USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 32
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In favor of 1882 $ 186,424 55
POPULATION AND VALUATION.
The following table shows the population and assessed valua- tion of Bay City for a number of years:
POPULATION.
ASSESSED VALUATION.
1860
700
$ 530 589.59
1865
3,359
663,000.00
1870.
7,064
1,166,475.00
1874.
13.676
1,700,250.00
1876
17.003
1,718,175.00
1880.
20,692
7,722,310.00
1882
.23,500
9,084,436.00
SCHOOL CENSUS.
The school census for three years past is as follows:
WARDS.
1880.
1881.
1882.
First.
1,016
1,186
1,163
Second.
738
771
806
Third.
948
802
837
Fourth
810
874
933
Fifth
908
1,060
1,199
Sixth.
519
663
738
Seventh
472
597
642
Total
5,411
5,953
6,318
BAY CITY SHIPMENTS.
The shipments by water from the port of Bay City for the season of 1882 were made as follows:
Lumber, feet
582,147,000
Shingles, pieces
112,281,000
Lath, pieces
21,995,000
Salt, barrels
439,996
Staves.
615,882
Hoops
3,126,000
Shooks
1,339,000
Pine and oak timber, feet.
7,853,032
Railroad ties.
26,050
Cedar posts
4,030
Pickets. .
200,000
Heading, barrels.
2,205
Ship knees
100
Lime, barrels.
1.70
Cement, barrels.
150
Spokes, barrels.
70
The following table shows the shipments for a number of early
years :
1863
1861.
1868.
Lumber, feet
25,730,889
141,806,391
217,165,340
1870. 252,862,785
Lath ..
3,281,100
8,831,850
12,679,600
20,078,254
Shingles
1,383,250
7.321,500
7,365,800
30,938,645
Staves.
2,650,015
1 794,876
2,099,000
5,284,267
Salt, barrels
333,534
397,295
359,335
329,247
Timber cubic feet .. .
144,000
669,900
1,121,917
Barrel staves
57,384
92,700
Hoops
555,000
8 920,390
REPORTS AND CLEARANCES FOR 1882.
The Custom House at Bay City shows the following reports and clearances for the season of 1882:
ENTERED.
MONTH
Props. B'gs Schrs. Total Tonnage
March ..
36
54
30
120
44,509
May.
72
90
40
202
75,994
June.
65
85
38
188
69,486
July.
76
112
32
220
85,451
August.
62
109
31
202
73,625
September
72
116
34
222
54,923
October
67
117
39
223
79,633
November
58
65
32
155
55,555
December
3
3
2
8
2,875
Totals
511 751 279
1.541 562,259
CLEARED.
MONTH.
Props. B'gs Schrs. Total Tonnage
March
168
April ..
46
74
33
153
53,334
May
67
102
43
212
78,297
June.
69
112
40
221
77,341
July .
80
120
49
210
92,131
August.
64
114
41
219
78,908
September
71
123
41
235
84,531
October ..
69
130
33
232
81,833
November.
53
66
17
136
49,028
Totals
519
841
298 1,649 615,571
RAILROAD FACILITIES.
Bay City has had railway communication with the outside world since 1867, at which time the Flint & Pere Marquette Road was extended to this city. The present railroad facilities are as follows:
Bay City Division of the Michigan Central R. R .- 108 miles from Bay City to Detroit-formerly the Detroit & Bay City R. R.
Bay City & East Saginaw Division of the F. & P. M., thirteen miles. Main line of F. & P. M., extending from Monroe to Ludington. By both of these roads we have eastern connec- tion at Detroit.
Mackinaw Division of the M. C. R. R., extending from Bay City northward to the Straits of Mackinaw and connecting with the Marquette division of the Northern Pacific, thus making Bay City on the most direct route to the great West.
Saginaw Division M. C. R. R., Bay City to Jackson, 115 miles, direct route to Chicago and the South and Southwest.
DECEASED.
The following are some of the former residents of Bay City, now deceased, and not mentioned in other connections :
DR. WILLIAM DAGLISH, deceased, was born March 8, 1828. He was bred and educated in the city of London, Eng. He early acquired habits of industry and a fondness for study, and all of his life was an indefatigable worker and a close student.
Having relatives in the United States, and being imbued with Republican ideas, he emigrated here at the age of twenty-one years. Having had some study and experience in medicine he entered Rush Medical College in Chicago, and graduated. He first practiced medicine in Rockford, Ill., then in Chicago, being in theory and practice a Homeopathist.
Visiting in the Saginaw Valley, in 1855, at the time the cholera became an epidemic, he found his services needed, and he continued in the practice of medicine until 1861. To practice medicine in that early day of this valley required courage and self-sacrifice, as the settlers were scattered, roads bad, and pay worse. No doubt
1
1
1
1
168
April .
Pickets
Pine and oak timber, pieces
448
C
chames hamsdell.
O
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
117
he then contracted this disease, "rheumatism," from which he suffered so much.
He entered into the law department of the State University, and graduated in the year 1863. He was elected and chosen to several positions of profit, but always declined. He always held some office of trust-was active in establishing the public schools of the city, and served in some capacity until obliged from ill- health to resign as member of the School Board.
He was a member of the Council many years, also of the Board of Water Works. He was interested in all matters of pub- lic good, giving liberally of time and means. He, with Judge Miller, gave the sites where now stand the Fremont Avenue Methodist Episcopalian Church, the Baptist Church, and Presbyterian Chapel on Twenty-third Street. He was prominent in building the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, and for years an earnest and zealous sup- porter.
He was peculiarly of a genial, happy disposition, having always a kind, cheery word. His extensive travel, close observation and mirthful disposition made him a most agreeable and entertaining companion. He died December 12, 1882, after long and severe suffering.
JAMES RAMSDELL, deceased, one of the most prominent lum- bermen of the Saginaw Valley, was a self-made man. He was born in Lubec, Me., January 18, 1818. At the age of fourteen years he left his home to follow sailing on the ocean, at which he continued up to the year 1843, when he went to Buffalo, looking for employment, but could not find any. A gentleman here offered him a situation to go to Canada to work in a saw mill. This was new business for a sailor, but he determined to learn. Here he worked for one year sawing lumber, when he became so proficient that his employers raised his pay, and employed him for another year, 1844. This year he married Miss Agnes Jane Procunier. After working this year, he thought he was capable of carrying on lum- bering on his own account. He had an indomitable will, and what- ever he attempted he was sure to accomplish. He went in part- nership with the Hon. Luther Westover, now of Bay City, in the manufacture and sale of lumber. With his indomitable perse- verance, he was very successful. He afterwards went into the same business with the Hon. John Charlton, now a member of Parlia- ment, until their pine lands were exhausted. By this time he was in comfortable circumstances. But he could not bear to be idle, so he made up his mind to go to the Saginaw Valley and go into the lumbering business on a larger scale. He came to Bay City in 1866, where he purchased large tracts of pine lands on the Rifle, Au Gres, and Cheboygan Rivers, and commenced lumbering on an extensive scale on his own account. He afterwards removed his family to Bay City, where he lived for some time. In 1874 he purchased the fine mansion built by the late James J. McCormick, where he removed, and soon afterwards died, his death occurring August 2, 1877. Mr. Ramsdell was an honest man, prominent in his business as in his social relations, possessed of rare business quali- fications, and from a poor sailor boy he became one of the most ex- tensive lumbermen of northern Michigan. He left a competency for his family, consisting of his wife and four daughters.
APPLETON STEVENS was a prominent business man of Bay County for upwards of twenty years. He came to Portsmouth from Deep River, Conn., in 1857, and engaged in lumbering, the firm at an early day being A. Stevens & Co. He started the town of Deep River, about thirty miles north of Bay City, where he had ex- tensive lumbering interests. He was an active and successful busi- ness man. He died in 1879, leaving a widow and one son. The latter is now of the lumber firm of Green & Stevens. It is such men as Mr. Stevens that have made Bay City what it is. Mr.
Stevens was the first supervisor from the township of Ports- mouth, was mayor of Bay City two terms, and was state senator two terms.
WILLIAM H. SOUTHWORTH died May 18, 1869, at the age of thirty-three years. He was a native of Deep River, Conn., and a son of Mr. Charles G. Southworth, one of the early lumbermen of Bay City. William came to Bay City in 1856, his father having already settled here in business. For four or five years he re- mained in his father's employ. November 28, 1859, he was mar- ried to Miss Elizabeth M. Marsac, daughter of Capt. Marsac, one of the prominent men of his day, and whose biography is given in this work. Mr. Southworth built the house in which his family now reside, on Water Street, before Harrison Street was opened, below where the Astor House now stands. This house was after- wards moved to its present location on Harrison Street. About 1868 the firm of Southworth & Watrous, of which he was a mem- ber, built a planing mill on Harrison Street, now a box factory, and operated it until his death. He was at one time clerk of the township of Portsmouth, and was one of the charter members and first officers of the Masonic Lodge of Portsmouth. He was a member of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry. He was an excellent business man, and his death deprived Bay City of a useful and enterprising citizen. He left a wife and three children, two sons and a daughter. Their home is still in the house he built on Water Street, and afterwards removed to its present location on Harrison Street.
BENJAMIN F. BECKWITH is another of the men who have had an active part in building up the business interests of this region, but who were not permitted to see the fullest results of their labors. Mr. Beckwith was born in New London, Conn., in 1827. He came to Portsmouth about . 1858, and engaged in lumbering. Was a member of the firm of A. Stevens & Co. for a time, and in the lum- ber business until about a year before his death, which occurred March 24, 1873. July 13, 1864, he married Miss Antoinette Cor- nelius, of Fort Plain, N. Y., who, with her three daughters, lives in the residence at South Bay City, which he built in 1862, at the edge of the swamp and forest. Mr. Beckwith was a Knight Templar, and one of the charter members of Portsmouth Lodge, F. &. A. M. He was at one time treasurer of the Village of Portsmouth. Mrs. Beckwith was one of the prime movers in the organization of the Ladies' Library Association, and one of its first officers.
THEODORE M. BLIGH, M. D., who died in Bay City March 16, 1866, settled here in 1855, and engaged in the drug business. In the fire of 1863 his store was burned, and his health beginning to fail, he became an insurance agent, and was so engaged until the time of his death. He was a native of Sherburne, Chenango Co., N. Y., and a graduate of the Buffalo and Geneva Colleges, and practiced medicine about two years before coming to Bay City. He was a prominent citizen, and commanded the respect and esteem of all who knew him. He was 36 years of age at the time of his death.
MRS. C. M. BLIGH, a pioneer of Bay City, died at the residence of her brother, the Hon. W. L. Fay, in Bay City, March 30, 1882.
Mrs. Bligh was born in Hamilton, N. Y., in 1832. She was married to the late Dr. Theodore M. Bligh, and came with her husband to what was then called Lower Saginaw, now Bay City, where she has lived ever since to the time of her death.
Mrs. Bligh left no children. She was a most estimable woman, and her memory is fondly cherished by all who knew her.
MRS. CAROLINE M. MERRILL, wife of Charles A. Merrill, Esq., died in Bay City May 11, 1882. Mrs. Merrill was the daughter of the late Dr. J. T. Miller, who was a member of the State Pioneer
.
0
118
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
Society, and whose family at an early day was the only one of English descent residing within the present limits of Bay County.
Mrs. Merrill was born at Saginaw on the 13th day of October, 1839. At the age of two years her father removed to Flushing, Genesee County, where she received a good common school edu- cation, and at the early age of fourteen years she commenced teach- ing in the district schools in the vicinity of her home, and con- tinued her occupation as a teacher in Genesee, Saginaw, and Bay Counties, until her marriage to Charles A. Merrill, Esq., which occurred at Bay City on the 15th day of December, 1864.
The subject of this sketch at the age of seventeen years joined the Methodist Episcopal Church at Portsmouth, and ever after adorned her profession by living a consistent Christian life, and was always active in her duties in promoting the cause of Christ in the community in which she lived. Mrs. Merrill was a model wife and mother, and leaves a husband, two daughters, and a large circle of relatives and friends to mourn her departure.
WILLIAM POMEROY, deceased, was one of the early saw mill men of Lower Saginaw. He was one of the firm of Hopkins, Pomeroy & Fraser, that built the first mill at Lower Saginaw. In 1852 he sold out his interest in the mill, and followed fishing for several years. He kept the lighthouse at the mouth of the river for three years. He died in Ann Arbor in 1868.
NATHANIEL WHITTEMORE, who died in January of the present year, was a citizen of Bay City for a quarter of a century. He came here in 1856 from Boston, and was in the mercantile busi- ness for about three years. He was the second sheriff of Bay County, and afterward county clerk for two or three terms. He also held several city offices, and was held in high esteem as a pub- lic officer and as a citizen. He removed to Massachusetts for his health, but received no benefit, and died as above stated.
HIRAM WILLMOT, who died in June, 1880, was extensively in- terested in the manufacture of lumber, at Bay City, from 1865 until his death, although not a continuous resident of this place. He was a native of Deep River, Conn., and in 1845 married Miss Harriet C. Southworth, daughter of Charles G. Southworth, after- wards a prominent lumberman of Bay County. Mr. Willmot was a member of the firm of Stevens & Co., and afterwards of Watrous, Southworth & Co. His mill interests were at Portsmouth. Mrs. Willmot and one daughter survive him.
JOHN McDOWELL was a prominent business man of Bay City from 1862 till his death, which occurred May 11, 1862. He was a native of Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1816, and settled in Bay City in 1862, and conducted a foundry and machine shop. He took an active part in public affairs, and was a most excellent citizen. At his death he left a wife and five children.
HENRY S. Dow was a native of New Hampshire, though a greater portion of his life was spent in the West. He served nearly four years in the Union Army, and was mustered out with the rank of captain. After the war he came to Michigan and studied law for a time and then purchased an interest in the Saginaw Advertiser. Six months after he sold out and went to Oil City, Pa. After remaining there awhile he again came West, and graduated from the law department of the Michigan University. From that time until 1871, he was in Chicago, New York, and lastly, Plain- field, N. J. In 1871 he came to Bay City and took a position on the editorial staff of the Journal, and subsequently was managing editor of the Tribune. In 1872 he established the Lumberman's Gazette. In 1875 he published a history of Bay City, which was a very creditable work. In 1872 he was a candidate on the Republi- can ticket for clerk of Bay County, but was defeated. In Septem- ber, 1874, he was elected corresponding secretary of the National
Lumberman's Association, which office he held at the time of his death, which occurred February 5, 1875.
A. MILLER was born in St. Clair Co., Mich., April 7, 1824, He came to Bay City in 1857, and for some years operated the old Drake mill in West Bay City. He also afterwards operated the mills at present owned by Eddy, Avery & Co., on Water Street, Bay City. Mr. Miller was a prominent man, and in the Spring of 1870 would probably have been elected mayor of Bay City, had not his death occurred to break up the aspirations of his friends. He died on March 17, 1870. His widow still lives at the old homestead on Washington Street. Mr. Miller was a kind husband and loving father, and was highly esteemed by his acquaintances.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
AN ELEMENT OF GROWTH AND THRIFT.
Bay City has been favored to an unusual degree in the num- ber of its public spirited citizens, and the degrees of interest and ability with which they have entered into all the progressive move- ments of the city. Well balanced minds have given to its institu- tions the quality of permanency, while enterprise and taste have combined in multiplying public buildings of more than ordinary architectural merit. It is no disparagement of the efforts of others to say that among this class of men Mr. James Shearer stands prominent.
JAMES SHEARER first became interested in Bay City in the Spring of 1863, and since 1865 has been a resident of the place, and one of the most active promoters of a healthy growth and thrift. He was born at Albany, N. Y., July 12, 1823, of Scotch parentage. At an early age he had the advantages of a common school. When about fifteen years of age he emigrated to Michigan, and located at Detroit, where he served a six years' apprenticeship in the art of building, devoting a portion of his spare time to the study of geometry, drawing and architecture, under competent instructors. He then returned to Albany, and spent the Winter and Spring of 1844-'45 at the Albany Academy, studying the higher mathematics, architecture and other branches. After leaving the academy he visited several states in pursuit of more extended information. In the Fall of 1846 he arrived at Montgomery, Ala., where the State Capitol was in process of erection. He obtained employment and was soon appointed superintendent, and as such had charge of its completion. In 1848 he returned to Detroit, and commenced busi- ness for himself as an architect and builder. He very soon took rank as one of the most successful business men of that city. In 1861, having been elected for a term of two years, one of the alder- men of the city, the pressure of the various duties of attending to the families of soldiers who were in the field, and with filling his ward quotas, with other public service, rendered it necessary that he should retire from his business. He was very active during the war in rendering assistance, and made several trips South, visiting the wounded in the field, and distributing needed aid to the suffer- ing. In the Winter of 1863 he visited Bay City, but not with any intention of settling here. However, in the Spring of that year, he purchased the Raymond saw mill, which he almost entire- ly rebuilt, and operated very successfully until 1874, when he sold the property to the Michigan Central Railway Company. In 1865 he removed his family to Bay City, and established them first in the original Birney and afterwards Fraser residence. He lived there five years, and then purchased the property where his Central Block now stands. The building at that time was a brick house, the first one built in Bay City. His thorough knowledge of archi-
-
Las Shearer
119
HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY.
tecture and long experience as a builder naturally led him to study the needs of Bay City, and in 1865-'66 he erected the Shearer Block, at the corner of Water and Center Streets. This was the first building of any pretensions in the city. It was considered at the time a great mistake to extend a building to a height of three stories, but he foresaw that the venture was safe, and furthermore, that such a thing was necessary to introduce a spirit of legitimate rivalry, in order to secure such a class of public buildings as the growing importance of the place demanded.
In 1876 he completed the elegant brick residence on Center Street, where he now resides. His building is a model of architect- ural elegance, and is in harmony with the wealth and refined tastes of its builder and occupants.
In 1880 he finished the Central Block, on the corner of Center and Washington Streets. This was another advanced step in public buildings, being four stories in height. The block is 100 feet square, and is the finest business block in the city. Another building similar in style and adjoining the Central Block is now nearly finished, and will be known as the Shearer Bros. Block. These two buildings represent not less than $115,000, and testify to a spirit of public enterprise, the value of which to a city cannot be over-estimated.
Mr. Shearer's excellent judgment has been exercised in many ways of public benefit, especially as president of the Board of Water Works, from its organization until the works were in opera- tion, and of the First National Bank from 1867 to 1881. In 1871 he was appointed by Gov. Baldwin as one of the commissioners to select designs and build a State Capitol, and continued to be a member of this commission until the completion of the capitol. The great value of his services in that capacity are thoroughly appreciated. He has been often urged to accept public offices, but has never consented except in cases where his services were import- ant to the public welfare. In 1880 he accepted the nomination for Regent of the University of Michigan, and was elected one of the Board of Regents for eight years.
Mr. Shearer is in every respect a self-made man, and his suc- cess in life, which has been of the broadest scope, is the fruit of industry, uncompromising integrity, and unswerving fidelity to honorable course of action. He is one of the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, and takes an active interest in whatever tends to promote the welfare of education and society. In May, 1850, Mr. Shearer married Miss Margaret J. Hutchison, of Detroit. They have had four children, three sons and one daughter, all of whom are still living. The sons, G. Henry, James B., and Chauncey H. Shearer, were born in Detroit, and partake largely of their father's business traits and habits. Under his excellent tutorage they have matured into reliable and successful business men.
SHEARER BROS. is the style of the firm under which they con- tinue the business established by their father. The present firm succeeded James Shearer & Sons during the past year. Their business consists in managing their extensive real estate interests,- selling, renting, building, etc. These gentlemen are well settled in their business and domestic relations. G. Henry Shearer married Miss Elva Culver, daughter of Descum Culver, of Bay City, and occupies a handsome residence of his own. Chauncey H. Shearer married Miss Marie L. Deshler, of Columbus, and is also established in a commodious home. James B. married recently Miss Amelia Marston, daughter of Judge Isaac Marston, of Bay City.
THOMAS CRANAGE, Jr., of the lumber firm of Pitts & Cranage, is a son of Thomas Cranage, a wealthy capitalist of Detroit. He was born in England, but while an infant his parents came to this coun- try, and for many years have resided in Detroit. He was married
October 20, 1863, in Detroit, to Miss Julia Pitts, daughter of the late Samuel Pitts, the well known lumber manufacturer. Mr. Cran- age had been in the drug business at Detroit for eight years, but soon after their marriage they removed to Bay City, and he became a partner in the business of Samuel Pitts. The business history of the firm, one of the most prominent in the Saginaw Valley, is given elsewhere. In 1870 he built the elegant brick residence at the cor- ner of Center and Monroe Streets, which is still the family home. This home accords with the refined tastes and ample wealth of its occupants, and is a credit to the city. In 1873 he built the Cranage Block, an imposing three-story brick block on Center Street, having a frontage of 100 feet, and a depth of eighty feet. At the time it was built many of the business men warned Mr. Cranage that it was too far east to ever be valuable for business purposes, but the correctness of its builder's judgment as to location has long since been attested. In 1874 Mr. Cranage's health was in a very precari- ous condition, and he visited Europe in pursuit of relief. The visit wrought the hoped-for cure, and he returned in good health. He was one of the charter members of the Michigan Salt Association, now called the Salt Association of Michigan, and has been its treas- urer from the beginning. They have had three children, two of whom are now living, one a son at the age of eighteen years, just entering college. Mr. Cranage is a gentleman of large culture and refined tastes, at the same time his business philosophy is sternly practical, and his judgment clear and correct. He is public spirited and liberal in all channels that promise healthy and permanent thrift and real benefit. He is the resident member of the firm, and their vast interests here receive his personal attention and direction. The thorough discipline in force in every department of their busi- ness shows something of the characteristics of Mr. Cranage.
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