USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. II > Part 16
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In 1789 Mr. Trumbull was appointed State Attor- ney for the county of Hartford, and in 1792 repre- sented that district in the Connecticut Legislature. His health failing, he resigned his office in 1795, and until 1798 refused all public honors. In May, 1800, he was again elected to a seat in the State Legislature, and in the following year appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut. From that time he abandoned party politics, as inconsistent with judicial duties. In 1808 he was
appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Errors, which office he held until 1819. In 1820 he revised his works, and they were published at Hartford by Samuel P. Goodrich.
He removed to Detroit with his wife in 1825. They made their home with their daughter, Mrs. William Woodbridge, wife of Governor Woodbridge. The maiden name of Mr. Trumbull's wife was Sarah Hubbard. She was the daughter of D. Lev- erett Hubbard, and it is a curious and well authen- ticated fact that she was a lineal descendant of William the Conqueror, King of England.
Mr. Trumbull died on May 10, 1831, and his remains are now in Elmwood Cemetery.
He is recognized as being, after Phillip Freneau, the earliest American poet, and his "McFingal" was the most popular of all the poems of revolu- tionary days. It passed through thirty editions in America, and was twice reprinted in England. The city of Detroit was honored by his residence here for the last six years of his life, and honors itself by preserving his memory in the name of one of its finest avenues.
WILLIAM A. THROOP, was born at Schoha- rie Court House, Schoharie County, New York, July 26, 1838. Seven years later, with his parents he removed to Syracuse, New York, and in 1855 came to Detroit, where his parents had removed some years previously.
Soon after his arrival in Detroit, he entered the bookstore of John A. Kerr & Co., and retained this position until President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, when he was the first citizen in Detroit to respond, enlisting for three months as Second Lieutenant of Company A, First Michigan Volunteer Infantry, on April 16, 1861, four days after the first gun was fired upon Fort Sumter, and the next morning after the President's procla- mation. His regiment arrived in Washington on May 16, 1861, being the first troops west of the Alleghanies to arrive at the capital. It was assigned the honor of leading the Union forces on the soil of Virginia, and on May 24, 1861, drove in the enemy's picket, capturing 150 rebel cavalry and the city of Alexandria. In the battle of Bull Run on July 21, Lieutenant Throop and his comrades in General Heintzelman's division, were in the hottest of the fight.
Lieutenant Throop's period of enlistment expired on August 7, 1861, and ten days later he again en- listed and was mustered in as Captain of ( ompany F, of the First Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Dur- ing the winter of 1861-2, this regiment was assigned to duty at Annapolis Junction, to guard the railroad between Washington and Baltimore. In the fol- lowing spring his command moved to Fortress
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Monroe, and joined the Army of the Potomac, and Capt. Throop thus shared in the engagements which followed at Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mills-where he was severely wounded-Peach Orchard, Savage Station, Turkey Bend, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, and Harrison's Landing. At Gainesville, on August 29th, 1862, Captain Throop was especially distinguished in the heroic charges made upon the enemy's batteries on the Warrenton and Centerville turnpike, where eight officers and half of the regi- ment fell. For his bravery and daring in this engagement he was promoted on August 30, 1862, to the rank of Major. He subsequently partici- pated in the battle of Antietam and Shepard's Ford, and in the fierce winter contests of the same year at Fredericksburgh and United States Ford.
At Falmouth, Virginia, on March 18, 1863, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Michigan Regiment and at the same time his command was assigned to the first brigade, first division, fifth Army Corps of the Potomac. This brigade, by eleven successive days of continu- ous field service, before and during the hard fighting at Chancellorsville, won the appellation of the "Flying Brigade." This service was followed, after a few days' rest, by participation in the battles of Kelley's Ford, Aldie, Ashley Gap and Gettysburgh. In the latter battle the Colonel of the First was wounded soon after the opening of the engagement, and the command of the regiment was assumed by Lieutenant-Colonel Throop. In this battle the First Michigan did most effective service, and as a part of the Fifth Corps, against overflowing num- bers, stubbornly resisted the enemy, and thus enabled General Howard to hold Gettysburgh. Lieutenant-Colonel Throop, though wounded in the first day's fight, not only held his place on the memorable July 3d, but joined in the pursuit of the enemy on July 5 ; shared in the action at Williams- port, July 12; recrossed in Virginia, July 18th ; and aided in driving the rebels through Manassas Gap in an engagement at Wapping Heights, on July 2Ist. He afterwards took part in the battles of Beverly Ford, and a few days later, with his com- mand, joined the Eighteenth Massachusetts, and with a squadron of the Second Pennsylvania Cav- alry crossed the Rappahannock, and occupied the town of Culpepper, doing provost duty.
In February, 1864, he, with two hundred and thirteen of the First Michigan, re-enlisted as veter- ans, and in the following April returned to their former camping ground at Beverly Ford, and formed part of the Third Brigade, first division, in Grant's great campaign of 1864. At the battle of Cold Harbor, Lieutenant-Colonel Throop received a third wound, and at the siege of Petersburgh, July 30, 1864, his fourth wound in action. Two days
after the latter battle he was commissioned Brevet Colonel of United States Volunteers, for brave con- duct and efficient service in the battles of the cam- paign, and took command of the First Brigade, first division, of the Fifth Corps. On November, 30, 1864, he was appointed acting inspector of the first division of the Fifth Corps, and on January 6, 1865, was honorably discharged. He faced bravely the dangers of more than fifty battles, and bore the scars of four wounds. The first, received at Gainesville, proved more serious than at first sus- pected, and was lasting in its ill effects. Never a day of his subsequent life was he free from pain on account of this injury. On March 13, 1865, he was commissioned Brevet Brigadier-General United States Volunteers, for attention to duty and disci- pline, and in 1866 was tendered by the Secretary of War an appointment as Captain of the Twenty- eighth Infantry, regular army, but declined on ac- count of business engagements.
After the war he returned to Detroit, and engaged in the stationery business. On September 12, 1870, he was appointed by Governor Baldwin, Quarter- master-General of the State of Michigan. This office he efficiently filled for five successive years, and during this time devoted much time and atten- tion to bringing into existence the State museum. In 1873 he was appointed Receiver of Taxes of the city of Detroit; held the office for four years, and then devoted himself principally to real estate busi- ness and the collection of war claims. A few months prior to his death he again engaged in the stationery trade.
He was highly esteemed as a business man, was scrupulously honest in every transaction, and pos- sessed the warm friendship of many of Detroit's best citizens, while his heroic services as a soldier entitle him to grateful remembrance. He was mar- ried July 30, 1866, to Mary J. Porter, only daughter of the late George F. Porter. He died October 2, 1884, leaving his wife and one child, who bears his name.
HENRY O. WALKER, M. D., was born in Leesville, Michigan, December 18, 1843, and is the son of Robert E. and Elizabeth (Lee) Walker, both of whom were natives of Yorkshire, England. His father was born February 22, 1816, came to America in 1837, and settled in Wayne County. He was a farmer and brick manufacturer, and was for many years engaged in both avocations at Lees- ville, where he still resides. His wife was born December 13, 1818. She came to America with her parents in 1833, and they were among the earli- est settlers of Leesville, which is named in honor of her father, Charles Lee, who died at an advanced age in 1869. He was highly respected, a man of
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devout religious convictions, an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and well known in all the community as "Father Lee."
Until his sixteenth year Henry O. Walker lived at home assisting in the labors of the farm and in the manufacture of brick. His rudimentary educa- tion was received by attendance at the district school during the winter months. In 1859, when the Detroit High School was established, he was one of the first students. After remaining at the High School two years he attended Albion Col- Jege, returning home at the end of a year, and for a year following taught a district school, after which he returned to Albion College and pursued his studies through the Sophomore year, and then after spending one term at the Medical Department of the Michigan University, he entered the office of Dr. E. W. Jenks, and at the same time received a practi- cal experience in surgery and medical practice at Harper Hospital, then used by the United States for invalid soldiers.
In January, 1866, when the hospital was opened for ordinary patients, Dr. Walker became its first house surgeon. After several months' service he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, from which he graduated on February 28, 1867. Returning to Detroit he immediately opened an office, and has been in continuous practice ever since.
He was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Detroit Medical College in 1869, and served until 1873. From 1873 to 1879 he was Lecturer on Genito-Urinary Diseases in the same institution, and in 1881 was elected Secretary of the College, member of and Secretary of the Board of Trus- tees, and in the same year was appointed Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Genito-Urinary Diseases, and Clinical Surgery, positions which he retained until the amalgamation of the Detroit and Michigan Medical College and the creation of the Detroit Col- lege of Medicine. In the new College he was elected a member of and Secretary of the Faculty and Board of Trustees, and was appointed and still retains the same professorship he had so ably filled in the De- troit Medical College.
In 1873 and 1874 he was City Physician. He has also served as County Physician and member of the city Board of Health. He was for several years a member, and has served as Secretary and President of the Academy of Medicine. He is a member of the Detroit Medical and Library Association, and was President in 1887. At the annual meeting of the Michigan State Medical Society, in 1887, he was elected one of its Vice-Presidents. He is also a member of and one of the Vice-Presidents of the American Medical Association, and at the meeting held in 1884, at Washington, D. C., was
Secretary of the Surgical Section, and at the meeting of the medical editors at New Orleans, in 1885. was elected President. He is surgeon of Harper and St. Mary's Hospitals, and of the Polish Orphan Asylum, and consulting surgeon in the Detroit Sanitarium. From 1872 to 1874, he was surgeon of the Michigan Central Railroad, and for several years has been surgeon of the Wabash Railroad.
While Dr. Walker has been engaged in a general medical and surgical practice, it is more especially in the line of surgery that he excels, and in many instances of perilous delicacy, requiring the highest order of skill, he has performed successful surgical operations, which have attracted wide attention, and deservedly given him a leading position in his pro- fession. In 1882 he established the Detroit Clinic, a medical journal, with which the Detroit Medical News was subsequently merged in the Medical Age. His contributions to medical literature have been numerous, and have mostly pertained to surgery, especially in the line of genito-urinary subjects. In the latter branch of medical science he has been a most devoted student, and the results of his inves- tigation and practical experience have greatly en- riched the field of surgical science. The high standing he enjoys for professional abilities has been attained by patient, persistent endeavor, allied to natural aptitude for his calling.
No member of his profession has pursued his work with more singleness of purpose, and to the exclusion of conflicting interests, and the position he holds, both as a physician and citizen, has been attained by his own exertions. Affability and con- geniality, with trusted friends, are prominent traits in his character, and his frank and candid nature invites trust and insures warm attachment. In every relation of life he has made an honorable and manly record. He was married November 13, 1872, to Gertrude Esselstyn, of Detroit. They have one son, Elton, born December 15, 1874.
ANTHONY WAYNE, Major-General U. S. A., was born at Waynesborough, Chester County, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1745. His grandfather, Anthony Wayne, a native of Yorkshire, England, commanded a squadron of dragoons under King William, at the battle of the Boyne, and held vari- ous civil offices. He emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1722, and his son, Isaac, was a member of the Pro- vincial Legislature, and served as an officer in sev- eral expeditions against the Indians. He was a man of great industry and enterprise, and not only carried on an extensive farm, but a tannery as well, which was probably the largest in Pennsylvania. Both the farm and tannery became the property of Anthony Wayne on the death of his father, in 1774.
Anthony was educated at a school kept by his
Hollalkan
ANTHONY WAYNE.
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uncle, and at noon, in place of the usual games, he had the boys engaged in throwing up redoubts, skirmishing, and other warlike practices, and was inclined to neglect his studies. His uncle com- plained to his father, and he reprimanded Anthony severely, and from that time there was a marked change for the better in his habits. From his uncle's school he went to the Philadelphia Acad- emy, where he remained two years, devoting most of his time to his favorite studies of mathematics, mechanics, optics, and astronomy.
When he was eighteen years old he returned to Chester County and began business as a surveyor. While thus employed, he became acquainted with Dr. Franklin, and a strong friendship soon sprung up between them, which continued through life. Through the influence of Mr. Franklin he secured an appointment as agent of a Philadelphia associ- ation, formed to purchase and settle a tract of land in Nova Scotia. He visited there in 1765, and again in 1766, and superintended the affairs of the colony until the following year, when he returned to Pennsylvania, married a daughter of Bartholo- mew Penrose, an eminent merchant of Philadelphia, and established himself on a farm in his native county. He was soon holding various county offi- ces, and took an active part in the troubles between Great Britain and the colonies. In 1774 he was one of the Provincial Deputies who met in Phila- delphia to deliberate upon the affairs of the country. In the same year he was elected a member of the Legislature, and in the summer of 1775 was ap- pointed a member of the Committee of Safety, with Dr. Franklin and others; but in September he relinquished all civil employment, and devoted his time to military drill and the study of tactics. . He then set about raising a regiment of volunteers, and was elected their Colonel.
Meantime the congress, sitting at Philadelphia, called upon each of the colonies for a certain num- ber of regiments to reinforce the Northern army, and Wayne's regiment was selected as one of the four required from Pennsylvania, and he was com- missioned by Congress on January 3, 1776. Early in the spring he proceeded with his regiment- already one of the best disciplined in the service-to New York, and soon after was ordered to join General Sullivan in Canada.
His first engagement with the enemy was at Three Rivers, and in that disastrous battle his intrepidity in attack, and his skill in covering the retreat, were equally conspicuous. On the with- drawal of the American army from Canada, the fortresses Ticonderoga and Mount Independence were committed to his care, with a garrison com- posed of his own and four other regiments. He remained in charge of these posts until May, 1777,
and in the meantime was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. He then joined General Wash- ington in New Jersey, and assisted him in driving the enemy from that province. At the battle of Brandywine, on September 11, he commanded a division of the army, and was stationed at Chadd's Ford to oppose the crossing of the river by Howe's right wing. He fought until after sunset, and was then compelled to retreat to escape being flanked by Cornwallis. Nine days after, while seeking an opportunity to cut off the baggage train of the British army, he was attacked by superior numbers, guided by American tories, and defeated near Paoli, with some loss. The disaster was, at Wayne's request, made the subject of a court-martial, and he was found to have done everything that could be expected of a brave and vigilant officer.
During the ensuing winter, when the American army was suffering intensely at Valley Forge, Wayne was dispatched to New Jersey, within the British lines, for supplies, and succeeded in bring- ing into camp several hundred head of cattle, together with a number of horses suitable for cav- alry service, and a large quantity of forage. His bravery and skillful maneuvering at the battle of Monmouth also contributed largely to the success of the American arms. On July 10, 1779, an inter- view took place between Washington and Wayne, in which they discussed the project of storming Stony Point. In the course of their conference, Wayne expressed his willingness to undertake the perilous enterprise, and is said to have remarked, "General, if you will only plan it, I will storm Hell." No record has been found of his storming the latter place, but, on the night of July 15, 1779, he surprised the fortification at Stony Point, and took the entire garrison prisoners. This was the most brilliant affair of the war, and for desperate daring has never been excelled. It occurred at a gloomy period in the colonial struggle, and greatly revived the patriots of the revolution. The victory was deemed so great that resolutions of thanks were passed by Congress, and the Legislature of Penn- sylvania, and Wayne was greatly applauded.
His services in the north were exceedingly valu- able, and in January, 1780, he displayed remarkable skill and decision in the suppression of a mutiny which broke out at Morristown, because of the poor food and clothing supplied to the troops. In February of that year he was ordered to join the Southern army, and at the battle of Green Springs, Virginia, July 6, 1780, by a prompt attack with a part of his brigade, he prevented a meditated maneuver that would probably have been disastrous to the force under Lafayette, and by this move he aided in the subsequent capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Soon after that event General Wayne
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received orders to prepare to join the Southern army under command of General Greene.
He reached the camp of the army about June I, 1782. On February 19, 1782, he crossed the Savan- nah river, and effected a landing in Georgia, and after routing large bodies of Indians, on their way to re-enforce the British, he succeeded in driving the enemy from the State. For these services the Legislature of Georgia gave him a vote of thanks, and granted him a large and valuable tract of land.
He continued with the army at the South until the month of July, 1783, when he took passage for Philadelphia, and subsequently retired to his farm at Waynesborough, and also took measures to improve his Georgia lands. He began the move- ment to improve the navigation of the principal rivers of Georgia, and proposed the connection of the waters of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay by canal.
He was brevetted a Major-General by Congress, October 10, 1783, and in 1784 and 1785 served in the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. In 1787 he was elected a member of the convention which adopted the Constitution of the United States. In April, 1792, after the defeat of Generals Harmar and St. Clair, he was appointed commander-in- chief of the United States Army. On May 25 he was furnished by the Secretary of War with the instructions from the President to conduct a war against the hostile Indians in the West, and on August 20, 1794, he gained a brilliant victory over the Miamis, compelling them to sue for peace. He was shortly afterwards appointed commissioner to treat with the Indians of the Northwest, and to take possession of all forts held by the British in that territory.
The ability, determination and promptitude with which he managed affairs, impressed the hostile tribes with a dread, which operated as a wholesome restraint long after his death. In pursuance of his duties, General Wayne reached Detroit early in August, 1796, and was presented with an address by the citizens, who selected the name of Wayne for the new county established during his stay in Detroit. This was doubtless the first county in the United States named after him, but now there are numerous counties by this name in the Western States. Having put things in a proper state, he left Detroit between November 14 and 17, 1796, for Presque Isle. On the way, on the 17th, the day before he landed, he was seized with an attack of the gout, and on December 15, 1796, he died. His remains were temporarily deposited at Presque Isle, from whence they were removed in 1809, by his son, Isaac Wayne, to the cemetery of St. David's Church, near his old farm in Chester County.
General Wayne was one of the most brilliant
officers of the revolution, and brave to a fault, inso- much that he gained the sobriquet of " Mad Anthony," yet he was really discreet and cautious, fruitful in expedients, quick in detecting the purpose of an enemy, instant in decision, and prompt in execution. In person he was above what is termed the middle stature, and was well proportioned. He had dark hair, his forehead was high and hand- somely formed, his eyes were of a dark hazel color, intelligent, quick, and penetrating. His nose ap- proached the aquiline. The remainder of his face was well proportioned, and his whole countenance fine and animated. His natural disposition was exceedingly amiable. He was ardent and sincere in his attachments, of pure morals, and his manners were refined.
RICHARD STORRS WILLIS is a descendant of George Willis, a Puritan of distinction, who arrived from England as early as 1626, took the Freeman's oath in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was elected as deputy to the General Court in 1638.
Richard Storrs Willis was born in Boston, Massa- chusetts, February 10, 1819, and is the son of Nathan- iel and Hannah (Parker) Willis, and the youngest brother of Nathaniel Parker Willis and "Fanny Fern." He belongs to a long line of editors and authors whose record extends back in unbroken suc- cession for one hundred and twenty-five years and in- cludes many of the most popular writers our coun- try has produced. It is a singular coincidence that from 1776 to 1800 his grandfather, Nathaniel Willis, edited three newspapers : The Independent Chronicle, The Potomac Guardian and the Sciota Gazette ; from 1803 to 1860 Nathaniel Willis, his father, founded and edited three newspapers : The Eastern Argus, The Boston Recorder (the first religious newspaper in the world) and The Youth's Companion (the first newspaper for youth) ; from 1830 to 1866 Nathaniel Parker Willis, his brother, edited three papers : The New York Mirror, The Corsair and The Home Journal ; and from 1851 to 1863 Richard Storrs Willis edited three papers : The Musical Times, The Musical World and Once a Month.
Richard Storrs Willis was a student at Chauncey Hall, later was at the Boston Latin School, and entered Yale College in 1837. In his sophomore year he was chosen President of the Beethoven Society, which was composed of all the musical talent of the college, its members doing service at the chapel choir, and furnishing the music at the annual commencements. Mr. Willis composed industriously for the college choir and orchestra, and arranged and harmonized many German part- songs, the words of which were translated for the purpose by the poet Percival. Among other
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