USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. I > Part 22
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The common council had power to lay out and vacate, to regu- late, pave, and improve, extend and widen streets and alleys, paying damages to be assessed by twelve free-holders. The council was au- thorized to levy, annually, for general purposes, on all property, real and personal, not exceeding two mills on the dollar of its assessed value. The assessment roll for each ward was to be made out by the assessor of the ward, and returned by him to the clerk of the city, who was to lay it before the common council. That body was to con- sider, revise, and equalize the assessments, after which the taxes were to be levied. The tax upon real estate, which constituted the great bulk of the whole, was enforced by public sales of the several parcels thereof by the common council, after four weeks' public notice, from which sale the owner might redeem within one year on paying the amount of tax, costs and charges, with interest at twelve per cent. per annum. The tax was a lien on the land, charged from the time of levy of the tax. Personal property was placed in a separate part of the tax list, and the tax thereon was collected by seizure and sale at auction.
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Fire engine, hook and ladder, and hose companies were provided for, each to be composed of not more than fifty able-bodied men, offi- cered and governed in accordance with their own by-laws. Member- ship was to be voluntary and gratuitous ; the only rewards being free- dom from highway labor and military duty. The council was author- ized to impose penalties for violations of ordinance in the shape of fines, not exceeding one hundred dollars in any one case; and in de- fault of payment might authorize imprisonment in the county jail not more than six months.
The above is a summary of the original charter of the city of Grand Rapids, stated as briefly as possible. It was amended in 1851, repealing a provision which made the mayor a supervisor, and provid- ing for the election of two supervisors annually, one for each side of the river. Other changes were made from time to time, and in 1857 a substantially new charter was passed by the Legislature, under the title of "An act to revise the charter of the city of Grand Rapids." This new charter enlarged the boundaries of the city somewhat, with- out increasing the number of wards. The elective officers were mayor, recorder, treasurer, controller, clerk, and marshal, elected from the city at large, and from each ward two aldermen (one of the aldermen to be supervisor of the ward), one constable, a justice of the peace, two school inspectors and two directors of the poor. The term of office of the recorder was extended to two years. The terms of the other offices were to be annual, excepting aldermen, which, after the first election, the term was to be two years and one elected each year. The justices of the peace were to hold office for four years, and the recorder and comptroller were to be elected for two years. The quali- fications for suffrage limited to "the inhabitants of the said city be- ing electors under the constitution of the State of Michigan, and no others." The recorder was authorized to preside at the meetings of the common council in case of the absence of the mayor, and in case of the absence of both mayor and recorder the council could select one of their number to preside. The duties of the city attorney, treas- urer, and clerk were defined; and the office of city comptroller was created, the incumbant to be the financial officer of the city and to keep a careful oversight of all contracts entered into for public im- provements. The council was to have the general control of the pub- lic funds; but its authority was limited by provisions intended as a safeguard against extravagance in expenditures and in taxation. The council was authorized to issue bonds, in certain limitations and for general city or ward purposes. Taxes might be levied as follows: A general city tax on all property subject to taxation, not exceeding one- half of one per cent. on the valuation of such real and personal estate with the limits of the city. The aldermen were made street commis- sioners with authority within the city limits to direct the grading of streets and the construction of sewers, wharves and alleys.
In 1863, by amendment, provision was made for requiring owners or occupants of lots in the city to lay or repair the walks in front of their premises, or in default it should be done at the expense of the city, and the cost added to the general tax against the lots or houses adjacent, and collected therewith; and in 1865, further provision was made in relation to the return of uncollected taxes, and the sale of
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property to satisfy them. An amendment to the charter, approved March 13, 1867, made provision for the removal by the council of appointed officers, for malfeasance or misfeasance in office, but allow- ing the accused an opportunity to be heard in defense. Another amendment, in 1869, contained further provisions in relation to the proceedings on sale of property for assessments and taxes. By a re- vision of the charter, in March, 1871, the number of wards in the city was increased from five to eight. This act was further amended by acts approved in 1875, 1877, 1879, and 1881. By an amendment ap- proved March 17, 1872, a change was made in the boundary between the fourth and fifth wards, making Fairbanks street the line. The act to authorize a Board of Public Works was passed March 22, 1873, and was thereafter several times amended. The act constituting the Superior Court was passed March 24, 1875. An act to organize and establish a Police Court was passed in April, 1873, and this was su- perseded by another, passed in May, 1879. The Board of Police and Fire Commissioners was established by act of May 24, 1881. An act approved May 18, 1883 provided for the management of cemeteries owned or to be owned by the city. Some important amendments to the charter were made in the Spring of 1887, and also in succeeding years, until in May, 1917, when a change was made from the Federal or Aldermanic form of government to the Commission plan with a City Manager.
The following is a list of all those who held the office of mayor of the city from the time of its incorporation, in 1850, until the adop- tion of the Commission form of government, in 1917, the year given being the time of the election of each, and the term of service extend- ing to the year given as the time of the election of his successor : 1850, Henry R. Williams; 1851, Ralph W. Cole; 1852, William H. Withey ; 1853, Thomas B. Church; 1854, Wilder D. Foster; 1855, Charles Shepard ; 1856, John M. Fox; 1857, William T. Powers ; 1858, Gilbert M. McCray; 1859, George K. Johnson; 1860, Martin L. Sweet; 1861, George H. White; 1863, Charles C. Comstock; 1865, Wilder D. Foster ; 1867, John W. Champlin; 1868, Moses V. Aldrich ; 1871, Leonard H. Randall; 1872, Julius Houseman ; 1873, Peter R. L. Peirce; 1874, Julius Houseman; 1875, Peter R. L. Peirce; 1877, George W. Thayer; 1878, Henry S. Smith; 1879, Francis Letellier ; 1880, Henry S. Smith; 1881, George G. Steketee; 1882, Edmund B. Dikeman ; 1883, Crawford Angell; 1884, Charles E. Belknap; 1885, John L. Curtiss ; 1886, Edmund B. Dikeman; 1888, Isaac M. Weston ; 1889, John Killean; 1890, E. F. Uhl; 1892, William J. Stuart; 1894, E. B. Fisher; 1895, Charles D. Stebbins; 1896, Lathrop C. Stow; 1898, George R. Perry; 1902, W. Millard Palmer; 1904, Edwin F. Sweet; 1906, George E. Ellis ; 1916, George P. Tilma. Many of these gentlemen have been given appropriate mention on other pages of this work, and Messrs. Letellier, Steketee, Belknap, Fisher, Stow, Perry, Palmer, Sweet, Ellis, and Tilma are living.
William H. Withey came from Vermont and built a saw-mill some miles above the rapids in 1837-38, and for twenty-eight years was prominent in business enterprises, including staging to Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, and constructing the Kalamazoo & Grand Rapids plank road.
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John M. Fox, who came into the valley in 1837, and after 1846 resided many years in Grand Rapids, was well known and respected as a citizen, business man and a public officer. During the last ten years of his life he resided at Lowell, where he died, Jan. 4, 1873, aged 62 years.
Gilbert M. McCray was born at Skaneateles, N. Y., May 13, 1826; at twelve years of age came with his parents to Grandville, Mich., and in 1843 came to Grand Rapids. He was bred to the trade of ma- chinist, in which he became an expert and a master workman. In company with Stewart B. McCray and H. Gaylord, about 1855, he built a foundry and machine shop on Market street, below the Eagle Hotel. After operating this shop a few years, he was, during most of the time for nearly thirty years, foreman in the Grand Rapids Iron Works. In 1858 he was mayor of Grand Rapids.
Moses V. Aldrich, prominent for nearly a quarter of a century in the business circles of Grand Rapids, was born at Macedon, On- tario County, New York, Sept. 13, 1829. His education was only such as could be obtained at the common schools of his boyhood days. His father, Stephen H. Aldrich, moved to Michigan in 1836. Soon after- ward Moses was in the employ of a railroad company, working faith- fully to earn his own subsistence and to contribute to that of his fa- ther's family. A few years later he entered a dry goods store at Plymouth, Mich., as a clerk. While still a youth he attracted all who knew him by his affability, his obliging disposition, and his strict in- tegrity. About 1852 he was promoted to partnership in the firm of J. S. Scattergood & Company, a fact which amply testifies to the con- fidence and esteem of his employers.' Glancing at this beginning and through his uniformly successful career, the fact becomes apparent that Mr. Aldrich was essentially a self-made man. In 1855 he dis- posed of his business at Plymouth and came to Grand Rapids, enter- ing into partnership with his wife's father, William B. Ledyard, in the manufacture of fanning mills and milk safes. This business grew to large proportions, and its products supplied the market in a large part of Michigan and Wisconsin. Mr. Aldrich was active manager of the concern, and pushed it with extraordinary vigor and success. In 1860 was organized the banking house of Ledyard & Aldrich, in which Mr. Aldrich continued as a partner until 1862. In February, 1871, he opened a private banking house and continued in this busi- ness until his death. After his death this enterprise was merged in the Grand Rapids National Bank, by reorganization. Mr. Aldrich's intuitive judgment of men and affairs, his thorough integrity, and his fine executive ability, commanded public attention, and he was chosen mayor of the city for three consecutive terms, in 1868-69-70. He had a habit of close watchfulness, as untiring in public as in private af- fairs, and he won general commendation in his official acts. From 1875 until his death he served as County Superintendent of the Poor, an office accepted purely out of kindness of heart to the unfortunate and suffering. The county infirmary may be rightly called his crown- ing charity. When asked why he should give his valuable time so persistently to this distasteful work, he replied that it was to satisfy himself that abuse should not be added to the ills already visited on the helpless and imbecile inmates of this institution. Mr. Aldrich was
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stern in justice. It was one of the pleasures of his life to give advice and assistance. to young men of spirit and ambition. He had been poor himself, he said, and he knew how hard was the struggle. On the other hand, he had small patience with the shiftless poor, refusing aid to such except in cases of destitution. Though a stanch Repub- lican, Mr. Aldrich was not ambitious politically. Such offices of lo- cal trust as he was persuaded to hold were accepted for the public good and not for personal aggrandizement. He loved the place which he had chosen for his home, and he entered into all its enterprises with indefatigable and fearless zeal. The prosperity of Grand Rapids today is a fitting tribute to the sound judgment and untiring energy of her pioneers, her early "city fathers." On the list of these the name of Moses V. Aldrich will ever have a foremost stand. The pathos of an early death accrued to him. He was cut down in the prime of his manly success, at the age of only fifty years. He died Dec. 8, 1879.
Peter R. L. Peirce was a prominent citizen of Grand Rapids for upward of a quarter of a century. He was born at Geneseo, N. Y., May 25, 1821, and was a son of Col. John Peirce, who moved from Virginia to Western New York about the time of the War of 1812. From Geneseo, in 1836, Peter removed to Detroit, where for a time he read law, and thence, in 1840, he came to Grand Rapids. Here he again studied law in the office of George Martin, who afterward be- came chief justice of the State Supreme court, meantime keeping a book store, and was one of the active members of the Grand Rapids Lyceum, the debating club of that period. In 1843 he removed to Cincinnati and engaged in mercantile trade. While there he became interested in temperance movements, and wrote a history of the Order of the Sons of Temperance in Ohio, of which 100,000 copies were published and circulated. He also contributed many articles to the newspapers of that city, and formed a habit of writing for the news- paper press, which he kept up through life; his productions in that line being always sprightly and readable as well as useful. From Cincinnati Mr. Peirce returned to Grand Rapids, in 1850, and fol- lowed mercantile business some five years. He had the eye and the taste of an artist, with talent in architectural draughting; in which he indulged from time to time; and many residences and other build- ings, some of them yet standing, were erected from plans of his de- sign and drawing. In each of the years 1853-54-55 he was chosen city clerk, serving three terms. In 1854 he was elected clerk of Kent County, and was re-elected to the same office until he served seven consecutive terms, running through fourteen years. In that position he won universal commendation, and was called the model county clerk of the Sate. As an officer he was methodical, expert, prompt and exact in his records and in the details of the public business. He was chosen to the State Senate for the term of 1869-70, and there his services were indefatigable and efficient, to the great benefit of the cause of education; he being chairman of the Committee on Educa- tion, and influential in procuring the passage of the act abolishing the rate bill and making the common schools free; also successful in urging liberal appropriations for the State University. Mr. Peirce was elected mayor of Grand Rapids in 1873 and also in each of the
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years 1875 and 1876. From about 1870 for some six years he was connected with the land department of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company, and compiled a historic and descriptive map of the country comprising its land grant, which was widely circulated, at home and in Europe. On March 19, 1877, he was appointed post- master at Grand Rapids, which office he held at the time of his death. Through all his life Mr. Peirce was an active, industrious, public- spirited citizen, and in social circles remarkable for his cheerful, live- ly and happy disposition and mirthful mind, which made him a wel- come guest at all gatherings. During the war for the Union he was active among the foremost in promoting enlistments, and generously alive in aiding needy families of the gallant men who went to the front, giving liberally of his own means in numerous instances. He was very popular with the soldiers and worked in their interests at all times. He was popular as a lecturer, and as a speaker at public gatherings, and it was said of him that for eighteen consecutive years he delivered an address at some Fourth of July celebration. His hap- py manner of spicing with wit and anecdote and humor his fervid patriotism, earnest appeal and instruction, always insured him a large and well-pleased audience. In religious sentiment Mr. Peirce was an Episcopalian of liberal views; was a member of that denomination after 1843, and a vestryman of St. Mark's Church in Grand Rapids for eighteen years. In its behalf he manifested a zealous interest, and managed many trusts with scrupulous fidelity. Politically, from its organization, he was an active, earnest and enthusiastic adherent of the Republican party. Mr. Peirce died at his home, Nov. 12, 1878, and a personal friend said of him: "Few in their lives had more or warmer friends than he, and few or none are more sincerely mourned when the death summons comes." He was a member of the Bar of Kent County, but never entered into general practice as an attorney. As a citizen and as a public officer, Peter R. L. Peirce was a man of spotless integrity. His life was one of influence and usefulness.
George W. Thayer was born in Burlington, Vt., Sept. 27, 1827. He remained in Vermont until nearly eighteen years of age, and, like most of the youth of his generation, struggled heroically for an edu- cation and made the most of his opportunities in the schools and academy at Johnson and at Burlington in the Green Mountain State. In May, 1845, at the suggestion of his uncle, the Hon. Lucius Lyon, one of Michigan's earliest and most honored representatives in the United States Senate, then Surveyor-General northwest of the Ohio for the United States government, he came to Grand Rapids, remain- ing until August of that year, when he was called to Detroit to join a party formed by his uncle for the purpose of making some explora- tions in the upper peninsula of Michigan, then a veritable wilderness, in a portion of which, Dr. Douglass Houghton, the noted geologist, was then making a linear, topographical and geological survey, of that region which has since become so vastly important to the whole country in its mineral and other wealth. The party coasted in an open boat from Sault St. Marie to Copper Harbor, at which point Dr. Houghton and party were intercepted, and where, pursuant to a pre- vious understanding, Mr. Thayer left his uncle's party to join that of Dr. Houghton on the public surveys, his purpose at that time being to
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fit himself, under the instructions of Dr. Houghton, for the profes- sion of surveyor and engineer. The untimely death of his patron, by drowning, in October of that year, changed his plans. Upon his re- turn to Detroit after the expedition, he accepted a subordinate posi- tion in his uncle's office, and by merit won promotion until he was chief clerk in that most important Government office, and had the fullest confidence and esteem, not only of the Surveyor-General and the Interior Department of the Government, but also of the large force of his subordinates in the office. He had become attached to Michigan, and when, in 1856, the office of Surveyor-General north- west of the Ohio was removed from Detroit to St. Paul, he resigned his position after three months service to organize the new office, rather than leave the State. He engaged in business in Detroit for a time, but in 1861 came to Grand Rapids to find a permanent home, for his uncle had had great faith in this city, having considerable in- vestments here, and a number of his relatives already lived here. On coming here he engaged in trade, retail and jobbing, as a grocer, and devoted his energies to his business until he retired, in 1888, from mercantile life. He served the city at one time, in 1864-65, as its clerk. In the municipal year, 1877-78, he was mayor of the city. In 1879 he was appointed a member of the Board of Public Works of the city and served in that most important executive committee for nine successive years-longer than any one else ever had up to that period -and nearly all that time was president of the board. He was chosen the first president of the Western Michigan Agricultural and Indus- trial Society, when that association was organized, in April, 1879, and held the office continuously for five successive years, until he felt constrained to insist that he had given his share of energy and time to the society, and refused a re-election; but after a rest of six years he was compelled to resume his relations with those most important interests, having been again unanimously chosen president in 1890-a sufficient commentary on his great worth to the public in that posi- tion. He was for several years manager of the first street railroad enterprise in this city, and proved that good business methods achieve success and serve the public well in that sort of relation. He also served as president of the North Park Street Railway, one of the ear- ly suburban lines. Mr. Thayer died Sept. 2, 1916.
Henry S. Smith was born in Litchfield, Herkimer County, New York, Nov. 11, 1820. While he was yet a lad, his father, Solomon Smith, purchased a farm and removed the family to Cassville, Oneida County, New York, and there passed the remainder of his life. Henry received only the limited educational advantages afforded by the pub- lic school. There he spent the years of his youth and early manhood, engaging successfully in several small enterprises, and finally became the owner of the homestead farm. For several years Mr. Smith held the office of the justice of the peace, in which his solid judgment and firm sense of justice established for him an enviable reputation. He was also captain in the New York State militia. In 1858 he came to Michigan and settled in Grand Rapids. Here he began a business career in which he became prominent by the purchase of the Bremer ashery, which he managed but a short time, when he engaged in the manufacture of saleratus. A few years later he began the manufac-
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ture of wooden ware and agricultural implements, and became an ex- tensive jobber in the products of other manufacturers. He was among the first to send out traveling agents from this city for the sale of its wares, and soon his firm and its manufactures became well known throughout the West. In the spring of 1878, as the candidate of the National Greenback party, he was elected mayor, and was again elected in 1880. In 1878 he was also the candidate of the same party for Governor, and, though defeated, ran well with his ticket, receiv- ing 73,313 votes. Mr. Smith died Dec. 11, 1881.
Crawford Angell was born in Massachusetts, April 2, 1827. His father was engaged in general business and removed his family to Rhode Island about 1830. There Mr. Angell remained until the age of 18 years, and in October, 1845, came to Grand Rapids and attended school at the academy, then being conducted in the court house, which stood in what is now known as Fulton Street Park. He was in school two years, doing chores to pay his board, and then entered the Na- tional Hotel as clerk. He remained thus employed until 1853, when he entered the office of the American Express Company as porter. He became familiar with the details of the business, and in 1855 was ap- pointed agent for Grand Rapids, a position which included the duties of stage agent of the Grand Rapids & Kalamazoo line. In May, 1880, he was made assistant superintendent of the American Express Company, Michigan division, comprising Michigan and a portion of Indiana and Ohio. In 1878 and 1879 Mr. Angell was treasurer of the city of Grand Rapids, elected on the National ticket. He was one of the organizers of the National party, and under his leadership it achieved notable local success.
John L. Curtiss was born in Windham County, Connecticut, Aug. 7, 1835. When eleven years of age he accompanied his parents to On- tario County, New York, where he remained until he had reached his majority. He graduated at Lima College, in New York State, in 1854, and when twenty-one years old went to Dexter, Washtenaw County, Michigan, where for two years he was engaged in the mill and hardware business. He taught school three winters in New York and three winters in Michigan. In the fall of 1859 he went to Mil- waukee, Wis., and was employed as a dry goods clerk for five years. At the end of that time he went to Chicago and was in the employ of Armstrong & Company, wholesale oil dealers, as traveling salesman for five years. In the spring of 1870 he came to Grand Rapids, and in connection with James M. Hansel established a wholesale paper and oil business on Front street on the west side of the river, where they remained nearly two years. Mr. Curtiss subsequently purchased his partner's interest and sold it to Lewis G. Dunton. The stock was removed to 69 old Canal street, but increasing business soon necessi- tated more commodious quarters, and in the fall of 1880 a location on Lyon street was occupied. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Curtiss was elected to the State Senate, and in the following spring was elected mayor of the city of Grand Rapids.
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