USA > Michigan > Bay County > Bay City > The County of Bay and Bay City, Mich., embracing a brief sketch of their organization, pioneer history, growth & development, from 1857 to 1876 > Part 1
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THE
CENTENNIAL HISTORY
OF THE
COUNTY OF BAY
A N.D.
AY ITY ICH
EMBRACING A BRIEF SKETCH OF THEIR
ORGANIZATION, PIONEER HISTORY, GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT,
From 1857 to 1876.
Compiled under Authority of the Common Council of Bay City and the Board of Supervisors of Bay County' Mich., on recommendation of Congress and Proclamation of His Excellency, the President of the United States, and of the Governor of Michigan.
EPLURIBUS
TUEBGR 4
BAY CITY : PRINTED BY A. M. BIRNEY, AT THE CHRONICLE PRINTING HOUSER 1876.
1776
THE 1876.
COUNTY OF BAY
AND
BAY CITY, MICH., EMBRACING
A BRIEF SKETCH OF THEIR
ORGANIZATION, PIONEER HISTORY, GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT,
From 1857 to 1876.
Compiled under Authority of the Common Council of Bay City and the Board of Supervisors of Bay County.
BY GEORGE W. HOTCHKISS.
CURIOUS
TUEBOR
PENINSULAN
BAY CITY: PRINTED BY A. M. BIRNEY AT THE CHRONICLE PRINTING HOUSE. 1876.
DEDICATORY.
O the Citizens of Bay County, in the Centennial year of the Nation's history, and as well their successors in the far distant future of her growth and progress, is this little volume respectfully dedicated by the Common Council of Bay City, and the Board of Supervisors of Bay County, as an index of the early history, struggies and triumphs of the present inhab .- tants of what promises to become a still more important center of Commercial manufacturing, and Agricultural wealth and influence. Through your humble servants, the committees in behalf of
BAY CITY. BAY COUNTY.
DARWIN C. SMALLEY.
BENJAMIN F. PARTRIDGE.
ORVILLE A. WATROUS.
LEMAN L CULVER.
HERSCHEL H. HATCH.
ELBRIDGE W. OAKES.
SIDNEY S. CAMPBELL.
JOHN BULLOCK.
GEORGE W. HOTCHKISS.
WINSOR SCOFIELD.
GEORGE W. HOTCHKISS,
Bay City, July 4th, 1876. Historian.
INTRODUCTORY.
HE advent of the centennial year of the Repub- lic, lends a great and ever increasing charm to all those facts connected with the early history of the country, and as well, to all those individual sur- roundings, which the experience of States, Counties and Cities have realized in emerging from the wilderness, which only one hundred years ago involved almost the entire of the American continent, and assuming those important relations which now unite them in the bonds of commercial unity as component parts of a nation whose watchword is " Progress," and whose civilization is the envy of the world. With a view to perpetuating in history a record of the growth and development of the nation, His Excellency, President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, has recommended in the centennial year of the country's existence as a nation, that each village, county and city, should prepare a history of its settlement, organization and progress, a copy of which should be de- posited with the proper officials of the locality described, and with the State and Congressional librarian. This sug- gestion having been endorsed in a proclamation by His Excellency John J. Bagley, Governor of the State of Michigan, the Common Council of Bay City did on the 29th day of May, A. D. 1876, adopt the following reso- lution :
INTRODUCTORY.
RESOLVED-That the chair appoint a committee, to prepare a history of the city of Bay City, to be read on the coming 4th of July, and afterwards filed in the County Clerk's office, and in the office of the State Li- brarian, in accordance with the resolution of Congress, and the proclamation of the President of the United States, and of John J. Bagley, Governor of the State of Michigan. Which resolution being adopted, the chair appointed as such committee, Aldermen D. C. Smalley and Orville A. Watrous, ex Aldermen H. H. Hatch and George W. Hotchkiss, and the Hon. Sidney S. Campbell.
The Board of Supervisors of Bay county, at a session held June 14th, 1876, passed a similar resolution and appointed Supervisors B. F. Partridge, Leman L. Cul- ver, Elbridge W. Oakes, John Bullock, and Winsor Sco- field as a committee in their behalf, to carry out the object of the President and Governors recommendation.
In accordance with this resolution the said joint commit- tee have undertaken the task of presenting to the world a brief resume of the settlement and organization of Bay County, and of its growth and progress to the present date, including in the same, a history of Bay City from the date of its incorporation as a village, with the more important circumstances in its history, which will enable the reader to draw a contrast between its first conditions, and its wonderful development during its brief historic ·existence, but almost magical growth.
In January, 1876, a history of the early struggle of the territory comprised within the limits of Bay County, to obtain a seperate and distinct organization, was prepar- ed by Mr. Benjamin F. Partridge, and read before the Pio- neer Society of Bay County, which the compilers of this work have adopted as the preliminary chapter of this volume, endeavouring to take up the history of the county
INTRODUCTORY.
at the point where it is left by that paper, and collecting the principal points of interest in the subsequent de- velopment of the County of Bay, and Bay City, trusting that it may be of interest to the present inhabitants of the County, and an index to future generations engaged in extending the work so nobly begun in the present, of the enterprise and energy of those who toiled at the foundation walls, to prepare for a structure which should do credit to the builders.
BAY CITY IN 1838.
MICH. ENC. CO. DETROIT.
8. S. Campbell's Residence.
Bur ney Barn.
J. G. Birney's Residence.
First Residence S. S. Campbell, now Globe Hotel.
J. G. Birney's Law Office.
Dry Kiln.
Leon Trombley Residence. Smoke House.
Ice Cellar.
Bay County Warehouse.
The Warehouse stood at the foot of Center St. The Globe Hotel and the office of Jas. G. Birney (who was the original Abolition Candidate for Presidency), were at the foot of 5th Street. The Birney residence was on the corner of the present Water and 4th Sts. Leon Trombley's house was on the north side of Water and 4th Sts. Tudge Campbell's residence between 2d and 3d Sts. This view embraces all of the city at that date, comprising a clearing of fifty acres.
BAY COUNTY.
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ITS EARLY STRUGGLES FOR EXISTENCE.
PREPARED BY B. F. PARTRIDGE, FOR THE BAY COUNTY PIONEER SOCIETY.
.
HE present passing events in a few years become a matter of history, memory, or tradition. Mem- ory may and does fail; tradition founded on the memory, and the caprice of the memory, is more liable to be far from the facts; and about the only safe deposit of passing events is written history. made by those who were the actors in the events of which they chronicle. And as one such, upon request of many, I shall try, unbiased and unprejudiced, to write the history of our county in its efforts for organization, to its final admitted con- summation, and thence to this date.
Of the first efforts I only know in part, from others I glean the rest. The first efforts for its organization, were made in 1855, when the Hon. J. S. Barclay, who was elected a member of the Legislature from Saginaw county, in November, 1854, and who resided in Lower Saginaw, then a part of Saginaw county, now Bay City, saw a favorable opportunity for pressing the scheme, with hopes of success. The Hon. Judge Albert Miller, and
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BAY COUNTY.
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the irrepressible Daniel Burns, ( Mr. Burns was then in the prime of life, with a bright future before him, more so than the common lot of man) were sent to the " Third House " for that purpose, and two more fitting men at that "time, and at that juncture, could not have been selected for the mission; but such was the opposition to the bill at that early and first effort, that although the bill came near passing, it was defeatedby a small majority.
The opposition to the bill in the "third house", was strong, numerous and influential. The indifferent, yield- ed to their influence and importunities. .
At this time Lower Saginaw was hardly known, save 1 to our "up town" neighbors (those above Carrolton bar), and was their bugbear and coming rival, while East Town and Saginaw were in all their glory and pros- perity; and the then "Little : Giant," Lower Sagi- naw, was struggling for an existence, against odds that seemed impossible to overcome, but with will, and dare to do, it finally succeeded.
At that time the indifferent consented to the claims of its opponents, that the matter was too premature-" wait and see," and if necessary the organization, if hereafter it should be deemed proper, could be allowed. Just as if a right was to be allowed, and not at once conceded ! The argument generally submitted to by the indifferent, and urged by our opponents-those whose interests opposed our organization, or thought their interests were so opposed, claimed they could defeat all subsequent bills of the kind. The effort, although it failed, was not with- out its effect. It brought the matter somewhat before the public, and the indifferent ones began to inquire more particularly in regard to it, and many of them admitted the justice of the claims for our organization.
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BAY COUNTY.
In 1857, the Hon. James Birney, Col. Henry Ray- mond, B. F. Partridge and some others were selected as a committee to the :'third house," to press the matter of our organization, and if possible to procure the pass- age of an act for the same. The Hon. T. Jerome, of Saginaw City, Representative from Saginaw county, and Henry Ashman, from Midland county, were elected in November, 1856, to that session of the Legislature, both of whom, as they undoubtedly supposed their inter- ests demanded and their supporters required of them, opposed our organization. They undoubtedly acted conscientiously in their opposition, and consistent with their pledges before election, but I will say here, I do not know, and it is not charged, and never has been to our knowledge, that either of them did anything in their opposition, dishonorable or unmanly. "I give them credit that they acted, without doubt, as they thought their duty demanded. The Legislature, at this time, one may say, was the same as unanimously Republican, and those sent to the " third house " to represent our interest and organization were wholly so; we hoped therefor a "fellow feeling " might arise, and thereby the former opposition might abate somewhat. Such was the general effect. After a great deal of effort on the one side to secure our organization, and of the other to oppose and defeat it, a compromise was finally settled upon by the members of the " third house," and the members for Saginaw and Midland counties, by the efforts and advice of the friends of the several parties interested ; and as it was a local matter, and the members of the counties interested there- in finally approved of the bill, it passed the Legislature, and was approved by the Governor February 17th, 1857.
The territory of Bay county at that time contained but few voters compared to Saginaw county, for Bay county
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BAY COUNTY.
only took a small part from Saginaw county. Its largest territory came from Midland county, viz : The unorgan- ized county of Arenac, in which territory at that time, aside from Indians, perhaps not ten voters resided.
As long, stormy and arduous as the efforts were, to get the bill for our organization through the Legislature, yet more difficult and arduous were the labors to firmly determine and consummate the same-that is, our sure and settled organization. Section 1. of the act organiz- ing Bay county reads as follows :
" That the following territory [described] shall be organized into a county, and shall be known and called Bay county, [refer to the act of organization for the des- cription, etc., ] and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which by law the inhabit- ants of the other organized counties of this State are entitled."
The original act presented, or to be presented, to the Legislature, was drawn by C, H. Freeman, then and now of Bay City, and practising law. The description of territory was made by B. F. Patridge, and had that bill passed as then drawn, no question would ever have arisen, as to the legality of our organization as a county, but the opposition to it was so great, that the compro- mise heretofore spoken of was effected, and changes were necessarily made in the bill, and sectio.1 2 was added, which became the bone of future contention.
The said section, when first added, originally read at the commencement and end, as follows : "This act shall be submitted to a vote of the electors of Saginaw county, at the township meetings to be holden in said county [here providing how the vote should be taken, and the section ending, ] and in case a majority of the said votes upou the approval of this act shall be in favor of such approval, then this act shall take effect upon the 20th day of April, 1857 ; but it a majority of said votes
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BAY COUNTY.
shall be against such approval. then this act shall not take effect, but shall be void."
The honorable member from Saginaw county, was per- fectly satisfied that the act should pass in this shape, provided it was left to his constituents to say whether they should oppose it or not, or kill it and relieve him of the unenviable honor, as that would remove the contest from the Legislature to his constituents, who would kill it at once, for it was well known that there would be ten against, to one tor the act, if Saginaw county people had any right to vote on the question. Therefore the mem- ber for Saginaw, and others who opposed the organization, ceased their opposition to the bill in the Legislature, ex- pecting to kill the whole thing at the polls ; but ere the bill passed, there came in this good fortune for Bay county, if so it may be called. The member for Midland county, thought Saginaw county should not have all the honor of slaughtering in its embryo the, future organiza- tion of this county, but thought, and perhaps justly so, that his constituents also should have a hand in the game of killing the "Little Giant," while yet its nurse was trying to dress it in its swadding clothes ; and for such purpose offered an amendment to said section, by adding immediately after the words " Saginaw county" the words "Midland and Arenac counties," so that the act as passed reads :
" This act shall be submitted to a vote of the electors of Saginaw county, Midland and Arenac counties, at the township meetings to be holden in said county."
The said vote was taken on the said first Monday, of April, as provided for in the act, Saginaw and Midland also voting thereon. In the territory comprising Bay county, the vote was almost unanimous in favor of organ- ization, there being 204 for, to 14 against; but in Sagi-
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BAY COUNTY.
naw and Midland counties it was largely against, so much so, one may say it was unanimous against us.
Great were the rejoicings of those opposed to the or- ganization of Bay county, especially in Saginaw City, as the county seat of Saginaw county was there. About one-third of the cases in the Circuit Court, hailed from . this part of Saginaw county, and necessarily contributed largely to their prosperity, we having to go there to court and leave what little money we had, in the hands of lawyers and hotel-keepers, and as court fees, etc .; and besides, as long as we were on the tail of their kite, we tended to assist in their prosperity an .! to corresponding- ly diminish ours.
Mr. Freeman always claimed that the act only left the vote of its approva! to the voters of " said county," -that is, Bay county,-and he now more vehemently than ever, as he saw from the opposition from the upper towns, that the truthfulness of his position was the only probable chance of success, set the same forth as the only true construction of the act, and advised the election of the county officers, to take place as provided in the act of organization, Accordingly the election was held on the first Monday of June, 1857, when there were elected the following county officers : Sidney S. Camp- bell, Judge of Probate; James Watson, Treasurer ; Nathan Simons, Sheriff ; Elijah Catlin, County Clerk ; Stephen P. Wright, a young and promising lawyer, and who afterwards went to the State of California, where he represented his county in the Legislature and his district in the Senate, and held the office of District Attorney for several years, and all with the highest honors to him- eelf and his constituents, was elected { ircuit Court Commissioner ; Theodore M. Bligh, a young physician, was elected Register of Deeds. Both the last named
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BAY COUNTY.
have passed to their final rest, respected, honored and beloved by all who knew them. And C. H. Freeman, still a resident of Bay City, was elected Prosecuting At- torney. All qualified, as provided by the act of organiza- tion, and prepared themselves for business in the dis- charge of their several offices.
As I have heretofore said, the bone of contention was. section second-or, I should say, its true construction was such-and as the approval of the act, incident upon the vote of Saginaw and Midland counties, was largely against its approval-that is, if the vote of Saginaw and Midland counties was counted, but not otherwise-Sagi- naw and Midland now claimed that the act was not "ap- proved," and that therefore it "never took effect, and was void,". and claimed jurisdiction severally of that por- tion of Bay county set off from them ; and more especial- ly so did Saginaw county, for its interests were greater, and in proportion to the magnitude of its supposed or real interests, it set forth its claim. It set the same forth, and claimed jurisdiction over that portion of Bay county taken off, as described in the act, the same as if such act had never been passed, claiming that the same was null and void, for it had failed to be approved by the votes of Saginaw, Midland and Bay counties, and the writs from the Circuit Court of that county continued to be issued by their County Clerk, and to be served by the Sheriff thereof. the same as if Bay county did not in fact exist, in all the territory taken from Saginaw county, in- cluding that in Bay county.
The citizens of Bay county saw the dilemma aud con- fusion matters were getting into on account of the con- flict of jurisdiction, and many of them-and we may say the principal of them-advised an acquiescence in the ciaim of Saginaw. And allow me here to say that a very fortunate thing it was for Bay county that Mr.
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BAY COUNTY.
Freeman had an undying and irrepressible belief in his position-that is, that the intention of the Legislature was to submit the approval of the act to the electors of Bay county only-and who now, in this crucial time of our existence (for as a fact we did thea exist ; although it may be it was in a doubtful state, yet, as a fact, never- theless true), put forth and urged his position more vehe- mently and persistently than ever, and a few-and I be- lieve I am justified in saying a very few -- partly to encourage him and stay his hands, and partly because they say no other hope of success, gave him encourage- ment, hoping against hope that he was right, yet doubt- ful of the correctness of his position-still willing to give him all the encouragement they could, until a final deci- sion of the Supreme Court might settle the matter.
Some of the most prominent persons of the upper towns who opposed our organization, as I have always understood. consulted quite a number of the best lawyers of the State on the question, and all were of but one opinion, and expressed but one, and that was that the vote was left to Saginaw, Midland and Arenac counties (Arenac was then an unorganized county, and was at- tached to Midland for judicial purposes), and that the vote was in the negative of the act of organization. and that therefore the same was not "approved," but was "null and void."
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Thus matters drifted with clash of jurisdiction, and confusion was getting worse, when an opportunity was presented to test the question in a suit, wherein Mr. Freeman was attorney for the defendant, and the Hon. John Moore, Prosecuting Attorney of Saginaw county, was for the prosecution. For the opportunity so to test this question Mr. Freeman had long been waiting, and as he knew some such case must. come, he patient-
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BAY COUNTY.
ly abided his time. The late Hon. Wm. M. Fenton was associated with Mr. Freeman as counsel, and when he was' retained by the defendant, pronounced at first sight, as all others had done, against the organization of Bay county ; but when his attention was called more particularly to the wording of the act, and a few of the plain rudimentary principles of the con- struction of statutes, he saw at once his error, and enter- ed into the spirit of the case. From that moment Mr. Freeman had a powerful assistant, true and faithful.
Before going on with this case further, I will return to the winter of 1859, when there was an extra session of the Legislature. Mr. Freeman and Mr. Daniel Burns were sent to the " third house " of that short session, to see what could be done in settling the organization of Bay county, and if possible to get the county definitely and permanently organized by the Legislature. Mr. Jerome, of Saginaw, and Mr. Ashman, of Midland, now as strongly as ever opposed us, or any act tending to legalize the organization. They saw the confusion mat- ters were in, but said it was all ourselves and our figur- ing which had brought it about, by pretending to orga- nize when we ought not to have done so .. But on this point, they were informed, others differed with them, and, as there were differences of opinion, even if nearly all were one way (here I will men ion the fact that the chairman of the committee on towns and counties belie- ved that section 2 could have no other construction than such as Mr. Freeman gave to it, and he felt the necessi- ty of something being done in the matter), yet the few had some right to demand respect. This they admitted, but still set themselves against anything like an organi- zation. Many members of the Legislature, however, after they were shown how matters stood, thought that
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BAY COUNTY.
if we were not a county, we ought to be one, and had shown ourselves worthy and well qualified to have an organization ; but then, as it was a rule, although an unwritten one, that all local matters should be left to the members representing the district to be affected thereby, they did not wish to interfere, but they thought something should be done to settle the matters that were in litigation, by appeal or otherwise, and they were will- ing to assist in such a way.
The chairman of the committee on towns and counties was in favor of our organization, and assisted greatly in getting the bill through the Legislature.
Quite a number of suits had been commenced in the township of Hampton. Some laid their venue in Bay County, and some in Saginaw County, just as the caprice of the plaintiff might suggest. The most of these suits were commenced in justice courts, and in most cases the defendant in the case, where judgment was rendered against him, appealed to Bay or Saginaw County, knowing that if it were Bay County, the appeal to Saginaw County would end the suit, and vice versa ; and the record shows that nearly all the suits were ap- pealed, and a few cases had been commenced in Bay County Circuit Court.
Mr. Freeman had carefully prepared three bills before he started for the " third house." These bills were ap- proved by those interested for Bay County, and it was understood that if the members for Bay County to the " third house " could not get the one through that they wished, then they were to do the best they could.
The chairman of the committee on towns and counties readily approved bill number one, which had been prepar- ed, which would, if passed, at once settle our organiza- tion. But Messrs. Jerome and Ashman had to be con-
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BAY COUNTY.
sulted. They could not be induced to be silent, should either of these bills be offered to the Legislature, and then, the Governor would recommend only such a bill as all parties could agree upon, as general business demanded attention before local bills. However just the Governor may have supposed he was, it only had the effect to give the members from Saginaw and Midland more power to kill the efforts made by our members to the " third house." But the latter went to work with a will, and Mr. Freeman then made an effort to prepare such a bill as the members from Saginaw and Midland would not oppose, if they could not approve. So after several days it was accomplished.
The bill provided that the Circuit Judge of the dis- trict in which said county of Bay was situated should hold court in Bay City, in said territory, and should hear, try and determine all suits commenced in said Circuit Court, in said territory, and all appeals to the same, etc., with other sections confirming jurisdiction in said terri- tory.
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