,NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 iiilii,
} PUBLIC T-
'<]
TILDEN Fc
^
1^ ^^
i\3 iiaajj
^19
I©
^±=±1
J^
HISTORY
OF
Macomb County,
MICHIGAN,
CONTAINING
r
AN ACCOUNT OF ITS SETTLEMENT, GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES ; AN EXTENSIVE
AND MINUTE SKETCH OF ITS CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES— THEIR IMPROVEMENTS,
INDUSTRIES, MANUFACTORIES, CHUKCHES, SCHOOLS AND SOCIETIES; ITS WAR
REfORD, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCFIES, PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT MEN
AND EARLY SETTLEHS; THE WHOLE PRECEDED BY A HISTORY
OF MICHIGAN, STATISTICS OF THE STATE, AND AN
ABSTRACT OF ITS LAWS AND CONSTITUTION
AND OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
UNITED STATES.
Illustratjed.
, ^ » J >
I -» o ^ ) ^
•^
<5 f^
CHICAGO :
M. A. LEESON & CO
1882.
:i^
A
JtHE NEW YOf;K
PUBLIC LIBRARY
299008
ASTOR, LENOX A;n
TIlDEN FOUNOaT
1904
WRITER'S PREFACE.
The period has passed away forever when the once philosophic phrase — a thousand
years scarce serve to form a State, could be used with propriety. The same may now be
said of history. The busy activities of our days, the march of progress, the wonderful
advances of science and art. contribute to the realization of ideas, and crowd into a period
of fifty years n orreater number of remarkable and important events, than fifty decades of
olden times in the Eastern World could offer to the chronicler. Therefore, the compila-
tion of history is not only justifiable, but also essential. It is the enduring record of
years that can only through it be recalled, of men who will be honored by the American
manhood of this and coming generations.
This work is dedicated to the people of Macomb County. With the exception of the
first part, the history of Michigan, it is distinctively local, and as siich must be considered
a magnificent record of a worthy people. The work of the French and American pioneers
of Macomb extends over a century. Within that period, they have raised it from its prim-
itive condition to the rank of one of the first divisions of the State — cultivated its wild
lands, built its villages and towns and brought into existence two important centers of
population — Mt. Clemens and Romeo. They transmuted the marsh into firm earth, re-
moved the forests, and decorated the river banks with happy homes and fertile fields. It
is difiicult to point out precisely the men who were foremost in contributing to this result:
all share in the prosperity of the county, and take a special pride in its advancement; each
citizen has experienced the luxury of doing good, and feels that life is not now a mere
shadow of a dream. The alarms and anxieties attendant on the pioneer life have been
changed to certainties and happy greetings. Those who saw the primeval forest waving
over the land, lived on through the days of its destruction to see the clearings covered
with the bouses of merchants and manufacturers, or the fields and homes of a prosperous
people. They wear the honors which justly belong to them: while those who died, ob-
tained a glimpse of what they labored for before passing away, and live in the memory of
the present. The pioneers who are gone beheld the budding desires of younger days ex-
pand into the flower, and. seeing, went to the undiscovered land beyond the grave, leaving
their memories and their deeds to be caiTied down the stream of time.
In these pages, an effort has been made to treat the history of the county in a full
and impartial manner. Doubtless a few inaccuracies may have crept in; but such must
be attributed to other causes, rather than carelessness. In regard to the pages devoted to
personal history, a large sum of money, much labor and time have been expended on them.
Even after the personal notes taken by the township historian were rewritten, and in
many instances submitted, this very copy was placed on type-writer and mailed to the
person concerned for revision. The biographies given here, together with their collection,
would necessitate the steady work of one experienced man for five years. The collection
of such facts as appear in the State and County histories, would entail on an inexperienced
writer ten years' steady work, while the conyiilation of township histories, as they appear
here, would doubtless occupy the attention of such a writer for a year. Within a few
months, this work has been begun and completed. Notwithstanding this remarkable
celerity, it will be evident that little or nothing, which should have a place in its pages,
has been omitted. It will also be evident throughout that the writer of the general history,
as well as the gentlemen who collected the biographical notices, have realized the simple
fact of undeserved praise being undisguised satire. In some instances, this realization
may have led to too brief references to many men. an account of whose lives might occupy
many pages.
The plan of this work is specially adapted to a great record book. All things per-
taining: in fifeneral to the State are dealt with in the State historv. and form, as it were, an
introduction to the county history. The latter is carried down from the first Otchipwe
invasion to the present time, treating fully and impartially every subject of general in-
terest to the people. So with the cities and the villages — they have been very liberally
sketched; while each township has just sufficient notice given it to render its history a
most valuable record for the future.
•We have been ably assisted in the woi'k by the members of the county press. The
vrritten sketches of Judgfe James B. Eldredge. Edgrar Weeks, John E. Day. Kev. H. N.
Bissell. Dr. Hollister, were all requisitioned and yielded up a mine of historical informa-
tion.
The reminiscences of early settlement were selected from the writings of members of
the pioneer society, while the numei'ous anecdotes were vn'itten from facts obtained from
the old settlers.
To the county officers our most sincere thanks are offered — -first, for placing their
well-kept records at our disposal; second, for the material aid rendered in searching old
record books, and lastly, for the genial courtesy which marked their intercoui'se with us
on all occasions.
To Chauncey G. Cady. George H. Cannon and John E. Day, members of the His-
torical Committee of the Pioneer Society, we desire to extend oiu- thanks for the deep in-
terest which they have taken in the work, as well as recognition of their faithful labors on
the Committee of Revision and Correction.
The gentlemen engaged in the biographical department of the work wereH. O. Brown,
in Bruce and Washington; W^, M. Bucklin, at Borneo; E. B. Belden, in Ray; F. A.
Stitt. in Sterling; Thomas Mitchell, in Harrison and Erin: William Dicer, in Shelby;
Jesse Cloud, in L'tica; George T. Mason, at Mt. Clemens City; S. A. Stinson. in Chester-
field; John E. Day. Secretary of the Pioneer Society, compiled the general and biograph-
ical history of Armada and Richmond Townships; Horatio N. Richards, of Lenox, and
Calv n Davis, of Macomb.
The support e.xtonded to the history was not so general as it should be: yet we feel
satisfied that the quality of our subscribers compensates in a gi'eat measure for the loss in
number, by rendering imr book so excellent in its biographical features. While the work
deals with the county generally, it has. from a historical stand])oint. been written expressly
for those wh(; supported it. The very few among the intelligent classes who did not order
a Vjook cannot now obtain a copy from us. To all we have given a history, which we be-
lieve is perfect in detail, and from the patrons of the work we ask only a careful perusal
of the various chapters before their criticism.
Chicago, July, 1882. M. A. LEESON.
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF MICHICxAN.
Page.
CHAPTER I. — The Aborigines ^^
The Firat Immigration j°
The Second Immigration '^
The Tartars
21
CHAPTER II — French Exploration and Settlement 22
Ihe Recent Discoveries of St. Iguaco 29
La Salle's Travels ^*
Detroit "*^
CHAPTER III.— The French and Indian War 38
CHAPTER IV.— National Poliuies— British Policy 44
American Policy ^t
Ordinance of 1787 *°
-Military History.— Pontiac's Siege of
CHAPTER V.
Detroit
Expediiions of Harniar, Scott and Wilkinson.,
Expeditions of St. Clair and Wayne
Gen. Wayne's Great Victory
Revolutionary War
Hull's Surrender
Perry's Victory
Close of the War
The Tecumseh War
The Black Hawk War
The Toledo War
The Patriot War
The Mexican War
The War of 1861-65
CHAPTER VI.— Political History
Administration of Gen. Cass
Gen. George B. Porter's Administration
Administration of Gov. Horner
State Officers
Political Statistics
CHAPTER VII.— Miscellaneous.— Fur Traders and Slave
Owners
Slavery in Michigan
Sale of Negro Man Pompey
Public School System
State University
State Normal School
Agricultural College
Other Colleges
Charitable Institutions
The State Public School
Institution for Deaf, Dumb and Blind
Asylums for the Insane
Penal Institutions
The State Prison in 1880
State Reform School
The Land Office— State Library
State Fisheries
48
50
53
54
56
58
59
61
62
66
66
74
78
78
79
82
89
91
97
101
103
103
106
106
1U7
108
108
109
111
111
112
113
113
114
115
116
118
CHAPTER VIII.— State Societies.- Pioneer
Michigan
Roll of Pioneers
First State Historical Society
State Agricultnral Society
State Pomological Society
Society of
118
119
126
126
126
State Firemen's Association....; J^6
State Board of Public Health ''"
Page.
CHAPTER IX.— Michigan and Its Resources.- Iron and
Steel Industries ^zl
The Copper Product ^^°
The Products of a Year 'fj^
Michigan Crops for 1881 }-•'
The Vessel Interest "J
Growth of Forty Years '^^
Leading the Van ;â– ^''"
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
CHAPTER X.— Introduction J^'^
Geological Conformations :J^^
Supeiiicial Materials j;^^
Gas Wells \.l
Subterranean Channels !:'.
Water Reservoirs ' '
Ancient Lake Sites ...
Mineral Waters
The Salt Springs of 1797 "â– ;
Mt. Clemens Magnetic Waters.. ^*-
Analysis ^^^
Fossils ; ,.'-
Review of Physical Characteristics j^^
Archt«ological . .j.
Forts and Mounds of Macomb **°
The Second Mound— Stone Mounds i«^
Forts Numbers Two and Thiee |"y
Survey by S. L. Andrews '°^
Huge Skeletons •■■• ,^;^
Sundry Discoveries ' "
Zoiilogical— Birds ^^^^
Mammalia ,...,
The Flora of the County '".,
Meteorological— The Big Snows '"-'
The Black Days •••;,• " irs
Tornado of 183.5— The Meteor and Comet '"
Eclipse of the Moon. 1881 ^^°
CHAPTER XI.— The Indians jj'jg
The Otchipwe Invasion -.L.
The Miamisand Pottawatoraies ^'"
Keign of the Cholera ,_.
Indian Treaties— Treaty of Greenville ^|i
Treaty of Detroit ; ,_.>
Treaty of Biownstown— Treaty ot Saginaw '^^
Well-known Savages .^^^
The Eagle Chief ^^.^j,
Okemos ^gQ
A Legend of Cusick Lake .„,
Early Traders and Interpreters
DiHtinguished Early Settlers •" ^„_
Captivity of the Boyer Family ^^^
The Lost Child j^q
The Indians' Raid â– ,pQ
Indians on the Trail of an American ^^^^
Visit to the Indian Village ^^.^
Manners and Customs
CHAPTER XII.— The French Pioneers ■•••■• ^^^
IJetroit io 1763 •.•••■■• jQp
The Pioneer Land Buyers of Macomb ^^
Squatters' Claims ' 2J3
Indian Reservations ••• oia
La Riviere an Vases and Maconee Reserves ^
VI
CONTENTS.
Page.
CHAPTER XIII.— Thk Mokavuns— Settlt-meut of the Mo-
ravian Suspects 214
Moravian Indians, 1781 215
Moravian ism 216
Moravian Marriages 216
Moravian Mannen), Habits and Customs 217
The Moravian Village 217
The German Immigration of 1845 219
CHAPTER XIV.— PiuNisEK History 219
Society of 1871 221
Organization of the County Pioneers 221
Charter Members 224
Members Enrolled Since Organization 225
Pioneer Reminiscences — The O'Connor Family 229
The Tuckar Family 232
Christian Clemens 236
C Clemens in a Briti'-b Dungeon 237
Distiitguiahed Visitant 238
Chastising a Savage 238
Col. John Stockton— Thomas Ashley 239
Chauucey G. Cady 240
William A.Burt 241
The Settlement of the Darlings 243
Corby n Reminiscences 244
Carter Reminiscences 245
Daniel W. Day's Reminiscences ; 246
Reminiscences of John D. Holland 248
Early Settlement In Shelby, by L. D. Owen 250
The Past and Present — Poem 254
CHAPTER XV. — PioNEEB Reminiscences. — Pioneer Mothers 259
The First Homes of the People 260
The Keg of Gold 261
Recluse of the Marsh — A Mother-in-law's Journey 262
Detroit to Mt. Clemeus 26-i
Fortunate Hunters 263
Deer Hunting — Harrington's Coon Hunting 264
Dunce and O'Keefe — Bear Experiences 265
Dr. Gleeson and the Reptile 266
Deer Hunting Made Easy 266
Reminiscences of the Bailey Settlement 266
The Deer of Providence 268
Political Turncoat — Inwood's Bear Hunting 269
A Bear in Bruce 270
Noah Webster and the Bear 271
Finch's Wolf limiting 271
Tragic End of a Wolf— Orderly Retreat 272
Making Sugar Among the Wolves 272
The Yellow Cat of Richmond 273
Tlie Building of the Ship -'Harriet" 273
Jacob .\. Crawford and the Speculator 273
Leinurt- Hours in Pioneer Times 276
Nuptial Feasts in Early Times 276
Evening Visits 277
Lunibiriiig ill Early Days 278
Seasons of Sickness 279
Deaih ot Alanson Church 280
A Pioneer Lawyer 281
Chenlertield in Early Days 282
Marriage Record in Early Days 283
Marks fur Cattb- in UNbn Times 289
Pontiucanil St. Clair Mail Routes 290
Temperance and House Kaising 291
A Reiroepert 294
CHAPTER XVI.— Oroanization
S(. Clair Township
M>i<'oml> ('iiunty Kneted
Locating the County Seat
Original Tnwti ships
Name Ilnrmi <'haiiged to Clinton
Changi' of IVjiindary
Organir Summary
Establish men t of Townships
MiHci'llaneoiiH Acts
Ciiunty Ollicers Past and Present
Supervisors' Board
CHAI'TER XVII.— Political History
County Elections
CHAPTER XVIII.— The Press or Macomb CotJNTT.-
nals of Komeo
Journals of Utica
-Jour-
296
296
296
296
297
297
297
298
299
3(H)
303
:)04
306
310
329
330
PAKE.
Mt. Clemens 330
New Baltimore— Richmond 335
Armada — Personal Notices 336
CHAPTER XIX.— Poetry of Macomb.- The World's Pioneer 344
A Child's Prayer 346
A Legend of Shelby Township 347
Who Donglesthe Bell.'... 347
My Mother 348
The Garden of the Heart 348
April Storms— Happy To-Night 349
The Lonely Grave 349
On the Death ot Lincoln 350
CHAPTER XX.— Progress of Education 353
Sabbath Schools of the County 355
CHAPTER XXI.— The Churches of Macomb 358
CHAPTER XXII.— The War foe the Union.— Appoint-
ments and Statistics 374
Record uf Commissioned Officers 376
First Michigan Infantry 384
Second Michigan Infantry 385
Third Michigan Infa try 385
Fourth Michigan Infantry 386
Fifth Michigan Infantry 387
Sixth Michigan Infantry 392
Seventh Michigan Infantry 392
Eighth Michigan Infantry 393
Ninth Michigan Infantry 393
Tenth Michigan Infantry 394
Eleventh Michigan Infantry 395
Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Michigan Infantry.. 396
Fifteenth and Sixteenth Michigan Infantry 397
Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Michigan In-
fantry 398
Twentieth, Twenty-first and Twenty-second Michigan
Infantry 399
Twenty-thiril, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-
sixth and Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry 410
Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Michigan
Infantry 411
First Michigan Colored Infantry 412
Fiist Michigan Engineers and Mechanics 412
First Michigan Cav..lry 413
Second Michigan Cavalry 415
Third Michigan Cavalry 416
Fourth and Fifth Michigan Cavalry 416
Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Michigan Cavalry 420
Ninth and Tenth Michigan Cavalry 423
Eleventh Michigan Cavalry — Light Artillery 424
Soldiers and Sailors of Macomb and St. Clair 424
Conclusion 430
CHAPTER XXIII.— Olden E*TERi'ai8Es.— The City of Bel-
videre 432
Belvidere Land Titles 433
Frederick or Casino— Other Villages 435
Tremble Creek 435
Railroads and Navigation 436
The Weeks Contract 4.38
Action of the U. S. Troops 438
Railroads 439
Clinton River 440
Harbor of Refuge, Belle River 441
CHAPTER XXIV.— Courts and Bar ok Macomb.— Circuit
Court 442
Retirement of Judge Morell 442
The Gniiiil Jury and the Judge 445
Admissions to the Bar of Macomb County 445
The i'resent Bar 447
Important Trials 148
Eieclioiicerliig in 1873 448
Til.' Ilatheway Estatr, Air Line Suit 449
The County Court House 450
Meeting of R lUeo Cili/.ens 451
Logic iif the Conservatives 451
Laying tlie<!orner Stone 454
Mayor Crocker's Address 455
The County Jail 460
CH.M'TER XX\'. — County Finances and Stati.stics. —
Towns and Villages, Population in 185U-60 465
Macomb County Statistics in 1850 465
CO) TTENTS.
— /^
vu
I AGE.
Population in 1870 466
Statistical, 1870 466
Population in 1880 467
Equalized Valuation, 1842-81 468
CHAPTER XXVI. — A riKicuLTi'RAL and Farmers' Associa-
tions.— Agricultural Development 469
Macomb County Agricultural Society 473
Union Farmers' Club 474
The Grange 475
Macomb County Grange 475
Fine Stock Sheep Kaisers 476
Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company 481
Sheep-Shearers' Association 482
CHAPTER XXVII.— Necrology 484
CHAPTER XXVIII— Chronology 496
HISTORY OF TOWNS.
CHAPTER XXIX.— Mount Clemens City.— Early Settle-
ment 519
Dentists and Dentistry 523
Platting the Village 523
Organization 524
Trustees 526
Election in 1882 527
American Settlers in 1821-22 529
First Flouring Mill, Orchards, Cemetery 5:^9
Glass Factory, Saw-Mills 530
Inaugurating the Canal, Mount Clemens io 1868 530
Progress in 1880 531
Era of Advancement 682
Telephone Exchange, Taxation 535
The Clinton River 635
The Death of Four Citizens 536
Industries 537
Hotels 539
Religious History .541
Schools of Mount Clemens 544
Private Schools, 1840 to 1857 548
History of the Academy 550
Private Schools, 1857 to 1881 558
Denominational Schools 559
Union School 559
Teachers. 1857 to 1882 560
Officers and Trustees 561
Statistics 562
Masonic. I. 0. 0. F 564
Manufacturing Industries 565
Clinton Township, Organization 567
Town Kost-r 568
Schools and School Statistics 569
Biographical Sketches 570
CHAPTER XXX.— RoMEi).— Naming the Village 613
Organic 613
First Settlers 616
The Old InhHliitants 620
The First Post Office 623
Pioneer Physicians 624
Reminiscences of Early Times 624
Leisure Hours 625
A Few Well Remembered Settlers 025
Romeo in 1836-37 626
Romeo in 1881 628
Schools and School Teachers 628
The Romeo Academy 530
RoligiouB 632
Libraries and Museums 636
Societies 036
Romeo Carriage Company 639
Romeo Mineral Well 639
Sash and Blind Factory ." 641
Biographical Sketches 642
CHAPTER XXXi.—Akmada.— Organization, First Town
Meeting 679
Pioneers of Armada 681
Arm«da A'illage 683
Post Office 685
PACE.
Armada Agricultural Society 685
Armada C. L. S. C 686
Armada Literary Society 686
Schools 687
Biographical Sketches 687
CHAPTER XXXII.— Shelby Township.— Organic 717
Town Roiter 718
Schools, Utica Village , 719
Organization, Disco Village »v-<t'-v!^ "^'^^
Utica Lyceum, Congregational Church .'. ..; 722
Biographical Sketches , 722
CHAPTER XXXIII.- Bruck Township.— Grand Trunk
Railroad, Air Line 743
Schools, Scotch Settlement 743
Bounty for Wolf Scalps— Statistical 744
Loss of the Reside Child 744
Biographical Sketches 745
CHAPTER XXXIV.— Macomb Township.— First Schools 767
First Settlers — Organization 767
Town Officers 768
Physical and Statistical 768
Schools — Macomb Village 769
Biographical Sketches 770
CHAPTER XXXV— Richmond Township 778
Town Roster 779
Richmond Village 781
Township Schools in 1881 781
Baptist Church of Richmond Village 782
Memphis Village 782
Biographical Sketches 786
CHAPTER XXXVI.— Washington Township.— Organiza-
tion 806
Town Roster 8«7
Grand Trunk Railroad of Michigan ^07
Michigan Air Line Railroad 808
Reminiscences of Early Days in Washington 808
The Crissman School 808
Schools — A Temperance Building 809
Mention of a I^ew Old Settlers 809
Reminders of the Past — Methodist Church 810
Washington Union Church Society 810
South Burial Ground 811
Villages of the Township 811
Reminiscences of C. Harlow Green 812
Biographical Sketches 813
CHAPTER XXXVII —Sterling Township.— The Pjrit Set-
tlers 846
Organization — The First Election , 846
Roster of Officers 847
School" 848
Biographical Sketches 848
CHAPTER XXXVIII.— Warren Township 8.52
Town Officers 853
Village of Warren 853
Township Schools 854
St. ClemenfsCathidic <'hurch 8.54
Biographical Sketches 855
CHAPTER XXXIX.— Ray Township 857
Organization 858
Town Koster 859
Eccentriciti-s of Town Board 86u
Teachers' .Association 860
Patriot War — (Jrawford School 860
Schools in 1881-1882 860
Bay Center — Davis 861
Biogriphical Sketches 863
CHAPTER XL.— Lknox Town.ihip.— Organization 877
First Meetiug 877
Town Roster 87«
Schools 87y
Biographical Sketches 808
CHAPTER XLI. -Harrison Township.— Town Roster 888
Organization 889
Physical Characteristics 8,89
First Events 80n
Literarv and Educational 890
Present Schools 891
' Biographical Sketches 891
Vlll
conte:j?ts.
PAGE.
CHAPTER XLII.— Erin Township.— Organization 893
Township Oliicers 894
Township Schools 894
Villages 894
Biographical Sketches 895
CHAPTER XLIII.— Chesterfield Township.— Organization 901
Town Roster 901
Churches- Schools 902
Masonic — New Ba timore 902
Manufacturing Industries 903
Biographical Sketches 904
RECENT HAPPENINGS.
Transactions of the Pioneer Society, 1882 915
Early Banks and Bankers of Macomb County 917
Wildcat Banks 920
The Bank of Dtica 920
The Farmers' Bank of Romeo 922
The Clinton River Bank 922
The Bank of Lake St. Clair 922
Conclusion 924
PORTRAITS.
Bailey, Asahel 633
Bailey, Cynthia 633
PAGE.
Browiiell, William 729
Cady, C. G 240
Cannon, George W 256 ;
Cannon, Lucy M 256
Cooley, Dennis, M. D. (deceased) 497
Croi ker, T. M ' 569
Day, Erastus 793
Dickinson, Joshua B- 533
Douglass, Isaac 617
Hazelton, H. R 371
Hendrick, F. G 585
Keeler, Mary J 809'
Keeler, Nathan 809^
Phillips, G. W 681
Phillips, Mrs. G. W 681
Sherman, Hiram 665.
Sherman, M. W 665-
Smith, Elisha (deceased) 825-
Smith, Mrs. Elisha 825^
Steffeus, ( 'harles 479
Sterling, A. W. (deceased) 519
Weekly, Edgar 443
ILLrSTRATIONS.
First Schoolhouse in Romeo
High School Building, Mt Clemens..
Macomb County Court House
Macomb County Jail
629
551
305
461
ERRATA 924
> 1"
-. 5)|
^ «)
History of Michigan.
CHAPTER I.
THE ABORIGINES.
Scientists have ascribed to the Mound Builders varied origins, and though
their divergence of opinion may, for a time, seem incompatible with a thorough
investigation of the subject, and tend to a confusion of ideas, no doubt whatever
may exist as to the comparative accuracy of conclusions arrived at by a few of the
investigators. Like the vexed questions of the Pillar Towers and Garden Beds,
it has caused much speculation, and elicited opinions from so many antiquarians,
ethnologists, and travelers, that little remains to be known of the prehistoric peo-
ples of America. That this continent is co-existent with the world of the ancients
can not be questioned. Every investigation, made under the auspices of modern
civilization confirms the fact and leaves no channel open through which the skeptic
can escape the thorough refutation of his opinions. China, with its numerous living
testimonials of antiquity, with its ancient, though limited, literature and its Babelish
superstitions, claims a continuous history from antediluvian times ; but although its
continuity may be denied with every just reason, there is nothing to prevent the
transmission of a hieroglyphic record of its history prior to 1G56 Anno Mundi, since
many traces of its early settlement survived the Deluge, and became sacred objects
of the first historical epoch. This very survival of a record, such as that of which
the Chinese boast, is not at variance with the designs of a God who made and ruled
the universe ; but that an antediluvian people inhabited this continent, will not be
claimed ; because it is not probable, though it may be possible, that a settlement in
a land which may be considered a portion of the Asiatic continent, was effected by
the immediate followers of the first progenitors of the human race. Therefore, on
entering the study of the ancient people who raised these tumulus monuments over
large tracts of the country, it will be just sufficient to wander back to that time
when the flood-gates of heaven were swung open to hurl destruction on a wicked
world ; and in doing so the inquiry must be based on legendary, or rather upon many
circumstantial evidences ; for, so far as written narrative extends, there is nothing
to show that a movement of people too far east resulted in a western settlement.
18 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
THE FIRST IMINIIG RATION.
The first and most probable sources in which the origin of the Builders must
be sought, are those countries lying along the eastern coast of Asia, which doubtless
at that time stretched far beyond its present limits, and presented a continuous shore
from Lapatka to Point Cambodia, holding a population comparatively civilized, and
all professing some elementary form of Boodhism of later days. Those peoples,
like the Chinese of the present, were bound to live at home, and probably observed
that law until after the confusion of languages and the dispersion of the builders of
Babel, in 1757, A. M.; but subsequently, within the following century, the old Mon-
golians, like the new, crossed the great ocean in the very paths taken by the present
representatives of the race, arrived on the same shores, which now extend a very
questionable hospitality to them, and entered at once upon the colonization of the
country south and east, while the Caucasian race engaged in a similar movement
of exploration and colonization over what may be justly termed the western ex-
tension of Asia, and both peoples growing stalwart under the change, attained a
moral and physical eminence to which they never could lay claim under the tropical
sun which shed its beams upon the cradle of the human race.
That mysterious people who, like the Brahmins of to-day, worshipped some
transitory deity, and in after years, evidently embraced the idealization of Bood-
hism, as preached in Mongolia early in the thirty-fifth century of the world, together
with acquiring the learning of the Confucian and Pythagorean schools of the same
period, spread all over the land, and in their numerous settlements erected these
raths, or mounds, and sacrificial altars whereon they received their peroidical visiting
gods, surrendered their bodies to natural absorption or annihilation, and watched
for the return of some transmigrated soul, the while adoring the universe, which
with beings they believed would be eternally existent. They possessed religious
orders corresponding, in external show at least, with the Essenes or Tlieraputse of
the pre-Christian and Christian epochs, and to the reformed Theraputse or monks
of the present. Every memento of their coming and their stay which has descended
to us is an evidence of their civilized condition. The free copper found within the
tumuli; the open veins of the Superior and Iron Mountain copper mines, with all
the modus operandi of ancient mining, such as ladders, levers, chisels and hammer-
heads, discovered by the French explorers of the Northwest and Mississippi, are
conclusive proofs that those prehistoric people were highly civilized, and that many
flourishing colonies were spread throughout the Mississippi Valley, while yet the
mammotli, the mastodon, and a hundred other animals, now only known by their
gigantic fossil remains, guarded the eastern shore of the continent, as it were, against
supposed invasions of the Tower Builders who went west from Babel ; while yet the
beautiful isles of the Antilles formed an integral portion of this continent, long years
•MHaMMMAMMMrtbdUiMfaRUi^^d^k^iU
:±=d
HISTORY OP MICHIGAN. 19
before the European Northmen dreamed of setting forth to the discovery of Green-
land and the northern isles, and certainly at a time when all that portion of America
north of 45 deg. was an ice-incumbered waste.
Within the last few years great advances have been made toward the dis-
covery of antiquities whether pertaining to remains of organic or inorganic nature.
Together with many small but telling relics of the early inhabitants of the country,
the fossils of prehistoric animals have been unearthed from end to end of the land,
and in districts, too, long pronounced b}' geologists of some repute to be without
even a vestige of vertebrate fossils. Among the collected souvenirs of an age
about which so very little is known, are twenty-five vertebrte averaging thir-
teen inches in diameter, and three vertabrse, ossified together measuring nine
cubical feet ; a thigh-bone five feet long by twenty-eight in diameter, and
the shaft fourteen by eight inches thick, the entire lot weighing 600 pounds.
These fossils are presumed to belong to the cretaceous period when the Dino-
saur roamed over the country from east to west, desolating the villages of the
people. This animal is said to be sixty feet long, and when feeding in cypress
and palm forests, to extend himself eighty-five feet, so that he may devour the bud-
ding tops of those great trees. Other efforts in this direction may lead to great
results, and culminate probably in the discovery of a tablet engraven by some
learned Mound Builder, describing, in the ancient hieroglyphics of China, all those
men and beasts whose history excites so much speculation. The identity of the
Mound Builders with the Mongolians might lead us to hope for such a consum-
mation ; nor is it beyond the range of probability, particularly in this practical age,
to find the future of some industrious antiquarian requited by the upheaval of a
tablet written in the Tartar characters of 1700 years ago, bearing on a subject which
can now be treated only on a purely circumstantial basis.
THE SECOND IMMIGRATION
may have begun a few centuries prior to the Christian era, and unlike the former
expedition or expedtions, to have traversed northeastern Asia, to its Arctic confines,
and then east to the narrow channel now known as Behring's Straits, which they
crossed, and sailing up the unchanging Yukon, settled under the shadow of Mount
St. Elias for many years, and pushing south commingled with their countrymen,
soon acquiring the characteristics of the descendants of the first colonists. Chinese
chronicles tell of such a people, who went north, and were never heard of more.
Circumstances conspire to render that particular colony the carrier of a new religious
faith and of an alphabetic system of representative character to the old colonists,
and they, doubtless, exercised a most beneficial influence in other respects ; because
the influx of immigrants of such culture as were the Chinese, even of that remote
period, must necessarily bear very favorable results, not only in bringing in reports
of their travels, but also accounts from the fatherland bearing on the latest
events. •
With the idea of a second and important exodus there are many theorists united,
one of whom says : " It is now the generally received opinion that the first inhabi-
tants of America passed over from Asia through these straits."
The Esquimaux of North America, the Samoieds of Asia, and the Laplanders
of Europe, are supposed to be of the same family ; and this supposition is strength-
ened by the affinity which exists in their languages. The researches of Humboldt
have traced the Mexicans to the vicinity of Behring's Straits ; whence it is con-
jectured, that they, as well as the Peruvians and other tribes, came originally from
Asia, and were the Hurignoos, who are, in the Chinese annals, said to have
emigrated under Puno, and to have been lost in the north of Siberia."
Since this theory is accepted by most antiquarians, there is every reason to be-
lieve that from the discovery of what may be called an overland route to what was
then considered an eastern extension of that country which is now known as the
" Celestial Empire," many caravans of emigrants passed to their new homes in the
land of illimitable possibilities until the way became a well-marked trail over which
the Asiatic might travel forward, and having once entered the Elysian fields never
entertained an idea of returning. Thus from generation to generation tlie tide of
immigration poured in until the slopes of the Pacific and the banks of the great in-
land rivers became hives of busy industry. Magnificent cities and monuments were
raised at the bidding of the tribal leaders, and populous settlements centered with
happy villages, sprung up everywhere in manifestation of the power and wealth
and knowledge of the people. The colonizing Caucasian of the historic period
walked over this great country on the very ruins of a civilization which a thousand
years before eclipsed all that of which he could boast. He walked through the
wilderness of the West over buried treasures hidden under the accumulated growth
of nature, nor rested until he saw, with great surprise, the remains of ancient pyra-
mids and temples and cities, larger and evidently more beautiful than ancient Egypt
could bring forth after its long years of uninterrupted history. The pyramids re-
semljle those of Egypt in exterior form, and in some instances are of larger dimen-
sions. The pyiamid of Cholula is square, having each side of its base 1,335 feet in
length, and its height about 172 feet. Another pyramid, situated in the north of
Vera Cruz, is formed of large blocks of highly polished porph3'ry, and bears upon its
front hieroglyphic inscriptions and curious sculpture. Each side of its square base
is eighty-two feet in length, and a flight of fifty-seven steps conducts to its summit,
which is sixty-five feet in height. The ruins of Palen([ue are said to extend twenty
miles along the ridge of a mountain, and the remains of an Aztec city near the
banks of the river Gila, are spread over more than a square league. Their literature
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 21
consisted of hieroglyphics ; but their arithmetical knowledge did not extend further
than their calculations by the aid of grains of corn. Yet, notwithstanding all their
varied accomplishments, and they were evidently many, their notions of religious
duty led to a most demoniac zeal, at once barbarously savage and ferociously cruel.
Each visiting god, instead of bringing new life to the people, brought death to thou-
sands ; and their grotesque idols, exposed to drown the senses of the beholders in
fear, wrought wretchedness rather than spiritual happiness, until, as some learned
and humane Montezumian said, the people never approached these idols without
fear, and this fear was the great animating principle, the great religious motive power
which sustained the terrible religion. Their altars were sprinkled with blood drawn
from their own bodies in large quantities, and on them thousands of human victims
were sacrificed in honor of the demons whom they worshipped. The head and heart
of every captive taken in war were offered up as a bloody sacrifice to the god of
battles, while the victorious legions feasted on the remaining portions of the dead
bodies. It has been ascertained that, during the ceremonies attendant on the con-
secration of two of their temples, the number of prisoners offered up in sacrifice was
12,210 ; while their own legions contributed voluntary victims to the terrible belief
in large numbers. Nor did this horrible custom cease immediately after 1521, when
Cortez entered the imperial city of the Montezumas ; for, on being driven from it,
all his troops who fell into the hands of the native soldiers were subjected to the
most terrible and prolonged suffering that could be experienced in this world, and
when about to yield up that spirit which is indestructible, were offered in sacrifice,
their hearts and heads consecrated, and the victors allowed to feast on the yet warm
flesh.
A reference is made here to the period when the Montezumas ruled over Mex-
ico, simply to gain a better idea of the hideous idolatry which took the place of the
old Boodhism of the Mound Builders, and doubtless helped in a great measure to
give victory to the new-comers, even as the tenets of Mahommetanism urged the
ignorant followers of the prophet to the conquest of great nations. It was not the
faith of the people who built the mounds and the pyramids and the temples, and
who, two hundred years before the Christian era, built the great wall of jealous
China. No ; rather was it that terrible faith born of the Tartar victory, which
carried the great defences of China at the point of the javelin and hatchet, who
afterwards marched to the very walls of Rome, under Alaric, and spread over the
islands of Polynesia to the Pacific slopes of South America.
THE TARTARS
came there, and, like the pure Mongols of Mexico and the Mississippi valley, rose
to a state of civilization bordering on that attained by them. Here for centuries
the sons of the fierce Tartar race continued to dwell in comparative peace, until the
J® k^
^ §)
22 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
all-ruling empire took in the whole country from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and
peopled the vast territory watered by the Amazon, with a race that was destined
to conquer all the peoples of the Orient, and only to fall before the march of the
arch-civilizing Caucasian. In course of time these fierce Tartars pushed their set-
tlements northward, and ultimately entered the territories of the Mound Builders,
putting to death all who fell within their reach, and causing the survivors of the
death-dealing invasion to seek a refuge from the hordes of this semi-barbarous
people in the wilds and fastnesses of the North and Northwest. The
beautiful country of the Mound Builders was now in the hands of savage invaders,
the quiet, industrious people, who raised the temples and pyramids were gone ;
and the wealth of intelligence and industry accumulating for ages, passed into the
possession of a rapacious horde, who could admire it only so far as it offered objects
for plunder.
Even in this the invaders were satisfied, and then, having arrived at the height
of their ambition, rested on their swords and entered upon the luxury and ease, in
the enjoyment of which they were found when the vanguard of European civiliza-
tion appeared upon the scene. Meantime the southern countries which these
adventurers abandoned after having completed their conquests in the North, were
soon peopled by hundreds of people, always moving from island to island and ulti-
mately halting amid the ruins of villages deserted by those who, as legends tell,
liad passed eastward but never returned ; and it would scarcely be a matter for sur-
piise if those emigrants were found to be the progenitors of that race found by the
Spaniards in 1532, and identical with the Araucanians, Cuenches and Huiltiches
of to-day.
CHAPTER II.
FRENCH EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT.
The fame of Marquette continues to gain strength as days advance. Notwith-
standing all his countrymen had written of him, the new Americans continue to
inquire into his magnificent career, and to add to the store of information regarding
him, already garnered. Rev. Geo. Duffield, of Detroit, is one of his latest biogra-
phers, and from his writings on the life of the missionary, we make the following
extracts :
Jacques Marquette came late to his fame. Open Davenport's Dictionary of
Biography, 1831, " comprising the most eminent characters of all ages, nations and
professions," and you will not find even so much as his name. Turn for that name
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 23
to the Cyclopedia of Biography by Parke Godwin, with a supplement by George
Sheppard, A. d. 1872, and you will not find it there, and so with many similar
works. Hence we see the need of such an historical society as the present, that
one of the greatest and best of the original founders of Michigan may receive his
due credit, and be honored with an appropriate memorial.
Marquette was born of an honorable family at Laon, in the north of France, in
the year 1637, but the month and day of his birth are not easily found, and I have
nowhere seen his portrait. In 1654 he joined the Society of the Jesuits, and in
1666 was sent to the missions in Canada. After the river St. Lawrence and the
great lakes had been mapped out, the all-absorbing object of interest with Governor
Frontenac Talch, the intendant, and Marquette himself, was to discover and trace
from the north the wonderful Mississippi, that DeSoto, the Spaniard, had first seen
at the south in 1541. In 1668 (according to Bancroft,III, 152), he repaired to the Chip-
pewas at the Sault to establish the mission of St. Mary, the oldest settlement begun
by Europeans within the present limits of the commonwealth of Michigan. On
the day of the immaculate conception of the Holy Virgin, in 1673, he received his
orders from Frontenac, to accompany Joliet on his long-desired journey. Taking
probably the short trail through the woods he found his companion at Point St.
Ignace, where, after many remarkable vicissitudes, both in life and death, he was
at length to find his grave, where his numerous friends and admirers, both French
and Indian, were for so long a time to lose sight of it again, and where a second
time he gains his place as one of the founders of Michigan.
Apart from his peculiar mission, which was looked upon by " the Protestant
colonies " of New England with anything but favorable eyes ; apart from his pecu-
liar dogma of the conception, which has only been officially sanctioned in our day
and by the late Pope, there were many things in the life and times of Mar-
quette that, to the lover of biography, make his character as attractive as that of
Francis Xavier, " the great apostle of the Indies," or of his still greater master,
Ignatius Loyola. The man in these days who can not admire, and even to a certain
extent venerate man as man, apart from his more immediate antecedents or local
surroundings, has but a very limited and mistaken idea of the enlightened spirit of
the age, or the true dignity of human nature. Honor to whom honor is due, is not
only a sound maxim, founded on that equity which is the highest form of justice,
but is also in just so many words one of the very first principles of Christianity
itself. When I can not give a man credit for what he really is, because he belongs
to another party than my own, or give him credit for what he has done^ because he
belongs to another denomination than my own, I deserve to be consigned for the
remainder of my days to a hole in the woods.
The pioneers of our country, no doubt, have had a very hard time of it, and
24 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
none more so than my Scotch-Irish ancestors in central Pennsylvania. From the
childhood of Daniel Webster down to the present hour, it would argue a very igno-
rant mind and most unfeeling and ungrateful heart to read the toils and trials and
privations endured by men and women in the early settlement of this or any other
State ; but after all what are the hardships of the early settlers compared with those
of AUouez, in 1665, afloat in a frail canoe on the broad expanse of Lake Superior,
of Dablon, Marquette, LaSalle, and others of the original explorers?
" Defying the severity of climate," as Bancroft has it, " wading through water
or through snows, without the comfort of fire ; having no bread but pounded
corn, and often no food but the unwholesome moss from the rocks; laboring inces-
santly, exposed to live, as it were, without nourishment, to sleep without a resting
place ; to travel far, and always incurring perils ; to carry their lives in their hands ;
or rather daily and oftener than every day, to hold them up as targets, expecting
captivit}^ death from the tomahawk, tortures, fires" — (Bancroft, III., 152.) It
seems to me that if there are any two classes of men who should be most cordially
linked in closest bonds of sympathy with one another, it is the pioneers and
explorers.
Marquette was much more than a religious enthusiast. He was a scholar and
a man of science. Having learned within a few years to speak with ease in six
different languages, his talents as a linguist were quite remarkable. A subtle
element of romance pervaded his character, which not only makes it exceedingly
attractive to us in the retrospect, but was no doubt one of the great sources and
elements of his power and success among his beloved Ottawas and Hurons, and
others of the great Algonquin tribes, who were found in the immediate vicinity of
the straits of Michilimackinac. With a fine eye for natural beauty, he was as much
delighted with a rapid river, or extended lake, with an old forest or rolling prairie,
or a lofty mountain as a Birch, or a Cole, or a Bierstadt. Every one who touches
his character seems emulous of adorning it with a new epithet. Parkman speaks
of him as "the humble Marquette, who with clasped hands and up-turned eyes, seems
a figure evoked from some dim legend of mediaeval saintship." Bancroft calls
him " the meek, gentle, single-hearted, unpretending, illustrious Marquette." —
Vol. III., p. 157. Many call him " the venerated;" all unite in calling him "the
good Marquette," and by this last, most simple, but appropriate title he will be the
best remembered by the generations yet to come. " A man who was delighted at
the happy necessity of exposing his life to bring the word of God " within reach
of half a continent deserves that title if any one does. His Catholic eulogist,
John Gilman Shea, (Catholic World, November, 1877, p. 267,) writes with pardon-
able pride : " No missionary of that glorious band of Jesuits who in the seventeenth
century announced the faith from the Hudson Bay to the lower Mississippi, who
9 ^
-^ — A
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 35
hallowed by their labors and life-blood so many a wild spot now occupied by the
busy hives of men, none of them impresses us more in his whole life and career
with his piety, sanctity and absolute devotion to God, than Father Marquette. In
life he seems to have been looked up to with reverence by the wildest savage, by
the rude frontiersman, and by the polished officers of government. When he had
passed away, his name and his fame, so marked in the great West, was treasured
above that of his fellow-laborers, Menard, Allouez, Nouvel or Druillettes." May I
not add that, most of all other States, his name and his fame should be dear to
Michigan ?
Such, then, was the man who on the 17th of May, 1673, with the simple outfit
of two birch canoes, a supply of smoked meat and Indian corn, and a crew of five
men, embarked on what was then known as Lac Des Illinois, now Lake Michigan.
June 10th they came to the portage, in Wisconsin, (III., 158,) and after carrying
their canoes some two miles over marsh and prairie, " he committed himself to the
current that was to bear them he knew not whither — perhaps to the Gulf of Mex-
ico, perhaps to the South Sea, or the Gulf of California." June 17, 1673, where
now stands Prairie Du Chien, he had found what he sought, " and with a joy that
I can not express we steered forth our canoes on the Mississippi, or great river."
We know that the honor of this discovery is very stoutly contested in favor of
LaSalle, but for the present we confidently hold with Parkman (Discovery of the
Great West, p. 25): " LaSalle discovered the Ohio, and in all probability the Illinois
also ; but that he discovered the Mississippi has not been proved, nor in the light
of the evidence we have, is it likely." In 1846 W. J. A. Bradford, in his notes on
the Northwest, says very dogmatically : " Father Hennepin must undoubtedly be
considered the discoverer of the Mississippi ;" but if the proof of it is only to be
established by Hennepin's own narrative, which Parkman describes as a rare mon-
ument of brazen mendacity, the proof is still wanting. His famous voyage from
the Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico must be considered not only as a falsehood, but
a plagiarism.
Fortunately for the fame of Marquette, the true record of his labors was not left
to doubtful tradition and the hearsay testimony of Charlevoix. Among the papers
some twenty-five years since in the archives of the College of Quebec are accounts
of the last labors and death of Father Marquette, and of the removal of his
remains, prepared for publication by Father Dablon ; Marquette's journal of his
great expedition, the very map he drew, and a letter left unfinished at the time of
his death. So at least says Mr. Shea, and that these documents are to be found in
his work on the discovery and exploration of the Mississippi Valley.
Leaving, then, the doubtful narrative of Charlevoix and the romantic page of
Bancroft founded upon it, we learn the real story of his death. October 25,
i
( g ^ ^ *)
26 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
1674, he again left St. Ignace to fulfill a promise to tlie Kaskaskias in Illinois.
December 4th he reached Chicago, hoping to ascend the river, and by a portage
reacli the Illinois: but the ice had closed the stream and it was too late. A winter
march, facing the cutting wind of the prairie was beyond his strength. His two
faithful companions erected a log hut home and chapel — the first divelling and the
first church of the first white settlement of the city — known for its great misfortune
the world over, the city of Chicago.
With the opening of Spring tlie good father again set out, and his last letter
notes his progress till the 6th of April, 1675. " Just after Easter he was again
stricken by disease (dysentery), and he saw that if he would die in the arms of
his brethren " at St. Ignace, he must depart at once. Escorted by the Kaskaskias,
who were deeply impressed by his zeal, he reached Lake Michigan, gave orders to
liis faithful men to launch his canoe, and commenced his adventurous voyage along
tliat still unknown and dangerous shore. His strength, however, failed so much
tliat his men despaired of being able to convey him alive to their journey's end ;
for in fact he became so weak and so exhausted that he could no longer help him-
self, nor even stir, and had to be handled and carried like a cliild. He nevertheless
in this state maintained au admirable resignation, joy and gentleness, consoling his
beloved companions, and encouraging them to suffer courageously all the hardships
of this voyage." " On the eve of his death, which was on Friday, he told them,
all. radiant with joy, that it would take place on the morrow, and spoke so calmly
and collectedly of his death and burial that you would have thought it was another's
and not his own.
Thus did he speak to them as they sailed along the lake, till perceiving the
moutli of a river, with an eminence on the bank which he thought suited to his
burial, he told them that it was the place of his last repose. They wished, how-
ever, to pass on, as the weather permitted it and the day was not far advanced ;
but God raised a contrary wind, which obliged them to return and enter the river
which the father had designated.
They then carried liim ashore, kindled a little fire and raised a bark cabin
for his use, laying him in it witii as little discomfort as they could ; but they were so
depressed by sadness that, as they afterward said, they did not know what they were
doing."
Many a time and oft, in my favorite summer home at Mackinac, have I had this
whole scene pass before me as in a day-dream from Point Lookout, until last Sum-
mer it took the form of accordant rhyme :
I.
Where the gently flowing river merges with the stormy lake,
Where upon the beach so barren ceaseless billows roll and break,
-^ — ^u
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 27
There the barque so frail and gallant, known throughout the western world,
Glides into the long-sought haven and its weary wings are furled.
Here, says one, I end my voyage and my sun goes down at noon ;
Here I make the final traverse, and the part comes not too soon ;
Let God have " the greater glory," care have I for naught beside,
But to bear the blest evangel, Jesus Christ, the crucified.
II.
Slow and faint into the forest, straight he takes his quiet way,
Kneels upon the virgin mosses, prays as he is wont to pray ;
Nunc dimitlis — then they hear him sweetly sing as ne'er before ;
Then the angels join in chorus, and Marquette is now no more.
This the prayer he leaves behind him, as is said his latest mass —
"One day bear me to my mission, at the Pointe of St. Ignace."
Entered into rest from labor, where all toils and tempests cease,
Every sail outspread and swelling, so he finds the port of peace.
III.
Once again that spot so sacred hears the sound of human feet,
And the gently flowing river sees a strange funereal fleet ;
*Tis the plumed and painted warriors, of their different tribes the best,
Who have met in solemn council to fulfill his last request.
Down their cheeks the tears are flowing, for the sainted man of God ;
Not the bones of dearest kindred dear as those beneath that sod,
Reverently the grave they open, call the dear remains their own —
Sink them in the running water, cleanse and whiten every bone.
Place them gently in the mocock, wrought with woman's choicest skill,
From the birch the very whitest, and the deepest colored quill ;
In the war canoe the largest, to his consecrated tomb.
Like a chief who falls in battle, silently they bear him home.
IV.
Gathers still the sad procession, as the fleet comes slowly nigh,
Where the cross above the chapel stands against the northern sky ;
Every tribe and every hamlet, from the nooks along the shore.
Swell the company of mourners, who shall see his face no more.
V.
Forth then thro' the deepening twilight sounds the service high and clear.
And the dark-stoled priests with tapers guide and guard the rustic bier ;
In the center of the chapel, close by little Huron's wave.
Near the tall and stately cedars, Pere Marquette has found his grave.
VI.
Still I hear the Miserere sounding loud within my soul.
Still I hear the De Profundis, with its solemn cadence roll —
" For the blood of thy red brother, who shall answer in that day."
When before the throne of judgment earth and heaven shall pass away.
-®
28 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
When these lines were written I had not seen the narrative of Father Dablon,
but a further extract from it will show that there was very little poetic license in
them as to the leading facts.
'' God did not permit so precious a deposit to remain unhonored and forgotten
amid tlie forests. The Indians called Kiskakons, who have for nearly ten years
publicly professed Christianity, in which they were first instructed by Father Mar-
quette, when stationed at La Pointe du St. Esprit, at the extremity of Lake Supe-
rior, were hunting last year, not far from Lake Illinois (i. e. Michigan), and as
they were returning early in the Spring they resolved to pass the tomb of their good
father, whom they tenderly loved, and God even gave them the thought of taking
his bones and conveying them to our church at the mission of St. Ignatius.
" They accordingly repaired to the spot and deliberated together, resolving to
act with their father, as they usually do with those whom they respect. They
opened the grave, unrolled the body, and though the flesh and intestines were all
dried up, they found it entire, without the skin being injured. This did not pre-
vent their dissecting it according to custom. They washed the bones and dried
tliem in the sun ; then putting them neatly in a box of birch bark, they set out to
bear them to our house at St. Is^natius.
" The convoy consisted of nearly thirty canoes in excellent order, including
even a good number of the Iroquois " (a very ferocious tribe, who were a great
terror to other tribes and especially hostile to the Jesuits), "who had joined our
Algonquins to honor the ceremony. As they approached our house Father Nouvel,
who is superior, went to meet them with Father Pierson, accompanied by all the
French and Indians of the place ; and having caused the convoy to stop, he made
the ordinary interrogations to verify the fact that the body which they bore was
reall}'- Father Marquette. Then before they landed he intoned the De Profundis
in sight of the thirty canoes still on the water, and of all the people still on the
sliore. After this the body was carried to the church, observing all that the ritual
prescribes for such ceremonies. It remained exposed under his catafalque all that
day, which was Whitsun Monday, the 8th of June, and the next day, when all the
funeral honors had been paid to it, it was deposited hi a little vault in the middle of
the diarchy where he reposes as the guardiau angel of our Ottawa missions."
So far the invaluable record of Dablon. We come now to 1706, when for well-
known reasons, for which we can not pause, the Jesuits at St. Ignace broke up their
mission, set fire to their house and chapel and returned to Quebec. What became
of the hones of Marquette ? Did they carry them with them to Quebec? No ; they
left in haste, and fled almost as for their lives. "There is nothing in Canadian
registers, which are extensive, full and well preserved." "Charlevoix, who
was at Quebec on the return of the missionaries, is silent." There is little
^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 29
doubt, therefore, that the precious remains of the great explorer still lay in the
chapel.
But the very site of the chapel was soon lost. The new chapel, still standing,
was confessedly not on the site of the old one. Could the old site ever be identi-
fied? It seemed very doubtful indeed. True, there were a few local and legen-
dary traditions to which reference was made some years since in his correspondence
by the Hon. E. G. D. Holden, our present Secretary of State.
An Indian now living in St. Ignace told me early last Summer that "his father
told him, and that his father told Mm^'' and pointed out to him the place on the
shore of the bay where a black cross used to stand, which was understood to "poinb
out the direction" of the good father's grave, and where the voyagers would invoke
his blessing. I also have it in writing from a very intelligent Indian, that last Sum-
mer he called on an aged Indian woman in Petoskey, claiming to be in her 100th
year. "I asked her if she had heard, when a girl, anything concerning the Kitchi-
ma-ka-da-na-co-na-yaj, or "great priest." She said, "Yes. He died at the mouth
of the river, and his body was carried to Min-is-sing,"z. e. to St. Ignace.
These are but specimens of many similar traditions ; but would there ever be
anything more than tradition ?
Early in July I heard in Detroit for the first time, from Col. Stockbridge, who
has a large lumber interest in St. Ignace ; that when he left there was a report that
the site of the old chapel had been discovered. If so, thought I, then we have
found Pere Marquette'' s grave at last — for the one statement in which all seem to
agree is that he was buried in the middle of tlie chapel.
On my arrival in Mackinac I lost but little time before starting for St. Ignace.
Though only four miles off we tacked a dozen times and took four hours, and
worked hard at that.
On reaching Mr. Murray's house, where the supposed discovery had been
made, I found precisely what had been described a few days before by a correspon-
dent of the Eveniyig News.
THE RECENT DISCOVERIES AT ST. IGNACE.
SHALL WE, OR SHALL WE NOT, RECOVER THE BONES OF MARQUETTE?
Correspondence of the Evenutg News.
Mackinac, July 12, 1877.
The readers of the Evening News will recollect the recently reported discovery
at St. Ignace of the site of the mission chapel founded by Father Marquette in
1670, and under the pavement of which his bones were subsequently deposited.
The account created considerable sensation among antiquaries. Being in Mackinac,
within four miles of St. Ignatius, I improved the opportunity to cross over and see
for myself what the discoveries amounted to. The little steamer Truscott crosses
±=fl
30
IIISTOUV OF MICHIGAN.
each afternoon; fare fift3 cents. A few steps from tlie landing we turn into a
potato patch, just beyond which the boy who pilots us suddenly announces, "Here's
the place." At first glance nothing can be observed more than might be noticed
on any vacant lot in Detroit. A closer examination, however, reveals a very slight
trench about a foot and a half wide, forming a rectangle 35 by 45 feet and located
very nearly, if not exactly, with the points of the compass, the longer measurement
being in the direction of east and west. At places in this trench rough stones lay
embedded in the earth. At the southern side of the space, about nine feet from
the western side, is a hole say three feet deep and eight or ten square, and in the
southeast corner another smaller hole. Until the present Spring the site has been
covered with a growth of young spruce, the clearing o£f of which led to the sup-
posed discovery. The larger hole is assumed to have been a cellar under the
church in which the valuables are kept; the smaller hole is thought to mark the
position of the baptismal font, though why an excavation should be made for it is
more than I can conjecture. A few feet west of the rectangle described above are
two heaps of stone and earth, evidently the debris of two ruined chimneys. The
outlines of the houses to wliich the chimneys belonged can also be faintly traced.
Mr. Murray, the owner of the ground, is a well-to-do Catholic Irishman, own-
ing as he docs GOO acres of land on the Point. He has lived on the place for twenty
years past, and before that lived on Mackinac Island. He is inclined to be super-
stitious and to magnify the mystery to which he believes he holds the key. As
illustrative of this he remarked in my presence that when he was about to build a
cow-house some time ago, his sons wished it located on what he now believes to be
the site of tiie ancient church, but the protecting influences of that sacred spot
strangely impelled him to adopt a different location. He is confident that by dig-
ging below tlie surface at the center of the church, the " mocock " of bones would
be discovered, but thus far owing to a difference between himself and the parish
priest, not a spadeful of eartli has been turned. The priest believes the location to
be the correct one, and is anxious to excavate, but Mr. Murray refuses to permit it
without a pledge that whatever is found shall not be carried away from the Point.
He offers to give ground for the erection of a church or a monument on the spot,
but insists that the sacred relics, if found, must be left where tliey have for two
centuries rested. The bishop is expected at St. Ignace shortly, when the question
will l)e laid before him for adjustment.
Now as to the prol)al)ility of the discovery being confirmed by others yet to be
made, I must confess to being less sanguine than Mr. Murray and his neighbors. It
is certain that the two ruined chimneys alluded to indicate the location of dwellings
at somi- {leriod in the[)ast. Bits of iron, copper and looking-glass found in the debris
attest this; l)Ut whether the buildings stood fifty years ago or 200 no one can posi-
[(5 W.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 31
tively assert. Mr. Murray has known the spot for a quarter of a century, and can
vouch for no change having occurred in that time. I think it likely that they are
of a much older date. In regard to the assumed church site I think the proba-
bilities favor the existence there at one time of a building of some sort. Whether it
occupied the limits assumed — 45 by 35 feet †” is less certain, while the existence of the
cellar would seem to indicate that it was a dwelling rather than a church. On the
other hand, it is certain that the mission was founded in this immediate vicinity, and
the Murray farm, as fronting on the most protected part of the bay, and affording
the best landing for boats, is certainly as likely a spot for Marquette to have adopted
as any. But nothing can be told with any certainty till thorough investigation is
made.
The tradition is that the mission was founded in 1670, that Marquette subse-
quently visited Wisconsin and Illinois, establishing mission stations as far up the
lake as Chicago; that upon his return via the eastern shore of Lake Michigan he
died at the mouth of the Pere Marquette river, where Ludington now stands, and
was buried there. A few years later his bones were taken up, cleaned and packed
in a mocock, or box made of birch bark, and were conveyed with due solemnity
back to St. Ignace, where they were permanently deposited beneath the middle of
the church. At a still later period Indian wars broke up the mission, and to protect
tlie church from sacrilege the missionaries burned it to the ground.
I also found in the possession of the present priest of St. Ignace, Father Jaoka
(pronounced Yocca), a pen and ink sketch, on which I looked with most intense
interest. This invaluable drawing gives the original site of the French village, the
"home of the Jesuits," the Indian village, the Indian fort on the bluff, and, most
important of all, very accurately defines the contour of a little bay known as Na-
dowa — Wikweiamashong — i. e., as Mr. Jacker gave it, Nadowa Huron. Wik-weia
— Here is a bay. Anglice — " Little bay of the Hurons ;" or according to the Ot-
chepwa dictionary of Bp. Barraga, " Bad bay of the Iroquois squaw." Of the
Indian village there is no trace. Their wigwams, built only of poles and bark,
have not left a single vestige. Not so with the French village. You may still see
the remains of their logs and plaster, and the ruins of their chimneys. On the sup-
posed site of the house of the Jesuits, some 40 by 30 feet, are found distinct out-
lines of walls, a little well, and a small cellar. Immediately in the rear of the larger
building are the remains of a forge, where "the brothers" used to make spades or
swords, as the occasion might require.
On further inquiry of the priest, who was equally remarkable for his candor
and intelligence, and the length of his beard, I found that the sketch of the liouse
of the Jesuits was taken by him from the travels of LaHenton, originally published
in France, but translated and republished in England A. D. 1772. Only a few days
33 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
after I saw a copy of this very same book in the hands of Judge C. I. Walker, of
Detroit, and was thus enabled, to ray very great satisfaction, to verify the sketch as
shown to me by Father Jaoka or Jacker (Yocca).
LaHenton says : " The phice which I am now in is not above half a league dis-
tant from the Illinois lake. Here the Hurons and Ontawas have each of 'em (see)
a village, the one being severed from the other by a single palisade. But the On-
tawas are beginning to build a fort upon a hill that stands but 1,000 or 1,200 paces
off. * * In this place the Jesuits have a little house or college, adjoining to a
sort of chapel and enclosed with pale, which separates it from the village of the
Hurons.
" The Cuereur du Paris also a very small settlement." — La Henton, vol. L, p. 88.
From that moment I entertained the most sanguine hope that the long lost
grave of the good Marquette would again be found. Greatly did I regret that I
could not remain a few days longer, when the exploration would he made in the
presence of the excellent Bishop Mrak, and learn what would be the result. I saw
nothing whatever in the well-known character of the bishop, or of the worthy pas-
tor of St. Ignace to justify even for a moment the least suspicion of anything like
"pious fraud."
Monday, Septembers, 1877, Bishop Mrak dug out the first spadeful of ground.
For a time, however, the search was discouraging. " Nothing was found that would
indicate the former existence of a tomb, vaulted or otherwise," and the bishop went
away. After a while a small piece of birch bark came to light, followed by numerous
other fragments scorched by fire. Finally a larger and well preserved piece appeared
which once evidently formed part of the bottom of an Indian-wig-wap-makak-
i)irch-bark-box or mocock. Evidently the box had been double, such as the Indians
sometimes use for greater durability in interments, and had been placed on three or
four woo<len sills. It was also evident that the box had not been placed on the
floor but sunk in the ground, and perhaps covered with a layer of mortar. But it
was equally evident th;it this humble tomb had been disturbed, and the box broken
into, and parts of it torn out, after the material had been made brittle by the action
of fire. This would ex{)lain the absence of its former contents, which," says Mr.
Jacker, " wlwit else could we think— were nothing less than Father Marquette's
l)ones! But what had become of them? Further search brought to light two frag-
nuMJt.s of bone— then thirty-six more— finally a small fragment, apparently of the
skull— then similar fragments of the ribs, the hand and the thigh bone. From these
circumstances then we deduce tlie following conclusions:
1. That of M. Pommier, the French surgeon, that these fragments of bones
are undoul>tedly humjin, and bear the marks of fire.
2. Tiiat everything goes to show " the haste of profane robbery."
« k.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 33
3. That this robbery was by Indian medicine men, who coveted his bones,
according to their belief, as a powerful medicine.
4. That it must have taken place within a few years after the departure of
the Jesuits, otherwise when the mission was renewed (about 170S), the remains
would most certainly have been transferred to the new church in old Mackinac.
5. That Charlevoix, at his sojourn there in 1721, could hardly have failed to
be taken to see the new tomb, and to mention the fact of its transfer in his journal,
or history.
6. That if we have failed to find all the remains of the great explorer, we
have at least found some, and ascertained the fact of his having been interred on
that particular spot.
7. That the records answer all the circumstances of the discovery, and that
the finding of these few fragments, if not as satisfactory to our wishes, is at least
as good evidence for the fact in question as if we had found every bone that is in
the human body.
Such are the leading points in Father Jacker's elaborate narrative, as published
in the Catholic Worlds November, 1877, in connection with the article entitled
" Romance and Reality of the Death of Father James Marquette, and the recent
discovery of his remains," by John G. Shea, for which papers I am indebted to the
kind courtesy of Mr. Daniel E. Hudson, C. S. C, Notre Dame, Indiana, to whom I
return most cordial thanks.
While in some respects the results are not quite so satisfactory as might have
been desired, yet the determination of the site of the old house of the Jesuits, the
discovery of the tomb, the recovery in part of the mocock coffin, and above all, the
finding of some of the bones of Marquette, are all of intense interest to every
lover of earl^' Michigan history.
Marquette, the great explorer — the oldest founder of Michigan, whose grave
was found within her borders, and to whom belongs immortal honor, being the dis-
coverer of the upper Mississippi and first navigator of the great river. The scat-
tering of his bones, lam well persuaded, is only a symbol of the wider extension of his
fame. Already his name is attached to a railroad, a river, a city, a diocese in
Michigan ; but that is not enough. Some forty years ago it was foretold by Ban
croft " that the people of the West will build his monument," and now the time
has fully come when that prophecy will be fulfilled. Lest you might think that I
say this merely out of state pride, or as a lover of antiquarian history, I will only
add in conclusion that I say it out of a much higher motive, and with reference to
a much higher object. In reading the life of Francis Xavier when a boy, I learned
that there were some lessons for Christian laborers from the lives of the early
Jesuits, that neither I nor any other man could afford to overlook. Granting that
3
^-.|
34 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
too often they souglit to help what they deemed a righteous cause by what they
knew to be unrighteous means, and so teach us what we should avoid, there are other
lessons tliat we would do well to imitate. The spirit of union, which was to them
so great a source of power, the cheerfulness with which they suffered for the cause
that they had espoused ; the unlooked-for combinations of character in the same
individuals, and above all the magnetism of personal importance and power hy hav-
ing a definite am— such for example as we find in the good Marquette— belonging
to any one church or order of that church, but to man as man, and to the world at
large ! There is only one regret that I should have in the erecting of such a mon-
ument, and that is lest it should be built by our Catholic friends alone. Will they
not permit us all to join — Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and the whole Northwest
— and do honor to the great explorer in a monument of natural rock, (like Monu-
mental Rock, Isle Royale), the materials for which in that immediate vicinity have
been so long waiting, apparently, for just such a noble purpose ?
lasalle's travels.
The next settlement in point of time was made in 1679, by Robert Cavalier de
LaSalle, at the mouth of the St. Joseph river. He had constructed a vessel, the
" Griffin," just above Niagara Falls, and sailed around by the lakes to Green Bay,
Wis., whence he traversed " Lac des Illinois," now Lake Michigan, by canoe to the
mouth of the St. Joseph river. The " Griffin " was the first sailing vessel that ever
came west of Niagara Falls. La Salle erected a fort at the month of the St. Joseph
river, which afterward was moved about 60 miles up the river, where it was still
seen in Charlevoix's time, 172 L La Salle also built a fort on the Illinois river,
just below Peoria, and explored the region of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.
The next, and third, Michigan post erected by authority was a second fort on
the St. Joseph river, established by Du Suth, near the present Fort Gratiot, in
1686. The object of this was to intercept emissaries of the English, who were
anxious to open traffic with the Mackinaw and Lake Superior nations.
Tiie French posts in Michigan on westward, left very little to be gathered by
tli(j New York traders, and they determined, as there was peace between France and
England, to push forward their agencies and endeavor to deal with the western and
northern Indians in their own country. The French governors not only plainly
asserted the title of France, but as plainly threatened to use all requisite force to
expel intruders. Anticipating correctly that the English would attempt to reach
Lake Huron from tlie East without passing up Detroit river, Du Luth built a fort
at the outlet of the lake into the St. Clair. About the same time an expedition
was planned against the Senecas, and the Chevalier Tonti, commanding La Salle's
forts, of St. Louis and St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, and La Durantaye, the veteran
commander of Mackinaw, were employed to bring down the French and Indian
HISTORY OF ]\riCHIGAN. 35
auxiliaries to take part in the war. These men intercepted English expeditions
into tlie interior to establish trade with the Northern Indians, and succeeded in
cutting them off for many j^ears. Religious zeal for the Catholic Church and the
national aggrandizement were almost or quite equally the primary and all-ruling
motive of western explorations. For these two purposes expeditions were sent out
and missionaries and military posts were established. In these enterprises Mar-
quette, Joliet, La Salle, St. Lusson and others did all that we find credited to them
in history.
In 1669 or 1670, Talon, then " Intendant of New France," sent out two parties
to discover a passage to the South Sea, St. Lusson to Hudson's Bay and La Salle
southwestward. On his return in 1671, St. Lusson held a council of all the north-
ern tribes at the Sault Ste. Marie, where they formed an alliance with the French.
" It is a curious fact," says Campbell, " that the public documents are usually
made to exhibit the local authorities as originating everything, when the facts
brought to light from other sources show that they were compelled to permit what
they ostensibly directed." The expeditions sent out by Talon were at least sug-
gested from France. The local authorities were sometimes made to do things
which were not, in their judgment, the wisest.
DETROIT.
July 19, 1701, the Iroquois conveyed to King William III, all their claims to
land, describing their territory as " that vast tract of land or colony called Cana-
gariarchio, beginning on the northwest side of Cadarachqui (Ontario) Lake, and
includes all that vast tract of land lying between the great lake of Ottawawa
(Huron), and the lake called by the natives Sahiquage, and by the Christians the
J^ake of Sweege (Oswego, for Lake Erie), and runs till it butts upon the Twich-
twichs, and is bounded on the westward by the Twichtwichs, on the eastward by
a place called Qnadoge, containing in length about 800 miles, and breadth 400
miles, including the country where beavers and all sorts of wild game keep, and
the place called Tjeughsaghrondie alias Fort De Tret or Wawyachtenock (Detroit) ;
and so runs round the lake of Sweege till you come to a place called Oniadarun-
daquat," etc.
It was chiefly to prevent any further mischief, and to secure more effectually
the French supremacy that La Motte Cadillac, who had great influence over the
savages, succeeded, in 1701, after various plans urged by him had been shelved by
hostile colonial intrigues, in getting permission from Count Pontchartraine to begin
a settlement in Detroit. His purpose was from the beginning to make not only a
military post, but also a civil establishment for trade and agriculture. He was more
or less threatened and opposed by the monopolists and by the Mackinaw missionaries,
and was subjected to severe persecutions. He finally triumphed and obtained valuable
. 4« — «-
36 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
privileges and the right of seigneury. Craftsmen of all kinds were induced to settle
in the town, and trade flourished. He succeeded in getting the Hurons and many
of the Ottawas to leave Mackinaw and settle about " Fort Pontchartraine." This
fort stood on what was formerly called the first terrace, being on the ground lying
between Larned street and the river, and between Griswold and Wayne streets.
Cadillac's success was so great, in spite of all opposition, that he was appointed
governor of the new province of Louisiana, which had been granted to Crozat and
his associates. This appointment removed him from Detroit, and immediately
afterward the place was exposed to an Indian siege, instigated by English emissaries,
and conducted by the Mascoutins and Ontagamies, the same people who made the
last war on the whites in the territory of Michigan under Black Hawk a century
and a quarter later. The tribes allied to the French came in with alacrity and de-
feated and almost annihilated the assailants, of whom a thousand were put to
death.
Unfortunately for the country, the commanders who succeeded Cadillac for
many years were narrow-minded and selfish and not disposed to advance any in-
terests beyond the lucrative traffic with the Indians in peltries. It was not until
1734 that any new grants were made to farmers. This was done by Governor-
General Heauharnois, who made the grants on the very easiest terms. Skilled ar-
tisans became numerous in Detroit, and prosperity set in all around. The build-
ings were not of the rudest kind, but built of oak or cedar, and of smooth finish.
Tlie cedar was brought from a great distance. Before 1742 the pineries were
known, and at a very early day a saw-mill was erected on the St. Clair River, near
Lake Huron. Before 1749 quarries were worked, especially at Stony Island. In
170:'. there were several lime kilns within the present limits of Detroit, and not
only stone foundations but also stone buildings, existed in the settlement.
Several grist-mills existed along the river near Detroit. Agriculture was car-
ried on profitably, and supplies were exported quite early, consisting chiefly of corn
and wheat, and possibly beans and peas. Cattle, horses and swine were raised in
consideral)le nuuii)ers ; but as salt was very expensive, but little meat, if any, was
packed for exportation. The salt springs near Lake St. Clair, it is true, were
known, and utilized to some extent, but not to an appreciable extent. Gardening
and fruit-raising were carried on more thoroughly than general farming. Apples
and pears were good and abundant.
During the Frencli and English war Detroit was the principal source of sup-
plies to the French troops west of Lake Ontario, and it also furnished a large number
of fighting nuM). The upper posts were not much involved in this war.
" Teuchsa (irondie." one of the many ways of spelling an old Indian name of
Detroit, is rendered famous by a large and splendid poem of Levi Bishop, Esq., of
<o"
Ml
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 37
that city. During the whole of the eighteenth century the history of Micliigan was
little else than the history of Detroit, as the genius of French Government was to
centralize power instead of building up localities for self-government.
About 1704, or three years after the founding of Detroit, this place was at-
tacked by the Ottawa Indians, but unsuccessfully ; and again, in 1712, the Otta-
gamies, or Fox Indians, who were in secret alliance with the old enemies of the
French, the Iroquois, attacked the village and laid siege to it. They were severely
repulsed, and their chief offered a capitulation which was refused. Considering
this an insult they became enraged and endeavored to burn up the town. Their
method of firing the place was to shoot large arrows, mounted with combustible
material in flame, in a track through the sky rainbow-form. The bows and arrows
being very large and stout, the Indians lay with their backs on the ground, put
botli feet against the central portion of the inner side of the bow and pulled the
strino-s with all the mio-ht of their hands. A ball of blazing material would thus
be sent arching over nearly a quarter of a mile, which would come down perpen-
dicularly upon the dry shingle roofs of the houses and set them on fire. But this
scheme was soon check-mated by the French, who covered the remaining houses
with wet skins. The Foxes were considerably disappointed at this and discour-
aged, but they made one more desperate attempt, failed, and retreated toward
Lake St. Clair, where they again entrenched themselves. From this place how-
ever, they were soon dislodged. After this period these Indians occupied Wis-
consin for a time and made it dangerous for travelers passing through from the
lakes to the Mississippi. They were the Ishmaelites of the wilderness.
In 1749, there was a fresh accession of immigrants to all the points upon the
lakes, but the history of this part of the world during the most of this century, is
rather monotonous, business and government remaining about the same, without
much improvement. The records nearly all concern Canada east of the lake region.
It is true, there was almost a constant change of commandants at the posts, and
there were many slight changes of administrative policy, but as no great enter-
prises were successfully put in operation the events of the period have but little
prominence.
The Northwestern Territory during French rule, was simply a vast ranging
ground for the numerous Indian tribes, who had no ambition higher than obtaining
immediate subsistence of the crudest kind, buying arms, whisky, tobacco, blankets
and jewelry by bartering for them the peltries of the chase. Like a drop in the
ocean was the missionary work of the few Jesuits at the half dozen posts on the
great waters. The forests were full of otter, beaver, bear, deer, grouse, quails, etc.,
and on the few prairies the grouse, or " prairie chickens," were abundant Not
much work was required to obtain a bare subsistence, and human nature generally,
^<i
*^-
« ll-. -^ «)1
38 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
is not disposed to lay up much for the future. The present material prosperity of
America is really an exception to the general law of the world.
In the latter part of 1796, Winthrop Sargent went to Detroit and organized
the county of Wayne, forming a part of the Indiana Territory until its division,
1805, when the Territory of Michigan was organized.
CHAPTEE III.
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
Soon after the discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682, the Govern-
ment of France began to encourage the policy of establishing a line of trading
posts and missionary statious, extending through the west, from Canada and the
great lakes, to Louisiana ; and this policy was maintained, with partial success, for
about seventy-five years. British power was the rival upon which the French
continually kept their eye. Of course a collision of arms would result in a short
time, and this commenced about 1755. lu 1760, Canada, including the lake re-
gion, fell into the hands of the British. During the war, occurred Braddock's de-
feat, the battles of Niagara, Crown Point and Lake George, and the death of brave
Wolfe and Montcalm. September 12 of this year, Major Robert Rogers, a native
of New Hampshire, a provincial ojfficer, and then at the height of his reputation,
received orders from Sir Jeffrey Amherst to ascend the lakes with a detachment of
rangers, and take possession, in the name of his Britannic majesty, of Detroit,
Michilimackinac and other western posts, included in the capitulation of Montreal.
He left the latter place on the following day with 200 rangers in fifteen whale boats.
November 7, they reached the mouth of a river (Chogage), on the southern coast
of Lake Erie, where they were met by Pontiac, the Indian cliief, who now appears
for the first time upon the pages of Michigan history. He haughtily demanded of
Rogers why he should appear in his realm with his forces without his permission.
The major informed him that the English had obtained permission of Canada, and
that he was on his way to Detroit to publish the fact, and to restore a general peace
to white men and Indians alike. The next day Pontiac signified his willingness to
live at peace with the English, allowing them to remain in his country, provided
they paid him due respect. He knew that French power was on the wane, and
that it was to the interest of his tribes to establish an early peace with the new
power. The Indians, who had collected at the mouth of the Detroit, reported 400
strong, to resist the coming of the British forces, were easily influenced by Pontiac
^F\<r
^ e>
±.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 39
to yield the situation to Rogers. Even the French commandant at Detroit, Capt.
Beletre, was in a situation similar to that of the Indians, and received the news of
the defeat of the French from Major Rogers. He was indignant and incredulous,
and tried to rouse the fury of his old-time friends, the Indians, but found them
"faithless" in this hour of his need. He surrendered with an ill grace, amid the
yells of several hundred Indian warriors. It was a source of great amazement
to the Indians to see so many men surrender to so few. Nothing is more effective
in gaining the respect of Indians than a display of power, and the above proceed-
ings led them to be overawed by English powers. They were astonished also at
the forbearance of the conquerors in not killing their vanquished enemies on the
spot. This surrender of Detroit was on the 29th of November, 1760. The posts
elsewhere in the lake region, north and west; were not reached until some time
afterward.
The English now thought they had the country perfectly in their own hands,
and that there was but little trouble ahead ; but in this respect they were mistaken.
The French renewed their efforts to circulate reports among the Indians that the
English intended to take all their land from them, etc. The slaughter of the Mo-
nougahela, the massacre at Fort William Henry, and the horrible devastation of the
western frontier, all bore witness to the fact that the French were successful in pre-
judicing the Indians against the British, and the latter began to have trouble at
various points. The French had always been in the habit of making presents to
the Indians, keeping them supplied with arms, ammunition, etc., and it was not
their policy to settle upon their lands. The British, on the other hand, now sup-
plied them with nothing, frequently insulting them when they appeared around
the forts. Everything conspired to fix the Indian population in their prejudices
against the British Government. Even the seeds of the American Revolution were
scattered into the west, and began to grow.
The first Indian chief to raise the war-whoop was probably Kiashutu, of the
Senecas, but Pontiac, of the Ottawas, was the great George Washington of all the
tribes to systemize and render effectual the initial movements of the approaching
storm. His home was about eight miles above Detroit, on Pechee Island, which
looks out upon the waters of Lake St. Clair. He was a well-formed man, with a
countenance indicating a high degree of intelligence. In 1746 he had successfully
defended Detroit against the northern tribes, and it is probable he was present and
assisted in the defeat of Braddock. About the close of 1762 he called a general
council of the tribes, sending out ambassadors in all directions, who, with the war
belt of wampum and the tomahawk, went from village to village, and camp to camp,
informing the sachems everywhere, that war was impending, and delivering to them
the message of Pontiac. They all approved the message, and April 27, 1 763, a
7U r-
40 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
grand council was held near Detroit, when Pontiac stood forth in war paint and
delivered " the great speech of the campaign." The English were slow to perceive
any dangerous conspiracy in progress, and when the blow was struck, nine out of
twelve of the British posts were surprised and destroyed. Three of these were
within the bounds of this State. The first prominent event of the war was the
massacre at Fort Michilimackinac, on the northernmost point of the southern
peninsula, the site of the present city of Mackinaw. This Indian outrage was one
of the most ingeniously devised and resolutely executed schemes in American his-
tory. The Chippewas (or Ojibways) appointed one of their big ball plays in the
vicinity of the post and invited and inveigled as many of the occupants as they
could to the scene of play, then fell upon the unsuspecting and unguarded English
in the most brutal manner. For the details of this horrible scene we are indebted
to Alexander Henry, a trader at that point, who experienced several most blood-
curdling escapes from death and scalping at the hands of the savages. The result
of the massacre was the death of about seventy out of ninety persons. The Ottawa
Indians, who occupied mainly the eastern portion of the lower peninsula, were not
consulted by the Chippewas, with reference to attacking Michilimackinac, and were
consequently so enraged that they espoused the cause of the English, through
spite ; and it was through their instrumentality that Mr. Henry and some of his
comrades were saved from death and conveyed east to the regions of civilization.
Of Mr. Henry's narrow escapes we give the following succinct account : Instead
of attending the ball play of the Indians he spent the day writing letters to his
friends, as a canoe was to leave for the East the following day. While thus
engaged, he heard an Indian war cry and a noise of general confusion. Looking
out of tiie window, he saw a crowd of Indians witliin the fort, that is, within the
village palisade, who were cutting down and scalping every Englishman they
found. He seized a fowling piece which he had at hand, and waited a moment for
the signal, tlie drum beat to arms. In that dreadful interval he saw several of his
countrymen fall under the tomaliawk and struggle between the knees of an Indian,
who held him in this manner to scalp him, while still alive. Mr. Henry heard no
signal to arms; and seeing it was useless to undertake to resist 400 Indians, he
thought only of shelter for himself. He saw many of the Canadian inhabitants of
the fort calmly looking on, neither opposing the Indians nor suffering injury, and he
therefore concluded he might find safety in some of their houses. He stealthily
ran to one occupied Ijy Mr. Langlade and family, who were at their windows
beholding the bloody scene. Mr. Langlade scarcely dared to harbor him, but a
Pawnee slave of the former concealed him in the garret, locked the stairway door
and took away the key. In this situation Mr. Henry obtained, through an aperture,
a view of what was going on without. He saw the dead scalped and mangled, the
<5 r~ ^"s ©
L
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 41
dying in writhing agony, under the insatiate knife and tomahawk, and the savages
drinking human blood from the hollow of their joined hands ! Mr. Henry almost
felt as if he were a victim himself so intense were his sufferings. Soon the Indian
fiends began to halloo, " All is finished." At this instant Henry heard some of the
Indians enter the house he had taken shelter. The garret was separated from the
room below by only a layer of single boards, and Mr. Henry heard all that was
said. As soon as the Indians entered they inquired whether there were any En-
glishmen in the house. Mr. Langlade replied that he could not say ; they might
examine for themselves. He then conducted them to the garret door. As the door
was locked, a moment of time was snatched by Mr. Henry to crawl into a heap of
birch-bark vessels in a dark corner : and although several Indians searched around
the garret, one of them coming within arm's length of the sweating prisoner, they
went out satisfied that no Englishman was there.
As Mr. Henry was passing the succeeding night in this room, he could think
of no possible chance of escape from the country. He was out of provisions, the
nearest post was Detroit, 400 miles away, and the route thither lay through the
enemy's country. The next morning he heard Indian voices below informing Mr.
Langlade that they had not found an Englishman named Henry among the dead,
and they believed him to be somewhere concealed. Mrs. L., believing that the
safety of the household depended on giving np the refugee to his pursuers, prevailed
on her husband to lead the Indians upstairs to the room of Mr. H. The latter was
saved from instant death by one of the savages adopting him as a brother in the
place of one lost. The Indians were all mad with liquor, however, and Mr. H.
again very narrowly escaped death. An hour afterwards he was taken out of the
fort by an Indian indebted to him for goods, and was under the uplifted knife of
the savage when he suddenly broke away from him and made back to Mr. Lang-
lade's house, barely escaping the knife of the Indian tlie whole distance. The next
day he, with three other prisoners, were taken in a canoe toward Lake Michigan,
and at Fox Point, eighteen miles distant, the Ottawas rescued the whites through
spite at the Chippewas, sayir.g that the latter contemplated killing and eating them ;
but the next day they were returned to the Chippewas, as the result of some kind
of agreement about the conduct of the war. He was rescued again by an old
friendly Indian claiming him as a brother. The next morning he saw the dead
bodies of seven whites dragged forth from the prison lodge he had just occupied.
The fattest of these dead bodies was actually served up and feasted on directly
before the eyes of Mr. Henry. Through the partiality of the Ottawas and the com-
plications of military affairs among the Indians, Mr. Henry, after severe exposures
and many more thrilling escapes, was finally landed within territory occupied by
whites.
Tv
^
42 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
For more than a year after the massacre, Michilimackinac was occupied only
by wood rangers and Indians ; then, after the treaty, Capt. Howard was sent with
troops to take possession.
CHAPTER IV.
NATIONAL POLICIES.
The Great French Scheme. — Soon after the discovery of the mouth of the
Mississippi by La Salle, in 1682, the government of France began to encourage the
policy of establishing a line of trading posts and missionary stations extending
through the West from Canada to Louisiana, and this policy was maintained, with
partial success, for about seventy-five years.
The river St. Joseph, of Lake Michigan, was called " the river Miamis " in
1679, in which year La Salle built a small fort on its bank, near the lake shore.
The principal station of the mission for the instruction of the Miamis was estab-
lished on the borders of this river. The first French post within the territory of
the Miamis was at the mouth of the river Miamis, on an eminence naturally forti-
fied on two sides by the river, and on one side by a deep ditch made by a fall of
water. It was of triangular form. The missionary, Hennepin, gives a good
description of it, as he was one of the company who built it in 1679. Says he :
" We felled the trees that were on the top of the hill, and having cleared the same
from bushes for about two musket shot, we began to build a redoubt of eighty feet
long and forty feet broad, with great square pieces of timber laid one upon
another, and prepared a great number of stakes of about twenty-five feet
long to drive into the ground, to make our fort more inaccessible on the
river side. We employed the whole month of November about tliat work,
wliich was very hard, though we had no other food but the bears' llesh our
savage killed. These beasts are very common in that place, because of the great
quantity of grapes they find there ; but their flesh being too fat and luscious, our
men began to be weary of it, and desired leave to go a-hunting to kill some
wild goats. M. La Salle denied them that liberty, which caused some murmurs
among them, and it was but unwillingly that they continued their work. Tiiis,
together with the approach of Winter and the apprehension that M. La Salle had
that his vessel (the Griffin) was lost, made him very melancholy, though he con-
cealed it as much as he could. We made a cabin wherein we performed divine
service every Sunday, and Father Gabriel and I, who preached alternately, took
care to take such texts as were suitable to oui- present circumstances and fit to
(s
b?v
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 43
inspire us with courage, concord and brotherly love. . . . The fort was at last
perfected and called Fort Miamis."
In 1765, the Miamis nation, or confederacy, was composed of four tribes,
whose total number of warriors was estimated at only 1,050 men. Of these, about
250 were Twight-wess or Miamis proper, 300 Weas or Ouiate-nons, 300 Pianke-
shaws and 200 Schockej'^s, and at this time the principal villages of the Twight-
wess were situated about the head of the Maumee River, at and near the place wliere
Fort Wayne now is. The larger Wea villages were near the banks of the Wabash
River, in the vicinity of the Ouiatenon ; and the Shockeys and Piankeshaws dwelt
on the banks of the Vermillion and on the borders of the Wabash, between Vin-
cennes and Ouiatenon. Branches of the Pottawatomie, Shawnee, Delaware and
Kickapoo tribes were permitted at different times to enter within the boundaries of
the Miamis and reside for a while.
The wars in which France and England were engaged from 1688 to 1697,
retarded the growth of the colonies of those nations in North America, and the
efforts made by France to connect Canada and the Gulf of Mexico by a chain of
trading-posts and colonies naturally excited the jealousy of England and gradually
laid the foundation for a struggle at arms. After several stations were established
elsewhere in the West, trading-posts were started at the Miami villages, which stood
at the head of the Maumee, at the Wea villages about Ouiatenon, on the Wabash,
and at the Piankeshaw villages about the present site of Vincennes. It is probable
that before the close of the year 1719, temporary trading-posts were erected at the
sites of Fort Wayne, Ouiatenon and Vincennes. The points were probably often
visited by French fur traders prior to 1700. In the meanwhile, the English people
in this country commenced also to establish military posts west of the Alleghanies,
and thus matters went on until they naturally culminated in a general war, which,
being waged by the French and Indians combined on one side, was called " the
French and Indian war." This war was terminated in 1763 by a treaty at Paris,
by which France ceded to Great Britain all of North America east of the Mississippi
except New Orleans and the island on which it is situated ; and, indeed, France
had the preceding Autumn, by a secret convention, ceded to Spain all the country
west of that river.
In 1762, after Canada and its dependencies had been surrendered to the English,
Pontiac and his partisans secretly organized a powerful confederacy in order to
crush at one blow all English power in the West. This great scheme was skillfully
projected and cautiously matured. The principal act in the programme was to gain
admittance into the fort at Detroit, on pretense of a friendly visit, with shortened
muskets concealed under their blankets, and, on a given signal, suddenly break
forth upon the garrison ; but an inadvertent remark of an Indian woman led to a
44 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
discover}'- of the plot, which was consequently averted. Pontiac and his warriors
afterward made many attacks upon the English, some of which were successful,
but the Indians were finally defeated in the general war.
BRITISH POLICY.
In 1765 the total number of French families within the limits of the North-
western Territory did not probably exceed 600. These were in settlements about
Detroit, along the river Wabash and the neighborhood of Fort Ohartres on the Mis-
sissippi. Of these families, about eighty or ninety resided at Post Vincennes, fourteen
at Fort Ouiatenon, on the Wabash, and nine or ten at the confluence of the St. Mary
and St. Joseph rivers, together with a few on St. Clair lake and river.
The colonial policy of the British Government opposed any measures which
might strengthen settlements in the interior of this country, lest they become self-
supporting and independent of the mother country; hence the early and rapid settle-
ment of the Northwestern Territory was still further retarded by short-sighted self-
ishness of England. That fatal policy consisted mainly in holding the lands in the
hands of the government and not allowing it to be subdivided and sold to settlers.
But in spite of all her efforts in this direction, she constantly made just such efforts
as provoked the American people to rebel, and to rebel successfully, which was
within fifteen years after the perfect close of the French and Indian war.
AMERICAN POLICY.
Thomas Jefferson, the shrewd statesman and wise Governor of Virginia, saw
from the first that actual occupation of Western lands was the only way to keep
them out of the hands of foreigners and Indians. Therefore, directly after the con-
quest of Vincennes by Clark he engaged a scientific corps to proceed under an
escort to the Mississippi, and ascertain by celestial observations the point on that
river intersected by latitude 36 deg. 31 min., the southern limit of the State, and to
measure its distance to the Ohio. To Gen. Clark was entrusted the conduct of
the military operations in that quarter. He was instructed to select a strong
position near that point and establish there a fort and garrison ; thence to extend
his conquest northward to the lakes, erecting forts at different points, which might
serve as monuments of actual i)Ossession, besides affording protection to that por-
tion of the countr}-. Fort " Jefferson " was erected and garrisoned on the Missis-
sippi a few miles above the southern limit.
The result of these operations was the addition to the chartered limits of Vir-
ginia, of that immense region known as the " Northwestern Territory." The sim-
ple fact that such and such forts were established by the Americans in this vast
refjion convinced the British Commissioners that we had entitled ourselves to the
land. But where are those " monuments " of our power now ?
J^ — ^
'â– iL
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 45
ORDINANCE OF 1787.
This ordinance has a marvelous and interesting history. Considerable contro-
versy has been indulged in as to who is entitled to the credit for framing it. This belongs
undoubtedly, to Nathan Dane ; and to Rufus King and Timothy Pickering belong
the credit for suggesting the proviso contained in it against slavery, and also for
aids to religion and knowledge, and for assuring forever the common use, without
charge, of the great national highways of the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence and
their tributaries to all the citizens of the United States. To Thomas Jefferson is
also due much credit, as some features of this ordinance were embraced in his ordin-
ance of 1784. But the part taken by each in the long, laborious and eventful
struggle which had so glorious a consummation in the ordinance, consecrating for-
ever, by one imprescriptible and unchangeable monument, the very heart of our
country to freedom, knowledge and union, will forever honor the names of those
illustrious statesmen.
Jefferson had vainly tried to secure a system of government for the North-
western Territor3\ He was an emancipationist and favored the exclusion of slavery
from the Territory, but the South voted him down every time he proposed a meas-
ure of this nature. In 1787, as late as July 10, an organizing act without the anti-
slavery clause was pending. This concession to the South was expected to carry
it. Congress was in session in New York. On July 5, Rev. Manasseh Cutler of
Massachusetts, came into New York to lobby on the Northwestern Territory.
Everything seemed to fall into his hands. Events were ripe. The state of the
public credit, the growing of Southern prejudice, the basis of his mission, his per-
sonal character, all combined to complete one of those sudden and marvelous revo-
lutions of public sentiment that once in five or ten centuries are seen to sweep over
a country like the breath of the Almighty.
Cutler was a graduate of Yale. He had studied and taken degrees in the
three learned professions, medicine, law, and divinity. He had published a scien-
tific examination of the plants of New England. As a scientist in America, his
name stood second only to Franklin. He was a courtly gentleman of the old style,
a man of commanding presence and inviting face. The Southern members said
they had never seen such a gentleman in the North. He came, representing a
Massachusetts company that desired to purchase a tract of land, now included in
Ohio for the purpose of planting a colony. It was a speculation. Government
money was worth eighteen cents on the dollar. This company had collected enough
to purchase 1,500,000 acres of land. Other speculators in New York made Dr.
Cutler their agent, which enabled him to represent a demand for 5,500,000 acres.
As this would reduce the national debt, it presented a good opportunity to do
something.
-^^
® ^
^ 5
46
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
Massachusetts then owned the territory of Maine, which she was crowding on
the market. She was opposed to opening tlie Northwestern region. This fired
the zeal of Virginia. The South caught the inspiration, and all exalted Dr. Cutler.
The entire South rallied around him. Massachusetts could not vote against him,
because many of the coustituents of her members were interested personally in the
Western speculation. Thus Cutler making friends in the South, and doubtless
using all the arts of the lobby, was enabled to command the situation. True to
deeper convictions, he dictated one of the most compact and finished documents
of wise statesmenship that has ever adorned any human law book.
He borrowed from Jefferson the term " Articles of Compact," which preceding
the federal constitution, rose into the most sacred character. He then followed
very closely the constitution of Massachusetts, adopted three years before. Its
most prominent points were :
1. The exclusion of slavery from the territory forever.
2. Provision fur public schools, giving one township for a seminary and every
section numbered 16 in each township ; that is, one thirty-sixth of all the land for
pul)lic schools.
3. A provision prohibiting the adoption of any constitution or the enactment
of any law that should nullify pre-existing contracts. Be it forever remembered
that this compact declared that " religion, morality and knowledge being necessary
to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of edu-
cation shall always be encouraged." Dr. Cutler planted himself on this platform
and would not yield. Giving his unqualified declaration that it was that or noth-
ing, he took his horse and V)Uggy and started for the constitutional convention at
Philadelphia. On July 13, 1787, the bill was put upon its passage, and was unani-
mously adopted.
Thus the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, a vast
empire, were consecrated to freedom, intelligence and morality. Thus the great heart
of the nation was pre[)ared to save the union of States, for it was this act that was
the salvation of the Republic and the destruction of slavery. Soon the South saw
their great blunder and tried to have the compact repealed. In 1803 Congress re-
ferred it to a committee, of which John Randolph was chairman. He reported that
this ordinance was a compact, and opposed repeal. Thus it stood, a rock in the
way of the on-rushing sea of slavery.
The " Northwestern Territory" included, of course, what is now the State of
Indiana, and October 5, 1787, Major General Arthur St. Clair was elected by Con-
gress, Governor of this territory. Upon commencing the duties of his office he
was instructed to ascertain the real temper of the Indians, and do all in his power
to remove the causes for controversy between them and the United States, and to
s~
-4V
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 47
effect the extinguishment of Indian titles to all the land possible. The Governor
took up quarters in the new settlement of Marietta, Ohio, where he immediately
began the organization of the government of the territory. The first session of
the General Court of the new territory was held at that place in 1788, the judges
being Samuel H. Parsons, James M. Varnum and John C. Symmes, but under the
ordinance, Gov. St. Glair was president of the court. After the first session, and
after the necessary laws for government were adopted, Gov. St. Clair, accompanied
by the judges, visited Kaskaskia for the purpose of organizing a civil government
there. Full instructions had been sent to Maj. Hamtramck, commandant at Vin-
cennes, to ascertain the exact feeling and temper of the Indian tribes of the
Wabash. The instructions were accompanied by speeches to each of the tribes. A
Frenchman, named Antoine Gamelin, was dispatched with these messages April 5,
1790, who visited nearly all the tribes on the Wabash, St. Joseph, and St. Mary's
Rivers, but was coldly received, most of the chiefs being dissatisfied with the policy
of the Americans toward them, and prejudiced through English misrepresentation.
Full accounts of his adventures among the tribes, reached Gov. St. Clair at Kaskas-
kia, in June, 1790. Being satisfied that there was no prospect of effecting a general
peace with the Indians of Indiana, he resolved to visit Gen. Harmar, at his head-
quarters at Fort Washington, and consult with him on the means of carrying on an
expedition against the hostile Indians ; but before leaving he intrusted Winthrop
Sargent, the secretary of the Territory, with the execution of the resolutions of
Congress regarding the lands and settlers on the Wabash. He directed that oflBcer
to proceed to Vincennes, lay out a county there, establish the militia and appoint
the necessary civil and military officers. Accordingly Mr. Sargent went to Vin-
cennes and organized Camp Knox, appointed the officers, and notified the inhabi-
tants to present their claims to lands. In establishing these claims the settlers
found great difficulty, and concerning this matter the secretary in his report to the
president wrote as follows :
Although the lands and lots which were awarded to the inhabitants appeared
from very good oral testimony to belong to those persons to whom they were
awarded, either by original grants, purchase or inheritance, yet there was scarcely
one case in twenty where the title was complete, owing to the desultory manner in
which public business had been transacted, and some other unfortunate causes.
The original concessions by the French and British commandants were generall}'^
made upon a small scrap of paper, which it has been customary to lodge in the
notary's office, who has seldom kept any book of record, but committed the most
important land concerns to loose sheets, which in process of time have come into
possession of persons that have fraudulently destroyed them ; or unacquainted with
their consequence, innocently lost or trifled them away. By French usage they are
48 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
considered family inheritances, and often descend to women and children. In one
instance, during tlie government of St. Ange, a royal notary ran off with all the
public papers in his possession, as by a certificate produced to me. And I am very
sorry further to observe that in the office of Mr. Le Grande, which continued from
1777 to 1787, and where should have been the vouchers for important land transac-
tions, the records have been so falsified, and there is such gross fraud and forgery
as to invalidate all evidence and information which might be otherwise acquired
from his papers.
Mr. Sargent says there were about 150 French families at Vincennes in 1790.
The heads of all the families had been at one time vested with certain titles to a
portion of the soil ; and while the secretary was busy in straightening out those
claims, he received a petition signed by eighty Americans, asking for the confirma-
tion of grants of land ceded by the Court, organized by Col. John Todd, under the
authority of Virginia. With reference to this cause. Congress, March 3, 1691, em-
powered the territorial governor, in cases where land had been actually improved
and cultivated under a supposed grant for the same, to confirm to the persons who
made such improvements the lands supposed to have been granted, not, however,
exceeding the quantity of 1,100 acres to any one person.
CHAPTER V.
MILITARY HISTORY.
PONTIAC'S SIEGE OF DETROIT.
In the Spring of 1763 Pontiac determined to take Detroit by an ingenious
attack. He had his men file off their guns so that they would be short enough to
conceal under their blanket clothing as they entered the fortification. A Canadian
woman wlio went over to their village on the east side of tiie river to obtain some
venison, saw them thus at work on their guns, and suspected they were preparing
for an attack on the whites. She told her neighbors what she had seen, and one of
them informed the commandant. Major Gladwyn, who at first slighted the advice,
but before anotiier day had passed he liad full knowledge of the plot. There is a
legend that a beautiful Chippewa girl, well-known to Gladwyn, divulged to him the
scheme which the Indians had in view, namely, that the next day Pontiac would
come to the fort with sixty of his chiefs, each armed with a gun cut short and
hidden under his blanket ; that Pontiac would demand a council, deliver a speech,
offer a peace-belt of wampum, holding it in a reversed position as the signal for
cs
^AiftdbtfMM
:l.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 49
attack ; that the chiefs, sitting upon the ground, would then spring up and fire
upon the officers, and the Indians out in the streets would next fall upon the
garrison, and kill every Englishman but spare all the French.
Gladwjni accordingly put the place in a state of defence as well as he could,
and arranged for a quiet reception of the Indians and a sudden attack upon them
when he should give a signal. At 10 o'clock, May 7, according to the girl's pre-
diction, the Indians came, entered the fort, and proceeded with the programme,
but witlj some hesitation, as they saw their plot was discovered. Pontiac made
his speech, professing friendship for the English, etc., and without giving his signal
for attack, sat down and heard Major Gladwyn's reply, who suffered him and his
men to retire unmolested. He probably feared to take them as prisoners, as war
was not actually commenced.
The next day Pontiac determined to try again, but was refused entrance at the
gate unless he should come in alone. He turned away in a rage, and in a few
minutes some of his men commenced the peculiarly Indian work of attacking an
innocent household and murdering them, just beyond the range of British guns.
Another squad murdered an Englishman on an island at a little distance. Pontiac
did not authorize the proceedings, but retired across the river and ordered pre-
parations to be made for taking the fort by direct assault, the headquarters of the
camp to be on " Bloody Run," west of the river. Meanwhile the garrison was
kept in readiness for any out-break. The very next day Pontiac, having received
reinforcements from the Chippewas of Saginaw Bay, commenced the attack, but
was repulsed; no deaths upon either side. Gladwyn sent ambassadors to arrange
for peace, but Pontiac, although professing to be willing, in a general way, to con-
clude peace, would not agree to any particular proposition. A number of Canadians
visited the fort and warned the commandant to evacuate, as 1,500 or more Indians
would storm the place in an hour ; and soon afterward a Canadian came with a
summons from Pontiac, demanding Gladwyn to surrender the post at once, and
promising that, in case of compliance, he and his men would be allowed to go on
board their vessels unmolested, leaving their arms and effects behind. To both
these advices Major Gladwyn gave a flat refusal.
Only three weeks' provisions were within the fort, and the garrison was in a
deplorable condition. A few Canadians, however, from across the river, sent some
provisions occasionally, by night. Had it not been for this timely assistance, the
garrison would doubtless have had to abandon the fort. The Indians themselves
soon began to suffer from hunger, as they had not prepared for a long siege ; but
Pontiac, after some maraudings upon the French settlers had been made, issued
" promise to pay " on birch bark, with which he pacified the residents. He sub-
sequently redeemed all these notes. About the end of July, Capt. Dalzell arrived
4
rfv*
•^<2-
-5
50
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
from Niagara with reinforcements and provisions, and persuaded Gladwyn to under-
take an aggressive movement against Pontiac. Dalzell was detailed for the purpose
of attacking the camp at Parents' Creek, a mile and a half away, but, being delayed
a day, Pontiac learned of his movements, and prepared his men to contest his march.
On the next morning, July 31, before day-break, Dalzell went out with 250 men,
but was repulsed with a loss of fifty-nine killed and wounded, while the Indians
lost less than half that number. Parents' Creek was afterward known as " Bloody
Run."
Shortly afterward, the schooner " Gladwyn," on its return from Niagara, with
ammunition and provisions, anchored about nine miles below Detroit for the night,
when in the darkness about 300 Indians in canoes came quietly upon the vessel
and very nearly succeeded in taking it. Slaughter proceeded vigorously until the
mate gave orders to his men to blow up the schooner, when the Indians under-
standing the design, fled precipitately, plunging into the water and swimming
ashore. This desperate command saved the crew, and the schooner succeeded in
reaching the post with the much-needed supply of provisions.
By this time, September, most of the tribes around Detroit were disposed to
sue for peace. A truce being obtained, Gladwyn laid in provisions for the Winter,
while Pontiac retired with his chiefs to the Maumee country, only to prepare for a
resumption of war the next Spring. He or his allies the next season carried on a
petty warfare until in August when the garrison, now worn out and reduced, were
relieved by fresh troops. Major Bradstreet commanding. Pontiac retired to the
Maumee again, still to stir up hate against the British. Meanwhile the Indians
near Detroit, scarcely comprehending what they were doing, were induced by
Bradstreet to declare themselves subjects of Great Britain. An embassy sent to
Pontiac induced him also to cease belligerent operations against the British.
In 1769 the great chief and warrior, Pontiac, was killed in Illinois by a Kaskas-
kia Indian, for a barrel of whisky offered by an Englishman named Williamson.
EXPEDITIONS OF HARMAR, SCOTT AND WILKINSON.
Gov. St. Clair, on his arrival at Fort Washington from Kaskaskia, had a long
conversation with Gen. Harmar, and concluded to send a powertul force to chastise
the savages about the head-waters of the Wabash. He had been empowered by
the President to call on Virginia for 1,000 troops and on Pennsylvania for 500, and
he immediately availed himself of this resource, ordering 300 of the Virginia mili-
tia to muster at Fort Steuben, and march with the garrison of that fort to Vin-
cennes, and join Maj. Hamtramck, who had orders to call for aid from the militia of
Vincennes, march up the Wabash and attack any of the Indian villages which he
might think he could overcome.
*> «- ^ ^ -*— — ®
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 51
The remaining 1,200 of the militia were ordered to rendezvous at Fort Wash-
ington, and to join the regular troops at that post under Gen. Harmar. At this
time the United States troops in the West were estimated by Gen. Harmar at 400
effective men. These, with the militia, gave him a force of 1,450 men. With this
army Gen. Harmar marched from Fort Washington, September 30, and arrived
at the Maumee, October 17. They commenced the work of punishing the Indians,
but were not very successful. The savages, it is true, received a severe scourging,
but the militia behaved so badly as to be of little or no service. A detachment of
340 militia and sixty regulars, under the command of Col. Hardin, were sorely
defeated on the Maumee October 22. The next day the army took up the line of
march for Fort Washington, which place they reached November 4, having lost in
the expedition 183 killed and thirty-one wounded ; the Indians lost about as many.
During the progress of this expedition Maj. Hamtramck marched up the Wabash
from Vincennes, as far as the Vermillion river, and destroyed several deserted vil-
lages, but without finding an enemy to oppose him. Although the savages seem to
have been severely punished by these expeditions, yet they refused to sue for peace,
and continued their hostilities. Thereupon, the inhabitants of the frontier settle-
ments of Virginia took alarm, and the delegates of Ohio, Monongahela, Harrison,
Randolph, Greenbrier, Kanawah and Montgomery counties sent a joint memorial
to the Governor of Virginia, saying that the defenseless condition of the counties,
forming aline of nearly 400 miles along the Ohio river, exposed to the hostile inva-
sion of their Indian enemies, destitute of every kind of support, was truly alarm-
ing, for, notwithstanding all the regulations of the General Government in that
country, they have reason to lament that they have been up to that time ineffectual
for their protection ; nor indeed could it be otherwise, for the garrisons kept by the
Continental troops on the Ohio River, if of any use at all, must protect only the
Kentucky settlement, as they immediately covered that country. They further
stated in their memorial, " We beg leave to observe that we have reason to fear
that the consequences of the defeat of our army by the Indians in the late expe-
dition will be severely felt on our frontiers, as there is no doubt that the Indians
will, in their turn, being flushed with victory, invade our settlements and exercise
all their horrid murder upon the inhabitants thereof whenever the weather will
permit them to travel. Then, is it not better to support us where we are, be the
expense what it may, than to oblige such a number of your brave citizens, who
have so long supported, and still continue to support, a dangerous frontier (although
thousands of their relatives in the flesh have in the prosecution thereof fallen a
sacrifice to the savage inventions) to quit the country, after all they have done and
suffered, when you know that a frontier must be supported somewhere ? "
This memorial caused the Legislature of Virginia to authorize the Governor of
-t^
(9
52 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
that State to make any defensive operations necessary for the temporary defense of
the frontiers, until the General Government could adopt and carry out measures to
suppress the hostile Indians. The Governor at once called upon the military com-
manding officers in the western counties of Virginia to raise by the first of March,
1791, several small companies for this purpose. At the same time Charles Scott
was appointed Brigadier-General of the Kentucky Militia, with authority to raise
226 volunteers, to protect the most exposed portions of that district. A full report
of the proceedings of the Virginia Legislature being transmitted to Congress, that
body constituted a local Board of War for the district of Kentucky, consisting of
five men. March, 1791, Gen. Henry Knox, Secretary of War, sent a letter of
instructions to Gen. Scott, recommending an expedition of mounted men not
exceding 750 men, against the Wea towns on the Wabash. With this force Gen.
Scott, accordingly, crossed the Ohio, May 23, 1791, and reached the Wabash in
about ten days. Many of the Indians, having discovered his approach, fled, but he
succeeded in destroying all the villages around Ouiatenon, together with several
Kickapoo towns, killing thirty-two warriors and taking fifty-eight prisoners. He
released a few of the most infirm prisoners, giving them a "talk," which they car-
ried to the towns further up the Wabash, and which the wretched condition of his
horses prevented him from reaching.
March 3, 1791, Congress provided for raising and equipping a regiment for the
protection of th^ frontiers, and Gov. St. Clair was invested with the chief command
of about 3,000 troops, to be raised and employed against the hostile Indians in the
territory over which his jurisdiction extended. He was instructed by the Secretary
of War to march to the Miami village and establish a strong and permanent mili-
tary post there, also such posts elsewhere along the Ohio as would be in communi-
cation with Fort Washington. The post at Miami Village was intended to keep
the savages in that vicinity in check, and was ordered to be strong enough in its
garrison to afford a detacliment of 500 or 600 men in case of emergency, either to
chastise any of the Wabash or other hostile Indians or capture convoys of the
enemy's provisions. The Secretary of War also urged Gov. St. Clair to establish
that post as the first and most important part of the campaign. In case of a pre-
vious treaty, the Indians were to be conciliated upon this point, if possible ; and he
presumed good arguments might be offered to induce their acquiescence. Said he :
" Having commenced your march upon the main expedition, and the Indians con-
tinuing hostile, you will use every possible exertion to make them feel the effects
of your superiority ; and, after having arrived at the Miami village and put your
works in a defensible state, you will seek the enemy with the whole of your remain-
ing force, and endeavor by all jiossible means to strike them with great severity."
"In order to avoid future wars, it might be proper to make the Wabash and thence
9 L
f'^ — >- -^--4^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 53
over to the Maumee, and down the same to its mouth, at Lake Erie, the boundary be-
tween the people of the United States and the Indians (excepting so far as the same
should relate to the Wyandots and Dela wares), on the supposition of their continu-
ing faithful to the treaties ; but if they should join in the war against the United
States, and your army be victorious, the said tribes ought to be removed without the
boundaries mentioned."
Previous to marching a strong force to the Miami town. Gov. St. Clair, June
25, 1791, authorized Gen. Wilkinson to conduct a second expedition, not exceeding
500 mounted men, against the Indian villages on the Wabash. Accordingly, Gen.
Wilkinson mustered his forces and was ready July 20, to march with 525 mounted
volunteers, well armed, and provided with 30 days' provisions, and with this force
he reached the Ke-na-pa-com-a-qua village on the north bank of Eel River, about
six miles above its mouth, Aug. 7, where he killed six warriors and took 34
prisoners.
This town, which was scattered along the river for three miles, was totally
destroyed. Wilkinson encamped on the ruins of the town that night, and the
next day he commenced his march for the Kickapoo town, on the prairie which he
was unable to reach owing to the impassable condition of the route which he adopted
and the failing condition of his horses. He reported the estimated result of the
expedition as follows : " I have destroyed the chief town of the Ouiatenon nation,
and have made prisoners of the sons and sisters of the king. I have burned a
respectable Kickapoo village, and cut down at least 400 acres of corn, chiefly in
the milk."
EXPEDITIONS OF ST. CLAIR AND WAYNE.
The Indians were greatly damaged by the expeditions of Harmar, Scott and
Wilkinson, but were far from being subdued. They regarded the policy
of the United States as calculated to exterminate them from the land; and,
goaded on by the English of Detroit, enemies of the Americans, they were excited
to desperation. At this time the British Government still supported garrisons
at Niagara, Detroit and Michilimackinac, although it was declared by the second
article of the definite treaty of peace of 1783, that the King of Great Britain would,
" with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction or carrying away
any negroes or property of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his forces, gar-
risons and fleets from the United States, and from every post harbor and place
within the same." That treaty also provided that the creditors on either side
should meet with no lawful impediments to the recovery to the full value, in sterl-
ing money, of all bona fide debts previously contracted. The British Government
claimed that the United States had broken faith in this particular understanding
of the treaty, and in consequence refused to withdraw its forces from the territory.
:^
54 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
The British garrisons in the Lake Region were a source of much annoyance to the
Americans, as they afforded succor to the hostile Indians, encouraging them to
make raids among the Americans. This state of affairs in the territory north-
west of the Ohio, continued from the commencement of the Revolutionary war to
1796, when under a second treaty all British soldiers were withdrawn from the
country.
In September, 1791, St. Clair moved from Fort Washington with about 2,000
men, and November 3, the main arm}^ consisting of about 1,400 effective troops,
moved forward to the head-waters of the Wabash, where Fort Recover}^ was after-
ward erected, and here the army encamped. About 1,200 Indians were secreted
a few miles distant, awaiting a favorable opportunity to begin an attack, which
they improved on the morning of Nov. 4, about half an hour before sunrise. The
attack was first made upon the militia, which immediately gave way. St. Clair
was defeated and he returned to Fort Washington with a broken and dispirited
army, having lost 39 officers killed, and 539 men killed and missing ; 22 officers
and 232 men were wounded. Several pieces of artillery and all the baggage,
ammunition baggage and provisions were left on the field of battle and fell into the
hands of the victorious Indians. The stores and other public property lost in the
action were valued at $32,800. There were also 100 or more American women
with the army of the whites, very few of whom escaped the cruel carnage of the
savage Indians. Tlie latter, characteristic of their brutal nature, proceeded in the
rush of victory to perpetrate the most horrible acts of cruelty and barbarity upon
the bodies of the living and the dead Americans who fell into their hands. Believ-
ing that the whites had made war for many years merely to acquire land, the
Indians crammed clay and sand into the eyes and down the throats of the dying
and the dead !
GEN. Wayne's great victory.
Although no particular blame was attached to Gov. St. Clair for the loss in
this expedition, yet he resigned the office of major-general, and was succeeded by
Anthony Wayne, a distinguished officer of the Revolutionary war. Early in 1792,
preparations were made by the General Government for re-organizing the arm3s so
that it should consist of an efficient degree of strength. Wayne arrived at Pitts-
burgh in June, wliere the army was to rendezvous. Here he continued actively
engaged in organizing and training his forces until October, 1793, when with an
army of about 3,600 men, he moved westward to Fort Wasliington.
While Wayne was preparing for an offensive campaign, ever}'- possible means
was employed to induce the hostile tribes of the Northwest to enter into a general
treaty of peace with the American Government; speeches were sent among them,
and agents to make treaties were also sent, but little was accomplished. Major
Llil
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 55
Hamtramck, who still remained at Vincennes, succeeded in concluding a general
peace with the Wabash and Illinois Indians ; but the tribes more immediately under
the influence of the British, refused to hear the sentiments of friendship that were
sent among them, and tomahawked several of the messengers. Their courage had
been aroused by St. Clair's defeat, as well as by the unsuccessful expedition which
had preceded it, and they now felt quite prepared to meet a superior force under
Gen. Wayne. The Indians insisted on the Ohio River as the boundary line between
their lands and the lands of the United States, and felt certain that thev could
maintain that boundary. Maj. Gen. Scott, with about 1,600 mounted volunteers
from Kentucky, joined the regular troops under Gen. Wayne, July 26, 1794, and on
the 28th, the united forces began their march on the Indian towns of the Maumee
River. Arriving at the mouth of the Auglaize, they erected Fort Defiance, and on
August 15, the army advanced toward the British fort at the foot of the rapids of
the Maumee, where on the 20th, almost within reach of the British, the American
army obtained a decisive victory over the combined forces of the hostile Indians
and a considerable number of the Detroit Br. militia. The number of the enemy was
estimated at 2,000, against about 900 American troops actually engaged. This
horde of savages, as soon as the action began, abandoned themselves to flight and
dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving Wayne's victorious army in full and quiet
possession of the field. The Americans lost thirty-three killed and one hundred
wounded ; while the loss of the enemy was more than double this number.
The army remained three days and nights on the banks of the Maumee,
in front of the field of battle, during which time all the houses and corn-
fields were consumed and destro3'ed for a considerable distance both above and be-
low Fort Miami, as well as within pistol shot of the British garrison, who were
compelled to remain idle spectators to this general devastation and conflagration,
among which were the houses, stores and property of Col. McKee, the British
Indian agent and "principal instigator of the war then existing between the
United States and savages." On the return march to Fort Defiance the villages
and cornfields for about fifty miles on each side of the Maumee were destroyed, as
well as those for a considerable distance around that post.
September 14, 1794, the army under Gen. Wayne commenced its march toward
the deserted Miami villages at the confluence of St. Joseph and St. Mary's rivers,
arriving October 17, and on the following day the site of Fort Wayne was selected.
The fort was completed November 22, and garrisoned by a strong detachment of
infantry and artillery, under the command of Col. John F. Hamtramck, who gave
to the new fort the name of Fort Wayne. In 1814, a new fort was built on the
site of this structure. The Kentucky volunteers returned to Fort Washington and
were mustered out of service. Gen. Wayne, with the Federal troops, marched to
"®
^
Greenville and took up his headquarters during the Winter. Here in August, 1T95,
after several raontlis of active negotiation, this gallant officer succeeded in conclud-
ing a general treaty of peace with all the hostile tribes of the Northwestern Ter-
ritory. This treaty opened the way for the flood of immigration for many years, and
ultimately made the States and Territories now constituting the mighty Northwest.
Up to the organization of the Indiana Territory there is but little history to
record apart from those events connected with military affairs. In July 1796, as
before stated, after a treaty was concluded between the United States and Spain,
the British garrisons, with their arras, artillery and stores were withdrawn from
the posts within the boundaries of the United States northwest of the Ohio River,
and a detachment of American troops, consisting of sixty-five men, under the com-
mand of Capt. Moses Porter, took possession of the evacuated post of Detroit in
the same month.
In the latter part of 1796 Winthrop Sargent went to Detroit and organized
the county of Wayne, forming a part of the Indiana Territory until its division in
1805, when the Territory of Michigan was organized.
EEVOLUTIONARY WAR.
By this important struggle the territory of the present State of Michigan was
but little affected, the posts of Detroit and Mackinaw being the principal points
whence the British operated among the Indians to prejudice them against the
" Americans," going so far as to pay a reward for scalps, which the savages, of
course, hesitated not to take from defenseless inhabitants. The expeditions made
by the Indians for this purpose were even supported sometimes by the regular
troops and local militia. One of these joint expeditions, commanded by Capt.
Byrd, set out from Detroit to attack Louisville, Ky. It proceeded in boats as far
as it could ascend the Maumee, and thence crossed to the Oiiio River, on which
stream Ruddle's Station was situated, which surrendered at once, without fighting,
under the promise of being protected from the Indians ; but this promise was
broken and all the prisoners massacred.
Another expedition under Gov. Hamilton, the commandant at Detroit, started
out in 177H, iind appeared at Vincennes, Ind., with a force of thirty regulars, fifty
Frencli volunteers and about 400 Indians. At this fort the garrison consisted of
only Capt. Helm and one soldier named Henry. Seeing the troops at a distance,
they loaded a cannon, which they placed in the open gateway, and Capt. Helm
stood by the cannon with a lighted match. When Hamilton with his army
approached within hailing distance, Helm called out with a loud voice, " Halt !"
This siiow of resistance made Hamilton stop and demand a surrender of the garri-
son. " No man," exclaimed Helm, with an oath, " enters here until I know the
■©
kt's — *^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 57
fe*
terms." Hamilton replied, '* You shall have the honor of war." Helm thereupon
surrendered the fort, and the whole garrison, consisting of the two already named,
marched out and received the customary marks of respect for their brave defense.
Hamilton was soon after made to surrender this place to Gen. George Rogers Clark,
the ablest American defender in the West. The British soldiers were allowed to
return to Detroit ; but their commander, who was known to have been active in
instigating Indian barbarities, was put in irons and sent to Virginia as a prisoner
of war.
The events just related are specimens of what occurred at and in connection
with Detroit from the close of Pontiac's war until a number of years after the
establishment of American Independence. When the treaty of peace was signed
in Versailles in 1783, the British on the frontier reduced their aggressive policy
somewhat, but they continued to occupy the lake posts until 1796, on the claim that
the lake region was not designed to be included in the treaty by the commissioners,
probably on account of their ignorance of the geography of the region. Mean-
while the Indians extensively organized for depredation upon the Americans, and
continued to harass them at every point. Daring this period Alexander McKenzie,
an agent of the British Government, visited Detroit, painted like an Indian, and
said that he was just from the upper lakes, and that the tribes in that region were
all in arms against any further immigration of Americans, and were ready to attack
the infant settlements in Ohio. His statement had the desired effect, and encour-
aged also by an agent from the Spanish settlements on the Mississippi, the Indians
organized a great confederacy against the United States. To put this down Gen.
Harmar was first sent out by the Government with 1,400 men ; but he imprudently
divided his army, and he was taken by surprise and defeated by a body of Indians
under " Little Turtle." Gen. Arthur St. Clair was next sent out, with 2,000 men,
and he suffered a like fate. Then Gen. Anthony Wayne was sent West with a still
larger army, and on the Maumee he gained an easy victory over the Indians, within a
few miles of a British post. He finally concluded a treaty with the Indians at Green-
ville, which broke up the whole confederacy. The British soon afterwards gave up
Detroit and Mackinaw.
It was a considerable time before the Territory of Michigan now in possession
of the United States, was improved or altered by the increase of settlements. The
Canadian French continued to form the principal part of its population. The
interior of the country was but little known, except by the Indians and the fur
traders. The Indian title not being fully extinguished, no lands were brought into
market, and consequently the settlements increased but slowly. The State of
Michigan at this time constituted simply the county of Wayne in Northwest Ter-
ritory. It sent one representative to the legislature of that Territory, which was
«-
V
A
58 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
held at Chillicothe. A court of Common Pleas was organized for the county, and
the General Court of the whole Territory sometimes met at Detroit. No roads had
as yet been constructed through the interior, nor were there any settlements except
on the frontiers. The habits of the people were essentially military, and but little
attention was paid to agriculture except by the French peasantry. A representative
was sent to the General Assembly of the Northwest Territory at Chillicothe until
1800, when Indiana was erected into a separate Territory. Two years later Mich-
igan was annexed to Indiana Territory, but in 1805 Michigan separated and William
Hull was appointed its first Governor.
The British revived the old prejudices that the Americans intended to drive
the Indians out of the country, and the latter, under the lead of Tecumseh and his
brother Elkswatawa, the " prophet," organized again on an extensive scale to make
war upon the Americans. The great idea of Tecumseli's life was a universal con-
federacy of all the Indian tribes North and South to resist the invasion of the
whites ; and his plan was to surprise them at all their posts throughout the country
and capture them by the first assault. At this time the entire white population of
Michigan was about 4,800, four-fifths of whom were French and the remainder
Americans. The settlements were situated on the rivers Miami and Raisin, on
the Huron of Lake Erie, on the Ecorse Range, and Detroit Rivers, on the Huron
of St. Clair, on the St. Clair River and Mackinaw Island. Besides, there were here
and there a group of huts belonging to the French fur traders. The villages on the
Maumee, the Raisin and the Huron of Lake Erie contained a population of about
1,800 ; the settlements at Detroit and northward had about 2,200 ; Mackinaw about
1,000. Detroit was garrisoned by ninety-four men, and Mackinaw by seventy-nine.
hull's surrender.
Now we have to record an unexplained mystery, which no historian of Mich-
igan can omit, namely, the surrender of Detroit to the British by Gen. Hull, when
his forces were not in action and were far more powerful than the enemy. He was
either a coward or a traitor, or both. The commander of the British forces. Gen.
Brock, triumphantly took possession of the fort, left a small garrison under Col.
Proctor, and returned to the seat of his government. In twelve days he had moved
with a small army 250 miles against the enemy, effected the surrender of a strong
fort and well-equipped army of 2,300 effective men, and one of the Territories of
the United States. Hull and the regular troops were taken to Montreal, and the
militia were sent to their homes.
In the capitulation. Gen. Hull also surrendered Fort Dearborn, at Chicago,
commanding (.Captain Heald of that place to evacuate and retreat to Fort Wayne.
In obedience to this order, the Captain started from the fort with his forces ; but
"^FU r-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 59
no sooner were they, outside the walls than they were attacked by a large force of
Indians, who took them prisoners and then proceeded to massacre them, killing
thirty-eight out of the sixty-six soldiers, even some of the women and children, two
of the former and twelve of the latter. Captain Wells, a white man who had been
brought up among the Indians, but espoused the white man's cause, was killed in
the massacre.
January 3, 1814, Gen. Hull appeared before a court-martial at Albany, N. Y.,
where Gen. Dearborn was president. The accused made no objection to the con-
stitution and jurisdiction of this court ; its sessions were protracted and every
facility was given the accused to make his defense. The three charges against
him were treason, cowardice and neglect of duty. Hull was finally acquitted of
the high crime of treason, but he was found guilty of the other charges, and sen-
tenced to be shot ; but by reason of his services in the Revolution and his advanced
age the court recommended him to the mercy of the President, who approved the
sentence and dismissed Hull from the service. The accused wrote a long defense,
in which he enumerates many things too tedious to relate here.
Even before he was sent to Detroit he was rather opposed to the policy of the
Government toward the British of Canada; and, besides, he had been kindly treated
by British officers, who helped him across the frontier. Again, the General Gov-
ernment was unreasonably slow to inform the General of the declaration of war
which had been made against Great Britain, and very slow to forward troops and
supplies. Many things can be said on both sides ; but historians generally approve
the judgment of the court in his case, as well as of the executive clemency of the
President.
perry's victory.
The lake communication of Michigan with the East, having been in the hands
of the British since Hull's surrender, was cut off by Com. Perry, who obtained
a signal naval victory over the British on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813. The
Commodore put his fleet at Erie, Pa., under great disadvantages. The bar at the
mouth of the harbor would not permit the vessels to pass out with their armament
on board. For some time after the fleet was ready to sail, the British commodore
continued to hover off the harbor, well knowing it must either remain there inac-
tive or venture out with almost a certainty of defeat. During this blockade, Com.
Perry had no alternative, but to ride at anchor at Erie ; but early in September
the enemy relaxed his vigilance and withdrew to the upper end of the lake. Perry
then slipped out beyond the bar and fitted his vessels for action. The British fleet
opposed to Com. Perry consisted of the ships " Detroit," carrying nineteen guns ;
the " Queen Charlotte," seventeen guns; the schooner "Lady Prevost," thirteen
guns ; the brig " Hunter," ten guns; the sloop "Little Belt," three guns, and the
-« — s)L
60 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
schooner " Chippewa," one giin and two swivels; and this fleet«was commanded by
a veteran ofiBcer of tried skill and valor.
At sunrise, September 10, while at anchor in Put-in-Bay, the Commodore
espied the enemy toward the head of the lake, and he immediately sailed up and
commenced action. His flag vessel, the Lawrence, was engaged with the full force of
the enemy for nearly two hours before the wind permitted the other vessels to come
in proper position to help. The crew of this vessel continued the fight until every
one of them was either killed or wounded, all the rigging torn to pieces and every
gun dismantled. Now comes the daring feat of the engagement which makes Perry
a hero. He caused his boat to be lowered, in which he rowed to the Niagara amid
the storm of shot and shell raging around him. This vessel he sailed through the
enemy's fleet with swelling breeze, pouring in her broadsides upon their ships and
forcing them to surrender in rapid succession, until all were taken. The smaller
vessels of his fleet helped in this action, among which was one commanded by the
brave and faithful Capt. Elliott. This victory was one of the most decisive in all
the annals of American history. It opened the lake to Gen. Wm. H. Harrison,
who had been operating in Indiana and Ohio, and who now crossed with his army
to Canada, where he had a short campaign, terminated by the battle of the Morav-
ian towns, by which the enemy were driven from the northwestern frontier. A
detachment of his army occupied Detroit, September 20, 1813, and October 18, an
armistice was concluded with the Indians, then restoring tranquility to the Terri-
tory of Michigan. Soon afterward Gen. Harrison left Gen. Cass in command at
Detroit and moved with the main body of his army down to the Niagara frontier.
Perry's brilliant success gave to the Americans the uncontrolled command of
the lake, and September 23, their fleet landed 1,200 men near Maiden. Col. Proc-
tor, however, had previously evacuated that post, after setting fire to the fort and
public storehouses. Commodore Perry in the meantime, passed up to Detroit with
the " Ariel," to assist in the occupation of that town, while Capt. Elliott, with the
"Lady Prevost," the "Scorpion," and the "Tigress," advanced into Lake St. Clair
to intercept the enemy's stores. Thus Gen. Harrison, on his arrival at Detroit and
Maiden, found botli places abandoned by the enemy, and was met by the Canadians
asking for his protection. Tecumseh proposed to the British commander that they
should hazard an engagement at Maiden ; but the latter foresaw that he should be
exposed to the fire of the American fleet in that position, and therefore resolved to
march to the Moravian towns upon the Thames, near St. Clair Lake, above Detroit,
and there try the chance of a battle. His force at this time consisted of about 900
regular troops and 1,500 Indians, commanded by Tecumseh. The American army
amounted to about 2,700 men, of whom 120 were regulars, a considerable number
of militia, about thirty Indians, and the remainder Kentucky riflemen, well mount-
7|(e r- ~^ B
'\.
4
HISTORY OF MICHIGA:^. 61
ed, and mainly young men, full of ardor, and burning with a desire to revenge the
massacre of their friends and relatives at the River Raisin. During the following
Winter, there were no military movements, except an incursion into the interior of
the upper province, by Major Holmes, who was attacked near Stony Creek, and
maintained his ground with bravery.
CLOSE OP THE WAR.
The war with Great Britain was now (November, 1813), practically closed, so
far as the Northwest was concerned, the post at Mackinaw yet remained in the
hands of the enemy, but active steps were taken to dispossess the English of this
point and drive them wholly from the domain of the United States. The first
effort to start an expedition failed ; but in the Summer of 1814, a well-equipped
force of two sloops oi. war, several schooners, and 750 land militia, under the com-
mand of Commodore St. Clair and Lieut. Colonel Croghan, started for the north.
Contrary, however, to the advice of experienced men, the commanders concluded
to visit St. Joseph first, and the British, of Mackinaw, heard of feheir coming, and
prepared themselves. The consequence was a failure to take the place. Major
Holmes was killed, and the Winnebago Indians, from Green Bay, allies of the
British, actually cut out the hearts and liver from the American slain, and cooked
and ate them ! Com. St. Clair afterward made some arrangements to starve out
the post, but his vessels were captuaed, and the British then remained secure in the
possession of the place until the treaty of peace the following Winter.
The war with England formally closed on December 24, 1814, when a treaty
of peace was signed at Ghent. The ninth article of the treaty required the
United States to put an end to hostilities with all tribes or nations of Indians with
whom they had been at war; to restore to such tribes or nations respectively all the
rights and possessions to which they were entitled in 1811, before the war, on con-
dition that such Indians should agree to desist from all hostilities against the United
States. But in February, just before the treaty was sanctioned by our Government
there were signs of Indians accumulating arms and ammunition, and a cautionary
order was therefore issued to have all the white forces in readiness for an attack
by the Indians, but the attack was not made. During the ensuing Summer and Full,
the United States Government acquainted the Indians with the provisions of the
treaty and entered into subordinate treaties of peace with the principal tribes.
Just before the treaty of Spring Wells (near Detroit) was signed, the Sha-
wanee Prophet retired to Canada, declaring his resolution to abide by any
treaty which the chiefs might sign. Some time afterward he returned to the Sha-
wanee settlement in Ohio, and lastly to the west of the Mississippi, where he died
in 1834. The British Government allowed him a pension from 1813 until his
death.
THE TECUMSEH WAR.
If one should inquire who has been the greatest Indian, the most noted, the
" principal Indian " in North America since its discovery by Columbus, we would
be obliged to answer, Tecumseh. For all those qualities that elevate a man far
above his race ; for talent, tact, skill and bravery as a warrior ; for high-minded,
honorable and chivalrous bearing as a man ; in a word, for all those elements of
greatness which place him along way above his fellows in savage life, the name and
fame of Tecumseh will go down to posterity in the West as one of the most cele-
brated of the aborigines of this continent, — as one who had no equal among the
tribes that dwelt in the country drained by the Mississippi. Born to command him-
self, he used all the appliances that would stimulate the courage and nerve the
valor of his followers. Always in the front rank of battle, tiis followers blindly
followed his lead, and as his war-cry rang clear above the din and noise of the
battle-field, the Shawnee warriors, as they rushed on to victory or the grave, rallied
around him, forever worthy of the steel of the most gallant commander that ever
entered the list in the defense of his altar or his home.
The tribe to which Tecumseh, or Tecumtha, as some write it, belonged, was the
Shawnee, or Shawanee. The tradition of the nation held that they originally came
from the Gulf of Mexico ; that they wended their way up the Mississippi and the
Ohio, and settled at or near the present site of the Shawneetown, 111., whence they
removed to the upper Wabash. In the latter place, at any rate, they were found
early in the 18th century, and were known as the " bravest of the brave." This
tribe has uniformly been the bitter enemy of the white man, and in every contest
with our people exhibited a degree of skill and strategy that should character-
ize the most dangerous foe. Tecumseh's notoriety and that of his brother, the
Prophet, mutually served to establish and strengthen each other. While the
Prophet had unlimited power, spiritual and temporal, he distributed his greatness
in all the departments of Indian life with a kind of fanaticism that magnetically
aroused the religious and superstitious passions, not only of his own followers, but
also of all the tribes in this part of the country ; but Tecumseh concentrated his
greatness upon the more practical and business affairs of military conquest. It is
doubted whether he was really a sincere believer in the pretensions of his fanatic
brother; if lie did not believe in the pretentious feature of them he had the shrewd-
ness to keep his unbelief to himself, knowing that religious fanaticism was one of
the strongest impulses to reckless bravery.
During his sojourn in the Northwestern Territory, it was Tecumseh's upper-
most desire of life to confederate all the Indian tribes of the country, against the
whites, to maintain their choice hunting-grounds. All his public policy converged
toward this single end. In his vast scheme he comprised even all the Indians in
—iL
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 63
the Gulf country, — all in America west of the Alleghany mountains. He held, as
a subordinate principle, that the Great Spirit had given the Indian race all these
hunting-grounds to keep in common, and that no Indian or tribe could cede any
portion of the land to the whites without consent of all the trices. Hence, in all
his councils with the whites he ever maintained that the treaties were null and
void.
When he met Harrison at Vincennes in council the last time, and, as he was
invited by the General to take a seat with him on the platform, he hesitated ; Har-
rison insisted, saying that it was the " wish of their Great Father, the President of
the United States that he should do so." The chief paused a moment, raised his
tall and commanding form to its greatest height, surveyed the troops and crowd
around him, fixed his keen eyes upon Gov. Harrison, and then turning them to the
sky above, and pointing toward heaven with his sinewy arm in a manner indicative
of supreme contem'pt for the paternity assigned him, said in clarion tones : " My
Father ? The sun is my father, the earth is my mother, and on her bosom I will
recline." He then stretched himself, with his warriors on the green sward. The
effect was electrical, and for some moments there was perfect silence.
The Governor, then, through an interpreter, told him that he understood that
he had some complaints to make and redress to ask, etc., and that he wished to
investigate the matter and make restitution whenever it might be decided it should
be done. As soon as the Governor was through with this introductory speech, the
stately warrior arose, tall, athletic, manly, dignified and graceful, and with a voice
at first low, but distinct and musical, commenced a reply. As he warmed up with
his subject his clear tones might be heard, as if " trumpet-tongued," to the utmost
limits of the assembly — the most perfect silence prevailed, except when his warriors
gave their guttural assent to some eloquent recital of the red-men's wrong and the
white man's injustice. Tecumseh recited the wrongs whicli his race had suffered
from the time of the massacre of the Moravian Indians to the present ; said he did
not know how he ever again could be the friend of the white man ; that the Great
Spirit had given to the Indian all the land from the Miami to the Mississippi, and
from the lakes to the Ohio, as a common property to all the tribes in these borders,
and that the land could not and should not be sold without the consent of all ;
that all the tribes on the continent formed but one nation ; that if the United
States would not give up the lands they had bought of tlie Miamis and the other
tribes, those united with him were determined to annihilate those tribes; that they
were determined to have no more chiefs, but in future to be governed by their war-
riors ; that unless the whites ceased their encroachments upon Indian lands, the
fate of the Indians was sealed ; they had been driven from the banks of the Dela-
ware across the Alleghanies, and their possessions on the Wabash and the Illinois
r
were now to be taken from them ; that in a few years they would not have ground
enough to bury their warriors on this side of " Father of "Waters ; " that all would
perish, all their possessions taken from them by fraud or force, unless they stopped
the progress of the white man westward ; that it must be a war of races in which
one or the other must perish ; that their tribes had been driven toward the setting
sun like a galloping horse (ne-kat-a-kush-e-ka-top-o-lin-to).
The Shawnee language, in which this most eminent Indian statesman spoke,
excelled all other aboriginal tongues in its musical articulation ; and the effect of
Tecumseh's oratory on this occasion can be more easily imagined than described.
Gov. Harrison, altliough as brave a soldier and general as any American, was over-
come by his speech. He well knew Tecumseh's power and influence among all the
tribes, knew his bravery, courage and determination, and knew that he meant what
he said. When Tecumseh was done speaking there was a stillness throughout the
assembly which was really painful; not a whisper was heard, and all eyes were
turned from the speaker toward Gov. Harrison, who after a few moments came to
himself, and recollecting many of the absurd statements of the great Indian orator,
began a reply which was more logical, if not so eloquent. The Shawnees were
attentive until Harrison's interpreter began to translate his speech to the Miamis
and Pottawatomies, when Tecumseh and his warriors sprang to their feet, brand-
ishing their war-clubs and tomahawks. " Tell him," said Tecumseh, addressing
the interpreter in Shawnee, " he lies." The interpreter undertook to convey this
message to the Governor in smoother language, but Tecumseh noticed the effort
and remonstrated, " No, no ; tell him he lies." The warriors began to grow more
excited, when Secretary Gibson ordered the American troops in arms to advance.
This allayed the rising storm, and as soon as Tecumseh's " He lies" was literally
interpreted to the Governor, the latter told the interpreter to tell Tecumseh he
would hold no further council with him.
Thus the a.ssembly was broken up, and one can hardly imagine a more exciting
scene. It would constitute the finest subject for a historical painting to adorn the
rotunda of the capitol. The next day Tecumseh requested another interview with
the Governor, which was granted on condition that he should make an apology to
the (iovernor for his language the day before. This he made through the inter-
preter. Measures for defense and protection were taken, however, lest there should
be another outbreak. Two companies of militia were ordered from the country,
anil the one in town added to them, while the Governor and his friends went into
council fully armed and prepared for any contingency. On this occasion the con-
duct of Tecumseh was entirely different from that of the day before. Firm and
intrepid, showing not the slightest fear or alarm, surrounded with a military force
four times his own, he preserved the utmost composure and equanimity. None
J^ — ^
^ 9)
^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. Go
would have supposed that he coukl have been the principal actor in the thrilling
scene of the previous day. He claimed that half tlie Americans were in sympathy
with him. He also said that whites had informed him that Gov. Harrison had
purchased land from the Indians without any authority from the Government ; that
he, Harrison, had but two years more to remain in office, and that if he, Tecumseh,
could prevail upon the Indians who sold the lands not to receive their annuities for
that time, and the present Governor displaced by a good man as his successor, the
latter would restore to the Indians all the lands purchased from them. The Wyan-
dots, Kickapoos, Pottawattomies, Ottawas and the Winnebagoes, through their
respective spokesmen, declared their adherence to the great Shawnee warrior and
statesman. Gov. Harrison then told them that he would send Tecumseh's speech
to the President of the United States and return the answer to the Indians as soon
as it was received. Tecumseh then declared that he and his allies were determined
that the old boundary line should continue ; and that if the whites crossed it, it
would be at their peril. Gov. Harrison replied that he would be equally plain with
him and state that the President would never allow that the lands on the Wabash
were the property of any other tribes than those who had occupied them since the
white people first came to America; and as the title to the lands lately purchased
was derived from those tribes by a late purchase, he might rest assured that the
right of the United States would be supported by the sword. " So be it " was the
stern and haughty reply of the Shawnee chieftain, as he and his braves took leave
of the Governor and Avended their way in Indian file to their camping ground.
Thus ended the last conference on earth by the chivalrous Tecumseh and the
hero of the battle of Tippecanoe. The bones of the first lie bleaching on the
battlefield of the Thames, and those of the last in a mausoleum on the banks of
the Ohio ; each struggled for the mastery of his race, and each no doubt was
equally honest and patriotic in his purposes. The weak yielded to the strong, the
defenseless to the powerful, and the hunting-ground of the Shawnee is all occupied
by his enemy.
Tecumseh, with four of his braves, immediately embarked in a birch canoe,
descended the Wabash, and went on to the South to unite the tribes of that country
in a general system of self-defense against the encroachment of the whites. His
emblem was a disjointed snake, with the motto " Join or die ! " In union alone
was strength.
Before Tecumseh left the Prophet's town at the mouth of the Tippecanoe River,
on his excursion to the South, he had a definite understanding with his brother and
the chieftains of the other tribes in the Wabash country, that they should preserve
perfect peace with the whites until his arrangements were completed for a con-
federacy of the tribes on both sides of the Ohio and on the Mississippi River; but
5
m HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
it seems that while he was in ^le Soutli engaged in his work of uniting the tribes •
of that country some of the Northern tribes showed signs of fight and precipitated
Harrison into that campaign which ended in the battle of Tippecanoe, and the
total rout of the Indians. Tecumseh, on his return from the South, learning what
had happened, was overcome with chagrin, disappointment, and anger, and accused
his brother of duplicity and cowardice ; indeed, it is said, he never forgave him to
the day of his death. A short time afterward, on the breaking out of the war with
Great Britain, he joined Proctor, at Maiden, with a party of his warriors, and was
killed at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, by a Mr. Wheatly, as we are
positively informed by Mr. A. J. James, now a resident of La Harpe township,
Hancock County, Illinois, whose father-in-law, John Pigman, of Coshocton County,
Oliio, wa3 an eye-witness. Gen. Johnson has generally had the credit of killing
Tecumseh.
THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
â– The excitement which this war caused throughout the settlements of Michigan
was such as would appear incomprehensible at the present time. Macomb County
was no exception to the general rule, although her French citizens maintained a
dignified equanimity.
On the mor;!ing of May 10, 1832, the news of Black Hawk's advance reached
Col. J. D. Davis' camp at Plymouth, and was carried thence into the homes of
Macomb by a dozen of busy gossipers. At each village the number of Indians was
increased by these faithful couriers until, at length, when the news reached Mt.
Clemens, it was to the effect that Black Hawk and 80,000 warriors were encamped
at that moment on Pigeon Prairie.
The men liable to military service in the county were called out, but on learn-
ing that the seat of war was several hundred miles west, that the reports were
entirely exaggerated ; that the Sacs and Foxes were scattered or slain, then, and
only then did the white warriors of Macomb return to their homes.
THE TOLEDO WAR.
The convention to form a State Constitution met on the second Monday in
May, 183.";, in the city of Detroit, performing their duties and adjourning the 24th
of the same month. In giving their boundaries they made the southern the same
as recogniz.id by the ordinance of 1787, and as understood when the Territory
was formed. The constitution framed by the convention was submitted to
the people and by them approved, after which it was sent to Congress for its
action, not doul)ting but Michigan would be admitted as a State as soon as Con-
gress assembled.
To this boundary Ohio entered her protest by her delegation in Congress, and
<2_
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. G7
• by her State Legislature and Executive, and at once organized her civil powers
through and over the disputed territory, which was about six miles wide on the
ludiana line, and eight or nine miles at the Maumee River. Congress rejected the
application on the 15th of June, 1836, and submitted a proposition to the people
of the Territory July 25 of the same year, fixing the southern boundary where
it now is, and in consideration therefor the following grants were to be made :
1st. Section 16 of every township for the use of schools.
2d. Seventy-two sections for a State University.
3d. Five sections to build a State Capitol.
4th. Twelve salt springs, with six sections of land to each, for the general
uses of the Territory.
5th. Five per cent, of net proceeds of public lands, when sold, for public roads
and canals.
6th. Alteration of northern boundaries so as to include the upper peninsula.
While this question of boundary was pending in Congress, great excitement
sprang up among the people on both sides, so great, indeed, as to lead to what was
known as the Toledo War.
To get a clear insight into the ways and methods by which the first pioneers
of the country managed questions affecting their local interests, we can do no bet-
ter than to adopt, in these pages, the story of each participant, and from these
draw our own conclusions as to the right. Michigan says : The approaching
organization of the State Government invested the disputed question with pressing
importance, and hostilities on the disputed territory soon became active. In Feb-
ruary, 1835, the Legislature of Ohio passed an act extending the jurisdiction of
that State over the territory in question, organized townships and directed them
to elect officers in April following. It also directed Gov. Lucas to appoint three
commissioners to survey and re-mark the Harris line, and named April 1 as the
time when the work should commence. Gov. Mason anticipated this action of the
Ohio Leo'islature by an act of the Legislative Council making it a criminal offense,
punishable by a heavy fine, or by imprisonment, for any one to attempt ta exercise
any official functions, or to accept any office within the jurisdiction of the Territory
of Michio-an by virtue of any authority not deiived from said Territory or from the
United States. Gov. Mason directed Gen. Brown, then in command of the militia
of the Territory, to hold himself in readiness to take the field sliould Ohio attempt
to carry out the instructions of her Legislature. On the 31st of March, Governor
Lucas, with his commissioners, and Gen. Bell of the Ohio militia, arrived at Perrys-
buro-,on their way to commence the survey and re-marking of the Karris line. Here
they proceeded to muster a force of 600 volunteers, who were organized and went
into camp at Fort Miami to await the Governor's orders.
i
tt) hV
â– ^^ J '^ 1 rfuzfjj
08 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
In the meantime Gov. Mason with Gen. Brown had raised a force from eight
to twelve hundred strong, and were in possession of Toledo. When Gov. Lucas
observed the determined bearing of the Michigan braves, and took note of their
numbers, he found it convenient to content himself for a time " with watching over
the border." Several days were passed in this exhilarating employment, and just
wlien he had made up his mind to do something rash, two Commissioners arrived
from Washington, on a mission of peace. They remonstrated with Gov. Lucas
and reminded him of the consequences to himself and State if he attempted to gain
possession by force. After several conferences with both Governors the Commis-
sioners submitted the following propositions for their consideration : 1st. That the
Harris line should be run and re-marked pursuant to the act of the Legislature of
Ohio, without interruption. 2d. The civil elections under the laws of Ohio hav-
ing taken place throughout the disputed territory, the people therein should be left
to tlieir own government, obeying the one jurisdiction or the other as they might
prefer, without molestation from either side until the close of the next session of
Congress.
Gov. Lucas accepted the proposition at once, and disbanded his forces, regard-
ing tlie proposition as coming from the President, through the Commissioners, and
under his control. Gov. Mason, on the other hand, refused to accede to the
arrangements, declined to compromise rights or surrender jurisdistion, but partially
disbanded his forces, holding a sufficient number in readiness to meet any emer-
gency that might arise. Gov. Lucas now supposed his way clear, and that he
could re-mark the Harris line without molestation, and he accordingly ordered the
Commissioners to proceed with the work.
In the [meanwhile President Jackson had referred the matter to Attorney
General Butler, as to his autliority over the contending parties, and the validity of
the act of the Oliio Legislature and the act of the Legislative Council under which
tlie respective parties were claiming authority.
The report of the Attorney General was decidedly in favor of Michigan. The
weak [)oiMt in Ohio's claim was a violation of the act of 1805 creating that Terri-
tory, and in subseciuent acts passed for lier government.
Notwithstanding this, Gov. Lucas proceeded to run the line, commencing at
the northwest corner of tlie disputed tract. Gov. Mason and Gen. Brown had kept
a watchful eye, and wlien the surveying party got within the county of Lucas, the
under-slierifF of that county, armed with a warrant, and supported by a posse, sud-
denly made his appearance and succeeded in arresting a portion of the party. The
rest, including the Commissioners, took to their heels and were soon beyond the
disputed territory. Arriving at Perrysburg, they reported tlieir valor and escape
from the overwhelming attack of Gen. Brown, and their missing comrades all
-^
@ ^
L
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
killed or taken prisoners, to Gov. Lucas, he in turn reporting to the President.
The President thereupon sent a copy to Gov. Mason, and asked for a state-
ment of facts from the officers engaged in the transaction. Accordingly, the under-
sheriff made a very amusing report, setting forth the fact that it was a civil process,
issued by a Justice of the Peace, that under it he had arrested nine persons, without
bloodshed or trouble, and closing with the statement that the Commissioners had
made very good time, that they had reached Perrysburg with nothing more serious
than the loss of hats and their clothing, like Gov. Marcy's breeches, without the
patch.
This summary breaking up of the surveying party created intense excitement
throughout Ohio. An extra session of the Legislature was called, a law was passed
against the abduction of any of her citizens, making it a penal offense punishable
by not less than three nor more than seven years in the penitentiary. They also
passed an act organizing the county of Lucas, fixing the county -seat at Toledo, and
directing the court for the county to be held at any convenient house therein.
They accepted the propositions of the President's Commissioners, and made an
appropriation of |!600,000 to carry these laws into effect over the disputed ter-
ritory.
It was evident that Ohio was aroused — that her State pride had been wounded.
The idea that the young Territory of Michigan, with her stripling Governor, should
successfully defy the great State of Ohio, with a million of inhabitants and her aged
Governor, was one that the people could not endure with patience or equanimity.
In the meantime the authorities of Michigan were active in sustaining their
authority on the disputed ground. Prosecutions for holding office under Ohio
were conducted with great vigor ; for a long time the people of Monroe
county were kept busy assisting the sheriff in executing his processes and making
arrests in Toledo. Suit after suit was commenced, and each was the breeder of a
score of others. The officers of Ohio made feeble attempts to retaliate, but were
generally unsuccessful. Sometimes these arrests were attended with danger, al-
ways with great difficulty. An instance is related of Major Stickney's arrest, which
created great amusement at the time. He and his family fought valiantly, but
were overpowered by numbers. He was requested to mount a horse, but flatly
refused. He was put on by force, but he would not sit there. Finally, two men
were detailed to walk beside him and hold his legs, while a third led the horse.
After making half the distance in this way, they tied his legsunder the horse and
thus got him in jail. An attempt was made to arrest his son. Two Stickney. A
scuffle ensued, in which the officer was stabbed with a knife, but the wound did
not prove dangerous, and it is believed that this was the only blood shed during
the war. The officer let go his hold, and Stickney fled to Ohio. He was indicted
(S~
by the grand jury of Monroe County, and a requisition was made on the Governer
of Oliio for liis rendition, but the Governor refused to give him up.
On one occasion an officer attempted to arrest a man in the night. The man
had but a moment's warning, and sought safety in flight. He reached the
Maumee River, threw himself on a saw log, and with hands and feet paddled him-
self in safety to the other shore.
A very pious man was elected a justice of the peace, and fled to the woods,
where he lived many da3'S in a sugar shanty. It was currently reported, and
generally believed by the Ohio partisans, that a miracle had been wrought in his
behalf, — that " robin red-breasts " brought him his daily food and drink. The
belief in this miracle strengthened the cause of Ohio in many quarters very mate-
rially.
The report of the stabbing by Two Stickney and the statement that Gov.
Lucas was protecting him made great impression on the mind of the President.
Both sides were becoming more importunate, and after investigating the difficulties
fully he recommended to Gov. Mason that no obstruction should be made to the
re-marking of the Harris line, that all prosecutions under the Territorial act of
Februar}' should be discontinued, and no others commenced until the next session
of Congress. This recommendation had no effect on Gov. Mason. He was deter-
mined to protect his Territory and her jurisdiction at all hazards. Prosecutions
went on as before. When the President became aware of this he superseded Gov.
Mason as Secretary of Michigan, and appointed Charles Shaler, of Pennsylvania,
as his successor. He also advised Gov. Lucas to refrain from any jurisdiction over
the Territory pending the action of Congress. This check by the President was a
great blow to Gov. Lucas. The eyes of the country were upon him, and he felt it
incumbent on him to perform some act of jurisdiction in order to save himself from
the imputation of having backed down. A happy thought struck him at an oppor-
tune moment. The Legislature of Ohio had organized a county and ordered court
to be held at Toledo on the 7th of September. To hold this court in the face and
eyes of the military force of Gov. Mason and the recommendation of the President
to abstain therefrom would be a grand achievement, — an act of jurisdiction greater
tliiiii the re-marking of the Harris line. With him this was the thing to be done,
and calling to liis aid the Adjutant General of the State, they devised a plan, and
it was put into his hands to manage. He called out a regiment to protect the
judges in the discharge of their duty. The judges met on Sunday, the 6th of Sep-
tember, at Maumee, a few miles from Toledo. Tliey were to proceed to Toledo the
next morning, under the escort that had been provided for them, and hold court.
Some time during tlie evening a scout who had been sent out by the colonel of the
regiment returned from Toledo and reported that 1,200 men under command of
-g) "V
A
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 71
Gen. Brown, were in Toledo ready to "demolish court, soldiers and all, in case of an
attempt to open it. This report turned out to be false, but it immediately subdued all
the valor of the judges, as well as that of the regiment that was to escort them. But
it would not do to back out, — the honor and the dignity of the State must be main-
tained ; besides, they would be laughed if they did not hold court. But the judges
hesitated at undertaking so daring an exploit. The colonel of the regiment finally
came to the Governor's assistance. He upbraided the judges for their cowardice
and hesitation, and proposed to take the lionor of the State into his own keeping.
Stepping in front of his regiment, he called for volunteers for a hazardous under-
taking. A few brave men answered the call. The trembling judges placed them-
selves under the charge of this " forlorn hope," and at three o'clock on Monday
morning, Sept. 7. 1835, they sneaked into Toledo, hunted up a school-house, held
court about two minutes, and then ran for dear life back to Maumee.
Thus did the State of Ohio triumph over her enemies. Thus did her patriotic
sons sustain her dignity. Thus did her brave soldiers throw themselves in the
imminent and deadly breach.
It is needless to say that Gov. Mason and Gen. Brown were surprised and
chagrined. They had an ample force within reach to prevent the holding of a
court, as courts are generall}^ held, but they were unacquainted with Ohio legal
practice, and did not look for midnight tribunals held in dark school-rooms or out-
houses.
But little remains to be said in reference to the war. A volume might be
written relating to the incidents of that bloodless struggle and the story of the pri-
vations endured by the citizen soldiers, — privations which were relieved by raids
on hen-coops, melon patches, and potato fields. The ludicrous incidents, the hair-
breadth escapes, by field and flood, would be interesting to many, but space forbids
more.
Ohio says: This fired the heart of the young Governor, Stevens T. Mason ; his
loyalty and zeal would not brook such an insult. The militia at his disposal was
called early into requisition early in the Spring of 1835. They were first put upon
the trail of the commissioners, and actually routed them and took several of the
party prisoners, on the line some ten miles east of Morenci. These they held for
a few days, then discharged some on parole and others on bail, to answer m the dis-
trict court.
But the end was not yet. A majority of those living on the disputed terri-
tory, in Monroe County, were late emigrants from Ohio and Pennsylvania, and they
were thoroughly impressed with the importance to them of being a part of Ohio.
The port of Toledo was just opening to tlie traffic of the lakes ; the States of Ohio
and Indiana were ready to bring in the Wabash Canal, provided it could tap the
(fl
jya___k-
^ — §)
72 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
lake on Ohio's soil ; and, besides, Ohio was already qu. uC an old State, and would
be able to develop the territory much quicker, — that i i fact the territorial interest
was all centred at Detroit, and Toledo, if it remained to Michigan, would only be
a dependency paying tribute.
With these sentiments prevailing, the Governor of Ohio was induced to put in
force the laws of the State. Proclamation was issued giving boundaries to towns
and counties, and for the election of civil officers. The elections were held,
officers were chosen, and they assumed their duties. The militia was organized and
commenced drilling. In short, we had two active and efficient governments, each
striving to excel, and, as may be naturally inferred, the relations between them
were not of a very friendly character, — the one acting as informers to Gov. Mason,
the other mostly engaged in procuring bail to be relieved from arrests, preferring
to have their transgressions settled by the courts of the country to an open and
violent conflict of arms.
The Governor's quick, impulsive nature would brook this double- entendre no
longer. The General Government did not respond to his call. Ohio would not
stop at his bidding. The subjects were disloyal and refractory in their every act.
Therefore, it become him as Governor to put a quietus on the whole difficulty. Ac-
cordingly, he called out the militia of the Territory, to the number of about 1,500
strong, early in the month of September, 1835, to prevent any further inroads upon
the territory in dispute, and particularly to prevent the holding of circuit court in
Lucas County, which had just been organized, with Toledo as the county seat,
where the first session of the court was appointed to be held.
This call was responded to readily in many parts of the Territory, a very few
perhaps from this county. They rendezvoused in Monroe County, and thence
marched to Tremainsville, on the afternoon before the court was to convene,
where they bivouacked for the night. They were here three miles out from the
objective point, and much hard work was to be done in a very short time to meet
the emergencies of the morrow, for an army was to be organized out of the mate-
rial presented. Upon inspection it was found that some had muskets, others
had clubs, but most had trusty rifles. These were assigned to companies and
battalions, and in the morning marshaled for inspection by the commander-in-chief.
They were by him pronounced '•'' au faiV and ordered to march to the scene of the
conflict.
In entering the city they actually marched by the door where the court " of
which they were in search " was in full operation, without knowing it. They had
expected to find it guarded by an army that would be worthy of their steel. But
where ? oh, where could they be ? They certainly could not be in Toledo, for the
great army of our noble commander-in-chief covered the whole city and some of its
-^f
-S)
A
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 73
suburbs. There could be "./Ut one conclusion. They had of course hied them-
selves to the spot whence they came, and must be now on their way through
the defiles of the black swamp. A council of war was held ; the surroundings
looked dark ; they had come for blood and without it there could be no remission,
the enemy having ignobly fled the field. The usages of war would therefore make
their way clear, and reprisals would be in order. If they would not let the issue
be decided by force of arms, they could expect nothing less, and must abide by
these rules which had been recognized by all nations from time immemorial. In
this strait, it did not take our brave commander long to decide. His forces were
soon marshaled, formed in two battalions, the one ordered to make reprisals on the
cellars and larders of the inhabitants, the others to move upon the magazines and
commissary of the enemy, that a wag had informed them were stored in a barn
owned by Piatt Card, known as one of the moving spirits in the rebellion, and
who was then under bonds to answer for what he had heretofore done in in-
citing it.
This last work was not to be trusted to raw recruits, or committed to an in-
ferior officer ; it was virtually the conquering of an army, and then who knew how
strongly it was guarded within, or what might be the dangers of an approach. That
the work might be quick and effectual it was decided that our brave commander
should lead the fray.
In reconnoitering the premises, all was still ; yet there were certain holes in
the walls, reminding them of the port-holes in ancient forts, and in which they
fancied they saw grim messengers of death staring them boldly in the face. This
could be endured no longer ; the order was quickly given and a broad-side was
poured into the pine siding of the barn, — a thud, a groan, followed by a few thumps,
and all was still as death. Approaches were made stealthily and cautiously until
they reached the door, which obej'ed the mandate of the hand and readily svyung
on its hinges. To the surprise of our noble commander and his comrades in arms,
they found they had captured a very fine horse, as the warm blood flowing from
many bullet-holes attested. They had come for blood as a sacrifice to sprinkle the
altar of their loyalty and devotion to their country, and who at this late day will
deny that they found it?
Returning to headquarters it was found that the other battalion had made a
very successful raid, especially in the line of Major Stickney's wine-cellar, and from
some others, that gave a more exhilarating beverage, sufficient was obtained with
which to soften and wash down the hard army biscuit, of which it may be inferred
their knapsacks contained an ample supply. Night approaching, each drew his
cloak around him and gave himself to pleasant dreams over the experiences and es-
capes of the last twelve hours.
-®P
^
•V
Jg — *-
74 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
On the following morning an order was issued from the Governor disbanding
the forces, allowing each to find his way home as best he could. Thus ended the
great Toledo war, and all strife on the disputed tract.
Looking at this question at a later day, when all had become calm and serene,
wg can discover little occasion for either part}-- to get up and shake themselves like
young lions. It was a matter that belonged entirely to Congress. If they had
been so imprudent as to let Ohio in her boundaries embrace territory to which she
had no claim, it was her duty, and justice required her to correct the error. That
it was an error on the part of the National Legislature to allow Ohio to assume the
functions and duties of a Slate, merely from her enabling act, without submitting
lier constitution for inspection and approval, none will doubt. That the Territorial
(•fficers were hasty and inconsiderate in their action, assuming responsibilities that
did not belong to them, few question. That the final adjustment of the whole ques-
tion between the parties has resulted to the benefit of each, and especially to Mich-
igan, all cheerfully admit.
In this war many of the old settlers of Macomb participated. Fortunately, the
old soldiers of the young State lost little or no blood, and all were permitted to re-
turn to their homes in peace.
THE PATRIOT WAR.
It will be remembered by the pioneers of Michigan, and not only by them, but
bv all others, of that time along the frontier line between the United States and
Canada, that during the Winter of 1837-38, occurred what was known as the
'' Patriotic War." The object of this war was understood to be a revolution that
should separate the British possessions of Canada from the, mother country that
they might erect themselves into sovereign and independent States.
In consequence of the financial crash and hard times then prevailing there were
many adventurous, reckless and idle persons in the States who took part with the
Talriots. The anxiety that grew out of our Revolutionar}'- war and the war of
1H12, toward the IJritish, may have slumbered, but was not forgotten, and it took
l)ut little to awaken that old feeling. It was revived along the wliole lengtii of the
frontier, and was not confined to our side only ; it was fully reciprocated by our
loyal neighbors. At that time, as it may be now, there were many iialf-pay English
military ofiicers who would have hailed a war between the United States and Ensr-
land as a (Jod-send to tiiem ; for in that event they would be restored to active
service on full pay and stand their chances for promotion. The hostile feeling had
reached sucii a degree of intensity that General Scott was ordered to the frontier
with troops. The steamer Carolina, that was supposed to be in the service of the
Patriots, was captured in the Niagara River by the liritish forces, and sent over the
lulls and it was supposed with part of the crew on board. The Patriots had at that
fU r-
V h"
'" V . J g) y»
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 75
time a considerable force on Navy Island. A rocket brigade was stationed at
Windsor. Occasional musket shots were fired from Windsor into Detroit, and a
correspondence was opened between the authorities on each side with a view to
stop this recklessness. The late Adjutant-General John E. Schwartz conducted
the correspondence on the part of Michigan. He read it to the writer of this paper.
About this time, I visited Detroit, stopping at the National Hotel, as the Russell
House was then called, and before I had time to warm myself I met Col. Smith,
then a member of the Legislature, from Monroe County, who invited me into the
back parlor, where I met Gov. Mason, who ordered me back to Ann Arbor to
raise a company of militia and report to Col. Smith who was then under orders
from the Governor to march down the Detroit river and break up the encampment
of Patriots in the neighborhood of Gibraltar, a small village near the mouth of the
river, and drive them away. I had also an order, addressed to the late Col. Slin-
gerland, to muster his (the 5th) regiment from which to recruit my company by
volunteers, if possible, or by draft. The Colonel issued his orders and did his duty,
but so strong was the sympathy in favor of the Patriots and against the Englisli,
that not over thirty men out of about 600 composing the regiment obeyed the
Colonel's order. Of course I was obliged to report my inability to report the com-
pany ordered. My recollection is that Colonel Smith made a similar report and the
encampment remained undisturbed. Gen. Ed. Clark states, that " the
leaders of the Patriots had organized a secret society known as Hunters, with
lodges in every village along the frontier. They had their secret signs, grips
and pass-words, and were sworn to secrecy. A large proportion of the able-bodied
men were Hunters, that is, members of hunters' lodges. I mention these facts to
show the state of public feeling with regard to the Patriot war and the reason that
Gov. Mason could not furnish the necessary force to march on the Patriot encamp-
ment and disperse the force there encamped. Before the close of navigation an
expedition was organized by Brigadier General Theller, of the Patriot service, for
the purpose of capturing Fort Maiden. He embarked in the sloop Ann, and wlien
she arrived off the fort was fired into and her rigging so cut up that she became
unmanageable and drifted ashore. The General and Colonel Dodge and the crew
were taken prisoners. That Winter a landing of a Patriot force was made on the
Canada shore above Windsor, and a battle fought which proved disastrous to the
invaders. Another battle was fought at Point au Pelee, where the Patriots were
victors. From these facts it can be seen that the magazine was ready and needed
but a spark to explode it— that is, to involve the country in war.
When these events were taking place, but before the fight at Point au Pelee,
General Sutherland, of the Patriot army, made his appearance at Ann Arbor in full
uniform and posted hand-bills notifying the public that he would address them at
(T
V
(2 4^
-« §) s
76 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
the court-house on the subject of the Patriot war. The court-room was filled and
the General was listened to with respect and attention. Before the meeting dis-
persed a committee was appointed to wait on the General at his quarters, to confer
with him. Tlie writer was one of that committee. Tlie committee called on the
General that evening at his room, and spent an hour or two with him. From Ann
Arbor he went to Mancliester to address the good people of that village. His ob-
ject was to get men and means to carry on the war. A short time afterward I
received a package of papers from the General. Among them were enlistment
rolls and a long letter. He wished me to join the Patriot army and raise a battalion
of men for the Patriot service, but ostensibly as volunteer militia, hold elections
for commissioned officers as directed by the militia laws of Michigan, and apply to
Gov. Mason for commissions. He said that as I was a personal and political friend
of the Governor there would be no difficulty in getting the commissions. This
accomplished, I was to put myself and battalion under the orders of the General,
and as soon as the Detroit River was frozen over so as to make a passage safe, he would
give me an order for arras, ammunitions, blankets, etc., and he would direct when
and where the invasion should take place. I confess to a complete surprise — more,
I was astonished. We were almost entire strangers to each other ; we had never
met except at Ann Arbor, and then only for an hour or two, and knew notliing of
each other's antecedents. During^ the visit of the committee at the General's room
I endeavored to draw him into a conversation upon military subjects, tactics, his-
tory, etc., but he evaded it, and I formed a small opinion of his military capacity
or knowledge. And when he divulged to me, an almost entire stranger, his plan of
operations, I lost confidence in him as a military leader. I remembered of reading
an anecdote of Washington who was asked by an intimate friend and true Whig
what his plan of campaign was. Washington asked, " Can you keep a secret?"
" Yes, General." " So can I," was the response. When the legislative committee
visited General Jackson and demanded of him his plan for the defense of New
Orleans, he raised a lock of hair from his head and said, " Gentleman, if I supposed
this lock of hair knew what was passing in my brain on that subject, I would cut
it off and burn it."
I have described the feeling along the dividing line between the States and
Canada. I remember that Sutherland said that one of his principal objects was to
involve the two countries in war with each other. Doing this he would attain
the height of his ambition. I believe there would have been but little difficulty in
raising the number of men to fill the four companies required, and it seemed plain to
me, that after receiving our commissions, and before the ink of the Governor's signa-
ture was fairly dry on them, Sutherland would have ordered a forward movement at
a place where we would have been met by an overwhelming force and been compelled
"B
5) V>
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 77
to surrender. I could come to no other conclusion than that Sutherland was false
to the cause he pretended to espouse. If we had been taken prisoners, of course
we would have claimed the treatment of prisoners of war. This may have been ac-
corded to us in consideration of our commissions and we not have been hanged as
Cunningham, Linn, Lount and others were. If the invasion had taken place, that
might have been regarded by our Canadian neighbors as a commencement of hos-
tilities on the part of the United States, and as a sufficient justification for the
Rocket Brigade to open on Detroit and burn it. At that time there were no troops
tliere except the Brady Guards, an excellent company of volunteer militia of less
than 100 men. What the consequences would have been if Sutherland's order had
been obeyed others may infer. I remembered that Sutherland told me that he had
called meetings and made speeches through Oakland County as he had in Washte-
naw. My duty seemed plain and simple, and I lost no time in going to Detroit
with this package of papers. I found the Governor in his office in the old capitol,
and as soon as we were left alone I told him my errand and laid the papers before
him. He read them attentivel}'" and arose from his chair and walked the office for
some minutes without uttering a word. It was plain to be seen that a storm was
brewing. At length it burst out in language more forcible than polite, too forcible
for me to repeat in this paper. My impression was that if Sutherland had been present
he would have felt the weight of the Governor's arm. A more angry man I have sel-
dom seen. After the engagement at Point au Pelee occurred, Sutherland, under the
pretense of joining the victorious patriots at the Point, attempted to pass Fort Maiden
with a horse and cutter on the ice and was captured by some of the garrison of the fort
which he probably intended to be, and with Theller and Col. Dodge was held as a
prisoner until the Spring opened, when the three were taken to Quebec and con-
fined in a cell in one of the fortresses there. Theller and Dodge made their escape
from the prison, and, after returning, Theller told me that on their journey down,
which was by private conveyance (there were no railroads then), he and Dodge
were confined in jails nights, but Sutherland was entertained at hotels. On reaching
their prison, the three were shut up in the same cell for awhile, but so strong were
their impressions that Sutherland was in British pay and a traitor to the Patriot
cause that they laid plans to get rid of him. They believed him a spy on them ;
they found him a coward and so worked upon his fears until he was removed. Af-
ter Theller and Dodge had the cell to themselves, they applied themselves to work
and effected their escape and returned to Michigan. The Canadian struggle for
national independence was unsuccessful.
Another expedition was planned at Detroit for the capture of Fort Maiden,
and was to sail from that city under the command of a general from Cleveland. It
had been ascertained that the garrison was lodged in the Queen's warehouse at the
â– ^1^
^p
78 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
foot of the wharf, and the officers quartered at hotels in the village of Amherst-
burg, and that at night there was but a small force on guard at the fort. Three
steaml)oats were to be employed, and when they arrived off the fort one boat was
to lay across the head of the wharf, and tlie other two, one on each side ; one party
should march directly to the fort and take it ; the second should capture the gar-
rison in the warehouse ; and the third should capture the officers. This was to be
done in the night. And however feasible the plan was, it was hinted that the
General lacked the nerve to undertake it. It was like the cause, a failure. After
the escape of Theller and Dodge, Sutherland was set at liberty, without trial and
without punishment.
THE MEXICAN WAR.
There are few records extant of the action of Michigan troops in the Mexican
war. That many went there and fought well, are points conceded ; but their
names and country of nativity are hidden away in United States archives where it
is almost impossible to find them.
The soldiers of this State deserve much of the credit of the memorable achieve-
ments of Co. K, Third Dragoons, and Co.'s A, E and G of the U. S. Infantry. The
former two of these companies, recruited in this State, were reduced to one-third
their original numl)er.
In May, 1846, our Governor was notified by the War Department of the
United States to enroll a regiment of volunteers, to be held in readiness for service
whenever demanded. At this summons, thirteen independent volunteer companies,
eleven of infantry and two of cavalry, at once fell into line. Of the infantry, four
companies were from Detroit, bearing the honored names of Montgomery, Lafay-
ette, Scott, and Brady upon their banners. Of the remainder Monroe tendered
two, Lenawee ('ounty three, St. Clair, Berrien and Hillsdale each one, and Wayne
County an additional company. Of these alone the veteran Bradys were accepted
and ordered into service.
In addition to these, ten companies, making the First Regiment of Michigan
Volunteers, springing from various parts of the State, but embodying to a great
(b'grce the material of which the first volunteers was formed, were not called for
until October following. Tliis regiment was soon in readiness and proceeded to the
seat of war.
THE WAR OF 1861-65.
As soon as the President called for troops to suppress the Rebellion in April,
1861, the loyal people of the Peninsular State promptly responded and furnished
the quota assigned. Austin Blair, a man peculiarly fitted for the place during the
emergency, was Governor, and John Robertson, Adjutant-General. The people of
Michigan have ever since been proud of the record of these two men during the
"a
la.
^
HISTORY OF .AITCniGAN.
79
war, but this docs not exclude the honor due all the humble soldiery who obediently
exposed their lives in defense of the common country. Michigan has her full share
of the buried dead in obscure *and forgotten places all over the South as well as in
decent cemeteries throughout the North. It was Michigan men that captured Jeff
Davis, namely : the 4th Cavalry, under Col. B. F. Pritchard ; and it was Michigan
men that materially aided in the successful capture of Wilkes Booth, the assassin
of the martyred Lincoln.
The census of this State for 1860 showed a population of 751,110. The num-
ber of able-bodied men capable of military service was estimated in official documents
of that date at 110,000. At the same time the financial embarrassment of the State
was somewhat serious, and the annual tax of )|226,250 was deemed a grievous burden.
But such was the patriotism of the people that by December 23, 1862, an aggregate
of 45,569 had gone to battle, besides 1,400 who had gone into other States and re-
cruited. By the end of the war Michigan had sent to the front 90,747, or more
than four-fifths the estimated number of able-bodied men at the beginning ! The
military history of the county deals very fully with this subject.
CHAPTER VI.
POLITICAL HISTORY.
Previous to the formation of the Northwestern Territory, the country within
its bounds was claimed by several of the Eastern States, on the ground that it was
within the limits indicated by their charters from the English Crown. In answer
to the wishes of the Government and people, these States in a patriotic spirit sur-
rendered their claims to this extensive territory, that it might constitute a common
fund to aid in the payment of the national debt. To prepare the way for this ces-
sion, a law had been passed in October, 1780, that the territory so to be ceded
should be disposed of for the common benefit of the whole Union ; that the States
erected therein should be of suitable extent, not less than 100 nor more than 150
miles square ; and that any expenses that might be incurred in recovering the posts
then in the hands of the British should be reiml)ursed. New York released her
claims to Congress, March 1, 1781 ; Virginia, March 1, 1784 ; Massachusetts, April
19, 1785, and Connecticut, September 4, 1786.
Under the French and British dominion, the points occupied on the eastern
boundary of what is now the State of Michigan were considered a part of New
France, or Canada. Detroit was known to the French as Fort Pontchartrain.
(a
:^
.t.
•tjl'^^
f
80 TTT^^TDin' OF MTCIITGAN.
The militarv commandant, under both sfovernnients, exercised a civil jurisdiction
over the settlements surrounding their posts. In 1796, when the British garrisons
at Detroit and Mackinaw were replaced by detachments by General Wayne, Mich-
igan became a part of the Northwestern Territory and was organized as the county
of Wayne, entitled to one Representative in the General Assembly, lield at Chilli-
cothe. In 1800, Indiana was made a separate Territory, embracing all the country
west of the present State of Ohio, and of an extension of the western line of that
State due north to the territorial limits of the United States. In 1802, the penin-
sula was annexed to the Territory of Indiana, and in 1805 Michigan began a sepa-
rate existence. Tiiat part of the Territory that lies east of a north and south line
through the middle of Lake Michigan was formed into a distinct government, and
the provisions of the ordinance of 1787 continued to regulate it. Under this Con-
stitution the executive power was vested in a governor, the judicial in three judges,
and the legislative in both united ; the officers were appointed by the General Gov-
ernment, and their legislative authority was restricted to the adoption of laws
from the codes of the several States. This form of government was to continue
until tlie Territory should contain 5,000 free white males of full age. It then became
optional with the people to choose a legislative body, to be supported by them ;
but subsequent legislation by Congress more liberally provided a legislature at
the expense of the general Government and also added to privileges in the
elective franchise and eligibility to office ; as, for example, under the ordinance a
freehold qualification was required, both on the part of the elector and of the
elected.
The first officers of the territory of Michigan were: Wm. Hull, governor;
Augustus B. Woodward, chief judge ; Frederick Bates, Sr., assistant judge and
treasurer; John Griffin, assistant judge ; Col. James May, marshal ; Abijah Hull,
surveyor; Peter Audrain, clerk of the legislative board. May 5, 1807, Joseph
Watson was appointed Legislative Secretary ; in November, 1806, Elijah Brush was
appointed Treasurer, to succeed Mr. Bates, and the books of the office were deliv-
ered ov(!r on the 26th of that month ; and William McDowell Scott was appointed
Marshal iti November, 1806, to succeed Col. May. The latter never held the office
of Judge of the Territory, but about 1800-3 he was Chief Justice of the Court of
Common Pleas. Augustus Breevort Woodward was a native of Virginia; was ap-
pointed a Judge of the Territory in 1805, his term of office expired February 1,
1824. He was soon afterward appointed Judge of the Territory of Florida, and
three years after that he died. The grand scheme of "Catholepistemiad," or State
University of Michigan, with its numerous names described under sesquipedalian
names from the Greek, owed its origin to Judge Woodward.
John Griffin was appointed Assistant Judge in 1807, his term of office expir-
"71^
LA
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 81
(a
ing February 1, 1824, when he was re-appointed for four years, and February 1,
1828, he was appointed Territorial Secretary.
When, in 1818, Illinois was admitted into the Union, all the territory lying
north of that State and of Indiana was annexed to Michigan. In 1819 the terri-
tory was authorized to elect a delegate to Congress, according to the present usage
with reference to territories; previous to this time according to the ordinance of 1787,
a territory was not entitled to a delegate until it entered upon the " second grade
of Government," and the delegate was then to be chosen by the General Assembly.
In 1823 Congress abolished the legislative power of the Governor and Judges,
and granted more enlarged ones to a council, to be composed of nine persons
selected by the President of the United States from eighteen chosen by the electors
of the territory; and by this law, also, eligibility to office was made co-existent
with the right of suffrage as established by the act of 1819 ; also the judicial term
of office was limited to four years. In 1825 all county officers, except those of a
judicial nature, were made elective, and the appointments which remained in the
hands of the executive were made subject to the approval of the legislative council.
In 1827 the electors were authorized to choose a number of persons for the legisla-
tive council, which was empowered to enact all laws not inconsistent with the
ordinance of 1787. Their acts, however, were subject to abolishment by Congress,
and to veto by the territorial executives. When Gen. Wm. Hull arrived at Detroit
to assume his official duties as Governor, he found the town in ruins, it having
been destroyed by fire. Whether it had been burned by design or accident was
not known. The inhabitants were without food and shelter, camping in the open
fields ; still they were not discouraged, and soon commenced rebuilding their
houses on the same site. Congress also kindly granted the sufferers the site of the
old town of Detroit and 10,000 acres of land adjoining. A territorial militia was
organized, and a code of laws was adopted similar to those of the original State.
This code was signed by Gov. Hull, Augustus B. Woodward and Frederick Bates,
Judges of the Territory, and was called the " Woodward code."
At this time the bounds of the Territory embraced all the country on the
American side of the Detroit River, east of the north and south line through the
center of Lake Michigan. The Indian land claims had been partially extinguished
previous to this period. By the treaty of Fort Mcintosh, in 1785, and that of Fort
Harmar, in 1787, extensive cessions had been either made or confirmed, and, in
1807, the Indian titles to several tracts became entirely extinct. Settlements
liaving been made under the French and English Governments, with irregularity
or absence of definite surveys and records, some confusion sprang up in regard to
the titles of valuable tracts. Accordingly, Congress established a Board of Com-
missioners to examine and settle these conflicting claims, and, in 1807, another act
6
f*
*j \^ — w
»^ UlSTORY OF MICHIGAN.
was passed, confirming, to a certain extent, the titles of all such as had been in
possession of the lands then occupied by them from the year 1796, the year of the
final evacuations by the British garrisons. Other acts were subsequently passed,
extending the same conditions to settlements on the upper lakes.
As chief among the fathers of this State we may mention Gov. Lewis
Cass, Gabriel Richard, Stevens T. Mason, Augustus B. Woodward, John
Hornell, William Woodbridge, John Biddle, William A. Fletcher, Elon Farns-
worth, Solomon Siblejs Benjamin B. Kircheval, John R. Williams, George
Morrell, Daniel Goodwin, Augustus S. Porter, Benjamin F. H. Witherell,
Jonathan Sheaver and Charles C. Trowbridge, all of Wayne County ; Edmund
Munday, James Kingsley and Alpheus Felch, of Washentaw ; Ross Wilkins
and John J. Adam, of Lenawee ; Warner Wing, Charles Noble and Austin E.
Wing, of Monroe County ; Randolph Manning, O. D. Richardson and James B.
Hunt, of Oakland ; Henry R. Schoolcraft, of Chippewa ; Albert Miller, of the
Saginaw Valley ; John Stockton, Robert P. Eldridge and Christian Clemens, of
Macomb ; Lucius Lyon, Charles E. Stuart, Edwin H. Lathrop, Epaphroditus
Ransom and Hezekiali G. Wells, of Kahiraazoo ; Isaac E. Crary, John D. Pierce
and Oliver C. Comstock, of Calhoun ; Kinsley S. Bingham, of Livingston ; John
S. Barry, of St. Joseph; Charles W. Whipple, Calvain Britain and Thomas Fitz-
gerald, of Berrien, Bunce, of St. Clair, and George Redfield, of Cass. These men
and their compeers shaped the policy of the State, and decided what should be
its future. They originated all and established most of the great institutions which
are the evidences of our advanced civilization, and of which we are so justly proud.
ADMINISTRATION OF GEN. CASS.
At the close of the war with Great Britain in 1814, an era of prosperity
dawned upon the infant territory. Gen. Lewis Cass, who had served the Govern-
ment with great distinction during the war, was appointed Governor. The condi-
tion of the people was very much reduced, the country was wikl, and the British
Hag still waved over the fort at Mackinaw. There was notliing invitinij to immi-
grants except the mere facts of the close of the war and the existence of a fertile
soil and a good climate. The Lulians were still dangerous, and the country was still
comi)aratively remote from the centers of civilization and government. Such a set of
circumstances was just the proper environment for the development of all those
elements of the *^sturdy pioneer," which we so often admire when writing up
Western history. Here was the field for stout and brave men ; here was the place
for the birth and education of real Spartan men, — men of strength, moral courage
and indomitai)le perseverance.
At first, Gen. Cass had also the care of a small portion of Canada opposite
■«>
(2-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
83
'i^
Detroit, and he had only twenty-seven soldiers for defending Detroit against the
hostile Indians and carrying on the whole government. Believing that a civil
governor should not be encumbered also with military duty, he resigned his
brigadier-generalship in the army. But as Governor he soon had occasion to exer-
cise his military power, even to act on the field as commander, in chasing away
marauding bands of Indians. The latter seemed to be particularly threatening at
this time, endeavoring to make up in yelling and petty depredations what they
lacked in sweeping victory over all the pale-faces.
In times of peace Gov. Cass had high notions of civilizing the Indians, encour-
aging the purchase of their lands, limiting their hunting grounds to a narrow com-
pass, teacliing them agriculture and mechanics, and providing the means for their
instruction and religious training. The policy of the French and English had been
to pacify them with presents and gewgaws, merely to obtain a temporary foothold
for the purpose of carrying on the fur trade. Those benefited by the trade lived
thousands of miles away, and had no interest in the peimanent development of the
country. The United States Government, on the other hand, indorsed Gov. Cass'
policy, which was to result in the development of the country and the establish-
ment of all the arts of peace. Govs. Cass and Harrison were accordingly empowered
to treat with the Indians on the Miami and Wabash ; and, July 20, a treaty was
signed with the Wyandottes, Senecas, Shawnees, Miamis and Delawares, which
restored comparative tranquility. During the Summer, however, there was Indian
war enough to call out all Gov. Cass' men, in aid of Gen. Brown on the
Niagara.
Indians can never remain long at peace, whatever may be the obligations they
assume in treaty making. Gen. Cass often headed his forces in person, and drove
the hostile tribes from place to place until they finally retreated to Saginaw.
An attempt was made to recover Mackinaw from the English in July of this
year (1814), but the British works were too strong ; however, the establishments
at Saint Joseph and Sault Ste. Marie were destroyed. In the following Winter the
final treaty of peace was ratified between England and the United States. The
population of the Territory at this time was not over 5,000 or 6,000, scattered over
a vast extent, and in a state of great destitution on account of the calamities
of war. Scarcely a family, on resuming the duties of home, found more than the
remnants of former wealth and comfort. Families had been broken up and dis-
persed ; parents had been torn from their children, and children from each other;
Some had been slain on the battle-field, and others had been massacred by the ruth-
less savages. Laws had become a dead letter, and morals had suffered in the
general wreck. Agriculture had been almost abandoned aiid commerce paralyzed;
food and all necessaries of life were scarce, and luxuries unknown. Money was
r
-^ — aj^.
84 HISTORY OF ^IICHIGAN.
difficult to get, and the bank paper of Ohio, which was almost the sole circulating
medium, was twenty-five per cent, below par.
Such was the gloomy state of domestic affairs when Gen. Cass assumed the
office of Governor. Besides, he had the delicate task of aiding in legislation and of
being at the same time the sole executive of the law. In 1817, he made an im-
portant treaty with the Indians, by which their title was extinguished to nearly all
the land in Ohio, and a great portion in Indiana and Michigan. This treaty at-
tached the isolated population of Michigan to the State of Ohio, made the Terri-
torial Government in a fuller sense an integral member of the Federal Union, and
removed all apprehension of a hostile confederacy among the Indian tribes along
the lake and river frontier.
Hitlierto there had not been a road in Michigan, except the military road along
the Detroit River; but as the Indian settlements and lands could not now be inter-
posed as a barrier. Gen. Cass called the attention of Congress to the necessity of a
military road from Detroit to Sandusky, through a trackless morass called the Black
Swamp.
Congress passed an act requiring that 2,000,000 acres of land should be sur-
veyed in the Territory of Louisiana, the same amount in the Territory of Illinois,
and the same amount in the Territory of Michigan, in all 6,000,000 acres, to be set
apart for the soldiers in the war with Great Britain. Each soldier was to have 160
acres of land fit for cultivation. The surveyors under this law reported that there
were no lands in Michigan fit for cultivation ! This unconscional)le report deterred
immigration for many years, and the Government took the whole 6,000,000 acres
from Illinois and Missouri. The language of that report is so remarkable that we
must quote it : " The country on the Indian boundary line, from the mouth of the
Great Auglaize river and running thence for about fifty miles, is (with some lew
exceptions) low, wet land, with a very thick growth of underbrush, intermixed
witii very bad marshes, but generally very heavily timbered with beech, cotton-
wood, oak, etc., thence continuing north and extending from the Indian boundary
eastward, tlie number and extent of the swamps increase, with the addition of
numbers of lakes, from twenty chains to two and three miles across. Many of the
hikes have extensive marshes adjoining their margins, sometimes thickly covered
with a species of pine called ' tamarack,' and other places covered with a coarse,
liigh 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 througliout the whole country and filled with
water, as ai)()ve stated, and varying in extent. The intermediate space between
these swamps and lakes, which is prol)ably near one-half of the country, is, with a
very few exceptions, a poor, barren, sandy land on which scarcely any vegetation
^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 85
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 basins,
the bottoms of many of which are composed of a marsh similar to the above-de-
scribed. The streams are gencrnlly narrow, and very deep compared with their
width, the shores and bottoms of which are, with a 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 with safety.
" A citcumstance peculiar to that country is exhibited in many of the marshes
by their being thinly covered with a sward of grass, by walking on which evinced
the existence of water or a very thin mud immediately under their covering, which
sinks from six to eigliteen inches from the pressure of the foot at every step, and at
the same time rising before and behind the person passing over. The margins of
many of the lakes and streams are in a similar situation, and in many places are
literally afloat. On approaching the eastern part of tlie military lands, toward 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 continues the same.
Taking the country altogether, so far as has been explored, and to all appearances,
together with the information received regarding 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 place admit of cultivation."
It is probable that those Government surveyors made a lazy job of their duty,
and depended almost entirely on the fur-traders, who were interested in keeping
settlers out of the country. But we must make allowance, too, for the universal
ignorance existing at that time of the methods of developing the Western country
which modern invention has brought to bear since the days of our grandfathers.
We must remember that our Western prairies were counted worth nothing, even
by all the early settlers.
By the year 1818, some immigrants crowded in and further explored and tested
the land ; and in March, this year. Gov. Cass called for the views of the inhabitants
upon the question of changing the civil authority by entering upon the second grade
of Territorial government. A vote was taken and a majority was found to be
against it ; but for the purpose of facilitating immigration and settlement. Gov.
Cass recommended to the Secretary of the Treasury that the lands in the district of
Detroit be at once brought into market. The Department immediately complied,
and the lands were offered for sale the following Autumn. Immigration was now
increased more than ever before, and the permanent growth of the country became
fully established.
In 1819, the people were allowed to elect a delegate to Congress. The popu-
lation was now 8,806 in the whole Territory, distributed as follows: Detroit, 1,450,
(^
80 HISTORY OP MICHIGAN
not inoluding the garrison; the Island of Mackinaw, still the entrepot of the fur
trade, a stationary population of about 450, sometimes increased to 2,000 or over ;
Sault Ste. Marie, fifteen or twenty houses, occupied by French and English families.
The year 1819 was also rendered memorable by the appearance of the first
steamboat on the lakes, the "VValk-in-the- water," which came up Lake Erie and
went on to Mackinaw.
Up to this time no executive measure had been taken by the people to avail
themselves of the school lands appropriated by the ordinance of 1787, except the
curious act passed by the Governor and judges establishing the "Catholepistemiad,"
or University of Michigan, with thirteen "didaxia," or professorships. The scheme
for the institution was a grand one, described by quaint, sesquipedalian technical-
ities carried from the Greek language, and the whole devised by that unique man,
Judge Woodward. The act is given in full in the Territorial laws of Michigan,
compiled and printed a few years ago. It was Judge Woodward, also, who laid
out the plan of Detroit, in the form of a cobweb, with a "Campus Martins" and a
grand circus, and avenues radiating in every direction, grand public parks and
sfjuares, etc. Centuries would be required to fulfill his vast design. Like authors
and artists of ancient Greece and Rome, he laid the foundations of grand work for
posterity, more than the passing generation.
Settlements now began to form at the points where now are the cities of Ann
Arbor, Ypsilanti, Jackson, Tecumseh and Pontiac. There were still some annoy-
ances b)' the Indians. The Sacs and Foxes annually made their appearance to ob-
tain presents from the English at Maiden, and as they passed along they would
commit many depredations. This practice of the British Government had a ten-
dency to prejudice the Indians against the Americans, and it thus became necessary
to take some measures for removing the Indians beyond British influence, or other-
wise putting a stop to tliis dangerous custom. Accordingly, in the Fall of 1819,
Gov. Cass desired the government at Washing^ton to cause a more thorouirh exolor-
ation to be made of the lake region, estimating the number and influence of the
Indians, their relations, prejudices, etc., with a view to the further extinguishment
of Indian title to land, etc.; but the Government deemed it advisable at this time
only to take ten miles S(iuare at Sault Ste. Marie for military purposes, and some
islands near Mackinaw, where beds of plaster had been found to exist. However,
the General Government soon ordered an expedition to be fitted out for such an
exploration as Gov. Cass desired, to travel witii birch canoes. The men composing
the expedition wore Gen. Cass and Robert A. Forsyth, his private secretary; Capt.
I). B. Douglass, topographer and astronomer ; Dr. Alex Walcot, physician; James
I). Doty, official secretary ; and Charles C. Trowbridge, assistant topographer. Lieut.
Evans .Mackey was commander of tiie escort, which consisted of ten U. S. soldiers.
(2 W.
-^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 87
Besides these there were ten Canadian voyageurs to manage the canoes, and ten
Indians to act as hunter. The latter were under the direction of James Riley and
Joseph Parks, who were also to act as interpreters. The party left Detroit, March
24, 1820, and reached Michilimackinac, June 6. On leaving this place, June 14,
twenty-two soldiers, under the command of Lieut. John S. Pierce, were added to
the party, and the expedition now numbered sixty-four persons. They reached the
Sault Ste. Marie the 16th, where Gen. Cass called the Indians (Chippewas) to-
gether, in order to have a definite understanding with them considering the boun-
dary lines of the land grants, and thereby renew also their sanction of former trea-
ties. At first the Indians protested against the Americans having any garrison at the
place, and some of them grew violent and almost precipitated a general fight, which
would have been disastrous to Gen. Cass' party, as the Indians were far more numer-
ous; but Cass exhibited a great degree of coolness and courage, and caused more
deliberate counsels to prevail amongst the savages. Thus the threatened storm
blew over. The next day the expedition resumed its journey, on Lake Superior,
passing the "pictured rocks," and landing at one place where there was a band of
friendly Chippewas. June 25, they left Lake Superior, ascended Portage River and
returned home by way of Lake Michigan, after having traveled over 4,000 miles.
The results of the expedition were: a more tiiorough knowledge of a vast re-
gion, and of the numbers and disposition of the various tribes of Indians ; several
important Indian treaties, by which valuable lands were ceded to the United States;
a knowledge of the operations of the Northwest Fur Company, and the selection
of sites for a line of military posts.
As the greater want of the people seemed to be roads. Congress was appealed
to for assistance, and not in vain, for that body immediately provided for the open-
ing of roads between Detroit and the Miami River, from Detroit to Chicago, and
from Detroit to Fort Gratiot, and for the improvement of La Plaisance Bay. Gov-
ernment surveys were carried into the Territory. Two straight lines were drawn
throuo"h the center of the Territory, east and west, and north and south, the lat-
ter being denominated the principal meridian, and the former the base line. The
Territory was also divided into townships of six miles square.
In 1821, there was still a tract of land lying south of Grand River which had
not yet been added to the United States, and Gov. Cass deemed it necessary to
negotiate with the Indians for it. To accomplieh this work he had to visit Chicago,
and as a matter of curiosity we will inform the reader of his most feasible route to
that place, which he can contrast with that of the present day. Leaving Detroit,
he descended to the mouth of the Maumee River ; he ascended that river and crossed
the intervening country to the Wabash ; descended that stream to the Ohio ; down
the latter to the Mississippi, and up this and the Illinois rivers to Chicago. At this
«"
\
V
88 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
council the American Commissioners were Gen. Cass and Judge Sibley, of Detroit.
Tiiey were successful in their undertaking, and obtained a cession of the land in
question. On this occasion the Indians exhibited in a remarkable manner their
appetite for whisky. As a preliminary step to the negotiations, the commissioners
ordered that no spirits should be given to the Indians. The chief of the latter was
a man of about a hundred years old, but still of a good constitution. The com-
missioners urged every consideration to convince him and the other Indians of the
propriety of the course they had adopted, but in vain. " Father," said the old
chieftain, "we do not care for the laud, nor the money, nor the goods: what we
want is whisky; give us whisky." But the commissioners were inexorable, and
the Indians were forced to content themselves.
This year (1821) also two Indians were hanged for murder. There was some
fear that the event would be made by the British an occasion of arousing Indian
atrocities in the vicinity, and the petition for the pardon of the wretches was con-
sidered by Gov. Cass with a great deal of embarrassment. He finally concluded
to let the law take its course, and, accordingly, Dec. 25, the murderers were
hanired.
In 1822 six new counties were created, namely, Lapeer, Sanilac, Saginaw,
Shiawassee, Washtenaw and Lenawee ; and they contained much more territory
than they do at the present day. This year the first stage line was established in
tlie Territory, connecting the county seat of Macomb County with the steamer
'' Walk-in-the-Water" at Detroit.
In 182o, Congress changed the form of Territorial government, abrogating the
abrogating power of the governor and judges and establishing a system of " Legis-
liilive Council," to consist of nine members, appointed by the President of the
United States out of eighteen candidates elected by the people. By the same act
the term of judicial office was limited to four years, and eligibility to office was made
to reciuire the same qualifications as right to suffrage. The people now took new
interest in their government, and felt encouraged to lay deep the foundations of
future prosperity. The first legislative council under the new regime met at Detroit,
June 7, 1824, when Gov. Cass delivered his message reviewing the progress of the
Territory, calling attention to the needs of popular education, and recommending
a policy of governmental administration. During this 3'^ear he also called the atten-
tion of the General Government to the mineral resources of the Superior region,
and asked for governmental explorations therein. At its second session after this.
Congress authorized a commission to treat with the Indians of the upper peninsula
for permission to explore tliat country.
In 1825, the Erie Canal was completed from the Hudson River to Buffalo, N.
Y., and the effect was to increase materially the flow of people and wealth into the
f
a.
lA
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 89
young Territory of Michigan. The citizens of the East began to learn the truth
concerning the agricultural value of this peninsula, and those in search of good and
permanent homes came to see for themselves, and afterwards came with their
friends or families to remain as industrious residents, to develop a powerful State.
The number in the Territorial Council was increased to thirteen, to be chosen by
the President from twenty-six persons elected by the people. In 1827 an act was
passed authorizing the electors to choose their electors directly, without the further
sanction of either the President or Congress. The power of enacting laws was
given to the council, subject, however, to the approval of Congress and the veto of
the Governor. This form of Territorial government remained in force until
Michigan was organized as a State in 1837. William Woodbridge was Secretary
of the Territory during the administration of Gov. Cass, and deserves great credit
for the ability with which he performed the duties of his office. In the absence of
the cliief executive he was Acting Governor, and a portion of the time he repre-
sented the Territory as a delegate to Congress. In 1828 he was succeeded by
James Witherell, and in two years by Gen. John T. Mason. In 1831 Gen. Cass
was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Jackson, after having
served Michigan as its chief executive for eighteen years. He'had been appointed
six times, running through the presidency of Madison, Monroe and John Q.
Adams, without any opposing candidate or a single vote against him in the Senate.
He faithfully discharged his duties as Indian Commissioner, and concluded nine-
teen treaties with the Indians, acquiring large cessions of territory in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. He was a practical patriot, of whom the people
of the peninsular State feel justly proud. Probably more than any other man Gen.
Cass was the father of Michigan.
GEN. GEORGE B. PORTER's ADMINISTRATION.
On the promotion of Gov. Cass to a seat in the Cabinet of President Jackson,
and his consequent resignation as Governor of Michigan, Gen. George B. Porter
was appointed Governor in July, 1831, and Sept. 22 following he entered upon the
duties of the office. The population of the Territory at this time was about
35,000, prosperity was reigning all around, and peace everywhere prevailed, except
that in 1832 the Black Hawk War took place in Illinois, but did not affect this
peninsula. In this war, however. Gov. Porter co-operated with the other States in
furnishino- militia. While Gov. Porter was the chief executive, Wisconsin was de-
tached from Michigan and erected into a separate Territory ; many new townships
were organized, and wagon roads opened and improved ; land began to rise rapidly in
value, and speculators multiplied. The council provided for the establishment and
ulation of common schools, incorporated "The Lake Michigan Steamboat Com-
reg
.t
>^
90 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
pany," with a capital of §10,000, and incorporated the first railroad company in
Micliigan, the "Detroit & Saint Joseph Railroad Company," since called the
" Michigan Central." The original corporators were John Biddle, John R. Wil-
liams, Charles Larned, John Gilbert, Abel Millington, Job Gorton, John Allen,
Anson Brown, Samuel W. Dexter, W. E. Perrine, William A. Thompson, Isaac
Crary, O. W. Coldeu, Caleb Eldred, Gyrus Lovell, Calvin Brittain and Talman
Wheeler. The Act of Incorporation requhed that the road should be completed
within thirty years ; tliis condition was complied with in less than one-third of that
time. The same council also incorporated the " Bank of the River Raisin," with a
branch at Pontiac. Previous to this two other banks had been chartered, namely —
the " Bank of Michigan," in 1817, with a branch at Bronson, and the " Farmers and
Mechanics' Bank of Michigan," with a branch at Saint Joseph.
The Legislative Council of 1834 also authorized a vote of the residents to be
taken on the question of organizing as a State and becoming a member of the
Union ; but the vote was so light and the majority so small that Congress neglected
to consider the matter seriously until two years afterward.
During Porter's administration a changa was made in the method of disposing
the public lands, greatly to the benefit of the actual settlers. Prior to 1820 the
Government price of land was $2 an acre, one-fourth to be paid down, and the
remainder in three annual installments ; and the land was subject to forfeiture if
tliese payments were not promptly made. This system having been found produc-
tive of many serious evils, the price of land was put 81.25 an acre, all to be paid
at the time of purchase. This change saved a deal of trouble. During the admin-
istration of Gov. Porter occurred the " Black Hawk " war, mainly in Illinois, in
1832, which did not affect Michigan to any appreciable extent, except to raise
sundry fears by the usual alarms accompanying war gossip. A few volunteers
probal)ly went to the scene of action from this Territory, but if any systematic
account was ever kept of this service, we fail to find it.
In October, 1831, Edwin Jerome left Detroit with a surveying party composed
of John Mullet, surveyor, and Utter, Brink and Peck, for that portion of Michigan
Territory lying west of Lake Michigan, now Wisconsin. Their outfit consisted of a
French pony team and a buffalo wagon to carry tent, camp equipage, blankets, etc.
Most of the way to the southeast corner of Lake Michigan they followed a wagon
track or Indian trail, and a cabin or an Indian hut to lodee in at nisfht ; but west
of the point mentioned they found neither road nor inliabitant. They arrived at
Chicago in a terrible rain, and ''put up" at the fort. This far-famed city at that
time had but five or six houses, and they were built of logs. Within a distance of
three or four miles of the fort the land was valued by its owners at 50 cents an acre.
After twenty-three days' weary travel through an uninhabited country, fording
f
-C\<s
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 01
and swimming streams and exposed to much rainy weather, they arrived at Galena,
where they commenced their survey, but in two days the ground froze so deep that
further work was abandoned until the next Spring. The day after the memorable
Stillman battle with Black Hawk, while the Mallet party were crossing the Blue
Mounds, they met an Indian half-chief, who had just arrived from the Menominee
camps with the details of the battle. He stated the slain to be three Indians and
eleven whites. The long shaking of hands* and the extreme cordiality of this
Indian alarmed Mullet for the safety of his party, but he locked the secret in his
own heart until the next day. They had just completed a town corner when Mullet,
raising himself to his full height, said, " Boys, I'm going in ; I'll not risk my scalp
for a few paltry shillings." This laconic speech was an electric shock to the whole
company. Mr. Jerome, in describing his own sensations, said that the hair of his
head became then as porcupine quills, raising his hat in the air and himself from the
ground, and the top of his head became 'as sore as a boil.
July 6, 1834, Gov. Porter died, and the administration devolved upon the
Secretary of the Territory, Stevens T. Mason, during whose time occurred the
" Toledo war."
ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. HOENER.
It appears that Mr. Shaler did not accept the governorship of Michigan, and
John S. Horner, of Virginia, was soon afterward appointed Secretary and Acting
Governor. He proved to be rather unpopular with the people of Michigan, and the
following May he was appointed Secretary of Wisconsin Territory. He carried on
a lengthy correspondence with Gov. Lucas, which resulted in a discontinuance of
all the suits that had grown out of the Toledo war, except the demand for Stickney.
Gov. Lucas persisted in refusing to deliver him up ; but it seems that, finally, no
trouble came of the affiiir.
The first Monday in October, 1835, the people of Michigan ratified the Con-
stitution, and by the same vote elected a full set of State officers. Stevens T.
Mason was elected Governor, Edward Mundy Lieutenant Governor, and
Isaac E. Orary Representative in Congress. The first legislature under the
Constitution was held at Detroit, the capital, on the first Monday in
November, and John Norvell and Lucius Lyon were elected United States
Senators. A regular election was also held under the Territorial law for dele-
gate to Congress, and George VV. Jones, of Wisconsin, received the certificate
of election, although it is said that William Woodbridge received the highest num-
ber of votes. John S. Horner, the Territorial Governor, was still in office here ;
and this singular mixture of Territorial and State government continued until the
following June, when Congress formally received Michigan into the Union as a
State, and Horner was sent to Wisconsin, as before noted. This Act of Congress
4i
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
conditioned that the celebrnted strip of territory over which the quarrel had been
so violent and protracted, should be given to Ohio, and that Michigan might have
as compensation the upper peninsula. That section of country was then known
only as a barren waste, containing some copper, no one knew how much. Of course
this decision of Congress was unsatisfactory to the people of this State. This was
the third excision of territory from Michigan, other clippings having been made in
1802 and 1816. In the former year more tluin a thousand square miles were given to
Ohio, and in the latter year nearly 1,200 square miles were given to Indiana.
Accordingly, Gov. Mason convened the Legislature July 11, 1836, to act on the
])roposition of Congress. The vote stood twenty-one for acceptance and twenty-
eight for rejection. Three delegates were appointed to repair to Washington, to
co-operate with the representatives there for the general interest of the State ; but
before Congress was brought to action on the matter, other conventions were held
ill the State to hasten a decision.
Stevens T. Mason was the first Governor of this State, having been elected
(Governor of the State prospectively) in 1835, as before noted, and he held the
ofiice until January, 1840. This State, at the time of its admission into the Union,
liad a popuhition of about 200,000 ; its area was about 40,000 square miles, which
was divided into thirty-six counties.
Nearly the first act passed by the Legislature was one for the organization and
support of common schools. Congress had already set apart one section of land in
every township for this purpose, and the new State properly appreciated the boon.
Ill March of the same year (1837) another act was passed establishing the Uni-
versity of Michigan, of which institution we speak more fully on subsequent pages.
This Legishiture also appropriated $20,000 for a geological survey, and appointed
Dr. Douglass Houghton State Geologist. For the encouragement of internal im-
provements, a board of seven commissioners was appointed, of which the Governor
was made president. This board authorized several surveys for railroads. Three
routes were surveyed through the State, which eventually became, respectively, the
Michigan Central, the Michigan Southern, and the Detroit & Milwaukee. The
latter road, however, was originally intended to have Port Huron for its eastern
terminus. The next year appropriations were made for the survey of the Saint
Joseph, Kalamazoo and Grand Rivers, for the purpose of improving the navi-
gation.
In 1839 the militia of the State was organized, and eight divisions, with two
l)riga(les of two regiments each, were provided for. This year, also, the State
prison at Jackson was completed. Nearly 30,000 pupils attended the common
schools this year, and for school purposes over $18,000 was appropriated. Agricul-
turally, the State yielded that year 21,944 bushels of rye, 1,116,910 of oats, 6,422
(5~-
T^
4^ — «-
_S)
iL
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 93
of buckwheat, 43,826 pounds of flax, 524 of hemp, 89,610 head of cattle, 14,059
head of horses, 22,684 head of sheep, and 109,096 of swine.
Gov. William Woodbridge was the chief executive from January, 1840, to
February, 1841, when he resigned to accept a seat in the United States Senate. J.
Wright Gordon was Lieutenant Governor, and became Acting Governor on the
resignation of Gov. Woodbridge.
During the administration of these men, the railroad from Detroit to Ann
Arbor, a distance of forty miles, was completed ; branches of the university were
established at Detroit, Pontiac, Monroe, Niles, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Jackson,
White Pigeon and Tecumseh. The material growth of the State continued to
increase, proportionally more rapidly than even the population, which now
amounted to about 212,000.
John S. Barry succeeded Gov. Gordon in the executive chair, serving from
1841 to 1845.
In 1842 the university was opened for the reception of students, and the num-
ber of pupils attending the common schools was officially reported to be nearly
58,000.
In 1843 a land office was established at Marshall for the whole State.
In 1844, the taxable property of the State was found to be in value $28,554,282,
the tax being at the rate of two mills on the dollar. The expenses of the State
were only 170,000, while the income from the two railroads was nearly $300,000.
In 1845, the number of inhabitants in the State had increased to more than
300,000.
Alpheus Felch served as Governor from 1845 to 1847. During his time the
two railroads belonging to the State were sold to private corporations, — the Central
for $2,000,000, and the Southern for $500,000. The exports of the State amounted
in 1846 to $4,647,608. The total capacity of vessels enrolled in the collection
district at Detroit was 26,928 tons, the whole giving employment to 18,000 seamen.
In 1847 there were thirty-nine counties in the State, containing 435 townships;
and 275 of these townships were supplied with good libraries, containing, in the
aggregate, 37,000 volumes. In the Spring of 1846, on the account of Northern and
Eastern immigration into Texas, with tastes and habits different from the native
Mexicans, a war was precipitated between the United States and Mexico ; and for
the prosecution of this war Michigan furnished a regiment of volunteers, com-
manded by Thomas W. Stockton, and one independent company, incurring a total
expense of about $10,500. March 3, 1847, Gov. Felch resigned to accept a seat in
the United States Senate, when the duties of his office devolved upon William S.
Greenly, under whose administration the Mexican war was closed.
Epaphroditus Ransom was Governor from 1847 to November, 1849. During
(S W.
^ ©[)?*
04 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
his administration the Asylum for the Insane was established at Kalamazoo, and
also the Institute for the Blind, and the Deaf and Dumb at Flint. Both these
institutions were liberally endowed with lands, and each entrusted to a board of
five trustees. March 31, 1848, the first telegraph line was completed from New
York to Detroit.
John S. Barry, elected Governor of Michigan for the third time, succeeded
Gov. Ransom, and his term expired in November, 1851. While he was serving this
term a normal school was established at Ypsilanti, which was endowed with lands,
placed in charge of .a board of education, consisting of six persons ; a new State
constitution was adopted, and the great "railroad-conspiracy" case was tried.
This originated in a number of lawless depredations upon the property of the
Michigan Central Railroad Compan}'', terminating with the burning of the depot at
Detroit in 1850. The next year thirty-seven men were brought to trial, and twelve
of them were convicted. The prosecution was conducted by Alexander D. Fraser,
of Detroit, and the conspirators were defended by William H. Seward, of New
York. Judge Warner Wing presided.
Robert McClelland followed Barry as Governor, serving until March, 1853,
when he resigned to accept the position of Secretary of the Interior, in the Cabinet
of Pres. Pierce. Lieut. -Gov. Andrew Parsons, consequently, became Acting Gov-
ernor, his term expiring in November, 1854.
In the Spring of 1854, during the administration of Acting Gov. Parsons, the
" Republican party," at least as a State organization, was first formed in the United
States " under the oaks " at Jackson, by anti-slaverymen of both the old parties.
Great excitement prevailed at this time, occasioned by the settling of Kansas and
the issue thereby brought up whether slavery should exist there. For the purpose
of permitting slavery there, the "Missouri compromise" (which limited slavery
to the south of 36 degrees 30 minutes) was repealed, under the lead of Stephen A.
Douglas. This was repealed by a bill admitting Kansas and Nebraska into the
Union as Territories, and those who were opposed to this repeal measure were, in
short, called " anti-Nebraska," were temporarily employed to designate the slavery
and anti-slavery parties, pending the dissolution of the old Democratic and Whig
parties and the organization of the new Democratic and Republican parties. At
the next State election Kinsley S. Bingham was elected by the Republicans Gov-
ernor of Michigan, and this State has ever since then been under Republican con-
trol, the State officers of that party being elected by majorities ranging from 5,000
to 55,000. And the people of this State generally, and the Republicans in par-
ticular, claim that this commonwealth has been as well taken care of since 1855 as
any State in the Union, if not better, while preceding 1855 the Democrats adminis-
tered the government as well as any other State, if not better. As a single though
-©
A
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 95
signal proof of the high standard of Michigan among her sister States, we may
mention that while the taxes in the New England States, New York, New Jersey
and Pennsylvania average 110.09 per capita, while in Massachusetts the average is
^17.10 per inhabitant, and while in the West the average is 16.50, in Michigan it
is only $4.57. At the same time it is generally believed, even by the citizens of
sister States, that Michigan is the best-governed commonwealth in the Union.
Kinsley S. Bingham was Governor from 1854 to 1858. The most notable event
daring his administration was the completion of the ship canal at the falls of Saint
Mary, May 26, 1855. An Act of Congress was approved, granting to the State of
JNIichigan 750,000 acres of land for the purpose of constructing this canal. The
"sault," or rapids, of the Saint Mary have a fall of seventeen feet in one mile.
The canal is one mile long, 100 feet wide and about twelve feet deep. It has two
locks of solid masonry. The work was commenced in 1853, and finished in May,
1855, at a cost of $999,802. This is one of the most important internal improve-
ments ever made in the State.
Moses Wisner was the next Governor of Michigan, serving from 1858 to
November, 1860, at which time Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the
United States. National themes began to grow exciting, and Michigan affairs were
almost lost in the warring elements of strife that convulsed the nation from center
to circumference with a life-and-death struggle.
Austin Blair was the thirteenth Governor of Michigan, serving during the
perilous times of the rebellion from 1861 to 1865, and by his patriotic and faithful
execution of law and prompt aid of the General Government, earning the well-
deserved title of " the War Governor." The particulars of the history of this
State in connection with that war we Avill reserve for the next section.
Henry H. Crapo succeeded Gov. Blair, serving one term. He was elected
during the dark hours just before the close of the war, when he found the political
sky overcast with the most ominous clouds of death and debt. The bonded debt
of the State was 13,541,149.80, with a balance, in the treasury of 1440,047.29. In
the single year just closed the State had expended $823,216.75, and by the close of
the first year of his term this indebtedness had increased more than $400,000 more.
But the wise administration of this Governor began materially to reduce the debt,
and at the same time fill the treasury. The great war closed during the April after his
election, and he faithfully carried out the line of policy inaugurated by his prede-
cessor. The other prominent events during his term of office are systematically
interwoven with the history of the various institutions of the State, and they will
be found under heads in their respective places.
Henry P. Baldwin was Governor two terms, namely, from January, 1868, to
the close of 1872. The period of his administration was a prosperous one for the
:f^
r^rr^fe
96 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
State. In 1869 the taxable valuation of real and personal property in the State
amounted to $400,000,000, and in 1871 it exceeded $630,000,000.
During Gov. Baldwin's time a step was taken to alter the State constitution so
as to enable counties, townships, cities and incorporated villages, in their corporate
capacity, to aid in the construction of railroads. Bonds had been issued all over
the State by tliese municipalities in aid of railroads, under laws which had been
enacted by the Legislature at five different sessions ; but a case coming before the
Supreme Court involving the constitutionality of these laws, the Bench decided
that the laws were unconstitutional, and thus the railroads were left to the mercy
of the " soulless " corporations. Gov. Baldwin, in this emergency, called an extra
session of the Legislature, which submitted the desired constitutional amendment
to the people ; but it was by them defeated in November, 1870.
The ninth census having been officially published, it became the duties of the
State, in 1872, to make a re-apportionment of districts for the purpose of repre-
sentation in Congress. Since 186B Michigan has had six representatives, but the
census of 1870 entitled it to nine.
During the last two years of Gov. Baldwin's administration the preliminary
measures for l)uilding a new State capitol engrossed much of his attention. His
wise counsels concerning this much-needed new building were generally adopted
by the Legislature, which was convened in extra session in March, 1872.
Ample provisions having been made for the payment of the funded debt of the
State by setting apart some of the trust-fund receipts, and such portion of the
specific taxes as were not required for the payment of interest on the public debt,
the one-eighth mill tax for the sinking fund was abolished in 1870.
Tlie Fall of 1871 is noted for the many destructive conflagrations in the North-
west, including the great Chicago fire. Several villages in this State were either
wholly or partially consumed, and much property was burned up nearly all over the
country. This was due to the excessive dryness of the season. In this State alone
nearly 3,000 families, or about 18,000 persons, were rendered houseless and
deprived of the necessaries of life. Relief committees were organized at Detroit,
Grand Rapids and elsewhere, and in a short time $462,106 in money and about
f250,000 worth of clothing were forwarded to the sufferers. Indeed, so generous
were the people, that they would have given more than was necessary had they not
been infornied by the Governor in a proclamation that a sufficiency had been raised.
The dedication of the soldiers and sailors' monument at Detroit, April 9, 1872,
was a notable event in Gov. Baldwin's time. This grand structure was designed
by Randolph Rogers, formerly of Michigan, and one of the most eminent of Amer-
ican sculptors now living. The money to defray the expenses of this undertaking
was raised by subscription, and persons in all parts of the State were most liberal
â– ^
L^^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 97
in their contributions. Tlie business was managed by an incorporation established
in 1868. The monument is forty-six feet high, and is surmounted by a colossal
statue of Michigan in bronze, ten feet in height. She is represented as a semi-
civilized Indian queen, with a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left. The
dedicatory lines in front are : " Erected by the people of Micliigan, in honor of the
martyrs who fell and the heroes who fought in defense of liberty and union."
On the monument are many beautiful designs. At the unveiling there was a large
concourse of people from all parts of the State, and the address was delivered by
ex-Gov. Blair.
John J. Bagley succeeded to the Governorship Jan. 1, 1873, and served two
terms. During his administration the new capitol was principally built, which is a
larger and better structure for the money than, perhaps, any other public building
in the United States. Under Gov. Bagley's counsel and administration the State
prospered in all its departments. The Legislature of 1873 made it the duty of the
Governoi to appoint a commission to revise the State Constitution, which duty he
performed to the satisfaction of all parties.
Charles M. Crosswell was next the chief executive officer of this State, exer-
cising the functions of the office for two successive terms, 1877-1881. During his
administration the public debt was greatly reduced, a policy adopted requiring
State institutions to keep within the limit of appropriations, laws enacted to pro-
vide more effectually for the punishment of corruption and bribery in elections, the
State House of Correction at Ionia and the Eastern Asylum for the Insane at Pon-
tiac were opened, and the new capitol at Lansing was completed and occupied.
The first act of his second term was to preside at the dedication of this building.
The great riot of 1877 centered at Jackson. During those two or three fearful
days Gov. Crosswell was in his office at Lansing, in correspondence with members
of the military department in different parts of the State, and within forty-eight
hours of the moment when the danger became imminent, the rioters found them-
selves surrounded by a military force ready with ball and cartridge for their anni-
hilation. Were it not for this promptness of the Governor, there would probably
have been a great destruction of property, if not also of life.
The administration of Hon. David H. Jerome has been one marked alike by
joys and sorrows. The great business revival marked the period of his election ;
the disastrous forest fires clouded the light of peace and prosperity.
STATE OFFICERS.
Governors During French Rule.
Appointed.
Sieur de Mesey - 1663
Sieur de Courcelles.. 1665
Sieur de Frontenac 1672
7
Appointed.
Sieur de La Barre 1672
Marquis de Denonville 1685
Sieur de Frontenac 1689
Chevalier de Callieres i^gq
f^
â– ^ - ^ T>^ ,
98
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
STATE OFFICERS. — CONTINUED.
Appointed.
Marquis de Vaudreliil - I703
Marquis de Beauharnois - 1726
Compt de la Galissoniere — ^747
Sieur de la Jonquiere ^749
Marquis du Quesne de Menneville 1752
Sieur de Vaudreuilde Cavagnal 1755
Governors During British Rule.
James Murray 17^5
Paulus E. Irving 1766
Guy Carleton 1766
Hector I. Cramahe 177°
Guy Carleton 1774
Frederick Haldemand 1778
Henry Hamilton 1784
Henry Hope - 1785
Lord Dorchester iyS6
Alured Clark .- 1791
Lord Dorchester 1798
Governors of Michigan Territory.
William Hull 1805
Lewis Cass 1813
George B.Porter .-- 1831
Stevens T. Mason, ex-oj/icw 1834
John T. Horner, ex-officio -- 1835
State Governors.
Elected.
Stevens T.Mason 1835
William Woodhridge 1840
J. Wright Gordon, acting 1841
Jiilin S. r.arry 1842
Alphcus FeJch 1846
Wm. S. Greenly, acting 1847
Epapliroditus Ransom 1848
John .S.Harry 1850
Robert McClelland 1852
Andrew Parsons, acting 1853
Kingsjcy S. Bingham 1855
Moses Wisner 1859
Austin Blair 1861
Ilcnry H. Crapo 1865
Henry D. Baldwin 1869
John J. Baglcy 1873
Charles M. Croswell 1877
David H, Jerome _. 1881
Lieutenant-Governors of Michigan.
Elected.
Edward Mundy 1835
J.Wright Gordon... 1840
Origin D. Richardson - 1842
Wm. S. Greenly • --- 1846
Wm. M. Fenton - -- 1848
Wm. S. Greenly 1849
Calvin Britain - 1852
Andrew Parsons 1853
George A. Coe 1855
Edmund B. Fairfield 1859
James Birney 1861
Joseph R. Williams, acting 1861
Henry T. Backus, acting 1862
Charles S. May 1863
E. O. Grosvenor 1865
Dwight May - 1867
Morgan Bates 1869
Henry H. Holt 1873
Alonzo Sessions 1877
Moreau S. Crosby — 1881
Secretaries of State.
Kintzing Pritchette 1835
Randolph Manning 1838
Thomas Rowland 1840
Robert P. Eldridge 1842
G. O. Whittemore 1846
George W. Peck 1848
George Redfield 1850
Charles H.Taylor 1850
William Graves 1853
John McKinney 1855
Nelson G. Isbell 1859
James B.Porter 1861
O. S. Spaulding 1867
Daniel Striker 1871
E. G. D. Holden 1875
William Jenney 1879
State Treasurers,
Henry H oward 1836
Peter Desnoycrs 1S39
Robert Stuart 1840
George W. Germain 1841
John J. Adam 1842
George Redfield 1845
-^
f
<2 4^
^ 9
â– k
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
99
STATE OFFICERS. — CONTINUED.
Elected.
George B. Cooper 1846
Barnard C. Whittemore 1850
Silas M. Holmes 1855
John McKinney 1859
John Owen _ 1861
E. O. Grosvenor 1S67
Victory P. Collier _ _ 1871
Wm. B. McCreery 1875
Benj. F. Pritchard 1879
Attorneys-General.
Daniel LeRoy 1836
Peter Morey 1837
Zephaniah Piatt 1841
Elon Farnsworth , 1843
Henry N. Walker 1845
Edward Mundy 1847
Geo. V. N. Lothrop 1848
William Hale _ 1857
Jacob M. Howard 1855
Charles Upson 1861
Albert Williams. 1863
Wm. L.Stoughton 1867
Dwight May ._ 1869
Byron D. Ball 1873
Isaac Marston _ 1874
Andrew J. Smith _ 1875
Otto Kirchner 1877
Auditors-General.
Robert Abbott 1836
Henry Howard 1839
Eurotus P. Hastings 1840
Alpheus Felch 1842
Henry S.Whipple 1842
Charles G. Hammond 1845
John J. Adam 1845
Digby V. Bell 1846
John J. Adam 1848
John Swegles, jr. 1851
Whitney Jones. 1855
Daniel L. Case 1859
Langford G. Berry i86i
Emil Aneke 1863
William Humphrey 1867
Ralph Ely 1875
W. Irving Latimer 1879
SuPT. Public Instruction.
Elected.
John D.Pierce 1838
Franklin Sawyer, jr 1841
Oliver C. Comstock 1843
Ira Mayhew 1845
Francis W. Sherman.. 1849
Ira Mayhew 1855
John M. Gregory 1S59
Oramel Hosford 1865
Daniel B. Briggs 1873
Horace S. Tarbell..:. 1877
Cornelius A. Gower 1878
Judges of the Supreme Court.
Augustus B. Woodward 1805-24
Frederick Bates 1805-8
John Griffin ... 1806-24
James Witherell.. 1808-28
Solomon Sibley 1824-36
Henry Chipman 1827-32
Wm. Woodbridge 1828-32
Ross Wilkins 1832-6
Wm. A. Fletcher 1836-42
Epaphroditus Ransom 1836-47
George Morell 1836-42
Charles W. Whipple 1843-52
Alpheus Felch 1842-5
David Goodwin. 1843-6
Warner Wing 1845-56
George Miles _. 1846-50
Edward Mundy 1848-51
Sanford M.Green 1848-57
George Martin 1851-2
Joseph T. Copeland 1852-7
Samuel T. Douglas 1852-7
David Johnson 1852-7
Abner Pratt. ^851-7
Charles W. Whipple 1852-5
Nathaniel Bacon 1855-8
Sanford M. Green 1856-8
E. H. C.Wilson 1856-8
Benj. F. H. Witherell, Benj. F.Graves,
Josiah Turner, and Edwin Lawrence to
fill vacancies in the latter part of 1857
George Martin 1858-68
Randolph Manning 1858-64
Isaac P. Christiancy 1858-77
89i](;o^
"B
-9
100
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
STATE OFFICERS. — CONTINUED.
Elected.
James V. Campbell 1858
Thomas M. Cooley 1864
Bcnj. F. Graves 1868
Isaac Marston. 1875
U. S. Senators.
John Norvell
Lucius Lyon
Augustus S. Porter
Wm. Woodbridge
Lewis Cass
Thos. H. Fitzgerald
Aipheus Felch
Charles E. Stuart
Zachariah Chandler
Kinsley S. Bingham
Jacob M. Howard
Thomas W. Ferry
Henry Baldwin
Zachariah Chandler
Thomas W. Ferry
Omar D. Conger
Representatives in Congress.
Isaac E. Crary
Jacob M. Howard
Luci us Lyon
Robert McClelland
James B. Hunt
John .S. Chipman »
Charles E. Stuart
Kinsley S. Bingham
Alexander W. Buel
William Sprague
Charles E. Stuart
James L. Conger _
I'.bcnezer J. Penneman
Samuel Clark
David A. Noble
Hester L. Stevens
David Stuart
George W. Peck
William A. Howard
1 lenry Waldron
1835-41
1836-40
1840-5
1841-7
1845-57
1848-9
1847-53
1853-9
1857-77
1859-O1
1862-71
1871
1880
1878-9
1881-3
i88i-7
1835-41
1841-43
1843-5
1843-9
1843-7
1845-7
1847-9
1849-51
1849-51
1849-50
I 85 1-3
1851-3
1851-3
1853-5
1853-5
1853-5
1853-5
1855-7
1855-61
1855-61
Elected.
David S. Walbridge 1855-9
D.C. Leach 1857-61
Francis W. Kellogg 1859-65
B. F. Granger 1861-3
F. C. Beaman 1861-71
R. E. Trowbridge 1861-3
Charles Upson 1863-9
JohnW. Longyear _. 1863-7
John F. Driggs 1863-9
R. E. Trowbridge 1865-9
Thomas W. Ferry 1869-71
Austin Blair 1867-73
William L. Stoughton 1869-73
Omar D. Conger 1869-81
Randolph Strickland 1869-71
Henry Waldon 1871-5
Wilder D. Foster. 1871-3
Jabez G. Sutherland 1871-3
Moses W. Field 1873-5
George Millard _ 1875-7
Julius C. Burrows 1873-5, 1879
JosiahW. Begale 1873-5
Nathan B. Bradley 1873-7
Jay A. HubbelL. 1873
W. B, Williams 1875-7
Aipheus S.Williams 1875-9
Mark S. Boemer 1877
Charles C. Ellsworth 1877-9
Edwin W. Keightley 1877-9
Jonas H. McGowan 1877
John W. Stone - 1877
Edwin Willets 1877
Roswell G. Horr 1879
John S.Newberry 1879
H. W. Lord 1881
Edwin Willets 1881
E. S. Lacey 1881
Julius C. Burrows :88i
George W. Webber 1881
Oliver L. Spaulding 1881
John T.Rich 1881
Roswell G. Horr 1881
J.-iy A. Hubbcll 1881
111 the political chapter of tlie county history, the names of State Senators and
Representatives from Macomb are given, with a record of votes received.
"• *|^
« ^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
101
POLITICAL STATISTICS.
The following tables show the political complexion of the several districts as
now arranged, taking the vote for Congressmen in 1880 as the basis :
.FIRST DISTRICT.
Rep.
Green-
back.
628
County. Rep. Dem
Wayne ..15,962 15,388
Republican plurality 574
Democratic and Greenback over Republican 54
SECOND DISTRICT.
Monroe — 3.175
Lenawee 6,308
Hillsdale 4.857
Washtenaw - 4.605
3.717
201
5.431
265
2,435
914
5.013
294
Total 18,945 16,596 1,674
Republican plurality .- 2,349
Republican majority 675
THIRD DISTRICT.
Jackson 4.5^4
Calhoun 5.184
Branch 4.106
Barry 3,072
Eaton -- 4.341
3.287
2,196
2,915
1,067
1,081
1,748
779
2,340
1,677
1,608
Total 21,267 9,739 8,959
Republican plurality... ...11,528
Republican majority 2,571
FOURTH DISTRICT.
Berrien .- 4.553
Cass -- 2,856
St. Joseph 3.134
Kalamazoo — 4.459
Van Buren 4.094
3.523
533
2.157
425
1,840
1,500
2,976
572
1,928
1,163
Total 19,096 12,424 4,193
Republican plurality 6,672
Republican majority 2,479
FIFTH DISTRICT.
Allegan 4,657
Kent - 7,879
Ottawa 3.289
Ionia 4.262
Total 20,087 9.939 8,901
Republican plurality 10,108
Republican majority 1.207
1,806
1,789
5.395
3.227
2,072
837
666
3.048
SIXTH DISTRICT.
County. Rep.
Clinton 3,305
Ingham 3.983
Livingstone 2,820
Genesee.. _ 4.747
Oakland 5.371
Dem.
2,771
Green-
back.
766
3.387
1. 03 1
2.914
lf92
2,126
2,173
5,000
363
Total 20,226 16,288 4,525
Republican plurality 3,938
Democrat and Greenback over Republican 587
SEVENTH DISTRICT.
Macomb 3,000
St. Clair 4,182
Lapeer 3.390
Sanilac. 2,183
Huron.. 1.773
3.283
184
3.512
713
2,676
138
1.329
179
1,194
34
Total 14,618 11,994 1,248
Republican plurality. 3.944
Republican majority 2,696
EIGHTH DISTRICT.
Shiawassee 3.325
Saginaw 4,829
Gratiot 2,526
Montcalm 4.140
Isabella 1,375
Midland 758
1,947
1. 165
5.801
436
1,780
686
3.067
492
1,089
81
514
241
Total 16,953 14,198 3,101
Republican plurality 2,755
Democrat and Greenback over Republican 346
NINTH DISTRICT.
Muskegon 2,737 1.496 605
Oceana 1.479 959
Newaygo. 1.549 1, 796 12
Mecosta 1,592 1,020 91
Osceola 1,234 577 20
Lake 583 264 i
Mason... 1,259 832
Manistee 1,176 1,098
Wexford 1, 1X2 476 47
Missaukee 268 121 21
Charlevoix 793 276 95
Antrim... 598 I98 171
(9
-B>
t
^'^ — *-
_< s
^
103
HISTORY OF MICPIIGAN.
County.
Kalkaska .
Rep. Dem.
495
iSr
Total I4>875
Republican plurality
Republican majority
9.294
Grefin-
back.
1,063
-5.581
-4.518
TENTH DISTRICT.
Tuscola 2,872
Bay 2,483
Caldwin 147
Clare 451
Roscommon 564
Ogemaw 280
Iosco - 766
Crawford... 181
Oscoda
Alcona 388
Alpena 948
Montmorency.
Otsego 329
Presque Isle 209
Cheboygan 581
Emmet 809
1,812
2.398
260
412
413
173
540
141
250
835
217
151
571
603
180
1,568
5
41
72
57
8
24
8
48
83
83
4
Total 10,978 8,776 2,180
County.
Rep. Dem.
Green-
back.
Republican plurality 2,202
Republican majority 22
ELEVENTH DISTRICT.
Grand Traverse 1,327
Leelenau 643
Benzie 430
Manitou 36
Chippewa . 358
Mackinac 143
.Schoolcraft 172
Marquette 2,449
Baraga 180
Houghton 2,107
Keewenaw 610
Ontonagon 306
Isle Royal
Menominee 1,304
Delta 724
498
564
192
137
325
298
17
1.255
219
1,283
237
147
900
414
8
72
141
14
Total 10,789 6,486 235
Republican plurality 4.303
Republican majority 4,168
There were also prohibition and scattering votes returned for Congress in 1880
as follows: Second district, 191; third, 234; fourth, 24; fifth, 18; sixth, 78;
seventh, 18; eighth, 16; ninth, 21; tenth, 7; and eleventh, 95. In Isle Royal
County, in 1880, no election was held, and Oscoda and Montmorency Counties
were not organized.
The population of the several districts in 1870 and 1880 and the total increase
for the ten years are shown by the following table :
District. Pop. 1870.
First _ 119,038--.
Second.. 146 196
Third 146,212-..
Fourth 143.356
Fifth 136,840..-
Sixth 142276
Seventh 109,233
Eighth 92.792...
Ninth 51,943.-.
Tenth 40,439.-.
Eleventh 55,794...
If a similar rate of increase is kept up in the northern counties, the eighth,
ninth and tenth districts will before the end of the decade largely exceed in popu-
lation certain of the older districts.
Pop. 1880.
Increaae.
166,444.
156.538..
164.966..
150,569-.
178,066..
164,784.
... 47,406
.- 10,342
-- 18,754
-- 7,213
.. 41,226
... 22,508
154,392-
160,269.
125,210-
... 45.152
... 67,498
--. 73.267
111,151-
... 70,712
104,527-
--- 49.733
"V
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 103
CHAPTER VII.
MISCELLANEOUS.
THE FUR -TRADERS AND SLAVE OWNERS.
The British at Detroit changed their policy somewhat, and endeavored to
conciliate the Indians, paying them for land and encouraging French settlements in
the vicinity. This encouragement was exhibited, in part, in showing some par-
tiality to French customs.
At this time the fur trade was considerably revived, the principal point of
shipment l)eing the Grand Portage of Lake Superior. The charter boundaries of
the two companies, the Hudson's Bay and the Northwest, not having been very
well-defined, the employees of the respective companies often came into conflict.
Lord Selkirk, the head of the former company, ended the difficulty by uniting the
stock of both companies. An attempt was also made to mine and ship copper, but
the project was found too expensive.
SLAVERY IN MICHIGAN.
The following references to the slave in Michigan have been extracted from
the able paper prepared on that subject by J. A. Girardin. In olden
times the city of Detroit and vicinity had slaves among its inhabitants.
The old citizens generally purchased them from marauding bands of Indians,
who had captured the negro slaves in their war depredations on plantations.
Many were thus brought from Virginia, New York, and Indiana, and sold to the
inhabitants of Detroit, sometimes for nominal prices. Among our old citizens who
were slaveholders in the olden times were the late Major Joseph Campau, George
McDougall, James Duperon Baby, Abbott & Finchly, and several others. The
negro slaves were well treated by their owners. Many of those poor captives when
sold and released were at once well taken care of by our ancient inhabitants. Some-
times the price of a negro slave was regulated according to his intrinsic value, but
the price was quite high for those days. For instance : A negro boy named Frank,
aged 12 years, the property of the late Phillip Jonciere, of Belle Fontaine, now
Springwells, was sold on the 22d day of October, 1793, by William Roe, acting
auctioneer, to the late Hon. James Duperon Baity, for the sum of X213, New York
currency, equal to •'$532.50 of our money. Mr. Baby being the highest bidder, he,
Frank, was adjudged to him for the benefit of Mr. Joncier's estate.
e>
(2 W.
-« 5)t
104 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
In the records of baptism of St. Anne's Church, several persons of color we
find recorded as having received the sacrament of baptism, and, in the absence of
family names we find that the names of ''Margaret," for instance, a negress,
" unknown " would be entered in the absence of her regular family name ; several
instances of this kind are entered in the old records. During the administration of
the Governor and Judges of the Territory of Michigan, several negroes received
donation lots. Among them was a well known negro named " Pompey," the
property of the late James Abbott. As a class the negroes were esteemed by our
ancient population ; many of them could speak the French language fluently, espe-
cially those living with their French masters. But little cruelty was practiced by
their owners. There was no Wendell Phillips nor any Lloyd Garrison, nor any
" higher law doctrine," expounded in those days to disturb the mind of the slave
or the slaveholder. Everyone lived in Arcadian simplicity and contentment. The
negro was satisfied with his position, and rendered valuable services to his master,
and was ever ready to help him against the treacherous Indians. During the war
of 1812 several of them accompanied their masters to the battle-field, and mate-
rially helped their masters and the troops.
By an ordinance enacted by Congress, dated July 13, 1787, entitled " An act
for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio
River," there was a clause in Article VI saying that " there shall be neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment
of crimes." This was a safeguard by Congress to prevent the extension of
slavery northwest of the Ohio River. Notwithstanding this wise provision our an-
cestors paid but little attention to it, for whenever a spruce negro was brought
by the Indians he was sure to find a purchaser at a reasonable price. jNIost every
j)rominent man in those days had a slave or two, especially merchants trading with
the Indians.
Detroit and vicinity was a heaven to the slave compared to the Southern States,
although slavery was carried on on a moderate scale here, there being no cotton or
rice fields to emi)loy them in, their labor being on the plantations near Detroit, or
at their masters' houses. The master, once attached to his " Sambo," a great price
would have to be paid to buy him.
The late Judge May had a slave-woman who had come to his hands for a debt
owed him i)y one Granchin. This faithful slave served the Judge some twenty-
five years. Mr. Joseph Campau, an extensive trader in those days, had as many as
ten slaves at different times. Among them was a young negro named " Crow,"
who was quite a favorite of Mr. C, who had him dressed in scarlet, a contrast with
his color. Tiiis negro, to the amusement of the inhabitants of the old town, used
to ascend old St. Anne's Church steeple and there perform some of his gymnastic
^^
"®
-^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
105
tricks. He was supple and elastic as a circus-rider. He had been purchased at
Montreal by Mr. Campau. He was afterward drowned from one of Mr. C.'s bat-
teaux. '"Hannah," another intelligent colored woman, was purchased at Montreal
by Mr. C. This faithful slave, after servinsf him several vears, married " Patterson,"
also a slave. "Mulet," one of the most honest and faithful of all slaves, also be-
longed to Mr. Campau, who very often employed him as confidential clerk. This
slave died but a few years ago at a very advanced age, respected and esteemed for
his great integrity and fidelity. The slave " Tetro " was among the favorites of
Maj. Campau. He, too, was as faithful and as honest as the day was long.
The late Gen. John R. Williams also possessed a slave, named " Hector." He,
too, was faithful and trustworthy. In the year 1831 Daniel Leroy, Olmstead
Chamberlain, and Gideon O. Whittemore sold to Col. Mack, Gen. Williams, and
Maj. Campau the newspaper called the Oaklayid Chronicle, the office being trans-
ferred here, and the well kuown slave " Hector " was placed in charge of it. When
the late Col. Sheldon McKnight entered to take possession, he was fiercely resisted
by " Hector who showed fight, and the Colonel had to retreat. This paper was
afterward merged into the Free Press of this cit}*.
Ann Wyley, a former slave, suffered the extreme penalty of the law for having
stolen six guineas fi'om the firm of Abbott & Finchley. She was sentenced to
death by a justice of the peace, and buried on the spot where St. Anne's Church
now stands, which ground was used as a place of burial in early days ; and when,
in 1817, the foundations of the church were being excavated for, the body of this
unfortunate woman was found, face downward. It was supposed that she was in
a trance at the time of her burial. This incident was related to me by an old lady,
some years ago, who knew all about the facts, and who has since died.
The late Joseph Drouillard, of Petite Cote, Canada, had two daughters. Upon
the marriage of one of them to the grandfather of your humble servant she received
a farm ; the other received two slaves as her marriage portion. This goes to show
that the negro in those days was conpi'l.ered a chattel. Several of our French
farmers on both sides of the river had one or more of them.
Many anecdotes can be related of Africa's sons among our ancestors, and they
as a class were well cared for and educated by their kind masters. I could digress
and go into more details, but the present sketch will suffice to show our modern
philanthropists that the slaves here in Detroit were as well treated as the families
in which their lot had been cast. The question may be asked : " How did slavery
die out here?" The owners of slaves, after having received their services for a
number of years generally would liberate them, or sometimes sell them to parties
outside of the Territory. When the celebrated ordinance of 1787 was extended
over the Northwest, Michigan assumed for the first time the first grade of govern-
V
-^|t
â– * ^ X)?'
106 IIISTOliY OF MICHIGAN.
ment, and the laws of Congress were put in force, no more slaves were afterward
allowed to be brought into the Territory, and slavery was known no more here !
SALE OF NEGRO MAN POMPEY.
The following is a copy of a deed furnished by W. W. Backus of Detroit :
" Know all men by these presents : That I, James May of Detroit, for and in
consideration of the sum of forty-five pounds. New York currency, to me in hand
paid by John Askin, Esqr.,of Detroit, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge
to be fully satisfied and paid, have sold and delivered, and by these presents, in
plain and open market, do bargain, sell, and deliver unto the said John Askin,
Ks([r., a certain negro man, Pompey by name, to have and to hold the said negro
unto the said John Askin, Esqr., his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns
forever ; and I, the said James May, for my heirs, executors, and assigns, against
all manner of person or persons, shall and will warrant and forever defend by these
presents.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this nineteenth day
of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four.
Signed,
JAMES MAY.
In presence of
Robert Stevens.
I do iiereby make over my whole right, title and interest in the above men-
tioned negro man Pompey to Mi-. James Donnolson of this place for the sum of
fifty pounds, New York currency, the receipt of which I do hereby acknowledge,
as witness my hand and seal at Detroit, this third day of January, 1795.
Signed, JOHN ASKIN.
Witness, William McClintock.
Throughout the counties of Wayne, Monroe, Macomb, and Oakland, the slave
existed. True, he bore the same relation almost to his master, as the white laborer
of the South did to his master previous to 1861. Yet he was a slave, liable to be
bought and sold.
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
^ Michigan has as good a public-school system as can be found anywhere in the
Union. Ever since 1785, the acts of Congress, as well as the acts of this State
since its organization, have encouraged popular education by land grants and lib-
eral approj.riations of money. The IGth section of each township was early placed
in the custody of tiie State for common-school purposes, and all the proceeds of the
sale of school lands go into the perpetual fund. In 1842 the Superintendent of
Pul)lic Instruction reported a discrepancy of over 122,000 in the funds, owincr to im-
\>j.
~®
(2 W_
fliL
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 107
perfect records, probably, rather tlian of dishonesty of officials. September 30, 1858,
the primary school fund amounted to $2,890,090.73, and the swamp-land school fund
to $361,237.20. The qualification of teachers and the supervision of schools were for
many years in the hands of a board of three inspectors, then the county superin-
tendency system was adopted for many years, and since 1875 the township system
has been in vogue. The township Board of School inspectors now consists of the
Township Clerk, one elected Inspector, and a Township Superintendent of
Schools.
The latter officer licenses the teachers and visits the schools. In 1877, the
school children (five to twenty years of age) numbered 469,504 ; the average
number of months of school, 7.4 ; number of graded schools, 295 ; number of school-
houses, 6,078, valued at 19,190,175 ; amount of two-mill tax, $492,646.94 ; district
taxes, $2,217,961 ; total resources for the year, $3,792,129.59; total expenditures,
$3,179,976.06.
STATE UNIVERSITY.
By an act of Congress in 1804, a township of land was to be reserved in the
territory now constituting the lower peninsula " for the use of seminaries of
learning ; " but the most of this reservation in 1841 went to a Catholic institution
at Detroit. In 1824, through the exertions of Austin E. Wing, delegate to Con-
gress, Gov. Woodbridge and others, a second township was granted, with permis-
sion to select the sections in detached localities, and about this time Judge Wood-
ward devised that novel and extensive scheme for the " catholepistemaid,'' else-
where referred to in this volume. In 1837 the Legislature established the University at
Ann Arbor, and appropriated the seventy-two sections to its benefit ; 916 acres of this
land were located in what is now the richest part of Toledo, Ohio, from which the
University finally realized less than $18,000.
But the State in subsequent years made many liberal appropriations to this
favorite institution, until it has become the greatest seat of learning west of New
England, if not in all America. It is a part of the public-school system of the
State, as tuition is free, and pupils graduating at the high schools are permitted to
enter the freshman class of the collegiate department. It now has an average
attendance of 1,200 to 1,400 students, 450 of whom are in the college proper. In
1879 there were 406 in the law department, 329 in the medical, 71 in pharmacy, 62
in dental surgery, and 63 in the homeopathic department. There are over fifty
professors and teachers. The University is under the control of eight regents,
elected by the people, two every second year. Rev. Henry B. Tappan, D. D., was
President from 1852 to 1863, then Erastus O. Haven, D. D., LL. D., to 1860, then
Prof. H. S. Freeze (acting) until 1871, since which time the reins have been held
by Hon. James B. Angell, LL. D.
19
^
i,
A\l
108 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
The value of the buildings and grounds was estimated iu 1879 at $319,000, and
the personal property at $250,000.
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
John D. Pierce, the first Superintendent of Public Instruction, in his first re-
port to the Legislature, urged the importance of a normal school. In this enter-
prise he was followed by his successors in office until 1849, when Ira Mayhew was
State Superintendent, and the Legislature appropriated seventy-two sections of
land for the purpose ; and among the points competing for the location of the
school, Ypsilanti won, and in that place the institution was permanently located.
The building was completed and dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, October
5, 1852 ; next year the Legislature appropriated $7,000 in money, for expenses.
Prof. A. S. Welch, now President of Iowa Agricultural College, was elected the
first Principal. In October, 1859, the building with contents was burned, and a
new building was immediatel}^ erected. In 1878 the main building was enlarged
at an expense of $43,347. This enlargement was 88x90 feet, and has a hall capa-
ble of seating 1,200 persons. The value of buildings and other property at the
present time is estimated at $111,100. Number of students, 616, including 144 in
the primary department.
Each member of the Legislature is authorized by the Board of Education to
appoint two students from his district who may attend one year free of tuition; other
students pay $10 per annum. Graduates of this school are entitled to teach in this
State without re-examination by any school officer.
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
The Michigan Agricultural College owes its establishment to a provision of
the State Constitution of 1850. Article 13 says, " The Legiiilature shall, as soon
as practicable, provide for the establishment of an agricultural school." For the
purpose of carr3nng into practice this provision, legislation was commenced in 1855,
and the act required tliat the school should be within ten miles of Lansing, and
that not more than $15 an acre should be paid for the farm and college grounds.
The college was opened to students in May, 1857, the first of existing agricultural
colleges in the United States. Until the Spring of 1861 it was under the control
of the State Board of Education ; since that time it has been under the manage-
ment of the State Board of Agriculture, created for the purpose.
In its essential features of combining study and labor, and of uniting general
and professional studies in its course, the college has remained virtually unchanged
frera the first. It has had a steady growth in number of students, in means of
illustration and efficiency of instruction.
An Act of Congress, approved July 2, 1862, donated to each State public lands
I (5 r- -^» a I "V
VW
A
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 1C9
to the amount of 30,000 acres for eacli of its Senators and Representatives in Con-
gress, according to the census of 1860, for the endowment, support and mainten-
ance of at least one college where the leading object should be, without excluding
other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such
branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts. The
Legislature accepted this grant and bestowed it upon the Agricultural College.
By its provisions the college has received 235,673.37 acres of land. These lands
have been placed in market, and about 74,000 acres are sold, yielding a fund of
1237,174, the interest of which, at seven per cent., is applied to the support of the
college. The sale is under the direction of the Agricultural Land Grant Board,
consisting of the Governor, Auditor General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer,
Attorney General and Commissioner of the State Land Office.
The Agricultural College is three miles east of Lansing, comprising several
fine buildings ; and there are, also, very beautiful, substantial residences for the
professors. There are also an extensive, well-filled green-house, a very large and
well-equipped and chemical laboratory, one of the most scientific apiaries in the
United States, a general museum, a museum of mechanical inventions, another of
vegetable products, extensive barns, piggeries, etc., etc., in fine trim for the pur-
poses designed. The farm consists of 676 acres, of which about 300 are under
cultivation is in a systematic rotation of crops.
OTHER COLLEGES.
At Albion is a flourishing college under the control of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. The grounds comprise about fifteen acres. There are three college
buildings, each three stories high, having severally the dimensions of 46 by 80, 40
by 100, and 47 by 80 feet. The attendance in 1878 was 205. Tuition in the prepara-
tory and collegiate studies is free. The faculty comprises nine members. The
value of property about $85,000.
Adrian College was established by the Wesleyan Methodists in 1859, now
under the control of the " Methodist Church." The grounds contain about twenty
acres. There are four buildings, capable of accommodating about 225 students.
Attendance in 1875 was 179 ; total number of graduates for previous years, 121 ;
ten professors and teachers employed. Exclusive of the endowment fund (-'180,-
000), the assets of the institution, including grounds, buildings, furniture, appar-
atus, musical instruments, outlying lands, etc., amount to more than $137,000.
Hope College, at Holland, is under the patronage of the Dutch Reformed Church.
It was begun in 1851, and in connection with tlie ordinary branches of learning, it
has a theological department. In 1877 it had ten professors and teachers and 110
pupils. Up to 1875 there had graduated, in the preparatory department, begun in
110 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
1803, ninety-five ; in the academic, beginning in 1866, fifty-three ; and in the theo-
logical, beginning in 18G9, twenty-four. Value of real estate, $25,000; of other
property, above incumbrance, about 110,000 ; the amount of endowment paid in is
about .S")6,000.
Kalamazoo College, headed by Baptists, is situated on a five-acre lot of ground,
and the property is valued at $35,000 ; investments, $^8,000. There are six mem-
bers of the faculty, and in 1878 there were 169 pupils.
Hillsdale College was established in 1855 by the Free Baptists. The " Michi-
gan Central College," at Spring Arbor, was incorporated in 1845. It was kept in
operation until it was merged into the present Hillsdale College. The site com-
l)rises twenty-five acres, beautifully situated on an eminence in the western part of
the city of Hillsdale. The large and imposing building first erected was nearly
destroyed by fire in 1874, and in its place five buildings of a more modern style
have been erected. They are of brick, three stories with basement, arranged on
three sides of a quadrangle. Their size is, respectively, 80 by 80, 48 by 72, 48 by
72, 80 by 60, 52 by 72, and they contain one-half more room than the original
building. Ex-Lieutenant Gov. E. B. Fairfield was the first president. The present
president is Rev. D. W. C. Durgin, D. D. Whole number of graduates up to 1878,
375 ; number of students in all departments, 506 ; number of professors and
instructors, 15; productive endowment, about $100,000; buildings and ground,
i80,000 ; library, 6,200.
Olivet College, in Eaton County, is a lively and thorough literary and fine-art
institution, under the joint auspices of the Presbyterian and Congregational denom-
inations. Value of buildings and ground, about $85,000. Fourteen professors and
teachers are employed, and the attendance in 1878 was 190, the sexes in about
equal proportion. There are five departments, namely, the collegiate, prepai-atory,
normal, music and art.
Battle Creek College, conducted by the Seventh-Day Adventists, was estab-
lished in 1874, with four departments, eleven professors and teachers, and an
attendance of 289. It is practically connected with a large health institution,
where meat and medicines are eschewed. In 1878 there were fifteen instruct-
ors and 478 students. Special attention is paid to hygiene and hygienic medi-
cation.
Grand Traverse College w.is opened at Benzonia, in 1803, as the result of the
efforts of Rev. Dr. J. B. Walter, a prominent divine of the Congregational Church.
The friends of this institution have met with serious discouragements ; their lands
have not risen in value as anticipated, and they have suffered a heavy loss from fire;
but the college has been kept open to the present time, with an average of seventy
pupils. The curriculum, however, has so far been only " preparatory." The land
n^
(2_
±i=ik^
HISTORY OF MICniGAN. HI
is valued at $25,000, and the buildings, etc., $6,000. The school has done a good
work in qualifying teachers for the public schools.
Besides the foregoing colleges, there are the German-American Seminary
in Detroit, a Catholic seminary at Monroe, the Michigan Female Seminary at
Kalamazoo, the Military Academy at Orchard Lake, near Pontiac, and others.
Large numbers of Michigan students study at the college of Notre Dame in St.
Joseph County, Indiana.
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
No State in the Union takes better care of her poor than does Michigan. For
a number of years past, especially under the administrations of Govs. Bagley and
Croswell, extraordinary efforts have been made to improve and bring to perfection
the appointments for the poor and dependent.
According to the report of the Board of State Commissioners for the general
supervision of charitable, penal, pauper and reformatory institutions for 1878, the
total number in poor-houses of the State was 5,282, For the five years preceding,
the annual rate of increase was four times greater than the increase of population
during that period; but that was an exceptionally "hard " time. The capacity of
the public heart, however, was equal to the occasion, and took such measures as
were effectual and almost beyond criticism for the care of the indigent. At the
head of the charity department of the State stands
THE STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL.
In the year 1870 a commission appointed by the Governor for that purpose,
visited many of the poor-houses in the State, and found a large number of children
in them under sixteen years of age, indiscriminately associated with idiots, maniacs,
prostitutes and vagrants. Their report recommended the classification of paupers,
and especially, that children in the county houses, under sixteen years, should be
placed in a State school. The act establishing the rule was passed in 1871, in con-
formity with the recommendation. As amended in 1873, it provides, in substance,
that there shall be received as pupils in such school all neglected and dependent
children that are over four and under sixteen years of age, and that are in suitable
condition of body or mind to receive instruction, especially those maintained in the
county poor-houses, those who have been deserted by their parents, or are orphans,
or whose parents have been convicted of crime. It is declared to be the object of
the act to provide for such children temporary homes only, until homes can be
procured for them in families. The plans comprehend the ultimate care of all
children of the class described, and it is made unlawful to retain such children in
poor-houses when there is room for them in the State Public School. Dependent
orphans and half orphans of deceased soldiers and sailors have the preference of
®
(a
^JL_^
s>
113 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
admission should there be more applications than room. Provision is made for
preserving a record of the parentage and history of each child.
The general supervision of the school is delegated to a Board of Control,
consisting of three members, who are appointed by the Governor, with the advice
and consent of the Senate. The Board appoints the superintendent, officers and
teachers of the school. One officer is appointed to look up homes for the children
to apprentice them, and to keep a general oversight of them by visitation or corre-
spondence. To complete the work of this institution, an agent is appointed in each
county.
The internal government of this school is that known as the " family " and
" congregate " combined, the families consisting of about thirty members each, and
being under the care of "cottage managers," ladies whom the children call "aunt-
ies," and who are supposed to care for the children as mothers. Each child of
sufficient j'ears expected to work three hours every day ; some work on the farm,
some in the dining-room and kitchen, while others make shoes, braid straw hats,
make their own clothing, work in the bakery, engine room, laundry, etc. They are
required to attend school three to five hours a day, according to their ages, and
the school hours are divided into sessions to accommodate the work.
The buildings, ten in number, comprise a main building, eight cottages and a
hospital, all of brick. The buildings are steam heated, lighted with gas and have
good bathing facilities. There are forty-one acres of land in connection with the
school, and the total value of all the property is about $150,000, furnishing accom-
modation for 2i0 children.
INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB, AND THE BLIND.
This is located at Flint, sixty miles nearly northwest of Detroit. The act
establishing it was passed in 1848, and the school was first opened in 1854, in a
leased building. It is a school in common for deaf mutes, and the blind, rather
from motives of economy than from any relation which the two classes bear to
one another. The buildings were commenced in 1853. The principal ones now
are: front building, forty-three by seventy-two feet, with east and west wings,
each twenty-eight by sixty feet, center building, forty by sixty, and east and west
wings, each fifty by seventy feet; main school building, fifty-two by fifty-four, with
two wings, and twenty-five by sixty feet. All of these buildings are four stories
high ; center of the front l)uilding is five stories, including basement. There are
also a boiler and engine house, barns, etc. The total value of the buildings is
cstiiuiited at .|;558,045, and of the eighty-eight acres of land occupied, $17,570.
The number of inmates has increased from 94, in 1865, to 225, in 1875. Includ-
ing the Principal, there are ten teachers employed in the deaf and dumb depart-
■©
I, - - - . . ... .. -. -^...^^ £ ^^j -^^ : -.^ ^^1 J , ,. ^j ^^^_^.^_^^___^__
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 113
^ Aj^y.
nient, and four in the blind, besides the Matron and her assistants. Tuition and
board are free to all resident subjects of the State, and the Trustees are authorized
to assist indigent subjects in the way of clothing, etc., to the amount of $40 a year.
An annual census of all deaf mutes and blind persons in the State, is officially taken
and reported to the overseers of the poor, who are to see that these unfortunate
members of the human family are properly cared.
ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE, AT KALAMAZOO.
This institution was established in 1848, and now consists of two departments,
one for males and the other for females. The capacity of the former is 280, and of
the latter, 300 patients. In their general construction, both buildings are arranged
in accordance with the principles laid down by the Association of Medical Superin-
tendents of American Institutions for the Insane. The buildings are ot brick, with
stone trimmings, and are very substantial, as well as beautiful. The entire cost of
both buildings, with all the auxiliary structures, and 195 acres of land, is about
$727,173.90. The buildings were constructed during the war and immediately
afterward. The asylum was opened in 1859 for the care of patients, and up to
October 1, 1875, there had been expended for the care and maintenance of patients,
exclusive of the cost of construction, $994,711.32. Indigent patients are received
and treated at the asylum at the expense of the counties to which they belong, on
the certification of the county authorities, the average cost of maintenance being
about $4.12^ per week. Pay patients are received when there is room for them,
the minimum price of board being $5 per week.
EASTERN ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE, AT PONTIAC.
These large, beautiful and very modern structures are located upon a farm of
upward of 300 acres, and were erected in 1873-'6, at a cost of about $400,000.
The general plans are similar to those at Kalamazoo. They are built of brick, with
stone window caps, belt-courses, etc. There are accommodations for not less than
300 patients.
Michigan pursues a very enlightened policy toward the chronic insane. Pro-
visions have been made for the treatment even of the incurable, so that as much
good as possible may be done even to the most unfortunate. The design is to cure
whenever the nature of the mental malady will permit ; but failing this, to cease
no effort which could minister to the comfort and welfare of the patient.
PENAL INSTITUTIONS.
The Detroit House of Correction, although a local institution, is used to a con-
siderable extent as an intermediate prison, to which persons are sentenced by the
courts throughout the State for minor offenses. Women convicted of felonies are
â– ^
4^ — *-
_5)
lA
114 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
also sent to tliis place. The wliole luiniber in confinement at this prison for the
past decade has averaged a little over 400 at anyone time, more males than females.
The average term of confinement is but a little more than two months, and the
institution is very faitlifully conducted.
The State Prison, at Jackson, is one of the best conducted in the Union. The
total value of the property is $552,113. The earnings of the prison in 1878 were
•192,378 ; number of prisoners, 800. Their work is let to contractors, who employ
450 men at different trades. A coal mine has been recently discovered on the
prison property, which proves a saving of several thousand dollars per annum to
the State. The earnings of this prison since Gen. Wm. Humphrey has been War-
den (1875), lias exceeded its current expenses.
The State Prison at Ionia was established a few years ago, for the reception of
convicts whose crimes are not of the worst tj'pe, and those who are young, but too
old for tlie reform school. The ground comprises 53 acres of land, 13^ of which is
enclosed by a brick wall 18 feet high. Estimated value of property, $277,490 ;
current expenses for 1878, $45,744 ; earnings for 1878, $5,892 ; number of prison-
ers December 31, 1878, 250 ; number received during the year, 346.
THE STATE PRISON IN 1880.
The inspectors say that " in a pecuniary sense the year has been a prosperous
one to all the industries connected with the prison. Contractors have had a demand
for all their products at fair prices and sure pa}^ and as a consequence contracts due
to the State have been promptly paid, and tlie prison authorities have had none of
the troubles and anxieties they have sometimes experienced from the failure of
prompt payment for prison labor. The general prosperity of the country is shown
by the increased and increasing demands for the products of labor. Whether
these products are from the labor or convicts of free men, the consumer does not
incpiire ; therefore it is not surprising, but to have been expected, that the prison
industries would share in the general prosperity.
The inspectors report valuation of property as follows:
Rcalestiitc $545,219.55
Personal $48,61 8.27
Cash on hand . 9,799.82 58,418.09
AggrcKatc $603,637.64
The increase over inventory of 1880 is stated at $29,806.95. Of this amount
$18,155.45 is credited to real estate, $14,299.88 of which is credited to the expend-
iture of legislative appropriations, and $3,855.67 to prison earnings. The increase
in the valuation of personal property is $11,651.50, which amount came entirely
from prison labor, showing an aggregate increase from pri.^on labor of $15,507.07.
Jh^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 115
re>
The net prison earnings for the year are given as $95,129.67, and the expenses
for the same time $84,517.66, showing a balance of earnings over expenses of
$10,612.01.
The following are the statistics of prisoners for the year :
Number October i, 1879 777
Admitted during year 281
Total 1,058
Discharged by expiration of sentence. 253
Discliarged by death 5
Discharged by order for new trials 2
Discharged by order of supreme court ^ 4
Discharged by pardon of governor 13
Escaped 3
280
Remaining in prison September 30, 1880.
Total 778
The detailed inventory covers thirty-six pages, and is minute enough to meet
the demands of the most inquisitive investigator into the nature of prison property.
During the term of its operation this prison has received 7,071 persons, com-
mitted for offenses which are covered by 757 titles. Of these 5,097 were convicted
for offenses against property, 988 of offenses against lives and persons of individ-
uals, 549 of forgery and counterfeiting, 284 of offenses against chastity, morality
and decency, 145 of offenses against public justice, and 8 of unclassified offenses..
During the last prison year twenty persons were received under conviction of
offenses against life, as follows :
For murder in the first degree 2
For murder in the second degree 4
For manslaughter 3
For assault with intent to kill 11
Total - 20
STATE KEFORM SCHOOL.
This was established at Lansing in 1855, in the northeastern portion of the
city, as the " House of Correction for Juvenile Offenders," having about it many
features of a prison. In 1859, the name was changed to the " State Reform
School." The government and discipline have undergone many and radical
changes, until all the prison features have been removed, except those that remain in
the walls of the original structure, and which remain only as monuments of instruc-
tive history. No bolts, bars or guards are employed. The inmates are necessa-
rily kept under the surveillance of officers, but the attempts at escape are much
fewer than under the more rigid regime of former days. This school is for the
fv
detention, education and reformation of boys between the ages of eight and sixteen
years, who are convicted of light offenses.
The princi[)al buihling is four stories high, including basement, and has an
extreme length of 246 feet, the center a depth of 48 feet, and the wings a depth of
33 feet each. Besides, there are two " family houses," where the more tractable
and less vicious boys form a kind of family, as distinguished from the congregate
life of the institution proper. The boys are required to work half a day and
attend school half a day. A farm of 328 acres, belonging to the school, furnishes
work for many of the working boys during the working season. Some are em-
ployed in making clothing and shoes for the inmates. The only shop-work now
carried on is the cane-seating of chairs ; formerly, cigars were manufactured here
somewhat extensively. There is no contract labor, but all the work is done by the
institution itself.
The number of inmates now averages about 200, and are taken care of by a
superintendent and assistant, matron and assistant, two overseers and six teachers.
THE LAND OFFICE
Of this State has a great deal of business to transact, as it has within its jurisdic-
tion an immense amount of new land in market, and much more to come in. Dur-
ing the fiscal year ending September 30, 1877, the total number of acres sold was
r)0,H3.5.72, for .f!87,968.05, of which $69,800.54 was paid in hand. At that time, the
amount of land still owned by the State was 3,049,905.46, of which 2,430,050.47
were swamp land ; 447,270.89, primary school ; 164,402.55, Agricultural College ;
310.26, University ; 160, Normal School ; 2,115.63, salt spring; 1,840, Asylum;
32.40, State building ; 3,342.75, asset, and 380.31, internal improvement. But of
the foregoing, 1,817,084.25 acres, or more than half, are not in market.
STATE LIBRARY.
Territorial Library, 1828-1835. — The first knowledge that we have of this
lil)rary, is derived from the records found in the printed copies of the journals and
documents of the Legislative Councils of the Territory, and in the manuscript
copies of tlic Executive journals.
The library was established by an act of the Legislative Councils, approved
June 16, 1828, authorizing the appointment of a librarian by the Governor, with
advice and consent of the Council.
The Lil)rarian so appointed was required to take an oath of office and give
bond to the Treasurer of the Territory in the sum of !i!l,000 for the faithful per-
formance of liis duties ; his time of service was for two years, or until another be
api)ointed. Tiie librarian was also required to take charge of the halls and com-
mittee room, and other property appertaining to the Legislative Council. He was
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 117
also required to make an annual report to the Council, upon the state of the
library, and upon all such branches of duty as might from time to time be com-
mitted to his charge. For his services he was to receive annually the sum of f 100.
The library seemed to have been kept open only during the actual sittings of
the Legislative Council.
The Executive journal, by its records, shows that under the provisions of this
act, William B. Hunt was appointed Librarian, July 3, 1828, by Gov. Lewis Cass,
for the term of two years. Mr. Hunt continued to act as Librarian until March 7,
1834, when Gersham Molt Williams was appointed by Gov. Porter. Mr. Williams
seems to have acted as Librarian until the organization of the institution as a State
library. The honored names of Henry B. Schoolcraft, Charles Moran, Daniel S.
Bacon, Calvin Brittain, Elon Farnsvvorth, Charles C. Hascall,and others, are found
in the list of the members of the Library Committee.
March, 1886, the State Library was placed in charge of the Secretary of State ;
in February, 1837, it was given to the care of the private Secretary of the Gov-
ernor ; December 28 following, its custody was given to the Governor and Secre-
tary of State, with power to appoint a Librarian, and make rules and regulations
for its government. C. C. Jackson acted as the first Librarian for the State. Lewis
Bond also had the care of the books for a time. Oren Marsh was appointed Libra-
rian in 1837, and had the office several years. In March, 1810, the law was again
changed, and the library was placed in the care of the Secretary of State, and the
members of the Legislature and Executive officers of the State were to have free
access to it at all times.
The library was, of course, increased from time to time by legislative ap-
propriations. In 1814, as the result of the efforts of Alexandre Vattemare,
from Paris, a system of international exchange was adopted.
April 2, 1850, an act was passed requiring the Governor to appoint a State
librarian with the consent of the Senate, and it was made the duty of the librarian
to have the sole charge of the library. This act, with some amendments, still
remains in force. It requires the librarian to make biennial reports and catalogues.
The librarians under this act have been: Henry Tisdale, April 2, 1850, to January
27, 1851 ; Charles J. Fox, to July 1, 1853 ; Charles P. Bush, to December 5, 1854 ;
John James Bush, to January 6, 1855; DeWitt C. Leach, to February 2, 1857;
George W. Swift, to January 27, 1859 ; J. Eugene Tenney, to April 5, 1869, and
Mrs. Harriet A. Tenney, to the present time. This lady has proved to be one of
the best librarians in the United States. She has now in her charge about 60,000
volumes, besides thousands of articles in the new and rapidly growing museum
department. She is also secretary of the " Pioneer Society of the State of Michi-
gan," and has charge of the books, papers and relics collected by that society.
^
(5 r* ""» ®
rv*
^^I@ — 1^
^
118 HISTOl'tY OF MICHIGAN.
The library and these museums are now kept in the new State Capitol at Lansing,
in a series of rooms constructed for the purpose, and are all arranged in the most
convenient order and with the neatest taste.
STATE FISHERIES.
Very naturally, the denser population of the white race, as it took possession
of this wild country, consumed what they found already abundant long before
they commenced to renew the stock. It was so with the forests ; it was so with
the fish. An abundance of good variety of fish was found in all our rivers and
little lakes by the early settlers, but the abundance was gradually reduced until
these waters were entirely robbed of their useful inhabitants. Scarcely a thought
of restocking the inland waters of this State was entertained until the Spring of
1873, when a board of fish commissioners was authorized by law; and while the people
generally still shook their heads in skepticism, the board went on with its duty until
these same people are made glad with the results. Under the efficient superiutend-
ency of Geo. H. Jerome, of Niles, nearly all the lakes and streams within the
lower peninsula have been more or less stocked with shad, white-fish, salmon or
lake trout, land-locked or native salmon, eel, etc., and special efforts are also made
to propagate that beautiful and useful fish, the grayling, whose home is in the
Manistee and Muskegon rivers. Much more is hoped for, however, than is yet real-
ized. Like every other great innovation, many failures must be suffered before the
brilliant crown of final success is won.
The value of all the property employed in fish propagation in the State is but
a little over $4,000, and the total expenses of conducting the business from Decem-
ber 1, 1876, to July 1, 1877, were $14,000. The principal hatcheries are at Detroit
and Pokagon.
CHAPTER VTII.
STATE SOCIETIES.
Organization is the first great means necessary to the accomplishment of any
project. In this respect Michigan is peculiarly fortunate. Every class seems to
have its organization, and to observe the rules adopted. Among the first bodies of
the State tlie Pioneer Society of Michigan holds, perhaps, the highest place. The
officers of the society retain all that energy of character which marked their earlier
years; members, generally, take a deep interest in the government of the body, and
thus a promise is given of the continued existence of a noble organization.
THE PIONEER SOCIETY OF MICHIGAN
Was organized in 1875. Its roll of members contains 408 names, each of which is
referred to in the following table :
(a
-« ®
^
^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
119
2
5
o
â– A
a
3
16
CO
K
£!
o
E-
•<!
Q
a
15
•<
£d
O
-â– !
Pi
C3
1(5
00
« .
tnCO
0,00
P.— CO
i-i iO
o5>o
CO i;
»j .o .
' .r-..-ia)
003
i-iaO'*??'"''^'^
— iC* *fl -
."3
MX)
â„¢ in
5»
00
!-('"' CO ^* CO *"*
0) ._ ._ . 2 c
g^ -5 <! <1 iz; ^ -^
x)5 ^-2,
03,^5?
3 S 00 !> °
CO"-'
OOh
5 o
coco
rr-r
■• . oooo
^ so ,11-1
• ' ^ CO
ioooOi:oo^-6o2
•n
CO
OD
00
CO
coco
tec
o
'J' o
00
-5 -O)
-3 sO"
Sg-co^-^00-2 2Si6'2
OSrHrH
oocooo » o .
r-(rH,-l ^ • W'^'t'
-Zj •CO'"' .'"' • •
S^ao-^00-2 2-^i6'2a --^-^-S&S* "Si"-"^
- o> -.•'-^ OJ „r^ nrn -I'a' tu--^* 3 — 3-
sS'SSoTSg" 3»|oro |-. : 3ap,|: 353| =
a
s
o
o
<s
o
O
<
Oh
be
C3
O
H
00
15
Ba
J cs
z • .o a—
r "^ r> « — ^
C O t(] CD-- '
01 = ^^^
-'-« * r* ' * >,— ; •"■5 ^ ^ t- vJ *-' ^ • '***'r' tj s . ■" so *
o
^ o
— "^ - ^ i;
* li - -" -^ —
WCO^»0»t-00050i--l
awSazs-Z
-5;
53-T* CK
1-1 ?) CO T lO so t- 35 00 C rl 5J CO -a- "fS --O £- 00 OS O iin CO -rf ]
•IrH rH M r-l rH i-li-i rH r1lH(N(NJllN(NejOJa*lNeO«OCOCCCO
o
. >/^ § a g
«?;« = -
0;'S3
— "^ o;*-* ^
- a o
-CD — †”
ai;i3.S=^f^^-"S5?^
t^*-; ;^lJa >,,/; _
W'cj^i 55 p »? =■a = 5 ? - ;
3 O 01
«2
attJ-JXJB'sQfejX.^-oS
SJ •- ^
3 = 2
a<i22
in-Ct-Q0O3Oi-i
CO CO CO CO CO ^^
Dt-OOOiOi-H^COTTiOSOc-XOl
Or-l
OJCOTf
sooco
(FT
l9
^1^
^1
® !^
120
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
"S
2
o
o
a
i«
a
«
a
a
>^
â– <
<
o
H
o
C
: r> - 5 - • •
ocxxxxcoxixxxxcccoacco
«) - 5) 4. - a,3 3 „3
Xi-^X
t ^i-
^<-=
XXXXXXXXJ^XV.XXXXXXXjuXX-XXXJOXlXXXXXXXQOXXXXXXiXXXXt^l-XXCOX
c5 IJ 1/ S iT^ ^^ OJ ^ = := ^:t S 3 S 3^ ^1— .5 3 - "*rt^ S ^ S «' S oT*' 1^ Q^::: •-•S ^ = rt^ s,i: S ^ 3 S = ^
2
o
•■A
o
o
H
â– â– A
•X Jm
= =>'
fi^iic^:
aS â–
3-*
"■' f — t. " .2 S <" s
• r/l
: o
> (X - — — o 5 =
:-c=
.= -g.2&MS: .
a — ^a - ojt :
. c
5?, = = ;
li t. »; r - •- â–
c
, - , t>. -/- m ,#-, ^ "i . 1 ^. r , ~ ^
>" -t t: s <- = —
o
o
o
a>-r
— M— K !
ccP«i-!?e5!
en
3 > efts
c a*
w >
o =
«3
u .w r3
w i-njaj
i. Pi i3 ^ PS -:; « i. :: 73 K C; H >'.
5 «- SSS>,'== =■--
^ttp-ti.
a .
C li - r; jj
£3-f • 5
i<«xO-
0/ ;
— i", . hj t/i ^
IL.AU. = O' =
= oj u rt ^ —
— — O .a: -^ s
:a
'■■»?■.
g>; ; ; i : ; i ^srli -=23 ;§=p \-^i^ :u% :h=°= '■■% --ii^ i^= j "-^^^i \ii'fm.-^¥i
tOEo ^z.i^C£z^ = 5;- ?: = I-* S i != a'^l-c = N- =:=-: 2 i= « £ai j= ?; i£ =H = «o = = = 2 5 £ S z":B H =s: =< sf :
os;o»J-5 w-^-i«<<;-^w-^-^?.a;;s<w-^s<-y.KSXMa-i;MSWi,-<Ma<>jB:=wsuou-<-^>^--:>^w-^'a:=:^:SHacc^:Baa.
â– rt:Ol
•^ai-t-t-t-t-t-i-i-i.-i-aoooa033x>aoo030aoaoosoi0»04oso505030>osooooooooo~ — --'-
«Tin«t-ooo-.o — ■?»'
(a
Y
"S
'JiL
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
121
n
o
a
o
o
to
s
3DX3a3XX:CX)»OOX)C»OOXlCOXCOQOXCO»a>00»X)XlCOXlCOOOX»X!»a)XI(»aOOOXXlCOQOXia)»OOXIt-JOQOce(»t»=C30COOOCOOCXl
CO CO t* •?» ^ O CO t- 1- 1- 1-
o = s- -
Z>Z
i?5 =
=?|-
^<*
J 3 •
â– X — â–
• S-5
â– sSs
o>z
^ - ^â– 3 i:
o cs or o
« u » 5 aj
2 = .2 2
o —
• > «
• =--3 d
â– o :^>>i
go:
±:z
S
0>l
o) :
at:
— o-
>Z
so ^ â– " -
Sz
5- 0-7- ~ O-
) ra 3^ ^ ;
« 3; ii = :; ra
;5 o
id
o =
z>
Z>
5^
• ■>. •
: • 4) :
:•= := :
o ^ ^ ',
^ c .~ o » -S
. V — :< — — i
:wE
s ,^ •- ^ i -7 : .:
5.0
• .u!
: . .0 .
: : :'Jd
• : :»o
: :3 = S
-
T-
• :.xO-
y
j: o = - y- = â–
— '1 aj t-*-f — :
5~-^V -i ^ â– - "~~ ^ - '-'V. - ^
7 i:s
o -t:
o:a
. o
: o
â– 51 =
â– ot!
. JJ o
S-5
«M~
is
• o
-â– Zi
0<:a-H!->i.i.
z
0?
â– = *!
! * S
â– S3
: bcD
Hcsi'.-a'-so o
-/ioajsi-jaziz
Q2i
: L- ^ 0)
J!5
o
.Sbc
«! X — r,.
"^SSz
SSzS^S^
: j; o — .:
ix|
3 . S - =
r.
• >..2
: » =.— ■:
X X -J ^
:::::: 3
: tao :
•.= ■3
•be- •
. SI'S -3 .
"^ ^ .'"■•■"'. i^ ^ HK ^ QC* ^5 V^ -^ '''"' ^ ""â– â– â–
SSJ
:Z2
p
• -!5" ;; - o - -■> -^f^j:^ *
-*?; = « = — ;-o~-t--25o-5
c
o
w X
a; : b£.Wj^ X =^ 2- >. : : £= u S«^ £.= : «.= a?o m= = b a >..= 5 =
OOi^OOtX)
COOO'-'
>>c: >• -
S-sZ-r
zS
o •
o :
o :
o; - ^ rj
2C •/; ic —
"u :a — —
SS'--2,.2.
r • X - - 1- — -
rz o:: = = ,- -
cocoes 70
- X' 31 ~ ^ T? ?C Tf i0 1:0 i- 00 Oi O ^ *?? W 'T "
2 ,0 .0 *- 1-- 1- 1- 1- £- 1- 1- 1- 1- X XI QO 00 » a
„ . , .. t- w ■,- * ii
— i;— „•- l>~i .^
3 1^ X 31 i-"r > •?? T iC
O'XXX Oi 35 a: a; OS OS
VG)
Jw
a
123
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
-<
^
K
is
OS
O
â– <
a
r-
<
•i
D
<
s
o
to 05 .... ■■O •* S
. . . M . "" -^lOrH C5 . TT . . . -2; S
TO— TOOT Oi-^— r--j;;TOj.«j uj . "^O*-; « .TO TOTOTO-'O .^■NTO'-TO^iiJ -^"Vi .S" .^5 5r
-i:<-j
• o ■o
: o : o
. CS c CS
- 1. x '-'^ 5^ - = •
— -^ £i 1. - a. w — -
; ; - - ~ « -
? u! ea
= ;;. a;'- = i-? = = • = = =-=£•
:2 2 S = =.:;â– ; c rt = o.
o
H
o S.
•s- .
:^ = : o
. a, - .
: ce~
s £ -i « = u _ P
S'H-: :C: 5'*' :S^S^.^i.g :2'^'-' - 'x *' =* - "5 • i - —
■— - -i^ •
a
r I ■- X -r .-• 7* o ~ I — o T *i^ to 7» TO X TO iCC * -^ .— -^ ^ rr •?* cr. T -T ».': r-. .— o .n ?c X i ' . - — — X TC :c r- -3 3; — c; '.': X X
-(-t-i-l-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXt-Xt-XXXXXXXX^XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
S3;to'"^TO*f»r:7>o;'-*cr'-o*.-r:ot-Tt05 ;cct''o;'o\-^i'.^t'^-r*^i-Tri-odx-T»dir:-!fTO:C'ro;xt-^ooiO'^.-05x
■:C ^ TO 7 J ir: — TO -^ ■^ H-i 7» "T* ?i to
:.-. — Ojrl•;)TO.-^■M•^^""'- —
.xxt-xxxxxxxxxxx
CJII** ^» TOTOCJ TO
CS
35
o
O
-(-X^l C^'J'TO-TO'OI-Xas O— '?»TOTi.'T--Ol-X3iO — *>TO-T>/t Xt-X3:~ ^ -r^TO-TiC X t-XO;
R3". O: ^.Q— O— OOOC-CO^-^^^'^^^'-i'— ^»-i^?l*>tl'?l*/'?''?l'M'?>TITOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTO
C^^OTO-r
ffJOl
xa-.Or-i
r;=:gx
7>TO-ri/t
-.ot-xc-.s
in »(7 in ic "^
<5-
'I
i^
_®
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
123
<
Q
a
Eh
c:
o
a
a
<
a.
3
O
c
o
H
2
o
1O30
OoOOO
30O
^ .^"^
; ? ="
C-5/^-
•5- "
5 S
a
eo
eo
00 .=o
OOCO .'
â– r-.00 t^
— ■.J
u >>^
^•qo-
Xt-H
â– a)~
3a
SoS--«<)
00 3
CO— -^
00 =»
r-.-5f!H
K 3
5s
; : o
; — u 2
S"^2. «c3;
:-3
<^
^0030^00=0 00
^_ _gf-t .^ 3 c G ;; S*"* 'â– ""' S
^ s < * ^ s g <da^iMsissi
d^sl
:=4
• tS S OS'S c3
= 5 = 2
r*1 r^ — 73
Ct - > s
â– &
(S : s
• a •
o
; o ts
00 00 CO
â– 3" 00 tT 00 00
^.-.â– -1,-HO
oooocooox
00000000
moo
0000
—■.-I'M
3D CO 00
0-1
0000
Mr)'
oox
H
cm
CO 00
oto
0000'
OS
o-<- •
a<:s?<
::i • : : os
^OD
00 oc
t-OStn-^t-iraOrHTT-^'-f^CCOX'OD
GO 00 00 00x00 CO OO'XOO 00 00 00 00 00 00
f-H i/5^"^;doo ^f TOcc^'-o of '"' ^"^ f-* t-^^ ^odjf 00 woi ostein »ocicccOf-<Oi ,-H^cocC'?^ CO 00:0 rH
:o -â–
:ga
:fc :
. '.03 :
s -2 = 1- s
:/:ag:j_,-;;>>-.-:?C-^C
â– = S =5 &
:ij :
: c :
a >-.^i;>v ==.'?â– =
QOXXXXXOOXXXXXXXXXXXXXQO
COT* :D (N tO:D ^f :o CO os 3si-h -^t-^ cio :o CO "^ 3i in x
Ot T-1 i-lCJ«'-'I*C05J ffJ i-it-iOJr-1
p,u :i :i r. rz-Z - ^s.o "a ^ - ^^ S ° ^ ~
O
<
^
£2
Ji
«^
^
> u
5-
a; ci
><
5
«S
^
= &
«: !
- oiS
«t
11 3j
Z
og
Z
1.^;
" :
;« :
oj :« 1/
■35^ = ^ .2§&
^5=
= |^ =
ZZ
OZ
*j — 3 —
C O s :3
O) 3; » —
>Zzg
O rS = J
l> a t, â– _ --
a, ~ u •- 1)
zg>Sz
a V
WZ
g::jZ
ea 0}
gz
ri
.0
5 o
«
a 0-3
:>. :
* Qi ^ a
:.=a
?" 'H '
? - ^
: ^ a^ r te :
; — — X
:.t«
20;
!'3
5 r- T: ft ~! c
:z;S? : :
5 i< r ft:; c ^n S acr^ftft"''--^
>" — i a ^ r^^ " y — ~ 2 >^-a a — u ^ a;
^ -> o s^ *i^ 3 3 i. - = :;3 s J' —
is-/i'-s-i;^e?^s<^aajxj*':aHSxa<zg
3 • a> ^
5 rt
J-S2 ^•^•3 = 2 2 = 5^.^2 :£
vti:^-5 = = 5ft2::^.2n;: =
~c-=.= j;.2i.rtrta<a~Dcf3
&><Oocccy: — rHZas<;o;5SH«5
•■3 a • 'h
: :q
;- - ri ■= — n .1; 'ft = S .
_Sa£t:X2 55uX2a-<'^ J
= «*-5^2-rt = = i;i- =
= a--,-S • =.5=- ^'-'^i^'S
a 4aa;.sggia;Haoz.xoM
'?jco-^in*-ot>X3iOi-'W:o-^if:;c
-H ,-« 1-H t—f I— I .-H r- 1 t-H 7( 7 J ^( ^j ■jj -yj ^
' CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO WCO CO CO CO CO
7"
1
te
V
^|
h-~t-
124
fk,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
[
8
<
S
o
a
00 .
o:co
U," fc.* 00 *"* -^ -C X
0=0
TOOO
.00
CT3
I'M
.0000
^CO • ^5^ — ^ ^
CO CO
QO^QO
- -xio • .oo-" ..^oo •«'r/ • .0000 t.: ooo5o.r oc"=<Jj. .• • oo . -irSit"— Xa ?>
'-' I « coco .'-^T'O'" .-."coco . . S . . oo'' . .^ -5^ r?r5 -r^" ."55^00
^ ,X:2-t.oooocOfa«oo2'-Vj .^xoo* '-m^toWO iTrH i.-jo i.'I'-iS .'-^=P" .-rt-i- M"
-'■.-iaj.j.coTJi-'... -fi — r-i'-.j-r^ rJt--. .
I • — >.— OC.— ._ ,r^^'CO— -•'•^t."^ — .^
oo^-t-oooDco i.SSoo2''V; ."Ooooo* i-
- - - ■" • - ' — ' ._; !^— 00 1. t."ij'_r ^ •;: GO - Qo59 -
o5 i> = .-. i; a> X ij oj cr-t ajrH*"" lu
— -■~ — — — .^ ^ !r ^ —
00
St
»=o .- .
*j .- e z tc-r
>5a
• o : : : :
: o . : : .
. N . ^ . *
n'.-^
: V
:r:xa.:a
'^■•CTStrrT-;
O CO .-..-. ^* ^ c
OOOOXXXXIO
r-.x-rrjooox
cxxxxxxx
iisssg-So :| ;|cj =M :
'ri^o.-..nrri.'^^oicoOTC*'r^-p— ••^x.-.cocojii
M^l
■^co*r'ri^o.-..nrri.'^^OicoOTC*'r^-p— ••^x.-.cocoji.f:!— xco-r
'?JWO?^^^'3'-^.-'^o.-^0'-"07*^^oco.-..-"0'?*^^ — coco^co:o
XXXXXXXXXXXXOOXXl-XXXXXXXXXQOXXXX
;xx
•r.y
o
- =i
HJ2
_ c; ii
iiS-ir-i
o_.t:= .
« 2 o ^ —
iS - t. S 1)
i, rtw o —
xxxx
CO— 3-.
xxt-
{-â– TJCO
— 0:
xxt-
00310-.0
XXJ-XX
cood>»'*".-H«\-'3'"ot--5*»'*"na;^-0'Ot-'<^.Cr4«ft^cOrtOOc^c"3>^"-"'»^
•o
o
,
J3 :« : :
Im ' * *
. . .
« *"^ . •
• us . . .
c . = . .
= _■"_• -^
5.2 :S
'•¥
a X— r:
=
•s.StZ^i>.
K= >.
'>*
s-ss-cs
â– f'^^l-f
ES
•!)—:,— »
DZ - D
« 1)
/^Si,S>5
/5>OZ
>/;
• >•£.
^ -3 .
-5— »
;. "5 :•;—": .j= :: :
•"3 • : -ScB "g. •. : •
: = i - = = i :-
o i>— »*
ua,sz>zS?".;.>zas'^ aia./^aS~Zg<»; o^.er.a?;
:.M -•.a
• U — in
:o « =
r^ *^ -^ r ~ '^ -w ^^-^
• o ?,•= o
•J^ : :j<: _•••"•- -is
fc- . •!--_•*-•>'-::; I — •-»
o . ■ci ~ =— =— • o ~
>* : :>â– }
S50
— y; _ ?s a;**^ —
w
•<
01
o
:£•>. •
to . :t;
.= .J s S
• ■.^X = = = o
'O »- -
= --="> „ .-.= •^4^= ?>
' 1, r t- z *' X '
â– <CXi.^:Si.-J;i;?^;>
f^C:
ii :
o t- I- . C o ■— —
: :o= :
. .w3 .
- r: K -
i3
3P 3
'• 'â– ^'^ : 'â– ': : :2 \ ':â–
H-ili^fs -â– -^-
09
9 : : :£
M
« . . .^â–
John
r
louse
E" oi — -
Si-3 J~
c^a-i.
01 ? â– =
»='-^.^z
; *- I * * •
-^ • * *• 1;
— ~ X "t^ ^
^ ; /â– .
â– =^ =
; 2_
i.J3 ■■•5
• « u • o.
OS
- X 3: 3 -.
^ r» 7» ?3 »
SC0 7375C0
'>CO-r .0-O(
OCOCO ^?70C
COCO ?3 CO CO CO
CO CO CO
-T-r-r-T -r
CO CO CO r3 CO
«i-x
•r .r .T
wcoco
-0>CO*t"
3cor3r2
.0 -.O I- X
ir^tnioto
CO CO cor?
MCO
CO com
-ru^-.oi-xaiO'-'^W'^inxii-.xai^ — o>coi'»r;-.ot-xj. :5
:0-«-.0'£l£XH-l-t-l-(-t-l-l-l-<-XXXXXXXXXX3!
CO CO CO CO CO CO ?5 CO CO CO CO m CO CO ?5 ?? CO CO ?r CO CO CO CO CO CO CO
SI 3:
coco
(»â–
^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
125
>5
2
a
o
Ed
O
Ed
a
:d
O
Ed
Q
Q
<!
Ed
O
â– <
Q
s
o
a
o
H
3 ST
1-5 CC
00 • =^2
00>,>.-"t.Oi.OOS>iS
gogao OOBZcogO'<00>^g'- a
"-X00!-
r- OJi-lrH 1)
5 CO
CO c =-
rt sj 03
•2 = 3
O CC —
f2€
X3
w _; ^
fe&^ 8^5
^=SP '■?*£
<o
y to o
o
— Qi 2 C ^ o S
I'll
cS 03 ^
O
t- 00 00 00 X 00 1^ 00 00 OC 00 X) 00 CO 00 00 00 00 00 00
QO t- "^ C* 05 UO C-l O lO ■* »0 f-i CO t' O CO t- X in OS
, . >. t. ^ 1. t£ >. !; >-.£ 2 sett
- - s s o vS"
f
4>>_ (
126
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
THE FIRST nrSTORICAL SOCIETY OF MICHIGAN
Was incorporated under authority given in the Act of June 23, 1828, with Lewis
Cass, Henry Whiting, John Biddle, Gabriel Richard, Noah M. Wells, Richard F.
Cadle, Isaac M'llvain, Zara H. Coston, Austin E. Wing, Thomas Rowland, John L.
Whiting, Henry S. Cole, Jonathan Kearsley, Samuel W. Dexter, Zina Pitcher,
Edwin P. James, Henry R. Schoolcraft, and Charles C. Trowbridge, charter
members.
THE STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
Is distinct from the State Agricultural Board, the latter being simply an executive
over the Agricultural College under the laws of the State. The former was organ-
ized at Lansing, March 23, 1849, and was especially incorporated by Act of April
2 following, since which time it has numbered among its officers and executive
members some of the foremost men of the State. It has held annual fairs in various
places, and the number of entries for premiums has risen from 623 to several
thousands, and its receipts from $808.50 to $58,780. The premiums offered and
awarded have increased proportionally.
STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
At an informal meeting of several gentlemen in Grand Rapids, Feb. 11, 1870,
it was resolved to organize a State pomological society, and at an adjourned meet-
ing on the 26th of the same month, the organization was perfected, and the first
officers elected were : H. G. Saunders, president ; S. S. Fuller, treasurer, and A.
T. Linderman, secretary. The society was incorporated April 15, 1871, "for the
purpose of promoting pomology, horticulture, agriculture, and kindred sciences
and arts." During the first two years monthly meetings were required, but in
1872 quarterly meetings were substituted. It now has a room in the basement of
the new caj)itol. T. T. Lyon, of South Haven, is president, and Charles W. Gar-
field, of Grand Rapids, secretary. Under the supervision of this society, Michigan
led the world in the centennial exposition at Philadelphia in the exhibition of Winter
apples. Tlie contributions of this society to pomological literature are also richer
than can be found elsewhere in the United States.
THE MICHIGAN STATE FIREMEN's ASSOCIATION
Was organized April 13, 1875, at Battle Creek, for " the protection and promotion
of the best interests of the firemen of Michigan, the compilation of fire statistics,
the collection of information concerning tlie practical working of different systems
of organization, the examination of the merits of the different kind of fire appar-
atus in use and the improvement in the same, and the cultivation of a fraternal
fellowship between the different companies in the State." The association holds
i
>9
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN. 127
its meetings annually at various places in the State, and as often publish their pro-
ceedings in pamphlet form.
STATE BOARD OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
This board was established in 1873, and consists of seven members, appointed
by the Governor, the Secretary ex officio, a member and principal executive officer.
It is the duty of this board to make sanitary investigations and inquiries respecting
the causes of disease, especially of epidemics ; the causes of mortality, and the
effects of localities, employments, conditions, ingesta, habits and circumstances on
the health of the people ; to advise other officers in regard to the location, drain-
age, water supply, disposal of excreta, heating and ventilation of any public build-
ing ; and also to advise all local health officers concerning their duties, and to
recommend standard works from time to time on hygiene for the use of public
schools. The secretary is required to collect information concerning vital statistics,
knowledge respecting diseases, and all useful information on the subject of hygiene,
and through an annual report, and otherwise, as the board may direct, to dissem-
inate such information among the people. These interesting duties have been
performed by Dr. Henry B. Baker from the organization of the board to the present
time. The board meets quarterly at Lansing.
CHAPTER IX.
MICHIGAN AND ITS RESOURCES.
The pig metal produced by the upper peninsula furnaces during the year 1880
had an approximate market value of $1,941,000 and the whole of the total output of
the Lake Superior iron mines for that year was about $19,500,000. The aggregate
product of these furnaces and mines between the date of the Jackson discovery
and the close of the last calendar year was more than $118,000,000. The product
of 1881 promises to exceed $20,000,000 in value.
THE IKON AND STEEL INDUSTRIES.
In what are called the iron and steel industries — including in these terms
furnaces, rolling mills, steel-works, forges and bloomaries, and excluding mines —
Michigan ranked as the eighth State in 1880 according to the figures collected for
the United States census of that year. It was surpassed by Pennsylvania, Ohio,
New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Its increase in this
production from 1870 to 1880 was sixty-five per cent., and the totals of the returns
for 1880 were as follows :
(5~
fS w.
u s»
A
128
HISTORY OY MICHIGAN.
Number of establishments — - 22
Amount of capital invested - * 4-175. 3°°
Number of employes 3.0°9
Total of wages paid to employes in iSSo - $922,597
Value of materials used in i88o - $3,279420
Value of the total product of 1880 $4,591-613
Weight of the product of i83o (in net tons) 142,716
Weight of the product of 1879 (in net tons) - - 86,679
THE COPPER PRODUCT.
At the close of 1880 the Lake Superior copper districts had produced .$301,654
tons of refined copper valued at $142,616,137. The total output of that year was
24,869 tons valued at $9,947,673, which was taken from thirty mines. The pro-
duction of 1881 will surpass that of any previous year. A paragraph which
appeared in an upper peninsula newspaper stating that " the net earnings of the
Lake Superior copper mines for the first half of the year 1881 exceed those of any
jjrecious metal mining state or territory in the Union," was submitted for verifica-
cation to Eastern mining authorities, and elicited in reply the following statement,
fully substantiating the assertion of the newspaper relerred to. The figures given
show the net earnings of the gold, silver and copper mines of the States and terri-
tories embraced in them for the first six months of 1881 ;
California $ 998,000
Nevada 791.250
Utah 375.000
Arizona 900,000
Dakota 560,000
Colorado 962,000
Montana 240,000
Georgia 8,000
M ichigan 1, 4 10, 000
Total $6,244,250
THE PRODUCTS OF A YEAR.
The natural products of the State in 1879 — the latest year concerning which
statistics are comj)lete — were estimated by Gov. Jerome in his message to the leg-
islature at the beginning of 1881, to amount to a valuation of nearly $170,000,000,
made up of the following items :
Agricultural products $88,500,000
Timber 60,000,000
Copper 8,000,000
Iron 10,000,000
Salt 2,000,000
Fish _ 1,000,000
"B
'v
^k
n I i ~ - - ----- - | - -r-'" -^ — ' ' — — ■' '■■'" iL-^--^.^^ ^ .. .. , /^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 129
MICHIGAN CROPS FOR 1881.
Returns received from 913 correspondents, located in 664 townships in Decem-
ber, 1881, show the estimated acreage and condition of wheat sowed in 1881 as
compared with 1880, the estimated yield in 1881 of corn, clover seed, and potatoes,
and the condition (as regards flesh) of cattle and sheep on Dec. 1, as compared
with Dec. 1, 1880. The estimates show that the present acreage sown in 1880 by-
two per cent , and in the counties north of the southern tiers by six per cent., indi-
cating a probable acreage in the State of about 1,834,529 acres. The condition
Dec. 1 in the southern four tiers of counties was about 182 per cent., and in the
northern counties about 117 per cent., of the condition Dec. 1, 1880. This excel-
lent showing is supplemented in numerous instances by statements that the wheat
presents an unusually fine appearance, having started well and obtained large
growth. The white grub and Hessian fly are reported present in various localities,
but while they undoubtedly did injure individual fields, the reports do
not indicate that their ravages noticeably affected the aggregate product of the
State. Wheat seldom, if ever, has gone into the Winter in better condition than this
year.
The yield of corn in 1881 is estimated at 40,460,901 bushels of ears, or about
20,230,450 bushels of shelled corn. These figures are based on the acreage as esti-
mated in September, and the yield per acre as estimated in December. At the date
of making the reports but a small portion of the clover seed had been hulled, and
correspondents in the counties in the southern part of the State, and in Grand
Traverse and Newaygo counties in the northern section, report the clover seed
greatly damaged by the wet weather, many fields being entirely ruined. Some of
them estimate one-fourth of the crop destroyed. One correspondent in Cass
reported fifteen per cent, rotting in the fields, and another thinks not a bushel will,
be saved in his township.
The yield of potatoes is estimated at fifty-five bushels per acre in the southern
and 109 bushels in the northern counties.
The average condition (as regards flesh) of cattle in the southern four tiers of
counties is about the same, and of sheep two per cent, better, while in the northern
counties the average of each is about seven per cent, better than on Dec. 1,
1880.
The following statetjient shows the Population for 1880, Number of Acres of
Land Assessed in 1881, Aggregate of Real and Personal Estate as Assessed in 1881,
Aggregate of Real and Personal Estate as Equalized by Boards of Supervisors for
1881, Amount Added or Deducted by State Board of Equalization, Aggregate of
Real and Personal Estate as Equalized by State Board of Equalization for
1881:
9
â– e)
a.
IS
130
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
COUNTIES.
Alcona
Allegan
Aljieiia ,
Antrim
JSaraKa
Barry
Kay
]Seiizie
IJerrien
Uraiicli
Calhoun
Cass
Charlevoix
Cheboygan
Chippewa
Clare ,
Clinton
Crawford
Delta
Eaton
Ennnet
Genesee
GlaUwln
Grand Traverse .
Gratiot
Hillsdale
Houghton
Huron
Ingham
Ionia
Iosco
Isabella
Isle Koyal
Jackson
Kalamazoo
Kalkaska
Kent
Keweenaw
Lake
Lapeer
Leelanaw
Lenawee
Livingston
Mackinac
MacomI)
Manistee
Manitou
Marquette
Mason
Mecosta
Menominee
Midland
Missaukee
Monroe
Mont<'alm
Moutinorency.. .
Muskegon
Newaygo
Oakland
Oceana
Ogemaw
Ontonagon
Osceola
Oscoda
Otsego
Ottawa
Presque Isle
Koscoinnion
Saginaw
Sanilac
Schoolcraft
Shiawassee
St. Clair
St. Joseph
Tuscola
Van JJuren
Wasliteiiaw
Wayne
Wexford
Population.
1880.
Total .
3,107
37,80t)
8.789
.5,237
1,8U4
2.5,319
38,081
3,433
3b,78U
27,941
38,452
22,008
5,114
b,524
5,243
4,187
27,534
1,159
6,812
31,223
6,640
39,219
1.127
8,422
21,937
32.726
22,473
20.089
33,677
33,872
6,878
12.159
55
42,031
34,342
2,937
73,252
4,270
3,233
30.138
6,253
48,348
22,251
2,902
31,627
12,533
1,334
2.5,393
10,063
13,973
11,988
6,894
1,553
33,623
33,148
'26,586
14,688
41,537
11,699
1,914
2,565
10,777
467
1,974
33.125
3,113
1,459
.59,095
26,341
1,575
27.059
46.19
26,626
35,739
30,807
41,848
166,426
6,81
No. of Acres
of Land As-
sessed in
1881.
366,497.48
516,120.0(1
279,242.60
280,656.98
331,531.31
352,302.32
486,970.43
180,329.45
352,489.00
315,483.00
440,710.00
310,549.00
222,581.00
416,744.28
505,283.00
339,201.73
361,235.53
252,783.00
No report.
3.58,808.58
191,714.00
402,01.5.00
305,912.19
279,598.79
357,607.00
375,911.00
411,710.75
510.891.11
343,333,57
361,504.23
24,5,870.47
354,086 79
No report.
431,641.60
349,693.00
330.705.52
532,885.00
203,570.23
344,249.03
412,392.00
183,231.79
463,836.00
362,262.00
293,151.33
296,055,00
312,024.07
No report.
1,503,792.11
285,842.93
343,773.00
722,624.44
322,206.92
326,999.86
351,314,00
446,517.00
239,347.20
279,286.29
527,704.00
510,520.00
333,316.29
319,190.02
739,809.29
359,177.00
220,637.60
302,486.00
341,608.49
264,910.34
278,023.62
.507,549.02
59.5,742.61
72.5.125.41
336,71.5.27
432,464.00
312,365.01)
.501,006.00
384,684.21
431,493.19
368,415.00
336,753.80
Aggregate of Real
and Personal
Estate, as As-
sessed in 1881.
1 2,492
9,6.52,
3,016
2,152,
639,
11,332,
12,901,
1,205.
32,918,
10,261.
19,527,
13,6t
1,631,
2,761.
1,558
2,377
16.631
935
537.00
330.00
508.50
872.11
656.00
459.00
183.00
586.00
434.00
965.09
765.00
602,00
271.00
83>!.00
071.00
681.00
293.00
244.05
12,562
825.
19.166.
1,022,
2 439
7,126,
17,912,
1,619,
4,561,
15,844
15,480,
1,102.
3,691,
796.00
893.0b
661.00
900.00
964.00
921.00
619.00
589.00
982.00
318.1.0
291.00
791.59
736.00
8,872,
18,901,
2,47,5,
18,016
619,
1,921.
12,136,
693,
26,83
12,355
1,403,
16,010,
1,686,
Aggregate of Real
and Personal
Estate, as
p;(iualizeu by
Hoards of Su-
pervisors, 1881.
S
448.00
030.00
991.62
252.00
263.13
1.42 00
504.00
971.00
,269.00
417.00
955.71
686.00
782,00
1.636,335 29,306,820.20
3.121
3,165,
2,868
1,757
2,113
1,519
14,952
9,366
1,211,
3,586,
2,508
24,432,
1,736,
905,
1,414,
1,897,
749,
1,102,
6,833
1,029
1,175
20,914
3,899
2,481
11,937
13,653
15,994
7,712
12,697
29,024
110,693,
1,935
480.00
i44.S0
,075,80
86 " " "
221.00
558.44
990.00
171.00
247.00
")59.00
OS3.()0
277.00
393.00
693.01
972.00
220.00
468.00
548.00
087.00
825.99
732.14
101.00
,273.00
,034.41
,04 1.00
:i63.<iO
663.00
647.00
,438.00
,665.00
130.00
864.00
$669,344,283.55
2,492,
9.303,
2,500.
2,237,
639,
11,305,
11,000,
1,021.
13,0141,
10,155,
20,504,
14,280,
1,633,
2,701
1,558
1,889,
15,298
9
527.00
,500.00
000.00
682.25
656.00
291.00
000. (to
494.00
937.00
000.00
153.25
000.00
851.00
000.00
071.00
078.00
,500.00
940.35
12,000
836,
19,115,
1.059,
2,525,
3,500,
18,013,
1,619,
4.661,
10,942,
14,930,
1,162,
3,100,
I Aggregate of Real
Amount Added or and Personal
Deducted by State Estate as Equal-
iioard of Equall- ized "oy State
zalion. Board of Eciual-
lization for 1881.
000.00
393.00
427.71
095.00
875.00
000.00
234.00
589.00
982 00
200.00
751.00
000.00
000.00
9,255
19,084
2,480;
18,013,
738.
1,826
12,135,
774,
27,04,5,
9,338,
1,403
16,000,
1,691
301.00
537.00
307.00
210.00
199.13
202.00
000.00
034.00
964.00
410.00
,955.71
000.00
250.00
2,904
3.165
3,04
1,757
2,009,
1,537
15,213,
8,490.
1,202,
3,320,
2,146,
23,,505,
1,77.5,
1,116,
1,021,
1,907
749,
1,119.
6,316,
1,029
1,076
19,936,
3,906,
1,934
11,010
11,141
16,103
8.156
12.000
30.000
117,839
1,822,
940.00
244.80
,933.80
862.-. 5
863.00
558.44
276.50
OOO.Oo
873.00
102.25
292.00
277.00
593.00
933.32
558. 00
220,00
468.00
948.00
619.00
S25.99
132.14
030.03
254.00
705.00
000.00
,078.00
848.00
358.00
000.00
000.00
593.00
901.50
Add
Ad<l
Add
Ailil
AOd
Add
.Vdd
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
.\dd
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
A(1<1
Add
Add
Add
Add
Ad<l
Add
Add
Add
Add
.Vdd
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
.Vdd
Add
Add
Add
Dcd
Add
.Vdd
Add
Ded
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
Adil
Add
Add
Add
Add
Add
8654,005,885.42
$ 7,473.00
4,196,500.00
600,000.00
2()2.317.75
660,344.00
1,694,709.00
7,000,000.00
478.506.00
1,958,063.00
7,345,OOU.OO
3.995,846.75
1,220,000.00
366,149.00
299,000.00
441,929.00
610,922.00
701,500.00
274,059.65
2,50t»,000.00
4,000,000.00
1,163.607.00
1,884.572.29
140,905.00
474,125.00
3,500,000.00
2,986,766.00
880,411.00
338,018.00
5,057,800.00
1,069,249.00
838.000.00
9(H(,000.00
100,000.00
17,744,699.00
3,915,463.00
19.693.00
14,986.790.00
61,800.87
173,798.00
865,000.00
225 966.00
454,036.00
.5,661,590.00
1,096,044.29
1,000.000.00
1,808,750.00
250,000.00
2,09,5,0(i0.00
16,5,244.80
4.52,066.20
742,137.75
990,137.00
262,441.56
786.723.50
1,010,000.00
47,127.00
3,179,897.75
1,853.708.00
2,744,723.00
1,224,107.00
38:1.066.68
97.s,4 12.00
592,780.00
250,532.00
380,052.00
2,183,381.00
220,174.01
42:1.867.86
5,06;!,969.97
1,093,746.00
56,5,295.00
2,490,000.00
3,858.922.00
1,896.152.00
843,612.00
2,000,000.00
Aild
.Vdd
12,160.407.00
1,177,098.00
i 2, ,500, 000. 00
13,500,000.00
3,100,000.00
2,500,000.00
1.300,000.00
18,000,000.00
18,000,000.00
1,500,000.00
15,000,000,00
17.500,000.00
24,500,000.00
15,500.000.00
2,000,000.00
3,000,000.00
2,000.000.00
2,500,000.00
16,000,000.00
1,200,000.00
2,,500.000.00
16.000,000.00
2,000,000.00
21,000,000.00
1,200.000.00
3,000,000.00
7,000,000.00
21,000,000.00
2,,500, 000.00
5,000,000.00
16,000,000.00
16,000.000.00
2,000,000.00
4,000,000.00
100.000.00
27,000,000.00
23,000,000.00
2,500,000.00
33,000,000.00
800,000.00
2,000,000.00
13,000,000.00
1,000,000.00
27,500,000,00
15,000,000.00
2,500,000.00
15,000,000.00
3,500.000.00
2,^.0,000.00
5,000,000.00
3,000,000.00
3,500.000.00
2,,500,000.00
3.000.0110.00
1,800,(100.00
16,00(1.(1(10.00
9,50(1,0(10.00
1,2.")0,000.00
6,50(1,(1011.0(1
4,000.000,00
26,250.000,00
3,000,000.00
1,500,000.00
2,000,000.00
2.500,000.00
1,000.000.00
1,500, 000. 0(t
8,500.000.00
1,250. 000. ()(•
1,500.000.00
2,5,000.000.00
5,000.000.00
2,500,000.00
l:i,5oo,ooo.oo
15,000,000.00
18,000.000.00
9.000,000.00
M, 000. 000. 00
30,000,000.00
130,000.000,00
3,000.000.00
$810,000,000.00
T7
<2_
,1^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 1.31
THE VESSEL INTEREST.
According to the tonnage statistics of the United States for the date of June
30, 1880 (as given in the American almanac for 1881), not one of the States located
away from the ocean coast equals Michigan in the number of vessels owned by its
citizens or in their aggregate tonnage. The exact figures are given in this table :
State. No. of Total
vessels. tonnage.
Michigan 979 162, ig6
Illinois 459 86,634
Wisconsin 383 74,083
Ohio ., 485 139-509
Missouri 319 141,975
Michigan also surpasses, in this respect, the seaboard States of Connecticut,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Oregon, and all the cotton and gulf States,
while it far outstrips in tonnage both Virginia and Maryland, although surpassed
by them in the number of vessels. It exceeds California in the number of its
vessels, but not in the tonnage total. The coast line of Michigan is only surpassed
by that of Florida, and it has ports upon four of the great lakes. Its coasting
traides exceedingly valuable, and its vessel interest represents much capital and
nterprise, and deserves an important place in a catalogue of its sources of employ-
ment for labor. In this connection the fact should be mentioned that ship yards
are located at Detroit, Wyandotte, Port Huron, Bay City, Marine City, St. Clair,
Grand Haven and other shore towns and ports.
THE GROWTH OF FORTY YEARS.
A subject of such vital interest demands the first attention of every agricul-
tural society and every agriculturist in the State, and to present at a glance the
growth and magnitude of the industry, we have prepared from authentic sources, a
little table showing the acreage, the yield per acre, when possible, and the aggre-
gate bushels grown at intervals for the last forty j'^ears :
Years. Acres. Yield per Acre. Bushels.
1839 — 2,157,100
1849... 492,580 - ID 4,925,800
1853-- - -- 473.451 15 7,128,104
1859 .— 8,313,200
1863 L... 843,881 ^...wyi 9,688,672
1869 - — — 16,295,772
1873 - .1,134,484 13 3-5 15,456,202
1876 1,223,212 --I3l4^ 16,885,179
1877 ..1,312,352 ..-18 23,793,039
1878 1,523,841 i8 28,000,000
^
132 HISTORY OF :MAC0MB COUNTY.
LEADING THE VAN.
Out of the nine wlieat States which outranked Michigan in 1840, she has out-
stripped all but Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, while Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and
California have, within the last few years, shot forward into the front rank. Com-
pared with these great States, the Lower Peninsula surpasses them all save Indi-
ana, area for area,. in wheat production, and were it possible to compare the pro-
portion of land under cultivation in the two States, there can be no doubt but it
would surpass Indiana, also. The State motto might well read: " If j-ouseek the
American wheat peninsula, look around you."
The table also reveals the surprising fact that while the aggregate product of
wheat in Michigan has doubled about every ten years, the average yield per acre
lias increased from ten bushels, in 1849, to eighteen bushels, in 1877. The causes
for this most gratifying result are not far to seek. It is due to the greater care of
farmers in selecting seed ; to the introduction of new varieties, such as the Claw-
son, which yields better than its predecessors; to improved machinery and methods
of drilling and harvesting ; and to an increase of live stock, and consequent increase
of fertilization. The increase in the aggregate is due mainly, to the rapid settle-
ment and clearing up of the country, and there is no reason to suppose that the
increase will be seriously checked until the millions of acres of wild lands are
finally brought under cultivation. What the limit will be, must be left to conjec-
ture.
(» w.
-^ — 4v
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
CHAPTER X.
INTRODUCTION.
He who would deserve a place in the memory of posterity, must collate and
preserve the history of the acts and times of his ancestors. It is the duty of Jus-
tice to hand down the Past and Present to the people of the Future. It is the
duty of the Present to commemorate the Past, to perpetuate the names of the
pioneers, to furnish a record of their early settlement, — to relate the story of their
progress. The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age, and the
solemn bond which binds us to our ancestry, demand that a record of their lives
and deeds should be made. In local history is found a power to instruct man by
precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the river of time, a
safe vessel, in which the names and actions of the people, who contributed to
raise this country from its primitive state, may be preserved. Surely and rapidly,
the great old men, who in their prime entered the wildernesses of this Peninsula,
and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage, are passing to their graves. The
number remaining, who can relate the history of the first days of settlement, is
becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists for the collection and pre-
servation of historical matter without delay. Not only is it of the greatest
importance to render the history of the pioneer times full and accurate ; but it
is almost equally essential that the history of the county from the earliest times,
down to our own day, should be treated through its various phases, so that a record,
complete and impartial, may be handed down to the future. If this information
is not now collated and compiled in historical form, the generations of the future will
be called upon to expend large suras of money in researcli and exploration. The
present — the iron age of progress — is reviewed, standing out in bold relief over
the quiet, unostentatious olden times ; it is a brilliant record which shall live as
long as language lives.
The good works of men, their magnificent enterprises, their lives, whether com-
mercial or military, do not sink into oblivion ; but, on the contrary, grow brighter
with age, and contribute to build up a record, destined to carry with it precedents
and principles, that will be advanced and observed, when the acts of soulless men
sliall be forgotten, and their names like themselves end in their graves. History
(§~
134 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
entwines itself with the names of the notorious as well as with those of the illus-
trious, whenever the former are held up for the scorn, and the latter for the admira-
tion of men, — there, the pen of impartiality may be traced ; for never yet was the
writer true to his conscience or to his country who clothed the wolf in the fleece
of the lamb, or who, by sophistry, painted a coward as a hero.
In the pages devoted to the history of Macomb County, the useful man and
his work will liave that prominence, to which his physical and moral courage
entitle liim. It is a necessity that the names of such men should be transmitted ;
because many of them, whose lives made material for this work, have passed
into eternity ; others stand on the brink of the grave. Those who have joined
the majority, as well as these who are soon to visit the Better Land, have done
good service, claiming as their reward here, the only boon, that their children and
children's children should be reminded of their fidelity, and profit by their
examples.
To give effect to this laudable desire is the aim of the writer. Turning over
the records of the county, nothing of moment has been left unnoticed. Beyond
the period, over which the records extend, all that is legendary has been examined
and utilized. Although the Old Settlers and their children extended a full co-
operation, the work necessitated the most earnest labor on the part of the writer
and his assistants. Success waited on such labor, with the result of bringing
forth from their hiding-places many valuable papers, upon which to base a just
account of early times. Many of the surviving old settlers were interviewed, and
from their reminiscences of olden times, a good deal of all that is historically valu-
able, in these pages, was selected.
The reader must remember that the general history of the county does not em-
brace every historical event. Nothing has found a place in this very important
section of the work, which did not possess a character of generalization. Begin-
ning witli the history of geological formations, archieological discoveries, meteoro-
logical phenomena, zoological representatives, and ph3^sical characteristics, this
cluipter is succeeded by a full account of Indian and pioneer days, American settle-
ment, together with a number of chapters, each one complete and most important
in itself.
Tlie general history is followed by the chapters devoted to township and village
liistory, eacli chapter forming a complete historical and historia-biographical sketch
of a township, city or village. No effort has been spared to render this portion
of the work reliable as well as interestinc:.
Unlike the history of the State, County, Townships and Villages, biography is
the work of many men, whose notes were transcribed, retranscribed, and very gen-
erally submitted to the persons concerned, for revision or correction ; so tliat if
V
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 135
literary errors occur, it must be credited to the person, who gave the biographical
sketch in the first instance. The h'repressible typos often make grave errors which
no foresight can set aside ; therefore if typographical errors do appear, let justice
guide the critic to sympathize with the children at the typo's case, — whose art
doth move the world. Deal lightly with their excesses.
GEOLOGICAL CONFORMATIONS.
In tracing the geological history of the county, it will be only necessary to
revert to the era when the accumulated sediments of the ocean were being formed
into masses of rock. Geology teaches that the continents of the world were once
beneath the ocean, even as Scripture implies that a sea of mud, resembling in sub-
stance a South African river, was arranged by an Almighty hand, and the liquid
separated from the solids contained therein. The inequalities in the ocean bed,
corresponding with the hills and valleys of our land, point out the truths of geo-
logical science. The recent deep-sea soundings reveal mountains and hills, valleys,
and table-lands. The greatest depth reached was over 29,000 feet, which exceeds
the height of the loftiest peak of the Himalayas. Some of the mountains, spring-
ing from the bed of the ocean, are steeper and more abrupt than any on the face of
the earth. In the Irish Sea and British Channel the depth changes, within a radius
of ten miles, from GOO to 12,000 feet ; and it is very common, within a few miles of
our coasts and islands, for the depth of the waters to change suddenly from a few
hundred to many thousand feet. In other cases, as in the bed of the Atlantic
between Spain and the United States, there are plateaux extending hundreds of
miles, with very slight undulations. The mysterious race that once occupied this
continent may have sailed in galleons over this peninsula of Michigan, and sounded
the depth of the waters which rose above it, in precisely the same manner as the
mariners of our day cast the sounding line into our great lakes and the oceans.
It may be concluded that the State which we inhabit was totally submerged
at the beginning of the carboniferous period. At the close of that epoch, a great up-
heaval of sea bottom formed a line of solid earth across the southern counties of
Michigan, which extended to an older and wider formation in Southern Ohio. The
land comprised in the original county of Macomb continued submerged for ages ;
but by degrees the southern belt rose higher, spread out toward the northern con-
tinent, and actually approached the condition of dry land at the beginning of the
coal-deposit era. At this time lakes Michigan, Huron, Ontario and Erie were not
in existence, their centers forming the channel of a great river, with expansions at
intervals. This torrent swept over this now prosperous district of Michigan. The
great geological age — the Mesozoic — dates from this time. It was marked by ac-
tivity in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, by mild climates, and myriads of rep-
tiles, which swarmed in rivers and over lands.
^
^
130
HISTORY OF :\IACOMB COUNTY.
The Tertiary period succeeded the Mesozoic. It was the age of beautiful
climates, and high development of mammals. Animals, greater than the mastodon,
roamed over the land, through magnificent forests, meeting their enemy — man, and
ultimately falling beneath his repeated attacks.
The glaciers came to destroy all this gigantic beauty; the snow and ice came
on, burying all nature in their whitness, and robbing the land itself of life. It was
the beginning of the Glacial period, the duration of which is lost in mystery.
Were it possible to ignore the existence of a Divine Architect, and his action in
forming the earth we inhabit, the continuance of the Ice Age might be set down
at 2,000 years. There is no intention, however, to ignore the Omnipotent, and,
therefore, what bears the impress of being the work of 2,000 years, might have
been compassed in a moment.
Spring time came, and under the influence of its season the sea of ice which
covered land and water to a depth of 5,000 feet began to break up, to dissolve,
when the solids held within its grasp fell down and formed a bed of rocky frag-
ments or boulder drift. This rocky conformation must not be confounded with the
partial drift of after years, evidences of which are given in many sections of our
county.
SUPERFICIAL MATERIALS.
Abundant evidences are furnished along the shores of St. Clair Lake and river
as well as those of Lake Huron, of the unbroken continuity of the action of those
physical forces, whicii have assorted and transported the materials of the Drift.
From the shingle beach formed by the violence of the last gale, we trace a series, of
beaches and terraces, gradually rising as we recede from the shore, and becoming
more and more covered with the lichens and mould and forest growths which de-
note antiquity, until in some cases the phenomena of shore action blend with the
features which characterize the Glacial Drift. These observations tally with the
views of Pictet on the continuity of the Diluvian and Modern Epochs, as established
b}' palccontological evidences. So also may we behold evidences of the disintegra-
tion of strata, which formerly existed in this very county — we may see every day
the comminuted materials lying around us in all directions. The uses of these
cobbles are known wherever a pavement is necessary ; while on the land they keep
it warm as it were, and aid in the growth of grain crops. These remnants of com-
niinntion are princi])ally rounded fragments of syenite, greenstone, vitreous and
jasperous sandstones, horn-rock, talcase and of the serpentinous rocks of tlie azoic
series. Here are the rocks overspread with blue clay, plutonic boulders and
pebbles. There is a curious rock on the farm of Edwin Lamb in Washington Town-
sliip. It consisted of ordinary cobble stones bound together by a kind of water
lime cement. Some years ago it was examined by Wni. A. Burt, who gave it as
1^
-» — ^I >^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 131
his opinion that it had been brought here from northern Michigan on a cake of ice
at a time when all the county was covered by the waters of Lake St. Clair. In
other places those rude materials are often arranged in rude courses, which have a
curved dip, and appear outcropping on the hill-sides and sometimes upon the plains.
The outcrop is very irregular in this county. In the deep borings for hrine^ as well
as in the shallow surface water-reservoirs, these boulders and pebbles have been
found. Again entire fields bear them upon the surface, or so near the surface that
each successive plowing brings them more prominently into view. In some places
a field is found bearing nine and twelve cobble stones on every square foot of its
surface ; such fields are generally very productive, the only fault being in the
difficulty of plowing them.
There is a thin series of argillaceous magnesian limestones and marls, embracing
beds and masses of gypsum, and, in some regions, strata of Roch Salt is known as
the Salina. It is the lowest stratified rock known in the Lower Peninsula. Its
belt of outcrop stretches across the point of land north of Mackinac, from Little
Point au Chene to the vicinity of the mouth of Carp River, and close to the shore
from that point to West Moran Bay. The formation, with the characteristic
gypsum, is seen beneath the water surface at the little St. Martin Island, and at
Goose Island near ]\Iackinac. Dipping beneath the Lower Peninsula, it re-appears
in Monroe County where it has been exposed in some of the deepest quarries. In the
well-borings at Mt. Clemens, as well as at Alpena and Caseville, this formation has
been reached, and near Sandusky, Ohio, it affords valuable gypsum deposits. At
Mt. Clemens the Salt Rock was not reached, though at Alpena and Caseville a
thick bed of such rock was penetrated, doubtless similar, or rather equivalent to
the beds at Goderich in Canada.
The total thickness of this formation is a matter of speculation, but is supposed
to be fifty or sixty feet in depth above the Salt Rock. The stratification based on
information obtained from the measurement of remote outcrops of the group, may
be placed as follows :
Calcareous clay as seen at Bois Blanc. Fine ash-colored limestone, with
acicular crystals, as at Ida, Otter Creek and Plum Creek quarries, and at Mackinac,
Round and Bois Blanc Island. Variegated gypseous marls, with imbedded masses
of gypsum, as at Little Point au Chene and the St. Martin Islands.
A group of argillaceous and magnesian limestones outcrop along the western
shore of Lake Erie, and exists beneath the surface in the counties bordering on the
lake and river St. Clair. It consists of an argillaceous, chocolate-colored, magne-
sian limestone in regular layers, each layer from foui- to eight inches thick. This
conformation seems to correspond with the waterlime formation of New York.
The formation known as corniferous limestone, is very general in masses of
'}^
13B HISTORY OF :S[ACOMB COUNTY.
horn-stone. The dark color of the rock is imparted by the presence of bituminous
matter, which often shows itself in the thin partings between the strata. Petroleum
saturates the formation, and as the bitumen colors the rocjc, so does the petroleum
bestow on it its peculiar odor, often oozing from the crevices, and showing itself on
the streams in the vicinity.
The black shale at the bottom of the argillaceous strata known as the Huron
group, is about 20 feet thick, sometimes laminated and fissile. This shale has
doubtless been pierced in the borings at Mt. Clemens, as it is known to exist in St.
Clair, and counties adjoining Macomb. The shale resembles coal, and when placed
in a stove or grate gives a blaze resembling that of coal.
"We also find here a species of shales more arenaceous than the black shale,
which, to use the language of geology, terminate in a series of laminated, argilla-
ceous, micaceous, friable sandstone, which pass into the Waverly group.
The Black Shale hitherto regarded holds an important place in the stratifica-
tion of this county, particularly on its southern borders. It appears that about the
year 1858, F. P. Boutellier undertook the boring of a well in Greenfield township
in the county of Wayne. The earth was penetrated beneath a saw-mill, then in
operation. The drill having passed through the clay and subjacent rock, entered
the blue-black shale, which it passed through at a depth of seventy or eighty feet.
At this moment the iron was wrested from the hands of the laborers as if by some
supernatural power. This phenomena was followed by a violent escape of gas,
and an upheaval of water and sand.
The stream of fetid gas became ignited in some manner, and formed a fiery
column, reaching to the roof of the mill. All efforts to extinguish the blaze
proved utterly futile, the burning roof of the building had to be removed, and a
furnace pipe placed over the boring to guide the terrific flame. This last act in the
drama of that well boring had the effect of extinguishing the fire. Boutellier, it
need scarcely be said, was happy for this denouement ; yet he took precautions
against the recurrence of such an eruption, by filling up the boring with pebbles,
and cla}', and refusing permission to have such an experiment repeated. In Ster-
ling township one of such wells created a sensation some time ago.
Throughout Wayne, Macomb and St. Clair counties there are evidences of the
existence of gas fountains, if not actual oil reservoirs. This fetid gas was undoubt-
edly the product of distilled petroleum lying below the gas fountain in a similar
position to the oil reservoirs of Petrolia and Oil Springs in Canada.
GAS WELLS.
On the grounds of Geo. C. Walker at New Baltimore is a gas well, which gives
up sufficient gas to light his residence. It is his intention to utilize this light-mak-
\'
^
HISTOllY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 139
ing stream, by guiding it into the cookery and throughout the house. The well is
only 56 feet in depth.
About the same time that Mr. Walker bored this well three other persons in
the village engaged in a like enterprise, and struck the same gaseous vein. It is
stated that about the year 1850 the existence of natural gas, at this point, was no-
ticed by many of the villagers. Below the Hathaway warehouse bubbles were ob-
served on the surface of the water, while a closer inspection pointed out the fact
that some submarine power agitated the sand below the water, raising it up in cones
and then scattering it around.
SUBTERRANEAN CHANNELS.
In consequence of the changes to which the various strata of the county has
been subjected, the waters have carved for themselves, even within our own time,
a passage through it, and find their way to the lower lakes through subterraneous
rivulets, causing the diminution of, and sometimes the total disappearance of ponds
and creeks. This, doubtless, is to-day operating against our rivers, and accounts
for the visible reduction of the volume of water, compared with that which marked
them in Territorial days. This diminution is partly attributed to increased evapo-
ration, consequent upon the removal of the forests.
In the same way we must account for the reports of public officers in the olden
times — one reports the Huron River navigable for thirty miles ; the other reports
the hrine obtained from the springs of the civil district of Huron capable of yield-
ing 25 per cent, of solid saline matter.
"WATER RESERVOmS.
The small bodies of water or lakelets with which certain portions of Macomb
County are diversified, rest in depressions shaped in the layer of modified drift.
The remarkable group of water fountains in the northwestern township of the
county, together with those in the northeastern part of Oakland, continues through
Livingston, Washtenaw, and onwards to the lakes of Grattan in Kent County.
They are particularly scattered along the scarcely descending banks of the Huron
of Lake St. Clair, or the Clinton and its tributaries, and are strung like beads along
these streams, many of them, probably, the ancient work of beavers.
The lakelets of Macomb County, as of the Lower Peninsula in general, are
surrounded by gravelly, elevated shores on two or three sides, with frequently a low,
marshy border fringing the remainder of the contour. As the streams which feed
them are clear, the water of the lakes is limpid and healthful, though of the char-
acter known as hard. They furnish, therefore, charming places of Summer resort.
The same species of fish and molluscs inhabit the different lakelets of the county,
however disconnected. This fact presents an interesting and difficult problem to
(5~
« ll^
-^ — 4>^ ^
140 HISTORY OF :\rACOMB COUNTY.
the investigator of the origin of species. The most natural inference is. that at a
former period a general system of water communication existed among the various
bodies of water in this part of the Peninsula, and at this time one fauna extended
through all its limits. A similar problem, but of a larger magnitude, is presented
by the similar faunas inhabiting different rivers and lake systems, and especially
when the different systems discharge into the sea at different points, and their
higher sources, as well as their valleys of discharge, are separated by elevations too
great to admit the hypothesis of a general fresh-water inundation in former times.
It requires but casual observation to become convinced that nearly all these
lakelets have formerly been of larger size. The shore upon one or more sides is
frequently low and sedgy, and stretclies back over an expanse of marsh and allu-
vial land to a sloping, gravelly bank, which appears to have been the ancient con-
tour of the lake or river expansion. The lowland between the ancient shore and
the modern is composed of a bed of peat, generally underlaid by a bed of marl.
Beneath the marl may be found, in many cases, a deposit of blue, plastic cla}% which
forms a transition to the layer of modified drift before described. Each of these
deposits may have a thickness of a few inches or more, up to ten or twenty feet.
That all these formations have been laid down from the flooded or Champlain
Period is evident: first, from their superposition on the modified drift; second,
from the fact that the lake is performing in our own times the same work as we see
completed in the low-border marsh ; third, from the gradual extension of many
lake-border marshes, and the corresponding diminution of the areas of the lakes.
The calcareous character of the water of tliese lakelets makes them a fitting
abode for numerous species of lime-secreting molluscs. These animals eliminate
the lime from the water and build it into the structure of their shells. Finally the
mtillusc dies and its shell falls to the bottom, where it undergoes disintegration into
a white powder, or becomes buried in the progressing accumulation of such mate-
rial. Another portion of the marly deposit forming in the bed of the lakes is
probably derived from calcareous precipitation directly from the lake water. Thus
a bed of marl is forming over the whole bottom of the lake, in situations sufficiently
protected and shallow to serve as the abode of shell-making animals. But on the
leeward side the immediate shore is the seat of a layer of peat. Bulrushes lift
their heads through water one or two feet deep. A little nearer the shore flags
may be seen, and still nearer scouring rushes. On the immediate border of the
land willows and water-loving sedges hold a place, while further back other sedges
and grasses take possession in varying proportions. This is the lee side of the
lakes. Floating leaves, twigs, stems, therefore find their way among the lake-side
growths, and becoming entangled, sink and fall into gradual decay. ]More than this,
each autumn's crop of dead vegetation, produced round the borders of these lakes.
<2 k>.
^ S>[>^
®
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 141
contributes to the accumulation of vegetable material, which graiually changes
into the condition of humus and peat. This is a work begun at the surface of the
water. When this substance sinks, it overlies what the lake had hitherto accumu-
lated. When the peat layer is first begun, the previous accumulation is marl, and
hence the well-known order of superposition of these two deposits. The peat bed
grows lakeward as the continued formation of marl shallows the water. In the
course of time, the actual seat of operations becomes removed far from the ancient
shore, and a broad marsh comes into existence, with peat everywhere at the surface
and marl beneath. On the Benjamin Farm, just south of Romeo, this formation
may be seen. The enterprise of the owner has not only rendered the lake site
capable of high cultivation, but has also brought to light the surfaces as they were
formed during the last thousand years.
ANCIENT LAKE SITES.
Almost the entire country may be considered an ancient lake site ; yet in a re-
ference here, the writer wishes to deal with the ponds of the county, which, long
years after the Champlain epoch, were large sheets of water. As many existing
ponds have obviously been contracted from their ancient limits, so a little reflection
makes it obvious that many lakes, once existing here, have become quite extinct
through the completion of the process of filling up. It is probable that every
marsh in the county marks the site of an ancient lake. Level as the surface of the
water, which determined their limits and depth, not a few of them retain, at some
point, vestiges of the lakes which they have displaced ; and others exhibit all trans-
itions from a reeking and quaking bog to an alluvial meadow ; while in nearly all
cases ditching discloses the peaty, marly and clayey materials, in the order in
which, under lake action, they are accumulating before our eyes along actual lake
borders. The absence of any marked, general inclination of the surface in our
Peninsula, has made it the seat of an extraordinary number of small lakes, ancient
and modern, and hence, also, a region of small local marshes.
Some of these may be found on almost every section of land ; but the majority
of them form meadow lands, or even tillable fields, and constitute the choicest
patches in the farmers' possession. Many of these ancient lake sites, nevertheless,
remain for the present nothing but swamps, and demand resolute ditching for their
thorough reclamation, as is evidenced by the old cranberry marsh so well remem-
bered by the old settlers of Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland.
MINERAL WATEltS.
The salt springs of Macomb county result from an overflow of the great sali-
ferous basin of the Peninsula.
^(5
<a.
142 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Specific gravity 1.0057
Chloride Sodium 0.549
" Calcium ..0.0 1 3
" Magnesium 0.037
Sulphate of Lime 0.015
Sulphate of Magnesia
Carbonate of Lime ..0.014
Compounds of I ron .0.001
Other Constituents
Total solid matter 0.629
MT. CLEMENS MAGNETIC AVATERS.
A committee appointed by the Northeastern Medical and Scientific Society
reported very favorably of the waters produced by the Mt. Clemens mineral springs.
The wells at Mt. Clemens were bored upon the thinning-out edge of this
basin, almost one degree of longitude south-east of the highest saturation point and
at a place where the brine would necessarily be diluted with surface water or with
that of subterranean rivers. Consequently, the brine of Mt. Clemens must be con-
sidered separately from that so prized by salt manufacturers, for the reason that it
is a medicinal mineral water, rather than a common salt brine. The difficulties pre-
sented by this water in the manufacture of common salt therefrom, are due to the
large quantity of deliquescent salts of calcium and magnesium existing in connec-
tion with the chloride of sodium ; but what it loses in this respect is more than
compensated for by the large quantity of salts present, possessing, in connection
with the sulphuretted hydrogen, a decided medicinal effect. Chief among the
active ingredients, in addition to those mentioned is iodine, an agent whose value
has long been recognized by the medical profession.
THE SALT SPRING OF 1797.
The Salt Spring near the bank of Salt River in the vicinity of which the
squatters of 1797 located, was considered by them a most valuable property. This
spring appeared in the glen, close by the Plank Road Bridge of later days — four
miles from the mouth of the river. In a report tendered to Thomas Jefferson by
Charles S. Jonett in 1804, this agent of the government makes the following state-
ment: — " From experiments which have been made, I am justified in saying that
this spring deserves the public attention, it was wrought sometime by a couple of
men, who, owing to their want of capital, were incapable of conducting the business
on an advantageous plan. By these men I am assured that a quart of water did
with them turn out a gill of salt, and in all their trials with greater quantities it
never failed to produce a like proportion. There is a sufficient quantity of water
to supply works to any extent."
From a report made by Douglass Houghton in 1838 to the Legislature, the
analysis of the brine, said to be so rich in the saline properties, in the report of
Jonett to Secretary Jefferson in 1804, was as follows :
Analysis of brine, sections two and eleven, Chesterfield.
rfv*
HISTOEY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 143
From an analysis made by Prof. Duffiekl in 1872, it is learned that the specific
gravity at 60° Fahrenheit, is 1.129. The total amount of mineral matter per pint
was 1417.6200, and the total amount of Chloride of Sodium per pint 1350.8498.
The components were reported as follows :
Name. Per Pint. Per Gallon.
Sulphate Soda 12.0700 96.5600
Sulphate Lime ^.. .-. 5.4992 43.9936
Chloride Sodium 1 350.8498 10806.7984
Chloride Calcium 26.9399 215.5120
Chloride Magnesium , 20.2400 1 61. 9200
Carbonate Lime.. _ 6216 4.9680
Carbonate Magnesia a trace
Silica and Alumina 1.4010
Organic Matter. a trace
Total Solids 141 7.6200 1 1340.9600
Sulphureted Hydrogen 3.41 cu. in.
Carbonic Acid a trace
Recent investigations show that Iodine, Potassium and Ammonia Salts are
present, the former in quite considerable quantity, as compared with other mineral
waters. A new analysis is contemplated b}^ Prof. H. F. Myers, which, doubtless,
will bring to light all the medicinal properties of these celebrated springs. Such
an analysis is deemed expedient to show the present actual condition of the waters.
The mineral water spring near Romeo, belonging to Mr. Dexter Musse}', which
created some excitement early in 1874, claims the following analysis by Prof.
Duffiekl:
Sulphate of Calcium 48536 grs. to gal.
Sulphate of Potass 0113
Sulphate of Magnesia 2.1345
Carbonate of Magnesia - 1.6321
Carbonate of Calcium .3.9804
Chloride of Sodium 0.0501
Carbonate of Iron 0.0632
Aluminium Oxide 0S30
Silicium .1753
Total amount of carbonic acid per gallon one and a half inches.
The mineral well bored at Romeo, in 1881, gives promise of meeting the highest
hopes of the citizens in regard thereto. The record of the boring is as follows : —
THICKNESS. DESCRIPTIONS.
40 Sand and gravel.
70 Blue adhesive clay, with seams of quicksand,
13 Light sand.
123 Casing belled. *
(a r~ -^ ®
1^
V
Q k.
U 2)
144
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
THICKNESS.
DESCRIPTIONS.
27 Shale-like material loose with seams of gravel.
30 Light bluish rock floating, effervescing with acid.
ISO
60
240
510
750
300
250
70
1370
50
1420
125
1515
1545
Drill entered hard rock at 170 feet, which it pierced to 180 feet, when it entered a bufhsh shale with
minute disseminated mica scales, peculiar to the conformation of the Michigan salt group, differ-
ing only in the fact that the shale seemed to be very soft, if not clayed.
Frearstone rock.
At this point the bituminous shale should be reached and the presence of inflammable gas felt.
Soap stone, black shale.
A bed of rock salt was reached.
Blue shale or slate.
Grindstone rock.
Limestone.
Soft rock, rotten limestone — continued to 1420 feet.
Gas veins penetrated.
Soft porous rock of a plastic character, impregnated with gas.
Total depth reached in feet,
The original record of the boring shows simply 150 feet of sand and gravel
forming the upper crust, resting on 30 feet of light floating rock, supported in turn
by 60 feet of frearstone on which the reservoir rests. The 810 feet below the frear
stone is simply credited with being a conformation of soap stone, black shale, and
slate. At a depth of 750 a bed of rock-salt was reached, but the depth of this
very important formation is not recorded. Below the slate a rock, named grind-
stone in the record, was pierced to a depth of 250 feet, resting on a bed of lime-
stone 70 feet deep, and tliis, in turn, resting on 175 feet of soft, plastic rock.
ANALYSIS.
The analysis of water obtained from the mineral well at Romeo, made by
chemist Lyon, of Detroit, for the committee in charge of the well, is as follows : —
Special gravity at 60° F .- I.0037
Calcium Sulphate 6.066 grains per wine gallon 7.281 Lnp. Gal.
â– ' Carbonate 12.774 "
Magnesium .554 "
Iron - 892
Magnesium Chloride 4.019
Potassium .455
Sodium 2S3.957
Sediment (debris of rock).. 170.73 "
Carbonic acid (combined) 13-27 cu. in.
" " (free) 4.9 cu. in.
- 14899
.669
1.070
. 4.824
. 5466
â– 340S34
1592
5.87
:K^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 145
As the work of pumping progresses the water shows signs of losing much of
the sediment materials.
The carbonated waters contain a quantity of soluble salts ; the sulphur waters
are of the most pronounced character, each impregnated with mineral substances,
which must always render them of inestimable value to the people. It is said that
tlie magnetic ivaters of the State are not themselves magnetic ; but that marked
magnetic phenomena are manifested in the vicinity ot the wells, arising through
induction from the earth, without regard to the waters ; yet experiments indicate a
power of excitation of magnetism possessed by these waters.
FOSSILS.
The fossil remains found in connection with the rocks of this county, and par-
ticularly evident in the limestone strata, comprise the Lithostrotion mammillare,
the L. longiconicum, the Cyathophyllum fungitis, and the Syringopore, all belong-
ing to the polypi class. The only evidence of the Echinodermata is furnished b}^
the remains of common species. The Bryoza class is represented in this lime-stone
by no less than seven species ; the Brachiopoda by eighteen species ; the Lamelli-
branchiata by six species ; the Trilobites by two very distinct species, each showing
the tails. The remains of fish and reptiles are found to be very common. Human
remains are unknown at present to exist in the conformations examined in Macomb.
REVIEW OF PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
The water courses of Macomb county are numerous and valuable. The leading
stream, reported in early years to be navigable for thirty miles, is the most im-
portant. Its waters are known throughout the entire district organized in 1818
under the name of Macomb, now forming many prosperous counties of the State.
This river was called ia Reviere Aux Hurons by the early French missionary priests,
on account of the peculiar character of the hair which marked the red men of the
neighborhood. This hair stood out like the bristles of the wild boar, and suggested
to the thoughtful travelers a new name for the inhabitants and their territory,
which name it held until the Territorial Legislature deemed it proper, for con-
venience, to confer on the river the name Clinton.
The Clinton River enters the county at the southwest corner of Section 18,
Shelby Township, flows through a very tortuous channel in a southeasterly course,
past the village of Utica, to the line between Section 24 of Sterling and Section 19
of Clinton, where it is joined by the waters of the South Branch, whence it pursues
a seine-like course northeast to the confluence of the North Branch. At this point
the channel is wide and deep, growing wider as it approaches the lake. The river
may be said to form the natural boundary of the city of the future on the west, to
lO
â– k
^^ — «^
^ 9
1^
divide the north city of the present from the south city of the prospective, and
thence flow through a deep and winding channel to the lake.
The North Branch of the Clinton appears to rise everywhere in the county
and far beyond its boundaries. Flowing southeast from Bruce, south from Ar-
mada and Richmond, it is fed by numerous streams, it receives the waters of a
dozen creeks, and joins the Middle Branch in Section 8 of Clinton.
The Middle Branch is a domestic river. It has its head waters in Washington
and Shelby Townships, with many feeders in that and the adjoining towns of
Shelby and Ray. These feeders unite in Section 6, Macomb Township, and form
the stream known as the Middle Branch, which forms a confluence with the North
Branch in Section 8 of Clinton, one-half mile west of the boundary of Mt. Clemens
City.
The South Branch, commonly called Red Run, is fed by Bear, Beaver, and
Plum Creeks and other small streams. This river and its tributaries drain the
towns of Sterling and Warren, and lead the surplus waters to the main stream,
with which a confluence is formed in Section 19, Clinton.
Belle River may be said to take its rise in the headwaters of Day Creek, Rich-
mond Township. Although the main stream flows from the northwest of its con-
fluence with Day Creek, draining the country in the neighborhood of Memphis and
Attica in Lapeer County, yet the river is unimportant until it receives the waters
of the creek in Section 12, Richmond, whence it flows into the river St. Clair at
Marine City.
La Reviere du Lait, or Milk River, falls into the lake a half-mile north of the
southern line of Erin township.
Salt River rises near Richmond, flows south through Lenox, receives its main
tributary in Section 2, Chesterfield, and enters the lake a few miles south of the
ancient salt springs.
The Reviere Aux Vases and the Crapau fall into the lake in the neighborhood.
The former rises in Cliesterfield, watering Sections 21, 29 and 28 in its course ; the
latter has its headwaters in St. Clair County, enters Chesterfield in Section 12, flows
through New Baltimore, and empties into the lake a little south of that village.
The creeks commonly called Tuckar's and Ventre de Boeuf rise in Harrison
Township and flow into the lake. Ambroise or Tremble Cr. and La Crique de
Socier rise in the northern sections of Erin and flow into the lake.
Together with the rivers, streams, and streamlets named, there are numerous
rivulets coursing throughout every section of the county, each acting its silent part
in contributing to the prosperity of the people.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL.
Macomb County was the Pagigendamowinaki or great cemetery of the abor-
-f^
^<vl@ — k.
^ s>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 147
igines. Along the Clinton and its tributaries many mounds were found by the
early settlers, some few still exist, all offer interesting subjects to the antiquarian of
the present time. From time to time the search among the bones of the dead is
rewarded by the discovery of one or other of the many articles placed in the earth
with the dead. The number of mounds, and character of human remains found in
them, point out the district as the necropolis of an extinct race. Stone hatchets
and flint arrow heads, unnumbered skeletons, all remain to tell of their coming,
their stay, of their rise and fall.
The free copper found within the tumuli, the open veins of the Superior and
Iron Mountain copper mines, with all the modus operandi of ancient mining, such
as ladders, levers, chisels and hammer-heads, discovered by the French explorers
of the Northwest and the Mississippi, are conclusive proofs that a prehistoric people
were civilized, and that many flourishing colonies were spread throughout the new-
ly-formed land. While yet the mammoth, the mastodon, and a hundred other
animals, now only known by their gigantic fossil remains, guarded the eastern shore
of the continent, as it were, against supposed invasions of the Tower Builders, who
went west from Babel; while yet the beautiful isles of the Antilles formed an inte-
gral portion of this continent, long years before the European Northman dreamed
of setting forth on his voyage of discovery to Greenland, and certainly at a time
when only a small portion of the American continent, north of latitude 45°, was
reclaimed, in the midst of the great ice-encumbered waste, a prehistoric people
lived and died upon the land which the American and French pioneers of Macomb
rescued from its wilderness state.
Within the last twent}^ years, great advances have been made toward the dis-
covery of antiquities, whether pertaining to remains of organic or inorganic nature.
Together with many telling relics of the aboriginal inhabitants, the fossils of pre-
historic animals have been unearthed from end to end of the county, and in districts
too, long pronounced by geologists of some repute to be without even a vestige of
vertebrate fossils. Among the collected souvenirs of an age, about which so very
little is known, are single and ossified vertebrae, supposed to belong to the creta-
ceous period, when the Dinosaur roamed over the country from east to west, deso-
lating the villages of the people. This animal is said to have been sixty feet long,
and when feeding in the pine forests was capable of extending himself eighty-five
feet, so that he might devour the budding tops of those great trees.
Other efforts of our antiquarians may lead to great results, and culminate prob-
ably in the discovery of a tablet, engraved by some learned Tower or Mound
Builder, describing, in characters hieroglyphical, all those men and beasts whose
history excites so much interest, and transform the speculative into certainty. The
identity of the Mound Builders with the Mongolians, and the closer tie which
6 r- -n-
(3
148 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
bound the latter to tlie Egyptians might lead us to hope for^such a consummation,
might possibly result in proving that the Egyptian originally migrated from Cen-
tral America, branched out toward China, and became the Mongolian, and in turn
continued to travel eastward until the descendants of the first Americans returned
to the cradle of their race, as set forth in an extract given in this work, from the
writer's special paper on the Mound Builders.
FORTS AND MOUNDS OF MACOMB.
The so-called Indian forts and mounds situated upon the North Branch of
Clinton River in Macomb County, have long been the subject of much speculation
and interest. Two of the three forts are entirely leveled by the plow, and it is
only from memory, aided by that mysterious personage known as the oldest in-
habitant, that the geography and description can be obtained.
Eighteen or twenty years ago the embankments were quite distinct. The first
and, apparently, the most prominent of those forts, was situated upon the east
bank of the North Branch of the Clinton, on the east line of the town of Bruce,
three miles northeast of Rome. The hraiich is at this place about twenty feet wide,
with a rapid current affording a constant supply of pure, cool water. The bank of
the stream rises abruptly in a sort of bluff, some ten or twelve feet in height, and
then is level to the fort some fifteen rods distant.
A little stream comes down from the northwest and passes about twenty rods
to the south of the fort. Between this stream and the fort was the burial-ground
of the inhabitants. The fort itself was nearly regular, about 350 feet in diameter.
The wall upon the north was curved less than a true circle. The walls before being
leveled by the plow, were four or five feet high, and some eight feet thick at the
base.
If we take into consideration the length of time intervening between the build-
ing of these walls and our earliest knowledge of them, and also the character of
the soil of which they are composed — a loose gravel — we must conclude that they
were at least double the height here given. The earth to form these walls was
taken from the outside, and thus a deep and wide ditch was formed on all sides
save a portion of the west, which was bounded by a marsh, covered by a tangle of
water-vines and brush. The openings, three in number, were about twenty feet
wide, and just inside the open space of wall a mound was built entirely shutting off
any view from the exterior. The mounds were pro])ably as high as the walls them-
selves and afforded a perfect slielter from objects projected from witliout. A supply
of water for the use of a garrison in time of seige, could be obtained from a small
lake within the enclosure.
Between the fort and the small stream were situated a number of mounds or
r|7
^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 149
graves, each circular, g,nd each containing the skeleton of one person. Many of
the mounds were opened, and the contents exhumed ; but an entire skeleton has
never been found, the smaller bones having become decomposed. The skulls and
larger bones of the extremities were often found to be of extreme size. The under
jaw, in one instance, easily slipped over the face of the finder — over flesh and
whiskers. The thigh bone when placed beside that of a living person would pro-
trude considerably beyond it. Perhaps there were giants in those days !
There is a faint tradition, that the faithful dog of the Indian together with his
gun and pipe, were buried with him for his pleasure and benefit in the Happy
Hunting Grounds ; but if those were Indian graves the facts dispose the theory, as
no such contents have been brought to light. Broken pieces of pottery were often
and are still sometimes found in the cultivated fields adjoining the mounds ; and in
one instance an entire dish was turned up by the plow. This was of the shape of
the smaller half of an egg-shell, and would hold from twelve to fifteen gallons. It
was surmounted by a rim or border which was ornamented by checks, cut in the
clay. It had the appearance of having been dried in the sun, and soon fell to decay
by the action of the atmosphere. Flint arrow-heads and stone weapons are often
found ; also amulets and other curious objects, the use of which it is difficult to con-
jecture -Of the mode of their manufacture it is vain to speculate. There are many
of these specimens now in my possession, hard as adamant, and yet which have
received and retained through all these years the most perfect polish, and are fault-
less in shape.
THE SECOND MOUND.
Across the stream, some twenty rods to the south, was situated a large mound,
surrounded by a number of smaller ones. Upon the summit of the larger one is
still standing a large oak tree, which may have been planted there or gained its
position by accident. It has been thought by some that a chief was buried there,
standing with his back against the tree, and so the mound raised about him,
and as members of his family died they were interred about him. Others
have it that he was buried lying horizontal, and the tree planted at his head.
The mound was opened years ago, and the position of the bones in the grave
seemed to confirm the latter conclusion. It was expected that something real and
strange would be found in this grave, but the expectations were not realized.
STONE MOUNDS.
In various parts of the county were found mounds of stone. Those were
stone-piles built up, in a symmetrical form, to the height of four feet or more, hav-
ing the shape of an old-fashioned straw bee-hive. One of these standing on the farm
of Ido Warner, was surmounted by a tree, the roots of which running over the sides,
'['
"©
te"
150 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
served to keep the stones in place until it was cut away, and the grave opened.
The contents did not differ from those of the other mounds save that the bones had
the appearance of having been charred by fire. It was thought by many that these
stone mounds had been formed in clearing the fields near by for cultivation ; but it
is abundantly proved that such was not the case. And now a word in regard to
these fields. In many places in the brush or light timbered land, where the soil is
sand or light loam, distinct rows of hills may be traced. They are in many places
so prominent as to interfere with the first plowing of the land. Undoubtedly the
same hills were employed year after year, by simply opening the top of the hill for
the reception of the seed, and then in the way of cultivation, pulling up the earth
around the growing plant.
FORT NUMBER TWO
Was situated about a mile up the branch from the one formerly described, upon
the farm of B. H. Thurston. His house and farm buildings now occupy the ground.
The soil here is a rich, sandy loam, about ten feet above the bed of the stream, on
tl)e west side, and facing the south with an easy slope.
The fort was oblong in shape ; its length extending to the southwest at right
angles to the stream, about 500 feet ; its greatest breadth about 250 feet. The em-
bankments presented the same general characteristics as regards form, height, as
the one formerly mentioned. There was but one opening on the river front, and
tlie two ends of the circle of wall were made to overlap each other, thus shutting
off all view from the exterior. There were a few mounds upon the south side of
the fort, also across the stream about half a mile north. Numerous stone hatchets,
flint arrow-heads, amulets, and bits of crockery were found in the vicinity of these
mounds, but never in or upon them.
FORT NUMBER THREE
Is the extreme northwest corner of the county, and is about one mile west of the
North Branch. This fort is still in its natural condition, covered with a low growth
of oak timber. The embankments are in many instances four feet high from the
bottom of the ditch. They describe a circle slightly flattened upon the north, and
meeting in something like a corner at the northwest, where there is an opening about
eight feet wide. The fort is 225 feet in diameter in each direction. Along the
soutli ran a little stream with a margin of marsh ; along the edge of this marsh the
walls are nearly defaced. The ground upon the interior of this fort descends to
the south more rapidly than either of the others. Unlike the others, there seems
to have been no arrangement for the protection of the entrance. Mounds have
been found in various places in tlie vicinity.
By whom were these forts erected ? We have become so accustomed to the
*i^
(S W.
:liL
^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 151
phrase, Indian Mounds and Forts, that at first thought we can answer — the Indians,
of course. But when we call to mind the American Indians' aversion to all kinds
of labor, also their well-known mode of warfare, seeking only the shelter of a tree,
from behind which they could fling a stone or shoot an arrow, we may pause before
reaching a definite conclusion. So far as we know of the natives of this locality,
they have never shown either energy or skill, sufficient to plan and execute the
work of building a fort, or making a stone hatchet or arrow-head. We are told
that the graves of tlie Indians contain more than their bodies, — we are certain that
these mounds contain nothing but human bones. The Indians living in the vicinity
of the forts, at the time of the first settlement by Whites, were as ignorant of their
ways as the whites themselves. It is possible, perhaps probable, that they were the
work of a race or tribe of people possessing a higher degree of intelligence and
skill than the American Indian. Be this as it may, it is doubtful if any decisive
conclusion will ever be reached, and these forts and mounds of Macomb will ever
remain a prolific source of speculation and interest. The foregoing statements are
based on reports made by County Surveyor Hollister in 1841, and by George H.
Cannon in 1874.
From a letter addressed to Dr. Cooley, by John B. Hollister, under date April
10, 1830, it is learned that the North Fort was located on the east half of the north-
east quarter • of 'Fr. Section 3, Township 5 north of Range 12 east. The East
Fort was on the west half of the southwest quarter Fr. Section 18, Township 5,
north of Range 13 east. The South Fort stood on the west half of the northeast
quarter of Section 25, Township 5 north of Range 12 east. Those were important
positions, and doubtless formed the principal strongholds in Northeastern Michigan
of a race of savages unremerabered even by the ancient Wyandots.
SURVEY BY S. L. ANDREWS.
The mounds, three miles north of Romeo, and two miles east on the northeast
quarter of Section 25, Bruce, were again examined, about the year 1859, by Dr. S.
L. Andrews. At the same time the .old fort in the same neighborhood on Section
19, Armada, known as the Donaldson Farm, was opened, and an exploration made.
The embankment surrounding the first-named fort was about four feet high at that
time, with a lap opening. Then there were a number of stone heaps, the most
remarkable of which were near Armada Center, and near the fort just referred to.
Four miles north, and three miles west of Romeo, on the farm of Benjamin
Cooley, were a number of excavations, one of which contained an earthen pot,
differing entirely from anything known to Indian civilization.
There were the remains of an old fort on the bank of a streamlet flowing into
Salt River, in 1837. The walls were circular with a gateway leading to the stream.
-iTv
^^=t:
^ «)
^
153 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
At the time of its exploration by Robert P. Eldredge, a white oak tree, at least
three feet in diameter, sprung from the very center of the fortress, but whether this
was planted by the builders, or grew up since the fort was constructed, the
explorers were unable to state.
The Indian corn field on the north bank of Salt River was easily found so late
as 1827. Here the savages had a thousand little hills, the pinnacle of each was
annually cultivated, leaving the base and sides untouched by the rude instruments
of afjriculture which the cultivators used.
HUGE SKELETONS.
E. P. Sandford, of Romeo, visited the mounds on the Mahaffv farm, near the
farm of J. C. Thompson, in the Fall of 1S80. The mounds are thrown up from two
to four feet high and are made round. Having reached the mounds he dug into
the first one, for the purpose of finding implements of some kind, when he reached
the depth of about three feet the spade struck what he supposed to be a stone, but
by careful digging was found to be the skull of a large person. A little farther in
he took out six skeletons, three being grown persons and three children. All
seemed to have been placed in a kneeling position with their heads on their knees
forming a semicircle facing the southwest. The large bones of the grown persons
were in good state of preservation, the bones of the children were -all decayed, with
the exception of the frontal bone of each and very few of the smaller bones. The
skull of the large one measured twenty-one inches round ; the teeth were very even
and in excellent condition ; the thigh bones measured twenty-one inches and were
very solid. These are the only discoveries that have been made in this place for
about eighteen years.
There is a large mound at the southwest corner of the field overlooking all the
rest, which measures twenty feet across the base and is about four and a half feet
high. This mound is called the chief mound. There was an oak tree in the center
of it which was cut down eight years ago by J. C. Thompson. At the time he cut
it down he counted two hundred and forty rings, which are supposed to represent
240 years growth. It is supposed that the tree was put there at the time of the
burial. Tliere have been many attempts made to uncover this mound, but so far
each has been a failure, the roots of the tree being so large and strong, they prevent
one from going deep enough to accomplish anything. At tlie north of this field
about eighty rods we find what is called the fort, it was built on the top of a hill,
the outlines can be seen very distinctly to this day.
SUNDliY DISCOVERIES.
J. W. Preston found some relics of the Indians, on his farm in February, 1877 ;
Rev. P. R. Hurd, now of Detroit, found a silver cross in the neighborhood of Romeo,
Vl^
"®
(2 SL^ _u ®
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 153
supposed to belong to one of the early French priests who visited this neighborhood ;
O. C. Dudley found an Indian tomahawk on his farm a number of years ago, the
upper part of the weapon had the shape of a pipe, and was used for smoking
purposes.
William Stone, a farmer residing a few miles south of Romeo, discovered a
piece of pure native copper, weighing eleven pounds, just as it was unearthed
by the ploughshare, in January, 1879.
Elijah Thorington had a large piece of native copper that was plowed up on
his farm in the town of Addison, in October, 1878. How it came there is a ques-
tion for scientists to solve. It is hardly possible that the piece is a portion of a
copper mine on the premises, and the most reasonable theory is that it either came
down from Lake Superior during the drift period or was packed by some lordly
aborigine, on the back of his patient and long suffering squaw to be carried over-
land for the purposes of a pipe or tomahawk.
Charles Hunt, found in October, 1878, a curious stick. It was cut from the
center of a large tree and shows unmistakably the blaze marks of some fellow that
must certainly have been around at least an hundred years ago.
H. J. Miller, who lives near Mount Vernon, discovered one of the greatest
curiosities met with in the county. It is nothing less than a petrified dish-cloth or
towel, which at some time has been wrung out and twisted up and in this condition
it has petrified. The fiber of the cloth is plainly perceptible.
That big bone discovered in June, 1875, upon the premises of J. L. Benjamin,
just south of the village of Romeo, attracted a good deal of attention. It measures
twelve inches in circumference at the narrowest point, while at the largest it reaches
the extraordinary size of twenty-three inches. It was found imbedded in the soft
earth, at least, four feet beneath the surface. There is a difference in opinion as to
just what portion of the anatomy of the animal it belonged, but is generally con-
ceded to have been a portion of what must have been one of the most formidable
kickers on record and of truly mastodonic proportions. Speaking on this subject
the editor of the Observer remarks : " The contemplation of this relic of the class
of mammoths, long since extinct, opens up a wide field of speculation, and almost
induces one to believe that if it could be thoroughly impressed upon the minds of
the people that a few live specimens of this animal might still be ranging through
our beautiful groves, it would have a wholesome effect upon society in general."
During the progress of improvement on Mr. Benjamin's farm, many evidences
of submersion appear. The prairie, cedar, oak and tamarack epochs may be read as
in a book, and later the peat forming epoch is made manifest. The collections of
G. A. Waterbury, J. E. Day, Drs. Andrus, Douglass, G. H. Cannon, and others afford
much subject to the geologist and antiquarian on this subject.
't?-
â– ^
e>
®_
■^ — ^\ iL
154 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
ZOOLOGICAL.
The changes wrought by Time have, as it were, lightened the task of dealing
with the zoology of this county. All the great animals of the wilderness, known
to the pioneers, have ceased long years ago to make their home in Macomb. The
remains of the prehistoric animals are hidden beneath the conformation of ages ;
the millions of reptiles, which preceded and lived through the long summer^ lie
buried hundreds of fathoms down.
BIRDS.
All that is left to remind us of uncultivated nature are the beautiful birds,
which visit the county periodically, or make it their home. Of these feathered
citizens, there are about 250 species known to the people of this county — a large
number has been seen only at long intervals, others have been seen once and disap-
peared, such as the summer red bird. The Connecticut warbler is one of the most
recent settlers and evidently, one which shows a disposition to make the county
her home. Others have settled here since the county was organized, while others
still date their advent away in the long past. In the following pages an effort is
made to deal with the feathered tribe.
The robin, or Turdus onigratorius, is a resident during spring and autumn
and even throughout such winters as that of 1881-2.
The wood-thrush or Turdis Mustelinus, is a common summer bird. The hermit-
thrush has been found breeding here during the spring and fall, and is accom-
panied by the olive-backed-thrush. Wilson's thrush visits the county in the spring
and sometimes builds its nest here. The Thrasher or brown-thrush resides with us
during the summer months.
The cat-birds come in large numbers during the summer, and build their nests
here. All these birds hover round orchards, barnyards, willow-thickets, berry-
bushes and brush-heaps both in the villages and in the country.
The blue-gray (/na^ca^cAer is a common summer resident. The ruby-crowned
kinglet is a spring and fall visitor, going South in winter. The golden-crowned
kinglet is found everywhere during the spring and autumn months. All these
birds seek a home here for a great portion of the year, and create the envy of the
other families by the beautiful nests which they build in the groves and forest
patches of the county. The eggs of these birds are three-eighths of an inch long,
white in color, speckled and dashed with umber and lilac.
The blue-bird is found everywhere during spring, summer and autumn. It
nests in decaying trees, fence-posts, and feeds upon worms, grasshoppers, spiders,
and berries.
The ivhite-bellied muthatch is another common resident, though originally a
Carolinian. The red-bellied hatch comes here from Canada to spend the spring,
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 155
summer and fall, returning to that cold land in winter. These birds nest
in the holes of trees, and feed upon spiders, ants, insects' eggs, and seeds.
The titmouse, or black-capped cMckadee nests in the woods during fine
weather, and comes into the village to spend the winter. It thankfully receives all
the crumbs which may fall in its path.
The brown-creeper is the only representative of the family Certhiades in this
county. It dwells here the year round, finding a storehouse in the forest to lay up
animal and vegetable food in the shape of insects and seeds.
The wren family, or Troglodytidae^ has six representatives in the county. The
Carolina wren, though a straggler, is well known.
Bewick's wren, or Thryothorus hewickii, appeared here for the first time very
recently. His advance from the South was gradual.
The house wren, or Troglodytes cedon, is found in large numbers in the central
townships of the county.
The winter wren is a well-known visitor, sometimes spending the winter in the
valley. He is known by the telling title Anorthura troglodytes.
The long-billed marsh wren, or Telmatodytes palustris, builds a suspended nest
among the marsh-reeds or in sand grass. There he remains during the summer and
then migrates.
The short-billed wren prefers meadow land and builds a large nest in a secure
place. This family of miniature birds feeds upon insects, grasshoppers, snails,
moths and other delicacies.
The Family Sylvicolidae comprises no less than thirty-three representatives in
this county. The black and white creeper nests beside a fallen tree — the blue yel-
low winged warbler in the tree-tops of swamps and heavily timbered land. The
blue-winged yellow warbler is a rare visitor. The blue golden-winged warbler
remains here during summer and breeds in low, damp woodland.
The Nashville warbler, orange-crowned warbler, Tennessee warbler, yellow
warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue warbler, Blackburnian,yellow-rumped,
black-poll, bay-breasted, chestnut-sided, black and yellow. Cape May, prairie, yel-
low-throated, Kirtland's, yellow red-poll, pine creeper and perhaps two or three
other species of the warbler family, are well known visitors.
The water thrush, short and long billed, and the redstart belong to the family,
and are common here.
The Connecticut warbler, a stranger here until 1881, the Maryland yellow-
throat, the mourning, the hooded fly-catcher, black-capped fly-catcher, Canada fly-
catcher, all favorite warblers, are beginning to make the county their home.
This is the second family in importance among the birds of North America.
Their food consists chiefly of insects, varied with fruit and berries. They peep into
<a.
156 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
crevices, scrutinize the abodes of the insect world, and never suffer from want.
This family is the scourge of the orchard and oftentimes destroys fruit fields of great
value.
The horned lark, or EremopJdla alpestris, is a winter dweller here, and nests
during the close of the cold season. There is another species of the horned lark,
which leaves on the approach of winter. Both build their nests on the ground,
breed in April, and play around the farm yard or over gravelly soil.
The titlark belongs to the family Motacillidae. They flock liither in tens of
thousands during spring and often remain until fall.
The scarlet tanager, or Pyranga rubra, is a common visitor, The Summer red-
bird, hitherto referred to as a recent explorer of the North, is very rarely seen here.
The Bohemian wax-wing, or Ampelis garrulus, is a recent and rare visitor.
The cherry bird, or Carolina wax-wing, breeds here in August and September.
They feed upon apples, cherries and berries, but are not numerous enough to cause
any great anxiety to the pomologist.
The Family Hirundinidae comprise the barn swallow, the white-bellied swal-
low, the eave swallow, the sand swallow and the purple martin. These birds de-
stroy myriads of winged insects, and make them their principal food. The swallow,
though not so showy as her gaudy neighbors, confers more real benefit upon the
people than any other member of the bird tribe.
The Family Vireonidae comprises the red-eyed vireo, brotherly-love vireo, or
Vireo philadelphicus, warbling vireo, yellow-throated vireo, solitary vireo and white-
eyed vireo. They feed chiefly on insects, dwell in the forests, and seldom as they
come to town, are in a hurry to return to their rustic homes.
The great northern shrike, or Collurio lorealis, sometimes remains here to
breed, but is not such a permanent settler as the loggerhead shrike, which makes
its home here the year round. The white-rumped shrike is seen here during the
summer months. They are very quarrelsome among themselves, and savage toward
other birds. They impale their victims on thorns and leave them there until driven
by hunger to eat them.
The Family Corvidae is becoming extinct, or at least very uncommon here.
During the present year the few which visited left suddenly, contrary to all prece-
dent. Tliese birds are omniverous, and comprise among others the raven, crow
and blue jay. Their evil ways are almost compensated for by their good qualities,
and some are inclined to believe that the benefits they confer are far in excess of
the damage they do.
The Family Fringillidae is the most extensive known in the States of the
Union. It is graminivorous, except during the breeding season, when it feeds
itself and young on insects. The rose-breasted grosbeak is the only member of the
1^
a.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 151
family which feeds upon the potato bug. The white-crowned sparrow's food is the
grape-vine flea-beetle ; the fox-sparrow and chewink search out hybernating insects
and snails ; the English sparrow, a recent immigrant, feeds on seeds ; the purple
finch and crossbills feed on oily seeds and the seeds of pine cones.
The names of the varied representatives of this tribe, are : The pine grosbeak,
purple finch, white-winged crossbill, red crossbill, red-poll linnet, mealy red-poll,
pine linnet, goldfinch, snow bunting, Lapland longspur. Savanna sparrow, bay-
winged bunting, yellow-winged sparrow, Henslow's, Lincoln's, swamp, song, chip-
ping, field, clay-colored, white-throated, white-crowned, fox, and English sparrows.
The latter bird was introduced here in 1873-'4. The blue-bird, martin, swallow,
and other sparrows have to fly before the approach of their legions. The lark,
finch, black-throated bunting, rose-breasted grosbeak, the indigo bird and the
Towhee bunting, or chewink, are not so destructive as the English sparrow;
they have their uses ; but it is likely that when the people realize the importance
of the destruction of the imported sparrow, the whole family will fall with that
branch. ^.
The Family Icteridae. — The bobolink, cow-bird, red-winged black-bird, meadow
lark, rusty grackle, crow black-bird, Baltimore and orchard orioles belong to this
family. The cow-bird destroys the eggs and young of stranger birds. The oriole
feeds on hairy caterpillars during the season of breeding ; this bird is of service in
the orchard, and for this service she accepts the first small fruits and other luxuries
of the garden. The other members of the family may be termed gregarious ; they
feed on the seeds of weeds, oats, wheat, corn, and on flies and insects.
The Tyrannidae Family subsist almost altogether on flies, which they pursue and
capture in the most open places. The pewee and king-bird pursue their victims in
the light of day, and even should it escape for a time, it eventually falls before the
lance of its pursuer. The family comprises the king-bird, wood pewee, phcebe
bird, together with a half-dozen fly-catchers, variously named.
The Caprimidgidae Family comprises the whippoorwill, or Antrostomus vociferous,
which is a common summer resident here, and the night-hawk, another well-known
summer bird. They are given to "jay-hawking," and select the night for seeking
their prey. Then thousands of grasshoppers, moths, beetles, winged insects and
flies become their prey. The chimney swallow captures its prey upon the wing in
a similar manner ; but it belongs to the Cypselidae family.
The Alcedinidae. — The only representative of this family in the county is said to
be the belted king-fisher, which comes here in summer to spend the fishing season.
If it does not at once succeed in catching one of the finny tribe, it is capable of ab-
staining until success crowns its efforts.
The Trochilidae. — This family is well represented here by the humming-bird.
SL
UiL
158 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
This is an animated cluster of emeralds and rubies, which comes to delight the
people in May, and continues with them until September.
The only member of the Cuculidce residing here during the Summer months is
the black-billed cuckoo, which comes to visit the woods and orchards of the State
in the middle of June, and remains until harvest time.
The Plcadae Family, as represented here, is composed of seven species of wood-
pecker, known as the downy, the hairy, the Arctic black-back, the yellow-bellied,
red-headed, and golden-winged. Tlie family subsist on timber insects, fruit,
berries and green corn. The yellow-bellied woodpecker is very destructive to
apple trees ; he sucks the sap of trees in some parts of the Union, but owing to the
length of winter in northeastern Michigan, he has had no time to do much mischief
here.
The Strigidae Family comprises the barn owl, great horned owl, long-eared owl,
short-eared owl, snow owl, hawk owl, sparrow owl, and Acadian owl. A few of
these are very common residents here, the last named is an immigrant which settled
here in 1879. All form the nocturnal branch of the raptorial species, and select
for their prey rats, mice, fish, frogs, chickens, birds of all kinds, and sometimes
young pigs. They have their uses.
The Falcoyiidae Family is comparatively extensive, and is fully represented here.
It includes the marsh hawk, white-tailed kite, sharp-shinned hawk, goshawk.
Cooper's hawk, pigeon hawk, sparrow hawk, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk,
broad-winged hawk, Swainson's hawk, rough-legged hawk, the fish-hawk, and the
bald eagle. They are birds of prey which select day-time for carrying on their
operations. The fish-hawk will eat only fish. The bald eagle's favorite food is
carrion and fish. When his taste leans toward fish, he generally makes a descent
upon the fish-hawk.
The turkey buzzard, or CatJiartes aura, is common in the county during July
and August. They are entirely carnivorous, and come here after the period of in-
cubation has been passed in the Southern States.
The Family Meliagradae is represented here by the wild turkey. This bird
was well known here in olden times, but has now almost ceased to be a resident.
The Family Tetraonidae is peculiarly one of game birds. It includes the par-
tridge or ruffed grouse, the quail and the prairie chicken. The quail is a common
resident of the county, and appears to attain its greatest size here. These birds
subsist on the various grains, seeds, berries, buds, grapes and chestnuts. They
form a family of large and beautiful birds, but incapable of being thoroughly
domesticated.
Tlie Family Columbidae includes the wild pigeon and Carolina dove. The
latter resides here during the greater portion of the year. The pigeon is thorough-
:^
Jk\
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 159
ly graminivorous in its tastes, and in this respect differs from the family Tetraon-
idae.
The Family Fhalarojjodidae comprises the northern phalarope and Wilson's
phalarope, two migrants which build their nests here at long intervals.
The Family Charadridae, or the plover tribe, is represented here by the kill-
deer, semipalmated, piping, golden and black-bellied plovers. They feed upon
mollusks, water insects, grasshoppers, beetles, etc. This family is inferior in size
to its European kindred.
The Family Ardeidae includes the great bittern or Indian hen, the little bit-
tern, the great blue, great white, green and night herons. These birds are summer
residents, with the exception of the night heron, which dwells here the year round.
The Family Gruidae, represented here by the sandhill crane and the whoop-
ing crane. Neither of these birds breed here, and they may be set down as common
stragglers or " tramps."
The Family Calymbidae is very small. Only two representatives are found
here, viz.: the common loon, well known for many years, and the black-throated
loon, a recent visitor. To form an idea of the quickness of this unwieldy bird one
must make an attempt to capture him alive, or even shoot him. During travels in
the Northwest (1879 — 80), the writer found three specimens of the family living
quietly in a lake-side nest, and left them undisturbed. Shakespeare's cream-faced
loon was found there.
The Rail tribe is comparatively well known here. It includes the Carolina
and Virginia rails ; the Florida gallinule and the coot^ all common summer birds.
The rare summer visitors of the tribe comprise the black, yellow, king and clapper
rails.
The Grebe tribe, or family podicipidse, comprises the horned grebe, the pied-
billed grebe as common residents ; and the red-necked and red- eared grebe which
come here at intervals.
The Family Anatidae is perhaps the best known and most useful of the feath-
ered race. It comprises the goose, duck, widgeon, teal and merganser. The birds
of the tribe common to the county are the brant and Canada goose, the mallard,
black, pin-tail, gad wall, wood, big black-head, little black-head, ring-necked, poach-
ard, canvas-back, golden-eye, butter-ball, long-tailed, Labrador, ruddy and fish
ducks, the red-breasted merganser, the hooded merganser, American widgeon,
green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, and the shoveller teal.
The Family Scolopacidae includes the woodcock, American snipe, red-breasted
snipe, upland plover, long-billed curlew, stilt sandpiper, semipalmated, least,
pectoral and red-backed sandpipers, Wilst, greater yellow legs, lesser yellow legs
and solitary, spotted and buff-breasted sandpipers. All these birds are common
~®
IGO HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
here. They are all "waders," and subsist on aquatic insects, grass-hoppers,
mollusks, crustaceans, etc.
The Family Laridae comprises all the terns and gulls known in the temperate
zone of our continent. The birds of the tribe, common to Macomb County, are the
herring gull, the ringed-billed, the laughing, and the Bonaparte gulls. The fork-
tail gull is an uncommon visitor. The terns best known here, include the Arctic,
Marsh, Firster's, Wilson's, the little, and the black tern.
The German Stork made his appearance here in 1879, and again in 1880.
MAMMALIA.
Among the many papers on this subject presented to the writer, there is one
specially applicable prepared by J. S. Tibbits. It does not mention the New York
and brown bats, the shrew, and moles which were once known here, yet it deals
fully with the larger mammalia, known to the first settlers of the districts border-
ing on Lake St. Clair. The contributor states : — " Most of the wild animals com-
mon to the State were found in great numbers by the early settlers of this county,
and the descendants of Nimrod and Esau found abundant material upon which to
exercise their favorite pursuit. The animals mostly to be found here were the deer,
bear, wolf, lynx, wild cat, fox, coon, badger, fisher, porcupine, woodchuck, rabbit,
mink, and weasel. The skunk and rat did not make their appearance in the rural
districts for nearly ten years after the first settlements were made. They were
both as great curiosities to me then as the mermaid would be now. My first experi-
ence with a skunk was a sad, though I think a profitable one. A neighbor, having
an open cellar wall, ascertained that a skunk had taken refuge in the wall, and he
offered me ten cents to kill and skin him. Being anxious to gratify my curiosity
to see a skunk, and my ambition to earn an honest penny, I readily undertook the
job. Ascertaining the locality of the animal, I proceeded with a sharpened stick
to dislodge him. Getting down on my knees, I peered into the hole and gave
him a sharp punch with my stick. He immediately resorted to his usual mode of
defense, and discharged a full battery square in my face. I retreated in good
order, though in very bad odor, and have wisley concluded ever since to let every
man skin his own skunks.
The birds common in these early days were the eagle, hawk, turkey-buzzard,
raven, owl, crane, turkey, partridge, duck, wild goose, and a variety of the smaller
birds. The crow, like the skunk and rat, did not make its appearance till a number
of years after the first settlements were made. The turkey-buzzard, so common in
those early days, is seldom or never seen now. This bird resembles the wild turkey
more nearly than any other bird, though by no means so large. It is not a bird of
prey, but, like the raven, lives on carrion. It is a powerful bird on the wing, and
— r- -^ —
"V
® w.
J ^\)h
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 161
soars to great heights, sailing seemingly for hours without a movement of the wings.
The quills are very valuable for writing purposes, and the possession of one was
considered a treasure, inasmuch as with careful usage one would last through a
school term of three or four months.
The wild turkey was very common, and vast flocks of several hundred were
frequently to be met with. The usual mode of hunting them was for two or three
persons to proceed cautiously through the woods till they came upon a flock, then
suddenly fire at random amongst them, the object being to scatter them in all direc-
tions. When thus scattered they will invariably return to the same spot to get to-
gether again, the old ones coming first to call their young together. The hunters,
hid in some secluded place, with their " turkey calls " ready for use, would wait
patiently for the return of the old birds. These turkey-calls consist of the hollow
bone of the turkey's wing, and, in the mouth of an experienced hunter, can be
made to exactly imitate the piping sound of the mother bird when calling her brood
together. Soon the maternal notes of the old birds are heard, and the hunters
respond with their " calls," luring them on to certain destruction. After the old
birds are killed, the young ones fall an easy prey to the unerring aim of the skillful
marksman. The flesh of the wild turkey is esteemed a great luxury, and one of
the most delicious meals I think I ever ate was made from steak cut from the breast
of a 5'oung turkey, fried in butter, and partaken after a hard day's hunt, in which
a companion and myself killed seven large fine birds.
The wild turkey is sometimes caught in pens made of poles, some five or six
feet in height, and covered over the top to prevent their escape. A covered pas-
sage-way is made under the pen large enough for the turkeys to crawl through.
Corn or other grain is scattered in the passage-way and inside the pen. The un-
suspecting birds, seeing the grain, commence picking it up, and thus one after
another crawl through the hole into the pen. "• Once in, forever in," for they never
think of putting their heads down to crawl out again.
Deer were also very abundant, and scarcely a day passed but more or less of
them were seen in and about the clearings. But little skill was required in killing
them, the principal qualification being a steady nerve. During the hot days in the
summer, when the mosquitos and the gnats were troublesome, the deer would
resort to the streams and ponds of water during the night to get rid of their tor-
mentors. Here they would fall an easy prey to the hunter, who, in his canoe, with
a torch at the bow, would row noiselessly about. The deer, seeing the light, would
remain as it were entranced, presenting to the unerring aim of the hunter two
small bright globes of light, between which the fatal bullet was sure to be lodged.
Another mode of hunting the deer, which frequently occasioned rare sport, was by
watching for them on their " run-ways," and shooting them down as they passed.
II
Q.
J.
162 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
One or two persons were stationed on the "run-way," while others with the hounds
would scour the woods to scare up the deer. Whenever one was started it would
invariably make for the " run-way," the hounds and the men or boys following in
hot pursuit. Rarely, indeed, was it the case that he was successful in running the
gauntlet, but usually fell a victim to his ruthless pursuers. A laughable incident
occurred at one of these hunts which is too good to be passed by unnoticed. A
young man came from an Eastern city to visit his country cousins at the West.
Having never seen a deer, and being very anxious to engage in a hunt before his
return, it was soon arranged to have one. Proceeding to the forest, the young
man was stationed on the " run-way," with strict instructions to shoot the deer
when he passed. The boys, with their hounds and guns, commenced scouring the
woods. Soon the deep baying of the hounds was heard, denoting that the game
had been started. Nearer and nearer came the pursuer and the pursued. Suddenly
a fine buck made his appearance, with his noble antlers laid back upon his shoulders
and his white tail aloft in the air. On he sped past the affrighted youth, who stoo'^l
with his rifle cocked, his eyes and mouth wide open, the embodiment of wonder and
astonishment. Hard upon the heels of the deer came the dogs, and soon the boys,
who, seeing their cousin in this ludicrous situation, asked in amazement, " Why he
did not shoot the buck ?" "Buck!" said he, " I haven't seen any buck. I only
saw the devil coming down the hill with a rocking-chair on his head and his white
handkerchief sticking out behind." Wolvcs and bears were more numerous than
agreeable. They were very destructive to the few flocks of sheep and herds of
swine then in the county. They were caught in traps and in dead-falls, and some-
times wolves were inveigled into the folds with the sheep, and captured in that
way. A large pen was made of poles, and so constructed that it was narrowed up
at the top, leaving an opening only a few feet square. Tliis afforded an easy ingress
to the hungry wolf, but an effectual barrier to his escape. He would thus be found
in the morning, having done no harm, and looking very "sheepish," indeed.
A novel mode of trapping the bear was sometimes adopted which proved suc-
cessful. A hallow tree was selected into which a hole was cut of a triangular
shape, with the acute angle at the lower side. The hole was made some seven or
eight feet from the ground, and just large enough for bruin to squeeze his head
through. Inside of the tree, some two or three feet below the hole, was suspended
a piece of meat. The bear, scenting the food, would climb up the tree, and, in his
efforts to get at the meat, would get hung in the acute angle of the hole, from
which it was impossible to extricate himself.
Occasionally a lynx was seen in the swamps in the western part of the county,
but they were extremely shy, and it was rare indeed that one was killed. The
porcupine was more common ; and they proved very troublesome to the hunters'
i
1^
-« ?)
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 103
dogs, which would frequently return from the chase at night with their mouths full
of their sharp quills. It is supposed by many that the hedgehog and porcupine are
identical, but this is a mistake. The only point of resemblance is in their coat of
armor, which consists of long sharp-pointed quills. Whenever these animals are
attacked they double themselves up into a ball, and thus present a formidable
defense. Their quills are easily detached, but I think it is a mistaken idea that
they have the power of throwing off their quills, as some suppose. The hedgehog
is a native of the old world, is small in size, and carnivorous ; whereas the porcu-
pine is a native of the new world, is about the size of the woodchuck, and lives on
roots, vegetables, and wild fruits. The badger and the fisher were occasionally
seen, but they were by no means common. Most of these wild animals, like the
aborigines of the country, have receded before the march of civilization and
improvement, and but few of them can now be found within the limits of the
county.
A soft-shell turtle was caught in Washington in the Summer of 1881. It has
been said that a few of these creatures were seen in the county previously, but this
of 1881 is the first of which there is any record.
Early on the morning of Jan. 14, 1882, an ermine was caught in the cellar of
Edwin Starkweather's house. This is supposed to be the first of that species found
in this portion of Michigan.
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTY
Comprise almost all the orders known in the Northern States. Of the 130 orders
represented in Michigan, fully 107 are common in the country bordering on the
mouth of the Clinton River. The represented genera within Macomb are estimated
at 370, comprising no less than 850 species. New and beautiful flowers are added
annually to the pioneer garden beds of the valley ; wild flowers appear and fade ;
many beautiful colors, well remembered by the old settlers, have disappeared within
the last decade, and thus one of the most beautful features of Nature is undergoing
marked changes.
METEOROLOGICAL.
THE BIG SNOWS.
Tlie traditions of the Chippeways and Wj'^andots point out the years 1755
and 1775 as the Winters of the great snows. Those severe storms, which swept
over the Peninsula within two decades, destroyed great numbers of forest animals,
the bones of which in after years literally encumbered the wilderness.
Within the pioneer period the snow of 1822-3 was the heaviest. It fell to a
depth of four feet on the level, and was accompanied with such an icy current, that
41
,l>
164 HISTORY OF :\IACOMB COUNTY.
large numbers of deer, wolf, and bear perished before its withering advance. In
1830-1 the snow storms set in early in November, and continued throughout the
mouth, destroying the wild animals in large numbers, and inflicting many hard-
ships on the Indians and pioneers. In the month of August, 1831, a severe Irost
set in, which occasioned many serious troubles and disappointments.
THE BLACK DAYS.
On the morning of Sunday, November 8, 1819, the sun rose upon a cloudy
sky, which assumed, as the light grew upon it, a strange greenish tint, varying in
places to an inky blackness. After a short time the whole sky became terribly
dark, dense black clouds filled the atmosphere, and those changes were followed by
a down-pour of rain, which appeared to be something of the nature of soap-suds,
and which was found to have deposited after settling a substance resembling soot.
The atmospliere assumed its usual form that afternoon, and the following day was
dry and frosty. On the morning of Tuesday 10th, heavy clouds again appeared,
changed rapidly from a deep green to a pitchy black, and the sun, when seen occa-
sionally through them, was sometimes of a dark brown, or an unearthly yellow
color, and again bright orange or blood red. The clouds constantly deepened in
color and density, and later on a heavy vapor seemed to descend to the earth, the
day became as dark as night, and the gloom increased or diminished most fitfully.
The French traders looked on the phenomenon with a peculiar curiosity ; while the
Indians were actually alarmed. The more sensible concluded that the Western
pine woods were ablaze, others that the recently explored prairies were burning,
while others stated that a volcanic eruption must be in progress. The Indians
quoted the prophecy that one day the Peninsula would be destroyed by an earth-
quake, while others looked upon the signs, as signaling the close of this world.
About the middle of the afternoon a great body of clouds seemed to rush sud-
denly across the country, and immediately everything was hidden in appalling
darkness. A pause and hush succeeded for a moment, and then a most glaring
flash of electricity flamed over the land — next the thunder seemed to shake the
very earth to its center. Another pause followed, and then fell a slight shower of
rain similar to that which introduced the phenomenon two days previously. After
this shower the day grew brighter, but an hour later it was as dark as ever. An-
other rush of clouds, and another flash of lightning introduced the climax of the
scene. The sky above and around was as black as ink ; but right in one spot, in
mid air above the Indian village, the lightning danced for some minutes in a fairy
circle, then rushed eastward, and was not seen again. The darkest hour had come
and gone. The gloom gradually subsided and gave place to dawn, the people grew
less fearful, tlie real night came on, and when next morning dawned the elements
were at peace, and the world seemed as natural as before.
^f-
J® — i-
^ ©
TORNADO 1835.
Perhaps the best remembered and most extraordinary phenomenon was that
which the people of the northeastern counties witnessed in 1835. On Christmas
day of that j^ear an exceptionally heavy fall of snow covered the ground, which
was followed on the 26th by a mist, and this was succeeded in turn by a drizzling
rain. The rain ceased suddenly, the clouds lowered, grew dark, and assumed such
appearances as would lead the spectator to conclude that this globe was about to
collapse. The storm king at length broke loose, swooped down from the North-
west in black night, uprooting trees, sweeping everything in his track, and bringing
with him such a current of icy air that man and beast, not then in shelter, were
frozen to death. This storm was as sudden as it was phenomenal. It is well remem-
bered by the old settlers, and forms for them a mark on the page of time.
THE METEOR.
The meteor seen November 1, 1857, passing southward, proved to be a most
remarkable one. Its journey was accompanied by a sharp, rumbling sound like
thunder.
THE COMET.
This strange visitor, belonging to that numerous but erratic family whose
movements are so carefully noted by astronomers, and the time of whose entrances
and exits is a matter of mathematical certainty, appeared to the people of this
county, June 30, 1861. Whatever may have been its attributes and peculiarities
one thing is certain, that it has had no rivals in the comet line. Its sudden debut
at that time was the cause of mucli speculation among men of letters as well as
the people in general. It was first visible in a northwesterly direction, when it
appeared like a bright star. It attracted but little attention at first, it being sup-
posed to be a lamp attached to a kite ; but directly a train of light shot up, which
gradually increased in length until it passed the zenith. The nucleus of the comet
when viewed through a glass, presented a very clear and sharply-defined outline,
shining with the brilliancy of a star of the first magnitude. Its motion was in an
easterly direction, and exceedingly rapid. The train of light extended beyond the
constellation, Lyra, and the center of its extremity was directly over the star Vega.
Its length extended over the immense distance of 100"", being 30° lono-er than the
comet of 1843, which extended over a space of only 70°.
The comet of 1881 remained with us for weeks, and disappeared from the view
of citizens of this county, a short time after a portion of its tail separated from the
nucleus and main train. It will be remembered as affording much subject for gossip
during the latter part of the summer of 1881.
V
— ^ ^ ^ \ ^
lOG HISTORY OF 3IAC0MB COUKTY.
ECLIPSE OF THE MOON, 1881.
One of the most sublime astronomical events of 1881 — a total eclipse of the
moon — occurred Sunday morning June 12. The moon appeared above the horizon
at about 8:20 P. M., on the 11th, in its usual brilliancy. When about two and one-
half hours high, it received the first contact with the penumbra of light shadow of
the earth upon its eastern limb, which became slightly dim, and a loss of lunar
light followed as the moon entered the penumbra. Fifty-six minutes then elapsed
without further change in its appearance, while traversing the partial shadow of
the earth ; but when the umbra or dark shadow of our planet was reached, the east-
ern limb of the moon again darkened, suddenly, almost to invisibility. The circu-
lar shape of the earth's shadow was distinctly seen when passing over the face of
the moon. At 12:38 A. M., June 12, the moon was wholly within the umbra, and
the total eclipse commenced. It continued in darkness for an hour or so, when all
was light again.
CHAPTER XL
THE INDIANS.
Before entering upon the history of men and events connected with the county
during the last century, we will inquire into its aboriginal or prehistoric period.
From years coeval with the Columbian era, the Indian, as we know him, made his
presence known to the decaying remnants of the Mound Building Race, who sought
a refuge on this peninsula from the periodical assaults of their barbaric brethren.
The origin of the American Indians, which must always interest and instruct, is
a favorite with the ethnologist, even as it is one of deep concern to the ordinary
reader. The era of their establishment as a distinct and insulated people must be
set down and credited to a period — immediately after the separation of the Asiatic,
after the confusion of language, and the formation of languages. No doubt can
exist, when the American Indian is regarded as of Asiatic origin. The fact is that
the full-blood Indian of pioneer days is descended directly from the original inliabi-
tants of this continent, or in other words from the survivors of that people, who, on
being driven from their fair possessions, retired to the wilderness in sorrow, and
reared up their children under the saddening influences of their unquenchable
griefs, bequeathing them only the habits, manners, and customs of the wild, cloud-
roofed homes of their exile — a sullen silence and a rude moral code — leaving them
ignorant of the arts and sciences which, undoubtedly, marked the period of their
prosperity.
1^ <^x>^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 167
In after years those wild sons of the forest and the prairie grew in numbers
and in strength, yet minus even a tradition to point out the rise and fall of their
fathers. However, some legend told them of their present sufferings, of the high
station which their progenitors once had held, and of the riotous race that now
reveled in a wealth, which should be theirs. The fierce passions of the savages
were aroused, and uniting their scattered bands, all marched in silence upon the
villages of the Tartars, driving them onwards to the capital of their Incas, and
consigning tlieir homes to flames. Once in view of the great city, the hurrying
bands halted in surprise. Tartar cunning took the advantage of the situation, and
offered to the sons of their former victims pledges of amity and justice — pledges
which were sacredly observed. Henceforth Mexico was open to the children of the
Mound Builders, bearing precisely the same social and commercial relation to them,
that the Hudsons Bay company's posts do the northwestern Indians of the present
day — obtaining all — offering little in return.
The subjection of the Mongolian race, represented in North America by that
branch, to which those Tartars belonged, seems to have taken place about five
centui'ies prior to the arrival of the Spaniards ; while it may be concluded that the
war of the races, which resulted in the reduction of those villages erected by the
Tartar hordes, took place between one and two hundred years later. These state-
ments, though actually referring to events which in point of time, are compara-
tively modern, can be substantiated only by the fact that, about the periods
mentioned, the dead bodies of an unknown race of men were washed upon the
European coasts ; while previous to that time there is no account in European
annals of even a vestige of trans-Atlantic humanity being transferred by ocean cur-
rents to the shores of the eastern world. Toward the latter part of the first half
of the Fifteenth Century, two dead bodies, entirely free from decomposition, and
corresponding with the physical characteristics of the red man as afterwards seen
by Columbus, were cast ashore on the Azores — a circumstance which confirmed
the great, the illustrious discoverer of this continent in his belief that a Western
world and a Western people existed and waited recognition.
Storm, flood, disease, whisky, have created sad havoc in the ranks of the
aborigines since the occupation of the country by the while man. Inherent causes
have led in a greater degree to the dissemination of the race even more than the
advance of civilization, which seems not to affect it materially. In the mainte-
nance of the same number of representatives during three centuries, and its exist-
ence in the very face of a most unceremonious, and whenever necessary, cruel
conquest, the grand dispensations of the Unseen Ruler are demonstrated ; for, with-
out the aborigines, savage and treacherous as they were, it is possible that the
Spanish and French explorers, would have so many natural difficulties to contend
\s
<s-
(a_
J)
168 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
against, that thev would surrender their work in despair, and fly from a continent,
which their knowledge, zeal, and perseverance gave to the world. It can not be
questioned that the ultimate resolve of Columbus was strengthened by the appear-
ance of Indian corpses on the Eastern shores of the Atlantic, even as it is conceded
that the existence of savages in the interior led the Spanish and French missionary
priests from savage village to village, until the entire continent from the Arctic
regions to Patagonia was known to the civilized world. From such a stand-point
the position of the Indian in the economy of the Divinity must be acknowledged,
and the services which he has rendered to civilization held in high esteem. It
would not be a matter for surprise to learn, that the same spirit which crushed the
power of tyranny at Yorktown 100 years ago, and sent a thrill of liberty through-
out the world, would offer to the remnant of a great and ancient race — a lasting
peace.
THE OTCHIPWE INVASION.
During the second decade of the Sixteenth Century, about the year 1519-20,
the Otchipwes or Chippewas gained possession of the district from the mouth of
the Kawkawlin to the river, now known as the Clinton, called by the French
Reviere aux Hurons. At this time the great struggle for tribal supremacy took
place, and the last Sauk warrior fell before the advancing Chippewas in the valley
of the Saginaw. Throughout all this district, particularly along its rivers and
streams, may be found mounds filled with human bones, scattered round in all
directions, showing, unmistakably, that they were cast together without regularity,
and telling of fierce and sanguinary battles. So early as 1834, a few aged Indians
resided on the shores of Lake Huron ; each of them was questioned regarding the
ancient history of his nation, and each of them was not slow to relate the tradition
of his tribe, so far as it related to the Chippewa conquest of Northern and Western
Michigan. At length the old chief — Puttasamine — was interviewed in the presence
of Peter Gruette, a half-breed, well known from Detroit to Mount Clemens, and
westward still to Mackinac. Gruette acted as interpreter, and as a result the
following valuable legendary sketch comes down to us. Puttasamine said the
Sauks occupied the whole country from Thunder Bay on the north, to the head
waters of the Shiawassee, and from the mouth of Grand River to tliat of the Huron
north of Detroit. The rest of the country was occupied by the Pottawatomies,
the Lake Superior country by the Otchipwes and Ottawas, the Monomonies round
Green Bay, and the Sioux west of the Mississippi. The main village of the Sauk
nation stood on the west side of the Saginaw River, near its mouth ; and from that
place were accustomed to rush forth to war with the Chippewas on the north and
the Pottawatomies on the south, and also with other nations in Canada. At length
a council was called consisting of Otchipwes, Pottawatomies, Monomonies, Otta-
-®
^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 169
was, and six nations of New York, whicli council assembled on the island of Mack-
inaw, and where it decided on a war of extermination. The chiefs summoned the
warriors, a large army was organized, and embarking in bark canoes, started down
the west shore of Lake Huron, arriving at Saginaw Bay, the warriors started over
the waters by night, lay concealed during the day, and so continued their advance
until they arrived at a place called Petobegong, about ten miles above the mouth
of the Saginaw River. There they disembarked a portion of the army, while the
main division crossed the bay and made a landing on the east bank of the estuary
of the Saginaw, in the night. Next morning both divisions started up the river so
as to attack the eastern and western towns at the same time. The warriors on
the west bank attacked the main village, surprised the inhabitants, and massacred
almost every man, woman and child to be found there — the few survivors escaping
across the river to another village, which occupied the site of the Portsmouth.
The eastern division of the allies came up to the village, which then occupied
the site of Bay City, where a desperate battle was fought. Notwithstanding the
favorable position held by the Sauks, they were defeated and great numbers slain —
the survivors retreating, some into the eastern wilderness, others seeking refuge on
Skull Island. Here the refugees considered themselves safe, as the enemy did not
appear to possess any canoes ; but the season offered the invader, that which art
denied; for on the next niglit, the ice was found sufficiently thick to warrant a
crossing, which circumstance enabled the allies to advance on the island. Here
nothing was left of the Sauks, save twelve women, and those who fled eastward to
the river country. The victory was as decisive as it was bloody. The victors
reviewed their forces, and then divided, some proceeding up the Cass (formerly the
Huron) and the Flint; others up the Shiawassee, Tittabawasink, and spread over
the land.
The most important battles were fought against other tribes in the neighbor-
hood of the Flint bluffs, and eastward to Detroit ; but of such Puttasamine could
recount very little.
After the extermination of the Sauk warriors, the twelve women referred to,
remained for disposal, and so important did they appear, that a council of the allies
was held to decide their fate. Some were for torturing them to death ; others
recommended mercy ; while others still argued that they should be sent west of the
Mississippi. Tlie last proposition was carried, and an arrangement made with the
Sioux, that no tribe should molest them, that they should be responsible for their
protection. The Sioux warriors and women kept their promises faithfully.
The conquered country was divided among the allies as a common hunting
ground ; but great numbers of them who engaged in the chase, never returned,
nor could any tidings of them be found, for which reason it became the settled
^1
ry®__w
170 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
opinion of the Indians, that the spirits of their victims haunted the hunting
grounds and were killing off their warriors. In reality the disappearance of many
a warrior was due to the fact, that a few Sauks, who had escaped the massacre, still
lingered round the old and well-known hunting grounds, watching for the strag-
gling conquerors, and slaying them whenever opportunity offered.
Tondogong, an Indian chief, who died in 1840, at a very advanced age, has left
the record behind, that in his boyliood, about eighty years ago, he killed a Sauk.
Even up to the year 1850, the old Indians of the north-eastern counties of Michi-
gan believed there was a solitary Sauk still to be seen in the forests of their lands ;
they had seen the place where he had made his fires and slept. For days after such
a discovery they would not leave their camp grounds — " tliere is a Sauk in the
zvoods, and they had seen ivhere he built his fires and slept.^^
The close of the drama is within the history of our own times. We have seen
the Otchipwes in all their villages. The Sixteenth Century had not closed, wlien
this tribe boasted of power in number and intelligence ; finally the Otchipwe lan-
guage predominated, until at the present time it is spoken among Indians from the
Arctic Circle south to latitude 40''. Puttasaniine, or Puttaquasamine, born about
the year 1729, stated that the tradition was related to him when a boy, by his
grandfather, ninety years previous to 1834, and further that it had been handed
down to his grandfather from his ancestors, and was a custom with him to repeat it
often to his people, so that their tradition or history should not be lost.
THE MIAMIES AND POTTAW ATOMIES.
Western Ohio, Southern Michigan and the country now comprised in the State
of Indiana were once in possession of the Miamies, one of the branches of the
powerful Algonquin tribe, that interposed between the tribes of the Six Nations,
of the northern lake shores, and the Mobilian tribes of the Atlantic slopes. Their
claim to this territory was proven in the great conclave at Greenville, Ohio, in 1795,
immediately prior to entering into the treaty. On this occasion, Macliikinaqua, a
chief and orator of the Miamies, addressing Gen. Wayne, said : " My forefather
kindled the first fires at Detroit ; thence he extended his lines from the head waters
of the Scioto River ; thence to its mouth ; thence down the Ohio to the mouth of
the Wabash ; thence to Chicago and Lake Michigan ; these are the boundaries
wherein the prints of my ancestors' houses are everywhere to be'seen." Historians
have acknowledged the truth and claim of the Miami chief, confirming many of his
statements regarding other people's inhabiting his territory. The Delaware Indians
driven before the incoming European colonists ; the Shawonoes from the South
forced to move northward by the Aztecs of the Southwest, or the Mobilians of the
Southeast, and the Otchipwes and Pottawatomies of the northern regions. Lagio,
<s
^9 ,
J '' * > ^ ^ )^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 171
an Indian chief, referring to the immigration of the latter, maintained that a very-
long time since, the Great Spirit sent upon the Pottawatomies a severe Winter,
and they came over the hard water of Lake Michigan and asked the privilege of
hunting until Spring ; that the Miamies granted it ; that they returned home in the
Spring, and the next Winter came back, and would never return to Lake Superior
again.
REIGX OF THE CHOLERA.
The cholera entered the Indian settlements in 1823-4, and tended to increase
the prevailing dread of some impending disaster. Providence, however, ruled that
the pioneers should suffer alone from financial reverses, while the Indians should be
carried away by disease. A large number of the doomed race, then dwelling in
the county, perished ; many fled to the wilderness to seek a hiding place, where the
Great Spirit could not find them to pursue them with his vengeance. Even the
wild woods did not shelter the poor savages from the terrible scourge. Throughout
the forest, along the banks of each river and stream, the echoes of their dismal
shrieks resounded, for a short while, and then died away in death. Happy Indians !
They survived not to witness the sacred circles of their fathers, the burial grounds
of their race, upturned by the plow, or covered with the homes and factories of
civilized man ; they were spared at least, this last and most terrible affliction. The
soldiers were attacked by the disease at Fort Gratiot at the same time. The poor
fellows flying from the pestilence, found a resting place near John Tucker's house,
and a friend in the owner.
INDIAN TREATIES.
The treaty of Fort Mcintosh, negotiated Jan. 21, 1785, granted to the United
States the military post of Detroit, with a district, beginning at the mouth of the
River Rosine, on the west end of Lake Erie, and running west six miles up tlie
southern bank of the Rosine, thence northerly, and always six miles west of the
strait, until it strikes the lake, St. Clair. Among the signers of this treaty, were
Geo. Clarke, Richard Butler, Arthur Lee, Daunghquat, Abraham Kuhn, Ottawa-
verri, Hobocan, Walindightun, Taxapoxi, Wingenum, Packalant, Gingewanno,
Waanoos, Konalawassee, Shawnqum, and Quecookkia. This treaty was the first
which regarded any portion of Macomb County. The Indians of the Chippewa
tribe on the Huron of Lake St. Clair were not represented by any of their chiefs
but it is supposed that Waanoos was commissioned by them to acquiesce in the
general opinion of the Council, holden at Fort Mc hi tosh.
TREATY OF GREENVILLE.
This treaty was negotiated by Gen. Anthony Wayne August 3, 1795. It was
stipulated that the post at Detroit, and all the land to the north, the west, and the
â– ^cr
(a.
5,[^
172 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
south of it, of which the Indian title was extinguished by grants to the French or
EnGflish Governments : and so much more land to be annexed to the district of
Detroit as is comprehended between the River Rosine on the south, Lake St. Clair
on the north, and a line, the general course whereof shall be six miles distant from
the west end of Lake Erie, and Detroit River should be ceded to the United States.
Among the Pottawatomies of the Huron who signed the treaty were Okia, Charaung,
Segagewau, Nanaume, Agin, Marchand and Wenemeac. The Otchipwe signers
were Mashipiiiashiwish, Nahshogashe, Kathanasung, Masass, Nemekass, Peshawkay,
Nanguey, Meenedohgeesogh, Peewanshemenogh, Weymegwas, and Gobmoatick.
Among the Wyandots who signed were Tarhe, or Crane^ J. Williams, Jr., Shatey-
yaronyah, or Leather-lips, and Haroenpou.
TREATY OF DETROIT.
The treaty was made by William Hull, U. S. Commissioner, and the Indians
of the district November 17, 1807. Under its provisions all the territory beginning
at the mouth of the Miami River of the Lakes, running thence to the mouth of the
great Au Glaize River, thence due north until it intersects a latitudinal line to be
drawn from the outlet of Lake Huron, which forms the River Sinclair, thence
running northeast in the course, that may be found, will lead in a direct line, to
White Rock in Lake Huron, thence due east until it intersects the boundaiy line
between the United States and Upper Canada, in said lake, thence southwardly,
following the said boundary line, down said lake, through River Sinclair, Lake St.
Clair, and the River Detroit, into Lake Erie, to a point due east of the Miami
River, and thence west to the mouth of the Miami River, was ceded to the United
States.
From this cession the following^ lands were reserved for tlie sole use of the
Indians : — Six square miles on the Miami above Roche de Boeuf, two in the village
where Tondagonie, or The Dog, now lives ; three square miles including Presque
Isle, four square miles on the Miami Bay, including the villages of Meskeman and
Wangare ; three square miles at Macon, on the River Raisin, fourteen miles from
the mouth of the Raisin ; two sections on the Range, at Seginsiwin's village ; two
sections at Tonquish's village near the Rouge River, three miles square on Lake
St. Clair, above the River Huron to include Makornse's or Macompte's village,
together with six square miles to be selected by the Indians. Together with those
reservations, a sum of $10,000 was granted by the United States to bp distributed
equitably among the Pottawatomies, Otchipwes, Wyandotte, and Ottawa Indians
then living in the district ceded under the treaty.
The Indians who signed this treaty were the Chippewas, Peewanshemenogh,
Mamanshegauta, or had legs, Poquaquet, Kiosk, Puckenese, or the spark of fire ;
<a k.
-^ ^t^^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 173
Nemekas, Qiiicoaqiiish, Negig ; the Pottawattomies were Tonquisb, Skush, Nin-
newa ; and the Wyandots Skahomat, Miere, or loalk-in-the-water^ and lyonayotaha.
Whitteniore Knaggs and William Walker were interpreters.
THE TREATY OF BROWNSTOWN.
The Treaty of Brownstown, made November 25, 1808, was an amendatory
treaty. Hull was the acting commissioner, assisted by Reuben Atwater, Secretary
of Michigan Territory; Judge James Wetherell, Jacob Visger, District Judge ; Jos.
Watson, Secretary, L. M. T.; William Brown, Barney Campeau, Lewis Bond,
A. Lyons, Whittemore Knaggs, William Walker, F. Duchouquet, and Samuel
Sanders.
The treaties of later years negotiated by Mr. Schoolcraft or Gen Cass contained
numerous provisions regarding the Indians of Macomb. From 1830 to 1837, the
Otchipwes and mongrel savages inhabiting Macomb County saw plainly that their
old hunting grounds were soon to pass out of their possession. In the former year
those children of Nature entered upon that westward movement, and in the latter
their last reserve in this county was parceled out for sale to the men of enterprise
and industry who came hither about that time to enter on that earnest labor which
has raised the county to its present status. Henry Tucker accompanied the In-
dians to their Western reserve.
TREATY OF SAGINAW.
The treaty of Saginaw, 1819, was the most important of all the treaties affect-
ing Indian titles in Michigan. Okemawkekehto, referred to in another page, was
the chief orator of the tribe. Addressing General Cass, he said : " You do not know
our wishes. My 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 trespass upon our hunting grounds — they flock to our shores. Our waters
grow warm ; our lands melt like a cake of ice ; our possessions grow smaller and
smaller, the warm wave of the white man rolls in upon 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." General Cass responded, Louis Beaufort, Whitte-
more Knaggs, Gabriel Godfrey, Louis Campeau, Henry Connor, John Hasson and
others followed General Cass, and to their temperate, logical language is due the
negotiation of a treaty which opened up the whole Northern Peninsula to the
people who now occupy it.
®
174 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY,
WELL-KNOWN SAVAGES.
Macompte or Cum-e-kum-e-non. — About the center of the eastern boundary of
the township of Chesterfield, on the shore of Lake Saint Clair, stood the Indian
reservation, where resided for many years the chief of the tribes, Macompte. This
chief was well beloved by his nation ; in fact, his voice was the oracle of his
people, his nod the law of his empire. There was, however, in this region a king
greater and mightier to destroy than he. This king still reigns, while the warrior
of the Indians "sleeps the sleep that knows no waking." He was slain by this
king, -whose name is Alcohol. His death was a tragic one. It seems that Macompte
had been paying a familiar visit to his bosom friend the king, and had partaken too
freely of the hospitality of his host. Towards evening the chief went down to the
river, and, with a precipitous rush, glided down its banks into the water, and was
drowned. In his suicidal intent he passed the residence of Stockton and Clemens.
The wife of the former gentleman heard the hurried tread of the unfortunate chief
as he passed on to the river, and heard the splash when he struck the water. Mrs.
Stockton's testimony was the only direct evidence that tended to convince the
Indians that his melancholy death was voluntary, — that he had not been murdered
by the white man, as the ever-suspicious nature of the Indian led them to suppose.
The event caused considerable excitement through the entire settlement. This
reservation was located in the southeast part of the township of Chesterfield. The
body was found the day after the suicide by John Tucker, and the Indians. It was
buried in the orchard of John Tucker, on P. C. 129 Harrison. It was wrapped in
a blue broadcloth blanket, bound by silver brooches, while the hat was ornamented
with silver bands, a string of sixteen silver crescents, and silver arm bands com-
pleted the ornamentation of the dead chief's body. All that has been disturbed in
connection with this grave was a small piece of the enwrapping blanket, taken as
a curiosity by David Tucker about the year 1840-1. All stories of other inter-
ference are without foundation.
Old Macompte, the father of Cum-e-kum-e-non and Francis, died about 1816,
and was buried in the sand banks beyond New Baltimore. Two men. Van Epps and
Beebe, visited the grave, exhumed a brass rifle, and eloped with the prize. Shortly
after this Francis Macompte and other Indians, who had gone West under Henry
Tucker to select a reservation, returned to this point. The former found his father's
grave tampered with, he discovered who were the actors in the affair, brought them
before the court at Mount Clemens, where the matter was settled on payment of
$60.
Francis Macompte then became chief, with Truckatoe as sub-chief. The latter
became dissatisfied about the Indian Reserve, and moved with several members of
the band to Lakeville about 1830. Next under him was Canope, said to be impli-
"S
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 175
cated in the abduction of the Finch child, a saying without any foundation what-
ever beyond the fact that the Indian loved the boy, and seemed determined to
adopt him.
Those Indians were generally peaceful, and were present at almost all the bees
of the olden time, not to labor by any means, but to run pony races, and trade with
the Americans.
Wittaniss was one of the sub-chiefs of the Huron Indians so early as 1776.
He was a devoted attache of the British commandants of Detroit, and shared with
his brother Indians and British soldiery in all the dastardly acts which marked the
great effort to sustain the reign of tyranny and persecution on this continent. This
cowardly red-skin and his band made many attempts on the life of Richard Connor
some years later. The American pioneer was compelled to be always c-n his guard
against the treachery of those savages. After the purchase of the Moravian village by
Askins and Ancram, the latter appointed Wittaniss caretaker. In his new office, the
Indian chief essayed to act the Irish land agent, and accordingly tried to evict Connor ;
but the new settler frustrated "all his designs, treated him to a severe beating, and
otherwise made life so hideous for the malicious savage, that he was glad to seek
refuge in the grave a day or so after the British power was for ever broken in the
United States.
Keneobe, of Romeo, was present on the treaty ground at Saginaw in Septem-
ber, 1819. The harsh statements made regarding his connection with the abduc-
tion of the Finch boy have long since been proven without foundation. In 1827
Keneobe moved into Canada, stayed some time there, and returned to give assu-
rances that the reports concerning him were without foundation. He was a savage
of good parts, and an earnest friend of the American settlers of Northern Macomb.
An equally bad Indian, bearing a similar name, succeeded Wittaniss, senior.
The circumstances which surrounded this fellow urged him to adopt a policy of
conciliation towards the American settlers, which policy was carried out. The last
Wittaniss was an old man when he left the county in 1830.
Tipsikaw was the athlete of the band near Romeo. He was a powerful
savage, well built, and, it is said, capable of running down wolves, bears, and, in
some instances, deer. While hunting in the neighborhood of Almont he dislocated
his shoulder. Dr. Gleason was called to his aid. All the doctor's physical power
was not sufficient to replace the dislocated bone, so he tied the arm of the warrior
to a tree, and then directed him to draw his body forward. This plan was success-
ful, and Tipsikaw was again ready to resume the chase. This Indian left the
county in 1837 or 1838. In 1874 he revisited his old hunt grounds, and was found
weeping b}' one of the early settlers opposite the site of his former village.
Tonadoganow was the head chief of the Otchipwe nation. This honor be-
es r- ""^ §)
17G HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
^ g)[^
longed to him on account of his debating powers, acute understanding, and great
prowess in the hunt. He was ugly in every sense. He wore only a hunting shirt
from April until September, and this hung loosely from his hunch-back. This In-
dian was accustomed to make periodical visits to the bands in Macomb County, was
a great factor in the negotiation of two of the treaties referred to in this chapter,
and well known to the first French and American settlers of Mt. Clemens and
Romeo.
Okemawkeketo was chief of the tribe for years previous to the reign of Tona-
doganow. He received from the hereditary chief, Miscobenasa, power to administer
the office of chief. Old Misco and Okemawkeketo were noble savages, and well-
known to the pioneers of this county.
Notaquoto, a short, ugly, powerful savage was well known to all he early set-
tlers. To give an idea of this Indian, Wm. J. Tucker relates that a few Indian
ponies happened to stray into Sterling township, where they were stabled by Jim
Bruce. This settler was unaware of the danger of such a proceeding, and his mur-
der for the act was only averted by the timely interference of C. G. Cady, then resid-
ing at his present house in Sterling. Mr. Cady was returning from church, when
he met the Indian. Asking him where he was going, the savage played with the
tomahawk and replied that he was going to see Jim Bruce. " He has my horses," said
Notaquoto, " and I will murder him." Cady prevailed upon the Indian to wait,
while he himself went to Bruce 's. He advised Bruce to set the animals at large,
which advice was taken, and Notaquoto returned to his reserve with his property.
THE EAGLE CHIEF.
The following verses, written by J. E. Day in 1860, refer to the visit of an
Indian to this district, who in his childhood called it home:
The Autumn sun fades slowly from the sky,
And dimly shines his parting light,
Across the clearing shadows swiftly fly,
The harbingers of coming night.
The forest warblers seek their nightly rest,
The cricket pipes his evening lay,
While here and there a few dim stars appear.
As if to haste the setting sun away.
The place in beauty and in silence sleeps —
No dissonance disturbs the scene ;
But dimly 'nealh the moon there comes a form
Of stately step, of haughty mien,
His stately tread, his light, elastic step.
His form which age has slightly 'bent.
His swarthy cheek and ornamented breast
Bespeak the Indian lineament.
^
<a"
S-
-^ — 4>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
177
Why stands he there so stern, cold and still,
Whose deeds have challenged men's belief^^
The setting sun of Sonago's daring race,
Powontonamo — " Eagle Chief ? "
He lifts his eyes in silence and despair,
That much their ancient fire impart.
As mem'ry sweeping o'er him but displays,
In broken, but unconquered heart.
Thirty long years have passed away since last.
He visited the land he stands on now ;
It is a spot of earth well known to him,
Though furrowed by the white man's plow,
And changed, alas ! to him, how sadly changed ;
For buried 'neath its surface lie
The only offspring of the Eagle Chief.
And his young bride — the Sunny Eye.
He gazed upon the mountain's shaded brow ;
The clouds that floated o'er his head.
The river and the trees his youth had known,
Though leafless now and dark and dead.
These, still, had left the old familiar look —
O'er all the rest a change had crept.
He thought of this, and as the night came on
He bowed his warrior head and wept.
"The white man's ax" he said, "has been here too.
The oak I planted in my youthful pride.
And watched long years with manhood's care.
And the sweet vine that climbed its side,
Have felt the blow, and withered much too soon.
My bride I claimed beneath its shade,
And 'neath it our young babes have gamboled oft,
And 'neath it their short lives were laid.
12
-y:
" Down yonder stream the Indian's light canoe
Would shoot, like wild bird on the wing.
And yonder mountain side would echo back,
The war cry of our Council ring.
But all is changed. The white man's power has drove
Us from our home to slowly die ;
And now this oak and vine are emblems fit
Of Eagle Chief and Sunny Eye."
What wonder that the Eagle's bosom swelled,
And manhood's tears ran o'er his eheek.
As memory brought before him all the Past,
His plans, his wishes, all a wreck.
-f^
<^ C - -^— — 9
178 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
But mid his grief his pride and anger rose,
To his dark eye the light had come,
He strewed the broken arrows o'er the grave,
And then the Eagle Chief was gone.
Fisher, a half-breed, who married a sister of Francis Macompte, committed
suicide about 1852. It appears he made a cruel husband, so that Macompte took
his wife from him, and presented him with an English rifle, as better suited to him
than a wife. Fisher and the rifle lived quietly together for some years, when he
returned to the Salt River Reserve, and there shot himself through the heart.
About the same time a dog feast was held by the Indians on the Tucker
farm.
iVeoTwe, the chief of the largest division of the Chippewas, occupied and assumed
to control the southern portion of the tribal domain. The Flint River, with its
northern affluents, was left a little north of the border in full Indian possession by
the Treaty of 1807. It was called by the savages Pewonunkening, or the River of
the Flint, and by the early French traders La Pierre ; the latter also called the ford
a few rods below the present Flint City bridge Grrand Traverse, while to the village
in the neighborhood of the ford the Indians gave the name Mus-cu-ta-iva-ingh, which
translated means the open plain burned over.
In point of geographical location, the chief Neome and his powerful band stood
on the very threshold of the trail leading to the Northwest. To any one standing
at Detroit and looking northerly to the land lying west of the Lake and River St.
Clair, it was plain that Neome stood indeed a lion in the path unless well disposed
toward the American settlers. The old chief was honest and simple-minded ;
evincing but little of the craft and cunning of his race ; sincere in bis nature ; by
no means astute ; firm in his friendships ; easy to be persuaded by any benefactor
who should appeal to his Indian sense of gratitude ; harmless and kind-hearted.
In stature he was short and heavily molded. With his own people he was a chief
of patriarchal goodness, and his name was never mentioned by his people except
with a certain veneration, and in more recent years with a traditionary sorrow,
more impressive in its mournful simplicity than a labored epitaph.
Keshkawko. — In April, 1825, the Saginaw savage — Kesh-kaw-ko — killed a
Huron warrior at Detroit, on the spot now forming the center of the D. & M. R. R.
depot. The dead Indian was taken to a blacksmith's shop, then occupying the site
of the Russell House, where the coroner, Benjamin Woodworth, lield an inquest.
Kesh-kaw-ko and his son were interned in the old fort, after the jury declared the
older savage guilty, and the coroner sent him to await trial ; a squaw brought the
chief some hemlock, which he drank eagerly, and died. His son, who was no
party to the deed, escaped. He sought a trail homewards by the Clinton River,
k^
|-
:^
J^P=±:
was recognized by some of the Hurons, and pursued almost to the camping ground
of his tribe.
This Chippewa desperado, and his son Chemick, were among the principal British
allies of the War of 1812. Both were known to the pioneers of Macomb, for in
that quarter of the Peninsula those ruffians, with their followers from the Saginaw,
attacked men, women and children indiscriminately. They did not enter into any
battles — their warfare being only against the defenceless or unwary.
OKEMOS.
This well-known Indian, a nephew of Pontiac, and once the head chief of the
Otchipwe nation, was born near Knagg's Station on the Shiawassee, about the year
1763. The earliest account of him states that he went forth on the war-path in
1793. In the Lege^ids of the Northwest by Judge Littlejohn, the old chief is intro-
duced in 1803. Okemos took a prominent part in the battle of Sandusky, which
won for him the name of the greatest warrior and the chief of his tribe. It appears
that himself, his cousin Man-i-to-corh-way^ with sixteen other warriors enlisted
under the British flag, formed a scouting party in search of American scalps, and
ultimately reached the British rendezvous at Sandusky. Speaking of this period,
the old scalp-taker said : " One morning while lying in ambush near a road lately
cut for the passage of the American army and supply wagons, we saw twenty cav-
alry men approaching Us. Our ambush was located on a slight ridge, with brush
directly in our front. We immediately decided to attack the Americans although
they out-numbered us. Our plan was first to fire and cripple them, and then make
a dash with the tomahawk. We waited until they came so near that we could
count the buttons on their coats, when firing commenced. The cavalrymen with
drawn sabres immediately charged upon the Indians. The plumes of the cavalry
men looked like a flock of a thousand pigeons just hovering for a lighting. Myself
and my cousin fought side by side, loading and firing, while dodging from one cover
to another. In less than ten minutes after the firing begun the sound of a bugle
was heard, and casting our eyes in the direction of the sound we saw the roads and
woods filled with cavalry. The Indians were immediately surrounded, and every
man cut down. All were left for dead upon the field. Myself and my cousin had
our skulls cloven, and our bodies gashed in a fearful manner. The cavalrymen
before leaving the field, in order to be sure life was extinct, would lean forward
from their horses, and pierce the breasts of the Indians even into their lungs. The
last I remember is, that after emptying one saddle, and springing toward another
soldier, with clubbed rifle raised to strike, ray head felt as if pierced with a red-hot
iron, and I went down from a heavy sabre cut. All knowledge ceased from this
time until many moons afterward, when I found myself nursed by the squaws of
180
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
friends who had found me where I fell two or three days after the engagement.
The squaws thought all were dead ; but upon moving the bodies of myself and
Manitocorhivay, signs of life appeared, and we were taken to a place of safety where
we were nursed until restored to partial health."
Okemos and his cousin never took part in a battle since that time having satis-
fied themselves that they were wrong then.
Shortly after his recovery he asked Colonel Gabriel Godfroy, father of Richard
Godfrey of Grand Rapids, to intercede for him with General Cass, which resulted
in a treaty between the United States and himself and other chiefs — a treaty faith-
fully observed. In 1837, the small-pox and other causes tended to scatter the band
near Knagg's Station, where they were located. Previous to this time he was ac-
customed to wear a blanket-coat with belt, steel pipe, hatchet, tomahawk, and a
long, English hunting knife. He painted his cheeks and forehead with vermillion,
wore a shawl around his head a la Turc and leggings. The old scalp-taker for the
English died in his wig-wam a few miles from Lansing, and was buried at Shim-
nicon, in Ionia County, December 5, 1858.
A LEGEND OP CUSICK LAKE.
That as beautiful a spot as Cusick Lake has remained as long as it has, with-
out its appropriate legend, is somewhat curious. That it was a place greatly ad-
mired and frequented by the red man iscertain. The beautiful banks densely covered
as they once were, with forest trees, before vandalism had done it work on them,
could not have failed to attract and please the children of nature. Over on the
island under the murmuring pine and hemlock in the " moon of leaves," the scalp-
locked warrior whispered sweet nothings in the ear of his dusky maid and boasted
of his prowess in the chase and the field. To Miss Hayner belongs the honor of
bringing the poem to light, and of preserving this incident in the history of the
county.
Day into night had almost grown,
And all was still and silent and lone,
And the long night shadows began to break,
Across the surface of Cusick Lake ;
When out of the dark and shady wood,
A maid moved out, and silent stood,
And gazed across to the other bank,
Where the willows grew so thick and rank.
That morn her father, a hunter bold.
Had left his daughter— Edith Gold,
While he should go to a distant fort,
To tell the men of a faint report.
Of how tlie Indians late that night.
After the moon had sank from sight,
Would creep out in the deepest shade.
And on the fort make a wild, wild raid.
The hunter, as he left that morn,
Told his daughter not to mourn,
While he was gone to the fort to warn.
He said that ere the sun sank low.
He should have warned them of the foe;
And when upon her ears should fall,
Her fatlier's well-known signal call.
She must launch the birch canoe.
And meet liim where the willow grew.
Hut the sunset hour had come and passed.
And the twilight rays were fading fast;
At length it grew so dark and late.
"e)
J^
-^ — ^t^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
181
She went to the bank, to watch and wait ;
She looked away to the other side.
And still she looked, and looking, sighed.
The darkness hovered closer round.
The shadows thickened on the ground,
The moon came up with silvery light.
And gazed upon that lonely sight ;
There in the edge of the forest shade,
With anxious look, stood the woodland maid ;
Her hair all streaming to the night ;
Her face all pale and gleaming white
Is lifted to the arching sky,
While she besought her God on high
To shield her father on his way,
And lead him from where dangers lay.
All round 'tis still as silent death.
Naught is stirred by a single breath,
But hark ! was it, was that a sound,
That stirred the still night air around ?
She gasps for breath, she peers across
To where the breeze makes the willows toss ;
Is it all a fancy, or does she see
A form in the shade of the waving tree?
Quickly she turned and made way to
The place where lay the birch canoe.
Then came the well-known signal cry,
Now to the rescue she must fly ;
She takes her place, she seizes oar,
And swiftly pushes from the shore,
The water eddies round the boat.
The lilies swiftly past her float,
The little pine wood point is passed.
The trees and banks receding fast,
Her boat is far out in the lake,
When a wild, blood-curdling yell doth break
All harshly on the still night air.
A moment she let her oars droop,
For she knows 'tis the Indians' wild war whoop
That sets the echoes all in chase
Around that lone and silent place.
But now she seizes oar again,
With doubled strength and giddy brain
She sends the little birch canoe
Fairly flying onward, through
The waters of the placid lake.
Hark ! a cry from the willow's shade,
" Edith, be quick !" it said to the maid ;
"On, on, brave girl! one effort more.
And you will touch on the island shore."
She gathers all her strength,
She throws it on the oar.
But see ! it breaks, it breaks.
And she's not yet at shore.
The hunter tried, but all in vain,
His daughter and the boat to gain.
Their savage foes soon seized and bound.
No mercy at their hands they found ;
And when the sun rose o'er the hill,
There hunters found them lying still —
No motion, groan, or faintest breath.
But stiff and cold in silent death.
Their white friends made a double grave
In which to lay the fair and brave.
Upon the island a lonely mound.
That marks the spot, may still be found.
Many a time have mirth and song
Mingled and floated the trees among.
'Neath which the hunter, brave and bold.
Sleeps with his daughter, Edith Gold.
^
?
EARLY TRADERS AND INTERPETERS.
Henry Connor^ or Wali-be-sken-dip, was superior to all the traders of that
period in disposition and manner. He was a man possessing great muscular strength,
yet gentle as a child, and only physically powerful where justice should be enforced
or some important point carried. He was a faithful interpreter between the Indian
counselors and United States commissioners during the treaty negotiations. After
the treaty of 1819, he entered on a trader's life, and continued to the close to merit
the confidence and esteem of the savages, Frenchmen, and Americans. Connor
was present at the death of Tecumseh, October 5, 1813, when James Whitty
encountered the great Indian and killed him. Whitty and Gen. Johnson, he stated,
(2 4^ .^ «) ^
182 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
attacked the warrior simultaneously; but the former began and ended that act in
the battle of the Thames.
Henry Nelson^ another Indian trader known to the old settlers of Macomb,
removed from the Huron to the Saginaw district in 1821, and thence with the In-
dians to Isabella County, where he died a few years ago.
The *S'^ Martins were an old and respectable family. The first of the name
who came to America was Adhemar Sieur de St. Martin. He settled in Quebec
and held the office of Royal Notary as early as 1660. One of his grand-children
came to Detroit in 1740. In April, 1750, is recorded a grant of land (a portion of
the now Cass farm) to Jean Baptiste Labutte dit St. Martin. It was his son who
became interpreter of the Huron language, and who figured conspicuously
during the Pontiac conspiracy in 1763. His services were highly appreciated by
Gladwyn, who in his sweeping denunciation of the inhabitants during the siege,
always excepts his interpreter, St. Martin. In 1770 he married Marianne, the
second daughter of Robert Navarre (Tonton, the Writer, as he was called, to dis-
tinguish him from his son Robert, whose sobriquet was Robishe, the Speaker).
At the marriage of St. Martin and Marianne Navarre, de Bellestre, the last French
commander of Fort Pontchartrain, was present. His family history was closely
woven in the destiny of this fort of La Mothe Cadillac. De Tonty and another De
Bellistre, uncles of his, had been among its first commanders. It was a melancholy
irony of fate, that he should be obliged to resign to the English the post which his
ancestors had struggled so nobly to retain. De Bellestre organized the first militia
in this part of the country, and gave the command to his brother-in-law, Alexis de
Ruisseaux, who had married a Godfrey. St. Martin died a few years after his
marriage, leaving a young widow and three children — one boy and two girls.
The Tucker family is referred to in the pioneer history of the county. In the
same chapter the Connors are dealt with.
Jean Provencal^ or Arvishtoia, appointed Indian blacksmith by Gen. Cass,
possessed many good qualities which endeared him to the whites as well as to the
Indians. William Tucker, and other old residents of Macomb, remember him well,
aand substantiate what has been said of him.
Edward Campau^ or Now-o-ke-shick, lost an arm from the accidental discharge
of his rifle, while liunting in this county. Notwithstanding the rude, surgical
operation, which onl}'' the medicine man of that time could perform, he survived,
and continued among the most active and popular trappers of this district, until
his journey to the Northwest.
Gabriel Godfrey, known as Menissid, was a trader from the lower Huron
country. He was one of the family to whom was deeded the lands where Ypsilanti
now stands. His visits to the ujjper Huron or Clinton were few, yet his acquaint-
"©
'»
^
@ w.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 183
ance among the French and American pioneers of Macomb was extensive. Rich-
ard Godfrey, his son, now dwells at Grand Rapids in this State.
Archibald Lyons^ was, like many of the white inhabitants of the country
bordering on Lake St. Clair, engaged in trapping. In 1818 he left the district,
now known as Macomb and St. Clair counties, for the Saginaw valley, where he
married the beauty of the tribe — Ka-ze-zhe-ali-he-no-qua. This woman was a
French half-breed, peculiarly superior to all around her, highly intelligent, and in
possession of principles which could not sanction a wrong. Lyons, while skating
down the Saginaw River, in 1821, to play for a dancing party, fell through the ice,
and was never seen again. After the death of her husband, the widowed Ka-ze-
zhe-ah-he-no-qua married Antoine Peltier, who moved from Harrison Township to
Lower Saginaw.
Francois Tremble, grandfather of the Trembles referred to in this section of the
work, was well known from Montreal to Detroit and the Riviere Aux Hurons so
early as 1782. Ten j'ears later, 1792, he visited the Saginaw Indians, which proved
to be his first and last exploratory trip. It appears this adventurous Frenchman
was drowned while flying far away from an Indian camp. The story of his death
states, that he made a spear for an Indian to be used in killing muskrats ; another
Indian came forward to beg a similar favor, and for liim Tremble made still a better
spear-head. Indian No. 1 grew jealous, abused the good hunter, and ultimately
stabbed him in the back. Retiring to his boat he set sail for his home on Lake St.
Clair, but never reached the place. It is supposed he was knocked overboard by
the boom of his boat, and was drowned in the waters of Lake Huron.
Captain Joseph F. Marsac was born near Detroit on Christmas day, 1793, and
was known from his native place to Fort St. Joseph or Gratiot and thence to Mich-
ilimackinac. Marsac was the happiest model of the Franco -American — genial
as man could be, he endeared himself to all around him — to all, with whom he
came in contact. During the Black Hawk War excitement he was one of the first
to organize a military company and take the field with the rank of captain.
Captain Leon Snay, a hunter and trapper of great repute, belonged to the
better class of French traders, and held the military commission of captain. Like
Marsac, he was well known to all the old American settlers of Macomb as well as
to the Indians and his own people.
Peter Grruette, Francois Corbin, John Harson, with other traders, hunters,
trappers, and interpreters, who established temporary posts on the Clinton, Flint,
Shiawassee, Black River, etc., made this county a rendezvous, and won the respect
of the American pioneers.
Harvey Williams of Detroit, now of Saginaw, one of the few survivors of the
Detroit settlers of 1818, in his journey to Saginaw in 1822, with supplies for the
T7
dA
184 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
troops stationed there, had to ford the Clinton River at five different points. The
Indians and first American settlers of Macomb knew Uncle Harvey well. Though
not a trader in the full sense of the term his dealings with the savages as well as
with the civilized inhabitants was extensive and honorable.
Bunois, or Du Nor, was one of the first and best known interpreters under
American rule. His order to the Indians was a law. It is related that upon one
occasion he visited the house of John Tucker, and asked him to tell the chief of
the Salt River band to meet him at the Tucker House on Friday night. Anowi-
sickau, brother of Francis Macompte, met him as appointed, and both went into
the forest in the darkness of that winter's night. This visit resulted in finding a
U. S. cavalry horse stolen from Detroit.
Leon St. Creorge, born at Montreal, Canada, in 1774, came to Michigan in his
youth and made a settlement between Detroit and the Clinton or Riviere Aux
Hurons. This French-Canadian afterward removed to Detroit, and cleared the
land where the city hall stands as well as many acres in the vicinity. When the
war of 1812 broke out, St. George joined the American troops, and fought through
it to its close. After the close of the campaign he became a trader among the
Hurons and Chippewas, and was well known to the pioneers of Macomb County.
His death took place in 1880.
Oliver Williams settled at Detroit in 1807, where he engaged in mercantile
life, and become one of the largest dealers then in the Peninsula, bringing at one
time from Boston a stock of goads valued at $64,000. In 1811, the sloop Friends'
Grood Will was built for him, which was captured by the British and called The
Little Belt. Referring to this $64,000 matter, Mr. C. G. Cady states positively
that when he arrived at Detroit, he could carry all the merchandise it contained to
Mt. Clemens.
Captain John Farley of the United States Artillery was among the early visi-
tors to Mt. Clemens.
Michel Medor, Joseph Benoit, Leon and Louis Tremble, whose grandfather is
referred to in this chapter, were among the traders known to the Indians, French,
and Amei'icans of Macomb County previous to and for years after its organi-
zation.
Benjamin Cushway was born at Detroit in 1809, and died at Saginaw May 25,
1881. In 1832, he was appointed Indian blacksmith at Saginaw. He was known
among the early settlers of Macomb, particularly among the French.
Edward McCarthy an Irish revolutionist of 1798, came to Detroit in 1829,
passed some time near Mt. Clemens, and ultimately continued his travels to the
Northwest, where he died.
Baret Le Paries., Dominique Snay, Louis Duprat, William Thebo, Joseph
Jo
HISTORY OF ]\[ACOMB COUNTY. 185
'i^
AUoir, Antoine Tremble, John Tremble, Francois G. Tremble, William J. Tucker,
were among the children of the county when it was organized.
Whittimore and James Knaggs^ brothers, of French-Canadian or French-
English descent, were among the early white inhabitants of the Huron Country,
and if friendships, dealings and periodical stays in the neighborhood of the Reviere
aux Hurons could bring the title, they were among the first white settlers of
Macomb County. Judge Witherell,in referring to those Frenchmen, says : " Capt.
Knaggs was a firm and unflinching patriot in times when patriotism was in demand,
during the War of 1812. He was one of the Indian interpreters, spoke freely six or
seven of their languages, together with French and English, and exercised great influ-
ence over many warrior tribes. On the surrender of Detroit to the enemy, he was
ordered by the British Commandant to leave the Territory, and did so, of course,
but joined the first corps of United States troops that advanced toward the frontier.
He acted as guide to the division under Gen. Winchester, and was present at the
bloody defeat in the valley of the Raisin. The British Indians discovered him
after the surrender and determined to kill him. There happened to be present an
Indian whom Knaggs had defended in former years, who resolved to save the pale-
face at every hazard ; but the savages would not listen to him. Nothing daunted,
however, the brave red-warrior placed himself between Knaggs and his foes, and
succeeded in keeping them off for some time. The savages pressed closer, and as
a dernier resort the friendly Indian seized Knaggs round the waist, kept his own
body between the white man and his enemies, and so prevented the repeated blows
of tomahawk and war-club from taking effect upon the head of Winchester's
French guide. This mode of defence continued until both Knaggs and the Indian
sought refuge among a number of horses which stood harnessed close by. Here
Knaggs was enabled to avoid the blows aimed at his head, until a British officer,
not so savage as his Indian allies, interposed, and saved the guide from a cruel
death." Knaggs survived this terrible trial for many years, and rendered good
service to the United in the negotiation of Indian treaties. James Knaggs was
present at the death of Tecumseh, and was considered one of the most unflinching
and honorable supporters of the American troops. A member of the Avery family
of Monroe County, Mich., bears the highest testimony to the Knaggs Brothers.
Jacob Smith, or Wah-be-sins, settled with his parents in Northern Ohio, whence
he pushed forward to the Detroit and Huron district, where he remained some years.
During the rambles of the Young Swan, he won the friendship of the Hurons and
Otchipwes, and as his intercourse with them became more extensive, he entered
into all their manners and customs, sympathized with them, and claimed in return
their earnest friendship. After some years passed among the Indians of the Clinton
or Huron River, he moved to Flint, where he died of disease in 1825. Baptiste
(S"
KT
M® ^
^ «)
^
186 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Cochois, or Nickaniss, was the only white friend present at his death ; Annemekins,
the Indian boy whom he adopted, was the only red-man who witnessed the dying
struggles of this popular trader. To Smith is due the rescue of the Boyers of
Mount Clemens.
Patrice lieaume, ov Wemetigoji, was a native of- Quebec. For a period of
eight years he traded among the Indians of the Clinton or Huron and the Raisin
districts, where he was well and favorably known. Ultimately he was appointed
factor for the American Fur Company at the post near Pontiac, and subsequently
at the Tittabawassee and Saginaw.
Louis De Quindre, named 3Iissahos, was a friend of Reaume, and, like him, a
trader. He, too, was known to the pioneers of Macomb County, where he made
his home for some years.
Jacob Gradroot, or Graveraet, husband of the daughter of the fierce Keskawko,
was a German, who settled for a while at Albany, N. Y. Moving West, he settled
at Detroit; moved to Harrison township in Macomb, and thence to what is now
called Bay County.
Louis Beaufait, or Wagash, was one of the most favorably known and genial
men in the Michigan of 1800-1820. He was much younger than Smith or Reaume,
was a friend of each and all of his fellow-traders, and being so, was the great
peacemaker in the traders' circle ; his calm, gentle and sound reasoning always
prevailed.
Barney Cariipau, a nephew of Louis and Joseph Campau, better known as
Oshkinawe, was well fitted for the life of a trader or hunter. He was honest in all
his dealings with the savages, and on this account they stjded him Young Man, and
acquiesced in all his propositions.
DISTINGUISHED EARLY SETTLERS.
Among the pioneers of Michigan best known to the early settlers of Macomb,
the first was, undoubtedly,. Lewis Cass. The first Chief Justice, A. B. Woodward,
and Judge Witherell, were equally well known ; while to the first French settlers
of this county, all the members of the Campeau family were linked by innumerable
interchanges of service.
Gen. Leivis Cass, successor of the inglorious Hull, in the governorship of the
Territory of Michigan, 1813, held his high office until appointed a member of the
United States Cabinet, as Secretary of War in 1831. In 1836 he received the port-
folio of minister to France, which office lie filled until 1842. In January, 1845 he
was elected member of the United States Senate. Throughout his public life,
from his efforts to combat Hull's treachery in 1812 to the close of his career, he
was one of the first citizens of the Union. His death brought mourning not only
^ 5)
l£v
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 187
into the homes of the Michigan people, but also into the villages of the Otchipwes,
Pottawatomies, and Ottawas, whose admiration he won during the earlier years of
his service in Michigan.
Lewis Cass, born at Exeter, N. H,, October 9, 1782, died at Detroit, Mich.,
June 17, 18G6. General Cass was known to the Indians, French and Americans
from the establishment of the territory forward. The services which he rendered
this State particularly can never be over-estimated.
Rev. G-ahriel Richards, of the Order of St. Sulpice, was born at Saintes, Clarente
Inferieur, France, October 15, 1764. His mother was a relative of the illustrious
Bossuet. He arrived at Baltimore, June 24, 1792, and at Detroit in June, 1798.
He was the first delegate of Michigan to the Congress of the United States, being
elected in 1823. His death took place at Detroit, during the cholera plague, Sep-
tember 13, 1832.
Marquis Jacques Campeau was born at Detroit, in 1780. He was the son of
La Motte Cadillac's secretary, a soldier who accompanied the French troops to that
post in 1701. Marquis J. Campeau may be considered the first white settler of
Michigan. He sought a home beyond the Fort in 1757, just one year before Nich-
olas Patenande began a squatter's life in the district now known as Macomb. He
erected the Catholic Church near his home in 1778,
Joseph Campeau was born at Detroit, February 20, 1769. In 1786 he com-
menced trading in real estate. This fact, together with his various commercial
enterprises, made his name a household word in the homes of the early French
settlers.
Christian Clemens, John Stockton, Gen. Brown, and a number of other pioneers
of the State, noticed in other sections of this work, are well and favorably remem-
bered by the pioneers of this county.
Robert Abbott, son of James Abbott, of Dublin, Ireland, was born at Detroit,
in 1771. He is said to be the first man, speaking our language, who opened busi-
ness at the old post of Detroit. His father and himself were identified with the
early fur traders, and were known from Detroit to Mackinaw and thence to Chicago.
The dealings of Robert Abbott with the early settlers of Macomb came next in
importance to the business connection of the Campeaus.
CAPTIVITY OF THE BOYER FAMILY.
Previous to the peace of 1815, the Chippewas beyond the Huron County were
as savage as they were in the Sixteenth Century. Shortly after the close of the
war, Mr. Boyer, wife and children were abducted from their homes near Mount
Clemens to that country, which no white being ever entered save as a pinioned
captive. At that time the traders had not penetrated the valley of the Saginaw,
(s"
X
188 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUXTY.
THE LOST CHILD.
One of the true characteristics of the Indian in the earlier settlement of the
West was the abduction and adoption of white children. We have had to record
as a part of the history of the early settlement of each of the counties at least one
case of child stealing; nor does Macomb County lack an incident of the kind. We
give the case as detailed by Mrs. Bailey, of Romeo, a short time previous to her
death.
On the last day of March, 1828, Alanson Finch, a four-year-old son of Albert
4;
lA
and possibly would not for many years afterwards, had not this abduction of the
white settlers of Macomb incited one, at least of the traders to venture into the
den of savages. The enterprise was undertaken by Jacob Smith, the trader of the
Flint, and resulted successfully. The Boyer family was rescued not only from the
most foul bondage, but also from death itself, which was to be meted out to them
in a few days, had they not been rescued by the intrepid trader. The par-
ticulars of this abduction are set forth in the following statement: Some
time before the actual commencement of any settlement at Mount Cle-
mens, occurred an incident worthy of mention here. A vast camp of Indians
had collected for some purpose at the present site of East Saginaw ; in going by
this settlement on their way to this camp an Indian had captured a little boy and
girl named Boyer from along the river near the old Edward Tucker farm, and had
carried them away. All search in the vicinity proving vain, and suspicion falling
upon some Indians which had passed on their way to Saginaw, a brave and stalwart
trapper named Smith, set out alone through the dark woods and over the vast
country that intervenes, to rescue the boy and girl. Arriving at the Indian camp
he was recognized as a friendly interpreter; after days of dallying and shrewd
negotiations, started joyfully for home, with the little waifs, where he arrived in
due time to gladden a mother's aching heart and a father's sadness with the sight of
the loved ones. The boy Boyer, since grown to be an aged man, liv^ed until quite
recently, to our personal knowledge, near Swan Creek ; but to the day of his death
the sight of an Indian would appal him and arouse fears which no effort could over-
come.
" The little story just related serves to give an idea of the means of travel,
and manner of life of our first settlers. There was a period of thirty years of this
following of trails and paddling of canoes before the project of the turn-pike was
thought of. Those were years of ceaseless watchfulness, of constant alarm, of
occasional bloodshed, and daily battle with those privations incident upon frontier
life. But they were years of enterprise, of determined effort, and finally of suc-
cess in the planting of a flourishing settlement."
TV
(a_
®
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 189
Finch, one of the pioneers of Washington Township, was stolen by the Indians.
The child, together with an elder brother, was returning home from the sugar bush,
when one suggested to the other the idea of trying who could reach home first by
two separate routes. The elder one said he would go across Mr. Bailey's field, and
the younger across that of their father. They started, the distance to the house by
either way being but about a quarter of a mile. The elder child reached home safely
and V7as anxiously interrogated by his mother as to the whereabouts of his little bro-
ther. He told the circumstances of their separate journeys home, and closed by
saying that he had given his brother the shortest way, and anticipated finding him at
home. Search was immediately instituted, and after many futile efforts to discover
the lost one by his friends and the immediate neighbors, the alarm spread through
all the settlements in the County, and the entire male portion of them turned out
to a man, and scoured the woods in every direction ; but their charitable intentions
and endeavors proved unavailing, and after many days they desisted. The child
was never found.
Suspicion rested upon an Indian called Kanobe, who had taken a remarkable
interest in the child for many months previous to its disappearance. He would go
to Mr. Finch's house, and, taking the child upon his knee, would teach him the In-
dian language ere the little one could scarcely prattle the mother tongue. This
suspicion was strengthened by the fact that Kanobe left the settlement simulta-
neously with the abduction or loss of the child. Returning, however, he solemnly
assured Mr. Bailey that neither he nor any of the Indians abducte4 the child. In
later years the skull of a boy was found in the neighborhood, which skull is now in
possession of Dr. S. L. Andrews. It corresponds with such an one as would be-
long to the lost boy.
Some sixteen years after the child was stolen, a person of about twenty years of
age came to Romeo and claimed to be Alanson Finch. He told a very plausible story
about having been brought up by an Indian, by whom he was told that he had been
stolen in his childhood, etc. But when he came to be identified by the Baileys and
others, who had known the missing child, he utterly failed in the most prominent
points of his claim. He finally left the place, not without leaving some credulous
enough to suppose that he was the genuine Alanson Finch, and not the impostor
that he really was. Further than this, the affair is involved in the usual myste-
rious surroundings of similar cases. The same maternal sufferings were endured
by the fond mother at the loss of her darling ; the same heroic endeavors were
made to recover the lost one ; and the same surmises were indulged in that have
characterized all such instances since the white man first became the antagonist of
the treacherous Indian. And thus the 'matter rests until the final moment, when
all secrets shall be made known, all mysteries solved. Many are apt to attribute
e) ' te
â– ^^^^Hv
ik.
â– k-
190 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
the abduction to the fact that the Finch boys were supposed to have taken some
Indian ponies. In retaliation the Indians are said to have stolen the boy.
THE INDIANS' RAID.
In the year 1812, while Elisha Harrington was occupying what ii known as the
Harrington farm, the Cliippewas made a raid on the settlement. D ving into the
village, whooping and flourishing their weapons, the savages disn junted, tying
their horses to the trees of the old orchard at Frederick. Of course the Harring-
tons fled. The Indians in undisturbed possession gave themselves p to plunder
and rapine, feasting and debauchery. They burned down the barn the fences,
and other improvements. The surrender of the traitorous Hull at ] troit to the
British and their savage allies suggested this sudden foray. Elated aa th that vic-
tory, in which they claimed an equal share of (^lori/ with the British, .hey moved
simultaneously upon all the settlements in the district of Detroit, in precisely the
same manner as they did on the old settlement at Frederick. It was a ]ad time for
the American settlers. Added to the humiliation of that disgraceful and infamous
and treacherous action of Hull, were the dangers of savage forays. Many families
fled to Detroit for safety, and among the number was that of Elisha Harrington,
fleeing for protection to the very center of the arch-enemy who prompted the In-
dians to take those inhuman measures.
The old orchard, where the savages secured their horses, may still be seen at
Frederick, and the gnarled and ancient trees yet stand, bearing the marks of the
gnawing teeth of those wild ponies, which browsed there, while their wilder mas-
ters were indulging in rapine and murder.
In 1817, Elisha Harrington returned to the home from which he was forced to
flee, only to find it in possession of a dozen of Canadians. On stating his case
those men moved to the present site of Utica village, where they settled.
INDIANS ON THE TRAIL OF AN AMERICAN.
The spirit breathed into the Indians of the Wyandot district by their British
masters, from 1774 to the period when the British troops were driven from this land,
was pregnant witli danger to the American frontiersman, and even more so to him
who happened to dwell within the lines of those who essayed to enslave us. This
spirit is portrayed in one of the stories of the past, related by Edgar Weeks, and
founded on facts elicited by him from the best authorities. It appears that one of
the settlers, located east of the present city of Mt. Clemens, supposed to be a
member of the Tuckar family, had offended the Indians in tiiat neighborhood,
which offense created much disaffection among the Indians, and drew down upon
him their hatred. For days and weeks he followed his daily avocations with the
full knowledge that the malignant eye of some forest demon watched all his move-
HISTORY OP MACOMB COUNTY. 191
merits and wuited an opportunity to carry out their designs toward him. For this
reason he was accustomed to carry his well-kept rifle on his shoulder, always ready
for any emen 3ncy — always prepared to meet his foe. Notwithstanding the com-
mission whic^ the Indians received from the British, to take the scalp of every
American wl 3 fell into their hands, it is believed a special order was given the
chiefs to res 3ct the lives and properties of the Tuckar and Connor families ; the
former on account of services rendered by one of them in the Pontiac affair, the
other on account of his usefulness as interpreter, politician, and trader. Therefore
the Indians lot only feared the man himself, but lived in greater dread of the law
as-propour id at Fort La Pontchairn in this connection., They dared not take the
life of Tuc ir ; but rather conspired to abduct him to the Sagenong, or great camp
of the tri^ 3, retain him in captivity, and expose him to those savage tests — those
excesses o+ inhumanity, which the conquerors of the Sauks inflicted on enemies or
imaginary Enemies who fell into their hands. With the expulsion of the British,
and the rise of the white man to his natural position, the demoniac enemies of
Tuckar sunk their passions in their interest, and evinced a most friendly disposition
toward this pioneer.
VISIT TO THE INDIAN VILLAGE.
Previous to the departure of the Hurons from Macomb County, it was certainly
worth one's while to visit one of their villages. A Frenchman who visited them
in 1808 or 1810 described their villages on the Clinton at that time. He says : " I
remember one fine afternoon about ten years ago, accompanying an old Indian
trader thither. Seated in a light canoe, and each armed with a paddle we started
from the mouth of the river for the ostensible purpose of bartering with the Indians
for furs, etc. For my part I was perfectly delighted with the idea, as I never had
an opportunity hitherto of seeing the Indians at home, at least during the Summer
season. The river was sufficiently agitated to cause our tiny boat to rock dreamily,
and as we sped onwards the rich wavelets leaped and sported against our canoe's
prow and sides, like sportive kittens, ever and anon greeting our faces with a damp
paw, that was by no means unpleasant. On, on we sped, now under the shadow of
the green woods, now by the fringed, rich border of the clearings, or by the grass-
covered marsh. We could see from a bend in the river the Indian village, and
hear the wild, joyous shouts of the dusky juveniles as they pursued their uncouth
sports and games. As we approached their camp what a busy and exhilarating
scene was presented to our view ! I clapped my hands in the exuberance of my
spirits, for never before had I witnessed a scene so full of real, unaffected natural
happiness as there greeted my senses. My companion did not appear to share in
my enthusiasm, owing, doubtless, to the fact that he was accustomed to such
scenes. Little Indian boys and girls could be seen prowling around like little
s r- -'Ti 6>
iL
193 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Cupids — some wrestling, some shooting with tiny bows and arrows, some paddling
their toy canoes, wliile others sported in the waters of the river like so many am-
phibia, each striving to excel the other in the manner and demonstration of its
enjoyment.
Superannuated Indians and squaws sat by the tent-doors, looking on with a
quiet, demure pleasure, or arranging some toy or trinket for a favorite little toddler,
while the more efficient were engaged in various occupations. Oh I liow I longed
for an artist's skill, that I might sketch the wild and picturesque scene. Here,
thought I, is human nature in its free, untrammeled state. Care seemed to be a
stranger to those children of Nature ; no thought of sorrow seemed to engross their
minds ; and the world, with all its vicissitudes and vexations, was allowed to pass
along unnoticed by them. Buoyancy of spirit was a striking feature in their char-
acter. As we drew our canoe out upon the beach, the Indians came forward to
greet us, and with a hearty shake of the hand, wished us a cordial bon jour. The
dusky urchins left their sports to take a full survey of the visitors ; which having
done, they returned to their games with a yelp and a bound.
Situated upon the greenest and most beautiful portion of the camp ground
were a number of white and neat looking tents, which were closed, and isolated
from the ding}', smoky tepees of the village. The trader, who seemed a sort of
privileged character, was entirely at home; while I, considering myself among
strangers, clung to him, and followed him wherever he went, not venturing to throw
myself upon my own responsibility. I was therefore pleased when I saw him
start toward the white tents, for I was curious to know what they contained.
Drawing aside the canvas, he entered without ceremony, I, of course, following-
after. Seated upon beautiful mats of colored rushes, which served as carpets and
divans, were some three or four good-looking squaws, very neatly and even richly
attired in the fanciful style of the native, busily engaged in embroidering and orna-
menting moccasins, broad-cloth leggings, and blankets with variegated beads and
porcupine quills. Everything around evinced the utmost order, neatness and taste.
No bustling nichee or dirty urchin was allowed the freedom of those apparently
consecrated tents; but all was quiet and calm within ; and if converse were carried
on it was in that calm, soft, musical tone so peculiar to them. So, so, thought I,
here we have a sort of aristocracy — a set of exclusives, and a specimen of high life
among the natives ; yet it was just that kind of higli life in many respects, after
which tlieir white sisters might take pattern. No idle gossipping or scandal was
indulged in ; they quietly plied their needles, and kept their counsels to them-
selves. If they had occasion to visit their neighbors' tents it was done quietly and
pleasantly, after which business was resumed.
This description of the Indian villages on the Reviere Aux Hurons, or Clinton
(0-
±tz=b
â– â– ri 1111 mm
-i>|^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 193
is based upon fact. Though the Wyandot or Huron is now far away from his
olden land, his wife, or sister, or mother may look back with pride to their settle-
ments by Lake St. Clair, and in charity wish that the new Americans there will be
as happy their fathers were.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
The art of hunting not only supplied the Indian with food, but, like that of
war, was a means of gratifying his love for distinction. The male children, as soon
as they acquired sufficient age and strength, were furnished with a bow and arrow
and taught to shoot birds and other small game. Success in killing a large quad-
ruped required years of careful study and practice, and the art was as sedulously
inculcated in the minds of the rising generation as are the elements of reading,
writing and arithmetic in the common schools of civilized communities. The
mazes of the forest and the dense, tall grass of the prairies were the best fields for
the exercise of the hunter's skill. No feet could be impressed in the yielding soil
but that the tracks were the object of the most searching scrutiny, and revealed at
a glance the animal that made them, the direction it was pursuing, and the time
that had elapsed since it had passed. In a forest country he selected the valleys,
because they were most frequently the resort of game. The most easily taken,
perhaps, of all the animals of the chase was the deer. It is endowed with a curi-
osity which prompts it to stop in its flight and look back at the approaching hunter,
who always avails himself of this opportunity to let fly the fatal arrow.
Their general councils were composed of the chiefs and old men. When in
council, they usually sat in concentric circles around the speaker, and each indi-
vidual, notwithstanding what rankled within, preserved an exterior as immovable as
if cast in bronze. Before commencing business a person appeared with the sacred
pipe, and another with fire to kindle it. After being lighted it was first presented
to heaven, secondly to the earth, thirdly to the presiding spirit, and lastly the
several counselors, each of whom took a whiff. These formalities were observed
with as close exactness as state etiquette in civilized courts.
The dwellings of the Indians were of the simplest and rudest character. On
some pleasant spot by the bank of a river, or near an ever-running spring, they
raised their groups of wigwams, constructed of the bark of trees, and easily taken
down and removed to another spot. The dwelling places of the chiefs were some-
times more spacious, and constructed with greater care, but of the same materials.
Skins taken in the chase served them for repose. Though principally dependent
upon hunting and fishing, the uncertain supply from those sources led them to cul-
tivate small patches of corn. Every family did everything necessary within itself,
commerce, or an interchange of articles, being almost unknown to them. In cases
of dispute and dissension, each Indian relied upon himself for retaliation. Blood
13
jyt
_-i — 4>
194 HISTORY OF 3IAC0MB COUNTY.
for blood was the rule, and the relatives of the slain man were bound to obtain
bloody revenge for his death. This principle gave rise, as a matter of course, to
innumerable bitter feuds, and wars of extermination where such were possible.
War, indeed, rather than peace, was the Indian's glory and delight, — war, not con-
ducted as civilization, but war where individual skill, endurance, gallantry and
cruelty were prime requisites. For such a purpose as revenge the Indian would
make great sacrifices, and display a patience and perseverance truly heroic ; but
when the excitement was over, he sank back into a listless, unoccupied, well-nigh
useless savage. During the intervals of his more exciting pursuits, the Indian
occupied his time in decorating his person with all the refinement of paint and
feathers, and in the manufacture of his arms and of canoes. These were con-
structed of bark, and so light that they could easily be carried on the shoulder from
stream to stream. His amusements were the war-dance, athletic games, the narra-
tion of his exploits, and listening to the oratory of the chiefs ; but during long
periods of such a period he remained in a state of torpor, gazing listlessly upon the
trees of the forests and the clouds that sailed above them ; and this vacancy im-
printed an habitual gravity, and even melancholy, upon his general deportment.
The main labor and drudgery of Indian communities fell upon the women.
The planting, tending and gathering of the crops, making mats and baskets, carry-
ing burdens — in fact, all things of the kind were performed by them, thus making
their condition but little better than that of slaves. Marriage was merely a matter
of bargain and sale, the husband giving presents to the father of the bride. In
general they had but few children. They were subjected to many and severe
attacks of sickness, and at times famine and pestilence swept away whole tribes.
CHAPTER XII.
THE FRENCH PIONEERS.
The Griffin was finished Aug. 4, 1679, and her sails set, a trial trip made,
and the name she bore bestowed upon her by Father Hennepin. On the
fifth, five small cannon were placed in position. The seventh was the day
appointed for entering upon that voyage over the Gritchi Gromee or great inland seas.
The morning arrived ; the sun shone forth, as it were, over a sea of gold ; a favor-
ing breeze played upon the waters ; the cataract of Niagara, six miles below,
reduced its roar to music ; while from La Salle's new fortress the song of the Te
Deuni swelled upon the morning air. Tlie sails were set, Robert De La Salle,
commander of the Grriffin, Father Louis Hennepin, historian and chaplain, with the
TO
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 195
pilot, and a number of hunters and trappers, were embarked ; the cables, which kept
the little vessel fast, were unloosed, and that voyage toward the setting sun entered
upon.
Three days after setting out the vessel was anchored out opposite Teuchsagron-
die, a Huron village then occupying the site of the present city of Detroit. From
this point to the head of the Saint Claire River, many Indian villages were found to
exist, all of them unacquainted with the white man, save that small knovdedge of him
which they might have gained from the Jesuit fathers.
Seven years after the G-riffin succeeded in battling with the fierce current which
then swept past the present site of Fort Gratiot, M. du Lhut caused the position to
b& garrisoned and a strongly fortified trading post to be erected. This was com-
pleted in the Fall of 1686, and the name of Fort Saint Joseph conferred upon it ;
but its possession was so opposed to the ideas of French economy, that in July,
1688, the garrison received orders to evacuate the post, and to report at Michili-
mackinac.
On July 24, 1701, M. de la Motte Cadillac, Capts. Tonti, Chacornacle and
Duqu^, in command of fifty regular troops, arrived at Detroit. The expedition was
accompanied by a RecoUet chaplain and a Jesuit father, who had come as a mis-
sionary priest, together with fifty trappers, traders and hunters. Before the close
of August, 1701, the first fort erected in Michigan, if we except Du Lhut's fortified
trading post at the head of the Saint Claire, and that at the mouth of the Saint
Joseph, was a reality. This occupied the ground extending from the Joseph
Campau homestead to Shelby, and thence to Woodbridge Street, a point now
removed from the river bank, but which at that time would represent the head of
the bank itself. The position was called Fort Pontchar train.
Within a few years, 1703, thirty Hurons from Michilimackinac became settlers
at Detroit. Between 1701 and September, 1703, the settlement was further
strengthened by bands of Ontawa-Sinagoes, Miamis,Kiskakons and Loups,all flocking
to Fort Pontchartrain, to witness the magnificence of La Motte Cadillac and his
command. Previous to 1706 the number of enemies made for himself by Cadillac
among his own countrymen brought many and serious troubles into the very heart of
the French posts at Detroit and at Michilimackinac. During the troubles at
Detroit, Rev. Father Constantine and Jean La Riviere were stabbed by the Onta-
was, during their circumvallation of the fort, which continued forty days, until they
raised the siege.
In 1707, Jean La Blanc, second chief of the Ontawas, with Le Brochet,
Meyaouka, Sakima, Kinonge, Meaninan, Menekoumak, and another chief visited
the Governor at Montreal, and offered to make restitution ; but this officer ordered
them to report to Cadillac. The deputation returned to Detroit Aug. 6, 1707,
® 4^
•l>>
196 HISTORY OF :\IACOMB COUNTY.
when the Commandant Cadillac addressed the Ontavvas, Hurons, Miamis, and
Kiskakons in turn ; the Council was in session four days, but at the close the Indians
agreed to deliver Le Pesant, the great disturber, into the hands of the French. He
was handed over to the garrison, but unfortunately received a full pardon from
Cadillac. This created a want of confidence in the French among the Miamis,
Hurons, and Iroquois, resulted in the killing of three Frenchmen, and created
much disaffection in every Indian village.
In September, 1708, there were only twenty-nine inhabitants of Detroit who
were the actual owners of lots and houses within the Stockade. Of the entire
number of acres surveyed at that time — 353 roods in toto — those twenty-nine free-
holders owned only forty-six roods, the Hurons 150 roods, and the Chevalier de
Cadillac 157 roods. The entire number of Frenchmen at the post then was sixty-
three, of whom thirty-four were traders, who sold brandy, ammunition and trinkets
in that and the neioliborino- Indian towns.
During the war between France and England, which terminated in 1713,
trouble after trouble surrounded Detroit. In 1712 Outagamies and Mascoutins laid
siege to Fort Pontchartrain, then in charge of M. Dii Buisson, with thirty soldiers.
The church and other buildings outside the stockade were pulled down, lest the
besiegers would set fire to the pile with a view of burning the fort itself.
The circumvallation of the post and hourly assaults on it, were kept up for a period
of thirty days, when the Indian allies of the French arrived from their liunting
expeditions, both Hurons and Miamis, drove the Outagamies and Mascoutins to their
entrenchments, and confined them there for nineteen days, until in the darkness of
night they withdrew to Presque Isle, twelve miles above Detroit. Thither the
Hurons and Miamis pursued them, and forced a capitulation which resulted in the
massacre of all the men of both tribes, and the captivity of their wives and chil-
dren. The Outagamies and Mascoutins who were not actually killed on the island,
were brought to Detroit, where the Hurons continued to destroy four, five and six
per day until the last of these warriors who laid siege to the post was no more.
The massacre resulted in the death of 800 men, women and children belonging to
the besieging tribes at the hands of the Hurons and Miamis.
The decade closing in 1724 was one which tried the souls of the French in-
habitants of Detroit. The sale of brandy and other abuses were prohibited and a
great moral change effected in the manners, customs, and habits of the white garri-
son and settlers. A council of the Hurons, Ottawas, and Pottawatomies was held
near the fort June 7, 1721, under Captain Tonti, then commandant. The great
Indian Sastarexy of the Huron tribe was the principal speaker, and the results
obtained were of a comparatively conciliating character, so much so that by the
year 1725, the Outagamie savages acknowledged the French King in precisely the
<a_
-J[ S)
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 197
same measure as did the other allies of the French. About this period also the log-
house, known as St. Anne's Church was built, new barracks erected, about forty-
five dwelling-houses brought into existence, and the new stockade with bastions
and block-houses raised. The circular road or Chemin du ronde was laid out, and
numerous improvements made in the vicinity of the Government House.
In 1746, the old French War may be said to renew itself ; but not until 1749
did the contest with the English soldiers take any regular form : — A decade later
the French power in Canada was destroyed, and in 1760, all the French possessions,
from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were in the hands of the conquer-
ing Normans and Anglo-Saxons. Captain Bellestre, then commandant at Detroit,
surrendered to Major Robert Rogers, in October, 1760.
In 1762, the famous Indian Pontiac called a council of the tribes at La Reviere
a rUoorse, near Detroit, at which Council the Ottawas, Chippewas, and Potta-
watomies of Grand, Saginaw, Clinton, Black, and St. Joseph Rivers, were present,
together with the Indians of Detroit, and bands of Delawares, Iroquois, Illinois,
and Senecas. Minavavana, head chief of the Ojibwas, adopted a plan similar to
that of Pontiac, and succeeded in destroying the soldiers of the English garrison at
Micliilimackinac. Pontiac's strategy failed at Detroit.
DETROIT IN 1763.
The historian Bancroft, referring to Detroit as it appeared to the settlers of
1763, just previous to Pontiac's military enterprise, says : — " Of all the inland
settlements, Detroit was the largest and most esteemed. The deep majestic river,
more than a half mile broad, carrying its vast flood calmly between its straight and
well-defined banks, imparted a grandeur to a country whose rising grounds and
meadows, plains festooned with prolific wild-vines, woodlands, brooks, and foun-
tains were so mingled together tliat nothing was left to desire. The climate was
mild and the air salubrious. Good land abounded, yielding maize, wheat, and
every vegetable. The forests were natural parks stocked with buffalo, deer, quail,
partridge, and wild turkey. Water fowl of delicious flavor hovered along its
streams, which streams also yielded to the angler a large quantity of fish, particu-
larly white fish. There every luxury of the table might be enjoyed at the sole ex-
pense of labor.
This cheerful region attracted both the barbarian and the child of civilization
the French had so occupied both banks of the river, that their numbers were rated
so high as 2,500, of whom 500 were liable to and able for military service — repre-
senting 300 or 400 French families. However an enumeration made in 1764 points
out just sufficient white men there to form three military companies ; while four
years later, the census of the place, places the entire population at 572. The
-e)
^ 5)
198
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
French dwelt on farms which were about three or four acres wide on the river
front, and eighty acres deep.
The fort, then under Major Gladwyn, did not vary much from that known in
the days of French dominion. Close by, Catherine, the Pocahontas of Detroit,
lived. She who informed Gladwyn of the intentions of the Indians, she, it was,
who related to William Tuckar, one of the soldiers at the fort, the story of Pontiac,
and made him acquainted with the designs of that Indian Chieftain, and to her is
due, in full measure, the averting of that terrible doom whicli hung so heavily over
the English garrison of Detroit May 6, 1763. The deatli of Major Campbell at the
hands of an Indian, whose uncle had been killed by the English at Michilimackinac,
the sixty days' siege, the capture of the English supply convoy within sight of the
fort, and the round of duty imposed upon the soldiers are all characteristic of that
time. William Tuckar, one of whose descendants has taken a deep interest in the
history of Macomb, states: — " I was a sentinel on the ramparts, catching a few hours'
sleep, with my clothes on and a gun by my side, for sixty days and niglits." Dur-
ing the last day of July and the first of August, 1763, Captain Dalzell's force was
surprised near Maloche's house, and lost seventy men killed and forty wounded.
For some years after this affair, Detroit was free from Indian assaults, treaties of
peace were negotiated, and everything resumed that happy standard reached under
the French.
Now, however, the echoes of The Revolution were heard at Detroit ; Major
Le Noult, a Frenchman in the English service, built Fort le Noult, in 1778, in
anticipation of an American siege, and this name the new fortress bore until 1812,
when the name Fort Shelby was conferred on it. Soon the American Generals, St.
Clair, Anthony Wayne, Harmar, and the soldiers of the revolution came to claim
the Nortliwest territory as organized by Congress in 1787. The treaty of Green-
ville negotiated August, 1795, with the Indians, conveyed Detroit and the entire
Northwest to the United States, and one year later. Captain Porter, in command
of a company of United States troops, entered Detroit, and placed the Stars and
Stripes and Fleur de Lis, where the English flag so recently floated. Previously
the British garrison evacuated the post, after committing many acts of the lowest
description, and placed it in possession of an old African, with whom the keys were
subsequently found.
From this period until 1805, the settlement of Detroit and the lake shore
gradually advanced, which the fire of 1805 did not retard. In 1806 Tecumseh and
Ellshwatawa at the head of the Indian confederacy tlireatened Detroit and the
settlements along the lake and Reviere aux Hurons or Clinton ; but the treaty of
1807 between that enigmatical governor, Hull, and the Ottawas, Chippewas, Potta-
-w^
:v
watomies and Wyandots, was effectual in allaying excitement and in conferring a
spirit of confidence on the settlers.
The war against the British, declared by Congress, June 18, 1812, was unfor-
tunate for the Northivest in many respects, as there nothing was in readiness to meet
the well-organized British troops. All this resulted in the scandalous, if not
treacherous, surrender of Hull. General Harrison's command eventually took pos-
session of Detroit ; Col. Lewis Cass was commissioned Governor, and under his
able administration, Michigan entered upon that political, social and commercial
course which led her to her present greatness.
THE PIONEER LAND BUYERS OF MACOMB.
This is a most important portion of the history of Macomb County, and indeed
one well worthy the attention of every citizen of this State, since most of the
names mentioned were household words in the homes of the American pioneers
from Michilirnackinac to Saginaw, to Detroit, to Grand Rapids, to Chicago, to Mil-
waukee, back to the St. Joe river, up the Elkhart and the Kankankee, down to the
old post of Vincennes. It is impossible to calculate the results of settlement here
by those early French, American and Franco-American pioneers; but it is within
our power to learn who they were, and the very location of their humble cabins.
Before entering on the history of their times and settlement, let us first inquire
into the origin of the names given to their locations. The first and most prominent
name is la Riviere aux Hurons.
The village of the Hurons was near Detroit. The name Huron^ derived from
the French, Hure, a wild boar, was applied to this tribe of Indians by the first
French missionaries, for the reason that their hair sprung from the head in bristles
a la 'porcupine. The French called them Hurons^ but among the Indian tribes
they were known as Wyandots^ or Onendats.
St. Clair and Sinclair. — In the year 1765 Patrick Sinclair, an Irish officer in
the service of Great Britain, and commandant of Fort Sinclair, purchased 3,789
acres of land on the river above Lake St. Clair, and after him the river was named
The Sinclair. In a report made January 17, 1806, by Augustus Woodward, to the
Secretary of the Treasury, it is said that this officer was a distinct character — dif-
fering physically and morally from St. Clair of the French service. The latter was
a grand-son of O'Brien, Lord Clare, who, after the treaty of Limerick, entered the
French army. In his honor the lake at the mouth of the Clinton was named. The
claim of Sinclair remained in his possession seventeen years, utilizing the large
pine-timber, and deriving heavy profits.
The rivers, creeks, and points of land were named in accord with some phys-
ical characteristic, or otherwise in honor of one of the first settlers in the neigh-
borhood.
'^^ — *-
^ «)
]iL
200 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY,
squatters' claims.
In 1782 there were nineteen settlers living adjacent to this tract, a year later,
twenty settlers located on Lake St. Clair, near the mouth of the Huron. In 1788
twenty settlements were made on the river Aux ITurons, or Clinton ; in 1790 a few
more settlers located at Pointe au Tremble. In 1793 ten families located lands on
the Huron of Lake iSt. Clair, or Clinton. Seven years later four families joined the
settlement. Six families joined the settlers at the head of the lake ; while the
Salt Springs began to attract the attention of the people from the mouth of the
Huron to the river St. Clair. In 1801, one settler located at these springs, and he
was soon joined by others. In 1797, no less than thirty families located lands
along the banks of La Riviere au Lait, or Milk River, and northwards to the
Riviere aux Hurons. Those settlers founded their claims on actual settlement
and improvement without any further title. Of this class there were about 400
on the borders of Lake St. Clair, rivers Huron, Ecorces, Rouge, and Raisin.
In the succeeding review of claims, presented by the land-holders of Macomb,
or the Civil District of Huron, as the territory constituting the county of Macomb
in 1818, was called, it will be observed that the result of the examination before
the Board is not given in the greater number of cases. Now such a course was
made unnecessary by the fact that almost in every instance the claimant's title
was proved to the satisfaction of the Land Commissioners, who ordered a record
to be made of such titles in the Land OfiBce at Detroit, and subsequently recom-
mended the issue of United States patents. The report of this board was made
in 1810-11, and patents were granted in the year 1812, and years immediately suc-
ceeding. Although Claim twenty-six seems to be connected in some manner with
this county, there is no records presented to enable the writer to notice it in this con-
nection. Therefore, ignoring that number, he begins the review with Claim 129.
129. — James Connor claimed the tract of land on the north bank of the
Clinton, containing 510 acres, of which thirteen and three-quarter acres fronted on
the river, extending back forty acres, and bounded on the west by William
Tuckar's land. Henry Connor's testimony before the Land Board was to the effect
that the claimant had possession, and began to improve the property before July
1, 1796, since which time he has been in possession of the land. This formed Claim
129, which was granted, June, 1808.
130. — Joseph Campeau, Claim 130, was granted on the same date. The tract
is on the south bank of the Aux Hurons, contains 6-iO acres, bounded in front by
tlie river, in rear by Lake St. Clair, on one side by the land of Laurente Maure,
and on the other by a second tract entered by him. Baptiste Comparet and Henry
Connor testified that Joseph Campeau was in possession of this tract previous to
July 1, 1796.
1
k.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 201
Campeau's fourth and fifth, Claim No. 133, containing 640 acres, was purchased
from Louis Maure. This was bounded in front by the river Huron, on the east
by Jacques Loson's land, on the west by the land of Hyacinthe Deaitre, and in the
rear by the lake. Claims 131 and 132 were his also.
134. — Joseph Campeau claim, 134, of 640 acres, is bounded in front by the river,
in rear by the lake, on the west north-west by Louis Petit's lands, and on the east
by a tract claimed by Joseph Campeau. Henry Connor testified in this case, that
the land so described was purchased from Jean Baptiste Connellier previous to
July 1,1796.
135. — The Joseph Campeau claim, 135, is located south of th3 Riviere aux
Surons, or Clinton, bounded in front by the river, extending to the lake between
Pierre Phenix's land on one side, and Antoine Peltier's land on the other. Henry
Connor testified that this tract was in possession of the claimant, and that a house
was erected thereon previous to July 1, 1796, which house was then standing
(1808).
136. — James Connor, in his letter to the Land Board, June 13, 1808, claimed
640 acres on the north side of the Huron, it being sixteen acres river front, forty
acres in depth, bounded on the east by the Chatron farm, and in the rear and on
the west by unlocated lands. Baptiste Comparet proved that previous to July,
1796, James Connor was in possession, that there was a cabin erected, and two or
three acres of land cultivated and fenced before he, Comparet, left La Riviere aux
Hurons in 1804.
137. — Richard Connor. The widow and heirs of Richard Connor applied to
the Board to have their title to 600 acres on the south side of the Huron confirmed.
Baptiste Comparet gave proof that the deceased Richard Connor was in possession
of the land and premises previous to July 1796, up to 1804, when he left the dis-
trict. Augustin Langdon deposed that the family of the deceased occupied the
holding since 1801. Another tract, fifteen acres in front and forty acres in depth,
of 600 acres, commencing at a place called Deer Lick, and bounded in rear, on the
east and west by unlocated lands, was shown to be in possession of Richard Connor
previous to July, 1796.
139. — Henry Connor claimed 480 acres on the north side of the Huron, bound-
ed in front by the river, east by Christian Clemens' farm, and west and rear by
wild lands. Comparet stated that William Dawson was the owner of this tract
previous to July 1796, and remained so until its sale to Richard Connor, deceased.
140. — Joseph Robertjean's claim regarded eighty-one arpens of land on the
north side of the Huron, bounded in front by the river, in the rear by Lake St. Clair,
on one side by the lands of the late Alexis Peltier, and on the other side by the
lands of Robert Robertjean. Comparet witnessed that Robertjean was in posses-
(a"
Kr
I@ ^ .a •)
202 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
sion of such tract previous to 1796, and Christian Clemens proved the claimant's
possession in the year 1V99.
141. — Christian Clemens' claim for 500 acres, beginning at the high bank of
the Huron, and' running down this bank about fourteen acres, to a small run or
marsh then emptying into the river, running north forty acres ; bounded in front
by the Huron, on one side by Henry Connor's lands, on the other by the tract of
James Abbott, and in rear by unlocated lands. Comparet's evidence was that John
Conner was the owner of this tract previous to July 1796, who permitted Nathan
Williams and Jared Brooks to build a still house on the premises about 1797 or
1798. In 1801 John and Richard Connor sold the tract to Christian Clemens.
144. — John Tuckar's claim, No. 144, was bounded in front by the Huron, in
rear by Lake St. Clair, above by James Connor's lands, and below by Edward
Tuckar's, bequeathed to the claimant by his father, the pioneer, William Tuckar.
Comparet and Wm. McScott, proved possession previous to July, 1796.
156. — Edward Tuckar's land was bounded in front by the river, in rear by the
lake, above by John Tuckar's farm, and below by Michael Tremble's land, which
was also a bequest of the late Wm. Tuckar.
146. — William Tuckar claimed a tract bounded south by the river Huron, east
by Francois St. Obin'sland, north by the lake, and west by Wm. Tuckar's (senior),
original farm, afterwards in possession of the widow Tuckar.
147. — Catherine Tuckar claimed, in trust for her sons, Jacob and Charles, 640
acres, bounded in front by the river, in rear by the lake, below by claim 146, of
William Tuckar, proved to be in possession of Wm. Tuckar, deceased, previous to
July, 1796.
148. — Phillis Peltier's claim, 480 acres, bounded in front by the lake, in rear
by hunting grounds, below by Nicholas Chapaton's farm, and above by a creek or
coulee, called ventre de boeuf. Jean Baptiste Pare proved occupation by Peltier
fifteen years previous to 1808.
149. — Jean Baptiste Pare claimed a tract bounded in front by the lake, in rear
by Indian lands, above by Joseph Dube's farm and below by Louis Laforge's claim.
Phillis Peltier proved that fifteen years previous to June, 1808, one Cayet was
owner of this tract. He sold to Francois Dupre who in turn sold to Pare. Dupre
confirmed this statement.
150. — Francois St. Obins tract northeast side of the Huron, containing about
640 acres, bounded in front by the river, in rear by the lake, above by William
Tuckar's farm, and below by Michael Tremble's lauds, was known to be in pos-
session of Louis St. Obin, father of Francois, many years previous to July, 1796.
Christian Clemens and B. Comparet were the witnesses.
151. — Claim No. 161, by the same party, of 640 acres bounded in front by the
.^
â– k
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 203
river, ia rear by the lake, east by Chapaton's lands, and west by those of Jacques
Loson, was originally settled by Michel Comparet, who sold to Louis Bandin, and
he in turn to St. Obin. Christian Clemens also proved continuous possession since
1800.
157. — Francois Ambroise's 140 acres, on the northwest side of Lake St. Clair,
bounded in front by the lake, in rear by Indian s^rounds, on the north by Bazile
Crequi's claim, and on the lower side by that of Jean Baptiste Vernier, dit Ladou-
ceur, was settled by Etienne Duchesne in 1795, who built a small house thereon ;
he sold his interest to Michel Duchesne, who in turn sold out to Ambroise.
156. — Jean Baptiste Vernier, dit Ladouceur, claimed 240 acres, bounded in
front by the lake, in rear by non-ceded lands, on the northeast by Pierre Bon-
homme's farm, and on the southwest by the lands of Laurent Griffard. Possession
was proven and title granted.
199. — Francois Ambrois Tremble claimed 140 acres fronting on Lake St. Clair,
between the lands of Bazile Crequi and J. Bte. Vernier, originally settled by
Etienne Duchesne, who presented them to Michel Duchesne, who sold to Tremble.
163. — J. Bte. Nantay claimed 200 arpens fronting on the lake, between the
lands of Phillis Peltier and Pierre Lanoue, possessed by him fourteen years previous
to June 18, 1808.
207. — Laurent Maure claimed 200 arpens fronting on the Huron, extending
back to the lake between the farms of Jos. Robertson and Jos. Campeau, in his
possession some years previous to 1796. A certificate of title was granted to him
in 1809, and a patent issued in 1811.
162. — Jean Marsac's claim, bounded in front by the lake, in rear by Indian
lands, northeast by Charles Chovin's farm, and southwest by Louis Leduc's dit
Perez, claim, containing 160 acres, French measurement, was confirmed June
20, 1808.
163. — Jean Baptiste Nantay claimed 200 acres bounded in front by the lake,
in rear by non-ceded lands, above by Phillis Peltier's farm, and below by that of
Pierre Lanoue.
164. — Joseph Mitresse, dit Sansfacon, claimed 360 arpens, French measurement,
bounded in front by the lake, in rear by Indian lands, above by Baptiste Ble's
farm, and below by Charles Chovin's claim, was in possession of Nicholas Patenande
previous to 1796. He sold to Antoine Cecille six arpens in front, who, in turn,
sold to Sansfacon. Pierre Laparle owned three arpens in front, which he gave to
Louis Champagne, and which he in turn sold to the claimant.
165. — Joseph Dube claimed 120 arpens, bounded in front by the lake, in rear
by the hunting grounds, on one side by Baptiste Pierre's farm, and on the other by
by that of Pierre Lanoue. This property was in possession of Nicholas Value pre-
(2 C- -< g]^
204 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
vious to July, 1796, and continued so until sold to Charles Chovin, who transferred
it to Dube.
167. — Joseph Rowe claimed 240 arpens, bounded in front by the river Huron,
in rear by Indian grounds, on the west by Bazile Laforge's farm, and on the east
by that of Pierre Phenix. This property was proven by Louis Campeau to be in
the possession of A. N. Petit, before and after 1796, until he sold to the present
claimant.
168. — Louis Campeau, the pioneer of Saginaw and Kent Counties, was among
the first land owners in Macomb. In 1808, he claimed 280 arpens bounded in front
by the Huron, in rear by non-ceded lands, west by the Joseph Campeau claim, and
east by B. Laforge's farm.
170. — Jean B. Vernier, dit Ladouceur, claimed 200 arpens bounded in front by
Lake St. Clair, in rear by non-ceded lands, northeast by Francois Ambroise's farm,
and southwest by that of Nicholas Patenande. Alexis Coquillard heard Robert
Thomas acknowledge himself as tenant to Jean B. Nantay.
172. — John Askin, Jr., claimed 625 acres, bounded in front by the river Huron
in rear and on one side by the United States hinds, and on the other by the Christian
Clemens' property. Harry Tuckar, witness for the claimant, proved that one
Descoteaux improved and cultivated the lands, by order of, and for the claimant,
previous to July, 1796, ; that the claimant had a house built some time after
Descoteaux went there, and that afterwards Christian Clemens tenanted the
premises, cultivated the lands, erected fences, and continued to improve the
property until 1808. Mr. Clemens substantiated this statement, and a title was
granted.
173. — James Abbott claimed 630 acres, bounded in front by the river, in rear
by United States lands, above by a buttonwood tree — one acre above a small creek
and below by unlocated lands. Edward Hezell built a house on this claim, and
raised two crops previous to 1796. Hezell sold his interest to James Abbott,
(father of the claimant) deceased, since which time up to 1808 Christian Clemens
improved and cultivated the lands, paying to the claimant an annual rent from
1799 to 1808.
174. — Jacob Thomas' widow and heirs claimed a tract at L'ance Creuse of 160
arpens, bounded in front by the lake, in rear by non-ceded lands, on one side by
Baptiste Nantay's farm, and on the other by that of Jean Baptiste Dube, all prop-
erty in possession of Jacob Thomas previous to 1796.
175. — Louis Petit's tract of 120 arpens was bounded in front by the river
Huron, in rear by non-ceded lands, on one side by P. Phenix's farm, and on the
other by that of Joseph Campeau. One Connellier was in possession previous to
1796, and continued owner until he sold out to L. Petit, May 8, 1797.
*<^(9 -^
<a-
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 205
176. — Pierre Phenix claimed 240 arpens, bounded in front by the Huron, in
rear by n. c. lands, on one side by Joseph Rowe's farm, and on the other by that of
Joseph Campeau. This territory was partly in possession of one Lapaline and one
Provost. The former sold to Nathan Williams, who sold to Joseph Bonvouloir,
who sold to Joseph Cherbonneau, from whom Phenix purchased.
183. — Laurent Griffard claimed 120 arpens fronting on Lake St. Clair, extend-
ing backwards to the n. c. lands, to the J. B. Vernier farm on the northeast, and to
the Henry St. Bernard farm on the southwest. Louis Monet testified that Griffard
was in possession of this land in 1788.
184. — Jacques Allard's 120 arpens fronting on the lake, bounded by the Indian
grounds in the rear, Bte. Celeron's farm on one side and Louis Griffard's on the
other was settled by the claimant several years previous to 1796, as shown in the
evidence of Charles Poupard.
192. — Meldrum and Park claimed 630 acres, bounded northeast by the river
Lassaline, southwest by other lands of the claimants, in front by the lake, and in
rear by other claims. This land was tenanted by Antoine N. Petit previous to
1796, who rented it from M. and P. One Durrocher rented it for one year, and
Dupre for two one-half years subsequently.
193. — Another tract of 630 acres, bound southwest by Riviere aux Vases,
northeast and rear by other lands of Meldrum and Park, and in front by the lake,
was first rented, in 1795, by Baptiste Letourneau. Louis Barret and Denocher
then rented the place. Francis Berian lived there for three years and one Dupre
for two years.
194. — Michel Tremble claimed a tract on the Huron, bounded in front by the
river, in rear by the lake, above by F. Saint Obin's farm, and below by R, Robert-
jean. Nicholas Chapaton was in possession of this property previous to 1796.
195. — The second claim of Tremble related to lands bounded in front by the
Huron, in rear by n. c. land, above by Edward Tuckar's farm, and below by the
property of the widow and heirs of William Tuckar, deceased. Henry Tuckar
was the owner of those lands before and after 1796, until he sold to Christian
Clemens, from whom Tremble purchased them.
196. — Jacob Hill's heirs claimed 240 acres fronting on the river Saint Clair,
between the farms of George Meldrum and Joseph Bassinet, of which land Jacob
Hill was in possession previous to 1796, as proven by Ignace Champagne.
197. — Another tract between the farms of George Meldrum and Alexander
Harrow, fronting on the river Saint Clair, was also claimed.
207. — Laurent Maure claimed 200 arpens fronting on the river Huron, extend-
ing back to the lake, between the farms of Joseph Robert and Joseph Campeau, of
which he was owner previous to 1796.
A,]^
206 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
213. — Nicholas Chapaton's claim, founded on a deed given by the Indians —
Vbuistanance and Nanguy — dated Detroit, May, 1795, contained about 160 acres.
The area was disputed, and the evidence before the Board was so contradictory that
the commissioners rejected the claim. The description points out that this claim
fronted on Lake Saint Chiir, and extended back to the n. c. grounds, between the
lands of Phillis Peltier and Jean Bte. Nantay.
210. — Pierre Griifard claimed 160 arpens fronting on Lake Saint Clair, between
the farms of Joseph Griffard and J. B. N. Petit. His possession previous to 1796
being proved by J. B. Nantay, the claim was allowed.
Isadore Morain settled on claim 221, in 1795 ; but during his absence Pierre
Champagne took and held forcible possession for one year from 1796, afterward one
Gorslet lived on it, whose widow sold the claim to Bte. Allsin, who was in posses-
sion July, 1808. This land fronted on the lake, between the lands of Michel
Duchesne and Bte. A. Tremble, and measured 120 arpens.
222. — Antoine Reneau purchased from William Forsyth 120 arpens fronting on
the lake between the claims of Joseph Campeau and Pierre Tremble, May 3, 1806.
The location was known as Pointe Guinolet, originally settled by Francois Ble, who
sold to William Forsyth.
223 — by Louis Reneau, comprising 120 arpens, fronted on Lake Saint Clair,
between the lands of Louis Griffard and Francois Bonhomme, was ceded.
224 — by Jacques Allard, Jr., containing 120 arpens, fronted on the lake between
the lands of Colas Rivard and Jacques Allard, Senr. This land was originally
settled by J. Bte. Dumas who transferred it to Bte. Celeron, who sold to Jacques
Allard in 1807.
225 — by Michel Duchesne, containing 120 arpens, fronted on the lake, between
the lands of Bte. Lapierre and Bte. Petit. Louis Thibault was the original grantee,
who sold to F. Bernard, who sold to J. B. Comparet, Jr., who in turn sold his in-
terest to Duchesne.
220 — by Joseph Robertjean, containing 630 arpens, fronted on the Huron be-
tween the lands of Joseph Rowe and James Abbott, was settled in 1795 by John
Loveless, who sold to the claimant in 1798. Christian Clemens testified that
Robertjean cultivated a portion of the claim since 1801.
231 — by Alexander Grant, containing 639 acres, fronting on Lake Saint Clair,
between the claims of William Forsyth and Gregor McGregor, was, as stated by J.
Bte. Campeau or Penish, to possession of grant previous to July, 1796.
Louis Chapaton's (claim 338) land, 120 arpens in area, fronted on the Huron,
extended to the lake between the farms of F. Saint Ohin and Louis Maure.
Seraphin Leson testified that such land was in possession of Joseph Campeau pre-
vious to July, 1796, who disposed of his interest therein to Chapaton.
19
^I'y
<a_
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 207
239. — Jean Bte. Marsac claimed 120 arpens fronting on the lake at Grosse
Point, between the farms of Pierre Yax and Charles Gouiin, in possession of Joseph
Serre, and previous to July, 1796.
240. — Marsac also claimed 120 arpens fronting* on the lake between Capt.
Fleming's and Francis Tremble's holdings, originally settled by Louis Billon ; dit
Vesperance, and conveyed by him to Marsac, Aug. 17, 1801.
242. — Robert Robertjean claimed forty-five arpens, fronting on the Huron, ex-
tending to the lake, and lying between the lands of Joseph Robertjean and Michel
Tremble, in his possession previous to 1796.
243. — Jean Marie Beaubien's claim of 640 acres fronting on the river Saint
Clair, between the lands of Meldrum and Park and those of the negro, Harry
Sanders, was allowed.
249. — Francois Bonhomme or Bonome claimed 200 arpens fronting on the lake
at Pointe a Guinolet, between the lands of J. Bte. Vernier and Louis Reneau, Sr.,
which was in his possession previous to July, 1796.
250. — Nicholas Patenaude, Jr., claimed 160 arpens at L'ance Creuse, on the lake
shore, between the farms of Vernier or Ladouceur and Bte. Socier, occupied by
Francois Ambroise Tremble previous to 1796.
261. — Jean Baptiste Creque's widow and heirs claimed forty arpens fronting
on the lake, between the holdings of Meldrum and Park and Joseph Allair, which
land was in their possession previous to July, 1796.
262,-:-Meldrum and Park claimed eighty arpens fronting on Lake Saint Clair,
between 261 and that of Nicholas Patenaude.
236. — William Connor claimed 600 acres fronting on the Huron, between the
lands of John Askin, Jr., and James Connor, improved in 1794 by William Connor
and his sons, and now claimed by James Connor.
272. — William Robertson's heirs claimed 300 acres fronting on the lake be-
tween H. St. Bernard's and Francois Tremble's farms — land purchased originally
by Wm. Groesbeck from the Indians, and deeded by him to the deceased William
Robertson January 15, 1796. Groesbeck made the first improvements here so
early as 1780 through his tenants who remained there until 1785, when George
Baker contracted to buy the land. Baker remained on it many years, but made no
payments, Baker being content to inform him that L'Esperance would pay the
XlOO due on it. In 1805, Groesbeck found the land vacant, and with the per-
mission of J. Bte. Marsac and Wm. Robertson's agent, both claimants, he went to
live on his old property, where he lived up to 1808 without paying rent to any
party. L'Esperance stated to the Board August 18, 1808, that he purchased from
Jacob Baker the tract in question and sold it to J. Bte. Marsac, for a plantation,
on the British side of the Detroit River.
(a r" -^ ©
^
'.I.
208 HISTORY OF :\IACOMB COUNTY.
273. — Nicholas Patenaude, Sr., bought twenty-four arpens fronting on Lake
St. Chiir, between the Robinson and Martin and the Meldrum and Park properties,
in 1778, and claimed to have improved such lands so early as 1758.
276. — Julien Forton claimed 160 arpens fronting on the lake, between the
farms of Pierre Ambroise and Gabriel Reneau. Seraphin Leson testified that Forton
held possession of this tract previous to 1796.
277. — Charles Chovin claimed 220 arpens fronting on the lake between the
lands of Jos. Sansfacon and J. Bte. Marsac, which he located previous to 1796 ;
he also claimed a tract (278) containing 110 arpens fronting on the lake, between
the farms of J. Bte. Lapierre and Etienne Sieur, also possessed by him previous to
1796.
316. — Louis Leduc claimed 120 arpens fronting on the lake between the claim
of Panacha and that of Francois Duchesne at L'ance Creuse, in possession of one
Champagne previous to 1796, transferred to Jean Sunare, and by him to Le Due.
389. — Joseph Campeau claimed, as the grantee of Louis Maure, a tract of land
fronting on the Huron, extending to Lake St. Clair, and lying between the lands
of Louis Chapoton, Sr., and another claim of Joseph Campeau. Louis Maure pos-
sessed those lands previous to 1796, and continued in their possession until the
execution of the deed, September 10, 1808, to Joseph Campau.
320. — Jean Bte. St. Laurent claimed 120 arpens fronting on the lake between
the holdings of Baptiste A. Tremble and Francois A. Tremble. Gabriel Reneau
was the possessor of these lands previous to 1796, and continued so until the
transfer of the property to his brother Louis ; who sold to Bazile Crequi from whom
J. B. St. Laurent purchased July 15, 1808.
343. — Pierre Yax claimed 480 arpens at la Pointe Aux Crapauz, fronting on
Lake St. Clair, in his possession previous to and since the year 1796.
502. — Rene Marsac's title to 80 arpens, fronting on Lake St. Clair, and lying
between the lands of Francois Marsac and Nicholas Patenaude, was confirmed De-
cember 14, 1808.
505. — Jean Bte. Petit claimed 160 arpens at L'ance Creuse, fronting the lake,
and lying between the lands of Michel Duchesne and Mr. Bellinger. F. St. Ber-
nard was the possessor of this tract in 1796 ; he sold to Louis Petit Clair, who sold
in turn to Louis Maure, and he sold to J. Bte. Petit.
513. — Louis Laforge, possessor of a tract of 150 arpens, fronting the lake at
L'Ance Creuse, between tlie farms of J. Bte. Pare and Baptiste Dube, was con-
firmed in his title. Mr. Cady states that this pioneer was a centenarian, and re-
mained on his old homestead until ten or twelve years ago.
541. — James Connor and Christian Clemens, associate owners of a tract of land
situate on the north side of the river Huron, containing 640 acres, fronting on the
1.
® »-- ^ ®
2L
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 209
river, and lying between the lands of Peter Douman on the east, and John Connor
on the west, claimed a title thereto on account of possession, occupancy, and im-
provement, previous to and since 1796. Henry Connor testified that John Chartion
was possessor of those lands for five years previous to 1796, when he sold to the
claimants. They cultivated six acres of ground, built a house, and planted an or-
chard previous to December, 1808. The claimants exhibited a deed made by Henry
Tuckar March 4, 1808.
542. — Christian Clemens claimed 640 acres south of and fronting on the Huron,
next above the land of James Abbott. James Connor testified that a long period
prior to 1796, Edward Hazel took possession of the tract, and held it until the sale
to James Abbott, and he in turn was the owner until the sale to his son — James
Abbott, Jr., under whom Mr. Clemens went into possession.
544. — Joseph Campeau claimed eighty arpens fronting on the lake, between
the lands of Thomas Tremble and Etienne Duchesne; at Point a Guinolette,
originally in possession of Pierre Duchesne. In 1808 twenty arpens were culti-
vated, and a house erected.
545. — Joseph Campeau claimed a tract on the south side of the Huron, three
arpens of which fronted on the river, extending in depth to Lac St. Clair, between
the claims of Louis Campeau and Louis Maure. Michel Duchesne proved occu-
pancy by the claimant previous, and since 1796. In 1808 thirty arpens were
under cultivation.
546. — Henry Connor claimed 640 acres on the north side of the Huron, front-
ing on the river, and running up the main river sixteen acres. James Connor
testified that, several years prior to 1796, he saw the claimant ploughing the land,
and when returning from tlie Indian Country in 1804, a house was erected, and the
claimant was engaged in making other improvements. Francis Guy's testimony
was substantiatory.
569 — Israel Ruland claimed 640 acres lying on the south and north sides of
Salt River, of which thirty-two acres fronted on the south bank of the river, and
extended backwards twenty-two acres between the lands deeded to him September
29 (also claimed by Meldrum and Park) ; while five acres fronted on the north
bank, extending back twenty acres, between the lands of George Meldrum on the
east, and the wild lands on the west and north. Previous to 1796, N. Petit and A.
Prevot were living on those lands as tenants of Meldrum and Park. They evacu-
ated the place in 1797 when John Bte. Nantay took possession for the claimant.
In 1802 he saw John Lagord, Pierre Champagne and Joseph Socier on the premises.
During his first stay there were old houses. He aided in building new houses,
cleared three or four acres, and made and enclosed a garden. John Lagord also
repaired an old house and built two new ones for the plaintiff.
'f
<a k.
UiL
310 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
|3
564. — Jean Baptiste Rivard claimed 240 arpens, l)0und6d in front by the lake,
northeast by Jean Crequi's former claim, southwest by the land of Joseph Socier,
and in the rear by the unlocated lands.
565. — Etienne Socier claimed 160 arpens fronting on the lake, betweenn the
lands of Jean Bte. Lapeer, and J. Bte. A. Tremble. Joseph Laforet was in posses-
sion of this tract previous to 1796, he sold to Bte. Cochois in July 1796, who
exchanged with Ignace Sen^, who in a few months after sold to Henry Campeau,
who in turn sold to J. A. Tremble. Tremble sold to Araable Latour, from whom
it passed into the hands of Socier in 1804.
566. — Jean Bte. Ambroise Tremble claimed 160 arpens fronting on Lake St
Clair, between claim 565 and the lands of Bte. Celleron. Ignace Send had posses-
sion previous to 1796, who sold to Cochois, who in turn sold to Tremble.
576. — Jean Bte. Sen6 claimed 252 arpens fronting Lac St. Clair, between the
lands of Jacques AUiard and Louis Reneau. This tract was owned by Louis Grif-
fard, Jr., previous to 1796, and continued in his possession until he sold to Senc
December 23, 1808.
577. — Henry St. Bernard claimed 120 arpens fronting on the lake, between the
lands of Laurent Griffard and Julian Campeau. Capt. William Fleming was the
owner previous to 1796, and subsequently until he sold to Joseph Elliar, from whom
the claimant purchased September 12, 1808.
584. — Alex. EUair's widow claimed 120 arpens fronting on the lake between
the lands of George McGregor and Madame Crequi by virtue of possession, etc.,
previous to 1796. The widow's name was Josette Galinion.
585. — Joseph Socier claimed 120 arpens fronting on the lake between the
lands of Bte. Rivard and John Litle, by virtue of occupation and improvement
since 1788.
599. — James Abbott's legal heirs claimed 640 acres fronting on Lac Saint Clair,
between Duchesne's land on the south and southwest, and the unlocated lands on
the north and northwest, on account of improvements made previous to 1796.
601. — Bte. Dubay claimed a tract of land fronting on the lake, between the
claims of Louis Laforge and Simon Landri, originally settled by Joseph Garand,
purchased by Seraphin Leson, who sold to the claimant in 1802.
602. — Alexis Dubay claimed 160 arpens at L'ance Creuse, extending from the
lake between the lands of Simon Landri and Michel Comparet, settled previously
to 1796 by Dubay Pere, v/lio sold to Alexis in 1802.
603. — Cecille Campeau's heirs claimed 640 acres fronting on the Huron, be-
tween the lands of Joseph Campeau and Michel Comparet, extending to the lake
front. Cecille was the widow of Thomas Williams, and at the period immediately
preceding her demise was the wife of Jacques Leson.
"r
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 211
604. — Joseph Campeau claimed the land fronting on the Huron, between his
own lands above and those of F. Saint Obin below, by virtue of possession, occu-
pancy and improvement made by Thomas Edwards and Jacques Leson previous to
1796. Leson sold this tract to Joseph Campeau, but Mrs. Leson refused to sign the
deed. In this state the claim was allowed to rest for some time until finally ad-
justed.
605. — Pierre Mayet's heirs claimed 160 arpens fronting on Lake Saint Clair,
between the lands of Bte. Chovin and Jean Louis Tremble, settled previous to
1796 by the deceased Pierre.
610. — John Connor claimed 640 acres on the North Branch of the Huron, ex-
tending from the north bank of the river along the James Connor claim on the east,
and bounded by unlocated lands on the north and rear. Henry Connor proved
possession previous to 1796. In 1797 John Connor went into the Indian country,
leaving the land and improvements in care of the witness.
Julian Campeau claimed (611) 120 arpens fronting on Lake Saint Clair, be-
tween the lands of Henry Saint Bernard and Jean Baptiste Marsac, of which Capt.
William Fleming was the first owner. He sold to Joseph Elliar, and he, in turn,
to Julian Campeau, Sept. 10, 1808.
613. — Francois Marsac claimed a tract on Tremble's Creek, bounded in front
by the creek, originally settled by Andrew Baker, who sold it to John Litle May
7, 1796, from whom it was purchased in 1801, by Marsac, was allowed,
614 — granted to Capt. Marsac. This land was in possession of Pierre Yax, pre-
vious to 1796, and until he sold it to his son Francois Yax, who disposed of it to
Marsac Feb. 18, 1808. This claim was bounded in front by Swan Creek, and on all
other sides by wild land.
616. — Nicholas Campeau claimed three tracts in one farm fronting on the
Huron and extending to Lake Saint Clair, between the claims of Joseph Campeau.
John Tuckar proved that those lands were in possession of N. Value, Augustin
Charon and A. Leboeuf previous to and after the year 1796.
624. — Gaget Tremble claimed a tract of land, possessed previous to 1796 by
Maison and Antoine Larabelle, who sold to the claimant Feb. 4, 1801, their in-
terests therein. The tract comprises 600 arpens fronting Lake Saint Clair, and extend-
ing northwards to Milk River, between the Joseph Campeau claim and the wild
lands. In 1808, 200 arpens were under cultivation.
625. — Pierre Duchesne claimed a tract of land southwest of L'ance Creuse,
bounded on the northeast by Jacques Alli?rd's former claim, on the southwest by
the Long Meadow, in front by Lac Saint Clair, and in rear by unlocated lands, in
virtue of his possession thereof, before July, 1796.
626. — Christian Clemens claimed 280 arpens fronting on the Huron, between
it.
212 HISTORY OF :\IACOMB COUNTY.
unlocated lauds in rear, the claim of John Askin, Jr., on one side, and claimant's
land on the other. John Askin, Jr., was the owner of the land in 1796.
627. — Pierre Yax claimed 480 arpens fronting on Lake St. Clair, extending
back to the unlocated lands along Francois Marsac's claim on the south, at the
wild lands on the north, which he continued to cultivate from 1796 down to 1808.
628. — Margaret Conner, widow of Richard Connor, claimed for herself and
children, a tract one mile south of the River Huron fronting on a small creek called
Big Run, which for several years prior to 1796 was improved annually by the de-
ceased Richard Connor and herself.
630. — Baptiste Socier claimed 210 arpens fronting on Lake St. Clair above the
lands of Nicholas Patenaude, belonging to Jos. Garand in 1796 and subsequently
sold to Socier.
631. — Francois Ambroise Tremble claimed 120 arpens at Pointe Guinolet
fronting on the lake between the lands at Benj. Marsac and Francis Forton, in his
possession previous to and since 1796.
633. — Joseph Campeau (8th) claimed a tract fronting on the Huron, between
the claims of Pierre Plienix by virtue of possession and improvement previous
to 1796.
650. — Pierre Tremble claimed a tract of land at Pointe Guinolet, fronting on
the lake, and running along the northeast side of Antoine Reneau's claim, bounded
on the southwest by Julian Forton's farm.
656. — Nicholas Rivard claimed a tract fronting the lake between Bte. Celleron
and Louis Tremble's land.
657. — Gabriel Reneau claimed one arpen fronting on the lake at Point Guino-
let, running back forty arpens, between the lands of Julian Forton and Nicholas
Rivard, transferred from Colos Rivard, the owner in 1796.
Q'ii'2. — Abraham Fournier claimed a tract bounded on the northeast by Widow
Ambroise Tremble's land, on the southwest by Rene Marsac's, in front by the lake,
running back forty arpens, to the non-ceded lands, all in possession of the deceased
husband previous to 1796.
693. — William Connor claimed 600 acres on the north side of the Huron,
bounded on the upper side by John Askin, Jr.'s, claim, on the other by that of
John Connor, in front by the river, and in rear by the unlocated lands, whicii tract
was taken possession of two years before the Americans took possession of the
country.
695. — Ambroise Tremble's widow and heirs claimed the homestead on which
the husband and father lived since 1774, until he died in 1805.
668. — John Askin, for Wm. Ancram, claimed a tract of land on the Huron,
which claim was supported by Robert Dowler, who said that in the year 1786, he
s~
\<^
«l
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
213
4
zl>L.
rented from Askin a part of this tract, and cultivated near sixteen acres thereof
during the succeeding two years. John Cornwall lived there sometime before 1788
as agent for Askin. Forty acres were nnder cultivation by tenants of Askin, and
there were a number of cabins erected on the lands by the Moravian ministei's and
Indians.
736. — Was granted to Joseph Laurent, 1810, by a certificate of the Board of
Land Commissioners.
Aaron Greely surveyed all those claims, reported to the U. S. Land Depart-
ment, and the General Government issued patents, in 1812, on the strength of
certificates of title issued by the Land Board of Detroit 1808-1810.
INDIAj;r RESERVATIONS.
The following review refers to the patentees of lands reserved to the Indians
in the treaties, and held by them until their purchase immediately after the treaty
of Detroit. A few hundred acres of those lands are outside the county line, yet
considered in the county records.
LA RIVIERE ATI VASES AND MACONEE RESERVES.
Francis Yax
William Darrell,
Leon C. Rivard,
James H. Cook,
Jonathan Kearsley,
Paul cir. Cayen,
59.79 acres, Sec. 13, T. 3 north, R. 14 east; May 13, 1839.
((
Jonathan Kearsley,
James H. Cook,
Joseph Socier,
Francis Yax,
William Darrell,
Lauring B. Migner,
Francois Yax,
Lansing B. Migner,
Jonathan Kearsley,
John B. Socier,
Jonathan Kearsley,
((
5.33
a
Sec. 14, T.
3 north,
R. 14 east;
a
74.30
((
Sec. 23,
((
((
a
79.40
((
((
((
((
it
65.35
((
((
((
a
((
20.13
n
((
a
a
((
55.26
((
((
a
n
((
17.90
n
((
a
a
((
48.00
((
u
((
a
((
78.32
((
Sec. 24,
((
((
((
13.80
a
((
((
a
C(
56.60
a
((
((
((
((
31.64
a
Sec. 26,
n
((
((
30.61
a
Sec. 28,
u
n
((
88.70
a
Sec. 29,
((
((
((
33.35
a
((
((
((
Oct.
1?
!, 1841.
56.00
ii
((
u
((
Jan.
2,
1844.
7.06
a
Sec. 32,
a
((
May
14
:, 1839.
38.07
a
Sec. 33, T. 3
, west, R
. 14, east ;
((
The patentees of the United States lands of this count}^, who were settlers
here or became settlers here after purchase, will be regarded in the pages devoted
to township history.
l9
-^
(2 i^
4^
214 HISTORY OF ]MACOMB COUNTY.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE MORAVIANS.
By what power tyranny is allowed to exist is one of the m3'-steries. Europe
before the Reformation was a continent of tyrannies — since the Reformation it has
changed the petty tyrant for the powerful one ; and is to-day ground down beneath
a more terrible — a more exacting — a more pernicious oppression than ever existed
to mark the pages of its olden history. Instead of a few hundred Moravians, a few
hundred Puritans, a few hundred Catholics flying from evil laws, as in olden times,
we have tens of thousands, aye hundreds of thousands, looking westward across
the Atlantic to these States with longing eyes, and sending messages of hope to
reach friends here before they die. Great numbers have come, are coming, and
doubtless may continue to come ; but the power that drives them from their old
homes is a mysterious one. Tyranny forced the Moravians to seek the encourage-
ment of tja-ants in 1749. It was willingly extended, and thirty-two j'-ears later the
same false friend murdered one hundred of those who sought and obtained his
dangerous patronage.
SETTLEMENT OP THE MORAVIAN SUSPECTS.
The English at Detroit suspected that a certain settlement of pious Moravians
on the Muskingum River were sympathizers with the Americans, called a conference
of the tribes at Niagara, and urged the fierce Iroquois to destroy the Moravian
Indians, the name given to the few redmen who had up to that period been con-
verted by the Moravian missionaries; but the Iroquois chiefs failed to see where
such a massacre would benefit themselves, and were content to send a message to
the Ottawas and Otchipwes, requesting them to make a houilli of the Moravian
Indians on the Muskingum. The Moravian missionaries arrived at Detroit in 1781,
when the Indians held a war council in presence of those missionaries and De Peyster,
the commandant. The Indian chief, known as Capt. Pike, told De Peyster, that
the English might kill the Americans if they wished — they had raised the quarrel
among themselves, and they who should fight it out. The English had set him on
the Americans just as the hunter sets his dog on the game ; but the Indian would
play the dog's part no longer.
Kishkawko and another warrior stood by the side of the British commandant.
The former carried a hickory cane about four feet long, ornamented or rather strung
with the scalps of Americans, together with a tomahawk presented to him by De
7{(9~ ^
"y
o w
^ gj^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 215
Peyster some time previously. He concluded his address to the commandant thus :
" Now, father, here is what has been done with the hatchet you gave me. I have
made the use of it you ordered me to do, and found it sharp." A few days after
this Council, the Moravians left Detroit for their new homes on the Riviere aux
JSurons.
MORAVIAN INDIANS, 1781.
Jacques Leson, in his evidence before the Land Commissioners at Detroit,
November 9, 1810, said, in his reference to William Ancram's claim for land in
Macomb County, " To the best of my knowledge the Moravian ministers with
Indians of the Delaware nation were living on these lands twenty-seven or twenty-
eight years ago. I lived in the village and cultivated lands near for many years
previous to July 1796, and recollect Wittaness telling me that Askin owned a
large quantity of land from the Moravian village upwards. Fifteen years ago the
late surveyor, McNiff, came up the Huron with Sanscrainte, the interpreter, who
informed me that they had come to survey the land by order of Askins. At that
time twenty or thirty arpens were under cultivation, and twenty or twenty-five
cabins and houses were erected."
John Askin, Sr., related, that on April 28, 1786, he purchased for himself and
William Ancram, then commandant at Detroit, sundry improvements of the Mo-
ravian ministers, and others, and made by them on the river Huron, which empties
into Lake St. Clair, near a place called the Moravian Village, for which he paid -$200.
He likewise purchased the improvements made at the same place by the Moravian
or Christian Indians — sixteen in number — for $200, also $50 to one John Bull for
improvements at the same place, together with furnishing the Moravians two vessels
to enable them to return to Muskingum — their former mission. For all this he
received the thanks of John Huckenwelder, their chief-missionary. At this time
there were more than twenty houses with many out-buildings, all of which were
purchased, save one occupied and claimed by the late Richard Connor, together
with an Indian cornfield with a yard and garden in rear, which were pur-
chased subsequently by him and Major Ancram from eleven chiefs of the Chippewa
Indians. These early land buyers cut a road from Detroit through the woods to
these lands — a distance of about twenty miles with a little assistance from the Mor-
avian Indians. After the Moravians gave up possession John Cornwall was
appointed agent, and Robert Dowlar, Ames Weston and others went on as tenants.
Those men left after some time when Ancram placed the Indian chief Wittaness
and his band in charge. Those Indians had much trouble with Richard Connor of
whom they often complained. This Moravian village and adjacent territory became
an elephant on the hands of Askin, and so he was glad to accept 1,600 pounds New
York currency for the property from Isaac Todd, and James McGill, then merchants
;^
i
216 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
of Montreal in Lower Canada. The deed of. conveyance bears date June 28,
1796.
MORAVIANISM.
The history of the Moravians begins in 1457, long years before Luther's
Reformation. Toward the close of the fifteenth century there were over 200
Moravian churches in Moravia and Bohemia, when a Moravian Bible was published
and studied. Passing over three centuries of the history of this religious society,
during which time it died out in its cradle, we learn of its revival in 1749 under
the auspices of the British Parliament. That body acknowledged Moravianism a
part of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and further enacted that every encourage-
ment should be given to its followers to settle in the British colonies of North
America. The Moravians came and established their missions along the frontier,
the most important of which was that in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, at Muskingum.
Here 100 missionaries and disciples were killed in 1781, under the auspices of the
British Government, ostensibly on account of outrages and murders charged
against them, but in reality on account of the sympathy which they exhibited
towards the New Republic, and under orders of British oflScers. The survivors of
the massacre came to Detroit in 1781, thence moved to the village on the Huron,
which they named JVew Grnadenhutten.
MORAVIAN MARRIAGES.
While waiting for one of those most uncertain conveyances, known as a Grrand
Trunk Train, one morning John E. Day pointed out the site of the ancient village
of New Gnadenhutten to the writer and Judge Avery, of N. Y. The latter related the
story of Moravian marriages, and, in fact, had time to review the history of the
United States before that Grrand Trunk Train arrived. The Moravians never
selected a wife — never had a chance to do so, for the reason tliat one of the articles
of their faith pointed out distinctly that God was the great designer, and to Him
tlie Moravian should trust the choice of a wife. The manner in which their God
made the selection was crude indeed. One of the principal missionaries brought
forth a cylindrical tin case, something similar to that which is used in lottery affairs
at the present time. In this he placed bark or paper slips, with the names of all male
candidates for matrimonial honors. Another missionary brought forth a similar tin
case, in which he placed tickets each bearing the name of one marriageable girl of
the settlement. Missionary No. 1 gave his lottery tickets a thorough shaking, then
opened the little door and took out the ticket which he first touched, the name on
which he read aloud, and then presented the ticket to the members of his audience
who were thenceforth witnesses. This first act played, missionary No. 2 gave the
lottery case containing the tickets bearing the female names, a shaking precisely as
-®
J® — ^^ - ^ 4 )^^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 217
thorough as that given in the former instance, and withdrawing a ticket, called out
the name, presented it to the persons near him, and called them to witness the
fifenuineness of the transaction. This closed the second act of the drama. The
third act was the religious ceremony of matrimony and the proclamation of the
nuptials ; the fourth was the wedding banquet, enlivened by hymns, gunshots, and
congratulatory speeches, and the fifth and last act of the play was a quiet, evi-
dently happy life until death separated the strangers who were made man and wife
in the third act.
MORAVIAN MANNERS, HABITS AND CUSTOMS.
The habits of those people and even of their Indian converts were as peculiar
as the manners were quiet and unassuming. Their customs were even stranger
than their habits. Economy was practiced to such an extent, that even they were
sparing in the use of language. In the midst of plenty they were accustomed to
deny themselves food, and proclaimed many fast days throughout the year. Their
tastes for agriculture were not so marked as their love for horticulture, but both
gave way to the prevailing passion for mechanical work. They clothed themselves
in the plainest fashion, yet seemed always at home under all circumstances. Cool
and calculating, and even usurious when chance offered, they were slow to betray
their feelings. They formed a community of such a peculiar character, that once
seen they could never be forgotten.
THE MORAVIAN VILLAGE.
This village was located where in later years was the farm of Elisha Harring-
ton, round the site of the residence of that pioneer. As described by Mr. Harrington,
this center of Moravianism on this continent, comprised thirty one-story log-houses
— fifteen on each side of a laneway forming tlie nucleus of what the day-dreams of
Huckenwelder pointed out would be the main street of a large and prosperous
town. In the center of one of those rows was the Moravian temple, differing very
little in external appearance from the dwellings of the worshipers, built as much
for defense against the bellicose Otchipwes, as for shelter from climatic extremes.
Here this tribe remained some years, but the Otchipwes, whose more warlike
natures made them the terror of all the neighboring tribes, became jealous of the
Moravians, hating them because they had abandoned the war-path, and the nomadic
life of their forefathers. They hated them because their religion was full of mys-
tery or appeared so to the savages of the Chippewa nation. The Moravians knew
full well how deep was the hatred, which their scalp-taking neighbors entertained
toward civilization, and her children, of their feelings toward any Indians who pro-
fessed friendship for the American, and this knowledge tended to render their stay
here as disagreeable as it was dangerous. It is no wonder to learn of their emigra-
.1^
rO^
i
21H HISTORY OP" MACOMB COUNTY.
tion. They scattered — some returning to Muskingum, others effecting a settle-
ment near the scene of Proctor's defeat, on the Thames River in Canada; but before
the persecuted people left their village on the banks of the Huron, fourteen mem-
bers of their colony died, and were buried at Frederick, where their graves were
made between what are now known as the Harrington and Stephen's farms.
The old Moravian village at Frederick has passed into the Past. It is as if it
had never been. One relic alone remains. Years ago Elisha Harrington, realizing
the fact that the time would come, when such a relic would possess no inconsider-
able interest to the antiquarian, dug up and preserved a piece of the timber, which
formed a part of one of those buildings.
The following paper on this subject, read by the Rev. B, H. Bissell, now at
Armada, before the Mount Clemens Lyceum, March 23, 1858, and introduced by
Judge Eldridge subsequently in his sketches is a valuable addition to Moravian his-
tory.
" In 1781, all the missionaries laboring at their different stations on the Musk-
ingum, in Ohio, were taken prisoners and brought before Col. De Peyster, at
Detroit, charged with acting in concert with the United States troops at Pittsburgh.
Early in July, 1782, several of the Indians who had been connected with the mis-
sion arrived at Detroit with some white brethren, among whom were Richard
Connor and his family. Having obtained permission from the Chippewas in their
behalf, De Peyster advised the Moravians to settle on the Clinton (then known as
the Huron) River, and to bring their Indians there. He furnished them a vessel
and provisions, and such utensils as they needed, together with two milch cows
and some horses, and his lady also made them several useful presents. On the 20th of
Jul}^ 1782, Zeisberger and Jungman, with their families, and Edwards and Jung,
single missionaries, set out with nineteen Indians from Detroit, and arrived at their
new home on the Clinton River the next evening. They named it New Gnaden-
hutten, in remembrance of their old home on the Muskingum. Some more of
their dispersed converts now gathered to them, and a flourishing settlement was
in prospect. . . . The commandant at Detroit had made arrangements with the
Indians tliat this settlement at Frederick should continue until peace was restored
between Great Britain and the United States. They remaining after this event,
the Chippewas, on whose lands the mission was located, became jealous of them,
and on the 20th of April, 1786, the whole was abandoned with the intention of
returning to Ohio. Mr. Connor being advanced in years preferred to remain, and
this made it a center for other settlers.
Richard Connor located upon what is known as the Wells Farm, now owned by
Messrs. Campbell and Sackett. The Moravian mission was located on the opposite
side of the river, near the present residence of Mr. Henry Harrington.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 219
This spot had evidently been the site of an ancient Indian village. A few
years afterwards, in sinking a cellar for a dwelling there, the excavators exhumed
a large number of bones, the remains of the dead buried there.
Afterj the establishment of this settlement at Frederick, and before the
departure of the missionaries in the spring of 1874, Mr. William moved with his
family into the county and located a home at about the spot where Mr. Charles
Tucker now resides. Of these two first American settlers we naturally love to in-
quire. From whence they came, and why, would be subjects of interest had their
lives been even those of quiet, ordinary vanguards of civilization in peaceful times."
THE GERMAN IMMIGRATION OF 1845.
The extensive German immigration of 1845 brought to Michiojan a number of
Franconians and Bavarians, who felt themselves oppressed at home. Those under
the advice of Pastor Loche resolved to emigrate to the United States, there to
follow the profession of the Lutheran creed, and to essay the conversion of the
Indians. Within a few years the first colony of fifteen, succeeding in attracting
five times that number to our land, and of the second and third bodies of immi-
grants a few settled in Macomb County, the greater number locating in Saginaw.
The immigration of 1849, the result of an attempt made by the people to cast
away the tyrant, marked the history of that year. The Revolutionists sought
refuge in the United States, not a few of them finding a home of liberty in this
county. The German immigration of later days brought us Pomeranians and
Mecklenburghers, Belgians and Hollanders.
^
CHAPTER XIV.
PIONEER HISTORY.
A period of time bordering on a century has passed away since the American
pioneer first appeared in this county. Those years have been pregnant with
changes — social, political, even physical change. The visitor of to-day, ignorant
of the past history of Macomb, could scarcely realize the fact, that within ninety-
seven years, a population, approximating 35,000 grew up, where, toward the close
of the Eighteenth Century, a few bands of aborigines, with a few French and
American trappers, hunters and fishermen existed. The population has not only
grown to its present number, but also in wealth, refinement and all these char-
acteristics, which mark the older counties, of the Eastern States. Schools, churches,
palatial dwellings, extensive marts, busy mills, cultivated fields now occupy the
i
V
220 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
village sites and hunting grounds of the Otchipwes ; while ? people endowed with
the highest faculties occupy the domain of the Otchipwes themselves. There are
but few left of the old landmarks, still a smaller number of the old settlers.
Civilization and its demands have conspired to raze almost every monument of the
red man — to obliterate almost every trace of his occupancy ; while on the other
hand Old Time placed his heavy hand upon many of tlie pioneers, driving them,
as it were, away from the old homestead to the promised land beyond the grave.
Previous to 1781 the white inhabitants were all Frenchmen or French Canadians
and the numerous Fre'nch trappers and hunters who made the banks of the North-
ern Huron their headquarters. During the year 1781 the first American settler set
his foot upon the soil, and built for himself the rude hut, which was the model of
pioneer dwellings in the State. The treaty which conveyed the land in tlie neigh-
borhood of Detroit to the National Government drew attention to this portion of the
ceded Indian territor}^, and attracted a few more settlers. The fur traders intro-
duced themselves, found a land teeming with milk and honey, and settled in it, so
far as such men settle, while yet all Michigan, save that portion of the peninsula
around Detroit, was a wilderness. Succeeding them a stream of Americans
poured in, and in the course of a dozen years, it was found that many of the Amer-
icans who came as visitors, located here, and built their homes in the beautiful
wilderness.
It is not strange that among the pioneers and old settlers of a county, a deep-
seated and sincere friendship should spring up, to grow and strengthen with their
advancing years. The incidents peculiar to life in a new country, the trials and
hardships, privations and destitutions, are well calculated to test, not only the
physical powers of endurance, but also the moral, kindly, generous attributes of
true manhood and womanhood. Then are the times which try men's souls, and
bring to the surface all that may be in them of good or evil. As a rule, there is an
equality of conditions that can not recognize distinction of class — all occupy a com-
mon level, and as a consequence a fraternal feeling grows into existence that is as
lasting as the lives of the old settlers, and, in a great number of instances, as the
lives of their children.
In such a community there is a hospitality, a kindness, a benevolence, and
high above all, a charity, unknown and unpracticed among the older, richer, and
more densely populated settlements, just in the same manner, perhaps, as there was
a higher faith animating the early Christians, than that which marks the Christian
people of the present day. The very nature of the surroundings of those pioneers
taught them to feel each other's woe — to share in each other's joy, and live in com-
munal integrity. An injury or a wrong may be ignored with profit to the evil-doer
and his victim ; but a kind, generous, charitable act is never to be forgotten — the
sU
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 221
memory of old associations and kind acts must for ever remain green. Raven locks
may bleacli in the summer sun, and whiten through the cold of winter ; round
cheeks may become sunken and hollow; the fire of intellect may fade from the
e3'e : the brow may become wrinkled with care and age, and the erect form may bow
under the weight of accumulated years ; but the true friends of long ago must be
remembered so long as memory itself lives.
As a general rule the men and women who first settled this land were bold,
fearless, self-reliant and industrious. In these respects no matter from what part of the
world those old settlers came, there was a similarity of character. In birth, educa-
tion, language and religion there were differences; but such differences did not
interfere with harmony; in fact, they soon vanished, became lost by association,
and a common interest united all.
In pioneer life there are always incidents of peculiar interest, not only to the
pioneers themselves, but also to posterity. It is a matter much to be regretted that
the old settlers of Macomb did not begin at an earlier date to organize themselves
into an association, for even the record of reminiscences related at the meetings
of such an association have a direct bearing upon history, and serve to add to the
literature of the Republic's first century the history of every community. Aside
from the historic importance of such re-unions, they serve to enliven and cement
old friendships, and renew old memories that might have been interrupted by the
innovations of progress. It is well that even now they have realized the import-
ance of organization.
SOCIETY OP 1871.
At a meeting of pioneers held at Romeo Hall, Sept. 5, 1871, to organize a
pioneer society, William F. Abbott was elected chairman, and Aaron B. Rawles,
secretary. On motion of A. E. Leete, a resolution was adopted to form the Romeo
Historical Society. A committee of five was appointed to draft a Constitution
and By-Laws, as follows : Albert E. Leete, Dexter Miissey, C. Bearing, H. 0. Ladd
and J. E. Day. This committee reported a series of six articles for the govern-
ment of the society, which report was adopted. The meeting then proceeded to
elect officers, with the following result : President, Albert E. Leete ; Vice-Presi-
dent, John E. Day ; Secretary and Treasurer, William F. Abbott ; Historian,
Horatio O. Ladd. This society continued in existence for some time, but ultimately
ceased to exist.
ORGANIZATION OP THE COUNTY PIONEERS.
At the earnest request of many citizens of Macomb County, anxious to collect
incidents and biographical sketches of early settlements and settlers, and place on
record some of the early history of the county, a meeting was called at Washington
Village, March 22, 1881. Owing to the severity of the weather and condition of
i
H^
Q.
222 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
the roads, the pioneer element was not so largely represented as it would otherwise
have been.
The meeting was called to order by W. A. Wales, when Mr. Wales was
elected chairman and Stephen B. Cannon, secretary. Prayer was offered
by Rev. John Cannon. Loren Andrus, H. Rose, Rev. John Cannon,
Calvin G. White, Thomas Brabb, H. N. Miller, Niles Giddings. C. M.
Bates, addressed the people on the subject of organization. This meeting was
entirely favorable to the enterprise, a committee of three was appointed to draft a
Constitution and set of By-Laws. A committee was named to recommend names
of persons for permanent officers of the society, another committee on music, and
still another to arrange for a future meeting of the pioneers.
Committee No. 1 was comnosed of Stephen B. Cannon, Loren Andrus and N.
H. Miller. No. 2 comprised N. H. Miller, Allen Pearsall and Timothy Lockwood.
No. 3 was represented by Byron Norton. No. 4, by Loren Andrus, Stephen B.
Cannon, Mrs. Loren Andrus, Mrs. Thomas Brabb and Mrs. William A. Stone.
Loren Andrus moved that the Rev. Edward Davis be requested to deliver
the inaugural address before the first regular meeting of the association.
THE FIRST REGULAR MEETING
Was held May 26, 1881. The Committee on Constitution and By-Laws reported,
which report was accepted on motion made by John E. Day. The Committee on
Permanent Officers was directed to reconsider report, which order was followed
by the recommendation of Chauncey G. Cady for president ; Williard A. Wales,
treasurer, and John E. Day, secretary. The following-named gentlemen were
appointed Vice-Presidents : O. G. Burgess, Richmond ; Hiram Barrows^, Armada ;
Dexter Mussey, Bruce ; John A. Tinsman, Washington ; Zelotis Stone, Ray ; John
Dryer, Lenox; C. Hooker, Chesterfield; Horace H. Cady, Macomb; John Keeler,
Shelby; Charles Hutchins, Stirling; Edgar Weeks, Clinton; William Tucker,
Harrison ; John Cumings, Erin ; John Beebe, Warren.
At this meeting over 400 persons were present ; tlie History of Washtenaiv
County, introduced and edited by M. A. Leeson, was presented by Mr. Lorenzo
Davis, son of Rev. J. E. Davis, of Macomb County, a representative citizen of
Washtenaw.
An executive committee, composed of Stephen B. Cannon," Martin ^Buzzell,
and Perry M. Bentley, was elected.
C. Harlow Green read a paper on the early schools, of the churches and
pastors of Macomb County.
The Seci'etary, John E. Day, spoke in support of Rev. Mr. Davis' paper,
and on the importance of securing not only a history of events connected with the
'~S)
a.
4
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 223
county, but also a biographical sketch of each of the old settlers. His remarks
were fully concurred in.
The address of welcome delivered by the centenarian, Rev. J. E. Davis, of
Macomb Township, was a remarkably able paper, very full and instructive, and one
which was received most enthusiastically by the people.
The second meeting of the society was held at Gray's Opera House, Romeo,
September 7, 1881. This reunion was one of the most important ever held by the
pioneers of any county in the Union, made so by the historic excellence of the dis-
courses delivered. Dexter Mussey spoke on the local history of Romeo, Judge
James B. Eldridge on the organization in Macomb County. J. E. Day read
Nathaniel Carter's paper on his settlement in the County. Mr. Day also read a
poem by James Lawson, the writer being then at Point St. Ignace, engaged in the
examination of public lands. The first temperance movement in the county was ably
treated by the secretary; while S. H. Ewell dealt with the first election, on the
Temperance Ticket^ held at Romeo. The president, C. G. Cady, H. A. Cady, Elisha
Calkins, Oran Freeman, Thos. Stalker, and Joseph Chubb were among the speakers
and story-tellers.
The third reunion of the society was held within the Congregational Church,
Armada Village, December 28, 1881. C. G. Cady presided with John E. Day,
secretary. This, the writer is inclined to think, was one of the most agreeable
reunions ever participated in. It was organized at the instance of the secretary and
was complete in every particular — social and literary. Rev. H.N. Bissell delivered
a discourse on the early History of Macomb. The young ladies, who added so
much to the success of the meeting, were partially rewarded by witnessing the
excitement, which one of their practical jokes drew forth. They helped the old
people to tea, cream and salt — they enjoyed the luxury of doing good, and were
particularly amused to witness the wry faces which their senior friends assumed
when the joke was discovered.
A paper was read by Perrin C. Goodell, on Early Times in Armada. Messrs.
Ewell and Davis, accompanied on the organ by Miss Owen, rendered the song
— The Old Musician and his Harp, very effectively. Mr. H. O. Brown, representing
the writer of the County History, laid before the meeting a plan of the proposed
history. His address was well received. L. D. Owen read a paper on early times
in Shelby ; the president recited a number of his experiences of early settlement.
Edgar Weeks dealt with the history of the Press of Macomb County ; Oran Free-
man related a few unvarnished tales ; an historical committee was appointed to
aid the general historian in the correction or revision of the general history, and
a vote of thanks passed to the people of Armada, as well as to the genial pres-
ident.
(a
^y
.J^
224 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
CHARTER MEMBERS.
Chaunce}^ G. Cad}^ born in Otsego County, N. Y"., August 20, 1808, settled in
Clinton Township, at Mount Clemens, October 20, 1820, elected president of the
Macomb County Pioneer Association in 1881.
M. I. Cady, born in Onondaga County, N. Y., December 19, 1820. Moved to
Oakland, and located in Warren Township, Macomb Co., in 1832.
John E. Day, son of Erastus Day, Jr., was born in Armada Township, January
11, 1838, is now a resident of Richmond Township, and secretary of the Pioneer
Society of Macomb County.
John Cannon, born at Salem, Mass., September 21, 1808, moved to Saratoga,
N. Y., thence to Washtenaw Co., Mich., and in 1831, located on Section 3, Shelby
Township, where he has been minister of the Christian Church since 1831.
Calvin G. White, born at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., July 10, 1803, moved to West-
ern New York in 1817, and to Armada Township, May 16, 1831.
S. H. Davis and his wife, S. M. Davis, born in Genesee County, N. Y., September
13, 1813, settled in Wasliington Township at Romeo, June 15, 1843.
Robert Warner. See biograi)hical sketch.
Arad Freeman was born at Pompey, N. Y., February 28, 1815, moved to On-
tario County, N. Y., and thence to Ray Township, Macomb County, June 3,
1824.
Peter J. Lerich, born in Warren County, N. J., May 20, 1810, settled in Shelby,
May 29, 1835.
Sarah F. Lerich was born in Warren County, N. J., December, 4, 1817, settled
in Shelby, May 29, 1835.
John Gass was born in Green County, N. Y., 1808, moved to Ray Township
in 1830, where he settled on Section 29.
Samuel H.Ewell, born at Romeo, now Middlebury, Genesee Co., N. Y., January
3, 1819, moved to Bruce Township, May 28, 1836.
Martin Buzzell, born in Ciinada East, May 16, moved to Western New York
in 1817, and to Bruce Township, July 1831.
Julia A. Buzzell, born in Canada, November 11, 1824, moved to Washington
Township, Octol^er 6, 1844.
Stephen B. Cannon, born in Washtenaw County, Mich., September 30, 1832,
settled in Washington Township, Macoml) County, January, 1834.
Hiram W. Miller, was born at Hampton, Washington Co., N. J., November 26,
1814, moved to Genesee County, N. Y., and thence to Washington Township, tliis
County, June, 1822.
E. D. Harablin, was born at Windsor, Vt., January 16, 1809 ; moved to Mon-
roe County, N. Y., and thence to Macomb County, Mich., June 1, 1826.
(3
-© "V
(2 W-
-^ ^ _
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 225
MEMBERS ENROLLED SINCE ORGANIZATION.
O. D. Thompson, born at Wellport, N. Y., December 23, 1835 ; settled at
Romeo, November, 1858. Principal of Romeo High School.
William L. Dicken, born in Ray Township, Macomb County, October 8, 1833,
County Clerk, January 1, 1879.
Charles Tackles, born in Macomb County, November 22, 1827. Elected
County Treasurer, and entered on duties of that office, January 1, 1879.
Joseph Chubb, born at Pittsford, Monroe Co., N. Y., April 5, 1822, moved into
Ray Township, Macomb County, May, 1825, was admitted an Attorney-at-Law in
1862 by the Washtenaw Circuit Court.
Henry Connor, born in Macomb County, October 25, 1818, grandson of the
pioneer, Richard O'Connor. He has been proprietor of the hotel at Mount Clemens
for the last thirty-five years.
James B. Eldridge, born in Macomb County, November 25, 1836 ; elected
Judge of Probate in 1876, and entered on duties of that office, January 1, 1877.
Robert J. Crawford, born in Macomb County, September 1, 1858.
Calvin Davis, born in Macomb County, July 27, 1832.
George A. Waterbury, born at St. Clair, St. Clair County, August 11, 1847 ;
moved to Sanilac in 1848 ; to Romeo, July, 1873, now proprietor and editor of the
Romeo Observer^ and possessor of a fine collection of antiquities and minerals.
Erastus Day, born in Otsego County, N. Y., October 15, 1808 ; moved into
Canada, 1812, and to Lima, N. Y., in 1824; thence to Bruce Township, Macomb
County, December, 1826. He was for fifty years a captain of State Militia, and is a
survivor of the Toledo War.
Mrs. Betsey Day was born at Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y., October 17, 1813;
moved to Chautauqua County, N. Y., in 1816, to Erie County, Pa., in 1826, and
thence to Macomb County, Mich., in 1835. This lady was the pioneer school
teacher of Armada Township.
Julia Seeley, born in Lindon Township, Vt., January 11, 1808; moved to
Oneida County, N. Y., thence to Onondaga, thence to Niagara and lastly to
Michigan, in 1831. She is the daughter of Joseph Thurston.
William Inwood, born at Dunkinfield, Southampton, England, February 28,
1791. Came to Washington Township, Macomb County, May 22, 1837.
Dexter Mussey, born at Worcester, Mass., January 12, 1811 ; moved to Lowell,
Mass., in 1832, and to Romeo, Mich., in 1837. He was speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Grace N. Owen, born in Genesee County, N. Y., November 12, 1824 ; moved
to Shelby Township, June 18, 1825.
Charles Andrews, born at Putney, Vt., August 28, 1820; moved to West
15
:rr
226 HISTORY OF .MACOMB COUNTY.
Bloomfield in 1829, to Minclon, N. Y., in 1830, to Pittsford, N. Y., in 1832, to
Armada in 1840. State Senator from 1828 to 1870.
Horace H. Cady, born at Hadlej, Windham Co., Conn., February 20, 1801,
moved to Batavia, Genesee Co., N. Y., and thence to Mount Clemens, May 24,
1821. Mr. Cady has been a member of the Legislature for many years.
Deliverance S. Priest, born at Bennington, Vt., August 7, 1814, moved to
Western New York in 1819, thence to Ray Township, Macomb County, in 1888.
John N. Sellick, born at Middlebury, Wyoming Co., N. Y., February 17, 1808 ;
moved to Avon, Livingstone Co., in 1814, and thence to Romeo, Mich., i.i March,
1837.
J. W. Allor, born in Jefferson County, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1837, came to Chester-
field, Macomb Co., October 23, 1852.
Oran Freeman was born in Onondago County, N. Y., June 14, 1818 ; moved
to Ontario, N. Y., and thence to Ray Township, June 1, 1824.
George W. Garvin was born in Washington Township, Macomb County,
August 26, 1835, now a resident of Ray Township.
George W. Gass, born in Green County, N. Y., May 1, 1813, came to Ray
Township, October 3, 1836.
Lydia Bailey, born at Romeo in 1834, daughter of Asahel Bailey, still resides
at Romeo.
LutheT Procter was born at Armada in 1830.
Mrs. Lutlier Procter, daughter of A. W. Stirling, was born at Romeo in 1836.
Nathaniel Carter, born at Leominster, Mass., February 20, 1806 ; settled in
Armada Township, September 10, 1831.
Edmund Gould, born in Onondaga County, N. Y., June 14, 1817 ; moved to
Ontario County, N. Y., and thence to Bruce Township, June 1, 1823.
Wilson Cronk, born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., March 22, 1822 ; moved to
Otsego County, thence to Monroe County, N. Y., and lastly to Ray Township,
December 20, 1854.
Julia A. Cronk was born in Erie County, N. Y., January 23, 1828 ; moved
thence to Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and again to Ray, February 21, 1855.
Philip Cudworth was born at Richmond, Ontario Co., N. Y., March 30, 1811 ;
located on Section 33 of Armada, October, 1835.
Stephen H. Fitch, born in Columbia County. N. Y., July 17, 1807, moved to
Ontario County, N. Y., in 1824 ; thence to Cattaraugus County, 1828, and to
Romeo, May 2, 1831.
Mrs. Phojbe Waterman, daughter of Mr. Stroup, was born in Seneca County, N.
Y., April 27, 1815 ; removed to Yates County, N. Y., and thence to Ray, Macomb
Co., Mich., in May, 1827.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 227
Mrs. Chloe Steward, wife of N. Carter, born in Vermont, April 13, 1815,
moved to New York State, and thence to Ray, in 1829.
Mrs. Joseph Crissman, formerly Miss Elizabeth Snover, was born in Warren
County, N. J., July, 1806, came to Bokland June 1, 1832.
Wallace Westbrook, born in Sussex County, N. Y,, April 16, 1824, moved to
Ontario County, N. Y., thence to Bruce Township, October 15, 1848.
Daniel Miller, born in Madison County, N. Y., February 18, 1798, moved to
Genesee County, thence to Washington Township, 1822. He was a soldier of the
War of 1812-14. •
Jesse Bishop, born at Richmond, N. Y., May 24, 1303, moved to Monroe
County, N. Y., and came to Bruce Township, Macomb Co., August 14, 1831.
Ebenezer Brooks, born at Putney, Vt., January 15, 1809 ; moved into Massa-
chusetts in 1818, thence to Lenox, Macomb County, April, 1834.
Mrs. C. D. Brooks settled here with her husband.
Josiah T. Robinson, born in Otsego County, N. Y., January 2, 1807 ; moved into
Onondaga County, thence to Monroe, next to Orleans County, and lastly settled
in Clinton Township, May 18, 1831.
Major Webster, born in Monroe County, N. Y., August 29, 1801, moved to Ray
Township, June 1, 1826.
Michael Bowmann was born in New York State in 1786.
Edmund L. Goff was born in Monroe County, N. Y., January 6, 1817 ; came
to Washington, December 20, 1838.
Lucy Goff was born in Oakland County, N. Y., May 8, 1823 ; came to Shelby,
Macomb Co., March, 1830.
G. W. Phillips, was born at Lima, Livingston Co., N. Y., July 17, 1829, came
to Armada, August, 1831. He has been president of the State Board of Agricul-
ture from 1870 to 1872 ; member of the Board for twelve years, and president of
the M. Co. Ag. Society for eight years.
H. T. Bancroft, born in Niagara County, N. Y., April 8, 1827, moved to
Armada, Mich., July 14, 1839.
L. D. Owen, born in Genesee County, N. Y., August 16, 1815 ; came to Shelby,
July 3, 1825.
Mrs. G. W. Phillips, born at Romeo, December 6, 1828, daughter of A. W.
Sterling.
Daniel Flagler, born at Albany, N. Y., May 14, 1814, moved into Richmond
Township, Macomb County, October, 1836.
Alex. H. Shelp, born in Orange County, N. Y., January 8, 1820 ; settled at
Mount Clemens, October 17, 1843, and at Romeo, August 17, 1846.
G. H. Cannon, was born in Saratoga County, N. Y., December 30, 1826, moved
fk-
228 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUiN'TY.
to Washtenaw in 1833, and to Bruce Township in 1835. Mr. Cannon has been
engaged in the Public Land Survey sevice since 1849. He has contributed not a
little to the geological and archaeological history of this State.
Amos Finch, born in Macomb County, July 10, 1836. Native.
E. F. Sibley, born at Brighton, N. Y., November 29, 1827; settled in Armada
Township, October, 1835.
Hiram Barrows, born at Wyoming, N. Y., in 1824 ; moved westward to Wis-
consin in 1842 ; came to Michigan five years later, and settled in Ray Township in
May, 1847. Mr. Barrows has served the Union in the War of 1861-5.
Mrs. Anna A. Pettibone, born in Wyoming County, N. Y. ; came to Michigan
with her husband in 1845.
Mrs. Pierce, formerly May Lusk, was born in Monroe Countj^ N. Y., January
10, 1810; came to Washington Township, July 3, 1848.
Mrs. Geo. (Simmons) Carter, Rev. Thomas Stalker, Elisha Calkins, and J. L.
Starkweather, are among the members of the Society.
Anna Finch (Smitli) born in Richmond Township, September 24, 1846, removed
to Shiawassee County in 1861, returned to Armada in 1867. Native.
Nathan Hurd was born in Canada, August 7, 1825 ; settled in Macomb County
in 1834.
Mrs. H. N. Bissell (Elizabeth Hubbard), was born at Bolton, Conn., February
25, 1820, and moved to Mount Clemens in 1854.
Rev. H. N. Bissell, born at East Winsor, Conn., June 2, 1816, moved to Milan,
Ohio in 1835, and to Macomb County in 1854.
Perrin C. Goodeli, born in Monroe County, N. Y., July 2, 1817, settled in
Armada Township, May 17, 1831.
H. N. Richards, born at Wethersfield, N. Y., January 2, 1820, settled in Lenox
Township, November 15, 1842.
G. H. Stuart, born at West Bloomfield, N. Y., October 20, 1813, settled in
Richmond Township, in May, 1842.
Seth Davis, born in Richmond Township, July 13, 1840, moved into Armada
Township in 1873.
John E. Barringer, born in Ontario County, N. Y., July 16, 1841, settled in
Armada Township, November 4, 1862.
S3a-ona (Smith) Flagler, is one of the old settlers of the county, and a member
of the Society.
W. G. Anderson, born in Otsego County, N. Y., May 22, 1817, moved to
Mazara County in 1821, and thence to Macomb County, May 22, 1831.
William E. Preston, born at Eastford, Conn., June 20, 1822, moved to Chau-
tauqua County in 1854, and to Macomb County in 1865.
^
iL
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 229
Lavinia E. P. Preston (Leonard), was born at Woodstock, Conn., June 19,
1824, moved eastward in 1846, and to Armada in 1865.
James Flower, born in Delaware County, N. Y., October 18, 1810, moved to
Genesee County, N. Y., in 1828, to Washtenaw County, Mich., in 1832, and to
Armada Township in 1835.
Joseph Weller, born in Chesterfield Township, July 4, 1831. Native.
Newman Freeman was born in Washington Township, April 27, 1832 ; settled
in Armada Township in 1844. Native.
Mary Freeman (Frost) was born in Armada Township, July 28, 1839. Native.
Sallie A. Aldrich (Finch) was born at Richmond, Ontario Co., N. Y., June 9,
1818, settled at Armada in 1828.
James Banister, born at Gainesville, Wyoming Co., N. Y., March 27, 1827,
moved to Ontario County, N. Y., thence to Armada, June, 1855.
Charlotte Day (Smith), born at Aurelius, Cayuga Co., N. Y., March 27, 1827,
moved to Ontario Count}^ N. Y., and thence to Armada, 1855.
Jane (Butterfield) Pomeroy, Linott Butterfield, Mary E. (Corbin) Sibley,
Charles A. Lathrop, Rachel A. (Young) Lathrop, and Mrs. A. C. Bennett, are.
among the members of the Society.
W. D. Pettibone, born in Wyoming County, N. Y., July 24, 1834, settled in
Michigan, at Armada, July 4, 1845.
John Hicks, born at Bristol, Ontario Co., N. Y., October 15, 1803, settled in
Richmond Township, October 16, 1836.
Bert C. Preston was born in Armada Township, January 2, 1859. Native.
Elisha D. Lathrop was born in Armada Township, December 25, 1839. Native.
Caleb Miller was born in Orleans County, N. Y., October 21, 1814.
Geo. N. Carter born in Armada Township, Macomb County, March 1, 1834.
S. H. Corbyn, of Plainfield, Mich., an old settler of the county, was admitted
a member of the Society.
PIONEER REMINISCENCES.
In the following pages extracts from the records, belonging to the Pioneer
Association, are given, together with inany stories, characteristic of pioneer life,
collected from other sources. Tlie sketches of the O'Connor, or Connor, and the
Tucker families are taken from papers on the early history of the county by Judge
Eldredge.
THE O'CONNOR FAMILY.
About the year 1744, during an out-break in L'eland, when the times were
turbulent there, and the beauties of the new world were somewhat known to the
people of that country, two young Irishmen, some sixteen or eighteen years old,
brothers, secretly boarded a vessel about leaving one of the ports for America, and
230 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
hid themselves among the freight, until the vessel was well at sea. They were
named Richard and John O'Connor.
Upon their arrival here, or soon after, they separated, and Richard working to
the West, finally arrived at the place now called Painesville, Ohio, where by in-
dustry and perseverance, he acquired what in those days was considered quite a
property. He remained at that point for a number of years, married there, and engaged
in the business of trading — mainly with the Indians.
The maiden name of the lady he married was Myers. O'Connor had, while
doing business with the Indians, learned of the fact that they had a white girl in
their tribe as prisoner. He immediately opened negotiations for her purchase, and
finally succeeded in acquiring title. He paid in dicker what was then considered
as $200. Many in our day would undoubtedly consider this a good bargain, for
most of our young men indirectly pay a larger sum than this in divers costly
methods of testifying regard. Gifts, treats, balls, and rides, and for a wife that
proves to be a burden, instead of a help-meet.
Miss Myers, who was thus redeemed from captivity, was taken by the Indians
during one of their raids upon the defenceless frontiers of the Colonies. When
taken she was about four years old. Her father, when he discovered the approach
of the Indians, hid the children and attempted to flee for succor. He was living
upon the Monongahela River, in the State of Maryland. He swam the river and as
he ascended the opposite bank was shot dead. The Indians, in searching for plun-
der, approached so near the secreted children that one of them could not refrain
from an exclamation of fear. They were discovered and taken. Two of them
were subsequently recaptured from the Indians. The third was kept and brought
up by them as a slave, until she was bought from her captors by her future husband.
Richard O'Connor with his wife remained at Painesville until some time dur-
ing the Revolutionary War, when in one of the many expeditions organized and set
on foot by the British against the defenceless out-posts of the Colonies, the whole
family were taken prisoners by the Chippewas. The family then consisted of Mr.
O'Connor, his wife, and three or four children. As to the number of children born
before their capture, there are dififerent accounts. From one of the grandchildren
we learn that there were five, John, William, James, Henry, and Susanna.
The family were ruthlessly strii^ped of all property, and were not allowed to
retain even a kettle for which Mrs. O'Connor prayed that her captors might assign
to them. They were compelled to travel on foot, when the Chippewas retreated
to their home, which Avas situated on the Huron of Lake St. Clair (now the
Clinton).
In this weary march Mr. O'Connor first bore one then another of his sons in
his arms, and the mother bore continually upon her back after the manner in which
^<
ft)
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 231
the tribe in which she had so long been kept prior to her marriage, carried their
burdens.
It was late in the fall, and the feet of the little ones suffered severely. James,
particularly, had his feet cut by the hard frozen ground and for miles marked his
foot-steps with blood. He had a wiry, enduring frame, and the manliness he dis-
played in the weary tramp, attracted the admiration of one of the Chippewa chiefs,
and when the journey's end was reached this chief claimed and took James as his
special property. After their arrival here the boys were separated from the family
and scattered among the various tribes. Thus it was each one in after years spoke
a different dialect of the Indian language. The father, mother, and youngest child
if there were but four, were kept together.
Soon afterward, within a few years, the Moravians were located by order or
advice of the Commandant at Detroit, upon the Huron, at Frederick. Immediately
upon their arrival, the family were one by one redeemed. First, Mr. O'Connor, his
wife, and youngest child ; then the boys John, Henry, and William ; James was
not so soon redeemed. The chief who had adopted him was otherwise childless,
and for a time refused to deliver him up, but gave to Mr. O'Connor the privilege
of visiting his son at the home of his Indian father, at stated periods. The chief
learned to love James very much, and he took particular pride in his manlj'^ bearing
and the vigor he displayed at all times. He was accustomed to dress the then lad
in the war-paint and feathers of a young chieftain, and to teach him the various
arts in which the Indian took pleasure. The boy thus acquired the habits and
manners of the youth of his tribe, and learned to love them and the life he then
seemed destined to lead. He, to some extent, forgot his past life and its associa-
tions, and even learned to despise, and regarded with fear, his own parents.
So strong was this feeling with him that upon the announcement that his white
father was coming he would flee into the woods and conceal himself in the thickets
like a frightened fawn, and would reappear only at the call of his Indian father.
When finally his white father did prevail upon the chief to surrender the child
he had to be confined like a prisoner for a number of days to prevent his return to
the wilds again.
The songs and caresses of the mother aided by the sports of the brothers finally
overcame his desire to return to the tent of the chieftain, and Mr. O'Connor again
had about him his whole family. This was accomplished after the time that the
Moravians took their departure from the county. It is claimed that the desire of
the mother to remain near her child was one of the main reasons why O'Connor
did not accompany the Mission, with which he had become connected.
Mr. O'Connor remained upon the spot he liad chosen for a home, on the farm
now known as the " Velt's farm" about one and a half miles west of Mt. Clemens.
^
^v
-^ — A^
J
233 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
He was accustomed to till ia his way the various spots along the river, that were
left clear, by Nature, or had been cleared by the Indians. One of these spots was
known as the " Macoance Meadows," and afterwards known as the Moe-place.
In our former article we abstracted from the paper of the Rev. Mr. Bissel, a
portion thereof in which it was asserted that Mr. Richard O'Conner came to the
county with tlie Moravians Zeisberger-Jungman and others in 1783.
We have orathered the facts we have above written from one of the descendants
of Mr. O'Connor, and do not undertake to determine which version, the Rev. Mr.
Bissel's or the one we have given, is the true one, though we incline to accept the
family tradition as above set forth, as the more reliable.
Mr. Bissel, in speaking further of Mr. O'Connor and his family, says : —
" Though we have not the precise date of Mr. O'Connor's arrival, yet he was
there with his wife and four sons James, John, William, and Henry, in 1783. De-
cember 16 of that year, his youngest child, Susanna, afterwards wife of Elisha Har-
rington was born, and was baptized by the Moravian Missionary the 21st. She was,
probably, the first child born in this county of parents speaking the English lan-
guage. She died in 1848, aged sixty-five years." This Mr. Richard
O'Connor was the ancestor of those families who now are known as
Connors or Conners. They have Yankeefied their name by dropping
the 0'. He was undoubtedly the first white man speaking English who attempted
the erection of a home within the limits of this county. He died here on the 17th
of April, 1808. His life was an eventful one. It may have been a boyish freak
that led to his departure for this country from that land which never reared a for-
getful son. Often, as he was borne over the ocean, must he naturally have regretted
the step he had taken.
The many trials of his manhood through which he must have passed ere he
reached and while he resided in Ohio, could they be faithfully recorded would make
an interesting history. The manner in which he commenced his wooing, his sub-
sequent capture, the dispersion of his family, his persistent and untiring efforts to
rescue his children, his final location so far in the wilderness, away from society
and civilization, in fine his whole life is a fitter foundation for a romance than it is
for a plain, unvarnished historical article, written solely as this is to rescue from
oblivion something of the history of those who first came to this county.
THE TUCKAR FAMILY.
During the French war, and about the year 1753, the Cliippewas, who inhab-
ited this section of the State, became engaged in one of the raids so frequent in
those days, upon the settlements in Virginia. They surprised a family of Virginians
ensrao'ed in harvesting wheat near Stoverstown in that State. The head of the
(2 *>.
-^ "t^,
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 233
family was ruthlessly shot down, and two boys seized as prisoners, and brought to
the homes of the tribe. The boys were named Joseph and William Tuckar. Wil-
liam was then about eleven years old, Joseph was some years older. These boys
were retained as prisoners until near of age, when they, under the influence of the
British, were allowed to visit their childhood's home. They had, however, during
their captivity, been treated with considerable kindness, and had learned to love
the life in the woods. They remained in Virginia but a short time, and returned
to the post at Detroit where they entered the employ of traders. They soon en-
gaged in the business themselves. They received supplies of goods from the
traders at the post, and visited the different abiding places and camps of the Indians,
relying mainly for transportation upon the canoe.
The elder brother, Joseph Tuckar, it is believed, was lost on one of these
trips. He, with a comrade, had gone on a trading expedition to an island in the
northern part of Lake Huron, where a tribe of friendly Indians with whom he was
acquainted was accustomed to dwell. The tribe was absent on a hunting expedi-
tion to the mainland, and remained away a number of weeks. Upon returning
they found in one of the cabins the goods which formed the supplies of the traders,
and the full equipage thereof. Sometime afterward they found upon another
island a short distance off, the bleached remains of two whites, one of which they
recognized as Joseph Tuckar by a peculiar, large brooch he was accustomed to
wear. It was presumed that having arrived in the camp of the tribe they sought
to visit, and finding the Indians absent, they had with their boat alone, gone to the
neighboring island in search of the tribe, and that the boat had, while the traders
were searching the island, floated off and left them no means of escape. They had
evidently starved, which is the report of the tribe, as given to William Tuckar,
and so friendly were these Indians to Joseph and his brother there is little reason
to disbelieve it.
The outbreak of Pontiac's conspiracy in 1763 found the younger brother,
William Tuckar, in the employ of the English commandant. Major Gladwin, at
Detroit. To William Tuckar alone, was the garrison at that place indebted for the dis-
covery of Pontiac's intentions, and the consequent saving of the post. The tribe
by which he had for years been held a captive, was engaged in the enterprise of
which the famous Indian chieftain was the leader. He had, according to Indian
custom, been adopted into one of the leading families of the tribe, and to the
younger members thereof was like a brother. He was intending to go upon a
hunting expedition from the fort for a few days, and on the day before the out-
break, was visiting the family in which he had been kept during his captivity, who
were tented upon this side of the river, and but a short distance from the fort.
While there he made known his intentions as to the sporting trip he was about to
<a k.
^ gT >^
234 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
take, and solicited the company of one of his young Indian brothers. This was re-
fused. He also, while there, made known to the family that early in the morn he was
going to the general camp of the Indians across the river to get some moccasins that
were being made for him by a squaw famous for her skill in that line.
As he left the camp to go to the fort, his Indian sister secretly followed him
beyond hearing of her family, and with anxious countenance, besought him not to
go across the river, but to start at once upon his hunting trip, and she tendered to
liim some moccasins she had made, in order to enable him to go prepared, without
visiting the other side of the river. William's perfect knowledge of the Indian
character at once suggested to him that there was some terrible reason for her
anxiety, and he besought her to make it known. Her sisterly affection for him
finally prompted her to disclose to him fully what she had learned as to the intent
of Pontiac. The position of her family had enabled her to become conversant with
all the details of the plan so soon to be executed upon the devoted garrison.
Mr. Tuckar immediately returned to the fort and informed the commandant
of the post of what he had learned. Measures were taken to defeat the nefarious
designs of the wily chief. The success of these measures, and the overthrow of
Pontiac, are matters of general history, and pertain not particularly to that of this
county.
It is more than probable that the facts here set forth as to William Tuckar's
discovery of the plot of Pontiac, are the only foundation for the romantic statement
as to the Indian girl, Catherine, betraying her tribe out of simple admiration for
Major Gladwin, who had been but a short time at the post, and even could not speak
tlie Indian language, that have generally been accepted as history. So prone
are imaginative historians to accredit the performance of any notable deed
solely to persons in high life, that one does not wonder at the ease with which
the facts connected with Tuckar's discovery of the plot, have been woven into
quite a romance, of which Gladwin is the pretended hero.
William Tuckar was the first person about the garrison who learned of the
deep-laid scheme of Pontiac. He alone conveyed the intelligence to Major
Gladwin.
Both Lanman and Sheldon, in their histories of the State mention Mr. Tuckar
as a soldier in the garrison, and accredit him with having been apprised as above
stated, of the conspiracy; but for the sake of ornamental romance, it is claimed
that Gladwin was also on the same day apprised by his dusky, smoky sweetheart to
the same effect.
Daring the struggle of the garrison to save themselves from destruction, Mr.
Tuckar, although really a non-coml)atant, did the duty of a soldier, and for sixty
da3's and nights, was almost steadily on guard. During that time his gun was out
(§ *^
U g[>>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 235
of his hands but for a moment at a time. Fully aware of the nature of the enemy,
he, of all the garrison, best knew the necessity of constant watchfulness.
After the overthrow of Pontiac and the restoration of comparative peace, Mr.
Tuckar returned to Virginia, and married at Stover's Town, August 8, 1773,
Catherine Hezel. After his marriage he returned to Detroit, and lived there until
the Revolutionary war commenced. During that struggle he was employed as an
interpreter by the English officers in their intercourse with the Indians. He de-
clined to take the position of a combatant on their side in the struggle. His ability
to speak the Indian language of the various tribes made his services of impor-
tance.
Prior to the commencement of the struggle upon the part of the colonies for
Independence, Tuckar had been chiefly engaged in trading expeditions among the
Indians, at times acting simply as interpreter for other traders.
In all his intercourse with the Indians he acted the part of an honest, upright
man. This, together with the fact that he was by reason of his importance as an
interpretor of many Indian dialects, enabled him to exercise large influence. He
never hesitated to use this in many cases of attempted frauds upon those with whom
he had spent his earlier years. He came to be justly regarded as an especial friend
of the savage. As a reward for his kindness the chiefs of the Chippewas on the
22d of September, A. D. 1780, acting for their whole tribe, executed to him a deed
in the name of their people, of a large tract of land nearly all lying between the
River Huron, of Lake St. Clair, and the Riviere Aux Vase, extending back
from the lake some sixty miles. This deed is written upon parchment, in beauti-
ful handwriting, and was drawn by one T. Williams at Detroit, who certifies there-
on, as a Justice of the Peace, that the several chiefs whose names are attached to
said deed, did make the characters purporting to be made by them, and that the
same was their free act and deed.
The chiefs signed it by drawing in ink, their respective "totems," one being
a turtle, another a crow, and the others similar symbols, and is now in possession
of the Tuckar family. Not being signed by the British Governor of Canada, it was
not regarded as any proof of title by the United States upon their assuming control
of the country, and Mr. Tuckar was thus left in the same position as the French
settlers upon the lake and Mr. Richard Connor, entirely dependent upon the liber-
alit}^ of the new Republic.
Mr. Tuckar had procured the execution of the deed by the Indians, for the
purpose of making him a permanent home, a sufficient distance from the growing
settlements to allow him to pass his life in the enjoyment of those pursuits so con-
genial to him, and to leave hunting, trapping and fur-trading undisturbed by the
bustle of life in populated communities, and yet sufficiently near a post of import-
J^
236 HISTORY OF MA.COMB COUNTY.
ance to give his home the position of comparative security from distant marauding
tribes.
During his captivity he had undoubtedly admired the great beauty of the
country lying upon the Huron. In a state of nature but few sections of the country
presented greater attractions to such a man. The fertility of the soil, the great
abundance of game, the loveliness of the situation, its great rural beauty were suffi-
cient attractions. But added to this the spot he had determined to locate upon was
a favorite one with the Indians, almost steadily it was their camping ground. On
and near that spot their traditions told them, many sanguinar}^ battles between
the Chippewas and their enemies had been fought, years before the eye of the white
men had seen the country of the great lakes.
Mr. Tuckar partook somewhat of this veneration and love for the spot, and
when at the establishment of peace between the United States and the British Gov-
ernment, the growth of his family demanded the establishment of a fixed home, he
immediately prepared to remove them. He arrived with his family in the spring of
1784, and selected as a site for his dwelling a spot but little distance from what was
evidently an old Indian fort used in the days of the struggle for possession of this
country between the Chippeways and the Sauks.
The remains of this fort as they appeared at his arrival consisted of an embank-
ment and corresponding ditch on the outside, sweeping from the bank of the stream
around about one and a half or two acres of ground, to the bank again, making
nearly a complete circle. The opening being directly at the river bank. Outside
of this were the evidences that the soil had been cultivated and that the Indian had
for a time raised his maize there. Within it were found many bits of broken pot-
tery of a peculiar character. There were other similar remains of what must have
been rude forts on the bank of the Huron on the lands subsequently and even to
this day owned by the descendants of William Tuckar.
CHRISTIAN CLEMENS.
Christian Clemens, the pioneer settler of Mt. ClemenSj'^was born in Montgom-
ery or Bucks County, Pa., Jan. 30, 1768. He resided on the Pennsylvanian
homestead until twenty-seven years old, the while giving his entire attention to
agriculture. In 1795 he came to Detroit, where he engaged in the manufacture
of leather. Within a short time after his arrival he bought a tract of land on the
Rouge River, and laid down those precedents which were so extensively followed
by those who came after him to settle in the wilderness. Mr. Clemens made his
home at Detroit until 1798, when he removed to the Huron River or Clinton.
Here he purchased a tract of land ; the same referred to in the chapter on the
French pioneers. The first dwelling house was built by him on, or close by, the
<s
"T^^
V
4^ — «- -« — 4>^_
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 237
site of the present red brick store of Miller, the shoemaker, on Front street.
Subsequently he built a distillery on the bank of the river, below the present
flouring mill, on the soutli bank, just below the new iron bridge ; also a still-house
just east of the Fleumer Mill. He, built a dwelling-house on the site of George
M. Crocker's present residence. He carried on a trading store here at an early
day, and founded the village of Mt. Clemens m 1818. He has held the positions of
Militia Colonel, Chief Justice of County Court, Judge of Probate, etc.
The relation which Judge Clemens bore to Macomb County, and more
particularly to Mt. Clemens, was so intimate, that his name must necessarily be
closely associated with the general history of the county. No matter what chapter
we take up, his name is found therein, and for this reason we are inclined to refer
the reader to the general history, so that the part taken by the judge in building
up the county may be truly estimated. His death occurred at Mt. Clemens, Aug.
25, 1844; his funeral was truly a representative one.
CHRISTIAN CLEMENS IN A BRITISH DUNGEON.
Wherever the British flag floated, there was the prison for the people — not for
the criminals. Immediately after the surrender of Hull, Christian Clemens, then
a leading man in the territory, was captured by the British, carried to Detroit, and
confined within the old fort as a political prisoner, just as the British of to-day
are doing beyond the Atlantic, and would do here had not their power been
crushed forever, at least on this continent. His captivity continued until the
very day before the American soldiers re-captured the position. It must be con-
ceded, however, that this pioneer of Macomb was not subjected to extreme harsh
treatment. During the last few days of his captivity, he was allowed to ramble
round within the stockade, under the surveillance of Lieuts. Clemens and Watson,
two officers of the garrison. A friendship sprung up between Lieut. Clemens and
his prisoner, and the former often accompanied the judge on short visits to his
family, then living near the fort. It was a common thing for the judge to scale
the stockade, and make a visit to his wife and children, with whom he would pass
awa}'- the evening, and return at a given hour to his quarters within the fort. For
some time this procedure was followed by the pioneer of Mt. Clemens unknown to
his jailors. At length the prisoner was reported missing, and a detachment
ordered out to search for him. The officer in charge of the troops found the
judge at his house, quietly smoking his pipe, and enjoying the society of liis
family. The soldiers seized him, and hurried him back to the fort, without afford-
ing him any time to snatch his cap, but instead of placing him in his old quarters,
they cast him into the old jail, which then occupied a site across the present
Jefferson Avenue from the Michigan Exchange. Here he was rigorously confined
"®
&.
238 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
and subjected to many hardships, until released on parole, the day before Ameri-
can courage and honor were avenged, and Hull's true character exposed. After
the pursuit and complete defeat of the British and Indians on the Thames River in
Canada, Oct. 5, 1813, Lieuts. Clemens and Watson were found among the
prisoners, and brought back to Detroit. Finding themselves near the home of
their former prisoner, they asked permission to visit him, which request the
American General granted, and the two jailers were soon within the hospitable
home, among the welcome guests of Judge Clemens.
During Mr. Clemens' imprisonment under the British, Maj. Muir, the com-
mandant, compelled him to supply himself with food, to be his own cook, and pay
even for other necessaries of life, which even the Indians were accustomed to give
to their captives gratis. How different was the treatment of prisoners by the
United States authorities, soldiers, and citizens, may be realized from the greeting
which awaited the former warders of Judge Clemens after they fell into the hands
of the Americans.
DISTINGUISHED VISITANT.
The dances were given at the house of Judge Clemens or at the Cady House.
In fact the dancers made a home in every house. Gen. Cass, Col. Larned, Gen.
Brown, Judge May, Col. Clarke, of Monroe ; Maj. Biddle, Ed. Brush, and other
Statesmen and soldiars of early Michigan made the village a resort, and were in
the habit of taking a string baud of four performers with them. Those well-known
pioneers of the State, after spending some time at Mount Clemens, would pay a
visit to Judge Connors, two miles west of the Clemefis house, where the city ceme-
tery now is. There those merry makers would pass several days, and return to
Detroit fully satisfied that they had done justice to all the pleasure which the world
offered them.
CHASTISING A SAVAGE.
In one of the pioneer sketches references are made to the Mount Clemens Dis-
tillery. Here we shall deal with one of the most ardent admirers of that institu-
tion among the savages of the district. It appears that Christian Clemens left the
hamlet for Detroit, where he passed some days as a claimant himself, or a witness
for other claimants, before the Board of Land Commissioners. During his absence
a few members of the Otchipwe band or Witanniss Indians found out exactly where
the precious whisky was stored, and determined to Iiave a drink of it. Before the
red men could carry out their plans in this direction the nabob of the Huron returned
just at a moment when the naked Pachuk was helping himself to a deep, deep
drauglit. The judge realized the situation in a moment, and seizing the old-time
tongs, which lay on the hearth-stone close by, dealt the noble red man a blow,
brought him to his knees, and was preparing a second edition of the iron lash, when
r|V
Y
<a_
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 239
the frightened savage turned a summerset, regained his feet, and fled, the while
whooping and calling for vengeance. The pioneer settler made preparations for
war, but his prudence was unnecessary, at least on that occasion ; for when next he
saw that whiskj-loving savage, he bore a haunch of venison as an offering of peace
to his white chief and brother. The chrojiicler proceeds to state that the judge
often related the story of that event, and always entertained the idea that the
safety of himself and the members of his family depended on his decisive action at
the moment. Such examj^les of Caucasian courage and prompt measures were
common among the early French pioneers, and were not wanting on the part of
Americans. Of the first we have Louis Campeau, at Saginaw, in 1816, and at
Grand Rapids in 1826-9 ; of the second we have Eleazer Jewett, at the Tittaba-
wassee post of the American Fur Company in 1826, and Rix Robinson at Ada in
Kent County in 1823. Those old settlers played the five acts in the drama of life.
COL. JOHN STOCKTON.
Col. Jolin Stockton, one of the leading spirits of Michigan in early days, one
of her oldest soldiers and large-hearted citizens, died at Mount Clemens, November
26, 1878. The deceased served as an officer in the war of 1812 and Colonel in the
war of the rebellion. At the time of his death he was in the 88th year of his age.
He came to Mount Clemens in its very earliest settlement. He married Mary
Allen, a step-daughter of Judge Clemens, the founder and first settler of Mount
Clemens. He is the last of those early settlers who has been identified with the
interests of the village during its entire history, and was the oldest resident if not
the oldest person here. He was the first Clerk and Register of Deeds in the
county, having served in that capacity just sixty-seven years ago, 1818. He was
also the first Postmaster and Justice of the Peace of Mount Clemens. He was
generous and hospitable to a fault, and has given to the destitute sufficient to have
amassed a colossal fortune. In the political, organic and military chapters of the
general history, references are made to this pioneer.
THOMAS ASHLEY.
Thomas Ashley arrived at Mt. Clemens in May, 1820. He was a native of Win-
dom. Conn., removing afterward to Batavia, Genesee Co., N. Y. About the year
1811 he became acquainted with the Cady family of Batavia Township. In 1820
he set out on his western journey, and arriving at Detroit, proceeded to Pontiac,
and thence to Mt. Clemens, vvliere he built the first entire frame structure erected
in the village, if we except the frame addition to the Clemens House, built by Col.
Stockton, and the little office of lawyer Ezra Prescott. In October, 1820, his fam-
ily arrived from Genesee County, and entered at once on a life in the old log house,
< 4^—^
240 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
which then stood immediately in the rear of Henry Connor's stables, and the new
Week's block.
The family then comprised Mrs. Lucy Ashley, formerly Mrs. Lucy Cady, who
married Mr. Ashlej^ about 1810 ; her sons Henry and Chauncey G., and lier daugh-
ter Lucy Cady. Miss Lovinia Russell, afterwards Mrs. Ezekiel Allen, accompanied
the family. In May, 1821, Horace H. Cady and his step-brother Alfred Ashley ar-
rived. In 1821 the sons of Mrs. Ashley erected the old saw-mill on the North Branch
two miles north of Mt. Clemens, better known as the Haskins mill. The family
dwelt in the old loghouse until the erection of the frame building referred to
above, in 1823 ^(the frame was put up in 1821), which stood opposite the new bank-
ing house of Crocker and Ulrich, removed to give place to the brick block. Ash-
ley was a farmer and one of the early lawyers of the count3% He was among the
boys of the village of Mt. Clemens, and took part with them in all the merry meet-
ings of the villagers, as well as in the more serious meetings of the business com-
munity.
CHAUNCEY G. CADY.
Chauncey G. Cady, born in Otsego County, N. Y., Aug. 20, 1803, son of Joseph
and Lucy (Hutchins) Cady, the former a native of Windom, Conn., and the latter
of Killingsley, Conn., who removed to Otsego County N. Y. in 1801, settled with
his parents in Buffalo, N. Y. in 1805 or 1806, thence to Batavia Township, Gene-
see Co., N. Y. in 1806 or 1807, and made that place his home until 1820, when the
family moved into the Territory of Michigan.
Joseph Cady left Buffalo on a land exploratory expedition in 1807, and not re-
turning, he was traced to many prominent villages southwards, and ultimately found
to have died at Cincinnati on his homeward journey.
Mrs. Lucy Cady married Thomas Ashley in 1810, came to Michigan with her
husband and family in 1820, and died on the Cady homestead in Sterling Township,
about 1838 or 1839.
Chauncey G. attended the district schools in his native State for about three
years. Previously, at the age of six years, he was apprenticed to a farmer named
Shubal Dunham, of Genesee Count}'-, with whom he stayed three years. In 1809
he returned to his home in Batavia, and for the three successive years labored on
the farm during spring and harvest, and attended the schools referred to during the
winter. From 1814 to the date of liis coming to Michigan, he assisted as clerk in a
hotel, then kept by his step-father, Thomas Ashley. In 1820, as stated in the pio-
neer record, he came to Mt. Clemens, and entered on that active life which has
marked his residence here. In 1833 he moved to his original farm in Clinton and
Sterling. He erected a house in each township ; that in Clinton he sold about 1870
to J. & F. Pries, and holds the present residence in Sterling. In 1841 he took an
ir
C. G. CA D V-
V
-10
<a_
-3
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 241
active part in local politics, was elected Supervisor, and re-elected in 1845. In the
latter year he was elected Representative to the Legislature, was declared
elected by the R. B., and took his seat. A full reference is made to this election in
the Political Chapter. In 1849 he was re-elected, and entered the Legislature of
1850-'l, being the second session held at Lansing. While Supervisor, he held
the office of Justice of Peace for Clinton from 1841 to 1849. He was also elected
Justice of Peace for Sterling in 1856 ; but on account of delay on the part of the
town clerk in making returns, did not qualify. He was elected County Drain Com-
missioner, and filled the duties of that peculiar office for six years without difficulty
and in a manner satisfactory to the Supervisor's Board.
Mr. Cady married Miss Catharine Gerty of Harrison Township in 1829, as given
in the marriage record. This lady died Aug. 27, 1865, aged 52 years. He married
Miss Mary J. Royce Oct. 22, 1867.
Previous to 1826 he became a member of the Macomb County militia, under
Gen. Stockton. He was paymaster of the command, ranked as major, and dis-
charged at muster out of regiment in 1829. His military outfit alone was present
during the Toledo war, as he loaned it to Gen. Stockton. On the organization of
the Pioneer Society in 1881, Mr. Cady was elected first President. He was mem-
ber of the Convention which nominated Alpheus Felch for governor, vice John
Barry ; also of State Convention in 1880 from*Macomb senatorial district, as well
as of several County Conventions, Mr. Cady was an old Jackson Democrat up to
1854, when he joined the Republican party, and has proved a faithful earnest mem-
ber of that party up to the present time. As a pioneer of Mt. Clemens, and an old
resident of the county, full references are made to him in the Iiistories of the
county and city. To-day he is the senior living settler of Macomb County, and
gives promise of being able to make the same proud statement at the beginning of
the next century.
WM. A. BURT.
William Austin Burt was born at Worcester, Mass., June 13, 1792. He was
the son of Alvin and Wealthy Burt, natives of Massachusetts, whose parents ar-
rived in the American colonies in 1740. The grandparents, as well as parents,
followed a seafaring life, and so their days were passed beside the Atlantic, until the
western fever urged them away from the sea coast to seek a western home. Imme-
diately after the birth of .W. A. Burt, his family moved into Montgomery County,
N. Y., where they remained eleven years, or until 1803. Montgomery County was
then on the borders of civilization, so it is not surprising to learn that the youth of
eleven summers was minus books, schools, and almost everything known in the old
settlements.
After the burning of Buffalo, December 30, 1818, a call was made for volun-
i6
(2 k-
±=liL
242 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
teers ; young Burt enrolled his name as a member of the New York militia (60 days
men). With this command he moved into Canada. In 1814 he served a second
term with a three months' regiment. In the fall of that year he formed a partner-
ship with his father-in-law, Mr. Cole, as merchants. The partners did not succeed
in business, so that W. A. Burt returned to the carpenter's bench, and in com-
pany with John Allen, afterwards a settler of Bruce, engaged in mill-building.
He entered upon his western journey at the outlet of ChautauquaLake, August 13,
1817. On the 24th he reached Pittsburg ; St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 19, and Detroit
Oct. 26, 1817. He returned to his eastern home; but came again to Michigan in
1822. On his return journey he made the hazardous venture of traveling 200 miles
through the wilderness. At Detroit he had a true friend in Gen. Cass. Soon after
he visited Oakland County, where he built a saw mill for Webster at Auburn.
Here he was soon joined by John Allen, his brother-in-law. Before the mill was
completed Webster died (being the first death in Oakland), yet Burt and Allen
fulfilled their contract. After this those friends built a mill at Waterford. While
engaged here, Burt visited Fletcher's survey party, and subsequently explored the
country as far as the Hoxie Settlement^ now Romeo. In 1823 he purchased a tract
of land in Washington township, and rt^turned in the fall to Erie County, New
York, from which locality he brought his family hither in the spring of 1824. Dur-
ing the succeeding summer he erected the Taylor and Millard mills on Lower Stony
Creek, and built a log house for himself on his land near that point. In 1825 he
completed the Upper Stony Creek mill, or the Hersey mill, by placing in it a run of
stone. That mill is now in operation, just over the line in Oakland County. Many
other mills were built by Burt and Allen previous to 1826, including the concern
for Alpheus Wadhams within six miles of Port Huron.
W. A. Burt was elected a member of the Territorial Legislature in the fall of
1826. In 1828 he built the Dexter mills, referred to in the History of Washtenmv.
During this time he discussed with Samuel Dexter the question of the utility
of the masonic order. He was the originator of a masonic societ}' at Stony Creek,
being the third lodge formed in the Territory of Michigan.
In 1831 he was elected County Surveyor, was appointed Associate Judge,
April 24, 1833, and United States District Surveyor, November 23, 1833. He
engaged in building the mills at the ancient village of Frederick, in 1833 ; but so
soon as his appointment was made, he gave up the labor of a carpenter and mill-
builder. His duties as United States Surveyor took him westward to the Missis-
sippi. He ran the township lines where the city of Milwaukee now stands. He
was appointed a Commissioner of Internal Improvement, April 3, 1838, and made
the surve}^ of the railroad to Saginaw. Previously he was the first surveyor of the
old strap railroad from Detroit to Ypsilanti.
7U
(2 W_
-^ — 4>>^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 243
He possessed some inventive genius, and produced an instrument by which he
conveyed his thoughts to paper in printed form. He constructed a surveying instru-
ment different from anything hitherto known. He cast aside the Polar Star, and
made the Sun his objective point. The result of his nursing and inquiries was the
Solar Compass, invented by him and made in the shop of W. J. Young, of Phil-
adelphia. In the survey of the Northern Peninsula this compass was found to be
a sine qua non. On September 19, 1844, Mr. Burt discovered iron ore at the place
now known as the Jackson iron mine. On the drowning of Dr. Houghton, Decem-
ber 13, 1845, Mr. Burt and others were called upon to complete as far as possible
the reports. In the summer of 1851 he visited Europe. In 1855 he wrote a treatise
on the Solar Compass.
He was engaged in the construction of the Equatorial Sextant, at Detroit, in
1858, when death summoned him away from his work, August 18, 1858. Mrs.
Burt died a few years later, and both sleep in the cemetery of Mount Vernon.
Regarding this settler it may be truly said, that he was one of this world's true
noblemen. Honest, sincere, intellectual, he recommended himself to every one,
winning the esteem of all with whom he associated.
Mr. Burt's children are : John, Alvin, Austin, Wells, and William. Alvin
Burt died in Wisconsin some years ago ; John, Austin and Wells reside at Detroit,
William makes his home at Marquette. All these men are pioneers of the iron dis-
tricts of the Peninsula, all aa'e surveyors, and to their desire to make a thorough
exploration of the Lake Superior country, the development of that portion of the
Peninsula is mainly due. The labors of the survey were entered upon by Wm. A.
Burt, in 1844.
THE SETTLEMENT OF THE DARLINGS.
In the year 1823, Sylvester Darling and George Wilson with their families
arrived at Detroit. There they secured the services of three sailors — owners of a
canoe — who started to guide them on a voyage via Lake St. Clair to Mt. Clemens.
One small sail was all the propelling power the small craft had at command. All
went well until near their destination. It was nearly night, and they were very
anxious to land before darkness set in ; but they were not to be so favored ; for
when within a little more than an hour's sail from their port, an angry squall over-
took them and they were driven helplessly before it. Like a feather their sail was
torn from the mast, the men caught it before it was carried overboard, and refas-
tened it to the mast with a clothes' line and held the bottom with their hands — no
easy task in the face of a November gale. All through the hours of that memorable
night the men took turns in holding the sail, for there were no oars aboard the frail
craft. The women and the little children cowered in one end of the boat under
the slight protection of an old awning, but the driving rain soon penetrated their
4>
place of refuge, and they were in a pitiful condition indeed. Who can picture the
despair that overtook them : inapenetrable darkness surrounded them, and they
were driving on to an unknown fate. One of the sailors overcome by fear, crouched
in the bottom of the boat, refusing to save himself or his fellow voyagers. The
angry waves boiled and hissed round them, lashed into fury by the fierce storm.
They knew not in what direction they were going, only that they were being
driven away from the point they wished to gain. Thus the long night passed, and
day began to dawn. The shore was close at hand, but the waves were breaking
upon it with such fury they could not dare to land. There they cast anchor, ex-
pecting every moment the waves to engulf them ; but toward night the waters
calmed sufficiently for them to land. No signs of habitation could be seen ; they
were apparently on the border of the Canadian wilderness. There they built a
fire, dried their wet clothing, and cooked a little provisions for a much required
meal. A brush-hut was next built to offer shelter to them from the cold winds
which still continued to blow. On the afternoon of the next day they dared ven-
ture out on the waters ; but after two hours battle with the winds, they were forced
backward to the wild shore where the previous night was passed. Here the party
remained four days until the storm subsided, when they made an attempt to go
forward on their journey. This time the voyage was successful, and it is believed
no travelers were ever more joyful than were those who escaped all the dangers of
that tempestuous voyage from Detroit to Mt. Clemeng.
After two days passed at Mount Clemens, the party proceeded to Shelby. Not
having any houses built, they entered an old log hut on the Wilcox Place, there to
wait until some better building could be erected. It was a wretched place, smalh
and open to the weather on all sides, and, to use Mrs. Darling's own expression.
You might throw a dog through the roof anywhere. In this hut a little child
was born — a Darling, while Mrs. Wilson cared for her own babe not yet two months
old. Here the Wilson and Darling families remained for six weeks, and just as one
of Michigan's fiercest winters was upon them they moved into snug log houses on
their own lands, Mr. Wilson's land lying three-fourths of a mile south of Wash-
ington, and Mr. Darling's one mile farther to the south. Of the heads of these
families, Mrs. Darling alone is left, and the children who encountered the perils of
that voyage with their parents are old gray-headed people.
CORBYN REMINISCENCES.
S. H. Corbyn, a pioneer of Armada and Richmond Townships, writing to the
Secretary of the Pioneer Society of Macomb, in December, 1881, from his home at
Plainwell, Midi., states: Alfred Goodell and I came from Detroit together. Leav-
ing him in Detroit, his eldest son and myself pushed ahead, and reached our destina-
.ti
lLl
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 245
tion a da^ or two ahead of him. The first cabin we built was on his side of the
road. After this I built one for myself, and also framed a small barn, which was
subsequently sold to Elijah Burke. Mr. Corbyn recites many of the events men-
tioned in the Goodell reminiscences. He refers to the difficulty of tracing survey
lines at this time. " When I was looking to locate my land," he says, " I started
at the northwest corner of Section 36, and tried to trace the line to where the
village of Armada now is. I could find the line as far as the timber went; but
before I had gone a mile it opened into brush laud and open plains. Having nothing
but a pocket compass to guide me, I could not find the section corners south of that
place, nor the quarter stake, where the village now is, and gave it up, not dreaming
of the possibilities of the future — never thinking of what that sea of brush might
be converted into. At that time I was not such an adept at tracing lines as I after-
wards became; for, for years, I accompanied land-lookers, traced lines, pointed out
section corners nearl}^ all over the town of Richmond and in Columbus Township,
gave them their numbers, which numbers they secreted in their pockets until they
could reach the Detroit Land Office. Land hunters at that time were jealous, or
rather suspicious of each other ; and so each made an effort to reach the office first,
lest his competitor might outwit him in purchasing.
CARTER REMINISCENCES.
Nathaniel Carter left Massachusetts for Michigan, August 24, 1831. At the
close of the third week of the journey he found his friend Holman located in the
wilderness four miles northeast of Romeo. His reminiscences of settlement portray
many of the scenes of the olden time, and are on that account valuable. He says :
At this time the east half of Armada and what is now Richmond belonged to Saint
Clair County. There were only two families in the east half of Armada, viz.,
Leonard Lee and Alfred Goodell. The highways were yet in the future, their
plcice being represented by sled paths among the trees. The first thing to be done
was to select a farm, so we started northward through the brush and open land to
the old fort, which was a circular bank or ridge eight or ten feet high from the
bottom of the exterior ditch. The walls enclosed about an acre of lau< , with an
opening toward the North Branch. Near by were the bones of a very large race
of people. There was an old oak tree about eighteen inches in diameter growing
on the top of this fort. From this point we started for the southeast to find Hol-
man's brother, Levi Holman's location. He showed us through the woods, which
were then covered with trees so large as to make the Yankees feel a little discour-
aged. We found a small stream called Coon Creek, running through Section 31,
Richmond, near Leonard Lee's and Levi Holman's farms. We selected two eighty-
acre lots on Section 34, paid $200, and received in due time President Jackson's
Tf-
246 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
deed. Romeo then contained one frame and three log houses, and a small one-
story frame store, built on the corner of Main and Saint Clair Streets, by N. T.
Taylor. The land between the Curtiss farm and the village was nearly all taken
up, and much of it was occupied. The ague attacked one member of the family
and created some surprise. Ebenezer Brooks and wife came next.
A short time after settlement a man was heard shouting in the wilderness, Mr.
Curtiss went forth with his rifle. The hooting continued until the lost man saw
his rescuer advancing. So overpowered with joy was he that he could scarcely
express himself. He started the morning previous to come from the road north to
the Hoxie trail ; but got lost. He had a good pocket compass, yet he strayed
away, became lost, and at the moment he Avas discovered was twenty-four hours
without food. This man's name was Truesdell Kickols.
A sudden turn of affairs urged Carter to enter the market. There he made
application for a Stewart^ and sealed the contract so strongly that it is good yet.
After furnishing his log-house, he began to think about building a saw-mill. There
was but one nearer than Stoney Creek, and that was Noah Webster's. His was the
next built in order of time. Since that time he sawed timber for twelve saw-mills
and three grist mills, all erected within a radius of three-one-half miles of the
Carter farm, all run by water power, and the greater number of them gone out of
use. In 1832-3, the season of alternate rain and frost, the grain crops were
destroyed. The settlers endured many privations, some were reduced almost to
starvation. Flour was fl6 per barrel, and pork, $30.
Asa Holman organized the first Sunday School in the Town of Armada,
within a log-house on the corner of his farm. John Proctor and Job Howell built
the first frame houses in the township ; Norman Perry and N. Carter soon fol-
lowed the example, and the era of frame buildings was introduced.
DANIEL W. day's REMINISCENCES.
In April, 1827, my father, Erastus Day, started from the town of Lima, Liv-
ingston County, in the State of New York, with teams and went to Pittsford in
the same county, where, in company with Capt. Gad Chamberlain and some
four other families, they chartered a canal-boat on the Erie Canal, which had been
finished about two years, to Buffalo.
It being early in the season, no boats had as yet left for Detroit, but two'
steamers were lying at the wharf anxious for lading, and as there were five or six
families of us, with household goods, etc., the masters of the vessels were very
anxious and began to bid for the load, when the master of the Steamer Superior,
Capt. Sherman, proposed to take us to Detroit gratis if we would go with him ; so,
as a matter of course, we all piled on, and after a stormy passage (all that were on
"®
^v
1
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 247
board being sick except the crew, my father, and Capt. Chamberlain) we arrived
at Detroit. We stayed there until Sunday morning, Capt. Chamberlain in the
meantime having purchased some two or three yoke of oxen and father two cows
with their calves, which he bought for twenty-five dollars. On Sunday morning
quite a debate arose as to whether we should lay over until Monday, or start at
once, Capt. Chamberlin being opposed to traveling on the Sabbath, (which was
right,) but other counsels prevailed, and about ten o'clock, the oxen having been
hitched up, we launched out upon that great sea of mud and water toward Royal
Oak, being kept partially out of the mud by a railroad with the rails all laid cross-
wise, and oh ! what a road was there, my countrymen ! It was almost impossible
to keep right side up and out of the mud and water. Between Detroit and Royal
Oak we stopped at a place called Mother Handsome's, whose real name was
Chapin, where we had dinner. The next place, after passing Royal Oak, was then
called Hamilton's, afterward Piety Hill, and now Birmingham. It was then com-
posed of one log house, which was the tavern. At that time there was no road
direct from Royal Oak to Rochester, consequently we were obliged to go by Ham-
ilton's, where we stayed Sunday night, if memory serves me right, and the next
day brought up at Horatio Nye's, in the township of Bruce, Macomb County.
That day, my father, myself, and Levi, the youngest brother, traveled on ahead of
the teams, and missing our way, went to where Romeo now stands, then called
Indian village, Gideon Gates, post-master. I think there were at that time, four
log houses within the bounds of Romeo as it now is. As is related above, we stopped
at Nye's, about two miles west of Romeo, where we stayed a few days and then
moved into a log shanty about twelve by fourteen, and covered with oak shakes,
where we lived, or rather stayed, some six or eight weeks and planted a crop of
corn and potatoes. In the meantime, father had purchased eighty acres of timber
land about two miles northeast of Romeo, and on the fifth day of July, 1827, we
went to the new farm to prepare logs for a house, which was raised in a few days
with becoming ceremonies, and after covering it with elm bark, laying a part of a
floor of hewn bass-wood logs, and cutting out the logs,*and leaving the holes for
doors and windows, we quietly moved into it without any fire-place or chimney
except a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape through. I recollect of mother
telling one morning that she saw some large animal jump out through the hole left
for a window during the night. Hardly a night passed but we could hear wolves
howling in different directions. I remember at one time of hearing them howl
about eighty or one hundred rods from the house. Very soon the hogs put in an
appearance at the house minus two very fine pigs which were never seen afterward.
At another time, as two of ray brothers started from home, they encountered two
bears in close proximity to the hog-pen wherein were five or six fine porkers. On
'— e)
F
:±=£k.
248 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
another occasion, while all hands were engaged in chopping, we heard a hog set up
a terrible squeak, when we all started for the scene of battle, where we found a
long-legged brown bear leading a hog off by the nape of the neck, and as there was
not a rifle in the company, bruin made good his escape after having bitten Mr.
Porker so badly that he afterward died. While living at home and going to school,
a little incident occurred that might be worth relating. Whilst wandering about
in the woods one Saturday, I discovered a large basswood log partially rotted away,
in the hollow of which I thought wolves slept. I went and borrowed a trap and
set it, but it was not a success, as they went in all directions except in the trap.
One very cold morning I went to my trap, and not finding anything in it, I turned
about and went directly home, and as I stepped into the door I heard them howl,
and going back found that they were not over ten rods behind me, as I saw the
tracks of two of them as they turned from the road into the woods and left on sus-
picion. As to religious matters, the first sermon I heard in Romeo was by the Rev.
Abel Warren, of sainted memory, who moved into that part of the country in 1824.
He preached in warm weather in Albert Finch's barn on the farm now known as
the Ewell farm. This was in the spring of 1827. Rev. Isaac Ruggles was the
first Congregational minister that ever preached in Romeo, which was in 1829.
In the spring of 1828, all the people turned out, and that was not a great many,
and hewed the timber, gave lumber and shingles, and built a frame school-house
on land owned by Asahel Bailey, which answered the purpose of school-house and
church. The first school was taught by Gideon Gates, and Alanson Finch, who
was supposed afterward to have been carried off by the Indians, went to school.
He was missed at night, and many of the neighbors searched in the woods all night
and the next day. It was estimated that some four or five hundred men were
scouring the woods far and near, but no trace of him was found, and it was with-
out doubt the means of bringing the old people in sorrow to the grave.
REMINISCENCES OF JOHN D. HOLLAND.
Referring to the emigration of the Holland family from New York, May 20,
1829, John D. Holland writes : We started from the town of Mendon,
in the county of Monroe, State of New York (had prayers in the
morning offered by Brother Schuyler, a connection of Gen. Schuyler of
Albany), we pursued our journey to or near Batavia, where we stayed
the first night, and that night it was frosty and cold, the morning following,
I think the ground was a little frozen. Pursued our course to Buffalo got on board
a small schooner called the Dread of Huron, John Haskins captain. Came to San-
dusky City in about three days from Buffalo, staid there some three or four days,
found there an old man by the name of Rogers, who was taken prisoner of war in
"y
■^ — "t ^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 249
the Revolution with ray father, out of the sloop Randolph, a sloop of sixteen guns,
about the year 1780. The old men appeared glad to see each other. My father
and myself got on board a small boat and came to Detroit in about two days I should
judge.
Detroit was then small, the old Fort Hull surrendered was then garrisoned by
United States soldiers. Maj. Jonathan Kearsley and John Biddle then acted as land
agents, or they gave duplicates to the applicants at the United States Land Office.
Staid near Detroit a number of days. Came to Washington to look land about the
20th of June, went to Detroit and received a duplicate for the east half of the
north-east quarter of section twenty-two in that town, about the 26th or 7th of
June, 1823, and at that time there was in Washington Barna Miller, Joseph Miller,
Elon Andrus, Lazarus Green, Zebulum Hayden and Aaron Stone, and perhaps
Solomon Wales with families ; likewise Freeborn Heley and Job Hoxie with families.
Milton Nye's family absent, Ezra B. Throop, Alvin Nye, Marcus Nye, Daniel Smith,
young men, and Alexander Tackles a widower, these were the only inhabitants
then living in the township of Wasliington. Romeo was then called Indian Village.
Asahel Bailey and Chauncy Bailey with families then lived in Bruce, and Michael
Tromley, they were the only inhabitants in Bruce, except Indians, unless Shartkey,
(Chartier), then lived near Tromley.
What a change do I see to-day, I can see from my window three good churches,
an academy, a village containing perhaps 2,000 inhabitants, but alas, reflection tells
me that almost all the former inhabitants have passed through the gates of death,
and are with us no more. Freeborn Heley was the first white man who died in
Washington that we have any knowledge of, he died in August. 1825. But who
can count the number that has fallen in Washington since that day.
Elias Pattee came and preached in Washington about the last of August 1828,
a class was formed in Washington of six members, viz : John D. Holland leader,
Elon Andrews, Nancy Andrews, Polly Greene, Aurilla Miller and Laura Miller.
James Thornington was the first settler in Washington, he came into the town, as
near as can be ascertained in the month of February 1819, and settled on the farm
now owned and occupied by George Wilson. The first physician that settled in
Washington was Lyman T. Jenny, then came Dr. Dennis Cooley, a constant physi-
cian many years. The first frame barn was built by Zebulum Hayden in the spring
of 1824, the first frame house was built by Edward Arnold in the fall of 1825. The
first school was kept by Dr. Lyman T. Jenny. The fii'st township meeting was held
near John D. Holland's in April 1827, the first Supervisor was John S. Axford, the
first Township (>lerk was John D. Holland. The great rain happened the 18th and
19th of June, 1825. The first saw mill was built by John Proctor, the first grist
mill built by W'lks L. Stuart and Edwin Wilcox. Tiie first merchant, and perhaps
f-
w.
-<—— -®[>>
250 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
the first founder of the merchants' establishment or business in Romeo, was Nathan
Terry Taylor. The first religious meeting was held in a log shanty owned and oc-
cupied by Albert Finch, very near the house Hall Ewell now lives in, in June 1824.
The first Postoffice established in the village of Romeo, I think about the autumn
of 1825, was called Indian Village Postoffice, Gideon Gates was Post-master. Who
acted as Post-master in the township of Washington, I am not sure but think it was
Otis Lamb, office established not far from the time it was established in Indian Vil-
lage.
The townships of Washington and Bruce were joined as one township for
several years. The first saw mill built in Bruce was that by Leander Tromley,
some time before the mill erected by John Proctor. The first blacksmith in Wash-
ington was John Bennett. The first white child born in Bruce was a daughter of
Chauncy Bailey. There was an Indian tribe living near Lakeville, Macomps was
their chief. Gen. John Stockton came to Mt. Clemens at an earl}- day, and I presume
can give as much information relative to former times as any one in Macomb County.
SKETCHES OP EARLY SETTLEMENT IN SHELBY, BY L. D. OWEN.
When I was a lad, between nine and ten years of age, my father, Abijah
Owen, then living in the State of New York, Genessee Co., conceived the idea of
emigrating to the West. Some of his townsmen, among whom were Calvin Davis,
Elon and Russel Andrus, Joseph and Daniel Miller, Elder Abel Warren, and some
others, had gone a year or two previous. From the very flattering accounts
received from them as to the natural advantages to be enjoyed in this new country,
he resolved to move thither, and sold what little property he had in that country.
In the latter part of the month of June, 1825, he started with his family of five
children and their mother for the far-famed territory of Michigan. At this time
no such thing as a railroad had been projected, neither had there any canals been
brought into use ; for be it known Clinton's big ditch, or the Erie Canal, was not
completed till September of that year. Then, of course, our only mode of trans-
portation from starting point to Buffalo, was by lumber wagon. At Buffalo we
embarked on board the only steamboat then on Lake Erie, and the second one
that had ever navigated its waters, the " Superior." After a passage of five days,
calling at all the intermediate ports, we landed on terra firma at Detroit. I well
remember how fine was the weather. Not a ripple disturbed the placid blue waters
of that noble lake.
Immediately on landing, we fell in with a teamster by the name of Jack Hamlin,
whose business it was to transport immigrants into this country. A turnpike had
then been constructed, commencing at the river bank, and running for a distance
of four miles in a northerly direction, which, subsequently, was completed by the
:^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 251
United States as a military road to Saginaw Bay. When leaving this four-mile
turnpike, we entered upon a single wagon track, meandering through brush, seek-
ing the most eligible ground, and guided by blazed trees through forests. After
two days' weary journey, we arrived at our destined haven at the house of uncle
Calvin Davis, in the township of Shelby. Then it was that pioneer life began to
dawn upon us. The first step was to locate an eighty acre lot of land, and no
delay was necessary in making a selection, there being a vacant lot adjoining my
uncle's. No objection could be entertained to securing a neighbor no more than
half a mile distant, in a wilderness country. The half mile to my uncle's I
thought quite too far to go for fire, when often in the summer time ours had gone
out during the night. Lucifer matches in those days were not dreamed of ; some
people had a tinder box with flint and steel from which they could start a fire. As
soon as my father had secured his land, wheat harvest being then ready, he thought
it more important to secure some of the needful, than to commence the erection of
a domicile, and his first labor was performed for one, Judge Thurston, in the
western part of Washington Township ; , raking and binding at six shillings per
day ; but from the paucity of the wheat fields here then, harvest time was of short
duration, so he soon commenced the building of a log house. I remember hearing
him say, after paying for his land, he had but seven dollars in money left, so by
the time he had procured the necessary whisky to carry on his raising, doubtless,
that was gone. Could buildings be raised in those days without whisky ? One
might just as well undertake to bury a corpse without digging a grave. It was
quite apparent now that no time should be lost in preparing a family shelter, as an
emergency of a domestic character was known to exist, that, except with nomadic
tribes, called for more tlian ordinary care, so not many days elapsed before logs
were got together and shakes rove out of oak for a roof, and from some source he
obtained some second-hand lumber, of various widths and thickness, for an upper
and under floor. Soon we were ushered into our new domocile, and in a few days
my mother gave birth to another child, Martha B., now Mrs. Cox, of Franklin,
Oakland Co. The first year we lived without a cow — I can remember often diet-
ing on roast potatoes and salt — but the next summer my father went down to
his uncle Haskin's, living a few miles from Mt. Clemens, and brought home a cow,
saying his uncle gave her to him. Then we children felt gleeful and happy — no
more potatoes and salt ; we could luxuriate not only on potatoes and milk, but
bread and milk also. Prosperity often is of short duration, for when we had had
Old Boh a year or so, there suddenly appeared without previous notice, two young
men with orders to drive away the cow. Some of the younger children cried to
see Old Boh driven away. She merited that sobriquet from her semi-caudal
appendage, which I suppose some ferocious canine had made a little too free with.
&
vj^
M" — ^ -^ — ^]>^i
Now a spell came over our dreams, potatoes and salt haunted our minds. Not only
that, but we were strongly suspected of being fatherless, for he was among the
missing also. While he was gone mother wanted to make some cucumber pickles,
and whisky was about the only ingredient then used for that purpose, so I was
sent to Mr. Burlingham's still for some of the critter, but when Burlingham learned
that father was gone, and we did not know where, I could not get the whisky,
although two shillings per gallon was all it was worth. I don't remember now of
ever seeing two shillings in money up to that time. But the darkest hour is said
to be just before day ; so in the course of six weeks my father returned, driving
with him two good cows, which he had paid for with his labor, on the farm owned
by Gen. Cass, whose tenant was father's cousin.
I tell you we boys threw up our hats then though I am not sure we had any.
Yes, I do remember of making one for myself about that time out of straw ; but if
I remember right it was a rude specimen. The farm above alluded to is now about
one-half the city of Detroit, unless the city extends far beyond it in a westerly
direction. I, however, know that it was a large farm, for the next summer, after
father got the cows, I was permitted to go there to play with the cousins and
remain three weeks, riding the ponies after the cows every night. Three weeks
had passed, so one Sunday morning I shouldered my pack, about twenty pounds
of dried peas, beside other traps, and started afoot and alone for home. The four-
mile turnpike alluded to, was traversed, after which was brush and timber almost
the entire distance of thirty miles, but I made port and had considerable ambition
left. I should hate to undertake that walk now in a day. I was twelve or thirteen
years old at this time. If my memory serves me there was but one brick building
in the city at that time and that, it seems to me, was only one and a half stories
high. There stands a dwelling now on Jefferson avenue, not far from Woodward,
that was there then. The first team we had in this country was grown from calves
dropped the same spring of our arrival, hence my father had no facilities for work-
ing his land, though yearly he would endeavor to get two or three acres broke,
either by making a bee or changing work, with some of the neighbors ; those
calves were bought of Elder Warren in the fall after they were a year old and my
brother and I broke them that winter, and snailed up the most of our fire wood
at this time. I made the yoke and bows, putting in a wooden staple of bent hick-
ory, with a crotched limb forming a hook for the staple, and a short piece of chain
at the rear end. I would hitcli to a small draft and drag it to the house. I can
remember taking mother two and a half miles to meeting with those steers attached
to an ox sled, over a trail covered only with about an incli of snow. My brother
and I done pretty much the entire work done at home for the first four or fire
a.
HISTOEY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
years ; while father worked out by the day. We split mostly all the rails that was
used during that time, and also laid them into fences.
Judging from recollection as to the length of time we had been in this country
I should say it was in the spring of 1826 or '27, that our neighborhood became rife
with rumors that a boy was lost in the northern part of the county. I well re-
member that, when we were all at Town meeting about the first of April, there
came a courier, heralding the sad news that Mr. Finch's boy, in the Hoxie settle-
ment, was lost, and that the father desired help to look him up. My father started
the next day, and 1 suppose all the neighbors did also start to search for the miss-
ing one. If I remember aright he was gone about a week ; but they did not find
the boy, and he never was found either dead or alive, and the grievance of the
heart-stricken parents bore so heavily upon them, that their natures soon gave way,
and both went down to an untimely grave, mourning the loss of their boy.
Now the time occurred that I first saw Romeo, then the Hoxie Settlement; so
when we had lived here long enough to have raised a little corn, a corn basket was
needed, and none was known to be made nearer to us than the Hoxie settlement,
so my brother and I, respectively ten and twelve years old, started for Romeo on
foot, and procured a basket of one old Mr. Washburn. A frame house, I remember,
was then being erected just behind a little oak tree, by one John B. Hollister, then
our County Surveyor, and that same little oak tree is now standing in front of Mrs.
Nelly Gray's residence.
I remember that when we got started for home the elements portended a
thunder shower. We had been taught that to be in the woods at such a time was
very dangerous. Soon we were overtaken by Esq. Lester, of Utica, on horseback,
and to keep up with him was our aim ; therefore when his horse trotted, we trotted;
but oc3asionally his horse would walk and then we could recuperate our wind.
We heard him tell some one on the way that those were the smartest boys he ever
saw, as they kept up with hislhorse all the way. In due time we reached home in
safety.
The advantages for schooling in the neighborhood where we lived were poorer
than in some other. The fourth town was then comparatively a thickly settled
neighborhood, for within a mile from each other there were Geo. Hanscom, Geo.
Willson, Dan'l and Jas. Miller, Elon Andrews, John Bennett, — Burlingham, Otis
Lamb, and perhaps some others. When I would visit their school, I found the pu-
pils much farther advanced in the rudimental branches than with us. Immediately
after our arrival here, I commenced going one and a half miles to school, but with-
in a month I was attacked with the ague and lay prostrate with it all that winter.
A portion of one winter I remember going two and a half miles to a male teacher,
Elias Scott. It was then I began to learn to write, and I think I wrote one or two
s^
^y
« ii^
liL
254
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
love letters to a girl who was some years older than I was, who is now Mrs. Alvah
Arnold. The last winter I remained at home, we had a school only one and a fourth
miles away, taught by Miss Laura Hopkins, sister of the late Cyrus Hopkins, the
veteran bell ringer of Romeo. This was in the winter of 1830-31, but my duties
at home never allowed me to attend school very regular.
In June, 1831, I left home and engaged as clerk to P. & G. Leech, of Utica,
who had recently come in and bought the mill property there, and also inaugurated
a store. The following winter I attended a three months' school, taught by one P.
B. Thurston, who subsequently became Judge of Probate for the County, and held
the office a great number of years. He was counted a very worthy man and an
efficient County officer. One little incident I will make mention of as occurring
with some of my earliest experience after leaving home, to show the fortitude that
may be cherished, and is far more often displayed in a new country than an older
one, and is probably engendered by the rudeness of a pioneer life. Early the fol-
lowing spring I was sent by my employers to Mt. Clemens to collect a small
account ; when arriving at the North Branch I found that the bridge had been
swept away, but a man with a canoe was there to ferry me across. I was directed
to put the saddle in the canoe, and swim the horse ahead of us, and so save us the
labor of paddling. The halter or bridle was too short to allow the horse to get be-
yond the reach of the canoe, hence he was much frightened at the frequent contact
with it it. The stream having extended far beyond its natural banks covered a flat
of more shallow water. At this point the horse struck bottom, and made such
powerful strides as to drag me from the canoe through the shallows to dry land.
Now why did I not let go ? Because I feared the horse would give me the slip
and be a greater hardship to recover hini than to be drawn through the water, so I
stuck to him and went on, made the collection in silver coin — about twenty-five
dollars, and that weight of specie in my pantaloon pockets while on horseback, ap-
peared to be a far greater annoyance than the wet clothes."
Mr. Owen paid a brilliant tribute to the deceased Abel Warren, and concluded
his paper with a very apt reference to the pioneers of Macomb.
The following poetical comparison of the Past and the Present was written by
J. E. Day, in 1874. It is a very faithful review, and must be of special interest in
connection with this chapter:
In days gone by our dames and sires,
Free from that pride which wealth inspires,
With zeal which coming days will bless,
Performed their toils in home-spun dress.
The rustle of a silken gown.
Was to their ears an unknown sound,
Save when some rare occasion fell
As funeral or marriage bell,
The rich brocade — the soft cashmere —
The glistening-flush the velvet dear.
Were things of which they heard at times.
By gossip brought from foreign climes.
â– s
O-
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
-« ^I^
O
255
The matron's costume, clean and bright,
Was home-spun linen, blue and white,
Whose scanty folds were held in place,
By linen string about the waist.
Whose tidy pleats were kept in check
By linen kerchief at the neck,
Her feet were shod with heavy shoes,
Made less for beauty than for use,
Her bonnet, too, it may be said —
Was on and not behind her head.
His pants were tow and woolen mix't,
In colors which her skill had fix't ;
And made with all the house-wife's care,
Not for adornment but to wear.
His frock was made of heavy tow ;
Came to the knees, or just below.
Supplying place of coat or vest.
Like charity, concealed the rest.
Uncouth in gait, or form, or looks.
Untaught was he, in lore of books ;
Unskilled was he, in ways to please;
Untaught in all the arts of ease ;
Yet he was wise in all his toil.
He knew the secrets of the soil ;
He knew where best to plant his corn,
He could presage the coming storm ;
He knew where wild fruits grew the best ;
He knew where wild birds built their nest ;
And large his heart — the poor confes't.
The kindly feeling of the breast.
Yet we confess they had their pride,
Though leaving much to virtue's side ;
'Twas his the glitt'ring ax to wield.
Or daily plow the willing field.
And many a rood of fertile land
Confessed the power of his hand.
And while he daily swung the ax.
Her pride was in her field of flax ;
And in her bright, well scoured room.
And in her spinning-wheel and loom,
And in her knots of woolen yarn.
Ready to make the new or darn.
For hung in festoons 'round the room.
Where trophies of her wheel and loom,
And still was heard, for days to come,
The spinning-wheel's familiar hum.
And as her sturdy urchins grew,
' Twas all the music that they knew,
' Tis well remembered sound to me,
* Tis music of utility.
The houses which they lived in, too.
No rules of architecture knew,
The unhewn trunks of trees supplied,
Material to form its sides,
Laid up each other's ends across,
And chinked between, with mud and moss.
On these were poles, set up to take,
A roof composed of " shanty shake."
Two doors it had, a front and rear,
A window on each side appears,
And in one end — the other graced,
A huge, old-fashioned, " fire-place,"
Whose fervent heat had often told.
Expulsion to the winter's cold.
And whose reflected, cheerful light.
Oft changed to day the winter's night.
What fun to sit on winter days.
Before that open fire-place.
And see within the embers glow,
Intricate fancies come and go.
Or hear the crackling fagots sing
The music of the Fire King,
What feasts we children used to share,
Acorns and chestnuts, wasted there.
Or when more sumptuous feasts invite.
The dancing pop-corn brown and white.
How oft I've thought with childish joy.
When I should cease to be a boy,
When I should reach maturer life
And mingle in its joys and strife.
That time has come, and taught the boy.
Anticipation has the greater joy.
The hearth was stones, large, smooth and flat.
And in the corner lay a mat.
On which, before the blazing log.
Reposed the drowsy hunting dog.
And in the corner used to stand
The bake-kettle, and frying-pan.
The chimney-flue (for want of bricks)
Was made of plastered mud, and sticks,
The floor was made of bass-wood slabs.
Split out and laid with ax and adze.
The only jack-plane that it knew
Was friction of the heel and toe.
The only carpet at command
Was daily made of soap and sand.
®
a)j>y
Dj
"l k»
A A
A .
<'â– ^
r
256 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
The door was large, and wide, and hung
Which under our fond mother's care.
On wooden hinges, creaked as it swung,
Weekly were enacted there.
Which we small youngsters hail'd as great
We knew when came the grand array
And vainly tried to imitate,
For Tuesday was the baking day.
No plated knob, no shining latch,
Long years have come, and swiftly passed.
Was there the eye to catch,
Since Tuesday's fare was tasted last.
But if you would admittance beg
And we may eat of viands rare.
The handle was a hickory peg.
And sumptuous entertainments share.
Hard by a string of wild deer's hide.
Partake of all that warms or cheers,
The place of thumb-piece well supplied;
May live to see an hundred years,
Not always there as you might see.
Yet ne'er will taste such pies, or cake.
It filled the place of lock and key.
As that old oven used to bake.
For safety it was just the thing,
You'd only to pull in the string.
Within that arch we'd often look.
And think, how in the holy book.
Outside, a few steps from the door,
With the bass-wood branches arched o'er.
Where pig-weeds grew so tall and grand,
The old brick oven used to stand.
Upborn on rugged pillars three,
In rude uncultured masonry.
And underneath we used to keep
Our treasures rare, in many a heap,
We sometimes heard our father read.
How three jusl men of holy deed.
Were cast into an oven hot,
And yet the flames had harmed them not.
We wondered much, yet failed to see
How such strange story true could be.
And comforting each other, said.
That we were glad that king was dead.
It oft has been my childish care.
Oh, childhood ' fraught with joy and pain.
The needed oven-wood to prepare.
Thy years will never come again ;
Four honest armfuls, fine and dry.
The joys of youth no more we see.
E'er I could taste of cake or pie.
Save in the light of memory.
Our mother then would place these sticks
Yet let us keep, as best we may.
Within the solid arch of bricks.
These visions of the by-gone day.
In order so the flames might crawl.
And think how in the times far back
With easy access through them all.
We've wandered from the narrow track,
And having fired gave no concern
The path our infant feet have trod.
But let the crackling contents burn.
Forgetful of our fathers' God.
Just twenty minutes by the clock.
Let's find once more the hopes, the fears.
The fire was out, the oven hot.
And fervency of early years,
And, having scraped the ashes thin,
And mingle with life's sterner truth
The pastry ready to go in.
The "everlasting flowers" of youth.
Each loaf with skillful care was laid
Upon the fire-shovel's blade.
And with a firm and steady hand,
In farthest corner made to stand.
The loaves were placed in first of all
And ranged against the outer wall.
And then within this outside ring.
In order ranged the smaller things,
The walls threw out their ready heat
The baking process was complete.
Between the oven and the road.
Beside the path the well-curb stood.
On tip-toe raised, we used to peep
Into the dark mysterious deep.
And think how one poor foolish elf.
Not long before, had drowned herself.
Above the curb, the "sweep" was swung.
On which a cedar pole was hung.
With skill contrived, a strap and nail
Arranged to take the oaken pail.
^
Sweet mem'ries hover round my heart,
On further end a block of wood.
*
in
Of mysteries in the baking art.
To keep the even balance good.
^ «*
V
(» r-
^
• -^ (»
f^
THE NF^^^ -"-1
^PUBLIC '
HK
ASTOR, I
O 1^
i
HISTORY OF MACOMB COT^NTY. 357
What joy 'twould be to-night to share
Could suit our varied wants so well,
The very best of liquor there.
Or form a play-house with such skill.
Such places in its holes to creep,
Beside the well, on either hand,
Such chance to play at hide and seek,
Large branching elm trees used to stand ;
Such room our many games to play.
And from the lowest, largest limb
Or jump upon the springing hay.
With ropes and bark we made a swing.
We knew of every place where best
And there, on days when out of school,
The cunning hen could hide her nest ;
And when the sultry sun grew cool,
What joyous shout and sparkling eyes.
Such joyous pastimes oft we had
When her shrill voice proclaims the prize.
As makes the heart of childhood glad.
With hasty step and merry din
Yet, sometimes, ere the play was done.
We took the glistening treasures in.
Would sadly pause to think of one
Whose tired feet had left the way
Down on a corner of the street.
In which we trod, one Summer day
Where four right-angled highways meet.
Had gone to find the thither shore
A few steps distant from the road,
Where childish griefs could come no more.
The little, old, log school-house stood ;
And roam at will the happy fields
Where, in the days long since gone by.
Which unmolested pleasure yields.
We youngsters used to meet and try
To con our various lessons o'er.
Not dead to us, we thought that when
The foretaste of a world of lore.
Some days had passed, he'd come again ;
The walls were low and washed with white.
And sometimes in the heat of game
Four wide, low windows gave it light
We would forget and speak his name ;
No " patent stove " the building graced.
And then, in hushed and solemn way.
But a large, wide, stone-built fire-place.
Would sit us down, forgetting play.
Whose fervent glow and steady heat
And every day his merry plays.
Toasted our heads and froze our feet.
His golden hair, his gentle ways,
Long desks along the walls were fixed ;
His ringing laugh, the clothes he wore.
No passage-ways were seen betwixt.
Came back upon us o'er and o'er.
The seats, pine slabs, with iron-wood pegs,
Oh, Mem'ry ! Never weary with the past,
Which answered in the place of legs.
Thy joys be mine while time shall last ;
While " beating up " the lesson's track
And when time's latest course has run,
We to the teacher turned our back.
Thy deathless life has only just begun.
At recitation, or when school was out.
We'd only just to face about.
Back from the house, not many rods.
The boys could easy make the change.
Were barn and sheds, built up of logs.
But for the girls 'twas passing strange.
Whose ample floor and well-filled bay
The little urchins seated there
We thought were just the place for play.
Seemed high upborne into the air.
On one side were the stalls, where stood
From which their small feet dangled o'er
The meek eyed cattle, fat and good ;
In vain desire to reach the floor.
The other was the ample bay.
Well-filled with nicely-salted hay.
I mind me well how fared the school
A row of boxes placed above,
When under certain schoolma'am's rule,
Sheltered a flock of rattling doves ;
How oft for switches we would go,
And outside, underneath the eaves.
How oft the chalk-mark forced to toe.
Were swallows' nests of mud and leaves.
How oft the open palm extend
And feel the walnut " rule " descend.
Not all the arts which poets sing.
And yet, what varied fun we took
J
el
Not all the lore which ages bring,
17
When she was busy with her book ;
7
1
ft -r"
'^ "e)
:W
t
â– ^
258
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
What skillful pictures we would make,
Or draw her profile on the slate.
With awful look and peaked nose,
And hand upraised, as if for blows ;
And sometimes, so engaged were we
In this rare sport, we failed to see
That the sharp schoolma'am's restless eyes
Had seen, and marked it for her prize.
It pleased her worst of all, we knew,
Because they sometimes were so true.
Well, I am glad that in those days
My feet were turned to learning's ways ;
Those early tasks, I plainly see.
Were worth a world of wealth to me.
Because they proved this precept true
How little of the world 1 knew,
And gave a quenchless thirst for more
Than shallow draught of learning's lore,
And made my wakening soul aspire
To something better still, and higher.
That old log schoolhouse, rough and tried,
The place of meeting-house supplied.
Where weekly gathered, old and young.
With sober face and silent tongue.
To hear the thrilling story told.
Which, oft repeated, grows not old.
Forever new because divine,
Of Christ, the Prince of David's line.
These little temples here and there,
Along our public thoroughfares.
Are hot-beds, where the feeble plant
Of learning gets its earliest start.
'Neath education's morning sun
The budding process is begun.
Till in its stretch of higher growth,
It reaches to sublimer truth.
Throws out the bud, the flower, the seed,
Of holy thought, of n<'ble deed.
The mind of childhood can not be
A long continued vacancy,
There is no waste or barren soil
Within the garden of the soul ;
For if we fail to sow the seeds,
Of virtuous thought and manly deeds,
The wildest flowers will bloom within
Of bitterness, and woe and sin.
Where are they now ? those girls and boys
Who shared with me life's morning joys.
Alas for some, their forms are laid
Beneath the churchyard's willow shade.
Their footsteps now are heard no more
Along Time's rocky sounding shore ;
They've gone before to pluck at will
The flowers that bloom on Zion's hill.
Some hasted at the country's need.
With willing heart and loyal speed,
To help maintain the nation's laws,
Or perish in the righteous cause.
. All honor to the " boys in blue,"
Who faced the breach for me and you ;
The dear remembrance of the brave,
Lives like the pine above their grave.
Green be the grass and sweet the flowers,
That wave above these friends of ours,
And soft the sighing winds that surge
Above their graves at Fredricksburg.
Some plow in learning's classic soil.
Some feel the sweat of farmer's toil,
Some drive a country doctor's cart.
Some drive a lawyer's plastic art.
All hail ! whatever be your share
In life, of labor or of care.
Fresh courage take and ne'er forget
That we are near each other yet.
And as we gladly journey on.
Be this our purpose bright and strong,
That when life's days and nights are passed.
We all may meet at home at last.
Now all is changed, no more we hear
The sturdy stroke of pioneer.
No more we see on morning breeze
His blue smoke curling through the trees.
No more in hazel brush is heard,
The shrill notes of the forest bird.
Gone from the hut are dame and sire,
Quenched on the hearth their cheerful fire ;
Gone is the cabin and the wood,
Gone are the elms from where they stood.
Gone is the nicely sanded room,
Gone is the spinning wheel and loom ;
Sweet be their rest, since closed the strife.
They heroes were in humble life.
And wealth has brought in place of these
The ways of luxury and ease.
The thirst for fame, the love of self.
The power of pride, the greed of pelf,
*7\'
\5
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
■^ — n>^^
259
O'ershadow worth, and gain control
O'er nobler feelings of the soul.
And thus we mourn that coming days,
Drive out the old simplicity of ways.
We wish not for the hut again.
Nor share of backwood's toil and pain ;
Yet much we wish that all might live,
Those simple rules which wisdom gives,
Might see true worth more surely great,
Than all the flimsy pride of State,
And then how surely should we be
A race of true nobility.
CHAPTER XV.
PIONEER REMINISCENCES.
The character of the pioneers of Macomb, falls properly within the range of
history. They lived in a region of exuberant fertility, where nature had scattered
her blessings with a generous hand. The winding Riviere Aux Hurons, the beauti-
ful forests, the fertile oak openings, the hard but happy labors of the husbandman
and his family, and the bright hopes which burned, combined to impress a distinct
character, to bestow a spirit of enterprise, a joyousness of hope and an independence
of feeling. The community formed an admixture of many nations, characters,
languages, conditions, and opinions. All the various Christian Gods had their
worshippers. Pride and jealousy gave way to the natural yearnings of the human
heart for society ; prejudices disappeared, they met half way and embraced ; and the
society thus gradually organized became liberal, enlarged, unprejudiced, and natur-
ally more affectionate, than a commune of people all similar in birth and character.
In the following pages these facts will appear more manifest. The tales of the
olden time point out that time as one, where solidarity of interests marked the
character of the people, and leave little doubt that the ideal of good will to man
ruled in their hearts.
PIONEER MOTHERS.
What shall we say of the true woman — the pioneer woman of this country ?
Ah ! the Past, with its lights and shadows, its failures and its successes, its joys and
its privations, is well remembered by the surviving pioneer, and happily in many
instances by his children. Many a pioneer of the townships of this county has
already gone to his rest on the hill, that gave to those, near and dear to him, a first
outlook upon the pioneer life that was to come, — a life destined to develop these
forces of the head and heart, forces, which, in the luxury and ease of an older civi-
lization, rarely appear upon the surface of society.
It was not always the dark side of the facies which was turned toward the
pioneer, for though many of the immigrants were rough, and in many instances un-
godly ; yet manhood and womanhood were here in all their strength and beauty.
260 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
and nowhere in the world of created intelligence did God's last, best gift to man,
more clearly assume the character of a helpmate, than in the log cabin, and amid the
rough and trying scenes, incidental to a home in the wilderness. Ever foremost in
the work of civilization and progress, the pioneer woman — the true woman — was
to-day physician, to-morrow nurse, and the following day teacher of the primitive
school. Withal the woman was busily engaged in that wearisome round of house-
hold work which knows no cessation. Early and late, all the year round, the
pioneer woman acted her part well. From year to year, as through many privations
and much new and strange experience of that necessity, which is the mother of in-
vention, wife and husband joined hand to hand to work out under the green arches
of the wilderness the true beginnings of Macomb County. To the pioneer mothers
of Macomb honor belongs. The many who are gone to their rest left a memory to
honor — treat the living mothers well and tenderly.
THE FIRST HOMES OF THE PEOPLE.
How natural to turn our eyes and thoughts back to the log cabin days, and con-
trast them with the homes of the present time. Before us stands the old log cabin:
Let us enter. Instinctively the head is uncovered in token of reverence to this
relic of ancestral beginnings and early struggles. To the left is the deep, wide fire-
place, in whose commodious space a group of children may sit by the fire, and up
through the chimney you may count the stars ; while ghostly stories of witches and
giants, and still more thrilling stories of Indians and wild beasts are whisperingiy
told, and shudderingly heard. On the great crane hang the old tea-kettle and the
great iron pot. The huge shovel and tongs stand sentinel in either corner ; while
the great andirons patiently wait for the huge back log. Over the fire-place hangs
the trusty rifle ; on the right side of the hearth stands the spinning wheel ; while
in the farther end of the room is the loom looming up with a dignity peculiarly its
own. Strings of drying apples and poles of drying pumpkins are overhead. Oppo-
site the door by which you enter stands a huge deal table; by its side the dresser,
with pewter plates and shining delf catching and reflecting the fire-place flame, as
shields of armies do the sunshine. From the corner of its shelves coyly peep out
the relics of former china. In a curtained corner, and hid from casual sight, we
find the mother's bed ; and under it the trundle-bed, while near them a ladder indi-
cates a garret where the older children sleep. To the left of the fire-place, and in
the corner opposite, the spinning wheel forms the mother's work-stand; upon it lies
the Holy Bible, evidently much used — its family record telling of parents and friends
a long way off, and telling too of children
"Scattered like roses in bloom
Some at the bridal, and some in the tomb."
:y
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 201
Her spectacles as if just used are inserted between the leaves of her Bible, and tell
of her purpose to return to its comforts when cares permit and duty is done. A
stool, a bench, well notched, and whittled, and carved, and a few chairs complete
the furniture of the room ; all these articles stand on a coarse, but well scoured floor.
Let us for a moment watch the city visitors to this humble cabin. The city bride,
innocent, thoughtless, and ignorant of labor and care, asks her city-bred husband :
" Pray what savage has set this up?" Honestly confessing his ignorance, he replies,
"'I do not know." Then see the couple on whom age sets, frostly but kindly.
First as they enter, they give a rapid glance about the cabin home, and then a mu-
tual glance of eye to eye. Why do tears start and fill their eyes ? Why do lips
quiver ? There are many who know why ; but who, that has not learned in the
school of experience the full meaning of all these symbols of trials and privations, of
loneliness and danger, can comprehend the story they tell to the pioneer ? Within
this chinked and mud-daubed cabin, we read the first pages of our history, and as
we retire through its low doorway, and note the heavy battened door with its wooden
hinges, and its welcoming latch-string, is it strange that the outside scenes would
seem to be but a dream. The cabin and the palace standing side by side in vivid
contrast, tell the story of the people's progress — they are history and prophecy
in one.
THE KEG OF GOLD.
He looked for gold in the streets^ and found none! He searched the alleys of the
city for silver and found not a groat! Thus it was with those who searched for
a Keg of Crold, near where now is the railroad bridge, in olden as well as modern
times. It is related, that about the years 1810-13, the paymaster of the British
garrisons along the lakes, left Detroit, en route to the Indian villages, then in the
vicinity of Mount Clemens, to distribute the price of American scalps among the
tribes. The old trail was by the river ford in the immediate vicinity of the pres-
ent railroad bridge and the Morass House. The river was swollen at the time, so
that it was necessary to requisition a canoe for the transfer of the officer and his
golden charge to the left bank of tlie river. This resulted in the capsizing of the
birchen craft, in the drowning of the officer, and the loss of the keg of gold. Of
course a search was at once instituted for this token of wealth ; but the searchers
are said to have failed to find it. In more recent years a quantity of metal, said
to be lead of a peculiarly hard quality, was found ; which would lead one to sup-
pose that the real paymaster stayed at Detroit, clothed some unfortunate private in
an officer's uniform, and dispatched him on a trial trip, with this keg of little value,
just to learn what would be his own fate were he to venture into the wilderness with
the golden treasure. He learned it, and it is said that British blood-money was
ever afterwards paid at Maiden.
^pv
' ^ ^ * â– - * 4
5) h?*
262 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
THE RECLUSE OF THE MARSH.
It is well known that north and west of the light-house, above the* ruins of the
ancient city of Belvidere, stretches a vast muskeg, bordering on the lake, and fringed
all round with a deep and lovely forest. This marsh is the home of the wild-duck,
the musk-rat, and the wild-goose during the winter and spring seasons, and of the
rice-feeding black-bird during the summer. It seems like the last of places, man
would select for a dwelling place its flat and uninviting landscape wearying the eye
with its monotony every season; while, in winter the freezing breeze of the ice
encumbered lake comes sweeping across it with an Arctic breath that makes the
bones ache, and the human frame tremble. In such a place the relics of a shanty
could be seen — the timbers covered with earth and mould, and the broken or pul-
verized clay-mortar of the chimne}'' or fire-place scattered round. Here, it is related,
dwelt the recluse of the marsh, a solemn, solitary man, whose life seemed centred
in one single thought, even as it was passed in that solitary wilderness. What a
tale might be told of his reasons for this mode of life ; what sad or romantic disap-
pointments that sickened him of life's pleasures ! Whatever his story may have
been, all that remains is a little mound of earth, raised by the action of time and
the decay of vegetable mould over the hearth, where the sad man brooded away so
many years of his life. The name of the solitary man — the recluse of the marsh,
was Tuckar.
A MOTHER-IN-LAW'S JOURNEY TO THE HURON.
In the fall of 1827 Judge Bunce's wife's mother advised his departure from her
home in the Empire State for Detroit, en route to the Huron. The Judge met the
old lady at Detroit, and there hired a Frenchman to take them to the mouth of the
Huron in his cart. At the latter point he hired another Frenchman to take them
in his canoe via the Snibora channel to Mens. Chortier's dwelling. This canoe
navigator said he knew the route well, yet he missed the Snibora and was com-
pletely at sea. The sky became overcast, wind and wave arose, they began to ship
water, the guide became bewildered, and the Judge told him to give up the paddle
and the stern of the canoe. He refused, saying, "/ spaddlemy oivn canoed The
Judge repeated his order to give up the paddle, take his hat, and pour out the
water. The Frenchman ultimately complied, the Judge took the paddle, and after
a desperate struggle with the storm, beached the frail bark. They were saved.
DETROIT TO MT. CLEMENS.
In the spring of 1819, while in Detroit, Judge Bunce hired a man by the name
of Jackman, and started on horseback for his St. Clair home. The lake was nearly
free of ice but some remained in the bogs. At the mouth of Clinton River he
made inquiries as to the soundness of the ice across the bay to Salt River, and was
"®
f^
'Vr^
s)
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 263
told that an Indian had just come down on the ice, and he hired him to go back
with them as their pilot. They found the ice firm enough to within half a mile of
the shore, when looking back they saw their Indian in full run for the Clinton
River. This admonished them that something was wrong or the Indian would not
have deserted without his pay. They soon found that the field of ice which they
were on had loosened itself from the shore and was floating out into the lake. The
Judge sounded the depth of the water with his rifle and found it three feet ; then
jumping his horse into the water mounted him, taking Jackman on behind, and af-
ter fording about a quarter of a mile, reached the shore in safety. Found a French-
man cutting wood for a man in Mt. Clemens, and stayed with him over night. He
gave them corn soup for supper and breakfast. When asked in the morning what
his soup was made of, he said he had shot a wild goose a few days before, and with
the entrails had made this soup. They were in the same predicament with the
man who, in swallowing a raw egg, heard the chicken peep, and exclaimed, "one
minute too late."
In the year 1818, Judge Bunce had occasion to visit Mt. Clemens from Detroit
twice. Once he met a large, white-faced bear, but the bear did not molest the
Judge, nor the Judge the bear.
FORTUNATE HUNTERS.
In the early days of our county, pests in the form of beasts of prey abounded,
a source of annoyance and vexation to the settlers. For the destruction of such
pests bounty was offered by the State, county, and still farther by some of the
townships. These combined bounties, in the case of wolves, made the sum large
enough to call forth skill and energy in the hunting craft. Over fifty years ago
Colatinus Day, an old settler of Bruce, set a trap with the intent of catching a fox.
On looking for the trap next morning he saw that a wolf had been entrapped and
carried it off. He pursued the animal's trail over the snow. He was joined by
Jesse Bishop, Lyman Bishop, another neighbor, and the latter's dog. About three
milesnorth of Bishop's house, while passing a tamarack swamp, a bear with two
cubs appeared. As she passed them, Mr. Day, who had a gun, fired without even
taking aim, and hit the animal, and as the dogs sprang upon her at that moment,
she was captured with the cubs. The hunters divested Mrs. Bruin of her furs,
and wrapping up the little ones in the skin, sought a neighbor'^ house for dinner.
There they left the cubs. Returning to the trail, they followed it about two miles
farther, when they discovered that the wolf with the trap had entered a hollow
bass-wood tree, and made her home far away up in the trunk. The men could not
reach up to her location, the dog could not pull her out ; at length one of the men
cut a sapling with a hook upon it. With this instrument he entered the tree, and
f
4
264 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
creeping upwards hooked the trap. This done he called upon his comrades to pull;
they in turn tugged at the first hunter's feet, and together they succeeded in draw-
ing forth the trap. There was nothing to do until one of the party procured an axe.
Then a hole was cut in the log — but they must not kill her there, as they were in
Berlin Townsliip, St. Clair County, in neither of which was a bounty offered. By
good management the hunters captured the wolf alive, when they bound her head
with bark thongs, tied her to a pole and started for Macomb County, town of Bruce,
but she would not lead. They tried to drag her, but that was too hard work. They
tied her feet together and took turns in carrying her to the house where they left
the bear skin. Here they found a team going south near the line of Bruce. After
reaching this township the wolf died ; the men proceeded home with the two skins
and the cubs. One of the cubs crawled into the fire that night and was burned to
death ; the other lived to mature bearhood, and died of too much zeal in wrestling
— an old man brained him with a poker, because he persisted in his favorite amuse-
ment before the old man had dressed himself. The hunt resulted in bringing them
•f 16, together with the fun.
DEER HUNTING.
In early times, a hunter of Macomb County set out one day on a deer-hunting
expedition, accompanied by a large dog, which had not been trained for the chase.
In order to check the animal's impetuosity after game, he tied a cord to the dog's
neck, fastening the other end round his own waist, so that in his tour of the woods the
dog would quietly follow. As they were passing through a clearing, a bear sprang
from behind a log and offered fight. The dog, frightened almost to death, started on
retreat, dragging the hunter after him. The bear followed them, and in a battle
between the bear and dog the old man was deprived of his hunting clothes.
During the struggle Mr. Warner contrived to unloose the rope, when the dog
departed, leaving his master to continue the battle with the bear. Bruin observing
the dog in his flight, left the hunter and pursued the dog. The dog beheld his
pursuer and redoubled his pace, with the result of reaching the homestead just in
time to escape the anger of the bear. The hunter made a detour, and reached
home satisfied that his battle with the bear would have proved his last, had not the
dog attracted the animal.
Harrington's coon hunting. •
About the year 1840 Alfred Harrington went forth coon hunting. Having
reached the coon habitation he had no difficulty in finding an object for his aim.
He fired at a coon, but the charge had scarcely gone on its message, when he dis-
covered his dog making sundry cowardly demonstrations. I^ooking forward, he
beheld a bear rushing on the dog, which useful animal took up a position between
(T
■4^ — ^
'.^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 265
the huDter's feet. The bear came on, however, when Harrmgton clubbed the gun,
and entered the arena with Bruin, The hunter was evidently succeeding in the
contest, when the bear considered it better to retreat. This retreat he carried out
in a most precise manner, though the hunter pursued him for over sixty rods.
BUNCE AND o'kEEFE.
Counsellor O'Keefe and Judge Bunce were returning from Mount Clemens in
the spring of 1826, when, near where New Baltimore now stands, they were over-
taken by a blinding snow storm. It was near sundown, and they could neither see
land nor prairie. They steered for Swan Creek, hoping to reach the wigwam of
Shommenegoblin before night, but unfortunately brought up at the open water, in
the north Cxiannel, far out in the lake. They followed up the channel, and when
yet a half-mile from the shore, broke through the ice in three feet of water. The
horse and judge succeeded in climbing on to the ice, but O'Keefe was so benumbed
with cold that he remained in the train. After one more little break the}' came to
the mud, and wallowed through that several rods before they found solid ice on the
prairie. They reached old Capt. Pierre's at two o'clock in the morning, thoroughly
wet and weary. Capt. Pierre then lived two miles below Mons. Chortier, and
chose that location whenever he came from Canada for the purpose of fishing.
Parker's bear experiences.
While dining at the old homestead with his family, a terrible complaint was
heard to arise from the habitants of the hog-pen. Each member of the family ran
to the rescue, each armed with a club. On arriving at the pen, they found that
a huge bear had seized on one of the hogs, and was in the act of carrying him off
when the Parkers attacked the bear in turn, and forced him to relinquish his prey.
They did not succeed in capturing him, however ; but for years after the event the
hog, whose rescue was so limel3% never ventured to lift her nose from the ground.
DR. GLEESON AND THE REPTILE.
Among the early physicians of the county was Dr. Gleeson, a man of large
practice in the northern districts of Macomb, and one very favorably known to the
people. In those earlvdays the physician seldom or never appeared on a vehicle, his
usual means of travel being a horse, which just knew enough to proceed cautiously
along the trails of the land. That horse was too thickskinned to understand what
a Michigan rattlesnake or Massassauga really was, and so he was free to proceed at
his leisure. The reptiles seemed to know this horse well, and after repeated assaults
on him gave up the business, determining, as it were, to direct their attacks against
the medical man. This programme was evidently adopted about the year 1889, for
the doctor experienced a few rare adventures during that year. Riding along the
-* — n>
O 1^ -^ 2J|)>
20G HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
trail to Armada one day he thought that a bush had caught in his stirrup. Stoop-
ing to extricate himself, he saw a large snake enfanged, and on further examination
was pleased to learn that the poisonous reptile had only reached the pants at the
heel of the boot, and had therefore been unable to inflict the wound which he medi-
tated. It is unnecessary to state that the doctor directed his efforts so as to insure
the destruction of one Massassauga of the Michigan tribe.
DEER HUNTING MADE EASY.
An incident of pioneer life witnessed by Mrs. Julia Manley when a small child,
is thus related. In the year following their removal from New York to the town-
ship of Shelby, her father getting up one morning in warm weather opened the door
before putting on any clothing, and what should he behold but five deer, about
fifteen or twenty rods distant, one of them a splendid buck. He stepped back, took
his rifle, and noiselessly passing out, leveled his trusty piece and brought down the
coveted leader. In order to be sure of his game (the barrel of pork brought witli
them being all gone) he dropped his gun, called on his helpmate to bring the butcher
knife, and then made all possible speed for his victim. He seized the deer in his
struggles, and the knife being speedily at hand he at once made surety doubly
sure. When the blood was sujfficiently passed out, they took the animal by the
horns and hauled the carcass to the house. Not until the little drama was over did
they stop to think that neither of the trio (the little girl being along and seeing
the whole affair) had on any article of clothing except the single innermost garment.
REMINISCENCES OF THE BAILEY SETTLEMENT.
Owing to the notoriety which the Hoxies won wherever they effected a settle-
ment, that portion of Macomb, which should be named after the first permanent
settler was called the Hoxie Settlement. Ashael Bailey had merely made himself a
home in the wilderness, when the Hoxies became his neighbors. A short time had
elapsed, and other spirits of a kindred character came among them, one of whom was
a bold and desperate man. One Sunday morning as Ashael Bailey essayed to act the
nurse for his only little daughter, while Mrs. Bailey was engaged in preparing
breakfast, the door was suddenly opened, and a stranger entered. This rough
visitor seemed to be enraged ; he appeared to be a creature of whom violent gesture
and appalling blasphemy were the constituent parts. Mr. Bailey did not pay any
attention to the white savage, but on the contrary paid more attention to his little
girl. This policy he pursued until his visitor became calm. This new terror of
the settlement stopped as suddenly as he began, and resuming his coat, said, •' Mr.
Bailey you are not the man you have been represented to be. I was told if I came
here and abused you, you would fight me." This said, the stranger walked off. Sub-
J> >>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 267
sequently, it transpired that tliis would-be Hector, Hiram Jennings by name, was here
with the intention of engaging in counterfeiting. The Hoxies represented this as a
fine retired place for the business, and they said, "There is but one man there that
will give us any trouble, and you can frighten him, no doubt." This was done ;
with what success has been related. Mr. Bailey, when told the purport of that
strange visit, said he would expose them to Gov. Cass. Jennings was enraged at
the Hoxies for misrepresenting Mr. Bailey, and exposed the whole plan ; he was a
bold, desperate man — apparently well educated and physically well developed ;
his penmanship was like an impression from engraved plate. He remained at this
place until he wrought, in a measure, his sweet revenge. Providence frustrated
his most diabolical attempt on Mr. Bailey's life, through the faithful kindness of
Freeborn Healey, a good man and an excellent neighbor, living a long mile south,
who came late one Saturday night to reveal to Bailey the design of Jennings to
murder him. The plan of the counterfeiter was to lie in wait in the cedar swamp,
where Bailey had a quantity of rails, which he intended to commence drawing out
on Monday morning ; as he entered the swamp Jennings would shoot him. Healey
besought his neighbor Bailey not to go, but he was loth to consent ; at last Mrs.
Bailey said to Healey, " Do not fear, if he goes I shall go," so he went home sat-
isfied with his mission. Mr. Healey is ever remembered with gratitude for this
kind act.
Later, in a very friendly mood, Jennings told Mr. Bailey this : " I watched for
you to come all that Monday morning, as I laid in wait in your cedar swamp, and
had you come, I should have shot you dead, and I think," added he, " I am glad
you did not go." He afterward stole Mr. Bailey's only horse, left the country, and
everyone drew a breath of relief.
An incident of an amusing character, certainly of a more social one, is thus
related : Bailey's eldest daughter, then about three or four years old, was an object
of interest to an Indian mother. Her little boy, Neianquette, often came with her
to the Bailey homestead, and one day she, in a most solemn manner, betrothed him
to Prudence, and made him give her beads and moccasins. After that he often
gave her presents. Mrs. Bailey did not like to refuse them, fearing the Indians
would be angry ; yet they watched their child carefully lest the Indians might not
be as friendly as they seemed, and would carry her off. In time the visits of the
Indian mother and her boy ceased, and they heard nothing more of them.
Reference has been previously made to the trust the Indians reposed in Mr.
and Mrs. Bailey. In the following incident, related by Mrs. Bailey, the fact is
portrayed more fully : The chief of the tribe at this time was Macompte ; he came
to their house one winter's day with a quantity of jerked venison, in packs, asking
permission to leave it in their care, with especial injunctions not to permit the In-
<9
jy«
268 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
dians to have it ; if he died before the time to plant corn, his women, who were
with him, would come for the packs. Bailey showed him where he could place
the provisions in the upper room of the house. Then Macompte knelt and prayed
over his venison, making the sign of the cross. They said their farewells, and
went away. The following spring the squaws came for the venison. Macompte
was dead. The younger squaw cried bitterly — her grief was most pathetic ; the
elder only laughed at her ; that laugh was nearly as affecting, but it told its own
story.
THE DEER OF PROVIDENCE.
During the trying year of the 3Iiehigan Narrows, the people who settled in the
northwest part of Armada, suffered in common with the immigrants of that time
located throughout Michigan. Ira Phillips with his family, then resided near the
Day Homestead in Armada Township. The provisions of the settlers were almost
consumed before any definite preparations were made to replenish their stores, so
that many of them were driven to experience most terrible anxieties, if not actual
want. At length the worst fears of the people were realized. There was nothing
to feed the many hungry mouths, except that which a small piece of ripening
wheat on the Taylor farm promised. The settlers watched this field become
golden under the summer sun ; but the necessity of the time prompted them to
outdo nature herself; and so they cut down the semi-ripened wheat, let it lay in
swaths, and turning it day after day before the sun, succeeded in drjang the grain.
This much accomplished the wheat was thrashed, and the grain distributed among
the waiting neighbors. One of the farmers loaded his wagon with the grist sacks
of the people, and went forth to the mill at Stoney Creek, via the blazed trail,
expecting to return on Friday night, or at furthest on Saturday morning. An
accident, however, set all his plans at nought. Mrs. Ira Phillips, who relates the
incident, states that the messenger was expected to return by Friday night, or
Saturday morning at the farthest. Friday night came, yet no tidings of him was
heard. All through the following Saturday anxious eyes looked forward along
the trail ; anxious ears listened for the rumbling noise of the pioneer wagon. The
last morsel of food was eaten, his arrival alone could dissipate the darkening cloud
which hung over the peoi)le, could avert the horrors of starvation. But yet no
tidings of him wlio went to mill were heard. When tlie sun arose on the Sabbath
morning, Mrs. Pliillips arranged her liouse as usual, then lapsed into that silent
mood which precedes despair. She took a seat before tlie open door, where she
was soon joined l)y lier two little boys, each chimoring for something to eat. The
woman wept ; she thought to bury her face in her hands, and thus hide her
sorrows from the youths, but the trickling tears told their young hearts that
mother's heart was bowed witli anguish, tliat fears for her little ones were upper-
•t* cs
a.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 2G9
most in her mind. The occasion was full of instruction ; the boys ceased repining,
and played, as was their wont under brighter circumstances, but their merry gambols
appeared rather artful than natural. The parents saw and noted all this, and
felt doubly sorrowful. At this moment, when the woman's heart beat slowest, she
summoned courage to look forth into the forest, when to her joy she beheld a deer
standing quietly opposite the open door. She turned to her husband, saying in a
subdued tone, " Ira look ! " The man raised his weary body from the chair, took
down the fowling piece from its place, fired, and the most beautiful of forest
animals lay dead in his track. This appearance of the deer at that moment, and
the ease with which the hunter killed him, seemed to partake of some supernatural
character. Providence directed the proceedings, and loaned a new spirit to the
pioneer parents and their little ones. Later in the day the messenger returned
from the mill with the grist ; the darkest hour was with the past, and where
gaunt famine threatened on the morning of that Sabbath, peace and plenty shed
their rays in the evening. The story was related to the writer by E. F. Sibley, of
Armada.
THE POLITICAL TUEN-COAT.
During the campaign of 1844, James Parker was expected to vote the Free
Soil ticket in the local elections. He promised James Thurston to vote in accord-
ance with his wishes, wliicli were decidedly those of James G Birney, the Presi-
dential candidate. On the day of election, Parker voted for Henry Clay, contrary
to the expectations of his friends. On returning to his home that night, one of
his sons got hold of his coat, turned it completely, and then placed it on the hook
where the old man was accustomed to hang it. Next morning the owner put on
this coat hurriedly, and went to work. After a little time he noticed the change,
and, asking his family what was the matter, was informed that he came home in
that style from Romeo the night previous, and that he must have his coat turned
during the election. The old man saw the point, very plainly. Shortly after this
a poem appeared on the subject from the pen of Joseph Thurston, each stanza of
which ended with the telling line, When he got home his coat was turned.
inwood's bear hunting.
It is related of Uncle William Inwood, that on one occasion, while traveling
through the wilderness accompanied by a few neighbors, he roused a bear from her
lair. The animal had two cubs in charge, and was not at all disposed to seek a
quarrel with her enemies ; so to Inwood's great relief she sought refuge in a large
tree and remained there surveying the new settlers of her old domain, determined
only to guard her cubs. After a little while this old settler and his friends became
sufficiently cool to take in the situation. The party was unprovided with a gun ;
â– ^
^
J)\
270 Hli^TORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
but to meet this want one of them ran toward his home with the object of procuring
one. On his way he shouted vociferously, and succeeded in getting out all the large
and small boys of the settlement. They left him to look after the gun, and were
soon at the scene of action. There they found Mr. Inwood, the bear, and Mr. In-
wood's comrades. The big boy arrived with the gun. Uncle Inwood took the
responsibility of charging the destructive weapon ; but in his hurry beat down the
bullet first, and then learned for the first time that there was no powder. He des-
patched the big boy for powder ; the messenger was faithful ; the powder was
brought, a charge was placed in the gun, and everything made ready for an assault
on the position held by the bear. Mr. Inwood took deliberate aim, pulled the trig-
ger ; and wondered " why the animal didn't go off." He forgot all about the first
bullet. However on being reminded of the fact that he had hitherto beaten a
bullet into the rifle, he cast the piece away as useless, and prepared to return to his
home. " Not yet. Uncle Inwood," said one of the boys, " you were saying just
awhile ago if the powder was not brought quickly you would climb into the tree and
have a tustle with the bear yourself." "Now Uncle Inwood," said another, "you
must carry out your promise. You said if the boy didn't come quickly with the
powder, you would climb into the tree and knock the bear down." Mr. Inwood
could not tolerate the taunting of the Washington boys any longer, so he began to
Hscend the tree. In a little while he approached Bruin. The latter growled, just
allowed Uncle Inwood to see his teeth, and in another little while the gallant
forester began to descend that tree with lightning rapidity. On reaching firm earth
he saw the boys make sundry grimaces. " Why," said one of them, "I thought
you would knuckle down to Bruin." " Ah" responded Uncle Inwood, " I'll go 'ome
fur my hold jacket first." The boys and neighbors saw the joke, and were so occu-
pied in attentions to him who was retreating in such good order, that they per-
mitted Bruin to elope with her cubs unharmed.
A BEAR IN BRUCE.
A year after the settlement of the Killam family in Bruce, P. C. Killam was
engaged on his land near Tremble Mountain, when he saw a large brown bear ap-
proaching. The farmer called his dogs, and with the assistance of Harvey Reed
succeeded in treeing the animal. Ira Killam was then sent for the rifle. During
his absence Bruin seemed to understand the designs of his new neighbors, and made
an effort to escape, but owing to the steepness of the hill, he was unable to make
headway against the dogs, and less against the continued stoning to which he was
subjected by the men. Three times tiie king of the Michigan wilderness descended
only to be met by blows and bites, and driven back to liis refuge in the tree. The
rifle was brought forward at length, and the sufferings of Bruin were ended forever.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 271
NOAH WEBSTER AND THE BEAR.
In the year 1826 or there about Noah Webster was living at " The Branch " as
the place since known as "Gray's mill" was called and run a saw mill. Mrs. Web-
ster one day drove a bear up a tree on tiie flats near the mill and watched him till
her husband and some of the neighbors came to her relief. They then built a fire
about the foot of the tree to keep. Bruin from coming down upon them too suddenly.
Webster had a gun of the flint lock kind and the flint was of no use as it would
not strike fire. But the gun was produced and loaded, and Mr. Webster aimed it
at the bear, and when he said "ready" some one touched it off with a fire-brand.
Four or five shots were thus discharged which severely wounded the game but did
not bring him down. Then Mr. Webster ran to the clearing, climbed on a stump
and shouted "A bear!" "A bear!" The neighbors heard and thought he said
" a fire !" " a fire ! " and that the gun had been firing as an alarm, so they ran with
pails all out of breath to extinguish the flames. Reuben R. Smith came up with
two pails, and they laughed at him for coming to kill a bear with a pail in each
hand but he looked long and sharply up the tree and exclaimed " Yes he is up there
I can see his tail hanging down !" Among the rest who came to put out the fire
was a hunter who brought along his gun and the wounded bear was soon brought
down and skinned, and his meat went in chunks around the neighborhood for the
comfort of those who were out of meat. While dressing it they often asked Reuben
" where that part was which he saw hanging down," to which he had little to say.
The country was soon cleared up, and bears, wolves and Indians sought the more
unsettled regions, but this little incident is kept in the memories of those still liv-
ing who participated in it, as a remembrance of the brave days of old.
finch's wolf hunting.
A hunter named Finch caught a wolf in a trap on what was known as the
Thurston Fort, and for some reason desired to take him home alive. The wolf was
extremely quiet and docile, yet he secured his head and jaws with strips of bark,
winding it over and over again until the animal's head resembled that of a prize
fighter after a star engagement. He removed the traps, tied the wolf to a small
pole, and started for the clearing. When he came in sight of the open fields the
wolf refused to be led in this way ; the bands about his head showed alarming signs
of inconstancy, and his teeth began to chatter in a most sociable as well as sugges-
tive way. With his eyes fixed on the wolf and pushing on the pole to keep him at
a respectable distance, the hunter and his captive went round and round, with the
pole between them, eying each other very suspiciously. At last the bands gave
way and the wolf took his leave in the most informal manner.
jja__k.
273 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
THE TRAGIC END OF A WOLF.
Erastiis Day, one of the first settlers in the eastern part of Armada, was also
one of the first to take sheep to that part ; having a few sheep to increase as his
cleared acres increased. He kept them in a stockade, made of palings, close by the
barns ; l)ut one night he forgot to enclose them in the yard. That night a wolf se-
lected three of the best for his own use. Ira Phillips killed this wolf shortly after,
and with the bounty purchased a silk dress for Mrs. Phillips.
AN OBDERLY RETREAT.
Luke Fisher, who had settled in the northern part of Bruce, started home
from Romeo, just at dusk, carrying a piece of meat given by some friend. Think-
ing he should be waited upon by wolfish company, he halted to cut a stout green
stick. Before long he heard the well-known whine in his rear, which announced
the approach of his company, and accelerated his speed. He grasped his stick
more firmly and sped on. The wolves gained rapidly, and were soon so near that he
could hear their steps upon the leaves and the gnash of their teeth. Turning upon
them he would shout and flourish his stick in their faces, thus checking- their course,
and then turn and press on toward home. He increased his speed, held the meat,
and when he readied his cabin-door they were just at his heels. The wolves of
this locality were very small and seldom did any damage save in the most cowardly
manner. A few sheep and now and then a hog would be abducted when it could
\)e done in a sneakish way, but the human arm and the human voice kept them in
a wholesome fear.
MAKING SUGAR AMONG THE WOLVES.
William Baker, who moved into the Township of Ray, in 1828, tapped several
hundred maple trees the following spring, and commenced the work of sugar-
making. There soon followed a remarkable flow of sap, and as no help was at
hand, Baker, in gathering in the sap by day, and boiling by night, soon became
exhausted to such an extent, that he declared he could stand it no lono-er, as he
could not keep awake, and the sap must go to waste. Mrs. Baker says, " I will go
and boil one night, and let you sleep." Baker wOuld not consent at first, but at
last said, " You may go and boil till midnight if you will take James for company."
James was their son, then five years of age. The woman took the boy and going
to the maple forest began operations. James soon fell asleep, when Mrs. Baker
laid him on a l)lanket beneath a tree and continued tlie work ; soon after dark the
wolves began to appear about the boiling-place ; their soft feet could be heard
pattering upon the leaves ; their eyes shining in the darkness, and the chatter of
their teeth sounding upon the still night air. The brave woman kept on her work
of replenishing the fires and keeping a sharp eye, lest the ferocious brutes should
HISTOKY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 373
dart in and seize the sleeping child. To avert this she kept the long-handled dip-
per in the boiling sap, ready to "sprinkle them with a hot shower-bath, if they
should come too near. This continued for an hour or two when the pack disap-
peared and came no more.
THE YELLOW CAT OF RICHMOND.
Alex. Beebe, of Richmond, was much annoyed, in the olden time, by a num-
ber of cats, which were accustomed to assemble round his premises. One night he
determined to annihilate the whole tribe, and, accordingly armed himself with a
rifle. He crept noiselessly towards the cats' meeting-place, fired, and returned to
his room with the consolatory information, that he had given the old yellow cat
" Hail Columbia." Next morning Mrs. Beebe went forth to collect the culinary
utensils, when to her surprise she found a large hole in the bright brass kettle.
After a thoughtiul examination, she went into the house, and broached the subject
to Alexander, when the following dialogue took place : —
Mrs. B. — Look here, Alec. Look at the brass kettle, with these holes in it !
Alec. — How came that kettle all smashed to pieces? That kettle cost two
dollars !
Mrs. B. — You tell — I don't know nothing about it !
Alec. — Where did it sit ?
Mrs. B. — Out in the yard, not far from the house.
Alec — (Cutely). — Did you see anything of the oW yellow cat lying there?
Mrs. B. — No, and I think there has been none lying there.
Alec. — Then I must have taken that brass kettle for that yellow cat.
Mrs. B. — Of course you must, and you never in the night knew the difference
between a yellotv oat and a brass kettle.
In this manner the yellow cat of Richmond escaped. In this quiet, sincere
style, the old people of Macomb acknowledged their little errors.
THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP "HARRIET."
The following account of the first lake boat built at Mount Clemens, which
was built by Isaac Russ for Christian Clemens in 1820-2, was prepared by Edgar
Weeks from facts furnished to him by old settlers. Where stands Mr. Colby's
present residence, stood in those days a log house, and the same remark is true of
Czizek's residence. On the road or then open lot, between those log houses, the
stocks were put up and the ship was built. After a considerable time spent in
building, the boat was ready for the launch, when lo ! it had never suggested itself
to the minds of the builders that it was a long distance to the river, and that there
was a precipitous bank at the foot of that street. Nothing daunted, however,
every man and Indian for miles around, who owned a yoke of oxen or a pony, was
i8
s-fv
^
274 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
summoned to assist at the launch ; long ways were constructed, six yoke of oxen
and twenty-four horses attached, and the ship moved toward the river. It was
impossible to launch her at the foot of that street, so around the corner of the
Flumer store they attempted to go, but alas, the boat slipped off the ways, and was
almost hopelessly stuck in the sand. But this disaster only nerved the spirits of
the builders. With fresh vigor they set to work ; all the soft-soap tubs of the vil-
lage were emptied, and the contents brought into requisition. Again the vessel,
after prodigies of patience and strength had been exhausted, was placed upon
her ways; she slipped around the corner, the cattle strained and tugged, the men
cheered, and the Indians looked on with no little awe. The ship finally reached
the destined launching place — at the foot of Market Street — the last soft soap of
the village was called into requisition, and the vast hulk glided into the river.
Instead of righting and swinging to her place, however, her prow was stuck in the
mud at the bottom of the stream. After a little the vessel was got out, however,
and with due ceremony was christened the Harriet, in honor of our respected
townswoman, now Mrs. Harriet Lee.
This vessel soon afterwards made a trip up the lakes to Mackinac and the Sault
Saint Marie, whereupon a strange adventure befell her and those on board.
The ship was freighted with a number of private troops and officers who were
aware of the tedious trip before them. We infer from the sequel some one got
drunk, also extremely careless. At any rate the compass fell overboard and sank
to the bottom of the lake! The boat was then some fifty miles up Lake Huron.
Tlie captain, McPherson, was a good navigator, but did not dare to risk the voyage
without a compass. After inducing a passing vessel to hang out a light for him at
night and permit him to trail along in its wake, the Harriet was sailed hull down so
soon and left so far in the rear, that the captain announced his intention of coming
to anchor immediately and going ashore. Spite of protestations this he did. Pro-
curing a pony of some Indians, he started alone, overland through wood and thicket,
and came to Detroit, where he obtained another compass. Taking passage in another
vessel he rejoined his own, still at anchor in Lake Huron, hoxed his compass in the
nautical and actual sense of the term, weighed anchor, and prosecuted his voyage
to a successful issue.
JACOB A. CRAWFORD AND THE SPECULATOR.
Shortly after this pioneer located his first eighty acres in Ray Township, and
erected his log house thereon, he received a visit from a land speculator. This
shark was all business, and relying upon his own energy was not shy to make
known to Mr. Crawford his business to this district. He asked the pioneer to
accompany him through the lands adjacent, to which the latter consented. He had
^"
"e)
'Vj'^ ^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 275
the double object in view of taking the land shark through the lowland or marshes
on the eighty adjoining his own, so that Mr. Speculator would not covet the little
property, particularly as it was the settler's desire to acquire it for himself. The
journey was accomplished, when, to the surprise of Mr. Crawford and his wife, the
man from Detroit stated that he would purchase all the land in the immediate
neighborhood including the very acres on which Mr. Crawford had set his thoughts.
The old settler remonstrated : " Why, Mr. Speculator," said he, "you don't intend
to buy the next eighty. I want that."
" Oh, that's all right, Mr. Crawford," said the traveler, " but you must re-
member the old motto of Uncle Samuel — '■first here, first served.' " This brought a
cloud to the settler's face for a moment, which gave place to a look of resignation.
Conversation grew dull, and the speculator signified his desire to go to rest. After
the shark retired, Crawford remarked to his wife : " I'll take an hour's rest, and
then start for Detroit to outwit our visitor." " Why," said the woman, " that
man has a smart pony, and you have only oxen. If he finds you are gone he will
overtake and outwit you." " I'll start to-night on foot and reach the Detroit Land
Office before him," replied the settler.
This resolution made, he took one hour's sleep, rose quietly, and started on
foot for Detroit. He proceeded expeditiously until a point south of Mt. Clemens
was reached, where he sprained his ankle. Unconquered by fatigue and this acci-
dent, he cut down two saplings which he used as crutches and pushed forward on
his journey. The next day, while within six miles of Detroit, near a tavern, then
located on the trail, he saw a horseman coming after him. He knew him to be no
other than his friend, the speculator. Entering the forest, he allowed his guest of
the former night to pass, then casting away his crutches he pushed forward to De-
troit, saw that the horseman was in the tavern, and taking an unfrequented path,
passed the house unnoticed. The denouement was happy in the extreme. The
settler reached the Land Office, purchased the much prized eighty, together with
eighty acres more for his cousin, David Crawford, paid the amount claimed, re-
ceived his certificate, and was in the act of leaving the office, when the speculator
entered. After an interchange of salutations, Crawford remarked : " Mr. Specu-
lator, you remember Uncle Samuel's motto — first here^ first served^ The Detroit
man remembered it.
LEISURE HOURS IN PIONEER TIMES.
Public disputations and random discussions on election days were warmly en-
gaged in by the older men sometimes till they became quite personal. Among the
younger ones, feats of physical strength and agility drew the crowds ; com-
petitive running, wrestling, jumping, etc., were the order of the day, and the vic-
tors were held in honor by admiring friends. Such days availed for the transaction
â– ^-
t
T^
M — i-
276 HISTORY OF MACOMB COLWTY.
of all sorts of business, and superseded the old time fairs of England and our
trades rooms, gold rooms, boards of trade and chambers of commerce. Buying,
selling, swapping, and trafficking of all sorts were in order. Everybody gave
heed to the advantages which township gatherings offered. Bent on having a good
time, the services of good story-tellers were always in requisition, and all sorts of
merriment found place. The story of Squire Tackles and old John Soules affords
demonstration of all this.
It was in the early times when Bruce was yet unnamed and joined with Wash-
ington, then called the Fourth Toivn, men were gathered from great distances.
These two men were there and in their respective districts were noted for their
inherent aversion to all sorts of physical exertion, a characteristic evident to their
friends and frankly acknowledged by themselves. At length a mirthful discussion
sprang up as to which was the lazier of the two. The conflict ended as such
matters frequently do, in betting. But who should determine? It was finally
agreed that each should tell his own story, and the one who established himself as
the lazier man, should have the stakes. By lot it fell to Soules to tell his stor}'-
first. He did it, and did it well. It seemed as though no chance remained for
Tackles. The crowd awaited his efi^ort in breathless silence. Finally he slowly
drew himself up, in an indolent sitting position, looked languidly and solemnly
around upon the gazing crowd, then lifted, with great effort, one foot upon the
other knee, and finally spoke in a lazy, drawling accent, thus : "/'c? rather lose the
stakes than tell how lazy I am!^^ and again he lapsed into insensibility, while all the
witnesses shouted long and loud and voted him the victor.
NUPTIAL FEASTS IN EARLY TIMES.
The festivities attendant on the union of two souls in pioneer days, formed
a great attraction. There was no distinction of classes, and very little of fortune,
which led to marriages from the first impressions of that queer idea called love.
The family establishment cost but a little labor — nothing more. The festivities
generally took place at the house of the bride, and to her was given the privilege
of selecting the Justice of Peace or clergyman whom she wished to officiate. The
wedding engaged the attention of the whole neighborhood. Old and young,
within a radius of many miles, enjoyed an immense time. On the morning of the
wedding day, the groom and his intimate friends assembled at the house^of ^his
father, and after due preparation set out for the home of his girl. This journey
was sometimes made on horseback, and sometimes on the old time carts of the early
settlers. It was always a merry tour, made so by the bottle which cheers for a little
time, and then inebriates. On reacliing the house of the bride, the marriage
ceremony was performed, and then the dinner or supper was served. After this
^ & T" ^-^ —
J^f
^ s>
k.
HISTOKY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 277
meal, the dancing commenced, which was allowed to continue just so long as anyone
desired to step jauntily about to the music of the district violinist. The figures of
the dance were three or four handed reels, or square sets and jigs. So far the
whole proceedings were, in the language of our modern aesthetic girls, too utterly
utter. The commencement was always a square four^ followed by what pioneers
caWed jigging — that is, two of the four would single out for a jig, and their exam-
ple followed by the remaining couple. The jigs were often characterized by what was
called the cutting out, that is, when either of the parties became tired of the dance,
on intimating a desire to retire, his place was supplied by one of the company,
without interrupting the dance for a moment. In this way the reel was continued
until the musician himself was exhausted.
About nine or ten o'clock in the evening, a deputation of young ladies
abducted the bride, as it were, and placed her in her little bed. In accomplishing
this they had usually to ascend a ladder from the kitchen to the upper floor. Here
in this simple pioneer bridal chamber the young simple-hearted girl was put to bed
by her enthusiastic friends. This done a deputation of young men escorted the
groom to the same apartment, and placed him snugly by the side of his bride.
Meantime the dance continued. If seats were scarce, which was generally the
case, every young man when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap
as a seat for one of the girls — an offer sure to be accepted. During the night's
festivities spirits were freely used, but seldom to great excess. The infair was
held on the following evening, when the same order of exercise was observed.
EVENING VISITS.
The evening visits were matters long to be remembered. The chores of the
day performed, it was common for the farmer to yoke his cattle, hitch them to a
sleigh, and drive the whole family over the snow covered land to the fireside of
some well-known friend many miles distant. Perhaps by agreement several
families met, and then were there such chattering of politics, of live stock affairs,
of tradings made or prospective, in fact of the past, present and future.
There were all those interesting matters of household care and labor as held
the mothers in breathless, but rapid conversation.
The shying and blushing of the older girls, because some boys, just about as
hig were there ; the nervous pinching of fingers and pulling of coat tails, told
plainly that hig boys too were ill at ease ; boys and girls were bashful, blushing
creatures in those olden days. In the back room how the little folks did play blind-
man's-buff, how they were joined by their seniors, and how the game went on until
supper was announced at about the hour before midnight. Such setting out of all
the substantials would be a sight to-day. Then came the sauces of all sorts, the
. ^
^
<a.
-« A>
278 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
pies and cakes, and cookies, and honey, till all cried enough. Then came the
counter invitations, the good-hys and leave-takings, after every and all approved
styles. This performed the guests started for home to enjoy sleepiness and slight
headaches the next day. Those were good old times. Social life at that day was
eminently sincere.
LUMBERING IN EARLY DAYS.
Life in the lumber woods is, perhaps, the most peculiar feature connected with
the lumber trade. Although lumbering operations virtually ceased in Macomb
County so early as the pioneer times, it is well to revert in these pages, to that
period in the county's history, when its forests disappeared before the shanty -Ta?i\i s
ax, when the very tree which added grace to the wilderness, was sent forward on
its course of utility.
The first party of shanty-men usually went out in November. So soon as frost
set in, the men located a site for their shanty, as nearly as possible, in the center of
the lot upon which their winter's labors were to be carried on, always taking care
to select a dry knoll in the immediate vicinity of a spring, lake, or brook. Here
they constructed a log-house, and cut a road to the nearest stream on which the
logs were to be floated down. This log-house was sufficiently large to accommo-
date from ten to twenty men. In the center of this rude dwelling a raised fire-
place was built, under the apex of the roof, which apex let out the smoke, and let
in the sunlight and the rain. The work of log-cutting began so soon as the road
was completed, and the ground hard enough to haul the logs — usually early in
December — and continued until the ice broke up in spring. The choppers began
work at dawn of day, and continued until the sun went down, after which the
hardy foresters sped to their log-house, eat a rude and hearty meal, smoked their
pipes, played euchre, related stories, and sometimes organized a quadrille party —
the evening's entertainment continuing until about nine o'clock, when all retired to
well-earned sleep. Seldom or never was intoxicating drink introduced, as the
trader was never allowed to bring in whisky, and when smuggled the men had no
money to pay for it, as their contract was to be paid at the close of their engage-
ment, the employer supplying food and other necessaries in the interim. The deli-
cacies of their table consisted of wild game, which the shanty-men themselves might
kill. The morale of tiie men was equally as good as that of the average rover;
they wei'e very far from being saints ; yet they possessed many good qualities,
which compensated for the want of a few. They were gregarious in their habits ;
in cutting trees they went in pairs, and few of them were willing to live in separate
huts or away from the camp. They slept along the sloping side of the log-house
with their heads toward the walls, and their feet toward the great fire, which was
kept burning continually. As a rule those sons of the forest dispensed with pray-
-®
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 279
ers and preaching, and scarcely were aware of the Sabbath. A few had books, but
the taste for reading was not by any means general, as their spare time was
devoted to mending clothes, sharpening axes, with the few amusements already
referred to. The men were always healthy and full of animal spirit, seldom
required medical aid, or needed any of the medicine which the employer provided
in cases of illness. With the growth of the industry the condition of the shanty
man has much improved. He of to-day is morally superior to him of the past, and
physically his equal.
SEASONS OF SICKNESS.
Among the numerous troubles which the pioneers and old settlers of Macomb
had to encounter was the common ague, generated by miasms arising from the low
lands along the shore of the lake, and from the decaying vegetable matter in the
swales of the interior and along the Reviere aux Hurons. This disease, known also
as the chills and fever^ formed, as it were, a stumbling-block in the way of progress,
and one of the great arguments presented by the traders against the settlement of
the district by the American pioneers. The disease was a terror to the people who
did make a settlement here. In the fall of the year every one was ill — every one
shook, not hands as now ; but the very soul seemed to tremble under the effects of
the malady. Respecting neither rich nor poor, it entered summarily into the sys-
tem of the settlers, and became part and parcel of their existence — all looked pale
and yellow as if frost-bitten. It was not literally contagious ; but owing to the
diffusion of the terrible miasma, it was virtually a most disagreeable, if not danger-
ous, epidemic. The noxious exhalations of the lake shore and inland swamps
continued to be inhaled or absorbed from day to day, until the whole body became
charged with it as with electricity, and then the shock came. This shock was a
regular shake — a terrific shake, with a fixed beginning and ending, coming on each
day or alternate day with an appalling regularity. After the shake came the fever,
and this last phase of the disease was even more dreaded than the first. It was a
burning hot fever lasting for hours. When you had the chill you could not become
warm, and when you had the fever you could not get cool — it was simply a change
of terrific extremes.
This disease was despotic in every respect. If a wedding occurred in the
family circle, it was sure to attack a few, if not all, of those participating in the
festivities. The funeral processionists shook, as they marched to some sequestered
spot to bury their dead friend.
The ague common had no respect for Sunday or holidays. Whether the people
were engaged in the sacred, profane, or ridiculous, ague came forward to the attack,
and generally succeeded in prostrating its victims.
After the fever subsided you felt as if you were some months in the Confed-
1^
!2 L_
^ — ^k.
280 HISTORY OF 3IAC0MB COUNTY.
erate hotels, known as Andersonville and Lihhj prisons, or as if you came within the
influence of some wandering planet — not killed outright, but so demoralized that
life seemed a burden. A feeling of languor, stupidity, and soreness took possession
of the body — the soul herself was sad, and the sufferer was driven to ask himself
the question : — What did God send me here for, anyway?
Your back was out of fix, your appetite crazy, your head ached, and your ej'es
glared. You did not care a straw for yourself or other people, or even for the dogs,
which looked on you sympathetically. The sun did not shine as it used to, — it
looked too sickly by half, — and the moon, bless your soul I — the sufferer never ven-
tured to look at him — but rather wished for the dissolution of himself, the sun,
moon, earth, and stars.
DEATH OF AL ANSON CHURCH.
Early in the history of Macomb County a man by the name of Austin Day
settled in the northwest portion of Armada township, and cleared a farm of 125
acres of land. He was a man of fair intelligence and steady habits, and for many
years kept his own " shantee" and had but little intercourse with the neighbors by
whom he was surrounded. In his dealings he soon began to exhibit signs of aberra-
tion of mind, which grew into insanity. This was at first noticeable in his ideas of
religion. He believed that he was surrounded by evil spirits which at times led
liim astray, and caused him to seek public confessions by posting by the roadside
such notices as the following :
" I Austin Day, confess that I have sinned b}'- again mingling with evil spirits."
" Show pity Lord — oh Lord ! forgive,
Let a repenting rebel live."
He would at times manifest symptoms of a bad temper, especially toward his
cattle and horses, and sometimes threatening those with whom he had dealings.
Later he became possessed with the notion that all the State of Michigan, and other
States, had been deeded to him and would call upon different settlers to give up the
deeds which tliey had stolen, and in many instances warned farmers to remove from
their homes as he wished to occupy them, before a set date. Impressed with this
idea of ownership, he refused to pay his taxes, and allowed his stock to be levied
upon and sold by the collector. He also had serious difficulties with persons who
did for him any work, and bills of this kind had to be collected by the aid of law.
His threats at length began to be noticed in the neighborhood, and men began to
say he was not a safe man to be at large. He was often heard to say that he would
be doing God service if he should kill such or such a one. Living about two miles
off, was a man named Alanson Church, who made it a part of his business to dig
wells for the farmers of the place, and had windlass, tubs, and other tools adapted
<V^
V
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 281
to that purpose. Mr. Day, needing to deepen and restone a well at his house, bor-
rowed the tools of Church to do the work, with such help as he could hire. These
tools he kept for some weeks, and did not find any one to help him about the work.
At length Church, having begun to dig a well on the adjoining farm of Erastus
Day, needed the tools and procured the team and a hired man of Mr. Day, to aid
him in getting them. On' reaching the place and applying for the tools, Austin
Day refused to give them up, stating that Church owed him a certain amount, and
he was keeping the tools till that should be paid. Hot words followed, and Austin
who had his gun, pointed it at Church and pulled the trigger, but the cap did not
explode. Austin then retired into the house, and Church followed him, saying to
the hired man " we must take away his gun." He went to the door and pushed it
open, when Austin met him, having put a new cap, and fired, the ball taking effect
in Church's breast, and passing through the lungs. Church staggered but did not
fall. The man had run down the road in fright, leaving the team which Austin un-
hitched and started after him. Church started after the team, falling and rising
again every few rods. The man seeing there was no danger soon returned and
helped Church on the wagon and drove to Erastus Day's where he soon died.
Austin at once began to fortify himself in his house and to provide against arrest.
Two constables were procured from Romeo, and after a severe struggle he was
overcome. During the melee Mr. Eggleston, one of the constables, caught hold of
Austin's gun which he held in his hands, and fired it off, the contents unfortunately,
taking effect in the arm of John P. Smith, his comrade, entering at the wrist and
plowing its way to the elbow. This mishap came near being disastrous to the two
men, as Day was a heavy and powerful man. He was, however, soon overcome and
bound and taken to the county jail. At the next session of court he had his trial*
was pronounced insane and was sent to the New York State Asylum, where he died
in 1876. The crime was committed in 1864. Mr. Day was married early in life
and had one child. He was a native of New York. .
A PIONEER LAWYER.
Alex. O'Keefe, mentioned among the names of the pioneer lawyers, of Macomb,
was one of these erratic genii who are met at long intervals. He arrived at Detroit
about the year 1819, chuek full of Anglo-Irish law, and still more replete in Celtic
wit. From a scrap in possession of the writer, it is learned that he was a man
possessing a very liberal education, a thorough-hred lawyer, and a stranger to tem-
perance. His drinking bouts were frequent — often continuing for weeks. He be-
came acquainted with Judge Bunce, referred to in the pioneer reminiscences, and
through the judge's influence was elected Pros. Attorney of St. Clair Co. While
visiting Mr. Bunce, on one occasion, he expressed a wish to represent St. Clair in
T
(a k.
4x
282 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
the Legislative Council. He stated publicly that the judge was favorable to his
candidature, a statement doubted by the leading men of the county. Shortly after
this O'Keefe visited St. Clair, and introduced the object of his visit by saying, that
he had resolved to abstain entirely from drink, and would make the county his
home. Very few believed the counsellor. " Relying upon this reformation, and
my own abilities, I come to offer myself as a candidate to represent St. Clair in
our Legislative Council," continued O'Keefe.
" Very good," replied one of the persons addressed, " I am glad to hear of your
proposed reformation, and as to your abilities, no one who has known you or met
you can doubt them. Come and make your home among us for one year, — give us
proof of your reformation, and there is not the least doubt of obtaining the support
of the people. To be candid, Counsellor, I must insist on one year's reformation
before I can give you my support." O'Keefe heard the language of common sense
in silence, then grew angry and roared at his friendly advisor, — Sir, I wish you to know
that I was educated at two of the best seminaries in England, and I was bred at the
Irish Bar, and sir, I can write your governor down." Then there was silence for
a moment, until James Wolverton remarked, "Counsellor, you remind me of the
calf which sucked two cows." " Indeed, what of that, sir," responded O'Keefe.
"Nothing in particular," said Wolverton," only it is said the more he sucked, the
larger he grew." O'Keefe admired the witticism, and then settled down to discuss
the subject calmly, and after going into the merits of Judge Bunce's friendship, the
lawyer said — " well, boys, I shall cast myself upon the mercy of the Lord." In the
case of the Fort Gratiot murder, O'Keefe drew up the bill against the soldier
charged with the offense. He practiced in the courts of Macomb and St. Clair un-
til the year 1830.
CHESTERFIELD IN EARLY DAYS.
Fabien Jean was one of the earliest settlers along the shore of Lake St. Clair,
in the Township of Chesterfield. He settled on the present homestead before the
State was admitted into the Union as a State. The road at that time was a mere
trail following the shore from Detroit to Fort Gratiot, through heavy timbered land.
Mr. Jean's home was open to all, at all hours of the day and night; to this day there
are no locks to the doors. White men or redskins were at all times received with
a cordial welcome. Many are the incidents that pertained to pioneer life in which
he participated, connected with the Indians, as his land joined the Indian Reserva-
tion on the N. W. On one occasion some twelve or fifteen Indians came to the
house all more or less under the influence of liquor. They demanded of him more
whisky. He said no ; that they luul had enough ; that they were too noisy. The
Indians said that they would have it if they had to kill him. He said to them that'
he was ready to die, and that they would all die too ; that the great Lord would
-T.
4^1
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 283
take care of him, and that the g-reat devil would take them. Taking a brand of
fire from the chimney, and pointing to a powder keg, saying, This is a keg of pow-
der, I will drop the fire into it and it will blow us all up, me to the great Lord, you
to the great devil, who will keep you in a great fire ; they all exclaimed, do not
do it ; we will go away. So they did.
To show the disadvantages that the pioneer had to contend with, Jean related
some of the trips that had to be made. To obtain groceries and clothing it was nec-
essary for the pioneer to go to Pontiac or Detroit. It will be remembered that
Pontiac was formerly in this county, that at that time a man by the name of Clem-
ens kept a few articles for sale, at what is now tlie city of Mt. Clemens; for the
toothache one had to go to Detroit to have it extracted.
In 1842 Mr. Jean died. The funeral procession left the house in canoes, and
conveyed the corpse to the burying ground on the Clinton River, there being no
wagon-road at that time.
Another incident with the Indians, was that about dark eight or ten Indians
came to the house and wanted to stay all night. They were most all intoxicated
and Mr. Jean was afraid that they might do some mischief during the night, so he
prepared a place for them to sleep on the bank of a creek near by, taking care to
have them all lie side by side. After they fell into a deep sleep, he took a cord and
fastened all their legs together, so that if one awoke he would wake the rest and
make a noise, which would warn him at the house. All went well until morning ;
one on awaking, finding himself fast, commenced to yell. Soon Mr. Jean was at
the scene and told them that it was he that tied them together, that he done it to
save their lives, that he was afraid that some of them might roll or get into the creek
while intoxicated and get drowned, and the rest could not help. They said that it
was good in him to care for them in that way.
Hunting and fishing was in its glory in those days. The hunter could get a
deer or two almost any forenoon ; once in a while a bear and a wolf.. They have
all receded before the sound of the pioneer's ax.
MARRIAGE RECORD OF EARLY DAYS.
The first marriage in the county among the American settlers may be said to
be that of Richard Connor and the Indian captive — the daughter of Myers of Mary-
land — whose father was killed by the savages on the Monongahela River in 1775,
and herself with the other children carried into the wilderness of the West. This
Richard Connor is supposed to have made a temporary settlement in Macomb so
early as 1781, and shortly after married this child of the Indian camp. For many
years succeeding this event, marriages were as scarce as the white settlers were
few. The record of marriages since the organization of the county shows that
M'g — ^ _ -^ — ^] ^
284 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
matrimony enjoyed a rare popularity throughout ; though at intervals seasons of
absolu^^e dullness prevailed. This was particularly the case in 1836-7-8-9, when
the financial crisis appeared to cast a peculiar gloom over every household, and
even quench the fire of love in young and old. In 1840, our boys and girls re-
covered from the fear or cowardice, which the panic years engendered, and hence-
forth took courage to make the great venture of life. In many cases drink, ex-
travagance and folly have led to the dissolution of unions that gave high promises.
However, when the great numbers of marriage contracts which have been faithfully
carried out are compared with the small number of infelicitous marriages, there is
every reason for congratulation on the part of the people.
There are many peculiar, if not ludicrous, reminiscences associated with the
matrimonial affairs of this as well as other counties in Michigan. In olden times
men and women were not so precise in expression as are the people of our day, —
they were not cute enough to avoid words and deeds which might afford subject
for gossip to the village wags. High hopes, that burn like stars sublime, were sup-
posed to possess the heart of every lover, when the moment arrived for him to
deposit a dollar-and-a-half with the county clerk, in payment for a public permit to
marry the girl of his choice. He feels that he is sure of possessing the loveliest of
her sex, and that in a few more days earth will not be big enough to contain the
happiness of himself and his fair partner. Sometimes, however, he learns the j)oint
of the old French proverb : " Mitre le main et la bouche souvent se perd la souped
A young man, who fondly imagined the pinnacle of happiness was about being-
reached, took out a marriage license on Christmas Day long, long ago. What subse-
quently happened, how and why his hopes were shattered, how grief played upon
his heart, and how his life became a burden, are set forth in the following wail, —
the untutored eloquence of sorrow : —
" To the County Clerh, Sir : — I will send you the license that you gave me to
get married* with and stat that I was not married for this reason, because the girl,
whose name is on the paper went back on me because she could get annother feller
his name - — — send them so that you can give him a license for her but bee
sure and get your fee for so doin. No more at present but believe me
Yours most hart-broken
levi.
A score of letters equally ridiculous mark the early times in this county — all
bearing testimony to broken hearts and false loves.
In this history it would be impracticable to give a full record of matrimonial
events ; however we will make mention of many of such happy unions effected
between the date of the county's organization and 1838, arranging the list in the
order of time.
\<^
®_
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
-5)
285
Names of Contracting Parties. Date. By Whom Married.
John Warren — Mila Freeman Dec. 31, 1818 Gideon Gates, J. P.
Freeborn Moshier — Mary Cooper .Oct. 16, 18 18 Gideon Gates, J. P.
Cyreus A. Chipman — Mary Lanson Sept. 28, 18 18 Gideon Gates, J. P.
Sylvester Finch — Almeda Webster June 4, 1818 — Gideon Gates, J. P.
A. McDougal — Eliza McGregor -July 22, 1819 ..John K. Smith, J. P.
Charles Stewart — Eliza Peck 1819. John K. Smith, J. P.
John Rencillow — Barbara French... .._ -Aug. 4, 1819 John K. Smith, J. P.
Silas Miller — Agnes McDonald Dec. 23, 1819.. John K. Smith, J. P.
Baptiste Maure — Felici Geneau .Jan. 30, 1821 Ph. Janvier, priest.
Ezekiel Allen — Genevieve Russell Dec. 2, 182 1 John Stockton, J. P,
Joseph Geard — Marie Reine Pettit Nov. 10, 1821 Ph. Janvier, priest.
Wilham Swift — Nancy Stanley Feb. 10, 1822 John Stockton, J. P.
Thomas Fowler — Mahaly Mou- Feb. 11, 1822 John Stockton, J. P.
John Miller — Harriet Gould.. Jan. 9, 1824 John Stockton, J. P.
Alfred Ashley — Euphemia Atwood ..Jan. 24, 1825 Henry Closson, J. P.
Baptiste Blait — Felice Sene Feb. 14, 1825 L. Dejean, priest.
Hyacinthe Charthier — Monique Boyd Feb. 8, 1825.. L. Dejean, priest.
Tabor Willcox — Lucy P. Torrence.. ..May 2, 1825 .John Stockton, J. P.
Hiram Atwood — Fanny Maria Cook May 30, 1825 Henry Closson, J. P,
Silas Halsey — Lucy Cady May i, 1825 ..Henry Closson, J. P.
Horace H. Cady — Susanna Connor. June 9, 1825 — John Stockton, J. P.
Byrum Guerin — Mary Rowe June 10, 1825 John Stockton, J. P.
Jean Baptiste Maure — Eleanor Thebeau April 18, 1825 L. Dejean, priest.
Smith H. Yancey — Mary Connor July 19, 1825 Henry Closson, J. P.
John F. Cronk — Mary McCall Sept. 5, 1825 ...Elisha Harrington, J. P.
Zephaniah Cambell — Betsey Smith .Feb. 19, 1827 Joseph Lester, J. P.
Amasa Messenger — Sarah Squires March 11, 1827... Joseph Lester, J. P.
Richard Butler — Abigail Hayes Aug. I, 1827... John James, preacher.
George Lee — Harriet Clemens March 11, 1828 G. H. Caston, preacher,
Alexander Arnold — Wealthy Nichols — Jan. 19, 182S... William Runnells, preacher.
Daniel B. Nichols — Electa Lockwood Feb, 15, 1828. .William Runnells, preacher.
Washburne Blackmore — Lucy Haskins. Dec. 25, 1827 James C. Edgerley, J. P.
Syl. F. Atwood— Eliza Hill Feb. 22, 1829.. James C. Edgerley, J. P.
Darius Lampson — Sarah Ann Connor April i, 1829 G. H. Caston, preacher,
John Price — Rosannah Chandler April 19,1829 Noah Webster, J. P.
German Purges — Victoire JoUelt — Sept. 29, 1829 Harvey Cook, J. P.
Joseph La Force — Archange Trombley Oct. 30, 1829 Robert P. Lewis, J. P.
Valorous Maynard — Martha Russ ...Nov. 26, 1829 James C. Edgerley, J. P.
Chauncy G. Cady— Catherine M. Gerty Nov. 12, 1829. Harvey Cook, J. P.
George Price — Loreno Scott Dec. 27, 1829 Solomon Wales, J. P.
Alfred Bachellor— Ladama Messenger. Jan. 21, 1830 Almon Mack, J. P.
Luman Squiers — Rebecca Arnold Jan. 21, 1830 Almon Mack, J. P.
Milton H. Webster — Eliza Sessions.. Jan. 8, 1830 Noah Webster, J. P.
Thomas Willett— Fanny Debater Jan. 2, 1830 Ezekiel Allen, J. P.
Hiram Willcox — Jerusha Andrus Feb. 10, 1830 — Curtiss Goodard, P. E.
Rev. William T. Snow — Electa Chamberlin Feb. 17, 1830.. Curtiss Goodard, P. E.
Ethan Squiers — Lovina Huntley Feb. 23, 1830. A. Mack, J. P.
Ezra B. Throop— Harriet Finch May 8, 1825 Gideon Gates, J. P.
Alvin Nye — Lydia Price ...Jan. 29, 1826 Gideon Gates, J. P.
'y
iJ.
S)
286
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Names of Contracting Parties. Date. By Whom Married.
William Nicholas — Betsy Sammons -Sept. 17, 1826 Gideon Gates, J. P.
Richard Elliott — Mary A. Hovey Jan. 14, 1827 Gideon Gates, J. P.
James Starkweather — Roxey Lesley Sept. i6. 1827 Gideon Gates, J. P.
Benjamin Kittredge — Ester Moore Jan. 24, 1827 Gideon Gates, J. P.
Jonathan Johnson — Mary B. Marshall July 20, 1828 Harvey Cook, J. P.
Charles Mather — Abigail Haskins.. March i, 1830 Job C. Smith, J. P.
Josiah A. Hamblin — Mary Ann King. -. June 28, 1830 Noah Webster, J. P.
William Canfield — Ann Clemens May 13, 1830 Azra Brown, preacher.
David Bolten — Lydia Inman April 21, 1830 John Norton, preacher.
Seymour Arnold — Lydia Townsend April 18, 1830 John Norton, preacher.
John D. Holland — Clarissa Hopkins Dec. 31, 1828 ...Smith Weeks, preacher.
Alva Arnold — Louisa Ruby June 3, 1830 A. Mack, J. P.
Ebenezer D. Mather — Lucy P. Willcox June 13, 1830 Job C. Smith. J. P.
Jonas G. Cook — Eliza Osgood -Aug. 18, 183 1 Job C. Smith, J. P.
Hiram Squires — Matilda Fowler Nov. 25, 1830 Solomon Wales, J. P.
Levi F. Tuttle — Susan Davis Mar. 28, 1831 Harvey Cook, J. P.
Samuel H. Giles — Harriet Covell April 6, 1831 Richard Butler, J. P.
Alex. Atkins — Eliza D. Lewis... June 29, 1831 Richard Butler, J. P.
Elisha Webster — Harriet Thompson Jan. 26, 183 1 Noah Webster, J. P.
Apollo A. Fuller — Mary Howard.. Feb. 6, 183 1 ..Noah Webster, J. P.
ElishaRice — Clarissa Haskins Jan. 16, 1831 Harvey Cook, J. P.
Elijah Bacheller — Eunice Wales Jan. 27, 1831 Otis Lamb, J. P.
James Collins — Anne Wells Dec. i, 1830 Alex Tackles, J. P.
Mr. Bozeas — Felice Blait June 30, 1831 Richard Butler, J. P.
Capt. James C. Allen — Elizabeth Hayes Mar. i, 1831 Arza Brome, M. G.
John F. Hamlin — Laura Andrus.. Mar. 29, 1831 Arza Brome, M. G.
J. B. Sancea — Margt. Beaubien Feb. 15, 1831 F. N. Badin, Priest.
John Stewart — Emily Barber June 25, 1831 .B. N. Freeman.
Samuel Boughton — Susanna Smith Aug. 23, 183 1 John Stead, J. P.
Nathan Rogers — Emeline Dudley Oct. 17, 1830 Abel Warren, M. G.
Mathias Graves — Rosilla Ruby June 2, 1831 Abel Warren, M. G.
Charles Tubbs — Rachael Arnold April 10, 1831. Solomon Wales, J. P.
Wm. C. Bolamin — Nancy Ellison Feb. 13, 1832 Abel Warren, M. G.
Philo Gopt — Susanna Arnold Aug. 4, 1831 Abel Warren, M. G.
Tiel Brainard — Mary Brainard Nov. 27, 1S31 Alex. Tackles, J. P.
Nathan Rogers — Eliza Anne Parker. Feb. 13, 1832 Abel Warren, M. G.
Robert P. Eldredge — Louisa Crittenden .Oct. — , 1831 Richard Butler, J. P.
James A. Wing — Juliana Lawson Sept. 22, 1831 Abel Warren, ^L G.
James Allen — Lucinda Townsend Dec. 25, 1831 John Norton, M. G.
Joseph Aldrich — Caroline Parker July 3, 1832 Noah Webster, J. P.
— Thorp— Mary Jane Nicholls Jan. 22, 183 1 Abel Warren, M. G.
Jonah Richardson — Rhoda Granger Jan. 12, 1832 Richard Butler, J. P.
Caleb Carpenter — Matilda Freeman Nov. 14, 183 1.. L. Shaw, M. G.
Henry Porter — Susan Stone .Dec. 8, 183 1 L. Shaw, M. G.
Amon Baker — Eleanor Hopkins Dec. 13, 1831 L. Shaw, M. G.
Wm. Roy — .\nn Connor May 25, 1832 Solomon Wales, J. P.
Geo. Twell — Louisa Dudley Mar. 3, 1832 Solomon Wales, J. P.
Philander Ewell — Lydia Wells Oct. 13, 1831 Solomon Wales, J. P.
Wm. Arnold — Mary Squiers July 5,1831 Solomon Wales, J. P.
(0
IV
Y
(a iL.
^ 5)
2>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
287
Names of Contracting Parties. Date. By Wliom Married.
Isaac Hoard — Delilah Price May 13, 1832 _ Otis Lamb, J. P.
John Nicholas — Nancy Scranton May 13, 1832 Otis Lamb, J. P.
Rens. HoUock — Phile Draper June 16, 1833.. Noah Webster, J. P,
John Nicholas — Louise Trevallian ..April 15, 1833. .Abel Warren, M. G.
Payne K. Leech — Matilda Fuller April 25, 1833 Abel Warren, M. G.
Zemrie Curtis — Amanda Locke Nov. 11, 1833 Abel Warren, M. G.
James P. Hooker — Thar. Allen Nov. 6, 1S33 Solomon Wales, J. f.
Harley Brainard — Martha Leech .May 18, 1833 Calvin Davis, J. P.
Alonzo D. Youmans — Julia Ann Tubbs Aug. 16, 1833 Wells Waring, J. P.
Heil Preston — Lydia Goffman .Sept. 29, 1833 Calvin Davis, J. P.
Charles Chamberlain — Caroline Knapp Aug. 9, 1832 Calvin Davis, J. P.
Nathaniel Garvin — Lydia J unman ..Nov, 20, 1833. Abel Warren, M. G.
Bingham Tubbs — Ruth A. Sorel ...Jan. 24, 1833 Abel Warren, M. G.
Westley Hinman — Alice M. Connel July 10, 1833 Elisha L, Atkins, J. P.
H. Perkins — Sarah Ann Meek... Nov. 28, 1833 ..Richard Butler, J. P.
James Williams — Delia Ann Cook Oct. 14, 1842. Harvey Cook, J. P.
Erastus Day — Catherine Smith Feb. 3, 1833 L. Shaw, M. G.
Wm. M. Leech — Clarissa Brainard May 22, 1833 Calvin Davis, J. P.
Hiram Atwood — Aurelia Ann Douglass July 7, 1833 .Richard Butler, J. P.
Sidneys. Hawkins — Elizabeth Clemens ..April 23, 1833 Henry Coldager, M. G.
George Stead — Nancy Scott March 16, 1833 Solomon Wales, J. P.
Robert Warren — Lois Wells Feb. 14, 1833 Abel Warren, M. G.
George Preastly — Sylvania Hoard Dec. 10, 1832 Calvin Davis, J. P.
Anson Rawley — Susan Becroft.. April 17, 1833 ..Noah Webster, J. P.
John Fairchild — Lucy C. Herriman April 9, 1833 .Richard Butler, J. P.
James C. Chase — Rachel Butterfield. Jan. 26, 1833 .Richaid Butler, J. P.
Hambleton Miller — Elizabeth Parks May 5,1833 .Abel Warren, J. P.
Stephen Castle — Susan D. Shaw Mar. 13, 1832 Alexander Tackles, J. P.
H. M. Hopkins — Polly Price Oct. 3, 1832 Alexander Tackles, J. P.
Alvin Cleland — Harriet M. Wales... Dec. 5, 1832 Alexander Tackles, J. P.
Otis W. Colton — Martha Fairchild Aug. 8, 1833 ..Harvey Cook, J. P.
John M. Crawford — Polly Miller --Aug. 19, 1832 Noah Webster, J. P.
James P. Keeler — Annie Arlarthand Oct. 30, 1833 Abel Warren, M. G.
George Adair — Rebecca Madison Aug. 26, 1833 Abel Warren, M. G
Lesier Lamles — Lorina Phelps - ....July 2, 1833 VV. Waring, J. P.
Cornelius Bivens — Olive Tingley June 17, 1832 Richard Butler, J. P,
Alexander Atkins — Eliza D. Lewis. May 29, 183 1 Richard Butler, J. P.
George Stroup — Hannah Conklin Sept. 12, 1833 Richard Butler, J. P.
From February, 1834, to May, 1838, a period extending over four year, there
were only 151 marriages effected in the county, as shown by the records. In dealing
with those matrimonial events, it will be merely necessary to give the names of the
contracting parties:
William Allen to Pembina Scott
Samuel Axford Summers
P. Adams — M. Prentiss
P. Allen— M.Russell
E. Auscom — E. Fay
II. Beebe— S. J. Hill
S. S. Baxter — S. Holeman
T. Bloss— M. D. Cusick
A. H. Barlley — M. Dixon
D. Bennett— A. Wolf
William Brown — E. Lacox
T. Blakeley — E. Brayord
S. Bams — 12. Hovev
T. Hubbard— T. S.' Weeks
E. Howard — N. Bolien
Q_
288
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
M. W. Harrington — Miss Farns-
worth
E. C. Harriman — P. Huks
J. Hall— B. Dailey
C. S. Snover — M. Jersey
L. Sole — S. Scott
C. Chapel — A. Valentine
D. Crawford — L. Fair
E. Cooley— H. Willis
A. Chortier — R. Dunphin
T. Cherry— M. More
L. Collins — B. Hodgen
D. Cooley — C. Andrus
A. Cherry — M. Myers
D. Conklin— S. A. Stewart
A. Conklin— H. Witt
J. Connu — M. A. Funder
J. M. Combs— M. Still
J. Crittenden — M. Dudley
L. M. Collins— M. McKoon
S. Chattrick — L. Lee
L. Chatfield— E. Fishbough
E. Crampton — P. More
C. Emerson — J. Slioles
T. J. Ewell— E. Lamb
H. T. Fox — Mary Avery
J. Flynn — E. Ingraham
A. A. Fuller — A. Shattuck
O. Fields— C. Fish
J. Frost— L. Aldrich
G. C. Fletcher— E. G. Hough
A. Farr— M. Carl
G. W. Fish— M. Brown
M. Goaipin — M. Bennett
S. W. G. Gerill— D. Allen
William Goodrich — A, Chambers
A. Ga<inon — M. Phenix
Zera Gray— L. West fall
T. C. Gallup— M. McChesney
Noble G. Gunii — Sarah Miller
J.C. Hinks— M. Clark
H. Haskins — M. Greenley
Joseph Hinks — J. Clark
N. R. Holdridge— H. Hudson S
J. C. High— M. A. Olds M
E. D. Hamhlin— T. Smith D.
D. E. Haser — R. A. Jennison T.
P. C. Hart- E. Leonard B.
S. L. Hdl— M. Chapel S.
H. Harvey— H. Russ J.
Thomas Hubble — S. Pooley C
M. Haines — B. Dusing J.
M. Johnson — P. Baldwin C.
J. James — E. Watkins E.
b.Jacox — H. Spaulding H.
T. M. Kirkham— M. Hart C.
C. Lufkins — S. Goodale T.
M. Kingsbury — E. Abernathy N.
K. Kittridge— E. Wells E.
J. Lockwcod — J. Tweedle E.
N. Keeler— M. J. Bates W
P. Mitter — L. Ashley W,
A. T. Merril— J. High L.
J. Milton — S. T. Herriman P.
J. M. Millard— S. Brown P.
L. P. Miller— S. M. Cram T.
N. Moe — C. Higgins M.
J. B. Marlel— PhiUis Lablan A.
H. Mann— P. Skinner H
G. Newbury — R. Butierfield H
D. Norris — B. Carpenter J.
A. T. Powell— S. A. Field O.
A. Parker— M. A. Ray R.
J. Price— S. Bardnell E.
T. H. Peek— D. Congar E.
H. Pratt— A. Dice C.
J. D. Perry— G. Welts M.
G. W. Preston— S. Goff S.
E. Phelps— P. Arnold W
A. W. Rogers— D. Scott F.
N. Rowley— M. Beagle T.
N. Rowley — A. Aldrich J
T. Russ— PL Mitchell W
B. Randall— B. Scott R
A. Rowley— B. Goff
S. Spencer — E. Warner
D. Shattuck— M. Briggs
. Stone — L. McGregor
Stroup — M. Keyes
C. Snover — L. Phelps
F. Skinner — M. Moore
B. Spencer — D. Graves
Selleck— S. Wells
H. Sweet — S. A. Bennett
Smith— M. Gales
Spalding — F. Fish
Thorrington — L. Brown
, Thomas — L. Pratt
Thompson — A. Mitchell
J. Tubbs— H. Butterfield
Tillottson — P. Hurd
B. Throop— E. Turrell
Warner — M. Billings
Woodan — M. Bates
P. Wells— E. Ewell
Winans — Jane Drake
T. Walker— N. Gillett
Woodlick— M. Finch
Wood — S. Anderson
. Wilber — T. Gregory
Warner — E. Johnson
. Wyncoop — A. Mitchell
. R. Witt— H. Brown
Witney — E. Shepherd
Wing — H. Crawford
Wilson— T. Seal
Weiitworth — E. Darling
L. Walton — C. Stroup
F. Wilt— E. Brown
Winslow— .AL Welts
Wilson — L. Scott
, G. Wilcox— M. Webster
Wilcox — L. Hovey
Wood — T. Case
Whitney— C. Crittenden
Wylae — A. Beattie
Wickoff— M. A. Orr
The great majority of those early alliances were attended with the most happy
results. In almost every instance, husband was devoted to wife and wife to hus-
band : both were faithful to their country, and both traveled down life's course
casting blessings along their paths. The old settlers of Macomb have, unlike the
old settlers of the more recently organized counties of the State, made this county
their home ; here they brought up their children, built their schools and churches,
and actually reared up a commonwealth of their own, years before the western
county of Kent was organized — even before the American pioneer set his foot in
Washtenaw.
A few of those old settlers still survive, and dwell in the land. Their children
are here in numbers. The traveler may readily distinguish them. Temperate in
-^ — A>^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. e89
a high degree, they reflect the beauty of that virtue which makes amends for a
hundred faults ; they possess the physical characteristics of their honored progeni-
tors, and still continue to follow in the walks of advancement which their fathers
trod.
MARKS FOR CATTLE IN OLDEN TIMES.
Among the ancient customs of the early inhabitants, that of marking the cattle
seems to the people of the present time as strange as the descriptions of those
marks are ludicrous. The following specimens are taken from the records : —
Charles Tucker's mark for cattle, hogs, sheep, etc., was a hole in the right ear
and a slit in the left ear, a record of which was made March 11, 1822.
The mark for Jacob Tucker's stock was, a dit in both ears, recorded April 1.
1822.
Ebenezer Kittredge's cattle had " an under bit out of each ear," recorded April
1, 1822.
Harvey Cook's mark was " a swallow's tail cut out of the right ear," a record
of which was made April 16, 1822.
The cattle, sheep and hogs of John Tucker were cropped on both ears, and a
record of such mark made Feb. 22, 1823.
John Stockton's cattle, sheep, etc., etc., had a slit in the right ear, a mark
recorded Feb. 22, 1823.
Joseph Hayes' cattle had a hole in the right ear.
Justus H. Barker's mark was a slit in the right ear, a square crop off the right
ear, and the brand, J. H. B., recorded Dec. 2, 1823.
The mark on Nathaniel Squire's cattle was a square crop oif the left ear, a
swallow's fork out of the right ear, with the brand, N. S. This was placed on
record Dec. 2, 1823.
John Elliott's, senior, cattle were marked with a swallow'' s tail cut out of the
left ear. Recorded April 30, 1824.
Leander Trombley's mark was a half crop off the under part of the right ear,
which mark was placed on record Sept. 13, 1826.
Joseph Miller's cattle were known by a square crop off the right ear, which
mark was published Feb. 7, 1827.
John Bennett's mark was a sivallow tail out of the left ear, not by any means
out of Mr. Bennett's left ear, notwithstanding what is implied in the records of
Feb. 7, 1827.
John Sawle's cattle were marked by a slit in both ears, and such mark was
recorded Feb. 7,1827.
Ezra Bellow's cattle were known by a half crop off the under part of the left
19
"®
R^
390 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
ear. Benjamin Gould's stock were marked similarly under the right ear ; while
Wm. Allen's mark was a square crop off the left ear.
Solomon Wales adopted a square crop off right ear, aud a half crop under part
of the left ear.
Daniel Miller's mark was simply a slit in the left ear, while that of Sardis
Burlingham's cattle was simply a half crop off the upper part of the left ear.
George Wilson's cattle had a square crop off the left ear, a slit in same ear,
and a bit of under part of the right ear.
Job Hoxie's stock were marked by a crop off the right ear, or a bit out of the
under part of the same ear.
Alvin Nye used a square crop on the right, and a slit in the left ear.
Chauncey Throop adopted a square crop off the right, and a half crop under
part of the same ear.
Ezra B. Throop's registered mark was a square crop off the right, and a half
crop off the upper part of same ear.
Elon Andrus used a square crop off the right ear and a slit in the same.
Russell Andrus' mark for his cattle was a square crop in the left ear, and a
slit in the same.
John Keeler's cattle had a bit out of upper side of the right, and under side of
the left ear.
Isaac Andrus' mark was simply a half crop off the upper part of the right ear.
Lester Gidding's cattle had a hole in the right ear.
Price B. Webster's cattle showed a swallow's tail cut out of the right ear.
Jeremiah Lockwood's were known by a square crop off the left ear, and a half
crop off the upper part of the right.
Edward Arnold's stock was distinguished by a square crop off the right, and a
half crop off the upper part of the left ear.
Henry Moir's mark for his cattle was a hole through the right ear, and a bit
out of the under part of the left ear.
Lucretia Haskin's cattle bore a square crop off the right, and an under slit in
the left ears.
Richard Butler s cattle, sheep, and hogs wore a slit in the under part of each
ear, and seemed to know all about it."
PONTIAC AND ST. CLAIR MAIL ROUTES.
In 1827, a mail route was established from Pontiac to Port Huron, stopping at
Washington village, and this being the only office between the former place and
Mt. Clemens, it necessarily served for a very large extent of country. Otis Lamb
was the first post-master, and the mail bag was originally carried the entire dis-
"7^
-e>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 291
tance by a man on foot, and afterward on horse-back for ten or twelve years, the
mail carrier always remaining at Washington over night. Each letter cost the re-
ceiver twenty-five cents, and such was the scarcity of money that a young man
living there (now a wealthy resident of Oakland County) was obliged to leave a
letter in the office for three mouths before he could by any means obtain the re-
quired amount. In 1836, Dr. Dennis Cooley was appointed post-master, which
position he held for twenty-three consecutive years, his own residence being the
post-office for the greater part of that time. Shortly after his appointment, the
mail was brought by stage from Detroit via Royal Oak and so continued until the
completion of the G. T. R. R., when it was transferred to that road stopping off at
Utica Station, and a regular line of easy coaches, lumbering stages, or dilapidated
buggies, were alternately the means of transit, the same being controlled by Ira
Pearsall for very many years. This arrangement remained until the D. & B. C. R.
R. was in running order when the mail-bags and numerous passengers to and from
Utica were accommodated by S. L. DeKay, his stages making regular trips between
Utica and Romeo four times daily ; itnd through all these variations and the con-
ditions of wind and weather we have known no such thing as a failure of first-class
mail arrangements until July 18, 1879, when, for some unexplained reason, the
route ceased altogether, and the large amount of mail matter for this place and
Davis was left to the tender mercies of a chance carrier. The mail for Brooklyn
was always received at Washington, they having had no separate office until 1876,
when a tri-weekly route was established between that village and Washington, and
an office established at Brooklyn under the name of Davis.
TEMPERANCE AND HOUSE RAISING.
The following paper on the rise and progress of the temperance cause in Mal-
comb County, not only contains a moral, but also much interesting and historical
subject matter. The writer is secretary of the County Pioneer Society, a man wed-
ded to the cause of temperance, and thoroughly conversant with men and events
connected with the county. He says : " At the date of settlement of the central and
northern township of Macomb, the use of intoxicants upon all noted occasions, and
indeed upon the most common events of pioneer life, was held to be a necessity.
Liquor was used as a cure for all diseases that assailed the system. At births,
weddings, and deaths, its inspiring aid was sought. Prominent in the history of
each new settlement were the bees, for the progress of work which one alone could
not verj'- well accomplish, such as loggings and raisings. At those bees whisky was
free, and was to many the secret loadstone which attracted them to the place.
Arriving at the place, if it were a logging, two expert hands chose sides, and select-
ing the site and arranging the position of the heap, each led his men to the work.
<a-
292 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
At the close of this work results were noted, and one side or other declared victors,
not in the amount of whisky each had consumed, but in the number of log heaps
each had erected. If it were a raising, for which they were called together, sides
were chosen in the same way. Each party would take one end and a side of the
structure, and proceed to roll the logs together in a lively fashion. At each corner
a man was stationed, whose business it was to saw, trim, and shape the ends of the
logs, so as to form the corner, and upon their skill and activity, depended largely
the appearance of the house when completed. A man who could make a square
plum corner in the least time was in demand. Occasionally a frame was to be raised,
and men were invited from far and near, with the tacit understanding that whisky
was to be an adjunct of the occasion. The timber used in construction was much
larger than is used in similar structures now, and as no mechanical appliances were
brought together in elevating it, a larger force was called together. Refreshments
might be served or not at the option of the proprietor, but the liquor should be
in sight, and near at hand. After the frame was erected, the men gathered in file
upon the beam, and if a few drops of the contents of the jug remained, they were
swallowed, and a name was called for. If a barn, it might be named the settlers'
pride or the Queen of the settlement, if a house, the ladies' pride, or family pride, and
then the jug was hurled into the air, when the company dispersed.
It soon came about that a feeling of antagonism to the use of whisky strength-
ened by the occurrence of sundry accidents, the results of whisky, began to pre-
vail, and very naturally as the sides were chosen, whisky was made the dividing
point, and its friends, and the friends of temperance, were arrayed against each
other. At a raising of a frame house, the two parties went up to put the plates in
position, and in the zeal of the former not to be beaten by the temperance party,
they lifted the plate over the posts, and let it drop on the ground below. One man
whose hat was caved in, seized the jug and cast it into a well close by. At another
time, a man whose leg was broken, was carried home two miles upon a door.
Among the first raisings in the northern townships was that of Nathaniel Bennett's
barn. The mechanic who worked upon the frame was a staunch temperance man,
and wished that the raising of this barn should be accomplished without the aid of
whisky. Bennett, although favorable to the cause of temperance, was fearful it
would be a failure. The mechanic was so confident, however, that Bennett's ob-
jections were overruled, and it was bruited round that the affair was to be of a
temperate cluiracter. Both sides resolved to make this a test case, and men gath-
ered from far and near to view the strife and see the fun. As fast as the forces
reached the premises, they naturally divided into two armies. The temperance men
soon went to work, and the li(|uor men sat upon the timbers, and stood in the way,
offering obstacles. There was no scarcity of timber in those early days, and the
great beams and plates of green timber sorely taxed the muscles as well as the
patience of the workers. When, at length, the sills were in their places, and the
hents put together, the liquor party came in a body and sat down upon the timbers
directly in the way of further progress. It required the use of some threats, and a
good deal of persuasive eloquence to move them, and a portion went off in a huff^
while the remainder helped to put up the frame.
A similar test case was held atUtica about the same time. A large store house
was to be raised, and the mechanic was very fearful that it could not be done with-
out whisky, but upon the promise of Payne K. Leach to assist with his mill hands
and tackle box, the attempt was made and success won.
In the township of Lenox, a like test was made some years later, resulting in
favor of temperance.
If the case were that of 'a man, who was himself temperate, and who dis-
couraged the use of spirits on principle, little was said ; but if stinginess was the
cause of it being withheld, sad work was often made of both timber and frames.
Sometimes timber was carried back to the woods ; at other times a single hent would
be setup, and all hands either go away or refuse to do more. At other times timbers
would be united in all ways but the right one, and in each case the whisky should
appear before the work would be completed. After those test cases had been tried,
trial bees of all kinds without the use of liquors were of frequent occurrence, and
public sentiment in favor of abstinence grew in favor and strength.
Organized action against intemperance was first taken at Romeo. In the year
1830, Deacon Roger's Pledge was circulated and gained a few names. Those who
agreed to abstain from the use of wine and beer, and other alcoholic beverages, had
a capital T prefixed to their names on the pledges^ and were called T-T's or teeto-
talers. At least one who signed Deacon Roger's Pledge has kept it for fifty-two
years — Dr. HoUister, of Chicago. The effects of this pledge was soon visible in the
community. One after another, old and young, spoke against the use of spirits,
and arrayed themselves on the side of temperance. A farmer who had thought
that haying could not be prosecuted witliout liquor, sent his boy to the store at the
corners with the little hroivn jug to get it filled. This was accomplished, the jug
emptied, and sent to be refilled. Soon after a storm came up, and the father and the
son left the field after hiding the jug. Upon their return the old man took up the
pitcher to drink ; but before doiug so, he paused and set it down. After a few
minutes thought he emptied it upon the ground, and said. " My son let us never
touch this stuff again as long as we live." The father kept this resolution, but the
son is a drunkard to this day. And thus the leaven was at work.
" Men thought, spoke, and acted." In a letter from* Dexter Mussey to the
Secretary of the Pioneer Society, under date April 7, 1881, that old settler states :
f
294 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
There was a Washini^tonian Temperance society formed here as early as 1844,
hut accomplished but little. At a subsequent date the Sons of Temperance seemed
to take the lead in some parts of this State and the west shore concluded to imitate
the Sons of Temperance by holding weekly meetings, or at least once in two weeks.
This we did during one winter, 1848-9, but failed to keep up an interest or ac-
complish much good. We then concluded to try the laws, and organized a division
of eleven members, and after working hard for one year found ourselves with
thirteen members, had received three, expelled one, dismissed one to join elsewhere.
Then we commenced an aggressive course and soon had one hundred names and
then for three or four years succeeded well, prosecuted the rum-sellers and all went
on well until the Prohibitory law passed, and then all seemed to think the work
completed and the Division dissolved and very little was done for the cause of
temperance. After a time there was a lodge of Good Templars organized and went
very well and with tolerable success for a time until it was turned into a political
organization, when it shared the fate of all its predecessors. (^Died.') At still a
subsequent date a Division of the Sons of Temperance was organized with tolerable
success as to members, but not with much success in staying the tide of intemper-
ance. This last organization is still in existence and is the only organization here
which proposes to amend solely against the liquor business, and it is doing very
little to what it ought to accomplish, the work it professes to have in hand. The
present law has been enforced to a considerable extent, but not by the Sons of
Temperance. There were fourteen prosecutions for violations of the law, and in
every case with success.
A KETROSPECT.
My home ! the spirit of its love is breathing
In every wind that plays across my track : —
From itsvv^hite wralls, the very tendrils wreathing,
Seem with soft links to draw the wanderer back.
What a change has come over the land since they first saw it ? The metamor-
phosis from the sickle and the cradle to the modern harvester is not more wonder-
ful than other changes which have been wrought ; and he who brings up sad re-
membrances of a hard daj^'s work, and a lumbago caused by the swinging of his
cradle or scythe, smiles, when he thinks of that semi-barbarous period that could
neither produce a harvester nor a moiver, nor a fiulkt/ plow^ nor any of these new
machines, which make the practice of agriculture a luxury. To-day he mounts in-
to the seat of one of these farm implements, as he would into his buggy, and with
the assurance that, no matter what the condition of the grain or meadow, whether
tangled, lodged, or lean'ing, he can master a quarter section of land more thoroughly
and with greater economy than he could have managed a five acre field a quarter of
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 295
a century ago. The change is certainly material ! The old settlers realize it ; but yet
they look back to the never forgotten past, when contentment waited upon the work
of the old cradle, plow and spade, — to that time when the primitive character of all
things insured primitive happiness. Then contentment reigned supreme, and con-
tinued so to do until knowledge created ambitions, and those ambitions brought in
their train, their numerous proverbial little troubles.
CHAPTER XVI.
ORGANIZATION.
The third decade of the Nineteenth Century will ever be memorable as the era
of emigration from the Eastern States, and the hunt after Western homes. During
those years the people of the Original States rose to a full conception of the worth
of the land, and the almost unbounded country which the toilers of the Revolution
won for them. They resolved to direct their steps westward. Michigan was not
forgotten. The country from the St. Joseph to the Grand River, along the valley
of the southern Huron, and northwards still to the Saginaw — the home of the
Otchipwes — was explored by them and settlements effected. Years before this,
however, Macomb County was not only explored, settled ; but also organized. In
1818, three years after the organization of Wayne, and one year after the organi-
zation of Monroe, Macomb County was erected by an act of the Territorial Legis-
ative Council.
For some years previous to 1818, the American and French pioneers built their
log huts, and transformed portions of the forest into spots of pastoral beauty.
Many acres were then fenced round, and the stacked harvest of the preceding year
could be seen by the traveler. The country was then replete in beauty ; the
singularly attractive monotony of the wild woods was varied by tracts of cultivated
land, the homes of the settlers, and the villages of the aborigines.
Solidarity of interests joined the pioneers in a bond of fraternity, the strength
of which tended to render their loves and friendships lasting. Solidarity of inter-
ests taught the pioneers to offer the hand of fellowship to their savage neighbors —
the Otchipwes ; and solidarity of interests pointed out to them the results of seek-
ing for the organization of the districts in which they lived into a little Republic.
On the completion of the farm labors of 1817, those white inhabitants — those
true foresters — did not seek repose ; but turning their attention away from manual
labor, embraced mental work, to the end that their political condition might
advance hand-in-hand with their social status.
29(5
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
f3>
Before the spring-time called tliem to their fields again, they had established
for themselves a county and a county government. The action of the Legislative
Council, and the State Legislature in regard to the townships of Macomb, is
reviewed in the following acts and summarization of acts :
ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP.
The act of the Legislative Council, approved January 5, 1818, provided, that
the district beginning at the opposite shore of the River Huron, including the
shore, and running along the shore of Lake St. Clair, to the mouth of the river St.
Clair, and along said river to Fort Gratiot, and extending in the rear as afores.iid,
shall form one township, and be called the Township of St. Clair.
MACOMB COUNTY ERECTED.
A petition was presented to Gov. Cass, signed by a number of the inhabitants
of this Territory, requesting that a new county may be laid out therein ; which
was responded to as follows : —
No~lv Therefore, Believing that the establishment of such county will be conducive to the public interest,
and to individual convenience, I do, by virtue of the authority in me vested by the ordinance of Congress,
passed the 13th day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, entitled
" An ordinance for the government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio," lay
out that part of the said Territory included within the following boundaries, namely : beginning at the south-
west corner of township number one, north of the base line (so called), thence along the Indian boundary line
north, to the angle formed by the intersection of the line running to the White Rock upon Lake Huron ;
thence with the last mentioned line to the boundary line between the United States and the British Province
of Upper Canada ; thence with the said line southwardly to a point in Lake St. Clair due east from the place
of beginning; thence due west to the eastern extremity of the said base line; and with the same to the place
of beginning, into a separate county, to be called the county of Macomb.
And I do hereby appoint William Brown, Henry J. Hunt, and Conrad Ten Eyck, Esquires, commission-
ers for the purpose of examining the said county of Macomb, and of reporting to me where it is the most
eligible site for establishing the seat of justice thereof.
And I constitute the said county a district for the purposes required by the act entitled "An act to adjust
the estates and affairs of deceased persons, estate and intestate, and for other purposes," passed the 19th day
of January, one thousand eight hundred and eleven.
In testimony whereof I have caused the Great Seal of the said Territory to be hereunto affixed, and have
signed the same with my hand. Given at Detroit this 15th day of January, in the year of our I>ord one
thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the forty-
second. LEWIS CASS.
By the Governor :
William Woodbridge, Secretary of Michigan Territory.
LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT.
I
" Whereas William Brown, Henry J. Hunt, and Conrad Ten E3'^ck, the com-
missioners appointed to ascertain the most eligible site for the seat of justice of the
County of Macomb, iiave reported to me, that the Town of Mt. Clemens, recently
\'
^\<§
a>
(2 «L.
'.^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 297
laid out upon the farm of Christian Clemens, Esq., in the said county, is the most
eligible site for that purpose ; and whereas the said Christian Clemens, Esq., has
conveyed for the use of said county, the lot of ground designated by the said com-
missioners, and has given to the Treasurer of the said county, his obligation for the
money, work, and materials required by them, towards the execution of the public
building ; I do, therefore, in consideration of the premises, and by virtue of the
authority by law in me vested, establish the seat of justice for the said County of
Macomb, at the said Town of Mt. Clemens." This proclamation was signed by
Lewis Cass, March 11, 1818.
ORIGINAL TOWNSHIPS.
A proclamation of the Governor issued April 8, 1818, divided Macomb into the
following townships, viz : All that portion of the county south of a line drawn due
west from the mouth of Swan Creek, to the Indian boundary line, shall form one
township, and be known as the township of Huron ; all that portion which lies
north of a line drawn due west from the mouth of Swan Creek, shall form one town-
ship and be called St. Clair. Under the same proclamation all that portion of the
town of Huron (which lies south of the base line) beginning at Forsyth's farm,
including the farm, extending along the shore of Lake St. Clair to the River Huron,
and west to the United States lands, was attached to the township of Hamtramck,
in Wayne County.
Perry Township was established by the Act Jan. 12, 1819. It comprised the
western sections of Macomb, all the unorganized territory north to the treaty line,
and west to the meridian, north of the boundaries of Oakland.
THE NAME HURON CHANGED TO CLINTON.
An act approved July 17, 1824, declared that confusion, uncertainty, and incon-
venience may frequently arise from the variety of rivers and places called Huron,
and directed, for that reason, that the northern town of Macomb, which was estab-
lished under the name of Huron, Aug. 12, 1818, should be called Clinton-, and the
river running through said town into Lake St. Clair, commonly called the Huron,
should be named Clinton.
CHANGE OF BOUNDARY.
The boundaries named in the Act establishing this county, Jan. 15, 1818,
were changed in September, 1822, as shown in the following description :
" Beginning on the boundary line between the United States and the Province of
Upper Canada, where the northern boundary of the county of Wayne intersects the
same ; thence with the said northern boundary, west, to the line between the
eleventh and twelfth ranges, east of the principal meridian ; thence north to the
-*— -4
lA
298 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUXTT.
line between the townships numbered five and six, north of the -base line ; thence
east, to the line between the third and fourth sections of the fifth township north
of the base line, in the thirteenth range, east of the principal meridian ; thence
south to the southern boundary of the said township ; thence east, to the line be-
tween the fourteenth and fifteenth ranges, east of the principal meridian ; thence
south to Lake St. Clair ; thence in a direct line to the place of beginning.
Given under my hand, at Detroit, this tenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, and of the Independence of
the United States the forty-seventh. LEW. CASS."
ORGANIC SUiOLAEY.
Macomb County formed a portion of Wayne, as organized in the days of the
Northwest Territory. Old Wayne County comprised not only the Lower Peninsula,
but also the strip of land along the western shores of Lake Michigan, and all west
of that strip so far as explorers might penetrate. Robert F. Eldredge, in his paper
styled "A Brief Outline of the History of Macomb Co.," says : " It was estab-
lished as a county in Michigan Territory in 1815. (Terr. Laws, Vol.1, p. 323.) It
then included that part of Michigan to which the Indian title Jhad been extin-
guished. In 1805, the Territory of Michigan was constituted. On the 1st of July,
1805, the government of the Territory was organized at Detroit, by Gen. William
Hull, as first governor. The Indian title to the lands of Macomb County was
extinguished by the treaty of 1807. At that time the Pottawatomies, the Ottawas,
the Wyandots and the Chippewas ceded to the United States a tract of country
bounded south by the Maumee Bay and River, north by the principal meridian,
and on the northwest by a line running southwest from White Rock, cutting the
said meridian at a point where an east and west line from the outlet of Lake Huron
intersects the same. By a proclamation made by Lewis Cass, Jan. 15, 1818, all the
land thus obtained from the Indians which lies north of the base line was formed
into the county of Macomb, and William Brown, Henry J. Hunt and Conrad Ten
Eyck were appointed commissioners to ascertain the most eligible site for the seat
of justice of such county. The county seat was established at Mt. Clemens by
proclamation of March 11, 1818. May 4, following, the Legislative Council of the
Territory granted $400 to the new county, to be expended in the erection of a
court-house and jail. At this period Macomb comprised all the territory now form-
ing the counties of St. Clair, Oakland, Livingstone, Genesee, Lapeer, large por-
tions of Shiawassee, Ingham, Sanilac and Tuscola, together with the southeast
corner of Huron, and a portion of the townships of Birch Run and Maple Grove,
in Saginaw County.
rv^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 299
ESTABLISHMENT OF TOWNSHIPS.
The county was divided into townships by executive decree, published April 8,
1818. That portion of the county lying north of a line drawn due west from the
mouth of Swan Creek was named St. Clair Township, while the portion south of
such a line was called the township of Huron. The township of Harrison was laid
off Aucf. 12, 1818. The establishment of Oakland County, Jan. 12, 1819, was the
first move in reducing the dominion of the settlers of Macomb ; yet the act did not
come into effect until Jan. 1, 1823, so that, virtually, Macomb ruled Oakland for a
term of four years after the establishment of that county.
Perry Township was laid off Jan. 12, 1819. St. Clair County was established
March 28, 1820. The township named stretched along the eastern boundary of
Oakland, northwards to the Indian treaty line^ and westward, south of that line, to
the principal meridian, including what forms now the counties of Lapeer, Genesee,
Shiawassee, and portions of Sanilac, Tuscola, Saginaw and Shiawassee. St. Clair
County was organized May 8, 1820. Sept. 10, 1822, Gov. Cass' proclamation,
establishing the boundaries of Macomb, was issued, which proclamation is given in
this chapter. The principal river of the county was called the Huron until 1824,
when the name was changed to Clinton by the act of July 17, 1824, and the name
of Huron Township changed to Clinton Township.
The act, appoved April 12, 1827, laid off the county into five townships, viz: —
Harrison, Clinton, Shelb3% Washington and Ray. In 1832 the act to extend the
boundaries of Macomb was approved, when town 5 N. of R. 14. E., and the east
half of T. 5, N. of R. 13 E., were added to the county and attached for govern-
mental purposes to the town of Ray. March 9, 1838, the north half of Washington
was formed into a new township to be called Bruce. April 22, 1833, town 5, N. of
Ranges 13 and 14 E., were laid off under the name of Armadia. By the Act of March
7, 1834, Macomb Township was established, the boundaries of Ray were extended,
and the town line between Clinton and Harrison straightened. March 17, 1835,
town 2, N. of R. 12, E. was laid off as the township of Jefferson. Hickory and
Grange townships were laid off March 11, 1837; Lenox was established March 20,
1837, and seven days previously the village of Mt. Clemens was incorporated.
An Act approved March 6, 1838, authorized the organization of the town of Rich-
mond, and under authority of the same act the name Jefferson was abolished, and
the town called Sterling. The Act of April 2, 1838, ordered that sections 12, 13,
24, 25 and 36 of town 1 N. R. 13 E., be taken from Orange and added to Hickory,
and also recognized the change of name from Hickory to Aba. Romeo was incor-
porated as a village, March 9, 1838, and on the same date the village of Utica
received authority to organize. The Act of March 26, 1839, changed the name
Aha to Warren. On Feb. 16, 1842, the township of Macomb lost its eastern half,
^ & I
f^J®___v-
_^t *>
300 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
henceforth to be known as Chesterfield ; section 36 of Warren was ceded to Orange,
and by an Act, approved March 9, 184o, the name of Orange gave place to that of
Erin, by which name that picturesque division of the county continues to be
known.
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS.
Under the act of Jan. 8, 1818, the inhabitants of that portion of Wayne
County, comprehended within the limits of the District of Huron, as established
by that act, and subsequently altered, should meet at the house of Christian Clem-
ens, under the superintendence of Christian Clemens, Daniel Le Roy and Francois
Labadie, to vote on tha question of the organization of a General Assembly on the
third Monday of February, 1818.
On the 26th Feb. 1818, the Legislative Council decreed, that on the first Mon-
day of February and the second Monday of July in every year the County Court
for the County of Macomb should be held.
Macomb County Court House. The Act of May 5, 1818, appropriated $400
towards the erection of a Court House and Gaol for Macomb County, to be ex-
pended b}^ the Justices of the Court of General Quarter Sessions, and to be paid
out of any moneys in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated.
The Act of the Legislative Board, approved Aug. 26, 1819, directed that all
wills, inventories of estates, returns of administrators or executors, bonds, decrees,
orders, and all documents, etc., connected with Macomb County, should be trans-
mitted at once to the County Register from the Register's office of Wayne.
An Act of the Legislative Council was approved Aug. 4, 1824, authorizing
Christian Clemens, Ellis Doty, Justice H. Barker, and those who may associate
with them to erect a dam across Clinton River at the village of Mt. Clemens, with
certain provisos, one of which was that the water should not be raised higher than
three and one-half feet above low water mark.
The county commissioners of Macomb, were authorized, under an Act approved
Aug. 4, 1824, to make such addition to the tax roll for that year, as they should
deem necessary to meet the expense of completing court house and gaol, such tax
not to exceed one-fourth of one per cent, on the valuation of real and personal
property.
The construction of a territorial road from Mt. Clemens via] Romeo, Lapeer,
and Saginaw to the Sault de Ste. Marie was authorized March 4, 1831.
The road from Detroit to Port Huron was laid off, under legislative authority.
The Act approved April 12, 1827, authorized Nathaniel Millard, Jonathan
~e)
^ ..
^
.^ S)
Kearsley, Levi Cook, Charles Larnecl, Ellis Doty, John P. Sheldon, Christian Clem-
rans, Alfed Ashley, Jacob Tucker, Ignace Morass, Joseph Hayes, and others who
may associate with them, a company to remove obstructions from the Clinton
River, and render it navigable from the village of Mt. Clemens to Mack's Lower
Mill. This company as organized was known as the Clinton River Navigation
Company.
Sept. 3, 1827, the counties of Macomb and St. Clair were erected into one dis-
trict, and authorized to elect one member of the Legislative Council.
A second territorial road to the Clinton River from Detroit was- authorized
under the Act of June 23, 1828. This commenced at Detroit, continued by the Old
French Church to a point on the Clinton River, betweeen Nathaniel Squire's and
Enoch Huntley's farms in Macomb County. William Meldrum and James Connor
of Macomb, and William Little of Wayne were appointed commissioners.
The Act of June 23, 1828 decreed that there should be a territorial road estab-
lished, beginning at the northeast corner of Oakland County, and running thence
south along the division line between Macomb to Oakland to the base line;
thence continuing south until it intersects the turnpike leading from Detroit to
Pontiac. Francis Cicot of Wayne, Alexander Faeles, of Macomb, and John Todd
of Oakland were the commissioners appointed under the Act.
The Clinton Steam Mill Company was organized at Mt. Clemens, under power
granted in an Act approved March 2, 1831. This act points out that the capital
stock was $20,000 in shares of $25 each. The subscriptions toward this stock were
ordered to be opened at Detroit, the first Monday of Ma}', 1831, under the superin-
tendence of Lewis Cass, Jonathan Kearsley, James Abbott, Innis S. Wendell,
John Palmer, and also at Mt. Clemens, under Christian Clemens, Alfred Ashley,
J. M. Cummings, and Job C. Smith.
An Act approved June 18, 1832, provided that within six months, it should be
lawful for Antoine Dequindre, Barnabus Campau, Jacque Campau, Gabriel Cheine,
Isidore Cheine, Rene Marsac, Isidore Morin, Dominique Reopelle, who feel ag-
grieved by laying out the territorial road from the city of Detroit to the river Clin-
ton so far as the Old French Church in the township of Hamtramck, to state their
complaints to any Circuit or County Judge in writing, when three disinterested
freeholders will be appointed to decide and assess damages.
The Romeo and Mt. Clemens Railroad was incorporated under authority given
in an Act, approved April 16, 1833, with Gad Chamberlain, Gideon Gates, Asahel
Bailey, Lyman W. Gilbert, Azariah W. Sterling, Moses Freeman, Isaac Powell,
Noah Webster, Reuben R. Smith, Norman Perry, Anson Bristoll, James C. Allen,
V (5"
it
~®
^
303 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Joel Tucker, Wm. Canfield, Christopher Douglas, and N. T. Taylor. The capital
stock was $150,000.
Shelby Liberal Institute. — An Act to incorporate a society under this name was
approved April 22, 1833, granting to Daniel W. Phelps, Peleg Ewell, Samuel Ax-
ford, Samuel Adair, Samuel Ladd, Lyman T. Jenny, Daniel Hurston, John S. Axford,
Joseph Lester, Luther R. Madison, John Stockton, and Calvin Davis, power to
establish in the township of Shelby a literary institution, and appointing the men
named trustees of such.
Romeo Academy. — Under an Act approved March 21, 1833, Gad. Cliamberlin,
Nathaniel T. Taylor, Gideon Gates, Norman Perry, Noah Webster, Reuben R.
Smith, Hiram Calkins, John S. Axford, Abel Warren, Asahel Bailey, John Ben-
nett, James Starkweather, James Thompson, Azariah W. Steel, and William
Abbott of Macomb County were constituted trustees of Romeo Academy, with
power to establish such an institution for the education of youth.
The Shelby and Detroit Railroad Company was authorized March 7, 1831,
with Eurotas P. Hastings, Levi Cook, Shubael Conant, Gordon A. Leach, Daniel
W. Phillips, Lyman T. Jenny, John S. Axford, Jacob A. Summers, and Peleg Ewell,
commissioners under the direction of a majority of whom subscriptions to the
amount of $100,000 capital stock might be received.
An Act of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, approved
March 27, 1835, ordained, that the Supervisors of Macomb County, should, if they
deem proper, discontinue all suits, pending in the Circuit Court, against Nathan B.
Miller, John Elliott, James Meldrum, and Francis Dequindre, as sureties of William
Meldrum, late treasurer of the county, and may release such bondsmen from all
liabilities.
Richard Butler for copying returns of the sheriff, containing 6,400 inhabitants
at $3.00 per thousand, received $18,02, March 21, 1358.
An Act approved March 27,*1835, authorized the inhabitants of Harrison and
Clinton townships to erect a bridge over the Clinton River at or near the village of
Mt. Clemens, under the superintendence of Christian Clemens and Antoine Chortier,
and authorizing a tax to be levied on the people of these townships to meet the ex-
penses of the work. The conditions imposed were a bridge 14 feet wide, with a
draw in the center of not less than 36 feet, and to be considered a free bridge for
ever.
The Act to incorporate the Clinton Salt Works Company was approved April
3, 1838, giving authority to Robert S. Parks, Lawson S. Warner, Tiiomas B. Andrews,
- ^ .-
f-
'^'^ — *-
-* s»
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
303
Charles Hubbell, and Calviu C. Parks to form sach a company and carry on the
business.
An Act for the relief of the township of Shelby was approved March 9, 1838,
dealing with the former absconding collector of taxes, and enabling the new collector
to receive the sums of money unpaid to the man reported as absconding.
An Act appointing commissioners to establish State Roads was approved Feb.
28, 1838, directing that a State road from Mt. Clemens, by way of Crawford's
Settlement in Macomb Tp; Chubb's Settlement in Ray Tp., to Flower's store in
Armada, be laid out, and appointing Wm. Canfield, Stewart Taylor, and Azariah
Prentiss, commissioners.
COUNTY OFFICERS PAST AND PRESENT.
SHERIFFS.
James Fulton 1818-22
William Meldrum _ tS^2-28
N. Nye 1828-30
Addison Chamberlain 1830-32
William Canfield 1832-36
Abraham Freeland 1836-38
Calvin Davis 1 838-40
Amos B. Cooley 1840-44
John G. Dixon 1844-46
Varnum Lutkin 1 846-48
Milo Selleck 1848-50
Walter Porter.. 1850-52
Thomas Golby 1852-56
Charles C. Lamb 1856-60
Joseph Hubbard 1860-64
Geo. E. Adair 1 864-66
Has well Church ..1866-70
Frederick G. Kendrick ..1870-74
Winfield S. Hathaway .1874-78
Louis Groesbeck 1878-80
T. W. Newton 1880-82
CLERKS.
John Stockton ...1818-25
Thomas Brandon .1 825-26
R. S. Rice 1826-28
R. P. Eldridge .1828-30
Richard Butler 1 830-36
Amos Dalby 1836-46
Robert Thompson 1846-48
Ira Stout 1848-50
Theron Cudworth 1850-52
John S. Fletcher 1852-54
Ferrin Crawford... 1854-56
John B. Ellsworth ..1856-58
Henry O. Smith 1858-64
. James Whiting _ 1 864-66
William M. Connor 1866-70
Charles S. Groesbeck 1870-78
William L. Dicken 1878-82
COUNTY REGISTRARS.
John Stockton 1818-28
William Meldrum 1828-32
Rodney O. Cooley 1832-38
Amos Dalby ..1838-44
Henry Teats 1844-48
Robert H. Wallace 1848-52
John J. Traver _ 1852-56
Norton L. Miller 1856-60
Geo. W. French 1860-62
Thomas L. Sackett 1862-68
Alonzo M. Keeler ..1868-70
Geo. W. Robinson 1870-72
Alonzo M. Keeler 1872-74
Traugotte Longerhausen 1874-80
Judson S. Farrar .1880-82
JUDGES OF THE PROBATE COURT.
Christian Clemens. 1818-36
Prescott B. Thurston 1836-40
Porter Kibbee 1840-48
Prescott B. Thurston 1848-60
Isaac B. Gilbert 1860-64
Henry O. Smith 1864-68
Thomas L. Sacket 1868-76
James B. Eldredge 1876-80
James B. Eldredge 1880-84
±
(9-
lUl
304
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
TREASURERS.
Christian Clemens i8i 8-27
John S. Axford 1827-32
Hiram Calkins ..1832-34
Horace H. Cady 1834-36
Rodney O. Cooley. 1836-40
Henry M. Dodge 1840-42
Thomas M. Perry 1842-48
Allen P. Bentley 184S-52
Joshua B. Dickenson .1852-56
Charles B. Matthews .1856-60
Edward C. Gallup 1860-62
Justus R. Crandall .1S62-66
Josiah T. Robinson ..i 866-68
Joseph Hubbard 1868.70
Oliver Chapaton 1870-78
Charles Tackels 1878-82
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
EzraB. Prescott 1818-20
Geo. A. O'Keefe .1820-28
Alex. D. Frazer 1828-32
Robert P. Eldridge 1832-34
Cornelius O'Flynn 1834-38
Dewitt C. Walker .1838-40
John J. Leonard 1840-42
Harleigh Carter 1842-44
Wm. T. Mitchell... .1844-46
Andrew S. Robertson 1846-50
Giles Hubbard 1850-56
Richard Butler 1856-58
Giles Hubbard. 1858-60
Elisha F. Mead. 1860-62
Thomas M. Crocker 1862-64
Giles Hubbard 1864-66
Edgar Weeks 1 866-70
James B. Eldredge 1S70-76
Geo. M. Crocker 1876-80
Irving D. Ilanscom 18S0-82
[Mr. Hanscom moved to Marquette in June, 1SS2.]
COUNTY SURVEYORS.
John B. Hollister 1830-32
William A. Burt 1832-34
Ephraim Calkins 1834-36
Joel Manley 1 836-42
Charles F. Mallory 1842-50
Ludwig Wesolouski 1850-52
Geo. E. Adair 1852-56
Addison P. Brewer ..1856-60
Geo. H. Fenner 1860-62
Ludwig Wesolouski 1862-64
Oscar S. Burgess 1864-70
Geo. E. Adair 1870-72
Oscar S. Burgess 1872-74
Clarence Stephens 1874-76
George E.Adair 1876-82
SUPEUVISOR S BOARD.
The first record of the Board is given under date July 17, 1827. Henry
Taylor, John S. Axford, Joseph Lester, Reuben R. Lester, Job C. Smith, super-
visors, were present. One of the resolutions adopted at this meeting was that no
bounty should be allowed for wolf or panther scalps in the future, and that $4
be allowed for scalps taken under the law.
In October, 1827, the Board ordered that there should be raised for county
purposes one-third of one per cent, upon all taxable property, which equal-
ized would entail a tax upon Harrison, 880 ; on Clinton, 170 ; on Shelby, $50 ;
Washington, 170 ; Ray, $28.37.
The first record of the issue of county orders is dated October 15, 1827, and
is as follows: " B. W. Freeman, for services rendered the United States versus
Garret Vand der Pool, 93 cents ; Moses Freeman, in the same cause, $1 ; Old David,
for wolf scalps, $4 ; William Olds, for services as constable and crier, $3.50 ; Robert
Tovvnsend, for wolf scalps, $1 ; Isaac Andrews, for services rendered County Com-
®-
w
l^J^^i)tiU
«rm^%«i
jVly^COiVIB CGUKT/.COaF^T HOLfSEL^ 1881-2.
Ith
PUBLI
E N
EW YORKJ
ASTOR, LENOX Ai/
TILDEN FOUl- C^T; /M •.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 305
missioners, $3.50; John S. Axford, for duties as late County Commissioner, $5;
Asa Huntley, $2; John S. Axford, as Supervisor, |6 ; Joseph Lester, |6 for services
as Supervisor ; Reuben R. Smith, for similar services, $6 ; Job C. Smith, $4 ;
Ezekiel Allen, late County Commissioner, $5; Ephraim McCall, as Clerk of Super-
visor's Board, 11.50 ; Henry Taylor, $4, as Supervisor ; John S. Axford, for wolf
scalps, $4.
What changes have taken place since this record was made ! The old super-
visors placed a quietus on the wolf hunters, exercised a false economy in every
department of the public business of the county ; yet they were honorable men,
and acted only in the spirit of the times. A few years later they were among the
first to receive the teachings of the new immigrants from the Eastern States, and
since 1835 maybe said to equal in public enterprise the supervisors of the counties
erected during that year.
In the paper on county organization, prepared in 1868 by Edgar Weeks, the
following account of proceedings is given :
The County of Macomb was organized on the 18th day of January, in the
year 1818. Prior to that date Macomb County was attached to the Judicial Dis-
trict of Huron, and its limits embraced the present counties of Oakland, St. Clair,
Lapeer, and several other more northern counties. The county seat was estab-
lished at Mt. Clemens, where it has remained to this day. On the organization of
the county, the governor, by commissions under the great seal of the territory,
appointed the following officers. We give the names of the persons appointed,
the dates of the appointments, and the titles of the offices : 1818, Jan. 20 —
Christian Clemens, Chief Justice ; Daniel Leroy and William Thompson, Associate
Justices; John Stockton Clerk of the Court of General and Quarter Sessions ;
Conrad Tucker, Justice of the Peace ; Elisha Harrington, Justice of the Peace ;
Ignace Morass, Coroner; John Connor, Constable ; Rufus Hatch, Justice of the
Peace ; Feb. 9 — Daniel Leroy, Justice of the Peace ; Francis Labadie, Justice of
the Peace ; John K. Smith, Justice of the Peace ; June 2*2 — John Connor and
John B. Pettit, Commissioners ; Aug. 13 — James Robinson, Constable ; Benoit
Tremble, Supervisor of Harrison ; Nov. 3 — Daniel LeRoy, Judge of Probate ;
John Stockton, Register of Probate ; Dec. 12 — John Stockton, Justice of the
Peace. 1819, Jan. 4 — Esra Prescott, Prosecuting Attorney.
Up to the year 1827, the municipal powers of the county were exercised
through a Board of County Commissioners, and at that time the county was
territorially divided into five townships, named Harrison, Clinton, Shelby, Wash-
ington and Ray. These townships were, geographically, made up quite diiferently
from their present boundaries. We will not stop to describe more than our own
town of Clinton as it then stood. In the old town of Harrison was then included
20
-» ^Iv
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
a portion of what is now Clinton, and what now constitutes Chesterfield and
Lenox. Clinton then comprised what is now Erin, Warren, Macomb and the balance
of what is now Clinton, not then included in Harrison.
The first election in this township was held at the Court House, in Mt.
Clemens, and Job C. Smith was elected supervisor. The first supervisor of Har-
rison was our old townsman. Dr. Henry Taylor, senior. The first session of the
Board of Supervisors of this county, was held at Mt. Clemens, and Robert P.
Eldredge was chosen as its clerk. The apportionment of the taxes of the year
1827, cast upon this town the burden of raising the sum of $70.00, while Harri-
son was compelled to contribute $80.00, Shelby $50.00, Ray $28.37, and Washing-
ton $70.00, a total for all purposes in the county of $298.37.
The next year the total amount of taxes raised in this county, was $525.59, of
which amount Clinton raised $117.88. A resolution of the Board at this time, was
to the effect that the improved lands of Clinton and Harrison, be valued at two
dollars per acre, while the same lands in the other towns were valued at eight
dollars per acre.
Events in the history of our county transpiring subsequent to the year 1827, are
preserved in the records of the County Clerk's office, at the county seat, and to that
repository of our county legislation the curious reader may at any time resort,
and assuage his curiosity, or satisfy his thirst' after knowledge of matters which
are interesting to the statistician, but which do not form an interesting feature for
the general reader. They are facts which bear more intimately upon the physical,
economical and industrial advancement made by the people of the county.
CHAPTEPx XVII.
POLITICAL HISTORY.
The interest manifested in public affairs by the people of Macomb becomes
evident from a review of the General, State and County elections, an account of
which is given in this chapter. For many years the political battle was carried on
between the Democrat and Whig, with victory almost always attending the former.
As times moved onward, new ideas sprang into existence, varjdng, as it were,
political life, and urging the old politicians to advance in the paths of reform. At
one time a tendency existed to cast away the tyranny oi party ^ and give an untram-
meled vote for the man. This tendency grows stronger with years. While
acknowledging the great benefits conferred upon the Repul)lic by the two great
parties that claim to be President-makers, yet great numbers of the people are dis-
*7>
-e>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 307
satisfied ; they can not overlook the magnitude of' the abuses which have entwined
themselves with the present system, and which contribute to lessen that great name
once belonging to the greatest and most perfect of governments.
The adherents of party in this county have not been silent when reform was
needed. They have scanned the course of their representatives with jealous eye,
and rewarded or punished just in such measure as justice pointeth, securing thereby
a fair representation in the council of the -Republic as well as in that of the State.
Nativeism, sectionalism, know-nothingism and deraonism, or religio-political big-
otry, appear to be on the margin of the grave ; some of the vices are already buried,
but enough remain to cause some little disunion, if not disaffection, and so live
to destroy what would be otherwise a magnificent solidarity of public peace and
prosperity. Mercy, justice and patriotism require every corner of this land for
tenancy, so that sectionalism and all its concomitant vices must yield — must give
place to what is good and noble, and let peace rule the Republic forever.
During the first years of the county's history, party bigotry was not acknowl-
edged, but convention and caucus were held, the same as now, to select a man,
not to serve his own or his party's interest, but that of the people. The first set-
tlers were attached to the Jacksonian political school, because they saw in the old
General one who held the Constitution of the United States above all else. When,
in 1832, South Carolina assumed the right to ignore the laws of the United States,
and to oppose the collection of the revenue, Gen. Jackson, then President, acted
with his usual decision, and told the South Carolinians that the Union must be
preserved. He sent United States troops into that State, instructed the revenue
collector at Charleston to perform his duty, and notified John C. Calhoun that he
would be arrested on the committal of the first overt act against the law. This
decisive action, together with the terms of his proclamation, cemented, as it were,
all political parties under one leader. " The power to annul a law of the United
States," he says, ''is incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted
expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent
with every principle on which it is founded, and destructive to the great object for
which it was formed. To say that any State may at pleasure secede from the
Union, is to say that the United States are not a nation ; because it would be a
solecism to contend that any part of the nation might dissolve its connection with
the other part, to their injury or ruin, without committing any offence. * * * *
The States severally have not retained their entire sovereignty. It has been shown
that, in becoming parts of a nation, they surrendered many of their essential parts
of sovereignty. The right to make treaties, declare war, levy taxes, exercise exclu-
sive judicial and legislative powers, were all of them functions of sovereign power.
The States, then, for all of these important purposes, were no longer sovereign.
(T
^
<a k.
±z=fjkl
308 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
* * * * The duty imposed on me by the Constitution, to take care that the laws
be faitlifull}'- executed, shall be performed to the extent of the powers vested in
me by law." In this manner President Jackson instructed the South Carolinians
in the principles of federal government, and in this manner, also, did he notify
them of the intentions of the United States in the event of their persisting in the
violation of any of its laws.
In those olden times a man was chosen on his merits, and entrusted with the
true representation of the people in the Legislature as well as in the Supervisor's
Court. A reference to the election returns will prove this statement precise in
every particular. Years rolled on, and still party lines remained unobserved. In
1836 there was an apparent tendency to draw those lines closer ; but the effort was
comparatively a weak one. Two years later, in 1838, the doctrine of abolition was
received with evident marks of disapprobation in this county. In 1840 Abolition
and Liberty created some political excitement here ; but not sujfficient to lead one
to conclude that within a quarter of a century, this county would send forth thou-
sands of private soldiers and officers to do battle for the principle, which it held so
cheap in 1840.
In 1844 James G. Birney was called from his quiet home at Lower Saginaw to
enter the political battlefield against Henry Clay on one ticket and James K. Polk
on the other. Birney was enthusiastic, honest, and honorable. As a politician he
lived before his time, and as a result did not occupy the Presidential Office. Ten
years later the greater number of those who followed the standard of the Liberty
Party, acquiesced in the doctrine preached under the oaks at Jackson, and the
" name and fame " of the Sons of Liberty were henceforth embosomed in that party.
The American Party, organized immediately afterward, soon passed away. In
this county, its impracticable, unjust, and unholy principles were stigmatized, and
to the credit of the people, may it be said, entirely ignored. It was no more
American in spirit, than was the Tea Tax and the other principles of its originators,
which roused American manhood to cast off all connection with them.
The contest between the humble Abraham Lincoln, and the noted Stephen A.
Douglass, in 1860, was characteristically interesting. The result decided the
fate of the slave-holding Southerners, and gave to the seventh decade of the nine-
teenth century a nation of freemen — such an one as the Fathers of the Republic
dreamed of — such an one as the world had never hitherto known.
In 1864 George B. McClellan opposed the great War President. The claims
of the former were many and much appreciated ; but he who proclaimed the aboli-
tion of slavery, from the highest seat in the Union, was destined to occupy that
position, and would doubtless be elected and re-elected, had not the foul assassin
snatched from him a life, then in the spring-time of its fame.
^
s^
(2 W-
'.iL
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 309
Horatio Seymour, a refined, enlightened Statesman, was nominated by the
Democratic Party in 1868. The fortunate Grant was nominated by the Republican
Party. Notwithstanding all the high qualifications for that office, which Mr. Sey-
mour possessed, the man who cast thousands upon thousands of the best blood of
the North, against the columns of the slave-holders deserved to be, and was elected.
It were well for the famous General, if his political life ended in 1872 ; but it was
not so ordered, evidently, in the destiny of the Republic.
In 1872 Gen. Grant was renominated, to oppose Charles O'Connor on the Demo-
cratic, and Horace Greeley on the Liberal-Republican tickets ; but the services of
the soldier were too well remembered, and so the epauleted Grant was returned to
the White House for a second term.
In 1876 Samuel J. Tilden representing the Democrats, and R. B. Hayes, the
Republicans, sought the favors of the people. The memory of that contest is too
fresh to require further reference. Mr. Hayes reached the White House, and held
it for four years. Owing to his quiet administration, and the return of prosperity,
his party lost little ground, although many said the disputes and uncertainties of
that election would militate against Republican success in 1880.
The elections of 1880 were, perhaps, the most enthusiastic of all expressions of
the popular will. Then was Greek opposed to Greek ; Gen. Hancock won distinc-
tion on the battle fields of the South, — his service was magnificent. Gen. Garfield
had some little military experience ; but what was wanting in this respect, was fully
made up in his knowledge of public economy and practical knowledge of every-day
life. He was elected ; but who could then dream, that the new President would
fall beneath the blow of an assassin, while j'et his Cabinet was unorganized?
Almost before he entered on the duties of his high office, he fell at the hands of an
American, and from this fall he never rallied, until death ended his terrible suffer-
ings. His death placed the Republic in mourning throughout its length and
breadth.
Vice-President Arthur assumed the Presidential Chair, and under him the
troubles in the Senate were smoothed down, and the Nation allowed to resume its
ways of progress.
Throughout the various political campaigns, from 1818 to the present time, the
citizens of Macomb, have, as a rule, given a popular vote. Previous to 1854, the
county was decidedly Democratic. From 1854 to 1870 it may be said to have given
the Republicans a majority ; and since 1870 to the present time political power is so
equally balanced that representatives. of both parties share the confidence of the
people. A desire has existed and does exist, to witness the victory of virtue over
vice, and so far as such a laudable desire could be effected, the people were re-
warded in their contests.
(T"
"D ^
<a i^
^ «)
310
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
COUNTY ELECTIONS.
In the following pages the results of the various elections, so far as this county
is concerned, are given. It is not to be presumed, however, that majorities given
for candidates for the United States Congress, or for officers of State resulted in
their election. The vote received in this county alone is only given, to learn who
was elected, reference must be made to the State History.
The county officers elected in 1818, 1820, 1822, and 1824 are named in the
Organic Chapter. The election returns, with the names of candidates before the
people of this county for the honor of office, are given from 1825 to the present time.
1825.
Congress, 1825. — Christian Clemens, 52; James
Connor, 44; John Stockton, 63; Joseph Miller,
57. These returns were certified to by Chris-
tian Clemens, Chief Justice of the County of
Macomb ; Elisha Harrington, Associate Justice of
Macomb ; Thomas Ashley and Nathaniel Squiers,
Commissioners ; and William Meldrum, Sheriff.
Coiintv commissioners, 1825.— John S. Axford,
30; Ezekiel Allen, 29; Joseph Hayes, 29.
Treasurer, 1825. — William M. Dannell, 10;
Christian Clemens, 12.
Coroner, 1823. — Harvey Cook, 22.
Constables, 1825. — Daniel B. Webster. 24 ; Isaac
Andrus, 27 ; Gideon Gates, 6.
1826.
County commissioners, i?i2(y. — Alexander Tackles
d, 50; Calvin Davis w, 14.
1827.
Congress, 1827. — Ray Township : John Biddle,
18 ; Austin E. Wing, 2 ; Benj. N. Truman, i. Clin-
ton Township : John Biddle, 31 ; Austin Wing, 6 ;
Gabriel Richard, 7. Shelby Township : John Bid-
dle, 15; Austin Wing, 26. Harrison Township:
Gabriel Richard, 21 ; John Biddle, 9 ; Austin
Wing, 45. Washington Township: John Biddle,
34 ; Austin E. Wing, 24.
Member Legislative council, 1827. — Clinton :
John Stockton d., 40; Wm. A.Burt w., 2; John
K. Smith, I ; Shell)y : Joiin Stockton d., 15 ; Wm.
A. Burt w, 17. Ray: Wm. A. Burt w, 16; John
Stockton d, 9. Washington: Wm. A. Burt w, 40;
John Stockton d, 30. Harrison : John Stockton,
45. John Stockton received 139, and Wm. A.Burt
75 voles.
1829.
Congress, :829. — Harrison : Gabriel Richard, 89 ;
John Biddle, 31 ; John R. Williams, 3. Wash-
ington: Gabriel Richard, la; John R. Williams, i;
Christopher Arnold, i ; John Biddle, i. Clinton :
John Biddle, 19; Gabriel Richard, 5; John R.
Williams, i. Shelby : John Biddle, 37 ; Gabriel
Richard, g. Ray : John Biddle, 35.
Monber Legislative council, 1829. — Harrison :
John Stockton, no; Wm. A. Burt, 13. Clinton:
John Stockton, 14 ; Wm. A. Burt, 12. Shelby: John
Stockton, 32 ; Wm. A. Burt w, 12. Washington:
Wm. A. Burt, 73 ; John Stockton, 51. Desmond,
St. Clair, Cottrellville: John Stockton, 83; Wm
A. Burt, 97. Ray: Wm.A. Burt w, 29; John Stock-
ton d, 5.
County coroner, 1829. — Harvey Cook, Harrison,
32; Washington, 84 ; Clinton, 44 ; Ray, 29 ; Shel-
by, 2.
County Treasurer, 1829. — Harrison : Ezekiel Al-
len, 34; John S. Axford, 4. Washington : Ezekiel
Allen, 18 ; John S. Axford, 83. Clinton; John S.
Axford, 25 ; Ezekiel Allen, 39. Ray : Ezekiel Al-
len. 4 ; John S. Axford, 26. Shelby, John S. Ax-
ford, 23 ; Ezekiel Alien, 8. After the election of
1 829, Mr. Burt became a Democrat, and observed
the principles of that party until his death in 1858.
1831.
Congress, 1831. — Clinton : John R. Williams, 40;
Sam. W. Dexter, 27 ; Austin E. Wing, 44. Ray :
Austin E. Wing, i ; John F. Williams, 5 ; Sam. W.
Dexter, 31. Washington: Sam. W, Dexter, 100;
Austin E. Wing, 36 ; John R. Williams, 22. Harri-
son : John R. Williams, 69 ; Austin E. Wing, 57 ;
Sam W. Dexter, 3. .Siielby : Sam. W. Dexter, 49 ;
Austin E. Wing, 16; John R. Williams, 5.
Member Legislative council, 1831. — St. Clair:
John Stockton, 91 ; Alfred Ashley, 89. Washington:
Alfred Ashley, 122 ; John Stockton, 40. Clinton :
<y
V?"
75)
S)
HISTORY OP MACOMB COUNTY.
311
John Stockton, 54; Alfred Ashley, 57. Ray: Al-
fred Ashley, 41 ; John Stockton, 25. Harrison :
Alfred Ashley, 16; John Stockton, 121. Shelby:
Alfred Ashley, 49 ; John Stockton, 36.
1832.
Vofe on expediency of State Govertttnent, October
22, 1832. — Ray Township 33 yes, 2 no; Shelby
Township 43 yes, 27 no ; Harrison Township i yes,
60 no ; Washington Township 45 yes, 9 no.
Count)! Treasurer 1832. — Shelby : Hiram Calkins
49 ; Ezra B. Throop, ig. Ray : Ezra B. Throop, o ;
Hiram Calkins, 46. Harrison : Hiram Calkins, i ;
Ezra B. Throop. 76. Washington : Ezra B. Throop,
19; Hiram Calkins, 99.
Coroner, 1832. — Shelby : Anthony King, 28 ; Ray :
46; Harrison : 12 ; Washington : 43.
1833.
Congress, 1833. — Austin E. Wing, 36 ; Wm. Wood-
bridge, 220 ; Lucius Lyon, 259.
Members Legislative council, 1833. — Ralph Wad-
hams d, 249 ; John Stockton d, 402.
1835.
Treasurer. — H. H. Cady d., 499 ; Syl. T. At-
wood w., 278.
Coroner. — Harvey Cook d., 497 ; Lyman T. Jenny,
260.
Registrar. — John Stockton d., 487 ; Richard But-
ler w, 271 ; Rodney O'Cooley, 12.
1836.
Probate Judge. — Prescott B. Thurston w, 288 ;
Christian Clemens d, 146 ; Calvin Davis d, 20 r.
Associate Judges. — Ebenezer Hall w, 164 ; Samuel
S. Axford d, 550 ; Horace Stevens d, 487 ; Minot T.
Lane, 78.
Sheriff. — Abram Freeland d, 507 ; Daniel Chand-
ler w, 109 ; Orison Sheldon w, 18.
County clerk. — Amos Dolby d, 447 ; Aaron
Weeks w, 20; Prescott B. Thurston w, 119 ; Benj.
M. Freeland d, 2.
Registrar. — Amos Dolby d, 245 ; James Brown
w, 107 ; G. W. Knapt d, 205 ; Gideon Gates w, 92 ;
Prescott B. Thurston w, g: Richard Butler w, I.
Treasurer. — Rodney O. Cooley d, 516; Wm. A.
Burt d, 5 ; Aaron Weeks w, 102.
Coroners. — William Olds d, 635 ; Harry B. Teed
d. 337 ; Benj. N. Freeman w, 79 ; Norman Perry w,
168.
County surveyors. — Joel W. Manly d, 436 ; Wm.
A. Burt d, 192,
Presidential Electors. — David C. McKinstry, 3g7 ;
Daniel Le Roy, ; Wm. H. Hoag, ; Wol-
cott Lawrence, 44; William Draper ; Wm. H.
Walsh, .
Senators. -]z.co\i Summers d, 536 ; William Draper,
w, 8g ; Thomas J. Drake w, 35 ; Randolph Manning
d, 414 ; John Clarke d, 408.
Representatives. — Isaac Munfore d, 67g ; Tinus
S. Gilbert w, 238 ; William Canfield d, 134 ; Ephraim
Calkins d, 547 ; Alfred Goodell d, 288.
1837-
Governor, 1837. — Charles C. Trowbridge w, 633 ;
Stevens T. Mason d, 426; Ed. D. Ellis — , 88.
Lieutenant-Governor., 1837. — Daniel S. Bacon w,
607; Edward Mundy d, 421 ; John Biddle w, 138.
Senators, 1837. — S. V. R. Trowbridge w, 617;
Thomas J. Drake w, 62g ; Elijkh F. Cook d, 46g ;
John Barton d, 463.
Representatipes, 1837. — Richard Butler w, 616
Orison Sheldon w, 608 ; Caleb Wilber w, loi
Minot T. Lane w, 602; Robert P. Eldredge d,488
Ephraim Calkins d, 371 ; Alfred Goodell d, 472
Isaac J. Grovier d, 47 ; Calvin Davis d, 3g ; Alex-
ander Tackles d, 42.
Congress, 1837. — Isaac E. Crary d, 265 ; Heze-
kiah G. Wells w, 275.
1838.
Congress., 1838. — Isaac E. Crary d, 704; Heze-
kiah G. Wells w, 610.
State senators, 1838. — Jacob Summers d, 677 ;
Ebenezer B. Harrington d, 671 ; Reuben R. Smith
w, 611 ; Ira Porter w, 623.
Representatives, 1838. — Isaac J. Grovier d, 6g3 ;
Samuel Axford d, 661 ; Alexander Tackles d, 678 ;
Richard Butler w, 565 ; Henry R. Schetterly d, 5go ;
Ornon Archer w, 536 ; Minot T. Lane w, 45 ; Hiram
Sherman w. 3 ; James L. Conger w, 25.
Sheriff, 1838. — Calvin Davis d, 706; Orson Shel-
don w, 5g5 ; Henry M. Dodge d, i.
County commissioners, 1838. — Sanford H. Corbin
d, 6g2 ; Ephraim Calkins d, 720 ; Solomon Porter
d, 673 ; Ebenezer Hall w, 582 ; Payne K. Leech w,
611; Azariah W. Sterling w, 613; Capt. Bachelor,
I ; Richard Butler, i.
Registrar of Deeds, 1838. — Thomas R. Bourne w,
585 ; Amos Dalby d, 7ig.
County clerk., 1838. — Amos Dalby d, 745 ; Calvin
S. Williams w, 557.
Coroners, 1838. — William Lewis d, 6g6 ; Alfred
ilk
<2 4^
312
:±=lt^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Goodell d, 689 ; Isaac Russ w, 59S ; Linus S. Gil-
bert w, 601 ; Ebenezer Hall, i.
County surveyor, 183S. — Joel W. Manley d, 7S5 ;
Orrin Southwell, 4S0.
Cotmty Treastiret, Henry M. Dodge d, 689 ; Nor-
man Perry w, 610.
1839.
Governor, 1839. — William Woodbridge w, 807 ;
Elon Farnsworth d, 786,
Lieutenant-Governor, 1839. — James W. Gordon w,
807; Thomas Fitzgerald d, 783.
Senator, 1839. — Robert P. Eldredge d, 819; Jus-
tin Rice w, 735.
Representatives, 1839, — Dewitt C. Walker d, 797 ;
Samuel Axford d, 792 ; John Stockton d, 789 ;
Azariah W. Sterling w, 762 ; Hiram Andrews w,
761 ; James L. Conger w, 723 ; Alexander D.
Thurston d, i ; Dexter Mussey w, l ; P. B. Thurs-
ton w, I ; Richard Butler w, 2 ; Ebenezer Hall w,
2; Dr. E. Hall w, i.
County commissiotiers, 1839. — Ephraim Calkins
d, 808 ; Payne K. Leach w, 718 ; R. Butler, i.
Constitutional Amendment, 1839. — For amend-
ment, 266 ; against amendment, 453.
Court-House Loan, 1839. — For the loan, 242;
against the loan, 1,024.
1840.
Presidential Electors, 1840. — Charles Moran d,
Kinsley S. Bingham d, Charles E. Stuart d, II24;
Thomas J. Drake w, John Van Fo^sen w, Hezekiah
G. Wells w, 982. â–
Cons;ress, 1840. — Alpheus Felch d, 1139; Jacob
M. Howard w, 973; Asa Ayers w, i ; Richard But-
ler w, I ; Gardner D. Williams w, i.
Senator, 1840. — James L. Conger w, 985 ; Dewitt
C. Walker w, 1121.
Representatives, 1840. — John Stockton d, 1 156;
Gurden C. Leech d, 1122 ; Josiah Lee d, 1128;
Wm. Henry Warren w, 947 ; Hiram Andrews w,
973 ; Minot T. Lane w, 971.
Sheriff, 1840. — Lyman B. Price d, 1137; Azariah
W. Sterling w. 975.
ytut\'e of Probate, 1840. — Peter S. Palmer d,
1 128 ; Prescott B. Thurston w, 982.
Treasurer, 1840. — Henry M. Dodge d, 1150;
Joseph Hubbard w, 963.
County clerk, 1840. — Orson Sheldon w, 943; Amos
Dalby d, 1 163.
County Registrar, 1840. — Orson Sheldon w, 942 ;
Amos Dalby d, I162.
Coit7tty yudges, 1840. — Azariah Prentis d, 1114;
Hiron Hathaway d, 1139; Ebenezer Hall w, 974 ;
Justin H. Butler w, 974.
Coroners, 1840. — Daniel Shattuck d, 1 140; Masin
Harris d, 1137; Solomon Lathrop w, 975; Valorous
Maynard w, 972.
Surveyors, 1840. — Joel W. Manley d, I168; Joseph
Cole, 940.
County commissioners. — Neil Gray d, 1126; Wm,
M. WiUey, 976.
1S41.
Governor, 1841. — John S. Barry d, 1033 ; Philo
C. Fuller w, 660; Jabez S. Fitch, 7.
Lieutenant-Governor , 1840. — Origen D. Richard-
son d, 1030; Edmund B. Bostwick w, 661,
Senators, 1841. — Jonathan Shearer d, 1012 ; Ly-
man Granger d, 1014 ; Joshiah Snow w, 678 ; Syl-
vester Warner w, 663.
Representatives, 1841. — Charles B. H. Fessenden
d, 994; Hiron Hathaway d, 982; Richard Butler
w, 705 ; Geo. Perkins w, 640.
County commissioners, 1841. — Henry Teats d,
1027 ; Alfred Ashley w, 625.
Judge of Probate, 1841. to fill Vacancy. — Pres-
cott B. Thurston w, 425; Porter Kibbee d, 437;
Charles B. H. Fessenden d, 237.
1842.
Senators, 1842. — Jonathan Shearer d, 809 ; Neil
Gray, Sr., d, 775 ; John Biddle w, 635 ; Minot T.
Lane w, 658 ; Harvey S. Bradley w, 46 ; Neil
Gray, 40.
Representatives, 1842. — Samuel Axford d, S46 ;
Horace H. Cady d, 797 ; Richard Butler w, 692 ;
Solomon Lathrop w, 605 ; Linus F. Gilbert f s, 33 ;
Chauncey Church f s, 40.
Sheriff, 1842. — Amos B. Cooley d, 816; Joseph
Hubbard w, 597 ; Thomas L. Sackett f s, 44,
Treasurer, 1842. — Thomas M. Perry d, 805 ;
Prescott B. Thurston w, 677 ; Humphrey Shaw, 40;
Asa B. Ayres, i.
Registrar of Deeds. 1842. — Amos Dalby d, 954
Almerin Tinker w, 549; Norton L. Miller, 40.
County clerk, 1842. — Amos Dalby d, 975; Norton
S. Miller w, 568.
County Sun'eyor, 1842. — Joel W. Manley d, 946;
Collatinus Day w, 573.
County coroner, 1842. — Josiah Lee d, 891; Daniel
lA
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
313
Shattuck d, 8go ; Benj. T. Castle w. 6io; David
Stone w, 606; John Sowle f s, 34; Samuel H.
Miller f s, 40.
1843.
Governor, 1843. — John S. Barry d, 889; Zina
Pitcher w, 504 ; James G. Birney f s, 72.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1843. — Origen D. Richard-
son d, 872 ; James B. Larne w, 5go ; Luther F.
Stevens, 71.
Congress, 1843. — James B. Hunt d, 893 ; Thomas
J. Drake vf, 487 ; William Canfield f s, 66.
Senators, 1843. — Lorenzo M. Mason d, 839; True
P. Tucker w^, 656.
Con. Representatives, 1843. — Dewitt C. Walker d,
788 ; Philo Tillson d, 869 ; James L. Conger w, 702;
Wm. A. Burt w, 5S7 ; James H. Green 56 ; Chaun-
cey Church, 57.
Constitutional Amendments of 1842 submitted,
1843. — For Amendment, 1069. Against Amend-
ment, 79.
1844-
Presidential Electors, 1844 — Parley J. Spalding d,
Louis Beaufait d, Charles P. Bush d, 1359 ; George
Readfield d, Samuel Axford d, JohnBiddle d, Cogs-
well K. Greene d, James L. Conger d, Morton H.
Beckwith w, Darius C. Jackson w, 964; Arthur L.
Porter f s. Chandler Carter f s, John W. King f s,
Erastus Hussey f s, Chester Gurney f s 140.
Congress, 1844 — James B. Hunt d, 1367 ; George
W. Wisner w, 977 ; William Canfield a, 116.
Senators, 1844 — Abner C. Smith d, 1313 ; William
Hale d, 1362 ; Richard Butler w, 1013 ; Henry B.
Holbrook w, 964; James H. Green a, 114; Rufus
Thayer, Jr. a, 118.
Constitutional Amendments submitted to the people
1844 — For amendments, 1257 ; against, 143.
Representatives, 1844 — Harlehigh Carter d, 1254 ;
Calvin Davis d, 1348 ; Henry D. Terry w, 1025 ;
Dexter Mussey w, looi ; Pliny Corbin f w s, 108 ;
Chauncy Church f w s. 113 ; Charles Cliappel, 6.
County sksriff, 1844 — John G. Dixon d, 1383 ;
Payne K. Leach w, 948 ; James H. Rose a, 121.
County clerk, 1844 — Amos Dalby d, 1390 ;
Norton L. Miller w, 943 ; Carlton Sabin a, 116.
Registrar of Deeds 1844 — Henry Teats d, 1376 ,
Norton L. Miller w, 951 ; Carlton Sabin a, 116.
County Treasurer, 1844 — Thomas M. Perry d,
1374 ; Eiias Scott vv, 962 : Humphrey Shaw a, 120.
Judoe of Probate, 1844 — Porter Kibbee d, 1359;
John J. Leonard w, 953 ; Humphrey Shaw a, 1 17.
Associate yudges, 1844 — Alexander Tackles d,
1361 ; Jacob Summers d, 1331 ; Hiram Andrews w,
967 ; Solomon Lathrop w, 967 ; James McKay a,
117 ; Hiram Granger a, 120.
Coroners, 1844 — Abram Freeland d, 1334 ; William
T. Little d, 1375 ; Linus S. Gilbert w, 967 ; William
Stevens \v, 963; John Soules a, 117; Jeremiah
Sabin a, 118.
County surveyor, 1 844 — Charles F. Mallary d,
1305 ; Collatinus Day w, 916 ; Joel W. Manley 223.
1845.
Governor, 1845 — Alpheus Felch d, 788 ; Stephen
Vickory w, 559 ; James G. Berney a, 136.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1845 — William L. Greenly
'^. 7S7 ; John M. Lamb w, 560 ; Nathan M. Thomas
a, 133-
Seriators, 1845 — Oel Rix d, 807 ; Morgan Bates w,
551 ; William Canfield a, 120.
Representatives, 1845 — Dewitt C. Walker d, 709 ;
Chauncey G. Cady d. 674 ; Payne K. Leach, jr. w,
696 ; Linus S. Gilbert w, 607 ; Humphrey Shaw w,
no ; William A. Chapman, 221.
Messrs. Cady and Gilbert were declared elected ;
but lost such seats on account of the Committee on
Elections deciding that the votes given for C. G.
Cady could not be counted for Chauncey G. Cady.
1846.
Congress, 1846 — Kingsley S. Bingham d, 877 ;
George W. Wisner w. 708 , William Canfield a, 126.
Senators, 1846 — Robert P. Eldridge d, 754;
Andrew T. McReynolds, d, 732 ; Andrew T.
McReynolds d, 58; John E. Schwartz w, 613 ; John
E Schwartz d, 149 ; Jacob M. Howard w, 691 ; Eben
J. Perrinman, 687 ; Linus S. Gilbert, 651 ; Silas M.
Holmes, 123; Wm. S. Gregory, 118; Jeremiah
Sabin, 120.
Representatives, 1846 — Jacob Shooke d, 900 ;
Lyman B. Price d, 837 ; Alfred Goodell d, 764 ;
Hiram Sherman w, 697 ; George W. Merrill w, 711 ;
Giles Hubbard w, 730; Robert McKay a, 126;
Daniel Chandler a, 116 ; Nathaniel Carter a, 122.
County sheriff', 1846. — John G. Dixon d, 757;
Varnum Luflvin w, 810; Humphrey Shaw a, III.
County clerk, 1846. — Thomas J. Rutter d, 737;
Robert Thompson w, 838, James Vaughn a, 114.
County Treasurer, 1846. — Thomas AL Perry d.
(s
® &^
314
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
825; Norman Perry w, 746; John R. Tyson a, 117;
Seath Brannock, i.
Registrar of Deeds, 1846. — Henry Teats d, 840.
Grin Freeman w, 721; Mason Cole a, 108.
Judge of county court, 1846. — Robert P. El-
dredge d, 720, John J. Leonard w, 777; William
Canfield a, 120.
Second Judge Co. court, 1846, — Charles Marble
Jr. d, 848; Isaac B. Gilbert w, 705;'Pliny Corbin a,
119; Charles Marble d, 27.
County coroners, 1846. — Asa R. Mosher d, 823;
Geo. W. Corey d, 872; Thomas F. Dryer w, 705;
Asa. M. Harris w, 699; Daniel Flagler w, 119;
Joseph T. Foster a, 119.
County surveyor, 1846. — Charles F. Mallory d,
765; Joel W. Man ley d, 225; Ludwig Wessalouski
w, 2; Orson Inglesbee w, 544.
1847.
Governor^ 1847. — James M. Edmunds w, 670;
Epaphroditus Ransom d, 972; Chester Gurney a,
39-
Liejitenant-Governor 1847. — Hiram L. Miller w,
677; William M. Fenton d, 967; Horace Hallock a,
39-
Senators, 1847. — Eber. Ward w, 675; Jacob M.
Howard w, 679; Geo. R. Griswold d, 971; Charles
A. Loomis d, 970; William Gregory a, 23; Jeremiah
Sabin a, 24.
Representatives, 1847. — Henry D. Terry vv, 846
Geo. W. Merrill w, 684; Hiram Sherman w, 680
John B. St. John d, 982; Minot T. Lane d, 910
Aldis L. Rich d, 787.
1848.
Presidential Electors, 1848. — John S. Barry d, 1340;
Lorenzo. M. Mason d, 1340; Rix Robinson d, 1340;
Horace C. Thirbur d, 1340; William T. Howell d,
1340. Jacob M. Howard w, 855; Ilezekiah G.
Wells vv. 855; Henry Waldron w, 855; Henry B.
Lathrop \v, 855; Hiram L. Miller w, 855. F. J.
Littlejohn 204; James F. Joy 204; I. P. Christiancy
204; S. B, Treadwell 204; Wm. Gilmour 204.
Congress, 1848. — Kinsley S. Bingham d, 1237,
Geo. H. Hazleton \v, 8gi; John M. Lamb a, 158.
Senators, 1848. — Titus Dort d, 1328; Jacob Sum-
mers d, 1276; William Woodbridge w, 1080; Wm.
M. Campbell w, 1068.
Representatives, 1848. — Israel Curtiss d, 1329;
Chauncey G. Cady d, 1326; James Flower d, 1249;
Giles Hubbard w, 973; Albert E. Leete w, 909;
Alvin L. Gilbert w, 897; Joseph Ayres a, 177;
Dan'l Chandler a, 177; Jeremiah Sabin a, 169.
Judge 0/ Probate, 1848. — Lyman B. Price d,
1 184; Prescott B. Thurston w, 1188.
County sheriff, 1848. — Milo Selleck d, I137;
Varnum Luf kin w, 1004 ; W. R. Blakeman, 214.
County clerk, 1848. — Ira Stout d, 1350; Orin
Freeman w, 876; Harlow Green a, 175.
County Treasurer, 1848. — Allen P. Bentley d,
1294; Robert Thompson w, 934 ; James Alexander
a, 173-
Registrar of Deeds, 1848. — Richard Butler vv,
940; Robert H. Wallace d, 1258; Joseph D. Gilbert
1S7.
Associate Judges, 1848. — Alfred Ashley w, 702 ;
Hiram Andrews \v, 704.
Countv coroners, 1848. — Abraham Freeland d,
1154; Moses T. Smith d, 1146; Elon Andrus w,
815; Aratus Smith w, 799.
County surveyor, 1848. — Charles F. Mallary d,
1 164; Justus R. Crandall w, 783; Joel W. Manley a,
183.
1849.
Governor, 18 19.— John S. Barry d,^ii76 ; Flavius
J. Littlejohn, 748.
Lieutenant-Goverjior, 1849. — William M. Fenton
d, 1 177; George A. Coe, 773.
.S'/rt/t' /'n«/(';-, 1849.— Rensselaer Ingals, 1175;
Hubbard H. Duncklee, 765.
Senators, 1849.— Joseph T. Copeland d, I161 :
Andrew Harvie d, 1175; Daniel Pittman w, 765 ;
True P. Tucker w, 751.
Representatives, 1849.— John Stockton d, 1098;
Ilarlehigh Carter d, 997; Cortez P. Hooker d,
1 172; Richard Butler w, 689; Chauncey Church w,
751 ; Alvin L. Gilbert w, 778.
Constitutional Amendment submitted to the Peo-
ple, 1849. — For the Amendment, 1311; against the
Amendment, 11.
Vote on calling a convention to make a general
revision of the constitution, 1849. — For the Conven-
tion, 1106; against, 126.
1850.
Delegates to convention, June 1850. — Dewitt C.
Walker d, 692 ; Charles W. Chappel d, 663 ; An-
drew S. Robertson d, 669; Hiron Hathaway d,
696 ; Payne K. Leach w, 442 ; Alonzo A. Goodman
w, 437; Alvin L.Gilbert w, 427 ; Dexter Mussey
w, 442.
@ w_
^ ©
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUJ^TY.
315
yudges of the supreme court, 1850. — Warner
Wing d, 1315 ; Sandford M. Green d, 1301 ; Abner
Pratt d, 1300 ; Henry Chipman w, 868 ; Samuel H.
Kimball w, 85S ; Charles Draper w, 860.
Auditor General, 1850. — John Swegles, Jr. d,
1315 ; Elisha P. Chapman w, 836 ; S. J. M. Ham-
mond a, 23.
State Treasurer, 1S50. — Bernard C. Whittemore
d, 1315 ; James Birdsall w, 836; Delemer Duncan
pro, 22.
Secretary of state, 1850. — Charles H. Taylor d,
1314 ; George Martin w, 837; Joseph Chudsey a,
24.
Attorney General, 1850. — William Hale d, 1319 ;
Austin Blair w, 856.
Superintendent Public Instruction, 1S50. — Francis
W. Shearman d, 1319 ; Samuel Barston \v, 839;
Dewitt C. Leech a, 22.
Senators, 1850. — Titus Dort d, 1307; Henry C.
Kibbee d, 1202; Payne K. Leach w, 915; F. Liv-
ingstone w, 848.
Congress, 1850. — James L. Conger w, 1119 ;
Charles C. Hascall d, 944 ; Kingsley S. Bingham a,
10.
Representatives, 1850. — David Shook d, 1192 ;
George Chandler d, 1302 ; Sanford H. Corbin d,
I192; Alonzo A. Goodman \v, 944; H. Burke vv,
858 : Aratus Smith w, 929.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1850. — Dewitt C. Walker
d, 1018 ; Giles Hubbard w, 1118.
County Judge, 1850.— Abner C. Smith d, 1 138 ;
John J. Leonard w, 997.
Second county Judge, 1S50. — Samuel P. Canfield
d, 1252 ; Hiram Andrus wr, 889.
County sheriff, 1850. — Walter Porter d 1242;
John H. Kaple vv, 904.
County clerk, 1850. — Theron Cudworth d, 1246 ;
E. L. Freeman w. 874.
Registrar of Deeds, 1850. — Robert H. Wallace d,
1263 ; Charles A. Lathrop w, 895.
County Treasurer, 1850. — Allen P. Bentley d,
1251 ; Justus R. Crandrall w, 889.
County surveyor, 1850. — Harvey Mellen d, 998 ;
Ludwig Wesolouski vv, 1161.
County coroners, 1850. — Ira Spencer d, 1207;
David H. Brown d, 1252 ; William A. Edwards w,
904 ; Orson Ingoldsby w, 901.
Constitutional Amendments, 1850. — For the
Amendments, 1294 ; against, 582.
Suffrage to colored Persons, 1850. — For suffrage,
448 ; against, 1375.
1851.
Governor, 1851. — Robert McClellan d, 776 ;
Townsend E. Gridley w, 386.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1851. — Calvin Britain d,
774 ; George H. Hazleton w, 387 ; Gabriel Yates
— 2.
Circuit Judge, 1851. — Joseph T. Copeland d,
1244 ; Moses Wisner w, 923 ; Origin D, Richardson
d, 10.
Regent of the University, 1851. — Charles H,
Palmer d, 1413 ; Marcus H. Miles w, 756.
1852.
Presidential Electors, 1S52. — John S. Barry d,
1634; Wm. McCauley d, 1635; John Stockton d,
1633 ; Daniel I. Campau d, 1834 ; Salmon Sharpe d,
1096 ; Abraham Edwards d, 1634 ; John Owens w,
1058 ; George A. Coe w, 1059 ; Townsend E. Grid-
ley d, 1060 ; Daniel S. Bacon w, 1059 I Alex. H.
Morrison w, 1060; Wm. M. Thompson w, 1060;
Chester Gurney a, 509 ; Horace Hallock a, 509 ;
S. B. Treadwell a, 509 ; Robert R. Beecher a, 509 ;
Nathan M. Thomas a, 1509 ; Dewitt C. Leach a,
509-
Congress, 1852. — Hester L.Stevens d, 1631 ; Geo.
Bradley w, 1124 ; Ephraim Calkins a, 424.
Senator, 1852. — John S. Smith d, 1590 ; Ira H;
Butterfield w, 1176 ; Levi W. Stone a, 412.
Governor, 1852. — Robert McClellan d, 1648;
Zachariah Chandler w, 1 100 ; Isaac P. Christiancy
a, 449.
Lieutenant-Governor , 1852. — Andrew Parsons d,
1665 ; David S. Walbridge w, 918 ; Erastus Hussey
a, 474.
Secretary of state, 1852. — William Graves d,
1656 ; Geo. E. Pomeroy w, 1069 ; Francis Denison
a, 479.
Auditor General, 1852. — John Swegles d, 1653 .
Whitney Jones w, 1071 ; William Wheeler a, 419.
State d^easurer, 1852. — Bernard C. Whittemore
d, 1657 ; Sylvester Abel w, 1066 ; Silas M. Holmes
a, 478.
Attorney General, 1852. — William Hale d, 1651 ;
Nathaniel Bacon w, 1073 ; Hovey K. Clark a, 477.
Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1852. —
Francis W. Shearman d, 1654 ; Joseph Penney w,
1066 ; Upton T. Howe a, 482.
Commissioner state Land Office, 1852. — Porter
(T
1^
^ s
316
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Kibbee d, 1677; Jonathan R. White w, 1033;
Nathan Power a, 482.
State Board of Education, 1852. — Isaac E. Crary,
d, 1522 ; Gideon O. Whittemore d, 1520 ; Chauncy
Joslyn d, 1522 ; Joseph R. Williams w, 965 ; Syl-
vester Lamed w, 965 ; George Spencer, 79 ; James
A. B. Stone, 441 ; Edwin B. Fairfield, 440 ; Enoch
M. Bartlett, 441 ; Grove Spencer w, 884.
Representatives, 1852. — Samuel P. Can field d,
558 ; William Jenny w, 526 ; Arnold Hardwood w,
I ; Oliver Adams w, 500 ; Arnold Hardwood w,
199 ; \Villiam Jenny w, 14 ; L. I. Wicker a, 217 ;
Wm. A. Burt d, 504 ; Hiram Calkin w, 281.
yudge of Probate, 1852.- — Harlehigh Carter d,
1368 ; Prescott B. Thurston w, 1459 ; Robert Mc-
Kay fs, 345.
Circuit court conimissioners, 1852. — Andrew S.
Robertson d, 1645'; Prescott B. Thurston w, 1266.
County sheriff — Thomas Goldy d, 1518; Tru-
man R. Andrews w, 1162; James Alexander a, 437.
County clerk, 1852. — John S. Fletcher d, 1654 ;
Charles Andrews w, 1058 ; Carlton Sabin a, 428.
Prosecuting^ Attorney, 1852. — Abner C. Smith d,
1434 : Giles Hubbard w, 1442.
Registrar of Deeds, 1852. — John T. Traver d,
1517; Robert Thompson w, 1214; Henry C. Ed-
gerly a, 440.
County Treasurer, 1S52. — Joshua B. Dickenson
d, 1660 ; Justus R. Crandall w, 1034 ; David
Chandler a, 481.
County surveyor, 1852. — George E. Adair d,
1446; Ludwig Wesalouski w, 1253 ; Austin Burt a.
467.
County coroners. — Abraham Freeland d, 1624 ;
David H. Brown d, 1635 ; Jacob P. Davis w, 1056 ;
Lewis Drake w, 1054 ; Herman Palmerlee a, 469 ;
Ed. I. Wooley a, 468.
1854.
Governor, 1854, — John S. Barry d, 1509; Kings-
ley S. Bingham r, 1349.
Lieutenant-Governor 1S54. — William A. Rich-
mond d, 1500; Geo. A. Coe r, 1328.
Secretary of state, 1S54. — William L. I.ancroft d,
1500; John McKenny r, 1363.
Audito! General^ 1854. — John Swegles d, 1499;
Whitney Jones r, 1365.
State I'reasurer, 1854. — Derastus Hinman d,i496;
Silas M. Holmes r, 1368.
Attorney General, 1854. — Benj. T. H. Witheral d,
1479; Jacob M. Howard r, 1362.
Sup. PuIk Instruction, 1854. — Francis W. Shear-
man d, 1497 ; Ira Mahew r, 1360.
Commissioner state Lands, 1854. — Allen Good-
rich d, 1501 ; S. B. Treadwell r, 1364.
State Board of Edtication, 1854. — Chauncey Jos-
lyn d, 1499; John R. Kellogg r, 1366; Elijah H.
Belcher d, 1498 ; Hiram L. Miller r, 1367.
Congress, 1854. — Geo. ^V. Peck d, 1495 ; Moses
Wisner r, 1372.
Senator, 1854. — Cortez P. Hooker d, 1429; Wm.
Canfield r, 1416.
Representatives, 1854. — Hiron Hathaway d, 628 ;
Isaac Gilbert r, 439 ; John L. Beebe r, 12 ; Philander
Ewell d, 512 ; John L. Bebee r, 309; Hiron Hath-
away d, 13; Wm. A. Burt d, 324; Dexter Mussey
r, 608.
Circuit court commissioners, 1854. — Abner C.
Smith d, 1595 ; Prescott B. Thuiston w, 1448.
Sheriff, 1S54. — Thomas Colby d, 1472; Elisha
Calkins r, 1347.
County clerk, 1854. — Perrin Crawford d, 1534;
Alvin L. Gilbert r, 1324.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1854. — Harlehigh Carter d,
1301 ; Giles Hubbard r, 1492.
Registrar of Deeds, 1854. —John Traver d, 1524;
John D. Standish r, 131 1.
County Treasurer, 1S54. — Joshua B. Dickinson d,
1487; Thomas L. Sackett r, 1344.
County surveyor, 1854. — George E. Adair d
1492; Austin Burt r, 1363.
County coroners, 1854. — Israel Curtiss d, 1492;
D. H. Brown d, 1499; Herman Palmerlee r, 1367;
Andred I. Heath r, 1368.
1856.
Presidential Electors. 1856. — Michael Shoemaker,
d, 1,845 ; Jonathan P. King d, 1,846 ; Robert Crouse
d, 1,846 ; David A. Noble d, 1,846; John C. Blan-
chard d, 1,846 ; Dewitt C. Walker d, 1,844; F. C.
Beanian r, 2,210; Harmon Ciiamberlain r, 2,2io ;
Chauncy II. Miller r, 2,210; Oliver Johnson r,
2.210; William H. Withey r, 2,210; William J.
Drake r, 2,210; Rodney C. Paine, 30; Peter R.
Adams, 30; H. W. Wells, 30; John V. Lyons, 30 ;
Geo. W. Perkins, 30; Abram B. Covell.
Congress, 1856. — Dewitt C. Leech r, 2,217 ; Geo.
W. Peck d, 1861.
Representatives, 1856. — Thomas M. Crocker d.
« k.
-4 S)
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
317
667; Alonzo A. Goodman r, S27 ; William Brow-
nell d, 610 ; Geo. Moorhouse r, 590 ; Dexter Mus-
sey r. 866 ; Dewitt C. Walker d, 4S2.
Governor, 1856. — Kingsley S. Bingham r, 2,205 -
Alpheus Felch d, 1,872.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1856 — Geo. A. Coe r, 2,217;
Edwin H. Lathrop d, 1,867.
Secretary oj state, 1856 — John McKenny r, 2,-
217; F. H.Stevens d, 1867.
Auditor General, 1S56. — David B. Dennis d,
1,867; Whitney Jones r, 2,215.
State Treasurer, 1856. — Robert W. Davis d, 1,867;
S. M. Holmes r, 2,215.
Attorney General, \Z^b. — Amos Gould d, 1,864;
Jacob M. Howard r, 2,215.
Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1856. — F.
W. Shearman d, 1,864 ; Ira W. Mayhew r, 2,218.
Commissioner state Land Office, 1856. — Allen
Goodrich d, 1,868 ; S. B. Treadwell" r, 2,213.
AI ember state Boa7-d of Education, 1856. — Daniel
Blackman d, 1,862 ; George Willard r, 2,213.
Senator, 1856. — William Canfield r, 2,293 ; Alon-
zo M. Keeler d, 1,761.
Circuit court cormnissioners, 1856. — Harlehigh
Carter d, 1,780; Eliaha F. Mead r, 2,281.
Sheriff, 1856.— Robert S. Campbell d, 1870;
Charles G. Lamb r, 2,202.
County clerk, 1856. — Julius Rottman d, 1,848;
John B. Ellsworth r, 2,221.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1856. — Andrew S. Robert-
son d, 1,891 ; Richard Butler r, 2,i6S.
Registrar of Deeds, 1856. — Sanford M. Stone d,
1869; Norton L. Miller r, 2,208.
Judge of P)ohate, 1856.— PhiloTillson d, 1,789;
Prescott B. Thurston r, 2,268.
County Treasurer, 1S56. — Robert Teats d, 1,862;
Charles B. Matthews r, 2,214.
County surveyor, 1856. — Ludvvig Wesalouski d,
1,988 ; Addison P. Brewer r, 2,192.
County coroners, 1856. — Henry O. Taylor d,
1,871 ; John Milton d, 1,869 ; Chauncey G. Cady r,
2,206; Herman Palmerlee r, 2,200.
1857-
Chief Justice supreme court, 1857. — George
Martin r, 1,291; Samuel T. Douglass d, 1,169.
Associate Justices, 1857. — Isaac P. Christiancy r,
1,292 ; James V. Campbell r, 1,292 ; Randolph
Manning r, 1,296 ; Warner Wing d, 1,169 ; Abner
Pratt d, 1,152 ; David Johnson d, 1,154-
Circuit Judge, 1857. — Sanford M. Green r, 2,410;
Harlehigh Carter d, i.
Regents 0/ the University, 1857. — Geo. W. Peck
r, 1,287; James B. Eldridge d, 1,176.
1858.
Governor, 1858. — Moses Wisner r, 1,791 ; Charles
E. Stewart d, 1,629.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1858. — Edmund B. Fair-
field r, 1,818 ; Geo. C. Munroe d, 1,622.
Secretary of state, 1858. — Nelson G. Isbell r.
1,807; Jonathan P. King d, 1,625.
Auditor General, 1858. — Daniel L. Case r, 1,809 ;
John J. Adams d, \,bll.
State Treasurer, 1858. — John McKinneyr, 1,812;
Edward Carter d, 1,620.
Attorney General, 1858. — Jacob M. Howard r,
1,809: J.G.Sutherland d, 1,622.
Superintendent Public Instruction, 1858. — John
M. Gregory r, 1,813; Dan. C. Jacokes d, 1,617.
Commissioner state Land Office, 1858. — James W.
Sanborn r, 1,806; John Ball d, 1,622.
Stale Board of Education, 1858. — Wittier J. Bax-
ter r, 1,810; Andrew N. Moore d, 1,622.
Congress, 1858. — Robert W. Davis d, 1,622 ;
DeWitt C. Leach r, 1,811.
Senator, 1858.— William Canfield r, 1,813; Wil-
liam Brownell d, 1,598.
Representatives, 1858. — Robert Thompson r, 734;
Geo. F. Stewart d, 597 ; Henry L. Reeves d, 597 ;
Geo. Bolam r, 428 ; Dexter Mussey r, 687 ; Har-
vey Mellen d, 358.
Circuit court commissioner, 1858. — Elisha F.
Meade r, 1,819; Harlehigh Carter d, 1,590.
County sheriff, 1858. — Charles C. Lamb r, 1,824 J
James P. St. John d, 1,593.
County clerk, 1858, — Henry O. Smith r, 1,820;
John A. Fletcher d, 1,596.
Prosecuting Attorttey, 1858.— Giles Hubbard r,
1,844; Andrew S. Roberts<m d, 1,569.
Registrar of Deeds, 1858. — Norton L. Miller r,
1,867; Jackson Freeman d, 1,554.
County Treasurer, 1858. — Charles B. Matthews r,
1,827; Justin R. Crandall d, 1,593.
County surveyor, 1858. — Addison P. Brewer r,
1,813; John Mellen d, 1,616.
County coroners, 1858. — Aaron B. Rawles r, 1,907 ;
Robert D. Smith r, 1,919; Henry O. Taylor d,
1,623 ; George Chandler d, 1,618.
l9
â– ^
« k.
-6)
318
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
1859.
Chief Justice superior court, 1859. — George
Martin r, 1,932; Alpheus Felch d, 1,671.
i860.
Presidential Electors, i860. — H. G. Wells r, Rufus
Homer, George W. Lee, Ed. Donah, Rhytota Hay-
den, Augustus Coburn, 2,534 ; George W. Peck d,
Charles E. Stewart, Augustus Weideman, Stephen
G. Clerk, P. H. Hodenpyl, Andrew S. Robertson,
2,166 ; Jacob Beeson, Robert P. Eldridge, Barnabas
Case, Peter Morey, 15 ; W.V.Morrison, 11 ; R. W.
Adams, 15; H. P. Bridge, 14; J. R. Jones, 15;
George Warner, 15; Charles E. Niles, 14; John
Cooper, 15 ; Henry H. Treadway, 14.
Congress, i860. — Rowland E.Trowbridge r, 2,537;
Edward H. Thompson d, 2,197.
Governor, i860. — Austin Blair r, 2,523; John S.
Barry d, 2,213.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1S60. — James Birney r,
2,527; William M. Fenton d, 2,212.
y Secretary of state, i860. — James B. Porter, 2,534 ;
William Francis, 2,210.
Auditor General, i860. — Langford G. Berry, 2,535 ;
Henry Penoyer d, 2,209.
State Treasurer, i860. — John Owen r, 2,532 ;
Elon Farnsworth d, 2,207.
Attorney General, i860. — Charles Upton r, 2,532 ;
Chauncey Joslyn d, 1,211.
Superintendent Public Instruction, i860. — John
M. Gregory r, 2,539; Francis W. Shearman d,
2,201.
Commissioner state Land Office, i860. — Samuel S.
Lacey r, 2,533 ; Samuel L. Smith d, 2,210.
Member state Board Education, i86o. — Edwin
Willett r, 2,532; John V. Lyon d, 2,210.
Senator, i860. — Ira H. Butterfieid r, 2,516; Geo.
H. Stuart d, 2,210.
Representatives, i860. — Thomas M. Wilson r,
889 . Joshua B. Dickenson d, 862 ; Payne K. Leach
r, 630; William Brownell d, 820 ; Dexter Mussey
f. 943; Joshua W. Davis d, 559; Charles Mal-
lary, 3.
Sheriff, i860. — Joseph Hubbard r, 2,449; John
L. Benjamin d, 2,274.
County Treasurer, i860. — Edward C. Gallup r,
2.474; Jacob Hitchler d, 2,225.
A'ci^istrar of Deeds, i860. — George W. French r,
2,480; Justus R. Crandall d, 2,225.
County clerk, l36o. — Menry O. Smith r, 2,537;
William H. Clark, Jr. d, 2,200.
Judge of Probate, i860. — Isaac B. Gilbert r,
2,466; John Stockton d, 2,262.
Prosecuting Attorney, i860. — Elisha F. Mead r,
2,544 ; Harlehigh Carter d, 2,169.
Circuit court commissioners, i860. — Samuel S.
Gale r, 2,538 ; Seth K. Schetterly d, 2,205.
County surveyor, i860. — George H. Freeman r,
2,498 ; Milton Nye d, 2,251.
County coroners, i860. — Aaron B. Rawles r, 2,530 ;
Chauncey G. Cady r, 2,530; John B. St. John d,
2,101 ; Joshua B. Dickenson d, 2;205 ; James B St.
John, 106.
State Laws, i860. — To amend banking law, yes,
1,760; to amend banking law, no, 295; legislative
sessions law, yes, 1,607 ! legislative sessions law, no,
421; Sec. 2, Art. 18, con., yes, 1,734; Sec, 2, Art.
18, con., no, 69.
1861.
Associate Justices S. C, 1861. — Randolph Man-
ning r, 1641 ; Charles I. Walker d, iioi.
1862.
Congress, i%t2. — Augustus C. Baldwin d, 1794;
Rowland E. Trowbridge r, 1911.
Governor, 1862. — Austin Blair r, 1903; Byron G.
Stout d, 1906.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1862. — Charles S. May r,
1895; Henry S. Ripley d, 1825.
Secretary of state, 1862. — James B. Porter r, 1893;
Wm. R. Montgomery d, 1924.
Auditor General, 1862. — Emil Anneke r, 1899 ;
Kodsey C. Payne d, 1922.
State Treasurer, 1862. — John Owen r, 18S4 ;
Charles C. Trowbridge tl, 1925.
Attorney General, 1S62. — Albert Williams r, 1895;
John T. Holmes d, 1924.
Commissioner state Land Office, 1862. — Samuel
S. Lacey r, 1908 ; Charles F. Herman d, 1914.
Superintendent Public Instruction, i86a. — John
JM. Gregory r, 1898 ; Thomas H. Sinex d, 1918.
Member state Board Education, 1862. — Edward
Dorsch r, 1896; Daniel E. Brown d, 1923.
Senators, 1862. — Andrew S. Robertson d, 1928 ;
Ira H. Butterfieid r, 1884.
Representatives, 1S62. — James B. Eldredge d, 720;
Geo. B. Van Eps r, 682 ; Charles S. Groesbeck d,
734 ; A. W. Aldrich r, 407 ; Charles F. Mallary r,
S17 ; John H. Brabb d, 417.
«-
(a.
-S
A
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
319
Law and constitutional Amendments, 1S62. —
Banking, Yes, 343 — ^No, 10; Removals from Office,
Yes, 213 — No, 4 ; Regents of University, Yes, 343 —
No, I ; Election in Upper Peninsula, Yes, 353 —
No, I ; Constitutional Amendments, Yes, 341 — No,
16.
Sheriff, 1S62. — Joseph Hubbard r, 1927; William
Summers d, 18SS.
County clerk, 1S62. — Henry O. Smith r, 1927 ;
Edwin R. Bentley d, 1SS5.
Registrar of Deeds, 1862. — Thomas L. Sackett r,
193S ; Wm. H. Clark, Jr. d, 1873.
Connty Treasurer, 1862. — Edward C. Gallup r,
1S95 ; Justus R. Crandall d, 1915.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1862. — Elisha F. Mead r,
i860 ; Thomas M. Crocker d, 1945.
Circuit court comtnissioners, 1S62. — Samuel S.
Gale r, 1S86 ; Joseph Chubb r, 1892; Harlehigh
Carter d, 1914 ; Seth K. Schetterly d, 1927.
County Surveyor, iS62.^Geo. H. Cannon r, 1S8S;
Ludwig Wesalouski d, 1923.
County coroners, 1862. — Aaron B. Rawles r, 1892,
Joshua Dickenson r, 1S9S ; John Moorehoiise d.
1896; George Mead d, 1921.
1863.
Associate Justices, 1863. — James V. Campbell r,
1S19 ; David Johnson d, 2006.
Regents of University, 1863. — Henry C. Knight
r, 1812; Thomas D. Gilbert r, 1814 ; Edward C.
Walker r, 1807; J. E. Johnson r, 1814 ; Geo. W.
Mead r, 1814; James A. Sweezey r, 1S12; Alvah
Sweetzer r, 1813 ; Thomas J. Joslyn r, 1S14; Oliver
C. Comstock d, 2012; Wm. A. Moore d, 2015;
Zina Pitcher d, 2018 ; Nathaniel A. Balch d, 201 1 ;
Charles H, Richmond d, 2011; Adam L. Roof d,
201 1 ; Elijah F. Burt d, 201 1; Joseph Coulter d,
2011.
Circuit Judge, 1863. — Sanford M.Green d, 2004;
Zephaniah B. Knight r, 1S38 ; Robert P. Eldredge
d, 5.
1864.
Presidential Electors, 1864. — Samuel T. Douglass
d, 2177 ; Rix Robinson d, 2177; Henry Hart d,
2177; Royal T. Twombley d, 2177; D. Darwin
Hughes d, 2177; John Lewis d, 2177; Michael C.
Crofoot d, 2177 ; Richard Edwards d, 2177 ; Robert
E. Beecher r, 2041 ; Thomas D. Gilbert r, 2041 ;
Frederick Waldorf r, 2041 ; Marsh Giddings r, 2041;
Christian Eberbach r, 2041 ; Perry Hannah r, 2041 ;
Omar D. Conger r, 2041 ; Geo. W. Ppck r, 2041.
Congress, 1864. — Augustus C. Baldwin d, 2177 ;
Rowland E. Trowbridge r, 2054.
Justice supreme court, 1864. — Thomas M. Cooley
r, 2052 ; Alpheus Felch d, 2180.
Governor, 1864. — Henry H. Crapo r, 2050; Wm.
M. Fenton d, 2181.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1864. — Eben. O. Grosvenor
r, 2052; Martin S. Bracketts d, 2180.
Secretary of State, 1864. — James B. Porter r, 2052;
Geo. B. Turner d, 2180.
Auditor-General, 1S64. — Emil Anneke r, 2051 ;
Charles W. Butler d, 2180.
State Treasurer, 1864. — John Owen r, 2052 ; Geo.
C. Munro d, 2180.
Attorney General, 1S64. — Albert Williams r, 2051 ;
Levi Bishop d, 21S0.
Commissioner Latid Office, 1S64. — Cyrus Hewitt
r, 2051 ; Geo. M. Rich d, 2180.
Superintendent Public Lnsttuction, 1864. — Ora-
mel Hosford r, 2051 ; John I). Pierce d, 2180.
Member Board of Education, 1864. — Walter J.
Barden r, 2151 ; O. C. Comstock d, 2180.
Senator, 1864. — Giles Hubbard r, 2276 ; Wm. M.
Cambell d, 2204.
Representatives, 1S64. — Peter Schaes r, 819 ; Geo.
H. Stuart d, 792 ; James B. Eldredge d, 2 Horace
H. Cady d, 975 ; Chauncey G. Cady r, 480 ; Chas.
F. Mallary r, 902 ; Philo Tillson d, 450.
Sheriff, 1864. — Haswell Church r, 2256 ; Geo. E.
Adair d, 2226 ; Charles Barnes, i.
Judge of Probate, 1864. — Henry O. Smith r, 2254;
Thomas M. Crocker d, 2232 ; Henry A. Shaw, 2,
County clerk, 1864. — William M.Connor r, 2267;
James Whiting d, 2217 ; J. R. Crandall, 2.
Registrar of Deeds, iZb^. — Thomas L. Sackett r,
2315 ; Joshua B. Dickinson d, 2175.
County Treasurer, 1864. — John W. Leonard r,
2223; Justin R. Crandall d, 2250; Thomas L.
Sackett r, i.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1864. — Joseph Chubb r,
2234 ; James B Eldredge d, 2245.
County surveyor, 1864. — Oscar Burgess r, 2263 ;
Milton Nye d, 2226 ; J. B. Eldredge, r.
Circuit court commissioners, 1864. — Edgar
Weeks r, 2258 ; David E. Earl r, 2231 ; Harlehigh
Carter d, 2214 ; Seth K. Shetterly d, 2217.
County coroners, 1864. — Joshua Dickinson r,
®
©
<a.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
2255 : Aaron B. Rawls r, 2258 ; John Modrehouse
d, 2225 ; John Van Horn d, 2229.
1865.
Associate Justice supreme court, 1865. — Isaac P.
Christiancy, 1374.
Regents of the University, 1865. — Edward C.
Walker, 1241 ; George Willard, 1241 ; Ebenezer
Wells, 172; Oliver Comstock, 172.
1S66.
Congress, 1866. — Rowland E. Trowbridge r,
2475 ; William L. Bancroft d, 2i6g.
Governor^ 1866. — Henry H. Crapo r, 2461 ; Al-
pheus S. Williams d, 2185.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1866. — Dwight May r, 2465;
John G. Parkhurst d, 2193.
Secretary of state, 1866. — Oliver L. Spaulding r,
2468 ; Bradley M. Thompson d, 21S1.
State Treastirer, 1866. — Eben. O. Grosvenor r,
2467 ; Luther H. Trask d, 2182.
Auditor General, 1866. — William Humphrey r,
2468 ; George Spaulding d, 2182; James Whiting,
I.
Superintendent Public Instruction, 1866. — Ora-
mel Hosiord r, 2468 ; Samuel Clements, Jr. d,
2182.
Commissioner state Land Office, 1866. — Benj. D.
Pritchard r, 2469; Louis Dillman d, 2182.
Attorney General, 1866. — William L. Stoughton
r, 2468 ; George Gray d, 2182,
Member Board of Education, 1866. — Edwin
Willetts r, 2468 ; John W. Birchmore d, 2184.
Revision of the constitution, 1866. — For revision,
1224 ; against, 459.
Soldiers' Voting, 1866. — For amendment, 1224 ;
against, 375.
Senator, 1866. — Charles Andrews r, 2453 ; Har-
vey Mellen d, 2191.
Sheriffs 1866. — Haswell Church r, 2462 ; George
E. Adair d, 2179.
Registrar of Deeds, 1866. — Thomas L. Sackett r,
2559 ; Joshua B. Dickenson d, 2080.
County clerk, 1866. — William M. Connor r,
2508 ; James Whiting d, 2140; George E. Adair, i.
County Treasurer, 1866. — Josiah T. Robinson r,
2360 ; Justus R. Crandall d, 2295.
Prosecuting Attorney, J 866. — Edgar Weeks r,
2457 ; James B. Eldridge d, 2172.
Circuit court commissioners, 1866. — Arthur L.
Canfield r, 2518; living D. Hanscomb r, 2479;
Lorenzo G. Sperry d, 2177; Harlehigh Carter d,
2091.
County surveyor, 1866. — Oscar S. Burgess r,
2446; John Mellen d, 2203.
County coroners, 1866. — Aaron B. Rawles r, 2471;
Gilbert Longstaff r, 2470 ; William Summers d,
2183 ; John Milton d, 2183.
Representatives, 1S66. — Sanford M. Stone d, 783 ;
Peter Schars r, 991 ; Seth K. Shetterley d, 965 ;
Charles S. Hutchins r, 560 ; Elisha F. Mead r, 878 ;
Oran Freeman d, 412.
1867.
Delegates to constitutional convention, 1867. —
Oscar S. Burgess r, 1762 ; Dexter Mussey r, 1832 ;
W. W. Andrus r, 1828; Thomas M. Crocker d, 1S43;
Sanford M. Stone d, 1773. Seth K. Shetterly d,
1751 , Hiram Barrows, i.
Justice of the supre/ne court, 1867. — Benjamin
F. Graves r, 1846 ; Sandford M. Green d, 1755.
Regents of the University, 1867. — William M.
Ferry, Jr. d, 1747 ; Ebenezer Wells d, 1747 ; Thos.
D. Gilbert r, 185S ; Hiram A. Burt r, 1853.
Circuit Judge, 1867. — James S. Dewey r, 1854 ;
William T. Mitchell d, 1738.
iel B. Briggs r, 1892 ; James Whiting d, 1708.
County superintendent of schools, 1867. — Dan-
1868.
Presidential Electors, lit?! — Charles M. Crosswell
r, John Burt r, William Doellz r, C. W. Clisbee r,
C. T. Gorham r, B. M. Cutcheon r, 2791 ; Giles
Hubbard r, 2787 ; M. C. T. Plessner r, 2791 ; Peter
White d, Fred V. Smith d, Ed. Kanter d, George
B, Turner d, Fidus Livermore d, William M. Ferry
d, M. E. Crofoot d, William R. Stafford d, 2668.
Congress, 1868 — Omar D. Conger r, 2775 ; Byron
G. Stout d, 2704.
Governor, 1868 — Henry P. Baldwin r, 2795 ; John
Moore d, 2681.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1868 — Morgan Bates r,
2790 ; Salathiel C. Coffenberry d, 2684.
Secretary of state, 1 868 — Oliver L. Spaulding r,
2790 ; Richard Baylis d, 2682.
State Treasu>er, 1 868 — Ebenezer O. Grosvenor
r, 2790; John F. Miller d, 2685.
Attorney General, 1868 — Dwight May r, 2789 ;
Augustus C. Baldwin d, 26S6.
Commissioner state Land Office, l868 — Benjamin
D. Pritchard r, 2790 ; Henry Grinnel d, 2685.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
321
Auditor General, iS68 — William Humphrey r,
2788 ; Louis Dillman d, 2788.
Superintendent Public Instruction, 1868 — Oramel
Hosford r, 2791 ; Duane Doty d, 2684.
Member state Boat d of Education, 1868 — Daniel
E. Brown r, 2788 ; Isaac W. Bush d, 2686.
Senator, 1868 — Charles Andrews r, 2751 ; Harvey
Mellen d, 2726.
Representatives, 1868 — Norton L. Miller r, 1084 ;
Sanford M. Stone d, 1815 ; Florell C. McCoy r, 643 ;
Fred G. Kendrick d, 1183 ; ElishaF. Mead r, 1023 ;
Horace H. Spencer d, 487.
Sheriff, 1868— Haswell Church r, 2838 ; I. Ward
Davis d, 2629.
Judge of Probate, 1868— Thomas L. Sackett r,
2788, Thomas M. Crocker d, 2681.
County clerk, 1868 — William M. Connor r,
2812 ; Hiron F. Corbin d, 2638.
Registrar of Deeds, 1868 — Alonzo M. Keeler r,
'^â– l^y, James Whiting d, 2669.
County Treasurer, 1868 — Joseph Hubbard r,
2752 ; Oliver Chapaton d, 2755,
Piosecuting Attorney, 1868 — Edgar Weeks r,
28i6;Seth K. ShetterJy d, 2635.
County surveyor, 1868 — Oscar S. Burgess r,
2792 ; Morgan Nye d, 2635.
Citcuit court commissioners, 1868 — Arthur L.
Canfield r, 2803 ; Irving D. Hanscomb r, 2804 ;
Lorenzo G. Sperry d, 2639 ; William H. Clark Jr. d,
2663.
County coroners, 1868 — William R. Sutton r,
2795 ; Aaron B, Rawles r, 2789 ;,George St. John d,
26S0 ; William Roy d, 2683.
Revision of the constitution, etc., etc., 1868 — For
adoption, 1570 ; agaiiifst, 2877 ; for annual sessions,
178 ; for biennial sessions, 1369; for Prohibition,
1430; against Prohibition, 1977.
1869.
fustice of the supreme court, 1869. — Thomas M.
Cooley r, 189I ; D. Darwin Hughes d, 1926.
Regents of the University, 1869 — Jonas H.
McGowan r, 1878 ; Joseph Estabrook r, 1806 ; John
F. Miller d, 2013; John M. B. Sill d, 1935.
Circuit Judge, 1869— Elisha F. Mead r, 1378 ;
William T. Mitchell d, 1953.
County superintendent common schools, 1869 —
Daniel B. Briggs r, 2012 ; James Whiting d, 1632.
County drain commissioner, 1869 — Jonathan
Wells r, i886 ; George E. Adair d, 1915.
21
1870.
Governor, 1870. — Charles C. Comstock d, 2574 ;
Henry P. Baldwin r, 2382 ; Henry Fish, 38.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1870. — Jacob A. T. Wen-
dell d, 2579 ; Morgan Bates r, 2379 ; Emory Cur-
tiss, 35.
Secretary of state, 1 870. — Jonathan W. Flanders
d, 2578 ; Daniel Striker r, 2384 ; John Graves, i ;
John Evans, 33.
State Treasurer, 1870. — Andrew J. Bowne d,
2579 ; Victory P. Collier r, 2382 ; Oliver Chapaton,
2 ; Luman R. Atpater, 32.
Attorney General, 1870. — John Atkinson d, 2579;
Dwight May r, 2304 ; Eben G. Fuller, 32.
Comviissioner state Land Office, \%']0. — John G.
Hubinger d, 2580 ; Charles A. Edmonds r, 2385 ;
James H. Hartwell, 32.
Auditor General, 1870. — Charles W. Butler d,
2579 : William Humphrey r, 2384 ; Charles K. Car-
penter, 32.
Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1870. —
Duane Doty d, 2587 ; Oramel Hosford r, 2879 '.
Asa Mahan, 31.
Member State Board of Education, 1870. — W.
Irving Bennett d, 3582 ; Witter J. Baxter r, 2383 ;
Ebenezer Hunt, 31.
The vote on allowing Supervisors' Boards to
raise $2000 per annum for the repair and construc-
tion of public highways, buildings, and bridges ; the
vote for amending the article relating to the appor-
tionment of Representatives, and the qualificaiions
of electors, the vote relative to salaries of State
Officers and Judges of the Circuit Courts ; the vote
on impartial suffrage , the vote on the change in the
law, as it regarded railroads, were severally ap-
proved or condemned by the people of Macomb in
1870 — the county giving an affirmative vote ranging
from 775 to 1337, and a negative vote ranging from
4 to 2736.
Congress, 1870. — Byron G. Stout d, 2581 ; Omar
D. Conger r, 2383 ; James S. Smart, 25.
Senator, 1870. — Horace H. Cady d, 2457 ; Gil-
bert Hathaway r, 2470.
Representatives, 1870. — Norton L. Miller r, 952 ;
Lucius II. Canfield d, 946 ; Hiram D. Runyan d,
991 ; Gustavus Schuchard r, 568 ; Seth K. Shetterly,
53 ; Deliverance S. Priest r, 930 ; Elias W. Lyon d,
506.
Sheriff, 1870. — Fred. G. Kendrick d, 2637 ;
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Horace A. Lathrop r, 2325 ; Alonzo M. Keeler,' i ;
Henry Meynell, 4.
County clej-k, 1870. — Charles S. Groesbeck d,
2548 ; William M. Connor r, 2430.
Registrar of Deeds, 1870. — Geo. W. Robertson d,
2529; Alonzo M. Keeler r, 2445.
County Treasurer, 1S70. — Oliver Chapaton d,
2703. George J. Grovier r, 2272.
Prosecuting Attorney, i?>^o. — James B. Eldredge
d, 2613 ; Wm. Jenny Jr. r, 2369.
County surveyor, 1S70. — Geo. E. Adair d, 2567 ;
Cortez Fessenden r, 2391.
Circuit court commissioners, 1870. — W. H. Clark
Jr. d, 2584; Geo. M. Crocker d, 2604 ; Irving D.
Hanscom r, 2364 ; Arthur L. Canfield r, 2401.
County coroners, 1870. — Sanford M. Stone d,
2576 ; Cortez P. Hooker d, 2576 ; Robert A. Barton
r, 2406 ; Levi Hoard r, 2407.
1871.
yustice supreme court, 1871. — James V.Campbell
r, 1877 ; D. Darwin Hughes d, 2196 ; Albert Wil-
liams, 87.
Regents of the University, 1871. — Claudius B.
Grant r, 1908 ; Charles Rynd r, 1908; I. M. B. .Sill
d, 2168 ; C. B. Fenton d, 2168 ; Wm. W. Baldwin,
88 ; Jos. S. Tuttle 88.
County superintendent of common schools, 1871. —
Daniel B. Briggs r, 1784; Sidney H. Woodford d,
2228.
County drain commissioner, 1871. — George E.
Adair d, 2035 ; James .S. Lawson r, 2005..
1872.
Presidential Electors, 1872. — Eber B. Ward and ten
others r, 2546; Geo. V. Lathrop and ten others d,
2161; Charles P. Russell and ten others 85; Austin
Wales and ten others 72.
Congress, 1872. — Omar D. Conger r, 3487; John
H.Richardson d, 2314; Squire E. Warren Pro., 61.
Governor, 1872 — John J. Bagley r, 2465; Austin
Blair d, 2311; Henry Fish pro, 70; Wm. M. I'^rry
54-
Lieutenant-Governor, i872.^Henry H. Holt r,
2452; John C. Blanchard d, 2330: Wm. G. Brown
pro, 69 ; Charles Woodruff 54.
Secretary of state, 1872. — Daniel Striker d, 2453;
Geo. H. House d, 2333; John Evans 68; Thomas C.
Cutler 54.
State Treasurer, 1872. — Victor P. Collier r, 2461;
Jos. A. Holton d, 2334; Ellas. C. Manchester 69;
Clement M. Davison 54.
Auditor General, 1872. — William Humphrey r,
2454; Neil O'Hearn d, 2333; William Allmon 68;
Cyrus Peabody 54.
Attorney General, 1872. — Byron D. Ball r, 2446;
D. Darwin Hughes d, 2332; D. P. Sagindorph 68;
Wm. A. Clark 54.
Superintendent of Ptihlic Instruction, 1872. — Dan-
iel B. Briggs r, 253S; Willard Stearns d, 2239; M.
A. Daugherty 63; A. J. Sawyer 52.
Commissioner state Land Oflice, 1872. — L. A. Clapp
r, 2454; G. H. Murdock d, 2333; Joseph S. Tuttle
68; Ira D. Crouse 54.
Member State Board of Education, 1872. — Edward
Dorsch r, 2445; Edward Feldner d, 2330; Martin A.
Brown 69; Christian Vanderbeen 53.
Senator, 1S72, vacancy. — Seymour Brownell d,
1016; J. S. P. Hathaway r, S85.
Senator, No. \, 1872. — James S. P. Hathaway r,
2323; John N. Mellen d, 2461; Lafayette Warren
50; Riely C. Cone 40.
Representatives, 1872. — Horace H. Cady d, 1426;
Payne K. Leech r, 856; James M. Payne 8; D. S.
Priest r, 1518; J. M. Potter d, 972; Alex Shelp 45.
Sheriff, 1872. — Nelson H. Miller r, 2269; Fred G.
Hendricks d, 2559; James Gass 45; Peter Ladors
35-
fudge ef Probate, 1S72. — Thomas L. Sackett r,
2481; Thomas M. Crocker d, 2336; Oran Freeman
53; Morgan Nye 53.
County clerk, 1872. — David C. Coburn r, 2295;
Charles S. Groesbeck d, 2512; Clark Stephens 33;
Watson Lyons, 62.
Registrar of Deeds, 1872. — Alonzo M. Keeler r,
241 1; Geo. W. Robertson d, 241 1; Theodore Mosher
29; Wm. R. Sutton 44.
County Treasurer. 1872. — Geo. B. Van Eps r,
2213: Oliver Chapaton d, 2592; Judge Preston 37;
Hiram Squires 63.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1872. — Wm. Jenny Jr. r,
2365; James B. Eldredge d, 2438; Lorenzo G. Sperry
35; Joseph Chubb (fi.
County Surveyor, ^§72. — Oscar S. Burgess r, 2450;
Geo. E. Adair d, 2308; Morgan Nye 64.
Circuit court commissioners, 1872. — Dwight N.
Lowell r, 2463; Lewis M. Miller r, 2463; Wm. H.
Clark Jr. d, 23S2; (}eo. M. Crocker d, 2337; John
Starkweather 66; Joseph Cluibbs 62.
(5 W.
•^ — 4 l,.
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
323
County coroners, 1872. — Martin Buzzell r, 2424;
Stephen S. Merrill r, 1577; George H. Stuart d,
2382; Cortez P. Hooker d, 2249; Hiram H. Kelsey
64; Alfred Van Voorhoes 65; Geo. N. Nunnerly 40;
Victor A. Morass 40; Stephen H. Merrill 856.
1873.
yusiici Supreme court, 1873. — Isaac P. Christian-
cy, 3952.
Regents of the University, 1873. — Duane Doty d,
2044; Andrew M. Fitch d, 2039; Edward C. Walker
r, 1868 ; Andrew Climie, Oscar D. Spaulding, 17 ;
Reynold Kelley, 41.
County Superintendents of Schools, 1873. — Spen-
cer B. Russell d, 2073; Robert G. Baird r, 1840.
1874.
Congress, 1874. — Enos Goodrich d, 2592 ; Omar
D. Conger r, 1S93 ; Henry Fish, 146.
Governor, 1874. — Henry Chamberlain d, 2638 ;
John J. Bagley r, 1867; C. K. Carpenter p, 167.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1874. — Fred. Hall d, 2639 ;
H. H. Holt r, 1874 ; T. A. Granger p, 169.
Secretary of State, 1874. — George H. House d,
263S ; E. G. D. Holden r, 1872 ; Samuel W. Baker
p, 16S.
Slate Treasurer, 1874. — Joseph M. Sterling d,
2637 ; W. B. McCreery r, 1871 ; James J. Mead p,
169,
Auditor General, 1874. — -John L. Evans d, 2636 ;
Ralph Ely r, 1872 ; Joseph Newman p, 171.
Attorney General, 1874. — M. V. Montgomery d,
2637 ; Andrew J. Smith r, 1872 ; Albert Williams p,
169,
Superintendent Public Instruction, 1874. — Duane
Doty d, 2631; Daniel B. Briggs r, 1876; John
Evans p, 159.
Commissioner State Land Office, 1874. — C. W.
Green d, 2637 ; L. A. Clapp r, 1874 ; T. S. Skinner
p, 169.
Member Board of Education, 1874. — E. W. An-
drews d, 263S; Edgar Rexford r, 1873; John D.
Lewis p, 169.
Representatives, 1874. — OSisper P. Schettler d,
1552; Levi J. Stickney r, 605; Calvin Bush p, 99;
Cortez P. Hooker d, 1093 ; Thomas M. Wilson r,
I124; Charles E. Davis p, 98.
Senator, 1874. — John N. Mellen d, 2S55 ; Norton
C. Miller r, 1&54 ; Dwight P. Breede p, 142.
Sheriff, 1874. — Winfield S. Hathaway d, 2677;
Robert A. Barton r, 1824; Harry Briggs p, 173.
County clerk. 1874. — Charles S. Groesbeck d,
2741; Perry M. Bentley r, 1740; Morgan Nye p, 155.
Registrar of Deeds, 1874. — Traugott Longers-
hausen d, 2390; George McCloskey r, 2079 ; Wm.
R. Sutton p, 159.
County Treasurer, 1874. — Oliver Chapaton d,
2642 ; John Otto r, 1839; Loren Andrus p, 148.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1874.— James B. Eldridge
d, 2720; Wm. Jenney, Jr. r, 1805 ; Joseph Chubb
p, 109.
County Surveyor, 1874. — Clarence M. Stephens d,
2709 ; Oscar S. Burgess r, 1791 ; Albert G. Jepson
P, 157.
Circuit court commissioners, 1874. — Geo. M.
Crocker d, 2625 ; Wm. H. Clark d, 2611 ; Dwight
N. Lowell r, 1930 ; Lewis M. Miller r, 1699 ; John
L- Starkweather p, 166 ; Clark Stanton p, 157.
County coroners, 1874. — Adam Bennett d, 2644 ;
Geo. H. Stewart d, 2637 ; Amsey W. Sutton r,
1847 ; John H. Williams p, 171 ; Hiram Squiers p,
171 ; Calvin Davis r, i860.
1875.
Justice Supreme court, 1875. — Benj. F. Graves r,
3984; Lyman D. Norris d, 2138 ; Isaac Marston r,
1S32.
Regents of the University, 1875. — Samuel T,
Douglass d, 2218 ; Peter White d, 2203 ; Samuel S.
Walker r, 1748 ; Byron M. Cutcheon r, 1750.
Circuit Judge, 1875. — Edward W.Harris r, 3966,
1876.
Presidential Electors, 1876. — James B. Eldredge
d, and ten others, 3,453 ; Wm. A. Howard r, and
ten others, 3,012 ; Moses W. Field g.b, and ten oth-
ers, 18 ; Charles K. Carpenter pro, and ten others, 6.
Congress, 1876. — Anson E. Chadwick d, 3,499 ;
Omar D. Congar r, 2,981.
Governor, 1876. — William L. Webber d, 3,465 ;
Charles M. Crosswell r, 3,008 ; Levi Sparks pro,
14.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1876. — Julius Houseman d,
3,478; Alonzo Sessions r, 3,012; Emory Curtiss,
pro, 5.
Secretary of State, 1876. — Geo. H. House d,
3,463; E. G. D. Holden r, 3,on ; Albert Stege-
man ))ro, 14.
Slate Treasurer, 1876. — John G. Parkhurst d.
<3 ^
^ 9
324
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
3,474 ; William B. McCreery r, 3,015 ; Archibald L.
Chubb pro, 4.
Auditor General, 1876. — Fred M. Holloway d,
3,476; Ralph Ely r, 3,012; Daniel J. Smith pro, 5.
Commissioner State Land Office, 1876. — J. B. Fen-
ton d, 3,466 ; Ben. F. Partridge r, 3,001; J. H.
Richardson g.b, 14 ; Emory L. Brewer pro, 6.
Attorney General, 1876. — Martin Morris d, 3,463;
Otto Kirchner r, 3,012 ; Albert J. Chapman g.b,
14 ; Dan. Sagendorph pro, 4.
Superintendent Public Instruction, 1876. — Zelotes
Truesdel d, 3,463 ; Horace S. Tarbell r, 3,025 ;
J. W. McKeever pro, 5.
Member State Board of Education, 1876. — Chas.
J. Walker d, 3,465 ; Witter J. Baxter r, 3,009 ;
Ethan Ray Clarke g.b, 14; LukeR. Damon pro, 5.
Amendments, 1876. — License ; For, 1207 ; against,
907. Salaries, Circuit Court Judges: For, 1626;
against, 605. Constitution, For, 1447; against, 152.
Senator, 1876. — John N. Mellen, 3,459 ; William
Jenny Jr. r, 3,006; Crawley P. Drake, i.
Representatives, 1876. — Lucius H. Canfield d,
1,845; Thomas Dawson r, 1,505 ; Seth K. Shetter-
ly (5. 1.554 ; Crawley P. Drake r, 1,533.
Sheriff, \Zlii. — Winfield S. Hathaway d, 3,533 ;
Haswell Church r, 2,943.
P-'obate Judge, 1876. — James B. Eldredge d,
3,337; Edgar Weeks r, 3,125.
County clerk, 1876. — Charles S, Groesbeck d,
3,517; Ezra Nye r, 2,946; Jacob L. Keller, 130.
Registrar of Deeds, 1876. — Traugott Longerhau-
sen d, 3,444; Peter F. H. Schars r, 3,035.
County Treasurer, 1876. — Oliver Chapaton d,
3,407 ; Wm. Heine r, 3,028.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1876. — Geo. M. Crocker d,
3,458; Irving D. Hanscom r, 3,008.
Circuit court commissioners, iSyt. — Wm. H.
Clark, Jr. d, 3,436; Chauncey R. Canfield d, 3,450;
Oscar S. Burgess r, 2,999; Frank C. Lamb r, 3,076.
County Surveyor, 1876. — Clarence M. Stephens
di 3.455 ; Cortez Fessenden r, 3,023.
County coroners, 1876. — Adam Bennett d, 3,471;
Geo. H. Stuart d, 3,469 ; Judson C. Mason r,
3,010 ; Geo. R. Hoard r, 3,020.
1877.
Justice of the Supreme court, 1877. — Henry F.
Severens d, 2088 ; Thomas M. Cooley r, 1848.
Regents of the University, iZ"]"]. — Anson E. Chad-
wick d, 2088 ; John Lewis d, 2088 ; Victory P. Col-
lier r, 1847 ; George L. Maltz r, 1847.
Vote Oft Appointment of clerk supreme court,
'^'^ll- — For the appointment, 398; against the ap-
pointment, 298.
Vote Relative to Laiu of corporation. — For amend-
ment, 358 ; against amendment, 348.
1878.
Congress, 1878. — William T. Mitchell d, 2,437 ;
Omar D. Conger r, 2,012 ; Charles F. Mallary n,
617.
Governor. 1878. — Orlando M. Barnes d, 2,391 ;
Charles M. Crosswell r, 2,036; Henry M. Smith n,
615 ; Watson Snyder p, 36.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1878. — Alfred P. Swineford
d, 2,393 ; Alonzo Sessions r, 2,036; Lysander Wood-
ward n, 615 ; Isaac W. McKeever p, 35,
Secretary of State, 1878. — George H. Murdoch d,
2,340; William Jenney r, 2,112; George H. Bruce
n, 591 ; Travers Phillips p, 26.
State Treasurer, 1878. — Alexander McFarlan d,
Benjamin D. Pritchard r, 2,034; Herman Goeschel
n, 617 ; Darius H. Stone p, 35.
Commissioner State Lands, 1878. — George Lord
d, 2,393 ; James M. Neasmith r, 2,038 ; John A.
Elder n, 614; William G. Brown p, 35.
Auditor General, 1878. — W. J. B. Schermerhorn
d, 2,392 ; W. J. Latimer r, 2,038 ; Levi Sparks n,
614 ; Leander L. Farnsworth p, 35.
Attorney General, 1878. — Allen B. Morse d, 2,399 I
Otto Kercher r, 2,019; Frank Dumon n, 612;
Daniel Sazendorph p, 41.
Superintendent Public Instruction, 1878. — Zelo-
tes Truesdel d, 2,390; Cor. A. Gower r, 2,040;
David Parsons n. 613 ; Martin V. Rourke p, 35.
Member State Board Education, 1878. — Edwin F.
Uhl d, 2,393 ; George F. Edwards r, 3,038 ; George
E. Hubbard n, 614 ; Mariiii V. Brown, 35.
Senator, 187S. — John ^L Wattles d, 2,356 : Joseph
B. Moore r, 2,103; John J. Watkins n, 591.
Representatives, 1878. — Warren Parker d, 1,180;
Arthur N. Grovier r, 1,090; Charles C. Lamb r,
369; Alexander Grant r, 1,084; David C. Greene
d, 1,114 ; Eli G. Perkins n, 192.
Sheriff, 1878. — Louis Groesbeck d, 2,676 ; AKred
Stewart r, 1,905 ; Selh Davis n, 454.
County clerk, 1878. — William L. Dicken d,
2,375; George F. Adams r, 2,160; Ambrose J.
Hancock n, 506.
J)
iL
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Registrar of Deeds, 1878. — Traugott Longershau-
sen d, 2,358; Charles Steffins r, 2,087; Louis A.
Allor n, 599.
County Treasurer, 187S. — Charles Tackles d,
2,399 ; John Otto r, 2,031 ; Adam Bennett n, 601.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1878. — George M. Crocker
d, 2,So2 ; Edgar Weeks r, 2,095.
Circuit court commissioner, 1878. — William H.
Clark, Jr. d, 2,511 ; Chauncey R. Canfield d, 2,468 ;
Dwight N. Lowell r, 2,059 J Silas B. Spier r,
2,050.
County Surveyor, 1878. — George E. Adair d,
2,361 ; Cortez Fessenden r, 2,084; James S. Lawson
n, 592-
County coroners, 1878. — G. H. Stuart d, 2,391 ;
Joshua B. Dickenson d, 2,387 ; Gillman Whitten r,
2,061; John J. Reimold r, 2,066 ; Charles S. Hatch-
ings n, 612 ; William M. Campbell n, 594.
1879.
Justices of the Supreme court, 1879. — John B.
Shipman d, 2448 ; James V. Campbell r, 2287.
Regents of the University, 1879. — Geo. P. Sanford
d, 2530; Henry Whiting d, 2528; Ebenezer O.
Grosvenor r, 2271 ; James Shearer r, 2275.
1880.
Presidential Electors, 1S80. — Peter White d, and
ten others, 3218 ; Charles P. Peck r, and ten others,
3136 ; Augustus Day n, and ten others, 201 ; Joseph
P. Whiting pro, and ten others, 10 ; Isaac J. Gray
— , and ten others, I.
Congress, 1880.— Cyrenius P. Black d, 3283 ;
Omar D. Conger r, 3090 ; John J. Watkins n, 184.
Governor, 1880, — Frederick M. HoUoway d, 3266;
David H. Jerome r, 3086: A. Woodman n, 193;
Isaac W. McKeever pro, 22.
Lieutenant-Governor, 1880. — Edward H. Thorn-
ton d, 3270 ; Moreau S. Crosbe r, 3082 ; Sulivan
Armstrong n, 193 ; Darius H. Stone pro, 22.
Secretary of State, 1880.— Willard Stearns d, 3142;
William Jenny r, 3197 ; I. A. Crouse n, 199; John
Evans pro, 22.
State Treasurer, 1880. — Isaac M. Weston d, 3220 ;
Benj. D. Pritchard r, 3126 ; John M. Norton n, 200 ;
Arthur Al. Power pro, 22.
Auditor General, 1880. — Richard Moore d, 3221 ;
W. Irving Latimer r, 3128 ; Sylvester B. Heverle n,
200 ; Watson Snyder pro, 22.
Commissioner State Lands, 1880. — James I. Davis
d, 3220; James M. Neasmith r, 3129 ; John H.
Elder n, 200 ; Porter Beal pro, 22.
Attorney General, 1880 — Henry P. Henderson d,
3221 ; Jacob J. Van Riper r, 3138 ; William Newton
n, 200 ; Milton N. Burnham pro. 22.
Superintendent Public Lnstruction, 1880 — Zelotes
Truesdel d, 3222; Cornelius A. Gower r, 3127;
David Parsons n, 200 ; William N. Moore pro,
22.
Members Board of Education, 1880 — Albert
Crane d, 3231 ; Edgar Rexford r, 3128; Volney V.
B. Mervin n, 209 ; Uriah R. Evans pro, 19.
Senator, 20th District, i88o — John N. INIellen d,
3415 : John T. Rich r, 3094.
Representatives, 1880 — Warren Parker d, 1726 ;
Edgar Weeks r, 1669 ; Thomas W. Newton, i ;
Byron J. Flumerfelt d, 1523 ; Alexander Grant d,
1579-
Vote on Bridging the Detroit River, 1880 — In
favor of, 901 ; against the project, 567.
Judge of Probate, 1880. — James B. Eldredge d,
3391 ; Charles Andrews r, 3100.
Sheriff, 1880. — Louis Grosbeck d, 3242 ; Thos.
W. Newton r, 3263.
County clerk, 1880. — William L. Dicken d, 3354;
William W. Vaughan r, 3137.
Registrar of Deeds, 1880. — Judson S. Farrar d,
3330 ; Charles Steffins r, 3171.
County Treasurer, 1880. — Charles Tackles d,
3271 ; Jonathan Stone r, 3237.
Prosecuting Attorney, 1880. — George M. Crocker
d, 3237 ; Irving D. Hanscom r, 3250.
Circuit court commissioners, 1880. — Frank F.
Williams d, 3136 ; Franklin P. Montfort d, 3301 ;
Silas B. Spier n, 3221 ; Addison S. Stone n, 3325.
County Surveyor, 1880. — George E. Adair d,
3294 ; George H. Cannon r, 3200.
County coroners, 1880. — Humphrey Murphy d,
3301 ; George H. Stuart d, 3297 ; William G. Terry
r, 3215; William Norton r, 32i'6.
i88l.
Congress, 1881. — Cyrenius P. Black d, 2545; John
T. Rich r, 2418; John Kenny n, 61.
Justice of Supreme court, 188 r, — Augustus C.
Baldwin d, 2534; Isaac Marston r, 2495; John B.
Shipman x, 156; Charles G. Hyde pro, 27.
Regents of the University, 1881. — Geo. V. N.
^
•vT®—— *^
-« 5)L
326
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Lathrop d, 2525; Henry Fralick d, 2526; James F.
Joy r, 2411; Austin Blair r, 2401; Charles G. Wll-
lett n, 156; David Parsons n, 156, Isaac W. McKee-
ver pro, 28; Edward C. Newell pro, 28.
Circuit Judge, \6th J. C, 1 881.— William M.
Mitchell d, 2703; Herman W. Stephens r, 2246; Val-
entine A. Saph g. b. n, 148.
Vote on Loan ^/ $10,000. 1881. — For the tax and
loan 2341; against 2179.
Senator 20 Dis., 1881.— John V. Mellen d, 4861.
CHAPTER XVIII.
^ THE PRESS OF MACOMB COUNTY.
The newspaper press of Macomb may, with justice, claim to be the true expo-
nent of popular ideas, as well as the zealous guardian of local interests. Seldom has
it extended recognition to terrorism at home or tyranny abroad — never knowingly.
Possibly there may have been a few instances, where ignorance, pure and simple,
caused the free citizen of our Union to wander away from his surroundings and en-
ter the circle of flunkyism ; there may also be some cases where the people were so
short-sighted as to permit an immigrant newspaper writer to indulge in eulogies on the
wa^m^cew(-'g of trans- Atlantic peoples. Sometimes cuttings are made from monarch-
ical papers, because the heading conveys an idea to the busy editor that the arti-
cle is newsy, when in reality it is only a fulsome laudation of expiring monarchy —
an attempt to gain sympathy for that hideous principle. This article appears in the
columns of the local paper without even a qualifying paragraph, and contributes in
a degree to foster a taste for royalty, pageantry, and all such criminal nonsense in
the minds of the more unthinking portion of our people. Such insulting trash should
not be placed before the public. Even though this unjustifiable, foundationless
praise of the enslavers of Europeans, of all their glittering palaces, of their gorgeous
parades, could win any serious attention from any other than the most imbecile
of our population, it is not fair to furnish imbecility with fuel; it is not right to place
before it new subject matter, which enables it, however falsely, to extol the glories
and the pageants of principles and men who cast a gloom over the civilization of
our day. There is little in trans-Atlantic peoples, and much less in tlieir govern-
ments, which hold seven-eighths of the people in most abject servitude, to commend.
The knowledge of this state of affairs in Europe, is so widespread in the United
States, that it forms a full safeguard against the growth of that foolish, debasing,
and most pernicious vice commonly called flunkyism. The people understand their
duty to the Republic, and none among them more so than the indefatigable men, who
identify themselves with the press of this county.
Macomb has reaped a rich harvest from the industry and honesty of her news-
"®
®-
-J ©
b>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
327
paper conductors. All evidences point out her journalists of the past to have been
as truly honorable as are those of the present ; flunkyism was not the attribute of
any one of them ; they labored late and early in providing newsy and instructive
reading- for the constituents ; and, if at any time, a ridiculous eulogy, on all that is
politically and socially false, crept into their columns, they were the first to denounce
the buffoon who penned the obnoxious lines.
The press conferred inestimable good upon this district ; it opposed premature
innovations, even as it urged necessary reforms ; it set its denunciations of arbitrary
and tyrannical measures in black letter, stigmatized moral cowardice, and claimed that
from the village council-room to the chambers of the National Government, vice
should be subjected to rebuke and punishment, and virtue doubly cherished.
Here the press is a synonym for progress. Prescribe its liberty and the nation
suffers. Very few liberties had been won in the long struggle for human freedom,
involving more far reaching and momentous consequences than that which secured
the constitutional guaranty of freedom of speech and of the press. The antagonism
between a despotic government and the printing press is as natural as it is intense.
The heart of monarchy, claiming to be human, loves applause, and therefore could
not willingly feed on the bitter herbs of censure. Neither king nor -minister,
neither cardinal nor general desired a fair review of his official acts, nor submitted
to reproof. The exercise of power bred confidence in the hearts of rulers, and
begot an impatience of criticism ; hence there was a natural inclination to restrain,
what those in authority might deem, an unwarrantable freedom in the discussion
of public affairs. On the other hand, the intelligent portion of the population
desired to inquire into the proceedings of their governors, to complain of
grievances, and to suggest reforms. Free thought and free speech were of little
avail without free publications, and to suppress publications was to prevent prac-
tical results. Thus there was an irrepressible conflict between oppressive govern-
ments, whatever their form, and the press — one in which the press succeeded in
these States, one in which it is still engaged in the eastern hemisphere up to the
present time, and which is likely to continue until the sun sheds his light upon a
great European Republic.
In a despotic state the government exercises a censorship over the press, while
in a free country the case is reversed, and the press is the censor of the govern-
ment. Both forms of censorship were liable to abuse ; but judging by the past,
the excesses of the press for a thousand years would be trifling in evil results,
when compared with the iniquities of a government censor for a single genera-
tion. If the people are to govern, or take any active intelligent part in the
government, they must be cognizant of every fact pertaining to their country, and
be in a position to give full expression to their opinions on public measures.
tf-
'^ V ^ g> 1
328 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
Those entrusted with the executive authority, those appointed to promote the
general welfare in accordance with the public will, should favor the most free and
efficient means of communication with those for whose sake ofovemment is intended
to exist — that means is the newspaper. No substitute for it has yet been devised
— not one can be imagined. Thus the newspaper is one of the most important
agencies of a free people, of a good government. Without its aid in instructing
and arousing the people, the national government could neither have raised the
vast armies, nor have commanded the pecuniary means required to carry on the
struggle for the preservation of our Union against the wealthy planters of the
Southern States and their foreign allies.
The modern newspaper is not merely a private enterprise ; it is as truly public
and necessary as the railroad or the telegraph. Enlightened jurisprudence de-
clares that the newspaper, encouraged and protected by the highest guarantees of
constitutional law as indispensable to free government, is subject not to the narrow,
rigid rules which apply to merely private enterprises, but to broad and equitable
principles springing out of its relation to the public, and its duty to serve the
people in the collection and publication of information relating to the public good.
The busitiess of journalism is no longer a mere incident to the printer's trade — it
has become a great, profound, and learned profession, with fraternal organizations.
It has become the great educator of the masses, as well as the magnificent agent
of social and political reformation.
Acting harmoniously in their respective spheres, free government and a free
press are the joint conservators of good, each the most powerful pillar of the other.
The press and the bar, as well as the people and the Government of the United
States, are all dependent upon one another, with the honest press as leader.
Therefore let us cherish the newspapers, stigmatizing what may appear corrupt in
them, and applauding all that is honorable and just. This is due by the people
to the people and the press.
In the following historical sketches a full effort has been made to deal with
the newspapers and newspaper men of this county — which effort, the writer
believes, has been attended witli success ; being, as it is, an extract from the his-
torical address, delivered December 28, 1881, at Armada, by Edgar Weeks, formerly
connected with the press of the county.
Forty years ago, there was not half a dozen newspapers in Michigan, and not
one in Macomb Count3\ At that time the country was new ; the telegraph not
what it is to-day ; the mails were slow, painfully slow, postage was dear, the
people poor. In that day it took ten days or two weeks to get a letter from New
York to Detroit. The means of communication was confined to stasre coaches and
steamboats, which would drive a modern traveler wild. The city of Detroit was
"TU"
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 329
then only a moderate sized village. There was not a town of 5,000 inhabitants in
the State. Mt. Clemens was a village of some importance as the future of Michigan
then looked. It was the seat of government and justice for all Michigan north of
Wayne County. It numbered among its people some few enterprising men who
looked forward to a large city where Mt. Clemens now stands.
JOURNALS OF ROMEO.
Way back in the history of Romeo, there was published there a paper called
the Investigator. The files of this paper have disappeared, and no inquiry which
we have made for them has been rewarded. The name of its publisher was Thomas
M. Perry. It first appeared in the fall of 1850 and lived about two years.
Another paper called the Romeo Olive Branch was also published there, but
we have been equally unfortunate in regard to it, both as to date and name of its
publisher.
In the year 1857 the Romeo Argus appeared, but its files previous to May 18th,
1861, are lost. From May 18th, 1861, to May 18th, 1862, the files have been pre-
served. The Argus was started in 1857, in May, by Martin V. Bentley and John
M. Stone. Mr. Bentley bought out his partner in about a year after the publica-
tion began.
On the 8th of May, 1861, S. H. Ewell bought the paper and published it about
one year. It was edited by Ewell and Aiken. It was then leased to Hiram J.
Aiken and George D. Mussey. In February, 1864, it was destroyed by fire. The
motto of the Argus was " The agitation of thought is the beginning of wisdom."
A State Temperance journal was started by John Russell sometime in 1863.
This paper was really the old publication turned into a new channel, and was
printed by Aiken and Mussey, at the Argus office. It was called the Peyiinsular
Herald, and was devoted to the cause of Prohibition and Total Abstinence. It ran
a successful career for some time, and was finally removed to Detroit, where it en-
joyed a broader field in journalism, and survived a brief career. Its proprietor is
so well known in this county as to require no introduction at my hands. His
prominence as a temperance agitator gave him a wide reputation and secured for
him the nomination for the Vice-Presidency on the National Temperance Ticket in
1876.
On the 30th of May, 1866, John Russell started the Romeo Observer, and the
history of newspapers since that time in Romeo is almost exclusively a history of
the Observer. On the 9th of August, 1866, Irving D. Hanscom and Edward A.
Teall became its proprietors. They improved and enlarged the paper in 1866, and
flung to the breeze the patriotic motto " Where liberty dwells, there is my country."
Under this high sounding legend the Observer flourished until March 9th, 1867,
S"
Q.
(3
330 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
when Edwin A. Teall and Lewis N. Moon took it in charge as publishers, and
printed it until November 19, 1867, when Teall & Co. became its proprietors, the
company being Harvey E. Mussey. This Company continued until November 11,
1868, when Edwin A. Teall became sole editor and proprietor.
The Observer became an out and out Republican paper in October, 1869, when
it adopted as its motto " Republican in politics, neutral in nothing."
On the 13th of October, 1869, Irving D. Hanscom again became proprietor of
the Observer, and on the twentieth of the same month, Samuel H. Ewell entered
into co-partnership with him. The paper flourished under their management about
four years when they sold out to Geo. A. Waterbury and S. H. Ewell. January
14th, 1874, Robert G. Baird purchased the interest of Mr. Ewell and this firm con-
tinued the paper a little over one year. On the 3d of February, 1875, Mr. Water-
bury became sole editor and proprietor, and has so remained up to the present
time, with the exception of a single year during which time the establishment was
leased to S. S. Hopkins, now of St. Clair City.
During all these years the Observer has either been an " out and out " Re-
publican paper, or had a decided leaning in that direction. It has been a strong
partizan of Romeo in all her local, political, social, and business interests, and has
been rewarded with a liberal support by the citizens of that village. The Observer
had every thing its own way (so to speak) and without a rival to molest or make
it afraid, with a rich field for country journalism, an intelligent class of citizens for
its patrons, was happy and felt satisfied.
This charming condition of affairs was disturbed, however, on the 1st of May,
1880, by the appearance of the Romeo Democrat, Fred. C. and C. H. Buzzel, pro-
prietors. The Democrat is an enteiprising, vivacious, and thoroughly wide-awake
country paper. Its proprietors are young men, both in years and journalism, but
they are making their paper an important figure in the newspaper coterie of this
county. ,
JOURNALS OF UTICA.
A paper called the Enterprise was established at Utica somewhere about
the year 1837 or 1838, and was published by Henry Fish and R. W. Jenny, with
C. B. H. Fessenden as editor ; but the files have been destroyed and we have been
unable to ascertain any thing more connected with it.
W. H. Marvin started the Utica Sentinel about five years ago, and has pub-
lished it up to the present tine. The Sentinel is independent in politics, is a good
local paper and has every appearance of a successful career before it.
MOUNT CLEMENS.
In 1840 a newspaper called the Statesman was started at Mount Clemens by a
(5)
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 331
Mr. Avery. After a time he was succeeded by a Mr. Brown, and he by John N.
Ingersoll. The Statesman was a li.vely and influential paper, published weekly.
Its editorials were characterized by ability, and it was noted as a hard fighter in the
field of local politics. We have been recently shown certain political cartoons in
caricature of John N. Ingersoll, Richard Butler, and other lights of the Whig
party of that day, which show the spirit of political controversy as then conducted.
The Statesman was intensely Whig, and its editor was then a leader of that party
in this State. Mr. Ingersoll remained in Mount Clemens a number of years, active
in political and social events, but finally removed to Corunna, Shiawassee County,
where he published the Shiawassee American viniil his death, which occurred a little
over a year ago. We can not state accurately the date of the demise of the States-
man.
The Macomb Cf)unty Herald., a Whig paper, was started by George F. Lewis
in 1848 or 1849, and edited by Richard Butler. In 1850 or 1851 it was purchased
by Fred B. Lee and published by him about one year, when it was sold to Thomas
M. Perry, former publisher of the Patriot, who published it for a short time, when
the office was burned and the Herald ceased to exist.
The Macomb G-azette was started by Allen P. Bentley, some time about 1849
or 1850. It was Democratic in politics, and so remained from the date of its birth
until its demise in 1856. After a short time Mr. Bentley sold the Macomb Grazette
office to Abner C. Smith, a lawyer, and one of the prominent men of that day at
the county seat. The writer well remembers Mr. Smith as a tall, intellectual-
appearing man, who always wore gold-bowed glasses, and was never seen except in
the full dignity of his profession of law and journalism. The office of the Gazette
was on the south side of Court House Square. The writer was employed in the
office as a printer's " devil " at a very tender age, and at that time its foreman was
Martin V. Bentley and its jours John Aiken and " Trume " Griffin.
On the breaking up of the Whig party the Gazette was sold by Mr. Smith, who
moved to Minnesota, where he practiced law until the time of his death, a few
years ago. The purchaser of the Gazette was William L. Canfield, who rechrist-
ened his paper the " Republican Standard." The Standard, as its name implies,
was a Republican paper, and was published up to 1866 by Mr. Canfield, who sold
it to Walter T. Lee and the writer, who enlarged it and " started out " under the
name of the " Mount Clemens Monitor."
The Monitor was also Republican in politics. It was a folio of respectable size,
published weekly, and met with very good success. The writer (Mr. Weeks) sold
out his interest some time in 1867 to W. T. Lee, who continued its publication
until he sold to D. M. Cooper. Mr. Cooper finally sold to a Mr. O'Brien, who soon
333 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
after sold to J. E. Nellis & Son who are now publishing the Monitor, and publish-
ing a successful and acceptable county newspaper.
We have followed the Statesman through all its changes and vicissitudes as
the most convenient way of treating the subject. We will now retrace our steps to
1840, in which year Thomas M. Perry landed at Mount Clemens from a steamboat
with printing material, which he moved to the old frame building known as the
Lewis Building, then standing on the site of the present new and elegant county
jail and Sheriff's residence, and commenced the publication of the Mount Clemens
Patriot. The Patriot was a Democratic newspaper, edited and conducted in the
interest of the local Democracy, with more than the ordinary ability bestowed on
country newspapers. Mr. Perry was, in his way, a remarkable specimen of pug-
nacity and tenacity. He had seen much of the world, and was entirely absorbed
in his editorial profession, was a practical printer and would stand at his case
and put his leaders in type without manuscript or notes before him. When in one
of his frequent tempests of passion he was a terror to every one around him. The
Patriot was burned out in one of the big fires that visited Mount Clemens. It was
then located on Pearl Street, when Mr. Perry was again heard from as a publisher,
and where he remained thereafter.
Some time about the year 1854 another paper made its advent in Mt. Clemens.
It was brought there by Geo. F. Lewis. Lewis had been a publisher at Port Huron,
but came here and established the Peninsular Advocate. The Advocate was a Dem-
ocrat paper, and its office was located in what was known as the " Leviathan "
building, which stood on Front street, on the site of the new block now occupied
by the post-office. It was a first-class county paper, quite pretentious in size and
appearance. Its editorial management was first class, as all who know Fred Lewis
will readily concede. During the first years of the civil war, tlie Advocate contin-
ued to be published, and the writer was its " war correspondent " from the army of
the Potomac. Mr. Lewis, however, moved to Saginaw, and the Advocate ceased to
exist, but was soon followed by the Mt. Clemens Conservative Press, under the man-
agement of Jas. B. Eldredge and Wm. Longstaff. The Mt. Clemens Press had its
origin in the old Macomb Conservative Press, which was established in 1863 by a
stock company. The material was mostly purchased second-hand, and is sup-
posed to be the remnants of the Peninsular Advocate, established by Mr. Perry some
years previous, and suspended. Several fonts of wood type still remain in the office
in almost a perfect condition. Messrs. J. B. Eldredge and Wm. Longstaff became
the editors and general managers of the Conservative Press, and continued in this
capacity until 1868, when John Trevidick, who had been the practical head of the
office for a number of years, became the publisher, changing the name to the Mt.
Clemens Press. Mr. Trevidick continued the publication until December, 1882,
<r
<a.
±=Al
HISTOEY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
when the click of the type on the printer's rule ceased in the Press office. "Until
further notice, no paper will be issued from this office," was the " special announce-
ment" that greeted its readers on the 26th day of December, 1872. But the
further notice was destined to come from other quills than those that had hereto-
fore done service on the columns of the Press. In the following spring, May 1st,
1873, the former readers of the paper were greeted by its re-appearance under the
management of S. B. Russell, editor and proprietor.
Among the earlier periodicals of Mt. Clemens we must mention the Masonic
magazine called the Ancient Landmark^ which was published by A. C. Smith,
before mentioned, from the Gazette office. Mr. Smith was a man of literary taste
and an enthusiastic Mason. The little magazine was published a number of years,
and ceased with the demise of the Gazette and the removal of Mr. Smith to Min-
nesota.
About 1872 another newspaper was started at Mt. Clemens, called the Me-
porter. Its editor and proprietor was Lew. M. Miller, and though the career of the
Reporter was soon cut short by the removal of Mr. Miller to another field, it will
long be remembered in the Republican campaign of 1872.
Later, Walter T. Lee started the Mt. Clemens True Record, which, after a brief
and unsuccessful existence, was purchased by W. N. Miller & Co., and called the
Mt. Clemens Republican, which has been published since October, 1880. The
Republican is also Republican in politics, though principally devoted to matters of
local interest.
This, we believe, completes the list of newspapers and periodicals which, from
the earliest history of the county seat, have been published there. However, from
time to time special publications have appeared, one of which was a holiday picto-
rial issued by Geo. F. Lewis from the Advocate office, about the Christmas of 1859
or 1860. The pictorial was a masterpiece of local talent and skill. Upon its pro-
duction was lavished the editorial ability of Geo. F. Lewis, Edgar Weeks and Michael
Stapleton, whose sketches drew heavily upon the classics, both ancient and modern.
The artists were Edgar Weeks and W. T. Lee, whose wood engravings rivaled
those of the Aldine itself; all the patent medicine cuts in the offices of Mt. Clemens
were utilized. One made to represent the Goddess Juno in her chariot of the
Sun. Another, " before taking" was made to represent some doleful figure in
public life, while the "after taking" made a good shift for the physiognomy of some
successful and self-satisfied statesman, whose perennial smile was the principal
feature of the artistic effort. The pictorial was a great local hit and a success. We
have in our possession a copy of the carrier's address to the patrons of the Mt.
Clemens Patriot, of January 1st, 1842. It was written by Miss Lewis, now Mrs.
N. L. Miller, and makes mention of local history long since forgotten by most of the
•<^|(5 r^ ""^ ®
^i'
_S)
k
334 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
men and women of the present generation. It was published soon after the death
of President Harrison, and in the midst of the political changes which were taking
place alludes feelingly to the recent national bereavement, naturally lauds the new
President and finally speaks about the removal of the recent incumbents of the Mt.
Clemens postoffice and deputy collectorship, and mentions the appointment of Giles
Hubbard to the first and Henry D. Terry to the second named place. The poet
says :
Changes political are few,
But yet I think of one or two ;
Our good Post-master has been removed,
Although a faithful servant proved.
May Giles, who fills his place of late
His bright example emulate.
The Custom it has been before,
For General S to watch our shore.
But the Mayor is now our Collector —
Of smuggled goods a safe detector.
These allusions to Giles Hubbard, John Stockton and Henry D. Terry, all of
them once prominent in the social and political events of the country, and all now
lying in their graves, revive a sad and mournful regret over the memories of three
men whose names will be carried down into the distant future upon the public
records of Macomb County.
During the years over which our sketch has extended, other men have figured
in the newspaper history of Mt. Clemens, prominent among them, William Long-
staff, once a practical printer, and now a well-known citizen of Mt. Clemens. John
Atkins, a practical printer of merit, who many years ago removed to Council Bluffs,
Iowa. Fred B. Lee, also a practical printer, now publisher of the Monroe Index.
W. T. Lee, of whom mention has been made before, now in Monroe engaged in his
trade as a printer. Charles H. Lee, now proprietor of the Saginaw Repuhliean^ at
Saginaw City. David A. Stockton, a practical printer, who removed to Canada
some years ago. W. C. Stockton, a practical printer, who lives in Mt.
Clemens. Andrew S. Robertson, once one of the foremost lawyers of the county,
a leading politician, a State Senator, and a man of rare abilities who was once editor
of the Peninsular Advocate ; also Mark H. March, who now pursues his vocation as
a job printer in Detroit.
These reminiscences are written largely from personal recollections and may be
inaccurate in respect to some of the dates. These can be hereafter verified by
some member of the Pioneer Society who may have leisure to devote to the task, and
who, we trust will be able to treat the subject more ably than the present writer.
To those men who have had charge through all these years, of that powerful engine,
the local press, the city and county owe mucli which can be best paid by preserving
(S^
-5)
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 335
in the archives of our Pioneer Society, a memorial of their names and hibors, for the
emulation of those who come hereafter.
NEW BALTIMOKE.
Sometime about the year 1853, Thomas M. Perry, mentioned as the founder of
the Mt. Clemens Patriot, started a paper at Ashleyville, near New Baltimore. It
was called the Ashleyville Independent. The writer was employed in this office
part of the first year of its publication. Ashleyville was then one of the most enter-
prising and promising villages in the county. It was the center of a large stave
trade, and its mills gave employment to a large population of laborers. But the
Independent did not long survive, and we believe that its material was afterward
brought to Mt. Clemens and became a part of the Peninsular Advocate, under George
F. Lewis, as heretofore mentioned. Some time afterward, another little paper bear-
ing the same name was started at Ashleyville, by Martin V. Ferris, then a practicing
lawyer there. The mechanical work was done by Edgar Weeks. But this paper
did not long survive, as the business of the village then did not justify the venture.
These are the only papers ever printed in New Baltimore. Mr. Ferris removed to
Indiana and pursued the practice of law there, where he died a few years ago.
KICHMOND.
The Richmond Herald was established at Richmond on the 8th of June, 1876,
by Del T. Sutton and George W. Kenfield. Mr. Kenfield only remained in the
business a few weeks, but Mr. Sutton continued its publication until November,
1876, when he sold the establishment to David S. Cooper.
Mr. Cooper published the Herald until June, 1877, when the publication was
discontinued. The good people of Richmond had not then conceived the thought of
the future rapid growth of their little city and the Herald was born before its
time. But Richmond began to move. Its importance as a manufacturing center
began to make itself apparent, and on the 8th day of November, 1877, William C.
Walter, an enterprising young man, started the Richmond Iteview. Walter pub-
lished the Review until the 23d of November, 1879, when it was sold to Frank S.
Abbott, then a practichig attorney at Richmond. Mr, Abbott continued the publi-
cation of the Review until the 7th of August, 1880, when it was purchased by Del
T. Sutton, its present editor and proprietor. Mr. Abbott removed to Wyandotte,
where he is engaged in publishing a newspaper.
The Review has always been independent in politics, and devoted to the local
interests of the village of its nativity. It is now a six-column eight-page paper, suc-
cessful, bright and enterprising, and a fair exponent of the intelligence and thrift of
the pleasant village of Richmond.
^ 9
336 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
ARMADA.
Armada village is one of the bright enterprising towns of the county, sur-
rounded by a wealthy and intelligent community, and inhabited by an industrious
and thorough class of business men, and it seems a good field for a newspaper.
In 1874 the Armada Index was founded by Ed. H. Bently, the first number
appearing in October of that year. It was edited and managed at Armada though
printed at Detroit. It was a five-column paper, independent in politics and issued
weekly. Though sprightly and intelligent it failed to survive the first year.
In 1876, in April, Mr. A. F. Stowe, started a small job ofiBce at Armada, and
on the 10th of May published the first number of the Armada Telegraph. It was a
small four-column paper, quarto in form, independent in politics. In the vicissitudes
of its early career it was reduced in size to a four-column bi-weekly folio, and its
publication continued by Mr. Stowe until January 1880, when he sold to Charles J.
Seely. Mr. Seely immediately enlarged the paper, commenced the publication of a
weekly again, enlarged it to a six-column quarto in which form it is now published
by Mr. Seely, with every appearance and prospect of success. The Telegraph is in-
dependent in politics. In August 1880, J. E. Barringer, the enterprising secretary
of the Armada Agricultural Society, commenced the publication of the Armada
Agriculturalist. It is published during the months of August, September and
October of each year, and is devoted to the interests of the Agricultural Society of
Armada and the success of the Armada Fair held at that place.
PERSONAL NOTICES.
Spencer Boothe Russell, the present editor and proprietor of the Press., is the
son of John and Ruth Ann Russell, the former a native of Ireland, who immigrated
to the United States when but eighteen years of age, settling in the State of New
York, where he continued to reside until his death in 1851. He was a liardy, wiry
specimen of that ancient Celtic race of whom it was truly said "he was the
straightest man in the county, an accomplished athlete, and without a peer, either
in the harvest field or in the garb of a Christian." His wife was Ruth Ann Bur-
ton, «ge Andrus. The Andrus family came from Rhode Ishmd into Yates county.
New York in an early da3\ The family dates its origin back to tlie landing of the
Pilgrims, and proudly traces its progenitors to the blue-blooded Puritans who came
over in the May Flower. They are of that peculiar type of Rhode Island yankee,
whose physiognomic traits and Quakerish drollery of dialect are all present. Not
even the Celtic blood, the quick wit and ready speech of a North of Irelander, have
been able to absorb the identity of the Andrus type of New England's sturdy
stock. The town of Jerusalem, Yates County, N. Y., became the home of the
Russells, and here the subject of this sketch was born, November 24, 1846. A few
®-
4
■®Ix*
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 331
years later the family moved to Ontario County where John Russell met his death
from the effects of overwork and exposure. The widow toiled on with her six
fatherless children for a few years, and then moved West, landing at New Balti-
more, Macomb County, in the fall of 1853. The poor woman but journeyed to her
death ; for after a brief struggle with poverty and disease of the new West, she,
too, entered upon that long journe}'- beyond the river, bequeathing her six little
ones to the world. In the spring of 1855, the subject of our narrative, being left
practically homeless and friendless, started out to make a name and fortune in a
world of which he knew nothing. Being recommended to the family of Abbot
Van Horn, who had just settled in the woods of northeastern Chesterfield town-
ship, he went to the home of that settler, and entered into his first business
transaction. Van Horn agreed to furnish him a home and give him what advan-
tages the district school afforded, until he was eighteen years old. On his own be-
half the boy contractor promised to stay the required term of years, to give his
assistance on the farm in summer season and such as he could while attending
school. No contract, signed and sealed with all the impressive solemnities and
forms of law, was ever more sacredly observed. And to the influence of this Chris-
tian home, and the principles of business integrity and morality here inculcated,
Mr. R. credits his success in life. After the expiration of his contract the
next few years were spent in a course of schooling and private instructions at Mt.
Clemens. In the spring of 1866 he entered the law office of Hubbard & Crocker,
and began the study of law, which was continued, with the exception of the win-
ter months spent in teaching district schools, until August, 1868, when he was ad-
mitted to the bar of Macomb County. His examination was pronounced by the
judge and bar to be one of the best in the history of the circuit. Visiting his native
State during the following winter a little incident happened that may not be out of
place here. The reported loss of a party of sleigh-riders while crossing a lake,, led
to the rumor at Mt. Clemens that Mr. Russell was one of the number. The report
spread rapidly and gained credence wherever it was told. Many were the expres-
sions of regret that so promising a career should be thus suddenly cut-off in the
very beginning. " One day," says Mr. Russell, " there came a letter from a distant
friend less credulous than those at Mt. Clemens informing me of my reported death
and the anxiety of friends at my old home. • The anxious friends were at once re-
lieved, but the report was never publicly contradicted until my appearance upon
the streets of Mt. Clemens the following April. I shall never forget the look of
blank astonishment with which I was greeted by those to whom my appearance was
the first intimation of a resurrection." Instinctively following the Star of Empire,
Mr. R. took his flight westward, and on the 9th of May, 1869, found himself in the
city of Omaha, Neb. But a longing desire to enter his chosen profession never de-
22
t^
^
338 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
serted him, and the following January he hung out his professional shingle at Fort
Scott, Kan., upon which the empire star was at that time shedding its most effulgent
rays. But that season was very unhealthy, and after a severe attack of fever fol-
lowed by the Kansas shakes he decided to foreVer " shake " that country, which he
did, retiring to western Michigan in the fall of 1870 very much broken in health,
and so found his way back to Mt. Clemens two years later. In the spring of 1873,
he was elected to the office of County Superintendent of Schools, and on the first
day of May assumed the duties of his office, and also the editorial management of
The Press. After two years of double duty the Superintendency Law was repealed,
since which time he has given his entire attention to newspaper work. In 1878 he
associated his brother in business with him, who still shares the duties of manage-
ment.
Mr. Russell took an active part in local politics, holding several minor offices in
the village, afterwards city, until the spring of 1881, when he was chosen mayor of
the city over a formidable opponent. The story of his subsequent removal by the
Governor, on purely technical grounds, his re-nomination and re-election as given
elsewhere in tliis volume, is a fair and impartial recital of the facts. The legal
technicality upon which the Governor based the removal was the alleged interest of
Mayor Russell in a contract for printing between the city and the firm of S. B. and
H. E. Russell, which, as shown by the testimony, amounted to less than $'25 a year
and was entered into for the sole benefit of H. E. Russell. The case attracted the
attention of the Press throughout the State and never was the official act of an
executive more severely criticised and impartially condemned. Public sympathy
in Macomb Count}'' was all in favor of Mr. Russell and his re-accession to the may-
oralty was a subject of congratulation for months afterward. Instead of the stain
wliich a few political enemies had confidently hoped to bring upon his public record,
it proved one of the happiest triumphs of his whole life. No more appropriate
words can be used in closing this short biographical sketch than the following from
the pen of that veteran journalist and former citizen, Geo. F. Lewis. The article
is only one of the many handsome tributes paid Mr. Russell at tlie time by the daily
and weekl}' press of the State. It appeared in the Bay City Morning Call, of which Mr.
Lewis was then managing editor, and may form a very apt conclusion to this sketch.
'' Mr. Russell," says the writer, " is a gentleman of no small individuality, a clever
man of some means, decidedly good financial ability, undemonstrative even to
reticence, but square and conscientious, if we know what is what in this direction.
He is far from that morbid sensibility which magnifies every trifling trouble into a
tlireatened disaster, and satisfied in his conscience that he meant to be fair and
honorable, he paid very little attention to the proceedings which were taken for his
removal.
"a)
' ^ ^ ^ .J ^^ ^
HISTORY OF 3IAC0MB COUNTY. 339
"Heiiiy E. Russell was born in the town of Jerusalem, Yates Co., N. Y.,
in 1848. Came to this State and county in 1852, moved to Oakland in 1860, and
to Allegan in 1863, where he lived until the late rebellion. He enlisted in the 21th
Michigan Infantry in 1864, and served until the close of the war. After the war
he entered the Seminary at Allegan, and received such an education as that
institution affords. He left the Seminary in 1869. Taught schools in Allegan up
to 1872, when he moved into Kent County. There he taught school in Alpine and
Algoma Townships until 1874, when he returned to Macomb. He passed a short
time at Memphis, this county, in 1874, and in the winter of that year entered the
office of the Pre%8 at Mount Clemens. In 1878 he formed a partnership with S. B.
Russell. He is a practical printer and superintendent of office. Mr. Russell was
married to Miss Fanny M. Miller, sister of Lew M. Miller, of Lansing, April 23,
1878."
John E. Nellis, publisher of the Monitor^ was born at Brantford, Canada West,
August 30, 1828. His father, John Nellis, was born in New York State about 1775,
and left that State with his father, who was one of the U. E. Loyalists of that time.
Mr. Nellis was educated at Brantford. In 1856 he began mercantile life, which
he continued in Michigan from 1866 to 1872, when he entered on the publication
of the Wayne County Courier. The first number of the Courier was issued in
Januarj^ 1873. Mr. Nellis published the journal until March, 1879, when he dis-
posed of his interest therein, and moved to Mount Clemens, there he purchased the
Monitor from Edward O'Brien, and entered at once on the publication of that jour-
nal, which now is considered one of the best managed and edited weekly newspa-
pers in this State. He has filled the position of United States Custom Officer at
the port of Mount Clemens since March, 1880. Mr. Nellis married Miss Eleanor R.
Griffin in 1855. The chiklren of this marriage are Georgiana, born in 1856 ;
Frank E., born in 1857; Jesse M., born 1861; Nellie A., born in 1863, and Grace
R., born January 7, 1874.
Frank E. Nellis, editor of the Monitor., born at Watertow!i, Canada, March 27,
1857, settled in Wayne County, Michigan, in 1866. He attended the schools of
Wyandotte until 1871, when he entered the Enterprise office, where he learned the
art of printing. When his father became publisher of the Courier he continued to
work there as foreman until 1875, when he became local editor. In 1878 he
entered the Detroit office of the Courier. He remained at Detroit until March,
1879, when he came to Mount Clemens as editor of the Monitor., in which journal
he claims a third interest. As editor of this journal he has won for himself the
name of being at once energetic, industrious, judicious and honest. They form the
main characteristics of the man. Mr. Nellis, Sr., is business manager of the paper
which position is admirably filled. Within the last two years the circulation of
^
-^ »k
340 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
the Monitor has increased from 300 to 1,000 copies per week ; while the value of
the office has advanced from -$1,200 to 86,000. r
Lew. M. Miller, formerly connected with the Press of Macomb, was born in Ray
Township, March 3, 1849. In the summer of 1868 he entered the law office of Hub-
bard & Crocker. Had charge of school at Davis or Brooklyn in 1869-70, and at
Freeman's Mill in 1870-'71, when he received the appointment of engrossing clerk
of the Mich. H. of R. Since that period he has served in the house as engrossing
and enrolling clerk or journal clerk, during three extra sessions and six regular ses-
sions of the Legislature. He was elected Circuit Court Commissioner for Macomb
in 1872. In the summer of 1873, he issued the Mount Clemens Reporter. In 1875
he assumed control of the Big Rapids Magnet ; but severed his connection with that
journal in 1876. Returning to Mt. Clemens, he consolidated the Reporter with the
Monitor^ the latter having been purchased by Thomas H. Foster. He made it, what
is termed a " red-hot Republican paper."' In 1877 Forster & Miller sold their inter-
est in the Monitor to Cooper. Since 1878 Mr. Miller has made Lansing his home,
where he is a member of the Secretary of State's staff. His marriage with Miss
Mary A. Clippinger, of Lansing, took place Feb. 3, 1875.
George Alvin Waterbury, son of John C. and Lory A (Parks) Waterbury, was
born near St. Clair, St. Clair Co., Aug. 11, 1847. At an early day Mr. Waterbury,
Sr., and family came to Michigan. In 1845 he removed from Calhoun County and
settled three miles north of Lexington, in Sanilac County, where he resided until
1852, when the family moved into Lexington village. There George A. attended
school and continued there until 1863, when lie became a student at the Dickinson
Institute, Romeo. He attended that institution for about two years; before it be-
came the Union school. He then went to Oberlin in 1865-'6, which college he at-
tended until 1868. In 1868 he entered the law department of the University at
Ann Arbor, where he graduated in 1869. On leaving college he entered the law
office of Newbury, Pond & Brown at Detroit, where he remained about a year.
In 1871, Mr. Waterbury was connected with the post-office at Lexington. Sub-
sequently he traveled extensively until June 1873. In Aug. 1873, he purchased
the office of the Observer from I. D. Hanscom, and entered upon the publication of
that journal the same month. Mr. Waterbury married Miss Jennie Killam of
Addison Township, Oakland Co., daughter of Powell C. Killam, formerly of Bruce,
referred to in the historical sketch of Bruce Township.
John C. Waterbury, father of G. A. Waterbury of Romeo, may be considered
an old resident of Sanilac County. He has served that district of Michigan, in the
Legislature for two terms, and in the Senate for two terms. He was appointed
United States Assessor during the war ; elected Judge of. Probate for his County,
and held many offices of trust in the township of Lexington. He was born in Del-
~&\
^^
^
aware County N. Y., in 1815, came to Michigan, and settled in Calhoun County in
1838; moved thence to St. Clair County in 1840, and again to Sanilac in 1847,
where he now resides. He married Miss Lory Andrews Parks, in 18o8, This lady
was born in Saratoga County, N. Y., in 1815, and came with her husband to Mich-
igan in 1838.
F. C. Buzzell and his brother C. H. Buzzell, inaugurated a new paper in 1880
under the name of the Romeo Democrat, and the first number was issued May 1 of
that year. As individuals the Buzzells are strictly Republican in politics; yet
their journal is a faithful advocate of Democratic principles. The first named pro-
prietor, son of Martin and Julia A. (Wing) Buzzell, was born at Romeo, July 3,
1856; was educated in the schools of the village, entered on the study of law in the
office of J. L. Starkweather, in 1876, and opened a law office in 1877, the business
of which office is conducted by him at present.
Clyde H. Buzzell, brother of F. C. Buzzell, was born at Romeo in 1858. He
is a practical printer, and holds the position of foreman in the Observer office since
April 1881. In connection with the history of Romeo, a biographical sketch of
this family is given.
William H. Marvin, son of Milton and M. A. (Morse) Marvin natives of New
York, was born at Ypsilanti, Mich., Oct. 14, 1S42. He attended the district school,
and in 1866 entered the Normal School of Ypsilanti, where he studied for three
years. After leaving the Normal, he inaugurated a real estate and insurance office at
Ithaca, Gratiot Co. There he continued in business until 1871, when he moved to
Toledo, O. After some time devoted to insurance business at Toledo, he pub-
lished the first railroad guide ever issued there, which is now a prosperous publica-
tion bearing the endorsement of all the railroad companies. In 1873 he entered
the office, now known as the Northern Ohio Democrat. Here he continued until
1874. During that year he opened a printing office in company u'ith E. V. E.
Ranch. In 1856 he moved to Utica, Mich., where he established the Utica Sentinel,
with O. B. Culley as a partner. The first copy of this paper was issued Aug. 11,
1876, being the first newspaper published in the village since the collapse of the
Utica Enterprise over forty years ago. In 1877 Culley disposed of his interest in
the Sentinel, and removed to Marine City. This journal is thoroughly independent,
well conducted, and claimed to be one of the most prosperous newspapers in the
county. Mr. Marvin married Laura E. Smith, of Ithaca, Oct. 4, 1868. The chil-
dren are Luna, born Feb. 14, 1870, and Laura P., born Sept. 23, 1874.
Charles J. Seeley, son of Burton W. and Mary (Curtis) Seeley, was born
in Armada village, March 4, 1861. Has always lived in the village and has
engao-ed in various enterprises until Jan. 1, 1880, at which time, he purchased
of A, F. Stowe the Armada Telegraph, and is the owner and manager of that
e, 'j*
Js
^ a
342 HISTlORy OF MACOMB COUNTY.
paper at the present time. It is published in the interest of the Republican
party. '
Del. T. Sutton, editor and publisher of the Richmond Revieiv, was born Oct. 1,
1858. The greater portion of the first seven or eight years of his life was spent
on a farm, in what is known as the Kellogg neighborhood, in the township of Ray,
in this county. He then removed to Richmond, where his father William R.
Sutton, engaged in the mercantile business. Residing at that place for some years,
he removed to New Haven. He lived at this place for several years when
he returned to Richmond. In June, 1876, in company with George W. Kin-
field, he started -the Richmond Herald. After an existence of about two weeks,
the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Sutton assuming the whole business, which he
continued until November of the same year, when he sold out to David L.
Cooper, in whose employ he remained for about eight months. He then assumed
the position of local and assistant editor of the Port Huron Daily and Weekly
Times., where he remained for several months. His next enterprise was the estab-
lishing of the G-reenhach Sentinel, a campaign journal. In October, 1878, he
removed to Homer, Calhoun Co., to edit and publish the Index. < He was married
to Miss Lillie B. Thompson, of Richmond, Dec. 25, 1878. In August, 1880, he
returned to Richmond, purchased the Richmond Review, of which journal he is
now editor and publisher.
Geo. F. Lewis, known as the "genial Saginawian," " Fred" Lewis, etc., etc.,
was born at Harvard, Worcester County, Mass., June 7, 1828. Came with parents
to Mt. Clemens in 1835. Set first type in office of Macomb Statesman, tlien edited
by John N. Ingersoll. Subsequently held positions in the office of the Mt. Clemens
Patriot, in 1838; the Detroit Daily Commercial Bulletin, in 1848; the Alacomb Co.
Herald, in 1849 ; the Port Huron Commercial, in 1851 ; the Peninsular Advocate, in
1855. In March, 1868, he inaugurated the Daily Courier, at Saginaw; projected
the Saginawian, in 1869 ; the Mt. Pleasant Journal, in 1880, and the Daily 3Iorning
Call, at Bay City, in 1881.
We have now given, in as much detail as the subject requires, a history of the
newspapers of Macomb County. For many of the facts the writer is indebted to
friends who have kindly aided him with memoranda of names and dates, and thus
materially lessened the labor of researcli. Among those whose kindness in this
respect we desire specially to acknowledge are Fred. B. Lee, of the Monroe Index ;
Del T. Sutton, of the Riclimond Review ; Chas. J. Seely, of tlie Armada Telegraph ;
S. H. Ewell, of Romeo ; A. J. Heath, of New Haven ; N. L. Miller, of Mt. Clemens.
The foregoing is but a sketch of the subject. There remains yet to be told
the story of the newspaper man's struggle witli poverty; the bitter disappoint-
ment of his cherished plans and hopes when his journal proved a financial disaster ;
Vp
"®
HISTORY OF MACOMB COI^NTY. 343
the heart burnings born in the midst of controversy ; the generous feeling of for-
giveness when the controversy was ended ; the improvidence of the printer which
led to financial embarrassment ; the unappreciated talent expended upon a too
indifferent public ; the loyal liberality of one of the profession toward another,
which is a distinguishing characteristic of the trade of printing and journalism ;
and last, the many happy social events which have been enjoyed at the ancient cel-
ebrations of Franklin's birthday.
It was once a rule of the profession in this county to celebrate the birthday of
Benjamin Franklin, and over a generous banquet, with music and fair speeches, to
laud the Printer, Statesman and Patriot, and keep green the memory of the distin-
guished men who have in the past adorned the printer's trade and the profession of
journalism. In the midst of such scenes we have heard the ringing oratory of An-
drew S. Robertson, the witty response of Geo. F. Lewis, the quiet good sense of
Fred. Lee, and the eloquence of other tongues, some of which are sealed with the
silence of the grave.
Our county has had the services of these men. Their hearts and brains have
been taxed in promoting the interests of the people of this county, and these inter-
ests have been generously served by them. There are many personal reminiscences
which belong to this sketch, but the time at our disposal prevents our entering upon
their detail. In the ranks of the profession have been numbered the political
leaders of the county, the leaders of our legal men, the leaders of the advance to
social and practical events within the borders of our county, and the fraternity of
to-day can look back over the past history of their profession in this county with
a just pride in their achievements, their ability, their social and political standing,
and claim descent from a noble line of leaders. May we hope that at some future
gathering of the Pioneer Society the men of to-day may be recognized in the same
way by our followers, " and that the good we do may live after us."
CH APTE R XIX.
POETRY OF MACOMB.
From the earliest period in the history of man, poetry has maintained a relation
to him at once remarkable and mysterious. She always led him from the mate-
rialistic longings of nature, to a reverence for the Invisible Ruler of the Universe.
In every age, in every land, she hesitated not for a moment in her admiration of the
world's Great Architect ; she always believed and adored the Divinity, without
other proof than faith, without other demonstration of His being, than that which
"c)
^
(2 4_
344
^ 3]
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUKTY.
Nature spreads before her. In this poetry is alone sublime. Let us, for an instant,
cast away hope, or set aside our belief that this world is the work of an Almighty
hand. What is the result? Our senses become enshrouded in a cloud which seems
to damp our energies, as well as to hide tlie beauties of Nature, and leave the animal
side of our own characters alone visible. True religion and poetry have ever walked
together. Under the Old Dispensation, the commands of our God were entrusted
to her regular measures, and centuries after the Prophets, she was made the lan-
guage of the New Law. Poetry has been, is, and will be the language of Heaven,
the language which at once soothes and elevates the soul of man, the language which
may be comprehended and felt, in a word the language of refined thought which
comprehends by faith, and points out the end from the beginning.
The propriety of introducing this chapter can not be questioned. Not only
do the poems contribute to show the character of the poetry, which flourished in
the county from 1860 to the present time ; but they also serve, in some few in-
stances, to recall events and names in the history of Macomb, that might otherwise
be forgotten. It may be stated, however, that no effort was made toward a special
collection of verses, the few which do appear being- selected from a very limited
repertoire.
TKE WORLD'S PIONEER,
BY JAMES LAWSON.
" Of Arts and Arms," let Virgil sing,
And Homer chant heroic lays ;
My hands shall strike a nobler string.
The world's bold pioneers to praise.
" Be faithful, multiply, give birth,
Replenish and subdue the earth,"
Determined in the Heavenly plan
The life and destiny of man
To be a wanderer ; and he,
Clad with dominion, conquers sea
And land. The empire of liis reign,
The world's encircling, wide domain.
If Adam's fall, and the great sin
Of disobedience had not been.
The gates of Elden would in vain,
Have barred his exit to the plain
Of Edom. If from branded Cain
Obedience had wiped the stain
Of murder, the submerging flood,
That deluged earth, had not been blood.
The wisdom of the times to be
Still hangs upon the central tree
Of knowledge. Ignorance will taste
The fruit, and learn at bitter waste.
The evil with the good inwrought
For ev'ry blessing man has sought
The wings of broken law have brought
Full mated with the punishment.
But time and mercy have been lent
The trespasser ; the respite been
Prolonged beyond the day of sin.
And Enochs gone in many lands
And cities builded with their hands.
Great Nimrods through the forests strayed.
And Tubals wrought the polished blade,
Subduing wastes, oceans subdued
Until a singing multitude
Has peopled earth, repeopled o'er
Isles of the seas, and distant shore
Of continent. The waves of time
Have borne his seed to every clime
And ebbed and flowed in end 'ess tide,
Far reaching as llie ambient wide.
Empires been founded, passed away,
And others built on their debris,
Till not an islet lone, or glen,
That has not nursed the sons of men.
And every step the present tread
To where the past has laid its dead,
*r
V
-s>\
1^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 345
And foot-steps of the coming race
Long time his little fleet sails on.
Will soon disturb our resting-place.
Till doubt and murmuring faint had grown
No ocean where his daring prow
To mutiny. A coward's soul
Has ventured not, or ventures now,
Can never reach a higher goal
Where yet the world great Argosies
Than its own littleness, and yet
.A. re searching for the Golden Fleece
The noblest spirit may be met
Of Colchis ; and every day
And baffled by the meanest churl
Sees other Jasons sail away
That breathes. Envy would hurl
In search of some new Colchian shore
The pillars of the noblest fame
Which golden skies are flocking o'er,
That genius rears, though gods were slain.
Some Leon seeking for the Spring
And thousands perished in the fall ;
Whose wateri youth immortal bring.
May his parched lips be quenched with gall,
Only to find life's voyage o'er
While fires of hell consume his soul.
Nepenthe on the distant shore
Who, envious of the good and great.
Of sweet forgetfulness. The cup
Would rob them of their rightful state.
Of Death's dark fountain lifted up
Though chains witli triple steel are wrought,
Unto his lips ; the bitter draught
They have no power to fetter thought.
Of Lethe's stream forever quaffed
Nor daunt a hero's breast. Alone
Some Nordson with his tattered sails
The daring pioneer leads on.
Still searching for Valhalla's dales.
With thoughts as high above his clan
Or Cartier for the Acadian shore,
As Alps above the marshy plain
Which restless mortals would explore.
Of Lombardy, Steadfast his faith,
For pleasures, which are found alone
Amid the taunts and threats of death
To cluster round their own hearthstone.
From his vile crew. On bended knee
Some Cook, far seeking in the West
For three days more — for only three —
The Happy Islands of the Blessed,
He pleads. Momentous days, how brief,
But other shores, whose feet have pressed
What anguish, hope, distrust and grief
In that dark sea of the unknown.
Are crowded there. What deed sublime
Whose waves in ceaseless sweep roll on.
Hangs on that little space of Time.
A Moses, with a wand'ring band
Thrice at the close of day the sun
Long journeying to some Promised Land,
Into the waste of waves goes down,
Whose weary feet, for life have pressed
And yet no land. And can there be
The desert waste and found no rest
No farther shore to that vast sea.
On Nebo's Mount, sinks down at last.
Wide spreading as immensity?
The Jordan of his hopes unpassed.
Dies on the wave the midnight bell :
Columbus for the Eastern seas.
'Tis twelve o'clock and all is well,
Still sailing westward with the breeze
But not to him, wlio sleepless lies
Of autumn late, while early spring
Upon his couch. The next sunrise
Perforce was spent in loitering.
Is life or death. Sad soul be calm !
By chance may gain, not what he sought,
How little mortals know for them
But objects widest of his thought.
What fate awaits ; the darkest night
Columbus ! Bravest of the brave.
Will often break with rosy light
Bold mariners on ocean's wave ;
, At morn. The glass has marked the day
With brow to plan, with soul to dare.
When he must fruitless turn away
Twin born with Faith, stranger to fear,
From his long search. Ah no ! a light
With three small ships boldly sets sail,
Gleams through the darkness of the night,
Where never keel had marked a trail
And Hope with her swift pinions bright,
Upon the chart, or pilot been
Sits perched upon the Pinta's prow,
To guide him o'er the deep unseen.
Faith holds a steady rudder now.
s-
^9
_» — 4
lA
346
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
With cautious lead they stand away,
And anxious watch the break of day.
It conies at last — the mists are curled.
And shouts proclaim a new found world.
Crowned with success the very morn
Set for their hopeless, sad return,
Three gallant ships securely ride
At anchor on Bahama's tide.
Rebellion, doubt, distrust, dismay,
Swept with that morning's mists away,
And he — so late derided, jeered —
Honored and flattered and revered.
Unknown upon the scroll of fame.
Are heroes worthy of a name
And place in history. The toil
That rings rich harvests from the soil,
Reclaims the forests, tills the plain,
And scatters sheaves of golden grain
Upon the white wings of the sea.
Is worthy honor, more than he
Who conquers armies, devastates
The fairest realms, depopulates
Whole towns and cities ; renders waste
The proudest monuments of Art.
And plays " the conquering hero's part."
To trample with the hoofs of war.
The products of the gleaming share.
And barracks build where hamlets stood,
Great only in his deeds of blood.
Greater who builds, though but a cot.
And cultures Peace to bless his lot;
What laurels bring ; how honor here
The gray-haired, hardy pioneer,
Who, from a home where Eden smiled.
Went forth into a rugged wild
With faith, new homes and hopes to build.
The forest falls l^eneath his stroke,
His plow, the stubborn fallow broke.
His thoughtful hand the orchard plants.
His industry provides for wants.
The trail grows wider with his feet.
And fear and doubt no longer meet.
And sit upon his threshold rude
In parlance with solicitude.
His barns with garnered store are filled.
The hands that penury had chilled
Grow warm again ; his wife is blessed,
The children of their love caressed.
The old house stands behind the new.
And broader fields give broader view.
The temple by the school-house stands.
Teacher and pastor shaking hands,
And towns and homes and temples stand,
The triumphs of his toiling hand.
And Freedom's banner of the skies.
Floats o'er another Paradise.
Another spot of earth subdued.
That toil has wrung from solitude ;
Where at the closing hours of day,
Contentment drives dull care away ;
And Retrospection's eyes are cast
Back on the rugged hill that's passed,
While Faith points onward to the shore,
Where Care and Sorrow come no more.
Heaven's blessings on their gray locks rest.
While sinks their sunset in the West.
A CHILD'S PRAYER.
BY MRS. L. E. CANNON.
A little rnaiden knelt beside her bed —
A downy couch with snowy covering spread —
Clasping her tiny hands with reverent mien.
Her head, with golden ringlets, bowed between.
" Dear God," she said, " my mamma says that you
Know everything we think, or say or do ;
When we are naughty you are very sad,
And then when we are good it makes you glad.
And when we pray, whatever we request,
You'll surely grant it if you think it best."
There came a little sob and then she said :
" Please, God, my dolly needs another head.
I was so frightened that I had to run,
'Though mamma says the dog was just in fun.
But then I slipped and fell, and such a crash.
And my poor Rosa's head broke all to smash.
I picked the pieces up and cried and cried.
For mamma is so poor since papa died.
And then I thought I'd tell you all to-night,
For I was very sure you'd make it right.
And when you thought how lonely I would be,
You'd surely heed a little girl like me.
I have no brothers now, or sister dear,
But poor mamma and I are all that's here.
The rest are with you up in heaven you know.
And sometime mamma says that we shall go.
So, if you'll fix my dolly up till then,
I'll try still harder to be good. Amen."
e)
(2 k^
^ S>
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
347
A LEGEND OF SHELBY TOWNSHIP.
BY MRS. L. E. CANNON.
Long years ago — at least so runs the story —
There lived, not far away,
A chieftain, covered o'er v^^ith paint and glory,
A gorgeous array.
Where rang the war-whoop or the scalp-knife glist-
ened,
He led his tribe along,
'Till the few settlers held their breath and listened.
Hearing their barbarous song.
The little children's eyes grew big with wonder
At naention of his name ;
All feared they should from friends l)e torn asunder,
If that bold chieftain came.
The story goes, one day a wee small maiden
Of summers only four
Wandered along, with fragrant wild-flowers laden,
Far from the cottage door.
The old chief saw the tiny, winsome creature.
And gloried in his might.
Covered with war-paint, every hideous feature
Grew harder at the sight.
He snatched her up, and through the forest bore her,
Where no pale-face would roam.
And all their faithful search could ne'er restore her
To anxious ones at home.
The mother's heart the dreadful loss was pondering
'Till resting 'nealh the mound ;
The father vowed he'd never cease his wandering
Until his child was found.
Meanwhile the chieftain cherished well his treasure.
Humored her every whim ;
Thought nothing wrong that gave his Bright-eyes
pleasure,
'Til she grew fond of him.
And when ten times the snows had come and van-
ished
Slowly from off the earth.
Their different ways had from her memory banished
All knowledge of her birth.
Then to his wigwam with its gaudy trappings
He led her by his side,
Gave her bright beads and shells, with furs for
wrappings.
And kept her for his bride,
One ornament she had, a necklace golden,
Clasped round her throat of snow,
The only link that bound her to the olden
Strange life of long ago.
Years afterward, an old man, bent and hoary.
Came to the wigwam door.
Trying in broken ways to tell his story,
So often told before.
He saw the chain, and with a cry of pleasure
Started to reach her seat,
Calling, "Oh, mother, I have found our treasure,"
And fell dead at her feet.
They buried him beside the river flowing
Through forest dark and wild.
And she lived on in ignorance, not knowing
She was that old man's child.
Until the chief from age and wounds lay dying
With many a feeble wail,
Called her beside the couch where he was lying
And told her all the tale.
And she forgave him then for the great sorrow
She could not understand,
And laid him by her father on the morrow.
Honored by all his band.
WHO DONGLES THE BELL?
The following lines were written by Samuel H,
Ewell, February ig, 1S67. The subject of this hu-
morous sketch, Cyrus Hopkins, was born at West
Bloomfield, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1802, and came
to Romeo in about 1838. He rang the Congrega-
tional Church bell, which was the first church bell
of Romeo, from the time it was hung, for thirty-two
successive years, and took care of the church that
entire time. He ceased ringing only about three
weeks before his death, which occurred November
10, 1878:—
There is a man with white whiskers who walks in
our streets,
With a smile and ajoke foreach man that he meets.
Though his head has grown white and his eye has
grown dim.
(s"
1
.
.i
4
(a, k^,
^ *â–
^i
&
348 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
He still tells a story and laughs with a vim,
And thinks not though I wildly stray
1
Who is that queer man ? You will ask me to tell,
I never will return — again ;
' Tis the jolly old joker who dongles the bell.
Oh, no ! Those words are never lost.
A mother whispers to her child.
You have heard, I presume, of one Cyrus the Great,
The mem'ry puts them safely by,
Well, this is rter Cyrus, not second in rate.
Enriched with pictures — how she smiled.
He's the power of old Cyrus, or even the Pope,
For he draws folks to meeting by pulling a rope.
A tribute now this natal day.
And he struts up to church with a kind of a swell.
Thy wayward son returns to you.
When he goes with the church key to dongle the
Not gems from islands far away.
bell.
Not Eldorado's golden dew —
But words of love, and happiness.
Cyrus gazes with pride, on the church, and the
A tribute richly due to thee.
steeple,
My mother dear, to whom I owe.
That holds his greater talker, whose tongue moves
All that I am, or hope to be.
the people.
On Sundays it gives them a sense of devotion.
' i
On week-days it sets the whole town in commotion.
THE GARDEN OF THE HEART.
Oh. Cyrus takes pride in its magical spell,
BY J. E. DAY.
How he loves to go up there and dongle the bell.
" There is a fragrant flower that maketli glad the
Sometimes we complain that he works like a botch.
garden of the heart."
TUPPER.
That he rings by his dinner instead of his watch,
But what should we do without Cyrus to chime ?
God has placed a beauteous garden.
We'll overlook his faults and comply with his time,
In the power of man's control ;
For Cyrus we know means to do his work well.
And has told us how to fill it.
Success then to Cyrus who dongles the bell.
With the sweetest flowers of soul.
He has placed a wall around it ;
Cyrus moves, lives and breathes where much talking
Strength and beauty are combined,
is done,
And has left its portals guarded
He talks by his fathers but rings by the sun.
By the strongest powers of mind.
He has rung the old bell since the day it was hung.
And if Cyrus was not ! Why ! it could not be
Sweet within the terraced arches.
rung.
Music's echoes wildly ring,
May his old age be green, if 'tis green I'll not tell.
And through nil its winding alleys,
So long as he likes let him dongle the bell.
Floats the breath of constant spring.
Through its midst bright crystal rivers,
O'er their pearly bottoms flow,
MY MOTHER.
And along their shining margins
BY H. F. PIIII.UPS.
Richest flowers spontaneous grow.
If I can boast a manly thought,
Heavenly place ! If well we till it.
A pure ambition, shameless — free.
As the Master bids us do ;
To soar where earthborn spirits ought.
But if not its flowers will wither, —
My mother, it is all from thee —
Choked by weeds of bitter woe.
Where first I learned to lisp the prayer,
And its walls are soon demolished,
That cradled innocence to rest.
Its fair streams are stained with sin.
'Twas then those first impressions came.
And in place of its sweet music.
That longest stay — are oftenest blest.
Swell the notes of keenest pain.
w
You taught me then the lovely way,
And its alleys once so pleasant,
k
(B
That leads beyond this world of pain,
Tales of awful misery tell;
u
v^
^
(9 r
"% a)
\'
'
'
.t
•VI® — *-
HISTOHY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
-Jl 5)
349
<s>
And the air at first so balmy,
Seems the burning breath of hell.
Let us then improve this garden,
Till it blossoms pure and bright,
And our work will end with pleasure,
In a home of pure delight.
APRIL STORMS.
BY J. E. DAY.
Leaden clouds are o'er us hanging,
Gloomily the rain comes down,
And the winds are sadly wailing
Nature's universal frown.
Hushed the cheerful hum of business, —
Not a wagon on the street.
Nought overhead but wind and water--
Mud and water under feet.
Overcoats and wet umbrellas.
Flit like ghosts from place to place ;
Muddy boots and spattered garments,
Tell of hurry more than grace.
Ladies closely indoors staying —
Strive the dull hours to beguile.
And anon, the dark clouds watching —
Think of rsLin-^eates all the while.
Cattle looking quite demurely.
View the chilling storm with dread,
And their sage brain doubtless thinking.
Something must be wrong overhead.
Sages tell us oft, that April
Augurs well the life of man —
Lights and shades are intermingled —
We must catch them as we can.
Every year must have its April —
Every life its rainy day —
Lo, the sunshine, quickly turning
Stormy April into May.
So the storm of life may gather.
Darkly o'er my onv/ard path
And around my heart may linger.
Signs of elemental wrath.
But the bow of faith is hanging
In the clouds of daily strife.
And Hope's sunbeams softly gleaming-
Hush the April storms of life.
HAPPY TO-NIGHT.
BY JOHN E. DAY.
I'm happy to-night, and this is just why.
The cares of the day have gone quietly by ;
My chores are all done and my supper dispensed,
And the joys of the evening are fairly commenced.
My wife, with her sock and a satisfied smile.
Sits by and converses serenely the while,
On topics — the old as well as the new —
Most important to me, though perhaps not to you.
My little pet daughter, so pretty and gay.
Has dropped all her playthings and left off her play.
Has given instructions her treasures to keep.
Dropped her sunshiny head and gone sweetly to
sleep.
And now it may be that the tempest of life
Has cast o'er her dreams the first warning of strife,
And swells her young bosom with pleasure or pain
As it rises and sinks on her infantile brain.
Who can tell us what beautiful thoughts may be
piled
High up in the dreams of the innocent child?
What thoughts and ambitions of embryo size
May be brought by the goddess who closes her
eyes?
What care we what pleasure or riches may bring !
What care we how leisurely time moves his wing !
There is hope in the Future and joy in the Past,
And a strength in our hearts for adversity's blast.
We'll stand by each other whatever betide.
And pass down the pathway of life side by side :
Enjoy what we can, bid adieu to the rest.
And receive the reward of the Faithful at last.
There's pleasure in life, though storms may arise ;
In the end we will find them but friends in dis-
guise;
My hopes may be blasted, but that is all right ;
My Faith's like a mountain — I'm happy to-night !
THE LONELY GRAVE.
BY DR. W. H. HAMILTON, 1857.
Cloudy is the day and cheerless,
Moaningly the north wind grieves,
As I sit and watch the motions
Of the faded, falling leaves.
l9
to
"®
'.^
350
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
While they slowly flit before me,
Fancy bears me o'er the wave,
And I see them falling sadly
On a distant, lonely grave.
Dreamily the Past arises,
Bringing back the loved one's form,
And again his eyes beam on me
With a lovelight soft and warm.
But my bosom heaves with anguish
As I see him yield his breath.
Hurried from his near and dear ones
By a sad and painful death.
Then appears the dreary graveyard.
As upon that gloomy day
When our cherished one was buried
From our grief-dim'd sight away.
And I hear the plaintive echoes
Of the low, funereal hymn.
Swelling like the wind-harp's music
Through the forest, old and dim.
But our deep, heart-breaking sorrow.
Passion's wild, resistless flow.
All our spirits, hid in struggles,
Thou alone, O God, can know.
Thou, who knowest all our frailties,
All our doubtings and our fears,
Strengthen us to bear our trials.
Comfort us amid our tears.
Light our darkened understandings.
Fill our souls with lively faith,
Till the mystery is unravel'd.
Life's dark problems solved in death.
ON THE DEATH OF LINCOLN.
BY REV. JAMES H. MORTO.V.
A star has fallen from our Nation's sky,
It rose so bright, it glistened far on high.
But, like a meteor, suddenly its light,
Has been eclipsed within the folds of night.
us
Lincoln, the patriot, honest, just, and true,
We sigh, we weep, we mourn most sore for you
O, why should death eclipse thy glory bright,
And pall the Nation with the darkest night.
In humble life, at first, thy lot was cast.
We look admiring on thy history past ;
But truth and fortune led thee up to fame.
And on its summit stamped thy noble name.
When storms of treason and bitter hate,
Had almost 'whelmed our skip of State ;
We asked, O, God ! a noble heart and hand,
To be our pilot, and to take command !
God gave us honest Abe that he might be
Our gallant captain on the raging sea.
Storms fiercely glared, and mountain waves
tossed.
So high, so low, — at one time all seemed lost.
Just then, with beaming eye, he spied afar
The brilliant rays of light from Freedom'.', star.
At once across the noble ship he veered,
And for the light with steady hand he steered.
Just as the storm was swiftly giving way.
And morn was dawning,— of a glorious day —
Behind our captain stole a wretch of hell,
And by his bloody hand our Lincoln fell.
Justice flew swift along the villain's track,
Her fiery sword gleamed o'er a crime so black —
And quickly traced him to the hidden spot,
And like a guilty dog the wretch was shot.
Cold be that hand, and palsied be that tongue.
Who dare declare they're glad the deed was done !
I'm sure a blacker fiend dwells not below,
Within the precincts of eternal woe.
Lincoln, though now with thee we have to part.
Thy name, for aye, we treasure in our heart.
And swear by Heaven, the work by thee begun.
By traitors' hands shall never be undone.
Hard was thy task, the starry flag to save.
Rest quietly now within thy honored grave.
No hostile bullet can again reach you,
Shot by Jeff. Davis and accursed crew.
The spirit pure has reached its home above,
Entwined for aye by bands of kindred love,
We pledge with thee the joys of heaven to share.
For traitors vile can never enter there.
(5-
- .9
-5 a^PV "
Ja — J^
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 351
CHAPTER XX.
PEOGKESS OF EDUCATION.
The education of the masses is one of the leading characteristics of a good govern-
ment. It is the guide to national gi*eatness and to salutary reforms. Without education,
the people would be less than the Negroes of the darker days of the Republic. Without
it, man cannot sum up the blessings of liberty; cannot understand the principles of a
Federal governjnent; cannot fulfil] the duties of citizenshii^. Though men maybe always
prepared for liberty, yet he who had not an opportunity, in his earlier years, to attain
even the rudiments of that education which a common school offers, is a dangerous
member upon whom to confer liberty, because his animal passions generally overbalance
his good intentions, and lead him from vice to vice, until those who won for him the pre-
cious are forced to cry out, "Oh, liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!"
From the want of a well -organized educational system, many, if not all evils, spring.
The terrible forces with which the dangerous classes often threaten to annihilate the peo-
ple are recruited from the haunts of ignorance and vice. Again, the tyrant may subject
an uneducated people with impunity — without fear of encountering any disciplined oppo-
sition. All the shocking crimes which tarnish the annals of glorious revolutions have
their origin in and must be credited to ignorance. The hideous Parisian communist, the
blind followers of sectionalism in politics, the inhmnan religious bigot, all di-aw their
inspiration from ignorance, and by it are urged on to those terribly foul deeds which
darken, as it were, the enlightenment of this age, and stain the pages of its history.
Though the secret tribunal of olden times comprised men of fair fame, the members of it
were led to acts which, to-day, would be punished in the most severe form known to the
law of the countiy, and result in consigning their names to obloquy. In the dim past,
such men were heroes; they boasted of learning and cultm-e, and merely acted a part in
the di'ama of their lives. The members of this tribunal dedicated themselves to justice,
and seldom — never — failed to punish the guilty and avenge the innocent. Yet the secret
tribunal, with all the terrific sublimity which sm-rounded it, all the high characteristies
which belonged to its members, was founded, upon ignorance. In recent years — aye, in
oiu' own times — political and religious parties have resorted to desperate and disreputable
means to assert supremacy. This could not occur had the people been educated up to the
requirements of our duty. All the evils attendant on a want of a true system of edu-
cation have been carried down to the present time, as if to point out to us the dangers of
ignorance and lead us far away from the shoals whereon it has wrecked so many. It is
evident here, in Macomb, that examples of ignorance have resulted in good; crime is
merely nominal here; a peculiar friendship seems to exist between all classes, and a full
desire exists in the hearts of young and told to study, that they may know what gives prom-
ise of good results to themselves and their country.
Macomb County has, from a very early period, bestowed much attention on all mat-
ters pertaining to education. Throughout this work, many references to the attempts
made by pioneers and old settlers to establish schools appear, so that it is unnecessary to
treat separately each school and school building, the history of which belongs to the town-
ships. However, for the purposes of the general history of the county, what has been
written regarding the schools first opened here belongs to this section of the work, and for
that reason is subscribed as well as referred to in the township history.
Probably the first white settlement in the limits of Macomb County was made between
1790 and 1800, in the present township of Harrison, on the banks of the Clinton River,
about three miles from Mt. Clemens. The settlement was then and is now called the
Tucker settlement.
It was here that the first school was taught in Macomb County, on the farm now
owned by Franklin Tucker. Between 1795 and 1800, a Mr. Roe, great-grandfather of
Milton H. Butler, swayed the rod. Schools were kept up almost continuously in this set-
tlement, but little can be learned of them till about 1816 or 1817, when J\lr. Charles Stew-
ard taught in a house then standing just below the present residence of Lafayette Tucker.
Mr. Steward was called a most excellent teacher for those early days, when he was sober;
but he was exceedingly fond of strong di'ink, and his sprees were not few nor far between.
He nearly perished by freezing dui'ing one of his carousals, when, attempting to cross the
river on the ice, he fell and lay for some time in the snow.
In 1820, the eccentric Dr. Dodge was employed. Nothing delighted this old-time
teacher more than to dress up in some fantastic costume of flaming and incongruous col-
ors. From 1820 to 1830, some of the teachers in the Tucker settlement were as follows:
Dr. Chamberlain, about 1821; an old soldier of the war of 1812, about 1822; Mr. Richard
Butler, now living one mile south of Mt. Clemens, aged eighty-three, in 1823; a ]\Ii-. Haw-
kins, who was fond of the " ardent," in 1825, 1820 and 1827; Dr. Henry Taylor, who died
in Mt. Clemens in 1870, about 1827; Mrs. McKinney, whose husband was at the same
time teaching in Detroit, taught a private school in her own house in 1827 or 1828, and a
Miss Cook in 1830.
All the foreo-oingr record relates to the schools of Tucker settlement. Of course it will
be understood that all these early schools were in the strictest sense private, public schools,
Qot then being known in Michigan. Each.pupil was required to pay a stipulated sum per
quarter of twelve weeks, the teacher making his own collections and receiving no public
aid.
The following table shows the number of childi'en in the county, in 1839, between the
A
SI
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY. 355
ages of live and seventeen years, together vfith the amount of money apportioned by the
State:
No. of Children be- Amount of State
Township. tween 5 and 17 Tears. School Apportioned.
Shelby 316 $126 40
* Clinton 226 90 40
Richmond 106 42 40
Erin 170 68 00
Lenox 54 21-60
Macomb 176 70 40
Ray 213 85 20
Bruce 2.32 1.32 80
Armada 235 94 00 '
Warren 43 17 20
Sterling 131 52 40
Washington 441 176 40
Harrison 181 72 40
Total 2,624 $1,049 60
The value of this table rests upon its comparative antiquity, and the opportunity
jvhich it gives of obtaining an insight into the school statistics of the county near half a
centmy ago.
Similar statistics for 1881 show that the amount of primary school funds to which
the county is entitled is $11,454.36, or an average of $1.06 to every scholar. It is distrib-
uted among the townships as follows, Mt. Clemens being counted in Clinton as of yore:
Townships. No. Children. Amount.
Armada 590 |625 40
Bruce 817 866 02
Chesterfield 927 982 62
Clinton 1,542 1,634 52
Erin 1,044 1 106 54
Harrison 266 281 96
Lenox 853 904 18
Macomb 870 922 20
Ray 417 442 02
Richmond 988 1,047 28
Shelby 730 773 80
Sterling 582 616 92
Warren 801 849 06
Washington 379 401 74
Total 10.806 111,4.54 36
The amount of primary school fund accruing to this county at present is almost eleven
times the sum granted in 1839, while the number of children increased from 2,624, in
1839, to 10,806 in 1880, being 4,118 as many as the county could boast of possessing in
the years immediately following the Territorial days.
The schools of Mt. Clemens, Romeo, Utica and Disco, together with the township
schools, are treated in the histories of the townships, villages, etc., of the county.
SABB.\TH SCHOOLS.
A Sabbath school was organized at Mt. Clemens so early as 1823, wheu a school was
held in an old building used for the manufacture of pottery. It occupied a place where
23 •
^ Q w -^ sfv
to
(5 S^ --*- ®l
356 HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
the opera house now stands. The organizer was Richard Bvitler, and the number of
scholars was twenty, one of whom was Mrs. H. A. Cady. The next school was organized
by Samuel Evarts and C 
