USA > Michigan > Saginaw County > The county of Saginaw, Michigan : topography, history, art folio > Part 12
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CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY is at 1515 south Wash- ington avenue, Saginaw, E. S. This congregation is an off-shoot of St. Mary's and is made up of people who speak the French language; a fine school building is already occu- pied and the church building is to materialize later. Rev. N. N. Poulin is the pastor. The congregation was organized in 1895. .
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HOLY ROSARY CHURCH is located on Annesley street, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets. Rev. Alex. Lipinski is parish priest, and his people are of Polish blood and language.
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH of Laytons Corners P. O., town- ship of Maple Grove, is one of the oldest country catholic churches of the county, having been organized in 1877. Its church building was erected in 1883 and is valued at about $6.000, with seating capacity for four hundred people. The parsonage is valued at $2,000; the annual expenses of the congregation are about $2,200. Rev. A. Weissteiner has been pastor of this flock since January, 1891.
Connected with this church for pastoral oversight, are the churches of OAKLEY, CHESANING and ALBEE, each having a modest church building.
CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART of Merrill, was organ- ized in 1888 and now has seventy-five families in its congre- gation. Its church building was erected in 1890 and will seat two hundred and sixty people. Rev. Robert W. Brown has been pastor since 1893.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH of Hemlock, has been in existence since 1882. The house of worship was built the same year and will accommodate six hundred people. It has a fine par- sonage; its whole property is worth probably about $6,000. Rev. John E. Troy has been pastor since March, 1896.
CHURCH OF CARROLLTON has a neat brick church in the village and is well equipped for doing its work. Rev. Father Fournier is the pastor, who also looks after the welfare of the flock of the Zilwaukee church which worships in a little cha- pel, expecting to erect a suitable house of worship later.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
There are five Congregational Churches in the county. The First Congregational Church is one of the most influen- tial churches in the county. Its fine church building is locat- ed at the corner of south Jefferson and Hayden streets, Sagi- naw, E. S., and was erected in 1868 and probably valued at $40,000, The church was organized in 1857 and now has seven hundred and thirty-three members; the annual expenses of its congregation are $6,300, and last year the congregation gave for benevolent objects $3,000. Rev. Wm. Knight has been pastor since September, 1894.
CHURCH OF CHESANING was organized in June, 1883, and its house of worship was erected the same year with a seat- ing capacity of three hundred and fifty. A parsonage also belongs to the parish. The membership of this church is fifty, and annual expenses are $850.
MERRILL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH in the village of Merrill, has thirty-seven members. It has a suitable house of worship and is well situated for doing its work.
The Congregational Church of Freeland was organized in 1891 and has had but one pastor, Rev. J. R. Lewis. These people have a fine church building, capable of seating two hundred people and which cost $2,500. Seventy-five mem- bers belong to this parish.
The Congregational Church of Bridgeport was organized in 1868 by Rev. Prof. Joseph Estabrook, who was its first
. acting pastor. The congregation has a suitable house of worship seated for one hundred and seventy-five people, and valued probably at $1,200. The church has twenty-nine members.
CHURCH OF CHRIST.
There are three churches of this denomination in the county. The church at Saginaw was organized in 1885. It has a fine church building at the corner of Genesee avenue and Burt street, capable of accommodating four hundred peo- ple. This is the church building formerly occupied by All Saints Episcopal Congregation. The membership of this . church is one hundred and seventy. Rev. Ira Billman has been pastor since October, 1894.
CHURCH OF CHRIST, of Chapin, was organized in 1889 and now has a membership of twenty-six. Its house of wor- ship was built in 1891 and is valued at $1,000. Rev. R. R. Cook has been pastor since March, 1896.
The church at Carrollton was organized in March, 1894, with one hundred and ten members by Rev. Andrew Scott who still has pastoral oversight. This young congregation looks forward toward building a house of worship but at present occupies the ground floor of the Odd Fellows' Build- ing.
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS.
The church of St. Charles, of this faith, was organized in January, 1862, and now has a membership of one hundred and eight. Their house of worship was built in 1870, at a cost of $3,000, and will accommodate one hundred and sev- enty-five people. The congregation gave to benevolent ob- jects last year $414. Charles Shaupp is the elder of this church.
The Chesaning Church has a fine field of operation and is making use of its opportunities. F. D. Matthewson is the elder over this flock.
The Freeland church was organized in 1867 and a church building was erected the same year, and is now worth about $1,000. Present membership is forty-five. Last year the congregation gave for benevolent purposes $500. James A. Munger is the elder presiding over the congregation.
The Saginaw church has no church building yet, but wor- ships in Davenport Hall, on Genesee avenue, corner of North Michigan avenue. This congregation was organized in 1890 and now has fifty-five members. Rev. S. M. Butler has been pastor since April, 1896.
BAPTIST CHURCHES.
The FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, of Saginaw, whose house of worship is situated at the corner of Germania and south Jef- ferson avenues, was the first church of this denomination to be organized in the county. It began its organic life May, 1858; its fine brick church was erected in 1867 and has a probable value of $32,000, and will accommodate five hundred per- sons. The annual expenses of the congregation are $3,000, and $395 was given, last year, for benevolent objects. Its membership is 428. It has a Mission Sunday school at the corner of Eleventh and Tuscola streets with one hundred and twenty-five enrolled pupils. Rev. B. Frank Taber, has been pastor since April, 1893.
The MICHIGAN AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH was organized by Rev. J. S. Goodman, in November, 1863. Its house of worship is located on South Michigan avenue, between Adams and Cass streets. Its fine brick house of worship was built and used by the Liberal Christian society, but this association needed a church building only a short time and this building passed into the possession of the Baptist church. Member- ship of church, two hundred and sixty; annual expenses, $2,100, and $237 was given, last year for benevolent purpos- es. The parsonage is located at North Fayette street. Rev. C. H. Maxom, is the present pastor.
BAPTIST CHURCH, of Birch Run, was organized in 1859. The church has thirty-five members. A church building was erected in 1872, worth $1,200, and a parsonage just adjoining and erected in 1884, worth $800, furnished and equipped for their work. Rev. J. Monroe has been pastor since March, 1896.
BAPTIST CHURCH, of South Saginaw, has a commodious house of worship on Mackinaw street, south of Williamson street. The church is at present without a pastor.
BAPTIST CHURCH, of St. Charles, began its organic life in May, 1883, and now has a membership of sixty-one. The society has a church building and a parsonage. The congre- gational expenses are about $1,500 a year. Rev. W. Allen- baugh has been pastor since June, 1895.
SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH, of Saginaw, (Colored, ) has a house of worship at the corner of Johnson and Second streets, Saginaw, E. S. Rev. M. Mason is its pastor.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.
There are three churches of this faith in the county, all in the city.
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH dates back to the day of small things with Saginaw, it began its organic life in 185r. This congre- gation now has a splendid property located at the corner of north Michigan avenue and Hancock street, Saginaw, W. S. This property consists of church building, parsonage and guild house and has a probable value of $65,000. The church has seating capacity for eight hundred and fifty people; its membership is six hundred and fifty-eight; annual congrega- tional expenses are about $3,800, and last year $230 were given for benevolent objects. Rev. Benjamin F. Trego is the rector of this thriving parish.
ST. PAUL'S PARISH began its organic life in February, 1854. Rev. Wm. Paret was the first rector. This parish has a fine stone church building at the corner of North Washington avenue and Fitzhugh street, which was erected in 1877, and is worth about $36,000. The parish has three hundred and forty-five communicants. Its parsonage is just in the rear of the church on the corner of Franklin and Fitz- hugh streets. Rev. Wm. H. Gallagher has been rector since August, 1891.
CALVARY CHURCH is located on the corner of Lincoln avenue and Hill street, Saginaw, W. S. This is the young- est of the Episcopal churches in the city. It has a fine prop- erty valued at $4,000. Its house of worship has sittings for one hundred and seventy-five people. The parish is at pres- ent without a rector, but is soon to be supplied.
BENCH AND BAR OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
By HON. DAN P. FOOTE.
(Written for the Bench and Bar of Michigan, now in preparation by the Century Publishing and Engraving Company.)
The earlier history of the "Bench and Bar" of Saginaw would be a valuable record and an interesting history of a period that will have no future parallel in our own or ( prob- ably ) any other county. The existing records of the pio- neer days have hardly been opened by one of the present generation, and the traditionary threads of that history are rapidly being dropped never again to be recovered.
Prior to 1859, Saginaw County, now alone composing the Tenth Judicial Circuit, with two circuit judges, was attached
for judicial purposes, first to the fourth district, and later on to the seventh. The local history of the Bench and Bar, of Saginaw properly commences with the act of 1859, though some of the ablest members of the Saginaw Bar were here long before that date, when the court was held by the grave, dignified, and conscientious Judge, Josiah Turner of Owosso, and the learned, scholarly pioneer, now venerable judge and author, Sanford M. Green, whose legal, literary and judicial work commenced away back in the early forties.
From the first, with a single exception, to which further reference is unnecessary, the Circuit Court for the County of Saginaw has always been presided over by judges of learn- ing, ability, agreeable manners, thorough independence, and unquestionable integrity; while the Bar has been distinguished generally for the courtesy, diligence and integrity of its mem- bers, as well as for their learning and ability; and these qual- ities have naturally brought the Bar, as a whole, professional success and consideration as well as financial prosperity.
29
BENCH AND BAR.
1. Dan P. Foote.
2. Emmet L. Beach.
3. Wm. H. Sweet.
4. Hon. John A. Edget, deceased.
5. T. P. Zander, Circuit Court Commissioner.
15. John F. O'Keefe.
16. James H. Davitt.
17. Nathan S. Wood.
27. G. B. Holden.
8.
Hon. Emory Townsend, Senator Saginaw Dist.
9. Hon. Eugene Wilber, Circuit Judge.
10. Hon. W. R. Kendrick, Circuit Judge.
II. G. K. Grout.
12. John A. Combs.
13. Wm. E. Crane.
14. Riley L. Crane, Prosecuting Attorney.
24. Rowland Connor.
25. Walter J. Lamson.
26. Wm. F. Denfeld.
6. Arthur D. Bate, Circuit Court Commissioner.
7. Harry E. LeRoy.
18. Eugene M. Joslin.
19. Frank M. Totten, Dep. Int. Revenue Collector. 29. John O'Gorman.
20. W. A. Burritt.
21. Hugo P. Geisler.
22. J. M. Harris.
23. Fred. H. Allen.
28. Geo. W. Weadock.
30. Samuel G. Higgins.
GROUP OF SAGINAW'S EFFICIENT FIRE CAPTAINS.
Chief G. W. Wallis.
Ass't Chief R. B. Hudson, Hose Co. No. 13.
W. J. Fish. Hose Co. No. I.
Wm. Fecheley, Hose Co. No. 2. .
H. E. McNally, Hose Co. No. 3. Also Veterinary Officer.
Angus McLeod, Hose Co. No. 6.
N. E. Albirte, Hose Co. No. 7.
C. S. Youmans, Hose Co. No. 8.
Geo. P. Fradd, Hose Co. No. 10.
J. H. Ducham, Hose Co. No. 13.
Frank Pasheek, Hose Co. No. 15.
MEDICAL GROUP.
I. L. W. Bliss, M. D., 514 Mackinaw.
2. James W. Freeman, M. D., 114 So. Jefferson.
3. Fred. W. Freeman, M. D., 114 So. Jefferson.
4. J. N. Kemp, M. D., 1301 So. Michigan.
5. E. R. Knapp, M. D., 1232 So. Washington.
6. C. W. Taylor Goodman, M. D., 708 So. Michigan.
7. W. S. Connery, M. D., 309 So. Washington. 8. E. C. Kinsman, M. D., 2700 So. Washington. 9. M. F. Schick, M. D., Frankenmuth.
IO. L. C. Whiting, D. D. S., 506 Genesee.
II. E. T. Loeffler, D. D. S.,.Room 3 Barnard Blk. 12. Chas. P. Stone, D, D. S., Cor. Jefferson and Genesee.
13. S. W. Van Sickle, Veterinary Surgeon, Grad- uate of Ontario Veterinary College, To- ronto, 221 So. Bond.
CENTRAL HOUSE, CHESANING. L. L. HOMER, PROP'R.
RES. OF GEO. SCHOENKNECHT, BLUMFIELD TWP.
CANADA IMPROVED LIGHTNING STUMP MACHINE. MANUFACTURED BY ALEX. HURTUBISE, SAGINAW, W. S., MICH.
NAEGELY HOUSE. Rates, $1.00 to $1.25 per Day. COR. JEFFERSON AVE. AND TUSCOLA ST.
HENRY NAEGELY, Prop'r.
SS HOUSE
CASS HOUSE, COR. N. BAUM AND TUSCOLA STREETS. L. C. QUINNIN, PROP'R.
DR. F. B. FLORENTINE.
DR. F. B. FLORENTINE'S PRIVATE HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN. 507 So. WASHINGTON AVENUE, E. S.
DUNBAR HOTEL, COR. NIAGARA AND VAN BUREN STREETS. GEO. BELL, PROP'R.
RES. OF GEO. BARTEL, FRANKENMUTH TWP.
RED LYON PHARMACY, COR. GENESEE AVE. AND HOYT ST. FRANK E. JONES, PROP'R.
RES. OF A. KNOELLINGER, KOCHVILLE TWP.
COMMERCIAL HOTEL, FRANKENMUTH. LORENZ KERN, PROP'R.
...
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Soon after the act of 1859 became a law, James Birney, son of the great leader of the Liberty party, and subsequent- ly United States Minister to Holland, became judge of the Tenth Circuit, then composed of the counties of Saginaw, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland, Iosco, Bay and Alpena, and con- tinued to discharge the duties of the office until the Ist of January, 1864, when he was succeeded by Hon. Jabez G. Sutherland. Judge Birney then was, and still is, a resident of Bay County. He was the last judge of the Tenth Circuit not a resident of Saginaw County, and, as stated, was fol- lowed by Judge Sutherland. With some it is held ill taste to speak favorably of the living, unless they happen to be candi- dates for office, but whoever speaks of Sutherland must speak favorably or be contradicted by the record of his life. Law- yer, scholar, judge, representative in congress, and legal author of more than national fame, he is one of those members of our Bar to whom every citizen of Saginaw turns with just pride. Judge Sutherland was one of the earliest lawyers who es- tablished themselves in the county, and was an active mem- ber of the convention that framed the state constitution in 1850. His practical knowledge of the law was acquired in sharp competition with Hons. John Moore and William L. Webber, who came to Saginaw about the same time that Sutherland located here, and whose abilities and reputations, like Sutherland's, from that time on were a constant growth, equalled only by the development of the frontier village and settlement they had fortunately selected for their future homes; and these pioneers of our Bar surrounded with the comforts that wait upon thrift and intelligence, possessed of the respect and confidence always commanded by correct conduct, and in the fullest possession of their faculties, are yet in active sympathy with current events, and have lived to see the straggling frontier village around the old stockade, to which the settlers had but recently looked for protection from the prowling Indian, changed to the prosperous, growing and wealthy city of Saginaw, with its 65,000 population, and the
dark, damp, unbroken wilderness extending westerly to Lake Michigan, and northerly and easterly to Mackinaw and Lake Huron, developed in its southern extension into a cultivated territory of vast extent and fertility. And to these results each contributed his full share-not simply as lawyers, but as business men and leaders in the great march of improvement.
Before going upon the Bench, Sutherland was universally recognized as a ready and able lawyer, extremely zealous in the service of his clients, and was thought by some to be too much of a lawyer and partisan to make a good judge, an opinion entirely refuted by the result. He felt honored by the position and took pride in discharging the duties with ju- dicial fairness. Sharp as had been his contentions at the Bar, the recollection of them was never carried upon the Bench. Patient, serene in disposition, honest in purpose, courteous in demeanor, and just and sound in judgment, he gained the re- spect of all, and stored up the learning that found expression in his learned work: "Sutherland on Damages;" and now, in the maturity of fame, in his present, far away, Salt Lake home, he is still claimed as a member of the Saginaw Bar.
The Honorable John Moore followed Sutherland upon the Bench, and so far as can now be determined from the sen- timent of the Bar, and from public opinion, it is not settled which was the better judge. Judge Moore was of English birth, but is American in education and sentiment; his Amer- icanism is unquestionable; he may respect the land of his- birth for its past and present, but America is the land and home of his love and his achievements. To the sturdy'dy. characteristics of his fatherland he adds the genius, and thrift, .. and tact of the born Yankee. He was, and is, a lawyer by nature-with a knowledge of the principles of the law, and a skill and judgment in their application equalled by few. It may fairly be said he ranks among the first lawyers of the state. When he went upon the Bench, as in the case of Sutherland, it was thought that he also was too much of a partisan to become an unbiased judge. But the result proved the opinion to be wholly unfounded. It is true that he always had a pretty clear idea where the right lay, and the jury rarely differed with him in conclusion; yet it was not easy to point out any error in his charges, and if he ever did exercise an influence over the jury, it was a wholesome one that might still be followed with propriety. Moore and Suth- erland placed the judicial standard in this county so high as to apparently make it somewhat embarrassing for their im- mediate successors. This, however, on the resignation of Judge Moore, did not deter William S. Tennant from taking
his seat upon the Bench in April, 1874. Mr. Tennant was a young man who had not enjoyed the advantage of any con- siderable general practice at the Bar, but he was a man of good general and more than ordinary legal education, of an honest purpose on the Bench, good understanding, and a ready faculty of appropriating any good idea that came in his way. During the six years he was upon the Bench, much important business came before the court, and, while as a lawyer he was not equal in legal learning and talent to his immediate predecessors, it is nevertheless true that he held the scales of justice with an even hand, and enjoyed the full confidence and respct of the Bar. He resigned in March, 1880, and was succeeded by Col. D. W. C. Gage, who for a long time before his appointment had enjoyed a large and profitable practice. Col. Gage was a hard-working, pains- taking lawyer, and a most diligent student who relied upon his books for his law and felt most confident when backed by adjudicated cases. When unable to find a precedent he was little inclined to make one-always preferring to follow the well beaten track. He was an upright, conscientious judge, and if not much inclined to improve and expand the law by taking an advanced position, he was not at all inclined to dis- regard any of its well known and established landmarks. Col. Gage was in every respect a conservative.
The next judge was Chauncey H. Gage, who assumed the office January 1, 1882. He had been prosecuting attor- ney and recorder of the City of East Saginaw (a judicial position) and at the time of his election had a good practice, and, though quite a young man, was regarded as a good lawyer, an opinion fully justified by his course upon the Bench -- universally polite and agreeable to all having business before the court, he soon became a very popular judge and his urbanity greatly tended to lessen the pain of defeat. Completely independent and honest upon the Bench, no one ever questioned the motive of his rulings. To a truly judi- cial mind there was added a strong sense of equity and a lively sympathy with misfortune, so if he sometimes erred in his judgment, it was upon the side of charity.
Under the amendment of the constitution approved by the people at the November election in 1888, the legislature, at the next session, provided for an additional judge of Saginaw County, and John A. Edget was appointed to the newly created judgship. From that time until December 31, 1893, Judge Gage and he, holding separate courts, continued as judges and were succeeded by the present Judge Eugene Wilbur, and the late Judge Robert B. McKnight, who, after a brief service, was compelled by ill health to resign and was succeeded by the present Judge William R. Kendrick. Judge McKnight died in 1895, on the homeward voyage from Europe, whither he had traveled in search of health. Par- ticular mention of these judges will be found elsewhere in this work, and we turn to recall the names of members of the Bar who made, and who now make it what it is, Among the earlier lawyers who were in active practice here with Sutherland, Moore and Webber, and who have finished their work at our Bar, the names of William M. Miller, Augustine S. Gaylord, Irving M. Smith and John J. Wheeler are recalled with melancholy satisfaction. It will be impossible to fully and properly speak of these gentlemen within the limits of this paper, and the briefest reference to them must suffice.
Mr. Miller was the law partner of Sutherland from the time he came to Saginaw until Sutherland went upon the Bench. He was an educated gentleman, cultivated, polite, affable and of pleasing and refined manners, with a well balanced mind stored with the learning that made him a law- yer in the truest sense of the word. With all the advantage of learning and wealth, there was in his nature nothing of arrogance or self-assumption. He once said to the writer, " After all it is astonishing how little the best of us know of the law." Honesty was no merit in Mr. Miller, it was part of his nature, he could no more help it than the color of his hair. Cool, self-possessed and deliberate, he won by candor where his opponen lost by zeal. He had a peculiar faculty of so identifying himself with the jury that they half mistook him for one of the panel when his argument took the form of a confidential discussion, having no object but a correct deter- mination of the question they were considering, which, some- how, was generally found to be on the side of his client. He and the jury, like Conger and his jury, generally "stuck together."
Mr. Gaylord, partner of Judge Moore until the judge withdrew from active practice, and later of the widely known
firm of Gaylord & Hanchett, died while filling the office of solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Gaylord was essentially a Saginaw man who "grew up with the country." His first public appearance here was as teacher of the village school long before Saginaw aspired to the dignity of a city. Then county clerk, and then, his ambition rising with the de- velopment about him, a student with, and soon a partner of Judge Moore. The firm commanded universal confidence and had a full measure of success. Mr. Gaylord was a large man every way, intellectually and physically, of a social turn, with a hearty western good nature that secured him friends, whose good will was manifested in ways more substantial than mere words. He was distinguished rather as a lawyer than as an advocate, yet he possessed in a very considerable degree those qualities that gave Mr. Miller his influence with the jury. As a lawyer in the strictest sense of the word he had few equals. It was said of him by a friend of eminent judgment, who knew him well from youth to the grave, that, "while his off-hand opinions were sometimes subject to revi- sion, he would have more confidence in his conclusions after he had examined a question, than in the judgment of any other lawyer in the state."
Irving M. Smith in many respects -. in personal appear- ance, deportment, character and mental characteristics- much resembled Mr. Miller, and had he lived the usually allotted time, he would have ranked among the best. He was a law partner of Hon. Wm. L. Webber, and during all the time he was associated with Mr. Webber they had an extensive, important and profitable practice, and with them, as with most Saginaw lawyers, business thrift closely followed professional success, and the one, with the Saginaw Bar, has generally been the measure of the other.
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