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 35
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This society should be not only a re-union of the old, but a gathering and perpetuation of our early his- tory, that will soon pass from memory without some such means.
It is for you, gentlemen, to make this association one affording great pleasure to you all, and that will afford to your children not only pleasure, but desirable information.
SUMMER MEETING OF 1882.
The society met again May 16, 1882. The object of the meeting was to re-organize, and fill offices made vacant by the decease of Daniel B. Harrington, President, and Samuel Russell, Soloman Kingsley, Jonathan Burtch, Samuel Carleton, John S. Kimball, Joshua Tompkins, and Oel Rix, Vice Presidents. The Presidents and several Vice Presidents had passed away since the last meeting. Some interesting facts in the history of several prominent individuals, re- cently deceased, were obtained by the Treasurer, Moses F. Carleton, and enrolled in the records of'the society. An historical committee of six was appointed at the request of the Western Historical Company to revise the history of St. Clair County when the manuscript is completed. The committee consists of the President and Executive Committee, and Mr. Horace Baker. Rev.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
A. H. Ross addressed the society, and urged the necessity of gathering and preserving all that can be learned of the early affairs of the county, as they would be very valuable fifty years hence. The officers elected were: Hon. W. T. Mitchell, President; Mrs. B. C. Farrand, Secre- tary, and Moses F. Carleton, Treasurer; Executive Committee, B. C. Farrand, E. W. Harris, Moses F. Carleton and Henry Harrington. John M. Hart was elected a Vice President in place of Samuel Carleton, deceased. Eight new members were enrolled. The society will meet at the call of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee of the Pioneer Society met at the County Court House November 28, 1882, for the purpose of revising the history of the county. The manuscript was submitted to this committee and approved.
RETROSPECT.
Could we evoke the genius of memory, and draw from those who are passing away so rap- idly now the reminiscences of that time, how many stories we should glean of hair-breadth escapes in the wilds or in the waters-how the hunters returned from the hunt laden with spoils, or of the adventures of the land-hunters who had found some new paradise in their wanderings over the pathless prairies. We can imagine how, after the long days had passed in toil, and the semi-occasional mail had come in, that those few old settlers would gather around their respect- ive hearthstones and, with their pipes in their mouths, and after carefully perusing the papers, not more than a month old, review the events of the times, and compare notes as to progress in breaking and clearing the lands; and especially when the shorter days of winter came, and alone in the wilderness a month at a time, removed from communication with friends or relatives at their Eastern homes, how the ties of Western friendship would seem to draw closer, and the gather- ings come oftener, and when the shades of evening came the ox-sled would be hauled up, the box filled with a generous supply of hay, and the whole family take seats in the bottom and hasten to visit their neighbors, half a dozen miles away. And then the sorrow, when some loved one was nearing the grave, and the doctor, hastily summoned from a score of miles, gave no hope; how the sympathy of all the country round was shown in kindly offers-watchers coming a long distance to give their aid; and the funeral gatherings, comprising the neighbors for miles around. There were many bitter trials and hardships not conceivable in these days; but they had their compensation, too, in the enlargement of the love of humanity, in the earnest and true-hearted sympathy, and in the unbounded hospitality. Every house was a hotel, but it was a hotel without money and without price. Every traveler was welcome to come and go at free will, and the thought of compensation never entered the minds of those free-hearted dwellers in the wilds. And what was true of the eastern portion of the county from 1784 to 1835, was equally true of the western portion, until within a few years. All the change that would be made in the picture is of dates. It seems as if there was something in the partial iso- lation of mankind that develops the kindlier feelings of the human soul, enlarges its better im- pulses, and re-creates mankind into more nearly the image of the true man. And this is true even of these men, many of whom led wild lives, and this was but the excrescent growth of the cir- cumstances in which they were placed, and in no way affected the manliness of character which developed itself. It seems, indeed, as if it were a wise provision of nature that the opening of new countries should be attended with a renewal of the simpler life of man, and thus introduce new blood into the world of civilization.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
MORAVIANS, MORMONS AND GERMANS.
TN this little chapter we deal with four peoples who have been prominent in the history of Michigan and known to the citizens of this countv. It is true that only representatives of these peoples made St. Clair County a home. The Moravians and Mormons were only tempo- rary residents; but the Germans and Hollanders who found their way to the peninsula in 1845-48, contributed their quota to the settlement of this county. For these reasons their his- tory is taken from the summary of State history, and given a place in that of St. Clair.
What would the Republic be without immigration? It would be less than a cranberry marsh. Our population is of such a confessedly heterogeneous character, that, naturally enough, it suggests the question, Has this intermingling of different nationalities sensibly af- fected our health conditions? Certainly not, as far as intermarriages between the nations of the Caucasian race are concerned. This opinion is given first upon the fact that our classes of diseases have neither changed nor increased in their intensity by reason of such admixture, so far as can be learned by the statistics or the history of disease in the Northwest. Imported cases of disease are, of course, excepted. Second, because all that we can gather from statis- tics and history, concerning such intermingling of blood, goes to prove that it is beneficial in every respect-physically, mentally and morally. Ireland and England, of all the countries, are said to form the best illustration of the good attending an intermingling of the blood of different nations; for the reason that their character is supposed to be, comparatively speaking, good, and that of all countries they have been, perhaps, more frequently invaded, and to a greater or less part more settled by foreign peoples than any other. From an acquain ance of nearly a quarter of a century with the people of the world, and from an adequate knowledge of the people, whose nationalities are so various and whose intermarriages are so common, it is at least presumable that we should have heard of or noted any peculiar or injurious results, had any such occurre 1. None such, however, have been observed. Some fears have been expressed concerning the influence of Celtic blood upon the American temperament, by figures or fact. Reasoning from analogy, it would seem safe to affirm that the general intermingling by inter- marriage now going on in our population, confined to the Caucasian nationalities, will tend to improve the existing character, rather than to create any new character for our people. If this view needed support or confirmation, it is to be found in some interesting truths in rela- tion to it. Edwin Seguin, in his work on idiocy, lays special stress on the influences of races, in regard to idiocy and other infirmities, like deafness. He says that the crossing of races, which contributes to the elimination of some vices of the blood (as may be the case in the United States, where there are proportionally less deaf and dumb than in Europe), pro- duces a favorable effect on the health of the population, and cites as an example Belgium, which has fewer deaf and dumb than any country in Europe, owing to the influence of the crossing of races in past ages from the crowds of northern tribes passing, mingling and partly settling there on the way to England. We are aware that it has been predicted that our future will give us a new type, distinct from all other peoples, and that with this type must come, not only new diseases, but modifications or aggravations of the present diseases, in partic- ular, consumption and insanity. But so long as we are in a formative state as a nation, and this state seems likely to continue so long as the country has lands to be occupied and there are people in Europe to occupy them, such speculations can be but of little value.
Another subject of importance must always be, the effect which occupation, food, educa- tion and manners have upon public health. The two chief factors of the social and sanitary well- being of a people are, a proper education of the man and a proper cultivation of the soil. The two principal occupations are education and agriculture, the learners in the schools being in ex- .cess of the laborers on the soil. A happier combination could scarcely be desired, to form an
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intelligent and a healthy people. How this will affect our habits in the future, it is easy to conceive; but for the present it may be said (of so many different nationalities are we com- posed) that we have no habits which serve to distinguish us from other northwestern peoples. A well-fed and a well-taught people, no matter how mixed its origin, must sooner or later be- come homogeneous and a maker of customs. In the meantime, we can only speak of our habits as those of a people in general having an abundance of food; though it is to be wished that the workers ate more beef and mutton and less salt pork, and that whisky was less plentiful in the land. The clothing is sufficient, fuel is cheap, and the dwellings comfortable. Upon the whole, the habits of the people are conducive to health. It is thought unnecessary to refer to the influence upon health in general of other occupations; for the reason that manufact- urers, traders and transporters are, for the most part, localized, and, perhaps, not sufficiently numerous to exercise any marked influence on the state of health in general.
THE MORAVIANS.
By what power tyranny is allowed to exist is one of the mysteries. Europe, before the Reformation, was a continent of tyrannies. Since the Reformation, it has changed the petty tyrant for the powerful one; and is, to-day, ground down beneath a more terrible, a more ex- acting, a more pernicious oppression than ever existed to mark the pages of its older history. Instead of a few hundred Moravians, a few hundred Puritans, a few hundred Catholics flying from evil laws, as in olden times, we have tens of thousands -- aye, hundreds of thousands- looking westward, across the Atlantic, to these States with longing eyes, and sending messages of hope to reach friends here before they die. Great numbers have come, are coming, and, doubtless, may continue to come; but the power that draws them from their old homes is a mysterious one. Tyranny forced the Moravians to seek the encouragement of tyrants in 1749. It was willingly extended; and, thirty-two years later, the same false friend murdered one hun- dred of those who sought and obtained his dangerous patronage.
The English at Detroit suspecting that a certain settlement of pious Moravians, on the Muskingum River, were sympathizers with the Americans, called a conference of the tribes at Niagara, and urged the fierce Iroquois to destroy the Moravian Indians-the name given to the few red men who had, up to that period, been converted by the Moravian missionaries. But the Iroquois chiefs failed to see where such a massacre would benefit themselves, and were content to send a message to the Ottawas and Otchipwes, requesting them to make a bouilli of the Mo- ravian Indians on the Muskingum. The Moravian missionaries arrived at Detroit in 1781, when the Indians held a war council, in presence of those missionaries and De Peyster, the commandant. The Indian chief, known as Capt. Pike, told De Peyster that the English might fight the Americans if they wished; they had raised the quarrel among themselves, and it was they who should fight it out. The English had set him on the Americans, just as the hunter sets his dog on the game; but the Indian would play the dog's part no longer.
Kishkawko and another warrior stood by the side of the British Commandant. The former carried a hickory cane, about four feet long, ornamented-or rather, strung-with the scalps of Americans, together with a tomahawk presented to him by De Peyster some time previously. He concluded his address to the commandant thus: "Now, father, here is what has been done with the hatchet you gave me. I have made the use of it you ordered me to do, and have found it sharp." A few days after this council, the Moravians left Detroit for their new homes on the Riviere aux Hurons.
Jacques Leson, in his evidence before the Land Commissioners at Detroit, November 9, 1810, said, in his reference to William Ancram's claim for land in Macomb County: "To the best of my knowledge, the Moravian ministers, with Indians of the Delaware Nation, were liv- ing on these lands twenty-seven or twenty-eight years ago. I lived in the village, and culti- vated lands near, for many years previous to July, 1796, and recollect Wittaness telling me that Askin owned a large quantity of land from the Moravian village upward. Fifteen years ago, the late surveyor, McNiff, came up the Huron with Sanscrainte, the interpreter, who informed me that they had come to survey the land by order of Askin. At that time, twenty or thirty arpents were under cultivation, and twenty or twenty-five cabins and houses were erected."
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
John Askin, Sr., related, that on April 28, 1786, he purchased, for himself and William Ancram, then commandant at Detroit, sundry improvements of the Moravian ministers and others, made by them on the River Huron, which empties into Lake St. Clair at a place called the Moravian Village, for which he paid $200. He likewise purchased the improvements made at the same place by the Moravian or Christian Indians, sixteen in number, for $200; also $50 to one John Bull, for improvements at the same place, together with furnishing the Moravians two vessels to enable them to return to Muskingum, their former mission. For all this he re- ceived the thanks of John Heckenwelder, their chief missionary. At this time, there were more than twenty houses, with many outbuildings; all of which were purchased, save one, occupied and claimed by the late Richard Connor, together with an Indian corn-field, with a yard and garden in rear, which were purchased subsequently by him and Maj. Ancram, from eleven chiefs of the Chippewa Indians. These early land-buyers cut a road from Detroit through the woods to these lands-a distance of about twenty miles-with a little assistance from the Mo- ravian Indians. After the Moravians gave up possession, John Cornwall was appointed agent, and Robert Dowlar, Ames Weston and others went on as tenants. Those men left after some time, when Ancram placed the Indian chief, Wittaness, and his band in charge. . These Indians had much trouble with Richard Connor, of whom they often complained. This Moravian village and adjacent territory became an elephant on the hands of Askin; and so he was glad to accept 1,600 pounds, New York currency, for the property, from Isaac Todd and James McGill, then merchants of Montreal, in Lower Canada. The deed of conveyance bears date June 28, 1796.
MORAVIANISM.
The history of the Moravians begins in 1457-long years before Luther's Reformation. Toward the close of the fifteenth century, there were over 200 Moravian Churches in Moravia and Bohemia, where a Moravian Bible was published and studied. Passing over three centuries of the history of this religious society, during which time it died out in its cradle, we learn of its revival in 1749, under the auspices of the British Parliament. That body acknowledged Moravianism a part of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and further enacted that every encour- agement should be given to its followers to settle in the British Colonies of North America. The Moravians came, and established their missions along the frontier, the most important of which was that in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, at Muskingum. Here 100 missionaries and dis- ciples were killed in 1781, under the auspices of the British Government, ostensibly on acount of the outrages and murders charged against them, but in reality on account of the sympathy which they exhibited toward the New Republic, and under orders of British officers. The sur- vivors of the massacre came to Detroit in 1781; thence moved to the village on the Huron, which they named New Gnadenhutten.
While waiting for one of those most uncertain conveyances known as a Grand Trunk train one morning, John E. Day pointed out the site of the ancient village of New Gnadenhutten to the writer and Judge Avery. The latter related the story of Moravian marriages, and, in fact, had time to review the history of the United States before that Grand Trunk train arrived. The Moravians never selected a wife -- never had a chance to do so -- for the reason, that one of the articles of their faith pointed out distinctly that God was the great designer, and to Him the Moravians should trust the choice of a wife. The manner in which their God made the selection was crude indeed. One of the principal missionaries brought forth a cylindrical tin case, something similar to that which is used in lottery affairs at the present time. In this he placed bark or paper slips, with the names of all the male candidates for matrimonial honors. Another missionary brought forth a similar tin case, in which he placed tickets, each bearing the name of one marriageable girl of the settlement. Missionary No. 1 gave his lottery tick- ets a thorough shaking, then opened the little door, and took out the ticket which he first touched, the name on which he read aloud, and then presented the ticket to the members of his audience, who were thenceforth witnesses. This first act played, Missionary No. 2 gave the lottery case containing the female names a shaking, precisely as thorough as that given in the former instance, and, withdrawing a ticket, called out the name, presented it to the persons near him, and called. them to witness the genuineness of the transaction. This closed the second act of the drama.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
The third act was the religious ceremony of matrimony, and the proclamation of the nuptials; the fourth was the wedding banquet, enlivened by hymns, gun-shots and congratulatory speeches, and the fifth and last act of the play was a quiet, evidently happy life, until death separated the strangers who were made man and wife in the third act
The habits of these people, and even of their Indian converts, were as peculiar as their man- ners were quiet and unassuming. Their customs were even stranger than their habits. Econ- omy was practiced to such an extent that even they were sparing in the use of language. In the midst of plenty, they were accustomed to deny themselves food, and proclaimed many fast days throughout the year. Their tastes for agriculture were not so marked as their love for horticulture; but both gave way to the prevailing passion for mechanical work. They clothed themselves in the plainest fashion; yet seemed always at home under all circumstances. Cool and calculating, and even usurious when chance offered, they were slow to betray their feel- ings. They formed a community of such a peculiar character, that, once seen, they never could be forgotten.
THE MORAVIAN VILLAGE.
This village was located where, in later years, was the farm of Elisha Harrington, around the site of the residence of that pioneer. As described by Mr. Harrington, the center of Moravianism on this continent comprised thirty one-story log houses, fifteen on each side of a roadway, forming the nucleus of what the day-dreams of Heckenwelder pointed out would be the main street of a large and prosperous town. In the center of one of these rows was the Moravian temple, differing very little, in external appearance, from the dwellings of the wor- shipers, built as much for defense against the bellicose Otchipwes, as for shelter from climatic extremes.
Here this tribe remained some years; but the Otchipwes, whose more warlike natures made them the terror of all the neighboring tribes, became jealous of the Moravians; hating them because they had abandoned the war path and the nomadic life of their forefathers. They hated them because their religion was full of mystery, or appeared so, to the savages of the Chippewa Nation. The Moravians knew full well how deep was the hatred which their scalp- taking neighbors entertained toward civilization and her children; of their feelings toward any Indians who professed friendship for the American; and this knowledge tended to render their stay here as disagreeable as it was dangerous. It is no wonder to learn of their emigra- tion. They scattered, some returning to Muskingum, others effecting a settlement near the scene of Proctor's defeat, on the Thames River, in Canada; but before the persecuted people left their village on the banks of the Huron, fourteen members of their colony died, and were buried at Frederick, where their graves were made between what are now known as the Har- rington and Stephens farms.
The old Moravian village at Frederick has passed into the past. It is as if it had never been. One relic alone remains. Years ago, Elisha Harrington, realizing the fact that the time would come when such a relic would possess no inconsiderable interest to the antiquarian, dug up and preserved a piece of the timber which formed a part of one of those buildings.
MORMONISM AND ROYALTY.
Among the eccentricities of the American settlement of Michigan, there is only one which excels, in its quasi philosophical bearing, unblushing impudence, political trifling, ignorance and vice. The whole history of the Union fails to present anything so horribly grotesque as the Mormon settlement on Beaver Island, and the introduction of royalty there by a low, un- scrupulous, yet clear headed animal, born at Scipio, N. Y., in 1813, and named James Jesse Strang. Here we will briefly review the rise and fall of his kingdom in Northern Michigan. The paper of Charles K. Backus, published in March, 1882, having discussed the progress of Mormonism, the death of Joseph Smith and the dispersion at Nauvoo, selects James Jesse Strang as a representative of that church, and traces him through the varied stages of his life, from June 18, 1844, when he proclaimed the receipt of Joseph Smith's letter, to July 9, 1856, when he died from the effects of wounds dealt by two of his former co-religionists.
Mr. Backus says: "The community at Vorce grew steadily in numbers and in 1846 its
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
leader determined to plant a colony in the Lake Michigan Archipelago. In May, 1847, he, with four others, visited Beaver Island on an errand of exploration. The few traders and fishermen already in possession received them with deliberate inhospitality; but they built a camp of hemlock boughs, found food in beech nuts and wild leeks, and completed their task in the face of many obstacles. When winter came, five Mormon families were permanently settled at Beaver Harbor. In the summer of 1848, their number was quadrupled, and in 1849 they began to be counted by hundreds. Their Gentile neighbors resisted their immigration strenuously; but they were persevering, industrious, sober, and their foothold on the island continually grew firmer. The village on the harbor was named after its founder -- the City of James, a title which was soon shortened and sanctified into St. James; a road was cleared to the farming lands of the interior, a saw-mill was built and a schooner was launched. The missionary work was also carefully planned for the winter of 1849, and, with the opening of navigation in 1850, converts flocked to the Mormon island in large numbers. St. James was then made the permanent quarters of the new church, which, at its annual conference in July, was re-organ- ized as a kingdom, with Strang as King, his office uniting those of 'apostle, prophet, seer, revelator and translator.' Counselors and subordinate officers were numerous, but Strang's restless energy was felt everywhere. The communal plan was abandoned, and the lands of the church were apportioned among its members. A system of tithing was instituted, and the funds thus created paid the taxes, cared for the poor and met all general expenses. Schools for children and debating clubs for adults were established. A well-equipped printing office not only executed the orders of its king, but from the royal press was issued regularly (weekly for some years, but daily at the last) the Northern Islander, a paper whose appearance and lit- erary merit surprised the occasional tourist in that remote region. The erection of a large tabernacle was commenced, and roads, docks, and kindred improvements contributed to the comfort of the settlers. The prohibitory principle was rigidly applied to tea, coffee, tobacco, as well as to liquor, and the observance of Saturday as the Sabbath, and attendance at church on that day, were made compulsory. Prostitution was threatened with rigorous penalties, but polygamy was sanctioned, although it was never practiced in more than twenty families. The King had five wives; but in no case did the number exceed three, and in every instance it was required that the ability to support a large family should be shown before plural marriage was permitted. All the women were compelled to wear the short skirts and ample pantalets of the Bloomer costume. With its domestic affairs managed in this exceedingly paternal fashion, the Mormon Kingdom grew into a community of nearly two thousand souls, occupying homes which were at least comfortable, controlling a small commerce and slowly accumulating property, but never approaching the civilization of Salt Lake City. Strangers who visited Beaver Island at this time described the men as rough and generally illiterate, and its women as with but few ex- ceptions, sensual and ignorant. Strang himself was found to be a man of vigorous frame, light com- plexion and high forehead, intellectual, fluent in speech, of suave manners and very companionable. He was the master of a fervid variety of oratory, and skilled in the art of appealing to the untrained sensibilities of his hearers by stimulating his emotions. At times his authority was unsuccessfully resisted by some of the more turbulent or more capable of his followers; but the faith of the mass of his subjects in his supernatural powers was implicit, and over them his sway was absolute. The ruler of the Beaver Island Kingdom never succeeded in establishing its foreign relations on a peace footing. For three years the Gentile islanders opposed the Mormon immigration by all lawful and some lawless means. Then the new-comers found themselves strong enough to abandon their original policy of non-resistance, and they commenced to club the disturber of their meetings, and to retaliate violence with harder blows. The result was a fierce and often bloody border feud, which continued with varying fortunes for six years. As the outcome of this chronic frontier warfare, the Mormons, who were constantly growing in numbers, and had the advantage of a definite organization, became in the end sole possessors of the island, and were heartily hated and feared along the entire coast. In his diplomacy, King Strang was shrewd and successful. He speedily established friendly relations with the Indians, despite the interested hostility of the traders, who possessed great influence over the chiefs. In 1851, the Government became convinced that the islanders were a band of land pirates, who had
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