USA > Michigan > Genesee County > Flint > The book of the golden jubilee of Flint, Michigan 1855-1905. Published under the auspices of the Executive committee of the golden jubilee and old homecoming reunion > Part 9
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The next social event in the winter of 1831-1832 was a house warming given by Mr. and Mrs. Todd. An important addition had been made to the Flint river tavern, the home of the Todds, and I am indebted to the historian of Genesee county, for a description of the event as it was related many years after by Aunt Polly Todd, to one of her friends. This is her account of the great event, for great it was to those who were honored with an invitation to be present.
"In February, Mr. Todd had the frame addition to his house all finished, and as Sam Russell,-the only violinist in the county-was procurable, Mr. and Mrs. Todd determined to give a house-warming. For this purpose, all the settlers in Flint and Grand Blanc,-about thirty in number-were invited to the 'Flint Tavern,' to pass the following evening. Mean- time all the ladies put their best garments in readiness, and Mrs. Todd-who had better facilities for importing new artir cles into the settlement than many of the others-had a full new suit, and a splendid new dress cap, ready for that special occasion, all purchased some weeks previously by Mr. Todd, in Detroit. As the evening advanced the guests commenced arriving, and 'Aunt Polly' concluded to dress up. As she
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appeared among the ladies, they all expatiated on her becoming dress, and 'perfect love of a cap.' Mrs. Todd, having a light in her hand at the time, stood opposite a looking-glass, and, casting an admiring glance at herself therein, mentally agreed that she did look well, and that it was 'a love of a cap.' While elevating the light to get a more correct view of the beautiful piece of finery, it caught in some of the delicate borders of ribbons, and a fire ensued which reduced the gay head-dress to a few burned rags in less than three minutes. However, the tuning of the fiddle previous to the dance, set the gentlemen to looking up their partners, and Mrs. Todd, who loved dancing, was on the floor one of the first, looking just as well and as happy in another cap of less pretentions than her lost beauty. In those times a dance was the only amusement looked for at any gathering, and when an invitation was given out, it was sure to be accepted."
Social life depends somewhat upon material conditions. There can be only limited social intercourse when homes are located upon an Indian trail or a white man's cowpath, or even upon such roads as the pioneer makes. What there is may be warm and hearty, but of necessity it must be limited. A for- ward step in social life was taken, when, in 1834 a road was projected from Detroit to Saginaw, and a substantial bridge was erected over the Flint river, thereby dispensing with Todd's ferry. With these and other improvements, the rude settlement began to wear the aspect of a village.
The years 1836, 1837 and 1838 brought in a large number of settlers, many of whose names are still remembered. 1848- 1850 witnessed the establishment of two newspapers in what was by that time a very thriving and rapidly growing village. Should someone ask what has the newspaper to do with social life, I answer it has a great deal to do with it. To be sure before the coming of the newspaper if there was a tea-party or
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other social gathering, the details would circulate in a quiet way, for there never was a time when people would not talk. But the newspaper could, and gladly would, at least in these times, give publicity to all those details which are so interesting in social life. Through their columns, as the years passed on, the community could know how the ladies were dressed and what the nature of the function was.
The coming of the newspaper, therefore, marked a new departure in the social life of the village of Flint river, though I have reason to believe that newspaper notices of social doings were not very frequent in the very early stages of the news- paper in Flint.
In the month of February, 1855, the village was incor- porated and became the city of Flint. When the boy steps out of knickerbockers into long pants, and when the girl passes from short dresses, in which navigation is easy, into a long dress that it requires artistic skill to manage gracefully and safely, there is usually a very perceptible accession of dignity. A change from a country village to an incorporated city meant a gradual change in social observances,-not strongly marked at first, but sure, as time went on to become plainly apparent.
I think there has, from the earliest times, been in Flint a feeling like this : We Flintites are just as intelligent as other people and all things considered, we propose to set the pace for other cities to follow, rather than look on and let them set the pace for us. There has always been an element here that wished to lead, and our city has never been without social ambitions.
Communication with the outer world has much to do with the social life of a community.
The old stage coach has a pleasant place in the memory of old timers, who once considered it a marvel of speed and ele-
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gance. Some of our greatest men have thrilled at the sound of the stage driver's horn, and some have said, if not in the words of Shakespeare, at least with all sincerity, "I wish that heaven had made me such a man."
In an early number of "The Whig," afterwards known as "The Wolverine Citizen," this notice appeared.
"CHEAP AND RAPID RIDING.
"The stage for Pontiac leaves Flint each morning (Sun- days excepted), stopping, at Grand Blanc, Stony Run, Grove- land, Springfield, Clarkston, Austin and Waterford, and arrives at Pontiac in time to enable passengers to take the cars the same day for Detroit.
E. N. PETTEE, A. J. Ross, Proprietors."
It has been extremely difficult to induce any of the older inhabitants of our city to make any written statement of their recollections and experiences of the early social life of Flint, and interviewing elderly people has been about the only way to bring out such facts as should find place in a sketch like this.
Prof. F. H. Humphrey, well known to more than one gen- eration of Flint society people, has kindly furnished the fol- lowing, which will be read, I am sure, by many who have come under his instruction. I came under it myself for a brief period, with one other gentleman whose name I refrain from mentioning. We both struggled hard to master what Prof. Humphrey called the five positions, originating some positions utterly unknown to the terpsichorean art.
I learn that there was much opposition at one time to dancing. Some good people used to ask those who enjoyed the dance if they could pray while dancing. Had this question been put to me, the answer would have been, "Yes, I should
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have to pray, and pray earnestly, for that is the only thing I I can do." And my partner, I am sure, would have prayed more earnestly than I would have done, for she would have had more to fear from a mash-up than I had.
Prof. Humphrey expresses himself as follows :
"Social life was in full glow and a spirit of true democracy seemed to prevail in all functions pertaining to society, Among the notable events were the musical club parties, held at intervals of two or four weeks, on which occasion a fine selected program of instrumental and vocal music was rendered by home talent, after which dancing was the social pastime, closing at eleven o'clock p. m. These entertainments were held at private homes of Flint's generous citizens, of whom men- tion will be made in connection with the following events in Flint's social life, covering a period of several years.
"The Musical Club became known as the Harmonia Club and finally ceased to exist. Meantime private home parties became a source of social pleasure, on which occasion an orchestra was present, and after the usual reception ceremonies, cards and dancing were the amusements.
Among the leading families giving these enjoyable enter- tainments were Col. William Fenton, Col. E. H. Thomson, Artemas Thayer, William Hamilton, Robert Page, Chauncey S. Payne, Russell Bishop, Giles Bishop, William Thurber, E. C. Turner, Cornelius Roosevelt, Samuel Curtis, Josiah Begole, Josiah Pratt, Watrous Gibson, H. H. Wood, Austin Wither- bee, Oliver Hamilton, Dr. Lamond, Mr Bailey, J. B. Hamil- ton, Homer Hazleton, George Hazleton, George M. Dewey, the Misses Cummins, Grant Decker, Leonard Wesson, Judge Avery, Mr. Mckibben, E. S. Williams, Judge Beecher, Col. Hascall, Horatio Belcher, and others whose names the writer cannot command.
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"Among the church societies, the Methodist, Baptist, Roman Catholic and Episcopal were the most prominent, the last named being the only church society allowing popular games and dancing, taking a liberal view of social enjoyment. This society at one time during its struggle for a new edifice and equipment, organized a series of social entertainments by which means a large sum was raised toward the purchase of the organ that still does duty at St. Paul's.
"The principal amusement of these entertainments was dancing, the music being volunteered by members of the society, prominent among whom were the Misses Decker, Mrs. E. C. Turner, Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Humphrey. It is fitting here to say that these entertainments excelled in point of refine- ment, moral influence and the elevating of a higher standard of social intercourse than most other forms of amusement, which goes to prove the good influence the church holds over social as well as spiritual affairs, and, therefore, the church should live nearer to the natural lives of the people.
"We are now drifting along through the 70's and 80's, and after the passing of these highly enjoyable affairs mentioned, other social organizations sprang into existence, and owing to the natural trend of increasing population and wealth, social distinctions became apparent and society took on more and more exclusiveness. The Married People's Club and Kettle Drum Society became leading factors in social life among the '400.' A commendable feature of these entertainments was punctual observation of the hours of attendance, eight to eleven o'clock p. m. Refreshments were served on each occasion. Sometimes a six o'clock dinner was served, after which danc- ing followed until the sounds of 'Home, Sweet Home' from the orchestra announced the hour of departure.
"Among those who had spacious homes for these brilliant affairs were: J. B. and William Atwood, Mrs. R. C. Durant,
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W.C. FOOT'E PHOTOGRAPHE
A HAPPY NEW YEAR 1879
1879
AN OLD TIME NEW YEAR'S CALLING CARD.
1
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Hon. George H. Durand, B. F. Simington, Dr. J. C. Willson, C. S. Randall, M. S. Elmore, Jerome Eddy, George L. Walker, Oren Stone, Dr. A. A. Thompson and C. T. Bridgman.
"It may be well to mention that many of the fraternal associations gave numerous entertainments during the year, military balls, Knights Templar parties, and one of the most notable events was the leap-year ball given by the ladies of the Masonic families, which eclipsed anything of the kind that occurred before or since.
"To mention all the ladies in this affair would be impossi- ble at this date, but some idea of the kind and quality can be formed when we say that many were of the families already mentioned as leaders in social life."
In 1862 the first locomotive came over the Flint and Pere Marquette line from the north and reached Flint. A social event marked the occasion. There was a grand banquet at the Carlton House, a hotel on the floor of which the writer of this sketch passed his first night in Flint, wrapped in a blanket, that being the best resting place he could secure, owing to the crowded condition of the house, and there being no vacant bed elsewhere except on that a fellow sufferer who had seen it, said His Satanic Majesty would not sleep in.
The banquet at the Carlton House was one of great hilar- ity, for everybody was in high spirits. Speeches were made and there were responses to toasts, and those who remembered the jolly good times in Todd's Tavern could not fail to see that such a public banquet, in point of high toned elegance, was far in advance of any previous public social affair that had been held in Flint.
Then came the railroad from Holly to Flint, and communi- cation with the world was fairly open.
Beauty is glorious by moonlight, and not by any means ineffective by the light of a tallow dip or a kerosene lamp.
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There is something, however, about gas light that displays both feminine beauty and manly dignity in a social gathering to excellent advantage. The Flint Gas Company, organized in 1870, shed a new radiance upon the social life of Flint, and still disputes the palm with "press the button" and instanta- neous illumination.
It is very easy to determine when the social life of Flint began. It is not quite so easy to determine just when it ceased to be the early social life. Not to be mathematically exact, it would seem fair to say that early social life was practically at an end and that it entered upon a new era just as boyhood and girlhood enter upon manhood and woman- hood, somewhere in the early seventies. Some reference to our early social life may, however, somewhat overlap that period.
Interviewing those who have been dead for many years should be one of the accomplishments of one called upon to write up the early social life of Flint. Most of those who were prominent in that period and were themselves social factors are sleeping in the cemetery. Those who are still living do not remember to any great extent those particulars that would help to make an interesting sketch.
All whom I have seen think social life in Flint was uncom- monly pleasant, but I have found it difficult to obtain interest- ing particulars. In a general way they tell me some things, but just the things I would gladly see put in print are with the dead.
With pencil and paper in hand one Sunday afternoon I tried to carry on the holy work of an interview for the good of the public with an old and valued friend of mine.
She told me that she came to Michigan in 1833, living at first in Mount Morris, in a house set up on blocks of wood, and underneath it she used to listen sometimes to the howling
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of wolves. Stalwart character ought to be the result of such an environment-character such as could not be developed where no sterner sounds can be heard by moonlight than the voices of belligerant cats. Mrs. in 1836 lived on the river bank on the site of the old Red Tavern, which not many now living can remember.
I asked about the social life of the children, for I do not happen to know any more pleasing sight than a lawn party of very young children, full of fun and frolic, such a party, I mean, as we often see to-day. And then their consumption of refreshments when the time comes is something noteworthy. "Was anything of that kind done for very young children in your young days, my friend?" "Children were children then as well as now," was the answer. "They had pleasant times, but there was no formality for them. Invitations were not issued for them, and their lives were more isolated than the lives of children now are." Social life distinctively for chil- dren was not a feature of the early days of Flint."
"Well, what did the older people do in the winter for amusement?" "Sleighrides were quite frequent in my young lady days; old and young enjoyed them together. The sleigh- rides usually culminated in a supper and a return when the evening was considerably advanced."
"Was there any love-making on such occasions?" My friend thought a moment, gazed thoughtfully on vacancy, and said she could not distinctly remember, but she thought there might have been.
From a few ancient relics she produced several invitations on note paper, each suggestive to her of a pleasant occasion long past, but not one of them was dated with the day of the month or year, and how old they were she could not tell.
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She spoke of frequent dancing parties that were held in an old residence on the corner of Court and Saginaw streets, known by everybody as the Hascall place.
Mrs. has a vivid memory of parties that were given by various families. The invitations were quite general, for there was then no sharply dividing line that distinguished "our set" folks from the other set.
I asked about the dress on such occasions. She satisfied me that the ladies of that period understood the art of dress- ing, and I presume there never has been a time when they did not know how to array themselves attractively.
"Did the gentlemen appear in the conventional swallow tail?" She could not distinctly remember to what extent the swallow tail prevailed, but said she with emphasis, "The gentle- men did look mighty well."
"The caterer had not at that time appeared. The hostess of the evening at least supervised the refreshment department and the good things were chiefly home made. Good they were, the variety was great, and the consumption was more than a make believe. It was downright business. On some occasions the gentlemen would quietly retire to a certain room for a quiet smoke." And then she added, "I can't say what else they went for."
Those were the palmy days of E. H. Thomson, who used to entertain those he met at evening parties with recita- tions from Shakespeare. He was, as my friend told me, a fine story teller. "Were there any dinner parties" "Yes, they were quite frequent, but there were no toasts with formal responses until later years."
"How about young ladies on such occasions?" "I can't remember what they wore, but they looked as pretty as pinks."
Pleasant memories in the mind of Mrs. clus- tered around the old Boss Tavern, ten miles from Flint. She
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called to mind in particular one occasion of marked interest to her. There was a sleighride, and a great supper had been ordered. A jolly spirit of rollicking good will had taken possession of all in the sleigh. Some had to stand in the sleigh for want of room. I can't understand why they had to do this. Had I been there I should have offered some one a seat, and at the same time should have retained my own. Perhaps that was done, but my informant made no mention of such an act of courtesy. There was singing all along the way. One strain of one song still lingered in her memory. It was this :
"Lightly row, lightly row, On the glassy wave we go."
The chaperone had not at that time appeared in Flint, though on that particular occasion there were some suspicious transactions that suggested a field of usefulness for a chape- rone that could see, and at the same time be conveniently near sighted.
On that particular occasion a gentleman lost one of his mittens, a just penalty for not keeping it on, and hunted in vain for it. "Where is my mitten? What has become of my mitten?" And in response to this query there came a musical response from a young lady,
"Look high, look low, Look on my big toe."
and there he found it. "And it didn't seem a bit out of charac- ter then," said my informant, "but I suppose such a thing now would shock conventional proprieties, but we did have good times."
In the summer season the picnic party was in high favor. Lemonade flowed freely, and there were eatables by the bushel. On such occasions one may be allowed to unbend his dignity or if he is very aspiring he may climb a sapling and bend it
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down, and drop from its top to the ground if he chooses to, and be applauded as an acrobat. These early picnics, I am told, were free from gossip and from the slightest approach to rudeness. There was good talking, not only of the kind that entertained, but not infrequently upon subjects that it required previous good thinking to talk well upon.
A woman once said of her husband, "The trouble with Mr. .. is that he always supposes that other people can do what he does."
It is not exactly so with some of our good Flint people who look back with tender pride upon the ways of their friends in early social life. They think, and doubtless honestly, that other people, notably those of a later time, cannot do what the early comers did socially. Time has gilded these half- forgotten social ways with a halo that glorifies them. Who shall blame this honest pride in old time observances? Not I.
He who would catch good fish of all kinds should fish in all waters. He who would look up bits of information that the public has forgotten and would set before the public in such a volume as this, those bits of semi-gossipy happenings that the public generally read with more enjoyment than they do reports of sermons, should interview all the elderly ladies in Flint who are willing to tell about their social life when they were young.
Such a lady like her predecessor, told me that she came to Flint when she was five years old. That was not far from seven years before Flint became an incorporated city. It was village life then, with all the quiet charm that one finds in a pleasant community not yet mad with the haste to be rich.
The history of Genesee county informs us that "nine- tenths of the earliest settlers of this county came from New York State and New England, and brought with them the advanced ideas of the favored communities from which they
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came, upon the subjects of education and religious observances."
The madam, whom I am now interviewing called to mind pleasant evenings at the old fashioned spelling school. Sides were chosen, and as fast as one of the contestants mis-spelled a word, down he sat and the battle continued till only one speller, the champion of the evening, was left on the floor. These contests were always exciting, and were scenes of genuine pluck in the hour of battle, and of hiliarious fun when the battle was over. Madame with whom we are now talking was at least once victor in such a contest. She spelled down her last competitor on the word "weasel," the wrong spelling given being "weasil." It is not easy to catch a weasel asleep, and that night the little girl, now a woman, how many years young I will not tell, was wide awake, and she said her father was proud of her success.
Is this lady correct when she insists that the log school house and the spelling school gave us better spellers than we now find in our well equipped schools? I cannot say, but I, do know that in my own spelling school days there was good spelling, and I also know that now-a-days words do sometimes appear under a spell that is by no means enchanting,
Our early settlers, especially those from New England, brought with them their long cherished ideals of religious observances. The church to some extent is a factor in social life, and in pioneer days seems likely to be a more potent social factor than when wealth brings in its train social obser- vances of a more conventional character. There was a friendly fraternal feeling among the churches.
The lady now furnishing material for this chapter told me that in her girlhood the children went to church with their parents, and even the babies had a place in the pews.
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The donation party then did double duty as a financial expedient and a social function. What was done on such occasions? A donation is, of course, a gift, and sometimes, I have been told, on such occasions not only were provisions given away, but the good minister who received them as a supplementary appendage to his salary, was also given away. But as a social feature in the early days, the donation party really was a party of no mean pretensions. There was every variety of food and every variety of folks, and no small amount of the food brought went home with the folks who brought it. Somehow eating together seems not only to open the mouth and loosen the tongue, but also to open the heart, This time honored occasion, now obsolete in Flint, had its uses and the good times enjoyed on such occasions are still remembered with pleasure.
As royal entertainers in the early days my informant mentioned the family of Chauncey Payne. Sometimes there were dancing parties, and the dancing of that day as seen by the lady now under interview, was decorous and courtly.
She mentioned as conspicuous in early social life the Deweys, the Cummins's, the Pages, the family of Mr. Benja- min Pierson, Col. and Mrs. E. H. Thomson, Russell Bishop and wife, Grant Decker and Col. Fenton and their wives, and said there were many more whose names did not occur to her at this time.
Card playing was seldom indulged in, and the conversa- tion was of a high order. "Yes," said she, "they could talk."
Gentlemen and their wives made evening calls at the fire- sides of their neighbors, with delightful informality.
We have now reached the year 1848 and much attention was then paid to music, said my informant,-herself a musician of no mean attainments. There was a social side as well as a
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