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SO'QIUTHWEST MIICHIG-AIN








HISTORIC MICHIGAN
LAND OF THE GREAT LAKES
Its life, resources, industries, people, politics,
government, wars, institutions, achievements, the press, schools and churches,
legendary and prehistoric lore
IN TWO VOLUMES
Edited by
GEORGE N. FULLER, A.M. (Harvard), Ph.D. (Univ. of Mich.)
Also
In Volume Three
An Account of
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
and CALHOUN COUNTY
By
CHARLES A. WEISSERT


With Special Matter Relating to Calhoun County


VOLUME III


Published by
National Historical Association, Inc.,
and dedicated to the
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society
in commemoration of its fiftieth anniversary








Preface
The purpose of this history is to present within its limited scope
as graphic a picture as is possible of the outstanding events in the
region now included in southwestern Michigan from the earliest
times of which there is record down to the present day industrial and
agricultural development. By necessity, such presentation must be
brief, and an effort has been made to place before the reader those
phases of development untouched in previous works, and to utilize
in the narrative new data unearthed from records, scrap-books, family
records, papers of historical organizations and obtained by personal
interviews with early pioneers.
Historical materials are being daily discovered by societies and
persons who are now far enough removed from pioneer times to find
interesting research in what is to them an unknown and alluring mine
of romance. The pioneer days of the United States have gone forever,
and the actors of those scenes-strangers in a far-off time-have nearly
all passed on "toward the Setting Sun," as the Indians beautifully expressed it.
Had it not been for the inquiries of the patient few who gathered
without financial compensation from the early pioneers their recollections and experiences we should today be unable to present facts drawn
from the historical collections of several states. It is to be regretted
that more local history was not recorded when those who made it
were living, but this neglect was probably not so much the result of
indifference as it was-and is today-a failure to comprehend the.fact
that history is being created daily, and that the events of the present,
while they seem through familiarity of little importance, will be eagerly
reviewed by the delving historian of the future. Viewed from the
broadest scope the greatest honors go to La Salle and his devoted associate, Henri de Tonti; to Nicholas Perrot and Sieur de la Forest
and innumerable others. The accomplishments of these men are recorded in the archives of the country that benefitted through their
perilous adventures in an unknown wilderness in which lurked murderous cannibals and beasts of prey. Of the outstanding events during the
French and British regimes in Michigan, official records are available
in many sources, and several historians of note have made use of them.
A vast mine of material, however, remains ready for the historical
explorer, particularly that type of explorer who will use dates and
statistics and at the same time make the man of today regard the man
of yesterday as a desirable acquaintance instead of an automaton with
eternally boresome activities. The men who opened the new country
-from the greatest pathfinder who sought to enlarge a kingdom to
the humblest person whose ambition was only to find a place where he
might pitch his tent and reside till the end of his days-were persons




of extraordinary interest. They were idealists who had the courage
to test their mettle in an untried field of high endeavor.
Recording recollections of pioneers of southwestern Michigan counties was begun late, but a considerable amount of valuable material
is available in those historically rich but very obscure volumes, the
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections. In preparation of this
volume these have been consulted. Several chapters, however, would
have remained unwritten had it not been for the fact that during the
editor's boyhood a number of venerable pioneers patiently replied to
innumerable questions concerning the early days, and without hesitation, contributed information, some of which is presented herewith for
the first time-notably the chapter on stage coach days-which is largely
based on recollections of the late William Burroughs, Barry county.
Indians, too, furnished data, particularly that concerning activities of
the red men after they removed from the valleys of the St. Joseph,
the Kalamazoo and Thornapple rivers. From time to time, while
hunting or fishing, or visiting sugar camps, or the blacksmith's forge
and gunsmith's bench or while under a humble roof where old-time
hospitality was being extended without thought of return, was obtained
a large amount of colorful material.
In this volume the publishers include biographies of men of affairs
in their respective communities. This is a valuable contribution to
contemporary local history. The pathfinders have done their work.
Today they are replaced by the community-builders, whose efforts are
centered on social and industrial development and their various ramifications. Among these sketches the historian of the future will find a
compendium of data from which to select materials.
In a volume of limited scope, it is impossible to avoid disappointing
some readers, but it is hoped that compensatory features will be found
within the covers.
Herewith is presented for the first time, a more extensive account
of old Fort St. Joseph than has heretofore appeared in print.


CHARLES A. WEISSERT.




Table of Contents
CHAPTER I-INTRODUCTORY REVIEW
DRAINAGE OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN —THREE GREAT RIVERS-PRAIRIES, VALLEYS, FORESTS-RESULTS OF GLACIAL ACTION —ICE LOBES AND MORAINESCHAINS OF LAKES —SILICIOUS FORMATIONS-BEAR CAVE FALLS —TOPOGRAPHIC
FEATURES-AN ANCIENT AND MODERN LUR —ABORIGINES IN SOUTHWESTERN
MICHIGAN - INDIAN WARFARE - DREADED INDIAN INVADERS - AN INDIAN
WATER AND LAND ROUTE —A FAMOUS PORTAGE PATH —RECORDS OF HENNEPIN AND CHARLEVOIX —KALAMAZOO A GREAT INDIAN TRAIL CENTER-OTHER
IMPORTANT TRAILS ------------ ------------------------- -1 --- —------------- 17-25
CHAPTER II-THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORATIONS AND
REGIME
FAMED COMMANDERS AND GREAT MISSIONARIES - FIRST SETTLEMENT IN
SOUTHWESTERN MICHIGAN-CAREER OF HENRI DE TONTY —LA SALLE'S FORT
ON THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER-HENNEPIN'S RECORD-LA SALLE'S JOURNEY
ACROSS MICHIGAN-LA SALLE MEETS ADVERSITY-LA SALLE'S SECOND EXPEDITION-INDIANS AT ST. JOSEPH VALLEY-REUNION OF LA SALLE AND TONTY
LA SALLE'S THIRD EXPEDITION-MURDER OF LA SALLE ------  _ ---— 26-33
CHAPTER III-FORT ST. JOSEPH AND MISSION IN NEW
FRANCE
RIVALRY BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN NEW WORLD-ENGLISH INFLUENCE WITH IROQUOIS —FRENCH SEEK AID OF MICHIGAN INDIANS-MAKE
WAR ON IROQUOIS WITH SUCCESS IN 1687-NICHOLAS PERROT, EMISSARY
FROM FRONTENAC-FRENCH INFLUENCE FELT IN KALAMAZOO VALLEY AMONG
MIAMI INDIANS IN 1690-JESUIT MISSION FOUNDED AT PRESENT SITE OF
NILES AND FORT ST. JOSEPH ERECTED FOR ITS PROTECTION-FATHER ALLOUEZ
IROQUOIS CONTINUE HOSTILE AND ATTACK FORT-FRENCH HOLD CONFERENCE
OF INDIAN TRIBES AT MONTREAL-FRONTENAC TELLS PLANS FOR PROTECTION
OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN-JESUITS OPPOSE PLAN OF CONSOLIDATING INDIAN
TRIBES IN MICHIGAN, FEARING BAD INFLUENCE OF WHITE POPULATION AT
DETROIT-INDIAN DEPREDATIONS AND BATTLES IN MICHIGAN —DESCRIPTIONS
BY CHARLEVOIX —TEMPORARY PEACE WITH INDIANS IN 1726-FUR TRADE AT
FORT ST. JOSEPH-INCREASE OF TRADE IN 1750-FRENCH AND INDIAN WARFRENCH SECURE AID OF INDIANS AGAINST ENGLISH —EARLY SUCCESSES OF
FRENCH ARMIES —FINAL COMPLETE OVERTHROW OF FRANCZ-FORT ST.
JOSEPH UNDER BRITISH RULE-THE INCIDENT OF LIEUT. SCHLOSSER-PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY-THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION-GEN. CLARK PLANS TO
TAKE FORT ST. JOSEPH. BUT IS DETERRED BY HIS INSUFFICIENT FORCECENSUS OF ST. JOSEPH POST IN 1781-CHEVALIER REMOVED TO MACKINACHE APPEALS TO HALDIMAND-THE SPANISH CAPTURE FORT ST. JOSEPH-THE
POST BURNED-END OF THE REVOLUTION --- —-. ---     ---— 34-112




1i


TABLE OF CONTENTS


CHAPTER IV-MICHIGAN AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR
KALAMAZOO COUNTY SOLDIERS-MICHIGAN POTAWATOMIES —ERECTION OF FORT
HOGAN-HISTORIC CONFERENCE WITH POTAWATOMIES-THE WORDS OF CUSHEE-WES-NOT A COMMENDABLE CHAPTER-GENERAL JOSEPH WHITE BROWNTHREATENED BLACK HAWK INVASION-CHICAGO CALLS FOR AD —AN INTERESTING MUSTER ROLL-CONFERENCE OF GENERAL BROWN AND POKAGON
------------------------------------------------- -------   113-120
CHAPTER V-INDIAN TRAILS, MOUNDS, EARTHWORKS,
VILLAGES AND CEMETERIES IN KALAMAZOO
COUNTY (By Edward J. Stevens)
DESCRIPTION OF SIX TRAILS —MOUNDS IN VARIOUS TOWNSHIPS —EARTHWORK
OR FORTIFICATIONS-GARDEN BEDS-INDIAN VILLAGES. --- —---------- 121-126
CHAPTER VI-THE KALAMAZOO VALLEY
INDIAN INHABITANTS-SITE OF KALAMAZOO A RENDEZVOUS FOR INDIANS-TRADE OF KALAMAZOO RIVER FREE —ORIGIN OF NAME-OVERLAND ROUTE
LED THROUGH VALLEY - DESCRIPTION OF EARLY BRITISH ROUTE-EARLY
TRADERS —CONFERENCES WITH INDIANS AT KALAMAZOO-GENERAL WAYNEPOTAWATOMI VILLAGE IN PORTAGE TOWNSHIP DURING WAR OF 1812 -DESCRIPTION OF LIFE OF INDIANS OF THE VALLEY-HUBBARD HERE IN 1822 -TRADING POST ERECTED-WHO WAS RECOLLET? —INDIAN'S CORPSE IN PENRECOLLET A CONVIVIAL SOUL-RECOLLET'S DAUGHTERS DROWN-SAUGATUCK
A RENDEZVOUS FOR INDIANS-LITTLEJOHN'S BATTLE LEGEND-JUDGE LITTLEJOHN'S CAREER-JAMES FENIMORE COOPER IN KALAMAZOO-TIFFIN CALLED
MICHIGAN LANDS WORTHLESS IN REPORT TO CONGRESS ---TITUS BRONSON,
FOUNDER OF KALAMAZOO-BUILDS TAMARAC HUT IN KALAMAZO —BRONSON
BECOMES COUNTY SEAT-BRONSON WHITTLES IN JUDGE FLETCHER'S COURT
ROOM  ---------- -. --- —-----   --  -..................... 127-157
CHAPTER VII-THE WAR OF 18I2; PASSING OF THE
INDIAN POWER
WILLIAM BURNETT, TRADER-BERTRAND AT PARC AUX VACHES-POTAWATOMIES HOSTILE TO AMERICANS-INDIANS DEFEATED AT TIPPECANOE-THE
CHANDONIE AFFAIR-INDIAN POWER BREAKS WITH TECUMSEH'S FALL-POTAWATOMIES APPEAL FOR AID TO BRITISH-BRITISH ON THE GRAND RIVERBRITISH SOUGHT AID FROM GRAND RIVER SAVAGES-NEWS OF PEACE REACHES
MACKINAC-TREATIES OF SAGINAW AND CHICAGO --- —--------------- 158-168
CHAPTER VIII-TRADERS IN THE THORNAPPLE VALLEY
-THE INDIAN HUNTING GROUNDS
THE THORNAPPLE RIVER-THE FUR TRADERS AND THEIR POSTS-LOUIS MOREAU WAS FIRST TRADER-AUGUSTUS NEERS, AN EARLY MAIL CARRIERCHIPPEWA VILLAGE NORTH OF MIDDLEVILLE -------------------------- ----— 169-176




TABLE OF CONTENTS


xiii


CHAPTER IX-FIVE NOTED INDIAN MISSIONS
EFFECT OF CHICAGO TREATY ON INDIANS-SUPERNATURAL SOURCE OF GUN
LAKE'S NAME-LEONARD SLATER SENT AS MISSIONARY-FIND LOUIS CAMPAU
IN GRAND RAPIDS-SLATER PREACHED IN INDIAN LANGUAGE-IDENTIFIES
COLONEL JOHNSON AS TECUMSEH'S SLAYER-NOONDAY PUNISHED UNRULY
PUPILS-RECALLED NOONDAY'S LAST ILLNESS-GRISWOLD MISSION AT SELKIRK LAKE-SERMONS INTERPRETED BY MAW-BE-SE-STOP AT YANKEE
SPRINGS TAVERN-VISITS CHIEF SAGINAW-NO CHANCE TO BACK OUTADDRESS SAGINAW'S BAND —INDIANS BECOME INTOXICATE —INDIANS "GIVE
ONE EAR FOR GOD" —SELKIRK PREVENTS MURDER OF SQUAW-NOONDAY
VISITS SELKIRK'S MISSION-SAGINAW LIKED MAW-BE-SE-OLD CHIEF SAGINAW MURDERED-MURDER IS SELKIRK'S SERMON SUBJECT-NO SALARY DURING ONE YEAR —ME-SHIM-MEN-CONING MISSION-SMALLPOX KILLS MANY
INDIANS-MR. HICKEY CARRIES SURVEYOR'S CHAIN-"NO CHRISTIAN MAY
ATTEND"-GAMBLER AIDS IN CHURCH BUILDING-OKEMOS CARRIED SCALPING KNIFE-WAS IN BATTLE OF THE THAMES —SAWBA ONE OF THE LAST
CHIEFS-REV. WHITE SUCCEEDS HICKEY —NOTTAWA MISSION IN CALHOUN
COUNTY-MARY MANDOKA INTERPRETED SERMONS-INDIANS WERE GIFTED
LISTENERS-THE THORNAPPLE MISSION-OLD CHIEF KEEPS HIS RELIGIONHICKEY LEADS A LQNG LIFE OF USEFULNESS --- —-------------- -- 177-207
CHAPTER X-REMOVAL OF INDIANS OF SOUTHWEST
MICHIGAN
DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED IN REMOVAL OF INDIANS --- — — 2 --- —--— 208-217
CHAPTER XI-EARLY ROADS AND TAVERNS
DETROIT AND CHICAGO ROAD-WHITE PIGEON WAS LARGEST SETTLEMENTMORE ROADS WERE NEDEED-AUTHo   RIZE HASTINGS-BATTLE CREEK ROADSTAGE LINE ESTABLISHED IN 1831 —STAGE AND MAIL ROUTES IN 1835 -BATTLE CREEK-HASTINGS STAGE LINE-HIRAM    MERRILL WAS DRIVERCHANGED AT BRISTOL'S TAVERN-STOPPED TO DRINK-DRIVEN OUT BY RAILROADS-ASAHEL SAVERY, FRONTIER TAVERN KEEPER-IN WHITE PIGEON IN
1827-ENLARGED HIS HOTEL-SAVERY SHOWS HIS GENEROSITY-SAVERY THE
PATHFINDER-SAVERY REVISITED WHITE PIGEON-YANKEE SPRINGS TAVERN
— "W    ARE ALL YANKEES" —"NINE STORIES ON THE GROUND"-ROBBERIES
IN THE WILDERNESS UNKNOWN-ARRIVE AT YANKEE SPRINGS-PLANK ROADS
PROPOSED-TRAFFIC ON THE ST. JOSEPH AND KALAMAZOO RIVERS-KALAMAZOO STATE HOSPITAL ---------- --—.- -----------         218-239
CHAPTER XII-SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF
COUNTIES
ALLEGAN - BARRY - BERRIEN - BRANCH - CALHOUN -CASS - EATON
- KALAMAZOO - ST. JOSEPH - VAN BUREN ------  -. --- —------ 240-254
CHAPTER XIII-CALHOUN COUNTY
EARLY HISTORY-THE FRENCH AND INDIANS-CALHOUN COUNTY ESTABLISHED
-EARLY SETTLEMENTS-MARSHALL SETTLED-GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF
ALBION-BATTLE CREEK-BATTLE CREEK      SANITARIUM-POSTUM   CEREAL
COMPANY-THE KELLOGG COMPANY      ----------------         258-275
PERSONAL RECORDS
ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED ----------------- --------—.. --- 277-385








CHAPTER I


INTRODUCTORY REVIEW
T   HREE large rivers and their tributaries drain the great expanse of territory now known as Southwestern Michigan, and
divided by imaginary lines into the counties of Berrien, Cass, St.
Joseph, Branch, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Allegan, Barry and
Eaton. Highly developed socially, economically and industrially today, this was once a land as remote to the Easterners of several
centuries ago as is the Arctic region to-day. Within its borders roamed
savages, ready not only to kill the venturesome white intruder, but
also to feast on his corpse. It was the country of unknown savages
in whose hills were believed to be hidden riches awaiting development
by the white man's genius. Covered with great forests in which
opened here and there beautiful little prairies, this primeval land from
prehistoric times grew richer in vegetation and fertility until the
plows of the first settlers turned the rich soil upward and with little
effort, except for clearing away the forest, brought yields so rich that
it became indeed a Land of Promise.
THREE GREAT RIVERS
In central Michigan, in what is now Jackson county, rise the
headwaters of the greatest rivers flowing west and east in the
Lower Peninsula. Along them were deep, hard-trodden trails made
so long ago the Indians themselves know nothing of those who first
traced them. Within a few miles of each other on the highlands, reported by the earliest explorers as mountains, were the natal springs
of the rivulets which united to form the St. Joseph, The Grand and
the Kalamazoo rivers, flowing into Lake Michigan, and of the Huron
and the River Raisin emptying into Lake Erie. By the Potawatomies,
the St. Joseph was called the Sau-wau-see-be, a name having reference
to the drowning of several women. The Ottawas called the Grand
river, the largest stream in Michigan, the O-wash-te-nong, meaning
the "Far Distant river." Its greatest branch, the Thornapple, which
has headquarters in what is now Barry and Eaton counties, was known
to the red men as the So-wan-que-sake, or "Forked river."
Names of the three large rivers of southwestern Michigan emptying
into Lake Michigan were different nearly two and one-half centuries
ago than they are today. Franquelin's "Carte de la Louisiane," published in Paris in I684, shows a remarkable accuracy in locations of
streams. The St. Joseph is the Riviere des Miamis; the Black river,
the Noire; the Kalamazoo, the Maramee; the Black river (Ottawa
county), the Iroquois; the Grand, the La Grande Riviere. The spelling
of this early name of the Kalamazoo river is uncertain. Charlevoix,
referring to it, calls it the "Meremek,  * *I * one of the streams
emptying into the eastern part of Lake Michigan." The Riviere des




18


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Miamis was rechristened by Father Hennepin, who was with La Salle,
the Riviere Saint-Joseph, according to the same authority. Maps
during the British period of occupancy, show the Black river, north
of the St. Joseph, as the Iroquois. The Kalamazoo, in a British description of the road from Detroit to Fort St. Joseph in I77I, is styled the
"Reccenamazoo river, or Pusawpaco Sippy, otherwise the Iron Mine
river." This stream undoubtedly received its English name because
of the existence of bog iron in such quantities along its shores that it
was converted to commercial uses in the early days of Kalamazoo
village. Before the advent of the first settlers, the stream was called
the Kekalamazoo because of its fanciful likeness to a "bright, bubbling
kettle."
PRAIRIES, VALLEYS, FORESTS
To the south of the Kalamazoo, east and west, lay a chain of small
prairies, while along the valley of the St. Joseph extended the broad
expanse of the level reaches now included in northern Indiana.
In the long, curving valleys of these three rivers the geologists
saw indications of an ancient land topographically far different from
the one they found. To the north and south they found long ranges
of undulating morainal hills, clothed with the rich verdure of hardwood
forests interspersed here and there with tracts of pines. Along the
rivers and bordering the numerous chains of lakes and rivers were
tracts of marshlands, some forested, others covered with shrubbery
and waving meadow grass in which grazed the buffalo, the elk and
the deer.
RESULTS OF GLACIAL ACTION
In very few places in this region was bedrock visible, as it lies
buried from Ioo to 300 feet under sand, gravel and clay. Only where
the streams have cut deeply through the morainal batks is sandstone
or limestone revealed. Thousands and thousands of years ago in the
glacial ages the advancing ice sheets pushed down from the region
east of Hudson Bay a vast accumulation of rock and soil. The ice
advanced slowly across the Great Lakes region and other parts of
the United States, covering thousands of square miles, extending its
southern limits until it crossed in several places the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The land contours of the Great Lakes region guided somewhat the direction of the glaciers, creating the Lake Michigan lobe,
the Saginaw lobe and the Erie-Huron lobe. Glaciers advanced at
least three times over what is now  southwestern Michigan. The
earliest, it has been ascertained, came from the north, bringing with
it drift copper frotn the Lake Superior region. The other two came
from the direction of Georgian Bay. Betweep the ice periods there
were intervals of warmth, extending probably over thousands of years,
and during these epochs the ice was probably all melted away. It was
during the last glacial advance that most of the moraines in southwestern Michigan were formed. How long ago they were formed
few will venture to sat, though one scientist declares that it might
have been as late as eighteen thousand years ago.




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


19


ICE LOBES AND MORAINES
The Lake Michigan ice lobe blanketed the western shore of the
lake and extended into Indiana and Wisconsin. It included the lake
border morainic system, paralleled successively south and east by the
Valparaiso and Kalamazoo moraines. Extending from the northeast
the contours of the Saginaw lobe covered the territory now embraced
by Eaton county and the eastern portion of Barry county. Curved
about the southwestern contour of this lobe is the Charlotte moraine,
beyond which lies the Kalamazoo interlobate moraine, with the Kalamazoo now flowing at its foot, through what was once the bed of
the great ancient river that carried away waters of the melting glacier.
These moraines were created when the ice sheet halted between
the Lake Michigan and Saginaw lobes, allowing time for the crushed
soils and stones to accumulate. The hills of the moraines of southwestern Michigan often rise to over one thousand feet above the sea
level. In Calhoun, Barry, Kalamazoo and Allegan counties morainal
hills are conspicuous features of the landscape. In the region southeast of Battle Creek penetrated the c6'ntours of the Erie-Huron lobe.
Between the moraines are plains of gravel and sand washed down by
the glacial streams, one of which was a river of great size which followed the edge of the Saginaw lobe to where the city of Charlotte, in
Eaton county, now stands. There it turned southwestward and crossed
the Kalamazoo moraine below the site of the village of Bellevue. It
was this stream that cut the large valley through which now flows
the Kalamazoo river. When the Lake Michigan ice lobe receded past
the Valparaiso moraine a new outlet for the glacial waters was opened,
and the river flowed about ten miles northward from Kalamazoo, and
there passed into a long narrow body of water called Lake Dowagiac,
formed by a dam of ice and debris near the present city of South Bend,
the discharging waters by way of the Kankakee valley flowing into
the Mississippi.
Thus was the area comprising southwestern Michigan prepared
in prehistoric times for the fertility that produced the rich growth of
wilderness vegetation and finally the agricultural crops upon which
is based the prosperity of the present day.
CHAINS OF LAKES
Extending from the rolling hills of the territory now included in
Branch county, to the sand dunes and the castellated till-cliffs of the
Lake Michigan shore, were chains of numerous lakes, large and small,
formed where waters collected in indentations left by the receding
glacier. From these flowed streams that eventually emptied into the
great rivers mentioned in our narrative or into their tributaries.
Nearer the shores of the great inland lake the rivers cut deeply into
the land, their valleys showing successive terraces and lateral valleys
through which arrive the tributary waters. In few places throughout
the district is bare rock exposed. Near Bellevue, the great glacier
planed away the soil to such a shallow depth that limestone rock is
visible in layers. At Verbna Mills, near Battle Creek, and farther up




20


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the Kalamazoo valley, sandstone is exposed in a number of places.
Nor in other localities are outcroppings numerous. Five miles below
Hastings, overlooking a beautiful bend in the Thornapple river, an
overhanging ledge of porous sandstone protrudes from a high bank
as if it were made purposely for a lookout's post. Such formations are
so rare in southwestern Michigan that wherever they appear they are
given wide prominence as scenic wonders.
SILICEOUS FORMATIONS-BEAR CAVE FALLS
Protruding from the high bank on the west side of the St. Joseph
river in Berrien county. are siliceous formations resembling rock. This
material was burned by pioneers for lime with which to build the
chimneys and foundations for the first cabins. Over one of these
ledges several miles north of Buchanan, a little stream falls twentytwo feet forming what is claimed to be the only waterfall in southwestern Michigan. This is known as Bear Cave falls.
TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES
Extending southward from the morainal hills of this region, were
a number of prairies-the forerunners of the great flat lands of Indiana
and Ohio. The unusual beauty of these level stretches greatly impressed
the first white men, who carried back to civilization stories of the fertile
fields that required no clearing and awaited only the plow to bring rich
yields to the farmer. Scattered over these prairies were oak openings,
which from a distance resembled orchards. The burr oak, in fact, is
southwestern Michigan's own tree. It was the predominating element
in the wild growths of the prairie lands. For some reason known only
to Nature herself, this tree, short and scraggly, or soaring upward in
rare instances with the fountain-like curves of the elm, was chosen for
growth in the open lands. Back in the hill country, and on the uplands, covered by the primeval forest were towering growths of white
oak, black oak, hickory, beach, and maple. Along the lowlands were
enormous whitewoods, walnuts, and sycamores and several varieties
of elms. The tall, spire-like tamarac was the marshland's distinguishing growth. On bluffs along streams, stood occasional clumps of pines
with their dark, plumy branches interwoven. Along the streams and
in the natural meadows bordering them were clumps of dark funereallooking cedars. Throughout the country also were scattered, especially
along the shores of lakes, spruce and hemlock. On sandy stretches in
the uplands and on the shores of some lakes were small strips of pineland-advanced guards of the great tracts of jackpines that covered
the northern part of the peninsula.
Gradually the waters left in indentations made by the glaciers have
been evaporating, and today men walk where waters stood centuries,
or even a century ago. The lowlands along streams and between
systems of streams, blanketed with wild growths, are rapidly being
drained and used for cultivation. Lakes are being lowered and the
lands converted to cultivation or pasture, and rivers are being dammed,
hiding their natural shores, but furnishing power to turn the wheels
of machinery and cars, to light cities and to perform a thousand miracles




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


21


at the bidding of modern man. Dredgers hi the marshlands have extracted from the depths bones and teeth of enormous size, which
scientists declare are remains of the mammoth and mastodon, which
roamed the region in prehistoric times, but no one will say how many
thousands of years ago. Cultivators of fields also find skulls of buffalo and elk and baribou. The geologist finds in the glacial drift fossils
of creatures that were alive in ancient seas millions of years ago.
AN ANCIENT AND MODERN LURE
Like the men of today, ancient man found much to lure him into
this region. Throughout the river valleys and on the banks of lakes
he roamed and lived and fought his battles for survival. Little is
known of him today, though archaeologists are constantly striving to
discover some new clues which will tear aside the veil of mystery that
hides his past. Evidences of his occupation of southwestern Michigan
in the shape of mounds of various sizes, earthworks and garden beds
are left as memorials to puzzle investigating scientists. These are particularly plentiful in Kalamazoo county. In every locality are found
stone weapons and implements used by the aborigines. In gravel pits
and where streams have worn away banks have been found numerous
burial places of Indians, some of such recent date as to contain iron
implements, portions of old guns of French and British manufacture,
trinkets made especially for trade with natives and also metal crosses
distributed by the early priests. A notable discovery of skeletons with
which were buried numerous crosses was made at Three Rivers.
But the most valuable was that made at Bull's Prairie on the Thornapple river, five miles west of Hastings, where Mr. Ross Johnson,
finding human bones protruding from the river bank after a spring
flood, discovered an Indian cemetery in which were many burials.
With the skeletons he found a large number of gorgets, ear-bobs, beads,
a paint pot of white man's manufacture, and a large number of crosses,
a discovery which will receive attention in another chapter.
ABORIGINES IN SOUTHWESTERN MICHIGAN
Who were the aborigines that inhabited what is now southwestern
Michigan. Beyond those reported by the first French explorer, none
are recorded. Lake Michigan was known as the Lake of the Illinois,
because the Illinois tribe resides on its shores. What is now called the
St. Joseph river appears in history in I675 as the River of the Miamis,
because of the settlements of members of that tribe on its banks. Little
else is known besides this fact. There is also a record that members
of the same tribe resides along the "Maramec" river, now the Kalamazoo, designated on earliest maps as the "Maramee," believed to be
a form of the same name. That the whole of southwestern Michigan,
rich in game and in maple forests, and mild in climate, was the prize
for which savage tribes had long been contesting soon became apparent
to the first white explorers. To occupy this region meant a continual
struggle for possession.
INDIAN WARFARE
Warfare was a part of the Indian's regular routine of living. The




22


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Indians, like white men, were great travelers. Tribes in the east and
the west were in constant communication, while those of the south and
those on the north of the St. Lawrence river were in constant communication. The Michigan peninsula was crossed by a great aboriginal
highway, later called the Sauk Trail, which during early American
possession became the Chicago Road, the first highway between Detroit and Chicago. This road crossed the southern portions of Berrien,
Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties. This trans-Michigan highway,
however, was used more for warfare than it was for peaceful commerce. Nearly naked and painted in terrifying colors, the ferocious
Iroquois, armed with bows and arrows and spears, swiftly glided
along this path on their expeditions as far as the Mississippi, where
they mercilessly slaughtered all who did not flee for their lives. Loaded
with scalps, these militant barbarians made their way back to their
strongholds on the shores of the lakes in what is now central New
York state. From the west, war parties of Sioux came into Michigan.
Prisoners were kept for slaves, or reserved for a worse end-to be
slaughtered and eaten.
DREADED INDIAN INVADERS
The most dreaded of the invaders, however, were the Iroquois,
of Five Nations, later enemies of the French and allies of the British.
They terrorized the Miamis of Michigan, and when La Salle began his
activities in the St. Joseph region I679 to 1682, he found the Miamis
temporarily relieved from attacks by the Iroquois because they had
joined their former eastern enemy in attacks on the Illinois tribe. It
was undoubtedly the plan of the Five Nations to exterminate the
Miamis after conquest of the Illinois had been accomplished. The
great trail across southern Michigan, therefore, was the main line of
communication between the east and the west, with its important
strategic point near the ford of the St. Joseph river, below the city
of Niles, probably the site of the Miami villages that La Salle found
and where were to occur some of the most important events in early
Michigan history.
AN INDIAN WATER AND LAND ROUTE
About seven miles below this ford at "Parc aux vaches," now
near the village of Bertrand, was the great portage between the St.
Joseph and the headwaters of the Kankakee river, forming the strategic
land link between the water systems of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi
valleys. From times immemorial this combined water and land route
had been in use. La Salle and the early Frenchmen who preceded him
had heard of it from the natives and they naturally followed it on
their exploring trips. Passing up the Ottawa river, the first explorers passed over the water route through the French river to
Georgian bay, thence through the Straits of Mackinaw, down the
eastern shore of Lake Michigan to the mouth of the St. Joseph river.
The portage to the headwaters of the Kankakee led across land now
embraced in limits of the city of South Bend. Weeks of steady paddling, with nights spent under scant shelters made this long journey




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


23


from Canada to Louisiana one of privation, peril and extreme hardship. Once the canoes were placed in the shallow pools forming headwaters of the Kankakee, the voyagers passed through a wonderful
prairie country, thickly populated with deer and buffalo until the
river, joined by the Des Plaines, became the majestic Illinois, which,
along its entire course to the Mississippi, was populated with Indian
villages.
A FAMOUS PORTAGE PATH
La Salle is credited with being the first white man who passed
over this portage, which had been traversed by feet clad in moccasins
for thousands of years. One of the most famous portage paths in
America, this trail was said by early settlers to have been worn so
deep that riders on horseback were careful not to let their feet in
stirrups strike the earth on the sides. It traversed about three miles
of undulating prairieland, richly covered with long waving grass and
wild roses. There were numerous deep depressions where water collected and where buffalo and deer came to drink. Afar clumps of
trees and lone burr-oaks dotted the landscape.
RECORDS OF HENNEPIN AND CHARLEVOIX
Two early descriptions of this historic portage have been left to
us. The first was by Father Louis Hennepin, a Recollet priest, and
historian of La Salle's first expedition. The other was written by
Father Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix, who passed over the
portage forty-two years later. Charlevoix's account shows the footprints of civilization. When Hennepin returned to Europe he published several years later "Nouvelle Decouverte," an account of this
remarkable penetration of the Great Lakes wilderness. Hie describes
the passage of the explorers over the portage as follows:
"The following morning we joined our men at the beginning of
the portage. Father Gabriel had marked some crosses on trees so
we should not again miss the place. We found there a great quantity
of bones and horns of wild bulls and also several Indian canoes made
of the skins of beasts. This portage lies at the farther edge of a
large stretch of meadow land. At the western end there is a village
of Miamis, Mascoutins and Oiatinons. Near this village the Illinois
river has its source in some springs, about which the land is so marshy
one can hardly walk across it. The head of this river is only a league
and a half from the River of the Miamis, so our carry was not long.
We marked the course with some trees to guide those whom we
expected to follow us."  Concerning the headwaters of the Kankakee,
Hennepin says: "This river is navigable for bark canoes only within
a hundred paces of its source, but it increases so rapidly within a short
distance that it is as broad as the Meuse and Sambre joined together.
It runs through vast marshes, but it makes so many turnings that
after a whole day's journey we were only two leagues from where westarted in the morning. This country is nothing but marshes covered:
with alder-trees and rushes."




24


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Writing in his journal under date of September I6, 1781, Charlevoix
says there were two carrying places, the longest of which was over
a league and a quarter in length. Informed that at this time of the
year there was not sufficient water to float a canoe, Charlevoix chose
the other route which was not so pleasant to traverse, but more
convenient.
"I went ashore on the right," he writes, "and walked a league and
a quarter, first along the water-side and afterwards across a fieldan immense meadow entirely covered with copses of wood, which
produce a very fine effect. It is called the 'Meadow of the Buffalo's
Head,' because it is said a head of that animal of monstrous size was
once found there. Why might there not have been giants among
the brutes?  I pitched my tent on a very beautiful spot called the
'Fort of the Foxes' because the foxes, that is to say the Outagamies,
had not long ago a village there.
"This morning I walked a league further in the meadow, having
my feet almost always in the water. Afterwards I met with a kind
of pool or marsh which had a kind of communication with several
others of different sizes, but the largest was not over a hundred paces
in circuit. These are the sources of the River Theakiki, which by
a corrupted pronunciation our Indians call Kiakiki. Theak signifies a wolf-in I do not remember what language-because the Mohicgans, who are likewise called 'wolves,' had formerly taken refuge on
its banks. We put our canoes, which two men had carried thus far,
into the second of those springs, but we had scarce water sufficient to
keep her afloat. Ten men could in two days make a straight and
navigable canal which would save a great deal of trouble, and ten or
twelve leagues of way, for the river at its source is so very narrow,
and such short turns must of necessity constantly be made, that there
is danger of damage every moment to the canoe."
Strange it seems today to learn that parrots were common in this
region. Charlevoix records seeing parrots "no bigger than a blackbird. Their head is yellow with a red spot in the middle; the rest
of the plumage is green."
KALAMAZOO A GREAT INDIAN TRAIL CENTER
Farther inland many trails crossed the great Sauk path. Game
and fish were plentiful near the lakes, and berries were abundant in
marshes. Trails naturally led to sources of food supply, but these
were auxiliaries of the great paths which led to Mackinaw, to the
Wabash and Ohio valleys. Where Kalamazoo now stands was the
greatest center of trails in southwestern Michigan. Eighteen paths.are said to have converged at this point, many of which were in use
when the early traders arrived. One of these, passing north and
south, had its southern terminal near the site of the city of Fort
Wayne. Entering southern Michigan, it passed historic Three Rivers,
then crossed Prairie Ronde, in Kalamazoo county. The ford of the
Kalamazoo river was where the city now stands. This was from
times immemorial a center for Indians. The trail then crossed Gull
Prairie, entered what is now Barry county, traversed the Yankee




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


25


Springs hills overlooking Gull lake, crossed Scales Prairie and the
Thornapple river at a ford above Middleville and continued down the
valley of that stream to Cascade, thence to Bock-wa-ting, the great
Indian town on the rapids of the Grand, now Grand Rapids.
OTHER IMPORTANT TRAILS
Other important trails paralleled the Kalamazoo and Thornapple
rivers from source to mouth, connecting with paths along the Huron
and Raisin rivers. The trail along the Thornapple, known as the
"Canada Trail," crossed Eaton county and joined the Huron river
trail in what is now Jackson county. In the eastern part of Eaton
county it was linked with another trail passing up the Grand river
to its confluence with the Maple river. At this point were paths leading to the extensive Indian settlements of the Saginaw valley.
The great Sauk Trail across the southern portion of Michigan
and that leading from the Wabash region to the Rapids of the Grand
were the most important aboriginal highways in southwestern Michigan. The rivers, of course, were dotted with birchbark canoes and
pirogues cut from whitewood logs. None of the streams, however,
were formidable barriers and the savages who invaded Michigan invariably stole along the forest paths and fell suddenly at some opportune time like wolves upon the villages or camps of their unsuspecting victims. In what is now Branch county, there were north
and south trails leading from the Sauk pathway to favorite hunting
grounds and settlements in this fertile region, well-watered with creeks
and several large lakes.
Such, therefore, were the long routes that must have tried the
courage of the bravest French explorers and the soul of the most
devout missionary priests.




CHAPTER II


THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORATIONS AND REGIME
KNOWLEDGE of the early wars of Indians in southwestern
Michigan begins with entrance of the first Frenchmen in the
wilderness. Long before historic annals were recorded, adventurers
had worked their way far into the interior of the Great Lakes country,
and their reports fired with desires the minds of the covetous representatives of the French king ever on the lookout for opportunities
to entrench themselves more securely in the royal favor. What better chance was there than to expand the French power in the new
continent where Spain and Holland and the great British rival across
the channel were acquiring territory believed to contain fabulous wealth?
Each successive ship that cast anchor at Quebec or Montreal brought
men anxious for adventure and riches and priests hopeful of converting the savages and of extending the power of the church; the
first were to bring to the unsophisticated natives of the wilderness the
corrupt influences of European civilization, the latter were to point
the way to salvation through the Cross.
FAMED COMMANDERS AND GREAT MISSIONARIES
Famed commanders and great missionaries were to leave their
imprints in the history of the section of the Great Lakes region of
Canada, included in our narrative. Marquette and his two companions
were without doubt the first white men who extensively explored the
St. Joseph river valley. Next came Rene Robert Cavelier, son of a
wealthy merchant of Rouen, better known as Sieur de la Salle, who
set out in July, I669, from his estate near Montreal with an expedition equipped at his own expense to explore the great river (the Mississippi) which the Indians reported as existing five hundred leagues
westward. It was believed this river flowed into the Vermilion Sea,
or the Gulf of California. This expedition resulted in the discovery of
the Ohio and Wabash rivers. Seeing the necessity of strengthening
the French hold on the country, into which England was endeavoring
to extend her influence, La Salle explained to Frontenac, the GovernorGeneral, a plan by which the French might establish a line of forts
from the Great Lakes region down the Mississippi valley to the Gulf
of Mexico. Enthused by his project, La Salle, like Columbus when he
was fired with the ambition to sail for the new world he believed to be
beyond the Atlantic, went to France where he obtained approval of
his project from the king and Colbert, the prime minister, providing he
pay for the journey made in the interests of the Crown out of his own
pocket. He was given command of Fort Frontenac at the head of
the St. Lawrence. The winter of I678, La Salle spent at a stockade
rendezvous on the Niagara river where he prepared for his journey
to the "Lake of the Illinois," as Lake Michigan was then known. Here




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


27


he built the "Griffin," the first vessel that sailed the Great Lakes. She
was square-rigged, of forty-five tons' burden and carried an armament
of five small cannon. She was called the "Griffin" in honor of Count
Frontenac, on whose crest was a figure of that mythical animal. The
ship sailed August 9, 1679, carrying La Salle and his twenty-nine
men on an enterprise of which the commander had for ten years
dreamed.
FIRST SETTLEMENT IN SOUTHWESTERN MICHIGAN
In that crew of adventurers who were to establish the first settlement in southwestern Michigan were sailors, artisans, laborers, one
Indian hunter of the Mohican tribe, and three Franciscan friarsFathers Louis Hennepin, historian of the expedition, Zenobe Membre
and Gabriel Ribourde. With La Salle was another romantic and imperishable figure in the hiseory of the Middle West-Henri de Tonty,
son of Lorenzo Tonty, governor of Gaeta, who retired to France after
the revolution in his native country. Henry entered the French army
as a cadet, serving as such in I668 and 1669. In the wars in Sicily,
one of Tonty's hands was blown off by a grenade, and in place of
this lost member he wore a hand of iron usually covered with a glove.
It was while he was in Europe in 1678, that La Salle first met this
soldier who was to become his trusted associate and afterward to
search the western wilderness for his commander's body. Though
Tonty was gentle and seemingly delicate in appearance, he proved
himself capable of performing perilous undertakings where endurance
and courage were requisites. Though he was a product of cultured
Europe, Tonty readily adapted himself to life in the American wilderness where he was afterwards to die with efforts unappreciated. In
1685, he led the western Indians to join Denonville. After Cavelier's
return, he went down the Mississippi in 1689. He accompanied the
Quebec seminary missionaries down the Mississippi to Arkansas in
1699. The next year he traveled farther down the river to meet
D'Iberville. He afterwards removed to Louisiana where he passed
out of history.
CAREER OF HENRI DE TONTY
Again and again (luring his long service Tonty traversed the Great
Lakes country and the ancient portage path between the St. Joseph
and Kankakee rivers. For years after La Salle's death he carried on
the fur trade at Fort St. Louis on the picturesque Starved Rock overlooking the Illinois river, La Frost, his partner, trading along Lake
Michigan. Claiming the traders were violating their charter,' the
governor of Canada in 1702, seized Fort St. Louis, and Tonty, ruined
by loss of his property, told his friends he was, about to leave and
never return. The Frenchmen and Indians begged him to stay, but
he embarked in a canoe and disappeared. Shortly afterward the
Indians set fire to the post. When the invading Spanish and an
epidemic of sickness broke up D'Iberville's colony, Tonty, ill and
aged, persuaded two Indians to take him back to the old fort on
Starved Rock. It is said, in a contemporary account given by Jaques




28


HISTOR   IC MICHIGAN


Matte, the great grandson of a soldier in the fort, to Matson, Illinois
historian, that Tonty died in I718 soon after arriving at the post,
but not before he had received the sacrament and many Indians and
Frenchmen had come to pay their respects. He was buried at the
west end of Starved Rock, where for many years the French and
Indians passing up and down the stream long after the post was
gone, placed flowers on the grave. In this cemetery were buried two
French priests, soldiers and civilians, but the waters washed away
the earth and the early settlers saw many human bones protruding
from the bank.
Such was the adventurous career of one of the great figures in
Michigan history who has received too little attention.
LA SALLE S FIRST EXPEDITION
The "Griffin" landed La Salle and Tonty and their command at
Green Bay, where La Salle found men whom he had sent in advance
with a collection of furs. The "Griffin" with a cargo of furs was
ordered back. La Salle and fourteen men started in canoes down the
west shore of Lake Michigan for the mouth of the St. Joseph river.
Henri de Tonty had been instructed to proceed from Michilimackinac
down the eastern shore of the lake to the same destination.
LA SALLE S FORT ON THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER
La Salle's canoes passed into the harbor of the St. Joseph river on
November I. Quick to note a strategic position controlling the route
connecting the water systems of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi
rivers, the commander cleared a high bluff at the river's mouth and
erected a stockade which he called Fort Miamis, named after the
Indians whose villages were scattered along the river. After waiting
twenty days, Tonty, who had been greatly delayed on account of lack
of provisions, arrived with only ten of the twenty-one members of
his party, the others having been left in the woods about ninety miles
north to subsist by hunting. These men were afterwards brought
in on the verge of starvation.
HENNEPIN'S RECORD
Hennepin, La Salle's historian, thus describes the building of the
fort:
"At the mouth of the river there was an elevation naturally placed
for fortification. It was high and steep and of triangular shape, with
the river on two sides and a ravine washed out by rains on the other.
We felled trees on this elevation, cleared away the brush for a distance
of two musket shots and began construction of a redoubt forty feet
long and eighty feet broad. This we built of square pieces of timber
laid one on the other. We also cut a great number of stakes about
twenty-five feet long, which we intended to drive into the ground to
make the fort more inaccessible on the river sides. We employed
the whole of November in this work."
Hennepin states that the explorers were obliged to subsist on
the flesh of bears killed by the Mohican hunter. These animals were




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


29


very numerous in this region, because grapes were here unusually
plentiful. The men found the food too fat and asked permission to
kill other game, but La Salle refused, which caused considerable discontent. They continued work unwillingly on the fort.
"This, together with approach of winter and the fear that his ship
was lost, caused M. La Salle to be melancholy, though he tried to
conceal it," wrote the priest. "We built a cabin in which we held
divine service every Sunday. Father Gabriel and I preached alternately, taking care to use texts which would inspire courage, concord
and brotherly love. Our sermons kept the men from deserting as
they had planned."
La Salle was now ready to depart for the Illinois country, where
he hoped to obtain provisions before the Indians set out for their
winter hunting grounds, but he lingered, awaiting arrival of the
"Griffin" from Niagara. He cleared the ground in the vicinity of
Fort Miamis, in order to insure unobstructed musketry fire. Though
the horizon was scanned daily, the expected vessel did not arrive. It
was not learned until afterward that she had met an unknown fate.
La Salle sent two of his men to Michilimackinac to await and intercept
the "Griffiin."
In eight canoes, the explorer and his party embarked for the
long journey to the Illinois country. Paddling briskly up the St.
Joseph river they arrived in the vicinity of the portage that led to
the headwaters of the Kankakee. As they were not acquainted with
the country, they were unable to discover the path until the skill of
the Mohican hunter was applied td the task. Crossing the portage
with canoes, baggage and implements, the explorers continued down
the Kankakee and Illinois rivers to the site of the city of Peoria, near
which La Salle erected Fort Crevecoeur (Broken Heart), which signified that he was despondent over the disloyalty of some of his men, the
suspicious attitude of his men and the probable loss of the "Griffin,"
in which his money was invested and which he expected to bring supplies needed for his enterprise.
Determined to return to Canada, La Salle, accompanied by four
Frenchmen and the Mohican hunter, left Tonty in command of the
fort and began on March 2, I680, the return to Fort Miami. Here
he found, on the 24th, the two men whom he had sent to Michilimackinac. They were without news of the "Griffin." Ordering the
two men to report to Tonty, La Salle then began the first known journey
of white men across the Michigan peninsula.
LA SALLE'S JOURNEY ACROSS MICHIGAN
The explorers' route, so far as can be ascertained by notes taken
during the journey, lay along the highlands between the Kalamazoo
and St. Joseph river valleys. Setting out March 25, they crossed the
St. Joseph river on a raft and penetrated a region covered with shrubbery and forests. Several days later they arrived in an open country
where they killed deer, bears and turkeys. The evening of the 28th,
they encamped on a prairie near the edge of a forest. Suddenly the
guard sounded an alarm and ferocious yells re-echoed throughout the




30


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


wilds. The men seized their arms, but the enemy seeing them prepared, failed to advance. The explorers must have reached the borders
of Prairie Ronde in what is now Kalamazoo county at the time of this
episode. As La Salle, in his journal makes mention of passing through
great meadows covered with rank grass, which they burned in an
effort to throw the savages off their trail, there can be no doubt but
that he crossed Prairie Ronde and Climax Prairie, then passed through
Calhoun, Jackson, and Washtenaw counties to the Huron river where
they made a canoe of elm bark and floated down until fallen timber
obstructed their passage near the border of Wayne county. There
they abandoned the craft, and thence they journeyed afoot to the
Detroit river.
After the surprise by the Indians, La Salle and his men found they
were being followed. Their route lay through a marshy wilderness,
which was probably the long, flat tract in the vicinity of the lakes east
of Prairie Ronde. The night of April 2 was very cold and the explorers, who had not kindled a fire for several days for fear of attack, decided to undergo the risk to dry their clothes. Shortly afterward fearful screeches and yells re-echoed through the wilds, and the
Frenchmen discovered a band of Mascoutens or Kickapoos, who had
mistaken them for Iroquois, they informed La Salle. The explorers
were permitted to proceed. Crossing the Detroit river on a raft,
they journeyed through the woods to Lake Erie, where they obtained
a canoe and paddled to the headquarters on the Niagara river where
the "Griffin" had been launched. They arrived here on Easter Monday.
LA SALLE MEETS ADVERSITY
Though La Salle had partially satisfied his dream for exploration
which he had cherished over ten years before he was to set out upon
it, he was now to receive a blow that must have discouraged even a
man of his intrepid character; he was told that not only had the
"Griffin" with furs valued at ten thousand crowns been lost, but that
a ship from France carrying twenty-two thousand livres worth of
his merchandise had been wrecked in the St. Lawrence. Nor was
this all. La Salle was later notified by Tonty that nearly all the men
left in the garrison at Fort Crevecoeur had deserted after destroying
the post. They had also destroyed Fort Miamis at the mouth of St.
Joseph and seized all La Salle's supplies at Mackinac, his lieutenant
informed him. Eight of the deserters were proceeding to Albany,
while the remainder were traveling down the lakes with the intention
of killing La Salle.
Adversity, which would have broken a less heroic man, seemed
only to strengthen the determination of this great French adventurer.
At Montreal he had succeeded in obtaining loans sufficient to outfit
a new journey to the St. Joseph and Illinois rivers. With a party of
loyal followers he left Fort Frontenac and hurried down the lake to
meet the deserters who intended to kill him on sight. He killed nearly
all the desperadoes and brought the survivors prisoners to Fort
Frohtenac.




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


31


LA SALLE S SECOND EXPEDITION
Accompanied by twenty-three men and Sieur La Forest, La Salle
left Fort Frontenac on August IO, I680, for his second expedition to
the St. Joseph and Illinois rivers. Leaving La Forest at Mackinac, with
instructions to follow with the convoy, La Salle, with twelve men,
hurried to the St. Joseph river. He first viewed the burned ruins of
Fort Miamis on November 4. Here he left five men and a portion of
his supplies, and proceeded rapidly across the portage to the Kankakee
river and down the Illinois to join Tonty. They subsisted on buffalo
meat, deer, geese and swans.
La Salle passed that natural towering stronghold of rock overlooking a broad stretch of river-known today as Starved Rock, but
called by La Salle the Rock of St. Louis. He had instructed Tonty
to build here a fortification, but there was to sign of a fortification
on the summit. His trusted lieutenant and his men were nowhere to
be seen. Instead, they discovered on the site of an Indian town farther
down the river hundreds of human skulls fixed on poles-horrible
souvenirs of a visitation of the Iroquois so much dreaded by the
Indians of the Great Lakes region. At the ruins of Fort Crevecoeur,
La Salle found intact a ship which had been built, but the Iroquois had
stolen most of the nails and spikes which held the timbers together.
In searth of Tonty, La Salle journeyed to the mouth of the river where
he first saw the Mississippi. All the way he saw the ruins of villages destroyed by the Iroquois.
Returning, La Salle left his canoes at the confluence of the Illinois
and Kankakee rivers and traveled overland through deep snow to the
mouth of the St. Joseph river, where they found that La Forest and
his men had rebuilt the fort and cleared ground for cultivation. They
had also prepared timbers for construction of a ship. This was in
January, I68I.
INDIANS AT ST. JOSEPH VALLEY
The Indians of the St. Joseph valley had from earliest times been
harassed by the Iroquois from the east and from the west by Sioux,
but the enemy in the east was the most dreaded of all others. The
Miamis, whose villages were near La Salle's fort, were believed to
have at one time been members of the Illinois tribe, as there was an
affinity of language and habits. Members of this tribe lived at that
time in three villages: the one on the St. Joseph, another on the River
Miamis, which flowed into Lake Erie and on the "Oubash" river.
These were known as the Ouyatanons. In addition, La Salle found
here fugitives of the Mohican and Abanakis tribes who had fled from
the Iroquois. In the Miami towns he found Wampanoags, who
had fought under King Philip. It was in I68I that a band of the
Potawatomi tribe, later to become dominant in southwestern Michigan, located on the Chicago river. Their tribal locations changed
from time to time in the Great Lakes region. They were a branch
of the Algonquin tribe living in the Lake Michigan region. Nicolet
found them at Green Bay in 1634, and Father Allouez founded a mis



32


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


sion among them in 1670. The Jesuit Relation of 1671 states that
"They had been driven, by fear of the Iroquois, from their lands, which
were between the Lake of the Hurons and that of the Illinois," the
latter being Lake Michigan. These Indians, says Charlevoix, who
visited them forty years later, were "anthropophagi, or man-eaters."
When La Salle took possession of the country by establishment
of the fort on the St. Joseph river, the Indians received protection
from the Iroquois, who later learned, by disastrous contact with the
French, to discontinue their murderous forays into this region. The
Shawnees, living in the Ohio valley, also sought protection of the
garrison of Fort Miamis. The Potawatomies again took up abode on
the St. Joseph river in 1711, being accompanied thence by Father
Chardon, their missionary.
During the winter, La Salle visited the Indian towns and won the
friendship of the savages, who were quick to recognize his value as
a protector. A band of Outagagamies told him of the safe arrival
of Tonty among the Potawatomies, and of the safe arrival of Father
Hennepin, whom he had left with the Italian soldiers at Fort Crevecoeur. La Salle also drove out of the Kankakee region a party of
Iroquois.
REUNION OF LA SALLE AND TONTY
In May, La Salle, and a portion of his men, embarked in canoes
for a journey to Fort Frontenac. At Mackinac, La Salle and Tonty
were reunited. The Latin temperaments of these men must have been
stirred with emotion at this meeting. From Tonty, La Salle received
a remarkable story of adventure, peril and hardship. The Italian
explained that while he was visiting the Rock of St. Louis (Starved
Rock), the garrison he had left at Fort Crevecoeur destroyed the
place and fled. He told also of his encounter'with the Iroquois war
party, which destroyed the villages, the ruins of which La Salle had
seen when he journeyed down the river in search of Tonty. The invaders, which included Onandagas and Senecas, he said, had nearly
carried out a threat to kill him. Later he had made his way up the
western shore of Lake Michigan to the Potawatomi settlements on
Green Bay where he was sure of a welcome.
LA SALLE'S THIRD EXPEDITION
Together, the two leaders paddled the thousand miles to Fort
Fronte'ac. In Montreal, La Salle again obtained supplies and prepared for another expedition by way of the lakes to Fort Miamis.
Through the enterprise and daring of this great explorer, France
has already made her first stroke to establish a firm grip on the great
country between the St. Lawrence and Mississippi river basins. The
French court had listened to La Salle's project to open this territory
and to establish a line of forts at strategic points between the two
rivers, affording a safe route between Montreal and Louisiana. He
foresaw the future development of this wilderness, and in return for
an offer of patriotic service, he was given the privilege of paying








a


ALLEGAN, MICHIGAN IN 1840




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


33


from his own pockets the costs of securing for the French nation this
vast territory, which it claimed but did not rightfully own.
Among the "conges," or permits to trade, registered in the Palais
de Justice, Montreal, is one made out to "Robert Cavelier de la Salle
to equip two or three men entirely at his own costs to go into the
country of the Kikapous, Outagamy, &c., but they are forbidden to
trade with the Outaouas. (Ottawas). Copied and recorded at
Montreal, September 4, I68I."
In the autumn, La Salle was again at Fort Miamis. From this
post he set out on December 21 for a voyage down the Mississippi
river. In his party were twenty-four Frenchmen and thirty Indians,
the latter including eighteen Abenakis and Mohegans. Tonty went
in advance with six canoes.
On April 9, 1682, La Salle again realizing a portion of the dream
which had inspired him for years, arriving at the mouth of the
"Father of Waters," saw ahead of him the horizonless expanse of the
Gulf of Mexico. Here, with ceremony, this explorer who had used
his private fortune and braved perils heretofore never experienced by
men of his time, set up a cross and took possession of the country in
the name of his monarch, Louis XIV. He named the country Louisiana.
La Salle became ill, but he sent Tonty to Mackinac to announce the
discovery. He arrived at Fort Miamison August I. The following
month he proceeded to Mackinac. A journey to Paris to tell the
crown of his discoveries was interrupted by intelligence from the south
that the Iroquois were preparing to attack the Indians of the Miamis
and Illinois regions. Hurrying westward, La Salle and Tonty fortified the Rock of St. Louis. On the lowlands opposite soon congregated large numbers of Indians, including Miamis, Illinois, Shawnees
and Abenakis from New England. Here La Salle engaged in a
profitable fur trade, but his prosperity bringing rewards for the fruitless expenditures of years, was cut short when his friend Count
Frontenac was recalled from  his position as governor-general of
Canada and replaced by Le Fevre de la Barre, who later became his
enemy.
MURDER OF LA SALLE
In I683, the Iroquois prepared for war against the Miamis and
Illinois and all the nations of the Great Lakes region and the French
in Canada. Happenings on the St. Joseph river during the next few
years must have been uneventful, for history has little to say. La
Salle's career ended when he was murdered by some of his followers
March I9, I687. Tonty, his faithful follower, immediately began a
long search for the followers of his commander, whose body found
an unknown resting place in the wilderness into which his ambition
led him.




CHAPTER III


FORT ST. JOSEPH AND MISSION IN NEW FRANCE
RESTLESS and accustomed to habitual warfare, the Iroquois in
their strongholds south of Lake Ontario, watching the growth
of French power in lands into which they had, from earliest times, at
will carried on predatory campaigns for plunder, scalps and slaves,
foresaw the union of their natural enemies-the tribes of the westwith the white men and were quick to understand that the time was
not far off when their incursions into these western fields of conquest
must forever end.
The distance their war parties penetrated into the country west of
the Great Lakes region was amazing. When La Salle and his party,
singing the Te Deum, embarked in the "Griffin" at Niagara there stood
upon the shore watching the ship spread her white sails to the winds
a party of Iroquois warriors returning with prisoners from an expedition against the Teton Sioux living four hundred leagues to the
westward.
Into this new country was carried the rivalry of France and England born and fomented centuries before Columbus crossed the Atlantic. Both nations watched with jealous eyes the progress each was
making in developing the lands they claimed in the New World. The
French charged the English with instigating attacks by the Iroquois.
French and Dutch traders, representatives of great industrial nations,
were able to supply the savages with goods cheaper than the English.
Warning of English influence among the Iroquois, who were seeking to renew the war with the western Indians, M. de Denonville, the
French commander, writing to M. de Seignelay under date of June
I2, I686, says:
"You may depend upon it, my lord, that the English are the principal fomentors of the insolence and arrogance of the Iroquois, adroitly
using them to extend their sovereignty; uniting them like one nation
in such wise that the English pretend to own nothing less than Lake
Ontario, Lake Erie, the entire Saguinan country, (Saginaw river
region), that of the Hurons, if they become their allies, and the whole
territory towards the Micissippi. By the letter I have written to
Sieur de la Durantais, whom I have appointed commander over all
our Frenchmen at the Outaouas (Ottawas), you will again see, my
lord, what measures I have adopted for the occupation of some posts
in the Saguinan in order to encourage our Indians whom possibly he
will collect from the most distant parts and at whose head he will
march. As for our Outaouas, I do not expect anything from them,
having naught else to ask them except to come and witness our actions.
I have not considered it best this year to refuse twenty-five licenses
(to trade), believing it of very great importance to have a number of
Frenchmen among the Outaouas to oontrol the Indians, and to pro



SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


35


tect them against new expeditions on the part of the Iroquois. I,
moreover, expect all those French to join me at a rendezvous I shall
appoint for them when I march." (Paris Documents III. N. Y.
Colonial Documents, Vol IX, p. 295.)
Again referring to the English influence, which he.held responsible
for an expedition by Iroquois in the Saguinan region against "our
allies the Hurons and Outaouas at Missilimakina," M. de Denonville,
in a communication, October 8, I686, explaining the necessity of going
to war against the Iroquois, wrote:
"I advised your lordship of the expedition of the Iroquois at
Saguinan * * * I have learned since then that the English have
a greater hand in those expeditions than the Iroquois who struck the
blow. Their artifices reach a point, my lord, where it were much better they had recourse to acts of hostility on the coast by burning our
settlements than to do what they are, instigating the Iroquois to
perpetrate against us for our destruction."
Continuing his arraignment of the English, M. de Denonville
charges:
"They also employ the Iroquois to excite all our other Indians
against us. They sent those last year to attack the Hurons and
Outawas, our most ancient subjects; from whom they swept by surprise more than seventy-five prisoners, including some of their principal chiefs; killed several others, and finally offered peace and the
restitution of their prisoners if they would quit the French and acknowledge the English. They sent those Iroquois to attack the Miamis,
our allies, who are in the neighborhood of Fort St. Louis, built by M.
de La Salle on the Illinois river which empties into the River Colbert,
or Mississippi; those Iroquois massacred and burnt a large number of
them, and carried off many prisoners with threats of entire extermination if they would not unite with them against the French. Colonel
Thomas Dongan, governor of New York, has pushed this usurpation
to the point of sending Englishmen to take possession in the King of
England's name of the post of Misilimackinac * * * He is sending thirty Englishmen to take possession of Misilimackinac * * *
and orders the Iroquois to escort them hither and to assist."
French Canada prepared for war with the Iroquois. Sieurs du
Lhu and de la Durantaye were ordered to fortify the two passes to
Michilimackinac. M. du Lhu was stationed at "the Detroit of Lake
Erie"; M. de la Durantaye at the "portage of the Taronto." Orders
were sent for the Indian allies of the Great Lakes region and the
Illinois to assemble at Niagara to serve under these commanders. The
Illinois, under command of Chevalier de Tonty, were to march on the
Iroquois from the rear. It was his war party that marched across
southern Michigan. Tonty was provided with twenty Canadians and
eight canoes loaded with one hundred and fifty muskets for his savages.
"I cannot sufficiently praise his zeal for the success of this expedition," writes M. de Denonville. "He is a lad of great enterprise and
boldness, who undertakes a great deal. He left the fort of the Illinois
last February to look for M. de La Salle at the lower end of the Mississippi; has been as far as the sea where he learned nothing of M. de




36


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


La Salle except that some Indians had seen him set sail and proceed
southward  * * * He will have about twenty good Canadians with
him to march at the head of the Indians; this, he hopes, will encourage
them. He will have to march three hundred leagues overland for
those Indians are unaccustomed to canoes." (N. Y. Colonial Documents. Vol. IX, p. 300).
Under the orders of the Marquis de Denonville, M. de Callieres,
commanding a little army of Frenchmen and four hundred Indian
-allies from hundreds of leagues in the interior, including many from
Michigan tribes, set out from Ville Marie (Montreal) on June 13,
I687, to carry the war into the Iroquois country. There were eight
hundred regular soldiers and a similar number of militiamen. With
the regulars were Chevalier de Vaudreuil, recently arrived from France
to command the king's forces, and Captains d'Orvilliers, St. Cyr, de
Troyes, and Valerennes. The militia was commanded by Captains
Longueil Le Moyne, Grandville, Berthier and La Valterye. Their
commander was General Duguay.
This picturesque army of uniformed Frenchmen, carrying the colorful banners of the court of Versailles, and swarthy half-naked savages
fantastically smeared with paint of various colors and decked out in
the war paraphernalia of barbarism passed the rapids in long lines of
canoes and bateaux and encamped on Isle Perrot, where the Christian
Indians, awaiting, sang and danced the war song all night at a feast
prepared of two lean cows and a dozen dogs "roasted hair and all."
To the rendezvous at Catercouy at the foot of Lake Ontario, Sieur
de la Forest brought news that M. de la Durantaye had seized thirty
Englishmen who were on their way with some Iroquois to take possession on Michilimackinac, which the French had held a quarter of a
century, and which was the entrepot of all their commerce. The
Englishmen were captured thirty leagues from their objective. They
were discovered through Father Engelran, who learned of their
presence through a guide who had gone ahead for provisions. At
Toucharontion at the mouth of the Detroit river, Tonty and his band
of western Indians, Durantaye and M. Du Luth met and captured
another party of thirty Englishmen guided by hostile Indians also
going to Michilimackihac.
When the English warned the Iroquois the French were about to
attack them, they hastily recalled to the defense six hundred warriors
who had gone to attack the Miamis of the St. Joseph river and tribes
in the vicinity of the Virginias. The Iroquois were seized with terror, but they prepared for a desperate defense.
In the first battle the invaders were successful. The western
Indians commanded by Tonty, M. du Luth and M. de la Durantaye,
under M. de Callieres charged the Senecas who finally threw away
their blankets and fled.
Scenes of cannibalism followed. Writes M. de Denonville on
August 25, 1687:
"We witnessed the painful sight of the usual cruelties of the savages,
who cut the dead into quarters as is done in slaughter-houses, i'n order
to put them into the kettle. The greater number were opened while




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


37


still warm that their blood might be drank. Our rascally Outaouas
distinguished themselves particularly by these barbarities and by their
poltrooney, for they withdrew from the battle; the Hurons of Mackinac did very well, but our Christian Indians surprised all and performed deeds of valor. The Illinois did their duty well." (N. Y.
Colonial Documents, Vol. IX, p. 339).
The Senecas were dispersed and the invaders destroyed their crops
of beans, corn and vegetables. They also found arms furnished by
the English. Here to the joy of Tonty's Indians arrived seven recruits "bows in hand, naked as worms."
On June 15, i688, representatives of the Onondagas, Cayugas and
Oneidas came to Montreal to see M. de Denonville, and said they
wished to be friends both of the French and the English, but independent of both, "because they held their country direct from God."
They promised to observe neutrality. On June 8, I686, Indian deputies came and asked for peace in the name of all the Five Nations.
The French thought Providence had intervened in their behalf.
"God alone," wrote on August Io, I688, M. de Denonville to M. de
Seigneley, "could have preserved Canada this year."
This test of strength, which was a mere breathing period in the
long struggle for the mastery of Canada, had given the French a vision
of the gigantic task before them. The leaders were convinced that
the colony could be defended against the Iroquois by co-operation of
the tribes beyond the colony, provided officers and soldiers were stationed among them. They depended also on the posts at Fort St.
Louis on the Illinois river, at Michilimackinac and at Hudson's Bay
to establish close relations with the tribes for the purpose of assistance
in time of emergency.
Hostilities were soon resumed. The Michigan Indians were again
to be summoned to aid the French. King Louis XIV authorized an
attack by the Indians on the Iroquois and English and promised assistance to Sieurs Tondy and de la Forest, commanders in the west.
Count de Frontenac decided to send Joliet and five or six Frenchmen
into Michigan with an appeal to the Indians, to turn deaf ears to the
English. Iroquois hunting parties were in the Michigan peninsula.
"When you will not find water any longer in your lakes, the
French will be no more and then my protection will fail you," read
the Count's message. "If any of the French perish, the grass on the
prairies will not grow in such abundance until they arrive. Behold
what you abandon in order to place yourself at the mercy of him
who has always deceived you."
One of the emissaries whom Frontenac sent into Michigan was a
man who several years later became an influential figure among the
Miamis in the Kalamazoo and St. Joseph river valleys. This was
Nicholas Perrot. He left on May 22, 1690, carrying presents and
messages. On October 29, there was held in Quebec, a great celebration commemorating the repulse of Sir William Phips' fleet. The
warfare with the Iroquois continued, however, and the French, braving perils, continued to develop the fur trade with the Indians of the
Great Lakes region. In January, I693, Frontenac sent out an army




38


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


which severely punished the Iroquois in their own country. On
August 17, a fleet of two hundred canoes of Frenchmen and Indians
arrived with peltries.
Learning that the English, through the Mohegans, had sent presents
to the Miamis, Frontetac decided to send French regulars and militia
under Sieur de Courtemanche to expel the enemy in that country.
The Indians returned home followed by the French under leadership
of Sieur de Tonty, under whom were to serve Sieurs de Manteth, de
Courtemanche, and de Argenteuil, the last to remain at Michilimackinac as lieutenant to Louvigny.
It was in I690 that the French influence was to begin to be a factor
among the Miamis of the Kalamazoo valley. "The man named Perrot
is to occupy (a station) in the immediate neighborhood of the Miamis
in order to execute whatever will be ordered of him. This place is
called Malamet, and the great concourse of Indians who report thither,
among whom this man possesses very considerable credit, induced the
Count to select him to be stationed between the Miamis and other
tribes who might receive proposals from the English; a barrier which
destroys all their designs." (Histoire de l'Amerique Septentrionale
by De La Potherie. N. Y. Colonial Documents, Vol. III, p. 5Io).
Recognizing the opportunity for making converts among the
savages, who were assembling in the St. Joseph river valley to enjoy
protection offered by the French at Fort Miamis, the Jesuits in the
meantime had established a mission, not at the mouth of the river,
but upstream at a 'point now embraced in the southern limits of the
city of Niles. In the "Archives du Ministere de la Marine Correspondence Generale du Canada," is the "concession accordee au pere
D'Ablon et autres missionaires sur la riviere des Miamis." Dated
Versailles, May 24, I689, the concession reads in part:
"A concession is made to Father D'Ablon and other missionaries
of the Company of Jesus, admitted in said country October I, I686,
by Sieurs de Denonville and de Champigny, of a tract of land of five
arpents fronting on the Riviere Saint-Joseph, previously called the
Miamis and emptying into the Lake of the Illinois and Outagamis,
and five arpents deep; and the right to erect a chapel and a house
and to plant grains and legumes by Father D'Ablon and other missionaries and their successors, the right of possession forever being
carried by the said concession."
The necessity of erecting a fort to protect this mission and the
French settlers and traders who would inevitably follow the priests,
is discussed in a letter by Frontenac to the prime minister, dated
October 20, I69I, when it is stated that Gardeur de Courtemanche
has been sent to "Missilimakinak and the Miamis" under orders of
Sieur de Louvigny to announce to the Indians of French victory over
the English at Quebec and the success of the war in Europe. It was
also proposed to send more agents among the tribes to promote French
interests. Braving great dangers in passing the Iroquois lines which
surrounded Montreal, Sieur de Courtemanche, destined to become a
prominent figure in early southwestern Michigan history, made his




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


39


-way westward with the "King's presents" for the Miamis. He was
accompanied by Sieur de la Forest.
Writes Frontenac: "The presence of French soldiers at Missilimackinac where Sieur de Louvigny has built a fort to safeguard the
home of the Jesuit Fathers, makes it evident we should have another
among the Miamis." (Descouvertes et 'Establissements de Francaise
dans L'Amerique, Margery. Vol. V, p. 53). This establishment,
with the post of Sieur de la Forest among the Illinois, Frontenac believed would bring closer relations with the tribes and gain allies for
warfare.
This new fortification on the main route between the Great Lakes
and Louisiana was soon established. Documents authorizing its erection and giving details of its armament and personnel are lacking;
they are undoubtedly buried in the archives in Paris.
One of the first missionaries among the Miamis of the St. Joseph
river was a figure whose name is imperishably fixed in history as an
apostle of modern times. There has been considerable dispute over
the place where Father Claude Jean Allouez, the "second Xavier,"
died after instructing, according to reports of the time, "More than
one hundred thousand savages and baptizing over ten thousand." If
we accept the statement of Charlevoix, who visited this mission in
I72I,-and who should have been better acquainted with the facts of
his time than he?-the bones of this missionary rest near the site of
the old St. Joseph mission and fort. He says: "After La Salle
and the Recollects had departed, the Chevalier de Tonty was left sole
commandant among the Illinois, and Father Allouez, who had settled
among the Miamis, had opportunities to visit them, but he soon perceived that their intercourse with the French raised many obstacles
to their conversion and he returned to his mission on the St. Joseph
where he died in I690."
Father Allouez, whose labors ended amid the scenes traversed in
1675 by Father Marquette on his last journey which ended in his
death near a rude altar at the mouth of the "River of the Black Robe,"
or "Father Marquette's River," was born in St. Didier, France, on
June 6, 1622. At the age of seventeen, he entered the Jesuit novitiate
in Toulouse and completed his studies at Billom and Rodez. He was
appointed a priest at Rodez in 1657 and left two years later for Canada.
In August, I665, he started out to carry the Cross to the western
Indians among whom he died. He had apparently been waiting for
a sign from Providence that should lead him to undertake this work
among the savages of the trackless wilds. After Father Allouez had
waited a considerable length of time in Montreal for arrival of Indians
from remote regions with whom he might return and carry on Christian work, the opportunity came with the arrival of a band of Nepissiriniens from the "Sault of Lake Superior." He wrote: "Finally
God has been pleased to send the Angels of the upper Algonquins to
conduct us to their country where we are to help them establish Our
Lord's kingdom."
Working amidst the Miamis, Father Allouez was subjected to hardships which ultimately resulted in physical decline and death. Pro



40


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


longed fasting was included in the customs of the Miamis, and relief
from superstitions which imposed such inconvenient obligations was
acclaimed by the young Indians, who were glad to listen to the "Black
Robe's" religion. "God, however, obliged Allouez to undergo a
rigorous fast during a winter in which he accompanied the savages in
the woods. Their nourishment for a long time consisted of roots dug
by the womern. But there was hardly enough of this food to supply
all, for there were eighty cabins of Indians * * * The country he
traversed with them consisted of damp prairies, swamps, and waterfilled valleys separated by hills covered with beautiful forests and drier
earth. As the ice was not strong in that region, they were forced to
wade in knee-deep water. * * * Food was so scarce the savages
could not remain long in one place."  (Les Relations des Jesuites).
News that the Miamis had received presents from the English
through the Mohegan exiles residing among them reached Frontenac
in I692 and 1693, according to La Potherie's "Histoire de l'Amerique
Septentrionale."  Fearing that the Indians might give the rival nation free access to trade in their country and thus prepare for the
final ruin of Canada, Frontenac immediately dispatched a force of
Frenchmen under command of Sieurs De Courtemanche and de Manteth to expel the English from the post on the St. Joseph, if they had
already seized it, and to hold it if they had not. They were informed
their first task was to fight, their second to trade.
Shortly afterward, there was great joy in Montreal when there arrived from the west in two flotillas, two hundred canoes loaded with
furs, and manned by Frenchmen and Canadians. For several years
Canada had been awaiting for "this prodigious heap of beaver, reported to be at Missilimackinac." The merchants, farmers and others
who had furnished capital for this enterprise, were on the verge of
starvation, while they awaited returns on their investment. Indians
from the Great Lakes region were asked to give accounts of the activities and attitudes of their tribes as regarded France and England.
After being feasted the Indians returned homeward, carrying many
presents. They were followed by the French under command of
Sieur de Tonty, commandant of the Illinois, under whom served Sieurs
de Courtemanche, de Manteth and D'Argenteuil.
The Iroquois, continuing their predatory expeditions into the St.
Joseph valley, dared to attack the east fort, but met with disaster when
Sieur de Courtemanche and his soldiers surprising them, opened fire.
While the Miamis were working in their fields, the Iroquois swooped
down upon them capturing three women and three or four children,
including the chief's son. They advanced undiscovered toward the
French fort, and were sticking their guns through the palisades when
Sieur de Courtemanche, rallying his garrison, opened fire so vigorously and effectively that the astonished invaders ran off in disorder,
leaving some of their men dead and shouting that they had intended
to attack the Miamis and not the French. This war party consisted
of between three and four hundred warriors. Retreating out of gunshot, the Iroquois invited the commander to visit their camp, where,
they said, they would surrender their captured prisoners. De Courte



SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


41


manche, however, pledging no harm, invited them to come to the fort
for an exchange of captives. "Both these conferences, carried on with
high words and swaggering airs, were productive only of insults and
the enemy withdrew." (De La Pothiere, N. Y. Colonial Documents,
Vol. IX, p. 603).
Determined to watch the retreating invaders, the valorous commander had them followed by scouts who discovered at the lower end
of the river letters which led the commander to believe fifty of the
enemy had been wounded in the battle. Seven or eight bloody spots
where dead or wounded had been deposited were discovered among
they bushes.
Sieur de la Mothe, who commanded at Michilimackinac, hearing
of the attack, sent word to the Miamis to enclose their villages with
stout palisading and fight like brave warriors. With the Iroquois when
they attacked Fort St. Joseph were several Huron prisoners, whom
they brought along to be spectators.
With a fleet of ten or twelve canoes in which traveled to Montreal
a party composed of Potawatomies, Sacs, Folles Avoines, Outagamis,
and Miamis of Maramek, or Kalamazoo valley, commanded by Sieur
Nicholas Perrot, Sieur de la Mothe notified Frontenac that the Outagamis had Iroquois prisoners given them by the Ouiatanons of Chegagou (Chicago) with the intention of effecting an exchange. The letter also notified Frontenac that the Outagamis, hearing that several
thousand Sioux were preparing to attack them, had left their country
for the season with the intention of returning for the harvest. As
these Indians intended to have a temporary rendezvous on the Wabash,
he pointed out the danger of English and Iroquois influence.
A conference, at which were present the visiting chiefs, was held
in Montreal on August I6. Onanguisse, a Potawatomi chief, spoke
first, Sacs and Folles Avoines following.
Messitonga, or Le Barbu, a Miami from Maramek (Kalamazoo),
delivered the following address:
"Though at a great distance I heard my father's voice, and have
no other opinion but that of Onanguisse and of the others who come to
speak, and no other thought than to make war against the Iroquois.
When the Ciou (Sioux) kills me I bow my head and recollect my father
has forbade me to turn my tomahawk against him."
"I have not yet heard you. I complain that the Miami of the
River Saint Joseph rescue by force from us and spare the lives of the
Iroquois prisoners we are bringing home."
"I am come here to ascertain whether it be by your order these sorts
of violences are committed, as I have not heretofore understood your
thoughts except by Perrot in whom we hesitate to place confidence, the
French and Indians saying he is but a pitiful fellow. I come here to
harken to you, and to offer you, as I did last year, my body coveting
your dead who were killed by the Iroquois, and to tell yoi thaty6u
are Master of my tribe, which is that of the Crane."      '
After this speech of confidence, the chief presented Frontenac with.a beaver robe and continued:.. -
"'I have hot-'been able' to learn your thought from your own lips.. '.   f.   f   +  a  0  J  X  4   WE,. 0}   N X  F  t




'42


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


and I have heard your word only as Perrot repeated it to me from you.
This has brought me down here." (N. Y. Colonial Documents, Vol.
IX, p. 6I9).
Sieur Perrot presented a robe for the Pepicoquis, a branch of the
Miamis of Maramek, who sent word that they covered the French dead
and the Miamis slain in the Iroquois country. The robe was stained
red as an indication that the senders remembered the French who died
for them, and that they were ready to avenge them.
Onanguisse in private informed the French that it was not he but
Perrot who had brought the Outagami, whose heart he believed false.
They despised the French and the other nations also, he declared.
Onontio, the French Father, replying, advised the chiefs not to
strike a blow, declaring he would send messages of peace to the western
tribes, warning them he would learn of any disloyalty through Perrot,
his agent in the Peninsula.
At this conference was revealed Frontenac's strategic plan of
strengthening the defense against invasion of southwestern Michigan
by uniting in one community the Miamis of the Kalamazoo and St.
Joseph valleys. This plan he outlined to the chiefs of the Maramek
Miamis and then ordered it consummated.
Replying to the Miamis from Kalamazoo, Frontetiac said:
"As for you, Nangoussista and Macitonga, Miamis of Maramek,.
you are the chiefs of that great village and I believe you have visited
me only with consent of the other chiefs. I will believe, as you say,.
that you have no other will than mine. Perrot told you that you must:
remove your fire from Maramek and unite with the rest of the Miamis
in a place where you could oppose the enemy and make war on him.
I can think only of the repose of my children. I can effect that only
by the destruction of the Iroquois, and to accomplish that my children
must live together so as to be able to execute with greater facility the:
commands I shall transmit to them. You told Perrot a year ago that.
you would come down to hear me. I sent you an answer by him, but:
he did not deliver it. You tell me now by that which you present me,.
that you have no other heart than mine, I am going to explain my will
to you, obey it."
"Children, I will hot believe the Miamis wish to obey me until theymake, altogether, one and the same fire, either at the River Saint
Joseph, or some other place adjoining it. I have got nigh the Iroquois,.
and have soldiers at Katarkou in the fort which had been abandoned.
You, too, must get nigh the enemy in order to imitate me- and to be
able to strike him the more readily."
"All my children tell me that the Miami are numerous, and able of
themselves to destroy the Iroquois. Like them, all are afraid. What!'
Do you wish to abandon your country to your enemy? Will he not
find you out in whatever corner you may hide. Should' you not contest the entrance with him? * * * Your dead are no longer visible
in his country; their bodies are covered with those of the French who'
have perished to avenge them."
"Perrot is going up with you to conduct you to the place I desireyou to follow him. Do as he desires you, and in obeying me you will"




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


43


find a father who will, if Inecessary, sacrifice all his young men to
secure you repose."
"Regard not what Chichikati might have told you of Perrot. He
is no slave. He it is whom I have sent with my message to you. I
respect you too highly to place you under superintendence of a slave.
It is I who wage war and not he. * * * I send Perrot to explain
my intentions to your old men, and if you do not believe what he will
tell you, he has my commands to leave you, and I will abandon you
myself without thinking any more of your protection and without wishing to meddle with your affairs or your land."
"For the purpose of inviting you still to persevere in the friendly
sentiments you entertain toward your father and his nephews, I give
you and your brother, chief of Chicagou, these two jackets, these two
carbines and this powder and lead."
The chiefs departed with the assurance that the French would press
the war against the Iroquois without cessation.
In October, it was revealed that the Hurons of Michilimackinac,
while pretending to be loyal to the French, were negotiating for a
separate peace with the Iroquois. Cadillac informed Frontenac at
once.
It was while the Miamis of Maramek were moving late in August,
1696, to join their compatriots on the St. Joseph river, in compliance
with wishes of Frontenac, that the Sioux invaders, for fear of whom
the Outagamis had fled from their country the preceding year, swept
into southwestern Michigan and attacked the migrating band of Kala-.
mazoo Miamis. Learning that the Sioux had fallen upon their brethern,
the Miamis of Saint Joseph pursued the invaders westward into their
own country until they found them entrenched in a fortification. With
the Sioux were a number of adventurous coureurs de bois, or bushlopers. The Miamis, after repeated attacks, were finally compelled
to retire. While on the homeward trail, they met Frenchmen carrying
arms to the Sioux. The angry Indians seized the guns and ammunition, but did not harm the white men. The Miamis informed the
Ottawas of this occurence, and the latter immediately sent agents to
Frontenac, through whose diplomacy a crisis was averted. The Miamis, however, singled out Nicholas Perrot as an object for reprisal.
They were on the point of roasting this noted emissary of Frontenac's
at the stake when he was saved by the Ontagamis. The Miamis were
eventually pacified when the Frenchmen pointed out how much it was
to their advantage to overlook the cause of the quarrel and to remain.
allies.
This rupture with the Miamis revived complaints against the bushlopers, whose conduct among the savages shocked the French officials
and brought despair to the priests laboring at the missions. Of them,
all, the bush-lopers wielded the greatest influence. Some of the complainants stated that these adventurers, many of whom were fugitives
from justice who found the wilderness a veritable sanctuary, changed
Indian wives every eight days. They were notorious for their carousals,
their unscrupulous dealings and disloyalty to the French crown whenever they found commerce with the English more profitable. During.




44,


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the preceding year the king had forbidden the Governor-General to
permit any Frenchmen to go up to the Indian country to trade. (N. Y.
Colonial Documents, Vol IX, p. 343).
It was so necessary to counteract the menacing influence of the
English, however, that the Montreal authorities asked for a modification of this order, permitting a limited number of Frenchmen to go
to the posts at Michilimackinac and the St. Joseph river. Accordingly
there was adopted a proposal to maintain an officer and at least ten or
fifteen soldiers at each fort to prevent the English from trading. It
was also decided that the posts could not be. maintained unless at least
twenty-five canoe loads of goods were sent there annually. These were
called "conges'" and the Governor-General was permitted to grant them.
These proved a resource to needy families of the upper classes who in
turn sub-leased them to voyageurs, who penetrated far into the wilderness to purchase furs. It was recognized also that abandonment of
the Michigan posts, maintained at great cost, would result in tempting
the tribes to ally themselves with the English, in addition to depriving
the missions of protection.
Frontenac, in I697, following advice of his associates, prepared to
send into Michigan two more military expeditions. Lieut. D'Argenteuil was to proceed with a force of Michilimackinac. To the fort on
the St. Joseph, he dispatched an officer who bore a family name that
was afterward to shine in the annals of New France. This was M.
Jean-Baptiste Bissot de Vincennes. These officers were provided only
with enough provisions to last during the long journey.
They understood when they left they were not to trade in beaver
pelts. (Le Sieur de Vincennes, Fondateur de l'Indiana par PierreGeorges Roy, p. 36).
The wisdom of this action was evident when it was learned that a
Huron chief, "The Baron," had with thirty families migrated from
Michigan to the vicinity of Albany whence he issued a standing invitation to his fellow tribesmen to join him under English protection.
Near the close of I697, the French heard rumors that the British
were fitting out expeditions for the conquest of Canada.
An Iroquois war party, led by "The Baron," the renegade Huron
chief, was defeated by a force of Potawatomies, Sacks, Ottawas, and
Hurons, commanded by the Huron chief, "The Rat," a friend of the
French. This chief had prevented some of his tribesmen from following "The Baron" to New York. He had also kept the Miamis
from listening to the treacherous chief who had only intended in the
end to betray them under pretense of forming an alliance with them.
The Rat accompanied Cadillac to Montreal with a flotilla of canoes
containing three hundred warriors of the tribes which engaged in the
battle. For this victory, The Rat was received with high favor by the
Governor-General. Ottawa deputies complained that the annual allowance of ammunition had not been received, and bluntly told Frontenac that if the Indians continued to be neglected, they would come no
more to Montreal. They were satisfied when told that it would soon
be forthcoming. Frontenac then dismissed his red allies. who had




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


45


been brought to Montreal by Cadillac when reports were received the
British were outfitting an expedition for the conquest of Canada.
In February, 1698, news was received in Montreal that the War
of the Palatinate had ended with the Peace of Ryswick, signed by
France and England September 20, I697. Under the enterprising
guidance of Count de Frontenac, Canada had passed safely through trying perils, and gloom settled over the country when the great leader
died on November 28, I698. Sieur de Champigny and Chevalier de la
Callieres immediately became rival candidates to succeed Frontenac.
The latter dispatched Sieur de Courtemanche to France in his interests,
and the honor came to de Callieres, who had skillfully counteracted
English intrigues among the Five Nations.
To bring peace among the Indian tribes, far and near, who had accepted the war between France and England as an opportunity to give
vent to long-standing hatreds and spring at each other's throats, was
a perplexing task for the Chevalier de Callieres. He succeeded in impressing upon the Iroquois that the peace between the two nations
meant peace among the tribes, and invited other nations to send delegates to a parley.
At Montreal on September 8, I70o, the Iroquois and several other
tribes signed a treaty. The Rat, chief of the Thionmontate Hurons,
said: "I have always obeyed my father, and I cast my tomahawk at his
feet. All the upper nations will, I have no doubt, do the same. Iroquois,
follow my example!" The Ottawa deputy from Michigan voiced The
Rat's sentiment.
In the meantime the western tribes who had sent no deputies to
Montreal were fighting furiously against the Sioux, who had swept
away an entire village of Miamis. The Governor-General, in order to
bring the most powerful influences to bear on the Indians, sent to them
through Sieur de Courtemanche and Father Anjelran invitations to
attend a conference in Montreal in August, I701.
When a party of Iroquois hunters appeared in central Michigan in
1700 and destroyed beaver huts, they were captured by Ottawas and
carried to Michilimackinac. The Iroquois promptly made complaint
to de Callieres. On May 5, I70I, the Iroquois chief, Teganissorens,
appeared in Montreal and not only complained against the Ottawas,
but protested against a projected French settlement at Detroit, saying
the Iroquois had opposed an English settlement there. He also wished
to know the truth of a rumor that France and England were again to
go to war, referring to the impending War of the Spanish Succession.
M. de Callieres informed the chief that the settlement at Detroit should
cause no anxiety as it was to be maintained in interests of peace, adding
that neither the Iroquois or England had any right to protest against
an establishment in territory that belonged to France. "As for me,"
said M. de Callieres, "I intend to be master at home, but wish to be so
only for the good of my children. It is for their sake I am establishing a post at Detroit." He told the Iroquois he hoped if the nations
again went to war the Five Nations would keep out and remain spectator. This happened on June I6, I70I.




46


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Within a few days between seven and eight hundred Indians representing tribes from the west and northwest were to arrive in Montreal
for the peace conference in response to the invitations brought by Sieur
de Courtemanche and Father Anjelran. News that the great expedition of savages was coming down the St. Lawrence in a flotilla of
canoes was brought by M. de Villedonne,' a lieutenant of infantry.
With the Indians were de Courtemanche and the priest. When these
envoys arrived at Michilimackinac, they found that most of the Indians
were away hunting. Runners were dispatched to inform them of the
mission of the Frenchmen. Leaving the priest at the post to negotiate
with the Ottawas and Hurons, de Courtemanche proceeded southward
to his old post on the St. Joseph river. He arrived there on December
2I, I700, having covered forty leagues on snowshoes. Here he found
in addition to the Miamis, residents of long standing, Potawatomies,
Sokokis, Foxes, Hurons and Mohegans. The Sokokis and Mohegans
were refugees from New England. Here he succeeded in heading off
war expeditions against the Iroquois, despite many protests. In every
quarter he heard of preparations for war. The Ouyatanons, another
branch of the Miamis, were singing the war-song against the Siouz
and Iroquois. Continuing his mission, de Courtemanche continued up
the west shore of Lake Michigan to the Bay (Green Bay), where he
visited the Potawatomies, Foxes, Kickapoos, and Folles Avoines. Here
he halted an expedition against the Sioux, who had recently assailed
the Foxes. After a journey of four hundred leagues through the
wilderness, de Courtemanche returned to Michilimackinac on July 2.
Here he found that Father Anjelran had rescued Iroquois prisoners
from the Ottawas. The priest and the prisoners started for Montreal,
while de Courtemanche awaited arrival of the deputies he had not
brought along. The French leader and Indians arrived in Montreal
amid welcoming salvoes of artillery on July 22, 1701, the day after three
hundred Iroquois delegates stepped ashore from their canoes. Again
that notable Michigan chief, The Rat, paid his respects to a GovernorGeneral of Canada.
From the scenes of this narrative now passes that valorous Frenchman Augustin LeGardeur de Courtemanche, envoy to the Michigan
Indians, commander of Fort St. Joseph during the attack by the
Iroquois, and the Governor-General's trusted lieutenant. Too little is
known of this pioneer of Michigan. M. Pierre-Georges Roy, archivist
of the province of Quebec, in his report for I923-I924 records that
after I714, de Courtemanche was commander for the King in the "immense region" of Labrador where he died in I717, and that he was succeeded by his stepson, M. Martel de Berouage.
The conference at which the treaty was signed presented one of
the strangest scenes in the history of relations between civilized white
man and barbarians. Plumed and painted and clad in the skins of
beasts elaborately ornamented the red men, many of whom were getting their first impressions of the White Father's manner of life in the
primitive city of Montreal, were strikingly contrasted with the French
officials dressed in the costumes they would have worn in the court of
Versailles. What better method could they have used to dazzle the




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


47


children of the woods? The French in this affair undoubtedly felt like
actors in a comedy. To the savages for whose favor both the French
and English were bidding, it was undoubtedly serious, something
sacred.
All the deputies, before the conference, were granted a private
audience with the Governor-General. Nearly all of them requested
reductions in the prices of goods. Onanguice and Ouilemec, Potawatomi chiefs-the latter from the St. Joseph river,-said that not even
rumors of disease in Montreal could keep them from accepting their
Father's invitation to the parley.
During the first convocation on August I, I701, Kondiaronk, the
Michigan Huron chief, better known as "The Rat," who had won the
notable victory over the Iroquois and who was a firm friend of the
French, became ill. Upon the influence of this chief, M. de Callieres
had largely depended for success of the conference. Sitting in an arm
chair in the midst of the delegates, he falteringly urged each tribe
in turn to make peace for the good of the whole country. M. de
Calliers pledged to him and the Indian allies the faithful support of
France. The old chief died that night in Hotel Dieu, after receiving
the last sacrament. With mournful pomp in which the GovernorGeneral and his aides and soldiers under arms and savages with blackened faces participated, "The Rat" was entombed in the church.
In the midst of a great double enclosure outside the city, the final
session of the conference was held on August 4. Into this space
eighteen hundred Indians were seated. Drawn up in long lines were all
the soldiers of the city. On a platform were seated M. de Champigny,
the Chevalier de Vaudereuil, commander of Montreal, and the Governor-General. In addressing the copper-colored delegates who represented the thousands of savages in the vast inland wilderness, M. de
Callieres said he had assembled them so that he might take the hatchets
from their hands and settle in the future all their disputes. When they
had once realized the contentment resulting from peace, he said, they
would be glad to give up warfare. Nicholas Perrot interpreted the
speech for the Miamis; Father Anjelran for the Ottawas and Algonquins; Father Garnier for the Hurons; Father Bruyas for the Iroquois;
Father Bigot for the Abanakis. The speakers were loudly applauded.
In responding, the Indian delegates declared they were making
great sacrifices of private interests in signing a peace treaty to please
the French. Some declared they had little faith in the sincerity of
the Iroquois.
Many of the Indians from the Great Lakes region were comically
or grotesquely garbed, which undoubtedly caused suppression of many
smiles.
Onanguice, who spoke for the Potawatomies and Mississagues, regarded as a wise councilor, wore over his head the skin of the head
of a young bull, the horns hanging over his ears.
Thirty-eight delegates signed the treaty, after which the great
peace calumet was handed to M. De Callieres, who smoked it, then
passed it to M. de Champigny, M. de Vaudreuil and the dusky deputies
to puff in turn. The priests then chanted the Te Deum. The conclave




48


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


ended with a great feast at which three roasted oxen were served.
Firing of canton and fireworks completed this historic peace-making
event.
In response to inquiries from the Iroquois, M. de Callieres explained that the settlement at Detroit was intended to block plans of
the English who had plans of an establishment there. He also requested that the Iroquois remain neutral in another Anglo-French war.
A year later the Five Nations sent delegates to thank the French for
consummating the peace and to ask that Jesuit priests be sent to them.
Europe now plunged into the war of the Spanish Succession, Queen
Anne declaring war against Spain and France. While strengthening
the defenses of Quebec, M. de Callieres died on May 26, I703. He
was succeeded by M. de Vaudreuil. There were reports of English
intrigues among the Iroquois.
With the object of centralizing their influence among the Indians
of the Peninsula and at the same time keeping them under a surveillance
which would preclude the persistent influences of the English, the
French, in I700, adopted a policy of concentrating the tribes in the
vicinity of the newly established stronghold at Detroit. Here it would
be easier to convert them to French customs and to win their loyalty
to the king than it would be in scattered settlements in the deep
forests and along lonely rivers. From the interior posts came successive reports of English intrigues among the savages.
The French plan naturally brought protests from the Indians.
When the Ottawas of Michilimackinac went to Montreal to bewail
the death of M. de Callieres, they brought word that their tribesmen
preferred to die rather than to move. Receiving intelligence that
Mohawk deputies among the Hurons of Michilimackinac had invited
the Hurons to remove to the English settlement at Orange, the French
were convinced that "some adroit effort must be made to prevent them
from becoming good friends," meaning the Ottawas, Hurons and other
Indians and the Iroquois. The French offered goods at cheap rates
and unlimited kindness if the Miamis would remove to Detroit (Paris
Documents, Vol. VI, p. 7). The late M. de Callieres had invited the
Miamis to unite at the River St. Joseph with the object of removing
them to Detroit. Chief Quarante Sols, of the Hurons of Michillimackwas charged with intriguing with the English. Comments M. de
Vaudreuil: "This intrigue seems too well-founded, although Sieur de
la Motte (Cadillac) ridiculed the Jesuits when they notified him, saying it was a game to keep the Indians from going to Detroit." The
dissatisfied chief was told he could not go to the English with whom
France was at war. The Miamis of St. Joseph informed the GovernorGeneral that, though the Sioux had killed their fathers, they had decided not to attack their enemies without obtaining Onontio's advice.
Vaudreuil informed them that the General Peace had terminated war
among all the tribes, though this peace did not preclude resistance and
defense against the Sioux.
The concentration plan, however, was opposed by the Jesuits who
had cause for anxiety when they foresaw the religidus work they had
accomplished among the Indians would be endangered by degrading




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


49


contacts in a settlement like Detroit, destined to become a rendezvous
for dissolute individuals always found in frontier settlement. This opposition stirred the lasting enmity of Cadillac against the order. It
resulted in forcing Father Claude Aveneau to leave the St. Joseph
mission where he had been stationed nineteen years. The Jesuit fathers,
however, loyally gave Cadillac valuable intelligence. How persistent
English influences were at work among the Miamis of the St. Joseph
river is revealed in a letter written from the Jesuit mission by Father
Jacques Jean Mermet, April I9, 1702, to Cadillac:
"Although I have not the honor of knowing you I cannot omit
writing to you about an important matter which concerns the welfare
of the colony as well as of religion; and from that Sir, you may see
the Jesuits are more friendly to you than you think unless you yourself
will not honor them with your kind remembrance, and if I dare say so,
with your friendship. Five of our Miamis are betaking themselves to
the English for goods which they will bring this summer. They have
never been more eager in hunting the beaver than since they received
five belts from the English brought by Iroquois who come here. That
is in order to get permission from our Miamis to establish a post freely
three days from here near a river which is the source of the Ouabache,
whence there is only one portage of half a league to get to this river
here and another like to go to a river which runs down to Detroit.
From thence the English would be able to go, or send from all sides
the savages from our Lakes." (Cadillac Papers, Michigan Historical
Collections, Vol. XXXIII, p. II8).
(Father Mermet was one of the noted Jesuits, who taught at many
missions in the middle west, stopping frequently at St. Joseph. He
died in September, 1726, and his remains were transferred December
I8, 1727, with those of Father Pierre Gabriel Marest, and buried in the
church at Kaskaskia).
Father Joseph J. Marest, in a letter to Vaudereuil, August 14, I706,
opposes removal of the mission on the St. Joseph, saying:
"Sieur Menard will tell you how the people have set their hearts on
continuing the war against the Hurons and the Miamis, but you know
how important it is to preserve the post with the Miamis. If M. de la
Mothe should draw the Miamis away from it in order to attract them
to Detroit, he would do a vital injury to the country, and would draw
down upon him war with all the tribes of the Lakes."
In a document written by Vaudereuil in 1707, it is asserted that
Cadillac had removed the Jesuits at the Miami mission and replaced
them with Recollet priests. "The said Sr. de la Mothe has taken away
the mission to the Miamis from the Jesuits and given it to the Recollets,
claiming that he has the power to do so. He would not give any
decision as to that, leaving it to what His Majesty may order; he is,
however, bound to say that the Jesuits are much better fitted for carrying on missions to the savages than the Recollets are."
Anxious to keep a monopoly of the fur trade, the French imperial
government strictly prohibited commanders among the Indians from
carrying on traffic. The appointment of Sieur de Vincennes to the
St. Joseph post to strengthen French interests stirred the king, who




50


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


seems to have cared more about the possible loss of a comparatively
paltry revenue than he did about co-operating with M. de Vaudereuil
in building more firmly the foundations of New France. The king's
views of disapproval were set forth in a communication of M. de
Pontchartrain to M. de Vaudreuil written June 9, I706:
"His Majesty approves your sending Sieur Jonquieres to the
Iroquois because he is esteemed by them, and has not the reputation
as a trader, but you ought not to have sent Sieur Vincennes to the
Miamis nor Sieur de Louvigny to Missilimaquina as they are accused
of carrying on contraband trade. You are aware that Sieur de
Louvigny has been punished for that, and His Majesty desires that
you cause Sieur Vincennes to be severely punished, he having carried on an open and undisguised trade. * * * I will tell you plainly
that if you are not more absolute in execution of the King's orders and
more severe in the punishment of acts of disobedience, I shall not
guarantee to you' that His Majesty would be willing to allow you to
occupy for any length of time your present post. * * * It would
be desirable to retain the Miamis at Detroit. Nevertheless, should
they persist and their reasons appear valid, you can permit them to
return home; but I request you to confer with Sieur de la Motte Cadillac so as not to interfere with measures he may have taken for establishment of that post, and in that case you need not furnish them
with a French chief. * * * The avowal you have made of having permitted Sieurs de Mantez (Manteth), de la Couverte, and
Vincennes to carry some merchandise with them in the voyages you
authorized them to make to the Upper Country, is sufficient to create
the belief that they had traded, especially Sieur de la Couverte, who
is an arrant trader." (Paris Documents, VI).
The King had evidently been informed of the weakness of his
officers, for Cadillac records that "M. de Vincennes was sent to the
Miamis with orders to pass through Detroit, addressed to M. de Tonty;
the said M. de Vincennes having three boats laden with merchandise
and more than four hundred jars of brandy; under the pretext of
going to put an end to the war begun by the Miamis and Aouyatanouns
against the tribes settled at Detroit and the Iroquois." He also records
that "M. de Vincennes is now at Detroit with four hundred jars of
brandy, where he keeps a tavern, having been forerunner of M. de
Louvingy, mayor of Quebec."
In the meantime, the English were using every effort to have the
Iroquois resume the warpath against the French. The good faith of
the French was demonstrated to the Five Nations, however, when
Sieur de Tonty, commanding the fort at Detroit in the absence of
Cadillac, sent Sieur de Vincennes to attack a party of Ottawas who
were passing up the Detroit river on the way to Michilimackinac with
some Iroquois prisoners they had captured in a skirmish with their
old enemies at Catarocouy.  Sieur de Vincennes routed the Ottawas
and returned the recaptured prisoners to the Senecas. The Ottawas,
however, wanted war with the Iroquois. Incensed because the French
built the fort at Detroit they burned the houses of Cadillac, Tonty and
Recollet priests. Seeing a war impending, M. de Louvigny was dis



SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


51


patched to Michilimackinac where he succeeded in placating the Ottawas. Sieur de Vincennes took chiefs of that nation to Montreal
where in August, 1705, was made a settlement satisfactory to the
Iroquois. The Ottawas, however, failed to keep their promises to
deliver presents to the Five Nations in accordince with an agreement
on reparations and the Iroquois were on the point of declaring war
when Father Mermet, returning to Michilimackinac which the discouraged Jesuits had abandoned, averted a conflict by persuading the
Ottawas to fulfill the agreement.
War among the French allies nearly broke out when the Ottawas
and Miamis engaged in hostilities. Several of the former were killed,
and an appeal was made to Cadillac at Detroit, where, in accordance
with his concentration plan, there were villages of Miamis, Ottawas
and Hurons. The commandant, however, left for Quebec without
settling the affair.
In January, I706, de Tonty was relieved by M. Bourgmont, an
ensign. The Indians became suspicious of the French, which grew
stronger when the new commander proposed that the Ottawas, Miamis
and Hurons join in a war on the Sioux. Imagining that the French
and Miamis intended to attack them while pretending to make war
on the old enemy in the west, the Ottawas suddenly fell upon the
Miamis, killing several. The French retreating to the fort opened
fire on the Ottawas, who suddenly retired. The Iroquois now threatened to make war on the Ottawas, but the diplomacy of M. de Vaudereuil prevented them. Ottawa chiefs, arriving in Montreal in June,
1707, explained to the Governor-general that Sieur Bourgmont had
refused six times to confer with him. Blame for the conflict was laid
on Le Pesant, a chief. He was put in irons, but all the chiefs threw
themselves at Cadillac's feet and the prisoner was pardoned. It had
been Vaudreuil's plan to give the offender to the Miamis for punishment, and the enraged nation from the St. Joseph constantly demanded
that he should be delivered to them.
These Miamis attacked the French while another band was traveling
from the village on the St. Joseph river to Detroit where they intended
to settle. Charlevoix declares that removal by Cadillac of the Jesuits,
who had control of the savages resulted in the killing of three Frenchmen by the Miamis. Informed that these Indians, together with Hurons
and Iroquois, intended to attack him, Cadillac prepared to make war
on them but he decided instead to give them a feast, which to the
primitive mind analyzed an act of weakness. The Miamis became
insolent, and the commandant was finally obliged to march against
them. The lack of foresight of the commander was a matter of considerable criticism, for when four leagues on his way, he discovered
he had no power and was obliged to send a boat back for it. (Cadillac
Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XXXIII, p. 437). Arriving ohn the second day at the mouth of the river where the Miamis lived,
the Frenchmen and Indians, numbering about four hundred, attacked
the enemy's fort, which was described as "wretched with no more than
sixty men in it." Sieur M. de Clerambault d'Aigremont, in a letter
to M. de Pontchartrain gives little glory to the commander, writ



52


HISTORIC MICHIGAN.


ing: "M. de la Mothe went forward and took shelter behind a tree
of enormous girth and never quitted it until very late in the afternoon, when he betook himself out of cannon shot range from the
enemy's fort, although they had no cannon." The fort was soon captured by the superior force, and the defenders sued for terms.
Writing from Versailles on July 6, I709, Pontchartrain replied
to d'Aigremont:
"You did well to acquaint me with what you learned respecting
the rupture between the Outawas and Miamis. Sieur de la Mothe
Cadillac's conduct towards the latter does not appear blamable to me.
On the contrary, it seems to me that he did what he could, and provided these last keep their promise, to surrender to him those of them
who killed and plundered the French, or to come and settle at Detroit,
nothing but what is good and useful will result from what he has
done." (Paris Documents, VI, N. Y. Colonial Documents, p. 827).
A plot of the Ottawas, Sacs and Foxes to leave Michilimackinac
and attack the Miamis of the St. Joseph river is revealed in the excerpt
from a letter written by Father Joseph D. Marest to the GovernorGeneral on August I4, 1706:
"I asked the savages if I could safely send a boat of Frenchmen
to the River St. Joseph. They replied that I could and asked me to
do so. Seeming to take an interest in the fathers who are there, the
truth is, they do not feel at liberty to make war on the Miamis while
the missionaries remain there, and for that reason prefer they should
come to us. I had previously organized some Frenchmen to carry
the news to the River St. Joseph, and to relieve our fathers if they
were in any difficulty; but one of them has been so intimidated by the
representations of his friends that he dares not trust himself among
the savages. As affairs are, at present, I do not think the removal
of the fathers is desirable, for the (St. Joseph) is the most important
post after Michilimackinac; and if the Ottawas were relieved from
the restraint imposed upon them by the existence of the mission, they
would unite so many tribes against the Miamis that in a short time
they would drive them out of this beautiful country." (Cadillac Papers,
Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. 33, p. 267). Continuing, the
missionary writes: "I have at last found another Frenchman who fs
willing to go to the River St. Joseph, and I hope the four will now
depart immediately. We have reason to feel anxious concerning the
safety of the fathers, on account of so many war parties going down
on that side. At least we shall have news from St. Joseph, u'nless
our men find too many dangers on the way. * * * I am sending
off a boat to the St. Joseph river at the same time that the King's
boat does down. There are, however, some Fiench people who oppose
it; but I look upon that as a matter in which the public interest is
concerned. I have, however, granted them three or four days' delay to obtain news; it is necessary to humor them."
It was while the power of the Miamis was weakened by the minor
war with the Ottawas and the French that the Potawatomies migrated
into the St. Joseph valley, adding another nation to the several already
located there. Into this "cosmopolitan" stronghold of barbarians,




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


53


Father Chardon, Jesuit missionary, followed his congregation of
Potawatomies. This is believed to have been between the years of
I707 and I7I0, and after Cadillac had taken away the Jesuit mission
where Father Claude Aveneau had labored many years. Aveneau attempted to return with the Miamis in I707, but was prevented, according to the following excerpt from a letter written at Quebec,
November 5, I708, by M. Raudot, Jr., to M. de Vaudreuil:
"M. Raudot and I have the honor of giving you an accou'nt, in
our joint letter, of everything concerning Detroit, and of the result
of the affair of Pesant. If the Sieur de la Mothe had pursued my first
objects and had been content to leave this savage at Michilimackinac
as an outlaw, instead of inducing him, as he did, to come to Detroit,
the savage would have remained among his tribe disgraced, and the
Miamis would never have dreamed of attacking the French, for they
only did so in order to revenge themselves on the Sieur de la Mothe,
who had deceived them by promising them he would put the offender
to death, and tnot doing so. The Miamis, My Lord, would never have
attacked the French if the Sieur de la Mothe had not, last year, prevented Father d'Aveneau, their missionary, from returning with them
with the view of putting a Recollect there. It is certain that this
missionary with his influence would have diverted the savages of his,
mission from doing anything contrary to the welfare of the service.
The Sieur de la Mothe will not agree to that, for, far from doing that,
he defames them to your Highness as far as he can and injures
them in the minds of the French and of the savages." (Michigan
Historical Collections, Vol. XXXIII, p. 395).
Father Claude Aveneau, successor of Father Allouez at the St.
Joseph mission, was born in Laval, and came to Canada in I685. He
died in Quebec September II, 1711.
Alarmed at reports that English influences were gaining ground
steadily among their savage allies in the Michigan peninsula, the
French decided to call to Montreal the savages of the Upper Country,
not only to obtain reinforcements, but to demonstrate to the Iroquois
that the red colleagues were ready to fall upon them should they declare war. Under the high-sounding proclamation of "Philippe de
Rigaud Marquis de Vaudreuil, Knight of the Military Order of St.
Louis and Lieutenant General for the King throughout all New
France," endorsed in Detroit March o1, 1711, officers and voyageurs
were given lengthy and detailed instructions to bring down the savages.
This order applied as follows to the Miamis of the St. Joseph river:
"When the Sieur de Vincennes reaches Detroit he will find out
the place where the Miamis are now settled, and if he can go to it
in his boat by the great river, which is in Lake Erie, he will go; if not,
he will proceed overland, sending his boat together with that of the
Sieur Desliettes, to the St. Joseph river to wait for him. In this case
the Sieur Desliettes will put a man from his boat into the Sieur de
Vincetines, so that the said Sieur de Vincennes may take two of his
men with him by land, to accmpany him and to carry part of the
King's presents, if necessary."




54


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


"The Sieur de Vincennes, being fully aware of our intentions, and
of the necessity of bringing some of the Miamis to us here, so that
the other tribes may not have reason to fear them during their absence, will leave no stone unturned to bring some of them down here,
especially chiefs and men of importance. * * * The Sieur de
Vincennes will induce the Miamis and other savages whom he may
meet, to come by the St. Joseph river, so as to avoid passing through
the Lakes. * * * The Sieur Desliettes, being appointed to take
orders to the great river, where Companisse (Ottawa chief), is and to
the Sakis, Poutouatamies and other savages settled on the St. Joseph
river, will set out from Detroit as soon as the Sieur de Vincennes has
taken his detachment, and will go to the great river where Companisse
is, and will invite him to come to Montreal as well as the other savages
with him. He will afterwards go to the St. Joseph river to explain
our orders to the savages there, and will there act in concert with the
Reverend Father Chardon, who is there and with Sieur de Vincennes
when he arrives. Above all he will not forget to bring Oulamek down
here, and in going back by the great river he will take Companisse
and the others who have promised to come with him, and he will go
together with Sieur de Vincennes, to the French river, so soon as
they possibly can." (Cadillac Papers, Michigan Historical Collections,
Vol. XXXIII, p. 50I).
At the council which followed in Montreal, the Marquis de Vaudreuil told his savage allies he had called them there in the interests
of peace. "My intention was, seeing you all here, to reunite your
minds and to induce you to live together as brothers, so that forming
but one and the same body, you may have henceforth but one and the
same mind. * * * I will not repeat, what I have already said
several times to you all separately, how much care I have taken since
the general peace was concluded to keep you at peace and in union with
the Iroquois."
Under the Jesuit, Father Pierre Jean Chardon, the mission on the
St. Joseph River again thrived, according to report on the conditions
of the colonies made on September 8, I7II, by the Marquis de
Vaudreuil.
"I am sending Madame de Vaudreuil a letter from Father Chardon,
the missionary at the St. Joseph river, which will show how greatly
the savages are disposed to go there. The savages from Lake Superior go there every year, and this year the Frenchmen, whom I
sent to the Upper Country to send down the savages there, met two
boats returning from Orange (New York), laden with very fine goods,
and with several belts to give to the other tribes."
Peace among the savage allies of the French in the Michigan
peninsula was destined to be broken by the depredations of an insolent
band of Mascoutens who frequented the upper St. Joseph river valleyprobably the territory now comprised in St. Joseph and Branch counties. This tribe and Outagamies had been paid by the English to
destroy Fort Pontchartrain at Detroit, according to a report of M.
Dubisson, who immediately dispatched Sieur de Vincennes to give full
information to Vaudereuil. Two villages of these Indians were




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


55


destroyed, including one band, numbering one hundred and fifty men,
women and children, which had wintered in the upper part of the St.
Joseph river valley. "It is Heaven which has allowed these two audacious tribes to perish," writes Sieur Dubisson June 15, 1712. They
had received many presents and belts from the English to destroy the
post of Fort Pontchartrain, by slaughtering us, and then certain tribes
allied to us, to which the Hurons and Outaouis settled at Detroit were
to be no exceptions; and then these wretches were to withdraw to the
English, to be at their disposal for creating constant disturbances.
* * * I was constantly exposed to a thousand insults. They killed
hens, pigeons and other creatures belonging to the French, and yet I
dared not say a word." (Cadillac Papers, Vol. XXXIII, Michigan
Historical Collections, Vol. XXXIII, p. 537).
The Outagamies and Mascoutins continued their depredations in
the vicinity of the post, and Dubisson anxiously awaited arrival of
Sieur de Vincennes and Miamis. Soon was fought one of the greatest
Indian battles in the history of Michigan. The Indian allies of the
French, incensed at the intruders, rallied to attack them. Vincennes
returned from Montreal. Maquisabe, war chief of the Potawatomies
of St. Joseph, arrived with news that four hundred savages were marching to destroy the enemy of the French. The Hurons insisted that
enemy should be destroyed. "I got upon a bastion, and casting my
eyes in the direction of the wood, I saw the army of the tribes of the
south coming out, namely the Illinois, the Missouri, the Osages and
the tribes more distant; with them was also Saguina, the Outtavois
chief, and also the Poutouatamis, Sakis and some of the Malhominy.
This army was marching in order with as many flags as there were
different tribes."
The Mascoutins and Outagamies came out of their fort, a pistol
shot away from that of the French. In the battle that followed they
were defeated and the survivors scattered. Those captured were carried off as slaves by the victorious tribes.
War parties of savages had passed over the trails and up the
streams of southwestern Michigan where took place in the "direction
of the Grand river," the great battle in which Foxes and Mascoutins
were nearly annihilated. The Jesuit mission on the St. Joseph river
being on the route traversed by war parties from tribes in the remote
west made it unsafe for Fathers Chardon and Haren to remain there
and they were obliged to leave the mission until danger was passed.
They withdrew to Michilimackinac where they joined Father Joseph
Marest, who wrote, "It seems as if Providence had permitted that on
purpose to furnish me with assistance which was absolutely necessary
in the present state of affairs."
Giving news of the great Indian battle in southwestern Michigan,
Father Marest wrote in part to Vaudreuil on June 2I, I712:
"We had as yet no news to tell you except that the Outaouas, of
the Grand river, with the Potawatomies, of the St. Joseph river, had
made a great attack on the Mascoutins. * * * Forty Mascoutins,
with sixty women and more than one hundred children, are said to
have been killed in the direction of the Grand river."




56


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


In this battle the Potawatomies were commanded by Makisabe;
the Ottawas by Saguina.
During the war with the Foxes and Sacs, the Indians had withdrawn temporarily with the missionaries from the St. Joseph valley,
according to a "Memoir on the Indians Between Lake Erie and the
Mississippi," published in 1718. "The Miamis and Potawatomies
formerly resided with some missionaries at the River St. Joseph; it
is not long since they were there. 'Tis a spot the best adapted of any
to be seen for the purposes of living and as regards the soil. There
are pheasants, as in France, and parroquets. The finest vines in the
world, which produce a vast quantity of very excellent grapes, both
black and white, the berry very large and juicy, and the bunch very
long. It is the richest district in all that country. I believe they left
it only because of the war between the Foxes, Sacs and Outaouaes,
and all the other tribes of those parts." (N. Y. Colonial Documents,
Vol. IX, p. 889).
This war caused a turmoil among the savages of Michigan, which
continued through successive years. Hatreds in primitive breasts
continued to smoulder, breaking out in skirmishes here and there,
and the French with difficulty maintained peace among their turbulent
allies.
In the autumn of I712, Sieur de Vincennes returned with the
Miamis to his post on the St. Joseph river. (Archives du Canada.
Correspondence General, Vol. XXXIII). There he remained as commander until 1715 when he joined a party of Miamis who had established themselves on the Maumee river near the site of Fort Wayne.
A visit to Father Chardon's lonely mission in the wilderness along
the St. Joseph is recorded in a letter by Father Gabriel Marest written
November 9, 1712, to Father Germon. He writes in part:
"I decided to go to the Potawatomi village on the St. Joseph
river, which is in charge of Father Chardon. In nine days I made
this second journey, which is seventy leagues. I traveled part of the
time by the river which has a swift current, and part of the time by
land. God preserved me in a special manner on this journey. A
party of warriors, enemies of the Illinois, killed a hunter within a
gunshot of the road I was traveling, and carried off another, whom
they put into a caldron to make a war feast."
"As I approached the Potawatomi village, the Lord rewarded me
for all my troubles with one of those unforseen events which bring
consolation to his servants. Several Indians sowing in the fields, seeing in the distance, informed Father Chardon of my arrival. He came
to meet me followed by another Jesuit. What an agreeable surprise
when I saw again my brother who threw himself upon my heck and
embraced me! We had been separated fifteen years and had not expected to meet again. It is true I had set out to rejoin him, but that
was at Michilimackinac, not more than one hundred leagues beyond
God had undoubtedly inspired him to visit the mission at St. Joseph
to make me forget in a moment all the toils I had endured. We both
blessed the Divine Mercy which had led us to come from such great
distances to give us consolation, which we felt, but could not ex







SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' HOMECOMING-THREE RIVERS


GEN. CASS' TABLE AT MARRANTETTE HOME-MENDON




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


press. Father Chardon shared in the joy of our happy meeting, and
gave us all the entertainment we could expect through his kindness.
After remaining eight days at the mission, my brother and I embarked in his canoe for Michilimackinac."   (Les Relations des
Jesuites).
Returning to the St. Joseph mission, Father Marest spent a fortnight with Father Chardon, whom he characterizes thus:
"He is a zealous missionary, with a rare talent for learning
languages. He is acquainted with nearly alr the savages near the
Great Lakes, and has learned enough of the Illinois language to make
himself understood, though he has acquired it only by contact with
these savages who come by chance to the village, for the Potawatomies
and Illinois are on good terms, and exchange visits. Their customs,
however, are very different. The former are brutal and coarse; the
latter are gentle. After saying farewell to the missionary, we ascended
the River St. Joseph in order to make a portage at thirty leagues from
its mouth."
It was on October 28, I719, that M. de Vaudreuil announced to
the Conseil de Marine the death among the Ouyatanons of Sieur de
Vincennes, one of the most noted figures in the St. Joseph valley of
New France. His band of Miamis were planning to return to the
St. Joseph river when the commander expired in their midst. Deprived of his leadership, they decided to remain where they were.
As there was danger of corrupting English influence among the
Ouyatanon Miamis, it had been planned to have Sieur de Vincennes
remove them to the St. Joseph river, from which he had followed
them in 1715. Vaudereuil continued his effort to remove the Miamis
back to the St. Joseph. Under date of October 28, I719, he wrote:
"I have designated Sieur Dubisson to command the post of the
Ouyatanons and to use his influence to determine whether the Miamis
would go to the River St. Joseph or remain where they are." (Public
Archives du Canada. Correspondence Generale. Series CII I. Vol.
XL, p. Io8). He had received information that ten canoes of these
Miamis had visited the English at Orange during the summer. The
Indians remained where they were, and revered many years the memory
of Sieur de Vincennes. "Thirty years after his death the French used
his name to stir the hearts of the savages."
During the year I719 and 1720, there was sent to command Fort
St. Joseph a distinguished officer, who had won fame during an attack on Haverill, Mass., and in 1715 when he led the French in the
Fox Indian war. This was Jean Baptiste de St. Ours, Sieur Deschiallons. He was born in France in I670. He was the father of nine
children. It was undoubtedly his record as an infantry captain made
while serving against the Foxes under Sieur de Lovigny that won
him appointment to command so strategic a position as Fort St.
Joseph guarding the western gateway to the Michigan peninsula. He
commanded Detroit in I729, Quebec in I734, and Fort St. Frederic in
I738. He died in Quebec in 747.
Sieur de Montmidy, a petty officer, was sent to relieve Deschiallons. He was given a permit to proceed on May 2I, i72I, "with a




58


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


canoe in which he is to carry necessities to the post on the River St.
Joseph. Registered May 27, 1721." It was not until June 5, however,
that transportation from Montreal to the post was provided for this
officer. On that day a conge, or permit was issued by M. de Vaudreuil
to Sieurs Jean Garreau and Nicholas Catin to depart in a canoe with
Laboissiere and Derochers to carry to the river Saint Joseph the
Sieur Montmidy, commandant of said post, stores, provisions, &c."
(Rapport de l'Archiviste de la Province de Quebec pour I92I-I922).
Mascouten chiefs and ten warriors arrived on the St. Joseph on
September 15 and demanded on behalf of their nation that the Potawatomies receive them peacefully. Sieur Montmidy reported to Vaudreuil by letter October 3. Previous to this time a number of Mascoutens
and a chief arrived to state they had abandoned the alliance with the
Foxes. Writes Vaudreuil: "As it was important to get the good
will of the Kickapous and Mascoutins, who wish to establish themselves, I have ordered Sieur Montmidy to send the chiefs to Montreal."
(Public Archives du Canada. Correspondence Generale. CII I, Vol.
XLIV, p. 72).
At this time the garrisons of Detroit, Mackinac, Miamis and St.
Joseph were strengthened. In each was a small garrison and a commanding officer. The term of service was usually three years and unless a second term was granted the officers usually rotated.
Trade was opening on the St. Joseph river. On July 15, was issued
a conge, or permit to trade, to "men named Saint-Louis and Delauriers
and four men to go in a canoe to trade at the post on the River
St. Joseph."
Into the St. Joseph country now came another noted figure in the
military affairs of New France. This was Sieur Jean de Saint-Ange
de Bellerive, a distinguished officer who had served in the army since
I685. He is credited with having conducted Charlevoix through the
Great Lakes region and the west in I721. A conge was issued to SaintAnge in Montreal on August 6 to depart in a canoe manned by four
men to carry "to the post on the river Saint Joseph merchandise,
stores and munitions from the magazines of the King." On the same
day a similar permit was issued to Albert Baune also to "equip a
canoe with four men to carry to the post on the Saint Joseph necessary merchandise and munitions."
Father Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix presents the first
description of the St. Joseph river valley and the historic fort, which
was a lonely outpost of civilization for nearly a century, the prize for
which Indians and four nations fought until its ultimate fall. Charlevoix, a Jesuit, was sent to discover the "Western sea," and during his
tour he visited all the military posts except those on Lake Superior.
The Jesuit made his memorable entry into the St. Joseph river on the
6th or very early on the 7th of August, 1721, for it was about midnight
when his canoe passed into the river's mouth. Of the journey up
stream to the fort he writes:
"Nothing but excellent lands covered with trees of prodigious
height under which there grows in some places very fine capillaire."
(Journal of a Voyage to North America Undertaken by Order of the




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


59


French King, Containing the Geographical Description and Natural
History of that Country, Particularly Canada. Together with an Account of the Customs, Characters, Religion, Manners and Traditions
of the Original Inhabitants. In a Series of Letters to the Duchess of
Lesdiguieres. Translated from the French of Pierre Francois Xavier
de Charlevoix. In Two Volumes, London, 1761).
The stream, Father Charlevoix declared, was navigable for a great
distance, and with headwaters not far from Lake Erie, he called it
the principal water route between that lake and the foot of Lake
Michigan.
The only picture left us of this historic fort in the Michigan
wilderness is the description by Charlevoix, who, writing from River
St. Joseph under date of August I6, 1721, says:
"It was eight days yesterday since I arrived at this post, where we
have a mission and where there is a commandant and a small garrison. The commandant's house, which is a very sorry one, is called
the fort, from its being surrounded with an indifferent palisado,
which is pretty nearly the case with all the rest, except the forts Chambly and Catarocouy, which are real fortresses. They are, however, in
almost every one of them some few cannons, or pateraroes, which, in
case of necessity, are sufficient to hinder surprise and to keep the
Indians in respect."
"The River St. Joseph is so commodious for the commerce of all
parts of Canada that it is no wonder it has always been frequented
by Indians. Besides, it waters an extremely fertile country, but this
is not what these people esteem it for. It is even great pity to give
them good lands; which they either make no use of at all, or soon run
out by sowing maize on them. The Mascoutins had not long since
a settlement on this river, but have returned back to their own country,
which is said to be still finer than this. The Poutewatamies have occupied successively several posts here where they still are. Their
village is on the same side with the fort, a little below it and on a very
fine spot of ground. That of the Miamis is on the other side of the
river."
"The Indians of both villages are mostly Christians but, as they
have been a long time without any pastors, the missionary who has
been lately sent them will have no small difficulty in bringing them
back to the exercise of their religion. The River St. Joseph comes
from the southeast and discharges itself into the bottom of Lake
Michigan, the eastern shore of which is a hundred leagues in length,
and which you are obliged to sail along before you come to the entry
of this river. You afterwards sail up twenty leagues in it before you
reach the fort, which navigation requires great precautions because
when the wind is large, that is to say, westerly, which frequently prevails here, the waves extend the whole length of the lake. There is
also good' ground to believe that the great number of rivers which
discharge themselves into the lake on the eastern side, contribute much
by the shock of their currents against the waves to render the voyage
dangerous. What is certain is, that there are few places in Canada
where there are more shipwrecks."




60


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


The irreverent Indians of this place showed no favor to the priest,
for on the day following his arrival they stole some of his belongings.
The Indians of this region were natural thieves and regarded everything they could seize as lawful prizes. If complaint was made to a
chief, the article would be returned, and not only the "finder," who
was without doubt the thief, but also the chief, expected rewards more
valuable than the recovered property.
During his visit here, the reverend father was one night mistaken
for a bear walking upright and was nearly shot. He writes:
"On the evening of the first day, I run a very great risk of putting
an end to all my travels. I was taken for a bear, and had very near
been killed on this footing by one of my conductors. It happened in
this manner: After supper and prayers were over, it being very hot,
I went to take a walk along the banks of the river. A spaniel which
followed me wherever I went, happened to plunge into the water in
quest of something I had thrown into it without thinking. My people,
who believed me retired to rest, and the more so as it was very late
and the night dark, hearing the noise the creature made, todk into
their head that it was a roebuck swimming across the river. Two of
them immediately set out with their muskets loaded. By good luck
for me, one of the two, who was a hairbrained fellow, was called back
by the rest who feared he would cause them to miss their prey, but
his hairbrainedness might very easily have caused him not to miss me.
The other advancing slowly perceived me at a distance of twenty
paces from him and made no doubt that it was a bear standing on its
hind legs, as these animals always do on hearing any noise. With
this notion the huntsman cocked his piece in which he had put three
balls, and, crouching close to the ground, approached me as softly as
possible. He was just going to fire when I likewise began to think
I saw something, but without being able to distinguish what it was.
As I could not doubt, however, that this must be some of my people
I asked him whether he took me for a bear. He made no answer
and when I came up to him, I found him quite speechless, and like
a person seized with horror at the thoughts of what he was going
to do."
The fields around the fort were covered with sassafras to such an
extent that the air was perfumed by the sweet-smelling shrubs, stated
Charlevoix, who believed they were shoots of trees cut down in
clearing the ground for the fort and the Indian towns.
For a glimpse of the first towns of southwestern Michigan and
description of the habits of the people who lived in them we are also
indebted to Charlevoix.
"The villages are irregularly built. The houses are in confusion.
Some are round, some cone-shaped, others like tubs on posts. Some
are covered with bark, others with clay and built with less art, neathness and solidity than those of beavers. Some of the cabins are
fifteen or twenty feet broad and sometimes one hundred feet long with
fireplaces to serve every thirty feet of space. Doors were suspended
from above like the ports of a ship. Holes in the roof gave egress to
the smoke. Some of the villages were surrounded with skillfully-built




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


61


palisades and redoubts. These palisades were double and triple with
branches of trees interwoven among the piles."
To the chief of the Miamis, Charlevoix paid a visit. This savage
dignitary was tall and handsome, it was stated, despite the fact that
he had lost his nose during a debauch. When he heard that the Jesuit
was coming to see him he seated himself cross-legged like an oriental
in an alcove of his cabin and affected an unbecoming haughty gravity.
The priest was told he must do likewise if he did not want the chief
to despise him. Here the Frenchman witnessed dances and games of
various kinds including a la crosse contest between the Miamis and
Potawatomies. Some of the Indians continued gambling games until
they were stripped naked and had nothing more to lose.
Charlevoix was favorably impressed with Piremon, chief of the
Potawatomies, and with Wilimak, the orator. Piermon was sixty years
old, prudent, and gave good advice. Wilamek, somewhat younger,
was a Christian. Though well-instructed, he did not use his religion,
Charlevoix discovered. When the priest reproached Wilamek for
neglecting his religion, the Indian left abruptly, went to the chapel
and prayed so loudly his voice "could be heard as far as the missionary's
house. You can scarce anywhere meet with a more sensible man or
a better speaker, and besides he is a very amiable character and sincerely attached to the French. Piremon is no less so, and I heard
both of them speak in a council held at the commandant's where they
said a great many very fine things to us."
The excellent impression Charlevoix received of the Indians in
these villages was shattered by the return of several tribesmen from
the English colonies with a supply of intoxicating liquor they had
received in return for furs. The savages then laid aside all things
else and concentrated efforts in drinking the liquor. This lasted eight
days. The carousing took place in both villages, and the revelry of
these barbarians, who in wartime were reputed to be cannibals, shocked
the good priest, who wrote that "Every night the fields re-echoed with
the most hideous howlings. One would have thought that a gang of
devils had broken loose from hell, or that the natives of the two towns
had been cutting one another's throat."
A number of natives were maimed in the brawls, and when
Charlevoix told one of them who was suffering from a broken arm
that he should keep sober in the future, he was informed the injury
was of small consequence and that the patient would drink whenever
"firewater" was obtainable.
The priest was a helpless witness of the debauchery of scores of
savages. The tremendous task confronting any missionary who might
endeavor to convert them was understood by the priest. When he
tried to induce them to permit no more liquor to be brought into their
midst, he was cooly told:
"It is you who have accustomed us to it. We are no longer able
to dispense with it, and should you refuse to give us any, we would
certainly go to the English for it. This liquor kills us and destroys
us, we confess, but it is to you we owe this mischief, which is now
past remedy."




62


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Charlevoix disagrees with the charge that the French alone are
responsible for introducing this destructive influence among the red
men.
"It is without just grounds that they blame us alone," he declares,
"for had it not been for the English, I do believe it possible to have
put an end to this commerce in the colony, or at least to have reduced
it to its just limits. It will perhaps soon be necessary to permit the
French to carry on this traffic, taking proper measures to hinder the
abuse of it; and the more, as the spirituous liquors are much more
mischievous than ours."
It is to Charlevoix also that we are indebted for a graphic description of the life of these residents of southwest Michigan in remote
times, and what he tells us of the remarkable care the savage mothers
gave their children is an astonishing revelation when one considers
the barbarous conduct of these wild people as adults.
"The care which mothers take of children is beyond all expression," he declares, "and proves in a very sensible manner that we
often spoil all by the reflections which we add to the dictates of simple
nature. They never leave them; and even when they are ready to sink
under the burden with which they load themselves, the cradle of the
child is held as nothing. One would even think that this additional
weight were an ease to them and rendered them more agile. Nothing
can be neater than these cradles in which the child lies as softly as
possible. But the infant is made fast only from the waist downwards,
so that when the cradle is upright the little creatures have their head
and half of the body hanging down. This posture, instead of making
them decrepit, renders the body supple."
After leaving the cradle these children were no longer confined.
They roamed naked through the woods. This developed strength and
agility, but they suffered from weak stomachs and lungs. In summer
they spent much of the time in the water. Early they were taught to
use bows and arrows, and the love of warfare was instilled in them.
"To inspire children with honor," says Charlevoix, "the parents took
care to conduct instructions in an indirect manner. The most common was to rehearse famous exploits of their ancestors or countrymen. The young were inspired to imitate them. To correct faults,
the parents used tears and entreaties, but never threats, which would
make an impression on minds imbued with principles that no one has
the right to enforce on them anything. Mothers seeing daughters behaving badly burst into tears, and when the daughter asked the reason
replied, 'You dishonor me!' This proved an efficacious reproof. Young
girls were even known to strangle themselves for reprimands of their
mothers. The greatest punishment the Indians inflicted on their
children was to throw a little water into their faces.
"Notwithstanding, since they have more frequent commerce with
the French, some of them begin to chastize their children, but this
happens only among those that are Christians, or such as are settled
in the colony," declares Charlevoix. "The evil in training children was
incorrect ideas of virtue and instillation of implacable ideas of revenge."
These Indians the priest found to be naturally quite, and masters




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of themselves. Superstition, and not depravity of heart, he declared,
was the basis for some customs, which, compared with European
standards of conduct, were immodest.
"Born free and independent they are struck with horror at whatever has the shadow of despotic power, and very rarely deviate from
certain maxims and usages founded on good sense alone, which holds
the place of law, and supplies in some sort the want of legal authority.
In this community all men are equal, manhood being the quality most
esteemed amongst them without any perogative of rank capable of
doing prejudice to the rights of private persons; without any preeminence from merit which begets pride, and which makes others
too sensible of their inferiority. And though there is less delicacy of
sentiment in the Indians than amongst us, there is, however, more
probity with infinitely less ceremony or more equivocal compliments."
"In a word, these Indians are perfectly convinced," continues
Charlevoix, "that man is born free, and that no power on earth has
a right to infringe on his liberty, and that nothing can compensate the
loss of it."
Foi these residents of the St. Joseph valley of two centuries ago,
Charlevoix hands on to the generation of today the following recommendation:
"I was still better received amongst the infidel Poutewatamies
than amongst the Christian Hurons. These Indians are the finest men
in all Canada, and are besides of the sweetest natural temper, and have
been always our very good friends."
Sieur de Villedonne, captain of infantry, was appointed the next
year to succeed Monsieur Montmidy as commander of Fort St. Joseph.
He was given permission on June I, 1722, to proceed from Montreal
with three canoes to the post.
Villedonne commanded Fort St. Joseph until May, 1725, when he
was succeeded by another distinguished officer in the person of Sieur
de Villiers. A report on the "Postes du Canada-Pays d'En Haut,"
gives the following personnel of the post on the St. Joseph river,
1723-1725:
"Monsieur de Villedonne; Missionary, the Rev. Father Messager,
Jesuit; officers, de Sabrevois, de Lingery, de Rigauld, de Viver, de
Deschaillon, de Montigny, de Beauvoix; Robert Graton, surnamed
Saint Ange, sergeant; Jean Colet, surnamed Colet; Julien Perdriere,
surnamed Laforge; Francois Beaulieu, surnamed Beaulieu; Antoine
Renauld, surnamed Pleumarais; Charles Henry de Rupalay, surnamed
Gonneville; Paul de Rupalay, surnamed Rupulay; Francoise Lefeuve,
surnamed Duplessy; Guillaume Lormier, Louis Levigne, surnamed
Plante." (Public Archives du Canada. Amerique du Nord, Canada.
Establissement des Divers Postes. Series CII III, Vol. XIII, p. I75).
Sieur de Villiers obtained on May 28, 1725, autority to depart from
Montreal for Fort St. Joseph with three canoes loaded with provisions
and merchandise. Twelve men were to accompany him. On May 21,
1726, Julien Lalouette was authorized to carry supplies to the "missionaries of the Company of Jesus" at Michilimackinac and Fort St.
Joseph. Madame de Villiers, in the spring of 1726, joined her hus



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band in the lonely wilderness post. Among the conges registered at
Montreal was one issued by M. de Longueuil May 21, 1726, to
"Madame de Villiers to leave with fourteen men to carry to Sieur de
Villiers at the post on the River Saint Joseph necessary provisions,
subsistence and effects." Sieur de Villiers dispatched Marin Hurtebise
in the spring of I728 to Montreal for supplies for the garrison. We
find registered on July 6, permission for the "procurator" for said
Sieur de Villiers to leave with five canoes each manned by five men.
Four permits were issued for travel to Fort St. Joseph in I729. On
June Io, the Reverened Father Dheu, superior of the Company of
Jesus, was authorized to send supplies to "missionaries of the River
Saint Joseph." On June II, M. de Beauharnois granted passage to
"Sieurs Duplessis and Villiers, cadets in the troops of the King, to
depart in a canoe manned by five men to carry provisions" to the fort.
This year Sieur de Villier's wife again visited him. On June 12, she
was also granted permission to leave with two canoes each manned by
six men to carry "subsistence for the maintenance of Sieur de Villiers
and his garrison." The canoes of the priest, the cadets and the commandant's wife totaled five, manned by twenty-two men. The fourth
conge of the year, issued June 28, was a permit given to Sieur Reaume,
"intrepreter for the King, to leave in a canoe with five men to ascend
the River Saint Joseph and to continue his services in the said capacity
as interpreter." The only conge registered in I73o-date illegiblewas issued to Louis Prid'homme to carry provisions to the missionaries at the post.
Peace, which proved only temporary, was made by M. de Ligny at
Green Bay, with the chiefs of the Foxes and Sauks, June 7, 1726. It
was planned that the commandant at La Pointe (Chegoiwegon), Lake
Superior, should labor to sever the alliance of the Sioux with the Foxes
by means of gifts and permitting them to hope that a missionary and
Frenchmen might be sent among them. "The same thing should be
written to the officer commanding the post at Detroit, and at the River
St. Joseph, in order that the nations adjacent to those parts may be
detached from the Foxes, and that these officers, in case of war, have
a care that the way shall be stopped, and the Foxes prevented from
seeking an asylum with the Iroquois, or in any other nation, where
they may secret themselves. (Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol.
I, p. 22).
How well this warning was heeded and how effective the French
and their allies acted when the exigency arose will soon be seen.
Sieur de Villiers, whose long tour of duty at this post is evidence
of the faith placed in his fitness for commanding so strategic a position, and his garrison and Indian allies were called upon early in the
summer of 1730 to unite with other French commanders in the Great
Lakes region in aiding the savages to defeat the Fox Indians with
whom there had been occasional skirmishes since the war in the
Michigan peninsula over a decade previous. They were the only tribe
with whom the French could not establish friendship.




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65


Writes the commandant at Detroit to the Marquis de Beauharnois.
August 22, 1730:
"I have the honor to inform you that a savage from the St. Joseph
river reports that two days before he left, two Mascoutin runners arrived who had come in haste to ask Monsieur de Villiers for help and
powder, that they had taken only two days in coming from their
place." (Cadillac Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol.
XXXIV, p. 67).
The messengers brought news that the Fox Indians were fighting
with the Potawatomies, Kickapoos, Mascoutens and Illinois. They
were believed to have been on their way to join the Iroquois when
they were attacked by the Illinois on the banks of Fox river. While
the Foxes were entrenching themselves by digging holes in the
ground, the Indians sent appeals to the French commanders at Chartres, Green Bay and St. Joseph. "The savage from the St. Joseph
river says that Monsieur de Villiers is going to set out with all his
people. He also adds that Monsieur de Villiers has done me the
honor to write to me to ask for the assistance of our savages; but
these letters have not yet come, and our savages will not set out until
they do arrive, rather doubting this news. Father de Richardy, however, told me that he received a letter yesterday evening from Father
Messager, the missionary at the St. Joseph river, who sends him the
same news as that which this savage has told me, which gives ground
for thinking the thing is true. The Poux (Potawatomies) seem quite
determined to go there, and so do some of the Outaouas; but there
are only a few Hurons because eighty of them remained out of the
party that proceeded this spring. * * * The Fox Indians said
they were expecting a large party of Iroquois in a short time which
was to come and join them in order to help them to withdraw to their
homes. * * * It is quite certain, sir, that the Iroquois who are
great scoundrels and are always disseminating belts among all tribes,
are instigated by the English and are very injurious to us."
Assisted by the garrison from Fort Chartres, commanded by St.
Ange, and by de Villiers from St. Joseph, and des Noyelles of Detroit,
the Indians overpowered the enemy, slaughtering nearly all and torturing the captives. In this battle Sieur de Villiers had with him a
force of fifty Frenchmen-probably almost his entire garrison at St.
Joseph-and five hundred Indians.
The faith of the Indian allies of the St. Joseph river in this battle,
however, is questioned in a report on the state of Canada made in I730
by order of Monseigneur, the Count de Maurepas:
"What can we think of the Saquis, Maskoutens, Kikapous, and the
greater part of the Poutouatamis, all of the St. Joseph river, who have
only formed an apparent league with us against the Fox Indians-rather with the object of protecting them than to destroy them. All
these tribes together, united by their relationship to one another, are
simply held back by fear; and, if they abase themselves now, it is in
order to draw down supplies which they share with the Fox Indians.
Can this be doubted, and was it not this which caused failure of the




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expeditions of MM. Du Duissons, de Villiers, des Noyelles and
Detroit? Is it to be believed that these tribes did not know of the
retreat of the Foxes? * * * It is necessary for-us to show ourselves powerful to these restless tribes (Fox Indians), and we must
not count on their fidelity except insofar as we make them fear us.
The Folles Avoines are the only ones on whom we can count, for the
Poutouatamis of the St. Joseph river, the Saquis, the Mascoutins, the
Quickapoux and Puants deserve as much punishment as the Fox
Indians. They have not slain any French people, but they have supplied corn and stores for the purpose of slaying them. * * * One
cannot be too careful in choosing the officers that are sent to command
at the posts of Niagara, Detroit, the Miamis of St. Joseph river, Michilimackinac and the Point, for all the good order and prosperity
which we aim at depends on that."
In 1732, Sieur de Boishebert, commandant at Detroit, marched
across Michigan on his way to attack the Fox Indians, who had taken
up a strong position in a palisade on the shore of Lake Marameek,
nineteen miles below St. Louis. With him were Hurons, Ottawas and
Potawatomies. They retired when the enemy promised to come the
following spring to Detroit or St. Joseph river.
The French war with the Fox Indians continued through 1735,
Sieur de Noyelle, of Detroit, commanding the expeditions against
them. During the campaign a party of Hurons deserted the French,
with the purpose of "eating up," they expressed it, some friendly
Sakis residing on the St. Joseph river.
The commandant at Fort St. Joseph at this time was Sieur Jacques
Pierre Daneau de Muy, who was required to use all his powers
of persuasion and diplomacy to save these savages from being attacked by the cannibals. De Muy, a distinguished captain of infantry,
was more inclined to lead the life of a student than a soldier, but his
career as commander of St. Joseph won commendation of M. de
Beauharnois. While at St. Joseph De Muy, whose hobby was botany,
made a collection of plants unknown in France. With medicinal
herbs he cured savages of disease. He returned to France in 1736,
carrying his plant specimens.
Becoming an important trade center, the fort on the St. Joseph
river attracted savages from great distances, who brought pelts to exchange with traders. The furs were shipped to Michilimackinac, the
entrepot for the French posts at St. Joseph, and at the Point, Michipicoten, Nepigon, and Gamasettigoya on Lake Superior. It was to
Michilimackinac that the voyageurs brought their furs and came to buy
wheat and boats. This traffic was carried on during July and the beginning of August. The vessels carrying the huge stocks of pelts
down the lakes made several voyages during the trading season.
The Southern Michigan wilderness, with its innumerable lakes,
ponds and rivers produced a rich yield of fur, which was marketed at
Fort St. Joseph. The following conges to trade at this post, granted
by M. de Beauharnois, are recorded in the Quebec archives:
May 6, I739-Sieur Gatineau. One canoe manned by the follow

d




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67


ing men: Pierre Perignie (guide), Jouineau Latulippe, Louis Rocheleau, de Bastican; Jean de Tailly * * * Deasuniers, de Montreal;
Leonard Lalonde, F. Mailhoit, Antoine Amiot, Louis Gatineau, Jr.,
Jacques Langoumois, de Bout-del'Ile. (The last five are to remain for
the winter).
June 19, I739-Sieur Hery. Twenty-eight men to be commanded
by a man named Landreville.
June IO, I740-Sieur Gatineau. Five canoes manned by thirtytwo men.
June I8, I743-Jean-Baptiste Pomainville. Four canoes manned
by the following: Jean-Baptiste Pomainville, Jr., Joseph Coyard, of
Chateauguay; Francois Derousson, Francois Dumay, Pierre (illegible), Jean-Baptiste Perreault, surnamed Duchesne, Jean-Baptiste
Pridhomme, of Saint Sulpice; Jacques (illegible), Roch Chouint,
Charles Bousquet, Francois Mariceau, Charles Quintin DuBois, of
Repentigny; Michel Dufresne, Laurent Roy, Antoine Caty, of Pointeaux-Trembles; Ignace Texier, of Maska; Pierre Daunais, of Boucherville; Jean-Baptiste Vincent, Michel Brosseau, of Cote Saint Paul;
Joseph Lafleur, Joseph Lafebvre Lassisseraye; Rene Lafantaisie, of
River Saint Pierre; Pierre Ude (?), of Longueuil; Gabriel Lepine, of
Ile Saint Ignace.
May I7, I745-Jean-Baptiste Pomainville. One canoe manned by
six men to carry with them Sieurs de Quindre and Marin, "farmers
of that post, and their effects and merchandise necessary for trading."
Roll of those engaged to go: Jean Baptiste Pomainville, of Chateauguay, conductor; Augustin Lemire, of Chateauguay; Idnance Prudhomme, Saint-Sulplice; Michel Bissonet, Jr., of Vincennes; Jean-Baptiste Latrielle, Jr., and Pierre Cardinal, Jr., of Montreal.
June IO, I745-Pierre Cardinal. One canoe and the following
engages to carry "effects and merchandise" to Sieurs de Quindre and
Marin: Pierre Cardinal, Montreal, conductor; Pierre Duguay, Louis
Lavalle, Michel Bissonnet, Michel Petard (?), called Lalumiere, JeanBaptiste Desjardins, of Varennes; Jean-Baptiste Declos, of Point-auxTrembles; Pierre Trottier, of Pointe-Claire.
June IO, I745-Jean-Baptiste Pomainville, guide, Chateauguay,
one canoe and the following men to carry merchandise to Sieurs de
Quindre and Marin: Francoise Rheaume, of Ile Perrot; Joseph Trottier and Francois Trottier, of Point-Claire; Ignace Texier, of Maska;
Francois Gaumond, of L'Assomption.
June 10, I745-Raymond Quenet. One canoe and three men:
Francois (effaced), Jean Parc, Andre Lecourt.
June 13, 1745-Andre Prejean. One canoe and five men to transport provisions to Sieurs de Quindre and Marin: Andre Prejean, conductor, of Sources; Andre Louis, Francois Lalonde, of Soulanges;
Noel Deniau, Joseph Ladouceur, Lachine.
Trade must have flourished at the post for on July I, I746, we find
that Sieur Laperriere Marin, who has returned to Montreal, is given
a permit to return with two canoes and sixteen men to his establishment on the St. Joseph river. His guide was the veteran voyageur,




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Jean-Baptiste Pomainville, of Chateauguay, whom we have already
recorded as making two previous trips. With the canoes were: Bernard Laviolette, Louis Deslauriers, Joachim Premot, Jean Ridde, of
Chateauguay; Francois Beauchamp, of L'Assomption; Francois Lefebvre, Pierre Giroux, Joseph Bissonnet, Gabriel Gervais, of Laptairie;
Francois Brunet, surnamed Bourbonnais, Pierre Deschamps, of Ile
Perrot; Pierre Deschamps, Pierre LeBer, Augistin Valiquet, of Ile
Jesus; Nicholas Lajeunesse, of Detroit; Jean-Baptiste Latrielle, of
Montreal.
April 22, I747-Sieur Hervieux. Three canoes with six men each.
The crews: Francoise Binet, of Pointe-Claire; Jean-Baptiste Cauder
(Coderre); Joseph Deneaux, of Bout-de-l'Ile; Pierre Brabant, Michel
Deschamps; Joseph Montpetit, surnamed Potvin, of Ile Perrot; Francois, surnamed Bourbonnais; Gabriel Gibaut, of Cote Saint Paul;
Pierre Lepine and Joseph (illegible), of Sorel; Francois Raymond, of
L'Assomption; Jean Beauvais, of Longe-Pointe; Charles Boutin, surnamed Dubord, Francois Roy, and Jacques Laselle, of Montreal;
Robin Jeanne, of Sault-au-Recollet; Antoin Potvin, of Ile Jesus;
Pierre Lepine, of Sorel; Joseph (illegible), of Longeuil; Carpentier, of
Montreal.
When the traders went to St. Joseph in 1747, Sieur de Longueil
cautioned them not to carry so large a supply as to tempt the Indians
to seize the goods. In I748, it was stated that there was no need of
more goods at this post.
In 1748, the Count de la Glaissoniere instructed the commander at
St. Joseph and other posts to keep accurate accounts of expenses and
of distribution of gifts to Indians. He also asked for lists of names
of voyageurs wintering at the posts, of couriers du bois, and of Indian
murderers and malefactors who were to be arrested and punished.
In 1747, the Hurons plotted to massacre the garrison at Detroit,
but their plans were frustrated by a squaw who heard of the conspiracy and revealed the information to the French. With difficulty the
French kept their influence dominant with the savages of the Great
Lakes region. The Sauteurs attacked French canoes, and from every
quarter came reports of insults to the French. On the other hand,
the Iroquois were continually seeking to weaken French influences in
the country where they once murdered and plundered at will. A
council of tribes was held at Detroit.
"Among the Indians who are going home, there are many faithful
ones who are most anxious to get back to their own country to labor.
* * * They belong to the River St. Joseph and are principally
Potawatomies, who are all allied with Miamis, Sacs, Foxes and Folles
Avoines. * * * Their first harangue was delivered with energy
to convince us of fidelity and attachment to the French for whom they
would rather die than abandon," wrote M. de Boisherbert in a report
on Indian affairs. (N. Y. Colonial Documents, Vol. X, p. 84).
Sieur Laperriere Marin, commandant of Fort St. Joseph, reported
on July 5 and 30, I747, that the English, through representatives of
the Five Nations, were intriguing against French interests among the




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villages of the several tribes residing on the banks of the St. Joseph.
He reported they were using every effort to bring about destruction of
the post. Potawatomies were loyal, he said. Fifty Ouyatanons came
to the fort to offer their services to the French.
The French regime in North America was nearing its end. To
the post of St. Joseph was now sent one of the most distinguished
military leaders of New France, a soldier who was soon to add laurels
to a name already conspicuous for bravery and enterprise. This was
Francois Marie Picote, Sieur de Bellestre. It was he who is credited
with commanding the Indians at Braddock's defeat and who surrendered Detroit and the whole of the Northwest to Major Robert Rogers
when France yielded forever her domain in Canada in the fall of 1760.
He was a chevalier of the Order of St. Louis, and a member of one of
the oldest houses in Canada. He died in Quebec in I793.
In 1747, Boisherbert, writing about Bellestre, then an ensign, says:
"He is known and beloved by the Indians of St. Joseph. He is an
ensign of excellent conduct, a brave fellow who pleases every one that
is with him." In the latter part of this year Bellestre was appointed
commandant at Fort St. Joseph. He was instructed to remain at
Detroit under orders of Longueuil, the commandant, but he had the
right to go to Fort St. Joseph and return so often as he pleased.
It was proposed to send him at once with twelve soldiers to St.
Joseph, but difficulties with the Hurons caused delay. In December,
some Frenchmen and Indians arrived from the post and requested that
de Bellestre return with them. He started back with them on December 15, I747. In 1748, conditions required his presence at Detroit,
whence he was dispatched at the head of an expedition against the
Hurons.
On April 24, 1748, M. de Bellestre arrived at Montreal with twelve
chiefs from the St. Joseph river. He was accompanied also by Chief
Mechoukima and thirty-four warriors from the Grand river. They
had been called there to a peace conference, which M. de Longueuil
thought necessary following the murder of several Frenchmen in the
Saginaw region, where conduct of the savages was threatening. Four
war chiefs of the Kickapoos and Mascoutens also arrived. Ottawas,
Potawatomies, Hurons and Sauteurs united in pledging loyalty to the
French. He must, however, have returned to the post for on June Io,
1749, there was issued in Montreal a permit for Madame de Bellestre
to leave in a canoe manned by seven men to join her husband at "the
post on the River Saint Joseph. Her escort was commanded by
Pierre Leduc, who had with him: Alexandre Bissonnet, of Cap Saint
Michel; Augistin Godin and Joseph Dussult, of Riviere-Jacques Cartier; Jean-Baptiste David and Jacques David, of Saint Michel; Francois Leblanc, of Petite-Cote. Preceding Madame de Bellestre on the
long voyage was the trader Sieur Lefebvre and his employes: Joseph Barabe, of Varennes; Paul Massia, of Lachine; Francois (illegible), of Saint Jean; Louis Robert, of Boucherville; Laurent Truteau,
of Montreal; Joseph Chretien, of Montreal. On July 30, Sieur de




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Peltreux obtained permission to leave Montreal with Saint Aubin,
(illegible) and four Pouteouatamies."
Sieur de Bellestre was succeded by Sieur de Blainville as commander of Fort St. Joseph. "He is the oldest ensign in the infantry
and commands at the River Saint Joseph. He made the campaign
with Monsieur de Rigaud when he captured a small English fort belonging to the Boston government." (Public Archives du Canada.
Correspondence Generale. Series CIII, Vol. LXXXVII-I, p. 6I).
It was in 1748, that a permit to trade at St. Joseph was granted to
a man destined to become a notable figure in the history of the St.
Joseph river valley-a man who was to become during more than
thirty years' residence the first "leading citizen," merchant and landowner and a wielder of powerful influence among the Indians. He
was ultimately to stir the wrath of Patrick Sinclair, the British commander. This was Sieur Louis Chevalier, to whom was issued a
conge to trade on June Io. With him in one canoe departed: Paul
Royer, Ile Perrot; Jacques Belzile, of Montreal; Pierre-Jean Venne
and Francois Janvaure, of Assomption; Joseph Saint Denis, and
Honore, of "the upper coasts."
It was in June of this year also that Madame de Quindre departed
from Montreal to join her husband. She and Madame Le Periere left
with two canoes and the following voyageurs under guidance of Antoine Grenon: Jean-Baptiste Porier Desloges, Michel Grenon, Jr.,
Joseph Lefebvre, of Pointe-Claire; Francoise (illegible), Francois
Bourbonnais, of Ile Perrot; Joseph Edmond, of Bout-de-Ile; Paul
Primot, of Chateauguay; Pierre Caritar, of Laprairie; Basil Juneau,
(?) of Pointe-aux-Trembles; Joseph Bluteau, of Longe-Pointe; Joseph
Lecour, of Laliberte, of the Riviere-des-Prairie.
During the same month a permit was issued to Sieur Jean-Baptiste
Lefebvre and the following to trade at St. Joseph: Paul Pickard,
Lachine; Grandmaison, of Cote Saint Jean; Francois Auge, Amable
Auge, Paul Labrosse, Charles Lefebvre, of Montreal; Pierre Dousette,
of Sorel.
Trade increased in the St. Joseph valley in I750 when four conges
were issued to a total of twenty-four men. They were as follows:
May 27-Nicholas Lefebvre. One canoe and Thomas Halle, of
Saint Michel; Thomas Leduc, of Ile Perrot; George Minguy, of Montreal; Charles Laflamme, of Cote de Liesse.
June i-Sieur Jean-Baptiste Marsolet. One canoe and Charles
Parisien, of Ile Perrot; Pierre Pillet and Francois Pillet, of Repentigny; Louis Beauvais, of Salut-au-Recollet; Louis (illegible) and
Pierre Halle, of Saint Michel; Francois Forcint (?), of LonguePointe.
June 6-Sieur Porlier Langroipardiere. Two canoes and Pierre
Champagne, of Laprairie; Joseph Boyer, of Laprairie; Louis Giroux,
of Longeuil; Charles Lebeuf, of Chateauguay; Louis Santheu and
Jean-Baptiste Pelletier, of Sorel; Francois Mire and Jean-Baptiste
Danis, of Sainte Genevieve; Jean-Baptiste Sarreau, of Saint Michel;




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71


Joseph Hus, of Berthier; Louis Petit, called Rossingnol, of Montreal;
Antoine Larivere, father and Joseph Larviere, son, of Pointe-Claire.
June 17, I750-Sieur Saint-Ange Charly. One canoe to depart in
charges of Charles Chevalier and Joseph Laviolette, of Chateauguay;
Francois Deganais, of Ile Jesus; Moise Languedoc, of Varennes;
Francois Gosselin, of Lachenaie; Pierre Raymond, of Chateauguay;
Jean Echete (?), of Montreal.
May 28, I75I-Sieur Hery. One canoe in charge of "one Dubois"
and Jean Dauth, Baptiste Faviere, Francois Dauth, and Dominique
(illegible), of Pointe-Claire; Charles Cardinal, of Lachine.
June I6, I75 —Jean-Baptiste Lefebvre. One canoe and Thomas
Leduc, Paul (illegible), Pierre Lafleur, of Ile Perrot; Louis Dedier,
of Lac; Paul Massia, of Lachine; Jean-Baptiste Bellefeuille, of Montreal; Charles Sennet, of Saint-Leonard.
June I, 1752-Sieur de Clignancour. Three canoes and Joseph
Patenaude, Pierre Marcil, Jean Sainte-Marie, Pierre Bariteau, of
Sainte-Lambert; Joseph Grigore and Louis.Latrielle, of Montreal;
Antoin Pilon, of Bout-de-l'Ile; Augistin Goulet, Joseph Bouteillet, of
Saint Sulpice; Jacques (illegible), Nicholas Bureau, Francois (illegible), of Laprairie; Jacques Gagne, Joseph Gagne, Jean Lavigne
and Pierre Petit, of Varennes; Pierre Desrochers and Francois (illegible), of Pointe-aux-Trembles.
Probably the last commander at Fort St. Joseph was Captain Louis
Le Verrier, step-son of the Marquis de Vaudreuil, Governor-General
of New France. He took command of the post in 1757 and remained
there until the spring of I759 when he was promoted and transferred
to Quebec. He returned to France with Vaudreuil when Canada fell.
The status of the post at this time was commercial rather than military.
"The commandant is its farmer entirely or in part, at the pleasure of
the governor-general; it is supported at the expense of the former, he
has two thousand francs gratification and the interpreter five hundred
francs. * * * The savages who come there to trade are the Poutewatamis, about four hundred men and a few Myamis. There may
come from there four hundred packages of skins of cats, bears, lynx,
otter, deer, stags." (Relations et Memoires Inedits, Pierre Margery,
Paris, 1767, pp. 38-84).
The author states that this post is on the same footing as that at
La Baye (Green Bay), at which the "commandant is an officer interested in the lease and who runs it for his own profit and that of his
associates. *  * *  It is farmed for nine thousand francs; all expense on the part of the king has been suppressed; there are neither
presents, nor certificates, nor interpreters' wages; all cost is at expense
of the lessee."
Of the mission at Fort St. Joseph little is chronicled. Father
Pierre du Jaunay was stationed there in- I745. Five years later, Father
John Batiste de la Morinie was known to be there. In 1751, Father
Louis Antoine Pothier, Jesuit, went to St. Joseph's mission and frequently visited the Illinois villages until his death in Detroit on July
6, I78I.




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Father de la Morinie was the last Jesuit missionary of St. Joseph.
Portugal, France and Spain banished the Jesuit orders, and they were
expelled from Louisiana on July 9, 1763, following action by the government in Paris. Among the Indians this order was received with
consternation. Father de la Morinie was obliged to close the mission
and to proceed to the Illinois where he took charge of the church of
Ste. Genevieve. "This father who had come from Detroit, and Father
de la Morinie from the Post St. Joseph, did not belong to Louisiana
but to Canada. It was extreme want that obliged them to withdraw
to the country of the Illinois, and they remained there only for lack
of the necessary opportunities to return to their posts." (Les Relations des Jesuites, Vol LXX, p. 277).
The conflicting interests of France and England in North America
were rapidly developing to a point where the war which had long been
foreseen could no longer be avoided. The time had come to decide
the mastery of the great western wilderness so rich in undeveloped
resources. Realizing that this conflict was inevitable, both nations
had for years been playing a game to retain or to win alliance of the
savage tribes. Of this fact the Indians were aware. With the English
as friends of the Iroquois, the natural enemies of the savages of the
Upper Country, it was not difficult for the French to form a firm alliance with the latter. The subject of boundaries between their American possessions caused grave differences between the two nations, and
several bloody encounters in the wilderness, while peace still existed,
led to-outbreak of the French and Indian war, a supplemental conflict
to the Seven Years War in Europe.
Vaudreuil appealed to the savages and coureurs de bois of the
northwest for forces to aid the French regular troops, and the response
of the savages and half-civilized white men and half-breeds was enthusiastic.
There now enters into the history of southwestern Michigan one of
the most notable figures of the French and British regimes. This was
Charles de Langlade, frontiersman, friend of the savages, a picturesque
product of the life of New France, a military leader for France against
the English, and for the English against the Americans in the
Revolution.
Responding to Vaudreuil's summons were Potawatomies from the
St. Joseph valley and Ottawas and Chippewas from the Kalamazoo
and Grand river valleys. It was in "La Bataille du Malengueulee," as
the French called the great conflict known as "Braddock's Defeat,"
that Langlade, commanding the savages, displayed his skill as a
strategist of Indian warfare. Here also was M. de Bellestre, former
commander of Fort St. Joseph. This great conflict took place near
the French outpost and stronghold, called Fort Duqueshe (Pittsburgh).
Braddock's army was beaten with a loss of six hu'ndred soldiers killed
outright. With the stubborn British general, who refused to accept
advice to fight the Indians and French according to frontier methods,
was George Washington. This battle was fought July 9, I755. The
French force consisted of two hundred and fifty regulars and Canadians
and six hundred and fifty Indians. They were commanded by M. de




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73


Beaujeau, who was killed shortly after the action began. Braddock
also fell mortally wounded while bravely directing his troops.
As a leader of savages in fighting under white man and against
white men, Langlade in this conflict established a fame which impressed
the British under whom he afterwards served. Wrote Thomas Anburey to General Burgoyne in 1777, from Lake Champlain: "We are
expecting the Ottawas. They are led by M. de Saint Luc and M. de
Langlade, both great partisans of the French cause in the last war;
the latter is the person who, at the head of the tribe he now commands,
planned and executed the defeat of General Braddock. (Journey in
the Interior of North America; London, I79I, Vol. I, p. 315).
"The battle of the Monongahela was the most fierce and glorious
in which savages ever engaged, and to them we give the glory of it,
owing to their unerring fire." (Pouchot's Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 37).
In 1757, Langlade led five hundred Indians from the Upper Country
to strengthen Montcalm's army at Quebec. Included in the thousand
Indians mobilized there were some residing five hundred leagues to the
westward. They took part in the Fort George campaign, and minor
engagements. Langlade was assigned late in I757 as second in command to Louis Lienard Villemonde de Beaujeau at Michilimackinac.
Beaujeau was brother of the French leader slain in the Battle of the
Monongahela. In 1758, Langlade and his Indian forces were again
in a campaign near Fort Duquesne, which defeated an army under
General Forbes.
Conditions were fast developing which made many of the savage
allies of the French dissatisfied. "May I6th. News from all the upper
posts. * * * The commandant at Detroi't is dying; the Five
Nations go rarely to Niagara; there is a little fermentation and discontent against us among the Indians of St. Joseph, the Miamis and
the Outias. The Folles Avoines have killed eleven Canadians at The
Baye; missed the commandant, and pillaged a storehouse. A great
many Indians have died at Michillimackinac. The commandant of
Louisiana writes that they have had no ships from France for two
years, and that he is greatly embarrassed having nothing to give the
Nations." (New York Colonial Documents, Vol. X, p. 840).
Discouraging conditions at Fort St. Joseph were the subject of
pessimistic comment by Montcalm: "News from the St. Joseph River
of October I (I758). Smallpox ravaged among the savages the past
year, together with the artifices instigated in their midst by the English,
have occasioned much fermentation among the savages of the Upper
Country. This spirit has even spread among the Pouteoatamis, always
attached to the French, the sole savage nation that has never been reproached for any murder. They have, however, wished to assassinate
a Canadian, according to letters from M. le Verrier, commandant of
that post. The news of the success of the battle of July 8 (Montcalm's
defeat of General Abercrombie's army at Fort Ticonderoga, July 8,
1758), restrained them." (Montcalm's Journal, Levis MSS. Vol. VII).
Success of the French arms in several engagements in I759 caused
a reversal of sentiment among the fickle savages though the heroic
force in New France, neglected by the King, was soon to be crushed.




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In March came assurances of great affection among the savages of
St. Joseph and other posts. On May, II, 1759, Montcalm entered in
his diary:
"They say that Monsieur de Langlade is on the march with many
savages from the region of Michilimackinac, to come, it is said, to
our vicinity. * * * News from Saint Joseph: Monsieur le Verrier, who commands there, waits with impatience the return of the
savages who are out hunting, in order to send them down according
to orders of Monsieur the Marquis de Vaudreuil."
It was in June that Langlade with twelve hundred savages paddling
in scores of canoes left Michilimackinac to participate in the battle
which was to result in lowering of the colors of the fleur de lis in New
France. Before the decisive battle on the Plains of Abraham, Langlade saw a situation in the maneuvering similar to that in the Battle
of the Monongahela, but his advice was unheeded, and the French
army, which had fought heroically throughout the one-sided conflict,
lost on September 13, I759, its opportunity to defeat the invaders under
Wolfe. (Wis. Historical Collections, Vol. VII, p. I41).
Vaudreuil, on September 3, I760, ordered Langlade to return to
Michilimackinac. Writing under the date of September 9, Vandreuil
notified M. de Beaujeau, commandant at Michilimackinac, of the
capitulation of Montreal and the fall of New France in the following
letter:
"I notify you, Sir, that I was under the necessity of capitulating
yesterday to General Amherst's army.
"This city is, as you know, without defense. Our troops were considerably diminished and our resourses totally exhausted.
"We were surrounded by armies which numbered not less than
thirty thousand men.
"General Amherst was on the sixth of the month within sight of
the walls of this city.
"General Murray had captured one of our suburbs and the army
of Lake Champlain had advanced to Le Prairie and Longueuil.
"Under these circumstances we had no hope of success even with
great sacrifices of troops. I have wisely capitulated with General
Amherst on conditions very advantageous for the colonists, particularly
for the settlers at the post of Michilimackinac.
"They have the right to retain their religion, their household goods,
real estate, trade in furs. They will have the same rights as all British
subjects.
"The same rights are accorded to the military, and they may appoint attorneys to act for them during their absence. They and the
citizens in general can either dispose of their property to the English
or French, or take it with them when they leave the country.
"They may keep their slaves, but they must return those which they
captured from the English.
"The English general has declared that the Canadians become
British subjects which relieves the people from the 'Coutume of Paris.'
(Special colonial laws). With regard to the troops, he requires that




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75


they shall hot serve in the present war and that they shall lay down
their arms until they can be provided with passage to France.
"You will then, Monsieur, assemble the officers and soldiers at your
posts, have them lay down their arms and proceed with them to a
proper seaport for embarkation for France.
"The citizens and inhabitants of Michillimackinac will consequently
pass under command of an officer whom    General Amherst shall
designate for this post.
"You will send copies of my letter to St. Joseph and to nearby
posts, assuming that there are soldiers remaining there who see that
the residents fulfill its requirements.
"I am looking forward with pleasure to seeing in France you and
all your gentlemen.
"I have the honor to be very sincerely, Monsieur,
"Your very humble and very obedient servant,
"VAUDREUIL.
"To M. de Beaujeau, Commandant of Michillimackinac."
(Archives Publiques du Canada, Serie A, Vol. VIII, pp. I70-I72).
In a treaty signed in Paris in 1763, France surrendered her possessions in North America east of the Mississippi river to England.
New Orleans and territory west of the Mississippi had already been
transferred to Spain.
FORT ST. JOSEPH UNDER BRITISH RULE
The French garrison at Michilimackinac was withdrawn in October I760, by Captain M. de Beaujeau, who, with his men, retired to the
Illinois, but the ice stopped their passage and they were obliged to halt
for six months among the Sakkis and Renards on the Fox river. (Les
Denieres Annees de la Louisiane Frarcaise, Terrage, Paris, p. I9I).
I9I).
Following capitulation of Montreal, General Amherst sent Major
Robert Rogers to take possession of Niagara and Presque Isle. From
Sandusky, Rogers dispatched Lieutenant Dietrich Brehm to the French
officer at Detroit. His detachment marched into the town on November 29, and the oath of allegiance was administered to the inhabitants. It was not until September, I76I, that Fort St. Joseph was
garrisoned by the British.
The Indians who had for generations been trained by the French
to regard the English as their natural enemies, regarded their new
masters with sullen hatred, and rumors of plots to surprise the posts
already occupied and massacre the garrisons were heard by Captain
Donald Campbell at Detroit. The English traders failed to understand the psychology of the savage mind, and some of them made no
attempt to do so. Their attitude was that of the conqueror. The
British government's policy in dealing with the savages at a time when
every movement should have been conciliatory was stingy and uncompromising. It was thought necessary then to strengthen the garrisons, and Sir William Johnson, British superintendent of Indian Affairs, came to Detroit on September 3, to hold a treaty with the savages.




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He occupied the house of M. de Bellestre, late French commander, "the
best in the place." At a conference between Campbell and Johnson
on the following day it was decided to garrison Fort St. Joseph with
an officer and fifteen men. In his diary, Tuesday, September 8, I76I,
Johnson records that he "was making out instructions and orders for
the officers going to command at Michillimackinac, St. Joseph, Miamis,
&c. On examining the goods intended for the present, many are
found rotten and ruined by the badness of the boats, for want of a
sufficient number of oil cloths, &c.; so that I shall be obliged to replace them, and add more goods to the present, the number of Indians
being very great * * * Wednesday, 9th. Fine morning but
windy. I ordered two small cannon fired at 10 o'clock, as a signal
for them all to assemble. This day the light infantry and the Royal
Americans, which are to garrison the forts at Michilimackinac, La
Baye and St. Joseph set off with ten months' provisions." (Life and
Times of Sir William Johnson, Albany, I865).
This expedition, consisting of detachments of the Sixtieth and
Eightieth Regiments marched to Mackinac under command of Captain
Henry Balfour, arriving on September 28. After a conference with
the Indians, Balfour left Lieutenant William Leslie with twenty-five
privates of the Sixtieth or Royal American Regiment, and proceeded
by boats to La Bay, afterward called Fort Edward Augustus, and to
Fort St. Joseph. After being detained four days by contrary winds
off the mouth of the Grand river, the expedition proceeded to La
Bay. (Gorrell's Journal, Wis. Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 25).
On October 14, Captain Balfour left La Bay for St. Joseph. La
Bay was left in command of Lieutenant James Gorrell.
Captain Balfour arrived in Detroit November 22 from St. Joseph,
and immediately set off for Niagara with Lieutenant Brehm, according to a message sent to Colonel Bouquet by Captain Donald Campbell. He writes:
"The country can furnish us but little this year, so I shall have
much trouble to assist the garrison and to add to our misfortune. The
general disapproves of Major Walters sending the last ammunition he
forwarded to me. I designed to send a large quantity of ammunition to the posts of Miamis, St. Joseph and Ouatinon, for the subsistence
of the garrisons, as the transportation of provisions is so difficult.
This I cannot do as I could not want for ammunition." (Archives
Publiques du Canada, Serie A, Vol. XVII, p. 238).
There were no disturbances at the posts in the Upper Country during the winter of 1671 and I672, though storm clouds were gathering
over the tepee villages scattered throughout the peninsula. Pontiac
and his agents were indefatigably working to unite the savage tribes
for the blow which was to fall on the English posts in the summer
of I763.
Gladwin took command of Detroit in August, retaining Captain
Donald as second in command. Ensign Francis Schlosser was in
charge of the post at St. Joseph, and reports of misconduct came to
Detroit. Schlosser, the son of Captain Joseph Schlosser, builder of
the fort on the Niagara frontier, was so young he was called "the




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77


boy." He was exactly the wrong kind of person to fit into the motley
social life of this old settlement of Frenchmen and savages. Nor
could he get along with the traders. An appetite for liquor was the
basis of complaint against Schlosser.
Residents of St. Joseph complained of Schlosser's conduct, and in
informing Colonel Bouquet of conditions, Captain Campbell wrote
April 26, 1762:
"I have had a complaint against young Schlosser from St. Joseph's. I am afraid he never will do in that command. It requires
judgment and temper to command one of these posts. The French
inhabitants and Indians are so much connected that if you disoblige
one of them, the other takes part. You may believe on his father's
account, I shall do everything to save him. If the Indians make complaint against him, which they have not yet done, I shall be obliged
to relieve him, and report it to the general. * * * Sergeant
Steines is with Ensign Schlosser at St. Joseph's. It will be impossible to relieve him at present, as I have not a sergeant to send in his
place as I cannot spare one from this garrison, so if you will send one
from the regiment, I will send him directly." (Archives Publiques
du Canada, Serie A, Vol. XVIII-I, p. I4I).
On the same date George Crogan at Fort Pitt, ordered Thomas
Hutchins, Assistant Agent for Indian Affairs, to proceed from Detroit
"in a battoe, or canoe with five hundred pounds of flour. * * * to
St. Joseph's in order to examine into the state and behavior of the
Indians, also to regulate and transact any business with them which
may be found requisite for the good of the service and the promoting
of his Majesty's interest and influence amongst the Indians in those
parts."
In a letter to Colonel Bouquet on June 8, 1762, in which he explains
that Mr. Hutchins has been sent on his way to St. Joseph's with two
men and an interpreter, Captain Donald Campbell adds, "I sent a person to St. Joseph's to examine into the complain made against Ensign
Schlosser. I gave him my best advice for his future conduct. He
promises to me that I shall never have any future complaints against
him, and the whole affair is made up for this time. Mr. Hutchins
shows an inclination to be sent to one of these posts when he gets his
commission. I should think him a proper person.".(Archives Publiques du Canada, Serie A, Vol. XVIII-I, pp. 224-227).
One of the traders at St. Joseph who returned with a damaging
report about Schlosser's conduct was T. D. Hambaugh, who informed
Colonel Bouquet in a letter June Io, 1762, that "I arrived here the
2nd. of this inst. from St. Joseph, where I might have made a better
hand if Mr. Schlosser had not been so much against me. I have taken
some goods from Mr. Callendar to try another to St. Joseph, and if
possible, I intend to be down in the fall. I am with profound respect,
Sir, Your Honour's Most Humble, Most Obedient Servant."
The young commander, however, continued his convivial career
despite the warning he had received from his superior at Detroit, and
his promise to leave bottles and jugs alone. While in a hilarious con



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


dition he vented his feeling of enmity against the French, as is illustrated by the following comical incident quaintly described by the
trader T. D. Hambaugh, writing to Colonel Bouquet, October I3,
1762:
"Since Your Honor desires me to know the truth of Mr. Schlosser's extravaganty's I am certain there has been several complaints
made to Captain Campbell. But his greatest follies are still undiscovered, as often as he had any liquor or any person whatsoever will
give him any (for refuses nobody all that it was an Indian), he generally gets what you call merry and then being an absolute master,
gets into his head. In one of those fits he once ran into a Frenchman's house. The man being to bed, but by the noise he got up.
Mr. Schlosser got hold of him and call'd for the guard, and afterwards
told the people that he had orders to burn the fort, kill all the French
and march off with his garrison. I only have alleg'd this one piece,
altho I might many more relate of the same nature.
"I am sometimes ashamed how the common French people talks,
they admire the English would send a man of some sense to an outpost, and amongst so many Indians, and not a boy.
"I beg your Honor's pardon for being extravagant myself, and beg
leave to subscribe myself.
"Sir, Your Honour's Most Humble and Obedient Servant,
"T. A. HAMBAUGH."
(Bouquet Papers, Vol. XIX, Michigan Historical Collections, p.
I68).
In the meantime the savage tribes, scattered throughout thousands
of square miles, were plotting with a cunning which would have done
credit to a civilized power, to deliver a surprise blow against their
hated new masters, the British. Pontiac and his aides were to prove
that it was possible for the red men, once they were united, to become
a powerful organization, which could spread destruction and death.
The British noted during the winter of 1762 and 1763 indications of
unrest among the Indians of the upper country. The actions of the
savages were suspicious. Robert Holmes, commander of the Miamis,
March 30, 1763, reported that a Shawnee war belt of wampum had
been delivered.to the chiefs of the Miami Indians, who had in turn
delivered it to the commander with the statement that "We were not
to let this belt be known of till it arrived at Ouiatanon, and then we
were all to rise and put the English to death all about this place, and
those at other places. This belt we received from the Shawnee nation. They received it from the Delawares, and they from the Senecas
who are very much enraged against the English." (Bouquet Papers,
Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 181).
In May savages from many quarters began to rendezvous at Detroit. Thwarted in an attempt to massacre the garrison, the Indians
laid siege to the fort on May 10. In rapid succession the smaller posts
were captured, Fort Sandusky falling on May i6; St. Joseph's on the
25; Fort Miami, the 27; Ouiatanon, June I; Mackinac, June 2. On




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


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the 27th of May a force of regulars and rangers coming from Niagara
to Detroit, under command of Lieutenant Cornelius Cuyler, was attacked near the mouth of the Detroit river by a large horde of Indians.
Most of the soldiers were killed.
With the fall of Fort St. Joseph the career of Ensign Francis
Schlosser, the bibulous "boy commander," who had humiliated the
French residents during his tour of duty at the post, ended. His
life was spared, though ten of his men were butchered without mercy.
Schlosser's conceit was, to a great extent, responsible for the catastrophe which befell his command. Two, days before the assault,
Louis Chevalier, the most prominent personage in the valley, where
he had resided thirty years, warned him that the Indians intended to
attack the fort, but the irresponsible commander scoffed at the idea.
(Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. IX, p. 368).
To the fort, between nine and ten o'clock on the morning of May
25, there came nearly one hundred Potawatomies, who said their mission was to visit relatives. He was informed the visitors wished to
come in and bid him good morning. At that time a Frenchman hurried in and notified Schlosser that some Indians had come with "ill
designs." The commander hurried to the barracks to order his men
under arms. He found this building full of savages, whereupon he
ordered his sergeant to form the men while he himself assembled the
French. The latter were already awaiting him in his quarters. He
had been with them only a few minutes for a conference when a cry
came from the barracks. At this signal, Indians in the room seized
him, while those without made prisoner of the sentry at the gate. The
savages rushed throughout the fort butchering right and left. They
worked with rapid fury, killing within two minutes every member of
the garrison, except Schlosser and three men. The post was then
looted. (Archives Publiques du Canada, Serie A, Vol. XXVIII, p. 99).
Leaving the fort in the hands of the French inhabitants, the savages, loaded with plunder, started for Detroit with their captives.
As Louis Chevalier was present at the massacre, enemies spread
the report that he was in some manner associated with the betrayal
of the garrison. De Peyster investigated these charges with the result that Chevalier was exonerated and thereafter trusted by the
officer.
Through the aid of Chevalier, Richard Winston, a trader, and Mr.
Hambaugh, his colleague, who had unfavorably reported to Colonel
Bouquet concerning the conduct of Schlosser were saved. Winston remained hidden in the home of Chevalier just as Alexander
Henry remained hidden in the home of Charles de Langlade at the
Mackinac massacre. That Winston was sensibly impressed with the
danger through which he had passed and was humbly grateful for
his escape is evidenced by the following woeful, but somewhat amusing letter, he wrote on June I9, I763, to traders in Detroit:
"Gentlemen, I address myself to you all, not knowing who is alive
or who is dead. I have only to inform you that by the blessing of
God and the help of M. Louison Chevalier, I escaped being killed




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when the unfortunate garrison was massacred, Mr. Hambaugh and
me being hid in the house of the said Chevalier for four days and
nights. Mr. Hambaugh is brought by the savages to the Illinois, likewise Mr. Chim. Unfortunate me remains here captive with the savages. I must say that I met with no bad usage; however, I would that
I was with some Christian or other. I am quite naked, and Mr. Castacrow, who is indebted to Mr. Cole, would not give me one inch to
save me from death, who the day before the massacre here to pay me
part of said debt, but since that denied in the presence of Mr. Chevalier
that he owed me anything, until I produced his note, he then said
his note was no order to pay any part of said debt to me. I am informed that Castacrow has information that Mr. Cole was killed on
his way from Niagara. I have nothing to say concerning our enemy
here but that they recommend to the savages at Detroit to quit their
firing upon the fort at Detroit, that as the Six Nations began the war
they might persist in it. We are informed that at Miamis Mr. Holmes
and part of his garrison were killed, the other part being carried down
the Wabash to join the garrison of Ouitinon and carried all to the
Illinois. At Ouitinon there was not one killed but all taken prisoners."  (Gladwin Manuscripts, Vol. XXVII, Michigan Historical Collections, p. 634).
Two messengers whom Schlosser had dispatched to Major Gladwin at Detroit for a purpose that has not been revealed were captured
and murdered by Pontiac's order when they attempted to pass Potawatomies stationed to intercept any Englishman who might attempt
to reach the fort.
"The Potawatomies, who, as I have stated, were in league with the
Ottawas for annihilation of the Englishmen, and who, however, had
not yet made much stir around the fort, keeping themselves, according to Pondiak's order, away off in the woods and on the shore of
the lake and river, to stop all Englishmen, who might be under way to
the fort, made two prisoners, who were men whom the commander
of St. Joseph had detached from his fort to send here with letters to
Mr. Gladwyn. They were taken to Pondiak's camp, who had them
killed by his men." (The Pontiac Manuscript, Vol. VIII, Michigan
Pioneer Collections, p. 286).
Schlosser, the survivors of his little garrison, and several other
captives, were taken by the Potawatomies to Detroit where a vast
assemblage of Indians under Pontiac were besieging the fort. They
arrived Friday, June IO, according to the Pontiac Manuscript:
"The Potawatomies of St. Joseph, who had attacked the Englishmen at that place and had made themselves masters of the fort, after
having killed a part of the garrison and taken the others prisoners, left
the fort in keeping of the French settlers at that place and came, with
their prisoners, who numbered seven and included the commander,
to join the Potawatomies of Detroit and arrived in the night before at
the village. Having learned that the Englishmen had two Indians
of their nation as prisoners in the fort, they came about four o'clock
in the afternoon with a Mr. Gammalin (Gammelin), to the foot of
the fort for entering into agreement with the officers of the fort and








SOLDIERS FROM CAMP CUSTER IN THEIR FIRST PARADE IN BATTLE CREEK


FRUIT MARKET-BENTON HARBOR


PICTURE OF ELEVEN EARLY HASTINGS SETTLERS TAKEN 85 YEARS AGO




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


81


making an exchange by giving up the officers who commanded St.
Joseph for the two Indians who were in the fort. This offer did
not please the commander who wanted the Potawatomies to give up
all the seven prisoners for the two Indians. They would not consent
to the exchange and returned the way they had come, putting off the
exchange."
In making the exchange of prisoners, the British commander bargained shrewdly with the savages and "cheating" them according to
opinion of the author of Pontiac's Manuscript, who says:
"At ten o'clock the Potawatomies came for the third time to exchange prisoners, and gave the commander of St. Joseph and two
soldiers for one of the Indian prisoners whom the English had. They
were cheated in the exchange, for they demanded him who was called
"Long Ears," who was most esteemed amongst them, and they received in his place a fellow named Nokaming (No-kan-ong), whom
they looked upon as a knave; but the deception originated with this
Nokaming who sent word to the commander not to give the Potawatomies the one of the two whom they would ask for, but to give him
in his place, because the Potawatomies thought very little of him,
while the other was highly esteemed in his nation, and if he kept him,
the Potawatomies, who were anxious to have him, would give in exchange all of the prisoners. This advice, although coming from a
savage, was appreciated and found good. He was given in exchange
and "Long Ears" was kept, to have, by his means, other prisoners
exchanged; but the Potawatomies were hardly satisfied with their bargain, when they saw their hopes frustrated."
Ensign Francis Schlosser, safe inside the fort, was again with
his colleagues. He had entered the army as an ensign with the Royal
Americans in I789. When Sir William Johnson embarked at Niagara
for Detroit on August 19, 1761, Schlosser and Ensign Holmes had
command of four of the thirteen batteaux. That Schlosser was still
at Detroit on April Io, 1764, is proved by a letter written on that date
by "Ensigns Christie, Schlosser and Pauli" to General Bouquet asking
to be reimbursed for losses in the Indian war, "which are too considerable for us to bear." Schlosser asked for the sum of "f 87-Io
sterling for Baggage and Stores." (Bouquet Papers, Michigan
Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 252).
Schlosser then dropped into oblivion. His father, Captain Joseph
Schlosser, a prominent officer, died in 1772, at Niagara where he was
stationed at least a decade.
The success of the savages in capturing the posts brought courage
to the Indians and stirred exultation among the Frenchmen so lately
conquered and supplanted. Before a court of inquiry held in Detroit
on October I, 1763, Thomas Meares, soldier in the Sixtieth Regiment,
captured at Presqu'isle, testified "That he had been soon after Captain Campbell's death-(he had been obliged to witness the torture
and death of this officer)-brought to an Indian village on the way
to St. Joseph's about four days' march, in which village he saw three
Frenchmen (whose names he does not know, but will know their
faces and their houses, having been there sometimes), come the day




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after Captain Dalyell's defeat in great haste, and heard them tell the
Indians there, seemingly in great joy, how the English were beat and
had great numbers killed, showing how they were brought in complaining of their wounds and many other demonstrations of joy."
(Gladwin Manuscripts, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XXVII,
p. 651).
Though Fort St. Joseph was located in a strategic position in the
midst of an important settlement, the British did not re-establish the
permanent military garrison after the massacre, and the affairs of the
community were entrusted by the British to Louis Chevalier, the most
prominent personage of the St. Joseph river valley. (Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 372).
Not all the tribes were enemies of the British, but the greatest hotbeds of hostility were in the numerous villages that dotted the
meadows and sloping prairies along the St. Joseph river. "This day
two Saky's (Sauks) came in and informed the commandant that the
Chippewas of the Isles about Michilimackinac had sent belts this
winter to their nation, to the Folavin and Puante, to strike against us
this spring, but they would not receive them. That Wassong and
Mashoquise had tried to prevent that party from coming from toward
St. Joseph that was here some time ago, but they would not be advised.
They said they had lost a man last year and they would have revenge.
That if they had known it sooner they would have advised us of it
before they arrived, but they knew nothing of it till they had gone.
That the Delawares and Shawanys had sent belts during the winter
toward St. Joseph and La Bay to invite the nations thereabout to take
up arms against us in the spring." (Diary of the Siege of Detroit,
Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 261).
As a result of a treaty with the savages at Niagara in the summer
of 1764, the British were given the right to re-establish the fort at
Mackinac, and Colonel William Howard was dispatched thence with
two companies of regulars and a unit of artillerymen. They were
accompanied by two companies of Frenchmen, whose influence was
desired to pacify the savages. The schooner Gladwin conveyed provisions and munitions from Detroit to the post. On September 12,
Lieutenant Sinclair was ordered to deliver another cargo of stores at
the post and to sail "round Lake Michigan, steering up the River St.
Joseph as far as you can, making throughout the whole voyage such
remarks and observations as the importance of the service you are
ordered on requires for the future navigation of those lakes, observing
the same on Lake Huron, the whole of which you will report in writing
to Lieutenant Colonel Campbell or officer commanding here on your return and receive from him directions for your further conduct." (Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 271).
With the failure of Pontiac's plot to expel the English, the tribes,
though they hated their Anglo-Saxon masters, realized the advantages
that peace with the white men would bring and they were content to
bury the hatchets. In contrast with the aloofness of the British, the
Latin temperament was responsive to that of the savages. The
French coureurs du bois and voyageurs continued to dwell contentedly




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


83


in the Indian towns where their half-breed progeny were reared with
those of the relatives of their Indian mothers.
Across the Mississippi river at St. Louis the Indians were received
with hospitality by the Spanish who were as eager to alienate the red
men from their new masters as the English had been to alienate them
from the French. But the Indians, who had already been made the
tools of the European nations, now regarded the white men of all nations as self-seeking plotters endeavoring ultimately to rob them of
their lands.
How great an affection the Indians retained for the French is
exemplified by the conduct of a chief of the Potawatomies of St.
Joseph who punished savages for insulting and mistreating the French
residents of Peoria. Writes M. de St. Ange, commandant of the
Illinois, to M. Dabbadie, director-general and commandant for the
King in Louisiana, August I4, 1764:
"A certain Mitaminque, chief of the Potawatomi nation of St.
Joseph, arrived here the 30th of the past month. He reasserted his
attachment for the French and assured me of the fidelity of his people.
He informed me of a measure which he had taken with the Peoria
at the camp of a band of Iowa, which is established on the bank of the
Mississippi, on the occasion of insults offered to the French inhabitants of Peoria and the thefts of horses and slaves, which they had
committed. He assured me that if this nation continued its brigandage it would draw upon itself the hatred of those attached to the
French. He told me he had threatened them and had forced them
to return all they had taken from the French. The conduct of this
chief was confirmed by a man named Detailly. * * * I received
and treated him with all the honor that his attachment and fidelity
merited, and I pledged him to continue the same on all occasions. I
have not failed to tell him as well as the other nations that the attachment they have for the French should not pledge them to continue the
war against the English, that their father wished them to lay down
their arms in order to make peace reign, and that they would truly
prove their attachment only in acting on this decision. But I find
them always in the same resolution; they are inflexible on this point
and repeat in all their harangues that they will never renounce seeing
their first father who has always treated them with kindness, and
that they continue this war only to protect him; that, furthermore,
they will not find the same advantage with the English, nor the same
benefits under their government, since they have already experienced
the tone of the master from them." (Illinois Historical Collections,
Vol. II).
The Spanish at "San Luis," through the medium of liberal gifts,
rapidly gained favor of the savages. Saint Ange, in the service of
that country, on May 2, I769, signed a report giving a list of tribes
making the journeys from the headwaters of the Mississippi, the
Wabash, the Illinois and the tributaries of the Missouri to that northern outpost of the Castilian monarch's territory. Among them were
"Poutuatami, Sauteaux and Outaoua of the river of San Joseph and
of that of Ilinneses." Among the tribes enumerated in addition were




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the "Kaskaskias, Kaokias, Peorias, Metchigamia, Pranquichia (Pian
kishaw), Orinanon (Ouiatanon), Kickapu, Mascouten, Miami,
Ayooua (Iowas), Sioux, Saks, Renards, Sauteu, Misouris, Little
Ausages, Big Ausages, Canse (Kansas), Autocdata, Panimaha."
(MSS. in General Archives of the Indies, Seville. Vol. XVIII, Wisconsin Historical Collections, p. 229).
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BREAKS OUT
When the Revolution broke out it was not difficult for the British
to stir the Indians to attack the colonists, whom they had hated over
a century. They were now able to give vent to the wrath they felt
against the British since the fall of New France. The hated "Virginians" had for generations engaged in battle with the western
tribes. Now the savages had an opportunity to turn against the traditional enemy as allies of the world's greatest nation.
Again the moccasined feet of the plumed and painted barbarians
traversed the old war trails toward the east, or paddled down the
lakes from remote regions and up the waterways which gave access
to the western frontiers of the colonies. To stir a thirst for blood
among the savages was unnecessary. They were only awaiting removal of restraint to resume bloody depredations they had carried on
under the French flag.
The command of the Indians of the lake region naturally fell to
Langlade, leader and tactician in the backwoods art of war in the
Battle of the Monongahela. In an order issued at "Michilimaquenac,
July 4, 1776, that memorable date in American independence, Captain
Arent Schuyler de Peyster, commandant of the post, to take command
of the savages and Canadians and report to the officer that commands
the troops of the King in Montreal. * * * You will do your best
to harass the rebels whenever you may encounter them, and in all
matters you will conduct yourself with your customary prudence
and humanity." (Miscellanies by De Peyster).
The Potawatomies with other savages were mobolized as auxiliaries of the Canadian troops in the spring of I777. Langlade was
commissioned by Captain De Peyster, commandant of Michilimackinac, to raise the Indian contingent. By June 4, Langlade was at
Mackinac with sixty warriors. He left the next day for Canada, and
immediately some Menominees deserted. Shortly afterward the Potawatomi warriors from St. Joseph arrived under command of Louis
Chevalier, and were ordered to proceed and join Langlade. Still later
there came Charles Gautier with a force of Saux and Foxes.
Reporting to Carleton in Quebec on July I4, Langlade was sent
to join Burgoyne's army at Lake Chaplain. He accompanied the general as far as Fort Edward, but the English commander's refusal to
tolerate barbarities by his savage allies displeased them to such an
extent that the tribesmen began deserting, though they had decided
at a council to obey his commands. By August 6, few western
Indians were left with Burgoyne. In October Gautier returned to
Mackinac, and Langlade probably accompanied him. (Wisconsin
Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 357).




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85


The Spanish in the meantime were continuing their efforts to
weaken the alliance of the Indians and British. With them worked
the French in the Illinois settlements. Distribution of presents was
continued at the stronghold at St. Louis. Among the tribes proceeding thence were the Potawatomies from the St. Joseph. They are
thus described in a Spanish report of 1777:
"This tribe is composed of one hundred and fifty warriors. The
name of the chief is Unan Guise (Oanaguise). They are located two
hundred leagues from this post, on a river called San Joseph, which
rises in a lake called Michigan, located at a distance of sixty or seventy
leagues from the Misisipy. This tribe has been well affected to the
French, but they are somewhat in revolt at present, and are evilly
inclined, and cause many thefts in the district."  (MSS. in General
Archives of the Indies, Seville; pressmark, "Papeles procedientes de
la Isla de Cuba").
The Potawatomies of this river were distrusted by the British
and the Spanish of playing a double part, "possibly because of the
influence of Louis Chevalier, who appears to. have played a double
part." (Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. I 6).
That so important and long-established settlement like St. Joseph
should go without molestation in the Revolution was not to be considered. It was a trading center in the heart of a wilderness well
populated with savages. Its traders kept on hand a large amount of
valuable goods. While George Rogers Clark, with his Virginian
army, was conducting his victorious campagin through the Illinois
country in I778, St. Joseph was attacked by an expedition consisting
of three hundred Frenchmen, Indians and half-breeds. The little
army was organized by Paulette Meillet, a noted fur-trader of the
Illinois valley. In some records he is called Paulette Maize. His
men were enlisted in various French settlements. The spirit of '76
did not inspire the men in this expedition to enlist-it was the lure
of plunder that might be obtained while delivering a blow apparently
in the interests of the American freedom. This motley aggregation of
unkempt and determined adventurers, garbed in the picturesque style
of the barbarian and of the frontiersman, started from a point near
Peoria, passed up the Illinois and Kankakee valleys and fell upon the
settlement, capturing every one in the fortification and plundering
the houses. This expedition is credited, in this blow for liberty,
with stealing all the traders' goods and pelts stored in the warehouses.
Verified details of this attack are lacking. One authority says that
the invaders surprised the garrison, while another says that word had
been received in advance, that the garrison resisted, but was overpowered after an assault on the stockade. They agree, however, that
the force consisted of three hundred men. That this expedition was
organized more for pillaging "than for patriotism, is evidenced by the
fact that Congress refused to compensate the men who engaged in it."
(Pioneers of Illinois, Matson).
For information concerning activities of the Americans in the
Illinois region and of the Spaniards in the Mississippi valley, the
Mackinac commander depended on Louis Chevalier. So great was




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


De Peyster's confidence in him that he "thought it necessary to render him useful by giving him some authority at St. Joseph's which
he has hitherto exerted with the greatest discretion. * * * Mr.
Chevalier at St. Joseph's holds the pass to Detroit, and can also give
the first intelligence of the enemy's motion of the Wabash. This gentleman is so connected with the Potawatomies that he can now do
anything with them. * * *.A young Indian named Amiable at
present at Montreal is his son. Some mark of distinction given to
this young man and he with a few of his comrade Potawatomies at
Montreal would be great service, as those of St. Joseph would never
misbehave whilst any of their friends are down in the country."
When Henry Hamilton in the autumn of 1778 raised the force
which retook Vincennes only to be captured with all his garrison by
George Rogers Clark in February, 1779, De Peyster, commandant
of Mackinac, ordered Langlade to have charge "from the Grand river
as far as the St. Joseph, where are the Court Orielles and the Ganteaux
(Sauteur), causing them to assemble without loss of time at St. Joseph.* * * Monsieur Gautier will go direct to St. Joseph, there
addressing himself to Mons. Louis Chevalier in order to require him
to assist Monsieur Ainse in assembling the Poutouatamies, while Gautier does his best to obtain intelligence of the situation of Monsieur
Hamilton, making his report thereof to Monsieur Langlade." (Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 371).
These Indians-Chippewas and Ottawas, who resided in the vicinity of L'Arbre Croche during the summer, spent their winters in the
Grand river region. Langlade as early as I775 had a trading post
at Caboquashe at the confluence of the Grand and Flat rivers.
That two hundred and'fifty Americans, under Captain James Willing, an advance detachment of seven hundred men, had taken possession of the Illinois country, was the information that Louis Chevalier sent to De Peyster in August, I778. The following month
De Peyster sent to St. Joseph a speech and belt to be forwarded to
the Indians of Illinois, but Chevalier disapproved on the grounds that
American influence Was too strong for such a mission to meet with
success. Early in September, De Peyster received an appeal from
Hamilton asking for co-operation of Indians in an attempt to expel
the Americans from Illinois, and he immediately announced that he
intended to send an express to the Grand river in an endeavor to stir
enthusiasm among the young Indians to join Hamilton's force, and
to order them to mobilize at St. Joseph. He also prepared to request
Chevalier to assist Hamilton in every possible way. The Indians,
however, were scattered among their camping grounds. De Peyster,
in order to improve communications with St. Joseph asked that a
small vessel be placed at his disposal. He had already armed the
sloop Welcome for use on Lake Michigan, but receiving no favorable
reply, he dismissed her. With the sloop as transport he could get a
reply in eight days to his letters to St. Joseph, one month being required for a canoe.
In the latter part of September, Langlade and his nephew, Charles
Gautier, arrived at Mackinac to await De Peyster's orders. Provided




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87


with goods with which to win favor of the savages and belts, the
Frenchmen were sent off. Langlade to the Ottawas and Chippewas,
who had gone to winter on the Grand river,,Gautier to St. Joseph to
take charge of mobilization of the savages and at the same time to
ascertain Hamilton's route with the object of assisting him. De Peyster also sent his interpreter to St. Joseph's to bring back information.
In order to obtain necessary transportation to this post, De Peyster
was obliged to impress into service the only servants of some Mackinac families to man a canoe. As it was October, the winds made
paddling very difficult.
Owing to adverse gales, Langlade, Gautier and Joseph Ainse, the
interpreter, did not arrive at the Grand river until November 13.
On their return way they met Ottawa chiefs, who refused on such
short notice to join the expedition. They promised, however, to be
ready in the spring. Arriving at St. Joseph's on December 2, the
three Frenchmen found that Louis Chevalier had arrived twenty-two
days previously from Hamilton's army whence he had taken as many
Potawatomies as he could muster among those not off for the annual
winter's hunt. As unfavorable news of Hamilton's army reached
Indians of the Grand river, eighty warriors, who had agreed to accompany Langlade, refused to leave and he returned to his post at
La Bay. Gautier set out for his post on the Mississippi taking belts
and speeches to persuade the savages to be ready in the spring.
Shortly afterward De Peyster was informed that the Potawatomies
with Hamilton had returned to St. Joseph's for the winter.
Receiving word from Captain Lernault at Detroit in March, I779,
that he had reason to believe the post would be attacked, De Peyster
advised the Grand river Indians to go directly to Detroit by a short
cut across the country. He also sent from the Thunder Bay district
the noted Chief Matchiguis and his band "to hearten the Indians
about Detroit as the eyes of most nations are upon him." (Haldimand
Papers, Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. IX, p. 379).
News of the capture of Hamilton and his entire force by George
Rogers Clark was received by De Peyster on April 24, I779. As the
ice was early out of the rivers, early news from the Grand river was
expected at Mackinac, but no traders of Indians arrived. Some squaws,
however, brought a report said to have originated at the Grand river
that the Virginians were building boats at Milwaukee and that the
Ottawas and Chippewas had agreed to stay there until the Americans
had captured Fort Michilimackinac and delivered it to the Indians'
old friends, the French. Chippewas arriving from the Grand river
on May 13, said this report had been spread by some "evil-minded
Indians and that neither themselves nor the Ottawas would listen to
the Rebels' belt."
Langlade again arrived at Mackinac on May 12 with the information that a Canadian named Benclo with twenty horsemen were
traveling through the Sauk country buying horses and telling the
Indians three hundred men would soon come and capture La Bay.
Langlade, however, believed that the horses were really intended for
an expedition against Detroit.




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


"I don't care how soon Mr. Clark appears provided he come by
Lake Michigan and the Indians prove staunch and above all the
Canadians do not follow the example of the brethren at the Illinois
who have joined the Rebels to a man," wrote De Peyster.
Receiving information from St. Joseph that an American expedition composed of seven hundred infantrymen was advancing up the
Wabash toward Detroit and that Daniel Maurice Godefroy de Linctot,
one of George Rogers Clark's officers, was proceeding with four
hundred cavalrymen to capture Fort St. Joseph, Captain De Peyster,
commandant of Michilimackinac, despatched his second in command, Lieutenant Thomas Bennett, early in July, I779, with a force
of twenty soldiers and sixty traders and canoe Indians, to intercept
the Americans. It was expected that the number of Indians would
daily increase as the expedition paddled southward. De Peyster believed that if this report were false, the presence of a British force
would win the confidence of wavering savages and cheer the inhabitants. In addition, Captain De Peyster purchased the sloop Welcome,
loaded her with subsistance for Bennett's force, and with goods that
could be used by him to advantage among the Potawatomies, Mascoutens, Kickapoos and Miamis on the river.
De Peyster, while outfitting this expedition, sent the following order
to Charles Langlade on July I, I779:
"Sir-You are required for the good of His Majesty's service to
start from here and do your best to levy the people of Lafourche
(l'Arbre Croche village of Ottawas commanded by Chief Lafourche),
Milwaukee, the Puants and others along the shore of Lake Michigan,
and then hasten to join Mr. Bennett at Chicagou; and, if Mr. Bennett
has passed on, to follow him by rapid marches so as to catch up to
him before he arrives at the Pee (Peoria), and work with him for
the good of the service in accordance with the orders he has received
from me." (MSS. in Wisconsin Historical Library).
Lieutenant Bennett, commissioned in the Eighth Regiment, who
commanded this expedition, had distinguished himself during the
previous year when he was detailed to take a force to the great fur
depot at Grand Portage, on the north coast of Lake Superior where
British merchants asked for protection. In 1783, Bennett was promoted to a captaincy. He retired from the regiment in I791.
De Peyster, for the purpose of stirring enthusiasm among the
savages, visited the great Ottawa town of L'Arbre Croche on the
Lake Michigan shore south of Mackinac. Here he addressed the
savages on July 4, 1776, explaining the advantages to be derived from
remaining firmly allied with the British. The major, who paused
during his service for Mars to woo the Muses, afterward converted
his speech to the savages into verse, the following of which-taken
from his "Miscellanies"-demonstrates to what extent his efforts were
rewarded:
"I know that you have been told by Clark,
His riflemen never miss the mark;
In vain you hide behind a tree,
If they your finger's tip can see,



SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


89


The instant they have got their aim
Enrolls you on the list of lame.
But, then, my sons, this boaster's rifles,
To those I have in store are trifles;
If you but make the tree your mark,
The ball will twirl beneath the bark,
'Till it one-half the circle cind,
Then out and kill the man behind."
"To Detroit, Linctot bends his way;
I, therefore, turn you from the Pey (Peoria),
To intercept the chevalier.
At Fort St. Joseph's, and 0 Post (Vincennes),
Go,-lay in ambush, for his host,
While I send round Lake Michigan,
To raise the warriors-to a man;
Who, on their way to get to you,
Shall take a peep at-at Eschickagou (Chicago),
Eghittawas smiles at the notion
Of Kissegouit, brave Neotochin,
Swift Neogad, fierce Scherroschong,
And Glode, the son of Vieux Carong,
Those runagades at Milwakie,
Must now per force with you agree,
Must with Langlade their forces join;
Sly Siggenaak and Naakewoin,
Or, he will send them Tout au diable,
As he did with Baptist Point de Saible."
In the meantime the Ottawas of the Grand river, who lived in a
great village at "Bock-wa-ting" built on both sides of the rapids of
that stream (now the site of the city of Grand Rapids), were wavering
between British and American influences. The potentate of this village was Chief Kuigushkam, who was still holding sway when Louis
Campau took up his permanent residence there in the early thirties.
De Peyster, awaiting word from Bennett, learned that "The Indians
join the Collier de Guerre (war-belt) fast; it is a yard and a half in
length, and has a great medal tied to it as a reward for him who does
the greatest action free from cruelty. The other chiefs on the march
receive strings from Linctot, who requests them to remain neuter,
and let him pass to Detroit with a body of horse. They sent me the
strings and detained his messenger.    Some Indians are just returned
from the Falls of the Ohio where the Rebels have a fort. They killed
four of their soldiers but did not scalp them. Whilst they were thus
employed, another band from their village (i. e. the Grand river)
upon a visit to the Rebels at Kaskaskias, they met on their return and
shewed three kegs of rum, but declared they got no other presents."
(Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol IX, p. 39I).
Receiving information that Clark's force consisting of five hundred
men followed by a supply train hauled by two hundred oxen, was advancing, De Peyster, whose force had increased to five hundred, ordered
that an effort be made to draw the Americans into an ambuscade.     He
was certain that Langlade with at least three hundred savages would
arrive at St. Joseph.  In addition, he despatched on the sloop Welcome
as reinforcements for Bennett, a detachment of soldiers under Lieutenant George Clowes and an Indian contingent under Chief Matche



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


quis, a notable figure in the St. Joseph and Kalamazoo river regions.
Lieutenant Clowes is believed to have come to Mackinac with De
Peyster in 1774. When De Peyster was transferred to Detroit,
Clowes was left in command of the two companies of the Eighth Regiment at Mackinac. In 1784, he joined his regiment in Quebec and
returned to England.
De Peyster believed that if the report of the American advance
were false, Bennett's appearance with a force of soldiers at St.
Joseph's would secure the good will of the Potawatomies who were
reported to be wavering in their alliance with the British and thus
"deter the Rebels from any attempt that way seeing they are much
disturbed in thinking that the Indians would remain neuter and let
them pass." (Haldimand Papers, Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol.
IX, p. 390).
With the Welcome, De Peyster sent provisions and goods with
which Lieutenant Bennett was to secure favor of the Potawatomies,
Mascoutens, Kickapoos and Miamis.
Arriving at St. Joseph's July 23, before the Potawatomies were
assembled, Bennett immediately threw up an entrenchment, which was
considered of size sufficient to withstand a superior number of savages.
About a mile east of the gently sloping meadow on which stood Fort
St. Joseph embraced within the present city of Niles the early settlers
found a crescent-shaped earthwork, which some authorities believe
might have been made by Bennett's force. Opponents argue, however,
that defensive warfare of that period called for nothing of that type.
It is reasonable, however, to allow for the possibility that a portion of
it might have been destroyed by the elements. The Potawatomies
of the village of Terre Coupee prairie and the Petit Coeur de Cerf,
probably on the west side of the river, immediately visited Bennett,
declared their readiness to assist him and assured him that they regarded the enemies of their Father the King of England as their own.
Nevertheless, the Potawatomies were lacking in loyalty to the English.
As soon as possible Bennett sent Potawatomies and volunteers to
Peoria, the Ohio and the Miamis villages in order to obtain information about movements of the Americans. They were ordered to bring
back prisoners and to harass the enemy wherever possible. Two days
after the party left for Peoria, they met some Potawatomies who so
frightened or persuaded them to give up the journey that they returned
to St. Joseph's. The party sent to the Ohio returned five or six days
afterward with information that there were only a few Canadians at
the place and no signs of an enemy. There was no news from the
Miamis.
While Bennett's men were scouting throughout the region for
signs of an American advance, he caused to be seized as prisoners,
Baptiste Point au Saible, a negro trader, who had been driven from
Chicago earlier in the year by Langlade. Bennett found him located
with his effects at the mouth of the Riviere du Chemin, now known as
Trail Creek, at the mouth of which is now located Michigan City.
This negro, whom Bennett suspected of being friendly with the Americans, was a free mulatto from San Domingo, associated with French




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91


interests. Brought to St. Joseph, the negro, while a prisoner conducted himself so well he won Bennett's confidence. Corporal Tascon,
who made the arrest, prevented the Indians from burning the trader's
house, or from doing him any injury. He was permitted to take his
packs of fur and other property with him to Mackinac where he was
held prisoner. Freed, he re-established himself at Chicago where he
remained until the end of the eighteenth century. Selling his property
he moved to the vicinity of Peoria where he died later in I909. Said
Bennett in his report: "The Negro * * * has many friends,
who give him a good character. He informed me that Mr. Linctot
some time before had left the Pee, with some thirty Canadians to join
Mr. Clark at the falls of the River Blanche, to go to the Ouia, which
intelligence we confirmed."
Lieutenant Beniett's project of winning an alliance with the savages
of St. Joseph's resulted in ultimate failure. Shortly after his arrival
he told them in council that he had heard they were in danger of
"losing themselves," and that he hoped to "find them disposed to second
the designs to which his fondness for them had prompted him; in
short, he pressed them, by all that could touch the heart of an Indian,
to show themselves grateful. Determined also by the invitation of
the Ottawas and Sauteux (of the Grand river), and also by the words
of their father, after two days of deliberation, they declared that they
would follow the example of their brothers. After having smoked
with their pipes of peace and received their belts they agreed to be
of one mind. * * * Having reported the extreme distress of the
Americans and the prodigious progress of the Royal Arms in the
colonies and showed them the falsity of the pretended declaration of
war between England and France for which design the Grand
Couteaux (Big Knives-Americans) spread these false reports, he
(Bennett) sent them back loaded with favors and asked them to remember their words."  (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. IX,
P. 348).
Four days later, Lieutenant Benhett met in council outside the
British fortification an assemblage of the Potawatomies of the large
village, of Terre Coupe and the Little Pilormeau, and Le Petit Bled,
the War Chief, addressed the King's representative as follows:
"My father, I do not come here with a mouthful of flattery and
deceit. I do not come into your presence to hide my sentiments. On
the contrary I come to tell them to you. Many which are in my
heart my mouth cannot speak.
"I am surprised, my father, that you are come to disturb the peace
that reigns in our lands. I am pleased to see you with the pipe of
peace which you offer us today instead of the tomahawk.
"It is him who troubled the peace which we joined. It is him who
made the division among us. It is him that we will make unhappy.
It is he who is the subject of my surprise and of this speech.
"You vainly try, my father, to make us lift our heads from the
pillow to listen to you. It is folly to present us with this load which
is too heavy for our hands; a mat would be better, and it is that you
should offer us, but we will ask it of you.




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"This belt which I am going to show engages us to make this demand. It is from our French father and represents his members and
bones scattered here and there, but which seem today gathered together and united against thee. Our ancient father, on giving it to
us, said to us: 'My children, this belt is the knot which should bind
and tie your hands. Except for us, remember never to unite for your
enemies. If they are conquerors, content yourselves with giving them
the pipe of peace and living peaceably with them, until the day that
we reappear on your lands.'
"I carry again the pipe of peace in the mouth, and I invite you to
smoke it. It is filled with nothing that can be repugnant to your
hearts. It is good to smoke it, and there is nothing hitter in it. On
the contrary, it is sweet, very different from the pipe of peace which
my chiefs as well as myself have, today, rejected as a mortal plague."
This speech he addressed to the Ottawas and Sauteu:
"I do not come to break the alliance between us, my brothers,
I only come to show you my way of thinking in the same was that
I have showed it to my father.
"I confess to you that the red pipe presented to a party of my
nation has been a poison to them as fatal as that of the venemous
animal. This smoke has obscured the beautiful light and painted to
us the shadow of death.
"It is in the virtue of our union that they received your words and
swallowed the poison. Their error has preceded yours. Deceived
yourselves by the choice of a pipe, they have allowed themselves to
be deceived. I repeat to you, my brothers, that this red pipe should
never have been presented to us, but that which is instead of our
alliance and which you have left among us by a misunderstanding,
(he here gave four branches of porcelain). Nevertheless, I had
notice to give it to you. In giving you this porcelain it is not to overthrow our lands. Take care at the same time of raising a mob. Keep
a ready eye on those whom I have told you of. Cease to be fools;
be prudent and wise."
The speaker turned himself to his father: "I have the same thing
to say to my father. Change thy plans, renounce thy projects which
have been formed with neither prudence or wisdom. If you are stubborn and despise my councils, you will perhaps repent. Believe me,
my father, and do not go farther."
The speaker holding the branch of porcelain in his hand:
"Our lands, peaceable until today, refuse to carry men who would
destroy the peace which has reigned so long. They also refuse to
carry thy enemies, my father, and be persuaded that if my ears are
deaf to thy voice they are also deaf to the Grand Couteaux (Big
Knives) unless they say to me, 'Keep quiet and be a spectator in our
quarrel, but do not mix in it. If you have the same thing to say to
me, my father, I am ready to listen."
He gave four branches of porcelain and finished the speech by
telling his father all that the Grand Couteaux (Big Knives) had said
to him. He assured him that their desire to be peaceable was the
only motive which had brought him to speak in this way and that




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it was not hate. He added that the esteem which he had for his father
compelled him to show him his danger as the enemies were the most
numerous, he being by comparison but one mouthful for them. Then
he finished by saying that Governor Hamilton had given him a pipe
of peace, which he still keeps. However, he broke it in his engagement to take the tomahawk, that His Excellency had made him many
promises which have not been executed; still he hopes that his father
will accomplish them.
Mr. Bennet's answer to the Potawatomies:
"Your father at Michilimackinac having heard it said that his
children, the Pous (Potawatomies) were in great fear of the Grand
Couteaux (Big Knives) he is eager to send you help, accepted by
some of your chiefs but which you refuse today. 'Go,' this good
father has said to me, 'Go, throw off fear, my children, by offering
them your arms and those of all who accompany you. I flatter myself, if they second your plans that they will recover their security
and peace by destroying the principle of their terror.'
"I am here, my children, charged with this office: I appear on
your lands tomahawk in hand and this club, made for some men but
which you see with less horror. Do not offer your regards today because they will serve as a reproach to the perfidy of your chiefs, and
the truth broken by their false words. They were intended for your
hands, but I dispense with you, my children, because you ask me to
give into your hands an arm which cannot be taken except by a warrior's hand.
"However, I know your good will has revealed your sentiments,
for I have neither pretense nor imposture.
"I also come to declare mine to you with the same liberty with
which you declared yours, before I was obliged in the capacity of your
father to prescribe your duty to you by two comparisons, so that you
cannot lay on me the blame of your unhappiness which is only according to your ingratitude.
"I cannot see you made to tremble by the threats (for instance of
the Grand Couteaux) nor your minds beguiled by the falsehoods prepared as they have been. What I have said to your chiefs is the pure
truth. I cannot convince you more by a long argument of your obligation to be faithful subjects.
"I will show you the perfidious designs with which the Grand
Couteaux formed on the conduct which they would have made you
keep, as what I have to say includes all.
"I ask you Potawatomies which of the two fathers do you prefer?
The one who, attentive to your wants, has laid a heavy hand on you,
is watching your safety and taking care of your days, or he from
whom you have received no favors, who does not even know you except by the evils which he is watching to make you feel?
"And you chiefs and nations, what would be your amazement if
the youths of your village, carried away by a fanatical ardor, scorned
your councils, hunted you from your lands, what part would you take?
"Go, my children, go and ponder in drinking these drops of sweet
milk, which I will willingly give you. What will you say to your




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


father? Above all, remember, do not change your resolution (nor)
neglect your fields, but gather together with care and thrift every grain
of wheat. As for us, we are resolved to go where duty, honor and
glory calls us.
"This little mouth can perhaps choke those who dare to bite."
Two days had already passed without discovering what effect was
produced on their minds by this answer when it was discovered that
respect and clemency are not always the most proper means to bring
them back to their duty. Indeed, the chiefs of the first village followed by their young men, convinced by the last words of their father,
came near him to seek preservation from evils which he had predicted
for them.
"I am ashamed, in thy presence, my father," said the chief of the
village, "after having been a member of a council which one of my
nation has held for the misery of the others. I have, however, forgotten what I had resolved to say to you, but I still declare that none
of us have gone there nor taken part. I still assure you that instead
of entering into their sentiments I am resolved, on the contrary, to
execute punctually the words which I have given you in the presence
of all my people.
"I cannot easily persuade myself to answer their father that you
be dignified by taking the name of my children, for without your
words of assurance received in your general assembly I should not
have known of your eagerness to second my intentions."
"And thou, chiefs! If as I value today, your design in regard to
me as your father and in this capacity you will conform to my will,
why have you not risen up against the perfidy which offended me and
declared in my presence that you have not participated in this perfidy?"
This was excused because of the coarseness, or rather ferocity, of
his nature. Their father continued in these terms:
"I have a good heart, my children; it is open to every one who
will make a place there, but your conduct toward me has rendered
access difficult. You can now come only by two paths: I will show
them to you, and, if you banish them from you, you not find them
again. You only deserve the name of children, when you regard me
as your good father, but your brothers are unworthy to participate in
the favors of him who is now at Michilimackinac. I council you to
go to him and tell him your wants. He will help you. He will provide for the needs of as many as remain faithful and grateful to him.
I still consider that a part of you should accompany me on the road
to Detroit, if I undertake it. There are only two courses which you
can take, and these I propose to you."
Having consulted among themselves as to the party they would
take, such was the result of their deliberation:
"You cannot doubt our fidelity. The War Chief has let you know
satisfactorily by his song thy good will and ours. We pray you to
observe that not being accustomed to going on the lake, and not having the necessary carriages, it is impossible for us to follow your
advice. As for the latter we can easily execute it."
"These difficulties are nothing, my children. You will have all




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95


that is necessary for this road. It is absolutely necessary that you
take it. I can do nothing. Your father at Detroit cannot relieve
your wants. He, who is at Michilimackinac is the only one who can
concern himself with you. Finally, if I had not feared to show myself to you, do you fear what I will do to you?"  (Michigan Historical
Collections, Vol. X, p. 348).
These last words of Bennett's cleared the objections of the savages
and they agreed to accept and follow his advice. Several Miamis of
Coeur de Cerf village, (Heart of a stag) also shared in the sentiments.
The Potawatomies of this region who had only a little over a decade previous been stirred by Pontiac to murder the English were not
enthusiastic over the prospect of resuming destructive warfare. Two
days after assuring Bennett of their loyalty, Petit Bled, head of the
Potawatomies, informed the commander that whatever had been said
was by way of compliment. The chief without hesitation also told Bennett that "they returned the detested hatchet and pipe, which were
brought here only to render their villages miserable. He said they
desired tranquility, but still insists that he held -sacred the hatchet of
his former father, the French king, and would never quit it. As soon
as he returned to his village the others came and made an apology
for their insolence. I gave them an answer such as I thought they
deserved. Our scouts have all been frightened back by Indian reports.
They all seem to be debauched by the thoughts of a French war."
(Bennett's Report, Haldimand Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. X, p. 292).
Describing the Indians as a "set of treacherous poltroons," Bennett
informed De Peyster that there were not over twenty Indians in his
camp who were not preparing to desert him. "Even Kewigushkum
(Chief of the Grand River Ottawas), himself told the Potawatomies
that he did not come of his own consent, but that he and his whole
village were drove to it, this in consequence of threats from the
Potawatomi Belts to the Ottawas and us." He was informed that
Kewigushkum had told Petit Bled that upon leaving their village at
L'Arbre Croche, the Ottawas had determined to go no farther than
Sit. Joseph's and that he, like Petit Bled, favored the French. The
Ottawas were ready to return.
As Bennett had despatched overland to Detroit a messenger informing Captain Lernoult, commandant at the fort, of the pretended
loyalty given by the Indians on his arrival, he did not want to interrupt
any plans he might be ordered to carry out in consequence of sending
such information. He, therefore, persuaded Indians to stay with an
unfailing method-he yielded to their demand for five kegs of rum.
As the messenger had been away fourteen days, his return was daily
expected. The savages again became impatient. A number of them
left, but others remained when the commander, driven to desperation,
delivered two more kegs of "firewater." As the savages had already
drunk more than was intended for them, this additional gift was unwillingly given. The commander, exasperated, informed them that
if there was no other method of detaining them, he would rather be
left alone with volunteers.




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


While Bennett was in the midst of his difficulties with the savages,
Langlade, in accordance with De Peyster's orders of July I, arrived
with sixty Chippewas, who immediately demanded of Bennett rum in
so haughty a manner that he not only refused to give them any, but
started with his force to Mackinac when he learned that they had
apparently joined him with no other intention than to devour the
detachment's provisions, which were sufficient to last only fifteen days.
Langlade was instructed to wait one day longer for the messenger
from Detroit, now absent nineteen days. Bennett proceeded to the
mouth of the St. Joseph river where he "would not be importuned by
the savages" and awaited word from Langlade.
Notified by the French commander of the Indians that the messenger had not returned from Detroit, Bennett resumed his journey
and within two days arrived at the great dunes which guard the mouth
of the river "Okikanamayo" (Kalamazoo), where he sighted the
white sails of the sloop Welcome bound for St. Joseph with the reinforcements under command of Lieutenant Clowes and the Indian
chief "Michiguiss." He despatched "Mr. Hepe," a trader, in a canoe
to the ship to inform the commander where the British was encamped,
and that the detachment had left St. Joseph on account of shortage of
provisions with the intention of returning so soon as supplies were
received. By "Mr. Hepe," Lieutenant Clowes sent word that he had
provisions aboard, and offered to furnish them if Bennett would send
a canoe. Accompanied by as many volunteers as would go with him,
the commander hurried back to the mouth of the St. Joseph "hoping
yet to be of some service, aided by Lieutenant Clowes and Michiguiss
with ten of his band. I made no delay till I arrived at the river where
I found that the vessel had sailed, but being in hopes that she was
tacking about with an intention to return, I encamped and sent Mr.
Langlade again up to St. Joseph's to see if anything extraordinary
had happened since our departure. Upon his return he informed me
that affairs were in the same state as when we first left the place.
Having waited two days and a half for the return of the vessel and
having only seven days' provisions left I resolved upon returning to
Michilimackinac. * * * I have the pleasure to inform you that
the Canadians behaved with the greatest appearance of zeal for the
service possible, and seem greatly disappointed in not having had it
in their power to distinguish themselves. Also the soldiers who were
of the party, I flatter myself I need not inform you of their eagerness
to meet the enemy. Amiable, a young Ottawa chief, was the only
Indian who returned with me. He seems no less zealous for ye good
of ye service than ashamed at the dastardly, unsteady conduct of the
rest of the Indians." (Bennett's Report, Haldimand Papers, Mich.
Historical Collections, Vol. IX, p. 396).
With Bennett to Mackinac went Louis Chevalier, who had greatly
aided the British expedition during its occupation of southwestern
Michigan. Despite this assistance, he was suspected of being sympathetic with the American cause. His career in the St. Joseph valley
was nearing its end.
Of the movements of the British and Indians in the St. Joseph








1


/


EATON COUNTY COURTHOUSE
HIGH SCHOOL, CHARLOTTE
MAIN STREET LOOKING SOUTH, CHARLOTTE




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region George Rogers Clark and his army of backwoodsmen, from the
frontier of Virginia and other colonies, had been i'nformed by scouts
and friendly Indians. To Clark, Bennett's expedition was a complete
failure due to fear of the American army. Commenting in his journal
on the operations of this force from Mackinac, Clark wrote:
"Our movements during the summer had confused the enemy, consequently the commanding officer at Michilimackinac had sent an
expedition via St. Joseph's to penetrate into the Illinois and to drive
the Americans out of it. O'n their arrival at St. Joseph's, while Major
Linctot was on his way up the river it was reported that an army was
approaching. The Indians immediately fled from the English; being
asked the occasion he was told they were invited to see them and the
Big Knives fight, and as it was like to be the case, they had withdrawn
to a height in order to have full view of the engagement. Finding
little dependence on their Indians, they withdrew to the mouth of the
St. Joseph's and formed a strong camp, but on their first learning this
intelligence they had sent an express to Mackinac. A sloop being
dispatched with provisions and coming within full view of their camp
at the mouth of the river supposing that it was the Americans that
had captured their friends at St. Joseph's and had taken post there,
all the signs they could make could not bring the vessel back. She
returned with the disagreeable news and the poor fellows had to starve
until they could get an answer. In the meantime, Mr. Linctot (Major),
knowing nothing of this had changed his route to the Weaugh, which
caused a conjecture that the whole body of us was directing our course
to De Troit, which caused much confusion through the whole. The
summer was spent to advantage as we were careful to spread such reports as suited our interest. (Clark's Memoir, I773-I778. Draper
MSS-47).
That Clark, commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces in the Western Department, did not give up his plan to capture and destroy Fort
St. Joseph is shown by the following excerpt from a letter to Thomas
Jefferson written at Louisville on September 23, 1779:
"By my letters of the 24th of August you'll be made acquainted
with my late disappointment in my intended excursion up the Ouabash.
I have now a detachment of about two hundred and fifty of French and
volunteer Indians and a few Regulars on their march to attack a
British post at St. Joseph's near Lake Michigan commanded by a
lieutenant and party where there is very considerable stores deposited.
for the purpose of employing savages. The party is commanded by
Captain James Shelby. There is no doubt of his success as their route
is such that there is but little probability of the enemy being appraised
of them until it's too late. His order is to demolish the fortifications
and return with the stores, &c." (Haldimand Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 467). This letter was captured by the
British. 'To it De Peyster, then commander at Detroit, added the following notation: "Sergeant Chapman reports that when Mr. Shelby
endeavored to raise his volunteers they said they had no shoes and
therefore would not go to St. Joseph's."




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


CHEVALIER SUSPECTED BY THE BRITISH
Baffled in their efforts to win the alliance of the Indians of the
St. Joseph valley and alarmed by reports of machinations of native
Frenchmen and Spanish agents, the British authorities turned their
attention to the pioneer trader, Louis Chevalier, despite the fact he
had warned the British commander Pontiac's savages intended to
destroy the post-a warning that was ignored-that he had saved the
lives of English traders during the massacre and had been a trusted
agent of De Peyster, rendering great aid to Hamilton and to Bennett.
Suspected of having some connection with the massacre at the post,
he succeeded in clearing his name, and was entrusted with British affairs, being subject to orders from Detroit.
When two of Cornelia A. Van Slyck's traders were wounded and
their goods plundered at St. Joseph's, Major Henry Bassett, commander of the Tenth Regiment at Detroit, in a letter to General Thomas
Gage, blamed Chevalier for the affair. He wrote under date of
December 4, I773:
" * * * I shall observe and execute your Excellency's orders,
that affair of Venslick's, (Van Slyk), at St. Joseph's. I don't condemn
the savages near so much as one Chevalier, a Frenchman, who is
constantly there and I believe hurts us much in the esteem of the
Indians. Your Excellency will see by the enclosed what the Indians
have declared, but we have no other proof and this will not be sufficient in a court of judiction should I get and have him sent down to
Canada. There is no one to prosecute him. He would soon come
back, the rest of the Frenchmen that live here will ever be the cause
of frequent murders committed by the savages on English traders."
(Haldima'nd Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p.
30i).
It was in August, 1778, that Henry Hamilton, commander at Detroit, who was afterward captured by George Rogers Clark, hearing
of activities of Spanish and Americans, also became suspicious of
Chevalier. "As to the Spaniards, however willing to take part
against the English, I apprehend the depredations of the rebels in
their neighborhood may make them backward in encouarging them,
for I hear that some Spaniards were at a conference between some of
the Indians from St. Joseph and the rebels at Kaskaskias, that they
listened to what passed without saying a word till the rebel speakers
went away, when they told the Indians not to listen to those people,
for they were unable to fulfill the promises they had made them.
* * * One Chevalier, a Frenchman, who lives at St. Joseph, has
lately written to me and to Major De Peyster on the subject of the
Potawatomies going to the Illinois to confer with the rebels and,Spaniards. He is the person to whom is attributed the assassination
of several traders of St. Joseph and as I have not the least confidence
in him, have sent his letters to Major De Peyster that he may compare
his two accounts which I dare say will be found to vary. (Michigan
Historical Collections, Vol. IX, pp. 465-467).
General Haldimand, governor-general of Canada, however, was




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well impressed with Louison Chevalier, son of Louis, who visited him
in Montreal, and wrote favorably of the family on August 30, 1778,
to Major De Peyster:
"Louison, the son of Chevalier of St. Joseph, has been down here
and behaved very well. I have sent a letter by him to his father, who
I understand has great influence among the nations of that place. I
have remarked to him my surprise that none of them have been down
here this spring and the son has promised to come down here the next
time in order to acquaint me with the reason of their absence. I recommend to you to write to Mr. Chevalier also upon the same subject
and in the most earnest terms to endeavor to engage him heartily in
the King's Service." (Haldimand Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. IX, p. 354).
Between the month of August, 1779, and July 30, I780, Chevalier
and Pierre Hurtibisse were employed as agents at St. Joseph for a
general trading company composed of merchants of Michilimackinac. They, as well as all others concerned in the company, were forbidden from trading privately. On July 30, I781, the company in
"acknowledgement of certain persons," issued a statement "To annul
all unlawful demands, we the subscribing proprietors and trustees of
the said company, confess to have received payment in full for all the
advances made for the crown at the Post of St. Joseph, in payment
of services of men employed during that time. (Signed) J. H. Biron,
E. L. Reilhe, C. Catine, Bte. Tabeau, C. Larehe, J. B. Guilley, Ette.
Campion, M. Auge, Pre. Hurtebise, J. Sangreune."
Following is the census report of "every woman, child and slave
resident of the Post of St. Joseph" at the time:
"In the house of M. Chevalier: Mr. Chevalier, Dauginne, Gibaut,
Pieniche, Youtra Junior, Mde. Chevalier, Md. Youtra, her daughter,
Raby Tany, Lizette Panise, Angelique Panize and his child.
"In the house of Sieur Marcot: Marcot, Mad. Marcot and four
children.
"In the house of Mad. St. Germain: Mad. St. Germain, her
daughter and her son.
"In the house of Sieur Morin: Morin, Md. Morin and three children, boys.
"In the house of Mr. Caron: Mr. Caron, Md. Caron, Marianne
Panize and her child.
"In the house of M. Pre. Hurtebize and his employes: Mr. Pre.
Hurtebize, Rolle, Lognon, Gervais.
"In the house of Pieniche Chevalier: P. Chevalier, in war, his
wife and three children.
"In the house of Sieur Rode: Rode, his wife and child.
"Names of private persons, each one in his house: Joseph Hurtebize, Youtra, Dursan, La Douceur, Langloy, Duchenen, Counol."
(Haldimand Papers, Vol. X, Michigan Historical Collections, p. 406).
Alarmed at the possibility of an attack upon Detroit from the Illinois by way of the St. Joseph post, the British turned their attention
toward the settlement of uncertain savages and Frenchmen. With the
region southwest of Lake Michigan in the hands of the Americans




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


and that still farther west under dominion of hostile Spaniards, the
Canadian government was confronted with the constant menace of
expeditions against Mackinac and Detroit. These were the known
objectives of the Americans. Removal of the inhabitants appeared to
Lieutenant Governor Patrick Sinclair, of Michilimackinac, as the
most effective solution of the situation at St. Joseph. He busied himself in making the defenses more secure, stores and materials being
brought by the sloop "Felicity" atnd other small craft. He favored
opening a line of communication between Niagara and Michilimackinac by way of Toronto. Concerning the situation at St. Joseph,
Sinclair wrote to De Peyster at Detroit on February I5, I780, in part:
"If a reformation can be brought about at St. Joseph's, where assistance from this place will always be intercepted and impaired while
it remains in its present state as it lays so much in the way of our
parties sent to cut off the supplies of any Rebel force directed against
Detroit or Niagara. The Sieur du Gay carries a letter from me to
Mons. Chevalier requesting that he will, with all His Majesty's subjects, remove this post with convenient speed. In this and all other
matters evidently necessary, I shall promise myself your assistance
and that of all the commanding officers on the communication."
The British, restless under the constant threat of attack, decided
to deliver a blow at the Spanish settlement of Pencour, as St. Louis,
the most northern of the Spanish settlement was then known. This
settlement, with its officials welcoming thousands of Indians annually
from the remote regions of the west, northwest, the Ohio, the Wabash,
the St. Joseph river valleys and from gates of the British stronghold
at Detroit, was a tremendous impediment to the spread of English influence which was greatly needed at the critical point in the American
Revolution. The revolting colonies, the British and the Spanish, with
the French supporting the first and last named, were seeking favor of
the Indian tribes. The tribes were astutely watching the game, but
accepting in the meantime whatever was offered, regardless of who
gave it.
On February 17, I780, Patrick Sinclair, planning a surprise attack
on St. Louis, ordered a "Mr. Hesse, a trader and a man of character,
(formerly of the Sixtieth Regiment) to assemble the Menominees,
Puants, Sacks and Rhenards, in the neighborhood and to take the post
at the portage of the Ouisconsings and Fox rivers, there to collect all
the canoes and corn in the country, for his own and for the use of
nations higher up, who will be ordered to join him at the confluence
of the Rivers Mississippi and Ouisconsing. Mr. Hesse is ordered not
to move from his first stand until I send him instructions by Sergeant
Phillips of the Eighth Regiment, who will set out from this on the
Ioth of March with a very noted Chief Machiquawish and his band of
Indians. * * * The reduction of Pencour, by surprise, from the
easy admission of Indians at that place, and by assault from without for its defense, as reported, only twenty men and twenty brass
cannon, will be less difficult than holding it afterward. To gain both
these ends, the rich fur trade of the Missouri river, the injuries done
to the traders, who formerly attempted to partake of it, and the large




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101


property they may expect in the place will contribute." (Canadian
Archives. Series B. Vol. XCVII, Pt. 22, p. 290).
Seven hundred and fifty men, including Canadians, traders, Indians
and servants left the fort at Mackinac on March Io to join the Indian
force mobilized at Prairie du Chien, and proceeded down the river
with them on May 2. In the meantime detachments were watching
the rivers to intercept craft with provisions and products of the lead
mines. A party of Menominees brought to Mackinac a large armed
boat, which had been loaded at St. Louis, and which contained twelve
men under an American commissary officer. From the lead mines
they brought seventeen American and Spanish prisoners, from whom
they seized provisions. They also intercepted cargoes of lead. Chief
Machiquawish fired the western Indians with enthusiasm.
Captain Langlade, with a band of Indians and Canadians, was
ordered to join a party assembled at Chicago to make an attack by
way of the Illinois river. Another detachment was sent to patrol the
plains between the Wabash and Mississippi river watersheds.
"Captain Hesse will remain at Pencour, Wabasha will attack
Misere and the Rebels at Kacasia-two vessels leave this on the second
of June to attend Machiquawish, who returns by the Illinois river
with prisoners. Two small vessels remain at Milwake with some provisions after visiting the Pottawatimis side of the lake to give the
Allarum expected at St. Joseph's, at least by Chevalier. * * * All
the traders who secure the posts on the Spanish side of the Mississippi
during the next winter have my promise for the exclusive trade of
Missouri during that time —and that their canoes will be forwarded.
The two lower villages are to be laid under contribution for support of
their different garrisons, and the two upper villages are to send cattle
to La Baye to be forwarded to this place (Mackinac) to feed the
Indians on their return." * * * Thus wrote Sinclair to his superior on May 29, I780, unaware that nine days preceding the outlining of this program for distribution of spoils his expedition had
been repulsed by the Americans at Cahokia and by the Spaniards
valiantly defending St. Louis. (Canadian Archives. Series B, Vol.
XCVII, Pt. 2, p. 349).
The surprise which Sinclair had planned against these posts proved
instead a surprise for the attacking parties. During the latter part of
March, John Conn, a trader, came down the river to Pencour bringing a large quantity of munitions and supplies and information that
the British were planning an expedition into the Illinois valley. Immediately the Spaniards called in the outlying forces, surrounded the
settlement with cavalry videttes, erected as fortifications a stone house
surrounded with a parapet and threw up entrenchments. Scouts were
sent out to watch for the enemy. Captain Don Fernando de Leyba,
commandant of the post of San Luis de Ylinoises, and of the infantry
regiment of Louisiana, also built at one end of the town, at the expense of the inhabitants, a wooden tower armed with five cannon.
With a force of twenty-nine veteran soldiers and two hundred and
eighty residents of the vicinity, the commander, a cultured gentleman
from Barcelona, awaited the enemy, who appeared May 26, at one




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o'clock in the afternoon. The attack began on the north side. The
enemy, expecting no opposition, was received with a vigorous fire
from the militia, while the veteran artillerymen, manning the guns
in the tower, caused consternation in the attacking party which was
quickly repulsed. Seeing that they could not capture a place so
bravely defended, the enemy scattered over the country, destroying
crops, killing cattle and committing atrocities on helpless persons who
had not time to take refuge within the defenses. (Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 407).
At Cahokia, the enemy was also repulsed by the American garrison.
Sinclair sent the sloop Felicity and a privately owned vessel into
Lake Michigan on May 29 to land a party of Canadians and Indians
to join the expedition sent to capture St. Louis and Cahokia. The
vessels, however, arrived in time to meet one of the defeated divisions
of the invaders retreating to Chicago.
Wrote Sinclair to Haldimand on July 8, I780: "They fortunately
carried with them a force sufficient to enable the party retiring from
the Illinois by Chicago to pass with safety through a band of Indians
in the Rebel interest and to embark with security, some in canoes and
some in the vessels. The others retired in two divisions, one by the
Mississippi, with Monsieur Calve, who allowed the prisoners taken
by the Sacks and Outagamies to fall into the hands of the enemy. The
other division penetrated the country between Lake Michigan and the
Mississippi and are arrived here with their prisoners. Two hundred
Illinois cavalry arrived at Chicago five days after the vessels left it.
On the 26th of May, Mr. Hesse with the Winipigoes, Sioux, Ottawa,
Ochipa, Iowa and a few of the Outagamies, Sacs, Mascoutens, Kickapous and Pottawatamies. * * * Tweety of the volunteer Canadians
sent from this, and a very few of the traders and servants made their
attack against Pencour and the Cahokias. The two first mentioned
Indian nations would have stormed the Spanish lines if the Sacs and
Outagamies under their treacherous leader, Mons. Calve had not
fallen back so early as to give them but too well-grounded suspicions
that they were between two fires. Amons, Ducharme and others who
traded in the country of the Sacs, kept pace with Monsieur Calve in
his perfidy. They have long shared the profits arising from the
lead mines and from the commerce with the Illinois. * * * The
rebels lost an officer and three men killed at the Cahokias and five
prisoners. At Pencour sixty-eight were killed and eighteen blacks
and white people made prisoners. Amongst them several good artificers. Many hundred cattle were destroyed and forty-three scalps
brought in." (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. IX, pp. 558-560).
In the postscript of this letter Sinclair announces that he has sent an
officer to remove Chevalier from St. Joseph to Mackitac with the
"crew from St. Joseph's," stating:
"No accident happened to any of the Indians or others in retiring. Monsieur Ducharme permitted two profligate Frenchmen in
his charge as prisoners to go to the Illinois. Numbers of that stamp
are brought in from the Indians with their consent and approbation
and the whole are ordered to Mr. Ainses, call interpreter here, is sent
to bring in the crew from St. Joseph's. Monsieur Chevalier is his




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uncle and will come in, I believe, through favor and compulsion, if
he is not encouraged to stay here."
CHEVALIER REMOVED TO MACKINAC
The removal of Louis Chevalier and the Canadian families was
accomplished in the summer of I780 by Joseph Ainse, Chevalier's
nephew. The mission was a delicate one for Ainse, who left with six
canoes, each manned by three Canadians and twenty Courtoreiller
Indians, chosen by him. These canoes were fully provisioned for
the voyage by the general association, with the exception of four barrels
of rum which Ainse took. The sum of ~I,2oo currency was allowed
by Sinclair for this expedition. All the inhabitants with part of their
baggage were brought to Mackinac. The expenses incurred by Ainse,
according to his statement, amounted to 2,244 livres and 20 sous.
In settlement of this account, Mr. Ainse became involved in a controversy with Sinclair in which the latter was charged with refusing
to make satisfactory settlement. Concerning Ainse's removal of
Canadians from St. Joseph, Sinclair wrote to Haldimand on August
2, I780:
"I sent him to St. Joseph's to bring in his uncle Mr. Chevalier
and the other lawless and strange class of people at that place for many
years settled for the sole purposes of overawing commerce and making themselves useful to whoever did most for their services, which
were ever more ready for doing bad than good.
"On this excursion, notwithstanding my caution to him not to
incur expenses, he wished to repeat the usual profusion in which he
had no small share-checked in that and finding himself not of the
consequences he expected, he very imprudently listened to traders and
Indians and engaged both to represent (I can hardly say their wish),
but their demand to have the goods outside the fort at the discretion
of each trader for the disposal of them.
"Upon my absolute refusal of their request, he promoted discontent all he could and endeavored to circulate idle stories to intimidate
such as, that Indian chiefs and bands were to go away without taking
leave, &c., &c.
"He was privy to councils held by Monsieur Chevalier under the
guns of the fort without giving me notice. He was present and interpreted for one of the Ottawa chiefs who desired that Mr. Chevalier
and Mr. Ainse should return to St. Joseph's and after my refusal of
their request he was witness to one of these chiefs who had been
means of bringing to me on that errand, declaring that notwithstanding my refusal, the Chevalier would go to St. Joseph's (in the)
autumn.
"I had no inclination to yield to the discontent of Mr. Ainse or to
the refractory disposition of the Indian; therefore, I have secured
during their stay here, Monsieur Ainse and Mr. Chevalier in the fort
and will oblige both to give bond for their future conduct before they
are sent down. I keep some very bad people here for some time, being
a stranger to what may happen below. Here they can do little harm
until grain is ripe and I have secured all the provisions and goods."




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(Haldimand Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. IX, p. 569).
On charges brought by Mackinac merchants Mr. Ainse was brought
to trial and convicted in I790 of having embezzled government property.
When Mr. and Mrs. Chevalier were brought to Mackinac, Sinclair
stirred the wrath of Lieutenant D. Mercer of the King's regiment, by
ordering that officer to give them a room in his house. This officer,
already involved in a quarrel with one of the resident traders whom he
had seized by the nose-resulting in his arrest-indignantly wrote
to Major De Peyster in Detroit that as an "instance of further insult.
*  * *   I have received a message from Lieutenant-Governor Sinclair that I must give up a room in my house to Mr. and Mrs. Chevalier.
I must observe there is only one fireplace in the house. There are
soldiers in possession of houses unmolested and yet an officer is to be
thus abused without the possible means of doing himself justice. It
was the house the baker lived in. * * * I have remonstrated without effect and denied being allowed the use of my tent."
CHEVALIER APPEALS TO HALDIMAND
Ainse, in requesting permission to go to Montreal, was released for
the journey by Sinclair on condition that he give security for his good
behavior and that he take with him Mr. Chevalier and family and as
many other persons as would be possible. For this journey it was
necessary for Ainse to take three canoes.
Interesting glimpses of life in the St. Joseph settlement are given
in Chevalier's petition to General Frederic Haldimand, "General and
Governor in Chief of the Province of Quebec and the Territories depending thereon." It is a story of faithful service rewarded with
injustice. The petition, dated October 9, I780, follows:
"The very humble address of Louis Chevalier, formerly merchant
at St. Joseph and successively employed for a number of years by
Messrs. the commandants of Michilimackinac to maintain the Indians
in their duty and fidelity towards his Majesty.
"The petitioner has the honor to represent that for thirty-five years
he has settled at St. Joseph, where by his conduct and behavior under
the two governments, he ventures to flatter himself to have obtained,
there, the confidence and esteem of those who were the trustees of
authority; that having made himself beloved by the Indians in this
district, he has profited by the ascendency which he has had over their
minds only to keep them in their duty and fidelity towards His Majesty
and his government, since the conquest and cession of Canada.
"That, for some years, there having been no commandant nor garrison at St. Joseph the different commandants had chosen him as the
King's mat in this district. Honored by the instructions to this effect
and with the execution of their orders to which he has always conformed in the character of a true and faithful subject of his prince.
"That last year Mr. Barmer (Lieutenant Bennett), with a detachment came to St. Joseph to endeavor to pacify the Indians and
to encourage the good, reassure the weak, and bring back, if possible,
the bad to their duty (Your excellency has bee'n informed of the result
of this step), the petitioner accompanied this officer on his return to




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Michilimackinac. He was well received there by Major De Peyster
and on his departure the commandant gave him an order to continue
his care and to carry out the defined purpose.
"That the petitioner had the consolation of seconding the views of
this wise officer, by succeeding in bringing back their principals, so that
all the nations of his post and the surrounding district, appeared, at
the moment in the interest of the King. It was necessary to perfectly assure them that they approved of their proposal to go and strike
at the post of Vincennes and at the Belle Riviere (Ohio); they consented to this unanimously. Then it was necessary to equip them,
which was done partly by the advances made by the company and
partly by the petitioner who advanced six thousand livres of twenty
sous, and the petitioner was authorized by Major De Peyster to incur
these expenses. One party composed of twenty-two men went towards
post Vi'ncennes, another one hundred and twenty men having with it
M. Du Quindre and three Canadians went toward La Belle Riviere.
The first party having doubtless been too much engaged was quickly
met and repulsed by the enemy. There were six killed and four
dangerously wounded. The rest of thiL party arrived at St. Joseph on
the 24th of June last, nearly naked and all tattered. There has not yet
been news of the second.
"That the 25th of the same month, that as the petitioner set himself to console the afflicted and to clothe them, M. Ainse arrived,
having received orders from  Mr. Sinclair, with a detachment of
Indians and Canadians, appeared at St. Joseph. They were notified
by him that, either voluntarily or by force, he was to bring all the
inhabitants of the post to Michilimackinac. The petitioned began
to obey the orders. The others did so led by his example. Sixtyeight years of age, his wife of seventy having all his fortune in the
neighborhood, ten houses; good lands, orchards, gardens, cattle, furniture, utensils and debts, of which he has made an entire sacrifice to
obedience.
"That being arrived at Michilimackinac he presented himself to
the lieutenant-governor who received him politely at first, but afterward sent to search his boxes, he opened them in his presence and took
all the papers they contained, which were all the letters of the commandants and their orders. He promised to return them, which he has
not done. That after he confined him a prisoner in the fort and forbad
him to leave it.
"That after this treatment, which was as hard as unexpected, the
petitioner asked for permittion to go down to this town, which was
accorded him only after having furnished security to a large amount
for his good behavior.
"That as the conduct of the petitioner is not blameable, that he is
as he has been and always will be faithful to his prince; he has good
reason to claim the protection of your excellency which is never refused to the weak unjustly oppressed by the strong and in consequence
he humbly hopes himself authorized to ask it.
"To pray first.-To discharge him from the security he has given,




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having been unjustly considered as a suspected person at the same time
that he went to show his fidelity in the most striking manner.
"Second.-To order the advances which he has made by order of
Major De Peyster be paid to him.
"Third.-That he shall be permitted to retlur next spring to St.
Joseph to gather the remains of his fortune and to order that his
papers be sent to him.
"He is led to expect all these things from the justice of your Excellency for the preservation of whom he will never cease to pray."
(Haldimand Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. X, pp. 438 -440).
With his claims supported by Major De Peyster, Chevalier, after
great delay, received' compensation from the British government.
Concerning the later career of this first enterprising citizen of the St.
Joseph valley, history is silent, except for the fact he was detained in
Montreal until 1782.
With the removal of Chevalier from St. Joseph, affairs at that
place were without guidance u'ntil De Peyster sent thither Lieutenant
Dagneau de Quindre, a native of Detroit.
De Quindre was given leadership of the Potawatomies at his own
request. He was taken into the Indian department of this district
by Major De Peyster, who regarded him as one of his most trusted
men. De Quindre was with the Potawatomies and Grand River
Indians when the latter earlier in the year had gone to attack Post
Vincennes. The leader fell ill on the way, and was unable to accompany the Indians who were duped by a Canadian trader who asked
whether they were mad to attack their old friends, the French and
to go against four thousand men in the post. They returned home,
but a few proceeded to Vincennes where they found only twentythree Virginians. De Quindre was formerly a lieutenant in the
French service and the English gave him a similar grade in their
service. Writing from St. Joseph's on June 14, I780, to Sinclair,
De Quindre commends Louis Chevalier as follows: "It is to
his capacity and to his labors, Sir, I am indebted for the success that
I have over the minds of the Poutowatamies and consequently it is
for him to render an account of it. I give him this testimonial before you because he has too much dignity to claim it himself." (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. X, p. 401).
With the tyranical Sinclair at Mackinac, De Peyster had a misunderstanding, the source of which was the former's claim that the
Detroit commander was infringing on his authority. "My disputes
with Captain Sinclair are all chimerical, the mere product of his brain,
for as God may judge, I never thought of entering into any with him,
my sole study having been mutually to promote the end of our being
at the posts," wrote De Peyster to Haldimand on October I, 1780.
"With regard to the Post of St. Joseph's and Saguina, I have ever
pursued the method of my predecessors. The St. Joseph's Indians
have a constant intercourse with this place. They come on horseback
in four or five days, sometimes in great numbers, whereas they seldom
or ever go to the post of Michilimackinac, except when sent for, be



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ing unaccustomed to canoes on the lakes."  (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. IX, p. 615).
With Chevalier and the traders gone, the Potawatomies at St.
Joseph, whose ties with the British were none too strong became
dissatisfied to such an extent that De Peyster saw the danger the
British were in of losing their friendship. On September I7th, he
declared in a letter to Sinclair that "unless the Potawatamies have
traders amongst them they will in time become quite estranged or
else become a great burthen to government at this post. Two hundred
of them have just left this, after requesting that I would write to you
to allow them traders. I have sent LeClerc amongst them as an
armourer and they promised to bring in Mayett and his adherents who
they say poison their ears. I sent them off empty handed till this
service is performed."
The Americans in the Illinois region were anxious to expand their
conquests and strike the blow they had several times before intended for
the St. Joseph's post. In the summer of I780, a mysterious Frenchman, said to bear a commission from Paris, appeared in the Illinois
region and raised among the French settlements an expedition against
Detroit. This officer was Colonel Augustin Mottin de la Balme. To
his standard the natives flocked as if "he were the Messiah." In
Vincennes and Kaskaskia he enlisted a large following. For the
capture of Fort St. Joseph, he commissioned as leaders Jean Baptiste
Hamelin and Thomas Brady, residents of Cahokia. (Illinois Historical
Collections, Vol. II, p. xcii).
Thomas Brady, a brother of Captain Samuel Brady, noted Pennsylvania Indian fighter, was a famous hunter of bears and panthers.
In 1776, he took up his residence in Cahokia. The expedition which
he and Hamelin commanded consisted of sixteen soldiers. They
grandiloquently called it the "Western Division of the Continental
Army." The force was made mostly of half-breeds who refused to
undertake such a project unless a priest accompanied them. The Rev.
Father Beson, an aged, bald-headed priest, agreed to join the expedition. Before the "army" left Cahokia, he offered prayer for success
of the expedition, which was to undertake the perilous overland
journey to St. Joseph four hundred miles distant. The route of the
invaders was up the Illinois and Des Plaines rivers. At various hallowed spots Father Beson made the adventurers halt and pray and
partake of the sacrament. Mass was said and songs of praise were
sung amid wild surroundings. Where Bureau creek empties into
the Illinois river, Father Hennepin had erected a cross. At the
mouth of the Chicago river Father Marquette had erected a similar
sacred emblem. At both these places Father Beson held religious
services.
According to reports, there were twenty-one men asleep in Fort
St. Joseph when the invaders stole upon it during the night, rushed
in and made them prisoners without resistance. Learning that two
companies of British soldiers and Indians were coming, Hamelin and
Brady and their followers hastily gathered what plunder they were
able to carry and hurried off. (Pioneers of Illinois, Matson).




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With all the speed their pack-laden horses, carrying a total of fifty
bales, were able to make, the Cahokians hurried along the trail to the
Chicago river. Close behind them was a force of Indians and Canadians led by Lieutenant Dagneau de Quindre, who had been stationed
near the post, and Etienne Campion, a prominent trader of Montreal,
who had been licensed to carry on commerce in the upper country.
At the Petit Fort, a day's journey beyond the Rivere du Chemin, said
by one authority to be Trail Creek at the mouth of which Michigan
City is now located, by another to be the Calumet river, the pursuers
overtook the Cahokians on December 5, 1780, and summoned them to
surrender. When they refused to do so, du Quindre ordered the
Indians to attack them. The battle resulted disastrously for the Cahokians. After four were killed, and two wounded seven of the
survivors surrendered, and three escaped into a woods. Brady was
among the captives. Hamelin, described by the British as a "halfIndian," was among the slain. Brady and two companions were taken
to Detroit for questioning by De Peyster. The others were taken to
Mackinac by the Indians.
"I look upon these gentry as robbers and not as prisoners of war,
having no commission that I can learn, other than a verbal order
from Mons. Trottier, an inhabitant of the Cahoes," wrote de Peyster
to General Powell, January 8, 1781. "The rebels having long since
quit all that country, Brady, who says he had no longer a desire of
remaining in the rebel service, therefore, did not follow them, and informed me Colonel Clark was gone down to Williamsburg to solicit
a detachment to join with a Spanish colonel in an expedition against
this place (Detroit). When the heavy cannon and ammunition arrives, which I have returned wanting, I shall be ready to give them
a warm reception should they be rash enough to attempt it." (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 29 ).
Brady afterward escaped from the British and made his way back
to his native state of Pennsylvania, where he raised a company for
military service. After the war he returned to Cahokia where in
1790 he was elected sheriff of St. Clair county. He also served as
Indian agent and justice. He lies buried in the old churchyard in
Cahokia.
The death of Hamelin was followed with a curious piece of litigation in Cahokia. The old court records show that Nicholas Boismenu on April I9, 1781, in an action against the estate of Jean Baptiste
Hamelin "Prays the court that M. Bte. Lacroix, in charge of the
estate of Bte. Hamelin pay to him a dozen jugs of tafia (a popular
intoxicating liquor of that period), which the late Hamelin owed him
in exchange for a horse, which exchange was made with the plaintiff
while they were going to St. Joseph. * * * The (men) named
Ignace and St. Michael appeared and made oath they were witnesses
when Hamelin made the exchange on the way to St. Joseph." These
survivors of the expedition confirmed the plaintiff's story and the court
ordered Lacroix to deliver eleven jugs "and in case there remains
anything of the estate of the late Hamelin, said M. Lecroix shall be
obliged to render account to the said Boismenu for the other jug of




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tafia which remains due to him." (Illinois Historical Collections,
Vol. II).
The expedition of de la Balme, the adventurer, also ended in
disaster. His objective had been Detroit, but he never reached that
place. After capturing the posts of Ouiatanon and Miami (near
Fort Wayne), his force was surprised in the night by Indians under
Little Turtle and scattered. De la Balme was slain, his papers captured and many of his followers killed.
The final capture of Fort St. Joseph was now near. Though
Hamelin and Brady had met disaster, there was being organized by
the Spaniards in St. Louis, in co-operation with Indians, a powerful
expedition which was to make the final capture of the place, carry
off what goods had been left by previous plunderers and to depart
with the British ensign.
Important as this expedition was, very little information concerning it has been discovered. To the Spanish King it was a notable
conquest which extended territorial claims; to the Americans it presented a difficult diplomatic problem in settlement of boundary lines on
the western frontier; to the British it was merely the act of a band
of marauders. It was, however, a military invasion of territory claimed
by the British, and must be regarded as such for, insignificant as it
may seem in comparison with other operations during the American
Revolution, its results were far reaching.
When Don Francesco Cruvat took command of the post of St.
Louis, he immediately planned an attack upon the British probably
in retaliation for the murderous foray against the post the preceding
year. In January, 1781, there was organized a force of sixty-five
militiamen, both Spanish and French, and about sixty or more Indians
of the western tribes. Don Euginio Pirre, a captain of militia, was
given command. Next in rank was Don Carlos Tayon, a sub-lieutenant. The third important personage was Louison Chevalier, the
interpreter, who was without doubt the son of Louis Chevalier, of
St. Joseph's. It is possible that he might have joined the Spanish because of the ill treatment suffered by his father from the British. A
large quantity of goods and ammunition was carried along with which
to buy passage through the Indian country on the four hundred mile
journey to St. Joseph. It was doubtless through Chevalier's influence
that the expedition passed on without being molested. Across the
bleak snow-covered plains between St. Louis and Chicago the little
army marched. Poorly equipped as these men must have been, such
a winter's journey could not have been successfully consummated
without hardships that try the stoutest hearts. Their line of march
was probably up the frozen valley of the Kankakee river. Again the fort
was captured by surprise, the white soldiers, some of whom were
nearly as wild as their painted and feathered-decked allies, and the
Indians, eager for loot, rushed through the settlement and captured
every person before resistance could be thought of. The object of
the expedition was apparently a raid, for no force was left to hold
the post. After gathering all the plunder that could be found in the
settlement, the Spaniards and Indians started homeward, arriving




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early in March. It is said by some that the buildings of the post
were in flames when the invaders marched away.
The Spaniards were elated over the success of this expedition,
and used it as the basis for claiming territory east of the Mississippi.
An account was published in the Madrid Gazette on March 12, 1782.
A translation of it was sent by John Jay, the American ambassador
in Madrid to Washington. The Spanish had an ambition to hold
the Mississippi valley, but Jay, Franklin and Adams protested the
claim. The French, however, supported the Spanish. (Sparks Diplomatic Correspondence, Edition 1830, Vol. VIII, pp, 76, 77).
Words of high commendation for the success of this expedition
were written January 15, I782, by Jose de Galvez, governor-general
of Louisiana, to Don Bernardo de Galvez: "The King has received
with the utmost satisfaction and gratification the information contained in the letter of Your Excellency of the 26th of last October,
No. 28, in which referring to another letter written by the commandant
of Ylinoeses to the governor ad interim of Louisiana he reports the
profitable conquest of the post of San Josef, two hundred and thirty
leagues from San Luis, which was occupied by the English. The
King applauded the courage and prudent conduct of the captain of
militia, Don Eugenio Pirre, commandant of the detachment which
formed the attack; of the sub-lieutenant of the same, Don Carlos
Tayon; and the interpreter, Don Luis Chevalier, employed in the expedition; and as proof of his satisfaction with their service he has
designed to confer upon the first the rank of lieutenant in the army on
half pay, and on the second that of sub-lieutenant on half pay, and to
command that Your Excellency shall assign to the third such a gratification as shall appear appropriate." (MSS. in the Archives of the
Indies, Seville; pressmark, "Papeles procedientes de la Cuba. Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 430).
Referring to the Spanish attack on St. Joseph, Major Arent S. De
Peyster writing to Brigadier-General H. Watson Powell from Detroit
on March 17, 1781, says in part: "The enemy returned (referring
to Brady's expedition), or rather a fresh party arrived in St. Joseph's
and carried the traders and the remainder of their goods off. Mr. Du
Quindre arrived there the day after, but could not assemble a sufficient body to pursue them. Forty Indians had got together in a few
days, but as the enemy had got too much the start they insisted upon
his conducting them to Detroit in order to speak to me. * * * By
this vessel I send down some Canadians, &c., who were taken in arms
at the Miamis and St. Joseph's, and by the next I shall send some who
are rather dangerous people in this settlement." (Haldimand Papers,
Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 600).
Greatly alarmed over the foray of the Spaniards and Indians, who
had plundered the traders they had induced the British to send to
the post after Chevalier had been exiled, the Potawatomies of St.
Joseph's, Terre Coupe and Coeur de Cerf, hurried to Detroit where
they met in council with Major De Peyster on March IIth, Assimut,
presenting four strings of wampum, spoke as follows:
"Father, I am hired by the Potawatamies at and near St. Joseph's




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to acquaint you with the reasons of having suffered the enemy to carry
off their traders. They came to St. Joseph's at a time when all the
Indians were yet at their hunt, excepting a few young men who were
not sufficient to oppose one hundred white men and eighty Indians led
by Seguinac and Makewine, who deceived them by telling them that
it was the sentiment of the Indians in general to assist the French and
Spaniards. Had we assembled in time we would nevertheless have
given them such a stroke as we gave those who came to St. Joseph's
a few moons before. We, therefore, hope our father will take pity on
us and not leave us to the mercy of the enemy, who threatens soon
to come and destroy our women and children."
Wawiaghtenon, chief of the Potawatomies of Detroit, speaks in
behalf of his nation, the Ottawas and Chippewas and with six strings:
"Father, I rise to speak in behalf of the Potawatamies of St.
Joseph's. I desire in the name of our nation, the Ottawas and Chippewas that you will not abandon them to the mercy of the enemy. I
am convinced that they were in no way in concert with the enemy,
and, therefore, hope you will have pity on them."
Major De Peyster then replied, presenting six strings of wampum:
"Children-you see I call you children since it is the request of
the nations present-I have at different times said so much to you
on the subject of the traders and goods entrusted with you, by the
government of Michilimackinac, that it is needless to say any more
at present-my words have proven true. You have lost your traders
and I have only to pity you-open your ears and attend now to what
I am going to say. The Spaniards tell you they are in alliance with
the French. They, therefore, offer you hands or threaten to destroy
your women and children. Believe me-they can never destroy them
until you are simple enough to shake hands with them. If you adhere
to your alliance with the King of Great Britain and his Indian
friends, nothing can hurt you. The Spaniards, in the time of your
ancestors, by fair words when they failed by force of arms, got
possession of an Indian country the other side of the Mississippi
where they killed thousands of the inhabitants to get the stuff those
bracelets and gorgets you are now wearing are made of. You have no
such clay in your grounds at St. Joseph's, but you find fertile lands
which will produce abundance of corn. If, therefore, you listen to
these sugar-mouthed Spaniards, what would the spirits of your ancestors say if they knew their burying grounds were to be leveled by
ploughs, and their bones disturbed for the Spaniards and Virginians
to sow corn, &c., whilst you, their descendants, tamely came to Detroit to beg a little piece of land from the Ottawas to hide yourselves,
which must be the case soon unless you are determined to stanid firm
as the oak, which grows upon your land. Do not be afraid to trouble
the lands because there are Indians foolish enough to join them. If
you are afraid, I am not. Therefore, to prevent yourselves the affront,
return to St. Joseph's and bring to me the chiefs Seguinac and Makewine, or I will find others from Michilimackinac to do it. Do you
not know that they are the outcasts of the nations? I once bought




112


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


those renegade chiefs off in hopes that they would return to a sense
of their duty. I am now determined no longer to spare them.
"Whilst some of you look out for your enemies, let others fresh
cover the graves of your ancestors, and raise the earth so high over
them that no ploy can level them. Mr. Baby will furnish you with
ammunition and such things as are absolutely necessary. You must
not expect ornaments till you show yourselves thoroughly deserving
of them.
"Children: The English always have treated you well, and the
Indians on the other side of the Mississippi are so sensible of the
goodness of the English father, that they have invited him to send
troops to drive the Spaniards out of the country. They are now
about it, and are helping those Indians to avenge themselves upon
their enemies. Tell Nanaquoibe and Betagusach their old Michilimackinac father speaks to them. He begs they will also attend to
what they will soon hear from him, who is at present at Michilimackinac, as they may expect to hear him soon."
Wawiaghtenou replied:
"Father! In calling to mind the bones of our ancestors, you draw
tears from me, have pity of them, and I'll engage they will raise
mountains over their graves." (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol.
X, pp. 453-455).
Haldimand in a letter to Sinclair on May 31, 1781, declared that
protection of traders was dependent on the Indians. Referring to
the situation at St. Joseph's he wrote:
"In regard to sending traders to St. Joseph's you must be the
best judge how far the conduct of the Potowatamy Indians merit
indulgence, and you may permit traders to go, or restrain them, just
as you find it necessary. To Potowatamys and all other Indians at
trading posts may be informed that if they ever again permit the
enemy to pillage the traders they may rest assured that a trader will
never be permitted to return to them. Their being on a hunt, or any
other evasive argument will not be any more admitted as an excuse."
The American Revolution was now nearing its end. Cornwallis
surrendered on October 19, 1781, and the situation as regarded the
savages in the Great Lakes country changed immediately. Though
the British retained interests in the Indian country, it became thereafter open ground for traders.








AL,,EGAN COUNTV COURTHOUSE     SELKIRK INDIAN MISSION


BISHOP MC COSKEY-SOUTHWESTERN          REV. JAMES SELKIRK AND WIFE
MICHIGAN PIONEER
I atr lto.   C<, Om   H      — IM Z-' '_
' i t,  1~''X   0   s00   Thif Draw. St lr i sr M id.  2-sm,




CHAPTER IV


MICHIGAN AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR
THOUGH Michigan was measureably far removed from the stage
on which was enacted the somewhat picturesque drama of the
Black Hawk war, in I832, the conflict was one that touched this state,
then a territory, in no uncertain way, for here were quickened into
decisive and active protest the patriotism and military vigor that indicated that the pioneer communities were ready to lend their aid in
suppressing this new uprising on the part of the ancient foes, the
Indians.
KALAMAZOO COUNTY SOLDIERS
Of such distinctive interest is the record that appeared in the Everts
& Abbott History of Kalamazoo County (I880), as touching local
conditions and activities in connection with this war, that there is all
of consistency in reproducing the same in the present publication,
as follows:
"Curious as it may seem, the famous Black Hawk war seriously
affected this far-away country. Soon after the ridiculous fiasco of
Major Stillman near Rock river, in what is now Marion township,
Ogle county, Illinois, in the latter part of May, 1832, the news spread
rapidly that the United States army had been cut to pieces in Illinois;
Fort Dearborn, at' Chicago, captured, the garrison massacred; the
settlers in northern Illinois all tomahawked and scalped; and the
bloody and vicious Sac chief, at head of five thousand fierce warriors,
was making fast time on the warpath straight for the flourishing settlements in Kalamazoo county! The excitement was intense; the
military were at once called out, and preparations were made to 'pile
a new Thermopylae,' or beat back the horde of advancing savages.
Colonel H. B. Huston, the first merchant in Kalamazoo, left his desk
and, ably seconded by Captain Harrisdn, who came of a fighting
family, mustered all the men who could be spared, and hurried, with
brief leave-takings, to the general rendezvous at Schoolcraft, then the
largest and best business point in the county. Here, under leaders
full of 'martial fire,' a hetrogeneous battalion of some two hundred
men, mounted on every variety of farm horse, and promiscuously armed
with the flint-lock musket of Bunker Hill, rifles that had caused many
a fallow deer and gobbling turkey-cock to bite the dust, uncertain shotguns and old holster-pistols, sabres that had seen bloody service under
'Mad Anthony' in the 'stirring days of old,' and powder-horns that
would be a fortune to Barnum's Museum, set themselves in battle
array and disappeared in smoke and dust toward the southwest, where
lowered the ominous war cloud, ready to burst in flame and blood over
a devoted land. After a long and weary ride, during which a number
of jaded steeds and toil-worn warriors gave out and lingered by the




114


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


way, the command reached the embryo city of Niles, and sought a
brief respite from the 'horrors of war,' in a sylvan camp a mile out
of the frightened village. The village of Niles was filled to overflowing with the chivalry of Michigan, which had assembled from far
and near, ready to do battle for wives and children trembling 'in their
log-cabin homes.' In this pleasant camp the men of Kalamazoo
county remained for two whole days, fighting mosquitoes and cursing
the long delay of Black Hawk and his whooping braves, whom they
expected to see 'come pouring forth with impetuous speed,' in all
the horrid panoply of Indian war. But they came not; in fact, they
were then fugitives, fleeing swiftly from the legions of Uncle Sam
and the ravenous militia of Illinois, who came forth under Ford, and
Lincoln, and Dement, to sweep the red-skinned devils from the fair
prairies of the west. At the close of the second day in camp 'general
orders' announced that the peninsula was safe, and the battalion would
countermarch for home. * * * It is said that the boys took to
the woods on the homeward march, and that scarcely a 'corporal's
guard' reported to the rendezvous at Schoolcraft."
MICHIGAN POTAWATOMIES
The foregoing review was written in a spirit of genial facetiousness,
but the Black Hawk warriors constituted more of a menace to the
pioneers of southern Michigan than the account given in the preceding
paragraph would imply. Furthermore, there came intimations and
rumors to the effect that the Potawatomies of Michigan were about
to join or give support to the sanguinary forces of Black Hawk.
Apropos of the attitude of the Michigan Indians in this connection are
the following extracts taken from a most able and valuable historical
article prepared by S. C. Coffinberry and read at the annual meeting
of the Michigan State Pioneer Society February 7, 1878. The general
province of Mr. Coffinberry's article was the noting of incidents connected with the first settlement of Nottawa-Sippi prairie in St. Joseph
county, and it is here possible to give only such extracts as have application to the Black Hawk war. The complete article appears in
Vol. II of the second edition of the Michigan Pioneer Collections.
"This tribe of Pottawattomies was continually involved in internal
dissensions while the pioneers supplied them with intoxicating drink,
until the frontier war, known as the Black Hawk war, commenced,
at which period the members of the tribe had sunken into the most
abject poverty and dissipation. At this crisis the notes of Indian war
were sounded along the frontier settlement. The southern line of
the Pottawattomi Reserve traversed Nottawa prairie east and west,
near its center. That portion of the prairie south of the reservation
line was among the first lands to be located by the immigrants to the
northern portion of the county. Here, then, when the alarm of the
Black Hawk war was given, the huts of the settlers were scattered
along the southern margin, in the shadows of the beautiful groves and
islands of this portion of the prairie, in close proximity with this band
of debased Pottawattomies. It is not to be wondered at that the settler felt sensations of alarm, and that the mother drew her child closer




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


115


to her bosom, as they were aroused from their slumbers in their cabin
by the wild shrieks of the besotted Pottawattomie as he galloped across
the prairie to his wigwam, steeped in drunkenness. A panic seized the
new settlement. Some families fled in haste, while others prepared for
defense. Many are the anecdotes and traditions still current of the
inglorious flight of many, while others remained to meet the emergencies and grapple with the vicissitudes and dangers of frontier life.
Goods and valuables were concealed; cattle were sold at half their value,
or abandoned and turned to the commons; crops left uncultivated and
ungathered. * * * The militia was ordered out on Nottawa prairie
and duly organized under the territorial law. Patrols were appointed
and sentinels placed. * * * Couriers were dispatched to the
adjacent settlements to sound the tocsin of war. *  *  *  It was
certain, from the various reports of these daring couriers, that the
Pottawattomie Indians on the Nottawa reservation were instruments
in the hands of Black Hawk, and that they were also collecting the
implements and munitions of war, and would soon prove formidable
foes in the approaching dangers which were' to 'try men's souls.'
These Potawatomies, it was true, could only muster about fifty warriors, enervated, enfeebled and trembling with dissipation and its concomitant diseases and infirmities, and although they had no arms, nor
the means to procure them, still, their war-whoop might prove fatal."
ERECTION OF FORT HOGAN
Was any manner of jeopardy to the settlers to be expected from
such a source? In the perspective of the years, the alarm and consternation that swept through the settlement seem little less than purile and
ridiculous, but it is to be remembered that in earlier periods stark
tragedy had often walked side by side with the Indians and that the
memories of the pioneers had full recognition of this. Not here can
be related again the story of Indian atrocities and of the grave injustice of the white men in their treatment of the Indians. It is sufficient to say that the fear and tumult in the pioneer settlement resulted
in military preparations, in public assemblages, in firey speeches of
patriotism  and solemn deliberation, while the culmination came in
about forty settlers giving about one and one-half days to the erection
of Fort Hogan, on the lands of Daniel Hogan, near the east end of
Nottawa prairie. From this point is resumed the narrative of Mr.
Coffinberry.
"At this time a large body of militia, under the command of General Brown, was massed at Niles, in Berrien county, slowly advancing
toward Chicago, the rendezvous of the operative forces under General
Atkinson. * *    *  It was determined to send an express messenger
to Niles to beg General Brown to send a detachment of his volunteers
and militia to Fort Hogan, to guard and protect the frontier settlement
on Nottawa prairie. *  * *   While the labor was progressing at
Fort Hogan, Cyrus Schellhous stole away to the Indian village on the
reservation. He found the Indians almpst destitute and laboring under
a false apprehension that their white neighbors, taking advantage of
the Black Hawk excitement, meditated an attack upon their village,




116


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


with the purpose of driving them from their reservation and appropriating it to their use. He could not prevail upon them to send some of
their leading men with him to the settlers to assure them of their
peaceful intentions, and to receive assurances from their white neighbors
that their intentions were misapprehended by the Indians. After a
brief council of the Indians, in which the partisans of Cush-ee-wes and
Sau-au-quett united, it was determined that if they were invited to an
interview with the settlers by Captain Powers, they would send a deputation to such an interview."
HISTORIC CONFERENCE WITH POTAWATOMIES
The sequel of the efforts of Mr. Schellhous was that the interview
or conference was finally held, at the cabin of Captain Powers, and
"thus these humble and depressed representatives of a once numerous
and proud people met the descendants of those who had driven them
from their homes and run the iron plow-share over the graves of their
fathers." Mr. Coffinberry continues as follows: "While there was
a marked humanity, mingled with suspicion, in the countenances of
those Indians as they approached, there was firmness in their step and
pride and dignity in their bearing." Finally, and at considerable length,
Cush-ee-wes spoke words of wisdom and understanding, through the
medium of the interpreter, and his response when he was asked whether
he did not receive messages from Black Hawk and whether he and his
people had not armed themselves to aid the Sacs and murder all the
settlers, was so noble and sententious that its reproduction here is
justified:
THE WORDS OF CUSH-EE-WES
"The pale-face speaks not the words of wisdom. We are weak,
you are strong. The weak are not fools to dare the strong. The Sac
is the enemy of the Pottawattomie. There never was friendship between our nations. There were never good words between our people
and the Sac nation. We had many wars, and the tomahawk was never
buried between us. The Pottawattomie hates the Sac as the eagle
hates the filthy crow. The pale-face speaks not the words of wisdom.
We wished the pale-face to take many scalps of our old enemy, the
cunning Sac. The few young warriors of our tribe who could still
follow the warpath and not make a crooked trail, went with the white
chief, Captain Hatch, to fight with our white brothers against our old
enemies, the lying Sac. We thought that if the Sacs would come to
Nottawa-Sippi to sound the war cry among our wigwams, our paleface brother would be our friend, and that together we would go on
the warpath against him. We were weak, you were strong. We were
not wise, for when the pale-face saw that our few, strong young warriors had gone with the white chief, Captain Hatch, to fight the Sac,
then our white neighbors made war upon us. Then we feared the
Sac, far away, and the pale-face near our own wigwams. Our men
fled to the woods and our women and children hungered for food. The
pale-face speaks not the words of wisdom. The red man would be
the friend of the white man, and would fly to his cabin for shelter when




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


117


danger comes, but the white man would not let him come; he raised
the tomahawk against us. What has the pale-face to say? Let our
white brother speak."
NOT A COMMENDABLE CHAPTER
The settlers assembled for the conference soon learned to a certainty that a few of the Potawatomies of the reservation had volunteered, with Captain Hatch, a trader among them, and several days
previously had set forth to join the war forces at Chicago. Soon came
the news of the capture of Black Hawk and the termination of the
Sac war, and in retrospect we can not look upon the incidental attitude
of the white settlers as noted in foregoing paragraphs as offering a
medium for presenting a commendable chapter in Michigan history.
GENERAL JOSEPH WHITE BROWN
General Joseph White Brown, who was in command of Michigan
military forces, assembled for service in the Black Hawk war, lived
to the venerable age of eighty-seven years, his death having occurred
at Tecumseh, Michigan, December 9, I880. He was long one of the
most honored and influential citizens and pioneers of Lenawee county.
General Brown was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, November
26, 1793, and in the same county his father, Samuel Brown, was born,
of Quaker parents, in I750. In I799 the family home was established
in Jefferson county, New York, where General Brown was reared and
educated. The military activities of General Brown were initiated in
his youth, and he rose to the office of lieutenant colonel of Regiment
No. Io8, New York militia. In I824 he came to Michigan Territory
and established his permanent home at Tecumseh. In I829 he was
commissioned colonel of the Eighth Regiment of Michigan militia,
and in 1832 he was a general in the Black Hawk war. In 1835 he had
command of Michigan forces in the so-called Toledo war, incidental
to the contest relative to the Michigan-Ohio boundary. In I839 he
was brigadier of the Michigan state guards and also examiner of West
Point cadets. In 1836 he served as register of the land office at Ionia,
and he was one of the commissioners assigned to locating the county
seats of Hillsdale and Berrien counties. From 1833 to 1837 he was
associated with the operation of a stage line between Detroit and
Chicago.
In i816 General Brown wedded Miss Cornelia Tryon, of New
Lebanon, New York, a beautiful, cultured and accomplished young
woman, and he survived her by many years, her death having occured,
at Tecumseh, March 6, I857. They became the parents of four sons
and seven daughters.
THREATENED BLACK HAWK INVASION
It was in May, 1832, that there came to Michigan the news that
Black Hawk and his forces intended to march through Michigan to
Detroit and to kill every white person enroute. To prepare for protection against this invasion two companies were organized at White




118


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Pigeon, one in command of Captain Stewart and the other in command of Captain Powers. Fifty men were drafted for each company.
Powers' command was to act as an observation corps on the edge of
the  Potawatomi reservation      mentioned    in  preceding   paragraphs,
and Stewart and his men were to proceed to Chicago, but before the
soldiers left White Pigeon came the news that the war had ended.
The drafted men received eight dollars for one month's pay, and from
the government each received forty acres of land. The company organized at Coldwater, Branch county, proceeded to Niles. Some of
the members, with volunteers from Sturgis prairie, went as far as
Door Prairie. The war excitement lasted two weeks.
CHICAGO CALLS FOR AID
When the message came from Chicago asking for aid, General
Joseph W. Brown assumed command of the forces assembled at Niles,
including regiments from Monroe and Lenawee counties. In a few
days company after company marched along the Chicago road, each
clad in backwoods garb and carrying primitive military equipment.
Beniah Jones, Jr., of Jonesville, Hillsdale county, was major in command of a battalion comprising one company from Hillsdale county
and two from Branch county. He called his battalion to march westward, and the command arrived at Niles May 25, 1832. Dr. Enoch
Chase was surgeon and adjutant in Jones' command, the muster roll
of which, lacking the Hillsdale county contingent, is here reproduced.
AN INTERESTING MUSTER ROLL
May 22, 1832, Major B. Jones received orders from General Joseph W. Brown
to muster his battalion in the Third Brigade, Second Division, M. M.
May 25, present on duty-Major Beniah Jones, Jr.; Adjutant Enoch Chase;
Q. M., Edmond Jones; Surgeon, Enoch Chase, M. D.; Q. M. S., Abiel Potter;Ambrose Nicholson, staff officers.
John Morse, Fife Major, sick; absent.
Abraham F. Bolton, Captain First Company; John Alien, Lieutenant; Harvey
Warner, Ensign.
Non-commissioned officers —E. S. Hanchett, first sergeant; James McCarty,
Isaac Enslow.
Privates-Seymour Bingham, Jonas Tilapan, George Hanchett, Moses Herrick,
William H. Cross, John Wilson, Philip Ledyard, Henry Johnson, James Craig,
Martin Barnhart, Benjamin H. Smith, Robert Cross, Henry Van Hining, John
Parkinson, James B. Tompkins, Joseph C. Corbus, Phineas Bunner, John Cornish,
Hugh Alexander, Chauncey Morgan, Mr. Decrow, Marvin Hill, Newell Hill,
Joseph H. Fowler.
(Note on margin: "This company was mustered into service May 24 and
dismissed June 3, 1832.")
Second Company: (Hillsdale) omitted.
Third Company-Seth Dunham, captain; Jeremiah Tillotson, lieutenant; Wales
Adams, ensign.
Non-commissioned officers-James M. Guile, first sergeant; Thomas Holmes,
second sergeant; George W. Cable, third sergeant; Philip Omstead, first corporal;
Frederick Lyons, second corporal.
Privates-Horace D. Judson, Daupheneus Holmes, Elizer Lancaster, Isaac Smith,
Daniel Smith, David J. Persons, David Clark, Moses Omstead, Joseph Edwards,
Joshua Ramsdell, John 0. Richardson, John Rose, Alfred S. Driggs, Sylvester
Brockway.
(Note on margin: "Mustered into service May 26, and dismissed June 3,
1832.")




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


119


The above is a true copy of the returns made by the captains of the several
companies to me.
Coldwater, June 4, 1832.             ENOCH CHASE, Adjutant.
The following memorandum appears on the back of the roll:
Col. Bitman, Dr.
I6  horses, to  hay, stabling.................................   $4.00
To house room........................................... 2.00
$6.00
Indorsement on back of roll: "Battalion roll, May, I836. Mustered
at Niles."
According to the roll there were in Branch county fifty-six males
capable of bearing arms-between ages of eighteen and forty-fivesome above latter age; some younger than eighteen. Women and
children were in dismay. Troops returned and were mustered out in
Coldwater, June 4.
Later in the season came another alarm and in the draft of one
hundred men from Jones' battalion fifty-six responded. Under command of Captain Bolton they camped several weeks on Coldwater
river.
War stopped immigration two years. Stages to Chicago halted
for lack of business and the owners lost heavily. The line was reestablished by a firm headed by General Brown. 1832 was cholera
year-no one dying in Branch county, but an entire family having
died over the line in Calhoun county.
CONFERENCE OF GENERAL BROWN AND POKAGON
In connection with the mobilizing of his frontier military forces
at Niles, as related earlier in this review, General Joseph W. Brown
found opportunity to have a personal interview with a Potawatomi
chief whose name merits a place of honor in the history of Michigan
-Pokagon-and of this conference the following interesting record
is available.
Memories of the ferocity with which the Potawatomies participated in the war of 1812, were still vivid in the minds of those "minute
men of 1832" who marched in varigated costumes in the little army led
by General Brown. In the vicinity of Niles were numerous Indians.
Near there was the aged chief, Leopold Pokagon, who had befriended
survivors of the massacre at Fort Dearborn in Chicago. His village
had been a shelter for the refugees. Shortly after arrival of the Third
Brigade, Michigan militia, Brigadier-General Brown and his officers
held a council with the chiefs of the Potaw'atomi tribe in a grove
near the Carey mission, which had been conducted by the Rev. Isaac
McCoy. The conference took place on Sunday May 22, I832, a mile
from Niles, the headquarters of the brigade. Colornel J. Stewart explained to the Indians the object of the meeting and its relation to the
hostility of the Sacs and Kickapoos under Black Hawk. In reply to
General Brown, who questioned the Indians concerning councils held
by them, he was told that the object was to promote the principles of




120


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


temperance and religion among their families and that they had sent
delegates to the Nottawasepi reservation (St. Joseph and Kalamazoo
counties) and to the Ottawas to hold councils on the same subjects.
Pokagon said he was a professor of religion and desired peace with
all men. Asked why Potawatomies had not planted corn at Nottawasepi, he replied:
"They drink too much. I sent them word to quit drinking and
plant corn and live like white people. Everybody knows me, and
knows Pokagon won't lie."
"Do you know that the Sacs and Kickapoos are at war with the
whites and have murdered a number of families?" asked General
Brown.
"We have heard they were at war, but have heard little about it."
"Do you think yourselves able to protect yourselves and families
against the Sacs and Kickapoos, should the whites remain at home, and
the Sacs and Kickapoos come through your country?"
"Here are the men of this reserve," replied the old chief. "You
see them all. We can't protect ourselves. We can't go to war, but
if they come here we will defend ourselves."
Pokagon said the Indians were willing to send some of their young
men with the American forces if their services were desired. The
commander assured Pokagon that so long as the Indians remained at
peace they should be protected the same as the white residents. "The
president and governor are your fathers, and they will protect your
children."
Pokagon replied:
"We are glad that our fathers will protect us, and I believe there
is but one God, and that we are all brothers. I wish to remain at
peace. I see no pleasure except in clothing my children and tilling
my ground."
The utmost good feeling was expressed by the Indians, which convinced General Brown that they were sincere, especially when a number
of them, at the close of the council, volunteered to join the militia.




CHAPTER V


INDIAN TRAILS, MOUNDS, EARTHWORKS, VILLAGES
AND CEMETERIES IN KALAMAZOO COUNTY
By Edward J. Stevens, Secretary and Treasurer of the Michigan State
Archaeological Society
T   HE Indian trails in Kalamazoo county, where the first white men
arrived, were very numerous. There seems to have been six
main trails.
DESCRIPTION OF SIX TRAILS
Ist. The trail that lead from Carey Mission at Niles to Thomas
Mission on the Grand river crossed the northwest part of the county.
It entered the county near the northwest corner of Section 31, Oshlemo
township, crossed the township to the southeast corner of Section 13,
turned north and followed the north and south section line to almost
the east one-quarter post of Section 12. The train is here lost for
four miles, but commences again on the west side of Section I9, Cooper
township, and follows northerly across Sections 24, 13, 12 and I.
2d. What appeared to have been one of the principal trails ran
across the county in-a northeasterly direction. It entered the county
near the southwest corner of Section 30, Texas township, turned southeast across Section 31, then nearly east, two miles to the north end of
Mud Lake, thence northerly, passing the present Texas comer about
one-half mile west, thence northeasterly between Crooked and Bass
lakes, leaving Texas township near the northeast corner of Section I,
thence across Sections 35, 36 and 25 of Oshtemo township, and follows the present Michigan avenue to its junction with the present
Oakland Drive. It is presumed that from this point it followed easterly
a trifle north of Kalamazoo avenue, but!no authentic record actually
places it there. The actual record again starts at about a quarter of a
mile southwest of the old ford near the French trading post as located
in I82I, in what is now Riverside cemetery. The trail then passes
northeasterly and south of a chain of small lakes in Kalamazoo, Comstock and Rushland townships. On Section 22, Richland township,
it turned nearly east passing about one-half mile south of Richland.
Passing through what is now Yorkville, it headed around the southeast arm of Gull lake, then passed east for about three miles, where
it turned northeast, on Section 22, Ross township, going around the
south end of Stony lake; after making a swing to the north it passes
east for about one mile on Section 14, Ross township, then turned
southeast again and leaves the county near the southeast corner of
Section 24, Ross township. A branch of this trail left it iear the
southeast corner of Section 32, Richland township, and ran nearly
east to the northeast corner of Charleston township, where the record
is lost, as the deputy United States surveyor in Charleston township
left no record of Indian trails.




122


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


3d. Another principal trail entered the county either in the southeast corner of Prairie Ronde township or near the south line of Section 7, Prairie Ronde township (the records, so far, are very scant),
across Prairie Ronde township until the trail passes out of this township at the northeast corner of Section 25. From this point the record
is complete across Brady, Pavilion and Climax townships, leaving the
county at the southeast corner of Charleston township. On this trail
were built three villages, Vicksburg, Scotts and Climax. This trail
passed directly through the numerous fortifications, garden beds and
mounds that were found by the early settlers on Climax prairie.
4th. Another trail that was very well marked in the early times
started from the French trading post, skirted the hill along the northerly bank of the Kalamazoo river and then followed the present location of the Territorial road through Comstock and Galesburg, where
the record is lost again, in Charleston township.
5th. A north and south trail entered the county on the south line
of Section 33, Brady township, thence northwesterly, passing the
present site of Vicksburg about three-quarter miles east, thence northerly, passing between Austin and Long lakes, thence following the
present location of the Portage road and Portage street to the southeast corner of the Match-e-be-nash-i-wish Indian reservation at about
the present location of Oak road. From here north the records are
more or less tradition. It is known, however, that it passed through
Kalamazoo, crossed the ford at the trading post and passed north along
the east bank of the Kalamazoo river.
6th. A trail that was mentioned several times by the early settlers
originated in Prairie Ronde near an Indian village, near Harrison
lake, crossed the southeastern part of Texas township, thence northerly
through the westerly side of Portage township, and entered Kalamazoo
township by Section 32 and entered the Match-e-be-nash-i-wish reservation near its southwest corner and tradition says it followed what is
now known as Oakland Drive to the village of Kalamazoo. This trail
passed near the British Forge of I812, on what was known as the
Axtell farm.
There were many other trails, but they seemed to be, for the most
part, entrances to village sites or cross trains connecting up with the
main trails.
MOUNDS IN VARIOUS TOWNSHIPS
Pavilion township has had two mounds. One was on the east
half of the northwest quarter of Section 3, was four feet high, twenty
feet in diameter. When found by the early settlers it had an eighteeninch oak, and a small hickory growing up on it. It was opened in
I876 by Henry T. Smith, and two skeletons, of evidently separate
burials were found. They were lying crosswise of each other about
eighteen inches apart. The lower one was a little beneath the original
surface of the ground. Beneath the lower one was found charcoal
and ashes on a bed of coarse gravel. The skeletons were much decayed
and crumpled on exposure to air. The skull of the lower one was very




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thick. No other relics were discovered. A mound still stands, as a
recent report says, on Section i6 of this township.
Climax township had three or more mounds. One was located
less than a mile east of Climax and was about two-thirds the size of the
mound in Bronson park. A dwelling was later erected on the site
and it was cut away, but no relics were found. In the northwest part
of the village of Climax was found a conical mound forty feet in
diameter and about five feet high. From its summit when Climax
prairie was settled was growing a white oak tree two feet in diameter.
Other mounds similar in size, stood on Sections I and 2. In some of
these mounds portions of human skeletons were found. In I880 a
few mounds in this township were in existence.
In Kalamazoo township, only one mound, as far as known, was
discovered-the one in Bronson park. This mound was very old
when the United States deputy surveyor came to this location to run
out the lines of Match-e-be-nash-i-wish Indian reservation, prior to
I829. The Indians at that time seemed to consider it of ancient origin
and one chief considered it a speaking rostrum. It was first opened
in 1832, by Hon. E. Lakin Brown and Cyrus Lovel. No bones or
relics were found, but a quantity of charcoal was discovered. It was
measured later by Henry Little and found to be a perfect circle fiftyeight feet in diameter and a height at that time of four feet and nine
inches. Its original height was somewhat greater. This mound was
again opened on July 4, 1850, by Mr. A. J. Sheldon, but with what
results history does not say.
Comstock township.-The peculiar formation on an island, now
owned by Henry Nicholson, in Section 22, was considered an Indian
mound in I83I by A. D. P. Van Buren. It was thus described by
him: "It was diamond-shaped and twenty feet high and covered, by
comparison, an acre or more. A maple tree thirty inches in diameter
stood upon it in i83I." This formation has been examined by the
writer and found to be almost a perfect triangle with very regular
side slopes, its base lines being three hundred, two hundred forty and
two hundred eighty feet and its height fourteen feet. As to whether
this is artificial, nothing can definitely be said until it is examined by
competent archaeologists and geologists. If it does prove to be artificial
it is probably the largest in the state of Michigan.
A small mound also mentioned by Van Buren, stood on Section
31 and was first seen by Mr. Ralph Tuttle, upon whose land it stood,
in I830. It was twenty-five feet in diameter and two and one-half
feet high.
Oshtemo township.-There is a report that a small mound stood
in the southeast part of this township but nothing definitely is known.
Cooper township.-This township had several mounds. In I880
a small mound stood on Section 30, in timbered land,-and on land then
owned by A. R. Allen. It was twenty feet in diameter. On opening
it, human bones, apparently thrown promiscuously together, were
found. These bones were reported as being of more than ordinary
size, This probably was the burial spot of victims of battle, as several




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


such mounds have been found in Wisconsin, with a record of who the
Indians were and how they came by their death.
Two small mounds were found on Section I6, on land formerly
owned by A. D. Chappel. Many bones were found, probably those
of battle victims, as three earthworks or fortifications were found
nearby.
The third mound is described as being on the "Governor Throop
farm east of the river," but so far I have been unable to locate this
farm.
Richland township.-Six mounds were found about a mile north
of Richland. Four were on Section 14 and two across the highway on
Section 15. Three of the first group were forty-one feet in diameter
and one of less than twenty feet in diameter. The two of the east
group were twenty feet in diameter and were exact counterparts of each
other. One of the first group was opened in 1837 by Colonel Isaac
Barnes, but no relics were found. Later another of this group was
opened and human bones were found. There were once one or two
mounds in the southern part of this township, but so far I have been
unable to ascertain their location.
Undoubtedly there were many more mounds, and I believe that
there are persons living that can locate them, perhaps still existing, as
no mounds have been reported in Prairie Ronde, Schoolcraft, Texas,
Waukeshma, Charleston, Ross and Alamo townships.
EARTHWORK OR FORTIFICATIONS
The principal earth works were found in Climax township. The
largest one was located on the southeast quarter of Section 3, a trifle
over a quarter of a mile south of Climax village. It consisted of an
elliptical ditch, enclosing one and three-tenths acres of ground, on
the summit of a small hill that is the highest land in the vicinity. The
elliptical form was very perfect, its greater diameter being three
hundred thirty feet and the lesser diameter being two hundred ten.
The direction of the major axis was N. 30~ E. The old settlers called
it a fort. A similar fort, but much smaller, was found on the northwest quarter of Section I. It consisted of a circular embankment
about two feet high and enclosed an area of between one-fourth to
one-half acre. There were no regular ditches, as in the first described
earthworks, but at intervals were pits, from which the earth appeared
to have been taken out for the embankment. The old settlers said it
looked much like a huge circus ring. Three earthworks were found
in Cooper township, on land once owned by A. D. Chappell, in Section
I3. Many bones were excavated from these works. The records of
these earthworks are very vague but I am sure that some one can
give up the full particulars by publicity.
GARDEN BEDS
Garden beds were found in various parts of the county in Schoolcraft township, on Sections 7 and 8. It is recorded that there were over
one hundred acres of them, as part of these according to J. T. Cobb,
were in existence as late as I86o. Around the mounds and earth



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125


works in Climax township there were discovered by the early settlers
five, and possibly more, distinct groups of garden beds. One group
was a mile west of the "old fort," a larger group one-half mile east of
the "old fort" on land formerly owned by Stephen Eldred. Another
group was on Section I, o'n the Willow plain. The most distinct group,
however, lay about forty rods south of the "old fort," on T. P. Eldred's
land. They law in various directions and at different angles with
each other, as if the land had been parceled out and worked by different owners. The paths between them were deep enough so that
the plow would run out of the ground, in crossing them. Others nearly
as distinct were found on land formerly owned by D. Lawrence, onehalf mile north of the "old fort." In fact, the whole country about
Climax prairie seemed to have been parceled out and worked by these
pre-historic farmers.
In Portage township there was a group of beds in Section 12. In
Kalamazoo township there was about ten acres, lying immediately
south of what is now Bronson Park avenue. A remarkable one was
perfectly circular, with paths corresponding with' the spokes of a wheel.
This was about one hundred feet in diameter and was overgrown with
Burr-Oak trees when the first settlers arrived. These facts are from
Mr. Henry Little.
A half mile north of Galesburg was another group of beds. One
of these beds was of very peculiar shape and was surveyed and mapped
out by H. M. Shafter at an early date. In fact, Kalamazoo county
was very well covered in places, with these mysterious evidences of
culture. Schoolcraft and Blois examined many of these localities.
INDIAN VILLAGES
There were several Indian villages and camps in Kalamazoo county.
One, probably the last one to be occupied, was located near Harrison
lake, in Section 3, Prairie Ronde township. It had a population of
about two hundred and fifty persons and was ruled by Chief Sagamond.
Another, existing in 1812, was located on Section 12, Portage township. It is reputed to have been used as a retreat while the warriors
were fighting the Americans. Its population was estimated at six
hundred. Many white American prisoners were held here. Later
a small village existed near Portage creek, in Section 3, Portage township. An Indian village once existed, presumably about where the
Catholic church stands. It was ruled by an Indian chief by the name
of Match-e-be-nash-i-wish after whom the Indian  reservation was
named. Nothing is known of this chief except that he was a party to
one treaty with the United States government. From the various
relics found, and the extent of their area, this must have been a considerable village. Probably it was one of the river commercial villages where barter was held.
On the northern part of Section 17 there was a camp site where the
Indians lived, probably during strawberry season as large quantities
of this plant were there even after the white man came.
On Section I8 in Charleston township, there was once an Indian
village. This was probably a permanent site, as numerous corn pits




126


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


were found by the pioneers. On Section I6, Charleston township,
was another site, probably permanent, as a cemetery was located nearby.
On the northwest corner of Section 13, Oshtemo township, was an
Indian village, permanent in nature, as these Indians remained on the
land of Benjamin Drake, who settled here in I830. These Potawatomi
Indians cultivated land on the same i'nclosure which Mr. Blake first
made, and as they had previous possession they were not disturbed by
Mr. Blake, but remained until they voluntarily removed. The Indians
assisted Mr. Drake in building his house. These Indians made large
quantities of maple sugar.
There is reputed to have been either an Indian village or camp-site
west of Gull lake in Richland township, but so far I have been unable
to locate it definitely.
There were several Indian cemeteries in the county. In Kalamazoo
township were three, all within the confines of the present city. The
first one was discovered in 1834, when excavating for the cellar of
the River House. A great number of Indian skeletons and loose bones
were unearthed and were thrown into the river. At the same time
many kettles (most of brass) and other domestic articles were found.
These relics were carried away by different persons, to be kept as
curiosities.
Another cemetery was located near the Catholic church and another near the present site of the Chase block. On Section I, Portage
township, was located an Indian cemetery. On Section 16, Charleston township, was located one, and one or rather two were located on
Section 9, of Prairie Ronde township. In one of these was buried
Chief Saginaw, who was killed at Jackson and brought here for
burial.




CHAPTER VI


THE KALAMAZOO VALLEY
ROM     earliest times the valley of the Kalamazoo river was inhabited by Indians of various tribes, who passed from the scenes,
either because of conquest, or because other regions promised more
food and security. Primeval man has left behind here evidences of
his handiwork in the shape of mounds and garden beds. Along the
terraces left by the great glacial river that once filled the valley, prehistoric man, before the eliminating processes of Nature relegated
him to irrevocable oblivion, fought his battles with animals and with
men as savage as any wild beast. Among the Potawatomies of this
region of Oak Openings was the legend of a village of flint implement
makers located on highlands overlooking a great lake which filled
the valley south of the town of Paw Paw. This probably has reference
to the great glacial lake, which geologists have found existed in that
region thousands of years ago. On the highlands overlooking that
valley are numerous shop and village sites of the men of the stone age.
The first aborigines of this beautiful region of morainal hills and
sloping uplands, prairies, meadows and lateral valleys from which
tributaries poured their pure, spring-fed waters into the river, were
man-eaters, and the wigwam villages, here and there, on the banks,
were the scenes of cannibal feasts. According to early French reports
the Sioux Indians once occupied this region, then the Mascoutens,
but the first authentic mention is made of the Miamis, whom De la
Potherie, the early historian of New France, described as the "Miamis
of Muramek," the Kalamazoo river being then called by that name.
Writing of the year I69o, he records the fact that these Indians had
carried off eight Loups, who had accepted presents from the English.
The French   commandant at Michilimackinac, M. de Louvigny,
ascertaining that four of these prisoners had been given to the Miamis
of the St. Joseph river settlement, suggested that the remaining four
be "put into the kettle" if they could not be brought to his post. The
four Loups given to the St. Joseph savages were presented by them
to the French commander there, who had been of great service. M.
de Louvigny sent thirty-eight soldiers to secure the remaining four
prisoners, but they, too, were given to the St. Joseph Miamis. The
Loups were friends of the English and through them the Iroquois
sought to undermine French interests. The recommendation that the
prisoners should be eaten, therefore, was in accordance with a policy
of terrorizing the French wished to encourage. Feasting on human
flesh was a common custom among the Indians.
Wishing to establish a firmer bond with the Miamis of "Muramek,"
whom they hoped would keep the Iroquois from entering the beaver
trade in the Michigan peninsula, the French sent a present of fifty
pounds of gunpowder to them. Four hundred of the natives im



128


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


mediately started on the warpath, separating into four bands, each
taking a share of the powder. In order to invoke supernatural power
for the success of this expedition, the great chief of these early Kalamazooans, Ouagikougiaganea, caused a ceremony to be performed by
medicine men and others before an altar on which was a rude idol
made of bear pelts smeared with clay. These war parties were successful, and the victories were credited to the ceremonies they indulged in before leaving.
Again we hear of the French adventurer Nicholas Perrot having
great influence with the Miamis of "Malamek," and, frequent mention
of his association with them is made in the chapter on the St. Joseph
river valley history included in this volume.
As the site of the present city of Kalamazoo was a rendezvous for
savages from prehistoric times down to the arrival of the first settlers,
it is almost unnecessary to state that traders appeared here from the
earliest times after the arrival of the first French explorers. Up and
down the river the voyageurs paddled their canoes loaded with materials for barter and loads of peltries.
It was sometime during, or after the French regime, that the River
Malamek, or Maramee, as it is called on Franquelin's map, became
known by several variations of a name which is today called Kalamazoo.
The early settlers found a quantity of bog iron within the limits of
the present city and converted it to commercial uses. That the early
explorers were aware of these iron deposits is confirmed by the fact
that a British report on the route to St. Joseph in 1772 mentions the
"Reccanamazoo river, or Pusawpaca Sippy, otherwise the Iron Mine
river." In later records the river is called the "Ki-ka-ma-sung,"
meaning "race of the boiling kettle." According to a legend the
Indians living in a village west of Galesburg had each fall a contest
in which the Indians placed a kettle over a fire and raced to the river
and back. The object was to return before the kettle began to boil.
The present spelling was derived from the last preceding version,
which was "Kekalamazoo."
That trade on the Kalamazoo river was to remain free to all who
wished to go there was the special instruction given to Charles Langlade, of Green Bay, when Louis Herbin, in October, I755, sent him
to take command of the whole Grand river valley. His headquarters
were at Gabagouache, which was located at the confluence of the Flat
and Grand rivers, now the site of the city of Lowell. It was here
that Joseph La Framboise and later his wife, conducted a trading
post. Langlade and his men were prohibited from trading elsewhere.
He was also instructed to permit no trader to invade territory assigned to others. (Langlade Papers, Wisconsin Historical Collections,
Vol. VIII, p. 2II).
During the British dominion, the overland route traveled between
Detroit, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Chicago, and the Illinois posts had
become definitely established and was traveled by occasional detachments of troops, by mounted messengers between the King's garrisons
and by hordes of savages of various tribes. Though there was, along
the Kalamazoo river, a deeply worn trail which connected with an







RobinmOn II II.
t11


-                   ~~~~~~~Alihon (.oil ego
Buildint,zs
Albion, NMieh,.
(0 rvaory,


SITE OF PRESENT POST TAVERN, TAKEN 1865


EVERY CITY OFFICIAL IN 'BATTLE CREEK IN 1914. TAKEN IN OLD
COUNCIL CHAMBER




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


129


other pathway leading to the Detroit river, the British, in 1772, had
defined a different and longer route between Detroit and St. Joseph
by way of Kalamazoo. From that place the distance to the Huron, or
"Nandewine Sippy" river, is given as forty miles in a published
description of the route. (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. X,
p. 248). A note states that "There is a village of Puttawateamees
of six large cabins. The river at this place is about fifty feet wide
and the water is generally from one and a half to two feet deep. When
there are floods travelers are obliged to make rafts to cross it. The
road in this place is bad."
The remainder of the route to Kalamazoo was laid out as follows:
Miles
"To the Salt river or Wandagon Sippy........................ 12
"N. B. There is another village of Pittawattamees of five
cabins. This river is never so high as to prevent people
passing it.
"To one of the branches of Grand river or Washtenon that falls,
into Lake Michigan...................................... 60
"There is another village of Pittawattamees of eight large
cabins.
"To Reccanamazoo 'river, or Pusawpaco Sippy, otherwise the Iron
Mine river........................................      75
"N. B. There is another village of Pittawattamees of
eight large cabins. T.his river cannot be passed in freshets
on rafts. At other time one to two feet deep.
"To  the  Prairie  Ronde......................................  30
"N. B. There is a small lake of about three-quarters of
a mile wide and eleven miles long, abounding with several
sorts of fish, such as Maskenongi, Whitefish, &c.
"To the Fort St. Josephe.................................... 75
292
The "branch of the Grand river" was unquestionably the Sowanque-sake, or Thornapple, one of its largest tributaries, which rises in
what is now Eaton county. Along this stream was what was known
to early settlers as the "Canada Trail," a portion of which, deeply
worn, was plainly visible in recent times in the woodlands near the
north shore of Thornapple lake, a wide expansion of this beautiful river. This ancient pathway followed the river to the ford
of the Grand river trail west of the site of the town of Middleville,
not far from which was the "village of the Pittawattamees of eight
cabins" on Scales' prairie. These Potawatomi habitations were near
the ancient French trading post, or block-house directly on the great
Indian trail between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.
The "small lake about three-quarters of a mile wide and eleven
miles long" was evidently the ancient lake of which Long, Austin
and Gourd Neck are the remains. Many lakes over a century ago
were considerable larger than today, as the areas of tamarac-covered
lowlands and quagmires surrounding them bear evidence. Early settlers were frequently told by aged Indians of days when lakes were




130


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


larger and covered ground on which white man walked. The land
separating these three bodies of water is only a few feet high. Deposits show it was once flooded. Though the total length of these
lakes is not eleven miles, the estimate is fair because at the time it
was made the country had not been surveyed and the information
was based purely on the judgment of travelers.
There were two traders on the Kalamazoo river in the winter of
I795. As Numaiville is credited with establishing the post on the
cemetery hill, it is reasonable that the trader, or traders, here in I795,
occupied the old post, the foundations of which were found up the
river by pioneers. The names of these traders were Pepan and
Burrell, and the document establishing their residence here proves.that there resided here at that time "Bad Bird," or Mash-i-pi-nash-iwish, a famous Chippewa chief, signer of the Treaty of Greenville,
after whom was named, the Indian reservation which included the site
of the city of Kalamazoo. It was in Kalamazoo that there met on
February 9th, and again on the IIth, Alexander McKenzie, messenger of the British government to the "Potawatamies of St. Joseph's
and neighboring villages," and Baptiste Sanscrainte, who had brought
General Anthony Wayne's message inviting "Bad Bird" to Greenville,
Ohio, to the treaty conference. The men met at the home of Pepan,
the trader, and again at the "home of Mr. Burrell."
These meetings in Kalamazoo are thus described in Mr. McKenzie's
report on March 5, I795, to Alexander McKee, British superintendent
of Indian Affairs at Detroit:
"Having left Detroit on February 5th, I arrived at the house of a
trader, named Pepan, on the Kekalamasoe river, who is furnished
with goods by George McDougall, merchant of Detroit; where I found
Pepan and Baptiste Sanscrainte inhabitants of the settlement of Detroit; they informed me they had just arrived from Fort Wayne and
that the only news there was the intention of the American army to
come to Detroit on the opening of the navigation in the spring. I
prevailed on those two to come with me to Kalamasoe in hopes' I
might discover the whole of Sanscrainte's business in this part of the
country. On the Ioth we reached Mr. Burrell's where I met an
Indian chief of the Chippewas called the 'Bad Bird.' He had been
at Fort Greenville and had returned hither with Pepan and Sanscrainte. His information to me was that William and Zeans and a
few Wyandottes from Sandusky was with General Wayne when he was
there and that Williams in council spoke as follows:
"'We have come from Sandusky to see you, Brothers, and to give
you our hands and to let you know we are the first nation, and the
commanding nation. And that we can bring all the other nations
here to make a general peace with you. We have come to remain
with you, Brothers, and you will point to us a place to sit upon until
you rise or want our help. We will send all the other nations to come
and make a final peace. We will assist you against the English, the
Governor and the White Elk, or any forces that may come against
you, or any of the nations that refuse to join us.' To which General
Wayne replied:




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


131


"'Brother, I do not want any of your assistance. All I want of
you is peace, and to disperse that black cloud that has so long been
hanging over our heads, and to make roads clear and white that have
so long been bloody.'
"On the IIth, in the evening, we arrived at Kekalamasoe and went
to the house of Mr. Burrell, where Sainscrainte, after having drunk
a little freely, produced the speech he brought from General Wayne
to the Indians throughout all this part of the country, which was an
invitation to all the chiefs and warriors to meet him at Fort Greenville on June 15th next, where he hoped to establish a firm and
lasting peace.
"Sanscrainte informed me also that he was employed for the
United States at two dollars per day, and that Pepan had promised
Colonel Hamtramck at Fort Wayne that he would advance anything
that Sanscrainte might want on account of the United States. Sanscrainte likewise informed me that his instructions were to go to all
the different nations and hold councils with them and the 'Bad Bird,'
but finding an unusual fall of snow, they had determined to go to
Maskegan where the Indians have a general rendezvous in the spring,
and to take along with them from thence all those who may agree
to go.
"In obedience to my instructions I proceeded to St. Joseph's and
the neighboring villages and found that none of the Potawatomies
had gone to any of the forts except three or four insignificent people,
who had no manner of influence and they appear to be as firmly attached as ever to the British government." (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XII, p. 162).
Mash-i-pi-nash-i-wish, or Bad Bird, was one of the greatest chiefs
who followed Pontiac. According to Lyman Draper, the celebrated
Wisconsin historian and antiquarian, "Matchekewis," a leader in the
battle of Fallen Timbers, was the signer of the Treaty of Greenville,
which followed on August 9, I795, "Mad Anthony" Wayne's great
victory. Draper bases his statement on facts given him by relatives
of "Matchekewis." The name "Matchequis" is without doubt a corruption of Mash-i-pi-nash-i-wish, Michigan Indian spokesman at
Greenville. He was the captor of Michilimackinac in Pontiac's war in
1763; he accompanied Indian and Canadian forces in the American
Revolution, and was with Langlade's expedition to St. Joseph in
I799. (Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. VII, pp. I88-I93).
This chief also commanded a band of Wisconsin Indians in the
British expedition to St. Louis in I780. He stood high in the favor
of the British. A glimpse of him at Green Bay in 1788 is given by
Grignon, a grandson of Langlade. Says Draper: "Ile was then
dignified with the title of general prefixed to his Indian name, which
he seemed to appreciate, for he wore a bright scarlet British dress
coat, with epaulettes, and cut quite a figure. He was then getting
old, and was a tall, and large-sized Indian. Young as Grignon then
was, about eight years of age, he attracted his attention; and his
grandfather, Charles de Langlade, told him of the St. Louis expedition, and Matchekewis having the dhief command. Grignon adds




HISTORIO MICHIGAN


that his grandfather had a dislike towards General Matchekewis, remarking that he was unreliable and treacherous, brave and sanguinary
— probably referring more especially to his treacherous conduct at
the surprise of Mackinaw in 1763."
That this famous Indian was an outstanding figure among the
tribes of Michigan-the Ottawas, Chippewas and Potawatomies-is
proved by the fact that the "Three Fires" sent him as their leading
representative to the conference that ended in the Treaty of Greenville. According to Draper, the chief died while attending a treaty
on the Maumee, such a pact being held at Fort Industry in the summer of I805.
The most extensive information we have of Mash-i-pi-nash-i-wish
is revealed by himself in his speeches at Greenville. That he was
a red chieftain with a remarkably developed personality is shown by
the sentiment, the eloquence, and the trusting spirit he expressed at
this concourse of savages which was to bring peace after years of
warfare with the hated "Bostonions" and "Virginians," now welded
into a powerful Union.
With the "Bad Bird" at the treaty sessions were the trader Pepin,
and Sanscrainte, the messenger whom Alexander McKee, the British
official, had met on the Kalamazoo river. Below are given the addresses made by the chief during the conference with Wayne.
Speaking for the three tribes to "Mad Anthony" Wayne, Washington's celebrated colleague and commander of the "Long Knives,"
the Indian in response to the general's welcoming words, said:
"Elder Brother: I thank you, in the name of all the Ottawas,
Chippewas, and Pottawatamies, for what you have this day told us;
it is all very right and good."
Replying, General Wayne said to the assembled Indians:
"I take you all by the hand, with that strong hold with which
brothers ought to salute each other. Tomorrow will be the anniversary
of the day which gave peace, happiness and independence to America.
Tomorrow all the people of the Fifteen Fires, with shouts of joy, and
peals of artillery, will celebrate the period which gave them freedom.
Nineteen times have the United States, already, hailed the return of
that auspicious morn. Tomorrow, we shall, for the twentieth time,
salute the annual return of this happy day, rendered still more dear
by the brotherly union of the American and red people. Tomorrow
all the people within these lines will rejoice. You, my brothers, shall
also rejoice in your respective encampments. I called you together to
explain these matters to you. Do not, therefore, be alarmed at the
report of our big guns; they will do no harm. They will be the
harbingers of peace and gladness, and their roar will ascend into the
heavens. * * * "
Mash-i-pi-tash-i-wish, the Chippewa chief, then arose and replied:
"Elder Brother: I have heard your words, and have received
great pleasure from them. I never make long speeches; what I have
to say, I say in a few words. Look at your warriors around you, and
view ours. Does it not give you pleasure to see us all met together
in brotherly love?




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133


"Elder Brother: You may believe what I say, antd what I am
going to say. As we are here on good business, our hearts must
dictate what our tongues express. The Great Spirit knows when we
speak truth, and punishes falsehood. As you have told us we are to
rejoice, I have a favor to ask of you, compliance with which will prepare our hearts for the occasion, We would wish to rescue from
death two of our young warriors, whom we brought in to you, and
whom we hear are to die. I entreat you, in the name of all present, to
spare their lives, and pray you to indulge us in this request. (He presented a white and blue string).
"Brothers of the different nations present, listen to what our elder
brother tell us, with attention; I am satisfied it is the truth. Listen to
me also. * * * You now see them present, the representatives
of their nations: here are the chiefs of the Ottawas, Chippewas, and
Pattawatamies. We three are faithful allies, and one of us speaks
for the whole, when in council. The words you spoke last winter are
fresh on my memory.. I know nothing of the treaty in question, which
took place at Muskingum: the people who made it are present, and
will be able to speak of it. My remote situation on Lake Michigan
prevented me from being acquainted with it.
"Elder Brother: I am very glad you have pointed out those of
my nation who were at, and signed, the treaty of Muskingum. I did
not know them before. That treaty did not reach us who live in
Michigan. I am happy in having it explained. I thank you for
expediting our good work. We wish much to return to our families,
many of whom have died since we left home.
"Elder Brother, and all you present, listen to me with attention!
"When the Great Spirit made the world, he put me at Michilimachinac, where I first drew my breath. At first I was entirely naked and
destitute; and, as if he had compassion on me, he pointed out to me
the way to the white people. I followed his path, and found them
below Quebec, at the falls of Montmorency. I was satisfied the Great
Spirit pitied us, for you whites had all pity on. us; and, hence, we always loved you. The Great Spirit has blessed you with greater
Knowledge than we are possessed of; you are, therefore, entitled to
great respect. When we first found the French whites, we took them
to our fires, and they have lived among us ever since. (He presented
a white string).
"Elder Brother: You see all your brothers assembled here, in
consequence of your messages last winter; at that time the Ottawas,
Chippewas, Pattawatamies, some who call themselves Sauckeys, and
the Miamis, heard your words. You remember, brother, I then told
you, that I would withdraw the dark cloud from your eyes, that you
might know us again. You see I have done so, for you now behold
us all clearly. At the same time, I told you I would open both your
ears, and my own, that we might hear each other clearly. Our ears
are opened accordingly, and we hear and understand accurately. I
now speak-.to you with a pure heart. This white wampum testifies
our sincerity and unanimity in sentiment. I now put your heart in
its right place, as you did mine, that you may make known to the




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Fifteen Fires what I now tell you. (He presented a blue and white
string).
"Elder Brother: When I view my situation, I consider myself as
an object of compassion.
"Elder Brother: Listen to me; as I told you last winter, if we
Indians have acted wrong, we are not entirely to blame. - It was our
father, the British, who urged us to bad deeds, and reduced us to
our present state of misery. He persuaded us to shed all the blood
we have spilled. You this day see me fulfil my promise. With this
belt I cover all the slain, together with our evil actions. (He.presented
a white belt).
"Elder Brother: Listen to me with attention. I speak in the
name of all present. You see that I am worthy of your compassion.
When I look upward, I see the sky serene and happy; and when I
look on the earth, I see all my children wandering in the utmost misery
and distress. I tell you this to inform you I have never moved my
fire; that I still live where the Great Spirit first placed me. (He
presented a belt).
"Elder Brother: Listen! The Great Spirit above hears us, and
I trust we shall not endeavor to deceive each other. I expect what
we are about to do shall never be forgotten as long as we exist.
When I show you this belt, I point out to you your children at one
end of it, and mine at the other; and I would solicit the Fifteen Fires,
and their women and children, to have pity on my helpless offspring.
I now tell you that we will assist you to the utmost of our power to
what is right. Remember, we have taken the Great Spirit to witness
our present actions; we will make a new world, and leave nothing on
it to incommode our children. (He presented a white belt).
"Elder Brother: I now use this white wampum, that the words
I utter may descend to the bottom of your heart, and that of the
Fifteen Fires.
"Elder Brother: I was not disposed to take up the hatchet against
you; it was forced into my hand by the white people. I now throw
it into the middle of the deepest lake, from whence no mortal can
bring it back.
"Brother: I have thrown my hatchet into a bottomless lake, from
whence it never will return; I hope you will also throw yours so far
that it may never again be found.-(He presented a string, blue and
white).
"Brother: After hearing all your words, my heart feels easy, and
in its proper place. I do not speak to you about lands, for why should
I? You have told us we might hunt upon your lands; you need not
apprehend any injury from us; we will for the future, live and hunt
in peace and happiness.
"Elder Brother: You see before you all my war chiefs; they
never go ahead of their commander; they ever obey and follow his
orders; when I was here last winter, you expressed a desire to see
them; you told me you would treat them well; but they say they have
not seen this treatment; and inquire the cause of this alteration. (He
presented a blue string).




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135


"Elder Brother: Listen to what I now say; your younger brothers,
that is, the Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pattawatamies, have told you,
that they were but one people, and had but one voice; they have said
the truth, and what I now say, is in the name of the Three Fires; you
have asked of us the island of Michilimackinac, and its dependencies,
on the main, where the fort formerly stood; they are ceded to you,
forever, with the utmost cheerfulness; you have also asked a piece
of ground, at the entrance of the straits, to cut your wood on, and
for other necessary purposes; this is also granted to you; and I
further add to it, the Isle de Bois Blanc, as an instance of our sincere
disposition to serve and accommodate you. You know, brother, when
the French formerly possessed this country, we were but one people,
and had but one fire between us; and we now entertain the hope of
enjoying the same happy relation with you, the United States. Your
brothers present, of the Three Fires, are gratified in seeing and hearing
you; those who are at home will not experience that pleasure, until
you come and live among us; you will then learn our title to that
land; you will then be convinced of my sincerity, and of the friendship and strength of our nations.
"This, elder brother, is all I have to say at present. We all know
that the good work of peace is accomplished. I only address these
few words to you, that all nations present may again hear the sentiments of the Three Fires, and understand them perfectly. (He presented a blue and white string).
"Elder Brother: I now see that all is settled: It affords us
a great deal of pleasure. I hope you feel equally gratified. I repeat our entire satisfaction, that all present may know it. We, the
Three Fires, have never done you any harm. With the same good heart
I met you here, I will depart, and return home. You will find the
truth of these words when you come and live among us. You must
not believe ill of me.
"Elder Brother: I hope that you will listen with attention to my
words, and have pity on me. I have a request to make to you. You
know I have come a great distance to assist in this good work, and,
as it is now happily completed, I hope you will deliver to us our
friend, whom you sent from hence into confinement. We would be
grieved to leave him in durance behind us, for he has been friendly
to us. This is the request of your brothers, the Three Fires."
To the concluding words of General Wayne, Mash-i-pi-nash-iwish made the final address of the Indians, who had deeded away
to the conqueror a vast tract of territory rich beyond expectation.
Said General Wayne:
"All you nations listen. By the seventh article of this treaty, all
the lands now ceded to the United States are free for all the tribes
now present to hunt upon so long as they continue peaceable, and do
no injury to the people thereof. * * * All you, my children,
listen to me. The great business of peace, so long and so ardently
wished for, by your great and good father, General Washington, and
the Fifteen Fires, and, I am sure, by every good man among you,
being now accomplished, nothing remains but to give you a few




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


words of advice from a father, anxious for the peace and happiness
of his children. Let me earnestly exhort you to restrain your young
people from injuring, in any degree, the people of the United States.
Impress upon their minds the meaning and spirit of the treaty now
before us. * * * Restore to me as soon as possible all my flesh
and blood which may be among you, without distinction or exception,
and receive now from my hands the ten hostages stipulated by the
second article to be left with me as security for their delivery. * * *
I now fervently pray to the Great Spirit, that the peace now established
shall be permanent; and that it may hold us together in the bonds of
friendship until time shall be no more. I also pray that the Great
Spirit above may enlighten your minds and open your eyes to your
true happiness, that your children may cultivate the earth, and enjoy
the fruits of peace and industry. * * * It is probable, my children,
that we shall not soon meet again in public council. I take this opportunity of bidding you an affectionate farewell, and of wishing you
a safe and happy return to your respective homes and families."
Mash-i-pi-nash-i-wish thus spoke in reply:
"Father: The good work being now completed, we are left without a subject to employ our conversation. You see your children the
Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pattawatamies, around you. Those at home
will be rejoiced when we inform them that, for the future, they will
enjoy the protection of a new father. Our happiness is great in being permitted to address you by that endearing appellation. Father,
since we have been here, some mischief has been done. We are entirely ignorant of the perpetrators. It grieves us much, and excites
our anger and indignation. Time will discover to you and us those
wicked disturbers, who richly merit punishment. I have to request
you to license a trader to reside with your children at Ki-ka-na-ma-sung
(Kalamazoo), where we shall pass the ensuing winter. I have never
been guilty of stealing horses, nor shall I now commence the practice.
But as I am an old man, I would ask you for one to carry me home.
"Father: I have heard, and understand, all that you have said. I
am perfectly satisfied with every part of it; my heart will never
change. No prisoners remain in our hands in the neighborhood of
Michilimackinac. Those two Frenchmen present (Messieurs Sans
Crainte and Pepin), can witness to the truth of this assertion." (American State Papers, Vol. V, 1832, pp. 562-582).
Throughout the valley of the Kalamazoo river and its tributaries
roamed the Potawatomi Indians before the war of 1812. Among them
were small settlements of Ottawas and Chippewas. Many of these
Indians migrated back and forth, as seasons changed, between L'Arbre
Croche above Grand Traverse Bay and the Grand, Kalamazoo, and
St. Joseph valleys. In southwestern Michigan, however, the Potawatomies maintained permanent settlements. The region penetrated by
the Grand, the Flat and the Thornapple rivers, was a favorite hunting
ground, while the heavy forests of maple offered the best opportunity
for making sugar.
In the region now embraced in Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Branch
counties there were numerous Potawatomi villages, especially at the




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137


confluences of streams, which emptied into the Kalamazoo river.
Throughout this region there are hundreds of beautiful lakes and cold
streams in which fur-bearing animals thrived and where beavers made
the dams, traces of which may be found today. Interspersed among
the ranges of hills were small prairies where deer, elk and sometimes
buffalo came to feed. Approaching the prairies were stretches of the
park-like oak openings.
Where Kalamazoo now stands no less than twelve trails converged,
making the place a center of communications for the savages. Within
confines of the city have been uncovered three cemeteries from which
have been taken skeletons and copper kettles. On the highest elevation in Climax Prairie-a slight elevation, there still remains traces
of what was probably an elliptical earthwork. As this country was
once inhabited by the Miamis, who were builders of defensive palisades,
it is not unreasonable to believe that this was once the parapet of a
stockade defending an Indian village.
During the War of 1812, one of the largest Potawatomi villages
in southwestern Michigan was located in what is now called Indian
fields in Section 12, Portage township. Here the savages kept their
women and children while they themselves were oh the warpath against
the Americans. The population of this village at that time was said
to have been six hundred. In this they also kept some of the American'
prisoners. One of the captives, it is related, afterwards described this
region as a land of wonders to his friends in the east causing some of
them to come with the first pioneers.
How the Indians lived in their wigwams, what they did in their
communal life in those days is something virtually unknown today.
Little has ever been written about it. One description of life of the
savages of the Kalamazoo valley has been left in an obscure little
volume published at Frankfort, Ky., in I842, by William Atherton, a
survivor of General Winchester's army and captive one winter in the
country now embraced without doubt within Kalamazoo county. This
book, entitled "Narrative of the Suffering and Defeat of the NorthWestern Army Under General Winchester; Massacre of the Prisoners;
Sixteen Months' Imprisonment of the Writer and Others With the
Indians and British," contains the following romantic account of
Atherton's captivity among the Indians "one hundred and fifty miles"
from Detroit, and of his return journey in a canoe to the headwaters
of the Kalamazoo river, thence over the portage to the headwaters
of the Huron down which he was taken to a point opposite Fort
Malden:
"We were upon the road about two weeks; our sufferings were
great from intense cold, and from hunger; we had nothing to eat
but what the hunters could kill on the way. I rendered what assistance
I could in catching raccoons and porcupines, for these were our principal living whilst on the road. I suppose we traveled one hundred
and fifty miles before we reached our destination. We now began to
fare a little better, though we sometimes still suffered with hungerit wa either a feast or a famine with us. The Indians would eat up
all the provisions with as much dispatch as possible, and let every




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day provide for itself. Thus we spent our time for several weeks.
"Here I will give an account of a very aged man whom I saw on
our way out to this place. There were many families on the way at
the same time-not only their wives and children but their young men.
This caused me to think they did not expect a'ny more war during the
winter season. It seemed that when their actual services were no
longer necessary, they were left to shift for themselves. This was
in perfect character with all the doings of the British during this year.
We had been traveling nearly a week, and our hunters were so
fortunate now as to kill a deer. We encamped at the foot of a hill
so as to be screened by it from the keen northern blasts, and to have
the benefit of the sun. During our stay in this camp, the old chief
killed another deer, which, with raccoons and porcupines, afforded us
plenty of food. The Indians made an offering of oil, and part of the
flesh of the deer, to the Great Spirit, by burning it. This I took to
be their thank offering for their success in finding a supply of provisions. Before they left the encampment, they burned some tobacco;
the design of this I do not so well understand.
"Soon after we began to march, I saw the marks of a cane in the
snow, and as the Indians do not use them, I supposed we were overtaking some prisoners. The second day after I saw the cane tracks,
we came up with a company of Indians, and here I saw the old Indian
who had the cane. The moment I saw him my attention was arrested
by his very grave and ancient appearance. His head was whitened
over, I have no doubt, with the frosts of more than one hundred
winters, and still he traveled, and kept pace with the horses and young
men, from morning till evening. This was the most aged Indian which
I saw during my sojourn with them. Their old men are much more
vigorous and free from infirmity than ours. They walk erect, and
command great respect from all the younger-their counsel is heard
with profound attention and respect.
"During the month of March the Indians sent to their town for
corn. We fared better now, but the corn did not last long; so we were
soon thrown back upon what game we could kill in the forests.
"From what I could learn the Indians had adopted me into their
family in place of a young man who had fallen in battle. Soon after
we reached this, the place of our winter quarters, the father-in-law
of my Indian captor dressed me up in Indian costume, made me a
bow and arrows, and started me out with his boys to learn to shoot.
I was then in the twenty-first year of my age. This was our exercise
during the cold weather, and afforded me much amusement, as I
had none with whom I could converse. We had many a hunt through
the woods with our bows and arrows, but I could not learn to use
them to much purpose. Sometimes I was permitted to have a gun,
and go on a hunting expedition, but was always unsuccessful-I
could kill no game. I once saw the Indians proceed to kill a bear
which had holed himself up for the winter. The scratches on the
bark was the sign. They then surrounded the tree, and all being
ready, they gave a loud yell; the bear appeared, we all fired instantly,
and among hands the bear came tumbling down. Soon after this




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139


our old chief killed a very large bear-one of uncommon size even
in that country where they were large and plentiful. He brought home
a part of it, and on the next day sent out three of his sons, an old man
who lived in the family, and myself, to bring in the remainder. The
snow was deep, and we had to travel three or four miles to the place.
We took our loads and started to camp. The old Indian mentioned
above had on snow-shoes in order to walk without sinking; the toe
of one of his shoes caught in a snag which threw him face foremost
into the snow, and being heavily laden with bear meat, the strap to
which it was suspended came over his arms, and made it very difficult
for him to rise. Without thinking where I was, and the danger I
was in, I laughed at the old man struggling under the heavy pressure
of his bear meat. Fortunately he did not perceive me. One of the
young men shook his head at me giving me to understand that I was
risking my life. I discovered that he was also amused, but was afraid
to manifest it. Our hut was now well supplied with meat, the finest
that the country could furnish. I flattered myself that we should not
want soon again; but to my utter astonishment, our old squaw, my
Indian's mother-in-law, sat up the whole night and cooked every
ounce of it! And worse yet-to my great astonishment, the neighbors
were called in next morning, bringing wooden dishes with them, and
after many ceremonies, the whole was divided among the company,
who ate what they could, and packed off the balance.
"There were times when we were very scarce of provisions. On
one occasion, I remember, we had for dinner a small piece of bear
meat, which, I suppose, had been sent in by the neighbors. Our old
mother cooked and placed it in a wooden bowl which was all the
china we had. Our dog was looking on with interest, being nearly
starved; and when the old lady turned her back, he sprang in upon
the meat and started away with it in his mouth. The old squaw,
with great presence of mind, seized him by the throat to prevent him
from swallowing it. She succeeded, and replacing it in the bowl,
we ate, and were glad to get it. The Indian women are doomed to a
hard life. They do the drudgery. In removing from one camp to
another, they pack the goods and children-the men carrying only
the guns. I have seen the women wade into the water to their waists
in cold, freezing weather.
"Of the mode of worship of the Indians, I speak only of the outer
form: for I know but little of their object as I did not understand their
language. There appears to be a similarity between them and the
Jews. Their sacrifices and fasts are frequent. Their fasts are promptly and faithfully attended to. Only one member, however, of the
family fasts at a time, which he does for several days together, eating
nothing until the afternoon. * * * The old man was very fervent
in his devotions, especially in his prayers. I never saw anything like
idolatry among them.
"They are particularly careful to entertain strangers. They are
also very hospitable among themselves-they will divide the last
morsel with each other. Indians traveling, find homes wherever they
find wigwams. If there is only provision enough for one, the stranger




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gets it, and gets it freely, When any are fortunate in hunting, and
it is known to them that others want provisions, they send them a
part of theirs without waiting for them to send for it.
"You have been presented with the manner in which we spent our
time during the cold weather, until sugar-making came on; and now
we found work enough, We removed to a beautiful grove of sugar
trees, and near the center of it we pitched our camp, which is the
Indian mode. We soon made a quantity of sugar, and some of a
fine quality. We used molasses and sugar with our venison and bear
meat; and sometimes we made our meal upon sugar and bear's oil,
which was better living than the reader might suppose without being
acquainted with the dish.
"The Indians are sometimes very filthy in their diet. They will
kill a deer, take out the entrails, rip them up, turn out the contents,
shake them a few times in the snow, throw them for a few minutes
upon the fire, and devour them like hungry dogs. When they kill a
deer with young, the young are considered a choice dish. They roast
them whole. They will eat every animal, and every part of it, from
the bear to the polecat.
"Shortly after the breaking of the ice, the old father, one son, and
myself, left camp for an otter hunt. We ascended the river, placing
traps where we discovered that otters had passed up and down the
banks. This we did during the first day, leaving them until our return. We encamped during the first night on the bank of the river.
We had nothing to eat. We spent the whole of the second day in
hunting without any success; it was a cold rainy day, and we lay
down the second night without a mouthful to eat. On the morning of
the third day the old man left the camp very early, and about twelve
o'clock returned, bringing with him two pheasants (partridges);
they were put into a pot immediately. I feared my portion would be
small as the Indians, when hungry, eat most enormously; but another
pheasant was heard near the camp, which the Indian succeeded in
killing. It was soon in the pot, and fearing lest the Indians should
eat up theirs and then want mine, I did not wait until it was properly
cooked before I went to work upon it. We soon devoured the three
pheasants without either bread or salt. After this fine dinner we
returned to camp again. We examined our traps but found no game.
"The spring of the year now came-the ice and snow began fast to
disappear-and I now began to think more of home than I had done
during the cold season. When the sun began to shine warmly, and
the birds to sing around me, I would often retire from the camp
where I could think of home, and weep, without being discovered.
During the time spent in these lonely retreats, which I sought often
for the purpose of reflection, Shelbyville, Kentucky, the place of my
home, would rise up in my mind with all its inhabitants and endearments. I would think of friends and youthful associates-of the
green over which I had played when a boy at school-and of the
church to which I gave my hand as a seeker of religion a few months
before I left; and of my aged parents, who I knew needed my assistance. These reflections crowding upon me at once, together with




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141


the difficulty of making an escape, would at times almost overwhelm
me with sorrow and despair. But the kindness and sympathy manifested toward me by the Indians, particularly by the wife of the man
who took me prisoner, took off a part of the burthen. This poor
heathen woman, who knew nothing of civilization, and the softening
influences of the Gospel, nevertheless showed that the tenderness and
affection which the Gospel requires were deeply imprinted upon her
heart. I had another source of comfort: I found among the Indians
a piece of a newspaper printed in Lexington, Kentucky, which I suppose had wrapped up some of the clothes of some of Captain Hart's
men, and thus fell into the hands of the Indians at Raisin. This I
read over and over, again and again. I would frequently try to
learn the Indians the letters and their sounds; this to them was very
pleasing employment.
"The Indians now began to prepare to return to Detroit. This
was very encouraging to me, for I now began to indulge in a hope
that one day I should yet be free, and reach my friends at home. All
hands turned out to make bark canoes. We made two for each large
family. In these canoes we ascended the river upon which we had
for some time been encamped, u'ntil we came to the very head spring
-I had no means of ascertaining the name of this river-we then
took up our canoes and carried them three or four miles to the headwaters of a river that empties into Lake Erie between the rivers
Raisin and Detroit. The ridge over which we carried our canoes
divides the waters running into Lakes Michigan and Erie. After
entering this stream, we advanced finely, finding fish in great abundance. I now began to feel quite cheerful, and things put on a different aspect. This was o'ne of the most beautiful little rivers I ever
beheld-I could see the fish at the bottom where the water was ten
feet in depth-its beauty was much heightened by passing through
several small lakes, the waters of which always enlarged-perhaps
increased its waters one-half. These lakes were bordered round by
various kinds of shrubbery bending over the water. It was now, as
near as I could guess, about the first of May, and the scenes were
indeed beautiful to one who had been freezing and starving in a
northern winter, almost naked, and not turning, as he fondly hoped,
his face homeward. * * * We encamped on this river several
days, waiting, I suppose, for orders from the British. During this
time I prepared for escape, but unfortunately for my design, the camp
was o'n the wrong side of the river, and I could not take a canoe without being discovered. In a few days we continued our journey. Some
of the Indians had been to a settlement and obtained about a half a
gallon of flour, which they prepared in their homely way, but I thought
it the best bread I ever tasted. * * * We encamped at night on
an island not far from Malden. The next day we arrived, and the
Indians took me into the town, where I passed for an Indian. It was
very unpleasant for me to hear such swearing and profanity-I soon
left, and returned to the camp.
"In a few days we went up the river to the neighborhood of De



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troit, and pitched our tent near the spring wells on the bank of the
Detroit river."
Atherton was finally purchased by a Frenchman from the Indians
who regretted to see him leave them.
One of the associates of Tecumseh during the War of I812 was
Chief Sagamaw, whose village was northwest of Prairie Ronde, which
was crossed by the great trail that led from the Ohio and Wabash
rivers to the "Rapids of the Grand," of "Bock-wa-ting." (Grand
Rapids). Prairie Ronde, one of the most fertile spots in southwestern
Michigan, was named by the early French voyageurs and hunters.
This flat piece of land, studded with burr oak trees, including
Gourd Neck Prairie from which it is separated by a piece of lowland,
contains nearly three thousand acres. In the center was an "island"
of timber containing three hundred acres. This was known as "Big
Island."  The Indians called this prairie "Wa-we-os-co-tang-scotah,"
or the "round fire plain." From spring until autumn this plain was
covered with flowers, and its primitive beauty was something those
who first saw it never forgot. Here amid the tall grass, shoulder-high,
roamed deer and elk, and vast flocks of prairie chickens were continually circling about.
Chief Sagamaw, who helped Chief Noonday of Grand Rapids,
later of the Slater Mission at Cressy, Barry county, carry the body
of the slain Tecumseh from the field during the Battle of the Thames,
was one of the last of Michigan's great warriors. It was he who
pointed out the spot where the British maintained a blacksmith shop
during the war for repairing arms of the savages and sharpening tomahawks and scalping knives. It was Chief Sagamaw who welcomed
Bazel Harrison, the first pioneer, who came from Clark county, Ohio,
in 1828, and settled on Section 2, Prairie Ronde township. Sagamaw,
who was rescued from a squalid life he and the remnants of his band
were living on a peninsula in Gun Lake in the middle thirties by Selkirk,
the missionary, afterwards settled on the bank of Selkirk lake. He
is thus described in connection with the arrival of Harrison:
"The next morning the whole party were up betimes, and while
they were breakfasting around the cheerful fire in the clear, crisp air
of early day, Sagamaw, the chief of the Pottawatomies, accompanied
by ten or a dozen of his braves, all decked in gay costume, and faces
resplendent with paint, came to their camp and made friendly overtures. Sagamaw was a magnificent specimen of the aborigine. His
looks, his manners, his fine presence, and the evident good will which
was apparent to all, inspired confidence in the palefaces, and they
freely questioned him as best they could by signs and the few words
of Indian language they understood, as to where water could be had,
and in regard to such matters as most interested our pioneers at that
time. Sagamaw gave them all the information he could convey to
them, and the result was that the Indians conducted Mr. Harrison and
two others of the party across the prairie to the northwest side, where
within the line of woods was a little lake, now known as Harrison lake.
Mr. Harrison needed no further argument to convince him that this
was the proper place for him to locate. He quickly returned, and the




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143


whole party were that night encamped on the bank of the little lake
where for nearly half a century he has lived."
The old British forge was described by Sagamaw to an early settler of Kalamazoo, who conducted him to the site while they were
going to Prairie Ronde in I833:
"I had for companions, 'Sagamaw,' the village chief of some two
score of Indian lodges, located on what is termed the 'North West
Neck' of Prairie Ronde, and his interpreter, 'Durocher.' a mongrel,
his mother a squaw, his father a Canadian Frenchman. The chief was
a noble specimen of his race, reserved, and with little disposition to
indulge in idle talk. Durocher, on the contrary, had many of the
peculiarities of the Frenchman, a constant disposition to exaggerate,
violent in his gesticulation, with a copious, and sometimes almost a
furious flow of words. In passing a point of marsh land, distant about
one mile from the present Axtell Farm House, the Indian pointed to a
mound shaped spot of land, entirely surrounded by the marsh, and
explained through Durocher, that there stood, during the last war
with England, a shop, in which two men (one French, the other English), labored in repairing the guns of the Indians. He stated that
the rude shop was erected, and the men paid by the British government and that the repairs were made for the Indians, free of any
charge; that the shop was placed on that knoll or mound surrounded
by wet marsh, as a protection to some extent, against fire. Sagamaw
also stated that many Indians were at that spot, for weeks, obtaining
repairs and making their simple arrangements, in anticipation of a
great battle to be fought in the month of December, I812, in the
eastern part of what now constitutes the state of Michigan, and that
their expectations were sadly realized in the bloody fight at' Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, on the 23d day of January, I813, where
the very flower of the Kentucky soldiery, including the gallant company led on by Captain Hart, were butchered almost to a man.
"Among the few who escaped the tomahawk and scalping knife,
of the Indians, in that perilous fight, and who with a few others, was
taken captive into Canada, was one of the pioneers of our county, and
who still lives, a farmer on 'Gourd Neck Prairie'-the government
has recently bestowed on him, for his services, a warrant for bounty
land, and well might John McComsey waive his accustomed modesty
and say with patriotic pride, in enumerating his military services, 'I
was in the thickest of the fight at the Battle of the River Raisin.'
"The Pottawattamies-to which tribe Sagamaw was attached,
were all the allies of the British. As the old chief described what he
had witnessed at, and around the spot where we then stood, with extended arm, he directed our eyes to the circular spot where the coal
was burnt and prepared for the forge of the primitive workshop, and
there, within the square of ground, upon which the shop once stood,
could still be seen the charred block, on which the anvil had rested.
To my inquiry, why were the Pottawattamies always the allies of the
British, and the enemies of the Americans, came the ready answer,
'Our Father over the big water gave to the Indian plenty of powder,
lead and blankets, and always accompanied the presents with the solemn




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


declaration that the Americans had ever intended to drive the Indians
away west of the 'Father of Waters'." (Quarter Centennial Celebration of the Settlement of Kalamazoo, p. 63).
It is a remarkable fact that a number of the largest cities today
were established on the sites of Indian villages, or trading posts. The
pioneer trader was the first business man. A letter written about
I869 by Louis Campau, noted Grand river trader, who for years maintained a post at Kalamazoo, is evidence of this fact. Mr. Robison
wrote:
"Before and a short time after the War of 1812 there was a line
of trading Indian villages from Ypsilanti to the mouth of the St.
Joseph river, located as follows: At places where now are Ypsilanti,
Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek, Gull Prairie, Kalamazoo, Prairie
Ronde, South Bend and St. Joseph-all of the Potawataniie tribe.
There were trading posts at some of these places. At Ypsilanti, Mr.
Schamber had a post; at Jackson, Mr. Baerotiea; at Kalamazoo, Mr.
Lumaiville, (written by Mr. Robinson, Numaiville), at Elkhart, Mr.
Mordaunt; at South Bend, Mr. Bertrand, Messrs. Bennett & Brother
were traders at Michigan City. When I passed through Kalamazoo
in 1827, there were only two log houses there."
By the treaty of Chicago in I821, made between the Ottawas,
Potawatomies and Chippewas and General Lewis Cass and Solomon
Sibley, representatives of the United States government, a large portion
of southwestern Michigan was ceded to the government, with the
exception of several reservations, two of which were tracts including
the village of "Matchebenashshewish" on the "Kekalamazoo" river, the
other including the village of Prairie Ronde. Each tract consisted
of three square miles. Though the noted Chippewa chief had passed
to the Happy Hunting Grounds nearly a decade and a half before
the treaty was consummated, it is apparent that his name still clung
to the village on the site of the city of Kalamazoo. This reservation,
recorded on the first surveys of the region included all of Sections 15,
16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29 of Kalamazoo township. The southern
boundry paralleled what is now White's road. This reservation was
probably surveyed in 1822. It was ceded back to the government in
I827. (American State Papers, Vol. VI, Indian Affairs, p. 258).
When Titus Bronson, the eccentric personage who founded Bronson, which afterward became Kalamazoo, arrived in 1829 he found
that traders had long preceded him. "Kekalamazoo," the Indian town,
had been widely known for decades in the Michigan peninsula. Various
traders had frequented the valley, some of them having temporary
residence, others making annual trips for bartering purposes.
HUBBARD HERE IN 1822
Gurdon Salstonstall Hubbard, early trader and prominent Chicagoan, describes in 1822 a trading post, which was unquestionably the
one the remains of which were found up the river by the first settlers.
Mr. Hubbard wrote:
"In 1820 I was at the mouth of the Muskegon river, also trading,
aid the year 1822 I spent at what is now Kalamazoo. There was no




I




OLD COURTHOUSE-VAN BUREN


TICKET VOTED PY SOLDIERS IN THE
FIELD IN 1864


NEW COURTHOUSE-VAN BUREN


ROBINSON TAVERN                 BRISTOL TAVERN
HASTINGS-BATTLE CREEK STAGE ROAD




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145


town there then, only a trading post, which was, I think, about two
miles from the center of the present beautiful and flourishing town
of which Michigan is justly vain." (Incidents and Events in the
Life of Gurdon S. Hubbard, Hamilton, I888).
Hubbard, then, must be included among the early traders of this
locality. In Chicago he was afterward an eminent personage. He
was born in Windsor, Vermont, on August 22, 1802. Though not
sixteen years old, Hubbard in 1817, entered the employ of John Jacob
Astor, as a clerk under Ramsay Crooks, in charge of the American
Fur Company's headquarters at Mackinac. The company employed
four hundred clerks and two thousand voyageurs. Hubbard was assigned to duties at the Chicago station of the company where he began
an extraordinary career of hardship, adventure and heroism. He became a lifelong friend of Shau-be-na, the noted Indian chief. While
at the Muskegon station, he nearly lost his life through hardship during the severe winter. He remained in the employ of the fur company
until 1827. He took a prominent part in the Winnebago war in 1827,
and in the Black Hawk war in 1832. Later he engaged in the meat
packing business in Chicago and also served as a member of the state
legislature. This outstanding figure in the history of the northwest
died on September 14, I886, after losing the site of both eyes. (Chicago
Historical Society Collections, pp. 9-26).
Rix Robinson, another noted trader of southwestern Michigan, was
one of the earliest fur buyers,-who preceded the settlers. He and his
agents for years purchased pelts of the Indians occupying the valleys
of the Grand, the Thornapple, the Kalamazoo and streams of lesser
importance. Both he and Campau agree that the first trader they
knew at Kalamazoo was Lumaiville, but Mr. Robinson says that the
post was erected in 1828. Writing on December 12, I866, from his
home at Ada (the confluence of the Thornapple and Grand rivers, long
a rendezvous for Indians and voyageurs and Frenchmen, Mr. Robinson thus describes the post at Kalamazoo:
TRADING POST ERECTED
"The first little trading hut erected at Kalamazoo was on the
north side of the river, and was erected by an old Frenchman named
Numaiville, in the fall of 1823, who traded there that fall and winter
of I824 and in the spring returned to Mackinac. In the fall of 1824,
I caused more substantial buildings to be erected and employed the
same old man as clerk to trade for me a number of years, my own
trading post being on the Grand river. This old Frenchman could not
read a single word, but would keep his accounts by heiroglyphics, or
imitation pictures, and rehearse it to me in the spring with almost
exact accuracy in the name of the article or the price. * * *I continued to occupy the place by different clerks until 1837, when I closed
up my Indian trade. I generally visited the post, once, and sometimes
twice during the winter, but never remained there more than a day
or two at a time. I sometimes kept men there to trade the whole
year round, but generally only the fall, winter and early part of the
spring. In the month of May we generally left in our Montreal barges




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


for Mackinac, and returned again in October. These Montreal barges
in which my goods were brought into the country and in which felts
and furs were taken out, were capable of carrying about eight tons
in smooth water. They were propelled by oars, sometimes by a towline, sometimes by sails, always keeping near shore, camping at the
mouth of some river nights, and lying still in rough water. In these
barges my goods and peltries were transported to and from Mackinac
for a number of years until vessels began to run on Lake Michigan,
and my freight became so bulky I availed myself of the larger craft.
My goods and articles of trade were furnished me at Mackinac, at
cost and charges, by the late American.Fur Company, they receiving
my furs in return, under an arrangement between the company and me.
"The Montreal barges were open boats and to protect our goods
and furs from storms we used large oil-cloths."
The last trader-a man whose name was often recalled with affection by the first settlers who found him here-was Recollet in
charge of the trading post on the hill (~now included in Riverside
cemetery), which overlooked the river ford. His establishment consisted of a long log building with a broad stick chimney at one end.
A few rods away was another log structure used for a warehouse.
South of this was a large cache, or cellar, dug in the hillside.
WHO WAS RECOLLET?
Who was Recollet, or "Old Reckley," as the first settlers familiarly
called him? History is silent concerning this old Frenchman, who
passed unrecorded out of the life of Bronson, the wilderness hamlet.
It is likely that he was the Jean Baptiste Recollet, who had a trading
post at the mouth of the Muskegon river before the War of 1812
and who carried in the spring of 1812 a message from Muskegon to
St. Joseph, swimming the Muskegon and Kalamazoo rivers and covering the entire distance without resting. (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. I, p. 286).
Life and scenes in Kalamazoo in 1832, while Recollet was conducting his trading post, are described by the late Jesse Turner, who
arrived when the population of the settlement consisted of Titus
Bronson, Hosea B. Huston, Anthony Cooley, Marcus B. Hounson,
Cyren (Cyrus) Burdick, Stephen Vickery, and Nathan Harrison, who
operated the ferry across the first river. Mr. Turner surveyed the
land along Arcadia creek for Anthony Cooley, who erected a shop.
Mr. Turner's recollections were recorded as follows, in part:
"The flats along Arcadia creek were all covered with tall hazel
brush, and the Indian trail was along what is now Main street, passing
off to the north beyond the United States Land Office, so as to cross
the river at the ford near the old trading post. * *  * One day
some of us were standing in front of the clerk's office and heard a
whooping down the trail; looking that way we saw an Indian coming
like a buck up the trail running and every few rods giving a bound
high above the hazel brush with a whoop at every jump. He stopped
when he reached us and asked for whisky. He said he was poking
round a stump when a massassauga sprang up and bit another's bare




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147


breast. He wanted whisky to make him strong to run to Grand Prairie
to get weeds to cure the snake bite. Vickery got him a big drink of
whisky, telling him to stop on his way back for more, for he wanted
to see the weed. He ran off toward Grand Prairie and in a wonderfully short time came back with a handful of weeds —which I knew
very well. and would know today-got another drink of whisky and
ran off to the wigwam to pound up the weeds into a poultice to apply
to the snake bite. The bitten Indian got well.
INDIAN S CORPSE IN PEN
"The old Indian known here as the doctor died just before I got
here, and his corpse was sitting up against a tree with a three-cornered
pen around it, a few rods from the trading post. His gun lay in the
pen with him, and it was often borrowed fromits owner for a day's
hunt, and payment made for the loan by leaving a little tobacco with
the corpse. The squaw of this Indian doctor afterward married a
white man who had lived with the Indians. ever since he was four
years old, and was as perfect an Indian in all but color as any of them.
His name was Johnson and he was said to be a cousin of Richard
M. Johnson, of Kentucky. The chief of the Potawatamies was Kopmosee. He was a youngish, smart, bright Indian. Rix Robinson used
to let him have goods to trade to the Indians for furs.
"Quite a number of Indians looked on as we raised the Hill Tavern
at Comstock, but only one of them dared to take hold and help us
raise for fear of the timbers falling on them. But one called Chippewa,
took hold like a good fellow.
"I bought a fraction of land on the river south of Toland prairie,
near Hugh Shafter's (father of the late General William R. Shafter,
conqueror of Santiago de Cuba). 'Twas a great camping ground for
the Indians, and they had a pack of dogs that seemed like half wolves
and would catch hogs, or chickens or anything they came across. We
used to think they might tackle a white man if they met him alone.
These dogs were always led by a big white oue. I told Mr. Earl
(Lyman Earl, a miller), I'd shoot that white dog the first chance I
got, for he was the leader in all the mischief. He said, 'Don't do it.
'Twill make the Indians awful mad. They think a heap of that dog.'
I said I'd shoot that dog the first chance I got. One night they had
a wedding and lots of whisky; they were yelling like all possessed, but
I heard a hog squeal in the woods, took my gun and went out, 'let
strip,' and the white dog went down. I was a little scared, but broke
a hole in the ice on the river, poked the dog under; that night it
snowed and put out all the tracks so the Indians never knew what
became of that white dog."
RECOLLET A CONVIVIAL SOUL
Recollet, the trader, was not a "teetotaler," nor were some of the
pioneers. The elderly trader was a hospitable and convivial soul, and
he kept "open house" for his new friends. The wilderness lacked any
form of amusement, and if the settlers wanted any diversion they had




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to furnish it for themselves. Mr. Turner thus describes a comedy
enacted one night at "Old Reckley's" cabin:
"We were a wild set in those days. One day Recollet, the trader,
had just received some whisky from a batteau that had made the long
voyage round the lakes and been poled up the river. He came over
and invited the boys to come down in the evening and try it. M. B.
Hounson, Nate Harrison, a man named Eaton, and a little shoemaker,
Whittet, went to the trading house and I was in the party. The
whisky was tried pretty thoroughly, and after an hour or two 'twas
solemnly concluded the whisky wasn't strong enough, and must be
boiled down. The dipper leaked so one of the boy's boots was pulled
off and the whisky cooked in that. The game went on until the
whole party except myself, were barefoot and bareheaded, and Recollet
was blind drunk on a bench. Whittet proposed to climb the inside
of the chimney, to look out at the top and see if the old Indian doctor
was all right in his pen. He was a lively little fellow, so up he went,
and bidding the Indian good morning, discovered that 'twas getting
daylight. Just then Nate Harrison took a dipper of whisky and
flung it on the hot coals, and down came Whittet who would have
been terribly burned if he had not been jerked out. As it was his
hair and eyebrows were singed off." (Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 573).
The pranks of the merrymakers sometimes became too frequent
for "Old Reckly," who sought protection by barring his door, and refusing admission. On one occasion they "smoked" him out by closing
the broad chimney of the trading post. This brought the Frenchman
to the door with tears streaming down his face and swearing with the
oaths of two languages.
Recollet's memory was cherished by the early pioneers. In the
settlement were men seeking to elevate prices by "corers" on monopolies. When speculators tried to buy a boatload of salt from the
Frenchman with the object of taking advantage of shortage to demand
an exhorbitant price he refused the offer and sold it to the settlers
himself.
With Recollet was a partner who dressed in Indian fashion, but his
name is 'not recorded. With characteristic politeness he said to a
visiting settler: "We got no shair mine friend, but take a seat and ve
disturb you not."
RECOLLET'S DAUGHTERS DROWN
From the first settlers there was handed down a pathetic story
of the loss of Recollet's two daughters, "Who, as they grew up, became
more the pride and idols of his heart. Year after year they unfolded
new graces and new beauties and made the wilderness a merry place
with their ringing voices and inextinguishable happiness. Like the
waters of the Ke-Kenamazoo they loved so much, the current of their
lives flowed sweetly, smoothly on. Fearless as Indian braves, lithe
and sinewy as the wild deer, tireless as eagles and sure-footed as the
scout, there was not a nook, hillside, or streamlet for miles around which
they did not explore. * * * But at last the time came when the




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149


father, who had long wrestled with the thought of separation, yielded
to what he believed his duty, and determined that they should be
educated, and fitted for a better life,-for he held 'the gray barbarian
lower than the Christian child.' He went with them to Montreal and
placed them in a convent. They were permitted twice to visit their
old home, and finally, their education completed, they started once
more homeward. But they were destined never to tread the old
familiar hills. While on a brief visit to Mackinac they were both
drowned, the boat in which they were enjoying an excursion being
overturned by a sudden storm. When the sad tidings at last reached
the aged father he became like one who, by a sudden stroke, is deprived
of all hope and comfort. He remained here but a little time afterwards and disappeared, none knew whither."
After Recollet left Kalamazoo he was succeeded at the trading
post by Lephart. "Time was," Lephart assured the settlers, "when
Robinson worked for me, now I work for him." Lephart remained
a number of years. He had an extensive trade in tea and ammunition.
A glimpse of the wonderful natural beauty of the wilderness setting of Kalamazoo has been left in A. D. P. Van Buren's memoir of
Lois B. Adams, "poet, editor and author," an early literary figure of
the settlement.
"Often on a leisure afternoon, with herself and husband I would
go down to the river along the old Indian trail that led along the
stream to the old ford, where Indians and early settlers found a crossing place through the shallows from the east to the west bank. This
was a very picturesque and lovely spot, and midway of the shaded
and darkly wooded region, the prattling and winding Arcadia was
crossed by a little bridge of a very rustic fashion, and a stretch of
corduroy led across the swale to higher grounds on either side.
There, on this bridge and upon the banks of the river we would enjoy
the scenery and pick the lovely flowers that matted the mossy floor of
the forest, Mrs. Adams at other times busying herself with fishing in
the river. She knew the name of every wild flower: The hepaticas,
wild phlox, trilliums, 'Dutchman's breeches,' wild poppies, mandrakes,
lady-slippers, yellow and purple, the flowering prince's-feather, the
blue lobelia, the tiger lily, and wild violets and many others. And
all the flowering trees and shrubs from the peach-blossom like Judas
tree to the white-thorn, wild plum, and the dogwood blossom, all
seemed to have a story for her which she told with such delightful
simplicity that I could not but regard her as the queen of them all."
(Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XVIII, Second Edition, p. 3I6).
SAUGATUCK A RENDEZVOUS FOR INDIANS
Between Kalamazoo and Saugatuck where "Old Baldy," the great
sand mountain guards the entrance to the river, which today, along
its lower reaches, still preserves features of the wilderness landscape,
were several Indian settlements. Saugatuck from remote times had
been a rendezvous for savages. It was the place where the ceremonies
of departure were performed before the long canoe journey to L'Arbre
Croche was begun, and the point of arrival for the savages who had




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


come for the winter's hunt and to make maple sugar. The beach at
the foot of this great dune, which was the first landmark sighted by
an approaching craft, was usually lined with canoes. It was here where
the natives performed, before their departure each spring, that mournful rite known as the "Feast of the Dead."
Among the traders located below the Kalamazoo settlement were:
Bouchon, who had a post near the "Bouchon stretch," a long smooth
section of the river below Allegan; Louis Campau's post at the confluence of the Rabbit -and Kalamazoo rivers (established in I825);
the American Fur Company's post (probably conducted under supervision of Rix Robinson) at the "Peach Orchard" where an Indian
village of considerable size was found by first settlers. Peach trees
found here were undoubtedly planted by the red men.
When the first white settlers came to Allegan county the Ottawa
Indians occupied the river valley where deer, bear, wild turkeys
and fish were unusually plentiful. The chief of the Ottawas.was
Macksaubee, well-known to the pioneers, who came with his band
every autumn from the vicinity of Mackinaw to spend the winter in
hunting, returning in the spring. These half-civilized savages had
fought with the British in the War of 1812, and they were still retained by the British government, which distributed presents annually
to them. Many of them were medals commemorating their service
against the Americans. When the first settlers arrived Macksaubee
and his band, following custom, held powwows on the top of Mount
Bald Head on which occasions they displayed the British flag. Seeing
the Union Jack waving from the hill while the red men were engaged
in festivities, Alexander Henderson and Henry Allert, captains of
river flat boats, ascended the dune and seized the flag. The Indians
did not resist.
Macksaubee and his band were found by the first settlers encamped
on the site of the city of Allegan. The Indians had a cornfield and
garden on the ground near Bouchon's post. They were very kind
to the white people, with whom they conversed through Prickett, a
half-breed, brought by Elisha Ely, of Rochester, N. Y., who founded
the townsite in 1834. (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. III, pp. 30I309).
LITTLEJOHN'S BATTLE LEGEND
The Kalamazoo river valley, together with Three Rivers, is commemorated in a legend based on tradition, by the last Judge Flavius
J. Littlejohn, noted jurist and legislator of Kalamazoo and Allegan
counties. According to the legend, Chief Wakazoo captured Mishawaha, daughter of Chief Elkhart, sachem of the Shawnees, during a
battle on Prairie Ronde and held her prisoner at the Great Horseshoe
Bend of the Kalamazoo river, near the site of the city of Allegan. In
June, I8oI, Elkhart with Shawnees from the Wabash and Ohio valleys,
invaded the Potawatomi country, marching north to Three Rivers, the
strategic key to the St. Joseph valley. Here the Indians entrenched
themselves and awaited attack from the north. Wakazoo, with fourteen hundred Ottawa warriors, Pokagon with eight hundred Potawa



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151


tomies, and Okemos and Seebewa with two thousand braves from the
Grand river, joined to expel the invader.
At Three Rivers, Elkhart entrenched his men between the Rocky
and St. Joseph rivers, and massed another force on the northern side
of the two peninsulas between the confluences of the rivers. Leaving
his wigwams standing, he sent his women and children and aged men
southward to Pigeon prairie. The Rock and Portage river mouths
were blockaded by Elkhart's canoes. His force consisted of two
thousand five hundred men. The force lying at the mouth of the
Rocky river was commanded by Gray Wolf, suitor for Mishawaha,
prisoner of Kakazoo. With Kakazoo's forces was "Dead Shot," a
white hunter, and his friend and follower, "Lynx Eye," an Ottawa.
These acted as scouts, as did Seebewa, aide of Okemos. Pokagon's
chief scout was the famous Wakeshma, of Three Rivers.
The day preceding the engagement, Pokagon sent two hundred
men to reinforce a flotilla of canoes stationed near the mouth of
Prairie creek. Okemos marched south on the east side of Portage
creek, Kakazoo on the west side. Each took up positions a mile
north of the Shawnee entrenchment. The scouts, working their way
through Nottawaseepi prairie, penetrated the Shawnee lines, and after
many thrilling experiences, returned with information revealing Elkhart's plans. Pokagon and Wakeshma, intending to surprise the invaders, advanced but plans were frustrated by a Shawnee hunter who
discovered them. Elkhart sent five hundred warriors to the confluence
of the Rocky and St. Joseph rivers to stop this advance, and massed
his men on the two peninsulas facing southward. Gray Wolf had
command of the detachment stationed along the Rocky river. His
opponent was Kakazoo. Wakeshma discovered the blockade, and
quietly led Pokagon's men across a ford forty rods above the mouth
of the Rocky river. The Shawnees at this point fled and the attacking party set fire to the wigwams while a hot fire was opened on
them from the entrenchment. At this time Okemos and his band,
using captured canoes for a bridge, rushed into the battle at the same
time that Wakazoo's detachment moved forward on the west side of
Portage creek and engaged in a hand-to-hand fight. Elkhart's army
was defeated, the Shawnees gave up their attempt to occupy the St.
Joseph valley. "Death Shot" engaged in a knife duel with Gray
Wolf over Mishawaha, and the white scout killed the enemy and won
the prince's daughter.
At the council that followed, Elkhart, on condition that he keep
out of the region, was given the privilege of burying his dead.
JUDGE LITTLEJOHN'S CAREER
Judge Flavius J. Littlejohn was born in Herkimer county, New
York, in July, 1804. After graduating from Hamilton College in
1827, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1830. Coming
west with pioneers, he settled in Allegan in 1836. For some time he
was engaged as surveyor, engineer and geologist. In 1841, he was
elected to the House of Representatives in the Michigan legislature.
In I845, he was sent to the Senate and elected president pro tern. He




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was again elected to the House in 1848 and I855. He became a "freesoiler," and ran in I849 as Whig candidate against John S. Barry, of
Constantine, Democratic candidate for governor, by whom he was
defeated by 4,700 votes. In 1858, he was elected circuit judge of the
Ninth District comprising twenty counties lying along the east shore
of Lake Michigan from Van Buren to Emmet. He was a man of
integrity and stood high in the community in which he was an outstanding figure. He died April 28, I880. Fully two thousand persons gathered to attend his funeral services in Allegan. A special
train carried thence members of the Kalamazoo bar and prominent
citizens.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER IN KALAMAZOO
The beauties of the romantic Kalamazoo river and of Prairie
Ronde are described in "Oak Openings," a novel by that master
craftsman of romantic narration, James Fenimore Cooper, who had
considerable property interests in Kalamazoo. He made several
journeys to the settlement in the early forties, visiting at Comstock
Manor, the home of General Horace H. Comstock, the wife of the
latter being his niece, according to Mrs. John den Bleyker, daughter
of Nathaniel A. Balch, one of the founders of Kalamazoo. In the community also resided Mott Cooper, nephew of the novelist. General
Comstock was one of the prominent builders of Kalamazoo county.
He is described as a "courteous gentleman, which made him popular;
he was a politician, which gave him party influence; he was considered wealthy which raised him still higher; but he took the highest
rank of all from being the husband of a lovely woman, a lady of refinement and niece of James Fenimore Cooper." An old settler gave
this glimpse of him: "His kindness and generosity to the early settlers were proverbial. He had a word of encouragement or material
aid to all that were in trouble or want; and the lapse of forty-five years
has not staled the memory of his generous deeds. The money that
Comstock has given away would be a fortune now. He helped everybody that needed help, whether he knew he would get his money back
or not."
The general, it is said, died in poverty.
While Cooper was visiting in Kalamazoo he became acquainted
with Brazil Harrison, the county's first settler, who lived at Prairie
Ronde. Harrison has always had the credit of being the prototype
of Ben Boden, the "Bee Hunter," hero of "Oak Openings." He was
known throughout the community as an expert in "lining up" bee
trees. The broad acres of Prairie Ronde covered with flowers before
the plow touched the rich heavy soil, attracted buzzing swarms of
honey-gatherers, while patriarchial burr-oaks, hollowed with age, offered natural hives for storage. That Mr. Harrison was without
doubt the original "Ben Boden" was the opinion of Mrs. J. B. Daniels,
who recalled that Cooper, whom she met at Comstock Manor, "spent
hours talking with her and others concerning Judge Harrison, his
family, pioneer history, his relations with the Indians, his bee-hunting
proclivities and various other matters connected with the early history
of Kalamazoo county. It was known that he was writing a book. the




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scene of which was laid here, and he made no concealment of the
purpose for which he sought his information, and stated openly the
character he proposed to make out of Judge Harrison." Mrs. Daniels
declared that Cooper afterward acknowledged her services by presenting her with a copy of "Oak Openings," at which time he told her that
Judge Harrison was the original of the "Bee Hunter." She also declared that Judge Harrison told her he understood that he was the
person Cooper had in mind when he created "Buzzing Ben," and that
the novelist himself had told him so.
This tradition that Cooper wrote the novel while in Kalamazoo
is denied by his descendant, James Fenimore Cooper, publisher of
"The Correspondence of James Fenimore Cooper," who writes:
" * * * I have looked in the 'Correspondence of James Fenimore for Oak Openings' and find that it was written here at Cooperstown in January, I848. If you have access to a copy of this book
you will find many references to O. O. in the diary of 1848 printed
in Vol II, at page 727, &c." (Michigan History Magazine, Vol. VIII,
P. 579).
Cooper township, Kalamazoo county, was named either for the
novelist or for his nephew. How often the novelist visited Kalamazoo
is not definitely known. It is believed he was here at least three times.
CALLED MICHIGAN LANDS WORTHLESS
Reports that the Michigan peninsula contained nothing but worthless land undoubtedly had much to do with the late settlement and
development of the state. Earliest reports were that the interior consisted of a plateau and vast stretches of morasses. Later accounts,
made after the War of 1812, described the land as swampy, and the
report of the Edwin Tiffin, surveyor general, made at Chillicothe,
Ohio, on November 30, I815, in addition to branding Michigan as a
land of hardship, says that the surveyors in the country were obliged
to suspend "operations until the country shall be sufficiently frozen so
as to bear man and beast-knowing the desire of the government to
have the lands surveyed as soon as practicable, and my earnest importunities to urge the work forward-they continued to work, suffering incredible hardships, until today the men and beasts are literally
wore down with extreme sufferings and fatigue."
This report was made by General Tiffin after Congress had appropriated two million acres of land to be selected in the Territory of
Michigan to be given to the soldiers of the War of 1812. The original
report was found in the records of the Commissioner of the General
Land Office by William R. Bates, Pontiac, Michigan. (Michigan
Pioneer Collections, Vol. XVIII, Second Edition, p. 660).
In the opinion of Tiffin, the land was not worth surveying, and -of
too little value to give to soldiers. He continues:
"I think it is my duty to give you the information, believing that
it is the wish of the government that the soldiers should have (as
the act of Congress proposed), lands fit for cultivation, and that the
whole of the two million acres appropriated * * * will not contain anything like one hundred part of that quantity or is worth the




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


expense of surveying it. Perhaps you will think with me that it will
be proper to make this representation to the president of the United
States, and he may avert all further proceedings-by directing me to
pay off what has been done and abandon the country. Congress, being in session, other lands could be appropriated in lieu of these, aind
be surveyed as soon as these in Michigan for when the ice is sufficiently
strong to bear man and beast, a deep snow would still embarass the
surveyors."
Such was General Tiffin's view of what is today a rich section of
southern Michigan.
TITUS BRONSON, CITY FOUNDER
That Michigan contained fertile lands, and was not wholly the
region of terrors that early reports had spread gradually became
recognized in the late twenties, and those individuals, ambitious to
leave the long-settled communities, turned their faces toward the setting
sun and by canal boat and ox-team, or on horseback or afoot, made
their ways along the trails and rudely-built roads until they reached
the irresistible spot which lured them to settle. The pathfinders who
went before the flood of immigration began was composed of determined men, who scorned luxury. Many of them, for reasons known
only to themselves, voluntarily severed ties with civilization to begin
careers of unexpected hardships, and often of peril. They responded
to that alluring and mysterious call which new countries have had since
man saw his first dawn.
In the old Yankee town of Breakneck Hill, Middlebury, Connecticut, rumors of the land of promise in Michigan came to a tall, lanky
young man, slightly bent forward, with a homely, rugged and honest
face. His ancestors had for six generations been mentioned in the
history of the "Nutmeg state." Titus Bronson, future founder of
Kalamazoo, ten years after attaining his majority-he was born on
November 27, I788-decided to follow the example of many great
Americans of whom he had read, and go into the western country.
While in Talmadge, Ohio, Bronson met a Hoosier named Gilkey,
grower of a new kind of potato he called the "Neshannock." Bronson
bought some of them, planted them, and received a high price for the
first crop. This started him on a career as an itinerant potato grower.
Moving from community to community, Bronson raised and sold
potatoes, until the new country was well supplied with "Neshannock."
By the summer of 1824 this Yankee had progressed in his potatoplanting career as far as Ann Arbor.
Returning to his native town in Connecticut, Bronson married on
New Year's day, 1827, Sally Richardson, whom he took at once to
Talmadge, Ohio. Bronson returned in the summer to Ann Arbor,
and it was probably then that he penetrated the interior of the state
and discovered the site of Kalamazoo. To him this spot was the Arcadia
of Michigan. While digging potatoes, Bronson's must have dreamed
of founding a future city, for he is credited with exclaiming with enthusiasm: "Here is a fine place for a city! Here I will pitch my
tent and spend my days! This will be a county seat."




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155


BUILDS TAMARAC HUT IN KALAMAZOO
He built a hut of tamarac which he carried on his back. Some
authorities state that Bronson spent the winter of I829-I830 in Kalamazoo. In I830, Bronson's wife and oldest daughter, Eliza, in company with Stephen Richardson, the former's brother, passed through
Ann Arbor in in a covered wagon drawn by oxen on their way to
Kalamazoo. They endured many hardships in traveling over the
trails and through the wilderness, fording bridgeless streams and
making long detours round swamps and lakes. After the family
reached Bronson's tamarac hut, his wife became ill. Early in the
spring of 1831 Bronson erected a log house on his claim and entered
in the land office in White Pigeon a claim for the east half of the
southwest quarter of Section 15, town two, south of range eleven west.
This was entered in Mrs. Bronson's name. Her brother, Stephen
Richardson, at the same time entered for the west half of the same
quarter section. As Bronson has chosen the land through which
flowed Arcadia creek, it was supposed he intended to convert it into a
farm. He afterward entered lands in other parts of the country in the
office at White Pigeon. He later sold a quarter section on Climax
prairie to Major Willard Lovell.
The original plats of the "Village of Bronson" are three in number
as follows: First plat, by Bronson and Richardson, recorded March
12, I83I; second plat (no proprietors given), probably a re-plat of the
first one, recorded March 7, 1834; third plat, by Titus and Sally Bronson, July 2, I834, recorded August I4, I834. This plat covered both
the former ones.
To the commissioner appointed to locate the county seat, Bronson
promised to donate the following pieces of ground: One square of
sixteen rods for a court house; one square of sixteen rods for a jail;
one square of sixteen rods for an academy; one square of eight rods
for common schools; one square of two acres for a public burial
ground; four squares of eight rods each for the first four religious
denominations that become incorporated in said village agreeably to
the statute of the Territory. These gifts included what is now Bronson park with its Indian mound and stately burr-oak trees, which must
have been saplings when the donor walked among them.
BRONSON BECOMES COUNTY SEAT
The report of the commissioners was approved by Governor Lewis
Cass on April 2, 1831, and the county seat was established.
Bronson had great faith in the future growth of his village. To
newcomers he enthusiastically offered lots for sale. One old frontiersman, scoffing at the dreams of the founder, declared that within
twenty years "the tired and hungry traveler wandering this way
would not be able to find a solitary hut in Bronson." Indignant,
Bronson replied prophetically:
"In twenty years from this time you will see a large city here,
and you will be able to go to and from Detroit in one day by the railroad cars."




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Bronson's peculiar traits of conduct displeased and irritated other
residents in his rapidly-growing community. His manners were disagreeable because he denounced intemperance and land shark activities. In addition he was eccentric, and his oddities caused the breach
between him and his fellow townsmen to grow wider. Moreover, he
hated liquor. His enemies successfully carried out a plan to have
the name changed in 1836 to Kalamazoo. If Bronson had had any
desire to leave the settlement, this act of his foes might again have
started him on the westward trail. To Jesse Earle, of Galesburg, who
inquired, "How are you, Mr. Bronson?" he replied: "Pretty well,
pretty well, but its getting too thickly settled for me here; too many
men around." Taking off his coat, he said: "I can't stand it. I
shall have to go further west where there is more room."
Many stories are told of Bronson' peculiarities of conduct. During a lawsuit over the construction of a sawmill which Bronson had
ordered built, Bronson, forgetting what he was doing, whittled a
cane, a book, and anything that he could get hold of. Running out
of materials he went to a window where he began to cut the sash.
Exasperated, Cyrus Lovell, his attorney, halted his plea and cried out:
"Bronson! What are you 'doing there? Don't cut that window;
you're the d   st man I ever saw!"  Excited and in a dazed manner, Bronson replied: "Well, well, I don't know what I am about.
This matter perplexes me so, I would rather have the life lease of a
Frenchman than this pesky sawmill."
WHITTLES IN COURT ROOM
On another occasion, when Judge Fletcher in circuit court, declared
that Bronson's justice court docket (he was a justice of the peace),
"looked more like anything else than a justice docket," Titus rushed
up, seized the docket and threw it into the fire, exclaiming: "Well,
well, if I can't keep a docket, I can raise potatoes."
In 1836, not long after the name of the village had been changed,
Bronson and his family again set out for the west. He went from
Kalamazoo to Rock Island, Illinois. Later he crossed the Mississippi
river to Davenport, Iowa, where for several years he owned a fine
farm. He was prosperous, but the "sharks" whom he hated finally
swindled him out of his title, and he was thrown upon his children for
support. This probably happened in 1842. Mrs. Bronson died at
about this time. After residing with his daughter, in Henry county,
Illinois, Titus started eastward in the fall of 1852 to see again his
relatives. Taken ill at his brother's home in his native town of Middlebury, Bronson died in January, I853. On the headstone in the
old cemetery of that place there is this simple tribute, "A Western
Pioneer, Returned to Sleep with His Fathers."
Mr. Bronson had three children: Eliza, born in Talmadge, Ohio;
a son and daughter, born in Kalamazoo. The son died in infancy.
Cyrus Lovell, pioneer lawyer paid Bronson this tribute:
"He kept everybody that came to his house, especially the ministers;
was a friend to the religion of the Bible and to the human race; was
just and liberal and ready always to do his share in every good work.




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN                      157
He was public spirited and patriotic. He furnished me his horse,
saddle, and bridle, and powder-horn, ball-pouch, powder, balls and a
rifle, and directed me to go and see what the matter was with Black
Hawk in 1832. In short, Titus Bronson was an honest, good and
useful man. He injured no man, but was often wronged. Kalamazoo
would be just as large as she is now, if called Bronson. A rose by
another name would smell just as sweet." (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol., pp. 363-375).




CHAPTER VII


THE WAR OF 1812; PASSING OF THE INDIAN POWER
NE of the first genuine Americans to settle in the St. Joseph
valley was William Burnett, of- New Jersey, a trader who built
an establishment on a bluff near the mouth of the St. Joseph river
during the Revolution, or shortly afterward. The exact date of his
arrival is uncertain. He arrived from Mackinac with a large assortment of articles with which to trade with the Potawatomies, and returned thence with a large amount of fur received in exchange. The
British commander at Mackinac called him into consultation and proposed that he enter into partnership with the firm of McBeth and
Grant for the purpose of holding a monopoly of trade in the St. Joseph
valley. This Burnett refused to do and he was then informed he
could not return to trade there. Thereupon he accepted the proposal.
Later he settled with his partners and would have nothing more to
do with them. The British were still in control of St. Joseph, and
when McBeth and Grant informed the commandant at Mackinac that
Burnett had received overtures from Butler, an American Indian
agent, Burnett was imprisoned and sent to Montreal where "he remained until he found an opportunity to come over to the United
States and from thence returned to St. Joseph where he found his
property destroyed by his clerks and what little remained he was
obliged to give to the Indians, as the most part of them had taken
the part of the English."
Burnett resumed trading at once. On the site of Niles, not far
from where the Spaniards had recently captured Fort St. Joseph was
a Potawatomi village over which ruled Aniquiba, a venerable chief.
He had two children, one of whom was the noted chief Top-en-a-bee,
and a daughter, Kakima, who became the bride of Burnett in 1782,
the Rev. Father La Vi Deaux, Roman Catholic missionary, performing
the ceremony. Thus allied with the Potawatomies, Burnett engaged
in a thriving business. He led in person trading expeditions to distant
places. He was known throughout the Kankakee and St. Joseph valleys. His business associates from time to time were John Kinzie,
the Chicago trader, and Jean Baptiste, Point-au-sable, James May
and others.
Burnett had seven children, some of whom received good educations. In a petition drafted by six of his children for presentation to
Congress it was stated that after his marriage he "cleared large fields,
erected a valuable mansion house, barn, storehouses, &c., and cultivated the earth and traded with the Potawatomies and other nations
of Indians, and that he never removed from thence except when he
occasionally departed for his necessary business or for the purpose
of advancing the interests of the United States of America, and increasing their influence with the chiefs and others of the Indian na



SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


159


tions-interest which he greatly promoted in a variety of ways."
Burnett was never again disturbed. His home was at the foot of a
hill on the west bank of the river about two miles from the lake. The
cabin was about four hundred feet from the water-front and commanded a magnificent view. As late as 1856 there were still growing
apple, quince and cherry trees, which Burnett had set out. Burnett
died in 1812, but the place and date of his passing is not known. It
is recorded in several narratives of the Chicago massacre that an
Indian, tomahawk in hand, was searching for Burnett. It is not
likely that a man of Burnett's prominence-known to be a loyal American-should escape death in the midst of so many enemies. During
the summer of 1815, Kakima, Burnett's wife, appeared at a council
at Saginong, one of the principal towns of the Potawatomies and
asked for a grant of land. She and her children were given the tract
lying between the St. Joseph and Galien rivers and Lake Michigan.
The government, however, failed to confirm this grant. It is not
known where or when she died. (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol.
XXX, pp. 86-95).
For many years there was visible on the site of Burnett's post
a circular foundation of heavy masonry, which must have been the
foundation of a blockhouse. Within it was found a chest in which
were two ledgers covered with accounts. One of these books is in
possession of the Northern Indiana Historical Society, the other is
owned by the Michigan Historical Commission.
BERTRAND AT PARC AUX VACHES
One of Burnett's agents was Joseph Bertrand, who established a
trading post at Parc aux vaches, a beautiful meadow where the buffalo came down to drink in the St. Joseph river. This spot, at the
ford of the great Sauk trail between Chicago and the Detroit river,
was about four miles south of Niles. A town of great promise grew
up on this spot during the stage coach days. Today it is a small
hamlet, with nothing suggestive of its antiquity or historic importance
except to commemorate Bertrand's name. He, like Burnett, married
a Pbtawatomi wife, and prospered. In the cemetery there is a tombstone recording that the wife of Joseph Bertrand lies below. According to tradition, Bertrand's house stood in what is now the river
channel. This house was made of logs brought from the old mission church at Fort St. Joseph. This building is said to have been
the only one in the settlement that the Spaniards did not destroy.
After the Chicago treaty was signed in 1833, the town of Bertrand
was platted, and so great was the boom that nine hundred acres were
platted. Corner lots brought two hundred dollars each, which was
a high price for those days. In 1836, the brick Roman Catholic
church recently torn down, was erected. A tavern was erected, and
the town laid claims to metropolitan recognition when Chicago was a
mere hamlet on a mud flat. Shoppers came many miles to make purchases i'n this up-to-date town, and merchants prospered. The church
was a notable structure. In the spire was a bell donated by Father
Sorin. The wife of General W. T. Sherman contributed candlesticks




160


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


for the altar and other articles. The greed of real estate men who
raised the price of lots four hundred per cent and of two other men
who had the mail route changed to a point three miles above Bertrand
completely wrecked what was once one of the most promising and
prosperous towns of Territorial days. (Michigan Pioneer Collections,
Vol. XXVIII, pp. I28-I33).
The St. Joseph valley was the heart of the Potawatomi country.
About the year 1805, they refused the United States government the
privilege of erecting a fort at the mouth of the St. Joseph river. This
proposed fort was built instead on the site of the city of Chicago and
was named Fort Dearborn.
POTAWATOMIES HOSTILE TO AMERICANS
The Potawatomies joined with others nations in hostilities against
the United States. Their chiefs signed the treaty of Fort Harmar
in 1789 and their warriors assisted in the defeat of General Harmar
in 1790. They also participated, so far as is known, in the battle
which resulted so disastrously for General St. Clair's army. In the
meantime the British were continually exerting every influence to
keep intact the alliance they had with the savages during the Revolution. The defeat of the confederated Indians by General Wayne's
army on the Maumee river in 1794 administered a blow to the savages
which quieted them for several years. By the treaty of Greenville,
made with Wayne the following year, the Indians of the Grand,
Kalamazoo and St. Joseph river valleys were represented by Mash-ipi-nash-i-wish, or Bad Bird, Chippewa chief of the Kalamazoo village.
Seeing the American power increase, Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief,
endeavored to organize a confederation similar to the one with which
Pontiac had tried to throw off the British rule. Of this conspiracy
the Americans were aware. General William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory, on July 5, I809, wrote to the Secretary of
War as follows:
"The warlike and well-armed tribes of the Pottawattomies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Delawares, and Miamis, I believe, neither had, nor
would have joined in the combination; and, although the Kickapoos,
whose warriors are better than those of any other tribe-the remnant
of the Wyandottes excepted-are much under the influence of 'The
Prophet,' I am persuaded that they were never made acquainted with
their intentions, if these were really hostile to the United States."
Throughout southwestern Michigan runners carried the message
of Tecumseh. In the meantime, the British in Canada were watching with secret satisfaction the impending war across the border.
At a council between Harrison, Tecumseh and other chiefs at Vincennes in I8IO, the Indians were defiant, one Potawatomi chief declaring he would stand by Tecumseh's plans. The following year,
General Harrison ascertained that a portion of the Potawatomies were
loyal to the Americans.








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SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


161


INDIANS DEFEATED AT TIPPECANOE
Finding that the savages were determined to have war, Harrison
with his army, advanced northward in Indiana and on the morning
of November 7, 18II, fought the Battle of Tippecanoe, a premature
engagement, which disrupted the plans of Tecumseh and spoiled his
plans. The savages returned to their villages completely defeated.
They would have been completely disheartened had it not been for
the encouragement of the British, who informed them that war between Great Britain and the United States was impending. The
Indians were promised liberation if they would dig up the tomahawk
and fight, as they had for the King during the Revolution.
The beginning of the War of 1812 found the Ottawas of the
Grand and Thornapple rivers, the Potawatomies of the Kalamazoo and
St. Joseph rivers rallying to the standard of the British. Their war
parties were unloosed on the frontier settlements. They were with
the British in the engagement at Maguaga and with General Brock
when Hull ignomiously surrendered Detroit and the territory under
its jurisdiction. They fought with tremendous ferocity. Their appearance just before the battle of Maguaga is thus described by a
British spectator:
"No other sound than the measured step of the troops interrupted
the solitude of the scene, rendered more imposing by the wild appearance of the warriors whose bodies stained and painted in the most
frightful manner for the occasion, glided by us with almost noiseless
velocity, without order and without a chief; some painted white, some
black, others half black, half red; half black, half white; all with
their hair plastered in such a way as to resemble the bristling quills
of the porcupine, with no other covering than a cloth round their
loins, yet armed to the teeth, with rifles, tomahawks, war-clubs, spears,
bows, arrows, and scalping knives. Uttering no sound and intent
only on reaching the enemy, unperceived, might have passed for the
spectres of those wilds, the ruthless demons which war had unchained
for the punishment and oppression of man." (War of 1812, Richardson, p. 34).
THE CHANDONAI AFFAIR
During the war, there occurred an affair which greatly incensed
the British and which caused a considerable stir in the St. Joseph valley. This was the killing of John B. Chandonai, of Mackinaw, an
agent in the British service, by his nephew of the same name, in the
American service. While the younger Chandonai was engaged in
carrying despatches from Detroit overland to Chicago in company
with the elder Robert Forcythe, his uncle was sent with thirty savages
in canoes to intercept him and take him prisoner. The older Chandonai arrived at night with his force. In the morning he visited his
nephew and made known his mission. Young Chandonai, with a
double-barrel shotgun in his hands, declared he had no intention of
surrendering, that he would not go with him and that he would not
surrender. He drew a line in the sand, and warned his uncle that
crossing it meant death. The elder man paid no attention to the




162


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


warning, stepped over the line and was shot dead. The report of the
gun roused the Indians who went to John's camp. He pointed to the
line and explained that he had shot his uncle in self-defense. The
savages held a council and accepted ten gallons of whisky as the price
of permitting Chandonai to depart in peace. In addition they agreed
to help bury the dead man. This affair took place near Mr. Burnett's
orchard. The body was buried on the hill back of the camp. Chandonai placed a cross over the grave and left. The Indians returned
to Mackinaw. (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. I, p. I23).
Chandonai, who was a half-breed, saved the lives of American
prisoners at the massacre of Fort Dearborn in Chicago. For a mule
and the promise of ten bottles of whisky, he ransomed Mrs. Heald
the wounded wife of Captain Heald. The Healds and John Kinzie,
the Chicago trader, and his wife, were given refuge and protection
in the villages of To-pen-a-bee and Pokagon on the St. Joseph river.
Pokagon had advised peace, but his warriors could not be held back,
and he was present when they murdered the Chicago garrison. When
it was learned that the savage who had released Mrs. Heald regretted
his bargain and was coming to reclaim her, To-pen-a-bee, Chandonai,
Kee-po-tah and other friendly Indians, sent Captain and Mrs. Heald
in a canoe up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Mackinac where
they were delivered to the British commandant.
INDIAN POWER BREAKS WITH TECUMSEH S FALL
The massacre of soldiers of General Winchester's army at Frenchtown (Monroe) after the Battle of the River Raisin was largely the
work of Potawatomies of southwestern Michigan. This and preceding victories and Hull's surrender at Detroit caused the savages to
regard the British as certain victors. Captain 0. H. Perry's naval
victory in Put-in-Bay, Lake Erie, on September IO, 1813, however,
completely changed the military situation giving the Americans complete control of the lakes. Fort Malden, the British stronghold, near
Amherstburg was now at the mercy of the guns of the American fleet,
which was made still stronger by addition of the captured ships. Near
Sandusky was General William Henry Harrison with an army ready
to recapture Detroit and invade Canada. With him was the venerable
Governor Shelby, of Kentucky, a hero of the Revolution, who had
4,0oo mounted volunteers, all of whom were eager to avenge the massacre at the Raisin. A large number of horses were left on the Sandusky peninsula under guard, the men being ordered to fight as infantrymen. With Perry's fleet transporting the baggage, the army
embarked in a long line of boats on September 25 to cross the lake,
making the journey from island to island. On the 27th this imposing
procession of one hundred craft, convoyed by sixteen warships, arrived on the mainland, and the troops disembarked in perfect order
four miles below Fort Malden. With the drums thundering "Yankee
Doodle," the old martial air of the Revolution, and fifes shrilly playing, Harrison's picturesque army marched into Amherstburg in parallel
streets. The British under General Proctor and the Indian army under Tecumseh, after setting fire to the fort buildings, had fled. The




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


163


ruins were still smoking when the American columns swung through
the town. At the same time Perry's fleet was sailing up the river, the
thunderous report of a heavy ship gun occasionally denoted that
groups of Indians on the.Michigan shore were being dispersed. In
the meantime, Colonel Richard M. Johnson with a large force of
Kentucky cavalrymen was proceeding up the Michigan shore. On
the way they had passed the River Raisin battle ground, and the infuriated southerners pressed onward with no other desire than for an
opportunity to fight the murderous enemy. By October 2, all preparations for pursuing Proctor and his force of retreating British and
Indians were completed. The invading force consisted of Colonel
Johnson's regiment of mounted men, Governor Shelby's volunteers
and three companies of Colonel Bell's infantrymen.
On Harrison's staff, serving as aides, were General Lewis Cass
and Captain Perry, the victor of Lake Erie. Near the head of the
column rode Governor Isaac Shelby, the victor over the British in the
battle of King's Mountain in the Revolution. Near him rode the
white-haired William Whitley, veteran of many Indian battles and
famous southerner who was riding to his last fight.
Three miles from Moraviantown the British, on October 5, finding
the pursuers were steadily gaining, drew up for battle across a strip
of land between a marsh and the River Thames. They selected for the
engagement a beech woods in which the trees were lofty and thick
with no undergrowth to impede maneuvering of cavalry or infantry.
The British left, lying near the river, was supported by four pieces of
artillery. In the marsh, at right angles to the road was a force of
about 1,200 Indians, a large portion of whom were Potawatomies and
Ottawas from southwestern Michigan. The British troops numbered
about 600. Owing to the narrowness of the battlefield-about fifty
rods-the American army was at a great disadvantage, as the whole
force could not be utilized. Though Harrison had 3,000 troops, Proctor's choice of the field made it impossible for the American commander
to use more than one half of his men. Harrison, however, met the
situation with an admirable solution. Colonel Paull was sent ahead
with one hundred and fifty regulars to advance between the river and
road and to capture if possible the enemy's artillery. A party of
friendly Indians was sent forward under cover of the river bank.
Colonel Johnson's regiment, drawn up in close column, was ordered
to charge at full speed as soon as the enemy had delivered his fire.
The Kentucky volunteers, commanded by Major General Henney,
was formed in three lines behind the mounted men, their formation
extending from the river to the marsh. General Desha's detachment
supported the left of Johnson's cavalry. General Shelby was stationed
at the apex of the front line and Desha's men. At the head of the
front line of infantry was General Harrison with his distinguished
aides, Captain O. H. Perry and General Lewis Cass.
With the word "Forward!" from General Harrison, and repeated
quickly along the line by his subordinates, the units broke into motion.
he trotting cavalry increased its speed to a furious gallop. The in



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fantry changed step into double time. Under the impact of hundreds
of hoofs the ground shook. The horses, sensing the impending combat neighed and snorted. Their riders, thrilled with excitement, held
their long knives, tomahawks, sabres, rifles and pistols in readiness to
begin the work of death among an enemy whom they had long waited
to meet.
Toward the marsh, behind which lay the savage foe under Tecumseh, rode a band of twenty horsemen, whom Colonel Johnson had
chosen for the "Forlorn hope." These men, unflinching heroes, rode
forward-most of them to death-for they were to receive the volley
which was to empty the Indians' muskets and give the cavalry an opportunity to rush upon them before they could reload. "Fire!" shouted
a savage voice, and a cloud of white smoke belched forth from the
swamp, followed with the crackling reports of hundreds of rifles.
The twenty men of the "Forlorn hope" and their horses went down in
a struggling mass. Among the dead was William Whitley, the brave
old frontiersman, who two hours before his death had pursued, killed
and scalped two Indians. In the meantime, the American cavalrymen spurred their horses and with a mighty yell, followed by the rushing lines of infantry, also yelling in appalling fashion, swept upon
the foe before muskets could be reloaded. The British were stunned
by the impact, and before they could resist, the cavalry had ridden
through their ranks sabering right and left, and had reformed and
charged through again from the rear. A sign of resistance meant
sure death. The enemy had no time to fix bayonets. In the charge
twelve were killed, thirty-seven wounded. Very few were shot, for
the cavalrymen found use of the sabre and knife most convenient.
Of the cavalry, Captain Jacob Elliston in particular distinguished
himself. As the cavalry broke through the ranks of the Forty-first
British regiment, an infantryman tried to fix his bayonet. With one
stroke Elliston decapitated him. Another attempted resistance and
again the sabre fell, severing the man's head. In the attack on the
Indians, the captain nearly lost his life when an Indian grasped his
bridle and attempted to tomahawk him. With one stroke of his
sword, the savage was decapitated, and his scalp an instant later
ornamented the Kentuckian's belt.
The engagement between the Indians and Johnson's men was
brief. In the charge, Johnson's horse stumbled over a log, throwing
his rider..Seeing the enemy leader lying on the ground, Tecumseh,
with tomahawk aloft, rushed out to despatch him. Johnson, however,
drew a pistol and shot the chieftain through the heart. So soon as
the Indians discovered their leader had fallen, they were ready to give
up the fight. Six Americans and twenty-two savages fell within sixty
feet of the spot where Tecumseh was killed. Following the charge
of the cavalry to a point where hand to hand fighting with the Indians
was possible, Governor Shelby arrived with the charging infantrymen.
Seeing they were in danger of being slaughtered by an overwhelming
force, the Indians broke and fled. Some of Johnson's cavalrymen,
however, had got in their rear, and they rode down the sabred savages
right and left. Thirty-three Indians were left on the field.




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Had the British soldiers offered resistance, they would have been
cut down to the last man. Proctor had fled in his carriage. All his
baggage, however, was captured by a pursuing force, which was too
weak to attack his guard. Had he been captured, nothing could have
saved him from the Kentuckians who laid to him the horrible butcheries
of Winchester's men. Proctor was afterwards severely censured and
court-martialed for his conduct at this battle. This was an unjust
reward for a leader who had rendered distinguished service. "No
account has been taken of the valuable services he performed; with
less than I,ooo whites and a very unreliable Indian following he
destroyed three American armies as large as his own. Reinforcements
he asked for were not sent. His soldiers became stale and dispirited
because of neglect from headquarters. The defeat at Moraviantown
was the inevitable result of this neglect. (Ontario Historical Society,
Papers and Records, Vol. XVII, p. 12).
In this battle the Americans recovered six brass field guns, which
Hull had surrendered. Inscriptions on two of them stated they had
been surrendered by Burgoyne at Saratoga.
On the following day the Americans destroyed Moraviantown and
the cornfields in the vicinity. It was alleged that the Indians living
in it had been foremost in the River Raisin massacre.
POTAWATOMIES APPEAL FOR AID TO BRITISH
Discouraged, the Michigan Indians afterward returned to their
villages along the St. Joseph, the Kalamazoo and Grand rivers. The
chiefs realized that further resistance against a growing nation like
the United States was folly and so advised their young men.
The Potawatomies who returned to the St. Joseph valley after
the Battle of the Thames, suffering from poverty, appealed to the
British for aid at a council held at Mackinac on October 28, 1814.
The chiefs representing these Indians were Waindawgay and Mishpawkissh. The former said in part:
"Father, I am instructed by your children to acquaint you that
they were the first of your Indian children who took up the tomahawk
against the Big Knives. They were amongst the first at Chicago, Detroit, River au Raisin, Defiance, and Fort Meigs, even so far back as
Tepikano battle where several fell fighting under the Shawnee Prophet's
banner. * * * At the River au Raisin, the Potawatamies composed the right of the army under General Proctor and when 300 of
the enemy under General Winchester made an attempt to outflank
the English Father the Potawatamies rushed upon them and cut
those 300 into pieces in consequence of which the English Father
gained a signal victory, for the remainder of the enemy surrendered.
It is true that some of the Potawatamie nation have taken the Big
Knives by the hand, but those people who have done so are men of
no influence with the warriors of our nation. *  *  *  Father, your
children, the Potawatamies of the St. Joseph were compelled to take
refuge at or about the St. Joseph river when they were abandoned by
General Proctor. Since that time they have suffered great distress,
especially last winter and they are repeatedly invited by the Five Medals




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to go to the Big Knives for ammunition. They preferred to suffer
rather than treat with those bad people the Big Knives, who are the
authors of their misery. * * * They trust you will continue to
relieve them conformable to the promise made them by our Great
Father's representative at Detroit at the time your children showed
their fidelity and attachment with their brethren the Chippewas and
Ottawas in taking up the hatchet. * * * You have been made
acquainted with the deplorable situation of your children. They would
have followed General Proctor when he abandoned Detroit, but they
were prevented by the enemy who cut off their communication. Our
powerful men and warriors implore your charitable hand and hope
you will assist them with ammunition and clothing. Our women are
almost naked, and no traders in that quarter can afford any article
of clothing. St. Joseph's and its dependencies will furnish 400 men
who are true to you."
With Detroit in the hands of the Americans and the lakes in control of the fleet, the British commander at Mackinac found himself
in a difficult situation. He kept contact, however, with the Indians,
those in particular in southwestern Michigan on whom he relied for
aid in defense against attack.
BRITISH ON THE GRAND RIVER
Learning the Indians of the Grand river were divided in their
sympathies, Lieutenant Colonel McDonall, of Mackinac, sent Lieutenant Joseph Cadotte in 1814 to accompany Michel Coursolle, a
trader, to that river with a supply of goods for the savages. Previous
to that time, it had been learned that Isaac Burnet and at armed party
had captured and carried as prisoners to Detroit three traders-Joseph
Bailley, E. Lamorandie and D. Bourassa, "British traders between the
Grand river and St. Joseph's on Lake Michigan."  Burnet, it was
claimed was a British subject. According to the testimony of Bailley
at a court of inquiry held at Fort Drummond on October IO, I815,
was captured on the Grand river by "Jean Baptiste Chadronet (Chandonai), Isaac Burnet and B. Ducharme. * * * I was unwell at
the time and the party came upon me by surprise. Chadronet presented his pistols at me and Burnet told me I was his prisoner in
the name of the United States." (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol.
XVI, p. 332).
When Cadotte reported at Mackinac McDoutall was "so impressed
with the necessity of seizing these worthless men who had repeatedly
transgressed against their country" that he at once despatched Lieutenant Cadotte to bring them prisoners to Mackinac. "It, therefore,
became of importance to rid the country of these pests, and Lieutenant
Cadot was especially instructed to * * * spare no pains or expense in causing them to be made prisoners and sent in to Michillimackinac."
Michel Coursolle, the trader, set out )for the Grand river on
November 4, carrying goods valued at ~2,ooo. With him went Lieutenant Cadotte with presents for the savages.




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"His first step was to assemble the Indians on whom he could depend and having distributed the presents, directed them to be in readiness in case he was attacked from Detroit. In communicating to them
the orders which he had received to take Chadronet and Kinzie prisoners to Mackinac, he reminded them of their previous treachery to
their Great Father, the King, whose subjects they were, and of their
having both been in irons at Amherstberg. * * * He offered them
400 plus to bring them alive. The Indians replied that they knew
these men had deterred the traders of their English father from coming amongst them and relieving their misery." They promised to
capture them if possible. Cadotte distributed the presents and returned to Mackinac on January 25, "and received the thanks of the
commanding officer, in public orders for his conduct." (Michigan
Pioneer Collections, Vol. XVI, p. 330).
BRITISH SOUGHT AID FROM GRAND RIVER SAVAGES
McDonall again sent Cadotte to the Grand river for the purpose
of assembling the Indians for the defense of Mackinac. He arrived
on March 26, and collected the warriors to tell them "that the King
their great Father, had subdued his enemies in Europe and that all
his forces would be turned against the Americans. To encourage them
to accompany him he stated to them the exertions which they had been
making all winter to strengthen the works at Mackinac, which were
then so strong that they would be safe in the excavations and bombproofs, which had been made at Fort George and that American vessels durst not approach the guns." While at the Grand river, the
Indians received reports on April 4 and 9 that peace had been conclhded, but not ratified. * * * "As he (Cadotte) could not bring
himself to credit the story, he in conformity to his orders, proceeded
with eighty-four Indian warriors for Mackinac on the I2th of April
and arrived on the 3d of May, when he learned that the first official
news of peace had been received there two days before." (Michigan
Pioneer Collections, Vol. XVI, p. 330).
NEWS OF PEACE REACHES MACHINAC
The news of peace was brought to Mackinac from Sandwich by
the schooner Mink, which arrived May I. The following day, Lieutenant Colonel McDonall sent messages to notify the Indians at L'Arbre
Croche. The famous Ottawa chief Assigonack, or the Black Partridge,
was dispatched with wampum and the pipe of peace to all the nations
of the east shore of Lake Michigan, including the Grand, Kalamazoo
and St. Joseph river valleys.
TREATIES OF SAGINAW AND CHICAGO
With peace signed and the Indians subdued, the Americans were
now prepared to negotiate an advantageous pact with the Indians.
General Lewis Cass at the Treaty of Saginaw obtained a cession of
land from the Chippewas on September 24, I819. This tract is bounded
on the south by a line commencing in the meridian line six miles south
of the north line of Jackson county and running west to a point about
four miles northeast of the city of Kalamazoo, and thence northeasterly




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through the counties of Barry, Ionia, Montcalm and Isabella to the
headwaters of Thunder Bay river in Montmorency county, and embracing all the land east not ceded by previous treaties.
After obtaining this large slice of territory, another cession which
included all of southwestern Michigan with exception of a few small
reservations, was made between General Cass and Solomon Sibley
with the Ottawas, Chippewas and Potawatomies in Chicago on August
29, 1821. This cession covers that portion of the state which is
bounded on the south by the south line thereof, on the north by the
Grand river, on the east by the west line of former cessions and on
the west by Lake Michigan, excepting a small triangular parcel of land
lying in the southwest corner of the state south of the St. Joseph river.
This tract was afterward ceded by the Potawatomies at a treaty made
with General Cass at the Carey mission, located oti this land, on September 20, 1828, and then again by them in conjunction with the Chippewas
and Ottawas by an additional treaty in Chicago on September 27, I833.
These treaties embrace the counties of Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph,
Branch, Hillsdale, Van Buren, and Allegarn; also a part of Ottawa,
Kent, Barry, Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Jackson counties.
Among the reservations were the following: "One tract at Manguachqua village on the river Peble, of six miles square; one tract
at Mickisawabe of six miles square; one tract at the village of Natowasepe of four miles square; one tract at the village of Matchebenashewish at head of the Kalamazoo river."   (American State
Papers, Vol. VI, p. 258).




CHAPTER VIII


TRADERS IN THE THORNAPPLE VALLEY-THE
INDIAN HUNTING GROUND
T   HE Thornapple river, the principal branch of the Grand, or
O-wash-te-nong, river had its source in a lake-dotted and
spring-fed region which was from times immemorial the great hunting grounds of the Ottawas, who came annually from L'Arbre Croche,
and towns in the vicinity of Mackinac to hunt along the southern
streams and to make maple sugar. In great fleets of canoes, the savages came down the Lake Michigan shore camping at night and when
the waters were too rough at some favorite sheltered nook on the
dune-lined coast. To the savages of Mackinac and far beyond, the
dark, game-haunted fastnesses of the valley of the So-wan-que-sake,
or Forked river, held few secrets. Of all the rivers of the Lower
Peninsula, there was none which penetrated a land better supplied
with game of all kinds. To some of them it was known as the Me-nosso-gos-o-she-kink, meaning simply the "Forks." From its confluence
with the Grand to its headwaters in what is now Eaton county, the
Thornapple flowed through a vast silent wilderness, breaking into
silvery rapids at shallow places, and collecting in deep pools darkened
by summer-long shadows of gigantic thickly-foliaged trees. Verdure
covered islands, here and there, divided the murmuring shallow current. Far over stream leaned the silvery trunks of the sycamore and
whitewood, equaled only in height by elms which over-topped the surrounding forest. Beneath the larger trees cedars added to the gloom
of the shady depths. Scattered along the bluffs were jackpines, alone
or in small groups with branches fraternally interlaced-as if they
realized they were far south of their native habitat and in a land of
strangers. Deer wandered into the water in herds to drink, the stags
ready to "whistle" an alarm at the first scent of danger. Springs
poured their babbling runs into the stream. Here and there the sound
of tumbling waters indicated the presence of beaver dams across tributary streams. On the steep banks were "slides" made by otters. At
night the wilderness re-echoed with the howl of the wolf, the scream
of the panther, and the ghostly call of the great horned owl. With
a roar like thunder, vast flights of pigeons crossed the sky, shutting out
the sunlight in migrations which frequently lasted an hour. With
almost human cries black bears called to each other; wild turkeys gobbled on the oak ridges; partridge boomed in the undergrowths, and the
wood-ducks, which have the nesting habit of the wookpecker, flew back
and forth between the stream and their homes in hollow trees. Amid
the highest tree tops pounded the hammer bill of the cock-of-the-woods,
a gigantic woodpecker, which was seen here no more after the great
trees were cut down. Occasional swarms of bees went buzzing in
black clouds through the tree tops in search of a natural hive.




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The forests were like great parks for the Indians burned away
each year the underbrush to give clear view of distant game. Up
this stream the Indians pushed their bark or hollowed-log canoes, making portages at the shallow "riffs" until they reached the Chick-se-nabish, or Little Thornapple, the northern prong of the "Fork." This
stream had its source in what is now called Jordan lake, not far from
the Grand river watershed. Others pushed on to Muski-so-wan-quesake, or Thornapple lake, which is an expansion of the river about a
mile wide and two miles long. Into this lake the Thornapple receives
the waters of the Nag-wah-tick, or Mud creek, which has its source
in a chain of lakes to the northeast, and Highbank creek, which flows
from the south.
Below Thornapple lake, west of the confluence of the river and
Cedar creek was a small prairie (now embraced in the Barr County
Farm), on which was located during the American Revolution one of
the largest Indian towns in southern Michigan. On the bank of the
river early settlers found a corn-mill, which consisted of a boulder
with hollowed top and pestle suspended from an overhanding branch.
By pulling a rope attached to the branch the pestle was worked up and
down, producing a good quality of meal. All along the river bank
were evidences of Indian occupation. Near Quimby was found the
cache of rough flint stones which belonged to an ancient arrowmaker.
Flint and iron knives, "squaw" hoes bearing the stamp of British
manufacturers, and brass tomahawks of French manufacture, together
with brass and iron kettles and metallic ornaments have been dug up
from time to time.
Paralleling the river from the ford of the Grand River trail was
the "Canada Trail," a deeply worn path, traces of which may still be
seen in I925 in the woods on the north side of Thornapple lake. This
trail passes a large spring, known as "Limestone Spring," near which
the earliest pioneers found evidences of a kiln, which was either the
work of Frenchmen or Indians.
After the first settlers arrived at Thornapple lake in 1836, the
Indian village was removed from the prairie to the mouth of Cedar
creek half a mile eastward. Here were erected fifty huts made of
poles covered with bark. The natives were mostly Ottawas, of which
Per-nob-nago was chief, with Sawba and Packy-ty-yak as under-chiefs.
In this settlement were also Chiefs As-que-sah and Sundago, both
long afterward known to white residents. The Indians removed
from Oceana and Isabella counties in the early fifties. Sundago and his
son, Moquis, lived many years near Elbridge. Sundago died shortly
after the Civil war. Chief As-que-sah was born on the site of Hastings
in 800oo. With a desire to visit once more the scenes amid which he
was born, the old chief in 1876 paddled a dug-out canoe from Pentwater down Lake Michigan, thence up the Grand and Thornapple
rivers to the lake where he found amid changed surroundings the
pioneers whom he had known a quarter of a century previously. Erecting a wigwam near the mouth of Highbank creek, the chief prepared
to spend the winter in trapping. He had, however, come back to his
boyhood haunts to die. After a brief illness, he on February 20, 1876,




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responded to the call of the Great Spirit in whom he reverently believed. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. I. N. Crittenden. His body was carried to a grave in Barryville cemetery by
his old friends-Anson Ware, Barber Meade, and Friend D. Soules.
Over his grave was erected a tombstone bearing this inscription:
Indian Chief As-que-sah. February 20, 1876. Erected by an
Appreciative Public.
THE FUR TRADERS AND THEIR POSTS
Though fur traders and voyageurs had long frequented the Thornapple valley, none of them were identified until Rix Robinson acquired
from Madame Magdalene La Framboise a trading post half a mile
below the confluence of the Grand and Flat, or Quab-i-quasha river,
(Winding stream), the site of the village of Lowell. It was here that
Charles Langlade also engaged in the fur trade before the American
Revolution. Whether or no Joseph La Framboise, of Mackinaw,
succeeded Langlade, has not been revealed. About the year I808 or
I809, while La Framboise and his wife were near Grand Haven, an
Indian, said to have been intoxicated, stabbed the trader in the back,
killing him. With extraordinary courage, Madame La Framboise
returned with her husband's body to the trading post and transacted
business until the season was ended. Then she began the long canoe
voyage to Mackinaw, taking along her husband's body. Some authorities state that the trader was assassinated in Wisconsin, but John
S. Hooker, (Cape-squ-itt, or Sharp Voice), early Lowell resident, who
associated in boyhood with Indians from whom he obtained information, confirmed the statement that the murder took place near Grand
Haven. Mr. Hooker said that Madame La Framboise's cabin was
thirty feet long, twelve feet wide. The logs were squared and laid together, but the ends, left in their natural state with bark remaining on
them, extended a foot outward from the building. This cabin stood
near a clear spring brook. The stones from the chimney were visible
at a recent date.
Madame La Framboise conducted a flourishing fur business until
she sold the post in 1821 to Rix Robinson, an agent of the American
Fur Company. Returning to Mackinaw, she resided there until her
death in I846.
In I83I, Danied Marsac, of Detroit, established a trading post on
the south side of the Grand river not far from the mouth of the Flat.
This he maintained until the Indian lands were thrown open to settlement. Land for his cabin was donated by Indians on condition
that he "break" twenty acres of "openings" for them. Marsac was
related to Louis Campau, the noted first settler and trader who had
established himself among the Grand Rapids Indians in I826. One
of Campau's associates in Grand Rapids was Richard Godfroy, -who
traveled throughout the Indian villages buying furs. Mr. Godfroy,
who bore a name well-known in New France, afterward engaged in
business in Grand Rapids. He furnished a considerable amount of
historical lore. He declared that an Indian chief told him that as
early as 80o6, a man named La Framboise (probably the Flat river




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trader), had built a cabin at the "Rapids," o'n the west side of the
river. The chief said the building was made of logs and bark, chinked
with clay. The Indians claimed they assisted in building it.
LOUIS MOREAU WAS FIRST TRADER
The first trader in the Thornapple valley of which there is any
record was Louis Moran, or Moreau, an agent of Robinson's. He
conducted a fur-trading establishment in an old block-house on Scales
Prairie, west of Middleville, and also at Bull's Prairie, a favorite
haunt of the Indians on the river bank nearly ten miles east of the
former place. The builder of the block-house is unknown. The late
Joseph Cisler, an early pioneer, said that it was erected early in the
century by Charboneau, a trader. It stood on a small prairie studded
like an orchard with burr oak trees. Near it was the Indian trail
between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. The Thornapple river ford
was a short distance northeast. Near this block-house Louis Campau
found growing some apple trees, which he transplanted to his land
at Grand Rapids.
This stout old building, two stories high, was built of pine logs
hewed square with clay fillings between the timbers. The logs at
the ends were continued into the gables. The floor consisted of hewed
pine boards four inches thick. Built to be used as a fortification in
time of emergency, the windows of the lower story were provided with
shutters of four-inch timber which swung inward on heavy handmade hinges. The upper floor was lighted by apperatures, or loopholes, a foot square, and placed where they could command a wide
area of ground. The building was about forty feet long. A partition
made of hewed slabs divided the building in halves. Located at this
partition was a huge wide chimney with fireplace made of sticks and
clay opening into each room. While the building was in use as a
trading post there was no floor on the "lay-overs" or joists over the
first story. A few rude boards placed across the timbers formed the
upper "chamber."
The roof was made of hand-shaved shingles laid on tamarac poles.
The building had a barn-like appearance. Near the house was an
outdoor cellar dug deeply in the ground. This was built up on the
sides with stones laid in clay, and roofed with timbers covered with
earth and sod. There was two doors on the north side of the building,
two on the south. There were two lower windows on each end and a
door at the west end. There was a door. in the partition, on the north
side of the fireplace. The description of this historic building was
furnished by Gary Page to the late Milton F. Jordan, of Middleville.
Near this building, called by the Indians. "Skin Wigwam" were
eight or ten dwellings of Potawatomies. This was known as the
"Middle Village."
The prairie on which this trading post and Indian village stood
was a beautiful stretch comprising about sixty acres. It was later
called Scales' prairie, named after Robert Scales, of Kentucky, who
settled in this region in I835. He was a contemporary of Moreau, the




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173


trader. This little open space in the great surrounding forest was
dotted with "islands" of burr oak trees, under which undulated before
the breeze in long billows grass six feet high. Into this opening
wandered attractive multitudes of bees, and one early explorer declared he counted three "bee trees" as he stood in one spot. Prairie
chickens were continuously about.
Moreau first conducted a trading post, which was established by
authority of Rix Robinson on a small prairie named after Albert E.
Bull, one of the earliest pioneers of White Pigeon and Schoolcraft.
Educated in Harvard College as a surveyor, he came west after serving
in the war against the Florida Indians. His home built on the prairie
was considered a "mansion." Into it he placed his large library, which
was brought in packs on horses. He died in the late seventies while
visiting in his old home in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Bull's prairie consisted of about thirty acres of rolling land dotted
with burr oaks and wild plum trees. This vicinity had long been a
haunt of the Indians. Here they annually planted about seven acres
of corn, which was described by Mr. Cisler as being whiter and softer
than that brought by the pioneers. In order to preserve it, the Indians
smoked it, then buried it in pits in the earth. This was probably the
original maize. To prepare it for food, the squaws reduced the kernels
to meal in a mortar made by burning a bowl into the end of a log.
They often cooked it in a kettle with venison or other meat. The post
was established at Bull's prairie in 1827. It stood on the riverbank,
and commanded a long stretch of water. It was a small log cabin with
a "stick" chimney at one end. It was about sixteen feet long and
twelve feet wide. Moreau here traded "notions" for furs, and also
kept a stock of whisky which he sparingly doled out to his coppercolored patrons. When Moreau concluded that the Indians in the
vicinity had enough "firewater" he hastily buried his jugs in the
ground in order to convince the insistent savages he had no more.
When Mr. Bull arrived in 1836, this building was in ruins. Moreau,
leaving this locality, either took charge of the old trading post on
Scales' prairie, or resumed charge of it. At any rate, he was there in
1836, at which time so many persons began to travel the Grand River
trail and he saw an opportunity to do a flourishing hotel business. He,
therefore, gave up trading as furs were becoming scarcer each year,
and fitted up the blockhouse as a tavern. The upper story was made
habitable, and the loop holes were provided with glass windows set in
rude frames. Here he continued business as a tavernkeeper until the
stage route was changed several years later to a route farther eastby way of Yankee Springs to Dibble's and Leonard's Corners.
Moreau was a stocky, dark-complectioned French Canadian, who
originally came from Detroit, independent and thrifty. The first
travelers in the wilderness always found shelter under his roof, but
they paid big city prices for lodgings and food. Moreau exercised to
the limit opportunities for extortion offered in a field where there was
no competition. When one traveler objected to paying five dollars for
the privilege of sleeping on the floor and eating a poor breakfast, the




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landlord politely informed him that, "It ees no sign of a zhentleman
to dispute a bill."
Here are other glimpses of Moreau written in 1835 bAy J. 0.
Holmes, of Detroit, who stopped at the tavern:
"On the morning of the fifth day we rode to Kalamazoo. On the
sixth day we rode to Louis Moran's (Moreau), a very comfortable
hotel with a large chimney in the center; a ladder up against the
chimney for ascending to the lodging apartment, which was the attic
of the building. The floor boards of the attic were few and far between. The beds were filled with the coarsest of prairie grass, familiarly known as 'prairie feathers.' The meals furnished us at that
house were excellent.
"The seventh day we started early for Grand Rapids, thirty miles
distant, where we hoped to arrive before dark. But the road for the
whole distance was little better than an Indian trail. Soon after leaving Moran's we forded the Thornapple river, which was about two
and one-half feet deep, and went north on the east side of the stream.
The day was cold, and in the latter part of the afternoon snow began
to fall. About four o'clock, having traveled all day without seeing a
habitation of any kind, we again reached the Thornapple river near
its mouth. Here we recrossed the river. It was usually two or three
feet deep at this point, and this was the fording place, but ice had
formed in the Grand river and in the Thornapple, which caused the
water to rise several feet; and the ice was so thick we could not
swim our horses across; nor was it strong enough to bear us up. Here
was a dilemma, but we must go forward, for there was no house on
the back track between ourselves and Moran's thirty miles-a day's
ride.
"It was snowing fast, and the temperature of the atmosphere was
falling rapidly. Seeing a small log house on the opposite side of the
Thornapple, we called until we roused the inmates. We found they
were two men, who were clearing a place at the junction of the Thornapple with the Grand river whereon to build a city. (The site of the
village of Ada.) * * *
"After spending a day and night there, and finding it would be
impossible to visit Saranac, we left Grand Rapids over an Indian trail,
through a dense forest on the west side of the Thornapple, and late
in the afternoon arrived at Moran's house in the wilderness, where
we had been so well cared for a few days previous. We engaged
supper and lodging, and spent a very pleasant evening with guests of
the house, several having arrived after ourselves. After supper a
young man started up the ladder that led to the attic. The landlord,
noticing him, told him to come down. The young man said he was
sick, and wished to go to bed. Mr. Moran said, 'There is no bed for
you; they are all engaged. If you are sick the place for you is on
the floor with your feet to the fire.' The young man remonstrated, the
landlord remonstrated, and said: 'You can. lie here on the floor-if
you do not like my accommodations, you can go to the next house.'
Rather than go to the next house, which was thirty miles away, he took
his place on the floor with his feet to the fire."




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175


After the stage route was changed and patronage suddenly ceased,
Moreau went to Hastings where he engaged in the fur trade. On the
banks of the river, on a small elevation, overlooking the Thornapple
river ford to the Indian village on the north bank, stood Chase's log
tavern, the first hostelry erected in the settlement. In order to provide
Moreau with quarters, Mr. Chase built a "lean-to" where the Frenchman again received his former patrons. Moreau afterward engaged in
business in Grand Rapids where he died.
The old blockhouse on Scales' prairie was torn down in 1859 by
Benjamin Bray and Gary Page. Before its destruction it was said to
have been used as a dwelling by at least ote hundred families. Its
heavy timbers were so solidly fastened with oak pins set in auger holes
that teams of oxen with log chains were necessary to tear it down.
AUGUSTUS NEERS, AN EARLY MAIL CARRIER
One of the first men to penetrate the wilderness of Barry county
was August Neers, a soldier in the Black Hawk war, who was afterward employed by the government to carry.the mails from Detroit to
Grand Rapids by way of Gull prairie and the Indian trail. Neers made
his long journeys through the forest solitudes before Yankee Springs
tavern was established. He traveled daily on his horse an average of
forty miles. To the late William Riggs, Thornapple pioneer, and later
a resident of Baraga, Neers recalled the days when elk were numerous
on Gull prairie, and the abundance of game along the trails he traversed.
Neers, Mr. Riggs said, was one of the surveyors who accompanied Dr.
Douglas Houghton's exploring party and was present when Houghton
was drowned on an Upper Peninsula river. Neers, cheated out of
hotel property at Otsego lake, died in the county house at Gaylord in
the early tiireties. He was born in I805. He also told Mr. Riggs
that early in the century the great Indian trail was traversed by Indians
who came from great distances, and also by Chiefs Elkhart, Keewadin,
Petoskey, Pokagon and Waukazoo, and their bands.
CHIPPEWA VILLAGE NORTH OF MIDDLEVILLE
Chief Chippewa and Chief Kan-au-bec were leaders of a colony of
between two and three hundred Chippewas residing oh Section I,
Thornapple township, four miles north and one mile west of Middleville village. Chief Chippewa is recalled by Charles Williams, the first
white child born in Irving township, as a tall, good-natured man,
whose whole personality expressed nobility. His features were like
those of an American. He lived in the cnly log house in the village
and spoke good English. Ken-au-bec, an older Indian, supposed to
have been chief of an extinct band, was the opposite of Chippewa in
character. Tall, raw-boned, he stalked about in silence. Deep-set,
treacherous eyes added to the sinister aspect of his ugly features.
Chippewa dressed like a white man, but Ken-au-bec clung to the
native garb and wore a huge circlet of feathers on his head. Ken-aubec was proud of the fact he had participated in the massacre at the
burning of Buffalo, and sometimes boasted of the number of American
scalps he had taken. This, however, brought him to a tragic end.




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While intoxicated near Pentwater in the late seventies, he made the
mistake of boasting of his murders in the presence of several "lumberjacks," and his body with head crushed in with an ax was found
on a railway track. The story of the chief's death was told to William
Riggs by As-que-sah's son.
The wigwams in Chippewa's village were placed in an irregular
group. The village was infested with mongrel dogs and pet foxes and
raccoons, for the savages were fond of taming certain wild animals.
One of the favorites with the settlers was Kelsey, Chippewa's son. In
this village also lived Chief As-que-sah, one of the Thornapple lake
Indians.
Chippewa's band received abstracts for their land from the government in 1849. They sold it to Julius Houseman in 1864, but they
were removed to Oceana county before their land was sold. Before
removal, the Indians went to Wayland township, Allegan county, where
they made canoes of whitewood logs. A wagon load of canoes was
brought to Middleville and deposited on the river bank. One of these
boats was forty feet long. Chippewa's canoe was twenty-two feet
long and carried six persons in addition to a large quantity of luggage.
With this fleet of light craft, the red men departed down the river on
the long journey to their new home.
Abstract records show that the United States government granted
on April 5, 1849, land patents in Section I, Thornapple township, to
the following Indians: Maz-ke-ke-yah-shy, Qua-qua-to-sin, Ash-quesah, Kai-wis, Ke-me-seva, and Ahma-coose and wife, Ko-se-quo-quo,
Ash-que-sah and wife, Wa-was-mo-qua and Kaw-we-go-cho-gah.
Those who sold land on May Io, 1864, were: Kai-wis and wife, KitchO-qua, Kenes-wa and wife, Sagos-age, Ken-au-bec and wife, Ne-waqua, Me-con and wife, Bash-a-wago-to-que, Maz-he-ke-quack and wife,
Kiniwa-a-gasha-go-que, Kenau-sau and wife, Bin-a-shi-qua, Ash-quasah and wife, Wa-was-mo-qua.
On April 29, 1854, the government granted a land patent to Kenau-bec and Me-con. On May I6, of the same year, Ken-au-bec and
wife, Mowh-na-qua, transferred the former's interest in the property
to Me-con. Chippewa was not recorded as a landowner. He succeeded Ken-au-bec as chief.




CHAPTER IX


FIVE NOTED INDIAN MISSIONS
THE treaty of Chicago left the Ottawas in Grand Rapids in an
angry mood. Several members of the tribe were punished for
being influential in signing the pact, which surrendered the Indian
land. Among the chiefs was old Kewikushkam, prominently mentioned by Lieutenant Bennett, the British commander of the expedition sent to the St. Joseph valley during the Revolution. At this time
there were two Indian villages at these rapids where the Owashtenong,
("Far Distant River"), broadened to pass over a geological barrier
which had long resisted the erosion of the waters. On the shoals the
red men found fish spearing easy and many mighty sturgeon and
muskellunge were captured on their way from Lake Michigan to the
spawning grounds far up the stream.
On the southern side was a village of several hundred persons
under Chief Max-ci-ne-ne, or the Wampum Man. This chief was
silent and haughty and during his old age wore with great pride a suit
of clothes and high hat which President Jackson presented to him in
I836. He led the Indians in trying to adopt the white man's methods
of living. He died after a sudden illness in 1843. The chief of the
other village near the rapids was one of the most noted of Ottawas, an
associate of Tecumseh's and a leader in the Battle of the Thames in
which the toted chieftain fell. This was No-no-qua-he-zich, or "Middle of the Day," commonly known as Noonday. Intellectually Noonday was one of the greatest Indians in the state's history. His influence
was a powerful factor in bringing education and religion to his fellow
tribesmen. He was the father-in-law of Max-ci-Tie-ne. Another important chief was Muck-i-ta-o-ska, or Blackskin, who had the reputation of being an implacable foe of the Americans. He was said to have
been leader of the band which burned Buffalo during the War of 1812,
and committed appalling atrocities on defenseless women and children.
He died in I868.
With the intention of preparing for establishment of the mission
and blacksmith shop, the Rev. Isaac McCoy, Baptist missionary, who
founded Carey mission at Niles, conferred with Governor Cass in
Detroit in 1822, with the result that the missionary on July I6, was appointed to superintend the agents sent to carry out provisions of the
treaty. Cass directed that liquor should be kept from the Indians.
McCoy himself visited the Ottawas in 1823, crossing the Grand river
on May 30. The Indians, dissatisfied with the treaty, were not
hospitable. Most of them were drunk with liquor some traders had
brought. The chiefs were absent. McCoy returned to his mission on
the St. Joseph. In the meantime a blacksmith shop was erected by the
government. When he visited Grand Rapids in November, 1824, McCoy found the shop had been burned to the ground by the Indians who




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still felt great resentment against the white men. He went in search
of Noonday, who was encamped on the banks of Parkegon-bish, or
Gun lake, as it is known today, lying west of the high morainal sand
ridges in what is now the western part of Barry county. This splendid
sheet of water, the irregular silvery expanse of which spreads over
many miles of heavily timbered country with long lines of blue hills
lying east and west, and which had its outlet in a stream traversing
miles of densely wooded marshland filled with game, had long been
an attractive haunt in the heart of the Indian hunting grounds. The
origin of its name is uncertain. It was known as Gun lake when McCoy visited it. It is said to have been called so because in the early
times a French coureur de bois, crossing the lake with companions in
a canoe, lost his gun in its depths. McCoy, however, explains the
origin of the name as follows:
SUPERNATURAL SOURCE OF GUN LAKE S NAME
"In traveling from one of our stations to the other, we passed by
a lake, which was supposed by the Ottawas to be the abode of spirits,
who sometimes performed strange feats. It was by them called Gun
lake because, as they said, a noise was often heard in it, like the report
of a gun in the distance. In one place they said was a large heap of
ashes, the summit of which rose almost to the surface of the water.
They supposed it had probably been accumulating hundreds of years,
by being carried from a fire which they thought might be kept up
near it. It was said, also, that the trunk of a large tree had been
standing in the water many years, the top of which extended a little
above water. It was supposed to be held there by some supernatural
agency, and, should any one have the temerity to approach it, his
canoe would certainly be capsized by an invisible hand.
"At that time, (March II, 1827), it was reported that, on the
margin of this enchanted lake, a tree had been set on fire, probably by
lightning, the previous autumn, which had been burning all winter,
from the top downward, until the stump of the tree was not more than
ten feet high. The snow in the country had been, all winter, about
two feet deep, yet, according to the spirit story, the earth had been
bare for a considerable distance around this burning tree. Great fears
were felt that when the fire should burn down to the earth, the ground
would become ignited, and the fire be found to be unquenchable; it
being evident, they said, that it was a kind of fire which water would
not quench." (Baptist Indian Missions, McCoy, p. 302).
Crossing the lake to Noonday's camp, McCoy found the chief in
favor of having a mission established and both set out the next day
for Grand Rapids where a mission site was chosen at a point south of
the corner of West Bridge and Front streets. When McCoy started
the following day for the St. Joseph river, Noonday, who was deeply
interested in the opportunity his followers were to have for religious
and educational knowledge, accompanied the missionary a considerable distance.
Noonday was a great warrior in the War of 1812, but he was intelligent enough to know that reconciliation to American rule was the




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keynote of living comfortably. He saw the futility of hoping to free
the Indian country from the encroaching white settlers. Noonday,
though advanced it age when McCoy came, was described as "six
feet tall, well-proportioned, noble in appearance and possessed of great
muscular strength." (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXXV, p.
I45).
Noonday's wife is thus described by Henry Little, Richland pioneer:
"Her ladyship, Mrs. Noonday, was a short, dumpy, unassuming
lady of the old school. Nature had not seen fit to make her very attractive by the bewitching, fascinating charms of personal beauty; and
what little there might have been of feminine comliness in her features
had been sadly marred by an ugly scar upon the left side of her face."
LEONARD SLATER SENT AS MISSIONARY
The school being built and "Thomas mission" established, the Rev.
Leonard Slater, of Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Peter Slater, a
member of the Boston "Tea Party," was appointed to the station in
1826. He was born in Worcester on November I6, 1802, and was
educated for the Baptist pulpit. Shortly after receiving the appointment, the minister was united in marriage on May 29, 1826, to Miss
Mary French Ide, of Claremont, New Hampshire. After a long
journey, a considerable portion of which was made on horseback, they
arrived in Detroit, and they followed a blazed trail to Niles where
they joined the Rec. Isaac McCoy and awaited their goods which had
been sent round the lakes by boat to the mouth of the St. Joseph river.
When the baggage arrived a considerable portion of it was found
damaged by water.
On the way to Grand Rapids, the missionary and his bride passed
through Kalamazoo, crossing the old ford and ascending the hill on
which stood Recollet's trading post. From this elevation they looked
across the river valley spread in its pristine beauty before them. On
every side spread the vast wilderness over which brooded a quietness
that had laid upon the land during countless thousands of years. These
young people, about to begin the Master's work among savages, whose
butcheries in the late war had filled with horror their childish imaginations, were delighted with this scene. Mr. Slater never forgot it, and
when it became in later years a cemetery he requested that he might
rest there. Today he, his devoted wife and daughter Emily, are
buried on that spot.
When they arrived at Carey mission, two Indians rushed out and
fired muskets into the air. It was explained that a chief had just died
and that this method was used to notify the deceased that he must not
come back to trouble the living.
In the spring of 1827, the Slaters settled at Thomas mission and
began Christian work among one hundred and fifty Ottawa families.
In the vicinity there were several hundred more savages. Louis Cass,
greatly interested in the missions, several times visited them. Mr.
Slater, in addition to teaching the Indians, was on December 22, 1832,
appointed first postmaster of Grand Rapids by President Jackson, serving four years.




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FIND LOUIS CAMPAU IN GRAND RAPIDS
When the Slaters arrived they found there also Louis Campau,
noted fur trader, who had brought there his bride of eighteen, Sophie
de Marsac, whom he had married in Detroit on August 9, 1825. Mrs.
Campau was a devout Catholic, and when the Baptist mission was
started this addition "brought joy to her heart."
Though these two Christian women, one an American Protestant,
the other a French Catholic, could not understand one another's
language, they were the only white women in the valley and they were
delighted to associate together. Mrs. Campau, recalling those early
days, said:
"I so glad dear Mrs. Slater come. We the only white women here.
We go back and forth to see one another often. I speak ho word of
English. Mrs. Slater, she speak no word of French. But we just
sit and look at each other, and we make signs so we partly understand
and we so happy!" (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXXVIII,
p. 66).
As the settlement grew in size, the opportunities for the Indians
to get whisky became more numerous. A great influx of settlers came
in 1833, and the demoralization of the red men was so discouraging
that Slater decided to remove the mission to a more isolated place.
Opposition to the mission by disreputable persons, including some
traders, also influenced the missionary to leave. Kalamazoo and Barry
counties were then undivided. The region northwest of Cull lake
impressed Slater as the most desirable location. The possibilities of
good fishing pleased the Indians and they consented to go. Slater
purchased from Calvin Hill a tract of one thousand acres, it is said.
This land was sold in parcels to the Indians. Each owner received
an annual allowance of cash from the government. This tract was located in the southern part of what is now Prairieville township. About
fifty families accompanied Slater to the new mission site. Log houses
were erected for each family.
How intense had grown the animosity against the missionaries in
Grand Rapids is exemplified by the experience of the Rev. Father
Frederic Baraga, pastor of a mission in L'Arbre Croshe, who in the
fall of 1833, went to Grand Rapids to establish a mission. In sixteen
months he baptized one hundred and seventy Indians. He built a
school and mission, and was doing much to improve conditions among
the Indians when the opponents of Slater thought it was high time to
make the community too hot for him. The Indians were fast becoming drunkards, and selling liquor to them brought enormous profit.
"Some wicked fur traders used to bring them liquor and exchange
their abominable stuff for peltries or furs, which they got thus for a
mere trifle. In their drunken orgies the Indians would howl like a
troop of devils let loose from hell, fight, shoot, and kill one another.
Against this nefarious traffic Father Baraga labored and preached, although by doing so he drew upon himself the hatred of the wicked
fur traders and the drunken Indians. One night a number of the
latter came to the missionary's cabin, howling, and intending, no




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doubt, to wreak their ill will upon the defenseless missionary. But
God protected His servant. Father Baraga, being timely warned of
their approach by their infernal howling, quickly locked and barred his
door and so their wicked intention was frustrated." (Michigan Pioneer
Collections, Vol. XXVI, p. 537).
At the new mission Slater erected a building which was used as
a church and mission school, and arrangements were made to teach
the agricultural methods to the red men. In a belfry consisting of
four posts set in the ground, was suspended the mission bell, which
Slater brought from Grand Rapids. This bell he had purchased in
Detroit in I830. It was sent round by boat to the mouth of the Grand
river, thence by flatboat to the "Rapids." After the mission was
abandoned, the bell was used in the old schoolhouse in Prairieville village until lost when that building was destroyed by fire about I912.
At the mission school both Indian and white children were taught.
Among them was the late Philip Barber, Prairieville pioneer, and the
late Cornelius Mason, noted hunter and Richland pioneer, who later
became Slater's son-in-law.
Mr. Mason, in I916, thus described the mission and dwelling:
"The mission was a large building with a barn frame and shingle
roof with a belfrey in the center. There was a porch in front, and
two entrances. The building was sided with wide clapboards and
painted. The bell was similar to the ordinary school-bell of today.
The rope hung down behind the pulpit, which was placed on a rostrum
in the center of one side of the building. Facing it were the "slips"
or pews, which were plainly, but substantially made of ordinary boards.
This building stood across the trail, or road, from the house of the
missionary.
"Mr. Slater's dwelling was located amid oak trees on a knoll about
two hundred yards from the mission. It was a frame building-a
good house for those days-substantially, but roughly built of clapboards and shingled. It had a porch on one end and steps at the
doors. It stood higher than the mission house. Trails led from the
mission to Battle Creek by way of Long and Gull lakes; also northwest toward Cressey where Chief Noonday lived in a cabin of logs."
SLATER PREACHED IN INDIAN LANGUAGE
Mr. Slater preached to the Indians in their own language. His
relationship to them was like that of a father to his children. One of
the most earnest Christians among the flock was the noble Chief
Noonday. Next to him in importance was the sachem, Mascoh, who
like Noonday, also took part in the War of 1812, serving on Captain Barclay's fleet, which was captured by Captain Perry's fleet
in the Battle of Lake Erie. Mascoh proudly displayed in his cabin a
large sword, which he said Barclay had given him in recognition of
bravery during the engagement. While the fight was at its height,
the ship was in danger of being blown to pieces by the powder on
board. Mascoh voluntarily undertook the hazardous task of carrying
ammunition from the magazine to the guns. He did this work so




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


well that the commander presented him with a sword. Of this weapon,
the sachem was extremely vain. Mascoh had two children, a daughter,
and a son who was educated at the mission, and who served in the
Union army in the Rebellion. Mascoh, after the mission was abandoned,
removed to the Indian colony in Isabella county where he is said to
have died at an advanced age.
Among the Indians who are recorded in the Barry county register
of deeds office as land owners were: Pam-ah-bego, Ach-wach-wa,
Shon-ne-quom or Chen-go-shink, Papom-comba or No-tin-eka, Mokichewurn or Ne-bench-zee, Mascho or Ma-ke-eae-zee, On-se-pe-ge-num
or Mis-go-quoss, Tundaqua.
Another well-known personage at the mission was Louis Generaux,
said to have been a son of Louis Generaux, the noted French trader
who had a post at the confluence of the Maple and Grand rivers.
Generaux was a powerful man, who showed a very evil disposition
while drunk. On one of these occasions he threw his father-in-law
into a huge log fire, causing his death. He was imprisoned a year for
this offense.
The mission was constantly visited by relatives of the Indians who
came from every quarter of the Territory and from Canada. Members of Slater's band also traveled afar, some going northward for the
purpose of hunting, or participating in tribal conferences. All acknowledged the authority of Noonday. He and Pokagon were the last
great chieftains of southern Michigan. Slater had converted him to
the Christian religion, which he faithfully undertook to spread among
his followers.
Though Noonday was said to have been the chief who directed the
burning and massacre at Buffalo, he denied this charge. He was, however, serving at the right of Tecumseh when that noted chief was killed
by Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, during the Battle of
the. Thames in Ontario. This Noonday proved when he saw Colonel
Johnson, then vice-president, in Washington. Noonday and Chief
Sagamaw, of Prairie Ronde village, later of the Selkirk mission in
Allegan county, were near Tecumseh when Colonel Johnson directing
his charging Kentuckians, was thrown from his horse. Tecumseh,
seeing the leader prostrate, rushed forward with uplifted tomahawk
to slay him, but the officer drew a pistol and shot the Indian through
the heart.
"I seized him and with the assistance of Saginaw bore him from
the field," declared Noonday. "When he fell the Indians stopped
fighting and the battle was ended. We laid him down oi a blanket in
a wigwam, and we all wept, we loved him so much. I took him
tomahawk and hat."
IDENTIFIES COLONEL JOHNSON AS TECUMSEH'S SLAYER
Asked how he knew it was Colonel Johnson who killed Tecumseh,
Noonday said he identified the slayer when he accompanied General
Cass to Washington to see President Van Buren.




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183


"I went to the great wigwam (the White House), and when I went
in I saw the same man I saw kill Tecumseh. I have never seen him
since, but I knew it was he, I looked him in the face and said:
"'Kene kin a poo Tecumseh,' meaning 'You kill Tecumseh'."
Johnson replied that he shot with his pistol a powerful Indian who
approached to slay him with a tomahawk, but did not know who
it was.
"'That was Tecumseh. I saw you do it'," replied Noonday.
Whenever the chief related this incident, tears ran down his face.
The mission Indians were great hunters and fishermen. When
they took up their residence in Prairieville, the numerous lakes lying it
the heart of a tract of oak openings were full of fish. Deer wandered
about in herds, and bears were plentiful. The Indians were learning
the rudiments of agriculture, and their children being educated like
those of their white neighbors. The squaws were taught by Mrs.
Slater how to do housework. Sundays religious meetings were held
in the mission building, which Mr. Slater had erected. Here the
pioneers also came to worship and to hear the Indian choir enthusiastically sing well-known hymns under direction of "Jonathan," an
educated Ottawa. Mr. Slater preached in English for the benefit of
the white persons in the congregation and followed with a sermon in
the Indian language.
While on the way to Fort Maiden in 1833 to receive the annual
British presents, Noonday and his band stopped at Gull prairie where
there was considerable excitement over the prospect of Black Hawk
invading Michigan. Noonday said to Deacon Mason: "Me and my
Indians will help the white folks if they need us."
NOONDAY PUNISHED UNRULY PUPILS
The first teacher in the mission school was Miss Susan Parker,
sister of Amasa Parker, first settler of Barry county. She began her
duties in 1838. She afterward married the Rev. Mr. Davis. Her
death took place in Ann Arbor. She was succeeded by Frances,
Slater's daughter, who became the wife of Cornelius Mason. Noonday often visited the school, and never let pass an opportunity to
chastize an unruly pupil. From Noonday the Rev. Slater obtained
his knowledge of the Ottawa language. Before preaching his sermon,
he first recited it to Noonday for criticism of pronunciation.
Noonday was also thoroughly in sympathy with ideals of the
federal government. He publically stated to the residents at "Gull
Corners" (Richland) that if the United States and England should
again engage in war he would fight with the former. "You need not
fear me or my tribe," he declared. He said the English had promised,
return for aid in the War of 1812, support for life. "They have not
kept their word. They never did anything for us after we had done
so much for them. We know you to be our true friends, and we shall
always be yours."
Though Noonday had no children of his own, he adopted several.
One Sabbath morning he brought an adopted son to the mission say



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ing: "This is the morning that the Savior rose from the dead, and I
wish to do something in memory of him."
The fact that the landlord of the Prairieville hotel was selling
whisky to the Indians brought complaint from Noonday to the Indian
agent in Detroit, who urged the residents of Gull Prairie to prosecute
such violations of the law. Joseph Merriman, of Yorkville, friend of
Slater and Indians, had the tavern-keeper arrested, but the latter pleaded
so earnestly for mercy that Mr. Slater settled with him after receiving
his pledge that he would sell no more liquor to Indians. The man immediately turned about and had the missionary and Mr. Merriman put
in jail in Hastings on the ground that they had no legal right to settle
with him. After spending the night in jail, Mr. Slater succeeded in
getting bail. Returning home he found a bondsman for Mr. Merriman. While awaiting the circuit court session in Hastings, Mr. Merriman received a note from Judge Ransom, requesting him to call at
his boarding place. The judge told him to go home when he pleased.
"I shall not allow your case to be called, and that will put a quietus on
the whole matter," he declared. (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol.
X, p. 164).
In accordance with treaty agreement, the government annually
paid the Indians from eight to ten dollars each. This distribution,
made at the mission annually in October, usually required about four
days. During this time crooks, whisky sellers and assorted blackguards congregated in the vicinity with the object of fleecing the red
men of these paltry remittances. On one occasion, the missionary
found nearly all of the Indians drunk and their money gone within
forty-eight hours after they received it. On another occasion, the
indignant missionary, displaying the courage of his ancestors who participated in the Boston "Tea Party," appeared on the scene with an ax,
smashed the liquor casks and routed the owners.
As game grew scarcer, the older Indians went farther north to
hunt. Establishment of a glove factory on Gull creek below the site
of the present hamlet of Yorkville, caused hunters to scour the country
for deer. The skinned carcasses were left in the woods to decay.
This unchecked slaughter of the Indian's principal source of food soon
exterminated the animals. "White man is hog and wants everything,"
commented one Indian.
Mr. Slater was frequently summoned to Washington to transact
business for his band. While there in 1852, Mrs. Slater became ill
and died. The Indians deeply mourned her loss. She had long been
their adviser in times of trouble and sorrow. She had nursed them
during illness, and had taught the women the convenient household
methods. In their households she had read to them the Bible, which
they had accepted as expression of the will of the Master of Life in
whom they had long believed. For two years, the missionary, with
the help of his daughter Emily, conducted the mission until it was
given up in I854, when they moved to Kalamazoo. Many of the Indians refused to leave the place, and Slater rode fourteen miles every
Sunday on his horse, "Jack," to preach to them.




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When the mission broke up, many of the Indians removed to
Oceana and Isabella counties whence others had migrated from southern Michigan in accordance with treaty provisions. Others joined
small tribal colonies in VanBuren county, at Athens and Bradley.
Noonday quietly lived in his log cabin until he died in the early
fifties at the age of ninety-eight. He was buried by the side of his
wife in the field south of the road running west of Holden's Corners.
Here lie over one hundred members of the mission in unmarked graves,
the plow passing over their moulding remains. A modest tombstone
erected over Noonday's resting place was long ago carried off piece
by piece by relic hunters. Noonday was visiting members of his
tribe near Thornapple lake, east of Hastings, when seized by his last
illness.
RECALLED NOONDAY'S LAST ILLNESS
The late James Cutler, of Hastings, recalled the incident as follows:
"About August I8, 1855, I looked up State street and witnessed an
astonishing sight. Several Indans were driving a pair of their ponies,
which were dragging into town what seemed to be a load of small
trees. When this strange outfit stopped in the village, I investigated
and found that it was a democrat wagon belonging to Mr. McClellan,
who lived 'near the Indian settlement. The wagon was completely
covered with arched branches underneath which lay Noonday, who
had been taken very ill. He was being tenderly cared for. The Indians, they said, were conveying him to the home of his good friend,
Selkirk, the missionary, who lived west of Gun lake. Noonday died
at Selkirk's soon afterward."
Leonard Slater, the devoted missionary, when the Rebellion broke
out, joined the Christian commission without salary, and was sent
to care for ill and dying soldiers at the army hospital in Nashville,
Tennessee. The work undermined his health, and he returned home
to die. The end came on April 27, I866. The few Indians residing
at the site of the old mission came to mourn at his burial, which
took place by the side of his wife on the sightly hilltop where years
before they had, as bridegroom and bride, filled with the enthusiasm
of youth, watched the golden sunlight playing on the tossing branches
of the primeval forest in the river valley.
GRISWOLD MISSION AT SELKIRK LAKE
With the intention of offering scattered bands of Indians an opportunity for social improvement, the federal government, in 1838 and
I839, granted subsidies to several religious denominations for establishment of missions. Bishop Samuel McCoskry, head of the western
diocese of the Episcopal church, immediately accepted this as an
opporunity to bring the benefits of Christianity to a miserable remnant of Potawatomies settled on a peninsula extending into Gun lake.
The chief was the once proud and powerful Saginaw, or Sagamaw,
colleague of Tecumseh, who as head of the Prairie Ronde village




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


had, in 1828, extended the hand of welcome to Basil Harrison, Kalamazoo county's first white settler. Here Saginaw lived in degradation. He had three wives, and his followers, drunk whenever opportunity offered, sought to fight off starvation by hunting, fishing,
and trapping. To this task Bishop McCoskry called the Rev. James
Selkirk in 1838. This missionary, who had the training of a man
of the world, was born in Claversack, New York, on November 15,
I790. Early in life he learned the cabinet-making trade. His greatest desire in life being to acquire an education, he studied at every
opportunity lessons which he pinned to the wall above his work
bench. At night school, he recited them. After learning his trade,
he visited France, England and Scotland. In the latter country he
became a thirty-third degree Free Mason. Returning home he studied
for the Methodist Episcopal ministry and was ordained. Later he
became an Episcopalian, took holy orders and was ordained by Bishop
Onderdonk, of New York. During the War of 1812, Mr. Selkirk
served as a private in a New York regiment. In I834, he came to
Niles, Michigan, where he built the first church. The church was
too poor to afford an organ, and the rector, bringing into play his
skill as cabinet-maker, built a satisfactory instrument, which he tuned
and played in his church.
The degredation of Chief Saginaw is thus described by a pioneer:
"I would say that the best specimen of Indian that I ever saw in
those days was Sag-a-maw, chief of the Potawatomies in and about
Kalamazoo county. He was a man of great and good sense, of noble
bearing, of great integrity, and in every way a dignified gentleman.
He was a great orator among his people. He was a true friend to
the whites. I have heard him make speeches to his people, and,
although I could not understand him, his manner and voice were very
interesting, and the effect of his speech on his people was very great.
He was the only Indian I ever saw who was polite and attentive to
his squaw. When they came to the store at Schoolcraft to do their
trading he would help her off her pony, and when they were ready
to return he would place his hand on the ground by the side of her
pony and she would place her foot in it and he would lift her with
apparent great ease into her saddle, and no white man could have
shown more respect and politeness. If he wished for any credit at
the store he had it and paid promptly. Any Indian that he told us it
was safe to trust was sure to pay us. He always told us never to
trust his son, Cha-na-ba, who was a very worthless fellow." * * *
They owned a reservation ten miles square which took in the eastern
part of Gourdneck Prairie. * * * The wigwams were all built
with a frame of poles covered with elm bark, with the exception of
the wigwam of Chief Sag-a-maw, which was built for him by his
friends, the early white settlers, of logs and covered with shakes."
-(Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. X, pp. I65-I66.)
In I836, Mr. Selkirk, at Bishop McCoskry's request, visited Saginaw and his band at Gun lake to offer them the benefits of a mission
home. The chief requested time for considering the proposal. At




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187


a second meeting on the north bank of the beautiful lake five miles
west of Gun lake, named in honor of the missionary, Selkirk lake,
the chief agreed to settle there. One hundred and sixty acres of land
were purchased from the government for mission purposes. During
the summer of I836, the missionary moved his family to his cabin
on the north shore of the lake. His family consisted of his wife and
his sons, James E., Jeremiah and Charles F. During the following
summer he erected his first dwelling. This was constructed of hewn
timbers set upright in morticed sills and plates. The first work of
the Indians was erection of wigwams and a large arbor or bower
house for religious services. The mission house was built the next
year. Near it was the shop in which the missionary made the necessary furniture.
SERMONS INTERPRETED BY MAW-BE-SE.
Mr. Selkirk's sermons were delivered in English and translated
into Ottawa by Maw-be-se, an Ottawa, whose American name was
Adoniram Judson. He had been educated by Lewis Cass and was for
some time employed in his service as an interpreter. Many pioneers
regularly attended services.
Saginaw was killed in a drunken quarrel in I845. He was succeeded as chief by Pen-ah-see, or "Gun Lake," whose career was ended
when Osneke, a squaw, poisoned him. He in turn was succeeded by
Shapequonk, or 'Big Thunder," who accompanied a portion of the
band in migration to Isabella county in the fifties.
The Rev. James Selkirk was regarded by the Indians as a modern
apostle. Under his tutorship the savages and their children learned the
ways of civilization. He died on October 5, 1877, and was buried
in the mission yard by the side of his father, Jeremiah Selkirk, a
soldier of the Revolution, who shared with his son the hardships of
mission life in the wilderness.
The following excerpts from the manuscript diary of the missionary give intimate glimpses of the difficulties he encountered in establishing his mission and of the numerous experiences, which must have
tried his courageous soul at times when men of far inferior type were
making headway in acquiring comforts and luxuries denied him. He
thus describes the visit Mr. Selkirk and Bishop McCoskry paid to
Chief Saginaw's band, the founding of the mission and glimpses of
life there are thus described in the diary:
STOP AT YANKEE SPRINGS TAVERN
"We left our horses and carriage at the tavern of Mr. Lewis (the
famous Yankee Springs tavern on the Kalamazoo-Grand Rapids stage
road), and went on foot about two miles and found them a poor,
miserable race. We talked to them also by an interpreter. The Rev.
Mr. Slater was with us. The old chief's name was Saginaw; he had
three wives with whom he lived, but he said but little to us and after
a short visit we returned to Lewis' and took our teams and went on




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


to the Rev. Mr. Slater's. We staid at his house that night and the
next morning the Bishop gave me directions how to proceed and I
started by wagon to Niles. In the first place, I hired a man by the
name of Nelson Poland to labor and I purchased a yoke of oxen and a
span of horses and made ready as fast as possible to move on to
ground that would suit my purpose.
"My father was with me at the time I started for Rev. Mr. Slater's.
I supposed that he would rather go home to Rochester in the state of
New York but I saw the old man look down and I asked him if he
would like to go among the Indians. He answered me that he should
like to go where I went. I told him to cheer up and that he should
go with us. This, at once, cheered the old gentleman and I never
saw a man more grateful than he was.
"I left my daughter in Niles, the only one in the family. We got
ready and started and we came on until night and found a good
prairie where we could feed our teams and fix our wagon for the night.
We built a large fire to cook our provisions and fixed our teams and
slept as happy as I ever had done in all my life. In the morning, after
breakfast we started again and got as far as Kalamazoo and staid
at this place for the night. The next morning we left for Gull Prairie
and arrived at Mr. Slater's about noon the same day. My oldest son
went with me. As my father played the clarinet, my son took the
violin and myself the French horn. We went out doors and began
to play a march and the Indians came running from their habitations
and gathered around us to hear our music. They were very much
pleased and we played about twenty tunes to their great amusement.
VISITS CHIEF SAGINAW
"My hired man went to work for Mr. Slater while I looked up the
land on which to settle. I left my family at Mr. Slater's and went
down to visit Saginaw and to look also for some good land that I
might purchase for the Indians. I found the old chief at his wigwam.
After I had given the old man a hand of tobacco which pleased him
very much, he stated there was excellent land about six miles from
that place. He stated that he would go with me and that I would see
for myself, but as yet he would make no further promises.
"I returned to Mr. Slater's and the next day I started for Saginaw's
camp and found him all right for a tramp in the woods. He had
about eight Indians with him all dressed in their true Indian style
with their rifles all charged so that if they came across game they
could shoot it and have something to eat. I had to leave them a short
time and ride around Gun lake. They took a canoe and paddled across
the lake while I rode around the north part. It did not take me a
great while to get alongside of them. They traveled directly west
about four miles from the lake and we arrived at another beautiful
lake at about twelve o'clock. They then struck a fire o'n the bank
of this sheet of water, the shores of which were dry and as beautiful as could be. I, in the meantime, took off my port bags in which
I had stowed a quantity of short cake. I distributed the cake among
them which was enough for us all a hearty meal.




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189


"After eating and lighting our pipes, we then attended to our
business. They showed me the beautiful country around and indeed,
the land was good and the water was excellent. I made up my mind
at once and resolved to purchase the land and establish the mission.
I found out the owners of the land, made a purchase sufficient to
establish the mission and took my family, together with my goods, and
started for the woods."
NO CHANCE TO BACK OUT
"I had undertaken the task and there was no such thing for me
to back out and when the Indians came on to the ground I should have
company enough. My time was set. My days were now numbered,
and if I was to do anything for the Indians in twenty years now was
the time for me to commence. So I had put down my foot that no
exertion should be wanting on my part to do the will of God. The
time had got along in July and I labored on the land in breaking up
some and fencing some. I had seen a few Indians and their chief
but he had not given his promise to come on the land and live with
me. He wished to con the matter over in his mind before he made
up his mind on the subject.
"I was busy about my new home and fixing up matters and things
as they occurred to me and had much to do on a new place to get
things to suit me and for the convenience of my wife who appeared
to be a little more reconciled to her lot than she had been. Indeed,
I deeply felt for her as it was a new matter for her to settle among
Indians who were in the habit of getting drunk whenever they could
get a chance. It was a matter of great trial to my wife. She had
wept and mourned over her lot with a deep feeling of horror at the
thought of leaving good society and having a people that was abandoned to the worst practice in the world and to engage in a cause
that seemed utterly impossible of success. This was indeed trusting
in God alone for help for if God was left out of the question nothing
could be done to hope for the least success.
ADDRESS SAGINAW S BAND
"I had given the Indians a small talk upon their situation. I had
told them of the changes that would occur and how good it would
be for them to be prepared, and in the month of September, Saginaw
with his band of men came over to see me and have another talk
with me on the subject. I endeavored to treat him and his people
well and made some preparation for dinner and after they had finished
their meal, I rose up and addressed them very affectionately upon
their condition and how the government viewed it and stated to them
that this was a mission established by the government to see if they
could not help them in such a way that it would raise them out of
all their troubles and thus prepare them for that world to which we
were all of us fast approaching.
After I got through the old chief got up and remarked that he
had never said that he would come on to this land but that now he
was prepared to say that he would come on, and he remarked that




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


what he said on this subject would come to pass. He came over once
more, but I had no interpreter and could say nothing to him. Finally,
in the month of November he came over Gun lake with all his band
and settled with us and staid as long as he lived.
"I was at work with Mr. Pollard when I first say them coming.
The men were on foot and they arranged themselves in single file
and the women and children were on horseback. There were about
sixty in all men, women and children. They marched up on to the
ground and unloaded their ponies. I then told Mr. Pollard to take
the ox team and wagon and carry their things near some excellent
springs of water. They saw me move their goods and were pleased
that I had done it. The men went to work at once and erected their
wigwams and the women built their fires and their camp was soon
smoking and their fires were blazing, and by the time that the sun
went down, they were all ready for rest. The next morning they
arose bright and early to look around them and see what was to be
done. I saw a number of them take down their rifles and fire them
and then wipe them out clean and concluded in my own mind that
they were going out to hunt some deer. They went out to hunt and
before night came in with plenty of venison and I saw at once that
they were very generous, for they distributed their meat around the
camp and I received also a share. We then employed a surveyor
who run out the land in ten-acre lots so that each could have a share
and move on to their lots and fence them in, so that each knew where
to go for their vegetables.
INDIANS BECOME INTOXICATED
"They behaved very well for a few days but as soon as they could
get some 'excutawawbo' I saw that they were greatly given up to
the habit of getting as they called it, 'squibby' and I saw at once that
the Indian traders were in the habit of getting liquor for them.
They had not as yet seen the evil of their doings. It was now fall of
the year and the Indians were expecting the pay-master along soon
and they said that they would have to go to the Grand Rapids in
order to get their money. I had so much to attend to that I declined
going to the payment and my people were gone about three weeks before they returned home. I soon learned that they had saved no
money and that their clothing was also gone, that they all looked
down and felt miserable. On Sunday, I talked to them on the subject and told them that there was a very great wrong somewhere and
that they must try to find out that wrong and correct it, for they were
very much worse off after they had their money than they were before they had any. They replied that they hoped if I would go with
them that they should be much better off than they were or than they
had been and that I would assist them and save their money. I now
had me a log house built and fixed it up for the winter. I also built
a stable for my horses and oxen and went out to look at the marshes
to find some hay. I traveled about four miles and found an excellent
marsh where I got hay enough to last me all winter. (Probably
Gun marsh.)




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191


INDIANS "GIVE ONE EAR TO GOD"
"We had as yet no house of worship and I visited their camps and
with my interpreter got along very well and I preached the gospel to
them and endeavored to persuade them to give up this vain world
and strive to be for God. But little good was affected among them
nor could anything be done for them so long as they would give
themselves up to drinking ardent spirits. We had affected something
thus far and we must wait and see what more could be done for this
people. The first thing was to do something for their living so we
calculated to break up for them some land and get some wheat in the
ground and to keep up our meetings and perhaps the Lord would
come among us and send his Holy Spirit and alarm those who were
out of the Ark of safety. The Indians attended meetings very well
for them and we had some hopes that in the spring of the year a
revival would commence and that God would have mercy upon the
Indians. But there was little done the first year among the people.
Some time after this they remarked that they had agreed to give God
one ear to hear what he said and keep one ear for themselves. But
now this one spoke and said he had resolved to give both ears to God
that he might speak all of his mind.
"The first winter had passed away and the spring opened beautifully and it was time for the Indians to go out to their sugar bush.
They wished to get there in time to make their troughs, and having all
things ready they went off apparently a happy people. There would
be time enough after their sugar work had got through with for
them to plant their corn and do other work as it might be necessary
for them to do. The women were altogether the most industrious
while the men attended to their guns and hunted in the woods for
deer and other game.
SELKIRK PREVENTS MURDER OF SQUAW
"The Indians found that I was very much opposed to their getging drunk on the ground that I had bought for them, so they would
pretend that they were going out to celebrate some of their rites but
I was aware that drunkenness was their object and was determined to
keep a look-out for them after they had gone three or four hours, so
I had my horse saddled one day after they had left the camp about
two hours and rode down in the woods where they had assembled.
I found them in a most sorrowful condition, drunk and fighting. One
of them took a long stick and struck at a squaw and had he not struck
a stick and broke his club he would have killed her. I ordered some
young men to arrest him and six of them clinched with him. They were
standing by the side of a large log about three feet through and they
tusseled together with all their might and finally all went down together on their heads beside the log and the first that got loose from
the others took the first Indian by the hair of his head and dragged
him off and so on until they had cleared away the whole pile of Indians.
They had now drank up most of their liquor and promised me that
they would finish and come home and be sober men. They supposed




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


that this was a cunning trick. I tow had found out their doings and
begged of them to leave the stuff alone. I perceived that they had
mended in some small degree and was in great hopes that they might
see the evil of their doings and reform.
NOONDAY VISITS SELKIRK S MISSION
"The second year Noonday came to pay us a visit from the Baptist
mission with two or three of their best men and he addressed the
Indians in a very affectionate manner. He also created another chief
and told him his duty and the duty also of his wife. Noonday had
been a convert for some time and was very anxious for all the Indians
that they also might partake of the blessings of the gospel. He stayed
with us three or four days and behaved like a gentleman. I was
truly pleased with him for he thought that there were other Christians
in the world beside Baptists. Indeed, the Indians appeared to like
our services well as we had them translated into their language.
"By this time I had an interpreter by the name of Mawbese who
was very good to interpret the English into Indian and he would keep
sober and was always handy on the ground to interpret when I needed
him. He is how gone to the World of Spirits. He stayed with us
until my time had almost expired and went with two Indians a hunting and they left him in the woods not a half a mile from his wigwam
where he died. He had a disease which probably after it had broken
on the outside gathered again and the second time it broke on the
inside and put an end to his life. Many sorrowed as he was a man
whom they appeared to like much and in a general way he kept himself sober so that he had no disgrace on the cause of religion.
SAGINAW LIKED MAWBESE
"I recollect that Saginaw, our old chief, was much pleased with
Mawbese as they were on the best terms. The old Indians that came
to the mission were in the war against us and were paid by Great
Britain for their services against us. I one day heard Noonday telling
our Chief Penasee what a time he once had with our men in the War
of I812. Two of the Indians had ascended a large tree well filled
with leaves; it was a beach tree and the firing commenced rapidly.
He said that he fired as fast as he could load his rifle, but soon he perceived that they saw the smoke of his rifle and fired a volley into the
tree and upon seeing this said Noonday, 'we made down the tree the
best we could, and as it happened we got clear from any shots.' I
thought this was lucky indeed. But now they saw differently.- They
found that we, Americans, had done right in standing our ground.
He remarked that we had a great man to lead us in the victory.
"The second year we cleared about twenty-two acres for their
wheat and got it in in good season, the Indians helping some to log
off the ground. The old Chief Saginaw endeavored to let the bottle
alone, but the poor old man had such a thirst for liquor that it seemed
almost impossible for him to break off. I recollect one day he had
been away from home and lay with his daughter under the fence drunk








VIEW OF BATTLE CREEK TAKEN IN 1865


BRIDGE AT NILES


CASS COUNTY PIONEER MEMORIAL CABIN
_  ^.  '_  _... i
i  L  'S- I'e:::00  W00


CASS AND BERRIEN COUNTY COURTHOUSES




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


193


and came to me in order to make his confession. I told him that I
was sorry to see him going so fast to ruin. He told me that he was
urged to drink, and if I said the word he would enter a prosecution
at once against the man who sold it to him. I remarked to him that
it was the only course that he could pursue. He went accordingly
and took a summons for the "Gent" and obtained a judgment and
costs against him for one hundred dollars. The man who sold the
liquor to him has gone also to render up his account.
OLD CHIEF SAGINAW MURDERED
"We endeavored to show the Indians what we wanted of them;
that it was not for our benefit that they labored but for themselves
and sometimes they would work like men and do all in their power
to do, for which I was sure to give them credit to encourage them
to go ahead. The old chief endeavored to assist me all in his power
and would leave liquor alone for some time; then again the temptation would come upon him like a whirlwind and he would give up to
it. He thought that he should conquer it at last but we had been
at the mission about five years and' he concluded it best for him to
be baptized as it might aid him much in living aright. Indeed, there
was nothing against the old man but this one sin and he said that
he would try to conquer it, but alas, for him.
"I think it was the latter part of February that the Indians left
their grounds for the sugar camps and Saginaw and a few Indians
moved to a camp across the beautiful lake that lies in front of my
house. They had been absent only a few days and one morning
Saginaw's daughter came across the lake and told me that her father
had been struck with a club in a drunken frolic and that his brains
were knocked out and she wished me to go and see him before he
died. I went accordingly across the lake to his wigwam and sure
enough there he lay with his skull broken in, he breathing out his
last breath. He knew nothing nor did he come to again. About
twelve o'clock he breathed his last.
"The chief's murderer was pointed out to me and he came up to
me and said something to me, but I found that he was much intoxicated. I, however, told him that I would get a coffin made and that
he must come with a hand-sleigh and bring the coffin and put the
chief in it as soon as he died and that he must bring the corpse on
a hand-sleigh up to the meeting house where I would preach to them
on the occasion.
"After they had brought the corpse up and gathered the Indians
together, the wife of Keokeesecum, the daughter of Saginaw, came
up to the coffin to look at her father. She stood and looked at him
for a moment and then uttered an unearthly screech and seemed in
great agony. She loved her father and it seemed like death for her
to part with him.
MURDER IS SELKIRK'S SERMON SUBJECT          '
"The Indians gathered together and I preached to them on the
subject and I trust that many of them laid it to heart. The son-in



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


law by the name of Keokeesecum concluded that he would drink no
more liquor and I believe that he kept well his word for he and his
wife made a profession of religion and joined the church. They endeavored to settle the matter of their father's death for it was a sonin-law of the old chief by the name of Shuamus that struck the fatal
blow. He was shortly afterwards imprisoned, but they found no bill
against him. He lived only about one year after he-had murdered his
father-in-law."
"The death of Saginaw was a sore affliction to us all for he took
such a liking to us all that we could not help loving the old man for
there was scarcely a day that he did not visit us and he would bring
with him a little boy by the name of Jacob, his grandson, and was much
pleased with the little lad and when we gave him something to eat,
he would always give his grandson a part and he was a good natured
man even when he was drunk and would harm no one.
"I had to get my provisions from Kalamazoo. The roads were
now through the woods and it would take me until late at night to
get a load home. Sometimes my wagon would break and I would
leave all in the road and come home in the night and the next day
send the oxen down to haul home the wagon and then would have
to build a log heap in order to fix my tire.
NO SALARY DURING ONE YEAR
"I had established prayer meetings which I held twice a week and
the Indians were always there ready to assist me. All went on well
at the mission but my pay was hindered, the Bishop having charge
of it. I was one year without any money and when the Bishop came
to see me I had nothing to eat.
"It was our duty to live economically, as all did, and I labored
with all the strength that I had in order to get along in the world
as we ought. The Indians were good hunters and brought us in
venison. They would often go to Gun lake and fetch us large pickerel.
If the Bishop were coming, I would tell them that if they would
bring me a large fat turkey, I would pay them well for their trouble.
They were sure to comply. They began to see their privileges, and
their conduct was much changed. They attended regular prayer meetings, which was a great help to them, and some of them were happy
in their Savior. They saw there was true happiness in the service
of God and they longed to have all their people taste how good and
gracious the Lord was. The women sang delightfully and times were
truly good with us. Now they are mostly moved away from us.
They think back and rejoice in God for His great mercies toward
them. They can now see how hard I had labored for their good and
they write me and give me thanks for my labor in their behalf.
"This has been called by all who were acquainted with it an excellent mission and I am bold to say that the Indians as a body have
done better than any other mission got up among them. It was indeed
a hard stand at the first on account of their loving ardent spirits, but




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by degrees it wore away so that they evidently saw their duty. We
had the most hopes for younger lads who were coming up to get
them to avoid the horrible practice of drinking liquor, and our success
was excellent.
"I built a church or rather took a house that I had built for my
own family and fitted it up for a meeting house which answered for
a season remarkably well, although we could not make it as light
as we needed for fear that the boys would throw stones and break
the glass. Therefore, we had no windows in the front part. The
bishop furnished us with a good organ so that when we held service
the chants went off beautifully in the Indian language."
ME-SHIM-MEN-CONING MISSION
The principal village in the late thirties of the Indians still remaining in the Grand and Thornapple river valleys was Me-shim-menconing, located on both sides of the Grand river at the mouth of
Sebewa creek in Danby township, Ionia county, just below a large
island. The population of this village was estimated by Hall J. Ingalls, who knew the Indians from boyhood, at six hundred. Here
were the last remnants of once powerful tribes. On the east side of
the river resided the Potawatomi chief, Anawando, and his followers. On the west side were pitched the wigwams of Nawgunequaw,
the Chippewa, and his tribal supporters. Along each side of the
river, so close that their green glooms cast shadows on the waters,
were groves of thick-branched maple trees, which were dotted with
sugar camps in the spring.
Me-shim-men-conig was one of the few permanent Indian towns
in southern Michigan. With an eye that proved they appreciated
beauty of natural scenery, the red man had correctly named it "Pleasant valley along the banks of a broad waterway." In the rich bottom
lands, these Indians, known for their adherence to ancient customs,
planted their corn and vegetables. For their carousals they were
known far and wide. Some of these sprees in which men, women
and children are said to have participated, often lasted several days.
Far into the night the tom tom was pounded until the last red man
was too drunk to dance any more. Then followed the sleeps that
ended in sobriety. In drunken brawls, many persons were injured,
and several killed. One tragedy, however, had a sobering effect on
the community, and probably brought the chiefs to a realization of
the degree of degredation into which their followers had sunken.
Kutnewedo, son of the Potawatomi chief, and Chemindewa, son of
the Chippewa leader, were warm friends. Both were nearly of the
same age. In the fall of I839, the Indians returned from the annual
payment in Grand Rapids, and immediately celebrated the event with
a great spree under some oaks on the west side of the river. They
built a great fire, round which they danced, to the rhythmic beating
of the tom tom. During the carousal, the friends, Kutnewedo and
Chemindewa, both destined to become future chiefs, quarreled, and
Chemindewa, being the stronger, threw Kutnewedo into the fire where




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he burned to death. When the Indians became sober they called a
council, found Chemindewa guilty and banished him. Deprived of
everything he owned except the clothes he wore, a pair of extra
moccasins and a blanket he was turned out of the village. When he
left his face was daubed with death colors: black and red; for the
nearest of kin of the murdered man, according to Indian law, had
the right to kill the slayer on sight.
SMALLPOX KILLS MANY INDIANS
Misfortune again smote the Indians in the fall of 1841, when,
following return from another journey to Grand Rapids, smallpox
broke out in the villages and swept away all but one hundred and
fifty of their number. The scenes witnessed in the days of suffering
were never forgotten, even among the white pioneers of the region.
Indians, raving with delirium, leaped into the river and were drowned.
For days the dead lay unburied. After the epidemic, they looked
about for their chiefs. There were none. Nor was there anyone left
to qualify for chief of the Potawatomies, but two Chippewas were
found eligible for these high offices. Medayaemack and his brother,
Menawquet, were installed with aboriginal ceremonies.
If contact with the white man had brought degradation to these
Indians, a new association was to bring to them the supreme gift
of the white race-that of the Christian religion. At Charlotte in
I846, some of them heard preach at a camp meeting the Rev. Manassah Hickey, an enthusiastic young Methodist Episcopal pastor, destined to become a modern apostle among the red men. These hearers
returned to the pagan stronghold converted, and when the missionary
shortly afterward appeared in Me-shim-ne-coning, he was not unknown. Accompanied by Mary Mandoka, of the Nottawa mission,
and Joseph, his interpreters, the Rev. Mr. Hickey arrived among the
pagans while they were in the midst of a carousal. They at first
resented his appearance, but the missionary, through his interpreters,
announced his good intentions, and mollified, they consented to hear
him preach. They were so impressed with the white man's message,
that they invited him to come again. The plea of "Ah-ne-me-ke-ahnine," the "Thundering Man," had touched their hearts and their
good sense. He finally persuaded them to renounce their primitive
manner of living and to take up farming and learn the ways of civilization.
Hickey persuaded the chiefs to buy a tract of one hundred and
sixty acres of land in the ox-bow of the river a short distance from
the village. The land was purchased from Captain Fitch, who lived
near Lyons. At first payment he accepted five ponies. The balance
was paid in specie at the three following annual payments to the
Indians.
Among the other leaders of the band who favored moving to the
new site were: Onewanda, Nacquet, Negumwatin, Sisshebee, Nikkenashawa, Whiskemuk, Pashkik, Squagun, Thargee, Chedskunk.




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Among them also was Chief Sawba, a familiar figure in early Barry and
Eaton county history.
MR. HICKEY CARRIES SURVEYOR'S CHAIN
The Rev. Mr. Hickey carried the chain as a surveyor from Vermont cut the land into small parcels. A street was laid through the
center of the land. At the end of the street was to be located the
mission house and school. Each lot had river frontage for canoe
landing. A contract was let to John David for erection of eleven
log houses for which the Indians were to pay in ponies, furs and
money received at annual government payments.
Where to obtain funds for building the mission house was something that puzzled the missionary. Out of an annual salary of one
hundred and fifty dollars, the pastor was supposed to board and
clothe himself, buy books necessary to keep him efficient in his work,
and also to feed and shoe his faithful horse. No matter how distasteful it might have seemed for a man who had chosen as his life-work
the lofty ambition of saving men's souls, he was forced to depend for
a portion of his food and shelter on the charity of his fellowmen,
concerning which he said, "Had it not been for the hospitality, magnanimity and generosity of the pioneer settlers through whose neighborhoods I traveled, and in whose school-houses I very often preached,
I could not have succeeded in my missionary work."
Deciding to make an appeal in the neighborhood for aid, the Rev.
Mr. Hickey held an evening religious service in a schoolhouse near
Portland and as a result men volunteered to hold a "chopping bee"
and cut logs for the mission house. The women in the congregation
agreed to furnish a dinner of pork and beans, bread and butter. Merchants in the town donated nails and glass, lumber and lime. How
the "sinners" helped also is related in an amusing account by the
missionary.
"One George Taylor, who had a sawmill in the village, became
very much enraged when I asked him for aid in the enterprise," said
Mr. Hickey, "and declared the Indians were a drunken, lazy and
thievish set, saying it was useless to try to reform and civilize them.
He refused aid, but changed his mind and in the presence of a crowd
in a store made the following proposition: 'Now, though I have
no faith in your cause, yet I will agree to give five hundred feet of
lumber for your house, if you will preach here a sermon for me to
such a crowd or audience as I shall select for you; there shall not
be a single Christian, or professor of religion, but I will invite all
the Sabbath-breakers, profane swearers, drunkards and gamblers for
you to preach to.' I replied: 'I will agree to preach the sermon.
No matter to me how hard a crowd of sinners you gather, so long
as they are one step this side of the pit.'"
"NO CHRISTIAN MAY ATTEND"
Mr. Taylor immediately posted about the village notices that
"Missionary Hickey will preach a sermon at the schoolhouse next




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Wednesday night to all sinners and hard-cases, and they, one and all,
are invited to come and hear him. No Christian, or professor of
religion, is to be present."
"Wednesday night came and I rode into the village directly to
Mr. Taylor's door," writes the missionary. "He had my horse cared
for, and invited me into his house. I was offered supper, but declined to eat until after the sermon. We walked to the store where
Mr. Taylor purchased two pounds of candles which he took to the
schoolhouse for light. He had already, during the day, prepared
pioneer, wooden candlesticks, which were hung about the schoolhouse.
Mr. Taylor had his candles all lighted, which was an exception in
those days, for often we had to preach with very few lights. The
schoolhouse was crowded with people of all ages. When Mr. Taylor
and I were walking up the hill toward the schoolhouse, he said:
'Now, Mr. Hickey, you will have many of the hardest cases out
tonight to hear you, and I want you to preach to them; never mind
me, give it to them the best you know how,' I replied: 'Mr. Taylor,
I am to preach this sermon to you, and for you, for which you are
to give five hundred feet of lumber.' Mr. Taylor said: 'Give me
the introduction, and then preach to the crowd.' I replied: 'I shall
give you introduction and sermon.'"
"When the house was filled, I asked Mr. Taylor over to the desk,
and asked him: 'Who will do the singing?' He replied, 'Give us oldfashioned Methodist hymns.' We did and the singing was heartily
done.
"We were then young in the ministry, had only been preaching
three years, and while the audience was singing, we took in the situation. As we looked out over the assembly and saw the hardest class
of sinners in all that region met to hear us preach, our knees trembled and smote together, but during the opening prayer He who
called me from the plow on my father's farm, and who eighteen hundred years ago said to His disciples, 'Lo! I am with you always,'
came near with His divine power and took fear from our heart. We
preached with much zeal, and the audience was moved to tears.
"Sermon over, benediction pronounced, Mr. Taylor took me by
the hand and said, 'Missionary, did you ever see a better behaved
congregation? If a dog of them had lifted his tongue I would have
threshed the floor with him.'
"While Mr. Taylor was speaking thus to me, Mr. VanHorn, who
had not been to any religious meetings for seven years-except funerals-said: 'Taylor, do you expect to get off by paying only five
hundred feet of lumber for such a sermon as that?'
"'Well, what is that to you? I pay for this,' replied Taylor.
'Mr. VanHorn, turning to me said: 'Well, I myself will give all
the brick and lime for the chimneys and to point up that log mission
house.'




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GAMBLER AIDS IN CHURCH BUILDING
"I thanked him. In due time he furnished the brick and lime he
had pledged. Mr. William Arms, standing by, said: 'Mr. Hickey, I
will make all the window-sash for your mission house.' This was
before machinery was invented, or at least used in that locality to
make window-sash, and he did all the work with his own hands.
He was a good mechanic, but was said to be the shrewdest card-player
and gambler in Portland."
Many voluntary contributions of materials came from people of
the vicinity, and work on the mission house progressed. The missionary personally worked at shingling and floor laying until his
trousers were worn through at the knees. As he had no change of
clothing nearer than Battle Creek, seventy miles away, he preached
in the same pantaloons at mission, white people coming many miles
to the services.
'I had to tie my handkerchief around my knee to cover the hole
in my pants, and thus preached with my knee bandaged," wrote the
missionary, "but, whether I limped or not during my sermon I cannot
tell, and, as my interpreter is now dead, I cannot ask him."
Under direction of Hickey, the Indians were taught the rudiments
of farming. The missionary appealed to friends of the church for
funds. Through financial assistance of a benevolent woman in New
York, he was enabled to erect a double log house which served as
church and school. Here John Compton taught the Indian children.
The Indians became devotees of Christianity. In fervency they were
seldom equaled by the white people of the neighborhood. Compton,
in order to reach the school, often waded across the river, and the
Indians named him "Te-cum-a-gaw-shee," meaning "Wade through
the water."
Into this community of satisfied red men came, to end his days, the
ancient Chief Okemos, a chief of great renown, who bore on his head
scars made by the "Long Knives" in the battle of Sandusky. He
was born at or near Knaggs' Station on the Shiawassee river about
I775. He was a Chippewa and claimed to be nephew of Pontiac.
It is believed he took the war path in I79I. Okemos and his band
resided near the place of his birth until 1837, when smallpox broke
out and the steady influx of settlers into the hunting grounds scattered the game. Okemos' tribesmen then left for other parts of the
country, and the chief became a mendicant, dependent on the pioneers
for many a hearty meal for which he was grateful.
OKEMOS CARRIED SCALPING KNIFE
Okemos was not a warrior of imposing presence. He was about
five feet four inches tall, lithe, active and intelligent and was undoubtedly brave. He was not an eloquent speaker. Before his band was
scattered his usual costume consisted of a blanket coat, the usual
Indian leggings, a belt in which was stuck a steel pipe-hatchet, or
tomahawk, and to which was attached a sheath containing a heavy,




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long, bone-handled British hunting or scalping knife. On his cheeks,
forehead and over his eyes were daubs of vermilion paint. His headgear consisted of a shawl wound into a turban. During his last years
Okemos walked with quick, elastic steps.
Okemos nearly lost his life in the battle at Sandusky, and to this
encounter he owed his chieftainship. In narrating this experience,
Okemos said:
"Myself and cousin, Man-a-to-corb-way, with sixteen other braves
enlisted under the British flag, formed a scouting party and marched
from the River Raisin to the vicinity of Sandusky, where one morning we saw twenty cavalrymen approaching us. Our ambush was
on a slight ridge with brush in front. Although outnumbered by
two, we concluded we could cripple the Americans at the first fire
and then rush upon them with the tomahawk and finish their destruction. We waited until they were so near we could count the
buttons. on their coats and fired into them."
The cavalrymen, with drawn sabres, rushed upon the Indians,
cleaving heads right and left. Okemos said he and his cousin fought
side by side, dodging from one cover to another. Within ten minutes
after the Indians fired the first shot, the sound of a bugle echoed
through the woods, and declared Okemos, "The road and woods were
filled with cavalrymen. The plumes on their hats looked like a flock
of thousands of pigeons just hovering for a flight."
The Indians were surrounded and cut down to the last man. Not
one escaped the charge of the American cavalry, which left all for
dead. Okemos and his cousin had their heads cut open and bodies
pierced, for, said Okemos, the Americans leaned forward from their
horses and pierced the chests of all the fallen Indians in order to make
sure none would be left alive. Several days after the battle the squaws
ventured on the field and examined the corpses strewn about. When
they discovered signs of life in Okemos and his cousin, the women
carried them in litters to a place of safety and nursed them. "All
knowledge had ceased many moons before Okemos regained his
senses," he declared.
WAS IN BATTLE OF THE THAMES
Being considered a favorite of the Great Spirit who had preserved
his life, Okemos was revered by the Indians and made a chief. He
had also participated in the battle of the Thames in which Tecumseh
lost his life and the power of the Indians was broken. Said Mr.
Hickey:
"Okemos was second in command under Tecumseh at the battle
of the Thames. He saw Tecumseh fall, and was himself wounded
in this battle. When Okemos camped with us he wore a large silver
ring in his nose. He and I argued three or four hours that Sunday
night while others slept, but I believe he lived and died a pagan.
On Monday morning, our camp broke up and we parted."
It was after Hickey left Me-shim-men-coning that Okemos, lonely
and homeless, spent much of his time there. Okemos preferred to




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abide by the religion of his ancestors. Among the red men he was
an honored figure. Among the white men the old chief was regarded
with kindness, and treated hospitably. A few years before his death
he relinquished his chieftainship to his son John.
Not far from the mission apple orchard, and only a short distance
from the brink of a high bluff overlooking a sudden, splendid, silvery
stretch of the Grand-the Owashtenong, as the Indians called it-are
two cemeteries one rod apart. In one are buried fifteen Christian
Indians; in the other lie thirteen who died with their eyes turned
toward the Happy Hunting Grounds. Among the latter lie the bones
of Okemos. He was "gathered to his fathers" and buried there December 5, I858. Mr. Ingalls recalled that the chief's guns, belts, hunting
knife, pipe and tobacco, together with bird's wings and provisions,
were buried with him in a rude coffin, and that, in accordance with
tribal rites, tobacco was burned at the grave.
He said also that the missionary tried hard to convert Okemos,
but the chief's heart hardened, and when asked to become a Christian
responded with "Kaw," meaning no. His eyes were dull and he could
not see, he told the missionary.
Thornapple lake was the great rendezvous for red men of the
various tribes. On its shores wigwams were always pitched. About
ten miles west by south of Me-shim-men-coning lie bodies of water
which are now called Tupper and Jordan lakes, forming the headwaters of the Little Thornapple river, which is itself the great southeastern branch of the Grand. Five miles south and east of Jordan
lake, lying on the border of what are now Barry and Eaton counties,
is a tamarac-surrounded lake with an island in the middle. Today
this is called Sawba lake. It is the northermost of a series of lakes
forming the headwaters of a picturesque little stream known to the
Indians as the Nag-wah-tick, to the white men as Mud creek. This
stream empties into Thornapple lake eight miles from Swaba lake.
Though the headwaters of the Little Thornapple and the Nag-wahtick are only a few miles apart, they merge with the waters of the
Thornapple, or So-wan-quesake, nearly twenty-five miles from one
another. Between Me-shim-men-coning and the headwaters of these
streams lay mile after mile of slightly rolling land, heavily timbered
with beech and maple trees, through the glooms of which passed
deepy-worn trails. Over them Indians were constantly passing.
SAWBA ONE OF THE LAST CHIEFS
Of the last few Indians remaining in the vicinity of Jordan and
Sawba lakes was Chief Sawba. Constantly traveling up and down
the streams and over trails, he became noted for his sociability with
the white settlers. He was a Chippewa, and was described as tall,
raw-boned and forbidding in appearance. His coarse, black hair was
sometimes gathered in strands and tied with red ribbon or a piece
of calico. His appearance was made comical by a high, silk hat on
which was fastened a band of bright tin as an insignia of sovereignty.
Sawba was not a favorite with pioneer women, for whenever he




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found the men were absent from a pioneer cabin, he terrorized the
women by ransacking the cupboard and food supply, eating amazing
quantities.
During his visits in Vermontville, Sawba became enamored of
Miss Naomi Dickinson, and desired to have her for a squaw. She
treated his advances with disdain, however, and the love-sick chief
then appealed to her father, offering him twenty ponies for Naomi,
but again his attempt to win a white wife failed.
In I845, it is recorded that Sawba buried his wife and her father
on the north shore of Tupper lake. The aged man was buried in
the ground, but the body of the squaw, bedecked with beads and ornaments, was placed in a sitting position within a pen of logs. Beside
the body was a brass kettle, and some food to sustain her on the
journey in the spirit land. School children and others often looked
at the corpse. Eventually some of the children took the beads, two
girls took the brass breastplate, nose-rings, ear-rings and ornaments.
Sawba, coming a long distance to visit the graves, discovered the acts
of vandalism, and quietly stalked into the schoolhouse where he
silently scrutinized the girls, who were greatly terrified. He departed
as quietly as he had come. He repaired the log pen about his wife's
body, and was never again seen in that locality where he had roamed
many years. The pen fell in ruins, and the bones of the dead were
scattered.
It is recorded by Indians in the!north that "Old Chief Sawba was
killed by white people hear Mt. Pleasant shortly after the Civil war."
REV. WHITE SUCCEEDS HICKEY
Under supervision of the Rev. Manassah Hickey and John Compton,
the Indians of Me-shim-men-coning prospered. The red men occupied
forty-nine log cabins, each of which was located on a five-acre tract
of land. Hickey was called into other fields to labor, and the Rev.
Mr. White succeeded him. His wife died and he married one of
the young teachers in the Indian school and they took up their residence in the mission-house. A new church and schoolhouse were
erected. It is recalled that a Rev. Mr. Shaw, in making gestures while
delivering the dedicatory sermon, accidentally knocked a lamp from
the pulpit, and that the Indian interpreter through whom he was
preaching, conscientiously reproduced the swing of the arm which
swept off the lamp.
By act of Congress in 1856, the Indians were given lands in Isabella county, and it was decided to abandon the Indian town of
Meshim-men-coning. Medayaemack and Menawquet, therefore, sold
the land in the ox-bow of the "Pleasant valley along the banks of a
broad waterway," and the last of the red men extinguished their fires
and left forever these baunks of the Owashtenong where slept their
dead and where lingered memories of their former power. Some went
to the lands farther north; others joined the remnants of Potawatomies
and Chippewas residing in Van Buren county.




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NOTTAWA MISSION IN CALHOUN COUNTY
Among the Potawatomies who had succeeded in escaping deportation with other Indians to the west were a few scattered families
which settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land near the site of
the village of Athens in Calhoun county. This land was considered
a portion of Nottawa-sepe Prairie. In this settlement, the Methodist
Episcopal church established in I840 a mission. A large log church
and schoolhouse were erected. The Indians' huts were made of poles
covered with "shakes." One of the first pastors assigned to this
station was the Rev. Manassah Hickey, who also preached at Thornapple lake and Me-shim-men-coning on the Grand river. Hickey,
assisted by his sister and a teacher named Crane, conducted the church
and school.
The chief of this settlement was John Ma-gua-go, described by
the early settlers as a man of excellent character. Mar-chee, a "medicine woman" in the tribe, was his sister. She was exceptionally beautiful in her younger days. Her second husband was Captain Hatch,
the St. Joseph county Indian trader. After they separated, she married Buel Holcdmb, from whom she also separated, though they lived
together many years. Mar-chee was called as a doctor into the homes
of many white settlers, especially those residing near Dry Prairie,
and in the neighborhood of the mission. Her daughter, Pont-sig-na,
by her Indian husband, was educated in Albion, but died before she
was twenty years old.
MARY MANDOKA INTERPRETED SERMON
The Rev. Manassah Hickey had for interpretress Mary Mandoka, a
comely Indian woman about thirty years of age. She had been educated in Albion, and she accompanied the missionary on his journeys
to Thornapple lake where she also taught in the Indian school.
An interesting glimpse of Mary Mandoka as she appeared in the
mission church in the spring of 1847 follows:
"We had got there early, and going into the log chapel seated
ourselves and waited the gathering of the dusky congregation. Soon
an Indian came in, and taking down a long tin horn that hung behind
the door, he stepped out in front of the chapel and wound it so loudly
and musically that we could hear the twanging notes peal out, whisk
off and die away in the distant arcades of the forest. Repeating this
two or three times, he stepped back into the chapel and hung up his
horn again. Soon these children of the forest began to assemble in
the rude log church. Quietly, with the careful Indian tread, old and
young came in and took seats. Some half hour later the Indian who
had given the first summons to the church on the horn took the instrument, and, stepping to the front of the door, wound it as he had
done before. The flock all assembled, Hickey took his stand by a
small table, and Mary took a seat in a chair by his side, ready for her
work.- They had hymn books and the New Testament, I believe, in
the Indian language. To hear these quiet worshippers sing:
"'Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise.'




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in the Potawatomi language, with its liquid accent and beautiful monosyllabic distinctness, when uttered by Indian lips, was a great pleasure
to us. An Indian once said to Hickey: 'White men don't sing that
hymn right. Indian would sing:
"'Oh, for ten thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise.'
"After the hymns and the prayer, Mr. Hickey began his sermon.
He would deliver a sentence in English and then pause until Mary repeated it to the Indians in their own tongue. It was very interesting
to us to sit in that room, the quiet of which seemed like the stillness
of the forest about us. Very interesting, I say, to listen to Hickey's
sonorous voice, as he pronounced his sermon, paragraph at a time in
distinct English, and then listen to the same sermon given forth again
and again by Mary's musical voice in the beautiful Indian language.
As Hickey became animated, or emotional, his interpretress would also,
until at times her feelings would so overpower her, that her head
would fall back against the wall, her voice grow weaker, till her lips
would move with no audible sound. Hickey would then stop until
Mary revived. Then he would go on as before.
INDIANS WERE GIFTED LISTENERS
"Of the two sermons, his to the whites in English, and Mary's to
the Potawatomies in Indian, I think Mary's was the most effective.
She had the best listeners, and then her Indian words as they left her
lips went more effectually to the hearts of her audience than Hickey's
did to his because the Indians are more gifted as listeners. From the
old patriarch of eighty years to the little Indian boy or girl, they
seemed to feel that they were in the house of God. The very moment they entered the door of the chapel, worship began. They were
in the presence of their Creator. They are worshippers to the menor
born.
"Mary left her husband, Man-do-ka, and went with another Indian
to Canada. Mary had a sister named, Sarah, who was also educated
in Albion. She belonged to the Slater mission, and was, I believe,
interpretress for Rev. Slater. * * * Sarah was much more accomplished in education and the graces of our schools and society than
was Mary. She was younger, and like Mary, was comely, but a more
attractive woman. * * * Bam-me-rno-de-no-kaid, signifying 'Storm
Cloud,' came here from Canada, where he was born, brought up and
educated as a Wesleyan Methodist. He was a government interpreter
and business agent for the Potawatomies. He was highly esteemed
by the Indians of the Nottawa mission. He did not live here, only
came when business required. His home was with the Ottawas at
Wayland, Allegan county. Jackson was a Chippewa. * * * He
was better acquainted with the history and traditions of the Indians
in Michigan than any other person in Michigan. He became dissipated
some time before he died in Holland." (A. D. P. Van Buren, Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. X, pp. 148-152).




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205


THE THORNAPPLE MISSION
With the intention of establishing a mission among the Indians at
Thornapple lake, the Rev. Manassah Hickey in the summer of 1848
visited them and asked of Packy-ty-yak permission to preach. Through
the missionary's interpreter, the chief said he would call his men together. He assembled all that his wigwam would hold. When Hickey
was about to begin service, the chief demanded:
"Where is the tobacco for us to smoke?"
When told the minister had none he replied:
"We shall not listen to you unless you furnish tobacco to fill our
pipes so we make smoke while you speak."
All then rose and filed out of the wigwam.
The missionary hired a boy to obtain some tobacco in Hastings six
miles away. With their pipes filled the Indians again sat down to
listen to the missionary.
"They seemed most of them very respectful," wrote the missionary.
"I never furnished tobacco more than once or twice to Indians to secure their attention. This custom among them was strong. When
any stranger appeared among them with his interpreter and requested
the chief to call his people together and listen to him they always
said, 'Furnish the tobacco!'"
In I849, the pagan Thornapple lake Indians attended a camp meeting in Eaton county about fifteen miles southwest of the lake. Here
were assembled converted Indians from the Nottawa mission and
from Me-shim-men-coning. Among the red men from Barry county
converted was Chief As-que-sah, who afterward became a preacher.
The old chief Packy-ty-yak refused to leave his village, but sent
a messenger summoning Hickey to see him, saying: "I am very sick.
I want to see you in my wigwam."
The camp meeting was then closing, and the missionary, accompanied by the Rev. Fitch, traveled to Thornapple. At two o'clock in
the morning they arrived at the home of a pioneer named Mudge, who
entertained them until morning. In the meantime the Indians who
were returning from the camp meeting had traveled all night and
they were at the old chief's wigwam to welcome the missionary.
"We found Packy-ty-yak as shrewd and cunning as an old fox,"
said the missionary. "We shook hands with him and sat down to
listen to his speech, which was about as follows:
OLD CHIEF KEEPS HIS RELIGION
"'My white brothers, I was very sick when I sent for you, but as
I lay here on my bed by great-grandfather came to see me from way
off beyond the setting sun. He came into my wigwam, took out his
pipe, sat down there beyond the fire, lighted his pipe, began to smoke
and talk to me, saying very earnestly, 'My grandson, tomorrow two
white men will come to visit you and ask you to give up your own
religion and take the white man's religion. Now my grandson, you
must not change your religion, but if your children in this village



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the younger Indians, want to change and take the white man's religion,
let them do it, but you must die in the religion of your fathers and
grandfathers who have gone beyond the setting sun to live where you
soon must come. *   * *   Why, there is not so much difference in
the white man's religion and the Indian's religion. The Indian religion says we must not steal; says also we must be kind to the sick
among us, as your religion says the same. You white people have
your great camp meetings; we Indians have our war dances, our
green-corn dances and we have as good times in our Great Feasts as
you do at your camp meetings, and there is not much difference in
the two religions.'"
Though the missionaries argued against the chief's statements, he
refused to accept Christianity. The missionary writing on August
I9, I895, declared he believed that Packy-ty-yak died a pagan. In this
he was wrong. The old chief was converted about I854.
By the side of the head-spring of a rivulet, which empties into the
Thornapple river about three hundred yards away, a mission church
and log school were erected. Here Hickey, with his interpreter and
Mary Ma'ndoka conducted services. Mary taught in the mission school
which was attended by white children as well as red.
The fine appearance of Mary attracted great attention among the
settlers of Hastings. Mrs. Mary Gear, one of the earliest pioneers,
thus recalled her: "She used to come here on her pony with other
Indians. They would ride up to Herman I. Kappen's store and hitch
their animals to the railing. There was a picket fence near the store
and four or five steps led up to the entrance. This Indian woman wore
a skirt of black broadcloth, trimmed on the bottom with colored beads
and porcupine quills. Her moccasins were similarly ornamented. She
'wore a pure white blanket, and her long black hair hung down her
back in one long braid."
The mission, however, was in existence only a few years. During
that time, however, many well-known missionaries preached in the
church. Among them was the Rev. James Selkirk, of the Griswold
Episcopalian mission west of Gun lake; also the Rev. T. T. Clark, the
Rev. Mr. Thomas and Joseph Elliott, his interpreter, Chief As-que-sah
and "Brother" Resin Sap.
The mission, which stood in the rear of a beautiful sloping shore
covered with a walnut grove at a point a mile below the lake called
Indian landing, fell into decay. A heap of stones and a few scraggly
apple trees mark the site. The spring, however, continues as it has
for many decades, to contribute its steady stream of crystal-clear
water to the nearby river.
HICKEY LEAD A LONG LIFE OF USEFULNESS
A long life of usefulness lay before the Rev. Manassah Hickey,
who had freed the Indians from degredation and made them selfrespecting and inspired them with a desire to become civilized. He
held pastorates in Detroit and neighboring cities, and was then made
successively presiding elder of the districts of Port Huron, Detroit




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


2,07


and Flint. In the latter city, he was thrown from a carriage and so
severely injured his physicians declared he could not with safety resume ministerial work. This happened in 1872. Returning to Detroit, Mr. Hickey engaged in an insurance business. In 1878 and
1879, he was public librarian of Detroit. Though denied the privilege
of following his chosen profession, Mr. Hickey, whenever possible,
attended Methodist Episcopal conferences and participated in discussiots. He also preached innumerable funeral sermons and lightened
the burdens of many Detroit pastors. He was a lifelong friend and
admirer of General Lewis Cass. On two occasions he opened Democratic state conventions with prayer.
Mr. Hickey was born on September 7, 1820, in Arcadia, New York,
and was brought at an early age by his parents to Troy, Oakland
county, where he grew to manhood. Converted at an early age, he
decided to prepare himself for the ministry. After studying in Albion
College where he was a member of the first class in Greek, he became
a circuit rider. From I845 to 1849, he labored among the Indians of
Nottawa, Thornapple lake, Meshin-men-.coning and the Saginaw valley.
"The whisky men were the greatest obstacles we had in converting
the Indians," said Mr. Hickey. "They tried to prejudice the red
men against us, and even told them that the clothes which we brought
to the children were infected with smallpox. But we got the best of
them in the end."
Mr. Hickey was married in I852 in Ann Arbor to Miss Sarah Ann
Bush. He died January 2, I903, in Detroit, aged eighty-two years.
The solemn impressions made upon his heart by his mother, who died
while he was a young boy, never left him. It was this influence which
ultimately resulted in his conversion to Christianity. As the good
missionary was about to leave this life, he looked up with a smile and
whispered that the Lord was very near to him. "Coast all clear," he
said. "Praise the Lord! praise the Lord!"
He was buried in Elmwood cemetery, Detroit.




CHAPTER X


REMOVAL OF INDIANS OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
OLLOWING signing of the Treaty of Chicago in 1821 and the
second treaty it 1833, which transferred one million acres to the
United States, including the site of Chicago, the next task of the government was removal of the Indians to lands west of the Mississippi. By
the treaty made on September 26, 1833, between the Potawatomies,
Ottawas and Chippewas, they agreed to accept in payment for the
great tract nearly one million dollars and about five million acres
of land to which they agreed to move within three years. The following year preparations were made by the government to carry out
transference of the savages to the west.
In southwestern Michigan at that time there were numerous scattered, poverty-stricken bands of Potawatomies and Ottawas and a
few Chippewas. The most of them resided in their ancient haunts
along the St. Joseph river, especially in the vicinity of where Burnet
and Bertrand had maintained their trading posts.  West of the
parc aux vaches was the Potawatomi village of Chief Pokagon. Here
grouped at the head spring of a creek bearing today the chief's name
were the cabins where this patriarchal Indian resided with a band of
followers. Northward, across Terre Coup'e Prairie was Swoptock, the
village of Chief To-pen-a-be, a leader as noted as Pokagon himself.
Two miles eastward, on the bank of the St. Joseph river, and not far
from the site of the old fort was the village of Matchkee. Two miles
north of the site of Niles on a piece of land located in the bend of the
stream was the home of Weesaw, the war chief. Near Buchanan was
the village of Mish-a-qua-ka. South of Pokagon's village, over the
line in Indiana, was the village of the -noted Potawatomi chief, Menominee.
When removal of the Indians was planned by the government,
Pokagon obtained special permission from the government to be
exempted from this order and remained in his former haunts living
a pastoral life until his death. He was buried at Silver Creek church.
Cass county. His son, Simon Pokagon, who became prominent as a
writer of Indian lore, also resided in southwestern Michigan until his
death on January 27, I899. He lies buried in the graveyard of the
old church at Rush lake near Hartford.
The cession of lands which their ancestors had claimed many
generations and in which their dead were buried caused consternation
and sorrow among the groups of Indians scattered throughout southern Michigan. In several instances this dissatisfaction resulted in
slaying those who had been influential in deeding away the land.
The Indians who resided in St. Joseph and Branch counties in particular were dissatisfied.








GRAVE OF SAUTGENASH-THREE,
RI VERS


RURAL FREE DELIVERY MONUMENT,
CLIMIAX, KALATMAZOO COUNTrY


FIRSTM'NfILL AT TH-REE RTVERS-FROM
DAGUTERROTVFE OF 1839


REV. MANASSEH HICKEY-MISSIONARY


LEONARD SLATER ---MISSIONARY
BARRY COUNTY




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


209


These Indians were identified with those of the Nottawa-seepe
reservation, which included portions of St. Joseph and Kalamazoo
counties. They were mostly Potawatomies, with a few Ottawas and
Chippewas.   They roamed in small groups throughout Cass, St.
Joseph and Branch counties where numerous lakes and streams afforded them plenty of game and fish for subsistence. For ammunition
and supplies they depended on a trading post established as early
as 1825 on the site of the city of Coldwater. The proprietors were
Lorranger and Foster. Patrick Marantette, a noted figure in this
region for many years and afterward prominent Mendon resident,
was in charge of this while a mere boy. Over the great Sauk Traillater the route of the Chicago stage road-traveled annually many
bands of Indians from the far west to and from the British post of
Fort Malden, where they obtained annual presents for services during
the War of I812.
Marantette's courage was tried by an experience which happened
when Chief Black Hawk and his band passed the post.  Indians
crowded into the building. When a squaw offered to tell Marantette
a dressed deerskin, he recognized it as his own property. When he
tried to take it away from the woman, Black Hawk advanced with
impressive mien and laid his lance across the skin either with the
intention of stopping the dispute or claiming it as his own property.
Marantette produced another deerskin, compared the price mark with
that on the one in dispute. When Black Hawk saw the marks were
similar, he exclaimed: "How! How!" and drove the squaw out
doors. The Indians were so stirred by this incident that they bought
nearly six hundred dollars worth of goods from the young trader,
who ever afterward had the confidence of red and white men alike.
Throughout this region forests were diversified with prairies. Coldwater Prairie, which was three miles long and one mile and one-half
wide, was the largest prairie. Northward were Cocoosh and Bronson
Prairies.
At Coldwater was the small Indian village of Mick-ke-saw-be.
There was another on Cocoosh Prairie. Through Coldwater ran the
trail to Fort Wayne. Fifteen years after the country was settled,
this broad path, six inches deep, was still visible. Another trail ran
from Nottawa-seepe in St. Joseph through Bronson and Cocoosh to
Suscopicon Prairie in Indiana.
In September, 1833, Governor Porter of Michigan Territory, made
at Nottawa-seepe a treaty with the Potawatomies to sell this reservation granted to them at the Treaty of Chicago in 1821, to the government. The Indians were greatly incensed. This reservation had been
sold through influence of Chief Sau-au-quett, whose eloquence prevailed. He was nearly assassinated by Quansett. The quarrel was
stopped by Marantette. The feud between the two Indians, however,
continued. While the men were quarreling one day, Quansett's wife,
believing he was in danger, stole up behind Sau-au-quett and stabbed
him in the back.




210


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


In St. Joseph County, a chief whom pioneers said was Sau-gan-ash,
or "Billy Caldwell," the half-breed who saved many white persons
from murder during the massacre of Chicago, was said to have been
assassinated because of giving this aid. His grave is pointed out not
far from Three Rivers. The "Billy Caldwell" of Chicago massacre
fame, however, was buried in the west, according to other authorities.
In Cass county resided an old Indian known as Shavehead. For
no other reason than to extort money from white men, this Indian,
who had a wicked-looking face, collected toll from all who passed
over the Chicago road. Asahel Savery, pioneer tavernkeeper of White
Pigeon, and soldier of the War of 1812, gave this copper-colored
grafter a beating with a "blacksnake" whip, and travelers were thereafter freed of this pest. Shavehead, when drunk, boasted of the part
he took in the massacre of Chicago. While he was telling this'story
one day, he was overheard by a stranger who happened to be a sur-vivor of the American troops. This man, with a gun over his shoulder, was seen, according to tradition, following Shavehead homeward.
The Indian was never again seen, nor was his absence explained.
His fate, however, was guessed by everyone.
The Indian quarrels and murders stirred the settlers of Branch
and St. Joseph counties, and they decided the red men must go. When
it became apparent that the government was determined to move the
Indians in I836, the Indians held a council at Coldwater to discuss
the project of removal. The Potawatomies came from far and near.
Penaishees, the principal signer of the treaty creating the Nottawaseepe reservation, was the acknowledged chief. He was seventy-five
years old and said he had little time left to live, either in the east
or west, and would leave the question to the younger men for decision.
The white men were severely denounced. Nothing was done, and
the Indians continued to wander about. One of their friends was
Marsh, the trader who had a post west of Coldwater. He carried
on trade by sending into the Indian encampments his agents with
ponies loaded with goods. They also carried whisky to the red men.
Packs of furs were brought back on the ponies. This Marsh called
"runnin' a derwin," though the meaning of the last word is unknown
in today's vocabulary.
In rounding up the Indians throughout the southern Michigan
counties for removal, the government had a difficult task, as the
hunted men and women hid in the woods and eluded capture. General
Hugh Brady and a force of dragoons were sent into southwestern
Michigan in I840 to capture and remove by force the red men.
Edward W. Barber, Eaton county pioneer, gives the following
glimpse of the pursuit of Indians in his community:
"Much excitement prevailed that summer among the whites for
fear that the Indians might resent their expatriation and massacre
isolated settlers; there was talk of building a defensive blockhouse
at Vermontville; but it turned out that the Indians were more sad than
revengeful over the change. Government agents and soldiers, under
direction of General Brady, scoured the woods to collect them for




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211


removal. The Indians soon learned the troops were after them. A
council meeting was held just west of the Bellevue settlement. * * *
'They were mounted on the backs of their ponies, huddled together
as closely as they could stand, with the heads of their ponies all
towards a common center. They were in deep, anxious consultation
around their wisest heads. Soon they scattered like a flock of blackbirds. One company fled north, far into the forest. They had with
them a sick squaw, which impeded their travel. They were overtaken
and sought refuge in a dense swamp, which was surrounded by the
cavalry, and after two or three days' siege, they were brought out
of their hiding place and taken to Marshall, the place of rendezvous
for those collected in this part of the state. From thence they were
taken to their place of banishment beyond the Mississippi.' After
the removal the woods seemed lonely. Capt. James W. Hickox, the
first settler in Walton, once said: 'They had not been gone six
months before we wished them all back. They helped us hunt and
keep track of our cattle. If we lost an animal and described it to
an Indian, he was sure to bring information where it could be found.
When we had visitors, the Indians would furnish us with turkey
or venison.' A silver dollar was the regular price for a deer, large
or small." (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXIX, p. 348).
Another band of Eaton county Indians made their escape into
Canada under the lead of Chief Tuckamin, who resented the discrimination made by the government against his race. He had fought
under Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames, and very naturally he,
with hundreds of others, went to Canada. Some of the Michigan
Indians went in canoes to the Georgian bay country, where they
settled. Others took up residence on Walpole island. In 1851, four
of the exiles returned to Bellevue to visit old scenes and to see their
old friends among the white settlers.
During the round up by cavalry of Indians in Calhoun county,
John Maguago, head man or chief, with his half-brother, Pamp-tepee, and their families, who were in hiding, gave up. The women
and children and infirm were put into wagons. In Holderman's Grove,
LaSalle county, Illinois, these two men and their families escaped
from the soldiers and hid until search was given up. Then they made
their way back to Calhoun county and settled at Athens, where their
descendants reside today. Marcho-no-qua, John's sister, with her
four children, went west, but returned the next year, as did also the
families of Jacksone, or Whetstone, Te-tse and Seba-qua.
The removal of the noted Chief Baw Beese and his band, well
known in Hillsdale and Branch counties, where he was located when
the first settlers arrived, is thus described by A. D. P. VanBuren:
"They were found at a dance in the south part of Pittsford, and
were marched (by Brady's men) back to camp to gather up their
valuables. My father heard they were. going and he and we boys
made haste to bid them a melancholy farewell. We had a fine patch
of melons and gathering a large quantity we placed them by the roadside. As the Indians passed along we gave one to each man. They




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


were deeply affected on leaving and many were the hearty handshakes
given us.
"Baw Beese endeavored to retain his customary calmness and
self-possession, but nevertheless betrayed considerable emotion. As
he took my father's hand his eyes filled with tears and he seemed
to choke. 'Maybe go, maybe fight,' was all the expression he gave
to his thought, and turning went his way."
"They marched from here to Jonesville; thence west. * * *
At the point where they embarked to cross Lake Michigan-I think
it was a village at the mouth of the Kalamazoo river-it is said that
Baw Beese could keep silent no longer, and rolling out a dry goods
box, he mounted it and gave vent to his feelings in a speech which
in eloquence and pathos was probably never excelled by one of his
race. * * * He referred to the friendly relations that had always
existed between his race and the whites, showed in burning language
the injustice of his removal and complained that he was to be placed
beside and classed with the red men of the west, who were enemies
of the government, and whom he therefore could not call friends.
He predicted that he would live but a short time in that far-off
country, and he was right. He died a broken-hearted man a year
or two after his removal."-(Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol.
XXVIII, p. 532.)
A glimpse of General Brady and his soldiers in pursuit of the
elusive Indians is given by Mrs. Helen Nichols Caldwell as follows:
"Upon reaching Marshall he (her father) found General Brady
there with four companies of soldiers to capture the Indians and
send them on. Instead of going as agreed, they all ran away and
were scattered in all directions. Some had been taken by Lieutenant
Galt (among them an old Indian, Macmoot, who escaped), and all
the Potawatomies in the state were on the move hiding from the
soldiers. They were trying to escape to Canada. * * * I have
heard by mother tell how frightened she was when General Brady
came there. 'I was standing in the door in the twilight," she said,
'and saw a posse of soldiers coming at full speed and your father
with them. My heart stood still for I thought something dreadful
must have happened to him. They drew rein at the door, and I soon
found out what they were after.' General Brady and staff slept at
my father's and grandfather's, the soldiers built their campfire and
slept outside."-(Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXI, Second
Edition, pp. 305-306.)
The scattered bands were gathered together at Kalamazoo for
removal by Col. Thomas A. H. Edwards. On their way westward
they camped several days on grounds north of the Michigan Central
depot, where they were visited by large crowds of settlers who wished
to bid them farewell. At Kalamazoo they were joined by other
parties from the north and west. When all had assembled, the
Ottawas and Potawatomies broke camp for their long march to the
west. Their tents and household goods were loaded on the backs
of ponies. The able-bodied went afoot. They reluctantly left the




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


213


land of their fathers, for they feared they would be attacked in the
west by the Sioux, the enemies of their ancestors. "On leaving Kalamazoo, the Indians marched past the residence of Judge Ranson, for
whom they had great respect. As they passed they doffed their ornamental headgear, and raised their right hands as a sign of farewell."
Hardships and indignities endured by some of the Indians during
the western journey will ever be a blot on the government agents,
who had charge of them. At Peoria, the government, it is charged,
broke faith with the Indians. It had been stipulated that they should
be taken by land the entire distance together with their dogs and
ponies. Here they were driven at the bayonet's point aboard a boat.
The animals were sold for trifles or confiscated. The Indians were
taken down the Illinois river to the Mississippi, thence up the Arkansas to the border of Kansas territory, where they arrived in an impoverished condition. At their destination they were disembarked
under direction of Buel Holcomb, later of Athens. The agents did
not dare to appear.-(History of Branch County.)
One of the saddest tales of this forcible removal of the Indians
is that of the old Chief Menominee, friend of Pokagon, and leader
of a band of Potawatomies at Twin Lake near Plymouth, Indiana.
This chief and his followers were trapped in a chapel by soldiers and
forcibly taken away. The Indian agent had previously called a council to ascertain whether anything could be done to induce the Indians
to leave of their own accord. When Colonel Pepper made his final
appeal to Menominee, the chief rose, wrapped his blanket about him,
displaying his skillfully worked leggings and moccasins, his white
head bared, and replied:
"The President does not know the truth. He, like me, has been
imposed upon. He does not know that your treaty is a lie and that
I never signed it. He does not know that you made my young chiefs
drunk and got their consent, and pretended to get mine. He does
not know that I refused to sell my lands, and still refuse. He would
not by force drive me from my home, the graves of my tribes and
my children who have gone to the Great Spirit, nor allow you to tell
me ydur braves will take me, tied like a dog, if he knew the truth.
My brother, the President, is just; but he listens to the word of his
young chiefs who have lied; and when he knows the truth he will
leave me to my own. I have not sold my lands. I will not sell them.
I have not signed any treaty and I shall not sign any. I am not going
to leave my lands, and I do not want to hear anything more about it."
Compelled by a large force of dragoons to leave, the Potawatomies
tearfully left their village after seeing the soldiers tear down their
wigwams. On the way many of the unwilling travelers died. Their
only comfort was that given by the Rev. Father Petit, devoted Catholic priest, who shared their hardships, ministered to the dying and
consoled the sorrowing. Exposure during the journey resulted in
death of this saintly man in St. Louis. His remains were entombed
under the sanctuary in the chapel of the University of Notre Dame.




214


- HISTORIC MICHIGAN


It is not known where Menominee died, but it is believed he succumbed on the long march. About five hundred Potawatomies under
Chief To-pen-a-be were also taken westward after assembling with
other bands at South Bend.
Scattered bands of Indians continued to reside in southwestern
Michigan, drawing annuities, until I855, when new treaties were made
by which the tribesmen agreed to accept lands in Oceana and Mason
counties. Their reservation, known as "Injun Town," was twenty-five
miles long and six miles wide. When the Rebellion broke out, these
Indians, whose fathers had fought with the British against the Americans, loyally enlisted and fought. The following account of their
settlement in the new reservation contains many names familiar in
the history of counties of southwestern Michigan:
"These towns were high and rolling in most parts, with deep river
valleys and timbered with hardwood and pine. The crystalline streams
were full of trout, grayling and bass. A short distance west was Lake
Michigan, which could be reached by way of the river down to Pentwater. Bear, deer, mink, 'raccoon, fox, otter, fisher, muskrat and
ducks, partridge and pigeons were plentiful in this last earthly happy
hunting ground of the sad remnants of the Ottawas, Chippewas
and Potawatomies, who had sold their rights on the Grand and
Thornapple rivers. Barry county seemed to be a sort of dividing
place for the remaining Indians, who were pushed out by progress.
Part of them went north, and part went south and west beyond the
"Father of Waters." This reservation was chosen with care-it was
away from the white men and it was hoped that they would not encroach for many years. This was an Indian's wilderness paradise.
In addition to the above mentioned game the great forests were alive
with gray wolves, which brought from $8.00 to $Io.oo for each scalp
taken. Wild berries grew in countless profusion, and the fertile soil
was easily tilled by the squaws and old men, who cultivated potatoes
and Indian corn.
"The Indians assembled early in the fall of 1857 at Grand Haven
and were transported on the steamer Ottawa with their goods to
Pentwater, about 700 or 800 of them. When they landed those who
came from inland were so impressed with the great sand hills that they
camped for some time round Pentwater lake before going to the
reservation. It was remarkable to see them disport themselves in
the sand hills: to see nearly nude figures lock arms and roll over
and over from the top until they landed in the water. They found
plenty of hunting and fishing.
"In the summer of 1858, the propellor C. Mears brought the balance of the Indians from Grand Haven to Pentwater-about 500 to
6o0, making in all about 1,300. The men rode ponies along the beach.
The principal chiefs were Peshoisky, whose other name was Henry
Clay, or the orator; Cobmoosa, the Great Walker; Shaw-be-quong,
or Wings, meaning that he could soar as an orator; Pay-baw-me, a
Catholic and lay reader. Cobmoosa, being a pagan to the day of his
death, was one hundred years old. Shaw-be-quong was an Episco



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215


palian, and a good talker. Genereau was half French and an interpreter. He was a Methodist Episcopalian, but changed to Catholic
and married Pay-baw-me's widow. Joseph Elliott, who with Genereau
lived in Elbridge, was a full-blooded Indian and an interpreter. He
was a Methodist, and it is said that he preached with considerable
fluency. He gave the first sermon ever preached in Pentwater in C.
Mears' boarding house, the 'boys' paying the tithe with pork and
potatoes.
"The government erected schoolhouses, one on the northwest corner
of Sec. II, Elbridge, called the Pay-baw-me; one on the northeast corner
of Sec. 17, called the Genereau; one on the northeast corner of Sec. 27,
called the Cob-moosa, and one in Crystal, near the H. S. Sayles place,
which has always been a favorite rendezvous of the red men. The. government teachers were James Haley, a strict Irish Catholic, who came
from Detroit; Mrs. H. S. Sayles, of Elbridge, and Eliza Foote, of
Lansing. The Cob-moosa school was taught first by Rev. D. R.
Latham, John Bean, Jr., and Mrs. Arial Crosby in succession. The
Genereau school was taught by W. H. Leach, D. W. Crosby and
John Smith, the latter being an Indian. The Crystal school was
taught by D. K. Foster, a half-breed, and by Charles Selkirk."
In July, I863, white settlers enlisted to serve in the Rebellion.
On July 4, a great celebration was held at the reservation. Lieut.
E. V. Endress, First Michigan Sharpshooters, was present and delivered an eloquent plea to the Indians to enlist, Louis Genereau acting
as interpreter. Chief Pay-baw-me then spoke. Twenty-five young
men responded by enlisting. These, led by Louis Genereau, Jr., stepped
forward and were sworn into the United States service. On the following Sunday, Andress marched them all into Pentwater, accompanied by nearly all the Indians on the reservation. The scene at
the steamer's departure was very affecting. Gray-haired old squaws
took leave of sons, and young squaws shyly watched their departing
braves. And also Indian mothers with papooses strapped on their
backs took leave of husbands in the Indian manner. As the boat left
the dock three hearty cheers were given and those departing responded. Some of the company won fame for gallant conduct. Others
never came back.-(History of Oceana County, pp. 44-45.)
A number of Indians of the Kalamazoo valley residing in Allegan
county on April I8, 1853, renounced their tribal laws and asked to
become United States citizens in the following petition:
We, the undersigned descendants of the Chippewa and Ottawa
tribes of Indians, having been born in the State of Michigan, and
always residing therein-being attached to the soil, where the bones
of our fathers are laid-and being desirous of abandoning our own
system of laws and government, and of adopting the laws, habits of
life, and government of the white people of the United States and of the
State of Michigan, that we may enjoy the benefits of civilization and
Christianity, and the privileges and civil rights of citizens and voters:
do hereby with our chiefs, solemnly declare that we yield our laws
and government up for laws of the United States and of Michigan;




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that we mean to adopt the habits of civilized life, to clear land and
cultivate the soil, to build houses to live in, and to have our children
educated in the habits, customs, language and mode of living of the
white men, our neighbors, and that in all things we mean to claim
the protection of the laws of the government, and submit ourselves
to the jurisdiction and control of the laws both in civil and criminal
matters.


Tabaschapichig.
Lewis McSauby.
Joseph Macksauba.
Kiweiasang.
William Bewitebigabaw.
Joseph Armiguan.
Francis Macksauba.
Winsor Animiquum.
Peter Shoshaguase.
Paul Nisawaquat.
Francis Wowangobo.
Peter Oshoswoshquar.
John Oshamoshquar.
Kishigobinese Akiwendjigetose.
Joseph Visewagat.
George Shashawonipise.
Peter Wawangabo.
Paul Shoshaquashe.
Poneit Wouatchenotin.
Joseph Oshawoshquar.
Louis Matchikishig.


Joseph Chawegoshgun.
Paul Waukazoo.
Daniel Wedigowish.
James Prickett.
James Shashaquase.
John Oshaquashquar.
Nenoiquar Oshawashquar.
Wassa Zumby.
George Weazhe.
William Chinghah.
Mutebe Sakendouinm.
Michael Akibauozi.
Lewis Akibemose.
William Keshewose.
John Akibemose.
Joseph Shashaquashe.
Agent Okinotsgo.
Atoin Matchikishig.
Peminawa Magatemini.
Joseph Shashaxuase.
Monitowe Oshawoshquar.


State of Michigan,   s:
Allegan County    5
On this I8th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-three, personally came before the undersigned, a Notary Public, in and for the county aforesaid, Paul Wakazoo, Lewis Macksauba, Tobaschaapachig, Joseph Visagagway, James
Pricket, chiefs of the Ottawa and Chippewa tribes; and Daniel Wedegowish, Wassa Zumby, George Weazhe, William Chinguah, Mutebe
Salmdoim, Michael Akibauziae, Lewis Akibauzse, William Hithwase,
John Atermase, Joseph Shashaquatae, Agent Okinotsgo, Atin Matchkishig, Penawa Mayateatine, Joseph Sharaquase, Awasikithig Akiandjitose, Minita Oscawaskqua, Robert Apiskabe, Joseph Masksauba,
William Benwitaglawn, Joseph Armiguan, Francis Macsauba, Winsor
Animquan, Peter Shashagum, Paul Nisaquaquit, Francis Waangoba,
Peter Oshawshqua, John Oshawshque, George Washawanipi, Peter
Wawagaba, Paul Shashaquashe, Ponit Warnitthenatin, Joseph Ashawashgua, Louis Mathekishy, Joseph Chawigo-kigm, James Shasha



SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN                     217
qude, Kishigobanie Akindjiabe, John Asnawashaques, Niniuqua Othohawga; who by the oath of James Pricket, who acted as interpreter
for them, were made known to me and who all severally acknowledged
that they had executed the same freely, and for the purposes above
expressed.
ELISHA ELY, Notary Public.




CHAPTER XI


EARLY ROADS AND TAVERNS
THE first great road authorized built in Michigan was the military
highway between Detroit and Chicago, passing through the southern tier of counties. This road was surveyed along the old Sauk
Trail before 1825. As this road was intended for possible movement
of troops and transportation of supplies, it was laid out one hundred
feet wide. So carefully had the Indians selected the route that few
changes were necessary. When actual construction was ordered at
a cost of $25,ooo funds were scarce and the builders did little else
than to cut the trees on each side of the trail and remove shrubbery.
Here and there they laid "corduroy" across swamps, but most of the
improvements were made by the emigrants when their wagons, often
sinking to wheel-hubs in the mud, made travel impossible unless the
use of ax and shovel were brought into action. Many were the wrecks
of vehicles that lined this old highway into the "New country," and
many were the tales of hardships that were carried back to eastern
cities. The "Chicago trail," with the exception of a short section
which was straightened in Washtenaw county, today follows the course
of the Indian highway over which for hundreds of years traveled the
savages on missions of peace and war.
In 1833, the government actually began to improve this road, but
progress was slow, and the first workers did not arrive in St. Joseph
county until I834. With the resumption of stage lines shortly after
the Black Hawk scare was over, public demand made improvement
necessary, and in a short time there was an improved road to Chicago.
This highway divided at Ypsilanti, the northern section running
through Ann Arbor, Jackson, Marshall and Battle Creek. The other
bore to the southwest, and passed through Hillsdale county, thence westward through Coldwater, Sturgis, White Pigeon and Bertra'nd to the
lake shore. Both of these trans-state highways were called "Territorial roads."
WHITE PIGEON WAS LARGEST SETTLEMENT
Between Detroit and Chicago the principal settlement was White
Pigeon in St. Joseph county. This town, which grew rapidly, was
named after the Potawatomi chief Wah-bem-me, who gave up his life
to warn the community of a plot to murder them. The first record
of settlement here was in 1827, but tradition has it that pioneers were
here before that year. The Indians of Michigan Territory, who had
been allies of the British during the War of I812, believed that hostilities between the two countries would break out again, and this feeling
was constantly strengthened by the annual trips for presents to Fort
Maiden, the British stronghold. While in Detroit, White Pigeon
heard of a plot to kill the settlers and he immediately hurried afoot to




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219


warn them of danger. He accomplished his purpose, but died soon
afterward from the physical strain. A handsome monument has been
erected over his grave, and a grateful community keeps his name alive
and praises his heroic act, which is hnot surpassed in frontier annals.
White Pigeon prairie consists of one thousand acres, and the little
settlement which sprang up there in 1827 became the goal of immigrants from the east. The hamlet flourished at a time when Chicago,
or Fort Dearborn, as it was then called, was seldom mentioned.
When the surveyors who had laid out the Chicago road returned
to Detroit in 1825, they brought back reports of a wonderfully rich
country they had visited. When the lands were thrown open to the
public, the land office at Monroe was so rushed with applicants that
it was removed to White Pigeon, which became the metropolis of
the "new country."
MORE ROADS WERE NEEDED
With the increase of immigration, the demand for more roads became insistent and construction of highways was immediately authorized, though actual building was slow and expensive.
In I829, an act was passed by the Territorial legislature authorizing
construction of a road from Plymouth in Wayne county through Ann
Arbor to Grand river, where the St. Joseph trail crosses the same;
thence through "Cohwagiac" and Grand Prairies (Calhoun county)
to the mouth of the St. Joseph river. Jehial Enos, of Grand Prairie,
was appointed one of the commissioners.
An act was passed on June I8, 1832, to provide for a Territorial
road from the mouth of Battle Creek to the mouth of the Kalamazoo
river, across Gull Prairie, and thence following the river to its mouth.
The same year-on June 22-an act was passed authorizing construction of a Territorial road from White Pigeon, via Prairie Ronde
and Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids. The commissioners appointed to
lay out this road were John S. Barry (afterward governor), Isaac N.
Hurd and E. B. Sherman.
In I833, the Territorial legislature established a road beginning at
the "Middle Village" (the Indian settlement at the old French blockhouse on Scales' Prairie two miles west of the present village of Middleville), in Barry county and running through the Gun river plain
(in Allegan county), to the Territorial road near the forks of the
Paw Paw. The commissioners named to lay out this road were William Duncan, of Prairie Ronde, Carlos Barnes, a captain in the Black
Hawk war, and Cornelius Northrup.
In 1833, construction was authorized for another highway, leading
from Marshall to the "Rapids of the Grand." General Joseph W.
Brown, famous as commander in the "Toledo war," and Black Hawk
war, Lewis Campbell, Jr., and O..Wilder, one of the founders of the
village of Allegan, were named commissioners.
With the admission of Michigan as a state, settlement rapidly increased and numerous roads were laid out and constructed. In i8.7,




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


a state road was established between Kalamazoo and the county seat
of Barry County. Lloyd Jones, Sherman Cummings, of Comstock,
and Mumford Eldred, an early settler of Gull Prairie, were named commissioners. At the same time there was authorized a state road to run
from Marshall via Verona, now a portion of Battle Creek, and Gun
Plains to Allegan. Charles W. Spaulding, prominent resident of
Prairieville, Silas F. Littlejohn, of Allegan, and Cephas A. Smith the
first prosecuting attorney of Calhoun county, were chosen commissioners. Another road was established, leading from Bellevue to
Hastings. The commissioners were: Andrew L. Hayes, who came
to Calhoun county in I831; Reuben Fitzgerald, of Bellevue, and Levi
P. Woodbury. A road was also laid out between Allegan and Howell.
The commissioners were Guy C. Lee and Flavius J. B. Crane.
AUTHORIZE HASTINGS-BATTLE CREEK ROAD
In 1838 a state road was established to run between Battle Creek
by way of Hutchinson's Mills to Hastings. The commissioners named
were Stephen V. R. York, of Johnstown; Rustin Angel, of Battle
Creek, and John Meacham, of Bedford.
On February I6, I838, a state road between Kalamazoo and Niles
was authorized, with Twin Lakes, on Section I6, town five south,
range 15 west, a point in the line.
Another road was established from Battle Creek to Grand Rapids
by way of Gull Prairie. Isaac Barnes, George Torrey, afterwards
editor of the Kalamazoo Telegraph, and Roswell Britain, were named
commissioners. Another road was established from  Kalamazoo to
Hastings, with Mumford Eldred, Isaac Otis and John Mills as commissioners. Another road was established between Galesburg and
Hastings. The commissioners were Hugh Shafter, father of General
W. R. Shafter, Nathaniel Cathern and Reuben H. Sutton.
In 1840, a state road was established between Vermontville and
Grand Rapids by way of Barry county. The commissioners were:
William Stoddard, Charlotte; Levi Wheaton, Chester; Wait J. Sruie,
Eaton county; Abner C. Parmelee, first register of deeds of Barry
county, and William C. Henry, Grand Rapids merchant.
For the purpose of completing the road between the Eaton county
seat, through Vermontville to Hastings, thence to Grand Rapids the
following commissioners were named in 1841: William B. Thorne,
Calvin Hill, of Yankee Springs township, and Henry H. Broth, of
Allegan. One portion of the road was to commence on the Thornapple river road in Yankee Springs and run by way of Long Lake
to Allegan.
STAGE LINE ESTABLISHED IN 1831
With opening of roads, lines of stage coaches were put into operation. These vehicles began to carry passengers as far as White
Pigeon in 1831 under management of Asahel Savery, tavernkeeper
of the settlement. In 1833, a man namer Sargent, carried passengers
between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, and Lucius Barnes started a




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


221


line between Marshall and Bronson (Kalamazoo) by way of Gull
Prairie. The following year S. B. Davis & Company operated a line
on the Territorial road as far as Kalamazoo. Several early stage lines
in this region were operated from Detroit west into this region by
Tillotson, Brown & Davis, General Bissell Humphrey and Patterson
and Ward. Stages between Three Rivers and Grand Rapids were run
at one time by the firm of Pattison and Wood. Some of these vehicles
were of the large Concord type drawn by four horses, others of the
"thoroughbrace" type were swung by from the running gear by leather
instead of being held in place by springs. The drivers were skilled
with the whip, and they took pride in delivering on time their heavily
laden outfits at the taverns where meals were ready to be served and
where horses were to be changed.
"Among the noted drivers were Samuel T. Brown, Gull Prairie; a
man named Hill, afterwards sheriff of VanBuren county; Bill Bliss,
who died at Paw Paw; Loren and Hiram Gay, who subsequently went
to California; John Morgan, --   Green, who died in Kalamazoo;
Samuel and John Carver, brothers of Marshall." (History of Kalamazoo County, I880, p. I67).
STAGE AND MAIL ROUTES IN 1835
"Mitchell's Tourist Map of 1835 describes three principal stage
routes in Michigan, namely, one from Detroit through Ypsilanti, Saline,
Tecumseh, Jonesville, Coldwater, Niles, La Porte, and Michigan City
to Chicago, on a thrice-a-week stage service was scheduled. * * *
It appears from Blois' list (Michigan Gazetteer, Detroit, 1838, p. 97),
there was a weekly mail between Detroit and * * * Jonesville and
Marshall; Coldwater and St. Joseph; Niles and New Buffalo;
* * * Marshall and Coldwater; Marshall and Centreville * * *
Michigan City, Indiana, and Grand Haven; Battle Creek and Eaton;
Battle Creek and Kent; Battle Creek and Schoolcraft; Kalamazoo and
Saugatuck; Kalamazoo and the mouth of the Black river; Kalamazoo
and Kent; * * * Cassopolis and Elkhart; * * * Centreville
and Michigan City, Indiana; New Buffalo and La Porte, Indiana; Eaton
and Ionia." (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXXVIII, p. 595).
Along the state roads were taverns which became famous throughout the country. Notable were "The Old Diggins," conducted by
Asahel Savery at White Pigeon, and "The Mansion House," of Yankee
Springs on the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids road.
The firm of Patterson and Ward was composed of W. G. Patterson, of Kalamazoo, and John K. Ward, of Battle Creek. They
operated a line from Battle Creek and Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids by
way of Gull Prairie, now Richland, Prairieville, Yankee Springs,
Middle Village, Leonard's tavern, Peter McNaughton's tavern, the
Oak Grove House, Whitneyville tavern, and Cascade. The same company started a stage line between Battle Creek and Hastings by way
of the road which opened through Bedford, Johnstown, and Baltimore
townships in I840. One of the men engaged in cutting this road
through the wilderness was Hugh Shafter, of Galesburg. To connect
with the Grand Rapids stage, William Seavey, afterward a soldier in




222


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the Mexican war, began to drive a wagon which carried passengers
and freight between Hastings and Whitneyville in 1846. The demand
for transportation to Grand Rapids became so great that Patterson and
Ward established a regular line between Battle Creek and Grand Rapids
by way of Hastings.
BATTLE CREEK-HASTINGS STAGE LINE
This occasion, which marked an important epoch in the growing
settlement of Hastings, was made the occasion of great festivities.
Almost the entire population of Barry county assembled at the Barlow
House, as the first stage tavern was called (the first hostelry was Chase's
log tavern on the Thornapple river bank), and awaited arrival of the
stage from Grand Rapids and Battle Creek. The drivers planned to
arrive in front of the hotel at the same time. This was carried out.
The blasts of the horns sounded almost simultaneously. Both equipages came into view at the same time, each drawn by four galloping
horses. The settlers held a big feast, followed with a dance in the
dance hall of the hotel. This hall had.an old-fashioned "swinging"
floor, considered especially fine for dancing in those days. Through
the ceiling protruded the muzzles of numerous bottles, which were supposed to improve the acoustic properties and make the music more
harmonious.
The coaches used on the road through the western part of Barry
county were of the old Concord type and carried passengers inside
and on the top. These equipages, drawn by four horses, made fast
time over the roads, occasionally planked to make the worst places
smoother. When the stage approached the taverns it was customary
for the driver to blow a long blast from a horn and the sound reverberated for miles through the heavily timbered hills. This was done to
impress the passengers, many of whom were "tenderfeet" from the
east who rode in fear that the stage would be at any time attacked or
held up by Indians, as the red men were frequently seen peering through
the bushes as the stage went past.
HIRAM MERRILL WAS DRIVER
The stages used on the Hastings-Battle Creek route were of a
different type. The body was enclosed differently from the Concord
coach. As the body swung on leather thongs instead of springs, they
were known as "thoroughbrace" stages. Hiram Merrill was one of
the first drivers between the two settlements. He drove until 1852,
when the company, which was also operating stages between St. Paul
and St. Anthony, now Minneapolis, offered him a job on the latter
line, which he accepted. He was succeeded by William Burroughs.
"Elder" Green drove the Grand Rapids stage from Hastings to the
Oak Grove House, whence it was taken on by Driver Ed Campau to
its destination on the "Owashtanong," as the Indians called the Grand
river. The stage left Battle Creek every day of the year at half past
three o'clock in the morning, generally arriving at Hastings at ten
o'clock. The fare to Hastings was $r.50; to Grand Rapids, $2.50.
The road for ten miles north of Battle Creek was planked. Another




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


223


stretch of planking was in Barry county, a short distance south of
Dowling. The road led through a rough country, and the passengers
who sat on-the rear seats were severely shaken up. A frequent passenger was Rix Robinson, an early fur trader of Grand Rapids. Mr.
Burroughs recalled the time when Robinson became so angry at being
jostled over the rough road that he threatened to whip the driver.
CHANGED AT BRISTOL'S TAVERN
The first change of horses after leaving Battle Creek was at Bristol's
tavern, fifteen miles south of Hastings. This house was built by
William P. Bristol in 1852, and was used as an inn until ten years later,
when the Robinson House sprang into prominence, and was used until
the extension of the Grand River Valley division of the Michigan
Central railroad to Grand Rapids put all the state lines out of business.
Mrs. Susan Carver Robinson kept this tavern. Other taverns sprang
up along the stage road to cater to the wants of the travelers. One of
these proprietors, carrying a decanter of whisky, used to meet the
stage, pass around the drinks, and inquire if any of the passengers
were looking for real estate. If any passenger assented, he was in'
vited to stop off at the tavern for a week free of charge and look over
the surrounding country.
STOPPED TO DRINK
Five miles southeast of Hastings is a spring located at the foot of an
immense hill known as MacOmber's hill, where drivers always stopped
to water their horses. It was an excellent place for a tavern, and two
rival hotels were built by Allen Green, a well known pioneer character,
and a man named Louks.
A bottle of whisky was usually found in the long grass near the
spring. The passenger poured out a drink, and left the money near
the bottle. To this day the place is known as "Whisky Run." Whenever the stage stopped at this place the passengers turned out and the
drinks were passed around. Many extraordinary incidents are recalled
at these taverns. In them dances were held, and high revelry was often
indulged in by residents of Hastings. Counterfeit money, which flowed
abundantly in the new settlements, was also passed at taverns along the
line. Green was known far and wide as an amusing personage. One
day all the passengers patronized Louks' tavern and Green standing
bottle in hand had no one to serve. Suddenly he walked into Louks'
place, dropped upon his knees before the astonished passengers and
said: "Oh, Lord; send some of these thirsty passengers over to try
some of my poor whisky." He rose and walked out without saying a
word. A roar of laughter followed from the crowd, and they immediately invaded Green's place, and patronized him liberally.
DRIVEN OUT BY RAILROADS
With the coming of the railroad in 1869 the stages became things
of the past. The country taverns were compelled to close, and the
stage drivers engaged in other occupations. The stages were sold and
taken to the far west for operation on the plains where they were again
superseded by railroads.




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


ASAHEL SAVERY, FRONTIER TAVERN KEEPER
In the village of White Pigeon, St. Joseph county, which nearly
a century ago was the principal settlement between Detroit and Chicago,
there is still recalled the memory of "Colonel" Asahel Savery, a
soldier in the War of I812, and noted romantic character of the Michigan frontier, whose tavern, known as the "Old Diggins," was a famous
hostelry on the old Chicago stage road when the first emigrants were
crowding along the wilderness trail to take up land in southern Michigan and northern Indiana. The "Old Diggins" was the goal of the
landseekers, once they had left behind the thriving city of Detroit and
turned westward the heads of their horses and oxen. Today Savery is
a character in local mythology, which is growing dimmer as time
passes on. Today, the schoolhouse in White Pigeon stands on the site
of the tavern, the first building in the village.
Born in Vermont, Savery made his way while a youth to Detroit.
Soon after Savery had become initiated into the customs of life on
the Michigan frontier, the War of 1812 broke out and he enlisted as
a teamster in General Lewis Cass' army, forming with the commander
an acquaintance which he afterward found advantageous.
When the government men who surveyed the great military highway between Detroit and Chicago along the old Sauk trail, returned
to Detroit, they told alluring stories of the marvelous fertility of the
small prairies and "oak openings" of the St. Joseph river valley, and
of opportunities to develop water-power on tributaries of that waterway famous since the days of La Salle. At the ford of the St. Joseph
river, then known as the "grand traverse" is now located the little
hamlet of Mottville.
IN WHITE PIGEON IN 1827
One of the first men to head for the land of promise described by
the surveyors was Asahel Savery, who arrived in "Pigeon" in December, 1827. With good business foresight, Savery recognized that
the proposed town would be an important center of emigration, and
he immediately rolled up logs for the "Old Diggins." In the spring
a sign announced that Savery was ready to "Entertain man and beast."
His tavern from the start became headquarters for important public
transactions. Far and wide his fame spread. In August, 1828, Savery
was one of the first to greet General Lewis Cass on his way to Niles
to purchase from the Indians congregated there some lands reserved
in the Treaty of Chicago. Proudly the landlord renewed acquaintance
with the leader under whom he had campaigned.
With the general as interpreter was Joseph Parks, a white man
once held captive by the Wyandottes, and eight other men from Detroit. He had in his train eight ponies, four loaded with silver with
which to pay for the Indian lands, and four carrying two hundred
pounds of calicos, ginghams and notions for presents after the deals
were consummated. While crossing Sturgis prairie, Cass and his
party had been entertained by the settlers with a bear feast, the general
laying aside his dignity to participate in a jollification which followed




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


225


when bruin, roasted on a spit, was transferred to a long table under
a tree.
Intensely patriotic, Savery determined that July 4, 1829, should
not go unobserved in White Pigeon and he entertained with the simple
fare of the pioneers forty guests at dinner. There was no oratory, no
music, no firing of guns. An elaborate celebration was held on July
4, I832, Niles, Coldwater, Jonesville and other settlements being represented among the one hundred visitors. Music was furnished by
men from Coldwater. A more elaborate celebration was held in I835,
when a large parade was disbanded in front of the tavern where liquid
refreshments were ready-but the patriotic Savery was not there to
extend greeting-afar in the nearly unknown south he was marching
with the hosts of General Sam Houston's Texans to battle the Mexicans.
ENLARGED HIS HOTEL
Savery's business outgrew the capacity of his hewn log building,
which he expanded by adding a frame structure. The frontier attracted a great variety of personages, some of whom could not fit
into conventional society. Savery himself was a convivial soul.
Kindred spirits gathered before his bar to drink from flowing bowl,
and, according to tradition, laughter and song, and jig music of the
fiddle, accompanied by rhythmic thumping of feet, sounded far into
the night as the motley crowds of travelers, landlookers, trappers and
frontiersmen emptied glass after glass in the room lighted by candles
and blazing logs in the wide fireplace.
Silent, enigmatic Indians stood in the background watching the
scene. Mingling with the revelers was Savery with beaming face,
ever popular, ever generous.
Lured by cheap, fertile lands, hundreds of emigrants traversed the
rough wilderness road into southern Michigan. The squeaking of
the wheels of their covered wagons, drawn laborously by horses or
oxen, could be heard long distances. To the rear of the wagons
were tied cows, or horses. In crates piled on the high-laden vehicles
cackled imprisoned fowls. From the hills of New England came
descendants of the early Puritans-men and women schooled in primitive, isolated life. From central New York came sturdy experienced
agriculturists in search of broad level lands easy to till.
The race for lands was won by the swiftest. Settlers were obliged
to file entries in the government land office in Monroe until June I,
1833, when the agency was moved to White Pigeon. Many were
the races run to file claims, those on foot being out-distanced by competitors fortunate enough to own horses.
SAVERY SHOWS HIS GENEROSITY
No selfish man was Asahel Savery, the patriot, the generous and
hospitable landlord. When he learned that both he and Hiram Powers
wanted to file an entry on the same land in Nottawa, he refused to
bid against his friend, or to accept an opportunity to reach the land
office first. The men mutually agreed to give or take fifty dollars




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


for the chance to file. Powers did not have enough money with which
to pay the bonus and buy the land, and Savery accepted the offer,
which provided Powers with enough cash to obtain another claim.
Savery established the first stage line in southern Michigan, late
in 1831, driving the vehicle himself between Tecumseh and Niles.
Though a military highway one hundred feet wide had been surveyed
between Detroit and Chicago in I825, the road was not worked
through St. Joseph county until after the Black Hawk war. Until
that time the emigrants merely followed the Indian trail, cutting
their ways through thickets, laying "corduroy" in marshes and bridging unfordable streams with logs. Gradually the trail became a fairly
passable wagon road. The stage companies, at their own expense,
also improved the road, and built bridges. In 1833, the federal government began systematically to build the highway, the workmen
reaching St. Joseph county in I834.
The cost of removing obstacles from the road and of building
bridges fell heavily upon Savery. He wanted to obtain a contract
for carrying the mails in his state, so he went to Washington in 1832
to seek the aid of General Lewis Cass. The statesman, immediately
recalling his army teamster and wilderness host, gravely introduced
him to some of his colleagues as "Colonel Savery, of Michigan." He
also saw to it that Savery obtained his contract. When the tavernkeeper arrived in White Pigeon, he was surprised to find news of his
military sobriquet had preceded him, and he was ever afterward
known as "colonel." Though Savery's tavern was well patronized,
uncongenial influences were at work.
White Pigeon was fast becoming too civilized for him. A newspaper, the "Michigan Statesman and St. Joseph Chronicle" (afterward
moved to Kalamazoo, where it became The Gazette), had been established on December Io, 1833. The stage had already become too slow
for. the progressive community. On January I, 1835, delegates from
White Pigeon, Toledo, Lagrange, Michigan City, Bristol, Mottsville
and Constantine held a convention in Savery's tavern to petition the
federal government to build a railroad between Lakes Erie and Michigan. It was urged that the line should pass through White Pigeon.
SAVERY THE PATHFINDER
Shortly afterward, "Colonel" Slavery closed the "Old Diggins"
and left for Texas, where he joined the army of Sam Houston and
fought in all the battles of the "Lone Star State's" war for freedom
ftrom Mexico. Whether or not Savery's financial condition forced him
to give up his enterprises has nevte been revealed. Nor is it known
whether or not he sold the hostelry, or merely abandoned it as a
liability. It is known, however, that a Doctor Rowley reopened the
tavern, after Savery left, and that he in turn was succeeded by Daniel
Howell.
Savvry's more practical tssociates remained in White Pigeon, deteloping the community, and prospered, but the famoug landlord,
*hose last resting place is unknown, left behind him imperishable




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footprints in the history of southern Michigan. He was a pathfinder,
they were builders.
From time to time Savery's old friends heard of him fighting in
the early battles of the Mexican war, and returned veterans brought
news that he was with the wagon transport train with Scott's victorious army in the march from Vera Cruz to the capital. Later came
news that Savery had traveled overland with the "Forty-niners" in
search of gold. Again they heard of him in the frontier mining
camps in Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. As an Indian fighter
and a pathfinder on the plains and in the mountains-for which his
knowledge of woodcraft gained in the Michigan wilderness had splendidly equipped him-Savery became widely known throughout the
west. In the late fifties, White Pigeon heard that its famous "rolling
stone" had returned to Texas and "settled down."
SAVERY REVISITED WHITE PIGEON
During the Rebellion there appeared on the streets here a man
who attracted attention by gazing at the buildings and asking for
many persons who were dead, or who had left. News soon spread
that "Ase" Savery had come back. Though many years older than
when he enthusiastically erected the first building here, Savery declared that during all his wanderings he had cherished memories of
his life in White Pigeon which he had come back to see once more.
He recalled how he had hoisted the flag at the first Fourth of July celebrated in this country in I828, when he entertained forty settlers with
dinner at his tavern. Incidentally, this veteran of three wars, explained he had fled from Texas secessionists.
During his sojourn here, Savery was entertained by surviving old
friends and in families where the children on parental knees had heard
anecdotes about "Ase" and the very early days.
When Savery left White Pigeon, he said he was going back to
Texas.
YANKEE SPRINGS TAVERN
Throughout Michigan Territory there was no personage more
widely known during stage-coach days than William, or 'Yankee"
Lewis, genial landlord of the "Mansion House," a tavern "nine sfories
all on the ground," in the western part of Barry county. Travelers
going out of Michigan sang the praises of hospitality exteded by
"Yankee Bill" and his estimable wife. Those who ate at  s able
loned to go back, and those en moute into the new country kWoked forWard with delightful anticipation to the feasts they were to find spread
on the table and the comfortable beds in Wihich the hardt*Eis of the
trip were to be forgotten.
Early in Aguist, i836, William Lewis and Mary  oboodwin, his
tife, three daughters and a son,  and andopted daughter, Flavia Stoie,
let the old home i tWeathersfield, Wyoming county, New York, and
started in a covered Wagon foir the Mchigan Wilderness. Mr. Lewis
was thirty-five yeas old. The five childre ranged in age ftom two




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to eleven. Mrs. Lewis, riding a gray saddle horse, accompanied the
wagon, her husband driving the team day after day and preparing
camp at night. After three weeks of traveling through an unknown
country, which had become wilder as they penetrated farther into the
Peninsula and neared their destination, the family, on August 26,
halted in Yankee Springs to visit Calvin Lewis, Mr. Lewis' brother,
who had preceded them three weeks earlier. Mrs. Lewis recalled the
arrival as follows:
"After leaving Detroit, the road was mostly through dense woods,
Marshall, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo being marked with little clusters
of houses surrounded by forests. After leaving Battle Creek we passed
through Gull Prairie, now Richland, and there met Leonard Slater,
located on the Indian reservation as missionary to the Potawatamie
tribe. Leaving this place we plunged into the wilderness, and, the road
having disappeared, we followed an Indian trail marked by blazed
trees and journeyed eighteen miles farther through the woods without
seeing a single habitation. Tired and travel-worn, weary and hungry,
we halted at nightfall in a lovely valley in the wilderness, where a log
house was in progress of erection. Living springs of clear cold water
were gushing from a bank, and on a near-by poplar tree someone had
fastened a shingle marked 'Yankee Springs.'
"WE ARE ALL YANKEES"
"In I835, a young man by the name of Charles Paul, in company
with the family of Henry Leonard, were eating their luncheon under
the trees beside one of the springs. A stranger joined them, and it
came out in conversation that they were all from the New England
states, and one of the party said:
"'We are all Yankees!'
"At this suggestion, Charles Paul hewed the bark off the side of
an oak tree and cut the words 'Yankee Springs' on it. The name clung
to the place and was finally adopted by the township." (Michigan
Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXX, pp. 290-29I).
The Lewis family received a hearty welcome from Calvin Lewis,
who shared the log cabin of two rooms with his relatives. A quilt
hung up served as a door. As no glass was available, boards were
placed over the windows.
Here William Lewis decided to settle, and he "located" a thousand
acres of land most of which was covered with heavy timber. The
nearest neighbor was Calvin Hill, who resided eight miles distant.
Indians were on every side. For miles in every direction stretched
the unbroken primeval forest.
As the Lewis cabin was on the great Indian trail-the only roadbetween Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, many persons applied for
shelter. William Lewis saw an opportunity for profit and prepared
to entertain travelers. How well he did this is related by the daughter
of the late Daniel Ball, one of the founders of Grand Rapids, who
traveled over the road in 1836: "Alone he turned northward, spend



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ing the first night at Yankee Springs where Mr. Lewis had a log
cabin. My father in common with all travelers of that day always
paid a glowing eulogy to the hospitality he received at Yankee Lewis'
tavern. Mrs. Lewis had the best suppers, and there was the biggest
of fires in the fireplace to welcome the hungry travelers. The next
day he stopped at Mr. Leonard's on the Thornapple." (Michigan
Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXXVIII, p. 95).
"NINE STORIES ON THE GROUND"
As patronage increased, additions to the tavern were built until
there were "nine stories on the ground,"-seven buildings in a row
in front with two in the rear.
The fame of the tavern spread rapidly, and travelers planned their
journeys so that they might spend the night there. One hundred persons there at one time was not uncommon, while sixty teams were
often counted there in one day. The ends of the first house received
names. The southern half of the building was "Kalamazoo," the
northern, "Grand Rapids."
Writing of her life in the tavern while a child, the late Mrs. Mary
M. Lewis Hoyt, the landlord's daughter wrote:
"The Kalamazoo was considered the 'best room,' and was furnished
rather better than the others and the better class of people occupied it,
generally bridal parties, &c. * * * Together this husband and
wife labored, their chief desire seeming to be to give happiness to
those about them.  With a hospitality that was proverbial and a
generosity that cannot be measured by ordinary methods they greeted
all who came. The man without money was treated as well as the
man whose pocket bulged with the currency of that day. Ministers
of all denominations, irrespective of creed, were entertained free of
charge, but were expected to hold an evening service in our dining
room, and men were sent to notify the neighborhood to that effect.
* * * Lewis Cass was twice our guest, ex-Governor Felch, exGovernor Ransom, United States Senator Zach Chandler, Senator
Charles E. Stuart, Judge Pratt-and, indeed all men of note who
traveled in those days were at some time or other entertained there
in the primitive style of the day. Royalty was once entertained at
the Mansion House, and this occasion was memorable as being the
first time that the table was set with napkins for each guest, word
having been sent in advance of his coming. Almost the first guest
I can remember was Douglas Houghton, then a young man. * * *
ROBBERIES IN THE WILDERNESS UNKNOWN
"Thefts and robberies were unknown, although large quantities of
money were carried by travelers and it would have been an easy
matter for it to change hands had there been the least desire for it.
For example, every year large quantities of money were carried
through from Detroit to Grand Rapids to pay the Indians at their
annual payments. This money, $I5,000, was conveyed in an extra
stage by a man named Lee, accompanied by an Indian interpreter




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


named Provonsol. The money was all in specie and was carried in
boxes about a foot square, very heavy, as I remember hearing. These
boxes were set in the room at the south end of the old house. There
was an outside door with an old lock and key to it. Two old guns
they had were set up in one corner of the room and those men
probably slept without a care or thought of being robbed." (Michigan
Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXX, p, 294).
The following interesting glimpse of the stage road and tavern
is given by the late George W. Thayer, who traveled over the highway in 1845:
"At that time the railroad was completed only to Marshall. We
took the stage from there to Battle Creek, then a new little village,
but apparently thrifty. We spent the night at the Battle Creek House.
At about four o'clock in the morning we climbed into a mud-wagon,
called the Grand Rapids stage. We breakfasted at a log tavern, in one
of the small and infrequented clearings that we meandered into. In
the timbered land the road was cut out, but was not worked, only as
the feet of the horses and the wheels of the wagons worked it into
ruts and pitch-holes where roots and stones did not prevent, but it
was not so very long before we came into the oak-openings, then so
extensive in western Michigan.
"No one of the present generation has personal knowledge of what
the oak-openings were. They were inviting to the eye and to the
pioneer. Large, fine oaks, generally white oaks, formed a forest of
trees so far apart that a view could easily be had in all directions from
forty to eighty rods. In the opening the track of the road wound
about among the trees wherever the surface was most available, and
where the few fallen trees could be avoided.
"A pioneer would go onto his land in the late summer or early fall,
build a log house of the smaller oaks, girdle a few acres of trees to
prevent the leaves from growing in the spring and forming a shade,
plow, drag in the crop of wheat among the standing oaks, and in the
spring plant corn and potatoes, and secure a very fair crop of each.
As soon as possible the pioneer would cut and bur the girdled trees,
saving the finest ones for rails.
ARRIVE AT YANKEE SPRINGS
"As we moved slowly on, now and then a deer or two would be
seen, and as the forenoon advanced we began to think and talk of
what was to come and of dinner-Yankee Springs! That was the
big oasis of the trip, so some good passengers said; there, good meals
were served by the famed 'Yankee' Lewis and his wife.
"We got there. Four log houses standing in a row, connecting
end to end, a big barn, sheds, a large garden with vegetables and
beds of flowers delighted the eye, and made us all look happier.
* * * All log taverns had a bar-room, which, on entering, the most
conspicuous object the eye would discover would be two rows (one
above the other) of plain, smooth glass decanters, each showing an
outside well grimed with finger marks. These decanters were said




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231


to contain some known brand of whisky, or gin. What was called
'Luke's Best' was the favorite. Luke Whitcomb was a famed Kalamazoo distiller. A number of bottles were required for the different
qualities, as it was the custom to have what was called for, but, in fact,
as a rule, each of the several bottles (the number was for display)
contained one common grade of whisky costing twenty cents or so
per gallon by the barrel. In most of the decanters would be seen
floating some well-faded pieces of lemon. In spring and summer one
decanter would have tansy sprigs. When a man took a meal the
landlord would offer to treat, generally before going to the table, but
when it was a cash transaction, the patron was expected to pay 6d,
or 6%   cents, Spanish silver, or 6 cents in the coin of the United
States." (Michigan Pioneer Collections, Vol. XXX, p. 655).
That patronage of "Yankee Bill's" hotel increased as his fame
spread. That accommodations so comfortable and meals so skillfully
prepared should be found in a rude tavern in the heart of the wilderness amazed travelers. Near his hostelry, Mr. Lewis had a garden
in which he grew for his table every known vegetable in the United
States.
A post office established in the tavern for many years served the
surrounding country. A traveling circus once gave an exhibition here,
and afforded entertainment for pioneers from every part of Barry
county and the eastern part of Allegan. In 1846, Mr. Lewis represented Barry and Allegan counties in the state legislature. He maintained his tavern until the railroads made stage lines no longer necessary. He died, aged fifty-one, in September, I856, and was, in accordance with his request, buried on the hill overlooking the old taverni
site. His body was removed and buried by the side of his wife in
Alaska cemetery, Kent county. Mrs. Lewis, who lived to be eightythree, died March I, I888. Their daughter, Mrs. Mary M. Lewis
Hoyt, long a prominent resident of Kalamazoo, died in the spring of
1922. She was born in Weathersfield, Wyoming county, New York,
on October I, 1832. She was married on January 21, I85I, to Henry
Hoyt, of Kalamazoo, who died on February Io, I900.
George Torrey, an editor of the Kalamazoo Telegraph, who often
patronized the "Mansion House" wrote the following which was widely
published:
"Did you ever go out to Grand River
From Detroit to Kalamazoo,
In a wagon without any kiver,
Through a country that looks very new?
If you are hungry and wish for a dinner,
Breakfast, supper and lodging to boot,
If you're a Turk, Christian or sinner,
Yankee Springs is the place that will suit.
The landlord's a prince of his orderYankee Lewis-whose fame and renown
Far and near throughout Michigan's border,
Are noised about country and town."
The stage lines flourished until the coming of the Michigan Central
railroad as far as Kalamazoo in I846. The business of carrying




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


freight in heavy wagons also proved profitable, and several companies
undertook to furnish such service, limited though it was. One of the
most profitable stage lines and one to pass with advent of the railroad was the one between Kalamazoo and St. Joseph, which was established in 1836. The line followed the Territorial road by way of
Lawrence, and passed through the center of Van Buren county, distributing mail and carrying passengers.
PLANK ROADS PROPOSED
Pioneer roads were so muddy and rough that progress of stages
and freight wagons was greatly hampered. This limitation in transportation held in check many industries, and companies were formed
to build plank roads, which would greatly facilitate travel. These roads
were built of timbers several inches thick laid on a graded roadbed.
During the years previous to I850, many corporations were formed
throughout the country for improving roads.
The earliest of these organized in Kalamazoo was the "Kalamazoo
and Three Rivers Plank Road Company," chartered, and approved by
the governor, on March 17, 1848. The following were incorporators:
Evert B. Dyckman, Daniel L. Kimberley, D. S. Walbridge, Hiram
Arnold, Edward S. Moore. Fifty thousand dollars capitalization was
authorized. The road was constructed from Kalamazoo to a point
several miles south of Schoolcraft. Completion of the railway from
White Pigeon to Kalamazoo terminated the plank road's usefulness.
The "Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids Plank Road Company" was chartered by an act approved March 25, I850. The incorporators were:
F. I. Tanner, Theodore P. Sheldon, George W. Barnes, Isaac Moffatt,
J. P. Woodbury, George Kendall, Charles A. Taylor, A. J. Diederick.
The project was capitalized for seventy thousand dollars. This road's
usefulness was terminated with completion of the Grand Rapids and
Indiana Railway in I870.
TRAFFIC ON THE ST. JOSEPH AND KALAMAZOO RIVERS
The first craft to be used commercially on the St. Joseph and Kalamazoo rivers were the bateaux of the early traders. When the country
was first settled, there were few roads, and the problem of marketing
crops and of receiving merchandise to supply the rapidly increasing
population was one of the most important ones considered for solution. These two rivers with tributaries penetrating far into the fertile
areas of southwestern Michigan afforded the first avenues of transportation. The settlers immediately began manufacture of huge flatboats, rudely built of hand-sawed or hewed timbers and boards. Into
these were loaded wheat, flour, produce, lumber, hides and furs.
This type of craft was exceedingly difficult to handle, but the currents
of both streams were gentle and the awkward boats usually made the
journey without mishap to their destination down stream, where they
were sold to persons who wrecked them to salvage the lumber. On
the St. Joseph river these boats were called "arks," which lived long




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233


in the memories of the first pioneers who were obliged to depend entirely on these crafts for freight transportation.
At Saugatuck and St. Joseph were houses owned by forwarding
companies, which received goods for trans-shipment.
The towns along the Kalamazoo river were greatly in need of transportation so soon as industries were established. In order to relieve
this situation, a company was formed in Kalamazoo to operate a large
flat boat on the river. In 1836, Lucius Lyon, T. C. Sheldon, Justis and
Cyren Burdick, Hosea B. Houston and Messrs. Sherman and Winslow
formed a company, which built and operated a large flat boat, which
was expected to make regular trips up and down the river. On the
second voyage the ambitious crew ventured out on Lake Michigan
and the craft was wrecked.
D. S. Walbridge, who settled in Kalamazoo in 1841, engaged in
the wheat buying business and established in the following year a company, which built and operated a fleet of scows or flat boats.
"From 1843 to 1846, D. S. Walbridge shipped large quantities of
flour from Kalamazoo to Allegan by river in boats and arks. In the
winter he would send it down in sleighs and take back pine plank to
build his arks. They were built of sixteen-foot plank, thirty-two feet
long and sixteen wide. Coming down they would attach two of these
together, end to end, with oars attached as on a raft. Not much caulking was done, but they managed to keep one man bailing most of the
time. At Allegan they would put on a double load and run to the
mouth of the river. They were unloaded at D. S. Nichols' warehouse.
In the spring of I846, one raft built at Allegan belonging to Otsego
residents, went from there to the mouth with one thousand barrels of
flour. Walbridge's boats would carry from Allegan three hundred
barrels. Starting from the warehouse in Allegan, these boats would
make the following points: Bushong, Fox Springs, the West Place,
Stout's Landing, Swan Creek, Bear Creek Landing, Bailey's Landing,
Wolf Skin, Rabbit River."
The return voyage of these boats, laboriously pushed with poles, required seven days. This boat line proved successful until completion
of the Michigan Central Railroad to Kalamazoo in 1846, and thence to
Niles, which became the head of steamboat navigation on the St. Joseph
river.
The Michigan Central Railway, which opened the way for development of Southwestern Michigan was begun in 1836, but before
any considerable amount of work had been done, the company sold out
to the state, which completed sections as follows: From Detroit to
Ypsilanti, February 5, 1838; to Ann Arbor, October 17, 1839; to Dexter, June 30, 1841; to Jackson, December 29, 1841; to Albion, January
25, 1844; to Marshall, August 13, 1844; to Battle Creek, November 25,
I845; to Kalamazoo, February 2, 1846; to Niles, 1848; to New Buffalo,
in the spring of 1849; to Michigan City, autumn of 1850; to Chicago,
May, 1852.
The line afterwards called the Lake Shore, extending from White
Pigeon to Constantine was completed in 1852; to Three Rivers, I855;




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


to Kalamazoo, May, 1867; to Allegan, November 23, 1868; to Grand
Rapids, March I, I869. The line from White Pigeon to Kalamazoo
was called the Kalamazoo and White Pigeon Railroad; that from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids, the Kalamazoo, Allegan and Grand Rapids
Railroad.
These were the two important railroads in the development of
Southwestern Michigan, and gave an impetus to the growth which
rapidly followed the opportunity for speedy shipment of agricultural
products, and receipt of merchandise.
KALAMAZOO STATE HOSPITAL
By Dr. Herman Ostrander
HE Michigan Asylum for the Insane, now known as the Kalamazoo State Hospital, was established by Act 187 Public Acts of
1848 following the recommendation of Governor Epaphroditus Ransom.
This act provided for an institution for the Deaf, Dumb, Blind and Insane, also, for a board of trustees who were empowered to select sites
and erect buildings.
In 1849 this board located the Asylum for the Insane at the village
of Kalamazoo and the institution for the deaf, dumb and blind at Flint.
Ten acres of land were donated by the citizens of Kalamazoo as a
site for the asylum for the insane, located in what is now the heart
of the city. In 1851 after a more careful survey of the situation and
more mature deliberation it was decided that this tract was too small
to meet the future needs of the institution and the present site comprising with subsequent additions 349 acres was selected.
In 1855 plans were completed and submitted to and received the
approval of the Association of Medical Superintendents of Asylums
for the Insane of America, an organization still in existence under the
name of the American Psychiatric Association. Work on the erection
of the buildings was begun the same year.
The trustees at this time were Zina Pitcher, M.D., of Detroit;
James B. Walker, of Flint; Israel Kellogg, and Luther H. Trask, of
Kalamazoo.
Up to 1857 the two institutions, the one at Flint and the one at
Kalamazoo, were under one management. On the date mentioned
they were placed under separate governing boards. The superintendency of the Asylum for the Insane was offered to and accepted by Dr.
John P. Gray of the New York State Asylum at Utica at a salary of
$800 per year out of which were paid his traveling expenses incident
to his several visits to Kalamazoo. Dr. Gray resigned the position
long before the completion of the Asylum and Dr. Edwin H. Van
Deutsen, also of the Utica staff, was appointed to fill the vacancy. The
report for I857-58 gives the officers of the institution as Luther H.
Trask, Kalamazoo, president; J. P. Woodbury, Kalamazoo, secretary;
Henry Montague, Kalamazoo, steward, and E. H. Van Deusen, M.D.,
medical superintendent.




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On February 11, I858, the center building designed for administrative offices and officers' quarters burned to the ground, thus delaying and complicating plans for opening the institution. The first
patient (a woman) was received on April 23, 1859, but the institution
was not formally opened for patients until August 29, 1859. The
first resident officers were: Dr. E. H. Van Deusen, superintendent;
Dr. P. H. Loring, assistant physician; Henry Montague, steward, and
Elizabeth Paul, matron.
The first report of the institution, a biennial document of I859-60,
contains the report of the trustees to the Governor and legislature and
the reports of the superintendent, steward and treasurer. On November 30, I860, there were under treatment forty-seven men and sixtytwo women, a total of Io9.
The period of Dr. Van Deusen's administration (1853-1878) was
distinctly a period of construction and organization. The period of
construction was prolonged by inadequate and belated appropriations.
Public clamor made it seem expedient to open unfinished buildings
and it was not until I864 that suitable quarters were completed for
medical and business offices and residence for the officers. Prior to
this they had to be crowded into quarters intended for patients.
The rapid filling to overcrowding of accommodations compelled
continuous plans for expansion and the two large buildings (one for
each sex) were built and occupied to overcrowding before relief came
in the opening of the asylum at Pontiac in 1872.
Dr. Van Deusen's plan of organization was masterly, his foresight
was keen and prophetic, and his grasp of the problem of the insane
was such that in his pioneer work in his chosen line of duty he blazed
a trail that has inspired the wonder, the gratitude and the emulation
of his followers. There were very few of the present day methods
of caring for the insane that were not envisaged by Dr. Van Deusen.
He lacked only the means and the opportunity of employing them.
On retiring in 1878 he was succeeded by Dr. George C. Palmer,
who had served as assistant superintendent for five years. To Dr.
Palmer belongs the credit of establishing the colony plan of expansion
and segregation-the first to be operated in America, the purpose
being to furnish an outlet for the activities of the insane in an environment that would be homelike, at an occupation that would hasten the
convalescence of the curable and make the incurable healthy, contented
and comfortable residents of a hospital community. There are 350
thus colonized in smaller structures on these farms where they raise
crops, care for herds of Holstein cattle, and thus furnish food for
home consumption. Dr. Palmer resigned in I89I to become medical
director of Oak Grove at Flint, Michigan. He was succeeded by
Dr. William M. Edwards, a member of his staff. To Dr. Edwards
belongs the credit of establishing a training school for nurses, of establishing receiving hospitals (Edwards Hospital for men and Potter
Hospital for women), where all new patients are received and kept
under observation and where intensive treatments are given. These
were among the first hospitals of this type in the United States. Dr.




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Edwards also introduced physiological therapeutics such as hydrotherapy and massage. He also set on foot a movement that culminated
in the establishment of a pathological department. Dr. Edwards served
as superintendent from I891 until the time of his death in I905. He
was succeeded by Dr. Alfred I. Noble, assistant superintendent of the
Worcester State Hospital at Massachusetts, who began his duties in
January, I906.
During Dr. Noble's administration mechanical restraints were entirely abolished. Van Deusen Hospital was erected, a laboratory was
built and a full time pathologist employed. A large industrial building for the employment of patients was begun. Dr. Noble was superintendent for ten years. He died suddenly in Detroit on his way to
read a paper at a meeting of the Joint Board of Trustees at Pontiac,
Michigan.
On February I, I916, Dr. Herman Ostrander, assistant superintendent, was appointed to succeed Dr. Noble. At that time the physical
plant comprised:
I. Three hundred and forty-nine acres of land situated in the
city of Kalamazoo, 128 acres of which was devoted to parks and
covered by buildings and 221 acres of farm land, on which were
located the two original large brick structures known as Female Department and Male Department, a receiving hospital for men (Edwards Hospital), a receiving hospital for women (Van Deusen Hospital) and the following named detached buildings for patients and
employees:
Fletcher Hospital for feeble and bedridden men, named after the
late Hon. Niram A. Fletcher of Grand Rapids, a former trustee; Burns
Building for able bodied men, named after Col. Robert Burns, a former
trustee; Ward T, a wooden shack for tubercular men; Noble Lodge,
a building for men nurses and married couples, named in honor of the
late Dr. Noble; Monroe Building, a building occupied by women,
named in memory of C. J. Monroe, a former trustee; Ward Tx, a
frame hospital for tubercular women; Nurses Home, named after a
former treasurer, Hon. Allen Potter; a store building, a bakery, greenhouse, cannery, carpenter shop, buildings for horses, cattle and other
livestock and numerous small structures; an industrial building and
home for men nurses and married couples in process of construction.
2. A colony situated three miles southwest of the main plant on
a tract of 35734 acres of land, I5734 of which are used for parks and
buildings and 200 acres devoted to farming.
At this colony farm are located Palmer Cottage, capacity of Ioo
women, named for former Superintendent George C. Palmer, M.D.;
Mitchell Cottage, capacity Ioo women, named for former Trustee
Charles F. Mitchell; Grosvenor Cottage, for fifty women, named for
Ira Grosvenor, former trustee, late of Monroe, Michigan; Pratt Cottage, capacity fifty men, named for former trustee, Dr. Foster Pratt;
Rich Building, named for former Governor Rich, built for a central
heating plant, general dining room and kitchen and residence for em



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237


ployees; besides these structures there are barns, stables and other necessary outbuildings for the housing of livestock, tools, and farm implements, etc.
3. A tract of land known as Brook Farm, situated three miles
north, consisting of 256X2 acres, half of it being a black muck in the
Kalamazoo celery district, on which are located a frame house, Trask
Cottage, named for Hon. Luther Trask, one of the first trustees of the
institution, for the housing of forty-five men patients; large barns
and other necessary buildings for the housing of livestock and the
necessary equipment for farming operations.
The institution owns large herds of thoroughbred and high grade
Holsteins that supply all the milk for hospital use from 3,500 pounds
to 4,500 pounds daily.
During the present administration the Industrial Building and
Noble Lodge have been completed, a new up-to-date laundry built and
occupied, a new fire-proof store constructed, plans have also been completed for the construction of fire-proof infirmary for Ioo bedridden
women and plans and operations are now under way for a new central
heating and power plant to serve both the main plant and the Western
State Normal.
The service of the institution has been reorganized sufficiently to
meet the requirements of an increased population and to keep pace
with advancement of psychiatry and with progress in hospital methods.
The executive head of the institution is the medical superintendent.
The service is organized in two general divisions-(I) medical, (2)
business and industrial. Under the former are conducted all those
operations pertaining to the treatment and care of patients, to general
sanitation and to extra mural service. Under the latter are conducted
those operations pertaining to the physical needs of the plant,-heating, plumbing, laundering, repairing, building, farming operations, the
requisitioning of foods and other supplies, etc.
The outstanding features of the Medical Service are, viz:
There is a staff of ten physicians, a pathologist, a psychologist, a
psychiatric social worker, a dentist, a dietitian. The assistant medical
superintendent is the clinical director and in immediate charge of
the general operations of the staff. Staff meetings are held five days
in the week. There is an accredited training school for nurses whose
curriculum covers a three-year course and graduates are eligible to
take the state examination for the degree R. N.
At the receiving hospitals all patients are admitted, kept under
observation and all intensive treatments given. Treatments are medical, physiological (massage, hydrotherapy, etc.), occupational, recreational and industrial. Instruction in massage and hydrotherapy constitutes an important part of the training course. Occupational and
recreational therapy constitutes perhaps the most important department. Patients are instructed in manual arts and crafts. There is a
trained director and a large corps of assistants. A school in occupa



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


tional therapy is conducted requiring six months' actual contact with
patients as attendants followed by six months' intensive instruction in
arts and crafts and pupils in this school are utilized in instructing
patients. Diplomas are issued after the twelve-month period. Allied
with occupation comes recreation as a form of treatment. This is
under a director. Entertainments from the outside world are rare.
Patients are taught to entertain themselves. The benefits to be derived
fi om physical culture, games, rehearsals, devising and making of
costumes and production of plays, pageants, operattas, etc., is of highest therapeutic value to a mind gone astray.
Many hundred patients are employed in the industries and farming
operations as a most valuable therapeutic measure.
Extra Mural Service.-The out-clinic department was established
in March, I916, and since that date regular monthly clinics have been
conducted in Grand Rapids, Jackson, Lansing and Kalamazoo, with
occasional clinics in other cities of the hospital district.
The purpose of clinics is to assist the community in the prevention
and treatment of nervous diseases and of the various types of mental
maladjustment.
It is impossible to estimate accurately the results of this sort of
work. Its value cannot be measured in terms of quantity alone. The
direct benefit to the patients is shown by the percentage of cases reported as improved; as adjusted fairly well to their environment; as
receiving treatment for physical diseases; or as cared for in the manner best suited to protect society. The benefit educationally and soCialy is evident in the interest shown by manufacturers who believe
that their btniness 9sccess depends upon the mental as well as upon
the physical health of their employees; by lawyers who feel that the
relationship of social depdency and anti-social tendencies to mental
Bdorders must be considered seriously; by educators who desire to
have a better understanding of the mental hygiene of children; and
by psychiatrists in other states establishing clinics who request our
plan of clinic work.
The permission granted by school authorities for survey of about
io,ooo children in Grand Rapids in an effort to estimate roughly the
number of children under eleven years of age showing nervous symptoms, seems ample proof of the recognition of clinic work as of value
in the prevention of nervous and mental diseases.
The Social Service Department was organizd September, 192t,
under the direction of a psychiatric social worker.
This department features foltlw-up wrk among discharged;'
s, noting their home life, their readjustment to socal conAtio,
roffering advice that might be hlpful in This re-estabighment ii te
family and comunity, suggesting changes in enviifrimnt and employftt whefi this seems advisable. It also streSses the placement in etriniafi{e:s of unrecovered cases who would not be a social menace and
Ifi         6 wofe  t k a atd e6ttfibute to their own stipport. In this way,




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN                     239
the hospital's treatment and influence is extended to the out-patient, the
family and community. The latter is specially benefited by awakening
a sense of responsibility toward mental cases, by educating as to causes,
treatment and prevention, and by instructing in after care. The foregoing is accompanied by the psychiatric social worker through home
visiting, securing the co-operation of other social agencies and by
educational talks before groups and to the general public.




CHAPTER XII


SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES
ALLEGAN COUNTY.
THE presence of large tracts of pine timber in the pioneer days
of Allegan county made logging the early industry and lumber the
primary attraction to settlers. Agriculture, except to supply the immediate needs of the few settlers, did not form an important part of
the local economic system until after the timber lands had been cleared.
Says Dr. George N. Fuller in his "Economic and Social Beginnings
of Michigan," a work which gives interesting glimpses of the early
life in the state: "The economical transportation of logs and lumber
by water has always been an item of great value in the settlement of
Michigan. It was specially so in the early days when economy in
all things was a necessity. Easy transportation extended the service
of one mill on a stream to all the settlements below, and the tributaries
above a mill extended the availability of timber to their farthest reach.
The cost of hauling logs overland confined early lumbering to their
banks, leaving the intervening tracts to the day of the railroad; yet
the amount of timber that could be easily reached by water was large,
and much lumber was exported. At Allegan four million feet of lumber was cut in 1839 and rafted to Lake Michigan down the Kalamazoo
river.".                   j
The site of the village of Allegan was the point of convergence
of several Indian trails, and its attractiveness to early settlers probably lay in its physiographical character. In 1837, a prospectus of
the village widely circulated set forth that "Allegan, from its various
natural and acquired advantages, will doubtless rank ere long with
the most populous towns of the West." The natural advantages spoken
of were water power at the rapids of the Kalamazoo at that place,
equal to the power formed at Rochester; its situation at the head of
steamboat navigation from Lake Michigan; its healthful elevation
above the river; the adjacent good farming lands; the abundant timber;
the brick clay; the marl beds for lime; and the glass for sand.
The founding of the village was made under the most auspicious
conditions, the personal element entering strongly into them. In I833 -34 twenty thousand acres of land were purchased by a stock company
of New York and Boston capitalists, and this company sent men at
once to clear a site for a village. The county seat was secured to this
embryo village, a mill was erected and a bridge put across the river
at that point. Although the above mentioned prospectus dates the
village as having begun in I835, the first store appears to have been
built in 1836. Not only was the chance for financial gain an inducement
to settlers and investors, but the true spirit of pioneering which found
joy in the development of a new country lent zest to the undertaking.








WORL) WAR MONUMENT, DOWAGIAC   CIVIL WAR MONUMENT, DOWAGIAC


OLD HASTINGS HOUSE WHERE PASSENGERS CHANGED STAGES


FIRST HOUSE IN HASTINGS BUILT BY SLOCUM H. BUNKER




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


241


As one man who refused $Ioo,ooo for his third interest in the property said, he wanted a home and "the luxury of helping build up a
city."
A boom in the village project occurred in I836, about fifty frame
buildings having gone up in that year, and the newspapers of Detroit
and eastern cities commented much on the activities of Allegan. Allegan township in 1837 had a population of 621, and this, as was the
case in Otsego, was principally concentrated in the village. In I838
the village had about seven hundred people, but the financial disturbances of this period retarded its growth materially to the effect that
in 1850 it had but few more inhabitants.
Saugatuck was the first settlement of the county, it having received
its first settlers in I830. In 1834 William Butler platted a village
on this site which he named Kalamazoo, a name soon changed back
to Saugatuck, however, and in the same year other settlers erected a
mill and a tannery. A postoffice was established in I835.
Otsego, Gun Plains and Allegan were the next settlements in the
county, all on the river. By the close of I83i a number of settlers
had established themselves at the rapids in the river at the site of
Otsego, but it was five years before any considerable effort was made
to put the village on its feet, a mill having been erected in that year.
Otsego township in 1837 had a population of 34I, of which number
the village contained slightly less than half.
Gun Plains, a village at the junction of the Gun river and the
Kalamazoo, was commenced by settlers attracted by the extensive
burr-oak openings at that point, and this area was the first in the county
to be cultivated to any extent. Plainfield township, a strip six miles
wide across the eastern end of the county, had a population of 317 in
I837.
Allegan county was established on March 2, 1831, under the territorial laws, was attached to Kalamazoo county for judicial purposes
in 1833, and on August 25, 1835, was organized. In 1837 the county
had a population of 1,469 and in 1840 one of 1,783.
BARRY COUNTY
Dr. George N. Fuller in his "Economic and Social Beginnings of
Michigan" describes for us the early history of Barry county. As for
the trails over which settlers might enter the county, there was an
Indian trail which led from the Potawatomi village at Kalamazoo
through Gull Prairie to the site of Yankee Springs, thence to Indian
Middle Village and down the Thornapple river to its mouth at the
site of Ada where it connected with the trail along the Grand river
through the sites of Ionia, Grand Rapids and Grand Haven. This
route, which led through the open country, seems to have been the
favored one of the settlers after they left the Territorial road at Battle
Creek or Kalamazoo for Grand Rapids.
From Yankee Springs, lines of travel branched off eastward to
Hastings and westward to Otsego and Allegan, and while the mode




242


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


of travel in that day was arduous in the extreme, these trails nevertheless presented a means for the settlers to enter the new territory for
which they were bound.
The outpost of civilization in this county was a Baptist mission,
which for some time enjoyed but little of success on account of the
not infrequently unfriendly attitude of the Indians, who, under the
influence of whiskey obtained from traders were wont to commit depredations of an annoying kind on the white settlements. In 1827,
however, Leonard Slater and his wife assumed charge of the mission,
and although McCoy reported that the mission was in a state of dilapidation in I829, the Slaters undoubtedly had a strong and beneficent
effect on the early settlement of the county.
The settlement of Barry county was slow, for at the time the state
was admitted to the Union in 1837, the county had a less degree of
settlement than any other in Michigan. It had about one-half the
population of Eaton county, to the east, or of Ionia to the north.
To the west, Allegan county numbered three times its population, and
northward, in Kent county, there were over four times as many people.
Immediately on the south were Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties, the
smaller of which had a population twelve times greater than that of
Barry. County government was not organized until two years after
Michigan became a state, it having been attached to St. Joseph and
Kalamazoo counties prior to that time for judicial purposes, although
its township government began on March 23, 1836, when the township
of Barry was created, embracing the entire county.
What population there was at that time was apparently not well
distributed, though all of the areas represented in the present townships
excepting three seem to have received their first settlers by I837, these
three having been Barry, Hope and Baltimore, they having been handicapped originally by the presence of hills, swamps and heavy hardwood
timber. In I838, the year before the organization of the county, the
legislature divided the township of Barry into four equal townships,
Barry, Thornapple, Hastings and Johnstown, but this cannot be taken
as meaning equal distribution of population.
Hastings township lay in the northeastern corner, and its center
of population was Hastings, a very small place. The first township
meeting was held at the house of Slocum H. Bunker, a resident of
the township. In I838, according to Blois' Gazetteer, "Hastings, a
village on the Thornapple river, near the center of the county of Barry,
is said to be beautifully situated, possessing excellent hydraulic power,
which is improved to some extent."
The township of Thornapple contained two of the earliest settle-:mets in the county, Yankee Springs and Middleville, the latter a
favorite place with the Indians and deriving its name from its location
half way between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Land at this site
was said to have been purchased in 1834 by a New York settler, who
brought his family in the following year. A good many New Yorkers




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


243


came to the county in 1837, many of them settling in Johnstown township.
The settlement of the county seems to have begun practically with
the great wave of speculation in the lands of Michigan that came in
full force in 1836. That year marked the beginning of one of the
most widely known settlements in Michigan, Yankee Springs. This
was situated in the openings near cool springs near the junction of
Indian trails, and while never even a considerable village gained much
renown through the hospitality of William "Yankee" Lewis, landlord
of Yankee Springs Tavern, built "six stories all on the ground."
Lewis was a native of Weathersfield, New York, and chose this site
for an inn after having been in both Indiana and Illinois. His tavern
became famous throughout the middle west, and he himself was a
vigorous pioneer of the new state.  He was a representative in the
legislature from Barry county in 1846, and his influence probably
attracted many settlers to the county.
The beginnings of Hastings came in 1836, when a company was
organized for the purpose of exploiting the water power and timber
resources of that locality. This company bought the site chosen for
the county seat, which was yet, in 1836, without settlers, for $3,ooo,
and this became known as the "Barry County Seat Purchase." The
three purchasers appear to have organized as a company subsequent
to the purchase itself, as the Hastings Company, to found the village,.
and it is probable that Eurotas P. Hastings, as president of the Bank
of Michigan, had something to do with financing the project.
This company commenced at once to make improvements, first
erecting a sawmill on a branch of the Thornapple, and the first frame
house, erected in I838, was constructed of lumber sawed in this mill.
It is thought that the purchasers of the site of Hastings were Marshall
men, and that town was for a time one of the points of supply for
the embryo village. Mail reached the first settlers of Hastings from
Gull Prairie, Kalamazoo county.
The land and town-site speculation in Michigan in the thirties gave
an impulse to the settlement of Barry county. The county was established as a territorial township on October 29, I829, was attached to
St. Joseph county for judicial purposes in I829 and to Kalamazoo
county in 1830, and was organized a county of the state on March 15,
I839. In 1837 it had a population of 512 and in I840 this had increased
to 1,078. The original area had one more range of townships on the
west than has the present area of the county.
BERRIEN COUNTY
Although settlement in southwest Michigan was first begun in
Berrien county, the French having been there very early in the history
of the section, the position of the county so far west hindered its early
growth materially. It was not until the Carey Mission was established
in 1822-23, under the auspices of Governor Cass, that immigration to
the county set in, and thereafter spread outward into the county from




244


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the site of this mission, which was near the present city of Niles.
There was as early as 1822 an immigration of about fifty persons to
this mission from Fort Wayne.
Outside of this mission colony and west of Tecumseh there were
in 1825 but seven white families in Berrien county. Settlement of the
county began in earnest with the platting of Niles in I829, and settlement soon followed throughout the remainder of the county. The
importance of the site of St. Joseph was easily recognizable. The
French and the American governments had always recognized it as
a strategic location for a fort, and there was some sporadic settlement
there early in the century, principally by fur traders. In I829 Calvin
Brittain, a New Yorker who had for two years been a teacher at the
mission, came to the site of St. Joseph and later laid out the village
(1831).
In the same year Berrien Springs was platted on Wolf's Prairie, and
in the first year of its existence a sawmill was erected there. The
county seat was removed from Niles to St. Joseph in 1832, but in
1837 was moved to Berrien Springs as a more central location. A
speculative venture in town settlement was made at Bertrand in 1833
by a stock company, but although the site was propitious, the lots were
held at too high a figure, which discouraged settlers from coming there.
Berrien county was established October 29, I829, and was in that
year attached to Cass county. It was organized on March 4, 1831.
In 1834 its population numbered 1,787; in 1837 it numbered 4,563;
and in 1840 it numbered 5,oII.
BRANCH COUNTY
Dr. George N. Fuller has written of the early settlement of Branch
county that the "comparative backwardness of Hillsdale and Branch
counties had three principal causes. There was first the' tendency
of Tecumseh, Adrian and the other older settlements in the eastern
part of the Territory to assimilate those immigrants who, while wishing to get good lands, preferred a comparatively close neighborhood;
secondly, there was the forest barrier against immigration from the
south into the lower parts of these counties, combined with the presence of inviting prairies in the open country to the west, which gave
St. Joseph and Cass counties a good start before the public land sales
and the improvement of the Chicago road facilitated the influx of
settlers from the eastern states; again, there was the power of concentration enjoyed by the thriving southwestern settlements, attracting
such eastern settlers as might be willing to leave the vicinity of the
older settlements.
"At the time of the Cass expedition over the Chicago trail in 1820,
this whole section was a primitive wilderness, save for the Indians
and a few French traders at the Indian villages and on the prairies and
the banks of the St. Joseph. The Indian claims to the region were
ceded by a succession of treaties from I82I to I833. The Indians
retained a few reservations, the total area of which was not great;




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


245


but since they occupied some of the most attractive prairie land in
the section, and since the character of the Indians was generally such
that newcomers tended to avoid their neighborhood, these reservations
were temporarily a retarding influence upon the spread of settlement
in their vicinity. They were found chiefly at Coldwater in Branch
county, in the northern part of St. Joseph, and in the southeastern
part of Berrien.
In Branch county, says Doctor Fuller, the first settlement was made,
not from the east, but from Ohio. The choice of a location fell naturally upon prairie land, and the 'name of the settler was Jabez Bronson, a name soon attaching to the prairie and still remaining in the
southwestern township of Bronson. This settlement was made in 1828.
The previous year Bronson had raised a crop of corn on White Pigeon
Prairie in Cass county, and it is curious that with such early knowledge
of that region he should have moved farther east. No sufficient reason,
apparently, has been assigned; none can be found in his original occupation as a shipwright, nor was he of the hunter type of pioneer wishing to get away from his associates, for he located on the Chicago road,
where his log cabin became known as "Bronson's Hotel." In the
winter of I829-30 there were a half dozen families on the prairie,
which became the nucleus of Bronson village.
"The logical choice for the first settlers in Branch county would
seem to have been the prairie about the site of Coldwater. This lay
eastward from Bronson Prairie, also on the Chicago road, and would
meet the first eastern immigration coming to the county. But the first
settlement from that direction was not made there, and a reason
appears apart from the fact of Bronson's approach from the west
and the attraction which his vicinity might have for newcomers. On
Coldwater Prairie, Indians were in possession of a large reservation
made by the Chicago treaty of 1821. Several hundred Indians were
gathered there, and though this land was ceded to the government in
1827, it was considerable time before they were removed. They were
on the whole friendly, but their selfishness, vagrancy, drunkenness,
and thieving made them undesirable neighbors. A settlement was
made on Cocoosh Prairie at the extreme north of the county in I829.
"By the year 1830 the older settlements of this section had gained
considerable strength. Of the younger counties, Branch had more
settlers than Hillsdale, but these probably did not number more than
a hundred. In the national census of 1830 the population of Branch
fails to appear independently; it is included in that of the township
of Green, a large township comprising in addition to Branch the counties of Calhoun and Eaton and "all the country lying north of the
county of Eaton; but the population of Green township together with
that of Flowerfield township in St. Joseph county, with which it was
included, numbered only one hundred and ten people. The population
of the remaining area within the present limits of St. Joseph county
was distributed between the two large equal townships of White Pigeon
and Sherman."




246


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Branch, the first village of the county, was laid out in 1831, two
years before the county was organized. This village had its inception
in a purely speculative enterprise, a native of Connecticut having conceived the idea that since the county would undoubtedly soon be organized, there would necessarily be a county seat. Since there was at that
time no village which could be utilized as the nucleus for such a seat
of government, he determined the geographical center of the county,
bought a tract of land covering three-quarters of a square mile, platted
a village, and later was successful in having his village chosen as the
county seat. It was pleasantly situated on high ground which rose
from the Coldwater river, and although off the Chicago road, had
many advantages to recommend it. The result was that he quickly
disposed of his village lots, the surrounding farm land was soon bought
up, and a sawmill and a gristmill were started. These mills attracted
much attention to the village, for they were widely patronized. However, the inhabitants of Coldwater, platted a year later, gave the citizens of Branch keen competition for the site of the county seat, and
so vigorous was this village that in 1840 the seat of county government
was removed from Branch to Coldwater, where it has since remained.
Branch county was established under the laws of Michigan Territory on October 29, I829, was attached to St. Joseph county in the
same year, and was organized a county on February I, 1833. In 1834
it had a population of 764, in 1837 one of 4,0I6 and in 1840 one of
5,715 -CALHOUN COUNTY
Hoffman, in his "A Winter in the West," wrote from Marshall in
I833 in eulogy of the natural beauties of the country in and about
Calhoun county. He says that "for general healthfulness of situation,
I believe it is agreed that the banks of the small lakes which so abound
in the peninsula are-when these transparent bodies of water are surrounded by a sand beach, which is the case with about a third of
them-among the healthiest. They are fed generally by the springs,
and in many cases are supposed to have a subterranean outlet; while
so beautifully transparent are their waters that the canoe suspended
on their bosom seems to float in midair. These lakes abound with fish;
and in some of them, of only a few acres in extent, fish have been
taken of forty pounds weight. They generally lie imbosomed in the
oak openings, and with their regular and almost formal banks crowned
with open groves these silver pools might be readily taken for artificial
trout-ponds in a cultivated park. I need hardly add that it is necessary to diverge, as I have, from the route generally traveled, to see
these scenic gems, so numerous, lonely, and beautiful. Not one in a
hundred has a settler on its banks."
The prairies in Calhoun county were smaller, less numerous, and
not so well distributed as those in Kalamazoo county; and consequently
attracted a comparatively small share of the southern immigration,
having been settled later and principally from the east. Most of the
prairie land, with the exception of Cook's prairie in the southeastern




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


247


part of the county, was in the west. Goguac Prairie, near Battle Creek,
was of fair size, as was Dry Prairie, directly to the south end extending
into Branch county. The settlement of these prairies was begun in
1831-32, and although slightly preceded by several river settlements,
notably the one at Marshall, these prairie lands were quickly bought
up, 1,440 acres on Dry Prairie having been entered in a single day,
and the land of Goguac Prairie was all bought up before that on the
river in the neighboring openings. All of the prairies early received
a considerable number of settlers, who came principally from Vermont
and New York. In 1832, settlement near Homer village was begun,
attracting many Pennsylvanians, although there were a number of New
Yorkers among them. The New York influence was reflected in the
choice of names for Homer and Clarendon township, which were named
for towns of the Empire state. The first settler of Cook's Prairie was
also a New Yorker, having been a native of Cayuga county, that state.
"Next to the prairie land," writes Dr. George N. Fuller, "the oak
openings and the burr-oak plains were the settler's preference, not so
much for the sake of the soil as for the relative openness as compared
with much of the forested area, which made for ease of travel and
immediate cultivation. The most of Calhoun was covered with burrand white-oak openings.
"The beauty of these plains and openings in summer must have
been most pleasing to the settlers, whose reminiscences describe them
variously as being like 'a sea of grass and flowers,' or like 'a vast
field of ripe grain, with here and there an orchard.' Even in winter
these plains had their charms. A traveler in Calhoun county writes:
'But, lost as I was, I could not help pausing frequently when I struck
the first burr-oak openings I had ever seen, to admire its novel beauty.
It looked more like a pear-orchard than anything else to which I can
assimilate it-the trees being somewhat of the shape and size of fullgrown pear trees, and standing at regular intervals apart from each
other on the firm level soil, as if planted by some gardener. Here, too,
I first saw deer in herds; and half frozen and weary as I was, the
sight of these spirited-looking creatures sweeping in troops through
these interminable groves, where any eye could follow them for miles
over the smooth snowy plain, actually warmed and invigorated me,
and I could hardly refrain from putting the rowels into my tired
horse, and launching after the noble game.'
"In another place, the same writer exclaimed: 'What a country
this is. Into land like this, which is comparatively undervalued by
those seeking to settle on-the prairie, a man can run his plow without
felling a tree; and, planting a hundred acres, where he would clear
but ten in the unsettled districts of New York, raise his twenty-five
bushels of wheat to an acre in the very first season.'"
The heavily timbered lands of Calhoun county were, of course,
settled much more slowly than the plains and openings. Newton township did not receive a settler until 1834, in spite of the fact that it
was just off the Territorial road. Oak, beech, maple, ash, basswood,




248


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


whitewood, and butternut abounded in this region, and there was some
black walnut.
Water power was a considerable influence in the location of the
early settlements, and at Albion, Marshall and Battle Creek, power
from the Kalamazoo was the real agent for centralizing population at
these points. On Cook's Prairie the village of Homer was platted in
1834, principally on account of the water power furnished by a branch
of the Kalamazoo at that place, but until the first mills were erected
by a stock company in the years 1837-38 the growth was slow. However, in 1837, Homer boasted a store and about two hundred citizens.
The attraction of Dry Prairie, which began to be settled about
this time, seems to have been principally for agriculturists, as there
is no mention of a village on the prairie for some years, and was in
1837 the least settled part of the county, the two southwestern townships, Athens and Burlington, having had but slightly more than six
hundred inhabitants. The oak openings between the two prairies soon
attracted purchasers, and by 1836 had a center of population in the
township of Tekonsha.
Dr. Fuller describes the beginnings of Marshall as follows in part:
"Marshall was largely indebted for the vigor of its early growth to
the superior energy, foresight and practical wisdom of its promoters.
Three factors in this personal element should be specially noted. Sidney Ketchum, the first actual settler within the limits of the present
city, before coming to Michigan, resided in western New York. In
the words of one apparently qualified to speak of him, his 'commanding presence, air of confidence and honesty, and ready command
of most convincing language,' together with prime business ability,
made him for this section 'the mighty moving power in all the financial matters of that early period.' Reverend John D. Pierce and Isaac
E. Crary were close friends and co-workers throughout their long lives
in the interests of Marshall and Michigan. Their chief services were
rendered after this period, but they serve to illustrate types of Marshall
men."
In a letter to the editor of the Detroit Courier for November 6,
1833, a visitor to Marshall wrote: "One fact must ever give Calhoun
the ascendency. I mean the character of the people. They are all
well educated. * * * It is indeed almost incredible, but so it is,
that in this spot have gathered as if by common consent a body of
men from the eastern states who must have been the most prominent
among their former associates. * * * They are doubtless induced
to hazard the temporary inconvenience of a new settlement that they
may insure to their children that independence which otherwise they
could have hoped to enjoy only during the lifetime of their parents."
Of Battle Creek and Albion, Dr. Fuller says: "Battle Creek, notwithstanding its excellent water power and the early rivalry to secure
control of it, appears to have been slow in securing mills, and its settlement in this period was correspondingly tardy. A census of the male
inhabitants said to have been taken by a contemporary in 1835 num



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249


bered about fifteen. The village was comparatively late in platting
(1836) and it saw no frame house erected until the last year of the
period. A curious lack of enterprise is shown so late as I845 by the
apparent necessity, if true, of raising by subscription from the citizens
a sufficient fund to start a newspaper. A somewhat better impression
is gained from the account given by Blois for 1838, crediting the village with a sawmill, two gristmills, two taverns, six stores, a saddlery,
a cabinet manufactory, two smitheries, several machine shops and a
banking association. It is worthy of note in view of the prominent
part taken later by Battle Creek as a station on the 'underground railroad,' that the Quakers appear to have formed a considerable part of
its population as early as 1836-37.
"At Albion, though the lands covering the water power were purchased early, mills and the accompanying village beginnings apparently
did not materialize until 1836. The impulse of 1836 was due to the
Albion Company, whose leading spirit came from Oswego county,
New York. That year saw the first frame house. Mills were built,
and in 1838 the village with some forty dwellings appears to have
been in about the same stage of growth as Battle Creek. Its position
a mile and a half south of the Territorial road was an initial handicap,
but it was on the surveyed road from Marshall to Monroe and also
on the located route of the Central Railroad. Albion College is said
to have had beginnings in neighboring settlements as early as, 1835
but seems 'not to have been a considerable influence at Albion until
1839; its establishment appears to have been largely due to the patronage of the Albion Company."
Calhoun county was established under the Territorial laws on October 29, 1829, and was attached to St. Joseph county in that year for
judicial purposes. In the following year it became attached to Kalamazoo county, a connection which obtained until Calhoun was organized as a county on March 6, I833. In 1834 it had a population of
1,714, in 1837 a population of 7,959, and in 1840 one of 5,7Io.
CASS COUNTY
The surface of Cass county was undulating and contained numerous
fertile prairies and oak openings, most attractive to settlers, and the
first settlements in the county were determined by the prairies, the
Chicago trail, a mission, and the presence of water power. The mission was located in the western part of the county, and was the attraction for the first settlements in that part of the county. In 1825 there
was a settlement on Pokagon's Prairie, which received its name from
the much respected Indian chief of that name, and in the following
year occurred the first settlement on Beardsley's Prairie, known as
Edwardsburg. The settlement first mentioned was considerably north
of the mission and some distance removed from the Chicago trail, to
the east of Dowagiac creek near where a carding mill was started in
1830. Adamsville, located at the junction of Christian creek and the
Chicago road, was begun on account of water power at that point,




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


and in the eastern part of the county the first settlement was Union,
a village on the prairie crossed by the Chicago road. Some time later,
in 1829, the northern part of the county was reached by settlers at
Little Prairie Ronde. The settlers of this place were from New Jersey
originally, but came directly there from Union City, Indiana.
It is stated in the "Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan"
that Cass county shared with St. Joseph in rapidity of settlement, but
there was in the former, in this period, a lesser tendency to village
formation. With three stages running weekly through Edwardsburg,
that place apparently had superior advantages for concentrating population, and the progress of township organization reflects rapid rural
growth there. The only other village founded in the county in this
period was Cassopolis, started as a result of a struggle among several
neighboring settlements for possession of the county seat. Although
there was not a settler on the site of the village in 1831 when it was
platted, it was at the geographical center of the county, a fact determined by a local lawyer, who thereupon bought sufficient land to plat
a village, and later succeeded in having the county seat moved thither
from Geneva where the Territorial legislature had located it upon the
establishment of the county on October 29, I829. It was organized
on November 4th of the same year.
The population of Cass county was 3,280 in 1834; 5,296 in 1837;
and 5,7IO in I840, which put it well up among the leaders in point
of population in southwestern Michigan.
EATON COUNTY
The heavy timber which covered almost the entire surface of Eaton
county in the early days discouraged many settlers from locating
within its boundaries who might otherwise have done so. The soil
was generally good, having been a sandy loam with a thick covering
of vegetable mould, but the difficulties attendant upon preparing a
few acres for cultivation were so great that most of the pioneers,
except those who preferred a timbered farm, were wont to locate elsewhere, either on the prairies or the oak openings of other counties,
a fact which accounts for the slow development of the county. There
were, however, a few tracts of land free from the heavy timber. These
were a narrow strip of oak openings across the southern border, and
here and there a few scattered openings which were the first to attract
settlers. The site of Charlotte, which was near the center of the
county, was a beautiful prairie of nearly a section, a tract which had
long been a favorite planting ground of the Indians. Here several
trails met. Vermontville township, founded by a colony of Vermonters, was said to have resembled parts of the Champlain valley in the
Green Mountain state, which probably influenced the choice of location.
Other building materials were, however, to be found in the county
in addition to timber, sandstone having been quarried in the northeastern part and limestone in the neighborhood of Bellevue.
This last mentioned place, Bellevue, was the source of entrance
into the county used by the first settlers, as there were openings in the




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


251


heavy timber in that region, but later they left the road at Jackson
and came into the county at the southeastern corner near the site of
Eaton Rapids. There existed at that time an Indian trail from Marshall to Ionia through Bellevue and Vermontville, and so great was
the necessity of a road for teams through the otherwise impenetrable
forest that the early settlers subscribed money to cut a road through
the timber over this Indian trail. The first post road in the county was
established over the southern part of this road from Bellevue to Marshall. Communication of Eaton Rapids and Charlotte with the southern settlements was at first effected through Jackson, while pioneer
relations of Bellevue and Vermontville with these southern settlements
were carried on through Marshall.
The site of Bellevue was chosen on account of the presence of
water power, it having been situated on the bank of Battle Creek, and
for its natural beauty. Its first settler arrived in June, 1834, and either
in that year or the next a sawmill was in operation. The land on the
site had been purchased by Isaac Crary in 1832, and the village was
platted by him in I835.
In 1832, likewise, the government surveyor of this district bought
the land on the site of Charlotte, and in the next year secured the
county seat for his site long before there was a settler there, the first
family to come thither making its arrival in 1836 via Bellevue.
Vermontville was distinguished by its good government and the
culture of its inhabitants, Vermonters, who stressed the importance of
education and religion. All but two were members of the Congregational church, and the church played an important part in the early
life of the place.  The leader of the settlement was Rev. Sylvester
Cochrane, and the establishment of the village was not unlike a Puritan
pilgrimage.
Eaton Rapids, chosen as the site of a village on account of the
rapids in the Grand river at that place, was a sawmill town, a mill
having been in process of erection in 1837, in which year there were
three houses there.
Eaton county was established on October 29, I829, was attached
to St. Joseph county in that year and to Kalamazoo in 1830, and was
reorganized under state law December 29, I837, when it had a population of 529.
KALAMAZOO COUNTY
The enabling act for Kalamazoo county, under date of October 29,
1829, specified in part, "That so much of the country as lies south of
the base line, and north of the line between townships four and five
south of the base line, and west of the line between ranges eight and
nine west of the meridian, and east of the line between ranges twelve
and thirteen west of the meridian, be, and the same is, hereby set off
into a separate county, and the name thereof shall be Kalamazoo."
As soon as the county was organized, Governor Cass appointed John
Allen and Calvin Smith commissioners to locate the seat of justice




252


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


in Kalamazoo county, and they made a careful survey of the county to
determine upon the location of the seat. In a letter to Governor Cass
reporting their action, which was approved by him, they said in part:
Two places upon the river, about the same distance from the center
of the county, presented their claims for the site. These were examined with care, and not without anxiety. "A spot was at length selected,
on an eminence near the center of the southwest quarter of Section
fifteen, town two south, of range eleven west, owned by Titus Bronson,
Esq. Mr. Bronson has agreed to lay out a village, and place upon
the proper records a plan or map thereof, duly acknowledged, with
the following pieces of land, properly marked and set apart in said
map or plan, for the public use: One square of sixteen rods for the
courthouse; one square of sixteen rods for a jail; one square of sixteen
rods for an academy; one square of eight rods for common schools;
one square of two acres for a public burial ground; four squares of
eight rods each for the first four religious denominations that become
incorporated in said village, agreeably to the statute of the territory."
The reasons which influenced the location of the county seat at this
place are: Ist. It is on the bank of the river, which at this place
is navigable, most of the year, for keelboats of several tons burden;
2nd. It is in the direct line between the two largest prairies in the
county, viz: Prairie Ronde and Gull Prairie; about nine miles from
the latter, and ten from the former, and with Grand Prairie two miles
on its west; 3rd. Good roads may, with facility, be made from it into
any part of the county. Four or five large trails set out from this place,
leading to as many different places of importance on the St. Joseph and
Grand rivers; 4th. The great Territorial road passes through it." This
report was approved by Governor Cass on April 2, 1831, and on May
I2th, following, John T. Mason, acting governor of the territory in
the absence of Cass, issued a proclamation establishing the county seat
at Kalamazoo. It became necessary from time to time with the growth
of population to organize additional townships. In 1832 Richland was
organized; Comstock was organized March 7, 1834; and on March 3,
1836, the name of the township of Arcadia was changed to Kalamazoo,
the name of the village of Bronson also changed to Kalamazoo. Pavilion township was organized March 23, 1836, as was Prairie Ronde
township; Cooper township on March II, 1837; Climax on December
30, 1837; Alamo on March 6, 1837, and in the same year the townships of Charleston, Portage and Texas; Ross on March 21, I839;
Oshtemo on March 22, I839; Schoolcraft on February I6, I842; and
Wakeshma on March 25, I846. Each of the above named townships
comprises a Congressional township of land, and each township is
subdivided into school and road districts. The city of Kalamazoo had
its inception in the summer of I829, when, in June, Titus Bronson,
following the St. Joseph trail, came hither from Ann Arbor.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Immigration into St. Joseph county was from both the south and
the east, the two streams blending, although the majority of immigrants




SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN


253


were from the south until the completion of the survey of the Chicago
road, when the evidence began to dispel the original doubts of the
easterners as to the quality of the new country-doubts fostered by
early and unfavorable reports by Monroe and Tiffin. In I825 newspaper comment began to be made as to the excellence of the lands in
St. Joseph county, and within two years settlers from the east and
from Wayne county, Michigan, and Jennings county, Indiana, were
settled on Pigeon and Sturgis prairies. The other prairies soon attracted settlers also, and in 1827 the site of Mottville on the St. Joseph
river was selected for a mill by an Ohioan, a pioneer store making its
appearance in the following year. Settlement was quite rapid, and by
the end of 1829 the frontier had reached out to Nottawasepe Prairie
near the Indian reservation.
The trend of immigration was reflected in the establishment of the
government land office at White Pigeon in 1831, and indicates that the
village, which had been platted in I830, was about in the center of
early settlement. In the words of the traveler, Hoffman: "At White
Pigeon, where I found quite a pretty village of four years' growth,
I seemed in getting upon the post route from Detroit to Chicago, to
get back once more to an old country." The village boasted a newspaper in I834, the Michigan Statesman and St. Joseph Chronicle.
Other villages platted about 1831 in the county were Centerville,
Mottville and Constantine, while beginnings had been made at Three
Rivers and Burr Oak. Of these villages, Dr. Fuller has written:
"Centerville was platted (1831) on Nottawa-sepe prairie, one of the
largest and most fertile in the southwest. A piece of land about onehalf a township in area was reserved in 1821 to the Potawatomi Indians,
which was not open to settlement until two years after the Indian
treaty of 1833; but south of the reservation a line of settlements began
to form as early as 1828-29; one of these was Centerville. These settlements were the first that were made in the northern part of the
county. Among the first people to settle here were Virginians, of
whom the pioneer records make a point of saying that the traditional
Virginian hospitality, freely extended, made the way easier for later
comers. In the year of the founding of Centerville there came to the
vicinity a little colony of thirty-two people from Ohio, led by a native
of Vermont.   The prevailing sources of the population-Vermont,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio-show
the blending of the movements from the east and from below Michigan.
"In contrast with these prairie villages, Mottville and Constantine
represent the sawmill type of village. The former was chosen as a
mill site in 1827 by a settler from Crawford county, Ohio; its early
settlers were largely Ohioans. Constantine was platted in 1831 at the
junction of the St. Joseph with Fawn river at which time three families
had gathered there from Ohio and Pennsylvania. The first gristmill
in the county to be run by water was built there in 1830. From the
same sources came the first settlers of Three Rivers, a site chosen also
for its water power, though no village was laid out until 1836. A




254


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


considerable immigration to the burr-oak plains which have given the
name to the village of Burr Oak took place in I833."
St. Joseph county was established on October 29, 1829, and was
organized on November 4, I829, in which year it had a population
of 6,337, a number decreased to 4,606 by 1840.
VAN BUREN COUNTY
The early pioneers found but little prairie land in Van Buren county,
and this was a small corner of Little Prairie Ronde over the dividing
line from Cass county, and thus it was that the early settlement of
this county was somewhat slow. However, in common with Allegan
county, Van Buren had much valuable pine timber, and hence the
names of Pine Creek and Pine Grove township.
In 1831, beginnings of a settlement, known as the "Pine Creek
Neighborhood," were made at the junction of Pine Creek and the
Kalamazoo river. Cutting off the pine along the creek was the motivating influence behind this settlement, but the number of settlers in
the county was small, for although the timber was valuable and an
asset to settlement in the openings, the land did not at once appeal
to agriculturists, there having been but little development along this
line for a decade after this time. In I849 Pine Grove township had
but thirty voters.
Lumbering on a small scale for local consumption was an important
early industry. It was much facilitated by an abundance of water
power, which was well distributed throughout the section on the main
streams and tributaries of the Kalamazoo, the St. Joseph and the Paw
Paw rivers.
In Van Buren county, the first settlement was closely related with
the older prairie settlements of other counties. The water power at
the site of Paw Paw began to be improved by prospectors from Prairie
Ronde, and it was natural that pioneer trade relations should have
followed between the inhabitants of the two places.
Van Buren county was established as a county of the territory on
October 29, I829, and was organized as a county of the state on March
I8, I837. In the latter year it boasted 1,262 inhabitants, and three
years later the number had increased to 1,9IO.




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MARY S. CHAPIN


J. A. CLARK
EARLY TEACHERS' CON'rRACTr




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CALHOUN COUNTY 1








CHAPTER XIII


CALHOUN COUNTY
T   HE territory now included in the county of Calhoun has been
under the flags of foreign nations, and even under that of the
United States has been a part of many different territorial subdivisions.
The first vague claims of white men to this region were those of
the then powerful Spanish nation, and dated from I540 to 1701. It
cannot be said, however, that these claims had even a slight effect upon
the virgin territory of Michigan, because there was no colonization, or
even exploration during that time which can be accredited to the
Spaniards. Life in the wilderness went on as before the sweeping
claims were made-the Indian came and went with no thought of the
white man to disturb his nomadic occupation of this forest empire.
But though the Spaniards were making no effort to strengthen their
evil hold on this northwest country, the British and French explorers
and trappers were busily working their way along the principal water
courses, the Great Lakes, the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, the representatives of each country laying claim to all the land their vivid
imaginations could picture. On July 13, I701, the Sachems of the
Five Nations, asserting that they had driven from the middle west
all Indian tribes hostile to them, or had at any rate subdued them,
ceded to the English under King William III a "broad strip on the
south side of Lake Erie" and extending westward. Thus the present
Calhoun county came under the British flag.
The French, of course, ignored this cession of territory to the
British and made more and more forcible claims to it for their own
side. Claims and counter claims flew thick and fast, and the constantly
increasing friction between these two powerful nations, augmented by
the desires of each for the valuable fur trade of the northwest, as
well as by territorial greed, inevitably resulted in war. The storm
broke in 1756, and the French and Indian war, as it was called, was
the occasion of much fierce and bloody fighting between the armies of
these two old European rivals.
At this time, the French undoubtedly had far better claims to this
particular region, not only because of more extensive explorations, but
also because of colonization at points not far removed, compared to
the English colonies, from the site of Calhoun county. Although white
men had probably been up the St. Joseph river much earlier, there is
no positive knowledge of their having been until I679, when La Salle
passed this way. However, there is strong reason to believe that
Father Marquette was here in 1675.
But while these first adventurous explorers found a virgin wilderness peopled by ignorant savages, the discoveries of archaeologists
bring ample evidence that centuries earlier in the development of the




268


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


world this country was inhabited by a race of men, the Mound Builders, who boasted a civilization the extent of which is now a matter
of pure conjecture since this prehistoric race has left us but scant
traces upon which to construct a picture of its accomplishments. But
insofar as it affects our later history, the civilization of the Mound
Builders is of relative unimportance, because the entire structure of
our modern life has its origin here in the explorations of Marquette
and La Salle.
In 1673, two years after French officers had taken possession of
the territory of the northwest in the name of the King of France and
the Christian religion, Marquette gathered around him a number of
men at Point St. Ignace, and on May 13 of that year embarked on a
voyage of exploration of the country west of Lake Michigan. He
journeyed first to Green Bay, thence up to Fox river to an Indian village
where Father Allouez had previously preached to the members of
several tribes. From this village he portaged to the Wisconsin river
down which he traveled to discover the Mississippi river on June 17,
1673. After returning to St. Ignace at the conclusion of this expedition, he went to Illinois Indians, at their request, to establish missions among them, and worked among them until the failure of his
health in 1675 necessitated his retirement. It was at that time that
he selected as his homeward route the easy passage up the Kankakee
and down the St. Joseph rivers. However, death overtook him on
the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the little river which now
bears his name, and two years later his body was borne to St. Ignace
by Indians.
In I669, Robert Rene Cavelier Sieur de La Salle, explorer extraordinary of the French nation, undertook the series of explorations which
resulted in the discovery of the Ohio and the Wabash rivers. Upon
his return to Canada, he laid before Frontenac, the governor-general,
plans by which the French might establish a chain of forts and trading
posts down the Mississippi river to the gulf of Mexico. At the suggestion of Frontenac, La Salle went to France to have his project approved by the king and Colbert, Minister of Finance and Marine, both
of whom saw the advantages to be derived therefrom, and sent him
back to America with authority to carry out the undertaking. He was
given command of Fort Frontenac, located on Lake Erie at the head
of the St. Lawrence river, and from there, on November I6, 1678, he
sailed to Niagara Falls, where he engaged in the fur trade, probably
to procure funds for the financing of his expedition. In the Niagara
river he built the "Griffin," a small sailing vessel, in which he set sail
for Green Bay in August of 1679. From that point he sent the "Griffin" back with a cargo of furs which were to be exchanged for supplies. He now divided his force into two parts, one of which he placed
under the command of Tonty, an Italian who bore the commission of
lieutenant in the French army, and the other he himself commanded.
Taking divergent routes, with the mouth of the St. Joseph river as
the objective of each, the two parties left Green Bay, Tonty following
the east shore of Lake Michigan, and La Salle the west. On November




CALHOUN COUNTY


259


I, 1679, La Salle arrived at the appointed meeting place where he was
joined at the end of the month by Tonty. At the mouth of the St.
Joseph he built Fort Miamis on the present site of the city of St. Joseph.
From this fort he proceeded up to St. Joseph, and after one unsuccessful attempt so to do located the party to the headwaters of the Kankakee,
over which he carried, thus being the second, if not the first, white
man to set foot on the soil of southwest Michigan. His knowledge of
this portage seems to be proof that Marquette had preceded him in
this region.
The principal effect of La Salle's work, as it pertains to Calhoun
county, was his formation of an Indian confederacy at Starved Rock,
Illinois, which included the Shawnees, of Ohio, the Apenaki and
Mohegan tribes from New England who had been driven from their
homes by the Iroquois, and the Illinois. The federation had for its
object defense against the powerful and warlike Iroquois who were
the allies of England. The Miamis were at first reluctant to join the
confederacy, but the eloquence of La Salle dispelled their doubts, and
they consented to become a part of the alliance. At his suggestion
they moved to the vicinity of Starved Rock and their abandoned lands
were then occupied by Potawatomies from the Green Bay district.
At La Salle's death, which caused the abandonment of Fort Crevecoeur
at Starved Rock and the mission at that place, the Indian confederation slowly dissolved, some of the tribes returning to their former
homes. Thus it was that the early English speaking inhabitants found
the Potawatomies mingled with a few Miamis and Chippewas. The
Miamis in general, however, went to the territory around Fort Wayne,
and to the adjacent regions in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.
With the fall of Montreal on September 8, I760, during the French
and Indian war, Detroit, St. Joseph's and other frontier posts passed
into the hands of the British, and by the Treaty of Paris, 1763, the
English boundaries were extended to the Mississippi river.
In the summer of I779, during the American Revolution, General
George Rogers Clark planned to move against the British posts at
Detroit and St. Joseph's, but fearing his force was insufficient, and
unable to increase it, he abandoned the project.
Southwest Michigan had now been under the flags of France and
England, not to mention the first Spanish claims to the region. In
January, 1781, war having broken out in 1779 between England and
Spain, a detachment of Spanish soldiers and Indians left St. Louis
on a raiding expedition through the British territory, and captured
Fort St. Joseph's on the present site of Niles. They took formal
possession of the post and the surrounding territory in the hname of
the King of Spain, raised the Spanish flag, but not desirous of holding
a post so remote from their base of operations, burned the fort to the
ground and returned to St. Louis.
As a result of the Clark expedition into the Northwest Territory, in
which he captured the British posts at Vincennes and Kaskaskia, the
present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin
were ceded to the United States at the Treaty of Paris at the close of




260


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the American Revolution. In 1787, Virginia having given up her
strong claims to the new territory in favor of the national government,
the Northwest Territory was set up with General Arthur St. Clair
as its first governor. In 1805, the Michigan Territory was created out
of the old Northwest Territory, but its boundaries were not those of
the present state at first, it having for a time embraced the territory
as far west as the Missouri river, including the present states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and part of the Dakotas.
Calhoun county was established under Territorial Law II, 736 on
October 29, I829, and was attached to St. Joseph county in I829 and
Kalamazoo county in 1830 for judicial purposes. It was definitely
organized as a county on March 6, 1833 under Territorial Law III, 984.
The county contained a large number of spring fed lakes, which
were ideal spots for the settler, but since these were in general somewhat off the beaten path of the Detroit-Chicago road, they were left
in their virgin glory for a considerable time after the beautiful oak
openings and prairie lands were fairly well peopled.
River settlements were made in 1830 and 1831, notably at Battle
Creek and Marshall, and these were followed in the next year by
prairie settlements on Goguac Prairie and Dry Prairie. The land
on these prairies was eagerly bought up, as high as 1,440 acres having
been entered by actual settlers in a single day on Dry Prairie. The
settlers were mainly from New England, New York and Pennsylvania,
and the names of the village of Homer and the township of Clarendon
reflect eastern influence.
Marshall was settled by a vigorous and unusually high grade of
men and women, and chief among these workers, although not strictly
among the earliest settlers of the place were Rev. John D. Pierce and
Isaac E. Crary. Of these men Dr. George N. Fuller in his "Economic
and Social Beginnings of Michigan" writes:
"Mr. Pierce was a native of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, the
native state of Governor Cass. He spent the most of his life before
the age of twenty at Worcester, one of the normal school cities of
Massachusetts. After graduating from Brown University and holding several positions, the last of which was a short pastorate in Oneida
county, New York, he came to western Michigan as a missionary
under the auspices of the Home Missionary Board. He made Marshall
his headquarters and for many years was the strongest religious influence in Calhoun, Jackson and Eaton counties, the chief scene of his
missionary labors. The opportunity for influence in public affairs of
the territory and state came through his appointments as the first
State Superintendent of Public Instruction; his plans for education in
Michigan were adopted almost in their entirety by the legislature of
1837. Mr. Crary, through whose advice to Governor Mason, Mr.
Pierce secured this office, was a native of Preston, Connecticut, and
was educated for the law. He was a member of the constitutional conventions of 1835 and 1850, and from 1835 to 1841 was the sole representative of Michigan in Congress; during this time he was largely




CALHOUN COUNTY


261


instrumental in securing the law giving the state control of the sixteenth
section of every township for the benefit of her common schools."
In its early history, Marshall aspired to be the capital of Michigan,
and considerable propaganda was broadcast to this end in the shape
of colored lithographs, which were rather imaginative. However, in
1832 the cholera epidemic took a number of the citizens of the town,
and so busy were the remaining few that such dreams were abandoned.
Marshall at first outshone Battle Creek, for the reason that there were
no mills at the latter settlement for some years, while those of Marshall
did a thriving business.
The slowness of the growth of Battle Creek was reflected in its
comparative late date of platting, 1836. So apathetic were the founders
of the city, that it is said a public subscription had to be raised to secure a newspaper to the town in I845. However, one account, that
of Blois in 1838, credits the village with a saw mill, two grist mills,
two taverns, six stores, a saddlery, a cabinet manufactory, two smithies,
several machine shops and a banking institution. Members of the
Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, early became an important part of the population of the city, and their influence was later
reflected in the part played by Battle Creek as a station on the "underground railroad" by which slaves were aided to escape from the south.
The site of Albion was about a mile and one-half south of the Territorial Road, an initial handicap, but since it was on the surveyed
route of the Marshall-Monroe road, and was also on the proposed
route of the Central railroad, the advantages of the site eventually
found the approval of the far-sighted settlers. The water power at
Albion was good, and the Albion company, the leaders in which came
from Oswego county, New York, gave an impulse to settlement in
I836. In that year the first frame house was erected, and mills also
began to make their appearance, and in two years there were some
forty houses located at Albion, putting it about on an equal footing
with Battle Creek. Albion College had its beginnings in 1835 and
by 1839 was a marked influence in the life and development of the
village, an influence which has never waned from that day to this.
Notes on the growth and history of Albion are gleaned from the
Chamber of Commerce Edition of the Albion Evening Recorder under
date of May I9, I924. Albion was a village until 1885, when it was
granted a city charter, Charles F. Austin acting as first mayor and
Charles H. Foster as city clerk. The aldermanic form of government
with a mayor and eight aldermen was in force until 1915. In that year,
at an election, a commission was appointed to draft a new charter, with
Dr. Delos Fall as chairman of the commission. This commission
drafted a charter providing for a mayor, four councilmen, a city
manager and a city clerk, the last named officer taking over the duties
of the city clerk and city treasurer. Numerous other provisions for
the administration of the city's affairs were made, and the charter
submitted to a vote of the people on November 9, 1915, receiving an
overwhelming endorsement at the polls. The new charter went into
effect on January I, I916, with William Bemer as mayor. The council




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elected Paul P. Nagle city clerk, and he has held that office since that
time. Roland Remley was first city manager, who served until August
28, 1916, and was succeeded by Arthur L. Sloman, who died in France
in I918 while with the United States Army. Walter E. Baumgardner,
Erva J. Mallory (now postmaster of the city), and Donal F. Herrick,
the present incumbent, have been the managers since the death of
Mr. Sloman. E. Floyd Hoaglin succeeded Mr. Bemer as mayor
January I, 1918, and was in turn succeeded by Archer L. Young on
January I, 1920. Other city officials now include a city assessor, attorney, health officer, constable, chief of police, chief of fire department,
two justices of the peace, a park superintendent and a superintendent
of Riverside cemetery.
Fire protection in Albion dates back to I854, when the village board
bought a hand fire engine named "The Alert," for $I,ooo, the first fire
company being named the Alert Fire Engine Company No. I. In
May, 1856, the younger men of the community organized company
No 2, and the competition was keen between the two organizations. A
Silsby steam fire engine was bought in I876, and was used until
automobile equipment was bought in 1916. The fire department has
now three motorized pieces of fire fighting apparatus, housed in two
parts of the city, and the people are amply protected from fire.
Banking in Albion began in 1854 when George Hannah, for whom
Hannah street is named, opened a banking house in the south half of
the present Albion State Bank quarters. As general handy man he
employed a farmer boy by the name of James W. Sheldon. This boy
proved to be a born financier, and in a few years so astute had he
become, and also so thrifty, that he was able to take over the bank
from his employer. From that start he built up the largest fortune
ever accumulated in Albion, controlling the bank until the time of his
death in September, 1894. In the following April the institution was
re-organized as the Albion State Bank, and from the $27,000 deposits
of the first statement in May, I895, to the million dollar deposits of
the present time, the history of the bank has been that of a sound, ably
managed and fair-dealing financial house. No radical change in
policy or management has been made since I895.
The Commercial and Savings Bank of Albion was incorporated
on September 30, 1893, with a capital stock of $35,000 and a surplus
of $25,000. The quarters of the bank were then in the Putnam block
at the southeast corner of Superior and Erie streets, the present home
of the Homestead Loan and Building Association. Mr. John G. Brown
was the first president, and he has been succeeded by F. F. Hoaglin,
Dr. F. E. Palmer and Homer C. Blair. The capital stock was increased
to $50,000 in 1914; to $75,000 in 1917; and to $Ioo,ooo in February,
1924. In 1916 the old stone mill property on Superior street, a landmark since I845, was purchased, and most of the three-story building
torn down. A modern two-story banking house was the result, occupancy being made by the bank on January I, I9I7.
The need of a plant for the manufacture of illuminating gas was so
keenly felt by 1894, that a small plant was put into operation by a




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concern called Freese & Freese, two men, who, in spite of the rareness
of the name, were not related. In its first year the plant produced
about two million cubic feet of gas, almost all of which was used for
lighting purposes. The company had three employes, and the pay roll
for the first year came to $2,600. The plant had several different
owners, who had their ups and downs of financial success, and numerous
changes and additions to the plant were made. When gas became
popular as a cooking fuel, the prosperity of the company became assured, attracted the attention of the American Public Utilities Company,
a large corporation controlled by the Kelsey-Brewer interests of Grand
Rapids. Today it is operated as a unit of this system under the local
name of the Albion Gas Light Company. It is located just south of
the Michigan Central depot. The amount of gas now produced
amounts to about forty million cubic feet annually.
Albion College, a force in Michigan education for sixty-four years,
is the largest non-tax supported college in Michigan, with an enrollment of 650, a faculty of forty offering work in the twenty-two fully
accredited departments of the college and the conservatory, with a
plant of nine buildings. It had its beginning as the Spring Arbor
Seminary at the village of that name, southeast of Albion in 1835,
under act of the Michigan territorial government. Its charter was
changed in 1849, the name also having been changed to the Wesleyan
Seminary and Female Collegiate Institute. This charter was in force
until 1867, and authorized the conferring of degrees on women only,
although men were allowed to attend the classes. Albion College
proper dates from I86I when full college powers were granted it by
the state. The first class was graduated in 1864, and the enrollment
of I86I numbered three hundred. In 1870 the amount of $IIO,ooo was
added to the endowment of the college, an amount gradually increased
to half a million by I92I. In 1923 a successful six weeks' drive for
$2,200,000 was conducted in Michigan for endowment and building
funds, $700,000 for the buildings. Six men have been president of
Albion since Dr. Sinex: Rev. George B. Jocelyn, I864-I869 and 187I1877; Rev. Lewis Ransom Fiske, I877-I898; Rev. John P. Ashley,
I897-1901; Samuel Dickie, 1901-1921; Rev. John W. Laird, 1921-1924,
and Acting President Frederic S. Goodrich, I924-. The corner stone
of the first building, known later as the Middle building, was laid in
I84I, and this building was first used as a dormitory. It was later
remodeled as Robinson Hall, but nearly destroyed by fire in December
of 1922.
The graded schools of Albion had their inception on September
I7, I867, when the school inspectors of Sheridan and Albion townships ruet and organized the graded schools of the village. In I885,
the present district was organized by special act of legislature and
chartered under the name of The Public Schools of Albion, although
no change was made in the general form of the organization. In 1870
there were four schools, a uniform wage of seven dollars a week was
paid the teachers, and about four hundred and fifty pupils received
instruction. Today there are five ward school buildings, two of which




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


are modern, and a recently completed central high school. Altogether
there are seats for about 1,800 pupils, and the estimated value of the
entire school plant is about half a million dollars. Sixty teachers are
employed at a total yearly salary of $85,000.
In the James W. Sheldon Memorial Hospital, a three-story and
basement brick structure with fifty hospital beds, the city of Albion
has one of the best equipped institutions of its kind in the state. The
building, located on South Superior street, was completed and dedicated in April, 1924. The cost was over $Ioo,ooo, fifty thousand of
which was donated by James Sheldon Riley, of Los Angeles, Calif.,
from the estate of his mother, the late Mrs. Madelon Sheldon Leffingwell, and given at her request to the city of Albion as a memorial in
honor of her father, James Wadsworth Sheldon, pioneer banker of
the city. The remaining sum expended was voted by the people of
the city on December 22, 1922. The first hospital of the city was
opened in April, 19o9, in the former Banks residence at the corner of
Erie street and Linden avenue, but in the following year was moved
to larger quarters in the remodeled residence of George Howard at
III West Ash street. The first nurses' training school was opened
in October, I9II, and in I912 an addition of twenty beds was built to
the hospital by Mr. Howard. In that year the city proper began
paying $50 a month to the support of the hospital, which was increased to $Ioo a month in January, I92I. The Thresher residence
at 205 West Ash street was taken over in 1921 for a nurses' home, and
the present nurses' home is located at the residence of George T.
Bullen on Irwin avenue, purchased for the purpose.
The Albion Chamber of Commerce is an exceedingly live organization which has for its purpose the making of Albion into a better
place to live and do business, and it is doing fine work in this direction.
That there is a distinctly metropolitan field for the endeavors of a chamber of commerce may be seen by glancing at the following summary of
what the city has: Thirteen churches, twenty-six factories, a $200,000
hospital, a municipal rest room, one interurban line, a large public
library, two railway systems, a municipal water system, unlimited electrical power, factory pay roll of $3,500,000, commission form of government, adequate and modern fire protection, offers strategically located factory sites, 1,933 pupils enrolled in public schools, two thrifty
co-operative marketing associations, golf club, recreational association
and forty-two acres of parks, Michigan's only Methodist college with
an enrollment of 700 students, its insurance rates are equally low with
any city in its class in the state, has chamber of commerce and business
and professional men's associations, has population of 8,354 exclusive
of college which adds to population from September to June, and is one
of the principal cities on state trunk line M-I7 from Detroit to Chicago.
One of Albion's most valuable industrial assets is the Hayes Wheel
Hub plant. This is the largest automobile wheel hub manufacturing
plant in the world, fifty-four per cent of the automobile hubs of the
entire world being produced in this one plant which is located just east
of the city limits on Clark street. Hubs to the number of twenty




CALHOUN COUNTY


265


thousand a day are turned out here, and are used as standard equipment on nearly a dozen world-known automobiles. The local company
had its inception in I912 when the Hayes Wheel Company of Jackson,
took over the property of the T. C. Prouty Company and developed it
to its present proportions, equipping the factory with the most modern
labor-saving machinery. At the beginning the number of employes
was about fifteen, and the floor space was only I2,ooo square feet. The
output of the first year was 200,000 hubs, and the pay roll amounted
to $15,000. So great has been the demand for Hayes hubs that the
plant has been increased enormously. The output is now 6,230,000
hubs per annum, and where there were but fifteen employes at the
beginning there are tnow 450 men and women employed. Much of
the time the plant operates day and night in order to supply the demand for its product. Almost every known automobile has used
Hayes hubs at one time or another as equipment, but the principal
users during the past years have been the makers of the following
automobiles: Ford, Chevrolet, Durant, Overland, Flint Six, Star,
Eagle, Nash and Dodge, on most of which the Hayes hub is standard
equipment. The plant is advantageously situated directly on the Lansing branch of the New York Central Railroad, and with its fleet of
trucks has easy access to the Michigan Central Railroad and the
interurban it Albion.
Another industry of Albion which ranks high among those of its
kind in the country is the Albion Malleable Iron Company. In I888,
Warren S. Kessler came to Albion and organized the concern. He
is a man of wide experience in the iron business, and his ideal is the
production of better malleables. The first plant was on Cass street
at its intersection with Albion's main business thoroughfare, but such
was the expansion of the company that a large plant had to be erected
in the western part of the city. This was the nucleus of the present
plant, now one of the largest in the country, covering eight acres of
ground, the company's holdings covering seventy acres in all. In
order to perfect its product, the company has been one of the chief
supporters of a large research laboratory. The plant now includes
eight large blast furnaces with the most up-to-date auxiliary equipment,
and for the past several years, with the exception of I92I, the pay roll
has averaged over $I,125,000, all of which is spent in Albion. The
company pays a quarter of a million dollars a year on some two thousand cars of inbound freight, and nearly $30,000 a year to the Consumers Power Company for electricity. Nearly nine per cent. of the
total taxes of Albion are collected from this one company.
Albion has other important industries, and among these may be
mentioned the Albion Bolt Company, Albion Flour Mill, Albion Gas
Light Company, Albion Lumber Company, Albion Novelty Company,
J. W. Brant Company (patent medicines), Cement Casket Company,
Consumers Power Company, Darrow Boat Company, Gale Manufacturing Company (castings), Globe Film & Slide Company, Service
Caster & Truck Company, Thwaite Furniture Company, Union Steel




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Products Company (bakery equipment), S. A. Wilson & Son (lumber),
and the Michigan Artificial Ice Producing Company.
BATTLE CREEK
The site of the city of Battle Creek was a famous rendezvous of
Indians long before white men came to Michigan. It was then called
Waupakisco, and whenever the tribes of this region gathered for
hunting or for war, they congregated at this place, the junction of
the Kalamazoo river and Battle Creek. When the first white settlers
came here from New York state in I830, they perceived the natural
advantages of water power to be obtained here, and a settlement was
begun. However, owing to a rather slow perception of the necessity
for mills, the settlement had a slower growth in its first years than did
others in the vicinity. It was not, therefore, until I835 that a mill race
was dug connecting the river and the creek. As soon as water was
turned into this race, a saw mill and a grist mill were erected, and the
town began to flourish. Previous to that time, lumber and grain were
sent to other towns, such as Marshall. In I836 the town was platted,
and in a few years Battle Creek assumed its position of leadership in
the county never relinquished since that time.
Battle Creek is surrounded by fertile farming country which
produces alfalfa, small grains, fruit and vegetables, live stock and
dairy products in abundance, and is a great trade center. It boasts the
best wheat market in Michigan, and has a large number of wholesale
houses prepared to distribute commodities to the surrounding country.
The transportation facilities of the city are of the highest order.
Calhoun county was one of the first to build roads under the state
reward system, and also one of the first to have a road commission.
The result is that the county now has over 365 miles of improved
roads. Good roads extend in all directions from Battle Creek, and
state highway No. I7, leading from Detroit to Chicago, passes through
the center of the city. Highway No. 78 connects this city with Lansing,
and No. 37 goes to Grand Rapids, meeting the Mackinaw Trail at that
point. A free tourist park, Barnes park, is located at the city limits,
and attracts many tourists every year. The city is located on the main
lines of the Grand Trunk Western and the Michigan Central Railroads
about half way between Chicago and Detroit, and the Michigan Railway, an electric interurban line, connects the city with the towns located on interurban lines in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, as well as
giving direct connection with lake steamers at Holland, Grand Haven
and Muskegon.
The school system of Battle Creek is a source of pride to its
citizens. The city has fourteen public schools which are maintained
at a high standard, and two parochial schools. There is also a business
college and a school of applied art. The Battle Creek Sanitarium has
recently sponsored the Battle Creek College, which is the outgrowth
of three schools conducted by the sanitarium. These were the Kellogg
School of Physical Education, the Nurses' Training School and the




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267


School of Home Economics. Dr. J. H. Kellogg has been the prime
mover in bringing about the existence of the Battle Creek College.
In the matter of recreation, Battle Creek has unusual advantages.
It owns fifteen park properties, aggregating 251 acres of land, and
these parks are situated conveniently in different parts of the city.
There are public playgrounds at the various schools, and the Country
Club has one of the best eighteen-hole golf courses in the country on
the shore of Goguac Lake. The Postum Cereal Athletic field is
one of the finest in the country, and there are a number of tennis
courts in the city. There are twenty lakes within a radius of fifteen
miles of Battle Creek, and he who desires fishing or water sports
has not far to go to find them in abundance. The city is located on
the highest plateau in Michigan, having an altitude of I,ooo feet above
sea level, and good water is plentiful.
The city is operated under the commission form of government,
having a mayor and four commissioners. The population of the city,
including its suburbs, is about 45,000, and the area covered is about
four thousand acres. Drainage and sanitation are provided by seventy
miles of sewers, there are about one hundred and forty miles of
streets, of which thirty-six miles are paved. The assessed valuation
of the real and personal property of the city is upwards of fifty
million dollars, and the tax rate is about ten dollars a thousand for
city purposes. Two water pumping stations with a total capacity
of seventy million gallons daily supply the needs of the city, and a
fire department of four stations and nearly fifty firemen protect the
city from fire dangers. There are nearly eleven thousand residences
in the city, and about six and a half thousand of these are occupied by
their owners. Eighty-one churches minister to the spiritual wants
of the people, and a total of twenty-one schools supply the educational
facilities needed. Ninety-four per cent of the people are native born
Americans, and in the factories the "open shop" generally prevails.
Several publications have their home in Battle Creek, including the
Moon-Journal, a daily afternoon newspaper; the Enquirer and Evening
News, also a daily afternoon paper; Good Health, a monthly publication edited by Dr. Kellogg; Dogdom, a monthly; Dog Fancier, monthly,
and the Modern Poultry Breeder, monthly. There are seven dinner
clubs for business men and two for women. Bank deposits amount
to nearly twenty-five million dollars, and the annual pay roll is about
twenty million dollars. There is an excellent free library with forty
thousand volumes, and six hospitals, some of them world-renowned, are
in the city.
There is evident a great diversity of manufacturing from the following list of products compiled by the Chamber of Commerce. Things
manufactured in Battle Creek include: agricultural machinery, oilpull tractors, steam tractors, husker shredders, ensilage cutters, clover
hullers, aluminum cooking utensils, automobile valves and tappets,
awnings, artificial flowers, bakers and hotel ovens, brass goods, hose
brass goods, plumbers brass goods, lubricating devices, electrical goods,
small electric motors, breakfast foods, bread wrapping machines, candy,




268


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


coke, corsets, delivery wagons, dog foods, electric signs, fibre shipping
cases, gas stoves and ranges, health foods and drinks, ice, fire proof
paper balers, hose clamps, tools, jigs, laundry pins, tags and marking
accessories, machines for lining, filling, weighing and sealing cartons
and containers, mail wagons and drays, mattresses, paraffin cartons,
printing, rotary and flat bed perfecting newspaper presses, steam and
power pumps, steam railroad engines and repairs, soft drinks, steel
and wire specialties, electrically welded wire goods, baskets, racks,
grates, camp stoves, poultry coops, strings for musical instruments,
structural steel, gasoline propelled industrial trucks, trucklifts and tractors, stamped metal parts for automobiles and general machinery, threshing machinery, specialty dolls, tags, tents, twist drills, warm air registers
and furnace fittings for warm furnaces.
The Battle Creek Sanitarium, probably the most famous sanitarium
in the world, is located in Battle Creek. This wonderful scientific institution had its beginning in a small water cure which was started in
an unpretentious farm house in September, I866, by Dr. J. H. Kellogg.
Within two years after its founding, the enterprise, small as it was, was
incorporated in March, I867, under Act 242 of the Public Acts of
Michigan of 1863, providing for the Incorporation of Charitable and
Eleemosynary Institutions. Established as a philanthropic enterprise,
during its entire history the institution has been conducted wholly for
the benefit of the public, ho division of profit ever having been made.
No individual has ever received an examining fee or a surgical fee,
nor any portion of the earnings in any way resulting from the work
of the institution. The conscientious devotion of all the earnings of
the institution to necessary improvements, the increase of facilities and
the better care of the sick patrons of the institution has made possible
a steady increase of the resources and facilities of the institution, even
though it has never enjoyed the advantages of an endowment fund, as
do most institutions dedicated to the public welfare.
The marked increase in patronage in the past several years made
it possible for the board of trustees to make, during I912, a number
of important improvements, including the establishment of an elaborate
Roentgenological Department. The rapid development of roentgenology within the ten years just preceding that date rendered it so
essential as a means of diagnosis that it seemed clearly the duty of
the management to provide as complete an equipment as possible for
this department, so as to give both physicians and patients the full
benefit of this diagnostic means. Original researches made in this
department have repeatedly opened the eyes of the medical world.
Another department established in the same year was the Physiologic Laboratory. This department is equipped with special research
appliances, principal among which is the Respiration Apparatus, devised by Dr. Benedict of the Carnegie Nutrition Laboratory. It is
possible now for a physician to gain an insight into a patient's
metabolism which can be gained in no other way. The apparatus is
of special service in the treatment of diabetes, obesity, exophthalmic
goitre and various cachexias as well as for the study of dietaries and




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269


the influence of various therapeutic means upon metabolic processes.
This process is also useful in connection with the instruction of the
Home Economics school. In this department are also found various
appliances for making graphic studies of the heart and lungs and the
whole outfit of apparatus used in physiologic research.
The institution has valuable and elaborate electrotherapeutic appliances, and under the supervision of a specially trained physician
this forms one of the important departments of the sanitarium.
Greenhouses for the growing of green foodstuffs are maintained, an
adequate ice and cold storage plant is operated, and there are gymnasiums, steam baths, swimming pools, operating rooms, and, in short,
everything that is of use in curing the sick and building up the human
body.
In a special notice once issued by the management they called the
attention of the profession to the fact that the Battle Creek Sanitarium
has no branches. The various individuals and institutions located in
different parts of the United States who announce themselves as
branches of the Battle Creek Sanitarium or prepared to give Battle
Creek treatments, do so without permission or authority from the Battle
Creek Sanitarium, and greatly to its disadvantage. The notice further
stated that institution is in no way connected with any church or other
religious body. The original founders of the institution were members
of the Seventh Day Adventist church, but the institution from the beginning has been a private philanthropic enterprise and was never
under control of church or church authorities. The affiliation with the
denomination referred to, which existed for some years after its organization, was dissolved years ago. The institution rests on a strictly
scientific and philanthropic basis.
The enterprise was first incorporated as the Health Reform Institute, and the first charter expired in 1897, and the sanitarium was
re-incorporated on December I8, 1897. The following extract from
the articles of incorporation clearly sets forth the objects and purposes
of the institution and defines its character:
"To found a hospital or charitable asylum within the state of Michigan for the care and relief of indigent or other sick or infirm persons,
at which institution may be received also patients and patrons who are
able to and do pay for the benefits there received, and which institution
shall devote the funds and property acquired and received by it from
time to time from all sources, exclusively to maintaining itself, improving its condition and facilities, extending its benefits and usefulness,
and facilitating and promoting its purposes, by such sanitary, dietetic,
hygienic, and philanthropic reforms and efforts as are germane or
auxiliary thereto; all of its said purposes being undenominational, unsectarian, philanthropics, humanitarian, charitable, and benevolent, and
in no manner directly or indirectly for private profit or dividend paying to any one."
The institution is governed by a board of trustees of ten members,
who are elected by a constituency made of contributors to the enter



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


prise. Five members of the board of trustees are elected each year
for a term of two years.
The Postum Cereal Company, Inc., of Battle Creek, is one of the
largest food factories in the world, and it has developed to its present
enormous scale in thirty years. It was founded by Charles W. Post,
and a comprehensive view of the plant, its products and methods is
contained in a booklet entitled, "A Trip Through Wellville," copyrighted in I920 by the company. It says:
"With Charles W. Post business was a means and hot an end. He
thought of the finished product of business in terms of American
homes and citizenship. He thought of the place of business as an institution and not as a factory. He thought of business ability as an
obligation for accomplishment and for service. He had suffered financial loss, and had been broken in health at forty. 'This shall be my
beginning,' he said, and so he went resolutely forward. Life had
taught him a broad understanding of people. Invalidism had led him
deeply into the study of foods and chemistry. Destiny had given him
the will for achievement and the genius for organization. So he built,
not a factory, but a world renowned institution. So he produced, not
commerce alone, but homes and opportunities, civic improvement and
community betterment. In truth, he conceived an ideal, amply realized
in the ever increasing activities of the Postum Cereal Company, Inc.,
of today.
"A little white frame building on a farm hillside was the nucleus
of the vast industrial establishment of the Postum Cereal Company of
today. This little white building was the place. A demand, an idea,
a purpose; and faith and courage and energy were the reasons. The
place of beginning is still marked by the 'Little White Barn,' and its
inscription, 'Started here January I, I895,' smiling out upon its vast
surroundings tells with justifiable. pride how far and fast the beginning
has grown into strength, scope and beauty. The charm of the hillside
orchard has been preserved, the grace of the hillside slopes has been
perfected, and into this setting has been built the great city of industry, where, in an atmosphere of business sunshine and under conditions of sanitary purity, are produced Postum Company's pure food
products for all the world. Day and night the great factories run.
Day and night a continuous stream of grain from America's rich
fields is fed into the hungry machines. Carloads of grain are placed
on one of the sidings and in a few minutes the contents are whisked
away into elevators and storage tanks of enormous capacity. We will
soon see how this material is converted into Postum Cereal, Instant
Postum, Grape Nuts or Post Toasties, leaving the factories in a stream
of packages, for consumption at home and abroad. The capacity of
the company's home plant, as it now stands, is in excess of three
hundred million packages every year. The Canadian plant at Windsor,
Ontario, is a good second to the home factories in output; which means
pure food and drink for vast numbers of people. As the visitor enters
the grounds of the big Postum plant, he is impressed upon approaching
the administration building, a wonderfully designed example of Eng



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271


lish architecture, with its quaint beauty and its setting of floweries
and greenery in the midst of humming factories. One of the handsomest office buildings in existence."
Since this booklet, above quoted, was written, the administrative
offices have been moved to New York City, and the administration
building has been converted into an employes' club house.
The visitor to the plant is immediately impressed with the sanitary
methods employed in all the processes of manufacture and with the
personal cleanliness of the employes. In the making of Grape Nuts,
whole wheat flour, malted barley flour, yeast, a dash of salt and pure
artesian well water are the ingredients. The malted barley serves to
change the starchy part of the wheat into sugar or maltose in the
process of baking. The wheat and barley grains are ground separately
and the flour combined in a definite proportion by automatic weighing
machines. The ingredients are blended into a "sponge" and then
kneaded into dough. After the yeast has caused the dough to rise
the dough is molded into loaves and baked about two hours. This
preliminary baking is done in twenty-five large ovens with a capacity
of I90 loaves each, making an approximate output of forty thousand
loaves a day. The loaves are allowed to cool, are then trimmed and
sliced into long thick slices. These slices are then put into large ovens
at a temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit, which evaporates the
moisture from them and completes the dextrinization of the cereal
starch. This process requires many hours, and the slices are then
ready to be ground into Grape-Nuts granules. Grape-Nuts is packed
in cartons automatically, the capacity of the eight machines combining
to give an output of about 260,000 cartons a day.
The making of Postum and Instant Postum is the result of research work conducted by Mr. Post, who had become attracted by the
great number of people visibly affected in health by the use of coffee.
Postum is the result of his desire to make a palatable beverage, beneficial to the human body and to be used as a substitute for coffee.
Postum is made of different parts of wheat and a small percentage of
wholesome molasses. The outer hull, or bran coat, of the wheat is
moistened with molasses and roasted separately. The wheat grains
are carefully browned in roasters, and later ground. The two ingredients are then blended in the proper proportions. The Postum,
in order to be prepared for drinking, should be boiled about twenty
minutes, but a form of it known as Instant Postum is put out by the
company which can be made in a few seconds by simply adding boiling
water to a level teaspoon full of the powder in a coffee cup. Instant
Postum is prepared at the factory by boiling the regular Postum the
required length of time, and then reducing the beverage thus formed
to a crystalized form by means of evaporation. Instant Postum is
packed for the market in air-tight tins.
Post Toasties, a superior corn flake, is another famous product of
the Postum Cereal Company. So great is the demand for this food,
that storage tanks for corn with a capacity in excess of half a million
bushels of grain have been provided in order that the plant may never




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be idle. The corn is first slightly steamed so that the hull may be
removed, and then cracked into corn grits, the germ of the kernel
being removed. The grits are then cooked in enormous rotary steam
cookers, salted and sweetened, each of the ninety-three cookers having
a capacity of sixteen hundred pounds, a total of seventy-four tons
that can be cooked at one time. The cooked grits are then dried until
almost flinty in their hardness, and allowed to lie in curing bins for
about ten hours to develop the characteristic flavor which is found
so delicious. The grits are then rolled into uniform flakes in seventyfour machines, each one of which is capable of exerting a pressure of
nearly forty tons. These flakes are then toasted in large ovens containing revolving screens, which throw the flakes about like snowflakes. The heat in these ovens is very high, and the time required to
toast the flakes is about three minutes. After cooling, the flakes are
automatically packed in cartons and wrapped in sealed waxed paper.
Indeed, a great industry has been builded here through the determination of one man, fired by a spark of genius, and the practical benefit
to the health of millions is not the only result. The city of Battle
Creek benefits greatly from the company's employing about fifteen
hundred men and women, all of whom add to the material prosperity
of the community in general.
THE KELLOGG COMPANY
(Prepared by the Company)
The Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company was organized by Mr.
W. K. Kellogg in March, I9o6, and at that time was known as the
Toasted Corn Flake Company, later being changed to the Kellogg
Toasted Corn Flake Company, and at the present time known as the
Kellogg Company.
The first factory building which we had in Battle Creek was purchased from the Mapl-Flake Company, and was known as the old
Bartlett Street plant. The Company started and was organized when
the wheat flake industry was at its height and it was considered that
Mr. W. K. Kellogg had started the Corn Flake business at a very
inopportune time. However, he had great faith in the new product
and instead of being discouraged he was determined to make Corn
Flakes the biggest thing in the cereal field. About the first thing he
did was to invest one-third of his working capital in a single page
advertisement in the Ladies' Home Journal. This first advertisement put Corn Flakes on its feet in a big way. Previous to this
time Corn Flakes had been made on a small scale for a number of
years, and from an output of thirty-five cases per day, the business
was increased to two thousand cases per day within a few months.
On account of new and improved manufacturing conditions it was
found that it was possible to sell Ioo per cent larger packages at
50 per cent reduction in cost. This, of course, was the case of the
real success of Corn Flakes, together with the clever advertising which
took place at that time. Many of the old ads asked for the reader to
"stop eating Corn Flakes for a few days and give your neighbor a




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273


chance." Of course, when the public found Corn Flakes hard to get,
they were more determined to get them, and within a year the Company
had three good sized factories operating in Battle Creek.
On July 4, 1907, the old Bartlett Street factory was destroyed by
fire. This was a day that will long be remembered by Mr. W. K.
Kellogg as it was one of the most discouraging and disheartening days
in the history of the business. However, he had the courage of his
convictions and decided that day to build a larger factory where all
the manufacturing could be conducted under one roof. He immediately purchased a large tract of land known as the Burgess farm,
where the first fire-proof building in Battle Creek was erected and in
nine months after the fire a new fire-proof building was in operation
turning out more goods than ever before. Since the organization of
the Company it has never seen a single year in which it was able to
take care of all its business promptly, and it has been necessary to build
new factories and new additions year after year in order to keep up
with the increased demand for Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes.
At the present time our factories cover more than thirty acres of
floor space and more than one million packages are turned out each
day. It requires the acreage yield of 485 acres of white southern
corn each day to produce our maximum output. Through the consumption of the Kellogg Cereals we are responsible for the use of
more than two million quarts of milk and cream daily. We have
storage facilities for 500,000 bushels of grain and all the corn is milled
in the Company's mill, which is said to be the finest corn mill in the
United States. The Kellogg Company at the present time in addition to operating the plant at Battle Creek, Michigan, also has its
own plant in London, Canada, supplying the Dominion, a new plant
in Davenport, Iowa, where we are manufacturing the new Kellogg
twins, Kellogg's Redi-Cooked Oats and Kellogg's Rolled Oats, also
a plant in Sydney, Australia.
We have our own selling company in Great Britain, known as
Kellogg Company of Great Britain, Ltd., and have representatives in
more than forty-five of the leading countries throughout the world.
The Kellogg Company is now manufacturing Kellogg's Corn Flakes,
Kellogg's All-Bran, Kellogg's Krumbles, Kellogg's Bran Flakes with
Other Parts of Wheat, Kellogg's Pep, Kellogg's Rolled Oats and
Kellogg's Redi-Cooked Oats.
WHERE "BREAKFAST FOODS" WERE BORN
"Breakfast food" today has become a term almost synonomous
with flaked cereals. There are few indeed who think of anything else
when "breakfast food" is mentioned. The grizzled rancher or the
lusty lumberjack, it is true, may know no other breakfast food than
bacon and eggs, fried potatoes or flapjacks, but for the majority of
us the term suggests flakes-and Battle Creek.
It would be nothing new to remark upon the spectacular growth
of the cereal business, the multifarious brands that followed thick
and fast upon the heels of the first success and the natural weeding




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


process that resulted, leaving only a few of the leaders upon the
market. That is all ancient history. But the real story of the birth
of breakfast foods is one that has never before been completely told.
Probably the majority of those who hand out corn flakes over
the counter or who pour the crisp, dainty bits from the package for
breakfast, entertain the idea that the development of flake foods
was nothing more or less than a happy thought-a sudden inspiration
from which success immediately sprang. Nothing could be farther
from the truth. For breakfast foods as we know them today were
only brought into being after a long, tedious and irksome struggle o'n
the part of the originators.
Nor did these originators of the new food immediately profit from
the results of their ardous labors, for it is a matter of history that
the first commercial successes in breakfast food were achieved by
others than the inventors. Battle Creek, like Rome, is built on something like seven hills and it was on one of these in what is known as
the "West End" that the first chapter of the flake food history was
written. In the little ungainly structure shown in the accompanying
picture located on the grounds of the old Battle Creek Sanitarium, the
first flake food was made. The work was under the immediate supervision of Mr. W. K. Kellogg, now well-known to the trade as the
originator of Toasted Corn Flakes. The processes were crude, imperfect and costly and it was only after a long series of painstaking
experiments that it was possible to produce a practical food by practical methods.
When the idea of producing a flaked cereal was first proposed, Mr.
Kellogg relates, this small building was equipped for the purpose with
an ordinary pair of milling rolls and a four by six portable oven.
Many of the first essentials of present-day flaking machinery had not
even been suggested. The scraper knife which removes the flakes from
the rolls, the feeding device which feeds the grain into the hoppers,
methods of cooling the rolls, which become heated very quickly through
friction-these and numerous other problems had to be faced and
solved. The flaking process was not successful until the scraper knife
had been invented. Cooling the rolls by means of huge blocks of ice
finally gave way to the present water-cooling arrangement. A feeding device was planned which remains in general use today. The
experimenters learned that cockle could be removed from the wheat
more easily by immersing the grain in water so that the light portion
might be floated off, than by laboriously separating it by hand. They
learned how to dry and mature the grain and they perfected the ovens
so as to provide for uniform toasting.
At the outset, says Mr. Kellogg, the first flake food as it was put
up for sale, had little resemblance to the flake foods of today. The
inventor's idea had been to reduce the flakes to smaller particles which
was done by rubbing them through a screen by hand. This resulted
in a granular product which became very mushy when eaten with
milk and cream.
It was suggested one day that the flakes looked very appetizing




CALHOUN COUNTY                        275
just as they came from the ovens and that they would be more saleable in that form. This suggestion was acted upon with the result
that the public has been eating flakes just as they come from the ovens
for the past fifteen years.
The first flake food was sold purely as a health food and the distribution was accordingly limited. The first commercial successes
were Malta Vita and Force. It remained for Mr. Kellogg and his
Toasted Corn Flakes, however, to achieve the most conspicuous success.
The immense plant at Battle Creek stands as a substantial testimonial
to the permanence of the food idea born some seventeen years ago in
the little house on the side of the hill. No more striking contrast could
be shown than that which the two pictures present.




Personal Records
Wilbur Adams.-Possessed of a mechanical predilection which
has guided him through a mass of important industrial devices, Wilbur
Adams is an inventor of note. He is the originator of and holds the
patent rights on several different devices, one of which is a flexible
piston ring with endless expander, and the machine for making this
expander. He is also the inventor of a carburetor utilizing kerosene.
Another product of basic significance is for use in the construction
of indestructible houses. Mr. Adams is, professionally, a machine
expert and inventor and has devoted many years to the improvement
of processes and devices, but has mostly confined his ability to the
production of his own ideas. A man of personal interest, he is also
the legatee of an exceedingly interesting family history on both paternal
and maternal sides. Mr. Adams was born October 17, I88I, four
miles outside Battle Creek and attended the public schools of that city.
Both grandparents came from the vicinity of Lake Champlain, in
Vermont. Hector Adams was the paternal grandfather and on the
maternal side the grandfather was John Pearl, both of whom have
illumined the records of bravery aund fortitude of the early pioneers
of the Wolverine state. Hector Adams came to Michigan in the early
fifties. He was a lawyer and sat "Under the Oaks" in Jackson at
the birth of the Republican party. He was active in the organization
of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, of Michigan, and was
its first president. John Pearl also settled near Battle Creek and owned
land adjoining what is now Paul Lake, then called Pearl Lake. His
original home was a log cabin with a dirt floor. A creek near by retains the name of Pearl Creek. He settled on government land. When
John Pearl came to Michigan with his family there was no regular
ferry at Detroit. They came in the early spring via ox team and sled,
driving their stock with them and carrying wheels on which to put
the wagon box or to be used when sled runners were impossible. On
reaching Detroit the ice was becoming soft. Mr. Pearl drove his young
stock across the ice the evening before bringing the family over. The
following morning he yoked the oxen, putting his family in the sled
and declaring, with firm faith, that if the sled went under they would
all go under together and none would be left to mourn. He urged
the oxen to their greatest speed. It was a perilous journey, for at
almost every step oxen feet would break through the ice, but they
landed safely on the Michigan side. John Pearl lived near Marshall
at the time of his death. Jasper Adams, father of Wilbur, came to
Battle Creek about 1864 with his parents and for twenty-three years
conducted a brick yard. The Adams family owes its inception in
America to two brothers who came from England during Colonial
days. One remained in New England and from this stock Wilbur
Adams is descended. The other went to Virginia, and there is little




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277


known of his family, but the belief has long been entertained that
President John Quincy Adams was of the kith and kin of the Virginian.
Steven Graham, great-grandfather of the subject, came to the neighborhood of Battle Creek about 1835 and Graham lake was named after him.
John Pearl and his wife, Theodosia, came in 1837, requiring three
months to make the journey from New York via ox team route. They
encountered friendly Indians en route and upon their arrival. Land
was secured through government deed signed by President Andrew
Jackson. Jasper Adams was married to Miss Ella Pearl. Wilbur
Adams has been a machinist his entire life and for years worked for
various concerns in Battle Creek, developing mechanical processes,
simplifying attachments and improving methods. Many appliances
and mechanical processes in use are the issue of his mechanical genius.
Now he is manufacturing in his own shop the flexible piston ring to
which reference has been made. The machinery for making this has
been designed and built by him. His concern is now the Adams
Flexible Piston Ring Company.
James B. Allen.-Mr. Allen, one of the well-known real estate
men of Battle Creek and a charter member of the Real Estate Board,
was born in Charlotte, Michigan, September I, I888. He attended the
grade schools up to the eleventh, worked on a farm, taught school
four years, took a two-year course in Western State Normal, drove
milk wagons and did odd jobs to earn an honest livelihood and finally
came to Battle Creek to open a clothing store as manager of a chain
store. He was attracted by the possibilities of the building and real
estate business and after two years entered the branch, becoming a
conspicuous success. He featured the building of homes and today
has one of the largest real estate and insurance offices in Battle Creek.
He is an indefatigable worker. In June, I909, Mr. Allen and Miss
Erma Pratt, of Eaton county, Michigan, were united in marriage.
There are three living children, Robert Lawrence, Doris Elizabeth
and Margaret Jean. One daughter is dead, Erma Grace. Mr. Allen
is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Merchants' Dinner
Club. He is active in Chamber of Commerce work. His father was
Andrew Thomas Allen, whose father, Andrew R. Allen, moved to
Michigan from Ohio via ox-cart route. He homesteaded. Andrew
Thomas Allen died in I9o9. He was a farmer, an active member of
the United Brethren church, and a voracious reader with predilection
for poetry. The mother was Eliza Ann Rice, of Yankee stock,
daughter of Melvin Rice, homesteader of Eaton county. The Rices
were a fine old family, esteemed for the graces of charity, kindness
and complaisance. They trace their ancestry back to the period immediately following the landing of the Mayflower. James B. Alien is
now vice-president of the Battle Creek Real Estate Board and an exvice-president of the Chamber of Commerce.
Herbert B. Andrews is one of the vital exponents of progressive
business enterprise in the city of Battle Creek, where he is vicepresident and superintendent of the American Stamping Company,
this being one of the important industrial concerns of the city. Mr.




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Andrews was born in Otsego county, New York, November I9, 1873,
but he has been a resident of Michigan since his infancy. He is a
son of James and Elizabeth (Judson) Andrews, both likewise natives
of the old Empire state and both representatives of New England
colonial families, the father of James Andrews having been born in
Vermont and having thence removed to the state of New York when
he was a young man. The father of Mrs. Elizabeth Andrews was
born in Massachusetts, and was for many years a substantial citizen
of New York state. Herbert B. Andrews was a child of eighteen
months when his parents came to Michigan and established their home
on a farm near Hudson, Lenawee county, the father having there passed
the remainder of his life and having died in the year I9II. The
widowed mother was a resident of Battle Creek at the time of her
death, in I918, and the subject of this review is the only child. The
boyhood discipline of Herbert B. Andrews was that of the home farm,
and his public school education included a partial high school course.
After leaving school he found employment in a bicycle factory at Hudson, and in that place continued his residence until I9oo, when he came
to Battle Creek and associated himself with the H. B. Sherman Manufacturing Company and here engaged in the manufacturing of stamping, he having been made superintendent of the factory. In 1912 Mr.
Andrews became the first superintendent of the newly organized
American Stamping Company, and his able administration in this
position has had much to do with the upbuilding of the substantial
and prosperous business of the company, of which he is vice-president
as well as superintendent. Mr. Andrews is aligned in the ranks of
the Republican party, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and is
one of the progressive and public spirited citizens of the Calhoun county
metropolis. In I896 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Bertha
Goodrich, of Hudson, and they are popular factors in the social circles
of their home community.
George Andrus.-Society's debt to the pioneer is one that never
can be paid. He carved from the wilderness the firm foundations
upon which the entire superstructure of our civilization rests, and it
is eminently fitting that his deeds be recorded in some permanent
form in order that Time may not dim their lustre. Calhoun county,
Michigan, owes a full measure of gratitude to those courageous men
and women who first settled its lands, and of these early comers
George Andrus was one. Born at Binghamton, New York, December
21, 1821, the third son of Giles and Betsy (Shaw) Andrus, he came
to Michigan with his parents, four brothers and three sisters in September, 1835, and settled with them on Goguac Prairie, this county.
At that time there was but one log store in Battle Creek, and an
extensive fur trade was carried on with the Indians by the settlers.
All supplies from the outside world were freighted from Detroit by
ox-team, a laborious and sometimes dangerous business. Giles Andrus
invested in a considerable amount of government land, and his son
George was given eighty acres of land, bought for $Ioo.oo, when
he was still a boy. George Andrus grew to stalwart manhood, sea



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soned by the hardships of pioneer life, and when he had brought his
farm to a point of profitable production he married, on April 2, 1846,
Diadama Sweet. She was the daughter of Milton and Anatherace
Sweet, of Palmyra, New York, who came to Michigan in I843, living
for many years on the bank of Goguac Lake, where the Sanitarium
Villa now stands. To George and Diadama Andrus five children
were born, one son and four daughters, three daughters living to
womanhood. Emily Andrus, one of them, married Edward P. Young,
of Battle Creek, reference to whom is made in the sketch of David
Young. To this union two children were born, Leila Y. Post Montgomery, of Battle Creek, and George D. Young, of Los Angeles, the
latter of whom has two daughters, Yvonne and Leila. Ella Andrus,
another of the daughters of George Andrus, married Ellis R. Smith,
of Battle Creek, and they had one daughter, Beatrice Smith Slayton,
the mother of Philip E. and Novella A. Slayton. Lettie D. Andrus,
also a daughter of George, married M. E. Brown, of Battle Creek,
and has one son, George A. Brown. A younger brother of George
Andrus, William, was one of the first druggists of Battle Creek, and
for many years was one of its most prominent citizens.  George
Andrus died March 25, I9OI, on the farm he had owned since boyhood. He was a man of strong, forceful character, honest and industrious, and a most avid reader and student. He was a member of
the Episcopal church, of which his mother was the first communicant
in Battle Creek before any church building had been erected.
Frederick P. Angell, residing at 96 Marshall street, Battle Creek,
was born in Barry county, Michigan, September IO, I865, a son of
Jerome and Mary (Pendill) Angell. The latter was a daughter of
Elijah Pendill, the first mayor of Battle Creek. Jerome Angell was
born in Calhoun county and his grandfather was a pioneer of Battle
Creek and took up a large tract of land where the city now stands.
He was a soldier of the Civil war and died in Indiana. His wife
passed away in Battle Creek. Frederick P. Angell came to Battle
Creek when eleven years old, attended the public schools and engaged
in the manufacture of porch columns and interior finishing with a
brother, Mark P., under the name of Angell Brothers, on South avenue,
and this business continued with success until fourteen years ago,
when it was sold. Mr. Angell invented an air door control and later
the Angell electrical garage control and is now devoting his entire
time to the development of these inventions. The Michigan Metal
Products Company, Springfield Place, Battle Creek, is handling the
air door control, the first invention. Mr. Angell, well gifted mechanically, has invented a number of devices and appurtenances. On October II, I893, he was joined at the hymeneal altar in the exchange of
vows, by Miss Agnes Cook, a native of England. Mrs. Angell was
born in 1871, the daughter of Walter and Agnes (Yates) Cook, both
natives of England, where Mr. Cook died when his daughter was a
mere child. His widow died in Battle Creek in April, 1924, at the
age of eighty-six. The wife of Mr. Angell came to Canada in I89I
and was married in Hamilton, Ontario. Four children have been born




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


to the Angells. Charles, born July 21, 1894, was graduated from
high school, attended Michigan State Normal School at Kalamazoo and
is coach and instructor in manual training at the University of Illinois,
Champaign. Archer W. is the second child. Hildreth was born in
900o and died in I903, aged two years and eight months. Mabelle,
born March 13, I909, is a high school pupil.
Archer W. Angell.-Mr. Angell is the proprietor of the Stutz
Motor Sales Company at 666 Marshall street. He was born in Battle
Creek February 27, I896, the son of Fred P. Angell. The son was
educated in the grammar and high schools of Battle Creek and became a commercial designer, which art he followed for some time. For
service in the World war Mr. Angell enlisted in July, I918, and was
in several camps, was assigned to the coast artillery and received his
discharge on December 17, I919, at Camp Custer. Immediately, Mr.
Angell engaged in the garage business in Jackson and in I920 established the present business. He is a member of the Elks. In I9I7
Mr. Angell was united in marriage to Nina B. Allen, of Battle Creek.
They have one son, Donald Archer, born April 13, I92I. The Angell
home is at 96 Marshall street. The establishment over which Mr.
Augell presides is one of the best known in Battle Creek and the owner
is in the enjoyment of a large measure of popularity by reason of the
high type service rendered and because of fidelity to a high standard
of business practice.
Charles Austin was at the time of his death one of the grand old
men of Michigan, a state that he had honored and distinguished through
his noble life and large and worthy achievement. He was one of the
most loved and revered citizens of Battle Creek when death set its
seal upon his mortal lips, December 3, I92I, and this publication cannot
be consistent with itself if there be failure to offer a tribute to his
memory.
Charles Austin was born in the city of London, England, April I9,
1834, and thus was eighty-seven years of age at the time of his death.
His father became a boot and shoe merchant in London and was also
a Wesleyan minister. The father eventually emigrated to New Zealand, where he continued his earnest church work and also followed
farm enterprise until his death, when nearly eighty-eight years of age.
The subject of this memoir received his early education in one of the
institutions maintained by the British and Foreign Schools Society.
As a boy he sold newspapers on the streets of London, and there he
gained practical business experience by assisting in his father's store.
In February, 1852, a few months prior to his eighteenth birthday anniversary, Mr. Austin disembarked in the port of New York City, and
within a short time thereafter he found employment in a boot and
shoe store at Albany, that state. He later established his residence at
Utica, New York, where he remained until 1854, the year that was
marked by his arrival in Michigan. He resided in the village of
Concord, Jackson county, until September, 1855, when he established
his permanent home in Calhoun county, he having been one of the
most venerable and revered pioneer citizens of this county at the time




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281


of his death and it having been his lot to assist in the civic and material
development and progress of this now opulent division of the state.
He was engaged in the boot and shoe business at Homer two years,
and he then removed to the little village of Bedford, where he built
up a prosperous general mercantile business. He continued as one of
the most influential citizens and business men of Bedford until 1872,
when he removed to Battle Creek and established one of the largest
dry goods stores of the city. He later became the founder of the
important mercantile and commission house of Austin, Godsmark &
Durand, and in the same he retained an interest after he had retired
from active connection and the title of the concern had been changed
to Godsmark, Durand & Company. Mr. Austin's executive ability and
his secure place in popular confidence and esteem played a large part
in the upbuilding of the substantial business of the Old National Bank
of Battle Creek, of which he was the vice-president at the time of his
death.
Charles Austin ever stood exemplar of loyal, liberal and broadminded citizenship, and his civic stewardship was ever a matter that
carie to him with a full demand of fidelity expressed in both influence
and service. He held at Bedford the office of justice of the peace,
in 1875 he was elected a member of the city council of Battle Creek,
and in the following year he was elected mayor of the city. In i880
he was elected representative of Calhoun county in the state legislature, and in 1882 and 1884 he was elected to the state senate, his
having been a characteristically earnest and influential part in the
directing of wise legislation in that period, and he having been assigned to important senate committees, including those on finance, insurance, railroads, education, and asylums for the insane. He was long
and actively affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he gained
high rank, his allegiance to the Republican party was unwavering, and
in his home city he was an active member of the Independent Congregational church. He retained vital interest in business and community
affairs until the close of his long and useful life, and was glad to
keep pace with the march of modern progress.
April 19, I915, was tendered to Mr. Austin a testimonial banquet
that was held at the Post Tavern and was attended by a large
company of representative Battle Creek citizens, the affair having been
held under the auspices of the local Chamber of Commerce. The
honored guest of the occasion was presented with a handsome souvenir
of appreciation, and among those present were both Hon. William
Alden Smith and the late Hon. Charles E. Townsend, United States
senators from Michigan.
At Concord, Michigan, January I, I855, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Austin to Miss Lucy D. Taylor, and of the five sons of
this union two died in infancy, the survivors being Oliver T., who
died recently in Chicago; Charles J., of Toledo, Ohio, and Edward D.,
of Battle Creek. Mrs. Austin preceded her husband to the great beyond.
In conclusion are given brief extracts from an appreciative editorial




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


that appeared in a Battle Creek newspaper at the time of the death
of Mr. Austin: "His was an example of the gentle, kindly, benign and
beloved old age which somehow is seldom associated with the experiences of this modern, rushing time. * * * Charles Austin was
sincerely loved in Battle Creek, as he sincerely loved his town and its
people. A fine, dignified, cultured gentleman he was, who had won
much business success through merit industriously applied. There
was little room for illusions in his wisdom and experience, but large
room in his gentle and refined nature for idealism. His charities,
always tactfully and wisely given, were generous and constant. The
measure of his citizenship and patriotism was of the highest."
Charles H. Babcock.-Mr. Babcock is treasurer of the United
Steel and Wire Company, with which he has been associated since
1912, his connection with the corporation being in the nature of a
gradual advancement in recognition of meritorious service. Mr. Babcock was born in Barry county, Michigan, in I888, received his early
education in the schools of that county and attended a business college
in Battle Creek to enhance his native equipment. For a year and a
half he worked as office secretary at the Y. M. C. A. and in September,
1912, became connected with the United Steel and Wire Company.
Mr. Babcock is a member of the Athelstan Club and is an Exchangeite.
On June 16, 1915, he was united in marriage to Miss Ida L. Frost, of
Battle Creek. Mrs. Babcock received her education in the Battle Creek
schools. There is one daughter, Grace Eloise, born May 16, I916.
Mr. Babcock's father was Frank L. Babcock and his mother was Mary
A. Babcock (nee Holmes). The father was of New York state, the
mother of Michigan. She died in 1899, aged only thirty-nine years.
The paternal grandfather, Benjamin I. Babcock, was a native of New
York. His wife was Mary Jane Sedgwick, also of the Empire state.
They migrated to Canada and in I858 settled in Michigan, locating in
Barry county where he died in i890. His widow is living in Barry
county at the remarkable age of ninety-three years. The venerable
Mrs. Babcock was born February 18, 1832. The children of Mr. and
Mrs. Frank L. Babcock are Charles H.; Harry B., who is on a farm,
and Grace E., the wife of W. W. Mack, of Barry county. The
maternal grandfather was Joel Holmes, a pioneer minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church. His wife was a Miss Chase, who died
when young.
Roy H. Baribeau, M.D., one of Battle Creek's best known of the
younger physicians, was in charge of sick and accident case work during the construction of Camp Custer in 1917 and at one time had
under his supervision Io,ooo men. The Doctor has developed a large
and profitable practice throughout Calhoun county. He was born in
Muskegon, Michigan, September 25, 1890, and was graduated from
Grand Ledge high school in 1908. In I912 he received the degree
of Bachelor of Science upon graduation from the University of Michigan and in 1914 received the medical degree. In November, I914,
Doctor Baribeau came to Battle Creek and began general practice here
and during the war was civilian physician and surgeon at Camp Custer,




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283


a post that entailed much responsibility and efficient service. Since
that period the Doctor has been engaged in private practice in Battle
Creek. In November, I9II, he was married to Katharine Kemp, of
Grand Ledge, and there are two children, Jacqueline, born February
28, 1913, and Marguerite, born January 2, I9I7. During college days,
in 1912, I913 and I914, Doctor Baribeau was on the ball team of the
University of Michigan. He is a member of the Alpha Kappa Kappa,
national medical fraternity, and of the county, state and national medical societies. He is also an Elk and a member of the Knife and Fork
Club and the Athelston Club. In the support of civic measures, the
Doctor is earnest and helpful.
Chris Bauer.-Mr. Bauer is a member of the widely known meat
establishment of Talmadge & Bauer, which in addition to retailing
meats, owns a fine 240-acre farm near Albion, Michigan. Mr. Bauer
is a native of the Badger state, born July Io, I88I, the son of Adam
and Katherine Bauer, nee Lang. The parents lived at Chelsea, Michigan. The father was a farmer and died when the son was about
eight years old. Chris Bauer attended the public schools and soon
became inured to hard work. He became a delivery boy for a meat
market when sixteen years old, serving a Chelsea store, and since then
has been connected with the meat business. For a year he was in
business for himself in Chelsea and in 1903 came to Albion. For three
years he worked for the firm of Talmadge & Klemm and then became
a member of the firm, the name of which was changed to Talmadge
& Bauer. The business is an outstanding success because of the
quality of goods carried, the inflexible policy of service to customers
and square dealing and the co-operation between the partners. In
I9oo Mr. Bauer was united in marriage to Miss Mertie E. Guerin, of
Chelsea. They have three children, Walter C., Irene and Gladys. The
members of the Bauer family attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Bauer is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
J. G. Bennett is engaged in the plumbing and heating business,
with offices at 74 West Bidwell street, and many residences and business
buildings of Battle Creek contain equipment installed by him. Mr.
Bennett is a native of Detroit, the son of Albert and Martha Bennett.
His grandfather, John Drayton, was a farmer near Trenton. J. G.
Bennett worked with his father oln a farm and in I9oo decided to cast
his lot in Battle Creek. He entered the field of plumbing, with Gus
Peterson, remaining in his employ about four years. Other connections were formed by Mr. Bennett and in order to gain experience and
knowledge he became somewhat itinerant. He took a course in sanitary engineering and became a member of the American Society of
Sanitary Engineers. In 1919 Mr. Bennett decided to engage in business for himself and success has crowned his faithful efforts. He
does plumbing and heating installations in residences and commercial
buildings and maintains four or five employees. Mr. Bennett is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the state and national organizations of master plumbers. In I914 he was married to Miss
A, L. Vincent, of Union City. They have a son, Lawrence Vincent,




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


aged nineteen. The latter is the husband of Marjorie Wilbert. Mr.
Bennett did the plumbing and installed heating apparatus in twenty
homes in the Home Builders' addition for the residences of V. C.
Squires, W. H. Brown and many others. He is a skilled artisan and is
faithful to the highest known standards of modern sanitary engineering.
William Bemer.-Mr. Bemer enjoys the distinction of having been
the first mayor of Albion, Michigan, under the commission-manager
form of government. He has made other contributions, however, in
the form of public service, having been a member of the board of
public works, an alderman and a supervisor for five years.  Mr.
Bemer, of both mechanical and musical turn, is the owner and operator of a garage and repair shop in Albion and is widely known.
He is a native of Holland, born March 17, i868, the son of Albert
and Hattie Bemer, both of whom emigrated to the United States
in October, i868, locating in Kalamazoo. The father was a sturdy
laborer and died in I902. The mother also passed away in Kalamazoo.
The son, brought along with the parents, received his early education
in Kalamazoo and as a young man learned the trade of blacksmithing.
This he followed in Kalamazoo ten years, then came to Albion and
continued such occupation twenty years. In I917, he opened a garage
and has since conducted this as an individual enterprise. On May 31,
1890, Mr. Bemer was united in marriage to Miss Theresa Pearl Curtis,
of Lowell, Michigan. Two children were born. Hattie died in infancy. Clarence W. Bemer was born May I6, I892, and is now superintendent of schools at Lake Linden, Michigan. He was graduated
from Albion High School with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and
has attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University,
giving special attention to the study of pedagogic problems and the
educational field. William Bemer, as has been indicated, is held in
high esteem, having been on the board of public works, in the aldermanic body, a supervisor and mayor of Albion. He is a member of
the Presbyterian church, of the Masons and the Odd Fellows. He
has always been passionately fond of music, acquiring a musical
education by his own efforts. For five years he was leader of the
local band. He plays the trombone in the Lutheran orchestra. The
son is also gifted musically and plays with equal facility and power
the piano and cornet.
Ira A. Beck.-Battle Creek is proud to claim Ira A. Beck as one
of its most distinguished citizens. The attachment is predicated upon
a long career of achievement. In the business, professional and fraternal and social life of the community none is more conspicuous or
more wholesomely active than Mr. Beck. Attorney Beck maintains
his offices at 503-507 City National Bank Building. He was born in
Charlotte, Eaton county, Michigan, September 21, 1878, the oldest
of five children of John T. and Ella Beck (nee Foster). The senior
Beck was born in New York state, his wife in Michigan. Charles H.,
Mary, Ruby and Pearl were the other members of the Beck family
circle. John Beck for many years was a prominent farmer of Eaton
county and when he retired made his home in Charlotte. Ira A. Beck




CALHOUN COUNTY


285


received his elementary education in Charlotte and sustained the distinction of having been the youngest graduate of the Charlotte High
School. He received his diploma in June, 1893, when only fourteen
years old. At once he began a study of the law under Judge Horace
S. Maynard, one of the leading members of the bar in Eaton county.
Mr. Beck was admitted to practice in Illinois. He became registrar
of the probate court in Eaton county and held that post from I896
to I9I0. For a short time he was associated with Judge Maynard in
his native city, but in I9OI went to Chicago and entered the influential
law firm of Flower, Smith & Musgrave, maintaining such association
until I904, in which year he came to Battle Creek and formed an
association with Arthur B. Williams under the name of Williams &
Beck. The partnership lasted five years and since then Mr. Beck
has practiced by himself. He is in the enjoyment of a large and
lucrative practice, his clients numbering many corporations and other
business concerns and influential individuals. He is acceptedly one
of the best-known attorneys of southwestern Michigan. Mr. Beck
has been general counsel of the Battle Creek Sanitarium for twelve
years. In fraternal-especially Masonic-affairs he is of commanding
importance. He is past master of Battle Creek Lodge No. 12, Free
and Accepted Masons; member of Battle Creek Chapter No. I9, Royal
Arch Masons; a past commander of Commandery No. 33, Knights
Templar; a member of DeWitt Clinton Consistory, of Grand Rapids.
He is a member of Ira A. Beck Lodge, which Masonic blue lodge was
named in his honor, and Mr. Beck has reached the attainment of the
thirty-third degree of Scottish Rite Masonry. While grand master
of the grand lodge of Michigan he turned the sod for the $5,000,000
Masonic temple of Detroit. Mr. Beck is a past president of the
Athelstan Club, a member of the Country Club, and of the Independent Congregational Church. On March 21, I906, Mr. Beck and Miss
Mildred Phillips, daughter of Albanus Phillips, were united in matrimony. They have two children, Margaret and Dorothy. Mr. and
Mrs. Beck reciprocate each other's interests in social and community
activities. The Phillips family also has contributed materially to the
advancement of the community.
James S. Blair, D.O.-Dr. Blair has attained prominence and leadership not only in the practice of osteopathic medicine but in the
diagnostic system formulated by the late Dr. Albert Abrams and
widely known as the electronic reaction of Abrams. Dr. Blair is a
member of the Battle Creek and Michigan State Osteopathic Societies,
the American Osteopathic Association, the American Osteopathic
Association of Oto-Laryngology and the Middle States Society of
Electronic Medicine; also the American Electronic Research Association, having given especial attention to the electronic reaction theory
and technique. The Doctor is a member of the Masonic order and of
the Pythians. He is a member of the Country Club and of the Athelstan Club. In I892, he was married to Nora A. Thompson, of Weldon,
Iowa. There were born two children. Sherli C., a graduate of Battle
Creek High School and of Michigan Agricultural College with the




286


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


degree of B. A., is the wife of Joseph K. Dedrick, of Wichita, Kansas.
They have one son, James T. The other child of Dr. and Mrs. Blair
is Jane, in the Battle Creek High School. Dr. Blair was born in
Van Wert, Iowa, April I8, I869, received his early instruction in
the public schools and engaged in the lumber and hardware business.
In 1899 he applied himself to the study of osteopathic medicine and
in I9OI was graduated from the American College of Osteopathy in
Kirksville, Missouri, the parent school of that system. For three
years the Doctor practiced in Owosso, Michigan, and in 1904 he came
to Battle Creek, being in continuous practice since in that city. The
Doctor is highly esteemed and respected not only for his professional
equipment but for his interest in public affairs.
'Allen L. Blesch.-Living on a farm until he was eighteen years
of age, then applying himself to the sale of coal and finally becoming
the proprietor of a coal establishment, epitomizes the career of Allen
L. Blesch, successful dealer of Battle Creek, whose establishment at
39 North Monroe street is one of the best known in the city. Mr.
Blesch received early and thorough training in the school of hard
work and knows the value of an honest and conscientious day's toil.
This is incorporated in his business creed. Mr. Blesch was born in
Coldwater, Isabella county, Michigan, April I6, 1885. His father
was George Joseph Blesch and the mother's maiden name was Mary
Ann Bick, both pioneers of Isabella county. They became extensive
land owners. The elder Blesch took an active part in politics. He
died at the age of seventy-five years on February I8, I923, and his
widow is living in Gilmore township, Isabella county. Allen received
intensive training on the parental farm and at eighteen connected
himself with the International Harvester Company as salesman for
a short period; then began selling coal with headquarters at Lansing.
He started the Capitol City Coal Company there September I, 1913, doing a wholesale and retail business, with which he remained until
1918, in which year he came to Battle Creek and established a coal
business of his own under the name of the Blesch Coal Company.
He attended the common schools until sixteen and for two years
pursued a course of study at Ferris Institute at Big Rapids. In I916,
Mr. Blesch and Miss Alta Brown, of Lansing, trod the altar steps
and exchanged the vows that made them man and wife. Mrs. Blesch
is a graduate nurse, performing active duty during the war.' There
is one child, Ruth, born June 8, I919. Mr. Blesch is a member of
the United Commercial Travelers and is much esteemed. The family
home is at 607 Maple street.
Edgar Paul Boggs.-Several fortunes were made and several fortunes were lost but the tribulations of a plucky business man who
failed never rendered Edgar Paul Boggs disconsolate nor did his
failures tend to discourage him. He merely doffed his coat, rolled up
his sleeves and went at the business of recuperating his losses, and
won. Today Mr. Boggs is one of Michigan's best-known realtors
and one of the best-known and best-liked business men of Battle
Creek. His life story is replete with interest. Mr. Boggs was born




CALHOUN COUNTY


ma 7


near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 28, i866, and when a lad
of thirteen accompanied his parents to Columbus, Nebraska. His
father was James Boggs and mother Matilda Boggs, nee McNair.
James Boggs bought a thousand acres of land at $2.25 an acre, cultivated the soil and raised stock. Then he sold the land at $25 an acre
and went to the state of Washington, where he engaged in lumbering.
This was during the gloomy panic days of I893 and in I896 he returned to Pennsylvania, where he died in I908 at the age of sixtyseven. His wife, also a native of the Keystone state, died in the same
year and at approximately the same age. Edgar Paul Boggs attended
public school in Pennsylvania and Nebraska and after his father
went to Washington, spent two yearS in western Nebraska herding
cattle. During his term of work Mr. Boggs found time for study
and self-improvement. He utilized every opportunity for self-culture.
During the intervals between work and'at nights he mastered Ray's
high school arithmetic and algebra, prepared for and passed a teacher's examination and was granted a license to teach. He then spent
two years in California on the San Joaquin ranch of Santa Ana and
another year on a fruit ranch in Salina county. He then joined his
father in Washington in the lumber business. On account of certain
retaliatory measures adopted by Australia where they had sent a cargo
of lumber worth $200,000, father and son found a depreciation so
great that they were "broke." The senior Boggs returned to Pennsylvania while Edgar Paul went with the Pacific Press Publishing
Company, of Oakland, California. In I896 he was transferred to
Battle Creek, going to the Review and Herald Publishing Company.
In 900o he became manager of the Good Health Publishing Company,
of Battle Creek, for Dr. J. H. Kellogg. With Benjamin F. Morgan,
Walter S. Powers, H. Howard Greene and M. Bartholf, a World's
Fair food company was formed and the company purchased 460
acres of land adjoining the city of Battle Creek. This adventure
proved to be a failure, but Mr. Boggs had saved $Io,ooo and went
to Chicago, where he invested his cash assets in the Chicago Motor
Vehicle Company, manufacturing the first friction drive automobile
produced. Back of this company were such eminent men of financial
strength and genius as the late Mark A. Hanna, Secretary Shaw and
Lyman J. Gage. This venture also was doomed to failure and in
the course of a year Mr. Boggs returned to Battle Creek with approximately $I6 worth of assets, not all of which could be converted into
coin at once. Undaunted, he entered the livery business, in which
he remained but a few years, and in I9o8 entered the field of real
estate, upon which the Goddess of Fortune has benignantly smiled.
Mr. Boggs is very active in the development of Battle Creek and
vicinity and is helpful in the promotion and execution of welfare and
civic movements. He is a member of the local, state and national
organizations of realtors. In 1923 he sold to John Bailey the Eldred
block, the largest individual realty deal involving Main street property. Mr. Boggs is a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity and the
Elks and at one time belonged to the Knights of the Maccabees.




288


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


In I895 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Taylor, of Hillsdale, Michigan. Three children were born. Elton died in infancy.
Gertrude L., graduate of high school and the University of Michigan,
is a teacher in the Battle Creek High School. Edgar Paul, Jr., is
associated with his father in the real estate business. He received his
education in the grade and high schools of Battle Creek, reinforced
with a business college course. In September, 1922, Mr. Boggs, junior,
was married to Zelta Hurley, of Battle Creek. The issue of the union
is one son, Edgar Paul, Third.
Frank H. Boos.-Mr. Boos has long been identified with the business life of Battle Creek, but is now living in retirement in a beautiful
home at 173 Maple street, although giving attention to banking matters and to the general promotional interests of the community. Mr.
Boos was born in Fulton, Illinois, March I8, I858, and with his parents came to Marshall, Michigan, when but a child. His parents were
John and Marie Rosine Boos, nee Holdenriede, old and respected residents of Calhoun county. In Marshall, John Boos was a manufacturer of chairs and tables. He lived some years in Jackson, but spent
his last days in Battle Creek, dying in I909. His wife passed away
on March 12, I916. Frank H. Boos received his early education in
the public schools of Marshall and Jackson and supplemented it with
a business college course. In 1871 he came to Battle Creek and
became agent for the Phillip Best Company, which he was until I893,
when he transferred to the Anheuser-Busch Association, Inc., as general agent. He remained with the latter until 1914, when he was able
to retire. His business career had been eminently satisfactory and
prosperous. Mr. Boos owns a beautiful home at 173 Maple street
which he purchased in 9og9. This was owned by Mrs. Clement
Wakelee, who bequeathed it to the St. Thomas Episcopal Church and
the church sold it to Mr. Boos. Mr. Boos for twenty-five years has
been a director of the Merchants' Savings Bank. He is a member
of the Athelstan Club, the Elks and the Country Club. He also holds
membership in the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, as first cello;
was the originator of the first string quartette, known as the "Schubert String Quartette Club," composed of Theodore Martin, first violin; John B. Martin, second violin; Gus B. Bell, viola; Frank H. Boos,
cello. Mr. Boos has done a great deal to create taste for good classical music and has promoted piano trios and piano quartettes, and
music in these forms is from the old German masters, from Beethoven
down to composers still living. Music divine, romantic and classical
will always be played. On October 19, I892, Mr. Boos was married
to Ella Ada Holgate, native of Widder, Ontario. She came to Michigan when ten years old and received her education in the grade and
high schools. The marriage ceremony was solemnized in Battle Creek
by Rev. R. J. Sadlier, of St. Philip's Catholic Church. Mrs. Boos is
a daughter of John and Elizabeth Jane Holgate, nee Bishop. Mr.
Holgate was with the British army under General Brock, becoming
a volunteer in its organization in the Thirteenth regiment, Canadian
Volunteer Infantry. There are two children in the Boos family



CALHOUN COUNTY


289


Frank H., Jr., and Elizabeth H. Frank H., Jr., was born in 1893
and graduated from Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana.
He was also graduated from the Detroit College of Law and is practicing in Detroit. He enlisted for service in the World War on June
14, 1917, with the Thirty-second division and in France was transferred to the Forty-second or Rainbow division, of brilliant memory.
In the I49th field artillery, he was promoted to second lieutenant;
in September, 1917, sailed for England and was a lieutenant in the
I49th field artillery from June 14, 1917, to April 25, 1919. He became
a first lieutenant in July, 1918. The battles in which Frank H. Boos,
Jr., participated were: Marne campaign, July 6-I8; L'Esperance sector, July I9, 1918; Aisne Marne offensive, July 27 to August 6, 1918;
Fismes sector, August 7 to August II, 1918; Toul sector, September
8-16; St. Mihiel offensive, September 12-16; Essey et Pannes sector,
September I7-30; Meuse Argonne offensive, October 7 to November
II, 1918, and ended his service with the Army of Occupation on the
Rhine. Mr. Boos, Jr., was married to Florence Louise Smith, of
Detroit. The second child, Elizabeth H., is a graduate of Battle
Creek High School and attended Walcourt College, Aurora, New
York. She is the wife of Lawrence Gibson Fell, of Battle Creek,
and the mother of one girl, Martha Elizabeth.
Floyd N. Boyce, proprietor of the Ideal Laundry Company at I8-20
Angel street, was born in Memphis, Michigan, April 25, 1871, attended school there and came to Battle Creek a poor boy. Following
a natural bent, he worked as a mechanic for he was born a mechanic.
In a short time, by dint of energy and hard work, he became overseer
of the establishment and remained in that work ten years. Mr. Boyce,
however, turned to real estate and entered the contracting and building business and gained the distinction of being the youngest contractor in the city. Later he and five brothers purchased the 0. K.
Laundry, which they operated a year and a half, and then two years
later Mr. Boyce and one brother bought the Ideal laundry and the
brother's interest, after one year was acquired, leaving Mr. Boyce the
sole owner. This establishment has been operating eighteen years and
is successful. For eight years the business was housed at 33 East
Main street until the present structure was erected for its own use.
Every dollar contributing to the material success of Floyd M. Boyce
represents faithful toil and the desire to serve effectively. Mr. Boyce
never married. He was the owner of the corner of West Main and
Angel streets until recently disposed of, and owns other valuable
property in Battle Creek.
Roy H. Brigham.-Mr. Brigham     is a member of the firm of
Brigham & Uldricks, 14 Clyde street, Battle Creek, doing a general
business in woodworking and the production of wood products of a
variety and diversity. The concern occupies a modern, well-equipped
plant and its pay roll carries from eight to twenty operatives. Mr.
Brigham was born August 17, i888, in Lawrence, Michigan, and in
19o6 was graduated from the Lawrence High School. He supplemented his high school training with a course of instruction in archi



290


29l1tST CU TICH1GAN


teture prepared by the International Correspondence Schools, materially adding to his equipment. For twelve years he followed carpentering, obtaining practical experience of the most valuable kind in every
branch of carpentry and woodworking, and in I919 became associated
with Mr. Uldricks in the firm of Brigham & Uldricks. Mr. Brigham
was united in marriage to Miss Carrie P. Lane, of Lawrence. They
have two children, Kenneth Leroy and Theda May. Mr. Brigham is
a communicant of the Methodist church. He is a member of the Odd
Fellows, the Chamber of Commerce and of the Contractors' Association.
Basso Brothers.-From an inception that was unpretentious to say
the least, the business developed by Antonio and John Basso has
grown to important proportions and the Messrs. Basso are among the
well-to-do of Battle Creek's citizenship. The establishment which
they own and direct is the wholesaling and retailing of confections,
fruit, cigars, and is located at 13 East Main street. The business was
established in 1883 by two young men whose birthplace was fardistant Italy. Antonio was born April 22, 1864, and came to Chicago
with his parents when he was but ten years old. He received an
education in the public schools of Chicago and in I88o went to South
Bend, Indiana. In 1883 he and John came to Battle Creek and established the business that has brought them wealth and prosperity.
Hard work, characteristic of the Italians, was and remains their
creed. Antonio is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In
1891 he was married to Katherine Favello, who was born in Chicago.
They have three children, Theresa and Mary, who are graduates of
Battle Creek High School, and Richard, a high school student. John
Basso, born in 1857, was twenty-two when he reached Chicago and in
I883 came to Battle Creek to unite his interests with his brother. Mr.
and Mrs. John Basso have six children, Louis, Lula, Antonio, Frank,
Sadie and Julia. There is another Basso, a brother of Antonio and
John-James Basso, who resides in Niles, Michigan.
John H. Burns.-Mr. Burns is associated with R. J. Burns as a
partner in the distribution, at wholesale, of a high grade flour especially adapted for fried cake and pancake use. The flour is made by
a special process, the manufacturer being Frank M. Peters. The
business is located at 114 West Center, Albion, Michigan. Messrs.
Burns & Bums enjoy a large and increasing trade, for the sale of
the flour extends throughout Michigan and adjoining states. John H.
Burns was born in Union City, Michigan, October 8, 1893, the son
of John Burns, a farmer. He received his early education in Union
City and entered the grocery and meat business, which he followed for
approximately twelve years. In I919 he entered the wholesale flour
field with R. J. Burns, in Albion, and has been a conspicuous success.
In June, I913, Mr. Burns was united in marriage to Miss Grace M.
Mallory, daughter of E. J. Mallory. They have three children, Russell,
Robert and John H., Jr. Mr. Burns is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, Loyal.Order of Moose and Modern Woodmen of America.








CGE"ORGE, W. JIU!CKLEY




CALHOUN COUNTY


291


He is generous in his support of all movements set forth in the interest of the advancement of Albion.
George Wright Buckley is one of Calhoun county's native sons
who have signally honored the county through distinguished achievement, and his career has been such as to reveal his versatility of
talent as well as his high humanitarian ideals. He is a popular scion
of one of the old and honored families of Battle Creek, and in this,
his native city, he is now giving his attention largely to the management of the family estate, which includes important real estate holdings. As lawyer, journalist, author and clergyman of the Unitarian
church, Mr. Buckley has made his influence felt along manifold
avenues of useful service, and it is needless to say that his is a wide
and admirably defined intellectual ken. Mr. Buckley was born at
Battle Creek on the 26th of May, I850. and is a son of the late Joseph
W. and Helen (Pixley) Buckley, who here continued their residence
until their death, in the fullness of years and honors. The earlier
years of Mr. Buckley were passed in the Battle Creek Hotel of which
his father was the owner and manager, and in the public schools he
continued his education until his graduation in the Battle Creek High
School, as a member of the class of I870. Before graduating from
high school he spent one year in Olivet College. In the following
year he entered the academic or literary department of the University
of Michigan, but impaired health compelled him to leave the institution a year later. After a period of successful service as a teacher in
the country schools he returned to the university, as a student in its
law department, and in this department he was graduated in I873, with
the degree of Bachelor of Laws and with virtually concomitant admission to the Michigan bar. His inclinations and vital mentality
made the dry intricacies of the law distasteful, with the result that
he soon turned his attention to journalism, in which he was destined
to gain high reputation. Mr. Buckley at this period of his career
made a tour of the states of the Pacific coast, and incidentally wrote
a series of interesting letters that were published in leading newspapers.
On his return to Michigan he purchased the Michigan Tribune, and
this Battle Creek paper he raised to a high standard, its circulation
having been doubled under his effective administration and its influence having been greatly expanded. He made an extended tour
through the southern states, for the purpose of gaining first-hand
information concerning the attitude of the southern people relative
to the negro question, and he embodied his observations and investigations in a series of constructive educational letters that attracted
much and favorable attention in the north. After about five years of
association with newspaper and general literary work, Mr. Buckley
initiated the course of study that prepared him for the ministry of
the Unitarian church, and in this connection he reverts with satisfaction to the counsel and aid that he received from Rev. Reed Stuart, of
Detroit, who was at that time a leader in the liberal religious thought
and service of the nation. After two years of study Mr. Buckley
was ordained a clergyman of the Unitarian church, and his first pastoral




292


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


charge was at Monroe, Wisconsin, where he remained two years. He
then resigned, and during the ensuing year he was engaged in effective
post-graduate work in Harvard University. Thereafter he continued
his zealous and able ministerial services, with pastoral charges in the
New England states and also in Michigan, until the death of his father,
in 1895, when he returned to Battle Creek and assumed active management of the family estate, the affairs of which he has administered
with characteristic loyalty and efficiency. In I899 he amplified his
experience by making a tour of various European countries. Mr.
Bucklev is author of a number of didactic works that have met with
wide and appreciative popular reception, and among the most important of these are the following named: "The Wit and Wisdom of
Jesus," "Caryle and Emerson: a Contrast," "Politics and Morals," and
"Pain is Gain."  He is an eloquent and forceful pulpit orator and general public speaker, and he continues to exercise his splendid intellectuality in helpful human service. He and his wife are leaders in
the social and cultural circles of their home city of Battle Creek, and
their home is a center of gracious and refined hospitality. In the year
I881 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Buckley to Miss Minnie
Parker, who was born in New York state, and who has proved a real
coadjutor of her husband in advanced thought and general intellectual
culture. Three sons were born to them, one dying in infancy. Claude
W., who died in Florida in December, 1924, founded the school of
Applied Arts, of Battle Creek. George R., now of New York City, is
a violinist and tenor singer. He married Eleanor Osburn, of Detroit,
who has gained fame as a soprano singer at home and abroad. They
have two children, Jeanne and Betty, both at home. Claude left two
children, Barbara L. and Rosalind.
Herbert P. Buzzell.-Although engaged in the printing and publishing business for a period totaling thirty years, Mr. Buzzell deserted
the printer's case and the printing press and in I916 began business in
the wholesaling of nut margarine, in Battle Creek. He prospered,
established five branch houses and during one year of the World war
the business had grown to such proportions that the sales ran to
$6oo,ooo. Mr. Buzzell later added grocers' supplies and the concern operates as a wholesale grocers' specialties company, does an
immense business and possesses prestige. Mr. Buzzell's offices and
warehouse are at o18 West Main street. He was born March 7,
I869, in Vermont, attended the public schools and received academic
training in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, and at nineteen came to
Battle Creek. For seven years he was with the Review and Herald
Publishing Company, published a paper in Lincoln, Nebraska, returned to the Herald and Review Company, worked for Rand &
McNally in Chicago, in Hamilton, Ohio, and was with Eihling Brothers
in Kalamazoo. In all thirty years were spent in the printing and publishing business and in I916 he established the new enterprise. Mr.
Buzzell is a gentleman of versatility and has strong religious convictions. He is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist denomination
and is pastor of the Urbandale church. He is noted as a lecturer




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on religious subjects. In I890 he was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Armstrong, of Battle Creek. A son, Clarence, was born in
Nebraska, educated in Hamilton grade schools and in high school in
Chicago and was graduated in 1923 from the Emanuel Missionary
College, Berrien Springs, Michigan. He was president of the class
and manager of the student movement. He married Mae Kegebern,
of Chicago, a graduate of the same college. Mrs. Buzzell is a graduate
in music, a teacher of voice culture and a noted singer. Mrs. Herbert
P. Buzzell died in I919 and in 1920 Mr. Buzzell married Mrs. A. J.
Read, of Battle Creek. She is a graduate nurse of Battle Creek
sanitarium, a graduate of the Art Institutes of Chicago and New
York City and an artist of note. The Buzzell family is highly respected for the culture and the personal virtues of its members.
Edgar F. Campbell.-Mr. Campbell is the head of the largest
creamery in the state of Michigan outside Detroit, the Campbell Dairy
Products Company, ofi Homer, Michigan, shipping its delectable
products as far south as palm-bowered Florida and as far east as
Maine. Mr. Campbell, too, is a Michigander, born in Milan, Monroe
county, August I8, I879. His parents were Frank and Ella C. (Dunlap) Campbell. The elder Campbell was a farmer. The parents of
Mr. Campbell moved to Homer in I915. The father is now living with
his wife in retirement. He is active, however, in the promotion of
community affairs, but in politics he shares liberal views. Edgar F.
Campbell received his schooling in Milan, then worked in a railroad
office as cashier and was with the Wabash and Ann Arbor road four
years. He was then connected with Swift & Company and then went
into produce fields in Detroit and spent nine years in association with
the dairy industry in Wisconsin. On May 15, 1915, Mr. Campbell,
well fortified with the knowledge that comes with practical experience,
established the Campbell Dairy Products Company. The output comprises dairy products and ice cream and the plant has become the largest
in the state outside of Detroit. In 1921 it was necessary to incorporate,
the authorized capitalization being $Ioo,ooo. Edgar F. Campbell is
the president; J. J. Snyder, vice-president, and Ora Sanford, secretary
and treasurer. The output of the plant last year consisted in the
main of I,5oo,o000 pounds of butter, 50,000 gallons of ice cream, fifteen
carloads of condensed buttermilk. An extension of the plant is being
constructed for the operation of a condensed and powdered milk
adjunct. The business of the Campbell company is aggregating
$800,000 a year. The milk supply is derived from sources within a
radius of fifty miles. The company maintains fifty cream purchasing
stations, two of which are in Indiana. Fifteen thousand square feet
of floor space are required to house the machinery and stock. The
plant is replete with interest. Mr. Campbell is a director and the
secretary of the Calhoun State Bank of Homer, is a stockholder of
the Commercial and Savings Bank of Albion, and is president of the
Homer Business Men's Association. He is a trustee of the Calhoun
County Public Hospital, which he helped build, and is a director of
the Calhoun County Tuberculosis Association. Mr. Campbell is also




gf4A


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Modern Woodme'n and Eastern Star. He is a trustee of the Presbyterian church.
Charles R. Church.-Mr. Church, long in the jewelry business,
is an optometrist in Homer, Michigan, is widely known and is serving
his fifth year as president of the village. He was formerly a member of
the village council and board and by virtue of his post is o'n the county
board of supervisors. Homer is the only village in the state of Michigan whose president is on the county board. Mr. Church, a Presbyterian by religious inclination, is a member of the Masonic fraternity
and of the Knights of Pythias. He was born in Jackson county, Michigan, September 29, 1859, the son of Alonzo and Mary Jane (Fellows)
Church. The father came from New York state to Indiana, thence
to Michigan. He became a pioneer farmer near Napoleon and used
progressive methods which he learned in Indiana. He was the first
farmer in the vicinity of Napoleon to use a cultivator. The son received his early training in the district schools and at a business college
in Jackson. He learned the jewelry trade of a brother who had come
to Homer in I873. Charles R. Church came to Homer in I884. In
I880 he married Miss Ida Tubs, formerly of New York state. Mr.
Church learned the jewelry business through his brother and in i886
established himself in that line. In 1903 he built a fine brick store.
To his original jewelry stock Mr. Church added an optical department. Having taken a course in optometry in Chicago, Mr. Church
sold his jewelry stock to C. D. Grimes, but continues as an optometrist
and has developed a splendid practice. Mr. and Mrs. Church have
one child, Marie, the wife of O. J. Laughery. The family is highly
esteemed.
G. R. Clark.-When Mr. Clark determined upon the wholesale
grocery business as his life work he equipped himself in every way
possible, starting at the bottom of the ladder and ascending step by
step. Today Mr. Clark as manager of the Worden Grocery Company,
I44-I48 Jefferson avenue, occupies a high and secure place in the
business world. He was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania,
November ii, I88o, and was graduated from Allegheny College, Pennsylvania, in 1908 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He started in
to learn the grocery business with avidity and his academic training
gave him equipment which was extremely helpful in the execution of
the practical, or commercial, side of the business. His first business
experience was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in which city he remained
from I908 to I914, when he went to Omaha, taking charge of the
fancy department of a wholesale house. He remained at that post
three years, then went to Kalamazoo as assistant manager of the
Worden Grocery Company, and in 1922 came to Battle Creek for the
same company as manager of its Battle Creek establishment. Mr.
Clark is a thoroughly self-made man. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity and of Phi Delta Theta, a college fraternity. In I908 Mr.
Clark was married to Miss Blanche Stockton, of Johnstown. There
are two children, Elizabeth, born in I9I0, and Louise, born in T913.




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Both are high school students. Mr. Clark is a member of the Congregational church.
Judson C. Claypool.-Engaged in the plumbing and heating business at 26 Marshall street, Battle Creek, is Judson C. Claypool, a
native of Steuben county, Indiana, who was born in the Hoosier state
December 28, I871. His parents were David and Clarissa (Crooks)
Claypool. The father died in 1872, the mother in I886. They had
four sons and three daughters, Judson being the youngest member of
the fanily. Of the seven children only he and two sisters are living.
Mr. Claypool attended the Steuben county schools, went west with the
St. Paul railroad, then to St. Joe county, Michigan, to a farm where
he remained until I898. Then he came to Battle Creek and for a
winter was with Nichols & Shepard, then with J. G. Peterson and in
May, 1913, established his own plumbing and ventilating business.
In February, 1893, Mr. Claypool was united in marriage to Edith
Jenkins, daughter of Joseph Jenkins, of Purr Oak, Michigan. Mr.
Jenkins is ninety years old and has a brother living in Breckenridge,
Michigan, aged ninety-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Claypool have
three children. Floyd was born February 25, 1895, is a high school
graduate and is employed by his father. He was married in I915 to
Mabel Koch, of Battle Creek. They have one child, Albert, aged
seven. The second child of Mr. and Mrs. Judson Claypool is Marian,
aged twenty-four, the wife of W. G. England, and the third child is
Edward E., aged twenty, a high school graduate, who is also in the
employ of his father. Association of father and two sons has proven a
cordial and mutually helpful arrangement. Mr. Claypool, the father,
is an Odd Fellow and member of the Masonic fraternity. He is also
a Knight Templar.
Dr. William G. Coburn.-William G. Coburn, superintendent of
schools of Battle Creek, Michigan, aided in the formulation and gave
direction to the execution of plans during the World War for the
mobilization of a teaching corps to serve in the various villages and
towns established by the federal government in connection with the
manufacture of powder and other munitions of war. In this, Mr.
Coburn gained a distinction. His was a substantial contribution to
the armament of the nation. Doctor Coburn enlisted in the army
ordnance department and became director of government schools on
industrial reservations.  In establishing industrial communities it
was necessary that the government erect factories, then homes for
the workers, establish schools and maintain boarding and lodging
places, recreation centers, etc. Uncle Sam became landlord, hotel
owner and amusement promoter. The responsibility of civic and
community conditions was placed by the chief of ordnance in a
community organization service of which Fred C. Butler was the
head. Early provision had to be made for the instruction of I5,000
children of government workers. A uniform system of schools and
standard course of study were outlined and approved by the federal
government. Doctor Coburn was chosen the director of schools.
An advisory committee was named embracing some of the leading




296


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


educators of the country to aid in the correlation of plans and including Dr. George D. Strayer, president of the National Educational
Association and head of the department of administration of the
Teachers' College of Columbia University; Dr. C. N. Kendall, commissioner of public education of the state of New Jersey; Dr. J. A. C.
Chandler, superintendent of' schools of Richmond, Virginia; Dr.
H-enry B. Jackson, of the federal bureau of education, and Dr. Dwight
B. Waldo, president of western Normal College, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Doctor Coburn first created a teaching staff, calling for volunteers,
and a high class corps was developed notwithstanding the dearth of
teachers and the handicap under which schools throughout the country were operating during the period. William G. Coburn, of a family
of six children, was born in Scotland, near Abbottsford, home of
Sir Walter Scott, March 27, I864, the son of William and Margaret
(Laidlaw) Coburn. The father came to the United States when the
son was but four years old, worked as a blacksmith in Richland,
Michigan, and died in Kalamazoo county in 1905. William G. worked
on a farm, attended country school, taught two years, spent two years
at Kalamazoo College, entered University of Michigan as a junior
and in I890 completed his course and received the degree of Bachelor
of Arts and state certificate. He declined the chair of Greek in an
Ohio college, served a year in Minnesota as principal of a high school,
and returned to Michigan, becoming superintendent of schools at
Vicksburg, later in Allegan. Since 1895 he has been head of the
Battle Creek public school system. Doctor Coburn, who is a Mason,
Knight Templar, Pythian and member of the First Methodist Church,
was married on July 3, 1895, in Galesburg, Michigan, to Nina M.
Tobey, daughter of Hiram and Margaret (Mason) Tobey. Mrs.
Coburn was graduated from Battle Creek High School and attended
the University of Michigan. There are three children, Margaret M.,
Catherine L. and William M. In 1923 Olivet College conferred the
honorary degree of LL.D. upon Doctor Coburn.
George W. Colby.-Mr. Colby, the sheriff of Calhoun county,
Michigan, has been an efficient officer of the law since June 24, 1900,
when he became a patrolman of the Battle Creek department. His
service must have been faithful and effective else he would not have
been able to pile up the largest majority ever given a candidate in
Calhoun county when he was elected sheriff on November 5, 1922.
All branches of police and law enforcement work have been followed
by Mr. Colby, whose experience is wide. His fidelity to trust and
the fact that he is conscious of the responsibility imposed upon him
as a community agent, a true social worker, enhance his value to the
community. Mr. Colby is a Kansan by birth, born October 27, 1874,
the son of Myron W. Colby, who came to Battle Creek about I877.
The father, deceased, was a millwright by trade. George W. received
his early education in the schools of Battle Creek and on June 24,
19oo, became a patrolman of the Battle Creek police department.
Not a single day has he ee detached from police duty or service.
In I1911 he became the irt tetective in Calhoun county and is yet




CALHOUN COUNTY


297


in that service. When Camp Custer was established he became a
part of the United Secret Service, retaining his position with the
municipality of Battle Creek. At Camp Custer he had as many as
thirty operatives under his direction. On November 5, 1922, came
the reward for meritorious service, in elevation to the shrievalty.
Sheriff Colby is an ardent Republican, but consistently pursues the
policy of subordinating mere partisan interest to public weal. In
1894 he was united in marriage to Miss Reba Whitman, of Albion,
Michigan. Their home is brightened by one set of twins, Thelma
and Elma, both at home.
Grant S. Coleman.-Mr. Coleman is president of the Service Laundry Company, 47 South Kendall street. He recently bought over the
interests in the concern of W. H. Hamilton. Herschel Coleman is
now secretary-treasurer and the name of the company remains the
same. Grant S. Coleman has had a diversified business training.
He was born in Allegan county, Michigan, October 7, I868, received
his early schooling in that county; and worked on a farm. Coming
to Kalamazoo in I90o, he worked six and a half years in the Bryant
Paper Mill, later operated a milk route and then entered the grocery
business, in which he remained fourteen years, coming to Battle
Creek in 1920. With his brother, E. I. O. Coleman, he established
the laundry business, which became a corporation in 1921. Grant S.
Coleman was chosen president, E. I. O. Coleman vice-president and
C. B. Coleman secretary-treasurer. Messrs. E. I. 0. and C. B. Coleman later sold their interests and reorganization was effected with
the official personnel made up as indicated above. Grant S. Coleman
and family are members of the First Baptist Church. On April 9,
189o, he was united in marriage to Emily A. Harding, of Indiana,
born June 29, 1869. When twelve, Miss Harding was taken to St.
Joe county, Michigan, by William Harding, son of Charles Harding,
pioneer of Lagrange county, Indiana. The mother of Emily Coleman
was Ann Misner. She died in Lagrange county in 1876 and Mr. Harding married Mrs. Esther (Misner) Peterson, a sister of his first wife,
and they proceeded to St. Joe county as did his parents, Charles and
Helen (Booth) Harding. Later they went to Allegan county, where
they died. The father of Mrs. Grant Coleman died in I908. Five
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Grant Coleman. Leila, born
October 17, 1893, educated in high and normal schools, was a teacher
and is the wife of M. J. Branch. They have four children, Lois,
Dorothy, Gordon and Jean. The second, Curtes S., born March 5,
I895, received his early education in the public schools of Kalamazoo
and at the Parsons Business College. He entered the World War
in 1918, received his training at Camp Custer, was made a corporal
and died in Camp Custer October 8, 1918. He was in the grocery
business in Kalamazoo and was very successful. Claude B. Coleman
was born May 27, 1899, attended the public schools and Parsons
Business College at Kalamazoo and was in the grocery business with
his father and brother and is now connected with a laundry as sole
owner in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His wife was Sarah M. Hill, of




HISTORIC MICHIAAN


Kalamazoo. They have one child, Eugene. Herschel Coleman was
born May 5, 19o3, and was graduated from Battle Creek High School
in the class of I923. He is selling school books. His wife was Arlene
Russell, of Battle Creek, and a graduate of the Battle Creek High
School. The fifth child is Ralph W. Coleman, born November 6,
I912, a student in the Battle Creek grade schools. The father of
Grant S. Coleman was Sylvester S. Coleman, born in Erie county,
New York. When a child he moved with his parents, Joseph and
Mary Coleman, to Chemung county, New York, and later to Howell,
Livingston county, Michigan, where they died. Sylvester Coleman
was about twenty-one when he came to Howell and there he married
Miss Mary Keeler, a native of Ohio. They settled on a farm in
Allegan county, where both died. Five sons, four living, and three
daughters, all living, were born. In his early life Joseph Coleman
was a railroad section boss.
Hugh W. Conklin, D.O., who is engaged in the practice of his
profession in the city of Battle Creek, with offices in the City National
Bank Building, is one of the skilled and influential exponents of the
science of osteopathy, and the leadership that is his in connection
with his profession is indicated in his having served in I920-2I as
president of the American Osteopathic Association, being the only
Michigan representative of his profession to have received this distinction and honor, besides which it may be noted that he is one of
only four citizens of Battle Creek to be given specific recognition in
the publication entitled "Who's Who in America," in I924. Doctor
Conklin has done much to advance the cause of osteopathy, in the
technique and principles of which he is a recognized authority. He
has not only contributed liberally to the standard and periodical literature of his profession, but has been called upon to deliver lectures
on professional topics in every state in the Union, so that his reputation in his chosen sphere of endeavor far transcends mere local limitations and marks him as one of the most prominent representatives
of the benignant science of osteopathy. Aside from his professional
activities he is one of the loyal, progressive and public-spirited citizens of the Calhoun county metropolis. Doctor Conklin was born in
Livingston county, Michigan, June 30, 1877, and is a son of James
W. and Hannah T. (Marble) Conklin, who are now deceased, the
greater part of the active career of the father having been marked
by association with farm industry. The Michigan public schools
afforded Dbctor Conkiri his preliminary education, and after his graduation in the high school at Owosso he completed a course in the
Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1903. In preparation for the service
of his chosen profession he went to the fountain-head of instruction,
the celebrated parent institution known as the American College of
Osteopathy, Kirksville, Missouri, in which he was graduated as a
member of the class of I9o4 and from whfich he received his degree
of Doctor of Osteopathy. Thereafter he wag for one yea? engaged
in practice at Alma, Gratibt county, and since that tinme e hetm  main



CALHOUN COUNTY


2m


tained his home and professional headquarters in Battle Creek, where
his practice has become one of substantial and representative order.
He is one of the influential members of the Michigan State Osteopathic Society and the American Osteopathic Association, of which
latter he served as president in I920-2I, as previously noted. The
civic loyalty of Doctor Conklin has found diverse mediums of expression, and it is specially to be noted that he has served since
1915 as a member of the Battle Creek board of education, of which
he was the president two years. He is a Republican in political
adherency, he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational
church, he is a Knight Templar Mason and is affiliated also with
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He organized the
Rotary Club of Battle Creek and was its president two years. He
is a popular member and former president of the Battle Creek Country
Club and has served also as president of the Athelstan Club,
one of the old established social organizations of Battle Creek.
IHe is vice-president of the Battle Creek Bread Wrapping Company,
and takes deep interest in all that touches the civic and industrial
welfare and progress of his home city. His prominence in his profession is further indicated by his having served continuously since
1909 as secretary and treasurer of the Michigan state board of osteopathic examiners and registration. September 25, I903, was marked
by the marriage of Doctor Conklin to Miss Ida Maier, of Ann Arbor,
Michigan, and of this union have been born four children: Hugh W.,
the firstborn, died at the age of two years, and the three surviving
children are James Watson, Hugh Randolph, and David Hugh.
Arthur Pratt Corliss.-Mr. Corliss was born in Albion, Michigan,
the son of Clinton B. and Libbie Corliss, nee Pratt. The father was
born in Vermont and located early in Albion. Arthur P. Corliss
received his early education in the public schools of Albion and studied violin at the Conservatory of Albion. Mr. Corliss also applied
himself to the molders' trade, evidencing a truism that has long been
stressed by educators that mechanical labors are not dissociable from
cultural interest. During his life Mr. Corliss worked faithfully as
a molder and gave instructions on the violin, at which he became
very proficient, and his leisure time was nil, for much of the period
after shop work was given to teaching the favorite instrument. So
proficient was he that he was offered teaching positions but declined
all and died in I9o8, greatly respected by the community in which
he lived. In I893 Mr. Corliss had married Miss Ella Bacon, of Jackson, Michigan. They had three children, one of whom, Ray Stephen,
was adopted. He was a graduate of Albion college. The other children are Paul Eugene and Glenn Arthur. Mr. Corliss was a zealous
member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen of
America. Mrs. Ella Bacon (Corliss) Studevant, wife of C. N. Studevant, by her own efforts has established a charm of mind, developed
a fund of information and has given expression to an ingenite humanitarian impulse that constitutes her one of the most useful citizens of
the community. Mrs. Studevant keeps abreast of all modern move



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


ments and is much interested in civic and social welfare enterprises.
She has taken an active part in the philanthropic efforts of the Methodist church, she is a member of the Albion Woman's Club, and was
one of the first women to serve on the election board in Albion and
in such capacity recorded the first woman to vote in that city.
Carl M. Creager.-Mr. Creager, who was appointed assessor in
Albion, Michigan, on September I, 1923, has extensive business interests and is widely known, especially in the promotion and support of
local, or community, activities. In national politics he is a Republican, but in local issues strictly independent. Mr. Creager was born
in Parma township, Jackson county, Michigan, December 27, 1885,
the son of Christian A. and Elizabeth (Pierce) Creager. The elder
Creager died when the son was but two years old. The mother died
later in Albion. Carl M. received his early education in Springport,
in high school, and in the commercial department of Albion College.
His first position was that of stenographer and bookkeeper in Monroe,
Michigan. Then he returned to Albion, did bookkeeper's duty for
a hardware concern until I906, and then entered the grain and produce
business as secretary and treasurer of the F. E. Nowlin Company, Ltd.
In this organization he remained seventeen years. In 1920 he helped
organize the Darrow Steel Boat Company and has been its secretary
and treasurer since organization. On June IO, 1913, Mr. Creager was
united in marriage to Miss Ella A. Nass, who was born and reared
in Albion. Mr. Creager is a Pythian and a member of all branches
of the Masonic fraternity excepting the consistory.
Miles S. Curtis.-A member of the state legislature of Michigan,
long identified officially with the Knights of Pythias and incumbent
of the various grand lodge offices; former mayor of Battle Creek;
a sterling citizen, Miles S. Curtis typifies those virtues which are so
often referred to as "old time." His idealism and altruistic service
have mollified what severity may have appeared in partisan loyalty
and yet Mr. Curtis, never seeking votes nor office, has towered far
above party expediency and subordinated political interest to public
weal. Mr. Curtis was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, April I, I852,
the son of Elijah Curtis, a native of New York state. The father
settled in Ohio when twenty-one and answered the call of President
Lincoln, serving three years in the Nineteenth and Twenty-ninth Ohio
volunteer infantry. He was wounded and discharged. In 1873 Elijah
Curtis permanently settled in Calhoun county, Michigan, on a farm
three miles north of Battle Creek. While Elijah Curtis became a permanent settler in Calhoun county in I873 he was here as early as
1868 or I869, but with a party of Ohio people emigrated to Kansas
with the intent of homesteading land there, but came back to Calhoun
county to take the farm which he had arranged for before leaving
for Kansas. In 1878, upon the death of his wife, he came to the city
and resided with his son until his death in the eighty-seventh year.
The first wife of Mr. Curtis, and the mother of Miles S., was Harriett
St. John, 'presumably of Scotch extraction. The Curtis clan is of
English descent. The mother of Miles S. Curtis died when her son




CALHOUN COUNTY


301


was only six weeks old. Another son, Lorell, enlisted in the Twentyfifth Ohio battery for service in the Civil War, died in service and
was buried in Little Rock, Arkansas. Miles S. Curtis attended public
and a private school and was graduated from Grand River Institute,
Austinburg, Ohio, at the time one of the leading schools of the state.
He taught school a year, came to Jonesville, Michigan, in 1873 to
live with an uncle and began the study of law, but circumstances
obliged him to change his course. The father having come to Calhoun
county and Miles being the only son, the latter worked for his father
and later purchased a farm on which he lived sixteen years. This
property he sold in I923. In I895 Mr. Curtis moved to Battle Creek.
He had been elected in the fall of 1894 to the legislature, taking
office in I895 and serving one term of two years. In I898 he was
elected mayor of Battle Creek and in I9o6 was appointed postmaster
of that city by President Roosevelt and reappointed in I9IO by President Taft. In 1917 he was returned to the legislature and is a member of the very important committees on agricultural college, city
corporations, conservation, elections, state university, and chairman of
the committee on state affairs this year (I925). The first public office
held by Mr. Curtis was that of supervisor of Penfield township while
he was living on the farm. For twelve years, from 1895 to I906,
Mr. Curtis was grand keeper of records and seal of the Knights of
Pythias, in the affairs of which order he has been active twenty-seven
years. He has held all grand lodge chairs and has been a representative to the supreme lodge. Mr. Curtis is a member, also, of the
Masonic fraternity. On October 31, 1879, he was united in marriage
to Miss Mary E. Nye, of New York state, who came to Michigan as
a child with her mother after the death of her father. The Curtis
home is at 163 Calhoun street. There were two children, Lorell N.
and Claude C. The former died and his widow and two children,
Wilbur and Barbara, reside in Battle Creek. Claude C., graduate
of the University of Michigan, I907, is employed by the Stone-Webster Engineering Company and lives in Fall River, Massachusetts.
His wife is dead. There are two children, Margaret and Robert Miles.
Miles S. Curtis is a Protestant but a member of no church. He is a
devoted Republican but rises far above partisanship. His record is
a worthy one and Mr. Curtis has a firm place in the affections of the
community by reason of his kindliness of nature, his fidelity and his
conscientious application to the rugged "old fashioned" virtues.
Arthur H. Dew.-The name of Dew is synonymous with flowers
and plants in Albion, Michigan, for it typifies the hard work, the
persistence and the idealism of Arthur H. Dew. Mr. Dew has been
a florist all his life and has attained a distinct success. He grew up
in the business with his father, H. F. Dew, a florist in Lansing. In
December, I908, the son started in business on his own account in
Albion with a small greenhouse and a few hundred dollars. Mr.
Shipman took a mortgage on some of Mr. Dew's property to supply
him with the necessary financial backing. Pluck won and today Mr.
Dew has I2,ooo square feet of glass and six acres of ground on which




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


he grows the hardier plants. All greenhouses were completely rebuilt
in I9I0. Mr. Dew owns real estate in Albion. Politically Mr. Dew
is Republican, but subordinates party interest to public weal. He has
been quite active in civic movements. Mr. Dew was united in marriage to Jennie E. Robinson, who aided him materially in getting their
floral business under way. One child, Dorothy, was born, but she
died in I902. Mrs. Dew passed away in I9o6 and in I907 Mr. Dew
was married to Eliza Wilson, of Grand Rapids. Mrs. Dew is the
brains of the concern and works with Mr. Dew in the conduct of
the office and is of incalculable aid in the administration of the business, The Dews have one daughter, Gwendolyn. They are Presbyterians. They live in a home bought in I909 and which the senior
Mr. Dew built in I895.
Samuel Dickie. —Honorable Samuel Dickie, famed as an educator,
lecturer on world movements and ardent temperance proponent, is
one of Michigan's most illustrious sons. Doctor Dickie is nationally
known as president of Albion College. A Canadian by birth, he has
been a resident of Michigan since a boy of seven. Samuel Dickie
was born June 6, 1851, a son of William and Jane (McNabb) Dickie,
both natives of Scotland. The father was born at the home of the
poet, Robert Burns, in Mauchlin, Scotland. The mother was born
in Glasgow. In early life the family made its way to Canada and
in I858 located in Lansing, where the remainder of the lives of
Mr. and Mrs. William Dickie was passed. Samuel was educated in
the public schools of Lansing, entered Albion College in I868 and
was graduated in 1872 with the degree of Master of Science. For
four years he was superintendent of schools of Hastings, Michigan,
and from 1877 to i888 occupied the chair of astronomy and physics
at his alma mater. He was popular as an instructor with the student
body. In I90o Doctor Dickie was chosen president of Albion College
and retired from the presidency of the college in July, I92I, and
has since given his time and talent to literary pursuits and to lecturing
on topics of the day, discussing such engrossing questions as peace,
world court, etc. The only office of public or political nature ever
held by Doctor Dickie was as mayor of Albion. He was nominated
when out of the city. In 1872, upon reaching his majority, Samuel
Dickie turned to the Prohibition party, as the result of the resolution
incorporated in the sixteenth plank of the Republican platform, and
since then he has given his allegiance and best efforts to the furtherance of prohibition and the Prohibition party. He has voted with
the party on all state and national issues. He was national chairman
of the party twelve years and presided over the national convention
of 1884. There are only three survivors of that memorable gathering.
In I886 he was the Prohibition candidate for governor, polling a
third larger vote than that cast for St. John as presidential candidate
two years before. In the spring of 1887 Doctor Dickie conducted
a campaign for an amendment to the Michigan constitution prohibiting the manufacture and sale of liquor. This brought him much
national attention. He became chairman of the national committee




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of the party, succeeding John B. Finch, in 1887, and for five years
maintained headquarters in New York City. In 1893 he returned
to Albion, his home, where he has since resided. On December 22,
1872, Doctor Dickie and Miss Mary Brockway, daughter of Rev.
William H. Brockway, of Albion, were united in marriage. There
are four children, Clarissa, Ada, Mara and Brockway. One of the
most interesting events in the life of Doctor Dickie was a series of
debates in I909 with Mayor David Rose, of Milwaukee, on the question
of prohibition. The first debate was in March in the Hippodrome in
Milwaukee before 8,ooo auditors. The second debate was in April
in the Auditorium in Chicago. The third of the series planned did
not take place. Regardless of the moral or social or economic phases
of prohibition or as to the permanence of the eighteenth amendment
to the federal constitution, the name of Doctor Dickie has found
its place in the eternal records of history as the proponent of a great
moral reform movement. A consummate degree of courage and moral
force was required in the early days when he began advocacy of
prohibition. Naturally, in the promotion and support of civic and
community enterprises of helpful character, Doctor Dickie has given
cordial support. Doctor Dickie is a director of the Commercial and
Savings Bank of Albion.
William M. Dugan, M.D.-Doctor Dugan, well-known and able
medical practitioner of Battle Creek, whose office is in the Post building, comes of a family of ten children. He was born in New York
state May 12, 1885, the son of Charles and Mary (Murphy) Dugan.
The father in early life was a sailor but turned to agriculture. The
family chain consisted, in addition to parents, of the following links:
Annie E., living near home; John P., Steven J., May; Charles B., a
physician in Beacon, New York; Daniel A., an attorney in the same
city, and William M., Steven, Francis and Edward are deceased. The
father died in I9go, the mother in I9IO. William M. Dugan attended
high school and in 1903 matriculated in Brown University, receiving
the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in I907. He held the chair of
Professor of Mathematics in Jefferson College, Louisiana, from I909
to 1912. In 1912 he entered the University of Michigan and in I916
received his medical degree from that institution. Then he was instructor in medicine in the Post-graduate School of Medicine in New
Orleans for eighteen months. He worked with a civilian unit out of
New Orleans and with the formal declaration of war enlisted in the
x-ray service. Considerable post-graduate work has been done by
Doctor Dugan in pediatrics in New York. On September 9, I917,
Doctor Dugan and Miss Lucy M. Bourgois, of Louisiana, exchanged
the vows that united them as husband and wife and to the union three
children have come to add happiness and domestic radiance. They
are William M., Jr., Mary Margaret and Louis Edward. Doctor
Dugan and family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church.
The Doctor is loyal to the principles and policies of Jefferson. He is
a member of the Knife and Fork Club, Kappa Sigma, Nu Sigma Nu and
the Galens, an honorary medical society.




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Frank M. Eddy —Mr. Eddy is registrar of deeds of Calhoun
county, Michigan, and was born in Branch county, October io, i88i.
His parents were Shirland and Martha (Stafford) Eddy. On both
sides the families were of widely known connections in Branch and
Calhoun counties. The father of Frank M. Eddy was a blacksmith.
He is dead. Brothers of Mrs. Eddy, mother of Frank M., were in
the Civil war. Frank Eddy supplemented his public school education
with a business college course in Battle Creek. He then worked for
the Malta Vita concern in the production end, later went into the
service of the D., T. & M. R. R. Company in the freight department,
then in the production department of the Cyclone Washing Machine
Company, later going on the road as a traveling salesman; then
with the American Steam Pump Company for four years; then with the
Hanchett Swedge Works as a die maker; finally coming back to Battle
Creek. He was truant officer of Battle Creek and for four years was
deputy sheriff and for two years under-sheriff of Calhoun county.
In 1917 he was elected registrar of deeds and his incumbency dates
from that period. In I9o6 Mr. Eddy was united in marriage to Miss
Lela A. Paris. They have three children, Frances June, Shirland Garth
and Milton Dale. The family members are communicants of the
Presbyterian church. Mr. Eddy is a Pythian and Odd Fellow and a
member of the Marshall Community Club.
Zina H. Enos, coal merchant of Marshall, Michigan, was born
November 4, I862, in Tekonsha, Michigan, the son of James C. and
Helen (Hooker) Enos, who came to Calhoun county from New York
state with their parents. James C. Enos pursued farming in Calhoun
county. He and his wife are dead. When Zina H. was four years
old he went with his parents to Fredonia township and attended school
in that township and in Marshall. He became a farmer in Fredonia
township and for sixteen years farmed in Eckford township. Then
he withdrew from the onerous cares of farm life and for two years
enjoyed his freedom in Marshall. In 1918 he became a member of
the firm of Smith Brothers, then in February, I925, started in business
for himself, dealing in coal. In 1887 Mr. Enos was married to Miss
Grace L. Hatch, native of Fredonia township and daughter of James
W. Hatch. There are four children in the Enos family, Clarence
James, Rutledge Harlow, William Eugene, and Florence Josephine.
Mr. Enos is widely known and commands the respect of all.
Clare S. Evans.-Mr. Evans is the proprietor of Evans & Son,
coal firm, operating at I6 Liberty street, the business established by his
father, Eli Evans, in I9o6. Mr. Evans was born in Battle Creek,
April 28, 1889. His father was a Pennsylvanian who came to Battle
Creek about 1874. He worked for the L. D. Batt Lumber Company
and in I906 established the coal business, remaining in the business
until his death in 1915. He was, at death, fifty-four years old. His
wife, the mother of Clare, was before her marriage, Adella Strickland,
born in Calhoun county. She passed away in 1922 at the age of
sixty-one years. Her father was Cornelius Strickland, a pioneer citizen of Calhoun county. There were two children, Clare S. and Hazel,




CALHOUN COUNTY


305


the wife of Basil Putt, of Battle Creek. Clare S. Evans attended the
public schools and reinforced his studies with a business college course
and then joined his father in business and upon the death of the latter
took charge of the business as proprietor. Mr. Evans is a member
of Ira A. Beck Lodge of Masons, of the Elks, the Athelstan Club and
of the Country Club. On January 21, 1909, he was united in marriage to Miss Hazel Jebb, of Battle Creek, daughter of Dr. Edward
R. Jebb, who died in I907. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have one son, Ted,
who was born November 25, I913. Mr. Evans is a member of the
Congregational church and was a trustee. He is very active in church
work and Mr. and Mrs. Evans are much esteemed in the community.
Guy E. Fitzgerald.-Of an old and respected family comes Guy E.
Fitzgerald, hardware merchant of 97 West Main street. He was born
in Eaton county, Michigan, in I873, the son of Adelbert and Ellen
Fitzgerald, nee Waldo. The father was born in Eaton county, May
20, 1847, and the mother in Ohio in I844. Adelbert was a son of
Captain Reuben Fitzgerald, 'native of New York, who came to Michigan in 1832 and founded Eaton county. In the spring of 1833 he
returned to New York state for his family. He homesteaded and became an extensive land owner, established a hardware store in Bellvue,
Eaton county, and remained in this business until his death in 1873
at the age of seventy-three years. His wife was Florinda Eldred, a
member of the family of which Caleb Eldred, founder of Kalamazoo
College. was a unit. She died in 1905 at the age of eighty-seven years.
Longevity was a mark of the family for at the time Mrs. Fitzgerald was
eighty-one, the average of herself and four brothers and sisters was
eighty-three years. Jonathan Waldo, maternal grandfather of Guy
Fitzgerald, was born in New York state, went to Ohio and in 1846
settled in Oneida township, Eaton county. Captain Fitzgerald was
a molder by trade. His son, Adelbert, was educated in the schools
of Eaton county and from 1863 to 1894 was in the hardware business.
Then he bought a farm, which he cultivated until I915, in which year
he retired. There were four children, Fred, postmaster of Bellvue;
Guy E., Eliza and Herma. Adelbert Fitzgerald was a staunch Democrat and Mason and his father was also a member of the fraternity.
The first Masonic meeting in Eaton county was conducted in the attic
of the home of Captain Fitzgerald. Guy E. Fitzgerald and brothers
and sisters were all educated in the Bellvue schools. Mr. Fitzgerald
was in the sheet metal business until I9IO when he entered hardware.
He takes an interest in politics, is a Mason, and member of the Exchange Club. On April 21, 1897, he married Etta Markham, of Bellvue. Four children were born, Noldine, graduate of the Battle Creek
High School; Markham, who enlisted in the army as a musician and
who is associated with his father in business; Ellen, a school pupil,
and Jack, who died in 1915 at the age of three and a half. Markham
Fitzgerald is the husband of Naomi Johnson. They have two children,
Maxine and Dorothy.
John G. Fox.-Mr. Fox has for many years been prominent in
the conmunity life of Albion, Michigan. He is in the real estate busi



306


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


ness. The family is attached to the Lutheran church and Mr. Fox
is a charter member of the Deutsches Ordens Harugari, a fine old
German fraternal body. He has been officially identified with the organization since its establishment and is now head of the organization
in Albion. Mr. Fox was born in Marshall, Michigan, in 1858, the
son of Leonard and Margaret Fox, nee Shipen. Both parents were
born in Germany. The senior Fox located in Marshall and worked as
a section hand on a railroad and applied himself with characteristic
German adaptability to other jobs. John G. Fox was educated in
Marshall and worked in a hoe factory there and on April 17, 1883,
came to Albion and since has given his time and attention to real estate
in which he has attained a merited success. In 1894 Mr. Fox was
united in marriage to Miss Bettie Fiss, native of Germany, daughter
of August and Charlotte Fiss, nee Fredericks, who emigrated to
America in 1878. About two months after their arrival, Mr. Fiss
died. Mrs. Fiss is also deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Fox have two children
of whom they are very proud. Leonard Richard was graduated from
Albion High School and Albion College and is now located at Minneapolis, representing the London, Liverpool and Globe Insurance
Companies. The second son, Hilmar J., is a graduate of Albion High
School and of Albion College, I923. He has won unusual honors for
forensic prowess and ability. During the last two years of his high
school course and during the entire four years in college Mr. Fox
took active part in debates. Four years successively he became the
recipient of a loving cup for college debates, one of very few who
have been accorded such honor. He is now in the insurance business
and is located in Detroit.
Myer J. Franklin.-Rising from poverty, overcoming the obstacles
which a foreign tongue and alien customs quite naturally laid in the
path, but faithful to an ideal, Myer J. Franklin mastered seemingly
insurmountable difficulties and became one of Battle Creek's most
successful and respected citizens. Mr. Franklin was born in Russia,
March 16, I877. He is president of the Calhoun Casting Company and
sole owner of the Franklin Brass Company, both of which he organized. He is also owner of the Franklin Iron and Metal Company.
Mr. Franklin's early education was obtained in his native country. A
boy poor, so far as material wealth is concerned, but rich in ambition
and determination, he came to the United States in I89o. He attended
public schools in Huntington, Indiana, the better to adjust himself to
new environments. In I9OI Mr. Franklin came to Battle Creek and
established the Franklin Iron and Metal Company. In July, I920, he
formed the Calhoun Casting Company, of which he is the president and
directing spirit. In I912 he had formed the Franklin Brass Company,
of which he is sole owner. Mr. Franklin was united in marriage to
Grace Bishop, of Battle Creek, and a son, Richard, was born November I4, 1916. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the Elks
and also belongs to the Athelstan and Country Clubs.
Fred W. Gage.-Mr. Gage is president of the Gage Printing Company, Ltd., Battle Creek, Michigan, which succeeded the firm of Wil



CALHOUN COUNTY


307


liam C. Gage & Sons, founded by William C. Gage in I886. Mr. Gage
was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, April 5, I866, and has been
a resident of Battle Creek since 1876. For considerably more than a
third of a century Mr. Gage has followed the printer's trade and has
been associated with the graphic arts. He is the present treasurer of
the United Typothetae of America; past district governor of the
ninth district, International Association of Rotary Clubs; secretary and
treasurer of the Rotary Club of Battle Creek; a member of the executive committee of the American Photo-Engravers' Association; statistician of the International Association of Electrotypers; a member
of the Michigan Photo-Engravers' Association and holding membership in other civic bodies. He is a director of the Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Athelstan Club, of the Masonic fraternity
and of the Elks, and is highly esteemed in business and fraternal
circles. Mr. Gage was married to Katherine Amadon, who died in
1912, and to whom four sons were born. The oldest, Harry L. Gage,
was for several years head of the department of instruction in printing of Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, and later with
the Bartlett-Orr Press of New York City and employed in a consulting capacity by the Mergenthaler Linotype Company, of New York.
The other sons are active in business organizations. Mr. Gage was
married a second time, the present wife having been, before marriage,
Bertha Babcock. The Gage printing establishment is one of Battle
Creek's most important and representative concerns.
P. E. Ganson.-Mr. Ganson is a power in the electrical world and
an energetic disciple of Jove, with many years of practical experience in
all phases of the business and profession to his credit. He is the local
manager of the Consumers' Power Company, which supplies current
to many mercantile and industrial establishments and to considerably
more than 2,Ioo homes. The system is today an elaborate one, requiring a staff of more than twenty persons, with a pay roll in excess
of $30,000 a year. The annual production of the plant for local
consumption including the village of Marengo, west of Albion, Michigan, is 9,ooo,ooo kilowatt hours. Within the past year new equipment has been installed costing $80,000, including three 1,500 kilowatt
transformers with automatic control, an automatic current regulator
and a number of safety devices. Mr. Ganson was born in Lakeview,
Michigan, May 24, 1885, the son of Fred Ganson, who was born in
Allegan. The senior Ganson conducted a wholesale and retail grocery
business in Lakeview. He also was interested in a meat market and
a livery stable and was a trustee of the city club. Mr. Ganson was
prominently identified with all the general activities of the community.
He was quite active in Republican work. Mr. Ganson was married
to Ida E. Cook, of a pioneer Allegan county family, and two children
were born, La Verne and P. E. The former married the daughter of
Doctor Farland. He is the superintendent of the telephone system of
the Battle Creek sanitarium. This institution uses about 800 telephones. P. E. Ganson got into the electrical game immediately upon
leaving school. Electrical engineering was his specialization and for




308


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


a while he was with the J. G. White Compa'ny, of Chicago, the Bell
Telephone Company and with the C. S. B. & L. S. R. R. Company, a
street car system operating between South Bend and Chicago. To
gain experience a number of associations were formed. In I916, Mr.
Ganson began service with the Consumers' Power Company at Battle
Creek and in I920 was made manager at Albion. At present the
company is supplying current to twenty-six factories and is expanding
physically and in the way of developing splendid consumer service
and better understanding between company and the public. Mr. Ganson is also manager of the United Appliance Company, which handles
all kinds of electrical appliances and appurtenances with forty-two
retail distribution centers in Ohio and Michigan. Mr. Ganson is also
in charge of the securities department of the Consumers' Power Company. Being an expert, Mr. Ganson is often called into counsel to
solve electrical problems and supervise the adjustment of difficulties.
In I909 Mr. Ganson was married to Miss Marie Meis, of Marshall,
Michigan. The Gansons have four children, La Verne Percy, aged
thirteen; Edward James, aged nine; Betty Jane, three, and Ida May,
five mqnths. Mr. Ganson is intensely loyal to the community in
which he has lived for many years and is a strong booster of the
Chamber of Commerce. He has distributed memberships among employees of the Consumers' Power Company. A Republican, he is more
or less active in party affairs. Mr. Ganson belongs to the Leisure
Hour Club, the Knights of Pythias, Albion Business and Professional
Men's Association and attends the sessions of the Boosters' and Knockers' Club.
George J. Genebach has shown splendid initiative and administrative ability in formulating the policies and carrying forward the
productive activities through which the United Steel and Wire Company has been developed into one of the most important industrial
concerns in the city of Battle Creek. Of this well-ordered corporation
he is the president and general manager. Mr. Genebach, who has thus
gained place among the representative captains of industry in the
vital metropolis of Calhoun county, was born in Brooklyn, Jackson
county, Michigan, June 29, 1874, and is a son of Charles and Barbara
(Stocker) Genebach, the active career of his father having been
marked mainly by close and effective association with agriculture.
After receiving the discipline of the public schools Mr. Genebach
completed a course in the Cleary Business College, at Ypsilanti, in
which he graduated in I89I, besides which he took in the same city
a special course in the Michigan State Normal School. In I892 he
was matriculated in the University of Michigan, as a student in its
law department, and in 1894 he had the distinction of being graduated
in this department as the youngest member of a class of 275 members.
lie had previously applied himself to the reading of law under effective
preceptorship and had gained admission to the bar prior to receiving
from the university his degree of Bachelor of Laws. At the university
he had been closely associated with athletic affairs and other student
activities. After his graduation Mr. Genebach engaged in the practice




CALHOUN COUNTY


309


of his profession in the city of Jackson, where also he served as
deputy county clerk, from I898 to I9oo. In the latter year he resigned
this position to give his attention to his magisterial service in the
office of justice of the peace. In the light of later developments, it
may well be deemed fortunate that Mr. Genebach deflected his course
from the practice of law to identify himself with industrial affairs.
He became assistant manager of the Jackson office of the International Harvester Company, and in October, 9go7, he came to Battle
Creek to assume the position of correspondent with the Nichols &
Shepard Company. His law training and his previous business experience admirably fortified him when he ventured independently into
the domain of productive industry, by assuming control of the small
and virtually bankrupt business that had previously been conducted
under the title of the Battle Creek Oven Rack Company. It was in
the year I912 that he severed his connection with the Nichols &
Shepard Company and, with faith in himself and in the community,
essayed the task of placing the oven rack company on a firm financial
and productive basis. In initiating his work in this connection he
borrowed money from a friend who was prominently associated with
banking business in Jackson, but it has been through his own ability,
careful and progressive management and unfaltering determination
that the now substantial and prosperous business of the United Steel
and Wire Company has been evolved from the modest nucleus of
the enterprise that had originally been conducted by the Battle Creek
Oven Rack Company. The plant of the United Steel and Wire Company is one of modern order, and in the same is now retained an
average corps of I50 employees, including many skilled artisans. It
is through his achievement in this connection that Mr. Genebach has
become one of the prominent figures in the industrial and commercial
activities of Battle Creek, and aside from this he stands forth as one
of the most loyal, appreciative and progressive citizens of the Calhoun
county metropolis. The year I925 finds him in service as president
of the Battle Creek Chamber of Commerce; he is a vital member of
the local Rotary Club, is a director of the City National Bank, is
president of the Athelstan Club, a Mason, and is a popular member
of Battle Creek Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and he
has given somewhat more than six years of loyal and effective service
as a member of the Battle Creek board of education, of which he was
at one time treasurer. On the I8th of November, I896, Mr. Genebach
was married to Ida Stevens, of Jackson. Two sons, Carleton G.
and Lowell B., are the issue of the union. The family is associated
with the Congregational church. A branch under the firm name is
just being organized at Atchinson, Kansas, but already employs fifty
people.
John Geyer, well-known contractor of Albion, Michigan, was born
in 1891 about six and a half miles north of that city, the son of Jacob
and Mary (Gilg) Geyer. Both parents were born in Germany. The
father came to America in 1887, the mother in!i888, unmarried. They




310


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


married in this country and located north of Albion, where John was
born. The elder Geyer was a farmer until his retirement. He also
served as a road commissioner. There were three children, John and
George, of Albion, and William, who resides on the old farm. John
Geyer attended the common schools and was reared on the farm.
In I9Io he started to work for Charles Kranrick, a contractor and
builder of Sheridan township, Calhoun county. For a year or so
Mr. Geyer operated on his own account, then worked for S. A. Wilder
& Son, contractors, of Albion. He was engaged in war material
work in Jackson for six months and in 1919 became a partner in
the Schumacher Construction Company. In I916 Mr. Geyer was
united in marriage to Miss Wilhelmina Louise Schumacher, daughter
of Fred Schumacher. They have one son, Robert John. Mr. Geyer
is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and is much thought
of in and around Albion.
Henry J. Good.-One of the best-known concerns in or near Marshall, Michigan, is the furniture and undertaking establishment owned
and personally directed by H. J. Good. Henry J. Good is a Buckeye
by birth, having been born in Wayne county, Ohio, August 5, I868,
the son of Jesse Good, a building contractor, also born in Ohio.
Henry J. received his schooling in Ohio and learned the trade ofmachinist. He became a field expert for the Orville Champion Threshing Machine Company and traveled for that company throughout
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. Then he entered the furniture and
undertaking business with his father, who had previously entered
that line in Orville, Ohio. He was with his father until I9OI, then
came to Marshall and with his partner bought the furniture and undertaking establishment of E. B. Hughes and the firm became Good &
Amstutz. In April, I905, Mr. Good and his mother purchased the
interest of his partner and the firm was continued as H. J. Good &
Company, but since the death of Mrs. Good, as H. J. Good. On April
14, I892, Mr. Good was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss
Ada Gardner, of Orville. The Goods have no children of their own,
but are tenderly rearing Willard Gardner, a nephew of Mrs. Good.
Mr. Good has been in the aldermanic body of Marshall and is conspicuous in the promotion of community betterment movements. He
is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the
Shrine. He is also a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Country
Club and of the Community Club and is an exemplar of Rotary, subscribing to and daily manifesting and exemplifying the slogan of
Rotary, "He profits most who serves best."
William C. Graves.-A well-ordered concern that has lent much
to the industrial and commercial prestige of the city of Battle Creek
is the Graves-Evans Company, which is here engaged in the wholesale
confectionery business and of which William C. Graves is the president and general manager. In the business career of Mr. Graves
there have been many phases that proved his fine stamina and resourcefulness. He has studied conditions and possibilities, has carefully defined his course of procedure and has never lacked in deter



CALHOUN COUNTY


311


mination and constructive courage, this having been conclusively
manifest, when he placed a mortgage upon his home, in the sum of
$I,ooo, in order to raise the capital that should enable him to initiate
his independent activities in the confectionery business. Of the success that he has achieved since that period the best evidence is that
afforded in the statement that the company of which he is now the
president bases its operations on a capital stock of $I50,000. On a
farm in Leroy township, Calhoun county, thirteen miles southwest
of Battle Creek, in the little hamlet of Pine Creek, William C. Graves
was born, December 26, I879, and he is a scion of sterilng pioneer
families of Michigan. His father, Herbert L. Graves, who is still
a resident of Calhoun county, was born in Barry county, this state,
November 12, 1849, and he learned in his youth the family trade of
stone mason, to which he has given his attention to a greater or less
extent, though his principal vocation has been that of farm enterprise.
He has been active in political affairs in his community, and is unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party. His wife, whose
maiden name was Emma Estella Putnam, was born in Calhoun county,
May 3, 1859, and here passed her entire life, her death having occurred
in I19I, her father having been a native of Pennsylvania. On the
maternal side the Mrs. Sheets, who figures as the great-grandmother
of the subject of this review, came to Michigan in the early days
and took up government land in Calhoun county, this old homestead
being still in the possession of her descendants. The domicile in
which William C. Graves was born was a log house of the true pioneer
type, and there also were born his two brothers, Ernest E. and James
L., both of whom still reside in Michigan. The public schools of
Calhoun county afforded William C. Graves his early education, and
in the meanwhile he had gained a goodly experience in connection
with the activities of the home farm. After taking a course in the
Krug Business College in the city of Battle Creek he here took a
position in the retail candy store of W. H. Eldred. In this establishment he was employed evenings and mornings during the summer
period for two years, and thus he gained his initial experience in
a line of business in which he was destined ultimately to become a
leader in the vital industrial city of Battle Creek. He was, however,
employed one year in the confectionery and bakery establishment of
the firm of Brown & Strain, passed a similar period in the art store
of R. P. Roe, then was with the Taylor Brothers Company, engaged
in the wholesale confectionery business, during one year, the ensuing
three years having found him in effective service as traveling salesman for Taylor Brothers Company. His next alliance was with the
wholesale grocery house of J. F. Holliday & Son and in I907 he
engaged in the wholesale confectionery business in an independent
way and on a modest scale. In the following year the business was
incorporated, and it has since been successfully continued under the
title of the Graves-Evans Company. As president of this company
Mr. Graves has defined the careful and progressive policies under
which the business has grown to large volume and to be of most




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


substantial order, the trade being extended throughout the broad
territory normally tributary to Battle Creek as a distributing center.
The same progressiveness and loyalty have marked the course of
Mr. Graves as a citizen, and he is one of the influential members of
the Battle Creek Chamber of Commerce, of which he has served as
president and of which he is the vice-president at the time of this
writing, in 1925. He is a charter member of the local Kiwanis Club,
is a past president of the Community Club, and is scout master of
Troop No. 25 of the Boy Scouts, the work of this fine organization
being one in which he takes the deepest of interest. Mr. Graves is
a member of the Battle Creek Community Club, is affiliated with the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a Republican in his
political alignment. The marriage of Mr. Graves to Miss Martha H.
Gottschalk, of Huron county, Michigan, was solemnized May 17, 1905,
and the three children of this union are Frederick W., Lawrence E.,
and Francis L. Mrs. Graves's father was born and reared in Ger-many, learned in his youth the trade of wagonmaker, and he came
from his native land and established his residence in Michigan in
the sixties.
Carl S. Gray, city judge and coroner of Battle Creek, is a native
of the Empire state. For many years he followed the trade of carpenter and millwright, predilection for the former probably being
transmitted by his father, Milton E. Gray. Carl Gray was born in
I880. The father, a carpenter all his life, is residing in Battle Creek.
The son came to Battle Creek in the autumn of I9OI to attend business college. His parents had come to Kalamazoo in the spring of
I889 and lived for a period in Fulton and in Mendon. In the spring
of 1902, Carl Gray went with the Advance-Rumely Company and remained with that company until 1917. He worked as a carpenter
and millwright and finally in the store room as a receiving clerk.
In 1917 the citizens of Battle Creek showed their confidence in him
by electing him city judge and he was re-elected in 1921. Mr. Gray
is affiliated with the Republican party although each time he has
been elected as an independent candidate. In addition to his judicial
duties, he serves faithfully as city coroner. On December 9, I905,
Mr. Gray was united in marriage to Miss Alice Sykes, a native of
Battle Creek and daughter of Charles L. Sykes and Marian (Stuart)
Sykes. Their children are Marian, aged seventeen, and Richard, aged
nine. Judge Gray has long been active in the councils of the First
Methodist Episcopal Church. He teaches a Sunday school class made
up of high school boys. The Judge is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Woodmen of the World and
of the Exchange Club. He bears the good will and esteem of the
entire community as one who rose above circumstances and whose
public service is animated by a well-defined sense of justice.
Bruce L. Guyselman.-Of an old and respected family, himself
a rveteran af the Weold War, Bruce L. Guyselman is engaged in the
phunbing 'business in Albion, Michigan. He iis a native of Albion, a
tiee son, born AugUst 21, 1892. His parets were Charles and Hattie




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313


Guyselman, nee Howard. The father was an Albionite, the mother a
Canadian. The grandfather, Henry Guyselman, was born in Albion
and was widely known as a school teacher. Bruce L. supplemented
his grade and high school training with a course at Niles Business
College in Detroit, finishing the latter about Igo8. He returned to
Albion and learned the plumbing business with the Conner plumbing
establishment, which through the withdrawal of Mr. Conner became
the Blakely & Duport Company. Mr. Guyselman continued his connection with the concern for a while, then went with 0. H. Gale,
and in December, I919, established his own business. In II912 Mr.
Guyselman was married to Miss Frances Baker, of Albion, daughter
of Andrew C. and Rena (Perrigo) Baker. They have one adopted
child, Bruce. Mr. Guyselman served in the ordnance department
during the World war and was on special duty in many different
camps, spending eighteen months in France. The last thirty-two
weeks of army life in France he was in a hospital at Savonee. The
doctors asserted he had been gassed, but Mr. Guyselman contends
that he was just sick. However, he was really sick and the experience
was an extremely unpleasant one. Mr. Guyselman is a communicant
of the Catholic church and a loyal member of the American Legion.
His plumbing establishment is one of the best-known concerns in
Albion.
Russell A. Hart.-The name of Russell A. Hart is not dissociable
from the material and civic welfare of Battle Creek. Mr. Hart was
horn, however, in Northfield, Vermont, in 1845. His wife was, before her marriage, Buena Vista Morrison, born in Madison, Iowa, in
1848. Mr. Hart when but ten years old went to Illinois with his
parents. He married in Iowa on June 19, I869, and before a large
conclave the golden wedding anniversary was happily celebrated in
g19I. The first home of the Harts was in Illinois, where they remained
from i856 until their removal, in I868, to Iowa, but in I885 they came
to Battle Creek where Mr. Hart had assumed management of the Review and Herald Publishing Company the year previous. In 1887 Mr.
Hart was sent to Christiania, Norway, to take charge of a printing
plant for the Review and Herald, the establishment being in bad
financial condition. It was rejuvenated, however, by Mr. Hart and
figuratively placed on its feet. Returning to Battle Creek, Mr. Hart
established a plant on Wilson Court for the manufacture of paper
joggers and production counters. He made the first paper joggers
and today they are in general use by cylinder press manufacturers.
He remained in the manufacturing business until I9I3, when he
sold to his son, Ray E. Hart.  Russell A. Hart has for a number of years been a successful contractor and builder. He purchased a tract of eighty acres adjoining Battle Creek, platted it and
the village of Washington Heights stands on this tract. Mr. Hart is
an ardent and useful church worker, a member of the Seventh Day
Adventist denomination. The family home is at 138 Ann avenue, a
beautiful structure. To Mr. and Mrs. Hart were born three children.
Minnie O. resides with the parents, caring for them tenderly and




314


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


affectionately in their golden period. Miss Hart was born January
20, 1873, and was graduated from Battle Creek High School and
Battle Creek College, in 1899. She became the recipient of the degree
of Bachelor of Arts from Berrien Springs College in 1923. For fifteen
years Miss Hart taught school. She and her sister Lelah, were members of the board that gave rise to the Y. W. C. A. She has a life
certificate for teaching from Western State Normal College, receiving
this in I909. Miss Hart taught in Mt. Vernon (Ohio) College for
nine years and was a faculty member when she left the institution.
She is secretary of the Seventh Day Adventist Tabernacle Sabbath
School and very active in church work. Ray E. Hart, the second child
to Mr. and Mrs. Russell A. Hart, was born in Knoxville, Iowa, November 24, I875. He was educated in the grade and high schools of
Battle Creek, and from 1907 to I913 was in the court house at Marshall as clerk of court. He was associated with his father in business
until I913, when he purchased his father's interest in the manufacturing
enterprise. Ray is active in Pythianism, has held several chairs and
went through all the chairs of the grand lodge, climaxing with the
grand chancellorship, 1916-17. He is a supreme representative of the
order. He is also a member of the Masonic order. On August 24,
I896, Mr. Hart was married to Bertha M. Miller, of Battle Creek,
daughter of Charles Miller. There are two children, Rubie Marie, a
student of the University of Michigan, who also attended the University
of Wisconsin, and Russell, a sophomore in the University of Michigan.
The family of Ray Hart attends Independent Congregational Church.
The home is at I98 East Main street. The third child of Mr. and Mrs.
Russell A. Hart is Lelah M., the wife of Dr. C. H. Morian, of Denver,
Colorado. Russell A. Hart is a builder and erected some I25 dwellings
in Washington Heights addition over a stretch of thirty years. He
patented the paper jogger and production counter, which is selflocked all the time. It is in use by all large plants. The son, Ray E.,
has sole charge of the manufacture of this utility and will soon move
into a new building to better meet the requirements of the business.
Wilfrid Haughey, M.D.-The son of a physician yet in active
practice and ranking high in the medical profession, Dr. Wilfrid
Haughey himself shares the high ideals of his worthy sire. He is
engaged in practice in Battle Creek, specializing in the important field
of eye, ear, nose and throat. Doctor Haughey was born in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, August Io, I880. His father is Dr. William
H. Haughey, who was born in Kalamazoo, July 6, 1856. He was
educated in the public schools of Kalamazoo county and the city of
Kalamazoo and taught school in Van Buren, Kalamazoo and Calhoutn
counties for thirteen years. In 1888 he was graduated from the Detroit College of Medicine and has since been very actively engaged in
practice in Battle Creek, surgery early claiming his interest, and he
being credited with the first appendectomy in Battle Creek. Doctor
Haughey, senior, is a member of the State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, Calhoun County Medical Society, Knights
of Columbus and Catholic church; is active in parochial service and




CALHOUN COUNTY -


315


is president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Battle Creek. On
August 6, I879, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Eunice Converse, of Ross township, Kalamazoo county, and six children were
born-Wilfrid Henry, August Io, I880; Charles Bernard, November
30, 1882; Anna Winefred, April ii, 1884; Walter James, January 5,
i886; Louis Joseph, March 24, 1888, and John Francis, May 21,
1892. All are living. Doctor Haughey is also a member of the board
of the Social Service Bureau and is surgeon for the Michigan Central
Railroad. John Francis Haughey enlisted in the World war at the
first call in I917, was in officers' training camp and sent to Camp Hancock, Georgia, and was there commissioned lieutenant of machine guns
and sent to Camp Logan, Texas, and there held as instructor until the
signing of the armistice, November I I, I918.- The father of Dr.
William H. Haughey served two years in the Mexican war and was
three years in the Civil war. He died in I916 at the rare age of ninetysix years. Dr. Wilfrid Haughey came to Battle Creek when a child,
was graduated from high school in I9oo and from the University of
Michigan in I904 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. In I906 he received the Master of Arts degree from the University of Detroit and
the same year received the medical degree from the Detroit Medical
College. Since I906 he has been engaged in practice in Battle Creek
save for the period he served in the World war. The Doctor is a
member of the Calhoun county, state and national medical societies and
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology.
He is a devoted member of the Catholic church and of the Knights of
Columbus and holds membership in the Athelstan Club, the Exchange
Club, Phi Beta Pi medical fraternity and at one time was editor of
the Quarterly. The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Edith
Cowles, of Sand Lake, Michigan, June 27, 1907, and of the union eight
children were the issue, Edith Ellen, Wilfrid, Jr., Clifton Francis, Philip
Cowles, Esther Georgianna, David O'Connell, Charles Shaw and Louis
William. Doctor Haughey was in the medical reserve corps as early
as I9IO and in May, I917, entered war service as captain and in
August went to Detroit. In October of the same year he was sent over
seas with base hospital No. 36 and was on the boat that brought the
number of Americans in the war up to Ioo,oo0. He was chief of
surgery at the base hospital, with 3,000 beds. On March i, I919,
the Doctor was promoted to major and in April, 1919, returned to
the United States and received his discharge May 7, I919. He is now
lieutenant-colonel in the medical reserve corps. Doctor Haughey was
the secretary of the Michigan State Medical Society from I909 to
1912. Besides the other organizations indicated he is a member of
the Army and Navy Club and of the Michigan University Club, and
is active in the promotion of the civic betterment of the community,
as is his father.
Rowland H. Harris, M.D.-A richly developed classical as well
as medical education has contributed to the well-rounded character of
Dr. Rowland H. Harris, one of Battle Creek's best-known citizens. As
a successful surgeon, he has achieved the distinction of having his own




316


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


hospital, the Maple Street Hospital, which was opened October 25,
1920, at 182 Maple street. Incidentally, his wife is a physician who
for a number of years was a member of the medical staff of the Battle
Creek Sanitarium. Rowland H. Harris was born in Eliot, York
county, Maine, May 6, 1878, the second son of the marriage of Frank
C. Harris and Emma M. Neall, whose ancestors were among the early
settlers of Maine. His boyhood was spent in Washington, D. C., where
he completed his grammar school education in the public schools. In
I893 he was sent to South Lancaster Academy, South Lancaster, Massachusetts, where after four years' study he was graduated from the
classical course. The next four years were devoted to the study of
medicine, the degree of Doctor of Medicine being obtained in June,
I9oI, from the American Medical Missionary College, a school which
later merged with the medical department of the University of Illinois.
Doctor Harris was married June I8, 1903, to Elizabeth M. E. Kerr, of
Honolulu, who had graduated in medicine in I902 from the American
Medical Missionary College. In I904 both of the doctors went to
Edinburgh, Scotland, for post-graduate medical study and were abroad
fourteen months, both obtaining the triple qualification to practice
medicine in Great Britain, L. R. C. P. & S. Edinburgh and L. F. P. & S.
Glasgow. In I909 Doctor Harris returned to Edinburgh for postgraduate work and after passing rigid examinations in anatomy, pathology and surgery became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
of Edinburgh. In I914 after completing the required work, he was
granted the degree of Bachelor of Arts by Albion College, Albion,
Michigan; and in 1915 the Doctor was made a Fellow of the American
College of Surgeons. Doctor Harris has practiced medicine in Battle
Creek since I901. For eighteen years he was a member of the staff
of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, the last ten years being spent in the
surgical department of that institution. In 1919 he entered upon
private practice as a surgeon in the city of Battle Creek. He is a
member of the Calhoun County and Michigan State Medical Societies,
a Fellow of the American Medical Association, a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Medicine of London, England, and a Fellow of the Western
Surgical Association. Doctor Harris is a Republican in politics, belongs to various Masonic organizations, the Commandery of Knights
Templar, the Scottish Rite Consistory and the Shrine, and is a member of the Battle Creek Country Club. Doctor Harris was for several
years professor of physiology of the American Medical Missionary College, and was the last secretary of that institution. He was for ten
years a member of the board of trustees of the Battle Creek Sanitarium.
Mrs.Harris has retired from the practice of medicine. The Doctors
Harris make their residence at 200 Maple street, and the office of Dr.
Rowland I1. Harris is at 41 North Washington avenue.
Blaine Willard Hatch is the youngest judge of the probate court
in the state of Michigan, to which office he was elected in 1920. As
probate judge, he also administers the affairs of the juvenile court, a
public service requiring immeasurable tact. deep sympathy and conscionable judgment. Judge Hatch is a native of Marshall, Michigan,




CALHOUN COUNTY


317


born in 1889, the son of Jesse M. and Ella M. Hatch (nee Willard).
The parents came of old, respected Calhoun county families. Mrs.
Hatch is the daughter of the man who founded the Advance company.
Blaine Willard Hatch received his education in Marshall and was
graduated from the University of Michigan in 1911 with the degree
Bachelor of Laws. He became associated at once with his father in
the practice of law as a member of the firm of J. M. Hatch & Son,
and this association was continued until the son's election to the probate bench. On October 27, 1915, Judge Hatch was united in marriage to Miss Mabel A. Borradaille, of Marshall, born and reared in
Marshall, a daughter of Charles A. Borradaille. There is one child,
Gerald Borradaille Hatch. Judge Hatch had had considerable public
service experience even before his elevation to the bench. He was city
attorney and for a period was a supervisor representing the First ward.
His interests extend far beyond the court room and the grind of daily
routine. Especially is he active in fraternal affairs. He is a member
of the Sons of Veterans, his grandfather, James W. Hatch, having
served in the Civil war. He has held all the chairs in his Masonic
lodge and in the Knights of Pythias. Judge Hatch is a communicant
of the Episcopal church. He belongs to the Isaac Walton League,
Marshall Country Club, Community Club and to the blue lodge, chapter
and consistory at Marshall, and the Council of Royal and Select Masters
at Albion. In the support of civic and community enterprises and
movements he is unfailing and generous.
Jesse Monroe Hatch, son of James W. and Julet (Austin) Hatch,
was born May 27, 1858, in Lee township, Calhoun counity, Michigan.
His father served in the Civil War from 1864 to I865 with Company
K. of the Seventeenth Infantry, and after the war went to California
for a few years and then came back to Michigan to take up farming.
Jesse M. Hatch received his education in the schools of Marshall, and
graduated from Marshall High School in 1876, entering Ann Arbor
in 1879 and graduating from the same institution in i880 with the
LL. D. degree. He began his practice over the William Martin store
building on Michigan avenue in 188I and moved in 1897 to the Hatch
block, where he has remained until the present time. He was chosen
commissioner for two terms, then was prosecuting attorney for two
terms. A representative for Lansing, I9Io0-I, in politics he holds
allegiance to the Republican party. Mr. Hatch married October 9,
I885, Ella M. Willard, daughter of L. J. Willard, one of the founders
of the Advance-Rumley Company, and they are the parents of nine
children, of whom six are still living: May died in infancy; Jay Warren, who graduated from Ann Arbor and served in the World war
as lieutenant of Company A, Seventh Infantry, and was then captain
of the company when it replaced the marines after the last assault
of the Germans on Paris. He received a wound from a shrapnel, and
was also gassed, July 23, I918, lying in a hospital two months. He
married before going to war and was living in Detroit. After the
war he returned there and was elected prosecuting attorney, but died
later from the effects of. wounds that he received. Blaine W. graduated




318


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


from Ann Arbor, and is how judge of the probate court of Calhoun
county; Donald M. graduated from Ann Arbor, and is now engineer
with the electric light and water plant in Jackson, Michigan; Beatrice
A. married Louis Kipp, of Marshall, and she has three children by
a former marriage, Donald, Maxine and David Sawdy; Louise, who
is teaching in the high school at Charlotte; Hortense, who married
Robert McKenzie, is living in Marshall, and Hazen J., who is attending school. The family home is on the northwest corner of
Mansion and High streets.
Donald Frederick Herrick, business manager of Albion, Michigan,
was born December 12, 1898, in Albion, the son of Fred J. and Carrie
(Ennis) Herrick. The father was born in Baldwinsville, New York,
August 6, I868. The paternal grandfather of City Manager Herrick,
Hiram Herrick, married Sarah Herrick. Both were born in New York
state and came to Albion in I879. He was a stone mason and is living
in Albion. Mrs. Herrick is dead. Hiram Herrick enlisted in I86I
in the cause of the Union, served in the IOIst New York Volunteer
Infantry, which later became the Thirty-seventh New York and later
the Fortieth New York. He fought at Bull Run, The Wilderness,
Spotsylvania, Gettysburg, Malvern Hill and Cold Harbor and was
made a captive at Spotsylvania and was sent to Libby prison, exchanged
later and took part in the operations about Petersburg. The maternal
grandparents of Donald Frederick Herrick were Seber and Mary
(Webster) Ennis, who moved from Lansing to Danville, Illinois.
Ennis died in South Bend, Indiana. He was an architect. His brother
was killed in the Civil war. Fred J. Herrick was educated in the
Albion schools and took a commercial course in Albion College. On
January I, I899, he purchased an interest in the Groff Brothers' planing
mill and the firm name was changed to Groff & Herrick, later to the
Albion Lumber Company, with Mr. Herrick as president. This position he yet holds. Before he entered the lumber business he was a
building contractor, although his father had endeavored to have him
become a mason. Fred J. Herrick married Carrie Ennis, of Danville,
Illinois, and Donald Frederick is the only child. Mr. Herrick, senior,
is a Pythian and member of the Modern Woodmen of America and
he and Mrs. Herrick are communicants of the Presbyterian church.
Donald Frederick Herrick received his early education in his home
town and was graduated from Albion College in I92I with the degree
of Bachelor of Arts and with the degree of Bachelor of Science in
electrical engineering, from the University of Michigan in 1922. For
eighteen months he was with the General Electric Company at Schenectady, New York, and in September, 1923, was appointed city manager
of Albion, combining his official relationship with the city the very
necessary qualifications of engineer plus business sense. During the
World war Mr. Herrick was in service and was in the officers' training school at Camp Grant when the armistice was signed. He is a
member of the Delta Tau Delta, the Tau Beta Pi, an engineering
fraternity, and Sigma Xi, a scientific fraternity.




CALHOUN COUNTY


3'A9


Richard R. Hicks is president of the American Steam Pump Company, of which he is also the treasurer, and his status in connection
with the industrial and commercial activities of the metropolis of Calhoun county is further indicated by his being, in I925, the president
of the Battle Creek Manufacturers' Association. He is a native son
of Battle Creek and has become an influential figure in the civic and
industrial life of this vital and progressive city. Mr. Hicks was born
at Battle Creek on the I3th of May, 1871, and is a representative of a
family that was founded in Calhoun county more than sixty years ago.
He is a son of Charles H. and Frances E. (Moore) Hicks, the former
of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in that of
New Hampshire, she being still a resident of Battle Creek and having
attained to the venerable age of eighty years. Charles H. Hicks. came
with his parents to Battle Creek in the fifties and he was but seventeen
years of age when he enlisted for service as a soldier of the Union in
the Civil war. He became a member of Company C, Twentieth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and with this command participated in many
engagements, including a number of the important battles marking the
progress of the great conflict through which the integrity of the nation was preserved. He was long i'n the employ of the great Nichols
& Shepard manufacturing concern of Battle Creek, and in this city
he maintained his home until his death, in I892, at the age of fortyeight years, he having been an appreciative and honored member of
the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. His widow was a
child when she accompanied her parents on their removal from New
England to Michigan, and she was reared and educated in Calhoun
county, so that hers are gracious memories of the earlier days and conditions- in her present home city of Battle Creek. In the public schools
of Battle Creek Richard R. Hicks continued his studies until he had
duly profited by the advantages of the high school, and after leaving
school he took a clerical position in the office of the Metal Back Album
Company, which was then one of the prosperous manufacturing concerns of Battle Creek. About one year later he went to the city of
Chicago, where for a time he was in the employ of the United States
School Furniture Company. Later he was for two years associated
with a baking powder business in Detroit, and in I895 he returned
from the Michigan metropolis to Battle Creek and took a minor position with the American Steam Pump Company, which was then one
of the "infant industries" of the city, and with which he has continued
his alliance during the intervening years, the while he has been an
important factor in the development of the business to one of the large
and important manufacturing industries of his native state. Mr. Hicks
has otherwise been a leader in advancing the civic and industrial interests of his home city, and is known and valued as a liberal and
progressive citizen and substantial business man. He is a director
of the Central National Bank, is a member of the National Association
of Pump Builders, and is treasurer of the Hydraulic Society, a national
organization. His political alignment is with the Republican party,
in the Masonic fraternity he has received the thirty-second degree of




320


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


the Scottish Rite, besides being a noble of the Mystic Shrine, and he
is affiliated also with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
November 4, 1897, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Hicks to Miss
Josephine Werstein, of Battle Creek, and of this union were born two
children, John, who died in infancy, and Frances Josephine, who was
born in I9oo and who died at the age of nine years.
Jesse J. Holes, M.D.-Splendid patriotic service has marked the
personal and professional career of Doctor Holes, whose office is at
713 Post building, Battle Creek. On August 15, 1917, the Doctor
was commissioned a captain in the medical officers' training corps at
Fort Riley, Kansas, then was assigned to the Thirty-fourth division
at Camp Cody, New Mexico, and on December I of that year was
assigned to the Iogth supply train as surgeon. Next he became
battalion surgeon for the I36th infantry and was sent with the division
to Camp Dix, New Jersey, August I, I918, and on October I left
on a British transport for Liverpool, proceeding thence to Le Havre,
France, then to Le Mans, France. He was assigned to Camp Hospital
No. 52 as surgeon and served later in other camps and at St. Nazair
and was re-assigned to the Io9th supply train and sailed from St.
Nazair June I, I919, on the U. S. S. DeKalb for Newport News, receiving his discharge from the service July I5, I919, at Camp Custer,
Michigan. Doctor Holes received a commission as major in the
medical officers' reserve corps of the United States. The Doctor is
a member of the Calhoun County and Michigan State Medical Societies,
of the American Medical Association and of the American Urological
Society. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner
and an Elk. Doctor Holes was born in Barry county, Michigan,
August I6, 1872, attended school in Calhoun county and at the age of
thirteen came to Battle Creek, going through high school. He was
graduated from the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery in 1904.
Prior to that, however, and for a period of about eight years he served
as a nurse in Nichols Memorial Hospital and during the SpanishAmerican war gave his services as a nurse. Thus his professional
training is well rounded.
Ralph H. Holmes.-Mr. Holmes is general manager of the Armour
Grain Company, the forerunner of which was the Hygienic Food Company. The Hygienic Food Company was sold to the Armour Grain
Company in I9I7 and Mr. Holmes retained his official connection with
the new company. He came to Battle Creek in I9o4 to take charge
4of the advertising of the Hygienic company and was advanced to
general manager. But his interests are diverse and Mr. Holmes is
an exceedingly busy man, active in banking and manufacturing enterprises. He is president of the Chamber of Commerce, director of
the Country Club, a director of the Rotary Club, director of the Old
National Bank, vice-president of the Dudley Motor Sales Company,
president of the Chelsea Milling Company of Chelsea, a director of
Kemp's Commercial Savings Bank at Chelsea, and a member of the
Athelstan Club. In I904 Mr. Holmes was married to Frances Noyes,
of Chelsea. There are two sons, Robert Harmon and David Noyes.




CALHOUN COUNTY


321


Mr. Holmes was born in Chelsea February 7, 1882, the son of Herman
S. and Elizabeth Holmes, nee Lovett. The senior Holmes was born
in Scio, Michigan, December 28, I854, and died in January, 1922.
The mother was born in Salem, Massachusetts, September I6, 1855,
and died in I915. Grandfather Holmes hailed from New York state
and settled on homesteaded land. His son, Herman S., was a merchant
in Chelsea for fifty years and was president of the Chelsea Commercial
Bank more than twenty-five years. There were three children, Howard
S., E. Ellis and Ralph H. The latter attended grade and high schools
and was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1903. The
following January he came to Battle Creek and entered zealously on
the business career the path of which has been marked with success.
A. J. Hoyt.-Ancil J. Hoyt, real estate worker, is one of Battle
Creek's most favorably known citizens. Successful in his chosen
vocation, Mr. Hoyt is the originator of the telephone directory indexed
by street and number. It was the first directory arrangement of the
kind appearing in Battle Creek and is said to have been the first telephone directory so arranged in the United States. The book arrangement is withal a most helpful one for those using the telephone as the
cross indexing supplies o'ne's number by street address, if the number
had been forgotten, and it also gives the name of the subscriber once
the number is known. Mr. Hoyt was born near Blissfield, Michigan,
April II, 1889. He attended the public schools and received an education at Western State Normal College in Kalamazoo. For three
years he was with the Michigan Buggy Company and in January,
I914, came to Battle Creek and began service with the Business Men's
Credit Association in the Ward building and was secretary of the
association until 1920, in which year he opened the Central Real
Estate Company, of which he is proprietor and manager. Mr. Hoyt
is a member of Ira A. Beck Lodge of Free Masons, of the Knights of
Pythias, of the Athelstan Club and of the Knife and Fork Club. In
1915 he was married to Effa Phillips. There are three children:
Howard Phillip, born June 8, 1916; Helen Louise, born in June, I917,
and Ann Sanderson, born September 14, 1921. The Hoyt family
holds attachment with the Presbyterian church.
Frank E. Hubert, widely known wholesale and retail florist, was
born in Jackson county, Michigan, June 28, I868, the son of Brandford
and Elizabeth Hubert. They farmed. The mother passed away in
I884, the father in I9I3. Frank E. availed himself of the educational
advantages of the district schools and for ten years farmed. The
farm he sold in I9oo. Then he engaged in telephone work, for five
years was in the grocery business and for a period of three years
operated in coal and lumber. During this period he started a little
greenhouse and in I914 bought the greenhouse of Carl Jacobs near
Albion, then merely a vegetable greenhouse. He diverted its purpose
to floriculture. The plant has 25,000 square feet of glass and is devoted to the cultivation of all plants and flowers suitable to this latitude.
A wholesale-business is done in Homer, Marshall, Spri'ngport, Charlotte, Eden Rapids and other sections and a retail establishment is




HISTORIC MICHIGAN


operated in Albion. Mr. Hubert was married to Miss Celia L. Dean,
of Parma. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of the
Brotherhood of St. Paul and of the Albion Business and Professional
Men's Association. The Huberts have four children. Dean Hubert
married Miss Bancroft, of Iowa, and has three children, Grace, Ralph
and Jane. Lynford is the husband of Alice Ludlow, who with their
three children, George, Frank and Iena Mae, live in California. Clara
Belle is the wife of Mr. Eiler and they reside with their one son, John,
in Albion. Elizabeth married Donald D. Hubbard, born November
I8, I897, in Marshall. Mr. Hubbard takes care of the retail store in
Albion for his father-in-law. He served a year in the navy during
the World war. He is a Pythian and also an American Legionaire.
Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard have a son, David F., who is now two years
old, and daughter Ann, ten months.
Martin P. Huyck is secretary and treasurer of the Brownlee Park
Gravel and Material Company, also a real estate dealer and widely
known throughout Calhoun county, Michigan. IHe was born in Chicago, however, on September I9, 1874, and educated in the Windy City
schools. His father died when the son was but four years old and at
the age of eleven he began the actual battle of life to help support his
sister and widowed mother. His first job was as office boy in a law
office and later he became secretary to the president of the first electric
road built in Chicago. He then became engaged in real estate and
building operations in the suburbs of Chicago and in i909 came to
Battle Creek and opened the Brownlee Park subdivision, which met
with outstanding success. Mr. Huyck built homes and stores, but
lost heavily in a general financial and industrial depression, and it was
necessary to recoup his losses, so in I9I7 he organized the Brownlee
Park Gravel and Material Company. This does a wholesale sand
and gravel business and manufacturers concrete blocks. Mr. IIuyck
was made secretary and treasurer of the company with Ernest West,
vice-president and Mills Buck, of Chicago, the president. The company does an extensive business. Mr. Huyck also engages in real
estate and builds homes in Brownlee Park subdivision. He has held
office for over twelve years as director of Brownlee Park School; also
held the office of justice of the peace of Emmet township for four
years. He was elected a member of the board of review of Calhoun
county in 1925. Mr. Huyck is a member of the Masonic order, holding membership in a Chicago lodge. In I897 he was married to
Lillian Brown, of Chicago. There are three children. Eugene V.
Huyck, born December 2I, 1901, graduate of Battle Creek High School,
spent a year in Detroit as a mechanic and is with his father in business.
He married, on June 14, I924, Clara Hale, of Dunkirk, Indiana. The
other children are Corinne, born May 15, I907, a graduate of Battle
Creek High School, and Martin P. Huyck, Jr. By reason of his indefatigable energy, his supreme faith and his mastery of adverse
conditions, Mr. Huyck is generally esteemed.
Kapp Clothing Company.-The Kapp Clothing Company, located
at Main and Jefferson streets, is one of the oldest establishments of the








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character in Battle Creek. The firm is composed of August and
Henry Kapp. August Kapp was born in Germany Ju'n 2, I865, and
obtained a good education in the Fatherland. At the age of fourteen
he came to the United States, locating in Rochester, New York. Later
he went to Buffalo and when only sixteen years of age had charge of
a store in Buffalo. Later he went to Elmira, New York, and in I888
came to Battle Creek, his residence being contemporary with the growth
and development of the city. At once he engaged in the clothing business and in I891 located at Jefferson and Main streets. The firm has
been very successful, enjoys a growing trade and sustains a well defined policy of fair dealing. August Kapp has made about twenty
trips to Germany and Europe and has traveled extensively over the
continent. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner,
Odd Fellow, member of the Athelstan Country Club and of the Merchants' Dinner Club. In 1894 he was united in marriage to Minnie
Van Praagh, of Battle Creek. There are two children, Josephine and
Elsa. Josephine is the wife of Doctor Kosischek and Elsa is the wife
of Doctor Danziger, of Detroit. Mrs. Danziger received her education
in the grade and high schools of Battle Creek and at Downer College,
Milwaukee. The wife of August Kapp died November Io, 1919,
and on March 17, I924, he married Minna Wile, of Buffalo. They reside at 8 College street. Henry Kapp was born in Germany February
27, I871, and received a high school and college education in Germany.
In I890 he emigrated, settling in Battle Creek. In 1923 his wife,
who was Bessie Van Praagh, sister of the first wife of his brother, died.
There were born three children. Minna is a graduate of high school.
Felix is a high school student. Caroline died at the age of twelve years.
Mr. Kapp is a member of the Country and Athelstan Clubs. Mr.
August Kapp is a stockholder of the Old National Bank; also of the
Merchants' National Bank.
John Harvey Kellogg, M.D., LL.D.-The noblest trophies of mankind are the conquests of the mind as translated into human helpfulness. Doctor Kellogg has won such trophies in the most significant
sense. His international fame as a physician and surgeon, dietitian
and apostle of the "biologic life," has come as the normal sequence
of eager, able, prolonged and faithful service to humanity. His ideals
have found concrete expression in the development and upbuilding of
one of the world's greatest and noblest health-offering institutions, the
Battle Creek Sanitarium. To offer within the necessarily circumscribed
limitations of this publication a detailed record of the life and labors
of Doctor Kellogg, a world benefactor, is not possible, but even the
succinct narrative that is here given cannot fail to give both incentive
and inspiration. Michigan claims Doctor Kellogg as a native son and
is proud to do him honor, even as he has conferred honor upon the
state and nation of his birth.
Doctor Kellogg was born in Tyrone township, Livingston county,
Michigan, February 26, 1852, a son of John Preston Kellogg and Ann
Jeanette (Stanley) Kellogg. Like the late Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, he was handicapped in boyhood and early youth by impaired phys



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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


ical powers, having had a definite tubercular tendency, but how well
both of these honored Americans triumphed over such handicap is
now a matter of historic record. In this connection the following
statements as applied to Doctor Kellogg are worthy of reproduction:
"John H. Kellogg came of fighting stock. His forebears were the John
Kelloks that fought in battles with William the Conqueror, and later
reared the Kelloggs that wrestled with the granite unwillingness of
New England farms, and made them yield." He is a descendant of
Joseph Kellogg, who was baptized at Great Leighs, England, April I,
1626. It has been impossible to determine the exact year of the arrival
of this first ancestor in America, but he settled at Farmington, Connecticut, in 1651, and there served several terms as selectman. This
Lieutenant Joseph Kellogg later became one of the proprietors of
Hadley, Massachusetts, and he became operator of the ferry between
Hadley and Northampton, his son John and the latter's son James
having continued the ferry, which was thus operated by the Kellogg
family nearly a century. Lieutenant Joseph Kellogg served in the
colonial militia nearly thirty years, until I692, and in this connection
gained his rank of lieutenant, the while he participated in various conflicts with the Indians. His son Nathaniel, next in line of descent of
the subject of this review, was born at Hadley, Massachusetts, October
8, I669, and died October 30, I750, he having served as selectman of
Hadley and as lieutenant in the militia. Nathaniel, son of Nathaniel,
was born at Hadley September 22, I693, and died August 6, I770.
He served as land surveyor, selectman and lieutenant of militia. Gardner Kellogg, son of Nathaniel II, was born at Hadley about I730, and
died October 6, I814. He likewise had a record of active military
service. Josiah Kellogg, son of Gardner, was born in Hadley July 15,
1767, and died January i6, 1856, having been a prosperous farmer
of his native community. John Preston Kellogg, son of the last named
Josiah, was born at Hadley, February 14, 1807, and died at Battle
Creek, Michigan, May Io, I88I, he having been the father of Dr. John
Harvey Kellogg.
Doctor Kellogg is indebted to the public schools for his earlier
education, which was advanced by his attending the Michigan
State Normal School at Ypsilanti. In 1875 he was graduated in
Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, and since thus
receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he has made six visits
to Europe to take post-graduate work in leading European hospitals
and clinics. The Lincoln Memorial University and Olivet College have
conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Doctor
Kellogg has been engaged in the work of his profession at Battle Creek,
Michigan, since I875, and the passing years have been crowded with
large and noble achievement on his part. For more than half a century
he has lived and been the exponent of what he has termed the "biologic
life." He began the intimate study of the science of biologic or physiologic living very early in life when he decided to make himself of some
real use in the world, according to the dictum of old Seneca, "Religion
consists of two things, to seek truth and to do good." He has seen his




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325


idea expand and multiply until it is today almost impossible to believe
that the puny, delicate boy, having the least opportunities for development, has grown into, the sturdy, active man who is directing a great
humanitarian health movement, animated by a sublime faith in the
brotherhood of man.
To other and more specific publications must be assigned the harration of the great record of service that has been given by Doctor
Kellogg and the far-famed institution of which he has for fifty years
been the executive head, the Battle Creek Sanitarium. His splendid
ideals and system of biologic living have made the Battle Creek Sanitarium one of the greatest of the world's health institutions, and have
given him a fame and distinction that shall endure long after he has
passed from the stage of life's mortal endeavors. Student, teacher,
scientist, Doctor Kellogg has known work at its maximum, and his
reward has been in the good he has done for humanity. His deep
and constant human sympathy has found manifold expressions in helpfulness to those "in any way afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body or
estate," and in his care for children he has won a crown that is in
itself a title to royalty.
Doctor Kellogg has been superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium since 1876, and the great institution shall ever stand a monument to him. He served for eighteen years as a member of the Michigan state board of health, is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Royal Society of Medicine (England), the American Medical Association, and the National Geographic Society, and a corresponding member of the Societe d'Hygiene de France. The Doctor is
the author of more than fifty valuable volumes pertaining to health subjects, and the demand for these has been such that numerous reprints
have been required, aggregating more than a million copies, besides
which he has invented scores of medical appliances and apparatus for
medical and surgical purposes. Among the more important works
of which he is the author may be named the following:     "Art
of Massage;" "The Stomach;" "Rational Hydrotherapy;" "Light
Therapeutics;" "Colon Hygiene;" "Neurasthenia;" "Health Series of
Physiology and Hygiene" (joint author); "Health Question Box;"
"New Method in Diabetes;" "Auto-intoxication;" "The Itinerary of
a Breakfast;" "The New Dietetics;" "Tobaccoism;" "The Natural
Diet of Man." He has written scores of papers on medicine and surgery, among which may be mentioned "A Simple Method of Approximating the Proper Ration for a Diabetic Patient;" "Clean Certified
Milk versus Pasteurized Milk;" "Eugenics and Euthenics;" "Intestinal Stasis: Its Significance and Methods of Combating It." In I906,
Doctor Kellogg became the founder and president of the Race Betterment Foundation. For fifty-two years (since 1873) Doctor Kellogg
has been editor of Good Health Magazine.
It is not possible here to record the titles of many other published
works prepared by Doctor Kellogg and offered as a contribution to
the advancement of human health and happiness.
In his efforts to establish the "biologic diet" and to meet the needs




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


of the patients of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, Doctor Kellogg has
invented many methods, processes and machines for the manufacture
of foods. As the result of these activities more than a score of valuable
new foods have been developed, among which may be mentioned
toasted corn flakes, also flaked wheat, rice and other cereals, besides
various granular ready-to-eat cereals.  Nut butters, malted nuts,
and various other nut products were likewise originated by him. At
the request of the United States assistant secretary of agriculture, he
devised a vegetable meat, protose, which is in daily use in thousands
of homes. Under various commercial names his breakfast-food inventions are now more widely used throughout the civilized world
than any other ready-to-eat foods, and have become the staples of the
American breakfast. Doctor Kellogg was the first to prepare sterilized bran for table use, and has prepared various foods that render
valuable service in aiding bowel activity and "changing the intestinal
flora." While Doctor Kellogg has given his time to the building up
of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, to his work as a surgeon and to the
writing of books and papers, rather than to the commercial development
of his inventions, many of which have been exploited by others, he
has received sufficient financial returns to enable him to establish the
Race Betterment Foundation, and through it to found, in connection
with the Battle Creek Sanitarium, the Battle Creek College for the
training of nurses, dietitians, physical directors, health inspectors, and
health lecturers and teachers, and for the promotion of the principles
of biologic living. One of Doctor Kellogg's most important therapeutic inventions is the electric-light bath. He was the first to recognize the practical value of the penetrating power of the luminous heat
waves of the incandescent and the arc lights, and to devise modes of
utilizing these new sources of heat in the treatment of disease. His
electric-light bath, first made popular in Europe through its endorsement by Winternitz and other famous physicians, and its use by exKaiser William, the late King Edward and other royal personages, later
became still more popular in the United States, and has now completely
replaced the old-fashioned Turkish bath in this country as well as in
Europe.
Doctor Kellogg has found a man's work, and has done that work
with distinction and with a fine sense of personal and professional
stewardship for more than forty years. To have helped others is the
greatest service that can be given by any human being, and in this field
Doctor Kellogg must be accorded first rank. As a loyal and publicspirited citizen, he has been one of the foremost in the upbuilding of
the Battle Creek of the present day, and none has a more secure place
in community esteem and communal appreciation.
At Alfred Center, New York, on the 22d of February, I879, was
solemnized the marriage of Doctor Kellogg to Miss Ella E. Eaton,
who continued his cherished and devoted companion until her death,
which occurred in June, 1920.  Having no children of their own,
Doctor and Mrs. Kellogg received into their home a number of children
of diffelrnt nationalities, several of whom were legally adopted.




I




4
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CAIHOUN COUNTY


Will K. Kellogg is one of the outstanding figures in that limited
coterie of steadfast and resourceful men who have made Battle
Creek one of the world's important industrial centers. Emphasis is
given to this statement by his still being the executive head of the
Kellogg Company, which now ranks as the world's largest concern
engaged in the manufacture of ready-to-eat cereal foods. Through
its products the company has carried the name and fame of Battle
Creek into the most diverse quarters of the civilized world.
Will K. Kellogg was born at Battle Creek, Calhoun county, Michigan, April 7, I860, a son of John P. and Ann Jeanette Kellogg. His
father established in Michigan the first broom factory west of Detroit.
One son, John H., had charge of the little factory, and the sons, Will K.
and Preston, with several other workmen, made up the brooms. In this
connection an interesting little story shows the persistency and endurance of Will K. Kellogg. When he was twelve years of age his father
sent him out-in the dead of winter when deep snow covered the ground
-with a load of brooms to sell in.the small towns within a radius of
about fifty miles of Battle Creek. The boy set forth with his brooms,
and the snowdrifts caused the load to overturn at intervals. Before he
had arrived at Charlotte the load had been overturned several times, the
feet of his horses were bleeding from cuts made by the crusted snow,
and altogether he was in a sorry plight. He decided that if the load
tipped over once more he would have to return home, more on account
of his horses than thought of himself. The wagon maintained its
equilibrium, however, and he was able to continue on his trip. After
this first trip he sold brooms through Michigan for a number of years.
The alert and receptive mind of Mr. Kellogg enabled him to
profit largely by such educational advantages as were afforded him
in his boyhood and early youth, and he grew strong in both mental
and physical powers. When he was nineteen years old he was sent
by Elder James White, the leader of the Adventist church and incidental enterprises in Battle Creek, to take charge of a broom factory
the Elder was establishing in Texas.  This factory was one of
considerable magnitude, and the broom corn for its use was
raised in the locality.  When young Kellogg arrived in Texas,
he found that most of the workmen were habitual drinkers and that
conditions on the farm were very bad. However, he made a record
of success in controlling his men in the harvesting of the crop of corn
and in manufacturing the product into brooms. From his earnings he
saved about $500, and this proved the nucleus of his financial activities.
Upon his return to Michigan he invested this fund in property that he
later sold at a profit, the proceeds finally being put into the food business. After his return from Texas, Mr. Kellogg became bookkeeper at
the Battle Creek Sanitarium, of which now great institution he later
became the manager.
In I894 Mr. Kellogg and his brother, Dr. John H., organized the
Sanitas Nut Food Company, and he became active manager of the
business, in which Doctor Kellogg gave him one-fourth interest, by
reason of his assumption of these executive duties. While he was




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


supervising the affairs of the Sanitas Company, he continued as manager of the sanitarium, an office of which he was for twenty-five years
the efficient incumbent. The scope of the business of the Sanitas Nut
Food Company was limited and there was little to offer promise of
expansion. Early in I9oo the company brought out a product known
as Granose flakes-made from whole wheat, flaked and toasted. In
1902 a number of companies were organized in Battle Creek and
initiated the manufacturing of various flakes, including the now famous
Corn Flakes, and within two years there were about thirty-two such
food factories in this city.
In I906, Mr. Kellogg decided to divorce the flake and the nut-food
departments of the business, and at this time he formed the Toasted
Corn Flake Company, which was organized March i9th of that year.
The old Bartlett street plant of the company was opened the 9th of the
following month, and the business so rapidly increased that the company found it impossible to fill many of its orders with desired promptitude. In the autumn of that first year the concern had three different
factories in operation, and July I7, I907, the original plant on Bartlett
street was destroyed by fire. It is significant to record that at this
juncture the officers and directors of the company sounded a distinct
note of discouragement and lack of confidence, and seemed to think
that competitors would put the concern out of business. Mr. Kellogg
was determined to build a modern, fireproof factory, and proceeded to
do this, against the advice of his associates. He later acquired most of
Dr. John H. Kellogg's interest in the corn-flake business. In I909 the
title of the corporation was changed to Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake
Company, and after this somewhat unwieldy title had undoubtedly
served in a degree as a medium of advertising, it was found expedient,
in 1922, to adopt the present corporate title of Kellogg Company.
Within its period of slightly less than twenty years of operation, the
company has expended in advertising more. than $25,000,000, and in
the meanwhile there has not been a single year in which one or more
new buildings has not been added to the Kellogg manufacturing plant,
which now covers about thirty acres of floor space. In addition to
the great and modern plant at Battle Creek, the company operates at
Davenport, Iowa, a plant for the manufacture of oats products, and
cereal plants in London, Ontario, and Sydney, Australia.  The
concern is now the largest of its kind in the world, and during the
summer months the output of its factories aggregates more than
1,500,000 packages of food products daily.
In the earlier period of the company's operations Mr. Kellogg.went through the south to open up the company's business in that
section. He was told by southern jobbers that he could not sell corn
flakes in the south. His rejoinder was to the effect that he had not
come there to sell them goods, but merely to tell them what jobbers
in the north were doing. His thirty-day trip resulted in the selling
of thirty-five carloads of the company's products in the southern territory. It is evident that the early training which Mr. Kellogg gained
as a salesman in the broom industry has been a fortifying power in




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329


his splendid achievement in the manufacture and sale of cereal products. It is widely recognized that he has won a commanding place
as an industrial executive. The Kellogg Company today has twentytwo branch offices in the United States, with forty-two other branch
offices scattered through nearly every civilized country on the globe,
with the result that its business is now of world-wide ramifications.
Within the period that Mr. Kellogg was connected officially with
the Battle Creek Sanitarium, its building was destroyed by fire, and
it was found necessary to bond the institution for the purpose of rebuilding. All the financing and selling of bonds were handled in a
direct way by Mr. Kellogg, and his success in this great work (probably the most difficult ever attempted by him) must be regarded as a
great tribute to his loyalty and ability, though he never asked or
received any publicity for his splendid achievement in the connection.
Mr. Kellogg has broadened his intellectual ken not only through
well directed reading and study but also through extensive travel. He
has visited nearly all civilized countries, and at the time of this writing,
in the summer of I925, is planning a railroad trip of about three
months' duration through central Africa. He is a lover of fine horses,
and has recently purchased eleven Arabian thoroughbreds, some of
which were imported from Arabia. These are the only horses of this
kind in the United States. He contemplates expending a large amount
of time and money in the breeding of Arabian horses, his purpose being
to improve the breed and grade of cavalry and saddle horses in this
country, and to develop in California a model ranch as the stage for
this enterprise.
Loyal, broad-minded, sagacious, liberal-Will K. Kellogg has made
the years count in large and worthy achievement that marks him as a
leader in American industrialism. The Kellogg factory is a model
in its construction and every thought has been given to the comfort
of the employees. But Mr. Kellogg's interests are not restricted to
his own plant. His example and influence have done much toward
advancing the civic and industrial prosperity of his home city of Battle
Creek.
Howard Guy Kelser, furniture dealer and undertaker of Marshall,
Michigan, is widely known throughout that section of the state. He
was born in Wayne county, Ohio, February 24, I88I, and came to
Fulton, Kalamazoo county, with his parents thirty-six years ago. The
father, G. H. Kelser, is in business in Fulton, in a mercantile line,
as a member of the firm of Kelser & Martens. He was for many
years a magistrate and has been an ardent Republican worker. There
were three sons and two daughters in the family. Howard Guy attended grade and high schools of Athens and spent two years at
Kalamazoo Baptist College. He worked in a shoe store in Battle
Creek, then entered the furniture and undertaking business in Athens
with his father-in-law, the firm name being A. E. Underwood & Company. He was there nine years. In I913 he bought the furniture
and undertaking establishment of F. B. Snyder at Marshall, continued
in that location and on July i, I923, incorporated as H. G. Kelser &




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Company, having sold a half interest to E. B. Moore. Mr. Kelser is
also a director of the First National Bank, of Marshall, the oldest
bank in Michigan, established in 1840. He is a member of the Marshall Country Club, Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows and Presbyterian church. In I903 Mr. Kelser and Miss Helen R. Underwood,
who was born in Athens, were joined in wedlock. They have two
children, George A. and Paul S.
Fred Ervin King, superintendent of schools of Marshall, Michigan,
is an exemplar of modern educational ideals. Although he was but
seven years of age when his father, a teacher and minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church, died, the son proudly carried forward
the family escutcheon. Mr. King's pedagogic training has been varied
and extensive and the love of learning and culture has been a family
ideal, for the five children of Mr. and Mrs. King are college graduates, a condition to which the parents have cause to turn with pardonable pride. Fred Ervin King was born in Newbury, Vermont, October
18, I86o, the son of Fenner Emory and Elizabeth Ann King. The
mother's maiden name was Nelson. Fe'nner Emory King was a
graduate of Wesleyan University and devoted his life to pedagogy
and theology, serving in various fields as college professor and minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. He preached in Vermont
first, then became president of Newbury Seminary and later of the
Troy Conference Academy at Jonesville, New York. Subsequently
he went to Wayne county, Iowa, for his health, transferred to Des
Moines conference there, and passed from the scene of mundane
activities in Corydon, Iowa, in I868. Fred Ervin King received his
early education in Jonesville, New York, and Corydon, Iowa. After
the death of his father, when he was but fourteen years old, he went
to Lawrence, Massachusetts, to live with an uncle. There he attended
high school and later was a student at the Oliver Teachers' Training
School, and at Newbury Academy, Vermont, later matriculating at
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He received the degrees of
Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts and began teaching in Iowa.
He served as superintendent of schools in Moulton, Iowa, seven years;
Centerville, Iowa, eight years; Ames, Iowa, six years, and Escanaba,
Michigan, nine years, and has contracted for the seventh year as
superintendent of the Marshall schools. On August 13, 1884, Mr.
King was united in marriage to Miss Lina Evans, of Columbus City,
Iowa. The marriage was solemnized in Allerton, Iowa. There are
five children in the King family, all of whom, as previously stated,
are college graduates. Joe E. King graduated from Iowa State College in I9o9, is now district superintendent of the Southern Sierras
Power Company, with headquarters in El Centro, California. Fenner
E. King is a graduate of Northwestern University, has been superintendent of the Y. M. C. A. summer camp work for Chicago, planning
and equipping camps, and has recently been made director of similar
work at Jacksonville, Florida. Ruth, graduate of the University of
Michigan, class of 'I2, is teacher of mathematics in Northern High
School, Detroit, and is vice-president of the Mathematics Club of that




CALHOUN COUNTY


331


city. Reba, a graduate of the Chicago Art Institute in I916, is Mrs.
Grover Philip Lichtenheld, of Chicago, residing at 5400 West Congress. Mr. Lichtenheld is general secretary of the Sears & Roebuck
branch, or department of the Y. M. C. A. Marjorie was graduated
from the University of Michigan in I920. Mr. King is a Rotarian
and a member of the Marshall Commercial Club. He was on the
Iowa state educational council several years and was president of
the Southwest Iowa Teachers' Association and also president of the
Upper Peninsula Teachers' Association. He is a golf enthusiast
and has been active in organizing golf clubs in four communities,
the latest being Marshall. For several years he was secretary of
the Marshall Country Club. While in Escanaba Mr. King gave direction to a carefully planned and cleverly executed historical pageant,
quite elaborate in its dramatic setting.  This pageant is described
in an illustrated number published by the Michigan State Historical
Commission. Mr. King is also superintendent in charge of the Calhoun County Normal at Marshall. The other members of the board
are Thomas E. Johnson, state superintendent of public instruction at
Lansing, and Deland A. Davis, county commissioner of schools of
Battle Creek. The enrollment this year is three times the enrollment
in I919 when Superintendent King took charge. As a further evidence
of its success records now show that more of Calhoun county's rural
teachers are graduates of this school than of all other state normals
and colleges combined. The Marshall public schools have made wonderful progress during his administration. The high school practically doubled its enrollment, making necessary the building of a new
modern school with a large and well-equipped auditorium and gymnasium. The entire system has been molded into a model, modern
plant. The new graded "Crary" school, built this year, gives to Marshall for the first time a kindergarten so complete in every detail
with its suite of rooms and model equipment that it is not surpassed
anywhere. These improvements as well as others, and the splendid
spirit and support of the board of education and citizens, have enabled
Mr. King to make a record that places Marshall schools in the highest
rank and fully accredited by north-central colleges.
Horace C. King, who is now the executive head of one of the large
and important industrial and commercial concerns that contribute to
the fame and precedence of Battle Creek as a distributing center, has
been one of the world's army of constructive workers from the time
of his boyhood, and his advancement has come through his own resourceful efforts. He is president and general manager of the corporation of H. C. King & Sons, which, in the wholesale seed business,
has extended its trade into every state east of the Mississippi river,
as well as into several of the states to the west of that "Father of
Waters," the volume of the annual business being now in excess of
$250,000. On a farm six miles west of Three Rivers, St. Joseph
county, Michigan, Horace C. King was born March 14, i866, a son
of Mr. and Mrs. Henry King, who gained no little pioneer precedence
in that county. Mr. King was but four years old at the time of his




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HISTORIC MICHIGAN


father's death, and he early began to aid in the support of his widowed
mother, to whom he ever paid the deepest filial solicitude. The district
schools of his native county afforded Horace C. King his early educational discipline, and he was but eleven years old when he began
to provide for his own support, the death of his father having left
the family in somewhat straitened circumstances. He had as a boy
gained early fellowship with the arduous work of the farm, but his
ambition for an education expressed itself in such close application
to study that at the age of seventeen years he proved himself eligible
for pedagogic honors and taught his first term of school. For four
years he continued to teach school during the winter terms and to
apply himself to farm work during the summer seasons, and he carefully saved his earnings, in order that he might provide means for
advancing his own education. In the autumn of 1888 he found himself sufficiently fortified in a financial way to enter the Michigan
State Normal School at Ypsilanti, in which institution he continued
his studies until I892, he having in the meanwhile provided the funds
necessary for the continuing of his studies, as he had no parents to
assist him, besides which it was at that time somewhat exceptional
for young men to attend college, even when the parents were able
to provide the necessary money. Mr. King, in completing his course
in the normal school, had intended to adopt teaching is a profession,
and after leaving the normal school he taught two more terms in
the public schools. His judgment, after six years of service as a
teacher, led him to believe that his potential success lay along other
lines, and it was at this juncture that he became acquainted with a
man who was working on gasoline-engine improvements. With this
work Mr. King identified himself, and the two perfected and patented
an electric ignition device for which they were offered a nice sum
of money. Like most inventors, they thought their invention was
worth more money and thus refused to sell. Within a short time
other devices of similar function were brought out, with the result
that Mr. King eventually sold his interest in the patent for the small
sum of $2o0. The marriage of Mr. King occurred in I895, and after
residing two years at Kendallville, Indiana, he and his wife returned
to Ypsilanti, Michigan, which city represented their home nearly five
years thereafter. From I904 to I9II Mr. King was a salesman for
the Columbus Machine Company, of Columbus, Ohio, with assignment largely to territory in Michigan, and it was as a matter of
greater convenience in the handling of this work that he removed
to Battle Creek in I902. While he was thus engaged, Mr. King
became impressed that there was an opening for successful enterprise
in the handling of field seeds, if correct methods and policies were
brought to bear. At LaGrange, Indiana, he made a trial of the seed
business, in selling direct to the farmers. The success that attended
his initial venture caused him to become very enthusiastic and to
devise ways and means for the expanding of his operations. In I9II
he initiated his seed business with headquarters in Battle Creek, and
for eight years he continued to make direct sales to farmers, through




CALHOUN COUNTY


333


personal solicitation. The business rapidly expanded in scope and
became profitable, and it has been from this modest inception that the
now large and important business of his concern has developed, the
while has been brought to bear exceptional executive acumen and
most progressive policies that have implied careful thought and planning. After the two sons of Mr. King had become associated with
his well-ordered business they were finally admitted to partnership,
and in 1923 the business was incorporated under the laws of Michigan
and under the title of H. C. King & Sons, Inc. The founder of the
business is president and general manager of the corporation and is
the heaviest stockholder; Harold M. King is vice-president and salesmanager, and Charles H. King is secretary. Within the past twelve
years Horace C. King has acquired an appreciable amount of real
estate in Battle Creek, including a valuable property at the corner of
South Division and East Jackson streets, a double house and four
lots on Hamblin avenue, and the warehouse property at the corner
of South Division and Short streets. This warehouse property comprises a large brick warehouse of two stories, four dwelling houses
and considerable vacant land. Mr. King owns also his attractive
home property, at 55 North Wabash avenue, and as all of these properties are near the center of the city, where it is difficult to buy property, their value is greatly enhanced. While he was a student in the
normal school at Ypsilanti Mr. King was not blind to certain attractions aside from study, as was shown in his so cultivating the acquaintance of a talented and gracious fellow student, Miss Minnie E. Montfort, as to ingratiate himself to such a degree that their marriage
was solemnized December 31, I895. Mrs. King was born in Nottawa
township, St. Joseph county, Michigan, a daughter of J. P. Montfort,
a farmer of that locality. After attending the district school near
the home farm Mrs. King availed herself of the advantages of the
high school in the neighboring village of Mendon. After teaching
several terms of school she was for two years a student in the State
Normal School at Ypsilanti, I888-90, and school teaching then engaged her attention again until the time of her marriage. Mr. and
Mrs. King have two sons. Harold M. was born February I8, I897,
and Charles H. was born November 5, I9oo. Both were graduated
in the Battle Creek high school and both attended the Michigan Agricultural College, in which Harold M. was a student two years and
Charles H. one year, the former having thereafter attended the University of Michigan one year, and Charles H. having completed in
1921 a three-year course in mechanical engineering at this university.
In May, 1917, immediately after the nation became involved in the
World War, Harold M. King volunteered for service, his training
having been received at Camp Custer, near his home city, where
he received commission as second lieutenant. He was stationed at
Waco, Texas, when the armistice was signed, and was mustered out
and honorably discharged in December, I918. In the following month
he became associated with his father's business, in preference to
completing his course at the university. In the summer of 1919 he




20034


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


married Miss Edna Barker, daughter of Fay Barker, junior member
of the Battle Creek hardware firm of Strong & Barker. Mrs. King
was graduated in the Battle Creek High School and thereafter attended Michigan Agricultural College one year. Mr. and Mrs. King
have two children-Jane Ellen and Richard M., aged, respectively,
three years and one year (I925). In the World War period Charles
H. King was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps at the
University of Michigan, and after completing his course in mechanical engineering he became associated with the business founded and
developed by his father. The father and sons constitute a vital and
progressive business organization, and high-grade products and honest and efficient service are the basis on which has been built up the
splendid commercial and industrial enterprise of H. C. King & Sons,
Inc.
Charles C. Landon, M.D.-Coming to Battle Creek in I89I,
Doctor Landon has practiced in that city with success. He maintains
an office at 405-407 City National Bank building, is one of the bestknown practitioners in Calhoun county and enjoys a large and lucrative
practice. The Doctor was born in Jackson county, Michigan, March
8, I859. His early education was received in the public schools and
at the Parma (Michigan) High School. For a period he taught school,
then entered Albion College, studying there three years. He entered
the medical department of the University of Michigan, where the larger
portion of his medical education was obtained, but one year was spent
in I-ahnemann College, Chicago, from which he was graduated in
I885. For a while, Doctor Landon wa, engaged( in practice in
Augusta, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, and in I891 he came to a
larger field in Battle Creek. Doctor Landon is a member of the
county, state and national medical organizations and is greatly esteemed in and outside the profession. On January 2, I884, he was
united in wedlock to Miss Genevieve Rorabacher, and three children
have been born: Mabel, who is unmarried; Marguerite, the wife of
R. R. Henderson, of Chicago, and Gertrude, wife of Henry A. Nordheim, of Wausau, Wisconsin.
Edward R. Loud.-lthough holding diversified industrial interests, Edward R. Loud devotes virtually his entire time to the practice
of law, in which profession he has achieved notable success. However, he has been and yet is conspicuous in public work and in civic
movements and twenty-five years ago was mayor of the city of Albion,
Michigan. His youth earned him the sobriquet of "Kid" Mayor, an
honor, however, he bore with credit. For the past thirty years, off
and on, Mr. Loud has been the city attorney. His grandfather, Samuel
Tuttle, who came to Albion in I84I, was the first physician to practice
in that city. Mr. Loud was born March 9, 1871, in Albion and naturally knows that city "by heart." He was the son of Rienzi and Sarah
(Tuttle) Loud. The mother was born in Albion in I845, the father
in Massachusetts in I837. Rienzi Loud was an attorney and was
active in politics. He served in the Civil war and was the first commander of the Albion post of the Grand Army of the Republic. Ed



CALHOUN COUNTY


335


ward R. received his early education in the Albion schools and was
graduated from Albion College in 1892 with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts. He studied law at the University of Michigan and read in
his father's office and availed himself of every opportunity that association with his father offered. In 1895 he was admitted to the bar
and began practice at once in Albion. Many industrial establishments
are among his clients. In 1903 Mr. Loud was married to Miss Ada
M. Allen, of Albion. Mr. Loud is a member of the Masonic fraternity
and of the Presbyterian church. His counsel and aid are frequently
sought in the promotion of community enterprises.
Erva J. Mallory.-A most interesting range of experience extending from farm work to the life of a cowboy and including a large
measure of public service is the privilege of Erva J. Mallory, postmaster of Albion, Michigan. In his public service Mr. Mallory has
manifested the same degree of faithfulness and scrupulous regard for
the rights and welfare of the public as he did in private service to
his employer. He was born in Albion September 29, I868, a son of
Job and Maria Mallory, nee Carr. 'The parents came from New York
state in 1852 and Job Mallory succumbed to the gold fever rush but
returned to Michigan and settled to the peaceful pursuit of agriculture.
There were two children in the family, Fred E. Mallory, who died in
Detroit in 1918, and Erva J. The father was well known, highly esteemed and active in community affairs. He was a staunch Republican. Erva J. Mallory received his education in the grade and high
schools of Albion, worked as a farm hand four summers, then went
to Nebraska at the age of nineteen to obtain the thrills of cowboy life
with the slight emoluments that accompany such strenuous service.
In a year he came back and worked for the Michigan Central Railroad.
His connection with the company included duty as baggage agent,
billing clerk and other positions. From 1904 to 1907 "Chief of Police"
prefaced his name for he so served the town, and in 1907 he was
made a deputy sheriff, serving as such four years, as under sheriff
four years and as sheriff four years. He was city manager of Albion
1920-23 and on September I, 1923, was appointed postmaster. His
public life discloses an unusual degree of versatility. Mr. Mallory
was married to Margaret Gourlay, of Detroit. There are two children,
Grace, who is married and living in Albion, and Donald, aged fifteen,
a high school student. Mr. Mallory is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, of the Woodmen of the World, of. the Chamber
of Commerce, the Leisure Hour Club and of the Boosters and Knockers
Club. He has a large personal following.
Charles J. Manby, D.O.-Doctor Manby, one of Battle Creek's
most successful exponents of osteopathy, was born on a farm in Calhoun county, June 6, 1893, received his early education in the common schools and was graduated from high school in I9II. He attended the University of Michigan and in 1916 was graduated from
the American College of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri, and immediately entered into practice in Battle Creek. Doctor Manby is a
member of the Battle Creek, the Michigan State and the American




X836


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Osteopathic Associations. He is a Mason and has risen to the thirtysecond degree of the Scottish Rite. He also belongs to the Knights
Templar and to the Shrine. He is a member of the Presbyterian
church. Dr. Manby is past president of the Michigan State Osteopathic
Society. He is secretary of the Kiwanis Club and is a member of the
Athelstan Club. In 19I7 Doctor Manby was married to Amber
Hunt, of Battle Creek. Three children are the issue of the union,
Barbara, Charles Robert and James Burr.
Wallace Manley.-Mr. Manley is the directing genius as well as
owner of the Manley Printing Company, 117 West Center, Albion,
Michigan, a representative printery that engages in all sorts of commercial printing. The establishment employs twelve operatives, is
mechanically well equipped, and stresses the importance of conveying
messages in a typographically neat fashion. The point is often emphasized by employing printers today that the value of much printed
matter is lost because the customer sacrifices quality to price. Mr.
Manley is thoroughly trained in the typographic art, having applied
himself to the trade at the age of fourteen. He was born in Schoolcraft, Michigan, October 24, 1876, and received his early education in
Grand Rapids. At fourteen he entered a print shop and in I914
established his own printing business and in I9I9 moved to 117 West
Center. On October I6, I914, Mr. Manley and Miss Mattie A. Thompson met at the hymeneal altar to exchange vows. Mr. Manley is a
communicant of the Methodist church. He is a man of liberal political views and has relegated partisan interest to the background. In
community and civic enterprises he is very active.
Wayne D. Marsh.-Wayne D. and James W. Marsh, brothers, are
united in the operation and ownership of one of the best known establishments in Battle Creek devoted to the sale of wall paper, paints,
oils, glass, window shades, etc., located at 13 North Jefferson avenue.
Incidentally the brothers are active in fraternal affairs and in politics.
Their father was Hiram Spencer Marsh, a native of Erie county, New
York. He was educated in that section of the state and taught school
in Clarence, New York. The father came to West Leroy in Calhoun
county, with his parents, Samuel G. and Phoebe Marsh. They became the owners of a large tract of land in Calhoun county and spent
their last days in that county, in West Leroy. Hiram Spencer Marsh
married Harriet Nancy Warren of Clarence, New York, before coming here. He died in April, I896, at the age of sixty-four and his
wife passed away three years previously. Wayne D. and James W.
were the only children. Wayne D. was born in West Leroy February
10, I86i, obtained his early education in Calhoun county and in I886
established the present business in Battle Creek, one of the oldest
firms in the line in the city. His first wife was Lelia Studley, who
-died in i9o8, aind Mr. Marsh later married Jennie Ferguson. Mr.
Marsh is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Elks and is senior
warden of the Episcopal church. James W. Marsh was also born in
West Leroy, on May 28, I862, and was graduated from the Battle
Creek High School in 1880. Two years later he went to Buffalo,




I




Yki2 rh*zmVL




CALHOUN COUNTY


New York, and for twenty-five years was successfully e'ngaged in the
banking business in that city. In I908 he returned to Battle Creek
and became associated with his brother. The Messrs. Marsh are steadfast Democrats and in I915-16 James W. Marsh held the first place
in Battle Creek, that of mayor. In I9I6 he became a candidate for
Congress and was defeated by only I,700 votes notwithstanding the
fact that the district is normally 8,000 Republican. This cutting down
of the Republican majority was highly indicative of his personal
popularity. Mr. Marsh is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason
and past master of lodge No. 12. He organized Ira A. Beck Lodge
No. 503 of Masons and was its first Worshipful Master. He is a
member of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Elks; a Rotarian
and treasurer of the Episcopal church. James W. Marsh was married on December 24, I895, to Eva Scobell, of Kingston, Ontario.
They have one child, Emily Josephine, who was graduated from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, in 1924. Miss Marsh has a
contract to travel with the Strathmore Chautauqua organization.
D. G. Martinson.-Lumberman and manufacturer of automobile
and truck bodies, D. G. Martinson flourishes in Tekonsha, Michigan.
He is a native of that place, born November 13, 1884, a son of John
and Julia Martinson. John Martinson was born in England, moved to
New York and later proceeded to Tekonsha, engaging in agriculture.
He died in I921 and the widow is living in the village. Mr. Martinson
complemented his early schooling with travel and for a period of six
years worked for E. P. Keep. He married Miss Lutie Keep on October 2, I909. They have two children, Clara Keep Martinson, aged
fourteen, and Ned Allen Martinson, aged seven. E. P. Keep started a
retail lumber business in Tekonsha in 1874 and prospered. In I915
through the admission of Mr. Martinson the firm name was changed
to Keep & Martinson. The following year the senior member died.
Mrs. Keep, who was Eva M. Allen before her marriage to Mr. Keep,
passed away July I, I924. Mr. Martinson continued the lumber business under the firm name of Keep & Martinson, adding to his retail
lumber business the manufacture of hardwood. From this latter business developed the manufacture of cabs and bodies for Ford and
Chevrolet trucks. In addition to these responsibilities, Mr. Martinson
is president of the First State Bank of Tekonsha, becoming such in
I918. The financial institution was formed in I902. Mr. Martinson
is a Pythian and a member of the Marshall Country Club. He is
widely known even outside the trade.
William H. Mason, whose death occurred October I, 1914, gained
place among the leaders in industrial enterprise in his native city of
Battle Creek and was a well known and popular representative of one
of the honored pioneer families of Calhoun county, his parents having
established their residence in Battle Creek when that future metropolis
of the county was a mere village. Mr. Mason was born in Battle
Creek November 8, 1842, and was a son of Alfred and Charlotte
(Goodrich) Mason, the former of whom was born in Vermont, a
scion of an English family that was founded in New England in the




338


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


colonial days, and the latter of whom was born in Connecticut, of
German ancestry, she having died in 1845, when the subject of this
memoir was about three years old, one other son and two daughters
likewise having survived her. One daughter became the wife of
Captain M. M. Hodskin, still living, of Saginaw; the other daughter
became the wife of Hiram Tobey, of Battle Creek, and the son Charles
was a resident of Battle Creek at the time of his death. The daughters
and the sons all were born at Verona, Kalamazoo county.
Alfred Mason was reared and educated in Vermont, where he also
learned the trade of carriage and wagon maker. As a self-reliant
and ambitious youth he responded to the lure of the west and came to
Michigan, prior to the admission of the territory to statehood. He
first located at Kalamazoo, where his marriage occurred, and in 1834,
he established himself as a wagon-maker at Verona. There he continued his residence until 1840, when he removed with his family to
Battle Creek. He and other owners of wagon shops in this section
sold their business to the Nichols & Shepard Company within a short
time after the organization of that corporation, which was destined
to become one of the foremost in industrial enterprise in this part
of Michigan and which still continues to represent one of the most
important manufacturing industries of Battle Creek. Alfred Mason
continued as one of the substantial and honored citizens of Battle
Creek until his death, in November, I880, and his name merits enduring place on the roll of sterling pioneers of Michigan.
William H. Mason was still attending school in Battle Creek at
the outbreak of the Civil war, and he was among the first of the
patriotic young men of Calhoun county to tender service in defense of
the Union. April 21, I86I, in response to the first call for volunteers,
he enlisted, for a term of ninety days, in Company C, Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and prior to the expiration of his three
months' term of enlistment, he re-enlisted, May Io, I86I, for a period
of three years. He was with his command in many important engagements and proved a gallant and faithful soldier of the Union, his
service as a private having continued until May, 1864, when he was
mustered out and duly received his honorable discharge. During the
ensuing four years Mr; Mason was variously employed, and in I868
he became one of the organizers of the firm of Mason & Rathburn.
As manufacturers of and dealers in lumber this firm established its
plant and general headquarters at the corner of West Main street
and McCamly street. After the admission of another principal to
partnership, the title was changed to Mason, Rathburn & Company,
and this name was retained until January, 1899, when the long established business was sold to the firm of Rathburn & Kraft. In the
year I88I Mr. Mason became one of the heavy stockholders in the
Advance Thresher Company, of which he was made a director, an
office that he retained until the time of his death, besides which he was
for three years the president of this important Battle Creek manufacturing corporation. He was liberal and progressive as a citizen and
business man and gave his financial and executive support to various




CALHOUN COUNTY


339


other Battle Creek enterprises of prominence. Hle was president and
organizer, also a director, of the American Steam Pump Company,
and of the Citizens Electric Company, was president of the Michigan
Carton Company, and aside from his local interests he was a director
of the Oconee Timber Company of South Carolina, and president of
the Alma Oil Company of San Francisco, California.
In politics Mr. Mason was a stalwart Republican, and while he
had no desire for public office his civic loyalty found expression in his
effective service as a member of the city council, in which he represented both the Second and Third wards. He was a valued member
also of the board of education, and under the administration of
President Harrison he served as postmaster of Battle Creek. He was
an influential member of the commission that gained to Battle Creek
a new municipal charter. No citizen had more secure place in popular
confidence and good will, and in his native county Mr. Mason's circle
of friends was coincident with that of his acquaintances. He was an
active member of Farragut Post No. 32, Grand Army of the Republic,
and was a popular member of the Country Club and the Athelstan
Club, of which latter he served one year as president. In I912, by
unanimous vote of the members, he was elected president of the Battle
Creek Chamber of Commerce, and to the close of his earnest and
productive life he retained the deepest of.interest in all that concerned
the welfare and progress of his native city.
October 26, 1870, in Montgomery county, New York, 'Mr. Mason
was united in marriage to Miss Tryphena J. Kneeland, who was born
and reared in that county, where the death of her mother occurred,
her father, the late Ozias H. Kneeland, having thereafter come to
Battle Creek, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death having here occurred in the home of his son, Edward O. Mrs. Mason still
maintains her home in Battle Creek, where she has long been a gracious
figure in church and social circles. Cora Belle, the only child of the
subject of this memoir, attended the college at Alma, Michigan, and
also a Canadian school for young women. She was first the wife of
Harry H. Flint, of Chicago, and they had one child, Barbara Mason
Flint. Now she is married to C. A. Ulrich of Detroit. The family
religious affiliations were those of the Congregational church.
Clarence F. Mercer, M.D.-Although born and having practiced
medicine in California, Doctor Mercer is a worthy addition to the
medical fraternity of Michigan, having practiced in Battle Creek
since I919. His office is at 202-206 Ward building and his residence
II2 Ann street. Mrs. Mercer was, before her marriage, Miss Grace
Richmond, a nurse attached to the Battle Creek Sanitarium. They
were married in I908. Residing with them is the doctor's mother,
Clara L. Mercer. Doctor Mercer was born February 22, 1882, in
Eureka, California, was graduated from high school there and took
the Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of California. He was
also graduated from Battle Creek College and in 1907 from Jefferson
Medical College, Philadelphia. He practiced in Eureka from I907 to
19I9, then located in Battle Creek and was associated with Dr. R. H.




340


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Harris in the surgical department of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. -In
I919 he and Doctor Harris organized the Maple Street Hospital and
operated it until I923, when dissolution of partnership was effected.
Doctor Harris operates the hospital while Dr. Mercer returned to
private practice, which is constantly enlarging. He is a member of the
Seventh Day Adventist church. Doctor and Mrs. Mercer have one
son, Dudley, aged nine years. Professionally, Doctor Mercer ranks
high in that city of general practitioners and specialists.
William A. Misener.-Mr. Misener is secretary of the City Ice and
Cold Storage Company, located at 66 McCamly avenue. He was born in
Lapere county, Michigan, September 25, 1882, and received a common
school and high school education in that county. Leaving school Mr.
Misener began work with the old United States Express Company in
Lansing and later worked itn Jackson and subsequently went with the
Haehnle Brewing Company, with which he remained several years. In
I918 he came to Battle Creek and has capably served ever since as
secretary of the City Ice and Cold Storage Company. Mr. Misener is
an Elk, belonging to Lodge No. I3I. In 90o6 he was united in marriage to Miss Mina Weaver, of Lansing. They reside at 85 Hambling
avenue. Mr. Misener is highly esteemed as an energetic, capable
business man and the success of the company with which he is associated is in large measure due to his efficient administration.
Floyd R. Monaweck is the vice-president and general manager of
the Taylor Produce Company, 90 South Division street, Battle Creek,
and among the more progressive and better known business men of
the city. He was born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, February 17,
1882, educated in the public schools of his home county and took a
business college course in South Bend. In 900o he became connected
with Schuler & Klingel which association lasted twelve years, then
entering into business of his own in the firm of Schuler-Klingel Company. He sold his interest to the present owners and was manager of
the E. L. Hasler Company for two years, came to Battle Creek and
became a part of the Taylor Produce Company, being made vice-president and general manager of the company in Battle Creek. The main
offices are in Kalamazoo. Mr. Monaweck is.a member of the Masonic
fraternity, belonging to blue lodge, chapter and Knights Templar. He
also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club. In
May, I9o8, he was married to Irene Davis, of Michigan City, Indiana.
There are two children, Ruth and Floyd J.
Edward J. Morse.-Mr. Morse, who is the proprietor of a sheet
metal works, also handling furnaces, at 29 State street, west, is a
member of an old and respected family. He is a native of Battle
Creek, born September 29, I866, the son of Charles Morse, a native
of the Empire state, a tinner by trade and an old Battle Creek resident.
Charles Morse died in I906 at the age of sixty-two. His wife was
Elsie Ditzell, daughter of John Ditzell, a native of Germany and the
oldest German of the time living in Battle Creek. He died at the
age of ninety years, Mrs. Morse passed away in I921, aged seventyeight years. The maternal grandmother, Betsy Ditzell, came to Battle




CALHOUN COUNTY


341


Creek when Mrs. Charles Morse was a child. Edward J. received his
early education in the schools of Battle Creek and learned the tinner's
trade with Bock & Peters, once known as Eldred & Peters. On his
own volition, Mr. Morse began operations in I902 and has built a large
and lucrative business. He is the owner of considerable property, including a large block on Maple street. He has contributed much to
th2 material well-being of Battle Creek. Mr. Morse is an Elk and
an Eagle. In I886 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Moore, of
Calhoun county. There are seven children, Annabel, Donald, an
electric welder; Charles A., a tinner in business in Marshall, Michigan;
Edward, Jr., a tinner and associated with his father; Arthur, an electrician; Wilfred, a high school student, and Genevieve, the wife of
Sheldon Andres, a manufacturer of piano strings and violin strings, of
Battle Creek.
Horace J. Mulrine is president of the L. W. Robinson Company,
which conducts one of the leading retail mercantile establishments in
the city of Battle Creek, its large and metropolitan dry goods store
being situated at 65 West Main street. The career of Mr. Mulrine has
been one of consecutive advancement, and from a clerical position in
a small mercantile establishment he has won his way forward to the
position of executive head of an important and well ordered mercantile house in one of the most progressive of Michigan cities. Mr.
Mulrine was born on a farm in Newberg township, Cass county, Michigan, August 12, I860, a date indicating that the family had a goodly
measure of pioneer prestige in that county. Mr. Mulrine was afforded
the advantages of the public schools in the village of Vandalia, and in
that village he likewise gained his initial experience in connection with
mercantile enterprise. He there took a clerical position in a small
general store, and at the beginning his salary was placed at the stupendous rate of two dollars a week. He accompanied the firm when it
removed its business to the neighboring village of Colon, in St. Joseph
county, and after remaining there about six months he returned to
Vandalia, where for two years he was clerk in a general store. He then
established his residence at Cassopolis, judicial center of his native
county, where he was for some time in the employ of Reed & Yost,
dealers in men's furnishing goods. He next went to the city of South
Bend, Indiana, and there he remained two years, in the mercantile
establishment of Rose & Ellsworth. In I893 Mr. Mulrine went to
the city of Chicago, but life in a large city did not make much appeal
to him, with the result that, in the following year, he came to Battle
Creek and entered the dry goods establishment of Decker & Sons, he
later having been here in the employ of Edwin Trump, engaged in
the same line of business. In the summer of I896 Mr. Mulrine went
to Grand Rapids, in which city he was employed in the M. Friedman mercantile establishment until the following autumn, when he
returned to Battle Creek and took a position with Robinson & Son, conducting one of the leading dry-goods stores of the city. He won advancement to the position of buyer of silks and dress goods, and subsequently became the firm's buyer of piece goods and domestics. He




342


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


finally succeeded Arthur Reese in the position of assistant manager of
the establishment, and in I9Io he was made manager, a position which
he has since retained. Upon the death of Laverne W. Robinson, senior
member of the firm, in I912, Mr. Mulrine was appointed one of the
executors of the estate and was made president of the company, as
chief executive and general manager of which he has since made a
record of large and successful achievement. As president of this company his policies have been careful and progressive, and under his
administration the business of the concern has been greatly expanded
and placed o'n a distinctly metropolitan standard. Mr. Mulrine is one
of the representative business men and loyal and public-spirited citizens
of Battle Creek, is a Republican in his political alignment, is a member of the Congregational church, has affiliation with both the York
and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, advancing to the
thirty-second degree, as well as the Mystic Shrine, and is a member of
the Knights of Pythias, the Athelstan Club, the Merchants' Dinner Club,
and the Battle Creek Country Club. He is a director of the Citizens
National Bank. On the 9th of June, I888, Mr. Mulrine was united
in marriage to Mrs. Effie Pierson, of Cassopolis. There have been
no spectacular features in the career of Mr. Mulrine, but he has applied himself diligently and effectively to business and through his
own ability and efforts has won a place as one of the leading exponents
of mercantile enterprise in the city of Battle Creek.
Patrick McAuliffe.-Mr. McAuliffe and his wife, Mary (Wrenn)
McAuliffe, came from Temple Glarin, County Limerick, Ireland, and
located in Albion, Michigan. Mr. McAuliffe came in I868 and his
wife in 1870, bringing with her their three children, Molly, John and
Nora. The latter was for many years head saleslady at Bullen's
Department Store in Albion. Patrick McAuliffe became a ditch and
sewer contractor and died in Albion. He and his wife were the parents of a large family of children, all but the first three of whom
were born in Albion. A son, Daniel M. McAuliffe, entered the farm
implement business in Albion, was quite successful and added Chevrolet cars to his line and continues the sale of automobiles and agricultural implements. His brother William has for many years been
associated with him. The members of the McAuliffe family are faithful communicants of the Catholic church and all are much esteemed.
Daniel R. McAuliffe.-Mr. McAuliffe is manager of the incorporated concern known as D. M. & D. R. McAuliffe, maintaining an excellent garage business and serving as distributor of the well-known
Dodge cars. Mr. McAuliffe is a son of Daniel M. McAuliffe. He was
born in Albion in I902 and therefore is conversant with every phase
of the community. His father has for many years been a dealer in
farm implements in Albion and the distributor of Chevrolet cars.
Daniel R. received his education in the schools of Albion and was
graduated from high school in 1921. For two years he attended
the excellent Notre Dame University at South Bend, Indiana, and returning to Albion, became associated with his father in the implement and automobile business until October, I923, when he opened




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a garage and took on the agency for the Dodge Brothers' product.
The relations involving father and son are reciprocal and mutually
profitable. The McAuliffes are not only widely known throughout
Calhoun and contiguous counties, but held in high esteem.
George U. McCarty.-Active in politics and in all civic movements
affecting the community; former mayor and an alderman six years;
a member of the volunteer fire department thirty-four years, in such
service longer than any living member, and a deputy sheriff whose
tenure has been marked by duty of the most faithful and efficient
character. This labels, in short form, the public career of George
U. McCarty, one of the best-known residents of Calhoun county, Michigan. Mr. McCarty, however, was born in Allegan county, Clyde
township, in I865, the son of Charles E. and Catherine (Uran)
McCarty. The father was born in Illinois of Scottish descent, the
mother came of Pennsylvania German stock. Mr. McCarty's entrance
into Michigan was when the state was a wilderness. When Mrs.
McCarty came to Kalamazoo, it was on the wooden rail route of the
Michigan Central which ran from Detroit to that city. From Kalamazoo to Allegan county the trip was made by ox-team. In the latter
section her first husband, Levi Fisher, a Civil War veteran, cleared
the land. He died of sickness sustained in the army. Charles E.
McCarty served in the Civil War two and a half years, but spent
the major portion of his life in Allegan county as a farmer. Incilentally he served as a township officer for several terms. George
U. McCarty attended the county school, established a farm and later
did railroad work until nineteen years old. Several years were spent
working in Kalamazoo and in December, I888, he came to Albion
and went to work for the Gale Manufacturing Company, remaining
until January, 1915. He was steel trimmer and the last eighteen
years of his connection with the Gale company was as foreman. He
was appointed deputy sheriff and has held the office since. In the
last Republican primaries he received a practically unanimous vote
in Albion and a large vote in the section of the county from which
he came but finished second in the race, losing to Sheriff Colby, of
Battle Creek, who reappointed him deputy, and the most cordial relations are manifest in the office. In I888 Mr. McCarty was united in
marriage to Clara Belle Fitch. They were married on Saturday,
December I, and on Monday moved to Albion. There are three children. Inez is Mrs. Jay Ganka, a graduate of Albion College. She
and Mr. Ganka operate a restaurant in Albion. Blanche is a graduate
of Albion College and the wife of Edgar Randolph, a successful
business man of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they reside. Charles Norman is at home, a student in high school. Mr. McCarty has been a
member of the Odd Fellows thirty-four years and for twenty years
secretary of his lodge. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias,
I. O. O. F., and an Eagle. He and Mrs. McCarty are members of the
Daughters of Rebekah. While a foreman at the Gale Manufacturing
Company, Mr. McCarty had charge of sixty-five to one hundred and
fifteen men under his direction. The fine quality of his public service




344 -

HISTORIC MICHIGAN


and his personal excellency constitute him one of the most popular
and estimable members of the community.
Louis C. McDougal, member of the coal and wood firm of McDougal & Young and therefore a business partner of the mayor of Albion,
Michigan, was born in Litchfield, Michigan. The date of his birth
was July 31, I874. His parents were William and Catherine (Gray)
McDougal. The parents settled on a farm where Mrs. McDougal
died and her husband went to California, where he passed away in
I905. Mr. McDougal was a farmer, but for eight years was postmaster at Litchfield and died in retirement from the active cares of
business. Louis C. McDougal was graduated from the Litchfield High
School in I892, taught school a term and clerked in a general store
in Litchfield, and in 1894 went to Albion, where he spent six years
in grocery stores and one year in a dry-goods establishment. In the
fall of Igoo he entered his present office, working for his father-inlaw, G. W. Perkins. This connection was continued until 1907, when
Mr. McDougal took over the business for himself and continued to
do so until 1916, when he sold a half interest to Mr. Young and the
firm name was changed to McDougal & Young. In 190o Mr. McDougal was married to Miss Elizabeth Perkins, of Albion. Two children
have been the issue of the union, Elizabeth Gray and Dorothea Katherine, the latter deceased. Mr. McDougal is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the Masons, Modern Woodmen of America,
Golf Club, Albion Duck Lake Club and the Leisure Hour Club. He
is much esteemed in the community and wields an influence in the
molding of community sentiment and in the promotion of civic aims.
Eugene Henry McKay, son of Darwin J. and Mary Ann (McDermott) McKay, was born near Hickory Corners, Barry county, Michigan, on the 23d day of March, I884.. His father and mother were
among the early settlers, the former having been born in Michigan
and the latter a native of Pennsylvania, coming to Michigan with her
parents when but a child. George C. McKay, vice-president, treasurer and assistant secretary of the Kellogg Company, is a brother of
Eugene H., and his life sketch, which follows, portrays in more detail
the family ancestry. Eugene Henry McKay was educated in the public
schools and attended high school at Augusta, Michigan. Before completing the high school course he came to Battle Creek and accepted
employment in a grocery store for two years, after which he became
associated with the Malta Vita Company, one of the pioneer companies
in cereal foods. At the early age of twenty-two he was made superintendent of this company. After spending two years as superintendent
of the Toronto factory of the Malta Vita Company he returned to
Battle Creek in the year 1914, accepting a position as superintendent
of the Grain Products Company, a position he held for three years.
He became associated with the Kellogg Company, then known as
Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company, in 1917, and a year later was
made assistant to John L. Kellogg, who was then acting in the capacity of factory manager. Two years ago the subject was made factory
superintendent, a position he now holds. Mr. McKay married Blanche




CALHOUN COUNTY


345


Holtom, of Battle Creek, daughter of Joseph Holtom and Clara (Hamilton) Holtom. There are two children, Margaret Lucile, aged sixteen,
a senior in the Battle Creek High School, and Mary Louise, aged
eight, attending the grades. Politically Mr. McKay is an independent
voter, believing those best qualified should be elected to office, regardless of party. Both he and Mrs. McKay are members of the Presbyterian church. He is a Mason and member of the Eastern Star, Country Club and Izaak Walton League.
George C. McKay.-In 1899 George C. McKay came to Battle
Creek in search of a job. But he was not long in finding one. He
secured a place at the information desk of the Postum Cereal Company. Then he worked on and upward and today is vice-president,
treasurer and assistant secretary of the Kellogg company, of Battle
Creek. But he is financially interested in a number of other businesses. Civically, Mr. McKay is a pillar of Battle Creek, interested
and helpful in the promotion of all matters tending toward the upbuilding of the community. Mr. McKay was born in a log cabin
in Hope township, Barry county, Michigan, June 22, 1880, and at
the age of four went to Augusta, Kalamazoo county. His father,
Darwin J. McKay, was a painter by trade. His paternal grandfather,
Chauncey McKay; his great-grandfather, Casey McKay, and his
great-great-grandfather, Medad McKay, lie buried in the silent home
of the dead in Augusta. Grandfather Casey McKay was moderator
of schools in Augusta as early as I834. He took up a large tract of
land in Ross township, Kalamazoo county, and worked as a millwright. He constructed a gristmill in that section. Elkny, who was
the father of Medad, emigrated to New England, later settling in
Hornell, Steuben county, New York. Medad McKay came to Michigan in 1834, settling in Kalamazoo county. Eugene McKay, brother
of George C., came to Battle Creek in I899. He is now superintendent
of the factory of the Kellogg company. George C. McKay received
his early schooling in Kalamazoo county and earned his first money
picking berries. He clerked in a grocery in Augusta and worked
in a basket factory a year, then worked in a bakery in Augusta three
years. Coming to Battle Creek in I899 he secured a job with the
Postum Cereal Company at the information desk, remained in the
employ of the company two years and when he left was bookkeeper
in the advertising department. When Post Tavern was built, he was
timekeeper. Next he went with the Malta Vita company, became
head bookkeeper and remained with the company several years, and
in I908 went with the Kellogg company. For two years he served
the company as head bookkeeper, was advanced to treasurer and assistant secretary and later became vice-president. Mr. McKay is a
director of the Michigan Carton Company; is treasurer and assistant
secretary of the Kellogg Company of Canada, Ltd., and of the Kellogg
Sales Company. He is a stockholder of the United Steel Wire Company, of Battle Creek, and of the City National Bank. Mr. McKay
is a member of Metcalf Lodge No. 419, Free and Accepted Masons;
of the Athelstan Club, Battle Creek Country Club and of the Gun




346


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Club. On June 14, I902, he was united in marriage to Miss Ella
Myrtle Dole, of Augusta. They have one son, George Edward, who
was born July 5, I920.
Paul P. Nagle.-Considerable time was given to merchandising
by Paul P. Nagle before he became city clerk of Albion, Michigan,
in I916. Under the old city charter he was treasurer of the municipality, the last of the old regime before the inauguration of the commission-manager plan. Mr. Nagle was born in Vermontville, Michigan, in I880, the son of Walter and Sarah (Hyatt) Nagle. The
parents were born in the East, but came from Ohio to Michigan and
now reside in Albion. Walter Nagle was a farmer. Paul P. received
his grade and high school education in Vermontville, spent two years
in Albion College and went to work for the Frank E. Nowlin Company, wholesale grain and produce, in Albion. For the next nine
years he was employed by O. H. Gale in the hardware business and
for two years worked for a hardware concern in Kalamazoo and in
1916 became city clerk of Albion. In I903 Mr. Nagle was married
to Miss Jessie E. White, of Albion. There are three children, Victor,
Norine and Elaine. Mr. Nagle is a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, the Loyal Order of Moose and Leisure Hour Club.
The family is attached to the Methodist Episcopal church.
Edwin C. Nichols.-Mr. Nichols was a son of the late John Nichols, founder of the Nichols & Shepard Company, which was established in I848, and he himself had been identified with this internationally known concern since I857. Mr. Nichols, conspicuous in the
political, social, fraternal and industrial life of Michigan, carried on
with fidelity the humanitarian works of his distinguished father.
He was unstinting in his support of the Nichols Memorial Hospital
and an unfailing supporter of virtually all social welfare and civic
developmental projects of Battle Creek. He was mayor of the city,
served in the aldermanic body several terms, for many years was
president of the school board and had been president of the board
of public works. The fine school system of Battle Creek is in no
small degree indebted to his influence. Mr. Nichols was a delegate
to the national Republican convention of 1884 that nominated James
G. Blaine, and was a delegate to the state constitutional convention
of I907. He has refused a nomination for congress several times
and on two occasions declined the nomination for governorship of
Michigan. His power in politics is obvious. Mr. Nichols was a true
Wolverine, born in Clinton, Lenawee county, July 20, 1838. He early
associated with his father in the great manufactory, starting at the
bottom and ascending through a maze of personal contact and hard
work to the presidency. He was chairman of the board and for many
years was president of the Old National Bank, of Battle Creek, and
was identified with the Union Steam Pump Company, the Duplex
Printing Press Company, the Detroit Trust Company and a director
of the Commonwealth Power, Railway and Light Company. He was
interested in many other industrial enterprises. The intrinsic value
of fraternal association always appealed to Mr. Nichols and he was




CALHOUN COUNTY


347


a member of the Masonic fraternity, the commandery, Athelstan Club,
Battle Creek Country Club, the Detroit Club, the Detroit Country
Club, and the Chicago Club, of Chicago. He belonged to no church,
but was a liberal supporter of all denominations and generous in his
support of the Nichols Memorial Hospital. In I86o Mr. Nichols was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Rowan, of Argyle, New York.
She died in I897, leaving three children, Mrs. Helen N. Newberry,
Mrs. Harriet N. Atterbury and John T. Nichols. The latter is a prominent attorney of Detroit. The son received his literary and arts
course at Cornell and took graduate work in law at Harvard. Both
daughters attended a young ladies' seminary near Boston and were
given the advantages of a liberal education. MAr. Nichols died May
27, I924.
John Nichols.-The late John Nichols, one of the founders and
for many years president of the Nichols & Shepard Company, for a
half century was a cornerstone of Battle Creek, Michigan. His name
is indissolubly associated with the welfare and progress of that
thriving city. Mr. Nichols was born in Liverpool, Onondaga county,
New York, January I, 1814, and died at his home, 258 Maple street,
Battle Creek, April 5, I89I. It falls to the lot of very few men that
their life industry and character become the foundation upon which
rests the prosperity of a community. Mr. Nichols was in that class.
His work was thoroughly creative but his business application was
refreshened with a strong social spirit and he was passionately devoted
to the community in which he lived. Personally Mr. Nichols was a
man of untiring industry. He was a son of Eliakem and Sally Nichols, early settlers of western New York. His early schooling was
limited and at the age of thirteen he set out to carve his own career
and in Palmyra, New York, applied himself to the founder's trade.
Mastery of this laid the foundation of his future fortune. At twenty
Mr. Nichols married Miss Nancy C. Galloway, of Marion, Wayne
county, New York. A long, happy comradeship was enjoyed continuing beyond the golden wedding anniversary and Mrs. Nichols lived
until December 26, I892. In the years following their marriage,
Mr. Nichols passed westward to Michigan, then a wilderness and a
territory. He lived on a farm in Lenawee county, moved to Detroit,
aided in the building of what is now the Michigan Central Railway,
and took active part, with the Whigs, in the campaign of 1840. In
1848 he became a permanent resident of Battle Creek. He first opened
an establishment for the manufacture of stoves, plows and other farm
equipment, adding engines, sawmill and gristmill machinery. In 1850
he crossed the plains to California with a company of five men, using
three wagons and twelve horses. Returning to Michigan he formed
a partnership with David Shepard and the firm name has continued
until the present time. Later on the company began the manufacture
of threshing machinery. Steadily the volume of business and influence
of the plant increased and in 1870 additional capital was secured and
a stock company formed. Beyond the notable achievement of building such an industry, Mr. Nichols possessed a generous public spirit.




848


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


He was the first to undertake the erection of homes for workingmen
and it was his joy and pride to furnish the means to his employes
for the building of comfortable homes. The Nichols Memorial Hospital is a monument to his interest in the cause of humanity and
charity. His loyalty to the Whigs was transferred promptly to the
Republican party and for many years he was a potent factor in the
political life of the community, but he never sought office. A robust
and generous nature and frank, open manner of dealing made Mr.
Nichols a favorite among his employes. Mr. Nichols was the father
of three children. A daughter, Mrs. Helen N. Caldwell, died March
8, I903, and a younger daughter, Mary Elizabeth Nichols, died in
1854. The son, Hon. Edwin C. Nichols, was president of the NicholsShepard company and faithfully bore, unsullied, the family escutcheon
until his death in I924. The father was a devotee of hunting and
other outdoor sports and each year for many years invited a group
of friends to accompany him on hunting trips into the wilds of the
North and West. No locality was too distant or natural obstacle too
great to be overcome in pursuit of his yearly recreation. Many scores
of men of Michigan and elsewhere recall with interest and pleasant
reminiscence his generous hospitality.
A. B. Osborne.-Mr. Osborne was born December 13, 1876, in
Parma, Michigan, and at the age of sixteen began service with the
F. A. Stuart Company, advancing himself to manager, secretary and
treasurer of the large concern in I9II. The Stuart company manufactures Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets which have a wide circulation.
The company ships all over the United States and Canada and a considerable export business is done in Cuba and South America. A
branch is maintained in London, England. Mr. Osborne was united
in marriage to Miss Trera Cox. There are two children, James B., in
high school, and Rosemary, aged ten. James is sixteen. Mr. Osborne is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of
Pythias. He is also a member of the Marshall Country Club and in
I92I-23 was a member of the house committee of the club. HIe is
zealous of the interests of Marshall and is not derelict in giving of
his means, time and ability to the promotion of all efforts conducive
to the well being of the community in which he lives.
Lawrence Shearman Page.-Trained in the law, holding the degree
of Bachelor of Laws, Mr. Page has for a number of years given his
entire time and talent to the abstracting of titles, located in Marshall,
Michigan. He has served two terms as circuit court commissioner
and has been in active legal practice but chose to concentrate on abstract work, the importance of which should be obvious to every person
owning or desiring to own real estate. Mr. Page was born on the
premises where he yet resides, October Io, 1875, the son of William L.
and Frances C. (Shearman) Page. The mother was a daughter of
Francis W. Shearman. The parents were born in Marshall, William
L Page in I847. On the paternal side William and Amelia (Dean)
Page were well known. William Page, a carpenter and builder, native
of Ohio, came to Marshall about 1843. On the maternal side, Francis








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If
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CALHOUN COUNTY


349


-W. and Caroline S. (Williams) Shearman, of near Utica, New York,
settled in Marshall in the early forties. Francis W. Shearman was
state superintendent of schools and did much to formulate Michigan's
public school system. He was also an early associate justice of the
supreme court and an editorial writer on the staff of the old Expounder.
It is said that Mr. Shearman frequently wrote editorials on wrapping
paper while sitting on a barrel in small town stores. He was a man
of marked versatility and a factor in the life of the community. William L. Page was a carriage manufacturer and now resides in Marshall. His wife died in I9I9. Lawrence Shearman Page was educated in the Marshall schools and at Olivet College and was graduated
in I898 from the University of Michigan with the degree of Bachelor
of Laws. For twelve years he was a law partner of Jesse M. Hatch
at Marshall, the latter ten years of which were given largely to abstracting titles. His full time is given to that line of endeavor. On
October 20, I9oo, Mr. Page was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth
Wyckoff, of Napoleon, Michigan, formerly of Marshall.  There are
two children, William L. and Elizabeth. Mr. Page is a member of
Trinity Episcopal Church, Free and Accepted Masons, Knights of the
Maccabees and Marshall Country Club.
Charles W. Post had magnificent vision and was able to translate
splendid dreams into realities. Residents of Battle Creek need no
information as to the great and enduring values of his thought and
creative ability. No one man has done more for this progressive
Michigan city than did he, and here a great industrial enterprise, a
metropolitan hotel and innumerable other evidences of his civic loyalty
and progressiveness stand as monuments to his memory. It has well
been said that "He produced not commerce alone, but homes and
opportunities, civic improvement and community betterment." In truth,
he conceived an ideal, amply realized in the ever-increasing activities
of the Postum Cereal Company, Inc., of today. Charles William Post
was born in Springfield, Illinois, October 26, I854. He was a son of
Charles Rollin Post and Caroline (Lathrop) Post, the former a native
of Cornwall, Vermont, and the latter of the state of Connecticut.
Charles R. Post, who was a merchant during the greater part of his
active business career, was a young man when he established his
residence at Marietta, Ohio, whence he later removed to Illinois. He
crossed the plains to California in I849, and later was in the now
historic rush to Pike's Peak, Colorado, his death having occurred in
California. After profiting by the advantages of the public schools
of his native city Charles W. Post took a military course in the University of Illinois. At the time of the great Chicago fire in I871. he
served under General Philip Sheridan while the prostrate city was
under martial law, and later he was a member of the military staff
of the governor-of Illinois. At the age of seventeen years Mr. Post
engaged in the hardware business at Independence, Kansas, and later
he traveled through several western states in the interests of an agricultural concern. He became manager of a farm implement factory
in Kansas City, and later became associated with others in organizing




HISTORIC MICHIGAN


in his native city the Springfield Plow Works. His health failed, and
he sought recuperation in various parts of the country, and it was
largely through his own study of conditions and his careful personal
regimen that he eventually recuperated his powers. It was while he
was thus in search of health that he visited the Battle Creek Sanitarium, and this visit had much to do with his adopting this city as
the stage of his later and gigantic operations in the manufacturing of
food products that have made his name and that of Battle Creek
known throughout the world. During his illness he had studied medicine and pathology and developed a theory of dietetics. He finally
started a small sanitarium of his own, La Vita Inn. His Postum and
Grape Nuts grew out of his studies and experimentation, and in a
most modest way he began to manufacture and sell these products.
Finally he closed La Vita Inn and devoted his energies to study and
commerce. His first factory was a little barn on his home place,
where he instituted operations January I, I895. From this inception
has grown the great and ideal plant of the Post Cereal Company, Inc.,
of Battle Creek. In this brief sketch it is needless to attempt description of the remarkable progress that was carried forward under the
direction of Mr. Post. He was a thinker, a developer, a builder, a
commercial genius, and, above all, an idealist. His was the crown
of great accomplishment and of great service to humanity, and in
Battle Creek his name and memory shall be held in lasting honor.
He here built up a great industry, and by his works he aided hundreds
of others to gain independence, prosperity and happiness. His stewardship was one of sympathy and loyalty, and his loyalty begat loyalty
in others. In concluding this brief tribute may well be reproduced
the following estimate of the character and service of Charles W. Post:
"It can be said of him that in the finest sense he was selfless-a highly
evolved soul born into the world for the world's good, doing beneficences in keeping with his best judgment and leaving the world better'
than he found it."
Raymond H. Potter.-Starting in an humble way, Raymond H.
Potter has built by hard work and faithful methods a large and widely
known music store in Marshall, Michigan. He sponsored "The Six
Aces," a capable musical organization of players, and remained loyal
to its interest for a number of years. Mr. Potter is a native of Battle
Creek, born March 17, 1884. He received his education in the public
schools; supplemented by a business college training, all of which was
preparatory to a career of hard work and faithful service. Mr. Potter
helped install the automatic telephone system in Battle Creek. He
was employed by the Grand Trunk Railroad as a brakeman and later
worked as a conductor and in I919, fired by the ambition to direct his
own business, established a music store. From a small stock, the
store has grown and twice have enlargements been necessary. The
Potter store carries a diverse line of phonographs, string instruments,
band pieces and accessories and features Baldwin, Kimball, Price and
Teeple & Schaffer pianos. The Potter store supplied most of the
equipment for the American band of Marshall. On February 12, 90o6,




CALHOUN COUNTY


S51


Mr. Potter was 'united in marriage to Grace M. Sandy, of Marshall.
Gaylord J. and Donald S. are the issue of the union. Mr. Potter is
a faithful communicant of the Catholic church. Ie is a member of the
Community Club and sustains his interest in railroad work by retaining membership in the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen.
Willard Nicholas Putman, M.D., well-known and respected member of the medical profession in Battle Creek, was born in Depeuyster,
St. Lawrence county, New York, April 12, 1881, and received his
early schooling in his native county. In I893 he went to Minnesota
and was graduated from the Minneapolis Academy and from Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, in I906. One interneship was served.
In I907 the Doctor came to Battle Creek and has been in active practice
here since with the exception of two years during which duty in the
World war called him elsewhere. This he entered in Jule, 1917, as
a first lieutenant and on April 12, I918, he was promoted to a captaincy. Eleven months was spent in Italy and on May I, 1919, the
Doctor was discharged. Doctor Putman is a member of the Calhoun
County and of the state medical societies, of Metcalf lodge of Masons,
the chapter, council and Knights Templar; of the Army and Navy Club
and the American Legion. On December I6, 19o8, he was married
to Miss Mary E. Gatiss, of LaSalle, Illinois, and one son has come
to brighten the home, Willard Gatiss, a student in Battle Creek High
School. The members of the family are communicants of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
George R. Rich, president of the Rich Steel Products Company,
of Battle Creek, has been interested in steel since he was eighteen years
old. He served an apprenticeship with the Illinois Central Railroad,
then went with the Illinois Steel Company, of South Chicago for a
two-year period, then engaged in business for himself in Chicago as
George R. Rich Manufacturing Company. In 1903 the business was
removed to Buchanan, Michigan, and in I9o6 he sold out and the name
was changed to the Clark Equipment Company. For three and a
half years Mr. Rich was chief engineer for the Whitman & Barnes
Company, of Akron, then returned to Chicago and formed the Rich
Tool Company, which he operated until the fall of 1915, when he disposed of his holdings. All the concerns with which he has been officially identified are in successful operation and he personally has
been a consummate success as a driving force in business. In the early
part of I916 Mr. Rich came to Battle Creek and launched the Rich
Steel Products Company, one of the city's leading industries. In the
inception Mr. Rich was chosen president; C. E. Rich, now retired, first
vice-president, and J. M. Thomas, also retired, second vice-president.
S. C. Coleman was chosen treasurer. G. W. Manierre was made secretary and he has charge of the company's plant in Los Angeles, California. On Christmas Day, 1898, Mr. Rich was united in marriage
to Miss Dora Christensen, a native of Denmark, who came to the
United States when eleven years old. The Rich home is at 258
Maple street. Mr. and Mrs. Rich and family attend Congregational
church and the former is a member of the Masonic order and a ster



352


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


ling Rotarian. George E. Rich, a son, was graduated from Battle
Creek High School, spent a year and a half at the University of Michigan, and is associated in business with his father. He married Martha
Gauss, daughter of Edward Gauss, of Marshall, Michigan, and has
two children, George, Jr., and Emily Jane. The other children of Mr.
and Mrs. George R. Rich are Harold H., former University of Michigan student, also associated with his father; Arthur C., who is taking
an engineering course at the same university; Helen D., student at
Wells College, Aurora, New York, and Gladys, a high school student,
at home.
Adam Ries.-The pump and windmill business and the name of
Adam Ries are synonymous in and around Marshall, Michigan, for
Mr. Ries has developed that line as an important mechanical specialty.
His field of operations is large and his patronage extensive. Mr.
Ries was born in Lorain county, Ohio, October 29, I860. His father
was George W. Ries, of Lorain county, who later removed to Fulton
county in the same state. The elder Ries was a tiller of the soil.
Adam Ries received his early education in Fulton county and worked
as a farm hand for seven long, tedious years. He then went to Eaton
Rapids, Michigan, and there learned the pump and windmill business. In 1894 he went to Jackson, followed that line for four years
and came to Marshall. His knowledge of the mechanism, construction and operation of pumps and windmills is thorough. Mr. Ries
became the husband of Miss Hilda Hoster, now deceased, and later
was united in marriage to Emma F. Miller. There are no children.
Mr. Ries is serving his sixth year as alderman of the Fourth ward, being re-elected in the spring of I925. He is a thirty-second degree
Scottish Rite Mason, being attached to the Grand Rapids co'nsistory.
He is also an Odd Fellow.
Garvin Ritchie & Sons.-The firm of Garvin Ritchie & Sons,
general machine shop and makers of special machinery, is one of the
best known in Battle Creek and is adding much to the industrial
prestige of the city. The concern was founded in I893 by Garvin
Ritchie and his two sons, Garvin Ritchie, Jr., and Harold T. Ritchie.
They are carrying on an establishment and a policy definitely formulated by their worthy sire. The company is now giving special
attention to the manufacture of Angell electric door operators, which
promises a great future. It is said the Angell is the most approved
and efficient door operator oh the market. The business is located at
IIo S avenue. The manufacture of Angell electric door operators
was begun in January, I924, and orders are flowing into the company
auguring great future prosperity in this specialization. Garvin Ritchie,
father of the men now carrying on the business, was born in Scotland
and when nine years of age came to Canada. Hie came to Battle
Creek in I892 and died in December, I920, at the age of seventy-four
years. His wife was, before marriage, Kate Jones, who is now living
in Battle Creek at the age of seventy-five. There were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Ritchie two sons and two daughters. Garvin, Jr., was born
in Bradford, Ontario, February 2, I872.- He received his schooling in




CALHOUN COUNTY


353


Canada and in 1892 came to Battle Creek and was with the Duplex
Printing Press Company from September, 1892, to May, 1893, when
the present company was formed. He is a director of the Calhoun
Casting Company, is a Pythian, and a thirty-second degree Scottish
Rite Mason. In 1893 he was united in marriage to Anna Andrus, of
Battle Creek. Leila was a daughter who died in 1907 at the age of
thirteen, while a son, Harold, was born in Battle Creek in 1906 and
is associated with his father and uncle in the machine shop. He married Leita Downer of Battle Creek. They have a family of two
children, Joyce and Jean. Arthur H. Ritchie was born in Battle Creek
in 1903 and is a student at Ferris Institute, Big Rapids, Michigan.
Kathryn, aged sixteen, is a student in Battle Creek High School.
Harold T. Ritchie, a partner in the business, was born in Canada in
1876 and received his early education in Bradford. He attended Bradford College and when sixteen years old entered business with his
father and brother. He is vice-president of the Calhoun Casting
Company. Mr. Ritchie is a Knight of Pythias, a Mason, member of
the consistory of the Scottish Rite and a Shriner. He belongs to
the Kiwanis Club. In 1903 he was united in marriage to Lena Stark,
of Albion, Michigan. She died in 1916, leaving a son, Cary Stark,
born August I6, 1916.
John J. Roberts.-Mr. Roberts is the proprietor of the oldest piano
and music store in Battle Creek, established by his father. He himself received a thorough musical education and spent several years in
grand opera. His wife was also o'n the operatic stage. Mr. Roberts'
establishment is at 53 East Main street. He was born in Cornwall
March 5, I868, and when an infant was brought to the United States
by his parents, Samuel and Eliza Roberts. The mother's maiden name
was Morgan. The father began the sale of sewing machines and
organs in Battle Creek and soon pianos were added. The senior
Roberts was in business up to the time of his death in 1904 at the
age of 67 years. His wife succumbed to injuries sustained in a railroad accident in 1892, dying at the age of fifty-five years. Samuel
Roberts was active in Methodist church work and was a Mason. John
J. was the only child, was educated in Battle Creek and in Albion
College and in early life studied music in Boston and for several years
was in grand opera. He succeeded to the ownership and management
of the store upon the death of his father. Mr. Roberts is a Mason
acnd Elk, a member of the Merchants' Dinner Club, and of the Athelstan
Club. He is also an Exchangeite. On January 20, 1904, he was
united in marriage to Mariam Page of Minneapolis. Mrs. Roberts
was educated in the Minneapolis public schools and was graduated
from the University of Minnesota. She possesses a rich voice, has
done fine vocal work and served in grand opera. She is president of
the Morning Musical Club. The Roberts home is at 72 Latta avenue.
W. C. Sackett.-Mr. Sackett had, until his untimely demise, in
December, 1924, at the zenith of his promising and useful career, for
a number of years been officially identified with the well known Gale
Manufacturing Company, of Albion, Michigan, and since 1921 had




HISTOItC MtCHIGAN


befen assistant secretary of the company. Mr. Sackett was a native of
Albion, born March 26, 1882, the son of F. C. and Carrie M. Sackett.
He attended the grade and high schools and his first place of employment was the Albion Buggy Company where he worked a year.
In 1910 he entered the shipping department of the Gale Manufacturing
Company and up to I918 was manager of the factory office and that
year became factory manager until 1921, when he became assistant
secretary. The company employs 300 men. The manufacture of
farm implements was discontinued in I9I7 and the company concentrates its efforts on gray iron castings for trucks, tractors, etc. It
is a well equipped production foundry. Mr. Sackett was married on
Dece&rber 29, 1903, to Miss Pearl M. Mott of Albion. They have three
children, Marcelene and Marc, high school students, and William,
Junior. Mr. Sackett was keenly alive to the development of the community and helpful in the promotion of public movements. He was a
Republican. Mr. Sackett belonged to the Knights of Pythias, Leisure
Hour Club and the Boosters' and Knockers' Club.
John S. Sanford.-Mr. Sanford has lived free from the cares of
active business since I9I3. His hospitable home is at 123 N avenue.
Mr. Sanford was born December 29, 1852, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and came to Battle Creek in the spring of I855 with his parents,
John S. and Mary N. Sanford. The mother's maiden name was
Boyd. John S. Sanford was the first ice dealer in Battle Creek. He
died in 1879, his wife in 1894. The maternal grandmother of John
S. Sanford was Rebecca Boyd, who lived to the unusual age of ninetynine years and six months. John S. Sanford received his early education in the schools of Battle Creek and engaged in railroad work. He
later entered the liquor business, prospered, and in the spring of I9I3,
retired. In 1887 Mr. Sanford was united in marriage to Miss Agnes
Traynor, a native of Penfield, Michigan, born in 1863. There are
five children. Anna is teaching school in Detroit. She is a former
student of Monroe College and Western State Normal College. John
S. Sanford, Jr., died at the age of five years. Josephine, former student at Western State Normal, is likewise teaching school in Detroit.
Wanda is the wife of Leo Kiser, Battle Creek. They have one child,
John J. Kiser. Anna Sanford became the wife of Clifford Snell, of
Detroit.
Ellet H. Sanders was born in Burlington, Calhoun county, Michigan, March I6, 1873, the son of William H. and Maryette (Waggoner) Sanders. The father was born October 31, 1839, in Burlington,
Michigan, and the mother June 30, 1851, in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The
paternal grandfather was Joseph Sanders, born in Rutland, Vermont,
in I8Io, and his wife was Elizabeth Patterson, who was born in Batavia, New York, in 1813. They married in New York and in September, 1832, came to Burlington township, where he died August 25,
iW85. The trip from New York was by Erie canal to Buffalo, crossing Lake Erie, then ox-team to Burlington. There were four sons
Ahd three daughters and all were born in Burlington except Joseph.
The children were Joseph, Chauncey, Angeline, William, Caroline,




CALHOUN CG9UTY
-~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~f * fs


355


Ellen and Leverier. The paternal grandmother of the subject died
in March, i88i. The maternal grandfather was Joseph H. Waggoner,
of Pennsylvania, and his wife was Maryette Hall, of New York. He
was a pioneer Seventh Day Adventist and the author of religious
works. They settled in Burlington, Calhoun county, in I857. He
died in Basil, Switzerland, April 17, 1889, and she died February 8,
I908, at Burlington. Mr. Waggoner was engaged in missionary work.
Their children were David, Christiana, Ruby, Maryette, Ellis, Ella,
Ellet, Ellery, Elsworth and Alta. Ellet, who was a graduate physician, was a classmate of Dr. J. H. Kellogg in the University of Michigan, and grandfather of the subject. He was editor of the Signs
of the Times for the Pacific Press Publishing Company at Oakland,
California, Ellet, uncle of the subject, was associate editor of the
same publication. He was sent to England to take charge of important work and traveled extensively in Europe. After practicing medicine a few years he took up theological work and became the author
of a number of religious works. Alta was associated with the Pacific
Press Publishing Association and was the only one in that section
instructed in the setting of music. She traveled much in Europe also.
The father of the subject was educated in the public schools of Calhoun county, worked on a farm and was a salesman for twenty-two
years. He died in Battle Creek, December 13, I918, in the house in
which the son lives. His wife died March 3, I92I, in Allegan, Michigan. The children were: Creighton, who died April 8, 1914; Ellet,
subject of this sketch; Linda, who attended the Burlington schools
and became the wife of Bert Mathews; she lived in Jackson at the
time of her death on November I8, I905. Lena, who died April 6,
I914, was the wife of Bert Brown, a farmer at Burlington. Ellet H.
ISanders, only child of the family living, was reared on a farm, attended the Burlington schools and when twelve years old went to
Oakland, California, and was there sixteen months attending school
and working for the Pacific Press Publishing Company. He returned
to Burlington, became a telegraph operator on the Michigan Central
Railroad in June, 189I, and on January 5, I905, became a mail carrier
and for sixteen years served one route. He is an active member of
the Foresters of America, passed through all the local chairs and
has been a state officer for over eight years, also serving as state
vice-president. He is an Odd Fellow and very active and Mr. Sanders
has been president of the local organization of mail carriers four
consecutive terms, a very unusual record, and is now serving on the
finance committee for the state. He attended four state, one national
convention and five welfare conferences. On November I2, I9I, Mr.
Sanders was married to Mary J. Harris, who was born in Edenville,
Midland county, Michigan, December I8, I875. She is a daughter
of Jasper C. Harris and Sarah M. (Carter) Harris. Mr. Harris wrys
born June 23, I853, Mrs. Harris in 1856. He was a native of Michigan, she of Canada. They were married in Edenville. Mr. Harri~
was a lumberman and a minister of the Seventh Day Adyentist.hurc
for a period of forty-six years. Mrs. Harris died i! 190. Ei




356


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


children were born to them: Freeman J., Adventist minister twentyeight years; Mary J.; F. Annie, who died in infancy; Julia, Lulu E.,
Pearl A., Martha and W. J. The latter is a minister of the Seventh
Day Adventist denomination and is a missionary in Pekin, China.
The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Sanders was John Harris and his
wife Juletta Comstock Turner, of Midland county. The maternal
grandfather was William Cartey and his wife was Mary Shearer, settlers of Midland county, in which county they died. Mrs. Ellet Sanders is a woman of talent, was a member of the reportorial staff of
the Inquirer and News and connected with the Battle Creek MoonJournal. Mr. Sanders is assistant secretary of the Battle Creek Historical Society, a member of the Calhoun County Historical Society,
a member of the research committee of the Archaeological Society
of the State of Michigan and a member of the Michigan State Historical Society. There are three children in the Sanders familyEthel H., Otto V. and Lowell H. Ethel was born April 20, I903, and
is the wife of Arnold Wing, of Battle Creek. They have a son,
Harry A. Otto V. was born September 16, I904, attended the public
schools and is leading an orchestra in Battle Creek. Lowell H., a
student in Battle Creek Academy, was born October 15, I908. Mr.
Sanders has one of the finest collections of Indian relics in the state
of Michigan. The maternal grandparents of Mr. Sanders represent
an admixture of Irish and Scotch. The Comstocks are of English
descent but of Quaker religion.
Albert Frederick Schumacher.-Construction work is an integral
part of the Schumacher family. It is the vocation of Mr. Schumacher
as it was of his father, and yet is, and as it was of his grandfather.
The Schumacher family and the building of useful enterprises are
synonymous. Mr. Schumacher is a son of Frederick W. and Ida
(Ludtke) Schumacher. He was born in Albion, Michigan, February
7, 1895. The father was born in Germany and the mother three miles
south of Albion in Calhoun county. Her parents came to America
in I869, bought a farm seven miles north of Albion and farmed the
remainder of their lives. The paternal grandparents were Carl and
Friederik Schumacher, who came from Germany in I869 and located
in Albion. He was a mason and his first job in the United States
was on the schoolhouse which stands back of the new hospital. Mr.
Schumacher was a contractor for many years and in I900 built the
bridge on Superior street. He was engaged in the construction of
a bridge at Zanesville, Ohio, when he died in I902. Frederick W.
Schumacher received his education in Albion and has been engaged
in contracting during his residence in Albion. He has been quite
active in public life and was a member of the city council and in 900o
was city marshal. He, his son, Albert Frederick, and John Geyeir
formed the Schumacher Construction Company, a partnership, and
do a general construction business. Albert Frederick received his
education in the grade and high schools of Albion and was graduated from Michigan, Agricultural College in 'I97. He entered the
army and for eleven months was at Camp Gordon in the camp utili



CALHOUN COUNTY


357


ties department. On his return to Albion the construction company
was formed. It is one of the best-known organizations in this section
of Michigan. Mr. Schumacher was married in I9I9 to Miss Ethel
C. Steere, of Crystle, Michigan. They have a daughter, Barbara Ann.
Mr. Schumacher is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights
of Pythias and the American Legion.
Clarence W. Sellers is head of the well-known real estate, coal
and coke business operating under the firm name of C. W. Sellers
& Son, I69 West Main street, Battle Creek. The home of the firm
is in a new block built by Mr. Sellers and bearing the name Sellers
Block. Mr. Sellers also owns a tract of 400 acres near Battle Creek
and has acquired the Hussey farm of 277 acres near the city. Mr.
Sellers was born on a farm south of Bellevue, son of Solomon and
Sarah H. (Dougherty) Sellers, who settled in Michigan in 1848. The
subject for sixteen years was engaged in the business of breeding
Shetland ponies. He was for some years attached to the sheriff's
office and was a city officer. Clarence W. Sellers is deeply interested
in the advancement of Battle Creek and has materially aided that
advancement. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and has
given encouragement to many civic enterprises and movements. In
I894 he was married to Amy Rand, of Faribault, Minnesota, sister
of, Doctor Rand, of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. They have one son
and one daughter. The former, Wellyn, is a graduate of Battle Creek
high school and attended business college in that city and George
Washington College. He became superintendent of mining of the
Albion coal mine which his father purchased just before the World
War. This mine was taken over by the government during the war.
Wellyn is now associated with his father in the real estate, coal and
coke firm of Battle Creek. The daughter, Lulu, was graduated from
Battle Creek high school, attended Berrien Springs College and finished at Tacoma Park, Washington, D. C. She is the wife of Cyrus
Simmons, of Washington, D. C., son of Judge Cyrus Simmons, of
Knoxville, Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons live in the national
capital, where he is engaged in the real estate business. They were
married in I919.
Philip P. Serio, M.D.-In the years to come, when the public,
which is unfortunately indifferent to the sacrifices and the tireless
efforts made in its behalf, comes to realize fully the meaning of
prophylaxis and to know that countless diseases with which we are
all familiar, more or less, are preventable, they will have cause to
ponder the public service rendered Albion by Dr. Philip P. Serio,
the city health officer. He enjoys a good medical practice, doing work
both in surgery and medicine. In the past few years he has been devoting special attention to the diseases of women and children. Doctor
Serio, while conscious of the power the law confers upon him, believes in the efficacy of moral suasion. He has waged an energetic
campaign to obtain and insure a better milk supply and better conditions attending the production and distribution of milk. To that
end he is appealing to the business sense of the producer, urging him




358


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


to maintain sanitary conditions so that his product will be better and
in greater demand. He is urging the public to demand cleaner produced and more wholesome milk, stressing the value of milk as a
most nourishing and healthful all-round food. Through his direction
toxin-antitoxin has been administered the school children to protect
them against an insidious disease that has reaped throughout the
land too great a harvest. The prohibiting of pigs and cows within
the city limits and an appeal to the sense of decency of the people
of Albion in cleaning their premises and in supporting sanitary conditions throughout the city are a part and parcel of the earnest
preachment of the health commissioner that cleanliness is indeed next
to Godliness and that the health and well-being of the community
depend upon the genuine co-operation of every individual within the
community. Doctor Serio was born in Buffalo, New York, the son
of Joseph and Pauline (Dunkirk) Serio. The mother died when
Philip P. was an infant. The son attended the public schools in
New York state and was graduated from the University of Michigan
in I912 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. A hospital course
of two years was followed and in I914 the Doctor located in Albion,
doing a general practice in medicine and surgery. Since I9I7 he has
been in the Commercial and Savings Bank building. In 1923 Doctor
Serio was made health officer and into his public work he is bringing
to Albion the best thought in sanitation and community hygiene,
conscious of the responsibility that rests upon him. The Doctor was
united in marriage to Miss Vivian Case, of Ann Arbor. He is a
member of the American Medical Association, State Medical Society
and Calhoun County Medical Association. He is also a Mason, Odd
Fellow and a member of the Leisure Hour Club, and attends the sessions of the Boosters and Knockers.
Perry T. Sharp.-Mr. Sharp, one of the best-known and most
substantial contractors in this section of Michigan, was born in Constantine, April I, 1873, the son of Henry and Sarah Sharp. When
Perry was eight years old the parents moved to Baldwin, Lake county,
Michigan. Receiving an education in the public schools, Perry Sharp
soon got into the "game of life" and began a career of hard work
that has climaxed in success. He worked as a section hand four years,
receiving $1.I5 a day from what is now the Pere Marquette Railroad.
In Cadillac, Michigan, he engaged in house building and followed
the building trades in Spokane, Washington, for five years. In I9I1
he came to Albion and established business at the'corner of Cass
and Huron streets, remained there three years, secured larger quarters, then came to his present location at 408 East Cass street in 1922,
occupying a building sixty by sixty splendidly equipped. Some of
Mr. Sharp's contract jobs include the Union Steel Products Company, Robinson hall at Albion College, Service Castor and Tube plant,
Albion Malleable Iron Works coal pulverizing plant, three schoolhouses, a creamery and considerable more structural work of like
character. On December 29, i896, Mr. Sharp was married to Miss
Elsie Decker, of Baldwin, daughter of Edward and Lelia Decker. Mr.




CALHOUN COUNTY


359


Decker is a dealer in school supplies. The Sharps have two children.
Ward is construction superintendent for his father. Helen is living
at home. Mr. Sharp is a Pythian and a member of the Chamber of
Commerce. Mrs. Sharp is of great aid to her husband in the management of office details. Ward Sharp during the World War served
in the motorcycle transportation branch as a special messenger for
the late President Wilson in Paris. He also drove a truck in the
142d division. Mr. Sharp was in army service eighteen months,
sixteen of which were over seas.  The Sharp family is pleasantly
domiciled at 408 East Cass street.
John Earl Shedd, cashier of the Farmers' State Bank at Tekonsha,
Michigan, which he helped organize, is one of the thoroughly representative citizens of Calhoun county. He was born on a farm east
of Tekonsha, March 13, I88o, the son of John S. and Frances M.
(Cutler) Shedd. The father was born in the same township, the
mother in Eckford township, Calhoun county. On the paternal side
Renodyne and Phoebe A. (Robertson) Shedd became early settlers
of Tekonsha township. He was born in Vermont, she in eastern
New York. Their son George was the first white child born in
Tekonsha township. The family moved to that section about I835
when there were probably no more than six families in the township.
A group came through at the time including some of Phoebe A.
Robertson's kinfolk. Most of the groups located in Meringo county
while Renodyne Shedd came into Calhoun county, settled on government land and died there. On the maternal side Benoni and Esther
A. (Blair) Cutler, of New York, located near Homer, Michigan, about
the time the Shedds came. Later they moved to Coldwater and there
the grandmother died. The grandfather, Benoni Cutler, was a painter
and at the same time a tiller of the soil. The last twenty-five years
of his life were spent in Coldwater. John S. Shedd received his
early education in Tekonsha and farmed throughout his life. He
also held local offices. The Shedds had three children, two of whom
died young. John Earl Shedd obtained a high school education at
Tekonsha and took a course in Illinois at the Northern Illinois Normal, at Dixon. For three years he followed the profession of teaching
in Burlington and Tekonsha, Michigan. After his father's death he
returned to the old farm and remained on it ten years. Mr. Shedd
was one of the organizers of the Farmers' State Bank at Tekonsha,
which opened for business December 20, 1920, with himself as assistant cashier. A year later he became cashier and retains that position.
He also retains the old family farm. On May I6, I917, Mr. Shedd
was united in marriage to Miss Myda Goff, of Tekonsha, a daughter
of F. H. Goff. There are three children, Helen, John and Ronald.
Mr. Shedd is a Mason and a Knight Templar.
James G. Shirlaw, contractor of Ioo S avenue, was born in Chicago
September i, I879, and attended grade and night schools. In I894
he entered the cut stone trade and from 1902 to 1907 lived in Milwaukee, but in I907 he came to Battle Creek. Since I9IO he has been
m business for himself and has achieved commendable success. Mr.




360


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Shirlaw is a Mason and Knight Templar and a past exalted ruler
of the lodge of Elks. He also belongs to the Exchange Club and to
the Chamber of Commerce. On June 3, I903, he was married to
Kittie B. Gibson, of Milwaukee, and three sons have been born:
James G., Jr., now in the automobile business; Walter G., a high
school graduate of '24, and Hugh John. Mr. Shirlaw is a communicant of the Baptist church. His father, Hugh Shirlaw, was a cut
stone contractor in Chicago, dying in I912 at the age of sixty-five.
His wife was Maggie (Gibb) Shirlaw and Mrs. Shirlaw, the mother
of James, is living in the Windy City. The wife of James Shirlaw
is a daughter of John and Catherine Gibson, nee Buchanan. Both
are dead. James Gibb, who died in Scotland in I917 at the age of
ninety-three years, was a maternal grandfather of James Shirlaw.
Will H. Spink.-Mr. Spink owns, operates and personally directs the leading dry cleaning establishment in Battle Creek. The
status of his establishment is the direct issue of a rigid policy of
fair dealing and up-to-the-minute service. Incidentally, Mr. Spink is
one of the best-known and most-esteemed fraternalists of the city
in that he is an active member of the Elks and the Knights of Pythias, He is a loyal and helpful member of the Chamber of Commerce
and belongs to the Exchange Club, the Merchants' Dinner Club and
the Athelstan Club. Mr. Spink in I902 was united in marriage to
Miss Maud Porter, of Muskegon, Michigan. A son, Harry A., former high school and business college student, is associated with his
father in business. There are two other children, Helen R., a high
school pupil, and Ruth A., who is attending the grade schools. Mr.
Spink was born near Niles, Berrien county, Michigan, March I9,
I868. When a child he went to Whitehall, Michigan, where he attended the public schools, later pursuing a course at Muskegon Business College. In the latter city he took up tailoring and in I903
came to Battle Creek to establish the dry cleaning business. His
success has been marked. The establishment is located at 6I East
Main street. The Spink home is at 566 Lake avenue.
Charles A. Squier.-Mr. Squier is the senior member of the American Manufacturing Company, the junior member of which is his son,
Daniel E. The Squier family is an old and respected one, of English
descent, the progenitors of the present members settling first in Connecticut, thence moving westward to Pennsylvania, then to Ohio. The name
Daniel has been handed down for several generations. Charles A.
Squier is a native of Battle Creek and was born January 5, i86i,
the son of Daniel Squier, a native of the Empire state, who came
to Rochester, Michigan, about 1839. In the course of a few years
Daniel Squier went to Wisconsin, but returned to Michigan and settled in Battle Creek. He brought with him to Michigan the first
grain separator seen in the state. He was a thresherman and for
several years so labored in Oakland county and there started a
foundry. He became interested in the firm of Brown & Merrill,
one of the first concerns to make threshing machines, of Battle Creek,
and in I885 he and his son, Charles A. Squier, started the American




CALHOUN COUNTY


361


Manufacturing Company, an important and profitable venture. Daniel Squier maintained connection with the business until his death
in I897 at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife, formerly Patience
Simpson, was born in New Jersey, came to Oakland county, Michigan,
where she was married. Singularly, Mrs. Squier died just one week
before the death of her husband. There were two sons and four
daughters, Charles A. Squier and two sisters living. A son, Theodore, was a musician in the Civil War and died as the result of war
service. Charles A. Squier received his early education in the grade
and high schools of Battle Creek and in I885 became associated with
his father in business. He was united in marriage to Julia E. Hickman, born in Battle Creek, a daughter of John and Magdaline Hickman. The Hickmans came to Battle Creek in the thirties. Dr. Theodore Lewis Squier, of Milwaukee, is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles
A. Squier. Daniel and Dorothy are twin children. Daniel, junior
member of the American Manufacturing Company, was graduated
from the Battle Creek high school and on May Io, I917, enlisted
for service in the World War. He was commissioned a second lieutenant at the first officers' training camp at Fort Sheridan, and was
over seas a year, receiving his honorable discharge from active duty
July 19, I9I9. He is now major in the 338th infantry. In I920,
Major Squier was married to Thelma Louise Wilbur, of Battle Creek.
There is one son, Robert Charles. Daniel Squier is a member of
Ira A. Beck Lodge of Masons and belongs to Michigan sovereign
consistory of the Scottish Rite, having attained the thirty-second
degree. He also belongs to Moslem temple of the Shrine at Detroit;
to the Athelstan Club and to the American Legion, of which he is
the adjutant. He is ex-president of the Army and Navy Club. Two
other twins are at home, Blanche and Bernice, and John B., another
son, and a graduate of Battle Creek high school, wasp inspector
for the A. B. Stove Company, of Battle Creek, but is now connected
with the Senate Coffee Company, of Battle Creek. High business
standards and deeply ingrained culture characterize the Squier family
and constitute it a most estimable factor in the community life.
Theodore L. Squier, M.D.-Specializing in internal medicine and
displaying a degree of scholastic attainment which was manifest during college days when he served as an instructor in his alma mater,
Doctor Squier has attained an unquestioned success in his chosen
field, in Battle Creek. He is medical director of the Calhoun County
Tuberculosis Society and medical director of the Calhoun County
Tuberculosis Hospital and has achieved outstanding success both
in combatting the insidious white plague and in supporting preventive
measures for the avoidance of the disease. Doctor Squier was born
in Battle Creek August 21, I893, the son of Charles A. Squier. He
was graduated from high school in I912 and in I9I9 received the
degrees Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan. In I9I9 he served an interneship in the University
Hospital and in the medical reserve corps for the University Hospital,
I919-1920. In the latter year he was an instructor in the medical




362


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


department of the university and during the World War served in
the reserve corps. Doctor Squier is a member of Alpha Sigma Phi,
a college fraternity; of Alpha Kappa Kappa, a medical fraternity;
of Phi Sigma, an honorary biological Greek letter society; of Sigma
Xi, an honorary scientific society, membership in which is based upon
attainment; of Alpha Omega Alpha, an honorary medical fraternity,
and of the Galens Society. The doctor also holds membership in
Masonic Lodge No. I2, the Athelstan Club, Knife and Fork Club
and the Congregational church. Qn July I, I920, Doctor Squier was
united in marriage to Miss Mina LaRarge, of Standish, Michigan.
They have one child, Theodore L., Jr. Doctor Squier belongs to
the county and state medical societies and the American Medical
Association, the American Sanatorium and the American Congress
of Internal Medicine, keeping abreast of the latest and best medical
thought of the day.
R. Stewart & Sons.-The firm of R. Stewart & Sons, dealers in
hides and furs, is one of the oldest in Battle Creek and one of the
best known in Michigan. It was established in I883 by Robert Stewart. The present members of the firm are Glenn R. and Joseph G.
Stewart, sons of Robert Stewart. The father was born in Edinburgh,
Scotland, in 1837 and when a child came to Buffalo, New York.
In that city he was married to Mary A. Spires, a native of Toronto.
Mr. and Mrs. Stewart went to Grand Rapids and later proceeded as
far west as Helena, Montana. Then they returned to Michigan,
settling in Muskegon, but finally decided upon Battle Creek, where
Mr. Stewart died in I902 at the age of sixty-five. His wife died in I912,
aged seventy years. The Stewarts had four children, two of whom
Joseph G. and Glenn R., decided to carry on the business the father
established. Joseph G. Stewart was born in Grand Rapids in 1873, Glenn
R. in the same city in 1878. Both received their early education in
the public schools of Battle Creek. Joseph G. Stewart is a member
of the Knights of Pythias and of the Elks, the Spanish-American
WVar Veterans and of the Kiwanis Club. His wife was Emma M.
Olson, of Muskegon. The children are Richard J., a high school
student, and Joseph R., also in high school. Mrs. Stewart died and
Mr. Stewart married again, his second wife being Alice O. Netterstrom, of Chicago. Glenn R. Stewart also has fraternal interests,
being a member of the Elks and Knights of Pythias. He married
Miss Lena Harbeck, of Battle Creek. The firm does an extensive
business and enjoys a fine rating both as to solidity and high character.
Irving K. Stone is president of the Duplex Printing Press Company and succeeded in this office his honored father, Irving Lee
Stone, who organized this company and who was the guiding power
in its development to the status of one of the important industrial
concerns not only of the city of Battle Creek but also of the state
of Michigan. On other pages of this publication appears a personal
sketch of Irving L. Stone, who is now chairman of the board of
directors of the Duplex Printing Press Company, the same review




CALHOUN COUNTY


giving also detailed information concerning the genesis and development of this important Battle Creek manufacturing corporation.
Irving K. Stone was born at Battle Creek, Michigan, September i6,
1882, and in the public schools of this city he continued his studies
until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class
of 1899. He emulated the youthful example of his father by entering
the pedagogic profession, in which he was for some time a popular
teacher in the public schools of Calhoun county. Thereafter he took
an academic course in the University of Michigan, graduating in
1905 with the degree Bachelor of Arts, and where also he took special
studies in the law department, a discipline that has been of much
value to him in his later business activities. After leaving the university he taught in private schools during a period of one year,
and eventually he became associated with his father in the Duplex
Printing Press Company. His experience was made to cover the
various details of manufacturing and office work, and in I9I0 he
was made secretary of the company. Of this executive office he
continued the incumbent until I915, when his father retired from
the position of president of the company and he himself was advanced
to this chief administrative office, in which he has admirably upheld
the prestige of the family name and also formed and advanced policies
that have inured greatly to the success and expansion of the company's business. It is aside from the province of this review to
enter into details concerning the fine industrial enterprise that has
been built up by the Duplex Printing Press Company, but it may
be stated that this progressive corporation has done much to augment
the industrial and commercial precedence of Battle Creek. Mr. Stone
and his father have been loyal and liberal in the support of local
civic and philanthropic enterprises and measures, and have stood
forth as public-spirited citizens to whom all community interests have
been matters of moment and earnest co-operation. Irving K. Stone
is aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, and he and his wife
are communicants of St. Thomas' church, Protestant Episcopal, of
which Battle Creek parish he is a vestryman. Mr. Stone is a member
of the Detroit Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, in the Michigan metropolis, the University Club in the city of Chicago, the Michigan Union
Club at Ann Arbor, and in his home city he has membership in the
University and Athelstan Clubs, besides being a member of the Battle
Creek Country Club and the Gull Lake Country Club. On the 26th
of June, I907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stone to Miss
Iphigenia Pack, daughter of Arthur Pack, a representative citizen
of Pontiac, Oakland county, and of the four children of this union
two are living, Arthur Pack and Angeline Galbraith Stone.
Irving Lee Stone is one of the venerable citizens of Battle Creek,
where he has maintained his home for virtually half a century, and
this city owes and pays him high honor along many and diverse
lines, for his has been a career of large and worthy achievement and
a life marked by high ideals and a fine sense of personal stewardship.
Though he is now living retired from the large business responsi



364


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


bilities that long devolved upon him, Mr. Stone is still in service as
chairman of the board of directors of the Duplex Printing Press
Company, he having been the founder of this concern, which has
contributed much to the commercial precedence of Battle Creek and
which is now the largest of its kind in the world, the celebrated
presses manufactured by this Battle Creek corporation being now
in demand wherever high-grade printing is in requisition.
Irving Lee Stone, a scion of a family that was founded in New
England in the early colonial era of our national history, was born
in Franklin county, Vermont, October 6, I84I, and is a son of Lee
and Louisa (Stevens) Stone, the former of whom was born in New
Hampshire and the latter in the state of New York. He whose name
initiates this review was a lad of ten years at the time of the family
removal to Adams county, Illinois, where his father engaged in
farming, the parents having been residents of the same county at
the time of their death. The earlier education of Mr. Stone was
acquired in the common schools of Vermont and Illinois, and he
has been a resident of Michigan since 1870. His higher educational
discipline was received in Hillsdale College, at Hillsdale, this state,
and in this fine old institution he was graduated as a member of
the class of I868. After thus receiving his degree of Bachelor of
Arts he initiated a record of special success and distinction in the
pedagogic profession. He was for several years superintendent in
the public schools at Three Rivers, St. Joseph county, and in 1874
he became superintendent of the public schools of Battle Creek. Here
he did much to raise the standard of the school work in all departments and he retained this position about seven years. His deep
interest in educational affairs was continued and expressed when
he here effected the organization of the Union School Furniture Company, a corporation that erected in Battle Creek a large manufacturing plant and that gave employment to more than 500 men. This
enterprise was made a great contribution to the industrial activities
of the city, but he was destined to make a still greater and more
important contribution when he organized the Duplex Printing Press
Company, for the manufacture of a new and greatly improved type
of printing presses. This, as already stated, has grown to be the
largest concern of its kind in the world, and has carried the name
and fame of Battle Creek into foreign lands as well as throughout
the United States. The capital stock of this company is now placed
at $4,000,0oo, the number of employes is somewhat over 500, the
plant is a large and modern institution, and the weekly pay roll now
represents an average outlay of $50,ooo. These brief statements indicate how great has been Mr. Stone's influence in advancing the
industrial and commercial, and thus the civic, interests of Battle
Creek, but aside from this and his former service in the public schools
of the city, his civic liberality and generosity have been shown forth
in many other ways. In I9I5 he gave to the city the land that has
been developed into the present beautiful Irving Park. He gave to
Battle Creek both the site and building of the Young Women's Chris



CALHOUN COUNTY


365


tian Association, the building, erected as a memorial to his second
wife, having been completed at a cost of $75,ooo. The personal stewardship that success should ever involve has further been evidenced
in Mr. Stone's earnest and liberal support of charitable and philanthropic movements and also specific enterprises advanced for the
general communal welfare. He has contributed to the erection of
the fine new edifice of the Maple Street Methodist Episcopal Church,
besides being one of the most generous supporters and honored members of the Baptist church in his home city. Mr. Stone has had no
desire to enter the arena of practical politics, but has been a loyal
and well-fortified advocate of the principles of the Republican party.
He continued as president of the Duplex Printing Press Company
until I915, when he retired and was succeeded by his son, Irving K.,
of whom individual mention is made elsewhere in this volume. He
was the resourceful builder of the great industrial enterprise controlled by this corporation, and for this and other service of human
helpfulness that he has been able to render, he is given memories
that cannot fail to make his life retrospect one rich in rewards.
The first marriage of Mr. Stone was with Miss Effie B. Christy,
and she was survived by no children. His second marriage was with
Miss Cordelia Cake, who was born and reared in New Jersey, a
daughter of Richard Cake and a representative of one of the old
and influential families of that historic commonwealth. Mrs. Stone,
a woman of culture and most gracious personality, was a loved figure
in the social circles of Battle Creek for many years prior to her death,
which occurred in 90o4, and she was instant in human sympathy
and helpfulness, a leader in church and charitable work, and ever
ready to aid those "in any ways afflicted, or distressed, in mind,
body or estate." Thus a most fitting monument to this noble woman
is the beautiful building of the Battle Creek Young Women's Christian Association. Irving L. and Cordelia (Cake) Stone became the
parents of six children, and five of the number survive the loved
and devoted mother: Richard L. is a resident of Chicago; Miss
Ethel M. remains at the paternal home; Irving K. is represented in
an individual sketch in this publication; Josephine is the wife of
Joseph Cohn and they reside in New York City; and Mabel is the
wife of Marcus M. Farley, who is secretary of the Duplex Printing
Press Company. The third marriage of Mr. Stone was with Miss
Harriet Phillips, and she is the popular chatelaine of their attractive
home in Battle Creek. Though he has passed the eighty-fourth milestone on the journey of life, Mr. Stone retains marked physical and
mental vitality, takes lively interest in the affairs of the hour, and
makes frequent visits to the offices of the Duplex Printing Press
Company, his counsel being in demand in the ordering of the affairs
of this company, of which he was the founder, of which he was long
the president, and of which he is now chairman of the board of
directors. No citizen of Battle Creek has more secure place in popular confidence and esteem, and few have done more for the benefit
of this fine little city.




ei66


HISTOQRIC MICHIGAN


Frank E. Strong not only has place as one of the progressive
and representative business men of the metropolis of Calhoun county
but is also a native of this county and a member of one of its old
and honored pioneer families. Mr. Strong has had long and intimate
association with the hardware business and is now a principal in one
of the largest and most important hardware concerns in the city of
Battle Creek, that of the Strong-Barker Hardware Company, the
well-equipped establishment of which is at 25-27 South Jefferson
street. Mr. Strong was born on the old homestead farm of the
family, in Tekonsha township, Calhoun county, October 11, 1858,
and is a son of the late Chauncey G. and Fannie (Witall) Strong,
the former of whom was born in Ontario county, New York, June Io,
I834, and the latter of whom was born in England, she having been
seven years of age when she accompanied her parents to the United
States and established their home in the state of New York. Chauncey
G. Strong and his wife were reared and educated in the old Empire
state, but their marriage was solemnized after coming to Michigan,
and it was in the year I853 that they established their home on the
pioneer farm in Tekonsha township, Calhoun county, Michigan, Mr.
Strong having there developed a fine farm, and his active alliance
with agricultural and livestock industry there continued until the
early seventies, when he removed with his family to the village of
Tekonsha and engaged in the hardware business. He was one of
the substantial and influential citizens of that section of Calhoun
county, commanded the high esteem of all who knew him and was
an honored pioneer citizen of Tekonsha at the time of his death, in
1908, when he was seventy-four years of age. His wife likewise attained to the age of seventy-four years, and her death occurred in
19Io, both having held membership in the Presbyterian church. Mr.
Strong was a Republican in politics until the time of President
McKinley's administration, when he transferred his allegiance to
the Democratic party, in the ranks of which he remained during the
rest of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey G. Strong became the parents
of five sons and three daughters, and of the number two sons and
two daughters are now living (I925).
Frank E. Strong passed the period of his childhood and early
youth on the old home farm and was a lad of fourteen years at
the time of the family removal to Tekonsha, in which village he
continued his studies in the public schools until he was eighteen
years of age. At this stage in his career he availed himself of an
opportunity to learn the hardware business and the tinner's trade,
in the establishment of B. F. Goodrich, of Homer, his brother Samuel
having received like training in the same establishment. The two
brothers eventually purchased the stock and business of Mr. Goodrich, and their fraternal business partnership was marked by utmost
harmony and consideration, each having worked earnestly in the
upbuilding of the business and the partnership alliance having continued until Frank E. retired, to establish his residence in Battle Creek,
in I903. Samuel Strong was the originator and inventor of a pipeless




CALHOUN COUNTY


367


furnace, and to the manufacturing of it he eventually gave his entire
attention, the original factory having been at Homer, Calhoun county,
whence removal was later made to the city of Coldwater, Branch
county, where the enterprise is now conducted on a large scale and
under the original title of the Homer Furnace Company. In 1904
Frank E. Strong purchased a half interest in the Battle Creek hardware business of W. A. Wattles, and he has continued his active association with this line of enterprise in this city to the present time.
In I9I3 he became associated with Fay Barker in establishing the
present Strong-Barker Hardware Company, which conducts one of
the leading hardware establishments of the Calhoun county metropolis and controls a substantial and representative trade. Mr. Strong
is a member of the Michigan Hardware Dealers' Association, of which
he has served as president, besides which he was for eight years
a member of the board of directors of the National Hardware Association. He is an authority in all details of the business with which
hle has been long identified, and he was importuned to become president of the National Retail Hardware Dealers' Association, his declination of this honor having been prompted by the exigent demands of
his business affairs at home. Mr. Strong has been loyal and progressive as a business man, and the same spirit has characterized him
in his civic relations. He is a member of the Rotary Club and the
Merchants' Dinner Club in his home city, his political alignment is
with the Democratic party, and he and his wife are members of the
First Methodist Episcopal Church of Battle Creek.
February I6, I88I, Mr. Strong was united in marriage to Miss
Nora Thorne, of Homer, this county, she having been born in September, I86o, and being a daughter of Stephen J. and Harriet (Wiley)
Thorne, the former of whom died at Homer and the latter of whom,
at the venerable age of eighty-seven years (I925), is now a revered
member of the family circle of Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Strong. In
conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and
Mrs. Strong: Eva Belle, a graduate of the high school, remains at
the parental home. Katherine, who attended the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, is the wife of Charles F. Axelson, who is
a prominent insurance man in the city of Chicago and a trustee of
the great University of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Axelson have two
children-Charles Frederick and Kenneth Strong. Mabel E., youngest of the three daughters, was graduated in high school and is now
the wife of Delmar Hutchinson, of Battle Creek, their one child
being Harriet Ann. F. Harry Strong, the only son, was graduated
in Albion College and is now one of the principals and executive
officers of the Carpenter Grain Company, of Battle Creek. He married Miss Constance Frisbie, of Chicago, and they have two children,
Ridgway and Annette.
C. N. Studevant.-Mr. Studevant was born in Sheridan township,
Calhoun county, February 22, 1855, the son of Jacob and Emriline
Studevant, nee Rogers. The elder Studevant was born in Vermont,
his good wife in New York. They came to Michigan in 1853 and




868


68  fistOrtic C MIo,141AN


located on a farm near Albion, Michigan, three miles out on Austin
avenue. The mother died when the subject of this sketch was nine
years old and the father married again and remained on the homestead
until his death. C. N. Studevant received his early education in the
public schools and was early trained to the multiplicity of duties on
the farm. For forty years he has been a contractor and builder and
erected hundreds of homes. For thirty-one years he has lived in the
house he built on Austin avenue. For eighteen years he bought and
sold hay, apples, etc. On June 23, I875, Mr. Studevant and Miss
Margaret Webster, of Mendon, New York, were married. She died
June 17, I9Io. Three children were born, but only one is living, Jay
Studevant, attached to the printing department bf the University of
Chicago. Jay learned the printing trade with the Albion Recorder
and for eighteen years has been with the University of Chicago. He
has charge of the press. On August 9, i9t I, Mr. Studevant was married again, his second wife being Mrs. Ella Bacon Corliss, of near
Leslie, Michigan. Mr. Studevant is an Odd Fellow and a member of
the Methodist church.
Ffteerick W. Sullivan.-Mr. Sullivan is a milk expert. He has
devoted his entire life to a study and to the dispensing of what hygienltts accept as the best all-round food-milk. He is the proprietor of
the Milk Producers Company, 47 Kalamazoo street, Battle Creek.
Mr. Sullivan was born September 13, 1865, in Erie, Pennsylvania,
and received a high school education in that city. His full time since
leaving high school has been devoted to milk and the milk industry in
its various phases. He was with the Erie county (Pennsylvania)
milk association that was formed in i899 until 1907, when he came
to Battle Creek and purchased the Milk Producers Company, buying
all the stock. It remained a corpbfrtion until I9;1, when corporate
power was dissolved, bit the name remains. Mr. Sullivan is a member of the Athelstan Club, the Country Club, the Merchants' Dinner
Club and the Kiwanis Club. In i891 he was united in marriage to
Sarah H. Acheson, of Pennsylvania. There are three children. Frederick W., Jr., is with the Standard Oil Company and located in Indiaha. He Was graduated from Battle Creek High School and from
the University of Michigan with three degrees, Bachelor of Sciente,
Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. The second child,
Sylvia H., is at home. She was graduated frtom Battle Creek High
Pchool and from Oberlin College, Ohio, in the class of 1921 with
the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The third child is Ralph A., who
ctomtpleted a high school course, attended the University of Michigan
two years and in i924 was graduated from Ames (Iowa) Agricultural
Ctllege. Ralph has just taken association with his father in business,
which promises much benefit to the welfare of both.
David L. Sutherland.-Mr. Sutherland, public accountant of Battle Creek, with offices at 211 Post Building, is a native of Edinburgh,
SCotland, born April i, 1894. He received his early education in the
schools of Edinburgh and at nineteen emigrated, locating in Rochester, New York, where he engaged in office work. In I917 he went




CALHOJN COUNTY


369


to Detroit, where he did accountancy, and the following year came
to Battle Creek, associating himself with F. A. Hawkins in a firm
designated as Hawkins & Sutherland. Mr. Hawkins later going to
California, Mr. Sutherland became associated with Mr. Croydon in
the firm of Croydon & Sutherland, public accountants. Mr. Sutherland is a member of the Masonic order. For service in the World
War he enlisted in the Canadian army, but because of his physical
condition was not permitted to leave the country. He was united in
marriage to Miss Elizabeth Barbour, a native of Scotland. The Sutherlands have one son, Donald Barbour, born January 4, I918. A
brother of Mr. Sutherland, John A. Sutherland, was a lieutenant in
the Royal Field Artillery of Scotland and had chosen army life as
a profession. He was in Ireland when Great Britain declared war
on Germany and in 1914 was sent to Flanders. He was killed in
1917 at the age of twenty-five years. He had been a soldier since
191o. A brother of Mrs. Sutherland, John Barbour, was a captain
in the Gordon Highlanders. He was posted as "missing" for two
years, but was picked up by a German and died in a hospital in
Germany. There is thus discernible a strong patriotic strain running
through the Sutherland and Barbour families.
Mortimer E. Talmage.-A revolution in the buying and disposition of meat animals has been witnessed by Mr. Talmage, who for
many years has been a part of the business life of Albion, Michigan,
as a meat dealer. He has sold beefsteak for from 5 cents to 35 cents
a pound. In his early life he worked for $8 a month, just sufficient
to pay for a pair of boots. When he began business modern refrigeration systems were unknown. Animals were purchased by the
head rather than the pound. Mr. Talmage was born in Victor, New
York, in 1843, the son of Josiah and Louisa Talmage, nee West.
The father was born in Connecticut, the mother in New York state.
Mortimer E. attended district school and was on a farm until eighteen
years of age, since when he has been actively in the meat business.
In Victor he worked for $8 a month and paid that sum for a pair
of boots. He witnessed the advent of kerosene as an illuminant and
paid as high as $I.25 a gallon for the fluid. In 1884, leaving behind
him an experience of twelve years in the meat business, he came to
Albion and worked fourteen years for George Howard at the munificent pay of $12 a week. For thirty years he has been in business
for himself.  About nineteen years ago Mr. Talmage was carried
under by the failure of an Albion bank. With rare fortitude he sold
his insurance policy and re-established a business and later became
a member of the firm of Talmage & Klemm, and for the past eighteen
years the firm has been Talmage & Bauer, up to I925, with Chris
Bauer the partner. On January I, I925, an interest was sold to Tessmer and Barman, employes of the firm, on a contract which gives
these men five years to pay up. The firm is now known as Bauer &
Company.   In addition to the meat business Messrs. Talmage &
Bauer have an improved farm of 240 acres two miles southeast of
Albion. Mr. Talmage calls attention to many changes in the meat




37t


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


industry-to the system of buying animals by the head rather than
pound to the fact that the standard price of sheep for many years
was one dollar per head; to the profit in the handling of hides. In
those days there was great waste in meat and that which was not
readily sold was discarded, there being no artificial refrigeration.
Hogs were never slaughtered in the summer. In i880 Mr. Talmage
was married to Miss Mary Field, who died in November, 19I9. In
92o0 he was married to Mrs. Louise Hulett Field.  Mr. Talmage
for-more than a quarter of a century has been a Master Mason. He
is' a member of the Presbyterian church.
Fred Teeter. —Obtaining a thorough training in mechanics and
machine shop practice, Fred Teeter has the equipment that superbly
qualifies him as the operator and personal director of a large machine
shop and garage in Battle Creek. The establishment, which he owns,
is located at 53 River street, and bears the designation, Teeter's Garage
and Machine Shop. Mr. Teeter was born in Union City, Michigan,
February I4, I877, and received his early education in Albion public
schools. At the age of eighteen he started to work for the Cook
Cutlery Company at Homer, Michigan, a'nd later the Electric Oil
Stove Company, also at Homer. He was with the Union Steam Pump
Company several years and with the Coburn Machine Company, of
Battle Creek, also with the Walker Hoseclang Company, and in 1914
bought the latter and has since operated it as the sole proprietor. The
garage business was also established in I9I4. On January 25, I898.
Mr. Teeter was united in marriage to Miss Lois Faurot, of Homer,
Michigan. There are no children. The Teeter home is at 38 Janoah
avenue. Mr. Teeter is a Mason, a Shriner, Knight Templar and
member of the consistory of the Scottish Rite. His father is Demmond D. Teeter, a native of New York state. The mother was Mary
Everett, a native of Burlington, Michigan. The senior Teeter settled
in Albion, lived there throughout his life and died there August 13,
I924, at the age of seventy-one. His wife died April 2, I924, aged
fifty-nine years.
Orrin James Teller.-Mr. Teller is a contractor and builder, but
for a number of years has devoted increasing time and attention to
paints and wall paper, in which business he has achieved a distinct
success. He was born in Tekonsha, Michigan, November 20, 1873,
the son of Herman and Della (English) Teller. The paternal grandfather died in New York and his widow and children came on to Michigan, establishing their home in Tekonsha. Herman Teller was a
shoemaker. He died in Teko'nsha. Orrin James received his early
school instruction in Tekonsha and at fourteen applied himself to
carpentry. He worked in Hammond, Indiana, a year, then went to
Chicago, where he remained fifteen years. He worked three years as
a teamster and entered the service of the Chicago and Northwestern
Railroad as fireman and engineer, a total connection with the railroad
of ten years. Returning to Tekonsha, he worked as a carpenter five
years, then went to Albion to work for S. A. Wilder, a contractor.
Mr. Teller and Eugene Kittenger started a building contracting busi



CALHOUN COUNTY                       371
ness and the former has since then retained an interest in that business. About seven'years ago he took on a line of Shewin-Wiliams
paints and in February, 1920, opened a store, adding wall paper' and
other materials, and has gradually expanded in paint contracting andreduced building contracting. For the past three years he has cdonducted the business by himself as an individual enterprise, but discontinued the paint end of it in June, 1924. In 1893 Mr. Teller was
married to Miss Nellie Craney, of Cary, Illinois.- A daughter, Delia,
is the wife of Richard Rutz, farmer of Clarence township, Calhouti
county. Mr. Teller was treasurer of Tekonsha township and for: two
years a member of the village council. He is a member of the Free
and Accepted Masons.
Mrs. Ida I. Thomas.-Mrs. Thomas is a highly successful business woman and is the sole owner of E. E. Thomas & Company, street
sprinkling and general teaming, a widely known Battle Creek institution with headquarters at IIo East Jackson street. Mrs. Thomas was
born in Battle Creek July I9, I880, and thus is intimately acquainted
with every phase of the city..She has acquired, by virtue of acumen
and strict application to business, considerable property in Battle
Creek and is also the owner of a very desirable farm. She is the
daughter of James and Mary (Damoth) Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell came
to Calhoun county when a young man, married and settled on a farm.
He now resides in Battle Creek. His wife died February I8, I916.
Mr. Mitchell's three brothers, William, Robert and Thomas, were
large railroad contractors of Michigan and he worked with them for
many years. James Mitchell and his brother Thomas, who is a street
commissioner, are the only members of his family living, William and
Robert having passed away. The parents of Mrs. Thomas had four
children, three of whom are living. Mrs. Thomas was educated in
the public schools of Battle Creek and on June I2, I907, was married
to Emerson E. Thomas, who was born in Athens, Michigan, in 1880.
Mr. Thomas received his grade and high school instruction in Lansing
and was graduated from Michigan Agricultural College and spent a
year in the University of Wisconsin. Applying himself to the machinist's trade, he was for a time with the Duplex Printing Press Company.
In I907 he purchased the interest of the Snyder sprinkling and general
teaming business and the name was changed to that of  E. EThomas
& Company, of which Mrs. Thomas is proprietor. Mrs. Thomas is a
member of the Baptist church, of which her mother was an ardent
member for many years.
J. J. Thwaites.-One of the most substantial assets of Albion and
a large contribution to the prestige of Michigan as a furniture nianufacturing section is the Thwaites Furniture Company, makers of fiber
furniture. Its production and market are increasing constantly and.
the concern ranks high. J. J. Thwaites was born in Detroit, February
12, 1887, the son of John and Anna Thwaites. The mother was Miss s'
Riger before her marriage. John Thwaites is a native of LodoiA,
England, and was born November 23, 1862. When only twelve years
old he came to Canada alone and soon became engaged 1m the7 makingl;                 R...;. s* w;;-.; A.+# f; G A-.9




372


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


of willow baskets. From this unpretentious beginning there has arisen
a great industry. He moved to Ypsilanti, thence to Ionia and in the
latter place established a factory which he and his son sold twelve
years ago. The Thwaites went on to Grand Rapids and established the
Thwaites Furniture Company. Fiber canes became a specialty. J. J.
Thwaites received his education in Detroit, Ypsilanti and Ionia and
became associated with his father. Officially he is the vice-president
and assistant manager of the Thwaites company, which employs 240
persons. Mr. Thwaites was united in marriage to Leslie Leole Ballard, of Des Moines, Iowa.  One child, Dona, is in school.  Mr.
Thwaites is a Republican. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the Elks, holding membership in the latter in Ionia.
The Thwaites company does an annual business exceeding $750,000.
It was organized in Grand Rapids, March I, I919, by John Thwaites,
dean of Michigan's furniture manufacturers, who recognized-and
wisely-the almost unlimited field in well constructed fiber furniture.
At the inception the company employed thirty persons and the first
year's output aggregated $125,000. Overtures were made by the
Albion Chamber of Commerce to have the company move from Grand
Rapids to Albion and the deal was consummated, the Thwaites company taking over the National Spring and Wire Company's plant.
The Thwaites plant today has I50,000 square feet.of floor space. The
pay roll hovers around $200,000 a year. The output finds a market
all over the United States and a considerable export business is
anticipated.
Joseph M. Tuttle.-Mr. Tuttle is a well-known real estate dealer
and notary public, with offices at 22 East Main street, and is much
respected in Battle Creek with the development of which he is familiar.
Mr. Tuttle was born in Girard, Branch county, Michigan, December
II. I853, and was graduated from the Battle Creek High School in
1878. His parents were Manley and Lorinda Tuttle (nee Halliday).
They came to Coldwater, Michigan, back in 1833 and in I858 moved
to Ontario, LaGrange county, Indiana. The parents were of the
sturdy pioneer type. They lived in a log cabin and knew full well the
rigors of pioneer life. They died in OntarioIndiana. Manley Tuttle
was a miller, but the major part of his life was devoted to tilling the
soil. Joseph Tuttle's early schooling was obtained in Ontario. He
attended LaGrange College Institute at Ontario and received instruction under Professor Rufus Patch, one of the leading educators
of northern Indiana. Then he attended and was graduated from
Battle Creek High School. While yet in Ontario Mr. Tuttle worked
in a woolen factory for James Scott, who came from Lincolnshire,
England. Afterward Mr. Tuttle worked as a traveling salesman and
has been on the road many years. He is now much interested in agriculture, owning a valuable farm of 275 acres near East Leroy, Calhoun county; also a farm of I60 acres on Union City road. For a
inumber of years Mr. Tuttle was an extensive buyer of horses and to
this day is an excellent judge of equine values. His residence in Battle
Creek has been coincident to its growth. When he came it was but a




CALHOUN COUNTY


373


village. His office is in connection with the firm of Gorton-FosterBohanna, McCamly Building. On September 3, 1878, Mr. Tuttle
married Miss Jennie A. Adams of 94 Marshall street, Battle Creek,
and two daughters were born, Bertha and Mary. The former is the
wife of Samuel Rittenhouse, professor of biology for several years in
Southern California College, but is now selling real estate. They have
a daughter, Helen, a graduate of the Los Angeles High School, class
of 1924, and is now taking a university course. Mary is the wife of
W. L. Crabill, of Battle Creek. They have a son, Charles Joseph, who
is in high school, class of 1925. Helen Rittenhouse was one off
fifteen students selected from 3,500 high school students throughout
the United States to take part in an oratorical contest in Los Angeles
in 1924. Mrs. Tuttle died September I, 1911, and on February 28,
1916, Mr. Tuttle was united in marriage to Allie D. McCollum of
Battle Creek.
Richard J. Uldricks.-Mr. Uldricks is a partner in the firm of
Brigham & Uldricks, engaged in inside finishing, cabinet work and
store fixtures. The scope of the business is best epitomized in a trite
slogan adopted, "If it's made of wood we make it." Mr. Uldricks was
born February 25, 1885, in Holland, the son of John and Minnie Uldricks, who emigrated to the United States when the son was a year
old. The father engaged in truck farming near Kalamazoo, later near
Battle Creek. Richard J. was educated in the common schools and
took a special correspondence course in drafting, was engaged in
carpentering a number of years and on April I, I919, became a partner
of the firm indicated. The concern first located on Jefferson avenue,
but after three months moved to Hamblin and was there a year. Fire
forced the concern to take larger quarters at I4 Clyde street, which it
did in April, I92I. A considerable business is done in Marshall,
Kalamazoo and other Michigan cities as well as in Battle Creek. Mr.
Uldricks is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and also a
Mason, Metcalf Lodge No. 4I9. He was married to Edna L. Cribbs,
of Battle Creek. Four children have come to bless the home, Wyda,
John Richard, Ruth and Robert. Mr. Uldricks is a communicant of
the Methodist church.
Louis C. VanGorden.-Mr. VanGorden is the senior member of
the firm of L. C. & H. L. VanGorden, Ioo South Superior street, Albion, operating the Rexall Drug Store. Mr. VanGorden, the son of
William and Florence (Onderdonk) VanGorden, farmers, was born in
Springport township, Jackson county, Michigan. He was graduated
from the public schools of Eaton Rapids, then attended college at the
University of Michigan. For a short time, Mr. VanGorden was in
the retail drug business. In 1892, he started traveling for a wholesale
drug house in Detroit, remaining with the same house for over twenty
years. In 1912, Mr. VanGorden located in Albion, succeeding Homer
C. Blair in the retail drug business. In I923, his son, Howell L.
VanGorden, was admitted to partnership. Mr. Van Gorden is a director of the Commercial & Savings Bank, chairman of the Republican
city committee, one of Albion's city commissioners, director of the




374


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Albion Chamber of Commerce, president of the Albion-Duck Lake Improvement Association, member of Golf Club, Leisure Hour Club, and
Masonic bodies. In I893 he married Belle, daughter of Nelson and
Elvira Howell, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, to whom was born one son,
Howell, who was educated at the University of Michigan, entered the
World War September, I917, spent seven months in France, receiving
his honorable discharge in April, I9I9.
William Fred Waidely.-Approximately 6,ooo tombstones were
delivered by the monument works of Mr. Waidely last year, the establishment owned by him at Green and Exchange streets sustaining
a marked annual increase in output. Mr. Waidely was born March
I1, 1877, the son of John and Rosa Waidely. The mother's maiden
name was Slighly. She died in 1904, her husband in I907. Receiving
a common school education, the son early applied himself to work and
for a number of years was engaged in poultry work. In 19oo he established himself in the monument business. The plant is strictly
modern in equipment and is forty by seventy feet. Mr. Waidely buys
hi3 stone direct from the quarries and does all his lettering. Stone
supplies are drawn largely from Ohio and southern Illinois. The first
year the plant was in operation about five hundred tombstones were
turned out. The volume has increased twelve-fold. Mr. Waidely on
October 13, I917, was united in marriage to Nettie Somers, of Marshall.
Mr. Waidely is a member of the Community Club and enjoys the respect and esteem of the entire community.
Robert Warner.-The Warner family in America began with Andrew Warner, who emigrated from England to Massachusetts in I640,
and the forebears of Robeit Warner, well-known grocer of Albion,
Michigan, have contributed to an interesting family history. The
subject of this sketch was born September 2, 1881, in Albion, the son
of William R. and Jennie E. (Crittenden) Warner, both of Albion.
The paternal grandfather was William A. and the grandmother Maria
J. (Finch) Warner, both of New York state. They were married at
what is now 500 South Superior street, Albion. The paternal greatgrandparents were Warhan and Cynthia Warner, nee Adams, of New
York state, who came to Albion in 1832. Mr. Warner was a magistrate and built the first frame house in Albion. It is yet standing,
designated as 308 West Erie. His was the third family to come to
Albion. He took up eighty acres of what is now a part of Albion
and with Chandler Church laid out an addition to Albion known as
the Warner and Church addition. William A. Warner, the paternal
grandfather, served in the Mexican war and was a "forty-niner," making the trip to California by ox team with a brother-in-law. Two
brothers-in-law drew cuts as to who would make the journey and who
would remain at home to look after family interests. William A.
Warner traded his oxen for horses in California and did a teaming
business from the coast inland. He returned via Cape Horn and New.York, having been gone altogether three years, and brought back. sufficient money to pay for a;good farm which had been selected before
'he left. But Mrs. Warner with the aid of her brother had made the




CALHOUN COUNTY


I75


farm prosper and accumulated sufficient to make the required payments
without the assistance of Mr. Warner. He wheeled dirt in a barrow
to help build a mill race which is yet to be seen in Albion. On the
maternal side were Henry W. and Sophia S. Crittenden, nee Stowell,
who came from New York state to Albion in the thirties. Mr. Crittenden was in the grain and produce business. William R. Warner had
been a factory worker and an agriculturist for many years. Now he
is engaged in the produce business, at the age of sixty-seven. He and
Mrs. Warner are life-long residents of Albion. The Warners and
Crittendens have largely supported the Methodist Episcopal church.
Robert Warner was graduated from Albion High School in I899 and
set out to work in local factories. He became a dealer in dairy
products and an insurance agent and about ten years ago established
a grocery business which has been expanding since. His line is complete and the volume of business is large and profitable. He was first
on West Center street, then at 500 South Superior for three years and
in October, I923, moved to his present location at 402 South Superior.
On February 8, I9OI, Mr. Warner was united in marriage to Miss Edna
L. Gale, of Albion, daughter of Charles W. Gale. They have one son.
Mr. Warner has been an Odd Fellow many years and has gone through
all the chairs of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Cleveland Grover Watson.-Hard work is the only path to success.
It is the "golden path" and it alone, according to the judgment of Mr.
Watson, who knows whereof he speaks. His life speaks eloquently
of the sound doctrine of hard work and faithfulness to an ideal of
service. He has known toil all his life. As a matter of fact he has
been the provider of his clothing since he was five years old. At eleven
economic necessity cut short his school days and he trudged off to
the factory. He was manager of the Albion Bolt Company and the
phenomenal success of the company is in large measure directly attributed to the energy, the foresight and the service ideals that Mr.
Watson has injected into the organization. Mr. Watson was born
August 27, 1885, in Albion, the son of Walter Watson, who moved to
Albion when a young man. For twenty years Walter Watson was an
alderman and for two terms a justice of the peace in Albion. The
father suffered the loss, by amputation, of his right arm the issue of
a railroad accident and so Cleveland Grover Watson got into the bread
and butter struggle early by peddling papers and at eleven left school
and began work for the Gale Manufacturing Company in the shops of
which he was employed twenty-three years, a rather remarkable tenure
in view of quick changes these days. In I918 Mr. Watson became manager of the Albion Bolt Company, which was started in 1917. The
first year the plant produced 25,000 bolts a day and the production
has increased to about 6oo,ooo per day. At the beginning the company occupied 4,000 square feet of floor space, which has since been
increased to 34,200. About 150 men are employed and the product of
the company has wide distribution throughout the world. Mr. Watson
was united in marriage on December I8,:1I9o2, t6, Miss:Bertha Martitn.
They have two children, Don and Conner. Mr Watsron is a member




376


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


of the Moose. He is a Democrat but not of the hide-bound, intransigent
type. Mr. and Mrs. Watson are very fond of outdoor life and the
diversions it affords.
Charles Jerome Wells, ladies' hatter, located at 74 West Main
street, Battle Creek, and one of the best-known merchants of that
city, was born in Battle Creek on Division street, where the Pierce
Auditorium now stands, on December 6, i86i. His only other residence has been his present domicile, 135 East VanBuren street, where
he has lived for thirty-seven years. Mr. Wells graduated from high
school, and began business life with Wakelee & Griswold, dry goods
merchants. Three years later he spent two years in Marshall with
Edward L. Murphy, also in dry goods, and for seventeen years after
was in the employ of Marr & Duff, dry goods merchants in Battle
Creek, Michigan, as head salesman. In 1904 Mr. Wells engaged in
the millinery business for himself, and has been eminently successful.
Aside from business, Mr. Wells finds time for social activities, being
a member of the Athelstan Club and the Battle Creek Country Club;
also is affiliated with both the Battle Creek Elks and Knights of
Pythias. He holds Christian Science as his religion, and is a faithful
member of that church. In 1890 he was joined in marriage with
Elizabeth Adams, daughter of Charles M; and Narcissa Adams, Christian Science practitioners of Battle Creek. To Mr. and Mrs. Wells
were born three children: Joseph Carlton, born May 19, 1891, received his early education in Battle Creek public schools, and graduated from Manor School, Stamford, Connecticut. In 1917 he entered
the World War. He was trained at Fort Sheridan, and commissioned
second lieutenant of ordnance, and the following October was sent
over seas. Following his discharge, February I8, 1919, he also engaged in the millinery business in Battle Creek, Michigan. Dorothy
Louise, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wells, graduated from Battle
Creek High School, and from Wellesley College. She is now the
wife of J. J. Brown, of Battle Creek. Mary Elizabeth, the second
daughter, was also a graduate of Battle Creek High School, and of
the Beechwood Secretarial School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. She
is the wife of Morris L. Gardner, of Battle Creek, and the mother
of two children, Thomas Wells Gardner and Dorothy Ann Gardner.
Charles Jerome Wells is the youngest son of Sidney H. Wells, born
in Willeston, Vermont, and is a direct descendant from Revolutionary
ancestors. The wife of Sidney H. Wells was Mary Ann Martin, born
in Syracuse, New York. She came with her parents, in the early
days, to Battle Creek, driving the distance from Syracuse with an
ox-team. Her first husband was Lewis D. Burrall, and several children blessed this marriage. After the early death of Mr. Burrall,
Mrs. Burrall married Sidney H. Wells, and by this second husband
bore four children. Charles Jerome Wells is the only living issue
of this marriage. A half-brother, George T. Burrall, an octogenarian,
lives in Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Wells are both
deceased. The Wells family is a valuable integer in the social, commercial and civic life of the community.




I




ELLEN G. WHITE
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE ADVENTIST CHURCH




CALHOUN COUNTY


377


Thomas F. Whalen.-A long and energetic business career stamps
Thomas F. Whalen, president of the T. F. Whalen Grocery Company,
of Battle Creek, a successful merchant and a valuable business counselor. His interests are diversified, commercially, fraternally and
socially. The business to which he gives the greater part of his time
and attention is located at 32 West Main street and represents the
association of three brothers. George R. Whalen is the vice-president
and Fred A. Whalen secretary-treasurer of the corporation. Thomas
F. Whalen is a son of Battle Creek, born July 3, I870. He attended
parochial and public schools of his native city and the high school
as well. Upon leaving school Mr. Whalen began a connection with
John A. Van Valkenburg, one of the early and best-known merchants
of Battle Creek, working as a clerk. After a year he entered the
employ of Corwin & Austin, remained two years, and when the business was taken over by Austin & Company, Mr. Whalen remained
for a period of seventeen years. When the Austin & Company establishment was sold, Mr. Whalen engaged in business for himself at
32 West Main street, in I9OI, the firm designation being Whalen &
Taylor. In the course of a few years Mr. Taylor retired and his
interests were acquired by Mr. Whalen, and in I908, because of the
expansion of the business, it was necessary to incorporate and the
corporate name became The T. F. Whalen Company. The company
operates one of the finest stores in Battle Creek. Mr. Whalen's diverse
interests are disclosed in the fact that he is a director of the Central
National Bank and of the Calhoun Sayings and Loan Association.
He is vice-president of the Battle Creek Corset Company and a
director of the Chamber of Commerce. He is a director of the
Merchants' Dinner Club and a member of the Athelstan Club,
of the Battle Creek Country Club, of the Rotary Club and of the
St. Phillip's Catholic Church. He holds membership in the Elks,
the Independent Order of Foresters and the Knights of Columbus.
On July 25, I9go, Mr. Whalen and Miss Minnie M. Bishop, of Charlotte, Michigan, plighted their troth. Two children have come into
the family circle. Frances Whalen, who was graduated from Battle
Creek High School and studied at Olivet College, is now a student
at the University of Michigan. Richard T. Whalen, graduate of
high school, matriculated at the University of Albion in the fall
of I924.
Mrs. Ellen G. White.-By reason of the long-continued centralization of the activities of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Battle
Creek and in recognition of the talent and consecrated service of the
noble woman whose ability and earnest zeal found expression in
levelation and service of enduring worth to humanity, it is but consistent that in this publication be offered a brief trbiute to Ellen G.
White, who, with her husband, Elder James White, had leadership
in the upbuilding of the Adventist church and in its broad and varied
activities centrally staged in Battle Creek. It is impossible in the
prescribed limitations of this article to offer a comprehensive and
detailed review of the life and labors of Elder and Mrs. White, who




378


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


worked side by side in advancing the cause to which they had consecrated themselves and whose service had far-reaching influence in
furthering the interests of their church and the work of the Divine
Master whom they served. Record of their activities may be found
in more specific publications issued under the auspices of the Seventh
Day Adventist Church, and thus this memoir may find its consistent
function in touching briefly upon the life and labors of Mrs. White.
The spirit of prophesy had indwelling in the frail physical body of
Mrs. White, and the story of the sore travail, the hardships, the
sorrows, the heavy labors that were hers during the many years of
her consecrated service would fill a large volume. She was the true
and noble missionary, the leader in a great cause, the loving and
gracious woman whose heart was attuned to human sympathy that
found expression in helpfulness.
The marriage of Elder James White and Miss Ellen G. Harmon
was solemnized August 30, I846. Mrs. White was born and reared
in the state of Maine, a daughter of Robert and Eunice Harmon,
who were in early life devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal
church but who later became zealous leaders in the work of the Adventist church in their home state. Concerning his wife Elder White
later wrote as follows: "We were married August 30, 1846, and
from that hour to the present she has been my crown of rejoicing.
I first met her in the city of Portland, Maine. She was then a Christian of the most devoted type, and although but sixteen, she was a
laborer in the cause of Christ, in public and from house to house.
She was a decided Adventist, and yet her experience was so rich
and her testimony so powerful that ministers and leading men of
different churches sought her labors as an exhorter in their several
congregations. But at that time she was very timid, and little thought
that she was to be brought before the public to speak to thousands.
* * * It had been in the good providence of God that both of us
had enjoyed a deep experience in the Advent movement. * * *
This experience was now needed, as we should join our forces and,
united, labor extensively from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific,'to
build up churches and establish that discipline which the New Testament recognizes, and establish those institutions which should be
of great service to the cause of truth." Of how faithfully and effectively these two noble missionaries fulfilled the service which they
thus undertook, adequate record has been made in various publications. Elder White's narrative continues substantially as follows:
"We entered upon this work penniless, with few friends, and broken
~iriiinhalth. * * *: In this condition, without means, with very
feow 'wh6 sympathized with us in our views; without a paper and
without books, we entered upon our work. We had no houses of
' worshiip at'that t'ine. Most of:our meetings were held in private
lhiouses. ~Our cb/ngregations were small. It was seldom that any
canmeifito 6uf'tmeetings except Adventists, unless they were attracted
'Ibyiy 'iriisit:' to hear a Woman speak.* Mrs. White at first moved out
'i thtid; Wo rlk  t /bliei peakingtimidly. If she had confidence it was




CALHOUN COUNTY


379


given her by the Holy Spirit. If she spoke with freedom and power
it was given her of God."
Gracious visions and noble prophesy characterized the service of
Mrs. White during the long years of her earnest and consecrated
labor, which extended into many states of the Union, besides which
her writings found readers in many foreign lands and did much to
advance the cause of the Adventist church. She and her husband
were at the helm in guiding the ship of their cause into the central
harbor of Battle Creek, then a mere village, and in this city today
are a great church organization, a world famed sanitarium, a large
publishing house and many other centralized activities that must
ever stand in evidence of the noble service and splendid achievement
of Elder James White and his wife. The memory of Mrs. White is
revered as that of a true prophet, a wise and noble leader in a great
cause, and to her Battle Creek must ever pay a tribute of honor for
the service she here gave in the upbuilding of a great institution of
many influence contacts.
Interesting are the following extracts from the writings of Sister
White: "From the time we moved to Battle Creek, the Lord began
to turn our captivity. We found sympathizing friends in Michigan
who were ready to share our burdens and supply our wants. Old,
tried friends in central New York and New England, especially in
Vermont, sympathized with us in our afflictions, and liberally assisted
us in time of distress. At the conference at Battle Creek, in November, 1856, God wrought for us."
In all of the relations of life Mrs. White had the faith that makes
faithful, and she left an influence that shall ever continue to expand
in the angle of her benignant influence. Without attempting detailed
record concerning the family life and interests of Mrs. White and
the part she played in the upbuilding of the great Adventist organization at Battle Creek, this review may consistently be closed with
the following estimate, published in a previous semi-historical Michigan work, prior to the death of the subject of this memoir: "As a
speaker Mrs. White is one of the most successful of the few ladies
who have become noteworthy as lecturers in this country during the
last twenty years. Constant use has so strengthened her vocal organs
as to give her voice rare depth and power. Her clearness and strength
of articulation are so great that, when speaking in the open air, she
has frequently been distinctly heard at the distance of a mile. Her
language, though simple, is always forcible. When inspired with
her subject, she is often marvelously eloquent, holding the largest
audience spellbound for hours without a sign of impatience or weariness. The subject matter of her discourses is always of a practical
character, bearing chiefly on fireside duties, the religious education of
children,, temperance and kindred topics. On revival occasions she
is always the most effective speaker. She has frequently spoken to
immense audiences in the large cities, on her favorite themes, and
hss always been received with great fayor.",
As a gentle and noble woman in whom buriiedtth~ spirit of proph



380


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


esy, in whom was the capacity for great and worthy service, the life
story of Mrs. G. White is one filled with the record of good works
faithfully performed and of great achievement in the face of seemingly
insuperable obstacles.
Henry J. A. Wiegmink.-Faithful to his trust and conscientious
in his service to the government, daily bringing to those whom he
serves their messages of joy, of sorrow, of inspiration and of instruction, Battle Creek folks turn to Henry J. A. Wiegmink as an exemplar
of efficiency in public work and of intelligent contentment in private
life. No more worthy citizen commands the esteem and respect of
the community and this, it is probable, constitutes the larger share
of the compensation enjoyed by him. Mr. Wiegmink for twenty-one
years has been in the postal service. The high standard required by
the classified service calls for the exercise of rapid, accurate and
intelligent service in the postoffice department and as a whole the
postal employes occupy a high plane of mental equipment. M1Ir.
Wiegmink employs his leisure time in constructive thinking. He is
especially interested in local history and possesses much valuable data
pertaining to the history of Battle Creek and Calhoun county. He
is a member of the Michigan State Historical Society. Mr. Wiegmink
was born in Borculo, Michigan, September 3, 1882, the son of Herman
A. Wiegmink, native of Holland, Michigan, who died December 24,
I885. His wife was Minnie Wonnink, a native of The Netherlands,
who is living, aged sixty-two years. The son, Henry J. A., came to
Battle Creek when a child of six, attended grammar and high schools
and learned the art of printing. This he followed for five years and
then entered the postal service in Battle Creek and is rated one of
the most efficient members of the Battle Creek postoffice force. Mr.
Wiegmink owns and resides in a fine residence at 27 Sanderson street.
He is a member of the Maple Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
In I906 Mr. Wiegmink was united in marriage to Mamie Mitchell,
born in South Haven, Michigan. Four children are the issue of the
marriage: Herman C., born August 19, 1907; Richard, born June
26, I912; Allan A., born February 25, I916, and Gertrude M., born
February 15, I919.
Norman H. Wiener.-Mr. Wiener is an exponent of the doctrine
of conservation of resources. He is a dealer in waste material, operating establishments in Albion and in Battle Creek, Michigan.  In
the conduct of his business he has been successful, exceptionally so
perhaps because of tenacity and rigid adherence to certain business
principles the merit of which have been proved. Mr. Wiener was
born in Russia May I2, I89I, and in 1907 alone emigrated to America,
locating in Three Rivers, Michigan. He attended school in his native
land and improved his mental resources by studying English and
other branches. In I9II with the confidence and the capacity for
work that is characteristic of so many of alien birth, Mr. Wiener
established a scrap iron and general waste material business in Albion
and achieved success..A similar establishment is operated in Battle
Creek and Mr. Wiener has come. to be one of the largest dealers in




CALHOUN COUNTY


381


southern Michigan. In I916 he was united in marriage to Miss
Rose Stone, of Beloit, Wisconsin. They have two children, Jeannette,
aged seven, and Marjorie, aged three. Mr. Wiener is a Mason and
Pythian and belongs to other organizations.
Harry B. Williams.-Mr. Williams is the owner and director of
a large general merchandise store in Tekonsha, Michigan, influential
and respected. A member of the Masonic fraternity, he was also a
trustee of the Methodist church, and is now a director of the Union
church. His twenty-seven years of business life in Tekonsha have
inspired the confidence of the community in his integrity and ability.
Mr. Williams is the village assessor. He has been the village treasurer and a member of the council. He has been very active in village
affairs. Mr. Williams was born in Tekonsha in I87I, the son of Alvin
and Mary (Bliss) Williams. Both were born in Clyde, New York,
and about I865 came to Tekonsha. Alvin Williams was a teamster.
He died at the age of thirty-three years. Harry B. Williams received
his education in Tekonsha and attended business college in Ypsilanti
and at the age of fifteen went to work for Harvey Randall, a grocer
in Tekonsha. He worked for Mr. Randall while attending school
in the village. Upon leaving business college in Ypsilanti Mr. Williams was employed by the National Grocery Company at Jackson.
Later he bought the Randall grocery with R. H. Bartlett. The store
was operated under the name of Williams & Bartlett and in course
of time Mr. Williams bought the interest of Mr. Bartlett and has since
conducted it as his individual enterprise, but the store has changed
with the addition of other lines of merchandise and is now a large
general store. Mr. Williams has been quite successful during the
twenty-seven years of his business life in Tekonsha. In I897 Mr.
Williams and Miss Phebe Shedd were joined in wedlock. She was
born near Tekonsha, the daughter of Samuel Shedd, an early settler
of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have five children, Lelia,
Alvin, Ferne, Warren and Glenda. Lelia is a graduate of Tekonsha
High School, taught school and is the wife of Ralph Ambrose, who
is superintendent of schools at Carson City, Michigan. Alvin, a high
school graduate, is farming near Tekonsha. Ferne, a graduate of
Ypsilanti Normal, is head of the commercial department of Milford
(Michigan) High School. Warren and Glenda are in school in
Tekonsha.
Daniel T. Wilson.-Mr. Wilson, head of a widely known coal
business of Battle Creek, is one of the best-known citizens and an
exemplar of thrift and of temperateness. He heads the firm of D. T.
Wilson & Son, dealers in coal, coke and wood. Mr. Wilson was
born near Greenville, Fair Plains township, Montcalm county, Michigan, April 22, 1862, and earned his first dollar working in a potato
field for Senator George Miller. Mr. Wilson is a son of Thomas
and grandson of Daniel Wilson, who was born near Auburn, New
York. The father of Daniel Wilson and two brothers came from
Scotland. One brother, a Presbyterian minister, went to Virginia
and one to Iowa and the father of the grandfather of our subject




382.


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


settled in New York near Auburn, where. he spent his closing days.
Daniel Wilson, grandfather of our subject, came in 1836 to Sturgis,
Michigan, and died in the latter part of the same year. His wife
was Betsy Temple and she died in Red Cloud, Nebraska, in I885.
Thomas Wilson, father of Daniel Thomas Wilson, was born May 17,
1832, near Auburn, New York, and was four when he came to Sturgis.
In I840 he went with his mother and family to Marshall and in 1846
tq Greenville. The trip was made by ox-team and sled. There were
four sons and two daughters. The family settled on a farm of I6o
acres half of which is a part of the Montcalm county farm. Mrs.
Wilson went to Nebraska and lived with the youngest son, William J.,
and died in 1885 at the age of eighty-five. Thomas Wilson was a
farmer and stock raiser. His wife was Mary A. Shepard, born on
the banks of Lake Champlain January 30, 1832, and dying in Red
Cloud, Nebraska. She came to Michigan with her parents in 1836
and stayed over night on a vacant lot in Battle Creek at the corner
of Lake avenue and West Bidwell. Her father and her mother were
Joshua and Hannah Shepard. At the time Mr. Shepard overheard
a discussion as to the possible location of the postoffice, there being
a general discussion as to whether it should be on the corner where
the postpffice now stands or on Verona street. He passed on to Grand
Rapids, then to Ionia, bought I60 acres of land, a part of which is
incorporated in the Ionia county farm. He died in 1837, leaving five
sons and two daughters, the latter twins, Mary and Sarah. The wife
of Joshua Shepard died in her sixties. She was of Scotch descent.
Daniel T. Wilson is in possession of a razor made by the father of
Joshua Shepard, who used it all his life as did his two sons, William
and Norman, who lived together forty-nine years. The razor was
passed on to a son of Daniel T. Wilson, Norman Wilson, who died
May 26, 1912, less than a month after receiving the unusual heritage.
The father of. Daniel T. Wilson, and mother, had four sons and two
daughters. About a year after the death of his first wife the senior
Wilson married Clara Birch, and had one son, Jesse Earl, who lives
in the old homestead. The oldest brother of Daniel T. deserves special
mention. He was Rev. Gilbert Temple Wilson, born in Montcalm
county, December 6, I855. He began preaching in 1884 in Jackson
and later became presiding officer of the Virginia, Florida, Georgia
and Tennessee conferences of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and
aided materially in extending church work in the South. He was called
to New Zealand and died in Brisbane January 13, I899. He was on
the committee that selected Avondale College. At sixteen he was
superintendent of Sunday schools in Greenville, Michigan, and at
eighteen lectured on temperance. He became widely known as an
anti-liquor crusader. Daniel Thomas Wilson attended the common
schools of Montcalm county, was a student one year at Battle Creek
College and received private tutelage. He learned bookbinding, became proficient and worked at the trade twenty-two years. He was
with some of the largest publishers, including the Conkey company,
of Chicago. For eighteen years he was with the Review and Herald,




CALHOUN COUNTY


383.


of Battle Creek; also with the Gage & Ellis Publishing Company.
For three years he was engaged in the real estate business, but on
May I, 19II, bought the Knox Coal Company and on January 7, I913,
the F. W. Barney Coal Company, consolidating the two companies
with himself as sole proprietor. On November i, 1922, his son,
Everett T., became a member of the firm and the designation was
changed to D, T. Wilson & Son. The firm has been eminently successful. Just lately the firm disposed of this business. Mr. Wilson
is a member of Masonic Lodge No. I2, Odd Fellows Lodge No. 272,
Rebekah Lodge No. 297, the Merchants' Dinner Club, the Chamber
of Commerce, Modern Woodmen of America and Modern Brotherhood of America. On September 24, I883, he came to Battle Creek
and on June 4, I89o, was united in marriage to Cora E. Dickey, of
Hillsdale, Michigan. She was born in Woodbridge, Hillsdale county,
October i8, I871. The Wilsons have four sons. Edward T., photoengraver by trade, formerly with Gage & Son and Thompson's Engraving Company, is associated with his father in the coal business.
His wife was Ruth B, Fisher. They have two children, Esther Emagene and Helen Elizabeth. Darwin Wilson died in infancy. Charles
Henry Wilson, graduate of Battle Creek High School, is in the United
States Army, a captain in the Second division, now teaching in the
Ninth infantry. He was with his father until the outbreak of the
World War, leaving for Fort Sheridan May 15, I9I7. After ninety
days he was promoted to second, then first lieutenant on January I,
I918. In April of that year he was married to Eloise Torongo. Their
children are Robert Duane, born October I8, I920, and Betty Frances,
born November 13, I923. The fourth child of the Wilsons was Norman, born July 20, 1901, who died May 26, I912. The first dollar
Daniel Thomas Wilson earned was when he was fourteen years old,
helping cover ten acres of potatoes six miles east of Greenville for
Senator Miller. The latter in the course of three years paid off a
mortgage of $3,000 and this was said to have been virtually the
beginning of the making of Greenville as a great potato center. Mr.
Wilson is a strong temperance advocate and abstemious, never having touched liquor or tobacco. He states that he has never heard
his brothers utter a single word of profanity. The Wilson home is
at 125 College street.
David Young.-One of the pioneer citizens of Calhoun county,
Michigan, and a man who did much to bring this region from its state
of virgin wilderness to its present high place among civilized communities was David Young. Born December 22, 1816, he was the eldest
of a family of nine children born to Joseph and Elizabeth (Van Wert)
Young, at that time living in Otsego county, New York. He came to
Michigan in the spring of 1836 with his parents, and settled on what
became known as the Young farm on Goguac Prairie, this county. In
October, I845, he married Delilah Helmer, and they became the
parents of five solis, three of whom grew to manhood, Edward,. Charles
and Myron. After a long life of useful endeavor in the upbuilding and
development not only of his farm but of the county as well, David




384


HISTORIC MICHIGAN


Young passed away on August 23, 1909, aged ninety-two years, eight
months and one day, his wife having died January 14, 1898, at the age
of seventy-two years, two months and twenty-two days. Edward P.
Young, one of their sons, spent his entire life in or near Battle Creek
with the exception of several years spent at Santa Barbara, California.
He was born July 26, 1849, and married Emily, daughter of George
and Diadama Andrus, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this
work, on April I6, I873. He died February 3, 1922, leaving, besides
his wife, a son, George D. Young, of Los Angeles, California; a
daughter, Mrs. L. J. Montgomery, of Battle Creek, Michigan, and two
granddaughters, Yvonne and Leila Young, of Los Angeles. Charles
Younig, another son of David Young, was born in February, I85I, was
for many years a druggist in Battle Creek, and died December I9,
1907, leaving a son, John N. Young, of Buffalo, New York. Myron
Young, the third son of David Young to grow to manhood, was born
in October, I853. His life was spent at the old family homestead
(Young farm) on Goguac Prairie, and at the time of his death on
August 9, I92I, he left one daughter to survive him, Mrs. Edward
Weinberg, of Battle Creek. The record of the Young family plays
an important part in the history of Calhoun county, both in business
affairs and in the pursuits of agriculture.
Archer Lee Young, who was born in Jackson county, Michigan,
not far from Albion, received his early education in Concord, that
county, and spent three years in Albion College. He worked in a
dry goods store and in 1898 entered the hardware business with a
brother as A. L. & D. C. Young. Subsequently he continued for a
period in the business alone and then entered the retail shoe business
through the firm of Hill & Young. About I916 he relinquished shoes
and entered the coal and wood business, becoming a member of the
firm of McDougal & Young. In 1898 Mr. Young was married to Miss
Effie M. Rogers, of Albion. They have four children, Elizabeth, a
senior in Albion College; Esther, Ralph and Ruth, in the public schools.
Five years ago Mr. Young was elected a member of the city council.
He is now serving his fourth year as mayor. lie belongs to the
Masons and the Golf Club. He and Mrs. Young are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Young is a son of Henry and Ella
(Shinnick) Young. The father was born on a farm a few miles west
of Albion where he spent most of his life. The grandfather was Casimer Young, a native of Germany, who died in 1880 at the age of ninety
years. His wife was Elizabeth Young, who aided her husband materially in tilling the soil. The maternal grandparents of Archer Lee
Young were natives of Ireland and farmed land in the vicinity of
Albion. William  Shinnick, a brother of Mrs. Henry Young, was
killed in the Civil war while serving in the Union army. The Young
family and its various connections are well and favorably known in
this section of the state.
Thomas Zelinsky, M.D., is one of Battle Creek's most active citizens, one who has taken a wholesome interest in public affairs-a
wholesome rebuttal of the charge that professional men have little




CALHOUN COUNTY                      385
time and less inclination for public service. The Doctor served one
term as mayor of Battle Creek and in other ways, aside from purely
professional, has been helpful in the development of a community
spirit and the promotion of civic ideals. Doctor Zelinsky was born in
Madison, Wisconsin, January I6, 1876, came to Michigan when young
and received his elementary education in public grade and high schools.
In 190o he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan and the same year chose Battle Creek as his
permanent home. The Doctor maintains a splendidly equipped office
at 35 East Main street and is devoting his time and talents to the
general practice of medicine and surgery. He is a member of the
Calhoun County and Michigan State Medical Societies, the American
Medical Association, the Athelstan Club, Battle Creek Country Club
and the Kiwanis Club. Masonically, he has attained the thirty-second
degree in the Scottish Rite. In I902, Doctor Zelinsky was married
to Miss Jessie Reasoner, of LeRoy, Calhoun county. They had two
children, Frances, who died at the age of ten, and Thomas, Jr., who
was born in August, 1922.








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