USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan > Part 55
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In the way of official positions, Mr. Lanman has had the pleasure of holding the following : Librarian of the War Department in 1849; librarian of copyrights in the State Depart- ment in 1851, when, at the request of Millard Fillmore, he organized the library in the Exec- utive Mansion ; private secretary of Daniel Webster, 1851; examiner of depositaries in the Gulf States, 1853; librarian Interior Depart- ment, 1857; librarian House of Representatives, 1861 ; head of the Returns Office, I. D., 1865; American secretary of the Japanese Legation, 1871, for eleven years : assistant assessor Dis- trict of Columbia, 1885; and librarian of the Washington City library, 1888.
As an author he has produced not less than thirty two volumes, six of which were repub- lished in Great Britain, while twenty-two arc on the shelves of the National Library. His writings, as be has arranged them for publica-
tion in a revised and uniform style, are as fol- lows : " Essays for Summer Hours," " Even- ings in my Library," " Riverside Essays," "Let- ters from a Motley Crew," " Curious Characters and Pleasant Places," " My Ships of Thought," " A Summer in the Wilderness," " A Tour to the River Sagaenay," "Letters from the Alle- ghany Mountains," "A Tour to the Resti- gouche," " A Winter in the South," " From the River Potomac to Mount Desert," " Private Life of Daniel Webster," "William Wood- bridge," "Octavius Perenchief," " Haphazard Personalities," "Japaniana," and " In the Evening Twilight."
The publications which have been excluded from the foregoing list, for manifold reasons, are as follows : " Dictionary of Congress," " Biographical Annals," " Farthest North," " Red Book of Michigan," " Letters from a Landscape Painter," " Prison Life of Alfred Ely," "Noted Men of Japan," "Japanese in America," " Personal Memorials of Daniel Webster," "Resources of the United States," " Haw-Ho-Noo, or Records of a Tourist," and " Adventures in the Wilds of America." Of the " Dictionary of Congress," it may be said that it was the only work belonging to a pri- vate individual ever published by the Govern- ment as a public document, and it was after he had been paid a regular royalty of one dollar per copy for several thousand copies, that Con- gress adopted his plan for one of its own com- pilations and thus deprived him of his rights under the copyright law, for which injury a claim is now pending in Congress for sixty thousand dollars.
Mr. Lanman manifested a love for art even when a boy in Monroe, and as an amateur he has used the pencil since then continually, having been elected an associate of the New York Academy of Design in 1847, and produced in oil more than one thousand pictures of American scenery.
GENERAL GEORGE SPALDING.
George Spalding was born in Scotland in the year 1836. Andrew Spalding, his father, was a farmer; with his wife and family he emigrated to America in 1843, settling in Buffalo, New York. In 1853 he purchased a farm near Monroe, on the River Raisin. The parents of General Spalding were of the sturdy
Respectfully yours Charles. Lanman.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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BIOGRAPHIES OF PRESENT AND FORMER CITIZENS.
Presbyterian stock, and have always been consistent members of that church. The home discipline received by the son, together with the instructions imparted by the public schools of Buffalo, formed the basis of an education and character which have proved their useful- ness and value both in the field and in civil life. General Spalding lived at home until the winter of 1860-61, when he taught a district school. He was a Douglass Democrat, and was elected clerk of his township in the spring of 1861.
When Fort Sumter was fired upon he im- mediately enlisted as a private soldier in what was subsequently Company A, Fourth Mich- igan Infantry, which was mustered into the United States service in May, 1861, at Adrian, Michigan, and Colonel D. A. Woodbury was appointed its colonel. George Spalding was made first sergeant of this company, and moved to the seat of war at an early day, passing through Baltimore shortly after the attack by rebels upon the First Massachusetts Regiment. The regiment moved with the forces under General McDowell toward Bull Run, but before reaching that place was stopped at Fairfax Court House, and established a courier line between the telegraph office at that place and General McDowell's head- quarters at Bull Run battle-field. In the sum- mer of 1861, Sergeant Spalding was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to command of Company B, same regiment. In the fall of 1861 he was commissioned captain of Company B. In the reorganization of the army the Fourth Michigan Infantry was assigned to General Fitz John Porter's corps. During the winter of 1861-62 the regiment was constantly occupied doing picket duty, encountering many sharp skirmishes with the enemy. After Mac- Clellan's change to the Peninsula, General Porter's corps had the right of the line resting on York River. On arriving in front of York- town, General Porter called upon Colonel Woodbury to send an officer and thirty picked men to reconnoitre the enemy's position at Yorktown, to learn, if possible, the number of their heavy guns, etc. Captain Spalding was assigned to this hazardous enterprise and suc- ceeded to the satisfaction of the commanding general, but in doing so he received a severe gunshot wound in the left shoulder. As the army soon commenced moving, he declined a
" leave of absence" tendered him, and took command of his company with his arm in a sling ; he participated in all the engagements, in the advance upon Richmond, and at New Bridge, during a sharp skirmish, he narrowly escaped death by being shot at by a rebel officer, who had surrendered to him, but fired his rifle when within ten feet of him, tearing away his pistol and belt, inflicting a painful but not dangerous wound.
The Fourth Regiment participated in the following battles: Ilanover Court House, May 27th, 1862 ; at Mechanicsville, June 26; on the 27th at Gaines Mill ; Savage Station, June 29th ; at Turkey Bend, June 30th ; White Oak Swamp, same day ; and July 1st at Malvern Hill, when it became conspicuously engaged, losing its colonel, D. A. Woodbury, Captains Dupuy and Rose, while Captain Spalding was severely wounded in the left of the neck and reported in press dispatches as killed. The loss in Fourth Michigan Infantry in six days was 53 killed, 144 wounded and 52 missing. Leave of absence was tendered Captain Spalding, which he accepted, and when about to leave, General Griffin, the brigade commander, handed him a sealed letter addressed to Governor Blair. It subsequently turned out to be a letter to the Governor urging Captain Spalding's promotion to the rank of major. The Governor commis- sioned him major of the Fourth Regiment, but Captain Spalding waived it in favor of the senior captain, and afterwards accepted the lieutenant- colonelcy of the Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, then at Hillsdale, Michigan, IIon. Henry Waldron in command. Colonel Spalding, with his regiment, was ordered to report to General Lew. Wallace, in command at Cincinnati, which was then threatened by an attack from General Kirby Smith. An advance was soon made over the Ohio River, and the troops marched over what was known as the Dry Ridge of Kentucky, to Lexington. Here the regiment was camped in the winter of 1862-63. Early in the spring the campaign opened, and before midsummer the rebels were driven out of Kentucky. Soon after this the regiment was ordered to report to General Rosecrans, Army of the Cumberland. On its arrival at Nashville, Tennessee, Colonel Spalding was made provost marshal of the city, and the Eighteenth Mich- igan Infantry, with all its officers and men, reported to him for duty as provost guard.
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
As provost marshal of Nashville, Colonel Spalding was given almost plenary powers. The military and civil police of the entire city reported and received orders from him. He remained in this position until February, 1864, when he resigned to accept the colonelcy of the Twelfth Tennessee Cavalry. Colonel Spalding was immediately assigned to the command of a brigade of cavalry, and ordered to take charge of the Nashville and North- Western Railroad. The entire line of this road was invested by large bodies of guerrillas, and their extermination began at once. In a few months Colonel Spalding had cleaned out all the organized troops in that section. He and his command were then ordered to protect the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and he was assigned to the command of a division of cavalry known as the Fifth Division of Cavalry, A. C. He established his headquarters at Pulaski, Tennessee. Here during the summer and fall of 1864 his troops were constantly engaged in fighting Generals Roddy, Wheeler and Forrest, who were in large force constantly attempting to break the railroad. During the invasion of General Hood into Tennessee, Colonel Spalding was ordered with his division to try and prevent the enemy from crossing the Tennessee River, and to report to General Thomas his observations and opinions of the force and character of the troops of the enemy. On arriving at Florence, Alabama, he found the enemy in strong force on the opposite side of the river, and immediately dispatched to General Thomas that General Hood's entire army was preparing to invade Tennessee and would undoubtedly cross the river at or near Florence, Alabama. Forrest's entire cavalry command was covering the movements of Hood's army. Several severe battles were fought during the retreat to Nashville, includ- ing the battles of Spring Hill, Franklin, etc. At Nashville, General Thomas reorganized his army and prepared to give battle. On the morning of December 15th the attack was begun, and waged with terrible violence until Hood's army was put to flight. Colonel Spalding was complimented by a general order, which was read at the head of each regiment; also received honorable mention in the report of General Hatch for his bravery and energy. The following is an extract from the official report of General George H. Thomas :
"As the Fourth Corps pursued the enemy on the Franklin Pike, General Wilson hastily mounted Knipe's and Hatch's divisions of his command and directed them to pursue along the Granny White Pike and endeavor to reach Franklin in advance of the enemy. After proceeding about a mile they came upon the enemy's cavalry under General Forrest, posted across the road and behind barricades. The position was taken by the Twelfth Tennessee Cavalry, Colonel Spalding commanding, and the enemy's lines broken, scattering them in all directions and capturing quite a number of prisoners, among them General E. W. Ruckel."
In the Nashville battle General Spalding re- ceived a severe wound in the left knee. Col- onel Spalding was brevetted brigadier-general for "gallant and meritorious service" in the battle of Nashville. He was selected with one hundred picked men to follow the broken remnants of Hood's command until the last man had crossed the Tennessee River. General Spalding was assigned to the command of the First Brigade, Fifth Division Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the Mississippi, and ordered to report to Major-General Pope, headquarters at St. Louis, Missouri. He ar- rived in St. Louis May 17th, 1865, and by General Pope he was assigned to command the District of Northern Missouri, headquarters at Macon; from there he was assigned to a district in Kansas, with headquarters at Lawrence.
October 24th, 1865, the war being over, his command was mustered out of. service, and General Spalding returned to Monroe, Mich- igan, where in 1866 he was appointed post- master. In 1871 he was appointed Special Agent of the Treasury Department, where he served four years, going to the Rio Grande River to report upon the commerce between Mexico and the United States. In 1876 he was elected mayor of the Democratic city of Monroe, and the same year he was elected president of the board of education. In the spring of 1877 he was elected a director of the First National Bank and in a short time appointed its cashier, which office he now holds. In 1878 he was admitted to the bar. General Spalding has been an ardent and hard-working Republican, being chairman of the county committee and holding it for quite a number of years. He has during each presidential campaign stumped
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BIOGRAPHIES OF PRESENT AND FORMER CITIZENS.
his own county, and frequently made speeches in Lenawee and Hillsdale, where he has many warm admirers and friends among his old army comrades, as well as others who have formed his acquaintance since the war, and have learned that in General Spalding are embodied those qualities which go to make up a true friend, a good citizen and an honest man.
CAPTAIN JOHN ALFORD
Came from the State of New York with his father's family to Monroe in 1818. In a small sloop they coasted on the south shore of Lake Erie, camping nights. They sailed up the River Raisin and landed on the north bank, when but one frame and two log houses oc- cupied the site of the battle ground of the River Raisin massacre.
Warren Alford, son of John Alford, the edi- tor of this work has occasion to remember with gratitude for his efforts fifty five years ago in rescuing the writer from a watery grave. I was skating in advance of a party of boys at the mouth of the River Raisin, and broke in.
Warren stripped off his skates, tied the straps to his comforter, which the writer caught onto and was drawn out. I skated three miles in frozen clothes, and was cared for by the family of Timothy Emerson, who resided at the docks.
Captain John Alford the year of his arrival assisted in gathering and burying the bones of the Kentuckians slain at the massacre of the River Raisin. Mails were then received but once a week from Detroit.
Captain John Alfred was the father of General George F. Alford, now residing in Texas ; and Captain Alford, now residing in Monroe, sailing in summer months a beautiful steam yacht, who married the daughter of Stephen B. Wakefield, of Shawnee Springs, in town of Monroe.
Mr. and Mrs. John Alford remained in Mon- roe seventeen years - removed to Gibralter in 1835 ; suffered considerable loss and inconven- ience from the " Patriots" in 1837 and 1838. After residing in Gibralter thirty years, re- moved to Trenton, where they spent the even- ing of life. Mrs. John Alford survived her husband a few years and died in 1887, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.
CHAPTER XXV.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
MASONS.
M ONROE LODGE has had a somewhat eventful history. It has really had its second birth. Old Monroe Lodge, No. 375, was organized in the year 1825 under a dispen- sation from the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York, and by him constituted and its officers publicly installed on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1825. The exer cises took place in the first, or original, court house here. It was a wooden structure, com- posed of hewn logs covered with boards, and located at or near the northeast corner of our public square, in front and somewhat east of the present Presbyterian church edifice.
We are informed that a large collection of people were present, and that Brother Rev. Noah Wells, father of Brother Wm. H. Wells, now of Eric, acted as Grand Chaplain for the Grand Lodge of the State of New York. The venerable brother has long since been called home, full of years and full of honors. He was a pioneer in his calling as a minister of the gospel. The son still survives. He was at one time a member of this lodge, but has not taken an active part for several years past.
The following gentlemen were then duly in- stalled into office : Seneca Allen, Worshipful Master ; Hiram Brown, Senior Warden ; Harry Conant, Junior Warden ; John Anderson, Treasurer ; Charles Noble, Secretary.
Seneca Allen, the first Worshipful Master, was a half-breed, his maternal parent being a full blooded squaw. He was a son of John Allen, formerly owner of the site, and later founder of the present beautiful city of Rochester, New York. He left several children : A son, Henry Allen, of Milan, this county ; Mrs Truax, of Detroit, formerly living at Trenton, Michigan ; also Mrs. Colton, of Toledo, well known by some of our older citizens and highly respected. Mr. Allen was a surveyor by profession, and stood high in his calling - a vigorous and
hardy pioneer of those early days. Some of our older citizens knew him well, and can re- late many interesting reminiscences in con- nection with him. His son Henry is still liv- ing, and a member of Milan Lodge, No. 323, the latest constituted, and probably the last that ever will be constituted in this county, at least for many years to come. So that while the father was the Worshipful Master of the first, the son is a member of the last constituted lodge in this county.
Hiram Brown, who was installed as first Senior Warden, seems to have pretty well passed out of memory, as well as out of sight and influence, as I can find no traces of his family, or much of anything else concerning him at the present time.
Harry Conant, who was installed as first Junior Warden of Monroe Lodge, No. 375, was a physician, druggist, and a strong man gen- erally. The doctor was father to our gallant and popular townsman, the Hon. Harry A. Conant, Mrs. James Armitage, Mrs. John Ho- garth, of this city, and Mrs. General Williams, of Detroit, as well as the lawful spouse of old Mrs. Conant, still living on First street, Mon- roe, loved and respected by all who know her. The Doctor's drug store occupied the ground now covered by the building where Mr. S. M. Sackett has his drug store, and where the same kind of business has been carried on since 1822 - first by Daniel B. Miller and Doctor Co- nant, later by Doctor Conant, and finally, till the present time, by S. S. Sackett.
Colonel John Anderson, who was installed as first Treasurer of the old lodge, was father of Judge Alexander Anderson and John An- derson, both of whom are now dead, but Mrs. John Anderson is still living on the north side of the river, eminently respected by all who know her. The distinguished jurist and coun- selor, Judge Warner Wing, also married a daughter of Colonel John Anderson.
Charles Noble, who was elected first Secre-
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tary of the old lodge, was brother to HIon. David A. Noble, whose son is here with ns as the Grand Treasurer of most of the Grand Masonic bodies in this State, having the reputation of being the most methodical, painstaking and correct Grand Treasurer these Grand bodies have ever had.
After the installation ceremonies were over, the assembled brothers and friends were in- vited to participate in the good things of a grand dinner, served by Mr. A. C. Chapman, long since dead, who at that time kept hotel where Mr. Dansard now has his bank. It was known by the name of " The Michigan Ex- change," and had the reputation of being the largest and finest hotel in the then Territory of Michigan. Colonel F. A. Winans, who was postmaster here under President Buchanan, married Mr. Chapman's daughter Emeline, took one degree of Masonry in this lodge, en- tered the service of the Union as lieutenant- colonel of the Seventh Michigan Infantry, came home and died. Mr. A. C. Chapman's son, Alcott C., married Miss Susan Smith, went to California, where he met with a melancholy death, leaving a son, Thornberg, a phenom- enally bright young man, who also met with a tragical death, having been poisoned while dissecting.
You will see by the foregoing that the first officers of the first lodge in Monroe were men of sterling worth and wide influence, and I am pleased to say that as a rule their immediate descendants have proven to be " worthy sons of noble sires."
The old Monroe Lodge was not No. 27, but No. 375. It was not then under the jurisdiction of the State of Michigan, but of the Grand Lodge of New York.
There was no such State as Michigan then, neither was there such an organization as "the Grand Lodge of Michigan." One year from the time of the aforementioned installation, however, old Monroe Lodge, No. 375, Zion Lodge, No. 3 (now Zion Lodge, No. 1), Detroit Lodge, No. 337 (now Detroit Lodge, No. 2), and Menominee Lodge, No. 374, joined in a convention at Detroit, and organized the first Grand Lodge of Michigan, electing Lewis Cass Grand Master.
It may be interesting at this juncture to note a few facts in connection with Zion Lodge of Detroit, viz .: That on the 7th of Septem-
ber, 1794, Thomas Ainslie, Deputy Grand Master of the Athol Grand Lodge of Canada, granted a warrant for the organization of Zion Lodge, No. 10, at Detroit. This appears to have been the date of the introduction of Ma- sonry into that province (meaning Michigan). The lodge lived about nine years. It was re- vived in 1807 under and by virtue of a dispensa- tion issued by De Witt Clinton, Grand Master, and afterwards governor of New York. The number of Zion Lodge was changed to that of No. 3. At the reorganization in 1844 its num- ber was again changed, and made No. 1. So that she has existed under the auspices of three Grand Lodges and had three numbers.
On year later, viz., 1827, the Grand Lodge of Michigan was requested to assist in laying the corner-stone of St. Paul's church of Detroit, the mother Episcopal church of the West. But owing to the wild fanaticism which prevailed at that time in consequence of the alleged mur- der of one Wm. Morgan, it was not possible to convene a quorum of members for that pur- pose. Not even the great power and influence of that gallant soldier and patriot statesman, General Lewis Cass, who was Grand Master as well as territorial governor at that time, were sufficient to enable him to convene a quornm of members, and induce them to stem the tide of popular fear and indignation of the hour. Consequently the corner-stone of St. Paul's church was not laid by the Grand Lodge of Michigan or by any other Masonic body.
When I have stated the main features of an article which was published at Canandaigua, New York, early in September, 1826 (the year the first Grand Lodge of Michigan was organ- ized), and copied as rapidly and spread as gen- erally throughout the land as the meagre facilities of that early day would permit, and with as much malignity as ignorant fanaticism could contrive or conceive, you will no longer wonder why Masonry had to retire, for a time, from public gaze, and to perform their heaven- inspired deeds of benevolence and charity in the utmost secrecy.
The article to which I have referred runs substantially as follows. (In order that you may not be frightened or too greatly surprised, I will premise by saying I am about to " give Free Masonry away " completely.)
" On Sunday, September the 10th, 1826, the coroner of the county of Ontario, New York,
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
being Master of the Masonie Lodge at Canan- daigua, applied for a warrant to apprehend one William Morgan, living at Batavia, fifty miles away, for the larceny of a shirt and cravat. Armed with the proper papers and in company with ten other Masons he proceeded in a carriage, and on the day following seized and secured the man guilty of the alleged enormity touching the borrowed shirt and cravat. About sunset of the same day (Monday, September 11th) they returned to Canandaigua. The prisoner was arraigned before the justice who issued the warrant, but discharged, as the plaintiff did not appear against him. The same coroner and Grand Master again arrests him for a debt of two dollars and imprisoned him. This being paid and the victim released, a yellow carriage and gray horses are seen by the light of the moon rolling with extraordinary rapidity to- wards the jail, Morgan is again seized, gagged and bound, and thrown into the carriage, con- taining several other men, and driven away again in an opposite direction as rapidly as before.
" This carriage drove night and day over a hundred miles of well-settled country, with fresh horses supplied at six different places, and with corresponding changes of men.
" With a single exception every individual concerned was a Free Mason, and the excep- tion was immediately initiated by a unanimous vote of the lodge at Lewistown. Everything went on like clockwork up to the hour of the evening of the 14th of September, when the prisoner was taken from the carriage at Fort Niagara and lodged in the place used as a powder magazine. It is affirmed that eight Masons met and threw into a hat as many lots, three of which only were marked. Each man then drew a lot, and where it was not marked he went immediately home. There is reason to believe that the three who remained were the persons who, on the night of the 19th or 20th of September took their victim from the fort, carried him to the middle of the stream, and having fastened a heavy weight to him, threw him into the stream."
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