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 7
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Politically, Mr. Elwood is a Democrat. His earliest remembered affiliations and convictions were of the democratic order, and he has been uninterruptedly loyal to that party. He is extreme- ly averse to notoriety, and it is a matter of common knowledge that he has, more than once, put aside the offer of political preferment and declined many a nomination that would have been equivalent to an election- the sole exception in the way of office hold- ing being a three years' term in the Board of Alder- men-serving from 1863 to 1866-most of that time in the President's chair. The sincerity of his politi- cal preferences is so fully believed, and so resolutely has he always defended them, that even those most opposed to him in these matters are glad to be en- rolled among his personal friends. His sagacity as
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a politician and his devotion to his principles were abundantly illustrated during his career as chair- man for six years, of the Democratic State Cen- tral Committee of Michigan.
When the Young Men's Society of Detroit was in its best days, he was at its head as President.
As the possessor of abundant means, in a charac- teristic and unobtrusive way, he has all his life been a liberal giver, a bountiful friend. In his per- sonality, he is affable and among his intimates, dis- tinctly " sociable." He never forgets to be courte- ous, kind and considerate, and not only enjoys the companionship of his friends, but attaches them strongly to himself.
For many years he has been an adherent of the Unitarian Church and a regular attendant upon its services. Mr. Elwood's family is composed of his wife and one daughter, now nearing womanhood.
JACOB M. HOWARD was born in Shaftsbury, Vt., July 10, 1805, and was educated at the Acad- emies of Bennington and Brattleboro, and at Wil- liams College, where he graduated in 1830. He studied law and engaged in teaching for about two years and in 1832 came to Detroit ; was admitted to the bar in 1833, and was soon prominent among the leading young men of the city. In 1834 he was made City Attorney and in 1838 was a member of the State Legislature ; from 1841 to 1843 he served as Representative in Congress ; in 1851 he appeared for the people in the great trial known as the Rail- road Conspiracy Case ; in 1854 he was elected Attorney-General of the State and was twice re-elected, serving in all six years. In 1862 he was elected as U. S. Senator from Michigan, in place of K. S. Bingham, deceased, and in 1865 was elected for the full term, serving until 1871.
While acting as Senator he served as chairman of the Committee on the Pacific Railroad, and as one of the Committee on Military Affairs, Judiciary Private Land Claims, and Library, and also as one of the Special Joint Committee on the Recon- structed States.
He received from Williams College, in 1866, the degree of LL. D., and was a delegate to the Phila- delphia "Loyalists' Convention" of the same year.
In 1847 he published a translation of the "Secret Memoirs of the Empress Josephine." He drew up the platform of the first convention of the Republi- can party in 1854, and is said to have given the party its name. Whether this be so or not, there can be no doubt that he was one of the ablest leaders the party ever possessed, and, indeed, his equals were few in number. During the war for the Union he rendered the country great service by his ability and patriotism, and all felt that when he died a statesman had passed away.
He died on April 2, 1871. His wife's maiden name was Catherine A. Shaw. The children liv- ing at the time of his death were Mrs. Mary E. Hildreth, wife of Joseph S. Hildreth, Col. J. M. Howard, of Litchfield, Minnesota; Hamilton G. Howard, Charles M. and Jennie D. Howard, now Mrs. Samuel Brady.
JAMES F. JOY, whose name for nearly fifty years has been a household word in Detroit and for nearly the same length of time also well known throughout the country, is of New England an- cestry, and was born in Durham, New Hamp- shire, December 2d, 1810. His father, James Joy, was a man of much enterprise and intelligence, was decided in his opinions and character, a Federalist in politics, and a Calvinist in religion, whose influ- ence for good was felt by all to whom he became known. He had a large family, and the characters and careers of his children were largely shaped by his influence, teaching, and example. He was a blacksmith by trade, but later in life became a manufacturer of scythes. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Pickering.
James F. Joy attended a common school until he was sixteen and was then sent to an academy, and in two years was well fitted for the college course and able to enter Dartmouth College, He gradu- ated there at the head of his class in 1833 and im- mediately commenced the study of law in the Har- vard Law School at Cambridge, with Judge Storey and Professor Greenleaf as his instructors. After remaining there a year he became principal of the academy at Pittsfield, in his native state, and re- mained there some months. He was then ap- pointed tutor in the Latin language in Dartmouth College, which position he retained for about a year. He then resumed the study of law at Cam- bridge ; was admitted to the bar in Boston, and immediately went west, landing in Detroit in Sep- tember, 1836. Here he entered the office of Augus- tus S. Porter, where he remained till May, 1837, when he opened an office for himself, and in the fall of that year George F. Porter became associated with him as a partner in business. They continued in practice for about twenty-five years, and were eminent in their profession. Their most important early client was the old Bank of Michigan, and sub- sequently "The Dwights," so-called, then well known men of ability and wealth who were en- gaged in banking in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio. About this time Gen. Jackson removed the public money from the United States Bank, the state banks became its depositories, and the Bank of Michigan received about $1,200,000 of government money. These public funds were deposited in local banks all over the country, and as a result there
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was vast speculation everywhere, and soon a panic and almost universal bankruptcy. The Dwights undertook to sustain the Bank of Michigan, they loaned it about $400,000, and took its suspended debt, secured by mortgages, on the property of its debtors. All of these assets came into the office of Joy & Porter for collection, and the litigation grow- ing out of these collections was a source of much profit and gave the firm a wide reputation as lawyers.
In 1846 when it was proposed to sell the Michi- gan Central Railroad to a corporation, Mr. Joy was employed in the interest of the proposed com- pany. He largely framed its charter and organized the company which purchased the road of the State, and undertook to build it through to Chicago. It was the important litigation of that company in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois which drew Mr. Joy away from his practice in Detroit. He was also compelled to shape the legislation in Indiana and Illi- nois, under which the road was finally extended to Chicago. The history of the controversy, with re- gard to the extension of the road to Chicago, is full of interesting detail, and its importance was such as to compel Mr. Joy to make railway law a special- ty, and he soon became, and for a long time contin- ued, perhaps the most noted lawyer in railway liti- gation in the country,and for many years his prac- tice was both extensive and profitable. From serv- ing as their counsel he was drawn into their man- agement, and by degrees became prominent in ex- tending railway connections, and in their manage- ment and construction. One of his principal clients was the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and the entrance of their road into Chicago was attended with much difficulty and litigation. The most cele- brated suit, however, which he was called upon to manage was that of George C. Bates against the Michigan Central and Illinois Central Railroad Companies, involving the title to all the station grounds of both companies in that city. The occa- sion of the suit was as follows : In the early days of Chicago, before the harbor was built by the Government, the Chicago River, at its mouth, ran south for more than a mile below where the harbor now is. Outside of the river and between it and the lake was a wide sand bar; this bar had been platted into city lots and contained a good many acres of land. The Government excavated a chan- nel across it, and built its piers directly through it into the lake. As the pier was extended the south- ward current (produced by the winds on the west side of the lake running south past the end of the pier) caused an eddy on the south side which began to wear away this sand bar, and in the course of six or eight years it entirely disappeared.
When the Illinois and Michigan Central Com-
panies reached Chicago they located their station grounds in the lake exactly where this sand bar had been, deposited earth upon it, raised it and erected freight and passenger houses upon the ground. Mr. Bates bought up the titles to the lots and property located on the sand bar, and brought a suit to recover the grounds. A very interesting and important question then arose as to who really owned this land. Mr. Joy took the position that when the water had gradually worn away the land all private titles went with it, and that when it all had disappeared under the water all private ownership to it, however perfect, was lost, and that the railway companies, having occupied the site under the authority of the State, and filled it up, were the legal owners. The litigation as to its ownership was long and complicated. It was twice tried by and finally settled by the United States Su- preme Court, the position of Mr. Joy being sustained. The value of the property involved was about $2,000,000. It is a curious fact that the law rela- tive to riparian rights is based upon a decision made at Rome in the time of Augustus by Trebatius, a learned prætor, to whom Horace addressed one of his satires. The principles of the decision of Tre- batius were adopted by the English courts, and its authority prevailed in the Chicago case, which is one of great celebrity.
Mr. Joy now became extensively identified with the railway interests of the country, and was largely engaged in extending their lines. He or- ganized and for many years was at the head of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Com- pany. Under his charge it was planned and con- structed to Quincy and Omaha. The country through which it passed was rich but largely un- developed, but soon after the road was built, it was rapidly settled, and the enterprise, all the time he was connected with it, was the most successful and profitable to its security holders of any simi- lar enterprise in the country, and it has been good property ever since. The railroad from Kan- sas City to the Indian Territory is one among many enterprises of the kind that he promoted. With other inducements to build it was a tract of 800,- 000 acres, called the neutral lands, belonging to the Cherokee Indians. These lands, by a treaty between the Senate, the Indian Nation, and him- self, Mr. Joy purchased. The road was to be built across these lands, which were, to some extent, occupied by lawless squatters, who undertook to prevent the construction of the road unless Mr. Joy would give them the lands they occupied. Their demands led to violence, the engineers of the road were driven off, and ties and timber designed for the road were burned. It was only through the aid of two cavalry companies of United States
Janet. Jas 0
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troops, stationed there by the Government, that he was enabled to complete the road. He also built the first bridge across the Missouri River at Kan- sas City, and the building of the bridge gave a great impetus to the progress of that now large and prosperous city. While he had been acting as counsel for the Michigan Central Railroad Company, he became connected with the project of building the Sault St. Mary's Canal. The Government had granted the State of Michigan 750,000 acres of land to aid in the construction of the canal. The grant was several years old and various attempts had been made to induce parties to take the land and build the canal. About 1857 Mr. Joy, in connection with J. W. Brooks, then managing the Michigan Central, concluded to undertake the work. The requisite legislation was secured, and they organ- ized a company to undertake the enterprise, and a contract was made with the authorities of the State to build the canal and take the land in payment. The work was undertaken, and within two years from the date of the contract the first ship canal be- tween Lake Superior and the St. Mary's River was open, and the advantages of the route thus opened are not second to those afforded by the more cele- brated, but not more useful, Suez Canal.
After having been several years connected with roads farther west, Mr. Joy, about 1867, returned to Michigan and became President of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, which had many years before employed him as its counsel. The great civil war was over, and the country was beginning to spring forward to new life. Not much progress had been made in railroads in Michigan for ten years. The Michigan Central was an iron instead of a steel road. Its equipment was about the same as it had been ten years before, but its business had increased very largely, and it was necessary that it be rebuilt with steel rail and newly equipped. It was equally desirable to so shape and control the railway construction of the State, that it should be the least detrimental to, and most promote the interests of the Michigan Central, which was by far the most important road in the State. In ac- cordance with his plans the Michigan Central was rebuilt, largely double-tracked, and every depart- ment renewed and enlarged and made adequate to the demands of the times. This was done at great cost, steel rails then costing in gold something more than $130 per ton. During these years Mr. Joy promoted the building, and finally obtained control, of the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw road from Jack- son to Saginaw and Mackinac, and also of the road from Jackson to Grand Rapids. He also raised the money for and built the Detroit & Bay City Railroad, in order to secure the best connection between Detroit and the northern part of the State
by connection with the road to Mackinac. All these lines were secured for the Michigan Central, thus continuing its prestige as the most important road in Michigan. While they promote the inter- est of the country through which they run, these several roads have also largely contributed to build up the city of Detroit. Meantime the parties who had undertaken to build the Detroit, Lansing & Northern road, failed in their effort. Mr. Joy then took up the enterprise, raised the money, built the road, and it has become an important element in the prosperity both of the State and city. Several other enterprises, valuable to the State and the west, are also the result of his efforts and of his ability to command capital. The last public enterprise with which he has been connected is the effort to secure a connection with the Wabash system of railroads for Detroit, and provide adequate station buildings and grounds in Detroit for its business. In furtherance of the object he, with Messrs. C. H. Buhl, Allan Shelden, James McMillan, R. A. Alger and John S. Newberry, of Detroit, furnished most of the money with which to build the road from Detroit to Logansport, and Messrs. Joy, Buhl, Shel- den, McMillan and Newberry built the Detroit Union Depot and Station Grounds, and the rail- road through the western part of the city connecting with the Wabash road. These local facilities are now partly leased to the Wabash Company, and furnish adequate grounds, freight house and eleva- tor for the accommodation of the business of Detroit in connection with that railway. It rarely happens, that a few men such as Mr. Joy and his associates are able and willing to hazard so much in promot- ing the interests of the city and State in which they live.
Mr. Joy's life has been a very busy and useful one and of great advantage to the city and State in which he lives, and to the city of Chicago and the country west as well. Few men have had it in their power for so many years, to guide and direct the investment of so large an amount of capital.
Although Mr. Joy has led so active a life, and been engaged in so many and important enterprises, he has not neglected mental recreation and im- provement, but has at all times kept up his early acquaintance with the ancient classics and with those of modern times as well. His large library contains the choicest literature of both ancient and modern times, including all the Latin and French classics. His chief recreation in all his busy life has been in his library, and his case is a rare in- stance of a busy life closely connected with books, not only in his own, but in foreign and dead lan- guages. He has been often heard to say that he would willingly give $1,000 for the lost books of either Livy or Tacitus. He attributes much of the
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freshness of his mind, and even much of his health, to his recreation in his library.
Notwithstanding he is nearing fourscore his health is robust, and his faculties all seem as per- fect as at any time in his life. His strength holds good and he is, perhaps, as active and vigorous in business as at any time in his career. He has had the happy faculty of always putting business out of his mind when the hour for business was past, and has never carried his cares home with him. In his long life he has met with many and large losses, but it is believed that however great they may have been there never was an evening when he would not lose all thought of them in reading the pages of some favorite author. He is a man of regular habits, has never used tobacco in any form, and has never been in the habit of drinking anything stronger than coffee and tea. During most of his life he has been in the habit of taking exercise for an hour or two each day, and his favorite method is walking.
He has never sought political honors, but when it became evident that there was to be a great civil war he was elected to the Legislature. He ac- cepted the position and aided in preparing the State for the part it was to take in that great con- test. He was in old times a Whig, but in time be- came a member of the Free Soil party, and after- wards an earnest Republican.
Mr. Joy has been twice married. The name of his first wife was Martha Alger Reed. She was the daughter of Hon. John Reed, of Yarmouth, Massa- chusetts, who was a member of Congress for sev- eral years, and served also as Lieutenant-Governor of that State. The maiden name of his second wife was Mary Bourne, who was a resident of Hartford, Connecticut. The children of Mr. Joy are as follows: Sarah R., wife of Dr. Edward W. Jenks; Martha A., wife of Henry A. Newland ; James, Frederick, Henry B., and Richard Pickering Joy.
HENRY BROCKHOLST LEDYARD, son of Henry and Matilda (Cass) Ledyard, was born at Paris, France, on February 20th, 1844, during the residence of his father in that city as Secretary of the United States Legation.
After the return of his father to Detroit, he at- tended the excellent and well known school of Washington A. Bacon. From here he went to Columbia College at Washington, where he spent two years, and from there to the West Point Mili- tary Academy. He was appointed as a Cadet at Large by President Buchanan in 1861. He entered as a. cadet on July Ist, 1861, graduated on June 23d, 1865, and on the same day, by two different commissions, was appointed Second and then First Lieutenant in the Nineteenth U. S. Infantry.
He was first sent to Fort Wayne near Detroit, from thence to Augusta, Georgia, with recruits, and then to Newport Barracks, Kentucky, where he served during October and November, 1865. From November 20th, 1865, to September 6th, 1866, he was Quartermaster of his regiment, and from Sep- tember 6th, 1866, to November 2d, 1866, he was Quartermaster of the third battalion.
During this period he was at Newport from No- vember, 1865, to March, 1866, on frontier duty at Little Rock, Arkansas, in May and June, 1866, in charge of rebel prisoners at Columbus, Ohio, from June 15th to July 10th, 1866, and then again at Lit- tle Rock in July, August and September, acting during a portion of the time as Chief Commissary of the Department of the Arkansas.
From October, 1866, to February, 1867, he was at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Meantime, on Sep- tember 21st, 1866, he was transferred to the Thirty- seventh Infantry, and served as Quartermaster of the regiment from November 2d, 1866, to February 25th, 1867. He was then transferred to the Fourth Artil- lery and served on General Hancock's staff as acting Chief Commissary of Subsistence of the Department of the Missouri in the field in an expedition against hostile Indians on the plains. In 1867 he was ordered to West Point as Assistant Professor of French, and in 1868 joined his battery at Fort Mc- Henry, Maryland.
Three years later, in 1870, when the army was reorganized, seeing but little prospect of promotion, and acting under the advice of Gen. Sherman, he obtained leave of absence for six months and en- tered the Engineering Department of the Northern Pacific Railroad, then under construction. His pre- ference being for a connection with the operating of a railway rather than with its construction, he applied for a position with James F. Joy, then the foremost railway manager of the country, being President of the Michigan Central, Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy, and several other important western railroads. Mr. Joy, who had been for many years a warm personal friend of his father's, offered him a position as clerk in the office of the Division Superintendent of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He entered the service of that company in July, 1870, and in November of the same year re- signed his commission in the army, and was hon- orably discharged from the service, in accordance with the Act of Congress. Two years afterwards he was made Assistant Superintendent of the road, and in 1873 became Division Superintendent of the Eastern Division.
In October, 1874, Mr. Joy offered the position of General Superintendent of the Michigan Central to W. B. Strong, then Assistant General Superin- tendent of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail-
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road (now President of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad). Mr. Strong accepted the position, and persuaded Mr. Ledyard to accompany him as Assistant General Superintendent, and in the following spring he also assumed the duties of Chief Engineer. In 1876 Mr. Strong resigned to accept the General Superintendency of the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and Mr. Led- yard was appointed as his successor. The appoint- ment came from Mr. Joy, and Mr. Ledyard ascribes much of his success to the valuable aid and wise counsel of this experienced financier.
In 1877, Mr. Ledyard was made General Mana- ger of the Michigan Central Railroad, and in 1883 on the retirement of W. H. Vanderbilt from active railway, management, succeeded him as President of the corporation, being probably the youngest President in the country of so large a corporation.
His military and engineering education give him special qualifications for the position he occupies, and these with rare administrative ability, insure method and accuracy in all that he attempts. These qualities largely account for his rapid ad- vancement to his present position. It would be difficult to find in the United States his superior in knowledge in all departments of his work, as he is one of the few skilled railroad presidents in the country. His memory is amazing with regard to the history of railroad agreements, bonds, pools, and other complexities, which during the last twenty years have become such an intricacy that few minds can disentangle or trace them; his memory is equally good in general intellectual and literary matters.
It is his nature to be aggressive, and he keeps his railroad in the front rank by instinctively doing in advance what necessity would compel later on. His labors are in the highest degree intelligent, and he mastered all the details of the whole intricate and comprehensive system of railway management. He does not fear responsibility, but having confi- dence in his own powers, he readily assumes addi- tional responsibilities, his grasp becoming more comprehensive and his abilities rising as occasion demands. Although of a nervous temperament, he is by no means a nervous man, but his feelings are constantly on the alert. It is not his habit to con- sult others on the bearing of facts and conditions. His natural perception is remarkably quick and ac- curate ; he grasps readily the ideas of others and has a wonderful retentive memory concerning all things brought to his attention, and is always prompt and self-reliant, and there is apparently no limit to his powers of endurance, and yet he is al- ways eminently. modest, neglecting almost con- stantly rights and honors belonging to him as the president of a great and wealthy corporation.
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