USA > Michigan > Ottawa County > History of Ottawa County, Michigan with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 1
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OTTAWA MUSKEGON, COUNTIES
MICHIGAN
3
HISTORY
OF
OTTAWA COUNTY,
MICHIGAN,
WITH
Illustrations Biographical Sketches
OF
SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS.
CHICAGO: E. R. PAGE & CO. 1882.
G
0
O
O
G
PREFACE.
After many months of preparation our work is completed and presented to the public. How we have done our part in fulfilling our pledges, each reader can judge for himself. We may be permitted to say that it has been our honest endeavor to redeem every pledge we have made in our prospectus. No pains or expense have been spared in producing a work creditable alike to ourselves and the wealthy and prosperous counties of Muskegon and Ottawa. The binding, paper, presswork, and illustrations are, we venture to assert, equal to those of any work of this character ever issued.
That there are no errors or inaccuracies we by no means claim. Perfection is not given to any human effort. All that can be ex- pected is an honest endeavor at truth and impar.iality, and this we claim to have done. Where we have had to depend upon verbal statements, which are often conflicting, and inaccurate from treach- ery of the memory, we have had to choose what seemed to be the most probable statement; and such is the constant fluctuation of society, that many changes have taken place even since our sketches have been prepared, although we have endeavored to bring every thing down to the latest date. With whatever imperfections it may be found to contain we trust this work may prove useful and inter- esting to those for whom it was intended, and that posterity may read with pleasure and profit the story of the early days of the pioneers.
We beg publicly to return our sincere thanks to the many warm friends of our enterprise, to whom we are under such obligations for their valued assistance. There appeared to be a universal consensus of public opinion that a history of the counties would be a good thing, if got out by the proper parties; and from the reception we and our representatives have met, there seemed to be full confidence in our ability to do justice to the subject. This confidence it has been our endeavor to justify to the fullest extent.
Where so many have lent their aid it is difficult to select out any for special mention, but at the risk of invidiousness we feel it incumbent upon us specially to allude to the services of I. M. Weston, of Whitehall, who kindly gave us a mass of valuable ma- terial he had collected, and besides gave the enterprise liberal sup- port. The Hon. C. C. Thompson, of Whitehall, has also been ever ready to give his aid to the enterprise, which was of great value, as he has no superior in the matter of the early history of the White Lake. In Whitehall we have also to thank for valuable informa- tion Messrs. Jesse D. Pullman, A. Mears, A. C. Elsworth, the Messrs. Covell, A. T. Linderman, H. D. Johnston, C. H. Cook and others.
In Muskegon City ex-Governor Holt has lent his valuable as- sistance, also Hon. L. G. Mason, E. W. Merrill, John Torrent and many others. We have especially to thank Mr. Weller, of The News and Reporter, for his constant aid, also other members of the press, especially Mr. Campbell, late of The Journal, and Mr. Har- ford, late of The Chronicle.
In Grand Haven to the Hon. Dwight Cutler, Zenas G. Winsor, J. W. Hutty and Col. W. M. Ferry, and the press generally, we are indebted for favors.
In Holland Messrs. Capon, Kanters, Arend Visscher, H. D. Post, John Roost and Professors Scott, Kollen and Doesburg, of Hope College, have merited our thanks.
To the press of the county we desire to express our thanks for the uniformly kind manner in which they have spoken of our en- terprise, and the assistance they have rendered.
The valuable work of Prof. Everett on the "Grand River Valley" has been of great assistance to us, as has also been the sketch of Holland by Mr. G. H. VanSchelven.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
History
11
Of Ottawa County,
16
Township Histories.
Allendale,
106
.
Blendon,
102
Chester,
114
Crockery,
122
Georgetown,
98
Grand Haven,
62
Holland,
88
Jamestown,
95
Olive,
72
Polkton,
115
Illustrations.
Cutler House, Grand Haven,
49
Denison, T. D. Residence of
70
Denison, T. D. Portrait 70
Gringhuis, Geert. -
110
Hancock, J. B.
67
Hart, Robert
110
Hope College, Holland,
82
Lovell, G. G.
110
Grand Haven,
37
Holland,
77
Villages.
Berlin,
112
Stegenga, Mr. A. P.
72
Cooperville,
118
Stegenga, Mrs. A, P.
72
Drenthe,
93
Stegenga, Mrs. J. -
72
Eastmanville,
116
Stegenga, Mr. P. M.
72
Ferrysburg,
71
Van Raalte, A. C.
75
Hudsonville,
99
Vyne, Derk
110
Jenisonville,
98
Villages [Continued].
Lamont,
108
Lisbon,
114
Nortonville,
70
Nunica
122
Spring Lake,
65
Spoonville,
122
Vriesland,
93
Zeeland,
93
Military History
Of Ottawa and Muskegon Counties,
125
Robinson,
103
Spring Lake,
64
Talmadge,
108
Wright,
112
Zeeland,
93
Cities.
Magnetic Mineral Springs, Grand Haven,
49
Robinson, Rix,
110
Savidge, Hunter,
37
Spring Lake House,
64
Wyman, Charles E.
60
PAGE.
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
M ICHIGAN derives its name from the Indian words " Mitchi Sawgyegan," the meaning of which is the " Great Lake," or " Lake Country," a name peculiarly appropriate from the position it occupies; having Lake Superior for its northern boundary, Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron on the east, and Lake Michigan on the west. The extent of its domains is 57,430 square miles.
Previous to the year 1641, the territory now embraced within the limits of the State, was inhabited only by the red man, though Detroit, as far back as the year 1620, then an Indian village, was the resort of the French missionaries. In 1639, a plan for the es- tablishment of missions in "New France " was formed; but as the French, in consequence of the hostility of the Mohawks, were ex- cluded from the navigation of the waters of Lakes Ontario and Erie, their only avenue to the West was the Ottawa River, through which, in the year 1641, the first bark canoe, laden with French Jesuits, was paddled to the Falls of St. Mary, which they reached after a navigation of seventeen days. Charles Raymbault, the first mis- sionary to the tribes of Michigan, returned in the year 1642 to Quebec in consequence of declining health. Thus, at this early period, the French advanced their missionary posts beyond the shores of Lake Huron, and to the outlet of Lake Superior.
The first settlement commenced by Europeans within the boun- daries of Michigan, was the mission of St. Mary, which was estab- lished in the year 1668, by Allouez Claude Dablon, and James Marquette. In May 1671 a Congress of French soldiers and chiefs from fourteen of the Indian tribes of the Northwest, was con- vened at the Falls of St. Mary, called by Nicholas Perrott, an agent of the French government, at which time and place, a cross and cedar post, bearing upon a shield the French lilies, was raised,- the lands formally taken possession of by M. de Lusson, and the savages were informed that they were under the protection of the French King.
The death of Marquette, on the 18th day of May, 1675, is thus recorded by Bancroft: "In sailing from Chicago to Mackinac, he entered a little river in Michigan; erecting an altar, he said mass, after the rites of the Catholic church; then begging the men who conducted his canoe to leave him alone for half an hour,-
'In the darkling wood, Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down And offered to the Mightiest, solemn thanks And supplications.'
At the end of half an hour they went to seek him and he was no more. The good missionary, discoverer of a world, had fallen asleep on the margin of the stream that bears his name. Near the mouth, the voyagers dug his grave in the sand."
:
Michilimackinack (now written Mackinac or Mackinaw) was one of the oldest forts erected. Its foundation was laid in the year 1671, by Father Marquette, who induced a party of Hurons to make a settlement at that place, as a nucleus for a future colony. At that period, no permanent settlement had been made at Detroit, as the French had a more direct and safer route to the upper lakes,
from Montreal to Michilimackinac, through the Ottawa or Grand River. The post of Detroit was regarded alike by the French and English, as a valuable point, and both nations were considering measures for its acquisition. A grand council was called, which convened at Montreal, and was composed of chiefs of the various tribes, from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, the Governor gen- eral of Canada, and the most prominent seigneurs of the country. The council is described by French historians, as the most numerous and imposing assemblage ever collected around one council fire. In the month of June, 1701, Mons. Antoine de la Motte Cadillac, under a commission from Louis XIV., left Montreal in company with a hundred men and a Jesuit missionary, with all the necessary means for the establishment of a colony, and reached Detroit in the month of July.
Here, then, commences the history of Detroit, and with it the history of the Peninsula of Michigan. How numerous and diversified are the incidents compressed within the period of its ex- istence ! No place in the United States presents such a series of events, interesting in themselves, and permanently affecting, as they occurred, its progress and prosperity. Five times its flag has changed, three different sovereignties have claimed its allegiance, and since it has been held by the United States, its government has been thrice transferred; twice it has been besieged by the Indians, once captured in war, and once burned to the ground.
On the 13th of September, 1759, a battle occurred between the French under Gen. Montcalm and the British army under Gen. Wolfe, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, resulting in the defeat of the former, and the capitulation of Quebec on the 18th, to Gen. Murray, who was successor to Gen. Wolfe, who fell in the engage- ment; and on the 8th of September, 1760, the French surrendered to the crown of England, Detroit, Michilimackinac, and all other places within the government of Canada then remaining in the pos- session of France. This action was ratified by the "Treaty of Paris," February 10th, 1763.
In the year 1772 silver was discovered upon the shore of Lake Huron, by a Russian named Norburg.
In 1773 a project was commenced for working the copper mines of Lake Superior, and a company was formed for that purpose, under a charter granted in England.
The struggle for independence under the American Revolution was enacted without the bounds of Michigan. The people of Can- ada, within which Michigan was then included, were removed from the immediate causes of the war. The result of the Revolution was the recognition of our independence.
By the " treaty of peace " made at Versailles in 1783, between Great Britain and the United States, it was claimed that Michigan was within American bounds, but minor questions sprung up be- tween the two governments, producing mutual dissatisfaction; and when President Washington sent Baron Steuben to Quebec to make arrangements for the transfer of the Northwestern forts, he was informed by Sir Frederick Haldimand that the surrender of the
12
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
forts would not take place at that time, and was refused passports to Niagara and Detroit.
By an ordinance of the Congress of the United States, passed July 13th, 1787, the whole of the territory of the United States lying northwest of the Ohio River, though still occupied by the British, was organized as the " Northwest Territory," of which Gen. Arthur St. Clair was appointed Governor.
The ordinance of 1787 provides that there shall be appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a Governor, a Secretary, and three Judges, who should be residents and freeholders within the territory. It further provides that the territory should be divided into not less than three nor more than five States, and that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, oth- erwise than in the punishment of crimes."
In pursuance of the treaty of November, 19th, 1794, Captain Porter, in the beginning of June, 1796, with a detachment of Amer- ican troops, took possession of Detroit, entered the fort, which the British had previously evacuated, and flung to the breeze the first American flag that ever floated over the Peninsula State.
By an act of Congress, approved, May 7th, 1800, the territory northwest of the Ohio River, was divided into two separate terri- tories, and " all that part of the territory of the United States, north- west of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward of a line begin- ning at the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada," was constituted a separate territory, to be called the "Indiana Ter- ritory," the seat of government of which was established at St. Vin- cennes, Chillicothe being the seat of government of the Northwest Territory. Of this Territory (Indiana), General William Henry Harrison was appointed Governor. .
By an act of Congress, approved January 11th, 1805, it was provided, "that from and after the thirtieth day of June of that year, all that part of Indiana Territory, which lies north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend, or extreme, of Lake Michigan, until it shall intersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said southerly bend, through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, aud thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, shall constitute a separate Territory, and be called Michigan.
The act further provides that the Territory shall have the same: form of government as provided by the ordinance of 1787, that the Governor, Secretary and Judges shall be appointed by the President of the United States, and that Detroit shall be the seat of govern- ment.
On July 1, 1805, General William Hull, the newly appointed Governor, assumed the duties of his office at Detroit. On the 11th of June previous, Detroit had been destroyed by fire. Like most of the frontier settlements, it had been compressed within a very small compass,-the streets scarcely exceeding the breadth of common alleys. Gen. Hull at once turned his attention to the subject, and laid out the town in its present shape, the arrangement of which is attributed to Judge Woodward, one of the pioneers of the Territorial Court.
On the 18th of June, 1812, war was declared by Congress against Great Britain. Previous to, and in anticipation of the dec- laration of war, General Hull, Governor of Michigan Territory, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the forces of the Northwest.
On the 9th of July, Gen. Hull received orders from the Secretary of War, to proceed with his army and take possession of Malden, (which was the key to that portion of the British provinces), if con- sistent with the safety of his posts. The garrison was weak, and seemed an easy conquest, Having arranged for the expedition,
Gen. Hull crossed the Detroit River on the 19th day of July, and encamped at Sandwich, where the army remained in a state of in- activity for nearly a mouth, when, intimidated by the hostile mani- festations of the Indians, and the report that a large British force would soon arrive at Malden, without having made an attack, he recrossed the river to Detroit, on the 9th of August, where he re- mained until the 15th, the day of his inglorious surrender. A pro- visional government was established by the British, at Detroit, and a small force placed in the Fort. On the 10th of September, 1813, the victory of Commodore Perry, in the Battle of Lake Erie, resulted in restoring Michigan to the Union, and on the 29th of the same month, Detroit was occupied by a detachment of the army of Gen. Harrison.
On October 9th, 1813, Col. Lewis Cass, who had rendered es- sential service to the Territory, was appointed Governor of Michigan. Congress, in 1823, by an act providing for the establishment of a Legislative Council, invested the Territory with a more ener- getic and compact government. The Council was to consist of nine members, to be appointed by the President of the United States, with the consent of the Senate, from eighteen candidates elected by the people of the Territory. They, with the Governor, were invested with the same powers which had been granted by the ordinance of 1787 to the government of the Northwest Territory. By that act the legislative power of the Governor and Judges was taken away, the term of judicial office was limited to four years, and eligibility to office required the same qualifications as the right of suffrage. The first Legislative Council of Michigan convened on the 7th of June, 1824, at Detroit.
In 1831, Gen. Cass having been appointed Secretary of War, he was succeeded by George B. Porter in the government of the Terri- tory. During his administration, Wisconsin, which had before been annexed to Michigan, was erected into a separate Territory.
On the 6th of July, 1834, Governor Porter died, and was suc- ceeded by Stevens T. Mason.
In the spring of 1835, a controversy arose in regard to the boundary line between Michigan and Ohio, and the right to a valu- able strip of land, to which both laid claim; the former under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, and the latter under a provision in their State Constitution. Each party sent a military force to the frontier,-the one to sustain, and the other to extend jurisdiction over the territory in dispute. A high state of excited public feeling existed, but the most serious inconvenience suffered by either party was the apprehension and temporary imprisonment of a few persons. By an act of Congress, passed June 15th, 1836, the Constitution and State Government of Michigan were accepted, and upon condi- tion of accepting the boundary claimed by Ohio, she was admitted into the Union. These terms were exceedingly unsatisfactory to the people of Michigan, who were impatiently awaiting recognition as a State government, having elected their State officers in the month of October of the previous year. A convention held at Ann Arbor on the 14th and 15th of December, 1836, resolved to accept the con- dition imposed in the proposition of Congress, at the same time pro- testing against the right of Congress, under the Constitution, to re- quire this preliminary assent as a condition of admission into the Union.
By act of Congress. approved January 26th, 1837, Michigan was declared "to be one of the United States, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever."
By an act of the Legislature, approved March 16th, 1847, the seat of government was removed from Detroit to Lansing.
The Constitution adopted by Michigan in 1835, and under which her existence as a State commenced, continued in force until Jan-
13
G
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
uary first, 1851, at which time the Constitution reported by the Convention of 1850, and ratified by the people, at the general elec- tion in that year, went into effect, and continues to the present time as the Constitution of the State.
The Legislature of 1873, by a Joint Resolution approved April 24th, provided for the appointment by the Governor, of a Com- mission, to consist of two persons from each Congressional District in the State, in all, eighteen members, for the purpose of revising the Constitution, and reporting to the Legislature, at its next session "such amendments, or such revision to the Constitution, as in their judgment may be necessary for the best interests of the State and the people."
Of the eighteen delegates, Ottawa County had one representa- tive in the present Senator Ferry, who took the place of Lyman G. Mason, of Muskegon, who resigned.
The delegates performed their duty to the satisfaction of all parties.
The Governor, from 1877 to 1881, was Chas. M. Croswell, who greatly reduced the public debt, and under whose administration the Capital at Lansing was completed.
A great riot centered at Jackson in 1877, but the promptness of the Governor speedily quelled it.
In Feb., 1881, David H. Jerome was called to the gubernato- rial chair, finding all departments of the government in good run- ning order, and prosperity generally prevailing among all classes of the people. =
For a long time Michigan labored under a great drawback in the way of an official report on its lands, by the Surveyor General, of Ohio, dated Nov. 30, 1815, relative to the bounty land of Mich- igan. On the 6th of May, 1812, Congress had passed an act grant- ing among other lands, two million acres of the Territory of Mich- igan to the soldiers of the war with Great Britain, but the Surveyor reported that there were no lands in Michigan fit for cultivation, and Congress repealed the act, changing the grant of land to other States.
The report we publish as a curiosity :
Extract from a letter of the Surveyor General of Ohio to the Com- missioner of the General Land Office, dated Chillicothe, November 30, 1815, relative to the bounty land in Michigan, granted by act of May 6, 1812:
DEPUTY SURVEYOR'S REPORT.
"Description of the military lands in Michigan. The country in the Indian boundary line, from the mouth of the great Auglaize River, and running thence for about fifty miles, is (with some few exceptions) low, wet land, with a very thick growth of under-brush, intermixed with very bad marshes, but generally very heavily tim- bered with beech,' cottonwood, oak, etc .; thence continuing north, and extending from the Indian boundary eastward, the 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 lakes have extensive marshes adjoining their margins, sometimes thickly covered with a species of pine called ' tamarack,' and other places covered with a coarse, high grass, and uniformly covered from six inches to three feet (and more at times) with water. The margins of these lakes are not the only places where swamps are found, for they are interspersed throughout the whole country, and filled with water, as above stated, and varying in extent. The in- termediate space between these swamps and lakes, which is proba- bly near one-half of the country, is with a few exceptions, a poor, barren, sandy land, on which scarcely any vegetation grows, except very small, scrubby oaks. In many places, that part which may be called dry land, is composed of little, short sand-hills, forming a kind of deep basins, the bottoms of many of which are composed of
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