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 3
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From 1846 to 1851 he was President of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, and in 1849 be- came the first President of the Peninsular Bank and served until 1857. In 1848 he was elected Mayor of the city, and his administration was careful and conservative. In business life he was methodical, active and generous.
On December 10, 1834, he married Margaret Vosburg, who was a direct descendant of Everar- dus Bogardus, the first minister in Manhattan, now New York City. He died November 6, 1883, leav- ing two children Mrs. William J. Waterman and Bronson Howard, the well-known dramatic author.
JOHN LADUE was the son of Peter and Mary (Tallman) Ladue, and was born November, 1803, at Lansingburgh, New York.
He was married in 1827 to Mary Angel, daugh- ter of Thomas Angel, of New York. In 1847 he came to Detroit and engaged in the manufacture of morocco leather and in wool buying. He soon be- came popular with the business men, and within three years after his arrival was elected Mayor.
During his term of office there was much excite- ment over the arrest of a fugitive slave, and Mayor Ladue was compelled to request the military to preserve the peace. His action met the approval of many citizens, and a vote of thanks was tendered him by the council.
He died in 1854. His wife and the following children are living : John T., E. A., Charlotte M., George N, and Austin Y. Ladue.
ZACHARIAH CHANDLER was born in Bed- ford, New Hampshire, December 10, 1813. He came to Detroit in December, 1833, and engaged in the dry goods business. His first store was on the site of the present Biddle House; from there he moved to the block on the west side of Woodward avenue between Woodbridge and Atwater streets.
The establishment which he founded has been managed under different firm names, but for many years past has been conducted under the firm name of Allan Shelden & Co. Mr. Chandler was very successful in his business affairs and was known as a wealthy merchant within a few years after his arrival in Detroit. He was also known as a public- spirited citizen, and in 1848 served as Treasurer of the Young Men's Benevolent Society, and in the same year was influential in the building of several plank roads that greatly served the city In 1851 he was elected Mayor of Detroit, and in 1857 suc- ceeded Lewis Cass as United States Senator.
As an aggressive, fearless Republican he soon made himself felt and feared in the Senate. He had courage of a high order, and a fearlessness and frankness of utterance that were especially needed at the time he took his seat in the Senate. The administration of President Buchanan began simul- taneously with his career as a Senator, and the vacillation and shuffling of the President afforded a sharp contrast to the boldness and high patriotism of Mr. Chandler.
Among the principal speeches which he made during the administration of President Buchanan were those in opposition to the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution ; in opposition to the annexation of Cuba to the United States ; and in favor of appropriations for the construction of a ship canal through the St. Clair Flats. He also made a vigorous protest against the partisan char- acter of the standing committees of the Senate under Democratic rule.
Mr. Chandler was re-elected to the Senate in 1863 and in 1869, and in all served eighteen years. It was upon his motion in December, 1861, that a joint committee of the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives on the conduct of the war was appointed. This celebrated committee was continued until after the close of the war, many changes taking place among its members; but Mr. Chandler re- mained and was always the ruling spirit, and his abilities and methods were effective in securing the unity of the Republican party in its war measures.
When the Republican party obtained control of the Senate, Mr. Chandler was made Chairman of
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the Committee on Commerce, and held that position until March 3, 1875, when his term expired. He was at all times an earnest and efficient supporter of the administration of President Lincoln and also of President Grant, and possessed their full confi- dence.
The most notable speech delivered by Mr. Chand- ler was in relation to the conduct of the war. In this he severely criticised General McClellan's mili- tary career as Commander of the Army of the Potomac, and his speech undoubtedly had much to do with the transfer of General Grant to that com- mand.
Mr. Chandler had no sooner entered political life than he showed that he possessed great ability as a politician, and when his advice was followed, party success was generally assured. He was among the foremost of those who favored the overthrow of slave power, the preservation of the integrity and honor of the country, and the protection by law of all the rights of the humblest citizen. He was Chairman of the Union Congressional Committee for four years, and was a member of the National Republican Committee in 1876.
On October 19, 1875, he was appointed by Pres- ident Grant, Secretary of the Interior, and held the position until after the inauguration of President Hayes. His careful and personal administration of affairs in connection with the position was a sur- prise to all, and gained him praise even among those of opposite political faith. He introduced and carried out a series of reforms in the Indian Depart- ment, the Land and Pension Offices, and exhibited an amount of personal knowledge concerning the affairs of his office, and displayed a moral courage that were like a revelation to corrupt officials.
Mr Chandler died on November 1, 1879, at Chi- cago. He left a wife and one daughter, the wife of Eugene Hale, Representative to Congress from Maine.
JOHN H. HARMON was born in Portage County, Ohio, June 21, 1819. His father, John Harmon, a native of Connecticut, emigrated to Ohio in 1800, and was for many years the publisher of a newspaper at Ravenna. The son entered his fath- er's office and became an accurate and skilful printer. In 1838 he came to Detroit and was em- ployed on the Detroit Free Press. Four years later he became one of the publishers, and continued as such until 1850. In his career as a publisher and journalist Mr. Harmon was very prosperous, and he personally exerted a wide influence in political mat- ters. He served as an Alderman in 1847, and in 1852 was elected Mayor of Detroit, serving two years.
In 1853 he was appointed by President Pierce,
Collector of the Port of Detroit, and served for four years. From 1857 he spent most of his time in Washington City, and was an influential factor in connection with much of the national legislation. He was always prominent as a Democrat, and his personal acquaintance with the prominent and pub- lic men of the nation was probably unequaled.
He was married in 1841 to Miss Sarah S. Rood. He died on August 6, 1888, leaving three children, namely, John Harmon, Mrs. S. H. Bell and Miss Emma Harmon.
OLIVER MOULTON HYDE, born at Sud- bury, Vermont, March 10, 1804, was the third son of Pitt William Hyde, a descendant of William Hyde, a noted landlord of Norwich, Connecticut, who emigrated to this country in 1633. His earlier years were spent at the homestead acquiring such education as a village school and the seminary at Castleton could afford.
When twenty-three years of age he married Julia Ann, daughter of Daniel Sprague, of Poultney, and subsequently engaged in the dry goods business at Castleton, Vermont; but feeling a desire to engage in more extended enterprises, when about thirty years of age he sold out his store in Vermont and removed to Mt. Hope, New York, where he established and successfully managed two large blast furnaces.
After a few years he became possessed with what was known in those days as the "western fever," and being influenced by his brother-in-law, Benja- min F. H. Witherell, he located in Detroit. Here, in 1838, he first engaged in the hardware trade, opening a store on Woodward near Jefferson ave- nue. Subsequently he established an extensive foundry and machine shop on Atwater street near Riopelle, where for several years he manufactured engines and steamboat machinery. In 1852 he associated himself with Captain Eber B. Ward in the construction of a floating dry-dock, a venture that was at that time considered of much import- ance. The dock was launched amid great excite- ment on December 10 of that year. .
Mr. Hyde's personal popularity and admirable capacity for business brought him into official posi- tions that were oftentimes assumed much against his inclination. Being a staunch member of the Whig and afterwards of the Republican party, he was frequently forced to accept office in political emergencies to save his party from defeat.
He was repeatedly a member of the Common Council, was elected Mayor of Detroit in 1854, serv- ing again in 1856 and 1857, and was Collector of the Port under the administrations of Presidents Tay- lor and Fillmore.
During his term as Mayor, in 1857, he recom-
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mended the establishment of a House of Correc- tion, and his communication to the Common Coun- cil is the first link in the chain of events that secured the establishment of the present Detroit House of Correction, which has a national reputa- tion for its completeness and the satisfactory results it has exhibited.
Mr. Hyde had rare energy of character, untiring industry, wonderful application and activity ; and with great aptitude for business he accomplished very much more than many persons would have done under the same circumstances.
His private life was simple and unostentatious, and his home was at the disposal of any one claim- ing his acqaintance, however humble, his unbounded hospitality often causing comment. Upon one occa- sion, while on his way home from the City Hall building, expecting to meet at dinner the Mayor of London, Ontario, who with his son had that morning arrived as guests, he was accosted by a man with carpet bag in hand, evidently just from the country, requesting to be shown the way to Hyde's. Mr. Hyde replied that he was then going in that direc- tion, and as they walked along he engaged the stranger in conversation, and learned that he had been assured by country acquaintances of a hearty welcome if he applied directly to the Hyde home- stead. Much to the stranger's surprise, on being seated at the dining-table, he found his companion of a few moments before to be also his host, and upon his right was the Mayor of London. This latter gentleman, not being accustomed to such open hos- pitality, could hardly understand it.
On November 25, 1863, in the zenith of his popu- larity and usefulness, Mr. Hyde was stricken with paralysis. From that time, though only partially disabled by this first shock, he was almost en- tirely confined to the house. Four years later a second shock resulted in his being made completely helpless. In this condition he remained for three years. Although so suddenly and completely sep- arated from active life and the busy world, he pre- served in a remarkable degree the pleasant, genial disposition which characterized his former years. He was cheerful, uncomplaining, interested in the affairs of his household and in the outside world, keeping himself thoroughly posted on what was transpiring.
Upon the breaking out of the civil war, he deeply deplored his inability to be of some service. Believ- ing, however, that an earnest expression by the older citizens would result in an increased interest on the part of those younger and more able, he aided in organizing a company of the older citizens, styling them the "Silver Greys." The qualifications for membership were that the applicant should be over
fifty years of age, and prepared to enter service, should occasion require.
During the entire war the office of Mr. Hyde was at the disposal of the United States Recruiting Ser- vice. He lived to see the successful termination of the struggle for national existence, and in the early morning of June 28, 1870, he quietly passed away without pain or struggle.
He is remembered chiefly as a kind, charitable neighbor and as a man of warm affections and un- bounded liberality. Few citizens who have passed away have been more generally mourned. Hun- dreds had been aided by him. By advice, by sym- pathy, by gifts of suitable and necessary articles, by credit, and by the loan of money, he had, in innu- merable instances, aided those whom he knew or believed to be deserving. His charities were so large and frequent as sometimes to lead to his own personal embarrassment, but he never closed his hand or heart to the appeal of distress. The relief that he gave was not through public channels, or by recorded subscriptions, or through the instrumen- tality of societies ; he gave directly on personal ap- plication, after an examination of the necessities and merits of the applicant. His nearest friends, even his own family, never knew the full extent of his benefactions.
The love and esteem of his fellow-citizens were cordial in the extreme, and frequently found expres- sion in gifts of rare value. His intimate friends included the most prominent men of that period ; among them were Zachariah Chandler, Lewis Cass, William A. Howard, Horace Greeley, and others.
Besides his widow, there survived him two sons and a daughter. The oldest son, Henry S. Hyde, is a resident of Springfield, Massachusetts, and is one of the most prominent men of his State, ranking among the highest in banking and other financial circles. The daughter, Hattie S., is the wife of Asa D. Dickinson, a resident of New York. The young- est son, Louis C., was with his father through his entire sickness, and afterwards joined his brother in Massachusetts in one of the largest manufacturing interests in New England.
HENRY LEDYARD, one of the early Mayors of Detroit, was born in the City of New York on the 5th of March, 1812. Among his ancestors were men who had occupied important positions of public trust, and who had achieved distinction in the ser- vice of the country. His grandfather, Benjamin Led- yard, was Major of a New York regiment of infantry in the Revolutionary war, and was one of the original members and founders of the New York State So- ciety of the Cincinnati in 1783. He was a cousin of John Ledyard, the traveler, and of Colonel Wil-
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liam Ledyard, who, while in command of Fort Griswold at Groton, Connecticut, was treacherously killed by a British officer at the time of the memor- able massacre of the garrison in 1781.
His father, Benjamin Ledyard, was a well-known lawyer of New York City. His mother was Susan French Livingston, a daughter of Brockholst Liv- ingston, who graduated at Princeton in 1774, served as aide-de-camp to General Schuyler and General St. Clair, and became a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1778. After the close of the Revolutionary war Brockholst Livingston practised law in New York City until 1802, when he became one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of New York, an office which he held until his appointment as one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1807. He held this office until his death in 1823.
Henry Ledyard's great-grandfather was William Livingston, the third son of Philip Livingston, who was the second lord of the manor of Livingston, and whose eldest son was the third and last lord of the manor, and whose second son, Philip, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. William Livingston graduated at Yale College in 1741, became a member of the Middle Temple, London, in 1742, a member of the Colonial Assem- bly of New York in 1759, from his brother's manor of Livingston (which at that time had the privilege of representation under its patent), removed to New Jersey in 1772, was a member of the Colonial Con- gress from New Jersey in 1774-75, and was recalled from Congress, June 5, 1775, to take command of the New Jersey forces as Brigadier-General. He became Governor of New Jersey in 1776, and held that position continuously until his death in 1790.
After graduating from Columbia College in 1830, Henry Ledyard entered upon the practice of the law in the City of New York.
When General Lewis Cass was appointed Minis- ter to France, Mr. Ledyard was attached to the Legation. A gentleman of elegant manners and high culture, he was eminently qualified for a diplo- matic position. In 1839 he became Secretary of Legation, and in 1842 Chargé d'affaires, a posi- tion which he filled for about two years with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his country. On the 19th of September, 1839, he married Matilda Frances, daughter of General Cass.
On his return to this country in 1844, Mr. Led- yard took up his residence at Detroit, where for nearly twenty years he took an active and promi- nent part in all that concerned the welfare of that city. In 1845 he was one of the founders of the State Bank ; in 1846, one of the original promoters and trustees of Elmwood Cemetery, serving for many years as its Secretary. In 1846-47 he was a
member of the Board of Education, and was largely instrumental in introducing and establishing the system of Union Schools which has ever since been in operation.
The year 1847 was a memorable one on account of the dreadful destitution which prevailed in Ire- land. Contributions for its relief were called for all over the country, and Mr. Ledyard, in conjunction with Mr. C. C. Trowbridge, was especially active and successful in gathering funds and supplies to be forwarded from Detroit and other parts of Mich- igan.
He was one of the first to realize the great ad- vantages to be gained by the city through improved means of communication with the interior of the State. In 1848 he became one of the promoters and corporators of the first Plank Road Company organized in Michigan, and for many years he was a director in the various enterprises of this charac- ter. In 1849-50 he was a member of the Board of Aldermen, and when the Board of Water Commis- sioners was organized he was one of the original Commissioners named in the act creating the Board, of which he continued to be a member from 1853 to 1859. In 1855 he was elected Mayor of Detroit, and in 1857 State Senator.
When General Cass became Secretary of State under Mr. Buchanan's administration, Mr. Ledyard accompanied him to Washington, where he re- mained until 1861. He then removed to Newport, Rhode Island, and continued to reside there until his death in 1880.
Mr. Ledyard was distinguished by a deep sense of public duty and a broad and well-considered charity, and during his residence in Newport he found employment for his active and energetic tem- perament in untiring efforts to promote the public good. He became a member of the Commission appointed by the Mayor to prepare a new charter for the city. Chiefly through his efforts, a large fund was raised for the establishment and main- tenance of the Newport Hospital, and he became its first President. He also took a prominent part in the organization and maintenance of various societies for the relief of the poor and unfortunate.
Although a great sufferer during the later years of his life, his zeal for the welfare of others showed no abatement. No considerations of personal dis- comfort or inconvenience deterred him from his active efforts of benevolence. He was a daily vis- itor at the hospital which he had established, and many a sufferer within its walls gained renewed hope and life from his tender sympathy and cheer- ful words of encouragement. It was said of him that his presence in the hospital was felt as a bene- diction.
A great lover of books, and possessed of a fine
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and critical literary taste, he was an earnest advo- cate of the usefulness of public libraries as a means of education for the people, and for many years he took an active interest in the management of that venerable institution in Newport, the Redwood Library, and was at one time its President. In works such as these the last twenty years of his life were passed.
His death occurred on the 7th of June, 1880, at London, during a brief visit to Europe.
JOHN PATTON was born in the county of Down, Ireland, March 1, 1822, and is one of the six children of James and Eliza (Cathcart) Patton, both of Scotch descent. At eight years of age John Patton came with his father to Albany, New York, and they were followed by the mother and the rest of the children the ensuing year.
At seventeen years of age John was apprenticed to the trade of carriagesmith, and in 1843 came to Detroit, followed his calling for two years, and then started in business for himself; the same year, on March 3, 1845, he married Eliza J. Anderson. His business grew, and he carried on the business of carriage manufacturing on a large scale, and continued it until a few years ago.
Mr. Patton has a genial nature, and that he has the faculty of making friends is evident by the numerous offices he has held. He was Chief Engi- neer of the Fire Department from 1852 to 1854, and President of the department from 1855 to 1857. In 1853 and 1854 he was Alderman from the Third Ward, and in 1858 and 1859 Mayor of the city. From 1864 to 1869 County Auditor, in 1869 and 1870 Sheriff of the county, and since 1880 he has been a Justice of the Peace.
CHRISTIAN H. BUHL is one of the oldest mer- chants of Detroit, there being few others having as many years of active experience in mercantile life. His record covers a period of fifty-five years, and during all of that time he has been continuously identified with the city as a leading merchant. His father, Christian Buhl, was born in Germany in 1776, came to America in 1802, and settled in western Pennsylvania, where he died in 1864. He was a merchant and farmer, and gave his sons not only a common school education, but a business training that has been well improved.
Christian H. Buhl was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1812. The first business he learned was that of a hatter. At the age of twen- ty-one he was proficient in the trade and set out to explore the west, reaching Detroit in 1833, where he decided to remain, and joined his brother Frederick in the manufacture and sale of hats and caps. De- troit was then too small a town to support two per-
sons exclusively engaged in the hat and cap business, and the two brothers engaged also in the fur trade, and in this department Christian H. was, at first, the leading spirit. Their operations in furs stead- ily broadened and strengthened, and ere long covered the entire northwest. In 1842 they joined the successors of the American Fur Com- pany in the purchase of furs throughout Canada and the states bordering on the Great Lakes, and for ten years they carried on an extensive and profit- able business. The combination then terminated, and in 1855 Christian H. Buhl retired from the firm of F. & C. H. Buhl, and with Charles Ducharme established a wholesale hardware store. They soon succeeded to the extensive trade of Alexander H. Newbold and Ducharme & Bartholomew, and created one of the most extensive establishments in the west. In 1873 Mr. Ducharme died, and was succeeded in the firm by Theodore D., a son of Mr. Buhl. A second son, Frank H., was subsequently admitted, the firm since then being Buhl, Sons & Co.
In 1863 Mr. Buhl and others bought the Wester- man Iron Works at Sharon, Pennsylvania, and the name was then changed to the Sharon Iron Works. At these works upwards of one thousand men are employed, and the average daily output is over one hundred tons of merchant bar, sheet and pig iron, and nails. The firm also mine coal quite extensively for use at these works and for the market.
In 1864 Mr. Buhl purchased a controlling interest in the Detroit Locomotive Works, and put not only more capital but renewed vitality into the concern, and for fifteen years or more it was largely profitable to the stockholders and of much advantage to the city. In 1880 these works were incorporated as the Buhl Iron Works, with Mr. Buhl as President.
About 1881 he organized the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mill Company, and serves as Presi- dent. The corporation began in large buildings on the corner of Larned and Fourth streets, but in a few years outgrew these limits, and in 1887 new works were constructed on the River Rouge, near the city limits, and the business is carried on with greatly increased facilities.
In addition to other enterprises, Mr. Buhl has had much to do with Michigan railways. He was chiefly instrumental in the building of the Detroit, Hillsdale & Indiana and the Detroit, Eel River & Illinois Railroads, and for many years was President of both companies.
He has also been actively connected with the banking history of the city. In 1845 he, with sev- eral others, revived the old Michigan State Bank, and thirty-eight years later took a prominent part in the organization of the Second National Bank of Detroit, and when its charter expired assisted in
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