USA > Michigan > St Clair County > St. Clair County, Michigan, its history and its people; a narrative account of its historical progress and its principal interests, Vol. I > Part 16
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SAMUEL WARD
Samuel Ward was born May 20, 1784, in Wells, Rutland county, New York. Working summers and going to school winters, he was brought up to industry and economy. Leaving home at 19, after some years at Syracuse, he was engaged on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812 in transporting supplies for the American army. This gave him a knowledge of and taste for the boat business which determined his after life. In 1817 he moved to. Conneaut, Ohio, and the next year, having built a small schooner, called the Salem Packet, he traded along the lakes. In that year the public lands in Michigan, which had been surveyed, were first thrown open to purchase, and Captain Ward, as he was generally known, selected and bought the land in sections 1 and 12, lying between Belle and St. Clair rivers. The next spring, with his family, consisting of wife and one son, he moved to his new location.
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where he stayed until his death in 1854. At the time of his moving he was thirty-five years of age and worth about $3,000, a considerable for- tune for those days, and what was worth much more, had energy, force- fulness, foresight, and a gift for trading. His locating at the place which was subsequently named Newport, was the means of bringing several others, his older brother, Eber Ward, father of the well known Eber B. Ward, James B. Wolverton, first sheriff of the county, William Gallagher-both of these were nephews of Samuel Ward's wife-and Bela Knapp.
In 1822, Mr. Ward was appointed by Governor Cass as associate justice of the county court. and continued to act in that capacity until that court ceased to exist in 1827. In 1823 he built, in company with William Gallagher, a saw-mill and grist-mill on land in seetion 15 of what is now China township, which they bought from the government. This mill site, subsequently passed to Mr. Radike and continued to be used for many years for mill purposes. In 1825, settlers were some- what more numerous and in order that his mills might be reached by wagon or cart, the county commissioners were petitioned to build a road on the south side of Belle river to Ward & Gallagher's mills, which was ordered done.
In 1824, Captain Ward built upon St. Clair river the schooner "St. Clair," of twenty-eight tons burthen, and the following year two more, the "Albatross" and "Marshal Ney," the latter of seventy-three tons. This boat was part owned by Oliver Newberry, of Detroit. In the summer of 1826 he took the "St. Clair" with a load of potash, furs and gun stocks to New York by way of the Erie Canal, and brought back a cargo of merchandise and salt. A part of the eastbound cargo of potash was furnished by Thomas Palmer. In 1831 he procured the establishing upon his property of a postoffice, which was named Belle River, and he was appointed the first postmaster, holding the position until Septem- ber. 1836. He was a supervisor of Cottrellville township in 1832 and 1833. In 1834 he platted the southern portion of his property, lying be- tween Belle and St. Clair rivers, into lots, naming it the village of New- port, and in 1836. during the height of the speculative land fever, he sold a part of this platted property to five men from Ohio, Messrs. Segar, Ingraham, Tallman, Folger and Phillips, at a very high price. They paid $3,000 down, and as within a year the panic of 1837 came on, they were unable to pay more and deeded back the land shortly after. Duthan Northup came to the county as the representative of the purchasers, and through their failure was greatly reduced in circumstances. He taught school and singing school and was county treasurer for eight years from January, 1845. He afterwards removed to Ohio where he died.
Captain Ward rapidly extended his interests, chiefly in boats, and in 1839 began the construction of the steamer "Huron," and by 1854 had built by himself, or in company with his nephew, Eber B. Ward, fourteen steamers aggregating over 14,000 tons. At his death he left a fortune of over $300,000 and no lineal descendants, his only son hav- ing died years before. He was about six feet in height, rather spare in form and angular in features, gray eyes, alert but pleasant expression and manners. Though of ordinarily kindly disposition, he became rather
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autocratic and disliked opposition. He was determined in character and of the type of man to make a valuable and successful pioneer.
At the meeting in March, 1823, caleches were dropped from the class of assessable property, and double sleighs added, an evidence of the changing conditions.
JUDGE GEORGE A. O'KEEFE
In June, 1823, Mr. George A. O'Keefe makes his appearance and is allowed five dollars for his services as prosecuting attorney at the January term, 1823. This O'Keefe was a noted character of the early days. He came to Detroit in 1819; was a liberally educated Irishman, educated in England, but bred to the bar in Ireland, and also spent nearly three years in a law office in New York City before coming to Detroit. At this time he was about twenty-seven years old, about six feet three inches tall, rather thin, handsome, with a decidedly aristo- cratic air, but wholly indifferent to his appearance and extremely in- temperate. Shortly after arriving in Detroit he became a partner of Samuel T. Davenport. He took out naturalization papers in June, 1824. Becoming acquainted with Judge Bunce, through his influence he was made prosecuting attorney of this county, and continued in that office most of the time until 1836, although retaining his residence in Detroit. In 1837 he was elected judge of probate of Wayne county, holding the office one term of four years. In 1844 he was made a justice of the peace. A visitor to the probate office at the time he was judge, calls him the greatest sloven in the state. Able, witty, but erratie, and dis- sipated. his talents were wasted, and he died in 1853 with but little accomplished.
The Cottrells were much in evidence at this time. George Cottrell was one of the commissioners, Henry Cottrell. a brother, was appointed sheriff at the organization of the county, and with the exception of one short intermission, continued in the office for some years later. He is said to have been energetic, industrious and prompt in the discharge of his official duties. For his services as assessor and prosecutor he was allowed at this meeting, $11.75. John Cottrell, another brother, who had assisted the sheriff in making the assessment, was allowed $5.00. David Cottrell, another brother, was treasurer, and received for serv- ices in that capacity, $4.00. Mr. Aura P. Stewart, in his "Reminis- cences" calls David a candid, judicious man, possessing good natural abilities and deserving and receiving public favor for many years as justice of the peace, supervisor, and at one time, county judge. There had been another brother, James, who died a young man."
JUDGE Z. W. BUNCE
At the session of January 31, 1824, the justices of the county court receive for the first time an allowance, although the court had been in operation since January, 1822. Zephaniah W. Bunce, who had been ap- pointed an associate justice in June, 1821, was in 1822 made chief justice, with Samuel Ward and David Oakes his associates. Mr. Bunee Vol. I-S
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JUDGE ZEPHANIAH W. BUNCE
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was in some respects the most noted pioneer who ever lived in the county. He was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1787. Brought up to the trade of hatter, he early engaged for himself in that, and the dry goods and clothing business. In 1817, when in business in Albany, influenced by stories of opportunity in the territory of Michigan, he left for Detroit, with a stock of ready-made clothing, and after a short delay in Detroit came up the St. Clair river. On arriving opposite the place where he afterwards made his home, he was struck by its appearance and re- membered that in a dream before he left Albany he had seen this place and he determined to make that his home.
Mr. Bunee's goods were taken to Fort Gratiot, but he took possession of the property, then government land at the mouth of what beeame known as Bunee's creek, but which had before been called Baby ereek. Although the land had been surveyed by the government, it had not been placed on sale, and it was not until the next year that he could locate the land and obtain any legal rights to it. At the time of his taking possession there was in evidence the remains of an old saw-mill and dam which had been built by Antoine Morass about 1786, and there is tradition that another mill had been built by a Frenchman nearly a hundred years before that.
In 1818 Mr. Bunee built a saw-mill upon his ereek, which had a capacity of two or three thousand feet per day, comparing favorably with other mills of the time. The next ten years he spent in operating his mill, dealing with the Indians, buying furs, and performing official duties. His first offices were judicial ones and brought him the title of judge, by which he was generally known during the rest of his life.
On March 28, 1820, Governor Cass appointed Mr. Bunce associate justiee of the county court, and also justiee of the peace. As St. Clair county was at that time attached to Maeomb county, both of these eom- missions ran to him as of the latter county.
On August 7, 1821, he was appointed by the governor, judge of pro- bate, but it is not probable that the duties of this office consumed much time or brought in much revenue. In 1822 he was appointed chief jus- tice of the county court and continued to hold that position until the eourt was abolished in 1827. In 1825, he with Martin W. Peekins, leased the Morass mill on Mill creek, at what is now Abbottsford, and operated it a year. September 13, 1827, he married Louise Ann Duryea, of New York City, and bringing baek with him a stock of goods, eontinned the store business for about a year at Fort Gratiot. During that term D. B. Harrington, then a young man of twenty, and Mr. Bunce's wife's brother, John R. Duryea, were employed in the store.
In 1828 Judge Bunee operated a saw mill for Thomas S. Knapp on Black river in what is now Grant township, and then returned to his home on St. Clair river, where he remained until 1833, when he moved to the Morass mill at Abbottsford, which had been purchased by Mr. Abbott, of Detroit, and operated that mill until 1846, when he re- turned again to his home, this time to remain until the end of his long and eventful life in 1889. He built a new mill at the mouth of Bunce creek upon his return, to be operated by water power, and two years later changed it to steam.
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In 1824 the territory passed under the second stage of government. consisting of governor and legislative council, and Mr. Bunce was selected as a member of that body, and acted efficiently in that capacity until the close of the second council in April, 1827.
In 1833 an act went into effect providing for a circuit court of the territory, to consist of a presiding circuit judge and in each county two associate judges, residents of the county, and Mr. Bunce was ap- pointed one of the associate judges of St. Clair county, holding the po- sition until 1840, the last four years by election, after Michigan be- came a state. In 1846 he was elected "second" county judge. In 1831 the post office of Desmond was established and Judge Bunce made post- master, which position he filled for two years. until he went to Abbotts- ford in 1833. In June, 1829, he was appointed colonel of the fifth regiment of militia.
Judge Bunce was a most upright, conscientious man and official, pleasant and courteous in his manner, kind and thoughtful for all, a gentleman in the fullest sense of the word. He lived respected and be- loved, dying October 8. 1889, at the great age of 102, having retained his faculties until the end.
EXTRAVAGANT COMMISSIONERS
By 1824 it evidently appeared to the people of the county that their county commissioners were drawing too extravagant salaries, as on July 13th of that year Mr. Bunce, member of the legislative council, brought in a bill which was promptly passed and approved by the governor, fix- ing the salary of the commissioners of St. Clair county at ten dollars, and so far as appears from the records, this reduction to one-third the former salary met no opposition from the officials themselves. County expenses, however, were rising rapidly. At the meeting of March 1, 1824, the sum of two hundred dollars for public expenditures was voted.
MISCELLANEOUS COUNTY LEGISLATION (1824-1827)
At the meeting of June in this year, there being present Andrew Westbrook and George Cottrell, the board generously voted unanimously to deduct two thousand dollars from the assessed valuation of Andrew Westbrook's taxable property. It may be that this was to partially compensate for the expected loss of salary.
On September 6th, the board established a road to run from John Riley's to Morass's mills on Black river, and Jeremiah Harrington was the surveyor who laid it out. It is not probable that Mr. Harrington, the father of Daniel B. Harrington, had either the instruments or the technical knowledge of a modern surveyor, but he could view the ground, select the route, and blaze the way as well as if he had the finest instruments. John Riley was a well known half breed Indian, who lived on the Black river reservation, and had his house, the only one on the reservation, near its northeast corner, or about the south- west corner of Water and Military streets in Port Huron. The Morass mill was on section 17 of Clyde township, and was operated the follow-
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ing year by Judge Bunce and some years later by James Abbott, who laid out the village of Abbottsford, near the mill.
George Cottrell and Harvey Stewart were the only commissioners present at this meeting and they allowed themselves the salary provided by the new law. but evidently did not think it necessary to make any allowance for Mr. Westbrook.
At the meeting March 7, 1825, the entire board was present. They allowed B. F. H. Witherell, a well known lawyer of Detroit, who had been prosecuting attorney, $15.00 for services at the January term of court. This was a fifty per cent. increase over his previous allowance, and indicates either that business had increased, or that his rate of charges had risen.
At this meeting Mr. Westbrook received his delayed allowance as commissioner, and a road was ordered on the south side of Belle river from its mouth to the grist mill. This mill was the Ward and Gal- lagher mill in section 15 of China township, on the site subsequently long occupied by Radike's mill.
To the list of taxable property this year there was added saw and grist mills, sawed lumber, shingles and square timber, merchandise, distilleries and potash factories, and the amount of money provided for current expenditures increased to $400. This addition of taxable prop- erty speaks loudly of the development going on, as does also the increase of 100 per cent in the amount of taxes raised.
At the meeting of March 13, 1826. the same classes of taxable prop- erty as in 1825 were made, with the addition of such boats as were not required to pay the fees of the custom house in the district.
The same amount, $400, of taxes was ordered raised, as during the preceding year. The township of St. Clair was divided into two dis- tricts, the first district to include all the people of the township except those on the banks of Black river above the northwest corner of John Riley's fence, the second district to include the dwellers on Black river above Riley's fence corner to the extremity of the settlements. The Riley fence corner was about the intersection of Sixth and Water streets in the city of Port Huron and the upper limit of the district would take in the people at the Morass mill.
Cottrellville was divided into three districts and a supervisor named for each.
At the meeting of June 17th of this year there was allowed to Thomas Rowland $26 and to Charles Noble $32 for their services as commissioners appointed by the legislative council to inquire into the expediency of removing the county seat. An account of this transaction will be found in another chapter.
At the meeting in March, 1827, tanneries were added to the list of taxable property, and $500 ordered raised by taxation for county pur- . poses. Various accounts were allowed, a road established from Pine river to St. Bernard's, a bridge ordered built near the mouth of the mill stream of Z. W. Bunce, and the board adjourned, in ignorance that the next month, by action of the legislative council, all boards of county commissioners would be abolished and their place taken by a board of supervisors.
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At this meeting of the board it was ordered that $5.75 be paid to Harmon Chamberlin, but the character of the services rendered is not stated. This is the first appearance on the official records of old Doctor Chamberlin, as he was familiarly called for many years. Born in Ver- mont in 1801, he became an orphan at an early age and was brought up by his uncle, John B. Chamberlin, who moved to Auburn, New York, and then to Detroit, where the young Harmon obtained his education, and came to St. Clair county, a young man, about 1820 and settled at first at Point Aux Chenes, but not long after moved to St. Clair. Find- ing the people and his patients few, he not only took care of such as needed medical services, but turned his hand to a variety of other occupations. Thus, in November, 1827, he is found acting as county clerk, whose duties he also performed during the following year. In 1829 he also acted as clerk of the circuit court. In 1830 he not only filled both those offices, but rented a room for the use of the grand jury, and contracted with the supervisors to make extensive repairs to the court house for the agreed price of $260. That same year he mar- ried the widow of Asa Partridge, who had come to St. Clair in 1827. He was a strong Whig in his political connections, and in 1835 was an unsuccessful candidate on that ticket for state representative. In 1836 he was elected sheriff and re-elected in 1838. In 1849 and 1850 he was elected state representative, and in 1858 was the mayor of the city of St. Clair. It would seem that the practice of his profes- sion would suffer from his official duties, but he found time to do both, to the great satisfaction of the community for a long distance around his home at St. Clair. He was a skillful physician, kind hearted and thoughtful, upright and capable in business, and public spirited, and much credit was due to him for the rebuilding of the court house in St. Clair after its destruction by fire in 1855, and also for the high school building there, and at his death in December, 1865 he was sincerely mourned by the entire community and by large numbers throughout the county.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CREATED
The act of April, 1827, changed the system of managing county affairs, and thereafter until 1838 there was a board of supervisors, com- posed of one supervisor from each township, elected by the people. Previous to this time there had been three townships in the county : Plainfield, Cottrellville and St. Clair. By an act approved April 12, 1827, it was probably intended that Cottrellville township should include all the lower end of the county, including what had formerly been the township of Plainfield, and it seems to have been so understood by the people of the county, and the remaining part of the county was divided into Sinclair and Desmond townships. The supervisors composing the new board were John S. Fish, from Cottrellville; Everett Beardsley, from Sinclair, and Martin Peckins, from Desmond. Their first meeting for the transaction of business was held July 16, 1827. After allowing various claims, the board resolved "that three of the east lots in a block situated in the village of Sinclair in the county of St. Clair west of the
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court house be and hereby is appropriated to the use of the said county agreeable to a deed given to Lewis Cass or his successors in office by James Fulton for the use and benefit of said county."
SINCLAIR BECOMES ST. CLAIR
It will be noticed that in this resolution the village is called "Sin- clair." The original platting by James Fulton of the county seat was called the "Town of St. Clair." It seems quite probable that the name in this form was adopted under the mistaken idea that the old fort near the mouth of Pine river was Fort St. Clair, and in fact it does appear in that way upon the map of the private claims made in 1810 by Surveyor Aaron Greeley, and in 1818 Fulton advertised in the Detroit Gazette that old Fort St. Clair had been laid out into squares as the town of St. Clair and would be sold at auction in July. In 1828 Thomas Palmer having acquired all the property included within the town site, replatted it without taking the trouble to vacate the old plat, and called the new plat the village of Palmer. It is a singular fact that although this plat was placed of record and lots were bought and sold for some years described as being in the village of Palmer, the name of the postoffice was never changed from St. Clair; and the court records always describe court as being held in the town of St. Clair.
The foregoing resolution was passed after an act had been passed by the legislative council changing the boundaries of Cottrellville and Plainfield and establishing the townships of Sinclair and Desmond in the place of the former township of St. Clair. Though there was never any legislative act changing the name of the township back to St. Clair, all subsequent acts referring to it or altering the boundaries give the name as St. Clair. For many years there was much uncertainty about the proper name of the lake, river and town.
The board adopted what would now seem a heroic rate of taxes by voting fifty per centum for the year, but it is most probable they intended one-half of one per cent; they no longer had the duty of prescribing the classes of property to be taxed, as the legislative council had passed an act to cover the entire subject of taxation.
At a meeting held August 28, 1827, the premium on wolf scalps was raised to four dollars, which indicates that wolves were scarcer, or that there was more property which they could kill, and they were therefore more damaging.
At this meeting, also, the board decided that the building in the rear of Fulton's dwelling and heretofore used as jail, should no longer be the county jail.
STATUS OF COUNTY BUILDINGS IN 1827-8.
On September 3rd the board passed resolutions regarding the court house buildings, which throw an interesting light upon the buildings of that time: "Ordered, that the Supervisors do receive the Court House and Gaol (but in meantime do not concider the same finished according to contract).
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"Ordered, that Notice shall be given by us for the finishing in part of the Court House & Gaol in manner & form herein after described,- 2 Rooms to be finished for criminals, 1 Room to be finished for Debtors, on the North end of said Building, and on the lower floor to be finished in the following manner viz .- The floor to be laid with two Inch oak Plank to be pinned securely, the sides of the same & the Rooms to be lined over head with one Inch oak plank, the Doors to be of 2 Inch plank Double & spiked, the partitions to be of three Inch oak plank & lined with one Inch oak Boards to be lapped or shamfered at the edges, a window in each of the Criminal Rooms two feet by one square, suffi- ciently secured by Iron Bars, a Window in the Debtors Room of twelve lights, well secured by Iron Bars. the Doors to be well furnished with a good Lock & Barr of Iron-The Hall to be laid with oak Boards one & a half Inch thick well spiked & narrow Boards not over Ten Inches-The Room on the South End for family ocupation for Jailor to have the Floor laid with one & a half Inch oak or pine plank not over Ten Inches wide to be well spiked-Also one sufficient Door leading into the Hall from said Room-A good chimney on the south side or end of said Room and a good fire place both below & above. Also a comon partition between the South Room & the Hall. The foregoing described work to be done by the first day of Jany. 1828, & tenders for the same to be made for each part or the whole by 15th day of Oct. next at which time the supervisors will meet & examine the same & will be expected that all offered Tenders will name good and sufficient Security for the performance of the same."
It will be noted that no provision is made for finishing the second story for court room, and in fact it was not completed and a stairway erected leading upstairs until 1830.
At an adjourned meeting of October 17th, the contraet was given to Charles Phillips and Daniel Stewart for $350. In the meantime the legislative council had appropriated to assist in the completion of the court house the sum of $150, and this was at once used on this contract.
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