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HISTORY OF DETROIT AND MICHIGAN SILAS FARMER
VOL. II BIOGRAPHICAL
Che Aletropolis of Elichigan DETROIT
DELINEATED WITH
Clas Faras
HISTORY
OF
Detroit AND Wayne County
AND
EARLY MICHIGAN
A Chronological Cyclopedia of the
OF
DET
SPERAMUS
CIT
MELIORA
*
RESURGET CIN
NERI BUS
PAST AND PRESENT
By SILAS FARMER, City Historiographer "native here and to the manner born "
Township and Biographical Edition
PUBLISHED BY SILAS FARMER & CO CORNER OF MONROE AVENUE AND FARMER STREET, DETROIT FOR MUNSELL & CO., NEW YORK 1890
COPYRIGHT, 1884, BY SILAS FARMER. COPYRIGHT, 1889, BY SILAS FARMER. COPYRIGHT, 1890, BY SILAS FARMER.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Electrotyped and Printed by THE DETROIT FREE PRESS COMPANY.
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
The insertion of biographical sketches in the first edition of this work was suggested to the author, but it was deemed best to postpone the preparation of such material until the subject could be given greater attention.
The successful sale of the first edition, and the gratifying demand for a second, has now given opportunity for this addition, which is certainly appropriate in a local history; for without citi- zens there would be neither city nor history, and brief biographies of representatives of various classes of its business and professional men will give a fairly representative idea of the city.
Some of the biographies are of necessity brief, as no other facts could be obtained. In gathering material for several of the biographies, I am indebted to Lanman's Red Book of Michigan, to the American Biographical History (Michigan volume), and to the Magazine of Western History.
Many other names might have appeared with propriety; indeed, other biographies were pre- pared, and other portraits engraved, which, almost at the last moment, were omitted, as it was found that they would increase the volume to an unreasonable size.
In addition to the large amount of entirely new matter, the work as a whole has been thoroughly revised.
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION.
In preparing the third edition of this work, the aim has been to embody all the desirable facts that could be obtained, concerning the history of the several townships of the county.
Diligent efforts have been made to secure material, very many of the older residents have been interviewed, and all the township records examined.
The history of each township is so related to the general history of the county, and to Detroit, that very many facts that might as appropriately have been given in the township histories, are given in various Chapters in the first volume, and to these, and especially to Chapters twenty, twenty-one and twenty-two, the reader is referred.
The author assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the personal sketches at the close of the volume, as they were collected by the firm of Munsell & Co., for whom this third edition is printed.
THE AUTHOR.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART XIII-BIOGRAPHICAL.
CHAPTER XC.
Mayors of Detroit .- Solomon Sibley - Elijah Brush - John R. Williams - Henry J. Hunt - John Biddle - Jonathan Kearsley - Marshall Chapin - Levi Cook - Charles C. Trowbridge - Andrew Mack - Henry Howard - Augustus S. Porter - Asher B. Bates - DeGarmo Jones -Zina Pitcher- Douglass Houghton - James A. Van Dyke- Frederick Buhl - Charles Howard - John Ladue - Zachariah Chandler - John H. Harmon - Oliver M. Hyde- Henry Ledyard -John Patton-Chris- tian H. Buhl - William C. Duncan -Kirkland C. Barker - Merrill I. Mills - William W. Wheaton- Hugh Moffat - Alexander Lewis - George C. Langdon - William G. Thompson - Stephen B. Grummond - Marvin H. Chamberlain - John Pridgeon, Jr. 1031-1050
CHAPTER XCI.
Governors, Senators, Bankers, and Capitalists .- Russell A. Alger - John J. Bagley - Henry P. Baldwin - Lewis Cass - S. Dow Elwood - Jacob M. Howard - James F. Joy -Henry B. Led- yard - James McMillan - Hugh McMillan - John S. Newberry - John Owen - David Preston - Thomas W. Palmer - Francis Palms - Martin S. Smith - William H. Stevens - William B. Wesson - William Woodbridge. 1051-1077
CHAPTER XCII.
Authors, Editors, Publishers, Physicians and Military Officers .- Hugh Brady-James B. Book - William H. Brearley - J. Henry Carstens - Henry A. Cleland - George Dawson - Arent S. DePeyster - John Farmer - Charles Hastings -Edward W. Jenks - Herman Kiefer - Alexander Macomb - Frederick Morley - Rollin C. Olin - John Pulford - William E. Quinby - James E. Scripps - John P. Sheldon - Morse Stewart - Francis X. Spranger - John Trumbull - William A. Throop - Henry O. Walker - Anthony Wayne - Richard S. Willis - Orlando B. Wilcox - Hal C. Wyman - Charles C. Yemans. 1078-1109
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XCIII.
Judges and Lawyers .- John Atkinson - Levi Bishop -James V. Campbell - Don M. Dickinson - Julian G Dickinson -- Samuel T. Douglass - D. Bethune Duffield - Henry M. Duffield - Edmund Hall - De Witt C. Holbrook - George H. Hopkins - Willard M. Lillibridge - George V. N. Lothrop - William A. Moore - George F. Porter - Ralph Phelps, Jr. - James A. Randall - Charles I. Walker - Edward C. Walker - William P. Wells - Albert H. Wilkinson - James Witherell - Benjamin F. H. Witherell. 1110-1134
CHAPTER XCIV.
Merchants .- Henry J . Buckley - James Burns - William K. Coyl - Thomas R. Dudley - William H. Elliott - James L. Edson -Jacob S. Farrand - John Farrar - Benjamin F. Farrington - Dexter M. Ferry - Aaron C. Fisher - Richard H. Fyfe - Rufus W. Gillett - Henry Glover- Jeremiah Godfrey -- Bruce Goodfellow - Theodore P. Hall - George H. Hammond - Samuel Heavenrich - Emil S. Heineman - Chauncey Hurlbut -- Joshua S. Ingalls - Charles S. Isham - Richard Macauley - Thomas McGraw - Nicol Mitchell - George F. Moore - James V. Moran - Cyrenius A. Newcomb - Henry A. Newland - Thomas Palmer - George Peck -James E. Pittman - William Reid - William D. Robinson - Alanson Sheley -Osias W. Shipman - Aaron L. Watkins - Frederick Wetmore - George C. Wetherbee - H. Kirke White. 1135-1174
CHAPTER XCV.
Manufacturers and Inventors .- William S. Armitage - Absalom Backus, Jr .- Carleton A. Beardsley - Thomas Berry - Calvin K. Brandon - William A. Burt - Wells Burt - John Burt - George S. Davis -- Solomon Davis - Alexander Delano - Jeremiah Dwyer -- Jacob B. Fox - George H. Gale - John S. Gray - Thomas F. Griffin - Gilbert Hart - Samuel F. Hodge - F. A. Hubel- James McGregor - Joseph B. Moore - Michael J. Murphy - David O. Paige - Hervey C. Parke - Hazen S. Pingree - David M. Richardson - Fordyce H. Rogers - Frederick Stearns - Joseph Toynton - J. Hill Whiting. 1175-1207
CHAPTER XCVI.
Land Dealers, Lumber Manufacturers, Vessel Owners, Railroad and Insurance Mana- gers, Etc .- Francis Adams - James A. Armstrong - Stephen Baldwin - Edmund A. Brush - William N. Carpenter - John P. Clark - E. W. Cottrell - Darius Cole - Alfred A. Dwight - Eralsy Ferguson - Moses W. Field - George S. Frost - J. Huff Jones - Edward Lyon - Charles Merrill - Franklin Moore - Stephen Moore - John B. Mulliken - Joseph Nicholson - Charles Noble - Charles W. Noble - Charles L. Ortmann - Samuel Pitts - John E. Potts-Henry P. Pulling - David R. Shaw - Elliott T. Slocum - Giles B. Slocum - John D. Standish - Isaac N. Swain - Anson Waring - Jared C. Warner - Deodatus C. Whitwood - Eber B. Ward - Emily Ward. 1208-1236
CHAPTER XCVII.
Merchants and Manufacturers .- John Brennan - Conrad Clippert - Victor Colliau - Sidney B. Dixon -Walter John Gould - De Witt C. Gage - John Allen Gray - William A. Gray - Anthony F. Grosfield - Edward W. Leech - Charles H. Preston -John V. Ruehle -Henry Spitzley.
1237-1244
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XCVIII.
Township and Biographical .- Brownstown .- Canton : Biographies of John Huston, Orlando R. Pattengell, Robert Crawford Safford .- Dearborn : Biographies of Elizur R. Carver, William Daly, James Gardner, Edward Sparrow Snow, John B. Wallace. - Ecorce : Biographies of Jerome Holland Bishop, George Clark, Thomas D. Evans, James T. Hurst, F. A. Kirby, Walter C. Lambert, The- ophilus J. Langlois, Hyacinthe F. Riopelle, Alexis M. Salliotte .- Greenfield : Biography of James McFarlane .- Grosse Point : Biography of Amandus Vandendriessche .- Hamtramck : Biographies of Christopher Damitio, John E. Edwards -Huron .- Livonia : Biography of William M. Shaw .- Mon- guagon : Biographies of James Woodruff Clark, John Clee, Isaac Callendar Saunders, Phineas Earll Saunders .- Nankin : Biography of Ebenezer O. Bennett .- Plymouth : Biographies of Jared S. Lap- ham, Theodore C. Sherwood, John Marcus Swift .- Redford : Biographies of Felix Gauthier, George C. Gordon, George C. Lawrence .- Romulus .- Springwells : Biography of Joseph H. Clixby .- Sump- ter .- Taylor .- Van Buren. 1247-1383
Personal Sketches.
1385-1473
PART XIII. BIOGRAPHICAL.
CHAPTER XC.
MAYORS.
SOLOMON SIBLEY was born in Sutton, Massa- chusetts, October 7, 1769. He came to Detroit very soon after the Territory was surrendered by the English, and in January, 1799, was elected a mem- ber, from Wayne County, of the General Assembly of the Northwest Territory, and was largely instru- mental in procuring the passage of the Act of 1802, incorporating the town of Detroit.
In recognition of his services the electors of the town, at the first election, conferred upon him the freedom of the corporation, and after the second election he became Chairman of the Board of Trus- tees, and under the first city charter of 1806, was made Mayor of the city.
He also held numerous other offices, serving as Auditor of the Territory from 1814 to 1817, was United States Attorney from 1815 to 1823, and Delegate in Congress, from Michigan, from 1821 to 1823, and one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the Territory from 1823 to 1837.
The recital of the offices he filled, is abundant indication of the esteem in which. he was held, and in ability he was the peer of any who were then in office in the Territory, or citizens of Detroit.
He was married in October, 1802, to Sarah Whipple Sproat. They had eight children, as fol- lows : Colonel Ebenezer Sproat Sibley, of United States Army; Katherine Whipple, wife of C. C. Trowbridge; Henry Hastings Sibley, ex-Governor of Minnesota ; Augusta, wife of James A. Arm- stong; Mary, wife of Charles S. Adams; Alexan- der Hamilton Sibley; Sarah Alexandrine Sibley, and Frederic Baker Sibley, of Detroit.
Solomon Sibley died at Detroit, April 4, 1846.
ELIJAH BRUSH was born at Bennington, Ver- mont, and came to Detroit in 1798. His father was a Colonel in the Revolutionary Army, and took part in the battle of Bennington.
Elijah Brush graduated at Dartmouth College, began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar. He first practised his profession in Detroit.
In 1803, within five years after he arrived in Detroit, he was elected a trustee of the town cor-
poration, and in the same year served also as super- visor.
In 1805 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Legionary Corps of Territorial Militia, and un- der the Act of 1806 was appointed the second Mayor of Detroit.
In 1806 he was also appointed Treasurer of the Territory, and served until December 13, 1813, and from 1811 to 1814 also held the office of United States Attorney.
After the surrender of Detroit to the English, in 1812, Colonel Brush with other citizens was com- pelled by General Proctor to leave the Territory. Reaching Toronto, then known as York, he met his brother-in-law, a British officer, through whose interposition he was paroled, and sent within the American lines.
In October, 1813, with General Harrison's troops, he re-entered Detroit, and in December, 1813, he died.
Colonel Brush married Adelaide Askin, a daughter of John Askin, of Detroit, and in 1806 became the owner of the Askin, afterwards known as the Brush Farm.
He left three sons and a daughter.
JOHN R. WILLIAMS was born at Detroit, May 4, 1782, and was the only son of Thomas Williams, a native of Albany, New York, who came to Detroit in 1765, and married a sister of the late Joseph Campau.
He received an appointment in the Army in 1796, and entered the service under General Wilkinson, at Fort Marsac, on the Cumberland River, in Ten- nessee.
In 1799 he resigned, at the solicitation of Mr. Campau, and returned to Detroit, to engage in business. They formed a partnership to engage in the Indian trade, and Mr. Williams went to Mon- treal to purchase goods. While on board a small sloop at Queenstown, he became engaged in an altercation with a Frenchman named La Salle, a de- scendant of the renowned navigator and explorer. It resulted in their fighting a duel across a table, in
[1031]
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MAYORS.
which La Salle was shot and severely wounded, Mr. Williams was arrested and carried to Montreal, where he remained under bail for several months, but was finally discharged.
In 1802 he returned to Detroit, and embarked in the fur trade and general mercantile business.
During the war of 1812 he was made Captain of an artillery company. At the time of Hull's sur- render he became a prisoner, but was paroled, and moved with his family to Albany, where he re- mained until 1815, when he returned to Detroit and resumed business.
In the year 1815 he was appointed Associate Jus- tice of the County Court, and in 1818 was made one of the County Commissioners, and in the same year was also appointed Adjutant General of the Territory, and served until 1829.
He was the author of the City Charter of 1824, and served as the first Mayor under it, and was elected to the same office in 1830, 1844, 1845, and 1846.
He served as President of the Constitutional Con- vention held at Ann Arbor in 1835, and was active at all times in all political matters.
He was also always interested in military affairs, and at the breaking out of the Black Hawk war was in command of the Territorial troops, and went to Chicago to aid in defending the western settlements.
He owned a large amount of real estate, and his name and the names of members of his family are perpetuated in the names of several of the streets of the city.
He married Mary Mott, daughter of Major Ger- shom Mott, on October 25, 1804.
They had ten children, viz .: Ferdinand ; Theo- dore ; G. Mott ; Thomas; John C .; James Mott; J. C. Devereux ; Elizabeth, first wife of Colonel John Winder ; Cecilia ; Mary C. A., married first to David Smart, second to Commodore J. P. Mckinstry ; she died in 1876.
Mr. Williams died at Detroit, October 20, 1854.
HENRY JACKSON HUNT was the eldest son of Colonel Thomas Hunt, of the Revolutionary Army, afterwards Colonel of the Second Regiment of the United States Army, who died in St. Louis. It fell to the lot of his son, Henry Jackson Hunt, to care for the orphaned children.
He came from New York to Detroit soon after the Americans obtained possession, and served as Colonel of the Militia during most or all of the time from 1800 to 1813.
He was a leading merchant and also held various offices ; was one of the Judges of the County Court in 1815, City Assessor in 1817, Trustee of the Uni- versity in 1821, one of the Trustees of the Corpora- tion of Detroit in 1823, and in 1826 was elected
Mayor of the city, and died on September 15, 1826, before the expiration of his term of office.
He was universally esteemed as a citizen and was prominent in all the literary, philanthropic, and re- ligious projects of his time, and few persons in Detroit were as well and favorably known.
He was almost universally spoken of as Henry I. Hunt, but his middle name was Jackson.
He had but few relatives in Detroit. Cleveland Hunt, a nephew, is the only representative left in the city.
JOHN BIDDLE was born in Philadelphia in March, 1792.
He was the son of Charles Biddle, Vice-President of Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War, and a nephew of Commodore Nicholas Biddle, of the Revolutionary Navy.
He graduated at Princeton College, and a few years later entered the United States Army.
During most of the War of 1812 he served un- der General Scott upon the Niagara frontier, during a portion of the time attached to his staff, and was promoted from a Captain of Artillery to the position of Major. His brother, Major Thomas Biddle, was also in the United States Army, and served in the same campaigns, and an older brother, Commodore James Biddle, was a noted naval officer.
At the close of the war, Major Biddie was sta- tioned at Detroit. After some years he resigned his commission and went east.
In 1819 he married Eliza F. Bradish, of New York, and, returning to Detroit, made quite exten- sive purchases of lands.
In 1823 he was appointed Register of the Land Office for the district of Detroit, and held the office until 1837.
In 1827 and 1828 he served as Mayor of Detroit, and from 1829 to 1831 was a delegate in Congress from Michigan, and in 1841 served in the State Legislature. He took great interest in political matters, and was President of the convention which framed the State Constitution of 1835. He was a fine scholar, wrote easily and fluently, and his lit- erary productions were always valuable.
He was a member of St. Paul's P. E. Church and interested in all the general religious and philan- thropic reforms and efforts of his time. He was President of the original corporation that built the Michigan Central Railroad, and also in 1838 Presi- dent of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank.
In his later years he spent much of his time on his farm, which covered the site of the present city of Wyandotte, and also traveled extensively. On his return from a trip to Europe, in 1859, he spent the summer at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia,
MARSHALL CHAPIN.
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MAYORS.
where he died suddenly on August 25, after taking a cold bath.
He had a large family several of whom survived him. Among these were the widow of General Andrew Porter, William S. Biddle, Major James Biddle and Edward I. Biddle.
JONATHAN KEARSLEY was born in Dau- phin . County, Pennsylvania, on August 20, 1786, and was the son of Captain Samuel Kearsley, an officer of merit and distinction in the Revolutionary war. The son graduated at Washington College, in Pennsylvania, in May, 1811, and about a year later, on July 6, 1812, he was commissioned by President Madison as a First Lieutenant in the Second Regiment of Artillery. He was soon after appointed Assistant Deputy Quartermaster-Gen- eral and attached to the staff of Colonel Izard, at Philadelphia.
.
In 1813 he was appointed Adjutant of the regi- ment commanded by Colonel Winfield Scott, after- wards Lieutenant-General Scott. He accompanied this distinguished officer at the storming of Fort George, crossing the river in the same boat. He was shortly after engaged in the battle at Stony Creek, and was brevetted Captain for his gallant conduct on that occasion.
He also served as Garrison Major under General Porter and Brigadier Major under General Wil- liams. He was with the army in the descent of the St. Lawrence under General Wilkinson, and partici- pated in the action at Chrystler's Field.
On April 21, 1814, he was transferred to the Fourth Rifles, and during the following summer was in the left division of the northern army, until in a skirmish on August 20, preceding the sortie at Fort Erie, he was so badly wounded that it became necessary to amputate his leg. He was subsequently commissioned Assistant Adjutant- General with the rank of Major, to take effect from the day of the action in which he was wounded. Soon afterwards he was appointed to the charge of the State Arsenal at Harrisburg and was also made a Collector of the internal revenue taxes.
On March 20, 1819, he was appointed Receiver of Public Moneys at Detroit and removed to this city. He held the office until 1850. He also served as Recorder of the city in 1826 and as Justice of the Peace in 1827.
In 1829 he was elected Mayor of the city, and from 1836 to 1850 served as one of the Regents of the University.
Major Kearsley was twice married. The name of his first wife was Margaret Hetich, daughter of George Hetich, of Chambersburgh, Pennsylvania. They had three children, one of whom died in childhood; a son, Edward R. Kearsley, lives in
Crawford County, Ohio, and a daughter, the late Mrs. M. Howard Webster, lived in Detroit.
The second wife of Mr. Kearsley, Rachel Valen- tine, was the daughter of Robert Valentine, of Chester County, Pennsylvania. She died on Janu- ary 6, 1859. Mr. Kearsley died on August 31 of the same year.
MARSHALL CHAPIN, M. D., was born in Bernardstown, Massachusetts, February 27, 1798, and was the son of Caleb and Mary Chapin, who had nine children. His ancestors lived in and about Springfield and the Connecticut River Valley for over 200 years. His father was a physician, but owned and operated a farm.
The family removed to Caledonia, New York, and after having attended the usual schools of that day Mr. Chapin took a medical course at Geneva. He subsequently studied with his uncle, Dr. Cyrenius Chapin, of Buffalo, New York, and graduated at the age of twenty-one.
In 1819 he established, with the help of his uncle, the first drug store in Detroit. Very soon after coming to the city he became prominent in public life. He served as Alderman at large in 1826 and 1827, and as Mayor of Detroit in 1831 and 1833, and as Chief Engineer of the Fire Department in 1832.
In 1832, during the first visitation of the cholera, he was appointed City Physician and won golden opinions from all classes by his faithfulness and de- votion ; and two years later, when the scourge again appeared, he was equally active and efficient.
In addition to his professional labors he gave close attention to his drug store, and under the firm names of J. Owen & Co., T. & J. Hinchman, and T. H. Hinchman & Sons, the business has been continuously maintained; but for more than two score of years has been exclusively a wholesale establishment.
As a physician Mr. Chapin was greatly beloved, and he invariably refused all compensation for his services from those not readily able to pay.
He was married in 1823 to Mary Crosby. They had four children. Their names were: Louisa, who married Theodore H. Hinchman ; Helen, who married Norton Strong; Charles, who died when twelve years old; and Marshall, now dead, who served as a Colonel in the Union army.
Dr. Chapin died December 26, 1838.
LEVI COOK was born December 16, 1792, at Bellingham, Massachusetts, and came to Detroit in 1815. The same year he became one of the Trus- tees of the city and continued to hold from one to several offices almost every year thereafter.
In 1822 he served as City Treasurer ; from 1824
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to 1827 as County Commissioner ; as Superintend- ent of the City Poor in 1827 and 1828, and also as Alderman at large in 1828. He served as Treas- urer of the Territory from 1830 to 1836, and as Chief Engineer of the Fire Department during the same period. In 1834 he was Supervisor of Detroit, and in 1835 and 1836 Mayor. In 1838 he repre- sented Wayne County in the House of Representa- tives, and in 1840 and 1841 served on the Board of Review of the city.
He was prominently connected with various banking organizations, was a Director in the Farm- ers' and Mechanics' Bank in 1829, and President from 1838 to 1845. He was a leading and very influential member of the Masonic body, and was tall, portly and commanding in appearance. He married Eliza Sanderson.
He died December 2, 1866, but left neither wife nor children.
CHARLES CHRISTOPHER TROWBRIDGE was born in Albany, New York, on December 29, 1800, and was the youngest of six children. His father, Luther Trowbridge, who died in 1802, was a native of Framingham, Massachusetts, and when the Revolution broke out was a law student, but immediately volunteered in the army.
At the age of seventeen he received an Ensign's commission in the Massachusetts' line and contin- ued in the service until peace was declared, when he retired with the rank of Brevet Captain and Quartermaster.
After the war he settled at Albany, where his wife (whose maiden name was Elizabeth Tillman) had relatives. Here he held various offices, was prominent in public affairs, and died greatly re- spected.
After his death the children were scattered, Charles C. finding a friend in Major Horatio Ross, of Owego, who proposed to initiate him into mer- cantile life. In accordance with this plan his first year was spent at Elmira; the next year he was taken into the family of Major Ross, where he was treated as a favored son.
The business troubles that followed the peace of 1815 ruined his patron's business, and the creditors put the property into the hands of Mr. Trowbridge, who was then not quite eighteen years old, and he went down the Susquehanna with a cargo of salt, gypsum and lumber, disposed of it in Pennsylvania and came back safely with the proceeds. The next year Mr. William A. Ely, of Owego, engaged him to go as supercargo to Havre de Grace and Balti- more.
Shortly after his return from Baltimore he decided to seek a home in Michigan. Some of his friends, through the intervention of Rev. John Monteith,
secured him an appointment under Major Thomas Rowland, who was then holding various offices, and in the fall of 1819 Mr. Trowbridge came to Detroit.
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