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 51
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1877. Supervisor, John Cosby ; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, J. Fox; Justice of the Peace, J. H. Thompson; Supt. Schools, G. W. Long ; School Inspector, G. W. Long; Highway Commisisoner, F. A. Gulley ; Drain Commissioner, A. Lapham ; Constables, G. Mitte, F. Bartz, J. Magoonaugh, J. P. Frank.
1878. Supervisor, William Daly; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, J. Fox; Justice of the Peace, Wm. Daly; Supt. School, F. R. Ward ; School Inspector, W. Sloss; Highway Commis- sioner, J. H. Thompson ; Drain Commissioner, J. Probert ; Constables, J. P. Frank, J. Magoonaugh, .F. H. Bartz, J. Burns.
1879. Supervisor, William Daly; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, J. Ford ; Justice of the Peace, W. M. Holton ; Supt. Schools, G. W. Long ; School Inspector, J. Probert ; Highway Commissioner, J. H. Thompson ; Constables, J. Magoonaugh, C. Randall, G. Mitte, F. H. Bartz.
1880. Supervisor, William Daly ; Clerk, John W. Alexander, Treasurer, James Ford; Justice of the Peace, Chas. N. Brainard; School Inspector, A. T. Sloss ; Supt. of Schools. Geo W. Long ; Drain Commissioner, J. Probert ; Highway Commissioner, J. H. Thompson ; Constables, G. Mitte, C. Ran- dall, F H. Bartz, J. W. Forsythe.
188r. Supervisor, Charles N. Brainard ; Clerk, Hubbard Hidden; Treasurer, C. H. Purdy ; Jus- tice of the Peace, J. H. Thompson ; Supt. of Schools, O. P. Gulley ; School Inspector, A. T. Sloss ; Highway Commissioner, S. L. Howard ; Constables, C. Forsythe, J. Fenelos, Wm. Strafrex, C. Languish
188 :. Supervisor, William Daly ; Clerk, Hub- bard Hidden; Treasurer, J. Jubb; Justice of the Peace, A. Wagner ; Highway Commissioner, S. L. Howard; Drain Commissioner, A. B Gulley ; School Inspectors, O. P. Gulley, A. T. Sloss ; Con- stables, J. Fenelos, W. H. Lowrie, C. Forsythe, A. Mundinger.
1883 Supervisor, William Daly; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, J. Jubb ; Justice of the Peace, W. M. Holton ; Highway Commissioner, S. L. Howard; School Inspector. O. P Gulley ; Constables, James Magoonaugh, John Blake, A. Mundinger, J. Giller.
1884. Supervisor, William Daly ; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, Wm H. Halpin ; Justices of the Peace, E. Howard; School Inspector, A. T Sloss; Drain Commissioner, A. B. Gulley ; Hign- way Commissioner, S. L. Howard ; Constables, W. Ham, C. Forsythe, A. Mundinger, J. Magoonaugh.
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1885. Supervisor, Jared A. Sexton ; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, Wm. H. Halpin ; Jus- tice of the Peace, John Cosby ; School Inspector, S. B. Long ; Highway Commissioner, J. Theisen ; Constables, C. Schrader, J. Magoonaugh, A. Schloff, F. Peba.
1886. Supervisor, Samuel B. Long ; Clerk, Ar- thur T. Sloss; Treasurer, John Cosby; Justice of the Peace, A. Wagner; School Inspector, H. M. Snow; Drain Commissioner, Saml. Cogswell ; Highway Commissioner, J. Theisen ; Constables, J. Magoonaugh, C. Hess, C. Forsythe, F. Miller.
1887. Supervisor, Samuel B. Long ; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, E. Howard ; Justice of the Peace, Wm. M. Holton; Highway Commis- sioner, S. L Howard: School Inspector, F. R. Ward; Constables, C. F. Forsythe. J. Magoonaugh, W. A. Blake, S. McNutt.
1888 Supervisor, Samuel B. Long ; Clerk, John W. Alexander ; Treasurer, C. T. Forsythe ; Justice of the Peace, J. Theisen; Highway Commissioner, S. L. Howard; School Inspector, J. A. Sexton ; Drain Commissioner, J. Fox; Constables, J. Ma- goonaugh, L Bucklin, A. Steward, R. Campbell.
1889 Supervisor, Samuel B. Long ; Clerk, W. H. Hatton ; Treasurer, C. F. Forsythe; Justice of the Peace, John Cosby; Highway Commissioner, S. L. Howard ; School Inspectors, F. R. Ward, T. J. Owen ; Constables, Wm. Ham, A. Klett, J. Law- rence, C. Randall, Jr.
1890. Supervisor, Wm. Walton; Clerk, Joseph Cronogue; Treasurer, Joshua Jubb; Highway Commissioner, O. P. Gulley ; Justice of the Peace, A. Wagner; School Inspector, J. A. Sexton ; Drain Commissioner, D. D. Tompkins ; Board of Review, John Dailey ; Constables, J. Magoonaugh, A. Snider, J. Pierce, J. Burns.
DEARBORN, FORMERLY DEARBORNVILLE.
This village is located on the line of the M. C. R.R.' on Sections 21 and 22, of Town 2 South, Range 10 East, on the banks of the River Rouge, the loca- tion being one of the finest in the county. It is said that there were white settlers here even before the American occupation began. The earliest known settler, Titus Dort, began brick making on the Rouge in 1829, near the site of the present village.
The place received its earliest and largest encour- agement from the establishment here of a United States arsenal. The site of the arsenal was selected while it was still government land, in July, 1832, by a board of officers appointed for the purpose. The corner stone of the main building was laid on July 30, 1833, and the building completed in 1837. The establishment consisted of eleven brick buildings, erected about a central square having 360 feet on a side. The principal building occupied the center
of the eastern side of the square, and was 120 feet long by 30 feet deep, and three stories high, exclusive of the basement. It was intended for the principal armory. The buildings surrounding this square were connected by a continuous wall of heavy masonry, 12 feet high, and were calculated to accommodate two officers and fifty artificers and workmen, and, in case of an emergency, would easily accommodate double that number About four years after the arsenal was built, Captain Webb, who was in charge, claimed that an old log tavern, about half a mile east, owned by David Thompson, was located on ground belonging to the government, and he therefore ordered it removed. His orders not being obeyed, he called together about fifty soldiers and employés of the United States, and they tore down the buildings. Colonel Joshua Howard, who had located and erected the arsenal, and was still living at Dearborn, objected to these doings, and sought to prevent them, as did also other citizens, but their expostulations were of no avail. During the altercation that took place, a Mr. Potter, who resided at Dearborn, was struck on the head with a club, and the blow was believed to have been the cause of his death, which took place soon after.
By Act of February 13, 1849, the State military stores, field artillery and equipage were ordered stored at Dearborn, and the arsenal was occupied by the Government up to August 15, 1875, on which date its use as an arsenal was officially discontinued. The serviceable munitions, mostly infantry equip- ments, and old guns, were then sent to the Rock Island arsenal, and the balance sold at auction. The grounds, containing about 235 acres, were then surveyed, laid out into lots, and in 1877 portions of the property were sold at auction, and from time to time other portions have been sold, and about half of the property has now been disposed of.
John Cosby was custodian in charge from 1850 until October 24, 1878, when he was succeeded by Joseph A Patrick, who continued until 1885, when Bernard Magoonaugh was appointed. At the time of its erection, the arsenal was the finest and largest structure in the State, and with the neat and walled- in grounds, surpassed in appearance every improve- ment in this region. It was thought a large city of importance would soon be built up, and speculation in city lots was the rage. Elliot Gray, of Detroit, had a boat, the "General Jackson," built at Mt. Clemens, to ply between Dearborn and Detroit, on the River Rouge, but after a few trips, want of patronage, suspended her voyages.
The plat of the village was recorded by Paul D. Anderson, in 1833, and the village incorporated on April 5, 1838. The first election was to be held on the first Monday in May. The Act of incorporation
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was repealed on May 11, 1846. According to Blois's Gazetteer, of 1839, the settlement then had a saw- mill, flourmill, seven stores, two blacksmith shops, and an iron foundry, in which horse power was used. The population numbered sixty families. The population in 1870 was 530, in 1880 it was reported at 410. At the sale of a portion of the government property, in 1877, the township pur- chased the building in which was the lavatory, paint shop and commissary quarters, and, removing the inside partitions, converted the building into a town hall, which will seat five hundred persons; it cost about $1,200. There is also a Masonic Hall, which was erected in 1869, and is occupied by Dearborn Lodge, No. 172. The lodge was organ- ized on April 10, 1865, but their warrant bears the date of January 11, 1866.
The most imposing structure in the place is the institution known as St Joseph's Retreat for the Insane. It was originally located in Detroit, and its earlier history is fully given elsewhere in this work. The property on Michigan Avenue, in Detroit, was sold in 1887, and the present building erected in 1885. It is located on the government road, about three-quarters of a mile west of the Michigan Central Railroad depot. The building is of brick, and has a frontage of 400 feet, with a depth of 180 feet. The main building is four stories high, and the two wings three stories high. The cost of erection was $220,000. It was opened on Nov. 1, 1886. The grounds consist of 140 acres, of which 100 were obtained in exchange for the five acres of city property. The estimated cost of the land is $35,000. Six male attendants and sixteen sisters are employed in its management, all under the direction of the Sister Superior, Mary Borgia.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This church has a clear right to be considered a lineal descendant of the oldest and earliest church organization in Michigan. A Methodist Episcopal Church was established near Dearborn in the year 1810, and after the close of the War of 1812, on March 31, 1818, a church building, located about two miles east of the present village, was dedicated by the same society, and aside from the Moravian Church, erected near Mt. Clemens, in 1782, it was the first Protestant church erected in Michigan. In Chapter 57 of this work a detailed history of these events is given. Four years after the erection of the church, in June, 1822, Rev. John P. Kent, assisted by the Rev. Wm. Case, presiding elder of the Upper Canada district, held a camp meeting near the church, on the farm of Wm. Stacey, one of the members, and this was doubtless the first camp meeting held in Michigan. Subsequent to this time, and as early as 1828, the locality was included in what was known as the Huron Mission,
and was regularly supplied with preaching by the Methodist itinerants, but by this time the log church ceased to be used, and services were held in private houses. The following ministers officiated : 1828- 1829, Benjamin Cooper ; 1829-1830, Leonard B. Gurley ; 1832-1834, W. H. Brockway ; 1835-1837, E. H. Pilcher ; 1837, W. H. Brockway. In Decem- ber of this year, on a lot bought of Joshua Howard, for $50, the society began the erection of a new church, and in May of 1838 it was dedicated. It seated 200. In 1871, a lot for a parsonage was purchased, at a cost of $100, and soon after a par- sonage, costing about $1,000, was finished. In 1887, at a cost of $350, the congregation purchased a lot on the northeast corner of Military Avenue and Chicago Road, on which it is proposed to erect a new building. The pastors since 1837 have been as follows : 1838, Wm. H. Brockway ; 1839-1840, Adam Minnis, John Babcock and Jonathan Blanch- ard ; 1841, John Gray, Wm. Taylor; 1842, John Gray and Alonzo Fleming : 1843, G. J. Shurtliff and H. Penfield ; 1844, Alonzo Fleming, Chas. Bruce ; 1845, J. Blanchard, W. W. Hayes; 1846, D. Bush, and W. Benson; 1847, D. Bush and F. Glass ; 1848, Isaac Abbott and B. F. Prichard ; 1849, W. Mothersill and R. Bird; 1850, I. F. Collins and W. Fox; 1851, S. Bessey and W. Fox; 1852, S. Bessey and J. C. Wortley ; 1853, A. Steel and C. W. Seaman ; 1854, Curtis Mosher ; 1855, J. H. Caster ; 1856, J. W. Kellogg; 1857, J. W. Kellogg and A J. Bigelow : 1858, J. Levington and W. C. Way ; 1859, W. C. Way; 1860, G. Smith; 1861-1863, B. F. Hedger and C. L. Church; 1863-1865, J. W. Kel- logg; 1865-1868, J. W. Kellogg; 1868, R. Bird; 1869, R. C. Lanning ; 1870, A. Allen; 1871, J. S. Sutton ; 1872-1875, J. R. Noble ; 1875-1877, G. W. Owen; 1877-1879, J. M. Truscott ; 1879-1882, D. J. Odell; 1882-1885, L. C. York; 1885-1887, S. E. Warren; 1887, G. W. Lowe; 1888, F. Berry ; 1889, W. Cooke.
EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION CHURCH.
This church was started as a mission in 1860. A church building was erected at a cost of $1,000, and it has since been enlarged and improved at a cost of about $1,500, and will now seat 250. On April 18, 1875, it became a self-supporting church, with Rev. Daniel Heininger pastor in charge. The subsequent pastors have been : Rev. F. F. Mayer, from April, 1876; Rev. J. M. Fuchs, from April, 1877; Rev. John Orth, from April, 1878; Rev. C. J. Koch, from April, 1880; Rev. John Meck, from April, 1882; Rev. Jacob Young, from April, 1885; Rev. Christian Ude, from April, 1888. The mem- bership in 1875 was 140, and in 1880, 119.
SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH.
This society was organized in 1836, the first mass
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being celebrated by Rev. Father O. Kavanah, at the house of Mrs. Ryan, in that year. In 1837, and also in 1839, mass was celebrated in private houses by Rev. Father Cullum. In 1842, Rev. Martin Kundig officiated; next after him came Rev. Messrs. Laurence Kilroy and -- Dillon. About 1843, Rev. Dr. Farnham came; he was followed by Rev. P Kindekins and Rev. A. Vandendriessche. The first regular resident pastor was Rev. Father Pulsers, who came in 1852, and remained some three years. Rev. P. O. Kelly came on April 27, 1866, served two years and then passed away. His successor, Father Lemogie, remained a little over a year, and then the church was served by various pastors, among whom were Rev. Edward Dumont and Rev. Edward Kindekins. In 1862, E. Van Paemel became the pastor, and remained until 1872. His successor, Rev. P. B. Murray, was fol- lowed by Rev. H. P. Delbeau, who came on January 24, 1873, and remained one year. After him came Rev. Leitner, for six months, and then Rev. P. Kil- roy. Rev M. H. Schacken was appointed on Sep- tember 14, 1874. and remained until 1877. His successors were Rev. Muer, from 1877 to 1883 ; Rev. John Reichenbach, from 1883 to 1885 ; Rev. Louis Van Straelen, from 1885 to 1887; Rev. Francis Broegger, from 1887.
The first church building was erected in 1843, and was several times moved and at various times remodelled and improved. It was moved to the present site, and practically rebuilt, in November, 1874, and on January 12, 1875, was consecrated. A large and flourishing school of about one hundred scholars is maintained. The graveyard of two acres, established in 1862, was newly fenced in 1875, and a neat Gothic chapel erected through the liberality of Wm. Kelly and Mrs. J. Magoonaugh, and on May 2, 1876, the cemetery was blessed by the Bishop, and newly christened as Mount Kelly Cemetery. The parish, in 1888, numbered one hundred families.
BAPTIST CHURCH (EXTINCT).
This society was organized on December 16, 1840, as a branch of the First Baptist Church, of Detroit. On July 3, 1842, it was organized as an independent church. There has never been any regular pastor. The services were held in the Presbyterian Church, and conducted by ministers from Detroit. In 1853, a lot west of the Johnson House was purchased, but the society never erected a building. The last meeting was held on April 14, 1875, when the members met, voted themselves letters, and the society disbanded.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
This society was organized in 1840, and in 1848 they dedicated a church which seated 100, and cost
$500. The present valuation of their property is $2,200. The membership has never been large, and for some years they have had no pastor or any regular services.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This society was organized June 12, 1867. Their church lot cost $400, and their building $4,500. It was dedicated in 1871, and will seat 200. Rev. C. W. Fitch, Chaplain United States Army, at Fort Wayne, Michigan, was the first rector. He com- menced his duties in January, 1867, and remained until the autumn of 1874. Between this time and September, 1876, Rev. H. Banwell served as rector for three months. The church was kept open by lay readers, with occasional services by clergymen, until September 1, 1876, when Rev. J. C. Brown became rector, and so remained for nine years. The term of Rev. T. R. Reid began October 10, 1886.
ST. PAUL'S FIRST EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN U. A. C. CHURCH.
This society was organized August 22, 1870, by Rev. Karl L. Moll, with twenty-three families. A lot on Beech Street, in Farland's addition, was pur- chased for $330, and a church erected in the sum- mer of 1871. It cost $1,800, and will seat 250. A school was started the year the church was built, which has an average attendance of fifty. In 1880 the church numbered fifty-two families. Rev. Mar- cus Halboth, the first pastor, continued till 1874, when he was succeeded by Rev. Gustav Berndt, who was still serving in 1888.
MESSIAH ADVENTIST CHURCH.
This society was organized in 1874. A lot about a mile southwest of the village was donated, and a church, seating 160 persons, and costing $1,500, was dedicated in 1875. At the organization of the church there was twenty members, and in 1889 six. The present valuation of the property is $1,coo. Rev. C. W. Learned was the first and only regular pastor.
The Detroit Stock Brick Company was estab- lished in 1868, and passed into the possession of A. Wagner & Son, in 1875. The yard covers twenty-eight acres, they giving employment to twenty-eight men, and manufacture upwards of three million bricks annually. The shipments re- quire about 500 cars each year. They also manu- facture about eighty thousand feet of tile annually.
WALLACEVILLE.
This village is located on Section 6, and is named after John B. Wallace, a lumber manufacturer, who conducts the chief business of the place. There are also several small shops.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
ELIZUR R. CARVER was born April 16, 1830, at Marietta, Ohio and is the son of John and Mary Carver. He was educated in Detroit, and at the age of sixteen began to work for the government, in the arsenal at Dearborn, After working there for some time. he became a clerk in a dry-goods store at that place. From there he went to Aurora, New York, and was employed by John Allen, a dry-goods merchant. While in New York he mar- ried a daughter of Dr Talman subsequently re- turning to Michigan, where Mrs Carver died, leav- ing two sons and one daughter. The latter only is now living. After his return to Michigan, Mr Car- ver engaged in the grocery business at Detroit for a number of years, having his store at the corner of Monroe Avenue and what is now known as Ca- dillac Square. From Detroit he removed to Dear- born, where he engaged in farming. At the out- break of the War with the South, he enlisted as a private in Berdan's Sharpshooters, and for bravery and gallant services was `rapidly promoted, until at the time of his resignation, in 1862, he held the position of Captain Shortly after his return from the War he married Rosella Fox, of Detroit. They had two children namely, Walter and Bir- die.
While returning home from Detroit, on Septem- ber 7, 1883, Captain Carver's horse became fright- ened at a train of cars, and, running away, threw him over the bank of the Rouge, and he was drowned.
He was a Republican in politics, but was so en- gaged in business, that he had no inclination for political office, and though repeatedly requested by his friends to run for office, he always declined.
In religious affairs his sympathies were with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was generally esteemed and respected.
WILLIAM DALY was born at Killarney, County of Kerry, Ireland, on March 25, 1819. His parents, John and Mary Daly, emigrated to this country, coming direct to Detroit, where they arrived in June, 1837. William received his edu- cation in Ireland, and for a short time before he came to this country attended college. After his arrival in Detroit, during 1837 and 1838, he worked for Mayor Kearsley. In 1839, he went to Chicago, and helped to grade up the first street in that city. In 1841, he began sailing on the steamboat " Erie," and while on the Detroit River, the boiler exploded. Five or six men were killed, and he had a narrow
escape from death, being badly scalded and burned. He was married on November 26, 1842, to Mary Lester, a native of Kilkenny, Ireland, the same year he settled in Dearborn, and engaged in farming, and is still living on the same farm of 160 acres
Mr. Daly has always taken an active part in the public affairs of the township in which he lives, and has held every office within the disposal of his fellow-citizens In 1843 he was elected Poor Di- rector, and continued to hold the office for twenty years. In 1844, he was made Highway Commis- sioner, remaining in that office for eighteen years. For twenty-four years in succession he fulfilled the duties of Justice of the Peace, being first elected in 1858. In 1863, he was elected Supervisor of the township, and held the office for eighteen years. He was also County Superintendent of the Poor for six years, and School Director for twenty years. That he gave satisfaction as a public official is abundantly evidenced by the number of offices he has filled, and by the length of time he held each office.
Mr. Daly has always been a Democrat in poli- tics, and has done much active work in furthering the interests of the party. He is a Catholic in his religious views, and amongst his most pleasant recol- lections is the fact that he helped to build the first Catholic Church in Dearborn, drawing the timber with his own team and hewing it himself.
His wife died April 6, 1887, leaving four sons, Patrick, John, James and Thomas, and one daughter, Mrs. Gleason, of Detroit. The sons are all re- spected, and have large farms of their own in the immediate neighborbood of the old homestead. Personally Mr. Daly has a genial disposition, is generous of heart, and firm in his friendships. His love for his adopted country is only equaled by his pride in her greatness and prosperity. By his thrift and economy he has laid up a comfortable fortune for himself and his children, and his integ- rity and good qualities have secured to him the esteem of his fellow-citizens, who have shown their high regard by conferring upon him year after year all the honors at their command.
JAMES GARDNER was born on November 14, 1844, on the old Gardner homestead, at the Scotch settlement in the township of Dearborn. His father, Richard Gardner, was a native of Wroxton, Oxfordshire, England, and came to this country in his eighteenth year, landing in 1828. After. remaining in Detroit and vicinity for three
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years he settled on his farm in Dearborn on which he continued to live for a period of fifty years He was a man of strict integrity and having a good education his services were often required by his fellow-citizens in various capacities. He served as Justice of the Peace for twenty-four years, and as Supervisor for twelve years, besides repeatedly fill- ing minor positions. The great confidence his friends had in his honesty and integrity is evidenced by the fact that he was almost continuously wanted to act as guardian of various orphan child- ren, and as administrator of the estates of various persons. He died on May 15, 1878, in his 71st year of age. His mother, formerly a Miss Gould, came to this country from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1831. She possessed a kind and genial disposi- tion, and was universally respected and loved. She had ten children, of whom James Gardner was the seventh. When old enough he attended the dis- trict school in winter and worked on the farm in summer. After he had reached the age of twenty- one, he left home, going to lowa and Minnesota. At the end of two years he returned, and shortly after bought a farm in Monroe County, upon which he resided for six years. After his father's death he returned to Dearborn, and buying out the inter- est of his brothers and sisters in the old homestead, he moved there, and has lived upon it ever since. He was married on November 29, 1882, to Miss Jennie Flaherty; she died on April 6, 1884. They had no children.
Mr Gardner inherited many of the sterling quali- ties of his father. He is modest and conversative in disposition, and his strict probity has won him the confidence and respect of his fellow-townsmen. His neighbors have frequently tried to persuade him to hold office, but with the exception of serving several terms as School Director, he has always de- clined.
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