USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 35
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Genesee Lodge No. 24, Independent Order of Odd Fellows was insti- tuted, June 1, 1874, by Deputy Grand Master Alfred Treadway, of Pontiac, under a dispensation granted by the Most Worthy Grand Master Andrew J. Clark, of Niles. The dispensation was replaced by a charter from the grand lodge, July 22, 1847. The lodge reported on the 30th of June of the same year thirty-three contributing members. Its first officers were Edward H. Thompson, noble grand; George M. Dewey, vice-grand; Charles D. Little, secretary ; Sylvester A. Pengra, treasurer. E. H. Thomson was the first representative from Genesee Lodge to the grand lodge of Michigan and was also its first district deputy grand master. The second corps of officers of the lodge, installed in January, 1848, were George M. Dewey, noble grand; Charles D. Little, vice-grand; Sylvester A. Pengra, secretary ; George H. Hazelton, treasurer.
THE FIRST LIBRARY.
In the closing. years of this period was organized an institution of much interest to a group of Flint people desirous of improvement in scientific knowledge. Feeling the want of books which they could not individually command, they associated for the purpose of forming a library. The charter members of the club were : D. Clarke, M. Miles, R. S. Hutton, C. L. Avery, William Stevenson, S. E. Wilcox, F. H. Rankin and A. B. Pratt.
At a meeting called at the office of F. H. Rankin, February 8, 1853, a society was organized and the following officers were elected: President, D. Clarke; secretary, F. H. Rankin; librarian, 'M. Miles; treasurer, William Stevenson. The object of the society was fully set forth in the constitu- tion as follows: "The society shall be known as the Flint Scientific Insti- tute. Its objects shall be to promote the study and investigation of the sev- eral branches of scientific knowledge, the establishment of a library of scien- tific works and a museum of natural history; and its funds shall be devoted to the procuring of such books, charts and other matters as shall promote those objects." The objects were further elucidated in a paper "On the
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importance of acquiring and extending scientific knowledge," read by the president at the first quarterly meeting, held April 6, 1853, which paper was by request published in the Genesee Whig. In May, 1853 a circular was issued calling public attention to the objects and needs of the institution and soliciting aid in membership and donations of books, and also specimens of natural history to form a cabinet. In response to this appeal, the fol- lowing names were added to the list of members: T. Newall, E. Dodge, H. R. Pratt, J. N. Lake, M. Pratt, S. B. Cummings, G. Andrews, D. Glen- dall, J. Guild, M. B. Beals, C. E. McAlester, J. Kelland, William B. McCreery, Charles Rankin, M. D. Seeley, J. N. Burdick, H. Wilson, R. P. Aitkin and William Travis.
Many specimens were brought in by farmers and others and the mem- bers generally went to work with a will. Some, who were occupied during business hours, brought in valuable contributions as the result of their morn- ing and evening excursions with the gun or fishing-rod, and obtained for their reward, in addition to the consciousness of aiding a worthy cause, improved health and renewed vigor.
In March, 1854, a course of twelve lectures having been completed, a series of weekly informal meetings for the discussion of stated. subjects was commenced. The subject of geography in all relations was taken up; the topic was announced two weeks in advance and was discussed after the report of standing committees. A wide range was taken and a large portion of the earth's surface was passed in review. Many facts of interest were noted, much thought elicited, and without doubt all engaged in the work profited by it.
The Ladies Library Association of Flint was organized in 1851. It was the first of its kind in Michigan. By special invitation of Mrs. T. B. W. Stockton, a small band of ladies met at her residence to consider the practicability of forming some society to supply the lack of culture for them- selves and their families. This work the ladies of Flint felt to be theirs. While the fathers, brothers and husbands were felling the forests, erecting mills, tilling the soil and building for their families new homes, the mothers, wives and daughters did what was in their power to furnish wholesome food for the intellect. The result of the first meeting was the forming of an association for mutual improvement, and the decision to meet once a week to discuss literary subjects, to read and compare ideas on what was read, and a resolution to do what they could to establish and sustain a permanent library. A constitution was written and presented by Mrs. R. W. Jenny, which was adopted. The following officers were chosen for the first year :
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President, Mrs. T. B. W. Stockton ; vice-president, Mrs. J. B. Walker ; record- ing secretary, Mrs. R. W. Jenny; treasurer, Mrs. Dr. Manly Miles; libra- rian, Miss Hattie Stewart. A corresponding secretary, a book committee of three and an executive committee of five persons were added to the list of officers during the first year. After some discussion relative to ways and means, and the prospect of supporting a library, the ladies adjourned to meet the following week at the residence of Mrs. William M. Fenton.
At their next meeting was expressed their firm resolve to establish a library, and their organization was called the "Ladies' Library Associa- tion"; although they had no funds in the treasury save the small sum of ten dollars from membership fees. This sum was immediately laid out for books and the members decided to supply the lack of reading matter by furnishing, each from her own store, books and periodicals, and exchanging with others. Some donations of books followed, the most valuable of which was a complete set of works known as "Harper's Family Library," the gift of Chauncey S. Payne. Lectures and various kinds of entertain- ments were improvised to gain funds for books, the proceeds of which the first year amounted to one hundred and sixty dollars only; still, the ladies were in no wise disheartened, and they continued to feast and to entertain the public by lectures, readings, tableaux and dramatic representations until two hundred and forty volumes were placed upon their shelves, as shown by their first catalogue. These were all carefully chosen. With increase of membership, some liberal donations and renewed efforts, the next cata- logue, in 1854, numbered about five hundred volumes. In 1853 the asso- ciation became incorporated under the direction of the following officers : President, Mrs. C. S. Payne; vice-president, Mrs. H. I. Higgins; recording secretary (pro tem), Mrs. A. Thayer; corresponding secretary, Mrs. F. H. Rankin; treasurer, Mrs. A. T. Crosman ; clerk, Mrs. R. W. Jenny ; librarians, Mrs. J. B. Walker and Mrs. O. Hamilton. The fine Flint public library is the successor of the Flint Ladies Library Association.
THE OLD FLINT BAND.
Among the organizations which began in Flint village and continued to give pleasure to the people of the later city, none were more appreciated than the old Flint Band. This was organized in the summer of 1848, and was composed of the following gentlemen: Leader, E-flat sax-horn, E. F. Frary; B-flat clarionet, Leonard Wesson; cornopean, William Hamilton and Franz Barnhart; slide trombone, Ira F. Payson and G. H. Hazelton;
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French horn, Homer Hazelton; ophicleide, Charles D. Little; trumpet, George W. Hill; drum, Willard Pettee.
The instruments were purchased of Adam Couse, then the sole music dealer in Detroit. The first instructor of the band was T. D. Nutting. An old member says, "I took my place in the band very soon after its organi- zation, having succeeded Willard Pettee (bass-drum). I held my position for fifteen years, during which time forty-four persons had belonged; not one of the original members remained at the expiration of that time, and yet, to use a solecism, it was the same old band. Practicing in those old times was pleasant enough to the members, but there were persons living within one or two blocks of the band room who never greeted us with smiles, but, on the contrary, some maternal members of households gave strong evidences of nervous derangement. The old residents that yet remain will remember that those discordant sounds were not confined to the band-room alone; night was made hideous as we wandered up and down the streets playing the music that had charms for us. This band was originated and sustained by the members for their enjoyment and recreation, rather than for any profit connected therewith. Most of the members were from the ranks of prominent citizens-merchants for the most part. This gave character to the organization, and it in time helped Flint, rendering it pleasant for our neighbors of the surrounding townships and villages to come in on the 'day we celebrate,' and others. We played at political gatherings-for all parties alike-for church festivals, on 'St. Pat- rick's Day in the Morning,' for steamboat excursions to Saginaw river bay, and for nearly all public gatherings in the city. Strangers visiting Flint were very sure to hear from us in the way of serenades. The band members were elected honorary members of the old 'Harmonic Society,' etc., and came to be one of the 'institutions.' Whenever we went abroad, we were taken by Will Pettee's four-horse team, which was considered some- thing pretentious in those days of ox-teams-no railways with us until long years after. For the purchase of instruments and other expenses, the members were assessed, each member on entering the band paying thirty dollars. After this, assessments followed at the rate of from three to eight dollars per capita. I notice the initiation fees of the forty-four mem- bers before referred to aggregate one thousand three hundred and twenty dollars, and with assessments added would leave little less than two thou- sand five hundred dollars paid by these band members out of their own pockets."
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CHAPTER XI.
MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS.
The first public exigency which required the calling out of troops after Genesee became a county was the war with Mexico-1846 to 1848. At that time the population of the county was small and among its people there would be found comparatively few who could be spared from the cabins and clearings, where they stood on constant duty as sentinels to guard their families against the assault of hunger and want. Nevertheless there were some men of Genesee, both officers and soldiers, who followed their country's flag to the fields of far-off Mexico. The First Regiment of Michigan Volun- teers was commanded by Col. T. B. W. Stockton, of Flint, and among the companies which composed it was that of Captain Hanscom, of Pontiac, which, though made up largely of Oakland county volunteers, contained a few from Genesee. The Fifteenth United States Regiment also contained Michigan companies, and one of these was commanded by Capt. Eugene Van De Venter, of Genesee. In that company were Alexander W. Davis, of Grand Blanc, severely wounded at Churubusco; William R. Buzzell, who died of disease in the city of Mexico, October 29, 1847; Claudius H. Riggs, of Grand Blanc, who died at Vera Cruz, July 12, 1847; Robert Handy, reported as dead in Mexico; Henry L. Brannock, who survived his term of service, and perhaps others, whose names cannot be given. The regi- ment of which Captain Van De Venter's company was a part was in the division of Gen. Gideon J. Pillow, of Tennessee. Of Genesee county soldiers who served in Captain Hanscom's company we can give only the names of James W. Cronk and Norton Cronk, of Clayton, the former of whom died in Mexico.
The next military history of Genesee county commenced in those spring days of 1861, when the guns of besieged Sumter sounded a war- signal which reverberated across the hills and streams from ocean to ocean. The intense earnestness with which Michigan entered into the war is reflected in the burning message of Governor Blair to the Legislature in extra session, January 2, 1862.
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I cannot close this brief address without an illustration of the great. object that occupies all men's minds. The Southern rebellion still maintains a bold front against the Union armies. That is the cause of all our complications abroad and our troubles at home. To deal wisely with it is to find a short and easy deliverance of them all. The people of Michigan are no idle spectators of this great contest. They have fur- nished all the troops required of them and are preparing to pay the taxes and to submit to the most onerous burdens without a murmur. They are ready to increase their sacrifices, if need be, to require impossibilities of no man, but to be patient and wait. But to see the vast armies of the republic, and all its pecuniary resources, used to protect and sustain the accursed system which has been a perpetual and tyrannical disturber, and which now makes sanguinary war upon the Union and the constitution, is precisely what they will never submit to tamely. The loyal states, having fur- nished adequate means, both of men and money, to crush the rebellion, have a right to expect those men to be used with the utmost vigor to accomplish the object, and that without any mawkish sympathy for the interest of traitors in arms. Upon those who caused the war, and now maintain it, its chief burdens ought to fall. No prop- erty of a rebel ought to be free from confiscation-not even the sacred slave. The object of war is to destroy the power of the enemy, and whatever measures are caleu- lated to accomplish that object and are in accordance with the usages of civilized nations, ought to be employed. To undertake to put down a powerful rebellion and, at the same time, to save and protect all the chief sources of the power of that rebel- lion, seems to common minds but a short remove from simple folly. He who is not for the Union, unconditionally, in this mortal struggle, is against it. The highest dictates of patriotism, justice and humanity combine to demand that the war should be conducted to a speedy close upon principles of the most heroic energy and retri- butive power. The time for gentle dalliance has' long since passed away. We meet an enemy, vindictive, bloodthirsty and cruel, profoundly in earnest, inspired with an energy and self-sacrifice which would honor a good cause, respecting neither laws, con- stitutions nor historic memories, fantastically devoted only to his one wicked purpose to destroy the government and establish his slave-holding oligarchy in its stead. To treat this enemy gently is to excite his derision. To protect his slave property is to help him to butcher our people and burn our houses. No. He must be met with an activity and a purpose equal to his own. Hurl the Union forces, which outnumber him two to one, upon his whole line like a thunderbolt; pay them out of his property, feed them from his granaries, mount them upon his horses, carry them in his wagons, if he has any, and let him feel the full force of the storm of war which he has raised. I would apologize neither to Kentucky nor anybody else for these measures, but quickly range all neutrals either on the one side or the other. Just a little of the courage and ability which carried Napoleon over the Alps, dragging his cannon through the snow, would quickly settle this contest, and settle it right. If our sol- diers must die, do not let it be of the inactivity and diseases of camps, but let them at least have the satisfaction of falling like soldiers, amid the roar of battle and hear- ing the shouts of victory ; then will they welcome it as the tired laborer welcomes sleep. Let us hope that we have' not much longer to wait.
That Michigan nobly responded to the spirit of these words in this great crisis of our national life, evidence abounds. The cry was every- where, "Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever." At a patriotic meeting held in Detroit, the following well-known poem by
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Julia Ward Howe was read, with thrilling effect, cheer upon cheer greeting each stanza :
We are coming, Father Abraham -- three hundred thousand more,
From Mississippi's winding stream and from New England's shore; We leave our plows and workshops, our wives and children dear, With hearts too full for utterance, with but a silent tear ;
We dare not look behind us, but steadfastly before --
We are coming, Father Abraham-three hundred thousand more!
If you look across the hilltops that meet the northern sky, Long moving lines of rising dust your vision may descry ; And now the wind, an instant, tears the cloudy veil aside, And floats aloft our spangled flag in glory and in pride; And bayonets in the sunlight gleam, and bands brave music pour- We are coming, Father Abraham-three hundred thousand more!
If you look all up our valleys, where the growing harvests shine, You may see our sturdy farmer-boys fast forming into line; And children, from their mothers' knees, are pulling at the weeds, And learning how to reap and sow, against their country's needs; And a farewell group stands weeping at every cottage door- We are coming, Father Abraham-three hundred thousand more!
You have called us, and we're coming, by Richmond's bloody tide, To lay us down, for freedom's sake, our brothers' bones beside; Or from foul treason's savage grasp to wrench the murderous blade, And in the face of foreign foes its fragments to parade. Six hundred thousand loyal men and true have gone before- We are coming, Father Abraham-three hundred thousand more!
In the adjutant-general's report for 1862 we read :
The response of the people of the state to the President's call was patriotic and prompt almost beyond expectation. Individuals of every degree of prominence forth- with began to interest themselves in the business of filling the regiments. Communi- ties gave to it their time and their almost exclusive attention while, better than all, the substantial masses of the people offered themselves in person. War meetings were hold in almost every village and township in the state. Representatives of all classes converted themselves either into recruits or recruiting officers, and among the most effi- cient of the latter were ministers of the gospel, some of whom led the men they had enlisted into the field.
Immediately following the issue of the order referred to, applications reached the adjutant-general's office, by telegraph and otherwise, from all sections of the state, urging authority to recruit and desiring instructions and forms for the enlistment of companies. Facilities to promote this purpose were promptly furnished and as soon as the camp grounds could be provided with suitable quarters, men began to flock in by companies and detachments. The gentlemen who had been charged with the duty of supervising the organization of the regiments performed their labors with diligence and success, and in little over a month from the date of the President's call, men sufficient had been raised in the state, and nearly enough were in camp, to fill all the regiments which the war department had asked for under the President's requisition.
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The church and the press rendered immense service. The "Red Book of Michigan" says :
The Christian church in this state generally proved, by its pronounced patriotism and manifest devotion to the cause of the country, an element of immense success. All true patriots commend its noble course, all faithful Christians endorse its glorious action. From the time that Sumter was fired on until Lee and Johnston laid down their rebellious arms, and Davis fled for his life, it encouraged and nerved by word and deed the soldier in the field, aided much in the recruitment of the men by its approval of the cause and its openly avowed abhorrence of rebels and those who sympathized with them and opposed the war. Where it did not, cowardice most mean and groveling, disloyalty gross and blackest treason prevented its being included in the Providence of God among the instrumentalities to save the nation, and hence neither deserves nor can expect any better fate than the certain condemnation of every true lover of his country and of his race and the disapproval of the God of nations.
The valuable services rendered at this time by the loyal press throughout the state can never be overestimated; for its successful efforts in strengthening the hands of public officers, in moulding public opinion in favor of loyalty to the government, in encouraging patriotism among the masses and inspiring those at the front with a heroism leading to gallant deeds.
At the close of 1862, the loyalty of the people of Michigan and the splendid service of the Michigan troops had won a high place in the esteem of the nation. The adjutant-general in closing his report for the year said :
The same determination seems to exist as at the commencement of the war, that it must be put down and the nation redeemed at any sacrifice. The promptness and cheerfulness with which every call made by the general government upon the state has been responded to, bespeaks the intelligent, loyal patriotism of its people. The people of Michigan are intelligently loyal on the subject of war, and her soldiery are intelligently brave and patriotic, true to the honor of their state and their nation, preferring on all occasions death before dishonoring either. The troops from the state of Michigan have gained a prominent position in the armies of the nation. They have done their duty faithfully and fearlessly and borne the brunt of many well-fought battles. Some of them have proved an anomaly in modern warfare. Suddenly called from the common vocations of life, and within a very few days of the time of leaving their native state, they have been pitted against the veteran troops of the enemy of their country in superior numbers, and completely routed them. It has been the for- tune of some of them voluntarily and successfully to lead the "forlorn hope," regard- less of opposing numbers. Their scars and thinned ranks now attest their services to their country. The honor of their nation and their state has been safe in their hands, and both will cherish and reward them. Monuments to the memory of the brave dead are now erected in the hearts of the people and national monuments to their memory will be erected by a grateful country.
With the surrender of the Southern army under General Lee, April 9, 1865, and the surrender of Johnston's army the same month, came peace. The first of the Michigan troops came home in the following June, and
(22)
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on the 14th, Governor Crapo, recently elected from Genesee county to suc- ceed Governor Blair, issued the following proclamation of welcome and thanks to the returning soldiers :
In the name of the people of Michigan, I thank you for the honor you have done us by your valor, your soldierly bearing, your invincible courage, everywhere dis- played, whether upon the field of battle, in the perilous assault, or in the deadly breach; for your patience under the fatigues and privations and sufferings incident to war, and for your discipline and ready obedience to the orders of your superiors. We are proud in believing that when the history of this rebellion shall have been written, where all have done well, none will stand higher on the roll of fame than the officers and soldiers sent to the field from the loyal and patriotic state of Michigan.
At the close of the war each returning regiment delivered to its state its colors, the governor being authorized by the war department to receive them. On the Fourth of July, 1866, the colors of the Michigan regiments were formally presented in Detroit, through the governor, to the state, and the occasion was honored by an appropriate celebration. A great procession was formed by the soldiers of the war, which marched through the streets of the city, in regimental order, bearing through the isles of assembled thousands the emblems of patriotism, bravery and gallant services. At the close of the procession, which was one of the finest and most inspiring ever witnessed in Michigan, the soldiers were massed in front of the speaker's stand on the Campus Martius, where they delivered their flags to the gov- ernor. Appropriate addresses were made, among them an address by Gov- ernor Crapo, on receiving the flags, in which he said in part:
I receive, in behalf of the people of Michigan, these honorable memorials of your valor and the nation's glory, and, on their part, I once more thank your for the noble sacrifices you have rendered in defending and preserving the life of the nation, at the hazard of your lives and at the sacrifice of so many of your comrades. I may venture to give you the assurance that you have the unbounded gratitude and love of your fellow-citizens, and that between you and them the glory of these defaced old flags will ever be a subject of inspiration-a common bond of affection. To you they rep- resent a nationality which you have periled your lives to maintain and are emblematic of a liberty which your strong arms and stout hearts have helped to win. To us they are our fathers' flags-the ensigns of all the worthy dead-your comrades, our relatives and friends-who for their preservation have given their blood to enrich the battlefields and their agonies to hallow the prison pens of a demoniac enemy. They are your flags and ours. How rich the treasure! They will not be forgotten nor their histories be left unwritten.
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