History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I, Part 69

Author: Edwin Orin Wood
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Federal publishingcompany
Number of Pages: 861

USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 69

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is that he always supposes that other people can do what he does.' It is not so with such of our good Flint people who look back with tender pride upon the ways of their friends in early social life. They think, and doubt- less honestly, that other people, notably those of a later time, cannot do what the early comers did socially. Time has gilded these half-forgotten social ways with a halo that glorifies them. Who shall blame this honest pride in old time observances? Not I.

"He who would catch good fish of all kinds should fish in all waters. He who would look up bits of information that the public has forgotten and would set before the public those bits of semi-gossipy happenings that the public generally read with more enjoyment than they do reports of sermons, should interview all the elderly ladies in Flint who are willing to tell about their social life when they were young.

"Such a lady, like her predecessor, told me that she came to Flint when she was five years old. That was not far from seven years before Flint became an incorporated city. It was village life then, with all the quiet charm that one finds in a pleasant community not yet mad with the haste to be rich.

"The history of Genesee county informs us that 'nine-tenths of the early settlers of this county came from New York state and New England, and brought with them the advanced ideas of the favored communities from which they came, upon the subjects of education and religious observances.'

"The madam who I am now interviewing called to mind pleasant even- ings at the old-fashioned spelling school. Sides were chosen, and as fast as one of the contestants misspelled a word, down he sat and the battle continued till only one speller, the champion of the evening, was left on the floor. These contests were always exciting and were scenes of genuine pluck in the hour of battle, and of hilarious fun when the battle was over. Madam with whom we are now talking was at least once victor in such a contest. She spelled down her last competitor on the word "'weasel,' the wrong spelling given being 'weasil.' It is not easy to catch a weasel asleep and that night the little girl, now a woman, how many years young I will not tell, was wide awake, and she said her father was proud of her success.

"Is this lady correct when she insists that the log school house and the spelling school gave us better spellers than we now find in our well-equipped schools? I cannot say, but I do know that in my own spelling-school days there was good spelling, and I also know that nowadays words do some- times appear under a spell that is by no means enchanting.

"Our early settlers, especially those from New England, brought with

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them their long-cherished ideals of religious observances. The church to some extent is a factor in social life and in pioneer days seems likely to be a more potent social factor than when wealth brings in its train social observances of a more conventional character. There was a friendly fra- ternal feeling among the churches.

"The lady now furnishing material for this chapter told me that in her girlhood the children went to church with their parents and even the babies had a place in the pews.

"The donation party then did double duty as a financial expedient and a social function. What was done on such occasions? A donation is, of course, a gift, and sometimes, I have been told, on such occasions not only were provisions given away, but the good minister who received them as a supplementary appendage to his salary was also given away. But as a social feature in the early days, the donation party really was a party of no mean pretensions. There was every variety of food and every variety of folks. and no small amount of the food brought went home with the folks who brought it. Somehow, eating together seems not only to open the mouth and loosen the tongue, but also to open the heart. This time-honored occa- sion, now obsolete in Flint, had its uses, and the good times enjoyed on such occasions are still remembered with pleasure.

"As royal entertainers in the early days my informant mentioned the family of Chauncey Payne. Sometimes there were dancing parties, and the dancing of that day as seen by the lady now under interview, was decorous and courtly.

"She mentioned as conspicuous in early social life the Deweys, the Cumminses, the Pages, the family of Benjamin Pearson, Colonel and Mrs. E. H. Thomson, Russell Bishop and wife, Grant Decker and Colonel Fenton and their wives, and said there were many more whose names did not occur to her at this time.

"Card playing was seldom indulged in, and the conversation was of high order. 'Yes,' said she, 'they could talk.' Gentlemen and their wives made evening calls at the firesides of their neighbors, with delightful infor- mality.

"We have now reached the year 1848 and much attention was then paid to music, said my informant, herself a musician of no mean attain- ments. There was a social side as well as a musical, and some of the young people, now elderly people, remember with pleasure the musical gatherings held in the evening in the old Walker school house and conducted by a Mr. Nutting, an accomplished Southern gentleman.

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"Long ago there was a May Day festival held on the North Side- a brilliant affair for the young people and an enjoyable one for their seniors. There were guests from Detroit and Saginaw. The name of the May queen was not given me. Presumably there was not as much competition for the queenly honor as in present times there is for the scepter of the queen of the carnival.

"With all the social activity of those days, the good people could find time and inclination to listen to three sermons on Sunday. Surely there was then less of rush and hurry than now.

"'And when did you come to Flint?' said I to an elderly lady who kindly consented to be my third victim, as I sat with pencil in hand at her home. 'Well,' said she, 'I came to this place in 1842, from Batavia, New York.' And how old were you then?' She peered through her glasses half hesitatingly and I explained that I had no deep-laid plot to put figures together so as to figure out her present age, for ladies, even the best of them, are just a little shy on that subject. 'I was fifteen years old when I came to live in Flint.' 'A winsome, wide-awake lassie I think you must have been.' She confirmed my guess by telling how she once peeped through the cracks of a primitive dwelling to see how the older people got along at a kind of 'hail-fellow-well-met' function, in which, for some reason, she did not par- ticipate. It will hardly do for me to record the names or sayings or doings of some well-remembered people whom our fifteen-year-old lassie with an inquiring turn of mind saw through the cracks. I know not if one of them is here today, certainly there can be at most but few.

"'Won't you tell me what people used to do in those days in a social way? Surely they did not work all the time.' 'By no means was it all work. There was a good deal of play, a good deal of fun, and any amount of good feeling. Yes, we did have good times.'

"'While building a better house, people used to live in shanties, of considerable size, but no matter how primitive the shanty, it was good enough to receive company in, and such temporary buildings were often the scene of festive gatherings that are pleasant to remember.

" 'There is a feature of our social life at present that was never heard of in the early days. Ladies now get together in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening, and not a gentleman is to be seen there, and I don't like it a bit.'

."I checked my pencil on hearing this statement and gave utterance to an 'amen,' that, like- the curses of Macbeth, was not loud but deep, for . I, like many another man, have painful memories.

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"The elderly lady seemed amused at the heartiness of my response, and then went on: 'In the early days I never heard of such a thing as a lady sending out invitations for a social gathering composed exclusively of ladies. Why, it would have been the tamest affair on earth. We old-timers never did such a ridiculous thing as that. Men were of some account when I was young. Husbands went with their wives, young men went with some young lady or two, and both the masculine and feminine element were fully repre- sented. They did not wait for bedtime before lighting their lanterns and starting out. Our parties in those days, when the evening church service used to begin at early candlelight, were in full career by seven o'clock.

"'Was there music at your parties?' 'There was more or less, but pianos were scarce. My mother's was the second piano in Flint, and the possession of such an instrument gave considerable dignity to the family in whose house it was.'

" 'Those must have been happy days when there were only two pianos in the place,' said I. 'Now please think of something else that used to be done to enliven your social life.'

" 'Well, we used to play games, especially the old-fashioned game of forfeits. Even very dignified people quite enjoyed a game of blind man's buff. How would Flint's four hundred look today in evening dress playing that game? Yet we enjoyed it.'

"There was a good deal of dancing. The square dances were in high favor, interspersed with polkas, cotillions, schottisches and waltzes. If the dances are improperly named, O reader, pardon the ignorance of the writer and believe that in Flint's early social life all kinds of dances were possible and were brilliantly executed. The only drawback to the dancing was the music. No one then fiddled for pay and for that reason he who could play the violin was always welcome. Robert Stage excelled as a scraper of cat-gut, and his appearance at a party with his violin always produced great uneasiness of the feet, and soon developed rythmic motion.

" 'When I was quite a young lady there was comparatively little card playing. People did play, but would have been shocked at the idea of playing in the daytime. The men then had no club rooms to go to where they could smoke and play cards, to the neglect of business, and the women would have found it intolerably stupid to play cards alone.'

" "Tell me, if you please, about the refreshments they used to serve on social occasions in the early days of the place. Were they easy to be obtained when marketing facilities were not what they now are?'

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"'Not so easy to be obtained, but they were good, and not merely refreshing, but absolutely distressing by reason of their abundance.'

"'Suppose you give me the menu that was customary to serve on really elaborate occasions.'

"'O, menu-they did not have any use for that word then. But I will call to mind as well as I can what I have often seen served at an old- time social gathering. First as to the meats. They were placed often on a side table and carved in sight of the guests. One gentleman would carve the turkey, and I call to mind Mr. . who was especially skill- ful in turkey carving. Seeing him carve was next thing to eating itself. Another gentleman would slice the ham, a large boiled ham, fancifully deco- rated with cloves. Still another would distribute the 'chicken fixin's,' and in those days poultry was abundant. There were also still other kinds of meat. Boiled tongue and wild game, such as partridge, quail and pigeon often graced the table. Even the most prosperous people, however, did not own dishes enough to hold all this rich abundance. So the good housewives used to lend their dishes to each other and a keen-eyed woman could gen- erally see something on the table that reminded her of home. Cakes of all kinds were in evidence and they were placed in full view of the guests. Spectacular effect was aimed at as well as the pleasure of feasting upon the fat of the land. A cake pyramid, whose structure was too complicated for any man to comprehend, loomed up in the center of the table. Its height was less than that of the pyramids of Egypt, but it was pretty high, and was the symbol of a high time for those who witnessed its gradual demolition and disappearance.'

"I ventured to ask with what liquids these delicacies and substantials were floated out of sight. 'O, we had coffee, of course, and in many places there was a well-filled sideboard. Wine and brandy were not infrequently served at social gatherings such as I have just described.'

"'How about ice cream, did you have that?' 'Have ice cream? Yes, indeed we did. The cow in those days was not a four-wheeled affair and milk was not kept from turning sour with formaldehyde. The cream was genuine, and-the women who froze it were genuine, too, and the ice cream they made did have a certain richness and flavor that you can't find in boughten ice cream. We used, on many occasions, to have two immense molds of ice cream that looked like small mountain peaks, one at each end of the table, each with a different flavor; vanilla and strawberry were the favorite flavors.' 'If the first flavor did not quite satisfy, could a gentleman be allowed a second helping from the second little mountain peak?' 'Yes,

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indeed, gentlemen were not bashful about such things in those days, and the ladies enjoyed helping them a second time.' I expressed my regrets that I was born many years too late.

"Wonderful men and women at the table were our early settlers. I have read that 'There is a satisfaction in seeing Englishmen eat and drink ; they do it so heartily, trusting that there is no harm in good beef and mut- ton and a reasonable quantity of good liquor. Thus our early-coming people seem to have at least eaten, with no fear whatever of the failure of the American stomach.

"'How were the gentlemen usually dressed on festive occasions?' 'Gen- erally in neat business suits. The swallow tail was quite uncommon, and a man in one would not have felt entirely at home.'

"'What next occurs to you on the subject of early social life?' 'Well, I must not forget the sleighrides. I can almost hear the jingle of the bells now, and the many voices that I shall never hear again. Not infrequently after a good, long ride we would all meet at Aunt Polly Todd's, where a well-spread table would be ready for us.'

"'Were stylish sleighs then common?' 'By no means. We used to charter large lumber sleighs, with no seats at all except for the driver. With clean straw on the bottom and good buffalo robes on the straw, and us young folks (just look at me now) on the robes. A sleigh with us was democratic, but it was full of enjoyment. Many times have we driven to Grand Blanc and Flushing. There was little style about the sleighs, but the horses were not at all slow, neither were the young men.

" 'On one occasion one of the gentlemen had secreted a bottle of brandy in his overcoat pocket. The handsomest woman in Flint (she is not living now and you must not breathe her name) picked his pocket and dropped the bottle out into the deep snow, where it was found in the spring when the snow melted.' 'Was the brandy still in the bottle?' 'I cannot tell you, sir, but the bottle was found.'

""'What was the favorite amusement in the early days?' 'Dancing was decidedly the favorite. There were dancing schools as early as 1848. Danc- ing was taught in the old hotel, opposite the court house, and after the pupils had received their instructions, the old people dropped in and danced.' On one occasion, the lady now speaking for your benefit, was greatly amused. There was a young man present who could not dance at all. His best girl could, and greatly enjoyed it. She was a beautiful girl and was in great demand as a partner in the dance. On this occasion her future husband looked on as a wallflower and with such an expression on his face that had

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his thoughts been expressed in words, they would probably have been a fine brand of cuss words. The girl enjoyed the dance and the spectators enjoyed the agony of the onlooker who could not dance and who could not keep his best girl from dancing with his rivals.'

"'Did the church social count for much as a social factor in the early days?' 'Yes, it counted for more than it does now. There were fewer counter attractions for the young, and there was a condition of social good feeling among the churches.

"'It can hardly be called a social factor and yet, as there was a social side to it, I may mention that there was much horseback riding when I was a young lady.

"'I cannot forget the high, old-fashioned fireplace that was a great attraction in so many homes. It was a social force in its way, for talk will be at its best before a good wood fire, in a big fireplace, when it would languish over a furnace register.

"'Customs have gradually changed. Looking back a long way, I can- not fix the time when the gentlemen gradually faded out of united social life, and went, alas, too much, by themselves. And the ladies began to issue invitations to social functions for ladies only. It was not the good old way and it is no improvement at all.'

"The writer of this sketch lived in New York City for ten years pre- vious to coming to Flint. In New York he was familiar with the Knicker- bocker custom of making New Year's calls and found the custom pleasantly recognized when he came to Flint in 1864. This good old Knickerbocker custom, now falling into 'innocuous desuetude,' has been a factor in the early social life of Flint that is deserving of consideration. It began there at a much earlier date than I had supposed, if my informant has an accurate memory. As far back as 1842, when her parents had moved from the state of New York, a neighbor said to her mother, 'Now when New Year's Day comes you must expect to see Indians in your house. They will expect some- thing, and they will surely come. I doubt if there were any doorbells to ring in those days. But the visitor who called could use his knuckles for a knocker and thus apprise the inmates of the house that some one would like to come in.

"The Indian callers gave no intimation of their wish for admission. They simply went in and with their moccasined feet they glided in so silently that many a time the lady of the house has been surprised to find a number of them in her front room looking over the appointments of the apartment. They did not mean to be rude, but it was their way. A piano was to them

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an object of special wonder. On New Year's Day they would go from house to house with this salutation: 'Ugh, ugh, Hoppy Noo Year, Hoppy Noo Year.' Whether or not they painted up and feathered up for such occasions I did not learn, but Indian callers on New Year's Day would cer- tainly now be almost as unique a feature as some New Year's turnouts that white men have figured in within my memory."

A great step was taken in advance with the establishment of roads, rail- roads and newspapers, and the opening of communication with the outer world. Speaking of the days before the Civil War, Prof. F. H. Humphrey says :

"Social life was in full glow and a spirit of true democracy seemed to prevail in all functions pertaining to society. Among the notable events were the musical club parties, held at intervals of two or four weeks, on which occasion a fine selected program of instrumental and vocal music was rendered by home talent, after which dancing was the social pastime, clos- ing at eleven o'clock p. m. These entertainments were held at private homes of Flint's generous citizens. The Musical Club became known as the Har- monia Club and finally ceased to exist. Meantime private home parties became a source of social pleasure, on which occasion an orchestra was present, and after the usual reception ceremonies, cards and dancing were the amuse- ments."

Of the old Flint Harmonia Club, and its place in the social activities of those days, M. S. Elmore writes as follows :

"The popularity of the 'Musical Club' was doubtless due in a con- siderable degree to its attractiveness as a fortnightly social center for the elite and society favorites to gather, whether especially interested as mem- bers -likely to appear on the program or drawn thither in the expectation of meeting other genial spirits who were pleased to be accounted members for encouragement of the club and the fun there was in it. For indeed the club was the first and foremost function for refined amusement in the little city. At no time since 'those good old days' could the society of Flint claim more intelligence, refinement of manners, or the culture derived from good reading and discussion, than when comprising the families and society youth of Flint forty or fifty years ago. Facilities for cultivation derived from travel, from easy communication with centers of art and musical interpre- tation, it is true, have shown their advantages within the last two decades, while of the days I recall these aids were limited. But it will likewise be recalled that society lines were drawn more exacting then than now they seem to be.

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"The Harmonia Club was organized with a view to permanency, with a president, secretary, program committee, and sometimes a critic; their election, annual; the president was always a lady, the secretary a gentleman. Meetings were fortnightly, being held at private residences where a piano was found. Flint was proud in the possession of more pianos than most towns of its population in this state, despite the handicap of a necessary transportation by wagon from Fenton, Holly or Pontiac; the first piano came through mud, from Detroit, when four days was good time in transit.

"Among the places popular for club recitals were Mrs. Russell Bishop's commodious music room, on Beach street, this lady, a sister of Col. E. H. Thomson, being an excellent pianist and a favorite accompanist; at Mrs. Colonel Fenton's, where is now the McCreery homestead; Mrs. E. H. Thom- son's, whose dwelling, which contained the Colonel's famous library, was situated on the site of A. G. Bishop's residence; with Mrs. E. H. McQuigg and daughter, where now is the new postoffice; Miss McQuigg, now Mrs. Stewart, was an active member; Mrs. William Hamilton, then on Court street, whose daughters, and sister, Miss Marum, were frequently on pro- grams; the Misses Crapo, at the Crapo homestead, later Doctor Willson's residence destined to become Willson Park. Of several young ladies, Miss Rhoda and Miss Emma only appeared in vocal numbers; the Misses Moon, on Garland street-Miss Hattie's name for piano solos frequently appear- ing; and the Stewarts on Detroit street. In this family Miss Ellen ( Mrs. Henry Seymour) and her brother, Will, played many fine duets. This popu- lar youth followed his brother Damon to the front, early in the war, and was killed at Resaca.

"The Payne mansion on Third avenue (new version) was sometimes thrown open for club recitals. Mrs. George M. Dewey's was likewise opened for club meetings. Mrs. Townsend's, Mrs. A. Thayer's, Mrs. George T. Clark's, Mrs. H. M. Henderson and daughters, Mrs. James Henderson, Mrs. J. B. Walker and daughter, and yet a number of other houses were open to these popular society functions.

"I readily remember the familiar faces of society gentlemen with but little claim for musical criticism, perhaps, but who enjoyed the social fea- ture and who seldom failed to attend and heartily applaud every number : Hamilton, Robert Page, Turner, Fenton, Avery, Newton, the Bishops, Rus- sell and Giles, Pettee, Eddy, Witherbee, et al.

"Miss Hulda Johnson (Mercer), Mrs. M. E. Church, Misses Belle Jenny, Julia Saunders, Jenny Williams, Kate Decker, Helena Walker, Emily Beecher, Ada Fenton, Maggie and Jennie Henderson and other ladies ;

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Messrs. Harley Clark, Elmore, Dewitt Parker, Hammersley, McAllister, Woolhouse and Deary assisted in the programs."

Two very popular vocal organizations of the seventies and eighties were the Fuguenoids and the Flint Choral Society. The former, founded in 1875, was a glee club of eight voices. The original membership was as fol- lows: First tenors, Jerome Haver, M. G. Wood; second tenors, H. M. Sperry, A. J. Watling; first bass, M. Bowman, William French ; second bass, Delos Fall, Willis Parker; H. W. Fairbank, director. The first appearance was at the annual meeting of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. By their excellent drill and perfect harmony they at once established themselves in popular favor. They assisted at all the band and choral society concerts and at many private entertainments. A portion of the club visited the larger cities of the state. All the members had from time to time invaded the rural districts and invariably met with immoderate applause and (very) moderate financial success. It was their practice always to devote the first day of the `new year to convivial pleasures. On that day in a body they paid their respects to their many friends, and these occasions established for them a reputation for excellent music and brilliant social qualities. An Eastern musician of repute expressed a very general sentiment in this toast given at a social gathering: "Those jolly Fuguenoids-may they ever be as suc- cessful as they are happy."

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History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I, Part 69

Author: Edwin Orin Wood Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Federal publishingcompany Number of Pages: 861

Author: Edwin Orin Wood
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Federal publishingcompany
Number of Pages: 861