History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 10

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Michigan > St Clair County > History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan > Part 10

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This year (1821) also two Indians were hanged for murder. There was some fear that the event would be made by the British an occasion of arousing Indian atrocities in the vicinity, and the petition for the pardon of the wretches was con- sidered by Gov. Cass with a great deal of embarrassment. He finally concluded to let the law take its course, and, accordingly, Dec. 25, the murderers were hanged.

In 1822 six new counties were created, namely, Lapeer, Sanilac, Saginaw, Shiawassee, Washtenaw and Lenawee; and they contained much more territory than they do at the present day. This year the first stage line was established in the Territory, connecting the county seat of Macomb County with the steamer "Walk-in-the-Water " at Detroit.

In 1823, Congress changed the form of Territorial government, abrogating the abrogating power of the governor and judges and establishing a system of " Legis- lative Council," to consist of nine members, appointed by the President of the United States out of eighteen candidates elected by the people. By the same act the term of judicial office was limited to four years, and eligibility to office was made to require the same qualifications as right to suffrage. The people now took new interest in their government, and felt encouraged to lay deep the foundations of future prosperity. The first legislative council under the new regime met at Detroit, June 7, 1824, when Gov. Cass delivered his message reviewing the progress of the Territory, calling attention to the needs of popular education, and recommending a policy of governmental administration. During this year he also called the atten- tion of the General Government to the mineral resources of the Superior region, and asked for governmental explorations therein. At its second session after this, Congress authorized a commission to treat with the Indians of the upper peninsula for permission to explore that country.

In 1825, the Erie Canal was completed from the Hudson River to Buffalo, N. Y., and the effect was to increase materially the flow of people and wealth into the

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.

young Territory of Michigan. The citizens of the East began to learn the truth concerning the agricultural value of this peninsula, and those in search of good and permanent homes came to see for themselves, and afterwards came with their friends or families to remain as industrious residents, to develop a powerful State. The number in the Territorial Council was increased to thirteen, to be chosen by the President from twenty-six persons elected by the people. In 1827 an act was passed authorizing the electors to choose their electors directly, without the further sanction of either the President or Congress. The power of enacting laws was given to the council, subject, however, to the approval of Congress and the veto of the Governor. This form of Territorial government remained in force until Michigan was organized as a State in 1837. William Woodbridge was Secretary of the Territory during the administration of Gov. Cass, and deserves great credit for the ability with which he performed the duties of his office. In the absence of the chief executive he was Acting Governor, and a portion of the time he repre- sented the Territory as a delegate to Congress. In 1828 he was succeeded by James Witherell, and in two years by Gen. John T. Mason. In 1831 Gen. Cass was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Jackson, after having served Michigan as its chief executive for eighteen years. He had been appointed six times, running through the presidency of Madison, Monroe and John Q. Adams, without any opposing candidate or a single vote against him in the Senate. He faithfully discharged his duties as Indian Commissioner, and concluded nine- teen treaties with the Indians, acquiring large cessions of territory in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. He was a practical patriot, of whom the people of the peninsular State feel justly proud. Probably more than any other man Gen. Cass was the father of Michigan.

GEN. GEORGE B. PORTER'S ADMINISTRATION.

On the promotion of Gov. Cass to a seat in the Cabinet of President Jackson, and his consequent resignation as Governor of Michigan, Gen. George B. Porter was appointed Governor in July, 1831, and Sept. 22 following he entered upon the duties of the office. The population of the Territory at this time was about 35,000, prosperity was reigning all around, and peace everywhere prevailed, except that in 1832 the Black Hawk War took place in Illinois, but did not affect this peninsula. In this war, however, Gov. Porter co-operated with the other States in furnishing militia. While Gov. Porter was the chief executive, Wisconsin was de- tached from Michigan and erected into a separate Territory ; many new townships were organized, and wagon roads opened and improved ; land began to rise rapidly in value, and speculators multiplied. The council provided for the establishment and regulation of common schools, incorporated " The Lake Michigan Steamboat Com-

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pany," with a capital of $40,000, and incorporated the first railroad company in Michigan, the " Detroit & Saint Joseph Railroad Company," since called the " Michigan Central." The original corporators were John Biddle, John R. Wil- liams, Charles Larned, John Gilbert, Abel Millington, Job Gorton, John Allen, Anson Brown, Samuel W. Dexter, W. E. Perrine, William A. Thompson, Isaac Crary, O. W. Colden, Caleb Eldred, Cyrus Lovell, Calvin Brittain and Talman Wheeler. The Act of Incorporation required that the road should be completed within thirty years ; this condition was complied with in less than one-third of that time. The same council also incorporated the " Bank of the River Raisin," with a branch at Pontiac. Previous to this two other banks had been chartered, namely- the " Bank of Michigan," in 1817, with a branch at Bronson, and the " Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of Michigan," with a branch at Saint Joseph.

The Legislative Council of 1834 also authorized a vote of the residents to be taken on the question of organizing as a State and becoming a member of the Union ; but the vote was so light and the majority so small that Congress neglected to consider the matter seriously until two years afterward.

During Porter's administration a change was made in the method of disposing the public lands, greatly to the benefit of the actual settlers. Prior to 1820 the Government price of land was $2 an acre, one-fourth to be paid down, and the remainder in three annual installments ; and the land was subject to forfeiture if these payments were not promptly made. This system having been found produc- tive of many serious evils, the price of land was put $1.25 an acre, all to be paid at the time of purchase. This change saved a deal of trouble. During the admin- istration of Gov. Porter occurred the " Black Hawk" war, mainly in Illinois, in 1832, which did not affect Michigan to any appreciable extent, except to raise sundry fears by the usual alarms accompanying war gossip. A few volunteers probably went to the scene of action from this Territory, but if any systematic account was ever kept of this service, we fail to find it.

In October, 1831, Edwin Jerome left Detroit with a surveying party composed of John Mullet, surveyor, and Utter, Brink and Peck, for that portion of Michigan Territory lying west of Lake Michigan, now Wisconsin. Their outfit consisted of a French pony team and a buffalo wagon to carry tent, camp equipage, blankets, etc. Most of the way to the southeast corner of Lake Michigan they followed a wagon track or Indian trail, and a cabin or an Indian hut to lodge in at night; but west of the point mentioned they found neither road nor inhabitant. They arrived at Chicago in a terrible rain, and " put up " at the fort. This far-famed city at that time had but five or six houses, and they were built of logs. Within a distance of three or four miles of the fort the land was valued by its owners at 50 cents an acre. After twenty-three days' weary travel through an uninhabited country, fording

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.

and swimming streams and exposed to much rainy weather, they arrived at Galena, where they commenced their survey, but in two days the ground froze so deep that further work was abandoned until the next Spring. The day after the memorable Stillman battle with Black Hawk, while the Mullet party were crossing the Blue Mounds, they met an Indian half-chief, who had just arrived from the Menominee camps with the details of the battle. He stated the slain to be three Indians and eleven whites. The long shaking of hands and the extreme cordiality of this Indian alarmed Mullet for the safety of his party, but he locked the secret in his own heart until the next day. They had just completed a town corner when Mullet, raising himself to his full height, said, " Boys, I'm going in ; I'll not risk my scalp for a few paltry shillings." This laconic speech was an electric shock to the whole company. Mr. Jerome, in describing his own sensations, said that the hair of his head became then as porcupine quills, raising his hat in the air and himself from the ground, and the top of his head became as sore as a boil.

July 6, 1834, Gov. Porter died, and the administration devolved upon the Secretary of the Territory, Stevens T. Mason, during whose time occurred the " Toledo war."

ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. HORNER.

It appears that Mr. Shaler did not accept the governorship of Michigan, and John S. Horner, of Virginia, was soon afterward appointed Secretary and Acting Governor. He proved to be rather unpopular with the people of Michigan, and the following May he was appointed Secretary of Wisconsin Territory. He carried on a lengthy correspondence with Gov. Lucas, which resulted in a discontinuance of all the suits that had grown out of the Toledo war, except the demand for Stickney. Gov. Lucas persisted in refusing to deliver him up; but it seems that, finally, no trouble came of the affair.

The first Monday in October, 1835, the people of Michigan ratified the Con- stitution, and by the same vote elected a full set of State officers. Stevens T. Mason was elected Governor, Edward Mundy Lieutenant Governor, and Isaac E. Crary Representative in Congress. The first legislature under the Constitution was held at Detroit, the capital, on the first Monday in November, and John Norvell and Lucius Lyon were elected United States Senators. A regular election was also held under the Territorial law for dele- gate to Congress, and George W. Jones, of Wisconsin, received the certificate of election, although it is said that William Woodbridge received the highest num- ber of votes. John S. Horner, the Territorial Governor, was still in office here ; and this singular mixture of Territorial and State government continued until the following June, when Congress formally received Michigan into the Union as a State, and Horner was sent to Wisconsin, as before noted. This Act of Congress

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.

conditioned that the celebrated strip of territory over which the quarrel had been so violent and protracted, should be given to Ohio, and that Michigan might have as compensation the upper peninsula. That section of country was then known only as a barren waste, containing some copper, no one knew how much. Of course this decision of Congress was unsatisfactory to the people of this State. This was the third excision of territory from Michigan, other clippings having been made in 1802 and 1816. In the former year more than a thousand square miles were given to Ohio, and in the latter year nearly 1,200 square miles were given to Indiana. Accordingly, Gov. Mason convened the Legislature July 11, 1836, to act on the proposition of Congress. The vote stood twenty-one for acceptance and twenty- eight for rejection. Three delegates were appointed to repair to Washington, to co-operate with the representatives there for the general interest of the State ; but before Congress was brought to action on the matter, other conventions were held in the State to hasten a decision.

Stevens T. Mason was the first Governor of this State, having been elected (Governor of the State prospectively) in 1835, as before noted, and he held the office until January, 1840. This State, at the time of its admission into the Union, had a population of about 200,000 ; its area was about 40,000 square miles, which was divided into thirty-six counties.

Nearly the first act passed by the Legislature was one for the organization and support of common schools. Congress had already set apart one section of land in every township for this purpose, and the new State properly appreciated the boon. In March of the same year (1837) another act was passed establishing the Uni- versity of Michigan, of which institution we speak more fully on subsequent pages. This Legislature also appropriated $20,000 for a geological survey, and appointed Dr. Douglass Houghton State Geologist. For the encouragement of internal im- provements, a board of seven commissioners was appointed, of which the Governor was made president. This board authorized several surveys for railroads. Three routes were surveyed through the State, which eventually became, respectively, the Michigan Central, the Michigan Southern, and the Detroit & Milwaukee. The latter road, however, was originally intended to have Port Huron for its eastern terminus. The next year appropriations were made for the survey of the Saint Joseph, Kalamazoo and Grand Rivers, for the purpose of improving the navi- gation.

In 1839 the militia of the State was organized, and eight divisions, with two brigades of two regiments each, were provided for. This year, also, the State prison at Jackson was completed. Nearly 30,000 pupils attended the common schools this year, and for school purposes over $18,000 was appropriated. Agricul- turally, the State yielded that year 21,944 bushels of rye, 1,116,910 of oats, 6,422

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.

of buckwheat, 43,826 pounds of flax, 524 of hemp, 89,610 head of cattle, 14,059 head of horses, 22,634 head of sheep, and 109,096 of swine.

Gov. William Woodbridge was the chief executive from January, 1840, to February, 1841, when he resigned to accept a seat in the United States Senate. J. Wright Gordon was Lieutenant Governor, and became Acting Governor on the resignation of Gov. Woodbridge.

During the administration of these men, the railroad from Detroit to Ann Arbor, a distance of forty miles, was completed ; branches of the university were established at Detroit, Pontiac, Monroe, Niles, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Jackson, White Pigeon and Tecumseh. The material growth of the State continued to increase, proportionally more rapidly than even the population, which now amounted to about 212,000.

John S. Barry succeeded Gov. Gordon in the executive chair, serving from 1841 to 1845.

In 1842 the university was opened for the reception of students, and the num- ber of pupils attending the common schools was officially reported to be nearly 58,000.

In 1843 a land office was established at Marshall for the whole State.

In 1844, the taxable property of the State was found to be in value $28,554,282, the tax being at the rate of two mills on the dollar. The expenses of the State were only $70,000, while the income from the two railroads was nearly $300,000.

In 1845, the number of inhabitants in the State had increased to more than 300,000.

Alpheus Felch served as Governor from 1845 to 1847. During his time the two railroads belonging to the State were sold to private corporations,-the Central for $2,000,000, and the Southern for $500,000. The exports of the State amounted in 1846 to $4,647,608. The total capacity of vessels enrolled in the collection district at Detroit was 26,928 tons, the whole giving employment to 18,000 seamen. . In 1847 there were thirty-nine counties in the State, containing 435 townships; and 275 of these townships were supplied with good libraries, containing, in the aggregate, 37,000 volumes. In the Spring of 1846, on the account of Northern and Eastern immigration into Texas, with tastes and habits different from the native Mexicans, a war was precipitated between the United States and Mexico; and for the prosecution of this war Michigan furnished a regiment of volunteers, com- manded by Thomas W. Stockton, and one independent company, incurring a total expense of about $10,500. March 3, 1847, Gov. Felch resigned to accept a seat in the United States Senate, when the duties of his office devolved upon William S. Greenly, under whose administration the Mexican war was closed.

Epaphroditus Ransom was Governor from 1847 to November, 1849. During

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.

his administration the Asylum for the Insane was established at Kalamazoo, and also the Institute for the Blind, and the Deaf and Dumb at Flint. Both these institutions were liberally endowed with lands, and each entrusted to a board of five trustees. March 31, 1848, the first telegraph line was completed from New York to Detroit.

John S. Barry, elected Governor of Michigan for the third time, succeeded Gov. Ransom, and his term expired in November, 1851. While he was serving this term a normal school was established at Ypsilanti, which was endowed with lands, placed in charge of a board of education, consisting of six persons ; a new State constitution was adopted, and the great " railroad-conspiracy " case was tried. This originated in a number of lawless depredations upon the property of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, terminating with the burning of the depot at Detroit in 1850. The next year thirty-seven men were brought to trial, and twelve of them were convicted. The prosecution was conducted by Alexander D. Fraser, of Detroit, and the conspirators were defended by William H. Seward, of New York. Judge Warner Wing presided.

Robert McClelland followed Barry as Governor, serving until March, 1853, when he resigned to accept the position of Secretary of the Interior, in the Cabinet of Pres. Pierce. Lieut .- Gov. Andrew Parsons, consequently, became Acting Gov- ernor, his term expiring in November, 1854.

In the Spring of 1854, during the administration of Acting Gov. Parsons, the " Republican party," at least as a State organization, was first formed in the United States " under the oaks " at Jackson, by anti-slaverymen of both the old parties. Great excitement prevailed at this time, occasioned by the settling of Kansas and the issue thereby brought up whether slavery should exist there. For the purpose of permitting slavery there, the "Missouri compromise " (which limited slavery to the south of 36 degrees 30 minutes) was repealed, under the lead of Stephen A. Douglas. This was repealed by a bill admitting Kansas and Nebraska into the Union as Territories, and those who were opposed to this repeal measure were, in . short, called " anti-Nebraska," were temporarily employed to designate the slavery and anti-slavery parties, pending the dissolution of the old Democratic and Whig parties and the organization of the new Democratic and Republican parties. At the next State election Kinsley S. Bingham was elected by the Republicans Gov- ernor of Michigan, and this State has ever since then been under Republican con- trol, the State officers of that party being elected by majorities ranging from 5,000 to 55,000. And the people of this State generally, and the Republicans in par- ticular, claim that this commonwealth has been as well taken care of since 1855 as any State in the Union, if not better, while preceding 1855 the Democrats adminis- tered the government as well as any other State, if not better. As a single though

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.

signal proof of the high standard of Michigan among her sister States, we may mention that while the taxes in the New England States, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania average $10.09 per capita, while in Massachusetts the average is $17.10 per inhabitant, and while in the West the average is $6.50, in Michigan it is only $4.57. At the same time it is generally believed, even by the citizens of sister States, that Michigan is the best-governed commonwealth in the Union.

Kinsley S. Bingham was Governor from 1854 to 1858. The most notable event during his administration was the completion of the ship canal at the falls of Saint Mary, May 26, 1855. An Act of Congress was approved, granting to the State of Michigan 750,000 acres of land for the purpose of constructing this canal. The "sault," or rapids, of the Saint Mary have a fall of seventeen feet in one mile. The canal is one mile long, 100 feet wide and about twelve feet deep. It has two locks of solid masonry. The work was commenced in 1853, and finished in May, 1855, at a cost of $999,802. This is one of the most important internal improve- ments ever made in the State.

Moses Wisner was the next Governor of Michigan, serving from 1858 to November, 1860, at which time Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. National themes began to grow exciting, and Michigan affairs were almost lost in the warring elements of strife that convulsed the nation from center to circumference with a life-and-death struggle.

Austin Blair was the thirteenth Governor of Michigan, serving during the perilous times of the rebellion from 1861 to 1865, and by his patriotic and faithful execution of law and prompt aid of the General Government, earning the well- deserved title of " the War Governor." The particulars of the history of this State in connection with that war we will reserve for the next section.

Henry H. Crapo succeeded Gov. Blair, serving one term. He was elected during the dark hours just before the close of the war, when he found the political sky overcast with the most ominous clouds of death and debt. The bonded debt of the State was $3,541,149.80, with a balance in the treasury of $440,047.29. In the single year just closed the State had expended $823,216.75, and by the close of the first year of his term this indebtedness had increased more than $400,000 more. But the wise administration of this Governor began materially to reduce the debt, and at the same time fill the treasury. The great war closed during the April after his election, and he faithfully carried out the line of policy inaugurated by his prede- cessor. The other prominent events during his term of office are systematically interwoven with the history of the various institutions of the State, and they will be found under heads in their respective places.

Henry P. Baldwin was Governor two terms, namely, from January, 1868, to the close of 1872. The period of his administration was a prosperous one for the

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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.

State. In 1869 the taxable valuation of real and personal property in the State amounted to $400,000,000, and in 1871 it exceeded $630,000,000.

During Gov. Baldwin's time a step was taken to alter the State constitution so as to enable counties, townships, cities and incorporated villages, in their corporate capacity, to aid in the construction of railroads. Bonds had been issued all over the State by these municipalities in aid of railroads, under laws which had been enacted by the Legislature at five different sessions ; but a case coming before the Supreme Court involving the constitutionality of these laws, the Bench decided that the laws were unconstitutional, and thus the railroads were left to the mercy of the " soulless " corporations. Gov. Baldwin, in this emergency, called an extra session of the Legislature, which submitted the desired constitutional amendment to the people ; but it was by them defeated in November, 1870.

The ninth census having been officially published, it became the duties of the State, in 1872, to make a re-apportionment of districts for the purpose of repre- sentation in Congress. Since 1863 Michigan has had six representatives, but the census of 1870 entitled it to nine.

During the last two years of Gov. Baldwin's administration the preliminary measures for building a new State capitol engrossed much of his attention. His wise counsels concerning this much-needed new building were generally adopted by the Legislature, which was convened in extra session in March, 1872.

Ample provisions having been made for the payment of the funded debt of the State by setting apart some of the trust-fund receipts, and such portion of the specific taxes as were not required for the payment of interest on the public debt, the one-eighth mill tax for the sinking fund was abolished in 1870.

The Fall of 1871 is noted for the many destructive conflagrations in the North- west, including the great Chicago fire. Several villages in this State were either wholly or partially consumed, and much property was burned up nearly all over the country. This was due to the excessive dryness of the season. In this State alone nearly 3,000 families, or about 18,000 persons, were rendered houseless and deprived of the necessaries of life. Relief committees were organized at Detroit, Grand Rapids and elsewhere, and in a short time $462,106 in money and about $250,000 worth of clothing were forwarded to the sufferers. Indeed, so generous were the people, that they would have given more than was necessary had they not been informed by the Governor in a proclamation that a sufficiency had been raised.

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History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 10

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818