USA > Michigan > Saginaw County > History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume II > Part 20
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Although Curtis Emerson was of peculiarly slight physique, he was a man of wonderful energy, vital power, and physical and mental activity. His fondness for the social glass was his most serious fault, and that was not acquired, but was inherited. His command of language was remarkable, and under the influence of liquor he became a volcano of mingled wit, sarcasm, vituperation and blasphemy. In politics he was a strong Democrat, despising the "d- black Republicans" as he called those of the oppos-
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ing party ; and many of the early conventions in this State were witnesses of his fitful outbursts. When he was in easy circumstances he was a prince in his lavish expenditure of money; but in his later years he was involved in litigation and law suits about his property, and met with severe losses which in the end left him a poor man. His last years were eked out in poverty, vet under all adversity there arose the strong individuality. the masterly spirit of independence and defiance, the untamed demon of inherited habit and desire. Full of quick, hateful, uncontrolled desires, eccentricities and faults, he fairly overflowed with charity, kindness, and warm hearted affec- tion for his friends. No one who ever knew him could find in their inmost being a single trace of unforgiving hate; yet he was shunned, dreaded, despised, and in turn petted, honored, and loved by all. A demon now, and in an hour a man of sense, humor and business, his character was penciled in finer lines of light and shade than any other of our early pioneers.
Ilis final illness came gradually, with the least pain, and his quiet and easy death February 11, 1880, was the complete calm that follows life's fiercest tempests. Not a relative was present to smooth his pillow, but true friends stood by his bedside, and the last breath brought no struggle. Thirty- five years have passed, but his memory is still green with those who knew him and yet remain.
Norman Little Founds East Saginaw
Norman Little, whose enterprise in the palmy days of speculation effected such development and improvement in Saginaw City, may well be called the projector and "father" of East Saginaw. Disappointed, but not discouraged, at the set-back to his fortunes on the west side of the river, he turned his attention to promoting and building up an entirely new town on the east side. In promoting his landed interests here, he started the early settlement upon the site selected more than twenty years before, and as if by magic a flourishing town soon rose in a bayou and marsh, which was a glow- ing tribute to his undaunted nerve and progressive spirit.
In 1850 he induced James M. Hoyt, of Eli Hoyt & Company, of New York City, and his son Jesse Hovt, to become interested with himself, each one-third, in the site and business of promoting settlement of the lands originally entered by his father. The Hoyts had been business acquaint- ances and old friends of his family for many years, and came to know his worth and integrity of character. To consummate the enterprise two hun- dred and twenty acres of land upon the original site, and other property amounting to twenty-four hundred acres, all on the east side of the river. were purchased by the partners. Part of this land had previously been purchased by a man named Carroll and others, from Doctor's Little's estate, and some had passed to the Farmer's and Mechanic's Bank, of Detroit.
From this enterprise inaugurated by Norman Little, backed by the capital of the Hoyts, East Saginaw entered upon its era of remarkable growth and development. The valley of the Saginaw was the natural outlet for the vast timber resources of a wide territory extending in all directions ; and when this fact became generally known and recognized by ambitious people in the East, immigration flowed to this western frontier in increasing volume. Capital in turn was also attracted by the lure of riches easily gathered, and freely opened its treasure house to the expenditure of millions to read the harvest that was ready, but the seeds of which it had not sown. The great pineries to the West and North were soon teeming with logging camps, the streams became choked with logs, long rafts filled the river and bayous, and the whirring saws completed the transformation of the standing timber to merchantable lumber. The saline resources of the earth were soon
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tapped and the refuse and wastes of the saw mills were utilized through the medium of steam to convert the brine into salt. At every hand there was industrial activity ; and in due course agriculture gradually assumed an im- portant part in the general prosperity.
In 1849 the only sign of habitation on the site of the primitive settle- ment was a shake-roofed log cabin built by the American Fur Company, for the use of one of its agents, Captain Leon Snay. It stood on part of the ground now occupied by the Bancroft House, and in 1851 was used as a private school. A small clearing was made in the vicinity of this log house. the work being done by Seth and Thomas Wiley and their associates. including Otto II. G. Moores and Adoniram Dann; and the lands were surveyed and platted immediately after the choppers passed over the ground. The first rude buildings of the little village sprang up on the bank of the river along what is now Water Street, between Tuscola and Germania. There was a steam saw mill, a boarding house, an office, a rough building called "the store", and a barn, together with a few board shanties, one story and an attic, used for dwellings, to form the nucleus of the settlement.
An unbroken forest extended on three sides of the clearing, which was bounded by Washington, Tuscola and German Streets, and the river, but here and there were to be seen evidences of settlement in the smoke of a lonely hut in the woods, or burning brush heaps. A short distance below was another small clearing made by Gardner D. Williams, called the "farm". which was purchased about that time by Norman Little for agricultural purposes. It was not long before the ground was cleared as far as the bayou which crossed the Plank Road (Genesee Avenue) near the present location of Baum Street, and wooden buildings began to appear for the use of stores in the block between Washington Street and the river.
The original plat of East Saginaw, known as the "Hoyt Plat", was sur- veyed by A. Alberts for Alfred M. Hoyt, and published December 12, 1850. The streets running east and west, beginning south of the twelve river front lots, at the north limits, were named Astor, Miller, Carroll. Fitzhugh, John- son. Tuscola, Plank Road (Genesee Street ), and continuing south German, Williams, Hayden, Millard. Thompson, Hoyt and Emerson. The streets running north and south, parallel with the river, were named Water, Wash- ington, Franklin, Cass. Jefferson, Warren, Webster, Clay and Rockwell. It will be noted that only a few changes of names have been made in sixty-five vears, and were rendered necessary in order to avoid duplication of names by the consolidation of the twin-cities of Saginaw, which took effect in 1890. Miller Street was changed to Carlisle: Williams to Janes; Cass to Baum : Webster to Weadock: Clay to Park; and Rockwell to Second Street. At the same time a few changes were made in the names of streets on the West Side, to avoid confliction with streets bearing the same names on the East Side. Franklin Street ( the first north of Court) was changed to Hancock; Jefferson to Cleveland: Water to Niagara: and Farley to Bristol Street. The additions to East Saginaw since the date of the original plat have been made by well known citizens, some of which, though comparatively insig- nificant in area, are valuable on account of their central location and the large and important buildings erected thereon.
Norman Little was a man of great foresight. He was also a good advertiser. The latent wealth of the valley, its productive soil and its great forests of timber, which had attracted him in former years, he now exploited throughout the East, and drew to its confines many a hardy, ambitious man with the true stuff of the pioneer. It is related by William 11. Sweet, a well known lawyer, now deceased. that in February, 1850, he crossed the river from the west side with Mr. Little. at the site of the present Bristol Street
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bridge, and walked down on the middle ground from that point to the little village of East Saginaw, the trail being through an almost unbroken forest. In his journey from Detroit to Saginaw, in January of the same year, he was not pleased with the appearance of the country hereabout, as it seemed to be a vast swamp. It was a wet, open winter, and the passage from Flint was made in a big uncomfortable wagon, sometimes through water and deep mud, but a part of the way between Pine Run and Saginaw was over corduroy roads. In his walk with Mr. Little he spoke of the unfavorable impression he had formed of the country, and expressed doubts respecting the future of Saginaw.
Mr. Little thereupon drew from his pocket a map of Michigan, spread it out upon a fallen tree, and pointed to the various rivers rising on all sides in the interior. "Those rivers," he said, "are all tributary to Saginaw. When the great wealth of valuable timber growing adjacent to said streams shall be brought to Saginaw, when the salt and coal underlying the valley, and agriculture shall be developed and become important factors in the business of the valley, then you will know that my confidence in the ultimate growth of the valley is not misplaced. These rivers, like the ancient roads, 'all lead to Rome,' and if you live the ordinary life of man, you will see this valley occupied by a hundred thousand people." To Mr. Sweet this seemed like a prophetic vision of a speculative enthusiast. Time, however, has demon- strated the wisdom of Mr. Little's prediction.
He Builds a Plank Road to Flint
One of the earliest and most important improvements inaugurated by Mr. Little was the construction of a plank road to Flint, a distance of thirty. two miles. In 1848 he applied to the legislature for a charter, but the scheme was considered a visionary one, and only after much opposition did he finally secure it. "There certainly can be no harm, one way or the other, in voting for a charter," the members at length agreed, "for it will never amount to anything. The idea of building a plank road through that swampy country is ridiculously absurd - might as well talk of building a plank road to the moon." But through the untiring efforts of Mr. Little the road was put through and completed at considerable outlay. It opened up a direct high- way of communication with the outside world, the value of which was at once apparent in the rapid increase in immigration and settlement.
As a result of this enterprise a post office was soon established, and a coach-and-four brought in and carried out a daily mail, while every day the cry everywhere heard was "still they come." At the lower clearing a large steam fouring mill, called the Mayflower Mills, with four run of stone, was built, which many conservative persons thought a very rash expenditure. Soon a large warehouse made its appearance on a substantial dock, and steamboats and sailing vessels began to visit the town. The only tavern then in the place was the Valley City Hotel, built in 1851 by William F. Glasby on Water Street about midway between Plank Road and Tuscola Street.
As the village began to assume the appearance of a thriving and pros- perous town, a pretentious hotel was deemed a public necessity, and soon a three-story frame building arose on the southeast corner of Plank Road and Water Street, covering nearly half of the square along the road, and was given the name of Irving House. Another grist mill was erected at about this time on the west side of the bayou on the site of the store now occupied by Woolworth : new docks were built along the water front, and a ferry was put in operation at the foot of Plank Road. The demand for village property
JESSE HOYT
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then became clamorous, and lot after lot was taken up, fenced off, and a home or business house erected thereon. Business continued to increase, people to flock in, and houses sprang up almost mysteriously : yet no reaction set in.
The man to whose enterprise and unceasing efforts this promising state of affairs was primarily due was Norman Little. He was born at Avon, Livingston County, New York, March 21, 1800; and was the eldest son of Doctor Charles Little, who made the first entry of government land on the Saginaw. His early boyhood and school days were spent in his native town, where he received a good education in the practical affairs of life. At the age of sixteen he came west with his father to prospect for lands suitable for town sites, and was with him in his memorable visit to the Saginaw River in 1822-23. But the time had not arrived for the unfolding of their plans of settlement, and they returned to New York State. In 1836. when the spirit of speculation swept the country, Doctor Little came to Saginaw on a visit to his daughter, Mrs. Hiram 1. Miller, and was followed in July by Norman and a party of emigrants, among whom were Charles L. Richman and wife. They arrived on the first steamboat, the Governor Marcy, to traverse the Saginaw River. Doctor Little, who was born September 12. 1776, passed his declining years in Saginaw, where he died September 19, 1841. at the age of sixty-five.
Ilaving enlisted the financial support of Mackie, Oakley & Jennison, of New York City, in the project of building up a prosperous city on the Sagi- naw. Norman Little proceeded to carry out an elaborate plan of improvements on a new plat embracing all the previous plats on the west side of the river, and including an original plat on the east side in the vicinity of what is now Bristol Street. Something of his remarkable enterprise and achievement in promoting the upbuilding of Saginaw City, before the collapse of the specula- tive bubble in 1838, is narrated in the preceding chapter. In 1852, when his efforts in building up a new town on the east side gave promise of success, he removed his residence to East Saginaw, and settled in a new house on the northeast corner of Water and Fitzhugh Streets, where he lived the remainder of his life.
To all the multiple business affairs of Jesse Hoyt, Mr. Little applied his genius as an organizer and promoter, and very much of the wealth that after- ward accrued to the former was directly due to the enterprise and progressive spirit of the latter. While it was the capital of Mr. Høyt that made possible the early improvements, including the laying of the plank road to Flint and the building of substantial structures, thereby declaring his confidence in the future of the place, it was the indomitable courage and energy of Mr. Little in directing the enterprises inaugurated, and the handling of the infinite details, that insured the success of their ventures. It should be remembered that Mr. Hoyt never took up a permanent residence in Saginaw, nor did he ever linger long in his periodical visits to the town ; therefore, it seems eminently proper that, having left an enduring monument to himself in the splendid library which bears his name, the greater measure of credit and praise should be bestowed on his able lieutenant, who lived here and bore all the hardships and privations of pioneer life. All honor to him who builded so well, even better than he knew.
The people who now enjoy the fruits of his far-seeing wisdom, especially when they call to mind the struggles and sacrifices through which he labored. should cherish the memory of Norman Little with tender care. The courage with which he carried out his plans and the perseverance by which he brought them to a glorious fruition, should always be held in grateful re- membrance. To great energy of character and physical endurance he united a mild and benevolent disposition, and was blessed with a truly social nature
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which rendered him, to the last moment of his life, an object of affectionate regard to those who were his juniors, and of uninterrupted attachment to his friends and associates of past years. To these he ever remained constant. for true friendship and a spirit of universal hospitality belonged to his nature and became substantial characteristics.
After spending the best years of his life in founding our prosperous city. Mr. Little suffered a tragic death by drowning in the Saginaw River, this unhappy event occurring on the morning of November 8, 1859. Though scarcely fifty-four years of age, he left a name intimately associated with every pioneer movement in Saginaw Valley.
William L. P. Little
1. L. P. Little, better known to the early settlers of Saginaw as "Colonel Little", was born at Avon, New York, November 26. 1814. He was the second son of Doctor Charles Little, and spent his childhood and youth under the paternal roof, receiving such education as was afforded by the schools of his native town. In early life he developed to a remarkable extent the indomitable energy, rare financial capacity, and mathematical exactness in matters of trade and negotiation, which were distinguishing characteristics throughout a long and active business life. He came to Saginaw City in 1836 and for four years was actively associated with his brother, Norman Little, in the upbuilding of the town. After the financial collapse we find him engaged in the mercantile business with his brother-in-law, Hiram L. Miller, in which he continued for ten years.
In 1851 Colonel Little removed to the east side and entered into partner- ship with Jesse Hoyt in general merchandising, occupying the premises at the foot of Genesee Street later covered by the Commercial Block. Their store was destroyed by fire on July 5. 1854, when they closed up the business. At this time the needs of the growing town for banking facilities became urgent, and on January 1. 1855, Mr. Little opened the banking office of W. L. P. Little & Company on the second floor of lloyt's Block ( now known as the Exchange Block), on the northeast corner of Genesee and Water Streets. For the first year he attended without great inconvenience to all the duties of the bank, but in 1856 James F. Brown came from New York and assumed the position of cashier. Three years after, Douglas Hoyt became an employee in the office; and in the fall of 1859 the bank was removed to the Bancroft House Block, in the room on Genesee Street so long occupied by the billiard room. The original vault for the safe-keeping of the specie and valuable papers of the old bank may still be seen in this room. On December 31, 1864, this bank went out of existence, its business being taken over by the Merchant's National Bank, which was then founded with Mr. Little as its president.
During these years Mr. Little devoted a part of his time to real estate and general commercial transactions, to the development of the salt industry, and to the manufacture of lumber in which he became one of the heaviest dealers. To the many local improvements, both of a public and private character, then being promoted, he also lent his aid and encouragement. llis principal business, however, and the prime object of his ambition was the bank which bore his name, and which, from his ability as a financier and unswerving integrity in every business relation, he was peculiarly fitted to be the head.
At the first charter election under the act incorporating East Saginaw as a city, held in March. 1859. Colonel Little was elected to the Mayoralty by a large majority, notwithstanding the fact that the Democratic party, with which he was always allied, was then in the minority. The duties of his position he discharged with zeal and fidelity, and to the entire satisfaction
/
COLONEL W. L. P. LITTLE
Who came here in 1836, and in the early fifties with JJesse Hoyt, established the largest mer- cantile house in the northwest. In 1855 he opened the first banking office in this section of Michigan.
CHARLES D. LITTLE
The youngest brother of Norman and W. L. P Little, who, about 1850, began the practice of law in Saginaw City. During the Civil War he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of General R. S. Granger.
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of all the people. In 1857 he was appointed Receiver of the United States Land Office, Moses B. Hess being the Register; and it was mainly through their efforts that the transfer of that office from Flint to East Saginaw was effected.
About 1854 he built a commodious residence, pleasantly arranged with luxurious appointments, on the northeast corner of Water and Johnson Streets. The house was of frame construction of a prevailing style of the period, with a large wing on the south side, and was painted a glistening white. It altogether was one of the pretentious residences of the town. Water Street north from Tuscola in those days was the most exclusive residence section, and the west side of the street between Johnson and the Mayflower Mills was an attractive little park shopping gradually to the water's edge. The fortunate residents thus had an unobstructed view of the river and its activities: and their back yards and stables faced on Washington Street, where are now some of our attractive residences. North of Colonel Little's house were the homes of Solomon B. Bliss, Charles B. Mott and Norman Little, all of which have disappeared excepting the old Mott House, on the southeast corner of Water and Fitzhugh Streets, so long occupied by Emil Moores, and now the home of William Glover Gage.
When past the meridian of life. in full possession of every comfort and luxury wealth could provide, which came of years of unwearying toil. sur- rounded by associates ever ready to yield an unquestioning assent to the suggestions of his ripe judgment and well-tried experience, happy in the possession of an affectionate family and a devoted circle of friends, a dread- ful malady seized his overworked brain, and in an instant of temporary hallucination his great energy of mind was turned to self destruction. On the morning of December 9. 1867. he died in his bed from a bullet wound. self inflicted. In this tragic event which closed his earthly career the ruling instincts that had swayed his life were all apparent, and he died as he had lived, fearless and with that unconquerable spirit of a man of intense action.
Charles David Little
Another well known member of the Little family, who came here at the beginning of the remarkable expansion of our industries and who lived here the remainder of his life, was Charles D. Little, the third son of Doctor Charles Little. He was born at Avon, New York, March 5, 1822, and passed his boyhood in acquiring a schooling, and later received a classical education with the intention of following his father's chosen profession. But his elder sisters had fretted over the strenuous life of their father in his efforts to relieve the physical ailments of the little community in which they lived, and persuaded their brother not to follow in their father's footsteps. Aban- doning his original plan of life work, when yet a boy he visited Saginaw with his brothers in 1836, but soon after returned to his native State and later began the study of law in the office of Walter 1. Hubbell, at Canandaigua.
In 1842 he came to Michigan and settled at Flint, where he completed his legal preparation and was admitted to the bar. fle then entered into partnership with E. H. Thompson of that town, and in 1846 was elected Judge of Probate of Genesee County. At the close of his term he came to Saginaw City, and followed the practice of law for twelve years. In 1862 he enlisted in the Twenty-third Michigan Infantry, of which he was appointed quartermaster, but upon going to the front he was made assistant-adjutant general on the staff of General R. S. Granger. On account of impaired health he was compelled to resign in 1863, and, upon being honorably dis- charged, returned to Saginaw and engaged in farming and in dealing in real estate.
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Aside from his personal affairs Mr. Little always evinced a deep interest in public matters, from 1864 to 1870, being chairman of the board of super- visors. In 1868 he was elected to the State legislature, and was again honored in 1870 and later in 1878, and was one of the prominent Democrats among the law makers of the period. He was a fine parliamentarian, and his suavity of manner, his ready command of language, his dignity and uniform courtesy made him a distinguished member of any body of men with which he was associated. For years he was one of the leaders in the business and social circles of Saginaw City, to which his circumstances of comparative leisure eminently fitted him.
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