History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, Part 93

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 553

USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories > Part 93

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WATERFORD TOWNSHIP.

THIS township, known on the government survey as town 3 north, range 9 east, is among the oldest settled divisions of Oakland County. It was originally a part of the township of Oakland, and afterwards a part of Pontiac township, the latter having been organized in 1827. In 1834 Waterford was organized as a township by itself, and retains the name given to it at that time.

It has great diversity of surface,-lake, stream, hill and valley, marsh and swamp, and beautiful plain,-and as an agricultural township ranks high. The improvements are of a high order in most localities, and fine residences, good, substantial barns and outbuildings, and well-kept fields, are seen in all directions.

The Detroit and Milwaukee railway passes through the township, having two sta- tions-those of Waterford and Drayton Plains-within its limits. This road fol- lows very nearly the route of the old Detroit and Saginaw turnpike and previous Indian trails, and affords quick connection with Detroit and other markets, besides increasing the value of real estate along the line.

The principal stream is the Clinton river, which in its windings very nearly di- vides the township in halves, and receives the surplus waters of many of the lakes found within its borders.

Of these lakes, numbering altogether thirty or more, the largest is Elizabeth lake, a sheet of water some four hundred acres in extent, lying on sections 27, 28, 33, and 34. Its shores are bold and clean, and partly covered with timber. Cosy villas are numerous in its vicinity, and the beauty of the lake and its surround-

ings can scarcely be surpassed. The name, " Elizabeth lake," was given to it in honor of the wife of General Lewis Cass, the second Territorial governor of Mich- igan. " Cass lake," a portion of which lies in Waterford, was named for the governor himself. 'A bay of the latter lake, called " Gerundegut" (possibly a corruption of " Irondequoit"), extends half a mile or more into Waterford township.

The larger lakes in the township and county have recently been stocked with white-fish. Elizabeth lake contained fish of this species previously in small num- bers, the manner in which they came there not being explained. This lake was stocked with two hundred thousand white-fish spawn in the winter of 1875-76.

Among the other lakes of the township the finest are Williams, Watkins, Silver, and Scott's. Besides these there are Loon, Three-Mile (only partly in Water- ford), Pond, Woodhull, Mace Day, Pleasant, Crescent, Otter, Timber, and a part of Pickerel, with numerous other smaller sheets not distinguished by name.

" Mace Day lake" has a curious origin for its name. A man named Mason Day,-called " Mase" for short,-who at an earlier period kept a livery-stable in Pontiac, was a great hunter and fisherman, and also was fond of his rations of the extract of rye. Whenever he felt a spree beginning to enfold him in its meshes, or was caught with a desire to go on a hunting or fishing excursion, he almost in- variably went to the shore of the lake which bears his name to engage in his fa- vorite pastimes. On these occasions he provided himself with provisions, etc.,

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and camped on the lake-shore, generally staying several months. He probably went so far because the place was quiet, and both fish and game were plenty.

". Williams lake" takes its name from Ferdinand Williams, who settled on its shore in 1829. It is a beautiful sheet, having timbered shores more than half the distance around it, and possessing a clean, sandy beach. It abounds with various kinds of fish, perch being the principal representative of the " finny tribe" found in its waters. It also received a stock of white-fish two or three years since, but as it is seldom that a fish of that variety is seen in it, the success of the enterprise is somewhat doubtful.

Watkins lake is named after a man named Watkins, who settled early on its south shore.

The raising of dams at Waterford, Drayton Plains, and Clintonville has marred the beauty of a number of the lakes, by the consequent overflow. This is the case with Loon, Silver, Pond, Woodhull, and Mace Day lakes, and the one at Waterford village.

Waterford township derived its name from the circumstance of its containing so large an area of water surface. The name was proposed by Shubael Atherton, who settled on the northwest quarter of section 25 about 1825. The entire area covered by water in the township approximates two thousand six hundred acres, besides marsh and swamp, which have a small area each.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

The first entry of land in Waterford township was made by Major Oliver Wil- liams, on the banks of Silver lake, in section 13, in 1819. His brother-in-law, Alpheus Williams, and Captain Archibald Phillips, settled the same year at the spot where the Detroit and Saginaw trail crossed the Clinton river, or the site of the present village of Waterford. David Mayo purchased land in the township on the 25th of September, 1821. Captain Chesley Blake, Harvey Durfee, and Austin Durfee purchased in 1822. Harvey Seeley, John S. Porter, Samuel Hungerford, W. M. Tappan, Thaddeus Alvord, Charles Johnson, and Joseph Voorheis purchased in 1823 .* Alpheus Williams also made the first purchase of land from the government in the township of Independence, locating on section 33, adjoining his purchase in Waterford, October 10, 1823.

The Williamses were prominent men in the county, and to their exertions the fact is mainly due that the region was settled so soon and so generally by an intelli- gent, industrious, and enterprising class of people. The name of Major Oliver Williams, especially, will long be known in the annals of Oakland as that of a bold, untiring pioneer.

For a more complete history of the Williamses and other families, the reader is referred to the following truthful and exceedingly interesting reminiscences of early settlers, from pioneer records and other sources.

MAJOR OLIVER WILLIAMS AND FAMILY.t

The Williams family dates back in the history of the British islands to a remote age. The name is of Welsh origin, and the descendants among the mountains of Wales claim to trace their ancestry back to the time of " Roderic the Great,". king of Britain, about the year 849.

Others claim that the family has descended from Brutus, the first king of Britain, 1100 years before Christ. The famous Oliver Cromwell is said to have belonged to a branch of this family.

The earliest representative of the name in the American colonies is believed to have been Robert Williams, who emigrated from Norwich, England, and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, about 1638, eighteen years after the original settle- ment at Plymouth bay.

Among the noted men of this wide-spread family have been Roger Williams, the pioneer settler of Rhode Island ; Colonel Ephraim Williams, killed at the battle of Lake George, in August, 1755 ; General Otho Holland Williams, a prominent officer in the American army during the Revolution ; Hon. Charles K. Williams, chief justice of Vermont; Hon. Norman Williams, of the same State; Hon. Archibald Williams, of Quincy, Illinois, and many others prominent in the field, in the pulpit, and at the bar.

Major Oliver Williams, one of the pioneer settlers of Oakland County, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, August 6, 1774. He removed with his family from Concord, Massachusetts, to Detroit, Michigan, in 1815. Michigan at that time was a Territory, having been formed in 1805. Lewis Cass was the governor.

Major Williams had established the mercantile business in Detroit, purchasing his goods in Boston, carting them overland in covered wagons to Buffalo, and shipping thence by water to Detroit. He ordinarily made two trips a year, on horseback, to and from Boston and Detroit.

During the winter and spring of 1810-11 he built, at the river Rouge, a large

sloop, which he named the " Friend's Good-Will," and in the early summer of 1812, just previous to the breaking out of the war between the United States and Great Britain, made a voyage to Mackinaw, acting in the capacity of supercargo. At Mackinaw his vessel was chartered by the government to take military stores and supplies to the garrison at Chicago, then a small military and trading station. She was also to bring back a cargo of skins and furs for the government.

The commanding officer at Mackinaw, Lieutenant Hanks, furnished the major with a box of ammunition, twelve stand of arms, and a non-commissioned officer and six men, as a guard against the Indians, who were even then openly hostile, and it was known that war was imminent. Upon his return from Chicago he was decoyed into the harbor of Mackinaw, which had in the mean time been captured by the British, and made a prisoner. His cargo was of course taken possession of for the benefit of the British government, on account of his vessel being under a government charter. The name of the vessel was changed to " Little Belt," and formed a part of Commodore Barclay's squadron, captured the next year by Perry on Lake Erie. At the time of the battle she mounted three guns. She was burned at Buffalo the following winter.

Major Williams was paroled and sent to Detroit, and was present at Hull's sur- render, and after General Winchester's defeat in January following he was sent east, with most of the business men of Detroit, before the arrival of General Har- rison's army.

After Winchester's defeat, many of the prisoners, some badly wounded, were brought to Detroit by the Indians, and offered for a ransom. Major Williams ransomed several, and afterwards received from the United States government fifty-six dollars, being the amount he had paid for two Kentuckians. These were certified to by the proper papers. Several others were ransomed, but the technical vouchers not being given, he received nothing for them. For his vessel and prop- erty taken by the British he never received any compensation, and the amount remains unpaid to the present time. The amount of his business interests de- stroyed by the war may be estimated from the fact that his purchases in Boston the year preceding the war amounted to $64,000.

In the fall of 1815, Mrs. Williams left Concord, Massachusetts, with her family of eight children, the oldest not yet fourteen years of age, to join her husband in Detroit. The family traveled with a spring carriage, and their goods followed in a four-horse covered wagon, to Buffalo, where they took passage for Detroit on board a small schooner named the " Mink." They arrived safely at Detroit after having been obliged to lay to at Put-in bay for several days, on account of stormy weather. When passing Malden the vessel was fired upon by drunken Indians, who had gathered in thousands to receive their annual presents from the British agents. Luckily, the shots flew wide, and no one on board was injured.

The schooner cast anchor a mile below the fort, and the family were taken on shore in boats. They walked up past the fort, whose frowning guns, pyramids of balls, and strong stockade with its heavy gates, were all new and strange to them. The people all turned out to see the Yankees, and as they passed along by the curious one story and story-and-a-half French houses the women greeted the little ones with a kiss, saying, " Ah, mon petite Bostonien !" Detroit then contained only three brick buildings, and the resident population was probably about one thousand, exclusive of the United States troops.

In 1816 many families who had left Detroit during the war returned, and Governor Cass brought his family to reside there.

Alpheus Williams, a brother-in-law of the major, also brought his family.

The season of 1816 was remarkably cold throughout the United States, and provisions were very high. Potatoes went up to two dollars per bushel, and whisky sold at two dollars per gallon. The currency was mostly what was called " cut money,"-that is, a Spanish dollar, for instance, was cut into halves, quar- ters, and eighths, which passed current for small change.

On the 14th day of August, President James Monroe visited Detroit, and was received with public honors. The buildings were illuminated in the evening, and there was general rejoicing. Major Williams' youngest son was born on that day, and named, in honor of the president, James Monroe Williams.

The first steamboat upon Lake Erie, the " Walk-in-the-Water," visited Detroit in the summer of 1818. She was a great wonder to the Indians, and when she blew off steam many of them fled to the woods, believing, as some waggish Frenchman had told them, that it was the " Bad Spirit," right from his fiery home.

The fall of 1818 witnessed one of the first settlements of Oakland County. In the latter part of September of that year, Major Williams, Calvin Baker, Jacob Eilett, and, it is believed, Colonel Beaufait, together with Mrs. Oliver Williams and Mrs. Alpheus Williams, made a journey to Oakland County, on horseback. They had a French guide along, who was probably familiar with the country, and followed the Indian trail towards Saginaw, which crossed the Nottawa-seepe (the Clinton river) about where Saginaw street now crosses in the

* From an article by the late Hon. Thomas J. Drake.

t From notes by B. O. Williams, Esq., of Owosso, and Mrs. M. A. Hodges, of Pontiac.

MRS. WALTER WHITFIELD

WALTER WHITFIELD.

WM.WHITFIELD.

MRS. WM. WHITFIELD.

A. G. SNELL, DEL .

FARM AND RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM WHITFIELD, WILLIAMS LAKE, WATERFOI\ 'TP, OAKLAND CO, MICH.

PUB. BY L. H. EVERTS & CO. 716 FILBERT ST. PHIL !.

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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

city of Pontiac. The two women were believed to be the first white women who had ever voluntarily visited the region now known as Oakland County. The party found the country most beautiful from Royal Oak to the present site of Waterford, and literally alive with all kinds of game,-beast, bird, and fish.

An extract from Alexis de Tocqueville's " Fortnight in the Wilderness" is appropriate in this connection, giving as it does a graphic picture of the country as it appeared to the first settlers and those who visited it for pleasure :

" After we left Mr. Williams' we pursued our road through the woods. From time to time a little lake (this district is full of them) shines like a white table- cloth under the green branches. The charm of these lonely spots, as yet unten- 'anted by man, and where peace and silence reign undisturbed, can hardly be im- agined. I have climbed the wild and solitary passes of the Alps, where nature refuses to obey the hand of man, and, displaying all her terrors, fills the mind with an exciting and overwhelming sensation of greatness. The solitude here is equally deep, but the emotions it excites are different. In this flowery wilderness, where, as in Milton's paradise, all seems prepared for the reception of man, the feelings produced are those of tranquil admiration,-a soft melancholy, a vague aversion of civilized life, and a sort of savage instinct, which causes you to regret that soon this enchanting solitude will be no more.

" Already, indeed, the white man is approaching through the surrounding woods ; in a few years he will have felled the trees now reflected in the limpid waters of the lake, and will have driven to other wilds the animals that feed on its banks."

The party selected their lands in the vicinity of Silver lake, searched out the surveyors' lines, and marked the corners. There are three lakes closely connected in this vicinity, called at the present time Loon, Silver, and Upper Silver, lakes. The Indian name for Loon lake, and it possibly included the others, was Nis-so- ga-mong-ne-bing, " place, or lake, of the three loons." The Indian name for lake was ne-bing, and for river or creek se-pee'or se-bee.

After an absence of three or four days the party returned, carrying many specimens of the shrubs and flowers of the region. Their report electrified the staid, quiet inhabitants of Detroit, among whom the belief was general that the interior of Michigan was a vast impenetrable and uninhabitable wilderness and morass.

The exploring party entered their lands at the United States land-office, the price being at that time two dollars per acre, only a part of which was required to be paid at the time of purchase.

The succeeding autumn and winter were remarkably warm and open, scarcely any frost or snow being seen until March. Major Williams during the winter built on his land at Silver lake a double log house, fifty by twenty feet in dimen- sions, one and a half stories in height, and in March, 1819, moved his family from Detroit to their new home in the wilderness.

The journey is graphically described by Mrs. Hodges, a daughter of Major Williams, from whose notes we quote: "In the early part of March, the fifth day, I think, at seven o'clock in the morning, we left Detroit, all snugly packed in two sleighs. There was a light fall of snow, about six inches, perhaps, but there was no frost in the ground. There was not much road, only the Indian trail. We arrived at Royal Oak at sundown, and stayed at Wm. Thurber's overnight. Mr. T. had built a small log house, and lately moved in a family to keep house for him. The lady had several children, but she generously divided her house with my mother and her nine children. There was but one room in the house, and she gave us one side of the fire-place, occupying the other herself. Each soon gath- ered her flock into her corner. The fire-place was in the old Dutch style, extend- ing entirely across one end of the dwelling. This feature was extremely novel to us all. After a good warm supper, the beds were made on the floor and all camped for the night, but did not sleep much, for we were too full of play,- amusing ourselves looking through the 'chinks' between the logs, counting the stars, watching the moon, and listening to the hooting of owls, the barking of foxes, and the howling of wolves, while every now and then a ' hush, children !' came from our dear, good mother. We finally passed the night, and at daybreak were astir. A big ' back-log,' ten feet or more in length and two feet in diameter, was rolled in by two men, and a rousing fire built that heated the whole habita- tion. After a hearty breakfast the teamsters called out, ' All aboard for Pontiac!' and soon we were snugly packed for another day's journey. The day was bright and warm, the snow melting a little, and we arrived at Dr. Swan's about ten o'clock in the forenoon, near the present village of Birmingham. The doctor had erected a simple ' shanty' and moved his family in a few days before. Here we halted for a few minutes, to chat and exchange compliments, of which I re- member nothing, excepting that when we parted from them I saw mother, Mrs. Swan, and Mrs. Dale (her daughter) all in tears.

" These ladies were real pioneers, and were well known by their repeated kind- nesses to the early settlers of Oakland County.

" At noon we arrived at the famous town of Pontiac, situated on the Not-ta- wa-se-bee (or crooked river), as the Indians called it.

" The town then consisted of one little log house, containing three families and a few workmen, who were felling the oak-trees for timber to construct the Pontiac mill, which, I think, was the first flouring-mill in the State, and the first propelled by water-power, all others being wind-mills .* At this house we took dinner, which was spread on boards laid on barrels.

" Some sat on rough stools, while others stood up and waited their turn. All was gay and generous hospitality. After dinner we re-embarked and, bidding all a hearty ' good-by !' left the prosperous little town for Silver lake, where we arrived about four o'clock P.M.

" The workmen had occupied a little log shanty while building the house for the family. The latter was in an unfinished state,-the logs were all up and the roof was on and a rough floor laid down, but the gable-ends were not finished, and there was no hearth but the ground. The walls were ' chinked' but not plastered, the material for this last work being clay-mortar. This house was quite aristo- cratic, being fifty feet long and twenty wide, with a ten-foot hall running through the middle. The front door opened to the south and the back door towards the lake. In the hall was a closed staircase leading to a half-story room above, and also down into the cellar, which was thirty feet long and twenty wide. It was walled up with square timbers laid closely together and made very tight, to guard against wild animals and snakes, which were everywhere abundant and exceedingly troublesome. Rats were unknown for some years.

" Our first night in our forest-home was a great novelty to us. A field-bed was spread on the loose floor, and a large fire built on the earthen hearth,-which hearth was replaced by one made of clay as soon as the material could be obtained in the spring. Carpets and blankets were nailed up to protect us from the weather, and we were very comfortable, and our good father made us happy by telling us that we had the largest and best house in the country; so we fell asleep talking about the big fire, the big logs of which the house was made, and all the strange things and wonders around us."

The rumbling of the cracking ice upon the lake, as it contracted, alarmed the children until they became accustomed to it, but the greatest scare of all was when the Indians visited the family. They were encamped at various places in the neighborhood, and came to pay their respects to the " Yankees" and become acquainted with the new-comers. They were all introduced and shook hands, and the chief kissed all around.

The next autumn the family were all sick with the ague, but the Indians were exceedingly kind and attentive,-one squaw in particular coming daily for weeks, bringing simple remedies, and also venison, birds, honey, maple-sugar, and wild berries, with which the country abounded. The husband of this squaw, who was a great hunter, was finally killed in a terrible fight with a bear in 1824, and was buried on Major Williams' farm. The squaw died near Chesaning about 1873.

In the fall of 1819, Governor Cass made a treaty at Saginaw with the Indians, and on his return stopped overnight with the Williams family.

" In the fall of 1820 the Indian chief and tyrant of all the Saginaw bands,- the dreaded Kish-kor-ko,-encamped on our farm, and, accompanied by his old men councillors and a body-guard of armed braves, came to the house and de- manded to be furnished with two barrels of flour and one of pork, which we did not have. But after a smoke from a pipe of peace (one of which my father had), and a few speeches that were interpreted by a Mr. Riley, my father freely offering them what the Great Spirit had given us from the earth, consisting of corn, pota- toes, and pumpkins, then in the field, Kish-kor-ko ordered about twenty men and squaws to go with Riley and my oldest brother and gather what was necessary to feed them, and then proceeded to name my father, calling him " Che-Pontiock,"t and adopted him as a brother, saying our family should belong to his people, which was solemnly confirmed by a shaking of hands by all the old men with every one of the family, and kissing each on the left cheek. After another smoke all around, including father, each taking a few whiffs from the two long-stemmed pipes, one of which was Kish-kor-ko's, both passed around by his pipe-bearer, each of the old men was presented with a plug of tobacco by Pontiock, and the chief with a double portion and some more for distribution among his braves. Then this solemn council broke up, and from that day no member of our family ever lost anything by theft, or was treated with any indignity by Indians from the Sagi- naxos, although we became the pioneer settlers of Genesee, Saginaw, and Shaiwassee counties,-of Genesee in 1824, Saginaw in 1826, and Shiawassee in 1831."}

Major Williams' family were all (except himself ) prostrated with ague in July,

* There were mills about Detroit at a very early day,-1753 or earlier,-both water- and wind-power.

" The name, Pontiock, seems to have been given by the Indians as a title, meaning an im- portant personage.

# From a document prepared by B. O. Williams, Esq., of Owosso.

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1819. and every settler in the region shared the same fate. At first the chill came on every second day, but soon the attack became daily and continued for months, until the cool weather in the fall checked it somewhat, and through the winter they were comparatively exempt from the scourge; but the return of hot weather again brought it around, and for years the early settlers of Michigan en- dured privations and plagues and sickness equal to any ever experienced in any other part of the continent. Whole settlements were prostrated, and there were not well ones enough left to half take care of the sick, and the people suffered for the lack of some one to do cooking and washing.

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History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, Part 93

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1877 Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co. Number of Pages: 553

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 553