USA > Michigan > Ottawa County > History of Ottawa County, Michigan with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 12
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
MAJOR N. H. FERRY.
The late Major Noah Henry Ferry was born on the Island of Mackinac April 30th, 1831. His home influences were such as to develop in him a strong, thoroughly cultivated mind, an honorable, lovable character, and an unblemished life. His aunt, Mary A. White, later a teacher at Rockford, Ill., Seminary, had charge of his early training. He afterwards graduated at Bell's Commercial College, Chicago, with such credit that he was selected immediately to conduct one of the vacant departments of the institution. His business life was spent at White River, where he was associated with his brother, Edward P. Ferry. He laid out the village now called Montague, and was engaged as a lumber merchant. He possessed by inheritance and education qualities essential to his success in life. Peculiar energy and force of character; a generous, loving heart, combined with a clear appreciation of the social and political duties of a citizen, won for him the hearty respect of all. In 1861 he was in the full tide of business success, and in the active control of large pecuniary interests; but when it became evident that the country required the aid of every competent man in the field to insure a prompt crushing out of treason, he tendered his services for any post in which he might be needed. Circumstances prevented his accepting the commission of adjutant in the Third Michigan Cavalry, which was offered him. In the ensuing Summer the exigencies of the war demanded immediately increased enlist- ments, and within twenty-four hours after the energetic call, he or- ganized a company of 102 men. August 14th, 1862, he was com- missioned Captain of Company F, Fifth Michigan Cavalry. The regiment was ordered to Washington, and assigned to duty in the Army of the Potomac. He participated in active out-post duty with his regiment, gained the confidence and respect of his superior offi- cers, and the unwavering trust and love of his men. He was soon promoted to the rank of major. On the 3d of July, 1863, when leading his battalion on the field of Gettysburg, with the inspiring word "Onward!" he fell, shot through the head, instantly killed. A braver or more chivalrous soldier never fell on the field of battle. He shrunk from no duty, and permitted his men to incur no priva- tion which he did not share. His body, wrapped in the flag he died defending, was taken to Grand Haven. A monument in the Grand Haven Cemetery marks his grave.
The history of the Ferry family would not be complete without that of
MISS MARY A. WHITE,
sister-in-law of the Rev. W. M. Ferry, and who has had so much to do with the moral training and educational development of her neph- ews, and indeed many of the children of the first pioneers, as she was for a generation the only teacher at Grand Haven. She was born at Ashfield, Mass., September 18th, 1813. Her early advan- tages were good, and she was educated partly at Sanderson Acad- emy, and partly by that famous teacher, Miss Mary Lyon, from whom she feels she gained her inspiration as a teacher. She com- menced teaching at the age of 16, first a private and then a district school, in Ashfield. Afterwards she, with her sister, taught a boarding school in Amherst, Mass. June 10th, 1835, she came to Grand Haven, and soon opened a private school in the house of Mr. Ferry, nearly without pay. On the organizing of the district she took charge of the school, in which she continued constantly, with the exception of a few months, until 1852. She then taught at Steubenville, Ohio, one year, and afterwards ten years as associate teacher in the seminary at Rockford, Ill., making in all thirty-four years of zealous labor as a teacher of the young.
Miss White, now verging towards old age, is in the quiet en- joyment of a competence, and is the honored head of the bachelor home of her nephew, Senator T. W. Ferry, who was educated by
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her, and whose pride is, in her age, to cherish the guide of his youth.
ROBERT STUART.
We are indebted for the following sketch to an extract from the Detroit Tribune of February 15th, 1877:
"At a recent festival of the Caledonian Society of Grand Haven, Col. Wm. M. Ferry paid the following glowing tribute to the mem- ory of a former citizen of Detroit, whom the majority of the present generation only know by repute, but know to have been a rare and noble man. This sketch will be read with great interest by all our old citizens, as well as by those who have only heard of its subject:
"Upon the first plat of the village of Grand Haven appears the name of Robert Stuart, as one of its proprietors, and of this man I have the honor to speak in response to the sentiment, 'Grand Ha- ven.' Robert Stuart was born in Callender, Perthshire, Scotland, February 19th, 1785. His father was John Stuart, his mother Mary Buchanan. John Stuart was the son of James Stuart, who was known as James MacEamish MacAlester; that is, as you Scotsmen would interpret it, James, son of James, son of Alexan- der. Those of you who are familiar with the life of Rob Roy will remember the relation of a personal contest with the Laird Alexan- der, growing out of a dispute upon the establishment of a boundary question. Rob Roy, in the latter part of his life, had located in the neighborhood of the Stuarts, and owned an estate adjoining that of the Laird Alexander. Stuart was of a stern, fiery temper, that would not brook control, dictation or interference from any source, and a combat with swords ensued in decision of the question at issue. Rob Roy, celebrated as he was as a swordsman, was dis- armed. Such contests were in those days the court of last resort, and the rendered judgment was final and a matter of history, if not of record. Their difficulties were thus settled to their mutual sat- isfaction, and they became ever after good friends and neighbors.
"John Stuart and his son Robert were known in the Highlands by the designation, 'Big John of the Woods' and 'Little Robert of the Hills.' John's immediate ancestors were doubtless Catholics, as one of the family took up arms in the cause of the Pretender in 1715, and another in 1745. Robert's boyhood and youth were spent in the neighborhood of Callender, Balquhidder, the Trosachs and Loch Katrine, and he was familiar with every foot of that beau- tiful region, since made immortal by Sir Walter Scott's ' Lady of the Lake '-possessing a vigorous brain and a wonderfully retentive memory, his mind was stored with facts and incidents of Scotland's history, and his nature became imbued with the chivalric charac- teristics of her noblest sons. Throughout life his memory served to enchant his hearers as he related the tales and legends of his native hills. He was thoroughly educated in the doctrinal belief of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and though not until later in life did he make profession of religion, yet he always maintained three habits of action, originating under the parental roof, which threw an influence around him, which followed him into the trackless wil- derness of America, and forsook him not through all the scenes of an eventful life. These were a religious regard for the Sabbath, a reverence for the sacred Scriptures as the word of God, and a respect for the ministry of that word as a Divine ordinance.
"However, until middle life he disdained experimental religion, regarding it asa weakness of character, or as the merest enthusiasm. He honored and valued the ordinances and rites of Christian wor- ship, as preserved and practiced in their simplicity by his ancestors and countrymen. As a lofty man of the world his religion was wholly ritual. Its elements were external morality, doctrinal ortho- doxy, prevalent convictions of the truth of Christianity as a system of valuable ethics, historical faith, demonstrations of respect for its
institutions and consistent professors, and conformity to a general ritual.
" You have before you a proud, handsome, cultured Highland Scotchman; dignity, sternness, decision and energy his prominent characteristics; personally of commanding form and presence, and a thorough gentleman in dress and demeanor.
" When about attaining his majority his friend and relative, .Gen. Robert Stuart, after whom he was named, and who was a prominent officer in the East India Company's Army, proposed to take him out to India, and look to his advancement in life. This was in some respects a flattering proposal, as Gen. Stuart was a bachelor and wealthy. The offer was accepted, and the prepara- tions were all made for the journey, when, at the last moment, the heart of his mother failed her at the thought of the separation from her idolized child in so distant and unhealthy a region. The pro- ject was abandoned. I name this circumstance and incident of his life as a needed ingredient in obtaining a true opinion of his charac- ter; this was a tenderness of love for mother and home, and after- ward to wife and children, that seldom forms a part in such a man as I have hitherto described.
"At the age of 22 he came to America at the solicitation of his uncle, David Stuart, who was then agent of the Northwest Company . in Lower Canada, and Robert Stuart landed at Montreal in 1807. But on his arrival his uncle had gone to Labrador. He associated himself in business with the same company, and under the tutorage of a Roman Catholic priest, made himself master of the French language, the better to qualify himself for the commercial life to which he had devoted himself. His elegance of diction in the use of both the French and English languages was a remarkable accom- plishment favorable to his plans, and a specially noticeable grace in him throughout his life. Subsequently he entered the office of the attorney-general of the Province, and continued a rigid course of business discipline in Canada, until he engaged with John Jacob Astor, of New York, who organized in 1810 the Pacific Fur Com- pany, for the purpose of establishing trading posts on the Columbia River and along the Pacific coast. As one of the partners of the firm he set sail from New York in 1810in the ship Tonquin, doubled Cape Horn, touched at the Sandwich Islands, reached his destina- tion, and aided in laying the foundation of the city of Astoria.
"This perilous voyage, its disasters and expeditions of a like nature following the planting this settlement in the Northwest, has been given to the world through the gifted pen of Washington Irv- ing, and from material principally furnished the author of "Astoria" in the daily journal kept by Robert Stuart. Nothing equalling this thrilling narrative has ever been given to the public, so valuable in its details of the trials and vicissitudes attendant upon the early explorations of the vast region west of the Mississippi Valley, the . Columbia River and of the Pacific coast.
As an incident that determined important experiences in the life of Robert Stuart, I will here give you the sequel to the voyage of the Tonquin :
" This vessel was ordered to coast northward for trade with the natives, and to return home in the Autumn. Mr. Stuart designed to form one of the company on board, but the rash, irascible temper of the captain and Stuart's indomitable will were not congenial ele- ments for such companionship, and he refused to accompany the expedition. At Vancouver's Island the savages boarded the ship, ostensibly for traffic. The petulance and obstinacy of the captain enraged the savages. He had neglected the instructions given him as to his dealings with them, and insultingly pointed to his gun as his defense when remonstrated with by the interpreter. The result .was, the Indians in large numbers came on board, deceitfully pur- chasing and arming themselves with knives, and at &
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HISTORY OF OTTAWA COUNTY.
given signal uttered the savage yell, and fell upon their victims. Five only of the ship's company escaped instant death, who retreated and fortified themselves in the cabin. Four of these left the ship in the life-boat, but were captured, and suffered a protracted, torturing death. One alone remained, wounded and meditating revenge. The next day the savages boarded the ship in immense numbers, for pillage; when the only survivor of that ship's company, heroic- ally seizing his opportunity, set fire to the magazine, and blew up himself, ship, and Indians, with a tremendous explosion.
" The loss of this vessel rendered it necessary to devise other means to reach the Atlantic, and an expedition by land was under- taken by Robert Stuart with six attendants. Let me whisper to you that, before he left New York, a more than twinkle of light had dawned upon his life, of a warmth and brightness hitherto unknown to him. Its scintillant rays found a way to his big heart, and by night and by day that Star in the East, yes, indeed, a Star in Beth- lehem, hastened his footsteps thitherward, for Stuart was then an ardent, eager lover.
" After twelve long months of peril and privations, surpassing the wildest scenes of romance, they accomplished the journey over- land from the mouth of the Columbia to New York City.
" Remember, this was in 1812, more than sixty years ago, when there was scarcely a settlement west of Detroit in Michigan. Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and other now populous Western States, constituted the Northwestern Territory. The war with Great Britain at that time existed, and the blockade of the City of New York, and of the whole Atlantic coast, put an end to the enterprise at Astoria, and Mr. Stuart sought other employment. " In 1819 he removed to the Island of Mackinaw, and for fif- teen years conducted the commercial enterprise of the American Fur Company, extending from the lakes to the Rocky Mountains. While in New York, in 1813, he wooed and won a wife, who, in beauty and womanly grace of personal and mental endowments, is rarely equalled. Gifted in all that ennobles and dignifies woman- hood, she possessed the charms of wit and culture that made her a fascination to all who came within her influence. I speak but the words of truth and soberness of this lovely, accomplished woman- one truly worthy of so noble a man.
" Mrs. Stuart was a native of Brooklyn, N. Y., and was edu- cated in the Moravian Society, of Bethlehem, Pa. She was the Star of Bethlehem that lighted his way, not only across the track- less, pathless continent, but cheered and adorned his life with never- fading radiance. She accompanied Mr. Stuart to his frontier home at Mackinac in 1819.
The business life of Mr. Stuart while at Mackinac was one of laborious efforts in conducting the gigantic enterprises of that ener- getic company, and he was signally successful. Associated with him were men of rare ability, and under them almost an army of men filling the several departments of this vast organization in its multifarious details. The supervision of the affairs of the company " were under his immediate control and management until the wind- ing up of their operations in 1834, when he removed to Detroit.
" Life at Mackinac, in those days, was not wholly one of drudg- ery and business engagements. There was occasional relief, and especially during the long winters, when gaiety and reveries, such as are not known to us at this day, were indulged in by the daring men who had assumed the role of advance guard on the outskirts of civilization. Besides the gifted and cultured from Eastern homes, there were many reckless, wild adventurers who had drifted into this locality, and here found opportunity for the most extravagant aban- don. The officers of the United States Army who were stationed at the garrison in Fort Mackinac, were not counted out in the recur- ring festivities of the ' Mighty Northwesters,' who, imitating the old
feasts in Highland Castles, renewed their gorgeous feasts and song and dance at their hospitable homes. The occasional gatherings of a few of the choice spirits in boon companionship to ' make a night of it' with whist and wine, were not the least nor less frequent of the scenes of dissipation and reckless jollity that these old timers arranged during seasons of relaxation from active duties.
" I will relate an occurrence at one of their affairs:
" Stuart occasionally, with special friends, was one of a number to ' hie themselves awa ' in an isolated building with closed shutters, and pass the night in such revelry.
" Mrs. Stuart, because of her ardent love for her liege lord and lover, would not submit to such unseemly neglect, and after a num- ber of such absentings from his cheerful and otherwise happy home, determined to venture a reclamation of her husband from such entanglements.
"Not a word passed between them referring to this source of agony to her loving heart, nor could she longer live without an attempt to restore to herself the rightful control of her husband's hours of leisure and rest. Soon an evening came when Stuart did not come home. With restless, anxious alarm she passed the long night in waiting for his footsteps, with the cold dread in her heart that only a wife can feel and know.
" The cold gray of the morning found her still walking that floor. In her desperation a thought touched her. 'I have always dressed in the plaid-the full Highland costume on his birthdays- it is a fancy of his and a delight; I'll dress in it and find him and bring him home.' At once she acted upon the suggestion. She carefully, tastefully arrayed herself from head to foot in the Stuart plaid, and enveloped in a cloak, she ran along the street, and soon reached the house with the closed shutters. It was broad daylight now, but within it was night, and hesitating a moment at the door, she dropped the cloak, then opened the door, stepped into the room, and stood before the group of men in that glare of lights, a High- land lassie, radiant in her beauty !- the plume that adorned her Scottish bonnet trembling in unison with her excited, throbbing heart! In wondering astonishment, and pale with emotion before the apparition, the gentlemen were speechless. In a moment Stuart recovered from the startling thrill, and rising from his chair, with courtly grace offered his arm to his wife, and gallantly escorted her home. Not a word was spoken or needed, and that scene forever barred any recurrence of ' nights from home.'
" During Robert Stuart's sojourn at Mackinac, I think it was in 1828, a complete transformation of the inner man occurred. Recog- nizing the needs on the Island of the Gospel ministry, he had given encouragement in 1823 to a proposed Christian Mission, and prof- fered a home for the minister, and opened his doors to welcome him as a member of his family; with the express stipulation, that no interference, directly or indirectly, should be made by the clergy- man with the accustomed gayeties of his house, excepting upon the Sabbath, when he would permit the assembling for family worship on that day; but no other religious exercise in his house would be tolerated by him. This was the beginning of the missionary efforts at Mackinac, with which most of you are familiar, the results of which may only be known at the Great Day.
" His early training in the old home in Scotland had prepared him with a foundation that he now built upon. His strong mind gradually took hold of the interests awakened in his associates and acquaintances around him, and his conviction of the Truth was most characteristic of the man. I need not describe his strugglings. So sudden, radical, aud complete was the change in this man, that even the Indians regarded him with amazement, and ever after treated him with a deference and veneration that bordered upon idolatry, and they loved and honored him.
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HISTORY OF OTTAWA COUNTY.
"So exact was he in the performance of every Christian duty, from that time to the day of his death (about twenty years), nothing of business or place of surroundings was allowed to interfere with the observance of such obligations. In journeying, whether on steamboat or at a hotel, without ostentation or intrusion upon the privileges of others, but with the inflexible habit of his home cus- tom, his family assembled at the hour allotted for devotions, and .with him fulfilled what to him was a sacred and cherished duty; and this was but an indication of the habit and life and every-day demeanor of the man, the humble, dependent, faithful Christian. If ever a man lived who was wholly consecrated to the service of his Master, while energetically and thoroughly fulfilling his relations as a citizen in public and private life, that man was Robert Stuart. On his removal to Detroit, in 1835, he became ruling elder in Dr. Duffield's church, and these relations were never changed. How appropriate such a man was in such a place, can only be known by those with whom he associated and who knew him, as the citizens of Detroit all did. The poor knew no dearer friend than he was to them.
" From a sermon that was preached by Dr. Duffield, on the occasion of his death, I have taken liberally into this sketch. If any of you would look more closely into the life of this great and good man, I commend that discourse to your perusal.
" Robert Stuart was appointed Indian Agent by President Harrison, having charge over all the scattered tribes of the North- west, whose interests he watched and guarded with paternal care. His first visit to Grand Haven was in 1835, while acting as Indian Agent, and together with Mrs. Stuart, passed several months here. He had invested largely in lands in this county, and was one of the projectors and proprietors of the city, beginning in 1834, and con- tinuing many years a member of ' The Grand Haven Company.'
"Many characteristic incidents relating to Mr. Stuart that oc- curred while here I pass now, as I have taken up more time than I had intended in my recollections of him; but in social chat hereafter your possible interest in him may lead to a knowledge of the rich vein of humor that was an outcrop with him on all occasions, and which served to make him the very center of attraction in social gatherings not only, but in public assemblages.
"Mr. Stuart was subsequently elected treasurer of the State of Michigan, and after the expiration of his term of office was appoint- ed, in 1845, trustee and secretary of the Illinois and Michigan Canal Board, with his office in Chicago. His known character and probity secured the confidence of capitalists, and his management of that great work, connecting Lake Michigan with the Gulf of Mexico, was in full keeping with his successful and established business rep- utation.
"He died at the age of 64 at Chicago, in October, 1848. A noticeable coincidence is, that the manner of his death was precisely that of his father, John Stuart-peacefully, painlessly, while sitting in his chair.
"Wherever he was known the intelligence of his death was re- ceived withi overwhelming sorrow. In the Detroit Advertiser of that date I find an exquisite poem from the pen of D. Bethune Duffield, Esq., beginning and ending with the following lines:
' Hushed be each note of gladness! Let sorrow have her way- For manly hearts are swelling With bitter grief to-day.'
and the echo came from Scotland and America alike!
"My friends, I have thus given you a hastily prepared sketch, partly from concurrent data and from memory in reply to your toast, 'The City of Grand Haven.' My intention is to bring before you a model man in public and private life. A Christian gentleman, a
Scotch-American, such as either country may well remember with honor and pride, and pardon me if in my admiration for his charac- ter and worth, I assert that this country cannot furnish a parallel to the life and character of Robert Stuart."
We are sure it will gratify the many friends who still cherish- the memory of CLARK B. ALBEE, to have a brief sketch of his life inserted in the history of the County he did so much to develop. He was born at Highgate, Franklin County, Vt., July 10, 1811. His early educational advantages were limited, but as soon as he became of age he determined to see something of the world for him- self, and went to Michigan, where he was employed one year in teaching. In 1835 he sought more profitable employment, and found a position with David Carver, of Chicago, arriving in Grand Haven in 1836 as agent for Carver in the forwarding and commis- sion business. In 1838 he separated from Carver and established a general store for himself, adding successively a boot and shoe store, a tannery, a hotel and a lumber establishment. During the rebel- lion he was appointed Draft Commissioner, and was active in aiding heads of families to procure substitutes. Originally a Whig, he be- came an earnest Republican on the formation of that party, but he had such a strong sense of right, that he never allowed fidelity to party to blind him to its faults. He was a charter member of the Odd Fel- low's, and filled all the positions of a subordinate lodge, but the mul- tiplicity of his business cares caused him to withdraw from active connection. He had a warm heart for humanity, and was particu- larly tender of the interests of little children. In his religious views he was unsectarian. His death occurred suddenly Jan. 30, 1874- his death was a loss to the people of western Michigan, as his re- . moval caused a vacancy that could not easily be filled.
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