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PUBLIC LIBRARY.
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
Respy Yours Falcon & Aring
HISTORY
OF
MONROE COUNTY
MICHIGAN.
ILLUSTRATED.
TALCOTT E. WING, EDITOR.
400
NEW YORK : MUNSELL & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 1890.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 208938 ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS. R 1901 L.
COPYRIGHT, 1890, BY MUNSELL & CO., NEW YORK.
BLADE PRINTING & PAPER CO., Engravers, Printers and Bookbinders, TOLEDO, OHIO.
2010
MONROE COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
ERECTED ISSO-18SI, UPON THE SITE OF COURT HOUSE BUILT IN 1836-1837, AND DESTROYED BY FIRE FEBRUARY 27TH, 1879.
PREFACE.
Hon. Talcott E. Wing, the author of this work, in January, 1886, entered into an agreement with Messrs. Munsell & Co., publishers, of New York, to write a history of the city and county of Monroe, and complete the same within a reasonable time. As preparations progressed, the im- possibility of gathering all the necessary information and of producing a complete history in a limited time became increasingly apparent, the time was extended and the last manuscript was completed and ready for the publishers only a day before the author's death, which occurred January 25, 1890.
During this period many have asked why the volume was not finished, and to not a few the necessity of expending so much time was not clearly apparent. The labor involved in the planning, writing and editing was far greater than the author had anticipated or than any but a careful historian can appreciate.
The editor received valuable aid in special contributions from writers whose names are given, except in a few instances where they were omitted by special request of the contributor. Many others contributed facts and suggestions which were gratefully received, and in writing of the explorations and early history of the State and county, Parkman. Campbell and other well-known writers of the early history of the Northwest were consulted.
An exhaustive history of Monroe county, and a full history of all the men, women and events that have contributed, both directly and indirectly, to its history, prosperity and progress. would require several volumes of the size of this. A judicious selection of material therefore became necessary, and some pruning, to make publication possible.
An investigation of city, county and township records had frequently to be made, and a rescarch of several days was often necessary to obtain the material and facts for two or three pages of this volume.
Not only was it necessary to embody here, for the present generation, the history of the past, but also of the present time for future generations.
It has been the aim of the author to give also biographies of some of the old settlers and the representative men of all professions, and a representative exhibit of the various industries of the county.
This volume, with its excellencies and defects, is committed to the friends who have en- couraged its author, and whom he has labored to please, and to no one with more confidence than to the faithful student of history, who will most readily appreciate what is good and pardon what is bad.
CHARLES R. WING.
.
PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
With heartfelt sincerity, we, in common with all intimate friends of the author of this magnificent volume, and citizens of Monroe County generally, desire to unite in the richly deserved tributes due him because of the great love, the extraordinary care, the indefatigable industry and incessant labor of years, of which this volume is the ripened fruit.
By none was the fact more vividly appreciated than the author that the history of a city and county is inseparable from the history of its representative men, past and present, whose lives and achievements form an important factor; and to this end sketches of such per- sonal history are embodied, accompanied by portraits where practicable. It would have been both a matter of choice and profit to the publishers to have seen this volume completed at an earlier day, but the author, true to the thorough completeness of his work and as devoted to the best interests of its subscribers as he is dear to the memory of all, would in no case sacrifice intrinsic worth of the finished volume to a saving of time in its completion, which course merits and must receive the hearty commendation of all. And this, the great and last work of a long and useful life, will thus remain a fit monument to his memory.
NEW YORK, April, 1890.
MUNSELL & COMPANY.
PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Adams, Ephraim,
446
Dansard, Benjamin, 309
Adams, James Q.
245
Darralı, Archibald Baird, 479
Adams, Thomas D.
464
Darrah, Lewis, 490
Alford, John,
325
Davis, John, . 465
Allen, Edward Payson,
283
Dawe, D. 439
Allen, Seneca,
486
Disbrow, Henry, 122
Anderson, John,
106
Dorsch, Edward,
432
Angerer, Charles,
355
Dunbar, Addison Edwin, 356
Armitage, James,
347
Dunbar. William, 355
Arnold, Silas R.
433
Durocher, Laurent, 125
Aselstyne, Isaac,
475
Edwards, Thomas Smith,
476
Aselstyne, Josiah C.
474
Egnew, Samuel,
120
Austin Harvey,
157
Eldredge, Nathaniel D.
283
Bacon, Daniel S.
149
Fay, Orion Jonathan,
360
Baker, Seward,
465
Felch, Alpheus, 248
Ferry, Peter Peyre, 143
Baldwin, Newton,
471
Fifield, Benjamin F.
314
Bates, Alfred G.
157
Gale, Josephı B. 479
Beaman, Fernando C.
281
Galloway, Jerome B. 483
Beck, Christian F.
489
Gifford, W. R. 526
461
Bentley, James,
118
Godfroy, James Jacques,
142
Billmire, John W.
464
Golden, Charles A.
462
Bissonette, Gabriel,
121
Golden, Patrick,
159
Bissonette, Joseph,
121
Gonsolus, K.
446
Bliss Family,
125 Goodwin, Daniel, .
476
Boyd, Erasmus James,
500
Gorman, James S.
Boyd, William HI.
163
Grant, Alexander,
481
Bragdon, Alonzo B.
462
Greene, George Henry,
310
Bruckner, Christopher,
316
Greene, Jacob Lyman,
352
Buck, George,
488
Grosvenor, Ira R.
448
Bulkley, Gershom Taintor, .
311
Hackett, Walter, 486
Cass. Lewis,
90
Heath, George Francis,
436
Chapman, Austin Bostwick,
474
Hitchcock, Elisha Bardow, 482
Choate, Emerson,
360
Hoffman, Leopold, 488
Christiancy, Isaac P.
246
Hogarth, John Packard, 314
Clark, Robert,
144
Humphrey, Levi S. 477
Clarke, Stephen G.
478
Hurd, George Robinson, 357
Cole, Thomas G.
152
Jackson, George W.
445
Conant, Harry,
150
Jackson, Samuel P.
354
Conant, Harry Armitage,
347
Jaminet, John P.
464
Corbin, B. J.
465
Johnson, Oliver,
148
Crampton, Darius Ralph,
495
Jones, S. L. 440
Critchett, Otis Adams,
458
Joos, Edward, 519
Curtiss, Benjamin H.
585
Joslyn, Chauncey,
478
Curtis, D. A.
585
Kedzie Family,
129
Custer, George Armstrong,
319 Keeney, Andrew Jackson,
469
Custer, Emanuel Henry,
318
Keeney, Salmon, . 469
Daiber, Anton, .
489
Kirby, Restcome R. 362
Damon, Elwin H. 444 Knaggs, James, 108
354
Candee Family,
599
Hardy, Stephen Thurston, 586
Clarke, Walter P.
478 Ilgenfritz, I. E. 415
Benson, Peter,
149
Gilday, Edwin R.
Baldwin, L.
442
viii
PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES.
PAGE.
Knapp, W. F.
439
Randall, Seth C. 465
Lacroix, Hubert,
106
Rauch, John R. 460
LaFontain, Louis, sr.,
124
Richard, Gabriel,
110
Landon, George,
431
Richardson, George W.
442
Landon, George M.
460
Robert, Antoine Francis, .
487
Lanman, Charles,
322
Robert, Joseph, 115
Lanman, Charles James, 321
Root, Philander Sheldon,
435
Lasselle, Antoine,
119
Russell, James I.
598
Lasselle, Francis,
119
Sancraint, John B. 475
Lasselle, Jacques, .
118
Sawyer, Alfred Isaac, 348
Lauer, Edward G. J.
367
Schmittdiel, Benjamin D. 521
Lawrence, Wolcott,
244
Slayton, Willlam Earl, 586
Lewis, Isaac,
525
Smith, Henry, 297
Lewis, Samuel Baker,
420
Smith, Winfield, 298
Lockwook, Ezra L.
484
Soffers, Bernard G.
520
Lockwood, Harry A.
464
Soleau, Alexis, 123
Loranger, Edward,
168
Southworth, Charles Tracy, 434
Loranger, Philip J.
487
Southworth, Charles Tracy, jr., 434
McCallum, George Barclay,
437
Southworth, Hartia E. 583
McClelland, Robert,
245
Southworth, Tracy, 445
McMillan, James.
280
Spalding, George, 322
Man, Harry V.
252
Stevens, John J.
315
Martin, John,
423
Stockbridge, Francis B. 280
Masecar, Alfred J.
438
Stone, Harvey, 157
Mason, John Warner,
445
Strong, John, jr., 479
Moore, James,
119
Studdiford, William V. 477
Morris, Gouverneur,
455
Stump, John, 490
Morrow, P. H. 442
116
Tibbetts, Benjamin, 122
Mulhollen, James, jr.,
590
Toll, Philip R. 317
Mulhollen, Samuel,
471
Tucker, Joseph L. 366
Munro, Charles E. H.
441
Tull, John, 168
Murphy, Seba,
160
Valade, Jerome J. 440
Murphy, William Walton,
161
Valade, Joseph L.
444
Navarre, Francis,
93
Van Kleeck, James,
487
Navarre, Isadort ,
115
Wakefield, Stephen B. 480
281
Navarre, Joseph G.
358
Weier, Joseph, 489
Navarre, Peter,
125
Wells, Noah M.
503
Navarre, Robert,
115
West, William C. 435
Noble, Charles, 151
312
Wilkerson, Alfred,
485
Noble, Conway Wing,
313
Willett, Benjamin T.
440
Noble, Daniel. .
166
Willitts, Edwin, .
282
Noble, David Addison, 250
Wing, Austin E. 151
Noble, Deodatus,
166
Wing, Charles R. 462
Noble, Henry Shaw, 464
Wing, Talcott E. 457
Noble, William Addison, 167
Wing, Warner, 250
Paquette, Nazarth, 444
Winney, A. F. . 358
Parker, Burton, . 461
590
Wood, John, 107
Peters, George,
484
Zabel, John O.
465
Peters, Richard,
484
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Veterans of the War of 1812, 82
Frogging on the Raisin, . 410
Dredging Machine,
177
Capture of Richmond, . 529
First Locomotive,
218
Court House,
3
Store of Ed. G. J. Lauer, 370
Map,
9
Sho-wae-cae-mettes,
391
Wood, James C. 446
Peabody, John G.
White, William Tandy, 472
Noble, Charles Wing,
Waldron, Henry,
Navarre, Jacques,
120
Thurber, Jefferson Gage. 249
Mulhollen, James, sr.,
PAGE.
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY DISCOVERIES - MISSIONARIES -INDIAN VILLAGES -CONGRESS OF INDIANS AT ST. MARY'S FALLS -THEIR MODE OF LIVING -LIFE OF THE INDIANS IN PEACE AND WAR.
M ICHIGAN derives its name from two In - dian words in the Chippewa language, Mitchaw, great, and Sagiegan, lake-the land of the great lakes. The Territory of Michigan was a part of New France, whose boundaries were as illusive as its history was romantic and mysterious. One historian tells us Michi- gan embraced that part of the Mississippi Val- ley north of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; bounded on the east by Canada, and on the west by the great plains west of the Father of Waters. The Huron tribe of Indians occupied the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and were more civilized and less nomadie than the other western Indians. They early formed friend- ships with the energetic and adventurous fur traders, who had penetrated the wilderness for gain and advancement in civil and military positions. When the French traders returned to Montreal they gave such glowing descrip- tions of the country, rich in furs and sunny and fertile lands, they inspired the slumbering spirit of the colonists. As early as 1536, when Jacques Cartier reached Montreal on his second voyage, he was told by the Indians of " the three great lakes ; a sea of fresh water [proba- bly Lake Superior], of which no man had found an end; of great stores of gold and copper; that there was a river running south- west, which required a month's sailing to reach a beautiful land where there was no snow or ice, where oranges, almonds, nuts of various kinds and apples grew in abundance. The people in that region dressed as the French [no doubt the Spaniards] and lived in walled towns, and were at war with the inhabitants con- tinually."
The Indians were prudent busbandmen and cultivated large fields of corn, laid out in sym- metrical order, the remains of which can be traced in some localities to this day. The squaws prepared the corn with mortars and pestles. They made many kinds of pottage with
corn, pease and beans. Fish were preserved in large vessels. Like more civilized people they depended upon hunting, fishing and farming. The villages were sometimes large and laid out regularly, often surrounded with timber and well protected.
Detroit was visited as early as 1610, and Champlain's maps of 1612 show the connection of the straits between the lakes. On the strait the wandering traders established stations, and a village of Hurons existed near, or on, the present site of the city, and was named by the Indians Ka-ron-ta-en, meaning The Coast of the Strait. Thus it seems Detroit can claim to have been located before Boston, New York, Philadelphia, or New Orleans. The most relia- ble records of the carly days of this State are derived from the Jesuit missionaries, of whom Brebeuf and Daniel were the pioneers. They joined a party of Hurons at Quebec in the year 1634, and sailed through the Ottawa River to Lake Huron, upon whose shores they erected the first log house, which served for home and sanctuary for many long and weary days. They daily rang the church bell and called the savages to prayers. Here they educated a small band of Hurons, and trained them for missionary assistants.
Raymbault began a mission at St. Mary's Falls in 1641, but his strength soon succumbed to the rigorous climate and his arduous duties, and in the last stages of consumption he re- turned to Quebec to lay down his life, worn out for his Master. Thus it was with many of the early missionaries. Their zeal was greater than their strength, and their enthusiasm burned with a fervid and unquenchable flame. While carrying the cross through the trackless wilds, they braved all obstacles; they suffered at the hand of the savage every indignity ; they were scarred with hot irons, covered with burning bark, and often tortured to death. What wonder Tallemand and other martyrs
2
10
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
cried out in dying agony, " We are a spectacle unto the world, and to angels and to men." The ranks of these devoted men were filled as they fell in this century's highways by no less ardent followers of the cross, thus testifying to the world the wonderful missionary zeal of that age. Although they formed no permanent mission for over a quarter of a century, who can estimate the influence they exerted from the Gulf of Mexico to the St. Lawrence? They taught the Indians to cultivate the soil upon a more generous plan ; introduced new seeds and plants, as well as fruits; and led them to pro- vide against the adverse seasons and failures in the chase, thus avoiding the famines which had, it is supposed, decimated their numbers from the Atlantic to the Pacific shores to an alarming extent. These pioneer missionaries rendered the only accurate and scientific ac- count of the regions they penetrated, and con- tributed the earliest geographical knowledge of the great Northwest to the world.
The French explorers engaged these conse- crated men upon all important expeditions, and it is believed their gentle policy mitigated ma- terially the experience of those who fell into the hands of men whose ambition for France, as well as their own selfish motives, caused them to overlook the rights of a weaker and less intelligent race.
The shores of the northern lakes and adja- cent lands were explored in 1654 by two young fur traders, accompanied by a band of Ottawas and Algonquins. They penetrated the wilds for a distance of fifteen hundred miles, and after two years returned to Montreal with such en- couraging reports of the richness and beauty of the country, that they were granted per- mission to fit out an expedition to extend French commerce into the Northwest. Gabrielle Dreuillettes and Leonard Gareau, former mis- sionaries among the Hurons, were selected for the enterprise, but they met with discourage- ment at the outset, owing to the enmity exist- ing among most of the Indian tribes at that time. They were attacked just below Montreal by a band of Mohawks and completely demoral- ized. During the following five years various companies from Montreal interested in the fur trade pushed their way into the new regions, and eventually formed an alliance with a num- ber of western tribes who desired a league with the French whereby they might resist the
Iroquois. The Indians were represented by two explorers, who returned to Quebec in 1660 accompanied by sixty canoes, laden with rare peltries and paddled by three hundred Algon- quins ; whereupon the Government determined to explore the territory around Green Bay and Lake Superior, and establish at some conven- ient point a post for the general rendezvous of the tribes. This task was appointed Rene Menard, a Jesuit missionary, who entered upon his work with a determination to pene- trate the Northwest farther than any of his predecessors. He left Quebec on the 28th of August, 1660, with but few supplies or comforts of life, but with the trusting faith of a child, saying, " I trust in Providence, which feeds the little birds of the air and clothes the wild flowers of the desert." Menard reached the bay now known as L'Anse, where he re- mained eight long months, with no compan- ions but the rude, untutored savages. The Hurons invited him to visit them on the Island of St. Michael, where they had taken refuge. He left his converts in the spring, and with one Indian pursued his journey to the Bay of Che-goi-me-gon. After passing through Port- age Lake, his companion moved the canoe and its contents across the portage, and the aged missionary, who was now quite feeble, strayed into the woods and was never seen again. Years afterwards his breviary and cassock were discovered among the Sioux.
Father Allouez, undaunted by the fate of the aged Menard, and full of the spirit of his order, embarked at Three Rivers in company with about four hundred Indians, who were returning home from Quebec, where they had been for the purpose of trade. The missionary with his Indian hordes reached Sault Ste. Marie in safety; from there he proceeded to Lake Superior, which he named in honor of M. de Tracy, and the first map of Lake Superior, sup- posed to be the work of Marquette and Allouez, bears the name of Lac Tracy ou Superieur.
The Indians regarded this lake as a divinity, on account of its size and in consequence of its furnishing them with fish when hunting failed. Allouez reported the existence of copper in this region, and that he had seen pieces weighing from ten to twenty pounds in the keeping of several savages, who regarded these specimens as gods, and kept them wrapped up with their most precious articles, some families having
11
CONGRESS OF INDIANS AT ST. MARY'S FALLS.
had them in possession for fifty years ; to others " they had descended from time out of mind, presented by the gods who dwell beneath the waters." At St. Theresa Bay this missionary found a few of the converts of Father Menard, " whose memories he refreshed with the mys- teries of his religion," and pressed on his jour- ney. "After many discouragements by means of famine, storms and great weariness both day and night," he landed at Che-goi-me-gon (La Pointe) on the first day of October, 1665. ITere Allouez remained nearly two years, win- ning converts to the faith and establishing peace between the Chippewas and the Sioux. Great bands of Indians gathered about the mission and listened to his instruction. He also visited Fond du Lac, and there the Sioux informed him of vast plains farther west where roamed immense herds of buffalo. Becoming more and more enthusiastic in his mission, and feeling the need of better aid in establishing stations among the various tribes, he repaired to Quebec in the fall of 1667. With burning words he appealed to his brethren, and was so successful in interesting them that his object was accomplished in two days. He imme. diately returned to the Indians with fresh re. cruits and augmented zeal.
Father Marquette and Claud Dablon were so thoroughly interested in the project that they soon followed, and succeeded in estab- lishing the first permanent mission at the Sault de Ste. Marie, and the second was soon begun on the Island of Michilimackinac. Both were wisely chosen as important points. Marquette calls them " the keys or gates for the tribes north and south," as they were obliged to go through them in order to reach the French settlements. Soon after the establishment of the mission the French Government, in May, 1671, convened the long-desired congress of the In- dians at the Falls of Ste. Marie. Here they consolidated as far as possible the interests of the various tribes of the Northwest. Repre- sentatives of the Indian nations came in great numbers from the St. Lawrence on the north, and from as far south as the Red River. They sat in council with the veteran French officers and priests. The Governor-General of New France was represented by M. de Lusson, who took possession of " all lands between the east and west, and from Montreal on the north to the south where any land existed," in the name
of his Majesty, the King of France. The tribes were assembled upon a hill near the village, the standard of the cross was erected with the most solemn ceremonies of the church, while the soldiers chanted the Vaxilla to the admira- tion of the Indians. Then the lilies of France were marked upon a cedar post, while the French chanted the inspiring Exaudeat, and offered prayers for the sacred person of his Majesty. The chiefs were informed they were under the protection of the French king, and guns were fired. After much ceremony Father Allonez addressed the savages in their own tongue as follows, which is a sample of the ora- tory impressive to the Indians of that time :
" It is a most important affair that calls us together. Cast your eyes on that cross which is high above your heads. It is there where the Son of God was willing to be attached and to die in order to satisfy His eternal Father for your sins. He is the master of your lives and also of heaven and earth and hell. It is He of whom I have often spoken, and whose name and words I have borne into these distant lands. But at the same time look upon that other column, to which are attached the arms of that great chief of France whom we call King. Helives beyond the sea. He is the chief of chiefs, and has not his like in the world. All the chiefs of whom you have heard are but children compared with him. He is like a great tree, while they are mere shrubs which we tread upon. You know Onontio [the Governor- General], the renowned chief of Quebec. You know that he is the terror of the Iroquois, and that his name is sufficient to make them tremble, since he has desolated their lands, and carried fire among their settlements. There are be- yond the sea ten thousand Onontios like him, who are but warriors of the great chief, our King of whom I speak. When he says ' I go to war,' everybody obeys, and these ten thou- sand chiefs raise bands of warriors, both for the land and the sea. Some embark in ships like those you have seen at Quebec. Your canoes will hold but four or five men, twelve at the utmost. Our vessels carry four or five hundred and even a thousand.
" Another portion go to war on land, but in such numbers that when arrayed in double ranks, they would reach to Mississaquenk, which is twenty leagues from here. When he attacks he is more fearful than thunder. The
12
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
earth trembles, and the air and sea are on fire from the discharge of his cannon. He has been seen in the midst of his squadrons covered with the blood of his enemies, so many of whom has he put to the sword, that he does not number their scalps, but merely the rivers of blood which he causes to flow. He carries such a number of captives with him that he does not value them, but lets them go where
they please, to show that he does not fear them. Nobody dares make war on him. All nations beyond the sea have sued for peace with great submission. They come from every quarter of the globe to listen to him, and to admire him. It is he who decides upon the affairs of the world.
" What shall I say of his riches ? You think yourselves rich when you have ten or twelve sacks of corn, and hatchets, and kettles, and other things of the kind. He has more cities than you have men, which are scattered over a space of more than five hundred leagues. In each city there are hatchets enough to cut all your wood, kettles enough to cook all your caribou, and sugar enough to fill all your wig- wams. His house extends farther than from here to the Sault, is higher than the tallest of your trees, and contains more people than the largest of your settlements ever contained."
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