History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume II, Part 21

Author: Mills, James Cooke
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Saginaw, Mich., Seemann & Peters
Number of Pages: 838

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Fraternally, Mr. Little was prominently identified with the Knights of Pythias, and was instrumental in founding Achilles Lodge in this city in 1874. Upon the surrender of its charter in 1889 he associated himself with Wolverine Lodge, No. 94, of which he was a member at the time of his death. In 1901 he attended the meeting of the grand lodge at Battle Creek, when he had the distinction of being the oldest past grand chancellor present. He was also a member of J. N. Penoyer post, No. 90, G. A. R., of which he was past commander.

On November 20, 1853, he was united in marriage with Miss Pamela W. Webster, of Hartford, Connecticut. Four children were born to them. Charles 11., recently deceased, Mrs. S. C. J. Ostrom, Mrs. Gilbert M. Stark, and William K. Little also deceased. For many years the family home. in the stately residence at 1019 Gratiot Avenue, built by Mr. Little in 1866, was a haven of hospitality, which a courteous, considerate gentleman and his highly intelligent and charming wife presided over to the enjoyment of their numerous friends.

During his long life of nearly eighty-one years, Mr. Little was a close observer of the progress of the nation in the century which was the most remarkable in the world's history. Even when failing energies made close study and reading irksome, no subject of passing interest escaped his notice. and he was well informed on the current events of the time. On January 27, 1º03, he laid down life's burdens, the last of a prominent family of hardy pioneers, who will be remembered as long as records of human events exist.

Charles Wesley Grant

Charles W. Grant, who came here in a canoe as early as 1849 and built the first frame house on the East Side, was born at Smithfield, Chenango County, New York. March 15, 1218. His father, a native of Massachusetts, was born in 1774 ard served in the War of 1812, holding the rank of captain. Ile died at the age of ninety-two in Clinton County, this State, where he had lived for fifty years. The mother died when Charles was only seven years old.

Mr. Grant came to Michigan in 1839 and settled at lonia, where he owned and operated a saw and grist mill, one of the first in that county. In the spring of 1840 he removed to Flushing, where he started in operation the first circular saw in that section, and was also employed in a shingle mill for some time. The same year he went to Flint. where he lived until 1849, when he came down the river to this primitive settlement in a canbe. His first work here was placing a circular saw in the Emerson mill, which stood a little south of Bristol Street and west of the present City Hall.

In the spring of 1850 he formed a partnership with Alfred M. Hoyt, and they erected the "Blue Mill" at the foot of German Street, and also a wooden building which was the first frame residence built in East Saginaw. It stood at the corner of William (now Janes) and Water Streets. This mill cut

WERFERSON . HORTHFROM HOYT ST.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH AND VICIN

EVERETT HOUSE WHEN FIRST BUILT

SAGINAW RIVER FRONT, NORTH OF JOHNSON STREET, IN THE EARLY DAYS

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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY

plank for the northern division of the Saginaw and Flint Plank Road. Later Mr. Grant sold his interest in the mill business to his partner, Mr. Hoyt. and then purchased a saw mill at Lower Saginaw ( Bay City), which was destroyed by fire in 1860. In 1865 he purchased an interest in the Chicago mill, and operated it in association with Thomas Saylor, under the firm name of Grant & Saylor. The panic of 1873 brought reverses and nearly all the property of Mr. Grant was swept away.

By the power of an indomitable will and perseverance he gradually recovered his fortunes, and in January. 1880, in association with a nephew, purchased the Callam mill below Carrollton, which was operated many years under the firm name of C. L. Grant & Company. A salt works was also operated in connection with the mill. In 1897 Mr. Grant retired from active business.

In his prime Charles W. Grant was a wonderfully vigorous and active man, and during his eventful life wit- nessed the transformation of a dense wilderness into a prosperous and pop- ulated metropolis of all this section of Michigan. When he came here the log hut of Leon Snay, a pioneer trapper. was still standing on the site of the Bancroft, with native forest trees all round. and a swale or marsh extend- ing to the very door. The little settle- ment centured on what is now one of the busiest thoroughfares of a pros- perous city, was then tranquil in its primeval simplicity.

At the first township meeting held May 1, 1850. the township of Buena Vista was organized, and he was elected township clerk and commis- sioner of highways, and afterward he served as supervisor. From 1856 to 1860 he was deputy United States Marshal, and was also deputy collec- CHARLES W. GRANT tor of customs for one term. In 1885 he was elected sheriff of Saginaw County, an office he held four years. Covering a long period he was secre- ttary of the Board of Trade, and was actively identified with every move- ment for the upbuilding of the city. For many years he was corresponding secretary for Saginaw County of the Michigan Pioneer Society, and con- tributed many biographical sketches of our representative citizens to its historical archives.

Mr. Grant was a generous man, and an excellent citizen, who did his share in promoting the advancement of Saginaw Valley, and in laying the foundation of a flourishing city. Personally, he was genial and companion- able, and held the cordial respect of all. In the autumn of 1861, he was married in Genesee County to Electa Curtis, a native of Onondaga County, New York, and through all the changing years "they lived and loved together." Having finished his life's work. he died July 11, 1903, at his home at 1663 South Washington Avenue. The passing of this kindly old gentle- man of the "old school", caused profound regret and sorrow in the hearts of those who knew him well and long.

W. L. P. LITTLE FAMILY

The child at the left was Minnie Little, who died at the age of sixteen years. The younger girl was Alice, afterward Mrs. W. H. Coats, well known in Saginaw.

CHAPTER X REMINISCENCES OF PIONEER CITIZENS

Recollections of Nerman L. Miller -Oscar Jewett Located Old Business Houses William A. Crane Experienced Hardy Pioneer Life - Mary Hubbard Ide Came in 1535 - William A. Williams Told of Lumber Days - John W. Richardson Once Lived in the Old Fort- George Street Was One of the First Merchants - What John Moore Found Here in 1951- Joseph A. Whittier Paid Tribute to Jesse Hoyt - James F. Brown Was the First Bank Cashier - Emil A. L. Moore. Was Here in Pioneer Days - East Saginaw in 1554

T () have come to the place that is now a prosperous city of sixty thou- sand people. when that place was a forest wilderness, abounding with swamps, reptiles and wild beasts, to have seen deer chased by wolves along trails that are now, and have been for many years, modern city streets, to have shot deer where fine residences and well-kept lawns now line the way, and to have lived to a good old age possessing memories that charm and please those who may listen, has been the experience of a number of entertaining "tellers of old tales." The first recollections of a few of these pioneer citizens, of the primitive settlement on the Saginaw, began in the thirties, and like other young boys, the novelty of their early life made an indelible impression upon their minds.

The great woods, the winding rivers, and the denizens of the wilder- ness - a bear sniffing the air with curiosity as he detected the newcomers. and the howl of wolves at night, close to their doors, producing sensations of dread - were vividly recalled, as also the dense flocks of wild pigeons that darkened the skies, and the myriads of wild ducks, the sound of whose wings as they arose being like distant thunder, and the great schools of fish which were so numerous that they literally crowded each other in their watery retreats. In those times every man was a hunter and fisher, and every boy. as soon as he could shoulder a musket, emulated his elders in feats of the chase.

Besides the great abundance of game and fish, there were other inhabi- tants of the dead waters, some with voices of amazing depth and power. An amusing incident of the oklen time is related in regard to them. An eastern young lady was visiting here and was struck with the number of cattle that were owned by so few persons, for on arising in the morning, the first after her arrival, she told how in the night she had heard them bellowing, first far up the river, again directly across the stream, then far down the river As there were very few cattle then owned by the settlers, the family enjoyed a good laugh at her expense before explaining that the supposed cattle were the huge bull-frogs that populated the bayous. They would commence their concert in Green Bayou, roar for awhile and subside. The chorus would then be taken up in the Emerson Bayou (Lake Linton) and brought to a proper pause; and it would be completed in the Davenport Bayou north of the town.

Recollections of Norman L. Miller

One of the most versatile and entertaining conversationists of our pioneer citizens, especially when in a reminiscent mood, was the late Norman 1. Miller, who came to the primitive settlement in 1836.

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"My father and family arrived here," said Mr. Miller, "when I was only four years of age. It was a delightful day of early spring, and the river seemed like a mirror, so unruffled was its surface, while all nature was garbed in her brightest green. That day is one of the pleasantest memories of my boyhood. Our first night in Saginaw was spent at a log house located within the old fort stockade, which had been abandoned by the military force only twelve years before. Later we lived in a house on Hamilton Street, about four blocks north of the fort.

"On the north side of Madison Street, about forty feet from the curb line of Hamilton Street, stands a bitternut hickory tree over two feet in diameter, which in my youth was a sapling three or four inches through at the base. At the foot of this tree was a spring from which the few settlers in the neighborhood secured their water for cooking and drinking. A short distance south and west, on ground now occupied by the residence of Mrs. W. P. Morgan, was quite a sand hill, where during the day the children played. At night it had other visitors, and the howling of the wolves is another distinet recollection of my boyhood. In the morning their tracks could be plainly seen in the soft sand.

"The Indians were so numerous that they were scarcely noticed, and therefore created little comment or observation. Some of them, however, impressed themselves on my memory, and especially Tawas, a chief from whom the 'Tawases' took their name. lle was a red man of mild character and demeanor, and was a common caller at my father's house, always being ready to partake of the hospitality of the settlers. He seemed to be possessed of an insatiable appetite, for he was always 'buck-a-tay', meaning hungry.

"Another well-known Indian was Yellow Beaver, who was sometimes observed to be in mourning, with his face blackened in token of sorrow or dejection. Paints were much used by the redskins, yellow and red being the popular colors, and were laid on the face in blotches and stripes. They were picturesque figures in their mocassins and blankets, bare-headed, occasionally with a hawk's or eagle's feather twisted into their black hair. Their names were a variegated assortment of Bears, Beavers, Birds, Fishes and Frogs, to say nothing of the beautifully poetic and descriptive names, such as 'AAlmost- Touches-The Clouds', 'The-River-of-Stones', or 'The-Great-Rock.'

"Deer and bears were frequently seen in what is now Michigan Avenue, while the wild pigeons were so plentiful as to be nuisances to those who might sow a little wheat. Saginaw was a great fur-trading point then, and had been one of the stations of the American Fur Company. In fact, every merchant was a fur trader. While in the employ of W. L. P. Little, who ran the store known as 'The Red Warehouse', I have seen twenty thousand dol- lars' worth of valuable pelts hanging in that place awaiting shipment. About 1848 muskrats brought eight to ten cents; coons, twenty-five to fifty cents ; mink, sixty to seventy-five; marten, one dollar to a dollar and a quarter ; fisher, one dollar and a half; beaver, one dollar per pound, and Indian tanned deer hides, the same price.

"There were also red and gray fox, bear, lynx and other fur which went to provide the Chippewas with blankets, beads, firewater, powder and other necessities, real and imaginary.

"At this time I was about sixteen years of age, and | well remember the Indians used to gather in hundreds for the payment of their treaty annuities. I have seen not less than twenty-five hundred here at one time, occupying the river front of what is now Rust Park in hundreds of their temporary wigwams, their canoes lining the shore, and the night rendered indescrib- ably weird and picturesque by the reflected light of their camp fires.

NORMAN L. MILLER

A pioneer who was actively identified with Saginaw's interests for seventy-nine years. He contributed mnuch interesting lore to the history of the valley; and lived to the age of eighty-three.

CHARLES T. BRENNER

An old resident of Saginaw City who came in 1850 and engaged in the manufacture of shingles and salt. He lived to the advanced age of ninety-eight years. or until 1909.

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REMINISCENCES OF PIONEER CITIZENS

"Houses were very few at that day and the most prominent buildings were the old fort, the 'Red Store' at the foot of Mackinaw Street, which was the American Fur Company's establishment, the 'Red Warehouse' at the foot of what is now Cleveland Street, and Campau's trading post near the site of Wright's mill. The residence of E. S. Williams was on the high ground now occupied by my own house, while Gardner D. Williams had a residence further south in the block now covered by the Hill Trade School. The old cellar of this house was plainly visible a few years ago, and marked the site of the home of a man who in the early days contributed much to the life and prosperity of Saginaw.

"During primitive times a creek crossed Michigan Avenue at Cass Street. and was spanned by a bridge from which boys, including myself, were wont to fish. This little stream entered the river at about the foot of Adams Street, and it formed quite a gully at that point, which flanked the fort on the south, and gave a measure of protection to that frontier post.

How He Shot His First Bear

"It was a part of my duties to bring down the cows from a pasture in a small clearing near where the pail and tub factory now stands, and on these daily trips I always carried my gun and wa's accompanied by my dog which was very active in the pursuit of game, both large and small. One afternoon in the fall, while attending to this duty, the dog began a great barking, which was always indicative of game being near. At that time the road was approximately where Michigan Avenue is at present, and when I came out upon it I was met by my father, who said the dog had treed a bear. We made haste to follow the direction of the furious barking, and soon came up with the dog where indeed he had a bear 'up a tree.' The exact spot was near where Stewart B. William's house stood on South Michigan Avenue.

"My gun was a small bore weapon, having been a rifle which had been re-bored for shot, and was so loaded. As quick as my father said 'bear', 1 began searching in my pockets for something heavier than shot, and found a slug made for a different gun, but by chewing it into shape I made it fit my own weapon, so that by the time the game was sighted the gun was loaded for bear.' My father, fearing the result, wished to do the shooting, but I could not see it in that light, and took a very deliberate aim at the bear's head, fired, and down came Mr. Bruin, dead as a hammer. He was not very large, weighing perhaps a hundred pounds, but it was a pretty good exploit after all for a boy.

"As I grew older I often hunted deer, and even after the Civil War these animals were killed within the limits of the present city. The land from the River Road, now the extension of Michigan Avenue, to the Brockway Road was nearly all covered with a dense forest : and on our farm, now the Morgan fruit farm, a deer runway crossed from north to south. One day while hunt- ing on this tract I struck a deer trail and began to follow it. Soon noticing the print of mocassins following it, I concluded that the Indian was first in the field and thus entitled to the game, so I struck out for the Brockway Road with the intention of going home. I had not gone far when, near the Steltzriede clearing, I came upon another deer trail and followed it for a short distance, when a fine buck sprang up in front of me and was promptly shot. I had tied the head and legs together and made ready to drag the carcass out, when an Indian appeared, following the trail. He glanced at the dead buck, then at me, gave an expressive 'ugh'! and turning quickly away. disappeared in the forest. It was the same deer that he had followed for hours and had tired down to the point of causing it to lie down to rest, when it fell a victim to me who had so easily earned it.

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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY

"In those days the favorite method of deer-hunting was still-hunting. As soon as the snow fell in the fall, the hunter would search for tracks, and find- ing one would quietly follow it. If he was unable to come up with the game unawares, he still patiently followed the trail. When the deer became tired it would lie down, and if the wind was not unfavorable, the hunter stood a good chance of getting a shot when the animal started to its feet. On one occasion I tracked a deer for two days, taking up the trail in the morning where I left it at night, and at last got a single ineffectual shot, when I gave up the chase in disgust. Another time, when crossing a small clearing or 'slash', a young deer came bounding through at a range of only four rods. AAlthough the gun I carried was an English, double-barrel shot-gun, 16-gauge. cap lock, I fired and brought him down, the pellets completely penetrating the small body, and hanging in the skin on the opposite side.

"Here hangs a fine buck head," continued Mr. Miller, "a trophy of a hunt near Wahjamega in Tuscola County. On that occasion I was armed with two guns, the double-barrel shot-gun and a repeating Spencer carbine, the latter being of a kind used by some of the cavalry in the Civil War. A deer was started and I opened a rapid-fire with the Spencer, which proved in- effectual. I then seized my old standby - the shot-gun - aimed and fired, and the buck dropped in his tracks, death-stricken.

"One of the party named Powell coming up, called out: 'Did ye git him?' He was told yes. 'Well, I thought so, fer I heard ye emptyin' yer arsenal!' I felt greatly chagrined to have wasted seven shots from the Spencer, but as the operation of working the mechanism was new to me, I was excused for shooting wild.

"In the early days, wolves and bears were very plentiful, but appeared much shyer than the deer, and I never more than once or twice saw a wolf running wild, one of these occasions being when a wolf was seen pursuing a deer through what is now the heart of the business section of the West Side."

Oscar Jewett Located Old Business Houses

Another of those men closely associated with the settlement of the county, was the late Oscar Jewett. son of Eleazer Jewett the first permanent white settler in this valley. For many years Mr. Jewett lived on a farm not far from the northwestern limits of the city, and a few months before his death gave a glimpse of early affairs on the West Side.

"I was born November 3, 1837. in Jewett's Hotel, located at what is now the corner of Throop and Niagara Streets. This was the first hotel ever built in Saginaw, and was put up by my father in 1833. Ile moved into it from the former home at Green Point, where Riverside Park is now. Father came here in 1826, and my sister, Mary Jewett, who became the wife of Doctor N. D. Lee, was the first white girl born in Saginaw County, which then ran clear up toward Mackinaw.

"The hotel was a popular place at that time, and in 1839 every man, woman and child in the vicinity of the little settlement, gathered there for the Fourth of July celebration. A cannon had been packed up from Detroit on horseback for the occasion, and was fired off between speeches; and a great dinner was served. The other hotels as I remember them were, the Webster House, situated on Washington Street, with Lester Cross as pro- prietor : the Saginaw City Exchange, on Ames and Water Streets, conducted by Horace Douglass; the Shakespeare Hotel, kept by C. T. Brenner, at the corner of Adams and Hamilton; the Aetna House, by George Beeman, at the corner of Van Buren and Water: and C. F. Esche's Sylvan Retreat on Court Street.

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"Michael Dougherty's shipyard was located on Water Street: A. C. Paine's livery stable at the corner of Cass and Water; C. Wider's tannery at Stevens and Water, and John W. Richardson's harness shop, the steam spoke factory, and A. Fisher's cabinet and chair factory on Water Street. The dry goods houses were those of D. H. Jerome & Company, in the Jerome Block ; George W. Bullock, G. T. Zschoerner, in the Woodruff Block: Ferin and Flathau and P. C. Andre, on the dock. The grocery trade was represented by J. Dowling, A. Andre, Myron Butman, George Streeb, William Binder, Jacob Vogt, on Water Street ; and Michael Redman kept a restaurant at the corner of Hamilton and Jefferson (Cleveland ) Streets. Mrs. Rice and Mrs. Hamilton supplied the needs of the women with millinery; and the tailors were John Mulleahy, M. Rathke and F. A. Leasia. Such was Saginaw City's business circle sixty years ago."

In his declining years Mr. Jewett retained to a remarkable degree the vigor and strength of his early youth. He was a man of powerful frame. broad shouldered, deep chested, and in his prime stood six feet four inches, weighing more than two hundred pounds.

William A. Crane Experienced Hardy Pioneer Life

The name of Crane is a well known and honored one in Saginaw County, for there is an ex-Probate Judge, a prominent lawyer and real estate man, two physicians and a prominent farmer, all the descendants of a pioneer boy whose father, Obadiah Crane, settled on the Tittabawassee River in 1831. The log cabin that first sheltered this early pioneer stood a little east of the Hackett Ravine, and it soon gave way to a substan- tial house of square-hewed logs, in which the first "town meeting" in Tittabawassee was held. This pioneer boy was William A. Crane, who was born in the "block-house" in 1835, and whose earliest recollections were of Indians, wild beasts, and all the wild surroundings of pioneer life. Directly across - the river was the large Red Bird Reserva- tion, so called after the chief, Red Bird; and here the family lived until 1843. In those times there were many feasts and dances in the Chippewa villages, and thrilling exper- iences and occasional tragedies which made a lasting impression on the mind of the little boy. Deaths by violence were by no means rare, falling trees, gunshot wounds, drown- ings or other casualties making a long list of deaths in the aggregate.

OBADIAH CRANE

"One of my earliest recollections," said Mr. Crane, "was the tragic death of a par- ticular friend of my boyhood, Eli Benson, who was about my age. I was playing with him one afternoon, and on his return home to the west side of the river, was called by his father to drive a cow away from the vicinity of the place where he was felling a tree. By some mischance, the little fellow got directly in the path of the falling tree, and was killed. This happening made a deep impression upon my mind, and one which will never be effaced.

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"Among the Indians who frequently visited my father's house was Green Bird, who evinced a particular fondness for me, and made for me bows and arrows, and brought eagle's feathers to stick in my hair and paint to daub my face. One day Green Bird engaged in a friendly scuffle with another Indian back of our house, and close to the water's edge. He got his antagonist down and held him in such a manner that he drowned. From that time my Indian friend was an object of terror to me who had been his favorite. On another occasion, when an Indian pow-wow was being held, a savage who had secured some of the white man's rum became drunk, and in some manner discharged a gun in the crowd, killing a squaw. The shoot- ing was purely accidental, the gun being loaded for the purpose of firing a salute, and the woman was killed by the wad, which was heavy enough to do the mischief.

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History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume II, Part 21

Author: Mills, James Cooke Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Saginaw, Mich., Seemann & Peters Number of Pages: 838

Author: Mills, James Cooke
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Saginaw, Mich., Seemann & Peters
Number of Pages: 838