-:;I 0 -m- 00 f Z-cSB~~I2 I * For further data regarding John Smith, see Charles A. Weissert "An Account of Kalamazoo County, Michigan" (Nat'l Hist. Assn., Inc.), pub. with George N. Fuller's "Historic Michigan," vol. 3, p. -. t '1::::::.,::: i::::::::: K? t?$ KALAMAZOO COUNTY ;~-;::.-:_-;-:-:;-:-:;-:;:::;:::-::: ~;:::::'::-::: ~;:::::-~:i::~-:::;::i:::.:: _:::,: -:::: ~: i::: i:- —: 'h:: i :~~ cis: _-~i~: W-;~~~;rI~: LAND OF THE GREAT LAKES Its lif e, resources, industries, people, politics, government, wars, institutions, achievements, the press, schools and churches, legendary and prehistoric lore Edited by GEORGE N. FULLER, A.M. (Harvard), Ph.D. (Univ. of Mich.) Also An Account of KALAM14AZOO( COUNTY Edited by CHARLES A. WEISSERT VOLUME III Published by National Historical Association, Inc., and dedicated to the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, in commemoration of its fiftieth "anniversary THIS IS TH9,rvR,,1v7-TY OF Cti-jens Hisforical A zLtio CHAMBER OF COMMjEROU 8LOQ INDIANAPOLIt IND. IBSr ^^'*:,-*,-11,1-1' ''*''. *f * 1, ( X., 0; 0 f - 5. *1', X 1'*:;*,.',^:^'^^^^ 1%%^^ ', *, l^ ': f: '::~:,, S 0 \ '.,, d _ '.;':-.. -: ^.. +:: f:0000 r idV0:A::,.:.Z.n f 0 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 XA 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. t::L: 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 LURE-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. —. --- —----- ---------... — 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 FRANCE - 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 xii 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 AID-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 ---— 1 ----1 ---.121-126 CHAPTER IV-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 KALAMAZOO —BRONSON BECOMES COUNTY SEAT-BRONSON WHITTLES IN JUDGE FLETCHER'S COURT ROOM --------------------------------------— 127-157 CHAPTER VII-THE PIONEERS-CONTRASTING PICTURES OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE THE FIRST SETTLERS-FIRST CROPS AND ARDUOUS CONDITIONS OF THE TIMES FIRST HOUSES AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION-LAND CLEARING AND CROP RAISING AS COMPARED TO PRESENT DAY METHODS-HOME TRADES —CHARACTER OF PIONEERS - ------------------------- --.158-161. CHAPTER VIII-COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT TERRITORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY UNDER FLAGS OF FOUR NATIONS-BRIEF RESUME OF HISTORY PRIOR TO ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY-ENABLING ACT OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY-ITS PROVISIONS-LOCATION OF COUNTY SEAT AND REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS ENTRUSTED WITH THE TASK-FOUNDING OF KALAMAZOO-GENERAL JUSTICE BURDICK-KALAMAZOO A FRONTIER TOWN-FIRST MANAGEMENT OF COUNTY IN HANDS OF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS-FIRST BUSINESS OF COUNTY-FORMING OF BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS-BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RE-INSTATED IN 1842-CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF JUDGES OF CIRCUIT COURT, PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS AND COUNTY CLERKS. --- — 162-169 TABLE OF CONTENTS xiii CHAPTER IX-KALAMAZOO AN INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL CENTER INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS-WHOLESALE AND JOBBING TRADE-A DISTRIBUTING CENTER-PRINCIPAL KALAMAZOO MANUFACTURERS AND PROCESSES — KALAMAZOO RAILWAY. SUPPLY COMPANY-THE RETAIL TRADE-KALAMAIZOO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND ITS WORK --- —------------------ 170-178 CHAPTER X-PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS KALAMAZOO PUBLIC SCHOOLS-ELEMENTARY-JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL-MANUAL ARTS AND PREVOCATIONAL SCHOOLS-HOUSEHOLD ARTS DEPARTMENT-HEALTH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT-ART TRAINING — MUSIC DEPARTMENT-RESEARCH DEPARTMENT-SCHOOLS FOR SPECIAL TYPES OF INSTRUCTION —EVENING CLASSES-SUMMER SCHOOL AND OTHER SERVICE -A GENERAL SUMMARY-WESTERN STATE NORMAL SCHOO —KALAMAZOO COLLEGE-NAZARETH ACADEMY-ST. ANTHONY'S SCHOOL FOR FEEBLE MINDED CHILDREN-PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS-OTHER SCHOOLS ------------------- 179-189 CHAPTER XI-MILITARY KALAMAZOO COUNTY IN MEXICAN WAR-THE CIVIL WAR, GIVING A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE ACTIVITIES AND ENGAGEMENTS PARTICIPATED IN BY ORGANIZATIONS CONTAINING KALAMAZOO COUNTY MEN - SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR-RICHARD WESTNEDGE CAMP NO. 16, UNITED SPANISH WAR VETERANS -GENERAL WILLIAM R. SHAFTER-WORLD WAR, GIVING LIST OF THOSE WHO DIED IN SERVICE FROM KALAMAZOO COUNTY-THE AMERICAN RED CROSS —LIBERTY LOAN DRIVES-THE SELECTIVE DRAFT BOARDS-FUEL ADMINISTRATION-ARMORY BOARD OF CONTROL, WAR CAMP COMMUNITY SERVICE, KALLAMAZOO PATRIOTIC LEAGUE, D. A. R., SALVATION ARMY, WAR MOTHERS OF AMERICA, FOOD ADMINISTRATION, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A., DEFENSE COUNCIL AND MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS-AMERICAN LEGION-NATIONAL GUARD UNITS OF THE PRESENT-U. S. ARMY RESERVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION -------------—.-.-......-.-_.................... 190-203 CHAPTER XII-LAND OFFICE DAYS IN KALAMAZOO AN ARTICLE PREPARED BY T. S. ATLEE FOR THE LADIES' LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SHOWING HECTIC DAYS OF LAND SPECULATION --- ----------- 204-209 CHAPTER XIII-THE PRESS AN ACCOUNT OF KALAMAZOO NEWSPAPERS FROM THE EARLIEST DAY TO THE PRESENT ---FIVE VILLAGE NEWSPAPERS-STATE'S FIRST RURAL FREE MAIL SERVICE AT CLAMAX, AND IMPORTANT FACTOR IN GROWTH OF NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION ---------------- ---- ----------—............. 210-214 CHAPTER XIV-MISCELLANEOUS KALAMAZOO CHURCHES-FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS-THE WORK OF THE D. A. R. CHAPTER -—...-...__.............................. 215-217 KALAMAZOO STATE HOSPITAL BY DR. HERMAN OSTRANDER --- —- ------.-..........- 339-343 xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS Index to Personal Records ACKER, URAL S ---............... --- —-220 ALLEN, GLENN S. --- —------------- 221 ALLEN, OSCAR M. --- —-----------— 222 ANDERSON, HARLEY W. --- ——. --- —221 BACON, CLYDE M.-........... --------—. 224 BALCH. JAMES B......... --- —-—. ----- 224 BALCH, NATHANIEL A. --- —------— 226 BARDEEN, GEORGE E. --- —----------- 317 BARDEEN, NORMAN -----------------— 228 BELL, MYRON H.-.. --- —-. --- —---— 230 BENNETT, CHARLES L. --- —-------— 230 BERRY, JEROME F.. --- —------— 231 BESTERVELT, MERENEUS --- —------— 232 BTERENS, CORNELIUS W. --- —. --- —-232 BLAKESLEE, A. L. ---. --- —--------- 229 BLANEY, CHARLES A. --- —-------— 233 BIINKS, WALTER M. ------------— 234 BOUDEMAN, DALLAS --- —------------- 237 BOYDEN, JESSE S. --- —-------------- 320 BOYS, CHARLES E. --- —--- --------— 2 —234 BRENNER, ELBERT R. --- —---------- 235 BRUNDAGE, HOMER F. --- —-------- 235 BRUNDAGE, RAY 0. --- —-—. --- —---— 236 BRYANT, WILLARD M. --- —--------— 239 BURDICK, WALTER P. --- —----------- 240 BURNHAM, GILES C; --- —------------- 240 BURNS. JOHN T. --- —--------------— 241 CAMPBELL, CHARLES S. --- —--------- 241 CARNEY, CLAUDE S. --- —------------ 242 CARYL, CHARLES H. --- —------------ 243 CHAPPELL, FRED L............. --- 24244 CLAPP, THADDEUS S. --- —------—. ---244 CLONEY, LEO --- —----------—. 3 — 08 COLLINS, WARD E. --- —-----------— 246 COMBS, LEROY H. --- —------ -----— 247 DALM, JACOB A. --- —------------ 248 DAVIS, GEORGE C. --- —-------------- 248 DF,BOER, PETEL ------------------— 249 DEN BLEYKER, HARRY -20 --- —---— 250 DEN BLEYKER, JOHN -------- -- 249 DEN BLEYKER, PAULUS ----------— 250 DE RIGHT, JOHN P. --- —----------- 251 DIBBLE, CHARLES L. --- —---------— 251 DOLD, JACK ------------------- 252 DOUGLASS, CAPT., RICHARD.-3 --- —— 308 DRAKE, ELLIS H. --- —--------------— 252 DUMOUCHEL. JOSEPH S. W. -----— 253 EARL, OTIS A. --- —--—. ----. --- —-- 254 EATON, DAN H. —. — ----------— 254 FITZGERALD, WILLIAM L. --- —----- 256 FOLLMER, JOHN F. ---- ----- -. — 337 FOLZ COMPANY, THE SAM --- —--- 311 Fox, HELEN MAR — ------------— 257 GARRISON, MISS FLORA ---- -—. --- —257 GIBSON, SAMUEL A. --- —-------— 235 GIFFORD, ARLON H.-..-.. --- --- 258 GILLETTE, CLARENCE --- —------------ 321 GILMAN, ALEX G. ---— i --- —- 258 GILMORE BROTHERS --- —-—.. --- — 259 GODFREY, CLARK C. —..-.. -------- 261 GOEMBEL, ROSCOE G. --- —---------— 261 GRAFF, SAMUEL ----------------— 261 GREGG, SHERMAN --- —------... --- —- 262 HARLOW, WILLIAM.0 --- —-. - -----— 322 HASTINGS, T. W. --- —-------------— 263 HENWOOD, ALBERT E. --- —--------- 263 HORNBECK, LEROY. ---. --- —------ 264 HUBBARD. SILAS --- —-------- -- 255 HUYSER, WILLIAM C. --- —----------- 264 INCH, GEORGE F. --- —--------------- 264 JACKSON, H. CLAIR ---------------— 266 KING, JOHN F. --- —------------- 309 KING, MERRILL B. ----------------— 310 KLEINSTUCK, CAROLINE H. -------- 255 KRILL, CHARLES A. --- —------------ 267 LOVELAND, WILLIAM MCC --------- 330 LANG, WALTER W. --- —-------------- 267 MCALLISTER, FRANK E. --- —------- 247 MCDUFFEE, ALICE L. --- —--------- 313 MCKINNON, JOHN. --- —-------- 322 MCKINSTRY, CHARLES E. --- —------ 268 MCKINSTRY, MARK S. --- —--------- 269 MARPLE, FLOYD T. --- —------------- 270 MASON, EDWIN --- —-------------- -— 328 MASON, LYNN B. --- —--— 271 MEISTERHEIM, A. F. --- —--- ---— 272 MILLER, CLARENCE L.-. --- —------ 272 MILLS, ALFRED J. --- —----------- 273 MONTAGUE. WILLIAM F. --- —----- 324 NIBBELINK, BENJAMIN ----— 2 --- —- -274 NUSBAUM, D. S. --- —------—..- 275 OIMSTED, FLOYD R. ----. ---. --- —— 3 25 OSBORN, DONALD C. — ------------- 320 OSBORN, JAMES W. --- —----------- 316 OSBORNE, DONALD P. --- —-—. --- —-- 276 OSBORNE, HARRIS B. —. --- —.. --- —-- 301 OSTRANDER, HERMAN --- -------- --- 265 PAGENSTECHER, FELIX ------- -— 277 PECK, WILLIAM H.. ----. ----.. ---278 PECK, JUDGE WILLIAM W. --- —---- 275 PENFIELD, JOHN L. --- —---------- 278 PHILLIPS, BEATRICE N. —.. —. --- —-- 279 PLATT, FRANCES ------------------ 280 POMEROY, CLARENCE H.- --—.. --- — 280 PRANGE, HENRY T. --- —---- -------- 281 PRATT, F. A. --- —------------------ 281 PUFAHL, ALBERT J. --- —-------- ---— 282 RABBERS, ABRAHAM. --- —------- — 282 TABLE OF CONTENTS xv RYAN, J. H. --- —.. --- —----- ------ 282 SALES, JAMES A. --- —---------------- 285 SCHOLTEN, DIRK J. ---...... --....... 286 SEVERENS, HENRY F. --- —-----—. —. — 328 SHAW, GEORGE D. --- —...-.-....... --- 286 STEVENS, EDWARD J. ---.. --- —------.287 STEWART, LEONARD H. ------------— 288 STONE, WILLIAM A. --- —---—..... ----- 331 TAYLOR, GEORGE K. ----2 ---_.. ---_ ---2 8 8 TITUS, ALBION B., JR. --- —--------- 289 TUCKER, WILLIAM --— 3 --- —--—... ----3 2 7 UPJOHN, JAMES T. --- —---- ------ 290 U PJOHN. URIAH. ----------------— 283 UPJOHN, WILLIAM E. ---. --- —------ 291 VAN DEUSEN, E. H. ---.. --- ——....., 293 VISWAT, HARM ---— 294 WALKER, GEORGE E. --- —------- ---- 295 WALSH, A. WILLIAM -----------— 297 WEISSERT, CHARLES A. --- —-2 --- —— 219 WEST, ARTHUR E. --- —--------—. — - 298 WHEATON, GLEN C.. —. --- —-------- 298 WHITE, ALBERT S. --------------— 299 WHITE, H. E. --- —--------------- 300 WIGGINTON, GEORGE P. --- —--------- 304 WINSLOW, GEORGE C. --- —-----—.-. 304 WOODRUFF, LEONARD ------------ 305 WOODWARD, DICK ------------------— 306 WYKKEL, LEO J. --- —----------------— 307 YOUNG, GEORGE W. --- —. --- —-. --- 307 i I I~f r ~~ I - l u7 — ~ -1 - '- I I I;::: I L I -:,- ~::7_;~` m; ": IM, OR" I:f I. -," KALAMAZOO COUNTY COURTH(OUSE CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY REVIEW 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 ope'ned 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 1684, shows a remarkable accuracy in locations of streams. The St. Joseph is the Riviere des Miamis; the Black river, the Noire; thle 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, * * * 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 I771, 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 baiks 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 M'ichigan. The earliest, it has been ascertained, came from the north, bringing with it drift copper from the Lake Superior region. The other two came from the direction of Georgian Bay. Between 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 say, though one scientist declares that it might have been as late as eighteen thousand years ago. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 contours 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 Verona 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 stret'ches 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 whiteoak, 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 clurips 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 21 at the bidding of modern man. Dredgers in 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 how 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 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 fee 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 I682, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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. He 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 we started 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 i'n 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 Gull1 Prairie, entered what is now Barry county, traversed the Yankee KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 i'n 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 1678, 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 XALAMAZOO COUNTY 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, i679, 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 I669. 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 i678, 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 I685, 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 (uring 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 I702, 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 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Matte, the great grandson of a soldier in the fort, to Matson, Illinois historian, that Tonty died in 1718 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 ah 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 to 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, I68o, 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 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 "Griffiin" 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 Totty 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 Frontenae. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 no 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 i670. 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 171I, 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 Frontenac. 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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. IHe 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 1683, 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 R ESTLESS 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 12, 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 control the Indians, and to pro KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 I3, 1687, 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 Valqrennes. 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 Michilimackinac. 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, in order to put them into the kettle. The greater number were opened while KALAA2 zQQo COUNTY 37 still warm that their blood might be drank. Our rascally Outaouas distinguished themselves particularly by these barbarities and by tfheir 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, 1688, 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, I690, 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, Frontenac 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. 5I0). 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, 1689, 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, 1686, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 I69O." Father Allouez, whose labors ended amid the scenes traversed in I675 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 I657 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 4o HI1TORIC 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 women. 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 inp 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 the 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 covering your dead who were killed by the Iroquois, and to tell you that you ~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 not keen able to learn your thought from your own lips 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. 6g9). 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, Fronteuac 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 onlyby 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 tot believe the Miamis wish to obey me until they make, 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 desire. you to follow him. Do as he desires you, and in obeying me you will' KALAMAZOO COUNTY 43. find a father who will, if necessary, 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, I696, 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 Kalamazoo 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 MICHIOAN the preceding year the king had forbidden the Governor-General to permit any Frenchmen to go up to theIndian 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 '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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 45 been brought to Montreal by Cadillac when reports were received the British were outfitting an expedition for the conquest of Canada. In February, I698, 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, 1698. 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, I700, 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, 170I. 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, 1701. * 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 21, 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 1717, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 tnotable 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 Governor*General 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 Derum. The conclave 4S HISTORIC MICHIGAN ended with a great feast at which three roasted oxen were served.. Firing of caution 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 forconsummating the peace and to ask that Jesuit priests be sent to them. Europe now plunged into the war of the Spanish Succession, Queen Anle 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 religious work they had accomplished among the Indians would be endangered by degrading KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 19, I702, 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. 18). (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 I707, 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, 1706: "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 Miami's 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 establishmeint 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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, I707, 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 oh 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 oh August 14, I706: "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 I' 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, unless 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 French 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, KALAMAZOO COUNTY 53 Father Chardon, Jesuit missionary, followed his congregation of Potawatomies. This is believed to have been between the years of I707 and I7IO, 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 account, 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 not 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 1685. 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 Io, 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 Vincennes, 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. 501). 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, 1711, 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 sentt 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 W ATER CHINKAPIN-SUNSET LAKE LIBRARY-VICKSBURG, MICHIGAN KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 21, I7t2: "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 I718. "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 1712, 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 I715 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 neck 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 57 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 all the savages near the Great Lakes, and has learned enough of the Illinois language to make himself understood, though he has acquired it o'nly 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, 1719, 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 I715. 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 1719 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 17I5 when he led the French in the Fox Indian war. This was Jean Baptiste de St. Ours, Sieur Deschiallons. He was born it 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 1729, Quebec in 1734, and Fort St. Frederic in 1738. He died in Quebec in I747. Sieur de Montmidy, a petty officer, was sent to relieve Deschiallons. He was given a permit to proceed on May 21, 1721, "with a 58 8HISTORIC MICHIGAN canoe in which he is to carry necessities to the post on the River St. Joseph. Registered May 27, I72I." 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 1921-1922). 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 1721. 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, 172I, 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 RALAMAZOO COUNTY 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, I76I). The stream, Father Charlevoix declared, was navigable for a great distance, and with headwaters hot 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 palisade, 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 India'ns 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." I 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, took 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, neat'ness 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 63 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." For 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 Gonteville; 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 2I, 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 64 HISTORIC MICHIGAN band in the lonely wilderness post. Among the conges registered at Montreal was one issued by M. de Longueuil May 2I, 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 1728 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 i, 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. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 65 Writes the commandant at Detroit to the Marquis de Beauharnois. August 22, I730: "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 Indiansrather 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 66 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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, 1739-Sieur Gatineau. One canoe manned by the follow KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 I9, 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 17, 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 10, 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 Io, I745-Raymond Quenet. One canoe and three men: Francois (effaced), Jean Parc, Andre Lecourt. June 13, I745-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, 1746, 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, 68 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 Laprairie; 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, x747 —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 1748, it was stated that there was no need of more goods at this post. In I748, 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 I747, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 69 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 70 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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. Correspo'ndence 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; KALAMAZOO COUNTY 71 Joseph Hus, of Berthier; Louis Petit, called Rossingnol, of Montreal; Antoine Larivere, father and Joseph Larviere, son, of Pointe-Claire. June I7, 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, I75I-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, I752-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 I75I, 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, 1781. 72 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 Duquesne (Pittsburgh). Braddock's army was beaten with a loss of six hundred 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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; Lo'ndon, 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 I757, 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 1757 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 I758, 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 (1758). 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 1759 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. 74 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 75 they shall not 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 Francaise, 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 intp the town on November 29, and the oath of allegiance was administered to the inhabitants. It was not until September, 1761, 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. 76 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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, Mliamis, &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 o1 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 I671 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 dui Canada, Serie A, Vol. XVIII-I, p. 141). 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 78 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 I762 and I763 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. I8I). 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 79 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 80 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 India'n 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 1789. When Sir William Johnson embarked at Niagara for Detroit on August I9, 176I, 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 "L 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 I772, 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 82 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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. 26I). 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 I2, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 14, 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 84 fISTORIC 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, I776, 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 1777. 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). KALAMAZOO COUNTY 86 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. ii6). 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 1778, 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 86 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 I778 raised the force which retook Vincennes only to be captured with all his garrison by George Rogers Clark in February, I779, 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 1775 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 expeditio'n. 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, 1779, 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. 88 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, 1779, 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, 1779: "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 (1'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 I783, 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, KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 O 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 Lieutena'nt George Clowes and an Indian contingent under Chief Matche 90 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 I774. 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 Bennett'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 Bennett 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. HISTORIC MICHIGAN "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 bitter 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 9~3 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 Miichilimackinac 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 94 HISTORIC MICHIGAN father? Above all, remember, do not change your resolution (nor) neglect your fields, but gather together width 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 hot 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 St. 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. 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 detachmett'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 bf 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 97 region George Rogers Clark and his army of backwoodsmen, from the frontier of Virginia and other colonies, had been informed 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. On 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 i'nterest. (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." 98 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." (Haldimald Papers, Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 301), It was in August, I778, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 99 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, I779, and July 30, 1780, 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, Etne. 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 100 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" and 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 15, 1780, 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 loth 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 102 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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. * * * Twenty 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 Mackinac 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 103 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,200 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." 104. HISTORIC MICHIGAN (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 Lieutena'nt-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 man 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 been informed of the result of this step), the petitioner accompanied this officer on his return to KALAMAZOO COUNTY 105 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 Vincennes, 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 this 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, 106 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 return 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 until De Peyster sent thither Lieutenant Dagneau de Quindire, 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 formerlby 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, 1780, 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. 40I). 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, I780. "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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 107 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 a'n 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." InVincennes 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 Hennnepin 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). 108 HISTORIC MICHIGAN. 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 Mobns. Trottier, an inhabitant of the Cahoes," wrote de Peyster to General Powell, January 8, 178I. "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 (Detrolit). 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. 291). 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 I79o 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 H-amelin 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 109 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, 178I, 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 110 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 I2, 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 procedienltes 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 111 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 alldance 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 stand 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 I9, 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. CHAPTER IV MICHIGAN AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR T HOUGH 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 Harrison, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 almost destitute and laboring under a false apprehension that their white neighbors, taking advantage of the Black Hawk excitement, meditated an attack upon their village, UISBTO$IC MIOHIQAN 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 POTAWATOM IES The sequel of the efforts of Mr, Schellhous was that the interview or conference was finally held, at the cabin of Captai'n 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 XKALAMAZOO COUtNTYr 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, I793, and in the same county his father, Samuel Brown, was born, of Quaker parents, in 1750. In 1799 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 1829 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 1839 he was brigadier of the Michigan state guards and also examiner of West Point cadets. In I836 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 HAWIK 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 cladin 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 Allen, 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 G. Richardson, John Rose, Alfred S. Driggs, Sylvester Brockway. (Note on margin: "Mustered into service May 26, and dismissed June 3, 1832.") KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 a'nd 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. I832 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, 1832, a mile from Niles, the headquarters of the brigade. Colonel 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 12D IISTisto1t Mr~lIVIAN 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 miuch. I sent thehi wOrd to quit drinking and plant corn and live like white people. Everybody knows me, and khnos 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 Gheeral 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 ahd 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 I2. 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 corner 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 I4, Ross township, then turned southeast again and leaves the county near the southeast corner of Section z4, Ross township. A branch of this trail left it Hear the southeast corner-of Section 32, Richland townsh;ip atd ran nearly east to the northeast comer 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 1812, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 123 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 I831." 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 124 ilisi~oltid M10110A14~ 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 t6, on land formerly owned by A. D. Chappel. Many bones were found, probably those of battle victims, as three earthworks or fortifications were fouid nearby. The third mound is desribed 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 13. 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 S. 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 us 1860. Around the mouinds and earth KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 x, otn 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 inclosure 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 FROM 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 a'nd 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 Fra'nquelin'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 moulnted 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 wfhich connected with an KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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............................6........ 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. This 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 beern 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 1795, 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: KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 I th, 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 I5th 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 1799. (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: "IHe 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 chief command. Grignon adds 132 ItiSTOltia MIICIIIGKXr 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 I763." 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 an'nual return of this happy day, rendered still more dear by the brotherly ufion 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? KALAMAZOO COUNTY 133 "Elder Brother: You may believe what I say, and 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 134 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 unow 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 hot 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). I :~*e:: — i-:-_: I i:-i:::::: i -:i: —:i —:::::::::~:;::, r:::::-:;:::::: ::::::::::::::::-:::::::::::-_ -a:x *- I:-:-~ dj 8&1:::::ii:i:::i::i: :::::: ~i::::: 71i u ~-lii_::i:::i: r I P:: r!::::: i:i —:.:;::-ii::- _ —i —:::-:-: -:: i-:::::lil:-:::,a 1 j -.Y KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 136 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 Inow 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 I8I2, 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 1842, 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 Maiden: "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 was 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 138 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 any 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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, how'ever, 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 140 IRIOTQRI( M-101110ANQ 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 1ALAMAZOO COtUNTY 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, until 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 one 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 on 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 142 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 1812 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 1833: "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, 1813, 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 cou-nty, 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 144 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 Potawatamie 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 I82I, 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 I5, 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 1827. (American State Papers, Vol. VI, Indian Affairs, p. 258). When Titus Bronson, the eccentric personage who founded Bronson, which afterward became Kalamazoo, arrived in I829 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 fhe first settlers. Mr. Hubbard wrote: "In 1820 I was at the mouth of the Muskegon river, also trading, and the year 1822 I spent at what is now Kalamazoo. There was no KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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, I802. 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 Macki'nac. 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 i832. 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 1824 and in the spring returned to Mackinac. In the fall of I824, 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 ujp 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 146 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 I812 and who carried in the spring of I812 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 sitti'ng 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 from its 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 one. 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 148 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 trv 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 "corners" 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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. 316). 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 150 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 1825); 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 I834. (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, I80o, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 o'n 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, I804. 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 1845, he was sent to the Senate and elected president pro tem. He 152 HISTORIC MICHIGAN was again elected to the House in I848 and I855. He became a "freesoiler," and ran in I849 as tWhig candidate against John S. Barry, of Constantine, Democratic candidate for governor, by whom he was defeated by 4,700 votes. In I858, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 153 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, 1848. If you have access to a copy of this book you will find many references to O. O. in the diary of i848 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, 1815, 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 154 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, a'nd 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 Michigat 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, Bro'nson raised and sold potatoes, until the new country was well supplied with "Neshannock." By the summer of I824 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." . KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 1830, 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 I83I 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 it 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, 183I; 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, 1834, 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." 156 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 I852 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. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 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 shie 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 PIONEERS-CONTRASTING PICTURES OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE W HILE the province of this publication is to consider more specifically the conditions, influences and activities that mark Kalamazoo county at the present time, and to take cognizance of civic and material progress and promises of progress, especially along commercial and industrial lines, it is well that the modern picture be for the moment superimposed on that of the pioneer days, so that the contrast may be noted and an appreciation be gained of the lives and labors of those, who in self-denial, courage, resourcefulness and often in sore travail, laid the firm foundations on which rests the presentday superstructure of opulent prosperity and progressiveness. It is to compass this juxtapostion of the pictures of the past and the present that this chapter is incorporated. THE FIRST SETTLERS Few, apparently, pause to attempt the visualizing of what was implied in the coming of the first settlers to Kalamazoo county and other sections of southern Michigan. In among trees, winding this way and that, now stopping while a fallen tree and underbrush are cut away, the settlers came through the forest gloom, which was no figment of the imagination. Into the forest wilds that were little less than utterly forbidding in aspect, the settlers led their ox teams, drawn by which were ponderous, creaking wagons. It was an experience that quite staggers the imagination of the present generation. As for the settlers, once their claims were located, there could be no dalliance, no idle repining. When the land had been selected, the battle with the wilderness had merely been initiated. The hardy pioneers had to begin at once to win sustenance and hew out a place for home and planting. To fend off the rigors of the climate and to win from the tree-crowned soil something to eat, was the first work in order. There is nothing in this present day to serve as a measure of such experience. The urge of necessity left little opportunity for the pioneers to indulge themselves in mental anguish because of their surroundings and deprivations, and this was a mercy. So many generations of pioneering were beyond those who came to the Michigan frontier, representatives in large part of those first in America, on the New England coast and in the state of New York, that they did not seem to have regarded their experience as one beyond human endurance. This pioneer spirit has been ever the motivating power in American progress. FIRST CROPS Within a comparatively short time, crops sufficient to afford meager existence rewarded the herculean labors of the pioneers, the first wheat KALAMAZOO COUNTY 159 and corn crops having appeared among the stumps of the trees that had been felled in preparation for this primitive agriculture. Of the inception of governmental agencies, of communal co-ordination, it is not necessary here to speak, nor is the menace of the Indians of the district to be specifically noted, though this likewise was a matter of no passing insignificance-a minor replica of the early colonial conditions in New England. Rather shall recognition here be taken of home-building and development work, which represented the common lot, the exigent demand for service. FIRST HOUSES The first houses built in the woods were rude shelters constructed of brush or small logs, and covered with bark or other available material for shedding rain. In due course this primitive dwelling gave place to a more substantial log house, in the rearing of which the settlers of the community combined their efforts, with a fine spirit of reciprocity. The lumber from some packing case made a door, and in window openings cloth or oiled paper served in lieu of glass. Much of romance attaches to the story of the great fireplaces that served to provide warmth and cooking facilities in these pioneer log dwellings, but doubtless this element of romance had most of development only in the perspective of later years. The "house-raising" of the pioneer era was the occasion of a social meeting of general jollification. Refreshments were served, the young folk indulged in dancing, and ofter a prayer-meeting would be a phase of the ceremonials. Roofs were covered with oak shingles or shakes, split out by hand, and rough board supplied the flooring when the packed earth was not made to suffice for this purpose. Joists or beams for the second floor were pealed logs about six inches in diameter, and these were morticed into the side walls. Wooden pins driven into the joist or beams served to hold sides of bacon, dried venison, dried apples, bunches of onions and other household supplies. These log dwellings had no inside partitions, and the interior represented in a crude way the modern one-room "kitchenette apartment," though no recourse could be had to a neighboring delicatessen in supplying provender. To secure privacy in the sleeping quarters, alcoves were provided and supplied with curtains, the while the low attic, into which the snow often sifted, likewise served as a sleeping place. Furniture was mostly home-made, but many pioneers brought various pieces of furniture from the old homes in the east-articles that are now valued as family heirlooms, such as substantial chairs, great chests of drawers, quaint mirrors, and even some spinningwheels and ancient clocks. The chest was the strong-box of the family, and in it were kept the most valued possessions, including household linen, finery, old silver plate, manuscripts and letters, and often the family Bible, with its genealogical record. The cooking was done in and about the fireplace, and the primitive oven facilities have often been described. The log stables housed the livestock when necessary, but horses and cows were permitted to wander about in 160 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the woods, one of the cows bearing a bell to indicate to the owner the location of the animals. LAND CLEARING A-ND CROP RAISING The early settlers employed two methods of clearing land-oakopening method and thick-timber method. In this connection it is interesting to record that much of the site of the present beautiful city of Kalamazoo was marked by fine oak openings, and that many of the original forest trees still add beauty to the city. In the openings where the oak timber was not thick, small timber and brush were cut and larger trees were girdled, to kill their growth. The land was then broken, roots were gathered and burned, and the sturdy plow in more common use was of rude construction, with wroughtiro'n share, a broad upright cutter, and a small movable wheel at the front of the beam. Oxen were commonly used in the operation of the plow, and settlers who could not afford to buy an outfit exchanged labor with some neighbor who had the requisite equipment. In the thicker timber the ax was employed to fell the trees, the brush and small logs were burned and the large logs were rolled to one side, so that cultivation might be initiated on the cleared space, rude hoes or short sticks being used to dig the soil, and corn, potatoes or turnip seed peing planted among the roots of the fallen trees. By either method the work was of herculean order, and brawn and determination were prerequisites. After fallen timber had lain a sufficient time it was burned, and in this connection "logging bees" were the rule, neighbors assembling to aid in getting the heavy timbers ready for the burning. In the thick timber more primitive implements were used for breaking the ground, owing to the presence of roots that defied the ordinary breaking plow. This also was the period of splitting rails for fences, and there was much of rivalry in making day's records at the arduous work. The pioneers, men and women, had full fellowship with work from early morn till late evening, and the discipline made for both mental and physical increase of resourcefulness. Much was required, much to be endured, much to be wrought in the developing of productive areas in the midst of the forest wilds, where only the Indians had originally disputed dominion with the wild animals of the dim forest aisles. Fortunate it was that the pioneers of Kalamazoo and other Michigan counties had the force and the courage to face and solve the great problems that were involved in this great work of the formative period in the history of this commonwealth, and to them must ever be rendered both honor and gratitude by the generations that shall continue to profit from the work and service that were theirs. All that they suffered and all that they wrought have full justification in the modern conditions and influences which they made possible. HOME TRADES The trades of the early settlers were mostly carried on in the pioneer homes, and the wives and daughters bore their full share of service and responsibility in such connection. In every settlement KALAMAZOO COUNTY 161 were eventually to be found two or three women who wove flax and woolen yarn into stout cloth or the working clothes of both sexes, together with blankets and bed linen. From a combination of barks from the woods and the service of an old indigo dyepot they gave color to the home-made cloth. Many of the early pioneers brought broadcloth suits and beaver top-hats with them into the woods, and on special occasions it was no rare sight to see a preacher, lawyer or young swell step from a log house dressed in the height of fashion. The ladies as a usual thing had silk dresses and shawls that were brought forth for wear on special occasions. Other now lost arts of the pioneer women were represented in the piecing of bed quilts and the making of goodly supplies of soft soap. It must not be thought that the pioneers of Kalamazoo county were lacking in intellectuality and social graces-indeed, these sturdy forebears stood often representative of the finest aristocratic spirit, that implied in the desire for the best, not only for themselves but for all others. The wives of the early settlers were known for their morality, intellectuality and spirituality. They met all dangers of woods life with courage and fortitude, and worked hard to make the home life attractive, in the midst of crude surroundings. They were cooks, tailors, dressmakers, spinners, weavers, truck gardeners, poultry-raisers, cheese and butter makers, teachers, moral and religious instructors, nurses and midwives of the scattered settlements. In the social affairs of the pioneer communities they often manifested the poise and graciousness that could not be excelled by the most influential grand dame of modern society. CHARACTER OF PIONEERS The men who were the early settlers in Kalamazoo county were in general educated, intelligent, moral and honest. In fact we did not get many immigrants from that advance guard of careless, shiftless lawbreakers who went west in states south of the Michigan boundary. Fine and genuine was the social and intellectual tone of the pioneer communities in southern Michigan, and this has constituted one of the best bequeathments to later generations. We of the present generation are enjoying the fruits of the labors and sacrifices of those who here lived and wrought during the last half of the nineteenth century. No brighter page in Michigan history can be found than that which records the lives and labors of the pioneers of the territorial and early state periods. So it was, keeping to the homely ways of the most fatiguing industry; to the tried and practical in statecraft; to the unquenchable insistence on public education; to the regular and sanctioned and lawfortified ownership of private property; to that enterprise and cooperation instanced by public roads and highways; and to the holding of religion and morality as the sound basis of an enduring private and public life, that the pioneers came to Kalamazoo county. True and loyal in all of the relations of life, they shall not be forgotten, and not for all time shall their works perish. CHAPTER VIII COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT THE territory now included in the county of Kalamazoo has been under the flags of four 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 I70I. It cannot be said, however, that these claims had even a slight effect upon the virgin territory of the Kalamazoo, 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 feeble 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, I70I, 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 the English under King William III a "broad strip on the south side of Lake Erie" and extending westward. Thus the present Kalamazoo 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 desire of each for the valuable fur trade of the northwest, as well as by territorial greed, inevitably resulted in war. The storm broke in I756, 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 Kalamazoo. Although white men had probably been up the St. Joseph much earlier, there is no positive knowledge of their having been there until I679, when La Salle passed this way, although there is strong reason to believe that Father Marquette was here in I675. But while these first adventurous explorers found a virgin wilderness peopled by ignorant savages, the discoveries of archaeologists that centuries earlier in the development of the world this country KAIAMAZOO COUNTY 163 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. However, in so far it affects our later history, the civilization of the Mound Builders is of relative unimportance, since the entire structure of our modern life has its origin here in the explorations of Marquette. In I673, two years after French officers had taken formal 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 May 13 of that year embarked on a voyage of exploration of the country west of the lake. He journeyed first to Green Bay, thence up the 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, I673. After returning to St. Ignace at the conclusion of this expedition, he went to the Illinois Indians at their request to establish missions among them, and worked among them until the failure of his health in I675 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, Rene Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, explorer extraordinary of the French nation, undertook a 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 he 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 h% set sail in August, I679, for Green Bay. From that point he sent the "Griffin" back with a cargo of furs which were to be exchanged for supplies. He now divided his party 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 I, I679, La Salle arrived at the appointed meeting place, where he was joined at the end of the month by Tonty. At 164 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the mouth of the St. Joseph he built Fort Miamis on the present site of the city of St. Joseph, near the corner of Front and Broad streets, a spot now marked by an appropriate stone monument. From Fort Miami La Salle proceeded up the St. Joseph, and after one unsuccessful attempt so to do located the portage 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 Kalamazoo county, was his formation of an Indian confederacy at Starved Rock, Illinois, which included the Shawnees, of Ohio, the Abenaki 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, on the east, and the Sioux on the west. 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 Crevecouer at Starved Rock and the mission at that place, the Indian federation slowly dissolved, some of the tribes returning to their former homes. Thus it was that the early English 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 surrounding regions in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. With the fall of Montreal on September 8, I760, during the French and Indian war, Detroit, St. Joseph 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. Fort St. Joseph had been garrisoned by the Red Coats in the spring of 1761, but on May 25, I763, it fell into the hands of the Indians under Pontiac, who had conspired to take the British posts for the French in the territory west of the Alleghenies. 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, but fearing his force was insufficient, and unable to increase it, he abandoned the project. Fort St. Joseph had now been under the flags of France and England, The third nation to hold it was Spain. Early in 1779 war between England and Spain had broken out with the Spaniards holding the vast Louisiana territory. They had strong forts at New Orleans and St. Louis, and in January, 1781, a detachment of Spanish soldiers and Indians left the latter place on a raiding expedition through the British territory, and captured Fort St. Joseph. They took formal possession of the post in the name of the King of Spain, raised the Spanish flag, but not desiring to hold a post so remote from their base of operations, they burned the fort to the ground and FIELD OF CELERY COUNTRY CLUBI-WL{ITE'S LAKE KALAMAZOO COUNTY 165 returned to St. Louis. This marked the passing of old Fort St. Joseph and the most northerly advance of the Spaniards in the new world. After the conclusion of the Revolution, and the session of the Northwest Territory to the United States, various state claims to the territory had to be extinguished, especially those of Virginia, a state which had done the most toward securing it to the United States by financing the George Rogers Clark expedition. In 1787 the Northwest Territory was created, General Arthur St. Clair being the first governor. Michigan was erected into a separate territory in I8o5, and for many years Kalamazoo county was a part of Wayne. On July 14, I817, Monroe county was created from a part of Wayne; Lenawee was erected from part of Monroe in I826; St. Joseph county from Lenawee in I829, and Kalamazoo from St. Joseph on July 30, I830. The enabling act for Kalamazoo county, under date of October 29, I829, 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." The act which organized Kalamazoo county was approved July 30, I830, and read as follows: "Be it enacted by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, that the county of Kalamazoo shall be organized from and after the taking effect of this act, and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which by law the inhabitants of the other organized counties of this territory are entitled. "Sec. 2. That there shall be a county court established in the said county, which court shall be held on the third Tuesday of October inr each year. "Sec. 3. That a circuit court shall also be held in the said county, and that the several acts concerning the supreme, circuit, and county courts of the Territory of Michigan, defining their jurisdiction and powers, and directing the pleadings and practice therein in certain cases, be, and the same are hereby made applicable to the circuit court in the aforesaid county of Kalamazoo. "Sec. 4. That the said county of Kalamazoo shall be one circuit, and the court for the same shall be held hereafter on the first Tuesday of September in each year. "Sec. 5. That all suits, prosecutions, and other matters now pending before the circuit or county courts of the county of St. Joseph, or before any justice of the peace of said county, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution; and all taxes heretofore levied, or which may be hereafter levied for the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty, shall be collected in the same manner as though the said county of Kalamazoo had not been organized. "Sec. 6. That the circuit and county courts shall be held at 166 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the county seat, at the courthouse or other usual place of holding courts therein, provided that the first term of said courts shall be holden at the house of Abraham I. Shaver, in said county: Provided, That it shall be lawful for the said circuit and county courts to adjourn the first term of said courts from the house of said Shaver to such other place in said county as said courts may appear expedient. "Sec. 7. That the counties of Calhoun, Barry, and Eaton, and all the country lying north of township four, north of the base line, west of the principal meridian, south of the county of Michilimackinac, and east of the line between ranges twelve and thirteen and of Lake Michigan, where said range line intersects the lake, shall be attached to and compose a part of the county of Kalamazoo for judicial purppses. "Sec. 8. That all acts and parts of acts now in force contravening the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby repealed. This act shall take effect and be in force from and the first day of October, one thousand eight hundred and thirty." Another act, approved on the same date as that given above, provided for the division of the county into two townships in the following manner: "That all that part of the county of Kalamazoo comprised in townships one and two south of the base line, and in ranges nine, ten, eleven, and twelve west of the principal meridian, shall be a township by the name of Arcadia, and that the first township meeting shall be holden at the house of Titus Brownson, in said township. "Sec. 2. That all that district of country known and distinguished as townships three and four south, and ranges nine, ten, eleven, and twelve west, in said county of Kalamazoo, shall be a township by the name of Brady; and that the first township meeting shall be holden at the house of Abraham I. Shaver, in said township." It will be observed that the name Brownson in the foregoing should have been Bronson, and that Abram was spelled Abraham in the act of organization of the county. As soon as the county was organized, Governor Cass appointed John Allen and Calvin Smith commissioners to locate the seat of justice 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 167 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; 2d. 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; 3d. 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 of the county at the village of Bronson, a name later changed to 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, I834; and on March 3, I836, 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, I836, 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, 1839; Oshtemo on March 22, I839; Schoolcraft on February I6, 1842; and Wakeshma on March 25, 1846. Each of the above named townships comprises a Congressional township of land, and each township is subdivided into school and road districts. FOUNDING OF KALAMAZOO 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. He forded the river at the old trading post and continued along the trail until he reached the knoll, now to be seen in Bronson park. Here he camped for the night, and on the next day, after a careful inspection of the neighboring region, decided to make this spot his home. He built a hut of tamarack poles covered with grass in which he lived until cold weather set in. He thereupon moved to Prairie Ronde for the winter, and in the spring went to Ohio for his family. With his life and eldest daughter and his brotherin-law, Stephen Richardson, he returned overland in an ox-drawn wagon. On account of the illness of Mrs. Bronson, the succeeding winter was passed in Prairie Ronde, but early in the spring of 1831 Bronson built a log house at the northwest corner of the present Church and Main streets. In June he entered the east half of the 168 HISTORIC MICHIGAN southeast quarter of Section 15 in the name of his wife, Mr. Richardson entering the west half of the same quarter. During this summer he laid out the town of Bronson and secured the location of the county seat here by means of generous gifts of lands for public purposes, as already noted. General Justus Burdick, a native of Vermont, bought part of Bronson's village property in the latter part of the year, and by 1836 other parties had bought a controlling interest. It was in this year that the name of the village was changed to Kalamazoo, a change which so chagrined Mr. Bronson that he disposed of his remaining local interests, removed to Davenport, Iowa, thence to Henry, Illinois, and finally to Connecticut, where he died in poverty in January, I853. The story of Kalamazoo for the first years of its existence is typical of most frontier towns, and presents a picture of tireless and discouraging labors that succeeded slowly, but surely, in lifting a squalid village out of the mud of its own streets, and placing it in the front rank of the nation's cities. The first management of the county was reposed in a Board of Supervisors, one supervisor elected from each township, and the first meeting of this board was recorded in October, 1834, at which time there were four townships, Brady, Arcadia, Richland and Comstock. The counties of Kent, Ionia, Allegan and Barry, then merely townships, were attached to Kalamazoo for civil purposes, and the rulings of the board regulated the business of these areas. The first supervisors to meet were Rix Robinson, William Earl, Elisha Belcher and Hull Sherwood, of whom Rix Robinson, supervisor of Kent, was chosen chairman. Stephen Vickery was appointed clerk for a term of one year, and the business of the board then proceeded. Jeremiah Humphreys, supervisor for Brady township, appeared on the third day of the meeting, and was elected chairman pro tern. The business of the board was the allowing of claims on the county for public services by individuals, the levying of a tax of $665, and the appointment of William Earl, one of the supervisors, as delegate from Kalamazoo county to a meeting at Ann Arbor which was to apportion money appropriated by the general government on the Territorial road between Sheldon's and the mouth of the St. Joseph. At a meeting held a year later a tax of $955 was levied to defray township expenses and a tax of $400 to defray the county expenses for the year I835. In 1838, a board of three county commissioners was established in place of the board of supervisors, and these first commissioners were Edwin M. Clapp, David E. Deming and E. Lakin Brown. They met and organized on November 27, 1838, and drew for their respective terms, Brown winning the three year term, Deming the two year term, and Clapp that for one year. Thereafter one commissioner was elected every year to take the place of the retiring commissioner, the terms being for three years thereafter. The first action of the county commissioners taken at their business meeting on January 8, I839, was the appointment of superintendents of county poor, and the licensing of two auctioneers for Kalamazoo in bonds of two thousand dollars each. However, in I842, the Board of Commissioners was abolished KALAMAZOO COUNTY16 169 and the Board of Supervisors reinstated, continuing since that time. Following is a complete list of circuit court judges, prosecuting attorneys and clerks from the inception of the county down to the present. The lists of other county officers are unavailable anad incomplete. judges of 'the circuit court: 'Bazel Harris-on, i83I-36; Epaphroditus -Ransom, 1836-42; Elias Comstock, I842-45; Hezekiali G. Wells, 1845-50; Charles W. Whipple, i848-52;Abner Pratt, i850-57; Benjamin F. Graves, i857-66; Flavius J. Littlejohn, i858-70; Charles R. Brown, I870-75; Darius E. Comstock, i874-75; Josiah L. Hawes, i875-82; Alfred J. Mills, 1882-88; George M. Buck, i888-i9oo; John W. Adams, i900-08; Frank E. Knappen, i908-I3; Nathaniel H. Stewart, 1913-. The prosecuting attorneys have been: Cyrus Lovell, I83I-38;Mitchell Hinsdell, i838-40; -Lawrence Vaftdewalker, i840-42; Nathaniel A. Balch, i842-44; Joseph Miller, Jr., 1844-52; Dwight May, 1853-54; Joseph Miller, Sr., 1855-56; Dwight May, i857-6o; Charles S. May, i86i-62; Henry C. Briggs, 1863-66; Julius C. Borrows, 1867-70; Charles A. Thompson, Jr., i870-7I; George M. Buck, i871-74; E. M. Irish, i875-8o; Frank B. Knappen, i88i'-88; George P. Hopkins, i889-90; Lawrence N. Burk, i891-92; Alfred S. Frost, 1893-96; John W. Adams, 1897-98; Sheridan F. Master, i899-I902; H. Clair Jackson, 13-06; Claude S. Carney, i907-o8; George V. Weimer, I909-I2; Milo 0. Bennett, 1913-14; Frank F. Ford, 95-i8 Wattles, 1918-. The county clerks have been: William Duncan, i831-34; Stephehi Vickery, i835-36; Isaac Vickery, i837-38 and i855-56; Luther Trask, I839-40; Alexander H. Edwards, i841-42; William G. Austin, 1843 -44; Merritt D. Cobb, 1845-48; Amos D. Allen, i849-52 and i857-6o; James K. Knight, 1853-54; Daniel Cahill, i86i-66; James W. Hopkins, 1867-72; Henry S. Sleeper, i873-78; T. F. Giddings,, i879-90; William A. Forbes, 1891-98,; Ashley Clapp, 1899-November 14, 1904 (died in office); Walter R. Taylor, 19o4; Edwin W. Vasburg, 1905 -i0; Edwin F. Curtenius, i911-i6; jasper J. Campbell, I9I7-i8; C. H. Pomeroy, 1919-. CHAPTER IX KALAMAZOO AN INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL CENTER T HERE can be no mede of inconsistency in designating Kalamazoo as one of the principal industrial and commercial centers of the United States, and contributing to its precedence in this respect are its ideal and "strategic" location, its excellent transportation facilities and its intrinsic spirit of progressiveness and civic liberality. The city is the interurban center of western Michigan, as the terminal point for two important interurban electric lines, and that its railroad facilities are exceptional is indicated by the mere statement that ninety-six passenger trains leave Kalamazoo stations daily, and that 2,I00,000 tons of ifreight are handled here annually. Freight to and from Chicago and Detroit receives overnight service. INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS The annual output of Kalamazoo industrial establishments represents a valuation of fully $50,000,0oo. There are eighty-three factories, with I5,000 operatives. Kalamazoo has fourteen paper mills, including the world's largest mill for the manufacturing of book paper. In Kalamazoo more than I,500oo,ooo pounds of paper are manufactured daily. Kalamazoo has long merited its prestige as the world's greatest center in connection with the production of celery, and Kalamazoo celery stands as the ultimate standard in determining excellenty of product. From this city five hundred carloads of celery are shipped annually, and the product is served in the most exclusive and famed hotels of the world. Sixty per ce'nt. of the world's output of peppermint is claimed for Kalamazoo as a center. Here is established the largest "direct to consumer" stove manufactory in the world. Here are the world's largest manufacturers of fretted musical instruments, such as mandolins, guitars, and banjos. Kalamazoo is a world center for the manufacture of corsets, windmills and tanks, gas lamps and heaters, and regalia for fraternal organizations. Among other important products that carry the fame of Kalamazoo and her factories into far places are those of forty metal-working institutions, vehicle works, and factories given to the production of blank books, boxes, tablets, medicines, fishing tackle, clothing, musical instruments, automobiles and motor trucks, and automobile tops and accessories. There are fifty-three wholesale concerns, financially strong, that operate in a rich and progressive tributary territory and that show business of constantly cumulative tendencies. Among the commodities handled are lumber, groceries, woodenware, produce, tobacco, oil, paper, fruit, meat, confectionery, sherbet arid other soft drinks, ice cream, and florists' products. The Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce is a vital, resourceful and efficient organization KALAMAZOO COUNTY 171 that serves an effective clearing house and conservator for all the activities and interests of the city. WHOLESALE AND JOBBING TRADE As a center for operations in the wholesale and jobbing trade, it should be noted that within its industrial and commercial zone and within two hours' drive from the city, Kalamazoo can give recognition to a population of more than one million, nearly two-thirds of whom live in seventy-four cities and towns of southern Michigan and northern Indiana. Half of the urban population of Michigan, excluding Detroit and its suburbs, is to be found in this small zone, the population of which exceeds all American cities except New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, and nearly equals the combined population of the five smallest states of the Union, the while it exceeds that of twelve others, including Colorado, Florida, Oregon and Maine. All of this bears great significance as indicating the manifold advantages to be claimed by Kalamazoo as a normal and important general distributing center, and those who have most carefully surveyed the situation are borne irresistibly to the conclusion that "the end is not yet"-that Kalamazoo is destined to an advancement that shall make her present priority in this respect seem insignificant in comparison. The growth of industrialism in Kalamazoo has not been one of spasmodic impulse or directed along some particular and specific line, as has been the case in various Michigan cities, especially in later years. The industries and commercial enterprises of Kalamazoo represent the results of a sane and steady growth along normal channels, and there is sufficient variation in these enterprises to maintain a well balanced general representation of manufacturing, wholesale and jobbing business. A DISTRIBUTING CENTER What has consistently been designated as the Kalamazoo zone, as touching the city's advantages as a distributing center, has a radius of sixty-three miles and an area of Io,ooo square miles. Within this zone is an urban population of 662,000 and a farm population of 356,000, the total, I,oi8,000, exceeding the population of any one of sixteen different states of the Union, namely: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Oregon. Within this remarkable tributary zone are included the following named Michigan counties: Allegan, Berry, Branch, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Eaton, Hillsdale, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa, St. Joseph, and Van Buren. The Indiana counties within this normal Kalamazoo zone are DeKalb, Elkhart, LaGrange, Noble, St. Joseph, and Steuben. From a census of the representative Kalamazoo manufacturers and processors carefully compiled by the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce is drawn the following list, which is well entitled to place in this volume, as indicating'the industrial and commercial status of the city at the close of the year I924: 172 HISTORIC MICHIGAN PRINCIPAL KALAMAZOO MANUFACTURERS AND PROCESSORS NAME PRODUCT A. & D. Sheet Metal Works...........Sheet Metal Allied Paper Mills.................... Paper American Laundry Co.................. Laundry American Sharpening Machine Co......Sharpening Machines American Sign Co................... Electric,Signs Armstrong & Veley..................Geheral Mechanical Words Art Craft Engraving Co...............Commercial Artists Asbestloid Products Co...............Building Supplies Atlas Press Co.......................Arbor Presses Automotive Sheet Metal Co............Sheet Metal Bartlett Label Co.....................Labels Bermingham-Prosser.................Blank Books Blue Ribbon Ice Cream Co.............Ice Cream Bryant Paper Co.....................Paper Bushouse-Rice Candy Co..............Candy B3utine Celery Box Co................Boxes and Crates Central Manufacturing Co.............Brass and Mill Machinery Checker Cab Manufacturing Co........Automobiles Clarage Fan CO...................... Blowers; Fans, Exhausts and Engines Cook Standard Tool Co.................Cattle Guards Conant-Donelson Co..................Universal Joints Crescent Engraving Co................Engraving and Photo-Electro Crystal Candy Co.....................Candy D'Arcy Spring Co.................... Spiral Springs of all kinds D. R. C. Fou'ndry....................Cast and Foundry Equipment Dearborn Equipment Co............... Machinery DeBolt Candy Co..................... Candy Doubleday-Hunt-Dolan...............Blank Books Doubleday Bros.....................Blank Books Dougherty Cider Mill.................Cider Mills Dunbar Co......................... Sheet Metal Works Dunkley Co.........................Fruit Canning and Special Machinery Dutton Co..........................Engines and Boilers Fuller & Sons Manufacturing Co....... Transmissions and Clutches for Tractors General Gas Light Co................. Gas Lamps and Heaters Gerline Brass Foundry................Brass, Bronze and Aluminum Castings Gibson, Inc.......................... Mandolins and Guitars Globe Casket Manufacturing Co.......Caskets Globe Pattern Works................Wood and Metal Patterns Grace Corset Co........................ Corsets Graff & Son......................... Paper Mill Supplies, Scrap Iron and Paper Stock Hanselman Candy Co.................Candy, Ice Cream KALAMAZOO COUNTY 173 NAME PRODUCT Harrow Spring Co....................Springs Hawthorne Paper Co..................Ledger Paper Hayward-Loescher Co...............Leather Specialties Henderson-Ames Co................Regalias, Uniforms Hill-Curtis Co....................Sawmill Machinery Hodges Co.........................Harness Hardware Humphrey Co......................Gas Water Heaters I. X. L. Windmill Co.................Windmills Ihling Bros. & Everard...............Book Binders and Regalias Illinois Envelope Co..................Envelopes Insulating Products Co................Insulating Products Kalsign Co. of America...............See Merchants' Publicity Co. Kalbfeish Co........................Paper Mill Supplies Kalamazoo Auto Top Co..............Tops, Side Curtains Kalamazoo Biscuit Co...............Fine Cookies Kalamazoo Blow Pipe Co.............Blow Pipe System Kalamazoo Boiler Co................Boilers Kalamazoo Bread Co.............. Bread Kalamazoo Creamery Co...........Creamery Kalamazoo Foundry and Machine Co... Castings Kalamazoo Gazette...................Newspaper Kalamazoo Glass Works.............Store Front Builders-Glass Kalamazoo Ice & Fuel Co.............Ice and Fuel Kalamazoo Label Co................Labels and Stickers Kalamazoo Laundry Co...............Laundry Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Co....-..Loose Leaf Ledgers Kalamazoo Malleable Iron Co..........Castings Kalamazoo Monument Co............Marble and Granite Kalamazoo Optical Co...............Wholesale Optical Goods Kalamazoo Pant Co................Clothing, Underwear, Petticoats, Etc. Kalamazoo Paper Box Co............. Paper Boxes Kalamazoo Paper Co................ Paper Kalamazoo Plating Works...........Plating Kalamazoo Railway Supply Co........Railway Supplies Kalamazoo Sanitary Mfg. Co.........Vitreous China Kalamazoo Sheet Metal Mfg. Co.......Sheet Metal Kalamazoo Sled Co.................Sleds, Lawn Furniture and Swings Kalamazoo Spoke & Nipple Co.........Spokes and Nipples Kalamazoo Stationery Co............Stationery Kalamazoo Stove Co................ Stove, Phonographs, Etc. Kalamazoo Tank & Silo Co...........Tanks and Silos Kalamazoo Trading Co...............Paper Mill Supplies Kalamazoo Truck Body Co............Truck Bodies Kalamazoo Veg. Par. Co.............. Parchment Paper Kalamazoo Wax Paper Co...............Wax Paper King Folding Canvas Boat Co..........Folding Boats Lambooy Label & Wrapper Co.........Labels and Wrappers 174 HISTORIC MICHIGAN NAME PRODUCT Lewis, David D............... Oil Cans Limousine Body Co..............Auto bodies Merchants Publishing Co..............Advertising Specialties, Cloth and Leather Novelties Metzger, Wm. U.............. Sheet Metal, Furnaces, Tinner McKay Wire Works......... Wire Meulenberg Sheet Metal............Sheet Metal Michigan Bread Co.................Baked Goods Michigan Enameling Works..........Enameling Michigan Photo Shutter Co...........Photo Shutters Monarch Paper Co............. Paper Naco Corset Co............... Corsets National Refining Co..............Pet. Products National Waterlift Co..................Waterlifts Nelson Concrete Culvert Co..........Concrete Culverts, Cement Blocks Northern Coca Cola Bottling Co.......Bottlers North Lumber & Manufacturing Co.....Interior Finish Paper Mills Supply Co................ Paper Mills Supplies Paris Cleaners & Dyers...............Dry Cleaners Parke-Corporation-E. Kauffman..... Soap Perfection Felt & Mattress Co..........Mattresses Piper Ice Cream Co...................Ice Cream Presto-Dimmer Co.. Dimmers Reed Foundry & Machine Co...........Steel Castings, Farm Tractors Rex Paper Co.......................Paper Rhodes Co......................... Motor Oil and Alcohol Dispensary Richardson Garment Co...............omen's Dresses Riverside Foundry Co.................Castings Roamer Motor Car Co............... Automobiles Root Spring Scraper Co...............Scrapers Sanitary Cleaning Shop...............Dry Cleaner Sutherland Paper Co....................Paraffined Paper Saniwax Paper Co...................Waxed and Print Paper Shakespeare Co.....................Fishing Tackle, Etc. Shakespeare Products Co..............Auto Parts Manufacturers Standard Oil Co..................... Standard Paper Co.................. Box Board, Etc. Starr Brass Works.................. Electric Railway Supplies Swiss Cleaners.....................Dry Cleaners Todd, A. M. Co.....................Essential Oils Textile Leather Preserver Co..........Leather Preserver Union Trim & Lumber Co.............Wooden Boxes, Doors Upjohn Co..........................Pharmaceuticals Western Board & Paper Co...........Paper Box Board Western Paper Makers Chemical Co....Papermakers, Chemicals KALAMAZOO COUNTY 175 NAME PRODUCT White & Royce................... Wholesale Gasoline W illiams, H. H......................Leather Young Rug Co......................Rugs KALAMAZOO RAILWAY SUPPLY COMPANY This corporation is one that has made large and valued contribution to the industrial and commercial prestige of the city of Kalamazoo, and it stands as one of the foremost manufacturing concerns of the city, the county and the state. In the year I884 the Kalamazoo Railroad Velocipede and Car Company initiated operations in a modest manufacturing plant situated on Pitcher street, opposite the present Kalamazoo station of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In I896 the company was incorporated, with Heber C. Reed, Horace G. Haines and Elbert S. Roos as the principals concerned. January 9, I899, the present corporate title was adopted. The Pitcher street property was sold in December, 1902, and the present large and modern plant, eligibly situated at 1907 Reed street, was constructed and placed in commission in 1904. In that same year the capital stock was increased from $45,000 to $Ioo,ooO, and through four subsequent increases the capital of the company as represented in its stock issue is now $600,00o. The personnel of the present executive corps of the company is as follows: Frank E. McAllister, president and general manager; Joseph E. Brown, vice-president; W. N. Sidnam, secretary; and D. A. Stewart, treasurer. In addition to these officials the directorate of the company includes also A. B. Connable, William Loveland, H. S. Humphrey, W. B. Milham, and V. T. Barker. Frank H. Milham, Noah Bryant, C. A, Peck and H. P. Kauffer served many years as directors of the company. In January, I912, Frank H. Milham retired from the presidency of the company and A. B. Connable from the office of treasurer. At this time the officers became as here noted: John McKinnon, president and general manager; C. A. Peck, vice-president; W. N. Sidnam, secretary; and D. A. Stewart, treasurer. The sudden death of Mr. McKinnon occurred April 5, I924, and on the 8th of the same month Frank E. McAllister was appointed his successor in the dual office of president and general manager. The original production of the company was railroad velocipedes exclusively, but the scope of the output has been gradually widened, and the company now specializes in the production of maintenance-of-way railroad equipment, including pressed steel wheels, wood-center wheels, section hand-cars and push-cars, track-laying cars, inspection and velocipede cars, light car-wheels, track drills, electric crossing-gates, cattle guards of steel and wood, track gauges and levels, light motor inspection cars of the safety-first type, motor section cars, motor cars for "hump" crews, Kalamazoo portable hack saws, gasoline railway tractors, gasoline passenger cars, trailers, etc. The company manufactures all types of gasoline railroad motor-cars, from one-passenger cars to those with accommodation for thirty passengers, and products of this admirable Kalamazoo corporation are shipped to all parts of the world. The company has made a special study and exploitation of the export 176 HISTORIC MICHIGAN field, particularly within the past decade, and its export business now constitutes nearly 50 percent of the total business. Products from this plant are being extensively used on some of the largest railroad systems of the United States, as well as on logging roads and many other industrial and subsidiary lines. Even this concise review will give an idea of the importance of the Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company in connection with Michigan industrialism, and its large and progressive enterprise has done much to advance both civic and industrial interests in Kalamazoo. THE RETAIL TRADE Kalamazoo has every reason to congratulate itself on the scope, character and status of its representative retail mercantile establishments, which are maintained at a genuinely metropolitan standard and do much to justify the city's slogan: "Kalamazoo, the City for You." From an interesting booklet issued by the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce are taken the following pertinent quotations: "Kalamazoo's stores are managed by experienced 'live wires.' Discounting bills and purchasing from factory direct, are the 'regular thing.' Kalamazoo stores are noted for selling quality-merchandise, carrying large assortments of up-to-date necessaries and luxuries, and always using every effort to keep the price down. Kalamazoo has few 'parasites' who make their living in Kalamazoo, enjoy the sociability and beauty of Kalamazoo, and spend their money elsewhere. That's why Kalamazoo retailers give extra good service." KALAMAZOO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The I923-4 edition of Polk's Michigan Gazetteer gives the following estimate of the functions and service of one of the most important and well ordered organizations of Kalamazoo "Representing, at is does, every diverse interest of the city, the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce stands foremost among Kalamazoo's organizations, its purpose being to promote the civic, industrial and commercial interests of Kalamazoo and western Michigan. Illustrated literature( and detailed information regarding the city will be furnished by the secretary on request." Time, thought and study have been given liberally in formulating, defining and carrying forward the work of the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce, and in its co-ordination of the various departments of its work it has in the fullest sense justified its being, while its sphere of usefulness continues to widen from year to year. The Chamber, with its thoroughly representative membership, has done much to advance all normal Kalamazoo interests, and its service defies any legitimate criticism, though no community is free from a number of disgruntled or carping citizens who can find faults that do not exist or, if existing, gain from them no suggestion of remedy. Criticism from such sources defeats itself, and the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce may well smile in conscious superiority when such abortive complaint and criticism are directed against its sturdy ramparts. It is a vital and efficient organization, with trained and salaried executives and the requisite corps of office assistants. Its departments of corre I I I i i i I i i i i I i I i i i i I i I I tI Cr y.~ 0 0,.11'0 f J....... Hii I a _. 0 0 -.............. ~ '?! iI 4 /z /r KALAMAZOO COUNTY 177 lated service include the following: General executive, manufacturers, traffic and retailers. The organization has well equipped and attractive offices of commodious order, and is "constantly on the job" in advancing, promoting and safeguarding the interests of the fair Michigan city of which it is a valuable and valued representative. At the time of the preparation of this review, in December, 1924, the officers of the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce are as here designated: President, Jacob Kindleberger; vice-president, Guy Wilson; treasurer, Charles S. Campbell; secretary, Earl S. Weber; assistahnt secretary, A. Donna Radtke; traffic manager, Charles H. Winslow. From a concise review of its year's work issued by the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce October 31, 1924, are taken the following interesting and pertinent abstracts: "Now comes to a close the second year during which the Chamber of Commerce has been supported financially on an adequate basis, by reason of twenty-five dollars membership dues.a'nd a satisfactory number of dues-paying members. During these two years the leadership of the chamber has been entrusted to Jacob Kindleberger, whose term as president and director now expires. Financially, the Chamber is in the best condition for many years. It finishes this year without deficit or debt, although out of the past two years' income some $I6,ooo had to be taken care of, due to debt and to reorganization expenses. For a year the Chamber has operated on a budget system as to all ordinary items of expense. This budget was set so low as to be a challenge that it couldn't be done-yet the budget has been beaten as a whole and on all items except one. While strict economy has been necessary, it has been constantly in the minds of the officers that it was equally necessary to create a record of worth-while things done that would inspire the support of the average member. "From one viewpoint, the work of our Chamber of Commerce falls into two classes-annual routine duties, and new ventures of progress for the city. Unless a man has his ounce of civic pride and is open to conviction, there are quirks of human nature that defeat appreciation of both classes of work. If a man has his coffee prepared just right every morning, week after week, does he appreciate the care that did that? Same with the Chamber of Commerce work for conventions, traffic service, retail service, downtown sprinkling, answering mail and personal inquiries of all kinds, regulation of petty solicitations that saves the member who is where he can be easily approached, his dues at least, and often much more. "Then the new ventures of progress. * * * The Chamber of Commerce is supposed to put new and speculative ventures through its mill and turn out finished product with regularity. The average man pays little attention to the cost or difficulty of securing public betterments. * * * Unless he has that ounce of civic pride, he can not understand the effort needed for civic progress. It takes vision to see a possible improvement for the city; judgment whether it is now feasible; tact to create the right set-up; persistence to put it over; and money all the time to keep a working organization together. 178 HISTORIC MICHIGAN * * * The true Chamber of Commerce member has adopted this principle 'I have my business, home, family and future in Kalamazoo. I have success enough and like my city well enough to be willing to join with others in a Chamber of Commerce to make it a better city. In paying dues I don't throw my money away but follow it with my personal interest to 'ee that the best results are obtained. I do not expect any special benefits. I am satisfied with what good comes to me by being a member of the community over which the benefits of progress are spread.' "The responsibility of industrial promotion is handed to the Chamber of Commerce with more than usual emphasis because the Chamber has exhibited a strong ability to 'deliver the goods' on certain projects, and it is desired that this effectiveness be applied to industrial promotion. * * *The motive of those working for industrial growth must be the general good of the city. Selfishness will set up 'cross-pulling' that will wreck the attempt. The group desiring industrial growth should make known to the Chamber of Commerce their opinions and names. That group must have momentum enough and within it individuals of the right character to carry on sustained effort coupled with good business judgment. Such conditions have existed with regard to other projects of the Chamber, and that is why they have been successful." The close of the year I924 records for the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce a large and worthy achievement in each of its departments of service, and concerning its program for the year 1925 a recent issue of the Kalamazoo Gazette has given the following outline: "One of the major projects to be worked out by the Chamber of Commerce during I925 will be the establishment of a community chest in Kalamazoo and the elimination of a further multiplicity and the annual drives for their existence. * * * Secretary Earl S. Weber said that in his study of the community-chest problem, he noticed that few cities once adopting the plan have returned to former haphazard methods. He admitted that it is a ticklish job fully to eliminate all differences of opinion and get the various organizations to work in unison, but he believed it worth working for. It was then that Mr. L. W. Sutherland offered a motion that the chair be authorized to name a committee to work out a plan for a community chest, and that such plan be given the hearty endorsement of the Chamber of Commerce, this motion having been passed. "The directors decided to combine three projects: Widening of M-I7 between Kalamazoo and Paw Paw; building M-I7 east of the city along Kalamazoo river; and possible conversion of the present right-of-way of the Kalamazoo, Lake Shore & Chicago railroad into a super-highway. It is believed the three projects can be put through this year if Kalamazoo manifests real interest. Two other projects to be kept alive and made the subject of careful study and consideration are a new city hall and grade separation. Assistance of the Advertising Club of Kalamazoo will be asked in the preparation of a new publicity booklet on Kalamazoo." CHAPTER X PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS A T each successive stage in the history of the public schools of Kalamazoo county it has been found that the schools have been maintained at the highest standard as gauged by the metewand determining the maximum of efficiency under existing conditions and potentials. The public school system of the county at the present time is second in standard to that of no other county in Michigan, and there is most thorough co-ordination of the service of the rural, village and city schools. Inasmuch as the public schools of the city of Kalamazoo have set a standard of administrative and pedagogic precedence that his virtually no equal in the entire United States, it is but fitting that in this publication be given more than cursory review of their status and service. KALAMAZOO PUBLIC SCHOOLS In offering a general survey of the public schools of the city of Kalamazoo, it is possible here to incorporate a concise statement concerning the organization and objectives of the various departments, these data having been supplied by the superintendent and the secretary of the Kalamazoo Board of Education. The following statements effectively represent the local estimate placed upon the service of the public schools: "Kalamazoo believes in education. The citizens consider that a dollar spent on the schools is a sound investment that will bring large dividends in health, intelligence and character in the boys and girls of the city. Few cities support a more efficient and progressive school system than does Kalamazoo." ELEMENTARY In the early elementary department are to be noted the following points: The unification of kindergarten, first and second grades, with special features as here designated: I. Purposeful, self-directed activity in the atmosphere of true freedom as the best means of initial training for self-control and worth-while life in a democracy. 2. Movable tables and chairs, material, homelike equipment and specially trained teachers as best fitted for carrying out this purpose. The work of the department has these objectives: I. Health. All factors are stressed that foster the physical and emotional health of the child during this early period. 2. Practical efficiency. The school provides real situations that call for the use of subject-matter and skill. 3. Citizenship. Education in citizenship comes when social situations, materials and equipment make demands on the child's powers to cooperate, to be a leader, to be a follower, to share, to understand and to be understood. 4. Use of leisure. The school must build up de 180 HISTORIC MICHIGAN sires and appreciations that will hold true and permanent values in life. The later elementary department comprises grades three to six, inclusive. The plan of organization for these grades is the platoon system now popular in a number of large American cities. It was introduced in Kalamazoo in I9II, and this was the first Michigan city to make use of it. It provides a regular home-room teacher who teaches the so-called regular or common studies, and specially trained teachers for the subjects of art, music, writing, physical education, and special literature. The plan of control and management in these grades places emphasis upon individual leadership and responsibility -the democratic schoolroom being the ideal sought. Teachers are guides and helpers, and children learn to work independently. Better citizenship for boys and girls during these character-forming years is the goal toward which we strive. The responsibility of this training for citizenship falls largely upon the home-room teacher. Hence the regular subject matter is used as a means to that end. Individual responsibility for measuring up to standards of efficiency in certain lines of academic work is the teacher's objective. Many of the tasks of the elementary school are set by the popular decision of the pupils -topics they voluntarily agree to look up and report; discussions that are carried on between groups of individuals. Subject matter is used to stimulate thought, to call forth individual judgments and to encourage further study. Scientific testing for grouping like abilities and to lessen the range of mental capacity in any given group; also scientific measurement of schoolroom products, to set up goals of achievement for boys and girls to attain, help to make this program possible. The literature department of our elementary schools is a well organized part of the "Work, Study, Play" plan, and has a well defined curriculum of its own, including reading and story work, poem study, dramatic work, festivals and pageants. Library periods for guiding and directing the outside reading of the boys and girls is a feature of the literature teacher's work. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS In 1914 Kalamazoo adopted the junior high school plan of organization. At Lincoln, Woodward Avenue, Roosevelt and Washington schools this organization includes grades seven, eight and nine. At Vine Street school the seventh and eighth grades are included, the ninth grade students being housed at Central High School. The work of the seventh grade is the same for all students, except the manual training work for boys and girls and a choice between music and art. In the eighth grade about one-third of the work is elective, choice being made from the following subjects: general science, Latin, typewriting, general shop for boys, sewing or cooking for girls, and printing. In the ninth grade the student is. expected to choose one of four courses-academic, commercial, boys' technical, or household arts. In several of our schools we are trying out some interesting experiments. In two schools we are using the hour period with supervised study. In two others we are trying a new course in KALAMAZO40 COUNTY 181 junior high school mathematics. In another we are co-operating in the Columbia University experiment in social science. Most of our junior high schools hold weekly assemblies, which give an opportunity for classes or organizations to present before the entire student body projects or problems worked out in class, home-room or club. We regard the assembly, the club and the home-room organization as most vital factors in our junior high school work. SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL Kalamazoo Central High School began its sessions in I859. Since its early days it has stood for character and scholarship; these two things have not diminished in importance, and the school is still proud to stress them. As organized at present, Central is essentially a senior high school, having the tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades for the entire city and the ninth for one district only. Courses offered are: academic, technical, commercial, household arts, and general. The first two of these lead to college. The aim is to make the high school worth while for every one of the cosmopolitan crowd of boys and girls who attend. The growth of Central High School is demonstrated by the following figures: The enrollment of students in I920 was 887; in 1921 it was 970; in 1922 it was 1,232; and in 1923 it was 1,271. Of the 20I seniors graduated in June, 1923, I20 thereafter entered higher institutions of learning. All students are classified according to ability, by mental tests and teachers' judgment, into three groups. MANUAL ARTS AND PREVOCATIONAL SCHOOLS The high school manual arts and prevocational schools are situated in the Manual Arts Building, on West Vine street at Westnedge avenue. Manual training is given in grades seven to twelve, inclusive and there are excellent facilities for the student to learn woodwork, household mechanics (electricity, concrete work, furniture building and repairing, glazing, heating, plumbing, etc.), printing, woodturning, pattern-making, forging, acetylene welding and sheet-metal work, auto mechanics and machine shop practice. There is given also a continuous course in free-hand and mechanical drawing. The prevocational school is for boys who have completed the eighth grade and who do not expect to complete the regular high school course. This is a two-year course for eighth grade graduates. Half of the time in school is devoted to shop work and mechanical drawing, and the remaining half is given to related academic subjects. These boys have access to all the shops and laboratories, the same as high school students. The specific purpose of these courses is to lay a broader foundation of experience and information that will assist the students to.interpret the social and economic forces at work in their environments, to the end that they may make wise choice in their life work and thus develop into efficient and loyal citizens. HOUSEHOLD ARTS DEPARTMENT Beginning with the sixth grade, courses in household arts are offered to all girls in the Kalamazoo public schools. Five buildings 182 H.ISTORIC MICHIGAN have laboratories equipped for definite instructions in food and clothing. The work of the household arts department has three phasesfood, clothing and household management. Attention is given to such subjects as preparation of food, nutrition, marketing and mealplanning. In the clothing courses are considered such topics as textiles, purchasing of materials, care and repair of clothing, economics of clothing, and suitability of dress. The house itself and the work of the household are studies in the household-management course, and special attention is given to the family budget. In the high school a four years' course in household arts is offered. The household-arts department supervises the school lunch rooms, and its supervisor is also principal of the All Day Home Economics School, located in the Vine street building. This school is organized under the Smith Hughes law. HEALTH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT This department gives service through the medium of three subdepartments, those of medical supervision and school nursing, dentistry, and physical education. The first named sub-department retains three full-time nurses, a clerical worker and also one woman and one man on part time. Inspection is provided for contagious diseases and after illness, sanitary survey of buildings, conferences with parents, physical examinations, etc. School nurses provide first aid, visit homes to discover contagious disease, arrange for operations, inspect sanitary conditions, arrange nutritious diet, visit clinics with children, give health instruction in the school rooms, direct the "Little Mothers' Clubs," and have general charge of the open-air school and the nutrition classes. The open-air school provides for all children physically below par, and furnishes luncheon and dinner, as well as sunshine and study. One full-time dental hygienist visits each school once a year, cleaning and examining the teeth of all children in grades from kindergarten through fourth. The Central school dental clinic does needed dental work for children whose parents are unable to pay for such service. At this clinic is a complete dental equipment, and the work is carried on by the school dentist and dental assistant. The physical education department trains for health and physical efficiency through the medium of a well ordered organization and program, in which emphasis is given to outdoor play, use of school gymnasiums, teaching of health habits and development of student leadership by means of squad organization. ART TRAINING An endeavor is being made to have art training in the Kalamazoo schools constitute a present and practical life experience in schoolone that will carry over into the home and into life beyond the school period. The work achieved in this department has been of most gratifying order and the course of study is effectively defined and arranged. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 183 MUSIC DEPARTMENT The aim of the music course in the public schools of Kalamazoo is to help the child to love and appreciate good music and to realize its value as a part of the scheme of gracious living. There are five classes for violin study, each junior high school has a glee club and orchestra, and the Victrola has been made an important medium for the advancing of musical appreciation in the schools. RESEARCH DEPARTMENT The functions of this department, which was established in September, 1922, are: Testing along mental, psychological and educational lines; classification of school children; and education of backward children. The department is proving of specially great value in connection with providing proper means and environment in the teaching of backward or sub-normal children, and for this work auxiliary classes have been provided. In line with the service of this department is that of the visiting teacher. The visiting-teacher work was initiated in Kalamazoo in September, 1922, under the joint auspices of the local board of education and the-National Committee of Visiting Teachers. To make sure that each child's individual problem is understood and his social needs are met, and to bring about adjustment of special difficulties through the co-operation of home, school and social agencies, the visiting teacher has been added to the school staff. SCHOOLS FOR SPECIAL TYPES OF INSTRUCTION The department of speech correction is provided for those children who are handicapped by defects in speech. A specially trained teacher has supervision of this department, by which any variety of speech defect is taken care of-such as stammering, all forms of lisping, "baby talk," foreign accent, etc. The elimination of speech defects in the first years of school life is a splendid prevention of annoyance and misery later on. EVENING CLASSES In connection with the Kalamazoo public schools evening classes are held from one to three evenings each week during the winter months-during a period of twenty weeks. While classes are open to all persons not attending regular day school, the work has been specially planned for those who have not completed the public school course. There are evening classes in bookkeeping, stenography, typewriting, printing, arithmetic, algebra, shop mathematics, English for foreigners, second year English, citizenship, practical electricity, auto mechanics, blacksmithing, lathe and cabinet work, acetylene welding, carpentry, machine shop, sheet-metal drafting, mechanical drawing, cooking, sewing, dressmaking, millinery, art craft, basketry, figure sketching, and gymnasium. SUMMER SCHOOL AND OTHER SERVICE For several years Kalamazoo has maintained a six weeks' summer 184 HISTORIC MICHIGAN session of its public schools, and these have proved a most valuable adjunct to the service of the schools. To the well ordered open-air school reference has already been made in this review. The ungraded room of the public schools is situated in the Lincoln Junior High School and gives special attention to the training of refractory boys. The Kalamazoo Public Library effectively aids and supplements the work of the public schools. School gardening has been made a worthwhile feature of the work at some of the public school buildings, and school gardens offer a means for lively and benignant contests for leadership. Several of the school playgrounds, with their excellent equipment, are kept open during the summer months and render a splendid service. There need be no apology for offering in this publication the foregoing review of the public schools of Kalamazoo, for no other one feature of community life can claim greater importance. Aside from this fact, it is to be remembered that Kalamazoo stands at the forefront in the nation's educational work through the medium of public schools, and is looked to for leadership in progressive movements and initiative service in the furtherance of the general work of public schools. Thus this review can and should carry much of inspiration and incentive, even a limited measure of which effluent influence will justify the publication of the resume'. A GENERAL SUMMARY It the ordering of the public school system of Kalamazoo are utilized twenty buildings, situated on twelve school sites. The total value of buildings and equipment is placed at $4,207.10, and the land occupied by the buildings and school grounds is valued at $452,708.89. Unpaid bonds, December I, I924, aggregate $2,179,000. Integral parts of the system are one senior high school, five junior high schools, eleven grade schools, and the public library of the city. The corps of teachers, including principals and supervisors, aggregate in number 367. Two school dentists, with assistants, are retained and also one physician and three nurses. The corps in service in handling the affairs of the public library numbers nineteen; there are fifty-five janitors and engineers, as well as a school carpenter, a painter, a plumber, etc. The school enrollment is approximately 8,500. The operating expense for the schools in the year 1924 aggregated $907,325, the total budget being $I,309,437.50. The following table gives the comparisons for the past fifteen years, by five-year periods: Year Valuation Total Budget VotedTax Tax Rate Pupils 1909 $21,182,980.00 $ 223,780.00 $128,500.00 7.07 5069 I914 48,584,350.00 362,874.72 235,789.00 5.87 5632 I919 57,328,240.00 578,065.00 440,500.00 8.6i 6878 1924 78,817,020.00 1,309,437.50 966,437.50 I3.27 8500 WESTERN STATE NORMAL SCHOOL There can be no measure of doubt that wise choice was made by the governmental authorities of Michigan when Kalamazoo was se KALAMAZOO COUNTY 185 lected as the site for the Western State Normal School, the work of which is a large and important part of the educational system of this commonwealth. Michigan early gained high reputation for the status of its first and great training school for teachers, the present State Normal College in the city of Ypsilanti, and this reputation has been definitely advanced through the later service given by the Western State Normal School, which is represented in membership in the American Association of Teachers Colleges and which has become one of the nation's really great educational institutions. Its fundamental function is to prepare teachers for the public schools, and a more valuable service than this can not well be imagined. Among the advantages of the Western State Normal School of Michigan may be noted the following: A campus of fifty-four acres; a fourteen-acre athletic field; a lunch room serving I,ooo students daily; a co-operative store furnishing books and supplies at low prices; six modern buildings, ideally located and excellently equipped; the largest normal school gymnasium in the Middle West; a fine new library building completed in I924; numerous opportunities for students to obtain remunerative employment; a student loan fund; a library of 24,000 volumes and 200 of the best magazines and other periodicals; a limited certificate course; two-year life certificate courses (in art, commerce, early elementary, household arts, junior high school, later elementary, manual arts, music, physical education for men and women, rural education, senior high school); four-year Bachelor of Arts degree, Bachelor of Science degree, musical and physical-educatio'n courses; more than one hundred faculty members and approximately 2,000 students; graduates teaching in thirty-five states and in foreign countries; an incomparable democratic atmosphere and an unusual school spirit. Detailed information not possible of incorporation in this circumscribed review may be obtained by applying to the registrar of the Western State Normal, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dwight R. Waldo, A.M., LL. D., is president of the institution, which is under the direct supervision of the Michigan State Board of Education. The Western State Normal School is located on a commanding bluff west of the valley in which Kalamazoo lies, nearly opposite the central part of the residence section of the city and within a mile of the business district. This site on Prospect Hill was chosen by the State Board of Education as combining to an unusual degree natural beauty with practical advantages. From the hill-top one gains a magnificent view of the city and the Kalamazoo river valley. Much of the tract is wooded, and in the preparation of the ground for building and other purposes great care has been taken to preserve the natural forest. The athletic field was purchased in I9I3, at a cost of $I2,000, and this has been so developed that it now stands second only in the state to Ferry Field at the University of Michigan. Recently important additions have been made to the land holdings, and these will contribute much to the attractions and practical efficiency of the school. The student activities and organizations are maintained on a high plane and form a constructive force in connection 186 HISTORIC MICHIGAN with the general service of the institution. Students find living expenses in Kalamazoo to be exceptionally moderate as compared with similar conditions in other educational centers. The extension department of the Western State Normal likewise is proving of distinct value in expanding the service of the institution and carrying the same to persons who are not so placed as to make regular enrollment in the school. KALAMAZOO COLLEGE The history of this venerable Kalamazoo institution had its beginnings in the period prior to the admission of Michigan to statehood, and its record has been one of long and effective service in the furtherance of popular education. The Michigan and Huron Institute received its charter April 22, 1833, and the virtual founder was Rev. Thomas W. Merrill, a graduate of Colby College, he having devoted several years to-raising the necessary funds and having had the co-operation of Hon. Caleb Eldred and other influential citizens of that period. In I837, the year that marked the admission of Michigan to statehood, the name of the institution was changed to Kalamazoo Literary Institute, and thereafter the institution received for a few years financial support from the state. In 1855 the college gained from the state a liberal charter, by which women were granted equal privileges with men, so that the institution became one of the first coeducational colleges in the United States. In 1859 a seminary for young women was combined with the college. In 1835 the citizens of Kalamazoo contributed $2,500 to the institution, and a tract of land was purchased in what is now the heart of the residence section of the city. Temporary buildings were erected, but this land later was sold, and the present beautiful site was secured, the men's dormitory having been erected in 1848-50. The Baptists of the state, who had been from the first the principal supporters of the college, raised the necessary funds. Kalamazoo Hall was built in 1857 by citizens of Kalamazoo; Wheaton Lodge, the women's dormitory and refectory, was built by the Ladies Hall Association and was transferred to the college in 1887. Bowen Hall was dedicated in I902. The gymnasium was erected in I9II. Fire partially destroyed the men's dormitory in March, 1916, and in the following July the new three-story building was ready for occupancy. Other important improvements in the physical property of the college have since been made. The following named men have served as president of Kalamazoo College: J. A. B. Stone, D.D., 1855-63; John M. Gregory, LL. D., I864-67; Kendall Brooks, D.D., 1868-1887; Monson A. Wilcox, D.D., I887-I89I; Theodore Nelson, LL. D., I89I-2; Arthur Gaylord Slocum, LL. D., I892-I912; Herbert L. Stetson, D.D., LL. D., 1912-1922; and Allan Hoben, Ph. D., from 1922 to the present time. The college campus, of more than twenty-five acres, is between West Main and West Lovell streets, in the best residence section of the city. Most of the buildings are located in a hardwood grove on the picturesque hills. The buildings of the college include Bowen Hall and annex, Physics Research Laboratory, Men's Dormitory, KALAMAZOO COUNTY 187 Women's Dormitories, and the gymnasium and library provisions are of modern order, as are also the equipments of the various laboratories. There is a due compliment of well directed student organizations, a college paper is published, and the religious atmosphere is of the best. Of the courses of studies, comprehensive in scope, it is not necessary to speak in detail, as the literature issued by the institution covers this matter adequately, as it does also all points referring to degrees conferred. The college bulletin for I923-24 records an enrollment of I95 men students and 172 wome'n students. Kalamazoo College has been continuously conducted under the general auspices of the Baptist church, but there has been no discrimination as to religious affiliations of students admitted to the institution. Kalamazoo College has played a large part in the history of educational development and progress in Michigan, and has been at all times a source of pride to the citizens of Kalamazoo city and county. NAZARETH ACADEMY A noble and graciously ordered institution that constitutes an important feature of educational service in Kalamazoo county and that has made its influence extend far outside the specific boundaries of the county and state, is Nazareth Academy, which, with spacious and beautiful grounds, occupies an idyllic location on Gull road, about three miles to the east of the city of Kalamazoo. Here is utilized a fine demesne of more than three hundred acres, and the locality bears the name of Nazareth. That part of the large tract that has not been utilized for building purposes is artistically laid out in parks, gardens, attractive drives and shady groves, with here and there a pretty lake to add to the landscape charm. The products of the cultivated land are used in large part by the Nazareth community, while orchards and vineyards likewise bring forth their increase in due season. A well arranged and improved campus supplements the advantages of the thoroughly equipped gymnasium of the academy. Nazareth is one of the accredited schools of Michigan, and its curriculum is well planned and organized-from kindergarten to college, with proper provisions or instruction in music and art and with modern laboratories for use in study of the sciences. An excellent library is at the disposal of the students. Trained and efficient teachers make use of the approved methods for the moral and mental development of those who are under their guidance, and social activities are given due consideration. With the history of Nazareth Academy the name of the late and honored Monsignor Frank A. O'Brien must ever stand forth in special distinctness, for to his earnest zeal was primarily due the founding and developing of the institution, in the period of his service as pastor of St. Augustine's church in Kalamazoo. More than a quarter of a century ago Father O'Brien laid the corner stone of Nazareth, and thus came to inceptive realization of his long cherished ideal. The new building was dedicated September 22, I898. Since that time other units have been added to the original building, including the school for young women; Barbour Hall, for boys under the age of 188 HISTORIC MICHIGAN fourteen, this being the first school of its kind in Michigan; and the chapel building, of consistent architectural design and ecclesiastical appointments. From the dedication souvenir of St. Joseph's church, Kalamazoo, as issued August 15, I915, are taken the following interesting extracts: "The 6th of July, I889, opens an epoch in our history from which the Catholics of Kalamazoo might well count time. This date marked the arrival from New York state of eleven Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph, a nucleus around which was to be formed a permanent community. The securing of these sisters was a special dispensation of Divine Providence. Had not this event taken place, the fairest pages of our history would never have been written. Their influence has permeated every source and channel of Catholic activity, and has been engrafted into every outgrowth of Catholic development that has eminated from Kalamazoo in the past quarter of a century. * * * They have been an inspiration to the population of a whole city, irrespective of cult or creed, and have revived in the hearts of thousands a faith in humanity that makes a man feel that life is worth the living, and an abiding confidence in God that 'robs death of her sting and the grave of her victory.' Nazareth Academy, Barbour Hall, Borgess Hospital, St. Anthony's Home for Feeble Minded Children, with a special department for the care of old ladies, and St. Agnes' Foundling Home, are evidences of what their devotion and industry have made possible and of God's blessing on their labours." The original province of Nazareth Academy was in the educating and training of young women and girls, but, ever ready to assume new burdens and to expand their field of service, the Sisters of St. Joseph responded to needs and importunities by making Barbour Hall an adjunct of the Nazareth community, this being established for the care of little boys. Barbour Hall, whose fine building is one of the limportant units of the Nazareth community, represented for a number of years the only institution of similar functions to be found in Michigan, there being now a second one at Monroe. It well supplements the original Nazareth school for young women and girls. Nazareth Junior College and Academy was established in more recent years, and in June, I924, provision was made for its offering a full college course. Thus again comes the high mark of progress and expansion in connection with the work of this splendid and noble Kalamazoo county institution. In this brief review it is impossible to give details concerning the development and service of Nazareth, but the institution itself will supply all requisite information to those wishing to avail themselves of its advantages. ST. ANTHONY'S SCHOOL FOR FEEBLE MINDED CHILDREN The building of this institution marks another high point in the history of Catholic development and service in Kalamazoo county. This school was first located but a short distance from Nazareth Academy, whence it was later removed to its present spacious and beautiful location at Comstock. It is famous in America as a model institution of its kind, and its merits are recognized also in Europe. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 189 This school for feeble minded or otherwise defective children was established in I898 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, and is the only one of its kind in the United States. The buildings of the institution are of modern order, and enshrined in the chapel in a portion of a bone of St. Anthony of Padua, as well as a portion of a bone of St. Vitus, the St. Vitus shrine being presumably the only one of its kind in America. It may well be understood that here has been formulated and developed a noble system for the care and instruction of the unfortunate children who are here sent for the fostering and uplifting service which the good Sisters of St. Joseph are so well prepared to render. PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS Each of the Catholic church parishes in Kalamazoo county has its well directed school, and in the city of Kalamazoo are three such parochial schools, one of which carries the full equivalent of a high school curriculum. In the city the Reformed church has two parochial schools. OTHER SCHOOLS The city of Kalamazoo has two business colleges, four correspondence schools, two private art schools, and two schools for the feeble minded. The local Young Men's Christian Association and Young Women's Christian Association both conduct educational classes, and in this connection it may be stated that the Young Women's Christian Association of Kalamazoo now ranks as the second largest organization of its kind in Michigan, the association in the city of Detroit being the only one that can claim a greater enrollment of members. At the Kalamazoo State Hospital for the Insane is maintained a training school for nurses, and both Bronson Hospital and Borgess Hospital have similar schools. The Western State Normal School conducts an annual Chautauqua. CHAPTER XI MILITARY N all communities, the achievements of the people in times of war play an important part in historical annals, and in review they serve to keep the pride of ancestry bright and untarnished. The part played by Kalamazoo county in the Black Hawk war is given in some detail elsewhere in this work, and the attention of the reader is here directed to later wars. In the Mexican war, Company A of the First Michigan Infantry was recruited at Kalamazoo by Captain Fred W. Curtenius. The roster of this company included the names of IOI men, most of whom were from this city. On November I9, I847, it was mustered into the service of the United States, and it soon reported to Colonel Thomas B. W. Stockton at Detroit. After remaining in barracks at Detroit for a few weeks, it went to New Orleans, marching to Springfield, Ohio, where it entrained for Cincinnati, and at the latter place boarded the steamer Andrew Jackson on which it made the trip to New Orleans. At the Crescent City it was encamped at Chalmette, Jackson's old battleground, remaining there about one week. Here it was inspected by General Zachary Taylor. It then sailed for Vera Cruz, Mexico, arriving there about the middle of January, 1848. Thence it soon went to the city of Cordova, being harried on the march thither by guerrillas. It protected the line of communication from Vera Cruz inland, and with the exception of some few skirmishes did not participate in any engagements. It was ordered home in July, 1848, after peace was declared, and was mustered out of service at Detroit July I8th. CIVIL WAR When the clouds of civil strife which had been lowering on the horizon for many years finally broke in April of I86I, plunging the nation into what was at once its bloodiest and most enlightening war, Kalamazoo county was in the forefront of patriotic communities in offering its youth and wealth in cheerful sacrifice that the Union might be saved. The Civil war is unique among the wars of history, for it is the only war ever waged by which both victor and vanquished profited. First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics. Kalamazoo county men to the approximate number of one hundred and twenty served with this gallant regiment, the lieutenant-colonel, Garrett Hannings, of which was a local man, as were other regimental officers. At Lavergne, Tennessee, this regiment is credited by General Rosecrans with having repulsed more than ten times its own number in an engagement with the enemy. First Michigan Volunteer Cavalry. There were one hundred men from Kalamazoo county with this regiment, over fifty of them being KALAMAZOO COUNTY 191 in Company I, the remainder scattered through every company in the regiment. Organized in the summer of I86I, it left Detroit, and in 1862 saw service with the Army of the Potomac. It was in Virginia in 1863 and fought in the Battle of Gettysburg in that year, losing eighty men and eleven officers in six minutes in that battle repulsing a charge by Hampton's Legion. In 1864 it took part in Grant's campaign against Lee in Virginia, and in August of that year was assigned to Sheridan's army, participating in nearly all the engagements of the Shenandoah, and was present at Appomattox Court House when Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865. Second Michigan Volunteer Cavalry had about seventy men from Kalamazoo county, was recruited at Grand Rapids, and was sent first to St. Louis. It served in the Mississippi campaign in 1862, and was in the Atlanta campaign, the battle of Nashville, and participated in General Wilson's cavalry campaign through Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia in the spring of I865. Third Michigan Volunteer Cavalry contained men from this county in every company, and Company I was almost entirely composed of Kalamazoo men. It gathered at Grand Rapids and left camp in November, I86I, and in the following year participated in the Mississippi campaign, capturing nearly thirteen hundred of the enemy during this time. During 1863 it was actively engaged in Mississippi and Tennessee. In January, I864 it was mustered out, most of the men re-enlisting. It was furloughed to Michigan, re-assembled at Kalamazoo, where it was joined by a number of recruits, was sent to St. Louis, and then, though without arms, was sent to Little Rock to join General Steele. It was then mounted and armed and participated in the famous Arkansas campaign under that noted leader. It then did scouting work through Mississippi, and for a time occupied Mobile after the fall of that city. With the surrender of the confederate armies east of the Mississippi, it was made a part of the army under Sheridan for service in the southwest, marching to San Antonio, Texas. In I866 it marched on foot to Indianola, where it went on board ship for return home. It was mustered out February 15, i866, at Indianola, whence it went by boat to New Orleans and Cairo, Illinois. It then went to Jackson, Michigan where it arrived on March loth and was disbanded five days later. Kalamazoo county men were also found in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiments and in the regiment known as Merrill's Horse. Fourteenth Battery. Organized at Kalamazoo, this battery was mustered into service January 5, 1864. Most of its career was spent in the defense of Washington, and its only active fighting was with the rebel troops under General Early when he approached Washington. This battery was a part of the First Regiment of Michigan Artillery, and Batteries B, C, D, E, F, G, I, K, L and the Thirteenth Battery of that regiment also contained a few men each from Kalamazoo county. Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Every company of this regiment with the exception of F contained men from Kalamazoo 192 HISTORIC MICHIGAN county, and companies I and K, commanded respectively by Captains Dwight May and Charles S. May, were almost entirely from this county. It left Detroit in June, I86I, and participated in the first battle of Bull Run, and was one of the few regiments of the Union army in that disastrous battle which was not routed. Thereafter it did guard duty at the dangerous Bailey's Cross Roads near Washington, and later fought in numerous places in Virginia. It fought at Malvern Hill in I862 and Fredericksburg in I863, to mention two of the most important of its many battles. It then went to Kentucky, and thence to Mississippi to aid Grant in the Vicksburg campaign. It was with Sherman for a brief time, and then with Burnside at Knoxville. It took an active and honorable part in the bloody campaign against Richmond. It was engaged in the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Bethesda Church, Petersburg and many other hotly contested battles. It was mustered out at Washington on July 29, i865. Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Recruited by Colonel Fred W. Curtenius at Kalamazoo in the summer of I86I, the regiment left this city August 30, I86I. Later it was converted into heavy artillery, and was isolated from most other Michigan regiments throughout the war. Spending the winter of I86I-2 at Baltimore, it went to Ship Island, Mississippi, in the spring, going to New Orleans in April, having been one of the first regiments to enter that city. On May I th it sailed up the Mississippi, participated in two engagements at Baton Rouge, and then took up guard duty at New Orleans. In June, 1863, it was converted to heavy artillery, after the surrender of Port Hudson, where it was engaged on garrison duty until March. I864. In the winter of I864-65 it took an active part in the capture of Mobile. It was mustered out at Greenville, Louisiana, in August, I865. Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Although recruited at Niles, this regiment had Kalamazoo county men in every company. It left Niles on March I8, I862 for St. Louis, and was immediately ordered to the Tennessee river, arriving at Pittsburg Landing in time to take part in the battle there in April. It was engaged in picket duty near the field during the Battle of Iuka. It participated in the siege of Vicksburg, and later in 1863 was with General Steele in Arkansas, spending the next year in Arkansas, as well as the year I865, having been mustered out at Camden on February 15, I866. Thirteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was recruited at Kalamazoo by Hon. Charles E. Stuart, who held the commission of Colonel until his resignation in I862. Largely cormposed of Kalamazoo county men, it left this city February I2, 1862, to take part in the Battle of Pittsburg Landing. It was engaged variously throughout Tennessee and Mississippi during the remainder of I862 and until the Battle of Chickamauga in September, I863, in which it fought. Thereafter it was in the Army of the Cumberland operating around Chattanooga. In I864 it joined Sherman's army on the famous march to the sea, continuing up through the Carolinas with Sherman until the end of the war. It took part in At KALAM,.AZOO COIIGI1, FIELD OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY MINT KALAMAZOO COUNTY 193 the Grand Review of Sherman's army at Washington, went into camp nearby thereafter. In July it went to Louisville, Kentucky, where it was mustered out on the twenty-fifth of the month. Nineteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Raised in southwest Michigan, companies F and K were almost entirely from Kalamazoo. It was recruited at Dowagiac and left camp under Colonel Henry C. Gilbert on September 14, 1862, proceeding to Cincinnati. On March 5, 1863, it met a cavalry army, the whole wing of the army under General Bragg, General Van Dorn being in chief command of the cavalry force of this army for the rebels, and being greatly outnumbered by the Confederates. This engagement occurred at Thompson's Station, Tennessee, and here the union force surrendered. The officers were soon exchanged and the enlisted men paroled. The regiment was reorganized at Camp Chase, Ohio, and was sent to Nashville, Tennessee, where it arrived June II, 1863. It remained in Tennessee until 1864 when it joined Sherman in the Atlanta campaign. Colonel Gilbert was mortally wounded at the Battle of Resaca. It proceeded up through the Carolinas and Virginia, and after the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston it went to Washington, participated in the Grand Review, and was mustered out on June Io, I865. Twenty-fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Organized by Hon. Hezekiah G. Wells from men of previous calls, it was led into the field by Colonel Orlando H. Moore of Schoolcraft. Two companies were principally made up of Kalamazoo county men. It left Kalamazoo on September 29, 1862, proceeding to Louisville, Kentucky. On July 4, 1863, five companies of this regiment defeated a rebel force of five thousand under General Morgan near Columbia, at Green River Bridge. This heroic accomplishment saved the cities of Louisville and Lebanon from capture, and the command was highly complimented by the army authorities, and the legislature of Kentucky. It subsequently took part in many battles in Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas, and was mustered out at Salisbury, N. C., June 24, 1865. SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR Long prior to its declaration, the Spanish-American war was inevitable. The intolerable condition of the people of Cuba, under the despotic General Weyler, had outraged American sentiment; the letter of the Spanish Minister de Lome, in which he characterized President McKinley as a "low politician" increased the resentment, and the destruction of the "Maine," in which 266 of her officers and crew were killed, crystalized public opinion in a demand for redress, and when the Spanish Board at Havana reported that the Maine was destroyed "by an internal explosion the result of negligence" popular fury knew no bounds. This was followed on April 23, I898 by President McKinley's proclamation of war. The military authorities of Michigan, assisted by the legislature, which was fortunately in session, took instant action. On April 24, General Order No. 5 was sent out by Adjutant-General Edwin M. Irish, of Kalamazoo, for a general mobilization of the entire Michigan National Guard. On April 25, Col. William T. McGurren, of 194 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the Second Infantry, issued order No. I5/2 ordering Company C, of Kalamazoo, to rendezvous at Camp Eaton, Island Lake. Great excitement prevailed in Kalamazoo that night. The crowd was so great that the entire police force was called out to control traffic. This spontaneous demonstration continued far into the tight. On the morning of April 26 Company C was in readiness to start. Shortly before leaving the armory this band of volunteers was presented with a handsome silk flag by the Orcutt Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. The presentation speech was made by General William Shakespeare. After this ceremony, the company marched to the C. K. & S. railroad station through the largest crowd that ever jammed the streets of Kalamazoo. Practically the whole city was down to see the boys off. This company was one of the oldest military organizations in the state and was organized in the Burdick House June Io, 1859, its first captain being John Dudgeon. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American war the officers of Company C, Second Regiment Michigan National Guard were: Captain, Joseph J. Nolan, first lieutenant, Joseph B. Westnedge and second lieutenant, William J. Redmond. On their arrival at Island Lake, Captain Nolan, much to the regret of his men, failed to pass the medical examination and was given a disability discharge. Lieutenant Westnedge, who years later in the Great war gave up his life in the services of his country, was elected captain, Lieutenant Redmond became first lieutenant, and Don C. Itgraham was elected second lieutenant. This company was mustered into the United States army as Company C, Thirty-second Michigan Volunteer Infantry on Friday, May 13, I898. On May I9th, it left Island Lake and arrived at Tampa, Florida, May 22d. Expecting daily to be sent to Cuba, great was their disappointment when, on July I9th, they were sent to Fernandina, Florida, where they arrived the next day. During their stay in Florida the men of this company did not lose hope of seeing active service, but their hopes were blasted, when on September 2, orders came to move camp to Huntsville, Alabama, where they remained until September 17, when they returned to Island Lake, arriving on September I8. On September 23 this company returned to Kalamazoo on furlough where they were mustered out on November 2 by Captain R. J. C. Irvine, Eleventh United States Infantry. While this company did not see front line service the suffering from disease, unfit food and the unsanitary conditions of the camps occasioned much sickness in many cases of a permanent nature which later caused many deaths. Only one death occurred while in actual service. Quarter-Master Sergeant Edward A. Shields, before going to war a promising student at Kalamazoo College, died of fever at Fernandina, Florida, September I6, I898. Pealey L. Abbey, of Kalamazoo, was Major of the Second Battalion of the Thirty-second Regiment. Edwin M. Irish, at the outbreak of the war, was State AdjutantGeneral and after issuing the general mobilization order went to Camp Eaton, Island Lake, and as a member of the Military Board, ordered KALAMAZOO COUNTY 195. there by Governor Pingree, reorganized and reformed the Michigan National Guard to meet the exigency of the President's call for troops. This duty was satisfactorily performed. Mr. Irish on July II, 1898, was commissioned to command the Thirty-fifth Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry as its colonel. This regiment was mustered in the United States service on July 25th, and went to Camp Meade, Pennsylvania. Much credit is due Colonel Irish for the splendid service he rendered his state in his work on the Military Board in whipping a loosely organized and poorly equipped body of men into fighting units. This was a stupenduous task with no plaudits from the multitude and only the satisfaction of knowing that his job was well done. Richard Westnedge, a brother of Capt. Joseph B. Westnedge, was long a member of Company C, but at the declaration of war, he retired from Company C, and was commissioned first lieutenant and assistant surgeon of the Third Regiment, United States army. He went with his regiment to the Philippines and in the line of duty, contracted a fever from which he died at Manila. His body was returned to Kalamazoo and was interred in Riverside cemetery with full military honors. Richard Westnedge Camp No. I6, United Spanish War Veterans was named in his honor. This camp was organized February Ig 1904. At first it was known as Camp No. 308, National Association Spanish-American War Veterans, but on February 23, I905, a new charter was obtained from the amalgamated organizations, known as the United Spanish War Veterans. The first officers of the organization were: Commander, Joseph B. Westnedge; senior vice-commander, Don C. Ingraham; junior vice-commander, William E. Osborne; adjutant, J. Harry McCormich; quartermaster, Clarence L. Miller, and chaplain, Gus L. Stein. The ladies' auxiliary to this camp is known as Mary B. Westenedge No. Io, Department of Michigan, National Auxiliary of United Spanish War Veterans. This organization was chartered August 25, I915, and was named in honor of the mother of Joseph B. Westnedge and Richard Westnedge. In I913, Gus L. Stein, a member of the United Spanish War Veterans, obtained from the War Department a bronze tablet, the material having been taken from the wreck of the "Maine." This was placed on a boulder donated by a member of Orcutt Post G. A. R., in Bronson Park and was dedicated with appropriate ceremonial, by the United Spanish War Veterans in commemoration of those who lost their lives on the ill-fated Maine. In 1920, the Spanish-American War Veterans started a campaign to raise funds to erect a memorial to those who fell in the SpanishAmerican war. By the end of I923 sufficient funds had been raised by popular subscription to order a bronze figure and known as "The Spirit '98." This work was designed by C. Kitson, a well-known New York sculptor and cast in the foundry of the German Foundry Company, Providence, Rhode Island. Its height is over eight feet and it is placed on an immense boulder which was donated by Henry 196 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Nicholson of Comstock township. This memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1924, by Richard Westnedge Camp No. I6, United Spanish War Veterans, the Speaker being Dallas O. Boudeman. The total cost was $3,500. GENERAL WILLIAM R. SHAFTER General William Rufus Shafter, commanding officer of the Fifth Army Corps, during its operations before Santiago in 1898, was a native son of Kalamazoo county. His birth occurred at Galesburg October I6, I835. His father was Hugh R. Shafter, one of the pioneers of the county. When President Lincoln's first call for troops came young Shafter was a farm hand, but he immediately traded his plow for a musket and enlisted in Company I, Seventh Michigan Infantry. A few days later, on June 26, I86I, he was commissioned first lieutenant of that company. On May 31, 1862, he was wounded at the battle of "Four Oaks." On August 8, 1862, he was transferred to the Nineteenth Michigan Infantry and promoted to major. At Thompson's Station, Tennessee, on March 5, I863, he participated with the Nineteenth in one of the most stubborn fought battles of the war. His regiment, with one Wisconsin and two Indiana regiments, barely 1,500 men, stood off Braggs' entire cavalry composed of about I8,000 men, for five long hours. An incident occurred in this battle that revealed the alertness of General Shafter's mind. He saw a speck coming toward him, he instantly jumped from the saddle, and had no sooner reached the ground, than a cannon-ball passed over the horse's back. After several charges, this handful of men were forced to surrender due to the exhaustion of their ammunition. Shafter was taken as a prisoner to Richmond, Virginia, where he remained two months being paroled on May 5, 1863. During his imprisonment he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the Nineteenth Michigan Infantry. He remained with this regiment until April 9, I864, when he was made colonel of the Seventeenth United States Colored Infantry. March 13, I865, he was breveted Brigadier-General of Volunteers for distinguished services during the war. On July 28, I866, he was transferred and made lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-first United States Infantry, but was regularly discharged from the volunteer service on November 2, I866, the last Michigan officer to be mustered out of the service. He elected however, to remain in the regular army. On March 2, 1867, he was breveted a colonel in the United States army "for gallant and meritorious service in the battle of Gettysburg, Pa." He was assigned as colonel of the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry April I4, 1869 and on March 4, 1879 he won the coveted prize of all army officers of becoming colonel of the First United States Infantry, the oldest regiment in the service. The following nineteen years were spent in the west, southwest and in California fighting Indians, doing garrison duty and later in command of the Department of California. When the Spanish-American war broke out, he was personally KALAMAZOO COUNTY 197 selected by Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War, to head the expedition to Cuba. At this time he was promoted from a brigadier-general to a major general. On June 22, 1898, with about I5,000 men, he landed at Daiquiri, Cuba, sixteen miles east of Santiago. This force was a few days later reinforced by the Thirty-third Michigan, Thirty-fourth Michigan and the Ninth Massachusetts. On June 24 occurred the battle of Las Guaismas. This opened the way to positions in front of Santiago. On July i a general engagement commenced and the Spanish were driven from their position on San Juan Hill. From this date, a siege was maintained, accompanied by severe fighting until July i6th, when General Toral, realizing the futility of continuing the battle, started negotiations for surrender. General Shafter and General Toral personally met and agreed, i'n a general way, on the terms. Later a hitch occurred, regarding the phraseology of the terms. The preliminary negotiations used the word "surrender." General Toral made a strong appeal that the word "capitulate" be used and further remarked that the Americans, as a brave and chivalrous people, would not seek to humiliate his army or make it appear it was vanquished. His brave men, his soldiers, desired to go home with honor. To the everlasting credit of the big-hearted Shafter he allowed the word to be changed in order to satisfy the self-esteem of his fallen foe. This was one of the noblest acts performed during the war. On the following day, at the formal surrender, General Toral's sword, which had been sent to Shafter's headquarters earlier in the day, was generously restored to its owner. After the Spanish-American war, General Shafter returned to his old command, the Department of California, where he remained until he was retired in I9O1. Death in I906 ended the career of General Shafter. Starting as a farm hand at Galesburg, he won, by his superior military knowledge and a life-long habit of exactly executing orders, the high rank of Major-General of the United States army. General Shafter was not a spectacular character, but his trustworthiness was not excelled by any officer in the army. The birthplace of General Shafter, a log house standing half a mile northwest of Galesburg, has been preserved for posterity. During the winter of I923-24, on learning that the owner of this house was contemplating tearing it down, the Kalamazoo Real Estate Board appointed a committee, composed of John Burke, Sr., and Oscar Burnham, to investigate. This committee obtained an option on the property, and after being assured by the County Board of Supervisors that the county would maintain it, started a general subscription, to which the United Spanish War Veterans and its auxiliary liberally contributed. The money raised, the purchase was made and a deed given to the county, who immediately repaired and restored this historical building. A steel flagstaff and marker was erected by the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a large flag was donated by the Woman's Relief Corp of Orcutt Post, G. A. R. for the flag staff and another flag was presented by 198 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the citizens of Galesburg for the interior of this famous log house. These flags were presented with appropriate ceremonies on November I5, I924. At the intersection of the principal streets of the village of Galesburg stands a large bronze bust and pedestal of General William R. Shafter. This was erected by the state of Michigan. This fine piece of bronze was made possible by Charles A. Weissert, who was at that time in the legislature as a representative from Barry county. He introduced a bill to appropriate $5,000 to erect this fitting and beautiful memorial to General Shafter. The commissioners appointed by Governor Albert E. Sleeper to provide the monument were William W. Potter, of Hastings, chairman; Milton F. Jordan, Middleville; M. A. Douglas, Galesburg. The monument, which consists of a granite pedestal surmounted by a bronze bust of Shafter by the sculptor Coppini, was dedicated in May, I919. WORLD WAR Kalamazoo county may well review with pride the achievements of its citizens in both the military and civilian war work of the Nation during the trying days of the World war, and it is unfortunate that space forbids the recording of each man's and woman's patriotic sacrifice during that great struggle. However, Kalamazoo is to be accounted most fortunate in having its World war annals so carefully and fully published as it was in I920 by Mrs. 0. H. Clark in her remarkable volume, "The Honor Roll," from which most of the following is taken. On account of there having been in the neighborhood of twentytwo hundred Kalamazoo county men in the armed forces of the United States, it is impractical here to give their names or records inasmtch as they appear-in the above mentioned publication. The Michigan national guard troops comprised, with the Wisconsin national guardsmen, the Thirty-second Division, in which many of the Kalamazoo men served. This famous division was organized at Camp MacArthur, Waco, Texas, where it was in training from August, I9I7 until February, I918. It arrived in France and Englatnd on February I6, and from the 24th of that month until May I7th was in the Tenth Training area in France. Leaving this area, it was engaged in the Alsace Sector until July 22d, and from that date until August 23d it took part in the terrific Ais'ne-Marne offensive, participating in the heavy fighting at Chateau-Thierry and Fismes. From August 23d to September 9th it was in the Oise-Aisne offensive, having been engaged in the battle of Soissons. Then, until the 22d of September it took a much needed rest in the rest area at Joinville. From September 22d until the signing of the Armistice it participated in the gigantic Meuse-Argonne offensive, directing its operations against the Kriemhilde line until October 20th and east of the Meuse on the Verdun front until November nIth. It was chosen to hold the right bank of the Rhine with the First and Second American divisions in the Army of Occupation, remaining in Germany until April, 19I9, when it returned to the United States for demobilization at Camp KALAMAZOO COUNTY 199 Custer, Michigan, from the Ioth to the 25th of May. Its battle service included thirty-five days in active sectors and sixty days in quiet sectors. It captured 2,153 prisoners, its casualties were 2,915 killed and 10,477 wounded; it advanced against resistance thirty-six kilometers, and wore for its insignia a red arrow piercing a line. The One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment of this division was distinctly a Kalamazoo organization and was commanded by Colonel Joseph Burchnall Westnedge until November 7, 1918, when he was invalided to a hospital at Nantes, France, where he died on November 29, 1918. He was, indeed, a gallant soldier, beloved by his men, respected by his fellow officers, and honored by a grateful government. He was cited in Division orders for gallantry, was awarded the Croix-de-Guerre by France and the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States. The reminent which he commanded has been described as "the cutting edge" of the Thirty-second Division. A list of the men who laid down their lives for their country in the World war follows: Leo Frank Abbott, Jerome Angell, Frank E. Allen, Clarence Auckerman, Henry Barrett, Elton John Barker, John F. Bass, William O. Bernier, Arthur C. Bayer, James W. Blanchard, Guy Herbert Bray, Emin Omar Boldman, Paul T. Butler, Roy Canavan, Walter B. Cronkhite, Curtis S. Coleman, John A. DeGlopper, Robert Miller Cutting, William L. Devriest, Wallace Doonan, Charles S. Dodgson, William Dunson, Clyde Eberstein, Clyde Earl, Charles Willis Engel, William J. Evans, George L. Evans, Guy C. Farrell, Merrill Ford, Charles Faunce, Daniel Alton Freshour, John 0. Gates, Franklin Ray Gates, Russell E. Gay, William Franklin Gillett, Jasper Sidney Gilbert, Frank Grant, John J. Greer, Roy Leon Gray, Gaylord Gregg, A. K. Gymer, Donald Guest, Ben Harvey, Erwin C. Haug, Vermer Hanes, William F. Heath, George William Ibbottson, John E. Hiller, Orville Inman, Stillman Visscher Jenks, Leland Albert Johnson, Louis Burt Johnston, Frank W. Keech, Frank A. Kingston, Lawrence D. Knox, Frederick R. Koegele, William Kramer, William A. Krueger, Lester Floyd Leaders, Edwin B. Lemert, Horace Lindsley, Lesterd Earl Loring, Archie Ross McDonald, Marvin Eldred Mapes, Nicholas W. Meyer, Robert James Mikels, Donald Pomeroy Milham, Fred V. Milham, Andrew Miller, Lewis W. Milliman, Manie L. Milliman, Wilber L. Minnard, Albert E. Moore, Claude Frank Mosher, George Norg, Jay B. Pitts, William Whipple Poole, Edward Purkoski, John Howard Pyle, Clarence Lee Rankin, R. Van Taerlingh Ranney, Nathan Leroy Redmond, Lewis D. Root, Floyd H. Rose, Dean L. Roselip, Warren Rutherford, Glen Newland Satterlee, Oscar J. Seeley, Don R. Sheldon, Burel Smith, Elbert L. Smith, Arthur F. Steams, David Lee Sutfin, Henry L. Teachout, Orrie G. Thompson, Herbert Alton Tuckey, Michael P. Twomey, George W. Underkircher, Clayton D. Urry, Adrian Van Dyke, John Van Der Meer, Jr., Earl Ray Van Keuren, Leslie B. Van Voorhees, Isaac Van De Gezelle, Carl Joseph Weber, Emanuel J. Weirick, Joseph B. Westnedge, Clifton Weisgerber, Artemas W. Wiley, Edson E. Woldendorf, Clark Wood, Russell Wood, William Wood, Evert Wormbrand, Roy Sherman Wright. 200 HISTORIC MICHIGAN There were also some thirty nurses in the service from Kalamazoo county who were directly connected with the army in hospital service. AMERICAN RED CROSS The Red Cross brought out more civilian war workers than any other non-military organization in the country, and there was hardly a man, woman or child who did not do his bit in this humanitarian service. Prior to the entrance of the United States into the World war there were only thirteen members of the organization in Kalamazoo county, but at a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce on April 4, 1917, temporary officers of a local organization were elected, and a public meeting called for the 9th of the month at, the Academy of Music. -A constitution and by-laws were adopted and the following officers elected: Rev. John W. Dunning, chairman; F. Ford Rowe, vice-chairman; Rev. Caroline Bartlett Crate, executive secretary; Charles S. Campbell, treasurer; and the following board of directors: W. H. Steward, Miss Lucy Gage, Mrs. Carl Blankenburg, L. H. Harvey, S. J. Wykel, Edward B. Desenberg, John W. Adams, Miss Mary McClure, Mrs. W. E. Praeger, Mrs. Herbert E. Johnson, Charles A. Blaney, Mrs. E. P. Wilbur. Mr. Dunning served as chairman until April, I919, when Louis Rosenbaum was chosen to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Dunning's resignation, caused by ill health. Mr. Rosenbaum served until November of that year, when Joseph E. Brown was elected after serving one year as vice-chairman. Mrs. Crane resigned her office of executive secretary on May 17, 1917, to assume the chairmanship of the State Women's Committee, Council of National Defense, and Mrs. John R. Hunter was elected to fill the vacancy thus occasioned. Other directors during the war period were: Louis Rosenbaum, Mrs. E. H. Drake, John K. Walsh, John L. Hollander, Walter L. Otis and Joseph E. Brown. Vice-chairman for each of the townships in the county were appointed, and in April, 1917, branches were established in Alamo, Climax, Comstock, Cooper, Galesburg, Richland, Ross, Schoolcraft, Scotts and Vicksburg, with branch auxiliaries at Dry Prairie, Genesee Prairie and Yorkville. The vice-chairmen of Fulton, Portage, Prairie Ronde, Oshtemo and Texas co-operated directly with the directors of the chapter, there having been no organized branches in those communities. The interest in the Red Cross was great from the very first, but this increased as the war continued, and at the Roll Call in 1918 twenty thousand members were enlisted, of which number six thousand were Juniors. Up to November I, 1919, there had been disbursed by the Kalamazoo chapter and its branches to the National Fund $II5,986.46, and to the Chapter Fund $135,086.29, leaving a balance in the treasury of $5,421.3I., a total of $256,4o4.o6. The Chapter was organized for efficient service in its various fields of usefulness, and a vast number of surgical dressings, knitted garments, hospital and refugee garments and similar things were made and shipped. Home service was also a feature of the work, which took care of what was before called KALAMAZOO COUNTY 201 Civilian Relief for the families of men in the service. Educational work in Red Cross work was conducted, nursing service done, a motor corps maintained, a Junior Red Cross, a canteen committee, beside many other special activities, such as Christmas packages, collecting of nut shells, and kindred services. No less important than the military efforts of the country was the proper and full financing of the war, a stupendous undertaking. This was done through five Liberty Loans, the fifth of which was known as the Victory Loan because it came after the signing of the Armistice. Local committees for the sale of these bonds were appointed, and included the following: Walter Otis, Charles S. Campbell, E. J. Phelps, C. M. Bush, William L. Brownell, George Wigginton, Ralph Emery, Charles A. Wiedenfeller, C. G. Bard, W. S. Cooke, A. E. Kettle, Mrs. H. E. Johnson, Fred M. Hodge, Mrs. William L. Brownell, Albert J. Todd, Harry Allyn, Fred J. Bond, Louis Rosenbaum and James H. Dewing. Kalamazoo county bought bonds of the first loan in the amount of $I,313,850; of the second, $2,228,I00; of the third, $2,779,goo, of the fourth, $3,750,00o; and of the fifth, $2,227,900; a grand total of $II,299,750, exclusive of the many bonds bought outside the county by men in the service. The machinery of the selective draft entailed a great amount of labor on the part of the civilian population throughout the country. The local draft boards were composed of Dr. L. V. Rogers, Louis Strong, William T. O'Brien, Dr. Rush McNair, Harry C. Howard, Fred R. Eaton, Dr. E. D. Sage and Archie E. Hughes. The legal Advisory Board was made up of Charles H. Farrell, George V. Weimer, and William L. Fitzgerald, and was appointed by Governor Sleeper. The War Board of Kalamazoo county, which had in charge the overseeing of all state war activities in this country, had the following members: Charles S. Campbell, Fred M. Hodge, Charles H. Farrell, Dr. S. Rudolph Light, Mrs. L. T. Bennett, and Mrs. Arta Fisher. The Medical Advisory Board for this county had as its members Drs. W. A. Stone, A. W. Crane, C. E. Boys, J. B. Jackson, E. P. Wilbur and C. A. Wise. The Board of Appeals, to which cases from the draft boards were appealed, included the following: James B. Balch, Paul T. Butler, Harry C. Howard, Maurice E. McMartin, Fred A. Mills, Donald C. Osborn, Lynn B. Mason, W. W. Potter, Frank S. Cummings, Carmi R. Smith, and Martin Grady. This board heard appeals from eleven different local draft boards throughout southwest Michigan. In addition to the above mentioned civilian activities there were many other boards, administrators and organizations which did splendid and necessary work for the country. There was a Fuel Administration, an Armory Board of Control, War Camp Community Service, a local branch of the Navy League, a committee for Belgian Relief, Jewish Welfare, a Ladies' Hebrew Association, the Kalamazoo Country Patriotic League which had for its object the financing, from a general fund, of all recognized and approved relief agencies, and was consequently of great importance; and much creditable work was done by the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone chapter of the D. A. R., the Salvation 202 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Army, the War Mothers of America, the Food Administration, the Knights of Columbus, the Committee on Funds for French Wounded, the Ladies Library Association, the Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A., the Twentieth Century Club, the Comforts Forwarding Committee, the Four Minutes speakers, the War and Welfare Board, the Daughters of Veterans, the War Savings Stamps committee, the Defense Council, the various relief and auxiliary corps of military organizations, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the public schools and colleges, the Social Service Club, the War Library Service, the Boy Scouts, the Sons of Veterans, the Michigan State Troops, the Girl Scouts, the Armenian and Syrian Relief committee, the Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, and, in short, every organizatio n and agency of the county. All did their part, and all are honored for their unselfish work in behalf of the national government. AMERICAN LEGION The Kalamazoo Post of the American Legion was organized at the Armory on June 5, I919, and it was named in honor of Colonel Joseph B. Westnedge. Its number is thirty-six in the state of Michigan, and the first officers elected were:- Commander, James M. Wilson; vice-commander, Otto K. Buder; adjutant, Paul Tedrow; finance officer, Wheeler Rickman; sergeant-at-arms, William Walters; Chaplain, Rev. Father Ben Ivins. This is one of the most successful posts in the state and has over a thousand members. NATIONAL GUARD UNITS Two units in the Michigan National Guard are supported by Kalamazoo, which has for many years maintained military organizations. Company C, a development of the old "Light Guard" organization, covered itself with honors in the Spanish-American war, in duty on the Mexican border and in the World war. After the World war, a new company was organized late in I920 by order of Adjutant-General John J. Bersey. Captain Claude Shook was appointed commander of Company C and recruiting was begun. Drills in the State Armory were resumed. The Medical Detachment, under Major Leo J. Crum, was also reorganized with many new members. The War Department equipped both organizations with the most moder equipment. Following retirement of Captain Shook in the spring of I923, First Lieutenant Glen Walker became acting commander until Captain Arthur Fitzgerald was appointed to take charge of the company. During reorganization of the company in April, 1923, many new members were added and a course of indoor intensive training was begun. On the target range in the basement the men engage in small arms practice. The medical unit engages in regular drills, some of which are outdoors during favorable weather. Except in winter the men engage in target practice on the rifle range at Comstock. Company C has for officers three men who served in the Guard before the World war and during it. They are Captain Arthur Fitzgerald; First Lieutenant Glen H. Walker; Second Lieutenant William H. Fitzgerald, brother of the captain. Donald Bush is first sergeant. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 203 All applicants for membership in the company must be approved by a board of officers. Only the most promising men are accepted for the service. Raising the standard of the personnel has made the company so popular that a waiting list has developed. After indebtedness on the State Armory, the drill floor of which is also used as a community auditorium, was defrayed, the board of control immediately began a series of improvements, which consisted of club rooms handsomely and comfortably equipped and rooms for quartermasters of both units. The latter were rated the best in the state by federal inspectors. For entertainment of the men a radio outfit has been installed in the clubrooms. In order to develop the social side of the personnel, athletic clubs, including baseball and basketball teams, are maintained. A committee also arranges for regular dances and social functions. Captain Fitzgerald took to the Michigan National Guard Encampment in Grayling in 1923 the largest infantry company in the state. In 1924 the work of the unit was rated with the highest in the camp. During July, 1924, a platoon of men for Company C was organized in charge of Sergeant Dwyer. The work of the Medical Detachment also attained distinction under command of Major Leo J. Crum, National Guard ranking officer in Kalamazoo. Other officers of the command are: Captain A. E. Henwood, Lieutenants P. D. Crum, and D. C. Rockwell, First Sergeant A. Eagleton. U. S. ARMY RESERVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION In Kalamazoo, which is headquarters for a district of the Organized Reserves the Eighty-fifth Division of the Sixth Corps Area, there is an active branch of the Reserve Officers' Association. Meetings are held twice monthly for instruction purposes. Weekly, the officers hold informal hotel luncheons. In September, 1924, was organized the Reserve Officers Association of Southwestern Michigan with the following officers: President, Captain Thomas Van Urk; secretary, Lieutenant Charles A. Weissert; treasurer, Lieutenant Ural S. Acker. CHAPTER XII LAND OFFICE DAYS IN KALAMAZOO [The following article was prepared for the Ladies' Library Association by T. S. AtLee, employee in the United States Land Office, and afterward an editor of the Kalamazoo Gazette, who contributed many articles signed "Major Red Pepper." The article is dated "U. S. Land Office, Kalamazoo, Michigan, August, 1855," and is addressed to Mrs. Henrietta S. F. Taylor, Secretary of the Ladies' Library Association. This society, which has been a great factor in the intellectual and social development of Kalamazoo ever since its formal organization in 1852, now has a large membership, a handsome building, and an extensive library. Informally, the association originated in 1844 or 1845,.when Mrs. Lyman Kendall and Mrs. Alexis Ransom met once a week to read "Hyperion," a copy of which they borrowed. Mrs. Charles Gibbs joined in the readings, and the membership increased to eight. A canvass was made for members, a room free of rent was obtained in the old courthouse. The women papered and painted it themselves. Here the first meetings of the organization were held. Among the prominent early members, in addition to those already mentioned, were Mrs. D. B. Webster and Mrs. J. A. B. Stone, wife of a noted physician. The society today is a literary organization.] My dear Madam:I take advantage of my first leisure moments from the duties of my office to redeem the promise I made you of writing for publication some of my experiences in the history and settlement of this lovely "Burr Oak City," which has arisen to perfection and beauty from comparative obscurity and crudeness, and now reposes, smilingly, as a queen amid her courtiers, luxuriating in the rich and regal charms by which she is surrounded. To those of us who came here at an early day, the genial influences of this hour are most welcome and delightful. Others, who have settled within the past few years cannot understand in its full force and reality, the saddening power of those silent memories of home and kindred that then beset us, "strangers in a strange land" —that sense of utter desolation, and sickness of heart that follows upon the rapid transition from the old and loved into the new and unfamiliar world around-no tried friends near to rejoice in our prosperity, to comfort in affliction. * * * Let us contrast the Bronson of 1835 with the populous and busy Kalamazoo which we how inhabit. To me this wonderful transformation seems like the creation of some fair and fabulous dream, when the soul, unfettered by its bond of clay, triumphs in its mastery, and rejoices in the realization of hopes more gorgeous and dazzling than were ever unveiled to its vision in the broad and sultry day. Many of the pioneers of I835, and of an earlier date, are yet vigorous and active in our midst; and many more have laid by their pilgrim staffs, and well-worn sandals, and gone down into the "Valley of the Shadow of Death." Among these, I recall to memory one, noble and commanding in stature, whose snow-white hair, frosted by five and seventy winters, fell over a brow on which God had fixed his seal of adoption, "to give the world assurance of a man." He KALAMAZOO COUNTY 205 was a venerable prototype and sire of sons who have not disgraced their parentage; but who have lived on in respectability and usefulness. It is but simple justice to pass the same meed of praise upon the surviving family of the late General Burdick, one of the earliest proprietors of Kalamazoo, and who ever cherished a warm and lively interest in its prosperity and progress. To him we are indebted for preservation of our beautiful "Burr Oaks"; and I take both pride and pleasure in bearing this public testimony to the refined taste and noble forethought of those, who, like him, were thus mindful of the comfort of those who have guarded with so constant a care, one of the chief characteristics and beauties of this far-famed settlement. * * * Without doubt our native oaks are one of the most desirable attractions, and excellencies of Kalamazoo. Let us cherish them with unabated care. Associated with General Burdick in the proprietorship of Kalamazoo were the late Thomas C. Sheldon and Lucius Lyon, the former receiver of public moneys here during land office times, in 1835, 1836 and 1837, in connection with Major Edwards, the register, and the latter one of the first senators who represented Michigan in the National Legislature, and who subsequently held the responsible office of Surveyor General. But whatever honor may be accorded these gentlemen, "Uncle Titus" Bronson, and his good wife, "Aunt Sally" Bronson, were undoubtedly the original locators and proprietors of this famous forest city-and hard in their wake came Nat Harrison and Ci Lovell, the first called "Uncle" and the last "Squire." I believe Mr. Harrison is now dead, but the Honorable Mr. Lovell is still living in Ionia, clever and large and lively as ever, a good citizen and gentleman of note-not notes! He's a hard money man, and plumb on the square!-speaker of the House at the late session of the Legislature-may he live long, and his shadow never be less! The ladies of the Library Association may remember that I had the honor of toasting him at their late "Quarter-Century Celebration," and that he turned up "brown!" His response, like ex-Governor Ransom's, was replete with incidents and accidents of pioneer lifeparticularly his narrative of the wagon trip of the Governor and family from Detroit to Kalamazoo. On reflection, I am not positive whether it was Mr. Lovell or the Governor himself who told the story, but I remember that there was a "trip of the tongue" at the time that set a number of us near the speaker into a hearty laugh. The late Colonel Hueston and Amos Brownson were also intimately connected with the early history and settlement and after-prosperity of this place. I remember them as early as I835 or 1836, as the "Principal business firms." Mr. and Mrs. Brownson (the latter Miss Case), were among the first acquaintances I made, out of Major Edwards' immediate family; and some of my happiest moments have been passed in their company. It requires an effort at this late day to recall the names of all our early settlers of 1835 and 1836, but as I desire, so far as is in my power, to place them on record, I subjoin the following alphabetical list. In this list are included a number of transient persons who came 206 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and left in 1835 and 1836, for we had only a few resident families in I835. To avoid personality and partiality, I begin with myself-the poetical, prosy, perennial and pungent "Major Red Pepper." Then follows, of course, under A, my father and mother, brothers, sisters, aunts, and relatives, then: Doctor Abbott, wife and daughter; Ross Allard, Benjamin Austin, Hiram Arnold and family;. General Burdick and family; Deacon Barrows and family; Squire Belcher and family; Ira Burdick and family; Cyren Burdick and family; Frederick Booher and family; Doctor Barritt and family; Warren Burrill and family; Amos Brownson and wife; Henry Booher and wife; Willia G. Butler (one of the first early settlers); William Booher, Samuel W. Bryan, Ira Bird, William Birch, Alexander Buell and brother Austin; "Uncle Titus" and "Aunt Sally" Bronson, the "original proprietors" of Bronson, heretofore mentioned; Chauncey Burrell, D. Beardsley, Philander Bishop, Colonel John C. Brackett, E. R. Ball, N. A. Balch, Dr. Browning, druggist; O. S. Chase, "typo"; Horace H. Comstock and family, who although haling from "Comstock Hall," made this a business place and headquarters; Mott Cooper, nephew of the American novelist; Anthony Cooley and family; William Carley-and family; James Coleman and family; Lewis A. Crane and family; Roswell Crane and family; George Thomas Clark and wife, her parents and their family; A. and D. Cahill; Alexander Cameron, Almirin Lake Cotton (he and William G. Butler were the first of the first settlers); Walter Clark, Ami Carpenter and wife; Lewis R. Davis, David S. Dilly and family; Joseph B. Daniels and his brother, Thompson J.; Oliver Davenport and wife; William G. Dewing and his brother, Fred; Ebenezer Durkee and family; Major Abram Edwards and family; Asa Fitch and family; George A. Fitch, niow editor and publisher of the "Michigan Telegraph"; Francis Fitts and wife; Nathaniel Foster and family, now of Otsego; Daniel Fisher, Ethan French, Henry Gilbert and family; Nelson Gibbs and family; Andrew B. Gray and family; Silas Gregg and family; Allen Goodridge (now deputy commissioner of the state land office); John B. Giteau, Rodney Gibson (now deputy secretary of state, Lansing); Dwight C. Grimes, James Green (now of the firm of Stuart and Green); John A. Hays and family; Benjamin Harrison and family; Deacon Hydenburk and family; Squire Hubbard and family; Nat Harrison and family; Elisha Hall and family; E. Hawley and family (of the Kalamazoo House); Colonel H. B. Huesto'n and family; A. G. Hammond and wife; Joseph Hutchins (sheriff of Kalamazoo county, merchant, etc.), wife and son; Azro Healey, Volney Hascall (now editor and publisher of Kalamazoo Gazette); Nathaniel Holman and wife, mother and brother; Charles Harrington, Isaac N. James, Ben Jones and family; David G. Kendall, Israel Kellogg, of the Kalamazoo House; Levi Krause, Amos Knerr, Russo King, Mr. Liephart, the old Indian trader; Horatio J. Lawrence, Richard Lawrence, Edmund LaGrass, Hiram D. Loveland, Cyrus Lovell and family; Daniel Lathrop and wife; Joseph Miller, Jr.; Clement March, Robert Mclntosch, merchant, deputy postmaster under Dr. Abbott; L. H. Moore, alias "Little Moore," in contradistinction of Henry Mower, Big Land Looker KALAMAZOO COUNTY 207 and hunter, etc.; General Isaac Moffett; Mr. Meacham Taylor, worker for L. R. Davis; Simeon Newman, Lot M. North, constable; Deacon Northrop and family; Captain George A. O'Brien and family; Richard O'Brien and wife; Hiram Owen; Moses O'Brien; Zephamah Platt and family; "Bank" Porter and family; Surveyor Pettibone; Johnson Patrick and family; Mrs. Porter, widow of Dr. Porter, and her sons, Ned and Jim; John Parker; A. T. Prouty and family; Deacon Porter and family; Uncle James Parker and family; Judge Epaphroditus Ransom and family, his parents and brothers; Edmund Rice and Henry M. Rice, now of Min'nesota; R. J. Rosecrantz; Artemus W. Richardson; Walter Russell; Henry Reynolds and family; old Recollet (Reckly"), French trader; Honorable Charles E. Stuart and wife; William Stuart; Thos. C. Sheldon; Theodore P. Sheldon and family; Dr. Starkweather, Erastus Smith, Rodney Seymour, Nathan L. Stout and family; Caleb Sherman, David Sergeant, Albert Saxon, the man who went after another man and never came back; Silas Crowbridge, Luther H. Trask and family; Lyman Tuttle, James Taylor, Hiram Underwood, the sweet singer of Kalamazoo; Isaac Vickery and wife; Stephen Vickery, Lawrence Van De Walker, now U. S. Receiver of Public Moneys; Philo Vadenburgh, Alfred A. Williams, Isaac W. Willard, Judge D. B. Webster and family; William H. Welch and family; 0. Wilcox and family; Mrs. Sarah Weaver and daughter; George W. Winslow, John Winslow, Roland Wood, justice of the peace; William E. White, Jasper Wood, William Wingert, gunsmith; Rev. Cyrus Woodbury and family (Parson W. was the first "settled" Presbyterian clergyman in Kalamazoo, and the first donation party I ever attended was at his house, in the winter, I think, of I835), and this brings me to X, Y, and Z. I do not pretend that the foregoing list is perfect, for in the lapse of years, and drawn up as it is has been from memory, it would be singular if it were; but I present it as a tolerably accurate register of those living or "hailing from" here in 1835 and 1836, within what is now the corporate limits of Kalamazoo. What a change from those times to the present! When the Main street of our village from the river up to the Fremont House was almost free of dwellings; and beyond that "station," and around in all directions, the native burr-oaks bloomed in primeval beauty. Then it was a common sight to see bands of roving Indians; and to hear the howl of the wolf-then "game" was plentiful, and fleet deer bounded merrily over green pastures where now stand thickly together the pleasant habitations of the "comfortable housekeeper" and the more pretentious mansions of the rich. Those were the good old "Land Office times" when speculators went about with plethoric purses and empty stomachs; and paid two shillings for a "smell of something good to eat," and for the privilege of leaning against a door-post to sleep, or bunking on the old Kalamazoo House floor! The glorious days of "paper cities," with "desirable water lots!" When "Port Sheldon" flourished and the "proprietors" flourished over the port! When a fraction entered for fifty dollars with the Land Office in the morning sold for $5,ooo at night! When 208 HISTORIC MICHIGAN everybody was "crazy for land," and felt rich and wanted to be crazier and richer! When pork was twenty dollars a barrel and too poor at that to "worry its way down!" When pies and gingerbread were divided into "quarter sections," and sold for a "short shilling" a "bite!" When a man was afraid to be seen using a toothpick for fear of being mobbed-in short, when everybody and everything was turned "topsy-turvey," and an overwhelming torrent of speculation deluged the land. The effects of the labors of those who survived this perilous period manifested itself in an increased regard for individual probity and usefulness, and in sounder and maturer action for the public good. Inordinate selfishness and love of gain were purified and controlled by the dictates of a better humanity. * * * Every added year has carried forward the good work of reform. A few words now in memory of the old United States Land Office and of those with whom I was associated in 1835 and I836. Major Abraham Edwards, then register and for several years subsequently, kept the office in a building immediately in the rear of Mr. Davenport's large frame house now standing on the comer of Edwards and Main streets. At that time, with the exception of the Land Office, it was all an open lot. It was there that I first commenced scribbling as a clerk. Soon after the Major removed to the office I now occupy, and in which I have the honor to "flourish" as register. Here most of the government lands, now consisting of homesteads and improved farms of the country were sold at ten shillings an acre, including the site of the present "City of Kalamazoo." The curious observer of the antique may at this day (1855) see specimens of the "pencilings" of the "original locators," all over the outside of the old office; as well as cuttings by "Yankee blades!" In fact, the old Major, at one time during a great "land rush," to save his picket fence and other property from utter destruction, bought a load of pine shingles for the express use and benefit of the crowd; and had a proclamation made that every man might help himself gratis, and whittle away to his heart's content. * * * After that every person you passed between this and the "Receiver's," on both sides of the road, at the taverns, on the comers and everywhere else, had a knife and a shingle in hand and was cutting away for dear life! Any "knowing one" could tell by the way a man whittled what progress he was making in a trade. The skirmishing and feeling process was a bold and rapid succession of cuts, outward; but as the bargain progressed to a happy close, the knife blade was inclined inward, the parings became nicer and closer, and the trade and shingle ended in the sharpest 'kind of a point, to the buyer who was "sold!" The force in the register's office in 1835 and 1836 consisted of Major Edwards and his sons, Alexander and "colonel Tom"; Mr. John B. Guiteau; my brothers, S. York and Richard; Mr. Alfred A. Williams; Ira Burdick, the "Squire"; Captain O'Brien; A. W. Richardson and myself; besides occasional "help" in the office of Mr. Thomas C. Sheldon, the Receiver P. M.-Messrs. T. P. Sheldon, George W. Clark and Rodney Gibson. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 209 The rush of business was so great in those days that extra clerks had often to be called in to register the applications, plats, &c., and to bring up "Returns" for Washington, and millions of dollars from this office alone poured into the treasury of the United States. In those days of "wildcat" and "red dog" inflated paper currencyeverybody was a Croesus, at least in feeling. Speculation and peculation were the twin charlatan rulers of the hour. Men of honesty who had theretofore kept unimpaired their integrity joined in the scramble after riches, and yielded finally to the fascinating rustle of bankpaper and the righteous ring of the "Almighty Dollar." The "specie-circular" killed the progeny of the irresponsible banker, while the ink upon their lying "promises to pay" was yet moist on the faces of their treacherous "issue"; and the sober "second thought" of the people came at last, like rain on the dry and barren earth. One of the principal means from first to last in the progress of reform and of social and intellectual advancement here was unquestionably the introduction of the printing press. * * * Mr. Henry Gilbert, (editor of the Gazette), may with propriety be called the founder and father of the public press of western Michigan. No man connected with it has seen harder service; met with more vicissitudes and experience; had "lower downs" or "higher ups." For some years past he has been out as an editor and printer, and is hnow set up in Capitals as one o'f our most obliging and popular "Merchant princes." Messrs. Hascall and Fitch, from their respective tripods and platforms, now sit in Henry's seat. * * * They have both grown up within my knowledge of their schoolboy days; and I record it here with a feeling of the sincerest pride and pleasure that as artificers of their own reputations and fortunes, they merit the confidence and support so generously awarded them by the good people of Kalamazool. We have reached the epoch in our history of great moment to us, and those who shall come after us. Printing offices, school houses, churches, theological institutions, and colleges, courts of law, banks and shaving shops, medical dispensaries, and drug stores, busy marts of commerce and merchandise, factories for all mechanical industrial pursuits, literary, benevolent and sewing societies; in short, a little of everything in general and too much of some things in particular, are crowding upon each other in rapid succession to the manifest horror of lazy people, and the total extinction of men and women of "one idea!" CHAPTER XIII THE PRESS HE Kalamazoo Gazette, published daily by the Booth Publishing Company is southwestern Michigan's most notable newspaper. It is one of the earliest newspapers of Michigan and was first established in the thriving settlement of White Pigeon, "Michigan Territory," then the principal settlement between Detroit and Chicago, early in I834. Under editorship of Henry Gilbert, an editor-printer of Pen Yan, New York, the paper was published as the "Michigan Statesman and St. Joseph Chronicle." In the issue of September Io, 1835, is published announcement that the paper is to be removed to Kalamazoo, then known as Bronson, because: "It should be the aim of publishers to locate themselves in places where they may be of the greatest benefit to the greatest number of individuals. With a particular reference to which, the village of Bronson, in Kalamazoo county, is the place to which it is proposed to remove this office." Removal to Kalamazoo was probably due to removal there of the land office, which was at that time the center of activity for all those seeking to settle in southern Michigan. Associated with Mr. Gilbert was his partner, Albert R. Chandler, who came to Kalamazoo with him. Appointed clerk of the territorial legislature, Mr. Chandler sold his interest to Mr. Gilbert, who turned his pen enthusiastically to the task of supporting every movement for development of the community. With the issue of January 23, 1837, the name of the paper was changed to the Kalamazoo Gazette. It was stated that the "Controlling principles will be the same as those behind the Michigan Statesman, and pledges support to Martin Van Buren." On June I, I839, it was announced that the paper had been sold by H. Gilbert to E. D. Burr, who pledged support to Jeffersonial Democracy. Mr. Gilbert resumed management February 26, I84I. Several years previous, there was occasionally issued a supplement to the Gazette called the "Nighthawk," which caused excitement and some indignation. Commenting on this sheet, A. D. P. Van Buren, an early editor of Kalamazoo wrote: "It was purported to be issued from Prospect Hill; freely and sarcastically criticising various people in the town below that it stirred up a good deal of vexation and even downright indignation among the victims. Mutterings of vengeance loud and deep were threatened against the wicked jokers of the clandestine sheets. But the trouble was to identify the offending parties. The secret was so safely kept that they were never discovered." Years afterwards it was discovered that the author of the "Nighthawk" was Henry M. Rice, who afterwards moved to Minnesota where he became a United States senator. The Gazette became the strong Democratic organ of southwestern Michigan. One of its strongest editors was Samuel Yorke AtLee, who KALAMAZOO COUNTY 211 frequently contributed articles over the signature of "Major RedPepper." Until the issue of May 13, I842, there were no cuts in the Gazette except small stock illustrations used in advertisements. In that issue, for the first time in the history of local journalism, there appeared a wood cut showing the store of Lucuis L. Clark, a dry goods merchant, and the Gazette building adjoining. When Mr. Gilbert was elected county treasurer in 1842, he traded a half interest in the paper to General Burdick for land said to be valued at $500. In 1844, the management passed to Volney Hascall, who had been the first apprentice of the paper. At this time J. R. Adams began his connection with the paper. In 1854, John W. Breese managed the paper a few months. In 1846, the paper with its list of 350 subscribers was sold to Volney Hascall, who conducted the paper sixteen years. During the Mexican war "Major Red-Pepper" contributed a series of scathing articles against those opposing the conflict. During the hot political campaign of 1847, the Gazette supported the candidacy of two prominent Kalamazoo men-Epaphroditus Ransom for governor, and Charles Stuart for congress. Both men were elected. In November, 1862, Mr. Hascall sold the Gazette to J. R. Manseur. Within a few months he disposed of the paper to William Shakespeare and William Morley. The latter soon sold his interest to Benoni S. Gleason, who afterward bought Mr. Shakespeare's interest. The next owners were Joseph Lomax and Elijah J. Clark. The latter sold his interest to Byron Brown. Lomax and Brown in September, 1870, sold the paper to Andrew J. Shakespeare, under whose management the paper began a long period of prosperity. Mr. Shakespeare, on March 25, 1872, established the Kalamazoo Daily Gazette, which proved successful from the first issue. Mr. Shakespeare made the paper a power in the Democratic party. For many years the Kalamazoo Telegraph was the Gazette's contemporary. Established at a Whig party organ in 1844 by Henry B. Miller, under the name of the Michigan Telegraph, the paper was sold in 1847 to George Torrey, Sr., a prominent figure in Kalamazoo at that time. He changed the name to the Kalamazoo Telegraph. In I868 the paper was acquired by Stone Brothers, who published it as a daily. The paper was recognized as the Republican party organ. Between the Gazette and Telegraph there was strong and often bitter, party rivalry. The Telegraph passed into the hands of H. E. Hascall in 1871. Two years later James H. Stone became the publisher. In 1874, a half interest was sold to L. B. Kendall. Shortly afterward the paper passed into control of the Kalamazoo Publishing Company, a corporation comprising L. B. Kendall, W. L. Eaton, E. T. Mills, and E. E. Bartlett. Mr. Eaton was managing editor, Mr. Bartlett business manager. In August, I888, the paper was sold to Edward N. Dingley, of Maine, who conducted it until I909. Mr. Dingley then established the Daily Press, which was later acquired by the Gazette. The Telegraph 212 HISTORIC MICHIGAN passed into the hands of former Senator William Alden Smith and William Thompson. In 1898, J. Ford Rowe acquired the Gazette from Edgar E. Bartlett and J. B. Shoffe. Shortly afterward he took into the business A. E. Kettle, and the Gazette began a long period of progress and steady prosperity, lending strong support to the Democratic party. In I9oo, there was consolidated with the Gazette the Kalamazoo News conducted by McSweeny and Winship. In 1909, the Kalamazoo Press was merged with the Gazette. In 1916, there took place an important event in the history of local newspapers for the Telegraph which had for years been as strong an exponent of Republicanism as the Gazette was for Democracy was consolidated with the Gazette, which thereafter became independent and devoted entirely to a policy of progress in the community. Late in 1921 the Kalamazoo Star, an afternoon paper, was established. This sheet was also merged with the Gazette on December 31. In the spring of 1823, with a record of journalistic achievement to their credit, Mr. Rowe and Mr. Kettle, sold the Gazette to the Booth Publishing Company and retired. Today the Gazette is a powerful factor in the steady development of Kalamazoo. Thousands of Gazettes pass daily into homes throughout southwestern Michigan in which it is a popular large city daily. During the last decade the editorial policies have been guided by John K. Walsh. The business manager is Earl Chapman, who served also under Mr. Rowe's regime. In addition to the daily newspapers, there are in Kalamazoo three religious publications, two college sheets, a Dutch language semiweekly and an art publication. The Hallandsche Amerikaan is issued by the Dalm Printing Company, and is edited by J. J. Dalm. The Index is published weekly during the college year by Kalamazoo Collegestudents. The Herald is published Wednesdays during the school year by students of the Western State Normal School. The Church Helper, organ of the Episcopalian Diocese of western Michigan, is published under direction of the Rev. James Horton Bishop, rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. The Augustinian, established thirtythree years ago, in the interests of the Catholic church, is published every Thursday by F. M. Gleason. Teekeene der Tijen is a religious weekly paper published in the Dutch language. It is edited by J. Van Boven. The Art Magazine, a monthly publication, devoted to art study and inspiration, is edited and published by Gus H. Lockwood. FIVE VILLAGE NEWSPAPERS Kalamazoo villages have always been represented by progressive weekly newspapers, which uphold community ideals and promote industrial and social development. These papers have an extensive circulation in their respective communities. The rural newspapers in the county are: Vicksburg, Commercial (semi-weekly), published by the John B. Penfield Publishing Company; Schoolcraft, Express, pablished by H. -H. and H. Borgdering; Climax, Crescent, Herbert C. Smith, editor and publisher; Augusta, Beacon, J. J. Richardson, editor and publisher; Galesburg, Argus, R. A. Bibbins, editor and publisher. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 213 STATE'S FIRST RURAL FREE MAIL SERVICE AT CLIMAX On December 3, I896, two men, Willis Lawrence and Lewis A. Clark, started from Climax carrying mail over the first rural route in the state. A state meeting to celebrate the twenty-eighth anniversary of this event was held at Climax, December 6, I924. During the years of 1895-96 Congress was importuned by the National Grange, Michigan State Grange and other farm organizations to appropriate a little money to test carrying mail to the farmers' doors. The "Michigan Farmer" was more or less instrumental in stirring up this demand and helping to start this service. Finally, Congress appropriated $4o,ooo to prove that rural free delivery would be a fizzle. J. H. Brown, then associate editor of the "Michigan Farmer," wrote to United States Senator Julius C. Burrows asking that the first experiment route in Michigan be made from Climax. A federal inspector of the postoffice department and J. H. Brown inspected and laid out the first route which was forty-two miles long. It was found that it would be impossible for one man to make this route daily, so it was divided and Willis Lawrence and Lewis A. Clark were sworn in as carriers at $25 per month. For a time each rode a bicycle and each rode over twenty thousand miles on these machines. However, before the first winter was over each carrier was driving two horses. There was very little mail during the early days of this service; few farmers took a daily paper. Some mornings either carrier could tuck all of his mail into his coat pockets. Later Willis Lawrence drove an automobile, a two-cylinder Reo, the first to be driven over a rural mail route; Clark rode a motorcycle, as also did the third carrier, Leo Roof; so, for the first time, the first rural route in Michigan was motorized. To commemorate the starting of rural free delivery in Michigan, and to provide a permanent recognition for the nineteen years' service of the carriers on the original routes from Climax postoffice, J. H. Brown conceived the idea of erecting a memorial in the village. This idea materialized in a stone monument in the center of town at the intersection of Main and Maple streets. It is made of 230 stones, one taken from each of the 230 farms served on the three routes. There are also nine other stones in it which were taken from historical buildings and sites in the village. One stone especially, the "Pork Barrel Stone," has an interesting history. It came from the family of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and was used by that family in Virginia and Maryland. It was brought to Michigan by William Harrison, son of Judge Bazel Harrison who was the first settler in Kalamazoo county; history has that date as November 5, 1828, from the time when he settled on Prairie Ronde, that "Uncle Billy" and his bride built the first cabin on Climax prairie, that stone for eighty-seven years was used in the family pork barrel to hold the pork under the brine. Uncle Billy's youngest son, John, presented this historical stone to the monument committee to be used in its structure. 214 HISTORIC MICHIGAN On each of the four sides of the monument are bronze plates with appropriate inscriptions donated by the Michigan State Grange, the D. A. R. Chapters of Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties, the Michigan State Rural Letter Carriers Association, and the Men's Fellowship Club, of Climax. Many autoists stop and read the inscriptions. This memorial was unveiled July 26, I917, on the occasion of the annual carriers' convention at Battle Creek when many carriers and persons of note came to take part in the dedication. It is greatly through the efforts of J. H. Brown, called the "Father of Rural Free Delivery in Michigan," that the routes were established in Climax and the monument erected. It was the first of such monuments in the United States. Willis Lawrence, first and oldest carrier in Michigan in years of service, is daily on the job; L. A. Clark resigned four years ago but is now in the service again as substitute. In I924, after twenty-eight years of this, one of the greatest services rendered to his people by Uncle Sam, there are abo,ut 1,824 carriers in Michigan serving on many routes. CHAPTER XIV MISCELLANEOUS KALAMAZOO CHURCHES N church activities Kalamazoo probably would be justified in calling itself the most religious city in the United States. It is indeed doubtful if in any other metropolis in America the church is so firmly founded, plays so important a part in the city's life, and exerts so tremendous a moral influence. A survey of the city's religious life reveals the astounding fact that at present there are enrolled in church membership approximately 22,500 people. When it is considered that the present total population of Kalamazoo is estimated at 55,000, this fact becomes all the more unusual. In other cities the ratio of church members to those unchurched varies from one in seven to a much higher ratio. In Kalamazoo the ratio is one in two. There are forty-nine organized churches within the city limits, representing twenty-eight separate denominations. It is estimated that three-fourths of those who attend church in the city are church members, then the total attendance at worship each Sunday is 30,000. In addition to the churches, progressive spiritual work is being do'ne by the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A., each of which sponsor regular religious classes. The former also conducts religious clubs in Central High School, Kalamazoo College, and the Western State Normal School. In the latter two institutions ministers and faculty members say that at least seventy per cent. of the pupils belong to some religious organization. It is also significant in considering Kalamazoo's religious leadership to note that this city is one of the foremost in the nation-wide move to institute Bible study in the public schools. A plan for this has been worked out and is now in operation. In this project the board of education is receiving the co-operation of the Kalamazoo Ministerial Alliance, an organization of the city's pastors which meets once weekly to consider matters of general importance in the religious life of the city. Churches of Kalamazoo and immediate vicinity, together with their pastors are as follows: First Congregational, the Rev. Torrance Phelps; Park Street Church of Christ, the Rev. John D. Hull; First Baptist, the Rev. G. H. Young; Bethel Baptist, the Rev. H. Sidney Bullock, Portage Street Baptist, the Rev. Edwin A. Bell; Second Baptist, the Rev. I. H. Redmond; True Vine Baptist, the Rev. R. P. Sutton; Calvary Baptist, no pastor; First Methodist, the Rev. R. M. Millard; Damon Methodist, the Rev. E. H. Babbitt; Simpson Methodist, the Rev. W. E. Doty; Parchment Community Methodist, the Rev. O. R. Grattan; East Avenue Methodist, the Rev. I. W. Minor; Protestant Methodist, the Rev. D. J. Taylor; Free Methodist, the Rev. W. I. Stephenson; First Presbyterian, the 216 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Rev. J. W. Dunning; North Presbyterian, the Rev. Gordon C. Speer; First Reformed, the Rev. J. J. Hollebrands; Second Reformed, the Rev. R. B. Kuiper; Third Reformed, the Rev. William Wolvius; Fourth Reformed, the Rev. William Van Vliet; North Park Reformed, the Rev. R. D. Meengs; Bethany Reformed, the Rev. Benjamin Laman; First Christian Reformed, the Rev. Hetry Danhof; Second Christian Reformed, the Rev. Gerrit J. Haan; Third Christian Reformed, the Rev. J. P. Battema; Salvation Army, Capt. R. G. Hunt; First Church of Christ, Scientist, A. W. Peck, first reader; Mt. Zion Baptist, the Rev. S. M. Coleman; Bethel Mission, the Rev. Leonora Annebel; Lane Boulevard Evangelical, the Rev. F. W. Kim; Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, no pastor; Trinity Evangelical Lutheran, the Rev. A. K. Jones; Volunteers of America, Capt. L. B. Peterson; Zion Lutheran, the Rev. Emanuel Mayer; Seventh Day Adventist, no pastor; People's Church, the Rev. J. P. MacCarthy; Park Street Tabernacle, no pastor; Calvary Baptist Church, no pastor; School of Practical Christianity, Amy L. Moffett; Gospel Center, the Rev. Emanuel Rushbrook; St. Luke's Episcopal, the Rev. James Horton Bishop; Independent Spiritualist Church of America, the Rev. D. M. Hazzard; International Bible Students, no pastor; Church of the Nazarene, no pastor; St. Augustine's Roman Catholic, the Rev. John R. Hackett; St. Joseph's Roman Catholic, the Rev. Richard Grace; St. Michael's Roman Catholic, the Rev. Vincent Anuskiewiez. FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS Fraternal organizations have enjoyed a thriving growth in Kalamazoo, and at the present time must be listed among the city's principal institutions working for civic betterment. A general survey shows that about one out of every two adult residents in Kalamazoo is affiliated with some fraternal organization. The total membership of such societies in the city now approximates almost 20,000, and all are inducting classes of new candidates at frequent intervals. Masonic lodges top the list of the city's fraternal organizations with a combined membership of about 3,000. There are about 2,000 Odd Fellows, 1,500 Elks, I,ooo members of the 0. E. S., I,ooo White Shriners, I,ooo members of patriotic societies such as American Legion, Spanish War Veterans, and the G. A. R., 1,200 Woodmen, 800 Moose, 800 Maccabees, 400 Lady Maccabees, and 500 Eagles. Fraternal organizations of Kalamazoo are as follows: Anchor Lodge No. 22, F. & A. M., Kalamazoo Lodge No. 87, F. & A. M., Fidelity Lodge No. 513, F. & A. M., Kalamazoo Chapter No. I3, R. A. M., Kalamazoo Council No. 62, R. & S. M., Peninsular Commander No. 8, K. T., Clark MacKenzie Chapter of the De Molay, Corinthian Chapter, O. E. S., Kalamazoo Shrine, White Shrine of Jerusalem, Joppa Club, Fellowcraft Club, Fidelity Club, Kalamazoo Tent No. 57, Knights of the Maccabees, Kalamazoo Hive No. 202, Ladies of the Maccabees, Valiant Hive No. 780, Ladies of the Maccabees, Burr Oak Hive No. 220, Ladies of the Maccabees, Parchment Hive, Ladies of the Maccabees, Sunshine Club of Kalamazoo Hive, Burr Oak Sewing Club of Burr Oak Hive, Carnation Club of Valiant Hive, Kalamazoo Council No. I616, Knights of Columbus, Kalamazoo KALAMAZOO COUNTY 217 Chapter, Catholic Daughters of America; Kalamazoo Lodge No. 50, B. P. 0. E., Court of Honor, Kalamazoo Camp, Modern Woodmen of America, Silvan Camp, Modern Woodmen of America, Canton Colfax, I. O. O. F., Burr Oak Lodge, I. O. O. F., Unity Lodge, I. O. O. F., Kalamazoo Encampment, I. O. O. F., Samaritan Encampment, I. O. O. F., Odd Fellows Temple Association, Security Benefit Association, I. O. O. F., F. L. & T. Club, Odd Fellows, Kalamazoo County Odd Fellows Association, Ladies Auxiliary of Canton Colfax, Kalamazoo Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Syracuse Temple, Pythian Sisters, Women's Relief Corps, Women's Relief Corps Aid Society, Brotherhood of American Yeomen, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, Sons of Veterans, Sons of Veterans Auxiliary, Daughters of Veterans, Star Service Club, Daughters of Veterans, Joseph Westnedge Post, American Legion, Forty and Eight Society, American Legion, Ladies Auxiliary, American Legion, Murdock Post, American Legion, Ladies Auxiliary, Murdock Post, Loyal Order of Friends, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Loyal Order of Moose, Women of Mooseheart Legion, Social Rebekah Lodge, Burr Oak Rebekah Lodge, Triple Link Rebekah Lodge, Triple Link Aid Society, Kalamazoo Typothetae, Kalamazoo Chapter, T. P. A., Orcutt Post No. 79, G. A. R., Richard Westnedge Camp, United Spanish War Veterans, Mary B. Westnedge Auxiliary, United Spanish War Vetera'ns, Tribe of Ben Hur, Daughters of Hur, Woman's Benefit Association, H. O. H. Society, Holland American Aid Society, Robert Burns Society. THE WORK OF THE D. A. R. CHAPTER Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Chapter of the D. A. R. has been one of the most active organizations in the county in keeping alive the memories of glorious events in American history, and instilling the principles of democracy and patriotism in new citizens, and embryo citizens. A recent successful project of the D. A. R. was the planting and marking of a long row of young maple trees in Michigan avenue, each tree being dedicated to the memory of some Kalamazoo "buddy" who gave his life in the World war. The D. A. R. also has done much work in marking the graves of Revolutionary soldiers. A number of these have been marked at the Vicksburg cemetery, and also at Gourdneck lake. The chapter placed a tablet on the mammoth Elm tree, declared the tallest in Michigan. However, this tree now has been cut down, despite the vigorous protests of the D. A. R. The chapter has a bronze memorial tablet in Bronson park, in memory of Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, after whom the local unit is named. Mrs. Stone was the wife of the first president of Kalamazoo, and became nationally known for her advanced ideas in education and woman suffrage, and for her energetic work along these lines. At present the D. A. R. is carrying on two very important lines of endeavor. One is the Americanization work, in which members of the chapter help naturalized citizens to become imbued with the spirit of Americanism. The other is the work with Republic clubs. These are patriotic societies for little folks. Seven hundred children in Kalamazoo are enrolled in these clubs. "-:"a'~::i- ~-?: 1 d::::I-;::_ ~::::~;:-::~:-::.; -::::::; -- i*r C Personal Records Charles Adam Weissert, editor of this volume, is well-known as a newspaper man and legislator. After leaving in 1905, Harvara College, where he was educated, Mr. Weissert joined the editorial staff of the New York Herald, then owned by the late James Gordon Bennett. During his employment as a metropolitan journalist, he covered many important national events. Returning to Hastings, Michigan, his native city, Mr. Weissert became interested in politics, and in 1912 was Republican candidate in Barry county for representative in the state legislature. He was defeated, but entered the contest again in 1914 and was elected by a large majority. He was re-elected by increased majorities in 1916 and in 1918. During his service as a lawmaker, Mr. Weissert sponsored important measures, which have proved of great value to the educational systems of this state. He served as chairman of the committee on education during the session in I9I7. Through his efforts, the superintendent of public instruction was given an additional deputy and salaries of others were increased. As a member of the committee on military affairs, he supported measures providing for increased efficiency of the National Guard and also participated in reporting out the measure giving the War Preparedness Board $5,ooo,ooo for use during the World war. As chairman of the military affairs committee in the session of 1919, Mr. Weissert introduced and sponsored the measure, which made the state constabulary a permanent public safety force. As a member of the public health committee, he supported bills, which have proved of great benefit to Michigan's department of public health. He was also influential in passage of the homestead tax exemption bill requested by the SpanishAmerican war veterans of the state. The monument to the late General William R. Shafter at Galesburg, Kalamazoo county, was provided in an appropriation bill introduced by Mr. Weissert. Through his efforts a fish hatchery was established in Barry county, and it remains as substantial proof of his service as a legislator. In I919, he was named by ex-Governor Albert E. Sleeper one of ten commissioners from Michigan to accompany the executive to dedicate the state's monument erected on Shiloh Battlefield, Tennessee. In 1920, Mr. Weissert was executive secretary and treasurer of the organization in Michigan which was supporting General Leonard Wood's candidacy for nomination for President at the Chicago convention. Mr. Weissert's father, Charles George Weissert, was born in Leonburg, Kingdom of Wurttemburg, on March 26, 1852, and was brought to this country while an infant by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Weissert, who settled in Hastings, Michigan, in I857. Charles G. Weissert was united in marriage with Miss Anna Catherine Schuppan Kaiser, daughter of the Rev. Leopold Kaiser, a Methodist Episcopal minister, in 220 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Jersey City, New Jersey, on June 14, I877. They took up residence in Hastings where Mr. Weissert had become engaged in the hardware business with his father in I870. When John Weissert died in 1883, Charles and John Weissert, Jr., established the firm of Weissert Brothers. Charles A. Weissert was born in Hastings. On June 20, 1914, he was united in marriage with Miss Elaine Bauer, of Hastings, daughter of the late James M. Bauer. To them were born the following children; Charles, 3rd, April 23, 1915; Frederic George, December 26, 1917; Lawrence James Lowell, January 9, 1921. Mr. Weissert has traveled extensively. He supplemented his education with a three thousand mile bicycle tour through eight European countries. Later, he visited Mexico City and made trips to the southwest and to the Selkirk mountains in British Columbia. He is the author of articles on Michigan history. His translation of Sardou's drama, "The Sorceress," together with a biographical sketch and technical analysis of the play, was published in the "Contemporary Dramatist's Series." He is a trustee of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, and member of the following organizations: Delta Upsilon fraternity; Hastings Lodge No. 52, F. & A. M.; Michigan Audubon Society, Michigan Archaeological Society; Reserve Officers' Association of the United States; Military Intelligence Association, Sixth Corps Area (Chicago). Mr. Weissert was commissioned in January, 1923, a lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps and attached to the staff of the Sixth Corps Area. Ural S. Acker.-Active participation in public life marks the service of Ural S. Acker, who came to Kalamazoo in 1915. At that time he was appointed a deputy sheriff, served three years and later ran for county treasurer and served four years. Upon the expiration of his term of office he bought a grocery, which he operated but a few weeks and which he sold to assume the position of state branch manager of the secretary of state's office. All of this attests to his efficiency and capacity to administer public office. Mr. Acker was born in St. John, Michigan, May 28, 1879, the son of Benjamin and Maria Acker. The father, native of Pennsylvania, was a veteran of the Civil war and a member of the Lutheran church. He died April 30, I916. Mrs. Acker, born in Michigan, was a member of the Congregational church and died January 17, I9L7. Her maiden name was Thornton. Ural S. Acker attended high school at St. John and Ferris Institute at Big Rapids, from which he was graduated in 1899. For three years he worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper, then became manager of the cafeteria department of the Lee Paper Company, of Vicksburg, Michigan. He was married September 27, 900oo, to Luella Munger, daughter of Lafayette and Emma (Hall) Munger. The father was a farmer near Ovid, dying in I92I. The mother resides in Ionia, Michigan. The Ackers have two children, both at home, Waneta and Harold. A brother of Mr. Acker is prominent in Republican politics in McPherson county, South Dakota. He was prosecuting attorney and probate judge and is now circuit judge. Ural S. Acker is a Mason, Moose and Pythian and is a first lieutenant in the United States army, 0. R. C., at the present time. He was KALAMAZOO COUNTY 221 chosen dictator of the lodge of Moose and is secretary of the state organization of Moose. He attends Congregational church services. The daughter of Mr. Acker is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in languages and dramatic art. The son was in the United States navy, being a year in South America and the Panama Canal Zone. He is with the Wheeler & Blaney plumbing concern. Harley W. Anderson has for the past ten years been secretary of the board of education of Kalamazoo and, therefore, in intimate touch with the educational activities and service of the city. He was born in Berlamont, Michigan, April 14, I884, the son of A. Throop and Eva Anderson, nee Daniels. The elder Anderson was born in New York, his wife in Michigan. The elder Mr. Anderson was a farmer, served as county clerk four years and became a large fruit grower, at one time having 20,000 peach trees under his supervision. There are three children in the family, Harley W., another son, in the lumber business in Houston, Texas, and a daughter, the wife of a farmer near Galesburg. Harley was educated in Bloomingdale, spent two years in Kalamazoo College, worked for the Kalamazoo Corset Company six years, then became secretary and business director of the board of education, a position he has capably filled. On December 29, I906, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Julia C. Hart, daughter of Leslie and Stella Hart. Her father is dead, her mother living in Kalamazoo. The Andersons have two children, Robert and Donald. Under Mr. Anderson's tenure, the board of education has adopted a higher standard of business administration and accounting. During the World war he aided in every bond drive and other war service. Glenn S. Allen has secure status as one of the representative business men of his native city of Kalamazoo, where he is president of the Globe Construction Company, 430-436 Portage street, this corporation having been organized by him and its splendid development having been primarily due to his progressive policies and able executive direction. Mr. Allen was born in Kalamazoo December 3, i868, and is a son of Oscar M. and Hannah (Smith) Allen. IHis father, who was long one of the prominent and influential citizens and men of affairs in Kalamazoo, and who here gained high place in popular confidence and esteem, is the subject of a special memorial tribute on other pages of this volume, so that further review of his career and of the family history is not demanded in this connection. In the public schools of Kalamazoo the studies of Glenn S. Allen were continued until he had completed the curriculum of the high school, and he then entered historic old Amherst College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of I889 and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Upon his return to Kalamazoo he became associated with his father in the Globe Casket Company, and after his father disposed of his major interests in this corporation, in I899, the father and son continued to be associated in ordering the affairs of numerous local business organizations until IgI0, on July I8 of which year the death of the father occurred. In the same year Glenn S. Allen effected the organization of the Globe Construction Company, of which he has since continued the president. This industrial corporation has 222 HISTORIC MICHIGAN developed a substantial and important business along the line of general contract construction work, and it stands as one of the vital and valued business concerns of the fair city that is the judicial center of Kalamazoo county. Mr. Allen has other important and varied capitalistic and administrative interests in his home city and county, and as a loyal and liberal citizen and progressive business man he is well upholding the prestige of the family name. He is a director of the Bryant Paper Company, is president and manager of the A. & J. Truck and Transfer Company, of which he was the organizer, and is vice-president of the Inland Bonding Company. He is a member of the American Cement Dealers' Association, the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce, the Country Club and the Park Club. He was instrumental in organizing the first golf club in Kalamazoo, in I890, and the links of the new club were laid out on the old Kalamazoo county fair grounds. In 1894 the club, known as the Wannikan Golf Club, erected a club house at the corner of Grand avenue and Monroe street, and in direct evolution from this pioneer golf club is the present well ordered Country Club. Mr. Allen continues an enthusiast in the great Scotch game, having made in the same a record in which he may justly take pride. He is one of the loyal and progressive citizens of his native city, and he and his wife are popular figures in the representative social life of the community. His political faith is that of the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches. Mr. Allen wedded Miss Annette Brenner, of Kalamazoo, and they are the parents of four children-Glen S., Jr., Barbara Jane, Jollie News, and Rosemary Ann. Oscar M. Allen meant much to the city of Kalamazoo, even as the city meant much to him. His civic loyalty and liberality were those of a man of broad vision and large constructiveness. He gave of his financial support and fine executive powers in the upbuilding of many of the important industrial and commercial enterprises of his home city, but the finer significance of his gracious and noble character was shown in the large and benignant influence that was his in the furtherance of those things that represent the higher ideals in civic affairs and general communal life. It has been consistently stated that to no other one man has the city of Kalamazoo been more deeply indebted for usefulness in as many capacities than to the late Oscar M. Allen, whose death occurred July I8, I9I0, and whose character and services merit tribute in this history. Mr. Allen was born in Niagara county, New York, in the year 1828, and was a son of Thomas and Hannah (Chesbrough) Allen, who were born in Vermont and who came to Michigan in 1837, the year that marked the admission of the state to the Union. Thomas Allen established the family home in Jackson county, where he reclaimed and developed a productive farm and became an influential citizen. His father was a patriot soldier in the War of the Revolution, in which he served in the command of General Stark at Bennington. Oscar M. Allen was a lad of nine years at the time of the family removal to Michigan, and was reared to the age of seventeen years on the pioneer homestead farm of his father, in Jackson county, his educational advantages in the meanwhile KALAMAZOO COUNTY 223 having been those of the common schools of the locality and period. In 1845, at the age noted, he went to the city of Detroit, where he learned the trade of coach painting, to which he continued to devote his 'attention in Michigan for eight years. He painted the first four passenger coaches for the Michigan Central Railroad after a private corporation purchased the road from the state. From Detroit he removed to Sandusky, Ohio, but in I853 he returned to Michigan and established his residence in Kalamazoo. Here he opened and conducted a large establishment for the handling of painting and decorating and collateral lines, with a good stock of materials for such an enterprise. In this business he was junior member of the firm of Rice & Allen, which continued fifteen years and which in the meanwhile established a branch in Chicago. Mr. Allen's next venture was the opening of a "dollar store" in Kalamazoo, and this project proved most successful. He later,founded the Globe Casket Manufacturing Company, which was the first concern in the United States to engage in the manufacture of cloth-covered burial caskets. He invented the movable glass plate for use in burial caskets. After selling his interest in this business Mr. Allen became concerned in extensive real estate operations. He became associated with Heber C. Reed in forming the South Side Improvement Company, which platted an addition of forty acres, now one of the most attractive residence districts of the city. He was a stockholder in the Kalamazoo Corset Company, was an original stockholder in the City National Bank, besides having been one of the founders of the Michigan National Bank. Allen Place and Elm Place were two fine additions to the city that were made by Mr. Allen, and he platted his farm of I40 acres, near the city, into small tracts for celery growing. He was one of nine men who built the Kalamazoo & Saginaw Railroad, and was a director of the company a number of years. He was financially interested in various other business and industrial corporations in Kalamazoo, was one of the original directors of the Bryant Paper Company, serving until his death; also one of the:founders of the Henderson-Ames Regalia Company, and was one of the first subscribers to the Michigan Female Seminary in Kalamazoo. He was humanity's friend and did all in his power to help his fellow men, his being a ready support of charitable and benevolent objects and movements, and his private charities having been many and invariably unostentatious. He was a loyal advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and he and his wife were earnest members of the Congregational church. In the year I849, at Detroit, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Allen to Miss Hannah Smith, who was born in Leeds, England, and who was a girl at the time of the family removal to America. The death of Mrs. Allen occurred in I920, and she is held in loving memory by all who came within the sphere of her gentle and gracious influence. Mr. and Mrs. Allen became the parents of six children. Lillah, now deceased, married Joseph D. Clement, of Kalamazoo; Oscar M., now dead, left one son, Oscar M., III, of Jackson, Michigan; News L., deceased, had no children; Fannie M., now Mrs. E. L. Hollingsworth, of Rensselaer, Indiana, has four children; Jollie B., 224 HISTORIC MICHIGAN deceased, had two children, both deceased; Dee, now living in San Diego, California. Clyde M. Bacon.-Mr. Bacon is the owner and operator of the largest garage in Kalamazoo, the structure occupying Io,ooo square feet of floor space. He is the oldest garage man in the city, also. The concern does a general repair business, washes and stores, and does any sort of service required by car owners. Nine persons are employed in the plant. Mr. Bacon gives a great deal of attention to the wrecking of cars and will go any distance to relieve a damaged machine. The floor space of his garage is sufficient to take care of eighty machines at one time. Mr. Bacon in 1917 moved into the establishment where he is now located at 313 North Rose street, the building owned by George Steers. He established himself in the garage and repair business on the south side, at Alcott and Portage streets, in I9I3. Clyde M. Bacon was born in 1884 in Michigan. His father, Martin Bacon, born in x850, was a farmer but is now retired. The mother, Martha Bacon, was born in the same year. Clyde M. attended the grade and high schools at Vicksburg, Michigan, and in I907 came to Kalamazoo and worked for the Adams Express Company. Six years later he embarked in business on his own account, and his efforts have been attended by success. Mr. Bacon is a faithful member of the Elks. James B. Balch, president and founder of the Kalamazoo Cold Storage Company and three times mayor of the city, is one of Michigan's most widely known and highly respected business men. Mr. Balch was born in Allegan county, this state, on September io, I868. His parents, Amaziah and Mary (Williams) Balch, were natives of Vermont and Canada, respectively. The father was a farmer and followed that calling in the Green Mountain state until I853, when he emigrated to Michigan, coming directly to Kalamazoo, but soon moved to Allegan county, where he secured a large tract of timber land on which he erected a sawmill, one of the first in that part of the state, which he operated in connection with his farming endeavors. He continued to reside in Allegan county until his death in 1872. In politics he was a Democrat and one of the leaders of his party in this section of the state, and at one time was the nominee of his party for state representative. He and his wife held membership in the Presbyterian church. Three sons and two daughters were born to them, of whom two sons and two daughters are still living. After the death of the father, the mother removed to Plainwell that her children might have better school advantages, and that village she called her home until her death in I923. James B. Balch spent thirteen years of his boyhood days on the,farm, and when the family moved to Plainwell, he entered the public schools there. In 1887 he came to Kalamazoo and became a student at Kalamazoo College. He began his business career as a traveling salesman for the Bush Cattle Guard Company, of Kalamazoo, continuing to serve in that capacity until I891. In that year he organized the Kalamazoo Cold Storage Company, the original members of this company being J. M. Stears, F. C. Balch and the subject of this KALAMAZOO COUNTY 225 article. Mr. Balch later purchased the interests of the other two members and has for many years owned and conducted the business of this successful company, of which he is president. In addition to his business interests in Kalamazoo he is also largely interested in farming, owning nearly five thousand acres of land in Allegan county. Mr. Balch is extensively interested in the paper mill industry of the Kalamazoo valley; at this time he is serving as chairman of the executive committee of the Watervliet Paper Company. He is president and director of the Naco Corset Company, of Kalamazoo, and is serving in a like capacity for the Radex Gas Heater Company, which product is just being placed on the market. This concern bids fair to develop into one of Kalamazoo's most successful companies. In politics Mr. Balch, like his father, is an ardent Democrat and is recognized as one of the leaders of that party in this state. In I908 he was candidate of his party for the office of secretary of state, but was defeated by a small majority. In I9I5 he was nominated by the Democrats for mayor of the city, being elected by the small margin of thirty-four votes. The following year he was re-elected to that office by a majority of eighty-six votes, and in I9I7, after having been defeated in the party caucus, he was persuaded to run as an independent candidate, and was elected by stickers, by an overwhelming majority of six hundred and eighty-four over the united vote of his Democrat and Republican opponents, thus proving the confidence Mr. Balch's townspeople have in his probity and in his executive ability. Mr. Balch served as war mayor of Kalamazoo and during the fuel famine of I915-I6 when the coal dealers and operators throughout the country were resorting to very questionable methods and causing untold suffering among working classes, Mr. Balch as mayor opened the second, if not the first, municipal coal yard in the United States. This move was opposed by members of the city council and when they failed to provide the necessary funds with which to operate this yard Mr. Balch supplied them from his own private purse. During the first winter he handled over one hundred and twenty-three cars of fuel, which he sold to the laboring people at cost; he also supplied one hundred cars of coal to the city officials of Lansing and many cars to numerous villages and towns throughout the state. The great work accomplished by Mr. Balch along these lines was given so much prominence in the leading papers of the country that he was called upon to speak before numerous municipal bodies throughout the middle west. In 1922 Mr. Balch was in the primary as a candidate for nomination for governor on the Democratic ticket and notwithstanding he made but a slight effort was beaten by less than fourteen hundred majority by Alva M. Cummins. In I924 the Democratic state preconvention held in Flint did him the honor of offering the nomination for governor on their ticket, which he was forced to decline due to the illness of a member of his family. Besides looking after his extensive business interests, Mr. Balch has found time to take an active part in the social life of the city. In 1907, in company with W. S. Dewing and others, he organized the Boys' Home, of which he has been 226 HISTORIC MICHIGAN president for the past eleven years. This association has a tract of seventy acres of land adjoining the city of Kalamazoo on which they have erected suitable buildings, which furnish a home and school for friendless boys. He was the founder and organizer of the Park Club and served as its president for a number of years. Mr. Balch was influential in bringing about prohibition and woman suffrage in Michigan. He is an ardent advocate of equal rights and opposed to special privilege. Mr.' Balch's marriage occurred on September 7, 1897, his wife's maiden name being Mabel Severens, a daughter of the late Judge Henry F. Severens, an extended mention of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume. One son, Severens, was born to them, December 10, I904, who is now' attending Lake Forest Academy at Lake Forest, Illinois. In religious matters the family hold membership in the Christian Science church. Nathaniel A. Balch.-One of the most brilliant and outstanding characters and figures in the community life of Kalamazoo was the late Nathaniel A. Balch, representative of a family noted for its intellectual strength, probity and public spirit. The name "Balch" was for many years indissolubly associated with the development of Kalamazoo and of Michigan. Nathaniel A. Balch was born in Athens, Windham county, Vermont, on a farm, on January 22, I808. Physically he was compact in build, strong and quick in action, agile, supple, and few men of his size could equal him in strength and endurance. His parents were noted for their physical endurance and power and the son seemed to inherit these natural characteristics. He truly was of eugenic birth. From childhood, Mr. Balch never tasted wine or other strong drink and ever was the possessor of health and fine mental and moral qualities. Opportunities for early education, though limited, were availed to the fullest. He began attendance at district school at the age of three, was rarely tardy and never absent up to the age of ten, when it became necessary for him to render assistance on the home farm. From childhood Nathaniel Balch was of quick perception and possessed a most remarkable, retentive memory. He was a good listener, absorbing readily all that was said. He was able to repeat many of his school books by memory and retained this faculty to old age. At the age of ten this precocious child could repeat in alphabetical order the oceans, gulfs, bays, seas, friths, rivers, continents, mountains, countries, islands, etc., found in the geographic text books used in the New England schools of his day. The winter he was eleven he was the champion at an old fashioned spelling match held in the schoolhouse of his district, a mile from his home. When sixteen he attended a select school at Townsend in the same county and made such progress that he was adjudged qualified to teach school, which he did the following year. Each winter he taught until I835, when he was graduated from Middlebury College, Vermont. He also taught in the academy at Jerico, Vermont, and in August, 1831, entered the freshman class at Chester Academy in Windsor and was graduated therefrom. He studied medicine and theology for the sake of his law practice. During his entire school period he was monitor KALAMAZOO COUNTY 227 of his class. For two years he held the principalship of the academy at Bennington, Vermont, and in 1835 entered his name as a law student in the office of Governor John S. Robinson at Bennington. Upon the suggestion of Governor Robinson, Mr. Balch read as his first law books two large volumes, "Coke Upon Littleton," printed in Norman French. For this advice he felt a profound gratitude, believing it to be the correct way for all students to study law in the language in which originally written. After closing his academic term Mr. Balch with his brother, Samuel R., started west, arriving in Kalamazoo August 20, 1836, in which city he spent the larger part of his life. He received his second degree, Master of Arts, from his alma mater just before coming west. On arriving in Kalamazoo, Mr. Balch enrolled as a student with Stuart & Webster and was with them until the early summer of 1840, when he went to Marshall, Calhoun county, Michigan, teaching two years in what was intended to be Marshall College. For seven months prior he taught in and managed Huron Institute at Kalamazoo, now Kalamazoo College. In 1833 Mr. Balch made a profession of Christianity while in Middlebury College and joined the Congregational church. In 1837 he shifted relations to the Presbyterian church at Kalamazoo and remained in that fold until death. For forty years he taught a Bible class and rarely missed a class or mid-week prayer meeting. He was admitted to the bar in Centerville, St. Joseph county, March I9, 1840, and in 1842 was elected prosecuting attorney of Kalamazoo county and the same year was appointed circuit court prosecutor for Barry county. For more than thirty years he was president of the Kalamazoo county bar. During an active practice of more than forty years he was engaged in more than twenty murder trials, some of national notoriety. He contended with lawyers of national authority and reputation, but his forensic ability readily matched opposing counsel. Among his law partners were Walter Clark, Judge Webster, Samuel Clark, William H. DeYoe, Mitchell J. Smiley, Walter O. Balch (his son), L. C. Van Fleet and William Shakespeare. Mr. Balch was always head of the firm and his office was a nursery from which issued some of the ablest barristers of the country. In 1847 he was elected to the state senate and in 1857 became postmaster of Kalamazoo, holding the position five years. In I86o Mr. Balch was nominated for congress on the Democratic ticket and his able speeches and forceful campaign reduced materially the strength of the opposition. January 4, 1864, he was admitted to practice in the United States supreme court. Mr. Balch was twice married. His first wife was Miss Sarah (Mosher) Chapin, daughter of Rev. Walter Chapin, of Woodstock, Vermont, an accomplished woman and scholar. She died April I8, 1848, about ten years after their marriage, leaving three children. The youngest daughter died the same year her mother passed away. The son, Walter O. Balch, died at the age of thirty-four. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan and a member- of the late firm of Balch, Smiley & Balch, with his father, until his health failed. He passed away in 1876. The eldest daughter is Mrs. John den Bleyker, who is living. The second wife of Mr. Balch was Miss Elizabeth E. Dungan, of Philadelphia, 228 HISTORIC MICHIGAN whom he married in I849. To this union two children were born, a son, who died in infancy, and a daughter, who succumbed to diphtheria. The second Mrs. Balch, who died in Kalamazoo January 8, I880, was a woman of marked culture, a brilliant conversationalist and linguist, and of remarkably fine appearance. She was a master of French and Spanish as well as English. The parents of Nathaniel A. Balch were Nathaniel and Sally (Bennett) Balch, the former a native of Douglas, Worcester county, Massachusetts, the latter a daughter of Nathaniel Bennett, of New Jersey. John Balch, progenitor of the family in America, came from Somersetshire, England, in 1623. His family sailed from Plymouth, England, with Robert Gorges as commander and found lodgment at Cape Ann. Some of the party returned, but four of the company, of which John Balch was one, reached Salem in 1626, and he was one of the old planters who received an original grant of land, being in the country five years before Governor Endicott, for it must be understood the community of which he was among the four founders, was in fact the first place settled and thereafter continuously occupied by Europeans on the shores of the territory continguous to Boston Bay. John Balch had two children, Samuel and Molly. Samuel married Susan Aldrich and resided in Worcester county, Massachusetts, until after the birth of his five daughters and five sons, when he moved to Vermont. His son Nathaniel was the father of Nathaniel A. Balch. Norman Bardeen.-Early and fundamental indoctrination in paper was attained by Norman Bardeen, who since I912 has been the general manager, secretary and treasurer of the Lee Paper Company, qf Vicksburg, Michigan. Mr. Bardeen resides in Kalamazoo, at 2211 Glenwood drive. He presides over the destinies of a concern that was formed in 1902 and incorporated the following year. Fred E. Lee was the president, G. E. Bardeen first vice-president, A. B. Gardner second vice-president, W. J. Howard, E. S. Roos and C. H. Seitz being, with the first named, among the founders of the company. Operations were begun in March, I905, as a two-machine plant. Today the plant has a daily capacity of twenty tons and occupies several acres, employing 175 operatives. One New York City representative attends to the eastern requirements and one local man sells the jobbers in other territories. Mr. Bardeen, in addition to his association with the Lee Paper Company, is a director of the Vicksburg State Bank. He is a Pythian, belonging to the lodge in Vicksburg, and is a member of the Kalamazoo Country Club, Seaview Golf Club, Park Club of Kalamazoo and Hamilton Club of Chicago. Norman Bardeen was born July 17, 1877, in Syracuse, New York. His parents, Charles W. and Ellen P. Bardeen. had five children. Norman attended the grade and high schools in Syracuse, took a preparatory course at Hotchkiss School and was graduated from Yale in 900o. He began a connection with his father in the publishing business, attending to sales and general promotional work. Coming to Oswego, Michigan, he entered the office of the Bardeen Paper Company, G. E. Bardeen, the president, being an uncle. Mr. Bardeen was very active not only in the paper industry, but was conspicuous for his zeal and interest ,~ :1 i ii '" i i: i;,~ KALAMAZOO COUNTY 229 in other relationships. He died in January, 1924, at his winter home in St. Petersburg, Florida. Norman Bardeen continued service in his uncle's company about two years, then came to Vicksburg to the Lee Paper Company as secretary and general office man, and in 1912 was made general manager, secretary and treasurer. In IgOI Mr. Bardeen and Miss Elizabeth Atwater plighted troth. Mrs. Bardeen was born June 14, I879. The Bardeens have three children, Maxwell D., born 1902; Norman, Jr, born 1912, and Elizabeth, born I9I4. A. L. Blakeslee.-"From Kalamazoo Direct to You" is a slogan known throughout the civilized world and a household phrase in thousands of American homes. Mr. Blakeslee typifies the spirit of the aggressive young American business man, whose success is predicated, first, upon integrity and service. Mr. Blakeslee is a native of Kalamazoo, born in I891. After leaving Howe Military Academy in 1908 he started to work for Henderson & Ames, Kalamazoo, as office clerk, and in I912 transferred his service, in the same capacity, to the Kalamazoo Stove Company. In I9I9 he went to New York City with Hyland Brothers, wholesale millinery, but in I920 returned to the big stove works as secretary and advertising manager and in 1922 became secretary and general manager. The Kalamazoo Stove Company was organized on June 24, I9OI, by Edward Woodbury, William S. Dewing, James H. Dewing, Charles A. Dewing, W. S. Thompson, George E. Bardeen, A. H. Dane, Jerome M. Snook, Hiram De Lano, C. L. Coff, George D. Cobb, Henry L. Vander Horst, B. A. Bush and S. G. Earl. The original capitalization was $65,000. The company now is in excess of the million dollar line. It produces all kinds of stoves and furnaces, selling direct to consumer by means of catalogue and circular advertising. The company has expended in excess of $3,000,ooo on advertising and is the largest exclusive stove and furnace factory selling direct to consumer. There are listed on the company books more than 530,000 customers. The plant covers thirteen acres. The Kalamazoo Malleable Iron Company is owned by the stove interests and 575 persons are employed. Everything from foundry work to the finished product is performed by the company in its own plant. A distinct mailing division is maintained by the big company and each year sees the dispatch of 4,000,000 pieces of mail. The daily receipts of the company often run as high as 7,000 pieces of first-class mail. Ten carloads of paper are consumed each year in the preparation of catalogues and circulars proclaiming the merits of "From Kalamazoo Direct to You." Approximately $250,000 a year is spent on advertising. The company sells for cash and on the time payment plan and its products are, of course, exceedingly popular. The father of A. L. Blakeslee was A. F. Blakeslee, born in I867, a contractor. He died in 1895. The mother was before her marriage, Marie Wilcox. There were three children, Raymond S., Tresa, and A. L. The latter was married in 1912 to Guelda Birt, born in 1892. One child has come to bring mirth and happiness to the Blakeslee hearthstone, Mary Elizabeth, who was born on August 21, 1921. Mr. Blakeslee is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Kalamazoo Country Club, Park Club, Battle Creek Country Club and the Masonic fraternity, holding 230 HISTORIC MICHIGAN membership in Anchor Lodge No. 87. The company which Mr. Blakeslee directs has, obviously, contributed immeasurably to the fame and prosperity of Kalamazoo. It has made the city known throughout the civilized world. Myron H..Bell.-Mr. Bell has attained unquestioned success in the jewelry and collateral loan business by virtue of hard work and rigid adherence to high standards of business practice. He is one of the best known citizen of Kalamazoo. Mr. Bell was born in Fayette township, Seneca county, New York, June 14, 1864, and was educated in the public schools. He taught school in New York two years, came to Michigan in 1884 and taught for six years. In 1892 he 1ocated in Kalamazoo and engaged in the jewelry business with much success attending his efforts. He is located at 124 North Burdick street. Mr. Bell is a zealous Mason and is past master of his Blue lodge, is past high priest of the chapter and past illustrious master of the council. He is also a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar and has been an Odd Fellow since I895. Mr. Bell's wife, a former pupil of his, was Edith M. Butler. They were married in 1892. Mrs. Bell was born in Grand Prairie, Kalamazoo county. She is actively identified with the People's church, which is the outgrowth of the old Unitarian church. The Bells have no children. They live at 545 John street. The father of Mr. Bell was a distinguished mathematician, being joint author of the problems embodied in Robinson's series of arithmetics. He was educated in Hobart College, Geneva, New York, and taught in the public schools for more than fifty years. The elder Bell was born in Ontario county, New York, and died in Seneca county, that state, in I909. His wife, the mother of Myron H. Bell, was Caroline Rogers before her marriage. She was born in Seneca county, November 27, 1834, and is still living. Intellect and true culture are strong factors in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Myron H. Bell. Charles L. Bennett, M.D.-Although engaged in general practice, Doctor Bennett gives special attention to diseases of children and in pediatrics has achieved commendable success. Doctor Bennett and his estimable wife are both graduates of the University of Michigan, the latter in the class of 1905, when she received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Dr. Charles L. Bennett is a native of the Empire state, born in Bockport August 25, I875. When an infant less than a year old he was taken by his parents to VanBuren county, Michigan, where they settled six miles west of Paw Paw. He availed himself of the educational advantages of the public schools and was graduated from Lawrence High School. He added to his intellectual equipment with a year's study at Valparaiso University and then for four years taught school. Then he entered the University of Michigan medical department and in 1904 was graduated, with the much desired parchment certifying his medical qualifications. One year was spent in service to Dr. de Nancrele and hospital, and for the following fifteen years Doctor Bennett practiced in Gobles, Michigan. In I919 he came to Kalamazoo and has built a large practice in general medicine, but majoring in pediatrics. He has also done post-graduate work in New York. Dr. Bennett's offices are at 708-09 Kalamazoo National Bank KALAMAZOO COUNTY 231 building and his residence is at 527 West Lovell street. On June 27, I906, Doctor Bennett relinquished bachelorhood and was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Marie French, of Ann Arbor, who as has been previously stated, is an alumna of the University of Michigan, class of I905. The issue of the union is two children-Keith French Bennett, aged fifteen, a student at Central High School, and Gordon James Bennett, in the grade schools. Doctor Bennett is a member of the Congregational church. He is a Lion, a Mason, belongs to the Scottish Rite, and is a Shriner and Odd Fellow. He holds membership in the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, in the Michigan State Medical Society and in the American Medical Association. Alert and public spirited, Doctor Bennett is a very useful community factor. Jerome F. Berry, M.D.-Although a young man, Doctor Berry has had a very unusual experience and training in his chosen field, neurology and psychiatry, much of which was gained during a threeyear period of service for the American government. Serving creditably in the World war, Doctor Berry was assigned to duty part of the time in bleak Siberia. By way of contrast he was later sent to the Philippines, so he has seen much of the world, but his travels were enriched by serious study. Doctor Berry was born in Richmond, Vermont, December I9, I886. He was educated in Goddard Seminary, Barre, Vermont, and in 1913 was graduated from the University of Vermont, medical department, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He filled an interneship in the W. W. Bacus General Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut, and in July, 1914, came to the Michigan State Hospital with unbroken service save the three years given in war work. A post-graduate course was taken at the University of Michigan Psychopathic Hospital. In I917 the young doctor enlisted in the medical corps and was commissioned a first lieutenant, serving until 1920. He was sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison officers' training camp at Indianapolis for three months' intensive training, then transferred to Camp Sherman, at Chillicothe, Ohio, for three months' instruction in administrative work. The next assignment was to General Hospital No. I4 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, in the administrative department. In July, I918, he was promoted to a captaincy and sent to Camp Gordon, Atlanta, as a member of the examining board, neuropsychiatric service. Later special training in neuro-psychiatric training was taken at Plattsburg Barracks, Plattsburg, New York, and then Doctor Berry was ordered to the western division for service in the American Expeditionary Forces in Siberia and was made chief of the neuro-psychiatric service. During a portion of the time he functioned as a surgeon in the Thirty-first infantry. Subsequently he was given three mo'nths in the Philippines for neuro-psychiatric service at Fort McKinley. Doctor Berry on returning from the Philippines was ordered to Camp Custer, Michigan, where he received honorable discharge and then, the hurly burly of war over, resumed his professional duties at the state hospital. Doctor Berry, besides his excellent professional training, is respected for his personal virtues and fidelity to trust. He is a communicant of the Catholic church and a member of the Elks and Knights of Columbus; a member of the Delta Ntt 232 HISTORIC MICHIGAN medical fraternity and of the Academy of Medicine of Kalamazoo, and of the Michigan State Medical Society and American Medical Association. He is unmarried. Mereneus Bestervelt.-Mr. Bestervelt is the proprietor of Kalamazoo's largest grocery and meat market, located at 1I4 and II6 West Water street. He was born in Grand Haven, Michigan, May 19, 1873, received his early education in the public schools of Grand Haven and in 1884 came to Kalamazoo with his parents, Anthony and Lena Bestervelt. The father died in Kalamazoo in 1890 at the age of fifty-seven, and the mother, whose maiden name was Boet, died in 1898 at the age of sixty-three. She bore five sons and four daughters, all living except one, who died in infancy, and Cornelius, eldest of the family who died in 1923 at the age of sixty-five years. Mereneus is a selfmade man, early inured to hard work. He worked in a bakery a year and next in a boiler shop a year and a half, then worked tfor his brother Cornelius in the meat business. The next nine years Mereneus worked for Thomas Richmond in the meat business, then started a business of his own in a small way on South Burdick street. During the following four years he prospered and bought the concern of Mr. Richmond on North Burdick street, remaining in that locality six years. In 1914 he located at 114-II6 West Water street and three years later added a line of groceries to the business. When Mr. Bestervelt first began for himself his transactions amounted to about $I3,oo0 annually. In I923 the volume had increased to over $400,000. The gain, between 1922 and 1923 is said to have run to $75,ooo. Mr. Bestervelt is a member of the Bethany Reformed church, the Chamber of Commerce, and-the Modern Woodmen. In I896 he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Sagers, and to this union have been born ten children. Anthony, the husband of Lucille Coppick, is manager of the big store. He served two months in the World war. He is the father of one child, Jeane. Neal C., office manager, married Marian Mersen in 1922. He had training in the navy during the World war, giving nine months to Uncle Sam. William O. is manager of the grocery department. On June 5, I917, he enlisted in the Thirty-second infantry of the Michigan National Guard, later the I26th infantry of the Thirty-second division. He was stationed at Grayling, Michigan, and Waco, Texas. On February I9, I918, he sailed for France and served over seas for over a year. He saw considerable service, as the Thirty-second division was engaged in severe fighting, he being wounded August 28, I918. The wife of William 0. was, before her marriage, Mabelle Weaver, of Kalamazoo. Nellie and Rena are two daughters, the former at home, the latter assisting in the store. Marion is a high school graduate and does stenographic work for Joseph Foltz. Myron is a high school student, as is Susan. Helen May and Harold James, the youngest, are in the grade schools. Cornelius W. Bierens.-Coming to America in 1906, Cornelius W. Bierens worked as a carpenter for himself and on contract work for others and ten years later became associated with the South Side Lumber company as its treasurer. A few years later he became treasurer and general manager of the company, the position he occupies KALAMAZOO COUNTY 233 today. The South Side Lumber Company, located along the railroad siding of the C. K. S. and Grand Trunk, is one of the largest in Kalamazoo. The company handles all kinds of building material in addition to lumber and does an extensive and profitable business. Hetndrick L. Schippers is the president, Charles DeBoer vice-president, and John J. Bierens secretary of the corporation. All are also directors. Peter J. Kreling is a director of the company and also estimator. The floor space of the company aggregates two acres. Cornelius W. Bierens was born in The Netherlands in 1878. His father, John Bierens, was born in I850. The mother, Janna Bierens, was born in 1857 and died in I916 in Kalamazoo. In 1904 Mr. Bierens was married to Katherine Marie Bierens, who was born in I88I and died in 1922 and to her were born two children, Cornelius W., Jr., and Marie. The former was born in I906, the latter in I907. Marie died in I920. Mr. Bierens married again, his second wife being Anna Irene Bierens, born in 1892. The home of Cornelius W. Bierens is at 2222 Portage. He is a member of the state and national organizations of retail lumber dealers, of the Kalamazoo Lumbermen's Credit Association, and the Chamber of Commerce. He is well and favorably known in business circles. Charles A. Blaney.-Prominently identified with the political and business life of Kalamazoo is Charles A. Blaney, for thirty-five years a member of the Wheeler-Blaney Company, plumbing contractors. Mr. Blaney is chairman of the Michigan state prison board and is an officer of the American Prison Congress. He was the first police and fire commissioner of the city when that office was withdrawn from political influence or control He was a member of the city's bonding commission and is a director of the Kalamazoo City Savings Bank and is interested in several industrial enterprises., He is a stalwart Republican and a devoted admirer of President Calvin Coolidge. It is related by his friends that, in I924, at a banquet arranged by the Lincoln Club, a picture of the President fell from its fastening and struck Mr. Blaney on the head. Calmly he remarked: "That's the way Coolidge hits me." Mr. Blaney is a communicant of the Catholic church. He was born in Kalamazoo on April 2, I870. His father was John H. Blaney, born in New York state. His early life was spent as a contractor on railroads and the Erie canal and, coming to Michigan, bought a farm in Alamo township and in I865 moved to Kalamazoo and engaged in the hotel business. John H. Blaney was a Democrat, was the village marshal and truant officer for the public schools and in I876 became the sheriff. He died at the age of eighty-six. The mother was Mary Robinson, also a native of New York state, who died in Kalamazoo at the age of forty-eight. The Blaneys had six children and Charles A. attended public and parochial school and learned telegraphy with the Western Union Telegraph Company. Later he became connected with the Railway Supply Company and for thirtyfive years has been with the Wheeler-Blaney Company. He was united in marriage to Helen Grant, born in Albion, Michigan, daughter of Henry and Mary (Hodgins) Grant, both of whom are deceased. A 234 HISTORIC MICHIGAN son of Mr. and Mrs. Blaney, Joseph Addison Blaney, attends high school. Walter M. Blinks, residing at 315 Stuart avenue, Kalamazoo, has been identified with various important industrial and commercial enterprises of this city and has made a record as a man of affairs and as a progressive and public spirited citizen. Mr. Blinks was born at Michigan City, Indiana, on the 2Ist of May, 187I, and is a son of William Blinks, one of the pioneers of that city and for years president of the Michigan City Gas Company. Walter M. Blinks was educated in the public schools and Barker Hall Academy of his native town and then took up the study of chemical engineering, graduating from Rose Polytechnic Institute, Terre Haute, Indiana, in I894. His early connections were in the gas industry in Maryland and later as manager of the Michigan City Gas Light Company. He came to Kalamazoo in 1903 to go into the gas appliance business with the General Gas Light Company, remaining with that company for seventeen years, also being president of the Michigan Enameling Works, an auxiliary concern, for a number of years. He was one of the organizers of the Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Company and is a director of that thriving institution. Real estate in the form of sub-divisions has interested the subject of our sketch, the Hillcrest Plat being his favorite completed task, and the development of Lake Way Park a present undertaking. Mr. Blinks has served two terms as president of the Civic Improvement League. He is a member of the Rotary Club, the Elks, the Outlook Club and the Club of Little Gardens, the park work of the latter organization strongly appealing to him. The political allegiance of Mr. Blinks is given to the Republican party and he and family attend the First Presbyterian church. In 1898 Mr. Blinks married Miss Ella L. Rogers, daughter of N. P. Rogers, secretarytreasurer of the Haskell & Barker Car Company, of Michigan City, Indiana. They have two sons, Lawrence R. and William Nathaniel Blinks. Both boys graduated from the Kalamazoo High School, attended Leland Stanford University, Lawrence going then to Harvard University, graduating in 1923, and is now taking post-graduate work in the same institution. William Nathanial attended Wisconsin University, graduating in the class of I924. Charles E. Boys, M.D.-Doctor Boys was born in Grenola, Kansas, April I8, 1875, attended school in Grenola, took preparatory work at Albion College, Albion, Michigan, and wias graduated from that institution in I899 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. In I903 he was graduated from Northwestern University School of Medicine. During his senior year he became a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, a senior honorary medical fraternity based upon scholastic attainment. He served interneships at Wesley Memorial Hospital, Chicago, then engaged in general practice in Kalamazoo, majoring, however, in surgery until 1914, when he took post-graduate work in Europe. Since that time Doctor Boys has specialized in surgery and his technique is well known in Michigan and northern Indiana. In the profession he has kept fully abreast of the great advances in technique and methods of the past few decades and an extensive practice attests eloquently to KALAMAZOO COUNTY 235 his skill. Doctor Boys is a member and former/secretary and president of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine. 34e is a member of the Michigan State and American Medical Assqciation, a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity, a Fellow of the Amrican College of Surgeons and non-resident member Detroit Obstetrical and Gynecological Society. The Doctor is also a Scottish Rife Mason, having taken the thirty-second degree. On August 3, I963, he married Miss Myrtle H. Ford, of Richfield, Michigan, and three children have come to bless the union and strengthen the family chain. They are Floyd, Lawrence and Richard. Floyd, who is eighteen, is a graduate of Kalamazoo High School and is a freshman at Kalamazoo College. Lawrence was a sophomore in the normal high school of Kalamazoo, but the bright young life was snapped by the inscrutable hands of a guiding Providence on April 6, 1923, at the tender age of sixteen years. The third child is Richard, aged eleven. Doctor Boys, whose office is at Ioo8-io Hanselman building, during the World war was chairman of the medical advisory board. He also served in the Spanish-American war, enlisting in 1898 in the Thirty-eighth Michigan volunteer infantry as a musician. He played a clarinet. Elbert R. Brenner.-Mr. Brenner is associated with his father, Richard R. Brenner, in the plumbing and heating business, which was established by the latter in 1903. Elbert R. was born in 1891 in Battle Creek. His father, born in I86I, is a native of Saginaw. He was very active in politics and for sixteen years was an alderman representing the First ward. The mother, Mary C. Brenner, was born in New York. Her maiden name was Ellsworth. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Richard Brenner were: Richard, Annette, Elbert, Mary, Esther, Frederick, Sylvester and Betty Jane. Elbert R. Brenner was married in 1916 to Nydia B. Bachelder, born in Plainwell January, I895. There are two children, Nydia Jane and Thomas B. Mr. Brenner attended the grammar and high schools of Kalamazoo and for a period worked as a helper for H. A. Johnson, city engineer. About a year he worked for D. J. Albertson as field man in connection with paper mill construction and for a year did field work also for Glenn Wheaton. For another year he was with the Michigan Railway Engineering Company, working on the construction of the electric road between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Another year of service was given the Plainwell Paper Company, Plainwell, Michigan, and then he entered business with his father. The concern does practically all contract work, such as the heating and ventilating of schools and other buildings. A wholesale and retail business is done and the Brenner establishment is said to be probably the largest and only fixed price contract concern in the city. Mr. Brenner is a member of the Master Plumbers' Association, Chamber of Commerce, Exchange Club, Gull Lake and Kalamazoo Country Club. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason. Homer F. Brundage.-Serving as president and general manager of the business he established in 1919, the Kalamazoo Blow Pipe Company, Homer F. Brundage has attained a place of importance in the industrial life of Kalamazoo. The concern of which he is the head, 236 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and which is the product of his own genius, began unostentatiously with one employee and now carries twenty-five on the payroll. It is known far beyond Kalamazoo, the product of the company going all over Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The Kalamazoo Blow Pipe Company does contract work, making ventilating systems for schools and office buildings and other structures; builds dust collecting systems and does general industrial sheet metal work including vapor absorption and coating drying for paper mills and for factory heating systems. Mr. Brundage was born in Kalamazoo in I890. His father, O. W. Brundage, born 1854, was a general building contractor. He passed away in Kalamazoo in I918. The mother was Susie E. Woodhams, born in I866 in Kalamazoo county. To them four children were born: Roy O., assistant to the president of the Vegetable Parchment Company; Guy W., a bank cashier in Auburn, California, and Harry L., in the bond business in Chicago, besides Homer F. The last was married in I912 to Bernice Hodgeboom, in Comstock, Michigan. Miss Hodgeboom was born in I889 in Comstock. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brundage-Frederick Ward Brundage, born I914, and Joseph Edwin Brundage, born in I916. Homer F. Brundage attended the grade and high schools of Kalamazoo, spent two years in Grinnel University, Iowa, and one year at the University of Michigan in architectural engineering, and in I9II began work for his father. The following year he became purchasing agent and accountant for the American Sign Company, served a year as accountant with the Garrett Insurance Company and in I917 became accountant and receiver for the Kalamazoo Shoe Manufacturing Company, the business closing in I9I9. Later the same year Mr. Brundage started business on his own account, making sheet metal products, adopting the name of the Kalamazoo Blow Pipe Company. In the trade Mr. Brundage stands very high, as is evidenced by the fact that he is vice-president of the Michigan Sheet Metal Roofing Contractors' Association and secretary of the Kalamazoo Sheet Metal Association. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and an ardent Pythian, being chancellor commander of his lodge. Ray 0. Brundage, one of Kalamazoo's most active and serviceable citizens, was born May 14, I88I, in this city. His father and mother were natives of Kalamazoo county, the father, 0. W. Brundage, being born in 1854, and dying in I918. The mother before her marriage was Susie E. Woodhams. Ray O. Brundage was married in June, I9oo, to Gertrude W. Thayer, of Cooper township, Kalamazoo county, born in June, 1882. Two children have come to brighten the Brundage home and strengthen the family ties, R. Thayer Brundage, born in November, 1902, and Francis Brundage, born in December, I9IO. Ray O. Brundage attended grade and high schools and worked for the North Lumber Company as general office boy for about three and a half years. In I9OI he went to work for the Henderson & Ames Regalia concern as cashier and payroll clerk when there were but three men attending to the office duties. He remained with the company until I9IO and then became publicity manager and assistant to the president of the City Savings Bank. On August I, I918, II KALAMAZOO COUNTY 237 Mr. Brundage became secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and four years later went to the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company as assistant to the president. He has many other interests and official connections, being treasurer of the Marrowborough Apartments Corporation, secretary and treasurer of the Kalamazoo Blow Pipe Company and secretary of the Southwestern Bankers' Club. Mr. Brundage is one of the formulators and founders of the Associated Charity Budget. He has always been interested in the promotion of athletics. For twenty-one years he was director of the Y. M. C. A. He is an ardent Pythian and has filled all the chairs of his lodge and in September, I924, was advanced to the grand chancellorship of the order in Michigan. Mr. Brundage is also an Elk, member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Chamber of Commerce and of the Congregational church. Dallas Boudeman, attorney-at-law, Kalamazoo, has long held a place as one of the resourceful and representative members of the bar of Kalamazoo county, and was for fifty years established in the successful practice of his profession in the city of Kalamazoo, and gained precedence in a semi-professional way as a lecturer on legal subjects, notably those of commercial significance. Like many others who have gained success and prestige in the legal profession, Mr. Boudeman was reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm, and there he had the fundamental training that brought to him the appreciation of true relative values in all of the relations of life, so that in his chosen profession he combined broad and accurate technical knowledge with a fine sense of personal stewardship. Mr. Boudeman was born in Montour county, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1846, and is now one of the veteran and honored members of the Kalamazoo bar. He is a son of William and Margaret G. (Caldwell) Boudeman. William Boudeman was a scion of sterling Swiss ancestry and from the old Keystone state he came to Michigan as a pioneer in the year I850. He settled on a farm in St. Joseph county, and there he long continued to give his attention to the basic industries of agriculture and stock-raising. He passed the closing years of his long and useful life in the home of his only son, Dallas, of this review, and was eighty-three years of age at the time of his death. His wife came from Welsh-Irish ancestry, born in Pennsylvania, likewise died in Kalamazoo, she having passed away at the age of about seventy-five years. Dallas Boudeman is indebted to the rural schools for his early education, which was supplemented by a full course in Hillsdale College, at Hillsdale, Michigan, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of I870. He forthwith came to Kalamazoo, where he entered the law offices of Judge Henry F. Severens and Hon. Julius C. Burrows. Under such able preceptorship he pursued his law studies, and in I871 he was admitted to the bar. In those days, when typewriters were virtually unknown in practical service, young law students copied legal documents by hand, and though this work was tedious it proved valuable training. Under such conditions Mr. Boudeman became most proficient in the performance of his clerical duties, 238 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the while he made substantial advancement in the absorption and assimilation of the involved science of jurisprudence. When Mr. Burrows entered the United States congress in 1872 Mr. Boudeman continued to be associated as a co-partner with Judge Severens for several years. Later Judge Severens was called to the bench of the United States District Court of Appeals, sitting at Grand Rapids, and afterward was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals. Thereafter Mr. Boudeman practiced in an independent way during varying periods, and at intervals he had able professional associates, among whom was Judge Adams, who is still engaged in active law practice in Kalamazoo. During the long interval of twenty-one years Mr. Boudeman lectured before classes in the law department of the University of Michigan, treating on the subjects of the statutes of Michigan, statutory construction and for three years covered the subject of investments and other financial: subjects in the same department of the University. Throughout the entire period of this valuable educational service he continued to maintain his law offices in Kalamazoo and went forward in his practice in the trial of cases. After a half-century of successful work in his profession Mr. Boudeman virtually retired from active practice, but he still maintains an office in his home city, gives his personal attention to the management of his individual interests and affairs, and occasionally consents to serve as advisory counsel. He has long been known as an able trial lawyer and well fortified counselor, and has been concerned with many litigatious of major importance, in the various counties of the state and in the federal courts. Mr. Boudeman has been for many years a member of the Republican party and has taken an active part in its success. In the spring of I924 he was selected presidential elector-at-large on the Republican ticket, and his party similarly honored him at the time when Hon. Charles Hughes was the Republican nominee for the presidency. He was a delegate from his state and aided in the nomination of President William H. Taft. The only public office in which Mr. Boudeman has consented to serve is that of member of the board of education of his own city, a position which he retained a number of years. He is an appreciative and valued member of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Association, and is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Boudeman has always been greatly interested in the progress of Michigan and especially in his chosen home city of Kalamazoo, has materially aided its enterprises, assisted in establishing several of its manufacturing plants and carrying them on, and during the World war spent much of his time in aiding his country in arming and equipping its soldiers, selling bonds in the various drives and was during such time under the direction of the Federal Reserve Bank, having its headquarters in Chicago. He never asked or received a single dollar for any services rendered, but always claimed that the United States could and would win the war and that in fact it did so, and that history should so record the fact. In St. Joseph county, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Boudeman to Miss Mary J. Oentist, who was born in that county, KALAMAZOO COUNTY 239 a representative of a pioneer family of Michigan. Of the three children of this union the eldest was William A., who passed away at the age of fifteen years. The second is Donald 0., who is engaged in the general insurance business in Kalamazoo, and the last is Dallas, Jr., who is associated with his father in his various business enterprises and is one of the prominent younger members of his home city. Dallas Boudeman, Jr., enlisted as a soldier in service in the United States army in the World war period, his assignment having been to take charge of aviation mechanics in England where an important air service camp was maintained up to the signing of the armistice. Willard Monroe Bryant.-Mr. Bryant as the apostle of good roads, being field secretary of the Michigan State Good Roads Association, is widely known as "Good Roads Bryant." He was born May 17, 1863, at Leland, Michigan, the son of John A. and Louise Bryant, nee Reame. Mrs. Bryant was the daughter of Jacob Reame, among the early Dutch settlers of the Mohawk valley. William M. Bryant attended public schools in Leland and Parsons Business College in Kalamazoo. About 1889 he entered the retail shoe business in Kalamazoo, carrying along with shoes a line of travelers' goods. He continued this business until I914, when he sold out and was appointed field secretary of the Michigan State Good Roads Association. The organization had in charge the $50,ooo,000 bond issue, the objective being Io,ooo miles of paved roads in Michigan within the next few years. These road bonds were approved and disposed of and the proceeds spent in construction of our present highway system. The ancestors of Mr. Bryant came to America from England and settled in Massachusetts in 1629. The family are direct decendants of Capt. Chandler Bryant of Revolutionary fame, serving with Massachusetts troops during that war. William Cullen Bryant was a distant relative. Another Bryant was the original jeweler and finger ring manufacturer at 13 Maiden Lane, New York City. The family is one of distinction and prestige. Willard M. Bryant was married August 7, I890, to Jennie E. Ritchie, daughter of William and Margaret Ritchie, residents of Kalamazoo, both deceased. Mr. Ritchie was a contractor and built many bridges in the southern states during the Civil war. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bryant are Margaret L., wife of 0. Z. Ide, attorney of Detroit, and Willard G., a civil engineer. Mr. Bryant has been a Republican all his life but never sought office. He has been county road commissioner seven years and chairman of the board of commissioners. He attends the Presbyterian church and is a Mason. During the World war he assisted several counties in Liberty Loan drives and organized a memorial to the World war boys, the Victory Highway, which begins at Chicago. From the Indiana state line it runs through New Buffalo, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Charlotte, Lansing and Owosso, where it branches and runs to Saginaw valley and Lake Huron shore. The other branch runs to Flint and Port Huron, most of it paved. Through his personal efforts and with the aid of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Legion, there were set out I 14 black walnut trees along the Victory Highway on Arbor Day, I923, between Kalama 240 HISTORIC MICHIGAN zoo and Oshtemo. These trees were the offspring of walnut trees planted by George Washington at Mt. Vernon. Mrs. Bryant is a charter member of the Y. W. C. A., was among the organizers of the institution and gives much time and thought to it. She is conspicuous in the social and religious life of the city. Mrs. Bryant's grandfather served in the English navy. Walter P. Burdick, one of the well-to-do citizens of Kalamazoo and among the more successful men of southwestern Michigan, was born in Kalamazoo, July 5, I855. His father was Edwin Burdick, a pioneer and greatly esteemed citizen of Kalamazoo. The son received his education in the public schools of this city. He built the Harrow Spring Company, roller mills and spring works on Vine street, at a cost of $500,000. This was an incorporated concern and for thirty-five years Walter Burdick was active in the organization as president, clothing it with a policy that insured success. The company made much money and contributed very materially to the prosperity of Kalamazoo. He sold his interests and the name of the concern now is the Harrow Spring Company. Mr. Burdick gives his complete time to looking after his financial and realty interests. He is the owner of considerable real estate in Kalamazoo county and of the large block at Eleanor and Burdick streets, in the heart of Kalamazoo; of a large building at 115 East Main street, and possesses other holdings. Mr. Burdick is unmarried. The Burdick family has long been intimately identified with the progress of Kalamazoo. Giles Chittenden Burnham.-Mr. Burnham, known intimately to many Kalamazoo residents and greatly esteemed by all for his personal virtues and excellencies of mind, was born in Salem, Michigan, August 7, 1830. His father was Hiram Burnham, a pioneer of Michigan. Father and son were surveyors and went to California, where the father died on September I9, 1852, a victim of cholera. Hiram Burnham was chief surveyor on the northeast boundary of the United States under the Treaty of Ghent and later was engaged for many years in civil engineering in Michigan. His wife was Minerva Chittenden, daughter of Col. Giles Chittenden and granddaughter of Thomas Chittenden, the first governor of Vermont. She and her husband are buried in Battle Creek. Giles Chittenden Burnham returned from California and located in his native state. He was married to Mary Horton, a native of Newburgh, New York, born February 3, 1840. She came on a visit to Battle Creek, when fortune caused their paths to cross and she became acquainted with Mr. Burnham. Love soon ripened and they were married in Battle Creek and moved to Detroit, where Mr. Burnham was engaged in the express business for some years. In the sixties they located in Kalamazoo, establishing their home at Elm and Kalamazoo streets. They lived there until 1884, when Mr. Burnham erected a fine residence at 505 West South street, and the same year they moved into the new domicile. There he remained until his death, March I, I900. Memory of Mr. Burnham will never be effaced by the years. He was a pronounced lover of flowers and always took great pride in a large diversified garden. This was his great hobby. Upon locating at 505 West South street, KALAMAZOO COUNTY 241 Mr. Burnham maintained a conservatory with great pride. He was active in church and philanthropic work and was a foremost member of St. Luke's Episcopal church at Kalamazoo. Mr. and Mrs. Burnham had three children. Harry Horton Burnham was born June 27, I869, and died August 2, 1870. Annie Horton was born February 17, 1872. She was educated in private schools in Kalamazoo and Cincinnati, and devoted her life to the family. Annie Horton died December 13, I924. The third child is Mary Madge, born January 22, 1876. She was educated in the grammar and high schools of Kalamazoo and was married to Oscar Elton Jacobs. They have one child, Annie Elizabeth Jacobs, born August 20, I908. She is a junior at Western State Normal. The Burnham family came from England and its genealogy and history are traceable to the movements of William of Normandy in Io66. Mary Horton, relict of Giles Chittenden Burnham, is a daughter of Harrison Horton, the first dry goods merchant in Battle Creek. His wife was Emily Coleman. He and his wife came to Michigan from New York state. They married in Milford, New York, in 1830. Mr. Horton died in New York City in August, 1883, and the body was brought to Kalamazoo for burial. Mrs. Horton was born in Newburgh, New York, in December, 1807 and nassed from life in 1853 in New York City. John T. Burns, M.D., is a true son of Kalamazoo and one of whom the city can be justly proud. He applied himself diligently to study -not only the study of medicine, but to those branches which possess a true cultural value, rounding out his education and adding a poise and a finish that have enhanced his value not only as a member of the healing profession but as a citizen. Doctor Burns also gave the best within him to the service of his country during the World war, disregarded self-interest, and employed his ability and talent in furtherance of war aims and service. Doctor Burns was born September I6, I888, and attended the grade and high schools of Kalamazoo. He entered Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana, and in I9I3 was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Literature. He then entered the great University of Michigan, medical department, and was graduated in I9I7 with the medical degree. With the buoyancy and fervor of American youth, the young physician entered war work. He served an interneship at Providence, Rhode Island, and later, for a period of a year, was overseas, a first lieutenant in the medical corps. In June, I9I9, he received his discharge and with the same alacrity and enthusiasm that directed his patriotism, entered into the practice of his profession of medicine. On September 20, I919, he opened an office at 420 South Burdick street, in which his residence is also located. On September 15, I923, Doctor Burns was joined in the sacred bonds of wedlock to Miss Jane Donovar, of Providence. Doctor Burns is a devoted member of the Catholic church. He belongs to the council of the Knights of Columbus and to the Elks and holds membership in the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Charles S. Campbell, president of the First National Bank of Kalamazoo, can now be classed as one of the oldest bankers of southern 242 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Michigan, having begun his banking career in I889 as a clerk in a bank in Schoolcraft, Michigan, and has risen step by step to the position which he now fills through close attention to business and by pursuing a policy of liberality towards his clients which has made him many friends and admirers. Mr. Campbell is a native of Kalamazoo county, having been born on a farm in this county in 1863. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, his parents, Hugh and Mary (Gilmore) Campbell, natives of Belfast, Ireland, having emigrated to the United States in I843. They stopped a short time in New York state, but the following year, 1844, made their way westward to Michigan, coming direct to this county, where the father secured eighty acres of unimproved land. This he converted into one of the most valuable farms in the county, and on which he passed the remainder of his days, hisdeath having occurred in 1884, age sixty-four years. The mother passed to the life beyond in the year I898, age seventy-two years. To them were born six sons and five daughters. Four sons and one daughter survive. Charles S. Campbell passed his early life on his father's farm, receiving his education in the public schools of the county and high school at Schoolcraft, and taught a country school three years. He began his business career as a clerk in the bank at Schoolcraft, Michigan. In I89O he severed his connection with the Schoolcraft bank, coming to Kalamazoo as collection clerk for the Michigan National Bank and rose from that humble position to the presidency of the bank. He continued as such until its consolidation with the First National in I912. He was chosen president of the Michigan National Bank in I907, during the panic of that year, and had the distinction of being one of the youngest, if not the youngest, bank presidents in Michigan who successfully weathered those stormy days, when many of the older banks of the state were forced to close their doors. In 1912 the First National and Michigan National Banks were merged into one and Mr. Campbell was chosen its president. By this merger one of the strongest banking houses of the middle west was formed, which today has combined resources of over $8,ooo,ooo. Besides attending to the numerous duties of the bank Mr. Campbell is interested in other of Kalamazoo's industries and is at present serving as vice-president of Gilmore Bros.' Department Store, and is also one of the board of directors of the Kalamazoo Paper Company and the Vegetable Parchment Company. Mr. Campbell was united in marriage to Caroline Taylor in I904. Mrs. Campbell is a daughter of Geo. W. Taylor, a pioneer banker and merchant of this city. To them has been born one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, now attending Goucher College at Baltimore, Maryland. In politics Mr. Campbell gives his support to the Democratic party, but has never sought or filled public office. He has, however, been active in the social and civic life of the community and holds membership in the Park and Country Clubs and is at the present time serving as a member of the board of governors of both. The family holds membership in the Presbyterian church. Claude S. Carney, well-known attorney of Kalamazoo, was born on a farm in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, April 25, I875. He was born in a log house, attended grade school at Schoolcraft, was grad KALAMAZOO COUNTY 243 uated from high school and in I896 was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan. He came to Kalamazoo and entered practice and when only twenty-one years of age was made assistant prosecuting attorney under John W. Adams. Ten years later he became prosecuting attorney and made a record while in that office of which he has every reason to be proud. Mr. Carney, a Democrat, has been his party's candidate for circuit judge, and for representative in congress. In I916 he served as a member of the Industrial Accident Board of Michigan. He is a member of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association, the Michigan State Bar Association and of the American Bar Association. In I9I9 he was honored by the bar of Michigan by being chosen president of the Michigan State Bar Association, and for five years has been a member of its board of directors. He married Sara E. Westnedge, daughter of Thomas and Mary Westnedge, both deceased. Mrs. Carney is a sister of Col. Joe Westnedge, of World war fame, who died in France. A post of war veterans has been named after him. She is also a sister of Capt. Richard Westnedge, of Spanish-American war glory, and for whom a camp cf the Spanish-American war veterans was named. They are the parents of two children-Herschel W. Carney, now attending the law department of the University of Michigan, and Fletcher S. Carney, attending high school. The father of Mr. Carney was Byron S. Carney, born in Kalamazoo county, a prosperous farmer. The mother was Alice J. Fletcher, born in the same county. Both are dead. Silas Carney, grandfather, born in Lockport, New York, farmer, became an early settler of Kalamazoo county and the great-grandfather was John Carney, native of New York state, who lived and died in Kalamazoo county. The maternal grandfather was Zachariah Fletcher, born in 1828 in Hampshire county, Virginia, now West Virginia, and who was four years old when brought to Kalamazoo county. He, too, was a tiller of the soil. His wife was Malansy Monroe, daughter of Capt. Moses Monroe, of Van Buren county. He was a cousin of President James Monroe and his wife was a cousin of Judge Ben Wade, of Ohio. Mr. Carney's great-grandfather was George Fletcher, born in Pennsylvania in 1783, son of Joseph Fletcher, whose father was Joseph Fletcher. The Fletchers are of Scotch and Irish descent. George Fletcher died in Kalamazoo county. Longevity was a characteristic of the family. The Fletchers contributed immeasurably to the advancement of this section of the state. Charles H. Caryl.-Mr. Caryl is a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, the son of John C. and Abigail (Turner) Caryl. The family genealogy throws light on a brilliant ancestry and dates back in this country to the year I620, with the advent of the Mayflower. His great-grandfather, Dr. John Caryl, was a physician and surgeon in the Revolutionary war. C. H. Caryl's father, John C., served in the Civil war, in the Sixteenth New Hampshire volunteers, and the First New Hampshire cavalry, serving through the entire war, retiring with the rank of lieutenant. John C. Caryl was a confectioner, and at the close of the war in 1865 came to Kalamazoo with his family, where he organized a wholesale candy factory. Of the five children born to Mr. 244 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and Mrs. John C. Caryl, three are living-Lizzie J., Wm. T., of Chicago, and Charles H. The latter was educated in Concord New Hampshire, clerked in his father's store, sold typewriters throughout southern Michigan, and in 1879 established himself it the book and stationery business in Kalamazoo, later adding typewriters and typewriter supplies. His sister, Miss Lizzie J. Caryl, has been associated in the business with him since 1884. She was the first woman bookkeeper in the village of Kalamazoo, and was employed by the dry goods firm of Wm. B. Clark & Son. She is a communicant of St. Luke's church. Mr. Caryl, in 1887, was married to Ency Jane Coleman, the great-granddaughter of James Coleman, one of the earliest pioneers of Kalamazoo, who settled here in 1832. Mrs. Caryl's family were among the charter members of the First Methodist Episcopal church, of the village of Kalamazoo. Mr. and Mrs. Caryl are the parents of two sons-Ralph Emerson Caryl and Coleman Reeves Caryl. Ralph was graduated from Michigan Agricultural College in 1914, and in I92I received his Master's Degree from the same college as a result of research work which he is still engaged in with the Federal Bureau of Plant Industry in Riverside, California. Coleman was graduated from Kalamazoo College in I914, and in I916 received his Master's Degree at Yale, and is a professional chemist, employed by the American Cyanamid Company, of New York City. Both sons served in the World war. Charles H. Caryl is a member of the First Methodist church, a member of the Kalamazoo Advertising Club and a staunch Republican. Fred L. Chappell, widely known attorney, who is specialist in patent law, was born in Ottawa county, Michigan, March 20, 1865. He is a son of John W. and Augusta O. Chappell, nee Gill, both natives of the Empire state. Fred L. Chappell received his education at the Michigan Agricultural College, class of 1885, and in the University of Michigan, being graduated with the law class of I892, and at once he began practice. He came to Kalamazoo, practiced alone for a while and in I9oo was joined by Otis A. Earl. Mr. Chappell politically is independent. In February, I893, he was married to Vene Earl, of Cooper township, Kalamazoo county, daughter of Stephen and Nancy Delano Earl. Her father was a country store keeper, a Republican and active in politics. He died in I893. Mr. and Mrs. Chappell have two children, Fred L., Jr., and Ralph L., both in Cornell University. Thaddeus S. Clapp was born and reared in Kalamazoo county, is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the county, and here he has found in the passing years ample opportunity for large and worthy achievement, in connection with which he has stood forward as one of the loyal, appreciative and liberal citizens of the county, in the development and progress of which he has well played his part. Now venerable in years, Mr. Clapp still retains firm grasp upon his varied business and capitalistic interests, and he is vice-president of the Galesburg State Bank, in the village of Galesburg, this being one of the substantial and well-ordered financial institutions of Kalamazoo county. Mr. Clapp was born on the pioneer homestead farm of his parents, in Comstock township, three and one-half miles southwest of Galesburg, and the date of his nativity was January 13, I846. He KALAMAZOO COUNTY 245 is a representative of a family that was founded it America in the early colonial period of our national history. His ancestor, Capt. Roger Clapp, arrived at Nantucket, Massachusetts, May 30, I630, he having left his old home at Selcombe, Devonshire, England, and voyaged to America on the ship "Mary and John." He became one of the first settlers of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was a man of sterling attributes and great force af character, and became much of a leader in community affairs. He served as captain of the local militia and represented his town in the general court. In I665 Captain Clapp was appointed commander of the "Castle," in Boston harbor, this having been the chief fortress of the colony and province. The Clapp family in successive generations has played a worthy part in the annals of American development and progress. He whose name introduces this review is a son of Edwin and Mary (Stedman) Clapp, both of whom were born in the state of New York. Edwin Clapp came to Michigan Territory in 1831, about six years prior to the admission of the state to the Union, and after looking about through various sections of the territory, as preliminary to making selection of permanent location, he finally established his home in Kalamazoo county. He obtained 220 acres of government land, in Charleston township, where he instituted the reclamation of a farm from the forest wilds. Ten years later he sold the property and moved to Comstock township, where he became the second permanent settler on the south side of the Kalamazoo river between Goguac prairie, in Calhoun county, and the little village of Kalamazoo, which then nestled in a'n attractive oak opening. An earnest, upright and industrious man, Mr. Clapp wielded large and benignant influence in the pioneer community, retained the high regard of all who knew him, and achieved substantial and worthy success, not only in connection with farm industry but also in other lines of business enterprise. It is gratifying to note that the land which he acquired in Comstock township still remains in the possession of the family, by which the original government deed is preserved, as there have been no transfers. Edwin Clapp and his wife attained to advanced age and were honored pioneer citizens of Kalamazoo county at the time of their death. Thaddeus S. Clapp was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm, and in the meanwhile profited by the advantages of the rural schools of the locality and period. He advanced his education by a course in the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, and thereafter he concentrated his activities in progressive farm enterprise on the old homestead and other land that he had acquired in the county. This basic industry engrossed his attention until I894, when he became associated with Sidney Dunn in founding at Galesburg the private bank of Dunn & Clapp. He became actively identified with the executive management of the institution, and has continued as its vice-president since its reorganization and incorporation under the title of the Galesburg State Bank. Careful and conservative policies of a liberal order, effective service to the community, and secure financial basis of operations have made this one of the solid and influential banking institutions of Kalamazoo county, and in gaining this prestige 246 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Mr. Clapp has played a large part. He has been loyal and liberal in his civic attitude, is a Republican in politics, and he has been called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust, including that of president of the council or board of trustees of his home village of Galesburg. The year 1874 marked the marriage of Mr. Clapp to Miss Mary Sherwood, who was born in Maryland, and who accompamnied her parents on their removal to Michigan, and Kalamazoo county, in I860, she having passed the remainder of her life in this county and having been summoned to eternal rest at the age of sixtyfive years. Mrs. Clapp is survived by three sons: Edwin S. resides in Vancouver, Washington, is married and has two children; Carl C., who is cashier of the Galesburg State Bank, married Miss Minnie F. Spier, and they have one son. Paul, youngest of the sons, resides at Galesburg and has the active supervision of the old Clapp homestead farm, southwest of this village. Paul Clapp wedded Miss Vurith L. Smith, who is a descendant of William Judson and H. Dale Adams, both of whom were honored pioneer settlers in Kalamazoo county. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Clapp have three children, Charlotte, Eleanor and Mary Louise. Thaddeus S. Clapp has witnessed and taken part in most of the development of Kalamazoo county, and as the shadows of life lengthen from the golden west he finds that his lines are cast in pleasant places, among scenes to him long familiar, and among friends that are tried and true. Ward E. Collins, M.D., specializes in pediatrics, to which he has given much time and study. His offices are at 908 Hanselman Building, and his practice is derived from a large territory. Doctor Collins shares great interest in the social, fraternal and professional life of the city. He is a member of the Elks, the Phi Rho Sigma, a medical fraternity; of the Clinical Club, of the Presbyterian church and of the Kiwanis Club. On November 28, I906, he was married to Miss Ethel Lyle, of Paw Paw, Michigan. There is one child of the union, Marshall Collins, born June 4, I9Io, a freshman in Junior High School of Kalamazoo. The Doctor is also a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, of the Tri-State Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, of the Central States Pediatric Society and of the American Medical Association. Doctor Collins was born on a farm in VanBuren county, Michigan, September 27, I883. He received his primary education in the schools of VanBuren county and in I9go was graduated from the Decatur High School. In I906 he was graduated from the University of Michigan with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and in I908, from the same institution, received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His medical education, therefore, is firmly supported by a liberal classical education. After graduation, Doctor Collins served an interneship at Henrotin Memorial Hospital, Chicago, and in December, 1908, located in Kalamazoo. In 1921 the Doctor pursued a special course in Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and for two years has limited his practice to diseases of children. In I923 he pursued a similar work at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. His office is at 908 Hanselman Building, residence at 14I5 Henderson Drive. In July, I917, Doctor Collins was n i^ i ll 1r~ 9 ~l~p~~zec~ KALAMAZOO COUNTY 247 commissioned a first lieutenant in the medical corps for service in the World war. In August he went into active service and in October of the same year was sent overseas. He was promoted to a captaincy and returned home in April, 1919. For about a year he served in the Medical Reserve Corps, having been promoted to the rank of major, but felt obliged to resign because of the special attention his practice was demanding of him. Doctor Collins is held in the highest esteem in and out of the medical profession. Frank E. McAllister, president and general manager of the Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company, has been connected with this corporation since February 7, IQIO, the executive officers at that time having been as follows: Frank H. Milham, president; C. A. Peck, vicepresident; John McKinnon. secretary and general manager; and A. B. Connable, treasurer. Mr. McAllister has been a director of the company since January, I914; May I, I918, he was made general sales manager; in January, I92I, he became vice-president, besides retaining the position of general sales manager; and in the spring of 1924, as elsewhere recorded, he assumed the office of president and general manager, an advancement worthily won by constructive service of most loyal and effective order. Special interest attaches to the career of Mr. McAllister on the score of his being a native son of Kalamazoo. He was born in this city on the 30th of August, I888, and is a son of Frederick and Margaret (Owens) McAllister, his grandfathers, Hathaway McAllister and Thomas Owens, having been numbered among the sterling pioneers and substantial farmers of Kalamazoo county. Mr. McAllister has membership in various fraternal and social organizations, and is known as one of the thoroughly representative figures in the industrial and commercial, as well as civic, circles of his native city. May 15, 1912, recorded the marriage of Mr. McAllister to Miss Irene Baumann, daughter of Mrs. Anne Baumann, of Kalamazoo, and the three living children of this union are Frances, Robert and Helen. One daughter, Florence Jean, died in September, 1920, aged seven years. LeRoy Harry Combs.-Mr. Combs, a self-made man in the fullest acceptation of the term, is secretary and treasurer of the Artcraft Engraving Company, Chase Building. The success of the company, its forward-looking policy, is attributable in no small measure to the genius of Mr. Combs. Mr. Combs was born in Arizona in I88o. His early education was rather limited because of the absence of public schools, the only educational enterprises being government schools for Indian tribes. A gentleman of Indiana served as a mentor and aided Mr. Combs greatly by private instruction. Later Mr. Combs went into Indian Territory and for some time was engaged in mining. In I9II he came to Kalamazoo and became associated with Fred Exner, who was then owner of the Crescent Engraving Company. Mr. Combs remained with the Crescent company until I918, when he entered business on his own account under the name of the Michigan Commercial Art Company. In 1022 the Artcraft Engraving Company was incorporated and Mr. Combs became secretary and treasurer. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Encampment of Patriarchs / 248 HISTORIC MICHI/AN Militant, and of the Kalamazoo Typothetae. The Artcraft Engraving Company is affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce and the American Photo-Engravers' Association. MI. Combs was united in marriage to Mrs. J. E. Med(Messenger) There are no children. Mr. Combs is an active supporter of civic and social welfare enterprises and occupies a secure place in the business life of Kalamazoo. Jacob A. Dalm —A hard student, early accustomed to methodical work, and dominated by the ambition to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Jacob A. Dalm has achieved success. He is widely known as a lawyer who actually knows the law and his facility for handling cases in court as well as in the confines of his office is equally divided. Mr. Dalm is a member of the widely known firm of Jackson, Fitzgerald & Dalm. He was born in Holland on January 26, I892, and received his early education in his native land. In 1907 Mr. Dalm came to Kalamazoo and attended the public schools and the Western State Normal and for two years attended Kalamazoo College, studying with diligence and fervor. He matriculated at the University of Michigan and was graduated in the law department in 1917 and at once entered the law office of Jackson & Fitzgerald. On January I, 1919, he was admitted to membership in the firm, a recognition of his ingenite ability. In the strictest sense of the term, Mr. Dalm is a self-made man. His legal qualifications are of the highest order, temperamentally and through study. On October 5, 1917, he was united in marriage to Miss Alice Kreling, of Kalamazoo. There are two children in the Dalm family, Ruth Marion, born February 5, I919, and Jacob A., Jr., born December 3, 1923. Mr. Dalm is greatly esteemed in the community. He is a member of the Kalamazoo Bar Association and the Michigan State Bar Association, of the Knights of Pythias and of the H. A. A. S., of Kalamazoo. The firm of Jackson, Fitzgerald & Dalm is located on the eighth floor of the Hanselman Building. George C. Davis.-Mr. Davis, who is managing a large and important estate of the Davis family, is of Welsh ancestry. Ten generations of Davis forebears have been in the United States. They were characterized by thrift and excellence of personal traits. George C. Davis is a son of Kalamazoo and the city is happy to claim him as such. He was born October 15, 1876. His father was George B. Davis and the mother was Annette Davis, nee Lewis. George B. Davis was born in Kalamazoo township February 21, I838, his wife in Barry county, Michigan, August 5, 1851. George B. Davis was a son of Lewis R. Davis, native of New Jersey, who in I835 came to Kalamazoo. A tailor by trade. he bought a farm part of which is now in the city of Kalamazoo. Mr. Davis died in I891. His wife was Nancy Simmons, native of Pennsylvania. Lewis R. Davis and Nancy Simmons were married in Kalamazoo in 1837 and she died at the age of ninety-one years. George B. Davis received his early education in the public schools, at Gregory's Business College and at the Kalamazoo Bantist College. He engaged in the lumber business, was very successful and accumulated a fortune. He was said to have been the first in this section of the country to export lumber. Mr. Davis was a Democrat, in this respect KALAMAZOO COUNTY 8249 following his father, and a strong character. The wife of George B. Davis was a daughter of Hiram and Candis Lewis, pioneers of Barry county. Mr. Lewis sold his farm in Barry county and moved to Kalamazoo, where Mrs. Lewis died. He died on his large farm in Kalamazoo township. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis R. Davis were George B., Isabella A. and Nellie. George B. Davis died in 1901. His children included George C. Davis and a daughter, Annette. who is Annette Davis Whiting. Mrs. Whiting and her mother reside in Los Angeles, California. George C. Davis was educated in the grade and high schools of Kalamazoo and at Staunton Military Academy, Virginia. Later he was employed in Shakespeare's private bank in Kalamazoo and for a number of years was with the Brunswick-Balke Company, Chicago. Upon the death of his estimable father he returned to Kalamazoo and since has been the manager of the large estate. Mr. Davis is a member of the Park Club and of the Kalamazoo Country Club. In 1899 he was married to Miss Linnie Shively, of Chicago. There is one son, George B., born April 13, 1907, a student of Central High School and Worcester Academy, Worcester, Massachusetts. The mother of George C. Davis and sister, Annette, are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mr. Davis has his office at 502 Kalamazoo National Bank Building. The Davis home is at 705 South Park street. Peter DeBoer.-Heading the DeBoer & Sons Lumber Company, one of the most influential in Kalamazoo, selling direct to home builders and doing business on the principle of personal service, is Peter DeBoer. Mr. DeBoer is a Hollander, born in The Netherlands, of 'native Hollanders. Mr. DeBoer was born in 1872. His father, John D. DeBoer, was born in I866 and died in 1913 in Kalamazoo. The mother was born in I866 and is also deceased. Six children were born in the DeBoer family, Fred, Amos, Gerty, Anna, Isaac, who is deceased, and Peter. In I893 Peter DeBoer was united in marriage to Anna Bos and four children were the issue of the union. They are: Anna, born in 1894; John, born in 1897; Alfred, born in I899, and Henrietta. born in 1906. Peter came to the United States in 1889, locating in Kalamazoo. He worked until I905 for Fred Wicks in the spring and axle plant and for three years for the Godfrey Lumber Company. Later he entered the employ of the Gill Lumber Company and was foreman, four years later becoming foreman and yard manager for the Celery City Lumber Company. About eight years ago he established the South Side Lumber Company and managed it until 1924. He founded the DeBoer & Sons Lumber Company at Alcott and the New York Central Railroad. The company is preparing to build a structure 60 by 300 feet. another 60 by Ioo feet and several smaller structures. Mr. DeBoer is a member of the Michigan State Retail Lumber Association, of the Kalamazoo Credit Bureau and of the Chamber of Commerce. He is conceded to be a business man of progressive ideas and firm in his adherence to the highest standards of business practice. John den Bleyker, eldest son of Paulus den Bleyker, widely known as the "Dutch Governor," came with his father from Holland in 250 HISTORIC MICHIGAN I85o. His education was begun in the native land, attending boarding school for two years before coming to this country, and continued in Michigan. He attended the old Baptist College in Kalamazoo and began his business career clerking in the store of William B. Clark, with whom he remained two years, his father paying the firm so as to give his son a chance to become conversant with business life. Two years were given as a deputy county register of deeds and at the close of his term he entered the real estate business with his father. Mr. den Bleyker engaged in farming also, and was the possessor of one of the most beautiful and productive farms in this section of the country. He was born on the island of Texel, Holland, September 5, 1839. On October 25, 1864, Mr. den Bleyker was united in marriage to Miss Amna Balch, daughter of Nathaniel A. Balch. To them were born nine children. Mr. den Bleyker died March 29, 19I9. His widow resides in the very home she entered as a bride in December, 1864. Mr. den Bleyker shared his worthy father's humanitarian impulses, generous nature and zeal for the public welfare. Politically he was a Democrat and by religious convictions was a Presbyterian. For sixteen years he was a notary public. Mrs. den Bleyker recalls with happy memory many events and incidents associated with the growth and development of Kalamazoo. She nurtures a pardonable pride in the splendid record, unstained and untarnished, of her esteemed husband. It is no exaggeration to say that the upbuilding of Kalamazoo and the contributions of the den Bleykers and the Balches are indissolubly linked. Harry den Bleyker wos one of the progressive real estate men, opening up many of the outlying additions, principally the boulevard systems west of the city, among which is the noted Parkwood Plat. His interest is mostly all given to beautifying Kalamazoo. In I898 he was a member of the party which went in the rush to Alaska for gold. Later he went to Springfield, Massachusetts, to open a plat of great importance to the city. It was on the return trip home that he and his wife met with an auto accident and both were killed, leaving a son, Clark. Paulus den Bleyker, whose name forms an interesting feature in the history of Kalamazoo county and whose life story is one of great charm because of its purity and rugged character, was born in the province of South Holland, December 23, I804. When nine years old he was orphaned, but was adopted into a home characterized by high principles and religious zeal. Having acquired a common school education, combined with ingenite power of observation, the lad gained a wide knowledge. At nineteen, in accordance with Dutch law, den Bleyker entered the army, serving nine years. He was in active service during the revolution involving Belgium and Holland, when the former became a secedent. Soldierly bearing, mathematical precision and correct demeanor enabled him to rise to the office of sergeant, quartermaster and major, the ranking equivalent of a colonelcy in the United States army. Upon the close of army life, Mr. den Bleyker went to the north of Holland and married. He carried on agriculture and with two associates engaged in a tremendous under KALAMAZOO COUNTY 251 taking, the reclamation of land from Zuyder Zee and the dykeing of the island of Texel. This work of engineering stands the test of time and is known today as the "Eendractel Polder." Mr. den Bleyker died in Kalamazoo on April 8, 1872, leaving three children: John den Bleyker, of Kalamazoo; Dimmen, of Tacoma, Washington, and Miss Martha. He was, strictly speaking, a thorough Christian gentleman, conscientious, scrupulous in every relationship and devoted to the Dutch Reformed Church. His charity was widely known but never proclaimed by himself, modesty forbidding. The right hand never was conscious of what the left did. The subject of this sketch was at the head of a company of Hollanders who came to Kalamazoo in October, I850. In I85I he began platting out the street of Burdick and later extended it one mile in length. One day with the aid of an interpreter, Mr. den Bleyker appeared at the home of Epaphroditus Ransom, who had just returned to his beautiful home in Kalamazoo after serving as governor of the state. This alien, who had not long been out of a detention hospital where he had been confined without just cause, asked, modestly, the price of the governor's farm. When informed that it was $I2,000, gold to that amount was turned over and the Ransom estate became den Bleyker's addition to the village of Kalamazoo. Paulus den Bleyker became known immediately as the "Dutch Governor." John P. DeRight.-Inheriting a predilection for construction work and faithfully carrying forward a business enterprise established by his father, John P. DeRight, in conjunction with his brother Stephen, has made a huge success of the DeRight Brothers Construction Company. It is an important establishment of Kalamazoo. John P. DeRight was born in Kalamazoo July 27, 1883, the son of... John and Gertrude DeRight, nee VanDerplas. Both parents were born in Holland, were married in the old country and came to Kalamazoo Tfi(ji. The senior DeRight died in I908 at the age of ffifxtsi,.. / /. years. His wife passed away in f9I aTHege-o sixty-three. John DeRight was a contractor and builder and for some time was located in Chicago Junction, Ohio. John P. was given his schooling in Chicago Junction. Upon the death of his father, Mr. DeRight took over the business and with him as a full partner is his brother Stephen. The latter received his education in the public schools of Chicago Junction and in 1922 married Winnifred Merdink, of Kalamazoo. They have one child, Stephen, Jr. John P. DeRight was married in 1912 to Matilda Phillips, of Kalamazoo. Two children have been born, Phillip, September 7, I913, and Helen, born January II, I9I5. The DeRight home is at 719 Stockbridge avenue. John DeRight is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Exchange Club, of the Masonic order and of the Elks. Stephen also is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. The Messrs. DeRight are respected as business men and as citizens. Charles L. Dibble is an attorney with offices in the Press Building, Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was born in Marshall, Calhoun county, Michigan, November 30, x88I. His father, William J. Dibble, was 252 HISTORIC MICHIGAN born in Calhoun county and died July I8, I923. He was president of the Commercial Savings Bank, of Marshall. The grandfather was Charles P. Dibble, born in Skeneatles, New York, who came to Michigan with his parents in 1836. Philo Dibble was the father before him. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Mollie A. Downs before marriage. She was born in what is now West Virginia and died in Marshall, January 24, I924. The boyhood of Charles Dibble was spent in Marshall and he attended school there. In I906 he was graduated from Cornell University and in I9o8 from the law department of the University of Michigan. Since leaving Ann Arbor, he has successfully practiced law in Kalamazoo. For three years he was assistant prosecuting attorney and served as district court commissioner. He is a Republican in political faith. Mr. Dibble is the author of a book dealing with the philosophy of religion, entitled "A Grammar of Belief." The author received the degree of Doctor of Canon Law from Nashotah Theological Seminary, Nashotah, Wisconsin. He is the chancellor and a member of the Provincial Council of the Province of the Mid-west of the the Episcopal Church. Mr. Dibble was united in marriage to Louise P. Greene, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. They have three children, Charles R., William J. and Robert E. Mr. Dibble is vice-president of the bank with which his father was connected in Marshall. In I918 he was captain of Company 146 of the state troops recruited to take the place of the state militiamen who had gone to war. He entered officers' training camp at Camp Gordon, Atlanta, remaining there five months, and receiving a commission as second lieutenant in the United States army. Mr. Dibble is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and of the Sigma Chi fraternities. Jack Dold.-Mr. Dold is a conspicuous success as a business man, being the owner of two important retail drug stores in Kalamazoo, but aside from his business success he is greatly esteemed by reason of his splendid, clean-cut personal qualities. Mr. Dold is a Buckeye by birth, born in Newark, Ohio, May 8, I888. He received his early training in the public schools of Newark, entered the University of Michigan and was graduated from the department of pharmacy in I908. Mr. Dold came to Kalamazoo and for several years was employed in various drug stores, but in I912 decided to embark in business for himself. He has carved a policy of service and subscribed to a high standard of professional ethics that have insured his success. Mr. Dold owns a store at the corner of Main and Rose streets and one at Cedar and Davis streets. On October 28, I920, Mr. Dold was married to Miss Irene King, of Kalamazoo. There are three children, important links in the family chain, Margaret Mary, Elizabeth Ann and Irene Frances. Mr. Dold is helpful in the promotion and support of all matters affecting the general interests of the community. He is a communicant of the Catholic church and a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Elks. Ellis H. Drake, superintendent of schools of Kalamazoo for nine years, is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. When a young KALAMAZOO COUNTY 253 lad he moved to Newton county, Indiana, with his parents, Theodore and Sarah (Williams) Drake. The parents are dead. Theodore Drake was also born in Cincinnati, as was his wife. He owned a farm and there Ellis was reared. He attended grade and high school at Kentland, the state normal school at Terre Haute and Indiana University, which awarded him the Bachelor of Arts degree. His postgraduate work was at the University of Chicago and Columbia University. Mr. Drake taught school even before he was old enough to possess a state license. He became superintendent of schools in Kentland, Attica and Bedford, and for nine years was located in Elkhart, and during the past nine years has been head of the Kalamazoo school system. Before going to Elkhart he served three terms as assistant superintendent at Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Drake was united in marriage to Lena C. Dinehart, born in Elkhart, and the issue of the union is one daughter, Leah, wife of D. C. Starr, of Piqua, Ohio. Mr. Drake is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, belonging to the consistory at Grand Rapids. He is a Rotarian and member of the Outlook Club. His political affiliation is with the Republican party. The name Drake is of English origin and genealogists have definitely ascertained that the family is descended from a brother of Sir Francis Drake. Etymologically, the patronym is presumably derived from the word "draggon," a commander or leader of a company of soldiers in England known as dragoons. From an interesting book, "Significance of Names," the following excerpt is taken as having a bearing on the family name: "Dragoons are so called because they were originally furnished with dragons, special short muskets, which, according to the popular notion, spouted fire like the fabulous monsters of the same name, wherefore a representation of a dragon always appeared on the muzzles of these weapons." And so, figuratively and literally, Ellis H. Drake is the commander of a legion of loyal teachers who are sacrificing personal ambition and social pleasure and more lucrative positions in other fields to mold the minds and mental habits and morals of the children of Kalamazoo. Joseph S. W. DuMouchel.-Of an old French family who came from France to America in I640, the first kin born in America was Bernard DuMouchel, son of Pierre. He made his advent in Canada in 1652. Joseph S. W. DuMouchel, D.C., Ph.C., was born in Windsor, Canada, on September 29, I880. In I890 he came to Michigan, undertook a thorough course in English and literature, history and the general branches and became completely Anglicized, so far as education was concerned. He then returned to Canada to complete his French education, returning to Michigan when his education was completed. His early training was entirely in French and was obtained in Canada. The subject of this sketch also took a commercial course in Big Rapids, Michigan, and later entered the internationally famed Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, from which he was graduated on March 18, 1922, as Doctor of Chiropractic and Philosopher of Chiropractic. He came to Kalamazoo to engage in practice of the profession he mastered, and has achieved noteworthy 254 HISTORIC MICHIGAN success. His office is at 141 South Burdick street, suite o18-Io9-11o. Dr. J. S. W. has become one of the best-known citizens of Kalamazoo, as an exponent of the technique of Chiropractic. Doctor DuMouchel, who is a devout member of the Catholic church, holds membership in the Kalamazoo, Michigan State and Universal Chiropractic Associations. In 1904 he was united in marriage to Miss Edna Smith and seven children were born to the couple: Reno died at the age of twelve years. Lance, born in August, 19o6, is a student at Gibbons Hall High School. Leone, born in September, 1907, died at the age of ten years. Leah, born I915, died I9I5. Hermas was born March 7, 1916; Orma, born April 21, I917, and Francis, born December 23, I921. Otis A. Earl.-Mr. Earl is a patent attorney and member of the firm of Chappell & Earl. He was born in Cooper township, Kalamazoo county, July 10, 1872, the son of Sanford D. and Elizabeth J. Earl, nee Layton. They were Kalamazoo county pioneers, coming to Michigan from New York state. The senior Earl was a builder and erected many dwellings and other structures, among which is the Congregational church at Cooper. He was a Republican and served as township treasurer and held other offices. Mr. Earl died in December, 1873, and his wife died in March, I920. Otis A. Earl attended the Plainwell High School, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1897 and soon after became associated with his present partner, Fred L. Chappell. Mr. Earl was married in 1902 to Lora M. McAllister, daughter of Giles and Mattie (Ellis) McAllister. At that time, Mrs. McAllister was dead while Mr. McAllister was living in Denver. There is one child in the Earl home, Virginia E., now a student at the University of Michigan. Mr. Earl has a brother, Frank J., and a sister, Mrs. C. A. Walker, residing in Cooper township. Mr. Earl is a past master of Blue Lodge No. 87 of the Masonic fraternity, is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Shrine. He also belongs to the Elks, Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce. He is president of the Board of Education, of which he has been a member since 1920. Dan H. Eaton, M.D., is one of Kalamazoo's foremost men of medicine and citizens. Intensely devoted to following his profession, and enjoying a lucrative practice, Doctor Eaton is also glad to share his time and his talents with others in the furtherance of the industrial, moral and civic well-being of the community of which he has been a valued member for many years. The Doctor is conspicuous, also, in fraternal life and proudly bears the insignia of Rotary. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner and a member of the Elks. Doctor Eaton is pension examiner for the government and is on the staffs of the Borges and Bronson hospitals. During the World War he cast self-interest aside and enlisted in the cause of the republic. This meant a substantial sacrifice because for two years he was in the service. He enlisted in the medical corps in 1917, was made a first lieutenant and promoted to major. Seven months were spent overseas. Doctor Eaton was born in St. Johns, Michigan ..........~; d p-uV KALAMAZOO COUNTY 255 June 5, 1879, and received his education at Harbor Springs High |School, at Ferris Institute in Big Rapids, and at the University of Michigan, being graduated from the medical department of the latter in 1905. He entered practice in Kalamazoo and has been so engaged continuously with the exception of the two years in military service. Doctor Eaton specializes in industrial surgery. He is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In June, 1916, he was married to Miss Frances Dewey. There are two children, Dan H. Eaton, aged five, and Mary Ann Eaton, aged two. Caroline Hubbard Kleinstuck.-Mrs. Caroline Hubbard Kleinstuck, the widow of Carl G. Kleinstuck, 1925 Oakland drive, Kalamazoo, Michigan, was born in Kalamazoo in I855, a daughter of one of the early settlers, Silas Hubbard. Her early education was received in the city of her birth and Miss Hubbard was one of the first girls to enter the University of Michigan. She matriculated in 1871 and was graduated in 1875 and in 1876 with the Master's degree. Some time was spent in study and travel and on May 3, 1883, Miss Hubbard was united in marriage to Carl G. Kleinstuck. Mrs. Kleinstuck has four children: Frieda married Carl Blankenburg, judge of municipal court; they have five children. Carl Hubbard Kleinstuck, attorney, married Mary Broughton, of Dayton, Washington, and is the father of one child. Pauline is the wife of Otto R. Ihling, president of the Ihling Brothers-Everard Company, Kalamazoo. They have one daughter. The fourth child is Irene. Mrs. Kleinstuck has been active in Kalamazoo civic, club and church life. She has been the regent of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was president of the Civic League, which had charge of all relief work, and chairman of home service efforts during the World War for the Red Cross. Mrs. Kleinstuck was an ardent worker in the cause of suffrage and is now the vice-president of the Kalamazoo County League of Women Voters. She is a member and tireless worker of the People's church, which her father helped organize. Carl G. Kleinstuck was a native of Saxony, received his education in Germany and passed the officers' examination. In I880 he came to the United States, locating in Kalamazoo. The use of peat for fuel claimed much of his attention in Germany and Mr. Kleinstuck was impressed with the abundance of such material in this section of the country. He ascertained that the land devoted to celery culture was peat bogs and that the peat was of superior quality. He became interested in the manufacture of peat bricks for fuel and was the first to adapt it to domestic use in Michigan. In 1903 he built a factory at Gun Marsh, Allegan county. In 1901 Mr. Kleinstuck had visited the peat using countries of the old world and made a thorough study of the subject. Mr. Kleinstuck was a director of the Kalamazoo Paper Company and was interested in the Comstock Manufacturing Company and other concerns. He was president of the National Peat Association. Incidentally, Mr. Kleinstuck was the first to grow alfalfa in Michigan. A thorough-going and devoted stu 256 HISTORIC MICHIGAN dent of nature, Mr. Kleinstuck was impressed with the fact that Americans knew little of botany and natural history. He died in December, 1916. In 1922 a tract of fifty-two acres was given by Mrs. Kleinstuck to the State Board of Education for the use of botany and biology students of the State Normal, Kalamazoo College and High School in memory of Mr. Kleinstuck, who was a great student and lover of nature. Silas Hubbard, father of Mrs. Kleinstuck, was born in Groton, Tompkins county, New York, in 1812, and at the age of twenty-four, in I836, came to Michigan. A hardy frontiersman, who ventured into the wilds of Michigan, he first went to Washtenaw county, where he stayed two years, coming to Kalamazoo in 1838. Kalamazoo then was a hamlet, in the midst of a section abounding in Indians. He taught school and established a business, buying and selling real estate, which was continued until I870. Through his efforts the Kalamazoo Paper Company was organized in I868, and from then until his death, in I894, he was connected with the company. He became an extensive property owner, owning farms and houses and lots in Kalamazoo, and was the holder of a large block of stock in the paper mill at Otsego. In October, 1854, Mr. Hubbard was united in marriage to Mary Loomis, of Hudson, Michigan. To them were born three children, of whom Mrs. Kleinstuck is the only one living. Conspicuous in the political and civic life of the community and the state, Mr. Hubbard assisted in the founding of the Republican party "under the oaks" at Jackson in 1854, and was one of the founders of the People's church at Kalamazoo. He was a powerful factor in the upbuilding of Kalamazoo. He died in 1894. The mother passed to the life beyond in I899. William L. Fitzgerald is a member of the law firm of Jackson, Fitzgerald & Dalm, one of the best known in Kalamazoo and this section of Michigan. Mr. Fitzgerald was born in Arlington township, VanBuren county, Michigan, August 30, i881, and was graduated from high school at Paw Paw in I9go. Four years later he was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan and since leaving school has practiced his profession with success. He practiced alone for a short time, but in I907 entered into partnership with H. Clair Jackson under the name of Jackson & Fitzgerald. The firm is now Jackson, Fitzgerald & Dalm. From I907 to 19I0 Mr. Fitzgerald.was the city attorney of Kalamazoo. He showed great capability in administering the office, which is one of great importance, generally overlooked by the masses. As a matter of fact the city attorney must pass upon the legality of all acts of municipal legislation, the validity of bond issues and other transactions, and has a multiplicity of 6ther duties that establish the fact that he is the watchdog of the city's interests. Mr. Fitzgerald, a Democrat in inclination, was a member of the city charter revision committee and in 1913-14 was a member of the state legislature. He is a member of the Elks and Knights of Columbus and a communicant, of course, of the Catholic church. On June i8, 1913, at Berkeley, California, Mr. Fitzgerald was joined at the altar by Miss Agnes N. Nolan, who KALAMAZOO COUNTY 257 then became his bride. Four children have come to deepen and enrich the domestic life and strengthen the home ties of the Fitzgeralds: Mary Catherine, born May 3, I916; Michael, whose advent was on August 7, 1918; William Nolan, born July I6, I920; and Elizabeth Ann, November 26, 1922. Helen Mar Fox.-Mrs. Fox, nee Caryl, is one of the oldest residents, if not the oldest resident, of Kalamazoo county, having lived in this county eighty-five years. She has maintained her present domicile since September 2, I866. Mrs. Fox is quite active and mentally exceptionally alert for one of her age and is a woman of great intellectual perception and grace. Her quaint choice of words in conversation makes her presence a delight to her friends. She is the possessor of a Simon Willard clock more than I50 years old and which is running, keeping accurate time. Simon Willard, the clock maker, was her great-uncle. Mrs. Fox was born October 4, I829, in Barnard, Windsor county, Vermont, the daughter of Willard and Patty Caryl, nee Browning. The father came to Kalamazoo county about 1836, induced by the Messrs. Gilkey. He sought to operate a hotel, had John Gilkey, in 1836, constructing a large house for that purpose, but the contractor became so engrossed in farming that the structure -was not completed for eleven years and was never used for the purpose for which it was intended. The mother of Mrs. Fox came with three children to Kalamazoo county in 1839. Mr.Caryl was justice of the peace, and held other offices. He died in I86I, his wife in I868. The daughter, subject of this sketch, was a teacher at Richland and Augusta before she was eighteen years old. On May 8, 1848, she was married in Ogdensburg, New York, to Benjamin B. Fox. She returned to Yorkville, where the husband had been a flour miller. Enough money to buy a farm had been accumulated. This farm was north of the village, forming part of the present summer resort. Mr. Fox operated this farm until his death, April Io, 19oI. Mr. Fox had come to Kalamazoo county April I, I837. The flour mill in which he worked was built in 1832 by Tillotson Barnes, later coming into the possession of John F. Gilkey. Mr. Fox subscribed $I,ooo when the Ohio and Michigan Railroad was built through the village. He was an ardent Republican and held various offices, chief of which was town clerk and treasurer. In those days the keeper of the exchequer had to go from house to house to collect taxes. Mr. and Mrs. Fox had five children-Frances Wedge, widow, who lives and cares for her aged mother; Charles B., Battle Creek; Abbie E. Wedge, who lives with mother and sister; Forrest Caryl, farmer near Galesburg, and Oscar Henry, real estate dealer at Battle Creek. Miss Flora Garrison.-Miss Garrison holds an enviable record for long, continuous service-efficient public service-and in I919 was elected to the office of register of deeds of Kalamazoo county. For more than twenty years she had served effectively as deputy under five different men who held the office she now holds. Miss Garrison was born in Kalamazoo county and possesses an intimate and direct knowledge of conditions in that section of the state. Her father, 258 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Richard A. Garrison, is a native of Michigan, born in Cass county. He accompanied his parents to Kalamazoo county when he was a mere child, grew to manhood there and became a farmer. He now lives in retirement and is seventy-two years of age. His wife was Emma V. Phillips, a native of New York state, now deceased. Harry Garrison, paternal grandfather, was an early settler of Kalamazoo county. Miss Garrison, by reason of her personal qualifications and rigid adherence to a high standard of public service, commands the respect and the confidence of the entire community. Her citizenship is exalted above partisanship. In the promulgation of community measures, Miss Garrison accords whole-hearted and valued support. She functions admirably as a public servant. Arlon H. Gifford, M.D. —Doctor Gifford, well known as a practitioner of medicine in Kalamazoo, withal a serviceable citizen devoted to the best interests of the community, was born in Augusta, Michigan, April 17, I870. He was graduated from the Augusta High School and spent three years in Michigan State Normal College, so that he possesses splendid educational qualifications. He taught school a year and his versatility is exemplified further in the fact that for seven years he worked as a telegraph operator earning money with which to pay his tuition at the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery. In I904 he was graduated from this nationally known institution and for three years practiced his profession in Climax, Michigan, and for twelve years in Alamo, Michigan. In I920 Doctor Gifford came to Kalamazoo and established offices in the Academy of Music Building. In I916 and I917 Doctor Gifford served as an interne at Grace Hospital, Detroit. In I895 he was united in marriage to Miss Clare Dixon, of Jackson, Michigan. They have one daughter, Margaret, who received her education in the grade and high schools of Kalamazoo. Doctor Gifford is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Masonic fraternity, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and is alert, not only to the possibilities of professional service, but to the needs and development of the community in which he lives. Alex G. Gilman.-Mr. Gilman is the head of the Allied Paper Mills, one of Michigan's largest industrial plants and a source of much pride to Kalamazoo. Its substantial growth and development are due largely to the policies promulgated by the directing genius of the corporation, Mr. Gilman, who, although a young man, is a thesaurus of information on paper. His rise in the world of paper making has been certain, unfailing, and his status is secure. Mr. Gilman is a Canadian by birth, born in I887. His father, E. H. Gilman, born in Canada in I849, is also a true paper man and is the superintendent of the Bryant Paper Company. The mother, born in I85I, is a Canadian. The son attended grammar and high schools at Newburgh, New York, took a general business course at Ypsilanti, Michigan, and was graduated in I902. Serving an apprenticeship at the Grove Paper Mills, Mr. Gilman went to the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, serving two years, then returned to Michigan and worked KALAMAZOO COUNTY 259 for the Ypsilanti Paper Company, where for two years he was in charge of the finishing room. In May, I906, Mr. Gilman came to Kalamazoo to work for the Monarch Paper Mills in the office. The Monarch company was formed in I905 and began operations the following year with one machine. At the present time the mills have three paper making and fifteen coating machines. What is now the King division of the Allied mills was organized about I9oo and has four paper and nine coating machines, and the Bardeen division of the amalgamation has three paper and ten coating machines. On January I, 1922, the three organizations and plants were merged into the Allied Paper Mills. In I918 Mr. Gilman became vice-president of the Monarch company and in 192I became its president. Following the merger, and for a period of one year, he was vice-president of the Allied company and in I923 was elevated to the presidency, a position of great responsibility and of prestige. The Allied company has a daily capacity fo 250 tons coated and uncoated paper, and is one of the largest paper making concerns in the country, employing I,5oo persons. Its product goes all over the United States and a considerable export business is done. The I923 business showed an approximate increase of 20 per cent. The Allied Mills maintain a big, seven-story warehouse at Eleventh avenue and Thirty-eighth street, New York City. Mr. Gilman has diversified interests extending beyond the Allied Paper Mills. He is president of the Kalamazoo Country Club, a director of the Park Club, director of the Lincoln Paper Company, of Elkhart, Indiana; chairman of the Converting Mills Association, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason. In all community affairs he is helpfully active. Mr. Gilman was married in 90o9. Gilmore Brothers.-Under this title has been conducted for nearly half a century one of the leading department stores of southern Michigan, and no concern in the city of Kalamazoo has higher standing in the scope and importance of its business or in its hold upon popular confidence, appreciation and support. The business had its inception on the 20th of August, I88I, and the original establishment was a small store opened by John M. Gilmore and his wife, on the site of the present Vincent Building on the west side of Burdick street. John M. Gilmore was born in Killyleagh, County Down, Ireland, in the year 1852, and he became a resident of Michigan in I88I, the year in which he established his modest little business enterprise in Kalamazoo, determined to make the most of his opportunities, to order his course on a plan of business integrity and effective service, but with little realization of the great success that was eventually to crown his earnest efforts. ^ He wedded Miss Mary Downey, and she preceded him to eternal rest, her death having occurred June 9, I89I, and he having survived until June 14, I895. Of the four children, Ada and Jennie now reside in Provincetown, Massachusetts; Robert is a resident of New York City, and Margie is the wife of S. Harry Ried, of Belfast, Ireland. On the I5th of-January, 1883, James F. Gilmore became associated with his brother, John M., in the business which the latter had founded at Kalamazoo, and thus the partnership of Gilmore 260 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Brothers was formed. James F. Gilmore was born in Killyleagh, County Down, Ireland, February 27, 1857, and came to Michigan in I882. July 20, i886, recorded his marriage to Miss Carrie M. Sherwood, who survives him, his death having occurred September I8, 19o8. He is survived by three sons, James Stanley, Donald Sherwood, and Irving Samuel, and all continue to reside in Kalamazoo. James Stanley Gilmore married Ruth McNair on the 1st of November, I9I6, and they have one daughter, Gail Ruth. Donald Sherwood Gilmore, on the I6th of December, I9I6, wedded Miss Genevieve Upjohn, and they have two daughters, Carol and Jane. Irving Samuel Gilmore, youngest of the sons, became actively concerned with the business of Gilmore Brothers in I924. After the death of James F. Gilmore, Charles W. Carpenter, who had associated himself with the Gilmore Brothers September 15, I902, became general manager of the business of Gilmore Brothers, and he continued his service in this capacity until his retirement from active executive duty, in I923. Since that year the business has been under the direct management of the Gilmore Brothers of the second generation in Kalamazoo. In 1884, in order to accommodate the enlarged and continually expanding business, removal was made to the Upjohn Building on the east side of Burdick street. In 19oo removal was made to the modern building erected by Gilmore Brothers and constituting a part of the present large physical plant of the business. In 191o, due to the efforts of Mrs. Carrie M. (Sherwood) Gilmore, Miss Nellie Burlingham, who became associated with the firm April 3, I893, and Charles W. Carpenter, further improvements and additions were made, by the purchase of the property behind the Kresge, McDonald and Ritchie Buildings and the erection there of a new building that was added to the Gilmore establishment, the original building having been enlarged by the adding of four more stories. In August, 191o, the business was incorporated, with the following corps of officers: Mrs. Carrie M. Gilmore, president; Charles S. Campbell, vice-president; and Nellie M. Burlingham, secretary and treasurer. In October, I9I6, the heirs of the James F. Gilmore estate purchased the interest in the business still owned by the heirs of the John M. Gilmore estate, and the present officers of the corporation are as here noted: President, Mrs. Carrie M. Gilmore Upjohn (the marriage of Mrs. Gilmore to Dr. William E. Upjohn was solemnized October 25, 1913); vice-president, Charles S. Campbell; second vice-president, J. Stanley Gilmore, who entered the firm in I908; secretary, Donald S. Gilmore, who became allied with the business in 1916; and treasurer, Nellie M. Burlingham. In I924 further improvements were made on the Gilmore establishment, when was installed a new arcade front that gives more window space for display use on Burdick street. On August I, I924, the company, after leasing the Ritchie Building, opened a separate store for men. It is impossible in this brief review to enter details concerning the development of this metropolitan Kalamazoo mercantile establishment, but it should be noted that fair and honorable dealings and careful meeting of the requirements of customers have been the solid base on which the great department store enterprise has been builded, to stand as a monu KALAMAZOO COUNTY 261 ment to its founders, a source of pride to Kalamazoo and a subject of satisfaction to the popular and progressive young business men who are now at the helm and well upholding the prestige of the honored family name. Clark C. Godfrey.-Mr. Godfrey is president and general manager of the Godfrey Lumber Company, Third street and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, Kalamazoo. Previously, he had been associated with his father in the coal business and later in the lumber business. Mr. Godfrey was born in 1885 in Jackson county, Michigan. His father was Frank B. Godfrey, born in 1853 in New York state. He died February I2, 1922. For forty-five years the senior Godfrey farmed in Michigan, then went to Elkhart, Indiana, and operated a retail lumber and coal business. Later he came to Kalamazoo and purchased the Van Bochere lumber business and subsequently purchased property at Third street and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. The mother of Clark Godfrey was, before marriage, Nellie Nelson. She was born in the Empire state in I853. There were three children, Earl A., Eunice M. and Clark C. The last was graduated from the high school in Elkhart in I904 and the following year completed a business course. He worked for his father as manager of the coal and lumber office, came to Kalamazoo in I906, worked for his father in the lumber business and became president and general manager of the Godfrey company. On June 27, I907, Mr. Godfrey was united in marriage to Miss Lois Harker, born in Cassopolis, Michigan, in 1887. The Godfreys have three children, Robert H., born in I908, Jean Elinore, born in I9II, and Ann Elizabeth, born in 1919. Mr. Godfrey is active in religious and fraternal circles. He attends the Presbyterian church. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce, Masons and state and national associations of retail lumber dealers. Roscoe G. Goembel.-Making his own way in the world through the exercise of sound sense, untiring toil and a high sense of professional and personal honor, Roscoe G. Goembel is one of Kalamazoo's representative lawyers and citizens. Mr. Goembel's offices are at 307 and 308 Hanselman Building. His home is at 9.49 Bellevue Place. The subject of this sketch was born in Yorktown township, Henry county, Illinois, January I5, i886. He attended the public schools in Henry county and was graduated from the Geneseo (Illinois) High School in 1905. Shortly thereafter he began the reading of law in the office of his uncle, John E. Goembel, in Rockford, Illinois. He was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan in I909 and located at once in Kalamazoo. His success from the beginning of his practice has been pronounced and as an attorney he is widely and favorably known. On November 21, 1912, Mr. Goembel was united in marriage to Myrtle J. Stanley, of Kalamazoo, daughter of Patrick Stanley, of Van Buren county, Michigan. Samuel Graff.-Mr. Graff is a member of the D. Graff & Sons' Paper Mill Supply Company, one of the largest concerns of the kind in the country. The present plant is an evolution of the small business established by Daniel Graff and which has grown to a position of 262 HISTORIC MICHIGAN commanding importance. Samuel and E. H. Graff are in general direction of the business, which employs about two hundred persons besides the office force. The business was established in I9OI and now maintains branches in Dayton, Ohio, with I50,ooo square feet of floor space, and Grand Rapids, with 70,000 square feet of space. A distribution office is maintained in Detroit and there are connections in many other cities throughout the United States. The factory buildings are located along railroad sidings, a fleet of trucks handle the product and the raw material, and three salesmen represent the company on the road, running out of Kalamazoo. Samuel Graff was born in i886 in Michigan. His father, David Graff, was born in Germany in 1857, established the Graff company and by intelligent direction insured its success. The mother was Anna Graff, also a native of Germany, born in I868. There were three sons and two daughters, namely, Mose, a foreman at the plant; Bessie, Dorothy, Samuel and E. H. Graff. The two last attended the grade and high schools of Kalamazoo. E. H. started in business with his father as secretary and treasurer of the concern and now he and Samuel are in general direction of the business. Samuel and E. H. Graff are conspicuous in the business life of the city and have contributed immeasurably to the advancement and the prosperity of Kalamazoo. The enterprise of which they are the head has in itself given Kalamazoo a considerable prestige in the manufacturing world. Sherman Gregg, M.D.-Devoting his talents and skill chiefly to internal medicine and to disorders of the nervous system, Dr. Sherman Gregg has built a large practice and has assumed a place of commanding importance in the medical world. In the immediate community he is looked upon as a valuable citizen, not only for his professional training, but for the other service he gives the community unselfishly for its advancement and upbuilding. Especially in fraternal activities is Doctor Gregg very helpful. He is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, of the Michigan State Medical Society, of the Tri-State Medical Society and of the American Medical Associatio'n. He is past master of his Masonic lodge, is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite member and active in the various bodies from Lodge of Perfection to Consistory of the Princes of the Royal Secret. He is a past commander of the Knights Templar and past deputy instructor for the grand commandery. The Doctor is a member of St. Vincent Conclave Red Cross of Constantine, located at Grand Rapids. He is also a member of the Lions' Club. Doctor Gregg was born in Coloma, Michigan, September 2, 1879, and received his pre-medical education in the public schools of Coloma and Benton Harbor and at Ferris Institute, where he took a normal course. For five years he taught school and, having matriculated at the University of Michigan, received the coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine from that institution of splendid works and worthy alumni in I909. Doctor Gregg engaged in general practice in St. Joe four years and then took charge of the men's department at the state hospital, holding this position until September, 1922. He is located at 6Io Kalamazoo National Bank Building, specializing in internal medicine and nervous diseases. His KALAMAZOO COUNTY 263 state hospital experience has clothed him with special aptitude for the treatment of nervous disorders. On June 25, 1913, Doctor Gregg was joined at the hymeneal altar by Miss Elizabeth Gale Dye, of Niles, Michigan. Both are members of the Congregational church. Dr. and Mrs. Gregg have two children, Robert Sherman, aged nine, and John Dale, aged seven. T. W. Hastings.-Mr. Hastings is president and general manager of the trucking and moving concern that bears his name, entering the field in 1905 and succeeding his father, who was also engaged in trucking. At that time the business consisted of three teams. This quadrupled and later much of the service was motorized so that now the company operates seven trucks from 22 to 3/2 ton capacity, and six teams. One machinery wagon carries thirty tons and the Hastings company operates equipment to move absolutely anything that is movable. The concern has contracts with all the railroads to transfer freight from one station to another and does at immense business hauling merchandise for stores. Two long distance moving vans are maintained. Bert McGuire has been with Mr. Hastings eighteen years, in charge of the moving department, and Louis Sherman, general superintendent, gives special attention to the moving of machinery. Assisting him is Carl Powers. Howard Syphers is in charge of freight delivery and Robert Rhodes has charge of the stables and the care of the horses. Mr. Hastings has always been associated with the Michigan Central Railroad and has offices in its freight building. Mr. Hastings is a product of Kalamazoo, born in 1878. His father was John Hastings, born in 1840, who started in the trucking business when carts were used. The senior Hastings died in I903. The mother, Katherine Hastings, was born in 1844 and died in 1922. Mary C. Hastings, a daughter, and sister of T. W., is secretary of the concern. There is another daughter, Katherine. T. W. Hastings went through LeFevre Institute and worked for Henry D. Kolls in the cigar business three years. Then he became associated with the Michigan Central in the freight office under J. W. Fulford, agent. He was in the office ten years and for three years was cashier. Mr. Hastings is favorably known and his success is attributable to his fixed service policy. He is a member of the Elks, Knights of Columbus, Chamber of Commerce and the National Team and Truck Owners' Association. Albert E. Henwood, M.D.-Doctor Henwood, whose offices are maintained at 804 Hanselman Building, is one of the best known medical practitioners in this section of the state and a consistent votary of the illustrious Hahnemann. He was born in Dowagiac, Michigan, March 28, 1878, and was graduated from the Dowagiac High School, and from Detroit Homeopathic College in I905. He practiced in Dowagiac until Io99, then came to Kalamazoo and at once was assimilated into the life and spirit of the community, in the direction of which he has been a helpful factor. It June, 1918, Doctor Henwood gave his services to the government of the United States, entered the medical corps of the air service and was made a captain. He served approximately six months and received his honorable discharge in June, I9I9. In I920 he became a member of the National Guard, with rank 264 HISTORIC MICHIGAN of captain, and continues in such service for the protection of the commonwealth. Doctor Henwood was united in marriage to Miss Frances Colby, of Dowagiac, and four children form important links in the family chain. They are Phyllis, James, Mary Jane and John. The Doctor is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Doctor Henwood is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine and of the state and national homeopathic organizations. LeRoy Hornbeck, well-known real estate dealer located at 703 Hanselman Building, was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, September 30, 1876, and prepared himself well professionally. He possesses many qualifications not the least of which is that entitling him to practice law. But he relinquished the law for real estate and has achieved success. Mr. Hornbeck received his early education in Gratiot county, Michigan, and in I9oo was graduated from Kalamazoo College. He received the degree of Bachelor olf Arts from the University of Chicago on completion of a prescribed course and entered the law department of Northwestern University, Chicago, from which he was graduated with the coveted degree. For about six years Mr. Hornbeck practiced his profession in Kalamazoo, but diverted to real estate, which he has found congenial and profitable. On November I6, 1904, Mr. Hornbeck was united in marriage to Florence M. Skillen, of Grand Rapids. There are two children, Royena M., aged eighteen, now a sophomore at the University of Michigan, and Katherine M., aged ten. Mr. Hornbeck is a member of the Knights of Pythias. William C. Huyser, M.D.-Doctor Huyser is one of Kalamazoo's progressive physicians, well qualified professionally, tactful, earnest and conscientious. The Doctor maintains his residence and office at 427 South Burdick street. He is descended from an old pioneer family of Ottawa county, Michigan. His grandfather was Peter Huyser, who came from Holland in October, 1847, and took up government land in Ottawa county, living in a log house, homesteading and bearing the burdens and privations that attended pioneer life of those days when the gas engine, telephone and flivver were perhaps in the subconscious minds of the geniuses of the future. He was born July 29, I886, on a farm at Beaver Dam, Michigan, attended the public schools of the county and took a preparatory course at Hope College. Matriculating at the University of Illinois, he was graduated from the medical department in I9II and served an interneship, I9II and I912, in the West Side Hospital of Chicago. In February, 1913, he came to Kalamazoo, established a firm place and has prospered. Doctor Huyser is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, Michigan State Medical Society and American Medical Association. He belongs to the Elks and Masons; also the Clinic Club, a local medical organization of the city. George F. Inch, M.D.-Versed in medical jurisprudence as well as pathology, anatomy, physiology, etiology and cognate branches, Doctor Inch has attained an enviable reputation in the specialty he has elected to follow, psychiatry. The complexities of modern life together with a growing recognition of the interdependence of physical and mental states and conditions is emphasizing each year the super -i&/Wy_u L;-LSy KALAMAZOO COUNTY 265' lative importance of psychiatry. Doctor Inch was born in New Brunswick, Canada. He received an elementary education in the public schools and attended Mount Allison College, New Brunswick. He attended the University of Michigan and was graduated in I895. He practiced but a short time in New Hampshire, then came to the Michigan State Hospital in Kalamazoo in I895 and has been connected with the institution ever since. In I916 he was made assistant superintendent of the institution. The Doctor is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, Michigan State Medical Society, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, the Neurological Society of Detroit and of the Michigan Academy of Science. He is also examiner and consulting psychiatrist for the United States Veterans' Bureau. Doctor Inch belongs to Masonic Lodge No. 22, to the chapter of Royal Arch Masons, council of Royal and Select Masters, and to the Knights Templar. Doctor Inch was united in marriage to Florence E. Allen, of Rochester, New York. There is one daughter, Jane Elizabeth, aged twelve. Dr. Herman Ostrander.-The reputation of Doctor Ostrander as a psychiatrist has transcended by far the excellent reputation of the Kalamazoo State Hospital, of which he is superintendent. Doctor Ostrander is nationally known for his service in mental hygiene and for his administration of the great institution with which he has been identified for many years. The Doctor was born in Ypsilanti July 6, I856, and when he was a child his parents moved to Lansing, in which city he received his elementary instruction. He was graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan in 1884 and for four years practiced in Lansing, during three of which he served as physician to the state industrial school for boys. In I888 Doctor Ostrander came to the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, now known as the Kalamazoo State Hospital, and in I916, on the death of Dr. Alfred Ira Noble, became the superintendent. Doctor Ostrander was married to Jessie M. Strickland, a native of St. Johns, Michigan, and who died April IO, i888. Randolph Strickland, her father, served as prosecuting attorney and also as a member of congress during Grant's administration. A daughter, Jessie M., was born to this union. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and received her Master of Arts degree at Columbia and is now psychologist for the psychopathic department, Municipal Court, Detroit Michigan. On January Io, 1894, Doctor Ostrander was united in marriage to Annie A. Powell, of Peoria, Illinois. Miss Powell was an educator of exceptional talent and attained an enviable reputation as a public reader. Doctor Ostrander attributes what success he has attained largely to her intelligent and sympathetic interest in his work. Doctor Ostrander is an attendant of the Presbyterian church, is active in civic service and devoted to the interests of a number of professional and humanitarian organizations with which he is affiliated. He is a Fellow and member of the council of American Psychiatric Association, a Fellow of the American Medical Association and a member and past president of the Michigan State Medical Society. In I905 he was president of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine and for two years was president 266 HISTORIC MCHIGAN of the Michigan Anti-Tuberculosis Society. He is a member of the National Committee of Mental Hygiene, composed of one hundred persons of national prominence and leadership, which body is largely responsible for much modern light on the subject of insanity, its prevention and cure, and for reforms in the administration of hospitals devoted to the treatment of insanity. The Ostrander family tree discloses the two great branches, Cowles and Gardner, tracing back to John Cowles, born in England, who came to Massachusetts in 1635, dying in I675, and to Herodias Long, on the Gardner side, also a native of England. Of the Ostranders, Simon Ostrander, born in New York January 8, I8IO, and his wife, Ellen Gardner Cowles, born February Io, I850, were the progenitors. To this couple four children were born, Russell Cowles, Arthur Simon, Herman and Clarence Ostrander. A brother of Doctor Ostrander, Russell C. Ostrander, was a justice of the supreme court of Michigan. H. Clair Jackson.-Mr. Jackson is a member of one of the most influential law firms in Kalamazoo and is himself known widely as a lawyer of fine, fundamental training and a public servant of ability for he has been prosecuting attorney. Mr. Jackson received the fine heritage that has come to so many Americans who rose to distinction and power, birth and early training on a farm. He was born in Allegan county, Michigan, January 3, 187I, and attended high school in Plainwell. In 1889 he came to Kalamazoo and for two years worked as a dry goods salesman. He attended Kalamazoo College and was graduated from that institution in I896, then studied law with N. H. Stewart and was admitted to the bar in 1899. He has been actively engaged in practice since that time with the exception of the period, 1903-1907, when he served as prosecuting attorney, a public position he filled with effectiveness and credit to himself and the community. Mr. Jackson began the practice of law in association with Alfred Frost under the firm name of Frost & Jackson, the firm continuing until 1903. Upon completion of his public duties, Mr. Jackson practiced alone a few months, but in the same year, 1907, he formed a partnership with William L. Fitzgerald under the name of Jackson & Fitzgerald. On the first day of January, I919, Jacob A. Dalm was admitted to membership in the firm and the title of the association since has been Jackson, Fitzgerald & Dalm, with offices at 801-o3 Hanselman Building. The firm is one of the best known and strongest in this section of the state. In 1905 Mr. Jackson was united in marriage to Josephine H. Wing, of Vicksburg, Michigan. There are two children, Herbert W., aged fifteen, now a student at Millersburg Military Institute, Millersburg, Kentucky, and Eleanor, aged eleven, who is at home. Mr. Jackson is a member of the First Baptist church and is exceedingly helpful in church activities and in the support of civic and community movements. He is a member of the Masonic order, the Elks, Knights of Pythias and of the Chamber of Commerce, finding time outside his professional work to give aid and encouragement to the work of these bodies. His counsel, aside from the legal phase, is frequently sought and wholeheartedly given. Mr. Jackson is also a member of the Kalamazoo, Michigan State and American Bar Associations. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 267 Charles Arthur Krill is consistently to be designated as one of the substantial and progressive business men of Kalamazoo county, where he is president and general manager of the Prudential Nursery Company, the offices of which are at 20I-206 in the Pratt Building in the city of Kalamazoo. In this beautiful city Mr. Krill maintains his home at the corner of Maple and Indiana streets, where he has an attractive residence of modern order. Charles A. Krill was born at Farmington, New York, on the 20th of September, 1878, and is a son of Loren and Lilla (Maxson) Krill, who came to Michigan in I886, when he was a lad of about eight years. Here the family home was first established in the city of Detroit, but later the father removed with his family to Mount Pleasant, Isabella county, where he engaged in the grist-mill business and died there September 28, 1887. In the public schools of Michigan Charles A. Krill continued his studies until he had duly profited by the curriculum of the Kalamazoo High School, and thereafter he completed a course in the Kalamazoo Business College. Virtually his entire business career has been one of close association with the nursery industry, and in this he has gained much of leadership. He first became associated with the Central Michigan Nursery Company, with which he remained until I906, when he and 0. J. Richardson became the organizers of the Prudential Nursery Company. He has since continued president and general manager of this company, and his able and progressive policies, coupled with the excellent service given, have brought large success and prestige to the concern, the business of which is of large volume and constantly expanding in scope and importance. The company was incorporated in I912. The trade of the company has been extended into twelve of the north central states, and in the large and well-equipped nurseries, at Vicksburg, Kalamazoo county, are grown the finest types of fruit trees and vines, as well as ornamental trees and shrubbery. In connection with its general nursery business the company does a prosperous contracting business in the line of landscape gardening. Mr. Krill is recognized as one of the representative figures in the nursery industry of the United States, and his is accurate and first-hand knowledge of all details of the business, including scientific methods of propagation. He is an active member of the American Nurserymen's Association, and in the year I924 he is found in able service as secretary and treasurer of the Michigan Nurserymen's Association. He is a loyal and valued member of the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce and the local Kiwanis Club, his political support is given to the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal Church in their home city. The year I904 recorded the marriage of Mr. Krill to Miss Nellie Kennedy, of Mount Pleasant, and they have four children: Robert, Louis, Charles and Frederick, the eldest son, Robert, being now (1924) a student in Kalamazoo College. Walter W. Lang, M.D.-Up to this time Doctor Lang has been engaged in medical practice in Kalamazoo eighteen years, has achieved success, professionally and financially, and has ingratiated himself 268 HISTORIC MICHIGAN in the hearts of Kalamazoo residents generally. He is highly esteemed. Walter W. Lang is a Hoosier by birth, born in South Bend, March 14, 188o. In 1887 he came to Michigan with his parents and obtained his early education in the grade and high schools at Dowagiac. He then entered the medical department of the University of Michigan and was graduated from the General Medical Foundation, Chicago, in 1905. Post-graduate work was done in the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, and at Grace Hospital, Detroit. For eighteen years he has been in practice in Kalamazoo. His suite of offices is located at 305-6-7 Kalamazoo National Bank Building. On February 2, 1922, Doctor Lang was married to Miss Lila Marsh, of Kalamazoo. There is one daughter, Eleanor Jean, born February 20, 1923. Doctor Lang is an Elk, Knight Templar, Scottish Rite Mason, Shriner and member of the Academy of Medicine and of the Michigan State and American Medical Associations. Charles E. McKinstry.-It was well within the powers and province of the late Charles E. McKinstry to make large and worthy contribution to the industrial and commercial precedence of his home city of Kalamazoo, and his initiative and administrative ability came into specially high relief in connection with the development and upbuilding of the now large and important business controlled by the Illinois Envelope Company, of which concern he was the virtual founder-at least as touching the substantial industrial enterprise which the company represents at the present time. Of this vital corporation he was the secretary, treasurer and general manager at the time of his death, which occurred in I919, and as one of the sterling citizens and representative business men of Kalamazoo he is entitled to recognition and a tribute of honor in this history. Charles E. McKinstry was born at Battle Creek, the metropolis of Calhoun county, Michigan, on the I8th of February, 1867, and thus he was but fifty-two years of age at the time of his death. He was a son of Hugh and Sarah (St. Clair) McKinstry, both of whom were born and reared in Ireland. Hugh McKinstry learned in his native land the trade of harnessmaker, and he was a young man when he came to the United States. Shortly after his arrival in the land of his adoption he established his residence at Battle Creek, which was then a mere village. There he opened a harness shop, and in later years he owned and conducted one of the leading department or general merchandise stores of the city, his connection with this enterprise having continued until his death, about the year 1870. Hugh McKinstry was a man of fine character and exceptional mentality. He long held status as one of the leading business men and influential citizens of Battle Creek, and he was specially prominent and well known in the Masonic fraternity in Michigan, he having received the thirty-third degree of the Scottish Rite and having been deeply interested in the affairs of all of the Masonic bodies with which he was affiliated. He was twice married, and his second wife, mother of the subject of this memoir, preceded him to eternal rest. He KALAMAZOO COUNTY 269 was survived by the one son of his first marriage and by the son and daughter of his second marriage. Charles E. McKinstry was about three years of age at the time of his father's death, and, thus doubly orphaned, he was taken into the home of his father's sister, Mary, the wife of Robert Corkey, of Kalamazoo. He was reared to manhood in the city that later was to be the stage of his progressive and successful activities as a business man, and after duly profiting by the advantages of the public schools he was for two years a student in Kalamazoo College. His initial business experience was acquired in his service as bookkeeper for the St. John Plow Company of Kalamazoo. He was for a time associated with the Riverside Foundry Company, and his earlier business experience included also his incumbency of a clerical position in the old Michigan National Bank of Kalamazoo. For a number of years he was the executive head of the Diamond Skirt Company, and it was after disposing of his interest in this business that he became manager of the Riverside Foundry Company. In 1914 Mr. McKinstry was retained to investigate the affairs of the Illinois Envelope Company, and the result of his interposition was that he effected a reorganization of the company and was made its secretary, treasurer and general manager. There had been misdirection in ordering the affairs of this corporation and its business was in somewhat depressed and chaotic order when Mr. McKinstry assumed control. His splendid executive ability, progressive policies and effective systematization of all departments of the business caused the enterprise to expand definitely in scope and importance and to become the substantial and prosperous industry which it is at the present time. Of the general character of this now important manufacturing concern of Kalamazoo more detailed record will be given at a later point in this narrative, in connection with individual mention of Mark S. McKinstry, who succeeded his father as secretary, treasurer and general manager of the company. Mr. McKinstry was not only one of the vigorous and resourceful figures in the industrial life of Kalamazoo, where he was financially interested in other leading business enterprises, but he also stood forth as a loyal, appreciative and public-spirited citizen who had secure place in popular confidence and esteem. He was one of the valued members of the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce, was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and held membership in the Park Club. January 30, I889, recorded the marriage of Mr. McKinstry to Miss Lettie Salisbury, who was born and reared in Kalamazoo and who is a daughter of Marcus and Abbie (Wattles) Salisbury, the father having been for many years a leading shoe merchant in this city. Mrs. McKinstry still maintains her home in her native city, and her one surviving child is Mark S. Mark S. McKinstry, who, as previously noted, succeeded his father in the office of secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Illinois Envelope Company, was born in Kalamazoo, on the 25th of October, I892. In the public schools he continued his studies until his grad 270 HISTORIC MICHIGAN uation in the Central High School, in 1911, and he then entered the University of Michigan, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of I9I5 and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After leaving the university Mr. McKinstry became order clerk in the offices of the Illinois Envelope Company, later giving service as bookkeeper and finally being advanced to the position of factory superintendent, in which capacity he continued his service until the death of his father, in I919, when he became the latter's successor as secretary, treasurer and general manager of the company. In this connection he is well upholding the prestige of the family name, as is he also as a liberal and progressive citizen. He is active and helpful in community development service along both civic and commercial lines, is an active member of the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce and belongs to the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In the year 1915 Mr. McKinstry wedded Miss Beatrice Blinston, of Kalamazoo, and the two children of this union are Barbara Jane and Kathleen. The Illinois Envelope Company was organized in I902, and its original base of operations was at Centralia, Illinois. Within a comparatively short time it was found expedient to remove the plant and business to Kalamazoo, one of the leading centers of the paper industry in the United States, and of its reorganization and reincorporation in 1914 adequate mention has been made in a preceding paragraph. The company manufactures commercial envelopes of all types and sizes, and is listed as one of the three largest envelope manufacturing corporations of the world. About one hundred operatives are employed, and the company owns its large and modern plant. The output of the factory has been doubled since I914, all grades and kinds of paper are utilized in the manufacturing-about five carloads a month-and two carloads of envelopes are shipped each month to Chicago, while there is a great volume of business involved in the requirements of the trade throughout other sections of the Union. Clippings and waste to the amount of three carloads a month constitute a virtual by-product. Commercial envelopes, including those for circulars, are printed in flat sheets before being cut and finished. Forty plunger machines are used in the production of commercial envelopes, and five in the manufacture of open-end or catalogue envelopes. An enormous trade is derived from railroads and large mail-order houses. The company maintains its own printing department and also manufactures all boxes required by its shipping department. This is one of the important corporations allied with the great paper industry of the Kalamazoo valley and is contributing much to the precedence of Kalamazoo as a manufacturing and distributing center. Floyd T. Marple.-Home ownership, the finest ambition which any mind and heart can nurture, is assiduously cultivated and stimulated by the F. T. Marple Lumber Company, the directing spirits in which are Floyd T. and Richard S. Marple, brothers. The Marple concern is a most substantial one, not only because of the volume of KALAMAZOO COUNTY 271 business it does, but by reason of the nature of its service to the community. The Marple company does a general retail business in, lumber, but features home building and contract work. It constructs on an average two homes a week on the easy payment plan, furnishing the material and the labor. In this way stimulus to systematic saving is given and a great many families of Kalamazoo have found it possible to own their homes through the simple but effective policy of the Marple company. Each year sees a virtual doubling of the business. The company employs thirty-four carpenters and other operatives and uses three trucks. F. T. Marple was born in I880 in Sheffield, Illinois. The father is Richard S. Marple, Sr., born in Illinois in 1845. He owned a general merchandise store thirty-three years and served in the Civil War. Mr. Marple now lives in retirement in San Gabriel, California. The mother was Ednah W. Howard, a native of Vermont, born in 1851 and dying in I9I9. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Marple four children, Harry H., Fay C., Richard S., Jr., and Floyd T. Floyd T. Marple was married in I906 to Miss Emma M. Beck, native of Illinois, born in I886. Three children were born: Helen, in I909; Barbara, I913, and Ruth, I918. Mr. Marple, after finishing the public schools, worked for the Morris Lumber Company, Morris, Illinois, for eight years. For six years he had charge of the office work and bookkeeping. Then he went to Chicago in association with A. H. McGrew in retail lumber. In I912 Mr. Marple came to Kalamazoo to work as a bookkeeper for the McSweeny lumber concern. In 1915 he bought out the McSweeny business and in the latter part of I916 bought ground and started a yard at I600 Lake street. The buildings and storage space cover I8,ooo square feet. In I9I9 Richard S. Marple, Jr., became associated with his brother. He attends to the retail end of the business while Floyd T. Marple takes care of the contract work. Richard S. was married on August I, I923, to Marguerite McRae. After concluding his school work, he served as a chemist with a sugar company for five years, the Southern California Sugar Company. Then for service in the World War, he enlisted in the 342nd infantry, 86th division, and went across in September, I918. He received his discharge in May, 1919. The Marples constitute an effective business combination. As a firm and personally they are highly esteemed for the high standard of business practices cultivated. Lynn B. Mason.-Admitted to the bar in October, I9oo, Mr. Mason has to his credit a splendid public service record as assistant prosecuting attorney of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, as judge of the recorder's court and as judge of the municipal court. He was born July 13, 1878, in Vicksburg, Kalamazoo county, the son of Clarence B. Mason. The latter, native of the same county, was a merchant many years and now resides in South Bend, Indiana. The grandfather was J. S. Mason, native of England, who came as a child with his parents to America. Robert Mason, great-grandfather, was born in England. The mother of Lynn B. Mason was Carrie Johnson Mason, born in Vicksburg, who died thirty-five years ago. She was 272 HISTORIC MICHIGAN a daughter of Andrew Johnson, born in New York state. Lynn's boyhood was spent in his native village where he attended public school. He also attended Olivet College, Olivet, Michigan, and read law in the office of Volney Lockwood in Kalamazoo and also that of S. F. Master. He was admitted to the bar in October, I9oo, and the following year was made assistant prosecuting attorney under Mr. Master. For four years he was judge of the recorder's court and for an equal period judge of the municipal court. He is a Republican. Mr. Mason married Rosa B. McNaughton, born in Kalamazoo county, daughter of John P. and Emma Potts McNaughton. Mr. Mason is a Mason, Elk and Pythian; is a man of genial traits and very scrupulous in his dealings. He is much thought of in the entire community. A. F. Meisterheim, who was born in Kalamazoo in I883, after receiving a groundwork training in paper, established in I918 the Kalamazoo Trading Company and is the president and general manager of the business. The concern packs and grades waste paper and is one of the largest of the kind in the United States. The company, located along the New York Central Railroad, has siding facilities to handle eighteen cars at a time. About one hundred persons are employed in the plant, which covers more than a half city block. The Kalamazoo company is affiliated with packer and grading plants in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Toledo, Atlanta, Nashville, Washington, D. C. and Richmond, Virginia, has a capacity of one hundred tons a day and does an enormous business. The capital stock at the time of the company's inception was $30,000, which two years later was increased to $50,000. In I923 the authorized capitalization was $200,ooo. Mr. Meisterheim's father was Carl Meisterheim, born in I862 and dying in I904. The mother before her marriage was Albertina Hodapp. She was born in I862. There are two daughters, Helen Meisterheim and Mrs. J. L. Bell. A. F. Meisterheim attended the public schools of Kalamazoo and after leaving high school took a course in Parson's Business School, then for three years worked for his father, who was in the grocery business. For eight years, Mr. Meisterheim worked for the Bryant Paper Company to obtain a thorough knowledge of paper and its manufacture and served in various capacities. For five years he was with the King Paper Company as purchasing agent and in I918 founded the Kalamazoo Trading Company, a monument to. his genius and perspicuity. Mr. Meisterheim's interests are diversified, as is manifested by membership in the Elks, Knights of Columbus, Country Club, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, National Credit Men's Association and National Association of Waste Paper Material Dealers. Clarence L. Miller is the city manager of Kalamazoo, Michigan, chosen to that position in July, I92I. Mr. Miller is by reason of personal traits and wide experience, amply supplied with a wealth of information concerning municipal service. For seven years he was the city clerk of Kalamazoo and this position placed him in intimate contact with every branch of city service so that the processes of government from the levying of taxes and the distribution of the tax dollar by the budgeting authorities to the awarding of a contract and KALAMAZOO COUNTY 273 the supervision of the work, are thoroughly understood by the present manager. And among the three hundred American cities and towns operating under the commission-manager form of government Kalamazoo ranks high, largely because of the character of its commission and its manager. Mr. Miller, too, is not a stranger to Michigan. He was born in Kendall, Van Buren county, March 21, I876. His father was Conrad Miller, native of New York state, who when a child was brought to Michigan. For many years Conrad Miller was engaged in the coal business in Kalamazoo. He died in California, aged seventy-two. The mother was Grace Mason, born near Richland, Kalamazoo, now a resident of Los Angeles, California. Her maternal grandfather, Slater, was a missionary among the Indians in Michigan. The Slater family is one of the oldest in this section of the state and widely known. When Clarence L. Miller was seven his parents moved to Kalamazoo and he received his early education in the public schools of that city. For ten years he was associated with his father in business and for four years was bookkeeper for the City National, now the Kalamazoo City Savings Bank. For the past ten years he has been a member of the board of directors and the treasurer of the Kalamazoo Building and Savings Association of Kalamazoo. Mr. Miller is a Mason and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also an Odd Fellow. His wife was Frances Gusky, born in Niles, Michigan. There are two children, Mary Frances and Katherine. Alfred J. Mills.-Judge Alfred J. Mills was one of Michigan's most conspicuous and useful citizens, a jurist of rare ability, a citizen of great breadth, the inspiration of young attorneys, a mentor to all. Alfred J. Mills had a career most unusual. He was born January 9, 1852, in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, and died in Kalamazoo, April 12, I923, mourned universally. He was a son of Alfred and Caroline Mills. The father was a dry goods merchant in Spaulding, Lincolnshire, England, and died when the son was only ten years old. Alfred J. was really reared by his grandparents, but was given every possible educational opportunity in excellent boarding and military schools of England. His cadet unit as a member of the Thirteenth Lincolnshire volunteers paraded in honor of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, and Alexandra. Mr. Mills entered Cambridge University, read law under the Incorporated Law Society and at the age of seventeen passed his first examination with brilliant success. When yet a young man he came to Michigan, in 1871. In Kalamazoo he became mayor, probate judge, circuit judge, state hospital trustee and president of the school board. Judge Mills was the last judge to hold court in the old courthouse and the first to hold court in the new temple of justice. He was the youngest circuit judge in the state of Michigan, being elected at the age of thirty years. He became one of Michigan's most noted barristers and a foremost citizen of Kalamazoo, whose zeal and interest and helpfulness far transcended the practice of law. He also served as probate judge of VanBuren county, was a member of the board of education six years and president of that body four years. For eighteen years he served as a trustee of the Kalamazoo state hospital for the insane and was president of the board a number 274 HISTORIC MICHIGAN of years. He was trustee of Michigan Female Seminary and member of the vestry of St. Luke's Episcopal Church sixteen years. He was a power in the Republican party and the inspiration of struggling young lawyers. Judge Mills was senior member of the law firm of Mills & Osborne, was active in the Anti-Tuberculosis society for many years and was a member of the local Community Service Board. On June 30, 1874, Judge Mills married Miss Florence G. Balch, born in Rutland township, Barry county, Michigan, November 28, I85I. She was the daughter of Luther C. and Sarah A. Balch, nee Pointer. The father was born in Vermont in I826, the mother in New York in I828. Both came to Barry county in 1837 and were married in Irving, that county, March 4, I850. A farmer by occupation, Mr. Balch was widely known. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Balch died May 7, 1883, and Mrs. Balch passed from the scene of mundane cares September 6, I918, at the age of ninety years. There were two children, Charles L. Balch, of Lawton, Michigan, and Mrs. Alfred J. Mills. Mrs. Mills is a graduate of the Kalamazoo High School and taught school four years. In I9Io she was elected a member of the school board, served twelve years and the last two years was presiding officer of the board. She has been president of the Michigan State Federation of Women's Clubs and served as president of the Ladies' Library Association; also president of the Kalamazoo Civic League. She is now president of the League of Women Voters and a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. There were four children in the family of Judge and Mrs. Mills, all educated in the schools of Kalamazoo. Gertrude is the wife of Ross D. Evers. By a former husband, she has one son, Fraser Mills Cole. Mabel C. is the wife of Edmund W. Chase, of Kalamazoo. They have two children, Charles Mills and Alfred Wilson. James Arthur Mills is the third child of the Mills family. He is the husba'nd of Jean Taylor, o-f Kalamazoo, and the father of one daughter, Helen Marian. The fourth child is Helen Louise, wife of Dr. Benjamin G. Pyle, of Kalamazoo. They have one child, Benjamin Pyle, Jr. Benjamin Nibbelink, M.D., was born in Ottawa county, Michigan, August 15, 1887, and received his early education in the public schools of Ottawa county and in the preparatory department of Hope College. He took a complete course and was graduated from McLaughlin Business College of Grand Rapids, entered the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery and was graduated in I912. The same year, Doctor Nibbelink came to Kalamazoo and established offices at 707 Hanselman Building. His residence is at 738 West South street. On November 9, I918, Doctor Nibbelink was enrolled a member of the volunteer medical corps. In I912 he was united in marriage to Miss Tresa M. Bouwknegt, of Kent county, Michigan. They have one son, Donald Dale, born March 2, 1917. The Doctor is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine and of the Michigan State Medical Society and of the American Medical Association. He is scrupulous and painstaking in his relations with patients and is held in high esteem by all who know him for his professional qualifications and his personal excellencies. I I,-,~ KALAMAZOO COUNTY 275 D. S. Nusbaum.-Mr. Nusbaum presides over an establishment at I26 North Rose handling auto accessories and supplies at wholesale and retail. The line is complete and covers every article required by the automobile and truck owner. Besides, a very attractive line of radio sets and equipment is handled by Mr. Nusbaum. The subject of this sketch was born in Elkhart, Indiana. His father was Christian Nusbaum, born in Switzerland in 1838, dying in Elkhart' in I900. He was a stock buyer by occupation. The mother, Mary Nusbaum, was born in Elkhart, Indiana, in I869 and bore two children, Augusta and D. S. Mr. Nusbaum is a member of the Elks. Judge William Wallace Peck.-The late Judge William W. Peck, of Kalamazoo, was not only one of her early attorneys and judges but was a man whose influence was felt in the community outside the field of his activity as municipal judge and practicing attorney. It was entirely due to his efforts that the Kalamazoo Building and Savings Association was formed, and by its founding he assisted hundreds of people to become the owners of good comfortable homes which they never would have possessed but for the help given them by Judge Peck through the medium of the Building and Savings Association. William Wallace Peck was born at Avon, Livingston county, New York, on March I2, I833. His parents, Archibald and Mary (Maxwell) Peck, were natives of Canaan, Connecticut, and Livingston county, New York, the father having been born at Canaan, Connecticut, on January 13, I799. He removed from his native state to Livingston county, New York, in about I820, where he followed farming for the remainder of his life, his death occurring February 23, 1879. The wife and mother passed to the life beyond on May I, 1878. They were the parents of a large family. Their eldest son, James, saw service in the Civil War and died a prisoner of war in the famous Andersonville prison. The subject of this sketch received his early. education in the public schools of his native county and later attended school at Lima, New York, Genesee College (now a part of Syracuse University), Syracuse, New York. He began the study of law in the office of Hasting & Newton,.Rochester, New York. After completing his education he came to Michigan, in I856, to visit a sister, Mrs. George Hollister, then living in Kalamazoo. Being favorably impressed with the country he secured a country school in Cooper township of this county and followed teaching for two years, at the same time studying law, so that he was able to be admitted to the bar in 1858, and at once began to practice in Kalamazoo. In 1862 he was admitted to practice before the United States supreme court at Grand Rapids. This was while he was acting as circuit court commissioner, which office he filled from I86I to I865, and also acted as prosecuting attorney for a short period. From 1867 to 1883 he was in the United States revenue service as assistant assessor and deputy collector. His election as municipal judge occurred in I888 and he was twice re-elected to that office, his predecessor on the bench being Judge L. N. Burke, who was the first recorder. While on a visit to his old home in New York in 1885, 276 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Judge Peck first learned of building and loan associations and became so deeply interested in the work they were doing that upon his return to Kalamazoo he succeeded in interesting a number of his brother Odd Fellows in the scheme, with the result that the Kalamazoo Building and Savings Association was incorporated on February 17, i886. At that time there was no state law regulating building and loan associations and the new institution was run serially by alphabetical regulations, and when a state law was passed the association was reincorporated and given a thirty years' franchise which has since been renewed by the state. Under the able management of Judge Peck during his lifetime and his son, William H. Peck, who succeeded his father and is now secretary of the association, this rather unpretentious thrift enterprise has grown to a large institution and last year (I923) did a business in excess of $2,000,000. Judge Peck was united in marriage on October 9, I86o, at Kalamazoo to Miss Carrie M. Reade, a daughter of John L. Reade, a pioneer cabinet-maker and undertaker of Kalamazoo. Two children were born to the union, Julia E. and William H. The mother died January 25, 1887. After his retirement from the municipal bench Mr. Peck resumed the practice of law in connection with the Building and Savings Association and continued in such pursuits until his death, on March 24, 19I0, by which Kalamazoo lost one of her most valuable citizens and the bar association one of its most able members. In politics Judge Peck was a life-long Republican, casting his first vote for Gen. John C. Fremont the day before starting for Michigarr. He filled many local offices in Kalamazoo. He was a member of the "Swedenborg Society," a religious society. Donald Platt Osborne, M.D., has been engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Kalamazoo for somewhat more than twenty years, and in the directing of his large and representative general practice as a physician and surgeon he maintains well appointed offices in the Academy of Music Building. Doctor Osborne is able to revert to the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Steubenville, Jefferson cou'nty, Ohio, October 28, 1878. He is a son of Rev. David C. and Arvilla Maria (Hill) Osborne, and is a nephew of the late Harris Burnett Osborne, who was long numbered among the leading physicians and surgeons in the city of Kalamazoo. Rev. David C. Osborne, a man of fine intellectuality and of exceptional ability as a pulpit orator, gave many years of earnest and zealous service as a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church and was one of the venerable and revered citizens of Kalamazoo at the time of his death, in I912, when he was eighty-two years of age. His widow passed to eternal rest in the following year, she having been a daughter of Rev. Bryan S. Hill, who was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church. In Ohio the public school discipline of Donald P. Osborne included that of the high school, and in that state also he was for two years a student in Baldwin Wallace University, at Berea. In preparation for his chosen profession he entered the medical department of the great University of Michigan, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of I902. After KALAMAZOO COUNTY 277 thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he further reinforced himself by the clinical experience that he gained in eighteen months of service in the United States Marine Hospital in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. In I903 Dr. Osborne established his residence in Kalamazoo, where he has since continued in the successful practice of his profession and where the scope and character of his practice stands in evidence alike of his professional ability and his personal popularity. He is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine and the Michigan State Medical Society. He is a charter member of the Kalamazoo Country Club. The Doctor was a valued member of the draft board of Kalamazoo county, on which he served in the capacity of medical examiner. May 15, 1918, recorded the marriage of Doctor Osborne to the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin T. Hosking, who was at that time a resident of Pasadena, California. The death of Mrs. Osborne occurred August 6, 1920, and she'is survived by one child, Elizabeth Hosking Osborne. Doctor Osborne is a director of C. H. Dutton Company. Felix Pagenstecher is president and general manager of the Bryant Paper Company with which concern he became associated on January I, I919, as assistant to Mr. Milham. In I92I he became head of the company. The Bryant Paper Company was organized in 1895 by F. H. Milham and Noah Bryant. The business sustained a gradual, substantial growth, to the status of a ten-machine plant. It is one of the largest manufactories of book paper in the United States. The Superior division and the central power plant added materially to the equipment, the latter being new, the former remodeled, the improvements aggregating in cost $I,500,ooo. There remains $2,000,000 for plant extensions and enlargement. The plant utilizes I00 acres and the factory and office floor space amounts to 1,720,000 square feet. The coating mill comprises twenty coaters. The Bryant company is part owner of the Nashwaak Pulp and Paper Company of St. John's, New Brunswick. Felix Pagenstecher knows paper. He was born in 1879 in Chicago. His father, Carl Pagenstecher, native of Germany, was born in 1842 and died in Chicago in 1902. He was engaged in the manufacture of paper. The mother, a native of Germany, was Bertha Schmidt, born in 1847, dying in I893. There were four children in the family circle, Hugo, Betty, Elsie and Felix. The latter was married in I9o4 to Edith G. Cowgill, who was born in I880 in Kalamazoo. There is one child, Robert A. Pagenstecher, born March 8, 1918. Felix Pagenstecher attended grade and high schools, worked for Moser & Burgess, paper dealers in Chicago in 1896, for a period of two years at the princely wage of four dollars a week and then entered the employ of the River View Coated Paper Company of River View, Illinois, as a mill hand. He was in the employ of the company from 1898 to 1902, when the company sustained a heavy loss by fire. Later the company moved to Kalamazoo and the name adopted was the River View Coated Paper Company of Michigan. In the service of the company here Mr. Pagenstecher remained sixteen years. This was just before he entered the employ of the Bryant Paper Company. The latter employs I,o0o shop workers. Mr. Pagenstecher is an industrial pillar of Kala 278 HISTORIC MICHIGAN mazoo. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Manufacturers' Association, Michigan Paper Mill Traffic Association and the American Paper and Pulp Association. William H. Peck was born in Kalamazoo June 24, 1865, son of William W. and Carrie Peck, nee Reade. After being graduated from Kalamazoo High School he attended college in Syracuse, New York, was graduated in I886 and studied law in his father's office. He intended entering the University of Michigan and possesses the second letter ever issued which would have enabled him to enter the institutio'n without matriculatory examination. However, he entered railroad work with the Michigan Central Railroad and became agent and cashier for the Chicago, Kalamazoo and Saginaw. Three years were given to the Pennsylvania. Subsequently he became traveling salesman for a stationery concern and then went to work for the Cone Coupler Carriage Company, then went to the Kalamazoo Pure Food Company. Through his own efforts he later placed on the market a new breakfast fool called "Wheat Meat," making as much as eight tons daily. A connection with the Mutual, later with the Bell Telephone Company, preceded association with his father in the Kalamazoo Building and Savings Association. Mr. Peck is the husband of Grace Humphrey. There are two children, William W., of Vicksburg, and Archibald H., of Kalamazoo. Mr. Peck is a Mason, Chamber of Commerce member and Republican and served on the election board; also served in county and state conventions. Mrs. Peck, who attends the Christian Scientist church, has for several years been worthy matron of her Eastern Star chapter. John L. Penfield, widely known publisher of Vicksburg, Michigan, was born in that community on August 22, 1882. His father was John B. Penfield and the mother was, before her marriage, Ceba Lamberson. The father was born in Niles, the mother in St. Joseph county. John L. Penfield attended school in Vicksburg and in I9oo started work in a clerical capacity in the Vicksburg railroad station, remaining at his post two years. In I902 the son united with his father in the printing business established by the senior Penfield and has continued it, with creditable success, since the death of the father in I915. A general commercial and publishing business is done, the plant having excellent facilities for the printing of all material required by the individual or the business concern. Considerable stress is laid upon the neatness of the job and the typographical excellency of the finished product, Mr. Penfield being a firm proponent of the position that the way in which a message is given has much to do with its efficacy or power. In 1913 Mr. Penfield was married to Miss Vera Anderson, born in I884 in Vicksburg. He is a Rotarian and bears aloft in his daily service the unsullied escutcheon of Rotary, "He profits most who serves best." Mr. Penfield is a Mason and belongs to Brady Lodge No. 208; to Chapter No. 155 of the Royal Arch Masons; Council No. 87 of the Royal and Select Masters; to Lotus City Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star; Hope Lodge No. 36 of the Knights of Pythias and was first president of the Vickscraft Golf Club. In all civic matters and community efforts he is active. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 279 Beatrice N. Phillips, D.O.-Dr. Beatrice N. Phillips is the wife of Dr. Keene B. Phillips, also a practitioner of Osteopathy, and the two are among the best-known exponents of that system of therapeutics in the state of Michigan. Dr. Beatrice N. Phillips maintains her office at 817 West Kalamazoo avenue. The partnership of husband and wife is a most fortunate and amicable one and a large and lucrative practice has been developed. Keene B. Phillips was born in Coopersville, Ottawa county, Michigan, October 8, I874. He received his early education in the public schools of Ottawa county and at twelve went to Grand Rapids, in which city he attended high school. For about eight years he was on the road as a traveling salesman, then entered mercantile business, and in I908 became a student at the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri, and was graduated in I9II. He came to Kalamazoo to practice. Dr. Keene Phillips is a member of the Southwestern Michigan Osteopathic Association, the Michigan State and American Osteopathic Associations and of the American Osteopathic Society of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and for the past three years has specialized in the treatment of diseases of the ear, nose and throat, maintaining his offices at 201-202 First National Bank Building. Doctor Phillips is a member of the Rotary Club, a Mason, a thirtysecond degree Scottish Rite member, a Shriner and an Elk. On April 22, 1901, he was united in marriage to Beatrice H. Nesbitt. She was born in Prairie Ronde, Kalamazoo county, on a farm on January 26, I879. Her early education was obtained in the public schools of Kalamazoo county and she was graduated from the Schoolcraft High School in 1895. One year was spent in the Michigan Female Seminary and in I9oo she was graduated from the Michigan State Normal College at Ypsilanti. She taught in the public schools of Albion and Grand Rapids and in 9I I, having completed the course, was graduated from the American School of Osteopathy, with the coveted degree. Since graduation Doctor Phillips has been in professional association with her husband and is a member of all the professional societies to which he belongs with the exception of those pertaining to eye, ear, nose and throat. She is a member of the Altrusa Club, the Rotary of business and professional women, and during the World War was chairman of the placement committee which had to do with women's service, and a member of the Community Labor Board. She is also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and is vice-president of the Michigan State Osteopathic Association and chairman of the judiciary and legislative department. Beatrice N. Phillips is a daughter of Charles F. Nesbitt, who Was born in Prairie Ronde township September 28, I854. His father, Thomas Nesbitt, was born in Belfast, Ireland, December 31, 1817, and came with his parents to Prairie Ronde township in I830. Thomas Nesbitt was a son of John and Mary Nesbitt. The mother of Beatrice N. Phillips was Euphemia Clark, born in Prairie Ronde township April 15, 1851. She was a daughter of Philo D. Clark, a native of Belchertown, Massachusetts, born in i815. He came with his parents, Joel 280 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and Parmelia Clark, via ox-cart, to Ogdenburg, Ohio, where they lived a short time, and in 1830 passed on to Kalamazoo county. Thomas Nesbitt in early life was a farmer and later became a banker in Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo county. He died October 26, 1898. Dr. Keene Phillips and wife have one daughter, Mary Nesbitt Phillips, born May i8, I9I5. The two doctors are held in the highest esteem not only for their professional ability but their civic as well as personal virtues. Frances Platt, D.O.-Doctor Platt is one of the most successful osteopathic physicians in Kalamazoo and as a practitioner and citizen is greatly admired and esteemed. She is a member of the trustee board of the Young Women's Christian Association and is an unfailing member of the Business and Professional Women's Club. She is affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church. In all movements relating to the civic and social welfare or improvement of Kalamazoo Doctor Platt gives aid and encouragement. She was born in Barry county, Michigan, and when a mere child went to Fort Dodge, Iowa. There she attended the grade and high schools, then came to Kalamazoo and attended Kalamazoo College. Afterward she entered the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Missouri, founded by Dr. A. T. Still, and was graduated in I904. After practicing her profession in Crawfordsville, Indiana, one year, Doctor Platt came to Kalamazoo and has met with pronounced success professionally and otherwise. She is a member of the Kalamazoo Osteopathic Association, the Michigan Osteopathic Association and the American Osteopathic Association. Her father was John Bellinger Platt, a native of New York state. Mr. Platt located in Michigan in 1857, settling on a farm in Barry county. He died in 1902 at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, the mother of Dr. Frances Platt, was, before her marriage, Clarissa Blood. She passed into the land "from whose bourne no traveler returns" in 1920 at the remarkable age of ninety-one years. Clarence H. Pomeroy.-It is an axiom that newspaper training is the best and that a trained newspaper man is invariably the best qualified for public service. The official life of Clarence H. Pomeroy, county clerk, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, since January I, 1919, exemplifies the truism. Their contacts with men and women and conditions, their ability to sense motives and their power to interpret, to which, of course, must be added the foundational ability to gather and co-relate facts, constitute a training and a preparation that send newspaper men into countless fields of achievement far from the copy desk and date book of the city editor. Clarence H. Pomeroy was born in Otsego, Allegan county, Michigan, August 8, i880. His father was Sylvester C. Pomeroy, native of New York and who, for twenty-five years, was in the employ of the Morris-Kent Grain Company. He died in Michigan in 1916 at the age of seventy years. The mother of Clarence Pomeroy was, before her marriage, Mary E. Hibbard, also a native of the Empire state. Mrs. Pomeroy resides with her sons. There are two children, Clarence H. and Walter C., KALAMAZOO COUNTY 281 who is secretary and treasurer of the Cecil Lambert Company, of Detroit. Clarence H. attended public schools and Kalamazoo College and was for eleven years engaged in daily newspaper work on the staffs of the Detroit Free Press, South Bend News, Kalamazoo Press and Kalamazoo Gazette. For the latter he served as legislative correspondent, covering the house and senate during the administration of Gov. Chase S. Osborne. In I915 he became deputy county clerk and then returned to newspaper work for two years. On January I, 1919, he entered upon his duties as county clerk. Mr. Pomeroy was united in marriage to Myrtle Paasch on June 28, I9I3. They have one child, Robert. Mr. Pomeroy is a Republican. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Elks and the Loyal Order of Moose. As with his mother, he is a communicant of the Presbyterian church. He retired from the office of county clerk January I, 1925, after six years' service. Henry T. Prange, optician and optometrist, I49 South Burdick street, Kalamazoo, was born in LaPorte, Indiana, in I869, a son of Charles and Anna Horn Prange, both of whom were born in Germany. The Pranges came to America when children, their families settling in Kalamazoo in I87I. Charles Prange has long been engaged in the contracting business and is a respected resident of Kalamazoo. Henry T. Prange is a self-made and self-educated man. His studies as a youth were limited to the common school branches, but a wide practical experience supplemented these studies. For a while Mr. Prange was engaged in decorating and for seven years followed that trade in Chicago. He then studied optics and optometry and returned to Kalamazoo, establishing a business in a small way in the same place in which he is now located, but a number of times the quarters have been remodeled and enlarged. He has been continuously in business in this location twenty-five years and has witnessed many changes within that business block on South Burdick street. Expanding business compelled the establishment of a second store on South Burdick street, opened in 1923. Mr. Prange has been interested in real estate during all these years, building and selling homes. His judgment and work in this respect have disclosed true enterprise and brought about gratifying success. In 1904 Mr. Prange was united in marriage to Elizabeth Loughborough, of Kalamazoo. They are the parents of three boys, Horace, Henry and Harold. Horace is studying optometry in Chicago. Mr. Prange is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Elks. Of the former he belongs to Anchor Lodge No. 87. For twenty-four years he was a member of the Michigan Optometrists' Association. He is a member of the Detroit Optometrists' Association. Mr. Prange is a communicant of the Episcopal church. The Prange home is at 1003 Short Road. F. A. Pratt, M.D.-Doctor Pratt is contributing to the well-being of Kalamazoo through the practice of medicine. He is located at 515 South Rose street. Doctor Pratt is a native of Martin, Michigan, born January 25, 1872. After being graduated from Martin High 282 HISTORIC MICHIGAN School in 1891 he spent a year in Valparaiso University and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Detroit College of Medicine in I906. For eight years he practiced in Centerville, Michigan, and came to Kalamazoo in 1916. In 1902 Doctor Pratt and Miss Mirna Rhine, of Wilmington, Delaware, plighted their troth. There are two children of the union, Margaret, born June 2, 1905, a student at Wesleyan State Normal, and Marie, born in October, 19og. The latter is a student at Central High School. Doctor Pratt is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a Mason and Knight Templar and a member of the Academy of Medicine of Kalamazoo, the Tri-State Medical Society, Michigan State Medical Society and American Medical Association. Albert J. Pufahl, D.C., Ph. C.-Albert J. Pufahl is one of the best-known exponents of chiropractic in Kalamazoo county and his professional work is known far beyond the confines of the county. Doctor Pufahl was born July 22, 1889, in Glenhaven, Wisconsin, but attended the public schools in the state of Iowa. He received his high school training in Carthage College Academy, Illinois, and for two years studied in Carthage College. He then took the course and was graduated from the Palmer School of Chiropractic, Iowa, in 1922 and located in Kalamazoo the same year and has met with distinct success from the start. He is a member and was the first president of the Kalamazoo Chiropractic Association and is a member high in the counsels of the Michigan State and National Chiropractic Associations. Doctor Pufahl is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He was also a member of the Delta Sigma Kappa college fraternity. He holds present membership in the Chamber of Commerce and in the Advertising Club of Kalamazoo. On June 30, I919, Doctor Pufahl was married to Miss Marian A. Ward, of Lena, Illinois. His office is in the McNair Building and the Pufahl apartment is at 725 Elm Place. Abraham, Rabbers, D.C., is a son of Kalamazoo and a worthy one. He was born December I6, I885, attended the public schools and at the age of fourteen applied himself to the trade of machinist and toolmaker. He followed this vocation until I917, when he decided to enter chiropractic as a profession and matriculated in the Davenport School of Chiropractic at Davenport, Iowa. In 1919 he was graduated and returned to his home town, Kalamazoo, where he has built a large and lucrative practice. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of a large circle even outside his roster of patients. During the World War he served as a toolmaker. On June 3, I909, Doctor Rabbers and Sophie May Marcellus, of Kalamazoo, were united in the bonds of matrimony. Their home is at 838 Grace street, but the office is 31 and 32 Chase Block. Doctor Rabbers is a member of the Kalamazoo, South Michigan, Michigan State and Universal Chiropractic Associations. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias. J. H. Ryan.-Mr. Ryan, as a successful proponent of the doctrine that cleanliness is next to godliness, is general manager and the f~ KALAMAZOO COUNTY 283 vibrant spirit of the Kalamazoo Laundry, one of the most substantial and progressive institutions of Kalamazoo. Its prestige has grown with constancy, and since its organization the company has not changed management, a tribute to its policy and the stability of the men back of it. J. I. Ryan was born in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1872. His parents were Patrick and Anorah Ryan, nee Kenney. The father was in railroad work many years. J. H. Ryan was married July 3, 1893, to Margaret Reddy and three children have made their advent into the Ryan home: Frank, born July 2, I894; Margaret, born in October, 1895, and Agnes, born September, 1898. J. H. Ryan attended the public schools in Sandusky and came to Kalamazoo in 1887, working for the old wheel works as foreman until I890. Then he worked for Bush & Sherwood Laundry Company as a driver, advanced through hard work and strict application and became a member of the firm. The name was changed to Ryan & Sherwood. Later the business was sold to the Banner company. On March 3, I899, the Kalamazoo Laundry Company was organized by J. H. Ryan, G. E. Bardeen, H. B. Coleman, Ira Ranson and Julius Gilkey. The first location was at 117 North Rose street. Later new buildings and equipment were provided, The present plant covers approximately 55,00ooo square feet of floor space. The mechanical equipment is of the latest and most approved type, the company utilizing the best devices and machinery of the American Laundry Machinery Company, embodying flexible units and the individual washing system. There are 126 employees and thirteen trucks and drivers are used in the collection and distribution system. The son, Frank Ryan, after completing his school work, was with the Carrman Supply Company, of Chicago, two years as a salesman. He enlisted in the United States army aviation corps and was transferred to the Thirty-eighth field artillery. He was stationed in Chicago, at Fort Schuyler, at Fort Hamilton, Camp Huston and Camp Stewart, and was discharged in I918, coming at once to Kalamazoo and associating with his father in the laundry business. In I920 he was made secretary of the laundry company and is on the board of directors. J. H. Ryan is one of Kalamazoo's most useful citizens. He is a Rotarian, Knight of Columbus and past president of the Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the board of control of the Psychopathic Hospital at Ann Arbor and ifor six years has served as a trustee of the Kalamazoo State Hospital. He was chairman of the committee on the present city charter. Uriah Upjohn, M.D., was one of the honored pioneers of Kalamazoo county and gained precedence as one of the leading Michigan physicians of his day and generation, even as he stood as one of the revered and influential citizens of Kalamazoo during the closing period of his long and useful life, his death having occurred here in 1896. Doctor Upjohn was born in Wales, in the year I8o8. His father, Rev. William Upjohn, was a civil engineer of exceptional ability and was associated with many construction works of great importance in England, including the first railroad built there, he having made a portion of the original survey for this line with his father. He became also a clergyman of an independent church denomination founded by him, 284 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and in this connection he built and maintained a church at Shaftsbury. About the year 1826 Rev. William Upjohn came with his family to the United States and established residence near Albany, New York. His three sons all entered the medical profession and all of them became pioneer settlers in Michigan. Dr. Uriah Upjohn, subject of this memoir, was graduated in the historic old College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City as a member of the class of 1834, and he thereafter fortified himself further by service in a leading hospital in the national metropolis. In 1835 he and his brother William came to Michigan Territory, their journey having been made by vessel across Lake Erie and thence up the Detroit river to Detroit, from which embryonic metropolis they continued their way on horseback through the untrammeled wilderness to Kalamazoo county. They obtained land in Richland township and on it erected a log cabin, in which they maintained their abode while carrying forward the development of their land and also serving the pioneer community effectively as physicians and surgeons, their labors in this latter capacity having been arduous, as their ministrations involved long trips through the wilds to the homes of the widely separated settlers, through winter's cold and summer's heat, over primitive and unruly roads and trails, and under all manner of climatic disturbances. For all time must Kalamazoo county owe a debt of honor to these sterling, able and unselfish pioneer physicians, who were leaders in civic and material progress. In 1837, the year that marked the admission of Michigan to statehood, Dr. Uriah Upjohn wedded Miss Maria Mills, a daughter of Deacon Simeon Mills, who was one of the pioneer settlers of the Gull Prairie district of Kalamazoo county. During a period of twenty years Doctor Upjohn rode on horseback in his ministrations to his patients, and he became a veritable guide, counselor and friend to the entire pioneer community, he having followed the old Indian paths and the blazed trails made by the pioneer settlers to rudimentary pathways through the forest wilds, ho roads having yet been built. Many lone night rides to Hastings, Marshall and Battle Creek fell to his lot, and free ministrations to the indigent brought these calls to his door for miles around. In I845, on the Free Soil ticket, Doctor Upjohn was nominated for representative in the United States congress, but declined to make the race. He and his brother William sent to the state legislature a numerously signed memorial that resulted in the passage of the Michigan homestead law. In the distressing times of the Rebellion Doctor Upjohn was only deterred from offering his services in the armed forces of the Union by the insistent refusal of his people's consent. Dr. and Mrs. Upjohn became the parents of twelve children, four of whom were graduated in the medical department of the University of Michigan, while the daughters, Mary and Amelia, became the first women graduates of that institution, in which they completed courses in the department of pharmacy. The daughter Helen and the sons, Henry U., William E. and James T., were graduated in the medical department of the University. The three surviving children are Dr. William E., Mrs. Mary N. Sidnam, and Dr. James T., all residents of Kalamazoo. Of Drs. James T. and William E. Upjohn KALAMAZOO COUNTY 285 individual records are given in this history. The loved and devoted wife and mother preceded her husband to eternal rest. James A. Sales has built up in the city of Kalamazoo a substantial and prosperous business as a dealer in mantels, grates, tiles and fireplaces and as a contractor in the installation of the same, his well equipped establishment being at 117 North Rose street. Mr. Sales has the distinction of being a native son of London, England, where he was born May 5, I866, and he is a son of John J. and Louise (Flavell) Sales, who continued their residence in their native land until I87I, when they came to the United States and forthwith established thee family home in Kalamazoo. In England John J. Sales had learned the trade of brick and stone mason and had made himself proficient along other mechanical lines. In Kalamazoo he continued to follow his trade many years. He laid the first cement sidewalks in this city, and also assisted in the brick and cement work in the erection of the Van Deusen Hospital for the Insane. He gained reputation for the superior excellence of his cement work, in which he was a pioneer and an expert authority. After the great Chicago fire of I87i he passed some time in that city, where he aided in the work of rebuilding and rehabilitation. There his wife died, and with his four small children he then returned to Kalamazoo. Here he continued to be identified with business affairs until his death, which occurred in January, I920, after he had attained to the venerable age of eighty years. He was known and honored as an upright and worthy citizen of utmost loyalty and of much civic progressiveness. His three sons all learned and followed his trade, and the sons, Thomas J. and William R., are now successful contractors in Kalamazoo. The one sister, Louise R., wife of David De Myers, was a resident of Kalamazoo at the time of her death, several years ago. James A. Sales was a lad of six years at the time the family home was established in Kalamazoo, and his early education was obtained in the public schools. At the age of sixteen years, in Kalamazoo, he initiated his practical apprenticeship to the trade of general mason, and after working with his father for some time he purchased the business of A. J. Curtis. He has since continued this business, during a period of a quarter of a century, and he has built up a large and representative enterprise as a contractor for the installing of mantels, grates, tiles, fireplaces, etc., with particular attention given to the laying of tile floors and tile walls for bathrooms. His contracting operations have extended into various other counties in this section of Michigan, and his reputation for effective and honorable service is one of the best of his fortifying business assets. Many of his customers have been on his list of patrons for fully twenty-five years, and this fact bears its own significance. He has maintained his headquarters on North Rose street for the past twenty years. Mr. Sales is a member of the Interstate Tile & Mantel Contractors Association, is a charter member of the Kiwanis Club in his home city, and also of Burr Oak Lodge No. 270, I. O. 0. F. In the Masonic fraternity his basic affiliation is with Kalamazoo Lodge No. 22, A. F. & A. M., and he is also a noble of the Mystic Shrine, as a member of the temple in the city of Grand Rapids. He is a Republican in 286 HISTORIC MICHIGAN political adherence, and he and his wife and daughter are communicants of St. Luke's church, Protestant Episcopal. In 1895 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sales to Miss Maude Davidson, of Peoria, Illinois, in which city her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Davidson, reside in the house that has represented their home continuously for the past sixty years, they having come from Canada to Peoria. Mary Louise, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Sales, is, in 1924, a student in the Kalamazoo High School. Mr. Sales has passed the major part of his life thus:far in Kalamazoo, and here he has so ordered his course as to retain inviolable place in popular confidence and esteem. Dirk J. Scholten, M.D., whose office and residence are at 522 South Burdick street, is ministering to a large practice, engaged in general medicine but giving special attention to X-ray service, in which he has won distinction. Doctor Scholten is an Iowan by birth, born in Alton, November I6, 1878. He was graduated from the Alton High School and from Iowa State College in 1899, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. He gave one year to the university as instructor in physiology, then entered the Illinois College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he was graduated in 1904. After serving a year as interne at the West Side Hospital, Chicago, Doctor Scholten returned to his native state, where he remained in practice about three years. In I908 he came to Kalamazoo and has built a lucrative practice in general medicine with special attention to surgery and X-ray work. He is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, Michigan and Tri-State Medical Societies, the American Medical Association and the American Roentgenological Association and was one of the organizers of the Roentgenological Association of North America. The Doctor also is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club and First Presbyterian church. On December 27, I9o6, he was united in marriage to Miss Cora Hoebeke, of Kalamazoo. Their two children are Dudley J., born January 12, 1908, a Central High School debater, and Roger A., born July I8, 1911, also a public school pupil. Of these two children Dr. and Mrs. Scholten are pardonably proud. The Doctor has always evinced a wholesome and lively interest in community efforts and in the social welfare projects of the city. George D. Shaw.-Mr. Shaw, widely known for his connection with the automobile business, comes of an old and respected pioneer family. He was born December 10, 1892, in Cass county, Michigan, the son of Benton D. and Mary E. Shaw, pioneers of Cass county. Mr. Shaw was a farmer and stock raiser. He was a charter member of St. Joseph Valley chapter of Masons, a Democrat, and with his wife active in the Baptist church. Benton D. Shaw died in 1916 at the age of seventy years. Hie had come to Cass county from Massachusetts with his parents, driving a yoke of oxen. The family is of Scotch origin. George D. Shaw received his early education in the Cass county schools, in Niles and Kalamazoo. He came to Kalamazoo about 1907 and has been associated with the automobile business virtually all his life. In 1921 he established a garage and the business has steadily grown from practically nothing to a volume of $50,000 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 287 a year. General repair work is the specialty. Mr. Shaw on June 5, I9II, was united in marriage to Nellie E. Hastings, of Kalamazoo, daughter of Larry and Kate Hastings, who died many years ago. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shaw two sons, George D., Jr., aged eleven, and Donald B., aged seven. Mrs. Shaw died November I9, 1923. Mr. Shaw is a member of the Kalamazoo Blue Lodge No. 22, Chapter No. I3, Council No. 63, Commandery No. 7 and the Shrine of Grand Rapids. He also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and Kalamazoo Automotive Association. Mr. Shaw is greatly respected, not only because of his business acumen and tact, but for his excellent personal qualities. Edward J. Stevens.-Mr. Stevens, widely known in civil engineering and archaeological circles, was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, December 21, 1878, the son of James E. Stevens, Jr., and Eleanor Stevens, wee Edwards. The father was born in St. Joe March I, 1850, was a lumber dealer and later part owner of the gas company of Benton Harbor. He was active in politics, served on the school board and died July 13, I902. He was a developer of Benton Harbor. Edward J. Stevens attended the graded schools in his home town and spent eight years in Benton Harbor College and two years at Purdue University in civil engineering. He served during the Spanish-American war as corporal of Company I, Thirty-third Michigan Volunteer Infantry, serving in Cuba. He was assistant city engineer of Benton Harbor a year, was with the Big Four Railroad two years and returned to Benton Harbor for engineering work. In I905 he came to Kalamazoo to serve Charles B. Hays, do railroad work and general civil engineering service. He did all the engineering for the Watervliet Paper Mills and for a year was city engineer of Dowagiac, Michigan. From March, I917, to January 4, 1920, he served during the war, with the Emergency Fleet Corporation, United States shipping board, as project engineer and in Newport News, Virginia; Newburgh, New York; Port Jefferson, Long Island; Jacksonville, Florida; Baltimore; Camden, New Jersey; Hog Island, near Philadelphia; Bath, Maine; Lorain, Ohio; Wyandotte, Michigan, and other places, and served with credit, leaving the service as senior engineer. He and Dr. W. B. Hinsdale recently organized the Michigan State Archaeological Society, January I7, 1924. Mr. Stevens is secretary and treasurer and Doctor Hinsdale trustee. Headquarters are at 6I5 Melrose street, Kalamazoo. The society to date has more than one hundred and twenty-five members. The president, George R. Fox, is director of the E. K. Warren Foundation, of Three Oaks, Michigan. Mr. Stevens was married December 2I, 1907, to Frances E. Claus, daughter of Edwin J. and Elizabeth (Scott) Claus. There are three children, Edward J. Stevens, Jr., Calvin Britain, who are at home, and Frances LaVerne, deceased. Mr. Stevens had always been a Republican until recent years, when he became independent. In 1908 he lost the aldermanship of the Fifth ward by only five votes. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, United-Spanish War Veterans and Loyal Order of Moose. A great-uncle, Major Calvin Britain, founded St. Joseph, Michigan. He was born in I800 in Jefferson county, New 288 HISTORIC MICHIGAN York, came to Michigan in 1827, and served in the state legislature and was lieutenant-governor. The grandfather of Mr. Stevens, James E. Stevens, who died September 25, 1914, at the age of ninety-one years, was a pioneer merchant of St. Joseph. Leonard H. Stewart, M.D., who is located at 413 South Burdick street, is a native of Michigan, born in Cascade, Kent county, Michigan. rHe attended the Cascade schools and the grade schools of Ada and the Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana, and was graduated from Kalamazoo College in I885 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, after which he taught for a number of years. He then entered the University of Michigan, medical department, and was graduated in 1897. He served an interneship in Ann Arbor a year, since when he has been in active practice in Kalamazoo. He served as contract surgeon in the World war, having charge of S. A. T. C. of Kalamazoo College. Doctor Stewart is a member of the Academy of Medicine, of the Tri-State and Michigan State Medical Societies and of the American Medical Association. He has been local surgeon for the Michigan Central Railroad since 1908. He is a Mason, Pythian and member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He also belongs to the Kiwanis Club. Doctor Stewart also served as a member of the volunteer medical service corps. In 1887 the Doctor was married to Ella D. Stimson, of Kalamazoo. There is one son, who attended the grade and high schools of Kalamazoo and who is now a successful fruit grower in Alabama. His wife was Ruth Rawlston, of Kalamazoo. They have two children, Barbara, aged six, and Marshall, aged four. He and his wife are members of the Portage Street Baptist Church. George K. Taylor.-The year 1924 finds the municipal affairs of the city of Kalamazoo under most loyal, progressive and effective executive control, and specially vigorous and liberal is proving the administration of the city's popular mayor, whose name initiates this brief review. In the election of November, 1923, Mr. Taylor received the highest vote of all candidates then appearing for election as city commissioners, and by reason of this preponderance in his favor he became mayor of the city. He was "in the hands of his friends," and that the number of his friends was appreciable was shown in the large majority that was rolled up in his support in this election. He had accepted nomination with somewhat of reluctance and did no preliminary campaign work to advance his cause. As a public official he is proving independent, progressive, liberal and loyal, is not dominated by expediency and is administering municipal affairs earnestly, honestly and with much of discrimination and success. Kalamazod approves of its mayor and his work, and in this popular attitude Mr. Taylor finds his reward. Mr. Taylor was born on the family homestead farm, near Canton, Pennsylvania, and is a son of George K. and Abbie (Fellows) Taylor, both representatives of families early founded in Connecticut. Mrs. Abbie (Fellows) Taylor died when her son George K. was but ten days old, and the father later contracted a second marriage, of which four children were born. George K. Taylor, Sr., was long numbered among the substantial exponents of farm industry in the old KALAMAZOO COUNTY 289 Keystone state, and there he continued his residence until his death, at the age of sixty-eight years. To the public schools of his native state the present mayor of Kalamazoo is indebted foi his youthful education, and after his graduation in the high school at Canton he became a successful teacher in the schools of Pennsylvania. Thereafter he came to Michigan, and for three years he continued his pedagogic service as a teacher in the public schools of Allegan county. Within this period he also opened a general store at Pullman, that county, and in this business he still retains his interest. He became the owner also of one of the valuable fruit farms of Allegan county, and to this property, which he still owns, he gave his personal supervision until 1911 when he came to Kalamazoo and purchased the cold storage and produce business which he has since continued with marked success. He has greatly expanded the scope and importance of this business and now maintains branch establishments in the cities of Battle Creek, Jackson and Sturgis. The political allegiance of Mayor Taylor is given to the Republican party, but in local affairs he is not insistently constrained by partisan lines. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. May 29, 1900, recorded the marriage of Mr. Taylor to Miss Leta Reynolds, who was born and reared in Kalamazoo and who is a popular figure in the representative social activities of her native city. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have two children, George Harold, and Mildred. Mr. Taylor is one of the substantial and progressive business men of Kalamazoo, and in his administration as mayor he is employing the same energy, ethics and enterprise that have conserved his success in business. Albion B. Titus, Jr.-Hon. Albion B. Titus, Jr., member of the law firm of Titus & Titus, is one of Michigan's distinguished citizens. The firm of which he is a member maintains its offices at 303 Hanselman Buildirrg. Mr. Titus was born in Hartford, Michigan, September I6, I886, the son of Lincoln H. Titus, who was born in Kennebec county, Maine, in I86o. The senior Titus received his elementary education in the public schools and at Oak Grove Seminary, Maine. When a young man he came to VanBuren township, Michigan, taught school, studied law and practiced his profession in that county. He then became prosecuting attorney and in I9I0 came to Kalamazoo and formed a partnership with Judge Samuel H. VanHorn and his son under the firm designation of Titus, VanHorn & Titus. The partnership continued until Mr. Titus, junior, was elected municipal judge and Mr. VanHorn became judge of the probate court. The elder Titus practiced alone until I920 when the present firm of Titus & Titus was formed. It was in I916 that Albion Titus was elected municipal judge. He was elected to the state legislature in 1920 and served with credit to himself, his constituency and the state for two terms. In 1923 he was chairman of the University of Michigan committee and he has also served on the committee on state of affairs. He has always been active in Republican politics. In 1923 Mr. Titus fathered the bill which raised $4,000,000 for the University of Michigan in its bonding program. He was graduated in the law department of that institution in I909 and that year came to Kalamazoo, preceding his father by one 290 HISTORIC MICHIGAN year. Mr. Titus is a Mason, Moose and Elk. On June 28, I916, he was united in marriage to Iola S. Tedrow, of Kalamazoo, daughter of Rev. William L. and Nora L. (Strohm) Tedrow, who founded the Trinity Lutheran Church of Kalamazoo. The father of Mr. Titus was at one time president of the village of Paw Paw, Michigan. The mother was, before her marriage, Ida L. Irey, a native of Ohio. There were three sons, Guy L. Titus, a traveling salesman; Albion B., attorney, judge and legislator, and Paul M., an engineer with the Michigan state highway department. James T. Upjohn, M.D.-Many points of exceptional interest as touching the history of Kalamazoo county mark the individual and ancestral record of Doctor Upjohn, who is now virtually retired from active work of the profession in which he gained much of distinction, and who holds secure place as one of the honored and representative citizens of Kalamazoo. In a brief memoir dedicated to his honored father, the late Dr. Uriah Upjohn, elsewhere in this volume, are given adequate data concerning this sterling pioneer family of Kalamazoo county. Dr. James T. Upjohn was one of the organizers of the Upjohn Company, a Kalamazoo concern engaged in the manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations, and in addition to his having been associated with the upbuilding of this great enterprise he has given financial and executive support to the development of other corporate interests of commercial and industrial importance. Doctor Upjohn was born in Richland township, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, on the 29th of November, 1858, and is a son of the late Dr. Uriah and Maria (Mills) Upjohn, who were numbered among the very early settlers of Kalamazoo county, as reference to the sketch of the father in this work will show. The preliminary education of Dr. James T. Upjohn was acquired in the public schools of Kalamazoo, and including the high school, and in preparation for his chosen profession, one with which the family name has been associated in numerous and prominent ways, he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of I886 and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He later took effective post-graduate work and also served on the staff of the university hospital. After his return to Kalamazoo he was here engaged in active general practice during one year, and he then became concerned in the organization of the Upjohn Company, who manufacture an extensive line of pharmaceutical preparations. He was a resourceful factor in the development and upbuilding of this large and important concern and continued his service as secretary and treasurer of the company during the long period of twenty-five years, besides being superintendent of the laboratories. He finally sold his entire interest in the Upjohn Company, and devoted some years to foreign travelin Europe and South America. It was after his return that he completed a post-graduate course in the medical department of the University of Michigan, besides serving as a member of the staff of the university hospital. He returned to Kalamazoo, where he built up a representative practice as a physician and surgeon and where he continued his professional activities until I920, since which year he has KALAMAZOO COUNTY 291 lived virtually retired. He has since given his time to travel and to the management of his varied capitalistic interests and personal affairs. While he was absent in Europe in I924 Doctor Upjohn was made the Republican nominee for representative of Kalamazoo county in the Michigan legislature, this honor having come to him unsought. In the November election of that year he was elected and will begin his service in January, 1925. Doctor Upjohn is largely interested in real estate in and about Kalamazoo and throughout the northern part of Michigan; was one of the organizers and is a heavy stockholder in the Munising Paper Company, of Munising, Michigan; was a charter member of the Detroit Sulphite Pulp and Paper Company and has been a director of the same from the time of its organization; is also interested in other paper companies in the Kalamazoo valley. The Doctor takes loyal interest in all that touches the welfare and advancement of his native county and home city, and in his civic attitude he is liberal and progressive. He is a staunch adherent of the Republican party, and he and his family hold membership in the Presbyterian church. In I885 Doctor Upjohn wedded Miss Carrie Barnes, of Richland, Kalamazoo county, and she passed to the life eternal in i918. Of the children of this union the eldest is Florence, who is the wife of Verne H. Smiley, of Grand Rapids, their children being five in number. Amelia is the wife of Hugh Winkworth, of Monroe, this state, and they have three children. Ruth died at the age of fourteen years. Ralph T. married Dorothy Hollingsworth and they reside in San Diego, California, their children being two in number. James Robert, youngest of the children, resides at Monroe, Michigan. In the year 192I was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Upjohn to Miss Isabel Gillies, of Kalamazoo, and she is the gracious and popular chatelaine of their beautiful home, at 2I5 Stuart-avenue. Dr. William E. Upjohn.-The name of Doctor Upjohn is closely linked with the industrial and civic progress of Kalamazoo. Always deeply interested in public affairs, and especially those of his own city, he has contributed unsparingly both in time and money to the wellbeing of his community. His gifts have been many and generous, and one bears his name. Upjohn Park, once a marsh in the center of town, was filled in by Doctor Upjohn and given to the city of Kalamazoo for a public playground. In appreciation of the gift the city government named the playground after its donor. Perhaps his most important contribution to the welfare of Kalamazoo was his part in the revision of the city government. It had long been recognized by most Kalamazoo citizens that the city charter was worn out and that the need for a new system of government was very urgent. Doctor Upjohn accepted the presidency of the Chamber of Commerce to make possible a program of charter revision. Under the direction of this organization, a campaign of education was prosecuted in 1914 which resulted in the election of a charter commission. With Doctor Upjohn as its head, this commission prepared a charter that has become a model for city government by the commission-manager plan. The first commission elected under the new charter included Doctor Upjohn as one of its members, and he was the first mayor under the hnew plan. 292 HISTORIC MICHIGAN The success of the commission-manager plan of government in Kalamazoo is very evident, for the city government has widened its activities extensively, and at the same time is rapidly wiping out a heavy debt which had been accumulated by the old form of government. In commercial affairs Doctor Upjohn has preferred to keep his interests in Kalamazoo: His name is connected with many successful industrial institutions in the city, most prominently with the Upjohn Company, of which he is president. This company was founded by Doctor Upjohn in I886 when he gave up the practice of medicine to begin the manufacture of pills by a new process he had invented. The company was first called The Upjohn Pill and Granule Company, but the name was later changed to The Upjohn Company as the business expanded to include other pharmaceutical articles besides pills and granules. The company has been very successful and is now one of the leading industries of Kalamazoo, manufacturing a complete line of pharmaceutical products well known to every physician and druggist in this country. Doctor Upjohn was born in Richland, Michigan, on July 5, I853. His father was Uriah Upjohn, one of the pioneer physicians of Michigan. Uriah came from England as a young man and after studying medicine in this country he commenced his practice in what was then little more than a wilderness. Under the conditions, Dr. Uriah Upjohn deserved great credit for providing good educations for his twelve children. Several of them followed in his steps as physicians. Among these was Dr. William E. Upjohn, who graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan in I875. He took up the practice of medicine in Hastings, Michigan, and continued his practice there until he came to Kalamazoo to organize The Upjohn Pill and Granule Company, in which enterprise he had as his associates his three brothers, Dr. Henry Upjohn, Dr. James T. Upjohn and Fred L. Upjohn. Death soon took away Dr. Henry Upjohn, but the other three brothers rapidly built up a growing and successful business until I909 when Dr. James T. Upjohn and Fred L, Upjohn withdrew to pursue other activities. Another medical man who for a long time was an officer in The Upjohn Company was Dr. H. B. Osborn, whose name will long be cherished in Kalamazoo. Doctor Upjohn married Rachel Babcock, of Kalamazoo, who died in I905. The children of this union are Rachel Winifred, wife of Dr. S. R. Light, vice-president of The Upjohn Company; William Harold, secretary of The Upjohn Company; Dorothy, wife of Allan DeLano, of Kalamazoo, and Genevieve, wife of Donald S. Gilmore, of Kalamazoo. In I9I3 Doctor Upjohn married Mrs. Carrie Gilmore, who since the death of her first husband, Mr. James F. Gilmore, has conducted the store of Gilmore Brothers, the largest department store in Kalamazoo. This important mercantile institution is now managed by Mrs. Upjohn's three sons, Donald, Stanley and Irving, which gives leisure to Dr. and Mrs. Upjohn to spend a large amount of their time in foreign travel or on their country place at Augusta, Michigan, where their hobby is raising flowers. Doctor Upjohn is treasurer of the American Peony Society, and makes the peony his especial hobby. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 293 Dr. E. H. Van Deusen.-Edwin H. Van Deusen, A.M., M.D., was born at Livingston, Columbia county, New York, on August 29, 1828, and died at Goshen, New York, February 9, I9o9. His parents were Robert N. Van Deusen, a merchant and miller, and Catherine Best, daughter of John Best, a farmer of Columbia county. He attended the district school during his boyhood, and then took a preparatory course of three years at Claverack Academy, now known as Hudson River Institute, after which he entered Williams College, graduating at the age of twenty. The degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him three years later by this college. In 1848 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at New York, graduating two years later, at which time he accepted a position on the staff of the New York Hospital, where he remained three years. In 1853 he received the appointment of first assistant physician at the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, which he held until. 858. Provision was made for the establishment of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane by an act of the legislature of Michigan in I848, and in I855 Doctor Van Deusen was appointed medical superintendent of the institution. The locating committee purchased one hundred and fiftyseven acres of land for the establishment of the institution, and Doctor Van Deusen, who had visited Kalamazoo, frequently in 1855, I856 and I857, resigned his position at the Utica Asylum, of which he was then assistant medical superintendent, and removed to Kalamazoo in the fall of I858. On July 22, I858, he had married Miss Cynthia A. Wendover, daughter of John Thompson Wendover, Esq., a merchant of Stuyvesant-on-the-Hudson. They had one son, Robert T. Van Deusen, who was born on April 6, 1859, and has since died. Up to 1858 the appropriations by the legislature for the asylum had been insufficient to carry out the proposed plans, and in February, 1859, Doctor Van Deusen, with the assistance of Dr. Foster Pratt, secured one hundred thousand dollars, the first large appropriation of the legislature. Under his supervision, active building operations were commenced. On August 29, 1859, the institution was formally opened. The center building and the contiguous half of what is now the south wing of the female department were then finished; the south wing was completed in the next two years, and the north wing about six years later, while what is now the male department was finished in I877. Doctor Van Deusen attained a success in this work that is seldom met with in the history of public buildings of this character. Doctor Van Deusen served as a member of the commission appointed to select the location and supervise the construction of the Eastern Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Pontiac, and acted on a similar commission in connection with the Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Traverse City. He also served for six years as a commissioner on the Michigan state board of charities and corrections. He held the position of medical superintendent of the asylum until February, I878, when failing health, brought on by excessive labor, compelled his resignation. Possessed of a thorough knowledge of the institution's requisites, a wonderful grasp of detail, and a brilliant executive ability, his name was a synonym of success in a broad field of labor-that of treating 294 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and caring for the insane of the state. His health did not permit the active continuance of his profession, and after his resignation as medical superintendent of the asylum he lived a quiet life in his pleasant home in Kalamazoo, but his twenty years of useful labor and selfsacrificing work in connection with the asylum will never be forgotten. Both he and his wife were active and devoted members of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, at which they were constant attendants, Doctor Van Deusen having served on the vestry for years, and having been chairman of the building committee when the church was built in 1885. In 1892 St. Luke's church, through Dr. and Mrs. Van Deusen, secured its admirable parish house, which is justly regarded as one of the most commodious atnd attractive in the country. Aside from this they performed another great act of public benevolence-by presenting to the citizens of Kalamazoo their present beautiful public library. Thus they founded a great public benefaction, of which every intelligent member of the community can partake for all time to come. All of these deeds of charity and public benevolence were done without any ostentation, and when known, Mr. and Mrs. Van Deusen discouraged public notice of them. Mrs. Van Deusen passed to the life beyond on July 6, I919. Both are buried in Mountain Home Cemetery at Kalamazoo. Mrs. Van Deusen's death occurred at Goshen, New York. Harm Viswat.-After landing in America, Mr. Viswat attended evening school and seized every opportunity within his reach to improve himself intellectually. As a result of his ambition and zeal he heads the Celery City Lumber Company, which he helped to organize. In the community he is greatly esteemed. The young immigrant worked eight months at the Bryant Paper Mills and five years for the Kalamazoo Lumber Company as a driver, at scaling lumber, and as an estimator. For two years he worked for the J. E. Gill Lumber Company as assistant yard man, then helped organize the Celery City Lumber Company with Edwin H. Neher as manager. For a while Mr. Viswat relinquished duties with the company, but became manager, succeeding Mr. Neher, with the added duties of treasurer. The original capital of the company was $3,500 and this has grown to an authorized capitalization of $60,000, of which $49,000 is paid in. The company, which employs ten men, handles all kinds of building material and lumber. Mr. Viswat is a member of the Michigan and National Retail Lumber Dealers' Associations, Chamber of Commerce, Loyal Order of Moose and Masons. He is vice-president of the Kalamazoo Credit Men's Bureau. Harm Viswat was born in Holland, June 17, 1877, coming to Kalamazoo in 1903. His father, John Viswat, a contractor and dike builder, was born in 1853 in Holland and died in Holland in 1899. The mother, Klasshiena Viswat, also a native of Holland, was born in I857 and died in 1893. There were five children in the family. Harm Viswat was married in Kalamazoo on April 27, 1909. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Viswat are: John, born April 29, 1910; Elizabeth, October 30, 1912; Herman Lewis, November 15, 1914; Henry Clarence, November 14, I917; Clara, August 8, 1920; Mildred, June I7, 1923. Harm Viswat attended elementary school in Holland. A considerable element of vision and genius was soon called into play KALAMAZOO COUNTY 295 on his arrival in the new land and this has been well capitalized. Mr. Viswat is very much esteemed in the community in which he lives. After the death of Mr. Viswat's mother, he sailed on river vessels on the lakes and rivers of Holland. In I897 the government of Holland claimed him in this branch of the service in their navy. During the time of his sailing in the navy his father died, after which he signed up for further service on the seas. Mr. Viswat took a trip at the time of the war between England and the Boers in the Cruiser Gelderland. He has also made several trips to the East Indies and Dutch colonies as first-class sailor. In Igoo he became quartermaster and held this position for two years till retiring from the navy. He then went into Germany, the Province of Rindeland, and at once took up a foremanship for the Holtzman. He was engaged there for about ten months. After this he worked at melting iron for Frederick Krupp, the cannon king of Germany. Mr. Viswat visited the big cannon factories in Essen, where there were 50,000 people employed to make war materials. He told many of his friends upon seeing all that was going on in Germany that they were preparing fast for war. He made up his mind at once to leave the country and decided then to come to the good old United States of America. From history collected through his campaigns going over the world he found that the American people stood for the liberty and freedom which he now enjoys, and he became an American citizen seven years after his arrival in America. At one time Mr. Viswat was o'n the Cruiser Everson (I897) when all the war vessels, one of each nation, were engaged in the public feast at London in honor of Queen Victoria of England, who was on the throne of England for fifty years. George Edward Walker, of Galesburg, is a busy man who likes to keep busy and who has shown both versatility and resourcefulness, his activities in his native county having been along varied lines and invariably attended with success. He is one of the world's constructive workers and he has done things worthily and well. He has valuable farm interests, is engaged prominently in the buying and shipping of livestock, especially cattle, and has developed a substantial business also as a contractor. On a farm in Richland township, Kalamazoo county, George Edward Walker was born May 30, I86I, a son of William and Elizabeth (Hunter) Walker, both natives of Londonderry, in Ulster, Ireland. In Scotland William Walker became associated with the contracting firm of Chamberlain, Walker & World, which there built the Glasgow and Clyde Railroad. They first built the Recheare Rapids canal around the rapids on the St. Lawrence river. Later the firm came to Prescott, Canada, and assumed the contract for the construction. of the Welland canal from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The firm thereafter constructed the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Vermont, and the line of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad through Ohio. Mr. Walker was not a member of the firm, but was a general superintendent and foreman. In 1857 William Walker came to Michigan and settled on a pioneer farm near Galesburg, he and his wife having continued to maintain their home in Kalamazoo county during the remainder of their lives, and their names meriting 296 HISTORIC MICHIGAN place on the roll of the honored pioneers of the county. They became the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this review is now the only one surviving. George E. Walker was reared on the home farm, and after attending the district schools he continued his studies in the high school at Galesburg. After leaving school he continued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the farm, and with, perhaps, at inherent Scotch appreciation of fine cattle, he early began to give much attention to the cattle business, as a buyer and shipper. With this line of enterprise he has continued his active and successful alliance forty,four years, and he has precedence as one of the prominent exponents of the business in this section of the state, where his operations have been of broad scope and importance. He has been known also as an alert and progressive representative of. farm enterprise, is the owner of a large and valuable landed estate in his native county, and in late years his only sot has had the active management of the homestead farm, which is one of the best in improvements, productiveness and management in this part of Michigan. Since retiring from active supervision of the farm Mr. Walker has given much attention to general contracting, in which connection he constructed a large part of the state highways through Kalamazoo and neighboring counties. A liberal and loyal citizen, he has been influential in public affairs in his community and has served in various local offices. He was for six years chairman of the good roads commission of the county, and gave three years of progressive administration as president of the village board of trustees at Galesburg. As chief executive of the municipal government of Galesburg Mr. Walker was instrumental in gaining many improvements of value to the village, notably the concrete road and new location across the Kalamazoo river; the modernizing of the fire department; the providing for the Bell Telephone Company a new route through the village; and the placing of protective gates at the street crossing of the Michigan Central Railroad. The political allegiance of Mr. Walker is given to the Republican party, his basic masonic affiliation is with Galesburg Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and his Scottish Rite affiliations are with the Consistory in Grand Rapids. He is also a member of Kalamazoo Lodge No. 50, B. P. 0. E., and of the Galesburg lodge of the Knights of Pythias. The marriage of Mr. Walker and Miss Ina D. Stratton was solemnized October 27, I886. Mrs. Walker was born in Portage county, Ohio, and was a child at the time of the family removal to Kalamazoo county, where her father, Lucas Stratton, became a prosperous farmer. Mr. Walker is a stockholder of the Kalamazoo City Savings Bank, also the Climax State Bank, of Climax; and a director and vice-president of the Augusta State Bank, of Augusta; also a director and stockholder of the Detroit Packing Company, of Detroit, and is interested in various other companies in the county and state. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Walker: Lucas G., as previously noted, has the management of the fine (Walker homestead farm, he having married Miss Olga Erickson, of Frankfort, this state. Bess is the wife of Roy Menne, of Galesburg, and they have two sons and one daughter. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 297 Mabel is the wife of Rice A. Beers, of Galesburg, who is district engineer of the state highway department. Irene is the wife of Lawrence Reed, manager of the Climax Packing Company, at Climax, Kalamazoo county. A. William Walsh is executive head of one of the important corporations that lend commercial prestige to the city of Kalamazoo, where he is president of the A. W. Walsh Wholesale Grocery Company, the large and well-equipped headquarters of which is established in the building at 147-149 East Water street. Of sterling Irish lineage, Mr. Walsh was born in Staffordshire, England, on the 20th of December, I859, and he was a small boy at the time of his mother's death. His father, Martin Walsh, brought his four motherless children to the United States in the year I866, and the family home was established at Fort Wayne, Indiana. Besides the subject of this sketch the other one surviving child is Maggie, who is the wife of Thomas Winder, of Oak Park, Illinois, the father having been a resident of Tiffin, Ohio, at the time of his death. A. William Walsh was a lad of seven years at the time of the removal of the family to the United States, and he was reared to manhood in the state of Indiana. About I891 he came to Kalamazoo county and here turned his attention to farm enterprise in Ross township. Thereafter he spent some time traveling about the country and selling merchandise, but he has been continuously identified with business affairs in Kalamazoo since 1894, the while his advancement and marked success represent the results of his own ability and well-ordered efforts. For a number of years Mr. Walsh was engaged in the retail grocery business on North Burdick street, where he developed one of the leading establishments of the kind in the city. In I916 he amplified the scope and importance of his operations by engaging in the wholesale grocery business, in which he has since continued successful operations as president of the A. W. Walsh Wholesale Grocery Company. His thorough knowledge of all details of this li'ne of enterprise, his liberal and progressive policies, and his close observance of just and equitable business principles, have been potent in the upbuilding of one of the important commercial concerns of Kalamazoo, and he is essentially one of the representative citizens and business men of the fair metropolis and judicial center of Kalamazoo county. Leo Cloney has been secretary and treasurer of the A. W. Walsh Wholesale Grocery Company from the time of its incorporation, soon after the business was initiated. The company has membership in the National Wholesale Grocery Dealers' Association and is represented also in membership in the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Walsh is aligned in the ranks of the Democratic party, is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, and he and his wife are zealous communicants of St. Augustine Catholic Church. In I891 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Walsh to Miss Mary Holden, a representative of one of the old and well-known families of Kalamazoo county, where she passed her entire life. The death of Mrs. Walsh occurred in the early '9os, and she is survived by one son, John F., who is associated with the wholesale grocery organization of which his father is the executive head, his position being that of general manager. John F. 298 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Walsh married Miss Mabel Price, of Battle Creek, Michigan, and they have three children, William, Richard and Mary. For his second wife A. William Walsh wedded Miss Anna Wynne, of Kalamazoo, and she is the popular mistress of the domestic and social affairs of the attractive home. Arthur Eddy West, M.D., was born near Grand Island, Nebraska, May 24, I874. When eight years old he went with his parents to Michigan, which has been his home since. When he was twelve the West family took up their residence in Eaton Rapids. He obtained his elementary education in various towns in Michigan, graduating from the Eaton Rapids High School in I892 at the age of eighteen. After teaching school for one year, he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine July I, 1897. For seven years he engaged in the general practice of medicine in Eaton Rapids. He then accepted the position of personal physician to Col. G. G. Green, of Woodbury, New Jersey, with whom he stayed for four years. After a year spent in study, six months of which was in various institutions in New York City, he located in Kalamazoo, August I, 90o8, limiting his practice to urology and skin diseases. Doctor West is a member of the American Medical Association, Michigan State Medical Society, Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, Kalamazoo Clinical Club and Bronson Methodist Hospital staff. During the World war he served as a member of the Kalamazoo War Sanitation Board. His fraternal affiliations are with the Elks and Masons. In the latter he has been an active worker, being past master of Anchor Lodge of S. Q. No. 87, past high priest of Kalamazoo Chapter No. 13, R. A. M.; past T. I. master of Kalamazoo Council No. 63, R. and S. M., and past M. W. master of Robinson Chapter of Rose Croix, A. A. S. R. Doctor West is also grand representative of the Grand Council of Mississippi near the Grand Council of Michigan. Glen C. Wheaton.-By actual training in the office of the city engineer, augmented by a correspondence course, Glen C. Wheaton, county engineer of Kalamazoo, became a surveyor and civil engineer and today operates what is said to be the second largest engineering organization in the state of Michigan. Throughout, Mr. Wheaton is a self-made man in all the term implies. Incidentally, he is a native of Kalamazoo and, personally and from the standpoint of the engineer, knows every nook and cranny of Kalamazoo county. He was born May Io, 1879. The father, Ulysses Wheaton, was born in Connecticut and when a young man moved to Ohio. He was a cabinet-maker and later became a builder and contractor. About I850 Mr. Wheaton came to Kalamazoo. He erected many of the larger and more important buildings of the city, among them the public library. The first building on which he worked was the old Kalamazoo House, which stood on the site of the present Edwards-Chamberlain hardware store. He died at the age of seventy-five in Los Angeles, California, in which city he had been living. Mrs. Wheaton was, before her marriage, Olive Armstrong, born in Genesee county, Michigan. Mrs. Wheaton died at the age of fifty-sixn succumbing to burns sustained in a gasoline KALAMAZOO COUNTY 299 explosion. Glen C. Wheaton attended Kalamazoo schools and in youth found connection with the city engineer's office. By diligence and sustained interest in his work, complemented by a correspondence course, Mr. Wheaton became an accredited civil engineer and entered business for himself in 1907. He does a general business in landscape surveying, grading and road contracting and for eight years has faithfully served the county as its engineer. It is said that with one exception, a Detroit firm, Mr. Wheaton conducts the largest civil engineering force in Michigan, having eighteen men on his staff in the summer and about nine men in the winter. Mr. Wheaton was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Becker, of VanBuren county, Michigan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Christian Becker, both deceased. The Wheatons have no children. Mr. Wheaton is a Republican, an Elk and a communicant of the Baptist church. He constructed a beautiful home on the south side of West Lake, Portage township, eight miles south of Kalamazoo, strictly modern in appointment. The home was designed by Mr. Wheaton, who did all the work, including carpentry and plumbing. He has a complete set of maps of the city and county, up to the very minute in detail. From him were secured the maps and drawings for the last county atlas published in I9IO by George A. Ogle & Company. Albert S. White, who was for five years second vice-president of the Kalamazoo National Bank, and who long exerted large and beneficent influence in civic and business affairs in his home city, passed from the stage of life's mortal endeavors on the 24th of November, I916. He will best be remembered not for his material achievement, and it was large, but for the intrinsic nobility of his nature and for the exalted personal stewardship which he manifested i'n all of the relations of his earnest and productive career. It is much to have merited such an estimate as that given in the following quotation: "There are two kinds of men in this world, those who profess much and do little, and those who profess little and do much. The late Albert S. White belonged to the latter class. He was not a member of a Christian church, but he was a far better Christian than many who loudly proclaim their church affiliation. He lived a life of service, and helped wherever help was needed. Quiet, gentle, unostentatious, he made glad the hearts and made sweet the lives of many. Modest and unassuming, he was, withal, a man of strength and power. He was beloved by all who knew him, and never failed to give in large measure the tenderness and kindness of his great heart and soul. He never cared for riches but to turn them to some good and useful purpose. He used his means as an instrument for doing good. His greatest wealth was the friends he possessed and the many who called him blessed." Such a man means much, wherever placed, and in this history it is well that a tribute be paid to the memory of Albert S. White. He was born at Edwards, St. Lawrence county, New York, in the year I846, and thus was seventy years of age at the time of his death. He was the only son of a country merchant, and early began to assist in his father's store, his educational advantages in the meanwhile having been those of the common schools of the locality and period, supplemented by a 300 HISTORIC MICHIGAN business course at the Eastman College of Poughkeepsie, New York. He gained practical experience in merchandising and as a young man he came to Michigan and, in partnership with another young man who was his close friend, he opened a general store at Ovid, Michigan. He later sold his interest in this business and then returned to New York, where he took a course in banking, at Syracuse. Upon his return to Michigan he opened a private bank at Hart, Oceana county, and in I886 he came to Kalamazoo and assumed the office of vice-president of the Kalamazoo National Bank, a position which he thereafter retained until the close of his life. It is unnecessary here to attempt a specific review of the career of Mr. White, but it is to be recorded that in every relation of his life he worked under the gracious canopy of duty and helpfulness. He remembered those who were forgotten, and was in the fullest and highest sense the friend of humanity. Along uncharted channels his service to his fellowmen went forth quietly and unassumingly, and there is no greater honor than to live in the hearts of those to whom succor and sympathy have been extended. He loved his fellowmen, the children, and all that represents the higher ideals in the scheme of human thought and motive. He was the loyal, liberal and appreciative citizen, the true philanthopist, and the upholder of those in any way afflicted or distressed, in mind, body or estate. In the precincts of his idyllic home his noble characteristics shone most gloriously, and even as in that home came the greatest loss and bereavement when he passed away, even so there remains in that home the fullest measure of consolation and compensation in the memories of all that he had there signified. The year I874 recorded the marriage of Mr. White to Miss Harriet E. Alverson, of Watertown, New York, and since his death she has continued to maintain her home in Kalamazoo, in the church and social life of which she has long been a loved participant, she having long been a zealous member of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. White is survived also by two daughters, Maude L. and Edna M., who remain with their widowed mother, both having attended Smith College and both being active in cultural and church work in their home city, the mother and daughters being zealous in carrying forward the good work of the husband and father who now "rests from his labors." Maude L. graduated from Smith and later from Columbia University with the degree of Master of Arts. Mr. White founded the Citizens Exchange Bank of Hart, Michigan, in company with Judge Fred Russell and J. K. Flood. The institution was run for years as a private bank but later was converted into a national bank. He served as president of the bank for two years. H. E. White, directing genius of the Globe Casket Manufacturing Company, was born March 2, I866, in Kalamazoo county six miles south of the city of Kalamazoo. His father, Ebenezer N. White, was born in Vermont in 1840, and for many years was engaged in agriculture in Kalamazoo county. The mother was, before her marriage, Euphemia C. Quick, born in 1840. The children were Wilber H. White, who died in I9II, Mary A. White and H. E. White. The subject of this sketch married Ella M. Mafit, who was born in 1871 in XW.th,92^f.3...............,; ---,a... -. W-ih~ep I -..- -a... <- - --- - l- -.1:.>,r. —,r.:. ~.-0ir1.:'t: 07 V72 / KALAMAZOO COUNTY 301 VanBuren county, in 1890. The children are Byron E. White, born in 1893, assisting his father; Ona B., born in I895, a school teacher in Kalamazoo, and Ethel M., born in 1897 and living at home. Jay M. White, who died in 1923, was born in 1891. He was stationed in Denver, Colorado, as manager of the Globe Casket Manufacturing Company. H. E. White attended the country schools and in 1890 began work for his father on the farm, remaining five years. He then came to Kalamazoo and went on the road as a salesman for the Aultman Miller Company, of Akron, selling farm machinery. This connection lasted four years. Then he started selling funeral supplies for the Kalamazoo Casket Company, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa being his territory. This connection lasted six years. Mr. White was instrumental in effecting the sale of the Kalamazoo Casket Company to the Globe Casket Manufacturing Company and then traveled for the Globe company, covering the same territory, until August I, 1912, when he was called to take charge of the business of the Globe company to succeed R. D. McKinney, manager, whose accidental death made necessary a change in the management. Mr. White has been with the company since. Byron E. White, assistant to his father, was married July 28, 1917, to Lamechi Bloem, born October 21, 1891. They have two children, Joyce Ella, born April 28, 1918, and Elmer Bloem, born July 3, 1923, both in Kalamazoo. Byron attended the public schools of Kalamazoo and was graduated from high school in 1912, went to Ferris Institute at Big Rapids, took a commercial course, entered the employ of the Consolidated Press and Tool Company, of Hastings, Michigan, then returned to Kalamazoo in February, 1915. He started in cost system work at the Globe plant, then was promoted to assistant to the manager. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Chamber of Commerce. The Globe Casket Manufacturing Company is one of the oldest in the land, having made the first cloth-covered casket sold to an undertaker more than sixty years ago. 0. M. Allen established the company and was succeeded a few years later as manager of the business by the late R. D. McKinney. The concern was started in the back room of a store building, the woodwork done by a carpenter rather crudely. Business increased substantially and expansion was gradual. The Globe company turns out a complete line of burial cases and trimmings, metal caskets of bronze, copper and Armco iron. The hardwood caskets include black walnut, mahogany and oak. The extensive line of cloth-covered caskets embraces the use of cypress, "the wood eternal." Burial garments, hardware and trimmings are manufactured by the Globe company. The plant is thoroughly modern, comprising three buildings with a total of II7,300 square feet of floor space. H. E. White is a member of the Masonic fraternity and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the Travelers' Protective Association, of the Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club and Kalamazoo Credit Men's Association. Harris Burnett Osborne, M.D., was one of the veteran representatives of his profession in his home city of Kalamazoo at the time of his death, October 16, I916. He was born at Sherman, Chautau 302 HISTORIC MICHIGAN qua county, New York, August I, 1841, and along both paternal and maternal lines was a scion of Colonial and Revolutionary American ancestry. His parents, Platt Smith and Mary Ann (Platt) Osborne, were born in Washington county, New York, in which state the respective families had been established for several preceding generations. Platt S. Osborne was'a tanner and a country merchant. He was a son of David and Lucretia (Harris) Osborne and his father likewise had been a merchant. David Osborne was a son of David and Mary (Hunting) Osborne, whose marriage occurred in I757. David Osborne, Sr., and also his son and namesake, David, Jr., were patriot soldiers in the war of the Revolution, served as members of a New York regiment and lived up to the full tension of conflict and hardships incidental to the struggle for national independence. Joshua Harris, maternal grandfather of the subject of this memoir, likewise was a soldier of the Revolution, besides having previously fought in the French and Indian war. Platt S. Osborne, father of the Doctor, enrolled for service in the War of I812, but the conflict ended and his company was not called into active field service. In I805 he settled in western New York, and there he passed the remainder of his life. Dr. Harris B. Osborne gained his early education by attending the district schools of his native county, and about the year 1855 he went to Kane county, Illinois. He had lost his mother when a small boy and in Illinois he found the loving care of his sister Ann, who had married Dr. Samuel McNair. He studied English literature and mathematics with his sister for tutor. In I860 he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, he having previously begun the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Samuel McNair. He remained at the university until the spring of 1862, when he subordinated his personal interests to the call of patriotism and enlisted for service in the Civil War. He became a member of Company G, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and as a private his first active service was with Sherman's corps in the Army of the Tennessee. He took active part in the battles at Arkansas Post, Haines Bluff and those of the Deer Creek expedition. Thereafter he participated in the battles of Grand Gulf, Champion's Hill and Big Black, and the siege of Vicksburg. May I9, I863, he was commissioned assistant surgeon, and the next year he was made post surgeon at Vicksburg. He was always quick to respond to the calls of the civilians of Vicksburg and vicinity in their distress. Fifty years later he was visited by ex-Confederate families who came to thank him for his kind professional services to them. Then he learned that in his visits to the sick outside the fortifications he was always watched by armed men. He continued in service until I866 and received his honorable discharge with the rank of major. At Chicasaw Bayou the Doctor was wounded by a shot that passed through his leg. The year 1867 was passed by him at Bellevue Hospital, New York City, where he received the Doctor's degree, and in 1875 he was graduated in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in that city, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. During the ensuing fourteen KALAMAZOO COUNTY 303 years he was engaged in general practice in his native place, Sherman, New York, and in I88I he established his home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he continued in the successful practice of his profession thirty-five years, and until within a year of his death. Doctor Osborne was an exponent of the best type of civic loyalty. Governor Rich appointed him a trustee of the Michigan State Asylum for the Insane, at Kalamazoo, and to this position he was reappointed by Governor Bliss. He was an active and influential member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, besides being a member of the American Association of Railway Surgeons, he having given valuable and prolonged service as local surgeon for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. He was one of the founders and most efficient supporters of what is now the Bronson Methodist Hospital. Of him the following statement has been written: "Wherever his profession had important bearing on the city's interests he was to be found in a position of commanding prominence and influence, and, professionally, politically, socially and in a business way, his fidelity, loyalty and stewardship measured up to the highest standard, he having been loved and honored in the city of his adoption and having stood representative of the best in American citizenship." The Doctor was a director of the Kalamazoo National Bank and had other local investments of importance. For a number of years prior to his death he passed the winter months in the attractive home he established at Melbourne, Florida. Doctor Osborne had much natural talent in music and was able to play on many musical instruments, with exceptional skill as a violinist who could give most sympathetic interpretations with excellent technique. He was of remarkable physical strength and quickness. He was handsome and striking of feature, his stature six feet and four inches. His was a buoyant and generous nature, he was a natural entertainer, he sang well and he was an exceptionally spirited and effective raconteur, and was endowed with a rare gift as a teller of stories. He carried cheer and brightness into all of the relations of his exceptionally active and useful life, and was known and admired for his sterling traits of character as well as his professional ability. He was an ardent lover of nature; was an authority in botany and of animal life. He was at home with the birds in the forest, and knew their life story and their songs and was their protector. He had made a study of fishes and knew their ways. He was a staunch Republican, was long and appreciatively affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and he was an active member of the Congregational church, as was also his wife. October 29, I868, Doctor Osborne wedded Miss Annette Jane Ames, of Kaneville, Kane county, Illinois, who was born at West Rutland, Vermont, January 4, 1845. She was the only daughter of Charles and Adelia Desiah (Ward) Ames, both of Colonial Revolutionary families. She died at Kalamazoo, Michigan, October 29, 1913, on the forty-fifth anniversary of her wedding day. Mrs. Osborne was active in worth-while 304 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and religious work and in the national patriotic service. There were no children. George Peter Wigginton is an American manufacturer, born in Steubenville, Ohio, December 6, 1875, son of Thomas Jefferson Wigginton, manufacturer of cigars and tobacco, and of Mary Amelia Oyer, daughter of Christian Oyer. The father was of Scotch-Irish descent, the mother of German descent. When he was four years old the family moved to Pittsburgh, where Mr. Wigginton received his education and was graduated from high school in I893. He became a roller washer in the plant of the Duquesne Printing Company at $4.50 a week, then secured a position with a laundry as bookkeeper, working his way up to a weekly stipend of $25. He next entered the employ of the S. A. Steward company and learned the bookbinding business, later became plant superintendent and for several years was secretary and general manager of the establishment. He remained with this house thirteen years, then finding it necessary to change location on account of the ill health of his wife, went to Kalamazoo and, at a salary lower than what he received in Pittsburgh, accepted the position of superintendent of the Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Company. But the change was a fortunate one for Mr. Wigginton, the company, and Kalamazoo. Under his direction the company has increased its output and its profits materially. Loose leaf binders, called by some "ledgers," made their appearance in 1897. Prior to that there had been certain types of socalled "post" binders to hold loose sheets. Their use was for permanently filing completed sheets such as invoices and other forms. Prior to the advent of loose leaf ledgers bound books were used exclusively for records of all kinds in accounting practice. The loose leaf ledger was originally devised for customer accounts, to eliminate the necessity of transferring balances, but it has also eliminated much indexing. Considerable improvements have been made in the loose leaf ledger, mechanically and from the standpoint of paper. The original designation of loose leaf ledgers as loose leaf binders was about 1902. Binder is the trade name under which the devices are marketed today. Following the advent of the flexible thong, light weight binders were developed which enabled the bookkeeper to utilize these devices for accounting purposes. The loose leaf binder opened a broad field and has paved the way for successful mechanical bookkeeping. Mr. Wigginton is active in community services and has contributed much to the advancement of Kalamazoo. He is an enthusiastic angler and hunter and enjoys all kinds of wholesome sports. He is an attendant of the Presbyterian church, a member of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the Shrine and commandery of the Knights Templar. On October I0, 1902, Mr. Wigginton was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Heasley, of Pittsburgh. There are six children. The four sons are George, Homer, Robert and Richard. The two daughters are Lucille and Margaret. George C. Winslow.-Inheriting the catholicity of spirit and the libertarian thinking of his distinguished father, George C. Winslow has not only successfully and with great credit continued the business established by his forbear, but has perpetuated his zeal, his love of KALAMAZOO COUNTY 305 fellowmen and his deep-rooted interest in the common weal. Mr. Winslow was born July 26, 1848, in Kalamazoo. He is, indeed, one of the few pioneers of the great forest of sturdy oak that made this city what it is. His father was George Washington Winslow, born in Colrain, Massachusetts. The father learned the monument business when a young man, came to Kalamazoo in 1835 and established a monument business. In I850, in quest of gold, he made an overland journey to California, met with a degree of success and returned to Kalamazoo to resume the less spectacular occupation of making and selling monuments, in which he continued until his death, December 20, 1878. He was conspicuous politically; and a founder of the Republican party, "Under the Oaks," at Jackson. He was a member of the committee that brought Seward and the sainted Lincoln to Kalamazoo in I856 and himself introduced Abraham Lincoln at the big park conclave which is an epochal contribution to the history of the nation. The wife of George Washington Winslow was also born in Colrain and died in Kalamazoo in 1898. There were four children: Mary Kate, wife of William L. Hunter, both of whom are dead; George C., Harriet L. Winslow and Edward L. Winslow. The senior Winslow was a firm believer in spiritualism, necessitating strong convictions and courage, and was the first man in Kalamazoo county to promote the cause of liberalism in religious, ethical, social and economic thought, at all times urging indulgence of "the other fellow's" viewpoint. George C. Winslow spent his boyhood in Kalamazoo, was graduated from the high school in I866. He and Mrs. Orilla Everett Butler, of Des Moines, Iowa, are the oldest living graduates of the school. Mr. Winslow became associated with his father and remained in the monument business his entire life. Politically he is an ardent Republican. He was one of the first elected aldermen when Kalamazoo became a city and represented the Third ward three times. He also served as a supervisor two terms and in 1897, when the city charter was adopted, Mr. Winslow became the first city assessor. Twice he was appointed by Democratic mayors. For approximately twenty years he served the municipality in various capacities. Mr. Winslow was married twice, his first wife being Alice Smedley, who was born in Lockport, New York, dying in Kalamazoo in I920. The second wife was Sarah M. Howard, who taught thirty years in the Kalamazoo public schools. She passed away July 22, 1923. Mr. Winslow's liberalism is evidenced by his attachment for Unitarianism. He is a member of the Masons and Elks. Logically, he is deeply interested in pioneer affairs and civic development. Leonard Woodruff.-Overcoming many disadvantages that accrue to emigration; a stranger in a strange land; inured at the early age of ten years to the toil of mill work, Leonard Woodruff has given to the community a fine demonstration of the true Dutch spirit of thrift, integrity and definiteness of purpose. Through many positions of varying degree and importance he has risen to the office of vice-president and general manager of the Van Bochove Lumber Company, retail lumber dealers, a position he fills with credit to himself and to the entire organization. Not more than six months' schooling constituted 306 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the meager educational opportunities possessed by Mr. Woodruff, but the practical problems of making a living became for him a series of classrooms with necessity the stern but helpful taskmaster and teacher. Mr. Woodruff was born in 1870 in Holland. His father was William Woodruff, born in I834. He died in I880 in Paterson, New Jersey. The mother was Nellie Fonkhousen, born in 1843, dying in 1903. Both came from Holland. There were five children in the family whose support imposed a heavy burden on the father, a laborer. The children were Henry, John, Clara and Leonard. Cornelius is deceased. Leonard in 1892 married Tinne Van Eck, born in 1873 in Holland. Two children were the issue of their marriage, Nellie, born in 1894, and Jennie Wilmuth, born in 1899. Both made their advent in Kalamazoo. Mr. Woodruff after his brief school days came to the United States in I880 and at the age of ten years worked in the silk mills of Paterson, New Jersey. On March 3, I880, he came to Kalamazoo and for about a year worked for Mr. den Bleyker. Another year was spent in the service of Page & Coffee, handle factory, and in 1882 Mr. Woodruff started to work for the Van Bochove Lumber Company. He worked in the planing mill, but at the age of seventeen was transferred to the yard and sold lumber. His training in lumber, therefore, has been thorough. In 1904 the Godfrey company purchased the Van Bochove plant and for the next six years Mr. Woodruff was superintendent of the Kalamazoo Lumber Company. In I9I0 he returned to the Van Bochove establishment and became vice-president and general manager. Mr. Woodruff is a member of the Holland Aid Association, the Holland-American Association, Modern Woodmen of America, Elks and Michigan State Retail Lumber Dealers' Association. Dick Woodward, treasurer of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, is "Dick" and not "Richard" Woodward. Dick is not a nickname. It was his name as a child and the marriage license did not change it, either. Mr. Woodward was born January I9, 1872, in Allegan county, the son of David and Mary (Henry) Woodward. The father, a farmer all his life, died at the age of seventy. The mother, a native of Pennsylvania, died in I906, aged sixty-two years. His grandparents, John H. and Priscilla (Lewis) Woodward, were born in New York state and came to Allegan county when young. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. David Woodward were four children: John, who resides on the old Allegan county farm; Dick, Eli, a metal polisher in Kalamazoo, and Jay, who is proprietor of the Woodward Pattern Works in South Bend. Dick received his early education in the public schools and his first business venture was as a clerk in a store in Bradley, Michigan. For four years he was in the employ of the Alma Sugar Company, of Alma, Michigan, and then he came to Kalamazoo and entered the employ of the Henderson-Ames company. On January I, I917, Mr. Woodward was made deputy sheriff. In 1919 he became deputy county treasurer, serving four years and in 1923 was elected to the post of treasurer. He is a popular public official. Mr. Woodward belongs to the Masonic order and the Knights Templar. He is also an Elk and a Pythian. He was married to- Ada B. Carpenter, of Allegan county, KALAMAZOO COUNTY 307 and to the Woodwards two children have been born, LaRue R. and Fay L. Mrs. Woodward's parents are William and Mary (Andrews) Carpenter. Mrs. Carpenter makes her home with Mr. 'and Mrs. Woodward. Leo J. Wykkel.-Mr. Wykkel is county road engineer of Kalamazoo county, the son of Sirk J. and Jennie Wykkel, nee Pyl. Mr. Wykkel was born in Kalamazoo September 5, 1887. His mother was born in the same city, her parents being Andrew and Synje Pyl. The father came to Grand Rapids about I865 and to Kalamazoo in 1882. He entered the jewelry business in the firm of Pyl & Wykkel, which partnership was operated twenty-five years. He is president and general manager of the Naco Corset Company. Leo J. Wykkel was educated in Kalamazoo, to which was added a four-year course at the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in I914. Then he entered the field of building construction, being with the Michigan Engineering Company six years, with H. L. VanderHorst company one year and Frank L. Shoemaker two years. He became assistant county road engineer and in I92I chief road engineer. On March 27, I916, Mr. Wykkel was united in matrimony to Bertye B. Nordyke, of Marion, Indiana, daughter of Benjamin and Mahala Nordyke (Simonton), who were engaged in farming but now reside in Kalamazoo in retirement. Four times Mr. Wykkel made application for service in the World war, but his pleas were rejected as his professional services were needed to complete the pavement of the highway from Detroit to Chicago via Camp Custer. He finally received appointment for the Fourth Officers' Training camp for heavy artillery. Mr. and Mrs. Wykkel are members of the First Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Masonic order, Elks, Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Association of Engineers and Kalamazoo Engineering Society. His professional work is conspicuous for thoroughness. George W. Young.-Through his business, Masonic and political connections George W. Young was widely known as a citizen of Kalamazoo. He was born October 23, I854, and passed away November 4, 1910. Mr. Young was a son of William and Jane (Hill) Young. He received a common school education and went to work for Richmond & Backus, working his way up from the humble job of errand boy. Going on the road, he became head salesman. In 1879 he came to Kalamazoo from Detroit, the city in which he was born, and with Mr. Mullin bought the Reddington book store. Two years later he bought out his partner. Years later he sold out and became identified with the Cone Coupler Carriage Company. The company was dissolved and Mr. Young went with Henderson & Ames as secretary and treasurer, remained several years, and then became president of the Clark Engine Boiler Company, so serving until his death. On January 5, I885, Mr. Young was married to Julia E. Peck. There were two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Young, Mildred C. Young and Henrietta J., wife of Richard H. Wolf, of Detroit. George W. Young was a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, Shriner, Eastern Star and member of the Old Kalamazoo Club. He went through all 308 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the Masonic chairs and was distinguished by his zeal for the craft. An active Republican he never held public office. Mr. and Mrs. Young became charter members of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Young was a member of the Episcopal church and Mrs. Young is identified with the Church of Christ, Scientist. Leo Cloney has been secretary and treasurer of the A. W. Walsh Wholesale Grocery Company from the time of its incorporation and has contributed much to making this one of the important and substantial commercial concerns of the city of Kalamazoo. He was born and reared in this city and is a son of Morgan Cloney, a sterling pioneer settler of Kalamazoo county. Mr. Cloney gained his early education in the public and parochial schools, and he has become one of the progressive and substantial business men of his native city, he having been a traveling salesman for the Kalamazoo Corset Company prior to associating himself with the A. W. Walsh wholesale grocery concern, shortly after its organization. John F. Walsh was reared atnd educated in Kalamazoo county, began business with his father as a boy and has continued with him through the various changes and is today recognized as one of the state's progressive wholesalers. Capt. Richard Douglass.-Of sturdy Scotch ancestry and New England birth and rearing-this was the splendid equipment of an adventurous lad who, at the age of sixteen years, set forth, in the year 1832, from his Vermont home to seek his fortunes in the Territory of Michigan, which he looked upon as a land of promise, by reason of reports that he had received before leaving the old home in New England. That lad was the honored Michigan pioneer to whom this memoir is dedicated. He had acquired possession of a peddler's stock of notions, principally household utensils and other supplies, and with this stock in trade he set forth alone for southern Michigan. Dangers and privations were of so little moment to the pioneers of that "long, long trail a-winding" that little record remains of the journey of Captain Douglass, but it speaks for his determination and courage that he arrived safely in Kalamazoo county, where, it may readily be inferred, the sight that pleased him most was a smile from Miss Rhoda Malvina Burdick, a charming young woman who had accompanied her parents from New York state to Kalamazoo county about the same time, the journey being made with team and covered wagon. The marriage of Richard Douglass and Rhoda Malvina Burdick was subsequently solemnized, on a Fourth of July, and they began housekeeping with a copper kettle as the most valued of their household effects. They lived, in devoted companionship, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage-their golden wedding. By purchasing and hiring oxen, Richard Douglass placed tenl yoke of the sturdy animals in commission and engaged in breaking land for the rapidly arriving settlers. Thereafter he built and placed in operation a sawmill, on the outlet of Douglass lake, near Augustathe present site of the beautiful summer home of Doctor Upjohn. When the Civil War came, Richard Douglass was not long in subordinating all personal interests to the call of patriotism, and in I862, at I I /- /^ I <^^^/^^^Ute KALAMAZOO COUNTY 309 the head of his company, in the Seventh Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, he became, by a peculiar coincidence, the seventh Capt. Richard Douglass in a family line extending back for 300 years. With his command he proceeded to the front almost immediately, and he participated in two years of almost constant fighting, including some of the most sanguinary and important battles of the war. Captain Douglass was the father of two sons, William Ainslee and Adelbert. Dr. Adelbert Douglass, the younger of these sons, is now (in the winter of I924-25) seventy-five years of age, and has possibly performed more dental operations than any other man in Michigan. He is still able to follow his chosen profession of dentistry, after more than half a century of active practice at Augusta, the place of his birth, and he is one of the able and veteran representatives of his profession in Kalamazoo county. The Doctor married Miss Orpha A. Norwood, daughter of Robinson Norwood, who went forth from Barry county as a soldier in the Civil War. Mrs. Douglass has continued the devoted companion and helpmeet of her husband during the long intervening years. They have one son, Maurice A. Douglass, who is a representative merchant at Galesburg, Kalamazoo county. Maurice A. Douglass is a staunch Republican in his political allegiance, as is also his father and was also his paternal grandfather. He was a member of the commission appointed by Governor Sleeper to purchase the General Shafter memorial at Galesburg. He is the possessor of a considerable collection of Civil War relics that he has personally gathered on southern battlefields. He is intensely interested in the conservation of wild life, animal and bird, and also in the traditions and history of Michigan, in which connection he entertains vast admiration for those who, like his parents and grandparents, have at all times stood for that which is best in community life. For his first wife Maurice A. Douglass married Miss Margaret Herron, of Watervliet, Berrien county, and the children of this union are Imogene Marie and Dora Evelyn. The second marriage of Maurice A. Douglass was with Adah Francelia Chrouch, who is a granddaughter of Sylvester Munger, the first justice of the peace to be appointed to that office in Allegan county. John F. King established his residence in the city of Kalamazoo forty years ago, was a pioneer and leader in the development of the great paper-manufacturing industry of the Kalamazoo valley, and was an honored and influential citizen eminently worthy of memorial tribute in this publication. Mr. King was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and his early experience in paper manufacturing was gained in one of the celebrated mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. 'In 1883 he became associated with the George R. Patton Paper Company at Appleton, Wisconsin, and in I885 he established his residence in Kalamazoo, where he took a position as machine tender in the mill of the Kalamazoo Paper Company, he having later been advanced to the position of superintendent of the plant. He finally left this company to associate himself with the Bardeen Paper Company, at Otsego, Allegan county. He became superintendent of the Bardeen 810 HISTORIC MICHIGAN plant, but after serving a short time in this capacity he returned to Kalamazoo, where, with courage and indomitable perseverance, he effected the organization of the Bryant Paper Mills, many difficulties having been encountered in developing this new enterprise. Mr. King became superintendent of the Bryant mills, and he thus served until 190I, when he became the leader in organizing the King Paper Company. As vice-president and general manager he played a large part in the upbuilding of this concern, with which he remained until 1915, when he organized and became the president of the Rex Paper Company. He continued chief executive of this corporation until his death, in March, 1922, and his son Merrill B. was elected his successor as president and manager. Mr. King became a machine tender when he was eighteen years of age, and was probably the youngest person ever to hold such a position in connection with the paper industry. He long held rank as one of the most skilled and influential exponents of paper manufacturing in Michigan and was one of the best-known paper-makers in the United States. He was an authority in all details of paper-making, his initial training having been gained under the conditions that marked the old school in this important domain of productive enterprise. His long experience in the business had its beginning when he became an apprentice in a paper mill, and his advancement was won through ability, industry and perseverance. While he had his share of obstacles and reverses, he eventually became the executive head of a well-ordered paper-manufacturing establishment that he made one of recognized precedence in connection with the Michigan paper industry. He gained high reputation as a production man and resourceful executive, and he invented and patented many devices and accessories that have contributed much to facilitating the manufacture of paper. In short, he became a leader in his chosen sphere of endeavor, and he was known as a successful business man and as a loyal and liberal citizen who was well worthy of the uniform confidence and esteem in which he was held. It should be recorded that he was mainly responsible for establishing the Bryant Paper Mills in Kalamazoo, as well as other concerns already mentioned. His wife's grandfather, Joseph Bryant, learned the paper-making trade in England, where a diploma was given him in 1812, this interesting document being now in the possession of Merrill B. King and, properly framed, being placed on the wall in the office of the Rex Paper Company. Mr. King was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party and was a zealous communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as was also his widow and their son, Merrill B. His marriage to Miss Alice Bryant was solemnized at Holyoke, Massachusetts. The widow passed to the life beyond June 21, 1923. Merrill B. King, son of the honored subject of the above memoir and now president and manager of the Rex Paper Company, was born at Otsego, Allegan county, Michigan, May 2I, 1890, received his early education in the Kalamazoo public schools, and thereafter attended for three years the Lake Forest Academy, at Lake Forest, Illinois. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 311 As a citizen and business men he is proving a worthy successor of his father. His has been an experience covering all phases of the paper industry, and he is now one of its representative exponents in his native state. The Rex Paper Company, of which he is the president and manager, was incorporated July 14, 1915, and the personnel of its first executive corps was as follows: John F. King, president; Philip G. Baltz, vice-president and manager; Edwin H. Hasking, secretary; and Merrill B. King, treasurer. At intervals since that time various changes have been made in the corps of officers, and the present roster of executives is here designated: Merrill B. King, president and general manager; H. H. Creamer, vice-president; R. V. McCulfor, treasurer; and Harry C. Bradford, secretary. The company bases its operations on ample capital stock and well-ordered plant management, the concern being one of major importance in the paper industry of the Kalamazoo valley. Merrill B. King is a loyal Republican, and he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In connection with the nation's participation in the World War, he enlisted, January 26, I918, in the aviation department of the United States Army. He was called into service on the I5th of the following June, at the ground school at Urbana, Illinois, where he remained three months. He next passed three weeks at Camp Dix, Dallas, Texas, and was then assigned to Carruthers field, Fort Worth, that state, where he continued his flying service ten weeks, he having received his honorable discharge December 30, 1918. In 1919 Mr. King wedded Miss Helen Ralston, daughter of Horace Ralston, of Kalamazoo, and the three children of this union are Alice Patricia, John Ralston and Mary Marilyn. Mr. King is recognized as one of the progressive younger leaders in the industrial and commercial affairs of the city of Kalamazoo. The Sam Folz Company not only conducts one of the leading clothing establishments in the city of Kalamazoo but also ranks among the old established and representative mercantile concerns of this city. The company was organized in 1884, by the late Samuel Folz, who in that year opened a modest clothing store at Io3 East Main street, where the business was continued until 1892, when removal was made to the corner of Main and Portage streets. In 1924, to accommodate the large and constantly increasing business, the company took over the adoining building, at 112 East Main street, and the enlarged and entirely remodeled establishment is now one of the most modern and well equipped in the city. Samuel Folz, long known and honored as one of the most liberal and progressive business men of Kalamazoo, was born at Hillsdale, Michigan, September 18, I859, his parents, Joseph and Esther (Hecht) Folz, having settled there in I856, and both having been born in southern Germany. Joseph Folz followed the clothing business at Hillsdale until I86o, when he removed with his family to Chicago, where he continued in the same line of enterprise until the great fire that swept that city in I87I. He then returned to Michigan and established his resi 312 HISTORIC MICHIGAN dence in Marshall, where his death occurred in the following year. Samuel Folz received his youthful education in the public schools of Chicago and Marshall, and was but thirteen years old at the time of his father's death. The family finances were such that at that early age he became largely dependent upon his own resources. He became a newsboy for the Detroit Daily News, and also worked as a tobacco-stripper. He eventually learned the cigarmaker's trade, and in 1875 he came to Kalamazoo, where he followed this trade five years, or until his impaired health necessitated a change of vocation. He then became a clerk in the local clothing store of H. Stern & Company, and in 1884, as previously noted, he engaged independently in the clothing business. From a small beginning he built up the largest clothing establishment in Kalamazoo, and the reputation of the concern has ever constituted one of its best business assets-a reputation for fair and honorable dealings and effective service. Samuel Folz was not only a progressive business man but also a loyal and public-spirited citizen. He served three and one-half years as a member of the board of education, and when he was elected mayor of Kalamazoo he had the distinction of being the fourth Democrat to have been chosen to this office in the municipal history of the city up to that time. As chief executive of the city government he gave a characteristically progressive and efficient administration. Mr. Folz was one of the early stockholders in the Kalamazoo Paper Box Company and the Puritan Corset Company, and became also a stockholder of the Merchants Publishing Company, the A. L. Lackey Company, the Kalamazoo Beet Sugar Company, and of the Lee Paper Company, of Vicksburg. He was a director of the Excelsior Medicine Company, and a member of the executive committee of the Kalamazoo Trust Company. He was one of the most active and valued members of the Kalamazoo Board of Trade, of which he served as president. He was the organizer of the local lodge, No. I70, of Knights of Pythias, and served as chancellor of the same, besides which he became a trustee of the Kalamazoo Lodge of Elks. He was president of the local organization of the Order of B'Nai B'Rith, and served also as grand president of the order in District No. 6. He was secretary of the Kalamazoo congregation of B'Nai Israel, and he gave most zealous service as president of the Humane society in his home city. In I886 Mr. Folz married Miss Jennie Friedman, of Kalamazoo, she being a daughter of Emil Friedman and a member of one of the first Jewish families to settle in Kalamazoo county, her elder sister having been the first Jewish child born in the county, and her father having been a clothing merchant in Kalamazoo. The death of Samuel Folz occurred on May o1, 1924, his wife passing away June 19, I915. They were the parents of three children: Joseph is now one of the leading members of the bar of his native county and'is established in the successful practice of his profession in Kalamazoo; Harry Z. is now active manager of the business of the Folz Company, in which his two brothers are the other principals; and Ralph E. is engaged in business in Detroit. Mr. Folz was appointed postmaster of Kalamazoo in April, I916. KALAMAZOO COUNTY 313 Alice Louise McDuffee, of Kalamazoo, has the distinction not only of being the seventh person to serve as state regent of the Michigan chapter of the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, but she also has claims to ancestral prestige extending beyond that involved in the great war for national independence. She is of English, Scotch and French lineage, and on the maternal side is descended from Alfred the Great, twelve Saxon kings, Charlemagne of France, the Duke of Flanders, the Earl of Angus, King Malcolm III and Queen Margaret Atheling and King David of Scotland. Her father's ancestors were for several generations prime ministers of Scotland. Miss McDuffee is descended also from "Matchless Martha," who provided food for the starving soldiers during the siege of Londonderry, Ireland, and thus aided in saving Derry. Miss McDuffee has a valued heirloom, one of the wooden plates on which her loyal ancestress served food to the soldiers. In this sketch of distinct limitations, it is impossible to enter details concerning the ancestral history of Miss McDuffee, but a brief outline may be given. Her first ancestors in America were Roger Clapp and Richard Lyman, the former having come from his native England and landed at Nantasket, Massachusetts, May 30, 1630, and having held various important public offices in the colony. Richard Lyman came from England to America in I63I, settled at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and later became one of the original proprietors of Hartford, Connecticut. The patriot Revolutionary ancestors of Miss McDuffee were Elias Lyman, Maj. Jonathan Clapp, Capt. Joseph Clapp, and Jabez Mead, while similar distinction comes through the service of Capt. Daniel McDuffee, who participated in the brilliant victory in the battle of Saratoga. Hiram Hardy Mead, maternal grandfather of Miss McDuffee, was a sterling pioneer banker in the middle west, and of the same family were General Mead of the Civil War and Larkin G. Mead, the talented Vermont sculptor. Miss Alice Louise McDuffee was born in the city of Boston and was a small child at the time of her parents' removal to Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is a daughter of Louis Phillippe McDuffee and Harriet Elizabeth (Mead) McDuffee, the former of whom was born in 1836, of an old family in New Hampshire and Vermont, and the latter of whom was born in the state of New York, in 1846, she having been reared at Ripon, Wisconsin, and having been graduated in Rockford College, Illinois, as salutatorian of her class, soon after which, as a bride, she accompanied her young husband to Boston, Massachusetts, where both profited greatly from the fine cultural advantages that were afforded them. Both parents of Miss McDuffee ever stood exponent of the highest of civic, social and cultural ideals, and theirs was large and benignant influence along these lines during all the years of their residence in Kalamazoo. Mrs. McDuffee served as president of the Ladies' Library Association of Kalamazoo, this having been the oldest woman's club in the state and the third oldest in the United States. She was a gracious gentlewoman who ever trailed the beatitudes in her train. Louis P. McDuffee attended Derby 314 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Academy, at Derby, Vermont, but his broader culture was that which he gained through self-discipline and wide and appreciative reading. He was ready for loyal service in the Civil War, but his duty to his parents was at the time so insistent that he found it impossible to enter the great conflict as a soldier. He early initiated his business career, and in I867 he became a member of the important Boston firm of Jones, McDuffee & Stratton, as a representative of which he came to Michigan and had charge of the opening of the whole western territory for his firm. In this connection he achieved a splendid service and had much of pioneer experience. It was in I878 that he established the family home in Kalamazoo, and he continued one of the honored and influential citizens during the remainder of his long and useful life. He was liberal, progressive, loyal and public-spirited, was a staunch Republican, and he and his wife held membership in the First Presbyterian Church. He was a Knights Templar Mason and also received the thirty-second degree of the Masonic Scottish Rite. He was a member of the Boston Commercial Club, the American Park and Outdoor Association, was a director of the Mountain Home Cemetery of Kalamazoo, and was a valued member of the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce. His civic pride was unwavering, he was a great lover of flowers, and was an authority on shrubs and trees. He was a pioneer in'the introduction of foreign china and earthenware to merchants throughout the west, and built up for his Boston house a large and prosperous business in this line. His character was the positive expression of a noble nature, and his circle of friends was coincident with that of his acquaintances. Miss McDuffee was graduated in the Kalamazoo High School as poetess of her class, and later she was graduated in Smith College, Norhtampton, Massachusetts. Kalamazoo College conferred upon her the degree of Master of Arts, she having given more than two years to fruitful post-graduate study,,besides having studied dramatic expression at the Empire Dramatic School, New York, and Emmerson College of Oratory, Boston. She gave many recitals or readings in Michigan and California, and also a course of talks before the teachers of the public schools of Kalamazoo, in connection with the standardization of reading in the school. She has given courses of public speaking before women's clubs, and for several years had private pupils in voice and expression, besides coaching for Shakespearian productions. She compiled the popular Nutshell Boston Guide, which passed through five editions. She served as president of the Students' Association of Kalamazoo College, and managed a college fair given to advance the endowment fund of the institution. Miss McDuffee was for two years volunteer hostess at the Sailors' Haven, Charlestown, Massachusetts, and, with official approval, she and her sister were placed in special charge of the United States navy men who came to the Sailors' Haven, while two suggestions made by her in this connection met with favorable consideration by the secretary of the navy. Under the auspices of the Daughters of the American Revolution she served as director of two Children of KALAMAZOO COUNTY 315 the Republic Clubs, composed of newsboys. Miss McDuffee was secretary of the executive committee of the first Americanization day observance held under the auspices of the city government of Kalamazoo, and was for four years chairman of the executive committee of Americanization day under the auspices of the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce, besides being a member of the Kalamazoo Americanization League. She was confirmed in Trinity Church, Protestant Episcopal, in Boston, and is now a zealous communicant of the parish of St. Luke's church in Kalamazoo, in which she was the first to serve as president of St. Margaret's Guild. Miss McDuffee has traveled extensively in the United States and Canada, as well as abroad, and in all these travels has gained the maximum of cultural and civic uplift. She has given several courses of talks on the art galleries of Europe, has been an active and influential worker in behalf of woman suffrage, and has been prominent in club work. She is a member of the Michigan State Pioneer and Historical Society, is a life member of the Alumnae Association of Smith College, a member of the national organization of Collegiate Alumnae, and has membership in the Women's University Club of New York City; the National Officers Club of the Daughters of the American Revolution; the Drama League; the English Speaking Union; the Alliance Francais; the Woman's Press Association; the Neighbors League of America; the Prison Reform League of America, and the Needlework Guild of America. She is a popular and valued member of the following named Kalamazoo organizations: Ladies' Library Club, Smith College Club, Pine Mountain Association (of which she is secretary and treasurer), and the Kalamazoo Musical Society (of which she is president, I924). She is a member of the board of trustees of the local Y. W. C. A., is a member of the Michigan Community Council Commission, and is a member of the commission which has under consideration a new building for the housing of public archives and the property of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society. The service capacity of Miss McDuffee seems unlimited, and her activities have touched with many other avenues of usefulness than those already mentioned. To make record of all would transcend the limitations of this brief sketch. It may be noted, however, that she is state councilor of the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, a member of the Dixie highway commission in Michigan, and she has been a delegate to many important conventions in connection with patriotic and civic affairs. She was indefatigable in her varied activities in the World War period, and her influence was large and benignant, as she was called to many executive positions in war work. She was an early member of the Navy League, is a member of the Mount Vernon Association, and is identified also with the National Security League. Much of her best work has been done through her affiliation with the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a charter member of Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Chapter, of which she was regent in I9I3-I5. She has served as Michigan state regent of the D. A. R., I919-22, is now honorary state regent and was vice 316 HISTORIC MICHIGAN president general of Michigan D. A. R. in I922. She has held many important official positions in the national organization of this great patriotic society, and when Mrs. L. Victor Seydel nominated her for the office of vice-president general from Michigan in the national D. A. R., the speaker gave the following words: "Michigan feels that among her many Daughters there is one who stands pre-eminently forward among the finest types of American womanhood, and, feeling that such womanhood as this should hold the highest offices in our National Society, the Michigan Daughters at our last state conference heartily endorsed Miss Alice Louise McDuffee for the office of vice-president general. * * * Miss McDuffee is well known as an able executive, a woman of clear vision and sound judgment. Her winning personality and enthusiasm, her sincerity, her devotion to duty, and her loyalty to the National Society have made her an inspiring leader. And it is with a feeling of honor that I place in nomination for the office of vice-president general the name of Miss Alice Louise McDuffee, of Michigan." It is to be recorded that to this position Miss McDuffee was elected by a large majority. All too brief is this tribute to one of the noble women of Michigan and of the nation, but even these abbreviated statements will disclose much to the one who is able to "read between the lines." James Whitehill Osborn, distinguished as a lawyer and business man of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and exemplar of the thoroughness of the system of practical education obtained in "the school of adversity," to employ his own phrase, was one of the sturdy citizens whose contribution to the civic and commercial life of the community possessed inestimable value. Mr. Osborn was born February Io, I842, in Sherman, Chautauqua county, New York, the son of Platt S. and Mary Osborn, and passed from the field of mortal labors on April 8, I914. Mr. Osborn was of a family of ten children, which meant that conditions were such all had to work at an early age to maintain the family exchequer-and larder. Mr. Osborn was in the strictest sense a self-made man and often, when asked where he obtained his education, tersely replied: "In the school of adversity." He studied law in the office of a brother-in-law, S. P. McCalmont, in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar in Franklin when a few days past twenty-one years old. He resided and practiced law in Franklin until December, 1887, when he removed to Kalamazoo. Here he attained an outstanding success in legal practice and in business. For several years he was a law partner of Alfred J. Mills and for thirty years was vice-president of the First National Bank, for many years was identified with other business ventures, including the Kalamazoo Ice and Fuel Company, Kalamazoo Hack and Bus Company and the C. H. Dutton company. He was a stockholder in several paper mills. Mr. Osborn was a Republican and three times served as mayor of Kalamazoo. This was his only public office. He nurtured no political ambitions. Mr. Osborn was elevated to the thirty-third, or supreme, degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite and was one of three men in the state upon whom the dignity I C~,, -(7 i a ~: i ii a D Z B 1 a KALAMAZOO COUNTY 317 and honor of the thirty-third degree had been conferred. He was a Protestant in religious faith and subscription and a member of the Elks. Mr. Osborn was the husband of Augusta Cornell, born in Plattsburgh, New York. Mrs. Osborn, who was a member of the First Congregational Church, died on March I8, I9OI. They had two children, Donald C. and Edith O. Hall, of New York City. George E. Bardeen.-Within the necessarily circumscribed limitations of a memoir of this order it is impossible to offer a comprehensive estimate of the character and achievement of the late George E. Bardeen, of Kalamazoo and Otsego, Michigan, but this publication would lose its claims to consistency were there failure to render a tribute to the man who was internationally known as the dean of the paper manufacturing industry of Michigan and who ordered his life on the highest plane of integrity and constructive usefulness. There can be no reason to doubt that Mr. Bardeen made greater contribution than did any other one person toward the development and upbuilding of the great paper-making industry of the Kalamazoo valley. He may well be classed among the pioneers in the manufacturing of paper in the middle west, for this industry was here in its virtual infancy when he became identified therewith, within a short time after the close of the Civil war. Beginning as a clerk and bookkeeper for the old Kalamazoo Paper Company, which erected the first paper mill in the valley of the Kalamazoo river and which thus initiated an industry that was destined to make Kalamazoo famous as one of the greatest paper-producing centers of the world, Mr. Bardeen had the intrinsic capacity, the sterling worth of character, that eventually enabled him to advance to a place of acknowledged leadership and dominating influence in this important line of industrial enterprise. Mr. Bardeen's alliance with the Kalamazoo Paper Company extended over a period of years and recorded his advancement to the office of secretary of the company. This position he eventually resigned, that he might organize a company of his own. The Bardeen paper mills and offices soon developed into an effective training school for young men who were animated by a desire to identify themselves with the paper business, and in this connection Mr. Bardeen gave first instruction to many men who in later years rose to positions of major responsibility and trust and gained national reputation in connection with the paper industry. This helpful service added another jewel to the industrial and humanitarian crown that Mr. Bardeen so worthily won. George E. Bardeen was born at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, November Io, 1850, and he was a scion of Colonial New England ancestry. In that section that was the cradle of much of our national history were born his parents, William T. and Mary (Farnsworth) Bardeen, and he was a lad of eight years at the time of the death, in 1858, of his father, who had been a merchant by vocation, the other one child to survive the honored father being Charles W. Bardeen, who resides in Syracuse, New York, and who has gained fame as an educator, editor and author. The lineage of the Bardeen family 318 HISTORIC MICHIGAN traces back to sterling English origin. The widowed mother eventually contracted a second marriage, by becoming the wife of Samuel A. Gibson, who gained fame as the real founder of the paper industry in the Kalamazoo valley of Michigan. Samuel A. Gibson came with his family to Kalamazoo in the year 1865, and here he became president and general superintendent of the Kalamazoo Paper Company, with which he continued his connection during the remainder of his life and which he brought to the front as one of the most important industrial concerns of western Michigan, the while he was an honored and influential citizen as well as representative business man of Kalamazoo. It was under the direction of Mr. Gibson that the subject of this memoir received his early training in the manufacturing of paper, and it was in the year I888 that Mr. Bardeen resigned his position as secretary of the Kalamazoo Paper Company. Mr. Bardeen received in the public schools of Massachusetts his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by his attending the Randolph Normal School in Vermont and later a business college at New Haven, Connecticut. He became an expert accountant and bookkeeper, and was eighteen years of age when, in I868, he joined his step-father, Mr. Gibson, in Kalamazoo and assumed the position of bookkeeper for the old Kalamazoo Paper Company. By sheer efficiency and eligibility he soon won advancement to the position of secretary of this company, and he ably handled the affairs of this executive office until I888, when, well fortified in both technical and administrative experience in the paper manufacturing industry, he resigned his position of secretary and organized the Bardeen Paper Company. The new corporation erected a two-machine mill at Otsego, Allegan county, and such was the success of the newly established enterprise that in I892 mill No. 2 was erected, a third mill having subsequently been added but having been destroyed by fire a few years later. Mr. Bardeen served as president and general manager of the Bardeen Paper Company until 19)6, when impaired health led to his retirement. In I923 was effected a consolidation of a number of mills, under the title of the Allied Paper Mills, and this merger embraced the Bardeen, the King and the Monarch mills. Mr. Bardeen was chosen a director of the new corporation, and of this position he continued the incumbent until his death, which occurred at St. Petersburg, Florida, on the 26th of January, 1924. Pages would be required to record in detail all of the varied and important enterprises with which Mr. Bardeen was connected within his long and productive business career. In I903, in association with Fred Lee, of Dowagiac, and others, he became one of the organizers of the Lee Paper Company, of Vicksburg, Kalamazoo county, where a modern mill was erected. Mr. Bardeen served as vice-president and a director of this million-dollar corporation from the date of its organization until that of his death. In I905 he organized the MacSimBar Paper Company, which now operates one of the largest paperboard mills in the United States, and of this company he was the president. In I906 he brought into existence the Ostego Coated Paper KALAMAZOO COUNTY 319 Company, which constituted an adjunct or subsidiary of the Bardeen Paper Company. He was concerned also in the organizing of the Babcock (now Wolverine) Tissue Paper Company. He was one of the influential members of the American Pulp & Paper Manufacturers Association and served as its vice-president for some time. Mr. Bardeen was essentially a paper-mill man, but he was also a loyal, liberal and public-spirited citizen who believed it his duty to assist the upbuiding and progress of the community along all lines. For years he was a heavy stockholder and a director of the Kalamazoo City Savings Bank, and he was president of the Citizens State Savings Bank of Otsego at the time of his death. He was president also of the Kalamazoo Stove Company, and was financially interested also in the Globe Casket Company, of which he was president; the Merchants Publishing Company; the Kalamazoo Laundry Company; the Kalamazoo Malleable Iron Company, and other important corporations in the city of Kalamazoo. Mr. Bardeen was a great lover of nature, and in this connection it may be noted that he was one of the founders of the Belvidere Resort Association of Charlevoix, Michigan, where he passed his summers a number of years, besides which he maintained a winter home at St. Petersburg, Florida, where his death occurred. Although he was an extremely busy man, Mr. Bardeen found time to take part in the civic and social life of his home state and county. He served a number of years as chairman of the Republican committee of the Fourth congressional district of Michigan, and as president of the village of Otsego he gave a characteristically loyal and progressive administration. He took deep interest in educational matters, was a member of the board of control of the Michigan State School for Dependent Children, at Coldwater, besides serving simultaneously as president of the Otsego board of education. He gave several years of service as president of the Michigan Manufacturing Association. From an appreciative estimate that appeared in the Otsego Union at the time of the death of Mr. Bardeen are taken the following extracts: "Mr. Bardeen was of a genial, social nature, and enjoyed a wide acquaintance in both the business and the social world. He fairly radiated good cheer and optimism, and it was always a pleasure to meet and converse with him. Otsego owes a great deal to George E. Bardeen. But for him there would not be a paper mill in this city today, and the town would be little more than a four-corners had not his foresight developed this great industry here. For a number of years he held the office of president of the village, before it changed its form of government and became a city. He was popular with the residents, and specially so with his employees. His democratic attitude made him a favorite with all classes of people. He was an enthusiast for a good band and a winning baseball team, and never seemed happier than when marching at the head of the ball club (supported from his private means), as he was known to do on several occasions." Mr. Bardeen was twice married, first, in i87I, to Miss Abbie Carder, of Kalamazoo. Of the three children of this union two at 320 HISTORIC MICHIGAN tained to maturity-George Edward, who is now a resident of Kansas City, Missouri, and Mrs. M. B. McClellan, who passed away shortly after the death of her father. In I9II was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bardeen to Miss Florence Geib, of Otsego, who survives him and who is sustained and comforted by the hallowed memories of their mutually devoted companionship. George E. Bardeen possessed a most pleasing personality, and this, as combined with his wonderful initiative and executive ability, made him one of America's really great captains of industry. His genial and unassuming ways won him friends wherever he went, and in his death the state and nation lost a loyal citizen who had given the best years of his life toward the upbuilding of the better interests of his adopted state and home community. Donald C. Osborn, state senator, lawyer and man of affairs of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was one of two children of Mr. and Mrs. James Whitehill Osborn, the father a prominent attorney and business man of Kalamazoo for many years, whose death occurred on April 8, I9I4. Donald C. Osborn was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania in which city his sire had engaged in the practice of law immediately upon being admitted to the bar. The date of his birth was March 26, I879. Mr. Osborn was educated in the public schools of Kalamazoo and in Berkeley schools in New York and in I9OI completed the academic course at the University of Michigan. In I904 he was graduated in law. From I905 to' I9Io Mr. Osborn served as assistant steward at the Michigan State Hospital in Kalamazoo. Because of his father's failing health, he joined him and since his death has continued in the practice of law. For two terms Mr. Osborn, who is a Republican, has represented Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties in the state senate. He is a member of the Elks and the Loyal Order of Moose and is president of the C. H. Dutton company and vice-president of the Kalamazoo Ice and Fuel Company. Mr. Osborn took as his wife Myra Ruth Elberstein, born in Kalamazoo county, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Elberstein, and granddaughter of Conrad Elberstein, a pioneer settler of the county. Senator Osborn is much esteemed not only because of his legislative career and service but by reason of his helpful interest in purely civic and community promotional activities. The name'"Osborn" is of Scotch-Irish descent. The first Osborn family in the United States was located on Long Island and when the Revolutionary War broke out those who repudiated loyalty to King George dropped the "e" from the original name of "Osborne."- The loyalists retained the ultimate letter. Representatives of the Osborn family fought in the Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Civil War, and in Donald C. Osborn the family escutcheon remains unsullied. Rev. Jesse Stephen Boyden, who died September 27, I922, at the patriarchal age of ninety-two years, was at the time the oldest alumnus of Kalamazoo College, and had ever been one of the most loyal and steadfast friends of this fine old institution, of which representation is given in the educational chapter of this publication. He was for KALAMAZOO COUNTY 321 sixty-six years an ordained clergyman of the Baptist church, and had the record of having preached in a greater number of Baptist churches in Michigan than any other clergyman of his denomination. He was graduated from Kalamazoo College as a member of its first class, that of i856, to go forth after the institution had received its charter from the state. At the time of his death he was the last surviving member of his class. Immediately after his graduation Mr. Boyden was ordained to the ministry, and thereafter he held numerous pastoral charges throughout Michigan. In 1879 he purchased the property at 521 Locust street, Kalamazoo, and here he maintained his home until his death. During the '8os he was financial secretary of Kalamazoo College, where he was the valued friend and associate of Dr. Kendall Brooks and Dr. Samuel Brooks. He was the only emeritus trustee of the college at the time -when death terminated his long, noble and useful life. For several years Mr. Boyden was field secretary in the Great Lakes district for the American Baptist Missionary Union, and later he became financial secretary of the Baptist Home for Superannuated Ministers maintained at Fenton, Michigan. In this capacity he traveled many miles annually, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. Boyden retained this arduous post until 1916, when, at the advanced age of eighty-six years, he found it imperative to retire. He had preached throughout all sections of Michigan, and was revered and loved by a host of friends. Mr. Boyden was born at Minerva, New York, in I830, and in the following year the family came to Michigan Territory and settled in Saline. In i850, Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, an intimate friend. of the father of Mr. Boyden, secured for the subject of this memoir a government appointment that took him across the plains to the Pacific coast, his work being the establishing of supply stations for the aid of the great hordes of adventurers who were then making their way to the west. Mr. Boyden is survived by two sons and one daughter: Frank L. is advertising manager of the Kalamazoo Ga-:zette; Ralph B. is a resident of Key West, Florida, and Margaret is the wife of Floyd R. Olmsted, of Kalamazoo, who is the subject of a personal sketch in this volume. Clarence Gillette, M. D., was born on a farm in Berrien county, Michigan, an asset appreciated by those who know what a farm life means. His birthday was June 28, i885. Dr. Gillette attended the public schools of his native county and was graduated from Niles High School in I9o2. He entered the University of Michigan and was graduated in 1907 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine and served an interneship at the Homeopathic hospital. For a year he was assistant to the professor in gynecology and obstetrics, a service that called for considerable talent and skill. In September, I909, Dr. Gillette located in Kalamazoo and has built a large practice in general medicine and surgery. He is a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, of the Michigan State Medical Society and of the American Medical Association. In the World war he served on the draft board, 1917 and 1918, and in 1922 and 1923 was chief of staff of the old and the new Borges hospitals. The Doctor is also a member of 322 HISTORIC MICHIGAN the Phi Alpha Gamma, a medical fraternity, and of the Knights of Pythias. On November I, I92I, he was united in marriage to Miss Ruth M. Wells, of Niles, Michigan. Doctor Gillette maintains his office at 8oi Washington avenue. William 0. Harlow is one of the prominent representatives of the motor-car business in the city of Kalamazoo, his garage and repair shop being established at 400 East South street and being one of the most modern in equipment and general service. Mr. Harlow was born at Creston, Iowa, November 6, 1878, and came with his widowed mother to Kalamazoo when he was a lad of fifteen years. Here he attended the public schools, and thereafter he completed a course in the King Business College. His initial venture of independent order was made when he engaged in the bicycle business, as junior member of the firm of Locher & Harlow, the enterprise later being expanded to include the handling of general lines of sporting goods, as well as bicycles, with a well equipped store at III South Rose street. In I905 Mr. Harlow purchased his partner's interest and assumed full control of the business, which he thereafter continued until I912, when he sold the establishment and business. In the meanwhile, in I904, he became the first local representative of the now celebrated Cadillac automobiles, handled the first model of cars made by the Cadillac company, and had the first automobile agency in Kalamazoo, so that he is justly to be designated as the pioneer of pioneers in the automobile trade in this city. He has continued to handle motor cars to the present time, has had the agency for several of the leading automobiles on the market, and for a time he gave his attention almost exclusively to the handling of motor trucks. No local man in the business is better known than Mr.. Harlow, and his reputation in this field of enterprise is a distinct business asset. Upon selling his sporting goods store he removed the automobile department of his business to his present centrally located quarters, at 400 East South street. He is also the executive head of the Colonial Gear & Manufacturing Company. Mr. Harlow has membership in the National, the Michigan and the Kalamazoo Automobile Dealers Associations, is an active member of the local Commercial Club, and is affiliated with the Kalamazoo lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. February I, I907, Mr. Harlow wedded Miss Daisy V. Young, of Kalamazoo, and their one child is a daughter, Elsie. John McKinnon, whose death occurred April 6, 1924, was for twenty-three years a citizen of Kalamazoo, and here he long held a position of distinctive prominence and influence in manufacturing and financial affairs of major importance. In the person of John McKinnon were incarnate the sterling characteristics of the sturdy race from which he sprung. He was born in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, October 3, 1852, and there received his youthful education and initial business experience. He was an ambitious and self-reliant youth of twenty years when he came to the United States and established his home in Kalamazoo. As a representative of the railway-supply business he here became one of its prominent and successful ex KALAMAZOO COUNTY 323 ponents, his activities in this connection having taken him into all parts of the United States and having involved also his extensive travels through Canada, Mexico and Central America. He had distinct realization of the export trade in railway supplies, and gave years of effective service in developing this trade for his concern. He took over the management of the Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company, and developed this concern from one of small order to status as an industry of first magnitude and importance in its line. He was a director of the Home Savings Bank of Kalamazoo and also of the Kalamazoo Sanitary Manufacturing Company. Mr. McKinnon was actively affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which his maximum York Rite connection was with Peninsular Commandery, Knights Templar. He was a loyal member of the Rotary Club of Kalamazoo, and through this and many other mediums gave evidence of his civic progressiveness and liberality. Mr. McKinnon had alliance also with the Vulcan Iron Works of St. Louis, Missouri; the Wabash Railway Supply Company; the Modern Frog & Switch Company, of Chicago, of which he was general manager, and the Buda Company of Chicago, of which he was sales manager. In I905 he associated himself with the Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company, of which he was made secretary and manager in I907, and of which he was president and general manager from I912 until his death. He was a life member of the American Society of Engineers, was a director of the Track Supply Association, and was a director also of the National Railway Appliance Association. Mr. McKinnon was twice married, and in the interim between the death of his first wife and the time of his second marriage, his sister, Miss Mary McKinnon, presided over the social and domestic affairs of his home. His second wife died just three days prior to his own death. His sister, Miss Mary, still resides in Kalamazoo, his brother, David, is a resident of Chicago, and in that city is maintained the home of his other surviving sister, Mrs. John Menwell. Mr. McKinnon impressed himself upon Kalamazoo as a man of sterling character and superabundant business sagacity and energy. He ordered his life on a high plane and made it count for good in all its relations. Edwin Mason, one of the sterling pioneer settlers of Kalamazoo county, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, and was one of the twelve children of Elisha Mason, who served three years as a patriot soldier in the war of the Revolution and who was stationed at West Point at the time when Benedict Arnold planned its surrender to the British. In December, 1826, Edwin Mason married Clarissa Johnson, of Morris, Connecticut, and six years later they made the overland journey to Albany, New York, whence they proceeded by the Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Detroit. There Mr. Mason bought another wagon and a team of oxen, with which he and his wife and their three children, the youngest a child of six years, proceeded through the forest wilds to their destination in Kalamazoo county. Mr. Mason took up a large tract of government land, and he and his wife endured their full share of the hardships and labors marking the pioneer period in the history of Michigan Territory. With the passing years Mr. Mason reclaimed 3M4J[ ESTORIg MICHIGAN and developed much of his land, and he continued as one of tfhe honored pioneer citizens of Michigan until the close of his long, tsefull and worthy life. His old homestead was near Richland, and there was reared his daughter Cornelia, who became the wife of Martin B. Olmsted and the mother of Floyd R. Olmsted, of whom individual mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The names of Edwin Mason and his noble wife merit a high place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Kalamazoo county. William F. Montague is not only one of the influential exponents of progressive farm industry in Kalamazoo county but is also president of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of this county. He was born at Hadley, Massachusetts, August 6, I849, and is a son of Stephen F. and Lucy W. (Kellogg) Montague, who came to Michigan in 1858 and gained a goodly measure of pioneer ho'nors in Kalamazoo county, where the father purchased the old Earnes farm soon after arriving, both he and his wife having passed the remainder of their lives in this county and their names meriting place on the roll of the sterling pioneers of this section of Michigan. On the old homestead farm on Grand prairie, this county, William F. Montague was reared to adult age, and to the common schools of the locality and period, including the high school, he is indebted for his early education. He continued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the old home farm until 1876, when he was appointed deputy sheriff of the county, under the administration of Sheriff Charles Gibbs. At the close of the latter's term Mr. Montague was reappointed by the newly elected sheriff, John Galligan, and later he served as assistant postmaster in Kalamazoo, under the regime of A. J. Shakespeare. In I886 he was elected county sheriff, and at the expiration of his two years' term he returned to his farm, in his home township, where he has since continued his residence. This well improved farmstead comprises many acres, and by Mr. Montague it has long been made the stage of well ordered and successful agricultural and livestock industry. He is now one of the oldest representatives of the pioneer period in Kalamazoo county history, and is a citizen who has ever commanded high place in popular esteem. He has served as township supervisor and treasurer, and has otherwise had much of leadership in community affairs. He is an active and appreciative member of the Kalamazoo County Pioneer Society, and has served as its president. In I899 Mr. Montague became a director of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, and of this well ordered corporation he has been the president since I9c0, besides which he served several years as secretary of the Michigan state organization of farmers' mutual insurance companies. May 9, 1878, Mr. Montague married Miss Susan A. Latta, daughter of Albert and Lois (Orton) Latta, who were honored pioneers of Kalamazoo county. Mr. and Mrs. Montague became the parents of three children, two of whom are living: Charles F., and Ida. Lucy, the eldest of the children, became the wife of Mr. L. Cloney, and her death occurred in 1919. Mr. Montague, now one of the venerable pioneer citizens of Kalamazoo county, has: contributed his full share to the civic and material de - ~ — - ~ ~ - -~~ ~~,I I -. OFF77 l( KALAMAZOO COUNTY 325 velopment and progress of the county, and here his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. Floyd R. Olmsted, senior member of the firm of Olmsted & Mulhall, which is successfully established in the real estate, insurance and investment business in the city of Kalamazoo, was born in Barry county, Michigan, and is a son of Martin B. and Cornelia (Mason) Olmsted, the latter's father, Edwin Mason, having been an early settler in this county and a tribute to his memory being entered on other pages of this work. Floyd R. Olmsted is the eldest of a family of three children. After finishing the public schools he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of I9oo. For several years thereafter he was associated with the Kalamazoo Corset Company, and in 19I4 he formed a partnership with Harry den Bleyker and engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Kalamazoo. This alliance was terminated in I920 by the death of Mr. den Bleyker, and Mr. Olmsted then admitted to partnership in the well established business his present coadjutor, Thomas E. Mulhall. This firm controls a substantial and prosperous business and is one of the representative concerns of its kind in Kalamazoo county. Mr. Olmsted is a director of the People's Savings Association of Kalamazoo, is a trustee of Kalamazoo College and is also a trustee of the First Baptist Church, of which he and his wife are members. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. September 2, 1903, Mr. Olmsted wedded Miss Margaret Boyden, daughter of the late Rev. Jesse Stephen Boyden, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Olmsted are popular figures in the social activities of their home city. Samuel Appleton Gibson.-To this honored pioneer in paper manufacturing in Michigan is distinctly to be ascribed the credit of developing that business in the Kalamazoo valley, now the central stage of this industry in the state. There has been no person whose influence in such connection has been larger and more constructive, and that in a period when such influence was an absolute prerequisite to success and progress. Mr. Gibson was long a prominent figure in connection with the business and civic interests of Kalamazoo, and here his death occurred January 22, I899. Samuel A. Gibson was born at New Ipswich, New Hampshire, August 17, 1835, son of Colonel George C. and Elvira (Appleton) Gibson, and, on both sides, was a scion of sterling colonial ancestry in New England. Colonel George C. Gibson was born and reared in New Hampshire, and was a skilled millwright. He became a successful manufacturer of furniture, was influential in community affairs, served as selectman, and gained the rank of colonel in the state militia, in which connection it may be noted that both the Gibson and Appleton families gave patriotic soldiers to the war of the Revolution. Samuel A. Gibson was reared and educated in his native state and was there graduated in Appleton Academy. As a youth he held clerical positions at Concord and Ashby, Massachusetts, and in his father's furniture factory he found opportunity for developing his natural e% 326 HISTORIC MICHIGAN mechanical talent. Later he became interested in mercantile enterprise at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and thence he was induced to come to Kalamazoo, Michigan, through the overtures made by the late Benjamin F. Lyon, who was then manager of the old Kalamazoo Paper Company. The mill of this company had been operated with marked lack of success, and it was due to the mechanical knowledge and exceptional initiative and executive ability of Mr. Gibson that this pioneer industry was placed on a firm basis and developed to large and substantial success. He assumed the position of superintendent of this Kalamazoo paper mill, with which he was connected for a period of twenty-five years. Eventually he became president of this old and important manufacturing corporation, and under his able direction it became the most influential medium in developing the great paper industry in Michigan. Under the guidance of Mr. Gibson many men who later became leaders in the paper-manufacturing industry of the United States received their initial training. As head of the Kalamazoo Paper Company Mr. Gibson made it one of the really great paper-manufacturing corporations of the nation, and gave to its products a high reputation for superiority. He did not retire from the active supervision of the affairs of the company until I898, shortly before his death, and he was president of the company when came the end of his useful and noble life. Mr. Gibson was a director of the Kalamazoo National Bank. He not only did much to promote the industrial growth and progress of his, home city and county, but also stood forward as a loyal and publicspirited citizen whose influence and co-operation were ever available in the promotion of enterprises and measures projected for the general good of the community. His was mature judgment and exceptional executive ability, and his was a broad-minded and generous attitude in connection with all of the relations of life. He was deeply interested in religious, charitable and educational affairs, served as a member of the board of trustees of Kalamazoo College and the local Young Women's Christian Association, and he was not only a trustee and zealous member of the First Congregational Church but served likewise as superintendent of its Sunday school. He was essentially a business man, and while well fortified in his opinions concerning economic and governmental affairs, he had no ambition for political activity or public office. He was a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and long maintained affiliation with the Masonic fraternity. On the I4th of October, I860, at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gibson to Mrs. Mary Anna (Farnsworth) Bardeen, widow of William T. Bardeen, and she preceded him to the life eternal, her death having occurred May 20, 1893. They became the parents of three children: Alice G. is the widow of Francis D. Haskell and maintains her home in Kalamazoo, as does also Susan Edity, who is the wife of Frederick M. Hodge, now president of the Kalamazoo Paper Company; the third daughter, Emma Josephine, died in infancy. Samuel A. Gibson left a deep and worthy impress upon the social, civic and industrial history of Kalamazoo, where he held exalted KALAMAZOO COUNTY 327 place in popular confidence and esteem, and where he was numbered among Michigan's representative captains of industry-the first here to achieve success in paper manufacturing. William Tucker is manager of the Kalamazoo-Greenville Gravel Company, with executive headquarters in the city of Kalamazoo, where he maintains his residence at 726 Stuart avenue. He was born on the homestead farm of his parents, near Farmersville, Montgomery county, Ohio, and the date of his nativity was September 2, i868. He was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, and in the country school of the district he continued his studies to the eighth grade. He then, as the oldest child of the family, found it incumbent upon him to aid in the support of his mother and the younger children, and that his ambition for further education was one of decisive action is shown in the fact that he continued his studies at home, the while he worked zealously in caring for the other members of the family. His broader education has been that gained under the preceptorship of the wisest of all head-masters, Experience, and his advancement has been won entirely through his own ability and efforts. As a youth in the old Buckeye state Mr. Tucker followed farm work, later operated a threshing machine, and there likewise he operated a saw mill for some time. In I909 he came to the upper peninsula of Michigan, and, near Trout lake, Chippewa county, became associated in the opening and operation of the stone quarry of the S. B. Martin Stone Company. Later he returned to Ohio, where he was for five years associated with the Greenville Gravel Company. He was then transferred to Michigan, where this corporation had large interests, and here his first service was near the city of Jackson, whence he came to Kalamazoo in I918, where he has since been the efficient manager of the Kalamazoo-Greenville Gravel Company, which is an integral part of the Greenville Gravel Company. This corporation handles an enormous business from the Kalamazoo headquarters, and is said to pay greater freight charges than all other Kalamazoo concerns in the aggregate. The company has a lease of land north of the city and from the same gains the best grade of gravel for building and road construction work. The gravel is washed and graded, and the company supplies in its line material that invariably measures up to the demands of all specifications of architects and construction concerns. In I924 this company shipped from Kalamazoo 8,500 carloads of the different grades of stone, sand and gravel. Mr. Tucker is an authority in his chosen and important sphere of industrial enterprise, and is valued as one of the substantial business men and loyal and progressive citizens of Kalamazoo. In the year I9oo was recorded the marriage of Mr. Tucker to Miss Florence Emrick, who likewise was born and reared in Ohio, and their one child is a son, Wilbert, who is now associated with his father's business, as bookkeeper in the office of the Kalamazoo-Greenville Gravel Company. Mr. Tucker has been one of the world's productive workers, has depended on his own resources from his boyhood, and has achieved substantial and worthy success, together with secure place in popular confidence and good will. 328 HISTORIC MICHIGAN i Henry F. Severens.-The life record of the late Judge Henry F. Severens offers both lesson and inspiration. His was the faith that made faithful in all the relations of life, and his were the powers and high motives that made for the winning of broad success and marked distinction. He served with characteristic ability on the bench of the United States district court of the Western district of Michigan and on that of the federal court of appeals for the Sixth district, comprising Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and a part of the state of Indiana. He retired from the latter office in October, I9II, and thereafter lived virtually retired, in his home at Kalamazoo, Michigan, until his death, June 8, I923. Judge Severens was born in Rockingham, Vermont, May ii, 1835, and was the eldest of the ten children born to Franklin and Sarah (Pulsipher) Severens, both likewise natives of the old Green Mountain state, where the father followed the vocation of farming, he having passed the closing years of his life in the home of one of his daughters, Mrs. George Perham, at Pearl, Allegan county, Michigan. Through one of the lines of descent the Severens family genealogy is traced to Sargent Hinman, an eminent English lawyer who defended King Charles I of England. Judge Severens gained his early education in the common schools of his native county and later was graduated in Middlebury College, at Middlebury, Vermont. It is related that when he entered college one of his uncles advanced him $2o0, and that with this small financial reinforcement he contrived to complete his college course, it having been necessary for him to practice, as may well be understood, the strictest economy. After leaving college he studied law and in due course was admitted to the Vermont bar. In the little office that he established at Keen, Vermont, he waited an entire year before his first client appeared. In 1858 he went to the state of Iowa, where for a time he taught school, at Dubuque. In I860 Judge Severens came to Michigan and established his residence at Three Rivers, where he continued in the practice of law until I865, when he removed to Kalamazoo, this beautiful little city having thereafter continued to represent his home until the time of his death. After many years of successful law practice, in which he gained marked prestige as a resourceful trial lawyer, Judge Severens was appointed, in May, I886, to fill a vacancy on the bench of the United States district court of the Western district of Michigan, and over this tribunal he presided with characteristic efficiency until February, I9oo. In the meantime he had been called upon also to serve as special judge of the United States court of appeals for the Sixth district, and when the Hon. William H. Taft, former president of the United States and now chief justice of the United States supreme court, was called from his service on the bench of this district court of appeals to become governor of the Philippine Islands, President McKinley, in February, 19oo, appointed Judge Severens as successor of Judge Taft on the bench of the Federal court of appeals, where he had previously served as an associate not only of Judge Taft but also of Judges William R. Day and Horace H. Lurton, both of whom later became associate justices of the United States supreme court. As a judge of the KALAMAZOO COUNTY 329 Federal court of appeals for the district mentioned, Judge Severens continued his distinguished service until June, 19I1, when he retired. He had given twenty-five years of judicial administration, on the two benches, and when he retired, the Grand Rapids Bar Association gave a dinner in his honor. Many of the distinguished jurists of the state and nation were present on this occasion, and many other old friends, associates and admirers, who were not able to attend, wrote letters in testimony, of their high esteem for and estimate of Judge Severens. Well worthy of preservation in this connection is the text of the letter written at the time by Judge William H. Taft, under date of October 25, I9II: "I am sorry that I can not be present at the dinner tonight, to testify by word of mouth to the great usefulness of the judicial career of Judge Severens. It has been my good fortune to be associated with him for a full period of ten years in the close intimacy of judicial colleagues, and to know his high ideals as a citizen, as a lawyer, as a jurist and as a judge. His opinions are a monument to his industry, profound learning, clear sense of equity, acute discrimination, and great courage as a judge. He has left us most valuable judgments on all branches of the law. His entire judicial career has been perfectly rounded, and he retires to a well earned leisure, which I hope will be made happy in every way, by the retrospect of the great service which he has rendered to his country. Please present to Judge Severens my affectionate greetings and my sincere expression of profound respect." This and other letters from eminent sources are greatly treasured by surviving members of the family of the honored subject of this memoir. After his retirement from the bench Judge Severens gave much of his time to the supervision of his extensive landed interests in Michigan, where at one time he owned more than Io,ooo acres of land, in Allegan and Kalamazoo counties, and carried on agricultural and livestock enterprise on a large scale. The Judge was a greater lover and student of nature, and, like John Burroughs, found his greatest pleasure in roving through the fields and forests and studying plant and bird life. He was a botanist of no minor ability, and was able to name and classify all of the various plants and timbers native to Michigan. A few years prior to his death the health of Judge Severens began to fail rapidly, and thus he lived in retirement at his home in Kalamazoo during these years. From resolutions of tribute that were drafted at the time of his death by the Kalamazoo Bar Association and that were later adopted also by the supreme court of Michigan and the United States circuit court of appeals, at Cincinnati, are taken the following quotations: "His desire to do exact justice to all the parties whose claims were submitted for his decision, his clearly defined reasons for the conclusions which he reached, and the confidence which all had in his judicial actions, marked him as one of the leading jurists of his time, and he justly secured the reputation he gained as one of the leaders in the profession of law in the nation. At Three Rivers, Michigan, pecember I, I862, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Severens to Miss Sarah Clarissa Whittlesey, who was born in the state of New York, of Scotch lineage, 330 HISTORIC MICHIGAN and who was a cousin of the late General Robert E. Lee, the distinguished leader of the Confederate forces in the Civil war. Mrs. Severens preceded her husband to eternal rest, her death having occurred March 3, I900. Of the three children, the only son died in infancy, and the two surviving are Mrs. Mabel S. Balch and Miss Katherine Severens, both of whom still reside in their old home city of Kalamazoo. William McCourtie Loveland is a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo and one of the leaders in the development of paper-making, the first industry in the Kalamazoo valley district. He is president of the Watervliet Paper Company, the mill being located at Watervliet, near Paw Paw lake, while the executive offices are established at IOI Pratt block, Kalamazoo. Mr. Loveland was born in Kalamazoo, September 26, I868, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Loveland, prominent among the pioneer families of the then biggest village in America. The Lovelands have for full seventy years been closely identified with the social and business life of the community. Richard H. Loveland, father of the subject of this review, was born at Prattsville, New York, in I827, coming to Kalamazoo in I854. First engaging in farm work and then becoming an employee of the old Kalamazoo house, he opened a livery stable in 1857 and followed that line of activity nearly all his remaining years. He was aways recognized as a successful, substantial citizen. In 1859 he married Miss Maria Wilson, daughter of Edwin and Harriet Wilson, Brighton, New York. They becamie the parents of six children, four of whom are now living. Three of the number, William M., Miss Nellie and Mrs. Gertrude Saunders, still reside in Kalamazoo and Richard H. Loveland is vice-president and treasurer of the Hayes Wheel Company, Jackson's leading industry. Miss Nellie Loveland is secretary and manager of the Advocate Publishing Company and is counted among Kalamazoo's representative business women, also a factor in the social and cultural activities of the city. William McC6urtie Loveland gained his education in the Kalamazoo public schools and Parson's Business College. He left the latter institution to accept a position with the old Michigan National Bank, later going to the City National Bank as bookkeeper. Keenly interested in military affairs and a member of Company C, Michigan National Guards, he was among the first volunteers to enlist from Michigan at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war and was quartermaster with the first detachment to land in Cuba under the command of Gen. Frank L. Carpenter. With the close of hostilities he continued his connection with the local unit of the Michigan National Guards, rose to the rank of first lieutenant and was made regimental adjutant by Col. E. M. Irish, commander of the Thirty-second Michigan. In the business world, he entered the employ of the Kalamazoo Paper Company, advancing to the position of secretary. In 1915 he was induced to accept the presidency of the Watervliet Paper Com i KALAMAZOO COUNTY 331 pany and was a powerful factor in the reorganization and rejuvenation of that concern and in making it one of the really important companies in the list of Michigan's paper mills. He is also a director of the Kalamazoo National Bank, the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company and the Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company. He is a Republican in politics, a member of the First Presbyterian Church and a Mason and Knight Templar. He is also affiliated with the Park Club, Kalamazoo Country Club and Gull Lake Country Club. In I891 he married Miss Ada M. Cook, daughter of Eugene Cook, of Nashville, Barry county. Mr.' and Ms:. Loveland have two children, a daughter, Dorothy, is now Mrs. Walter Scott Radeker, Asheville, North Carolina and a son, Richard W., who at the time of this publication was attending school in Asheville. William Addison Stone, M.D., was a direct descendant of Symond and Elizabeth Stone, of Much Bromley, Essexshire, England, where the will of Symond Stone bore date of I506. The original American ancestor, Simon Stone I, with his wife, Joan Clark Stone and their five children, came from London, England in 1635 and settled at Watertown, Massachusetts, where he became one of the largest land-owners. At Watertown, Simon Stone built a big colonial house, for two hundred years the home of six generations of the Stone family. Simon Stone served several years on the board of selectmen and was deacon of his church many years. After the death of Joan Clark Stone he married Mrs. Sarah Lumpkin, widow of Richard Lumpkin of Ipswich. Simon Stone died September 22, 1665. In line of direct descent is Simon Stone II, born in Boxted, England, in I63I. Though one of the original proprietors of Groton, Massachusetts, Deacon Simon iStone II lived at Watertown in the old homestead and filled many town offices, including that of representative to the general court. He married Mary Whipple, and of his eleven children his son Simon III, born September 8, 1656, was next in order of descent. Simon Stone II died February 27, 1708. Simon Stone III died at Groton, December 19, 1740, fought in King Phillip's war and also in King William's war. Nine times shot and twice hacked by Indians, Cotton Mather said, "That nothing may be despaired of, remember Simon Stone." (Magnalia, Vol. XXCVIII, p. 606). For his service in the Indian wars he obtained a grant of land at Groton, 200 acres. He was a substantial farmer, a deacon of the church, a representative in the general court, a member of the State Legislature in I706-07. There were ten children. The son, Simon IV, was born August I, I686, and died October 22, I746. He married Sarah Farnsworth, who died May 30, I767. There were ten children, of whom the next in line was Simon V. Stone, who was born September Io, 1714, and died at Greenwich, Massachusetts, in I785. His five sons fought in the war of the Revolution. His son Aaron I., born in Harvard, Massachusetts, November 22, I745, married Betsy Ray and died at Pittsford, New York, in 1841. At Pittsford he received a grant of land in recognition of his army service. In the Revolution he enlisted as a private in Captain Edward Long's Company, Dorset Regiment, New York militia, commanded by Colonel Alexander Webster and 332 HISTORIC MICHIGAN Major Thomas Armstrong. Dr. Stone of this memoir had six other ancestors who gave "material and patriotic aid to the cause of the American Revolution," namely: John and Solomon Wales, John Morris, Silas Hayden, Samuel Strong and David Lang. Aaron Stone II, son of Aaron I, was born in New York, June 30, I770, and in i815, at Pittsford, he married Margaret Hayden. In I823 they came to Macomb county, Michigan, and on the government land he there obtained he erected a farmhouse that is still in use by his descendants. Of his seven children, William Augustus, father of Doctor Stone, was born in Macomb county, Michigan Territory, November 26, 1824. William Augustus Stone passed his entire life in Macomb county, where he died May 5, I899. He has been described as "a stately, silent, gentle and handsome man." He married, December 30, 1857, Caroline, daughter of Otis and Theodosia (Wales) Lamb, of the same family as Charles Lamb, the English essayist. Mrs. Stone was "frail, gracious and most imaginative," and "seems to have been an exquisite, flower-like person." She was descended from Lieutenant Thomas Lamb, who, with his wife, Elizabeth and their two sons, came from England in Governor Winthrop's fleet and settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Thomas Lamb's son Abial distinguished himself in King Phillip's war. Jonathan, the next in line, who lived at Spencer, Massachusetts, served four years in Father Rolle's war. Jonathan's son David served gallantly as a patriot soldier in the Revolution, and from David descended Otis Lamb, who married Theodosia Wales and came to Macomb county, Michigan, in I820. Otis Lamb's home was about half a mile distant from the old Stone homestead. William Addison Stone, M.D., psychiatrist and alienist, specialist in nervous diseases, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was the eldest son of William Augustus Stone and Caroline Lamb Stone. He was born December 15, 1862, on their farm near Washington, Macomb county, Michigan. Like many another successful American, William A. Stone grew to young manhood on the farm, attending the public school and graduating from Romeo High School. He then entered the University of Michigan from which he graduated in I885, with his degree of Doctor of Medicine. His first year after graduation was spent at Almont, Michigan, with his uncle, Dr. Addison Ray Stone, who had been a surgeon attached to General Custer's Cavalry Regiment during the Civil war. It was Dr. A. R. Stone who had inspired and assisted him to study medicine. At that time the young Doctor Stone was greatly interested in surgery and was appointed Junior Physician at the Traverse City Hospital for the Insane, then a new institution. While there, collaborating with Dr. G. E. Chaddock, they made the first English translation of Krafft-Ebing's "Psychopathic Sexualis." This became the first English exposition of General Paresis of the Insane and was a marked advance in the methods for the diagnosis of sources of insanity. In I891 he came to Kalamazoo as Assistant Superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane, and there ccmmenced what was to be KALAMAZOO COUNTY 333 his life work, as a specialist in nervous and mental diseases, and as an organizer and innovator of new methods in the care of the insane in institutions. While he held this office, Kalamazoo ranked very high in the whole country for its efficiency and humanity. "As assistant superintendent, he directed much, often all, of the executive work of this great institution. This included every detail from the best possible care of patients and the training of internes and nurses, to practical agriculture, stock raising, and building construction. It is no wonder that his friends, in later years after his retirement from institutional work, were often amazed at the doctor's extraordinary range of exact practical knowledge far beyond the limits of his profession." Dr. A. W. Crane. Dr. Stone initiated and organized Brook Farm, a large farm in the fertile river valley where patients who had lived an out-of-doors life and patients to whom the closer confinement of the larger buildings would be wracking were given an opportunity to interest themselves in the flowers, the crops, and the splendid cattle. For at one time, the Brook Farm herd was the finest in the state and the patients who assisted in its care were justly proud. Dr. Stone appointed the superintendent, nurses and men who were entrusted with this farm and each week, no matter what weather, three or four times he made the six mile trip there and back. Due to his initiative Colony Farm, toward Oshtemo in the hills, was started and managed for both men and women. Realizing that the assistant superintendent should be relieved of much of executive detail, he initiated at Kalamazoo the office of general supervisor. The usefulness of this step has been demonstrated in the subsequent administration of the institution, the position being still held by Mr. Joseph W. Scott, Dr. Stone's selection for the office. Dr. Stone organized the nurses training school, so that the "sick of mind" might have as intelligent care as is usually demanded for the sick of body and not be exposed to any jobless vagrant of a "nurse" who came along. Changes were made in the application blanks so that the questions were pertinent and the references could be checked. He organized the fire department and fire drills, for during his first few months the need was made obvious in a serious fire in one of the buildings, where he risked his life to save a patient. He organized the band, composed mostly of employees but with a few more "comfortable" patients as members, and conducted it at its weekly concerts and special performances for a while. He arranged good concerts and entertainments and the Fourth of July celebration on the great scale which made of that summer holiday, (Christmas excepted) the most looked for of all the year, by the patients and also by the inhabitants of Kalamazoo who thronged to see it. When Edwards and van Deusen Hospitals were being considered, he assisted in drawing up the plans and insisted on many reforms in plumbing and sanitary engineering. Doctor Stone convinced the management of the State Hospital (then Michigan Asylum for the Insane) that placing in the chapel of the properly consecrated sanc 334 HISTORIC MICHIGAN tuary for the services of the Roman Catholic Church was necessary for his patients of this faith. Throughout all his work, it was for the patient that he always thought and for making it easier for the vast number swarming together. His activities were guided by sympathy and common sense. He classified and grouped the men, over all of whom he was in charge, as to their age and type of mental illness. The men were given periodically physical examinations and those strong enough were given ample outdoor employment as a release for their energies. Restraint muffs and straight jackets were done away with, "crib beds" and stationary chairs were taken out, and the wooden beds replaced by the then modern cottage bed. In the medical care of his patients he was unfailing and untiring. "The patients and the employees loved him," said Mr. Scott. That he could carry out so effectively his ideals of human kindliness and mercy in such a large institution, added to the work of other pioneers in other institutions, has had a marked effect on the care of the insane throughout the United States. June 20, I898 he married Harriette Osborn McCalmont at her home in Franklin, Pennsylvania. She was also a physician at the State Hospital. Her father, Samuel Plumer McCalmont, was ta lawyer. At the University of Michigan, I905-o6, Doctor Stone was lecturer on "Insanity" in the Department of Medicine and Surgery, and he was a consultant in the Department of Medical Jurisprudence. In 910o Doctor Stone resigned his position at the State Institution for the Insane in order to practice as a consulting physician in nervous and mental diseases. At this time he planned and erected the dwelling at II02 West Main street, where he resided until his death. In I910-II he gave all his services gratuitously to Bronson Hospital, the City Protestant Hospital, reorganizing it so that it could run harmoniously and upon a satisfactory financial basis. Here also he permanently established a nurses' training school. His patriotism was amply attested during the World war by his unremitting labors on the Medical Board of Examiners, No. 12, from December 17, 1917, to December, I9I9, "and his optimism by his absolute confidence in a righteous end of the mighty conflict." (Dr. A. W. Crane). In addition to this he opened his home to all men in the army and for two years his Main street house was a place where the men were always welcome and where there was an abundance of food and human kindness. Hundreds of men will remember the generosity they found in the Doctor's household. He belonged to the following clubs and social societies: Sons of the American Revolution; the Stone Family Association; Park Club; Gull Lake and Kalamazoo Country Club, of each of which he was one of the founders and original stockholders, and the Outlook Club. The learned societies to which he belonged were the American Anthropological Association, Detroit Society of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kalamazoo Medical Journal Club, of which he was also president for KALAMAZOO COUNTY 335 one year, Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, of which he was president in 1907, and for many years a member of the board of censors, the executive committee of the academy. "The doctor held high standards for his own profession and exercised a decided influence over contemporary medical practice. His services to the Academy were along these lines." (Dr. A. W. Crane). "His mature judgment and wise counsel have always been of great value in the guidance of academy affairs." (From a resolution proposed by Dr. Jackson and passed by the Academy of Medicine). He was a Fellow of the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association. Since Dr. Stone was both a physician and a scientist, his achievements as a scientist were used in his service as a physician, especially with nervous and mental diseases, and for this his opinion was second to none. A prominent member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine once declared: "I would rather have Dr. Stone's opinion on a nervous or mental case than that of any other man in the world." His knowledge was founded on thorough information of physiology and medicine in general as well as of the operation of the human mind taken in its normal and abnormal condition. Each case was regarded as a human being to be succored, being treated with the greatest kindliness and good sense; and as a laboratory specimen to be examined minutely, recorded, and studied. From his researches while Assistant Superintendent of the State Hospital and during his private practice, from his wide reading and ample correspondence, he had a tremendous fund of data on which to base and amplify his observations. The notes of his studies while at the State Hospital are in the archives of that institution, and those of his private practice in the hands of hundreds of doctors in southern Michigan who sought his opinion about their cases. As a consultant psychiatrist and alienist, he was frequently in demand by the county or making trips about the state to decide the mental status of some individual on trial. His medicolegal knowledge was so profound that lawyers from all over Michigan came to him. In no instance has the correctness or justice of his conclusion been seriously questioned. In operations or treatments where nervous shock might be involved, he was also frequently consulted, and on cases requiring brain surgery, both for localization and for chances of recovery. In this line he was deeply interested, believing that a vast field of discovery lay before the brain surgeon. To quote Dr. John B. Jackson's appreciation of Dr. Stone's work: "So well equipped was he for this work that the local physicians could not fail to recognize his ability in his chosen field. We learned to depend upon his diagnosis of such cases and his advice as to their management. His wide reading, his skill in the analysis of a case and his experience in the management of patients suffering from diseases of the nervous system, made him an authority. In addition to this ability, in his special field, his knowledge and experience in general medicine practice made him especially helpful as a consultant." In his purely scientific studies he prepared and gave before the Academy of Medicine "A Very Scholarly and Caustic Paper": De 336 EHISTORIC MICHIGAN mentia Americana, "Brainstorm," apropos of the Thaw Case. He had assembled notes on "Endemic Infantile Paralysis"; "The Thyroid Gland and Its Abnormalities," in certain localities in Michigan compared with the same disease in various parts of Switzerland; Alcoholism and the Children of Alcoholics, and "Hereditary Afflictions." He studied with interest the Freudian Theory and method of diagnosis. For the last three years he had been working on "Encephalitis Lethargica," (sleeping sickness), and its after effects. But the work which, chiefly interested him was anthropological, the "Study of Asymmetrical Skulls and Racial Types" —for which he had done extensive reading and research, in the Smithsonian Institute; among various races of American Indians; among groups from every race in this country, making a trip to Europe soon after graduating from the University, and a trip to Alaska, in 1920. He died before this valuable work on racial types was completed, but the notes are to be published as soon as they are in order. While making studies of the Indians, he became attracted by their art and folklore, on which subjects he collected quite a library. His medical library, with its books on mental and nervous diseases, touched every phase of biological science and included the latest and most complete publications on heredity, evolution, physiology, biology, chemistry, etc. In reading he was particularly fond of history, especially English, French and American, of Biography and Autobiography and of books of travel. He was interested in Americana and in the genealogy of old families here and in England, which he traced with scholarly precision. While not reading he spent his little leisure time at golf, gardening in his flower beds and in motoring slowly about the country. He was five feet ten in height, finely built and until about 1922 an agile and almost invincible tennis player. He had grey eyes, dark brown hair which became snow white, a fair and rosy complexion and remarkably small hands and feet. His habitual expression was almost a smile and he never missed a joke or was outwitted in repartee. As a young man he had been an expert fencer and until his last illness, he was a "regular baseball" and "football fan." He was fond of animals and especially English bull dogs. From the Stones he inherited business sagacity, practical good sense and organizing ability. He was a director of the Consolidated Paper Company of Monroe, Michigan, from 1904 to 1924, a director of the Kalamazoo National Bank for four years, and the agent for the S. P. McCalmont Estate in Michigan from I912. From the Lambs he inherited his physique, and his brilliant mind. "His experience never dulled his faith in human nature, and he always expected to find in those whom he met the same honesty which was one of his most dominant traits of character. In thought and speech he never dissembled, but gave his opinion when asked; always kind, his words were never resented, save where truth was undesired." His son, William Addison Stone, Jr. (born June 27, 1902), graduated from Yale Sheffield Engineering School in 1924, and will go on to get a B. F. A. in Architecture, His daughter, Helen H. McCalmont L KALAMAZOO COUNTY 337 Stone (born March 22, I900), graduated from Bryn Mawr, I92I, studied six months at the University of London, University College, was acting professor of College Biology in I922-23 at the Western State Normal, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and until interrupted by her father's illness, studied for an M. A. at Columbia. His widow, Harriette McCalmont Stone, still resides at II02 West Main street. While attending a football game in the fall of 1923, he had an unexpected attack of heart failure, from which he failed to recover fully. During the winter he read and was surrounded as constantly as was compatable with his health, by friends, eager to listen to the flow of incident and wisdom of his conversation. On February 24, I924, at his home he had another attack, this time fatal. "The memory of Doctor Stone will remain with us as a model of the scientific physician whose erudition and nobility of character must inspire us to better things." (John B. Jackson). He lives in the memory of his services to mankind, in his achievements in the operation of institutions for the insane, and in the infinite generosity of his help and information when consulted. He lives in his scientific notes; and best of all in his philosophy of life, based entirely on the known facts of life, resulting in actions of kindness and good sense, for in that philosophy he epitomized the honesty of his nature. HELEN H. MCCALMONT STONE. John Franklin Follmer maintained his home in Michigan throughout the entire course of his earnest and useful life and was one of the representative business men and honored citizens of Vicksburg, Kalamazoo county, at the time of his death. Here he was established in the hardware and implement business, and since he passed away the business has been ably conducted by his widow. Impaired health led Mr. Follmer to make a visit to Arizona, in the hope of recuperating his physical energies, but at Phoenix, that state, his death occurred in January, 1920, when he was still in the prime of life. Mr. Follmer was born in Muskegon county, Michigan, and was a son of John D. and Martha (Warner) Follmer, his father having come to Michigan from the state of Pennsylvania and was for a long time engaged in the lumber business in Muskegon county. He was a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, and participated in the great battle of Gettysburg, so that he had ample first-hand data when he later became author of a history of that battle, he having also been prominently identified with the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife was a native of Massachusetts. John F. Follmer, the honored subject of this memoir, acquired in the Michigan public schools his early educational discipline, and his original experience of practical order was in connection with the work of the home farm and his father's lumber enterprise. At Vicksburg he built up a prosperous hardware and implement business and gained rank as one of the most progressive, influential and honored business men and citizens of the village, the entire community manifesting a sense of loss and sorrow when he was summoned from the stage of life's mortal endeavors. Mr. Follmer had served as secretary of the Michigan Implement & Vehicle Dealers Association, and as vice 338 HISTORIC MICHIGAN president of the National Implement & Vehicle Dealers Association. He was leal and loyal in all of the relations of life, and his circle of friends was limited only by that of his acquaintances. He was a Republican in political adherency, and at Vicksburg he maintained affiliation with Brady Lodge No. 208, Free & Accepted Masons, and also the lodge of the Knights of Pythias. In I9o6 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Follmer to Miss Mary Dennis, who was born at Williamston, Ingham county, this state, a daughter of William E. and Alice (Hammond) Dennis. Mrs. Dennis likewise was born in Williamston, her father, Harvey Hammond, having come from Vermont and numbered himself among the pioneer settlers in Ingham county. William E. Dennis was born in the state of New York and was a boy at the time of the family removal to Michigan, his father, Leonard M. Dennis, having purchased a tract of land near Williamston, Ingham county, in the early '50's, this land, now a valuable farm property, being still 'in the possession of the family. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Dennis eventually became the wife of Frank J. Barrett, and they reside at Williamston, Ingham county. In the public schools of Williamston Mrs. Follmer continued her studies until she had profited by the curriculum of the high school; in I9oo she was graduated in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, and in 1902 she was graduated in the University of Michigan, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Prior to her marriage she was for two years a successful and popular teacher in the public schools at Schoolcraft, and she still maintains lively interest in educational and all other cultural matters. Her one child, Marjorie Elizabeth, is, in 1924, a student in the Vicksburg High School. She takes loyal interest in civic affairs and all that concerns the communal welfare. She has membership in the Ladies Library Association and the Parent-Teacher Association in her home village, as well as the local organizations of the Order of Eastern Star, and the White Shrine, besides which she is affiliated with the National Geographic Society. 0::':0 i:i H: H( ~Cr N KALAMAZOO STATE HOSPITAL* By Dr. Herman Ostrander The Michigan Asylum for the Insane now known as the Kalamazoo State Hospital was established by Act 187 Public Acts of I848 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 I849 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 sevarate 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 Deusen, 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. On February ii, 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, I859, but the institution was not formally opened for patients until August 29, I859. The first resident officers were: Dr. E. H. Van Deusen, superintendent; Dr. P. H. Loring, assistant physician; Henry Montague, steward, and Elizabeth Paul, matron. *Received too late for insertion in proper place. 340 HISTORIC MICHIGAN The first report of the institution, a biennial document of 1859-60 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 sixty-two 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 1864 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 over-crowding before relief came in the opening of the asylum at Pontiac in I872. 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 1891 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 in the United States of this type. Dr. 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 1891 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, 1906. During Dr. Noble's administration mechanical restraints were entirely abolished. Van Deusen Hospital was erected, a laboratory was KALAMAZOO COUNTY 34 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 Pbntiac, Michigain. 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, I28 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 (Edward's 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 357/4 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 employees; 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 256Y2 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 342 HISTORIC MICHIGAN 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 wome'n 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 pla'nt,-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 occupational 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 from physical culture, games, rehearsals, devising and making of costumes and production of plays, pageants, operettas, 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 KALAMAZOO COUNTY 343 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 socially is evident-in the interest shown by manufacturers who believe that their business success depends upon the mental as well as upon the physical health of their employees; by lawyers who feel that the relationship of social dependency and anti-social tendencies to mental disorders 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 organized September, I92I, under the direction of a psychiatric social worker. This department features follow up work among discharged patients, noting their home life, their readjustment to social conditions, proffering advice that might be helpful in this re-establishment in the family and community, suggesting changes in environment and employment when this seems advisable. It also stresses the placement in communities of unrecovered cases who would not be a social menace and who are able to work and contribute to their own support. In this way 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. -":-:-c:-'::e- x,:::::: r~-- ~:,.,i ~;~;: P Z-:;i ~" gel.rC THlS IS TH:f PROPERTY Or Citizens Historical Associatlon CHAhABER OF C-O.MMV."ERCE BLDQ, INDIANAPOLIS, IND. C"*04"~~" 1