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 2
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He was soon on intimate terms with the best and most influential persons in the city, and in 1820 was selected as one of the party to accompany Governor Cass on his exploring expedition to Lake Superior. The trip made Mr. Trowbridge intimately ac- quainted with Governor Cass, and he became and continued through life a kind and helpful friend.
On his return from the expedition Mr. Trow- bridge was sent with Colonel Beaufait, an Indian interpreter, to make a payment to the Saginaw In- dians, and soon after his return he began to act as private secretary to General Cass, and in that capa- city wrote from dictation various public documents and literary productions, and was also employed in other positions of great responsibility.
In 1821 he was made Secretary of the Board of Regents of the University, holding the office until 1835.
In December, 1823, he was employed by the Sec- retary of War under the direction of General Cass to take down, from the Indians, statements of the relation of different tribes to each other, and the character and resemblance of their customs and languages.
In December, Mr. Trowbridge set out for White River to spend the winter with William Conner, a Delaware interpreter and agent who lived about eighteen miles from the town of Indianapolis. On returning from the winter's work he employed him- self, at General Cass's request, in visiting the old French people and taking down their recitals of events occurring during the Pontiac War. During this same year he was sent to Fort Wayne to make further investigation among the Miamies.
In 1825 Mr. Trowbridge was made cashier of the Bank of Michigan, serving until 1836, and as Pres- ident in 1839. In 1833 he, with several Boston capitalists, laid out the village of Allegan. He was also interested during the next few years in many similar enterprises. In 1844 he was made President of the Michigan State Bank, and continued to serve until the winding up of its affairs in 1853. He then became Secretary and Treasurer and afterwards President of the Oakland & Ottawa Railroad Com- pany, and its successor, the Detroit & Milwaukee Railway Company.
The only political offices he held were those of Alderman of Detroit in 1833 and Mayor in 1834. During this period he greatly served the city by the introduction of system in the keeping of the various accounts.
The early months of his mayoralty were burdened by cares growing out of the prevalence of the chol- era. While the plague remained he gave personal
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attention without stint to the suffering, and when it ceased he resigned the office of Mayor.
He was one of the organizers of Elmwood Cem- etery-one of the original trustees-and remained actively interested as an officer of the corporation until his death In 1847 he was influential in secur- ing large donations from Detroit and Michigan for the starving poor of Ireland.
He took a lively interest in everything which was calculated to promote intellectual, moral and relig- ious culture, was active in the promotion of various local schools and seminaries, served as President of the Detroit Association of Charities, and indeed there seemed no limit to his cheerful helpfulness in any and every department of social and religious reform.
He was always attentive to the poor and found time to receive kindly and entertain cheerfully the numerous visitors who sought information or help from him.
He was one of the earliest members of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church and subsequently one of the organizers of Christ Church, and from the time the Diocese of Michigan was organized was a member of the standing committee, and was also a member of every General Convention of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church from 1835 up to the time of his death.
In all of the affairs and interests of the church of his choice he took a deep and continuous interest, and was also always evidently gratified at the growth and progress of other evangelical denomi- nations ; indeed, he did not know how to be narrow or mean-spirited, and his nature was broad and generous in an eminent degree.
The esteem in which he was universally held was emphasized in a remarkable manner in the banquet tendered him on the occasion of his eighty-third birthday, and participated in by a class of citizens whose very presence was in itself an honor.
Within a few months after this event, on April 3, 1883, the public was called upon to mourn his de- cease.
He was married in 1826 to Miss Catherine Whip- ple Sibley, eldest daughter of Judge Solomon Sib- ley. She died on March 24, 1880.
Mr. Trowbridge left five children, viz .: Mrs. Sidney D. Miller, Mrs. William D. Wilkins, Mrs. George Hendrie, Miss Mary Trowbridge and Mr. Harry Trowbridge.
ANDREW MACK was the son of Stephen Mack and was born in New London, Connecticut. In his early manhood he became a sailor and event- ually captain of a vessel, and sailed three times around the world.
In 1808 he took a drove of sheep from the east
to Cincinnati and settled there, and in the war of 1812 was captain of a company and subsequently a member of the Assembly of the State of Ohio. He came to Detroit about 1830, and in that year kept the Mansion House Hotel. He was connected with the Territorial militia and was generally known as Colonel Mack. In 1830 he was one of the proprie- tors of the Detroit Free Press, and in 1834 was elected Mayor of the city to fill out the unexpired term of Mr. Trowbridge, who resigned.
From 1829 to 1839 he served as Collector of Cus- toms, and in the latter year represented Wayne County in the State Legislature.
He eventually moved to a farm on the St. Clair River, in the town of St. Clair, and died there in 1857, when seventy-five years of age.
The business enterprises in which he was en- gaged and the positions he held indicate that he was capable, energetic, and well-informed.
HENRY HOWARD, who served as Mayor dur- ing 1837, came here with Ralph Wadhams from Geneva, New York. They were in partnership in the dry goods trade in the old Smart Block, and subsequently had a warehouse at the foot of Ran- dolph street.
Mr. Howard served as Alderman at large in 1834, and at the time he was Mayor was in the lumber business and lived at No. 290 Woodbridge street east. He also served as State Treasurer from 1836 to 1839.
AUGUSTUS S. PORTER was born in Canan- daigua, New York, January 18, 1798 ; graduated at Union College in 1818 ; studied law as a profession, and practiced for twenty years in Detroit. He was Recorder of the city in 1830 and was elected Mayor in 1838, and in the same year was one of the pro- prietors of the Daily Advertiser.
In 1840 he was elected United States Senator from Michigan and served until 1845.
In 1846 he removed to Niagara Falls, the resi- dence of his father.
In 1866 he was a delegate to the Philadelphia National Union Convention. He died about 1873.
ASHER B. BATES was born at Le Roy, Gen- esee County, New York, on May 2, 1810. He came here as early as 1831.
In 1833 he was serving as a Justice of the Peace, and in 1835 was City Attorney. In 1838, on the resignation of Augustus S. Porter, he was elected Mayor of the city.
In the summer of 1848 he went to the Sandwich Islands, where he became Attorney-General, and remained until 1863 or 1864, when he moved to San Francisco, where he died on June 1, 1873.
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He was married to Lucilla Beals in Canandaigua, New York, on October 24, 1832. She died at De- troit in 1839, leaving one son, Dudley C. Bates, now a resident of San Francisco.
He was married to Elizabeth G Judd, of Troy, Oakland County, Michigan, on December 6, 1843. She was living in 1887.
DE GARMO JONES was born at Albany, New York, November 11, 1787, and came to Detroit a few years subsequent to the War of 1812, and soon became, and for many years remained, a prominent factor in many of the business enterprises of De- troit and Michigan.
It was through his sagacity and means that the plaster beds on the Grand River were first brought to light.
He purchased at an early period the farm that bears his name, and it made him and his heirs wealthy.
He was one of the first stockholders of the Bank of Michigan, was one of the contractors for the building of the old Capitol, and was largely inter- ested in vessels at an early date. He was also engaged in the forwarding business and owned and occupied a large warehouse.
In 1835 he was one of the first Directors of the Detroit & St. Joseph, now the Michigan Central Railroad. He served as Alderman at large in 1827, 1830, and 1838; as Adjutant-General of the State during part of the year 1829; as Mayor of the city in 1839, and as State Senator in 1840 and 1841.
He was well educated, active in moral reform, a Trustee of the First Protestant Church in 1820, and universally esteemed.
He died November 14, 1846.
His son, bearing the same name, served with credit as an officer during the Rebellion.
ZINA PITCHER, M. D., was born at Fort Ed- wards, Washington County, New York, April 14, 1797. He received a common-school education, and at the age of twenty went to the Castleton school to attend a course of medical lectures
After having completed his term at Castleton he went to Woodstock, Vermont, where he graduated in 1822, and was shortly afterwards appointed by President Monroe Assistant Surgeon in the United States Army. He was subsequently promoted by President Jackson to the position of Surgeon.
While in the army he saw much service in the far southwest, the south and the southeast, as well as in the country of the Great Lakes. In 1835 he became President of the Army Medical Board, and upon his resignation, after fifteen years' service, his rank was within two or three of that of Surgeon- General.
In 1836 he fixed his permanent residence in De- troit, and from 1837 to 1852 served as Regent of the University of Michigan, and took an active part in the organization of the Medical Department.
In 1840, 1841 and 1843 he served as Mayor of Detroit ; in 1845 as County Physician ; in 1847 as City Physician, and from 1848 to 1867 he was the physician and surgeon of St. Mary's Hospital, and from 1857 to 1861 of the United States Marine Hospital.
During all these years he did not neglect his en- gagements as a private practitioner, and found time to prepare various professional and literary papers for publication, and to attend at least nine of the annual meetings of the American Medical Associa- tion, and was president of the meeting held in De- troit.
As a physician he was a type of the best ever produced-careful, skillful, gentle, kind and cour- teous ; his very presence was reassuring to his patients, and few, if any, ever had occasion to re- gret that they were under his care.
Throughout his long residence in Detroit he pos- sessed the confidence of the whole people. His in- tegrity, probity and faithfulness to every obligation were proverbial. In social life he was ever the cour- teous gentleman.
He died on April 4, 1872, leaving two children, Nathaniel Pitcher and Mrs. L. E. Higby.
His name is fitly preserved in the name of one of our streets and in the Pitcher School.
DOUGLASS HOUGHTON was born in Troy, New York, September 21, 1809. He was educated for a physician at the Rensselaer Institute and grad- uated in 1829. The following year he was ap- pointed Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Natural History in the Institute, and while occu- pying this position he came to Detroit, by request of a number of citizens, to deliver a course of lec- tures on scientific subjects.
In 1831 he was appointed surgeon and botanist to the expedition sent out by the Government to explore the sources of the Mississippi River. On his return he settled in Detroit and practised as a physician.
In 1833 he was elected President of the Young Men's Society, and in 1837 was appointed State Geologist, and continued to hold the position until his death, doing much to develop the resources of the State, and being instrumental in attracting the attention of many capitalists to its mineral wealth. He also served as one of the Professors in the Uni- versity.
He was a member of the National Institute in Washington, of the Boston Society of Natural His- tory, and an honorary member of the Royal Anti-
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quarian Society of Copenhagen and of many other scientific and literary associations. He served as Mayor of the city in 1842.
He was drowned in Lake Superior, near the mouth of Eagle River, during a violent storm, on October 13, 1845. The body was recovered and he was buried at Detroit on May 15, 1846. His death was deemed a great public loss.
Houghton County in Michigan is named after him and fitly perpetuates his memory.
Three children are living-Douglass Houghton, Jr., of Detroit ; Mrs. Harraun, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Mrs. F. E. Morgan, of Coldwater.
JAMES A. VAN DYKE, for many years a prominent member of the Detroit bar, and closely identified with the earlier history of the Fire De- partment, was born in Mercersburg, Franklin Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, in December, 1813, and was the son of William and Nancy (Duncan) Van Dyke. His education commenced under private tutors at Mercersburg, and at the age of fifteen he entered Madison College at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, grad- uated in 1832, and commenced the study of law in the office of George Chambers, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained one year. He then went to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he continued his legal studies under the direction of William Price, and subsequently went to Baltimore, where he remained some months.
In 1834 he came to Detroit, entered the law office of A. D. Fraser, and within six months was admit- ted to the bar, and entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1835 he formed a partnership with Charles W. Whipple, which lasted until the lat- ter's election in 1838 as one of the Judges of the Supreme Court. Mr. Van Dyke then entered into a partnership with E. B. Harrington, which contin- ued until the death of Mr. Harrington in 1844, after which Mr. Van Dyke became a partner of H. H. Emmons, which relation lasted until the practical retirement of both gentlemen from general practice in 1852. Mr. Van Dyke was then appointed attor- ney of the Michigan Central Railroad.
In 1835 and again in 1839 he was appointed City Attorney, and in 1840 received the appointment of Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne County. During the two years he held the latter office he conducted the criminal prosecutions with such energy and success as to merit public approval. In 1843 he was elected an Alderman from the Third Ward, and again elected to the same position in 1844. His pub- lic services as chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means at this period, when the city was in finan- cial straits, was especially beneficial to Detroit and did much to avert financial disgrace. His subse- quent election as Mayor in 1847 enabled him to
perfect the system of recuperation he had so well commenced, and to mature permanent plans for the future prosperity of the city, and his entire admin- istration was marked by close and careful superin- tendence of city affairs. From 1853 until his death he served as a member of the first Board of Com- missioners of the Detroit Water Works.
He was best known, however, from his connec- tion with the early history of the Detroit Fire De- partment. His name was enrolled on the list of members composing Protection Fire Company No. I, the first duly organized company in Detroit, and until his death no man in the city took a more active interest in building up and extending the usefulness of the Fire Department. He served as President of the department from 1847 to 1851, and to his finan- cial tact, energy and determination, no less than to an honest pride in the Fire Department, all citizens are greatly indebted. In 1840 he framed and pro- cured the passage of the law incorporating the Fire Department, and it was largely his efforts that secured the erection of Fireman's Hall. His death, which occurred May 7, 1855, was an especially severe loss to the Fire Department, the feeling being fitly expressed in the following resolutions adopted by its officers :
" Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Van Dyke the Fire Depart- ment of Detroit has lost one of its benefactors ; that his name is so closely interwoven with its fortune, from its origin as a benevo- lent and chartered organization, through the vicissitudes of its early and precarious existence until its successful and triumphant development as one of the prominent institutions of the city, that it may with truth be said that its history is almost comprised within the limits of his active participation in its affairs.
"Resolved, That as a fireman, beginning and serving his full term in one of the companies of this city, his aim seemed to be rather to discharge well the duties of a private than to accept the proffered honors of this company, save as trustee in the Board. But of those duties he had a high appreciation, deeming it a worthy ambition, as inculcated by him in an address to the de- partment, ' to dedicate one's self to the work with heart brave and steadfast, tenacious of obedience to law and order, with an ele- vated and stern determination to tread only the paths of recti- tude.' "
In order to further honor his memory the Fire Department issued a memorial volume containing the proceedings of the department, of the Detroit bar, and of the Common Council, relative to his death, as well as several tributes to his memory from those who knew him best. As a lawyer, Mr. Van Dyke occupied a leading place at the Detroit bar. He early gained notoriety as a ready and pow- erful debater, and showed marked ability and taste in his public addresses. By his learning, talents and perseverance, and more than all else by his spotless integrity, he rapidly obtained the highest honors of his profession and had an enviable reputation as a sound, judicious lawyer and able and eloquent ad- vocate. Few men had in so strong a degree the
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power to win and retain friends; and among his professional brethren he was not only respected for legal ability, but was beloved as a friend and com- panion. He was courteous in manner and of win- ning and gentlemanly deportment. The following tribute of respect to his memory was adopted by his associates of the Detroit bar at a time when the bar of Detroit had a larger proportion of worthy and honorable men than it now contains :
" Resolved, That we, who have been witnesses and sharers of his professional labors, can best give full testimony of the genius, skill, learning and industry which he brought to that profession to which he devoted the chivalrous fire of his youth and the ripe powers of his manhood, in which he cherished a manly pride, and whose best honors and success he so rapidly and honorably achieved.
" Resolved, That while we bear this just tribute to the fine in- tellect of our deceased brother, we turn with greater pride to those generous qualities of his heart which endeared him to us all as a companion and friend, which left tender memorials with so many of his younger brethren of grateful sympathy and assist- ance, rendered when most needed, and which made his life a bright example of just and honorable conduct in all its relations.
"Resolved, That though devoted to the profession of his choice, yet he was never indifferent to the wider duties devolved upon him in society at large ; and he filled the many public sta- tions to which he was called by the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens with an earnestness, purity, and ability which were alike honorable to himself and useful to the public."
For many years he occupied throughout the State of Michigan a prominent position politically as a conservative Whig, but with the exception of his election to the mayoralty he never suffered his name to be used as a candidate for public office. His sympathies were easily excited. His donations to charitable and religious objects were generous and liberal, and his home life ideal in its domestic hap- piness. In the early prime of life he had gathered riches, fame, and honors to an extent rarely found save in connection with gray hairs. He left a name dear to his friends and a rich inheritance to his children, consecrated by the remembrance of the genial qualities and virtues with which he was so richly endowed.
He was married in 1835 to Elizabeth Desnoyers, daughter of Peter J. Desnoyers. They had eleven children. Philip J D., their third son, died in 1883. He was a lawyer by profession and in great measure inherited his father's legal ability. He was Prose- cuting Attorney for two terms. The living children are : George W .; Mrs. William Casgrain; Rev. Ernest, pastor of Pro-Cathedral Catholic Church; Mrs. Henry Brownson and Madame Van Dyke, Su- perior of Sacred Heart Convent, Grosse Pointe.
FREDERICK BUHL was born in Butler Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, November 27, 1806. His parents were natives of Saxony and emigrated to this coun- try prior to their marriage. Frederick was the sec- ond son in a family of eleven children and received
comparatively little schooling. At the age of sixteen he went to Pittsburgh to learn the jeweler's trade, but ill-health forced him into other pursuits, and in 1833 he came to Detroit, where he formed a part- nership with his brother, C. H. Buhl, and embarked in the fur and hat business. The firm remained in existence for twenty years. At the end of this time his brother retired and Mr. Buhl continued alone, until he became one of the largest shippers of furs in the country, as well as an importer and manufacturer of everything pertaining to furs. For many years this house was known under the firm name of F. Buhl & Co., Mr. Buhl being actively connected with the firm until February, 1887, when the business was sold to his son, Walter Buhl, and is now conducted under the name of Walter Buhl & Co.
For more than half a century, Mr. Buhl has occu- pied a prominent position among the active, aggres- sive business men of Detroit. Possessed of quick discernment, sound business judgment, with the power of close application, accompanied with cease- less energy, he has accumulated a comfortable for- tune. During the years of his business life he has occupied many positions of trust and honor. He and his brother, C. H. Buhl, have both served as Mayors of the city ; and it is doubtful if there is another in- stance in the country where two brothers have both occupied the highest municipal office in the gift of . their fellow-citizens. Frederick Buhl served as Mayor in 1848 and C. H. Buhl in 1860 and 1861.
Frederick Buhl has been connected with various business enterprises pertaining to Detroit. He has been Director of the State Bank ; President of the Fort Wayne & Elmwood Railway Company; Director of the Second National Bank of Detroit, and Presi- dent of Harper's Hospital. He was one of the orig- inal Directors of the Merchants' Exchange and Board of Trade organized in 1847, and has ever been ready to lend a helping hand to all commend- able public projects.
A consistent Christian, he has rendered willing and substantial aid to religious and charitable work. From its incipiency he has been a warm friend of Harper's Hospital; as an officer rendering valuable aid in its management by his wise counsel, while his contributions of time and money have been gener- ous and liberal. As a public official his course was marked by good judgment and a firm and inflexible purpose. Public station or official position was not congenial to him, and only assumed when to have refused would have been an evasion of duty. As a business man his life has been marked by singular probity, honor, and high-mindedness. Positive and direct in all things, no one could put a doubtful construction on his actions. He is benevolent and kind of heart and in social life is affable and ap- proachable.
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He has found leisure amid the cares of business to travel quite extensively through Europe and the United States. Of a robust constitution, which right living has kept unimpaired, his more than four- score years rest lightly upon him, and he enjoys mental and physical vigor which belies his years.
He was married in 1836 to Miss Beatty, of Butler County, Pennsylvania, and has had five children. His wife died March 1, 1884. The oldest son, Cap- tain F. A. Buhl, entered the Union Army at the breaking out of the civil war. He was wounded and died at Annapolis, Maryland, in September, 1864. The remaining children all live in Detroit.
CHARLES HOWARD was born August 7, 1804, in Chenango County, New York. When a lad his parents moved to Port Jervis, New York, where they remained several years. Mr. Howard began business in Sackett's Harbor and afterwards moved to Oswego, where he invested in marine in- terests, and for a long time was a member of the well-known firm of Bronson, Crocker & Co.
In 1840 Mr. Howard came to Detroit and en- gaged in the forwarding and commission business. Subsequently, he and N. P. Stewart engaged in business .as railroad contractors, and constructed a large portion of the Detroit, Grand Haven & Mil- waukee Railroad between Pontiac and Corunna.
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