The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 43

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I > Part 43

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The following list of the earlier justices in Wayne County and Detroit will preserve the name and memory of many citizens. The date of appoint- ment given is the earliest date found ; many of the persons were reappointed, or elected to the same office, from time to time. After 1880 the names of Detroit justices are given year by year :

1796, Robert Navarre, James May, James Abbott, Louis Beaufait, Joseph Noyer, Francis Navarre, Nathan Williams; 1799, P. McNiff ; 1805, Peter Audrain, J. Dodemead, Stanley Griswold, Antoine Dequindre, Richard Smyth, Robert Abbott, James Henry, Wm. McD. Scott, Matthew Ernest ; 1811, Lewis Bond ; 1814, George McDougall ; 1816, Thos. Rowland, David B. McComb ; 1817, John L. Leib ; 1818, John McDonnell; 1820, James D. Doty, John Sturgis, John J. Deming ; 1821, Jacob Visger; 1822, Wm. W. Petit, John A. Rucker; 1823, V. Spalding, Benj. Woodruff ; 1824, Wm. Bucklin, John Burbank, B. F. H. Witherell ; 1825, O. W. Whitmore, Elisha W. Ramsey, Orville Cook, Ama- riah Ransom, Selak Neale; 1826, H. S. Cole; 1827, Jonathan Kearsley, Joseph Baron, Joseph Hickcox, Prosper Lawrence; 1828, J. D. Davis, B. F. Fox, Wm. Bartow, Seth Dunham, Philo Taylor, David

Smith, Marcus Swift, Ellis Doty, Daniel Goodell, Wm. Little, Joel Thomas; 1829, Martin Clark ; 1830, D. R. Rose, A. McNath, Matthew Wood, Nathaniel Case, Jed Hunt, Alva Swift, J. F. Chubb, Rodman Stoddard, Henry Sprague, Artemas Hos- mer, A. C. Truax; 1831, Ara Sprague, Matthew Wood, Benajah Holbrook, Roswell Root, H. D. Holbrook, Wm. Yerkes, Eli Bradshaw; 1832, Levi Williams, C. S. Hooker, D. L. Cody, G. W. Fer- rington, R. D. Smith, John Kirby ; 1833, Samuel Torbert, Henry Chipman, Asher B. Bates, John W. Strong, Juba Barrows, Peter Van Every; 1834, Jason Tyler, T. E. Schooler, Levi Farnsworth, Phi- lander Bird, Thos. Harper, Hiram Wilmarth, James Safford, Ezra Derby, Paul Rice, Cyrus Howard, Russell Ransom, Ammon Brown; 1835, A. A. Bird, Marshall J. Bacon, I. S. Saunders, Chas. J. Irving, Lambert Beaubien, Thos. Lewis, John Simpson, Titus Dort, J. F. Pullen, Hiram Whitman, Warren Tuttle, David Cable, H. A. Noyes, Amos Stevens, Amna Bradford, John Fairbanks, Nathaniel Case, John Clark, Thos. Downs, Claude Campau, Martin Greenman, E. J. Roberts, D. W. Smead ; 1837, D. E. Harbaugh, B. F. H. Witherell, L. Goodell, C. Moran, H. V. Disbrow; 1840, S. Conant, Ezra Williams ; 1841, Peter Desnoyers ; 1842, G. A. O'Keefe ; 1843, Thos. Williams, J. B. Watson ; 1844, Hugh O'Beirne, Wm. T. Young, F. H. Harris ; 1846, George Clancy ; 1847, Chas. Peltier ; 1848, Wm. Cook; 1849, Thos. Christian ; 1850, Wm. Walker ; 1852, B. Rush Bagg, J. J. Cicotte ; 1853, G. Spencer ; 1855, Elisha Chase, Henry Chase; 1856, M. T. Lane, S. P. Purdy, G. B. Ensworth ; 1857, Stephen Martin ; 1859, Eugene Fecht ; 1860, Joseph Kuhn, Julius Stoll; 1861, H. H. Swinscoe ; 1863, John Fuller, T. McCarthy ; 1866, S. B. Mc- Cracken, P. B. Austin ; 1869, Alois Wuerth, Peter Guenther; 1870, A. Ladue, A. Stutte ; 1871, Florens Krecke, F. J. Barbier ; 1872, Herman Kuhn, J. O. Melick, H. Z. Potter ; 1873, Albert Scheu ; 1874, S. J. Martin ; 1876, D. B. Brown, F. A. Lemkie, A. G. Comstock; 1878, Alexander Toll, John Weber ; 1880, S. D. Craig, John Patton, D. Sheehan, C. H. Borgman ; 1881, John Weber, S. D. Craig, John Patton, D. Sheehan, C. H. Borgman, D. B. Wille- min ; _ 882, F. A. Lemkie, S. D. Craig, John Patton, D. Sheehan, C. H. Borgman, D. B. Willemin ; 1883 and 1884, Walter Ross, F. A. Lemkie, John Patton, D. Sheehan, C. H. Borgman, D. B. Willemin; 1885 and 1886, F. A. Lemkie, W. Ross, John Patton, H. A. Robinson ; 1887- , J. C. Gibson, W. Ross, J. Patton, H. A. Robinson.

NOTARIES.

Under the Northwest Territory notaries were ap- pointed by the governor. In January, 1799, F. D. Bellecour was appointed by Winthrop Sargent.

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Notaries are now appointed by the governor and Senate. Their number is not limited; their com- missions hold good for four years, and they are paid solely by fees received. Their power consists in taking depositions of parties who wish, under oath, to confirm any statement they may make, taking acknowledgments of deeds, mortgages, sealed in- struments of any kind, and issuing notices of pro- test for non-payment of notes.

LAWYERS.

The members of the legal profession are chiefly congregated on Griswold Street. Whole blocks in this vicinity are fitted up with offices and suites of rooms especially for their accommodation, provided with every convenience in the way of elevators, vaults, and steam-heating apparatus. Among the buildings devoted chiefly to lawyers' offices are the Moffat, Miller, Buhl, Seitz, Burns, Lewis, Butler, Telegraph, and Mechanics' Blocks, and the New- berry and McMillan and Campau Buildings.

By law of Northwest Territory the power to grant the privilege of practicing law was vested in the governor.

By law of Michigan Territory, of February 23, 1809, attorneys were to be licensed only by the judges of the Supreme Court. A law of October I, 1820, provided that any two judges of the Supreme Court might admit to practice. On August 31, 1821, a legislative Act was passed admitting S. B. Beach to practice as an attorney.

At the present time, under State law, persons of good moral character, resident in the State, and twenty-one years of age, are admitted to practice in the several courts, upon passing a satisfactory ex- amination before the court, or, as is usually the case, before a committee appointed for this purpose by the court.

A large number of the lawyers are united in an organization called " The Association of the Bar of the City of Detroit," established under an Act of the Legislature, on May 10, 1881. The following original officers were still serving in 1883 : President, Theodore Romeyn; Secretary, H. M. Cheever ; Treasurer, Robert P. Toms.

Not a few pungent anecdotes could be told con- cerning members of the Detroit Bar. Of the many brilliant and witty retorts that have relieved the tedium of court cases, the following will serve as a specimen : A case was on trial in the Circuit Court, and each side was present with a formidable array of attorneys and counsel. The late A. D. Fraser was to make the closing argument for the defence. He commenced by saying that he had listened with care to all the evidence, had examined all the points of law, and digested the facts in the case; and having done so, he felt fully acquainted with its

merits,-so fully, indeed, that he was willing to represent it, and in fact he stood as the right bower of the defence. Turning to the then young attor- ney on the opposing side (James V. Campbell) he said, "Perhaps my young Sunday School friend does not know what the right bower is?" "Oh yes," said the present judge of the Supreme Court, "we know what it is; it's the biggest knave in the pack."

DETROIT BAR LIBRARY.

The nucleus of a Bar Library must have been formed as early as May 19, 1838, as a vote of the Common Council, on that date, gave a room in the City Hall, as a consultation and library room, to the "Bar of the City of Detroit." The next effort was made on December 15, 1851 ; a meeting of lawyers was then held, and on motion of G. V. N. Lothrop a committee of five was appointed to consider the subject of establishing a law library. The commit- tee apparently never reported, and finally, on July 6, 1853, a paper, evidently drawn up by Judge C. O'Flynn, was circulated among the lawyers, asking for subscriptions of one hundred dollars each towards a fund for the purchase of books, and authorizing Judge O'Flynn to draw up Articles of Association for a Bar Library. Geo. E. Hand, C. O'Flynn, G. V. N. Lothrop, C. I. Walker, T. W. Lockwood, Levi Bishop, and Wm. Gray united in calling a meeting, and the Association was organized on July 21, 1853. A constitution was adopted, the provisions of which fixed the capital stock at $15,000, to be represented by one hundred and fifty shares, at one hundred dollars per share. The fol- lowing were the first officers: President, Geo. E. Hand ; Treasurer, T. W. Lockwood; Secretary, J. V. Campbell ; Librarian, Sears Stevens.

A room in the rotunda was rented, and the library duly established. The number of books at commencement was estimated at about six hundred volumes, valued at $3,000. At a meeting of the stockholders on July 13, 1867, it appeared that the cash valuation of the library was $8,437.67, subject to a debt of $2,000, due to A. S. Bagg for books. At this meeting the stock was equalized among the stockholders, according to the amount each had paid in ; and soon afterwards twenty-two shares of stock were issued, for the purpose of paying debts and furnishing more books. In July, 1868, the library was removed to the Buhl Block, on the southwest corner of Griswold and Congress Streets.

On October 5, 1868, Judge Hand resigned the presidency, which he had held since 1853, and Chas. I. Walker was elected in his place. On February 14, 1874, Mr. Walker resigned, and H. K. Clarke was elected. In 1876 Ashley Pond became president.

In 1871 the library was removed to the Seitz

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Building, fronting on Congress Street ; in 1880 to the Newberry and McMillan Building, and in 1885 back to the Seitz Building.

On January 2, 1874, the shelves contained 3, 163 volumes, valued at $14,000. It was then decided that at least $2,500 was necessary to perfect the sets, and forty new shares of stock were ordered to be issued. The yearly dues, payable quarterly, in January, April, July, and October, are as follows : ten dollars for attorneys of less than two years' standing ; twenty dollars for attorneys of over two, and not exceeding four years' standing ; thirty-five dollars for attorneys of over four, and not exceeding eight years' standing ; all others sixty dollars ; for law firms of two members, sixty per cent for the second member ; for law firms of three members, one hundred per cent for the two additional per-

sons,-the rate to be added to be determined by the standing of the oldest member of the firm. A divi- dend of not more than six per cent is allowed stock- holders. The capital stock and shares remain as fixed at the time of organization, and about one hundred and twenty shares are paid for.

The yearly expenses of management are about $1,100. The annual meeting is held on the last Monday in January of each year, at IO A. M.

The library is open from eight in the morning to half-past twelve, and from two to half-past five in the afternoon, each week day, Miss Helen Norton has been librarian since January, 1876.

Law libraries, for the special benefit of themselves and their tenants, were established in 1880 by the owners of the Buhl and Mechanics' Blocks.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

MORALS .- CITY MARSHALS .- POLICE .- SHERIFFS .- PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS .- CONSTABLES.

MORALS.

LIKE any other settlement of a semi-military character, the morals of Detroit, almost from the first, needed some mending. On June 14, 1704, Count Pontchartrain, in a letter to Cadillac, said, " I recommend that you have a care that the service of God be conducted with decency, and that debauch- ery and blasphemy be banished from the post, and everything be conducted in order." From the gen- eral tenor of Cadillac's letters there can be no doubt that he endeavored to carry out the spirit of these suggestions ; but there were men continually hover- ing about, and occasionally, for a length of time, inhabiting the post, whose presence made impossible the prevention of disorder. The coureurs de bois were, in the majority of cases, guilty of every ex- cess; profane, licentious, and drunken, they made a business of corrupting the savages, and it was well- nigh impossible to control their actions.

The various wars in which the settlement bore a part aggravated all existing moral disorder. The War of 1812 was especially detrimental and dis- turbing. Many, in both armies, were reckless and dissipated to a degree that would not now be toler- ated. In 1817 the Rev. Mr. Monteith said, "The profaneness of the soldiers exceeds anything I ever imagined. There is no Sabbath in this country." Rev. Dr. Alfred Brunson, who was here in 1822, confirmed the general statement of Mr. Monteith; he said :

When I first came to the place, Sunday markets were as com- mon as week-day ones. The French brought in their meats, fowls, vegetables, etc., on Sunday as regularly as on week-days. After selling out they would go to church, attend mass, and, per- haps, confess, and pay for absolution out of their market money, and then go home apparently in good spirits. Nor did the Amer- ican and foreign population generally pay any more respect to the day, for they patronized the thing to the fullest extent. On this practice I proclaimed a war of extermination. At first it made a stir. But a young Presbyterian preacher, who was there, joined me in the denunciation of the practice, and, in a short time, the city council decreed that Sunday markets should cease, and in place thereof a market should be opened on Saturday night. This raised a great fuss among the French, who, from time immemorial, had thus broken the Sabbath, and, after market, gone to mass, then to the horse-races in the afternoon, and fiddled and danced and played cards at night ; but they made a virtue of necessity, and soon yielded to authority and gave up the Sunday market, but adhered to the other practices.

A proceeding that savored of the old Blue Laws occurred on Sunday, June 12, 1825, and caused much local excitement. On the morning of that day, Adna Merritt, the marshal of the city, found eight or ten soldiers fishing on the public wharf. He ordered them to put up their lines, or go else- where. They refused. He then went away, soon after returning with a posse of citizens, some of whom he had summoned from church for the purpose of help- ing in the arrest. On their arrival at the wharf the soldiers put up their lines, but demurred at being arrested; they finally concluded, however, to offer no resistance, and were marched off and confined in jail. The whole of Monday and Tuesday were taken up with their trial, and Wednesday they were discharged.

As the town grew, some forms of evil were sup- planted by others, but the standard of morality has certainly improved with the passing of the years. Crime has been compelled to hide from public gaze, and habits that once were tolerated and condoned would now debar from good society. The increased independence of the press acts as a preventive to open and gross immorality, compelling purity, or at least privacy, society being the gainer in either case.

The city government has usually acted upon the clearly expressed wishes of the citizens. A most remarkable illustration of this was the actual demo- lition, by order of the Common Council, of a house of evil resort, occupied by T. Slaughter and Peg Welch. It had become so intolerable a nuisance, and its inmates, withal, were so hedged about with technical rights, that it seemed useless to attempt its suppression by legal measures. On November 9, 1841, Alderman Bagg offered the following resolu- tion :

Resolved, that the marshal is hereby empowered and directed to proceed on Wednesday, the seventeenth inst., with sufficient force and apparatus, to the corner of Randolph Street aud Michi- gan Avenue, and pull down and so demolish all the buildings hitherto owned and occupied by Slaughter, Peg Welch & Co. as will forever incapacitate them from being used as the abode of human beings, to the end that not only retributive justice shall be visited on those who have been guilty of such practices, but as a precedent to others who may come after them, and a warning to those that already exist in the city of their impending fate.

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On November 16 the resolution was called up, and adopted by vote of seven to four, and before nine o'clock the next morning the city marshal and a posse of helpers had torn down and demolished the obnoxious domicile. Suit was brought against them for so doing, and on November 23 the city attorney and A. D. Fraser were authorized to defend them.

In June, 1857, the citizens of the tenth ward (then newly added to the city) were also greatly annoyed by the presence of similar establishments. After trying various methods, fire was applied, and numer- ous houses were deliberately burned, in order to drive away the characters that congregated therein.

CITY MARSHAL.

The office of city marshal was provided for in October, 1802. The duties of the marshal were to enforce the ordinances of the town, and he acted also as chief constable ; by Act of April 15, 1816, he was specially designated as a police officer. By ordinance of March 6, 1832, the marshal's salary was fixed at $150, which was increased in 1836 to $600. On the creation of the present police system, in 1865, the office was abolished.

The following persons served as city marshals :

1802, Elias Wallen; 1805, John Connor ; 1817, John Meldrum, Duncan Reid ; 1818, H. O. Bronson; 1819, Melvin Dorr; 1820, J. W. Colburn; 1821, Robert Garratt, S. Sherwood ; 1822-1823, Smith Knapp ; 1824, Griffith Roberts, Adna Merritt ; 1825. Adna Merritt; 1826, S. Sherwood ; 1827, Jed Hunt; 1828, S. Sherwood ; 1829, Adna Merritt; 1830, E. S. Swan; 1831, E. S. Swan, Alex. Campbell; 1832, Alexander Campbell ; 1833, J. Scott; 1834, I. Noble; 1835, H. L. Woolsey ; 1836, David Thomp- son ; 1837, A. McArthur; 1838, J. J. Garrison ; 1839, Albert Marsh ; 1840, E. C. Bancroft ; 1841, E. C. Bancroft, A. H. Stowell ; 1842, A. H. Stowell, M. L. Gage; 1843, M. L. Gage, D. Thompson; 1844-1846, D. Thompson; 1846-1848, J. P. Whiting; 1848, Geo. Miller, Ebenezer Benham; 1849, Eben- ezer Benham, James Beaubien ; 1850-1852, John Warren; 1852, J. W. Daly ; 1853, W. H. Barse; 1854-1856, Eli Laderoot ; 1856-1858, P. McGinnis ; 1858-1860, Chas. Miller ; 1860-1863, John B. Stad- ler ; 1863-1865, Daniel Mahoney.

POLICE.

Sentinels and military patrols were familiar sights in Detroit in the early days of its settlement. When the regular patrol of troops ceased, the inhabitants felt the need of some other protection ; and there- fore, on August 31, 1804, an ordinance was passed by the trustees " for the better police, and in order to insure additional security for the town, from the dangers to be apprehended from Indians, as well as other persons, and from fire etc."

The following were some of the provisions of the ordinance. A patrol was to be formed, "who in regular rotation shall be employed as a nightly watch ; said watch shall be composed of five per- sons, and shall take up, question, and confine in the watch-house all individuals and riotous persons found in the streets, or elsewhere within the limits of said town after the commencement of this watch; and all persons after eleven o'clock, who can give no satisfactory account of themselves." And " on observing light in any house after eleven o'clock, to inquire the occasion of it, lest it should be burn- ing without the knowledge of the family."

John Dodemead was charged with the execution of this ordinance, and the court-house was set apart as the watch-house. The police were to assemble at 9 P. M. at the court-house, and not to depart, except to patrol, "till daylight in the morning."

It will be seen that this was practically a night watch, that no day duties were prescribed or pro- vided for.

The next step in the police government was the appointment, on May 1I, 1805, of John Connor as police officer. He was also clerk of the market. and the evident purpose of the appointment was to preserve order at the market, rather than in the town; this is confirmed by the fact that, as early as 1801, township constables were appointed, whose duties comprised those of a police officer.

The organization of a night-watch seems to have been a favorite project, and was frequently attempted, but the old records indicate that these endeavors, even when successful, were short-lived.

On December 19, 1821, the Board of Trustees resolved "that it is the sense of the meeting that a watch should be established to protect the city at night " and "to attend to the general police of the same," especially in relation to fire. We next find the following, in the council proceedings for March 2, 1825 :

In consequence of a supposed attempt to fire the city during the previous night, at a meeting of the Common Council and Free- men, a subscription paper was drawn up, and signed by a sufficient number of those present, for a volunteer watch, to be kept up un- til other and permanent measures for the safety of the city can be taken.

Soon after, on March 15, an ordinance was passed regulating this city patrol, and making it their duty to cry "Fire!" in case of a conflagration, and tell on what street it was.

On account of the riot in June, 1833, at the time the colored man Blackburn and his wife were arrested as slaves, a public meeting was held, and it was resolved "that it is expedient to establish a city watch, to consist of sixteen persons, efficiently armed, with one officer in command." This night- watch was organized, and kept up for nearly three

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months. In July one hundred and five dollars, and in September one hundred and twenty-nine dollars and sixty-six cents, were paid for their services.

About this time the city commenced to grow more rapidly, and among the population were many chil- dren who so annoyed the citizens by petty thieving that a meeting was held on December 24, 1834, and a Society for the Suppression of Felony organized.

On January 2, 1835, the propriety of establishing a night-watch was again taken into consideration by the council; on the 15th of the same month an ordinance was passed relating thereto; on the 29th two captains and ten watchmen were appointed ; on the 14th of the month following the city marshal reported that two of the captains and four of the men were drunk and disorderly, and on the 28th the ordinance was repealed.

The excitement connected with the Patriot War made a night-watch again necessary, and on June 13, 1838, one was organized, and Colonel E. Brooks appointed captain, with power to appoint his helpers. They served but a few weeks. Towards the close of the year the same excitement caused the re-es- tablishment of a watch, and on December 4 a force of forty men were appointed, not less than ten of them to be on duty each night. On the next day the excitement had so increased that in order to preserve the peace one hundred and fifty prominent citizens were appointed as an additional patrol. On May 9, 1839, two persons from each ward were appointed by the council as a night-watch, one to serve every other night, and to be paid two dollars for such service. On September 29, 1841, a volun- teer watch was organized, but they soon wearied of their self-imposed task.

In the fall of 1843 house-breaking and thieving prevailed to such an extent that a temporary night- watch was again established. In August, 1845, the same reasons again induced the organization of a volunteer watch. A meeting of this city watch was held on September 23 at Firemen's Hall, the mayor acting as chairman, and F. F. Merceron as secretary. Alfred Brush was chosen captain-general of the watch, and the mayor offered the following :

Resolved, that the city watch since its organization, although composed principally of citizens owning little or no property, have done their duty as watchmen ; and, as not a single fire or burglary has occurred, as the streets have been cleared of rioters and row- dies, and the city kept perfectly quiet, the watch are therefore entitled to the warmest thanks of every well-meaning citizen.

The following item, from the Advertiser of Octo- ber 2, 1845, gives an idea of the need of such a watch and of the difficulties it encountered. and in- dicates some features of its management :

CITY WATCH .- Efforts are being made to enlarge the number and efficiency of our volunteer city watch. We suggest to our citizens that supplies of fuel and refreshments will be very accept- able to the watchmen during the approaching long, cold nights. Will they not see to it ?

On October 6, 1845, the following appeared :

Suppose the store of one of our wealthy merchants, who refuses to assist in sustaining a watch, and who replies to all applications that they can protect their own property, should be entered by thieves or burglars, and the watch should seize them in the act, would not the owner begin at last to see the necessity of such pro- tection ? If they can be protected by others, and at others' ex- pense, they are quite content, and see no need of a watch ! It is desirable to see some relaxation of this illiberality, to see our re- spectable merchants and business men, lawyers, doctors, and ministers come forward and take upon themselves, personally, the functions of watchmen, and contribute in providing rooms, re- freshments, and fuel for their accommodation. A new company (No. 7) is to be organized in a few days, and it is to be hoped its ranks will be cheerfully and promptly filled.

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The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 43

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096