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 21
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I was acquainted with Fort Gratiot officers in an early date and reeall Colonel MeNiel, Major Thompson, Captain Cobbs, Captain Farley, Lieu- tenant Symonton, Lieutenant Heintzleman, who was general in the late war, General Brady of Detroit. Dr. Pureell. U. S. A .. and Dr. Clark. U. S. A.
INDIAN MEDICINE DANCE AND FEAST
At one time during the summer of 1832, Mr. Brakeman and I and John K. Smith, Esq .. attended a medicine danee on Walpole Island. It was for the benefit of Mrs. Jacob Harsen, who was an Indian woman, siek at the time. The Indians had erected a large tent for the occasion and had a bed made upon the ground in the center of the tent for the siek woman. It was in the evening, the tent was lighted up by building up places with short pieces of logs and putting earth on the top of them with fires burning on that. The men were all on one side of the tent. and the women on the opposite side, an Indian beating the drum, which was made of a piece of a hollow log with a dressed or tanned deer skin
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drawn over the top, and down around the sides far enough to be tied down with a string made of bark or deers' sinews. He would beat that with a stick. There was no music, and no tune at all in his playing, merely a thumping sort of a noise. When he began his beating the com- pany began their dancing, the men by themselves and the squaws alone, a sort of shuffling of the feet, moving very slowly around the sick woman. Every man carried a medicine poneh, which was made of a small ani- mal's skin filled with medicine. As each man would come to her he would shake it at her, uttering something of a grunt such as chugh, chugh. The squaws did not carry any medicine and kept silent. Mrs. Harsen recovered her health and lived many years after; no doubt they thought their treatment had worked wonders in her case.
The same year I attended an Indian feast on Walpole Island. An Indian, whose name was O-gaw, that is, Pickerel, came over some time previous and invited Mr. Brakeman and me to attend. Mr. Brakeman gave an invitation to his friend, John K. Smith, Esq., to accompany us, which he accepted. When the time arrived for the party, O-gaw came after us with a large canoe, and had a nice mat spread in the bottom for the company to sit upon while he paddled the canoe. When about half way across the river he gave a very loud war whoop, as much as to say, we are coming. His friends on land answered him in the same way with several loud whoops. When we landed. the chief and leading men in the company met us at the river, all shaking hands with him. Mr. Brakeman took with him presents of pipes and tobacco for the chief and head men. They had a large tent put up for the occasion with rush mats spread over the ground. A drummer beat the drum the same as at the medicine dance, but there was no dancing. Their prin- cipal refreshments consisted of pigeons nicely dressed and boiled whole: they were served in a very peculiar manner. Two long poles were ar- ranged up, near the top of the tent one on each side. The pigeons were tied by the legs, two together and strung on the poles from one end to the other. After drumming, chatting and visiting for a while, some of the squaws. we will say the "table committee," took down the pigeons and passed to the company. giving us each two in our hands. no plate. knife or fork was used. We all sat and picked the meat from the bones and had a very pleasant time until quite late in the evening, when O-gaw conveyed us home. I suppose it was something of a "lawn social." I was very much annoyed at night the first year I resided at Point Du Chene, with the noise of the Indian drums, they held feasts and danees so often. After some time I became accustomed to hearing them, but I still remember well their thumping sound.
Some time during the winter of 1837-38. we entertained over night General Hugh Brady and several officers, with a company of soldiers, from Detroit. They came up on the river St. Clair in double sleighs. Their business was to ascertain how matters were along the lines, as it was during the Patriot war.
We were well acquainted with the old French settlers, both on the Ameriean and Canadian side of St. Clair river, and with some of the early French of Detroit. The most of these families have descendants residing in this county and in Detroit. The Brandamours, Causeley,
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La Forge. Trombley, St. Bernard. Record, Petit. Galernan. Gerard, La Turneau, Thebault, Chortier. Canchois, Minnie. Nicholas. Duchien, Cam- pau, Baby, Yax. Paschal, Lauzon. Cottrell. Rousselle. Moran, Peltier. Dubois. Dupree, Boshaw, Matevia, Morass. La Blanc, Pappenean, Pel- lette, Genean. Boreau, Bartrean, Jervaise, Bovia. Thibedeaux, Beaubien. Bordeneaux, Bonhomme, are some of those I remember.
My home has always been on the St. Clair river, excepting two years spent in Detroit and Mt. Clemens when a child, during the war, and six years of my married life, which were spent at Huron City. Huron county, at the time my husband was in the lumbering business.
By Mrs. Lucy Vance
I am now ninety-four years old and was born in 1817 in Cayuga county, N. Y., near Auburn. My father died the next year, leaving my mother, Ruby Cox, a widow with ten children, of which I was the young- est. My mother was left a good sized farm. but as the children grew up there was not enough land to give each child much land. After the Erie eanal was opened in 1825 we used to hear about Michigan, and that good land could be got there cheap. In 1830 a Mr. Ansel Frost of the same county told her he had a section, or elaim, in St. Clair county, Michigan, and offered to trade for her farm, and they finally made a deal in May of that year.
There were many things to do to close out the home place and mother decided to have John, my oldest brother, and four more of the children, including me, come ont to Michigan and get things started and a house built for the rest of the family to come in the fall. So we started at> once and came to Buffalo, and from there by boat to Detroit, and then by land up to Clinton river, on our way to St. Clair. My brothers found a man near the mouth of that river who had some land cleared and they thought they had better arrange with him to put in some erops, as it might be too late to clear land and crop it after they got to St. Clair, but the man didn't keep his word and furnish things, and after two weeks we started on again for St. Clair. We had a small sloop in which our things were put and they had to pole this along the lake and up the river, which was pretty slow work, but we got to St. Clair in June, 1830.
ST. CLAIR IN 1830
I was then a girl of thirteen. and I remember very well how the place looked ; there was no bridge aeross Pine river, and no house for us to move in until we got one of our own. The land my mother got from Mr. Frost was private elaim number 307, and was about a mile west of St. Clair river, on what is now the State road, but there wasn't any road then.
The court house, a two-story log building, was standing about where the city hall is now, and was unfinished : the upper story was all in one big room and there was no stairway. A. Mr. Jonathan, or Joek Burn- ham, lived in part of the lower story, but said he was going to move in
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a short time. and my brother arranged to have us move into the upper story. We did this, and used a ladder to get up and down with, and when Burnham moved out we took his rooms. The same building was used as a jail and there were five cells in it for prisoners, but there were none there at that time, and we used the cells to store our fruit and household goods in.
As soon as we got fixed, my brothers began work on a house on mother's land, which they built on the east side of Pine river, on the north side of where the State road is, and by September they had the house ready for us and we moved out. It was only about a mile straight out, but there was no road and we went by boat up Pine river about five miles. In November mother and the rest of the family came and I lived there until I married Mr. Vance in 1838.
They finished off the second story of the court house and put in stairs and it was used for all kinds of meetings. church, school and dances.
There wasn't any store kept at St. Clair when we came; a man used to come around with a boat on which he kept a stock of goods. Later there was a store kept on the east side of Front street, south of where the Nicol mill was. George Palmer lived on his farm south of Pine river near where the Oakland house stands, and up near Pine river there was a Mr. Rikert, and Charles Phillips. a blacksmith, who was also quite an inventor, I heard.
North of Pine river, Horatio James lived in the house which Mr. Stein owned for a long time. Mr. James had a large family, both boys and girls. I remember them well and could give their names and who they married. This house was built by Mr. James Fulton and Mr. Monson lived in it after Mr. James. In the block north of that house was another one which Mr. Fulton built-his first, I think-and at that time it was occupied by the family of Mr. Fay, who afterwards built up on the hill near where the Hopkins houses are. This house was after- wards owned by Woodworth.
The block north of this was public square. then a vacant block, then Dr. Chamberlin, who had married the widow Partridge, the spring before we. came. On the corner of the next block above this was the log store of John Thorn, who afterwards moved to Port Huron. Up on the hill was the house of Mrs. Mark Hopkins. the mother of Samuel F., and across the street near the river. was Mr. Beardsley. On the north side of Pine river, just around the bend, was John F. Bassett, who adopted, or brought up, John Canan. He was a boat captain, and was drowned some time after. These are all the houses then in St. Clair in 1830.
Mr. James was a school teacher, but the first school I remember was kept by Sarah Barron, who married Samuel Carleton, the uncle of Will Carleton, the poet. I remember the postoffice when Mr. Samnel F. Hop- kins kept it in his house on Front street, north of where the Beyschlag block stands. The mail carrier came once a week, he came from Romeo, or at any rate from the west, and would come to Pine river near where our house stood. He would holler and one of the boys would take a boat and carry him over, as there was no bridge. The road from our house to town wound around to get the best ground.
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I remember when they cut the trees and graded to build the rail- road to Romeo, it ran through my mother's farm and the State road was built on it from Pine River in. When we moved into our house there was a sawmill and grist mill a little farther up Pine river, owned by Mr. Jerome.
I was about sixteen when there was a wonderful display of shooting stars, and I can remember distinctly what a sensation it caused. We didn't know but the end of the world was coming.
LUCY COX MARRIES MR. VANCE
I was twenty-one when I married Mr. Vance, who was a carpenter and joiner, and who had built the house into which we moved, which was just north of the Cadillac hotel. and I lived there most of my life after. Mr. Vance built the old red school house, which first stood on the river bank, and was built for some kind of a factory, but not used, and school was kept in it for some time before it was moved back on Third street.
My mother died in 1850, she had divided the claim into eight eighty acre lots and gave one to each of eight children. I think now she must have been a pretty eapable enterprising woman to think of coming out into a new country with her large family, but everybody then was used to having less things than they have now, and we got along all right. One of my brothers, Benjamin C. Cox, was judge of probate, and also surveyor. One of my sisters married Jacob Miller, as his second wife; another married Charles Kimball.
By Aura P. Stewart
I was born in the town of Canandaigua. in the state of New York, on the 20th day of May, A. D. 1804. At the time of my birth. my father had charge of a large distillery and brewery owned by Mr. Dewey. a merchant of Canandaigua, who failed, by which my father lost $600, and was thrown out of business for several months. In 1805, my father established his business of distilling and brewing on what was called Mud creek, in the town of Bristol, adjoining Canandaigua. At the birth of my brother, John H. Stewart, my mother began to decline, and her illness increasing, she died in the month of May, 1810. At this time there was much talk about the new territory of Michigan, and from the favorable reports secured, my father was determined to see the new territory and seek in it a home. Accordingly he set about the settlement of his business, and in the latter part of November. 1810, he shouldered his pack, containing his clothes, accompanied by a brother, and took his journey for Michigan.
My father was married to Miss Mary Graveraet in the winter of 1814, and remained in the city of Detroit during the war, which ended in February, 1815. The people who had abandoned their homes made prep- arations to return, and in the month of April. 1815. my father moved his family and goods up to Harsen's Island, and took possession of the house and lands of his wife that had been abandoned during the war.
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The settlers on the border of Lake and River St. Clair were, at the break- ing out of the war, compelled to remove all their stock of horses, cattle and hogs to Detroit (to protect sueh from the Indians), where all were consumed ; and while many were deliberating how, and where they were to be supplied, Captain Andrew Wesbrook went to the state of Ohio and purchased cattle, selecting such as were most required to meet the immediate wants of the inhabitants; this he continued to do until all were supplied.
CAPTAIN ANDREW WESBROOK
As Captain Wesbrook was in his day a very prominent man in St. Clair county, I will here mention a few incidents of his life. Before the war with England, he was a wealthy farmer and business man, residing near the Moravian town on the River Thames; in his immediate neigh- borhood, there lived one Major Tawsby, who was an aspirant for gov- ernment favors. At the breaking out of the war the British government, took immediate steps to organize the militia of Canada. and at such or- ganization. Tawsby received a major's commission, and Wesbrook was offered a captain's commission under Tawsby, which he indignantly re- fused. Wesbrook was born in the state of New York, and his sympathies were with the American cause : and he, on the appointment of his enemy, Tawsby, determined to leave Canada and join the Americans; he had counted the consequences of this act; and, knowing that the confiscation of his valuable property would follow. he colleeted his goods together. and all that he could not remove he burned with his house and barn. On Wesbrook's arrival in Detroit, he stated his case to Governor Hull and received a captain's commission, and was found to be a very useful man in the commissary department in collecting supplies for the troops. There were many reconnoitering parties sent up the River Thames dur- ing the war, or before the surrender of Detroit, and Captain Wesbrook was a valuable guide to such parties. On one of these expeditions. Cap- tain Wesbrook, learning that Major Tawsby was at home, surrounded his house, and took him prisoner. The hatred that Wesbrook and Taws- by bore toward each other was mutual and violent. After this reeon- noitering party had gone into camp for the night, and the guns all stacked. Tawsby seized a musket and made a lunge at Wesbrook with intent to kill him, but in the aet he stumbled and the bayonet entered Wesbrook's boot; for this act Tawsby was put in irons until he reached Detroit. Captain Wesbrook, at the close of the war, purchased a farm of a Frenchman joining the Recor farm. and other lands adjoining, from which he made one of the best farms then in St. Clair county. Our first representative in congress from the territory of Michigan made known to that body the loss of Captain Wesbrook's property in Canada, and on such representation an act was passed granting him two sections of land, which he selected mostly in the township of Clay, in St. Clair county, which lands passed through several purchasers, and now com- prise the valuable farms of Seva and Dana Richardson.
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THE ST. CLAIR REGION IN 1815
For many years, I saw but little of Michigan, except that portion bordering on the shore of Lake and River St. Clair. I came from an inland and thickly settled distriet, and had seen no flowing water save brooks and rivulets ; I had seen no forests but in the distance, and though but a boy of twelve years of age I could not but feel impressed with the wild beauty of my new home. The dense and almost impenetrable forests, the magnificent River St. Clair, the countless number of every variety of waterfowl flying over my head or resting and sporting on the bosom of the beautiful waters, the howling of wolves at night, the constantly passing and repassing eanoes of the strange looking Indians, their stealthy tread through the woods and their unintelligible shouts as they passed each other, and, last but not least, the merry songs of the French voyageurs toiling at the oar, propelling their boats swiftly over the blue waters-these were new scenes to me, and called forth my wonder and delight. I have now (1876) entered upon the seventy-sec- ond year of my life-nearly sixty years thus far have been spent in Michigan. I have witnessed the improvements made in the county of St. Clair; flourishing towns have sprung up, and a large portion of our older settlers have become wealthy; all have shared in the conveniences of modern improvements and comforts, but yet, for my own part, I could enjoy no greater pleasure than for a short time to see Michigan as I saw it in 1815, wild and romantie as it then was; to traverse its dense forests, to paddle my canoe over its waters, surrounded by game of every description on river, lake and shore; and at night, while par- taking of a supper of game taken through the day, hear the howling of the wolves, the hooting of owls and other voices of the night. Fancy ofttimes leads me back to the dear old primitive days, and then I am a boy again. Alas! the vision lingers not! I am an old man with in- ereasing infirmities, and nothing is left to me but the memories of the past.
It appears that there were no permanent settlements made on the River St. Clair prior to the conquest of Canada by the British forces, but immediately following that event lands were located and permanent residenees made. At Point aux Trembles, there were four families; on Stromness Island (Diekinson's) there were three families, and three also, on Harsen's Island ; between Point aux Trembles and Reeor's point were fourteen, and five families were settled between Recor's and Black river. The names of the residents on Point aux Trembles were Chortier (Shirkey), Minne, Basney and William Hill. Mr. Chortier appears to have been the most prominent man of the Point aux Trembles settle- ment. The names of the residents of Harsen's Island were William Harsen, Jacob Harsen, Francis Harsen and Mary Stewart, formerly Mary Graveraet. Captain Peter Laughton was the first settler on Strom- ness Island ; he was a retired British naval officer, and had selected the island as a part of the land he was entitled to draw from the British government. Mr. James Harsen and his son-in-law, Isaac Graveraet, were the first settlers on Harsen's Island. Mr. Harsen was a gunsmith, and Mr. Graveraet, a silversmith; they came from the city of Albany, Vol. I-11
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N. Y., for the purpose of dealing with the Indians, and selected Harsen's Island as their place of business; they purchased the island from the Indians, under the sanction of the British government.
The first settlers on the River St. Clair, in what now comprises the township of Cottrellville, were Captain Alexander Harrow, Cottrell, William Thorn, Pascal, Robertson, William Brown, Joseph Minne, and some others whose names I have forgotten.
It appears that the British were very liberal, in that day, in the dis- tribution of wild lands to the officers of their army and navy, and Cap- tain Harrow, of the navy, located all the land on the river extending from the present site of Algonac to Belle river. After the United States government came in possession of the Northwest territory, embracing the state of Michigan, congress passed an act limiting individuals to one section, and Captain Harrow was compelled to make his selection in ac- cordance with this act. The lands selected by him are now embraced in the township of Clay, and extend from Abram Smith's mill in Algo- nac to the mill of W. C. & W. S. Roberts, at Roberts' Landing.
THE COTTRELLS
Mr. Cottrell (his Christian name I never knew*) and Captain Harrow were the most prominent men of their day in the settlement along St. Clair river.
The original Mr. Cottrell, when a boy, was taken prisoner by the Indians in one of their raids on the Wyoming valley during the French and Indian wars with the American colonies. He was purchased from his captors by a Frenchman named Cot-ter-ell, and who brought the lad up as his own son, giving him his name. His sons were George, David, Henry and another son, who made his residence at or near Grosse Point, and whose first name I cannot recall. The old Cottrell homestead, a few miles below Algonac village. is well known to all my readers.
Henry Cottrell was for many years sheriff of St. Clair county; in fact he held that office as long as Michigan was a territory, and, I be- lieve, one term after she became a state. He was a very jovial com- panion, a good neighbor, energetic, industrious and prompt in the dis- charge of his official duties. I could relate many pleasing anecdotes of Sheriff Cottrell, but I will only give one: Cottrell was given an execu- tion against my uncle, Charles Stewart, who declared the judgment was more than double the sum he owed, and refused to pay it. Under our territorial laws we had imprisonment for debt, and Cottrell responded -"Stewart, I shall have to imprison you, then." "All right," said Uncle Charley, "now is your time; I am going into the lumber woods, and you will have hard work to find me." "Very well," said Cottrell, "You are willing to go to jail, I see; here, take this writ and go and deliver yourself up to the jailer!" Uncle took the writ and delivered himself to the keeper of the jail, where he remained for a few days, when he returned home.
Mr. David Cottrell was one of your sedate, candid, judicious sort of
«George.
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men; he possessed good natural abilities, once held the office of county judge, and from the first election under our state government held the office of justice of the peace to the day of his death; he also was the people's favorite man for supervisor, holding the office for many years.
JOHN K. SMITH
As I have given a short account of the life and character of two prominent men of an adjoining town, I must not forget those of my own township. John K. Smith, Esq., now long deceased, was born in the state of Vermont, and at the breaking out of the war with England, was serving his county as sheriff, or under sheriff, and he was almost constantly in his saddle riding through and beyond his county on busi- ness.
On one occasion, his business led him to a little town on the banks of the River St. Lawrence; it was in the winter; the name of the town and the year in which the occurrence happened I have forgotten, al- though I have heard the Squire relate it many times. I think, however, it was in the winter of 1813. Both of the hostile armies had gone into winter quarters, and none expected a renewal of hostilities before the spring. It appears that the British officers in command of a station on the Canada side of the river, having obtained an account of the situa- tion of the town, and number of American troops, planned a night at- tack, hoping to surprise the Americans and capture the town with ease. For this purpose, selecting a dark night, he crossed his men over to the American shore a few miles above the town, and to prevent information of his intentions reaching the American officer, he seized and placed under guard all persons he thought capable of giving information of his approach. That night Mr. Smith had put up at a tavern near where the British landed, and being unwell went to bed at an early hour; the British made prisoners of the landlord and all in his house capable of giving information, and put them under guard; they were about to send Mr. Smith off with a guard, but he being lame and ill, and the landlady pleading so hard for him, the officer judged him harmless and let him remain. As soon as Mr. Smith thought it safe, he went to the stable, mounted his horse, and being well acquainted with the neighborhood, took a circuitous route, put his horse at full speed and reached town in time to give the officer in command notice of the approach of the British. Immediately on this notice, the officer in command ordered his men under arms, with as little noise as possible, and placed them in a position to surprise the British on their approach. The British soon made their appearance, and before their lines were formed for the assault the Ameri- cans delivered their volley, which so surprised the British that they wheeled about and retreated as fast as possible until they reached the Canadian shore.
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