USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 50
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In 1860, Judge Birney was nominated by the Republican State Convention for the office of Lieutenant-Governor and was elected by a majority of 20,000. It was during his term in this office that he was appointed to a vacancy on the circuit bench, and he filled this position for the next four years, his jurisdiction em- bracing Saginaw, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland, Iosco and Bay counties. After the expiration of his term, he was unanimously renominated by the Republican Judicial Convention, but the district had become so largely Democratic that he was defeated. He then resumed the prac- tice of the law and took part in nearly all the important litigation of that time. In 1871 he established the Bay City Chronicle, which was issued as a daily in 1873 and its publication was continued until after his departure for The Hague, in 1876, when it was merged into the Bay City Tribune.
In 1872, Governor Baldwin nominated Judge Birney to President Grant as centennial
REV. H. J. H. SCHUTJES
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commissisoner for Michigan, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Inde- pendence in 1876. He failed to serve in this capacity as he had been appointed by the Pres- ident, on December 17, 1875, as United States Minister, to the Netherlands and he departed for The Hague in 1876. This honor was greeted with satisfaction by his fellow-citizens who appreciated how valuable his services had been to Michigan. He did much for his local- ity and State, one act being the securing of the first railroad in Bay City.
Judge Birney had five children : James G., Arthur Moulton, Sophia Hull (Blackwell), Alice (Mrs. Frank Blackwell) and one child that died in infancy.
ISS MARGARET L. McGUIRE, a well-known and much respected lady of Bay City, Michigan, is a native of Canada, born at Leeds in the Province of Quebec. Her father, Michael McGuire, died when she was II years old; she had previously, at the age of four, lost her mother.
In 1856, Miss McGuire entered the service of Rev. H. J. H. Schutjes, whose pastorate at that time covered the entire Saginaw Valley. She was an orphan when Father Schutjes took her into his household, and she continued in the capacity of his housekeeper. for 41 years, faithful to every obligation imposed by that relationship. When she first came to what is now Bay City, the spot was thickly covered with timber, and what is now Center street was a mass of dense brush. She has seen the Catholic Church in the Saginaw Valley grow from its infancy. During her long period of service with Father Schutjes, he was always kind and considerate, and when he crossed the
ocean to Europe after spending seven years as secretary to the Bishop of Detroit, subsequent to his departure from Bay City, she accompa- nied him. A few words concerning this most worthy clergyman would seem not irrelevent in this connection.
REV. H. J. H. SCHUTJES, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, was a Hollander, born March 6, 1826, and died in Holland, March 18, 1897, at the age of 71 years. He was the youngest of a family of seven sons, one of whom was a priest in Holland. The five other sons occupied positions of public trust in Eu- rope. He received a good education, complet- ing his studies at Louvain University, Belgium, and was conversant with the German, Dutch, Belgian, French, Latin and English languages. He came to Michigan with 25 other young priests, and had but 25 cents in his pockets upon his arrival. He was ordained to the priesthood under Bishop LeFevre of Detroit, Michigan, and then began his connection with the development of the Catholic Church in this section. His income at the outset was very meagre, and all the meat used in his household in those pioneer, days was of his own killing. During 1850 and 1851 the Catholics of Lower Saginaw (now Bay City) built of native timber, which they procured from the woods, an edifice on Washington street below Second, known as St. Joseph's Church, and Father Schutjes ar- rived in 1852 to assume charge. He had great difficulties with which to contend, as the church was not only in its infancy, but no place was provided for the pastoral residence. He chiefly resided at the old Wolverton House, and the remainder of the time was the guest of some friend. Included in his charge was all of the Saginaw Valley, and this necessitated frequent trips, which were hazardous and full of hard- ships, as there were no roads at that time. He
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was relieved of a part of his charge in 1863, when pastors were secured for Saginaw and East Saginaw. His parishioners included Hol- landers, Germans, French and those speaking English, which made it necessary for him to speak several languages. A new church was erected in 1868 on the site of the present St. James' Church by the English-speaking por- tion of the parish and was dedicated under the patronage of St. James the Apostle. In 1873, Father Schutjes was called to Detroit to assist the Bishop, and Rev. Thomas Rafter, the pres- ent incumbent, became his successor. During Father Schutjes' pastorate, the church had a wonderful growth in membership and influ- ence, and in the power to accomplish beneficent and charitable acts. The St. James' Parochial School was begun by him and completed by Father Rafter, and was then taken charge of by the Sisters of Charity, from Cincinnati, in September, 1873.
Upon the death of Father Schutjes, Miss McGuire returned to Bay City to make her home with her brother-in-law, Henry Peters, a widower, for whom she kept house until his death in 1901. She now resides in this old home at No. 915 Columbia avenue, and also owns other property in Bay City.
ILLIAM H. FRIDAY, a prosperous farmer of Gibson township, Bay County, Michigan, resides in sec- tion 28 and has a fine farm of 80 acres. He was born in Oakland County, Mich- igan, in 1875, and is a son of Isaac and Julia (Baldwin) Friday. His grandfather Friday lived to reach the age of 96 years and was a life-long resident of New York State.
Isaac Friday was born at Albany, New York, and was a pioneer of Oakland County,
Michigan, where he located at an early date. He was married there to Julia Baldwin, who also was born in Albany, New York, and died in 1893, aged 59 years. Mr. Friday died one year later at the age of 72 years.
William H. Friday received his educational training at Clarkson, Michigan, and worked on his father's farm of 113 acres in Springfield township, Oakland County. His first business venture on his own account was in 1896, when he purchased his present farm of 80 acres in section 28, Gibson township, Bay County. It was all wild land at the time and a considerable distance from any road, and in building his house it was necessary to carry the lumber on his back. Before the doors were hung or the windows in, he moved into the house with his wife, and there followed the same difficulties and hardships in this undeveloped community as were experienced in early pioneer days in what are now thickly settled sections of the county. He has cleared the land and placed it in a high state of cultivation, and now has one of the most valuable farms in the township.
In 1893, Mr. Friday was married to Lillian Richmond, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Howell) Richmond, and a granddaughter of William Richmond, a native of New York who at an early age settled in Groveland township, Oakland County, Michigan, where he died at the age of 72 years. Benjamin Richmond was born on the old homestead in Groveland township, which continued to be his home up to the time of his death at the age of 65 years. His wife died in 1878, aged 35 years.
William H. Friday and his wife are parents of three children, as follows: Elmer, born in 1894; Julia, born in 1896; and Richmond, born in 1903. Fraternally our subject is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and the Grange. He is a stanch Republican in politics.
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ARL KRABBE, one of the prominent farmers and stock-raisers of Merritt township, Bay County, Michigan, who owns a well-improved and pro- ductive farm of 160 acres in section 31, was born in the city of Stralsund, Pommern, Ger- many, September 25, 1859, and is a son of Carl and Caroline ( Piretz) Krabbe.
The parents of Mr. Krabbe were farming people in Germany and they passed their lives in their native land. Of their nine children, seven reached maturity, as follows: Axel, who lives on the old homestead in Germany ; Emma, (Mrs. Lange), of Germany; August, who came to Bay County in the spring of 1883 and died July 26, 1903; Minnie (Mrs. Ebelt), of Germany; Alvina, who died in Germany ; Carl, of this sketch; and Otto, of Germany.
Our subject remained with his parents and assisted in working the home farm until 1891, when he came to America, reaching Bay City on June IIth, where he joined his brother Au- gust who had been here for eight years. Mr. Krabbe came with the intention of investing in land and soon became satisfied with the appear- ance and location of his present property, which he purchased. The tract consisted of 160 acres, 40 of which had been improved. Mr. Krabbe has cleared and put the remainder under a fine state of cultivation, has built a comfortable home and has made many excellent improve- ments. At first he made hay his leading crop, then raised grain, but latterly has given more attention to the raising of fine stock. His herd of Holstein cattle can scarcely be excelled in the county. His large supply of milk is sold to the cheese factory at Buena Vista.
Mr. Krabbe was married in Bay County in May, 1892, to Ella Janiche, who was born in Berlin, Germany, June II, 1874, and is a daughter of Emil and Anna (Smith) Janiche, natives of Germany, who came here when Mrs.
Krabbe was nine years old. Our subject and wife have five bright, interesting children : Emma, Carl, Axel, Otto and Wilma.
Politically, Mr. Krabbe has become identi- fied with the Republican party, but he takes no active interest in politics, devoting his time closely to his agricultural interests. He is a member and liberal supporter of the German Lutheran Church in Merritt township.
ON. JAMES GILLESPIE BIRNEY. In recalling this distinguished citizen of the United States, whose brilliant gifts and solid services to his country deserve preservation in every public record, the citizens of Bay County, Michigan, remember with pride that for over a decade he made his home here.
James Gillespie Birney was born February 4, 1792, at Danville, Kentucky, an only son of James and Anna ( Reed) Birney. His descent was pure Protestant Scotch-Irish. The pater- nal grandfather owned the old family home- stead near Cootehill, County Cavan, Ireland, and is represented as a man in prosperous cir- cumstances, a vestryman in the Church of Eng- land and a local magistrate. His life was closed in his own country. On the maternal side, the grandfather was John Reed, who was born in Londonderry, Ireland, a man of wealth and political influence. His connection with some of the political movements of the dangerous times in which he lived caused him to leave his own land and seek a home in America, and as early as 1779 he had established himself in Kentucky. In the same year, he built a fort within two miles of Danville and a mansion which has stood the assaults of Time until within a recent period. From his marriage with Lettice Wilcox came some of Kentucky's
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greatest statesmen : Thomas Buchanan Read, Judges John and Thomas Green, Rev. Lewis W. Green, D. D., Dr. Willis G. Craig and Gen. Humphrey Marshall.
In spite of the wealth and social standing of his father, James Birney, the father of our distinguished subject, tired of home surround- ings and ancestral customs, and when only 16 years of age escaped from Ireland and resolved to build up his own fortunes in the great coun- try across the ocean. He reached Philadelphia in 1783. In 1788 he opened a store at Dan- ville, Kentucky, in which he prospered and later became identified with almost all the channels of trade, politics, religion and social life in the State and became justly reputed the wealthiest as well as one of the most influential men in Kentucky. His many interests brought him into close contact with the leading men of his day and it was in his own home or in com- panionship with his grandfather Reed that James G. Birney learned the theories of gov- ernment, which books could never have taught him, and while still a youth had formulated his own views.
Thus the youth grew up unusually intelli- gent and possessing the poise of a man before he had reached maturity. His character was that of a youth frank, self-respecting and self- reliant, with that touch of Southern chivalry which so marked his generation and which is so sadly wanting in the present. After thor- ough preparation, James G. Birney entered the sophomore class in Princeton College, in April, 1808, and was graduated September 26, 1810, having shown unusual proficiency in moral and political philosophy, general literature and the classics, in fact, in just those branches which he needed in his future career. While there he had listened to the teachings of the president of the college, the eminent Dr. Stanhope Smith, who taught his pupils that slavery was a moral
wrong and a political evil. The subject was. one of importance over the whole Union and was the subject of much debate and discussion at the college. Pennsylvania had already passed an emancipation act, which was followed by the same legislation in New York in 1801, and in New Jersey in 1804. In all the college discus- sions James G. Birney took part, never defend- ing slavery, although both his father and grand- father were slave-owners and he had been brought up in its shadow and under its influ- ence. Immediately after securing his diploma, he returned to Kentucky, and he subsequently entered upon the study of the law with United States District Attorney Alexander J. Dallas, in Philadelphia, with whom he continued for three years. He passed his examination and was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, and in May, 1814, he returned to Danville and entered upon the practice of the law. In the fall elec- tions he was made a member of the Town Council and was instrumental in founding the Danville Academy. In 1816 he was elected a member of the Lower House of the Kentucky General Assembly, and it was during this: period that he first took the stand in opposi- tion to slavery, which made his subsequent ca- reer so interesting and important.
Mr. Birney now began to think of a wider sphere for his professional and political ambi- tions, and circumstances pointed to Alabama as a fruitful field and thither he removed in 1818.
From 1818 to 1823 the biographer finds Mr. Birney practicing his profession, oversee- ing an immense plantation and entering with vigor into politics. The latter interests brought about financial losses of a serious character. His frequent absences from home had caused the unprofitable cultivation of his crops, mainly his cotton, and in 1823, in debt, he left his plantation and removed his family to Hunts-
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ville, the county-seat of Madison County, and one year later he was elected mayor of Hunts- ville. He continued his professional duties, at- taining to a distinction unusual, considering his eminent competitors, and his political prominence continued to increase. More and more his leanings were in the direction of anti- slavery legislation, and early in 1826 he began to take an interest in the American Coloniza- tion Society, which he regarded "as a scheme of benevolence to the whole colored population, and as a germ of effort capable of expansion adequate to the largest necessities in the exter- mination of slavery." In December, 1826, he appeared before the Legislature with the rough draft of a bill "to prohibit the importation of slaves into this State for sale or hire," which did not please some of the large planters.
It is not the object of this sketch of this distinguished man to follow in detail his polit- ical career, which included his removal to Ohio in 1835 and the genesis of the Republican party, under other names, his nomination on November 13, 1839, as presidential candidate for the new organization, and a recapitulation of the great political movements of the next decade in which his was so important a figure. His work for the emancipation of the slaves is national history. Probably few men suffered more in the cause than did James G. Birney,- the loss of the esteem of kindred and friends which was replaced by contumely and insult, the loss of his property, the interruption of his professional career which had offered the most brilliant future, and the constant detraction of those who had every reason to believe in the purity of his motives.
When his father died in 1839, leaving him a large estate and many slaves, he immediately emancipated his negroes. In 1840 he was in- vited to England as one of the vice-presidents of the World's Convention, and in May of that
year he was nominated for the presidency by the Liberal party and at the subsequent elec- tion received 7,000 votes.
About this time he became one of the three proprietors of Lower Saginaw (now Bay City), Michigan, and, in order to look after his interests here and also to find retirement after so many years of strenuous struggle, he decided to remove to this place. He arrived at Saginaw in the fall of 1841 and remained there through the winter. At this time all the business interests of the valley were at so low an ebb that Webster House, one of the largest hotels in Michigan at that time, outside of De- troit, built in 1837, was no longer required to accommodate the traveling public and had been standing unoccupied for some time. Mr. Birney and his family secured it as a private dwelling, and it continued to be their home during the year's residence in Saginaw, before their re- moval to Lower Saginaw.
In association with Dr. Daniel Hughes Futzhugh and James Fraser, Mr. Birney had previously purchased the stock of the Saginaw Bay Company, which company owned the John Riley Reserve and had laid out the town of Lower Saginaw. They became the successors of that company and the title was conveyed to Mr. Birney. He acted as trustee until a divis- ion of the property was made among the stock- holders.
A memorable occasion during the residence of Mr. Birney at Saginaw was that of July 4, 1842, when he was invited to address a number of his fellow-citizens who were dining with him at Jewett's Hotel. The late Norman Lit- tle and Judge Albert Miller were appointed a committee to wait on Mr. Birney and extend the invitation to honor the party with an ad- dress in honor of the day. His reply was characteristic. He said that he could not do nor say anything to honor the anniversary of
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American independence and freedom, for that day would not have arrived until the release from bondage of the three or four million in- dividuals, who were held to service by their oppressors, had taken place. He consented to attend and speak on his own theme and the eloquent address on the subject of "Emanci- pation" was subsequently made use of as a public document.
In the spring of 1842, Mr. Birney removed to Lower Saginaw. His residence here was the block-house at the corner of Fourth avenue and Water street, built by the Saginaw Bay Company. Aside from looking after the in- terests of the Saginaw Bay Company as trus- tee, he engaged extensively in agricultural pur- suits, particularly in stock-raising. He brought a fine herd of blooded cattle from Ohio and the results are shown in the fine cattle which abound through the Saginaw Bay district.
After coming to Michigan, Mr. Birney was again called into active public life by his nomi- nation in 1843 again to the presidency. At the election in 1844, he received 62,300 votes. In 1845 he was nominated for Governor of Michi- gan and at the election polled 3,023 votes for this high office. This closed his public political career, although his interest in the anti-slavery struggle was not abated. Disease was creeping on and after his health failed he did not mingle often with his fellow-citizens in Bay County, but he had been very benevolent and public- spirited and he was always remembered with kind feelings by his old neighbors. In order to consult medical specialists and also to give his youngest son collegiate advantages, he went East and settled at Eagleswood, near Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He died there from the effects of paralysis brought on through a fall from a horse, after five or six years of invalid- ism, on November 23, 1857, at the age of 65 years. He did not live long enough to realize
his earlier hopes of the growth and importance of Lower Saginaw, nor to see the day which he would have considered the true birthday of American Independence.
Mr. Birney was married on February I, 1816, to Agatha McDowell, who was a daugh- ter of United States Judge William McDowell and a niece of Governor Madison of Kentucky and of Bishop Madison of Virginia. She died in 1838, survived by one daughter,-Mrs. Florence B. Jennison, of Bay City, Michigan,- and five sons,-James, William, Dion, David and George. In 1841 his second union took place, also a congenial one, to Elizabeth Fitz- hugh, a sister of Mrs. Gerritt Smith; by this union there was one son,-Fitzhugh. Mr. Birney was a man of the highest Christian character and no even incomplete biography can be prepared without special reference being made to his unaffected piety. The Holy Bible was his constant companion and his mind was stored with its precious truths. While a resi- dent of Lower Saginaw, it was Mr. Birney's custom to conduct religious services in the little school house.
In spite of the great eminence he had reached in the political world, Mr. Birney was noted for his quiet unostentation. He pos- sessed the refined manner which comes from mingling with superior society, from his exten- sive reading and travel, and he was conspicuous even in the heat of debate for a consideration for the feelings of others and a remarkable ab- sence of selfish self-seeking. Like other re- formers and public benefactors, Mr. Birney did not escape detraction from high places, but, in the light thrown by the progress of events in these subsequent years, when the people of the North and the South have learned to dispas- sionately study history, the name of James G. Birney has gained added and enduring luster.
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E LOF L. JOHNSON, a farmer and merchant of Garfield township, Bay County, Michigan, owns a well-im- proved farm of 40 acres in section I, operates a general store in which the Garfield Post Office is located, and is one of the leading men of his section. Mr. Johnson was born in 1864 in Sweden, and is a son of Jonas Peter and Lena Johnson.
The father died in Sweden, in 1875, aged 5I years, leaving his widow with eight children. Two of the sons, Alfred and Michael, had established themselves at Bay City, and in 1878 Alfred returned to Sweden and brought his mother and the rest of the family to Bay City. The mother did not long survive the change, dying in the fall of 1878, aged 52 years. The children all survive and are all located in Bay County, Michigan, within 20 miles of each other. They are: August, a farmer of Fraser township; Alfred, a farmer of Fraser township; Charles, a farmer of Gar- field township; Michael, a farmer of Garfield township; Annie, wife of Joseph McCaskee, of Bay City ; John, a farmer of Garfield township; Frank, a farmer of Fraser township; and Eolf L., of this sketch.
Two years after coming to Bay County, the subject of this sketch bought his farm of 40 acres in section 1, where he has carried on agri- cultural operations ever since. In 1898 he opened a general store on his property, in which the post office is kept, his wife being post- mistress.
In 1890, Mr. Johnson was united in mar- riage with Clara McCabe, who was then a resi- dent of Bay City. They have three interesting little children : Alma, born in April, 1899; Dewey, born in May, 1901 ; and Rudolph, born in November, 1902.
Mr. Johnson has been an active member of the Republican party for many years and has
been called upon to serve in a number of im- portant official positions. He was justice of the peace for one term; was supervisor for five years ; township treasurer for one year and has been a school director for 10 years. These offices have come to him practically unsought, for he is a man of excellent character, highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens. Both he and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
EZEKΙΑΗ M. GILLETT, senior member of the law firm of Gillett & Clark, and vice-president of the Bay County Savings Bank, was born in Genesee County, New York, and is a son of Samuel and Susan (Board) Gillett.
The parents of Mr. Gillett were both born and reared at Chester, Orange County, New York, where they were subsequently married. Later they became residents of Genesee County, where they engaged in farming. The father died in October, 1903, aged 80 years. The mother still resides at Le Roy, New York.
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