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 101

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 101

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ABEL M. WOOD, carpenter and builder, Section 21, P. O. Port Huron, is a native of Canada, and was born in Norfolk County March 28, 1827. He grew up and learned his trade there. He came to Michigan in 1860, and lived in Lapeer four years. He came here in 1864, and since then, for the past eighteen years, has been engaged in building here. He married Miss Nancy Hilliker, of Oxford County, Canada, May 9, 1846. They have one daughter-Emma.

A. H. WRIGHT, manufacturer of carriages and buggies, is a native of Orange County, N. Y., and was born April 7, 1831. He grew up and learned his trade there. He came to Port Huron in July, 1864, and es- tablished his present business, and for the past eighteen years has been successfully engaged in manufactur- ing carriages and buggies, and has a large established trade. He is the oldest in the business here who ex- clusively manufactures light work. He is Ward Collector, and has held that office for the past three years. Has been Treasurer of the Baptist Church for the past eighteen years. Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Harriet B. Hammond, from Dover Plains, N. Y., June 17, 1858. They have two children-Harry How- ard and Bertha Hammond.

P. M. WRIGHT, of the firm of A. N. Moffat & Co., steamboat and vessel agents, is a native of England, and was born May 6, 1831. His parents came to Michigan during his infancy, and located on the St. Clair River. Upon reaching manhood, he engaged in the milling business in Canada, and came to Port Huron in 1864 and entered the bank of John Miller and kept books there for about five years, and afterward with the First National Bank two years. In 1877, he came with A. N. Moffat & Co., and in 1879 was admitted mem- ber of the firm. He is also a member of the firm of Wright & Eldridge, dealers in coal. He has held the office of City Treasurer and a member of the School Board. In 1854, he married Miss Clara St. Clair Mon- son, a native of St. Clair. She died May 21, 1882, leaving three children-Mary E., John M. and William K. T.

CAPT. L. W. YOUNG is a native of Michigan, and was born on Mackinac Island May 5, 1847. He be- gan sailing as cabin boy on the brig Black Hawk when only twelve years of age, and sailed as Captain of the Kentucky when only nineteen years old. He sailed the schooner Evaline Bates, and was Captain of the Ios- co five years. He also sailed the Kentucky and the tug Mary, and since 1877 has been master of the steam barge Burlington. He has been in the marine service over twenty-three years. Capt. Young married Miss Lena Flemings, a native of Sanilac County, May 11, 1872. They have three children-Lizzie, Kittie and Lulu.

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE.

The country is one of beauty. The Creator fashioned it in His smiling moments. As it came from His hands, before man had furrowed it with the plow, and scratched it with the har- row, and divided it off with fences, and dotted it with barns and houses, it was one of nature's most perfect landscapes. There is just as much scenery left in it as is consistent with a high degree of usefulness; if there were more scenery some of the land must be waste; if there were less, tameness would begin to mar the perfectness of the scene. There are oak openings and timber, water and stone, hill and vale, bluff and ravine; and none of them in excess. But what makes the township of Fort Gratiot? There was nothing, or at least not much, in the vicin- ity, or in the surrounding country, to determine the fact that there should grow up one of the handsomest and most vigorous railroad villages in the Northwest. Du Luth established a mil- itary post there; later a mission was established, and in after years a United States fort was built there. Its settlement by American pioneers was an accident, or a series of accidents. It was that of those early settlers who first looked upon this beautiful spot, and said to them- selves, This is good; I will plant myself and my family here, and help to make a town, and grow up with the country. A large number were men of strongly-marked characteristics. They were clear-headed, liberal, brave and persistent men; and this was the secret of the early suc- cess of the village. Such men were not going to stick themselves down here, or anywhere, and grow up like so many transplanted Eastern basswoods; it was not in their nature to do any- thing of the kind. They had to contend with the older American settlements on the Black and Pine Rivers-no easy task. In later years, the Grand Trunk Railroad Company selected the southeast corner of the township as the head of their railroad system in the United States. In 1859, the beginnings of the true progress of the township were made. The financial crisis of 1873-78 retarded, if it did not effectually check, advancement; but in 1879 returning prosper- ity began to show its existence throughout the county, and nowhere were its signs more man- ifest than in this township. The old settlers, together with those who came during the last few years, co-operated heartily in the work of improvement, so that, at the close of 1882, the town takes a most important place among the civil divisions of the county.

In the geological descriptions of Port Huron Township, Fort Gratiot is described.

The bluffs are well stocked with timber of various kinds, oak of several species being in the preponderance. Poplar, birch and hickory are found in small quantities. The valleys all furnish more or less wild grass; while on many small streams are excellent water-powers. Soft woods of many kinds grow on the bottom-lands of the creeks and rivers. The banks of the smaller streams put forth rank growths of alder and willow bushes. The town is productive of all the cereals, grasses and vegetables common to the latitude; wheat, oats, corn, barley and rye, which return a good yield. On the lake shore north of Huronia Beach, large crops of the finest potatoes were raised.

From the above description it will be noticed that the district is peculiarly adapted to, and possesses all the requisites for a fine stock-growing, grazing and dairying district. The number of small streams, with their adjoining marshy lands, and many springs oozing from the bases of the bluffs, form excellent facilities for butter and cheese making; while the bluffs, with their heavy timber, are a natural shelter for cattle from the winter winds and storms. On the same farm may be seen the spring of pure water, the valley for cultivation, the hills for graz- ing and the timber for shelter. In later years, farmers are turning their attention more to stock, and their results justify their investments.

ORGANIC.

Fort Gratiot Township was organized in 1866, with Henry Stephens, Supervisor. The name is derived from the post, erected under Capt. Gratiot in 1814, to which the title was

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

given in honor of that engineer officer. The population of the township, including the village, was 1,902 in 1880. Since that time, the summer retreats of Huronia Beach and Ros were established, the village attained an important commercial position, so that it is not too much to state that the population of town and village in June, 1882, approached 3,000. The area of the township is 13,067 acres; the equalized valuation, $366,140, and the number of children of school age, 668.

Supervisors-Henry Stephens, 1866; S. P. Mason, 1867; Stephen Moore, 1868-69; J. M.cMartin, 1870-73; T. Lymburner, 1874-76; J. A. McMartin, 1877; Townsend Lymburner, 1878-82.

Justices of the Peace-Joseph Davis, 1874; Thomas Sutherland, 1874; Julius Granger, 1875; James Quail, 1876; James Hall. 1877; Daniel Mooney, 1877; Joseph Davis, 1878; R. E. French, 1879; Daniel Mooney, 1880; Julius Granger, 1881; Joseph Porter, 1882.

In April, 1882, the Citizens' ticket was elected, as follows:

Supervisor-Townsend Lymburner, 311.

Clerk-James Sutherland, 158.

Treasurer-James S. Button, 180.

Justice of the Peace-Joseph Porter, 179.

Highway Commissioner-Daniel Mooney, 164.

School Inspector (Two years)-Edward Hollis, 304.

School Inspector-(One year) George W. Howe, 300.

Drain Commissioner-Thomas S. Skinner.

Constables-James Richardson, 183; Jay Shaw, 290; Christian May, 309; Duncan Mckellar, 309.

UNITED STATES LAND BUYERS.

The original land buyers in this township, from 1825 to 1836, were Jeremiah Harrington, Hartford Tingley, De Garmo Jones, Lucius Beach, Gilbert Elliott, Samuel Wilson, William Lamb, Fortune C. White, John Desnoyers, A. Coburn, S. N. Dexter, A. B. Eaton, C. Masten, James L. Kelsey, Charles Butler, D. D. Dualsy, J. J. Andrews, Edward Bingham, James Scott, Charles G. Glover, John Howard, Simeon Cummings, Alexander F. Ashley, Eben Batcheller, James W. Sanborn, J. M. Wade, Phineas Davis, David Oakes, Isaac R. Stone, John Kennelly, John Brooks, Orus Field, A. W. Campbell, F. H. Stevens, Samuel C. Webster, and John Brookes. A portion of Sections 34 and 35 was reserved.

FORT GRATIOT VILLAGE.

The region now known as Fort Gratiot is historic ground. Nearly two centuries have elapsed since the first white man set foot upon its soil. It is necessary in this work to divide the record into two periods. We shall speak of the early history as an epoch ending in 1836, and of the recent history as dating from that year. Assistant Surgeon Taylor, of the United States Army, writing in 1871, deals very minutely with the history of the post. He states: "The location of the Recollet Mission in this vicinity is uncertain. According to Bell's History of Canada, it was an important one, and known as St. Marie. As the Jesuits { had one also of the same name located among the Hurons at the head of the Georgian Bay, it would seem that some confusion has arisen in relation to these missions, both as to their importance and position. Judge Campbell is of the opinion that the Recollet Mission was located at the present site of Sarnia, and nearly opposite this post. Furthermore, it is known that the Hurons had a large village near the present site of Detroit, called Teuchsagrondie, and that the intercourse between this village and the main tribe on the Georgian Bay was by the water channels. Intermediate, there were several other villages along the lake shore and St. Clair River, all of which had been visited by the Coureurs des Bois long before La Salle and Hennepin made their famous voyage through the Straits."

There were several practicable routes for the traders to reach this section. The original and most noted one was by the Ottawa River, Lake Nipissing and Georgian Bay, which, though long and very hazardous, was the principal channel of intercourse between the Huron

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

country and the headquarters of the trading interests on the Lower St. Lawrence. Its chief advantages consisted in its immunity from predatory excursions of the tribes on the side of Lake Ontario. The second was by the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario to the Trent River, thence up that stream to Lake Simcoe and the Georgian Bay. This was the usual route of the Iroquois in their forays against the Hurons, and was one of the best. The third was from the present site of Toronto and thence to Lake Simcoe. , The fourth was by. the head of Lake Ontario, the Grand River to Lake Erie and Thames Rivers and Lake St. Clair. This became a very important line of traffic, except during the time of open hostilities with the Iroquois. It was the safest and easiest route to reach the great Saginon or Saginaw fur producing region. The fifth was by the Niagara River, but probably seldom resorted to for the trans- portation of valuable goods, because of the proximity of the hostile tribes in what is called Western New York.

Parkman states that the earliest recorded visitation of this region by the French was in 1669, when the Sulpitian priests, Dallier and Galinac, in connection with La Salle, made an effort for a systematic exploring expedition of the lake country. They selected the western extremity of Lake Ontario as their starting point. La Salle, however, becoming dissatisfied with the purposes, delays and trammels of the priests, severed his connection with them and proceeded in the direction of the Ohio River, while the priests proceeded by the Grand River route and thence along the north shore of Lake Erie, passed this point the spring following, and thence to Mackinac and the Sault Ste. Marie, and finally returning to Montreal by way of the Huron Missions at the head of the Georgian Bay. The earliest map made of this region is said to have been inade by Galinac, partly from his own observations and partly from sketches made by Joliett three years before, that is on his return from Mackinac in 1666. La Salle traversed this route the following year on his private account and alone. By this he obtained sufficient data to warrant him in making a formal voyage of discovery in the name of the provincial authorities, and at the same time improve his financial condition by engaging in the lucrative fur trade. It was not, however, until ten years thereafter, that he succeeded in organizing his expedition, and started in the Griffin, * accompanied by the priest Hennepin, to make the famous voyage round the lakes. Instead, therefore, of dating the discovery of this section from the time of this voyage of La Salle, it should be from Joliette's return from Mackinac in 1666, if not as far back as Champlain's excursion to the Georgian Bay in 1612. All the circumstances attendant upon the organization of this expedition of La Salle, the orders he gave to some of his party the year before to proceed to certain points indicated, particularly the islands at the mouth of Green Bay, hardly admit of question that in this matter he acted from previous knowledge of the country derived in part from his own observations, those of Joliette and the adventurers preceding him; and that this expedition was for the purpose of taking formal possession of the great lake country, in the name of the King of France under nominal governmental authority, and at the same time to gratify his personal ambition, and improve his fortunes, sadly reduced from his previous unthrifty investment.

Leaving his anchorage in the Niagara River, he traversed Lake Erie, and on the 23d of August, 1669, being Sainte Claire's day, he entered the beautiful expanse of water to which, in honor of that personage, he gave her appellation, and the day following he passed this point into Lake Huron, thence round the lakes to the Illini country. The history of that voyage is too well known to require further attention here, save to remark that in La Salle's account of it, as well as in Hennepin's narrative, there was a manifest want of proper acknowledgment of the previous explorations of Joliette and the Coureur des Bois.

HISTORY OF THE POST.

In a military and commercial point of view, the geograpical importance of this post was very early appreciated. Seven years after La Salle's expedition, M'Du Lhut, then command- ing at Mackinac, was instructed by the Governor General, Count Frontenac, to establish a fort on the Detroit, a term applied to both the connecting rivers between Lakes Huron and Erie, and garrison the same with fifty men. The English had been, and were still making strenuous efforts to connect their interests on Hudson Bay with those in New York, and there-

* The Griffin was so named from the figure of a griffin on her prow.

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

by circumvent their rival's schemes for territorial acquisition west of the lakes, and with that the control of its valuable commerce, looking to the alternate extinguishments of the French influence along the St. Lawrence and its tributaries. It will be seen, therefore, that it was a death struggle for supremacy over a vast region, and that every political, military, religious and commercial appliance was brought into requisition in aid of the respective parties. To this end the early occupation of this post by the French had a double purpose-one to thwart the English schemes, and the other, say the instructions, " to protect our savages who may go to the chase and serve them as an asylum against their enemies. In obedience thereto, Du Lhat proceeded to the entrance of the Strait from Lake Huron, say the accounts, where he erected a fortified trading post which he named Fort St. Joseph. There is some reason to believe that in this selection he was not only actuated by geographical and strategical considerations, but his private interests were likewise considered.

Frontenac's instructions allowed and, in fact, encouraged traffic with the nations as a means of reconciliation of tribal differences and animosities, as well as keeping them bound to the French interests, while allowing at the same time liberal perquisites to the officials in charge; and it is probable that Du Lhut's way had been opened and in some degree already prepared by the traders or Coureurs des Bois in accordance with this historical policy, so that he had only to take formal military possession, and extend and improve what already had been commenced, in order to accomplish his purpose. That post was located on the present site of Fort Gratiot. This and Fort St. Joseph on the western shore, at the mouth of the river of that name, are the oldest forts in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and antedate the establish- ment of Ft. Pontchartrain at Detroit by La Motte Cadillac, fifteen years. The time of its occupation for purely military purposes, according to La Honton, was only two years, and he states he was present at its abandonment and destruction; but De Nonville, Governor General of Canada after Frontenac, says "it was maintained eight years, and exercised a powerful influ- ence against the English." It is possible that the officer had reference alike to its occupation as a trading post anterior to the military establishment, and its formal occupation under authority of the government, when the statements of both gentlemen would be correct.

The year following Du Lhut's arrival war was determined upon by the French against the Iroquois along Lake Ontario, and this officer, together with Durantage at Mackinac, and Tonti, at Fort St. Louis, a post supposed to be located somewhere on the Detroit River, were directed to organize the forces at their command and join the main expedition concentrating at Ft. Niagara, with the view of invading Western New York. Five hundred Indians and 200 French Canadians were there collected, organized and equipped, and taken to their desti- nation.

Nimecanee, or Lightning, a son of old Kioscanee, served under Sinclair, on garrison duty, in the old fort at the mouth of Pine River. Judge Bunce states that when he came to the county, this Indian was one hundred and five years old, five and a half feet high, energetic and capable of attending to his corn-field, four miles south of Black River, as well as to the chase. Every New Year's Day, he was accustomed to sail down the river in his large birchen canoe, on the bow of which he would fling the American colors to the breeze. On such an oc- casion, he would don his gold-laced coat, beaded moccasins and leggins, and all the orna- ments in his possession. Nimecanee reached the age of one hundred and twelve years. It is related that Kioscance was chief of the Otchipwes in their wars against the Wyandots and Six Nations. In his expedition from Lake Superior to Lake Erie, his fleet was so extensive as to cover the St. Clair River from Fort St. Joseph, or Gratiot, to Walpole Island. On his return from the lower lakes, he camped at Fort Gratiot, and afterward made the district his home. Nicholas Plane, Sockscotowa, is a grandson of Nimecanee, and chief of the Sarnia Indians.

Shignebeck, a brother of Nimecance, was one hundred and nine years old at the time of his death. Mrs. Ogotig, a sister of the chief, lived to the age of one hundred and seven; old mother Rodd is said to have been one hundred and fourteen years old at the period of her death; Onsha, the third son of the chief Kioscanee, reached a very old age. The Kioscanee, or Rapid Tribe, must be considered the first actual settlers of St. Clair County. Previous to their coming, the Indian settlement was on the east bank of the river, about a mile northeast of the present village of Point Edward.

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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

While this was being arranged, Dongan, Governor of New York, sent an expedition to capture Mackinac, under command of Maj. Orange. It consisted of about forty men, all of whom were captured by Du Lhut's and Durantage's forces on Lake Huron. They were piloted, says DeNonville, by a renegade Coureur des Bois, and the route taken for the purpose of avoiding this post was by way of the west end of Lake Erie to Saginaw Bay. Others say they were aided by the Fox tribe of Indians then occupying the region round about Grand Traverse Bay and the shore opposite.

The failure of the French expedition against the Iroquois left all the posts along the lower lakes greatly exposed, while the channels of supply were entirely interrupted. As a consequence, Forts Frontenac and Niagara were hastily abandoned, and this post left as the only barrier against the English and Iroquois; but being deemed too exposed and insufficient for that purpose, it was also abandoned and the stockade burnt under the supervision of La Hontan, and the forces and supplies transferred to Mackinac, which, from its accessibility by way of the Ottawa route, was to be the object of the concentrated energies of the French. But although compelled to relinquish the control of this region for the time being, Frontenac, who had been recalled to the Goveror Generalship, determined to reinstate the French authority as soon as practicable, and recover what had been so indiscretely lost by his predecessor. Accord- ingly, La Motte Cadillac, then commanding at Mackinac, was permitted to visit France secretly to avoid the intrigues of the Jesuits, with a view of obtaining a direct commission from the crown granting authority for the establishment of another military post along the Straits for the double purpose of securing and confirming the French title to the territory, and collecting as many of the northern tribes around the same as might become practicable in settlements or colonies, the whole under the sole control of the immediate military commander, hop- ing thereby to raise up a bulwark of sufficient strength to be its own protection, as well as security for all their interests northward, yet being independent of the religious orders which were continually interfering, not only with the general administration at Quebec, but with every military commander in the provinces.

Cadillac being successful in obtaining the object of his visit to the King, returned and fixed the location of his post at the foot of Lake St. Clair, on the present site of Detroit. By his sagacious management, he induced many of the isolated bands of Hurons, Chippewas, Sax and Foxes, as well as the Miamis-between some of whom there had been bitter feuds for many years-tribes scattered as they were, from Mackinac to the south shore of Lake Erie -to gather about him. After he had succeeded in establishing Ft. Pontchartrain, this section was abandoned as a principal settlement, both by French and Indians, save in a single exception, that during the Pontiac war it was the termination of and for a short time occupied by a hostile expedition starting from Mackinac in aid of the siege of Detroit by that chief.

It was occupied, however, as a military station after the Pontiac troubles had been quieted in 1763, when the English began to look to the permanent settlement of the lake country. Two years thereafter, a British officer by the name of Patrick Sinclair built a large military and trading post a few miles below this point, and where is now located the village of St. Clair. This was a regular fortification, consisting of earthworks, mounting artillery with a stockade, rally post, etc., in the most complete order; and he occupied it for about seventeen years, acquiring meanwhile from the natives a title to about four thousand acres of land bordering on the river. He was the first permanent English settler, and the only one along this river, until 1782. When Mai. Rodgers took formal possession of the country in behalf of the British crown, in 1766, both the river and the lake had the appellation of Sinclair rather than the original one given by La Salle. In 1782, nineteen others joined him, and thereafter the chain of settlements became continuous from Lake Huron to Detroit and Lake Erie.

In 1807, soon after Gen. Hull became Governor of the territory, this post, and the border along the River St. Clair, were occupied by the forces under his command, consisting of militia, chiefly under one Capt. Roe. The headquarters of the command were located in a small block- house just below the present site of Marine City, and the troops were scattered along the river bank from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. This company of about forty men, with arms and equipments, were captured by a British force sent from Canada soon after the declaration of

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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 101

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