USA > Michigan > Bay County > Bay City > The county of Bay, Michigan : maps, history, illustrations and statistics > Part 6
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This township has since been subdivided by the erection of Merritt in 1871. Petitions pro and con were presented to the board of supervisors on June 8th, and on July 8th a resolution erecting the township of Mer- ritt was passed by the board. It included all of town- ship 13 north, of range 6 east, and sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, in township 13 north, and range 5 east.
As before mentioned, the village of Portsmouth was annexed to Bay City in 1873. Immediately following that act the state legislature passed a resolution that all that portion of the township of Merritt, in the County of Bay, which lies in township 13 north of range 5 east; and sections 4, 5, 6 and 7 in township 13 north of range 6 east; and sections 31, 32 and 33 in township 14 north of range 6 east, in Hampton; also sections 34, 35 and 36 in township 14 north of range 5 east, be added to the township of Portsmouth, thus erecting the new Ports- mouth. It is in a high state of cultivation and takes on the appearance of the oldest setttled portions of the
state. The forests have so entirely disappeared that many farms are without wood for fuel. The shanties and log houses have been replaced by large frame and brick dwellings. There are fine orchards, stone roads and drains.
Merritt is in the extreme south-east corner of Bay county. It is crossed by the Quanicassee creek, which forms the trunk line of a drainage system which has reclaimed a large amount of the swampy land. There is much land left however, which is described as prairie land, it being low and mucky. The township was visited by a cyclone in the summer of 1896, by which great damage was done in the east central portion. Mungers, a post office and railroad station, is in the cen- tral portion of the township; it was named for a promi- nent citizen of the county.
PINCONNING.
This township takes its name from the Pinconning river, which, in turn, was derived from the Indian word 0-pinnic-con-ing, meaning "the potato place," so named from the fact [of wild potatoes being found abundant there. Mr. F. A. Pelky located here in 1853; he found, near the mouth of the river, an old water mill, which had then been operated for several years. It is not cer- tain as to who its owner was.
At the mouth of the river was an Indian settlement, and also an old log mission church. In 1869 F. A. Stark established himself as a fisherman; later he re- moved to Pinconning. Nearly all of the enterprize of the north part of Bay county was centered at this village, all the rest of the surrounding territory being covered with standing pine.
In February, 1872, Geo. H. Van Etten and others formed a company and built a saw mill. Van Etten, Kaiser & Co. purchased an hundred acres of land lying on both sides of the railroad in section 23, and made preparations for an extensive business; they also caused the construction of the Gladwin branch of the Michigan Central Railroad, then known as the Pinconning and Kaiserville Railroad. In 1875 the road was extended to the bay, and its name was changed to the Saginaw Bay and North-Western Railroad. The post office was established in 1872. The place is well provided with manufacturing institutions, churches, schools and societies. Its newspaper, "The Pinconning Times," en- joys a good patronage.
The western portion of the township contains some very fine farming lands. The agricultural industry is only partially developed, but the day is not far distant when this portion of Bay County will be equal to any other part of the county as a farming locality. The township was organized in 1887. It was rendered smaller by the organization of Mt. Forest and Gibson in 1889.
FRASER.
Fraser was erected by an act of the legislature in 1875. The first township meeting was held on the first Monday in April at the house of William Mitchie, who was elected supervisor of the new townsbip. Fraser is rapidly filling up with settlers, there now being no large tracts of land owned by one person. There are three post offices in this township: Linwood, Lengsville and Mitchie.
The township is crossed by two parallel railroads, the D. & M. and the M. C. Railroads. Lengsville is a prosperous little village in the east central portion of the township, and is the location of the P. L. Sherman Co., manufacturers of staves and heading. The people are well supplied with mineral water in the numerous flowing wells, some of which are said to be powerful enough to be used for practical irrigation purposes.
FRANKENLUST.
Until the winter of 1880-81, the territory of this township formed the north half of Kochville, Saginaw county. The late Rev. Mr. Sievers established a colony
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of German immigrants here in 1848, and a ride over the township today cannot fail to convince one that these people are industrious and enterprising. The appear- ance of the country rehearses the story of German per- severance, and gives one a peep at the Fatherland, with its manners, customs, and language.
Mr. John A. Leidlein was one of the most active in securing Frankenlust to Bay county. He tells us an interesting story of his struggle at Lansing with the legislature, and practically with the "Third House." Untiring efforts on the part of Mr. Leidlein and others were finally successful and the township was organized. Mr. Leidlein was elected supervisor. John G. Weggel, the present supervisor, has represented his constituents on the Bay county board for many years. Frankenlust contains two post offices, Amelith and Brooks, the latter being a suburb of West Bay City.
The people are mostly devoted to farming, but we find in the township Jobn Burger engaged in the manu- facture of cheese. J. S. Snell has a creamery. There is in the southeast quarter of section two, a mill; and we find four hotels in different parts of the township, the best known of which are the Michigan House and the new hotel owned by Wm. Reichenbach on the north line of the township. We give herein cuts of some of the residences of Frankenlust which are typical in the place.
The citizens of Frankenlust are proud of the record of Clemens Letgus, who was the only one of their num- ber to take part in the late war. He fought in many leading battles and marched with Sherman to the sea. His experience in the hospital and on the field, the story of his wounds and hardships, makes him an enter- taining companion at social gatherings. He was born in Germany.
GARFIELD, MT. FOREST AND GIBSON.
Garfield, Mt. Forest and Gibson comprise respect- ively, townships 16, 17 and 18 of range 3 east. The first was organized from Fraser in 18 - and latter two from Pinconning in 18 -. They are situated in the north- western part of Bay county, and consist of lands en- dowed by nature for the production of all the leading cereals and grasses of a temperate climate. The soil is deep, black and loamy. It is, for the most part, unde- veloped, being covered with hemlock, beech, maple, elm and ash. The removal of the pine has left a large acerage of stumpage. The exceedingly low price at which the land is held by the lumbermen who own it, its proximity to Bay City, one of the best markets in the state, the good roads leading to the territory and the excellent class of citizens already located there, all bespeak a brilliant career for those who take advantage of the opportunities offered in this portion of Michigan.
The village of Bentley, located in the western part of Gibson, is a railroad station and post office. It was named in honor of O. F. Bentley, a manufacturer of the place. Mt. Forrest is a post office at the junction of two railroads, on section 16 of Mt. Forest township.
SOME HISTORICAL PIONEERS.
JUDGE ALBERT MILLER.
A history of this county, however elaborate in statistics or in the narration of events, would not be complete without a personal mention of a few of the historical pioneers.
Aside from the Trombleys, Judge Albert Miller was more closely identified with the very early history than anyone else. He was born in Hartland, Windsor county, Vt., May 10, 1810. He was the son of Jeremy Miller, a native of Middletown, Conn., whose ancestors were of an old English family, and settled in Massachu- setts in 1640. Judge Miller was thrown upon his own resources at an early age, his father having died when Albert was but 7 years old. From the age of 10 years until he was 16 be lived with relatives, working on their farms in summer and attending district schools in winter. The next two years were spent in teaching
school. In 1830 he entered an academy at Meriden, N. H .; sickness prevented a long attendance at school, and he started west the same year.
In 1831 he settled with his mother and sisters at Grand Blanc, Genesee County, Mich. In 1832 he visited Saginaw, and purchased land in that vicinity. In Genesee county he taught school-the second term ever taught there. In 1833 he removed to Saginaw county, and taught for two years; upon the organization of that county he was appointed judge of probate by acting governor of the territory, S. T. Mason. In 1847 he represented the county in the state legislature. In 1836 -he purchased the tract of land upon which he located the village of Portsmouth. His enterprise gave a great impetus to the early development of the place. He built a saw mill; was very instrumental in securing the first railroad that ever came to Bay city. He died 18
JAMES McCORMICK
Was one of the very early settlers. He was born near Albany, New York, May 25, 1787; he was of Scotch ancestry; lived the life of the farmer boy of his time, working the farm in summer, and attending school in winter. At the age of twenty-four he married Miss Ellen Garratt. His father was wealthy, and had promised him a farm when he married; but he now withheld this gift because the son left the old Scotch Presbyterian church and joined the Universalists. James bought a farm adjoining his father's and accumu- lated a fortune. In 1830 he signed some bonds for a friend to the amount of $16,000, which he had to pay. He sold his farm, and after settling up had but $300 left. He then took his large family to the far west, so called, arriving in Detroit in the early part of 1832. From Detroit he went to Flint; built him a home, and resided there for two years. He then sold his place for $600 and removed to the Indian corn fields, south of Bridgeport, Saginaw county. These corn fields were within the Indian reservation, and Mr. McCormick succeeded in leasing 640 acres for a term of years for the sum of twenty-five bushels of corn and twenty-five bushels of potatoes per annum.
Here be built a comfortable log house, and lived as early pioneers had to live. For favors shown the Indians during an epidemic of small pox that prevailed among them, they leased to him the 640 acres of land for ninety-nine years. Afterwards, by means of fraud, used by government officials with the Indians, they ceded this 640 acres, together with the rest of their reservation to the government, and Mr. McCormick was ejected. In 1841 he removed to Portsmouth, and, in company with his son, James J., purchased an interest in the steam saw mill there and commenced the manu- facture of lumber. He shipped the first cargo of lumber that ever went out of the Saginaw river-40,000 feet. He continued in business till his death in 1846.
JAMES J. McCORMICK,
Third son of James McCormick, was born near Albany, New York, 1817. His early days were spent with his father at the places and under the conditions narrated in the preceding paragraph. He early evinced a good business talent; and for some years previous to coming of age he transacted all of his father's business. While James McCormick, his father, resided at Pewana- gowink, the son went to Kentucky and engaged with an elder brother in a railroad contract. While there be met and married Miss Jane Shelton. He returned in 1841, in time to help move to Portsmouth. He was as full of energy as his father, and soon they made things take on a different appearance around the village. They erected buildings on contracts, furnishing all the material used. They erected buildings for James G. Birney, Joseph Trombley, Medor Trombley, Captain Joseph F. Marsac and others. After the death of James McCormick, senior, in 1846, James J. carried on the business alone until 1848, when he sold an interest to Judge Albert Miller. In 1849 he sold his entire interest in the mill and, with an ox team and wagon, went to California. He returned with some money and re-
entered the lumber business, in which he continued until 1871. In 1854 his wife died, leaving three children: he afterwards married Miss Matilda Wayne. He was a member of the first council of Bay City, and was elected mayor in 1869. He was an extensive builder, and owned much valuable real estate. He died in 1872; bis wife died in 1880.
W. R. McCORMICK,
Another son of James McCormick was born near Albany, New York, 1822. His early years were spent in helping his father's family through their reverses. His playmates were the young Indians, whose tongue he learned, and in whose sports he became an adept. In 1837 he was employed as clerk and Indian inter- preter in the store of Coburn and Dixon at the mouth of the Tittabawassee river. He devoted his entire leisure time to study; his employers failed, and he returned home for a year. He then started out to do for himself, going to live with Major Moseley of Sagi- naw, choring for his board, and attending school through the fall and winter. In 1839, without the consent of his parents, he started afoot for Illinois, where a brother resided. The journey was so long that he became penniless and footsore before the end was reached. The next winter the father visited his sons, and William returned home with him. He lived at home until 1846, when he went to New York state. Here he married Miss Angelica Wayne of Albany, and soon returned to Bay county, where he continued to reside until 18 the time of his death. He was one of the prime movers in many of the early enterprizes in Bay City.
THOMAS ROGERS.
Thomas Rogers, the pioneer blacksmith and me- chanic, was born in Scotland, 1804. His father emi- grated to Canada in 1818, where Thomas learned his trade and married Miss Elizabeth Wilcox. He came to Michigan in 1837 and found employment at Saginaw. He was sent from there to Portsmouth in 1838; his family following him the next year. He removed from there to Lower Saginaw in 1842 and built a shop on Water street. He died in August, 1852. Mrs. Rogers was the daughter of Dr. Wilcox, of Watertown, New York, who afterwards removed to Canada. She assisted her father in the office and studied medicine with him until she became well versed, for those times, in the healing art. From 1837 to 1850 she weathered the storms of winter in her attendance upon the sick of Lower Saginaw and Portsmouth, and was truly a God- send to the suffering mill hands during the terrible seige of cholera. "When circumstances demanded it, she was as brave as a lion, and when her sympathies were called into action, she was as tender as a child." She died in Bay City in 1881.
SYDNEY S. CAMPBELL.
This pioneer was born at Paris, Oneida county, New York, 1804. In 1830 he came to Michigan, locat- ing first at Pontiac and later at Cass River Bridge. Here he laid out the village of Bridgeport and resided for two years. In 1838 he was induced to remove to Lower Saginaw and was undoubtedly the first to settle permanently there. He built and opened the Globe Hotel as related elsewhere in this work. He was mar- ried in 1830 to Miss Catharine J. McCarty of Schenectady, New York. He was the first supervisor of Hampton township and held the position several years. Upon the organization of Bay county he was elected to the position of judge of probate, and he retained that posi- tion many years. He died in 18 -.
JAMES FRASER.
To this energetic man we owe many of the most im- portant facts that enter into this work. He was not a man to relate history but to make it. He was born at Inverness, Scotland, February 5, 1803 .. When quite
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ACTUAL BUSINESS ROOM AT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COLLEGE, BAY CITY.
OLNEY
SPECIMEN FROM THE WORKS OF THE BAY CITY STONE CO.
RESIDENCE OF HENRY MEYER, FRANK ENLAIST,
....
RESIDENCE OF J. P. BICKEL, FRANKENLUST.
PROPERTY OF HEUMANN & TRUMP, Manufacturers of Sash, Doors and Blinds, TENTH AND BIRNEY STREETS, BAY CITY.
RESIDENCE OF LOUIS AUSTIN, MONITOR.
RESIDENCE OF J. P. KORMAN, FRANKENLUST.
A LAUNCHING AT WHEELER'S, WEST BAY CITY.
RESIDENCE OF JOHN C. KUCH, FRANKENLUST.
RESIDENCE OF B. BOUTELL, Cor. Fifth St. and Madison Ave., BAY CITY,
HOTEL OAK GROVE, HAMPTON.
RESIDENCE OF JOHN G. RUEGER, FRANKENLUST.
FISCHER
WASHINGTON HALL, Property of Hurley Bros., Printers, Binders and Stationers, BAY CITY.
STORE OF A. WALTHER, Plumber, BAY CITY.
LINWOOD HOTEL, LINWOOD.
JEWELRY STORE OF. S. SWART, WEST BAY CITY.
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young he engaged in business for himself and accumu- lated,several thousand [dollars, which]he brought with him to ;America, in 1829. He came directly [to Michi- gan and attempted to start a mill at Rochester, Oakland county. This enterprise was a failure, but was aban- doned only when his funds had run to less than $100. With this small amount he went to Detroit and estab- lished a small grocery store. It was a successful venture. In 1832 he married Miss Elizabeth Busby, a native of London, England. In 1833 he came to Sagi- naw where he had previously purchased a tract of land. He removed his family from Detroit on an ox sled, and then returned to that place for cattle and implements with which to cultivate his farm. He has related that on his way back, the cattle became wild and would not keep the trail. He ran after them until he was tired out, when he took off his coat and carried it. He thought that he had found the trail and accordingly hung his coat on a shrub while he ran to head off the cattle from again going astray. He returned for his coat, but lo, he could not find it. He searched for several hours, but to no avail. After he had become a millionaire he used to tell that that was his severest. loss, as the pocket of that coat contained $500, all the money he had in the world.
He cleared some of the farm and planted an orchard, which became the most prolific fruit bearer in the Saginaw Valley. This farm was located at Paines- ville, Saginaw county; and the land now belongs to Mrs. Payne. His many business operations soon became altogether too large to relate in this biography. He was the leading spirit in organizing the Saginaw Bay Company, of which the history has been told. In 1845 he built a water mill at Kawkawlin and began the manufacture of lumber. He, in the two or three years, became interested in two steam saw mills on the Sagi- naw river, and one on the Kawkawlin. In 1848 his wife died, but he re-married in 1850, his second wife being Miss Susan Moulton, of Westport, Conn. About the last enterprise of his life was the erection of the Fraser House, the best hotel in Bay City today. In 1864 he concluded to take life easier and removed to Brooklyn for a few months. He then removed to West- port, Connecticut, where he died, January 28, 1866. We feel that it is impossible to portray this man as he existed. A keen, shrewd business man, and a money maker, but also a broad minded, public spirited, benev- olent citizen and none who knew him can say he was not our friend.
JOSEPH F. MARSAC.
Joseph F. Marsac, one of the best known names in Bay county, was born near Detroit, in 1793. He served as an officer in the war of 1812, and it was there that he received his title of Captain. He was of French ex- traction. In 1816 he was employed to go to Chicago and act as an Indian interpreter and to sell goods to the Indians. In a short time he returned to Detroit and was asked by General Lewis Cass to accompany him to Saginaw to make a treaty with the Chippewa Indians. He was a close friend of General Cass, and was often called upon to fill governmental positions. In 1836-37 he was called to make another Indian treaty at Sagi- naw, whereby the reservations along the Saginaw river and its tributaries, Owere purchased by the United States. In 1838 he came to Lower Saginaw, and served for many years as Indian farmer. He accumulated property and always held a high social position in the state. CHe was married in 1829 to Miss Theresa Revard. He died at his homestead in Bay City, June 18, 1880. His wife died August 9th, 1881.
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JOHN S. WILSON
Was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 30, 1804. In his younger days he followed sailing and fishing. In 1837 he engaged in the fishing business in Thunder bay, Lake Huron, and made a trip to Saginaw for supplies; he was so well pleased with the outlook that he determined to remove his family to Portsmouth, which he did in 1840. He hunted and fished for a living, and purchased a piece of land of Captain Marsac, where he built a house and moved his family into it in 1842; he superintended the building, and afterwards took command of the first regular trading boat in the Saginaw bay. In the fall of 1844 he encountered a storm which blew his boat to the Canada shore and wrecked her; he and his men succeeded in landing, and after many hardships, by walking around by Detroit, they returned to Saginaw. Captain Wilson, by fru- gality, prepared a competency for his old age. He died August 21, 1879.
DR. D. H. FITZHUGH
Was born in Washington county, Indiana, April 20, 1794. He prepared himself for the practice of medicine, but, becoming interested in real estate, he never entered into the duties of his profession. In 1816 his parents removed to New York state, where he made his home. In 1834 he came to the Saginaw valley for the purpose of purchasing land. He first purchased in the vicinity of Saginaw City, and soon afterward several parcels where West Bay City now stands. He was one of the pro- prietors of Lower Saginaw. He _never made a per- manent residence here. He died in 1881.
JAMES G. BIRNEY
Was associated with most of the progressive opera- tions of Bay county for nearly twenty-five years. He was born at Danville, Kentucky, and reared amid the surroundings of comfort and wealth. He was a finished scholar, having graduated at Princeton in 1810. He began the practice of law at Danville, and soon after was elected to the Kentucky legislature. He removed to Alabama, and was one of the presidential electors of the whig party in 1828. He made a profession of religion, and became a consistent member of the Pres- byterian church. He became convinced that slavery was an evil, and accordingly freed all his slaves and denounced the system of slavery on all occasions. Upon the death of his father he insisted that all the slaves of the estate be apportioned to him, which was done, and they were freed. In May, 1840, he was nominated for the presidency by the Liberal party, and received 7,000 votes.
About 1840-41 be became one of the owners of Lower Saginaw; he brought his family here in the spring of 1842; he brought a fine herd of blooded cattle from Ohio, and engaged in stock raising. In 1843 he was again nominated for the presidency, receiving 62,300 votes. In 1855 he removed to Englewood, New York, where he died in 1857:
He was succeeded in Lower Saginaw by his son, Judge James Birney, who purchased his father's interest in Lower Saginaw, and also made several independent purchases from the government; like his father, he was a native of Danville, Kentucky. He graduated from Miami university of Ohio, in 1836; and was, for [two years, a professor of Greek and Latin in the university. He then took the law course of Yale college in Connec- ticut, and while there was married to Miss Moulton. In 1857 he removed to Lower Saginaw, and at once interested himself in the development of the town;
through bis instrumentality the bill was passed chang- ing the name from Lower Saginaw to Bay City. In 1858 he was elected to the State Senate. The county had always been considered democratic, but be received all of the Bay county votes excepting five democratic and a very few scattering. He succeeded in having a bill passed giving a state bounty of 10 cents per bushel on all salt manufactured in the state. In 1860 he was elected lieutenant governor by over 20,000 majority. He was appointed circuit judge to fill a vacancy, and for four years he presided over the litiga- tion of Saginaw, Bay, Midland, Gratiot, Isabella and Iosco counties. In 1571 he established the Bay City Chronicle, and in 1873 made it a daily paper. In 1875 he was appointed United States' minister to the Nether- lands, where he went in 1876. He resigned the post in 18 ; he died in 18
In all bis associations he was received as a gentle- man and a scholar; and his advice was sought on all matters pertaining to the public good.
CHESTER H. FREEMAN.
Chester H. Freeman, a pioneer lawyer and "father of his county," was born in New York, 1822. He spent his boyhood on his father's farm, and secured a good education in the public schools, and in Cazenovia Semi- nary and at Mexico, New York. In 1834 be married Miss Ellen O. Davis, of Williamston, New York. He studied law in that state and practiced about a year when he came to Lower Saginaw, 1855, and opened an office on Water street, at the foot of Center avenue. He soon took a commanding position in his new home. When Bay county was organized in 1857 he was elected prosecuting attorney and began his celebrated fight, against great odds, and contrary to the judgment of almost every attorney in the state. He contended that Bay county was a full fledged county. He finally achieved a triumphant decision from the State Supreme Court. This struggle secured for him the admiration and confidence of all, and his career, from a legal and financial point of view, was a successful one; but ill health caused him several years of suffering. He died in 18 -.
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