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 46

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 46

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

David Brockway died December 30, 1870, at the advanced age of ninety years. He was one of the first five men who voted the Whig ticket in St. Clair County.

Rev. Norman Nash was descended from Thomas Nash, who came from London in 1637, with his family, and settled in what is now New Haven, Conn. Norman was the youngest of thir- teen children. His father Ebenezer Nash, of Long Meadow, Mass., married Susannah Hills, of North Bolton (now Vermont), Conn., and finally settled in Ellington, Conn., where Norman was born November 17, 1790. About 1820, he began his ministerial labors as missionary in Hampshire County, Va., having been ordained as an Episcopal Deacon by the Rt. Rev. Richard C. Moore, and labored so hard in that mountainous region that his health failed. He was afterward ordained by the Rt. Rev. William White, D. D., and preached in Huntingdon, Penn., after which he entered upon missionary work at Green Bay, Wis., and was engaged teaching the Menominee Indians. From 1830 to 1834, he preached in Swedesboro, N. J. During these labors he assisted in the education of three of his nephews for the Episcopal ministry, who are located as follows: The Rev. Francis B. Nash, at Tiskilwa, Ill .; the Rev. Rudolphus Nash, at Worthington, Ohio; the Rev. Norman Badger, now Chaplain in the United States Army.

In 1835 or 1836, Dr. Nash was appointed by President Jackson as a missionary and teacher among the Indians, then at Port Huron, the Chippewas and Ottawas, with a salary of $400 per year. In July, 1836, Dr. McCoskry was made Bishop of the (then new) diocese of Michi- gan, and owing to an unfortunate misunderstanding between the Indian agent, H. R. School- craft, who was stationed at Mackinac, and the Bishop on the one side, and Dr. Nash upon the other, regarding the channel through which he was to receive his salary, he refused to receive from the Bishop the amount due him, and persisted in his refusal to the time of his death. The Indians were soon after removed to neutral ground, and the Doctor devoted himself, in an independent way, to the wants of the community. He had regular appointments for religious worship at Fort Gratiot, Clyde Mills and Sturges' schoolhouses, and also other places, at differ- ent times. He was universally beloved and respected by those who knew him, and was fre- quently called upon to perform the marriage ceremony, and also to serve as a physician. He never afterward connected himself with the church, but marked out his own sphere of labor and followed it. This old resident died November 11, 1870.

James William Sanborn was born in Falmouth, near Portland, Me., in April, 1813, died April 13, 1870. He first came to Port Huron in 1835 in company with Abner Coburn (since Governor of Maine), Charles Merrill, then of Portland, but now of Detroit, and Joseph L. Kelsey, at that time of Bangor, Maine, and now residing in Washington, Macoml, County. The party came to this country to locate pine lands. Mr. Coburn, now among the wealthiest men of the country, was then a man of large means, and the party together located about 25,000 acres. Mr. Sanborn at that time was only twenty-two years of age, and was left in charge of the purchase,

306

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

Mr. Coburn and Mr. Merrill returning East, and Mr. Kelsey settling here. Mr. Merrill who was an uncle of Mr. Sanborn, soon after came West again and settled at Detroit. In 1836, Mr. Sanborn established himself at Metamora, Lapeer County, which point he made his residence for some years. The 25,000 acres of land which the party located were in this and Sanilac Counties, the whole being known as St. Clair County at that time. Two years afterward, in 1838, he was elected to the Legislature from Lapeer County, and in 1846 was again honored in this way. His knowledge of State lands made him a useful and efficient member, and as a legislator he evinced those same habits of industry and faithfulness which so eminently charac- terized him in his private business. In 1846, he removed to Detroit, remaining there, however, but a year, and coming to Port Huron in 1847. He entered into business at that time with his brother-in-law, Alva Sweetzer, the firm of Sweetzer & Sanborn being extensively engaged in selling goods and the lumber business. This partnership continued until the death of Mr. Sweetzer, in February, 1864, his widow then succeeding to his interest, and the firm being known since that time as James W. Sanborn & Co. In 1854, the firm abandoned the dry goods business (which was resumed in 1866 by Mr. Sanborn in partnership with his nephew James M Sanborn), and confined their attention principally to lumbering, though investing to some extent in real estate in this vicinity. At the time of his death, Mr. Sanborn's lumbering inte ests were very great. He had large interests on the Saginaw, the Muskegon and its tribu- taries, the Au Sable, Thunder Bay River, Pine River in the Upper Peninsula and the Cheboy- gan. His business career had been a very successful one to himself and those associated with him, and he had amassed a large estate, consisting principally of his lumber possessions, but also including considerable personal property and real estate in this city and Fort Gratiot. He was at the time of his death engaged in the dry goods trade with his nephew, James M. San- born, and also a partner in the banking house of John Johnston & Co. In politics, he always took an interest, being earnest in this, as he was in everything else. He was originally a Whig and was one of the foremost organizers of the Republican party. He was a delegate to the Jackson convention, and was on several occasions selected for official preferment. In 1854, he was elected to the State House of Representatives over W. T. Mitchell, after a spirited contest, and two years later, at a very close election, was defeated by John Miller. In 1858, he was elected Commissioner of the State Land Office, and during his term of office, along with Hon. N. G. Isbell. then Secretary of State, was very zealous in exposing the Mckinney defalcation, and unalterably opposed to covering up the matter, under the plea of party policy. He de- clined to have his name mentioned in connection with a nomination for Commissioner. He was an active worker in political campaigns, and no man in this region had been more liberal with his means for proper political purposes. Mr. Sanborn had been married three times, and left a wife and three children, one daughter by his first wife.

David M. Hagedon died at Port Huron December 24, 1871. Mr. Hagedon was born in the State of New York in 1804. About the year 1836, after his marriage, he moved to Ohio, where he resided until 1840, when he removed to Port Huron. Here he first engaged in the fishing business, starting a fishery on the shore of Lake Huron, about a mile above the light house. Soon afterward he engaged in the ship-building business, constructing one of the first vessels ever built here-the schooner Henry Hubbard. He afterward removed to Algonac, re- maining there two years, engaged in vessel-building. Returning to Port Huron, he became employed most of the time in building or sailing vessels. His warfare with E. B. Ward, of Detroit, will be remembered by the older residents of Port Huron and other river towns. For some years he ran the propeller Belle between this city and Detroit, and the Detroit opposition did not succeed in getting him out of their way until they had purchased his boat. During a part of the season of 1871, Capt. Hagedon ran the little ferry steamer Coral between Port Huron and Sarnia.

Elijah Burch, whose death occurred on the 20th of February, 1873, was born in Randolph, Vt., in 1791. In early life he was engaged in lumbering operations in Canada, and was there when the war of 1812 broke out. A proclamation being issued making all citizens of the United States then in Canada, who should not leave immediately, subjects of Great Britain, and liable to military duty, Mr. Burch was obliged to return to the United States. Afterward

307

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

he returned to Canada, and was arrested on charge of desertion, the penalty being death. Dur- ing the progress of this trial an incident occurred which illustrates Mr. Burch's love and relish for a good joke. As he was entering the court house, he was accosted by a man who inquired if his name was Burch, and his residence Chatham. Being answered in the affirmative, the stranger asked some questions about the business of Chatham, and ended by inquiring what the character of its citizens was. To this Mr. Burch replied, with gravity, "Well, sir, I am the most respectable man in the place, and I am jus going into this court room to be tried for my life." The trial ended with the exhibition of the proclamation which forced him to leave Canada. Mr. Burch removed to Port Huron in the year 1834, and made the city his home from that time until the day of his death. He built, and for many years kept the Central Hotel, retaining its management until he finally retired from business. He was a brother of the mother of Allen and Henry Fish, and Mrs. Spalding, of this city, and was a descendant, on his mother's side, of the Kimballs of Vermont. In politics, he was a Democrat.

Mrs. Sarah Luce, mother of Mrs. D. B. Harrington, died July 30, 1871. Mrs. Luce was one of the earliest settlers of Port Huron, having located here with her husband, Bartlett A. Luce, and family, in the fall of 1836. She was born and married in Pittsfield, Mass. Her husband, who was one of the first men to engage in the lumber business in this section, died in 1842. Five of her children still survive, as follows: Theodore and Benjamin Luce, of Alpena, C. H. Luce, of Chicago, Mrs. Harrington, of this city, and Mrs. L. M. Mason, of Detroit. Mrs. Donihue, another daughter, died in this city in 1855.

Mrs. Catherine McGowan, mother of Capt. Ed. McGowan, died at Port Huron, August 5, 1871. Her maiden name was Catherine Brogan, born in Donegal, Ireland, on the 12th day of May, 1765. At the time of her death, she had reached the age of one hundred and six years two months and twenty-five days. She was married at the age of twenty-eight years, and left a widow in 1835, at Erie, Penn. In 1849, she came here, and has since resided with her son. She was the mother of twelve children, and up to the time of her death had always appeared hale and hearty.

William Brown died December 26, 1874. He was born June 22, 1784, in the city of De- troit, then owned and occupied by the British. He was brought up amid the privations and hardships of that early day; his playmates were Indian and French boys, and his playthings were his bow and arrow, the rifle or shot-gun and the tomahawk; the old gentleman spoke the three languages of that day-French, English and Indian-with perfect fluency. His parents moved to St. Clair County, township of Cottrellville, settling on the farm now known as the Lumby farm, where he lived until his eighteenth year, when he went sailing in old Judge Abbot's employ, following that occupation for three years. He married the daughter of Capt. William Thorn in 1805, and moved on a piece of land which he purchased of the Indians, now known as the Sutherland farm, a half mile above the village of Courtright, opposite St. Clair. He lived there eight or nine years, pestered and harassed by the Indians continually Upon one occasion he had two yoke of oxen, two cows, three hogs and four sheep killed in one day by 500 Indian warriors, on their return after their defeat by Croghan at Sandusky, war of 1812. He suffered numerous depredations of this kind, until the hostility of the aborigines culminated in a determination at council to kill him and his family, because they thought him to be too much of a Chi-mook-he-mon, or Yankee; however, an old Indian friend of his, who was also friendly to the American cause, came at night and acquainted him with the result of the council, and the fact that six Indians had been deputed to come the next afternoon to massacre the family. His friend urged him not to tell the Indians who had given him notice of their intentions, for, said the friend, " they will kill me if you do." Preparations were made for their reception, and they came just as he was notified, armed with tomahawks and scalping knives. He let them all in the house and passed them chairs in which to sit down; he then went to the opposite side of the house, took his gun in one hand and tomahawk and butcher- knife in the other, and said to them. " I know why you have come; you have come to kill me and my family." The chief inquired, " Who told you so ?" Mr. Brown replied, " The Great Spirit came in the form of a little bird and told me all you were going to do, but," said he, "the first man that raises his knife or tomahawk is a dead man; I can kill the whole of you

308

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY

before you leave the house." " Well," said the chief, " give us a sheep and a hog and we will go and have a feast, and be friends forever." He told them to go and take one sheep and a hog, which they did, and had a big time. He remained in Canada until 1814, the year Gen. Proctor issued his proclamation requiring all persons living in Canada to take the oath of alle- giance to the King of Great Britain or leave the country. Accordingly, he and two of his brothers- in-law picked up their movables (and that was not much) and moved to Detroit. Here he was employed by the United States Government to build a stockade fort, and after that was done was sent by Gen. Butler, commander of the post of Detroit, with forty men to drive sixty head of cattle around Lake St. Clair to Fort Gratiot. While he was engaged in this manner, his old Indian friend acting as his guide and spy, some six or seven hundred Indian warriors en- camped on Hog Island, now known as Belle Isle, held a big dance and council, at which time they determined to massacre all the men in the fort and then sack and burn the city. But the wife of the Indian ally went by night and gave the commander of the fort warning, through the aid of an interpreter, of the savages' intentions and their plan of attack, viz .: They were to all land on the American side, with their guns cut off short and concealed, together with their tomahawks, underneath their blankets; they would then commence a game of ball, as played by them, moving steadily toward the fort the while; then the ball was to be thrown into the fort, and the Indians rush in a body into the fort after it, when the war-whoop from the chief was to be the signal for the attack. They all landed, commenced their game of ball, moving toward the fort, exactly as the squaw had announced. The commanding officer let them ap- proach within eighty or one hundred rods of the fort, when he sent his interpreter to tell them not to come any nearer, or he would open fire upon them; so they halted and finally left the place. In 1815, Mr. Brown moved from Detroit to Macomb County, and commenced working Judge Clemens' farm, where Mt. Clemens now stands. In 1816, he bought a farm in the township of Cottrellville, and moved on it the same year; after he got his farm paid for and fixed up, he took out a tavern license and kept a public house for over thirty years, just below the village. He was appointed the first Coroner of St. Clair County, by Gov. Cass, and served under the appointment twelve years; when it became an elective office he was elected three times by the people. He was appointed Postmaster for this township, by President Jackson, and served as such under his administration, when he resigned During the year 1829, he built the first wood-dock that was constructed between Detroit and Marine City; he bought and sold wood in considerable quantities, supplying boats, so that his place of business became a regular stopping place for boats and vessels running between Buffalo and Chicago and other ports on the upper lakes. He kept a small quantity of goods for a number of years, and traded a good deal with the French and Indians, buying furs, etc. He lived on his farm until 1868, carrying it on himself, when he leased it, and lived around with his children thenceforth. He was the first subscriber to the Detroit Free Press from this county.

Lewis Chadwick was born in Massachusetts in the year 1799, and when one year old his parents moved to Vermont. He left home at the age of fourteen, and lived the most of the time in Randolph, Chatham, Hogensburg and London, Canada, till the year 1834, when he moved to Newport (Marine City), in this county, where he remained one year, when he came to Knapp's Mills, on Black River, then called the township of Desmond, which extended as far north as the North Pole. He bought a farm about one mile east of what is now called Jeddo, which he owned till his death. This farm was first in the township of Desmond, then in Clyde, Lexington, Burtchville, and now is in Grant. His death occurred November 10, 1875.

David Robertson was born on the St. Clair River, four miles below the site now occupied. by this village, in 1796; the house in which he first saw light was a primitive yet comfortable log cabin; it stood near the present residence of Warren Robertson, and was torn down about twenty years ago. He died at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Nancy Howard, of Marine City, September 18, 1875. He was one of the first white children born on the River St. Clair, his parents having removed to this (then) wilderness but a short time prior to his birth. He grew up a vigorous youth, and at fifteen years of age we find him an enlisted soldier in the American Army, detailed for duty on the fortifications of Fort Gratiot, then building. In 1820 he married Madeline Myers, by whom he had fifteen children, eleven sons and four daughters.

309

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

Mrs. James Robertson died at the residence of her son, Capt. Hiram W. Robertson, April 19, 1875. Miss Theodate Potter (which was Mrs. Robertson's name before her first marriage) was born in the village of Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y., on the 2d day of October, 1798. At that early day that county, in Central New York, was yet undeveloped, and was in a great measure a frontier settlement. The Indian in his war paint, with his deadly tomahawk and glittering scalping knife in his belt, was no rare sight, and amid these wild scenes, and the de- privations accompanying them, were the girlhood days of Miss Potter passed. She was in Pompey when the attitude of the savages became most alarming, and finally culminated with the outbreak of the war of 1812. Alike with the residents of her town, she shared the hopes and fears of that struggle. Miss Potter was married to Mr. Cyrus Millard, of the village of Pompey, when she was but sixteen years of age, and while the war of 1812 was in full progress. She remained a resident of the town of her birth until 1836, when, leaving the scenes that were familiar to her from the first, she made the journey to Michigan. Here again, she was destined to meet and overcome the hardships of frontier life, for the " lovely peninsula " was then even more wild than Onondaga County, N. Y., in 1798.

Michigan was then a Territory, and was engaged in settling the question of her southern boundary with Ohio, which was the one obstacle that kept her without the sisterhood of States until the following year. Mr. Millard, with his wife and family, settled at Newport (now Ma- rine City), on the St. Clair River, but he did not long survive. He died in 1837, about' one year after his arrival. Mrs. Millard remained a widow twelve months, when she was married to Mr. James Robertson, of Cottrellville, with whom she lived until his death. One year there- after she removed to St. Clair, where she resided at the time of her death.

Chester Rankin was the son of Otis and Mary Rankin, who emigrated to this county from Madison County, N. Y., in the year 1833, and settled in the town of Cottrellville, a short dis- tance west of Newport, now Marine City. Here Chester Rankin was born, October 24, 1837. While quite young he, with his father's family, removed to the town of China, near Belle River Mill, and near the place where he resided at the time of his death, April, 1875. He was mar- ried in the spring of 1863 to Miss Annie E. Kirk, who resided with her parents in the same neighborhood. He had one brother and one sister; Mr. Henry Rankin, of East China, was his brother, and Mrs. Slyfield, wife of Capt. Luther L. Slyfield, of St. Clair City, was his sister.

Conrad Denio, one of the veterans of the war of 1812, resided on the town line between Casco and Columbus, with his son-in-law, William A. Fulton, died January 8, 1875. Mr. Denio was born in Alburg, Grand Isle County, Vt., December 7, 1784. When a young man, he re- moved to New York State, where he married and resided, rearing a family and devoting his time to farming, until 1852. He made a trip to this State in the latter year, remaining with his son-in-law, Mr. Fulton, one year. In 1853, he returned to New York and lived with his children their until 1862, when he again came to Michigan and took up his residence with Mr. Fulton. From that time until his death Mr. Denio was a member of Mr. Fulton's family. He was one of the veterans of the war of 1812, having served in Capt. L. Pette's company of Vermont Militia in the last struggle with Great Britain. He was among those whose services to the country in that conflict were recognized by the Government at the last hour. He drew a pension of $8 per month since the 14th of February, 1871.

Richard Allington, aged seventy-nine years, died at China December 15, 1875. He was born at Thetford, England, in 1796, and came to America in 1814, shortly after enlisting in the United States Army. During his enlistment, he was in the Black Hawk war and helped to build the barracks at Fort Gratiot. In 1831, he married Elizabeth Hannan, daughter of Will- iam Baird. After serving his country faithfully for fifteen years, in 1835 he got his discharge. He then moved to China and settled on the farm where he died. In 1845, he was left a wid- ower with six small children. With the help of kind friends, he struggled with the ills of life with his little family till 1849, when he married Sophia Browning.

John Swartout died at the residence of his son, Martin Swartout, in Clay Township, De- cember 27, 1875, in the ninetieth year of his age. Deceased was a man remarkable alike for per- severance and industry. He was born in Ulster County, N. Y., in 1787. In 1836, he emigrat- ed to the then Territory of Michigan with his wife and a family of six boys. He bought half

310

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

a section of land three miles from Algonac. Here, with the aid of his boys, for the third time in his life, he entered an unbroken forest and cleared himself a farm. At this time, Algonac (then called Manchester) contained one frame house and a few huts. After years of hard labor he had the satisfaction of reaping the golden grain from his own acres, and gathering fruit from trees which he had planted. In 1862, his partner, who had shared with him the hardships of his pioneer life of half a century, died. One of his leading characteristics was his anxiety to provide for the future. Upon one occasion, after becoming an old man, while planting apple seeds he was accosted by a neighbor, also quite old, who inquired if he expected to derive any benefit from his labor; his rely was characteristic of the man --- " If I don't, somebody else will!" Thanks to his strong constitution and temperate habits, he lived to eat fruit from the trees for a number of years.

Capt. Eber B. Ward of Detroit, died from an attack of apoplexy January 2, 1875. No citizen of Michigan could have died whose decease would have caused so great a commotion. His immense wealth and business interests were such that hardly a city of any importance in the Northwest but will be more or less affected by his death. His capital was so large that of necessity it was employed in a variety of ways. His enterprises extended through a number of States reaching from the cold and icy northern shores of Lake Superior to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. His wealth was chiefly invested in iron, silver and copper mines, in pine lands and saw mills, in rolling mills and silver smelting works, in railroads, in farming lands, in glass works and numerous other enterprises. Capt. Ward was nominally the wealthiest man in the whole Northwest, his capital being estimated all the way from $7,000,000 to $22,- 000,000, but $10,000,000 undoubtedly covers all that was realized from his estate, although it was not sufficient to meet all liabilities.

Mr. Ward took quite an active part in politics, acting with the Republican party and making his influence widely felt. Mr. Ward made his will, in which T. C. Owen, of Detroit. Mr. Wy- man, of Cleveland, and Orin W. Potter, of Chicago, were named as executors. These gentle- men were all partners of the millionaire, and were fully acquainted with his vast business in- terests.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 46

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