USA > Michigan > American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-made Men.: Michigan Volume > Part 4
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ted to the bar, he went to Monroe, where he became a i pupil of Hon. Jefferson G. Thurster, one of his tutors at Canandaigua; and, at the same time, became clerk in the land office of Daniel Miller and Levi C. Hum- phrey. In October, 1833. he returned to Detroit, and
ATES, GEORGE C., Counselor-at-Law, of entered the office of Cole & Porter. On the 5th of May, Detroit, Michigan, was born in Canandaigua. ! 1834, after an all-day examination by Messrs. Frazer, 3 New York. In ifor his grandfather, Phineas Withered, and Goodwin, he was admitted to the bar of Bates, removed with his family, from Durham, Comes- Michigan. In company with Robert A. Kin-ie. he then ticut, to Ontario County, New York: and settled in lett Detroit for Chicago, where he spent nearly a month Canandaigua upon about four hundred acres of land. with Lieutenant Kirby Smith, of the 5th United States He had four sons, -- Stephen, who was the first Sherin Infantry, at I bought a lot two hundred feet square for two of Ontario County; Phineas P., Sheriff for eighteen hundred dollar, He hai intende I to settle in Chicago, years; Asher, who settled at Genesee River, and was but subsequently changed his purpose; and, on the Ist the first Sheriff of Genesee County ; and David C., for of August, 15;4, opened an office in the Farmers' and many years under-Sheriff of Ontario County. The Mechanics Bank of Detroit, of which he had, in the second son, Phineas P. Bate-, was the father of the sub. ' preceding month, been appointed attorney. The cholera ject of this sketch. He was extensively engaged in was then raging in Detroit, and the bank was almost raising cattle, sheep, and horses; and, as early as 1827, deserted during the first two months of his practice, he imported a superb Arabian hor-e. called " Bac-orah," in aud the teller being about the only occupants of the order to improve the breed of his horse., He marriel building. In Jane, 1830, Henry S. Cole died, and his Miss Sallie Gould, a native of Lyme, Connectieat. ! partner, Aagastas S. Porter, retired from practice ; con- George C. Bates attended the common chooh, and wequently, the business of that firm mostly passed to worked, in vacations, on a farm, until he was twelve Bres & Talbott. In 1841 Mr. Bates was appointed, by years old. Ile then went to Middlebury Academy. in . Pi. sident H. nicon. United States District Attorney for Genesee (now Wyoming) County, New York, where, the District of Michigan. He held the office four years, under the teaching of Elder Bradley, of the Baptist and successfully prosecuted hundreds of Federal officers Church, he commenced the study of Latin. In 1827 h. who had become defaulters under Van Buren's adminis- returned to his home; and, at the Canandaigua Academy. | tration. Among them was Henry R. Schoolcraft, former under the instruction of George Wilson and Rev. Icha- ,agent for the Chippeway Indians, whose trial occu- bod Spencer, prepared for college. In September, 1828. pied a month; it was made deeply interesting by the he entered Hobart College, at Geneva, New York, from | dozen or more Chippeway Chiefs who were witnesses. which he graduated August 5, 1831. In Latin, Greek, Upon his retirement from office in 1845. Mr. Bates Belles-Lettres, philosophy, rhetoric, and history, he stood received letters of commendation from Elisha Whit- at the head of his class; but, in logic and mathematics. | tlesey. Comptroller of the United State, ; Peter G. Wash- was deficient. August 6, 1873, he entered the law office ington, Auditor of the Post Department ; and Charles of John C. Spencer, then the acknowledged leader of the ' B. Penroe, Solicitor of the Treasury. During the years New York bar. There were always six clerks in the | 1845, '46, '47, and '48, Mr. Bates was engaged on the office, all of whom were kept closely at work for at least : defense for nearly every cause against the United States, ten hours a day, the rules being very rigid. Mr. Bates and his practice was very lucrative. In the fall of 1848, remained as the inner clerk, and slept in the office, made he was nominated for Congress by the Whig party in fires, swept, carried mails, and copied folios,-some- I the First Congressional District, but was defeated by times one hundred a day,-until May, 1833. He then , Hon. A. HI. Buel, Democratic candidate, aided by Doc- left Canandaigua, for Cleveland, Ohio, where he had tor Ormsby, of Ann Arbor, all of whose votes were arranged a copartnership with Stephen A. Douglas, drawn from the Whig ticket. In the spring of 1849, with whom he had formed an intimate friendship during . Mr. Bates was appointed and unanimously confirmed
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District Attorney, which position he had resigned by the ! the first man to enlist. During the war, Mr. Bates, request of President Polk in 1845. For both of his ! spoke constantly and earnestly in Illinois, Michigan, and appointments, he was indebted to Secretary Webster , Wisconsin, endeavoring to obtain troops, money, and and Thomas Ewing. Among his last official acts was aid of all kinds to uphold the Union. In November, the arrest of James Strong, the Mormon prophet, and | 1871, President Graut, at the suggestion of Judge David some eighty of his followers, whom he took to Detroit. | Davis, Thomas M. Drummond, and Solicitor-General The trial resulted in the Prophet Strong's losing all . B. II. Bristow, appointed Mr. Bates United States Dis- control over his people, and being murdered in 1855 by : trict Attorney of Utah, which was then almost in a state some men whom he had publicly whipped. Mr. Bates of revolution. Ile entered upon his duties, December resigned his position in June, 1852, while in California, 1, 1871, and was ordered to his post with all possible where he had gone the month previous. He was there dispatch. At this time, the duties of his office were retained, by various members of Fillmore's Cabinet, as I precisely the same as those of the United States Dis- counsel for the United States. He had a large and ; trict Attorney in Michigan, namely: "To prosecute all remunerative practice, especially in admiralty; and, on suit, and crimes against the laws of the United States his return to Detroit in September, 1856, was in inde. [ only."-leaving the Attorner-General and Prosecuting At- pendent circumstances. He was elected on the Whig tomey of Utah to settle other affairs. But the predecessor ticket, for several successive years, Alderman of the First of Mr. Bates, Charles H. Hampstead, sustained by Chief- Ward of Detroit. He was appointed a delegate from Justice James B. Mckean, had embraced the doctrine Michigan to the Whig Convention, at Harrisburg. in that. as the United States was sovereign in Utah as a December, 1839, and was the youngest man in that boly. ; Territory, all violations of the Territorial laws of Utah Ile voted eleven times for Mr. Clay, and polled the first ' were crimes against the United States, and must be vote for General Scott for President, which tially led to prosecuted in the name of the United States by the the nomination of Harrison and Tyler. In the context ; United States District Attorney,-a doctrine that, in of IS52, between Scott and Pierce. he took an active | 1873, the Supreme Court of the United States exploded part in California, - giving political addresses with tien -! and stamped out. Acting upon this monstrous dogina, eral James Wilson, of Keene, New Hampshire, and a grand jury, chawn in violation of all the statutes of General Edwin Baker, two of the most eloquent men in; Utah, had found nearly one hundred indictments, in the United States, ant both personal faend. of Mr. |Chief-Ju-tive M Kean', court, against Brigham Young, Bates. In September, 1850, immediately upon his return Major Well-, and Horace B. Stout, former United States to Michigan, he made speeche, for General Fremont in | District Attorney, for marder, robbery, and other offen- Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. He was one of the e. against the 1 cal laws of Utah, which were presented most earnest advocates of Zachariah ( handler', clection Via the name of the United States by a pretended United to the Senate: and, after that event, made the salutatory , State, District Attorney. A petit jury also, summoned address at Lansing. In May, 1856, having heartily em- in direct violation of all the statute, of Utah, was ready braced the Republican platform, he delivered, at Sac- to convict and hang Brigham Young, on the testimony ramento, the first Republican speech ever made on the of an apostate and murderer, Bill Hickman, by a sc.lemn Pacific. During this address, Mr. Bates was interrupted judicial farce, and Mr. Bates was called upon to con- duct the proceedings. Brigham Young and his people were fully advised that these indictment> were valueless under the law; but, a> there was no appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States in criminal cases, there was nothing to prevent their execution, -- over
by a mob, headed by Judge Terry, Senator Broderick's murderer, and Judge James Hardy, who prepared 1est- lutions denouncing him as a traitor, and threatening to hang him if he ever spoke again in Sacramento. Subse- quently, Mr. Bates, as one of the vigilance committee, aided in the arrest of Judge Terry, and stood guard | cighty being imprisoned at Camp Douglas. The Gen- over him for stabbing a policeman. The Judge escaped |tile population was, at that time, composed mostly of hanging only because the wound did not prove mortal. miners and adventurers, who, urged on by the extraor- In August, 1861, Mr. Bates moved to Chicago, and com- "dinary decisions of Judge Mckean, actually thirsted for menced the practice of law. He was eminently sue- | the blood of Brigham Young and his people. Appre- cessful until the great fire in 1871, when he lost ciating the situation, Mr. Bates at once opened telegraphic every thing. He had a large insurance in a noted communication with Solicitor Bristow, which led to the Chicago company, which paid ouly one hunhed and | continuance of all these cases until April, 1572. In the fifty-three dollars. Upon the breaking out of the civil ; meantime, Mr. Bates went to Washington, and there, in war, he immediately e-pou-ed the cause of the Union: a civil cause then pending in the Supreme Court ( Engle- made speeches upon raising the flag over the For Pas. | heeth and others versus Clinton and others), it was de- office, and upon raising the Ist Regiment of Michigan ci-ied, unanimously, that both juries drawn by Judge Infantry, in which his son, Captain Kinsie Bates, wa-, MeKvan were utterly null and void, -that they were a
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mere mob. Soon afterwards, the same court decided, in | came celebrated for his conduct in the navy, to which the case of Hampstead and Snow, that the United States District Attorney of Utah had no right or author- ity under the law to prosecute or defend any suit, civil or criminal, for or against the Territory of Utah. Upon the decision affirming the law as laid down by Mr. Bates at the outset, Brigham Young and eighty-two of his people were released, after months of confinement, which had cost his government, for lawyers' fees, etc ..
he remained attached through life, and in which he was engaged in many noted enterprises. At the close of the war, Major Biddle was stationed at Detroit. After some years, he resigned, and retired to civil life. In 1819 he married Eliza F. Bradish, of New York, and returned to Detroit, where he purchased the mansion formerly owned by General Hull. He also became interested in lands near Detroit. After the public land- were brought many thousand dollars. Judge Mckean, feeling ag- into market, he was appointed Register of the Land- grieved at the overruling of his decision>, and casting the office for the district of Detroit, -which included the blame upon Mr. Bates, used his influence with the Ad- whole Territory,-and continued in that office, most of ministration to have him removed. The Judge, how- the time, until 1832. In his capacity of Register, he ever, was afterwards himself removed for encouraging | wa, one of the Commissioners for determining the an- polygamy. In October, 1873, Mr. Bates became the j cient land claims at Detroit, Mackinaw, Sault Ste. Marie, attorney and counselor of the Church of Jesus Christ Green Bay, and Prairie du Chien ;- a work involving of the Latter-day Saints, of Utah, by the appointment
much labor and many delicate questions. During a of George A. Smith. He held this position until No- portion of that time he was a delegate in Congress vember, 1875, and, during that time, with his partner, ; from the Territory of Michigan, which included Wis- J. G. Sutherland, successfully defended every civil and ' consin, lowa, and Minnesota; and was also employed in criminal suit brought into court against the Mormon | various functions connected with the Indian Depart- leaders. In January, 1877, on account of the bitter feud, 'ment. He took an interest in the municipal affairs of still existing between the Mormons and Gentiles, Mr. , Detroit, and held some city offices. He was one of the Bates removed his library, con-i-ting of some sixteen Regents of Michigan University, when it was organized under the Tenitorial Government, and was subsequently selected to make di-position of such of the lands as were allowed by Congress to be sold. He was also a trustee of various organizations to encourage education in Detroit, hundred volumes, which he has purchased since the Chicago fire, to Detroit, where he is again practicing his profession. For over forty years, he has been a successful; lawyer, and has practiced in all the courts of Michigan and California. Twelve years of the time, he was and was liberal in supporting seminaries established in United States District Attorney in Michigan, California, ! that place. He was one of the early vestrymen of St. Paul's Church, the first Episcopal Church organized in
and Utah; and, although he has earned a large annual income, is now poor. His health and spirits are, how- ; the North-west outside of Ohio; and was one of a small ever, excellent. number who individually assumed the expense of build- ing a church. Throughout his life, Major Biddle was fond of reading and study. He was a fine scholar, and his thorough knowledge of French, with which he was as familiar as with English, enabled him to become well versed in the history and antiquities of Michigan, including the French settlement .. He wrote with facil- ity, and contributed frequently to the information of the public by lectures and other literary works. Detroit was long completely isolated from the rest of the coun- were in the habit of delivering lectures through the winter, which were of much more value than the major- ity of such productions at the present day. Among other gentlemen who cheerfully co-operated in this work were General Cass, General Henry Whiting, and Mr. School- craft. The Historical Sketches of Michigan include arti-
IDDLE, MAJOR JOIIN, formerly of Detroit, was born in Philadelphia, in March, 1792; and 3 died at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia, August 25, 1859. He was the son of Charles Biddle, Vice-Presi- dent of Pennsylvania during the Revolution, and one of the most active patriots of that period. His uncle, | try for more than half the year. and prominent citizens Commodore Nicholas Biddle, of the Revolutionary navy. also obtained an enviable reputation. Major Biddle! graduated at Princeton College. He afterwards entered the United States army ; and, during most of the War of 1812, was a Captain of artillery, and was promoted to the rank of Major. He served with distinction under General Scott upon the Niagara frontier, and | cles by these four writers, which cover, in a succinct was, during a portion of the time, attached to his staff. They continued, through life, on confidential terms.
form, the entire history of the State, and are still re- garded as high authority. Major Biddle's style was Ilis brother, Major Thomas Biddle, was also in the clear and forcible. Like his distinguished brothers, United States army, and served in the same campaigns; Nicholas and Richard Biddle, he posse sed uncommon while an older brother, Commodore James Biddle, be- | aptitude for historical investigation. Whatever he wrote
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was accurate and valuable. He took great interest in | Here he established a mercantile house, which has been political matters. He was chosen President of the con- successfully continued to the present time. Although conducting very successfully a large business, he has ever taken a deep interest in all things affecting the prosperity of the city and State of his adoption. He was for several years a Director and President of the Detroit Young Men's Society, an institution with a large library, designed for the benefit of young men and citi- zens generally. An Episcopalian in religious belief, he has been prominent in all matters connected with that denomination. The large and flourishing parish of St. John, Detroit, originated with Governor Baldwin, who gave the lot on which the parish edifices stand, and also contributed the larger share of the cost of their erection. Governor Baldwin was one of the foremost in the estab- lishment of St. Luke's Hospital, and has always been a liberal contributor to moral and religious enterprises, whether connected with his own church or not. There have been, in fact, but few social and public improve- ments of Detroit, during the past forty years, with which Governor Baldwin's name is not in some way connected. He was a Director in the Michigan State Bank until the vention which framed the Constitution of 1835, and, although he was a Whig, and did not belong to the party in power, he received a majority of the votes in the State Senate for the office of United States Senator. His opponent prevailed, by the vote of the Lower House, which secured him a majority of three on the joint ballot. Major Biddle was subsequently the Whig nominee for the office of Governor. He took an active part in sustaining his fellow-soldier, General Harrison, for the Presidency, and also General Scott, when he was Presidential candidate. In his later life, he spent much of his time on his farm, which covered the site of the present town of Wyandotte, and in traveling. A few years before his death, he became possessor of a large estate in St. Louis, which required much of his atten- tion. On his return from Europe, in 1859, he spent the summer at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia, where he died, suddenly, after taking a cold bath. He had a large family, several of whom. survived him. Among these were, the widow of General Andrew Porter, Will- iam S. Biddle, Major James Biddle, and Edward I. expiration of its charter; and has been President of the Biddle.
ALDWIN, HENRY P., Detroit, Ex-Governor of Michigan, is a lineal descendant of Nathaniel Baldwin, a Puritan from Buckinghamshire, Eng- land, who settled at Milford, Connecticut, in 1639. His father was John Baldwin, a graduate of Dartmouth Col- lege, who died at North Providence, Rhode Island, in 1826. His paternal grandfather was Rev. Moses Bald- win, a graduate of Princeton College, in 1757, "and the first who received collegiate honors at that ancient and honored institution." He died at Palmer, Massa- chusetts, in 1813, where, for more than fifty years, he had been pastor of the Presbyterian Church. On his mother's side, Governor Baldwin is descended from Robert Williams, also a Puritan, who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, about 1638. His mother was the daugh- ter of Rev. Nehemiah Williams, a graduate of Harvard College, who died at Brimfield, Massachusetts, in 1796, where, for twenty-one years, he was pastor of the Con- gregational Church. The subject of this sketch was born at Coventry, Rhode Island, February 22, 1814. Hle received a New England common-school education, until the age of twelve years, when, both his parents having died, he became a clerk in a mercantile estab- lishment. He remained there-employing his leisure hours in study-until twenty years of age. At this early period, Mr. Baldwin engaged in business on his own account. He made a visit to the West in 1837, which resulted in his removal to Detroit in the spring of 1838. | the State House of Correction, and the establishment of
Second National Bank of Detroit since its organization, in 1863. He was a prominent member of the State Senate of Michigan during the years 1861 and 1862; was made Chairman of the Finance Committee; a mem- ber of the Committee on Banks and Incorporations; Chairman of the Select Joint Committee of the two Houses, for the investigation of the Treasury Depart- ment, and the official acts of the Treasurer; and of the letting of the contract for the improvement of the Sault Ste. Marie Ship Canal. He was first elected Governor in 1868, and was re-elected in 1870, serving four years,- from 1869 to 1872, inclusive. It is no undeserved eulogy to say that Governor Baldwin's happy faculty of esti- mating the necessary means to an end-the faculty of knowing how much effort or attention to bestow upon the thing in hand-has been the secret of the uniform success that has attended his efforts in all relations of life. The same industry and accuracy that distinguished him prior to his term as Governor was manifest in his career as the Chief Magistrate of the State; and, while his influence appears in all things with which he has had to do, it is more notable in the most prominent posi- tion to which he was called. With rare exceptions, the important commendations of Governor Baldwin received the sanction of the Legislature. During his administra- tion, marked improvements were made in the existing charitable, penal, and reformatory institutions of the State. The State Public School for Dependent Children was founded, and a permanent commission for the super- vision of the several State institutions. The initiatory steps toward building the Eastern Asylum for the Insane,
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the State Board of Health, were recommended by Gov- [ ple of the State, grateful acknowledgment, and announc- ernor Baldwin in his message of 1873. The new State [ ing that further aid was unnecessary. Governor Baldwin Capitol also owes its origin to him. The appropriation has traveled extensively in his own country, and has for its erection was made upon his recommendation,
also made several visits to Europe and other portions of and the contract for the entire work let under his the Old Woild. He was a passenger on the steamer administration. Governor Baldwin also appointed the "Ariel," which was captured and bonded in the Carib- Commissioners under whose faithful supervision the bean Sea, in December, 1862, by Captain Semmes, and work was commenced, has progressed, and is now draw- wrote a full and interesting account of the transaction. ing near completion, in a manner most satisfactory to ; The following estimate of Governor Baldwin, on his the people of the State. The re-compilation of the laws . retirement from office, by a leading newspaper, is not in 1871, and the geological survey of the State, were ' overdrawn: "The retiring message of Governor Baldwin also fruits of his administration. He advised and earn- . will be read with interest. It is a characteristic docu- estly- urged, at different times, such amendments of the ment, and possesses the lucid statement, strong grasp, Constitution as would permit a more equitable compen- ; and clear, practical sense, which have been marked fea- sation to State officers and Judges. The laws of ISto, tures of all preceding documents from the same source. and prior also, authorizing municipalities to vote a.d
Governor Baldwin retires to private life after four years toward the construction of railways, were, in IS70, [of unusually successful administration, amid plaudits declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Many ; that are univer-al throughout the State. For many of the municipalities having in the meantime isned and year, eminent and capable men have filled the executive sold their bonds in good faith, Governor Baldwin felt chair of this State; but in painstaking vigilance, in that the honor and credit of the State were in jeopardy. sterling good sense, in gename public spirit, in thorough His sense of justice impelled him to call an extra se- integrity, and in practical capacity, Henry P. Baldwin sion of the Legislature, and to propose the submission , has shown himself to be the peer of any or all of them. to the people of a constitutional amendment. authoriz- | The State has been unusually prosperous during his two ing the payment of such bond, a- were already in the | terms, and the state administration has fully kept pace hands of bona fide holders. In his special message he i with the needs of the times. The retiring Governor says: "The credit of no State stands higher than that has fully cared the public gratitude and confidence of Michigan; and the people can not afford, and I trust which he today possesses to such a remarkable degree." will not consent, to have her good name tarnished by the repudiation of either legal or moral obligations," A special session was also called in March, 1872, princi- pally for the division of the State into Congressional districts. A number of other important suggestion- were made, however; and, as an evidence of the Gover- nor's laborious and thoughtful care for the financial
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