History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 26

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I > Part 26

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Captain Antoine Dequindre, and O. W. Miller, was appointed to make suitable arrangements for a reception. At ten o'clock a large number of citi- zens, in carriages, on horseback, and on foot, col- lected at Springwells, and proceeded to the river Ecorce, where the presidential party had arrived in barges from the vessel. Solomon Sibley, on behalf of the citizens, congratulated the President on his arrival. A procession was then formed, which escorted the President to the city. When opposite Fort Shelby a salute was fired ; the procession then moved on through the principal streets, escorting the President to the residence of Governor Cass. At night the city was illuminated-the bill for which, paid to Abraham Edwards by order of the Common Council, amounted to the sum of $23.26; the vessels in the harbor were tastefully decorated with lights, and there was a display of fireworks, under the direction of Lieutenant Howard of the United States Ordnance Department.

The following day the city authorities waited upon the President, and an address was delivered, by Major Charles Larned, on behalf of the city author- ities and the citizens. The day after, at 8 A. M., the troops of the post, under command of Lieu- tenant-colonel Smith, were reviewed by the Presi- dent and General Brown; after which a sword, voted by the Legislature of New York to General Macomb, was presented to him by Governor Cass.

On Friday evening a ball was given at B. Wood- worth's Steamboat Hotel, the President and other notables being in attendance. On Sunday President Monroe attended divine service in the old Indian council-house, located on the site now occupied by Firemen's Hall. He remained in Detroit five days, during which time he received many testimonials of regard, among which was the gift of a carriage and span of horses, presented by the city. On Monday, August 18, he was accompanied by a number of citizens to Springwells, where he embarked in a barge, to meet a vessel waiting for him at the mouth of the river.

Our next visitor in this list was a vice-president, Colonel R. M. Johnson, reputed to have killed Tecumseh. He was here in attendance on a demo- cratic meeting, held September 28, 1840. Ex-Presi- dent Martin Van Buren made Detroit a visit on Friday, July 8, 1842, on his return from a trip to Lake Superior. The steamer Fairport, bearing a party of citizens, went up to Lake St. Clair, and met the Great Western, on which he was a passen- ger. The two boats were lashed together, and Major Kearsley, chairman of the committee of arrangements, welcomed the noted politician and ex-president. At 3 P. M. the boats arrived at the city, where Mr. Van Buren was welcomed by Mayor

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Houghton and Governor Barry. A procession of citizens and military was then formed, and he was escorted through the principal streets to the Ameri- can Hotel. A company gathered on the upper balcony, and he replied at some length to an address by Alderman Ten Eyck. In the evening, and also on Saturday morning, a reception was held at the hotel, and on Saturday evening Mayor Houghton gave him a reception at the residence of Dr. Pitcher. On Sunday morning Mr. Van Buren attended the Methodist Church, and in the afternoon visited the Roman Catholic and Episcopal Churches; in the evening another reception was held at the hotel. On Monday morning he visited Ann Arbor, return- ing in the afternoon, when a fourth address was made by John B. Schick, on behalf of the German citizens. At 8 P. M., on Monday, he took his departure for Cleveland on the steamer Fairport, receiving a parting salute of twenty-six guns.

In 1845, General Zachary Taylor, afterwards twelfth President of the United States, was here on a visit to Captain Joseph Taylor, his brother, then stationed at Detroit.

President Grant at one time lived in Detroit, as the accompanying letter shows.

On his first arrival Lieutenant Grant boarded at the National Hotel. In July, 1849, he moved to the house, still standing on its original site, known as No. 253 Fort Street East. From there he moved to what, in later years, was known as the Bacon House, which he occupied in company with Captain Gore. The house stood on the northeast corner of Russell Street and Jefferson Avenue. It was sold and moved away in 1873. C. R. Bacon has in his possession part of a pane of glass, from one of the chamber windows, on which is the name "Lieutenant U. S. Grant .; " it is believed that he traced it while an occupant of the house. His occupancy of the Fort Street house is verified by the fact that the directory for 1850 contains the following: "Grant, Lieutenant U. S. A. N. S. Fort street bet. Russell and Rivard." The Free Press of May 25, 1850, contained this advertisement :

For Sale, Rent, or Exchange - A two-story dwelling-house on Fort Street, between Rivard and Russell Streets, now occupied by Lieutenant Grant of the U. S. A. Possession given immediately. For further particulars inquire of G. M. Rich, on the corner of Fort and Randolph Streets.

Captain Grant left Detroit on June 10, 1851, as is evident from the following item in the Detroit Daily Advertiser of June 11, 1851 :

THE DEPARTURE .- Captain Grant and Lieutenant McConnell, U. S. Army, left this city yesterday to form the command at Sackett's Harbor, accompanied by the band of the 4th Infantry.

The date of departure given in his letter is evi- dently the date of the order to depart received by him.

On many occasions General Grant has shown a lively interest in the welfare of his old home. His remembrance of old acquaintances in Detroit has always been hearty and appreciative. Even those not personally acquainted have noticed his glad recognition of former citizenship. The writer well remembers the morning of December 16; 1864. Having called at the White House to see Mr. Nico- lay, the President's secretary, I was directed by the porter to go up stairs. Reaching the landing I found the doors leading from the hall all closed, with no indication as to which might give admit- tance to Mr. Nicolay. Retracing my steps, I said to the porter, "The doors are all closed, and I did not find him." A cheerful, bright-faced boy near by said, "I think I can find him. Come up stairs again." And up we went, he with a sort of flying leap, as though he felt at home, and surely he had a right, for he was none other than "little Tad." I have always been glad for this brief knowledge of one so dear to "our Lincoln." Opening the door of one of the rooms, Tad called out, "Is Nick here?"

GENERAL. GRANT'S OLD HOME ON FORT STREET.

The reply was, "He is at the War Department." To the War Department I went, and there learned that Grant had come from the army, then before Richmond, and was in consultation with Lincoln and Stanton in an adjoining room. Possibly a dozen persons were waiting in the corridor. Very soon Mr. Stanton came out, and immediately after fol- lowed the tall, thin form of Lincoln-thinner and homelier than any representation I have ever seen;

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FAC-SIMILE OF LETTER FROM GENERAL U. S. GRANT.

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PRESIDENTIAL VISITS TO THE CITY.

his eyes were sad, and manner burdened. Stanton made some remark, which did not reach my ear. Instantly Mr. Lincoln responded, in a tone vibrant with anxiety and care, and almost harsh in its im- periousness, "What's that, Mr. Secretary?" A moment more, and he was gone. Immediately after General Grant appeared, and there was at once a rush to greet him. One gentleman stepped up, say- ing, "I am from New Hampshire; we occasionally hear of you up there." "Ah," said Grant, " I hope you'll hear of me in Richmond soon." I then gave my residence. "From Detroit?" said he. "Why, I used to live there once. Have you seen Charley Trowbridge lately?" The name of Detroit proved a passport to his attention, and he evinced great willingness to hear of his old home. It so happened that a detailed account of General Sherman's advance on Savannah had appeared that morning for the first time; the papers were also full of Gen- eral Thomas' victory over Hood. To an allusion to the good news from Sherman he replied, "Yes, and General Thomas is doing splendidly, splendidly."

On August 12, 1865, he visited Detroit, and received a welcome that must have been gratifying. He was accompanied by his wife and four children. At Port Huron he was met by a committee which had gone there for the purpose, and on reaching Detroit, at II A. M., he was greeted by immense throngs, which almost blockaded the streets.

In the evening he held a reception at the Biddle House, where addresses were made by Theodore Romeyn and Jacob M. Howard. Later in the even- ing he visited Ex-Governor Cass. On Sunday he attended St. Paul's Church. Monday morning, with a party of about one hundred, he enjoyed an excur- sion on the United States steamer Michigan. In the evening Senator Chandler gave a reception in his honor ; and at 4 P. M. on Tuesday he departed from the city. On June 15 and 16, 1882, he again visited Detroit, participating in the reunion of the Army of the Potomac.

On September 27, 1849, Vice-President Millard Fillmore paid a visit to Detroit. He was the guest of Mayor Howard, who gave a reception in the evening.

Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth President, was here one day, and part of another, in June, 1861, on a visit to Ex-Secretary McClelland.

Andrew Johnson came September 4, 1866, while "swinging round the circle" and "upholding the Constitution " in true stump-speaker style.

President Hayes, with his wife and two sons, accompanied by General W. T. Sherman, arrived September 18, 1879. The mayor, George C. Lang- don, with a party of citizens, went down to Grosse Isle to meet the steamer Northwest, which was on

her way to Detroit with the presidential party. The steamer was hailed, the reception party taken on board, and the President duly welcomed. A response was made by General Sherman. On reach- ing Detroit, at 9 A. M., the party proceeded to the residence of Ex-Governor Baldwin, by whom they were entertained. About eleven o'clock, escorted by the military, the party visited the Fair Grounds, where the President delivered an address. While Mrs. Hayes was on the grounds, Messrs. Pingree & Smith, leading shoe manufacturers, caused the measure of her foot to be taken, and an elegant pair of French kid buttoned boots were cut out, made, and presented to her,- all the work being done in twenty-three minutes.

In the evening a reception took place in the lower corridor of the City Hall, which was elegantly decor- ated for the occasion. An immense throng was in attendance. The following day President Hayes visited the Fair Grounds, Recreation Park, and the National Pin Factory. A reception was given at Ex-Governor Baldwin's in the evening, and the fol- lowing night the party left the city.

Our city was honored more than we then knew by the presence of the lamented Garfield. He visited Detroit no less than four times, on two occa- sions, at least, accompanied by Mrs. Garfield. At each visit he was the guest of Richard Hawley. His first visit was probably in the summer of 1863. In company with Mrs. R. Hawley, J. G. and T. D. Hawley, he and his wife went to Marquette, return- ing to Detroit the latter part of September or early in October. On the way down, two of the boat's crew quarrelled, and were just about to attack each other, one being armed with a knife, and the other with a heavy bar of wood or iron. Word was brought to the captain, who seemed to hesitate; not so the strong-armed Garfield, who, rushing below, laid hold of the men with a power that thoroughly subdued them, then flung them apart, and the strife was ended.

One Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1864, probably in August, he spoke briefly in the Jefferson Avenue Christian Church. In the evening he spoke from Romans xiii., 1-7, on the general subject of the duty of the Christian to the State, or "Christianity in its Relation to Civil Government." On one of his visits, believed to be this one, he delivered a political address in Merrill Hall. On another occasion, in the fall of 1866, he again spoke in the Jefferson Avenue Christian Church. Rev. A. J. Hobbs, then pastor of the church, says, "He was with us on Lord's day. He declined to occupy the pulpit, morning or evening, but consented to speak at the communion meeting in the afternoon. His subject was, 'Christ, the Tried Stone.' The Scripture was Isaiah xxviii.,

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PRESIDENTIAL VISITS TO THE CITY.

16, 'Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foun- dation, he that believeth shall not make haste.' He described the various practical tests to which build- ing stones are subjected, to prove their capability of resisting heat or frost, moisture or pressure. He then reviewed the tests to which Jesus Christ had been subjected, and at last the final tests of Geth- semane and of the cross, showing thus his true divinity and fitness to be the foundation of the temple of God. The whole discourse was instruc-

tive, impressive, tender, and calculated to prepare his hearers for a joint participation, with himself, in the Lord's Supper, which was then celebrated."

Mrs. John Harvey has a clear remembrance of the sermon, as has also J. S. Gray, who recalls the circumstance of walking with him to church, their way taking them past the present City Hall, whose foundations were then being laid. It was undoubt- edly those very foundation stones that suggested the theme of his brief but well-remembered dis- course.

CHAPTER XIX.

POLITICAL PARTIES AND CAMPAIGNS .- ELECTIONS.

POLITICAL PARTIES AND CAMPAIGNS.

THE American system of government is based upon the supposition that the people will always feel enough interest in the management of local and national affairs to provide for certain prelimi- naries for elections without being required to do so by statute.

The primary elements in all elections are the nominations, and these are usually arranged by self- appointed committees, or by committees appointed at a political meeting. A caucus is held, and nominations made viva voce, by ballot, or by select- ing delegates to a nominating convention.

The expenses of conventions and public meetings, including the printing of tickets, etc., are voluntarily provided for by the various candidates. The ex- penses directly connected with the holding of an election, such as the providing of polling places, publishing registration lists, and paying inspectors and clerks, are defrayed by the city.

The following caucus notice of the olden time, before party politics governed city elections, is from the Detroit Gazette :

City Election .- The citizens of Detroit are requested to meet at the Hotel of Captain Benjamin Woodworth to-morrow even- ing, at candle lighting, for the purpose of taking into consider- ation the propriety of forming a ticket, to be supported at the election of corporation officers, on Monday next.

DETROIT, September 3, 1824.

One of the earliest political parties bore the name of "Democratic Republicans." This party had an existence in Wayne County almost as soon as the county was organized; and even as late as 1840 a call for a meeting of members of that party was published in The Detroit Free Press.

The Democratic party afterwards succeeded to the first half of the old name, and about 1832 the Whig party gave the first signs of vigorous life. In the interest of the latter party, Daniel Webster delivered a speech on the finances, July 11, 1837, in a grove on the Cass Farm, located, as the city is now laid out, near First Street, and between Fort and Congress Streets. Some fifteen hundred ladies and gentlemen were present at the meeting, after which, at 4 P. M., a dinner was served under the trees to about five hundred people. Mr. Webster,

with his family, came to the city on July 8, partly to visit his son, Daniel F. Webster, a lawyer, then residing in Detroit.

We of the present day have little realization of the intensity of the party feeling that existed, espe- cially between the years 1830 and 1844. In the effort to win a victory at the polls, any and every method was deemed legitimate. Voters by the dozen, and even by the hundred, were imported, previous to elections, and their expenses paid. Many other methods employed in those days to influence votes were no better than those more recently in vogue. What was done, however, was done openly. The following notice is from The Advertiser, of March 30, 1838:

To the Poor .- The Whigs will distribute one hundred dollars, in bread and pork, among the city poor to-morrow evening. Due notice of the hour and place will be given in the morning paper.

Accordingly, on Saturday they distributed bread, pork, and fish to all who called at their headquar- ters; and in some instances the same persons called again and again, and their efforts to obtain as much as possible were supplemented by the efforts of others who came even from Canada to obtain a share of the bounty.

On election day, April 2, both parties were out in full force; and there was an abundance of noisy music, processions, whiskey, and broken heads. Surely, we need not regret the "former times."

The presidential campaign of 1840 is remembered by many as the time when, as the stump-speakers said, "the prairies were ablaze, the settlements in flames, and the woods on fire with enthusiastic zeal." "Tippecanoe and Tyler too " and " Johnson Killed Tecumseh " were the Shibboleths of the two parties, and almost every four corners in the west had its Tippecanoe club, with log-cabin and hard cider.

On April 15, 1840, a log cabin was raised on the northeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street, a bottle of Harrison brand hard cider being placed beneath each corner of the building. The cabin measured forty by fifty feet, would hold nearly one thousand people, and cost one thousand dollars. On one side of the door was a grindstone, with a scythe hanging above it; over the door was a musk- rat-trap. Stuffed owls, wildcats, and raccoons, a

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POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS.

live bear, and a Bible were among the attractions of the place. The walls were decorated with a copy of the Declaration of Independence and of Wash- ington's Farewell Address, and a map of the United States. Strings of dried apples, pumpkin, and seed corn, and flitches of venison and bacon were sus- pended from beams and rafters. There were also displayed caricatures of the Van Buren administra- tion, roughly framed with bark. Prior to the day of dedication, by notice in the Advertiser, the ladies were called upon to supply for the occasion "corn- bread, and such other log-cabin fare as their kind hearts and ingenuity may dictate."

April 21 was fixed upon as the day of dedication, and at 4 P. M. the cabin was thrown open for the entrance of the Whig ladies with the good things they had prepared. In the evening it was dedicated, the attendants bringing candles to illuminate the room. The main light, however, came from candles attached to the roots of a tree hung from the roof as a chandelier. After the addresses a dinner-horn was sounded, and then, from inviting tables around the sides of the room, pumpkin-pie, pork and beans, hominy, mush and milk, johnny-cake, venison, and parched corn were served to all alike. Toasts, drunk with hard cider, finished the day.

On June 11, 1840, an immense Whig meeting was held on General Harrison's old battle-ground at Fort Meigs, the general himself adding by his presence to the enthusiasm of the occasion.

Free passage was provided for those who would attend. Delegates came to Detroit from all over the State. They met at the cabin, had a free lunch, and then marched to the wharf. Five steamboats, the General Vance, Erie, Michigan, Huron, and Macomb, were loaded with these political passengers, two thousand in all, and at 9 A. M. on June 10, after a salute of twenty-six guns, they went on their way. The meeting was a great success. Harrison spoke, a sham battle was fought, and in the evening fire- works and hard cider "fizzed " everywhere, to the gratification of twenty thousand persons. Up to that time, this was the largest political gathering held in the West. It was supplemented, on Sep- tember 30, by a great State Whig meeting in Detroit, at which, it was estimated, fifteen thousand were present. So great was the multitude that the public houses could not contain them, and all citizens, even those of opposite political faith, were constrained to open their houses to accommodate the throng. Even then the number was too great to be provided with beds : at one private house, twenty- two persons slept on the parlor floor. One hundred and three wagons, containing six hundred persons, came in from Farmington, and seventy-three from Plymouth and Livonia. It rained, but still they came, on boats and cars, on foot and on horseback,

till it seemed as if the country would be depopulated. The delegation from Dearborn came in a log cabin drawn by twenty yoke of oxen. The arrangements for feeding these multitudes were fortunately ample. One delegation brought a johnny-cake twelve feet long. Williams & Wilson's warehouse was the provision depot, and there two tables, each one hundred and twenty feet long, were spread with over a ton of food.

The procession was an immense affair. Its prin- cipal feature of attraction was the ship Constitution, full rigged and manned, and drawn by six gray horses. Some delegates carried flags and banners, and others busied themselves by keeping in motion a huge leather ball, some fifteen feet in diameter, singing as they went, "The ball is rolling on." A newspaper cut of a scene similar to this last appeared in almost every Whig paper of that day.

AT BA

ELECTION CUT, FROM ADVERTISER, OCTOBER 22, 1840.

In the evening meetings were held at the Capitol, City Hall, Log Cabin, and the Yellow Warehouse. By such means the fight was won. During the campaign barbecues were frequent, at which oxen were roasted whole, and other provisions were furnished to the crowds who came together to hear some noted speaker.

On September 28, 1840, a Democratic barbecue was held on the Cass Farm. Colonel Richard M. Johnson, Vice-President of the United States and one of the heroes of the War of 1812, was present. Crowds came to hear him, but the enthusiasm on the other side was against them, and many of the rank and file "only kept their spirits up by pouring spirits down." Although defeated in that year, a resolution, adopted a few years later at a Democratic meeting in the sixth ward, shows some members of that party still eager for the fray. It read :

Resolved, that we oppose the many-named monster, now desig- nated Whiggery, and fearlessly engage that, though he had as many heads as names, we would chop them off, and trample his nondescript carcass in the Black Swamp.

GEORGE ROBB, Secretary.

DETROIT, March 22, 1843.

The presidential campaign of 1844 was hardly less exciting than that of 1840. Each party erected buildings for their meetings. The Whig cabin was nicknamed the Coon Pen; that of the Democrats

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POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS.

was called Hickory Hall. As before, large gather- ings took place. The Whigs held a Clay and Fre- linghuysen meeting, for Wayne and St. Clair counties, on October 17, 1844. This time the Demo- crats were victorious.

" THAT SAME OLD COON." ELECTION CUT, ADVERTISER, OCTOBER 15, 1852.

The Republican party, organized at Jackson in 1854, was the first to make use of regularly officered political companies. They were uniformed in caps and capes, and being well drilled, presented an at- tractive appearance. Many thousands of them came together in Detroit on October 2 to attend a

DOD INMY VEINS

EDERALIST.

ELECTION CUT, TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 5, 1856.

State Republican meeting, which was held on a vacant lot now occupied by the Central Methodist Episcopal Church.

These were the days of bonfires and fireballs, and often several cords of wood were burned on the Campus Martius, whole barrels of rosin giving bril- liancy to the flames. The active help of mischievous boys could always be counted upon to add fresh fuel to the pile; and woe to the unlucky merchant who had left boxes or barrels in sight, for they were confiscated at once, and the huge pyramids and the hopes of many candidates went up in smoke together. Both parties eventually availed them- selves of drilled torch-bearers, whose manœuvres enlivened the campaign, as they marched to "ranch" or "wigwam."

During the campaign of 1860, when Lincoln was running for his first presidential term, there was a great Republican meeting, held on September 4, at which thirty-five hundred Wide-Awakes were on parade. In the evening the multitude listened to a speech from Hon. William H. Seward. On the fifteenth of the following month, an immense Demo- cratic throng gathered to hear an address from Hon. Stephen A. Douglass, the " Little Giant" of Illinois, and candidate for the presidency.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 26

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094