USA > Michigan > Michigan official directory and legislative manual for the years 1903-1904 > Part 7
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85
54
MICHIGAN MANUAL
same manner as near as may be, as is now provided by law in regard to the election of representatives in congress. And the several judges and officers so ascertained to have been elected may be qualified and enter upon the duties of their respective offices, on the first Monday of January next or as soon thereafter as practicable.
SEC. 20. The salaries or compensation of all persons holding office under the present constitution shall continue to be the same as now provided by law, until superseded by their successors elected or appointed under this constitution; and it shall not be lawful hereafter for the legislature to increase or diminish the compensation of any officer during the term for which he is elected or appointed.
SEC. 21. The legislature at their first session shall provide for the pay- ment of all expenditures of the convention to revise the constitution and of the publication of the same as is provided in this article.
SEC. 22. Every county except Mackinac and Chippewa entitled to a repre- sentative in the legislature, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall continue to be so entitled under this constitution, and the county of Saginaw, with the territory that may be attached, shall be entitled to one representative; the county of Tuscola, and the territory that may be attached, one representative; the county of Sanilac, and the territory that may be attached, one representative; the counties of Midland and Arenac, with the territory that may be attached, one representative; the county of Montcalm, with the territory that may be attached thereto, one representa- tive; and the counties of Newaygo and Oceana, with the territory that may be attached thereto, one representative; each county having a ratio of representation, and a fraction over, equal to a moiety of said ratio, shall be entitled to two representatives; and so on above that number, giving one additional member for each additional ratio.
SEC. 23. The cases pending and undisposed of in the late court of chan- cery, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall continue to be heard and determined by the judges of the supreme court. But the legisla- ture shall at its session in one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one provide by law for the transfer of said causes that may remain undisposed of on the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, to the supreme or circuit court established by this constitution, or require that the same may be heard and determined by the circuit judges.
SEC. 24. The term of office of the governor and lieutenant governor shall commence on the first day of January next after their election.
SEC. 25. The territory described in the article entitled " Upper Peninsula," shall be attached to and constitute a part of the third circuit for the elec- tion of a regent of the university.
SEC. 26. The legislature shall have authority after the expiration of the term of office of the district judge first elected for the "Upper Peninsula," to abolish said office of district judge and district attorney or either of them.
SEC. 27. The legislature shall, at its session of one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, apportion the representatives among the several counties and districts, and divide the state into senate districts pursuant to the provisions of this constitution.
.
55
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
SEC. 28. The terms of office of all state and county officers, of the circuit judges, members of the board of education, and members of the legislature shall begin on the first day of January next succeeding their election.
SEC. 29. The state, exclusive of the upper peninsula, shall be divided into eight judicial circuits, and the counties of Monroe, Lenawee and Hillsdale shall constitute the first circuit; the counties of Branch, St. Joseph, Cass and Berrien shall constitute the second circuit; the county of Wayne shall constitute the third circuit; the counties of Washtenaw, Jackson and Ing- ham shall constitute the fourth circuit; the counties of Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Eaton and Van Buren shall constitute the fifth circuit; the counties of St. Clair, Macomb, Oakland and Sanilac shall constitute the sixth circuit ; the counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Saginaw, Shiawassee, Livingston, Tuscola, and Midland shall constitute the seventh circuit; and the counties of Barry, Kent, Ottawa, Ionia, Clinton and Montcalm shall constitute the eighth circuit.
Done in convention at the capitol of the state this fifteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty and of the independence of the United States the seventy-fifth.
D. GOODWIN, President.
-
56
MICHIGAN MANUAL
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
CONVENTION OF 1835.
(Convened at Detroit, May 11, and adjourned June 24, 1835.)
OFFICERS.
JOHN BIDDLE,
President.
CHARLES W. WHIPPLE, }
Secretaries.
MARSHALL J. BACON,
Sergeant-at-Arms.
OLMSTEAD HOUGH, -
DELEGATES.
First District .- Wayne county .- John Biddle, John Norvell, John McDonnell, John R. Williams, Alpheus White, Amos Stevens, Conrad Ten Eyck, Louis Beaufait, Peter Van Every, Jonathan D. Davis, Caleb Herrington, Ammon Brown, Theophilus E. Tallman, George W. Farrington, Asa H. Otis, Charles F. Irwin, William Woodbridge.
Second District .- Monroe county .- David White, Edward D. Ellis, Peter P. Ferry, Lemuel Colbath, Josephus V. D. Sutphen, Robert McClellen, Eliphalet Clark, Samuel Ingersoll, James F. Godfroy.
Third District .- Lenawee county .- Ross Wilkins, Seleck C. Boughton, Allen Hutchins, John J. Adam, Joseph Howell, Joseph H. Patterson, Darius Com- stock, John Whitney (a), Alexander R. Tiffany (b).
Fourth District .- Washtenaw county .- Gilbert Shattuck, Abel Godard, Wil- liam Moore, Robert Purdy, John Brewer, Alpheus Collins, Michael P. Stubbs, Richard Brower, Rufus Crossman, Nathaniel Noble, Russell Briggs, Orin How, Emanuel Case, Edward Mundy, Orrin White.
Fifth. District .- Oakland county .- Isaac I. Voorheis, Randolph Manning, Sen- eca Newberry, Joshua B. Taylor, Elijah F. Cook, Ebenezer Raynale, John Ellen- wood, Jeremiah Riggs, Benjamin B. Morris, William Patrick, Jonathan Chase, Samuel White, Thomas Curtis, Norman Davison.
Sixth District .- Macomb county .- Samuel Axford, Jacob Tucker, Henry Porter, John S. Axford, Ephraim Calkin, Solomon Porter.
Seventh District .- St. Clair county .- Ralph Wadhams, John Clark.
Eighth District .- Jackson county .- Townsend E. Gidley, Rosevelt Davis (c), Roswell B. Rexford (c).
(a) Held seat in convention until May 16, 1835.
(b) Seated by the convention May 16, in place of John Whitney.
c) The vote for Davis and Rexford was a tie. Matter referred back to district for special election, when Rexford was elected, and seated by con- vention, June 3, 1835. Davis acted until June 3.
57
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS
Ninth District .- Hillsdale and Branch counties .- Lewis T. Miller.
Tenth District .- Calhoun county .- Isaac E. Crary, Ezra Convis.
Eleventh District .- Kalamazoo county .- Hezekiah G. Wells, William H. Welch, Lucius Lyon.
Twelfth District .- Cass county .- James Newton, James O'Dell, Baldwin Jenkins.
Thirteenth District .- St. Joseph county .- John S. Barry, Hubbell Loomis, Martin G. Shellhouse.
Fourteenth District .- Berrien county .- Elijah Lacy, Titus B. Willard.
Fifteenth District .- Mackinaw county .- Michael Dousman.
Sixteenth District .- Chippewa county .- Bela Chapman.
It was this convention that formed the first constitution of the state.
The delegates were elected April 4, 1835, in pursuance of an act of the territorial council of January 26, 1835. The constitution was adopted by a vote of the people in October, 1835, there being 6,299 yeas and 1,359 nays (a). It. remained in force as the fundamental law of the state until the constitution of 1850 went into operation.
FIRST CONVENTION OF ASSENT.
(Convened at Ann Arbor, September 26, and adjourned September 30, 1836.)
OFFICERS.
WILLIAM DRAPER, .
President.
CHARLES A. JEFFERIES,
SAMUEL YORK AT LEE,
Secretaries.
MARTIN DAVIS,
- Sergeant-at-Arms.
DELEGATES.
Allegan and Barry .- Richard Weare.
Berrien .- Titus B. Willard.
Branch .- Harvey Warner.
Calhoun .- Lorenzo B. Collamer.
Cass .- James Newton, James O'Dell.
Chippewa .- Stephen R. Wood.
Hillsdale .- Zachariah Van Duser.
Jackson .- Ethan Allen.
Kalamazoo .- Joseph A. Smith, William H. Welch.
Lapeer .- Mason Butts.
Lenawee .- Darius Comstock, Joseph Rickey, Ross Wilkins, John Hutchins. Macomb .- Jacob Tucker, John S. Axford, Linus S. Gilbert.
Monroe .- Austin E. Wing, Robert Clark, Edward D. Ellis, Wolcott Lawrence. Oakland .- Origen D. Richardson, William Draper, S. A. L. Warner, Samuel Satterlee, Edward W. Peck, John L. Brownell.
(a) These figures were taken from senate documents of 1835, and do not include the vote of Kalamazoo county-453 for and 15 against the constitution, as per returns in the secretary of state's office.
8
58
MICHIGAN MANUAL
Ottawa, Kent, Ionia and Clinton .- William A. Richmond.
Saginaw, Genesee and Shiawassee .- Thomas J Drake. St. Clair .- Charles Kimball.
St. Joseph .- Columbia Lancaster, Watson Sumner.
Washtenaw and Livingston .- Seth Markham, Michael P. Stubbs, Marcus Lane, Ebenezer H. Conklin, Geo. P. Jefferies, Elnathan Noble, Geo. W. Glover.
Wayne .- Titus Dort, David C. Mckinstry, Louis Beaufait, Benjamin B. Ker- cheval, Ammon Brown, Eli Bradshaw, Horace A. Noyes, John McDonell.
The act of congress, of June 15, 1836, establishing the northern boundary line of the state of Ohio and providing for the admission of Michigan into the union, required that the assent of a convention of delegates elected by the people for that purpose be given.
The delegates were elected September 12, 1836, in pursuance of an act of the state legislature of July 25, 1836. The conditions presented by the afore- said act of congress, cutting off Toledo and vicinity from the limits of Mich- igan and giving that territory to the state of Ohio, were rejected by this convention.
SECOND CONVENTION OF ASSENT.
(Convened at Ann Arbor, December 14, and adjourned December 15, 1836.)
OFFICERS.
-
JOHN R. WILLIAMS,
President.
KINTZING PRITCHETT,
Secretaries.
J. E. FIELDS,
DELEGATES.
Allegan .- Silas F. Littlejohn, Orsemus Eaton.
Berrien .- Hart L. Stewart, George W. Hoffman.
Branch .- James B. Tomkins, Peris A. Tisdel.
Calhoun .- Benjamin Wright, Justus Goodwin.
Cass .- Edwin N. Bridges, Jacob Silver, Joseph Smith, Abiel Silver.
Hillsdale .- Rockwell Manning, Zachariah Van Duser.
Jackson .- Joab Page, Benjamin H. Packard.
Kalamazoo .- Samuel Percival, Ira Lyon, Isaac W. Willard, Ambrose Searle. Kent .- Samuel Dexter, Charles J. Walker.
Lapeer .- Norman Davison, Harvey Gray.
Lenawee .- John Hutchins, Jeremiah D. Thompson, Joseph Rickey, Addison J. Comstock, Peter Morey, John J. Adam, Oliver Miller, Darius C. Jackson.
Oakland .- Gideon O. Whittemore, Hiram Baritt, Joseph Coates, Charles Grant, Parley W. C. Gates, John S. Livermore, Henry S. Babcock, William K. Crooks, Samuel White, James B. Hunt, David Chase, Benjamin B. Morris.
Saginaw .- Gardner D. Williams, Samuel G. Watson.
St. Clair .- Ralph Wadhams, Joel Tucker.
St. Joseph .- Phillip R. Toll, Aaron B. Watkins, William H. Adams, Stephen W. Truesdell.
Van Buren .- Charles B. Avery.
59
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS
Washtenaw .- Nelson H. Wing, Salmon Champion, Jr., Nathaniel Noble, Lyman Downs, James Houston, Esek Pray, George W. Jewett, Solomon Sutherland, Samuel Denton, Samuel B. Bradley, Elisha Congdon, Stoddard W. Twatchell, Jesse Warner.
Wayne .- John R. Williams, Ross Wilkins, Charles Moran, Marshal J. Bacon, Daniel Goodwin, Benjamin F. H. Witherell, John E. Schwarz, Reynold Gillett, Eli Bradshaw, Horace A. Noyes, Elihu Morse, Warren Tuttle, Archibald Y. Murray, James Bucklin, Josiah Mason, Charles F. Irwin.
The delegates to this convention were elected December 5 and 6, 1836, in pursuance of a recommendation of the people, and ostensibly in compliance with the act of the state legislature of July 25, 1836. They met in convention at Ann Arbor, December 14 and 15, 1836, and adopted a resolution giving the assent of the state to the requirement of the act of congress of June 15, 1836. The resolution was signed by the above named delegates, excepting those whose names are printed in italics, who were returned to the secre- tary of state as elected, but do not appear to have taken part in the conven- tion. The above information is obtained from the record of the election returns and canvass of 1835-45, now in the office of the secretary of state.
CONVENTION OF 1850.
(Convened at Lansing, June 3, and adjourned August 15, 1850.)
OFFICERS.
DANIEL GOODWIN,
President.
JOHN SWEGELS, JR.,
HORACE F. ROBERTS,
Secretaries.
CHARLES HASCALL,
DAVID HUBBARD, JR.,
Sergeant-at-Arms.
DELEGATES.
Allegan .- Oka Town.
Barry .- Joseph W. T. Orr.
Berrien .- Calvin Britain, Jacob Beeson, Charles W. Whipple.
Branch .- Wales Adams, Alvarado Brown, Asahel Brown.
Calhoun .- Isaac E. Crary, Milo Soule, William V. Morrison, John D. Pierce, Nathan Pierce.
Cass .- George Redfield, Mitchell Robinson, James Sullivan.
Chippewa .- Elijah J. Roberts.
Clinton .- David Sturgis.
Eaton .- Charles E. Beardsley, John D. Burns.
Genesee .- John Bartow, Elbridge G Gale, Dewitt C. Leach.
Hillsdale .- John P. Cook, Daniel Kinne, John Mosher, Jonathan B. Graham. Ingham .- Charles P. Bush, Ephraim B. Danforth.
Ionia .- Henry Bartow, Cyrus Lovell.
Jackson .- Robert H. Anderson, John L. Butterfield, Jerry G. Cornell, Elisha S. Robinson, Wilbur F. Storey.
60
MICHIGAN MANUAL
Kalamazoo .- Hezakiah G. Wells, Samuel Clark, Volney Hascall.
Kent and Ottawa .- Rix Robinson, Thomas B. Church, Timothy Eastman. Lapeer .- Noah H. Hart, Jonathan R. White.
Lenawee .- Addison J. Comstock, Alexander R. Tiffany, Peter R. Adams, Charles Chandler, George C. Harvey, Nelson Green, Ebenezer Daniels.
Livingston .- Daniel S. Lee, Robert Crouse, Robert Warden, Jr., Ely Barnard. Mackinac .- William Norman McLeod.
Macomb .- DeWitt C. Walker, Charles W. Chapel, Andrew S. Robertson, Hiram Hathaway.
Monroe .- Robert Mcclellan, Alexander M. Arzeno, Emerson Choate, Henry B. Marvin.
Oakland .- James Webster, Alfred H. Hanscomb, Seneca Newberry, Jacob Vanvalkenburg, Ebenezer Raynale, Gideon O. Whittemore, William Axford, Zebina M. Mowry, Elias S. Woodman.
Saginaw .- Jabez G. Sutherland.
Shiawassee .- Francis J. Prevost.
St. Clair .- John Clark, Lorenzo M. Mason, Reuben B. Dimond.
St. Joseph .- William Connor, Joseph R. Williams, Edward S. Moore.
Van Buren .- Isaac W. Willard.
Washtenaw .- James Kingsley, Elias M. Skinner, Earls P. Gardiner, Daniel Hixson, Morgan O'Brien, William S. Carr Benjamin W. Waite, James M. Edmunds.
Wayne .- Daniel Goodwin, Benjamin F. H. Witherell, John Gibson, Ammon Brown, Henry J. Alvord, Henry Fralick, Peter Desnoyers, Henry T. Backus, Joseph H. Bagg, Ebenezer C. Eaton.
The delegates to this convention were elected May 6, 1850, in pursuance of act No. 78 of the laws of 1850. The constitution as revised by the conven- tion was submitted to the people November 5, 1850, and adopted by a major- ity of 26,736 votes. It is the constitution now in force. It has been amended from time to time.
CONVENTION OF 1867.
(Convened at Lansing, May 15, and adjourned August 22, 1867.)
OFFICERS.
CHARLES M. CROSWELL, President.
THOMAS H. GLENN, G. X. M. COLLIER, T. P. MILES,
Secretaries.
D. B. PURINTON, -
Sergeant-at-Arms.
SEYMOUR FOSTER, Postmaster.
DELEGATES.
Allegan .- William B. Williams, William E. White. Barry .- Harvey Wright, Adam Elliott.
Bay. - James Birney.
61
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS
Berrien .- William S. Farmer, Lorenzo P. Alexander, Henry H. Coolidge.
Branch .- Cyrus G. Luce, Asahel Brown, Julius S. Barber.
Calhoun .- Charles D. Holmes, Eden F. Henderson, George Willard.
Cass .- Levi Aldrich, John Jacob Van Riper.
Clinton .- Alvah H. Walker, Nathaniel I. Daniells.
Eaton .- Joseph Musgrave, Milton P. Burch.
Genesee .- Sumner Howard, Henry R. Lovell, Thaddeus G. Smith.
Grand Traverse, etc .- De Witt C. Leach.
Gratiot -De Witt C. Chapin.
Hillsdale .- Lewis J. Thompson, Daniel L. Pratt, Simeon P. Root.
Houghton .- John Q. Mckernon.
Huron .- Richard Winsor.
Ingham .- John W. Longyear, Lemuel Woodhouse.
Ionia .- George W. Germain, Sanford A. Yeomans.
Jackson .- Eugene Pringle, Freeman C. Watkins, William F. Goodwin.
Kalamazoo .- Marsh Giddings, Delamore Duncan, Milton Bradley.
Kent .- Solomon L. Withey, Jacob Ferris, Milton C. Watkins, Lyman Murray.
Keweenaw .- Robert F. Gulick.
Lapeer .- Myron C. Kenney, John M. Lamb.
Lenawee .- Jacob C. Sawyer, Perley Bills, Martin P. Stockwell, Horace J. Sheldon, Charles M. Crosswell.
Livingston .- Benjamin W. Lawrence, Edwin B. Winans.
Mackinac, etc .- Bela Chapman.
Macomb .- Dexter Mussey, Thomas M. Crocker, William W. Andrus.
Marquette .- Eleazer S. Ingalls.
Midland, etc .- Perry H. Estee.
Monroe .- Edward G. Morton, William A. Rafter, William Corbin.
Montcalm .- George F. Case.
Muskegon .- Henry M. Holt.
Newaygo, etc .- William S. Utley.
Oakland .- P. Dean Warner, Edward P. Harris, Willard M. McConnell, Jacob Vanvalkenburg.
Ontonagon .- James Burtenshaw.
Ottawa -John Haire, Hiram Jennison.
Saginaw .- Jabez G. Sutherland, Hiram L. Miller.
Sanilac .- John Divine.
Shiawassee .- Josiah Turner, S. Titus Parsons.
St. Clair .- Marcus H. Miles, Ezra Hazen, Omar D. Conger.
St. Joseph .- William L. Stoughton, Comfort Tyler, Levi T. Hull.
Tuscola .- Benjamin W. Houston, Jr.
Van Buren .- Samuel H. Blackman, Charles Duncombe.
Washtenaw .- Thomas Ninde, Charles H. Richmond, Lyman D. Norris, Daniel Hixson.
Wayne .- Robert McClelland, Daniel Goodwin, Peter Desnoyers, William A. Smith, Jonathan Shearer, William E. Warner, George V. N. Lothrop, Peter Henkel, William Purcell.
The delegates to this convention were elected April 1, 1867, in pursuance of act No. 41, of the session laws of 1867. The constitution as revised by this. convention was submitted to the people April 6, 1868. It was rejected by a vote of 71,733 yeas, to 110,582 nays.
62
MICHIGAN MANUAL
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION OF 1873.
(Convened at Lansing August 27, and adjourned October 16, 1873.)
OFFICERS.
SULLIVAN M. CUTCHEON,
Chairman.
HENRY S. CLUBB, STEPHEN B. MCCRACKEN, WILLIAM BURNHAM, -
Clerk. Assistant Clerk.
Door Keeper.
Congressional districts.
Members.
Counties.
1 .
Elijah W. Meddaugh Ashley Pond.
Wayne. Wayne.
2 Edwin Willits. Sullivan M. Cutcheon (a)
Monroe. Washtenaw.
3 Isaac M. Crane Charles Upson
Eaton. Branch.
4 Henry H. Riley Hezekiah G. Wells.
St. Joseph. Kalamazoo.
5 Solomon L. Withey. Lyman G. Mason (resigned September 2, 1873) William M. Ferry (6)
Kent. Muskegon. Ottawa.
6 Ira D. Crouse Lysander Woodword.
Livingston. Oakland.
7 Edwin W. Giddings (resigned October 8, 1873). John Divine
Macomb. Sanilac.
8 Herschel H. Hatch David H. Jerome.
Bay. Saginaw.
9 James R. Devereaux. Seth C. Moffatt.
Houghton. Leelanau.
(a) Elected chairman.
(b) Appointed October 2, 1873, vice Mason.
This commission consisted of two members from each congressional district. of the state, who were appointed by the governor, pursuant to joint resolu- tion No. 19 of the legislature of 1873. It completed its labors October 16, and made a formal report to the governor. The constitution as revised by the commission was submitted to the people November 3, 1874, in pursuance of joint resolution No. 4 of the session of 1874, and rejected by a vote of 39,285 yeas to 124,034 nays.
63
AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
NOTE .- This outline history of the state is Hon. H. R. Pattengill's "Primer of Michigan History" in condensed form, the use of which in the MANUAL was courteously permitted by Mr. Pattengill.
FRENCH PERIOD-1634 TO 1760.
Exploration .- It is believed that the first white man who visited any part of the territory embraced in the present state of Michigan was Jean Nicolet- who was in the service of Governor Champlain-and that he first set foot upon the soil at the spot now occupied by the town of Sault de Ste. Marie. Nicolet ascended the Ottawa and Mattawan rivers, passed through Lake Nipissing, descended French river, coasted the northern shore of Lake Huron and ascended the strait to the falls, where he probably arrived in the summer of 1634. After a few days of rest and some friendly interviews with the natives, Nicolet descended the strait, made a brief visit at Michilimack- inac *- the Moche-ne-mok-e-nung of the Indians-and passed on to other fields of exploration not immediately connected with this narrative.
Missionaries .- The next Europeans that came to this region were the Jesuit missionaries, Raymbault and Jougues, who arrived at the Sault in 1641. They found about two thousand Indians there, who gave them a warm welcome and urged them to remain; but this they could not do, and after suitable religious ceremonies the priests returned to the eastern missions.
In 1660, Pere René Menard resolved to found a mission on Lake Superior, and after a long and tiresome voyage he reached the head of Keweenaw bay, in October. He spent the winter with the Indians in that vicinity, and in the spring resumed his travels, intending, it is supposed, to visit La Pointe, on Madeline island. He was accompanied by a single Indian guide and was either lost or murdered near the modern waterway known as the Portage lake ship canal.
Five years later, Pere Claude Allouez reached La Pointe, established a mission and erected a chapel, which was the first church edifice west of Lake Huron.
The second mission on Lake Superior was founded at the Sault de Ste. Marie, by Pere Marquette, in 1668. Inhabited by Europeans and Americans from that time forth, the Sault is the oldest settlement in the state.
In 1669 Marquette was joined at the Sault by Pere Dablon, superior of the mission, and they were soon "established in a square fort of cedar pickets * * enclosing a chapel and a house," with growing crops of wheat, maize, peas, etc., in their clearing.
* Afterwards shortened by the English to Mackinac, and sometimes written Mackinaw.
64
MICHIGAN MANUAL
In the fall of the same year, Marquette took charge of the mission at La Pointe, Allouez went to Green bay, and Dablon remained at the Sault.
For the purpose of gaining a better foothold in the region of the great lakes, and in order to foster and perpetuate the spirit of friendship in which the Ottawas had received the early missionaries and explorers, M. Talon, Intendant of New France, sent messengers to call a great council of the Indians at the Sault, in the spring of 1671. Fourteen tribes of the northwest sent representatives to meet the French officers, who, with due ceremonies, took formal possession of the country. After raising the cross and the lilies of France, Pere Allouez, who acted as interpreter on the occasion, made a speech, in the course of which he pronounced a glowing panegyric on his king, Louis XIV. representing him as the "chief of chiefs," who had not "his equal in the world."
During the year (1671) Marquette lost the greater portion of his La Pointe people through removal, and himself accompanied a band of Hurons to the straits of Mackinac, where he founded the mission of St. Ignatius. (Now St. Ignace.) Father Marquette's grave is situated near the site of the mis- sion which he founded here, more than two centuries ago.
For the next nine years (1671-1680) Pere Druilletes was the leading spirit at the Sault. On several occasions his little chapel was burned to the ground, but the aged missionary was full of energy, and continued to work until, "broken by age, hardships and infirmities," he found it necessary to return to Quebec, where he died in 1680.
Fur traders .- As the first settlements in New France were made under the auspices of companies organized for the carrying on of the fur trade, the enterprising followers of this traffic were early and frequent visitors in the region of the great lakes. Induced by the prospect of gain, and having per- haps a keen relish for adventure, the trader embarked with his merchandise in birch canoes, coasted the shores of the lakes, followed the winding courses of the rivers and penetrated the secluded retreats of the vast wilderness.
Voyage of "The Griffin."-On the 7th of August, 1679, the schooner Griffin set sail for the first voyage ever made by a vessel on the great lakes. The Griffin was commanded by La Salle,-who was accompanied by Hennepin, the missionary,-and manned by a crew of fur traders. They were ignorant of the depth of the water, and felt their way cautiously. They reached the mouth of the Detroit river on the 10th of August, and sailing northward passed the Indian village of Teuchsagrondie, on the site now occupied by the city of Detroit. The place had been visited by the French missionaries and traders, but no settlement had been attempted.
They passed on through Lake St. Clair, ascended the St. Clair river, and experienced a severe storm on Lake Huron.
At length the tempest-tossed Griffin reached the harbor of St. Ignace.
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.