accordance  with  the  demands  made  by  the  Buick  and  other  motor  com- 
panies, until  today  it  occupies  five  immense  factory  buildings,  and  has 
become  one  of  the  most  important  units  of  tl»e  General  Motors  corporation, 
by  which  it  was  later  absorbed. 

In  1908  the  Durant-Dort  Carriage  Company  established,  in  this  indus- 
trial section,  the  Flint  Varnish  Works.  From  a  very  small  beginning  the 
company  has  grown  to  be  the  largest  maker  of  high-grade  finishing  material 
for  automobile  and  railroad  use  in  the  world.  The  company  was  sold  by  the 
Durant-Dort  concern  and  reorganized  as  the  Flint  Varnish  and  Color 
Works,  and  William  W.  Mountain,  who  had  been  the  genera!  manager, 
became  president  of  the  organization.  The  company  now  produces  every- 
thing in  the  line  of  paint,  colors,  enamels  and  varnish  utiUzed  in  the  finish- 
ing of  automobiles  and  cars.  In  1916  the  company  increased  the  size  of 
its  plant,  enabling  it  to  more  than  double  its  production,  and  also  added  a 
Canadian  branch  at  Toronto,  Ontario. 

Also  iocated  in  the  center  of  this  great  industrial  center  of  Flint  are 


dbyGoot^lc 


SOrTH   SA(JINAW   STltKET,   I.OOKI.\<J    SOUTH,   FLINT. 


dbyGoot^lc 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  777 

the  following  manufacturing  institutions:  The  Champion  Ignition  Com- 
pany, with  its  capacity  of  seventy-five  thousand  spark  plugs  a  day,  and  the 
Michigan  Motor  Castings  Company,  which  in  1916  occupied  a  new  foundry 
building  costing  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  having  a  capacity  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  gray  iron  per  day,  both  of  which  are  units  of  the 
General  Motors  Company ;  the  W.  F.  Stewart  Company,  producing  automo- 
bile bodies;  the  Walker-Weiss  Axle  Company;  the  J.  B.  Armstrong  Com- 
pany, makers  of  steel  springs;  and  the  million-doUar  plant  of  the  Common- 
wealth Power  Company.  The  latter  plant  is  used  to  transfer  the  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  thousand  voltage  brought  three  hundred  miles  overland  from 
the  Au  Sable  river  and  used  to  furnish  electricity  for  commercial  and  do- 
mestic purposes,  including  the  operation  of  all  factories  and  the  city  street 
car  lines. 

Flint  had  sprung  from  a  town  of  thirteen  thousand  in  1900  to  a  city 
of  thirty-eight  thousand  in  1910,  enjoying  at  this  time  the  distinction  of 
having  the  largest  increase  in  [xipulation  and  also  in  postal  receipts  of  any 
city  in  the  United  States,  according  to  the  government  statistics.  Meantime 
property  values  had  made  phenomenal  advances,  the  real  estate  dealers  had 
placed  thousands  of  residence  lots  on  the  market,  streets  were  cut  through 
portions  of  the  city  previously  used  for  garden  lands,  factory  building  after 
factory  building  was  being  erected,  and  FUnt  in  1910  was  the  typical  boom 
town  of  the  M''est. 

The  peculiar  conditions  of  this  period  may  be  noted  with  interest,  as 
it  was  impossible  in  any  way  for  the  city  officials  to  provide-for  the  influx 
of  its  rapidly-increasing  population.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the 
present  postoffice  building,  patrons  of  the  general  delivery  window  would 
stand  in  line  for  one  hundred  feet  to  receive  their  daily  mail ;  hotels  and 
boarding  houses  were  turning  people  away,  and  lodgings  were  at  a  premium, 
some  of  the  keepers  of  large  boarding  houses  in  the  factory  district  renting 
their  beds  to  first  day  and  then  night  "shifts."  It  is  said  that  about  this 
time  a  theatrical  company  and  a  base-ball  team  who  were  scheduled  to  appear 
in  Flint  were  forced  to  seek  accommodations  for  the  night  in  the  neighbor- 
ing town  of  Lapeer.  In  1909-10  there  were  estimated  to  have  been  one 
thousand  people  who  were  living  in  tents  along  the  river  banks  and  in  the 
woods  adjacent  to  the  factory  buildings. 

In  1912  Mr.  Durant,  the  genius  who  was  becoming  a  center  of  attrac- 
tion in  the  manufacturing  and  financial  world,  organized  the  Chevrolet  Motor 
Company,  which  was  soon  followed  by  the  establishment  of  subsidiary  plants 
in   New  York,  Tarrytown,   St.   Louis,  Oakland,   California;   Bay  City,  To- 


dbyGoot^lc 


yyS  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

ledo,  Fort  Worth  and  Oshawa,  Ontario.  The  Chevrolet  Motor  Companj' 
is  anticipating  an  output  in  1916  of  eighty  thousand  cars,  and  is  making 
plans  for  a  production  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-four  thousand  cars  in  1917. 

The  Chevrolet  Company  first  occupied  the  buildings  of  the  old  Flint 
Wagon  Works  and  later  took  over  the  plant  of  the  Mason  Motor  Company. 
In  191 5  these  structures  became  overcrowded  with  machinery  and  em- 
ployees, which  necessitated  plans  for  a  number  of  large  additions.  Those 
already  completed  or  in  process  of  construction  are  a  large  new  plant  for 
the  manufacture  of  Mason  motors,  a  mammoth  three-story  factory,  an  axle 
plant,  and  a  separate  heating  plant.  This  enormous  expansion  has  made 
necessary  the  construction  of  several  miles  of  railroad  sidings,  the  erection 
of  a  new  steel  bridge  for  factory  and  railroad  purposes  only,  and  a  new 
city  bridge  at  Wilcox  street,  to  care  for  the  greatly  increased  traffic. 

What  the  Buick  Motor  Company  and  other  plants  have  meant  to  the 
north  end  of  the  city,  the  Chevrolet  Company  has  meant  to  the  western  sec- 
tion. The  fourth  ward,  originally  known  as  "The  Pinery,"  a  rather  less 
improved  section  of  Flint  than  the  other  wards,  in  1916  became  crowded 
with  thousands  of  workmen  who  sought  residences  in  the  near  vicinity  of 
the  great  manufacturing  plant.  The  expansion  of  the  city  by  platting  has 
resulted  in  the  erection  of  homes  as  far  as  three  miles  beyond  the  city  limits, 
where  a  real  estate  concern  platted  twenty  acres  into  one-acre  and  half-acre 
plats,  and  sold  them  all  within  a  few  days. 

Today  the  great  companies,  the  General  Motors  and  the  Chevrolet, 
which  Mr.  Durant  organized  and  which  have  meant  so  much  to  Flint,  have 
a  combined  volume  of  business  of  $200,000,000,  which  is  more  than  the 
income  of  the  New  York  Central  and  Lake  Shore  railroads. 

In  1914  Mr.  Durant  disposed  of  his  holdings  in  the  Durant-Dort  Car- 
,  riage  Company.  Shortly  after  this  the  Dort  Motor  Car  Company  was  or- 
ganized, with  J.  Dallas  Dort  as  president.  The  new  automobile  concern 
took  over  a  large  portion  of  the  carriage  plant  and  increased  its  output  so 
rapidly  that  in  1916  it  became  necessary  to  expand.  There  was  no  vacant 
land  adjacent  to  the  Dort  groupof  factory  buildings,  so  the  company  pur- 
chased two  entire  blocks  of  residence  property  between  Smith  street  and 
the  Flint  river,  and  South  street  and  the  Grand  Trunk  railroad  tracks,  razed 
the  dwellings  thereon  and  started  the  construction  of  a  mammoth  two-story 
assembling  plant  which  will  cost  when  completed  ninety  thousand  dollars. 
The  company  has  also  purchased  twenty  acres  at  the  south  end  of  the  city 
at  the  intersection  of  the  Fere  Marquette  and  Grand  Trunk  railways.  In 
1915-16  the  output  of  the  Dort  Motor  Car  Company  was  nine  thousand 
cars. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  779 

Though  motor  car  manufacturing  has  evidently  become  the  principal 
interest  of  Mr.  Dort,  still  he  has  not  yet  abandoned  the  manufacture  of 
carnages,  considerable  space  in  the  Durant-Dort  Carriage  Company  plant 
being  still  utilized  for  the  building  of  carriages,  the  output  of  this  branch 
of  the  business  being  fifteen  thousand  jobs  in  1915. 

Other  accessory  companies  to  the  automobile  industry  are  the  Marvel 
Carburetor  Company,  the  Imperial  Wheel  Company,  the  United  States 
Brass  and  Iron  Foundry,  Flint  Pattern  Company,  and  several  minor  manu- 
facturing concerns. 

In  the  meantime  the  W.  A.  Paterson  Company,  the  pioneer  vehicle 
manufacturers  of  Flint,  had  also  turned  their  attention  to  the  building  of 
automobiles.  A  large  portion  of  the  group  of  factory  buildings,  located  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  were  devoted  to  that  industry,  the  different  models 
proving  from  the  outset  very  popular  with  the  public.  The  Paterson  Motor 
Company  is  now  building  about  fifteen  hundred  cars  per  annum. 

Thus  from  the  establishment  of  a  single  industry  has  arisen  a  vast 
combination  of  allied  interests,  which  are  known  the  world  over.  While  the 
growth  and  progressiveness  of  any  one  commonwealth  can  only  be  due  to 
combined  efforts,  still  the  citizens  of  Flint  realize  that  without  the  foresight 
and  genius  and  generalship  of  such  a  leader  as  Mr.  Durant,  Flint  would  not 
have  been  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  center  that  it  is  in  1916  when 
this  book  goes  to  press. 

POPULATION. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  Flint  never  had  an  organization  as  a  village, 
but  from  a  simple  township  leaped  into  a  full  fledged  city.  January  18, 
1855,  a  citizens'  meeting  was  held  to  consider  the  subject  of  a  city  charter, 
and  the  act  of  incorporation  fiecame  a  law  by  approval  of  Governor  Bing- 
ham, February  3,  1855,  and  on  April  2nd  following  the  first  charter  elec- 
tion was  held,  and  the  Hon.  Grant  Decker  was  chosen  its  first  mayor. 

The  population  of  the  new  city  of  Flint  when  incorporated  was  about 
two  thousand.  The  following  figures  best  show  the  phenomenal  growth  of 
Flint  for  the  sixteen  years  since  1900: 

1855 2.000 

1890 9,830 

J900 13-103 

1910 38,550 

1916   (estimated) 85,000 


dbyGoot^lc 


7^0  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

CITY    OFFICIALS    OF    FLINT. 

The  following  is  a  complete  roster  of  the  city  officers   for  1916: 

Mayor    Eavl  F.  Jolinson 

President  pro  teoi Geoi^e  0.  KelLir 

Clerk    ^Deios  E.  Newcombe 

Trei«iurer  Jolin   H.   Long 

4ttomei  John  H.  Farley 

Fngineer  E.   C.   Slioecraft 

HeUth  Ofliter  Don  D.  Knaup 

Min      ani    FoDd    Inspector    and    Sealer    of 

heights    tml   Me'isures Edward  J.  Friar 

Plnmbm^  lnspe<'tor        G.  C.  M.  Sliaw 

Flectrieal  an!  BnildinK  Inspector Geonje  D.  Hanna 

thief  of  Pire  Department Edward  H.  Price 

Chief  of  Police  Jmnes  P.  Coie 

Superintendent   of    streets Lee  Davison 

•Superintendent  of  Poor Frank  L.  Welia 

Superintendent  of  Water  Works F.  N.  Baldwin 

Sexton  of  Ctty  Cemetery Frank  Moyer 

Market  Keeper Frank  S.  Tbompson 

Jn.stlees  of  the  Peace. William  L.  Lnndon  and 

James  M.  Torrey 
AUlemien — 

First  Wnnl— Kdwnrd  J.   Clark,  John  W.  Collins. 

Second  Ward— George  H.  Gordon,  Homer  Vette. 

Third  Wnrd—Fred  R.  Armstrong.  William  D.  aark. 

Fourth,  Ward—George  C.  Kellar,  Frank  O.  Torrey. 

Fifth  Ward— Eslle  G.  Frazer,  Nahuin  W.  I,ong. 

Sixth  Ward — Geoi^e  F.  Streat,  Otto  M.  Hnmlow. 

Board  of  Health — C.  D.  Chapell,  Noah  Bates. 

Board  of  Hospital  Managers— W.  E.  Mnrtln,  .7.  D.  Dort,  E.  W.  Atwood.  Orson  J[il- 
lard.  George  D.  Flanders. 

Park  Commissioners— C.  B.   Burr,   P.  R.  Doherty.  Geortre  E.   McKinley,  George  E. 
Pomeroy.  C.  S.  Mott. 

Police   Commissioners — Fred   Weiss,    Fred   D.   Jane.    Charles  II.    Miller,    Frank   R, 
Sfreat. 

Wiiter  Commissioners — Benjamin  F.  Miller.  William  Veit. 

Standitiu  Committees,  1016-1917, 

Finance — Kellar,  ArmstrouK,   Gordon,  Collins,  Ramlow,  Frazer. 
Fii-e  Departiiient^Arm strong.  Streat,  Collins,  Torrey.  Frazer,  Vette. 
Buildings— Gordon,  Kellar,  E.  J.  Clark,  W.  D,  Clark,  Ixmg,  Ramlow. 
Streets — Torrey,  W.  D.  Clark.  B.  J.  Clark,  Ix-ng,  Vette,  Streat. 
Sewers— W.  D.  Clark.  E.  J.  Clark,  Torrey,  Streat,  Vette,  Long. 
Ordinances — Collins,  Kellar.  Streat,  Armstrong,  Fraaerj 
Railroads— Streat,   Kellar,   Gordon,   W,   D.   Clark. 
Bridges— Ramlow,  Ixiug.  Torrey,  Giordon,  Collins,  W.  D.  Clark. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  7S1 

Licenses^ Friizer,  \'ette,  Bamlow. 

Ijighting — B.  J.  Clark,  Torrey,  Long,  Ramlow. 

Water — Long,  Arnistrong,  E.  J.  Clark. 

Sunltarj— Vette,  Streat,  Torrey. 

Parks— Vette,  Armstrong,  Fm7*r. 

Conventions — Gordon,  Arniati-ong,  Friizer,  Collins, 

CeiiieteiT— Kellar,  W.  D.  Clark.  Gordon. 

Number  of  City  Employees  (Sewer,  Piiving  .Tnd  Street) _  7m 

Number  of   City    Firemen iZ 

Number  of  City  Policemen :'.U 

.   Viiluiltion   of   Flint S^47..-)iH,44i.ilii 


FLINT     CITY     PLATS,     ADDITIONS     AND     SUB-DIVISIONS. 

There  were  several  plats  of  the  village  of  Flint  River  filed  in  the  office 
of  the  register  of  deeds.  The  first  one  was  filed  by  A.  E.  Wathares  in  1830. 
He  called  it  a  plat  of  the  village  of  Sidney.  The  territory  embraced  in  this 
plat  covered  four  blocks— from  Saginaw  street  to  Clifford,  east  and  west, 
and  from  the  river  to  First  street,  north  and  south.  This  was  followed  by 
a  re-survey  in  1833  and  the  name  of  Flint  River  was  substituted  for  Sidney. 
The  new  plat  covered  the  territory  embraced  in  the  Sidney  plat  and  extended 
to  the  present  Fourth  street  and  on  the  east  to  Harrison  street.  In  1836  this 
village  plat  was  extended  to  East  street  and  included  thirty-two  blocks. 

The  village  of  Grand  Traverse  was  platted  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river  in  1837  and  the  plat  was  filed  on  January  16  of  that  year.  It  extended 
from  the  river  to  Seventh  avenue,  north,  and  from  Smith's  Island — St. 
John's  street — to  West  street,  now  known  as  Stone  street.  This  was  platted 
by  Chauncey  S.  Payne. 

The  village  of  Flint  was  platted  by  Wait  Beach,  July  13,  1836.  It  ex- 
tended from  tile  river  to  Eleventh  street,  south,  and  from  Saginaw  street  to 
Church^ — all  being  west  of  the  Saginaw  turnpike,  now  Saginaw  street. 

EUsha  Beach  filed  a  plat  on  September  22,  1836,  extending  the  limhs 
of  Flint  village  to  Pine  street,  adding  twenty  blocks  and  on  February  28, 
1837.  Gen.  C.  C.  Hascall  platted  an  addition  to  the  village,  east  of  Saginaw 
street  to  Clifford  and  from  Court  street  south  to  Eleventh — sixteen  blocks. 
But  while  all  these  plats  showed  villages,  there  really  never  was  an  incor- 
porated village  of  Sidney,  Flint  River,  Grand  Traverse  or  Fhnt,  There  was 
always  a  township  organization  and  then  a  city. 

Up  to  1900  there  were  over  sixty  "additions"  to  the  territory  origin- 
allv  embraced  in  the  fimits  of  the  city  of  Flint.  These  additions  vary  in  size 
from  a  few  lots  to  nearly  fifty  blocks.     Among  the  most  important  may  be 


dbyGoot^lc 


782 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


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dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEd:    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  783 

mentioned ':  McFarlan  &  Company's  Western  Addition,  forty-nine  blocks ; 
Thayer  &  Eddy's,  sixteen  blocks;  Stockton's  eleven  blocks;  Fenton  & 
Bishop's,  fourteen  blocks;  West  Flint,  twelve  blocks,  and  Oak  Park  addi- 
tion, embracing  thirty-four  blocks.  When  the  present  site  of  the  water 
works  was  selected,  that  location  still  remained  in  the  township  of  Burton, 
but  it  was  subsequently  added  to  the  city. 

The  following  plats  have  been  filed  in  the  office  of  the  register  of  deeds 
of  Genesee  county,  Michigan,  beginning  with  the  year  1900,  to  July,  rgi6, 
a  total  of  twenty-two  thousand  two  hundred  and  five  lots,  to  which  may  be 
added  several  plats  laid  out  during  the  latter  part  of  1916  and  bringing 
the  number  of  lots  platted  in  six  years  to  nearly  twenty-five  thousand. 


Xume  of  Pint  Xo.  of  1 

Adelaide    

Arliugtoii  Place 

Beiielidiile  

Becker  Heights  Addition 

Btckford    I'nrk    

Bl9lio|/s  Re-Plnt 

BHick  Helglifs 

Buk-k  Piirk 

BuiT's  Addition  __ 

Colllngwood    

ColuDihlii  Helj;IitH 

Conrtdale 

Deirey    Homestead    Addition 

J.  D.  Dort's  Addition 

Hastem  Adrtltioi]  to  Hoiiiedtile 

Edgewood  Plat 

Elk    Park    Subdivision 

Elm  Piii'k   Subdlvlsloii 

Fairfield  Subdivision 

Fairmont    Addition    

Frtirview    

I''l;niderB  &  Honvan's  Subdivision 

Floral  Park  

Franklin  Park 

Feiitou  Helg-lits  (Supert-isor'a  Plat)_ 

(!llke>-  Ridge 

Ollkey  Itidge  No.  2 

Gillespie  &  VanWagoner's  Subdivision 

flamer's  Re-Plat  

(Jrnnt  Heights 

Hamilton  Homestead  Addition 

rx>yiil  Guard  Square  Re-Plat 

IVoolfit  &  Mncomber  Re-Plat 


Xaii 


;of  I' 


Xo.  of  L 

Homedale  Subdivision  

I,ut.v-Miisou-Howard  Plat  

Kearaley  Park  Subdivision 

Klrby'a   Addition    

Knob   Hill    

(ieorge  LaDue's  Addition 

liberty    Sti-eet    Extension 

Uaplewood   

Bang'a  Re-Plat 

A.  McFarlaii'a  Ke-Plat 

Muines'  Re-Plat  

Wi-igbfs  Re-Plat  

Veifg  Ke-Pliit 

Mcr>nnghlin'8  Addition 

Slalnes"    Flint   Orest 

Maplewood   Annex   

Motor   Heights   

Motor  Helglits  Second  Subdivision- 
Motor  Helglits  Third  Subdivision 

Murray  HHI _ 

Murray  Hill  No.  2 

Re-Plat    of    Reserve   and    I-ot    '.}^^    of 

Mu  Hill  

Northen  AMItlon  to  Fairview 

O  kland  : 

O  k  Park   S  bdi  Isio  1 

I)  r  nt  Do  t  C  rriage  Co  s  Re-Plat-- 

P.   kl  nl  ; 

Parkland    No    2  : 

P    k  Heitl  ts  \ llltlo  : 

P  rk    ew  

Pa  aden  ■: 

Pone        Bo  I   I  ht    Allt   m    ', 

P  lonl   Icht  Sei      1  .\ddition..     : 


dbyGoot^lc 


784 


GENESEE    COUNl'Y,    MICHIGAN. 


Pomeroy-Bonbrigbt  Third  Addition- 
Rice's  Addidon 

River  Addition  to  Fairview 

Eirerside    

South  Parlt 

PilJer's  Re-Plat 

Stevenson's  Plat 

Stewart's    Plat    

Stewart's  Plat  No.  3 

Stoue-Macdonafd  Addition  

Stone-Ma cdooald-Kaufm an    Addition. 

Taylor's  Addition 

Tlilrd  Avenue  Terrace  Addition 

VnuTlflln   Place  

Vineland    

Wiudiate-Pieroe  Subdivision 

E.  O.  Wood's  Plat 

Woodlawn    Park    

Woodward  Plat . 

Highland  Park   Sobdivi^on 

Kummer's    Addition    

Cloverdale  No.  2 


General   Motoi-s'    Parit 

Miner's   Subdivision   

Brookfleid   Addition    

VineJand  No.  1 

Fenton   Park   Addition 

Suburban  Gardens 

Teuton  Sti-eet  Subdivision.. 
Indian   Village   


Jleti 

Mason  Manor  . 


Hiila  No.  1__ ___      141 

2.^ 


Lincoln  Park  Subdivision 4rhl 

Maplewood   Annex   No.   1 4.W 

Pliit    of    Bellaire m'> 

Mason  Manor   No.  1 152 

Virginia  Piace  Subdivision 'd2-i 

Woodcroft  Subdivision  i;i<i 

Clarkdale   Subdivision   IW 

Nickels  Park  Subdivision 17(i 

Manuhall  Park li'T 

Atherton  Park  Subdivision 51)1 


Boulevard    Heights    Subdivision rai  Tohil  number  of  lots 22.:J(».i 

Flint's  area  in  1916  is  seven  thousand  and  forty  acres.  It  is  a  city  of 
homes.  Many  of  its  workingmen  either  own  their  homes  or  are  buying 
them  on  the  contract  plan.  The  greatest  problem  of  Greater  Flint  has  been 
to  supply  the  unusual  demand  for  houses.  There  are  fifteen  hundred  factory 
employees  who  live  in  Saginaw,  thirty  miles  away,  and  twelve  hundred  who 
live  in  Bay  City,  forty  miles  away,  and  there  are  also  between  three  hundred 
and  four  hundred  who  live  in  the  more  accessible  villages  of  Clio  and  Mt. 
Morris.  The  crying  need  is  for  five  thousand  more  homes.  Capitahsts  are 
bending  their  energies  to  supply  this  demand  so  that  the  industrial  progress 
of  Flint  may  not  be  stayed.  The  Civic  Building  Association,  organized  with 
a  paid-up  capital  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  1916,  is  trying  to 
alleviate  the  situation.  It  has  planned  the  completion  of  five  hundred  mod- 
erate priced  homes  for  workingmen  by  the  close  of  1916.  There  were  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1916,  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  residence 
buildings  in  the  city.  With  the  plans  for  the  construction  of  many  new 
houses  and  the  completion  of  those  under  way  there  are  prospects  of  from 
fifteen  thousand  to  sixteen  thousand  homes  in  the  city  by  January,  1917. 

Building  permits  for  the  first  half  of  1916  passed  the  total  of  1915, 
when  thirteen  hundred  and  two  permits  for  new  construction  work  and 
three  hundred  and  thirty-nine   for  repair  work  were  issued   from  the  city 


dbyGoot^lc 


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MASONIC  TEJII'IJO,   FLINT. 


dbyGoot^lc 


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UENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  785 

clerk's  office  from  January  i  to  July  i.  The  value  of  buildings  for  which 
permits  were  granted  during  this  period  was  approximately  two  million  five 
hundred  thousand,  or  nearly  one  million  dollars  ahead  of  the  total  amount 
for  the  year  191 5. 

The  record  in  the  city  clerk's  office  shows  that  building  permits  for 
structures  to  cost  one  hundred  dollars  or  more  during  the  past  five  years 
have  been  issued  as  follows:  1912,  181;  1913,  290;  1914,  416;  1915, 
1,398;  1916  to  July  I,  1,302.  Of  the  thirteen  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
permits  in  1915,  twelve  hundred  and  four  were  for  houses,  twenty-four  for 
flats,  twenty  for  stores  with  flats,  eighty-eight  for  barns  and  garages,  and 
the  remainder  for  business  buildings. 

FLINT    BOARD    OF    COMMERCE, 

Aiding  materially  in  the  growth  and  progress  of  the  city  is  the  Flint 
Board  of  Commerce,  which  was  organized  in  June,  1906,  as  the  Flint  Im- 
provement I-eague.  It  was  projected  at  an  informal  gathering  of  a  iarge 
number  of  citizens,  in  response  to  their  unanimously  expressed  conviction 
that  there  was  need  for  a  broad  and  unhampered  organization  to  give  ex- 
pression to,  and  to  promote,  civic  ideals,  which  were  either  dormant  or 
languid  because  lacking  in  united  support  and  adequate  opportunity  of  real- 
ization. 

The  history  of  the  organization  has  justified  its  founding.  It  could  be 
shown  that  it  has  produced  many  concrete  and  valuable  results  in  the  vari- 
ous phases  of  civic  life — commercial,  industrial,  aesthetic,  political  and 
moral;  but  its  most  worthy  contribution  to  municipal  well-being  cannot  be 
reckoned  in  statistics,  for  its  chief  value  lies  in  its  power  as  a  life-giving 
spirit  rather  than  a  mechanical  force. 

Its  efficiency  and  usefulness  to  the  community  are  demonstrated  by  the 
increasing  interest  in  its  work  and  by  the  large  additions  to  its  mem- 
bership. In  1909  the  scope  of  its  operations  was  widened,  its  name  changed 
to  Flint  Board  of  Commerce  and  its  constitution  revised. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  organization  the  dues  were  but  one  dollar  per 
annum,  but  in  1912  it  was  realized  that  to  do  more  constructive  work  a 
greater  income  was  necessary.  At  this  time  a  campaign  for  members  was 
carried  on  and  the  dues  raised  to  twelve  dollars.  This  permitted  the  em- 
ployment of  a  salaried  secretary  and  the  maintenance  of  a  regular  office. 

The  city  grew  and  greater  demands  were  put  upon  the  organization. 
(50) 


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7^6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  income  realized  from  annual  dues  of  twelve  dollars  did  not  measure  up 
to  the  demands.  The  officers  realized  that  something  must  be  done.  In  May, 
1916,  a  membership  campaign  was  conducted  which  resulted  in  fifteen  hun- 
dred memberships.  At  the  same  time  a  complete  reorganization  was  effected, 
a  new  set  of  constructive  by-laws  was  adopted,  which  provided  for  annual 
dues  of  twenty-five  dollars. 

Immediately  following  the  campaign  the  old  officers  and  directors 
resigned  and  the  large  new  membership  was  permitted  to  nominate  and  elect 
a  new  board  by  ballot  sent  out  through  the  mail. 

A  poll  of  the  membership  was  taken  to  learn  what  each  individual  con- 
sidered matters  of  importance  that  should  be  undertaken.  As  a  result  a 
definite  program  of  work  was  developed.  Special  committees  are  appointed 
from  time  to  time  to  put  into  action  the  various  planks  of  the  program. 

The  first  big  problem  to  receive  attention  was  the  matter  of  providing 
houses  for  the  rapidly-increasing  population.  This  resulted  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Civic  Building  Association,  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  and  the  following  officers :  W.  W.  Mountain,  president ;  Leon- 
ard Freeman,  vice-president;  A.  G.  Bishop,  treasurer,  and  J.  E.  Burroughs, 
secretary.  This  organization  is  planning  and  contemplates  the  erection  of  a 
large  number  of  houses  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

The  necessity  of  a  definite  city  plan  has  been  under  consideration  by  a 
special  committee.  The  common  council  has  been  approached,  with  a  result 
that  the  mayor  has  appointed  a  special  committee  composed  of  three  aldermen 
and  three  citizens  to  go  into  the  matter. 

Year-round  supervised  recreation,  a  modern  city  charter  and  several  other 
big  problems  are  all  receiving  due  consideration  and  study  to  the  end  that 
the  city  will  be  prepared  in  all  of  its  departments  to  meet  and  take  care  of 
its  rapidly  increasing  population. 

The  officers  elected  July  i,  1916,  were:  President,  Leonard  Freeman; 
first  vice-president,  J.  Dallas  Dort ;  second  vice-president,  Waiter  P. 
Chrysler;  treasurer.  Grant  J.  Brown.  Regular  meetings  of  the  board  are 
held  the  last  Wednesday  of  each  month. 

PARKS    AND    BOULEVARDS. 

Flint  until  1906  gave  very  little,  if  any,  attention  to  parks  and  boule- 
vards. At  that  time  there  were  two  small  parks,  the  First  Ward  park  and 
Hamilton  park,  located  on  Detroit  street. 

During  the  years    1905   and   1916,   J.    D.   Dort   presented   to   the   city 


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GENKSEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  787 

plans  for  an  elaborate  park  and  boulevard  system,  as  prepared  by  Warren 
H.  Manning,  of  Boston,  one  of  the  best-known  landscape  architects  of  the 
cotintr)-,  provided  that  its  new  charter,  then  under  way,  would  create  a 
park  commission  for  the  purpose  of  developing  and  carrying  out  as  far 
as  practicable  this  new  system  of  parks  and  boulevards.  This  plan  was 
accordingly  accepted  by  the  city  and  became  a  part  of  the  new  charter  in 
August,  1906. 

Thus  came  info  being  for  i'^iint  a  system  of  parks,  to  be  connected  with 
boulevard  drives  and  parkways,  which  might  eventually  mean  as  much  to  the 
city  as  the  elaborate  systems  which  are  the  show  places  of  many  of  the  larger 
cities,  particularly  in  the  East.  The  Manning  system  embraces  all  land 
seemingly  of  but  little  value  and  available  along  the  banks, of  the  rivers  and 
ravines  throughout  the  city,  following  tlie  Flint  river  to  the  north  limits  of 
the  city;  thence  along  the  Gilkey  creek  ravine  from  the  Flint  river  to  the 
Thread  lake,  along  the  southeasterly  part  of  the  city  skirting  the  shores  of 
this  lake  to  Thread  lake  park;  thence  westerly  to  the  Deming  road;  then  to 
the  Fenton  road,  following  the  bluffs  to  the  intersection  of  Thread  and 
Swartz  creeks;  thence  westerly  to  the  grounds  of  the  school  for  the  deaf. 
From  this  point,  it  is  probable  it  will  follow  the  roadways  to  the  westerly 
.side  of  the  Glenwood  cemetery,  and  from  there  it  will  connect  with  the 
boulevard  skirting  the  westerly  and  northerly  shores  of  the  Flint  river  in 
tiie  extreme  westerly  part  of  the  city. 

Much  of  the  land  required  for  this  work  has  already  been  secured  by 
gift,  extending  on  both  sides  of  the  Fhnt  river  above  the  Saginaw  street 
bridge,  continuing  to  the  Hamilton  avenue  bridge,  also  a  considerable  dis- 
tance along  the  easterly  bluff  of  the  Gilkey  creek,  and,  with  that  which  is 
now  under  negotiation,  will  extend  from  the  Fhnt  river  to  Howard  avenue, 
which  will  then  carry  the  boulevard  to  the  banks  of  Thread  lake.  There  are 
also  included  several  pieces  of  land  in  the  southwesterly  part  of  the  city, 
along  the  northerly  bank  of  the  Flint  river,  and  in  the  westerly  part  of  the 
city. 

Much  attention  has  also  been  given  to  acquiring  land  for  parks,  which 
now  consists  of  the  following:  Oak  park,  about  six  acres;  Dort  School 
park,  about  four  acres:  Water  Works  park,  about  eight  acres;  Willson  park, 
about  three  acres ;  Athletic  park,  about  five  acres ;  Thread  Lake  park,  about 
twenty  acres;  Woodlawn  park,  about  six  acres;  Fourth  Ward  park,  about 
two  acres:  Kearsley  park,  about  sixty  acres;  Crapo  island,  about  two  acres, 
together  with  the  First  Ward  and  Hamilton  parks  originally  owned  by  the 
citv,  making  a  total  area  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres. 


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7o8  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  development  of  these  places  has  been  hampered  by  the  lack  of 
funds,  the  park  board  being  able  to  complete  but  a  few  of  the  parks  and  only 
the  prelimmary  work  along  the  boulevards.  However,  public  interest  is  being 
aroused  to  the  necessity  of  completing;  these  parks  for  the  welfare  and  recre- 
ation of  the  public,  especially  for  those  who  are  unable  to  seek  enjoyment 
elsewhere.  This  increasing  interest  becoming  evident  with  the  city  authori- 
ties as  well,  the  allowance  for  1916  was  much  more  Hberal  and  will  thus 
enable  the  park  board  to  make  considerable  headway  in  this  work. 

It  will  no  doubt  require  the  untiring  work  and  patience  of  the  park 
board  for  some  years  to  complete  the  work,  but  Flint  will  uitiniately  have  a 
system  of  drives  and  breathing  spots,  together  with  amusement  parks,  which 
it  can  well  \x  proud  of  and  to  which  it  could  in  future  years  add  other  drives 
into  the  surrounding  country  along  the  elevations  overlooking  Flint,  which 
are  most  beautiful  and  attractive, 

OTFICERS    OF    THE    FIJKT    PAUK    HOARD. 

The  Flint  park  board  was  created  in  August,  igo6,  consisting  of  the 
following  members: 

Walter  Hasselbring,  term  expired  1908;  Dr.  K.  L.  Tupper,  term  ex- 
pired 1909;  Fred  W.  Brennan,  term  expired  1910;  George  E.  Pomeroy, 
term  expired  191 1;  Dr.  F.  D.  Clarke,  term  expired  1912. 

Waiter  Hasselbring,  re-appointed,  term  expired  1913;  Dr.  F.  L.  Tui^per, 
re-appointed,  term  expired  1914;  Horace  C.  Spencer,  re-appointed,  term  ex- 
pired 1915;  George  E,  Pomeroy,  re-appointed,  terra  expired  1916;  Dr.  C.  B. 
Burr  (appointed  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  Dr.  F.  D.  Clarke's  death),  term 
expires  1917;  Patrick  R.  Doherty,  term  expires  1918;  George  E.  McKinley, 
term  expires  1919;  Horace  C.  Spencer,  re-appointed,  term  to  expire  in 
1920  (resigned);  Charles  S.  Mott,  term  expires  1921 ;  George  E.  Pomeroy, 
re-appointed,  terra  expires  1920. 

Present  Members-— Dr.  C.  B.  Burr,  president;  C.  S.  Mott,  treasurer; 
G.  E.  Pomeroy,  secretary;  George  E.  McKinley,  Patrick  R.  Doherty. 

WATERWORKS    AND    SEWERS. 

In  1912  there  was  opened  a  new  waterworks  filtration  plant,  costing 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  with  a  pumping  capacity  of  twenty-three 
million  gallons  per  day,  furnishing  filtered  water  which  is  shown  by  chem- 
ical analvsis  to  be  98  per  cent.  pure.  ■  In   1916  the  water  board,   reahzing 


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GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  789 

that  the  plant  was  soon  to  be  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity  and  that  many 
sections  of  the  city  were  still  without  water,  asked  for  four  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  for  the  construction  of  a  large  addition  to  the  plant,  including  a 
water- softening  equi]mient  and  the  extension  of  its  high  pressure  service 
mains.  On  July  i,  1916,  there  are  eighty-five  miles  of  water  pipes,  with 
more  proposed  lines  in  the  year  of  1917. 

There  was  also  begun  a  comprehensive  plan  of  sewer  construction,  with 
the  separation  of  sanitary  and  storm-water  sewage,  together  with  intercept- 
ing sewers  joining  the  sanitary  sewers  so  as  to  carry  this  sewage  to  a  point 
below  the  city  when  it  becomes  necessary  to  build  a  disposal  plant.  Of 
sewers  there  are  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles,  with  twenty-five  miles  more 
proposed  for  1917.  On  January  i,  1913,  there  were  forty-two  and  one-half 
miles  of  sewers  in  the  city.  The  sewer  mileage  added  yearly  since  then  has 
shown  an  increase  every  year  as  follows:  Built  in  1913,  five  miles;  1914, 
twenty-one  miles;  1915,  twenty-two  miles,  and  1916,  twenty-five  mnles, 
making  in  1916  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  and  one-half  miles. 

PAVING    .\ND    SIDEWALKS. 

There  are  some  two  hundred  miles  of  streets  in  the  city.  Of  these, 
thirty-three  miles  are  paved.  The  paving  is  now  going  on  at  the  rate  of 
from  eight  to  ten  miles  a  year,  and  ten  miles  more  are  proposed  for  191 7. 
the  pavement  construction  being  planned  to  give  an  improved  system  of 
driveways  to  all  parts  of  the  city. 

There  are  in  Flint  approximately  one  million  s<|uare  feet  of  cement 
sidewalks,  averaging  five  feet  in  width.  Of  this  total,  four  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  was  built  prior  to  1914. 

In  addition  to  doing  the  vast  amount  of  work  in  the  years  of  1913  to 
1916,  inclusive,  the  city  has  purchased  a  large  amount  of  equipment  for 
street  and  sewer  work,  including  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
machinery  for  building  sewers  and  thirty-four  thousand  and  fifty-five  dol- 
lars' worth  of  street  equipment,  including  an  asphalt  plant  inventoried  at 
fourteen  thousand  six  hundred  and  seven  dollars.  The  city  also  purchased 
an  immense  gravel  pit  near  Otisville,  reducing  the  cost  of  this  material  to  a 
minimum.  The  cost  of  the  gravel  pit  was  between  three  thousand  and  four 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  yield  during  the  first  year,  1916,  indicates  a  sup- 
ply that  will  last  for  twenty  years. 


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GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


FIRE   DEPARTMENT. 


The  fire  department  of  the  city  is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  most 
modern  in  the  United  States.  All  of  its  apparatus  is  of  the  latest  design  and 
is  motor-driven  except  one  piece  which  is  kept  in  the  North  End,  where  a 
motor  vehicle  might  get  mired  in  the  mud  roads.  For  this  fire  department, 
the  city  pays  $61,385.32  a  year.  The  department  of  1916  includes  forty- 
three  paid  men,  including  the  chief,  assistant  chief  and  captains  of  the 
various .  companies.  As  the  result  of  its  improved  department,  restrictions 
with  respect  to  building,  and  its  water  supply,  Flint  has  become  a  second- 
rate  risk  insurance  city,  being  one  of  the  few  cities  in  the  United  States  so 
rated  by  underwriters. 

The  following  firemen  constitute  the  city  force  for  1916:  E.  H.  Price, 
George  Hanna,  Victor  Watson,  John  Rose,  William  Scheuble,  Josche  Thom- 
son, Charles  Cole,  Clarence  Snyder,  Joseph  Callahan,  Del.  Eckley,  Ira 
Welch,  Harry  King.  Loren  Hill,  Harry  Webber,  Charles  Norgate,  Fred 
Hickok,  Charles  Gilbride,  Oren  Parkhurst,  John  Bartlett,  Edward  Bailey, 
Guy  Pellett,  Asa  Root,  Allie  Coggins,  Harlow  Green,  Fred  Richards,  Harl 
Johnson,  Herbert  Hill,  Walter  DeVogue,  Floyd  Mclnally,  Hugh  Ralston, 
Wesley  Marr,  I-ewis  Wenzel,  Thomas  Harry,  Loren  Savers,  Earl  Case, 
William  O'Callaghan,  Lee  Bowerman,  Archer  Randt,  Jay  Mills,  Levalley 
Nichols,  F.  E.  Castello.  Roy  Hitchens,  George  Schofield. 

POLICE    DEP.-^RTMENT. 

The  police  department  in  1916  includes  a  chief,  captain,  three  sergeants 
and  thirty-nine  patrolmen.  The  department  has  all  motor  equipment.  It 
lias  a  flashlight  signal  and  call  box  system  combined,  which,  with  lines  under 
construction  in  1916,  will  give  complete  protection  to  all  quarters  of  the 
city.  Plans  are  under  consideration  in  igi6  for  the  construction  of  a  new 
municipal  building  to  provide  room  for  a  new  police  headquarters,  city  jail 
and  two  police  courts.  The  department  for  1916  includes:  J.  P.  Cole, 
chief;  A.  J,  Suff,  captain;  A.  H.  Gilbert,  sergeant;  T.  L.  MacLean,  sergeant; 
John  Buckley,  sergeant;  Patrolmen,  F.  E.  Jewell,  Wallace  Sayre,  E.  E.  Rob- 
ertson, F.  A.  Klann,  S.  E.  Best,  C.  R.  Hatch,  William  Bates,  Leroy  White, 
Verne  Peltier,  William  H.  Buckler,  Frank  Moore,  Theo.  John,  Loran  D. 
English,  Victor  J.  Frielink,  Guy  Welch,  Ivy  Pelton,  George  Macomber,  John 
Deering,  Lee  Enghsh,  Roy  E.  Page,  William  Cornford,  H,  L.  Smithers, 
Anthony  Zacharias,  James  Hutchinson,  Charles  Jenkins,  Charles  M.  Thorn- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  79I 

ton,  Anthony  Puskas,  Ronianus  Stull,  David  Boshart,  Verne  Brown,  Arthur 
Gladden,  George  A.  La  Clair,  John  Setterington,  George  H.  lames. 

Another  well-organized  city  department  is  the  board  of  health.  This 
department  has  a  paid  supervisor  of  the  public  health,  a  municipal  nurse 
who  makes  a  specialty  of  caring  for  tuberculosis  cases,  two  sanitary  inspec- 
tors, ^nd  has  also  supervision  of  the  plumbing  and  dairy  and  food  inspectors. 
That  this  department  is  doing  effective  work  is  shown  by  the  1915  Michi- 
gan vital  statistics  record,  which  gives  the  death  rate  of  Flint  as  10.5  per 
one  thousand  of  population,  while  the  rate  for  the  entire  state  for  the  year 
was  33.3  per  one  thousand  of  population. 

GENERAL    MOTORS    EMERGENCY    HOSPITAL. 

An  institution  which  is  proving  of  value  to  the  industria!  center  of 
Flint  is  the  General  Motors  Emergency  Hospital,  operated  in  connection 
with  the  welfare  department  of  the  General  Motors  corporation,  which  was 
opened  January  17,  1916.  Pending  the  removal  to  a  permanent  hospital 
plant  and  which  will  be  ready  for  occupancy  about  January  i,  1917,  the 
present  ho,spital  is  located  in  the  building  formerly  erected  as  a  station  by 
the  Detroit  United  Railway,  on  Hamilton  avenue.  Dr.  David  L.  Treat, 
formerly  of  Adrian,  Michigan,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  welfare  work 
and  is  assisted  by  Dr.  M.  R.  Sutton  and  Dr.  J.  W.  Lillie,  with  Miss  Jessie 
Scott  as  head  nurse.  The  number  of  emergency  cases  cared  for  each  month 
average  two  thousand,  or  about  one  hundred  a  day,  the  more  serious  cases 
being  cared  for  at  Hurley  Hospital. 

MICHIGAN    STATE    TELEPHONE    COMPANY. 

So  rapid  has  been  the  growth  of  the  city  of  Flint  that  the  Michigan 
State  Telephone  Company  has  been  bending  its  energies  to  meet  the  demand. 
A  most  creditable  record  has  been  made  considering  its  facihties  and  the 
enormous  demand  which  has  been  made  upon  its  capacity.  The  number  of 
telephones  in  FHnt  in  1914  was  4,100,  which  increased  in  1915  to  4,700,  an 
addition  of  600  stations.  Extensions  of  lines  and  enlargement  of  switch- 
board facilities  to  take  care  of  this  business  necessitated  the  investment  of 
approximately  forty  thousand  dollars,  which  is  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
more  than  was  expended  in  1914,  when  the  number  of  new  telephones  in- 
stalled was  275.  From  January  i,  1916,  to  July  i,  1916,  fourteen  hundred 
and  sixty-one  telephones  were  installed,  bringing  the  total  number  of  stations 


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79^  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

to  date,  5,649.  The  company  has  also  increased  its  toll  facilities  from 
January  i,  1916,  to  July  i,  1916,  sixty  per  cent,  the  switchboard  facihties 
forty  per  cent,  and  the  employment  facilities  twenty-ijve  per  cent.,  making  a 
most  creditable  showing  for  the  past  six  months.  The  telephone  company 
occupies  a  handsome  structure,  which  was  erected  in  1910  on  the  corner  of 
First  and  Buckham  streets.  The  exchange  is  under  the  management  of 
E.  N.  Hardy,  and  the  total  number  of  employees  is  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five. 

STEAM    AND    ELECTRIC    RAILUOAD    CONDITIONS. 

Feehng  the  influence  of  the  general  growth,  the  railways  of  Flint  have 
evidenced  an  exceptional  increase  in  business  compared  with  1914,  both  in 
passenger  and  freight  traffic.  The  freight  division  of  the  Detroit  United 
Railway  showed  in  1915  an  increase  of  twenty  per  cent,  over  1914.  The 
year  was  reported  to  be  the  most  successful  the  company  has  enjoyed  since 
the  establishment  of  the  freight  business.  The  Pere  Marquette  and  Grand 
Trunk  railway  systems  experienced  an  average  increase  of  about  thirty-five 
per  cent,  in  1915  over  the  year  of  1914. 

The  Pere  Marquette  in  1916  has  ten  yard  engines  in  commission  with- 
in the  city  limits,  and  the  gross  freight  handled  in  1915  exceeded  that  of 
any  other  point  on  the  line,  with  the  exception  of  Detroit.  In  the  year  1916 
the  company  is  expending  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the  construction 
of  a  roundhouse  and  many  miles  of  sidetrack.  For  tlie  accommodation  of 
the  factory  workers  who  live  in  Saginaw  and  Bay  City,  the  Pere  Marquette 
runs  a  "week-end  special,"  leaving  Flint  Saturday  at  noon  and  returning  on 
Sunday  evening. 

The  Grand  Trunk  railroad  is  also  constructing  many  miles  of  side- 
tracks in  the  vicinity  of  the  Chevrolet  plant,  and  also  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  city. 

The  Detroit  United  Railway,  on  account  of  the  greatly  augmented 
freight  business,  has  outgrown  its  quarters,  the  car  barns  being  moved  to 
Thirteenth  street,  where  new  accommodations  are  provided,  and  where  also 
a  handsome  two-story  building  has  been  erected  for  office  purposes,  the  old 
barns  on  Third  avenue  being  utilized  to  enlarge  the  freight  facilities.  This 
company  during  the  year  1916  has  also  established  at  Crago  crossing,  south 
of  the  city  limits,  a  large  yard  for  repair  and  storage  purposes. 

An  idea  of  the  rapidity  of  the  industrial  development  can  be  gained 
from  the  fact  that  on  January  i,  1915,  the  number  of  employees  in  the  asso- 
ciated factories  was  eight  thousand  and  sixty-five,  and  on  January   !,  1916, 


dbyGoot^le 


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ENTKAL   VUIV.   STATION,   FLINT. 


dbyGoot^lc 


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  793 

the  number  of  employees  was  fourteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five,  an  increase  for  the  year  of  six  thousand  three  hundred,  and  the  aver- 
age for  191 5  was  eleven  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  workmen. 
On  July  I,  1916,  there  are  nearly  twenty  thousand  persons  employed  in  the 
industries  of  the  city,  fully  ninety  per  cent,  of  whom  are  engaged  in  build- 
ing of  automobiles. 

Statistics  show  that  in  the  period  from  1904  to  1910  the  value  of  Flint's 
manufactured  products  increased  from  $6,177,000  to  $53,375,000.  This 
increase  was  due  almost  entirely  to  the  automobile  industry.  For  1916-17 
the  volume  of  business  of  the  industries  of  Flint  will  reach  nearly  one  hun- 
dred million  dollars. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  industrial  concerns  operating  in  Flint,  July  i, 
IQ16:  Biiick  Motor  Company,  Chevrolet  Motor  Company,  Dort  Motor 
Car  Company,  W.  A.  Paterson  Company,  Flint  Varnish  and  Color  Works, 
Weston-Mott  Company,  Champion  Ignition  Comi>any,  Du rant-Port  Car- 
riage Company,  Michigan  ^[otor  Castings  Company,  Mason  Motor  Company, 
Walker- Weiss  Axle  Company,  J.  B.  Armstrong  Manufacturing  Company, 
Marvel  Carburetor  Company,  Imperial  Wheel  Company,  The  W.  F.  Stewart 
Company,  Flint  Metal  Specialty  Company,  Flint  Paint  Specialty  Company, 
Copeman  Electric  Stove  Company,  Genesee  Upholstering  Company,  Greissell 
Bread  Company,  Hardy  Baking  Company,  A,  W.  Hixson  Bakery,  Model 
Bakerj',  William  T.  Nottingham  Bakery,  Flint  Bread  Company,  Garner  Bak- 
ing Company,  Oak  Park  Bakery,  Flint  Clay  Products  Company,  Flint  Sand- 
stone Brick  Comi>any,  Portland  Manufacturing  Company,  Builders  Supply 
&  Fuel  Company,  J.  P.  Burroughs  &  Son,  Flint  Specialty  Company,  Flint 
Pattern  and  Foundry  Company.  Randall  Lumber  and  Coal  Company,  Nickle 
Brothers,  Genesee  Iron  Works,  Marshall  Furnace  Company,  Landes  Iron 
and  Metal  Company,  Flint  Lumber  Company,  Flint  Tool  Salvage  and 
Machine  Company,  Cooper  Valve  and  Machine  Company,  Flint  Printing 
Company,  Snook-Jackson  Printing  Company,  Valley  Printling  Company, 
Vehicle  Citv  Broom  Company.  National  Cash  Register  Company,  Hamilton 
Mill.  Lewis  Taeckens.  J.  Jellis  &  Comi>any,  Charles  E.  Handy  (burial  vaults), 
Charles  H.  Rood  (ink).  George  W.  Sweet  (ladders),  Barney  Granite  and 
Marble  Works,  Weller  &  Austin  (cigar  box  manufacturers),  Hearsch  & 
Wesson  (lumber  manufacturers),  Iroquois  Cigar  Company,  M.  Ephraim, 
John  C.  Clasen  Cigar  Comfany,  Glenn  W.  Jones  Cigar  Company,  William 
A.  Logan  Cigar  Company.  Lynch  &  Roser  Cigar  Company,  McKinley  Cigar 
Company,  John  A.  C.  Menton  Cigar  Company,  David  J.  Richey  Cigar  Com- 
pany,   Christian    Rippey    Cigar    Company.    Patrick    Ryan    Cigar    Company, 


dbyGoot^lc 


794  CFKESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Frank  R.  Streat  &  Son  Cigar  Company,  LaLorraine  Candy  Company,  Paris 
Candy  Company,  Freeman  Dairy  Company,  Powers  Flint  Ice  Cream  Com- 
pany, Princess  Skirt  Factory. 

In  1916  Flint's  population,  based  on  estimates  from  the  compilers  of 
the  city  directory,  the  water  board  officials,  the  telephone  officials  and  the 
census  of  the  public  schools,  is  85,000. 

THE    POSTOFFICE. 

On  August  5,  1834,  Lyman  Stowe  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster  of 
Flint  River.  In  1836  the  name  of  the  postoffice  was  changed  from  Flint 
River  to  Flint,  and  in  1837,  John  Todd,  the  proprietor  of  Todd's  tavern, 
was  appointed.  The  postoftice  was  located  in  a  little  building  on  the  corner 
of  Saginaw  and  Kearsley  streets,  the  site  now  being  occupied  by  the  First 
National  Bank.  The  office  subsequently  was  located  at  many  different 
places,  at  one  time  occupying  the  site  of  what  is  now  the  S.  S.  Kresge 
Company.  In  later  years,  however,  it  was  removed  to  the  building  on  the 
corner  of  Union  and  Saginaw  streets,  owned  by  the  William  Hamilton 
estate  and  Mrs.  J.  B.  Atwood. 

On  July  13,  1909,  the  office  was  removed  to  the  present  building,  which 
stands  on  the  site  of  the  old  E.  H.  McQuigg  homestead,  on  the  corner  of 
Harrison  and  Kearsley  streets.  The  government  appropriation  for  the  build- 
ing and  land  was  ninety  thousand  and  the  present  [wstoffice,  a  handsome 
structure  of  classic  design,  is  a  credit  to  the  city.  Its  facilities,  however,  are 
inadequate  to  care  for  the  city's  rap  idly- increasing  population,  and  another 
government  appropriation  has  been  asked  for  to  erect  an  addition  to  the  main 
office  to  relieve  the  present  congested  conditions  which  prevail. 

In  December,  1915,  the  receipts  of  the  postoffice  were  $17,190.86,  the 
largest  month's  business  ever  recorded.  The  total  receipts  for  the  year 
aggregated  $131,941.70,  a  gain  of  $3,225.40  over  the  previous  year,  when  the 
receipts  totaled  $128,716.30. 

The  growth  in  this  respect  is  shown  in  the  following  figures : 

1014.  191(i.  ISHG. 

Jniiuiuy    $10.-584.64  89.730.34  ?12,3.miH) 

February    !t.e3fi.32  S,00T.10  12,211.53 

March    10,950.37  10,fi53.4S  14,135.54 

April     10,552.23  10,574.84  12,65&.03 

May    —  10.554.13  10.002.32  13,128.73 

June    10,551.94  R,S79..S!)  ]3,O04-O2 

July    9.242.39  lO.lOii.Ufi               


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

1914.  1915. 

August    10,10».T5  12,1)00,65 

September     10,793.33  10,517.01 

Octobei-    „    11.538.17  ll,950.4ii 

Novenibpr    10,OJ0.7S  11,349.01 

December    34,003.25  17,190..% 

Totii]     .$128,716.30         $131,!I41.70 

♦Six  months. 

Returning  again  to  the  remarkable  growth  of  Flint,  the  i 
prosperity  is  indicated  by  the  postoftice  receipts,  which  were  $131,941.70 
for  the  year  1915,  as  against  $38,964.90  for  the  year  1904,  when  the  Bmck 
Motor  Company  was  started. 

The  1916  list  of  officials  includes,  postmaster,  assistant  postmaster, 
clerks  (twenty-three),  carriers  (twenty-eight),  rural  carriers  (nine)  and 
substitute  carriers  (four). 

The  following  is  the  official  list  of  postmasters  from  1834  to  igi6: 
Lyman  Stowe,  appointed  August  5,  1834;  Lyman  Stowe,  appointed  Septem- 
ber I,  1836;  John  Todd,  appointed  October  2,  1837;  William  P.  Crandall, 
appointed  December  28,  1839;  William  Moon,  appointed  June  16,  1841, 
William  P.  Crandai!,  appointed  October  12,  1844,  Alvin  T.  Crosman, 
appointed  April  28,  1849;  Ephraim  S.  Williams,  appointed  May  7,  1853, 
Washington  O'Donoughue,  appointed  March  27,  186 1 ;  William  Tracy, 
apix)inted  April  21,  1869;  John  Algoe,  appointed  July  31,  1874;  Washing- 
ton O'Donoughue,  appointed  March  26,  1875 ;  Francis  H.  Rankin,  appointed 
March  3,  1879;  William  W.  Joyner,  appointed  March  3,  1887;  George  E, 
Newall,  appointed  February  15,  1891 ;  John  H.  Hicock,  appointed  February 
25,  1895;  Elendina  Hicock,  appointed  September  3,  1896;  James  A.  Button, 
appointed  September  14,  1897;  Fred  P.  Baker,  appointed  May  25,  1909; 
Frank  D.  Baker,  appointed  July  17,   1913. 

HURLEY    HOSPITAL. 

Birthdays  are  celebrated  because  they  mark  important  individual  and 
family  events.  Occasionally,  a  birthday  marks  an  event  destined  to  have 
a  broader  significance,  the  limit  of  which  time  alone  reveals.  Such  was  the 
ca,se  when,  on  August  31,  1849,  there  was  born  of  humble  parents  in  Lon- 
don, England,  a  child,  James  J.  Hurley,  who,  more  than  a  half  century  later, 
in  his  adopted  home  far  across  the  Atlantic,  was  to  found  a  hospital  which 
should  serve  a  city  of  eighty-five  thousand  people  and  should  become  widely 


dbyGoot^lc 


796  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

known  throughout  Michigan  as  one  of  the  test  equipped  and  most  modern 
institutions  of  its  kind  in  the  state.  Situated  on  the  highest  point  of  land 
within  the  hniits  of  the  city  of  Fhnt.  upon  a  site  selected  by  its  founder  for 
the  purpose.  Hurley  Hospital  commands  a  view  of  all  the  surroimding  coun- 
try. Fresh  air  and  sunshine  are  among  its  most  valuable  advantages  and 
assist  to  quick  recovery  many  an  invalid  in  shattered  health. 

The  buildings  are  of  simple  colonial  architecture.  A  two-story  adminis- 
tration building,  with  three  wings,  those  on  the  north  and  south  connecting 
with  the  main  building  by  long,  sunny  corridors,  constituted  the  original 
hospital,  although  a  number  of  additions  have  since  been  made,  A  base- 
ment extending  under  the  main  building,  west  wing  and  corridors,  furnishes 
space  for  dining  rooms,  kitchens  and  storerooms.  Until  January,  1915,  the 
laundry  and  the  boiler  rooms  were  also  located  here. 

The  administration  building  is  entered  through  a  handsome  vestibule, 
with  white  marble  floor,  steps  and  base.  Placed  conspicuously  on  the  wall 
to  the  right,  so  that  all  who  visit  there  may  learn  of  his  good  deed,  is  a 
bronze  bas-relief  showing  the  strong,  kindly  face  of  Mr.  Hurley,  the  inscrip- 
tion beneath  reading : 

Erected  to  the  Memory  of 

James  J.  Hurley 

The  Founder  of  This  Hospital 

By  His  Fellow  Citizens 

I 849-1905. 

The  first  floor  of  the  administration  building  has  a  large,  well-Ughted 
lobby  in  the  center,  the  main  staircase  leading  from  this,  and  reception  room, 
offices  and  superintendent's  private  apartments  opening  from  it.  The  north 
wing  contains  seven  private  rooms,  a  nursery  of  six  beds  and  a  woman's 
ward  of  twelve  beds,  diet  kitchen,  toilet,  bath,  linen  and  utility  rooms,  nurses' 
office  and  solarium.  The  south  wing  contains  five  private  rooms,  a  men's 
ward  of  sixteen  beds,  bath,  utility  rooms,  nurses'  office  and  solarium. 

The  first  floor  of  the  west  wing,  with  the  exception  of  one  room,  which 
is  reserved  for  X-ray  purposes,  is  occupied  by  the  probationers,  for  whom 
there  is  not  accommodation  in  the  nurses'  home.  Domestics,  also,  are  fur- 
nished with  sleeping  quarters  in  this  portion  of  the  building. 

When  the  hospital  was  opened,  on  December  19,  1908,  it  was  thought 
to  be  of  a  very  suitable  size  for  the  town  where  it  was  located.  The  growth 
of  Flint,  however,  on  account  of  the  great  automobile  industry,  was  so  phe- 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  797 

nomenal  that  in  191 1  it  became  imperatively  necessary  to  increase  the  capacity 
of  the  hospital.  Additional  funds  having  fortunately  been  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  board  of  managers  in  January  of  that  year,  through  the  first 
payment  from  the  Stockdale  estate,  it  was  decided  to  raise  the  west  wing 
and  provide  rooms  and  wards  for  the  care  of  typhoid  and  pneumonia  cases. 
This  was  done,  seven  private  rooms  and  two  small  wards  of  five  beds  each 
adding  a  total  of  seventeen  l>eds  to  the  accommodations  of  the  hospital. 
There  were  also  provided  a  diet  kitchen,  bath,  toilet,  linen*  and  utility  rooms, 
nurses'  office  and  a  fine  solarium,  from  the  windows  of  which  convalescing 
patients  may  view  the  landscape  for  miles  in  three  different  directions.  The 
winter  sunset  seen  from  this  vantage  spot  is  frequently  a  sight  to  be  long 
remembered. 

The  second  story  of  the  west  wing  connects  with  the  second  floor  of  the 
main  building,  where  are  located  three  splendidly  equipped  operating  rooms, 
two  for  genera!  surgery,  and  one,  the  McClellan  Berston  room,  provided  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neil  J.  Berston,  Sr.,  as  a  memorial  to  their  son,  being  for  the 
speciahties  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat.  Adjacent  to  the  operating  rooms 
are  sterlizing  rooms,  doctor's  dressing  room,  general  utility  and  supply  rooms, 
elevator,  and  a  small  closet  provided  with  steam  pipes,  where  hot  blankets 
are  kept  in  readiness  for  the  use  of  anaesthetic  patients  immediately  after 
operations. 

Since  1912,  there  have  been  several  changes  which  have  greatly  increased 
the  comfort  of  the  patients  and  the  usefulness  of  the  institution,  although  not 
providing  extra  space  for  beds. 

The  building  of  a  fine  power  plant  on  land  purchased  across  the  street 
back  of  the  hospital  made  it  possible  to  remove  all  machinery  from  the  main 
building,  where  it  had  been  a  source  of  great  annoyance  to  patients.  An 
underground  tunnel  connects  the  new  plant  with  the  basement  of  the  origi- 
nal buildings.  This  plant  is  in  every  way  modern  and  up  to  date.  Two 
seventy*horsepower  Ixiilers  provide  steam  sufficient  for  all  present  purposes 
of  heating,  cooking,  sterilizing,  etc..  and  space  has  been  left  so  that,  with 
additional  boilers,  the  present  power  plant  could  be  made  to  serve  an  insti- 
tution growm  to  twice  the  size  of  the  present  one. 

In  connection  with  the  power  plant  is  located  the  laundry,  equipped 
with  modern  machinery,  and  a  sterlizing  room  for  the  sterlization  of  infected 
clothing,  pillows  and  mattresses.  This  room  is  provided  with  an  outside 
entrance,  through  which  infected  clothing  is  brought  into  the  room  and  put 
into  the  sterlizers.    Through  another  door,  opening  outward  from  the  iaun- 


dbyGoc^lc 


79'?  GENF.SEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN, 

dry,  sterilized  articles  are  removed  when  clean,  the  valves  for  steam  beirij; 
on  the  clean  side  of  the  partition. 

An  incinerator  for  disposing  of  garbage  and  refuge  is  also  given  space 
in  the  power  plant,  as  is,  too,  the  machinery  for  a  vacuum  cleaning  system 
with  which  all  the  buildings  are  equipped. 

Another  unit,  an  isolation  cottage,  which  has  been  built  through  the 
generosity  of  ex-Mnyor  Charles  S.  Mott,  one  of  Flint's  most  public  spirited 
citizens,  is  now  bdng  opened  for  the  reception  of  patients.  This  building 
is  especially  interesting  in  that  it  is  modelled  after  the  isolation  hospital  at 
Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  and  will,  like  the  Providence  City  Hospital  at  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  carry  out  a  nursing  technic  that  will  make  it  possible 
to  care  for  several  different  contagious  diseases  under  the  same  roof,  ft  was 
recently  descril)ed  at  length  in  The  Modern  Hospital,  in  an  article  on  its 
architectural  plan,  written  by  the  designer,  Herbert  E.  Davis,  member  of 
the  firm  of  Davis,  McGrath  &  Kiessling,  of  New  York  City,  Anna  M.  Schill, 
superintendent  of  the  hospital  since  1910,  supplementing  the  article  with  a 
description  of  the  proposed  plan  of  operation  and  management.  From  Mr. 
Davis's  article  the  following  is  quoted : 

The  isolation  building  of  the  Hurle\  Hjaiiitnl  presents  a  sulutlon  of  thp  rioUeni 
for  the  caie  of  contagious  diseRses  thnt  3S  especmllv  nilnptecl  to  cities  of  the  &maller 
clasi  Ihe  city  of  Flint  has  a  population  of  fifty  thousand  and  like  mini  other  cities 
of  Jt«  size  hi«  np  to  the  present  time  taken  cite  of  It^  contagioMR  dlsenses  in  the  much 
abhoned  peit  house  located  as  far  as  possible  fiom  the  center  cf  porulation  ind 
avoided  by  ill 

The  ra|il  growth  of  Dint  as  ia  industrial  center  his  imde  n  more  adeqmte  mid 
scientific  care  of  this  claw  of  disenses  an  absolute  necessity  ani  the  riesent  plans  lie 
the  out(H>me  of  1  thoroueh  investigation  of  the  problem 

The  success  which  his  attended  the  adoption  of  the  theory  of    contact  infectlm 
as  arplted  at  the  Prcnidence  <.ity  Hi^pttal  =lme  litlfl    it  the  contagious  hospital  of  the 
Unnerslty  of  Michigan  since  1913    and  In  certain  hospitali  of  Fngland    France  and 
Germany  for  longer  periods    totjether  nith  its  many  economic  idiantages    led  to  its 
application  for  this  building 

The  theory  to  be  applied  is  a  lerv  simple  one  njinels  that  ail  infection  la  only 
the  result  of  contact  and  Is  not  transmissible  through  the  air  hence  infection  can  only 
be  avoided  by  strict  medical  asep^ds  This  means  Srst  that  a  single  building  located 
in  the  general  hospital  group  with  ndequ  ite  light  and  leatiiation  will  aniswei  the  iiui 
pose  for  all  diseases  It  is  therefore  possible  to  have  it  connectel  hv  tunnel  with  the 
light  heat  and  water  mains  Inundtv  kitchen  and  food  supplies  of  the  main  hosplfnl 
with  the  consequent  great  econfnii  advantages  in  first  cost  administration  and  main 
teuance  It  means  in  the  seconl  plate  however  that  eyery  posRlble  con\enience  su-.h 
as  washing  facilities  and  sterilizers  of  yarlous  kinds  must  he  profiled  in  the  building 
to  aiold     contact  Infection 

In  geiieml  the  plm  adopted  is  similar  to  that  used  in  \nii  \rbor  which  cons  sts 
of   a      iieand  1  hilf  stirv   hu  Iding   nith   haapinei  t     the   fli-st    st  rv   cont  1  nine    a    cen ti  il 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  799 

<  iriloi  nirb  Whlkn  100ms  (leniiij;  into  it  m  eithei  «i  le  ei  li  rjim  ti  ncommod  ite 
two  beds  the  «ie(.ond  "aton  containing  aiKonimodations  for  the  resident  nuries  ind  mtid 
nnd  the  bisenient  contiining  sterilizer  room    store  room  for  dothing  ind  morgue 

Each  iiolition  room  i«  proiided  with  a  lavatory  with  imee-actlon  lalies  and  1 
toilet  with  A  aepnrite  hot  witer  supplr  through  a  goose  neili  valie  frr  rinsing  pur 
poses      ThiH   equipment   wili    iioid   the   nefesHity   fir   the   pitient   leiiTing   tlie   100m    at 

The  patient  nil]  be  rereiied  frrm  the  outtiie  diiectiv  into  the  room  in  nhich  he 
Mill  remain  ind  will  leaie  if  onh  ivhen  dismissed  to  pif.s  thrDUch  the  cinidor  to  the 
e\it  infected  dressing  room  theme  to  the  (wtiirnom  und  exit  clem  diessing  loom  at 
the  front  of  the  building 

The  entrance  for  doctors  ind  nitrses  \i  it  the  opposite  Hide  of  the  building  where 
a  spice  Is  provided  for  hanging  the  doctor"?  otiter  street  clothes  and  for  putting  on  a 
clean  hospital  robe  if  he  intends  to  touch  or  handle  a  pitient  The  nurses  on  coming 
to  the  lulldlng  miy  go  directly  np  to  their  pruate  quartern  or  if  coming  on  diitv  mil 
cross  the  corridor  to  the  infected  dressing  room  in  nhich  each  is  pioiided  with  tno 
loclter*  one  for  their  infected  robe  and  one  for  their  ciein  one  Adjicent  to  the 
nurses  entrince  to  the  centnl  conidor  Js  the  nurses  st  itioti  it  which  the  sisnal  and 
annunctitor  ire  ioc  ited 

Food  mil  be  deliiered  either  bj  iiav  of  the  tunnel  to  the  dumiiwaiter  in  the  b  kp 
meut  or  from  the  outside  by  "ftav  of  the  leiniida  entrance  to  the  kitchen 

Linen  mil  be  received  from  the  laundry  directlv  into  the  linen  room  fi  m  the 
outside  b*  niY  rf  the  \erandi  Sotlecl  linen  will  be  deposited  thiough  the  infected 
linen  chute  into  the  infected  sterilizei  room  below  from  which  it  mil  pass  through  the 
linen  sterilizer  to  the  liundry  b\  wa'v  of  the  tunnel 

The  ifttchen  is  equipited  with  a  dlih  sterilizer  in  which  all  dishes  used  hv  a  patient 
will  be  sterilized     It  is  also  equipped  with  i  hteim  tible  plate  warmer  lefiigeratr r  etc 

Mittresses  mil  be  cnrrlert  from  the  isolition  r>oiiis  iround  the  out^de  of  the  build 
me  tc  the  bisement  entrante  to  the  infected  sterili/er  room  ind  after  passing  thiough 
the  sterilizer  nil!  he  hung  up  ready  for  future  use  Pitlents  clothinp;  will  ilso  be 
treated  in  this  war  ind  stored  in  bags  bung  from  the  celling  in  the  itoie  room  for 
thit  purpose  ind  when  required  will  he  delivered  it  the  pitlents"  clem  eiitrame  dress 
iusr  loom  from  the  outside  The  plan  is  so  irringed  that  inv  numbei  of  addltionni 
rooms  maj  be  ndled  when  needed  withcut  requiring  addltionil  senice  rocras. 

The  second  storv  is  imnged  foi  the  a  commodation  of  four  nurses  and  one  bouse 
maid  with  a  bath  room  kitchen  and  1  laige  lOom  for  the  nurses'  Hitting  i-ooiii  and 
dmmg  room. 

In  the  new  istlaflon  buiidmt,  (Miss  S  hil)  writes)  it  is  projcsed  to  adopt  pnc 
ticallv  the  same  technic  as  thit  in  use  nt  the  Providence  ( it\  Hosiiltil  ml  it  the  nen 
contflgiona  hospital  at  the  Unlieisltv  of  Michitan  Pitlents  suffering  from  different 
contagious  diseases  wili  be  admitted  The  technic  of  this  luildiug  is  based  upm  the 
principles  of  as^tic  nursing  The  infection  is  confined  to  the  rooms  occupied  hi  the 
latients  while  the  utility  rooms  ind  the  central  corridors  ire  considered  to  be  is  fiee 
from  c  ntagion  is  are  those  of  any  hospitil  The  sime  nurses  observing  aseptic  pie 
ciutions   cire  for  ill  patients 

The  su.cess  or  fiilure  of  the  hospital  ind  its  proposed  pirn -of  opention  will  de|>end 
largely  upon  how  the  nursinft  staff  cirries  out  the  principles  of  medical  asepsis.  The 
nurses  will  be  m  chaise  of  1  gnduite  who  has  [erfected  herself  in  the  technic  of  this 
ape<inl  department  Before  the  hospital  is  opened  the  nursing  stiff  will  he  thorouahiv 
diilled  in  the  1  liii  Iple-  if  medical  isepsis     Tust  as  in  the  surgical  orerating  100m    thev 


dbyGoot^lc 


8oo 

GENESEE    COUNTY, 

MICHIGAN. 

ta  g 
nd        b  b      w 

d 

pe 
mpo  si 

n        u  g 

se             h 

Tb  se  ing        oom 

d         d  m 

cl  so  p      ta    ed        m 

n        eed  ucli    b      ece 

I  d  b        If  ec  so 


d     g 


h      h 


Ground  will  be  broken  in  the  fall  of  1916  for  an  addition  to  be  built  north 
of  the  present  hospital  building  and  connected  with  it  by  a  corridor  which 
will  be  a  continuation  of  the  corridor  now  connecting  the  administration 
building  with  the  north  wing.  The  new  addition  will  be  used  as  a  maternity 
hospital  and  will  accommodate  twenty-six  mothers  and  twenty-six  infants. 
It  will  be  a  two-story  structure,  and  it  is  expected  to  open  this  ward  to  the 
public  in  the  spring  of  igi?- 

In  October,  1912,  there  was  completed  a  nurses'  home,  in  which  twenty- 
one  nurses,  previously  quartered  in  the  west  wing  and  in  rented  rooms  in 
the  neighborhood,  have  since  found  pleasant  and  homelike  accommodations. 
This  building  is  of  colonial  design,  and  corresponds  with  the  general 
architecture  of  the  hospital.  A  wide  south  porch,  opening  through 
French  windows  from  the  living  room,  adds  to  the  attractiveness  of  the 
house.  On  the  first  floor  are  two  commodious  reception  rooms,  in  one  of 
which  is  a  large  brick  fireplace.  In  the  basement  is  a  lecture  room  for  the 
nurses-in-training,  furnished  with  writing  chairs,  blackboards,  etc.  Large, 
airy  bedrooms  are   fotmd  on  each  floor.     An  addition   which   will   provide 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  8oi 

sleeping  quarters  for  fifteen  nurses  is  being  planned  at  the  present  time. 
It  will  occupy  the  vacant  space  between  the  west  wall  of  the  nurses'  home 
and  the  east  wall  of  the  maternity  ward. 

The  furnishings  of  the  original  nurse's  home  were  the  gift  of  Dr.  James 
C.  Willson,  for  many  years  one  of  Flint's  most  beloved  physicians.  Recently 
a  piano  was  added,  being  given  by  George  D,  Flanders,  president  of  the 
board  of  hospital  managers. 

This  board  operates  under  the  charter  of  the  city  of  Flint,  for  Mr. 
Hurley,  with  far-sighted  wisdom,  provided  for  civic  upkeep  and  manage- 
ment of  the  hospital. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  that  portion  of  Mr.  Hurley's  will  which 
related  to  his  bequest  to  Hurley  Hospital:    Paragraph  21, 

I  give,  iSeyl-*e  and  liequ^ath  to  the  city  of  Flint,  Michigan,  the  bluck  'tf  liiiiri  which 
I  now  own  just  northwefiterly  of  the  residence  of  Charles  H,  W.  Conover.  also  the  sum 
of  twenty-flie  tbuusand  dollars  (?25,ono)  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and  building 
on  said  land  a  free  hospital,  to  be  non-sectarian,  provided  the  city  of  Flint,  Michigan, 
accepts  the  gift  within  three  months  after  my  will  is  prohnted ;  otherwise  the  bequest 
shall  revert  to  my  estate.  But  if  accepted,  said  hospital  to  be  called  "Hurley  Hospital." 
Paragraph  25 

If  my  estate  shimld  not  amount  to  the  sum  of  the  bequests  I  have  mfide,  theo  in 
tliat  ease  I  direct  that  my  relatlies  mentioned  m  my  will  be  paid  in  full  their  bequeita 
and  tbe  balance  of  the  devisees  be  paid  pro  ratio. 

And  I  further  direct  that  in  case  my  estate  Shall  exceed  the  amount  of  the  beque>its, 
that  then  the  balance  of  my  estate  shall  be  added  to  my  bequests  to  the  cltj  of  Flint  for 
the  u'^e  and  lienefit  of  the  hospital. 

CODICIL. 
Paragiapli  11. 

I  hereby  change  the  twenty-first  paragraph  of  my  will  wherein  I  stated  (within 
three  months)  to  (within  ten  years)  that  the  said  city  shall  have  that  time  in  which 
to  accept  the  said  legacy  to  be  giien  to  the  city  or  to  a  boaiil  duly  authorized  to  receive 
the  same,  and  I  do  hereby  give  and  devise  the  same  to  be  set  aside  for  said  hospital  to 
Charles  L.  Bartlett.  in  trust,  to  be  held  by  him  in  trust  for  the  period  of  time  that  shall 
by  the  terms  of  this  codicil  be  given  to  accept  said  bequest  by  said  city,  and  upon  the 
acceptance  of  the  bequest  by  said  city,  the  said  city  or  its  properly  constituted  trustee 
to  recene  the  same 

When,  on  June  26,  1905,  Miss  Frances  O'Hare,  executrix  of  the  will 
of  James  J,  Hurley,  made  to  the  city  formal  presentation  of  the  bequest,  she 
quoted  the  foregoing  paragraphs  of  the  will,  and  added:  "The  presentation 
of  the  above  is  made  upon  the  express  condition  that  the  said  city  of  Flint 
does  agree  to  maintain,  support  and  properly  care  for  and  perpetuate  said 
hospital." 

(51) 


dbyGoc^lc 


802  GENESEE    COITKTY,    MICHIGAN. 

The  bequest  was  accepted  at  a  meeting  of  the  common  council  held  on 
July  i8,  1905.  An  ordinance  creating  a  board  of  hospital  managers  was 
adopted  by  the  council  at  a  meeting  held  on  July  24,  1905,  after  which  Mayor 
Aitken  appointed  the  following  citizens  to  serve  in  that  capacity :  Until  May 
I,  1906,  George  L.  Walker;  until  May  i,  1907,  William  E.  Martin;  until 
May  I,  1908,  Edward  D.  Black;  until  May  i,  1909,  J.  Dallas  Dort;  until  May 
I,  1910,  Charles  A.  Lippincott,  D.  D.  The  first  recorded  meeting  of  the 
board  was  held  at  the  Union  Club  rooms  on  Saturday  evening,  September 
23,  1905.  At  this  meeting  Dr.  Charles  A.  Lippincott  was  elected  president, 
William  E,  Martin,  treasurer,  and  Edward  D.  Black,  secretary. 

Although  the  organization  of  the  board  was  completed  at  this  time,  it 
was  not  until  June,  1907,  that  an  advertisement  for  bids  for  building  the 
Hospital  appeared  in  the  daily  papers.  It  was  signed  by  the  secretary,  E.  D. 
Black. 

The  following  months  were  busy  ones  for  the  hospital  board,  but  never 
did  a  municipal  body  serve  the  public  with  greater  fidelity  or  enthusiasm. 
Where  all  worked  so  faithfully,  it  seems  hardly  just  to  single  out  any  indi- 
vidual for  special  mention.  However,  if  the  members  of  that  first  board 
could  have  a  voice  in  the  matter,  it  is  certain  that  they  would  unanimously 
.  accord  a  special  meed  of  praise  to  their  president,  Rev,  Charles  A.  Lippincott, 
D.  D.,  who,  although  a  very  busy  man,  gave  ungrudgingly  of  his  time  and 
executive  ability  that  the  hospital  project  should  be  carried  to  a  successful 
conclusion. 

At  a  very  early  stage  it  became  apparent  that,  in  order  to  meet  the 
needs  of  a  city  like  Flint,  which  had  suddenly  developed  an  unexpectedly  large 
growth,  the  hospital  should  be  built  on  a  larger  scale  than  Mr.  Hurley's 
bequest  warranted.  It  remained  for  members  of  the  board  of  managers  to 
discover  ways  and  means  of  accomplishing  this.  Early  and  late  they  con- 
sidered plans.  They  enlisted  the  services  of  a  woman's  auxiliary  board, 
which  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1907,  with  Mrs.  Fhnt  P.  Smith,  one  of 
Flint's  most  capable  and  public-spirited  women,  heading  the  organization. 
Through  the  efforts  of  this  board,  over  five  thousand  dollars  in  cash  or  its 
equivalent  was  placed  in  the  hospital  treasury,  a  generous  portion  of  this 
amount  being  obtained  from  individual  citizens,  churches,  fraternal  organi- 
zations and  clubs,  although  much  of  it  was  raised  by  the  women  in  other 
ways.  The  Crapo  estate  at  this  time  also  donated  cash  for  a  woman's  ward 
as  a  memorial  to  Lydia  Sherman  Crapo. 

The  comer  stone  of  Hurley  Hospital  was  laid  on  October  24.  1907.  It 
was  the  gift  of  M.  C.  Barney  &  Son.     By  vote  of  the  hospital  board  at  a 


yGoo-^lc 


GENESEi:    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  803 

meeting  held  October  7,  1905,  the  following  articles  were  ordered  to  be 
placed  in  the  box  within  the  stone:  Sketch  of  J.  J.  Hurley's  life,  copy  of 
J.  J,  Hurley's  will,  copy  of  the  proceedings  in  connection  with  Mr.  Hur- 
ley's bequest  to  the  hospital,  copy  of  proceedings  creating  the  hospital  board, 
and  names  of  members  of  the  board.  At  this  meeting  it  was  also  decided 
that  the  lettering  on  the  stone  should  be  "Hurley  Hospital — 1907." 

The  laying  of  the  corner  stone  was  made  the  occasion  of  an  interesting 
public  celebration,  the  mayor,  common  council,  clergymen  of  the  city  with 
their  official  boards,  mihtary  companies,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
and  many  other  organizations  being  invited  to  participate.  Visiting  Knights 
Templar  from  neighboring  cities  took  part  in  the  parade  and  impressive 
ceremonies  were  conducted  by  the  Masonic  grand  lodge  of  Michigan,  the 
services  being  held  at  the  hospital  site  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The 
address  was  given  by  Hon.  William  C,  Maybury,  of  Detroit 

"This  stone  that  we  have  laid,"  he  said,  "is  square  in  form,  in  contents 
a  culje,  symbolic  of  the  square  of  morality  and  the  cube  of  truth.  Morality 
and  truth  combined  constitute  the  perfection  of  human  character.  This 
stone  is  always  placed  between  the  north  of  the  foundation,  symbolic  of  the 
place  of  darkness,  and  the  east,  recognized  as  the  place  of  light,  denoting  that 
all  progress  is  from  darkness  to  light  and  from  ignorance  to  true  knowledge." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  sketch  of  Mr.  Hurley's  life,  which,  with 
the  articles  already  enumerated  and,  in  addition,  a  copy  of  the  Flint  Daily 
Journal  of  October  23,  1907,  and  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  Masonic  grand 
Lodge  of  Michigan,  was  placed  within  the  corner  stone; 

Mr  Hiiiler  wis  bom  In  Liitliinfl  ol  iwor  but  hon^t  lUmiiiig  ]Huent-t  mil  wheu 
quite  I  loung  mm  lie  left  iii%  home  relatives  and  friends  and  (ilone  emhuketl  for 
tlie  Inited  Stitei.  \rri\lng  in  ^e^v  Xorlc  he  had  i  ticket  nbicli  cairied  liim  to  Chi 
cito  TbiH  he  exchanged  to  be  in  companv  nith  some  one  whim  he  had  met  foi  1 
passage  to  Grand  Blanc  in  Genesee  countv  nheie  he  aniied  without  ant  ineanh  and 
engHged  to  work  for  a  (anner  to  be  paid  whit  in  the  judgment  of  the  furrner  his 
services  were  north  After  worklug  on  the  firm  for  two  weeks  the  firniet  infoimed 
blm  that  he  was  not  wanted  any  longei  ind  Mr  H^lplp^  asked  him  hon  much  be  hid 
e-imed  and  his  employer  replied  that  he  had  eimert  nothing  but  be  would  gne  him  a 
dollar  and  with  this  dollar  In  his  pocket  be  walked  to  the  citi  of  Flint  where  be 
was  engaged  as  a  porter  to  a  hotel  ind  Inboied  at  the  most  common  wtik  fti  a  number 
of  years 

He  W19  married  to  "Uarv  Flynn  and  together  thev  eomuieuced  housekeeping  with 
little  or  no  means  ind  what  little  tbe\  had  ms  expended  in  doctois  bills  in  taring  for 
his  wife  duilng  a  seiere  illness  He  howeiet  started  ont  to  imv  jrmk  lining  an  ndrer 
tiaement  that  he  would  buv  anything  that  nolrodv  else  would  buj  and  in  this  manner 
drifted  off  to  the  potash  ninnufaetuie  Being  poor  he  and  his  wife  did  the  most  of 
the  work  tunning  the  potash    she  holding   the  Imiteni   it   meht    ami   he    iMth   his  feet 


dbyGoc^lc 


804  GKNESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

nrnpped  m  cloths  tlid  tile  woil  (f  rniuilng  off  niii]  t  irlni,  fir  the  Ive  whiih  ms 
manufuctuied  into  potash 

Latei  oil  be  became  Interested  with  Flint  P  Smith  in  the  «iw  mill  ud  together 
they  erected  some  twenty  dwelling  houses  in  the  dtj 

He  wah  one  of  the  earlletst  stockholders  lu  the  W  \  Pitersou  tarrnge  f  i  torv  tnd 
latei  helied  to  organize  the  Union  Tru&t  ami  Siviugs  Bank  it  whl  h  he  «ns  i  diie<  toi 
for  some  yeais 

He  w)s  1  shrewd  md  ciieful  business  miin  nht  iitntellv  exinessed  his  tplnlons  and 
neither  gaie  nor  cired  to  reteiie  flHttery 

He  latei  invested  his  money  In  bank  block  and  bonds  tnd  muitgnges  so  that  when  he 
p  issed  iw  IV  theie  was  little  If  anj    shrinkiige  In  his  iinestments 

He  WIS  a  man  who  was  kind  hearted  and  lll)eral  ga^e  to  the  |xm>i  uDt  osteiit  itl*  usU 
but  in  1  quiet  and  reserved  minner  His  life  although  known  to  but  few  was  char 
HCterlstic  of  the  m-^nner  in  whieb  he  disposed  of  his  prtpertv  at  the  time  of  his  de<kth 
therein  he  not  only  remembered  the  eit>  but  ^ll  the  hurthes  many  of  the  poor  and 
Ills  old  emi  fvees 

His  wile  who  died  a  few  veirs  before  iiim  wis  a  woman  of  most  losable  char 
acter  anl  sweet  disposition  ind  their  home  was  Jne  of  the  most  pleisant  in  tlie  citi 
where  thej   enjo\ed  entertaining  theit  fritnds  in   i  simple   ^et  hos(  ituble  m  nnei 

On  October  lo,  1907,  just  two  weeks  previous  to  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone,  the  treasurer  of  the  hospital  board  received  from  the  executrix  of  the 
will  of  James  J.  Hurley  the  following  cash  and  property  in  settlement  of 
the  bequest:  Cash,  $44,261.05;  land  contracts,  $2,380.00;  real  estate  {includ- 
ing the  hospital  site  at  a  valuation  of  $5,000),  $6,970.00;  a  total  of 
$53,61 1 ,05.  Later,  this  sum  was  augmented  by  interest  payments  and 
profits  on  sale  of  real  estate,  to  $54,974.92. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hurley  were  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  their  charities  and 
benefactions  extended  along  many  lines. 

It  was  through  the  philanthropy  of  James  J.  Hurley  that  Flint's  munici- 
pal hospital  was  founded ;  but  many  other  public-spirited  citizens  liave  fol- 
lowed his  good  example  and  have  contributed  various  sums  to  increase  its 
usefulness  and  capacity.  The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  donations  to 
Hurley  Hospital  up  to  July  i,   1916: 

Totiil    realized    from   the   James   J.   Hurley   estate,    including   interest 
and  rents  nnd  includluji  the  iantl  at  n  vitluation  of  5-'),000.00  as  it 

appears  on  the  hospital  books $  54,S>74.1)2 

Total    realized  up  to   July  1.  1916,  from  the  Stockdale   estate    (In- 
cluding interest  on  certificates  of  deposit) 46.S">2.'13 

Woman's  auxiliary  board   (Including  gifts  of  linen,  etc.) 5,439..W 

Crapo   estate    (Woman's   Ward    Memorial    Addition) 5,601..S2 

Bnick   charity   ball    247.90 

Pr^jyterlan   church    21.86 

Westminster    Oulld    67.07 

Mrs.  George  M.   Dewey    (for  elevator)    -  1.145.00 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  805 

Union    tbanksglvfng    collections    IS.fti 

First  Congregational   church   S.fil 

Flint  Vehicle  Worfeers  Mutual   Benefit  Assotiiition 200.00 

Fred  A.  Aldrlch   (for  purchase  of  instruments) 1,000.00 

Dr.  W.  J.  Kny  50.54 

Estate  Atlele  Youngs   200,00 

Dr.  J.  C.  Wlllson    (fumiahiug  nurses'  home) 1,000.00 

N.  J.  Berston.  8r.  (eye.  eiir,  nose  and  throat  room) 40(!.7O 

J.   D.    Dort   1.500.00 

G.  D.  Flanders  (piano)   135.00 

Charles  S.   Mott   15.028.45 

Total     -'tli:!3,R88.76 

The  names  of  many  citizens  and  organizations  making  contributions 
to  the  hospital  do  not  appear  in  this  hst,  as  their  donations  are  included 
in  the  amount  credited  to  the  woman's  auxiliary  board.  Among  the  larger 
donations  given  through  this  channel,  however,  are  the  following: 

J.  u.  Dort  _ $l.ono.no 

F.  P.  Smith  100.00 

W.   O.   Smith _ 500.00 

E.  W.  Atwood  100.00 

Matthew    Davison    100.00 

Fd  yard    Man  erre           100.00 

T\eatmlnster  Gulll  (Pi-esbyterian  cliurcli)   ___ __  100.00 

SItst   Biptist     lurch     100.00 

Court    Street    Methodist    Episcopal    duu-ch 100.00 

African  Methodist  Fpiscopnl  churi'h J25.7S 

I^  il  <n  It                     - —  1110.011 

LTllei  of  the  M  ccilees „ 100.00 

\ehl    e    (1  h                    —  lOO.iW 

Bee     lent      nl    Fi   te  t  ve   Order   of   Elks. 100,00 

In  addition  to  donations  and  bequests  as  listed  above,  there  appears  on 
the  balance  sheet  of  Hurley  Hospital  an  item  of  $11,925.08  to  the  credit  of 
the  "J.  D.  Dort  Guarantee  Account,"  and  thereby  hangs  a  tale.  The  records 
of  the  hospital  board  show  that  when  the  board  lacked  funds  to  complete 
payments  on  building  and  equipment,  Mr.  Dort  guaranteed  and  later  advanced 
money  to  pay  bills  amounting  to  $14,500.00,  the  same  to  be  reimbursed  to 
him  out  of  future  donations  which  the  board  might  find  available  for  such 
purposes.  Up  to  this  time  only  $2,574.92  has  been  repaid  to  Mr.  Dort,  he 
in  the  meantime  having  contributed  to  the  hospital  land  valued  at  $1,500, 
on  which  the  new  isolation  cottage  has  been  built.  At  the  time  the  last  pay- 
ment from  the  Stockdale  estate  was  received  by  the  board,  it  was  suggested 
to  Mr.  Dort  that  there  might  not  be  another  opportunity  in  many  years  for 


dbyGoot^lc 


So6  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

the  board  to  repay  his  loan.  "Never  mind,"  he  said  to  the  one  mentioning 
the  matter  to  him,  "We  need  a  maternity  ward  and  we  must  increase 
our  capacity  in  other  directions— let  the  loan  stand." 

Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  Stockdale  bequest  (of  which  a  short 
explanation  later),  the  largest  private  contribution  to  Hurley  Hospital,  next 
to  that  of  its  founder,  has  been  made  by  Charles  S.  Mott,  through  whose 
generosity  the  fine  new  isolation  cottage  has  mainly  been  built. 

A  history  of  Hurley  Hospital  would  be  incomplete  without  some  ref- 
erence to  Mrs.  Mary  Stockdale,  whose  will  was  filed  for  probate  on  April 
26,  1905.  This  will  was  contested,  but  an  agreement  was  made  between 
the  attorneys  for  the  several  beneticiaries  under  the  will  probated  and  the 
city  of  Flint  and  Walter  S.  White  and  wife,  beneficiaries  under  an  alleged 
lost  will.  This  agreement  was  reached  after  the  case  had  dragged  through 
the  courts  for  several  years. 

The  following  sums  finally  reached  the  treasury  of  the  hospital  board 
from  the  Stockdale  estate:  January  26,  1911,  $26,614.00;  December  15, 
1913,  $17,702.43;  March  8,  1915,  $683.57;  total,  $45,000.00. 

The  first  amount  paid  over  to  the  board  was  used  in  building  the  nurse's 
home  and  in  raising  the  west  wing.  The  other  amounts  are  still  in  the 
treasury  drawing  interest. 

On  February  13,  1913,  there  was  organized  an  association  of  women, 
banded  together  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  building  a  "Maternity  Hospital 
and  Children's  Home,"  the  women  composing  this  association  being  the  same 
women  who  were  formerly  officers  and  members  of  the  Woman's  Auxiliary 
Hospital  Association,  which  had  disbanded  on  October  18,  1912,  the  object 
for  which  they  had  originally  organized  having  been  fulfilled.  The  new 
organization  was  officered  as  follows:  Mrs.  F.  F.  Smith,  president;  Mrs. 
I.  M.  Eidridge,  secretary;  Mrs,  B.  F.  Cotharin,  treasurer;  Mrs.  F.  D.  Lane, 
first  vice-president;  Mrs.  Truman  Medbury,  second  vice-president;  Mrs.  W. 
E.  Martin,  third  vice-president. 

A  committee  of  these  women  had  conferred  with  the  hospital  board 
at  the  hospital  on  the  day  before  their  organization  meeting  and  discussed 
with  them  the  feasibility  of  building  a  maternity  hospital  near  enough  to 
Hurley  Hospital  to  be  operated  by  the  same  management  and  heated  from 
the  same  power  plant.  On  March  7,  1913,  representatives  of  the  two  boards 
met  for  an  informal  conference  with  Mayor  Mott,  as  ex-officio  member  of 
the  hospital  board  in  attendance  and  Miss  Schill,  superintendent  of  the  hos- 
pital, and  a  committee  from  the  Genesee  County  Medical  Society  also  pres- 
ent.    After  very  earnest  discussion,  it  was  decided   that   the   new   hospital 


dbyGoc^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  807 

should  be  built  as  a  unit  of  Hurley  Hospital  and  that  it  should  be  owned, 
operated  and  controlled  by  the  board  of  hospital  managers,  who  agreed  to  use 
the  funds  due  from  the  Stockdale  estate  for  the  purpose  of  building  this 
addition,  the  ladies  agreeing  to  furnish  equipment.  This  project  is  now 
being  carried  to  completion. 

As  soon  as  it  was  decided  to  add  the  maternity  unit  to  Hurley  Hospital, 
the  managers  of  that  institution  immediately  began  laying  plans  for  the  future. 
They  realized  that  before  any  more  buildings  could  be  added  to  their  plant 
as  it  then  was,  heating  facilities  must  be  increased  and  laundry  machinery 
and  boilers  removed  from  the  main  building  to  make  room  for  enlarged 
kitchens,  dining  rooms,  etc. 

The  money  necessary  for  ail  these  changes,  which  included  the  build- 
ing of  the  present  splendid  power  plant,  was  raised  by  taxation  in  the  regu- 
lar routine  manner  as  provided  by  the  charter  amendment  of  1907.  Chapter 
XXVIII  of  the  amended  charter  deals  with  hospitals,  confers  certain  powers 
upon  the  board  of  hospital  managers  and  imposes  certain  duties  upon  them. 
It  makes  specific  provision  for  the  raising  of  adequate  funds  for  hospital 
purposes  through  taxation  revenue. 

Section  7  of  chapter  XXVIIJ  reads  in  part  as  follows : 

In  idditlon  to  nil  otliei  tixes  nutboiized  to  be  raised  bi  the  ilti  of  Hint  ind  In 
mltlition  to  m  sum  or  sums  of  money  tint  tiie  board  of  hoi-pltnl  niiimsers  mij  reoeiie 
from  fees  sift^  domtlonH  01  otbernlse  tlie  fommon  countil  shall  haie  the  power  and 
mm  cause  to  be  rUsed  annually  bj  a  ta'^  upou  the  real  and  ijersonal  property  within 
the  city  of  Flint  suih  -aum  ts  mav  be  deemed  necessary  not  exceeding  one  mill  on  ) 
dollar  of  the  1  iluiition  of  the  leil  and  pergonal  property  wltbln  said  city  according  to 
the  yaiuation  thereof  as  shown  b\  the  list  preceding  issessment  rolls  aa  reviewed  and 
equalized  wblcii  '^um  when  1  ilaed  ^all  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  pa(ina  the  cost 
and  expense  of  maintaining  hospitals  and  for  no  other  puriioae  The  amount  to  be  used 
for  hospital  puiiioses  shall  be  determined  by  n  detailed  estimate  of  the  requirement? 
tbeiefoi  to  be  furnished  annually  bv  the  board  of  bo^qiitil  manigei*"  to  the  tommon 
council  on  the  last  Mondai  in  Felirunn  and  appioied  b>  the  common  poundl  and  the 
sum  *!0  determined  ufon  shall  be  approied  and  \oted  to  be  raised  by  the  common  lounfl! 
at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided  bi  the  chirter  of  the  'in  f 
Flint  foi  the  rilsiii],  of  the  innual  tax  le*y  of  sud  tit*  and  the  siuic  sh  II  be  Ipi  p1 
spread  ami  collected  \t  the  sniue  time  and  in  the  same  manner  as  othei  tites 

Special  donations  for  special  purposes,  amounting  in  all  to  $4,625.60, 
were  made  by  the  city  to  the  hospital  prior  to  October,  1908,  but  since  that 
date  regular  appropriations  have  been  received  from  the  city,  the  amounts 
varying  in  size  according  to  the  siiecia!  needs  of  the  institutions  as  outlined 
by  the  board  in  their  annua!  budget  presented  to  the  common  council  each 
spring,  according  to  charter  requirement. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

!  the  Special  donations  referred  to  as  coming  from  the  city,  cash 
payments,  up  to  July  i,  1916,  have  been  received  as  follows : 

October  26,  1908  $    5,831.1S 

Februnry  27,  190»  147.24 

August  16.  I'Mi  5,500.00 

October  36,  1909  , 5,000.00 

February  28,  1910   3,600.00 

August  20,  1911    9,000.00 

Marcb  18,  1912  5,888.79 

September  28,  1912 5,700.00 

February  24,  1913 442.31 

August  20,  1913  5,000.00 

December  IS,  1913   1,000.00 

February  14,  1914  252.65 

February  28,  1914   5,000.00 

Sqitember  15,  1914  19,167.63 

November  13,  1914  686.88 

February  15,  1915   590.44 

February  K,  1915   391.17 

February  27,  1015   37S.CE 

March  24,  1015   64.84 

April  9.  1015   183.67 

Aiiril  12.  1015  : 412.89 

April  30,  1915   5.05 

June  15,  1910   601.51 

jHly  14.  1915   275.00 

August  7,  1915   400.00 

October  26,  1915   3,995.40 

Februnry  29,  1916 287.48 

March  31,  1916   46.07 

The  taxation  revenue  appropriated  by  the  council  for  iqi5  is  $42,- 
835.00.  This  large  amount  was  made  necessary  by  the  great  increase  in  the 
cost  of  building  materials  making  it  impossible  to  erect  with  funds  remain- 
ing from  the  Stockdale  bequest  structures  of  adequate  size  to  serve  as  a 
maternity  ward  and  an  addition  to  the  nurses'  home. 

In  common  with  ali  other  public  institutions  in  Flint,  the  hospital  has 
constantly  suffered  from  over-crowded  conditions,  never  being  able  to  keep 
pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city.  However,  the  board  has  worked  heroically 
to  meet  the  situation  constantly  confronting  them  and  has  had  at  all  times 
the  hearty  support  and  co-operation  of  the  common  council.  In  addition 
to  the  management  of  Hurley  Hospital,  the  board  of  hospital  managers  also 
managed  a  small  detention  hospital,  built  by  the  city  in  1910  for  the  care 
of  contagious  diseases.  This  property  will  be  abandoned  and  sold  in  the  fall 
of  1916,  when  the  new  isolation  cottage  is  opened. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COTNTY,    MICHIGAN.  OOg 

In  191 1  the  board  received  a  communication  from  the  council  asking 
them  to  purchase  land  on  the  south  side  of  Sixth  avenue,  between  Patrick 
and  Prospect  streets,  to  be  used  as  a  site  for  a  hospital  for  the  segregation 
and  treatment  of  tuberculosis  cases.  The  land  was  purchased,  but  it  is 
unlikely  that  it  will  ever  be  used  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  originally 
intended.  Lying  so  close  to  the  hospital,  however,  it  will  probably  be  retained 
by  the  board  for  future  needs.  The  land  has  greatly  increased  in  value  since 
it  was  bought  for  $2,850. 

Some  changes  have  occurred  in  the  personnel  of  the  hospital  board  since 
its  organization  in  1905.  But  two  original  members,  J.  D.  Dort  and  W.  E. 
Martin,  still  serve.  Rev.  Dr.  Lippincott  acted  from  1905  to  1910,  when  he 
received  reappointment.  His  removal  from  the  city,  in  Decemi>er,  1912, 
made  his  resignation  necessary  and  E.  W.  Atwood  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him.  Since  March,  1913,  Mr.  Atwood  has  been  secretary  of  the  board. 
George  D.  Flanders,  appointed  in  1906,  has  continued  on  the  board  since  that 
time,  having  served  several  terms  as  president.  E.  D.  Black  resigned  in  May, 
1914,  to  accept  a  place  on  the  city  park  commission.  Edward  S.  Lee  was 
then  appointed  and  proved  a  valuable  memljer,  but,  after  serving  fifteen 
months,  resigned  and  gave  place  to  Dr.  Orson  Millard.  The  five  members 
constituting  the  board  at  this  time  are;  George  D,  Flanders,  president; 
Edwin  W.  Atwood,  secretary:  William  E.  Martin,  treasurer;  J.  Dallas  Dort 
and  Orson  Millard. 

Hurley  Hospital  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  patients  on  December 
19,  1908,  and  since  then  up  to  July  i,  1916,  there  have  been  7,164  persons 
treated  there.  A  hospital  commission,  consisting  of  the  health  officer  of 
the  city,  the  commissioner  of  the  poor  and  one  other  citizen  appointed  by  the 
mayor,  determine  who  are  eligible  for  treatment  in  the  hospital  at  city 
expense.  Under  the  uniform  accounting  system  of  the  city,  bills  are  rendered 
to  the  city  poor  commissioner  each  month,  and  the  hospital  receives  cash 
payments  from  the  i>oor  fund  for  these  charity  patients. 

Dr.  James  C.  Willson,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1912,  acted  on 
this  hospital  commission.     He  was  succeeded  by  William  Beacraft. 

Hurley  Hospital  has  had  three  able  superintendents.  Mary  B.  Hall, 
who  acted  in  an  advisorj'  capacity  before  the  hospital  was  completed,  served 
for  one  year  thereafter.  AHce  M.  Grigg.  who  succeeded  Miss  Hall,  served 
until  1910,  when  Anna  M.  Schill  succeeded  to  the  superintendency. 

A  training  school,  organized  in  1909,  is  operated  in  connection  with 
Hurley  Hospital,  its  graduates  now  numbering  twenty-eight.  The  training 
course  was  in  the  beginning  made  a  two  and  one-half-year  course,  but  by 


dbyGoot^lc 


8rO  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

vote  of  the  board  in  May,  1913,  it  was  changed  to  a  three-year  course  from 
that  time. 

The  accounting  system  of  Hurley  Hospital  is  part  of  the  uniform  sys- 
tem installed  by  the  city  of  Flint  in  March,  1913.  It  is  under  the  direct 
supervision  of  the  city  comptroller,  to  whom  the  board  of  hospital  managers 
make  each  month  a  detailed  report  of  receipts  and  expenditures  for  the  pre- 
ceding month,  and  at  the  end  of  each  year  the  hospital  hooks  are  examined 
by  certified  public  accountants  engaged  to  audit  the  accounts  of  all  city 
departments. 

OAK   GKOVE    HOSPITAL. 

One  of  the  leading  sanitariums  in  America  is  located  in  Flint.  It  is 
recognized  by  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  medical  profession  as  a  hospital, 
conducted  along  special  lines,  which  has  no  superior  in  the  entire  community. 
The  buildings  and  grounds  are  unsurpassed. 

Oak  Grove  Hospital,  formerly  Oak  Grove  .Sanitarium,  was  organized 
under  the  laws  of  Michigan  as  Oak  Grove  Corporation  in  1891,  its  object 
being  the  founding  and  administration  of  a  thoroughly  modern  hospital  for 
the  treatment  of  nervous  and  mental  diseases  and  of  alcohol  and  drug  addic- 
tion. Associated  in  the  incipiency  of  the  movement  were  James  A.  Remick 
and  W.  G.  Vinton,  of  Detroit;  Charles  T.  Mitchell,  of  Hillsdale,  Michigan; 
and  Dr.  George  C.  Palmer,  then  superintendent  of  the  Michigan  asylum  for 
the  insane,  at  Kalamazoo. 

The  ,sixty-five-acre  grove  of  native  oaks  located  near  the  eastern  out- 
skirts of  Flint  was  selected  for  a  site.  This  grove  is  now  probably  the  last 
remaining  oak  clearing  in  Michigan.  It  had  been  preserved  by  Governor 
Henry  H.  Crapo,  his  intention  being  to  build  therein  a  mansion. 

The  practical  founder  of  the  hospital  was  James  A.  Remick,  of  Detroit, 
who  had  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  eastern  Mich- 
igan asylum  at  Pontiac.  The  original  buildings  were  erected  by  the  Vinton 
Company,  of  Detroit,  whose  president,  W.  G.  Vinton,  was  also  president  of 
the  board  of  tmstees  of  the  eastern  Michigan  asylum.  Mr.  Vinton  succeeded 
Justice  H.  B.  Rrown  as  president  of  Oak  Grove  Corporation,  and  was  him- 
self succeeded  by  George  B.  Kemick,  of  Detroit.  Mr.  Remick  died  in  1913, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Sawyer,  of  Hillsdale,  a  regent  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan.  The  original  stockholders  included  James  A.  Reinick, 
W.  G,  Vinton,  G.  J.  Vinton,  George  B.  Remick  and  Thomas  Pitts,  of 
Detroit;  C.  T.  Mitchell,  of  Hillsdale;  William  L.  Smith  and  William  Hamil- 
ton, of  Flint. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  SI  I 

Dr.  George  C.  i'aliner  was  elected  the  first  medical  director  of  Oak 
Grove  and  died  on  Au^ist  8,  T894.  During  Doctor  Palmer's  illness  Dr. 
W.  L.  Worcester  was  elected  acting  medical  director.  He  was  succeeded, 
in  November,  iSq4,  by  Dr,  C  B.  Burr,  the  present  able  incumbent,  who 
previously  had  spent  eleven  years  as  assistant  physician  and  assistant  super- 
intendent, and  five  years  as  medical  superintendent  of  the  eastern  Michigan 
asylum,  at  Pontiac. 

The  staff  of  tlie  hospital  is  composed  of  two  physicians  aside  from  the 
medical  director.  Those  who  have  served  Oak  Grove  as  assistant  physician 
or  assistant  medical  director  since  its  organization  are;  Dr.  Wadsworth 
Warren,  of  Detroit;  Dr.  H.  R.  Niles,  now  of  the  Michigan  school  for  the 
deaf,  of  Flint;  Dr.  C.  B.  Macartney,  of  Thorold.  Ontario;  Dr.  F.  B.  Miner, 
of  Flint;  Dr.  C.  P.  Clarke,  of  Flint:  Dr.  J.  A.  Elliott,  of  Battle  Creek, 
Michigan;  Dr.  E.  R.  Johnstone,  of  Bancroft.  Michigan;  Dr.  H.  L.  Trenkle, 
of  the  Pontiac  state  hospital;  Dr.  Samuel  Butler,  of  the  Pontiac  state  hos- 
pital: Dr.  Homer  E.  Clarke,  formerly  of  the  Pontiac  state  hospital;  Dr,  P. 
M.  Crawford,  of  Chicago;  Dr.  G.  K.  Pratt,  of  Flint. 

The  site,  original  buildings  and  equipment  cost  in  the  neighborhood  o£ 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  dollars,  thirty-five  thousand  dollars  of 
which  was  met  by  the  issue  of  Iwntls.  In  1895  Noyes  Hall,  containing 
billiard  rooms,  assembly  hall,  gj'mnasium,  bowHng  alley,  electrical  room,  and 
hydrotherapeutic  rooms,  was  completed  from  funds  in  part  provided  by  the 
request  of  Dr.  James  F.  Noyes,  of  Detroit,  and  in  part  from  'the  revenue 
of  the  hospital. 

Oak  Grove  Hospital  is  ideally  located  and  its  spacious  grounds  include 
tennis  courts,  golf  links,  bowling  greens  and  lieautiful  walks  and  drives. 

The  present  board  of  directors  includes:  President,  W.  H.  Sawyer, 
M.  D.,  Hillsdale.  Michigan ;  vice-president,  Jerome  H.  Remick,  Detroit ; 
treasurer,  Walter  O.  Smith,  Flint:  secretary.  C.  B.  Burr,  Flint:  C,  M.  Begole, 
Flint;  Henry  M.  Hurd.  M.  D.,  Baltimore,  Maryland;  H.  R.  Niles,  M.  D.. 
Fhnt;  E.  A.  Christian,  M.  D.,  Pontiac,  Michigan:  Stanford  T.  Crapo,  Detroit; 
C.  B.  Macartney,  Thorold,  Ontario:  medical  director,  C.  B.  Burr,  Flint; 
assistant  medical  director.  Homer  E.  Clarke;  assistant  physician,  G.  K.  Pratt. 

CONDENSED    D.-\T  ^     CONCERNING    FLINT, 


Area,  11  square  miles. 

Altitude,  720  feet  above  sea  level. 

Population  in  1900,   1.^,103. 


dbyGoot^lc 


8l2  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Population  in  1910  (United  States  census)  38,550;  194.2  per  cent, 
increase  in  ten  years,  l?eing  seventh  city  in  rank  of  fastest  growth. 

Population  in  1916,  estimated,  85,000. 

Churches,  all  denominations,  32. 

Theaters  and  vaudettes,  20. 

City  parks,  12;  area,  115  acres. 

Public  library,  containing  20,000  volumes. 

Michigan  school  for  the  deaf,  a  state  institution,  with  340  pupils,  38 
teachers  and  a  library  with  6,448  voUunes. 

Hurley  public  hospital,  managed  by  a  cit}'  board. 

Oak  Grove  Hospital,  a  private  sanitarium  for  the  treatment  of  nervous 
and  mental  diseases. 

Fire  department,  fully  equipped  with  motor-driven  apparatus  and  em- 
ploying 4T  men, 

Flint  is  in  the  second  class  of  insurance  risks. 

Building  permits  issued  in  1915,  $2,104,878.50,  an  increase  over  1914 
of  $1,331,850.56.     For  1916,  building  operations  greatest  in  its  history. 

Public  school  buildings,  13 ;  teachers,  225 ;  pupils,  7,061 ;  property 
valued  at  $865,439.00;  seven  new  buildings  in  course  of  constrtiction. 

Fully  equipped  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tions. 

Flint  had  the  lowest  death  rate  in  Michigan  in  1915,  the  rate  being 
10.5,  compared  with  an  average  for  the  state  13.3  per  t,ooo  of  population. 

Postoffice  sale  of  stamps  for  1915,  $131,140.70;  money  orders  issued, 
$623,454.03;  money  orders  paid,  $299,784.80. 

The  city  has  four  state  l>anks,  their  combined  capital  and  surplus 
amounting  to  $1,882,881.97,  with  deposits  of  $14,697,179.69;  loans,  $12,- 
473,129.00;  total  resources,  $16,330,036.50;  the  clearances  for  191 5 
amounted  to  $34,213,638.50.     1916  shows  largest  deposits  ever  reported. 

Municipal  water  works  pumping  station  and  filtration  plant  with  a 
capacity  of  23,000.000  gallons,  built  at  a  cost  of  $400,000.00.  supplying  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  with  water  that  is  98  per  cent.  pure. 

Flint  has  two  of  the  largest  automobile  factories  in  the  world. 

The  combined  capital  of  the  automobile  industries  of  FHnt  is  about 
$12,000,000,  with  a  yearly  output  of  more  than  $100,000,000,  employing 
on  an  average  of  about  14,000  men  with  an  average  weekly  pay  roll  of 
$350,000. 

Generating  plant  of  the  Consumers  Power  Company,  supplied  with 
electric  current  from  the  .A.U  Sable  river,  furnishing  hydro-electric  power  in 
unlimited  quantity  at  economical  rates. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GEKESCE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  813 

Situated  on  the  main  lines  of  Grand  Trunk  and  Pere  Marquette  rail- 
road. Trolley  lines  to  Detroit  on  the  south  and  Saginaw  and  Bay  City  on 
the  north. 

In  191 5  the  city  purchased  the  gravel  rights  on  eight  acres  of  land  at 
Otisviile  on  the  Fostoria  branch  of  the  Pere  Marquette  Railroad,  which  is 
about  fifteen  miles  from  Flint,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  saving  on  gravel 
the  first  year  will  more  than  pay  for  the  pit,  and  will  last  the  city  for  a  num- 
ber of  years. 

The  city  owns  its  own  asphalt  plant,  which  has  a  capacity  of  1500 
square  yards  of  two-inch  surface  per  ten-hour  day. 

The  city  handles  its  own  pavements,  sewers  and  sidewalks  at  a  great 
saving  to  the  tax  payers. 


CONCLUSION. 

Gone  is  the  F~lint  of  yesterday.  No  longer  have  we  the  agreeable  land 
spaces  surrounding  white  houses  with  green  blinds,  set  in  the  midst  of 
gardens  blooming  with  hollyhocks,  and  marigolds,  and  sweet  wiUiams,  and 
all  the  old-fashioned  flowers  so  dear  to  our  grandmothers. 

No  more  the  picket  fences,  with  their  swinging  gates,  and  the  hedges 
of  osage  orange,  the  gravel  walks,  and  the  corner  lamp  posts. 

The  little  parasols  that  tipped,  the  silver  bouquet  holders,  the  real 
lace  shawls,  the  floating  islantls  with  red  and  black  and  white  raspberries 
on  top,  all  have  disappeared. 

The  pairs  of  shining  black  horses  hitched  to  low  surries,  whose  occu- 
pants decorously  drove  to  church  on  Sunday  mornings  are  no  longer  to  be 
seen.  Gone  the  quaintness,  the  charm,  the  leisure  and  the  peace  of  the 
village,  of  the  small  town,  for  in  its  place  there  stands  a  hustling,  bustling 
manufacturing  city. 


The  county  of  Genesee,  made  up,  as  it  is,  of  fertile  "farms,  thrifty, 
industriotis  people  and  a  citizenship  second  to  none  on  the  American  con- 
tinent, presents  exceptional  advantages  to  those  seeking  a  permanent  home  in 
an  ideal  environment.  The  villages  and  townships  are  noted  for  the  high 
character  of  the  people.  Churches,  schools,  libraries,  good  roads,  every- 
thing that  makes  for  contentment  and  happiness,  abound. 


dbyGoot^lc 


8i4  GENESEE    COL'NTV,    MICHIGAN. 

Ill  the  midst  of  such  a  happy  and  cultured  people  there  has  come  within 
the  la^t  fifteen  years  the  change  from  a  city  of  less  than  fifteen  thousand 
population,  similar  to  hundreds  throughout  the  country,  to  what  has  become 
one  of  the  leading  manufacturing  centers  in  the  United  States.  The  prog- 
ress has  l^een  so  rapid  that  any  account  or  description  portraying  conditions 
would  become  obsolete  within  a  few  months.  The  story  of  the  re-birth  of 
Flint  reads  like  a  romance  or  Arabian  Nights  tale.  If  this  book  shall  in 
after  years  become  of  value  as  a  record  showing  Genesee  county  and  the 
city  of  Flint  as  it  was  in  1916,  the  aims  of  its  publishers  will  have  been 
attained.     It  marks  the  sixty-first  milestone  in  the  life  of  the  municipality. 

Greater  Flint  is  a  monument  to  the  loyalty  and  public  spirit  of  its  citi- 
zens. There  is  a  unity  of  purpose  and  a  co-operation  existing  which  lias 
given  Flint  an  almost  nation-wide  reputation  for  "team  work."  The  motto, 
"Each  for  all  and  all  for  each,"  is  typified  in  the  city  and  county  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  advancement  of  the  best  interests  of  the  individual 
and  the  public. 

A  more  generous,  public  spirited  and  loyal  citizenship  does  not  obtain 
in  any  community  anywhere. 

Here  is  a  hint: 
We  stand  for  Flint, 

From  discord  ever  free. 
Its  people  are  loyal,  good  and  true, 
It's  the  land  for  me,  the  home  for  you. 

Old  Genesee!     Old  Genesee! 


dbyGoot^lc 


APPENDIX   A. 

STATISTICS  I'ROM   THE   UNITED    STATES   CENSUS   OF    I9IO,    AND   OTHER   GOVERN- 
MENT   RF.POKTS. 

[Note:  Chapter  XNIX  emboclies  estimated  iiopulation  of  ihc  city  of 
Flint  in  iyi6,  as  well  as  number  of  employees  in  factories.  The  data  con- 
tained in  Appendix  A  does  not  give  the  statistics  of  either  county  or  city  to 
date  of  pnbhcation  of  this  work.  The  only  government  statistics  available 
are  up  to  a  period  six  years  pre\ioiis. ] 


Argeutiiie  towusMj)  S; 

.itliis  towiislili)  1.11 

Biii'tiHi  towuBbip  !>: 

Cliij-toii    towusliiii    l,Oi 

Diivtsim  towiiaLip,  mt'lndiLif;  Uiivls<ni 

villiige    l.ft 

Diivisoii   vllliiste !>' 

Fpiitoii    towiislii]).      iucliulitig    feiitou 

liiKl    LluJeii    viltitses S.lji 

Feutoii    villiLtTf    2,3: 

r.iuden    vllliice    o! 


Gulnes    towiisLlp,     inclmliiip; 


W'li'd  ■' 

Wiird  <!  

.  3,a 

Flush liiK  town sh 111 

,    mcli 

iding  Flusli 

Ins  villfige  — 

.  2,{i 

FliishiiiK  village 

11 

p'orest   township, 

IneludlnK  Otis 

vllk 

village 

(5enesee  township,    lucludiug  pnrt  of 

Mount  Jlorris  vllluge 1 

Jlonnt  MoiTis  village  (pnil:  of) 

Totiil   of  Mount  Morris  village  in 
Genesee  and  Slount  Jlorrls  town- 
Grand  Blanc  towDBlilp ] 

Jlontrose   township,    iuehiding    Moiit- 


Monti'oae  village   l-iU 

Mount   Morrta    township,     inelucling 

part  of  Mount  Morris  village. 1,131 

Mount  MoiTis  villnge  (part  of)...     109 

Mnndy  township l.KiS 

Bichfleld    township    1,101 

Thetfoi-rt   township   1.0-J4 

Vienna   township,    inchidtu!;  Clio   vil- 
lnge   _-_  2,0S2 

Clio  village    .._ «10 


Otisvillp   village  . 


Ffirclgii'hci 


ropiilnl 


Total  itopHlation,  IftlO  .-iS.^M 

Totiil  foreign-bom,  1010   0,7!iO 

Persons  horn  in  Northwestern  l'!uro[)e, 

total   1,!>m 


•r„    of    ISirf. 

RngliiLHl  . 
S^'ottlind 
Whiles 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN 


Germitny   54!) 

Norway    32 

SwHlen    00 

Denniiirk 23 


Netheriiiuds  

Belgium  and  Luxemburg 


28 


Swltzerlnnd    1. 24 

Sontbern  and  Basterti  Europe,  total 1,232 


Uouniania,    Bulgaria,     Servia 
Moutenegro 


Turkey  in  Asia 2S 

China  9 

Jiipan 1 

All  other 4 

America   {outside  the  U.  S.),  totnl— .  3,4S1 

Canada — Freucli 154 

Cunnda — other  and  Neivfouudiaiid-  3,30fl 
Mexico 10 

Central  and  South  America 8 


296      All  other  countries 


14 


Population    of  Flint,   lSiiO-1910,   (iiirf   Decennial   Increase,   1890-1910. 


1910        1900        1890        1880        1870        1860 
38,550     13.103      9,803       8.409       5,386       2,950 


Increase  1900-1910  Increase  1800-1900 
iO  Number  Per  cent.  Number  Per  cent. 
..     25,447       194.2  3,300       33.7 


'/r  III-  Race,  Xativitp  tind  Parentaye.  ami  Mnlm  of  Yol'ing  Age,  of 
Qenexee  County,  1910. 

—Native  White- 
Foreign 
Niitive  or  Mixed        Foi'eien-  Males  of 

Female      Parentage    Parentage    born  White    Negro  Voting  Age 
29,335  38,744  10,077  9,308  410  23,410 

Distrii^tiiion   6;/  Broad  Age  Pcriititx  of  the  Population  in  Flint,  1910, 


DistrUnilUiii  hy  Age  I'eiiods  of  the  Population  of  the  City  of  Flint,  1810. 


All  Classes 

Native  White 

Foreign-born  WUlte 

Negro 

Male   Female 

Male  Female 

Male   Female 

Male    ITemale 

Total 

-     21,779     16.771 

17,453     14,029 

4,100 

2,562 

317         ISO 

Under  5  years—. 

.       1.701       1,749 

1,614       1.054 

72 

80 

15            15 

L'lider  lyear 

360         402 

352          390 

8 

9 

3 

5  to    9  yeara— 

-       1,288       1,354 

1,213       1,247 

60 

93 

15            14 

LO  to  14  years_^. 

_       1,0G3       1,144 

981       1,054 

m. 

77 

16            13 

dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


15  to  19  years — 

1,H76 

l,5ti« 

1,761 

1.451 

20  to  24  years — 

3,846 

2.2»3 

3,218 

1.990 

25  to  34  years 

5,37a 

3,454 

4,106 

2,805 

35  to  44  years— 

2,i)65 

2.171 

2,122 

1,691 

45  to  64  years 

2,!)22 

2.;lS4 

2.016 

1,680 

65  years  iinrl  over 

(134 

C155 

41T 

450 

Age  unknown  _.- 

1 

5 

1 

iif  thv  I'oiiiikilioii  ]5  rears  of  Age  and  Over  in  Flia 

— Ma]es  15  Tears  of  Age  and  Ove 
— Single —        — Married — 


Total    Number     Pet.  Number     Pet  Widowed  vorced 


ir>    to    24    years 5.822 

25   to  44   years 8,344 

45   years   aud   over 3.556 

Age   unknown   5 

Native  white.  Native  iiareutnge 9,250 

Nativewhlte.  For'n  or  Mixed  pjir.  4,395 

Foi-eign-bom    white    —  3,902 

K^rro 171 


4,164 

2,252 
1.431 


49.6 
45.3 
58.5 
48.5 


Total 

Total    12.524 

15    to    24   years 3,859 

25  to  44    years 5,625 

45  years  and  over ,3,039 

Age  unknown  1 

Natlvewlilte,  Native  pareutage—  6,520 

Nativewhlte,  For'n  or  Mixed  par,  3,554 

Poreign-boni   wiiite   2,312 

Negro    138 


■Females  15  Years  of  Age  and  Over. — 
— Single —         —Married — 
Number      Pet.  Number      Pet.  Widowed  i 


3,010 

24.0 

8.209 

65.5 

2.103 

54.5 

1.721 

44.6 

755 

13.4 

4.56T 

81.2 

151 

1 
1.604 

5.0 

1.921 

63.2 

24.6 

4.206 

64.5 

1,062 

29.9 

2.252 

63.4 

300 

13.0 

1,675 

72.4 

10 


Males  21 

Years  of  Age  and  Over 

1910         1900        1890 

TotiH     15,107       4,027       2,793 

Nativewhlte.   Native   piu-entnge 7,741       2'^"!  oonn 

Kative  white.  Foreign  or  Mixed  par...      3.582         921  f    ' 

Foreign-born   white   3,628         923         738 

Negro    147  66  I 

Chinese    9  "  J        ' 

(52) 


Percent  Distr 

ibution 

1910         1900 

1S90 

100.0         100.0 

100.0 

51.2           52.4    1 
23.7           22.9    J 

-      71.6 

24.0           22.9 

26.4 

yGoot^lc 


f.ENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Illiterates  in  the  Population  "10  i'ei 
All  Classes,  1930; 

Totiii    number   32,458 


s  of  Age  and  Oi-cr  in  I-'Hnf,  1910. 

Illitei-iite  nuiiibei'  

Per  cent.  


Nativilp.  Race,  Etc. 


Nntive  Wiiite,  1010: 

Native  parentage,  total 17,1^ 

Illiterate  number  J 

Per  cent.  C 

Foreign  or  Mixed  Parentage,  totiil  8,0 

Illiterate  number  

Per  cent.   C 

Foreign-'born  White  Populate 
Total 926 


Forelgn-bom   Wbite,   lillO: 

Totiil  nuniber  6,357 

Illiterate  number   303 

Per   cent.    4.8 

N^ro,  1910: 

Total  number   338 

Illiterate  number 3 

Per   cent.    0.9 


n  10  Years  of  Age  anil  Oi:ef   Uiuible  to  fipeak  English,  tiy 
Sew.  in  Flint,  in  1910. 
Male 759  Female _  107 


MORTALITY 

Dtatht.  (Excluilie  of  mill  Births) 


All  (.auses 

Tvphoicl 

Scarlet  fever 

1A  boopluK  cough 

Diphtheria  and  cioup 

Erj  slpelas 

Tuberculosis  of  the  lungs 

Tuberculosis  meuit^Itis 

Other  forms  of  tuben,ulo8is  _ 

Kheumatisui 

Cancer    ; 

Diabetes 


STATISTICS 

and  Cause  of  Death,  1913 — flint. 
Bronchitis  

Pneumonia    (all  forms)    

Other  respiratory  liiseasea 

Diarrhea  and  enteritis  (under  2  years) 

Aijpendicitls    

Hernia,    intestinal    obstruction 

Nephritis,   Brighfs  disease 

Puerperal    fever    

"Other   puerperal    affections 

Congenital  debility  and  malformations 

Violent  deaths  (excludli^  suicide) 

Suicide    , 


IH-deSned  and  unimown  c 


Meningitis   4      All  other  defined  c 

Cerebral  hemorrhage  and  soften ing.. 
Organie  diseases  of  tHe  heart 


Deaths  (exclusive  of  Still  Births)   and  Age  of  Dete'Ient,  191.3 — Flint. 


10 


t'nder  5  years  117 

5  to  9  years  10 

10  to  14  years  10 

15  to  19  years  11 

20  to  24  years  17 

25  to  29  years   


35  to  39  years  

40  to  44  years  13 

45  to  40  years  _ 26 

50  to  54  years  18 

55  to  59  years  22 

00  to  64  years  2S 

65  to  69  years  25 

70  to  T4  years  28 

75  to  79  years  25 

80  to  84  years  17 

85  to  89  years  12 

90  to  94  years  6 


)  to  34  years  . 


19 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


819 


ivipal  Causes  per  100,000  Population,  nnil  Causes  iif  Death,  lftl2 
and  1913— ^etfesee  County. 


All    cjiuses    

Typhoid  tever  

Scarlet    fevef    

Whoopim;    L-ouKh    

Diphtheria  and  croup  . 


Tubercalosi?  meningitis  

Tuberculosis  or  the  lungs 

Other  forms  of  tuberculosis 

Rheumatism    

Cancer    

Diabetes    

MeninKitia   

Cerebral  hemorrhnge  and  softening  

Organic  diseases  of  the  heart 

Bronchitis    

Pneumonia     <all    forms)     

Other  respiratory  diseases  

Diarrhea  and  enteritis  (under  2  years)... 

Appendicitis    

Hernia,  intestinal  obstruction  

Nephritis,  Bright's  disease  

Puerperal    fever   

Other  pueriierai  affections  

Congenital  debility  and  malformations  . 

Violent  deaths   (excluding  suicide)    

Suicide    

All  other  defined  causes  

Ill-defineil  and  unknowii  cnu^ses 


24.0 
^2.0 
8R.0 


12.0  - 

76.0 

64.0 


OCCUFA'l'lON  STATISTICS 
t  of    ipi   anil  (iifr  Engaged  in  Each   Specified  Ocf^upatuin,   Clatiiii- 


fied  by  Sex.  for  Flint;  IftlO. 

Population  10  years  of  age  and  over 

All    occupations    

Agrieniture,  forestry  and  animal  husbandry 

Farmers    

Farm    laborers    

Farm,  dairy  farm,  garden,  orchard,  etc.,  foremen 

Gardeners,  florists,  fruit  gi-owers  and  nurserymen 

(iarden.  gi'eenhouae.  oi'chard  and  niivsery  laborers 

l-umbermen,    raftam^i    and   woodchoppers   

Owners  and  managers  of  log  and  timber  camps 

Stock  herders,  drovers  and  feeders 

Otlier   agricultural   and   anim.il   husbandry   piirsnits.. 

Ettractlon   of  Minerals  


Male 

.  18,790 
_  16,736 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Ml    I 


lei 


Operali\t!S  lii  othm    ami  liot   speuhed  mmes 

Mjuufaituiliig    lud  iuecliaiiii.al   Industties        

Apprentice--  

B  ikers  _  

Blacksmi til's    forgemen  and  hammermen        

Boiler    makers  

Brick  and  stone  masons  

Builders    ind  building  contractors  

Butchers  and  dieasera    (slaughterhoiiae)        

Lablnetui  ikere  

Carpeuteis  

Compositors    llnotvpeis  ind  type-n^tteis  

Coopers  

Di'e'wunkeis    md  --eaiusti esses  (not  In  factory)    

Electricians  and  electrical  engineers  

Electrotvpers    stereotypere  and  lithographers 

Englneeis    ( uieehamcal )  

CiLglueeiti    (stattonarv*  

tiigra\ers  

I  Hers    grinders    bufCeiH  aud  polishers  (metal) 

Fiiemen   (except  locomotive  and  fire  department)   

Foremen  aud  o\erseeis   (manufacturing)    

tumacemen  smeltermeu  heaters  pourers,  etc. 

(ilasa  bloweis  

Jeweleis    natelimakers    golrtsmitha  aud  sllversmithe.. 
Laborers   (not  otherwise  speclfled) 

Building    ind  hind  trades  

Chemical    Industiies  

Clay    glass  and  stone  industries  

Iron    ind   steel   luduetrles  

Other  metal    Industries  1 

Lumber  and  furniture  industries    

Textile  industries  

Other  industries  

Machinists   niUlwrights  and  tool  makers 

Managers  and  superintendents   (manufacturing)    

Mannfactui  ers  ind  officiali  

Mechanics  (not  otherwise  specified)    

Millers   (grain    flour    feed    etc  )       

Milliners  aud  millinery  dealers        

Moldera   founders  and  casters  (metii)  

Oilers  of  machinery  

Painters  glaziers  yamiaheis   enimelers,  etc. 

Paper    hungers  

Pattern  and  model  makers  

Plasterers  

Plumbers  and  gis  and  steim  fitters  

Pressmen     (printing)  

Rollers   ind  loll   hands    (metaH       


dbyGoo<^lc 


GENESEE   COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  82I 

Miile  Female 


BoofeiB   and   alatera  

Sawyers  

feenil  Bkllled  operntivps   (not  otherwise  si>eclfle<J) ; 

(  hemlcnl  industiiea  

( igir  and  tobaec)  factories  

Pliy    glafcs  and  atone  industries  

f  lothlng  industries  

Food    Industries  

Htmesa  and  saddle  Industiies  

Iron  and  steel  Industiles  

Othei    metal    lndu«trlea  

liquor  and  beverage  industiles  

lumber  and  furniture  Inrtustries        

Piper  and  pulp  mills  

Ptlntlng   and  putllRhlnt,  

Textile  Inclnstiles 

bpinners  

WenT«rs  

Winders   reelers  and  spooleis  

Otlier   occupations  

Otlier  industries  

Sewers  ind  sewing  mm  lilne  oi*rators  (factory)    

Slioemikera  and  c(bblers  (not  in  factory)  

Skilled  occupations  (not  otiiernise  specified)  

Stonecutters  

Structural   Iron  workers    (building)        

Tailors  and    talloreaaea  

rinsmttha  and  topi  eremiths  

t  iliolsterers  

Tr  insf  ortfttion  

Water  transportation   (selectert  occu[  itions)  : 

SHilors  and  deck   bands  

Road  and  street  transportation  (selected  occupatlona) : 

Cirriafce  and  hack  drivers  

Cbiuffenrs  

DrnTinen    tenmiters   and   e\pressmen    

Foiemen  of  llierv  and  tnnsfer  companies 

Goratre  keepers   md  mmageis  

Hostlers  <ind  stible  hands  

Liier*  atible  keepers  and  manigers  

Proprietors  and  manager?  of  transfer  companies 

Rnllroatt  transportation    ("selected  occupationa)  ; 

BagKagemen  and  freight  agents  

Brakemen  

Conductors    (steam    railioidl  

(.onductors  (street  railroad)  

Foremen  and  overseers  

T  ihoiers  

Locoraothe   englneeis   


dbyGoo<^lc 


OrNL'^EE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Motormen    

Officials  and  super!  iiteuiieiit? 

SwltcLmen,  flagmen  anfl  yardmen  _ 
Tk-ket  And  stiitioa  agents   . 


Express,  ]iost,  telegriipli  and  telepJione  (selected  occupations)  : 

Agents   {express  companies)    

Mall    carriers    

Telegraph  and  telephone  linemen 

Tel^raph    messengers    

Telegraph    operators   

Telephone   operators   

Other  transportation  pursuits; 

Foremen  and  overseers  (not  otherwise  speclBed) 

Inspectors   

Laiwrers   (not  otherwise  specified)    


Proprietors,  officials  and  managers  (not  otherwise  specified)-. 

Other  occupations    (semt-skilled)    

Trade  


Bankers,  brokers  and  money  lenders 

Clerks  in  stores  

Commercial    travelers    

Decorators,  drapers  and  window  dressers  , 
Dellverymeu  


Floorwalkers,  foremen  and  overseers  

Inspectors,  gaugers  and  samplers  

Insurauce  agents  and  officials  

Laborers  in  coal  and  lumber  yards,  warehouses,  etc 

Laborers,  porters  and  helpers  in  stores 

Newsboys    

■Proprietors,  officials  and  managers   (not  otherwise  specified).. 

Real  estate  agents  and  officials  

Retail  dealers   

Salesmen  and  saleswomen   

Undertakers    

Wlioles-ile  dealers    importers  and  exporters 

Other  pursuits    (semi  skilled)    

Public  sen  ice   (not  elsewhere  classified)    

Firemen    (file  department)    

Guards   watchmen  ind  doorkeepers 

I>aborers    (public    serilcei    

Marshals    sheriffs,  detecthe*    etc.  

Officials  and  inspectors  (cifv  and  county)-. 


Offieiali  and  Inspectors  (state  and  United  States)  . 

Policemen 

Soldiers    ^liors  ind  marines  

Other    pursuits    ..     

Professional    sen  ice  

Actors  

Architects    

Artists,   sculptors  and   teacliers   of  art 


dbyGoot^lc 


GEN'ESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Authors   editor*"  and  reijoiters  

Cbeiulsts     iBSftjers  and   metallui gists     

Civil  and  miiiiog  engiueers  and  suneyors 

Clergymen  

Collie  pre&idents  aud  ijiofessois 

Dentists   * 

Designers,  draftsmen  nud  inveutofs 

Lawyers,  Judges  aud  justices  

Musicians  and  teachers  of  music  

Photographers    

Fbyslclans  and  surgeons  


Teachers    

Trained   nurses  

^eteiinarj    surgeons  

Other  professional  pmsults  

'Semi  profession)!    pursuits  

Attendants  and  helpers  (piofesslon  i!  service)   

Domestic  and  personal  service  

Barhers  halidressers  and  manicuristH      

Bartenders  

Billiard  room    dance  hall    skatmg  rmk    etc.,  iteepers__ 

Boarding  and  lodging  house  keepers        

Bootbiicks  

Charwomen  and  clejners  -  

1  leiator    tenders  

Hotel   keepers  and   mamneis  

Housekeepers   and    stewards  

Janitois  and  sextons  

Irfilorers  (domestic  and  professional  seriice) 

laundereif.  and  laundresses  <uot  in  laundry)   

Laundry  operatlies  

Laundry  owners    oiBciflls  and  manigers  

Midwifes  and  nurses  (not  trained)  

Poiters    (except  In   stores)  

Restaurant  c»fe  tnd  lunch  room  keepers 

Seivants  

Walters  

Other  pursuits  


Clerical  occupations 

Agents,  canvassers  and  collectors  

Bookkeepers,    cashiers    and    accountants 

Clerks    (except  clerks   in    stores)    

Messengers,  bundle  aud  office  boys  

Stenographers   and   typewriters   

AGRICULTURE— QENE8EE  COUNTY 
Table   I^Farms  an4  Farm  Property,  April  15,  1910. 

Population   

Number  of  all  farms  


823 

Female 


dbyGoo<^lc 


824  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Color  aud  niitivity  of  farmers — 

Native   white 


t'orefgii-boi'ti   white   

Negro  and  other  non-white  . 

Number  of  farms,  classified  by 

Under  3  acres  


10  to  19  acres    

20  to  49  acres    

50  to  90  acres    

100  to  174  acres    

175  to  aj9  acres 

260  to  499  acres 

500  to  999  acres 
1,000  acres   anil   o^er 
Approximate  land  area    acres 
Land    in   firms     acres 
Improved   land   in   farm*?    acres 
Woodland  In   faims    acre-> 
Other  unimproved  land  In  farms   ! 
Per  cent  of  land  area  in  faimt. 
Per  cent  of  farm  land  imi.roied 
Average  acres  per  farm 
Average  Improved   ifres  per  faim 


Value  of  Farm  Propeity. 

I   property    $24,974,322 

32.3 

13,(i65,9T0 


Buildings    7,01(1,KX) 

Implements  and  machinery  1,024,819 

Domestic    animals,    poultry    and   bees    3,267,433 

Per  cent  of  value  of  all  property  In 

Land    54.7 

Buildings   28.1 

Implements   and   machinery   4.1 

Domestic  animals,  poultry  and  bees 13.1 

Average  values : 

All    property   per   farm    $  6,410 

Land  and   buildings   per   farm    5,S0!) 

Land    per    acre    35,18 

Donientic  AniinalK 

Fiirms  reporting  domestic  animals   3,770 

Value   of  domestic   animals   _. ..$  3,133,285 

Cattle- 
Total  number  32.255 

Dairy   cows    16,5.^1 

Other  cows  2,091 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN.  825 


Yeui-liiig   Lelfers    4.o83 

Cnlves   5,14S 

Yearling  ateere  and  bulls   2,022 

Other    steei-a  and   bulls   1,2(10 

Value    «  893,165 

Horses- 
Total  number 14,117 

Mature  horses — - 12,!)7S 

Yearling  eolts  1,013 

Spring   colts    126 

Vnine  $  l,(!r>2,417 

Totiil   number   IM 

Mature    uiules    _ .SO 

Yearling  colts  7 

Spring   colts    1 

Vnlue  $  12,232 

Asaea   nud  burros — 

Number  7 


Tot  1       ule                   - 2S,iir) 

Mntu  e    1    tw               14,913 

"^1  ring  1   gs                 , 14,102 

■\    lue                              $  215,5S4 

Sheep — 

Tot  1  nun  be                    ... 1 .S3,555 

Rfin  s    ewes     urt  nethers  r>S,flOO 

Siring   I      1"              . 24,!)4!) 

■\    I   e                                 (f  3m,440 


Poll  1 1  111  iind  Bees 

^      lei     f  10  It  T  of     11  kinds  1!10,SI23 

"\nl  e                            $  118,121 

\  mber  of  cfl     les  of  lees 3,683 

\.iliie  $  10.027 

TiihJr    \':   2    -Xiiiiiliri:   Ai-rcnur   ,i,„l    [vliir   of   /-■(«■»».!   ClnKtifird    hi/   Triiurr:  Cohii'   nil: 
X'ltiriiji   of   rnrmfrx.   <iiul   .U<.iif/<i(,c   TU'hf,   April   15.   imn. 


Xumbi'r   of   fMnns   2.!)s;} 

I'er  Cfiit.  of  iili  fiiniiK 70.6 

Ijiiud  in  fnnuB,  nci'CB . 280,485 

Improved  land  lu  fiimia,  acres 226,824 

Value  of  land  and  buildings ?14,!127,!H0 


dbyGoot^lc 


526  GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 

Degree  of  Ownerahii) : 

Farms  couslsting  of  o 
Farms  consisting  of  o 

Color  and  nfltlvlty  of  owners: 

Native  white 2,4!H 

Foreign-born  white  400 

Negro  imd  other  non-white  2 

Farms   Operated    by   Tenants. 

Number  of  farms  846 

Per  cent,  of  all  farms  21,7 

Land  In  farms,  acres 94,054 

Improved  land  in  farms,  acres 74,&43 

Value  of  land  and  buildings ?  4,916,460 

Form  of  tenancy : 

Share  tenants  633 

Share-cash  tenants   20 

Cash  tenants : 170 

Tenure  not  specified  23 

Color  and  nativity  of  tenants; 

Native  white 74S 

Foreign-born  white  08 

Negro  and  other  non-white — 

Farmx  Operated  hy  Managers. 

Kuniber   of  farms   G7 

Laud  in  farms,  acres l.'i,937 

Improved  land   In   farms,   ncrea   11,203 

Value  of  land  and  buildings  S     837,670 

Mortgage  Debt  Report n.* 

For  all  farina  operated  by  owners: 

Number  free  from  mortgage  debt  1,430 

Number  with  mortgage  debt  l,ri2S 

Number  with  no  mortgage  report 10 

For  farms  consisting  of  owned  land  only ; 

Number  reporting  debt  and  amount 1,189 

Value  of  their  land  and  buildings  _ $5,155,210 

Amount  of  mortgage  debt  1,641,904 

Per  cent  of  value  of  land  and  buildings 31,8 

Table  S~Live  Stock  I'roiJucts  and  Domestic  Animals  Sold  or  Slang litercd  on  Farms,  1900. 
lAve  Stock  Products. 

Dairy  Products- 
Dairy  cows  on  farms  reporting  dairy  products 15,852 

Dairy  cows  on  farms  reporting  milk  produced 12,805 

Milk  produced,  gallons S,548.883 

"No  mortgage  reports  were  secured  for  farms  operated  by  tenants  and  managers. 


dbyGoo<^lc 


COUNTY,    MICHIGAN,  827 


Milk  solil,  giiUoiiR 1,228,390 

Cream  sold,  giiHous  30,289 

Butter  fat  sola,   pounds 314,552 

Butter  produced,  iMtunds  1,309,516 

Butter  sold,  pounds 813,524 

Clieese   produced,   pounds    5,650 

Cheese  sold,  pounds  5,600 

Value  of  dairy  products,  excluding  borne  use  of  milk  and  cream $604,257 

Receipts  from  sitJe  of  dairy  products  481,(i04 

Poultry  Products — 

Poultry    raised    __ 218,234 

Poultry   sold    109,174 

.Eggs  produced,  dozens  1,003,188 

Eggs  sold,   dozens   670,886 

Value  of  poultry  and  eggs  prcMjuced S316,fi07 

Receipts  from  sale  of  poultry  and  eggs 197,802 

Honey  and  Wax — 

Honey  produced,  pounds  107,525 

Was   produced,    pounds    727 

Value  of  honey  and  wnx  produced $12,368 

Wool- 
Wool,   fleeces   shorn   60,304 

Value  of  wool  produced  $125.47(1 

Domestic  A'limoli  Sold  or  Slaughtered. 

Calves  sold  or  slaughtered  7.974 

Other  cattle  sold  or  slaughtered  7,051 

Horses,  mules,  asses  and  burros  sold 1.274 

Swine  sold  or  slaughtered 33,399 

She^  and  goats  sold  or  slaughtered 53,059 

Receipts  from  sale  of  animals $1,005,633 

Value  of  animals  slaughtered  161.985 

Table  4 — Value  of  All  Crops  mid  Principal  Chisnes  Thereof,  nnA  Acreage  and  Production 
of  Principal  Crops.  1909. 

Value  of  All  Crops. 

Total  $4,118,462 

Cereals   1,523,934 

Other  grains  and  seeds  698,961 

Hay  and  forage 1,230.220 

Vegetables 237,809 

Fruits  and   nuts 151,025 

All   other  crops   27(3.5i:J 

Selected  Crops  (Acres  and  Quantity). 

Total— Acres    95,954                 Emmer    and    spelt — Acres 54 

Bushels    2,634,822  Bushels    1,665 

Com— Acres 30,498  Barley— Acres   5,047 

Bushels    935.043  Bushels    117,141 


dbyGoot^lc 


EE    COL^NTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Ours— Acres    

BHshels   

Wliejit— Acces    

BualielB    

Buckwheat — Acres  . 
Bushels    -. 

Rye — Acres 


._  36,205 
._1,167,501 
__  14,734 
.-    278,004 

1,040 
._      11,821 

8,37(i 
._    122,(i,S7 


Otlier  G  mi  US- 
Dry   peas — Acres  . 
Bushels   


Clover  iiloiie — Acres  - 

AlfalCn— Aeres 

Tons  

Millet  or  Hungiirlan  i 

Tons  

Other  taine  gr  cultivated 

grssses— Acres 

Tons 

Wild,  Siilt  or  prairie  grasses— 


.   341,a44 


s  cut  green — Acres  . 


Hay  aud  Forage — 

Totiil— Acres    84,503 

Tous   121,200 

All  tame  or  cultivated  grosses- 
Acres    81.504 

Tons   108,926 

Timothy  alone— Acres 33,121 

Tons 42,812 

Timothy  and  cloyer  mixed — 

Acres   43,361 

Tous 57,303 


Coarse  forage — Acres  . 
Tons  

Sjiei'ial  Crojis — 
Potatoes — Acres    


All  other  vegetables— Acres.. 

Sugar  beets!— Acres  

Tons  


Maple  trees— Number 

Maple  sugar  (made)^Poun(l8_ 
Maple  syrup  (made) — Gallons- 


2,090 
1,704 
0,984 


1,22(: 
2,630 
21,250 
41.459 
3.544 
10,625 


lY 


Oi-chard  Fruits — 


Total— Trees 

205,707 

Bushels   

143,800 

Bushels   

130,568 

Peaches  and  nectarines— Trees 

17,229 

Pears— Trees  

11,845 

Bushels   

6,978 

Plums  and  prunes — Trees 

4,862 

Bushels    — 

3,290 

Quinces — Trees 

240 

T„hfe  n—Rchrfil  Farm 

Faruis  reporting 2,429 

Cash  expended $399,087 

Kent  and  board  furnished 107,058 

Fertilizer— 

Farms  reporting 1,429 


Bushels : 74 

Grapes— Vines   42,129 

Pounds 248,S53 

SmiiH  Fruits— 
Total— Acres  520 

Quarts  561,103 

Strawberries — Acres    124 

Qtiarts  214,998 

Raspberries  and  loganberries — 

Quarts   311,501 

Nuts— Trees   652 

Pounds 12,582 

]-:.rpen»p«  nnil  Itcivipfs.  1909. 

Amount   expended   S  40,613 

Farms  reporting 1,112 

Anioimt  expended  *  96,425 

Rernipts    from    siile    of    feednble 

crops   $512,248 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


S29 


Table  6 — Number  an^  Value  of  Dnmeslic  Aniinals  Not  on  Farms,  April  15,  1010. 


Value  of  domestic  animals 

Cattle— 
Tot;il  Qumber  

Number  of  dairy  cows 

Horses — 

Total   numtier   

Xiuuber  of  uiriture  Ijorses-. 


._       1,711 
.-?431,200 


-  2,761 
..$400,584 
..       2,738 


JlHles,  Asses  and  Burros— 

Total  number 23 

Value $  3,075 

Number  of  mature  nmlps 23 

Total  number 12S 

Value ?  1,395 


WEALTH,    DEBT   AND    TAXATION. 

Total  and  I'cr  Capita  Indetitednefia,  Less  Sinking  Fund—Assets  of  County  and  Other  Cii-il 
Divistom,  1913,  1902  and  1890 — Genesee  County. 


Siuiiiug 

Fund  Assets. 

Total 

Per  Capita. 

1913 

VM2           1890 

1913        1902     LSOO 

5 
0 

Of  Ail  Other  Civi 
Divisiocs. 

1 

1; 

Iff 
III 

5 

£ 
i 

g 

1  2 

Is 

$1,551,987 

$300,000 

$1,222,816 

.$29,171 

$225,000     $99,218 

$21.57       5.34       2.52 

Tl.;i47 

OWNERSHIP    OF    HOMES. 

en  and  Other  Homes,  Classified  According  to  Froprie 
Encumbrance,  of  Oenesee  County,  1910. 


Farm  Homes. 


(Jtber  Houiea. 


15.435     3,810     1,456     l,44f> 


11,619     3,037     2,361       58       5,948 


dbyGoot^lc 


830 


GENESEE    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


■(SJUl.iajiqf 

JO      aniisA)      aJtiJsBj 
■BjanpiiJd  JO  3nii!j 


stGiJaiRjij  JO  jso;> 


■laAvortaBJOH  .i.niiniJj: 


ia.(oi(Ira:f[   p3!.iy(PS 


■sjeqmajv 
m.n.i   pni!  SJOjai.iiio.ij 


8    I 


dbyGoo<^lc 


APPENDIX  B. 
Township  Officers,  1916. 

Smiervisoi-,  Beit  RkiiiiiPr;   flm-k,   L.  V.   I'letcher;   treiistirei',  PiUil   B.   M(.-K«- 
way  couiuilssioiier,   J.  R.  Cljii'k. 


Siiiiei'vlsoi",   George   M.   Ciiiiiiibell ;   cJevk,   Thoniiia   Nii^liolsoii ;    tre; 
Hegel;   hi>j;liiviiy  com  miss  loner,  J.   E.   JlcCimdlisli, 


Supervisor,  Jolui  Howe;  clei'b,  Jolin  W.  Tlioiiiiis;  treiisorer,  Hitrold  S,  Schram;  high- 
fay  commissIoQer,  Clarence  Thomas. 

Claitton. 

;  oierli,   Eiwl  WesI ;   treiisiirer,  Joliii   Koiiiitz:  bi^tlnviiy 


Supervisor,   Ira   W.   Cole;   clerk.   F.    H.   McGregor;    tre:isurer,    Albert    R.   Richards; 
highway  couimlssioner,  Meltzer  Hill. 


Hu|)prvisor,   John   H.   Jennings:   clerk,   Wiihird   L.   Johnson;    treasurer,   E.   L.   I^ang- 
irthy;   liighwiiy  coDimisslonei',   Ciirl   Proiwr. 


Superisor,  Charles  W.  Minfo;  clerk,  Frnest  Neff;  treasurer,  Walter  H.  Baker;  high- 
way commissioner,  August  Steidam. 


Supervisor,  H.  H.  Chatters;   clerk,   Mertou  D.   Pheips;   trensurer,  Walter   S.   Davis; 
highway  commissioner,  J.  C.  Bunker. 


Sujiervlsor,  Andrew  S.  Harris;  clerk,  ZoiTie  B.  House;  treasurer,  Thomas  Williams; 
highway  commissioner,  Porter  B.  Clark. 


dbyGoot^lc 


GENESEr;    COUNTY,    MICHIGAN. 


Sii[>ei-vist)i',    Cliarles   10.    Cox;    clerk,   i 
Caugbuii:   lii^inviiy   t-oimiLissioLLer.   Willian 


W.   Chase,  Jr. ; 


Suijervlsoi',   M.  W.  Fiilrb«uk ;   clerk,   Floyd  I.'iiton ; 
lilt;bwa}-  commlgslonel*,  Edward  L.  Nlxoii. 


.   J.   HerQian  Taylor; 


Grand  Blaiir,. 

Supervisor,  L.  Roy  Perry ;  c)erk,  Wood  8.  Dewey ;  t 
way  comniissioner,   Stuart  Clieuey. 


,  l:  O.  Tliouijisou ;  Uigli- 


.Ii>bii   JdIihsou  ;   clerk.   Edjiiir   .Siviii'l 
Williiim  T.  Wright. 


Neil   JlcCormick ;    bigh- 


Ml.  Morris. 

Supervisor,    D.    Knickerbocker;    clerk,    Nicholas    Murpliy,    .Tr. ;      treasurer,    Beniard 
Russell ;  Iilghway  commfsalouer,  Harry  Lawrence. 


Supervisor,  Johu  Jadivin;  clerk,  George  E.  Spillane:  trt> 
highway  commisBioner,  Ed  Waterous. 


',  Riiymond  Tj.   Smith ; 


Supervisor,  Verne  E.  Wilbur;  clerk,  Will  C.  Frlce;  trensurer,  Claude  Holdeu;  lilgh- 
way  commissioner,  Herbert  Hass. 


Supen-Isor,  O.  E.  Henipsted;  clerk,  Gleu  Williams; 
y  commissioner,  Warren  Richardson. 


■,  Syii-oster  Pound ;  high- 


dbyGoo<^lc 


yGoogIc 


yGoot^lc 


i 

HosledbyGoOt^le        •